In 16 years, the Afghan War has cost 2,400 American lives and $1 trillion. But with the country's capital under siege, the end still seems far away The war in Afghanistan is the longest in U.S. history. It's lasted over 16 years and in that time, America's goals and strategies have changed. Now there's another new plan. President Trump has sent 3,000 more troops to train and assist the Afghan army. But in the Afghan capital you don't have to go far to see the problems. Kabul is so dangerous, American diplomats and soldiers are not allowed to use the roads. They can't just drive two miles from the airport to U.S. headquarters. They have to fly. After all these years, a trillion dollars, and 2,400 American lives -- Kabul is under siege. This is rush hour at Kabul International Airport -- a swarm of helicopters that's earned the nickname 'Embassy Air.' It's how Americans and their allies working at the U.S. Embassy and military headquarters travel back and forth from the airport. It's just a five-minute flight. The chopper we boarded was making its tenth trip of the day. A few years ago American convoys regularly drove on the airport road below. Now the view from the helicopter window is all most on board will see of Kabul. They'll stay behind blast walls for the rest of their time in Afghanistan. We wanted to know what it says about where we are in this war if American troops can't drive two miles down a road in Kabul. John Nicholson: It's a country at war. And it's a capital that is under attack by a determined enemy. Ashraf Ghani: The level of brutality, the level of heartlessness is unbelievable, and we have to muster all of our resources to be able to deal with this. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rules from the presidential palace that's occupied the city center for more than a century. We noticed the walls around him and the rest of the city have expanded and grown taller since our last visit three years ago. Some of the streets we traveled turned into tight corridors of 20-foot high concrete barriers. It made it hard to tell where we were. Lara Logan: Parts of this city now are unrecognizable. What happened here? Ashraf Ghani: The war is changing from a war against armies to a war against people. Lara Logan: More civilians are dying in Kabul every year. And your response is more walls. Ashraf Ghani: 21 international terrorist groups are operating in this country. Dozens of suicide bombers are being sent. There are factories producing suicide bombers. We are under siege. By terrorizing the people the Taliban have sown deep doubts about the government. The result: angry protestors in the capital chanting "death to Ashraf Ghani." Lara Logan: The U.S. isn't going to be here for generations. Ashraf Ghani: We will be here for generations. We do not need others to fight our fights. Lara Logan: People in this country say that if the U.S. pulled out, your government would collapse in three days. Ashraf Ghani: From the resource perspective they are absolutely right. We will not be able to support our army for six months without U.S. support, and U.S. capabilities. Lara Logan: Did you just say that without the US support your army couldn't last six months? Ashraf Ghani: Yes. Because we don't have the money. American taxpayers bankroll 90 percent of Afghanistan's defense budget. That's more than $4 billion a year. Another $30 billion has been spent rebuilding this country. A bustling city has risen from the ruins. But in all the years we have been coming here, it's never been this dangerous. Checkpoints choke the traffic all over Kabul. It was as difficult to film as it was to move. Terrorists can strike at any time. Dr. Alberto Cairo: If you consider that the lifespan of the people in Afghanistan is around 60 years, it means that at least two thirds of them have seen only war. War, war, war. With America's new strategy, more troops are in, time limits are out, and Pakistan is under pressure for being a safe haven for terrorists. General John Nicholson believes this will end the war, something we've heard from previous commanders. John Nicholson: Yes, this is the end game. This is a policy that can deliver a win. Nicholson is targeting Taliban leaders. This car carried one of their high-ranking commanders. And striking their largest source of revenue, the drug labs that turn Afghanistan's most common crop -- opium --- into heroin. The goal is to do what his predecessors have repeatedly tried and failed -- force the Taliban to cut a deal. Lara Logan: You know, many Americans look at this and they say, "You know, we've been there 16 years. It's enough now. We should just come home." John Nicholson: Our country hasn't been attacked in those 16 years. They haven't been attacked from Afghanistan. Lara Logan: A lotta people at home just don't buy that terrorists are coming from Afghanistan to attack them at home. They're worrying about the guy going to rent a truck from Home Depot and drive into a crowd of civilians. John Nicholson: Well this raises the point. We need to defeat the ideology. If we were to lose here or if we were to leave here, the cost would be unacceptable. Why? It would embolden jihadists globally, those living in our own countries. It would convince them of the ultimate success of their cause. In my view the cost of failure here is unacceptable. - The Business Registration and Licencing (BRL) sector in Dubai Economy witnessed 288,878 transactions, including 19,877 new licences, during 2017, showing the activity recorded on the "Business Map" digital platform. The "Business Map" tracks BRL activity and seeks to reflect the economic realities in Dubai by providing vital data on each category of licences including their numbers and category-wise distribution as well as investor trends on a monthly basis, reported Emirates news agency Wam. Renewal of licences accounted for 128,965 transactions in 2017 while there were also 26,029 initial approval transactions and 38,223 trade name reservations. Auto renewals constituted 47,125 transactions, instant licences 684, and e-trader licences 616. The year also saw 24,123 transactions related to commercial permits and out of these 35.1 per cent were banner advertisements, indicating strong competition among companies in marketing their products and services. Promotional campaigns had a 23.3 per cent share, followed by discounts, special offers and clearance (22 per cent), summer promotions (14.0 per cent) and exhibitions (2.5 per cent). The new licences issued in 2017 were distributed across sectors as follows: commercial (64.3 per cent), professional (33.8 per cent), industrial (1.1 per cent) and tourism (0.9 per cent). The outsourced service centres of Dubai Economy played a major role in service delivery accounting for almost 80 per cent (231,902) of the BRL transactions in 2017. Area-wise Bur Dubai and Deira topped the list of new licences issued with a share of 9,032 each, followed by New Dubai (1,753) and Hatta (70). The top ten sub-regions that had 51.5 per cent of the new licences are as follows: Burj Khalifa (12.8 per cent ), New Dubai (8.8 per cent ), Al Marar (6.9 per cent ), Naif (5 per cent ), Port Saeed (4.5 per cent ), Trade Centre 1 (3.7 per cent ), Hor Al Anz East (3 per cent ), Al Garhoud (2.4 per cent ), Al Barsha (2.3 per cent ) and Al Karama (2.1 per cent ). The distribution and diversity of business activity monitored in 2017 further confirms Dubais pre-eminence as a business destination in terms of competitiveness and sustainability. Trade and repair services accounted for 33.8 per cent of the economic activities in the emirate, followed by real estate, leasing and business services (22.4 per cent ), building and construction (15.2 per cent ), community and personal services (10.8 per cent ), hospitality and hotels (6.3 per cent ), transport and storage (3.2 per cent ), manufacturing (2.9 per cent ), financial brokerage (2.2 per cent ), health and labour as well as agriculture (0.7 per cent each) and education had a 0.6 per cent share. Among the new licences issued in 2017, 12 per cent went to women. The top nationalities among the new licence holders were Indians, Pakistanis, and Egyptians, followed by Saudis, Britons and GCC nationals. Saudis ranked second in terms of market share, followed by Omanis, Kuwaitis and finally Bahrainis in that order. Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the International Financial Centre of Abu Dhabi, has been awarded accreditation by the internationally-recognised Investors in People Standard for its commitment to high performance through excellence in people management. Investors in People is the international standard for people management, defining what it takes to lead, support and manage people effectively to achieve sustainable results. Underpinning the Standard is the Investors in People framework, reflecting the latest workplace trends, essential skills and effective structures required to outperform in any industry. It enables organisations to benchmark its working model against the best in the business on an international scale, said a statement. It is the first such recognition achieved by a financial centre and regulatory organisation in the Middle East region, it said. ADGM, comprising three independent authorities: the Registration Authority, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and ADGM Courts, is established to support the acceleration of Abu Dhabis economic vision of providing a well-diversified, sustainable economy. It enables registered local and international companies and entities to operate efficiently and confidentially within an internationally-recognised regulatory framework that has its own independent judicial system and legislative infrastructure based on the Common Law, it added. Paul Devoy, head of Investors in People, said: We would like to congratulate the human resources department of Abu Dhabi Global Market. The accreditation is a clear indication of a great employer, an outperforming place to work and a clear commitment to success. ADGM should be extremely proud of their achievement, he added. Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, human resources director of ADGM, said: We are honoured to be the first international financial centre and regulatory organisation in the region (Middle East) to be endorsed with the accreditation. The award cited that ADGM has punched above its weight and exceeded international industry standards with its efforts and practice to maintain a high-performance workforce, he said. We will continue to lead and introduce innovative measures that harness the talent of our people to deliver greater business results for the long term. In addition, to foster a culture of excellence and appreciation that motivates our human capital to sustain great performance in a conducive environment, he added. TradeArabia News Service Work has been completed on a 1.2-km-long road with four lanes in each direction, connecting the interchange in the Janabiya-Budaiya areas of Bahrain to the North Town. The road includes a 135-m-long bridge above the marine channel, therefore providing a smooth traffic flow and increasing the road capacity, said a statement from Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning. The scope of work included installing safety barriers, pedestrian barriers, signage, lighting, implementing storm water drainage channels, extending sewerage and treated water lines, providing special tracks on both sides of the highway for other service networks like water, electricity and telecommunications, and afforestation works. Work on the project began in 2016 with the construction of a temporary road parallel to the former dirt road, aiming to provide a smooth traffic flow to the construction projects inside North Town away from the villages internal roads. Also, the ministry previously removed Budaiya Roundabout and replaced it with traffic signals to increase its capacity and enhance safety levels for roads users, said the statement. The project aims to connect North Town to the roads network, where the internal roads are to be implemented by the housing ministry, while the main roads surrounding North Town, all entrances and exits will be completed by the Works Ministry, it added. "The project is considered a main artery within the infrastructure and roads projects, which will contribute to supporting investment and urbanisation in the kingdom," remarked Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf, the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, after he inspected the site of the southern entrance to North Town. The detailed structure of the Northern Road will serve a number of villages and investment projects in Bahrain, therefore supporting the kingdoms economy, he stated. The ministry has also looked into the possibility of connecting the roads leading to North Town to Avenue 36, which is a link to Saar and vice versa. This will contribute to alleviating traffic congestion to and from the village and other villages in the vicinity, he added. Al Khalaf said the construction of North Highway will take place parallel to the revamp and expansion of a number of roads/highways, to ensure connecting those main highways to North Highway as part of the structural scheme for the kingdom. Once completed, the project will serve 5,000 housing units, being the first link to North Town, he stated. "The North Town entrances and exits project is a vital part of Bahrains roads network and has been approved by the works ministry. The first and main entrance to North Town from the west is also considered to be a highly important connecting Janabiya and Budaiya Interchange to the North Town," he explained. In addition to that, a special network for intelligent transport systems is to be installed, therefore ensuring a smoother traffic flow in the area and a higher capacity and safety levels, he added.-TradeArabia News Service The construction firm Carillion, which has key operations in the Middle East region, has gone into compulsory liquidation, putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk, said a report. A British company, Carillion is involved in a host of major UK government projects such as HS2 ( new high-speed rail network, from London to Birmingham and to Manchester and Leeds), as well as vital public services including school dinners, reported The Guardian. The company decision came after the last-ditch talks by the bank lenders at the weekend collapsed. The emergency talks were hosted by the Cabinet Office, it stated. A quality project contractor, Carillion has a major presence in the region, especially in the UAE through its partnership with Emirati conglomerate Al Futtaim and in Oman through its joint venture firm Carillion Alawi. Al Futtaim Carillion (in which the Dubai group has a 51 per cent stake) provides a broad range of business in building construction, civil engineering works sewerage works and concrete repairs, transport and construction services to commercial and public sector clients in the UAE. Its Omani joint venture firm Carillion Alawi has been a major player in the sultanate's construction sector for the last 45 years. During the period it has delivered some of the most prestigious projects such as Royal Court Affairs, Zubair Corporation, Petroleum Development Oman, Majid Al Futtaim and The Wave Muscat. It is currently involved in several big projects including Kempinski Hotel and Apartments; Muscat International Airport - MC2; Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre; BP Khazzan and Saraya Bandar Jissah resort project. As part of its sweeping changes that followed the resignation of its CEO Richard Howson, Carillion had last year confirmed that it will exit construction markets in Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, and it will also no longer take on construction public-private partnership (PPP) projects. The group had then said that its exit from non-core markets and geographies would raise up to 125 million over the next 12 months, while the group strategic review would include further annual cost savings. On its liquidation move, Carillion in a statement to the London Stock Exchange, said: Despite considerable efforts those discussions have not been successful, and the board of Carillion has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect. An application was made to the high court for a compulsory liquidation of Carillion before the opening of business on Monday and an order has been granted to appoint the official receiver as the liquidator, said the report. The accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is likely to be named as special manager to act on behalf of the official receiver and handle the collapse of Carillion, which employs 43,000 people worldwide, including nearly 20,000 in the UK. Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, said it is in joint venture with Carillion on three projects: the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, the A14 in Cambridgeshire and the M60 Junction 8 to M62 Junction 20 scheme. The company pointed out that it will continue to work with its customers and meet contractual commitments. The cash impact to Balfour Beatty is likely to be an outflow in the range of 35 million to 45 million in 2018, said the company in a statement. The profit impact of Carillions compulsory liquidation would be recorded as an exceptional non-underlying charge in the income statement, it stated. Balfour Beatty clarified that it does not have any other material financial exposure to Carillion. Carillion said the government would provide funding necessary to maintain the public services carried out by its staff, subcontractors and suppliers, reported The Guardian. The government has urged workers to go to work as usual and promised them they would be paid via the official receiver. Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that big job losses could be avoided if the government acts quickly and brings contracts back in-house. The firm is involved in many public infrastructure projects from transport and health to education and defence and provides other vital public services such as cleaning and catering in NHS hospitals, the provision of school dinners in nearly 900 schools and prison maintenance. The Cabinet Office minister, David Lidington, said some services would be taken in-house while others would be handed to other operators in a managed, organised fashion. He defended the governments decision not to bail out the company and pointed to contingency plans drawn up following Carillions first profit warning in July. This means that contracts were drawn up so that if Carillion failed, other contractors would take over its responsibilities. Carillion ran into financial difficulties last year after issuing three profit warnings in five months and writing down more than 1 billion from the value of contracts. Philip Green, the companys chairman, said: This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years. Over recent months, huge efforts have been made to restructure Carillion to deliver its sustainable future." In recent days, however, we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision, he added. More than 80 leading regional and international firms are taking part in the third edition of HVACR Expo Saudi, the largest dedicated indoor climate and refrigeration event, which opened in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, yesterday (January 14). The expo was inaugurated by Dr Sufyan Al-Irhayim, the director of Conformity Assessment Department and acting director of Standards and Metrology Department, GCC Standardization Organization along with Lucie Berger, the head of trade and economic affairs, Delegation of the European Union, and Giorgio Elia, the vice-presidnet of UTC Climate, Controls & Security. The event also witnessed the first ever EU-Saudi Arabia Energy Efficiency Meeting, organised in partnership with Eurovent ME, to mainly discuss collaboration opportunities between Saudi Arabia and the European Union on HVAC standards, certification and labeling. The event, which is co-located with FM Expo Saudi & Saudi Clean Expo, concludes on January 16. Energy efficiency and sustainability is a growing concern all over the world for apparent reasons. In a region like the Middle East, with its extreme temperatures, it is even more important to have adequate standards and regulations in place to keep energy consumption at a reasonable level, remarked Markus Lattner, the director of Eurovent Middle East. The meeting played a fundamental role in helping preserve the kingdoms wealth of energy resources and strengthen the national economy complementing the Saudi National energy efficiency program. The meeting comes under the initiative of the EU GCC Clean Energy Technology Network and the European Union Delegation to Saudi Arabia. Over 100 VIP delegates attended the meeting, which was made up of keynote speeches as well as what resulted in an engaging panel discussion, to gain insight from high profile speakers including the Ambassador of the European Union of Saudi Arabia Michele Cervone DUrso, Manager of International Standards at ISSO Jaap Hogeling, and Frank Wouters, Director of the EUGCC Clean Energy Technology Network. Beyond the high level meeting, the educational offering at HVACR Expo Saudi features a total of 18 free-to-attend CPD (continued professional development) certified workshops to promote best practices and innovative solutions for the Saudi HVAC-R industry. A range of topics on the agenda cover the latest solutions for Energy Optimisation, better IEQ (indoor environment quality) and green technology HVAC Systems. The HVACR market in Saudi Arabia is expected to double at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of around 13 per cent from 2017-2022 on the back of developing energy tariffs, increased public awareness and an increased sense of responsibility. More than 80 local and international manufacturers are showcasing the most innovative HVAC-R solutions and equipment at the top Saudi expo.-TradeArabia News Service The importance of innovation as a pivotal tool for bringing about the changes required within the various sectors in the Arab world will be highlighted at the 11th edition of Innovation Arabia Conference & Exhibition, to be held in Dubai, in March. The event will take place from March 11 to 13, at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, under the theme Innovate, Disrupt and Transform. The exhibition will be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and president of Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU). The event will be organised by Index Conferences and Exhibitions a member of Index Holding, in partnership with Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University HBMSU, and the support of Hamdan Awards. This conference was announced during a press conference held yesterday (January 14) at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Dubai, and was headed by Dr Mansoor Al Awar, chancellor of Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University-HBMSU and the chairman of the conferences higher committee; Dr Abdul Salam Al Madani, chairman of Index Holding and the executive chairman of Innovation Arabia; and Prof Nabil Baydoun, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs Academic Affairs Division, among other dignitaries and media representatives. Al Awar, said: Innovation Arabia continues to play a key role in driving innovation, which has become an integral part of the UAE's vision towards building a sustainable future. The upcoming edition of the conference will focus on innovation as a pivotal tool for bringing about the change required within the business, health, environment, smart learning and Islamic economic sectors in the Arab world, led by generations empowered with knowledge economy tools and qualified innovatively and knowledgably to create and explore the future meeting requirements of the 21st century, he said. We look forward with confidence to the outcome of the eleventh session, which will undoubtedly serve the development drive, based on innovation, which is a strategic priority for our wise leadership that reflects the mystery of the renewal of life and the progress of mankind, he added. Al Madani said: We at Index Conferences and Exhibitions a member of INDEX Holding, are greatly honoured to organise the event in partnership with Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University, which has become the most prominent event on Innovation held in Dubai every year. The aim of this conference is to explore the enormous potential of Arab states to accelerate the pace of socio-economic growth and enhance their capacity for sustainable development, in line with the visionary framework of the Dubai Plan 2021, which aims to move Dubai towards a sustainable economic model driven by innovation, he said. He added: The exhibition will bring together top-notch speakers on innovation, leading academics, world renowned researchers and key decision-makers in the public and private sector, who will share their experiences and knowledge in different fields. We hope that this event will greatly help in creating robust and competitive knowledge based economies in the region and around the world. Innovation Arabia 11 will feature specialized discussions on four parallel tracks this year that will include Quality and Business Management, Health and Environment, Smart Learning and Islamic Banking and Finance Track, said a statement. Amongst the keynote speakers in the Health & Environment Track will be: Dr Amer Ahmad Sharif, CEO of Dubai Healthcare City Authority education sector (DHCE) and the vice chancellor of the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dr Demetris Francis Lekkas who is an associate professor in the Department of Environment (University of the Aegean, Greece); and Prof Abdallah Shanableh, professor of Environmental Engineering and director of the Research Institute of Sciences and Engineering at the University of Sharjah. Dr Ahmed Mourady, head of strategy in Inbound Fintech in UK and member of Fintech accelerators groups and networks in UK, UAE and Egypt, and Khalid Ferdous Howladar, managing director and founder of Acreditus, will be speaking in the Islamic Banking and Finance Track. Professor Asha Singh Kanwar, one of the worlds leading advocates of learning for sustainable development, president and chief executive officer of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) will be speaking in the Smart Learning Track along with Dr Petar Stojanov who is a management consultant and entrepreneur in the UAE. Running parallel to the three-day conference, the exhibition will offer digital agencies, software companies, technology providers, educational institutes, smart universities, government excellence and acceleration programmes, and Islamic Banking firms an opportunity to showcase their latest products and services in the field of innovation, said a statement. In addition to that, the event encourages research and professional development of the faculty, staff, administrators and students, by recognising the achievements of the leading innovators in various fields with the special awards namely Best Paper Award and Student Research Award, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Some of the largest manufacturing names operating in the international printing community as well as leading trade publications will attend the inaugural Gulf Print & Pack Summit to be held in March, in Dubai. The event, a comprehensive event in the region for senior level print industry professionals, will take place on March 4 and 5, at Roda Al Bustan Hotel. The summit has announced availability of conference passes for the event, said a statement. Xerox has been confirmed as the events official platinum sponsor and the summit will be supported by some of the other top companies in the industry, it said. Aimed at printers/converters, brand owners, retailers and graphic, packaging and label designers, the summit will discuss cutting-edge print technologies and applications, future trends in print production and effective strategies for business excellence and economic growth, it added. Chris Lynch, head of production technology for Xerox - Middle East and Africa (MEA), said: The Middle East region is one of the most strategically important markets for our company and this thought leadership event provides a first-class platform for demonstrating our commitment to the GC industry and for strengthening the corporations customer and partner relationships within it. As well as headline sponsor Xerox, confirmed exhibitors include: AFRA International, Anoop Plastic Products, Bobst, Durst, Heidelberg, Konica Minolta and Nilpeter. Through a mix of business case studies and panel discussions, the conference will cover a variety of key issues facing the print industry with topics focused on digital printing, pre-press, MIS and workflow automation, anti-counterfeiting, finishing, packaging and the latest in niche technologies. Lisa Milburn, managing director, Gulf Print & Pack, said: The summit will be taking a hard look at the major issues affecting the printing sector both in the Middle East and the wider international scene. The event is set to be a lively forum for ideas and interactive discussion with a heavy focus on innovative production strategies and key technological developments. Delegates will be certain to take away good ideas and effective tips for ways to improve and streamline their operational processes and learn how they can implement the latest technologies to enhance their productivity and add value to their business and clients, he added. TradeArabia News Service The Commercial Section of the Pakistan Embassy in Bahrain is facilitating the countrys first participation at the Gulf Industry Fair 2018, the Northern Gulfs only event dedicated to promoting industrialisation. Gulf Industry Fair 2018 will take place from February 6 to 8 at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre under the patronage of HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Pakistan's presence at Gulf Industry Fair will be led by representatives from three major companies in Pakistan, including Solutions Engineering, National Project Managers and Fauji Cement Company. Javed Malik, Pakistans Ambassador to Bahrain, said: Promoting the capabilities of Pakistan industry and commerce are at the forefront of the initiatives undertaken by the embassy here in Bahrain. It is our honour to be part of Bahrain and the GCCs leading industrial showcase to promote not only the companies represented but also the wider capabilities of Pakistan engineering and industrial expertise." Jubran Abdulrahman, Managing Director of HCE, the organisers of Gulf Industry Fair, commented: "The initiative of the Embassy of Pakistan to promote Pakistans industrial expertise is a practical outcome of the ambassador's endeavours in promoting greater Bahrain-Pakistan bilateral trade across a variety of economic sectors. We welcome the representatives of Solutions Engineering, National Project Managers and Fauji Cement Company to the Gulf Industry Fair. Gulf Industry Fair is strategically sponsored by Bapco, National Oil and Gas Authority (Noga), Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) and Bahrain Industrial Wharf. The Industrial Facilities Sector Sponsor is Majaal. Supporting organizations for Gulf Industry Fair include AHK Saudi Arabia, the German Saudi Arabian Liaison for Economic Affairs, PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, Bahrain Solar Association and the Bahrain Industrial Association. - TradeArabia News Service Turkish Cargo, a leading cargo airline in the region, revealed that it has launched cargo flights to Miami, one of the most strategical cargo destinations in the US and in the world. Turkish Cargos Miami cargo flights are to be operated with Boeing 777-200F, the cargo aircraft newly acquired the past month, said a statement. Turkish Cargo will be connecting Miami to 120 countries through more than 300 destinations with its Istanbul-Madrid-Miami departing flights and Miami-Houston-Istanbul return flights, it said. Turkish Cargo, which has been transporting 110 tonnes of belly cargo weekly on Turkish Airlines passenger aircraft to Chicago, Atlanta and New-York; has now reached four destinations in the US with Miami, it added. The cargo carrier will then show a 100 tonne capacity increase to the North American market with wide body freighters to reach 220 tonnes weekly, said a statement. Miami Airport being the largest in the US and ranked 10th in the international cargo market, stands out for its capacity of handling perishable goods supply chain, which represents 47 per cent of the international transit cargo, offering high-end infrastructure. Miami stands out with its cargo potential of fresh flowers, perishable fruits and vegetables, high technology products, telecommunication equipment and aircraft parts. The region is known for its imports of textile, fish, medicine, flowers, automobile, chemicals, petrochemicals and other perishable goods, it stated. TradeArabia News Service US-based Freshworks, a leading provider of cloud-based business software, recently announced the expansion of its offerings into the Middle East market. Freshworks Inc is the parent company behind the suite of products which includes Freshdesk, Freshservice, Freshsales, Freshcaller, Freshteam and Freshchat. The companys suite of products is designed to work tightly together to increase collaboration and help teams better connect and communicate with their customers and co-workers. Freshworks plans to substantially increase its commitment with additional investments in marketing, sales and partner resources to better serve its customers in the region, said a statement. The company is already seeing increased demand from the region with over 2500 customers. With a dedicated go-to-market team, managing field and channel partner operations, Freshworks plans to double its customers over the next two years. The Middle East is a very strategic market for Freshworks, said Arihant Jain, director for Middle East and Africa (MEA), Freshworks. The opening of this new market is an important milestone for us, as it demonstrates our expanding commitment to the Middle East and further strengthens our position as a leading provider of business software, he said The combination of our industry-leading software solutions along with an already strong customer base in the region will enable our local operations to partner deeply as small and mid-sized enterprises are constantly looking for new innovations to power their customer and employee experience, he added. Freshworks already has a strong partner presence in the region serving customers. In 2017 alone, the Freshworks Partner Program attracted immense interest from resellers, doubling its partner ecosystem in the Middle East adding Gulf Infotech, Digital Works, Etek Solutions & Al Jammaz Distribution to name a few, said a statement. This marks a clear ramp in cloud adoption in the region with more and more SMBs opting for cloud solutions. As part of its expansion in the region, the company will actively recruit additional qualified partners to provide local businesses with its world class customer and employee experience solutions, it said. A global survey conducted by Freshworks revealed that customers who have a positive experience are 15 times more likely to give recommendations in the future, and seven times more likely to repeat purchase with the same company again, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Kodak Alaris, a leading IT solutions provider, has announced the appointment of Naji Kazak as general manager for Middle East, Africa, Turkey and Russia. Kazak will lead the planning and execution of business development and strategy across this region. Kazak has over 15 years of experience in hardware and software solutions in the Middle East and Africa, including several leadership positions within the document management industry. He has been instrumental in helping previous organizations grow their channel networks, increase market share and expand to new markets. Since Kodak Alaris go-to-market model is partner focused with over 90 per cent of the companys business routed through channel, partner recruitment and enablement is high on Kazaks priorities, a statement said. Other key areas that he will drive include customer oriented activities to build stronger relationships, enhancing the after sales support structure, building on the strength of the companys production capture capabilities and identifying and targeting new markets and verticals. Kazak will focus on driving business across the GCC, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, and North Africa and target verticals including banking and finance, Government, BPOs, insurance, healthcare and education industries where the company has traditionally enjoyed a great amount of success. Gerry Kelliher, sales director, EAMER, at Kodak Alaris said: Kodak Alaris has experienced a great amount of regional success in the last few years and we were looking for a leader who could accelerate this growth going forward. Najis high degree of technical competence, extensive engagement with customers and partners and deep understanding of market dynamics make him the ideal candidate to lead our efforts across the region. We expect him to drive the sales team to deliver the true value of our technologies to customers. We are in the era of Data Chaos. Regional businesses are dealing with an exponential growth of data and related challenges. An integrated approach to information capture is the first step towards digital transformation and turning data chaos into business opportunity, Kazak said. The Alaris IN2 Ecosystem, offering robust scanners and integrated software designed to work together, partners with deep experience to deliver solutions at scale and services to keep information capture solutions running flawlessly, combine to deliver on the promise of digital transformation for businesses and governments. I look forward to joining this great team to help establish Kodak Alaris as the information management company of choice and expand our growth initiatives. Our IN2 ecosystem is the best in the industry, and I am committed to ensuring that we have the right strategy in place to quickly respond to customer and partner needs and fully capitalize on market opportunities as they present themselves, he added. TradeArabia News Service Abu Dhabi is planning to build another solar power plant in the capital in addition to its $870-million plant at Sweihan, which is poised to become the worlds largest solar project, said a report. The new facility is expected to commence operations by the middle of next year, reported Gulf News, citing a senior official from Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea). "We are studying this project and there will be an announcement this year. It will be bigger than the current solar project which is under construction in Sweihan," said Adel Al Saeedi, the acting director of privatisation at Adwea. It will be a joint collaborative project between Adwea and private companies to meet the growing energy demand, he added. The expected drop in OECD inventories suggests that oil prices will likely be higher in 2018 than originally seen and Brent crude oil price is projected to reach $64 per barrel (/bbl) this year, said the Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) in a new report. Put differently, we now expect Brent crude oil prices to average $9/bbl or 17 per cent above last year in 2018, added BofAML in its Global Energy Weekly report. Opec + Russia could start discussing an exit plan soon As prices rise, the focus could soon turn to how Opec and the non-Opec deal participants will unwind the production cuts that were agreed to in December 2016. After all, rising prices could soon incentivize elastic US shale supply to come back into the market at an accelerating rate. In that regard, we present three possible scenarios for the Opec + Russia alliance to unfold. A first option is that the deal is extended through 2019 or beyond. A second option is that the deal is unwound gradually and the cartel exerts some discipline with only modest increases in supply. A third possibility is a return to another market share war between Russia and the cartel members, the report said. A return to another oil market share war is highly unlikely How likely is a return to a market share war? In our view, this outcome is very unlikely, as it works against the interests of all participants in the deal in the short run. Following two decades of counter-cyclical Opec supply swings to stabilize prices, Saudi Arabian oil production policy turned pro-cyclical in 2014. Yet the costs to the Saudi treasury have been enormous, with FX reserves falling by 240 billion in the past three years. Having said that, as supply rose, the cartel and Russia gained market share against non-Opec in 2015/16. This situation has reversed with the cuts and Russia and Opec are now losing market share, although higher prices are making up for volumes. So the key question that Opec and Russia have to ask themselves is: what is the revenue maximization opportunity in the oil market? Gradual approach as Opec prepares to exit Revenue is of course a function of prices and volumes. If prices climb too much and global supply responds furiously, Opec could end up again in a tough spot. In our view, a backwardated Brent market with a long-term anchor around $55 to 60/bbl is probably a good outcome for the cartel. Maybe as good as it gets. Should prices rise from there, US shale oil supply could shoot up higher, said BofAML. Oil demand could get hurt. So Opec and Russia would probably be better off by signalling a gradual approach or a "tapering" of sorts. Essentially, Opec could signal to the market that production will increase by, say, 40,000 b/d every month unless prices go down significantly. That strategy would keep both spot and forward prices in a range and the crude market in backwardation. Output from Saudi, Russia, Iraq, and UAE could rise Still, an expectation of multi-year declines in production ahead will be easily offset by the growth appetite of a few key players. Primarily, Russia has a strong Greenfield oil project pipeline and companies expect to increase output by 1.5 million b/d by 2022, more than offsetting its own older field declines. On the Opec front, a number of countries in the deal like the United Arab Emirates have been actively investing in new capacity, too and Iran and Iraq both have ambitions to increase output. Saudi Arabia is likely to remain restrained in its expansion of production capacity as prices are probably more important for the kingdom than modest volume growth. TradeArabia News Service Samsung Gulf Electronics recently unveiled the worlds first Wind-Free wall-mounted air-conditioner, designed for Saudi Arabian climate, at the ongoing HVACR Exhibition being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The event which kicked off yesterday (January 14) will conclude tomorrow (January 16). The air conditioner has integrated Samsungs exclusive Wind-Free Cooling technology into its design, providing customers with a cooler indoor climate, and optimal energy efficiency, without the discomfort of direct cold airflow, said a statement. Ismail Yoon, managing director, Samsung Gulf Electronics Saudi Arabia branch, said: Consumers will love the cool, efficient air conditioning capabilities of the Wind-Free air-conditioner in their living and working spaces. And they will really love that they no longer have to deal with uncomfortable, cold air, as well as reduced electricity bills, he said. The air-conditioner provides customers with the ideal condition by maintaining the comfortable room temperature, using wind-free cooling to gently disperse cold air through 21,000 micro air holes. Saher Hilal, head of air-conditioning at Samsung Saudi Arabia, said: A two-step cooling system which first lowers temperature in Fast Cooling Mode and then automatically switches to Wind-Free Cooling Mode creating still air once the desired temperature is reached. This approach can also reduce energy consumption by up to 72 per cent compared to Fast Cooling mode. The air-conditioned comes with Samsungs new Digital Inverter 8-Pole with Powerboost technology, the compressors motor generates fewer torque fluctuations reducing the overall energy required and shortening the time needed for the compressor to reach its maximum rotation speed. The air-conditioner is also Wi-Fi-enabled so it can be controlled from anywhere through Samsungs Smart Home app. Users can remotely regulate temperature, adjust settings, receive real time updates about performance and daily energy usage, as well as troubleshoot solutions when a repair is needed. The air-conditioners unique triangle architecture has a wider inlet which allows more air to be drawn in at once, while the optimal width and angle of the outlet, extra v-blades, and large fan with 22 per cent larger than previous models ensure air is cooled and expelled faster, farther and wider, to reach every corner of the room, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Lucknow, (IANS): As Rahul Gandhi is set to make first trip to his parliamentary constituency as the Congress president on Monday, posters eulogising him as an incarnation of Lord Rama slaying Prime Minister Narendra Modi, portrayed as the ten-headed demon king Ravan, have appeared at various places in Uttar Pradeshs Amethi district. The posters go on to say that Rahul Gandhi will usher in Ram Rajya in the country and will end the misrule of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Behind the posters is a local Congressman, Abhay Shukla. District Congress leaders told IANS that though the posters were not official, they found nothing objectionable in them. Support TwoCircles People and voters have their own way of fantasising about their leader, chuckled one who believed Rahul Gandhi will boot out the Modi-led NDA government at the center in 2019. Rahul Gandhi is to arrive in his parliamentary constituency around noon and would take part in a road show that will stop over at seven prominent points of Amethi. Senior Congress leader Akhilesh Singh informed that the Congress president will reach Rae Bareli, his mothers parliamentary constituency, a little after 12:30 p.m. and will drive to Salon after that where he will address a public meeting. Later, he will drive straight to Amethi and take some rest at the Munshiganj guest house. The Congress president will meet people from his constituency and local party workers on Tuesday morning after which he will also visit Mohanganj, Jagdishpur and Jais. Senior state leaders of the Congress are in Amethi to accord a grand welcome to Rahul Gandhi on his maiden visit as Congress president to his parliamentary constituency. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was about to begin his address to the Fabian Society when for 15 minutes he was delayed. A number of protesters who according to Sky News had been sitting at the front made their opposition to Khan known. The protesters called for Mr Khan to be arrested. As the audience slow clapped them and security men appeared one of the protesters stood his ground. On a video posted on social media, he can be heard saying "Ladies and gentlemen, we're here today to make a non-violent peaceful citizens arrest". The protesters from The White Pendragons group warned security men not to touch them and added: "We stand under common law jurisdiction". Warning any manhandling of the protesters would be common assault and that they had paid for their tickets and were not leaving. While all this was going on Mr Khan flicked through the pages of a nearby newspaper. When the protesters were escorted from the building Mr Khan made reference to Theresa May. At the Conservative party conference when comedian Simon Brodkin interrupted the Prime Minister's speech. Mr Khan quipped "On the plus side, I wasn't served with a P45". The White Pendragons The White Pendragons are a pro-Trump and a pro-Brexi group in line with other right-wing groups such as UKIP, BNP, EDL, Britain First and the banned National Action. A man claiming to speak for the group on YouTube stated the group stand for helping those who have been lied to by the government. Those who have felt put down by the government and that all the political parties are the same. The speaker does not identify himself but calls on the disabled, the young and the old to join the ranks of this group. The speaker announced that people like him are fed up with the same old parties and the same old voting system. The group's banner is the old Anglo-Saxon flag of England The White Dragon as opposed to the Flag of St George that we have now. The speaker seemed to contradict himself, on one hand, saying they are not a political party and yet would be fielding candidates in elections. Perhaps he was hoping any well-off people who liked their message would be prepared to fund any political candidates or rallies. Not all Brits hate Trump It is apparent when one watches news programmes, chat shows etc there is a very anti-Trump rhetoric. Watch John Sopel on any BBC broadcast from Washington and it seems Mr Sopel is almost gloating over the downfalls of Donald Trump. Likewise, on shows like The Graham Norton Show, the host week in week out has something derogatory to say about the President. Most comedians on shows like 'Live at the Apollo' are always decrying the current occupant of the White House. With Sadiq Khan, there has been an online spat between him and the American President for as long as one can remember. This only tells part of the story though because there are many supporters of Trump in the UK. Nigel Farage is one character who comes to mind not forgetting the groups mentioned in this article. Piers Morgan is a friend of Donald Trump and while clearly not endorsing all of his policies nevertheless he is careful not to condemn Mr Trump altogether. News carriers should be neutral as should chat shows when mentioning or reporting on politics but this is clearly not the case. According to Dr. Ronny Jackson, the white house physician, US President Donald Trump is in excellent health. This comment came after the President underwent a physical examination last Friday. However, it was not confirmed whether or not there were any mental health checks carried out on his mind, and many Doctors and psychiatric professionals have become concerned that the leader of the free world might be coming down with dementia. Dozens of doctors and health experts have gotten together to pen an open letter to Dr. Jackson in which they urged him to carry out some basic psychological tests on Trump. The physical examinations carried out on the past five Presidents have included brief wanderings into mental health evaluations, but so far, it seems that there were none for Mr. Trump. Being over 66, Trumps mental health is at huge risk Psychiatric health examinations are a routine part of physical tests for patients over the age of 66 and Trump is 71. According to basic medical guidelines, patients who are in the age range that Trump is in should be evaluated during physical examinations for their cognitive and neural health functions. Now, White House officials have called questions about the mental capability of the President disgraceful and laughable, but thats an administration of lies taking on medical professionals on the topic of medicine, so... On Saturday morning, the state of Hawaii woke up to an alert of a missile threat that sent many panicking over the next hour. It was soon revealed to be a false alarm, an while the news dominated the headlines it was all but ignored by Donald Trump. Baldwin on Trump Shortly after 8 a.m. local time on Saturday morning, an alert went out across Hawaii warning of a missile threat. "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII," the alert read, while warning people to "SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER" and confirming that "THIS IS NOT A DRILL." Over the next 38 minutes, there was panic until 8:37 a.m. when a second alert was sent out to clarify that there was no threat. According top officials, an error was made during a "standard procedure at the change over of a shift" when an employee pushed the wrong button. Over the remaining course of the day, the false alarm was one of the top stories in the headlines, but received no comment from Donald Trump who instead sent out several tweets on other issues. Backlash quickly followed, with many putting the blame on the president for stoking fear with North Korea. As Trump remained silent, actor Alec Baldwin decided to poke fun at the president during a tweet of his own on January 14. Ivanka calls it Hannity and chill. Its the greatest piece of chocolate cake Ive ever had, and Ive had it all over the world.#TrumpInternationalDC Im gonna send some cakes to Hawaii to smooth things over.#YouCantSpellAmerica pic.twitter.com/5A2uGKkIw4 ABFoundation (@ABFalecbaldwin) January 14, 2018 Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Alec Baldwin took a shot at Donald Trump following his lack of response to the false alarm in Hawaii. "Ivanka calls it 'Hannity and chill,'" Baldwin tweeted, while attaching a photo of himself dressed in his Trump makeup and attire that he uses during his role on "Saturday Night Live." Trump said nothing on Hawaii missile alert, but took the time to retweet a Pizzagate conspiracy theorist https://t.co/jYcYUcdBjI pic.twitter.com/Vf7HqzARLb Newsweek (@Newsweek) January 15, 2018 "Its the greatest piece of chocolate cake Ive ever had, and Ive had it all over the world.#TrumpInternationalDC," Alec Baldwin wrote during the satirical tweet, which shows the actor sitting in bed eating cake. "Im gonna send some cakes to Hawaii to smooth things over," the tweet added, while using the hashtag "YouCantSpellAmerica" to promote his recently released book that is a fictional look at a Trump biography told through the eyes of Baldwin's version of the president. Trolling Trump This isn't the first time that Alec Baldwin has mocked Donald Trump. In addition to playing a satirical role of the president on "Saturday Night Live," where he won an Emmy in 2017, Baldwin has often used Twitter to clap back at the commander in chief, while also taking part in various protests against the current administration. With "Saturday Night Live" now back from the show's holiday break, it's expected that Baldwin will appear as Trump in the upcoming weeks. 39-year-old actor James Franco is the latest celebrity to be called out for inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior. On January 7, Franco won an award for best actor for the movie The Disaster Artist. At the Golden Globes, Franco wore a Times Up lapel pin to honor the fight against sexual misconduct. But now he is caught up in his own scandal. On January 11, the Los Angeles Times published a report detailing five womens accusations against Franco. The report of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior was the finale of the tidal wave of controversy hitting Franco, following the night of the Golden Globes. That night, three actresses tweeted accusations of sexual misconduct. One woman told the L.A. Times that in a nude sex scene she filmed with Franco and several other women three years ago, he removed protective plastic guards covering the actresses female parts, while simulating oral sex on them. Actress Violet Paley blasted Franco on Twitter after the Golden Globes, and she told the L.A. Times that she and Franco engaged in a romantic relationship after Franco pressured her into performing oral sex on him in her car. The actress shared her story about how Franco allegedly pulled his penis out in the middle of a conversation. She says she felt very nervous and kept asking "Can we do this later?" Instead of understanding her negative reaction, Franco allegedly ignored her and slightly nudged her head down. Feeling very nervous and pressured, the actress recounted how she didn't want Franco to hate her, so she did it. How did Franco respond? USA Today reported how Ashley Judd, a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement praised Franco for his statement on the matter on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Tuesday (Jan. 9) when Franco addressed the accusations directly. Franco began by praising himself for being able to take responsibility for the things that he has done. The things I heard that were on Twitter are not accurate, but I completely support people coming out and being able to have a voice because they didnt have a voice for so long. So, I dont want to shut them down in any way. Its, I think, a good thing, and I support it. Why does Judd like it? Judd called Francos comment terrific, and commended him for bringing Men And Women together and supporting them for speaking out. She also said that she thinks everyone sometimes behaves insensitively, inappropriately, and with tone deafness, but it is important to have culpability and have restorative justice. This is about men and women being all together and having a more equitable and just workplace, home life, social spaces, Judd said. ...it takes that kind of individual accountability to collectively make the change on a large scale. Francos previous issues As reported on Blasting News before, Franco has previously been known to be candid about his depression and addictive personality. He has told OUT magazine that his lifestyle in his first 10 years in the industry has taken its toll on him, despite all the fame and attention he was getting. He has also recently taken legal action to shut down a play featuring himself. Jill Zarin has been sharing with her fans about what is going on with her husband Bobby as he has been battling cancer. Yesterday she went to her Instagram page and shared the details about the loss of her husband. She started out her post with "Rest In Peace my love. Words can not express the hole in my heart." It is obvious that she is going through a hard time after losing the love of her life. Back in December, she shared that Bobby was in the hospital and the fans felt like they knew that this was coming soon. Bobby's long battle Bobby Zarin was 71-years-old at the time of his death. A year ago he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, but that wasn't even what ended up taking his life ultimately. Jill shared the news saying, "His papillary Thyroid Cancer has morphed into something called anaplastic thyroid cancer. It's very, very rare." He was actually diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2009 but had his thyroid removed. In 2013, he ended up with cancer that had spread to his lungs. His funeral will be held today and so Jill shared on her post that she was going to try and get some sleep before that hard day on her. Several people from the show have been reaching out to her and sharing how much they loved Bobby including Andy Cohen. It is really sweet that she has been hearing from everyone and they are speaking out to her in such a nice way. She needs the support right now. I always enjoyed Bobby Zarin and admired his cool presence and steady hand. My condolences to @Jillzarin and the whole family. #RIP Andy Cohen (@Andy) January 14, 2018 Bobby Zarin's life Bobby is survived by his childrenDavid Zarin, 41, Jennifer Zarin, 38, Jonathan Zarin, 35, and 25-year-old stepdaughter Ally Shapiro. Jill thanked him for helping raise her daughter saying, "Thank you my love for sharing your life with me.. for raising Allyson as if she was your own, being an amazing father and grandfather and teaching me how to be a better person. jill zarin also has big plans to continue to raise money for ITOG ( international Thyroid Oncology Group) after Bobby's death. She feels like this will help make it where there is a chance that someone else might not die in the same way that Bobby did. Fans have been reaching out to Jill Zarin and sharing their condolences about the loss of her husband. Hopefully, Jill will continue to update fans on how she is doing. Jill has plans to continue posting things about Bobby as a tribute on her social networks and she loves hearing from the fans. This has been a heartbreaking time for the entire family. You will not want to miss watching Jill Zarin on "The Real Housewives of New York City." The actors of The Oath, a TV serial about the world of police gangs, had to go location shooting in Puerto Rico. The island was devastated by Hurricanes Martha and Irma in September and the team had to be there for three months. The crew was mostly locals, and the cast and the crew bonded well. USA Today reports that The Oath is a 10-episode drama series that looks at the violent world of police gangs. After being delayed, it is now ready to air on Crackle. Work was taken up in April 2017 and, it will premiere in March 2018. Its lead actors are Sean Bean and Ryan Kwanten with Elisabeth Rohm also in an important role. The actors helped in evacuation The Oath is produced by Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson and its lead actors are Game of Thrones star Sean Bean apart from True Blood star Ryan Kwanten. The story is about the mix of corruption and loyalty that are interwoven in police secret societies. When the hurricanes struck Puerto Rico, the cast had seen and experienced the sufferings from close quarters. The producers of the drama series are Sony and Crackle. They cooperated in relief measures and extended humanitarian aid. The actors also volunteered for relief efforts and evacuating the residents was not an easy task. They had lost their shelters and did not have electricity or clean drinking water. They had to leave their homes reluctantly and board fights to move to the US mainland not knowing when they would be able to return. The natural disaster has ruined many of their lives. The story in brief According to Deadline, The Oath is written and created by Joe Halpin who has strong links with the police. He was deputy to the Los Angeles County Sheriff and is acquainted with the scenes that surround the police in their day to day workings. There are ups and downs in their lives and they have to be ready to face situations. The story explores the lifestyle of those who uphold the law and the corrupt practices that have taken root in the system. The shooting was done in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but the sudden hurricanes disrupted the schedule. It is now ready for the viewers. Any show related to the police, whether on TV or in movie halls, is always a big draw because it provides outsiders with a brief glimpse into the lives of those who have to enforce the law. The Oath is a 10-episode drama series and should hold the attention of the viewers because Joe Halpin, the man behind it, is a policeman and knows the intricacies of being one of the force. Normally, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off the start of another new tech year in grand style. The latest gadgets, from large-screen TVs to smartphones packed with new features, were on full display last week in Las Vegas, Nevada as approximately 170,000 attendees jammed exhibit show aisles. And the consumer tech industry is doing fairly well, at least based on data released last week by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Smart speaker shipments, such as Amazons Echo, were up 279 percent in the U.S. last year, along with sales of smart home products, TVs, and drones. Overall, CTA estimates that consumer tech retail revenue will reach $351 billion in 2018, a record high. But the tech world has issues and the just-concluded week-long show highlighted a number of them. Days before the start of CES, a team of security researchers released findings which showed that virtually all Intel processors shipped after 1995 contained a security flaw called Meltdown. A second flaw Spectre affects a number of processors including Intels. Intel CEO addresses security flaws In his opening CES keynote remarks last Monday, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich addressed the concerns up front, briefly outlining actions the company was taking to address the vulnerabilities. We have not received any information that these exploits have been used to obtain customer data, Krzanich reassured the crowd. But the security news overshadowed many of Intels announcements, including the release of a new 49-qubit quantum computing chip. Things did not go well for two other companies at the show. Last Monday, LG Electronics held a press conference to unveil its commitment to infuse artificial intelligence (AI) technology in all of its devices, through its branded ThinQ platform. But when the company rolled out CLOi, its small, expressive talking home robot, the device shut down after two minutes on stage and refused to interact further with an LG executive. Although the promise of the smart home is rapidly progressing, robotics technology is still a work in progress. huawei found itself in a different kind of awkward situation on Tuesday when the Chinese company held its own press conference at CES. Ostensibly scheduled to announce a new partnership with AT&T to sell Huaweis latest smartphone the Mate10 in the U.S., Richard Yu, head of Huaweis consumer products group, was forced to deliver a much different message after AT&T pulled out of the deal at the last minute. Reports indicate that AT&Ts decision could have been influenced by a letter sent by U.S. lawmakers to the Federal Communications Commission expressing concern about the potential for Chinese espionage if the deal was allowed to proceed. An obviously seething Yu vented his frustration. We are serving over 70 million people worldwide, Yu said. Weve proven our quality, weve proven our privacy and security protection. Federal officials express concerns The heavy hand of the U.S. government loomed over this years show. CES attendees heard from FCC Commissioners, the acting head of the Federal Trade Commission and the Secretary of Transportation. All of the government officials proclaimed their love of technology and innovation. But attendees also heard a warning from Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao on Wednesday that too many Americans were uneasy with the prospect of self-driving cars or having drones flying over their heads. Meanwhile, three FCC commissioners spoke briefly on Tuesday about the agencys controversial decision to rollback net neutrality protections, essentially allowing service providers to selectively block or slow data on the Internet. Two of the commissioners who voted for the rollback said little, other than to expect a lengthy process of Congressional debate and court rulings. But the third commissioner Mignon Clyburn was openly critical of the decision, calling it the destroying of Internet freedom order. And the acting chair of the Federal Trade Commission Maureen Ohlhausen told CES attendees that her agency was fully prepared to prosecute companies which lost customer data through breaches without providing the proper protections. The FTC recently reached a settlement with Uber over its handling of private data and may reopen its investigation in the wake of another reported breach. Januarys CES event offers an annual opportunity to see what trends in consumer technology can be expected for the months ahead. Between robotic glitches, pulled agreements and concerns that government may not be technologys BFF, the coming year could be a little more difficult than many expected. Washington State offers both a bustling, hip urban scene and virtually un-touched islands, bays, mountains, and parks. The state also has a vibrant arts scene and there are galleries and museums throughout the state. Seattle is the largest city and this trendy city is known for its eclectic style, the Space Needle, and world-famous Pike Place Market. For those who love the outdoors, the state's national and state parks. Here are the best things to do in Washington State. CDC information for travelers. Hours/availability may have changed. 1. Chihuly Garden and Glass Chihuly Garden and Glass Chihuly Garden and Glass is an exhibit in the Seattle Center that displays the studio glass of Dale Chihuly. Chihuly has played an important role in the in-ternational glass art scene and the museum presents a representative collec-tion of the renowned artist's work. The centerpiece of the site is the Glass-house, a 40-foot-tall building that features a 100-foot-long glass sculpture in a red, orange, and yellow color palette. Additionally, there are eight galleries and three Drawing Walls that demonstrate a variety of Chihuly's works and art styles. There is a garden onsite with four impressive glass sculptures as well as a theater that shows a short film about the artist's life and work. 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109, Phone: 206-753-4940 2. The Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight is an air and space museum located at the King County International Airport in Tukwila. The museum is the largest privately owned air and space museum in the world and is home to more than 150 aircraft. Some of the aircraft on display include a Lockheed Model 10-E Electra, which is a replica of the plane flown by Amelia Earhart. Additionally, the exhibits in-clude a Concord 214, the Caproni Ca.20, and the first presidential jet, a Boe-ing VC-137B. The museum is dedicated to several educational programs as well, including K-12 learning experiences, the Challenger and Aviation learn-ing centers, and a yearly summer camp. 9404 E. Marginal Way S, Seattle, WA 98108, Phone: 206-764-5720 You are reading "25 Best Things to Do in Washington State" Back to Top 3. Sky View Observatory Sky View Observatory The Sky View Observatory is a public observatory on the 73rd floor of the Columbia Center in Seattle. The observation deck is the tallest of its kind in the Northwest United States and the impressive view includes Mount Rainier, the Cascade Mountains, Bellevue, Elliot Bay, the Olympic Mountains, the Space Needle, and other parts of the city of Seattle. Tickets to visit the ob-servatory can be purchased in advance online. The Sky View Cafe serves seasonal, fresh artisan dishes and local draft beer and wine to visitors of the observatory. The Sky View Observatory can be rented for private events, weddings, and parties. 701 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104, Phone: 206-386-5564 You are reading "25 Best Things to Do in Washington State" Back to Top 4. Pike Place Market Pike Place Market The Pike Place Market is a public shopping market on the Elliot Bay water-front in Seattle. The market has been operating continuously since 1907 and is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States. The market features goods from local farmers, merchants, and crafters and is the most popular tourist attraction in the city. The market features several levels of unique shops, including antique stores, comic book stores, and small restaurants. The upper level features world-famous fishmongers, fresh produce, and more. The market has a unique policy, whereby most of the products and goods must be grown or produced by the person selling them, allowing visi-tors to meet the producers of the items. 85 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101, Phone: 206-682-7453 You are reading "Fun Things to Do in Washington State this Weekend with Friends" Back to Top or More places to see near me today, what to do, weekend trips 5. Activities Near Me: The Wing The Wing The Wing or the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience was opened in 1967 in Seattles Chinatown. This history museum of Asian Pacific American history, culture, and art celebrates Asian trailblazers and pioneers, using a range of exhibits to show how they helped shape Seattle of today. Exhibits tell real life stories, including the story of Bruce Lee. The exhibit called Day in the Life of Bruce Lee shows his personal life and habits and his Seattle connection. The museum offers a tour of the Chinatown-International District neighborhood, providing an insider point of view of its history, foods, and the most significant sights. In Seattle's Chinatown-International District, 719 South King Street, Seattle, WA 9810, Phone: 206-623-5124 You are reading "What to Do in Washington State this Weekend" Back to Top or Restaurants near me, stuff to do near me 6. Things to Do in Washington: Space Needle Courtesy of RG - Fotolia.com The Space Needle is an iconic Seattle landmark and observation tower that was built in the Seattle Center on the occasion of the 1962 World's Fair. The observation deck is at 520 feet and the rotating SkyCity restaurant is located below it, at 500 feet. The tower offers an impressive 360-degree view of the downtown Seattle skyline, the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges, Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, and Elliot Bay. Guests to the Space Needle can reach the top by fast-moving elevators that make the trip in only 41 seconds in good weather. It is recommended to purchase tickets in advance. 400 Broad Street, Seattle, WA 98109, Phone: 206-905-2100 You are reading "Top Romantic Tourist Attractions in Washington State" Back to Top or More must do for couples, what to do near me, places to visit this weekend 7. LeMay - America's Car Museum LeMay - America's Car Museum The LeMay-America's Car Museum is an automotive museum located next to the Tacoma Dome in the city of Tacoma. The museum features the car col-lection of successful businessman Harold LeMay and contains 350 cars that are impressive for their speed, design, and technology or for playing a signif-icant role in American car history. The museum features gift shops, car res-toration shops, and a cafe. Additionally, the museum has educational facilities that include lecture halls and more. The museum has an outdoor area that is perfect for car shows, auctions, and car club events. Several of the muse-um's levels offer stunning views of downtown Tacoma, the Olympic Moun-tains, and surrounding waterways. 2702 E D Street, Tacoma, WA 98421, Phone: 253-779-8490 You are reading "What is There to Do with Kids in Washington State" Back to Top or More tourism, attractions for couples, food, things to see near me today 8. What to Do in Washington: Benaroya Hall Benaroya Hall Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony and consists of two halls: The S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, the larger of the two, and the smaller Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall. The performance complex occu-pies an entire city block in downtown Seattle. The hall offers a variety of mu-sical performances throughout the year. Individuals and groups may tour the Benaroya Hall or observe a demonstration recital by organist Joseph Adam free of charge. The hall is home to several cafes, bars, and coffee shops and can be booked for private event use, including weddings, receptions, private parties, and more. 200 University Street, Seattle, WA 98101, Phone: 206-215-4800 9. Fun Things to Do in Washington: Hands On Children's Museum Hands On Children's Museum The Hands On Childrens Museum is an interactive museum designed for chil-dren to learn through participating in exhibits and programs. The museum's displays include science, art, and other types of exhibits and is specially de-signed for children from birth through ten years. The galleries include more than 150 exhibits, both indoor and outdoor. They range from interactive art exhibits to a climbing and play structure called the Tides to Trees Climber. In addition to scores of interactive exhibits, the museum also offers educational classes and programs for both children and adults. The Hands On Children's Museum also has a gift shop and the Play Day cafe, which serves a selection of small entrees, sandwiches, and snacks. 414 Jefferson Street NE, Olympia, WA 98501, Phone: 360-956-0818 "Best Things to Do in Washington State for Locals & Tourists - Restaurants, Hotels" Back to Top or Beautiful places near me, what to do, restaurants for breakfast, travel guide, nearest beach 10. Washington Things to Do: Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center Courtesy of Julien - Fotolia.com The Mount Saint Helens Visitor Center was established a few short years after the eruption of the nearby volcano. The center features educational exhibits and programs related to the historical significance of the area, the impact of the eruption on the ecosystem, and more. The mountain is visible both from the center and along the walking trail. Exhibits in the visitor center include a large, interactive model of the volcano, a working seismograph with live-feed from Mount Saint Helens, and a theater program which shows a film twice an hour. The 0.6-mile walking trail features boardwalks along Silver Lake, where visitors can enjoy the natural surroundings and wildlife. 3029 Spirit Lake Highway, Castle Rock, WA 98611, Phone: 360-274-0962 11. Places of Interest in Washington: Columbia River Gorge Courtesy of David Gn - Fotolia.com The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is a protected area that con-tains the canyon where the Columbia River winds its way through the beauti-ful Cascade Mountains. The landscape in the park include stunning cliffs and overlooks that offer views of both Washington and Oregon and the park fea-tures several waterfalls, hiking trails, and more. The Columbia River Gorge provides nearly endless opportunities for recreational activities. Several campgrounds and cabins are located throughout the park. Additionally, guests can hike, bike, or ride horses on the park's many multi-use trails, while water sports, fishing, and boating are popular ways to explore the park by water. Nearly every type of outdoor adventurer will be able to find their choice of activity in the park. 902 Wasco Avenue, Suite 200 Hood River, OR 97031, Phone: 541-308-1700 "New cool stuff to do in Washington State" Back to Top or Romantic Getaways, Wedding Ideas close to me this weekend, honeymoon, anniversary Ideas, fun places near me 12. Washington Vacation: Washington State Capitol Courtesy of CrackerClips - Fotolia.com The Washington State Capitol is the home of the state's government. It contains the office of the governor as well as chambers for the state legislature and the Washington Governor's Mansion and Supreme Court are also located nearby. Docent-guided public tours of the legislative building are available every day, are provided free of charge, and last about an hour. The tours are first-come, first-served and leave from the tour information desk on the second floor. The group size is limited to 25 visitors. Tour guides provide interesting information about the building as well as Washington State history and other fun facts. 416 Sid Snyder Avenue SW, Olympia, WA 98504, Phone: 360-902-8880 13. Museum of Glass - Chihuly Bridge of Glass Museum of Glass - Chihuly Bridge of Glass The Chihuly Bridge of Glass is an impressive 500-foot-long pedestrian over-pass linking the Chihuly Museum with downtown Tacoma. The bridge was de-signed by architect Arthur Andersson with artistic direction provided by Chi-huly himself. The bridge comprises three distinct sections. The section closest to the museum is called the Venetian Wall, which is an 80-foot-long section that includes 109 of Chihuly's sculptures. The center section is called the Crystal Towers, which has towers rising some 40 feet above the bridge that are illuminated at night. The last section, the Seaform Pavillion, is a ceiling comprising 2,364 glass items placed on top of a 20-foot ceiling made of plate glass. Bridge of Glass, Tacoma WA, 98402, Phone: 866-468-7386 14. Washington Attractions: Jefferson County Farmers Markets Courtesy of Jamie Hooper- Fotolia.com Jefferson County Farmers Markets provide the Port Townsend area with fresh, locally-sourced produce, encouraging residents and visitors to shop local and introduce healthy eating habits into their everyday routine. Three seasonal farmers' markets are offered in the area throughout the week, including the Port Townsend Saturday Market, one of the nation's largest regular small-town farmers' markets. More than 70 vendors sell produce, meats, dairy, baked and pantry goods, coffee, beverages, and artisan and home goods every week between April and December. The Port Townsend Wednesday Market is open during the afternoon hours and offers a chance to stock up on produce mid-week in a more relaxed environment, while the Chimacum Farmers' Market operates Sundays between June and October. 202 Lawrence St, Port Townsend, WA 98368, Phone: 360-379-9098 15. Pelindaba Lavender Farm Pelindaba Lavender Farm Pelindaba Lavender Farm is a premium lavender production farm on San Juan Island. the farm follows all of the principles of organic farming and has the highest organic certifications. They place an emphasis on sustainable ag-riculture and eco-friendly practices. The company produces essential oils in their on-site distillery as well as a large selection of beauty, culinary, house-hold, and pet care products. Visitors can tour the farm with the owner and founder, tour the distillery and educational exhibits, and shop at the Gate-house Farm Store. Additionally, the farm features a demonstration garden that allows visitors to see over 50 types of lavender being grown. The best time to see the lavender blooming is during the months of July and August. 45 Hawthorne Lane, Friday Harbor, WA 98250, Phone: 360-378-4248 Next read: WA drive-in theaters You are reading "25 Best Things to Do in Washington State" Back to Top or Amazing things to do around me & More pictures of fun cheap vacation spots 16. Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour The Future of Flight Aviation Center is an aviation museum and education center that is located on Paine Field in Mukiteo. The museum is the jumping-off point for the Boeing Tour, which visits part of the Boeing company's pro-duction facility in Everett. This facility produces the Boeing 747, 767, 777 and 787 aircraft lines. The museum itself features a 28,000-square foot exhibit space that contains an array of interesting exhibits, including a comparison between a Boeing 787 fuselage and one of its predecessor the 707. Addi-tionally, there is a genuine Boeing 727 cockpit that guests can sit in, several full-sized airplanes suspended overhead, a variety of videos and presenta-tions, and a rooftop observation deck that offers views of the factory, Paine Field, and beyond. 8415 Paine Field Blvd., Mukiteo, WA 98275, Phone: 800-464-1476 17. Museum of Pop Culture Museum of Pop Culture The Museum of Pop Culture is a non-profit museum that is dedicated to con-temporary popular culture. The museum was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and was previously known as the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. The museum features interac-tive exhibits, displays, sound sculptures, and a variety of educational re-sources. Exhibits cover various aspects of popular culture, including fantasy, horror cinema, video games, costumes, and science fiction literature. Inter-active activities include the opportunity to explore rock and roll by playing real instruments in front of a virtual audience. The museum hosts several events each year, including the Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Film Series each winter. 325 5th Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98109, Phone: 206-770-2700 You are reading "25 Best Things to Do in Washington State" Back to Top or More weekend getaways, what to do near me, must see attractions, stuff to do near me 18. Washington Tourist Attractions: Museum of History & Industry Museum of History & Industry The Museum of History and Industry is a history museum located in the his-toric Naval Reserve Armory in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood. The museum is the state's largest private heritage organization, maintaining a collection of nearly 4 million different artifacts. A small portion of the collec-tion is displayed in the museum's gallery space. Items in the collection in-clude the first commercial plane built by Boeing, the Petticoat Flag, which was sewn by women during the Battle of Seattle, and a 12-foot neon "R" sign that came from the Rainier Brewing Company. The museum offers educa-tional programming for adults and young people and hosts a variety of public events. 860 Terry Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98109, Phone: 206-324-1126 19. Washington Activities: Maya's Legacy Whale Watching Maya's Legacy Whale Watching Maya's Legacy Whale Watching is a sightseeing company that offers person-alized eco-tours in and around San Juan Island. The tours include visiting the best location to spot orca whales in the wild. The tour groups are small and designed for a personal experience and include binoculars, blankets, and hy-drophones so you can even hear the whales. Each tour is hosted by two knowledgeable guides who help insure a fantastic experience. In addition to whale watching and wildlife tours, Maya's Legacy offers private charters that can be customized to meet a group's wishes. The company is involved in conservation efforts and operates responsibly around wildlife. #14 Cannery Landing 8507, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 You are reading "25 Best Things to Do in Washington State" Back to Top or Getting married, lunch near me, romantic things to do, places around me 20. Must Do in Washington: The REACH The REACH The REACH is a prominent natural history and cultural museum in Richland, showcasing the fascinating history of the Columbia Basin region and the Hanford Reach through a variety of immersive visitor exhibits. The museum, which has been open since 2014, offers four permanent galleries, including a natural history gallery detailing the formation of the region's landscape as a result of Ice Age flooding and basalt lava flows. A cultural and military history gallery teaches visitors about the Manhattan Project and the impact of World War II and the Cold War on the region, while a Columbia River-focused gallery highlights clean energy production techniques in the Pacific Northwest. An outdoor gallery showcases a restored 1954 GMC bus, a crop garden, and an animal trail. 1943 Columbia Park Trail, Richland, WA 99352, Phone: 509-943-4100 21. Things to See Near Me: Washington Park Arboretum Courtesy of Steven - Fotolia.com Washington Park is a public park in Seattle with an arboretum that features a wide selection of plants that thrive in the Pacific Northwest as well as some rare and exotic plants from around the world. The Graham Visitors Center houses an information desk, gift shop, and exhibits related to the park and its plants. Guests may explore the park on their own or take part in a docent-guided tour. The arboretum offers classes for the public and often hosts oth-er events. The arboretum also features water access to Lake Washington, while some nearby companies offer canoe, kayak, and rowboat rentals. Wild-life that may be spotted in the arboretum and on the surrounding waterways include beavers, waterfowl, owls, hawks, and more. 2300 Arboretum Drive E, Seattle, WA 98112, Phone: 206-543-8800 22. Things to See in Washington: Northwest Trek Wildlife Park Northwest Trek Wildlife Park Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is a 723-acre park in Eastonville. The park's most popular activity is a 50-minute tram tour that traverses the park's 435-acre free-range area. The tram tour is narrated by a guide who points out animals and provides information about the wildlife and the park. Many baby animals can be seen in the park, including young bison, elk, beavers, otters, and more. Guests can traverse sections of the park on foot to see many an-imals native to the Northwest in naturalistic enclosures. The Cheney Discov-ery Center provides an interactive kid-friendly environment that hosts crafts and activities as well as animal encounters. The park also features an adven-ture ropes and zip-lining course for true thrill-seekers. 11610 Trek Drive East, Eatonville, WA 98328, Phone: 360-832-6117 You are reading "25 Best Things to Do in Washington State" Back to Top or More romantic weekend getaways, more places of interest in, wedding venues near me, time zone, what to do 23. Activities Near Me: Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo is a 92-acre zoological park in Seattle. The zoo is divided into zones based on climate and habitats include the African Savanna and Af-rican Village, the Pacific Northwest, Tropical Rainforest, and Australasia, among others. Guests can interact with select animals during their visit through the Ambassador Animals program. The zoo is home to a working, 1918 vintage carousel on which guests may ride. The zoo has two conven-iently located ZooStores, which sell a variety of toys, educational games, clothing, handicrafts, souvenirs, and more. In addition, there are several beverage and food options in the park, ranging from coffee and snacks to full meals. 5500 Phinney Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98103, Phone: 206-548-2500 24. Things to Do Around Me: Seattle Art Museum Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum is an art museum spread across three different facil-ities in Seattle. The main museum is located in downtown, but the museum holdings also include the Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park and the Olym-pic Sculpture Park on the waterfront. The museum boasts more than 28,000 pieces and also hosts traveling exhibits. Some of the museum's most signifi-cant exhibitions include the Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibit, a 1954 exhibi-tion of 25 paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, a Van Gogh exhib-it, and many others. The museum has a cafe and shops that sell art and art-inspired gifts and souvenirs. Several different public tours are available throughout the year. 1300 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101, Phone: 206-654-3100 25. Port Angeles Fine Arts Center Port Angeles Fine Arts Center The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center is located in the former residence of Ester and Charles Webster. The 1951 home is made of plate glass and timber and was built to function as a home and artist's studio. The woods surrounding the home include a variety of sculptures hanging in trees and hidden by foli-age. The woods and its artwork can be explored independently via a system of trails. The Fine Arts Center hosts a range of fine arts exhibitions and events throughout the year. From time to time, the museum hosts special in-teractive and educational events for children as well. 1203 E Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles, WA 98362, Phone: 360-457-3532 25 Best Things to Do in Washington State More ideas: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site Fort Vancouver was an 19th-century fur trading post and headquarters of the Hudson Bay Company's Columbia Department. The fort played a key role in the international trade between the United Kingdom and China. Additionally, Fort Vancouver was involved with the War of 1812 and for a long time was the largest non-indigenous settlement in that part of the country. Today, visitors can tour a full-scale replica of the fort, which has been com-pletely reconstructed, including its internal buildings. Visitors to the park can explore the historic site's four main attractions, which include the fort itself, the Pearson Air Museum, and more. The park also has a visitors center with explanatory displays and hands-on educational exhibits. 1501 E. Evergreen Blvd., Vancouver, WA 98661, Phone: 360-816-6230 Bellevue Botanical Garden The Bellevue Botanical Garden is a botanical garden in the town of Bellevue consisting of 53-acres of restored woodlands, natural wetlands, and land-scaped gardens. The gardens include many plants that grow well in the Pacif-ic Northwest. The grounds include horticulture demonstrations related to gar-den design and gardening techniques. There are many events throughout the year, including holiday light festivals, plant sales, musical performances, art installations, and more. The Copper Kettle Coffee Bar at the Shorts House serves tea, coffee, and a selection of baked goods. The Trillium Store in the visitors center offers a variety of souvenirs, gifts, books, and apparel. 12001 Main Street, Bellevue, WA 98005, Phone: 425-452-2750 You are reading "25 Best Things to Do in Washington State " Back to Top Heritage Farm Museum and Village Heritage Farm Museum and Village is nestled in West Virginia's Ohio River Valley and is dedicated to allowing visitors to discover the proud history of Appalachia. The village contains more than 15 log buildings, five of which provide unique heritage-inspired tourist accommodations including a train caboose. Visitors can explore a blacksmith shop, log church, homestead site, petting zoo, and a children's machine discovery zone. Seven award-winning museums will entertain adults and children alike, from the Country Store Museum to the Bowes Doll and Carriage Museum to the Children's Activity Museum. There are also hiking trails, guided tours, artisan crafts, and a gift shop. 3300 Harvey Road, Huntington, WV, Phone: 304-522-1244 State of the Blog I'm not keeping up the blog like I used to. Posts will be here and there, as the mood strikes. Most of what I have to say is in my book. Thank you for reading. Forty-one years ago, a series of terrorist attacks were carried out in Moscow that shocked the entire Soviet Union, resulting in the death of 7 people and injury to 37. The number of volumes in the case increased to 60 during a year of the investigation. The criminals were found. They were three members of Armenia's National United Party - Stepan Zatikyan, Zaven Bagdasaryan and Hakop Stepanyan, who were convinced that the killing of innocent people is a necessary measure in the struggle for Armenia's independence from Russia. On January 8, 1977 three explosive devices detonated in Moscow - the first bomb went off on a train between the Izmailovskaya and Pervomaiskaya stations of the Moscow Metro and two other bombs on the 25th of October Street. It was the largest terrorist attack in the last 50 years. The organizers were detained only 10 months later after an unsuccessful attempt to detonate an explosive device at the Kursky Rail Terminal. They were Armenians - Zatikyan, Stepanyan and Bagdasaryan - members of the Armenian nationalist group. They staged these explosions in Moscow to revenge the Russians for oppressing, as they thought, the Armenian people. The terrorists planned to carry out the next explosion during the Olympics. These and other extremists were taken under control. In total there were 415 such people on the territory of the Union. The terrorists appeared before the court. "One bomb exploded in the metro, another bomb exploded in a store on the 25th of October Street, and a third one near the store on the same street in a trash bin," the perpetrator Hakop Stepanyan said. Answering the question, whether he understood that innocent people, including, perhaps, his compatriots Armenians, could die, the terrorist said: "I knew that a bomb is to explode and there must be victimizes." "I could not refuse it, I put it in the trash bin and knew that it will explode," Zaven Bagdasaryan, another perpetrator, said. "I refuse your trial and do not need any defenders. I am the prosecutor, not the defendant. You don't get to judge me, since the Jewish-Russian empire is not a legal state. You must know it. Armenia has absolutely no benefit from Russia now. But you have. So if there is trouble, it will be yours. We will not have any, we have nothing to lose," an organizer of the attacks Stepan Zatikyan said. He ended his last speech with a call in Armenian: "Tell others that we have revenge, revenge and just revenge." Zatikyan and his accomplices were sentenced to an exceptional penalty - the death penalty. The death sentence was commuted. Many years later, some journalists tried to present these terrorists as national heroes. "A terrorist cannot be a national hero. Any crimes comitted against innocent children, women, the elderly must be condemned all over the world," the USSR Committee on State Security(KGB) Colonel Alexander Remegailo said. The then First Secretary of the Armenian Communist Party Karen Demirchyan and the head of the KGB of Armenia Marius Yuzbashyan interfered with the investigation. Yuzbashyan also hid information from the KGB leaders of the actions of representatives of the international Armenian terrorist organization - the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), created instead of Dashnaktsutyun. Subsequently, Dashnaktsutyun was legalized in independent Armenia and now plays a significant role in the political life of the country, having significant financial, media and human resources for political struggle. Designer and owner of the fashion clothing and accessories distribution company, whose products are known in all fashion capitals, Saida Mouradova, spent her childhood in a tent city where the IDPs from Karabakh lived. She was born in a mixed family, which was forced to flee from the horrors of the Karabakh war. Perhaps, it was a rough childhood that made her so sensitive about beauty. Saida studied art in Europe, she studied fashion design in Paris's Parsons School of Design, and graduated from its New York branch. After working for 10 years as a designer of men's and women's collections in Banana Republic and Ralph Lauren, she was able to get acquainted with all the subtleties of the fashion industry, starting from choosing a color combination for future collections to technical control over the manufacture. As a result, Saida started her own designer clothing distribution company, which started to supply designer clothing to even Russian boutiques. Saida Mouradova has a fashion blog, where she writes about style, trends and dress sense, about the importance of accessories, about an individual style, about how to make a maximum number of outfits from a minimum number of clothing items, about wardrobe change rules, as well as explains how to turn knowledge into action during her master classes. Saida Mouradova accessories design is based on traditional ornaments of the peoples of the world. "I work with makers around the world. In my work I use methods that have been practiced for centuries, applying the modern technology, including 3D-printing and laser-cutting. I tried to take what already exists and blended with the utmost progressive technology, whether it's laser-cut or 3D-printed piece," Saida Mouradova said. She lives in New York now, and according to her, it is a melting pot of so many different people, backgrounds, accents, colors, cultures. Saida prefers to work with artisans that honor the heritage. "We need more tools to add to what our true personality is. I'm trying to create something that's completely wild, completely crazy that you can take apart and just wear a piece of that and still feel like you're being true to yourself. I'm making my accessories so that you can dance in them. I will not put a product out there until I know 100% that I can wear it for hours and not feel tired ," the designer says. Last November, Armenia signed an Agreement on Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership with the European Union, which provoked a lot of controversy about the threats of Yerevan's rapprochement with the West for the Russian-Armenian relations. In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, political scientist, director of the Research Centre Southeast Europe and the Caucasus, Dr. Christian Johannes Henrich, commented on the prospects for cooperation between the EU, Yerevan and Baku. -During the Eastern Partnership summit in November 2017, Armenia and the EU signed the Comprehensive Agreement. What significance will it have for the further development of the Armenian-European relations? -First of all, this agreement is a signal for the relations between the EU and Russia. Back in 2013, good and close relations with Russia were a problem for Ukraine. The EU put forward an ultimatum to Kiev at that time. As time has shown, this was a mistake, which led to serious consequences and contributed to the Euromaidan and annexation of Crimea. Despite the fact that Europe denies any responsibility for this, and in public opinion, Russia is the only guilty side, in fact, the EU has changed its strategy. Armenia, being a member of the Russia-dominated Eurasian Economic Union, signed in Brussels an agreement with the EU providing for the political and economic cooperation. This agreement is not associative, as, for example, signed by Turkey in 1963, but it opens many opportunities up to the visa-free regime that Georgia and Ukraine have already received. There is no real prospect of joining the EU for any of the partners. The relations between Armenia and the EU will be strengthened and intensified due to this agreement, but only to the level that is comfortable for Moscow. My esteemed Azerbaijani colleague, Anar Allahverdi, explored the role of Russia in the foreign policy of Armenia and Azerbaijan in his dissertation. In his opinion, Russia always strengthens the side that shows the maximum loyalty and thereby directs the foreign policy of these states in accordance with its own strategic considerations. -Currently, Azerbaijan and the EU are intensively working on the Strategic Partnership Agreement, which should reflect the actual goals and common challenges for the both sides. The next round of negotiations should be held in February this year. What benefits can the EU and Azerbaijan get from such an agreement? -The agreement with Azerbaijan will allow the Eastern Partnership to achieve the next foreign policy success as a part of the European Neighborhood Policy. If the EU gets Azerbaijan, it will have a partner with significant oil and gas resources that will also provide the energy security for Europe in the future. At the same time, this agreement will enable Azerbaijan to begin the political transformation process. However, it is necessary to wait for Bakus reaction - whether such a process is considered appropriate in principle. I see very great potential for the rapprochement between the EU and Azerbaijan in the economic sphere, especially in the energy sector. In the political sphere, on the contrary, I see great differences that could even jeopardize the successful conclusion of the agreement. - The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh was one of the problematic issues in the formulation of the Eastern Partnership summit final declaration in November 2017. Finally, a statement was used not naming specifically the conflict, but the territorial integrity of the partner countries was unequivocally supported. In your opinion, did the Catalan precedent have a sobering effect on the European policy towards the Karabakh separatism? -I do not think that the Catalan conflict had a special impact on the final declaration. After all, there are numerous resolutions of the UN Security Council and the European Parliament calling for an immediate withdrawal of Armenian occupants from the region. That is, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan had been maintained earlier. However, there are no appropriate sanctions as means of exerting pressure on Armenia, as Russia has veto power in the UN Security Council and blocks such efforts. Also, the inconclusively functioning OSCE Minsk Group stands idly by, instead of increasing pressure. -What world challenges and risks can the South Caucasus face in the context of the existing regional conflicts and political situation in 2018? -The recent protests in Iran, the proxy war between the major powers in Syria, as well as the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, are the tinderboxes for this heterogeneous region. Azerbaijan has the military budget that surpasses the entire state budget of Armenia. Today, the military balance between Azerbaijan and Armenia is no longer as it was between 1988 and1992. It is doubtful that Azerbaijan will launch a military operation to restore the rule of the international law. Some time ago, Russia entered into the military alliance with Armenia; Turkey and Pakistan are Azerbaijans brother countries. If in case of a conflict, Ankara supports its brother country, then we can face a very frightening scenario. Even taking into account the fact that nothing can be ruled out in the international politics, especially in the Caucasus, I do not think such a scenario will take place. Minor shootings on the Armenian-Azerbaijani frontline are already taking place regularly. Such incidents can lead to a sharp escalation. Russia's top gold miner Polyus said that plans to sell a 10% stake to a consortium led by China's Fosun International had been dropped after one of the conditions of the agreement was not met. "After the condition precedent was not satisfied, the parties discussed further options but did not reach a consensus, following which Polyus Gold International Limited proposed to terminate the agreement," Polyus said in the statement. "The parties agreed to terminate the agreement, including the option for the consortium to acquire an additional 5 percent of the company's share capital pursuant to the agreement," the company added. Polyus declined further comment on the termination of the deal, Reuters reported. The Fosun-led consortium had been in talks since 2016 to buy a large minority stake in Polyus, which is controlled by the family of Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov. Kerimov was arrested as part of a tax evasion case in France late last year. The deal for the Fosun-led consortium to buy 12,561,868 ordinary shares was signed in May 2017 and later delayed until February this year. The Chinese deal had valued Polyus at $70.6 per share, which was equal to the upper end of the price range for its share offer. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States was trying to create a "terror army" on Turkeys southern frontier by training a Syrian border force including Kurdish militia. He pledged to crush the force before it came into being. Erdogan also said that Turkeys armed forces had completed preparations for an operation against the Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin in northwest Syria and the town of Manbij, Reuters reported. He stressed that Turkeys military operation into northern Syria can start any moment. "We have finished our preparations. The operation can start any time," President Erdogan said in Ankara in reference to the Afrin and Manbij regions of Syria currently controlled by the YPG. Turkey's President warned his country's Western allies against engaging with Kurdish forces after the US announced on Sunday it will create a border security force with 30,000 troops, including Kurdish fighters, in northern Syria. Georgia's parliamentary delegation led by Parliamentary Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze will leave for Latvia on an official visit today, the parliament's website said. It is noted that within the framework of the visit Kobahidze is scheduled to meet with Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis and Speaker of the Parliament Inara Murniece. Kobakhidze and Murniece will sign a memorandum on strategic partnership between the parliaments of the two countries to strengthen inter-parliamentary relations, coordinate cooperation of international parliamentary organizations and start exchange programs for parliamentary employees. In addition, Kobahidze will hold a meeting with the President of the Constitutional Court of Latvia Ineta Ziemele, Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevich and Minister of Economy Arvils Aseradens. The visit of the Georgian parliamentary delegation to Latvia will last until January 17, Sputnik Georgia reports. The European Union and the Georgia Association Council meeting will be held in Brussels, Belgium on February 5 chaired by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. The Georgian delegation, comprised of the members of the Cabinet, will be led by Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili. He will address the council, while the members of the delegation engaged in the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement will provide updates. Georgia's Ambassador to the EU Natalia Sabanadze, speaking with the Georgian Public Broadcasters First Channel, said that the issues related to the EU-Georgia Association Agreement will be covered during the meeting, including security and conflicts. The Council is the highest formal body established under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement to supervise Georgia's implementation of the deal and to discuss issues of mutual interest, Agenda.ge reported. Iran's judiciary says that about 465 people are still being detained across the country for taking part in a wave of antigovernment protests that began nearly three weeks earlier. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhosein Mohseni-Ejei said that 25 people were killed in violence surrounding the protests that started on December 28. According to him, 25 "ordinary citizens and our own forces were killed during the recent troubles," and claimed that none were killed by gunfire from security forces because "they were ordered not to use their weapons," RFE/RL reported. Officials had previously said 21 people were killed Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said 440 "arrested rioters" had been released from detention facilities in Tehran in recent days. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today at a news conference that Moscow considers it important to calm the situation on the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh. The minister underscored the need to take additional steps to stabilize the situation on the contact line of troops. "This will also contribute to the transition of a political settlement," Lavrov stressed. According to him, solving this issue once and for all by one document is impossible. "A step-by-step approach is needed in this issue. This approach will show what can be done now, define the ways for which additional discussions are needed in connection with the settlement of the conflict and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh," the top diplomat said. The minister said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can only be resolved by the parties to the conflict, adding that Russia can not have concrete plans for resolving this issue. "We have made intensive efforts in recent years in order to summarize all the positions of the parties, identify overlapping approaches, bring them to a common denominator, as well as to offer compromise options on issues they cannot reach common ground. This work was carried out intensively and consistently last year. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have a common position on this issue, and the parties are aware of that. However, the decision has to be made by the parties,"Russias top diplomat stressed. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he is disappointed by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue. "Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward," Netanyahu said when asked to comment on India's vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits," India Today cited Netanyahu as saying. Netanyahu also said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. Netanyahu arrived in India on January 14 on a "historic" six-day visit, during which he will hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Netanyahu's visit to India is only the second one by an Israeli prime minister and comes after a gap of 15 years. The visit also marks 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Ministers from leading OPEC and non-OPEC producers will discuss the possibility of a smooth exit from a global deal to cut oil output at a ministerial monitoring committee meeting in Oman, which is scheduled for January 21, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said, noting that a specific exit strategy is not being prepared. Novak also said that they will discuss current crude prices, which remain at $70 per barrel now, as well as the supply-demand ratio, Interfax reported. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is expected to monitor the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops near Sarijali village of Azerbaijan's Aghdam district on January 15, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a statement. The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Personal Representative. The Personal Representatives field assistants Ghenadie Petrica and Simon Tiller will carry out the monitoring exercise from the territory of Azerbaijan. The Personal Representatives field assistants Mihail Olaru and Martin Schuster will carry out the monitoring exercise in the occupied territory. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is holding a press conference today on the results of Russian diplomacy in 2017. Russia's foreign minister noted that 2017 "has not been a simple in a geopolitical sense," saying that multiple hotspots of tensions have been remaining in various regions. He recalled that in the past months of the year, the situation has "aggravated over the threats voiced by Washington," including to settle the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula "through military measures". He pointed out that Russia and China propose to calm down, freeze any confrontation, military activities regarding the Korean peninsula's nuclear issue. Lavrov also said about the US attempts to disrupt the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. "The recent statements aimed at disrupting the implementation of the JCPOA have boosted neither optimism nor stability," the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reported. Top Russian diplomat stressed that Moscow has to respond to hostile actions of demonization on the part of Washington,adding that Russia refrains from a tit-for-tat approach in the bilateral relations. According to him, Russia has completed preparations for pursuing in court the US over the seizure of Russian diplomatic property. "I have not mentioned here an unprecedented incident, the seizure of Russian diplomatic property. We are now launching legal proceedings, preparations have already been completed," the top diplomat said. According to him, the Americans are known for their exceptionalism feelings, "and still rely on this mentality...but the reality is that the West is losing its dominance,.. there are new power centers and powerhouses emerging". "Unfortunately, our US colleagues and their allies still want to conduct their affairs with the use of dictate and ultimatums, they do not want to listen to the point of view of the other centers of the global politics. Thus, they do not want to recognize the realities of the forming multipolar world," Lavrov said. The minister stressed that the US administrations actions indicate its fear of honest competition in a whole number of sectors, including energy and sports. He noted that these spheres included the energy sector where the US was imposing its liquefied gas in Europe instead of Russian natural gas, noting that this "was much more expensive," and also the military-industrial complex and the situation with the Russian media in the United States and other countries, and also the anti-doping campaign unleashed against Russian athletes. Russias foreign minister also commented on the US's policy on Syria. "The actions, we can see now, demonstrate that the United States does not want to keep territorially integrated Syria," he pointed out. "It was only yesterday that we heard a new initiative that the US wants to help the so called forces of democratic Syria to organize some border security zones. In fact, that means separation of a huge territory along the borders with Turkey and Iraq," the top diplomat stressed. Russia's minister stressed the country continues to politically respect Ukraine's territorial integrity in borders that were defined after Crimea referendum. "The bottom line is that Ukraine has subscribed to the Minsk agreements, which has nothing to do with Crimea, we need to push the Ukrainian leadership to implement what they committed to," the minister said. "The Minsk deal is the most important issue at the moment." "[Ukraine] is a topic that is being artificially blown up or being made into more than it deserves to be, and is seen as a sharpening stone of the confrontation between Russia and the West, in general. I consider such an approach erroneous and completely politicized," Lavrov stressed. Lavrov said that Moscow considers it important to calm the situation on the contact line in Nagorno-Karabakh. "Now we should take additional steps to stabilize the situation on the contact line of troops," he pointed out. "This will also contribute to the transition of a political settlement," the minister added. According to him, solving this issue once and for all by one document is impossible. "A step-by-step approach is needed in this issue. This approach will show what can be done now, define the ways for which additional discussions are needed in connection with the settlement of the conflict and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh," the top diplomat said. The minister said that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can only be resolved by the parties to the conflict, adding that Russia can not have concrete plans for resolving this issue. "We have made intensive efforts in recent years in order to summarize all the positions of the parties, identify overlapping approaches, bring them to a common denominator, as well as to offer compromise options on issues they cannot reach common ground. This work was carried out intensively and consistently last year. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs have a common position on this issue, and the parties are aware of that. However, the decision has to be made by the parties," Russias top diplomat stressed. Thirteen people were injured as a result of an attack at a school in the Russian city of Perm today, the city administrations press service said. The attack occurred at school number 127 of the citys Motovilokhinsky district and was reported at 10:12 am local time. According to the local branch of the Russia's Investigative Committee, the incident occurred when two students armed with knives began fighting with each other and other students and teachers attempted to break up the fight. Early on January 15 in one of the schools of the Motovilikhinsky District of Perm a knife fight broke out. The faculty and students present at the scene attempted to break up the fight. As a result, students and a teacher sustained knife wounds, a press release issued by the authorities said. "13 people are injured, including twelve children, all of them are receiving the necessary assistance," TASS cited the press service as saying. The regional Health Ministry said that the teacher and one of the pupils are in serious condition and undergoing surgery. Andrey Kamenskih, who heads information and analytical department of Perms administration, wrote on his Facebook page that the attack was reported by the schools principal. The citys mayor Dmitry Samoilov and other administration officials are heading to the scene. A special headquarters has been set up, which is led by the Perm governor Maxim Reshetnikov. The suspects were brought into custody and the authorities are currently trying to determine their motives. Earlier, it was reported that the attack was carried out by two unidentified masked assailants. The United States is "playing with fire" by setting up a Syrian border security force including Kurdish militia forces, Turkeys Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said. "Letting the PYD/YPG by the US to establish a so-called terror army for creating a terror corridor in the region on the pretext of combating ISIS, is not a fight against ISIS and terrorist organizations, rather a support to terrorism and terrorist organizations," Turkish deputy prime minister wrote on his Twitter account. Bozdag said the US' support for PKK/PYD in Syria 'on the ground' to fight ISIS is not compatible with the strategic partnership, Anadolu Agency reported. His remarks came after an American military official said that the US-led international coalition against ISIS will establish a 30,000-strong new border security force with the SDF - the US-backed group that is largely controlled and manned by the PKK/PYD terrorist organization in Syria. Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin denounced efforts by the US-led coalition to train a border security force in northern Syria including Kurdish YPG fighters as worrying and unacceptable. Kalin said that, instead of ending support for the YPG, as Ankara has requested, "the US is taking worrying steps to legitimise this organisation and make it lasting in the region. It is absolutely not possible for this to be accepted." "Turkey will continue to take all necessary precautions aligned with its national interest to preserve its national security," Hurriyet daily cited him as saying. US support for the SDF has put enormous strain on ties with NATO ally Turkey, which views the YPG as a terrorist group for its link with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Air planes of the National Vietnam Airlines land at a Nang International Airport, a Nang City. VNS Photo Cong Thanh HA NOI National carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to launch the first direct route between Viet Nam and the United States (US) this year, with the destination being either San Francisco or Los Angeles in California. According to Deputy Director of Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV) Vo Huy Cuong, the opening of this route is facing many challenges, especially fierce competition among airlines in the US market. The US airline market is being exploited by many firms, who operate routes from the US to Viet Nam through transit points. There are many options for passengers, as they can fly from the US to Viet Nam via Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China or Malaysia. For example, consider the transit points in Japan and South Korea; each point has two major Japanese and South Korean airlines directly flying to the US, which can connect flights to Viet Nam seamlessly. Meanwhile, passengers who want to fly to Viet Nam from the USs eastern region can also transit in European countries, such as United Kingdom, France and Germany, before connecting with flights to Viet Nam. "The competition is very fierce; so the Vietnamese airlines planning to fly directly to the US must analyse and evaluate the situation carefully," said Cuong. In addition to economic licences permitted under the Air Transport agreement signed between the US and Viet Nam, the Vietnamese airlines also need a licence granted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is mandatory for all international airlines that want to fly into the US, said Cuong. To obtain the licence from the FAA, he said the CAAV would have to reach CAT1 or FAA-standard safety supervision requirements, a prerequisite for Vietnamese airlines to start direct flights to the US. "In October last year, a FAA delegation visited Viet Nam for technical assessment. We will likely invite FAA to visit the country for more evaluation to gain the CAT1 rating," he added. After making assessment on the CAAVs safety supervision capacity, FAA will evaluate the Vietnamese airlines, which have proposed to fly directly to the US, such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, on their repairing, maintenance and exploitation of aircraft capacity. National carrier Vietnam Airlines has reached the international 4-star standard after long years of good preparation on their structure, and the capacity of aircraft operation and maintenance. In terms of service quality, Vietnam Airlines has achieved good results. Though Vietnam Airlines has not started a direct flight to the US, it has earned a huge market, since 2006, through code sharing with other airlines (seven flights a week to 25 cities in the US). As for technical capability, there must be a rating from the FAA. Once the qualification is met, then it will fly, said Cuong. When we are licensed by the FAA, we will have the opportunity to sell more tickets because passengers will feel assured that the Vietnamese airlines have achieved international standards on safety and aviation security. In addition to these, as this is a market with fierce competition, the airlines participating in this route will have to improve the quality of services regularly, said Cuong. Currently, passengers travelling from Viet Nam to the US have to make at least one stop in another Asian city, such as Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing, with the total time taken to travel being up to 24 hours. The US is the fourth largest source of foreign visitors to Viet Nam, with more than 614,000 people coming in 2017, up 11 per cent from 2016, according to the General Statistics Office. Viet Nam welcomed nearly 13 million foreign visitors and raked in nearly VN515 trillion (US$22.67 billion) from tourism in 2017. It hopes the new air routes will increase the number of visitors up to 20 million in the next two years, when tourism revenues will contribute 10 to 12 per cent to the countrys GDP, compared with the current 7 per cent. VNS HA NOI Eight investors have registered to become strategic shareholders of the Vietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil) as of January 10, PV Oil CEO Cao Hoai Duong confirmed on the sidelines of the corporations roadshow. Among the eight investors expressing interest in buying PVOil stakes are six foreign companies and two domestic. All six foreign investors famous international oil companies, Duong said on January 12. We have received an application from a foreign investor who expressed a wish to buy 49 per cent of the PV Oil shares, the cap set for foreign investors. Because other foreign investors want to buy a stake between 25 and 35 per cent, the total shares investors have registered to buy has exceeded the number of shares that PV Oil is allowed to sell, the CEO added. PV Oil, a subsidiary of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and the countrys sole crude oil exporter, plans to offer 20 per cent of its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on January 25 on the HCM Stock Exchange, at an initial price of VN13,400 per share. With nearly 207 million shares offered in the IPO, the company hopes to raise at least US$122 million. PV Oil would also offer up to an additional 44.72 per cent or 462 million shares to strategic investors and another 0.18 per cent to employees. The Governments ownership is expected to be reduced to 35.1 per cent after the equitisation is completed. Foreign ownership of PV Oil is capped at 49 per cent of its charter capital. According to Duong, investors seeking to become strategic investors at PV Oil must commit to long-term investment in PV Oil by keeping their stock for at least 10 years. In addition, strategic investors have to commit to prioritise buying petroleum products from Dung Quat Refinery and realise commitments in terms of market, technology and management development. Foreign investors are also required to deposit an amount of money equivalent to 20 per cent of the stake they register before entering the auction. Every potential strategic investor must submit to PV Oil a proposal to develop the company if it becomes a strategic investor, Duong said. Specifically, the company expects that foreign oil and gas corporations will help develop the non-petroleum sector such as convenience stores, fast food stores, car wash services and garages along with the network of 540 PV Oil petrol stations. In fact, in other countries, the non-petroleum service is profitable, equivalent to petroleum trading service and has the ability to create good cash flow, Duong said. Therefore, PV Oil expects foreign strategic investors with extensive experience and financial and managerial capabilities to effectively support the companys development of these non-petroleum services. In the context of Viet Nams increasing integration with the international market, we hope that foreign partners will help us to effectively import and export products, minimise risk when the market prices fall and take advantage of opportunities when the market prices increase, the CEO stressed. VNS HCM CITY The seafood sector will strive to exceed this years export target of US$8.5 billion set by the Government, the head of the industrys main business group has said. Ngo Van Ich, chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said besides surpassing the target this year, the sector was also on track to achieve exports of $10 billion by 2020. Speaking at a ceremony in HCM City yesterday, he said exports had reached a record $8.3 billion last year. The ceremony was organised by VASEP and the Saigon Newport Corporation to mark the shipment of the years first consignment of seafood at Cat Lai-Tan Cang Port. The consignment consisted of 20 tonnes of frozen shrimps sent to Canada, 20 tonnes of mahi-mahi to the US and 22 tonnes of frozen tra fish fillet to the European Union worth a total of more than $590,000. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong hailed the efforts made by the seafood sector. This year we will encounter many challenges, but will also have opportunities. The challenges include getting a "yellow card" sticker on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by the European Commission and restructuring production and exploitation in a sustainable manner. We are in the process of implementing a new fisheries law and action programmes to lift the warning on Vietnamese seafood about IUU fishing. Cuong said the sector had a good foundation in terms of infrastructure, production methods and organisation and was likely to surpass the target set by the ministry of $8.5 billion, he said. In addition to traditional markets such as the United States and the European Union that Vietnamese exporters have exploited well, he said the sector needed to penetrate promising markets such as Australia, Japan and South Korea. Indian, Chinese and ASEAN markets are also very good markets, but we have not exploited them much. This year we must focus on ways to better exploit these markets. Truong inh Hoe, VASEP general secretary, said the US, Japan, China and South Korea were the top four markets for Vietnamese seafood products, accounting for more than 55 per cent of shipments. The strong growth markets last year were China (up 64.4 per cent), the Netherlands (up 48.6 per cent), Britain (up 36.4 per cent), South Korea (up 29.1 per cent), Canada (up 22.3 per cent) and Japan (up 20 per cent). VASEP said shrimps accounted for $3.8 billion of the exports last year. Tra fish exports were worth nearly $1.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4 per cent despite difficulties in many export markets, it said. VNS HA NOI The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) yesterday introduced the Whitebook on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) in Viet Nam. According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam, the book is an active communication programme by the VASEP, not only for fishermen, but also all seafood industry stakeholders. He said he hoped there will be improvements in general perceptions and behaviour towards unified undertakings in the IUU Action Program, as a result. Furthermore, Tam said he wished that the European Commission will trust and acknowledge Viet Nams effort, and soon withdraw the yellow cards placed on Vietnamese fisheries. According to Nguyen Thi Thu Sac, VASEPs Vice Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of the IUU Steering Committee, the book, consisting of five chapters in Vietnamese and English, is a collection of basic information on IUU fishing. VASEP dedicated a chapter to expressing its views and messages on behalf of the Vietnamese seafood business community in opposing IUU fishing. The seafood sector is willing to support and join with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other stakeholders to implement long-term national action against IUU exploitation. This publication provides an overview of Viet Nams fisheries sector, applied regulations and practices, the impact of recent yellow cards given by the European Union (UN) and the Government of Viet Nams long-term action plan to combat IUU exploitation, including recommendations for stakeholders in the Vietnamese seafood value chain. "We hope this publication will be a useful document in conveying basic information about IUU, contributing to raising awareness in the Vietnamese fishing sector and the global community, especially the EU market, about Viet Nams determination to fight against IUU exploitation, in the immediate and long-term, said Sac. The Whitebook was unveiled at a celebration in HCM City, on the occasion of Viet Nams seafood exported value reaching the US$8 billion mark in 2017. For more information, please visit website at http://seafood.vasep.com.vn/while-book-iuu.html. VNS HA NOI The tax on imported sugar, as stipulated by the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), will be maintained at 5 per cent from the beginning of this year, instead of zero per cent as previously rumoured. This was announced in Decree 156/2017/N-CP, stipulating Viet Nams special preferential import taxes in ATIGA for the 2018-22 period. According to the Viet Nam Sugar and Sugarcane Association (VSSA), this was a good sign for the local sugar industry, as they would face difficulties if the tax was lowered to zero per cent. The association said that the price of shares of some sugar companies in 2017 were continuously falling, mainly because producers were afraid of competition from sugar importers if the zero per cent tax had been actually imposed on imported sugar. VSSAs figures indicated that the wholesale price of sugar last month was VN12,700-14,000 per kilo, a decline of VN200-300 per kilo over the previous month. By maintaining the 5 per cent import tax under ATIGA, together with abundant sugar supplies and lower selling prices, local businesses would not import sugar from other countries. By the end of last year, sugar inventories were some 240,000 tonnes. VSSA said the sugar supply would meet the countrys demand in the first month of 2018, even with increased sales during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) Holiday. Sugarcane is cultivated on more than 300,000ha across the country, employing 330,000 households, or 1.5 million farmers, and 350,000 workers. VNS HA NOI Indonesia will import 500,000 tonnes of rice from Viet Nam and Thailand to contain rice price hikes and declining supply in the local market. The imported rice will be of premium quality, not grown in Indonesia; so it will not affect local farmers and rice production, said Indonesian Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita. The countrys current rice stocks were estimated at some 950,000 tonnes, most of which is low-grade rice to be distributed as aid for low-income people. Meanwhile, rice stocks for commercial purposes were only 11,000 tonnes. Previously, Indonesias Vice President Jusuf Kalla had called on the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) to consider importing rice to bring down domestic prices. According to the National Strategic Food Prices Information Centre (PIHPSN), medium-quality rice is currently fetched at 14,100 IDR or US$1 per kg. Rice prices vary among regions. West Papua reported the highest price of 14,250 IDR per kg, while the lowest price of over 9,700 IDR per kg was found in West Nusa Tanggara. VNS HA NOI Following a Ministry of Transport directive asking Grab Viet Nam to stop providing car hailing services in certain provinces, the company said its services did not violate laws. Last week, the ministry asked Grab not to provide services, including taxi hailing services, in Thua Thien Hue, Ba RiaVung Tau and Lam ong provinces, because they were not part of the approved pilot project for electronic passenger transport. The ministry has also asked the company to not expand its services to other provinces until there were new directives from the Prime Minister. Grab Viet Nams Communication Manager Nguyen Thu An said GrabTaxi was one of the services in its app and registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade as an e-commerce platform, which was allowed nationwide and complied with Government Decree 52/2013/N-CP regarding e-commerce. GrabTaxi was an alternative to connect passengers and taxi drivers, An said, adding that this service did not interfere in the operation, management and fares of taxi companies. Regarding GrabCar service, An said that the company only partners with eligible vehicles, which had passenger transport licences and labels provided by the transport departments of provinces and cities within the pilot project. Tran Huu Huynh, former head of the Legal Department under the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was quoted by Dan Tri online newspaper as saying that there was no ground for banning platforms that connected passengers to taxi drivers. GrabTaxi service did not have an impact on competition between taxi companies but only provides an alternative option to book taxi services, he said. In another move, Grab Viet Nam has temporarily halted from Saturday the increase in the share it received from the total fares until there is a new notification from the taxi management agencies. On January, the share was increased from 20 per cent to 23.6 per cent, as the company said that the increase of 3.6 per cent was to pay value-added taxes and individual income tax for its partner motorbike drivers. VNS HA NOI Vietnamese shares advanced on Monday as large-cap firms were boosted by positive investor confidence that was looking for opportunities in the earnings season. The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 1.27 per cent to close at 1,063.47 points. It gained total 3.7 per cent last week. The minor HNX-Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange added 1.06 per cent to end at 122.03 points after posting a weekly growth of 1.5 per cent at the end of Friday. More than 359.8 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth VN8.66 trillion (US$385.2 million). These trading figures were down 11.3 per cent in volume and 6.5 per cent in value compared to the previous weeks average daily numbers. Across the two local exchanges, there were 248 gaining stocks, 232 declining ones and 115 stocks ending flat. Large-cap stocks performed well as the VN30 Index, which tracks the performance of the 30 largest shares by market capitalisation, advanced 1.21 per cent to 1,508.60 points with two-thirds of the 30 stocks advancing. Gainers in the VN30 basket included insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH), Vietcombank (VCB), property developer Novaland (NVL), and steel producers Hoa Sen (HSG) and Hoa Phat (HPG). Those stocks jumped at least 3 per cent each. Among other large-caps that recorded strong growth were petrol dealer Petrolimex (PLX) and budget carrier Vietjet (VJC) after the two stocks were about to be included into the VN30 basket by the HCM Stock Exchange from January 22 to July 20, 2018. The rubber industry also posted strong growth on Monday as the industry index surged 6.6 per cent, data on vietstock.vn showed. The industry was led by ong Phu Rubber JSC (DPR) and Phuoc Hoa Rubber JSC (PHR). According to analysts, the market sentiment will be still dominated by investors expectations for good quarterly and yearly corporate earnings reports as well as firms forecasts for 2018. Ngo Quoc Hung, analyst at Vietinbank Securities Company told online newspaper VnEconomy that such expectations would keep driving the market up in the short-term. Corporate earnings reports for the past quarter and the whole year were forecast to be higher than expected, Hung said,,adding that earnings reports and business information were becoming more transparent to investors and investors had reacted positively to the market information. Among the companies mentioned above, Vietinbank has estimated its pre-tax profit in 2017 would reach VN9.2 trillion, while ong Phu Rubber JSC has reported its combined profit for the first 11 months of 2017 reached VN244 billion, twice the 2016 number. However, Sai Gon-Ha Noi Securities Company said in its market daily report that selling pressure may get stronger in the next few sessions as the market trading condition was not quite positive enough given that there were many stocks suffering on the two local exchanges. The brokerage firm forecast the VN-Index would encounter strong profit-taking pressure when it approached the range of 1,060-1,070 points on Tuesday. VNS By Dr. Andres Sosa * Many people around or after their fifties complain about knee pain that occurs apparently without reason and it is described as an uncomfortable sensation that comes and goes but not bad enough to visit a doctor. Sometimes pain becomes aggressive, causing difficulties in daily activities like using the stairs, bending down or standing up from a chair. Most people will think that visiting a doctor is now necessary. After consulting with a specialist and hearing some new words like Knee Osteoarthritis, people immediately wonder if pain will decrease somehow and if they could ever be able to move freely again. Under the appropriate orthopedic care the answer is YES for both questions. Inside our knees, bones are covered by cartilage, a spongy soft tissue that protects bone surfaces from touching each other, acting like a shock absorber. Space between bones is filled by articular liquid, a fluid that serves as a lubricant, facilitating bone displacement during movement. There are many circumstances in later life in which cartilage cannot support weigh bearing, articular liquid looses its lubricant properties, space between bones becomes narrow and bones begin touching each other with movement. This is known as initial knee osteoarthritis. If nothing is done to improve this condition, repetitive rubbing will change bones surfaces, cartilage damage will continue and the local inflammatory response will be to overproduce bad quality articular liquid. This translates into symptoms such as severe pain, swelling, limited range of motion, tenderness and mild deformity of the knee. The goal of medical treatment is to reduce pain, allowing the patient to get back to common activities but the outcome strongly depends on how early it is diagnosed and treated. Initial knee osteoarthritis (stage I) can be treated conservatively, improving lifestyle and using specific medication. Mild knee osteoarthritis (stage II) may require intra-articular injections with steroids and local anesthetics, a very effective option to manage pain and improve movement. Injections are also useful to drain the excessive quantity of articular liquid and to replace it with a high-lubricant synthetic fluid to prevent additional cartilage damage. Some other treatment options like platelet rich plasma or stem cells matrix are commonly applied at this stage. Advanced knee osteoarthritis (stage III) may be treated using arthroscopy techniques, a minimally invasive video-camera assisted procedure that allows the surgeon to check the joint from inside, repairing or removing the affected tissues. Severe knee osteoarthritis (stage IV) involves irreparable cartilage damage and the knee may need to be replaced using a joint prosthesis, a surgical procedure that is very safe and successful nowadays. Lastly, it is very important to remark that treatment for all stages of knee osteoarthritis require dedicated physical therapy for better results. If you have been feeling knee pain, the best thing you can do is to arrange an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. Meanwhile, try applying coldpacks three times per day for 10 minutes but do not forget to use a cloth between the coldpack and your skin to avoid burns. Cold therapy will help to decrease inflammation and pain. Avoid applying heat on a painful knee. Knee osteoarthritis is related to inflammatory conditions and a warm environment around the joint can only make things worse. Try also to avoid using expensive ointments and creams that will make you lose your time and money. Family Medical Practice Vietnam. *Family Medical Practice Hanoi is delighted to welcome Dr. Andres Sosa to our medical team! Dr. Sosa is an Orthopedic Surgeon, fellowship trained in Italy, specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal trauma (fractures, dislocations, wounds), degenerative joint diseases (osteoarthritis, spine disc herniation) and sport lesions (sprains, joint instability, tendon ruptures) with a particular and deep interest in upper limb, spine and knee. With two European master degrees and multiple courses overseas, Dr. Sosa is able to perform open surgery, internal fixation, shoulder/knee arthroscopy, external fixation and joint replacement as well as non-surgical pain management therapies. To contact Dr. Andres Sosa for more advices about this or any other topic, please come visit us at Family Medical Practice Hanoi in 298 I Kim Ma, Ba inh. Tel: (024) 3843 0748. Email: hanoi@vietnammedicalpractice.com FMPs downtown Ho Chi Minh location is: Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan, District 1: 95 Thao ien Street, District 2. Tel: (028) 3822 7848. Email: hcmc@vietnammedicalpractice.com FMP a Nang is located at 96-98 Nguyen Van Linh Street, Hai Chau District, a Nang. Tel: (0236) 3582 699. Email: danang@vietnammedicalpractice.com HA NOI Viet Nam National Television (VTV) will air a documentary series entitled Colours of Japan on January 19, kicking off a range of activities to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of ties between Viet Nam and Japan. The series, now in its third season, is co-produced by VTV and Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). The episodes aim to enable Vietnamese viewers to get a television tour of Japan. The series presenter is Le Anh. Anh, a lecturer at Ha Noi National Universitys Tourism Department and popular MC, will help audiences discover and explore the five prefectures of Chiba, Shizuoka, Oita, Nagasaki and Yamanashi. "I have studied Japan for a long time," said Anh, who has visited Japan ten times. "Luckily, I was invited to appear in the series season three. I hope my understanding of Japan will help convey interesting messages to audiences". In the first and the second seasons, the series presenters were television MC Hong Phuc and Danh Tung, who had never been to Japan. This time the series producers wanted to have a presenter with extensive experience in Japan, like Le Anh. Anh will follow a Vietnamese expatriate student to visit the most beautiful natural landscapes and man-made wonders at each Japanese prefecture, such as Mount Fuji in Yamanashi and Shizuoka; the green tea fields in Shizuoka, which account for 40 per cent of Japanese tea production; and the night landscapes and Huis Ten Bosch theme park in Nagasaki. The park features many Dutch-style buildings reflecting historical relations between Japan and the Netherlands. The series crew this season includes more Vietnamese members who understand how to make the show more appealing to Vietnamese audiences. "The first and the second seasons were produced by a Japanese crew and so the show is through Japanese eyes," said producer Mishiro Shinichi. "This season is made with Vietnamese participation in shooting, editing and directing". During a month of shooting in Japan, the producers faced the countrys coldest autumn in 60 years and an ill-timed storm in Chiba and Oita prefectures. The six 30-minute episodes will be aired on VTVs Channel 3 (VTV3) on Friday afternoons at 4:20pm beginning on January 19. Colours of Japan is part of a project between VTV and TBS to enhance co-operation between the two television networks. The previous co-operation projects such as dramas Nguoi Cong Su (The Partner) in 2013 and Khuc Hat Mat Troi (The Suns Song) are popular with Vietnamese audiences. VNS Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has chaired a meeting with the Viet Nam-Laos Co-operation Committee, relevant ministries and sectors to discuss the implementation of the co-operation agreement with Laos last year and plans for 2018. VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat HA NOI Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has chaired a meeting with the Viet Nam-Laos Co-operation Committee, relevant ministries and sectors to discuss the implementation of the co-operation agreement with Laos last year and plans for 2018. The event was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh. According to a report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the two nations exchanged more than 300 visits at all levels and saw significant progress in economic co-operation in 2017. They have worked together to remove obstacles and step up trade and investment promotion activities. Viet Nam now ranks third among countries and territories investing in Laos and has 276 projects worth about US$5 billion in total. Accumulative disbursement has been estimated at more than $1.6 billion so far, accounting for 32.5 per cent of total Vietnamese investment. Viet Nam-Laos trade in the first 11 months of 2017 exceeded $808 million, up roughly 10 per cent from 2016. Joint projects in transport infrastructure and connectivity have been developed between the two countries and within the region. The two sides are continuing to seek funding for key projects, such as the 725km Ha Noi-Vientianne Highway, and a railway connecting Vung Ang, Tan Ap, Mu Gia (Viet Nam) and Thakhec, Vientianne. Last year, Viet Nam granted 1,246 scholarships to Lao students, 246 more than the number pledged. PM Phuc said the two countries organised ceremonies to mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties and 40 years since the signing of the Viet Nam-Laos Treaty on Amity and Co-operation. The two nations should promote bilateral co-operation in various fields, he said, asking relevant sides to coordinate to carefully prepare for the 40th meeting of the Viet Nam-Laos Inter-governmental Committee for Bilateral Co-operation later this year. Viet Nam will continue its support for Laos in socio-economic development, he said, adding that inspections must be carried out to accelerate the progress of some key co-operation projects. VNS Last November, the National Assembly passed an investment plan for the construction of the eastern North-South Expressway. Photo tuoitre.vn HA NOI Bidding must open soon for investors to carry out the 11 projects needed to complete the North-South Express, deputy Prime Minister Trinh inh Dung has said. The Deputy PM was speaking at a meeting recently to review measures to speed-up preparation work for building the eastern North-South Expressway. The Ministry of Transport delivered a report on implementing the National Assemblys resolution No 52 and asked the Government to accept some proposals during the preparation period for building road sections. The ministry said it was necessary to remove difficulties so that investment capital could be tightly and effectively managed. This would also overcome shortcomings during implementing projects under the build-operation-transfer (BOT) format. The Deputy PM also confirmed that appointing investors was not acceptable without wide and transparent bidding to select those capable of carrying out projects effectively and timely. Last November, the National Assembly passed an investment plan for the construction of the eastern North-South Expressway. With the approval of 83.1 per cent of deputies, some eastern sections of the North-South Expressway covering a total of 654km will be built during the 2017-2020 period. Specifically, sections from Cao Bo (Nam inh Province) to Bai Vot (Ha Tinh Province), Cam Lo (Quang Tri Province) to La Son (Thua Thien-Hue Province), Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa Province) to Dau Giay (ong Nai Province) and the My Thuan 2 Bridge will be built and put into operation during this period. The 2021-2025 period will see the completion of the Bai Vot (Ha Tinh Province) - Cam Lo (Quang Tri Province) and Quang Ngai Province -Nha Trang sections and the widening of the La Son (Thua Thien-Hue ) - Tuy Loan (a Nang) section to a fourlane road. The section from Can Tho to Ca Mau City will be put into operation after 2025. It is calculated that the project will require 3,736ha of land, including 1,037ha of land used for rice cultivation. The land clearance will be implemented in the form of a six-lane road in all parts of the project, except for the Cam Lo-La Son section, which will have four lanes. It is estimated that the total investment for the project in 2017-2020 will be VN118.7 trillion (US$5.27 billion), including VN55 trillion ($2.4 billion) from the Government and the remainder from investors. The highway has been divided into 11 sub-projects. VNS Khoa Thu SON LA Lo Thi Phong from Chieng Chung Commune in Mai Son District in the mountain province of Son La, has cultivated coffee for more than 10 years on 5,000 square metres of land, but she still finds life difficult. A decade seems long enough to improve farmining practices by trial-and-error, however, according to the middle-aged Thai woman, even now, we still cannot keep proper financial accounts. During discussions hosted by CARE International last week, stakeholders in the mountain coffee industry touched on deeper obstacles facing the industry. CARE has worked in Viet Nam since 1989, concentrating on supporting rights and sustainable development among vulnerable groups, particularly remote ethnic communities, poor women and girls and people vulnerable to climate change . Nguyen Vinh uc, deputy director of the Son La branch of the Minh Tien Coffee Export Joint Stock Company, spoke on the drawbacks of small production in the development of local coffee. Since coffee plantations in Son La are limited, farmers have not established co-operatives like those in the Central Highlands provinces of ak Lak and Lam ong," he said. "Moreover, different techniques used by farmers to process their own beans leads to variation in quality, making it challenging for export companies, he said. uc said that specialisation during production stages was critical to enhance the quality and increase the value of local coffee. Phong is a typical coffee farmer in Son La Province. According to Lo Minh Hung, deputy head of the provincial Peoples Committee, there are about 12,000 ha of coffee belonging to about 400 households in the locality, small compared to the more than 180,000ha in ak Lak Province. At present, the province is known for its hydro-electricity industry and has the largest power generating dam in the nation. But when all hydro-electric projects have been completed, authorities have marked agriculture, particularly fruit and coffee, as the key industry. The establishment of Son La Tea and Coffee company in 1987 introduced Arabica to the province. This is a strain of coffee more popular in the werst than Robusta, the well known Vietnamese coffee. With more than 30 years of experiences and the advantage of good soil, farmers produce the special beans popular in Germany, Japan and the United Staes. Son La authorities aim to raise the coffee-growing area to 14,000 ha by 2020. However, current practices have led to soil degration and a lowering of bean quality. Moreover, most ethnic farmers in the province are household units, not collectives. This leads to poor bargaining and limited access to inputs such as fertiliser, seeds and information on improving profits. Therefore, local authorities aim to develop a sustainable coffee-growing area by tightening the links among farmers, processers and traders. Hung said coffee farmers should form co-operatives to gain better technology transfer and an exchange of experiences. uc said that farmers should accelerate good agricultural pratices, tighten farm management and protect the evnronment to accquire international certifications of sustainable farming including UTZ and 4C. "They are a strong foundation for Son La coffee to enhance its quality and access international markets," he said.. As a trader, our company creates more favourable conditions for households planting UTZ or 4C certified coffee products. Also, we call for the participation of banks in offering preferential loans and keeping farmers informed about market price, uc added. In the past 10 years, Phong and her husband, like several other coffee-growing households in Son La Province, have struggled to find markets for their coffee so that they can expand the farming area. Now, CARE International in co-operation with the Son La and ien Bien departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, is implementing a project to support ethnic women in the coffee value chain. It is referred to as Technologically Enhanced Agricultural Livelihoods, or TEAL. With about US$3 million (VN53 billion) funded by the Australian Government, it is expected to promote the potential of coffee products in Muong Ang District of ien Bien Province and Mai Son District of Son La Province over the next three years. Son La Province has identified Arabica coffee as one of the core commodities to reduce and eradicate poverty and to lift living standards. The project supports farmers growing coffee sustainably and plays an important role in improving their lives, said Hung. At the same time, the role of women in making economic decision is expected to improve under the CARE programme . By making ethnic women the main stakeholders, CARE is helping support village savings and loan associations. Simultaneously, a common platform for farmers, traders, consumers and relevant parties will be created to increase productivity and output and to attract further investment in the local coffee industry. Empowering women and improving coffee value are the two core factors under TEAL, an ambitious project to promote agricultural products. With our experiences in promoting gender equality via agricultural value chains, we believe in the projects ability to improve the living standards of ethnic households, said Le Kim Dung, country director of CARE International in Viet Nam. VNS HA NOI This years year-end bonuses at enterprises nationwide are expected to be higher than last year. The average bonus is expected to be higher than the usual one months salary, a representative from the Institute for Workers and Trade Unions under the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour told Thoi bao Kinh doanh. Deputy Labour Minister Doan Mau Diep said that except for areas affected by natural disasters, this years bonus would not be lower than last year, since 2017 was a prosperous year for businesses. However, there are exceptions. Unable to afford transport fees to go home for Tet (Lunar New Year), Tran inh Nhat and his wife Nguyen Thi Lien, workers at a private textile company based in Binh Duong Province, have decided to stay in the province for the holiday. We were able to save only a few million ong each month, so we have decided not to go home to save costs, Lien told Ha Noi moi (New Ha Noi) newspaper. To help out, their company has offered to help them with some financial support. In addition, for his outstanding performance in the past year, Nhat received a 32-inch TV from the company. Several enterprises in Viet Nam have offered promising year-end bonuses and benefit packages to retain employees after the Tet holiday. The Huong Long Ltd Company in Bac Thang Long Industrial Park, offers junior employees (those with one to three years experience) bonuses based on their salary coefficients, 1.2 times higher for middle-level employees (with three to five years experience) and twice as much for seniors (from five years experience), said Nguyen Van Canh, chairman of the companys labour union. The company will also provide cars to take employees back home for Tet and pick them up after the holidays, he said. Labour unions in different provinces and cities are also determined to ensure a good Tet for workers. Kieu Ngoc Vu, vice chairman of the HCM City Labour Federation, said that it would organise new-year gatherings for low-income workers who remained in the city for the holiday. We will provide 37,000 train and bus tickets for those who wish to go home, and give VN500,000 (US$22) to each worker who has lost their job in the past year, he said. The labour union in the southern province of ong Nai said it expected to hand out 2,000 subsidised packages (VN500,000 each) and 500 bus tickets. The Binh Duong labour union said it would give free tickets to 3,800 workers, as well as tracking down enterprises having debts or going bankrupt to ensure their employees got paid before the holiday. Year-end bonuses and benefits are the make-or-break factors that determine employees loyalty, a recently published survey has shown. The survey, conducted by the human resources Navigos Group, reviewed the 2017 year-end bonuses and benefits for 1,800 employees and 400 human resources specialists. In one of its questions, the survey proposed a hypothetical scenario of receiving no bonus this year and asked for reactions from the employees. About 25 per cent said they would leave their jobs and seek other companies with better benefits, 40 other said they would raise concerns and request bonuses. About 13.7 per cent said they would be disappointed, but would not react due to the difficulties of finding new jobs. Only 6.9 per cent responded that they did not care about year-end bonuses because their incomes were enough for the holiday. Employers, when asked if they would offer employees bonuses if their companies had an unprofitable year, 80 per cent said they would. This shows that employers are aware of how labour shortages after Tet could affect production, a Navigos Group representative told Thoi bao Kinh doanh (Business Times) newspaper. VNS The Spring Volunteer Campaign, the 10th of its kind, was officially launched in HCM City yesterday with the participation more than 30,000 local students. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vu HCM City The Spring Volunteer Campaign, the 10th of its kind, was officially launched in HCM City yesterday with the participation more than 30,000 local students. Speaking at a launching ceremony yesterday, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal Peoples Committee Nguyen Thi Thu said the campaign will contribute to social welfare activities and raise awareness of students in the city. Volunteers will visit and support Heroic Vietnamese Mothers and policy beneficiaries and families of soldiers in border and island areas, she added. This year, the campaign comprises six main programmes, including a programme marking the 50th anniversary of the Mau Than Offensive in Spring 1968. Another programme will introduce the cultural values and customs of new year celebrations of Viet Nams ethnic groups and people in other countries It also features several programmes for disadvantaged students, children and poor patients in the city, along with soldiers in border and island regions. Participants will pay visits to the Viet Nam Coast Guard Region 4 Command and Tho Chu Island of the southern province of Kien Giang. VNS HA NOI Hundreds of maple trees have been planted on Nguyen Chi Thanh, Lang Ha and Tran Duy Hung streets in Ha Noi in the past weeks to increase the capitals green space. Speaking at a conference in the city last Saturday on the need to plant more trees, chairman of the Ha Noi Peoples Committee Nguyen uc Chung said with the development of the tree care industry, some temperate trees, including red maple, could be planted in Viet Nam, reported Tien Phong (Vanguard) online newspaper. A year from now, we will be able to tropicalise red maple trees, he said. Their red colour will be preserved as when planted in the European climate zones, he said. Some experts, however, are concerned about the adaptation of the red maple tree to the tropical weather of Viet Nam. Forestry expert Nguyen Quang Lam said the varieties of maple trees should be chosen carefully and planted in nurseries in advance to test their resistance to the tropical climate. [We] tried planting maple trees of the Russian variety in Viet Nam, but they did not survive, he told Tien Phong. Professor Le inh Kha, former director of the Institute of Forest Tree Improvement and Biotechnology under the Viet Nam Academy of Forest Sciences, said the maple trees should be monitored carefully during summer because they were cold-weather plants. Nonetheless, Viet Nams climate is favourable for growing different varieties of flowers and trees, Chung said, adding the city was collaborating with some enterprises to develop plant nurseries to meet the demands of the city as well as for exports. About 500,000 trees were planted in Ha Noi by the end of 2017 as part of the citys efforts to have one million trees by 2020 to improve the air quality and urban landscape. The city expects to have an average green area of 8sq.m per capita by 2030. Chung said people in the city loved growing plants and flowers on their rooftops and in balconies and hallways. VNS HA NOI Drunk drivers whose alcohol content exceeds 100mg for every 100ml of blood, or 0.5mg for every litre of breath, should be pressed with criminal charges instead of fines, experts suggested. According to Governments Decree on fines for traffic violations issued last year, car drivers with alcohol exceeding 80mg for every 100ml of blood or 0.4mg for every litre of breath will be fined VN10-15 million, and bikers will be fined VN2-3 million. Violators will also have their driving licences revoked for two months. Nguyen Van Huyen, head of Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam, said the directorate had proposed criminal charges against drunk drivers in the amended Criminal Code in 2015. Huyen pointed out that in other countries, drunk drivers with excessive alcohol levels could face imprisonment in addition to fines and revoked driving licences, Giao thong ( Transport) newspaper reported. In Viet Nam, despite strict punishment, drunken driving has not reduced, which seriously threatens road safety, he said, calling for even stricter punishment. Nguyen Huu Que, director of Transport Department in the Central Highland province of Gia Lai, said many people were aware of the dangers of drunk driving but they intentionally drunk and drove. So, drunk driving should be considered an intended act causing serious consequences, Que said, emphasising violators must be punished with criminal charges. Deputy head of National Committee for Road Safety Khuat Viet Hung said besides drunk driving, other violations that caused death would also face criminal charges, and a relapse would invite more stringent punishment. Hung noted that Viet Nams punishment for drunk driving was strict enough to deter violators. The question was to improve law enforcement, he said. Nguyen Phuong Nam, an expert from the World Health Organisation, said traffic accidents as a result of alcohol consumption were usually quite serious and that 68 per cent of the victims died within 30 minutes. Without proper control, the victims of drunk driving are likely to increase by 2020, he said, noting that the Vietnamese people consumed alcoholic drinks at an alarming level compared to their counterparts in other countries. VNS HA NOI Under the draft new curriculum, secondary students are expected to have more out-of-school and creative experience, rather than only theory. The draft list of secondary school subjects under the new curriculum will be open for public opinion this month, Nguyen Minh Thuyet, chief editor of the new curriculum for comprehensive education reform of the Ministry of Education and Training, told the press. Regarding literature, the subject will focus on developing reading, writing, speaking and listening for pupils. Pupils will no longer have to learn example essays by rote, but are encouraged to express their own viewpoints, ideas and creativeness. o uc Thai, head of the compiling board for math, said that the new math will be streamlined, focusing on developing a learners capacity. Learners will have more time to carry out experience and creative activities, such as educational projects with the application of math in reality or math-related games. The new curriculum will include compulsory practical activities for pupils to experience. Activities for primary schools will focus on developing their life skills, soft skills, relationships with friends, teachers and family. Meanwhile, secondary education will focus on activities for social and community services and job-oriented activities. History will be taught following the historical process of the country and the history of Viet Nam will be incorporated into world history during each period, and not separated, as usual. DOHA A controversial member of Qatars royal family says he is being detained in the UAE, media reported on Sunday, sparking a quick denial by Emirati officials. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani, a little-known royal, emerged as a key figure in the dispute between the Gulf states in the weeks after Riyadh and Abu Dhabi cut ties with Doha in June. He is seen by some as a potential challenger to the Qatari leadership. A video circulating online, also broadcast by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television, shows the sheikh warning that he was "afraid something could happen to me that will be blamed on Qatar". "I am now in Abu Dhabi, where I was a guest of (UAE crown prince) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan," said Sheikh Abdullah. "That is no longer the case. I am now detained." "I want to make clear that the people of Qatar are innocent," the sheikh said. "Sheikh Mohammed bears full responsibility for anything that happens to me." The UAE denied that Sheikh Abdullah was being held against his will, with state news agency WAM reporting he was in the country "at his own behest". "Sheikh Abdullah has had unrestrained mobility and freedom of movement during his stay in the UAE," WAM cited an unnamed foreign ministry official as saying. "Subsequently Sheikh Abdullah had expressed his desire to leave the UAE following which all measures were taken to honour his desire without any reservation." Free to leave Ali Rashed al-Nuaimi, who heads the UAEs Hedayda counter-extremism centre, meanwhile tweeted that Sheikh Abdullah had asked to stay in the Emirates "for his own safety"."For the record, a trusted source confirmed that Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani is free to leave the United Arab Emirates as he likes and to whatever destination he likes," Nuaimi wrote. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June over allegations that Doha supported Islamist extremists and had close ties to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations. In response to the video, Qatars foreign ministry spokeswoman, Lulwa al-Khater, said Doha was monitoring the situation. "The state of Qatar observes the situation closely, and due to the total severance of ties with the UAE it is difficult to clearly establish the circumstances surrounding the situation," she said in a statement. "Despite that, the State of Qatar principally stands with the protection of rights for every individual and affirms the entitlement of his family to pursue all legal means for the protection of his rights." In August, Sheikh Abdullah met powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to mediate on reopening a land border to allow Qatari pilgrims to perform the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. It was the first public high-level encounter between the two nations since the diplomatic crisis erupted. Doha was quick to point out that he was in Saudi Arabia in a personal capacity and did not represent the government. Qatari officials also accused Gulf rivals of seeking regime change in Doha and replacing Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani with Sheikh Abdullah -- who belongs to a branch of the Al-Thani family that has seen its power eroded but is still well-connected in the Gulf. AFP Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2018. Read them in this 10th annual VMblog.com series exclusive. Contributed by Peter Horadan, CTO and EVP of Engineering at Avalara How will financial, tax and security tech change in 2018? 1. Blockchain will herald the beginning of the end of the tyranny of PDF/email-based invoicing. Bitcoin continues to garner headlines, but in 2018, the underlying blockchain open ledger technology will generate the most business buzz. Blockchain has far more game-changing use cases than just tracking the ownership of digital currency. For example, it can serve as the basis for smart contracts, an idea we predicted some time ago that is steadily picking up steam. In 2018, using blockchain to automate and simplify the order/invoice cycle will take hold. Today's manual process of emailing PDFs and keying in the information is cumbersome, time-consuming and error-prone. With a private blockchain, the entire process can be automated and secure. The buyer's purchase order could be written to the ledger and received digitally by the seller. Using APIs, shipping and invoicing could be automatically initiated and confirmed. Once the product is received, payment could also be initiated via the ledger - perhaps using Bitcoin or another digital currency (or even dollars) - and automatically recorded when received. This potential to automate and shorten the order/invoice cycle will compel many vendors and businesses to explore blockchain's capabilities. 2. Get ready to share your entire ledger with the government. In general, governments around the world and state governments in the U.S. are looking for ways to get the taxes due to them faster and more reliably - while also reducing the potential for fraud. This effort will continue and also expand in 2018. Brazil and India have already established new regulations and many states in the U.S. are exploring their options. Driving these efforts is the increased digital automation in businesses, which has handed governments the ability to demand real-time reporting of transactions and full access to a company's digital ledger, so they can reconcile actual tax obligations against the amounts received. A first step toward this in the U.S. is the Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) initiative, which is an effort by states, local governments and many in the business community to simplify and reduce the burden of sales and use tax collection, administration and compliance. Merchants that want to participate in SST must provide ledger-level details in their tax filing. However, as governments recognize the revenue benefits and fraud reduction they can achieve, and as merchants realize the cost and efficiency benefits they can gain from automation, the drive toward real-time transaction reporting will accelerate. 3. The Collapse of the Social Security Number We predicted last year that in 2017 we would need to accept that all of the personally identifiable information (PII) businesses and governments collect about us is essentially public information. The pace and extent of data breaches has proved us right and despite new regulations, such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and new security technologies designed to protect PII, citizens in the U.S. remain particularly vulnerable to PII leakage and identity theft. As a result, look for 2018 to be the year when the U.S. government finally recognizes that its core personal identification system, a single lifetime Social Security Number, is wholly inadequate to the challenge. The solution likely won't materialize in 2018, but a discussion will begin about whether the new ID system should be based on some form of electronic identification card, similar to Belgium, Chile, Estonia, Germany, Israel, Spain and many others that are already doing so, or if it will take a more (or less) sophisticated form. We expect the debate to be intense and boisterous across all the stakeholders, including government entities, technology companies and private groups, and we can only hope that the optimal security strategy, not partisanship, will be the substance of these debates. ## About the Author Peter Horadan leads software development and operations at Avalara. His extensive background includes leadership positions in engineering, operations, and client services. In addition to building and operating SAAS services, Peter has a long history of creating industry-leading commercial software products. Before joining Avalara, Peter served as a technology executive for several private and publicly traded companies, most recently Scout Analytics. Additionally, he has directed research and development at Concur Technologies, and has held leadership roles at Microsoft, Corillian, and BEA Systems. I post what I find interesting. Maybe there is more truth to be found, but it is interesting and it does hold to what I have been saying since sanctions were illegally introduced against Russia. No love for America anymore by Russians This chart shows the share of Russians who consider the following a threat (December 2017). Source: Infographic: Who Russians Consider Their Greatest Enemies When you act like a bully, bullies are not liked anymore. Maybe we are scared of bullies, but liking is not on the list. If the bully keeps going, the percent will travel higher and higher. Soon it will be 90% of Russians dislike and consider America a threat Sad thing is that this is not Russian propaganda at work. It is simply the facts and the truth. The sanctions are illegal and that is that and it is natural to dislike those who impose upon those unnecessarily.the propaganda against Russia is working. Russians are tired of Americans and their better than thou attitude WtR Statista is a western based company and not a Russian based website. The information within is western produced Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. Jan 15, 2018 | By Tess Italian 3D printer manufacturer WASP has released a new line of industrial 3D printers. Called DeltaWASP 4070 Industrial, the new 3D printer series is an upgrade to the companys original Delta 4070 3D printer, which originally came out in 2013. As the company explains, its Delta Family was a breakthrough at its release and it is now recognized as one of the pioneers of delta-style 3D printing. When Johann Rocholl presented the Rostock project, no one had ever seen a Delta printer before, says WASP, noting that the technology drew criticism at first. The management looked difficult, a thousand calculation problems scared Despite these initial misgivings about the early delta configurations, WASP saw the potential of delta 3D printing and began developing its innovative DeltaWASP system. The technology, it says, showed great possibility for adjustable build volumes, and good quality prints thanks to the robotic configuration of the printer which utilizes precision mechanics to move parts quickly and accurately. Over the years, the DeltaWASP 4070 has remained a reliable 3D printer, though its hardware has undergone some changes and notable improvements. Now, with the release of its DeltaWASP 4070 Industrial, WASP is demonstrating the full breadth of the improvements it has made. They include a heated chamber (up to 65C) with air recirculation system for uniform temperature for technical materials; a metal frame and base (replacing wood and plastic); insulated steel parts (in lieu of polycarbonate); a new system of high temperature resistant arms which allow for higher printing temperatures; and 32 bit electronics (up from 16 bit). Additionally, the new DeltaWASP 4070 Industrial features WiFi connectivity for remote monitoring and control, as well as a dehumidifying chamber at the machines base which keeps filament safe and dry. The 3D printer also integrates a useful safety sensor which automatically pauses the printing process when the machine is opened or interrupted and resumes the print when the door closes. If the printer stops printing for any other issues, users can use either the Resurrection or Free Zeta systems to get the printer back up and running at the right place. Other specifications include a build volume of 400 x 700 mm ( x h), a minimum layer height of 50 microns, maximum printing and travelling speed of 300 mm/s, and acceleration of 5.000 mm/s2. The printers heated print bed can reach temperatures up of to 135 C. (Note: the aforementioned specs are measured with a single 0.7 mm diameter nozzle.) In terms of materials, WASPs new 3D printer series is compatible with a wide range of 1.75 mm filaments, including ABS, PLA, ASA, Flex, HIPS, PETG, TPU, Polypropilene, Nylon, and more. Finally, the new 3D printer is available in two different versions. The first is equipped with a standard Spitfire Red Extruder and a Spitfire LT Cartridge with a 0.7 mm diameter steel nozzle (WASP specifies that it is also possible to select a Spitfire HT which can reach temperatures of up to 350 C); the second comes with a ZEN Dual Extruder with two Zen LT Cartridges, each with 0.7 mm nozzles. This enables users to choose between either mono or dual extrusion printing. Interested parties can request a quote for WASPs new industrial 3D printer series through the companys website . Specifications for DeltaWASP 4070 Industrial Dimensions 85 x 77 x 195 cm Weight 90 kg Power supply 29V industrial power supply Frame and cover materials Aluminum, coated iron, polycarbonate Print bed material Reboard Aluminum Movements Nylon wheels on aluminum slides Max print volume 400 x 700 mm ( x h) Minimum layer height max 50 micron Max printing speed 300 mm/s Max travel speed 300 mm/s Acceleration 5.000 mm/s2 Max heated bed temperature 110 C Posted in 3D Printer Maybe you also like: Jan 15, 2018 | By Benedict Physicists at Tomsk State University in Russia are developing a new method of ultrasonic 3D printing that levitates small particles in an acoustic field. The technology, which could be ready by 2020, will be used for hot or chemically aggressive solutions and substances. Two years is a long time in 3D printing, so when a group of scientists promises to develop a new technology over the course of two years, its easy to wonder whether the promised goods will ever arrive, and if so, whether they will still be relevant. A new 3D printing technique proposed by scientists specializing in radio physics at Tomsk State University (TSU) in Russia may or may not be the future of additive manufacturing, but it sure sounds interestingespecially for those with an interest in volatile, dangerous materials. The Russian physicists are developing a new kind of ultrasonic 3D printing that uses levitation to lift small particles of foam plastic. They say the technique could eventually be used to 3D print hot or chemically aggressive solutions and substances, precisely controlling and organizing the levitated particles to form 3D printed shapes, handling them safely in mid-air. Although the technology is still in its very early stages, the system will purportedly use an anechoic chamber covered with wave absorbers and emitters. A stream of acoustic waves (40 kHz) will serve to suspend the foam plastic particles in mid-air, while power levels will be able to be adjusted to increase the number and size of the particles. Tailor-made software will be used to move the levitated particles from side to side. The first stage is a controlled levitation of particles, explains Professor Dmitry Sukhanov, who has been tasked with overseeing the ambitious additive manufacturing project at TSU. Based on this we will create a method of manipulating a group of particles to collect three-dimensional objects from them. Upon entering the sound field and during the precipitation, the particles of the powdery substance will be rearranged, fall along the required trajectories, and settle into a definite pattern. Layer after layer, particles will be deposited in any shape. It sounds radical, but it wont be the first practical use of levitation for manufacturing purposes. Sukhanov says variations on this kind of technology already exist in several parts of the world, with the most advanced levitation research taking place in Japan and the UK. But the TSU researchers dont just want to perfect the art of levitation. Rather, they have some particular 3D printing applications in mind for their new technology: the installation of components on printed circuit boards, the handling of dangerous chemical substances, and potentially other uses too. We will use our own lattices of ultrasonic radiators and develop a system for parallel control of emitters and software, Sukhanov adds. To achieve this goal, we need a combination of digital technologies for the transmission and processing of large amounts of data, technologies for synchronous generation and amplification of multiple signals, and solutions for acoustic and aerodynamic tasks. The physicists have already assembled a scale model of their levitational 3D printer, but theres much more work to be done if the team is to meet its 2020 target. As part of the research, the physicists will need to call on the expertise of TSU chemists in order to select the optimal substances and temperature settings for fusing particles to a three-dimensional object. Its a big task, but they will be helped along by a generous grant from the Russian Science Foundationto the tune of 15 million rubles ($266,000). Posted in 3D Printer Maybe you also like: by Holly A. Case Peter Viereck (background, right) and student, 1958 About this time last year, the idea came to me that it was time to write a conservative manifesto. Conservatism had shown itself to be hollowed out and practically free for the taking. Fiscal conservatism, "family values," and sincere deference to Christian morality had either never truly been part of conservatism's essence, or were betrayed wholesale during the election. What remained was an empty vessel awaiting content. Drafts of the manifesto proliferated on my hard drive. In conversation with confidants its completion seemed immanent. Interlocutors wondered about practicalities: What would be the first line? And the last? How would it be disseminated? What would be the next step after the manifesto? But it never came to be. The problem had a name: Peter Viereck. He was both the inspiration for the manifesto and the reason it was never finished or disseminated. In April 1940, Viereck had written his own conservative manifesto in the form of an essay titled "ButI'm a Conservative!" The title had two meanings. The more obvious one was a reaction to the prompt Viereck was given by the editors of The Atlantic. Tell us "the meaning of young liberalism for the present age," they urged him. To this the twenty-three-year-old Viereck replied: "ButI'm a Conservative!" The second meaning was personal: "ButI'm a Conservative!" Its origins were more obscure, but those in the know would have caught it. Viereck's father, Sylvester Viereck, was a fairly famous poet, and an unrepentant fellow traveler of the Nazis. The elder Viereck claimed that anti-Semitism was not essential to Nazism, and that an American version of Nazism could simply jettison the German Nazis' preoccupation with the mass expulsion and extermination of the Jews. But the young Peter was not convinced: Nazism was anti-Semitism, and "Political anti-Semitism is no isolated program," he wrote, "It is the first step in an ever-widening revolt of mob instinct against all restraints and liberties. It is the thin opening wedge for the subversion of democracy, Christianity, and tolerance in general." The son yanked hard to pull conservatism out from under his father and the Nazi Right, insisting vehemently and repeatedly that Nazism was an ideology of revolt, the very opposite of conservatism. And like Marxism's "materialistic assault on all our non-economic values of the spirit," he found it revolting. Like his father, Peter Viereck was a poet, and before the decade was out he would win a Pulitzer Prize for his work. By then his elder brother, George Sylvester, was dead, killed in action while fighting against the Nazis in Italy. Their father got the news while doing time for sedition. Decades later, friend and colleague Joseph Brodsky would write a poetic preface to a collection of Peter Viereck's "Last and First Poems," Tide and Continuities: [] He saw more of humanity's seesaw than you who will peruse these pages, heart-rending, gorgeous, outrageous One of Viereck's poems, "Benediction," distills his relationship with his father to a few stanzas in his signature poetic voice, marked by charm, self-referential rhyme-ity-rhythm, and Nabokovian tricksiness. When the first vague years, the years of ques- tions and toys, Resolved into years of the boy with his nose in old fable, It was good to hear a father's voice Across the lull of the breakfast table. When the second fate, the years of answer and choice, Diffused into years the youth on the parapet, Where maps went rainbowing round such tallness In outspread vally of my whim, Then earth was good in multicolored allness, And I loved all of it. But loved not him. Viereck's father haunted both his son's poetry as well as his politics. The young poet came to conservatism as a reaction against the Nazism of his father, but also because he shared his father's disdain for Marxism, which was then popular among his fellow Harvard young stars. "Why should any young man want to be a conservative, on a globe where so much needs changing?" he wondered at the start of his 1940 essay. "Marxism means many things. I revolt against its revolt' primarily for its materialistic assault on all our non-economic values of the spirit. Economic values alone make life possible, but the moral, aesthetic, and intellectual values alone make it worth living." He would later write that a government should aspire "to make all its citizens aristocrats." By that he meant Edmund Burke's conception of aristocracy: To be bred in a place of estimation; to see nothing low and sordid from one's infancy; to be taught to respect one's self; to be habituated to the censorial inspection of the public eye; to look early to public opinion; to stand upon such elevated ground as to be enabled to take a large view of the widespread and infinitely diversified combinations of men and affairs in a large society; to have leisure to read, to reflect, to converse; to be enabled to draw the court and attention of the wise and learned wherever they are to be found; to be habituated in the pursuit of honor and duty. Despite the Burkean overtones, there was more than a little German idealism in Viereck's thinking. In that respect he was still very much his father's son. "What do I mean by conservative'? Conservatism must include what Thomas Mann calls humanism: the conservation of our cultural, spiritual, and individualist heritage." "ButI'm a Conservative" was followed by a series of other works seeking to give conservatism a humanist face. This makeover won some converts, but no sooner had he breathed new life into conservatism than it took on a life of its own. Its two new postwar champions were Joseph McCarthy and William F. Buckley. This spawn was revolting to Viereck in a whole new way. From his review of Buckley's book God and Man at Yale (1950): "Is it not humorless, or else blasphemous, for this eloquent advocate of Christianity, an unworldly and anti-economic religion, to enshrine jointly as equally sacrosanct: Adam Smith and Ricardo, Jesus and St. Paul?' And why is this veritable Eagle Scout of moral sternness silent on the moral implications of McCarthyism in his own camp?" A New Yorker profile of Viereck by Tom Reiss published in 2005, shortly before Viereck's death, attempted to excavate the political trajectory of this "first conservative." What horrified Viereck most of all, Reiss argued, was the way conservatism was being taken over by an asinine monied elite: "Conservatives, [Viereck] wrote in 1955, are trying to overthrow an old ruling class and replace it from below by a new ruling class. . . . The new would-be rulers include unmellowed plebeian Western wealth'here he singled out Texan oil moneyand their enormous gullible mass-base.'" The "irresponsibility" of this "conservatism of the pocketbook," Viereck wrote in his Conservatism: from John Adams to Churchill from 1956, "far from being a bulwark against revolution, often provokes revolution." "More responsible conservatives [] defend property, their material base, only when linked with a moral base: service to the community." In the absence of such "responsible conservatives," Viereck gave up on holding conservatism to a humanist course. After the 1950s, he rarely wrote anything but poetry. Several years ago I mentioned Viereck to one of my students, Pete Devlin, who later did an independent study for which he read the bulk of Viereck's ouevre. In a brilliant final paper, Devlin noted a pattern in Viereck's thinking: "He loves paradoxes, rhetorical flourishes, and counterintuitive arguments. He argues that materialism needs idealism to achieve its goals, pragmatism is unpragmatic,' [] one must resist hysteria and hysteria about hysteria,' the right has a rootless nostalgia for roots.'" Given this propensity, perhaps it is little wonder that Viereck's version of conservatism never became popular. In fact, he would likely have been troubled if it had. Viereck's take on populism: "the thought-control dictatorship of some plebiscitarian demagogue of status-resentment." In his 1949 book Conservatism Revisited, he wrote that it was Nietzsche who first recognized the malaise of "mass-man." "He associated him with nationalism and with worship of quantity and power, as opposed to quality and thought." So when conservatism emptied out so completely last year, I thought of Peter Viereck's 1940 conservative manifesto. Conditions seemed ripeas they had been in his timefor a conservatism with a humanist aspect, a keen sense of responsibility, and an aesthetic sensibility. It remained only for someone to step in and make it humane and poetic again. But there is a line in a poem Viereck wrote in 1938, barely out of his teens, that counsels against such optimism. How it will end is clear. But when, but where? If only I could believe that it would be different this time, I might finish the manifesto. Patrick Blanchfield in n+1: EDGAR ALLAN POES THE PURLOINED LETTER is a strange sort of mysterya story of palace intrigue and cognitive blind spots. The gumshoe, C. Auguste Dupin, is presented with a case that has left the police befuddled. An unscrupulous Minister has stolen a compromising letter written by a certain noblewoman, which he intends to use as blackmail and as leverage against the ruling Queen. The Ministers apartment is the only place the letter could be, but exhaustive searches have yielded nothing. Investigators have combed through books, probed furniture for hidden compartments, deployed literal microscopes, and still, nothing, though there is no doubt that the Minister is the thief. The comprehensiveness of the polices efforts gives the canny Dupin the only clue he needs. Paying the blackmailer a visit, Dupin stages a distraction and plucks the letter from its hiding place, which isnt really a hiding place at all, but rather a simple card-rack sitting blatantly on a mantelpiece. Concealed in plain sight, the purloined letter has gone unseen the whole time. Michael Wolffs Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House is a kind of Purloined Letter for the dark 21st century. A chronicle of the first eight months of the Donald Trump Administration, the book promises revelations that the author has suggested will bring down the presidency. Fire and Fury does contain plenty of palace intrigue and compromising stories, but its promised revelations are not really revelations at all. The fundamental scandal, the books centerpiece truththat the President is breathtakingly unfit, and his administration is a slow-motion train wreckhas been obvious all along. The Trump catastrophe has not been hidden in plain sight. It has filled our entire national field of vision such that, for those who follow the news even irregularly, there is little else to see. From scandal to scandal, from outrage to outrage, in a steady stream of cringe-inducing video clips and erratic tweets, this President and his administration have shown us who they are time and again. Yet as the past year has shown, this onslaught of the obvious can actually impose its own kind of normality, a learned posture of dumbstruck exhaustion and enervated disgust. More here. Appointment of Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Sydney, Jan 15, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Mustang Resources ( ASX:MUS ) ( OTCMKTS:GGPLF ) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Bernard Olivier to the Board as Managing Director and Cobus van Wyk as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director.Key Points- Mustang appoints Dr. Bernard Olivier to the Board as Managing Director- Interim Executive Chairman Ian Daymond reverts to being Non-Executive Chairman- Non-Executive Director Cobus van Wyk appointed as Chief Operating Officer and Executive DirectorIan Daymond, Chairman of Mustang Resources commented: "We are pleased to announce the appointment of Bernard Olivier as MD and Cobus Van Wyk as COO. Bernard brings significant experience in all aspects of coloured gemstone mining, marketing and sales and was a key person in the development of the TanzaniteOne coloured gemstone mining operation in Tanzania where he managed a team of over 600 employees. In addition, he has a background in the graphite sector and 8 years' experience as CEO of a LSE listed company. Cobus has been an integral member of the Mustang Board and the project's operations manager and we are also very pleased that he will become an Executive Director and COO reporting to the MD."Bernard Olivier, MD of Mustang commented: "I believe Mustang has world-class assets and look forward to progressing the ruby and graphite projects with the rest of the highly skilled and dedicated Board and management team at Mustang.MANAGING DIRECTORDr Bernard Olivier has been appointed to the Board as Managing Director effective 15 January 2018.The Board is delighted to welcome Dr Olivier who is a highly qualified and experienced chief executive to lead Mustang in the implementation of its strategic, exploration and development plans.Dr Olivier holds a PhD in Economic Geology from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. He has worked as a geologist since 1998 in various African, Asian and South American countries, including Tanzania, South Africa, Burundi, Swaziland, Argentina, Colombia, Australia and the Philippines. He is a dual Australian and South African national and a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM).He has worked on a variety of exploration and development projects as well as in mining operations across a spread of commodities, including, gemstones, graphite, gold, diamonds, PGEs, base metals and coal. He has over 10 years' experience as a listed company director. Most recently, Dr Olivier has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Richland Resources Plc (formerly Tanzanite One) since March 2010 and as a director of Bezant Resources Plc since March 2007. He will be committed full-time to Mustang Resources Ltd by 31 March 2018 after completing the transition from his existing roles. In the meantime, he is expected to commit at least 70% of his time to Mustang.Dr Olivier will be paid an initial base salary of A$220,000 per annum gross (plus 9.5% superannuation). The annual base salary will be increased to A$250,000 per annum gross (plus 9.5% superannuation) if the ASX market capitalisation of the Company reaches A$50,000,000 and remains above that level for at least 20 consecutive trading days. The annual base salary will be increased to A$275,000 per annum gross (plus 9.5% superannuation) if the ASX market capitalisation of the Company reaches A$100,000,000 and remains above that level for at 20 consecutive trading days. The annual base salary will be increased to A$300,000 per annum gross (plus 9.5% superannuation) if the ASX market capitalisation of the Company reaches A$150,000,000 and remains above that level for at 20 consecutive trading days.He will also receive private health insurance with premiums covered by the Company.Dr Olivier will be granted 2,500,000 options through the Company's shareholder-approved incentive plan. The options will vest after 12 months' of continuous service and have a 3-year term and a strike price at a 25% premium to the 30-day VWAP as at the date of the options issue. Furthermore, he will be granted an additional 2,500,000 options on the same terms and these will vest once the market capitalisation of the Company reaches A$100,000,000 within 18 months from appointment for at least 20 consecutive trading days.The issue of all these options will be subject to specific shareholder approval at the next general meeting of the Company.Dr Olivier will be based in South Africa being relatively close to the Company's operations in Mozambique and he will be expected to travel extensively around the world in the course of his duties.INTERIM EXECUTIVE CHAIRMANOn 13 November 2017 the Company released a statement to market that Mr Ian Daymond had assumed the role of Interim Executive Chairman following the resignation of Mr Christiaan Jordaan as Managing Director and his assumption of the role of Non-Executive Director.The Company has subsequently agreed the terms of Mr Daymond's appointment to this interim role as follows:a) Mr Daymond acts as Interim Executive Chairman until such time that a new managing director is appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company.b) Effective 13 November 2017 Mr Daymond's remuneration increases to A$25,000 per calendar month (plus 9.5% superannuation) to reflect the full-time nature of his interim role.c) Following the appointment of a new managing director Mr Daymond's role will immediately revert to that of Non-Executive Chairman and his director's fee will revert to the previous level being $60,000 per annum plus 9.5% superannuation, which fee has been supplemented in each of the past 3 years by consulting fees for additional services provided by Mr Daymond, being $15,000, $15,000 and $17,500 respectively.CHIEF OPERATING OFFICERNon-Executive Director Mr Cobus van Wyk will step into the newly created position of the Company's Chief Operating Officer ("COO") with immediate effect and become an Executive Director of Mustang (on an annual salary of A$230,000 gross per year) with a commitment of around 90% of his working time to Mustang.Mr van Wyk obtained his MBA from the University of Wales and is an experienced operational team project manager having managed the Company's ruby and graphite activities through Regius Resources Group Limited ("Regius"), the related party provider of management and technical services to Mustang. Mr van Wyk has managed projects in South Africa, Zambia, Namibia and Mozambique.Mr van Wyk is a co-founder, a director and a 60% shareholder of Regius, which is a substantial shareholder (7.78%) in Mustang. Previously, he received remuneration as part of the payment for management and technical services rendered by Regius to Mustang. In becoming Executive Director and COO of Mustang, he steps down as executive chairman and chief executive officer of Regius and Mr Christiaan Jordaan, Non- Executive Director of Mustang becomes chief executive officer of Regius.Mr van Wyk will report to the newly appointed Managing Director Dr Olivier and together they will focus on and lead the development of the Company's ruby and graphite projects, both located in Northern Mozambique.SECOND INDEPENDENT NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTORThe newly constituted Board of Directors intends to consider the appointment of a second independent Non-Executive Director in the near future and will update the market accordingly.COMPANY OFFICEOwing to the new Managing Director Bernard Olivier being based in Cape Town, South Africa, the Sydney office of the Company has been closed.The Company's registered office remains the same at Level 1, 9 Bowman Street South Perth Western Australia. The general office contact number is +61 (08) 9217 2400 and facsimile +61 (08) 9217 2401.About New Energy Minerals Ltd New Energy Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXE) (FRA:GGY) is an ASX listed junior mining company, that recently announced the divestment of the Company's Caula vanadium - graphite project and the Montepuez Ruby project in Mozambique. Authier Phase 3 Drilling Program Targets Resource Expansion Brisbane, Jan 15, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Sayona Mining Limited ( ASX:SYA ) ( OTCMKTS:DMNXF ) ("Sayona" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Phase 3 drilling program has recommenced at the Authier lithium project in Quebec, Canada.The objective of the diamond drilling is to expand and optimise, the resource and reserve position for incorporation into the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS"), including:- Drilling at depth and within the eastern and western sectors at shallow levels to provide better definition and potential expansion of the orebody - see Figure 1 in link below;- Potential expansion of the northern pegmatite zone where a small JORC Mineral Resources was defined as part of the Optimised Pre-Feasibility Study (see ASX release, Authier JORC Mineral Resource Update, 11th December 2017) - see Figures 1&2 in link below;- Infill definition drilling within the main resource zone where the mineralisation is not as well defined and is currently treated as waste for the Ore Reserve estimation; and- Converting inferred resources into a higher resource classifications by further higher density drilling (resource areas shown in blue in Figure 1 in link below).The Company has successfully increased the size of the resource and reserve through previous drilling programs. Any further increases have the potential to enhance the positive economics demonstrated in the recently announced Optimised Pre-Feasibility Study. All of the new drilling data will be incorporated into the resource models for the DFS which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.The Company will also be looking to drill extensions of the major structural east-west trend which is highlighted from historical geophysics - see Figure 3 in link below. The focus of the drilling is to target new pegmatite systems not outcropping on the surface. During the Phase 2 drilling program, the Company discovered the Northern Pegmatite which doesn't outcrop at the surface. The areas in the west have not been extensively explored and the Company believes there is potential to identify new systems.The Phase 3 drilling will also incorporate some condemnation drilling to sterilise areas required for the process plant, and combined waste and tailings storage areas.To view figures, please visit:About Sayona Mining Ltd Sayona Mining Limited (ASX:SYA) (OTCMKTS:SYAXF) is an Australian, ASX-listed (SYA) company focused on sourcing and developing the raw materials required to construct lithium-ion batteries for use in the rapidly growing new and green technology sectors. The Company has lithium projects in Quebec, Canada and in Western Australia. Please visit us as at www.sayonamining.com.au Company Update Perth, Jan 15, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Ironbark Zinc Limited (Company) ( ASX:IBG ) ( OTCMKTS:IRBGY ) hereby provides an update regarding the development of the world class Citronen zinc project. This is an exciting time for the Company as it progresses toward the major project financing stage of the advanced and high margin, large scale Citronen zinc project at a period of such strong zinc prices.Ironbark is focused on working towards project financing and then moving into production. The Citronen project is exceptionally well placed to meet the strong and growing global demand for zinc and would be highly profitable in today's environment and under a granted mining permit in a low sovereign risk jurisdiction, provides the Company with confidence that the financing process will be successfully achieved.Cutfield Freeman & Co AppointedIronbark is pleased to announce the appointment of Cutfield Freeman & Co., (CF&Co) a highly credentialed tier one international financial advisory firm to assist Ironbark structure the financing for the world class Citronen zinc project.CF&Co is an independent corporate finance house with offices in London, Toronto and Hong Kong providing independent advice to companies in the mining and metals sectors. CF&Co advises on all aspects of corporate, project and offtake-related finance, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. CF&Co has acted on a wide variety of transactions for a range of mining companies including BHP Billiton Ltd ( ASX:BHP ), Dynatec Corporation, Molycorp Inc ( NYSE:MCP-A ), Zijin Mining Group Co. ( HKG:2899 ), Anatolia Mineral Development Ltd./Alacer Gold Corporation ( TSE:ASR ).Senior AppointmentsIronbark has commenced work on identifying the project development team including the appointment of a Senior Project Manager and Senior Finance Manager.The Feasibility Study Project Execution document is currently being reviewed by CPC Engineering. Long lead items and logistical plans are being prepared to ensure a seamless transition into production with mining planned to commence in 2019, with site preparation works being conducted this year.GermaniumIronbark has identified potentially significant Germanium in the Citronen ore as released to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on 7 December 2017. Further assaying is underway and results will be reported in due course.Germanium is a potential credit in some zinc ore bodies that formed in low temperature environments, such as Citronen. As previously announced, Ironbark has released results for one composite ore sample that is considered representative of the Beach Zone ore body and that returned a result of 24 parts per million (ppm). Germanium tends to report to, and get upgraded to, the zinc concentrate during processing. Certain zinc smelters around the world are able to extract and pay for the germanium from the zinc concentrate, requiring no change to the Citronen processing of zinc concentrate on site. Ironbark makes no representation about how much, if any, of the germanium processed will be a payable credit to Ironbark.The demand for germanium for fibre optic communication networks, solar panels, infrared night vision systems, and polymerisation catalysts has increased dramatically in recent years. These end uses represent the majority of worldwide germanium consumption. The US government designated germanium as a strategic and critical material and holds a supply in the national defence stockpile.China Nonferrous ProgressWork is ongoing with China Nonferrous (NFC) with the majority of the design and planning studies having been completed. We note that Chinese regulatory requirements and design changes have resulted in variations to the Western Feasibility Study. Some of these changes have resulted in delays and Ironbark remains in close discussion with NFC. Ironbark continues to work with NFC under the pre-existing Memorandum of Understanding.Western Project FinancingAided by Cutfield Freeman's global expertise, Ironbark is working on a traditional financing pathway that could see the adoption of the Metso plant and equipment and Western financing as envisaged under the current Feasibility Study. Ironbark has received interest from several large funds and is encouraged by the interest shown in the project.Updated Shipping StudyIronbark is pleased to advise that it has received an updated shipping study that incorporates weather conditions over the past 6 years. The Shipping Study, prepared by the Pre Eminent Shipping advisor highlights significant changes in the artic shipping environment around the proposed Citronen shipping pathway. This has a significant positive impact on the shipping vessel access.Zinc Price Hits New Decade HighThe zinc price has continued to rise and recently crossed decade high levels of US$3,400/t or over US$1.55/lb. These exceptionally strong levels are supported by falling London Metal Exchange (LME) inventories which are looking towards reaching critically low levels.Ironbark remains one of the largest zinc projects in the world and offers strong leverage to the rising zinc price with exceptionally high revenues and a strong NPV, as released on 12 September 2017, once in production.To view figures, please visit:About Ironbark Zinc Limited Ironbark Zinc Limited (ASX:IBG) (OTCMKTS:IRBGY) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and is seeking to become a base metal mining house. Ironbark has an undrawn US$50M funding facility provided by Glencore to expand its project base through acquisition. Ironbark seeks to build shareholder value through exploration and development of its projects and also seeks to actively expand the project base controlled by Ironbark through acquisition. The management and board of Ironbark have extensive technical and corporate experience in the minerals sector. The wholly owned Citronen base metal project currently hosts in excess of 13.1 Billion pounds of zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb). For full details refer to ASX announcement 25 November 2014 Citronen Project Resource Update JORC 2012 compliant resource. Haiti's ambassador to the US said Monday that President Donald Trump's recent comments about Haiti "hurt the country," adding that he hopes the President will visit the nation. "The words, they did hurt the community, they did hurt the country of Haiti," Paul Altidor told CNN's "New Day." "It hurt because one, it's an insult to our dignity, but more importantly, it's because too much of Haiti is misunderstood." The ambassador called Trump's remarks an "insult to our dignity" Altidor also invited Trump to come to Haiti Referring to immigrants from African countries during an Oval Office meeting last week, Trump asked lawmakers, "Why do we want all these people from shithole countries coming here?" a source briefed on the meeting told CNN. A source familiar with the meeting later told CNN's Jake Tapper the President did not refer to Haiti as a "shithole" but Trump did ask why the US needs more Haitians and pushed to "take them out" of an immigration deal. Trump denied the Haiti remarks on Friday. "Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said 'take them out.' Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians," Trump tweeted. "Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust!" But in the wake of the comment, several countries, including Haiti, have summoned top US diplomats to answer for Trump's remarks. Altidor extended an invitation to the President to visit his country, but added that it "doesn't excuse an apology for what was said" and that "such words shouldn't be coming out of anybody's mouth, let alone the President of the United States." "I'm personally asking the President, come to our community," Altidor continued. "The President, as a candidate, went to Little Haiti. He told the community that he's going to be their champion. This is their opportunity." In November, the Trump administration announced that it will end the Temporary Protected Status designation for Haiti by July 2019, potentially forcing tens of thousands of Haitian immigrants to either leave the US or live in the US illegally. Altidor called the decision "ill-informed." From pulpits and podiums across the country, Americans will be reminded on Monday of the relevance of Dr. Martin Luther King's message in 2018. Some time ago, during my tenure as president and CEO of the NAACP, I was painfully reminded of the timeliness of Dr. King in a setting he might not have dreamed of, during a conversation he might have not imagined. During a reception for supporters of civil rights, I looked around a penthouse apartment filled with beautiful art, owned by black owners dressed even more impeccably than their decor. The room was filled with well-pedigreed African Americans with impressive resum-s. And it was against this backdrop that I gave a short talk on the importance of the right to vote and the battle against voter suppression. Upon finished my fundraising homily, a well-to-do business leader said to me, quite sincerely: "Voting rights are fine, but our people need economic justice. Were Martin Luther King, Jr. alive today, he would be talking about economic justice, jobs and business. How hard is it to vote, anyway?" But he was sadly mistaken -- these two issues are inextricably linked. In the more than half century since Dr. King battled these two issues, the need to address poverty and income inequality through a pro-democracy campaign that eliminates voter suppression remains critical. In 2018, many Americans find it as hard to vote as they do to make a living. During the 2016 presidential campaign there were 15 states, including states that are usually critical battlegrounds like Virginia, Ohio and Wisconsin, with strict voter ID laws that suppressed the votes of often poor and minority prospective voters without a required ID. Dr. King's work suggests this year is the time for both a cutting-edge economic justice movement and radical pro-democracy movement that collectively protects and expands voting rights. Many Americans remember, in 2015, when Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, and President Barack Obama walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 50th anniversary of the march from Selma to Montgomery -- a march that culminated in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And, in August 2018, many Americans will commemorate the unfinished Poor People's Campaign of 1968, in which Dr. King planned to occupy Washington D.C. in a tent city to seek economic justice. Dr. King did not live to complete the Poor People's Campaign because he was assassinated in Memphis while supporting a strike for economic justice on behalf of sanitation workers. The issue is not merely the number of people who exist in what Dr. King called an "airtight cage of poverty" but also the growing number of people living on gilded pedestals of massive wealth. Over a little more than a generation, the bottom half of wage earners saw their share of America's wealth shrink, while those in the top half of wage earners saw their share enviably expand. In 1980, the bottom half of Americans earned a fifth of the nation's income, twice as much as the top 1%. Today, however, an affluent 1% bring home over 20% of America's income, while the bottom half earns just 13% -- giving economic credence to those who know intuitively that "the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer." The richest 1% the nation's families control a record-setting 38.6% of America's wealth, nearly double the wealth of the bottom 90%. These numbers represent parents who silently admit to themselves what they dare not say aloud to their children: the future is dimmer for the next generation. This is disproportionately true for poor people of color -- as well as white working-class Trump voters. While Trump voters and voters of color may be disproportionately affected by income inequality, only African Americans have had their votes suppressed with "almost surgical precision," according to one federal appeals court. Since the legally wrong-headed and morally wrong-hearted Supreme Court decision Shelby v. Holder, a large majority of states have enacted or attempted to enact discriminatory voting restrictions: strict ID laws, closing polls, limiting the time to register and/or vote and purging of voter rolls. Moreover, the criminal justice system also disenfranchises voters. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, where I am a senior fellow, more than 6 million of our fellow citizens can't vote because they have a criminal conviction, so much so that one in every 13 voting-age African Americans lacks the ability to vote. Income inequality and voter suppression are not separate challenges to our democracy. Voter suppression is how monied interests perpetuate income inequality. Voter suppression also prevents the reforms that create equality. For example, the recently passed Trump tax cuts are regarded by economists as representing a wealth transfer to the richest Americans. This tax cut was enacted while pro-economic justice reforms have stalled in Congress. These reforms include: infrastructure investments to revitalize poor communities, student loan reform to lighten debt loads and legislative change to make it easier for those with criminal records to work. Having risked his life to secure voting rights and having lost his life seeking economic justice, Dr. King's celebrated dream must inspire a pro-democracy movement in 2018 that radically expands voting rights to secure economic opportunity. Such a movement must include automatic registration, election modernization, campaign finance reform and felony re-enfranchisement -- to empower Americans to vote for economic justice reform. To get policies that grow wages and jobs, you need votes -- and a movement. FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - Four women charged in connection with a religious organization that police say forced children to work in North Carolina fish markets for little or no money have turned themselves in. The four turned themselves in Thursday night to Cumberland County authorities. Each faces charges involving child abuse, operating a continuing criminal enterprise, involuntary servitude involving a child, conspiracy and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Four of 10 suspects in the case were arrested Wednesday. One of those is 67-year-old John McCollum, who says he's the chief apostle of the religious organization, based in Godwin. McCollum has told authorities he doesn't think he committed any crimes. He's being held on bond of more than $1 million. Authorities continue to search for two other suspects. (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) Dozens gathered on Sunday to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Chico. This is the 36th year for the event and this year's theme was "unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. The day began with performances by local groups at the city plaza, which organizers said they saw as an opportunity to promote Dr. King's message of love and acceptance, and to inspire the youth. The group then marched through downtown Chico and made its way to the Trinity United Methodist Church for a talk by keynote speaker Lesa Johnson, a sociology professor at Chico State. Vince Haney is on the board of the M.L.K unity group and tells Action News Now why it's so important to make sure this event comes back year after year. "I believe love, and all the hate going on in the world and America, I believe love is going to triumph and love is going to have the final word, I truly believe that, Haney said. The event will end with a free community dinner that starts at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at the church on Fifth and Flume Street. Rafael Nadal dispelled any injury worries to storm into the Australian Open second round Today as Venus Williams led a slew of seeds out of the tournament in a dark day for American players. The Spanish world number one was hampered by a knee injury at the tail end of the 2017 season, and he entered the opening Grand Slam of the year without playing a warm-up event. But he wore no strapping and appeared to move freely in a ruthless 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 demolition of the Dominican Republics Victor Estrella Burgos in just 94 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. Im very happy to be back, its a very important beginning for me. Its good news for me, he said, adding that he had experienced no problems with his often troublesome knee during the match. I want to enjoy every moment Im here on this court. Second seeded Caroline Wozniacki also comfortably progressed with a straight sets win over Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu as she searches for a maiden Grand Slam crown. But there was no celebrating for fifth seed Williams, who was stunned by Swiss star Belinda Bencic, fresh from winning the Hopman Cup with Roger Federer. Fellow American and US Open champion Sloane Stephens was also sent packing, along with big-hitter CoCo Vandeweghe, the 10th seed and a semi-finalist last year. And the US misery was compounded on the mens side with eighth seed Jack Sock toppled by Japans Yuichi Sugita and 16th-seed John Isner sent home by Australian Matthew Ebden. Other seeded casualties included South Africas 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson, who was bundled out a in a five-set thriller by Britains Kyle Edmund. Third seed Grigor Dimitrov survived, as did volatile Australian Nick Kyrgios, who collected a code violation for swearing at the crowd. The tragic attempt to suicide incidents of two RPF officials within a span of two weeks in the Mumbai metropolitan region, highlight the need for revamp of the working conditions of Railway Police Force (RPF). The railway police have to grapple with issues like shortage of manpower. Often police constables have to work extra hours and even have to report to duties during festivals, emergency situations like bandh. Many of them have to commute long distance for reporting to duty and complain of tiredness. Due to erratic work schedule, police constables are unable to spend quality time with their families. Cops dont get adequate sleep and therefore, they become depressed and lose their concentration while discharging their duties. Hierarchy is another factor which is affecting the morale of police officials as they are harassed by senior officials. The government is least bothered about resolving the issues faced by police officials. Even the Railways have turned a blind eye towards addressing cops grievances. To make matters worse police force doesnt have a union to address their problems. The state government had planned to enforce eight hour shift for police officials but it is yet to be implemented. Former Mumbai Police Commissioners Satyapal Singh and D Shivanandan had conducted yoga classes and anti-stress workshops respectively to ease the stress of police force. The Indian Army on Monday carried out a retaliatory action against Pakistani troops, killing seven of their soldiers and injuring four others along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district. The action comes after an Indian solider was killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district on Saturday. Army has carried out retaliation against Pakistani troops across Jaglote area along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district, a senior Army officer told PTI. In the retaliatory action, there were seven fatal causalities to Pakistani troops and four others injured, he said. On Monday morning, an infiltration bid was foiled near Dulanja area in Uri district of Jammu and Kashmir. At least 5 Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants were killed by security forces. Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police SP Vaid said 5 suicidal JeM terrorists were killed and their bodies were recovered while the search for the sixth body is underway. The militants were killed in a joint operation by the Jammu and Kashmie Police, Army and the Central Armed Police Forces. The Central Bureau of Investigation told the Bombay High Court that it will not challenge the recent discharge of any of the senior IPS officers in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh encounter case. CBI counsel Sandesh Patil and Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the HC that the agency had already challenged the discharge of some junior officers in the case. However, the CBI had decided not to challenge the trial court order that absolved senior officers, including former deputy inspector general of Gujarat D G Vanzara, Rajasthan IPS officer Dinesh MN, and Gujarat IPS officer Rajkumar Pandiyan, in connection with the alleged fake encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati, they said. The CBIs submissions came while a single bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere was hearing a revision application filed by Sohrabuddin Shaikhs brother Rubabuddin Shaikh, challenging the trial court orders of discharge of these officers. The trial court had in 2016 and last year discharged Pandiyan, Vanzara and Dinesh MN. Rubabuddin Shaikh has filed separate petitions challenging the discharge of the three officers from the case. However, his counsel advocate Gautam Tiwari told the high court that while they had been able to serve notices to Dinesh MN and Pandiyan in the case, they had been unable to trace the address or contact details of Vanzara. The high court had earlier directed the CBI to provide Vanzaras address to the petitioner, but Tiwari said the central agency had provided an incorrect address. The court directed the CBI to trace Vanzaras whereabouts and serve him the notice directing him to present his side of the case in the HC on the next date of hearing. The CBI is a premier probe agency. It should not encounter any impediment in finding the respondents (Vanzaras) whereabouts, or getting his address. We often direct the investigating officers to serve notices, so in this case the CBI should do it to avoid further delays in hearing, Justice Mohite-Dere said. The special CBI court in Mumbai, hearing the case after the Supreme Court ordered for the trial to be transferred out of Gujarat, had discharged the above three officials on the ground that the CBI had failed to get prior sanction or the special permission to prosecute them. However, on a previous hearing, Justice Mohite-Dere had questioned whether the lack of such sanction alone could be an adequate reason to warrant an accused persons discharge from the case. She had also dismissed the CBIs argument that it had challenged the discharge of two Rajasthan police sub-inspectors Himanshu Singh and Shyam Singh Charan and senior Gujarat police officer N K Amin. The judge had observed that while the CBI was opposing the discharge of sub-inspectors and constables, it had conveniently gone quiet on the discharge of most of the senior IPS officers. On Monday, advocate Tiwari told the high court that while the CBI had challenged Singh and Charans discharge in 2016, the pleas were yet to be taken up for hearing by the HC. The high court has now tagged together all the pleas filed by Rubabuddin Shaikh and the CBI in the case, and will hear them together on January 29. Of the 38 people accused in the case, 15, including 14 IPS officers, have been discharged by the special court. The CBI has challenged the discharge of two junior officers, and one of the 14 senior officers (N K Amin) accused in the alleged fake encounter cases of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kauser Bi, and also that of Ishrat Jahan. Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his wife were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad from Hyderabad on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra. Shaikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005, after which his wife disappeared. Prajapati, an aide of Shaikh and an eyewitness to the encounter, was allegedly killed by police in Chapri village in Gujarats Banaskantha district in December 2006. Vanzara, who was heading the ATS at the time, was charged by the CBI for having conspired with the other accused officials to kill Shaikh and the other victims and pass the incident off as an encounter. The Rev. Wilson Fallin Jr., shown outside Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, recalls his friendship with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Professor Wilson Fallin Jr., 75, teaches U.S. history three days a week at the University of Montevallo. When he tells students about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., he can add in his own personal memories of his friendship with the pre-eminent leader of America's civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. King was born on Jan. 15, 1929, and today is the national holiday honoring him. This year marks 50 years since King was killed in Memphis, on April 4, 1968. King spoke at Fallin's church in Bessemer and had dinner with him just a few weeks before King was killed. Fallin at the time was pastor of New Zion Baptist Church in Bessemer. After King spoke to help set the stage for the Poor People's Campaign Mule Train of 1968, Fallin took King, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy and the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth to eat dinner at the home of church member Bessy Wilkins, a woman in her 70s, who cooked dinner. ''They laughed and talked about a lot of things,'' Fallin said. ''The air was tense. There had been some death threats. The death threats were getting a little more intimidating.'' King joked and eased the mood. ''He teased Ralph about being born in the Black Belt and that he thought he knew about collard greens,'' Fallin said. "It was hardly more than a month later that King was killed." Fallin had first met King in 1960, when Fallin was a student from 1960-64 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. "My wife's sister, Mary Nell Thomas, attended his church, Ebenezer Baptist. She introduced me to him. She said, 'Dr. King, this is my brother-in-law. He's a student at Morehouse, an aspiring minister.'" Fallin was in awe. "Here he is, the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." Fallin next returned to the church with a fellow student who was a youth pastor at Ebenezer Baptist, who asked him to put on a minister's robe and sit on the stage with the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. "I was satisfied to sit in the audience," Fallin said. But his friend insisted. "I was already ordained. He said, 'Come on, get a robe. I said, 'Is this alright with Dr. King?' I met him in the robing room. So, I sat on the pulpit, next to Dr. King. It was very intimidating. Very much intimidating. I had met him the first service I didn't sit on the pulpit." From then on, King recognized him and knew who he was. "While I was a student at Morehouse, he was on campus," Fallin said. "He and the president of Morehouse, Dr. Benjamin Mays, were very close. He considered Dr. Mays one of his mentors. He said Mays was a good combination of the intellectual and the spiritual. Mays got him to teach a philosophy course one day a week. He did it for a month. He had to give it up. He was just so busy. He might have been involved in Albany at the time." King led a desegregation campaign in Albany, Ga., starting in November 1961. Fallin sat in on all the philosophy classes King taught, though he had not enrolled in the class. "I got permission from him," Fallin said. "He was talking about Gandhi. He talked about Karl Marx. He was very critical of Marxism. He was critical of communism and Marxism, because it was without God. Marx called religion the opiate of the people. King felt religion could be a reforming force. In no way was he a Communist." King also discussed Albert Camus, the French philosopher who wrote, "The Myth of Sysiphus." Camus argued that man's search for meaning is futile in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. "He talked about Camus, who said you never reach the top of the mountain," Fallin said. "He was critical of Camus and existentialism. He loved Kierkegaard, who was a Christian existentialist, where you take the leap of faith. He always tied it to the civil rights movement." Knowing Dr. King was an important part of Fallin's Morehouse education. "It was a great time to be in college," Fallin said. "With King on campus, you wanted to be as close to him as you could. He was very approachable. Everybody called him 'Doc.' He'd see me and say, 'Oh, Brother Fallin.' I felt I was somebody." King was at the time an international celebrity, known for leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 while he was pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church from 1954-60. In 1960, King became co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. "We talked about classes at Morehouse," Fallin said. "My feeling is he was a little embarrassed about all of the spotlight that was on him. He was humble." Fallin fondly recalls the last dinner they ate together in the spring of 1968. "He put away collard greens," Fallin joked on Friday after finishing teaching his four history classes for the day. "It was just a joyous time. I was a young pastor, mystified by all that was going on. All of us are human beings. At bottom, we have to eat and sleep. Learn to laugh and be forgiving. He was certainly a person with a real sense of humor. He loved to laugh, loved to eat, he had no death wish. I don't think there's any question that it was possibly imminent. They were joyous times. He had no martyr complex. He loved life." While a student at Morehouse, Fallin took part in a march downtown with fellow students. King took part also. "It was about Rich's Department Store, about employment, hiring blacks as clerks; they had one or two eating places that blacks wanted to integrate," Fallin said. "I was involved in the student movement. I did march in Atlanta. King was there with us. We had student leadership. This was the student movement. He was out there with us, along with Julian Bond and others." Fallin was part of a group of Morehouse students that tried to integrate the all-white First Baptist Church of Atlanta on a Sunday morning. "A group of deacons met us at the front door and carried us down the stairs," Fallin said. "They said, 'We're happy to have you downstairs.' We didn't try to break into the sanctuary. We stayed 30 minutes and left. The newspaper came and took a picture." Fallin said King never pressured him to be more of an activist. "He did not expect me to be full-time in that kind of business," Fallin said. "He knew I needed to be a student." But King would call on Fallin in 1968. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized the Poor People's Campaign that year to draw attention to poverty. The demonstration began in Marks, Miss., the poorest town in the poorest county in the poorest state in the nation, and continued with a Mule Train, with wagons pulled by mules all the way to Washington, D.C., where they would set up on the National Mall in a temporary camp site called "Resurrection City." The Mule Train needed to stop on the west side of Birmingham. "I think Abernathy called me and said, 'Fallin, Dr. King wants to talk to you.' They asked permission to use the church. They wanted to be there a couple days. They needed a place to house the wagons. He called me and asked if our church could be the headquarters church. Going to Washington meant going to the west of Birmingham. He spent two and a half days there. A couple of weeks after that, he was killed. He was real tense during that time. He was always under some pressure. He spoke that night. It was a packed audience." After King's death, the Mule Train planned by King and Abernathy was carried out by Abernathy. It left Marks, Mississippi, on May 13, 1968, and stopped in Bessemer as King had arranged a few weeks earlier. "For three days, we hosted the wagon train that was a part of the Poor People's Campaign that was headed to Washington," Fallin said. Fallin said King was calm in the face of the threats against him, even though he would soon die for his cause. ''He was a man that loved life,'' Fallin said. A few years after King's death, Fallin invited King's father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr., to preach at his church in Bessemer. "His father came and spoke for me for a special program," Fallin said. "I cherish those opportunities I had with the King family." Fallin is the author of ''A Shelter in the Storm: The African-American Church in Birmingham, 1815-1963,'' and other books, and was the first black to receive a doctoral degree in history from the University of Alabama, in 1995. After months of meetings, conversations and focus-group testing with members of parading organizations, marching clubs, mystic societies and civic and municipal leaders, a new Mardi Gras flag and logo have been designed and finalized, according to a news release from Stephen McNair, founder of Michael Kraft LLC. "This project has been in the making for years," said McNair. "We are proud to offer the citizens of Mobile a design that slows for the uniformed branding and marketing of our most important annual cultural and tourist event. We believe the workshopped process of inviting community feedback was crucial for creating a design that truly represents all of Mardi Gras and the importance of Mobile as being the founder of the celebration in the United States." The purple and gold flag depicts tragi-comic jesters on either side of a crown-topped M, with the words "Mobile 1703" below. The city was founded in 1702, and Mardi Gras was celebrated for the first time in 1703. While New Orleans uses purple, gold and green in its Mardi Gras activities, Mobile's traditional colors are purple and gold only. "Mardi Gras in Mobile is Alabama's largest annual tourist event, so it's only fitting that we have a logo that can be used across the country to uniformly promote the celebration," said McNair. "Our primary goal was to create a design that everyone in Mobile could be proud to display as a symbol of our collective cultural and civic pride." Michael Kraft LLC will license the copyright-protected design to vendors for retail purposes. Items bearing the design will be available for retail sale at various locations throughout the Mobile area and online in the coming weeks, said McNair. He encourages all Mardi Gras organizations, nonprofits and municipal organizations to contact Michael Kraft LLC to discuss licensing opportunities to use the design for promotional and marketing purposes. The mission of Mobile-based Michael Kraft LLC is "to promote Mardi Gras as the premier cultural and tourist event for Mobile and the state of Alabama." For more information, email MichaelKraftLLC@gmail.com. U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., during a Martin Luther King Day event on Monday, criticized President Donald Trump's recent remark about "shithole countries." Jones responded to the comment during his keynote speech at the MLK Unity Breakfast in Birmingham. He said he's been branded a Pollyanna for wanting to be a bipartisan senator in Washington. "It doesn't help when the president of the United States uses language that is not only beneath his office but is the very antithesis of the very values we hold so dear as Americans," Jones said to thundering applause inside the BJCC's North Exhibition Hall. "Do not forget one second, whenever you hear that divisive rhetoric, no matter who it comes from, that because of our diversity and because of our differences, every time we faced what felt like insurmountable difficulties, we have risen to the occasion to confront that on. And make no mistake: We will do it again." Jones, a Democrat, was sworn into office on Jan. 3 after winning a special election against Republican Roy Moore. This was his first major speech in Alabama since taking office. The Washington Post first reported Thursday on the insensitive comments by the president, which occurred during a meeting with lawmakers on negotiations over immigration policy. "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" Trump reportedly said in the meeting, then said he would prefer if the U.S. could take in immigrants from Norway instead. Trump denied making the remark on Friday, but Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., who was in the meeting, said he heard the comment and that Trump repeatedly made similar remarks. Jones also spoke about King and civil rights. He said the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" that King wrote after being arrested during the Civil Rights Movement serves as a lesson for today. In the letter, King addressed the city's white religious leaders who were critical of King's tactics. "He could have used that letter to lash out, call them names," Jones said. The senator joked: "Maybe it was good he didn't have a Twitter account." The quip was a swipe at Trump, a prolific user of Twitter who is quick to insult his critics. Jones also spoke of the women who contributed to the civil rights movement, who in his view had been overshadowed by men. "The system was designed to ensure the permanent disenfranchisement of African Americans," Jones said. "There are so many great Alabamians fighting now and who fought for justice." U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, on Friday had called on Trump to apologize after he reportedly lamented why the United States takes in immigrants from "shithole countries" like Haiti and the African continent. She called remark "racist" and "abhorrent." Sewell also spoke at the MLK Unity Breakfast, where she called Trump's statement "unacceptable." She also said that recognizing King was an insufficient way to honor him, instead imploring attendees to act on "the fierce urgency of now." "It is imperative that we stay woke. It is imperative that we remember we have a duty to pay forward Dr. King's legacy. So what we need today is action," she said. "We need action as long as little black boys and black men are treated differently by the criminal justice system. We need action for we as a nation promised Dreamers that they would have a chance at the American Dream and we go back on that. We need action when the person who sits in the White House degrades and devalues Haitians and Africans. It's unacceptable." She explained why she's optimistic about the future. "If the state of Alabama can have a Democratic senator, anything is possible," she told the crowd. Birmingham City Council President Valerie Abbott said at the breakfast that "none of us in this room can rest on our laurels," referring to Trump's remark. "We're reminded this year that we can never get comfortable. You can never think youve made it or you've almost made it because there's someone out there who wants to send you back to where you came from," she said. Tuscaloosa Mayor Walter Maddox, who is running for governor, spoke at the breakfast of how he appreciated how King found optimism despite adversity. "We must find as a state that audacious faith to look forward," he said. Chelsea Manning, the former Army soldier convicted of leaking classified information, is running for the U.S. Senate. Manning, 30, filed to run in the Democratic primary in Maryland. Manning released her first campaign ad Sunday. "We don't need more or better leaders, we need someone willing to fight," Manning says as images of racial violence flicker on the screen. "We need to stop expecting that our systems will somehow fix themselves, we need to actually take the reins of power from them. "We need to challenge this at every level. We need to fix this. We don't need them anymore, we can do better." Manning faces incumbent Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Maryland, in the November primary. Manning was court martialed in 2013 for providing hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks but her sentence was commuted by President Barack Obama in 2016 after serving seven years of a 35-year prison sentence. Manning was convicted as Bradley Manning but announced she identified as a woman and changed her name to Chelsea Manning. She has been active in transgender and LGBTQ rights efforts. If elected, Manning would be the first transgender member of the U.S. Senate. Icy conditions across north Alabama have hurt the supply of blood available to the region's hospitals, according to blood supply company LifeSouth. "This time of year is always slow for blood collections, and the severe winter weather brought even more obstacles for blood donors and the local blood supply," the company said in a statement released Monday. The company encouraged donors to visit a LifeSouth donor center or blood mobile if possible. Donors must be at least 17 years old (or 16 with parental permission), must weight 110 pounds or more and must be in good health. A photo I.D. is required. For information on LifeSouth donor centers and blood mobile stops, visit www.lifesouth.org or call 888-795-2707. Americans honor Martin Luther King Jr. today in a day set aside to honor the late civil rights leader. lgore@al.com Don't Edit MORTON BROFFMAN MLK Day 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. was born Jan. 15, 1929 and went on to become the most visible spokesperson of the civil rights movement. His message of non-violent resistance led to massive changes in American culture and paved the way for the end of segregation and the expansion of human rights. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39. His legacy is celebrated each year with the holiday named in his honor. Here are some of the best quotes from and about Martin Luther King for MLK Day 2018: Don't Edit n "It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit \ A thread of MLK speeches and sermons in which he speaks truth to power, shares about his philosophy of nonviolence and expounds on issues of injustice and what our righteous, rigorous response should be. Relevant. Revelatory. Revolutionary. - - The King Center Don't Edit SELF "Let no man pull you low enough to hate him." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit Don't Edit If Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was preaching today, he would be speaking the idea that we are one people, one family, one housethe American house and the world housethat we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters, if not we will perish as fools, - - Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. Don't Edit ] "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit HsR "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit Corbis / Bettman Archives "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit "There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells him it is right." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit Don't Edit n "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." Martin Luther King, Jr. Don't Edit STAFF PHOTO "Never, never be afraid to do what's right. Especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the ones we inflict on our soul when we look the other way." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit Anonymous "If I cannot do great things I can do small things in a great way." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit Don't Edit Dave Pickoff "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com "That old law about 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind. The time is always right to do the right thing." - Martin Luther King Jr. Don't Edit % . "A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus." Martin Luther King, Jr. Don't Edit JONES "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now." Martin Luther King, Jr. Don't Edit Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com "History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." Martin Luther King, Jr. Don't Edit Don't Edit STAFF PHOTO "Dr. King was 26 when the Montgomery bus boycott began. He started small, rallying others who believed their efforts mattered, pressing on through challenges and doubts to change our world for the better. A permanent inspiration for the rest of us to keep pushing towards justice." - - Former President Barack Obama Don't Edit Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Today we remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His memorial stands tall, but the real memorial to Dr. King resides in the hearts of all who strive for a more perfect union. To honor him, let's rededicate ourselves to the cause Dr. King selflessly advanced, that all men are created equal. Posted by Vice President Mike Pence on Monday, January 15, 2018 "Today we remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His memorial stands tall, but the real memorial to Dr. King resides in the hearts of all who strive for a more perfect union. To honor him, let's rededicate ourselves to the cause Dr. King selflessly advanced, that all men are created equal." - - Vice President Mike Pence Every public school system in Alabama is closed Wednesday due to the threat of icy roads and winter weather. Nearly 727,000 students will be out of school Wednesday. The National Weather Service forecast "significant" impacts, especially on roads, as temperatures dropped into the 20s and teens Tuesday evening. The NWS said a band of snow moved into northwest Alabama Tuesday morning and spread east and south throughout the day Tuesday. All of the state, with the exception of the beaches, is under a winter weather advisory through today. Gov. Kay Ivey also declared a state of emergency on Monday ahead of the storm. Click here for more weather stories. The list below shows school systems across the state that have announced changes to their Wednesday schedules. The list is organized by county and will be updated throughout the night. All public school districts in Alabama will be closed Wednesday, Jan. 17 due to winter weather threats. Nearly 727,000 students will be out of school. Autauga County Autauga County Schools: Closed Wednesday. Baldwin County Baldwin County Schools: Closed Wednesday Barbour County Eufaula City Schools: Closed Wednesday Barbour County Schools: Closed Wednesday Bibb County Bibb County Schools: Closed Wednesday Blount County Blount County Schools: Closed Wednesday Oneonta City Schools: Closed Wednesday Bullock County Bullock County Schools: Closed Wednesday Butler County Butler County Schools: Closed Wednesday Calhoun County Anniston City Schools: Closed Wednesday Calhoun County Schools: Closed Wednesday The Donoho School: Closed Wednesday Jacksonville Christian Academy: Closed Tuesday Jacksonville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Piedmont City Schools: Closed Wednesday Oxford City Schools: Closed Wednesday Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School of Anniston: Closed Wednesday Chambers County Chambers County Schools: Closed Wednesday. Lanett City Schools: Closed Wednesday Cherokee County Cherokee County Schools: Closed Wednesday Chilton County Chilton County Schools: Closed Wednesday Choctaw County Choctaw County Schools: Closed Wednesday Clarke County Thomasville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Clarke County Schools: Closed Wednesday Clay County Clay County Schools: Closed Wednesday Cleburne County Cleburne County Schools: Closed Wednesday Coffee County Coffee County Schools: Closed Wednesday Enterprise City Schools: Closed Wednesday Elba City Schools: Closed Wednesday Colbert County Colbert County Schools: Closed Wednesday Tuscumbia City Schools: Closed Wednesday Sheffield City Schools: Closed Wednesday Muscle Shoals City Schools: Closed Wednesday Conecuh County Conecuh County Schools: Closed Wednesday Coosa County Coosa County Schools: Closed Wednesday Covington County Opp City Schools: Closed Wednesday Andalusia City Schools: Closed Wednesday Crenshaw County Crenshaw County Schools: Closed Wednesday Cullman County Cullman City Schools: Closed Wednesday Cullman County Schools: Closed Wednesday Arab City Schools: Closed Wednesday Dale County Dale County Schools: Closed Wednesday Daleville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Fort Rucker Schools: Closed Wednesday Ozark City Schools: Closed Wednesday Dallas County Dallas County Schools: Closed Wednesday Selma City Schools: Closed Wednesday Wallace Community College in Selma: Closed Wednesday DeKalb County DeKalb County Schools: Closed Wednesday Fort Payne City Schools: Closed Wednesday Escambia County Brewton City Schools: Closed Wednesday Escambia County Schools: Closed Wednesday Elmore County Elmore County Schools: Closed Wednesday Etowah County Etowah County Schools: Closed Wednesday Boaz City Schools: Closed Wednesday Gadsden City Schools: Closed Wednesday Gadsden State Community College: All campuses closed Wednesday Attalla City Schools: Closed Wednesday Snead State Community College: Closed Wednesday. Employees only will report to campus by noon on Wednesday. Because of this delay to the beginning of the Spring Semester, Snead State will postpone the drop of any class schedules due to non-payment until Wednesday, Jan. 17. The last day to add or register for a class for the full Spring Semester and the Spring Mini I term has also been postponed until Sunday, Jan. 21. Westbrook Christian School: Closed Wednesday Fayette County Fayette County Schools: Closed Wednesday Franklin County Franklin County Schools: Closed Wednesday, and the Franklin County Basketball Tournament has been postponed until Jan. 18. Russellville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Geneva County Geneva City Schools: Closed Wednesday Geneva County Schools: Closed Wednesday Greene County Greene County Schools: Closed Wednesday Hale County Hale County Schools: Closed Wednesday Henry County Henry County Schools: Closed Wednesday Houston County Dothan City Schools: Closed Wednesday Houston County Schools: Closed Wednesday Jackson County Jackson County Schools: Closed Wednesday Scottsboro City Schools: Closed Wednesday Jefferson County The Alabama School of Fine Arts: Closed Wednesday Bessemer City Schools: Closed Wednesday Bessemer Academy: Closed Wednesday Fairfield City Schools: Closed Wednesday Birmingham City Schools: Closed Wednesday Homewood City Schools: Closed Wednesday Hoover City Schools: Closed Wednesday. The board of education meeting is rescheduled for Jan. 22. Samford University: Classes resume at 1 p.m. Wednesday Mountain Brook Schools: Closed Wednesday Jefferson County Schools: Closed Wednesday. The University of Alabama at Birmingham: Classes & non-clinical operations closed Tuesday. The Dentistry clinic, as well as health clinics including The Kirklin Clinic, The Pediatric Clinic, UAB Medicine Acton Road and Leeds will be open Tuesday but will close at 11 a.m. UAB Hospital remains open. Elective outpatient surgical cases and procedures not needing an inpatient bed tomorrow are canceled. Elective surgical cases that do need an inpatient bed will continue as scheduled. UAB operations will be closed until 1 p.m. Wednesday. Vestavia Hills City Schools: Closed Wednesday Leeds City Schools: Closed Wednesday Midfield City Schools: Closed Wednesday Trussville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Alabama Waldorf School: Closed Wednesday Tarrant City Schools: Closed Wednesday Briarwood Christian School: Closed Wednesday John Carrol Catholic High School: Closed Wednesday Glen Iris Baptist School: Closed Tuesday Miles College: Classes resume at noon Wednesday Birmingham-Southern College: Delayed two hours Wednesday Lamar County Lamar County Schools: Closed Wednesday Lauderdale County Lauderdale County Schools: Closed Wednesday Florence City Schools: Closed Wednesday The University of North Alabama and Kilby school: Closed Wednesday Lawrence County Lawrence County Schools: Closed Wednesday Lee County Lee County Schools: Closed Wednesday Auburn City Schools: Closed Wednesday Opelika City Schools: Closed Wednesday Phenix City Schools: Closed Wednesday Auburn University: Closed Wednesday Limestone County Limestone County Schools: Closed Wednesday Athens City Schools: Closed Wednesday Lowndes County Lowndes County Schools: Closed Wednesday Madison County Madison City Schools: Closed Wednesday The University of Alabama in Huntsville: Closed Wednesday Madison County Schools: Closed Tuesday Alabama A&M University: Closed Wednesday Huntsville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Westminster Christian Academy (Huntsville): Both campuses closed Wednesday Marengo County Marengo County Schools: Closed Wednesday Demopolis City Schools: Closed Wednesday Linden City Schools: Closed Wednesday Marion County Marion County Schools: Closed Wednesday Haleyville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Winfield City Schools: Closed Wednesday Marshall County Marshall County Schools: Closed Wednesday Guntersville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Albertville City Schools: Closed Wednesday Mobile County Mobile County Schools: Closed Wednesday Saraland City Schools: Closed Wednesday Satsuma City Schools: Closed Wednesday Chickasaw City Schools: Closed Wednesday University of Mobile: Closed Wednesday. A make-up day will be held Friday, January 26. All classes cancelled Tuesday should meet on Friday, January 26, at their corresponding times and places. Classes scheduled for Tuesday night will be moved online. Spring Hill College: All classes scheduled for 8:15 and 9:15 a.m. Wednesday are canceled. Classes will resume at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday. University of South Alabama: Normal classes will resume at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Monroe County Monroe County Schools: Closed Wednesday Montgomery County Montgomery County Schools: Closed Wednesday. Pike Road Schools: Closed Wednesday. Morgan County Morgan County Schools: Closed Wednesday Decatur City Schools: Closed Wednesday Hartselle City Schools: Closed Wednesday Perry County Perry County Schools: Closed Wednesday Pickens County Pickens County Schools: Closed Wednesday Pike County Troy City Schools: Closed Wednesday Pike County Schools: Closed Wednesday Randolph County Randolph County Schools: Closed Wednesday Roanoke City Schools: Closed Wednesday Russell County Russell County Schools: Closed Wednesday Phenix City Schools: Closed Wednesday Shelby County The Indian Springs School: Closed Wednesday Shelby County Schools: Closed Wednesday Alabaster City Schools: Closed Wednesday Pelham City Schools: Closed Wednesday University of Montevallo: Classes will resume at noon Wednesday. St. Clair County St. Clair County Schools: Closed Wednesday Pell City Schools: Closed Wednesday Sumter County Sumter County Schools: Closed Wednesday The University of West Alabama: Closed Wednesday. Day and evening classes will not meet, campus events for the day and evening are canceled, and administrative offices will be closed. Campus dining facilities will have abbreviated hours, opening at 11 a.m. Should conditions prompt changes in operating hours of campus dining facilities, notice will be sent to students via campus email. Talladega County Sylacauga City Schools: Closed Wednesday Talladega City Schools: Closed Wednesday Talladega County Schools: Closed Wednesday Tallapoosa County Tallapoosa County Schools: Closed Wednesday Alexander City Schools: Closed Wednesday Tallassee City Schools: Closed Wednesday Tuscaloosa County Tuscaloosa City Schools: Closed Wednesday Tuscaloosa County Schools: Closed Wednesday Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa: Closed Wednesday. All on-campus events are cancelled. The University of Alabama: Classes resume at noon Wednesday Walker County Walker County Schools: Closed Wednesday Bevill State Community College: All campuses closed Wednesday Jasper City Schools: Closed Wednesday Washington County Washington County Schools: Closed Wednesday Wilcox County Wilcox County Schools: Closed Wednesday Camden Christian University: Closed Wednesday Winston County Winston County Schools: Closed Wednesday Haleyville City Schools: Closed Wednesday A Franklin County woman was charged with murder in the Saturday night shooting death of her husband. Franklin County Sheriff Shannon Oliver said his department responded to a phone call around 11:30 p.m. Saturday. They arrived at 76 Ethan Avenue, just south of Russellville, and found 58-year-old Michael Cody fatally shot inside the home. "We found him inside the living room of the residence, deceased from what we believe to be gunshot wounds," said Oliver. He said it appeared that Cody had been shot once in the arm and once in the head. Oliver said Cody's wife, Connie Mae Cody, 58, had made the phone call to authorities. She was questioned and taken into custody. The couple had moved to Franklin County from Wisconsin within the past month. The shooting is still under investigation. The Alabama Supreme Court has upheld a $1.7 million verdict for a customer injured by a fall in a Mobile County Dollar General store. The case goes back to July 9, 2012, when 60-year-old Deborah Revette slipped and fell at Dollar General's store No. 7853 on Three Notch Road. She filed suit later that month and the case subsequently dragged on for four years in Mobile County Circuit Court under Judge Michael A. Youngpeter. Revette was represented by the Cunningham Bounds firm. Her lawyers said that she had slipped in clear liquid laundry detergent and suffered leg and shoulder fractures that required multiple surgeries and nearly half a million dollars in medical bills. Her lawyers argued that the store bore the blame due to Dolgencorp corporate policy that required insufficient safety inspections. The case appears to have been highly contentious: The record shows that in March 2014, Youngpeter ordered the parties to attend mediation conducted by Reggie Copeland Jr. Then in April 2015 he ordered another mediation session and requested that both sides be prepared to attend "with a different mindset than the preceding mediation." That too apparently proved fruitless, and a jury ultimately rendered a verdict awarding $1,725,000 to Revette on Sept. 27, 2016. Dolgencorp filed notice of appeal in January 2017. On Jan. 12, the Alabama Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court ruling. The Supreme Court issued no opinion on its decision. Bob Grip, an iconic figure in Mobile-area television news, announced his retirement to his co-workers Friday afternoon. After working as an anchor at WALA FOX10 for 33 years, this will be his last full year, he said. He will retire at the end of January 2019. He made the announcement on his Facebook page on Monday morning: Friends, I want you to be among the first to know that 2018 will be my last full year at FOX10/WALA. This August will... Posted by Bob Grip on Monday, January 15, 2018 Grip's career spans 48 years, according to a news release. He first worked as a disc jockey at WBIS-AM near his hometown in central Connecticut. In 1984, after holding earlier positions in Mobile, and later Portsmouth, Va., Grip took over anchor duties at WALA and has called the Gulf Coast home ever since. His accomplishments at WALA FOX10 include meeting Pope John Paul II at the Vatican for a 1988 documentary and reporting live from war-ravaged Kuwait in 1993. He established the weekly series "Fugitive Files," which has run for 24 years and helped law enforcement apprehend more than 700 suspects. He also produced weeklong series from Paris and Versailles, France, in 1998 and Madrid, Spain, in 2001. Recently, Grip produced an award-winning series of reports from the Farnborough International Air Show in the United Kingdom. Grip's career in journalism has also been noted for its impact in the community. He has been recognized by the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Mobile County Sheriff's Department for his contribution to the efforts of law enforcement. In 2016, the Mobile County Public School System recognized him with the "Academic Leadership" award for his work with the Hi-Q academic competition for local high schools. In addition, he taught journalism at Spring Hill College for more than 25 years. "It was always my dream to work in broadcasting, even as a teenager," Grip said. "It still makes me laugh to think a guidance counselor tried to discourage me, telling me to 'do something normal.' I wanted to do extraordinary things, but never imagined I would get to meet presidents, talk with a pope and travel around the country and the world. By far, though, the most rewarding part of my career in journalism has been serving our community. I have been honored to work side-by-side with many wonderful people from across the Gulf Coast. I hope to continue to share what I've learned in service to others." Grip has been "a pillar of journalism in our community," said Gary Yoder, WALA FOX10's general manager. "He has been the one that many have turned to, in good times and bad, to deliver the news over the years. His retirement leaves some very big shoes to fill." The search for Grip's replacement is underway, Yoder said. Meanwhile, Grip will remain at the station throughout 2018, though his schedule will be reduced in a few months, he said in his Facebook post. "I hope that viewers will enjoy every day with Bob in the same way I will," Yoder said. "He may be retiring, but he will always be a part of the WALA family. Bob will be missed." Donald Trump Woodrow Wilson Trump/Wilson This is who we are, sadly. We are ignorant. We are arrogant. We are dismissive. We are isolationist. We are misogynistic. We are despicable. We are dishonest. We are racially and culturally oblivious and ignorant, which means, yes, we are racist. With a capital T. Whole truth be told: in many ways, we are the shithole country. And we've finally and emphatically shown it to the rest of the world. Of course, we are not those things, too. Not in our ideal. Especially not on this holiday, not in this year when we stand at the 50th year since the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. I venture even those among you who vociferously disagree with me on virtually every topic share my belief and hope that--tossing aside relatively inconsequential political platforms, positions and programs--we are not those horrible things. But before we can strive together to ensure that soon, very soon we will not be those things, before we can demand that we are not those things, we've must look into the mirror, stare at our ugly selves and admit and accept what we see--that in this time, and in this place, this is us. So much so that we are numb to it, that we're enablers who lie to ourselves each time one of those traits manifests itself and scream: That is not who we are! Yes, it is. It is, in no small part, because we--yes, we; one very divisible nation under God--elected a man to lead us who embodies each of those stomach-churning traits (and probably a few even worse ones). A man who wears them proudly, like a crown atop his citrus-flamed bouffant, like breast medals on the military uniform he never wore. A man who is, at best, racially and culturally oblivious and/or ignorant. At worst? And in truth: Donald Trump is our most racist president since No. 28, Woodrow Wilson, who, among other racist atrocities, famously fired 15 of 17 black federal supervisors upon taking office in 1913 (replacing them all with whites), and re-segregated federal departments that had grown to be fairly (and relatively peacefully) integrate during Reconstruction. (Because his office wasn't physically conducive to establishing a separate space for its one black worker, he was actually surrounded by a cage, according to a letter sent to the president by W.E.B Dubois, who had actually supported Wilson in the 1912 election.) Trump's racism is often subtle, of course, more clueless and concrete--like that white acquaintance or co-worker we all have who is surprised to learn that, for instance, the first female millionaire in the U.S. was a black woman, or that a black man invented, say, something as integral to our lives as the traffic light, or that we don't all know each other. Trump was reportedly surprised, for instance, that all Congressional Black Cause members didn't personally know his good, black friend, Dr. Ben Carson. (Place hand-in-face emoji right here.) Sometimes Trump's racism just makes your skin crawl--like when he brought 69 presidents of historically black colleges and universities into the Oval Office last February for a cringe-worthy photo-op and yet-to-be-fulfilled promises (read: lies) of federal aid to support their noble and much-needed educational missions. (Almost everyone in the photo looked uncomfortable, expect Trump and aide Kelly Connoway, who was sitting cozily and disrespectfully on the couch with her shoeless fee tucked under her.) And sometimes, despite his protestation to reporters on Sunday that he's the "least racist person you ever interviewed," Trump is just unequivocally racist. Think birther. Think "some good people on both sides" when one side comprises hate-spewing white supremacists. Think "shithole countries." Trump usually reveals his racism behind closed doors, among "friends"--as he did in the White House last week--people with whom he feels wink, wink safe: mostly (if not entirely) men who share at least a couple of traits him. Being white and wealthy. Except, as we all know now, this time, he got betrayed. One of his own shared his racist bile with the rest of us, via The Washington Post, revealing that, during a bi-partisan discussion about immigration policy and how any new efforts might affect immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and many (if not all) African nations, Trump reportedly said: "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out." NBC says someone in the room responded: "Because if you do, it will be obvious why." Because you're a racist. Wouldn't you just love to have been in that room? To have seen the expressions on the faces of folks who had just heard--even if they now can't recall, or refuse to do so, like that hand-over-ears emoji--the President of the United States describe other nations as "shithole countries"? Nations with challenges yes (just like us), but also with thriving landscapes and vibrant cultures and proud histories. Nations whose immigrants have contributed to the fabric of our nation at itshighest levels--in science, education, business, the arts, the law, sports, social reform and much more. Nations that just coincidently happen to be inhabited by black and brown people. As they picked their jaws from the oak table in front of them, Trump doubled-down on his already-showing racist card and (ahem) allegedly asked: Why we can't more folks from Norway come here?! Maybe because, in many, many categories, compared to Norway, we're, well, pretty much a shithole. Various reports rank Norway first in the world in prosperity (we're 18th), political freedom (we're 45th), press freedom (43d, we are) and--my favorite--happiest, where we can only proudly say: we're No. 14! Norwegians also have a higher life expectancy at birth, lower infant mortality and, according to the World Bank, a higher per capita gross domestic product. Nah, Norwegians are pretty much staying where they are; reports state fewer and fewer emigrated to the U.S. over the past 50 years. Indeed, the Atlantic reported, based on figures from the Department of Homeland Security, that of the 1.18 million who became legal permanent residents here in 2016, just 362 were Norwegian. Can you blame them? It's who we are, sadly. We don't have to be, and none of us should want to be. Yet we'll no longer be those things only if we stop being numb to them, stop enabling or ignoring or trying to justify them--especially they are exhibited by Trump. Because it is who he is. Roy S. Johnson's column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register and AL.com. Hit me up at rjohnson@al.com and follow me at twitter.com/roysj. Reported paramilitary force was put together by the president of Republika Srpska, and could be another example of Moscows meddling in the Balkans. On Friday, the Bosnian news website Zurnal published a story on the alleged existence of a paramilitary force called Srbski ponos, or Serbian Honour. The force, the website claimed, was being trained in a Russian centre in the Serbian city of Nis. Milorad Dodik, leader of a Bosnian Serb nationalist party and president of Republika Srpska a semi-autonomous entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina that was created in 1995 under the Dayton peace agreement reportedly put the force together. On the same day, Bosnian Minister of Security Dragan Mektic, a member of the Republika Srpska opposition Serb Democratic Party, confirmed to local media that there was indeed a paramilitary force recruiting and operating in Republika Srpska. As Zurnal journalist Avdo Avdic revealed, members of this paramilitary force apparently underwent training in Serbia and Russia, while some gained military experience fighting alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine. Members of the group also allegedly attended celebrations of Republika Srpskas statehood day on January 9, organised by Dodik. These celebrations are held each year in defiance of a ruling by the countrys top court, deeming them unconstitutional. According to the report, some of the members of the militia have criminal backgrounds. A leaked security service document, cited in the report, said Dodiks aides discussed the militias goals to include possible intervention if the opposition seeks to obstruct the functioning of the authorities. The Russian connection So where does the Russian connection come in? In July 2018, NATO officials will be meeting in Brussels, where the enlargement strategy of the alliance will be discussed. If you look at the NATO membership map, you would notice that, in the Balkans, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia are all NATO member states. The only states that have not yet joined are Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo and Serbia. Belgrade has made it all too clear that it has no interest in joining the Western military alliance, which bombed what was then Yugoslavia in 1995 and 1999. But the other three states are. I have been told by a former high-ranking Bosnian defence official that Bosnia will get its Membership Action Plan (MAP) activated during the meeting in Brussels, which would be a formal step towards joining NATO. Republika Srpska has been hindering this process for years now, by refusing the registration of all military assets. Political leaders in Republika Srpska like Dodik gravitate more towards Moscow and have even floated the idea of holding a referendum on joining NATO. Russia would clearly not be happy if Bosnia joined. If the Zurnal report is indeed true, this would not be Moscows first instance of meddling in Balkan politics. In October 2016, Montenegrin authorities arrested Montenegrin, Russian and Serbian nationals, including former Serbian gendarmerie chief Branislav Dikic, and accused them of plotting a coup against the government. Dikic is allegedly a fierce opponent of NATO presence in the Balkans and the plot was meant to prevent Montenegro from joining the alliance. Despite the disturbances, in June 2017, Montenegro officially became a NATO member state, killing any hopes that Moscow might have had of a navy base on the Adriatic Sea. Russia has also been accused of meddling in Macedonia. In June 2017, leaked classified documents from the countrys intelligence agency revealed that Russian spies and diplomats had been involved in a nearly decade-long effort to destabilise the country. They have also backed pro-Russian nationalists who, of course, are opposed to the countrys potential membership in NATO. It is interesting to note that Moscows interference in Macedonia, according to the leaked documents, started around 2008, when Greece blocked its attempt to join NATO due to the decades-long name dispute between the two countries. In Bosnia, Russia has the sympathies of Dodik and his followers. How far that relationship can go is soon to be revealed. Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a general election in October this year. Some Bosnians are already anxious about what could come out of this, having in mind Russias recent military interventions and what happened in Crimea and South Ossetia as a result. Political recklessness and foreign meddling could destabilise the country and rekindle the old conflict. Indian Prime Minister Modi accords warm welcome to Netanyahu as the two countries move to strengthen relations. New Delhi, India Diplomatic talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu are set to begin on Monday during the latters first official trip to India. Modi accorded Netanyahu a warm welcome when he arrived on Sunday and vowed to further cement the close friendship between Israel and India. The highly publicised visit comes after New Delhi voted against the United States decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at the UN General Assembly last month. But despite Indias record in abstaining or voting against Israel on the international level, Netanyahus visit is part of a wider move by the right-wing Indian government to strengthen existing ties. Hundreds of people gathered in central New Delhi to protest Netanyanhus visit on Monday. Brinda Karat, a spokeswoman for the leftist parties that organised the protests, condemned what she called Netanyahus expansionist policies and sabotaging any possibility of an independent state of Palestine. We are also against the growing military and security ties with Israel for this reason, she told Al Jazeera. Former Indian ambassador KC Singh said Netanyahus India trip is basically a continuation of Indias calibrated relations with Israel since 1992, when New Delhi established diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. The ruling BJP, of course, has an ideological affinity towards Israel. Prime Minister Modi doesnt have the inhibitions of his predecessors while dealing with Israel and thus a theatrical edge has been added, Singh told Al Jazeera. The ruling BJP, of course, has an ideological affinity towards Israel. Prime Minister Modi doesn't have the inhibitions of his predecessors while dealing with Israel and thus a theatrical edge has been added KC Singh, former Indian ambassador Among the many bilateral cooperation issues to be discussed by the two sides defence, technology, agriculture, cyber-security, water management and trade. Its all about the money, said Akiva Eldar, a Tel Aviv-based Israeli analyst and writer for Al Monitor. The Israeli arms industry is thirsty and hungry for new markets, and India is a very good market for it. They do not care about what Pakistan is going to say, neither about Kashmir. It is good money and the industry is a very strong lobby in Israel, he told Al Jazeera. India is currently the biggest buyer of Israeli weaponry, spending an average $1bn annually on military equipment in recent years. In July, Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel, weeks after the two nations signed a $2bn defence deal. But due to Israels increasing isolation on the international front propelled by its ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territories Eldar says it is very important for Netanyahu to show there are other options. International expansion At the emergency session of the General Assembly in December, 128 countries voted in favour of rejecting US President Donald Trumps decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on December 6. Nine countries voted against, while 35 abstained. Commenting on Indias vote at the UN, Netanyahu told India Today: Naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forwards. I dont think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits, he added. {articleGUID} The vote, said Mazen Shamiyeh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian foreign ministry, is pushing Netanyahu to demonstrate his strength and achievements to his constituency on the international level. Strengthening relations with India, said Shamiyeh, is just one example. Over the past several years, Netanyahu has made multiple visits to the African continent in a move to improve economic ties, he said. Israel is moving on all fronts in Africa, Asia it [Israel] has been seeking to cultivate relations with world nations even if they are small because they still have a vote in these organisations, said Shamiyeh. Prior to his departure to India, Netanyahu said on Twitter the two nations will sign very many agreements. We are strengthening ties between Israel and this important global power. This serves our security, economic, trade and tourism interests, as well as many other areas. This is a great blessing for the State of Israel, he said. Nationalist agenda While Israel and India established diplomatic relations in 1992, the warmer ties have become more visible since the BJPs rise to power in 2014. Indias ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has won most national and local elections on a Hindu nationalist agenda, with many party members making anti-Muslim statements to polarise Hindu voters. New Delhi-based political analyst Manoj Joshi says Netanyahus trip symbolises the close ties that have developed between India and Israel after the Modi government came to power. Netanyahus visit, will see greater state-to-state interaction and collaboration in the military-technical area, Joshi told Al Jazeera. While Modis predecessors had kept Israel at an arms length, the Indian prime minister has taken a different stand and has spoken of his personal affinity for Israel. Indias December vote at the UNGA against the US, and in turn against Israel, however, is indicative of the complexity of its policy on Israel-Palestine. BJP legislator Subramaniam Swamy has called for India to shift its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, but India has tread cautiously on the issue. The country imports most of its oil from Arab countries, many of them hostile towards Israel. Over the past two years, Indias trade with Arab countries stood at $121bn. On the other hand, the India-Israel bilateral trade stands at less than $5bn. Prime Minister Modi has sought to de-hyphenate the ties, but India has been careful to align its stand on Jerusalem and the occupied territories with the world opinion, said Joshi. India-Israel [relations] is more a marriage of convenience. Israel welcomes the support of a large, non-aligned country, while the present government of India is run by a party that admires Israel for a variety of reasons. Additional reporting by @LinahAlsaafin Forced at 15 The West African country of Niger has the highest rate of child marriage in the world. This tradition jeopardises the future of the young girls forced into such marriages and endangers their health. But more and more girls are fighting back. The young bride Fifteen-year-old Hamsatou holds up a photo of herself on her wedding day. She says this was not a happy day for her. When I found out that my parents wanted to marry me off, I said no. But they said the wedding would take place whether I agreed to it or not. I asked my brother for help, but he just said I shouldnt be upset. Thats just the way it goes. - Hamsatou Hamsatou lives in Gamkalley, a district of Niamey, capital of the desert nation of Niger. Here, when parents make a decision, their daughters must obey. Hamsatou lived in a mud brick house with her parents and six siblings before she was married off. Her father, Seydou Mahaman, says he made the decision for his daughter to marry because he had no other choice. Children who don't obey their parents are cursed. - Leila (Hamsatou's mother) Child marriage as a solution? Many parents here justify their decisions to marry off their children at a young age in such a manner. Premarital relationships are taboo in their community and becoming pregnant before marriage brings disgrace on the whole family. Extreme poverty is another major factor in the prevalence of child marriage in Niger. Half of the countrys population lives on less than two dollars a day. Niger is second from the bottom on the current UN Human Development Index. There is also a rapidly growing and extremely young population. Sixty nine percent of Nigeriens are under 24 years old. On average, each woman bears seven or eight children. It is difficult for many parents to care for all their children. Marrying daughters off early appears to be a simple solution to the problem. As a result, nearly a third of all girls are only 15 years old or younger when they marry, and almost 80 percent are married by the time they are 18 years old. This makes Niger the country with the highest rate of child marriage in the world. In most cases, girls are forced into marriages arranged by parents or relatives. For many, this marks the beginning of a long ordeal. Its worth fighting Nafissa is now 22 years old. "I was 14 at the time and was still at school. They married me to a 34-year-old man whom I didnt know. My uncle engineered the wedding. It was the son of his friend. I remember it was a good day, I was happy because I got a good mark at school." "But on the way home everyone was looking at me. They called out to me: 'the young bride, the young bride.' Thats how I found out I was going to be married off." Nafissas husband took her with him to his home village 1,000 km from her home. After only a few months he began to hit her and forced her into sex. Nafissa became pregnant for the first time aged 15 - she lost her child during childbirth. When she became pregnant the second time, she decided to flee. "I was two months pregnant at the time. A friend of the family let me live with her. Thats also where I gave birth to my son. When he was five months old, I took him to my grandmother in Niamey. Thats where I heard about the aid program. The staff taught me for a whole year. They built up my confidence and I learned to read and write better." Nafissa took part in a program run by the local aid organisation SongES. The staff helped her get back to school. She presents her diploma with great pride. And last week she found out she has been accepted on an apprenticeship. My dream is to become an electrician. I want to work so that I can give my son a better life. And also to support my parents. - Nafissa Nafissa wants to convince other girls that it's worth fighting. She travels across the country on behalf of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as an ambassador in the fight against child marriage. When I found out that I had passed the final exams, I cried. I cried for joy. You could too. Ask for help from an NGO and go to school. Dont give up. Then you too can achieve what you want. - Nafissa An increasing number of girls are fighting back. The local aid organisation SOS is one of the first places they go to seek help when they flee child marriage. Thirteen-year-old Chafa'Atou arrived here from her home village Filingue four days ago. She tells SOS employee Hannatou her story. "I was at my grandmothers place as my father called me to him. He told me he was going to marry me off. To an older man who already has a wife and grown-up children. I resisted and tried to explain to him that I am still too young. I begged my mother for help, but she just said I had no choice because my school marks are too bad." Hannatou hears this kind of story all too often. She is a first responder at SOS and takes care of girls like ChafaAtou. They are given shelter and the aid workers make contact with relatives in order to mediate. Hannatou has spoken to ChafaAtous parents. They have agreed to wait with the marriage if ChafaAtou comes back home. ChafaAtou is scared that they will change their minds again. Thats why she doesnt want to go back to school. She thinks that if she gets bad marks again, her parents will want to marry her off again. Thats why shed rather train to become a tailor now. I now talk to her parents regularly to make sure that they keep to their word. - Hannatou (SOS first responder) Chafa'Atou will remain in the care of the aid organisation for the time being. Hannatou first wants to organise a joint visit to her parents. There she will explain to them that the marriage will not only endanger their daughters future, but also her health. Cast out The medical histories of Sister Allassanes patients are all quite similar at this center that specialises in the treatment of obstetric fistula. The women and girls all come from rural regions. Usually, they had been married off as children and became pregnant at a very young age. But, because their bodies are too small and not ready for childbirth this often leads to complications, when, for example, the fetus is too big for the birth canal. The result is often fatal for both mother and child. Those who survive are usually left with serious injuries. One of the most common is obstetric fistula, when the strain placed on the body during childbirth ruptures the tissue between the vagina and the bladder and a hole, called a fistula, is formed between the organs. The 22-year-old patient Fati explains what this can mean. "I was 15 when I became pregnant. I was in labor for three days before they took me to the doctor. He helped me to have my baby, but didnt treat me any further. A short time later I suddenly noticed that I couldnt hold my urine any more. I was embarrassed. Not being able to control your bladder is unbelievable for an adult. It dribbled out the whole time, wherever I was. I thought I was going to go crazy." Fati has been undergoing treatment for seven years. She spent the first four years here in the clinic and has been coming for regular check ups for the last three years. Its not unusual for the treatment of fistula to take so long. Women usually have to endure several operations in order to rebuild the damaged tissue. Fati has undergone six surgeries. And there are only a few doctors, so women often have to wait a very long time between operations. In addition, the clinic is the only place that many of the girls can stay, says nurse Allassane. "Many of our patients were cast out from their families after the birth of their children. Some of them have been here for six or seven years and have never had a visitor. Our society still marginalises women who suffer from this condition. Even though we can now treat it very well. We have very high rates of healing compared to the past. We must build on this." Many of our parents were cast out from their families after the birth of their children. - Allassane (nurse) Those who make it to one of the few fistula clinics in the country have a good chance of becoming healthy again. The problem is that many women out in the rural areas never have the chance to learn that their condition is curable or they want to keep it a secret because they are ashamed. It is clear to nurse Allassane that better health care alone cant solve the problem. "If we want to get rid of the problem, we have to prevent child marriages." What can be done? Aid organisations are critical of the government for doing too little to protect girls. Niger has no laws determining a minimum age for marriage. The consequence is that it is tradition rather than the law that decides when girls are old enough to marry - this means their fates lie in the hands of fathers, male relatives, village elders and religious leaders. School for husbands It is precisely this that an unusual project run by the NGO SongES focuses on. Twelve men are discussing pregnancy, family planning and child marriage with a SongES employee at the aid organisation premisses. This also includes the issue of contraception. The enormously high birthrate of more than seven children per woman is an important part of the problem. Maman Abdou is proud to be a pupil of the school for husbands. He and the other men meet here twice a month. They are all recognised figures in their villages - imams, village elders, community leaders. The NGO intentionally invites influential men to attend the school. The idea is that they disseminate the knowledge they gain from their meetings through their villages and so help to improve the situation for women and girls. According to a SongES aid worker, the concept has been successful. In regions with schools for husbands, more women go to screenings, there are more medically attended births and also more women using contraception, he says. The schools also influence the mens attitude towards child marriage. We must prevent these marriages so that our children dont become pregnant too young. Its a problem for the whole community, thats why we must fight together against child marriage. - Maman Abdou (SongES employee) Still a way to go Maman Abdou and his fellow pupils want to convince the other fathers in their villages of this too. But the example of Hamsatou shows that this isnt always easy. Her father knows about the project and thinks its good, but not for his daughter. If you have a daughter, your mind cant be at rest until you have married her off. Their heads are just too full of nonsense nowadays. - Seydou (Hamsatou's father) A few weeks ago Hamsatou was still a pupil, now shes a housewife. Of course, she too has heard that more and more girls are resisting marriage. But the fear of how her parents and relatives will react is too great. It could have been worse, she says. At least her husband has treated her well so far. Palestinians are facing today the same legal injustice that Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King fought against in the US. It is possible for a single person to engage in an act of resistance against oppression and change the world. A 16-year-old Palestinian girl named Ahed Tamimi is such an individual. On December 19, in a simple yet profound act of defiance against the occupation, she slapped Israeli soldiers who had entered the yard of her house. Just hours earlier members of the Israeli armed forces had shot her teenage cousin Mohammed in the face with a rubber-coated bullet. The young boy was placed in a medically induced coma as doctors operated on him to remove the bullet fragments embedded in his skull. Much like American civil rights icon Rosa Parks who was arrested six decades ago by breaking the law for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white man Tamimi has become the face of a nonviolent movement against injustice. Ahed Tamimi is from the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, where Israelis have confiscate the villagers water source and land and built settlements. The village of 600 has regularly protested these encroachments, and the Israeli army has shot, maimed and killed Aheds family members. The Israeli authorities arrested Ahed, and an Israeli military court indicted her, with prosecutors portraying her as a terrorist. She could remain in prison until the end of her trial, and, if convicted, she could serve up to 10 years in prison. Aheds mother, Nariman faces five charges, including incitement for posting the incident on Facebook. Israeli military tribunals have a conviction rate nearing 100 percent. The real crime this 16-year-old Palestinian girl committed was resisting a hostile and racist military occupation and its human rights violations, and having the temerity to challenge the toxic masculinity of the Israeli military. This has made her the target of ridicule, with Israelis giving her the nickname Shirley Temper, and chalking up the incident to Pallywood (Palestinian propaganda discreding Israel). there have been accusations that the Palestinians such as Ahed stage hoax incidents wearing American clothes to garner support among Americans and other Western audiences. {articleGUID} One Israeli journalist, Ben Caspit, called for her rape and murder, saying: In the case of the girls, we should exact a price at some other opportunity, in the dark, without witnesses and cameras. Member of the Knesset Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the US, accused the Tamimi family of using their children as pawns in a propaganda war, and suggested that Ahed may not even be their daughter. As Martin Luther King, Jr whose birthday is celebrated today wrote in Letter From Birmingham Jail (pdf) an unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. Just as people have a legal and moral responsibility to obey just laws, King argued, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. On a December day in 1955, Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat on a public bus to a white man, breaking the local racial segregation law requiring black people to sit in the back of public transportation vehicles. Her arrest triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a yearlong boycott of the city bus system by African Americans, of which King was a leader. Ultimately, this boycott led to the US Supreme Court ruling the segregation of Montgomery public transportation unconstitutional. Parks arrest was the catalyst for a movement. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust, King said. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Like Rosa Parks before her, Ahed Tamimi is struggling against unjust laws, in her case the injustice of a 50-year military occupation that denies Palestinians their land, right to travel and self-determination. Israel maintains an apartheid system of democracy for Israeli Jews and discrimination against Israelis of colour second-class citizenship for Israeli citizens of Arab descent, and dispossession and disenfranchisement for Palestinian Arabs in the territories. Consider that Israel is the only nation that systematically detains and prosecutes children in a military court system lacking the right of due process. The Israeli military detains hundreds of Palestinian children between the ages of 12-17 every year (pdf), including many who are locked up for throwing stones something that would never happen to Israeli children. Palestinian children face mistreatment by the military, according to Defense for Children International-Palestine, with 75 percent subjected to physical violence upon arrest, and 97 percent interrogated without a parent present. UNICEF calls the ill-treatment of Palestinian children in military detention widespread, systematic and institutionalised, (pdf) and according to the US Department of State, Palestinian children are tortured through beatings, long-term handcuffing, threats, intimidation, and solitary confinement. Further, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) found that last December, at least 345 Palestinian children were injured by the Israeli military, of which over a third involved live ammunition. The Israeli military has killed at least 32 Palestinian children in 2016. This, from a force which calls itself the most moral army in the world. In Israels apartheid system of justice, Palestinians face the army, but West Bank Jewish settlers face civil courts. A West Bank settler teen who beat a left-wing rabbi and human rights activist at knifepoint received community service. Yifat Alkobi, a Jewish West Bank settler who slapped a soldier who tried to stop her from throwing stones, was released on bail the same day she was arrested and sent home. Prior to the incident, she had been convicted five times for disorderly conduct, throwing rocks and assaulting a police officer, yet never faced jail time. And Eliraz Feiz, another settler who called for violent action, even lethal force against Palestinians and Israeli soldiers was sentenced to five months community service. Israel threatens Ahed Tamimi with years in prison because they fear her power, the power of a resistance movement to the occupation that has gained momentum. The BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) supported by Palestinian civil society is working, creating a backlash and a blacklist in which the Israeli government has banned such human rights groups as the American Friends Service Committee which saved Jews from Nazi Germany and Jewish Voice for Peace from entering Israel. Meanwhile, the extremist right-wing, ethno-nationalist settler regime of Benjamin Netanyahu, and the white nationalist government of Donald Trump have no intentions of allowing a just peace settlement of the conflict. Israel seized 1012 hectares of Palestinian land in 2017, a threefold increase in settlements in the West Bank and Jerusalem over the previous year. At the same time, the Palestinian population is expected to soon surpass the number of Jews in Israel and the occupied territories. With the two-state solution now impossible, we will be left with only two alternatives: a fully democratic state in which Palestinians have citizenship and equal rights to Jewish Israelis, or what is taking place now, an apartheid state where one group rules the other. The continuation of the status-quo is unacceptable. Whatever form self-determination takes for the Palestinians, the injustice of the occupation must end. And youth like Ahed Tamimi are leading the resistance that will eventually make the Israeli apartheid regime crumble. Ahed is the Rosa Parks of Palestine. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Is there anything good that came out of colonialism, past or present? British newspapers these days bristle with opinion pieces waxing sentimental about Britains colonial past. One Oxford don who is launching a research project to celebrate the ethical merits of the British empire admonishes the readers of The Times to not feel guilty about our colonial history. After all, remembering imperial atrocities could stop the British from tackling the worlds problems, presumably at the point of bayonets or under an umbrella of aerial bombardment. Another opinion piece, woefully ignorant of Singapores history or of British imperial ventures more generally, tells us that Singapore shows us that colonialism can work. The author does mention its rise on the back of opium trade, but does not seem to know that Singapore, like so many other Indian Ocean port cities, was ruthlessly exploited by the British, and if the colony became prosperous, it was not because of the glories of imperial management or economic liberalism. The merits of colonialism: railroads and parliaments The Victorian buildings the author praises were constructed by local and regional merchant capital (not imperial investment), using local workers, some of whom were forced into bonded, indentured or corvee labour. If anything, throughout the British colonies, imperial intervention stunted economic growth, introduced limitations and barriers to already existing trade, and brutally exploited workers, peasants, sailors, soldiers and the like for profits shipped to banks in London; not to mention the use of Singapores port as a glorified fuel depot for colonial navies, and the deployment of military force in and around the colony to quash any resistance to the empire. And more often than not, colonialism has left behind hardened sectarian and ethnic divisions and racialised class structures. The authoritarian rulers to whom the colonial masters handed the keys to the city pay lip service to democracy but stifle political participation by unruly publics; and in this they are supported by former colonial masters who value their stability and loyalty. Apologists for empire put the economic and ecological devastation, de-development, exploitation, and global inequalities wrought by colonialism on one side of the ledger. On the other side, they acclaim the railways, the parliaments, the infrastructures, and the modern bureaucracies. In their hagiographies of the empire, there is an echo of the famous scene in The Life of Brian in which a Judean revolutionary played by John Cleese issues a call to arms: What have the Romans ever done for us? His comrades respond by listing the range of infrastructures the Roman Empire had built in ancient Judea: aqueducts, roads, sanitation, irrigation and so on. Fascinatingly, this Monty Python scene is based on a Talmudic passage in which a Rabbi Judah also praises Roman infrastructural projects. Rabbi Simon, however, challenges this simplistic obsequy to empire, All that they made they made for themselves; they built market-places, to set harlots in them; baths, to rejuvenate themselves; bridges, to levy tolls for them. The Oxbridge-educated members of the Python comedy collective chose to exclude this critical Talmudic passage from their film. The arguments of subsequent cheerleaders for empire and colonialism similarly elide the problems fundamental to such colonial policies. A statue of Sir Stamford Raffles stands next to the Victoria Theatre in the Central Business District of Singapore [Reuters/Edgar Su] Another false claim of a colonial success story The colonisation of Palestine is an exemplary instance of the reality of colonialism belying successive colonial regimes claims of their developmental aims. The oft-repeated Zionist cliche that the European settlers colonised a land without a people and made the desert bloom ignores that the earliest colonies were abjectly failed experiments in agriculture. It was only after the early 20th century colonists began observing and taking lessons from Palestinian peasants and farmers that they were able to adapt their methods to the semi-arid ecological conditions in a countryside with which they were unfamiliar. From very early on, the colonists planted foreign species of plants throughout the parts of the country occupied in the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe). This sowing of alpine vegetationaccelerated after the establishment of the Israelis state on lands and territories from which the majority of its Palestinian inhabitants were forcibly expelled between 1947 and 1949. These pine forests deliberately erased the footprints of demolished Palestinian villages. In parts of the country, they also proved to be a drain on the countrys aquifers, more suited to hardy species of flora and trees adapted to surviving the semi-arid conditions of the Mediterranean landscapes. Israeli politicians today boast more about the countrys hi-tech industry than its agricultural advances. Whatever innovations have occurred in that sector have come out of massive Israeli military investment in technologies of repression. Smart city algorithms, facial recognition software, drones, robotics, surveillance applications, wiretapping systems, data-mining programmes used to collate open-source data about ordinary people, all these technologies were either developed by the militarys intelligence research arm, or via incubators paid for by the Israeli military. The Israeli government has in turn exported these technologies to some of the most repressive regimes around the world, including Arab states with which it supposedly does not have any relations. Gaza and the West Bank have been repeatedly used as laboratories in which instruments of colonial suppression could be forged. Beyond technology, brick-and-mortar techniques of military control have been the bread and butter of Israeli colonisation of Palestine. The concrete wall that encircles Palestinian enclaves in the Occupied Territories is a prime example. Interestingly, the idea of using a wall as a counterinsurgency measure was a gift given to the Israeli military by their early colonial sponsors. The British Mandatory government, with the help of the Jewish labour union, Histadrut, was the first governmentto build a wall in Palestine in the 1930s, as a means of quelling rebellion by Palestinians. The Israeli military has even used supposedly non-military infrastructures such as roads as a means of expanding settlements in the West Bank territorially and as a way to control the movement of Palestinians there. And so much of the construction, agricultural prosperity, technological innovation, and economic development of which the Israeli boasts has been the result of abuse of underpaid, exploited, heavily controlled Palestinian labour force (whether from the Occupied Territories or citizens of Israel). These Palestinian workers, even those holding Israeli citizenship, are paid far less than their Jewish counterparts and can be fired at will. The prosperity of one people in Israel is predicated on the continued colonial control of another people, the Palestinians, on their enduring economic exploitation, and on the continued violence against them. More than a decade ago, Paul Gilroy caustically and accurately described a British attachment to a resolutely air-brushed version of colonial history in which gunboat diplomacy was moral uplift, civilising missions were completed, the trains ran on time and the natives appreciated the value of stability. The intervening time has only made this nostalgia more fervent, as memories of the catastrophic US and European interventions in Iraq have begun to fade, and as Brexit has brought out the worst of Little Englander xenophobia and fantasies of past glory (which only ever existed for a sliver of the British population at any rate). However, the continued colonisation of Palestinian, an early 20th century instance of British colonialism morphed into Israeli settler colonial project, shows that colonialism is anything but the glorious developmental mission its advocates acclaim. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Critics accuse US President Donald Trump of overseeing an increasingly severe crackdown on activism and dissent. For 11 months, Oliver Harris life came to a near standstill as he waited to find out if he would be sent to prison for years over his alleged participation in a rally against US President Donald Trumps inauguration. Harris, 28, was among more than 230 people rounded up and arrested by police on January 20, Inauguration Day, after confrontations with heavily armed riot police officers. A small group of people engaged in property damage during the rally. The following day, most of those who were arrested demonstrators, medics, journalists and bystanders were charged with felony rioting, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. In April, things grew worse for 212 of the defendants when the District of Columbia Superior Court returned a superseding indictment that added a slew of additional charges, including several felonies. The accused, who are known collectively as the J20 defendants, were all of a sudden facing nearly eight decades effectively a life sentence behind bars. Several defendants subsequently reached plea deals for significantly lighter sentences, while others had their charges dropped. At least seven defendants had their charges reduced to misdemeanours. By the time the first batch of defendants, which included Harris, went to trial, the charges had been reduced, but they were still facing the prospect of more than 50 years of jail time. On December 21, however, a jury found Harris, a Pennsylvania resident, and his five codefendants not-guilty on all counts. It was really overwhelming to hear 42 not guilty [decisions], Harris told Al Jazeera by phone. The DC US Attorneys Office subsequently said in a statement it would pursue charges against the remaining defendants. {articleGUID} With 188 Inauguration Day defendants still at risk of harsh punishment, and other activists across the country facing potential jail time for alleged infractions during protests, critics say Trump has overseen a crackdown on dissent during his first year in office. Across the US, from Washington, DC, to Sacramento, California, anti-racists, anti-fascists, leftists and other demonstrators have been charged with felonies and misdemeanours. Weak, vicious and brittle Referring to the shrinking space for protest symbolised by the Inauguration Day defendants case, Harris said: It goes hand-in-hand with the way folks across the US have been repressed, from Standing Rock to other pipeline projects Its the state legal apparatus taking aim at street protests and pipeline blockades. Among those targeted by authorities in 2017 was Yvette Felarca, an anti-fascist activist with By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), a left-wing civil rights group. She was charged with felony assault and a pair of misdemeanours in July, which could result in years of jail time and hefty fines, according to court documents. Felarca, a middle school teacher whose legal name is Yvonne, was charged over her alleged involvement in violence during a counterprotest on June 26, 2016, when anti-fascists and anti-racists confronted a neo-Nazi rally in Sacramento, California. During that incident, white supremacists armed with knives attacked counterdemonstrators, stabbing several, including Felarca. We are continuing to build the movement to fight fascism and get the false charges against myself and other anti-fascist protesters in Sacramento dropped, Felarca told Al Jazeera by email. Yvette Felarca (right) vows to fight charges against her [File: Eric Risberg/AP photo] While three others were dealt charges over the Sacramento violence, only one of them was from the white supremacist contingent. Felarca echoed accusations that Trumps administration has emboldened authorities across the country to suppress anti-fascists, anti-racists and other anti-Trump activists across the US. He hates and fears criticism because he hates and fears the strength of the mass movement that is committed to defeating him, she added, arguing that the ostensible crackdown is evidence that Trumps administration is weak, vicious and brittle. His attempt to crack down on anti-racists and anti-fascists is exposing and isolating him to the majority of people in the US and across the world as the enemy of democratic rights. For his part, Trump has time and again defended his administration and claimed to support the right of protesters to voice their opposition to his policies as well as racism and sexism. In August, when tens of thousands staged a counterdemonstration against a far-right rally, Trump took to Twitter to describe anti-fascists and anti-racists as anti-police agitators. {articleGUID} He later appeared to express support for the right to protest, saying: I want to applaud the many protesters in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one! On January 22, following nationwide marches for womens rights, immigration reform and other issues, Trump said on Twitter: Peaceful protests are a hallmark of our democracy. Even if I dont always agree, I recognise the rights of people to express their views. Hostility towards First Amendment In other instances, Trump has lashed out at demonstrators. In February, after a rally against a speech by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos at University of California, Berkeley, the president lambasted professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters on Twitter. Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 3, 2017 On September 15, protests erupted in St Louis, Missouri over the acquittal of Jason Stockley, a white former police officer who shot dead 24-year-old Anthony Lamar Smith, an unarmed African American man, nearly six years earlier. Protests spanned weeks, with demonstrators and community members engaging in civil disobedience and non-violent tactics aimed at disrupting the local economy. During the first 18 days, police arrested at least 307 people, the St Louis Police Department (SLMPD) told Al Jazeera at the time. The SLMPDs mass arrests and forceful response to the demonstrations elicited criticism from activists and rights groups, including the local state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). With outcry mounting, Trump remained silent on the protests in St Louis, commenting neither on the demonstrations nor the police response. Demonstrators protest outside the St Louis Police Department in September [File: Jeff Roberson/AP Photos] Scott Michelman, a senior staff attorney at the ACLUs DC chapter, argued that there has been an astonishing level of hostility toward the First Amendment in 2017, referring to the constitutional protection that affords those in the US the right to free speech and to assemble, among other freedoms. The president sets a tone for the country in lots of ways, and Trump has signalled to his supporters that free speech isnt a value of his and it shouldnt be a value of ours, Michelman told Al Jazeera. Thats given permission and encouragement to anti-free speech forces across the country, whether they be law enforcement or policymakers. Anti-protest bills Throughout Trumps first year in office, right-wing state legislators introduced dozens of bills designed to curb the activities of demonstrators in nearly 20 states, according to the ACLU. Several states among them North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee have passed such bills into law. North Dakota passed into law bills that criminalised protests on private property, increased penalties for riot offences and barred demonstrators from wearing masks to conceal their identities, among others. In Oklahoma, new laws ostensibly made it possible for authorities to hold anyone arrested for trespassing financially accountable for any damages to property and punished protesters who knowingly trespass on critical infrastructure. {articleGUID} In Tennessee, a new law known as SB 902 introduced a $200 fine for protesters who obstruct the access of emergency vehicles, while South Dakotas SB 176 expanded the abilities of authorities to limit or block protests on public land and highways. This month, Durham County, North Carolina introduced a new proposal that would require protesters to give 48-hour notice before holding any demonstration on publicly owned land. The wave of anti-speech fury on the part of prosecutors, law enforcement and political forces will pass; but thats not to say that we should be complacent with it and think it will pass without hard work, Michelman concluded. Free speech is deeply ingrained in our political and social fabric, and people are going to continue to raise their voices for it. This article is part of a multipart series examining the State of America Under Trump. Also read: Trumps America: Dreamers must make deal with devil Trumps America: An attack on climate change fight Trumps America: War of attrition on journalists Trumps America: A war on police, or their detractors? At least nine people killed and 32 wounded after rival Libyan groups fight for control over Mitiga airport. Fierce clashes between two rival Libyan groups have left at least nine people dead and forced the closure of the main airport, underscoring the bleak prospects for the North African country as it marks seven years since the Arab Spring uprising. Security officials told Al Jazeera on Monday that all flights had been suspended from Tripolis Mitiga airport until further notice, after fighters from the Bugra rebel group attacked the Special Deterrence Force, a group that controls the installation. News: Reports of clashes in Libyas Mitiga international airport in the capital, Tripoli, between rada forces linked to the UN-brokered cabinet and the Zimrina militia. All flights canceled. Planes damaged. Fatalities and injuries. https://t.co/4NGXaSeRjU pic.twitter.com/keLNhx8ZkX Borzou Daragahi (@borzou) January 15, 2018 Health officials said at least nine people had been killed and 32 wounded, after the Bugra group launched the early morning attack. Mitiga is a military base near the centre of Tripoli that has been the citys main airport for civilian flights, since the international airport was partly destroyed by fighting in 2014. The international airport remains out of service. Al Jazeeras Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Tripoli, said fighting had calmed by 2pm local time (11:00 GMT) but gunfire could still be heard in the centre of the city. The clashes erupted because the Bugra group, led by Basheer al-Bugra, believe that since the air base is located in Tajoura, where they have popular support, they should be charged with protecting it. Our correspondent said the Bugra group, which is opposed to the Special Deterrence Force and the UN-backed government, had accused them of extrajudicial practices at the airbase. The roots of the violence stem from the Special Deterrence Forces decision to create a prison at the facility, our correspondent said. More than 1,000 suspects are believed to be held at the prison, including fighters from a local ISIL affiliate, former rebels, activists, and criminal suspects. Libya has been locked in a state of violence since 2011, when the Arab Spring uprising ended with the overthrow and death of former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Despite peace efforts since then, the country has remained divided between the GNA in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, and a Haftar-backed administration in the east. A new round of UN-backed talks began in September in Tunis, aimed at preparing for presidential and parliamentary elections in 2018. But the talks broke down about a month later without a deal. Scores also wounded as two suicide bombers detonate belts among a crowd of workers, officials say. Twin explosions in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad have killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 100, police and medical sources said. Mondays attacks were carried out by two suicide bombers, who detonated their belts in a crowd of workers at the Al Tayaran Square in central Baghdad, Iraqs interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said. The interior ministry put the death toll at at least 16 with 65 wounded. Medical sources say the death toll is expected to rise, with many critically injuried. Al Tayaran is a major intersection in eastern Baghdad between Sadr city and al-Jumariyah bridge over the Euphrates river. All roads into the square have now been closed. Video footage posted on Twitter by the Kurdish Rudaw news agency showed the extent of the damage. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack as yet. A wave of deadly bombings have gripped the capital in the past 48 hours. On Saturday, a number of people were killed and others, including police, wounded when a suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint near Aden Square, north of Baghdad. No group claimed responsibility for that attack. Eight people were also killed in a suicide bombing on Sunday in the al-Tarmiyah area in northern Baghdad. In December, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), marking the end of a three-year war to drive the armed group out of Iraq. Ahmed Rushdi, director of the House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation, said the recent attacks show huge errors in the intelligence network of the capital city. This shows to the people that even Haider al-Abadis major victories against Daesh (ISILs Arabic acronym) cannot control Baghdad, the security analyst told Al Jazeera. Its a huge problem because people thought that Daesh [ISIL] is over now, but it is sending messages that no, actually they are still there, Rushdi said from Baghdad. President Trump thanks Qatars emir for countering terrorism and extremism in all forms during a phone call. Donald Trump praised Qatars efforts to combat terrorism and extremism as the US president spoke by phone with the Gulf nations emir on Monday. Trump also reiterated his support for a united Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that is focused on countering regional threats, a White House statement said. Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was also in Turkeys capital, Ankara, and met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday. The emirs conversations with the two world leaders came as the seven-month-old Gulf crisis took a turn for the worse, as the United Arab Emirates accused Qatars air force of intercepting commercial aircraft flying from the UAE to Bahrain. Doha denied the allegations. The Gulf dispute began on June 5 last year as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt alleged Qatar was supporting extremism and terrorism in the Middle East accusations Doha has vehemently refuted. {articleGUID} Trumps comments during the phone call with Sheikh Tamim supported Dohas denials. The president thanked the emir for Qatari action to counter terrorism and extremism in all forms, the White House statement said. The leaders discussed areas in which the United States and Qatar can partner to bring more stability to the region, counter malign Iranian influence, and defeat terrorism. After the Saudi-led nations imposed the blockade against Qatar, Trump appeared to approve of the move in a series of tweets. Erdogan, meanwhile, has been a steadfast ally of Qatar during the blockade, deploying Turkish soldiers to a military base there and stepping up economic exchanges to help ensure necessary goods reached the Gulf country. Qatar is pursuing independent mediation to end the siege after a UN investigation said the blockade was negatively impacting the people of the region. Father of 15-year-old Dalit victim blames police for inaction as her mutilated body is found near a canal. A 15-year-old Dalit girl who went missing last week in the Indian state of Haryana has been found dead near a canal in Jind district, nearly 100km west of the capital New Delhi. Doctors say she was gang-raped and her body was mutilated, bringing the memory of the 2012 brutal gang rape of a medical student in New Delhi whose death had triggered nation-wide protests. On the afternoon of January 9, she had left for tuition classes, as usual. When I went to pick her up at 8pm (2:30 GMT), the teacher informed me that she had not arrived that day. She was nowhere to be found. Around 10pm that night we filed a police complaint, the father of the victim told Al Jazeera. If the police had done their job on the day she went missing, my daughter would have been alive, nothing bad would have happened to her victim's father If the police had done their job on the day she went missing, my daughter would have been alive, nothing bad would have happened to her, the 39-year-old said. {articleGUID} Police are questioning several people in connection with the case. We have detained a few people on the basis of doubt. We have not arrested them yet. We are interrogating them now, Abhishek Garg, superintendent of police in Haryanas Kurukshetra district, told Al Jazeera. The probe is still on. We are trying to ascertain the role of the boy who was named in the FIR (first information report). We are trying to find out if there are any accomplices, Garg said. Dr SK Dattarwal, senior professor at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak, Haryana, where the post-mortem was carried out, said the girl from Jhansa village in Kurukshetra district was gang-raped. She was probably sexually assaulted by more than two persons. They might have tried to thrust some object in her vagina also. Her liver was found ruptured. The injuries were all around the body, on the face, neck, lips and chest. It appears that the victim had struggled a lot to escape from the sexual assault, Dattarwal told the Indian Express newspaper. Spike in child rape The case has brought the spotlight back on to what womens groups call a rape epidemic in the country. The 2012 gang rape had drawn international attention to violence against women and forced the government to introduce tougher anti-rape laws, including the death penalty. However, brutal sexual attacks against women and children continue to be reported across the country. According to National Crime Records Bureau data for 2016, incidents of rape of children in India increased by over 82 percent compared with 2015. In 2016, police in India registered 38,947 rape complaints, an increase of 12.4 percent from the previous year. The victim, a student in the 10th grade, was cremated on Sunday. Her mother cant stop crying; she is still in shock. My soul is shattered at the thought of what my daughter went through. Those animals inserted an iron rod in her vagina and damaged her internal organs. My daughter was like a flower, I cant imagine why they hurt her like this, the father said while sobbing. She was very studious; she wanted to become a doctor. Iran unblocks Telegram messaging app as protests wane As protests in Iran die down, the government has unblocked a popular app activists were using to share information. Although few want to stay in Italy, a country with poor job prospects, far-right and mainstream groups target refugees. Rome, Italy On a pale January afternoon, 17-year-old Ali* sits around a fading fire at a makeshift refugee transit centre. Established in 2015, Baobab Experience is now located in a car park surrounded by deserted buildings in the Italian capital. More than 20 evictions have forced the centre to move several times. When Ali decided to quit Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, for Europe, he was 15 years old. His hopes to study and find work, however, were put on hold when he was trapped in Libya for two years. With the sun dipping below the horizon, Ali recalls finally arriving on Italys southern shores a month ago. The teenager says he has already attempted crossing into France. We dont want to stay in Italy, he tells Al Jazeera, his reed-thin arms crossed on his lap. Even people with [legal] papers here end up sleeping in the streets with us. They returned us to southern Italy, and we came all the way back here. Although few refugees and migrants seek to remain in Italy, where job opportunities are scarce, the far right has seized on increasing frustration among many Italians and pushed a nativist programme. With the general election coming up in March, observers warn that anti-migration rhetoric has been mainstreamed, bolstering far-right organisations such as CasaPound and Forza Nuova parties that once occupied the political fringes. {articleGUID} They want to keep everyone separate by ethnicity, says Guido Caldiron, a Rome-based journalist and author of Extreme Right, a book about far-right and neo-fascist movements. While the two groups are not expected to break the three-percent threshold to enter parliament, Caldiron argues that their anti-migrant crusades may have boosted their future chances in local and regional elections. They exploit the crisis to get consensus in certain areas by leading revolts against the presence of immigrants, he says, likening the groups tactics to that of Golden Dawn, a neo-fascist party with a long history of political violence in nearby Greece. They go against the migrants and then claim they were protecting [Italians] from an invasion of immigrants. Campaigns of hatred In November, CasaPound employed ultra-nationalist and anti-migrant rhetoric to capture nine percent in municipal elections in Ostia, a seaside neighbourhood on Romes outskirts. Simone Di Stefano, CasaPounds candidate for prime minister in the upcoming elections, claims that that problems come from too many immigrants being present and there is a feeling that immigrants are preferred by the state over Italians. Of course, new arrivals have to be stopped, but fake refugees should be sent back. They cannot find a job [and] a house, here [in Italy], Di Stefano tells Al Jazeera. It doesnt make sense for them to stay because theyre not entitled to be here. CasaPound has staged anti-migrant protests in cities and towns across the country. Last year, the fascist party sparked outrage when it plastered thousands of anti-migrant posters on the walls of several cities, among them Rome, Milan and Venice. CasaPounds Simone Di Stefano advocates evicting fake refugees from Italy [Patrick Strickland/Al Jazeera] In October, Forza Nuova fuelled swelling xenophobia when it hung up posters of a black man ostensibly abusing a white woman. Protect her from the invaders, the propaganda read. It could be your mother, wife, sister, daughter. Yet, anti-migrant themes are far from being limited to CasaPound and Forza Nuova. During the 2013 general election, the mainstream right-wing League (also known as the Northern League) secured 13 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 20 in the Senate. In December last year, party leader Matteo Salvini told an election rally that if he won the upcoming vote, his government would provide many refugees and migrants with a one-way ticket to send them back. The current government, under the leadership of former centre-left Prime Minister Matteo Renzis Democratic Party, has also contributed to an increasingly hostile environment for refugees and migrants. {articleGUID} During his first eight months in office, Marco Minniti, the Italian interior minister, has overseen policies that led to an 87 percent decrease in arrivals. As a result of moves by Italian and European Union officials, some 18,000 refugees and migrants were trapped in Libya, a war-torn country where many have been forced into open slave markets and where torture has become widespread. Anti-fascist struggle Back in Baobab Experience, nightfall comes, and the camp swells with people coming for a hot meal and a place to sleep without harassment by authorities. Around 125 people are in the camp in winter; volunteers and activists say that number often tops 500 in warmer weather. Flames dance from the smouldering wood on the ground in front of a zigzag of tents, many of them dimly lit by mobile phones inside, others dark and quiet. Inside a large white tent, a handful of young men charge their phones at a bundle of wires and outlets in the far corner. Flags are sketched in marker up and down the tarpaulin walls Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia, among others. Fifty-year-old Andrea Costa, one of the founders of Baobab Experience, sits at a table of sheet wood and cinder blocks, describing the camps work as part of the anti-fascist struggle. Baobab Experience provides immigration information, as well as food, clothing, medicine, language courses and tours of Rome. Far-right groups have staged protests outside the centre and falsely accused organisers, who work on a volunteer basis, of making a profit off their work. Graffiti spray-painted on an abandoned building near Baobab Experience urges refugees to fight for their rights [Patrick Strickland/Al Jazeera] Weve had many problems with fascists, but fortunately, we responded to the fascist provocations by insisting that we are not doing anything wrong and that big parts of the city are standing with us, he says. Weve handled it well, but we have to tell migrants to keep an eye out when they are coming and going, to be safe. Flicking cigarette ash to the pavement, he concludes: We are very afraid because we are getting near the elections and it seems that all of the political parties want to show they are tough on migration [in order] to get more votes. Outside, Ali sits next to the campfire under the twilit sky, ribbons of wraithlike smoke floating upward in front of him before disintegrating into the night. {articleGUID} He shakes his head in disappointment and slips on a weatherworn red beanie, pulling it down to his eyebrows. The teenager repeats his wish to move elsewhere in Europe but says that, having given his fingerprints in Italy as part of the Dublin regulations, he fears being returned. An austere expression on his face, he concludes: We didnt expect Europe to be like this. *Al Jazeera has withheld the surname of Ali, who is a minor, for his safety. War of words heats up in disputed Kashmir region after Indian army chief threatens cross-border military operation. Four Pakistani soldiers were killed in a mortar attack by Indian forces along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region as tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours continue to rise. The Pakistani troops were conducting maintenance on communication lines in the border village of Kotli when they came under attack on Monday, the military said. After the mortar round exploded, Pakistani forces responded and killed three Indian soldiers while wounding several others, it said. Four soldiers of #Pakistan Army have embraced martyrdom in unprovoked #Indian firing along the Line of Control in Jandrot-Kotli Sector. The troops were busy in line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round by Indian forces. pic.twitter.com/wHLtFdr4nR Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) January 15, 2018 An Indian military official, however, blamed Pakistani soldiers for initially attacking Indian positions and claimed their counter-offensive killed seven Pakistani soldiers. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with military rules, said Indian soldiers did not suffer any casualties. At another area along the de facto border, India said its forces killed five fighters from a pro-Pakistan group trying to slip into Indian-administered Kashmir on Monday. We allowed them to cross the river and challenged them. All of the five who crossed the river were killed, said Major-General Gulab Singh Rawat. Indias army chief, General Bipin Rawat, accused Pakistans military of helping fighters enter India-controlled Kashmir. Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India, Rawat said. If we are forced then we may resort to other action by stepping up [a] military offensive. On Friday, Rawat said his forces were willing to carry out operations inside Pakistan despite the risks. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff, Rawat told a press briefing. The comments drew derision from Pakistans foreign minister who called the statement irresponsible and an invitation for nuclear encounter. If that is what they desire, they are welcome to test our resolve. The generals doubt would swiftly be removed, Kwawja Asif said on Twitter. Liberias Unity Party expels President Johnson Sirleaf In a disappointing closing chapter to her 12 years as the first elected female president in Africa, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is being expelled from her Unity Party. Decision by agency under President Duterte against journalist-run site is seen as attack on press freedom, democracy. The Philippine government has sought to shut down an independent news website, which has published critical stories about President Rodrigo Duterte, a move observers and journalists say is an attack on press freedom and democracy. The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Monday that it has revoked the registration of Rappler, citing violations of foreign ownership and control of the Manila-based news organisation. The SEC, an agency under the president, is responsible for enforcing securities and investment laws in the country, as well as maintaining company registry. It is the first time the SEC has invoked the closure of a Philippine media company. The agency said Rappler used a deceptive scheme in running the company, and decided to revoke a 2015 legal document that allows foreign investment. The so-called depositary receipt, which allows investors to hold unissued shares, is also being used by other Philippine media companies to attract investments. In the case of Rappler, the document allowed the Omidyar Network to invest in it. The company was set up by eBay founder and billionaire Pierre Omidyar, who also has an interest in the news site, The Intercept. In a news conference streamed online, Maria Ressa, CEO of Rappler, decried the very political nature of the decision. She said due process was not followed, and that Rappler was not given a chance to respond to the findings of the investigation. This is the last part of the kind of harassment journalists have had in the last year or so, she said. What we will do is prepare to fight. We stand tall, we stand firm. This is a moment that we will say that we stand for press freedom, Ressa, a former CNN foreign correspondent, added. She also said that journalists, not investors, have full editorial and management control of her news site. Rappler had published a series of reports questioning Dutertes deadly drug war [AFP] Threats against journalists Chay Hofilena is head of Rapplers investigative desk and is responsible for news operation. She said the company is willing to question the decision all the way to the Supreme Court. The order to shut down Rappler comes months after Duterte declared, before a joint session of the Philippine Congress, that he wants the ownership of Rappler investigated. Among other investigations, Rappler had been responsible for a story on the citizenship of Dutertes first foreign affairs secretary. That led to the resignation of Dutertes top diplomat. The news website, which launched in 2012, had also published a series of reports putting into question the Duterte administrations deadly war on drugs. Since Duterte became president, many of his social media supporters attacked Rappler as fake news and threatened violence against its journalists, including Ressa. Other media organisations also drew the ire of Duterte, including the largest newspaper, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and the largest television network, ABS-CBN. Owners of the Philippine Daily Inquirer were later forced to sell ownership of the company to an ally and political financier of Duterte, billionaire businessman Ramon Ang. Duterte has also continued to threaten ABS-CBN, vowing to block the renewal of its franchise. In December, he said he would be willing to forgive the news channel if it supports his administrations push for constitutional change and shift to a federal form of government. Outrage In a statement on Monday, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) expressed outrage over the governments decision against Rappler. We call on all Filipino journalists to unite and resist every and all attempts to silence us, NUJP said, adding that it declares its full support to media outfits the state has threatened and may threaten to shut down. The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines has also denounced the governments decision, saying it is tantamount to killing the online news site. The decision sends a chilling effect to media organisations in the country, it said. Journalists must be able to work independently in an environment free from intimidation and harassment. An assault against journalists is an assault against democracy. Three of the four members who participated in the SEC decision were appointed by Dutertes predecessor, Benigno Aquino. Only one is a Duterte appointee. The moves by the Philippines authorities to shut down Rappler is an alarming attempt to silence independent journalism, said Amnesty Internationals director of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This is a politically motivated decision, pure and simple, and just the latest attempt to go after anyone who dares to criticise the government. Rappler has been fearless in holding those in power to account, including by consistently criticising the governments murderous war on drugs. It has faced persistent harassment by government supporters and even the president himself. In a press conference, Duterte spokesman Harry Roque denied the decision was an attack on press freedom, saying the issue is about the compliance of 100 percent Filipino ownership and management of mass media. Ana Santos, a Manila-based journalist whose work has been published on Rappler, however, said the decision shows a 2018 version of martial law, which was declared by Ferdinand Marcos, former president, in 1972. Perhaps having learned from the playbook of old dictators, President Duterte is resorting to other means to clamp down on press freedom, she told Al Jazeera. What the administration didnt quite figure out is that Rappler is a purely online news outlet. You cant shut down the internet. Human Rights Watch joined calls for the agency to reverse its decision, saying: If Duterte succeeds in silencing Rappler, it will have a profound chilling effect on Philippine media freedom, encouraging self-censorship by reporters and media outlets fearful of government reprisals for critical reporting at a time when the watchdog role of a free press is more urgently needed than ever. UAE denies holding Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani against his will, saying he is a guest and free to go when he wants. Authorities in Qatar announced they are closely monitoring the alleged detention of a member of the Qatari royal family in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani released a video statement on Sunday saying he was a prisoner in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, and that if anything happened to him, Sheikh Mohammed is responsible. While he did not specify, Sheikh Abdullah appeared to be referring to Abu Dhabis Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. I am currently in Abu Dhabi. I was a guest of Sheikh Mohammed. I am no longer a guest; I am a prisoner, he said in the video, which was widely circulated on social media. They told me not to leave. I am afraid that anything could happen to me, and the people of Qatar would be blamed. So I just wanted to inform you that if anything happens to me, the people of Qatar are innocent, added Sheikh Abdullah. I am a guest of Sheikh Mohammed, and if anything happens to me after this, he is fully responsible. Guest to the UAE The UAEs foreign ministry denied that Sheikh Abdullah was being held against his will. A statement published by the official Emirati news agency (WAM) cited a source at the ministry as saying that Qatars Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani has come as a guest to the UAE, at his own behest. Sheikh Abdullah enjoyed the warm welcome and gracious hospitality during his stay in the UAE, after he was harassed by Qatari Government. The source added that Sheikh Abdullah has had unrestrained mobility and freedom of movement during his stay in the UAE, the statement added. However, Qatar News Agency (QNA) released a statement on Sunday saying Sheikh Abdullah appeared to be speaking of his detention. {articleGUID} Lolwa al-Khater, a spokesperson for Qatars foreign ministry, said in remarks to QNA that the State of Qatar is closely monitoring the situation, but due to the total severance of ties with the UAE it is difficult to clearly establish the circumstances surrounding the situation. Despite that, the State of Qatar principally stands with the protection of rights for every individual and affirms the entitlement of his family to pursue all legal means for the protection of his rights, she said. Al-Khater added: We have seen similar behaviour in the past by the siege countries where rights of individuals and officials alike are violated in total contravention of international norms, conventions and laws with no clear purpose or valid reasoning. Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Thani, brother of the detained, told Al Jazeera his family heard from Sheikh Abdullah that he is being denied to leave the UAE, and he is confused about all the information hes getting there. The detained Qatari royal was told in the days leading up to his video that he and his two daughters could not travel to the UK but could travel to Saudi Arabia, then one night around midnight they were told to go to the airport to fly to the UK. While at the airport, the information changed, Sheik Khalid said, and the family was told the UK had denied their entry, which the brother claimed wasnt true. Sheikh Abdullah is a son of a Qatari emir who ruled in the 1960s, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani. He dropped off the radar for decades but rose to prominence last summer, when a major diplomatic crisis broke out in the Gulf. After Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar in June, Sheikh Abdullah appeared frequently on Saudi and UAE television programmes expressing his views in support of the measures against Doha. At an Arab League meeting in Cairo in September, Qatars Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Soltan bin Saad al-Muraikhi said Saudi Arabia was looking to depose Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and replace him with Sheikh Abdullah. Qatar slams UAE over detention of royal family member Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani is the latest in a line of public figures to accuse Abu Dhabi of holding them against their will. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the United States does not want to keep Syria as a state in its current borders, accusing Washington of seeking to establish a Kurdish-controlled entity along Turkish and Iraqi border zones. Speaking at an annual press conference in Moscow to review the past years diplomatic activities on Monday, Lavrov also said Russia would not support Washingtons attempts to change the Iran nuclear deal. The [US] actions that we have been observing indicate that the US does not want to keep Syria as a state in its current borders The US wants to help the Syrian Democratic Forces to set up some border security zones, he said, referring to a US-backed rebel alliance dominated by Syrian Kurds, known as the SDF. {articleGUID} What it would mean is that vast swaths of territory along the border of Turkey and Iraq would be isolated, its to the east of the Euphrates river. There are difficult relations between Kurds and Arabs there. If you say that this zone will be controlled by the forces supported by the US, there will be a force of 30,000 people. Lavrov said that the development would be a very big deal raising a lot of question marks. There is a fear that they are pursuing a policy to cut Syria into several pieces, he said. But again, there is nothing in the UN Security Council resolutions that have been pointing to that and neither is it in our previous agreements, so we are expecting some clarification from the US on that. Blatant assault Shortly after his comments, the Syrian government denounced a new border force the US is building with the SDF in northern Syria as a blatant assault on sovereignty. What the American administration has done comes in the context of its destructive policy in the region to fragment countries and impede any solutions to the crises, state news agency SANA cited an official source in the ministry as saying. Also at Mondays news conference, Lavrov said the collapse of the Iran nuclear deal would negatively impact a dialogue with North Korea. {articleGUID} We will seek to maintain the agreements on the Iranian nuclear programme We will continue our efforts to make the US accept the reality. The reality is that Iran has been fulfilling all its obligations under the JCPOA, which has been regularly verified by the IAEA director general, he said. He was referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran, the US, China, UK, France, Germany and Russia as well as the European Union. Trump said last week he would waive nuclear sanctions against Iran for the last time to give Washington and its European allies a chance to fix the terrible flaws of the nuclear deal. Quotes of justice, education, religion and race said by MLK Jr. On Monday, the United States celebrates the life and legacy of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr, who would have turned 89 years old. Beginning in 1971, three years after he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, many US cities and states began to mark what is now known as MLK Day. More than 30 years later, the day is still traditionally celebrated as one of service, honouring Kings legacy and words, including his famous I have a dream speech, which continue to resonate today. Here is a list of some of Kings most emblematic quotes: On injustice In a letter from the Birmingham city jail in 1963, King wrote: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King Jr On truth and love In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent fight against racial inequality. The Baptist minister, Nobel Laureate and civil rights activist dedicated his life to work for peace, social justice, and opportunity for all Americans. In his acceptance speech he said: I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction, I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality, he continued. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid todays mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. Martin Luther King Jr The legacy of Coretta Scott King, the woman who stood by Martin Luther King Jr. pic.twitter.com/7GRaJOKyUJ AJ+ (@ajplus) January 17, 2018 On education In 1947, King wrote for the Morehouse College Student Paper, The Maroon: To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction, Intelligence plus character that is the goal of true education,. If we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, brethren! Be careful, teachers! Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. Martin Luther King Jr On racism and violence As reported by the Chronicle in 2008, in 1957 King delivered a speech in Finney Chapel in which he said: The non-violent Negro is seeking to create the beloved community. He directs his attack on the forces of evil rather than on individuals, The tensions are not between the races, but between the forces of justice and injustice; between the forces of light and darkness. The tensions are not between the races, but between the forces of justice and injustice. Martin Luther King Jr 5. On religion King was the author of the book Strength To Love, a collection of sermons that he wrote on a number of topics, including religion. In one of Kings sermons, he extolled the need for a tough mind. The modern world, he said, has far too much softmindedness of unbelievable gullibility. King also had great appreciation and respect for science. There may be a conflict between softminded religionists and toughminded scientists. But not between science and religion. Their respective worlds are different and their methods are dissimilar. Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary. Science gives man knowledge ... religion gives man wisdom Martin Luther King Jr In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Day. pic.twitter.com/7tYmAXiS7P Eric Thomas (@Ericthomasbtc) January 15, 2018 On peace True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice, Martin Luther King responded after being accused of disturbing the peace during the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. The bus boycott was a 13-month political and social protest against the policy of racial segregation on public transit. It ended on December 20, 1956. The US Supreme Court ultimately ruled that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional. Khartoum says its facing a threat from its eastern border as tension in the Red Sea region continues to rise. Sudan says it has sent more troops to its eastern border with Eritrea as tension in the Red Sea region continues to rise. Early this month Khartoum closed its borders with Eritrea and sent troops to its border region of Kassala, following reports that Egypt has deployed troops in Asmara. Sudans national army has sent part of its forces to this area to protect Sudans security as we have information that some parties are targeting us, Sudanese foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, said after meeting his Ethiopian counterpart Workneh Gebeyehu in Khartoum on Sunday. Ghandour said that they were not talking about threats to a country per se but that they have information that shows there are some who would mean them harm. This is why we are anticipating whatever danger can come from there, Ghandour said. The meeting took place amid deteriorating relations between Sudan and Ethiopia on one side and Egypt and Eritrea on the other. Khartoum has also recalled its ambassador in Cairo following the reports of Egyptian troops presence in Eritrea. The latest tension was sparked after Sudan signed an agreement to temporarily hand over the Red Sea island of Suakin to Turkey. Ankara and Khartoum said Turkey would rebuild the ruined, sparsely populated Ottoman island to increase tourism and create a transit point for pilgrims crossing the Red Sea to Islams holiest city of Mecca. Turkey is also set to build a naval dock on the island. Egyptian media criticised the agreement and alleged Turkey would build a military base on the island. Ties between Turkey and Egypt have been frosty for some time. Ankara strongly condemned Egypts military coup in 2013, which overthrew democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Political tension between the Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia has been rising for years over the use of the water of the Nile River and Ethiopias decision to build the continents biggest hydroelectric dam on the river. Egypt has been at odds with Sudan and Ethiopia over the $4.8bn dam project, with Cairo fearing that its position downstream may affect its access to water from the Nile River basin, which will feed the dam. Cairo accuses Sudan of supporting the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project, while Khartoum accuses Egypt of supporting rebels in Sudan. Meanwhile, Eritrea has fought two border wars with Ethiopia which has had a decades-long dispute with Egypt over the Nile River water. The border wars left more than 80,000 people dead and the two East African countries are technically still at war. Turkey has sent military reinforcements along its border with Syria, according to state media, as Ankara, Damascus and Moscow all attacked a US plan to form a new border security force in the war-torn countrys northeast. Citing military sources, Anadolu Agency reported on Monday that two dozen armoured vehicles had entered Reyhanli district of southeastern Hatay province. A separate 20-vehicle army convoy, which included tanks, had also arrived in Viransehir district of southeastern Sanliurfa province. The forces were sent to assist the military units already deployed along the Syrian border, said Anadolu. The deployments came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a military operation in northern Syria against the city of Afrin controlled by the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) would be launched in the days ahead. A senior Syrian Kurdish official said on Sunday that fighting between the YPG and Turkish forces was already under way, while Anadolu reported on Monday that intense smoke was coming out of Afrins Nesreyieh region. Drown this terror army Separately on Monday, Erdogan said the US was working to form a terror army on his countrys southern border by training a new force in Syria that includes Kurdish fighters. What we are supposed to do is to drown this terror army before it comes into being, he said in an address in the capital, Ankara, calling the Kurdish fighters back-stabbers who will point their weapons to the US in the future. {articleGUID} His comments came after reports revealed Washingtons plan to establish a 30,000-strong new border security force with the involvement of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. According to media reports quoting US officials, the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in Syria says the force will secure areas along Syrias border to the north with Turkey and to the east with Iraq. At least half of it will be made up of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group of fighters dominated by the YPG, seen by the US a highly effective ground force against ISIL. But the YPG is considered by Turkey to be a terrorist group with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long fight inside the country. PKK is blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies. More than 40,000 people in Turkey have been killed since the 1980s after the PKK launched its armed campaign. Erdogan said Turkeys armed forces had completed preparations for an operation against Afrin and the town of Manbij. Warning Turkeys allies against helping terrorists in Syria, he said: We wont be responsible for consequences. Syria, Russia react Later on Monday, an official source in Syrias foreign ministry denounced the US plan for the formation of the border force. Syria strongly condemns the US announcement on the creation of militias in the countrys northeast, which represents a blatant attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity and unity of Syria, and a flagrant violation of international law, said the source, according to state news agency SANA. Syria considers any Syrian who participates in these militias sponsored by the Americans as a traitor to their people and nation, and will deal with them on this basis. {articleGUID} Russia also attacked the US plan, calling it a plot to partition Syria. The [US] actions that we have been observing indicate that the US does not want to keep Syria as a state in its current borders, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a press conference in Moscow. The US wants to help the Syrian Democratic Forces to set up some border security zones, he added. What it would mean is that vast swaths of territory along the border of Turkey and Iraq would be isolated, its to the east of the Euphrates river. There are difficult relations between Kurds and Arabs there. If you say that this zone will be controlled by the forces supported by the US, there will be a force of 30,000 people. Lavrov said that the development would be a very big deal, raising a lot of question marks. There is a fear that they are pursuing a policy to cut Syria into several pieces, he added. US arming of YPG US President Donald Trump decided to arm YPG fighters, despite Turkeys objections and a direct appeal from Erdogan at a White House meeting in May 2017. {articleGUID} The US arms shipments began before the launch of a months-long offensive to remove ISIL from the Syrian city of Raqqa, its self-declared capital. The YPG played a prominent role in the eventual defeat of the group later in 2017. Tensions between US and Turkey two NATO allies remain high, despite Trump saying last November that Washington would no longer supply weapons to the YPG. On Sunday, Hediye Yusuf, a senior Syrian Kurdish official, called Turkeys operation against Afrin a violation that undermines international efforts to reach a political solution in Syria. Turkey has been workxing closely with Russia and Iran to end the long-running Syrian war, despite Moscow and Tehran supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Ankara backing the anti-Assad opposition. In 2016, Turkey began a military campaign called Euphrates Shield Operation, which targeted ISIL and the YPG. That eight-month operation officially ended in March 2017. Turkey, Russia: Anger over US backing of Kurdish forces Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that the formation of a zone controlled by US-backed fighters could lead to the partition of Syria. Turkey president pledges to drown terror army before it is born, referring to Syria force US reportedly seeks to form. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the United States is working to form a terror army on his countrys southern border by training a new force in Syria that includes Kurdish fighters. What we are supposed to do is to drown this terror army before in comes into being, he said in an address in the capital, Ankara, on Monday, calling the Kurdish fighters back-stabbers who will point their weapons to the US in the future. His comments came after reports revealed Washingtons plan to establish a 30,000-strong new border security force with the involvement of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. According to media reports quoting US officials, the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) armed group will recruit around half of the new force from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group of fighters dominated by the Peoples Protection Units (YPG). The YPG is considered by Turkey to be a terrorist group with ties to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long fight inside the country. The PKK is blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies. More than 40,000 people in Turkey have been killed since the 1980s after the PKK launched its rebellion. The US views the YPG as a highly effective fighting force against ISIL. {articleGUID} Erdogan said that Turkeys armed forces had completed preparations for an operation against the Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin in northwest Syria and the town of Manbij. Warning Turkeys allies against helping terrorists in Syria, he said: We wont be responsible for consequences. In a statement late on Sunday, the Turkish foreign ministry had called wrong and objectionable any cooperation with the YPG. The establishment of the so-called Syria Border Protection Force was not consulted with Turkey, which is a member of the coalition, it said. To attribute such a unilateral step to the whole coalition is an extremely wrong move that could harm the fight against Daesh, the ministry added, using an alternative acronym for ISIL. Turkish forces pounded US-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria with artillery fire on Sunday, after the plan to establish the new force was announced. Later on Monday, an official source in Syrias foreign ministry denounced the US plan about the formation of the border force. Syria strongly condemns the US announcement on the creation of militias in the countrys northeast, which represents a blatant attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity and unity of Syria, and a flagrant violation of international law, said the source, according to state news agency SANA. Syria considers any Syrian who participates in these militias sponsored by the Americans as a traitor to their people and nation, and will deal with them on this basis. US YPG move US President Donald Trump decided to arm YPG fighters, despite Turkeys objections and a direct appeal from Erdogan at a White House meeting in May 2017. The US arms shipments began before the launch of a months-long offensive to oust ISIL from the Syrian city of Raqqa, its self declared capital. The YPG played a prominent role in the eventual defeat of the group later in 2017. Tensions between US and Turkey two NATO allies remain high, despite Trump saying last November that Washington would no longer supply weapons to the YPG. A senior Syrian Kurdish official said on Sunday that fighting between the YPG and Turkish forces was already under way. There are attacks and clashes on the border between Turkey and the Peoples Protection Units YPG, Hediye Yusuf said on Twitter. She called Turkeys operation against Afrin a violation that undermines international efforts to reach a political solution in Syria. Ankara has been reinforcing its southern border by sending armoured vehicles, tanks, and heavy machine guns, according to local media. Turkey has been working closely with Russia and Iran to end the long-running Syrian war, despite Moscow and Tehran supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Ankara backing the anti-Assad opposition. In 2016, Turkey began a military campaign called Euphrates Shield Operation, which targeted ISIL and the YPG. That eight-month battle officially ended in March 2017. United Arab Emirates says Qatari jets have intercepted two Emirati civilian aircraft during flights to Bahrain. Qatar has denied as completely false claims by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that its fighter jets intercepted two Emirati passenger planes. The allegations on Monday come amid rising tensions in the Gulf as a blockade imposed against Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain entered its eighth month. They also follow Qatar filing two complaints at the United Nations over alleged violations of its airspace by Emirati military aircraft. The UAEs state-run news agency WAM carried the first report of interception at mid day on Monday. Citing the countrys General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the agency said Qatari fighter planes intercepted a Bahrain-bound Emirati civilian aircraft. The GCAA condemned the alleged Qatari action as a flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation and a clear violation of international law, the WAM report said. Later in the day, WAM said a second passenger plane en route to Bahrain was also intercepted by Qatari fighter jets. It did not offer additional details of the encounters and did not name the carriers involved. Qatars foreign ministry dismissed the claim and said it would release a detailed statement later. The State of #Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter-planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft is completely false. A detailed statement will follow. Lolwah Alkhater (@Lolwah_Alkhater) January 15, 2018 US Central Command, which is based at the al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, also did not have any report about incidents involving a commercial aircraft in the region, the Associated Press news agency said. Describing the US Command as an independent and credible source, Ibrahim Fraihat, a political analyst at the Doha Institute, told Al Jazeera that the US militarys comment should be taken seriously. The command is friends of both parties and has not taken sides so far, he said. It also has strong military presence in the region and watching the air space nonstop. The latest developments were dangerous, Fraihat added, warning that they could escalate tensions in the Gulf. The UAEs claims could be a response to the Qatari complaint of violations at the UN Security Council, or it could be part of the larger crisis, which has been at a stalemate for months now, he said. Stalemate actually hurts both parties. Usually in conflict zones, parties would like to end the stalemate and sometimes they resort to such tactics. The Gulf crisis began in June 2017 when the Saudi-led group accused Qatar of supporting terrorism. They severed diplomatic ties with the tiny Gulf state, closed their airspace to Qatar-owned flights and cut off most trade links. Doha has rejected the allegations and accused the Saudi-led group of attempting to infringe on its sovereignty. With an estimated 40 million users, apps shutdown by authorities had a serious effect on the lives of many Iranians. Tehran Telegram is arguably the most popular social media application in Iran. So it will come as a relief to its estimated 40 million users nearly half of Irans population that the government decided this week to lift restrictions on the app that were put in place during anti-government demonstrations last month. On Sunday, a day after unblocking Telegram, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani spoke at an awards ceremony organised by the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology. He told the audience blocking apps wouldnt solve the countrys problems, and resisting technological progress is futile. If we want cyberspace to be useful for society, we should educate the young generation about how to use cyberspace, Rouhani said. Blocking things wont solve problems. Some say blocking apps is a good thing and yes, we have differences. But blocking [the internet] doesnt work. Rouhani is considered a liberal politician with comparatively moderate views on social issues. He took the opportunity to address the concerns of people from more conservative corners of Iranian society who would like to see the internet closely policed by the government. There was a time we said no one should listen to the radio during the previous regime, Rouhani said. There was [signal interference] with every station other than one or two. Was it successful, sending interference? There was a time we said using satellite TV is forbidden. So did that work? Do people not watch? Now we say cyberspace is bad. If we say its bad, is that fixing the problem? He also cautioned fellow leaders not to lose faith in their own people. [Iranians] have the ability to understand and have the right to choose, he said. We are a great and educated country. Our nation is great. We should tell people how to use a tool. Any tool, if it is not used properly, could be dangerous. The tool in question, Telegram, is like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and eBay all rolled into one. Total mistake During anti-government demonstrations and subsequent unrest, Irans government criticised the company for not filtering content, thereby promoting violence. The government claimed videos circulating during protests exaggerated the scale of the movement. Some reports also said instructional videos were circulating on the app about how to make Molotov cocktails all part of a foreign espionage campaign to create instability in the country, Irans leaders said. While it is true activists used Telegram to coordinate demonstrations and share videos of anti-government protests not shown on state media, there were only a handful of people misusing the application, and blocking it nationwide was an overreaction, social media experts say. {articleGUID} Im not a politician, I dont know their hidden agenda, but as an economist, as a mathematician and an entrepreneur, I think it is a total mistake because it killed many jobs, said Alireza Aghasi, CEO of Adventure, an online ad agency and technology company. Aghasi said the Telegram shutdown was the government interfering with an online ecosystem that runs in parallel with the lives of millions of Iranians. People use it to communicate with loved ones, operate businesses, even for cloud storage. People have so much invested in the platform, he said, it is nearly impossible to migrate to alternative applications. Telegram has created the tools so that the non-tech-savvy people can make money, Aghasi said. We are a team of 13 or 14 people. And now 90 percent of my team are millionaires in dollars and billionaires in riyals and the average age of them is 25. Telegram has connected retailers and entrepreneurs with a digital marketplace that includes half the people in the country. And for millions of Iranians, the one-stop-shop nature of the app has made it synonymous with the internet. By some estimates, Telegram use accounts for half of all web traffic in Iran. I think the political agenda behind Telegram is limited to some political groups, Aghasi said. Its not a common thing among people They are seeking to be entertained, to do business, to consume content. {articleGUID} He admitted there are some people circulating fake news on Telegram, but in small numbers. The decision to block the entire app showed some of Irans leaders have a lack of technical expertise when it comes to managing social media platforms, he added. They dont know what they are dealing with, they just have an image of what the problem is, Aghasi said. Cyberspace freedom Many Iranians also use the app to exercise freedom of thought and speech in cyberspace, in ways they may be unable to on the streets in the real world. RoozARooz, or DaybyDay, is an online news startup that develops content for social media. Its journalists say Telegram has given them a place to broadcast stories from the darker corners of Iranian society. Theyre able to explore issues of poverty, minority groups, and human rights the kind of issues traditional state media outlets often ignore. People want a way to access news properly, to feel the news is coming to them without any filtering and Telegram is doing that, said Matin Ghafarian, editor-in-chief of RoozARooz. {articleGUID} Before Telegram was blocked, I can say we had a free media system that had big audiences. The most successful channels were more free than print and online media. But they observed the framework of red lines. They published news, they were more transparent, they didnt insult anyone or politically provoke people. There was a free wave of information. And I think it was attractive to people. [Iranians] are very keen on hearing news more freely, Ghafarian told Al Jazeera. On Friday, the deputy prosecutor general said Telegram traffic was down by 90 percent since the unrest began. But analysts say the effect on users has been much smaller and, in fact, blocking the app may have backfired. Many Iranians now use online tools such as VPNs to bypass government restrictions and have access to more of the world wide web than ever before. The main target in the operation was Oscar Perez, who stole a helicopter and attacked government buildings in June. Venezuelan officials say several people have been killed in a police operation to arrest a fugitive ex-officer who stole a police helicopter and attacked government buildings six months ago. A former elite police officer and a pilot, Oscar Perez has been on the run since June 2017 when he and several unidentified accomplices used the aircraft to throw four grenades at the Supreme Tribunal in the capital Caracas, before shooting at the interior ministry with firearms. There were no casualties as a result of that attack. On Monday, Perez posted several videos of himself online showing injuries from a clash between him, several of his allies and an elite Venezuelan police force on the outskirts of Caracas. In the footage posted on his Instagram account, Perez said he and his companions were surrounded and pinned down by police marksmen on a roadway at El Junquito. Perez can be seen hunched down, with blood on his face and a machine gun in hands. In some of the videos, shots can be heard. They are firing at us with grenade launchers. We said we are going to surrender, but they do not want to let us surrender. They want to kill us, a bloodied Perez said. However, Venezuelas interior ministry said police forces came under attack by Perezs group as they were negotiating a surrender. It said in a statement that Perezs group had tried to detonate a vehicle loaded with explosives, adding that at least two police officers and an unspecified number of the former officers companions died during the battle. Five people were captured, the ministry added, although the fate of Perez was unknown. These terrorists, who were heavily armed with high-calibre weapons, opened fire on the officials responsible for their capture, the ministry said In several videos posted after the helicopter attack in June, Perez had declared that he belonged to an uprising of members of the security forces who were fed up with President Nicolas Maduros administration. The Venezuelan authorities later issued an arrest warrant in which he was accused of a terrorist attack. Reported paramilitary force was put together by the president of Republika Srpska, and could be another example of Moscows meddling in the Balkans. Santa Fe College President Jackson Sasser turned to his state senator, Keith Perry, before an audience of more than 200 Friday afternoon with a firm message. It will take the legislature, it will take the chamber, Sasser said of how to tackle Alachua Countys looming racial disparities. It will take all of us. Local leaders and activists gathered in East Gainesvilles Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, located at 718 SE 11th St., for conversation about a much anticipated report presented by UFs Bureau of Economic and Business Research, Understanding Racial Inequity in Alachua County. The talk brought forth some glaring examples of inequity in the county, while some said the solutions arent there yet. UF assistant professor Hector Hugo Sandoval Gutierrez combed through data from the 98-page document to an audience that included Mayor Lauren Poe, UF President Kent Fuchs, city and county commissioners, Alachua County Public Schools board members, the Alachua County Labor Coalition and Gainesville For All organizers, along with many others. Inspired by a similar study by leaders in Madison, Wisconsin, UFs BEBR sponsored by Santa Fe College, ACPS, Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce, UF Health, and the city and county compiled data on issues ranging from child poverty to unemployment among the countys white, black, hispanic and Asian populations. For about an hour, Gutierrez went through the facts. At 35.7 percent, black poverty in Alachua County is greater than that of Florida and the U.S., with black childhood poverty at 44.6 percent. Gutierrez also said Alachua Countys black residents are over 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed than its white residents. Along with attracting businesses to invest and develop in East Gainesville, Gutierrez said improving public K-12 education for black students will go a long way toward improving racial inequity overall. Alachua County has Floridas highest achievement gap between white and black students on end-of-year exams, according to Alligator archives. I believe that to provide a high-quality education experience is significant and will change the life for minorities, Gutierrez said. College is not necessary to get a good job, but what is essential is to get a good-paying skill set. After the presentation, organizers thought about how to move forward and fix the issue. Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now Diedre Houchen, the education chair for racial inequity task force Gainesville For All, said although the data was disheartening, it simply confirmed what many activists already knew. Houchen said whatever solutions people begin crafting need to include the residents themselves. I think that whatever is done should certainly include the participation of African Americans within the county thats going to be essential, she said. Their agency at the table is needed. Perry said he felt the presentation was an important step in canvassing the disparity, and now legislators need to push change forward. The senator cited his proposed Early Childhood Music Education Incentive Pilot Program, SB 654, which would financially incentivize school districts to offer 30 minutes of certified music education twice a week for students between kindergarten and second grade. We see the gaps start out for students early and continue to grow, Perry said. What can we do at the youngest of age for them? For Rosana Resende, the format of the presentation event amounted to a waste of time. Resende, a lecturer with UFs Center for Latin American Studies invited to the event by the Latina Womens League, was in awe at the audience in the room, filled with nearly every person one could imagine whos working on improving the county, from social workers to politicians. Despite the talent in the room, there was no time dedicated to workshopping or pausing to let the organizers hash out possible solutions. Instead, people were instructed during the Q&A session to write down questions anonymously and pass them down rows of people to the front where President Sasser read and answered them. A lot of us are professionals who deal with this kind of stuff, Resende said. Were ready to go, you know? Resende said she was entirely disappointed with how the meeting was focused on describing the problem rather than answering it. This is amazing human capital, she said, looking around the room. Maybe we cant implement solutions right away, but why in the world cant we powwow about this kind of stuff and brainstorm some ideas together. President Fuchs also announced during the presentation that, independent of the study, he asked UFs Human Resource Services to look into the universitys OPS, or other personnel services, employee classification. Fuchs said hes concerned some OPS workers who are paid hourly, are not offered the same benefits as permanent staff and often come from minority and low-income backgrounds should receive better classification given how long they've worked for the university. He asked human resources to look into the OPS classification after Hurricane Irma, when hourly paid workers were not repaid for time lost after UF canceled four days of class, according to alligator archives. It may indeed be that we are misusing that job classification, he said. It may be, frankly, we should have fewer OPS workers and have more of them be regular workers. Contact David Hoffman at dhoffman@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @hoffdavid123. UF assistant professor Hector Hugo Sandoval Gutierrez presents data on racial inequity within the county to an audience of more than 200 Friday afternoon at the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, located at 718 SE 11th St. Walls also keep people out. Examples include the wall around Vatican City, the one in Israel's West Bank, and the ones around the homes of open borders advocates like Mark Zuckerberg. Many of the "walls for me but not for thee" virtue-signaling Hollywood elites have walls, fences, and all manner of security measures keeping uninvited guests from invading their domiciles. Walls have a variety of purposes. In the Soviet Union and East Germany, walls and fences were designed to keep people in, not to keep people out. Few chose to go "Back to the USSR," as The Beatles sang, other than newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Bernie Sanders, who honeymooned there. How can DACA be a wall? Not in the way you might think. If Lindsey Grahamnesty and his fellow congressional amnesty fanboys and fangirls get their way, giving the "DREAMers" citizenship and the right to vote, this will create a wall around the White House. This wall is not to be confused with the fence around the White House that mischievous sorts like to jump over, embarrassing the Secret Service. Instead, this wall will keep any Republican from ever living in the White House again. Where are the 700,000 "DREAMers" in the U.S. living? And twice the number of illegal immigrants eligible for DACA? And if they vote, how will they vote? What does that mean for the Electoral College in the 2020 presidential election? From the Migration Policy Institute's map of DACA recipients by state and Politico's election results by state, how might the next presidential election play out if "DREAMers" are able to vote? A 2012 study of 2,900 foreign-born naturalized immigrants found that 62 percent identified as Democrats and 25 percent as Republicans. That's a 2.5-fold difference favoring Democrats. A Pew Research Center study from the same year found that undocumented latino immigrants identified 31 percent Democrat and 4 percent Republican, an eightfold difference. Suffice it to say that the majority of "DREAMers" would pull the lever for the presidential candidate with the letter D after his name. Where are DACA recipients living in the U.S.? Let's also distinguish between actual DACA recipients and those meeting all the criteria to apply. If DACA recipients are given a pathway to citizenship, it's likely that most or all those eligible will take advantage of American largess and become voting citizens. The Migration Policy Institute identifies about 690,000 recipients and 1,326,000 eligible. For this analysis, I will use the numbers for the DACA-eligible, about twice the number of current recipients. The Washington Post provides a rough approximation of where they live. Forget large states like California, Illinois, and New York, as these are already solidly blue. Trump won Texas by around 800,000 votes, while only 182,000 DACA-eligible live in Texas, so that state won't likely flip. Trump won Arizona by 85,000 votes, with 36,000 DACA-eligible not an insurmountable margin. Michigan went for Trump by only 12,000 votes, with 10,000 DACA-eligible. Easy state to flip. Wisconsin voters picked Trump by 27,000 votes, with 10,000 DACA-eligible. Again, easy to flip. Trump won Florida by 119,000 votes, with 72,000 DACA-eligible. The small remaining difference is easily surpassed by a good portion of the 73,000 hurricane refugees from Puerto Rico, now living in Florida, voting Democrat. You get my point. It won't be difficult to flip a few states from red to blue, painting the Electoral College map mostly blue and keeping a Republican out of the White House for the foreseeable future all accomplished by legalizing the "DREAMers" and those eligible for DACA. Going farther is blanket amnesty for all illegals in the U.S. not a million, but perhaps ten or twenty million. Enough to turn a solidly red state like Texas blue. Lights out for a Republican ever winning the presidency after that. Lastly, if Trump caves on immigration, his core issue, many of his supporters will stay home, amplifying the votes of the "DREAMers" and painting the electoral map a deeper shade of blue. No wonder Democrats are so eager for DACA amnesty. Don't listen just to Pelosi and Schumer. Instead, read what the Center for American Progress (better named the Center for Liberal Progress) circulated in a memo written by former Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri. She admitted that the DACA "DREAMers" are "[a] critical component of the Democratic Party's future electoral success." No kidding. That's exactly why Ted Kennedy pushed the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, opening American doors to anyone able to get here as well as his brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins, plus any other supposed relatives, filling the voter rolls with loyal Democrats for generations. Legalizing the "DREAMers" will have a similar effect, especially if Congress doesn't end chain migration. Immigration is one of the primary reasons why Donald Trump is president. His supporters are understandably nervous about his recent promise that whatever immigration Congress send him, "I will be signing it." Trump's a smart guy, despite assertions to the contrary in Michael Wolff's book, and knows the importance of dancing with the base who brought him. I'm sure the Republican leadership in Congress knows this as well and won't allow a lousy bill to reach Trump's desk meaning one without funding for the wall as well as continuation of chain migration and the green card lottery. If Trump get what he wants but legalizes the "DREAMers," his road to 270 electoral votes in 2020 may be far more difficult, if not impossible. If I can see this, I am sure he can, too. Despite my trepidation over his recent comments, I am content to wait for the final bill to emerge. "Let's see what happens," as the president likes to say. Trump has kept his campaign promises thus far, and I suspect that despite Lindsey Grahamnesty's giddiness over a "pathway to citizenship," the president will have the last laugh. His political future depends on it. Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Obama, Trump, and the Silliness of Spielberg's The Post "The way they lied," says the Ben Bradlee character in Steven Spielberg's preposterous new film, The Post, "those days have to be over. We have to be the check on their power. If we don't hold them accountable my God, who will?" This is the same Ben Bradlee, by the way, who retrieved the diary of his sister-in-law, Mary Pinchot Meyer, after she was murdered and burned the pages having to do her affair with Bradlee's pal, President John Kennedy. The murder took place less than a year after JFK's assassination and three weeks after the release of the Warren Commission report. Meyer's ex-husband was CIA. Bradlee collaborated with the CIA to destroy the evidence. Thanks in no small part to Bradlee's intervention, the murder was never solved. This is just one of the minor ironies that render the movie absurd. A larger irony is that the movie should have been rightly called The Times, since it was the New York Times that ran all the risk in publishing the Pentagon Papers that contractor Daniel Ellsberg had pilfered, not the Washington Post. "It's as though Hollywood had made a movie about the [Times'] triumphant role in Watergate," said James Goodale, the Times' in-house attorney when the papers were published. As is painfully obvious, Spielberg made the movie to rally the liberal troops against President Donald Trump and his perceived threat to the First Amendment. The silly, subversive part of it all is that Spielberg elevated the role of the Washington Post only because the Post had a female publisher and thus a juicy role for Meryl Streep. The Times reviewer, paying deference to feminist sensibilities, still dared to write the following: "It is an unfortunate irony that the makers of a film dedicated to the pursuit of truth took dramatic license with Mr. Sulzberger, who died in 2012, in their worthy elevation of Ms. Graham, who died in 2001." He refers here to the Times publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger and the Post publisher Katherine Graham. Only among allies in political correctness would so basic a corruption of the truth be considered "worthy." The most significant of the ironies is that the Post and the rest of the major media have extended the same level of protection to Barack Obama that Ben Bradlee and his peers did to JFK, if not more. Their affection for the "truth" remains as situational as it ever was. Project Veritas honcho James O'Keefe got a refresher course in the media's flexible ethics last week. In a series of videos, O'Keefe showed some nine different Twitter employees boasting of their "Big Brotherish" capabilities and their eagerness to turn that power against the president. Bragged the one senior Twitter technician, "We have full access to every single person's account, every single direct message, deleted direct messages, deleted tweets. I can tell you exactly who logged in from where, what username and password, when they changed their password." The "every single person," he explained, included the president. The videos were sensational. They got extensive play on talk radio, conservative websites, Fox News, and a banner headline on Drudge in red. Yet despite the major media's expressed affection for the First Amendment, not a single major media outlet mentioned the videos, not even in a tweet. CNN did, however, see fit to review O'Keefe's new book, American Pravda, which hits the bookstores on Tuesday. Although the book is a thoughtful exploration of historical and modern reporting in a just world, it would be a staple in journalism schools CNN chose to headline its review thusly: "James O'Keefe says Trump asked him to go on birther-linked mission." Here is the paragraph that triggered CNN's "birther" headline. It appears on the first two pages of the book: "In 2013, Obama still interested [Trump]. From what I gathered that day, Trump was not a "birther," never was. He was confident Obama was born in the United States, but he suspected [that] Obama had presented himself as a foreign student on application materials to ease his way into New York's Columbia University, maybe even Harvard too, and perhaps picked up a few scholarships along the way." O'Keefe adds the following: "Trump had reason to believe Obama was capable of this kind of mischief. In May 2012, Breitbart News unearthed a promotional booklet produced in 1991 by Obama's literary agency at the time, Acton & Dystel. In the booklet, Obama claimed to have been 'born in Kenya and raised in Indonesia and Hawaii.'" O'Keefe takes pains to deny that Trump was a "birther," and yet CNN insisted on putting "birther" in the headline. The thrust of the CNN article is that O'Keefe was somehow ratting Trump out. The photo of a scowling Trump reinforces that idea, but in fact, O'Keefe was doing no such thing. By referring to the Breitbart article, he was establishing a rationale for Trump's curiosity. "Nobody else can get this information. Do you think you could get inside Columbia?" O'Keefe quotes Trump as saying. CNN extracted the quote "inside Columbia" as though Trump wanted O'Keefe to do something illegal. "As I explained," writes O'Keefe, "that was not exactly our line of work. We were journalists, not private eyes." This encounter forms the basis of all of CNN's reporting on O'Keefe in the momentous week of his Twitter revelations. CNN's triviality never ceases to impress. In the same week that the media were celebrating their collective daring in the publication of the stolen Pentagon Papers, CNN was ignoring O'Keefe's expose of Twitter and wringing its hands about Trump's wanting to see Obama's tightly sealed records from Columbia. Writes CNN's Oliver Darcy, "Some of the conspiracy theorists believed, without evidence, that there would have been something suspicious in his records from that period." The phrase "without evidence" reads like a punch line. There was an absence of evidence only because of the complete absence of curiosity by the American media. The information known about Obama's New York years when he was a presidential candidate was uniquely sketchy. In late October 2007, the New York Times ran a telling article on that period, headlined "Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say." Given that he was an announced candidate for president, the Times expected Obama to welcome the chance to reconcile his account in his memoir Dreams from My Father with the accounts of those who knew him. "Yet he declined repeated requests to talk about his New York years[;] release his Columbia transcript[;] or identify even a single fellow student, co-worker, roommate[,] or friend from those years." A campaign spokesman, Ben LaBolt, offered a conspicuously lame explanation for Obama's reticence: "[h]e doesn't remember the names of a lot of people in his life." Lame or not, it worked. Obama's indifference to the facts on the ground may have shocked the Times, but it did not exactly shock the Times or any other media outlet into action. By 2013, when Trump inquired, the media knew little more about Obama's New York period than they had in 2007. To inquire into Obama's background made the investigator not just a "conspiracy theorist," but a racist. One suspects that if the Times or Post had been handed an incriminating document about Obama, from Columbia or elsewhere, the editors would not have done what their editors in times gone by did with the Pentagon Papers. They would have done what Ben Bradlee did to his sister-in-law's diary: burn it. That is the way they roll. Trump-Russia: Not Mueller's First Botched Investigation Controversy surrounds Robert Mueller and his investigation into the Trump-Russia collusion mirage. Some maintain that he is the ultimate professional dedicated to following the truth, but others say he is a political hack. There is no need to wonder about how Mueller operates. His history has made it quite clear. One needs only to study his actions as FBI director when he managed the FBI's most important investigation ever. The fact is, Durbin is just another political hack who uses the instruments of government to accrue power, and he was not above trampling on the rights of American taxpayers when, during the rise of the Tea Party movement that seized control of Congress in 2010 and threatened President Obama's re-election in 2012, he sought the aid of the IRS to stop the Tea Party movement in general and Karl Rove's political action committee, American Crossroads, in particular. As Politico noted in 2013 : Illinois Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin is full of righteous indignation these days regarding President Trump's comments in a private meeting. Following the meeting, Durbin ran outside to whine to the media. Trump wants immigrants who come to America wanting to be Americans who will make America and themselves successful. Durbin wants immigrants who come to America wanting to be Democrats dependent on government who will make the Democratic Party successful. He wants to bring in the huddled masses yearning to get free stuff, and the American citizen taxpayer be damned. Karl Rove is stepping up his attacks on Sen. Dick Durbin. Rove unloaded with both barrels on the Illinois Democrat, blasting him in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News and in a column in The Wall Street Journal. Rove is charging that Durbin's sending a letter in 2010 to Internal Revenue Service officials, asking them to investigate American Crossroads, was nothing less than a bid to "silence conservatives." "What was going on is obvious: Mr. Durbin wanted the IRS to silence conservatives," Rove wrote. "So did every other congressional Democrat who wrote similar letters to the IRS, from Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus to New York [s]en. Chuck Schumer to Vermont [r]ep. Peter Welch. But in the glare of public attention, using the IRS to cripple or destroy opponents looks corrupt. Abuse of power always is." Sen. Durbin was a leader of a group of Democratic officeholders engaging in suppression of political opposition to the Democratic Party, an abuse of government power similar to the silent coup attempt to dent President Trump's election and his presidency by using the FBI and the DOJ to use a fake dossier paid for by the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign to spy on Team Trump and then launch a special counsel investigation into mythical Russian collusion. Sen. Durbin and his Democratic colleagues would like us to forget how they tried to collude with the IRS to subvert American democracy and use the IRS to change the outcome of an American election. Sen. Durbin would also like us to forget how he was aided by Lois Lerner, then with the Federal Election Commission, who targeted Durbin's 1996 Senate opponent, Al Salvi. As Investor's Business Daily editorialized: Before his 2010 letter urging the IRS to target conservatives, the Senate majority whip's 1996 campaign benefited from the targeting of his opponent by a Federal Election Commission official with a familiar name. Perhaps not surprisingly, the IRS scandal may have its roots in Illinois politics with the 1996 targeting of Illinois conservative Al Salvi by a familiar name, Lois Lerner, then head of the Enforcement Division of the Federal Election[] Commission. That year, Democrat U.S. [r]ep. Dick Durbin and Republican [s]tate [r]ep. Al Salvi were locked in a battle for the U.S. Senate seat Durbin would eventually win. As the journal Illinois Review details, Salvi was confronted with an "October surprise[]"[:] not one, but two[] FEC complaints filed against him one by Illinois Democrats about the way he reported a loan he made to himself, and another by the Democratic Senatorial Committee about a reported business donation. The late[-]inning complaints stalled Salvo's campaign against Durbin. "We couldn't get our message out because day after day, the media carried story after story about the FEC complaint," Salvi told Illinois Review. This tactic of keeping political opponents busy was repeated by IRS Exempt Organizations Division chief Lerner on her targeting of Tea Party and other conservative groups in the 2012 presidential campaign. A profile in courage, Durbin is not. A poster child for weaponizing government agencies to maintain political power, he is. As noted, Durbin would connect with Lois Lerner at the IRS once again to intimidate and threaten his political opponents and those of the Democratic Party: Salvi would become a political trivia question as Durbin rose to power and prominence in the U.S. Senate. From that position, Durbin in October 2010 queried IRS [c]ommissioner Douglas Shulman about the tax exemption status of Crossroads GPS a job that would find its way to now-IRS official Lois Lerner. Why target Crossroads GPS? Aside from its effectiveness and connection to campaign guru Karl Rove, Crossroads GPS ran ads opposing the 2010 campaign of Illinois [s]tate [t]reasurer Alexi Giannoulias for the U.S. Senate seat held by Roland Burris. Burris was appointed to fill the vacancy left when Barack Obama was elected president by the now incarcerated Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who tried to auction off the seat. Sen. Durbin is not exactly the Mr. Smith who went to Washington in the iconic movie starring Jimmy Stewart. He is not fighting for truth, justice, and the American Way. He is fighting for Dick Durbin and a Democratic Party kept in power by an endless influx of "undocumented" Democrats. Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investor's Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications. Richard Moss , M.D. is running in Indiana's 8th Congressional District against an entrenched Republican. Dr. Moss is "formally committed to joining the 'Freedom Caucus,' the conservative bloc within the Republican Caucus in Congress[,] at the announcement of his candidacy on September 9, 2017." Dr. Moss went to Indiana University in Bloomington and I.U. School of Medicine. His mother was actually from Indiana but left in 1931 to live in the Bronx in New York with her family. It is clear that much still needs to be done to maintain the many encouraging strides President Trump has already made in his first year. And with so many long-term Republicans retiring , it is critical to look for impeccable conservative credentials in those running in 2018. Founded in 1991, Dr. Moss's medical office provides care and treatment in the specialty of otolaryngology, or routine and complex ear, nose, and throat disorders; head and neck cancer; and facial plastic and cosmetic surgery. Dr. Moss agreed to give his views on the following questions posed to him by American Thinker. Why do you think "squish" Republicans are so hesitant in maintaining a winning streak? They don't really want to win. They prefer minority status or a Democratic president so they can pound their chests resisting him, claiming conservative principles, which is good for fundraising. But when they actually have power ... they shrink from doing so. They are basically big-government Republicans and political cowards. What are your views on immigration control? No DACA. No amnesty. No birthright citizenship. No chain migration. Build a wall. I would have a moratorium on immigration other than for Nobel Prize-level talent and proven Solzhenitsyn-level dissidents and reformers. What exactly should be done for those "DREAMers" who were brought to America? Other than those who served in the military, which is about 900 out of the 800,000, deport them. Richard Moss and his family. What issues are of particular interest to the Indiana voter of the 8th Congressional District? Indiana is a great state with fairly low taxes and low malpractice rates. What is of particular interest is reining in the EPA and the war on fossil fuels. This is what Trump seems to be doing. We are coal country. As a physician, I have been affected by Obamacare [as] it has affected everyone: big premiums and massive deductibles and reduced choice. It has destroyed the single-buyer market. What is needed is full and complete repeal; root and branch is needed, followed by free-market reforms. You author a blog titled Exodus MD. Your most recent post, "Merry Christmas & Happy Chanukah," points out that it is vital for Americans to dedicate themselves "to preserving America, the West, and Western civilization, by preserving its Judeo-Christian tradition." Is sharia law compatible with American law? Is there any place for it in America? Sharia law is not compatible with American law, and there is no place for it in America. In another blog post, Dr. Moss, a conservative Jew, strongly supports President Trump's decision regarding acknowledgment of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Why hold our policies hostage to terrorists? Why allow Palestinian extortion and incitement to influence us at all? We do not let terrorists tell us what capitols to recognize, what cartoons we can draw, and how we should live our lives despite the hand[-]wringing of the anti-Israel left in the Democrat[ic] Party, the media, the [U.N.], and in European and Muslim capitals. It is time we accepted reality about the Palestinians and dealt with them as they are[,] not as we wish[] them to be. They are violent, radical, kleptocratic thugs who run a very profitable mafia state and shakedown operation. The [P.A.] has formed a unity government with Hamas, which our State Department recognizes as a terrorist group. The [P.A.] itself is a terrorist group on its own accord but also through its association with Hamas. We should therefore cut off all ties with the [P.A.] as required by law. We should stop training its security personnel. We should de-recognize, defund, and delegitimize the [P.A.] as a "peace partner," which clearly it is not. It is the enemy of peace. What is the greatest difference between you and your Republican opponent? My Republican opponent has committed "a serious sin in Indiana." He has moved to Washington, D.C. with his family. This was also done by [Evan] Bayh and [Richard] Lugar, who both went down. I will pound him on this. It's time to put Hoosiers first and restore America to greatness. I am a stalwart full-spectrum comprehensive conservative someone who will fight on all issues, including national defense, fiscal, and cultural. In particular, I will make a stand on the cultural issues, which, unlike most conservatives, I am willing to do. I hold that it is the cultural issues along with immigration and the out-of-control left-wing courts that represent the gravest threat to the country. My opponent is an establishment creature, or, in modern Trump parlance, a swamp creature. He has a liberal voting record and has never met a spending bill he didn't love. He votes for all the omnibus bills. He won't take a stand on cultural issues such as the transgendering of the military. Since President Trump has entered office, black unemployment is at its lowest in years. What more needs to be done? Republicans have to take back the black vote. They live in cities run by Democrats, and it is hard to get past the Democratic machine and their anti-free market policies. The critical thing is to restore the black family. There are 75% of black babies who are born out of wedlock. The whole single-parent welfare-dependent black family model has crippled the black community. In addition, establish tax-free zones and entice businesses to go there. In addition, promote free-market ideas. Encourage economic growth, prosperity, and opportunity. Cutting immigration levels and deporting illegal aliens would help as well, since they compete for jobs, accept lower wages, and weaken overburdened schools with ESL students with their attendant costs. Anti-Semitism appears to be on the rise in many U.S. universities. What legal action, if any, can be taken? Defund schools. Impose severe penalties. Engage in legal action by the Department of Justice. Also cut immigration from the Muslim world, which fuels a lot of rising anti-Semitism in the U.S. and Europe. They work hand in glove with the Israel-hating left that dominates the college campuses. What do you wish to leave the reader with? The single most pressing issue that must be addressed in this country within the next year is immigration. It is the tactic of the left to import more low-skilled, low-education, low-I.Q. immigrants from the Third World who will transform the nation, depend on the government, and vote Democratic. The whole nation will turn blue California will be our future. I am committed to the American project, the Founders' vision, liberty, private property rights, inalienable rights, the sanctity of the individual, limited constitutional governance, traditional American culture and values, free-market capitalism, a strong U.S. military, maintaining our national identity and culture, and the Judeo-Christian tradition. Married with four children, Richard Moss has been in practice in Jasper and Washington, Indiana for over twenty years. For more information, visit RMoss4Congress.com. Contact him at hq@rmoss4congress.com. Find Moss for Congress on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com. A Nigerian immigrant addresses President Trump's alleged comment on s-hole countries Be prepared for frank sentiments about the terminology that Senator Dick Durbin alleges that President Trump employed in a private conversation. The comments below originally appeared on a forum for people from the Igala Tribe in Nigeria but were loaded onto YouTube yesterday. The Igala people I have known have been very smart, and successful in this country. Warning: The same vulgar term alleged to have been used by President Trump is frequently employed. I wonder what Maxine Waters would say if she watched this? Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that the Oslo Accords, which had been the basis for negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis since 1992, are dead, blaming Israel and Donald Trump's peace plan. Abbas said that "today is the day that the Oslo Accords end. Israel killed them. We are an authority without any authority, and an occupation without any cost. Trump threatens to cut funding to the authority because negotiations have failed. When the hell did negotiations start?!" He added that "any future negotiations will take place only within the context of the international community, by an international committee created in the framework of an international conference. Allow me to be clear: [w]e will not accept America[n] leadership of a political process involving negotiations. "U.S. [a]mbassador to Israel David Friedman is a settler who is opposed to the term occupation. He is an offensive human being, and I will not agree to meet with him anywhere. They requested that I meet him and I refused, not in Jerusalem, not in Amman, not in Washington. U.S. [a]mbassador to the UN Nikki Haley too, she threatens to hit people who hurt Israel with the heel of her shoe, and we'll respond in the same way." Abbas's remarks, made before the Palestinian Central Council, come against the backdrop of a U.S. cut in contributions to the U.N. for Palestinian refugees. AP: The Trump administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, cutting the year's first contribution by more than half or perhaps entirely, and making additional donations contingent on major changes to the organization, according to U.S. officials. President Donald Trump hasn't made a final decision, but appears more likely to send only $60 million of the planned $125[-]million first installment to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, said the officials, who weren't authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. Future contributions would require the agency, facing heavy Israeli criticism, to demonstrate significant changes in operations, they said, adding that one suggestion under consideration would require the Palestinians to first re-enter peace talks with Israel. The State Department said Sunday that "the decision is under review. There are still deliberations taking place." The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the matter. The administration could announce its decision as early as Tuesday, the officials said. The plan to withhold some of the money is backed by [s]ecretary of [s]tate Rex Tillerson and [d]efense [s]ecretary James Mattis, who offered it as a compromise to demands for more drastic measures by U.N. [a]mbassador Nikki Haley, the officials said. Abbas is bluffing. The "peace process" a misnomer, to be sure has guaranteed a steady flow of cash into the P.A.'s treasury for decades. As long as the Palestinians mouthed platitudes about negotiating peace with Israel (while murdering as many Israeli civilians they could get away with), contributions from the U.N. and Western countries continued. The Palestinians must now confront a new reality. They no longer have a friend in the White House who would pressure Israel to make ruinous concessions. Trump seems content to put all the pressure on Abbas and Hamas to change their behavior before serious negotiations begin. For far too long, the Palestinians have been able to play a duplicitous game, dangling the hope for peace while firing thousands of rockets into Israel, hoping to kill civilians. Most Israeli observers believe that another war is coming. This time, there won't be an American president to restrain Israel from finishing the job of destroying the Palestinians' ability to strike at the Jewish state. Yesterday, Deneuve proved to be as susceptible to pressure to conform as anyone else. She apologized to victims of sexual assault. It was entirely predictable that after actress Catherine Deneuve and 100 other French women signed a letter criticizing the excesses of the #MeToo movement, the backlash from hysterical feminists would force some kind of apology. AFP: French film star Catherine Deneuve, who set off a worldwide feminist backlash for bashing the #MeToo movement, has apologi[z]ed to victims of sexual assault, saying there [is] "nothing good" about harassment. She was one of 100 prominent French women who signed an open letter last week defending men's freedom to "hit on" women, and inferring that women fondled on public transport should just get over it. But the screen legend distanced herself "from certain signatories who have distorted the spirit of the text by expanding upon it in the media," and apologi[z]ed "to the victims of these hideous acts who might have felt offended by the letter[."] "It is to them and them alone that I offer my apologies," the actress said in a letter published Sunday on the website of French daily Liberation. What Deneuve and the other French women were trying to accomplish with their open letter was to differentiate between sexual assault and sexual harassment. "Rape is a crime," the letter said, "but insistent or clumsy flirting is not an offense, nor is gallantry macho aggression." The letter continued: To make matters worse, they wrote, "[T]he movement chains women to the status of the eternal victim" by framing them as "poor little things who are dominated by demon phallocrats." Not only that, but the movement has spawned a wave of hatred toward the accused, they said, who are mentioned in the same breath as sexual aggressors without being given the chance to defend themselves. This new type of "swift justice" has already claimed its victims, they wrote, citing men forced to resign "when all they did wrong was touch a knee." This comment is a clear reference to the resignation of former [U.K.] [d]efense [s]ecretary Michael Fallon, who stepped down in November after admitting to touching journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer's knee in 2002. The vicious backlash against Deneuve, a pioneering feminist in the 1970s, reveals the modern feminist movement as more ideologically conformist than anything the "patriarchy" has ever come up with. Deneuve and the other French women are simply trying to inject some common sense and reason into a debate that has gone off the rails. For this, she must be punished: The Le Monde letter triggered a wave of indignation worldwide, with a group of leading French feminists branding Deneuve and the other signatories as "apologists for rape[."] Italian actress Asia Argento, who has accused [Harvey] Weinstein of rape, was equally excoriating. "Deneuve and other French women tell the world how their interiori[z]ed misogyny has lobotomi[z]ed them to the point of no return," she tweeted. And the letter's assertions that being "fondled on a metro ... was a non-event" to some women, and a man's right to hit on a woman [is] fundamental to sexual freedom, sparked particular fury. Against this, Deneuve said in her letter to Liberation that the solution to sexual harassment "will come with the upbringing of our boys and girls," adding that businesses must also be tougher. How can anyone believe that what was written in the letter was an "apology for rape"? Only those seeking to impose stifling, deadening conformity of thought on others would make such a hysterically outrageous statement. The one hope is that this kind of tyrannical conformity of thought will eventually be defeated. Even a powerful entity like the Soviet Union couldn't maintain total control over the thinking of its citizens forever. But until that day comes, straying from the approved narrative will come with a cost. The reason for the force, according to the U.S. military, is to prevent ISIS from reconstituting. But Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn't see it that way. He is calling it a "terror army" and is massing troops on the border with Syria to destroy it. The U.S. military, along with its allies in Syria, are planning to form a 30,000-man force to patrol the northern Syrian border. The force will be composed mostly of Kurdish YPG militia and will be augmented by other Syrian rebel groups. Reuters: The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad responded on Monday by vowing to crush the new force and drive U.S. troops from the country. Assad's ally Russia called the plans a plot to dismember Syria and place part of it under U.S. control. But the strongest denunciation came from Erdo[g]an, who has presided as relations between the United States and its biggest Muslim ally within NATO have stretched to the breaking point. "A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders," Erdo[g]an said of the United States in a speech in Ankara. "What can that terror army target but Turkey?" "Our mission is to strangle it before it's even born." Erdo[g]an said Turkey had completed preparations for an operation in Kurdish-held territory in northern Syria. While the U.S. may see the force as a means to prevent ISIS from regaining its strength, the Kurds view the formation of a border army quite differently. The Kurds have carved out a section of Syria and want to use the new army to protect it. The U.S. has given tacit approval for this, although with Erdogan breathing fire about the "terror army" of Kurds, we won't be able to do too much to prevent Turkey from having its way. For much of the war, the United States and Turkey worked together, jointly supporting forces fighting against Assad's government. But a U.S. decision to back Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in recent years has enraged Ankara. Meanwhile, the Assad government, backed by Russia and Iran, has made great strides over the past two years in defeating a range of opponents, restoring control over nearly all of Syria's main cities. It considers the continued U.S. presence a threat to its ambition to restore full control over the entire country. On Sunday, the U.S.-led coalition said it was working with its militia allies, the mainly Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to set up the new force to patrol the Turkish and Iraqi borders, as well as within Syria along the Euphrates River which separates SDF territory from that held by the government. Turkey views the Kurdish forces supported by the United States as a national security threat. It says the Syrian Kurdish PYD movement and the affiliated YPG militia, the backbone of the U.S.-backed SDF force in Syria, are allies of the PKK, a banned Kurdish group waging an insurgency in southern Turkey. "This is what we have to say to all our allies: don't get in between us and terrorist organi[z]ations, or we will not be responsible for the unwanted consequences," Erdo[g]an said. "Either you take off your flags on those terrorist organi[z]ations, or we will have to hand those flags over to you[.] Don't force us to bury in the ground those who are with terrorists," he said. "Our operations will continue until not a single terrorist remains along our borders, let alone 30,000 of them." Erdogan wants the U.S. to actively oppose the force, which isn't going to happen. But neither can we protect the Kurds if Erdogan follows through with his threats. The last several administrations have been ambivalent about Kurdish independence. Emotionally, we support the Kurdish desire for a homeland. But practically speaking, we can do little to help the Kurds advance that cause. This has led to deep disappointment on the part of the Kurds and has put us at odds with the governments of Iraq and Turkey, two allies in the war against ISIS. Erdogan is using the "terrorist" excuse to destroy an effective Kurdish fighting force. It remains to be seen whether they can stand up to the modern NATO army fielded by Turkey. That is the privilege being enjoyed by the person (a male, apparently, based on the gender pronouns employed) who told Hawaiians that a missile strike was incoming last Saturday at 8 a.m. John Fund writes in National Review : The words "accountability" and "government bureaucrat" are strangers to each other for many of the almost 22 million people who work for governments in the United States. Imagine having a job where you can totally screw up and seriously inconvenience a million people and not only remain unpunished, but not even be identified to the people you scared the wits out of. The largest ethnic group in Hawaii is Japanese-Americans. I can assure you that the attitude taken by the state government they elect dominated by Democrats forever is the opposite of that in Japan, where a deep bow of apology is the bare minimum expected. For instance, last October, top executives at Kobe Steel bowed to the public in a press conference called to apologize for false data on some of its products: But as former Hawaii state senator Sam Slom once observed to me, "[n]o state worker on Hawaii ever gets fired for anything." Apologies are also very rare. The repercussions are already beginning. Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, lambasted state officials for not having reasonable safeguards in place. "False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies," Pai said. Brigette Namata, a television reporter in Honolulu, said it was "mind-boggling that we have officials here, we have state workers that are in charge of our public safety and a huge, egregious mistake like this happened." I can't speak for the people of Hawaii, who have always impressed me as rather laid back, but I am not reassured that no serious consequences follow an error so fundamental. It appears that others share my concern. "This guy feels bad, right. He's not doing this on purpose. It was a mistake on his part and he feels terrible about it," explained Hawaii EMA administrator Vern Miyagi, a former Army major general. But Miyagi declined to say that the staffer would face any disciplinary actions. Richard Rapoza, the official spokesman for EMA, declined to identify the errant employee and added, "At this point, our major concern is to make sure we do what we need to do to reassure the public. This is not a time for pointing fingers." [A]pparently, no one is resigning, and the staffer in question is merely being "counseled" and retrained so he doesn't do it again. According to state officials, the staffer answered "yes" when asked by the system if he was sure he wanted to send the message. He wasn't even aware of his mistake until mobile phones near him began displaying the alert. The words "accountability" and "government bureaucrat" are strangers to each other for many of the almost 22 million people who work for governments in the United States. Imagine having a job where you can totally screw up and seriously inconvenience a million people and not only remain unpunished, but not even be identified to the people you scared the wits out of. That is the privilege being enjoyed by the person (a male, apparently, based on the gender pronouns employed) who told Hawaiians that a missile strike was incoming last Saturday at 8 a.m. John Fund writes in National Review: [A]pparently, no one is resigning, and the staffer in question is merely being "counseled" and retrained so he doesn't do it again. According to state officials, the staffer answered "yes" when asked by the system if he was sure he wanted to send the message. He wasn't even aware of his mistake until mobile phones near him began displaying the alert. "This guy feels bad, right. He's not doing this on purpose. It was a mistake on his part and he feels terrible about it," explained Hawaii EMA administrator Vern Miyagi, a former Army major general. But Miyagi declined to say that the staffer would face any disciplinary actions. Richard Rapoza, the official spokesman for EMA, declined to identify the errant employee and added, "At this point, our major concern is to make sure we do what we need to do to reassure the public. This is not a time for pointing fingers." I can't speak for the people of Hawaii, who have always impressed me as rather laid back, but I am not reassured that no serious consequences follow an error so fundamental. It appears that others share my concern. The repercussions are already beginning. Ajit Pai, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, lambasted state officials for not having reasonable safeguards in place. "False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies," Pai said. Brigette Namata, a television reporter in Honolulu, said it was "mind-boggling that we have officials here, we have state workers that are in charge of our public safety and a huge, egregious mistake like this happened." But as former Hawaii state senator Sam Slom once observed to me, "[n]o state worker on Hawaii ever gets fired for anything." Apologies are also very rare. The largest ethnic group in Hawaii is Japanese-Americans. I can assure you that the attitude taken by the state government they elect dominated by Democrats forever is the opposite of that in Japan, where a deep bow of apology is the bare minimum expected. For instance, last October, top executives at Kobe Steel bowed to the public in a press conference called to apologize for false data on some of its products: A study shows that DACA-aged illegals are more likely to commit additional crimes and be jailed than citizens. With all the news about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program being subject to a congressional deal, this latest bit of news points to a need to start separating good from bad DACA recipients in any amnesty for them. A new report about crimes committed by illegals finds that younger undocumented immigrants [sic; should be "illegal aliens" ed.] who were eligible for former President Obama's DACA amnesty program commit far more crimes than other immigrants or U.S. citizens. In unearthing rare data that details the crimes and sentences of illegals in Arizona, the Crime Prevention Research Center reported that immigrants age 15-35, the general population of the 700,000 in Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, "commit crime at twice the rate of young U.S. citizens." The crimes cited in the study are authentic thug-type crimes, such as murder, rape, robbery, and kidnapping, not the white-collar variety such as Social Security identification theft, which has an even greater subset of violators among illegal immigrants. Two caveats should be noted from the report: the study covers only Arizona state, and its conclusions are a nationwide projection from those results. Also, the study itself covers only DACA-aged youths, not actual verified DACA recipients. That said, the research was done by the respected John Lott, whose work is known for its rigor. And any youth of the right age who hasn't applied for DACA would be a fool not to, given its 99% approval rate on applications. There is reason to think there is merit in Lott's claims. This points to a problem we see again and again in DACA recipients: for every valedictorian proudly featured in the press among the program's 800,000-strong bloc, we have far higher numbers of illiterates, underachievers, unassimilated non-English-speakers, dropouts, and repeat criminals. The negotiations in the Congress on a DACA deal with President Trump continuously use the 800,000-strong recipient base as an undifferentiated bloc. Yet we know there was no differentiation in the approval process, and the valedictorians went into the same bin as the underachievers and the underclass-assimilators. Most Americans would be fine with allowing the valedictorians and the 900 servicemembers among the 800,000-person bloc to stay as part of a deal, as these people would probably make successful Americans. Where they draw the line is with gang members, habitual criminals, underachievers, and terrorist sympathizers piggybacking onto them as part of a lump-sum deal. Why anyone would refrain from splitting up the DACA bloc into categories that go well beyond an applicant's age is a mystery to me. Breaking up the bloc will make a deal for the more deserving of the applicants that much easier, if a deal ever comes to pass. And that number is likely to be far more manageable as well as less of an incentive to come to the U.S, than amnesty for 800,000 new entrants. There's Trump's frankness on immigration, and then there's Lindsey Graham's hypocrisy... The outrage over President Trump's supposed "s-hole" comment, which was about questioning whether the U.S. should be importing large numbers of nationals from dysfunctional countries, has drawn the hypocrites out of the woodwork. One of the loudest out there harrumphing has been South Carolina's Sen. Lindsey Graham, who, much to the New York Times' glee, admonished Trump that "America is an idea, not a race." Yet when Graham said in 2013, "The people coming across the southern border live in hellholes. They don't like that. They want to come here. Our problem is, we can't have everybody in the world who lives in a hellhole come to America," was it the truth, or was Graham a racist and a xenophobe? If a politician says Syria, Libya, North Korea, Venezuela, Haiti, and many African countries are down the toilet because of corruption, tyranny, poverty, starvation, lack of freedom, and lack of economic opportunity, it is the truth. Yet Trump did not go after the people of those countries; he went after the countries themselves, which are run by bad leaders. When Trump goes after the North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, for destroying his country, he is not being racist toward Koreans. Trump wasn't being racist even when he said the U.S. could bring in more Norwegians. He had just met with Norway's leader, and this meeting is what accounts for his reference to Norway as an example of a place from where the U.S. could import more immigrants. It was the media and other Democrats who brought up race. It really is about leaders, not entire peoples, and this isn't just some quirk of Trump's. If people say Illinois and Chicago are "down the toilet," they are telling the truth, too. But they are not saying the people of Illinois are down the toilet. They are going after the politicians of both parties that have spent, borrowed, taxed, and promised Illinois into a disaster, and most of those politicians have been white. The entire dynamic of immigration is the result of bad leadership in countries whose living conditions have become intolerable. When refugees seek legal status, when immigrants bring in family members under chain migration, and when people come in under the immigration lottery system, they are almost always seeking to leave countries and regimes that are oppressive, giving the people little economic opportunity and little freedom. Are these people racists because they want to leave their backward countries, too? The answer is obviously no, because their vote with their feet on what kind of countries they live in is not usually a statement against the people of those countries. It's a rejection of the leadership and powers that be who have made life so miserable. It's not racist. Isn't it better to have a president who calls out Iran's leaders and supports Iran's people than a president who caves in to the leaders of Iran and fails to support Iran's people? When someone like Graham jumps on the left's bandwagon and lectures Trump about his supposed racism, the facts just don't support his claims. Thank goodness we have a president who wants to give the power and purse back to the people and put the heat where it belongs: on bad leaders. If anyone needs a further example of Trump's understanding of the difference between people and leaders, the U.S. minorities whose unemployment has hit an all-time low is a good place to look. You can put me down as someone who was willing to legalize some of these individuals on a work visa basis but never a path to citizenship. I also wanted them to pay a fine and go through a background check here and in their country of origin. My experience with immigration reform goes back to 2006-7. I remember the marches, McCain-Kennedy, and other efforts over the years. And now we have DACA. And yes, President Trump is right. The Dems want the issue rather than a solution. This is from Fox: President Trump on Sunday argued again that Democrats and their demands not him or fellow Republicans in Congress have throttled negotiations to provide permanent legal protection for young illegal immigrants [sic; should be "illegal aliens" ed.] and made clear that any such deal also must end the United States' lottery-immigration program. "DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military," said Trump, in one of several tweets on the issue of immigration reform and on the related Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The president and Congress are attempting to reach a deal on comprehensive immigration reform as part of a federal spending bill that Congress must pass by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Again, I agree with President Trump. The Democrats do not want to negotiate. They want what they call a "clean bill." Unfortunately, they don't have the votes to pass such a clean bill. It's just a lot of hot air. The Democrats could not deliver on a "clean bill" back in December 2010, when they had 59 votes in the U.S. Senate. The Democrat leadership has painted itself into a corner. The Democrats overpromised, knowing they couldn't deliver. They were hoping President Trump would crack and accept a deal without border security. So here we are. President Trump stuck to his guns, and the ball is with the Pelosi-Schumer team. Let's them shut down the government, as they promised. I hope that they inform the incumbent Democrat senators in West Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, and Montana of their plans. The Democrats have confirmed with their actions what I've suspected for quite some time. They are not serious about fixing DACA or even working with GOP politicians who are willing to negotiate with them. So I guess it's adios, DACA for now! PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. The Bishop of California, Marc Andrus, reflects on recent comments attributed to President Donald Trump about Haiti and African nations. The Diocese of California has developed, since the Haiti earthquake of 2010, a close relationship with the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti. The Diocese of Haiti is a full and equal member of the Episcopal Church, every bit as much a member of this religious family as California and every bit as much a member of our hemisphere as the United States. I personally have made six trips to Haiti to come to know, understand and work together with Haitians for their own rebuilding after the earthquake. Haiti, I have come to learn, is an admirable nation, a great people. The most lucrative slave colony in the Caribbean so profitable because of the intense brutality used on first the Native Americans and then the African slaves brought in chains to work there Haiti threw off its European overlords, the first successful slave rebellion since the classical Roman period. From that remarkable beginning in a crucible of revolution, Haiti has sought a path forward that inspired an African American priest to move to Haiti and become the first African American bishop in the Episcopal Church. I speak personally about Haiti today in light of President Trumps unacceptable remarks about Haiti, but of course he did not confine his comments to Haiti alone, but slurred and insulted several other countries by name and many others by implication. Since I have been bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, I have been holding up the resonant goal of the Beloved Community, invoked by the Revd Dr Martin Luther King Jr, who wrote: Love is creative and redemptive. Love builds up and unites; hate tears down and destroys. The aftermath of the fight with fire method which you suggest is bitterness and chaos, the aftermath of the love method is reconciliation and creation of the beloved community. (1957) The Beloved Community is the community of the whole, all of Gods people, all of life. The Beloved Community is our ideal and in the Beloved Community all find welcome in the arms of our Saviour. In the shadow our Presidents remarks have cast, I call on all people of faith and good will to shine the light of the Beloved Community. Saviour Christ, you pervade the whole world, your Father God contains the universe, the Holy Spirit holds all together with the power of love. Help us, we pray to live always in the light of this love and your presence, that the Beloved Community may be come to be for all of life. Give us the courage to stand against all that divides, degrades and dominates any and all of your children. Posted on: January 15, 2018 2:43 PM [Episcopal News Service, by David Paulsen and Mary Frances Schjonberg] Sunday worship services at All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church proceeded as scheduled on 7 January, as a storm loomed in the forecast. Since then, deadly mudslides and flooding have turned life upside-down in Montecito, California. At least 17 people are dead, and this tight-knit ocean-side community south of central Santa Barbara is under a mandatory evacuation order as emergency crews search for survivors and victims, restore utilities and beginning cleaning up the mud and debris that damaged and destroyed homes in their path. All Saints was spared the worst of the damage but has no power or phone service, and the natural gas was shut off to allow repair crews to begin their work, said Sheri Benninghoven, a parishioner who has led communication efforts for the congregation. The parishs school is closed, and worship services are cancelled until further notice. The work of the Lord continued this week, however, as the church grounds became a triage centre for people injured in the disaster, and Benninghoven said church leaders estimated hundreds of people descended on the church during the heart of the emergency Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday seeking medical help and, eventually, evacuation assistance from the California National Guard, which staged operations from All Saints. I think were all somewhat in shock. I think a lot of people are doing things based on adrenaline, Benninghoven told Episcopal News Service by phone. This is stunning and remarkable for everybody. This community has been hit really, really hard, and we will always think back to this week and no one will ever be the same. Madeleine McCann: a sacked detective, a con and blood Madeleine McCann returns in a story about a mans death. The Stars front-page headline bleeds: MADDIE DETECTIVE DIES IN BLOODBATH'! Yikes! Maddie McCann private eye killed as blood-soaked body of 300k conman found at mansion A PRIVATE detective who allegedly conned the Maddie McCann fund out of 300k has been found brutally murdered. Murder!? The body is that of Kevin Halligen, found at a home in Guildford, Surrey. Hired to look into the disappearance of Maddie McCann in May 2008, he was later accused of conning the fund out of 300,000. Accused is not a judgement in a court of law. He allegedly conned the McCann family. But that lacks sensation. He denied misusing funds. So what of the murder? Well, the police tell us: We were called to an address in Cobbett Hill Road, Normandy, Guildford, on Monday following a report of a man in his 50s having been taken unwell, who subsequently died. The death is being treated as unexplained and a file will be passed to the coroners office in due course. What about the blood, then? The BBC hears from Adrian Gatton, a TV director and investigative journalist, who made a documentary with Halligen in 2014: There was blood around the house, probably caused by previous falls when he was either drunk or blacking out, he said. His house was full of empty drink bottles. A lot of people wished him ill but his death is almost certainly related to alcoholism. Not went blood, then. Dried, old blood. What else do we know? The Mirror notes: After being sacked from the McCann investigation, Halligen was arrested in the UK and extradited to America on fraud charges for an unrelated case. He pleaded guilty to defrauding Trafigura, based in the Netherlands, who had hired him to help free two company executives arrested in Ivory Coast in 2006. He received about $12 million to provide security, intelligence and public relations. Trafigura gave Halligen an additional $2.1 million to hire lobbyists and influence officials in the United States on Trafiguras behalf. The next day, Halligen used nearly $1.7 million of that money to buy a large home with a swimming pool. Such are the facts. Anorak Posted: 15th, January 2018 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comment | TrackBack | Permalink (ANSA) - Rome, January 15 - Italy's mission in Niger is to fight illicit traffic at the request of he Niger government, Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said Monday. "Niger is on the southern border of Libya and our task will be to help the Niger armed forces to control an area crossed by armed bands", he told the Senate foreign and defence affairs committees. Also testifying, Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti said the Niger mission would reach a maxium number of 470 men while an ongoing mission to Libya would be slightly boosted to 400 units overall. She said Italy was defending its "strategic interests" in these and other missions, against migrant trafficking and other issues. "The heart of our interventions is the enlarged Mediterranean, from the Balkans to the Sahel, to the Horn of Africa," she said. Pinotti said the Niger mission was a "non-combat mission". She said "we will not guard borders". The defence minister stressed that it was a training mission. (ANSA) - Rome, January 15 - Pope Francis left Rome's Fiumicino-Leonardo da Vinci airport on Monday on his way to Chile and told reporters onboard that he fears a nuclear war. The Argentine pontiff is set to arrive in Santiago after almost 16 hours, at 8:10 PM local time, just after midnight in Italy. The weeklong visit, the 22nd trip abroad of Francis's papacy and the sixth involving Latin America, will also take in Peru. The pope said the trip would be demanding: "three days in one country, three in another. It won't be very difficult in Chile because I studied there for a year and I have a lot of friends there. I know it well. "Peru, however," he added, "I don't know as well. I have been there two or three times for conferences and meetings." On the potential for a nuclear war in the current political clime, the pope gave the reporters a photo of the aftermath of the atomic blast in Nagasaki in 1945 and told them that " I am truly afraid. We are at the limit". "All it takes is a mishap to start a war. The situation risks precipitating from this step," he added. "So it is necessary to destroy the weapons. Let's strive for nuclear disarmament". On the photo, he said that "I found this by coincidence. It was taken in 1945. It is of a child with his little brother on his shoulders, waiting for his turn at the crematory in Nagasaki after the bomb. I cried when I saw it. I thought about it, dared to write 'the result of war' on it, print it and share it because a photo moves people more than a thousand words. And I wanted to share it with you." Pope Francis's first stop will be Santiago, where he will be met at the airport by outgoing socialist president Michelle Bachelet before being taken to the Apostolic Nunciature, where he will be spending the nights during his stay in the city. On leaving Italy, he sent a traditional telegram of greetings to President Sergio Mattarella, who replied by saying that this trip by the pope "will constitute for Chile and Peru the highest proof of the Church's focus on building a more equal and just society". Meanwhile, at least four bomb attacks were made Friday on churches in Chilean capital Santiago in protests against Pope Francis's visit, local media reported in citing police sources. In one of the firebomb attacks, on the church of Santa Isabel de Hungria near the central station, the attackers left a note saying "Pope Francis, the next bombs will (explode) under your robes". Francis is expected to face protests in Chile, especially against the appointment of a bishop who allegedly shielded the country's most notorious clerical sexual predator. NAPLES - Tibio-Med aims to study the typical products of the Mediterranean region and promote and protect local specialities in the countries along the southern shore. The two-day event on Monday and Tuesday has been funded by the ministry for agriculture and coordinated by the Institute for Services for the Agricultural and Food Market (ISMEA) and is taking place at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute (CIHEAM) in Bari. Representatives of the agriculture ministries of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia are in attendance. During the meeting individual policies and tools used to produce quality typical products will be discussed, with a focus on the exchange of best practices. Tibio-Med will also promote research in Italy, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria in the field of olive oil production. The event will be followed by other meetings and ministerial conferences in CIHEAM member countries. TUNIS - At least 20 people have died and 37 been injured in fighting around Tripoli airport since dawn on Monday, local media report. During the course of the morning the director of Tripoli hospital Abdeldayem Al-Rabti told Libyan TV Al Nabaa that two civilians were among the victims. Two rebel groups linked to the Government of National Accord, Zamrina led by Bashir Al Buqra and the Tripoli RADASpecial Deterrence Forces led by Hathem al Tajouri, are involved in the fighting, which has led to the closure of Tripoli Mitiga international airport. All flights heading to Tripoli have been rerouted to Misurata, the head of Libya's civil aviation, Nasseraldin Shaeb, has said. ANSAmed - Today's events in the Mediterranean (ANSAmed) - ROME, JANUARY 15 - These are some of the main events scheduled for today in the Euro-Mediterranean area: ABU DHABI - World Future Energy Summit 2018 (WFES) (until 18/1). TUNIS - Start of the 'Mawjoudin Queer Film festival', the first film festival dedicated to the question of gender identity in the MENA region. (until 1/18). BRUSSELS - Visit by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, who will meet with Commissioner Christos Stylianides and then High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini. BRUSSELS - EU, High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini receives Nasr al-Hariri, head of the Syrian High Negotiations Committee. (ANSAmed). AMMAN - Germany has supplied Jordan with arms and technological equipment to help protect its northern borders with Syria and control the fragile area from possible infiltrations, officials said on Monday. During a visit to Jordan German Federal Minister of Defence, Ursula von der Leyen, said the handover of equipment falls within the framework of the 2016 "Enable and Enhance Initiative" aimed at strengthening the Kingdom's military capabilities. The equipment included 70 Mercedes-Benz Zetros (off-road trucks), 56 minibuses, Mercedes Sprinter and two training planes, with a total value of 18 million euros, according to a statement from the German embassy. Jordan "is a priority partner country of our German 'Enable and Enhance Initiative'," the minister was quoted as saying in the statement. "Jordan shares a 380-kilometre border with Syria. Violence does not stop at this border; it is a gateway for terrorists," the visiting minister said, adding: "And it is of utmost importance that this border is controlled also from the air." "This is why I am particularly pleased that today we can hand over two trainer aircraft to the Jordanian Air Force." Germany's top diplomat also expressed her country's commitment to helping the kingdom deal with the influx of Syrian refugees. "We are assisting refugee-burdened Jordan in many ways, including the job initiative 'cash for work'," funding school teachers' salaries in the double-shift programmes, and by providing drinking water to refugees and to the local communities accommodating them. TEL AVIV - The Palestinian Central Council will on Monday discuss a revision of the Oslo agreements signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)and Israel in 1993, Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad told the Palestinian press agency Wafa. "With regard to the Oslo accords, Israel ended them after it reoccupied the West Bank and ceased its commitment to their terms," Ahmad said. In addressing the opening session of the Council meeting on Sunday, President Mahmoud Abbas reportedly said the agreements needed to be revised due to Israel's failure to implement them. Ahmad also criticized failure of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad to attend the Council meeting in Ramallah. "They have missed a historic opportunity to help strengthen efforts for reconciliation," he said. UNRWA to scale down activities after US funding freeze Mlns of Palestinians at risk of losing education, health service (ANSAmed) - AMMAN, JANUARY 15 - Representatives of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) have held an urgent meeting in Amman to discuss austerity measures following the US decision to stop funding the organization, which provides aid to millions of Palestinians across the Middle East, sources said Sunday. The meeting was attended by area management from Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza amid talk of a crippling 174 million dollar deficit. UNRWA officials told ANSA that options included suspending some of its services, scaling down operations in certain sectors and seeking alternative sources of funding. "UNRWA has little chance of surviving if the US does not honour its commitment. We need to find alternative sources of revenue," the sources told ANSA. Sources in the organization said several countries have stopped providing funding, jeopardising the future of UNRWA as it provides education, health and social services to nearly 20 refugee camps in the region. Some of the measures include freezing recruitment in health and education services, stopping some of the medical treatment and medicine delivery to chronic patients. The US is the major donor to UNRWA and has reportedly frozen its annual funding of nearly 130 million dollars as of the beginning of this year. (ANSAmed). Latest News Thales has begun the flight test campaign for the FlytX avionics suite The latest generation FlytX avionics suite made its first test flight on board a Cabri helicopter this summer. The test campaign will continue until 2022 to test and optimise the suite's functionality. Etihad Airways prepares for surge in demand Etihad Airways said it is preparing for a boost in travel to and from Abu Dhabi following the governments announcement to remove the quarantine requirement for all vaccinated travellers arriving from abroad. Saudi Aramco inaugurates IKK Mateenbar Saudi Aramcos senior vice president of Technical Services, Ahmad Al-Saadi, recently inaugurated the first fiberglass rebar facility in Saudi Arabia, IKK Mateenbar. Air Arabia and Lakson Group to launch Pakistans new low-cost airline Lakson Group, one of Pakistan's leading business conglomerates and Air Arabia Group, are to form of a joint venture to launch Fly Jinnah, Pakistans new airline. Let's see fraction! As the number of private jet movements in Dubai continues to climb, a new company has launched, offering flexibly fractional ownership in the region. Jill Stockbridge reports. Oman Airports can look back on a year of a very strong passenger growth in Muscat and Salalah International Airports, including regional airport of Sohar. The number of passengers in Muscat International Airport exceeded 14 million passengers (+17%). Salalah International Airport broke also its record over 1,5 million passengers (+24%) resulting in increase in both domestic and international travel. Additionally, flight movements increased double digits in Muscat International Airport by 11 % exceeding 114 000 movements. Salalah International Airport had 14 381 flight movements respectively (+40%). Oman Airports witnessed new destinations and new route launches during the year when Oman Air started operations to Nairobi, Kenia and Manchester, UK. The airline also launched a direct route from Salalah to Kolkata (Calcutta), India. The second national carrier Salam Air started also its operations in Oman in the beginning of 2017, mainly focusing on the domestic sector connecting Salalah and Muscat, as well as international routes to UAE, Saudi and Pakistan. Salam Air was also the 1st airline to enter to Sohar Airport connecting Salalah and Sohar. Transfer traffic in Muscat International Airport increased by 33% exceeding 6,44 million transfer passengers strengthening the airports hub strategy. The biggest markets to/from Oman are GCC countries representing 35%, Indian subcontinent 35% and Europe by nearly 10%. In addition to Oman Airs rapid growth especially in transfer traffic, major foreign carriers showed positive growth numbers in 2016. Qatar Airways added frequencies to both Muscat and Salalah as well as the airline entered to the Sohar Airport providing connections to / from / via Doha. Third airline who entered to Sohar Airport during summer 2016 season was Air Arabia. In total the Sohar traffic increased from launch to over 113 000 passengers and 782 movements in just approximately 6 months. Other foreign airlines starting new routes were both Shaheen and Kish Airline, who started Bandar Abbas and Multan respectively. Freight Transport Freight Transport at Muscat International Airport enjoyed positive growth of 24%, where the cargo volumes in 2017 exceeded 200 000 tons compared to 162 000 tons in 2016. The growth is mainly transfer traffic cargo growth. Additionally, DHL started weekly freighter operation connecting Muscat to Bahrain Airport. Salalah has a favorable geographic position e.g. the 2nd busiest sea port in the Middle-East and it is expected that by enhanced collaboration with cargo stakeholders to develop e.g. sea-air transportation services, airfreight volume will be on growth path in coming years. Royal Jordanian ranked second in terms of punctuality among Middle East and African airlines with 80.67% on-time performance rate last year, according to OAG's 2018 Punctuality League study, released earlier this year. The Punctuality League report is based on 57 million flight records; it uses full-year data from 2017 to rank the worlds airlines and airports best on-time performance (OTP). OTP characterizes flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival/ departure times. RJs President/CEO Stefan Pichler said: Let me congratulate our operations team for this outstanding performance. Punctuality is a must for any world-class airline. The airlines and airports that qualified for inclusion in the Punctuality League have flight status data for at least 80% of all scheduled flights operated by the airline or for the airport. Five regional categories rank the best airlines, mainline and LCC, which are operating in groupings of IATA-defined global regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa (where RJ ranked second), Latin America and North America. In each category, airlines must be ranked among the Top 250 operators globally in terms of available seat kilometers (ASKs) and must have operated a minimum of 18,000 scheduled flights in 2017 to qualify for inclusion. According to oag.com, OAG is the leading global provider of digital flight information. It provides accurate, timely and actionable information and applications across the travel sector to the world. Headquartered in the UK, OAG has global operations in the US, Singapore, Japan and China. Starting an airline in a country with continuous unrest around you may seem unwise but, as Alan Dron discovered, Libyan Wings is doing remarkably well if only it could fly to more destinations. Libyan Wings at present operates a daily flight to Istanbul from its base at Mitiga, outside the countrys capital Tripoli, plus no fewer than three daily services to Tunis, just under an hour away from its home base. It would be fair to describe its business as healthy. The response of the market is just amazing, said chief executive officer, Edgardo Badiali. In July and August we were running at around 96% load factor. OK, that was partly because of Eid, but we actually had to put on additional flights. And the trend goes on. Factors behind the remarkable loads include a strong punctuality record, which is very much appreciated by passengers who for years have put up with a distinctly lacklustre performance in this area by other carriers, together with good service, on ground and on board, said Badiali. All our employees deserve a big thank you for that. We manage to be punctual at all stations, even in Tunis. This is no small feat, especially in the summer peak season at the Tunisian capital, when infrastructure and suppliers struggle to cope with the high demand. Nearly every day, a majority of the other carriers were delaying flights. We always managed to get out pretty much on time because of the efforts of our people (ground staff, pilots and cabin crew) as well as the support of a small company there doing supervision for us, pushing things through. Were really happy with that achievement. Tunis is a lucrative market for Libyan Wings, with several distinct categories of passengers: There are a lot of Libyans living and investing in Tunisia. It is also a tourist destination for Libyans and theres also a lot of medical traffic, due to the good medical infrastructure in Tunis, which is becoming a medical tourism centre for people from other countries. With most countries having withdrawn their embassies from Libya for security reasons, Tunis is the nearest convenient city to which diplomats can relocate. This has resulted in many Libyans making the trip to the Tunisian capital to obtain visas for foreign travel. Senior diplomats making trips into Libya are also regular passengers on Libyan Wings flights, said Badiali. Passengers have also been appreciative of his companys in-flight service, he said. Libyan Wings two Airbus A319s are operated in a two-class layout, with 12 business-class seats plus 108 in the economy cabin. Business-class travellers get a hot meal, even on the 55-minute hop between Mitiga and Tunis, with the main cabin also provided with a meal tray. More extensive food is provided on the 2.5-hour flight to Istanbul. Behind the scenes, Libyan Wings is working on several projects that, while not exciting to passengers, are potentially invaluable to the future operational and financial health of the company. One of the most important of these projects is to gain qualification under the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) programme. There are two reasons why this is important: operations and commercial. Its good to get a view from outside, to make sure were on the right track regarding our safety processes. And if the market opens up and I need to enter a codeshare or interline agreement, without IOSA status its nearly impossible nowadays. There is one problem in gaining IOSA certification: auditors are reluctant to travel to Libya while the uncertain situation on the ground persists. But Badiali is convinced they will find a solution to the problem. Among other advances, the company is introducing electronic flight bags for its pilots and is developing an app for mobile electronic devices to make it easier for its customers. Innovation will be at the centre of the companys focus in the coming months and years. Some of that stuff (automation, digital development, etc) is not really mandatory in our actual situation but we need to go through our learning curve in this field in order to be prepared and have the right culture in place, said Badiali On the training front, the company makes use of Lufthansas Airbus simulators for its pilots. Libyan Wings still operates the two Airbus A319s with which it began operations in 2015. Were looking for a third aircraft to lease or purchase, probably an A320, ideally. But we would take an A319 or A321. The A321s additional capacity would make it useful for religious tourism traffic to Saudi Arabia, for example: In some ways, an A321 would be ideal, but we prefer to be a little more conservative despite the load factors were running. At the 2013 Dubai International Air Show, Libyan Wings, then still very much in start-up mode, announced its intention to buy four A320neos and three wide-body A350s. At the moment, the company is keeping in touch with Airbus regarding the deal and deliveries are likely to be some years in the future. The biggest hurdle facing the young Libyan carrier is a lack of new destinations. Badiali would very much like to expand the airlines route map, but faces problems in doing so. Libyan Wings, like all Libyan airlines, is barred from flying to Morocco, for example. The same is true for Egypt if the flight does not originate from the eastern part of Libya from which the fledgling company does not operate. Efforts to solve this problem are on-going and Badiali hopes a solution will be arrived at soon. I would go tomorrow, he said. For us, that would be the most natural, next step. Cairo would be great. Similarly, Europe is off-limits, due to a European Union ban on Libyan carriers, as the EU has blacklisted Libyas aviation authorities. But events are moving in that field, as well; the local civil aviation authority (LyCAA) has been putting in considerable efforts to overturn its current status as soon as the situation in the country normalises. From the very beginning of its operations, Libyan Wings has been careful to find European Aviation Safety Agency-approved organisations to perform maintenance on its A319s. An Italian company, approved by the LyCAA as well as its own CAA, handles the upkeep of the aircraft. The same is true for the airworthiness management of the fleet, which has been outsourced to an EASA-approved organisation, under the supervision of Libyan Wings Technical department. Closer to home, the Libyan authorities are talking about reconstructing Tripoli International Airport, which was badly damaged in 2014. If the countrys main airport is re-opened with renewed facilities, Libyan Wings could think about traffic from sub-Saharan Africa and Europe, building a network hub between the two continents. Mitiga Airport, located around 8km east of Tripoli, has been largely free of major security problems. Facilities there have been improved, despite the continuing unrest in the country, and Libyan Wings has a rapid alerting system if incidents occur near the airport that might affect safety. I am confident, said Badiali. With the commitment and the enthusiasm of our people, we will be able to further grow and become, hopefully, an important player in the region. City special edition has been priced at Rs 13,74,532 for petrol automatic and Rs 13,82,382 (ex-showroom Delhi) for diesel manual version. Honda has launched special editions of the City, Amaze and the WR-V. Called the City 20th Anniversary Edition, Amaze Pride Edition and the WR-V Edge Edition, these are based on existing variants and come with some extra features. Starting with the Honda City 20th Anniversary Edition, the special edition commemorates 20 years of the sedan in India. Based on the ZX variant, the sedan now boasts a distinctive exterior styling that includes front bumper centre and side garnish, trunk end moulding and door garnish. It also comes with a free 1-year subscription to Honda Connect, a connected car app that lets you access various information about the health of the car. The 20th Anniversary edition of the Honda City embodies our appreciation and gratitude to our customers who have provided us with tremendous support for the last 20 years, and we look forward to their support for the years to come, said Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Honda Cars India Ltd. The City special edition has been priced at Rs 13,74,532 for the petrol automatic (CVT) and Rs 13,82,382 (ex-showroom Delhi) for the diesel manual version. The Amaze Pride Edition is based on the S(O) manual variant and packs enhanced features such as an advanced infotainment system. The 7-inch Digipad touchscreen infotainment system is the same as the one seen in the updated Honda City and the WR-V. Other additions on the inside include a front centre armrest and a steering wheel cover. The sub-4 metre sedan also gets subtle changes to its exterior such as a door edge garnish and Pride Edition insignia. In terms of safety, it gets rear parking sensors. The Amaze Pride Edition is priced at Rs 6,29,900 for the petrol version and Rs 7,83,486 (ex-showroom Delhi) in its diesel guise. The special edition version of the popular WR-V crossover is aimed at providing more value to customers. Based on the S variant, it too gets subtle additions to its exterior along with additional safety features. The 16-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels finished in gunmetal and the Edge emblem are sure to lift its premium looks. However, what is impressive is the addition of safety features such as a rear camera with display mounted on the inside rearview mirror, rear parking sensors and free 1-year Honda Connect subscription. Honda has priced the WR-V Edge Edition at Rs 8,01,017 for the petrol manual version and Rs 9,04,683 (ex-showroom Delhi) for the diesel-powered crossover. Source: ZigWheels.com The actress, known for her South films, will have back-to-back releases this year, after Neeraj Pandey's 'Aiyaary.' Mumbai: Known for her work in the South industry in Tamil and Telugu films, Rakul Preet Singh looks on her way to establish herself in Bollywood as well. After almost four years away from B-Town following the success of Yaariyan, the actress will now be seen in two Bollywood films this year. The first film Aiyaary, directed by Neeraj Pandey, gearing up for release on February 9, and Rakul has now signed another big film, according to a report in Mid-Day. The actress will now feature in Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer romantic comedy, to be directed by Akiv Ali and produced by Pyaar Ka Punchnama fame Luv Ranjan. While earlier, one would have thought Ajay and Tabu would finally be seen romancing each other after Drishyam and Golmaal Again, itd now be possible that Ajay will be romantically paired opposite Rakul, like he was opposite Parineeti Chopra in the Rohit Shetty directorial. We'll know about this only when the film hits the theatres during Dussehera this year. When the actor went on stage to shoot the Bigg Boss finale, he looked uncomfortable with the security around him. After the Padmaavat team was accorded additional security, it is Salman Khan who has been receiving death threats. The actors security has been beefed up after he received intimidating threats from Lawrence Bishnoi, a gangster. On Sunday night, when Salman was shooting for the Bigg Boss 11 finale, his security was doubled. In addition to the posse of security men and bodyguards from his Man Friday Sheras team, Salman was also in the company of a few policemen, who ensured that he was at a safe distance from anyone who could mean trouble. Apparently, he was a little uncomfortable with so many people around him, but Salman doesnt have a choice as of now. Lawrence belongs to the Bishnoi community, for whom the black buck or the chinkara, is sacred. He went on to say that Salman will be killed in Jodhpur for allegedly killing a black buck during the shooting of the film Hum Saath Saath Hain two decades ago. But our team does not want to take any chances. The chances of the gangster saying that the attack could be in Jodhpur could merely be a red herring, says a source close to the actor. Incidentally the shooting of one of the sequences for the film Race 3 was cancelled, becuase of threats to Salman. Sanskriti Media 'The patients include those who fell while flying kites and also those who got injured to glass-coated manjha,' Dr Jagdish Modi said. According to the official, out of the 80 people injured, 10 have have been admitted to the SMS Hospital for treatment starting Sunday morning. (Photo: Representational | PTI) Jaipur: At least 80 people were injured over the past 24 hours in kite-flying related accidents in Jaipur on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, a hospital official said. According to the official, out of the 80 people injured, 10 have have been admitted to the SMS Hospital for treatment starting Sunday morning. "The patients include those who fell while flying kites and also those who got injured to glass-coated manjha (abrasive string)," In charge SMS Hospital (Emergency cell) Dr Jagdish Modi said. With that, many birds were also injured due to manjha threads and were therefore treated by veterinary doctors. At Pakshi Chikitsalaya, an NGO in Malviya Nagar area, nearly 1100 birds including eagle, cuckoo, crow, pigeon were treated. "We had set up 32 camps across the city for the birds injured due to manjha used in kite-flying. From January 13 to 15, we received nearly 1100 injured birds at the Chitiksalya and the figure is likely to rise. On Makar Sankranti alone, 742 birds with injuries were treated," director of Pakshi Chikitsalya, Kamal Lochan said. He added that of the total injured birds, nearly 200 birds succumbed to their injuries. Another NGO Raksha that works for animal welfare and their rights said they treated nearly 460 injured birds from January 12 to 15. "On January 14, 250 injured birds were treated. Of the total 460 birds, 8 to 10 per cent died due to their injuries," director of Raksha, Rohit Gangwal said. Cong posted a video on twitter where Modi is seen hugging world leaders such as the US and French Presidents, among others. The Congress tweet came hours after Modi received Netanyahu at the airport, setting aside protocol, and hugged him as he deplaned the aircraft. (Photo: pmindia.gov.in) New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday posted a tweet mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hugging world leaders, evoking a sharp reaction from the BJP that slammed it as "immature" and demanded an apology. The opposition party said that with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting India, it looks forward to more hugs from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a video posted on the official Twitter handle of the Congress, Modi is seen hugging world leaders such as US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others. With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visiting India, we look forward to more hugs from PM Modi! #Hugplomacy pic.twitter.com/M3BKK2Mhmf Congress (@INCIndia) January 14, 2018 "With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visiting India, we look forward to more hugs from PM Modi! #Hugplomacy," the Congress said in a tweet. The tweet came hours after Modi received Netanyahu at the airport, setting aside protocol, and hugged him as he deplaned the aircraft. Reacting to the tweet, Union Human Resource Development minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said it showed the Congress's lack of political sensibility. "What they have tweeted shows their immaturity and lack of political sensibility. We condemn this. I hope wisdom prevails on them some day," Javadekar told reporters. He said that the Congress lacks concrete issues and since it cannot defeat the prime minister electorally, it has posted such a tweet. "This not only insults our prime minister but also the guest (Netanyahu). The Congress should not only withdraw the tweet but also issue an apology for it," he said. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress has been consistently abusing the prime minister and the tweet is appalling and unpalatable. The chief ministers office has one non-Odia IAS officer private secretary V.K. Pandian, a 2000-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer hailing from TN. Bhubaneswar: Perhaps, all is not well in the ruling BJD in Odisha now. A few developments that took place in the past few days in the regional party prove that strong resentment is brewing among a section of party leaders against CM Naveen Patnaik for allegedly relying heavily on a junior bureaucrat to run the administration. At least three senior BJD leaders Kendrapara Lok Sabha member Baijayant Panda, former MLA Rama Ranjan Baliarsingh and sacked agriculture minister Damodar Rout have indirectly criticised the CM for allowing the junior bureaucrat to indulge in party affairs and control the democratically elected legislators. Although the three leaders have not named the bureaucrat influencing the CMs activities, they have dropped loud hints about him by mentioning that the non-Odia and Tamilian officer has been at the helm of BJD affairs after Pyarimohan Mohapatra, a former bureaucrat who previously acted as Naveens advisor. The chief ministers office has one non-Odia IAS officer private secretary V.K. Pandian, a 2000-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer hailing from Tamil Nadu. Former Rama Rama Ranjan Baliarsingh, who resigned from the party on Friday, said the Tamilian IAS officer was controlling the BJD party affairs and Mr Patnaik was a puppet in his hand. Medical examinations suggest the girl was subjected to violence similar to that of Jyoti Singh, the December 2012 Delhi gangrape victim. The teenager was not only gangraped but a foreign object was inserted into her private parts causing serious internal injuries. (Representational Image) Chandigarh/Kurukshetra: The half-naked, mutilated body of a Dalit girl was found from the banks of a water channel in Haryana's Jind district on Saturday. Upon medical examination, it was found that the 15-year-old girl was subjected to violence similar to that of Jyoti Singh, the December 2012 Delhi gangrape victim. The teenager was not only gangraped but a foreign object was inserted into her private parts causing serious internal injuries. Her body was also brutalised by her assailants in various ways. According to PGIMS Rohtak's forensic department, her body parts were damaged and water was found from her body, suggesting both brutal sexual abuse and drowning. "In all, her body had 19 injuries largely on face, head, chest and hands. Her lungs were ruptured, suggesting someone might have sat on her chest," said head of the hospital's forensic department Dr S K Dattarwal, according to a report in the Times of India. "The girl was subjected to immense brutality. We have asked the police to provide us the scene of the crime report and photographs of the spot for confirmations," the doctor added. The class ten student was the elder daughter of a tailor living in a village under Jhansa police station in Kurukshetra. She had earlier gone missing with a 20-year-old person from her village and her family had him booked in a case of abduction. The 20-year-old man is still missing. However, there is no proof yet of his link with the crime. According to news agency ANI, the victim's distraughted father demanded justice for her daughter. "My daughter was kidnapped and raped, culprits should be punished, we want justice for her. If administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened," he said. An FIR has been registered under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Two Special Investigation Teams (SIT) as well as four more squads have been constituted under a DSP for the probe. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, on Sunday, declared that one person has been identified in lieu of the case. In Kurukshetra, the teen's family refused to accept her body for cremation. They demanded the case be handed over to the CBI, a government job for a member of her family, Rs 50 lakh from the Nirbhaya Fund and two arms licences. They accepted the body only after Haryana minister KK Bedi assured them of a timebound probe and release of compensation. Hailing Narendra Modi 'as a great leader', Benjamin Netanyahu said the PM was 'impatient to bring future to his people'. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a marriage made in heaven, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that even though the Jewish state was disappointed by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. Netanyahu said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward, Netanyahu said when asked to comment on Indias vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital. I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits, he told 'India Today' in an interview. In December, 2017, India joined 127 other countries to vote in the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The resolution was approved with 127-9 at the UN General Assembly. First of all, there is a special relationship between the two countries, between their people and then between the leaders. The partnership between India and Israel is a marriage made in heaven but consecrated on earth, Netanyahu said. Hailing Narendra Modi as a great leader, Netanyahu said the Prime Minister was impatient to bring future to his people. Asked about his agreement with Modi on counter-terrorism, Netanyahu said the doctrine of counter-terrorism included having intelligence to prevent it. You fight terrorism by fighting it, Netanyahu said. Our defence relationship is quite significant and comprises many things. I think the key word here is defence. We want to defend ourselves, we are not aggressive nations. We are very committed to making sure that none can commit an aggression against the either one of us, the Israeli Prime Minister said. Commenting on the ways to strengthen ties, Netanyahu said Israel was developing rapidly and is creating industries out of thin air. He said given India's importance in being a major auto dealer, it would be important for India and Israel to have a good tie-up between car manufacturers. Abdullah also stressed on the two countries to come together to combat terrorism. Recalling statement former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement, he called upon the current Indian leadership to build a bridge between India and Pakistan. (Photo: File) Srinagar: Raking up another controversy, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah has said that India was equally responsible for the tragedies in Pakistan. Addressing mediapersons on Sunday, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said, "Our neighbour has its own hates. They think we have divided Pakistan by taking Bangladesh. We were not dividers. The tragedy was in the country itself. It was not our creation. That is the tragedy we still face. And don't say we are not involved in their tragedy. As much as they are involved in our tragedy, we are also involved in their tragedies. It's not one-sided." Recalling a statement by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he called upon the current Indian leadership to build a bridge between India and Pakistan. "I still remember Vajpayee's word that he made at the border in Pakistan. He said friends can be changed, neighbours cannot be changed. You can either live in peace and progress with neighbours or live in enmity and harm each other which will not be of any good. I would like to say the same thing to present Prime Minister, let us build bridges," he added. Meanwhile, Abdullah also stressed on the two countries to come together to combat terrorism. "National Security Advisers of India and Pakistan have met in Bangkok. If there is terrorism, then it is necessary that both the countries (India and Pakistan) meet together and discuss over this issue," he said. Netanyahu will meet the PM and hold delegation level talks around 12 noon and is scheduled to issue a joint press statement at 1 pm. After getting a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Netanyahu and his wife moved to Rajghat, where they paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. (Photo: ANI/Twitter) New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Addressing the media, Netanyahu said: "This is the dawn of a new era in the friendship between India and Israel. PM Modi set the ball rolling with his historic visit to Israel, which created tremendous enthusiasm and it continues with my visit here (India). Our visit to India has been deeply moving for my wife, me and the entire people of Israel. I think it heralds a flourishing partnership to bring prosperity, peace and progress for both our people." The Israeli prime minister and his wife Sara Netanyahu then left for Rajghat where they paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. Netanyahu will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold delegation level talks around 12 noon. The two sides will sign agreements and is scheduled to issue a joint press statement at 1 pm. The Israeli Prime Minister will, around 6 pm on Monday, call on President Ram Nath Kovind. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set aside protocol to receive his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in New Delhi for a historic six-day visit. Also read: India-Israel heavenly match, negative UN vote can't sour ties: Netanyahu Modi welcomed Netanyahu with a hug upon his arrival. According to Israeli officials, Netanyahu was pleasantly surprised by Modi welcoming him at the airport. "I very much appreciate the gesture," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by officials. Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a marriage made in heaven, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that even though the Jewish state was disappointed by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. Netanyahu said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also called on the Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday and discussed various aspects of the Indo-Israel ties aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership. The Israeli PM told Swaraj that there is a lot of enthusiasm for improving ties not only on govt level but also among the people. Swaraj told Netanyahu that India was very excited to receive him and emphasised on the 'warm and special' friendship between the two countries. (Photo: Twitter/ @MEAIndia) New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed various aspects of the Indo-Israel ties aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership. According to a statement by Netanyahu's media adviser, the Israeli prime minister told Swaraj that there is a lot of enthusiasm for improving ties not only in the meetings at the level of government and leaders but also among the people of the two countries. "We are here in India on a historic visit. It is important for the state of Israel that one of the major powers (India) wants to develop close relations in many areas --economics, trade, security and agriculture," the statement quoting Netanyahu as saying during his meeting with Swaraj. The two also had a discussion on the work done by the two countries in combating terror. Swaraj told Netanyahu that India was very excited to receive him and emphasised on the "warm and special" friendship between the two countries. "EAM @SushmaSwaraj called on @IsraeliPM Benjamin Netanyahu. Warm and engaging conversation on various aspects of our bilateral ties aimed at strengthening our strategic partnership. #ShalomNamaste," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted. EAM @SushmaSwaraj called on @IsraeliPM Benjamin Netanyahu. Warm and engaging conversation on various aspects of our bilateral ties aimed at strengthening our strategic partnership. #ShalomNamaste pic.twitter.com/u50qosUxmM Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 14, 2018 Netanyahu arrived in India on Sunday on a six-day visit during which he will hold extensive talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, who received him at the airport, setting aside protocol. Posters in Amethi depict Cong chief as Lord Ram, Modi as Ravan. Lucknow: Congress president Rahul Gandhi began his first visit to Amethi after becoming party chief on Monday with a temple visit a clear indication that the Congress will continue with its soft Hindutva agenda. Posters depicting him as Lord Ram and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Ravan appeared in Amethi, which led to a major controversy. Mr Gandhi chose to visit the local Churwa Hanuman temple in Rae Bareli as BJP workers staged protests over his visit and clashed with Congress workers in Salon Assembly segment. The police had to intervene to restore order in the area. Mr Gandhi, in an informal speech later, accused the BJP of lying continuously and also depriving Amethi of its development projects. The BJP leaders are lying continuously. There is one lie after another. They have lied to every section of people whether it is putting Rs 15 lakhs in bank accounts or giving a better deal to farmers or giving jobs to the youth, he said, adding that young people were jobless, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi never uttered a word about them. Mr Gandhi asked Congress workers to expose the lies of the BJP. He said: Every Congress worker must tell the people about the lies of the BJP. These people are also misleading the people of Amethi and we have to tell them about the development work done by us. In fact, the Modi government has tried to undo all that we did for Amethi. The government has taken away some of our projects. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on the other hand, advised Mr Gandhi to stop indulging in negative politics and focus on development. Look at the plight of Amethi that has been nursed by four generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the chief minister told reporters in Gorakhpur. In the posters, Rahul Gandhi can be seen carrying a bow and arrow, pointing towards Narendra Modi. The inscription on the poster states: Rahul ke roop mein Bhagwan Ram ka avatar 2019 mein aayega Rahul Raj. The poster was said to have been put up by a local named Abhay Shukla, who claims to have no links with the Congress. Mr Shukla told reporters: Prime Minister Modi promised us to bring black money back that is stashed abroad, but nothing happened. All the promises made by him were lies. We believe that in 2019, Rahul Gandhi will become the Prime Minister of the county and fulfil all the promises. The district Congress in Amethi has strongly denied having anything to do with the controversial poster. Another poster shows Rahul as Lord Krishna with a message: Sangharsh se vijay ke ore chal diye maharathi (The warrior has begun the journey). The woman was kicked and punched in the face by Zhang which left her with a broken elbow. A negative review can be harmful for any damage and its bound to hurt when someone complains about service at your business. But while such opinions about stores are common, how far can people go in their anger over unfavourable views? A shop owner in China travelled almost 852 kilometres only to confront and attack a woman who had complained about slow service at his store. The man identified as Mr. Zhang kicked the woman and punched her in the face leaving her with a broken elbow. The woman named Xiao Die had complained about her order not being dispatched three days after she bought clothes from Zhangs online platform. Zhang bombarded Xiao with messages threatening to destroy her after she shared her grievance. Zhang was detained for 10 days as Taobao deleted his online shop account. The tribunal warned that it would take coercive measures if the direction was not complied with within the stipulated date. New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) to inform the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) about the latest groundwater data in the national capital within a week. A bench, headed by acting chairperson justice U.D. Salvi asked the authority to apprise the DJB regarding extraction of groundwater by the industries in over exploited areas. The bench said: Looking at the progress in the present cases and considering the role of CGWA in regulation, control, development and management of groundwater resources in the country, we direct the CGWA to communicate to the board about the latest available groundwater data in a a week. The tribunal warned that it would take coercive measures if the direction was not complied with within the stipulated date. During the hearing, the counsel representing the CGWA told the green panel that the 2017 policy for groundwater consumption is in the making and the groundwater data for such policy was available with it. The matter will be further heard on February 9. Earlier, the NGT had directed the secretary of the Delhi government, the DJB chief executive officer and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd managing director to hold a meeting on extraction of water for industrial use in Narela and Bawana. It had also rapped the Delhi government and the DJB over illegal borewells in Narela and Bawana industrial areas in which had led to depletion of water levels. The green panel took exception to the abuse of the governments interim order to allow borewells in these industrial areas. The NGT was hearing petitions filed by the NGT Bar Association and Raj Hans Bansal opposing the illegal use of groundwater in Delhi. The NGT had in 2014 set up panels comprising DJB, CGWA and government officials and other bodies to seal the illegal borewells in these industrial areas and file a comprehensive report. The green panel also ordered the concerned committees to prepare a report as to how many borewells were operating in the industrial areas of Bawana and Narela and if so, whether they were registered with the Delhi administration. The boat was carrying students of the K.L. Ponda School and Junior College in Parnaka in Dahanu. Mumbai: A day after a ferry capsized in the Dahanu creek in Palghar district, the Coast Guard had resumed the search operations in the morning on Sunday. However, the rescue operations were called off after confirmation that 32 of the 35 students on the boat were rescued and three had drowned. The police had on Saturday said that three girls had drowned and five were feared missing after the private boat, Dahanu Queen, had capsized off the Dahanu coast. The boat was carrying students of the K.L. Ponda School and Junior College in Parnaka in Dahanu. An official on Saturday had said that out of 40 students, 35 were accounted and they had started the search operations for the five missing students. They had said there is a possibility that three students had drowned. Immediately after the rescue operations, all the students were sent to local hospitals for further treatment. On Sunday morning, the Coast Guard (CG) confirmed that the search operations were called off after the school authorities and district administrations confirmed the exact number of students on the boat. The CG station at Dahanu reportedly coordinated with the local authorities and school staff before confirming the number of students on board. According to a commandant, the focus of the CG is to trace the missing crew members of the Pawan Hans helicopter who had crashed off the Mumbai coast on Saturday. Three persons, including the owner of the boat, were arrested by the Palghar police late evening on Saturday. Operating illegally Vikram Kumar, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) said that the ferry service at Dahanu was completely illegal. He added, No permission was granted to any such ferry services by our department. Efforts have now been intensified to prevent any such mishap. It all began with the innocent fervour of P.N. Oak, who eulogised the saffron paradise before it was born. A few thousand followers of 20 social organisations across Maharashtra will gather at Shaniwar Wada, Pune, on January 31, 2018, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of defeat of the Peshwa's army by the then British Indian Army's Mahar regiment in the battle of Bhima Koregaon. (Photo: YouTube) Those who saw the 1956 film The Swan, starring Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness and Louis Jourdan, may recall one royal victim of Napoleons German conquests recommending to another a new book that conclusively proved the Corsican emperor had never existed. Thats the kind of convenient history many Indians crave for. Some are inspired by patriotic zeal. Others dont realise that in flogging the dead horse of colonialism, they are only jumping through a hoop held up by the British who take a masochistic delight in flagellation, especially when their former subjects crack the whip, Caliban whipping Prospero. We havent come to terms with the past. No one argues as yet that Supreme Court judges are at sixes and sevens because the British wouldnt allow them to wear full-bottomed wigs all the time. Or that India boasted superb rail, air and postal services until the British came and ruined them through their inefficient bureaucracy and corrupt politicians. But the New Years Day conflagration in Punes Bhima Koregaon village revealed how difficult it is to mine history to support modern causes. The attacked were dalits celebrating the 1818 victory of British and Mahar (Maharashtras largest dalit group) troops over the Peshwas Maratha Confederacy, which was regarded as oppressively casteist. The attackers were saffron flag-waving mobs upholding Maratha pride. It all began with the innocent fervour of P.N. Oak, who eulogised the saffron paradise before it was born. His Institute for Rewriting Indian History was meant to correct the biased and distorted versions of invaders, colonisers and secular and Marxist historians. Had he been with us still, he would no doubt have been sent to the Rajya Sabha and given some rank to match Britains Poet Laureate or Astronomer Royal, perhaps Rashtriya Itihas Guru. But although circumstantial evidence does suggest our ancient seers and sadhus may have stumbled on certain scientific concepts like the laws of gravity, that hardly means they whizzed round the universe in spaceships. Nor did their mastery of genetic science create a nation of warriors who were born outside the maternal womb. Its even less likely that rampant plastic surgery resulted in hordes of decapitated elephants. Our leaders invite the worlds ridicule with flippant boasts about such accomplishments. Even Oaks theories, far-fetched though they were, might have merited some attention had it not been for a series of bad puns such as seeing Abraham and George as aberrations of Brahma and Garg, or describing the Vatican as a Vedic creation called Vatika. He even titled one of his books Christianity is Chrisnnity, meaning you guessed it! Christianity is the ethics of Krishna. Such myths about ancient times would have caused less concern if the fantasising hadnt followed British fashion and shifted to the recent past. Since the United Kingdom vogue is to denigrate empire and imperial achievements, our intellectuals feel obliged to follow suit. Never mind if Jawaharlal Nehru wrote: After every other viceroy has been forgotten, Curzon will be remembered because he restored all that was beautiful in India. If hallowed Balliol College thinks it fashionable to remove the very superior persons portrait from its great hall, no self-respecting Indian can continue to honour the man whose Ancient Monuments Bill drew Nehrus lavish praise by rescuing Indias past. Earlier, Indias Rhodes Scholars, past, present and future, suffered agonies of indecision and uncertainty until only the fear of alienating rich and generous donors persuaded Oriel College not to send Cecil Rhodess statue packing. Some of our Rhodes Scholars might have enjoyed emulating Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and the Beatles by flinging back the distinction with a proud flourish. But Gandhi, Tagore and the Beatles didnt have to return any money. Would patriotic Rhodes Scholars have had to reimburse their stipends? Such commercial motives often lie coiled like the asp in Cleopatras basket of figs in many seemingly principled decisions. History is passe, but revisionist history sells. Think also of the money West Bengals canny Marxist-dominated coalition saved by rededicating the existing Ochterlony Monument to martyrs of the independence movement. The Irish could have done the same and renamed Nelsons Pillar in Dublin to honour Roger Casement, the patriot whom England hanged. Instead, being Irish, they bombed it. Also, being Irish, the explosives they planted during the Easter Rising, the one in which our V.V. Giri cut his revolutionary teeth, were too damp to explode. While the government dithered over dismantling the trust charged with the task of preserving Nelsons Pillar in perpetuity, the bombs planted in 1966 failed to blow up the entire column and statue. No one was accused of the demolition, fuelling the suspicion that the authorities looked the other way while Irelands police bungled the job. Not at all like the Babri Masjids efficient destruction. Oak would have been more pleased with Rajasthans decision 441 years after the Battle of Haldighati that far from winning it in 1576, the Mughal forces lost to the valiant Maharana Pratap of Mewar. There still remains a small difficulty. Akbar, the wise and enlightened emperor whom some today want to be posthumously declared an enemy alien and banished to Central Asia, was nowhere near the battlefield. His trusted general, Raja Man Singh I of Amber, led the Mughal forces. Far from representing Hinduisms triumph over Islam, a Mughal defeat would have meant Man Singhs disgrace. Its far safer to let the past remain undisturbed. Living in troubled times, Omar Khayyam knew what he was about when he advised: The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,/Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit/ Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,/Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. Creative invention wont either. Mike Conaways bill could prohibit US Government from purchasing any telecommunication device from these Chinese manufacturers. US lawmakers are bothered about the security risks caused by these Chinese manufacturers entering with their tele-communicating devices into the US markets. As far as the allegations are concerned by the US Intelligence, Huawei has already been accused of selling data from their smartphones to Chinese government state leaders, which happens to be the data breach of the US consumers. They also think that its business in the US is growing, which might also be a further security risk. According to Texas US representative Conaways bill, he acknowledges that the technology coming from the country poses a threat to national security, and that use of this equipment would be inviting Chinese surveillance into all aspects of our lives. Due to this bill, Huawei has already lost their deal to AT&T resulting in the companys CEO to go off script at CES presentation. The deal was about the company being able to sell its new flagship Mate 10 Pro phone in the US through their carrier. According to The Verge, in 2010, four senators contacted the FCC with concerns over the alleged ties between the companies and the Chinese government. In 2011, the two companies were the subject of a report from the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, which recommended that the US government be prohibited from buying Huawei and ZTE products, as well as continued vigilance, investigation, and legislation to address the concerns. The US also isnt the only country to worry about the companies: the Australian government upheld a prohibition in 2013 that barred Huawei from bidding on work on the countrys National Broadband Network. But the 2011 Congressional report doesnt cite direct evidence that the company is compromised, instead saying that Huawei has failed to provide evidence that would satisfy any fair and full investigation, and Huawei has consistently denied allegations of collusion with the Chinese government. This bill would be an issue for all foreign built software and hardware in the future. Conaway specifically repeats the President Donald Trumps views on China as the country is trying to compromise the integrity of US businesses and spy on our closely held national security secrets, he said. The UN refugee agency said it is not involved in the process but is willing to play a 'constructive role' in the process if allowed. More than 650,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown in August following attacks on police posts by a militant group. (Photo: Representational image) Bangkok: A top Myanmar official said on Monday that a camp to house Rohingya Muslim and Hindu refugees who return from Bangladesh will be ready by its promised deadline next week. More than 650,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown in August following attacks on police posts by a militant group. Though Myanmar's army claimed it was a clearance operation against the terrorists, the United Nations, United States and others have said the operations were "ethnic cleansing" to remove the Rohingya from the country. Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement in November to repatriate Rohingya and set up a working group last month to oversee the repatriation of people who had fled violence in the northern part of Rakhine state in western Myanmar. Win Myat Aye, the minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, said Myanmar was hosting a one-day meeting Monday with Bangladesh officials in the capital Naypyitaw to discuss the logistics of how many Rohingya will be allowed into Myanmar and how they will be scrutinized to be placed in the camps. Officials plan to start the repatriation process from January 23. "We are planning ahead to be able accept the returnees from next week and we are sure that this will be done on time," Win Myat Aye said. The UN refugee agency said it is not involved in the process but is willing to play a "constructive role" in the process if allowed, specifically in registering the refugees and helping determining whether they are returning to Myanmar voluntarily. "Our involvement in the process and our full access to areas of return in Myanmar can help to build confidence for all concerned, including the refugees," said Vivian Tan, UNHCR's senior regional communication officer. In the November agreement, Myanmar's civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, pledged to take measures to halt the outflow of Rohingya to Bangladesh and restore normalcy in the region. The UN and rights groups have urged the Myanmar government to ensure the safe and voluntary return of the Rohingya refugees. Many have questioned whether Rohingya would return to Myanmar under the current circumstances. Japan's foreign minister on a visit to Myanmar last week urged Suu Kyi's government to guarantee the safe and voluntary return of the refugees. State-run media in Myanmar reported on Monday the 124-acre Hla Po Khaung camp will accommodate about 30,000 people in 625 buildings and that at least 100 buildings are to be completed by the end of the month. It would be the first camp built in the repatriation process. In December 2017, Bangladeshi officials said they had sent a list of 100,000 names to Myanmar for the first round of repatriation. Most Rohingya refugees in the Bangladeshi camps also say they will not return to a state where their villages have been torched and where they allege atrocities by the army and ethnic Rakhine locals. (Photo: AFP) Yangon: Talks were held on Monday to "settle issues" over the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, Bangladeshi officials told AFP, as doubts linger over how many of the 655,000 Muslim minority who fled violence are likely to return. Under diplomatic pressure, Myanmar has vowed to repatriate refugees driven into Bangladesh by an army crackdown in 2017, if they can verify they belong in western Rakhine state. But aid agencies question how many Rohingya, a Muslim minority reviled inside Myanmar, will be able to prove their residence given the speed of their flight and complexity of their status in Myanmar. Most Rohingya refugees in the Bangladeshi camps also say they will not return to a state where their villages have been torched and where they allege atrocities by the army and ethnic Rakhine locals. Officials from the two countries met in Naypyidaw on Monday to "settle issues" related to repatriation, two Bangladeshi officials familiar with the talks told AFP, requesting anonymity and without giving specific details. The two governments signed an agreement in November paving the way for repatriations from January 23. The deal applies to Rohingya who fled Myanmar in two major outbreaks of violence since October 2016. It does not cover an estimated 200,000 Rohingya refugees who were living in Bangladesh prior to that date. In December 2017, Bangladeshi officials said they had sent a list of 100,000 names to Myanmar for the first round of repatriation. Myanmar is yet to publicly endorse the list or even confirm it has received the names. But the country is on track for the January 23 deadline, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar reported Monday, adding building work is ongoing at the 124-acre Hla Po Khaung "temporary camp" in Rakhine's Maungdaw district. Eventually the site "will accommodate about 30,000 people in its 625 buildings" before they can be resettled permanently. The report did not mention the Rohingya -- who are denigrated by many in Myanmar as "Bengali" immigrants and mostly denied citizenship. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have languished in squalid IDP camps inside Rakhine after earlier unrest in 2012, raising fears that any returnees from Bangladesh will be thrust into a similar limbo. Diplomats have also cast doubt on Myanmar's willingness to allow substantial numbers of Rohingya back after an intense army campaign forced over half their number out. In an unprecedented statement last week, Myanmar's army admitted security forces took part in the extra-judicial killings of 10 Rohingya in their custody at Inn Din village. Amnesty International called the admission "the tip of the iceberg" of alleged massacres, rapes and arson attacks on Rohingya villages carried out in the weeks after August 25. Myanmar's army defends its 'clearance operations' as a legitimate response to deadly raids by Rohingya militants. The official confirmed that Pakistan had made it clear to the US that it needed to take a holistic view of the current regional situation. The ties between the two countries have come under strain in recent months after US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to militants. (Photo: AP) Islamabad: Pakistan has asked the US to address its strategic concerns in the region, including in Kashmir, instead of trying to restore the suspended security assistance, according to a media report on Monday. The ties between the two countries have come under strain in recent months after US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to militants. The Trump administration recently suspended about USD 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan over its failure to rein in militant groups. The Express Tribune reported that while the US demands seeking action against the Haqqani network are known, Pakistan has put forth its list of demands, asking Washington to take into account its concerns related to Afghanistan and other regional issues. Contrary to public perception, Pakistan is not keen to seek restoration of security assistance suspended by the US recently, it reported. Instead, Islamabad wants that the Trump administration must not only listen to its concerns on Afghanistan and wider region but also help redress them. Pakistans concerns, according to officials, are two-fold: one, directly related to Afghanistan, and the second about the US overall strategy for the South Asian region. On Afghanistan, Islamabad has conveyed to Washington that its enormous sacrifices in the fight against terrorism need to be acknowledged. But at the same, the US needs to reorient its approach including on the Afghan refugees. While Pakistan has repeatedly denied charges that it is providing any sanctuary to the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network, it does acknowledge that some elements may be using its soil because of the presence of a large number of Afghan refugees. In order to plug that loophole, Pakistan during the ongoing discussions with the US had suggested a workable solution under which those refugees are repatriated. Pakistan believes that repatriation of Afghan refugees can significantly deny insurgent groups any space on its soil. Islamabad is also upset over the Trump Administrations approach putting the Kashmir issue on the back burner. Such an approach has a direct bearing on efforts for regional peace, said a senior Foreign Office official, adding that Washington could not distance itself from the Indo-Pak tensions. The official confirmed that Pakistan had made it clear to the US that it needed to take a holistic view of the current regional situation. Our genuine concerns cant be brushed aside, the official maintained. PPP chief Bhutto, 54, was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi shortly after she had addressed an election rally on Dec 27, 2007. The book says suicide bombers Bilal, also known as Saeed, and Ikramullah were tasked to carry out the attack on Bhutto. (Photo: AP) Islamabad: The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, saying it killed her as she allegedly planned to collaborate with the US against the 'mujahideen' if she returned to power, says a book by the banned terror group. "The return of Benazir Bhutto was planned at the behest of the Americans as they had given her a plan against the 'Mujahideed-e-Islam'. Baitullah had received information of the plan," the book claimed, in a reference to slain Pakistani Taliban founder Baitullah Mehsud. The Daily Times reported that no group had claimed responsibility for Bhutto's murder until the claim in the Taliban's Urdu-language book titled 'Inqilab Mehsood South Waziristan: From British Raj to American Imperialism'. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bhutto, 54, was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi shortly after she had addressed an election rally on December 27, 2007. Former president Pervez Musharraf had blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the attack but the outfit had denied it. The book says suicide bombers Bilal, also known as Saeed, and Ikramullah were tasked to carry out the attack on Bhutto. "Bomber Bilal first fired at Benazir Bhutto from his pistol and the bullet hit her neck. Then he detonated his explosive jacket and blew himself up among the participants of the procession," the book claimed. TTP leader Abu Mansoor Asim Mufti Noor Wali has written the book and published it on November 30, 2017, at "Maseed Computer Centre in Barmal, in Afghanistan's Paktika province," according to details in the book. The 588-page book, which contains many photographs of Taliban leaders, was posted online. Military sources say most of the TTP fighters, belonging to the Mehsud tribe, had crossed into Afghanistan's Paktika and Paktia provinces after the military launched a major offensive in 2009. The book says the TTP was also involved in a suicide bombing two months earlier at Bhutto's procession in Karachi in October 2007, which had killed nearly 140 people though Bhutto had escaped unhurt. It revealed that Baitullah Mehsud had approved the Karachi attack on Bhutto's procession when she returned to Pakistan to lead her party campaign for the 2008 parliamentary elections. "Despite attacks on Benazir Bhutto's procession in Karachi, the government had not taken appropriate security measures that made it possible for the attackers to have easy access to Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi," the book says. It says Ikramullah, a resident of Makeen town in South Waziristan, escaped from the blast site and is still alive. It does not say if it is the same Ikramullah, who was declared an absconder by an anti-terrorism court along with five others, including TTP chief Mehsud who was killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan in 2009. Musharraf had been formally charged in the case by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi in August, 2017. The ATC also declared Musharraf an absconder in the case. The court had named Musharraf in the case in February 2011. The former army chief had on a number of occasions denied any involvement in the murder and dismissed the charges as politically-motivated. Bhutto's son and PPP co-chairman Bilawal had again blamed Musharraf for his mother's killing in his speech to supporters on her 10th death anniversary on December 27, 2017. The five TTP suspects in Bhutto's murder case, Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid were cleared of all charges in the murder trial last August. The ATC had, however, convicted two police officials Saud Aziz, who was police chief of Rawalpindi when Bhutto was assassinated and Khurram Shahzad, a former Superintendent of Police at Rawal Town. Both were sentenced to 17 years in jail. In October, 2017, both were granted bail by the Lahore High Court. The book says investigators had blamed the TTP for the killing of Bhutto but Baitullah Mehsud had initially denied involvement, insisting that her killers were the same people behind the assassinations of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and two brothers, Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto. It said the TTP leadership had denied any involvement in the murder until Bhutto's 10th death anniversary. By Sean Ulm, Deputy Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, James Cook University Flickr/Travellers travel photobook, CC BY With global sea levels expected to rise by up to a metre by 2100 we can learn much from archaeology about how people coped in the past with changes in sea level. In a study published this week in Quaternary Science Reviews, we looked at how changes in sea level affected different parts of Australia and the impact on people living around the coast. The study casts new light on how people adapt to rising sea levels of the scale projected to happen in our near future. Read more: Cave dig shows the earliest Australians enjoyed a coastal lifestyle Coastal living More than eight out of every ten Australians live within 50km of the coast. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says global sea levels may increase by more than 8mm/year, four times the average of the last century. A major challenge for managing such a large increase in sea level is our limited understanding of what impact this scale of change might have on humanity. While there are excellent online resources to model the local physical impacts of sea level rise, the recent geological past can provide important insights into how humans responded to dramatic increases in sea level. The last ice age At the height of the last ice age some 21,000 years ago, not only were the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets larger than they are today, but 3km-high ice sheets covered large parts of North America and northern Europe. This sucked vast amounts of water out of our planets oceans. The practical upshot was sea level was around 125m lower, making the shape of the worlds coastlines distinctly different to today. As the world lurched out of the last ice age with increasing temperatures, the melting ice returned to the ocean as freshwater, dramatically increasing sea levels and altering the surface of our planet. Arguably nowhere experienced greater changes than Australia, a continent with a broad continental shelf and a rich archaeological record spanning tens of millennia. A bigger landmass For most of human history in Australia, lower sea levels joined mainland Australia to both Tasmania and New Guinea, forming a supercontinent called Sahul. The Gulf of Carpentaria hosted a freshwater lake more than twice the size of Tasmania (about 190,000km2). Our study shows that lower sea levels resulted in Australia growing by almost 40% during this time from the current landmass of 7.2 million km2 to 9.8 million km2. The coastlines also looked very different, with steep profiles off the edge of the exposed continental shelf in many areas forming precipitous slopes and cliffs. Imagine the current coastline where the Twelve Apostles are on Victorias Great Ocean Road and then extend them around much of the continent. Many rivers flowed across the exposed shelf to the then distant coast. Flickr/portengaround, CC BY-SA When things warmed up Then between 18,000 and 8,000 years ago, global climate warmed, leading to rapid melting of the ice sheets, and seeing sea levels in the Australian region rising from 125m below to 2m above modern sea levels. Tasmania was cut off with the flooding of Bass Strait around 11,000 years ago. New Guinea was separated from Australia with the flooding of Torres Strait and creation of the Gulf of Carpentaria around 8,000 years ago. We found that 2.12 million square km, or 20-29% of the landmass a size comparable to the state of Queensland was lost during this inundation. The location of coastlines changed on average by 139km inland. In some areas the change was more than 300km. Much of this inundation occurred over a 4,000-year period (between 14,600 and 10,600 years ago) initiated by what is called Meltwater Pulse 1A, a period of substantial ice sheet collapse releasing millions of cubic litres of water back into the oceans. During this period, sea levels rose by 58m, equivalent to 14.5mm per year. On the ground, this would have seen movement of the seas edge at a pace of about 20-24m per year. Impacts of past sea level rise The potential impacts of these past sea-level changes on Aboriginal populations and societies have long been a subject of speculation by archaeologists and historians. Sean Ulm, Author provided In his 1970s book Triumph of the Nomads: A History of Aboriginal Australia, the Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey hypothesised that: Most tribal groups on the coast 18,000 years ago must have slowly lost their entire territory [] a succession of retreats must have occurred. The slow exodus of refugees, the sorting out of peoples and the struggle for territories probably led to many deaths as well as new alliances. Archaeologists have long recognised that Aboriginal people would have occupied the now-drowned continental shelves surrounding Australia, but opinions have been divided about the nature of occupation and the significance of sea-level rise. Most have suggested that the ancient coasts were little-used or underpopulated in the past. Our data show that Aboriginal populations were severely disrupted by sea-level change in many areas. Perhaps surprisingly the initial decrease in sea level prior to the peak of the last ice age resulted in people largely abandoning the coastline, and heading inland, with a number of archaeological sites within the interior becoming established at this time. Sean Ulm, Author provided During the peak of the last ice age, there is evidence on the west coast that shows people continued to use marine resources (shellfish, fish etc) during this time, albeit at low levels. A shrinking landmass With the onset of the massive inundation after the end of the last ice age people evacuated the coasts causing markedly increased population densities across Australia (from around 1 person for every 355 square km 20,000 years ago, to 1 person every 147 square km 10,000 years ago). Rising sea levels had such a profound impact on societies that Aboriginal oral histories from around the length of the Australian coastline preserve details of coastal flooding and the migration of populations. We argue that this squeezing of people into a landmass 22% smaller into inland areas that were already occupied required people to adopt new social, settlement and subsistence strategies. This may have been an important element in the development of the complex geographical and religious landscape that European explorers observed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Following the stabilisation of the sea level after 8,000 years ago, we start to see the onset of intensive technological investment and manipulation of the landscape (such as fish traps and landscape burning). We also see the formation of territories (evident by marking of place through rock art) that continues to propagate up until the present time. All signs of more people trying to survive in less space. Read more: Buried tools and pigments tell a new history of humans in Australia for 65,000 years So what are the lessons of the past for today? Thankfully, we can show that past societies survived rapid sea level change at rates slightly greater than those projected in our near future, albeit with population densities far lower than today. But we can also see that sea level rise resulted in drastic changes to where people lived, how they survived, what technology they used, and probable modifications to their social, religious and political ways of life. In todays world with substantially higher population densities, managing the relocation of people inland and outside Australia, potentially across national boundaries, may provide to be one of the great social challenges of the 21st century. Note, this article was amended on Friday 19 January 2018 at the request of the authors to correct the IPCCs projected rise in global sea levels. Sean Ulm receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Alan Williams works for Extent Heritage Pty Ltd. Chris Turney receives funding from the Australian Research Council. Stephen Lewis receives funding from the National Environmental Science Program. Originally published in The Conversation. DomingoG said: Thanks for your response, what would happen then if I cease working for my current employer (I either quit or my company make me redundant) without having applied yet for any other visa, could I apply for a partner visa after my relationship with my employer finish? I understand that I can still stay legally on the country for up to 90 days, could I apply for the partner visa during that period? If so , could I then work if the visa is granted? Thanks Click to expand... As long as you have a valid substantive visa, you can apply for an onshore partner visa without having to address the problematic schedule 3 criteria.The problem is that if your sc. 457 visa does not cease by itself, but is cancelled, your bridging visa associated with your partner visa application, will be cancelled as well.As long as your sc. 457 is in effect, you can only work for the sponsoring employer. I imagine that after March 2018, it won't be possible anymore to lodge new sc. 457 nominations and find a new sc. 457 sponsor, so I don't know what would happen to people who are no longer working for their sponsor after the sc. 457 system is closed for new applications.Again, my advice would be to get the partner visa application in as soon as possible and stick with your current employer until the sc. 457 visa expires or is replaced by the partner visa. Photo by Intel Free Press/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons. Georgia state legislators are considering a newly introduced bill that would ban the use of handheld phones while driving and also raise the distracted-driving fine from $150 to as much as $900 for repeat offenders. Additionally, the legislation would raise the point penalty for a distracted driving offense from one point to up to four points for repeat offenders. Any driver assessed 15 points in a 24-month period would lose his or her drivers license. Current state law already prohibits texting while driving. But law enforcement agencies in Georgia have complained the law is virtually unenforceable because officers typically have no way of distinguishing between driver texting and dialing. The new legislation comes on the heels of the Dec. 31 release of a House study committee report on distracted driving. That study found that traffic crashes in the state rose 36% from 2014 to 2016. Those collisions also accounted for a 34% increase in road fatalities during that period. The overall spike in crashes was largely attributed to increases in three specific types of collisions, according to the report: rear-end crashes, single-car crashes, and crashes by drivers 15 to 25 years old. Public safety personnel state this is clearly indicative of driver inattention, the report noted. Drivers in rural areas in the state are also at a higher risk, according to the report. A driver in rural Georgia is twice as likely to be in a fatal distracted driving accident as an urban area driver (due to speeds, undivided highways, and more distance to emergency/trauma care centers), the report said. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. A Polk County lineman returned home Sunday after being hospitalized in Puerto Rico. Cameron Alley fell about 80 feet from a helicopter His father says Cameron has a long road to recovery He credits work of paramedics in helping his son While Cameron Alley, a father of five, was working in the mountains in Puerto Rico to restore power, his father Dan Alley said he fell from a cable suspended from a helicopter. "We had heard on Facebook that Cameron had fallen 80 feet from a helicopter. And it was three hours ... for three hours we thought he was gone," Dan Alley said. Dan said he learned his son survived thanks to the help of his coworker and the Puerto Ricans in the area. "The local people had seen what happened. They rushed up the mountain. They made a chain of 60 people, all the way down that mountain," Alley said. "I'm sure they had a board or stoke basket that they rescued him in." He and his wife returned to Lakeland on a private flight Sunday afternoon. His family got to see him before he was rushed to the hospital. "He was smiling and he was talking perfectly awake and aware of everything, said Dan Alley. Dan said Cameron has a long road to recovery. "He's got multiple broken bones in his hand, his stream, his hips," he said. Paramedics rushed Cameron Alley to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. "These people are being so good to him. The doctor came down here and met him. He didn't have to do that. They got the trauma center ready for him at the hospital," Dan Alley said. He said his son is strong and this isn't his first near death experience. Dan said his son survived an electric shock while on the job and he also survived a motorcycle crash involving a semi. Alley said the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 222 has been helping the family throughout this entire process. He was grateful for their help. Year of the Kite at One Oregon Coast Town: Lincoln City Picks Theme of Festival Published 01/15/2018 at 4:01 AM PDT - Updated 01/15/2018 at 4:21 AM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Lincoln City, Oregon) 2018 is now officially known as the year of the kite at least on the central Oregon coast. The town of Lincoln City has picked the theme for its June kite festival via a special contest. The winner was 2018 is the Year of the Kite for the Lincoln City Kite Festival. That submission was made by Melissa Rosin from Salem, Oregon, who said the inspiration came from the Chinese heritage of kite flying. I was thinking about the history of kite flying and remembered the earliest use of kites was in China, Rosin said. Since the kite festivals are an annual event, I started thinking about the Chinese New Year, which then led me to Year of the Kite. Year of the Kite was carefully selected by the Lincoln City Visitor & Convention Bureau as the winner. For her clever theme submission, Melissa has received a signature Finders Keepers glass float. Working through the alphabet, a new theme for the 2018 kite festival was determined using the letter Y. Lincoln City held a naming contest throughout the month of December to find the most creative theme using that letter. Over 400 entries were submitted by kite enthusiasts from around the Pacific Northwest, and Melissas soared to the top. Multiple entries of Year of the Kite were received during the contest and Melissas entry was randomly selected from those entries. The kite festival runs June 23 and 24, held at the D River Wayside in Lincoln City, where some of the most colorful "big show" kites take flight. Activities during the festival include kids kite making, professional kite demonstrations and the Running of the Bols, which is a footrace across the beach with each participant harnessed to a parachute kite. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and is fun for the entire family. For more information about the Summer Kite Festival, visit OregonCoast.org or call 541-996-1274. Meanwhile, the central Oregon coast town soon kicks off its Lincoln City Beachcombing Clinics - on Friday, January 26 at 9 a.m. This winter brings some special guided beach walks to the hotspot, where visitors get a chance to hunt for beach collectibles and learn about them from a local expert. Take home a bucket full of agates, shells and other coastal delights. Lincoln City Hotels/Lodgings for these events - Where to eat - Map and Virtual Tour Attendees should plan to arrive 10 minutes early, meeting at the SW 33rd access in the Nelscott area. Public parking is located at both SW 32nd and SW 35th Streets and along SW Anchor Avenue. Dressing in layers is encouraged. All the clinics are free. For more information on the Beachcombing Clinics, visit OregonCoast.org. More on Lincoln City below: More About Lincoln City Lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Indonesian couple Darius Samao, 57, and Morella Samao, 55, fish from their small boat off Glan, a township in the far southern Philippine province of Sarangani, Jan. 11, 2018. In Pangyan, a remote village at the southern tip of Mindanao island in the Philippines, Kere Tahidaki may soon realize his dream of reuniting one day with his relatives in Indonesia. Nearly one-half century ago, Tahidaki and his family crossed the sea border from Sangir island in Indonesias North Sulawesi province, seeking greener pastures. He is one of thousands of people of Indonesian heritage who migrated to this region from the neighboring country over the years but live as undocumented and stateless residents of the southern Philippines. Now that the Philippines and Indonesia are working together to identify and document illegal migrants, Tahidaki is hopeful he might finally have another opportunity to return to Indonesia to see family members who stayed behind. I had lost communication with them. I miss my parents and I wish I was there beside them when they needed me, Tahidiki told BenarNews. Memories of the sea voyage remain seared in the 68-year-olds mind. Back then, he and other young men crammed into a wooden boat for a journey that ended four days later in Pangyan, which lies on the coast in Glan, a municipality in Mindanao, the largest of the islands in the southern Philippines. When Tahidiki arrived here as a young man, he said he started out working as a fisherman and hand on a coconut farm. He later met the woman who would become his wife, a fellow Indonesian, Aisyah, who bore him 10 children. Tahidaki says he still understands Bahasa Indonesia, but, today, he largely speaks the local dialect in place of his native tongue. The Filipino people treated us well. We did not have any problems with our neighbors and we are following the law of the land, he said in Filipino. Since arriving here decades ago, he never had an opportunity to see his parents and 10 siblings. Life was hard, and crossing the strait again, he said, would cost money that he didnt have. Another concern was that he may reach Indonesia, but would not be allowed back to Mindanao because he didnt have the proper papers. Kere Tahidaki, 68, speaks during a meeting in Pangyan village in Glan, in Sarangani province in the southern Philippines, as a fellow Indonesian and fellow resident of the area, Martin Ampager, 64, looks on, Jan. 11, 2018. [Mark Navales/BenarNews] Tahidakis neighbor, Martin Ampager, 64, also came here from Sangir Island. He arrived in Glan, in 1973, for the same reasons. He said he wanted a better life, but like Tahidaki, he was not prepared for a Muslim separatist rebellion that erupted in the southern Philippines. The fighting spread like wildfire, and it complicated efforts to reconnect with their families back in Indonesia. The Indonesian migrants largely kept to themselves, officials said. However, the Philippine military has said that those who were born in the south were known to have joined a Muslim separatist movement, which would last for the next four decades. For Ampanger, he no longer intends to return to Indonesia, saying he is content with the life he has made here. Still, to possess official travel documents identifying him as an Indonesian is something he says he wants. His five children all born in the south already have their own families and have assimilated well to local life, he said. I am old and anytime I might die. I dont have any legal documents but if the Indonesian government will give me a passport, I am very much grateful, Ampanger told BenarNews. Kere Tahidaki (right), and Martin Ampager, work on a coconut farm in Pangyan village in Glan, a township in Sarangani province, southern Philippines, Jan. 11, 2018. [Mark Navales/BenarNews] As Filipino as the next person Local village chief Osman Salisilan said there were about 100 Indonesian migrants families in their village. Many have imbibed the local culture and are as Filipino as the next person, unless they introduced themselves, he said. We are providing them benefits like health insurance, Salisilan said. You would not recognize them as Indonesians unless they introduce themselves. Most of the Indonesians have become fishermen, though some were farmers who dispersed as employees for local firms. They largely have no criminal records, Salisilan said. Earlier this month, Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted 300 passports to their people in Mindanao to address their statelessness. Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said around 2,425 passports had so far been issued to pure Indonesians living in the southern Philippines. Another 2,074 were found out to have mixed Filipino-Indonesian blood, and they could be granted official travel documents, she said. Its a very basic right of every person to get their status of nationality, Retno told reporters when she visited southern Davao city and met with President Rodrigo Duterte in early January. Being stateless always brings risks because they do not know who will protect them, Marsudi said. In 2011, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees conducted a mapping of Indonesians in Mindanao, and found that nearly 9,000 people were registered as persons of Indonesian heritage. Tahidaki said he was grateful for the intervention of the Indonesian consulate and hoped that they would soon be given passports. I wanted to return to our homeland to find my relatives, he said. 15 January 2018 Georgia Everett By Appeared in BioNews 933 Using fresh embryos in IVF gives the same chance of a live birth as using frozen embryos for ovulatory women, according to two new studies Previous work suggested that frozen embryos in IVF were more successful than fresh ones in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who were 'anovulatory', that is, their bodies did not release an egg every menstrual cycle. To see if the same was true in women without PCOS who ovulated normally, studies conducted in China and Vietnam, randomly assigned IVF patients to a fresh embryo transfer or a frozen embryo transfer cycle, and then recorded the pregnancy and live birth rates of the groups. The studies are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Both studies showed similar pregnancy and live birth rates for fresh and frozen embryos, with about one-third of the IVF transfers resulting in a live birth in the Vietnam study, and half resulting in a baby in the China study. The studies also found no difference in the occurrence of neonatal and obstetric complications between the two groups. Although, frozen cycles were associated with lower rates of OHSS (Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome) (0.6 percent frozen versus 2 percent fresh). Dr Lan Vuong, lead author of the Vietnamese study, at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, said: 'Frozen embryo techniques are growing in popularity in fertility clinics worldwide. This is one of the reasons why our research is important for fertility clinicians and researchers, and of course couples who are hoping to have a child.' She also added that the results 'should transform the way [IVF] is practised. After the first fresh embryo transfer, it will be possible to freeze the remaining embryos and transfer them one by one, if necessary, without reducing the chance of pregnancy.' Professor Ben Mol at the University of Adelaide in Australia, and a co-author on the Vietnamese paper, addressed cost concerns: 'Couples concerned about such unnecessary costs of freezing all embryos do not need to go down that path, and will still have the same live birth success rate.' This statement was supported by Dr Vuong who conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of the two types of transfers and found that 'freezing embryos and subsequent transfer is not cost-effective over fresh transfer'. Dr Christos Coutifaris at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the research, told Reuters Health that the findings for PCOS patients should not be applied to ovulatory women. 'Two papers, equally large and done in non-PCOS patients, show that in terms of live birth, which is what we care about, there is no differenceso to apply the rule to everybody that we should freeze your embryos is probably not correct, he said. 15 January 2018 Eleanor Taylor By Appeared in BioNews 933 The ever-expanding limits of human reproduction are creating complex ethical and political challenges. One topic that has generated much contention is the possibility of editing the genome of human embryos. The fourth session of the Progress Educational Trust (PET)'s Annual Conference 'Crossing Frontiers: Moving the Boundaries of Human Reproduction' focused on the current status of genome editing both scientifically and politically, and explored how its role may evolve over time. Dr Andy Greenfield, programme leader in mammalian sexual development at the Medical Research Council's research unit in Harwell, opened the session by imploring audience members to keep calm and 'carry on editing'. His plea was twofold; he primarily wanted to emphasise the importance of performing basic genomic research. Secondly, he aimed to quell the tendency to equate genome editing with dystopian visions of the future. Dr Greenfield succinctly explained that the development of therapeutic genome editing technologies needs to be underpinned by basic research. We need to understand more than just the correlation between genotype and phenotype: we need to understand how genomes function, in particular, how human genomes function. Dr Greenfield acknowledged that this will be a laborious process but used a quote from Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, President of The Royal Society, to emphasise the importance of investing in non-applied research: 'Basic science yields fantastic returns on investment, but we cannot predict which investment will pay off, or when.' Dr Greenfield closed the session by arguing for a distinction between the need for standards of safety and efficacy, and ethical questions that cannot be reduced to satisfying such standards. In some ways, he said, 'the ethics only truly begin when we have a safe and efficacious protocol'. In the second talk Dr Elizabeth Garner, a functional genomics researcher at Caribou Biosciences, California, examined 'The Can, Can't and Won't for Genome Editing'. Caribou was founded by some of the pioneers of the CRISPR approach to genome editing, and Dr Garner started her talk with an overview of the evolution of genome editing technologies, to help put the relatively recent use of CRISPR into perspective. The 'can' for genome editing largely concerned the creation of monogenic changes - although, as Dr Garner pointed out, the ability to deliver genome editing platform components to somatic cells or tissues is still an enormous challenge. In contrast, the 'can't' concerned deliberate alteration of polygenic traits, which is at present beyond the scope of this technology. The 'won't' lies in ensuring that genome editing will only be used in a therapeutic capacity. The final talk of the session, 'How to talk about genome editing: putting CRISPR in its place', was given by PET communications manager Sandy Starr, who explored the importance of language when discussing genome editing in public. Starr created a persuasive argument for the development of a consistent genome editing vocabulary, emphasising that the use of variable and overly complicated jargon can cause public confusion and disengagement. It is important that individuals who could potentially benefit from therapeutic genome editing, as well as those who care for them medically or socially, are able to understand the treatments that are being developed; we cannot make informed decisions without a robust understanding. PET recently conducted a project with fellow charity Genetic Alliance UK, funded by the Wellcome Trust, to investigate what patients and laypeople think and know about genome editing. Starr coauthored the resulting report, Basic Understanding of Genome Editing, and drew on the findings during his talk to impart some top tips on how to discuss genome editing with the public: Ensure that the audience knows what a genome is, and repeat this explanation often. Use the term 'genome editing' exclusively; it can encompass both a single base-pair change and the loss of an entire chromosome (if brought about in a deliberate manner). Explaining the potential uses of genome editing should be prioritised over explaining the mechanics of the process. Deprioritise the term 'CRISPR', as genome editing can come in other forms. Starr neatly drew together key points from the two previous talks to demonstrate that the story of genome editing is still unfolding and a common language is needed that can evolve alongside the technology. Rather fittingly for a session focusing on public engagement, the post-talk discussion lasted longer than the presentation portion of the session and was expertly guided by the session chair Vivienne Parry, science writer and broadcaster. A number of salient questions were raised regarding the way in which genome editing is discussed. What metaphors can be used when explaining genome editing? Why do we not have an appropriate metaphor available for PGD? Should a distinction be made between genome editing and epigenome editing? Who should be responsible for assigning names to new technologies? Dr Garner responded to the latter question, stating that it is traditionally the scientists that get to name new technologies, but acknowledging that more consideration should perhaps be given to names by the scientific community to promote easier public dialogue. In addition to a dissection of language, the discussion also strayed towards the moral and ethical issues that genome editing can provoke. Why are we continuing with applied research if we have acknowledged there is still so much basic research that needs to be performed? Will we be able to prevent individuals from overstating the capabilities of such technologies and constrain the propagation of false hope? The session also touched upon the problematic issue that TV and radio producers are often only willing to give scientists mere seconds to explain complex ideas, yet withdrawing from discussing such topics in the media can 'create a vacuum where scientists don't engage', leaving the floor open to individuals who could potentially disseminate misleading ideas. There was also an interesting undercurrent of sociological thought running throughout the discussion. Why is the desire to have genetically-related offspring so deeply ingrained in humans? Is it a biological drive or does it stem from societal conditioning? One audience member cautiously asked whether it would be more efficient to encourage individuals to embrace gamete donation or adoption rather than resort to complicated and invasive genome editing technologies. Overall, the post-talk discussion managed to successfully showcase the vast array of opinions that the topic of genome editing can elicit and beautifully illustrated why public involvement in the scientific arena is so incredibly important. PET would like to thank the sponsors of its conference - the Anne McLaren Memorial Trust Fund, the Edwards and Steptoe Research Trust Fund, the ART Institute of Washington, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, the London Women's Clinic and Vitrolife. 15 January 2018 Dr Danielle Griffiths School of Law, Politics and Sociology, University of Sussex By Appeared in BioNews 933 'The Wild East and the Worried West: Pioneers or Outlaws?' was the third session of the Progress Educational Trust (PET)'s Annual Conference 'Crossing Frontiers: Moving the Boundaries of Human Reproduction'. As the frontiers of human reproduction move forward, the session reflected on the duties of funders, scientists, healthcare professionals and regulators in ensuring responsible progress. This is particularly relevant in the interconnected world of today where certain developments have brought up debates about boundaries being pushed too far in certain countries, whilst being too constrained in others. Pioneers in one context have become outlaws in another. But where and how should a line be drawn for when pioneers become outlaws? The session was chaired by Sally Cheshire, chair of the HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority), and featured three speakers - Dr Sarah Rappaport (policy adviser at the Wellcome Trust), Dr Henry Malter (laboratory director at the Fertility Centre of the Carolinas) and Dr Cesar Palacios-Gonzalez (research associate at King's College London's Centre of Medical Law and Ethics). In the first presentation, 'Funding Scientific Frontiers: A Global Perspective', Rappaport spoke about how over the last few years, Wellcome has taken a more global approach to its funding, policy and advocacy work. It funds research in around 70 countries and through that tries to accelerate ideas and seize opportunities. It supports not just scientists, but scientific endeavour and in this wants to be more 'cutting edge' than 'wild west'. The number one concern for Wellcome in considering its global approach is equity: asking how will there be fair access to the scientific developments we are witnessing. Secondly, in terms of governance, Dr Rappaport raised the issue of the discrepancy between what significant scientific developments are imminent and the timescales of many developments which could be decades off. Too much excitement and attention for the latter may lead to neglect of the former. Finally she discussed Wellcome's obligations for research and the need to focus on global differences. For example, when looking at gene drives: what principles should be underlying research, how does the research work in different contexts, what are the global principles underlying the work? The second speaker, Dr Malter talked about 'Myths of the Wild West: Outlaws and the New Frontier'. He started off by noting how his work with Dr Jacques Cohen played a role in extending boundaries and in the process he was called a cowboy. He joked that his talk should perhaps be retitled, 'Extending Frontiers from an Outlaw Perspective: A Cautionary Tale'. He went on to assert that those in the 'fertility frontier' have a moral, ethical and scientific mandate to try to help every person who comes through their door. Describing the fertility frontier in 1978 as a barren landscape, Dr Malter explained that while Sir Robert Edwards and his team solved many issues for tubal factor infertility, there remained no good solutions for male factor infertility aside from donor sperm. Only in 1992 did we see Dr Gianpiero Palermo pioneering the ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) procedure. The remaining problem was the barrier of compromised egg quality. Replacing an egg with a donor egg ameliorated this problem yet this donor conception was not the goal for many women. In 2001, Drs Cohen and Malter sought a way to improve the quality of eggs through a technique called cytoplasmic transfer. This involved the injection of a small amount of cytoplasm from a donor egg directly into the egg of an infertile woman to 'rejuvenate' it. The technique seemed to them to work well, and Dr Malter stated that 17 healthy babies were born to 12 couples. The research was published, but much of the reporting focused on the fact that there was a minor level of donor mitochondrial DNA detectable in the resulting babies. Much reporting, including in the UK press, then described the technique as creating 'three-parent babies' as well as creating fears of the 'slippery slope' and the advent of germline genetic manipulation. Besides the public furore, the researchers came up against the US Food and Drug Administration. Dr Malter concluded with some questions about the ethics of extending the fertility frontier. Is it ethical to extend the frontier? Who gives permission? What about patient autonomy? In answering the last question, the talk concluded with Dr Malter arguing that we owe patients the courage to make bold decisions. Such courage, tempered by safety and responsibility, does not - or should not - take us automatically into 'outlaw' territory. The final talk, 'Mexico and Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques: What a Mess' by Dr Palacios-Gonzalez, focused on the news that broke on 27 September 2016 of the first baby ever born who had been conceived with mitochondrial donation. Unlike the cytoplasmic transfer technique which was used by Drs Cohen and Malter to address infertility, mitochondrial donation techniques - which are used to avoid the transmisson of mitochondrial disease, a very different purpose - seek to replace all of a mother's mitochondria with mitochondria from a donor. The US team responsible was led by Dr John Zhang, who is on record saying that he and his team chose to work in Mexico because 'there are no rules' there. The narrative setting out what had happened, and where, was far from clear when the news broke. It later transpired that the relevant embryo was created in New York through privately funded research, but the embryo was transferred to the patient in Mexico. Dr Palacios-Gonzalez and Dr Maria de Jesus Medina-Arellano have shown that if the embryo had been created in Mexico (as was initially thought to be the case), then Dr Zhang would have broken federal health regulations. Dr Palacios-Gonzalez concluded that within this 'mess' certain questions remain unanswered, including which bodies were and were not consulted by Dr Zhang. Certain key facts have still not been made clear, and there remains considerable uncertainty about the legal and ethical issues surrounding this case. Dr Palacios-Gonzalez argued that if Mexican authorities had not been kept in the loop - as indeed seemed to be the case - then this showed considerable disregard for the medico-political landscape in Mexico, and could lead to adverse developments within that landscape. The talks generated many questions from the floor. In response to Dr Rappaport's focus on ensuring global equity in the breaking of boundaries in human reproduction, someone questioned whether we are in danger of bifurcating the species with - for example - only wealthy parents benefiting from certain techniques. There was also reflection on the best vocabulary to use when discussing children with donated mitochondria, and whether an HFEA-like sub-agency within the FDA like could alleviate many issues in the USA surrounding the boundaries of research into human reproduction. Overall, the session showed that determining who are the pioneers and who are the outlaws is a complicated process. PET would like to thank the sponsors of its conference - the Anne McLaren Memorial Trust Fund, the Edwards and Steptoe Research Trust Fund, the ART Institute of Washington, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, the London Women's Clinic and Vitrolife. Mozambique's major commercial banana producer, Bananalandia, in the Boane district, about 30 kilometres west of Maputo, has seen production levels fall by half due to a lack of water for irrigation. inmemo via pixabay No alternative water sources The banana plantations depend on water from the Umbeluzi river, which in turn depends on the level of water stored behind the Pequenos Libombos dam. Since December 2016, the authorities have banned the use of Pequenos Libombos water for irrigation: the top priority is the Umbeluzi water treatment and pumping station, which provides drinking water for Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola.The Bananalandia director of production, Manuel Maluana, says that since the restrictions came into effect production has fallen by over 50%, and the quality of the bananas produced has also suffered. The company has been forced to stop all production of the XL type of banana. The average weight of a bunch of bananas, Maluana added, has fallen from 60 to 50 kilos.The company is exporting 1,200 tonnes of bananas a month to South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland, but before the water crisis, Bananalandia exported twice as much. The company's seven production units also used to distribute 50 tonnes of bananas a day to the domestic market, but that has now fallen to 25 tonnes a day, Maluana said.All the company's expansion projects are on hold. It had planned to export bananas to the Middle East, and also set up new plantations in Moamba and Namaacha districts - but without water for irrigation, none of this can be done.He admitted that Bananalandia has not been investigated alternative sources, such as drilling boreholes to tap into groundwater. Instead, it is hoping that the abnormally dry conditions will end and that the current rainy season will be the company's saviour.Although current levels of production are far from ideal, they are enough to keep the company operating and to pay its running costs - including its workers' wages, and basic inputs such as fertiliser.We have to wait for more rainfall to improve production, said Maluana. Irrigation depends on the Umbeluzi river, which is fed from the Pequenos Libombos dam. Filling the dam reservoir depends on rainfall further upstream.Currently, according to the Boane district government, the reservoir is only 20.14% full. THE HAGUE - Facebook took part this week in key talks with European police agencies on how to stop and eliminate violent and terror-related Islamic jihadist posts, in an evolving battle against such propaganda. Representatives from the giant social network travelled to The Hague for Thursday's unprecedented talks at Europol's headquarters in the city, officials said on Friday.They were also joined by Instagram officials and police from Britain, France and Belgium, aiming "to identify and secure the swift removal of terrorist and violent extremism content uploaded" on both platforms, Europol said in a statement.The European police agency has been working with Facebook for the past two years on "reducing access to online propaganda," Vincent Semestre, the head of Europol's Internet Referral Unit, told AFP.Part of the aim was to find ways of dealing with new trends as well as "how to defend themselves against this kind of abuse".Facebook has said it is committed "to remove terrorists and posts that support terrorism" whenever they become aware of them and "make their platforms a hostile place for terrorists."Semestre said that while 99 percent of such posts are identified and stopped "we are really looking into how propagandists are moving around these countermeasures that Facebook has put in place."With the Islamic State on the brink of defeat in Iraq and Syria, its digital presence has also shrunk.But Semestre warned that as the caliphate's "production capacity" has diminished its "community has taken on board part of the responsibility to create the content."This was particularly hard to detect for computer programmes."If you this afternoon photoshop and put a mash-up of 10 videos and six pictures on a pdf, you will create a new content that no machine in the world ever saw before," he said."It's really a never-ending, evolving" battle which is also moving across platforms.The talks also aimed to help Europol find possible leads to "trigger an investigation."They came as the giant social network announced a major change in how its news feed works, saying it would give friends and family priority over advertisers and media posts. Once upon a time, 800 words on a page with a stunning image were enough to inspire customers to travel to a destination, stay in a resort or visit an attraction. Travel was one of those high-ticket items one didn't get to experience before it was bought. We were content not to experience what we were being sold, relying on the vivid pictures painted in words to entice us to crack open our passports and venture to far-off lands. Natalia Rosa, Director, Big Ambitions The days of five-page press releases with no news hook and purely promotional content are gone. Content now needs to be written from the departure point of the audience. The future of travel PR It's better to be seen as a thought leader A meaningful approach Visuals a non-negotiable It may have taken forever for that to change, but when it did, it happened fast. And travel marketing and PR is still evolving quite quickly every year bringing a new tool or method into the mix. The mantra for professionals in this industry right now is integration and meaningful connections.In the changing Travel PR landscape, we say goodbye to impersonal, promotional press releases and mass media pitches, and say hello to integrating PR, social media and online marketing with meaningful messages.If you feel like a chief cook and bottle washer in this new world, youd be right. The future travel PR professional is agile and proactive, looking for hooks and whats trending so they can piggyback off or create new conversations across a variety of platforms social media, mainstream press, newsletters and more.The days of five-page press releases with no news hook and purely promotional content are gone. Content now needs to be written from the departure point of the audience. That means, more often than not, exclusively for the media partner to which it is being sent so that the information is relevant, informative, inspiring and fosters trust.Content that hits the spot is that which shows that you understand your audience, what their pain points are and how they consume information. Audiences are different, their needs are different, so why would you send a press release about Iceland to a press contact whose audience is interested only in local travel?Its much harder to adopt this exclusive approach. One needs to listen to a lot more conversations, do a lot more research and generate a great deal more content, written with the end consumer in mind when you have your paying customer nipping at your heels to position them in a positive light across as many platforms as possible.Travel brands dont always recognise that its better to be seen as a thought leader by their target market than to send out press release after press release for the sake of keeping to a schedule. Its a bit like the guy in the room who talks constantly, yet has nothing to say. Sooner or later, we stop listening.The same extends to social media. When we create content in the new travel PR world, we do so with various platforms in mind, including social media, and we do so meaningfully. Our new travel PR world requires us to think about connecting a customer with their audience on the platforms where they are playing with content that tells them clearly whats in it for them.A more meaningful approach in travel PR these days is to listen and engage. Today, we spend hours listening to what people are saying about travel and travel brands, engaging in these conversations and contributing if we have something meaningful to add. We build relationships with influencers in our space and leverage their power to connect travel brands with their audience.Our role in travel PR is to influence behaviour without overt selling. Our interaction with our customers should be to show value in our content and help them solve problems so that they trust that were interested in more than making a profit when we send them on a holiday or business trip.Sometimes that trust comes with seeing something with your own eyes, which is why visuals have become an absolute non-negotiable in travel PR. Video, augmented reality, slideshows, etc., are the mainstay of our content today. Why say in 1,000 words, what you can say in five beautifully created video scenes? Why write about the delicate mother-of-pearl and semi-precious stone floral inlays of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi when you can show them?Finally, before youre tired of ticking off tasks and running the treadmill of travel PR, take a moment to look, critically, at what youve done and how it has achieved your goals of integration, listening, connecting and being relevant. There is no reason why the new age of travel PR cannot be meaningful and fulfilling, not only for your customers and their audience but also for yourself - the new-generation travel PR professional. The Economic Freedom Fighters must be held accountable for all the damages incurred as a result of vandalism at a number of H&M stores, the Democratic Alliance said on Sunday. The DA said EFF leader Julius Malema must pay the damages incurred by the stores. Shops in Sandton, Menlyn Park and on the East Rand were forced to close after party supporters trashed the stores in an apparent protest against an online ad that has been labelled racist.Earlier this week, the Swedish clothing company withdrew sales of a green hoodie with the inscription "coolest monkey in the jungle" after complaints that the ad featuring a black child had triggered accusations of racism. The company apologised on its Twitter account and in a statement posted on its website admitted it got it wrong and was deeply sorry.DA national spokeswoman and deputy chairperson Refiloe Nt'sekhe said her party condemned the violence and vandalism by EFF supporters."While we fully agree that racism is oppressive and has no place in a democratic South Africa, inciting violence and acts of destruction to property must be equally condemned," Nt'sekhe said.She said Malema must pay for all damages incurred and compensate the employees who had to put in more hours clearing the mess."Trashing of stores cannot be condoned as it does not begin to topple the real elephant in the room " racism."She said the violent act showed that the EFF was not genuine in its solidarity with the employees who now might face possible job losses in a country that was grappling with high rates of unemployment and a stagnant economy."There are other effective and non-violent ways to fight institutional racism and destruction of property doesn't even begin to solve the problem but compounds it."She said the type of disruptive behaviour displayed by the EFF was not the kind of approach to use to express disgust over racism. The 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, which concluded Friday in Las Vegas, drew some 4,000 exhibitors from dozens of countries and more than 170,000 attendees, showcased some of the latest from the technology world. grandeduc via 123RF Artificial intelligence battle Compassionate robots Revving up car tech Beyond the car Let's get medical Sensors and the cloud On the lighter side Here are highlights from the show:The duel between Amazon and Google for supremacy in artificial intelligence played out at the show. Amazon pushed its "Alexa Everywhere" strategy bringing its digital assistant to eyewear, wristwatches, televisions and even a toilet.Not to be outdone, Google counterattacked with deals of its own, and with a massive ad campaign including a two-story "Google Assistant Playground" complete with a spiral slide from the roof to the pavement.The rival virtual assistants were part of a larger trend to "smart" homes and sites where door locks, lights, security systems, traffic, and more are commanded or coordinated with the help of internet connections and machine brains.Tech developers began moving beyond artificial intelligence to "emotional intelligence" and empathy with robots that can recognise people and their feelings, and respond in a more humane manner.Those on display included a ping-pong-playing robot from Japan's Omron Automation which adapts its game to its opponent by reading body language. SoftBank robot Pepper entertained guests in a private suite adjacent to the show.More players began gunning for Tesla with premium electric cars, including Chinese startup Byton and a revamped startup led by designer Henrik Fisker.The show included a large presence from automakers and showed a commitment to advancing self-driving cars.South Korea's Hyundai showed its new Nexo vehicle, betting on fuel cell technology, while Toyota unveiled a concept of an autonomous box for ridesharing and retail service.Even as car tech was on display, industry players sought to showcase alternative transport options. These included a self-driving motorcycle from Yamaha, and a range of electric bicycles, scooters, and hoverboards."We are seeing with personal mobility that some people like to skate; some people like to scoot, and some people like to ride," Swagtron chief operating officer Andrew Koven said as he unveiled a line of rideable gadgets.The tech world took a deep dive into the medical field, using virtual reality and sensors for health and medical applications.Exhibitors showed how tracking and sensors used in self-driving cars can help keep the elderly from wandering off or determining distress. Other devices offered new ways to deal with stress and pain, or predict the onset of disease.Medical professionals at a CES conference discussed how new pain management techniques such as virtual reality could help address the opioid addiction crisis.Virtual reality headsets have been used to take people's minds off pain by immersing them in soothing environments. VR programs have also eased trauma by letting patients work through troubling experiences.Sensors, cloud computing and artificial intelligence are becoming so ubiquitous and affordable that they are popping up in tech items tailored for pets, babies, seniors, new moms and other niche categories.From wearable breast pumps to hip airbags triggered when people fall, and dog or cat doors that open automatically for pets, internet age innovations are reaching into the farthest corner of everyday life.Streaming television powerhouse Netflix played with people's minds with a booth for a fictitious company named Psychasec that offered replacement bodies in a promise of immortality.It turned out to be a promotion for a coming Netflix show titled "Altered Carbon," set to debut in February.Other offbeat items at the event included self-driving suitcases which follow its owners through airports and navigate around obstacles.Outside the official show, robotic pole-dancers made their Las Vegas debut at a nightclub, with the artist who created the devices seeking to make a point about technology, surveillance and voyeurism in today's society.Source: AFP LAS VEGAS, US - And to cats and horses, for that matter, as high-end gadgetry showcased at this week's Consumer Electronics Show offered ways that smart devices can improve the lives of animals and their human friends - starting with a good night's rest. Image credit: Petrics US-based Petrics was at the show with what it billed as the first pet smart bed, capable of keeping tabs on their weight and time spent lounging. The soon-to-be-released bed cools or warms to provide comfy temperatures for naps, and synchronizes to activity trackers that monitor how much exercise they are getting so that owners get a complete daily report.An array of firms meanwhile showed off wearable devices to monitor pets on the move, aiming to consign neighbourhood "lost" posters to history.Among them was Whistle, which is up to a third-generation device equipped with GPS and mobile network capabilities. Custom "safe zones" can be set up around a home and if pets wander out-of-bounds their humans will get smartphone messages allowing them to pinpoint where their pooch, or kitty, is on the map."If your pet gets out they can be missing for hours or days," said Whistle spokesperson Heather Wajer. "You can put up posters around the neighbourhood and search for them, or you can just look at your phone and see where they are."Leaving your pet behind at home can cause anxiety both for humans and their animals. While home cameras that can stream feeds via the internet have been around for some time, Petcube has improved on the basic concept by introducing "smart" elements.With the help of artificial intelligence, pets movements in front of its camera will trigger a video call to their human's phone as well as a preview "pet selfie" clip. Its device also comes with laser pointers allowing people to remotely play with their furry friends if they're getting bored, and even reward good behaviour by firing off treats during calls.Petcube co-founder and chief executive Yaroslav Azhnyuk estimated that 40 million households will use connected pet devices by the year 2022.Meanwhile, startup Pebby is working on a "smart robotic ball" with built-in camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and laser pointer capabilities, affording more opportunities to play remotely.Cleaning your feline friend's litter box is an unpleasant but necessary task, unless you (and house guests) are prepared to stomach a strong stench. Now, though, automated boxes are at hand that use sensors to detect when the animal enters and leaves the unit, before giving the litter time to clump, then sifting through it and depositing the waste into a carbon-filtered drawer.Litter-Robot sales hit new highs on Black Friday and Cyber Monday due to the release of a smartphone application that gets data about kitty's daily visits to the feline loo, according to founder Brad Baxter.When animals left home alone need to get outside to take care of business, they can now do so through PetWalk pet doors sturdy barriers that are more secure and airtight than flaps, and are automatically triggered by RFID pendants.French saddle maker CWD meanwhile was at CES with what it billed as the first smart saddle tailored for the equestrian sport of jumping. Technology in saddles gathers data about stride, approach, recovery and more, then sends it to smartphones and pairs it with video so riders can improve performance, research and development engineer Camille Hebert toldCWD has partnered with French start-up Arioneo to weave in an "iPulse" strap that adds data about a horse's heart rate."Everything in our lives is smart," said Whistle's Wajer. "If technology can help make our pets lives better, than that is fantastic." One of the investigations into KPMG - which includes its work for Gupta family-owned businesses, along with its report on the South African Revenue Service's (Sars) "rogue unit" - is nearly complete, the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba) said. Sars commissioner, Tom Moyane. Photo: SA Breaking News The regulator said it is conducting "a multi-faceted investigation" which had extended into a number of lines of investigation, beyond the initial investigation into the audits of Linkway Trading, which was allegedly used to channel R30m of taxpayers' money to fund the infamous 2013 Sun City Gupta wedding.KPMG has been at the centre of state-capture allegations. The fallout over its work for the Guptas and its Sars report led to the departure of nine senior KPMG executives, including former CEO Trevor Hoole.Irba said the other lines of its investigations were "progressing satisfactorily", though in two matters it was still waiting for information requested from KPMG.In respect of the SARS matter, Irba said it had communicated with commissioner Tom Moyane and most of the information requested from Sars had been received, and was it confident additional information would be supplied in due course.Irba's inquiry is separate to that being facilitated by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica), led by advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza. Saica is only investigating individual KPMG employees who are its members, not the work done by the company.It is not clear how far the Ntsebeza inquiry is at this stage. The deadline for submissions was the end of November 2017. The markets are also waiting for the independent inquiry, which KPMG International announced in September last year.In December, KPMG SA refused to confirm whether the Ntsebeza inquiry was, in fact, the independent inquiry KPMG International had promised.At the time, spokesperson Nqubeko Sibiya said the Saica terms of reference were different, in part, from the form of the independent inquiry called by KPMG, noting, "We are therefore considering if additional steps need to be taken in light of the statement of September 22." The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) inquiry into KPMG and the work it did for the Gupta family is expected to start hearing testimony later in January. Also covered by the probe is the report on the South African Revenue Service's (Sars's) so-called rogue unit.The "independent" inquiry, led by advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, is looking into the institute's members employed by KPMG and whose conduct allegedly contravened the Saica Code of Professional Conduct.A second probe into KPMG's conduct is being carried out by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (Irba). The two investigations are separate.KPMG has been at the centre of state capture allegations. The fallout over its work for the Guptas and its Sars report led to the loss of a number of its clients and the departure of nine senior executives, including former CEO Trevor Hoole.Other clients are waiting for the outcome of the investigations before making a decision on whether to keep working with the firm.There was confusion in 2017 over whether the Saica inquiry would be the independent inquiry announced in September by the firm. However, after the terms of reference were released, KPMG SA said it was "considering if additional steps need to be taken". Spokesman Nqubeko Sibiya on Sunday said the firm welcomed the confirmation by Saica CEO Terence Nombembe on 5 December 2017 that the Ntsebeza inquiry would "provide the reassurance" the company called for."We are engaging with this independent inquiry as part of our commitment to rebuilding public trust and look forward to the publication of the inquiry's findings once its work is complete," he said.Sibiya said KPMG SA was co-operating with both inquiries by responding to information requests from relevant bodies.The Ntsebeza inquiry has been divided into four phases.MMMG Attorneys, the secretariat for the inquiry, said it was in the second phase of reviewing submissions, which close on 19 January.The inquiry panel is due to meet on Monday to finalise the scheduling and decide on a programme for the hearings and sequencing of witnesses.In phase three, witnesses would be invited to appear before the inquiry to present their evidence. Phase three was set to start on 22 January and end on 28 February, the secretariat said. "The scheduling as announced in our media statement of 2 November 2017 is still on track," it said."The inquiry made an open call for submissions and has received substantial submissions from interested parties who responded to the inquiry's call for submissions."On Friday, Irba said one of the lines of its investigation was nearly complete and would be tabled at the upcoming investigating committee.It said it was conducting "a multifaceted investigation", which had extended beyond the initial investigation into the audits of Linkway Trading, which was allegedly used to channel R30m of taxpayers' money to fund the infamous 2013 Sun City Gupta wedding. Honeybees are attracted to a fungicide used in agriculture with "unsettling implications" for global food production, a scientist said on Tuesday. Tests carried out by a team from the University of Illinois showed bees preferred to collect sugar syrup laced with the fungicide chlorothalonil over sugar syrup alone. canonfan via pixabay Bad news for bees Bees show a taste for glyphosate The finding follows other studies linking fungicides to a worldwide plunge in honeybee and wild bee populations which are crucial for pollinating crops."Bees are kind of like humans in that they sometimes like things that aren't necessarily good for them," said University of Illinois entomology professor May Berenbaum, who led the research.She said fungicides were bad news for bees because they could exacerbate the toxicity of pesticides and kill off beneficial fungi in hives.Her team set up two feeding stations in an enclosure allowing the bees to choose sugar syrup laced with a test chemical or without. The chemicals included three fungicides and two herbicides at various concentrations. The researchers were taken aback to find the bees choosing one of the fungicides."It was a surprise when they actually liked them," Berenbaum told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone, adding that it could explain why fungicide contamination in hives was so common. "This is not anything that anyone had even thought about before so we need to readjust our focus because there certainly could be implications for agriculture..."However, she said the bees actively avoided a second tested fungicide and were neutral about a third.The scientists said the findings were "worrisome" in light of research showing fungicides interfere with honeybees' ability to metabolise pesticides used by beekeepers to kill parasitic mites that infest their hives.The scientists were also surprised to find the bees showed a taste for the widely used herbicide glyphosate.A study by the Center for Biological Diversity last year said hundreds of native bee species in North America and Hawaii were sliding towards extinction. It said bees provided more than $3bn in fruit-pollination services each year in the United States.Experts have blamed habitat loss, heavy pesticide use, climate change and increasing urbanisation for declining numbers.The United Nations recently announced an annual World Bee Day on May 20 to raise awareness of their importance and declining numbers. To succeed with a claim of unfair discrimination based on an arbitrary ground, an employee would need to adduce evidence or establish link between the arbitrary ground and the differentiation complained of. There may be other plausible reasons justifying pay differential such as a difference in workload which justifies the difference in pay between employees. Court's decision Importance of this case In the case of Minister of Correctional Services & others v Duma (2017), the Labour Appeal Court (LAC) had to consider this issue. The respondent (Employee) was appointed to the post of senior correctional officer on a salary level 8. After the appointment, the employee became aware that employees at various places in four other provinces who performed the same work with the same job description were on salary level 9, and earned a higher remuneration than she did. The employee believed that she was discriminated against on the ground of her geographical location. The employee contended that she was doing the same amount of work the as four colleagues in other provinces and that it was discriminatory of the employer to compensate her less than the others. The employer agreed that employees in the same position as the employee would perform the same kind of work no matter where they are located; however, the volume work would differ from region to region.The LAC noted that section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998 (EEA) provides that No person may unfairly discriminate, directly or indirectly, against an employee in an employment policy or practice on one or a number of the grounds set out in the section, which include on any other arbitrary ground. Furthermore, in terms of section 6(4), differences in remuneration between employees who perform the same or substantially the same work based on one of the grounds in section 6(1) amounts to unfair discrimination.The LAC noted further that the employee bore the burden to prove that the conduct complained of clearly amounted to a differentiation on geographical grounds and that it was unfair and impaired her dignity.The employee was required, at a minimum to show that the nature and volume of the work was similar to that of employees in the same position in other provinces who occupied a higher grade level and thus the ground of differentiation was in fact geographic location.The LAC held that the employee did not provide concrete evidence of this other than the inferences drawn by the employee. Accordingly, the employee had not proven that the differentiation was as a result of geographic location and there were other plausible reasons, such a differences in workload, which could explain the differentiation.When claiming that the reason for a difference in pay or remuneration is based on an arbitrary ground, the employee bears the burden of proving not only that the difference is due to the ground on which they rely but also that it amounts to unfair discrimination. The Department of Health will be submitting plans to amend legislation around smoking this year. Are the proposed changes entirely reasonable? The New Smoking Laws Plans to amend legislation around smoking and vaping have been in the pipeline for some time now. Two months ago, however, the Department of Health revealed that it would be submitting its plans to the cabinet early this year.Most people are in favour of stricter smoking laws. It is well-known that smoking is bad for us. We have also heard that it is bad for the people around us. Everybody has the choice, though, whether we would like to inflict harm upon our bodies in the privacy of our own homes or not. We have the choice whether or not to buy cigarettes. We may keep on smoking and yes we may even to continue with our silly vaping.Lets get to the real victims here...Many things are about to change, should this bill be approved by Parliament. The Department of Healths draft legislation aims to prohibit smoking in all public areas, whether indoors or outdoors. Smoking areas in bars, clubs or restaurants will become a thing of the past, lost forever to the history books. We will not be allowed to smoke anywhere outdoors within 10m of a public entrance or window.They have plans to ban the display of cigarettes at retailers. What exactly will happen to all the tobacconists is still up in the air. Furthermore, in the governments wider war against cigarettes, all recognisable branding will be removed from cigarette packs. Only the name of the brand will remain. Presumably in the dullest font imaginable upon a plain, ugly-coloured pack. No doubt theyll keep the usual smoking warnings. It may also be possible that these will be accompanied by gruesome anti-smoking images. Weve already seen this implemented in Australia to great effect.Read the full article on CompareGuru Recognising the opportunities that can be unlocked with a strong maths and science education, Standard Bank is offering discounted access to Siyavula, a powerful maths- and science-centred online learning platform. Wavebreak Media Ltd 123RF.com South Africas economic success depends, to a large extent, on improving the nations maths and science scores at primary and high school level. Not only will a strong focus on STEM subjects help to reinvigorate the economy with skills that are currently considered scarce, but students who excel in such subjects have greater access to a larger number of career opportunities.Standard Bank has partnered with Siyavula to enable students to set their own learning goals and practice an unlimited number of exercises at an appropriate level of difficulty. Available for grades 8 to 12, the adaptive learning digital app platform provides students with immediate, detailed feedback so they can track their progress throughout the year.Siyavula takes learning to the next level: the system explored the key elements of the learning process and came up with a solution that can dramatically improve technical maths and science understanding and outcomes all in the comfort of the students own home. Standard Bank has made a discount available for online purchases, with their customers qualifying for discounts of up to 50%.To take advantage of Standard Banks discounts on Siyavula and help your children reach their next, go to www.siyavula.com When the tide pulls back before a tsunami hits, they say that the beach is littered with beautiful starfish. Often people go down onto the beach and collect these star-shaped echinoderms, admiring their bright colours. In the distance, however the power of the ensuing wave builds. Jade Jacobsohn Reading the newspapers last week as the results of the National Senior Certificate (matric) were released felt a little bit like watching those people on the beach, happily collecting starfish. 75.1% of learners who wrote the matric exams passed them. Our politicians cheered, and we celebrated the astounding triumphs of high-performing students particularly those who achieved against all odds. Learners who were the first in their families to matriculate, who not only achieved multiple distinctions, but who will go on to study fields such as astrophysics. Learners who attended rural schools that didnt have enough teachers for all subjects, but who aced the toughies like mathematics and the sciences.These are bright and beautiful starfish indeed, but we would be wise to pay heed to the rising tide behind them and, importantly, what is happening on the ocean floor of South Africas education system causing the build-up.There are already some who are cognisant of this cataclysmic wave made up of the learners who didnt quite make it through. And its not only the 14.9% of matrics who wrote but failed the exams that we are talking about here, its also the half-a-million odd learners who enrolled in Grade 1 12 years ago and who didnt even sit the exams, that make up this looming watery mass.But our matric-result infatuation needs to move even deeper than that. It needs to shift to the early years of a childs life where the hardwiring for success, or failure, takes place.Last year closed with the release of another set of education results: that eight out of 10 nine-year-olds in South Africa are functionally illiterate, and that our childrens reading comprehension abilities scored lowest compared to the children in the 49 other countries that participated in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).It begs the obvious question: if children are unable to read, how are they able to meaningfully progress through the schooling system? According to PIRLS, 78% of our Grade 4s will be playing an exhausting game of constant catch-up.If we truly care about our national matric pass rate (and what it means for the future of our country), lets save ourselves a great deal of both effort and money by directing our energies to ensuring children have a solid educational foundation. We need to start at the beginning.How about each year, we dissectpart of our society? Lets become obsessed with early numeracy and literacy rates, and the creative ways in which they can be improved. Lets become absorbed by the quality of teaching in preschools and primary schools, and find complementary partnerships to ensure that all key areas for unlocking childrens potential are addressed: nurturing care, stimulation, nutrition and protection. Lets become play-advocates evangelising its central role in childrens learning. As a nation, lets pledge to do whatever we can to see that children get to read for enjoyment so that books become less scary. Lets invest in this phase of education that yields the highest rates of return, and then lets monitor the progress of the education department, non-profits and other actors in this sector.Finally, lets dive right to the ocean floor and see what other bright and beautiful starfish we can find. Those government officials who understand that poor early education exacerbates inequality and stifles economic potential. Those same officials who make sure classrooms are filled with books in childrens home languages as well as English, and who enforce policies that create opportunities for children to fall in love with reading.Lets raise up and celebrate the teachers, early childhood development practitioners, and every day South Africans whose efforts help turn the tide and contribute towards a future filled with employable youth, critical thinkers, empathetic citizens, and parents who are able to pass these early lessons on to their own children someday. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism has announced new fee rates and charges to be paid by tour operators and safari outfitters following the amendment of tourism fees and charges regulation. According to a statement signed by the ministry's permanent secretary, Major General Gaudence Milanzi, the amendments have been gazetted in the Government Notice No. 506, December 29, 2017. Wolk9 via pixabay He said that for locals or companies whose majority shareholders are citizens owning at least one or three vehicles, they will be required to pay Tanzanian shillings equivalent to $500."Those with four up to 10 cars will be required to pay the equivalent of $2,000 and $3,000 for companies with 11 to 50 cars, while those with 51 and more cars, they will pay the fee of $5,000," he said.In another development, the PS said that for non-citizens or companies whose majority shareholders are non-citizens, these will pay $5,000 for 10 to 30 cars. While companies with 31 up to 50 cars will pay $7,500, and those with 51 and more cars will pay $10,000.He said following the amendment, the existing 2017 business licences for tour operators and safari outfitters have been extended to 31 January 2018 to enable preparations for renewal under the new licence fee structure.Milanzi said applications for new business licence registration and for tour operators and safari outfitters for this year for both existing and new businesses are currently being received. "All existing business are required to submit copies of vehicle registration as well as copies of business licence for the year 2017," he said.On 10 and 11 December last year, Tourism minister Hamisi Kigwangalla met with the sector stakeholders in Arusha to inform them of the new licence fees with the aim of increasing government revenues as well as including small firms with few cars in the business. 2017 saw many organisations across the globe fall victim to some very serious cyberattacks. In fact, the WannaCry and ExPetya ransomware attack(s) clearly demonstrated that it doesn't always take a hugely sophisticated outbreak to cause massive damage. Riaan Badenhorst, general manager at Kaspersky Lab Africa Of course, we know that the cyberthreat landscape is growing at a quicker pace than it did years ago. Given this, what type of attacks are likely to be seen in 2018 and beyond, as cybercriminals become more tactical in their approach? The continued rise in ransomware An increase in high-end mobile malware We estimate that in 2018 more high-end APT malware for mobile will be discovered. More attacks targeted at routers and modems A focus on cryptocurrency Yet, as cryptocurrencies gain traction, so too will threats targeted at this digital currency. Install critical software patches released by developers and use the latest software versions always in business networks. Ensure that security solutions are switched on for all nodes on a corporate network. Avoid running open attachments from untrusted sources. Always backup sensitive data to external storage - and keep it offline. The reality is that the cybercriminal industry is growing leaving many wondering when, and if, their business will be next on the list and what the consequences will be.According to our research (in partnership with B2B International), large enterprises in the Middle East, Turkey and South Africa pay an average of $591K per security incident. While costly, the real challenge presented by targeted attacks is that they also cause severe reputational damage to a business one where costs can run very high.The past year has seen many cases of ransomware attacks emerge. Most recently was Bad Rabbit . In fact, the number of ransomware notifications reported by Kaspersky Lab in the META region increased by 36% in 2017 (compared to the first quarter of 2016).These incidents will likely continue into 2018 given the increased availability of ransomware-as-a-service. Ransomware is growing in sophistication and diversity, offering a lot of ready-to-go solutions to those with fewer skills, resources or time through a growing and increasingly efficient underground ecosystem.As the world has continued to be heavily reliant on mobile technology, over the past few years, the security community has uncovered advanced malware targeted at mobile devices which, when combined with exploits, creates a very powerful cybercrime weapon against which there is little protection.Our assessment is that the total number of mobile malware existing in the wild is likely higher than currently reported, due to shortcomings in telemetry that makes these more difficult to spot and eradicate.A known area of vulnerability that has been vastly unnoticed over the past few years is that of routers and modems. Used in many enterprises, these pieces of hardware tend to be everywhere as they play an important role in daily business operations.These little computers are internet-facing by design and therefore are a key target for an attacker with the intent on gaining access to a network, and could even allow an attacker to hide their trail.Given that not much attention has been paid to these devices, attackers will likely place a strong focus on using these in their tactics in 2018.Not so long ago, there was only one cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Today, however, as many as 50 of them exist. In fact, in some countries, governments and banks have to accept cryptocurrencies, which means that banks are considering developing their own financial blockchain-based services.However, as with any new technology, there is the risk of new threats and vulnerabilities. Cryptocurrencies are no exception. Towards the end of 2017, our researchers discovered a new CryptoShuffler Trojan , which was designed to change the addresses of users cryptocurrency wallets in the infected devices clipboard (a software facility used for short-term data storage). While clipboard hijacking attacks have been known for years, redirecting users to malicious websites and targeting online payments systems, involving a cryptocurrency host address, have been rare.If we take the above into consideration and just given the harsh realities felt by the WannaCry ransomware attack not to mention the highly destructive ExPetr/NotPetya/Petya attacks that occurred in 2017 more needs to be done in the way of cybersecurity by organisations.Businesses must invest differently in cybersecurity measures focusing on solutions that offer them the ability to be threat intelligent and well prepared should an attack occur. Furthermore, to ensure better protection against unknown attacks, following the below steps can be useful:It only takes one successful attack on the companys IT network for the cybercriminal or gang to steal critical company data or hold a business ransom. While 100% protection against attacks can never be guaranteed, having a view of possible threats and placing a focus on cybersecurity measures can go a long way in minimising the possible damages. Carless commuting is cruising in the fast lane at the Consumer Electronics Show, with companies showing off electric bicycles, scooters, skateboards and more aimed at making the internal combustion engine a thing of the past. Jakub Jirsak via 123RF As the ranks of people around the world living in cities has grown, so too has the cost of car ownership as well as traffic congestion.Nowhere was this more apparent than at the annual tech gathering in Las Vegas where some 170,000 conference goers jammed the streets."In a lot of big cities, cars aren't tenable anymore," said tech analyst Jack Gold of J. Gold Associates.An AFP reporter testing the car-free concept through the week at CES by relying on a freshly released GenZe electric bicycle consistently sailed past clogged traffic near the convention centre and on the famed Las Vegas Strip.Riders too tired or lazy to pedal meanwhile can twist a throttle to glide along at close to local street speed limits.GenZe spokesman Tom Valasek, a former auto industry marketing executive, said that several car makers had come to check out the company's CES exhibit."There is a lot of curiosity right now about where things are heading," Valasek told AFP."I know a lot of people in the auto industry who are quite worried that car ownership is going away."The popularity of smartphone-summoned rides from services such as Uber and Lyft are playing into the trend, with technology giants investing heavily in self-driving capabilities that could soon see automated vehicles available on-demand."We believe car ownership makes no sense in the future," Lyft chief executive John Zimmer said at a CES dinner event.Zimmer doubted that his daughter, now a young child, will want to own a car when she is of age. Instead, he said: "She'll want access to transportation."A boom of autonomous cars would likely prompt vehicles to evolve to be more akin to rooms on wheels: sleeper cabins in trains, or private offices, Zimmer added.A shift away from owning and relying on cars was also expected to result in traffic and parking becoming less of a priority in urban design.GenZe, a US-based division of the Mahindra Group in India, this week announced its e-bikes will be added in April to a Ford GoBike ride-share program in San Francisco.The e-bikes should "help to make San Francisco more livable and reduce congestion," Metropolitan Transportation Commission deputy executive Alix Bockelman said in a release.Leading online social network Facebook has a fleet of 100 GenZe bikes for employees to get around its Silicon Valley campus, and they are also used by delivery services DoorDash and Postmates, according to Valasek.Despite negative publicity about hoverboards a few years ago - centred on their tendency to explode - the manufacturer Swagtron was at CES with some of those devices along with skateboards and bicycles boosted with electric motors."We are seeing with personal mobility that some people like to skate; some people like to scoot, and some people like to ride," Swagtron chief operating officer Andrew Koven told AFP.Koven saw alternatives to cars as an "absolute necessity" that was part of a "systemic shift" toward getting around in ways that are economical as well as socially and environmentally responsible."If I am commuting a short distance to work, do I really need a car?" analyst Gold asked rhetorically.Cities are already eyeing autonomous shuttle services.A self-driving electric shuttle built by Navya was introduced here last year in a test that segued into a program providing rides on a route in downtown Las Vegas.Swiss-based Rinspeed also showed its autonomous shuttle, and Toyota introduced a boxy concept vehicle which could be used for ridesharing, deliveries, medical services or as an extension of retail stores.Plenty of new cars were shown at CES including a number of self-driving models. But some attendees said that the vehicle of the future may be something different.Automakers "have been building cars from the driver's perspective," said Ankit Jain, head of the Ola Play software platform for the India-based rideshare group.In future vehicles which may be autonomous, "the passenger is the one paying," Jain said."You have to fundamentally rethink the car."Source: AFP An agreement between the state-owned companies Angolan Airlines (TAAG) and South African Airlines (SAA), dubbed Codeshare, signed in the ambit of a commercial contract that is intended to provide better air transportation services in the Luanda-Johannesburg route entered into force recently. Adrian Pingstone via WC On a joint communique that has reached Angop, the two public airlines inform that the SAA has its flight code included in the TAAG flights to Johannesburg and Cape Town since last week Tuesday, while the Angolan Airlines (TAAG) had its flight code placed last Sunday in the flights of the SAA to Harare, Lusaka, and Hong Kong.The acting commercial director of the SAA, Aaron Munetsi said on Sunday to Angop that his company values the relations with TAAG and that the board are anxious to strengthen this partnership, by creating a good flight experience for customers.On his turn, William Boulter, TAAG's director, said that the agreement represents a strong partnership that will provide better flight connections for many customers, which will enable the company to offer new flight services, such as to Hong Kong, and increase the options to Harare (Zimbabwe), and Lusaka (Zambia).He said he is sure that the agreement will bring Angola and South Africa closer together and contribute to the development of the economy of both countries.Codeshare is a co-operation agreement through which one airliner can transport passengers whose tickets are issued by another air company. The objective is to offer customers more destinations than what a company can offer by acting simply on its own. It is self-evident that without sufficient water, SA cannot thrive; perhaps it is too profound a necessity to express in ordinary words for, to South Africans, it is said to mean more than life. This, too, may be self-evident, but if an authority is needed, this is how the poet Antjie Krog puts it in the preamble to one of many policy documents published by the Department of Water and Sanitation: "With water we will wash away the past, we will from now on ever be bounded by the blessing of water."Yet, for millions of South Africans, this is a receding dream. UN data shows that nearly all urban dwellers in formal settlements now have access to piped water and that about 80% of rural areas have improved access, up from about 66% in 1990.However, recurring crises have shown it is readily and frequently reversed, as during the emergencies in Cape Town and at Ugu in KwaZulu-Natal. There, SA's cyclical and perennial droughts, along with ageing and inadequate infrastructure, poor maintenance and planning and capacity constraints, specifically at local government level, are being blamed for "Day Zero" - when the taps run dry.Administrative fiat may also lead to Day Zero. In November 2017, the Department of Water and Sanitation put 30 municipalities on notice that their water supply would be restricted unless they paid their overdue water debt.For people living in higher lying areas, Day Zero had arrived. The department acknowledges some "challenges". Its spokesman, Sputnik Ratau, says "the fiscus is unable to comprehensively fund water and sanitation infrastructure due, in part, to the competing interests to a finite amount of money".It also has difficulties with operating and maintaining existing infrastructure, particularly at local government level. In part, this is due to a lack of technical skill and vandalism and theft.To tackle its problems, it has called for help from the private sector, most recently at an investment conference in December 2017.Water projects, mainly to supply bulk water, have drawn investment in long-term instruments, such as the bonds issued by the state-owned agencies Umgeni Water and the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority, both of which have high investment ratings.The 2017 conference was not a bond auction, though, but a call for participation in public-private partnerships (PPPs), and for these there is much less appetite. Prof Raymond Parsons, who compiles SA's quarterlyindex, says there is a lack of clear, unequivocal and serious political commitment and leadership in respect of PPPs.Related to this, he says, is "a weak and unpredictable" PPP deal flow, which is connected to the absence of a definitive long-term infrastructure plan, despite the existence of the Presidential Infrastructural Coordinating Commission.There has been "little reliable information on the infrastructure project pipeline", he says. This is compounded by a low technical capacity to drive the transactions, high transaction costs and long lead times, he says."The concern is less about the [supported] rigour of the process than with the additional transaction costs added by political risks that bids might be arbitrarily suspended and have long delays in reaching financial closure."Parsons says there has been a "considerable sagging of confidence" in the prospects for PPPs. "They have likely also become a casualty of the overall rise in policy uncertainty captured by the [Policy Uncertainty] index."The problem with the government's policy, says Prof Anthony Turton, an expert on the political consequences of breakdowns in water-supply systems, is that there is no clear and coherent policy."Without clear policy, no capital or technology can flow into the water sector. Therefore, all executive decision makers at the three tiers of government need to reflect on a coherent policy statement. The National Water Act is not a policy. The National Water Resource Strategy is not a policy. The National Development Plan is not a policy. Law, strategy, regulations and policy are not the same thing."Two key policy points do emerge from the department's papers. First, the government remains committed to extending an improved water supply to all citizens by developing infrastructure.Second, the department's position is that infrastructure development must "directly address the linkages between water management and the developmental and transformational goals of [the] government".This may serve to wash away the past, as Krog writes, but whether it will prevent a day zero is not certain. In the 1980s and 1990s parts of Africa saw a surge in dam building for energy production . After a brief hiatus there has been renewed interested. Many new construction projects are planned and underway across sub-Saharan Africa Hydropower plays a massive role electrifying many countries. Photo: Shutterstock Hydropower represents a significant and rapidly expanding proportion of electricity production in eastern and southern Africa. Around 90% of national electricity generation in Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia comes from hydropower. The share of hydropower in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 20% of electricity production, is likely to grow rapidly. (If South Africa which relies on coal powered electricity was excluded, this figure would be much higher, but separate numbers arent available.) An energy initiative, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa, that has the buy in of all African countries, argues for major hydropower developments within a broader clean power agenda. The initiative argues that this would enable African countries to keep pace with rising demand for electricity. It estimates that total generating capacity, which is presently 125 GW, will need to increase by 6% per year to 2040. The large hydropower dams planned for southern and eastern Africa for construction by 2030 could double the current installed capacity for hydropower taking it from 17 000 MW to 49 000 MW. They include a number of new developments, such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. The Renaissance Dam on its own will have an installed generating capacity of 6000MW. This is similar in size to the worlds largest nuclear power station, Japans Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. The dam will generate just under a quarter of the power generated by the worlds largest hydropower station, the Three Gorges Dam. The new dams in Africa have the potential to meet increased electricity demand. But our research into the links between climate and the water, energy and food nexus in Africa shows that in the longer term the locations of the new planned dams could put the security of electricity supply at risk for large parts of southern and eastern Africa. This is because the majority of planned dams are in the same river basins and will rely on similar patterns of rainfall and hence be vulnerable at the same time to drought and dry years. This will create a vulnerability because a lack of rain and droughts could lead to electricity supply being disrupted. This is why its important to factor climate variability and change into dam design and management, and to diversify the electricity production to avoid over reliance on hydropower. Reliance on hydro is very high Hydropower relies on the flow of water to drive turbines for electricity generation. It uses natural changes in elevation or artificial storage in reservoirs to take advantage of the water level difference. Drought or successive dry years can result in not having enough water to drive electricity generating turbines and a shortage of electricity. In countries like the US and in parts of western Europe hydropower is complimented by other power sources. This means that in times of drought other sources of power can balance the shortfall. But in countries where the energy mix is dominated by hydropower as in sub-Saharan African countries, Norway, and Brazil climate variability is much more of a problem. Without alternative power sources, fluctuations in hydropower can disrupt electricity supply. And supply might need to be turned off either to ration dwindling water resources or because demand simply cant be met. Our study shows that if all the planned large dams are built, 70% of total hydropower generating capacity in eastern Africa will depend on rain within the same rainfall clusters by 2030. In southern Africa, 59% of hydropower generation will depend on a single area of similar rainfall variability. Rainfall clusters represent large areas that experience similar rainfall patterns. Sometimes this happens because they are influenced by climate phenomena like El-Nino events, where ocean and atmospheric shifts in the Pacific Ocean influence weather and climate across the tropics. This includes much of eastern and southern Africa. For example, the Nile and Zambezi, where multiple dams are planned on the same river channels, lie in the same rainfall clusters. This means that dry years will affect storage in all the dams. This will lessen their ability to refill fully. This could create a significant challenge for the supply of hydropower. There are already examples of this happening. In December 2017 Malawis state owned electricity company saw power output plummeting after a severe drought. Malawi relies almost entirely on hydropower. And during the 201516 El Nino event, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe all experienced electricity outages due in part to reduced rainfall. Climate risks must be built into planning Infrastructure around the world is being put to the test as a result of new combinations of intensity and duration of extreme weather associated with climate change. Its therefore critical that the resilience of infrastructure is tested. This is particularly true when it comes to river flow in many of Africas river basins because they are highly sensitive to changes in rainfall. Although climate model projections of future rainfall still include wetting and drying throughout Africa, studies of the impact on hydropower generally show high sensitivities. These new findings, together with the increasing importance of hydropower and the potential for increasing levels of rainfall variability under climate change, underscore the need to incorporate climate risks into infrastructure planning in Africa. This article was originally published on The Conversation . Read the original article Plan B Dessertery, a KwaZulu-Natal brand introduced by the founders of Wakaberry, has opened its doors in The Zone @ Rosebank in Johannesburg. With a focus on innovative desserts like warm bubbles waffles, freshly-rolled dessert tacos and filled churros, the inspiration for Plan B Dessertery comes from internationally popular street food desserts foods that are easy to hold, that you dont have to sit down with a knife and fork to eat.The fourth in a chain of Plan B Dessertery stores to open, The Zone @ Rosebank branch is the first to hit Joburg. Were really excited to introduce this fun concept to Joburg, says Carla Fitton, franchisee for Plan B Dessertery, The Zone @ Rosebank.Patrons to Plan B Dessertery will appreciate the conscious approach to fresh, delicious produce and local suppliers, explains Fitton. We take extra care to make sure that each and every bubble waffle, churro or taco is perfection. Each day, we carefully check batters, mixtures and machines to serve only the best quality desserts.The dessert brand also offers a unique coffee blend from Terbodore Coffee, which is 100% Arabica from Brazil, Uganda and Ethiopia. The blend is roasted in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands especially for Plan B Dessertery. LAS VEGAS - Facebook on Thursday announced a major update that will put friends and family above pages or celebrities in a user's news feed -- and likely result in people spending less time on the leading social network. The change to the way Facebook ranks posts will put more weight on social interactions and relationships, according to News Feed product manager John Hegeman."This is a big change," Hegeman told AFP."People will actually spend less time on Facebook, but we feel good about that because it will make the time they do spend more valuable, and be good for our business in the end."For example, a family video clip posted by a spouse will be deemed more worthy of attention than a snippet from a star or favourite restaurant."We think people interaction is more important than passively consuming content," Hegeman said."This will be one of the more important updates that we have made."Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg has said that bringing people together and strengthening communities in the real world are priorities.The news feed ranking update, which is set to roll out globally in the coming weeks, is expected to support that goal."As we roll this out, you'll see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media," Zuckerberg said in a post at his Facebook page."And the public content you see more will be held to the same standard -- it should encourage meaningful interactions between people."Google, Twitter and Facebook have come under fire for allowing the spread of bogus news -- some of which was directed by Russia -- ahead of the 2016 US election and in other countries.Facebook has introduced a series of changes intended to address the problem."We are doing a ton of work to reduce the frequency of bad content on Facebook," Hegeman said."This update is more about amplifying the things people value."He cited academic research indicating that interacting with loved ones is crucial to a person's wellbeing, while reading news articles or watching shared videos may not be."There is really no silver bullet here to determine what is most meaningful, but we are trying to mine the signals to get the best representation that we can," Hegeman said.Known for setting annual personal goals ranging from killing his own food to learning Mandarin, Zuckerberg's stated mission for this year is to 'fix' the social network, including by targeting abuse and hate, and making sure visiting Facebook is time well spent."I'm changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions," Zuckerberg said Thursday. Update: US President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to respond to reports that he referred to Africa, Haiti and El Salvador as "shitholes". abdallahh via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made - a big setback for DACA! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 "Let me be clear.... the people of Haiti have been through more, withstood more, fought back against more injustice... than our President ever has" Anderson Cooper choked back tears as he reflected on his relationship with Haiti, and its people https://t.co/3arEalkKOM Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) January 12, 2018 The significance is bigger than shithole. The presidents supporters are pushing hard for a merit-based immigration model, but Trump today didnt say he wants more doctors, engineers or scientists. He said he wants Norway. And Norway is not a skill. https://t.co/XlhW1Z9Kgo Nick Miroff (@NickMiroff) January 12, 2018 Worth noting that today is Alexander Hamiltons Birthday - you know, the immigrant kid who came from the shithole of Nevis to create the USA John Avlon (@JohnAvlon) January 12, 2018 Maintenant que le monde entier est au courant, allons-nous nous complaire dans cette image? Rien faire pour la changer ? Allons-nous continuer d'alimenter les fatras ambiants et les betises chantantes qui nous servent d'ornements? Eske nou rann nou kont kibo nou ye? https://t.co/Fo8JuBTYLX Frantz Duval (@Frantzduval) January 12, 2018 Throughout the 1980s, the US armed, trained and financed murderous paramilitaries in El Salvador. The junta killed tens of thousands. The murderer of Archbishop Oscar Romero? US-trained. The murderers of 6 Jesuit priests? US-trained. The US wanted El Salvador to be a shithole. jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) January 12, 2018 Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! This countrys greatness and true genius lies in its diversity. James Comey (@Comey) January 12, 2018 Mr. President, immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti and the 54 countries in Africa likely helped build your buildings. Theyve certainly helped build our country. cc @POTUS https://t.co/hv1QYRoRy3 Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) January 11, 2018 .@realDonaldTrump, your mouth is the foulest shithole in the world. With what authority do you proclaim whos welcome in America and whos not. Americas greatness is built on diversity, or have you forgotten your immigrant background, Donald? Vicente Fox Quesada (@VicenteFoxQue) January 11, 2018 We need comprehensive immigration reform that reflects our values as a country and recognizes our economic needs. This requires a merit-based system that attracts talented, freedom-loving individuals from across the globe, whether they are from Haiti, Norway or anywhere else 2/2 Jeb Bush (@JebBush) January 12, 2018 The president is a racist. He has been for his entire public life. If you vote(d) for him, you do so because of that or despite that. We need a multi-racial anti-racist coalition to defeat him and try to heal our nation. John Legend (@johnlegend) January 12, 2018 In the morning, when u wake up, call your Senators &members of Congress 202-225-3121 & say, "I'm an American. My family originally came from the shithole country of (fill in the blank). On Nov 6th, I will be bringing my shithole self & and a shitload of others to the polls." Michael Moore (@MMFlint) January 12, 2018 The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used, he tweeted.What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made a big setback for DACA!African countries, Haiti and seemingly other nations that arent from Norway have been labelled as shithole countries by US President Donald Trump Friday. This is according to sources present in an Oval Office meeting regarding immigration reforms.The news soon hit social media, with users across Twitter and mainstream media calling out Trump on his statement. #ShitholeCountries and Haitians were all trending across North America and major cities across the world early Friday.CNN anchor Anderson Cooper led the conversation, with a outro during his Anderson Cooper 360 show.[T]he people of Haiti have been through more, withstood more, fought back against more injustice than our President ever has, he remarked, in a tweet worth some 64,000 likes and 33,000 retweets.Other reporters also had their say.The Washington Posts Nick Miroff snarkily noted the potential significance of the comment.The presidents supporters are pushing hard for a merit-based immigration model, but Trump today didnt say he wants more doctors, engineers or scientists, he tweeted.He said he wants Norway'. And Norway is not a skill.The Daily Beasts John Avlon reminded Twitter that today was a famous immigrants birthday.Haitian journalist Frantz Duval also weighed in with a more emotional statement.Now that the whole world is aware, are we going to take pleasure in this image? Nothing to change it? Are we going to continue to feed the jumble and the singing nonsense that we use as ornaments? he tweeted in French.The Intercepts Jeremy Scahill noted the irony of the shithole statement, highlighting Americas involvement in the likes of El Salvador during the 1980s.Former FBI Director James Comey quoted lines from Emma Lazaruss The New Colossus the sonnet written on the lower pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.This countrys greatness and true genius lies in its diversity, he added.Mr. President, immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti and the 54 countries in Africa likely helped build your buildings. Theyve certainly helped build our country, tweeted Chelsea Clinton early Friday, tagging @POTUS in the post.Mexicos former President Vincente Fox perhaps had the most scathing tweet directed to Trump.[Y]our mouth is the foulest shithole in the world, he wrote, mentioning Trumps personal account directly.With what authority do you proclaim whos welcome in America and whos not. Americas greatness is built on diversity, or have you forgotten your immigrant background, Donald?The tweet received some 111 000 likes and close to 44 000 comments at the time of writing.As Florida is home to the largest Haitian population in the United States, the states governor Jeb Bush issued a wordy statement on Twitter, calling for comprehensive immigration reform, but also highlighted that the system should be based on merit.But the effects of Trumps statement has also breached politics and media. The likes of John Legend led celebrity conversation, calling the US President racist.The president is a racist. He has been for his entire public life. If you vote(d) for him, you do so because of that or despite that. We need a multi-racial anti-racist coalition to defeat him and try to heal our nation, wrote Legend.Filmmaker Michael Moore called on American immigrants to take action, citing the countrys next general elections on 6 November. NEW YORK - Facebook's move to highlight posts from friends and family over those from brands and publications follows months of turmoil for the social network and will result in lower advertising revenue - at least in the short-term, analysts said. UNITED STATES Facebook updates News Feed to make friends a priority SOUTH AFRICA Facebook announces major changes to 'pages' organic reach Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the shift in the configuration of the News Feed on Thursday, saying it would reduce engagement by users at first but would lead to their improved "well-being".While Zuckerberg described the move as being designed to bring people closer together and foster more "meaningful social interactions", analysts noted that it comes amid criticism of the world's leading social network on various fronts.Facebook has been under fire for months for the proliferation of Russian-created "fake news" on the platform that may have impacted the 2016 presidential election.Zuckerberg initially scoffed at the suggestion Facebook had been used as a Russian propaganda tool, before acknowledging that mistakes had been made and promising to do better in 2018.Facebook revealed in September that "inauthentic" accounts created in Russia had purchased advertising on the site designed to increase tensions during the election campaign.A USA Today/Suffolk University poll published in October found that Americans believed by a two-to-one margin that Facebook should have done more to identify and reveal the Russian ads.In September, in another blow for the social network, ProPublica reported that Facebook's ad-buying platform could be used to deliver ads to users who identify as anti-Semites.Facebook said it quickly shut that capability down.The company also took a number of steps to eliminate graphic or violent content on the site following several incidents, including the live-streamed murder of a young girl in Thailand.A USA Today/Suffolk University poll published in October found that Americans believed by a two-to-one margin that Facebook should have done more to identify and reveal the Russian ads.Despite some turbulence, Facebook appears to have weathered the storms so far.A study published in August by NetBase found that Facebook is still the preferred brand of Internet users.In September, the latest month for which figures are available, Facebook's total number of users was up 16 percent over a year earlier to 2.07 billion.And while Facebook suffered on the stock market on Friday -- its shares lost 4.47% -- analysts said they did not expect it to last."We believe these changes will be beneficial to Facebook in the medium and long term," said Brian Weiser of the Pivotal Research Group. "In our view, making the feed more relevant should boost user and engagement growth over time."Facebook is making the service more social and less media, and that's likely a positive for the vast majority of users," Weiser said.RBC Capital Markets said lower user engagement with the site may provide a "headwind to growth in the near-term," but the changes will be "helpful for the long-term health of the business."While analysts were sanguine, some users, particularly publishers, were worried.Susann Hoffman, co-founder of the German website Edition F, said she was upset that the move had been done without any consultation."I am personally quite unhappy with the fact that Facebook decides for its users what is relevant to them and what not," Hoffman said.She argued for more personalisation - giving users a greater ability to decide for themselves which content they would like to see. RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state on Wednesday brought in a law cracking down on ads deemed to be sexist, threatening violators with hefty fines. A woman photographs an image of French movie icon Brigette Bargot at the exhibition '70 years of the Bikini', on 11 July 2016 at La Sucriere in Lyon. Photo: Jean-Philippe Ksiazek / AFP The legislation, in force after being published in the official state government gazette, mirrors a national law currently being studied by a congressional commission.The change poses a challenge to many brands in Brazil that often use images of skimpily-dressed women and suggestive situations to sell everything from beer to cars to mobile phone subscriptions.In Rio de Janeiro state, home to Brazil's most famous city of the same name, such advertising rides on a long tradition of Carnaval and a focus on the beach and flaunting bodies."It is common to see companies in the media using the body of a woman to sell their products. They use it in a sexist way, showing contempt for the woman," a lawmaker heading a women's rights commission in Rio de Janeiro's state legislature, Enfermeira Rejane, said in a statement.The new state law stipulates companies must withdraw offending ads, with initial fines ranging from $10,000 to $200,000. Repeat offenders face bigger fines of up to $400,000.It applies only to companies headquartered in Rio de Janeiro state.Brazil ranks 90 out of 144 countries for gender equality, according to the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum. That was a backslide from 79th place in the previous report. Refilwe Maluleke named MD at Yellowwood Yellowwood has appointed Refilwe Maluleke as its new MD. Maluleke joined Yellowwood as a strategy director in 2016 and has been involved in a number of key marketing strategy projects both in South Africa and across the continent in the telco, financial services and technology sectors. Maluleke has a business science degree with honours in marketing from the University of Cape Town and recently completed her MBA with distinction at Cass Business School in London. The book Le negationnisme economique. Et comment sen debarrasser by Pierre Cahuc and Andre Zylberberg has sparked a heated debate in the French press and academy. Its aim is to uncover the inadequacies, knowledge gaps, errors, and denials on the part of researchers and public actors who criticize economic science, and especially those who criticize the latters dominant current, the so-called mainstream economics. Its main targets are critical economists, particularly heterodox or appalled economists, but also intellectual figures from other scientific disciplines (Pierre Bourdieu, Michel Onfray, Dominique Meda, Axel Kahn), CEOs (Jean-Louis Beffa, Louis Gallois), politicians (Michel Rocard, Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Barbara Romagnan), and newspapers (Alternatives economiques). A Game of Opposition This critique of critique adopts the strategy of the counter-example: It purports to disqualify the critics of economic science by highlighting in each case a finding of economic science that is endowed with a scientific authority presented as indisputable. For skeptics to be convinced, however, these exemplary findings cannot rest on the theoretical assumptions of their authors (as is generally the case in formal theoretical models). Consequently, the book relies on the new experimental findings of economic science derived from the credibility revolution, [1] forcefully claiming that economics has now become an experimental science modeled on the medical sciences. Just as medical researchers can determine the effectiveness of a drugregardless of their prior opinion on the matterby comparing the outcome of patients randomly allocated to two groups, one taking the treatment and the other a placebo, so too can economic science determine the validity of a theoretical mechanism and the effectiveness of an economic policy by means of an experimental approach which similarly compares a treated group and a control group. The authors mention a few experiments based on this canonical experimental approach, such as the Perry Preschool Program and the Moving to Opportunity experiment. However, they rely mainly on empirical methodsthe so-called natural experimentsthat draw on this approach without being able to respect all of its methodological protocol. In natural experiments, it is not researchers who determine and control the allocation of individuals to control and treated groups, but social life that produces similar situations: contiguous territories subject to different policies, selection thresholds distributing affected and unaffected groups on a razors edge, temporal variation in the application of a measure, etc. For example, the increase in the minimum wage in New Jersey, by contrast with Pennsylvania where it remained stable, led to a rise in employment (Chapter 1). The abolition of subsidized loans in 1985 in France reallocated credit in favor of the most profitable projects and revealed the positive impact of finance on growth (Chapter 3). The tax-free fiscal year of 1987 in Iceland, subsequent to the introduction of the withholding tax on income, led to an increase in time worked, thus showing that taxation does discourage economic activity (Chapter 4). The comparison of European regions on either side of the threshold for receiving European aid strongly nuances the notion that public expenditure favors economic development (Chapter 5). Throughout the five central chapters (on industrial policy, finance, taxation, public expenditure, and working time), the authors contradict, by means of (quasi-experimental) economics articles, the arguments of those who favor industrial policy, strict control of finance, working time reduction, or the increase in tax-financed public expenditure. The books vulgarizing approach is welcome. Moreover, its tone is rather pro-marketa point that in itself would merit further discussion. But the book must be evaluated in light of its primary objective, one that is above all epistemological: To denounce the obscurantist imposture of the critique of economic science and to re-establish the authority of true science. Yet beyond the oppositions regarding the merits or limits of free-market economics vs. state interventionism, orthodoxy vs. heterodoxy, experiments vs. theory, pluralism vs. unity, the authors make several questionable points that, far from stimulating scientific debate, effectively paralyze it: offensive connotations, poorly supported allegations of science denial, biased accusations of ignorance, and recourse to arguments from authority. The Terms in Debate The use of the French term negationnisme is not a mere editorial decision. The word appears 58 times in the book. Negationnisme, however, is not an ordinary concept. In law, the notion refers to the denial of crimes against humanity, a denial that is condemned in France by the Gayssot Law. While the crime against humanity is the most severely sanctioned crime, negationnisme is its most serious intellectual counterpart. In the social sciences, the French negationnisme (unlike the English denialism) is exclusively reserved for the ideological and complicit denial of mass massacres. [2] In addition to legal references, a Google Scholar query for this keyword mainly returns references to the denial of the Jewish genocide, as well as some references to the denial of the Rwandan and Armenian genocides, massacres by Japanese troops, colonial crimes, or the repression of 17 October 1961 in France. The authors do not ignore that fact, and the reader is warned from the first pages: The phenomenon about to be denounced will be very different. Negationnisme is redefined as the denial of abundantly documented scientific knowledge (p. 6). Yet the terms of natural language, unlike those of mathematical language, cannot be redefined with the wave of a magic wand. The denotation may change, but the connotation remains. It hurts, it demeans, it offends. And yet, the French language includes words that allow for designating the phenomenon criticized in the book without mobilizing the opprobrium linked to mass massacres: for instance, economic negation or denegation. One could also invent, on the model of climate skepticism, neologisms such as science skepticism or economic skepticism. Are the texts and ideas being criticized the mark of an economic skepticism similar to climate skepticism or creationism, which unfortunately pollute public debate to the detriment of true scientific knowledge? The accusation of science skepticism is serious and should not be formulated lightly. It implies specific conditions, such as common knowledge, a very broad consensus in the research community, very strong and convincing evidence for a body of knowledge, but also deniers who deny, dissimulate, or distort such knowledge and its evidence with arguments that are truncated or made in bad faith, who do not publish on these issues in established scientific outlets, and who are very widely recognized among specialists as fake scientists, etc. The additional difficulty, if one adopts the perspective of the science historian Thomas Kuhn, is that researchers who challenge the dominant paradigm during an episode of scientific revolution can be regarded as science skeptics. The line is difficult to draw between the inspired methodical doubt of the revolutionary genius and the pathological doubt of the ideologue. The Crime of Ignorance The book, however, does not generally meet the conditions for making this accusation. It fails to highlight, in the writings targeted for criticism, blatant denials of solidly established and consensual scientific findings. The alleged offenses, as evidenced by quotations taken mostly from interviews and essays aimed at the general public, and not from more nuanced and documented academic works, are at worst either abusive generalizations or crimes of ignorance. Those who overlook this or that economics article regarded as important by the authors are accused of economic skepticism. To ignore scientific works is certainly regrettable, but it is the most common aspect of scientific life. In any given scientific field, hundreds of texts are published every day, and it is cognitively impossible to master all the information. A scientist will always ignore a text that another will consider important. This is eminently reversibleand, unsurprisingly, the book has been criticized in particular for its ignorance in matters of epistemology. [3] In addition, an empirical finding is valid only under the assumption that the studied phenomenon is adequately measured. An article can be overlooked because it has failed to convince some readers due to the measures limitations, even as it has convinced others. Rational discussion serves to determine the scope and limitations of articles without the need for anathemas. Finally, to justify their very personal selection of empirical studies that allow them to contradict the critique of economics, the authors do not hesitate to supplement their argumentation with the most external hierarchical symbols of scientific reputation: classification of journals, impact factor, researchers ranking, John Bates Clark medal, Nobel Prize. The point is not to deny any informative value to such signs, but to recall that if they are needed to gain adherence, then they function as arguments from authority. One should be able to convince in a rational debate without resorting to this. The Challenge Of and To the 35-Hour Workweek The pages on the 35-hour workweek illustrate these four limitations. The accusations against those who defend the job-creating effects of working time reduction are out of hand (They are completely lost in economic denialism, p. 74). Here, however, the consensus among specialists on the issue is rather that the 35-Hour Workweek laws did create jobs, even if uncertainty remains as to the underlying mechanisms (pure working time reduction, reorganization of work, wage moderation, or decrease in compensation costs). These conclusions are based on scientific articles that use methods comparing treated and control groups that are thoroughly consistent with those promoted in the book. They are credible provided, as always, that the measurement assumptions are met (in this case the absence of selection bias). Faced with these studies, the book Le negationnisme economique brandishes a similar type of article comparing the departments of Alsace-Moselle (treated group), where working time reduction was found to be lower given the possibility of including two local holidays in the count, to the rest of France (control group). [4]This last article, which had the advantage of subtracting the effects of the decrease in compensation costs, showed that working time reduction does not create jobs. But it remained cautious, its finding being valid, here again, only so long as measurement assumptions (i.e., absence of unobserved heterogeneity [5]) were actually verified. In fact, it was criticized precisely on this point, a criticism that was ignored in the book. In order to reinforce the authority of this article and make its omission seem even more culpable, the authors do not hesitate to mention its publication in academic journals worthy of the name (p.73), suggesting, perhaps, the indignity of the journals that published the previous studies. Yet, it turns out that the findings of this articleas often happens in sciencesuffer from two flaws [6]: erroneous computer coding and failure to take into account the impact on working time of cross-border workers (who are numerous in Alsace-Moselle). The correction of these errors yields far less convergent and convincing results, the significance of which is currently under discussion. [7] In retrospect, while the authors may be right that there is no impact of the 35-hour workweek once the decrease in compensation costs has been accounted for, they are very imprudent in making believe that science has definitively settled the question. Thus, the culpable ignorance of researchers, journalists, and deputies who discuss the effects of working time reduction without taking this study into account appears less severe. This discussion can be read as a plea for academic caution and courtesy, which are often dull, formulaic, and also hypocritical when one considers the intensity of underlying convictions. Yet, this mode of expression serves a function: It is that which best allows for the rational evaluation of arguments in a scientific debate. Reviewed: Pierre Cahuc and Andre Zylberberg, Le negationnisme economique. Et comment sen debarrasser, Paris, Flammarion, 2016, 256 p. AIB has called for tax breaks for developers, incentives for private landlords, encouragement for empty-nesters to move homes, and extending the lifespan of the help-to-buy scheme in order to accelerate housebuilding and lower rental costs across the country, writes Padraig Hoare. In its housing supply report out today, the bank says the profit margins developers are working to are constrained and generally range from 10% to 15%, based on its analysis of business cases submitted over the past year. In general, we deem any development that has a profit margin of less than 10% as marginal given the inherent and high risks in building and selling houses, the report said. It called for Vat to be reduced to 9% for developers to stimulate the market. Cutting Vat would directly reduce the cost of building and consequently would improve developers ability to generate their own equity. First, cutting costs would help make marginal projects viable and would see more residential units delivered to the market. Second, an increase in profitability would help developers repair their balance sheets and build equity from their own resources. This, in turn, would allow developers to fund more developments and ultimately increase supply, the report said. Such an approach would also encourage more players to enter the housebuilding market, the bank said. However the Vat cut should be temporary, the report suggested. Cutting Vat may not be the most palatable of policy options and it has its drawbacks. A cut in Vat may not result in a reduction in house prices and might ultimately feed through to higher land prices. That is why the reduction in Vat should only be a temporary measure and should be time bound or linked to housing output, it said. In relation to landlords, AIB said it believed individual private landlords should be encouraged back into the market and placed on a more equal footing with their institutional equivalents. It said large institutional investors will not be a solution to the shortage of rental accommodation and rather, it will fall back on individual landlords to meet this demand. The 20 largest landlords such as Reits, investment funds and companies account for less than 3% of tenancies, the report said. It claimed concessions were required to encourage landlords back into the market. Measures, it said, should be considered include making the Local Property Tax a deductible expense, which would further improve rental cash flows for individual landlords. It also said separating rental income from other forms of income for the purposes of applying a separate tax treatment would be beneficial. A new tax regime could be introduced for small landlords that simplifies their accounting and tax requirements and/or introduces a flat turnover tax in place of income tax on rental profits. Simplifying the tax system and recognising the full suite of rental expenses as deductible expenses would prove attractive to potential investors, the report said. It said a senior housing market should be developed in Ireland in order to free up under-utilised family houses. Empty nesters should be encouraged to move, it said. A key finding was that there was little evidence of housing mobility among this age cohort in Ireland, and significantly less mobility than occurs among this cohort in the UK and the US. The help-to-buy scheme needed more certainty and a fixed period to make it work more effectively, the report said. Developers and funders have made investment and lending decisions based on the assumption that the scheme would be in place until 2019. Any curtailment to the lifetime of the scheme may impact on the viability of some of these developments, it said. Meanwhile, construction activity increased at a faster pace during December amid strong growth of new orders, the Ulster Bank construction purchasing managers index (PMI) said. Total construction activity rose to 58 in December from 56.7 in November. Any reading above the neutral 50 point mark represents a sector in growth mode. Ulster Bank chief economist for the Republic, Simon Barry, said: Overall, the construction PMI is the latest indicator to paint a decidedly upbeat picture of the economys performance at the end of last year. Next week, around 3,000 global movers and shakers will assemble at the annual World Economic Forum gathering in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, writes Kyran Fitzgerald. Donald Trump caused a minor stir in announcing that he would attend the event, where rock stars and charity sector CEOs rub shoulders with titans of technology and finance. The Davos event has grown like topsy since it was originally conceived back in 1971 by Swiss Professor, Klaus Schwab. The forum has an annual turnover of over $200m, these days. It employs over 600, mainly in Geneva. Klaus and wife Hilde have built up various spin-off network enterprises, including a Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, a Forum for Young Global Leaders and a Network of Global Agenda Companies. Then there are the Global Future Councils attended by over 1,000 of the worlds leading thinkers. If you want to join the gathering in the snowy hills, be prepared to cough up. In 2011, Business Insider detailed some of the costs. First, you pay an annual sub of $52,000. Tickets into Davos cost $19,000 each. Getting there by private jet, perhaps, $30,000. To attend a private industry session, you become an industry associate. The cost in 2011 was $137,000 a year. To bring a colleague, it is necessary to get an upgraded annual membership at $263,000 a year. If you want to bring up to five colleagues, you upgrade to strategic partner at a cost of $527,000. Then you can also sponsor a session becoming a panel member in the process at cost unknown. All this before your company has considered the cost of throwing a party. The Swiss know how to get their pound of flesh. What attendees get in return is the chance to rub shoulders with scores of key customers, government officials, regulators and the chance to build new networks. This really is where the sunny uplands of globalisation are located. Davos has been a forum where corporate capitalism is celebrated in a suave understated manner and where hats are touched in the direction of rapidly emerging regions, sectors and firms. After the crash, some speakers chose to don sackcloth and ashes. CEO of Standard Chartered Bank, Peter Sands talked of how the relationship between banks and society had changed irreversibly and how, as an industry, we have managed to be tone deaf and insensitive. But as recovery spread out of Asia and to other emerging economies, it soon came to be a case of business as usual. The globalisation gravy train was rolling again as hundreds more millions joined the middle classes and the global business barons gathered in fresh wedges of loot. In 2016, the CEOs of Americas top 500 companies gave themselves a collective pay rise of 16%. The average CEO of one of the USs 350 largest companies takes home more than five times the annual earnings of a typical individual in the top 0.1%. The gap between the richest and the very richest is growing. Of course, the overall income and asset gap has grown in leaps and bounds since 1971 when Mr Schwab first put together his conference. Since 2000, global wages have been held in check by offshoring, the emergence of low cost competition and technology led disruption. While there has been a recovery in global wage growth since 2010, it has been modest and a deceleration has set in, according to the International Labour Organisation. One quarter of total wages in Europe now go to the top 10% of earners, with less than 30% going to the bottom half. The slowdown in wage growth has affected emerging economies. Growth has tailed back from 6.6% in 2012 to 2.5% in 2015 as many of these economies hit the wall. Recent geopolitical events have challenged the presumption that greater financial and economic interdependence would foster the spread of democracy and boost stability. Events in the Middle East, North Africa and the former Soviet bloc countries provide a cautionary tail never mind the recent disruptive events in the US and EU area. This years Davos theme is Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World. Will the drivers of the new world order take some time out to consider the implications of the changes they have helped to unleash or will it be a case of onward and ever upward as the corporate chiefs catch up on the lives of their customers and friends and engage in serious schmoozing over the chilled wines, roasted meats and melted cheese? Older people could be eligible for equity release loans for the first time in 10 years under new proposals by AIB. The bank has released a series of initiatives aimed at helping older people to downsize and supporting the development of retirement villages. A family dispute over shares in a timber company has ended up in the Commercial Court. Mr Justice Brian McGovern today admitted the case involving IJM Timber Engineering Ltd to the list of the business division of the High Court but he advised members of the McCaughey family who are the main shareholders to consider mediation talks. The case had been brought by 84-year old retired businessman Sean McCaughey with an address in Gran Canaria and who has a 70% shareholding in the timber frame manufacturing company IJM Timber Engineereing Ltd with a registered address at Larlurcan, Monaghan, Co Monaghan and which is also based in Dundalk Co Louth, employing 250 people. The other two shareholders in the company are Mr McCaughey's sons Peter, with an address at Hackballscross, Co Louth and Martin, with an adddress at Dundalk, Co Louth who have a 30% shareholding between them. Mr Sean McCaughey has brought the action in the Commercial Court against his sons Peter and Martin and a director of IJM Gregory McKenna of Emyvale, Co Monaghan and the timber company IJM Timber Engineering Ltd. In a grounding affidavit, Mr Sean McCaughey said the proceedings arise from the unsuccessful negotiations between him and his sons concerning the sale of his majority shareholding in IJM. He said his refusal to consent to the acquisition of his shares at what he claims was an undervalue brought about a progressive deterioration in his relationship with his sons. He has further claimed this led to a plan being allegedly formulated to dilute his majority shareholding. Mr McCaughey said when the sale of his shareholding was first brought up in 2016 he was generally happy with the idea but he later formed the view the sum on offer - about 1.4m- was too low. Mr McCaughey has also taken issue with resolutions passed at an EGM last year which he claims will further dilute his shareholding in the company. It is further claimed there is a degree of urgency attached to the proceedings in view of the potential impact upon the business of IJM which employs about 250 people. The Data Protection Commissioner ran up a legal bill of almost 1.93m over the past two years as a result of the Max Schrems data case, writes Gordon Deegan. In May 2016, Helen Dixon, the data protection commissioner (DPC), started an action in the European Court after a ruling by the High Court here. The European Court of Justice is to now determine the validity of European Commission decisions approving EU-US transfers of information of clients of Facebook and other tech giants. Facebook and the US have opposed the commissioners application. Ms Dixon sought a referral after reaching a view that Austrian lawyer Max Schrems had raised well-founded objections over the transfer of his personal data to the US. New figures released under a Freedom of Information (FoI) request show the case has been a boon for lawyers and experts, costing the commissioner almost 1.93m over the past two years. The figures show 1.28m was paid out, in 2016 and 2017, to Dublin legal firm Philip Lee solicitors, acting for the commissioner in the case. It received 808,865 last year and 478,860 in 2016. These fees include third-party costs-fees to be disbursed by Philip Lee solicitors in respect of matters including expert witnesses and other third-party costs relating to these proceedings, according to the FoI documents. Barristers Michael Collins and Brian Murray led the State legal team in the case. In 2016 and 2017, Mr Murray was paid 253,774, and Mr Collins received 207,962. In 2016, the commissioner received 4.74m from the Government and 7.52m last year for all its work. It is due to climb to 11.67m this year. Executives at Carillion should be forced to hand back their "exorbitant bonuses", ministers have been told. Labour MPs called for the Government to cease wage payments of 600,000 (675,000) to the firms former chief executive and review the UKs corporate governance laws. Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington told MPs he understood the concern over pay and bonuses and said the Official Receiver could recover payments if "there is evidence of misconduct". Labours Rachel Reeves, speaking after a ministerial statement on the firms collapse, said: "When Carillion collapsed at the weekend they had debts of 900m (1bn) and a pension deficit of 600m (675m) "Yet, year after year after year Carillion paid dividends out to their shareholders and after the chief executive was jettisoned after the profits warning last July, hes still being paid a salary in excess of 600,000 a year until this coming October. "Will the Government confirm that those payments to the former chief executive will stop as of today?" Fellow Labour MP Emma Reynolds said: "It seems that the senior management of Carillion have changed the rules so that they can keep hold of their exorbitant bonuses, does he think that this fair?" Mr Lidington said he could "completely understand" the "sense of unfairness" expressed by MPs over executive pay. He added that the Official Receiver "may seek to impose penalties" and recover payments made to executives if "there is evidence of misconduct". Speaking earlier in the debate Mr Lidington said the Government was "doing everything possible" to minimise the impact of the Carillion collapse. Mr Lidington did add however that unless private companies were found to pick up the private sector aspects of Carillions business in the next 48 hours "those private sector contracts would be terminated". He said: "All employees should continue to turn up to work confident in the knowledge that they will paid for the public services that they are providing. "Additionally in order to support staff, and in this instance it will apply to staff working for the private sector as well as the public sector contracts of the Carillion group, we have established a helpline using Jobcentre Plus through its rapid response service. "The Government is also doing everything it can to minimise the impact on subcontractors and suppliers who like employees will continue to be paid through the official receiver." Shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett said of Mr Lidingtons statement: "The House will conclude it was recklessly complacent in seeking to avoid responsibility for the Government and placing the whole responsibility on the company." Mr Lidington later denied that there was a "blindspot" in the Governments monitoring of the firm. He said: "Theres no question of any blindspot. "Clearly the Government, in common with any other party that was doing business with Carillion did not have access to the companys books. "The relevant departments and agencies ensured that there was protection through the creation of joint ventures to key contracts when it was known on the public record that Carillion had difficulties." Update 12.54pm: The sole survivor of the Kingsmill massacre said he has been "left hanging by a thread" as a result of the controversy surrounding Barry McElduff. Alan Black, who was shot 18 times and left for dead alongside the lifeless bodies of his 10 friends, hopes the Sinn Fein member's resignation may help, in part, to heal his distress. He said: "This past week has been truly awful for me. I am just hanging by a thread. "But I am glad he has done the right thing." Mr Black previously described the Twitter video, in which Mr McElduff posed with a Kingsmill branded loaf on his head on the anniversary of the IRA gun attack, as depraved and designed to hurt. He said the fall-out had forced him to re-live the trauma of that harrowing night in January 1976. "I am going to have to take time now to heal," he said. "I only got involved because of the hurt and disrespect shown to my friends who died at Kingsmill but this whole thing has taken a heavy toll." The resignation came just hours after Mr Black gave a powerful RTE radio interview in which he accused the West Tyrone representative of celebrating the deaths. "I did a radio show at the weekend and that was the last straw," added Mr Black. "I am going to have to go now and lead a quiet life for a while." Colin Worton, whose brother Kenneth was also among the victims, said the politician should have stepped down sooner. "He should have gone. It took him a week and I'd like to know what happened in the last few hours to make him resign," he said. Mr Worton, who revealed his 90-year-old mother has received abuse in connection with the massacre, also called for a change of attitude among some republicans. "It is welcome news that McElduff has gone but it is still only a small step," he added. "Sinn Fein need to do an awful lot more to change the mindset around glorifying terrorism. "This past week has been very difficult for us. "It is always difficult around the anniversary but this year it has lasted and lingered longer. It has been day and daily pressure. "My elderly mother is also feeling under pressure. It does bring it all back." Meanwhile, Mr Worton said he did not accept the apology and demanded that action also be taken against those who retweeted the video. He said: "Barry McElduff knew what he was doing. He just did not think there would be so much reaction." Update 11am: Sinn Fein's leader in the North, Michelle O'Neill, has responded to the news of Barry McElduff's resignation. Her statement on Sinn Fein's website said: Yesterday evening, Barry McElduff informed me of his intention to resign as Sinn Fein MP for West Tyrone. Barry is doing so as a consequence of the unintended hurt caused to the Kingsmill victims and their loved ones by his recent social media tweet. Barry recognises that this controversy and his continuing role in public office is compounding the distress to the victims of Kingsmill, and again offers his profound apology to those families and to the wider victims community. He has said that he does not want to be a barrier to reconciliation and I respect that decision. Barry has served Sinn Fein and been a formidable champion for the people of West Tyrone at local government, Assembly and Westminster level over the past 20 years and has done so with great commitment, energy and determination. For this I want to personally thank Barry and his family, Paula, Niamh, Blannid and Patrick. Over the coming weeks Sinn Fein will focus our full efforts on the restoration of the power-sharing institutions on the basis of equality, integrity and respect and fulfil the mandate we received from the electorate in two successive elections last year. Earlier: Sinn Fein MP Barry McElduff has announced his resignation this morning. In a statement on the party website, the West Tyrone MP said: It is with great sadness that, after more than 30 years as an active Sinn Fein member and public representative I am tendering my resignation as MP for West Tyrone. The reason I am doing so is because of the consequences of the Twitter video which has caused such controversy over the last week. But the deep and unnecessary hurt this video caused the families of the victims of Kingsmill is my greatest regret. I again offer my profound apology to those families and to the wider victims community. Had I been conscious of the connection to the terrible atrocity at Kingsmill I would certainly not have posted that tweet. I genuinely did not make that connection, not for a second did I make that connection in my mind. Kingsmill was wrong, unjustifiable and sectarian. It should never have happened. There was no intended reference to Kingsmill in my tweet. But I do accept that there are many people who do not believe this to be the case. I accept also that this view of what happened is deeply damaging to the reconciliation process that is so important to consolidating the peace process and to healing the pain and hurt of the past. I cannot undo the pain caused but I know that my continuing role as MP for West Tyrone will compound that sense of hurt and impede any reconciliation process. I wish to wholeheartedly thank my family and friends for their steadfast personal support during this difficult time, and the people of West Tyrone whom I have had the privilege to serve as their public representative for over 20 years. I have a deep gra for my native county and its people. I am an Irish republican and believe whole heartedly in the reunification of our country and an agreed Ireland in which we heal the wounds of the past together. Reconciliation is essential, but that message is not being heard at this time. I do not wish to be a barrier to reconciliation and healing and in that spirit I again offer my sincere apologies to the survivors and families of those murdered at Kingsmill. Last week, Sinn Fein suspended Mr McElduff from all party activity for three months over the affair. Digital desk A jury has been sworn in for the second retrial of a Cavan child-minder accused of causing serious harm to a baby. Sandra Higgins (aged 36), of The Beeches, Drumgola Wood, Cavan town, Co Cavan, denies a charge at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to the baby at her home on March 28, 2012 . This morning Judge Cormac Quinn told a jury panel that the case had gone to trial on two other occasions. He said these trials were accompanied by media coverage. He told the jurors that in order to serve as a jury for this trial it was crucial that they felt they would not be affected by anything they had seen or heard in the media. Judge Quinn said that it is alleged that the defendant assaulted the 10-month-old baby. He said that it will be alleged that on March 28, 2012 the baby presented at hospital with non-accidental injuries. He told the jurors they could not and should not discuss the case with anybody outside the jury. The court heard that the trial is expected to hear evidence from a number of civilian and garda witnesses from Co. Cavan. The defence may also call a paediatrician from Wales to give evidence. A jury of six men and six women were subsequently empanelled. The court heard the trial is expected to last two weeks before Judge Quinn and is scheduled to begin in evidence this afternoon. By Isabel Hayes A Cavan truck driver who smuggled more than 1m worth of cocaine into the country has been jailed for four years. Maurice McCreesh, of Ballyjamesduff Road, Lisreagh, Co Cavan, initially pretended he was a customs informant when he was caught by gardai with nearly 15 kilos of cocaine hidden in his truck at Dublin Port on September 12, 2015. But he later came clean and admitted he transported the drugs from Liverpool to Dublin for criminals to whom he owed money. The 38-year-old father-of-two pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of possessing cocaine for sale or supply. Detective Garda Tim Casey of the Garda National Drugs Unit told Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, today said that gardai received confidential information that a large consignment of drugs would be entering Dublin Port in a P&O ferry on the day in question. Upon searching McCreesh's truck, they found 15 packets of cocaine with a street value of 1.04m. When interviewed, McCreesh told gardai he met a man in Liverpool who gave him the packages to bring to Dublin. He claimed he did not look into the packages, but he knew it was something illegal. He initially said he was transporting the drugs as part of his work as a customs informant, but this was quickly disproven. He has no previous convictions, except for one technical conviction in France, the court heard. Garnet Orange SC, defending, said his client had been nurtured by an unknown person and persuaded to transport packages between the UK and Ireland. On one occasion, money from one of these illegal consignments was seized and the gang he was working for held him responsible, the court heard. Mr Orange said McCreesh spent some time in hiding from the gang, and at one stage was living in the cab of his truck. However, he then gullibly agreed to do this final delivery for the gang, which was supposed to erase his debt, Mr Orange said. McCreesh did not materially benefit from the work and he did so out of fear, the court heard. Mr Orange said his client had a difficult childhood in Newry, Northern Ireland, where he grew up during the Troubles. He was adopted because his mother was unable to care for him. He had a good relationship with his adopted family and was deeply affected by the death of his teenage adopted brother, who was killed in a car bomb incident. He left school at an early age to do farm work, before becoming a truck driver. He can barely read or write, the court heard. Sentencing McCreesh, Judge Martin Nolan noted he had co-operated with gardai, had no previous convictions and was unlikely to come before the court again. But he said the transportation of over 1m was an extremely serious offence and merited a four-year sentence. By Ann O'Loughlin A developer has been granted permission by the High Court to challenge a decision of the Minister for Housing to direct a change to a local area plan for Celbridge in Kildare. Longport Developments, which hopes to build on a nine-hectare site at Crodaun, to the north of the town, claims the Minister erred in directing the zoning for its land be amended from residential to open space/amenity. The Ministerial direction, issued under the Planning and Development Act 2000, also required Kildare County Council to delete a strategic open space zoning for an area of land at Donaghcumper and insert a "town centre" zoning instead. Both amendments apply to the Celbridge local plan 2017-23. The Minister said the change to the draft local plan, which was made by county councillors against the advice of the Council's chief executive, was not consistent with 2007 guidelines for development plans and was in breach of the Planning and Development Act 2000. The regulations require there must be a sequential approach to zoning for new houses where lands spatially closest to the town core and public transport facilties are prioritised. The Crodaun zoning effectively doubled the amount of housing land in this area, the Minister said. The Minister also said the Council had ignored or not taken sufficient account of submissions he (the Minister) made early last year following the publication of the local plan. Today, Brian Murray SC for Longport, said it was his client's case the Minister was incorrect in saying the Council had ignored his submissions. They would also be arguing, among other things, the Minister should have given reasons for why he believed an open space zoning was appropriate for the Crodaun lands. Mr Justice Seamus Noonan granted Mr Murray leave to bring judicial proceedings against the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, and against the Minister for State at that department, along with Kildare County Council and the State. The judge also gave leave for the proceedings to be served on the owners of the Donaghcrumper lands, Devondale Ltd, after counsel said they could be affected by the matter. The application was made on a one-side only represented basis and the case comes back in March. John Halligan says his proposed trip to North Korea was purely about creating cultural ties. The suggestion was met with widespread criticism after it surfaced in November, although the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he would not be stopping members of the Independent Alliance at the airport. The Minister of State for Training and Skills says he had no intention of going there on Dail time or taxpayers' money. Minister Halligan told WLR how the proposal came about in the first place. He said: "Years ago in Waterford, there were over 200 people came from North Korea to Waterford. Most of them were children, community activists and some politicians. "They took part in our Fleadh Ceoil. It was a throwaway remark that was made by Finian McGrath to me, when all this tension was breaking, he said 'did we not have contact with North Korea on cultural grounds at one stage?' "And that is all it was about, I personally think it was blown out of all proportion." - Digital desk By Isabel Hayes A man who claimed he was a boxer and who assaulted a solicitor in a completely unprovoked one-punch attack, causing catastrophic brain injuries, has been jailed for six and a half years. The victim, 38-year-old Kevin Geraghty, spent a year and a half in hospital, had to learn how to walk again and has not been able to work since the assault, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today. David McFadden (29) with an address in New Cabra Rd, Dublin , pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing serious harm to Mr Geraghty outside the Back Door Pub in Dublin city centre on June 25, 2016. He told arresting gardai he was a boxer and said the f***ing c*** deserved it. The court heard McFadden had been assaulted by another man in a totally unrelated incident just a few minutes before he assaulted Mr Geraghty. Handing down a six-and-a-half year sentence, Judge Martin Nolan said McFadden carried out a one-punch attack that left his victim with severe and devastating injuries. The judge accepted McFadden had not intended to cause brain damage to Mr Geraghty when he punched him, but he told the court: When you punch somebody in the head, you must accept the risk that serious injury can occur. A one-punch assault can have devastating consequences and therefore he (McFadden) has a high culpability in this regard, Judge Nolan said. He punched a man without provocation and this man will have to live with these consequences for the rest of his life. In a victim impact statement read out by prosecution barrister John Quirke BL, Mr Geraghty, who was in court for the hearing, said he still struggles to come to terms with what happened to him that night. He said he was angry and frustrated that a complete stranger caused me such an injury on an otherwise uneventful night to the extent that I nearly died from my injuries and ended up in a coma and have to live with the consequences of a severe brain injury for the rest of my life. He said he was now fearful for his personal safety, had trouble sleeping and remained anxious and uncertain about his future. Garda Christopher Fitzgerald told the court that Mr Geraghty was standing outside the pub with a friend on the night in question when McFadden approached him, said something to him and then punched him to the ground before walking casually away. It was a completely unprovoked attack, Mr Quirke told the court. Mr Geraghty was completely unknown to the accused and there was no interaction between them whatsoever. McFadden was arrested by gardai shortly after the assault. Due to the serious nature of his injuries, Mr Geraghty was unable to remember much of what happened that night. Several witnesses gave statements as to what happened, including Mr Geraghty's friend, Niall Holland. In a statement, Mr Holland said he and Mr Geraghty were smoking and chatting outside the pub when McFadden approached Mr Geraghty and said something to him, which Mr Holland did not hear. Mr Geraghty responded and McFadden then punched him to the head. The court heard Mr Geraghty went down straight away. His eyes closed and he appeared to lose consciousness before he hit the ground. His head hit the pavement heavily, the court heard. Mr Geraghty was taken to St James's Hospital with catastrophic brain injuries. He underwent two emergency surgeries within 24 hours of the assault to reduce brain swelling. He was in a coma for 10 days. During this time, his family was told twice he would not recover. He remained in hospital and then in rehabilitation for about a year and a half and underwent further surgery to have a metal plate inserted in his skull. The injuries he suffered were life-long and life-altering, the court heard, and included severe vision difficulties to his left eye, cognitive difficulties, memory loss and difficulty concentrating. He has not been able to return to his job as a solicitor for a bank since the attack and is unlikely to ever drive again. He has had to leave Dublin and return to his family home in Tipperary. He hopes to return to work in a part-time capacity later this year, but his future career prospects remain uncertain. The court heard that shortly before the attack, McFadden was in The George pub when he was assaulted by an unknown man. When he was stopped by gardai shortly after he punched Mr Geraghty, he claimed Mr Geraghty had punched him first. Michael Bowman SC, defending, told the court: Mistaken identity or not, it does not explain or justify the actions of the accused man. He said McFadden was highly intoxicated at the time of the incident and was visibly distressed when he later heard the extent of the injuries he inflicted on Mr Geraghty. The court heard McFadden, who has 24 previous convictions, had a troubled upbringing, lost his father at a young age and had difficulties with alcohol. Mr Bowman submitted the assault was not pre-meditated, although this was disputed by the prosecution. He noted McFadden did not use a weapon, nor did he engage in a prolonged attack or assault Mr Geraghty as he lay defenceless on the ground. Unfortunately, the consequences of Mr McFadden's engagement with Mr Geraghty on the night in question could never have been anticipated and were never intended by Mr McFadden, Mr Bowman said, adding his client wished to apologise for his actions on that night. A new jury will be empanelled this afternoon in the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank Chief Executive David Drumm due to an issue that had arisen. Mr Drumm (aged 51), with an address in Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2bn larger than they were. Ryanair says there is no chance of another pilots shortage. The low-cost airline had months of flight cancellations last year after staff were hired by rival firms leaving gaps in the roster. Since then Ryanair has begun talks with unions for the first time in its 32 year history. Spokesman Kenny Jacobs says that may be just the start. "Were getting on fine. It was a big decision when we announced pre-Christmas that we were going to recognise unions - both pilots and cabin crew. "Since then were in discussions now with unions in six countries and that will no doubt lead to more discussions with both unions in the course of coming weeks and months." Meanwhile, the airline announced today that it has broken its weekly bookings record, taking over three million bookings in one week. Last Wednesday, January 10, was the busiest say for bookings and the most popular destinations for customers included winter holidays to Lanzarote and Tenerife and city breaks to Porto, Milan and Naples. From today, Ryanair passengers will only be allowed bring wheelie luggage into the cabin if theyve paid for priority boarding. The airline says its to reduce airport delays and customers will still be allowed check the luggage into the hold for free. Spokesperson Kenny Jacobs has this advice for those travelling: "If you have checked in a bag that is absolutely fine, if youve got a wheelie bag and a small bag with you and you have not booked priority boarding, I would suggest you could just go to the gate and the bigger wheelie bag will be taken from you at the gate. It will be tagged and put in the hold." "If you are particular about having your bag with you in the cabin, you will be able to purchase priority boarding." According to Mr Jacobs, the restrictions are being introduced to reduce delays at airport gates. "Everybody will continue to get two free bags, that continues for all customers," Mr Jacobs explains. "Non-priority customers can bring two bags but they will be now required to put their wheelie bag - their bigger bag - in the hold, free of charge, at the boarding gate." Our new baggage policy is commencing on Monday January 15th. Don't forget to familiarise yourself here. pic.twitter.com/deTjCEBYvX Ryanair (@Ryanair) January 9, 2018 Meanwhile, Ryanair has said that it will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour on its flights. It comes after a Ryanair flight from Spain to Dublin had to make an unscheduled stop in Santander last week after two Irish passengers became disruptive on board. They were escorted from the plane by the Civil Guard and Ryanair says its now a matter for local police. Mr Jacobs says theyve been calling for over a year for stricter restrictions on the sale of alcohol at airports. "Were saying that no one should be allowed to purchase more than two drinks at the airport," he said. "We are also saying that there should be no alcohol sold before 10 in the morning. "This is something that becomes a problem that the airlines have to fix. That flight diverted from Alicante to Santander rather than going on to Dublin. "That was disruptive for all the other customers on board, it is a cost for the airline and it is something that needs to be stopped and the easiest thing to do to stop it is at the airport and controlling the amount of alcohol sold there." The winner of the BT Young Scientist Exhibition has been given a huge reception on his return to school this morning. 15-year-old Simon Meehan from Colaiste Choilm in Ballincollig, Co.Cork was crowned the winner on Friday night for his project about the medicinal use of plants to fight illnesses. As well as the trophy and a cheque for 7,500, he will go on to represent Ireland at the EU Contest for Young Scientists in Dublin this September. The school principal, Michelle Sliney, hailed Simon's "fantastic achievement" and the man himself was stunned by the "incredible" welcome. He said: "It feels amazing just to be back on Monday morning and being given a welcome such as that." He explained what his project is about. "My project is on the organic use of plants and how they may benefit is in the future and prevent antibiotic resistance," he said. "I hope that it can mean survival, for example. There's so much that I hope to gain, not just me but for everyone, for every living thing," he added. By Fiona Ferguson A teenager who raped one 13-year-old boy and sexually assaulted another has received a suspended sentence on condition he continue to engage with multidisciplinary supports and treatment. The now 18-year-old, was convicted following a Central Criminal Court trial in 2016 of one count of anal rape and two counts of sexual assault in the Midlands in July 2015. The court heard the accused, who was 16 at the time of the offences, had a sad and difficult upbringing and was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age. Doctors later said he was also on the autism spectrum. During his trial the accused said the incidents were consensual and described them as an experiment gone wrong. The court heard on an earlier date that the victims are still in counselling but are slowly getting over the events. Mr Justice Paul Coffey last February deferred imposition of sentence for one year under a provision of The Children Act to allow a meaningful multi-agency care plan be put in place for the boy. Mr Justice Coffey had noted at that time that a report stated that the boy was at a moderate risk of re-offending if support services did not urgently intervene. He had said, in deferring sentence for one year, that he was prepared to suspend all or some of a prison term depending on the boy's progress and the services that were in place around him. Today, Mr Justice Coffey imposed a three-year sentence which he suspended on strict conditions including that the boy should return before the court in one year's time for review. He noted an updated report before the court and said the multi-agency supports were producing the desired results but not to the point where the case could be finalised definitively. Mr Justice Coffey further ordered that the boy does not use intoxicants, has no contact with the injured parties or their families, abide by the directions of The Probation Service and avail of all services or treatments considered to be of assistance to him. He also gave liberty to have the case re-entered before the next court date in January 2019 in the case of non-compliance with the conditions. During the earlier sentence hearing the court heard the accused sexually abused one boy after meeting him near his home. He met up with the boy a second time shortly afterwards and did the same thing. On this occasion he also raped the boy's friend. A local garda told the court that the abuse came to light because the accused was telling other children that he had sex with the boys. The boys were very distressed at this and one of them told an adult what had happened. In interview the accused was very chatty and almost cheeky to gardai, his defence counsel Conor Devally SC said. At times he was showing some some signs that he was enjoying the spotlight, that he was enjoying the attention, counsel said. He said the interviews were very free-flowing, unfiltered and contained unusual matters such as recent television shows the boy had watched. Mr Devally said his client had a sad and difficult upbringing. He was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age. Doctors later said he was also on the autism spectrum. He has always said perhaps the trial process will involve in him getting some sort of help, some sort of peace, counsel said. The court heard the accused had made three allegations that he was abused himself by others. One of these allegations is still under investigation, the garda said. Tayto Park has responded to recent reports that they attempted to prevent the Department of Culture from releasing figures regarding how many animals have died at its zoo. In a statement released this morning, the theme park in Ashbourne, Co.Meath said that 30 animals passed away in 2016 out of a total of 377 animals in their zoo. "This mortality rate of 7.9% was not related to any shortcomings in the care and husbandry that we provided," said the statement. The animals reported to have died were: Chickens, Rabbits, Pheasants, Sheep, Pygmy Goats, Partridges, a Goose, a Hawk, a Meerkat and our three very old pot-bellied Pigs Toot, Puddle and Pumbaa. "Our beloved male Bald Eagle Arnold battled myositis with the best of care but very sadly he passed away. An infection saw us lose two of our much loved Goeldis and Tamarin, but the round the clock care of our dedicated team of keepers and vets meant that we saved the remaining group." The statement said: "In the past, releasing figures on the animal mortality rates at Zoos in Ireland has resulted in coverage which we believe was out of context. "While positives of new births, arrivals and breeding successes were noted, there was no consideration given to natural lifespan, age, biology when considering the death of an animal. This was frustrating for us and upsetting for our zookeepers, veterinarians and zoo managers. "The animals they care deeply about, look after 365 days of the year, and know by name, are far more than numbers and statistics to them." Tayto Park said that the attraction was commended by Zoo Inspectors, retained by the Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht, for its "excellent health care programme, levels of cleanliness, spacious enclosures and exceeding best practise." Tayto Park said they are very proud of their team for their passion and professionalism. Digital desk France wants to sign a new deal with the UK which would involve greater British financing of the costs of handling migrants camped in the northern French port city of Calais, authorities said. A top French official said that the two countries are negotiating "day and night" to sign an agreement at Thursday's joint summit. Martin Luther King Jrs eldest son has condemned Donald Trumps comments about immigrants from African countries, saying: "We got to find a way to work on this mans heart." Speaking in Washington DC, Martin Luther King III said: "When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I dont think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is." His sister, the Rev Bernice King, also took aim at Mr Trump, remarking: "We cannot allow the nations of the world to embrace the words that come from our president as a reflection of the true spirit of America." At gatherings across the nation, activists, residents and teachers honoured the late civil rights leader on what would have been his 89th birthday and ahead of the 50th anniversary of Kings assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King Jr At a service in Atlanta, the Rev King said: "We are one people, one nation, one blood, one destiny. ... All of civilisation and humanity originated from the soils of Africa. "Our collective voice in this hour must always be louder than the one who sometimes does not reflect the legacy of my father." Mr Trump insisted he is not a racist, and said the Rev Martin Luther Kings dream of a colourblind society is the American dream. He dedicated his weekly address to King. Mr Trump spent Mondays King federal holiday in Florida with no public appearances on his official schedule, but he tweeted the radio and video address to his followers. In it he said that Kings dream of a colourblind society offers dignity and hope to every American, regardless of colour or creed. "Dr. King's dream is our dream. It is the American Dream. It's the promise stitched into the fabric of our Nation, etched into the hearts of our people, and written into the soul of humankind." pic.twitter.com/tyUZGTecDY The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) January 15, 2018 The president marked his first King holiday in office buffeted by claims that he used a vulgarity to describe African countries and questioned the need to allow more Haitians into the US. In Atlanta, the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Rev Raphael Warnock, urged those who packed the pews to honour King to speak out against racism. He also took issue with Mr Trumps campaign slogan to "Make America Great Again". America "is already great ... in large measure because of Africa and African people", said Rev Warnock, urging people to speak out against such remarks about other countries, echoing Kings own words that "silence is betrayal". - PA British detectives are hunting the murderer of a newborn baby girl who suffered multiple head injuries before she was found in the bushes of a town centre park, it has emerged today. The body of the girl, who has only been named as Baby M by officers, was discovered at the edge of Manor Park in Aldershot, Hampshire, by a member of local council staff at 1.30pm on May 19, 2017. A post-mortem examination has found that the child, who died within a maximum six hours of birth, suffered multiple blunt force injuries to the head with other minor injuries to her body. Detective Chief Inspector Dave Storey, of Hampshire police, said scientific analysis by the National History Museum identified that the birth would most likely have happened between 6pm on May 15 and 8am the following day. He said this led to a review of CCTV footage which found images of two people walking past the birth scene in Ash Road 10 times between 11.30pm on May 15 and 12.30am on May 16. Mr Storey added that a DNA profile taken from the baby showed that both she and her mother, and probably the childs father, were of East Asian ethnicity. He said police were considering that either the mother or someone else was responsible for the injuries suffered. Mr Storey said: "This remains a particularly sad case which despite extensive investigation we are still are nowhere nearer to identifying the newborn baby, Baby M, nor her mother. "We have a baby who is unnamed and at this stage is still not buried and we would like some assistance in order to identify the mother and obtain some justice for Baby M." He said: "Initially when the investigation was launched we were concerned regarding the health of the mother, so there were lots of inquiries undertaken with local partners, NHS and local communities in order to identify the mother which were unsuccessful. "We have carried out lots of inquiries since then including pathology, scientific work regarding the babys ancestry and what was established fairly early on was the babys death was a result of deliberate head injuries and, as such, we launched a murder inquiry. "We still would like to identify the mother and provide some support because it takes an awful lot for a mother to give birth to a child to then either kill the baby or have the baby taken away from her and killed immediately afterwards." Asking for the publics help, Mr Storey said: "We have a couple walking past the birth scene between 11.30pm and 12.30am and they dont just walk past once, they walk past 10 times and we strongly believe they may be connected with the birth and subsequent murder and we are appealing for witnesses or information to identify those two persons. "We are also launching some significant house-to-house inquiries in and around Manor Park to try to identify witnesses or people who have knowledge of the murder." - PA South Africa has summoned the United States senior diplomat in the capital Pretoria over President Donald Trumps recent disparaging comments about African nations and Haiti. Mr Trump has been accused of describing African nations as "shithole countries" during a meeting with US senators last week. Turkeys president has denounced US plans to form a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border security force in Syria, vowing to "drown this army of terror before it is born". Russia and Syria have also rejected the idea. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan also warned US troops against coming between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish forces, which Ankara view as an extension of Turkeys own Kurdish insurgency. Turkey has been threatening to launch a new military operation against the main Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the Peoples Defence Units, or YPG, in the Kurdish-held Afrin enclave in northern Syria. The YPG is the backbone of a Syrian force that drove the Islamic State group from much of northern and eastern Syria with the help of US-led airstrikes. Russia has also warned that the nascent US force threatens to fuel tensions around Afrin. Mr Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara: "The United States has admitted that it has created a terrorist force along our countrys border. Our duty is to drown this army of terror before it is born." The US-led coalition said: "Turkey is a valued member of a 74-member Coalition and a Nato partner, sharing our mission to ensure the lasting defeat of (IS) in Iraq and Syria. It would be inappropriate for us to comment on Mr Erdogans remarks." The coalition said the new force, expected to reach 30,000 in the next several years, is a key element of its strategy in Syria to prevent the resurgence of the IS group in Syria. The SDF currently controls nearly 25% of Syrian territory in the north and east. The core of the force is to be made up of fighters from the existing Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the coalitions ally in the fight against IS. Some 230 cadets have already been recruited to the new border force, according to the coalition. The force is expected to be deployed along the borders of the SDF-held areas and Iraq and Turkey. Turkey sent troops into Syria in 2016 to prevent Syrian Kurdish fighters from forming a contiguous entity along its border. It has also supported rival Syrian rebels and independently fought to drive IS from parts of Syria. Tensions with Washington have repeatedly erupted over its support of the SDF, prompting US troops to deploy in north-east Syria to prevent clashes between the Kurdish forces and Turkey-backed fighters. In recent days, Turkey said it would soon launch a new operation in Afrin and sent reinforcements to the border. Russia deployed military observers to Afrin last year in an effort to prevent Turkish-Kurdish clashes. On Monday, Erdogan said preparations for the military assault on Afrin "are complete," adding that an operation could start any moment. He said Turkish troops are already firing artillery at Afrin from the border. "Dont stand between us and these herd of murderers. Otherwise, we wont be responsible for the unwanted incidents that may arise," he said. "Tear off the insignia you have placed on the uniforms of the terrorists so that we dont have to bury them (US soldiers) together with the terrorists." Russia said the new force is a sign Washington "doesnt want to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria." Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the nascent border force is "not helping calm the situation". Bashar Assads government also condemned the US plans for the border force, calling it "a blatant encroachment upon the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria" and a violation of international law. Syrian Kurdish leader hopes new force will counter threats from Turkey, Damascus https://t.co/sf8PQm75gz Reuters World (@ReutersWorld) January 15, 2018 - Press Association Construction giant Carillion is to enter compulsory liquidation with immediate effect, following months of speculation and a number of profit warnings. Thousands of jobs are now at risk after the company, one of the largest construction businesses in the UK, failed to reach a deal with government or its lenders. The Wolverhampton-based company directly employs 20,000 people in the UK, and approximately another 23,000 staff worldwide. The business works closely with thousands of smaller construction firms and many materials suppliers and distributors in the industry, who are likely to be severely affected by the collapse. Carillion chairman Philip Green said this was a "very sad day" for the company's staff, customers and suppliers. While government is now likely to step in to provide funding to ensure work on Carillion's public sector projects continue, it is unclear what will happen to many of the firm's private sector contracts, and the impact on suppliers and contractor businesses who worked closely with the business. The Unite union has said this could put "several thousands" of jobs at risk in the wider construction supply chain. High-profile developments the business worked on include the Royal Opera House, Channel Tunnel, the Library of Birmingham and the Tate Modern. Current projects Carillion is involved with include leading the 56 billion construction of the HS2 high-speed rail link and working with Network Rail on the Midland Mainline programme. As well as these high-profile building projects, Carillion provides maintenance and facilities management services for both public and private sector customers, ranging from NHS hospital catering and cleaning services, maintaining 50,000 homes for the Ministry of Defence, through to providing school meals for children. Carillion was part of the Tarmac Group until 1999, when it demerged from the business. By 2012, Carillion had an annual turnover of 5 billion. Last year, however, the company announced half-year losses of 1.15 billion and a pension deficit of 590 million. Carillion first issued a profit warning in July 2017, after its average net borrowing increased above expected levels. The Board announced a comprehensive review of the business and began withdrawing from construction projects in Qatar, Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Despite this, further profit warnings were issued in September, and again in November. Shares in the business fell 48% following November's warning, as the business said it expected to breach its loan conditions. Accountancy firm PwC is expected to be appointed as special managers to act on behalf of the official receivers. In 2017, the Construction Industry Helpline supported over 1,500 construction families in crisis, with over 400 families granted 705,000 of emergency financial help. Of the 1,500 calls into the helpline, 1,100 of these were given advice and support on issues ranging from stress and depression to legal, debt management and taxation advice. The 24/7 confidential helpline is funded by the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity and provides access to a portfolio of support services for all construction workers and their families in the UK and Ireland. The charity receives no public funding and relies on the generosity of those within the industry to 'look after its own'. On average, the helpline receives around 120 calls each month from applicants or someone representing the applicant. The helpline provides a range of services that support people returning to work or, if they can no longer carry on with their existing role, signposts them to re-training so they can remain within the construction industry. The helpline also provides advice and support to help people adjust to their individual circumstances and become financially independent. Working in construction can be extremely rewarding, but it comes as no surprise that it's also one of the most stressful and dangerous industries to work in. Julie Buckingham, Welfare Manager for the charity, said: The helpline is constantly evolving and since its launch, our services have been developed to ensure that we meet the needs of those calling the helpline. For some time now we have recognised that to really help, we need to do more than just provide financial assistance. All our call handlers are trained in mental health first aid and will ask a series of questions concerning the applicants specific situation. These follow the seven areas of need to determine whether the applicant would benefit from additional advice and support from a mental health expert, so that we can signpost them to the relevant service for additional support. In a recent questionnaire to current and recent beneficiaries, over 80% of respondents said that they experienced mental health issues following their accident or illness. In response to those needs, the helpline now provides access to counselling services to help people talk through their issues. Its important to stress the confidentiality of the helpline. For many, this may be the first time they have spoken to someone and we realise that taking that first step isnt always easy. In addition to the counselling services, the charity has also introduced a debt advice service to support applicants who had got themselves in to debt because of their accident or illness. We also introduced access to legal advice for those requiring professional advice on a variety of legal matters. Last year and with the crucial support of the Considerate Constructors Scheme, the charity launched a new range of packs to promote the helplines services. Each pack contains wallet-sized helpline cards for distribution to the workforce and A2 posters to promote the helpline on site. Bill Hill, Lighthouse Club Charity CEO, said: We have now distributed over 100,000 cards but our biggest challenge is to get them out to every one of our 2.1 million construction workers. Many larger employers offer employee assistance programmes but over 53% of our construction workforce are self-employed, so we need to ensure that we reach those who have nowhere else to turn. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. 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Digital Editor India's largest automotive show, and one of the largest in the world, the '2018 Auto Expo: The Motor Show' has seen subdued interest from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of late -- some major names have also opted out of the show this year. While all seemed to agree that it was indeed a great show and in a diverse market like India the Auto Expo was definitely the place to be to make a mark, players felt the mind-share or the return on investment was not high given the growing costs. This year big names and marquee brands like the Harley Davidson, Fiat Chrysler, ... Luxury carmaker Lexus on Monday launched its flagship hybrid sedan LS500h in India priced between Rs 17.7 million and Rs 19.4 million. The company, which entered the Indian market last March, said it is looking at the possibility of assembling its vehicles locally by leveraging on parent Toyota's facility in Bengaluru as an option. It also made a strong pitch to the government to provide support to hybrid vehicles in India's journey towards full electric vehicles. "There is a lot of opportunity in the Indian luxury vehicle market, which is among the biggest in our region. We are looking towards growth trajectory here," Lexus Asia Pacific Division Executive Vice President Vince Socco told PTI. When asked if the company would consider assembling its vehicles here, he said that at present it is studying the option, but would be difficult to put a timeline to it. "Globally, outside of Japan we have two manufacturing facilities, one each in Canada and the US, which accounts for 50 per cent of our total global sales, " Socco added. For the Indian market, he said a lot would depend on sales volumes and availability of local components among others being key factors. "It is difficult to say right now as we've been here for only around 10 months, but yes that's a potential option," he said when asked if Lexus could use Toyota's manufacturing facility in Bengaluru. The company said its fifth generation LS500h model will be available in three variants from April onwards. The car is powered by 3.5 litre petrol engine combined with a 310.8kV lithium ion battery system. It can accelerate from 0-100 kmph in 5.4 seconds. The base version of the new model is priced at Rs 17.7 million, while the mid range comes for Rs 18.2 million and the top end is tagged at Rs 19.4 million. "We have been concentrating on building the brand and awareness among customers since our entry to India last year. We are happy with the response and are confident that the new LS500h will attract more customers," chairman N Raja said here. The vehicle is BS-VI compliant and delivers a fuel economy of 15.38 kmpl, the company said. It is the company's fifth model in India. Raja said the company would continue to engage with the government to support hybrid vehicles as they formed the bridge towards full electric vehicles when there are infrastructure constraints. Expressing similar views, Socco said,"Hybrid is today's eco-friendly technology solution. We don't have to wait for all the infrastructure to come up for full electric vehicles." When GST was implemented last July, Raja said hybrid vehicle sales were impacted as tax incidence went up. However, in the second round of rate revision when the hybrids were left untouched while taxes on other luxury vehicles were increased, hybrid sales began picking up, he added. The much-awaited bidding of the capitals iconic Taj Mansingh hotel is set to be delayed further. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), given a nod by the Supreme Court last year to auction the luxury hotel, had plans to complete the process by January 30. But, as things stand, it is likely to be delayed by at least a month. Prospective bidders in the run-up to the auction have raised several questions, to which the NDMC didnt come up with satisfactory responses and explanations. One of the issues raised before the NDMC is regarding a condition that ... India's largest IT services firm (TCS) on Monday said it has expanded its partnership with Marks and Spencer (M&S) to enable the British retail giant become a digital-first business. As part of M&S' five-year plan, TCS will be the principal technology partner for the retailer and help drive agility, intelligence, innovation and efficiency, TCS said in a statement. Through the partnership, M&S will transition to a new Technology Operating Model that will help it align itself with rapid technology innovation to meet fast changing business priorities. TCS did not disclose any financial details of the deal. "Our long standing partnership with M&S has helped to build a strong contextual knowledge of their business... TCS will help the customer adopt a digital-first mind-set to win new customers and create growth at accelerated pace," TCS CEO and Managing Director Rajesh Gopinathan said. The retailer's chief executive Steve Row said M&S and TCS will join forces to make its business "faster, simpler and more focused on achieving a seamless customer experience." M&S had said in a statement on January 9 that core supplier services will transfer directly to TCS and the day- to-day relationship and project management of specialist suppliers will move under the control of TCS. "As a result of the new Technology Operating Model, c.250 existing M&S Technology roles will transfer under TUPE to become TCS roles. Individual conversations will take place with around 30 individuals whose functions will be carried out differently in the future," it had said. The statement further said that M&S will retain a smaller, more technical and commercially focused team that will lead and drive technology to support the business. The retailer had said the programme will deliver annual efficiencies of about GBP 30 million by 2021-22 and that there is a one-off cost to implement of about GBP 25 million. TCS' announcement today comes days after it had announced its over $2-billion contract win from American insurer Transamerica. The deal with Transamerica -- its largest to date -- is for transform the insurance and annuity business lines of the US firm. The TCS scrip closed at Rs 2,747 on BSE, marginally lower than its previous close. Britain's Carillion collapsed on Monday after its banks lost faith in the construction and services company, throwing hundreds of major projects into doubt and forcing the government to step in to guarantee vital public services. Carillion was forced into compulsory liquidation after costly contract delays and a slump in new business left it at the mercy of its lenders and battling a ballooning debt pile. The demise of the 200-year-old business poses a major headache for Theresa May's government which has employed Carillion to work on 450 projects including the building ... A BJP leader, pursuing the politically sensitive Rs 640-million Bofors pay-offs case, on Monday alleged in the Supreme Court that the CBI had misled Delhi High Court claiming that nearly Rs 2.50 billion was spent in the probe. Advocate Ajay Agrawal, who had contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 from Rai Bareli against then Congress President Sonia Gandhi, claimed that as per an RTI reply of March 21, 2011 received by him, a sum of Rs 47 million was spent in the total investigation of the The apex court had on October 18, 2005 admitted Agrawal's petition which was filed after the CBI failed to approach the top court with the appeal within the 90-day deadline following the May 31, 2005 Delhi High Court judgement quashing charges against the Europe-based industrialists, the Hinduja brothers. Justice R S Sodhi of Delhi High Court, since retired, had on May 31, 2005 quashed all charges against the three Hinduja brothers -- Srichand, Gopichand and Prakashchand -- and the Bofors company, castigating CBI for its handling of the case, saying it had cost the exchequer about Rs 2.50 billion. "It is the CBI who had given the (high court) judge to understand that Rs 2.50 billion has been spent on the investigation while the depondent, petitioner-in-person (Agrawal), herein received a RTI reply dated March 21, 2011 that a sum of Rs 47 million has been spent in the total investigation of the case," Agrawal said in his short affidavit filed in the top court, which listed his appeal in the regular list of business for hearing tomorrow. He claimed in his affidavit that the sum of Rs 47 million included the fee paid to the lawyers in the entire litigation in the case in India and abroad. Before the 2005 verdict of Justice Sodhi, another judge of the Delhi High Court, retired Justice J D Kapoor, had on February 4, 2004 exonerated late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in the case and directed the framing of charge of forgery under section 465 of the IPC against Bofors company. The Rs 14.37-billion deal between India and Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors for the supply of 400 155mm Howitzer guns for the Indian Army was entered into on March 24, 1986. Swedish Radio on April 16, 1987, had claimed that the company had paid bribes to top Indian politicians and defence personnel. The CBI on January 22, 1990 had registered the FIR for alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code and other sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against Martin Ardbo, the then President of AB Bofors, alleged middleman Win Chadda and the Hinduja brothers. It had alleged that certain public servants and private persons in India and abroad had entered into a criminal conspiracy between 1982 and 1987 in pursuance of which the offences of bribery, corruption, cheating and forgery were committed. The first charge sheet in the case was filed on October 22, 1999, against Chadda, Ottavio Quattrocchi, then defence secretary S K Bhatnagar, Ardbo and the Bofors company. A supplementary charge sheet was filed against the Hinduja brothers on October 9, 2000. A special CBI court in Delhi on March 4, 2011, had discharged Quattrocchi from the case saying the country could not afford to spend hard-earned money on his extradition which had already cost Rs 2.50 billion. Quattrocchi, who fled from here on July 29-30, 1993, never appeared before any court in India to face prosecution. He passed away on July 13, 2013. The other accused persons who have died are Bhatnagar, Chadda and Ardbo. China on Monday criticised Indian Army chief Gen for his recent comments, saying they were "unconstructive" and went against the consensus reached by leaders of both nations to bring ties back on track and preserve peace on the border. The Chinese reaction came following comments by Gen Rawat two days ago that India needs to shift focus from its border with Pakistan to that of China and spoke of pressure being exerted by Beijing along the Line of Actual Control. "Last year, India-China relations have witnessed some twists and turns but Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting last September reached a consensus to bring the ties back on track," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said here. Lu also said recent efforts by both countries to enhance dialogue on consultation have shown sound momentum of improvement and development. "Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior official (Rawat) not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state but also do not conform to the efforts made by the two sides to improve and develop bilateral relations," Lu said. The remarks "cannot help to preserve tranquillity and peace at the border areas," he said. "China and India are important neighbours. They are both at a critical stage of the development and rejuvenation. The two countries should enhance strategic communication and eliminate strategic doubt and conduct strategic cooperation," he said. "We urge the Indian side to follow through on the important consensus of the two leaders to do more things to preserve peace and stability on the border areas and refrain from doing things which may complicate the situation, constructively handle the relevant affairs and promote steady development of bilateral relations. "This serves the common interest of the whole region and the interest of the Indian side," he said. Asked what were Gen Rawat's specific comments that China is taking exception to, Lu pointed to the Army chief's comments on Dokalam. "I have made myself clear, if the senior official according to the report referred to Donglang - I think you are clear about our position - Donglang belongs to China and has always been in the effective jurisdiction of China," he said. About Gen Rawat's comments that China is exerting pressure on India along the LAC, he said "if he refers to the situation on the whole India-China boundary, I have also said that last September the two heads of state have reached important consensus during the Xiamen (BRICS) summit". "Both sides have maintained effective communication since then. The aim is to enhance strategic mutual trust and create enabling atmosphere for strategic communication. Recently bilateral relations have shown positive momentum," he said referring to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India in December followed by the 20th round of border talks between India and China, led by NSA Ajit Doval and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi. "On such background, the official mentioned by you made such kind of remarks that go against the consensus of the states and do not conform to the general trend of improvement of bilateral relations. We believe such kinds of remarks are not conducive to maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas," he said. He did not directly respond to a question about Gen Rawat's earlier remarks about major reduction of Chinese troops from the Dokalam area and reiterated China's stand that the area belonged to China. Lu also took exception to Gen Rawat's remarks that Dokalam, where the two armies engaged in a 73-day standoff last year, was disputed territory between Bhutan and China. "I want to point out that the remarks of the Army chief mentioned by you once again showed that the illegal trespass of the Indian border troops is quite clear cut in nature. Donglang (Dokalam) belongs to China. The Sikkim section of the the boundary has been delimited by the historical convention," he said. Donglang is China's territory, he said adding that "China will continue to exercise its sovereign rights in Donglang area in accordance with the historical convention and steadfastly uphold its territorial sovereignty". "We require the Indian military to learn lessons and abide by the historical convention and earnestly uphold the peace and tranquillity of the border areas and create sound atmosphere for the political development of bilateral relations," he said. Rawat had said the People's Liberation Army has occupied the area in the west of Torsa nullah called northern Dokalam. "At the actual spot the two sides have disengaged. The tents remain. The observation posts remain. This is a territory disputed between Bhutan and China," he had said. Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a 73-day standoff in Dokalam that began on June 16 last year after the Indian side stopped construction of a road in the disputed area by the PLA. The face-off ended on August 28. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Dokalam. The on Monday carried out a "retaliatory action" against Pakistani troops, killing seven of their soldiers and injuring four others along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The action comes after an Indian solider was killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday. "Army has carried out retaliation against Pakistani troops across Jaglote area along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district", a senior Army officer told PTI. "In the retaliatory action, there were seven fatal causalities to Pakistani troops and four others injured," he said. Further details are awaited. Four senior-most judges who had last week held an unprecedented press conference and raised the issue of assignment of cases, on Monday attended court and took up routine work, with the Attorney General terming these developments as "a storm in a tea cup". The four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- took up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after the January 12 press conference. Attorney General K K Venugopal said the issue has been settled. "Now everything has been settled. The courts are functioning. It was a storm in a tea cup," Venugopal told NDTV. In the presser, the four judges had flagged some problems, including the assigning of cases in the apex court, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court. On Sunday, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had met a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council of India and Bar Association President Vikas Singh and had assured them that the crisis would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. The bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his "good friend" Benjamin Netanyahu was on full display today when the leaders hugged and shook hands a number of times during their joint press event. While the visiting Israeli prime minister called Modi a "revolutionary leader" and used an endearment like "my friend Narendra", Modi responded with great warmth, welcoming the guest in Hebrew. Netanyahu said he was willing to participate in a "yoga class" with his "friend Narendra". "My friend Narendra...any time you want to do yoga a class with me...it is a big stretch but I will be there. Trust me," Netanyahu remarked, reflecting the deep camaraderie the two leaders share. The chemistry between the two leaders is well known. Last year when Modi visited Israel, the first Indian prime minister to do so, he was received by Netanyahu at the airport, a gesture normally reserved for guests such as US presidents. The overwhelming warmth was also seen when the two leaders took a walk along the Mediterranean Sea during Modi's visit. The warmth has continued with Modi setting aside protocol to receive Netanyahu at the airport yesterday. At the joint press statement, Netanyahu showered praise on Modi. "You are a revolutionary leader and you are revolutionising India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into to the future. And you have revolutionised the relations between Israel and India," Netanyahu, popularly known as 'Bibi', said. Modi also responded warmly dubbing Netanyahu's visit as a "long-anticipated moment in the journey of friendship" between India and Israel. He further said that the visit was also a fitting climax to the commemoration of 25 years of bilateral diplomatic relations and marked a "special beginning" to the new year calendar, with Indians rejoicing the arrival of spring, hope and harvest. Modi will also accompany Netanyahu to his home state, Gujarat, on January 17. The visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India (January 14-19) commemorates the 25th anniversary of the opening of an Indian embassy in Tel Aviv in 1992 and will further consolidate an important and strategically distinctive bilateral relationship for both nations. It has had a chequered past since the post-World War II birth of both countries but is poised for a pragmatic future trajectory based on shared interests. With a population below nine million and a GDP of $350 billion, Israel is relatively small compared to the Indian behemoth with a population of 1.25 billion and a GDP of $2.5 trillion. Yet Israel occupies a very special niche in India's security framework and has been a supplier of critical military technology. This was illustrated during the 1999 Kargil War, when precision-guided ordnance was obtained from Tel Aviv. That India is among the world's largest importers of military inventory and that Israel is a major arms exporter also provides a natural complementarity to the bilateral relationship. Over the last two decades, the quantum of military-related imports from Israel has steadily increased. It is estimated that India, which buys almost $1 billion worth annually, accounts for over 40 percent of Israeli defence exports. The Netanyahu visit reciprocates that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2017, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel. The Modi-Netanyahu personal chemistry was on display during that visit which was reciprocated as Modi personally received the Israeli leader at the airport when he arrived Sunday afternoon. The two leaders share many characteristics, including a visible political resolve in relation to Islamic radicalism and terrorism. Netanyahu will also get the Gujarat-special status, a detour to Ahmedabad, which Modi accords to certain leaders. During the July visit, Modi said, "Israel and India live in complex geographies. We are aware of strategic threats to regional peace and stability. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I agreed to do much more together to protect our strategic interests." The joint statement also added: "There can be no justification of acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever." While the bilateral with Israel has been described as a "strategic partnership", India's relations with Israel cannot be divorced from the larger West Asian geopolitical canvas where Palestine is a major factor. The Jewish quest for a permanent homeland goes back a long way. Mahatma Gandhi had opined in 1931: "I can understand the longing of a Jew to return to Palestine, and he can do so if he can without the help of bayonets, whether his own or those of Britain... in perfect friendliness with the Arabs." This sentiment shapes the Indian approach to the complex and tangled Palestine issue. India has traditionally supported the Palestine cause on the international stage and has sought to maintain a fine balance regarding its bilateral with Israel in the competing regional politics of West Asia. It appeared that the Modi dispensation government had taken a bold decision to remove the hyphenation between Israel and Palestine, but it would be misleading to infer that the government has uncritically cast its weight totally with Israel and the US. The recent vote at the UN over the Trump declaration about Jerusalem saw Delhi voting with the larger global consensus that censured the US over its announcement. Netanyahu, on the eve of his India visit, said this vote would not materially affect the bilateral. India and Israel are keen to expand the current bandwidth of the trade and economic relations to move beyond military sales and include energy, cyber security and innovation in desert/arid land agriculture, among other sectors. The last leg of the Netanyahu visit will take him to Mumbai. The enormity of the November 2008 terror attack that targeted Chabad House will be recalled, though justice for the innocent victims -- Indian, Israeli and other nationalities, remains elusive. (C Uday Bhaskar is Director, Society for Policy Studies, New Delhi. The article is in special arrangement with South Asia Monitor. He can be contacted at cudayb@gmail.com) The Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday signed a deal to explore the possibility of introducing books based on the curriculum of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) in the state. The announcement came a few days after Army Chief General Bipin Rawat had criticised the state education system, saying teachers in Jammu and Kashmir showed two maps in the course of their instruction one of India and one of the state. Why should there be a separate map of J&K? Then there should be a map of every state. This leads children ... India and Israel on Monday inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cybersecurity and energy. The agreements were signed after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for bolstering bilateral ties in strategic areas. The two prime ministers, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interests. Netanyahu, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday, will also visit Ahmedabad and Mumbai during his six-day stay in India. A 56-year-old real estate businessman was allegedly shot dead by two unidentified men outside his house in the Deccan Gymkhana area here, police said. The attackers fired five rounds at Deven Shah in front of his son Atit on the plush Prabhat Road around midnight. Two of the bullets hit Shah, a senior police official said. The family had just returned home after celebrating the birthday of Deven Shah's wife in a hotel in the Baner area, the official added. Police have retrieved a CCTV footage of the area in which the two assailants are clearly seen. "Two men entered the parking lot of the building and enquired about Deven Shah with a security guard. "They told him to ask Deven Shah to come down," said Additional Commissioner of Police (South/North region) Ravindra Sengaonkar. When the businessman and Atit came down, the men started talking to Deven Shah, who urged the duo to come to a sit out area of the building. "While he (Deven) was going towards the area, one of the attackers fired at him from a close range," said Sengaonkar. He said when Deven Shah, who was hit in the chest, ran towards the lift, the other attacker too fired at him. According to another police officer, the attackers fled through the main gate of the building. Deven Shah's son Atit gave them brief chase but they pointed the gun at him, the officer, attached to the crime branch, said. "Deven Shah was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died in the early hours today," the officer said. Deven Shah, who owned Ambika Land Ventures, had entered some real estate joint ventures. Atit told police his father did not have enmity with anyone, the ACP said, adding the motive behind the killing was yet to be ascertained. "A probe is on and we are on right track," he said. Police suspect the attack could be the fallout of a land dealing. A case under relevant sections of the IPC was registered at the Deccan Gymkhana police station. A rocket landed in the Indian Embassy premises in Kabul, causing minor damage to a structure, but all the mission staff were safe, external affairs ministry said tonight. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said there was no fire and no casualties were reported in the incident. "A rocket landed in the premises of our Embassy in Kabul a while ago causing minor damage to a structure at the rear side of the Embassy compound," he tweeted. He also said that India's Charge d' Affaires there informed that all the Embassy employees were safe. It was not clear whether the target of the attack was the Indian Embassy, which is located in the high-security diplomatic zone of the Afghan capital. The three-day commotion over the functioning of the Supreme Court, a matter flagged by four senior judges, appeared to have petered out on Monday when all the top five judges involved in the matter, including the Chief Justice, resumed work. Though they come to court at 10.30 am sharp every working day, they were late by 10 minutes, leading to speculation at the Bar that things might escalate into something bigger. The routine tea ceremony they hold every morning before they come to their respective court rooms extended. The judges asked the staff to withdraw from the hall, ... Israel has an investment of over $130 million in India mainly for use on the agricultural, irrigation and renewable energy sectors. New investments are also looking at the manufacturing space. "We are looking into the specific issues raised by Israeli firms while investing in India and are actively working to reduce those", Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said on ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. 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Digital Editor Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday promised more economic reforms to further improve the ease of doing business in India as he invited Israeli companies to invest here. Speaking at an Indo-Israel business event, he referred to the further opening up of the single brand retail to foreign investment recently as also allowing foreign airlines to buy stake in national carrier Air India, saying that substantial reforms have been undertaken by his government. A number of regulatory issues facing companies have been resolved, he said. "We will not stop, we want to do more and better." "Everyday we are making it easier to do business in India," he said, listing the introduction of a uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) nationwide and a transparent tax system as achievements. India, Modi said, is the fastest growing economy with FDI inflows at all time high. "We have been taking steps over last three years at macro and micro level." The moto of the government is "reforms, perform and transform", he said. To enable entry of capital and technology, most of the sectors including defence, have been opened for FDI, he said, adding that more than 90 per cent of the FDI approvals have been put on automatic route. "We are now among the most open economies," Modi said. With the visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side, he invited Israeli firms to invest in the country. India's development agenda is huge and offers vast opportunity to Israeli companies, Modi said. "I have always had a deep regard for Israel and its people," he said recalling his 2006 visit to Israel as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. "Last year in July, I visited Israel, the first such visit from India. I experienced the remarkable spirit of innovation, enterprise and perseverance that drives Israel." There is new energy and purpose that have invigorated the ties between the two countries over the last few years, he said, adding that they will help take cooperation between the them to greater heights. "India's development agenda is huge. It presents a vast economic opportunity for Israeli companies. I invite more and more Israeli people, businesses and companies to come and work in India," he said. Modi said that along with government and people, the business community of India too is keen to join hands with Israel. "We stand on the cusp of a new chapter in India-Israel relations driven by our people and mutual opportunities for betterment of lives," he said. Modi said the just launched India-Israel Innovation Bridge will act as a link between the start-ups of the two nations. "I have been saying that Indian Industries, start-ups and the academic institutions must collaborate with their Israeli counterparts to access the huge reservoir of knowledge," he said. India on Monday assured Israeli firms to resolve their concerns and make things easier for them to do business here, a senior government official said. The Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ramesh Abhishek, said that there are few issues pertaining to processes, import duty, taxes and licensing that have been bothering Israeli companies. "I assure you to resolve all problems and make things easier and better for Israeli companies to do business in India," he said here at the India-Israel Business Innovation forum meeting organised by CII. The secretary said the issues were taken up with the ministries and departments concerned. "We have been able to do few things in the last few months and many are in progress," he added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is here on a four-day visit. He is leading a high-level business delegation comprising 130 businessmen from 102 Israeli companies. India received total FDI of $130 million from Israel during April 2000 to September 2017 period. Speaking at the event, Ohad Cohen, Trade Commissioner, Ministry of economy, Israel, expressed hope that the visit of the prime minister would pave the way for the proposed free trade agreement between the countries. The bilateral trade between the countries increased to $5 billion in 2016-17 from $4.91 billion in the previous financial year. During the function, a startup challenge was announced for budding entrepreneurs of India. Startup accelerator MassChallenge Israel jointly with Deshpande Foundation and Nassocm India announced this challenge for Indian startups. Under the challenge, up to 10 Indian startups will receive $5,000 each to access MassChallenge Israel's industry-leading resources and focus on growing their businesses. Further the selected Indian startups will join the other MassChallenge Israel 2018 finalists for the four-month equity free accelerator in Jerusalem where they will get $5,000 cash prize and opportunity to access in two US markets. Besides, they would get four months free office space in Jerusalem and personalised mentorship. IT firm Tech Mahindra also announced a strategic programme - Tech M Next - in Israel. The programme is about accelerating growth strategy with startup collaboration. It will be rolled out in February with Tel Aviv as the nerve centre and it would engage 20 startups in first 12 months with its client base. The focus areas for this programme will be cyber security, mobility and artificial intelligence. This announcement was made by Tech Mahindra CEO C P Gurnani. The IT company also exchanged a teaming agreement with Israel-based data protection expert ContextSpace Solutions. Under the pact, both will launch a global privacy ecosystem - MyData Shield, which is a cloud-based privacy protection service to help address security and personal data protection concerns globally. Besides, eight MoUs were exchanged to increase economic cooperation between the two sides. Three MoUs were signed between CII and Manufacturer's Association of India, Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce and Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. DIPP-supported Invest India exchanged MoU with Israel's Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation. Further, Tata Projects Ltd inked an MoU with Israel-based Water-Gen. Press Statement by Prime Minister during Visit of Prime Minister of Israel to India (January 15, 2018) Your Excellency Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Members of the media, It is a great pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on his first ever visit to India. ????????????, ????????????????????! (My good friend, Welcome to India!) Your visit, Prime Minister, is a long-anticipated moment in the journey of friendship between India and Israel. Your visit is also a fitting climax to the comemoration of 25 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. As our first honoured guest in 2018, your visit marks a special beginning to our New Year calendar. It comes at an especially auspicious time as people all over India are rejoicing the arrival of spring, renewal, hope and harvest. The festivals of Lohri, Bihu, MakarSankranti, and Pongal celebrate the splendour of Indias diversity and unity. Friends, Last year in July, I carried the greetings and friendship of 1.25 billion Indians during my momentous journey to Israel. In return, I was overwhelmed by the generous affection and warmth of the Israeli people, led by my friend, Bibi. In that visit, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I promised each other and our people to build a strategic partnership: of hope and trust and progress of diverse and cutting-edge cooperation, and of joint endeavours and shared successes Such a promise flows as much from the natural affinity and friendship that have linked us for centuries as it does from the compelling win-win case for engagement in almost all spheres . And it is a measure of our shared ambition and commitment that six short months after that visit; your extraordinary visit is taking place to India. Today and yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I reviewed the progress in our relations and renewed our conversation on the possibilities and the opportunities that beckon us and need to be seized. Our discussions were wide-ranging and intensive. They were marked by the desire to do more. Prime Minister, I have a reputation of being impatient in getting results. If I may let out an open secret, I know that so are you. Last year in Tel Aviv, you had expressed the intent to cut down bureaucratic red tape with a machete and forge ahead with speed. Prime Minister, I am happy to tell you that in India, we are well on our way to doing just that. We have imparted our shared impatience to the implemntation of our earlier decisions. The results are already visible on the ground. Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and to scale up our partnership. We will pursue this in three ways: First, we will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology, and security. We exchanged views on scaling up the Centers of Excellence that have been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation by bringing in advanced Israeli practices and technology. In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalized FDI regime to make more in India with our companies. Second, we are venturing into less explored areas of cooperation, such as oil& gas, cyber security, films, and start-ups. You will find this reflected in the agreements that were just exchanged. Several of these areas are indicative of our desire to diversify and broad-base engagement. And third, we are committed to facilitating the flow of people and ideas between our geographies. It requires policy facilitation, infrastructure and connectivity links and fostering constituencies of support beyond Government. We are working with Israel to make it easier for our people to work and visit each others countries, including for longer work durations To bring people closer on both sides, an Indian Cultural Center will soon open in Israel. We have also decided to start an annual exchange of bilateral visits by 100 young people from science-related educational streams. Friends, Thriving two-way trade and investment is an integral part of our vision for a strong partnership. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I agreed on the need to do more in this direction. After the meeting in Tel Aviv last year, we will interact for the second time with our CEOs under the bilateral Forum. I welcome the large business component that Prime Minister Netanyahu has brought along with him. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I also exchanged perspectives on the regional and global situation. We reviewed our cooperation as a factor for stability and peace in our regions and the world. Friends, Yesterday, as his first stop after touching Indian soil, Prime Minister Netanyahu joined me at the re-named Teen Murti Haifa Chowk to pay homage to the memory of the brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives a century ago in the Battle of Haifa in Israel. We are both countries that have never forgotten our history and our heroes. And we deeply appreciate this gesture by Prime Minister Netanyahu. As we look to the future of this exciting partnership with Israel, I am filled with hope and optimism. In Prime Minister Netanyahu, I have a counter-part who is equally committed to taking the India-Israel relationship to soaring new heights. Finally, I am delighted to have the chance to be with you, Prime Minister , in my home state, Gujarat, day after. There, we will have another opportunity to see the fulfillment of the promise, which our mutual cooperation holds in diverse areas such as agriculture, technology, and innovation. I wish Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mrs. Netanyahu and the delegation a memorable stay in India. Thank you very much. Toda Rabah! Prime Minister of Israel calls on the President His Excellency Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, called on the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (January 15, 2018). Welcoming the Israeli Prime Minister, the President said that his visit to India is a culmination of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. Our warm and friendly ties are growing stronger. In a little over two years, the two countries have exchanged Presidential and Prime Ministerial visits. The President said that our bilateral cooperation has expanded manifold. Political understanding, security cooperation and technology partnerships are key pillars of strategic engagement between India and Israel. He emphasised that collaboration in newer areas such as space, cybersecurity and innovation will add depth to our partnership. The President said that opportunities lay before the two countries in the fields of investment, manufacturing, services, start-ups and technology. He appreciated the presence of Israeli companies in India especially in the water, defence, technology and pharma sectors. He urged them to partner India in its programmes such as Make in India, Clean India, Smart Cities and Digital India. The President said that the India-Israel security cooperation is defined by our common fight against terrorism. This challenge is eating into the vitals of our society. Our counterterrorism cooperation is progressing well but we need to do more. We need to work together to develop a strong global response to defeat terrorism in all its manifestations. The President said that India appreciates Israels cooperation in the field of agriculture. Israel has taught India to do more with less. Israels support has served our farmers exceedingly well, especially in water deficient areas. As we work to make our farming choices more sustainable, we will seek more Israeli support. A prominent example of India-Israel cooperation in agriculture was evident during todays call-on. The olive tea that was served to the Israeli Prime Minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan was produced in Bikaner by Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Ltd, a joint venture between the Government of Rajasthan and Israeli partners. Union Home Minister inaugurates IWDRI 2018 Shri Rajnath Singh urges all stakeholders to work towards disaster resilient infrastructure The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) here today. The two-day workshop is being organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). Underlining the importance of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Shri Rajnath Singh said that it creates opportunities for economic growth and is at the core of sustainable development. "The way we build our infrastructure today will either build risk or resilience for the future generations. We need to bring to bear tremendous foresight and rigour to ensure that all our new infrastructure is built to withstand the hazards of the present as well as the future." The Union Home Minister said, As the infrastructure systems are globally interconnected, disruptions in one part of the world can cause havoc in another part of the world. It is, therefore, important that all stakeholders come together to address the challenges and devise solutions to create resilient infrastructure." Reiterating India's commitment towards building resilience and strengthening global cooperation, Shri Rajnath Singh talked about the Prime Minister's 10-point agenda, outlined during the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) held in New Delhi in November 2016. At that conference, our Prime Minister outlined a ten-point agenda to give a sense of urgency to the implementation of Sendai Framework for DRR. His 1st point emphasized the need for investing in infrastructure in a manner so that it can withstand hazards not only now but also in the future," he said. Shri Rajnath Singh also recalled the example of constructing sound structures in Indias ancient civilizations. Infrastructure has shaped human civilization for millennia. Our forefathers showed tremendous foresight when they developed infrastructure that served us for generations," said Shri Rajnath Singh. They have helped us tame the fury of nature, while also helping us maximize the benefits of mother natures benevolence," he added. The Union Home Minister said robust infrastructure will be at the core of sustainable development in the coming decades; this is also recognized in the way the (United Nations) Sustainable Development Goals have been framed. The infrastructure that we will build in the next twenty years will be more than what we built over the last two thousand years. At the global level, by 2040, to adequately meet the infrastructure needs of humanity, we will need nearly $100 trillion. By 2030, Asia alone will need $26 trillion in infrastructure investment," he said. Shri Rajnath Singh said climate change is also posing new challenges to erecting Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. Climate related extremes are likely to become more intense and frequent. Past is no longer a good guide for the future," he said. The challenge of building Disaster Resilient Infrastructure is such that no country can address it alone," he added. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. P.K. Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, said that while reducing losses to infrastructure is one of the specific targets identified under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), 2015-2030, it is also key to achieving other targets identified under the SFDRR. "We cannot reduce the number of deaths, reduce the number of affected people, or reduce economic losses from disasters if our infrastructure is damaged and its functionality disrupted by disasters," he said. Highlighting India's reconstruction experience after the Bhuj earthquake, Dr. Mishra said that rebuilding to appropriate standards of disaster resilience also delivers co-benefits in terms of improved quality of life. "Investment in Disaster Resilient Infrastructure should be seen as an investment in sustainability," he said. In his address, Shri R. K. Jain, Member, NDMA, highlighted the importance of collective efforts towards mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in infrastructure. "This workshop is a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and explore collaborative initiatives," he said. Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Dr. Robert Glasser said the pace of urbanisation around the world today is an opportunity to not only avoid creation of new risks but also to reduce future losses. Shri Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director for the World Bank in India, emphasised upon the need to leverage the financial market to build financial resilience in todays world. He also highlighted the importance of institutional mechanisms, federal structures and financial provisions in building resilience in infrastructure. Union Home Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba was also present during the inaugural session. Experts from about 23countries, multilateral development banks, the United Nations, the private sector, academia and other stakeholders are participating in the workshop. Deliberations at the workshop will take the dialogue on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and global cooperation further. It will also help foster a sustained dialogue and mutual exchange of experiences, lessons and solutions. Volkswagen launched an all-new Jetta compact car, its biggest seller in America, at the Detroit Auto Show on Sunday as it looks to revive sales in the world's second-largest auto market and move on from the emissions scandal that has tarnished its reputation over the past few years. The world's largest automaker is still grappling with investigations and lawsuits around the world related to revelations that it cheated government emissions tests for diesel-powered vehicles and has already paid $30 billion in fines and costs for the fraud. But there are signs the German ... The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, saying it killed her as she allegedly planned to collaborate with the US against the 'mujahideen' if she returned to power, says a book by the banned terror group. "The return of Benazir Bhutto was planned at the behest of the Americans as they had given her a plan against the 'Mujahideed-e-Islam'. Baitullah had received information of the plan," the book claimed, in a reference to slain Pakistani Taliban founder Baitullah Mehsud. The Daily Times reported that no group had claimed responsibility for Bhutto's murder until the claim in the Taliban's Urdu-language book titled 'Inqilab Mehsood South Waziristan From British Raj to American Imperialism'. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bhutto, 54, was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi shortly after she had addressed an election rally on December 27, 2007. Former president Pervez Musharraf had blamed the Tehreek- e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the attack but the outfit had denied it. The book says suicide bombers Bilal, also known as Saeed, and Ikramullah were tasked to carry out the attack on Bhutto. "Bomber Bilal first fired at Benazir Bhutto from his pistol and the bullet hit her neck. Then he detonated his explosive jacket and blew himself up among the participants of the procession," the book claimed. TTP leader Abu Mansoor Asim Mufti Noor Wali has written the book and published it on November 30, 2017, at "Maseed Computer Centre in Barmal, in Afghanistan's Paktika province," according to details in the book. The 588-page book, which contains many photographs of Taliban leaders, was posted online. Military sources say most of the TTP fighters, belonging to the Mehsud tribe, had crossed into Afghanistan's Paktika and Paktia provinces after the military launched a major offensive in 2009. The book says the TTP was also involved in a suicide bombing two months earlier at Bhutto's procession in Karachi in October 2007, which had killed nearly 140 people though Bhutto had escaped unhurt. It revealed that Baitullah Mehsud had approved the Karachi attack on Bhutto's procession when she returned to Pakistan to lead her party campaign for the 2008 parliamentary elections. "Despite attacks on Benazir Bhutto's procession in Karachi, the government had not taken appropriate security measures that made it possible for the attackers to have easy access to Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi," the book says. It says Ikramullah, a resident of Makeen town in South Waziristan, escaped from the blast site and is still alive. It does not say if it is the same Ikramullah, who was declared an absconder by an anti-terrorism court along with five others, including TTP chief Mehsud who was killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan in 2009. Musharraf had been formally charged in the case by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi in August, 2017. The ATC also declared Musharraf an absconder in the case. The court had named Musharraf in the case in February 2011. The former army chief had on a number of occasions denied any involvement in the murder and dismissed the charges as politically-motivated. Bhutto's son and PPP co-chairman Bilawal had again blamed Musharraf for his mother's killing in his speech to supporters on her 10th death anniversary on December 27 last year. The five TTP suspects in Bhutto's murder case Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid were cleared of all charges in the murder trial last August. The ATC had, however, convicted two police officials Saud Aziz, who was police chief of Rawalpindi when Bhutto was assassinated and Khurram Shahzad, a former Superintendent of Police at Rawal Town. Both were sentenced to 17 years in jail. In October, 2017, both were granted bail by the Lahore High Court. The book says investigators had blamed the TTP for the killing of Bhutto but Baitullah Mehsud had initially denied involvement, insisting that her killers were the same people behind the assassinations of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and two brothers Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto. It said the TTP leadership had denied any involvement in the murder until Bhutto's 10th death anniversary. Palestinian President slammed on Sunday the peace deal proposed by US President Donald Trump, calling it a " slap on the face". Abbas told members of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council, who convened in the city of Ramallah for two days, that Trump's "deal of the century" is "a slap on the face," adding "we will slap back," Xinhua reported. The Central Council convened for two days to come up with strategic decisions on the peace process, the relations with Israel and to discuss Trump's declaration last December to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "Jerusalem was removed from the table by a tweet of Trump," said Abbas, adding that "the status of Jerusalem is like Mecca. Nothing is more important than Jerusalem." The Palestinians consider East Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel during the Arab-Israeli war in 1967, as the capital of their future independent state, while Israel declared the integral Jerusalem as its eternal capital. "We say No to what contradicts with our fate, our future or our cause or our people... No and a thousand Nos and now we say to Trump No and No and we tell Trump 'the deal of the century' is 'a slap of the century," said Abbas. He stressed that "the Palestinians will not leave or make or repeat the mistakes of the past," adding "this is a fateful moment that calls on every Palestinian to immediately stand up to defend the fate of the eternal capital." Meanwhile, Abbas criticised Islamic Hamas movement and the Islamic Jihad for boycotting the meeting of the PLO Central Council. The two groups said they decided not to join the meeting because it was not held in one of the Arab countries. "It bothered me a lot that our brothers said at the last minute that they would not attend because the place of the meeting is not appropriate. Where is the place in their eyes to make fateful decisions freely?" said Abbas. He went on saying "I may not blame Islamic Jihad because they do not work in politics, but what bothers me is our brothers in Hamas." Speaker of the Council Salim Za'noon said earlier that "the United States is no longer a sponsor of the peace process after its declaration on Jerusalem. He said that "any ideas that are traded under the name of 'the deal of the century' must be confronted. It seeks to impose a deficient solution that does not meet the minimum of our legitimate rights." "We must reaffirm the rights of our people to resist the occupation in its entire legitimate means and to make its cost great. The Palestinian National Council (PNC) should be considered as the Legislative Council of the Palestinians," he added. The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said on Sunday it was working to create a 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria, drawing sharp condemnation from Turkey. With the offensive against IS winding down, the coalition and its allies in the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance were beginning to shift their focus to border security, coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told AFP. "There is a goal of a final force of approximately 30,000," about half of whom would be retrained SDF fighters, he said. "There are approximately 230 individuals that are training right now in the border security force. That's an inaugural class," Dillon said. Backed by the US-led coalition's air strikes, special forces advisers, and weapons, the SDF has ousted IS from swathes of northeastern Syria. Its Kurdish and Arab members now control territory bordering Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and Syrian government forces to the west. Turkey reacted sharply to news of the border force on Sunday, saying it would "legitimise a terror organisation". Ankara is fiercely opposed to the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) - considered by the Turkish government to be a "terrorist" group. "Rather than end its support to the PYD-YPG, these steps taken to legitimise a terror organisation and to make it permanent in the region are worrying," said Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Accepting this state of affairs is absolutely not possible," Kalin added. Top SDF media official Mustefa Bali confirmed the creation of the border force and said training had already begun. "We are transitioning to a new phase of coordination between us and the coalition," Bali told AFP. "The wide areas and cities that were liberated need someone to protect them." Bali said the new units would be deployed along the Turkish border and adjacent to territory held by Syrian troops but did not immediately respond to a question on rules of engagement in those areas. Turkey has often targeted YPG positions in northern Syria and, on Sunday, Erdogan threatened to attack the Kurdish-held area of Afrin in northern Syria "in the days ahead". The SDF's relationship with regime forces is less tense. Since last year, a "de-confliction line" cutting diagonally across eastern Syria has largely kept the two forces from clashing. There was no immediate reaction from the Syrian government to the border force announcement. The coalition declined to comment on possible military protocol when it came to Turkish or regime troops. Dillon said the force was primarily part of a broader strategy to "prevent the resurgence of IS". "With the fight against IS, as the remaining pocket continues to go away, we know that doesn't mean the end of Daesh," he told AFP, using the Arabic acronym for IS. "We'll have to make sure that there is security that can be maintained," he said. Dillon said SDF troops in Syria's east were already coordinating with Iraqi forces across the border to target any "transient movement" by IS fighters between the two countries. Volkswagen has said that its namesake brand sold more vehicles worldwide in 2017 than ever before, a sign it is recovering from a bruising emissions-cheating scandal three years ago. "We finished 2017 with the best performance ever for Volkswagen," Herbert Diess, chairman of the board of management of the Volkswagen passenger cars brand, said Sunday night at the Detroit Auto Show. Global sales rose 4.2 per cent to 6.2 million, with sales in China jumping 5.9 per cent to 3.2 million, more than half the total sold globally. Other countries with strong gains in terms of percentages included the United States, Russia, and Brazil, although all of these countries are much smaller markets for VW than China. Diess reiterated VW's apology over the "dieselgate" scandal that has cost it billions of dollars in settlements and government probes. VW released the figures ahead of the launch of an updated version of the Jetta, its top-selling vehicle in the US. The base price of $18,545 won especially loud applause at a glitzy launch Sunday night. The Jetta is among just a handful of sedans being launched at the 2018 show, which is dominated by pickup trucks and other large vehicles that have been outselling smaller cars in recent years in the US. "As a full-line automaker family oriented, you need to have a competitive strong sedan," VW North American chief executive Hinrich Woebcken told reporters after the launch. President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday confirmed that Palestinians are being offered Abu Dis as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Abu Dis is a Palestinian town on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where Al-Quds University, one of the largest Palestinian universities, is located. The Jerusalem Post quoted Abbas, as saying that "What would you want if Jerusalem were to be lost? Would you want to make a state with Abu Dis as its capital?" Abbas stated rhetorically. "That's what they are offering us now. Abu Dis." The Palestinian president did not mention, whose plan is to make Abu Dis as the capital of a future Palestinian state. However, several Palestinian and Lebanese officials, have reportedly said that a forthcoming United States peace plan includes Abu Dis as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Abbas said "no" to US President Donald Trump's peace plan. "We can say no to anyone... And we have now said 'no' to Trump and others. No, we will not accept his plan," Abbas said. "We told him that the deal of the era is the slap of the era... We will repeal it," he added. Protests and violence erupted in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip after US President Donald Trump, last month, announced the relocation of its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Since then, Israeli forces have killed 12 Palestinians. Unofficial figures of casualties vary between 30 to 40. At least 2,900 others have been injured and more than 400 arrested so far. On Christmas eve, Israel also sealed-off the entrance to the West Bank cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh until further notice. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has also rejected the American peace efforts and called on the European Union (EU) to take the lead in the Israel-Palestine peace process. Jerusalem is considered as a sacred place and is home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. However, it is also a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as the capital of its future state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A learning-based initiative aimed at students is making waves in schools and colleges across India. Going by the name of "Project Udaan", this initiative has benefitted around 1.5 lakh students covering 1,600 schools and colleges across India. The major objective behind organising such trips is to encourage young minds to develop an interest in all sorts of enterprises and to encourage them to dream big in life. It is being used to empower communities, enhance life quality and instill hope for a better future. Run by the Adani Foundation, "Udaan" has a presence in 13 states in India. "Project Udaan" is helmed by Dr. Priti G Adani, wife of billionaire businessman Gautam Adani. The project is inspired by the latter's life changing story. Under this project, a one-day familiarisation trip is organized to give students from 10th to 12th standards a chance to visit Adani Port, Adani Power and Adani Wilmar facilities at the Mundra site and gain insights into the large-scale business activities carried out there. "My husband Mr. Gautam Adani and I feel that true success does not lie in mammoth expansion of business, money or power, but in how one uses that power to make lives better, to empower people and ensure that the benefits of a growing economy percolates down to those at the bottom of the pyramid," Priti Adani said about the group's philanthropic belief. Education-oriented initiatives of the foundation have also been pivoted through ground work on schools. Adani's Vidya Mandirs - located in Ahmedabad and Bhadreshwar in Gujarat and Surguja in Chattisgarh - provide quality education, free of cost to meritorious children from the weaker section of the society. Equipped with state-of-the art infrastructure, excellent faculty and facilities at par with the best schools in the country, these schools are providing to more than 2,000 children. They are not just provided with free here, but also free transport, books, uniform and three nutritious meals to ensure their holistic development. Besides the Vidya Mandirs, there are five other schools under the aegis of Adani Foundation that provide subsidised to children. These are the Adani Public Schools and Adani Vidyalayas, which are catering to the educational needs of some 3,000 students. To further the cause, the foundation is collaborating with state governments to support more than 300 government schools in myriad ways, benefitting more than 100,000 students. Apart from the education initiatives, the foundation has also made inroads into healthcare to provide development through its CSR activities. The Adani Foundation works actively to transform the health and sanitation landscape among the marginalized communities and make available good health and nutrition across gender, income groups and geographies. The foundation runs the GK General Hospital in Bhuj and offers free medical treatment to those belonging to the economically weaker sections of society. Being the only hospital in the largest district of the country, Kutch, it operates on a public-private partnership model. It is the one stop destination for the medical needs of the people in Kutch. The Foundation also runs GAIMS (Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences) with the objective of educating the youth of the country to qualify as doctors who will serve the communities and the nation with compassion. The initiative also runs 15 mobile healthcare units in areas where the group operates to make quality healthcare available at the doorsteps of the remotest villages in the country, benefitting over 3,00,000 people annually. Another tangent of work from the foundation is a community based initiative, SuPoshan launched in 2016-17 is working towards alleviating malnutrition among children in the age group of 0-5 years and alleviating anemia among adolescent girls and woman. Presently, the initiative is implemented in 276 villages across 8 states of India covering 86,305 households. Around 190 Sanginis (village health workers) are working for curative and preventive interventions, and have so far treated 417 severely malnourished and 691 moderately malnourished children. The group's work and beliefs in philanthropy has had tremendous impact for the country's populace. Since its inception 21 years ago, the 300-strong team of the foundation has taken big strides towards empowering the vulnerable and marginalized, promising and delivering scalable and replicable solutions to address many pertinent problems of the country. The initiatives have made a difference to over 1 million people, 5 lakh families and 1,470 villages and towns in 13 states. All the while, the group silently touches lives and helps people usher in an era of capable leaders and a strong nation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The American Friends of Balochistan (AFB) has condemned the extrajudicial killings of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) London's deputy convener Dr Hasan Zafar Arif and drew attention to the recurring pattern of violence against activism for truth and justice in Pakistan. "The fact that Pakistan's regime feels threatened by a 72-year-old intellectual is evidence of their paranoia and insecurity...a sign that they know Pakistan's sense of nationhood is withering away," said AFB President Ahmar Mustikhan. "He (Arif) experienced extrajudicial kidnapping for a day, before being assassinated. As always, Pakistani authorities deny any involvement, and are advertising that there were no marks on his body. This is how Pakistan has come to be known as a mendocracy (rule by compulsive liars)," he added. MQM leader Dr Arif was found dead in a car in Karachi's Ilyas Goth area on Sunday after he was abducted a day earlier. Dr Arif, used to teach Philosophy at the University of Karachi. The ADB said, in its statement, the present killing bears all the usual marks of an extrajudicial assassination by Pakistani state agencies. Professor Arif had also been an ideologue in the Pakistan People's Party under former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who herself was assassinated in a bomb blast. In October 2016, Arif had undergone a six-month political imprisonment. He was picked up by Pakistan Rangers right outside the Karachi Press Club just before he was to address the media. He was charged with attending an incendiary speech by exiled MQM leader Altaf Hussain. Prior to that, in 1984, he had served 2 years in prison on charges of "anti-dictatorship activism". In a recent interview, Dr Arif spoke out against paramilitary operations in Pakistan's largest city, which he saw as having the makings of a "holocaust" in areas extending from Karachi to Mirpurkhas. The murdered professor was an alumnus of the University of Reading and Harvard University. The Baloch Women Forum (WBWF) has also condemned the killing of Dr Arif and said, "It is very sad indeed, when Pakistani army crushed Baloch for 70 years, Pakistani civil society kept silent as if we were 'others' and they were having a share from our genocide in form of gas, jobs etc. Now this monster has started butchering its own people for asking their rights and exposing Pakistan." "The Pakistani establishment, intelligence and security forces have long blurred the lines between the peaceful political Activists and rebels, though. Often treating all as enemies of the state, to justify killings," WBWF added in a statement. Condemning the extrajudicial killing of Dr Arif, Balochistan National Congress (BNC) Washington D.C chapter, president Dr Baloch said the extrajudicial killing of a University professor without the due process of law shows how the Pakistani state actors are taking the law into their own hands by acting as the "Judge, Jury and Executioner", bypassing the country's own laws and constitution". "We demand a full investigation into the murder of the professor and those who were responsible must be brought to justice", he added. Dr Baloch also asked all the oppressed ethnic group of Pakistan to stand up against the injustices, lawlessness and such extrajudicial killings, disappearances, tortures and murders by both the state and non-state actors. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday announced that India and USA had signed the Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2015. To enhance the effectiveness of information exchange and transparency, both the sides committed to establish by January 1 2017, rules requiring their Reporting Financial Institutions (RFIs) to obtain the Tax Identity Number (TIN) of each reportable person having a reportable account as of June 30, 2014 (pre-existing account). The Income-tax rules, accordingly, provided for reporting of U.S. TIN from the year 2017 onwards in respect of any pre-existing account. The US-IRS had further issued guidelines through Notice 2017-46 dated September 25, 2017 providing relaxation to Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) with respect to reporting of U.S.TIN for calendar years 2017, 2018 and 2019. Moreover, the Competent Authority of USA will not determine significant non-compliance with the obligations under the IGA solely because of a failure of a reporting FFI to obtain and report each required U.S.TIN, provided that the reporting FFI obtains and reports the date of birth of each account holder and controlling person whose U.S. TIN is not reported. Further, the authority needs to request annually from each account holder any missing required U.S.TIN and before reporting information that relates to calendar year 2017 to the partner jurisdiction, search electronically searchable data maintained by the reporting FFI for any missing required U.S. TINs. The Indian RFIs reporting pre-existing accounts should, therefore, ensure that the U.S. TIN is reported in respect of pre-existing accounts for the year 2017 onwards. However, in case the U.S.TIN is not available, to avoid determination by the USA Competent Authority of significant non-compliance to the obligations of the IGA, the RFIs are advised to insert nine capital letters e.g. (i.e. AAAAAAAA) in the TIN field (for the account holder or controlling person, as the case may be), for such accounts in their reports in Form 61B, provided that all the three conditions listed above are met. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A da Vinci Surgical Robot promises to be a star attraction for hundreds of experienced gynaecologists attending the annual conference in the city starting January 17, 2018. As cancer spreads relentlessly across India, with 15 lakh new cancer cases every year according to the National Cancer Registry, computer-assisted surgery will help in fighting it aggressively and effectively. Robotic Surgeries, where a robot assists the surgeon, scores over conventional surgery by minimising blood loss, dramatically reducing post-operative recovery time, and bringing precision in executing the procedure, thus saving healthy tissue from damage. With multi-disciplinary robotic surgery proving its efficacy in India in the last 7 years, a few sessions by trained robotic gynaecologists will highlight how computer-assisted surgeries are able to vanquish various forms of cancers, particularly in the medical disciplines of Gynaecology. Gynaecologists in India are now increasingly using robotic surgery for ovarian cancer, cervical cancer and endometrial cancer. In addition it is used for groin node dissection for cancer of the vulva. "A 3-dimensional high definition vision system and 10 times magnification gives the surgeons to work with tiny wristed instruments that bend and rotate far greater than the human hand enabling superior outcomes, quick recovery and much shorter hospital stays," said Gopal Chakravarthy, CEO, Vattikuti Technologies. A da Vinci surgical robot brings in human wrist-like movement with its instruments and offers a 10 times enlarged 3-dimensional view. And that is exactly what a tour of a da Vinci surgical robot across India will demonstrate. Surgeons in the State capital will get a first-hand look at how a surgical robot works and understand the situations in which its benefits unfold. Dr. SP Somashekhar, Consultant Surgical, Gynec-Onco and Robotic Surgeon, Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru will perform a live Gynaecology procedure and will subsequently lead a discussion on 'da Vinci Robotic Surgery in Gynaecology. "Robotic surgeries are used in both benign and malignant gynaecological conditions. It is especially useful in difficult surgeries that requires great precision and expertise," said Dr. Sabhyata Gupta, Director Gynaecology of Medanta The Medicity. According to Dr. Gupta, robotic surgery is being used in procedures such as myomectomy (surgical removal of fibroids), difficult hysterectomies (removal of uterus), clearance of endometriosis (a painful tissue disorder of the uterus) and repair of the vesico vaginal fistula (an abnormal opening), which are all benign conditions. "Robotic Surgery's biggest benefit in cancer surgeries is better patient outcomes. Patients undergoing robotic surgery also report reduced pain and faster return to normal functions thus causing minimal disruption in a woman's day to day activities," said Dr. Rooma Sinha, Gynaecologist, Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgeon, Urogynaecologist, at Apollo Health City in Hyderabad. Robotic surgery is minimally invasive, and has a much greater precision which make it a preferred surgical technique in early stage gynaecological cases like endometrial, cervical and ovarian cancers. It facilitates quick recovery, minimal blood loss, and almost no blood transfusion. "In my experience, it leads to better results even among patients with co-morbidities like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. We are able to avoid complications caused by long incisions associated with open surgery such as wound infection, hernias, and cut hospital stays down to 1 - 1 days in most cases", says Dr. Rama Joshi, Gynae Oncologist & Robotic Surgeon at New Delhi NCR. While breast cancer and cervical cancer are the two most prevalent forms of female cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer are claiming a lot of lives as well. It is estimated that one in two women diagnosed with breast cancer in India dies early, while every 8 minutes one woman dies of cervical cancer. Just imagine, in 2016, nearly 70,000 Indians died of cervical cancer - the second most common cancer among women, accounting for 23 per cent of all cases. Breast cancer, according to the National Cancer Registry, is the most common cancer in women in India, with 27 per cent of all cases. However, with the advent of robotic surgery, there are stories of hope now emerging in women's fight against cancer. Vattikuti Technologies, Vattikuti Foundation and Intuitive Surgical Inc. have an ambitious plan to spread the use of Robotic surgery in India. Vattikuti Technologies has partnered with scores of hospitals in India since 2011 in drawing a roadmap for success of the robotic program as well as supporting training of surgeons. So far, the number of da Vinci Surgical robots in India stands at nearly 60 installations, manned by 360 trained robotic surgeons in 20 cities. Surgical Robots to become more accessible to hospitals in non-metros To address the scarcity of trained surgeons and the cost of computer-assisted procedures and equipment Vattikuti Technologies and Intuitive Surgical Inc. USA and Vattikuti Foundation is showcasing the technology by mounting the surgical robot on a mobile vehicle to simulate an operation theatre setting as it educates doctors and surgeons about the benefits. Vattikuti Technologies and Surgical Robot makers Intuitive Surgical Inc., USA will offer hospitals the da Vinci Robot along with instruments required for the next three years at a special price point. "The 4-armed Roving Robot will help surgeons in smaller towns experience the capabilities of a da Vinci Surgical Robot in removing affected tissue while retaining healthy tissue," adds Mr. Chakravarthy. The da Vinci surgical system enables surgeons to operate minimally invasively through a few small incisions while controlling the robotic instruments from a nearby console. It allows surgeons to operate with enhanced vision and precision. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four over ground workers (OGW) of Hizbul Mujahideen were arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district on Monday. "On a specific input, the Jammu and Kashmir police along with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a joint operation and arrested all four of them," police said. "The OGWs were motivating the local youth to take up arms," police added. Earlier last month, a Lashkar-e-Taiba OGW was arrested in Handwara of Jammu and Kashmir. Also, an AK 56 rifle, two magazines, 25 rounds of AK 56 and one wire cutter were recovered from his possession. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan on Monday stated that four of its Army soldiers were killed along the Line of Control (LoC). An official statement by the Pakistan Army stated that the four soldiers were killed in Jandrot-Kotli Sector when they were "busy in line communication maintenance." Meanwhile, India maintains that Pakistan resorts to frequent ceasefire violations along the LoC that are effectively retaliated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security analysts have raised questions over Kashmiri separatists' double-standard over civilian casualties in Jammu and Kashmir. Indiscriminate firing and ceasefire violations by Pakistan army has killed and injured many civilians in J&K, but there is no voice of condemnation from the Hurriyat Conference. On January 13, a 12-year-old boy, Mohammad Iqbal was seriously injured near the Line of Control in Poonch district. Brigadier Anil Gupta, a security analyst based in Jammu said, "I always maintained that the welfare of the Kashmiris and Kashmiri people is not the concern of the Hurriyat. The Hurriyat's sole concern is his 'master's voice' of Pakistan. They do what a Pakistan does them, they do, whatever suits Pakistan, they do, whatever suits ISI. So, for Hurriyat, there's nothing new. Hurriyat is known for this. And they have no sympathy, no love loss for Kashmiris or anything happening in Kashmir." He added, "Even when a civilian gets killed by militants in Kashmir, there is no 'hartal' or strike. But, when a Pakistani terrorist is killed, they call for a 'hartal'. So this is what a true face of Hurriyat." In 2017, Pakistan violated ceasefire 881 times along the LoC, which was a 230 per cent increase in ceasefire violations as compared to 2016. Some 30 people were killed and many injured. Analysts criticizes Hurriyat, who turns as mere spectator over casualties in firing from across the border. Anil Bhat, a security expert said, "Hurriyat Conference is made to keep alive the separatist element. They hardly care if any civilian is killed. They have a political agenda to keep alive the militancy and separatism. And, they have been working on this for over the years." Another security analyst Balram Saini said, "Since beginning, Hurriyat has played double standard. Be it Jammu or Kashmir; whenever a violation is reported from Pakistani side, Hurriyat never condemn that. When a terrorist is being killed in security operation or a civilian gets injured, then they make a big issue. They call for hartal or bandh and do stone pelting. So, this is all a sponsored programme." The over 700 km Line of Control (LoC) is under the operational of the Indian Army and 192 km of International Border in Jammu is manned by the Border Security Force. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President of Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has said Olympian Sushil Kumar could be banned from participation in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2018 if found guilty in a brawl that broke out during trials for the event. During the CWG trials held last month, a scuffle broke out between supporters of wrestler Parveen Rana and Sushil Kumar. Sushil has been booked by the Delhi Police after Rana alleged that the former's supporters beat him and his elder brother post the match for daring to take the mat against the Olympian. WFI president Brij Bhushan told ANI, "Praveen Rana had registered the complaint against Sushil in the matter after which we gave notice to Sushil and he has answered it. We will submit Rana's complaint and Sushil's answer to the disciplinary committee of WFI. A decision on the matter will be taken by the federation after the ongoing Pro Wrestling League." Sushil has rejected all complaints lodged against him, added Bhushan. He said, "The feud did not take place in the trial area; rather it occurred in the warm-up area. And in the video clip which Rana has submitted to us, Sushil can't be seen. But if police files a chargesheet and Sushil is found guilty in the matter, then the federation will have to take a significant action against him and he might also be banned from the upcoming Commonwealth Games. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) On the 70th Army Day, Chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Naval Staff Sunil Lanba, and Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa paid tribute at Amar Jawan Jyoti in New Delhi on Monday. The day commemorates the valiant soldiers for their sacrifice to the nation and its citizens. On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to extend greetings to the soldiers and their families and paid salute to the army. Photo: Twitter (@adgpi) "On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen of India has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents," Modi wrote on Twitter. In another tweet, he said, "Our Army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes." Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also honoured the courage and bravery of the soldiers. "On #ArmyDay we remember the indomitable courage and supreme sacrifices of our soldiers & salute their exemplary dedication & bravery. #ArmyDay2018," Jaitley wrote on Twitter. Photo: Twitter (@adgpi) Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore posted, "Salute to band of brothers. Nation first, always and every time. #ArmyDay." Paying tribute to the soldiers, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi wrote, "We salute the valour, courage and sacrifice of our brave jawans on #ArmyDay. Your perseverance defends our freedom; your dedication shields our liberty. It's because of your sacrifices a billion hopes and dreams can take shape." Union Minister Smriti Irani posted, "On Army Day, a grateful Nation salutes the courage and spirit of selfless service of our armed forces personnel." Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also took to Twitter and wrote, "Let's salute our real heroes for their indomitable courage, valour, ultimate sacrifice and dedication towards the NATION. #ArmyDay." is celebrated annually on January 15. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India on Monday signed nine Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs)with Israel in various sectors, including cybersecurity, space and medicine. The MoU on cyber-security cooperation envisages cooperation in the field of cyber security to develop, promote and expand collaboration through various platforms and arrangements such as training programmes, skill development, and simulator based hands-on training. Through the MoU between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Energy on Cooperation in Oil and Gas Sector, both the sides are looking to explore opportunities of long-term cooperative relationship and joint economic projects to enhance bilateral engagements in the field of Oil and Gas. The MoU on Protocol between India and Israel on Amendments to the Air Transport Agreement envisages entering into cooperative marketing arrangements, such as code share, bloc space or any other JV agreement for the purpose of operating the agreed services on the specified routes. The two sides also signed an MoU on filmmaking. With this, India and Israel envisages to establish a framework for encouraging all audiovisual media output, especially the co-production of films for the benefit of the film industries of both the countries. India and Israel also took their collaboration in the field of medicine. The MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Cooperation in the field of Research in Homeopathic Medicine envisages cooperation in the field of research in homeopathic medicine. In the field of space science, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) signed an MoU with Technion- Israel Institute of Technology. The two institutes would work together will from a joint working group for research, educational and training programmes. On the investment front, the two sides signed an MoU for exchanging information on investment opportunities, relevant laws and regulations, policies and government initiatives. For cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries, an MoU was signed between Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Phinergy Ltd. The MoU on Letter of Intent between IOCL and Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies intends to encourage joint research activities in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies. The MoUs were exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Israel would like the new technology to be applied more effectively in science, technology and agriculture sectors, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday. MEA Secretary (Economic Relations) and Foreign Secretary-designate Vijay K. Gokhale said, "The Prime Ministers of India and Israel spoke on the use of technology in agriculture. Our Prime Minister, (Narendra) Modi stressed on the use of technology in the agricultural sector. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke about the technology used in agriculture such as - how it reaches the farmers, how it improves productivity and yield of the fields through water and fertilisers. Both the countries are working on this proposal." "We want to modernise our science and technology sectors with the help of technology, through Israel's expertise. The fund that was announced by both the Prime Ministers at Tel Aviv, at the time of Prime Minister Modi's visit, has now been operationalised. The two countries have proposed 20 US million dollars. We have sent calls for proposals", added Gokhale. "In the industrial sector, water can be treated effectively with the help of technology, when industries discharge waste in the water bodies. We would also like to implement the same here", said Gokhale. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has invited Israeli defense companies to work and invest in India. He also said that India and Israel would strengthen existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of peoples in both the countries, which include agriculture, science and technology and security. The two sides today also signed nine Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in various sectors, including cybersecurity, energy and medicine. Prime Minister Netanyahu is on a six-day visit to India. He will visit Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai during his stay. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that the issue of exploitation of the Indian caregivers working in Israel has been taken up with Israel. According to a data released by Israel's interior ministry, there are about 47,000 legal foreign caregivers in Israel and another 12,000 illegal ones. They come mainly from the Philippines, India, Moldova and Sri Lanka. The manpower agencies bring such people to Israel from these countries to work as home nursing aides. Pavan Kapoor, India's ambassador to Israel, said, "We have about 11,000-12,000 Indian caregivers working in Israel. We have found that they get exploited by the agencies. We are working with the Israeli side to stop this". The ambassador also clarified that there was no ban on any religious pilgrimage to Israel. "A large number of Indians who go to Israel is for the purpose of religious pilgrimage, there is no stoppage or ban to any religious pilgrimage", he stated. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he has invited Israeli defence companies to work and invest in India. He also said that India and Israel would strengthen existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of peoples in both the countries, which include agriculture, science and technology and security. The two sides today also signed nine Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in various sectors, including cybersecurity, energy and medicine. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on a six-day visit to India. He will visit Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai during his stay. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India and Israel are ready to take their relationship to greater heights through mutual opportunities. Addressing the India-Israel Business Summit here, Prime Minister Modi said, "I have always had a deep regard for Israel and its people. There is a new energy and purpose that has invigorated our ties over the last few years. It will help take our cooperation to greater heights. We stand on the cusp of a new chapter in India-Israel relations driven by our people and mutual opportunities for the betterment of lives". He added that he had first visited Israel in 2006 as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. "Last year in July, I visited Israel, the first such visit from India. I experienced the remarkable spirit of innovation, enterprise and perseverance that drives Israel. In India, we have been taking steady steps over three years at both macro as well as micro-level, to make a difference. Our motto is: Reform, Perform and Transform", he asserted. Prime Minister Modi further said the India-Israel Innovation Bridge will act as a link between the start-ups of the two sides. "I have been saying that Indian industries, start-ups and the academic institutions must collaborate with their Israeli counterparts to access the huge reservoir of knowledge. We want to do more and do better. To enable entry of capital and technology, most of the sectors including defence have been opened for the foreign direct investment (FDI). More than 90 percent of the FDI approvals has been put on the automatic route. We are now among the most open economies", he stated. The Prime Minister added that along with the government and people, the business community of India is also keen to join hands. "India's development agenda is huge. It presents a vast economic opportunity for Israeli companies. I invite more and more Israeli people, businesses and companies to come and work in India", he concluded. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led state government in the wake of multiple rape cases being reported in the state. Hooda citing lapse in women security asked the government to step down. "Whatever is happening in Haryana, is unfortunate and a serious matter to discuss on. The law and order is just out of control of the BJP led-government in the state. Incidents which happened in Jind, Faridabad, Panipat and Binjalpur are really very shameful. I think the government must resign on moral grounds," Hooda told ANI. "These incidents prove that there is no government here. Every single individual is feeling unsafe and unsecure. We have become the leading state in crime. Related to all these matters we will meet the Haryana governor on January 17 over the deteriorating scenario in the state," he added. Demanding tough punishment for the guilty, he said, "This government has failed on all fronts. Women safety is highly required. Students are not safe at schools like you all can see in Gurugram murder case." Hooda's statement after multiple rape cases were recorded in the state. First incident where, a 50-year-old man was arrested for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in Haryana's Pinjore. The man allegedly mutilated the private parts of the minor by inserting a wooden object. The second horrific incident came into light after, a body of a minor girl was found on Sunday in which two people were arrested for killing and gang-raping the victim in Panipat. The accused later committed necrophilia after murdering the girl. Lastly, a 22-year-old woman was gang-raped in a moving car by three men in Faridabad the same day. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The left parties on Monday staged a protest near India Gate in Delhi against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India. Communist Party of India leader D. Raja said that they were protesting against the Israel Prime Minister's visit as India do not approve the policies persuade by the Israel government. "The left parties have decided to communicate that people of India do not approve the policies persuade by the Israel government. He further alleged that Israel is an illegal occupation of pelestarian territories adding that it was not accepting the two-state solution offered by Unite Nation. "Unless we resolve the pelesterian question there cannot be peace and security in West Asia. It is better to address the pelestarian question in a proper historic prospective. This message we want to communicate to the visiting Israel head of the state. It is part of our democracy," he added. The Israeli Prime Minister is on a six-day visit to India to hold a delegation level talk with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Netanyahu is accompanied by his wife Sara and a 130-member delegation from various sectors, including cyber, agriculture and defence. He is also scheduled to visit Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Monday said that the rift between the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and four senior Supreme Court judges has been "laid to rest". BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said that the matter was resolved after a judges meet in the CJI Dipak Misra's chamber at 10.30 on Monday morning. Addressing media here, Mishra said, "It was an internal issue and has now been resolved. The matter has been laid to rest and all courts rooms in the apex court are functioning normally." He further said that the council didn't want any political party to take advantage of the rift between the judges and CJI. "We did not want any political party to take advantage of the situation. Everyone is discharging their duties and everything has been resolved as the Attorney General has also said," he added. Earlier on Sunday, Mishra had said that the matter would be sorted out soon as assured by CJI Dipak Misra and other judges. "We have met the CJI in a very congenial atmosphere and everything will be sorted out. All the judges present there have assured us that matter will be sorted soon," he said. The apparent crisis in the top court came to the fore when four top court judges, justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, on Friday held a press conference - a first by apex court judges - and alleged that the CJI had been violating the conventions in his role as the master of the roster. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Founder Altaf Hussain strongly condemned the extrajudicial killings of MQM London's deputy convener Dr Hasan Zafar Arif and drew attention toward the recurring pattern of violence against activism for truth and justice in Pakistan. "The death of Professor Hassan Arif will not go in vain, he was a fearless and true ideological worker of the MQM, despite being detained arbitrary for several months in 2016, at a time when enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings were a daily occurrence, Professor Arif remained steadfast to his cause," Arif said. "This cowardice act, of murdering Professor Arif will not deter the Mohajir cause, but will make us stronger to achieve our desired result," he added. While paying tributes to Professor Arif, Hussain demanded immediate action against the culprits. "Professor Arif's extrajudicial killing will not be forgotten, and we demand those responsible be brought to justice immediately," he said. Adding, "I pay tribute to Professor Arif for his duties he carried out for the Mohajir nation, and send my deepest condolences to his family members and thousands of his fellow students worldwide." MQM leader Dr Arif was found dead in a car in Karachi's Ilyas Goth area on Sunday after he was abducted a day earlier. Dr Arif used to teach Philosophy at the University of Karachi. "Professor Arif did not succumb to the wishes of the dictators, and chose to be among those who have sacrificed their lives for the struggle of the Mohajirs, as a true martyr," Hussain said. Professor Arif had also been an ideologue in the Pakistan People's Party under former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who herself was assassinated in a bomb blast. In October 2016, Arif had undergone a six-month political imprisonment. He was picked up by Pakistan Rangers right outside the Karachi Press Club just before he was to address the media. He was charged with attending an incendiary speech by exiled MQM leader Altaf Hussain. Prior to that, in 1984, he had served 2 years in prison on charges of "anti-dictatorship activism". In a recent interview, Dr Arif spoke out against paramilitary operations in Pakistan's largest city, which he saw as having the makings of a "holocaust" in areas extending from Karachi to Mirpurkhas. The murdered professor was an alumnus of the University of Reading and Harvard University. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Dr Hasan Zafar Arif was found dead in a car in Karachi's Ilyas Goth area on Sunday. Dr Arif, who was also the MQM-London's deputy convener, used to teach Philosophy in the University of Karachi. "The body of Hassan Zafar Arif, son of Maqbool Hassan, 70-72-years-old, was found from car number ANC-016, Lancer silver at Ilyas Goth," the Dawn quoted station house officer (SHO) at Ibrahim Hyderi police station as saying. "The body was shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC)," he added. The SHO said, "Further investigation is ongoing." However, the cause of death is still uncertain. The body has been shifted to the mortuary to ascertain exact cause of death According to the Police, no sign of torture was found on the body. Earlier in October last year, MQM leader Dr Naushad was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Hyderabad. Also in September last year, another MQM leader Khawaja Izhar Hassan had managed to escape unhurt after unknown assailants on three motorcycles attacked him as he left the Karachi's Buffer Zone Eidgah after Eidul Azha prayers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Moshe Holtzberg, who lost his parents during the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, is all set to return to Nariman House- his home and one of the sites that terrorists chose for bloodbath. Addressing the media here, Rabbi Israel Kozlovsky, Director of Chabad-run Jewish center at Nariman House, on Monday said that Moshe will be accompanying Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 18 for the inauguration of a memorial project dedicated to those killed in the 26/11 carnage. Kozlovsky noted, "We are very excited about this upcoming visit of Moshe Holtzberg with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We are heartened to see him here again in the Nariman House, the very place where his life was miraculously saved by his nanny, Sandra Samuel. Prime Minister Netanyahu will be coming here on January 18 to unveil the memorial project which will be dedicated to remember and commemorate all the victims of 26/11 attack". Moshe was only two when terrorists killed his parents at Mumbai's Jewish house. Then 'Baby Moshe' became a face of the innocent victims of ruthless terrorism. His parents had moved to Mumbai seven years before the attack to work at the Chabad House. After the attack, Moshe's maternal grandparents took him to Afula, a city in Israel for his safety and comfort. He added that a part of the memorial will have a special area designed to remember the parents of Moshe Holtzberg. "We are very excited about this programme. This visit for Moshe is very emotional and sensitive as he lost his parents here. We will need the cooperation of the media and we will provide a press release at the end", he continued. He further said preparations are going on to welcome Moshe and the Israeli Prime Minister. "We hope Moshe will remember that as a very special moment. He is coming here after more than nine years. The memorial project will be opened to the public once completed. We are hoping to complete at least one part of this memorial by the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai attack, which is November 26, 2018. He is coming along with his grandparents both from maternal and paternal sides", Kozlovsky added. Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu at the airport in Delhi. The Israeli premier, who is on a six-day visit to India, is accompanied by his wife Sara and a 130-member delegation from various sectors, including cyber, agriculture and defence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday lauded his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi for implementing economic reforms and promoting technology during his governance. Addressing the India-Israel Business Summit here, the Israel Prime Minister said, "Prime Minister Modi, my dear friend and friend of Israel, thank you for your magnificent hospitality and friendship. I would like to tell you here that Prime Minister Modi is doing two basic but important things in his governance, one is economic reform and second is the promotion of technology. Economic reform is the key to any country's growth because you cannot move if you are stuck". He added that India has moved in three short years (2014 to 2017) to 42 places in the business-friendly index where Israel has not reached yet. "There is not going to be anymore distinction between high tech and low tech because at the end everything is going to be technologised. In the last five to 10 years Israel has established car industries and the country has 500 startup companies that receive 500 billion dollars investment every year," Netanyahu asserted. He added that India and Israel should come together to shape a future for both the countries. "You have brilliant people in India. We have brilliant people in Israel and what we can do is shape the future together. I believe in India. I came here to say today that I am thankful to Prime Minister Modi for believing in Israel as we believe in India as well," the Israel Prime Minister stated. Earlier in the day, Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, received a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The Israeli premier is accompanied by his wife Sara and a 130-member delegation from various sectors, including cyber, agriculture and defence. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will here on Tuesday inaugurate Raisina Dialogue 2018, themed on 'Managing Disruptive Transitions Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and ORF Chairman Sunjoy Joshi will also be part of the inaugural session of this annual geo-political event, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Swaraj will also deliver the Plenary Address on January 17, while the Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs M.J. Akbar and Gen. V.K. Singh, will also address the delegates at the three-day event. The other ministers taking part in the Dialogue include the Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, the Textiles and I & B Minister Smriti Irani, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha and the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri. The chiefs of Army and Navy General Bipin Rawat and Admiral Sunil Lanba will also address the Dialogue, along with Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, US Pacific Command General Chris Deverell, Joint Forces Commander, UK Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, Japan, and Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, Chief of Navy, Australia. Ministerial delegations from many countries like Australia, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Poland are attending this year's conference. The ministers include Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne, Indonesia's Minister for Defence Ryamizard Ryacudu, Bangladesh's Minister of Foreign Affairs Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Russia's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Igor Morgulov, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign affairs Maliki Osman, Sweden's State Secretary for International and EU Affairs to Prime Minister Hans Dahlgren, Poland's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marek Magierowski, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Kazem Sajjadpour, Hungary's Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation Istvan Mikola, Sri Lanka's State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake, and Mauritius' Minister of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping PremdutKoonjoo. Former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harder and former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt are among more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates from around 90 countries, who are participating in the Dialogue. Speaking on the same, ORF Chairman Sunjoy Joshi said, "The Raisina Dialogue was born two years ago, in 2016, in the belief that the Asian century that the world was talking about was not about any exclusive geographical region. It was rather about the engagement of global actors with Asia and of Asia with the world. So this dialogue took birth as a platform, where the old and the new could work together, to discover their connections, their inter-dependence. It has today become a crucible for conversations and ideas that while located in India can be owned by the world." Stressing the diplomatic importance of the conference, Joshi said, "when the world is drifting to globalisation, protectionism, restrictive borders and predatory economics, Raisina 2018 once again seeks to find strength in our common future". "It convenes more than 500 speakers and delegates across as many as 50 topics to not just discuss the new fractures within our global order, but find the appropriate responses to these," Joshi said. The curator of the Raisina Dialogue and the Vice President of ORF Samir Saran said, "The Raisina Dialogue is India's attempt to reclaim its role as the hub of knowledge and ideas, as during the times of Nalanda, in the 21st century." He said, "This is Asia's largest forum with over 1800 participants, striving to make India a leading force." The Raising Dialogue has been fast growing in strength. In the inaugural Dialogue, 120 foreign delegates from 40 countries had participated. In the second, the strength went up to more than 250 foreign participants from 65 countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu have said that there could be no justification for acts of terror on any soil. Recognising the grave threat that terrorism poses to peace and security, both Prime Ministers, in the joint-statement issued here on Monday, have advocated that strong measures be taken against terrorists, terror organisations and those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups. In line with this, the premiers have reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space and welcomed the signing of the MoU on Cooperation in Cyber Security between the two countries. Both prime ministers have noted the readiness of Israeli companies to enter into joint ventures with Indian companies in the defence sector under the Make in India initiative. The two have also agreed to hold each other's festivals in their respective countries in 2019 as a further step to solidify friendship between the peoples of India and Israel. On the business ties front, Modi and Netanyahu have agreed that renewed efforts were required to realise the full potential for bilateral trade and investment, and took note of the next round of discussions between the two sides to be held in February 2018 in Israel. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi and Netanyahu held delegation-level talks and discussed the ever-growing cooperation in all aspects of the bilateral relationship between the two sides. Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, received a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday. Netanyahu will be visiting Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai and will be accompanied by the Indian Prime Minister on extensive portions of his visit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Mumbai Police have arrested one person in connection with murder case of anchor Arpita Tiwari and sent him to police custody till January 20. The accused, identified as Amit Hazara, on Monday, was produced before the court, which sent him to police custody. Arpita's body was found on the second floor of a building in Malad's Malwani area on December 11. The death was initially registered as a case of an accident. The police said Hazara had been in a relationship with Arpita, and both had plans of marrying each other. "We have arrested one suspect in connection with the case and produced him before the court today. He was arrested on reasonable leads and some scientific tests. An investigation is underway," Deepak Deoraj, PRO, Mumbai Police, told ANI. Meanwhile, Shweta Tiwari, Arpita's sister, said they suspected the involvement of others too in the alleged murder. "We are happy that Mumbai Police have arrested Amit Hazra. But it has not ended here because we have been saying this since the beginning that there are others also involved. We hope that they will be arrested soon," she added. The Malwani police have initially registered the matter as an accidental death case but when Arpita's family raised suspicions of foul play, a case of murder was filed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least two people have died and 17 others went missing after an earthquake of 7.3 magnitude hit Peru's coast on Sunday. According to CNN, Arequipa Governor Yamila Osorio said on Twitter that one 55-year old man died in the town of Yauca after being crushed by a rock. Meanwhile, Jorge Chavez, chief of Peru's Civil Defense Institute (INDECI), told local radio station RPP that a second death was reported in the town of Bella Union. "Prelim M7.3 earthquake near the coast of southern Peru Jan-14 09:18 UTC," tweeted USGS Big Quakes. Prelim M7.3 earthquake near the coast of southern Peru Jan-14 09:18 UTC, updates https://t.co/akiSg41Zo4 - USGS Big Quakes (@USGSBigQuakes) January 14, 2018 The quake hit 31km south-southwest of Acari, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Several media reports state that a tsunami warning is in place near the epicentre of the quake. Peru is located in the Ring of Fire, which is an area in the Pacific Ocean vulnerable to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, tsunami waves are possible within 300 km of the epicentre along the coast of Peru. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that he has invited Israeli defense companies to work and invest in India. "In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime to make more in India with our companies," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing a press conference along with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. "We are venturing into less explored areas of cooperation such as oil and gas, cyber security, films and start-ups," he added. Prime Minister Modi said India and Israel would strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of peoples in both the countries, which include agriculture, science and technology and security. "We are committed to facilitating the flow of people and ideas between our geographies. It requires policy facilitation, infrastructure and connectivity links and fostering constituencies of support beyond Government," he said. The two sides today also signed nine Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in various sectors, including cybersecurity, energy and medicine. Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, received a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan today. Netanyahu will be visiting Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai, and he will be accompanied by the Indian Prime Minister on extensive portions of his visit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Qatar on Monday denied its fighter jets intercepted a passenger plane of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Qatar's foreign ministry released a statement, saying the UAE's claim was false. "The State of #Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter-planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft is completely false. A detailed statement will follow," Lolwah Rashid Alkhater, Spokesperson for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on Twitter. Earlier, The Gulf News had quoted the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) as claiming that, "it had received a complaint from one of the UAE's national carriers that one of its aircraft on a flight to Manama on a normal route had been intercepted by Qatari fighters." According to media reports, Doha on Saturday complained to the United Nations Security Council that the Emirati fighter jets recently violated its airspace at least twice. The incident has come at a time when Qatar, since mid-2017, has been facing a diplomatic and economic blockade by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain, over accusations of supporting "terrorism". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of not fulfilling their promises made to the public. Addressing a public gathering in Amethi, the Gandhi scion said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have not fulfilled any of their promises. The Prime Minister promised to increase employment opportunities, waive loans to farmers and fight corruption, but none of these promises were met. Our government has worked hard for the welfare of the farmers and public in general and we are determined to come into power once again". Rahul Gandhi is on his first visit to his Lok Sabha Constituency as the Congress President which is a two-day roadshow. Earlier in the day, he criticised Prime Minister Modi while praising the Chinese government for their development and employment agendas. "Jo kaam China ki sarkaar do din mein karti hai use karne mein Narendra Modi Ji ki sarkaar ko ek saal lag jaata hai. (The work that Chinese government finishes in two days, Prime Minister Modi's government takes at least one year for the same work", Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a crowd. Talking about job opportunities, the new Congress chief claimed that while the Chinese government generated employment for 50,000 youths daily, in India, the figure stood at 450 only. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress President on Monday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministers are to be blamed for the agrarian crisis in the state. "We wanted to bring a food park, but Narendra Modiji and his ministers snatched that from you, the consequence of which you have to face now. If a food park was here, then a potato farmer would have got the right rate", Gandhi said at a road show here. However, he added that the food park would be a priority as soon as the Congress party came to power. "No matter what happens, food park will be built here and I will do this work. As soon as our government comes into power, food park will be made & farmers' products will be sold here at the right prices. I will make this happen," said Food Park is an comprehensive concept and a scheme of the Ministry of Food Processing, aimed at establishing a "direct linkage from farm to processing and then to consumer markets" through a network of collection centers and primary processing centers. The purpose was to increase processing of perishables from 6% to 20% and to increase India's Share in global food trade by at least 3% up to the year 2015. Congress president had also praised the Chinese government for their development and employment agendas. "Jo kaam China ki sarkaar do din mein karti hai use karne mein Narendra Modi Ji ki sarkaar ko ek saal lag jaata hai. (The work that Chinese government finishes in two days, Prime Minister Modi's government takes at least one year for the same work," Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a crowd here. The address was part of a two-day roadshow being conducted by Gandhi in his Lok Sabha Constituency. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi while praising the Chinese government for their development and employment agendas. "Jo kaam China ki sarkaar do din mein karti hai use karne mein Narendra Modi Ji ki sarkaar ko ek saal lag jaata hai. (The work that Chinese government finishes in two days, Prime Minister Modi's government takes at least one year for the same work," Rahul Gandhi said while addressing a crowd here. Talking about job opportunities, the new Congress chief claimed that while the Chinese government generated employment for 50,000 youths daily, in India, the figure stood at 450 only. "Made in China tag is put on shirts and pants everywhere, and Modiji promised us made in India. You tell us how much employment does the Indian Government provide to the youth? If you put together all the projects started by Prime Minister Modi then you will find that only 450 youths are given jobs in 24 hours, while China provides 50,000 employments per day," he added. The addressal was part of the two-day road show being conducted by Gandhi in his Lok Sabha Constituency. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress president with an aim to strengthen his party in Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections will visit his constituency Amethi on Monday. First time after taking over as the party president will be paying a visit to the Congress bastion. After strengthening party in Gujarat, Rahul is looking to strengthen the party in Uttar Pradesh, where it is not in a very good position at the moment. Rahul will pay a two-day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency beginning on Monday and will reach Amethi via Rae Bareli. The newly elected Congress president is expected to receive a grand reception by the party workers. He will also be visiting the Hanuman Mandir and eat khichdi, specially prepared for Makar Sankranti. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly has 403 seats and in the last state polls, the Congress managed to win just seven seats, its lowest ever in the state. Driven with the vision of creating a nurturing entrepreneurship ecosystem RevStart on Monday announced the launch of its quality co-working, incubation, and acceleration services at its 100,000 square feet facility. The company is launching its own incubation and acceleration program with a USD two million commitment from Ishan Singh. As part of the mandate, only a select few start-ups will be part of a milestone-based accelerator, and the graduates will be invested into by RevStart's fund. "I am excited to flag off the RevStart co-working, incubation, and acceleration program. We have an incredible office space that aspiring entrepreneurs, SMEs, and professionals can access at ease. Given my experience of establishing several successful ventures in the past and that I am on the board of three startups where I have led investment rounds, provides me a unique perspective to the requirements of a startup," said MD and CEO RevStart, Ishan Singh. Cutting through the clutter of mushrooming co-working spaces and run-of-the-mill programs, RevStart curates result-oriented programs focused at helping companies accelerate their growth. Selected businesses are provided with strategic tools, access to a large mentor pool, nurturing work environment, exposure to relevant events and a cost-effective office space. Further, as part of the launch, RevStart is hosting the #RevItUp Launch Fest on January 19. RevStart has partnered with established players in the ecosystem like TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), funding partners like Indian Angel Network, Mumbai Angels, Let's Venture, as well as corporate end users of technology. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A rocket landed inside the compound of the Indian embassy in Kabul city on Monday evening, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has confirmed. All Indians and staff are safe, Swaraj informed on Twitter. "A rocket has landed in our Chancery compound in Kabul. The rocket has clipped the top of the three-storied ITBP barracks. There are no casualties. All Indians and staff are safe," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj posted on Twitter. "A rocket landed in the premises of our Embassy in Kabul a while ago causing minor damage to a structure at rear side of the Embassy compound. No fire or casualties. Our Charge d' Affaires informs that all Embassy employees are safe," Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said on Twitter. Earlier, Afghanistan's TOLOnews reported that the rocket had landed close to the Indian embassy in the 14th Street of Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan, located in the heart of the city. This incident took place hours after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) delegation left the country after a two-day visit to Kabul. Akshay Kumar, who is all set to come up with his next film 'Padman' in the Republic day weekend, feels that sanitary pads should not be tax free, rather free for women. While promoting the movie in Pune, the 50-year-old-actor said, "Women are going for tax free sanitary, but I say it should be completely free. Cut the five percent money from defence, make one bomb less and give it to women to get the sanitary napkin." 'Padman' is a biopic based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, who makes cheap and affordable sanitary pads for the women of his village and fights for menstrual hygiene. Quirky posters, interesting trailer and some soulful songs have already made fans really curious. Helmed by R. Balki, 'PadMan' also stars Sonam kapoor and Radhika Apte. The flick is all set to release on January 25 and will clash with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus 'Padmaavat', which stars Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in the pivotal roles. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Six terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were killed by the security forces in an anti-infiltration operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector on Monday. Earlier in the day, four Jaish terrorists were gunned down by the security forces. Jammu and Kashmir Police informed that a total of five bodies have been recovered from the encounter site while the sixth is being searched. "Two more dead bodies of terrorists recovered from encounter site taking the total to 6," Shesh Paul Vaid, DGP, Jammu and Kashmir Police poted on Twitter, followed by a clariefication that five bodies have been recovered and the sixth is being searched. In a joint operation, the Jammu and Kashmir's police, Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) foiled the infiltration bid by the terrorists. Security has been beefed up in the state ahead of Republic Day on January 26. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lanka's Supreme Court has shot down the proposal of President Maithripala Sirisena staying on in office for a year longer, officials said on Monday. A five-judge bench in a unanimous decision ruled that the President's term was limited to five years by the 19th amendment to the constitution that he himself initiated after winning the 2015 elections. The bench headed by Chief Justice Priyasath Dep told Sirisena that he had only five years in office as a result of the 19th amendment although he was elected initially for a six year term, the local media reported. Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya had argued before the Supreme Court that Sirisena's term ends in 2021 giving him full six years and the five-term term will apply only to any new president. However, the 19th amendment clearly spelt out that Sirisena was entitled to a five year term after voluntarily trimming the tenure by one year. Seeking of another year was seen by political analysts as a move to remain in office for longer and neutralise the Mahinda Rajapaksa faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party. The move has also put Sirisena on a collision course with his senior coalition partner. It could also backfire on Sirisena's campaign for the February local council elections. The United National Party-led government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was banking on a presidential poll by January 2020, six months ahead of the next general election. Sirisena has previously said he was going to be the last executive president of the country because he was going to abolish that office and turn the country into a full parliamentary democracy. There is known to be growing tension between the President and the Prime Minister after Sirisena recently declared that he believed that the United National Party (UNP)-led government was probably more corrupt than the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime they had toppled together. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua on Monday said that relationship with the United States needed to move forward under an environment of mutual trust and respect. The remark came days after Washington froze military assistance to Islamabad. "Pakistan Foreign Secretary met with the U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State Ambassador Alice Wells at the Foreign Office. The visit was part of regular engagement between the two countries on bilateral and regional cooperation," Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an official release. "U.S. delegation was apprised about recent counter-terrorism actions taken by Pakistan's law enforcement agencies that contributed to visible improvement in the security situation of Pakistan. It was mentioned that these comprehensive counter-terrorism actions would also contribute towards peace and stability in the entire region," it added. Janjua also expressed concerns on the continued use of Afghan soil by elements hostile to Pakistan's stability. "She added that strengthening border management mechanisms between Pakistan and Afghanistan was vital to addressing concerns relating to cross-border movements," the statement further said. Earlier this week, Pakistan has suspended intelligence and military cooperation with the United States after Washington froze military assistance to Pakistan. The U.S. had earlier this month announced that they were stopping the military aid to Pakistan, as it was not taking "necessary steps" to curb terrorism U.S. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said the embargo would remain in place until Pakistan takes action against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump had made a scathing remark against Pakistan and accused it of lying and deceiving while receiving billions in aid. "The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!", Trump said in a tweet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two people have been arrested for killing and gang-raping a minor girl in Haryana's Panipat. "Two culprits have been arrested in connection with Panipat gang-rape case," Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said. The state police said that one of the accused committed necrophilia after murdering the girl. Panipat Deputy Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar said, "The culprits admitted that they lured the girl inside their house, and then murdered her and then one of them raped her." "Body of a minor girl was found yesterday," he added. Further investigation in the case is underway. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) United Kashmir People's National Party (UKPNP) Exiled Chairman Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri strongly condemned the extrajudicial killing of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) London's deputy convener Dr Hasan Zafar Arif. Sardar Shaukat said this is another shocking example of violence against those speaking out for truth and justice in Pakistan. "Professor Dr Hassan Zafar was kidnapped and now his tortured body dumped in Karachi city. As usual, law enforcement forces eliminated a political opponent and now are in a state of denial that they are unaware of Professor Hassan Zafar's killing," he said. Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri further said how pity and shameful it is that a 72-years-old professor, an intellectual, a democrat and a peace-loving person was kidnapped and brutally killed by law enforcement forces of Pakistan. "We are shocked and pained by the brutality and atrocities being perpetrated by Pakistan against oppressed nations and ethnic groups," he said. The exiled chairman averred that the international community, especially United Nations (UN) should take serious note of barbarism and atrocities committed by Pakistan. "U.N., international community and human rights organisations should put pressure on Pakistan to respect human rights, freedom of expression and demolish the prevailing impunity that permits such attacks against political opponents, civil society activists and human rights defenders," he said. Sardar Shaukat also demanded that U.N. should send its fact-finding mission to investigate this case and cases of enforced disappearances, kidnappings, extrajudicial killings and crimes against humanity in Pakistan. "Those responsible for such heinous crimes should be urgently brought to justice and punished," he said. MQM leader Dr Arif was found dead in a car in Karachi's Ilyas Goth area on Sunday. Dr Arif, who was also the MQM-London's deputy convener, used to teach Philosophy at the University of Karachi. "The body of Hassan Zafar Arif, son of Maqbool Hassan, 70-72-years-old, was found from car number ANC-016, Lancer silver at Ilyas Goth," the Dawn quoted station house officer (SHO) at Ibrahim Hyderi police station as saying. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police was forced to intervene after a scuffle broke out at an event in Uttar Pradesh's Salon where Congress President Rahul Gandhi was present. Chaos erupted when the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress Party supporters clashed with each other. According to BJP MLA Dal Bahadur Kori, the police was hitting people who came to visit Rahul Gandhi with lathis. "Innocent people were attacked by police lathis. I came here running as I was informed of the beating. I got a call and was informed that people were attacked by Congress workers, but when I came to talk to police, I was attacked instead", Kori told media here. He also alleged that they were attacked by the Congress workers. Amidst the whole chaos, a heated argument also took place between the police officials and Amethi MLC Deepak Singh. Rahul Gandhi, who is on a roadshow in five constituencies, addressed a rally in Amethi earlier today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A minor girl allegedly set herself on fire after two brothers gang-raped her in Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur district. Meanwhile, the father of the victim had lodged a complaint against the two brothers (Sunil and Sonu) following which an FIR was registered. District Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Lal Sahab Yadav said "FIR has been registered against two brothers on the complaint of victim's father. Victim's body has been sent for postmortem". "Prima facie, it appeared that she had committed suicide after the sexual assault. The accused - identified as Sonu and Sunil - allegedly assaulted the girl when she was alone at home. They also attacked her younger brother after he walked in on them, but he managed to escape", he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) on Monday informed that the security forces were tipped-off about the possible attempts to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector, beforehand. Earlier today, six terrorists of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) were killed by the security forces in an anti-infiltration operation in Uri sector on Monday. "Since the past few days, we were getting inputs about possible attempts to infiltrate from Uri sector. So, ambushes were laid out in that area by Army, Jammu & Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)", DGP SP Vaid told ANI here. He added that he thinks six terrorists have died but only five bodies have been found so far. "We have recovered five bodies from the spot. I think six have died, one body is being searched. They belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed and information was that they are suicide attackers", informed SP Vaid. In a joint operation, the Jammu and Kashmir's police, Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) foiled the infiltration bid by the terrorists. Security has been beefed up in the state ahead of Republic Day on January 26. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bangladesh, India and Nepal have agreed on the text of the operating procedures for passenger vehicle movement in the sub-region under the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) signed in June 2015, and will soon complete the internal approval processes for signing of the passenger protocol. The participating countries have also agreed to conduct more trial runs for cargo vehicles under the agreement. High-level officials of the three countries discussed the implementation of the MVA at a meeting held on 10-11 January in Bengaluru, convened and chaired by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) of the Government of India. A Bhutanese official delegation also attended the meeting as observers. The landmark MVA was signed by Transport Ministers of the BBIN countries in Thimphu, Bhutan on 15 June 2015. Trial runs for cargo vehicles under the MVA were conducted along the Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala and Delhi-Kolkata-Dhaka routes in the past. The trials were successful in establishing the Agreement's economic benefits. Bangladesh, India, and Nepal have already ratified the MVA and have agreed to start implementation of the MVA among the three signatory countries, with Bhutan joining after it ratifies the Agreement. I am encouragedby the strong commitment of the BBIN countries to move forward on the MVA initiative, says Ms. Dakshita Das, MoRTH Joint Secretary and chair at the Bengaluru meeting. India will do its best to make the MVA successful, making it a key instrument in accelerating cross-border trade and economic integration in the subregion, she said. The Asian Development Bank(ADB) has been providing technical, advisory, and financial support to the BBIN MVA initiative as part of its assistance to the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program, a projects-based economic cooperation initiative that brings together the BBIN countries, Maldives, Sri Lanka and more recently, Myanmar. ADB is the secretariat of SASEC. Meeting participants agreed on the text of the passenger protocol, the document detailing procedures for cross-border movement of buses and private vehicles, to be signed by the three countries after completing necessary internal approval processes in their government. The delegations also agreed to continue to conduct trial movement of cargo vehicles along scheduled routes from April 2018 onwards, before finalizing the protocol for cargo vehicular movement. All participating country delegations described the meeting as a major milestone in regaining the momentum of transport facilitation in the sub-region. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley said that India ranks among the fastest growing major economies in the world today. He said that since a large portion of our population is dependent on agriculture, it is important to have equitable growth. Shri Jaitley said that farmers have helped the country to overcome a long period of scarcities to reach the present era of abundance. The Union Finance Minister said that NCDEX Agri-options are an important tool which will contribute to the Prime Minister's vision of doubling the farmers' incomes by 2022. The Finance Minister said that the Guar seed is a major contributor to revenue generation, hence making it a suitable commodity to start with for Options. The Finance Minster congratulated the NCDEX for this initiative. The Finance Minister, Shri Jaitley said that this may appear to be a small step, but is a significant one, in the direction of agricultural trade as this will ensure that the farmers will receive a better price for their commodities. Total Volume Traded 8010 MT; Total Open Interest 4290 MT; Approx. Traded Value INR 36 Crore on the basis of Notional Turnover NCDEX Agri-Options in Guar Seed aim to provide farmers better engagement in the commodity markets. NCDEX also launched Mandi.com, a mobile app for farmers where they can learn more about Options and the commodity markets. For a commodity trader or member of a Farmer Producer Organization( FPO), this would be an additional tool to hedge your price risk and optimize your profits with the launch of Agri-Options. National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) launched India's first Agri-Options on guar seed futures in the presence of SEBI, WDRA, Industry Associations, Government Officials and FPO members. Farmers from various States across the country were present at the occasion to mark the commencement with a Live Trade by a farmer producer company. Launched on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti, this new hedging tool, Agri-Options:Ek Aur Kadam Kisan Pragati Ki Ore, is set to mark an important evolution in trading of agriculture commodities market. This instrument will give a strong impetus towards systematic development and transformation of commodity derivatives market in India, which will make the agri-economy more efficient and bring huge amount of value for the farmers of India. A Mandi.com mobile application was also launched on the occasion, where farmers can learn more about agri-Options and the commodities market. Mandi.com is a pro bono half-an-hour 'weekly show' produced by NCDEX for National Public Service Broadcaster, DD Kisan Channel, a program dedicated to farmers' education and awareness. Elaborating on the benefits of Options, Shri Rabi Narayan Das, Chairman, NCDEX, said, The long wait for agri-commodity Options has finally come to an end with the launch of agri-Options on NCDEX's platform. Agri-Options will serve as a powerful tool to empower farmers by allowing them to lock in the prices of their produce at a minimum cost. It has the potential to transform Indian commodity market in a way that will benefit more farmers across the country for their hedging requirements. While, as of now, agri-Options is allowed in only one agri-commodity, we can expect more commodities under this over a period of time. The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Suresh Prabhu welcomed the Agri-Options to the commodity market, He said that he congratulates NCDEX for taking this noble step, which will contribute towards empowering the farming community and will further strengthen the agricultural ecosystem. Announcing the launch, Shri Samir Shah, MD & CEO, NCDEX said, We are thankful to SEBI for giving us the 'go-ahead' for introducing Options on guar seed futures, which will help the farmers in better price realization and risk mitigation. Our journey to connect farmers to the market would not have been possible without the immense support of our stakeholders and value chain partners and I take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to all those who have contributed to make this happen. This instrument will create a win-win situation for farmers irrespective of the price movement. We hope with this step we bring more and more PRAGATI for everyone. For more than a decade, NCDEX has played a big role in developing agriculture ecosystem. It has put a lot of effort and brought in various technological innovations that have helped in providing wider network and market access to farmers and other stakeholders, better price discovery, reduced information asymmetry, provided tools to mitigate prices risks and increased overall efficiency and transparency in the system. It will also ensure minimum occurrence of unnecessary losses due to massive procurements undertaken. Key information: Guar Seed Options Options contracts expiring in the months of February 2018, March 2018 and April 2018 would be available for trading w.e.f. January 14, 2018. The Guar Seed Options will be European type with a tick size of Re. 0.50 per quintal. The Daily Price Range (DPR) will be based on the factors of DPR of the underlying Futures contract and volatility. Options contract shall be launched on the trading day following the day on which the underlying Futures contract is launched. The expiry date of agri-Options will be the last Wednesday of the month that precedes the month of expiry of the underlying Futures contract. If Wednesday happens to be a holiday, then the Expiry Date shall be the next trading day of the Exchange. In case of banking transaction closing days etc. close to the Options Expiry Date, the same shall be fixed to provide for sufficient time ahead of such days. However, launch calendar with exact date of expirations shall be notified in advance. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two of Japan's opposition parties on Monday exchanged a document on consensus on their basic policies as they agreed to form an alliance in parliament. While an official merger has not yet been confirmed, Motohisa Furukawa, Secretary General of the Party of Hope and Teruhiko Mashiko, who serves the same position in the Democratic Party, vowed to create an alliance that could challenge the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), reported Xinhua news agency. If the merger comes to fruition, the alliance would create the largest opposition group in both chambers of Japan's parliament, overtaking the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ). Launched by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike just prior to the October 22 lower house election, the Party of Hope absorbed a number of conservatives from the Democratic Party to run on its ticket, while many liberals from the then moribund Democratic Party joined the CDPJ ahead of the election. The two parties have been at odds, however, over contentious security legislation - reinterpreting a key pacifist clause in Japan's constitution to allow Japan's Self-Defence Forces to exercise collective self-defence - that became law in 2016 despite mass public and political opposition, with the Democratic Party maintaining that part of the legislation is unconstitutional. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also the leader of the LDP, has proposed amending Article 9 of the Constitution for the first time since World War II to achieve his controversial career goal of normalizing Japan's military force and broadening its international footprint. Abe's aims to further loosen the constraints on Japan's military by way of amending Japan's Supreme Law requires two-thirds majority support in both chambers of parliament and a majority in a public referendum. The contentious notion is opposed by the majority of Japanese citizens according to the latest media polls and has raised concerns in the regional and international community. This is owing to Japan's past wartime atrocities and continued increases to its military spending and planned acquisition of next-generation offensive military hardware under Abe. Such acquisitions run contrary to Japan's anti-war, defence-only Constitution, legal scholars and military analysts have attested, and could further unsettle regional peace and stability and escalate a potential arms race. According to one section of the document exchanged on Monday between the two parties' Secretary Generals, the parties will "conduct necessary reviews, including parts which are pointed out as unconstitutional." The two parties may officially confirm the alliance later this week, with Mashiko quoted as saying a merger could happen if momentum increased within the parties. If the merger take place, the number of members of the two parties in the more powerful lower house of parliament would stand at 65, compared to 54 of the CDPJ. --IANS him/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 36 persons were killed and 91 others injured in twin suicide attacks in Baghdad early on Monday, medical sources told Efe news agency. The deadly attack, which was the bloodiest of its type to hit Iraq since February 2017, rocked Sahet al-Tayaran square in the city centre, an area that on a daily basis gathers large crowds of men in search of temporary work. "The blasts were carried out by two suicide bombers," Saad Maan, a spokesman for the Iraqi Interior Minister, tweeted. At least 91 people were injured in the assault, officials said. According to Iraqi police, the twin blasts went off almost simultaneously and ripped through the crowds of temporary workers and passersby. One lightly injured victim, 34-year-old teacher Mohamed Abdelamir, was having breakfast in a restaurant near the square when the explosion struck. He told Efe that he left the restaurant after he heard the first blast hit at around 7.20 a.m. local time and emerged to see a large plume of smoke and dust. Amid the screams of the victims on the ground another explosion knocked Abdelamir off his feet and injured him, he told Efe. He said he saw bodies, injured people and blood scattered across the ground. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, meanwhile, issued orders for the security forces to track the extremist terrorists and bring them to justice. A statement by his office said that Abadi, who is also Commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, held a meeting with commanders of the security forces and the intelligence service of Baghdad and gave his directions "to chase the sleeper cells of terrorists and bring them to justice in order to ensure the security of the citizens". On Saturday, a car bomb explosion left three civilians killed and 10 others injured in Kadhimiya in northern Baghdad. --IANS him/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court in Punjab's Mohali town on Monday sentenced the Punjab Public Service Commission's (PPSC) disgraced former chairman Ravinder Pal Singh to seven years imprisonment in a corruption case. It also slapped a fine of Rs 75 lakh on him. Singh, a former journalist better known as Ravi Sidhu, was convicted for accepting bribes from aspirants who had applied for the posts of inspectors in the Excise and Taxation department in Punjab. The court acquitted five other people who were also accused in the case. He had been booked by the Punjab Vigilance Department in March 2002 under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code, after being accused Singh of rampant corruption in selection and appointment of candidates for various posts in Punjab. The selections were made through the PPSC, which Singh headed at that time. Vigilance officials had conducted raids nearly 15 years ago at the residence, office and bank lockers of Singh. Cash in crores of rupees was found stacked in several of these lockers. He was arrested following the registration of a case against him. Singh had remained as Special Correspondent with a leading English daily here before becoming the PPSC chairman. The vigilance had accused him of sending lakhs of rupees to his family in US through hawala channels. --IANS js/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 32 militants were killed in two separate airstrikes in Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said on Monday. In one raid conducted by Afghan National Army (ANA) Air Force on Sunday against a Taliban's position in Khaki Safed district of western Farah province, 28 insurgents were killed and 10 others injured, the ministry said in a statement. Those among the killed militants' were Sardar Ashkon Bakwahi, Taliban's deputy shadow governor of Farah, and two Taliban 'divisional commanders' Abdul Shokor and Hawaz Gulistani, according to the statement. Also on Sunday, four Taliban militants were killed following an airstrike in Nahri Saraj district of southern Helmand province. Three vehicles and six motorcycles together with amount of ammunition and weapons were also destroyed after the air operations, the statement noted. Afghan security forces and the NATO-led coalition troops have beefed up security operations and airstrikes as militants are attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions during the winter in the mountainous country. The Taliban militant group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than 16 years, has yet to comment on the report. --IANS him/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A month after anchor Arpita Tiwari's 'mystery death' after a fall from a suburban skyscraper, the Mumbai Police arrested one person and charged him with murder here on Monday. The police nabbed Amit Kumar Hazra, a friend of Arpita's boyfriend Pankaj Jadhav and in whose (Hazra's) rented home a party was on at the time of the incident on December 11. In what was earlier suspected to be a suicide case, Arpita fell from the 15th floor flat when both Hazra and Jadhav, besides a male domestic help, were present on the premises. Hazra was produced before a Mumbai court and remanded to police custody till January 20, said Senior Police Inspector Deepak S. Phatangre. According to Phatangre, the investigators were alerted after a polygraphy (lie detector) test of Hazra when he made several statements contradicting his earlier version. He was arrested based on circumstantial evidence. However, he added that the police probe was still on and Jadhav (Arpita's boyfriend) had not been given a clean chit yet. Hazra, who had rented the flat in the posh residential tower, regularly invited his friends for partying. On December 10, the night before the tragedy, both Arpita and Jadhav visited his home. Arpita was a known anchor, hostess, model and glamour personality and her family had insisted from day one that they suspected foul play in her death. According to Hazra's statements with the police, Arpita had allegedly locked herself inside the bathroom. When she didn't come out for long, Jadhav unlocked the door, found the bathroom window open and her body in the duct area on the second floor below. The autopsy concluded that injuries to her body were consistent with a fall from a great height but it was unclear whether she jumped, fell accidentally or was pushed. Phatangre did not rule out further arrests in the case. --IANS qn/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress and BJP supporters on Monday clashed as Congress chief Rahul Gandhi arrived in his parliamentary constituency of Amethi -- his first visit after taking over the party reins. Both sides fought a pitched battle at the Sagra tri-section as district officials and local police had a tough time in handling the situation. Legislative Council member Deepak Singh had a verbal tiff with Additional Superintendent of Police Shashi Shekhar after he accused police of siding with and patronising lumpen elements belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Thereafter, overzealous Congress workers chased away BJP supporters and allegedly hit them with sticks even as Rahul Gandhi looked on. An angry Dal Bahadur Kori, BJP's legislator from Salon, threatened to petition the Chief Minister against the police after the attack on BJP workers. Rahul Gandhi later met party workers and addressed them at Salon in Rae Bareli, where he targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of rendering lip service to eradication of poverty and said the governments in both Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre were working for the welfare of rich industrialists. He blamed the Prime Minister for the incomplete projects and instigating people on religious and caste lines. The Congress leader said they will ensure that the food park sanctioned during the earlier United Progressive Alliance government will be established in Amethi, despite resistance from the BJP. The Gandhi family scion also performed 'khichdi puja' at Salon Nagar Panchayat office even as local traders raised slogans against him outside. Amid the melee, the Congress President left for Amethi. He was greeted with flowers at many places on the way with many party workers trying to touch him and raising slogans in his favour. He will stay at Munshiganj guesthouse at night and meet party workers again on Tuesday, a local Congress leader said. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi received a warm welcome in Rae Bareli while on way to Amethi. The Congress had tweeted pictures of Rahul Gandhi's welcome and interaction with people over tea at a 'dhaba'. He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Congress President Raj Babbar. --IANS md/tsb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Film celebrities are moving on from the virtual world of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and opting for a more personalised "virtual" gateway to stay connected to their fans and followers -- personal mobile applications. In 2016, Salman Khan launched 'Being In Touch' through which he shares updates about his personal and professional life with his fans. Sunny Leone too has an app. "The app actually keeps us connected all the time. We do games and contests and speak to members all the time, making them feel special with exclusive content and also getting special gifts from me personally," Sunny told IANS. From Farhan Akhtar, Alia Bhatt, Sonam Kapoor, Amy Jackson, Remo D'souza to Disha Patani, stars are getting on the digital bandwagon, and making their starry lives just a touch away from their fans and admirers. Disha, who has featured in "M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story" and will be seen in "Baaghi 2", reflects upon her idea of letting fans into her life virtually. "I have been looking at the best way to help me keep in touch with the people that are so important in my life and due to my growing love of apps, I wanted to see if there was anything available that could help me in connecting with everyone. It is really sweet to get personalised texts from each one of them," said the actress, who came out with her app last year. To this, actor-presenter Rannvijay Singha added: "The app is a great way for me to keep connected with my fans all the time, even when I am on the go. We do live sessions and contests and reply to them all the time. That way, I can finally put names to the faces I have been seeing in events that I go for and vice-versa. "Exclusive content is another boon on the app as all my previous collected pictures and clips whether from the sets or events go onto the app. Overall, I feel quite at home while interacting with everyone on the app, it's like a family." Breaking the technical logistics of the move, Kulbir Sachdev, General Manager India - and Director - APAC at New York-based tech company Escapex, said: "The celebrities realise the value of owning their own independent platform to communicate with their fans without any hindrance. "The ability to reach out to all fans and communicating directly and being able to identify who the loyal and top fans are and giving love and recognition to them, forges a stronger bond with the fans." Is it catching up? "The trend is catching up with Escapex alone enabling over 100 artists globally to launch their own app. The trend is very strongly visible in US, India, Brazil, and Indonesia - the top social media markets globally and is now spreading to other countries like Japan, Thailand and some countries in Europe. Celebrity apps are here to stay." (Sugandha Rawal can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in) --IANS sug/rb/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) All the judges of the Supreme Court met here informally on Monday, leading Attorney General K.K. Venugopal to claim that the crisis in the country's top court "has been settled". "There was an informal meeting in the morning (before the commencement of the court). Now everything has been settled," Venugopal told the media. An unprecedented crisis engulfed the Supreme Court after four senior most judges went public questioning the functioning of the top court in a direct attack on Chief Justice Dipak Misra. "The full court met (today morning). It seems that everything is settled. Everything is hunky-dory," said a source privy to the development. --IANS pk/mr/him (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BSP chief Mayawati on Monday accused the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "deliberately and systematically" keeping the Dalits out of the national mainstream. The four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also told the media here that the two parties had joined hands to destroy the movement left behind by Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Calling the Congress and the BJP "chor-chor mausere bhai", the Dalit leader said efforts were on to politically harm her and destroy her party. "I want to ask the Congress why did Baba Saheb resign as Minister in 1951," she said, likening it to her resignation from the Rajya Sabha in July 2017. The Bahujan Samaj Party leader accused the Congress of deliberately holding back the recommendations of the Mandal Commission from implementation for several years. She took on the BJP and said the "drama by the BJP and company" of putting up portraits of Ambedkar in government offices was an attempt to divert the attention of people. "These two parties have kept the Dalits backward, unemployed and ineffective for so long and atrocities and exploitation of these people continues." She alleged that the BJP was now conspiring against her "to make us politically redundant" and accused it of manipulating the EVMs in the 2014 general election and in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls last year. She demanded that all further elections be held with ballot paper. She said a party which coined the slogan "Har Har Modi, Ghar char Modi" was almost made "beghar" (homeless) by the people of Gujarat in the Assembly elections last month. Mayawati added that people were coming back to her party as was evident in the recently held urban body polls in Uttar Pradesh. "People are now seeing through their game plan and very soon these casteist and communal forces will be thrown out by the people." She claimed that the BJP might advance the 2019 Lok Sabha election and hold them along with state assembly polls of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan slated for this year. "We are prepared for this." --IANS md/mr/him (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defence Minister will be flown in the Indian Air Force's frontline aircraft, the indigenously-built version of Su-30 MKI fighter jet on Wednesday, official sources said. The minister will fly a sortie in the formidable fighter, which has nuclear strike capability and capability to penetrate deep into enemy territory, at the Air Force Station in Jodhpur. After her recent stay on board INS Vikramaditya at sea and whirlwind tours to forward areas and different installations of the three forces, this sortie will be a part of the Defence Minister's continued effort to gauge and review the operational preparedness and combat capabilities of the armed forces, the sources said. The Sukhoi-30 MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter. In November 2017, India had successfully flight-tested the air variant of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the fighter jet. The CPI-M on Monday, citing media reports, said it was "shocking" that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval attended a meeting at Home Minister Rajnath Singh's house to discuss the election strategy in Tripura. "It has been reported in sections of the media that a meeting was held at the residence of Rajnath Singh attended by BJP and RSS leaders to discuss the forthcoming elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland," a CPI-M statement said. "Some of the media have also reported that Doval also attended the meeting. If correct, this is a shocking violation of norms and serious misconduct," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said. "How can a senior government functionary like the NSA be present in a meeting to discuss the BJP's election campaign? The Home Minister must immediately clarify." In Agartala, CPI-M state Secretary Bijan Dhar said Rajnath Singh on Sunday held the meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Ram Madhav and senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Krishna Gopal, among others. In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner A.K. Joti, he said Doval was also present in the meeting. Dhar, also a CPI-M Central Committee member, said the presence of any person holding a very important position like that of NSA is not only undesirable and objectionable, it is a glaring instance of blatant misuse of administration by the ruling BJP. --IANS sc/mr/him/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Borussia Dortmund have signed Manuel Akanji from Basel with immediate effect, both sides confirmed in an official statement on Monday. The "BVB" have reinforced their defence with the signing of the Swiss, who has put pen to paper on a deal until June 2022, reports Xinhua news agency. "Manuel has been courted by several European top clubs. We are therefore delighted that he opted for us. He has already proven in the national team and in the Champions League that he can play at the highest level," Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc said. The 22-year-old new arrival played the last two-and-a-half years at Swiss outfit Basel where he made 42 appearances and provided five goals. His performances earned him a place in Switzerland's national team in June 2017. He made ever since four caps. "I felt very well during the talks with the Dortmund officials. It was a heart decision. I always liked Dortmund's style of play," Akanji, who received jersey no. 16, told the club's official homepage. Dortmund sit currently on the fourth place of the Bundesliga standings. They encounter with 11th positioned Hertha Berlin at the 19th round on Friday. --IANS gau/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A renowned Egyptian opposition figure and former MP on Monday announced he no longer intended to take part in the presidential election in March, stating he did not consider it an honest competition. Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat, the leader of the Party for Reform and Development and nephew of assassinated President Anwar al-Sadat, called a press conference in which argued that several government agencies had already begun campaigning for the incumbent, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Efe news agency reported. "I preferred not to be a symbolic candidate or part of a play unless there are clear foundations and guarantees for the integrity and impartiality of state institutions and evidence confirming the activation of said guarantees," al-Sadat said, according to a statement released by his party. He also complained that official state media had launched "unjustified" attacks against all serious candidates. The former parliamentarian claimed it was evident that members of his campaign could face repercussions for participating if the elections were held under the current state of emergency and with restrictions on the right to demonstrate and peacefully assemble. However, al-Sadat asked all voters to not boycott the elections and exercise their right to vote to build a better future for Egypt. President al-Sisi, who won 96.9 percent of the vote in the May 2014 election, has not yet announced his candidacy for re-election. Egypt's presidential election is to be held on March 26-28, and if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, a second round would be organized in April. Al-Sadat was expelled from parliament in February last year, accused of having leaked information to foreign entities and of having tarnished the reputation of the legislative assembly. The opposition figure's grandfather, Anwar al-Sadat, was assassinated in 1981 after signing the Camp David peace agreement with Israel. --IANS him/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The informal meeting Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had with the judges of the Supreme Court on Monday morning had some emotional moments. Justice Arun Mishra is said to have broken down for being "unfairly" targeted by the four judges raising questions about his "competence" and "integrity". He said that though his name was not mentioned by the four judges, inferences have been drawn from the cases referred to by the four judges including that of late CBI special court judge B.H. Loya. Justice Mishra said that he has been working hard and was overburdened. He said that even earlier the former Chief Justices T.S. Thakur and J.S. Khehar had assigned him tough cases. At this point, the Chief Justice took Justice Mishra to his chamber while Justice J. Chelameswar put his arm around his shoulder and told him that they were trying to raise issues and were not against him. The benches in Courts Number two, three, four and five headed by the rebel judges -- Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph, respectively -- attended to their business as usual. Later, a lawyer R.P. Luthra in a mentioning before Court Number One headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that there is "a conspiracy to destroy the institution" and urged the Chief Justice to take action against the four judges. However, the Chief Justice smiled and remained silent. --IANS pk-vsc/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In the shadow of slower economic growth in the country after the implementation of new indirect tax regime and a renewed anti-land acquisition protest at Bhangar in the state, the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government is to inaugurate the fourth edition of its annual two-day business summit on Tuesday that will see participation from over 30 countries. The authorities are yet to formally announce any list of Indian business captains who would attend the Bengal Global Business Summit (BGBS), 2018. But industry doyens like Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Steel maker ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal, JSW Group's Chief Sajjan Jindal, city based FMCG major ITC's CEO Sanjiv Puri, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group's Chairman Sanjiv Goenka and others are expected to attend this year's summit. In an effort to shed the state's investor-wary image and woo much-needed business capital, the state government had reached out to various parts of the country and even foreign countries in the lead up to the event, being held in the sprawling Biswa Bangla Convention Centre at Rajarhat in Kolkata. Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Japan, China, South Korea and the UK are among the overseas nations to be represented at the mega business gathering. Consul General of China in Kolkata, Ma Zhanwu had recently confirmed 30 Chinese companies would participate in the business meet and according to him, Chinese companies aimed at utilising BGBS and other opportunities towards fulfilling the goal to invest $200 billion abroad every year. Italy will also be participating in this edition as a partner country in the Summit for the second year in a row, with an expected delegation of more than 30 companies where the sectors most represented will be transport and infrastructure, metals and leather. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will likely be signed in the leather sector, for new technologies and training programmes. A high level Polish delegation headed by Marek Magierowski, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for the relations with Asia and economic cooperation, will participate in the BGBS. Representatives of Silesia, an economically robust region of the east European country, and West Bengal will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation. In order to ensure a strong foreign imprint, the state government organised a series of interactive sessions on business opportunities in Bengal in Germany, the UK and The Hague, Netherlands. High powered officials and business delegation had also fanned out to China, South Korea in last October and Thailand in last August-September. According to state Finance, Commerce and Industries Minister Amit Mitra, there would be thousands delegates at the plenary session, including a strong presence from countries where manufacturing units are really strong. However, key central government figures, most notably Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari would likely be skipping the summit and their absence could be attributed to the deteriorating relations between the BJP-led central government and the state's Trinamool Congress regime. Chief Minister Manata Banerjee has been vocal against the central government's decision to recall Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes and implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) without enough preparation. In a desperate attempt to turn things around in terms of investment in Bengal, she has appealed to industrialists time and again to infuse investments in the eastern state, to meet the huge demands for jobs. Banerjee also frequently tom-toms the state as a zone of "industrial peace" where not a "single manday" is lost due to industrial disputes and gate-way of North east India and South-East Asia. The state topped the provisional ranking of Ease of Doing Business for implementation of criteria in the Ease of Doing Business reforms though the ranking is dynamic and will continuously undergo changes, until the freezing of rankings. However, such claims may have lost some sheen in view of the fresh trouble in South 24 Parganas district's Bhangar, with violent clashes between villagers and the Trinamool's activists over acquiring land for setting up a power grid project. The 104-day shutdown and unrest in the Darjeeling, called by Gorkha Janmukti Morcha following the disputes between the state government and the principal party in the Hills, had affected the investment climate in the north Bengal. However, the situation in the hills has been normalising day by day, the government claimed. The fresh chapter of the summit would focus priority areas for attracting investment, such as transport, urban development, power, medium and small-scale enterprises, IT and ITeS and infrastructure, health, education, skill, agro and food processing. The sessions would include sector-wise discussions to project the possibilities and potential of Bengal in front of investors. The state government is expected to announce its IT policy in the summit and the new industrial policy as the existing one will expire by end of March this year. According to the state government, the 2015 summit had fetched investment proposals to the tune of Rs 2.43 lakh crore and the 2016 edition received over Rs 2.5 lakh crore of investment proposals. Over 2.35 lakh crore of business announcements were received by the state in the last edition BGBS. --IANS bdc/qd/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) International students should be removed from Britain's immigration figures, a report by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee said on Monday. The all-party committee of politicians called for a major overall of Britain's immigration policy making to help build a greater consensus and trust among the British public about immigration, Xinhua news agency reported. Currently official figures give regular figures for net immigration, which is compiled by counting the number of people entering the country and subtracting the numbers leaving in the same period. It takes into account people arriving from European Union member states, non-EU countries and students arriving to study in Britain. The call for a change in the way the figures are compiled follows a parliament-backed National Conversation on Immigration, involving citizens' panels across the country " "The government's net migration target of the 'tens of thousands' is not working to build confidence and does not reflect the public's view that different kinds of immigration should be treated differently," the committee concluded. It called for the net migration target to be replaced by an evidence-based framework for different types of migration taking into account Britain's needs and humanitarian obligations. There should be no national target to restrict the numbers of students coming to Britain, and at a minimum, the government should immediately remove students from the current net migration target. Targets and controls on immigration should be set out in a newly established Annual Migration Report debated in parliament. The annual report would also detail the previous year's migration flows, the economic contribution from migration to Britain, and consideration of the requirements for different regions of the country. Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs the committee, said: "We need a much more open and honest debate, with sensible reforms to address people's concerns. We are proposing an Annual Migration Report like the Budget each year with proper public consultation and independent advice." --IANS him/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress on Monday condemned the rape of three girls in Haryana and said the state has become a "crime hub" under the Khattar government. The Mahila Congress will lead a delegation to Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki and also meet other authorities and urge them to ensure that preventive measures are taken and the guilty punished. "Under the BJP government, Haryana has become a crime hub. Unfortunately, it is ranked No.1 in the country in gangrape. "In 2016, there have been 1,198 rapes, 191 gangrapes and 4,019 kidnapping cases. Under the (Manohar Lal) Khattar government, every day there are three murders, three rapes and 11 kidnapping cases. They should be shameful," tweeted Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. "Humanity is ashamed with exploitation of daughters every day... There is no law and order in the state. (The) Khattar government should be changed." Mahila Congress chief Sushmita Dev demanded that stringent action against the guilty and significant preventive measures must be taken. "Three young girls have been brutally raped in the state of Haryana. It is shocking the way they have been treated and left to die. Although we take many remedial measures, what has the government done to prevent incidents like that," said Dev in a video message. "The last NCRB data also shows that crime against women is rising. After the Nirbhaya rape case, many laws were changed, many steps were taken. The primary issue that the (Narendra) Modi government had raised in 2014 was security of women. "But the data itself shows that the BJP-ruled states and the Government of India have failed to show any concrete steps. "For instance, the Nirbhaya fund remains under-utilised and it is showing absolutely no signs of being used in the future. Today, an SIT has been formed but I believe we need to be more serious about security of women which clearly this government is not," Dev said. She also expressed her deep condolence and "also my deep concern" for the families of the victims. --IANS sid/him/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Meghalaya Minister and Independent legislator Saleng A. Sangma on Monday resigned as Assembly member and joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ahead of state elections. The ninth Meghalaya Assembly, comprising 60 members, was constituted on March 1, 2013, and its term expires on March 6. The strength of the 60-member Meghalaya assembly has come down to 46 since seven Congress legislators, one from NCP, One from United Democratic Party and five Independents have resigned. Soon after submitting his resignation to Assembly Speaker Abu Taher Mondal, Sangma was inducted into the NCP and took charge as President of its Meghalaya unit in place of two-time NCP legislator Sanbor Shullai, who quit as MLA and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. NCP General Secretary Praful Patel is scheduled to arrive on a two-day visit to Meghalaya on Tuesday to assess party affairs ahead of the assembly polls. Patel is likely to announce candidates for the assembly elections. The former Civil Aviation minister will also address a public rally at Tura in West Garo Hills Hlls on January 17. Garo Hills region in western Meghalaya has 24 assembly segments and was once considered the "NCP heartland" due to the influence of the former Lok Sabha Speaker, late Purno A. Sangma, who was one the three founding-members of the NCP. --IANS rrk/tsb/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on an official visit here, India on Monday assured Israeli companies of resolving their concerns on doing business in the country, saying it would further ease the process in this regard. Referring to some issues raised by Israeli firms, such as those relating to import duties, taxes and licensing processes, in his address at the India-Israel Business Innovation Forum organised by industry chamber CII, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said these had already been taken up with the ministries concerned for resolving. "I assure you to resolve all problems and make things easier and better for Israeli companies to do business in India," Abhishek said. "We have been able to do a few things in the last few months and many are in progress," he added. The Israeli Prime Minister arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India to step up growing trade as well as military and strategic ties between the two countries. Addressing the forum, Israel's Trade Commissioner Ohad Cohen expressed hope that the Netanyahu visit would pave the way for the proposed Israel-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA). At the event, eight memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed to increase economic cooperation between the two sides. Among these were MoUs signed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) separately with the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce and the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. Besides, the DIPP-sponsored Invest India entity exchanged an MoU with Israel's Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation. Tata Projects also signed an MoU with Israeli company Water-Gen. This is the first visit to India by an Israeli Prime Minister since Ariel Sharon came in 2003. Netanyahu's entourage includes the largest-ever delegation of Israeli business consisting of 130 members representing over 100 companies. The bilateral trade between the countries was worth over $5 billion in 2016-17. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Netanyahu are slated to address the business forum later on Monday. --IANS bc/umer/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Israel on Monday signed nine agreements, including in the areas of cyber security and oil and gas, following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu here. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cyber security was signed which envisages cooperation in the field of cyber security to develop, promote and expand cooperation in the field of human resources development through various platforms and arrangements such as training programmes, skill development, and simulator-based hands-on training. It also envisages collaborating in the field of cyber security resilience, promoting B2B cooperation in cyber security and facilitating industrial summits, according to the External Affairs Ministry. A second MoU was signed between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Israel's Ministry of Energy in the oil and gas sector. Through this MoU, both sides are looking to explore opportunities of long-term cooperative relationship and joint economic projects to enhance bilateral engagements in the field of oil and gas, including collaboration in upstream sector activities; research and development and technology; promoting institutional linkages between universities and research and development establishment for mutually beneficial collaboration; and in the area of start-ups. A protocol between India and Israel on amendments to the air transport agreement was also signed which envisages entering into cooperative marketing arrangements, such as code share, bloc space or any other joint venture agreement for the purpose of operating the agreed services on the specified routes. Another agreement was on film co-production between India and Israel. This envisages to establish a framework for encouraging all audio visual media output, especially the co-production of films for the benefit of the film industries of both countries and contribute to the economic growth of the film, TV, video and new media production for further development of cultural and technologies ties. A third MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Centre of Israel, related to cooperation in the field of research in homeopathic medicine was signed. It envisages cooperation in the field of Research in Homeopathic Medicine, inter alia including establishment of a joint working group. Another MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field of space was signed for cooperation in the areas of mutual interest in the field of space by establishment of joint working group for research, educational and training programmes. A memorandum of intent was signed between Invest India and Invest in Israel for supporting and developing cooperation between the two sides through exchange of information on investment opportunities, relevant laws and regulations, policies and government initiatives. Indian Oil and Israel's Phinergy Ltd signed a letter of intent for cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries. This envisages to encourage joint research and development, deployment and manufacturing activities in the area of metal-air batteries for an array of applications like stationary energy storage systems and electric mobility solutions. Another letter of intent between Indian Oil and Israel's Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd was signed for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies. This intends to encourage joint research activities in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies including concentrated solar power generation, solar fuels, solar thermal storage materials, technologies, systems and concepts. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. --IANS ab/dg (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India skipper Virat Kohli (141) remained unbeaten as India scored 287/8, trailing by 48 runs at lunch on the third day of the second Test match against South Africa here on Monday. Kohli who cracked his 21st Test ton, forged a crucial 71-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Ravichandran Ashwin (38) to stabilise the innings. The partnership helped India to recover from the early loss of overnight batsman Hardik Pandya (15), who ran himself out. The Baroda all-rounder wanted to take a single off pacer Kagiso Rabada with a tap to mid-on but Kohli refused and the former ran back only to see a direct throw from Vernon Philander caught him short of the crease. Before the run out, Kohli completed his century with a tap to mid-wicket for a single off Lungisani Ngidi to get to his three-figure mark before running back after an overthrow. Kohli continued from where he left on Sunday's unbeaten knock of 85. He stamped his authority over the Proteas bowlers and kept on punishing the bad balls. Ashwin played a stroke-filled knock of 38 in 54 balls. He supported Kohli perfectly at the other end to put pressure on the opponents. Just when things seemed good in the middle for the hosts, Ashwin was dismissed through a poor poor shot selection off Philander, edging it to Faf du Plesis at the second slip. Pacer Mohammad Shami then came in the middle and but failed to rise to the pressure as he failed to fend off a rising delivery from Morne Morkel, managing only an edge to Hashim Amla at first slip. Kohli and Ishant Sharma (0) were at the crease whem umpires called for the break. Brief scores: South Africa: 335 first innings all out against India 287/8 first innings (Virat Kohli 141 not out, Ravichandran Ashwin 38; Morne Morkel 2/52) --IANS gau-pur/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Monday expressed anger over Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat's remarks, saying such "unconstructive" comments would hurt peace and tranquility in the border area. Gen Rawat last week said India needed to shift its military focus from its western border with Pakistan to its northern border with China. He also said that if China was strong, India was not weak either. "During the past one year, relations between China and India witnessed some twists and turns," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said. Lu pointed out that in September, the leaders of India and China reached some important consensus on properly handling the differences and promote China-India relations. "Recently, two sides enhanced dialogue on consultations, and bilateral relations have shown sound momentum of improvement and development. "Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior officials not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and do not conform to the efforts made by the two sides to improve and develop bilateral relations. "It cannot help to preserve tranquillity and peace in the border areas." Rawat also said that said India needed to check China's growing assertiveness in the South Asian region by forming a partnership with its neighbouring countries. He also said the crisis at Doklam would have been resolved due to the onset of winter and apprehended that Chinese troops might come back again. He, however, said that Doklam, which China calls Donglang, is a disputed territory between Beijing and Thimphu. Asked to which particular remark of Rawat's China has taken exception to, Lu said: "I have made myself clear. If the senior official according to the report referred to Donglang, I think you are clear about our position - Donglang belongs to China and has always been in the effective jurisdiction of China." "The China border troops patrolling and stationed in the area are exercising our sovereignty rights. We hope the Indian side has learned the lessons of history and will avoid similar accidents to take place again." "If he refers to the situation in the whole India-China boundary, I have also said that last September the two heads of state have reached important consensus during the Xiamen summit. Both sides have maintained effective communication since then." "The aim is to enhance strategic mutual trust and create enabling atmosphere for strategic communication. Recently the bilateral relations have shown positive momentum. "On such background, the official mentioned by you made such kind of remarks that go against the consensus of the states and do not conform to the general trend of improvement of bilateral relations. We believe such kinds of remarks are not conducive to maintaining peace and tranquility in border areas." --IANS gsh/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP is in turmoil following the press conference by the Supreme Court's four senior judges last week and its measure can be gauged by Prime Minister's chief aide's hurried visit to the Chief Justice of India's residence, a Congress leader said on Monday. "To what extent the BJP is responsible for turmoil in judiciary, has come to light by the fact that the Principal Secretary in PM's office Nripendra Misra rushed to the CJI's residence. What business does he have to do that? This needs investigation," party's Goa leader Shantaram Naik said at a press conference at the state party Congress headquarters here. In an impromptu press conference, four senior judges of the apex court had alleged administrative malpractices in the Supreme Court allegedly at the behest of the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, soon after which Mishra had met the CJI. --IANS maya/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's President Hassan Rouhani extended on Sunday his condolences to the families of 32 sailors who died after their oil tanker collided with another vessel off China's east coast. The crew members, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, went missing after a Panama-registered oil tanker and a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter collided on January 6 in waters about 160 sea miles east of the Yangtze River's estuary, Xinhua reported. Three bodies have been recovered after Chinese rescue teams tried very hard to put out the fire and rescue the crew members on the tanker, carrying 136,000 tons of gas condensates and other oils, that caught fire after the collision. It sank on Sunday after burning for eight days. Describing the incident as "tragic" and "heart-breaking," Rouhani said the deaths of the crew have deeply saddened the nation of Iran, the Tasnim news agency reported. The President stressed that determining the identity of the dead sailors should be a priority to relieve their families' pain and suffering. Rouhani also urged all relevant organisations to take necessary measures to investigate the cause of the tragic event and prevent any similar incident in the future. Despite China's prompt and continuous efforts to rescue the missing sailors, no survivors have been found so far. Chinese Ambassador to Iran Pang Sen on Thursday said that the poor sea condition in the area hindered the rescue operations, as Chinese rescue members risked their lives several times to get close to the tanker to put out the fire. He also pointed out that rescuing the missing crew has always been China's priority out of international humanitarian spirit and the traditional friendship between China and Iran. --IANS ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on six-day visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those present during the ceremony. "It began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Israel, which created tremendous enthusiasm that continues with my visit here, which, I must say, is deeply moving for me and my wife and the entire people of Israel," Netanyahu said after the ceremony. "And, I think, it helps us flourishing our partnership to bring prosperity, peace and progress for both our people." Netanyahu and Modi are expected to discuss a variety of subjects related to bilateral relations and the global situation. This is the first visit to India by an Israeli Prime Minister since Ariel Sharon came in 2003. Breaking protocol, Modi on Sunday personally went to the airport and received his Israeli counterpart who arrived here to begin a six-day visit that will also take him to Mumbai and Gujarat. --IANS spk/sar/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration deployed guards outside several schools on Monday to thwart the student union's call for boycotting lectures to oppose the mandatory attendance decision imposed recently. The administration wrote to the campus security agency to deploy "enough number of security guards" to not let the striking students detain others from attending classes. "The JNUSU (JNU Students' Union) has given a strike call on January 15. In past, during such events they have forcefully stopped the entry and exit of students and faculties to their respective classrooms and school building. "Hence, you are instructed to deploy enough number of security guards (both male and female) so that entry of any of students and faculty may not be forcefully stopped by the strikers. You are further instructed to deploy some guards in civil dress and instruct them to videograph if any unruly situation arises," the Registrar's letter read. JNUSU President Geeta Kumari told IANS that the strike went on successfully and peacefully and many students refused to attend the classes on their own. "We stood outside the schools and asked students not attend the classes. Many students boycotted their lectures... There were no fights with the guards, but this was the first time that guards said that we will not allow the strike to happen. "It appeared that they wanted some confrontation to happen because they were video recording us the entire time," she said. The union also called for burning of the attendance circular and proposed gifting the Vice Chancellor "a pair of khaki pants for his unwavering loyalty towards the Sangh (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)". --IANS vn/him/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The mother of a Kashmiri businessman arrested in Delhi on terrorism charges on Monday urged Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to help get her son released, claiming he was innocent. The businessman's family members also staged a protest here. Businessman Bilal Ahmad Kawa was arrested from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on January 12 by Delhi Police and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad for alleged involvement in a 2000 attack on the Red Fort. Delhi Police said the 37-year-old's bank account had been used for terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Kawa's mother Fatima told reporters during the protest that her son was a genuine businessman holding an Indian passport issued in 2001. She insisted that if her son was a militant, she would never seek his release. She asked Mehbooba Mufti to intervene and ensure that her son was not framed. According to her, Kawa had gone to Delhi for a medical check up. The Jammu and Kashmir Police has said there was no case against him, nor does he figure in any list of terror suspects. --IANS sq/qd/mr/sar (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pained by the condition of the Yamuna, hundreds of kite fliers thronged to a dry riverbed here to send messages to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath urging them to save the dying river. Special kites with printed messages dotted the Agra skyline on Sunday evening. "The dry river bed was aptly used for a sport with a grim message: If Yamuna doesn't live, Agra too would perish," said activist Shravan Kumar Singh. River Connect Campaign activists and hundreds of men, women and children joined the kite flying festival at the Yamuna to celebrate Makar Sankranti. Activist Devashish Bhattacharya told IANS: "The purpose of organising the festival with special messages was to focus the attention of our leaders towards a polluted river which was not only affecting human life but also proving a threat to the Taj Mahal." River Connect Campaign has been holding daily meetings with puja and arti of the Yamuna to build pressure on the government to construct a barrage downstream of the Taj Mahal. --IANS brij/sar/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday called on Lebanese political parties to stay clear of regional conflicts. "I reiterate the necessity of committing to the policy of dissociation and the necessity of maintaining our relations with our brotherly Arab nations," Hariri said after laying the foundation stone of the new embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Xinhua reported. "Lebanon must keep out of Arab conflicts. We are in favour of Arab unity and we hope that Lebanon can serve as a platform for business and tourism," he said. Hariri praised the UAE for standing by Lebanon's side and supporting Lebanon's stability. For his part, UAE Ambassador to Lebanon Hamad al-Shamsi expressed the Gulf state's commitment to supporting Lebanon. "We support Lebanon and consider it an inseparable part of the Gulf and Arab countries," Shamsi said, adding that the UAE will work for the interests of Lebanon and its people. --IANS ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 30-year-old man who was buying some food items from a shop near Rohini Court, was gunned down on Monday by four attackers, police said, terming the incident part of a "gang war". Police said the incident occurred at around 2 p.m in Prashant Vihar area of Rohini in north Delhi when Ravi Bhardwaj, along with his friend, had come to meet a lawyer in Rohini court. "Bhardwaj later came out from court with his friend and went to take food items from a shop in Prashant Vihar area. While he was packing the food, four unknown attackers in a Honda City car stopped near him and started firing indiscriminately at him," a senior police officer said. "The attackers only stopped firing after being satisfied he was dead. They also fired into the sky before escaping from the spot. Bhardwaj's friend informed the police and he was taken to nearby Ambedkar hospital where doctors declared him dead. "On the statement of his friend, a case of murder has been registered against a ganster, Gogi and three unknown persons. The entire crime was recorded in CCTV footage and efforts are on to ascertain the identities of accused attackers," he added. "Prima facie it appears to be a possible case of ongoing gang-war between two active gangs 'Tillu gang and Gogi gang' over some previous animosity in west Delhi. Bhardwaj had good contact with Tillu gang. His friend, in his complaint, named Jitender alias Gogi of being involved in the murder him with his three other accomplices," the officer added. --IANS sp/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Israel on Monday pledged to fight terror as the two countries sought to broadbase their relationship on the silver jubilee of establishment of their diplomatic ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inviting Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime in defence sector and to make more in India. The two countries also underlined the the need for working towards Free Trade and Bilateral Investment treaties. On the second day of his six-day visit to India, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both one-on-one and delegation level, after which the two sides reached agreements in various fields including a Memorandum of Understanding on Cyber Security Cooperation. Netanyahu showered praise on Modi saying he is a "revolutionary" leader who has catapulted India into the future. A joint statement issued later said the two Prime Ministers agreed that renewed efforts were required to realise the full potential for bilateral trade and investment and noted that the next round of bilateral discussions will be held next month in Israel. The Prime Ministers urged the private sector to actively explore investment opportunities in both countries, including through India's flagship programmes such as Make in India, Start-Up India and Digital India. Both sides noted the readiness of Israeli companies to enter into joint ventures with Indian companies in the defence sector under the Make in India initiative. They consider it important to set the direction for developing more business models and partnerships for joint ventures and joint manufacturing including transfer of technology as well as research and development in defence security fields. Recognising the grave threat terrorism poses to peace and security including from non-state actors, Modi and Netanyahu reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever and advocated strong measures against terrorists, terror organisations, those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups. They also noted with satisfaction that the next meeting of the joint working groups on homeland and public security will he held next month. They reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space and welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Cyber Security between India and Israel. At a media briefing later, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, said both countries shared similarities in their approach to tackling terrorism. "The two countries have said we will not tolerate terrorism in any manner," he said. In reply to a question on not naming Pakistan in the document, he said it was not necessary to name countries each time. There was no divergence of views on the issue, he added. To a question on cancellation by India of a deal with Israel for the purchase of 8,000 Spike anti-tank guided missiles, he said defence cooperation was discussed between the two leaders but he was not in a position to comment beyond that. On bilateral investment treaty, Gokhale said there was need to negotiate on the issue for a second round of discussions. At the interaction with the media, Modi said there were three ways of scaling up bilateral partnership. First, he said, it can be done by strengthening the existing pillars of cooperation in agriculture, science and technology and security. He said the second way of enhancing bilateral cooperation is by "venturing into less explored areas of cooperation, such as oil and gas, cyber security, films, and start-ups". "Several of these areas are indicative of our desire to diversify and broad-base engagement," he said. The third way, Modi said, to boost ties would be by "facilitating the flow of people and ideas between our geographies". "We are working with Israel to make it easier for our people to work and visit each other's countries, including for longer work durations. To bring people closer on both sides, an Indian Cultural Center will soon open in Israel." The Indian Prime Minister also said that both sides have decided to start an annual exchange of bilateral visits by 100 young people from science-related educational streams. India and Israel signed nine agreements following the talks, including two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on cooperation in the areas of oil and gas and cyber security, and two letters of intent between Indian Oil and two Israeli entities on metal-air batteries and solar thermal technologies. On bilateral economic relations, Modi said that "thriving two-way trade and investment is an integral part of our vision for a strong partnership". Modi expressed hope and optimism about India-Israel ties, and said: "In Prime Minister Netanyahu, I have a counterpart who is equally committed to taking the India-Israel relationship to soaring new heights." Netanyahu said Modi's historic visit to Israel last July, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, "excited all Israelis and of course many Israelis of Indian descent and origin". "Jews in India have never witnessed anti-Semitism like in some other countries," he stated. "This is a tribute to India's great civilisation, tolerance and democracy." "We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai (2008 terror attacks), we will never give in and will fight back," Netanyahu said. The two sides also discussed the situation in West Asia and UN Security Council reforms but Iran's nuclear programme did not figure. The personal chemistry Modi and Netanyahu share was again evident in the address to the media when the two leaders warmly hugged each other. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. --IANS ab/vsc/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 70 people were injured on Monday when part of the first floor of in one of the two towers that house Indonesia's stock exchange building collapsed, police said. The injured, many of them students visiting the building at lunchtime, were taken to four hospitals here, Jakarta police said in a statement, reported Efe news agency. Jakarta police spokesperson Argo Yuwono, talking to the media outside the building, ruled out an explosion as a cause of the collapse. The collapse occurred shortly after the conclusion of morning stock trading at 12.10 p.m. local time. Later, the country's stock exchange administrator ordered resumption of trading. Most of the workers at the stock market returned for the afternoon session. Images on television and social media uploaded by witnesses showed rubble in the lobby of the building. The police cordoned off the area while an investigation into the incident is on. National police spokesman Inspector General Setyo Wasisto said investigators would probe blueprint of the building after the incident, reported Xinhua. "Every building has its own blueprint, so there must be information stipulating how long a building will remain strong," he said at the police headquarters, also adding the cause of the incident was not an explosion. The country's financial services authority also supported the investigation, said head of its international division Anto Prabowo. --IANS him/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The opposition National Conference (NC) on Monday walked out of Jammu and Kashmir assembly protesting against Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's statement on the state's educational standards. General Rawat had remarked late last week that the teachers in J&K were teaching two maps to students, one of J&K and the other of India. Education Minister Syed Altaf Bukhari had criticised the army chief, asking him not to meddle in the affairs of education. NC legislators led by senior leader Ali Muhammad Sagar protested the army chief's statement demanding a statement by the Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the issue in the house. The NC also demanded a statement on the recent cordon and search operation (CASO) in Habba Kadal area of Srinagar. The opposition said such an operation had taken place after a gap of 17 years in the heart of Srinagar. "Do you want to create a situation like south Kashmir in central and north Kashmir," Sagar asked. CPI-M legislator Yusuf Tarigami said the army chief's statement had brought about a situation in which nobody knew who was in-charge in the state. Later, the NC legislators walked out of the house. --IANS sq/qd/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The 70th Army Day was celebrated across the country on Monday, with top political leaders and famous personalities paying tribute to troops who made the ultimate sacrifice and Army chief General Bipin Rawat sending out a strong warning to Pakistan on its continued support to terror. President Ram Nath Kovind, the supreme commander of the three armed forces, greeted soldiers and said the people could sleep safely only because they were protecting the country's borders. "Greetings to the valiant men and women of the Indian Army, to veterans and to families of those who have worn the uniform. You are our nation's pride, the sentinels of our liberty. Citizens sleep securely knowing you are ever awake and ever vigilant," Kovind said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and hailed the soldiers for putting the nation first and said the country had unwavering trust and pride in the Army. "Our Army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes," Modi said. "On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also on the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents," he said. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman extended her "best wishes" to all ranks of the Army, while Home Minister Rajnath Singh lauded the armed force for its "dedication, discipline and supreme sacrifices". General Rawat, along with Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, laid wreaths at the Amar Jawan Jyoti here to pay respect to the martyrs. "All ranks of the Indian Navy join me in wishing our brothers-in-arms in olive greens and their families a very happy Army Day," said Admiral Sunil Lanba. Speaking at the Army Day celebrations later at the Cariappa Parade Ground here, General Rawat sent out a warning to Pakistan that India will scale up action if Islamabad continued to support terror and infiltration of militants, while also stressing the need to secure the northern borders along China. He said any provocative action from Pakistan will lead to a befitting reply. "On the Line of Control (LoC), the Pakistan Army is continuing ceasefire violations and helping terrorists to infiltrate (into India). We are using our might to teach them a lesson. Any provocative action from Pakistan's side will get a befitting reply. "If we are forced, we will scale up the level of our action, and can take other steps," he said. Talking about caution on the northern borders, he added: "Disputes are on along the Line of Actual Control, the northern border. Ensuring the security of the LAC is our primary responsibility." A colourful parade, with marching contingents, display of mechanised columns and operational display marked the occasion. The systems on display included the Akash weapon system, Brahmos missile and tanks and Swathi Weapon Locating Radar. For the first time, the Indian Army had invited around 100 students from other schools of Delhi, including Modern School, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and DPS International, among others. Gayatri, a student from Modern School, said the display inspired her to join the armed force. "It was very exciting as for the first time we saw how our Army engaged the enemy and fights them. This definitely has inspired me to think of Army as a career option after completing my education," she said. The Army chief also presented gallantry awards to mark the celebrations that commemorate the day when Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa took charge as the first Indian Army chief in 1949, succeeding General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India. --IANS ao/tsb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan on Monday urged the US to take their bilateral relationship forward during the first visit by a US delegation since the suspension of security aid to the South Asian country over its perceived inaction against terror groups. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, Alice G. Wells -- who arrived in Islamabad on Monday morning -- met Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua for updates on recent anti-terrorist operations, Efe news agency reported. Wells "underlined the need for strengthening intelligence cooperation between the two sides to improve coordination in counter-terrorism efforts", while the Pakistani Foreign Minister said the bilateral relationship needed to "move forward under an environment of mutual trust and respect", the Pakistani ministry said in a statement. It added that the US delegation was informed of recent anti-terrorist actions that have visibly improved the security situation in the country and region, although no details of these actions were provided. Janjua said that strengthening border management mechanisms between Pakistan and Afghanistan was of vital importance in responding to border movement-related concerns. In addition, she expressed concern over the use of Afghan territory by hostile elements against Pakistan. This is the first visit to Pakistan by a senior US official since January 4, when Washington announced the suspension of the coalition support funds in Pakistan until Islamabad takes "decisive" steps against terrorist groups. The US Department of State did not specify the exact amount of the suspended aid but said it was significant. The suspension came after US President Donald Trump on January 1 accused Islamabad of "lies and deceit" and "giving safe haven to the terrorists", and said that the US "has foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years". The US and Afghanistan have for years accused Pakistan of providing refuge to the Taliban's Haqqani network, which stages attacks on US and Afghan troops, a claim that Islamabad denies. Pakistan has defended its role in the war against terrorism, pointing to the figure of 60,000 deaths and economic losses worth $123 billion suffered since 2001. --IANS him/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Polish companies may explore opportunities at commercial coal mining in India if conditions are right, said a minister from the eastern European country here on Monday. A high-level Polish delegation comprising government officials and representatives of firms, chamber of commerce, financial and educational institutes has arrived in the city to participate in the state's two day business meet - Bengal Global Business Summit - starting Tuesday. "There is strong conviction to look at India with more interest by Polish companies if the conditions are right," said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marek Magierowski, while responding to a query about interest in commercial coal mining by Polish firms. According to him, the Indian mining sector has been using Polish technology and machinery extensively and many Polish companies are now looking beyond Europe to find new markets and opportunities. India is currently working on a methodology for offering coal blocks for commercial mining. "We are a country where the energy need is covered mostly by coal and coal extraction. We would like to share that expertise with Indian companies. We have the appropriate technology," he said. The European country will showcase Silesia region in the Bengal business gathering as a potential region for economic partnership between Bengal and the province. "There are regions in Poland which can offer something more original and attractive to foreign partners. Silesia in Poland is known for its coal and industry and this part of of India is well known for production of coal," Magierowski said at a Bengal Chamber-organised session. --IANS bdc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As is set to make first trip to his parliamentary constituency as the Congress president on Monday, posters eulogising him as an incarnation of Lord Rama slaying Prime Minister Narendra Modi, portrayed as the ten-headed demon king Ravan, have appeared at various places in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi district. The posters go on to say that will usher in Ram Rajya in the country and will end the "misrule of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)". Behind the posters is a local Congressman, Abhay Shukla. District Congress leaders told IANS that though the posters were not "official", they found nothing objectionable in them. "People and voters have their own way of fantasising about their leader," chuckled one who believed will boot out the Modi-led NDA government at the center in 2019. Rahul Gandhi is to arrive in his parliamentary constituency around noon and would take part in a road show that will stop over at seven prominent points of Amethi. Senior Congress leader Akhilesh Singh informed that the Congress president will reach Rae Bareli, his mother's parliamentary constituency, a little after 12:30 p.m. and will drive to Salon after that where he will address a public meeting. Later, he will drive straight to Amethi and take some rest at the Munshiganj guest house. The Congress president will meet people from his constituency and local party workers on Tuesday morning after which he will also visit Mohanganj, Jagdishpur and Jais. Senior state leaders of the Congress are in Amethi to accord a grand welcome to Rahul Gandhi on his maiden visit as Congress president to his parliamentary constituency. President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted the Army personnel on the 70th Army Day. "Greetings to the valiant men and women of the Indian Army, to veterans and to families of those who have worn the uniform. You are our nation's pride, the sentinels of our liberty. Citizens sleep securely knowing you are ever awake and ever vigilant," the President tweeted. The Prime Minister also took to twitter and hailed the soldiers for putting the nation first and said the country had unwavering trust and pride in the Army. "Our Army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes," Modi said. "On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents," he said. The celebrations mark the day when Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa took charge as the first Indian Army chief in 1949, succeeding General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India. --IANS aks/him/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Doha, Jan 16 (IANS/WAM) Qatar on Monday denied that its fighter jets had intercepted a passenger plane from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "The state of Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft (are) completely false," Qatari Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Lulwa Al Khater said on her Twitter Monday. Qatari military jets on Monday intercepted a UAE passenger plane which was on the way to land at Al Bahrain International Airport in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, the official Emirati news agency WAM reported. The UAE's civil aviation authority has informed its Qatari counterpart that a second Emirati commercial airliner was intercepted by Qatari fighter jets while it was on a "regular scheduled and well-known journey." The UAE authority added that it regards this incident "as a serious and renewed breach of international conventions and the safety of civil aircraft traffic." Earlier in the day, the UAE reported another Emirates passenger plane was intercepted by Qatari military jets, calling the move as a "flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation." The incidents came after Qatar filed two complaints on Friday and Sunday to the United Nations about the violation of its airspace in December and January by a UAE fighter jet. On Sunday evening, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Thani, one of the Qatari royal family members, accused the UAE of holding him against his will. But the UAE denied the allegation. A standoff has continued in the Gulf since early June, when the Saudi Arabia-led Arab quartet, which also includes the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, severed diplomatic, trade and transport links with Qatar. The quartet has accused Qatar of destabilizing the region by supporting terrorism and interfering in their domestic affairs. Qatar has denied all the charges. No breakthrough has been achieved in the international efforts to resolve the crisis, despite the mediation by Kuwait, the US, Turkey and European countries. --IANS/WAM ahm/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited Pachpadra in Barmer district on Monday to monitor the preparations going before Prime Minister Modi's visit on Tuesday to inaugurate the refinery. The two, accompanied by other ministers, state BJP leaders and officials, visited the venue and took stock of the preparations. Expressing satisfaction, they also asked officials to ensure that security arrangements are intact in and around Barmer. The Chief Minister asked her ministers and senior officials camping in the town to remain updated about the preparations being made. Before reaching the venue, the Chief Minister offered her prayers at Jain Shwetamber Nakoda Pashwarnath temple, Bhatiyani Mata and Brahmaji temple in Barmer. State Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ashok Parnami, who also accompanied Raje and Pradhan. said that the refinery, the biggest in itself in the state, will bring in lot of property and business to Rajasthan. It will come up as a hub, attracting lot many industries and logistics units. The residents are quite excited with booming opportunities which are sure to generate lot many employment opportunities for them, he said, adding Barmer will definitely become logistics and industries hub in the future. --IANS arc/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russia is ready to facilitate bilateral dialogue between the US and North Korea within the framework of the six-party talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. "We propose to all to calm down and freeze all confrontational actions, first of all, actions related to military operations including launching missiles, testing nuclear weapons and organizing large-scale manoeuvres, which the US, South Korea and Japan are conducting in this region," he said at a press conference, reported Xinhua news agency. Lavrov said that Russia actively supports "direct contacts between the most interested parties" when the confrontation is terminated. "If we talk about the nuclear issue, it is primarily between Pyongyang and Washington, but we will also be ready to contribute to this bilateral dialogue within the framework of the six-party process," he said. The six-party talks to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, which involved South Korea, North Korea, China, the US, Russia and Japan, have been suspended since late 2008. In particular, Lavrov highlighted that Russia and China are actively interacting to achieve this goal within the framework of their joint initiative on the transition to a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula, which calls for the end of the military confrontation. He noted that the work is going slowly as Washington seems to prefer a military solution despite catastrophic consequences. "When conditions for a transition to dialogue were developed, in most cases we witnessed provocative actions in the form of larger-scale military activities around Pyongyang, which provoked a new round of tension," he said. Meanwhile, Lavrov denied that Russia was invited to join in the upcoming ministerial meeting in Canada on the Korean Peninsula. The Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Security and Stability on Korean Peninsula, co-hosted by Canada and the US, will be convened in Vancouver on Tuesday. "With all due respect to those who initiated this meeting, I do not expect anything productive. I only hope nothing counter-productive happens," Lavrov said. --IANS him/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mousuni (West Bengal), Jan 15: The living drown and the dead float out of their graves as the rising sea engulfs Baliara village in Mousuni, an island facing the Bay of Bengal. Every third or fourth day, the high tide enters homes and leaves farms a wasteland. At one edge of the Sundarbans -- the world's largest mangrove forest -- Mousuni used to have an embankment along Baliara to hold back the rising sea. That collapsed during 2009's Cyclone Aila. Since then, there have been three attempts to build sea walls, all of which have collapsed against the power of the sea. Scientists say seas around the world are rising due to climate change, but the Bay of Bengal is rising twice as fast as the global average. I had first visited Baliara in 2009, two months before the cyclone hit. Badruddin Sarkar, retired headmaster of the village school, had then stood on top of the 18-foot embankment and pointed out to the sea to the homes he used to have -- the first was overtaken by a rising sea in 1991 and the second in 2004. Two months after I met him, a storm surge from Cyclone Aila topped the embankment, ruined Sarkar's paddy fields and freshwater fish farms with salt water, killed his livestock, and forced him to migrate to Kolkata, over 100 km away. Now, Abdul Hanan, 61, retired headmaster of the school's primary section, pointed out the effects of the rising seas. There is no sign of the original embankment, girders from subsequent attempts to build a sea wall lie overwhelmed and abandoned, dead coconut and date palms dot a landscape of saline pools where nothing can grow. At the confluence of the Muriganga -- a distributary of the Ganga -- and the Bay of Bengal, Mousuni is a bustling island of about 5,000 households. But over 2,000 of them are in Baliara, and they are under a sentence of displacement or death. "How do you expect us to live?" asks a visibly angry Jasimuddin Sarkar, pointing to his farm that is under about a foot of dirty brackish water. He has tried to protect his home from the rising sea with plastic fencing, but the water keeps getting in. Peek inside the large hut, and you see are piles of soggy old newspapers. That is what the family uses to mop up the water from their furniture, their floor, their walls. They do it every three or four days. So how do they survive? Jasimuddin's answer is the same as that of everybody in Baliara. "My son works in Kerala as a mason. He sends money home. That's how we survive." Others talk of their sons, brothers or husbands working as security guards, farm labour, masons, mall cleaners and so on. It's not a situation that anybody likes -- but where will they go? Jasimuddin says he knows nothing except paddy and fish farming, so what will he do elsewhere for a living? Over 150 families in Baliara have already left permanently. They could not sell their land, because nobody was interested in wasteland. They just left. Has the government been of any help? Local panchayat member Himangshu Aich said those who could prove their farm ownership got a compensation of Rs 10,000 per family after Cyclone Aila. And since then, the efforts of the government engineers to hold back the waves are there for all to see. The Sundarbans straddle the Bangladesh-India border. The Indian part has around five million people. Nilanjan Ghosh, an ecological economist, has led a study that shows 1.5 million of these people will have to be permanently relocated outside the Sundarbans, because sea level rise will make it impossible for them to live there or earn a livelihood. That means the number of people affected and to be affected by sea level rise in the Indian Sundarbans alone is higher than that of all small islands around the world put together. The impending fate of these islands is a major subject of discussion at the annual talks of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In contrast, the plight of people in the Sundarbans is not even mentioned in international climate talks, not even by the government of India. It is not as if there has been no attempt to build climate resilience in this area. For well over a decade, WWF India has been distributing special varieties of paddy seeds that are salinity tolerant. It still works further inland, but in this area, the water and soil salinity levels have now gone well beyond the survivability of this variety. The problem is far more fundamental than the solutions attempted so far. Apart from sea level rise due to climate change, the entire Sundarbans is sinking because dams and barrages in the Ganga and its tributaries upstream hold back the silt that forms the soil that forms the delta. No policymaker in New Delhi shows any interest in even starting to address that problem. Is there a solution at all? Go around 2,000 kilometres from the Sundarbans, down India's east coast to Pichavaram in Tamil Nadu, and you will see one with potential. Mangroves have been cut down all along the coastlines of South Asia, but there was still a large strand standing at Pichavaram when the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami hit the entire region from Indonesia to East Africa. Coastal villages to the north and south of Pichavaram were devastated, killing many. But the 16 villages shielded by the Pichavaram mangroves escaped with very little damage. The mangroves tempered the wave. Now it is a protected forest through which you can take boat rides, an activity much loved by young couples. As the boatman poles through about a foot of water, you can get very close to the mangroves, which you cannot do in the Sundarbans for fear of tigers and crocodiles. There have been some sporadic attempts to plant mangroves in the Bay of Bengal facing islands of the Sundarbans, but neither the authorities nor the residents seem to be aware it may be the only effective wall against a rising sea. (In arrangement with indiaclimatedialogue.net, with whom Joydeep Gupta is Project Director. Views expressed are those of the website. Feedback at information@indiaclimatedialogue.net) --IANS joydeep/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra on Monday said the issues raised by four dissenting top judges of the Supreme Court have been resolved, and that the judiciary did not want any political party to take advantage of the situation. "As you can see the matter has been laid to rest and all court rooms in the Supreme Court are functioning normally," Mishra told reporters here. A seven-member delegation of the BCI on Sunday met 15 Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and three of the four rebel judges who went public with their differences with the Chief Justice. The four judges -- Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph -- on Friday took on the Chief Justice over allocation of cases, saying the administration of the top court was "not in order". "Our one point agenda in meeting these senior judges was to request them to sort out the differences among themselves. Now it appears this morning they all met and resolved it," the BCI chairman said. He said the BCI was only concerned about the functioning of the institution. "Now it is functioning smoothly and all courts are discharging their duties." However, he declined to comment on the issues related to Justice Loya's death and other issues raised by the four senior most judges in their Friday conference. "It is for the Supreme Court to decide the Judge Loya matter, not for BCI to comment on it. "Our sole concern was to ensure independence of the judiciary," he said. Mishra said there is transparency in the judiciary and did not comment on the press conference. He said some people tried to take advantage of the unfortunate situation but "they have failed". --IANS akk-spk-mg/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A senior MQM leader has been found dead in a car at a Karachi neighbourhood, media reported on Monday. The body of Hasan Zafar Arif, MQM-London's deputy convener, was recovered from Karachi's Ilyas Goth area on Sunday, Dawn newspaper quoting police said. He was in his early 70s. The cause of Arif's death was not known immediately as doctors who examined his body said there were no signs of torture or bullet wounds. Arif was a former associate professor at the Philosophy Department in University of Karachi and a former fellow at Harvard University. In October 2016, Arif was arrested from outside the Karachi Press Club, where he was due to address a press conference along with other leaders of MQM-London. He was booked for allegedly facilitating and listening to a controversial speech of MQM founder Altaf Hussain in which he reportedly tried to outrage religious feelings, criticised the military establishment and asked his workers to extort money from the traders. In April 2017, he was released from Central Jail Karachi after an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) issued his release order. --IANS sar/ (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Slithering operations from a helicopter were on display during the Army Day Parade on Monday, despite an accident during a practice drill on January 9. A video of soldiers falling after the rope they were slithering down came unstuck went viral ahead of the Army Day, after which sources had said the operation will not be carried out on D-day. However, during the annual press conference ahead of the Army Day, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said it was a routine matter as accidents do take place during practice, and soldiers are always prepared for it. "We accept casualties during training, we have had accidents during training," General Rawat had said. The video of the accident that took place on January 9 showed three soldiers hanging from the rope at the same time. While the first soldier was closer to the ground, the third soldier had just caught hold of the rope when it came off. The accident occurred since the boom of the Dhruv helicopter, to which the rope was tied, broke off. On Monday however, the soldiers were seen slithering one by one, and the next soldier took on the rope only when the first one had landed. Slithering operations are employed to drop troops in an area where a helicoptr cannot land. --IANS ao/qd/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Stressing its resolve to end the US presence in Syria, Damascus on Monday slammed the US bid to form an armed militia in northern Syria as a flagrant violation to the country's sovereignty, media reports said. The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the US declaration constitutes a flagrant aggression on the unity and sovereignty of Syria and a violation of international law, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting state news agency SANA. A day earlier, reports cited the US-led anti-terror coalition as saying that the US is working to form an armed group of 30,000 fighters, which will be under the command of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians supported by the US in northern Syria. "The US action comes in the framework of its destructive policy in the region to fragment the countries and spur tensions to hinder any solution to the crisis," the Ministry said. Meanwhile, the Ministry warned that it will regard any Syrian citizen taking part in this US-backed militia as a "traitor" and will be dealt with accordingly. It called the new US move as a "renewed conspiracy" that will be brought down by the Syrian Army to end any form of presence of the US and its tools in Syria. The US has been carrying out military operations in Syria since 2014, claiming to be fighting against the Islamic State (IS) terror group. The SDF captured Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS, late last year, and the Syrian Army captured the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, another IS bastion almost in the same timeframe. However, the Syrian government said the Raqqa city was still occupied by the US and its fighters on the ground, refusing to acknowledge its liberation from IS. Also, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said in a recent interview that the Kurdish-led groups were the new IS, in another escalation between both parties. The US move to create a new army in northern Syria has also been criticised by Turkey and Russia. Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday said the US move to establish a border control force in northern Syria is a "unilateral decision". It condemned this "wrongful approach" and said Turkey was determined and capable to eliminate all sorts of threats. For his side, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday said that the US is not intending on preserving the Syrian sovereignty. --IANS him/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Selfish and self-centred" US President Donald Trump will only continue to damage many groups until he is out of office, says Texas-based transgender chef Chris Trapani. Born in 1977, Trapani was around 20 when he got a chance to work with a catering company. "They catered to events, also attended by Trump. He spoke down to people and was always rude to them, especially the workers. His whole attitude towards the service class annoys me," Trapani told IANS during his visit to Delhi last week. Trump, who won the US presidential election on November 8, 2016, had proposed a transgender military ban last year. Trump also rolled back laws protecting transgender children's right to choice of bathroom. Asked about the struggles of being a transgender, especially under the Trump administration, he said: "I am constantly upset about the thing Trump says and does. He is selfish and self-centred, and I can't wait until he is gone. "He will only continue to damage many groups until he is out of office. Nothing he has done so far has affected me, but he is surely hurting people." On the chef's move from New York to Texas, he said: "It was fairly easy for me in Texas to get ID documents changed, go through the surgery, even though it is expensive, and be treated fairly. "In my opinion, states like Alabama and Mississippi are terrible with people who are transitioning. I have met more friendly and caring people in Texas than in any other state." The former participant of the "Chopped" show would like to share his story with Indians now. "We need to push the message that all humans are equal and have many things in common," said the chef, who specialises in Tex-Mex food, and is on a multi-city tour in India. For his visit here, Trapani, along with The Lalit Food Truck Company chefs, conducted a skill development workshop for the members of the transgender community. "It is an honour to be a part of this event that promotes equality and also team it with my passion for food," Trapani said about the initiative led by Keshav Suri, Executive Director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group. The chef got his first job in kitchen when he was 16. Now, he owns a food truck. "We started with serving lunch at offices, breweries and parks. Now we are usually always booked for private events," he said. "Last year, we opened a restaurant for a few months. People loved it. Unfortunately, we got a bad deal with the landlord and had to vacate. "I hope to try opening a restaurant someday soon. Currently, we are working on an event venue on our land in Texas," he added. (Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in) --IANS nn/rb/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Washington's plans to create a 30,000-strong border guard unit in Syria that would include Kurdish militants was met with ire by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, who threatened of further military action in the region. Hardliner Erdogan made the remarks during a strongly-worded speech in the capital Ankara, in which he said the Turkish armed forces were poised to use military might to sink the US-backed proposals before they could materialise, Efe news agency reported. "The US now admits it is creating a terrorist army along our border. What we must do is drown this army before it is born," Erdogan said, vowing to clean Turkey's 900-km frontier with Syria of "terrorists". US military plans to form a border guard force predominantly composed of Kurdish YPG fighters -- Washington's closest ally in the regional fight against the Islamic State terror group -- has also been denounced by Russia and the Syrian government, who both warned that it jeopardised Syria's territorial unity. The US-led coalition in Syria announced the blueprints on Sunday. Erdogan said the Turkish military was ready to strike the Kurdish-held Syrian regions of Manbij and Afrin at any moment. Turkish officials regard the Syrian YPG group to be a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist guerrilla group that has conducted a low-scale civil war in eastern Turkey for decades. They have consistently rejected the notion of a Kurdish autonomous region across its southern border. Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces -- an ethnically mixed umbrella group whose largest fighting force is the YPG -- told Efe via telephone on Monday that the creation of the border guard force was slated to get underway this year. The force would stretch from Syria's northern borders with Turkey and Iraq down to the front lines held by units and allies of the Syrian regimes further south. The government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, however, has pledged to recover all territory lost in the civil war, including the Kurdish-controlled countryside in the north. The SDF played a pivotal role in the military campaigns that recovered the city of Raqqa and northern areas of Der Ezzor from the IS in 2017. But a Turkish military intervention in northern Syria in August 2016 thwarted the establishment of a Kurdish-controlled corridor of land along the entirety of the border. The US' continued support for the YPG dealt a hammer blow to its relations with Turkey, a NATO ally. --IANS him/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Donald Trump administration plans to unveil revised self-driving car guidelines this summer to give carmakers more freedom to develop self-driving car technologies, the US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao has said. Speaking during the Detroit Auto Show, she said the government is set to issue third set of voluntary guidelines for self-driving cars this summer, the Detroit News reported late on Sunday. The approach to self-driving cars "will be tech neutral and flexible -- not top-down, or command and control". "The (Transportation) Department will not be in the business of picking winners or losers or favouring one form of technology over another," Chao said. The government is updating its guidelines "to avoid a patchwork of different approaches by encouraging interoperability standards and consistent rules, while respecting the role of state and local governments," she told the audience. "It will address barriers to the safe integration of autonomous technology for motor carriers, transit, trucks, infrastructure and other modes, as well," Chao added. Chao said the guidelines will be consistently updated to keep up with innovation, adding that the government has made a call out to identify regulatory and infrastructure barriers to innovation. The US auto maker General Motors has already asked permission from federal regulators to deploy its first driverless car fleet in 2019. "General Motors filed a Safety Petition with the Department of Transportation for its fourth-generation self-driving Cruise AV, the first production-ready vehicle built from the start to operate safely on its own, with no driver, steering wheel, pedals or manual controls," GM announced last week. GM plans to deploy its self-driving vehicles first for ride-sharing service. Customers will use a mobile app to request a ride, just like they use ride-sharing today. The only difference is that customers will control the experience through buttons and touch screen tablets. With a vision of zero crashes, zero emissions, GM claims that the driverless Cruise AV "has the potential to provide a level of safety far beyond the capabilities of humans." The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday appealed to its workers and sympathisers to remain calm after the bodys International Acting President Pravin Togadia went "missing" from the party office in Ahmedabad. "All the office-bearers and workers of VHP are worried about the disappearance of Pravinbhai Togadia. We got to know through media reports that both Rajasthan and Gujarat police have denied arresting him. Then this matter becomes more critical," VHP General Secretary Champat Rai said in a statement in New Delhi. "We request all party workers and well-wishers to stay clam and not believe any rumours and should not react in a way to make the situation more tense," he added. Earlier in the day, VHP activists alleged that Togadia was missing and that he had been taken away by Rajasthan Police. Notably, Togadia enjoys Z-Plus security. Around 50 Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers created a ruckus at a police station in Ahmedabad, alleging that the police, in connivance with their Rajasthan counterparts, had taken Togadia into custody in connection with a 10-year-old murder case. Alleging that the Sola police helped the Rajasthan Police arrest the VHP's International Acting President from Paldi area in Ahmedabad, the workers wanted to know his whereabouts. --IANS mak/tsb/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of around 50 VHP workers on Monday created a ruckus at a police station in Ahmedabad, alleging that the police, in connivance with their Rajasthan counterparts, have arrested their President Pravin Togadia in connection with a 10-year-old murder case. Alleging that the Sola police helped the Rajasthan Police arrest the VHP's international acting president from the Paldi area-located headquarters in Ahmedabad, the workers created a ruckus at the Sola Police Station there. "We are pretty sure that the Rajasthan Police has arrested our leader Pravin Togadia at 10:30-11:00 in the morning. They were in the state searching for Togadia in connection with the case of a 10-year-old's murder in Rajasthan. "We demand that the Gujarat Police give us his (Togadia's) whereabouts, if he has not been arrested, as they are claiming." said Raju Patel, Ahmedabad city VHP General Secretary. "We fear that Togadia might be killed by the police in a fake encounter. The way Pravin Togadia has been voicing against the government's attitude towards many issues... towards their poll promises and regarding Ram Mandir, many in the government do not like it and they would want to silence him," said Gandhinagar VHP General Secretary. The angry VHP workers also tried to block traffic on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, a busy road in western Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the police in Ahmedabad maintained that although the Rajasthan Police was present in the city in the morning looking for him, they left the city without making any arrest. "The Rajasthan Police had a search warrant for Pravin Togadia, but no arrests were made and they returned to Rajasthan without making any arrest. If the VHP workers are alleging that Togadia is missing then we will look into that matter," said Sola Police Station Inspector G.S. Patel. --IANS amc/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ten days after he alleged that a "higher up in the BJP" was trying to implicate him in a murder case, VHP activists alleged on Monday that Pravin Togadia was missing and that he had been taken away by Rajasthan Police. Around 50 Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers created a ruckus at a police station in Ahmedabad, alleging that the police, in connivance with their Rajasthan counterparts, had taken Togadia into custody in connection with a 10-year-old murder case. Alleging that the Sola police helped the Rajasthan Police arrest the VHP's International Acting President from Paldi area in Ahmedabad, the workers demanded to know his whereabouts. "We are pretty sure the Rajasthan Police has arrested our leader. They were in the state searching for Togadia in connection with the murder in Rajasthan that took place 10 years ago. "We ask the Gujarat Police to tell us where he is if he has not been arrested," said Raju Patel, the Ahmedabad city VHP General Secretary. "We fear that Togadia might be killed by the police in a fake encounter." "The way Togadia has been speaking against the government on many issues... their poll promises, regarding Ram Mandir, many in the government do not like it and they want to silence him," Patel added. The VHP workers tried to block traffic on the busy Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway in western Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the police in Ahmedabad maintained that the Rajasthan Police left the city without making any arrest. "The Rajasthan Police had a search warrant for Togadia but no arrest was made. If the VHP workers allege that Togadia is missing, then we will look into that matter," said Sola Police Station Inspector G.S. Patel. On January 5, Togadia alleged a conspiracy had been hatched against him by a "higher up in the BJP" to implicate and jail him in a 1996 murder case by ensuring he did not get the summons issued against him. The Metropolitan Court on Friday cancelled a non-bailable warrant issued against Togadia, once a powerful figure in the Hindutva camp. "The police did not make those summons available to me. I have received information that this was done purposefully by someone higher up, without the intervention of (state) Home Minister or Chief Minister." Togadia added: "Just like it happened during the Patidar agitation, when (then Chief Minister) Anandiben Patel said she did not order the lathicharge on agitators, this case is similar. "(Deputy Chief Minister) Nitin Patel, (Chief Minister) Vijay Rupani wouldn't do that. Why were the summons not made available to me despite my presence in Ahmedabad? Since some time I feel my voice is being gagged. I will later reveal who is behind it all," he added. --IANS team-mr/nir (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After the BJP on Sunday condemned the meme video released by Congress that purportedly attempted to highlight the "awkwardness" in Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugging various world leaders, the party said virtues of humour in should be appreciated. "I think it is time that we started appreciating the virtues of humour in I think it is time that we stopped tilting at windmills," said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi, adding that puncturing of pomposity was very important. "Whatever view (the video) depicts is nothing but a sense of humour and a coining of words. Let me be very clear that the content cannot be said by any stretch of perverse or normal imagination to be vicious or in any sense meant to create a mala fide intent," he said. "I will leave it at that and say that certain sense of humour should not escape us and that is all that (the video) depicts," Singhvi also added. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday condemned the meme video and said that the opposition party had lost its "sense and balance". The Congress posted a video hashtag "Hugplomacy" on its official Twitter handle that seemingly captured a few "awkward" moments in Modi meeting different world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and also Netanyahu, among others. The tweet read: "With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visiting India, we look forward to more hugs from PM Modi! #Hugplomacy." --IANS sid/nir/dg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One woman was injured in a blast after a grenade was lobbed at an army office here, located adjacent to the Raj Bhavan and close to the Chief Minister's home and office, on Monday, police said. The office is located on the national highway No 2 that skirts Raj Bhavan, the office cum residence of the chief minister and other senior ministers and was full of cars and other vehicles as people were returning home after the day's work. There was however no damage of the office or injury to any soldiers. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, police said, adding that they also do not have any clues about the motive or identity of the insurgents. On receipt of the information, state and central forces rushed to the spot. The attack comes two days after a powerful bomb blast in Ukhrul district. Police sources feel that Monday's blast may be a "dress rehearsal" for the boycott of the Republic Day celebrations as all banned insurgent groups in the northeast do every year. Police say that there is a sharp increase of bomb blasts in Manipur in the past few months, and official sources also admit that there has been no improvement in the insurgency-related law and order situation. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who is in charge of Home, recently told IANS that he had sent feelers to the major underground outfits for hammering out a durable peace in Manipur. --IANS il/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two alleged smugglers were arrested after police seized a large quantity of illicit timber worth lakhs of rupees in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said today. Various teams of police conducted raids at various areas in Chatroo belt and seized 35 full size illegal scants of Deodar and 15 scants of Qail from the possession of Roshan Lal, a police spokesman said. In another raid, police seized 15 full size scants of Deodar from the possession of Arshad Ahmed of the Udheel Gujjrian area of Chatroo, he said. The spokesman said both the persons were arrested. Police have set up special teams following information about illegal smuggling of timber from the forest area. The preliminary investigations revealed that the accused have caused the green felling for smuggle and subsequent profiteering, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 20 people were injured when bus carrying Ganga Sagar pilgrims to Kolkata overturned in South 24 Parganas district today, police said. The bus overturned in Joragumpti area of the district as the driver lost control over the vehicle after one of its front tyre burst, the police said. The injured have been rushed to hospital, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three police officers have been suspended for dereliction of duty over the murder of former village head and Uttar Pradesh minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary's relative, police said today. Sharman Chaudhary, former head of Gohari village, was shot dead allegedly by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants on Saturday. The deceased was related to the cabinet minister for dairy development. "Sub Inspector Subhash Chandra, beat constable Muneem Singh and constable Brajesh Kumar have been suspended after a departmental probe," Swapnil Mamgai, district police chief, said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir government today said 30,711 dog bite cases have been reported in Srinagar during the last six years. Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Asiea Naqash told the Legislative Council that 30,711 dog bite cases were registered at an anti-rabies clinic at the SMHC hospital in Srinagar from 2012-13 to 2017-18 up to September. She was replying to the call attention motion of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLC Zafar Iqbal Manhas. Of these 7,000 cases were registered in 2012-13, followed by 6,041 cases in 2013-14, 4,917 cases in 2014-15, 5,100 cases in 2015-16, 5,120 cases in 2016-17 and 2,533 cases in 2017-18 up to September, Naqash said. She said the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) has been working to tackle the situation. Due to implementation of various strategies, stray bite cases as per the available reports at the hospital over the last few years revealed that there has been around 30 per cent decline in the number of dog bites from 7,000 in 2012-13 to 5,120 in 2016-17, the minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four Chinese nationals suspected of ATM skimming fraud have been arrested here and police have recovered Rs 2.3 million and 350 ATM cards from their possession, in the latest incident involving Chinese citizens. Clifton Superintendent Police Dr Asad Malhi said the police acted on information regarding suspicious activities of a group of Chinese men in Defence Phase-II area on Saturday night and arrested the three men. However, two other accomplices managed to escape. One suspect linked with the group was later arrested yesterday on information provided by the three men, DawnNews reported. Malhi said the group appears to be a part of an organised gang which employs young Chinese men for skimming frauds. The suspects were handed over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), he said. A skimming device was seized from the arrested suspects, as well as Rs 2.3 million stolen from ATMs of different banks, a police official said. The incident takes the number of Chinese men arrested this week in relation to ATM skimming frauds in Karachi to six. Earlier in the week, two Chinese men were arrested for allegedly planting a skimming device at a Habib Bank Ltd ATM in Zainab Market while another was arrested on Saturday in Bahadurabad. The criminals used skimmers to capture banking data off debit and credit cards. Skimmers are physical devices that are installed over the actual ATM card slots that read the data of the magnetic strips. In March last year, two Chinese nationals were arrested by a Pakistani law enforcement agency for ATM skimming fraud. Pakistan has witnessed a rapid increase of Chinese nationals in the country in recent years due to many Beijing- funded infrastructure development projects and joint ventures under the USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Some Chinese expatriates, however, have been found involved in criminal activities such as fighting and fraud, Pakistani media reports said in December. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan today said four of its soldiers died and five others injured in cross-border firing by India across the Line of Control (LoC) and claimed to have killed three Indian troops. The Foreign Office later summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh to protest the killing of the soldiers. The army's media wing Inter Services Public Relations said that troops were busy in line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round along the LoC in Kotli sector's Jandrot area. It said four Pakistani soldiers died in the incident. "Exchange of fire killed 3 Indian soldiers while few injured," the army said in a brief statement. The Indian Army, however, said seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in its retaliatory firing. In a statement, the Foreign Office claimed that India violated the ceasefire agreement in Jandrot sub-sector of Kotli sector, resulting in the death of four Pakistani soldiers. Five others were injured in the incident. Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces, using heavy mortars, the statement said. He said despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 100 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary in just 15 days, he claimed. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1,900 ceasefire violations," Faisal alleged. He said "deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas and troops carrying out maintenance activities is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws". The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation, he claimed. He urged India to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the working boundary. He said India should permit the UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control (LoC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir government today said nearly 800 acres of Waqf board land has been encroached in this region. Around 800 acres (6,300 kanals) of land belonging to Waqf board has been encroached by various individuals and government organisations in the region, Minister for Haj and Auqaf Abdul Rehman Veeri said in a written reply to the question of PDP member Firdous Ahmed Tak in the Legislative Council. The eviction process under the Waqf Act has already been initiated against the private encroachers, he said, adding that some of the occupants have approached the court challenging the eviction notices. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today asked BJP to appreciate humour in politics, and said there was nothing vicious or malafide in the video put out by it that made fun of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hugging world leaders. "I think it is time that we started appreciating the virtues of humour in I think it is time that we stop tilting at windmills. Whatever the view depicts is nothing but a sense of humour and a coining of words," Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said when asked about BJP taking strong objection to the tweet. "Puncturing of pomposity with humour is very important," he said. The Congress leader also said the content cannot be said by any stretch of perverse or normal imagination to be vicious or in any sense meant to create a malafide intent. "I will say that certain sense of humour should not escape us and that is all that depicts," he said. The Congress had yesterday put out a tweet along with a video mocking Modi for hugging world leaders while carrying the hashtag "Hugplomacy" on its official twitter handle. "With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visiting India, we look forward to more hugs from PM Modi! #Hugplomacy," the Congress had said in the tweet. The tweet came hours after Modi received Netanyahu at the airport, setting aside protocol, and embraced him as he deplaned. The Congres today put out another tweet that said: "Does the 'shah of shahs' not take his criticism even jokingly." It that carried a cartoon of Modi, along with top BJP leaders Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley. In yet another tweet, the Congress highlighted the five "U-turns" made by Modi on issues like Aadhaar, FDI and ties with Pakistan and China, before and after he became prime minister. Union Human Resource Development minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar had reacted strongly to yesterday's tweet, saying it showed the Congress's lack of political sensibility. "What they have tweeted shows their immaturity and lack of political sensibility. We condemn this. I hope wisdom prevails on them some day," Javadekar had said. He said the Congress lacke concrete issues, and since it cannot defeat the prime minister electorally, it posted such a tweet. "This not only insults our prime minister but also the guest (Netanyahu). The Congress should not only withdraw the tweet but also issue an apology for it," he said. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress consistently abusued the prime minister and that the tweet was "appalling and unpalatable". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The unprecedented crisis that rocked the Supreme Court seems to have abated today with the Attorney General and the Bar Council of India saying it has been "settled" and resolved "internally" and the four revolting judges attending work as usual. "Kahani khatam ho gaya" (the story is now over), said the BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, three days after the four dissenting judges--Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph---launched a public attack against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra at a conference in a first of its kind event in the annals of Indian judiciary. Mishra, who led a seven-member delegation and held hectic parleys with 15 judges including the Chief Justice yesterday, told a press conference that all the four top judges have resolved the differences and were attending the court. He said the vexed issues flagged by the four revolting judges on Friday were "internal issues of the family" which have been resolved internally. Attorney General K K Venugopal also said that "everything has been settled," describing the crisis as a "storm in a tea cup." However, no details were immediately available as to how issues like the "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders by Justice Misra raised by the four dissenters at their press conference on Friday last were sorted out. There was also no official word from the CJI office yet. "Officially no development has happened," an apex court source said when asked whether there was a full court meeting of the judges of the top court. An office bearer of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) said the situation has remained the same and perhaps the resolution passed by the bar body is still under the consideration of the judges. The SCBA at its emergency meeting on January 13 had passed resolutions asking the CJI to convene a full court meeting and to transfer all pending PILs to the bench headed by five senior-most judges who are the members of the collegium. The SCBA office bearer said a copy of the resolution was handed over by its president Vikas Singh to the CJI yesterday but they have not heard anything from the Supreme Court as yet. "There is also no change in the allocation of the PILs," he said. There was no word on whether the CJI had met the four dissenting judges. "We met around 15 judges yesterday and all of them said that BCI has done a very good job and this mediation was required. They have now resolved the issue. "BCI has been successful in its effort. No outside interference was required in the matter and even we will not impose any condition on them and they themselves would solve their differences over a cup of tea," Manan Mishra said. "Everything will be sorted out and they have resolved whatever issues are there. We are expecting that everything will be settled and they will evolve an in-house mechanism." He also referred to Venugopal's statement on the situation in the apex court being settled. "They have resolved the issue and you can see that the courts are functioning smoothly and they are discharging their duties. There is nothing left," Mishra said. Responding to a question whether an investigation should be ordered on allegations of the senior most judges, Mishra said the Bar body was not concerned with this and there is no question of any probe. Venugopal said that all the four senior judges held their courts today and conducted routine judicial work. "Everything has been settled is what I believe. "Everything is under control. Everything has been settled," he told PTI. When asked if he met any of the judges, Venugopal said, "nobody at all", including the Chief Justice. The AG also told NDTV that the crisis was a "storm in a tea cup." As the apex court reassembled, speculations were rife on how the four judges and the CJI would move forward in resolving the crisis and take up respective judicial work. The CJI's courtroom saw lawyers, litigants and scribes rushing in to witness the court proceedings which began around 10.35 AM, when lawyer R P Luthra mentioned the issue of the press conference by the judges and urged the CJI to take action. Luthra's plea was strongly rejected with the CJI saying "no, no", when Luthra referred to the press conference held by four judges on the issue of assignment of cases and sought stern action on the matter. The CJI, heading the bench which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, then went ahead with the mentioning of urgent cases and hearing of 56 listed matters. Justice Chelameswar, the seniormost judge after the CJI, was his usual cool self and began presiding over court number 2 almost simultaneously and dealt with 60 cases listed for the day. Justices Gogoi, Lokur and Joseph presided over court numbers three, four and five respectively as usual. The three judges dealt with 49, 41 and 53 matters listed today respectively. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Claiming that the National Medical Commission Bill was "anti-people", the Resident Doctors Association of AIIMS has invited Health Minister J P Nadda for an open debate on the proposed legislation, which seeks to replace the existing medical education regulator with a new body. The doctors of the premier All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said the the bill carried several provisions that were "serious enough to distort the future of medical education in the country". The association claimed that the proposed legislation "puts medical education into the hands of the rich and the powerful". The bill, which seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a National Medical Commission (NMC), has been referred to a parliamentary standing committee. In a letter to Nadda, association president Harjit Singh Bhatti said that the doctors fraternity was "frightened" from the day the bill was introduced in Parliament. "Issues such as nomination of majority of members of NMC by bureaucrats and politicians, full control of corporate sector to decide fees of more than 60 per cent of seats, national licentiate exam, no provision of grievances redressal for student, and bridge course...are serious enough to distort the future of medical education in this country," Bhatti said. The association has also sought an appointment from the minister on the matter, its president said. The proposed legislation triggered nationwide protests by the medical fraternity including the Indian Medical Association (IMA). The IMA had also called for a 12-hour shutdown of private hospitals across the country last year in protest against the bill. The bill also has provisions for granting permission to the doctors under Indian systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, to be allowed to practise modern medicine after clearing a bridge course. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Firebrand peasant leader Akhil Gogoi will contest the next Assembly polls in Assam, the groundwork for which will start soon with the possible renaming of his political party or even the birth of a new one. Gogoi, who is the adviser to the farmers' body Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), said while he was not averse to having an alliance with like-minded forces to fight "fascist BJP", he would prefer to create a third alternative excluding the Congress. "We are going into electoral We have had debates, within the KMSS and nationally, whether fascism could be resisted only by movements. We reached the understanding that without parliamentary politics, BJP's communal fascism cannot be resisted," Gogoi told PTI in an exclusive interview. He had discussed the electoral move in the executive committee meeting of the KMSS on December 28, the day after he was released from jail, where he had been lodged for three- and-a-half months on charges framed under the sedition and National Security Act. "We already have a political party, the Ganamukti Sangram, which was set up in 2015. Now we will make it broad- based to include all sections of society. We may form a new entity also. The formal work on the political front will begin from the end of March this year," Gogoi said. The party will focus on two aspects initially -- resisting "fascism" and expanding the political front across the state, he added. Gogoi said in reply to a question that the outfit would not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. "We will not fight in 2019 although we will oppose the BJP. We will take time for a proper political understanding and creating a strong network. We will contest the Assembly polls in 2021," he said. The RTI activist told PTI that he would travel to almost all parts of Assam to know about people's grievances before forming ground-level committees. He expected to have at least five members in the political party from each village. Asked if fighting the BJP meant an alliance with the Congress, Gogoi said, "We are not ready to form an alliance with the Congress. There has been no discussion internally on this." Senior Congress leader and former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had on several occasions expressed his willingness to have a tie-up with the KMSS to oust the BJP from power in the next election. The 41-year-old peasant leader stressed that Indian society was at an important turning point, where identity movements were on the rise. "You can take any example -- the Bhim Sena, Patel agitation, Dalit movement by Jignesh Mevani or the adivasi struggle in Jharkhand. All these identity and ethnic movements are becoming more important and are uniting with an electoral understanding to resist fascism," he said. He said there was a movement towards forming a third alternative uniting Dalit and sub-nationalist struggles across India. "There is another very interesting aspect. Till now, movements such as the Dalit struggle were confined to identity But for the first time, land rights issues are being raised. That is why democratic and anti-imperialist movements are also trying to unite," he said. The KMSS leader also said to fight BJP, the option of forming a united alliance with opposition parties was also being discussed. "The deliberation is going on whether we can include the Congress, AAP, TMC, Left and other anti-BJP parties in the greater opposition to stop the BJP," he said. On January 9, Akhil Gogoi joined newly-elected Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani's 'Yuva Hunkar rally' in Delhi along with student leaders and others to demand the release of Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Angry protesters today greeted Rahul Gandhi here and in Amethi, his Lok Sabha constituency, on the first day of his two-day visit to Uttar Pradesh, his first after becoming the Congress president. As the Congress chief's convoy was leaving Salon, which falls in Amethi Lok Sabha constituency but is in Rae Bareli district, for the next the venue, Parshderpur, some BJP workers raised slogans against him. Commotion ensued as activists of BJP and the Congress came face to face and the police had to intervene. In the melee, Congress MLC from Rae Bareli Deepak Singh was seen engaged in a verbal exchange with Additional SP Shekhar Singh, after which the protesters were chased away. However, local BJP MLA Dal Bahadur Kori took offence to the manner in which the protesters were dispersed. In Amethi also, Rahul Gandhi had to face angry protesters at Rajiv Gandhi Chowk because of which he could not garland the statue of his father. Supporters of the BJP and the Congress fought a pitched battle, giving the local police and PAC constables a trying time. The irate protesters led by BJP leader and local trader Rajesh 'Masala' "welcomed" Rahul Gandhi as their "missing MP" and accused him of "grabbing farmers' land for own trust", "ignoring the development of Amethi" and "not utilising the MPLAD funds". They also charged him with not listening to the problems of the local people, ignoring health and education needs and laying foundation stones of "fake" projects. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) People in Kamanyola in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo paralysed the town and faced off against police today, angered by poor security, local sources said. "Residents, mostly angry young people, last night destroyed Kamanyola administrative centre and burned all the files," the administrator of Walungu territory in South Kivu province, Dominique Bofondo, told AFP. The violence erupted after a money-changer was murdered at his home in the town, which lies on the main road linking provincial capital Bukavu and Uvira. Kamanyola came under attack by an armed group last year. By midday today, police fired warning shots to disperse demonstrators who were trying to set fire to a police station, according to Bofondo and witnesses in the town. "All activities are currently paralysed in Kamanyola, the Bukavu-Uvira road... is barricaded, schools and commercial businesses" have been shut down, teacher Joe Lushindi told AFP by telephone. In targeting premises seen as symbols of the Congolese state, "young people are showing how fed up they are with growing insecurity", Bofondo added. North and South Kivu provinces, lying on the country's eastern border, saw an upsurge in 2017 of attacks by many of the dozens of tribal militias and other armed groups active in the region since the end of the Second Congo War in 2003. At the end of September last year, the Congolese armed forces clashed with a self-defence militia known as the Mai- Mai Yakutumba as its men approached Uvira on the northern shore of Lake Tanganyika. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Army Day was celebrated at Wellington Military station here today with two senior officers laying a wreath at nearby Madras Regiment War Memorial. The seniormost Serving Officer Brigadier G S Rathore, Defence Services Staff College and Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman, (Retd) (Ex Vice Chief of Army Staff) laid the wreath on behalf of service personnel and veterans to pay homage to martyrs and rededicate themselves to the cause of nation, an official release said. It said Army personnel of the station celebrated the Day with fervour and pride. Army Day is celebrated on January 15 very year in recognition of Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa taking over as the first Commander-in Chief of Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander this day in 1948. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indian Army is very well prepared everywhere and China is unlikely to try any misadventure any more, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, Lt Gen Abhay Krishna said today. He was referring to the latest incident of a Chinese road-building team breaching into Indian territory at Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh. Krishna said the Indian Army was there and the Chinese had to retreat leaving behind their equipment. "We are very well prepared all over. In Tuting, we were there and they had to run away leaving their equipment behind. I don't think they will try any of these misadventures any more," Lt Gen Krishna, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Army Command told newspersons here on the occasion of Army Day. Krisha said this in reply to a question on the preparedness of the Indian Army following the 74-day Doklam standoff at the India-China-Bhutan tri-junction over Chinese road-building efforts inside Bhutanese territory. Asked whether the Indian Army returned the road construction equipment to the Chinese in Tuting that they had left behind, he said it has been given back to them a few days after. "We are a very mature nation. So we have returned it. It was returned after few days when they came back and negotiated. We identified to them the line on the ground that from here onwards you cannot get across because the Indian territory starts from there. "They understood all that and they apologised. They said that it was possibly a mistake on the part of the people on the ground and it won't happen again," the GOC-in-C said. "We are there, we are prepared for any eventuality. We will do our best and give our best to safeguard the territorial integrity," he asserted. Krishna said that there has been no change in status quo at Doklam since August 28. He said that the Army is developing logistics and infrastructure on the strategic Bramhaputra River that flows down from China into Arunachal and then into Assam. "Troops have to move fast in case of any eventuality. The entire Indian Army can't be sitting on the border all the time. We are spread all over, so we need to have all the means available to reach in the least possible time. So we need all these resources available," the Eastern Army Commander said. Answering a query on available logistics and infrastructure in remote areas in the north-east in view of the recent incursion near Tuting, he said the Indian Army has its footprints everywhere. "Every area cannot be so well prepared. Arunachal is a huge state, but we have our footprints everywhere and it is our job to reach there. We don't have to have a road to reach everywhere," he said. All these areas are under surveillance, he said that while some areas are patrolled regularly, some are checked periodically depending on what the forces visualise and anticipate. Krishna said that raising of the Mountain Strike Core was going on. Asked whether some units of the core would be based in West Bengal, he said the Mountain Strike Core has a number of units and "so obviously they will be spread. VHP international working president Pravin Togadia is "untraceable" since this morning when a contingent of Rajasthan Police came to arrest him in an old case, officials said. City police have formed four teams to locate the Hindutva leader, a 'Z plus' category protectee. The VHP claimed Togadia (62) was detained by the Rajasthan Police in connection with the case, but the latter denied this. The mystery over Togadia's disappearance deepened, with a senior police officer maintaining that neither the local Sola police nor the Rajasthan Police have arrested him. Sola police station officials said a team of Rajasthan Police visited them today to execute an arrest warrant against Togadia under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC, but could not find him at his residence. According to a senior Crime Branch officer, Togadia, a resident of Thaltej area in the city, boarded an auto rickshaw from the VHP headquarters in Paldi area this morning and has been untraceable since. Addressing a press conference this evening, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) J K Bhatt said neither the Sola police nor the Gangapur police in Rajasthan have arrested Togadia. "The Rajasthan Police went to Togadia's residence in Thaltej area with the Sola Police to execute an arrest warrant (at around 10:45 A.M) this morning. But, Togadia was not found there. However, VHP workers thought that he was arrested, which is not true," Bhatt told reporters. Citing the investigation by the crime branch so far, the officer said Togadia was present at the VHP state headquarters in Paldi area of the city since last night. He left the office in an autorickshaw with a "bearded man" at around 10:45 A.M today, said Bhatt. "A SRP (State Reserve Police) jawan, who was deployed outside the VHP office, told us that Togadia and a bearded man called an autorickshaw and left the office at around 10:45 A.M. Before leaving, Togadia told the security staff the he will be back within 30 minutes. We have formed four teams to trace him," the JCP said. VHP workers held protests in different parts of Ahmedabad and Surat demanding that the "missing" leader be traced soon. The VHP claimed that Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police. The Sola police said they were not aware of the whereabouts of the saffron leader. VHP workers gheraoed the Sola police station, shouted slogans, and blocked traffic on main Sarkehj-Gandhinagar highway, demanding that the police immediately locate Togadia. "Our International Working President Pravin Togadia is missing since 10 A.M today. The responsibility of his whereabouts and security lies with the administration," the VHP's Gujarat unit general secretary Ranchod Bharwad told reporters. He said it was not yet confirmed weather Togadia was arrested or not. VHP spokesperson Jay Shah, however, claimed that Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police in an old case. "Our leader Pravin Togadia has been detained in an old case and was taken away by the Rajasthan Police from the VHP state headquarters in Paldi area of the city," he said. However, the Rajasthan Police denied having detained or arrested Togadia. "Togadia was not at all arrested by our team. As per my information, the police team of Gangapur (in Rajasthan) is returning without executing the arrest warrant, as he (Togadia) was not found in Ahmedabad. It is a rumour that Togadia is in our custody which is not true at all," said Inspector General of Police, Bharatpur range, Alok Kumar Vashishtha. Gangapur town is in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan and falls under the jurisdiction of Bharatpur range of the state police. Sola police officials said the Rajasthan police had sought their help in executing the arrest warrant against Togadia. "Rajasthan police today sought our help to execute the warrant against Pravin Togadia, as his residence falls in our area. The warrant, related to section 188 of the IPC, was issued by a sessions court in Gangapur. We took the Rajasthan Police to Togadia's residence (in the morning) but he was not found there," said Sola police station inspector J S Patel. He said the team of the Rajasthan Police left after it could not find Togadia. "It is not true that he is in our custody. We do not know his whereabouts," the inspector added. At around 4 PM, a group of 40 workers of the VHP laid a siege to Sola police station and shouted slogans for the "release" of their working president. Later, another group of VHP workers blocked the busy Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway, but police broke up the protest. Similar protests were held in Paldi area here and in Surat city during evening. In Paldi, VHP workers blocked roads and damaged some buses. The situation was brought under control after police rushed to the spot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Casual dining chain Barbeque Nation Hospitality has received markets regulator Sebi's approval to raise an estimated Rs 7 billion through initial public offering (IPO). The company had filed its draft papers with Sebi in August last year and obtained "observations" from the regulator on January 5, 2018, the latest update with markets watchdog showed. Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) 'observations' are very important for any company to launch public offer. Barbeque-Nation Hospitality's IPO comprises fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2 billion and an offer for sale of up to 6,179,000 equity shares, according to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). The offer includes a reservation of up to 1.5 lakh equity shares for the company's employees. Proceeds from the issue will be utilised towards setting-up of new Barbeque Nation restaurants in India, repayment of loans, and general corporate purposes. According to merchant banking sources, the company is expected to raise Rs 7 billion through the IPO. Earlier, the regulator had kept the processing of the company's proposed IPO in abeyance "pending regulatory action for past violations". IIFL Holdings, Edelweiss Financial Services, Jefferies India and SBI Capital Markets are the book running lead managers to the issue. Barbeque Nation Hospitality, owns and operates Barbeque Nation Restaurants, has steadily grown its owned and operated restaurant network from a single restaurant in 2006-07 to 81 till June 30, 2017. Bangladesh, India and Nepal have given nod to operating procedures for movement of passenger vehicles in the sub-region under BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement, the government said today. For seamless flow of passenger and cargo traffic in the region, Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) was signed by the transport ministers of the BBIN countries in Thimphu, Bhutan on June 15, 2015. However, Bhutan could not ratify it later. "Bangladesh, India and Nepal have agreed on the text of the operating procedures for passenger vehicle movement in the sub-region under the BBIN MVA signed in June 2015, and will soon complete the internal approval processes for signing of the passenger protocol," Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said in a statement. It said the participating countries have also agreed to conduct more trial runs for cargo vehicles under the agreement during a high-level meeting of officials of the three countries for implementation of the MVA last week in Bengaluru. A Bhutanese official delegation also attended the meeting as observer. Earlier, trial runs for cargo vehicles under the MVA were conducted along the Kolkata-Dhaka-Agartala and Delhi-Kolkata- Dhaka routes. "Bangladesh, India, and Nepal have already ratified the MVA and have agreed to start implementation of the MVA among the three signatory countries, with Bhutan joining after it ratifies the Agreement," the statement said. Joint Secretary, MoRTH, Dakshita Das said, "India will do its best to make the MVA successful, making it a key instrument in accelerating cross-border trade and economic integration in the subregion". The Asian Development Bank(ADB) has been providing technical, advisory, and financial support to the BBIN MVA initiative as part of its assistance to the South Asia Sub- regional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) programme, a projects- based economic cooperation initiative that brings together the BBIN countries, Maldives, Sri Lanka and more recently, Myanmar. According to the statement, the officials of the three nations have agreed on the text of the passenger protocol, the document detailing procedures for cross-border movement of buses and private vehicles, to be signed by the three countries after completing necessary internal approval processes in their governments. The delegations also agreed to continue to conduct trial movement of cargo vehicles along scheduled routes from April 2018 onwards, before finalising the protocol for cargo vehicular movement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal is looking forward to woo investors like never before during the showpeice annual event 'Bengal Global Business Summit' (BGBS) that gets underway from tomorrow. The state is optimistic of surpassing investment commitments made during last year in the big-ticket event in this year's edition. West Bengal currently tops the list of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion's Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2017, comprising all states and Union Territories. The state government, in the third edition of the event in 2017, had garnered investment commitment worth Rs 2.35 lakh crore. Reliance Industries' chairman Mukesh Ambani, Steel maker ArcelorMittal chairman and CEO Lakshmi Mittal, JSW Group's Chief Sajjan Jindal, FMCG major ITC's CEO Sanjiv Puri, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group's chairman Sanjiv Goenka among others are expected to attend this year's summit. However, there was no official confirmation about the attendance of other industrialists and Union ministers attending the two-day event. This year, the event will be held at the newly built convention centre that has a huge main hall with 3,200 seats and all facilities under one roof. There is a huge line up of foreign delegates. Already eight countries are partners for the event. High-level delegates from France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Japan, China, South Korea, Czech Republic and the UK are among the overseas nations to be represented at the mega business gathering. Consul General of China in Kolkata, Ma Zhanwu had recently confirmed that 30 Chinese companies would participate in the business meet and according to him, Chinese companies aimed at utilising the event and other opportunities towards fulfilling the goal to invest USD 200 billion abroad every year. A high-level Polish delegation headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marek Magierowski, responsible for the relations with Asia and economic cooperation, will participate in the event. Representatives of province Silesia, and West Bengal will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation. A state government official said the state has directed all district industry centers to organise telecast of the event for district entrepreneurs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A BJP MLA today demanded that the central government acquire Pakistan founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah's house in Mumbai under the amended Enemy Property Act. Mangal Prabhat Lodha, the BJP MLA from the Malabar Hill constituency within whose limits Jinnah House falls, called it a "symbol of conspiracy behind the Partition". In a statement today, Lodha said, "Jinnah House is the symbol of conspiracy behind the Partition and hence it should be converted into a cultural centre. The Union government should start process to establish the 'South Asia Centre for Arts and Culture' there." Lodha today met Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, the president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma with his demands. Both the leaders were in Mumbai today to attend separate events. Lodha has made the demand earlier and had in March last year called for the demolition of the structure to build a cultural centre in its place. The move comes after the central government amended the 49-year-old Enemy Property Act. The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2017 ensured that the heirs of those who migrated to Pakistan and China during the Partition and afterwards would have no claim over the properties left behind in India. Almost 9,400 properties, estimated to have a market value of Rs 1 lakh crore, are being identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs currently. These properties were left behind by people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP MLAs Vijender Gupta and Manjinder Singh Sirsa were today marshalled out of the Delhi Assembly after they rushed to the well of the House seeking Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain's statement on the status of 351 roads in the city that have not been notified. The delay in notifying the roads for mixed land use may lead to sealing of the shops there by civic authorities. As the session began, AAP legislators rushed to the well demanding a discussion on the ongoing sealing drive in the city, all four BJP legislators, led by Gupta, went on a counter-offensive and raked up the status of the 351 roads. Despite Speaker Ram Niwas Goel and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia urging for calm, Gupta and Sirsa came to the well several times and demanded the Jain's statement. The BJP leaders wanted to know why the AAP-led Delhi government has not notified the status of the 351 roads. If the roads are notified for mixed land use, commercial activities will be legal, which will effectively shield traders operating on these stretches from sealing. The ensuing fracas between the two sides brought the House to a halt. Speaker Goel adjourned the proceedings thrice for 15 minutes each and for 30 minutes for the fourth time. Gupta claimed that the mikes of the four BJP legislators were switched off whenever they tried to raise the issue. When the House convened after the fourth adjournment, Goel asked AAP and BJP MLAs to return to their seats. Although AAP MLAs returned, Gupta, Sirsa along with other two BJP MLAs - O P Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan - kept on demanding Jain's statement with placards - "AAP, sealing par nautanki band karo, 351 roads notify karo (AAP, notify 351 roads, stop drama on the sealing drive)". As Gupta and Sirsa remained stubborn in support of their demands, Goel ordered marshals to escort them out and the two members were removed. The BJP has four MLAs in the 70-member Assembly. Later, Gupta said he had moved a call attention motion under Rule 54 of the Delhi Assembly, and regretted that the Opposition was not allowed to raise the issue. "The Speaker allowed the AAP MLAs to display banners in the House and shout slogans in the well. The Speaker did not take any disciplinary action against them," Gupta said in a statement. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP today demanded apology from Congress President Rahul Gandhi for posters appearing in his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi and "denigrated" Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Senior BJP leader and UP cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma said, Rahul Gandhi must apologise before the entire nation for the "insulting poster". Attacking Rahul Gandhi, Sharma said the Congress chief suffered from attention seeking disorder. In a statement here, Sharma claimed, "It is at the behest of Rahul Gandhi that his sycophants had shown the PM as Ravana in the poster. The Congress is intolerant towards Modiji. Former Congress president (Sonia Gandhi) had called Modiji "maut ka saudagar" (merchant of death)". The posters had claimed that Rahul Gandhi will usher in Ram Rajya in the country. Taking a dig at the Congress chief, Sharma said that Rahul Gandhi was suffering from attention seeking disorder, and was disappointed by the continuous shrinking mandate and electoral defeats. "In this disappointment, he has forgotten the difference between national interest and national disinterest. In every talk, he is trying to search an opportunity to attack Modiji. Hence, even during his foreign visits, he ridicules the country," Sharma said. Targeting the Congress chief further, Sharma said Rahul Gandhi was unable to see the development work being carried out. "Actually, he is viewing development through Italian glasses. Hence, he is unable to see the benefits of the schemes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reaching the masses," Sharma said. The minister claimed that Rahul Gandhi's first visit to UP as Congress chief had proved to be a flop show. "And in this frustration, his agitated party workers and Mughal-mindset public representatives unleashed anarchy, which was witnessed by the entire country on channels," Sharma said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP in Kerala today demanded registration of a case against CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan for his allegedcontroversial remarks that an axis of countries like U.S., Japan, Australia and India has taken shape for attacking China from all sides. The alleged pro-China remarks were made by Kodiyeri, a Politburo member, at a recent meeting of the CPI(M) Alapuzha district committee. "An axis of countries like U.S., Japan, Australia and India has taken shape for attacking China from all sides', the CPI(M) leader reportedly told the party conference. In a complaint to DGP Loknath Behara today, BJP's Thiruvananthapuram district president Suresh Kumar said a case should be registered against Kodiyeri for constitutional violation and sedition. Kodiyeri's statement would hurt the country's unity and integrity and was 'serious', he said, adding the CPI(M) Kerala state secretary's remarks amounted to 'challenging' and 'insulting' the Indian Army, who are trying to check Chinese threat in the Doklam region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An armed squad of over 90 CISF personnel today took over the security of the historic Victoria Memorial here with a mandate to guard it against any terror strike and theft. The Union Home Ministry recently approved the deployment of a total of 111 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel for the facility, of whom 92 took charge under the command of a Deputy Commandant-rank officer today. West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi officiated as the chief guest at the induction event held at the lawns of the memorial. The deployment of the central paramilitary at the 1921- established facility was mandated by the Supreme Court in February, 2015 after a PIL urging strengthening of its security was filed before it. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the backdrop of the theft of Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel medallion from Visva Bharati and a fifth century Buddha bust from the Indian Museum. "Being a monument of a great historical importance and housing a museum inside the main building, the Victoria Memorial is under constant threat from anti-social elements as it is susceptible to theft and damage of artifacts, damage to building, monuments, sculpture among others and terrorist activities. "In addition to the access control, the CISF will provide round-the-clock armed security cover to the museum," CISF spokesperson Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Hemendra Singh said in a statement in Delhi. The monument, made of white marble, functions as an autonomous organisation under the Union Culture Ministry. "It is an institution of national importance. It is also a museum with a vast collection of rare and extremely valuable artifacts. Thousands of visitors visit the memorial each day," Singh said. A special vehicle-borne quick-reaction teams of commandos will also be stationed at vantage points in case of an attack or sabotage-like activity at the facility. With this induction, the CISF now has a total of 341 units, both in government and non-government domain, under its security cover across the country. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The security of the iconinc Victoria Memorial Hall in the city was today handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The Victoria Memorial Hall, a magnificent makrana marble edifice built between 1906-1921 by Lord Curzon in memory of Queen Victoria, is a museum under the union ministry of culture. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style and incorporating Mughal elements, the museum houses a collection of rare and antique books and paintings. The museum secretary and curator Jayanta Sengupta said 30 CISF personnel took over the manning the gates of the sprawling grounds and guarding its boundary from this afternoon. "The handing over to CISF is part of the revamping of the surveillance system of the heritage Victoria Museum Hall and the museum authorities will bear the cost of the deployment of the personnel who will be armed with all modern surveillance equipment," Sengupta said. The museum authorities will also bear the salary bill of the deployed personnel, he said. Issues like accomodation of the personnel were recently solved at the intervention of the culture ministry, which was keen that the paramilitary force was deployed at the earliest, he said. In 2004 after the theft of Tagore's Nobel medallion from Visva-Bharati and a fifth century Buddha bust from Indian Museum, a PIL had been filed in Supreme Court highlighting the security lacunae of museums. On February 15, 2015, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to take steps to bolster security. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A public meeting held here under the banner of the All India People's Forum (AIPF) today demanded an "independent" probe into the alleged suspicious death of special CBI judge BH Loya. Speaking at the meeting, senior Supreme Court lawyer Indira Jaising said the courts should have taken "suo motu" (on its own motion) cognizance of the death of the judge, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh "fake encounter" case, in which BJP chief Amit Shah was an accused. The CBI court had subsequently acquitted Shah in the case. Jaising also criticised the alleged interference of the executive in the affairs of the judiciary, while lauding the four senior Supreme Court judges for voicing their grievances as regards the functioning of the top court at a press conference here on Friday. "We need to pay attention to the government's interference in the judiciary. Those condemning the Supreme Court judges have vested interests," the senior lawyer said. Journalist Niranjan Takle, who had written an article on the "suspicious" death of judge Loya, raised several questions, referring to his interviews with the latter's family members. "Loya's father had told me that the judge was under pressure as he was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case and that he had talked to him about taking a transfer or resigning," he claimed. Loya had died of a cardiac arrest on December 1, 2014 in Nagpur, where he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. Loya's friend and former president of the Latur Bar Association Uday Gaware described the late judge as an "honest" man, while demanding an independent probe into his death. "It was a calculated murder. He (Loya) chose honesty over death," he said. The meeting was also addressed by retired Bombay High Court judge BG Kolse-Patil and Caravan magazine's editor Hartosh Singh Bal. "The Loya case should not be seen in isolation and it needs to be inquired into in a transparent manner," Justice (retd) Kolse-Patil said. The Supreme Court has termed the alleged mysterious death of Loya a "serious matter" and sought a response from the Maharashtra government on the pleas seeking an independent probe into it. Yesterday, the deceased judge's son told PTI the family was convinced that his father had died of natural causes and that it no longer harboured the suspicions it earlier had. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Congress today demanded an independent investigation into the death of special CBI judge B H Loya, and argued that the consent of his kin was not necessary as the matter "impinges" on democracy. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi's remarks came a day after Loya's son said that his father died of natural causes and not in suspicious circumstances and urged NGOs and parties not to "politicise" the matter. Singhvi said that in a matter of public or national interest, anyone can seek a probe and it is not necessary that it will be ordered only on the plea of a family member of the deceased. "As a responsible stakeholder of democracy of this country, we want a fair and comprehensive inquiry regarding the mysterious death of judge Loya," he told reporters here. Steering clear of any link with the current crisis in the Supreme Court, he said the Congress was not politicising the issue but was only seeking an impartial probe into the death of the judge. "All my comments today have nothing whatsoever to do with the so-called Supreme Court imbroglio, nothing whatsoever. I think every citizen in this country and every political party is independently entitled to ask for a fair, comprehensive inquiry into his death," he said. Singhvi said the inquiry should be conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court or the High Court. The Congress leader also read out statements of the judge's son Anuj Loya made two years ago at the time of his death and the statements of the judge's father and two sisters raising suspicion over his death. "This whole argument that there is a politicisation is false. We are simply, as a responsible stakeholder of Indian democracy, asking for inquiry and putting before you the absolute patent paradoxes and contradictions in the diverse statements," he said. Singhvi said an independent, time-bound probe is necessary to bring out the truth in the case and the contradicting statements made by Loya's family two years ago and now are also reasons enough for it. "Whether one wants it or opposes it, whether it is a family member or not, a matter which impinges on and what can be more impinging that the death of the judge alleged to be in non-natural circumstance. "If a matter impinges in this manner as a vital organ of Indian democracy, and therefore, on democracy itself, then the demand for an inquiry is a demand by responsible stakeholders and is not dependent on whether family member wants it and family member does not want it," he said. On the BJP's remarks that the judges controversy was a "storm in the teacup", he took a dig at the ruling party and said "those who are verbose on the most trivial of things are silent today regarding the administration of the Supreme Court and judge Loya's death." Anuj Loya spoke out yesterday amid an ongoing row between four Supreme Court judges and Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, saying despite his earlier suspicion about his father's sudden death, the family now was convinced that his death was natural. Anuj Loya said his family was "pained" by the things happening over his father's death, adding that NGOs and politicians should stop "harassing" his family members. Judge Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh "fake encounter" case, had allegedly died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. BJP chief Amit Shah was an accused in the case but has been discharged. On Friday, justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph mounted a virtual revolt against CJI Dipak Misra at a press meet in Delhi, raising questions on "selective" allocation of cases. Loya's death is the subject of a PIL in the Supreme Court that was one of the triggers for the revolt against Justice Misra. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Ajay Singh today demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the ongoing protest by farmers against the NTPC in Narsinghpur district. He expressed apprehension that the agitation at Gadarwara might take a turn like the one in Mandsaur in which five farmers were killed in police firing last year. Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly, has written a letter to the prime minister, Union Energy Minister R K Singh and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in this regard. "I demand immediate intervention in the ongoing agitation by farmers against the NTPC at Gadarwara over non-fulfillment of the promises made to them. I suspect that it may lead to a crisis like the Mandsaur," Singh stated. He claimed that hundreds of acres of farm land had been acquired by the NTPC for its proposed 3200 MW plant and farmers were promised to pay Rs 18 lakh per acre. Singh said the farmers were also promised that they would be paid the annual bonus of Rs 30,000 per acre for the next 30 years. He said the NTPC agreed to provide employment to at least one family member of affected farmers, but none of the promises were fulfilled. The Congress leader said though the protest was going on for the last 15 days, the chief minister had "no time" to visit the farmers. "Farmers are agitating on the issue for the last 15 days but the chief minister had no time for them as he is busy in election tours and in the ongoing 'Ekatm Yatra'," the opposition leader said. He alleged that NTPC, the largest energy conglomerate in the country, has "betrayed" the farmers. "This may lead to a situation like Mandsaur and Haat Pipalya (where violent protests by farmers had taken place)," he said. Taking a jibe at the chief minister, Singh questionned the "silence" of Chouhan "who always describes himself as the son of farmer". Chouhan's "silence" shows that he had no concern for peasants, he added. The NTPC has so far not reacted on the issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) CISF arrested two persons from the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport here for hiding gold worth over Rs 30 lakh in their rectum for smuggling, customs officials said today. The CISF personnel detected the yellow metal in their bodies during security check at the airport last night, the officials said adding the two were on their way to board a flight to Kolkata. A detailed baggage and body search resulted in the sighting of six gold biscuits weighing 900 grams. One was hiding four in his rectum, while another two gold biscuits, they said. The two were taken to Gauhati Medical College Hospital for x-ray and to take out the gold. The officials said that a similar incident was reported from Silchar in Assam where two passengers were arrested when they were about to board a flight to Kolkata at the airport there. Details of that seizure are yet to be known. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to fly a sortie in a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday in Jodhpur. IAF sources said Sitharaman would visit the Jodhpur airbase, during which she would fly the sortie in the frontline fighter jet. The Sukhoi 30 MKI is a twin-engine fighter aircraft and has a two-seat cockpit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The three-day session of the Delhi Assembly began on a stormy note today, with the AAP legislators raising the issue of the ongoing sealing drive against properties which are allegedly in violation of municipal norms. Speaker Ram Niwas Goel adjourned the House for 15 minutes as several AAP MLAs rushed to the Well of the House carrying placards against the BJP-ruled municipal authorities as soon as the proceedings started. The AAP legislators, who have an overwhelming majority in the 70-member Assembly, kept raising slogans against the BJP even as Goel appealed to them to return to their seats. After the House resumed, the AAP MLAs raised the issue again forcing the speaker to adjourn proceeding for another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, AAP workers and traders affiliated to the party took out a march against the sealing drive from its headquarters at Rouse Avenue near central Delhi's ITO around 1 am. The sealing drive, which started last month, have been undertaken by the BJP-controlled civic bodies on the instruction of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee. More than 50 commercial units in the posh Defence Colony Market were sealed on December 22 for "not depositing" conversions charges as per provisions in the city's Master Plan 2021. Subsequently, besides South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), north Delhi corporation and the New Delhi Municipal Council also sealed several properties in areas falling under their jurisdiction. Action is being also taken against commercial properties for encroachments or illegal constructions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Aiming to attract more students from North East to the Delhi University, a special cell of the varsity will reach out to schools in the northeastern states to educate them about the university's admission process, scheduled to begin this April. The university also announced two per cent benefit in cut-off for Other Backward Class (OBC) women to encourage students from reserved category. "DU admissions committee has decided to have a special cell for North East and conduct a drive to meet students and principals in the region to educate them about the process of DU admissions," Maharaj K Pandit, who heads the committee, told reporters here today. "The cell will also monitor nodal officers in every college to assist students from North East," he said. The 47-member panel held its first meeting for the 2018-19 academic session here today. "Beyond the reservation policy, there will be 2 per cent extra benefit in cut-off to OBC women candidates," Pandit said, adding that the proportion of girls studying in the varsity last year was much lesser than boys in this category. The DU panel head said this was not the case with other categories. "In SC/ST category, the proportion of girls and boys studying in DU last year were almost equivalent, but in unreserved category, boys were lesser than girls during the same period," he said. Pandit said central observers would go to different colleges to ensure that all constitutional procedures were followed to allocate seats to reserved category students. It was also unanimously accepted at the meeting that Computer-Based Online Test (CBOT) would be held for all postgraduate courses this year, besides setting up a separate tab for Non-Collegiate Women's Board (NCWEB) in the main application form. The panel also decided to send advisory to all colleges to have forensic experts to verify certificates of students, to avoid rejection of applications after a long duration. Principals of Kendria Vidyalayas will also be educated about the admission process, Pandit said. Gurpreet Tuteja, member of the DU admissions committee, said the admission cancellation policy has been streamlined to avoid inconvenience to students. "A student can pay the cancellation fees of his admission online, get a print out and go to the respective college to collect his certificate," Tuteja said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi University Student's Union (DUSU) today set up a Gender Sensitisation Cell to address long standing issues of gender discrimination in the varsity. The cell aims to represent students who undergo discrimination and harassment, and provide legal aid and advice to them, DUSU president Rocky Tuseed said in a statement. "It will also hold awareness sessions in order to create safe and healthy environment in the university for all genders, particularly women and transgenders. The university is for everyone and female students are as safe as everyone else," he said. The cell will have the DUSU president as its chairman, a convener and two co-conveners. Convener Narayani Anand said, "Women and transgender students make up an indispensable part of the Delhi University and we're going to make sure that sexual harassment and gender discrimination are taken very seriously. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Egypt's president today sought to defuse tensions with Ethiopia and Sudan, reassuring them that his country was not meddling in their internal affairs or planning to go to war against them. Egypt has expressed mounting alarm over a soon-to-be- completed upstream dam in Ethiopia that Cairo fears could cut into its share of the Nile River, which provides nearly all its freshwater. It has accused Sudan of siding with Ethiopia, and of reviving a longstanding border dispute. But in televised comments, President Abdel-Fattah el- Sissi said Egypt's strategic choice was peace, not war. "Egypt neither conspires nor meddles in in anyone's internal affairs. We are determined to have good relations (with Sudan and Ethiopia). Our region has seen enough the past few years," he said. "We are not prepared to go to war against our brethren or anyone else for that matter. I am saying this as a clear message to our brothers in Sudan and Ethiopia," he added. The Egyptian leader also called on his country's media to cease attacks on Sudan, saying it should follow the example of his administration which, he said, refrained from insulting its neighbours even in the face of accusations and intentional slights. Egypt says Ethiopia is not doing enough to ease its concerns about the effects of filling the reservoir behind the dam, which is expected to begin soon and could cut into Egypt's share of the Nile. Ethiopia says the $5 billion dam is essential for its economic development and argues that the vast majority of its 95 million people lack electricity, which the dam's hydroelectric plant will generate. Egypt, with a population roughly equal to Ethiopia's, has traditionally received the lion's share of the Nile's waters under agreements reached in 1929 and 1959. Other Nile basin nations view those agreements as unfair, saying they ignore the needs of their own large and growing populations. Sudan has meanwhile revived a longtime border dispute with Egypt, which has refused to negotiate over the issue or submit the conflict to international arbitration. Egypt in turn accuses Sudan of conspiring with Qatar and Turkey against it. Sudan last week recalled its ambassador in Cairo for consultations. Earlier this week, Sudanese media reports quoted a senior government official as saying Egypt and its regional ally Eritrea are massing troops on its eastern border. However, the Sudanese Foreign Minister later played down the reports during a visit to Khartoum by his Ethiopian counterpart. He said his own country's buildup of forces near the border with Eritrea was designed to counter a rebel threat. He did not elaborate. Egypt does not officially have troops deployed in Eritrea, although persistent but unconfirmed media reports speak of Cairo enjoying access to a military base in the Horn of Africa nation. Sudan is at sharp odds with Eritrea, which has in turn been a bitter rival of Ethiopia's since the two nations fought a war in the 1990s. Ethiopia also accuses Eritrea of training rebels to carry out sabotage attacks on the dam. El-Sissi hosted Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in Cairo last week, but little of any substance has emerged from their talks. Pro-government Egyptian media reports have for days been saying that Ethiopia's prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, plans to visit Cairo this month for talks with el-Sissi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today threatened to thwart the creation of a new US- backed 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria before it was even set up. "America has acknowledged it is in the process of creating a terror army on our border. What we have to do is nip this terror army in the bud," Erdogan said in a televised speech outside Ankara. Turkish officials objected earlier that the new force would be comprised of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia Ankara accuses of being terrorists. The YPG played a a key role in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance that last year ousted Islamic State jihadists from their stronghold of Raqa in northern Syria. American officials said at the weekend that the new force was needed as the focus shifted from fighting IS extremists to border security in northern Syria. The new upsurge of tensions between Ankara and Washington comes as Erdogan repeatedly threatens that Turkey could launch a cross-border operation to oust the YPG from the Kurdish-held town of Afrin in northern Syria. Erdogan today reaffirmed again that the Turkish army was ready "at any moment" to launch an operation against the YPG in Syria. "The preparations have been completed, the operation could start at any moment," said Erdogan. Turkey accuses the YPG of merely being the Syrian offshot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has waged an over three-decade rebellion in the Turkish southeast and is regarded as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. Deputy Prime Minister and government spokesman Bekir Bozdag warned the United States on Twitter it was "playing with fire" and its actions were "not compatible with friendship, alliance or a strategic partnership". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Numaligarh Refinery Ltd's wax export to Myanmar will open floodgates for international trade with Southeast Asian countries via land route, the company today said. A consignment containing 20 metric tonnes of wax in two trucks was flagged off from NRL Marketing Terminal to Myanmar by Managing Director in-charge S K Barua in presence of senior officials of the company on January 13, a press release said. Stating that the development assumes significance as it is yet another effort to bolster the Centre's 'Act East Policy, it said NRL has been trying to establish trade links with neighbouring South-East Asian countries through the export of paraffin wax and diesel. It is also for the first time that the NRL has exported wax utilizing the Moreh-Tamu land route after exporting diesel to the country through the route. The release said that the distance of Tamu, which is the bordering town in Myanmar, is around 425-430 km from Numaligarh Refinery. Previously, all the exports to Myanmar were done via sea route through Kolkata/Haldia Port. So far, NRL has exported around 1,700 MT of paraffin wax to Myanmar and the total export of wax from NRLs wax plant stands at over 6,000 MT reaching 20 different countries worldwide. Speaking on the occasion, Barua said, "This development is the right step towards opening border trade with Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries, which is very critical for the development of North East". "We feel there is a great potential of revival of international commerce through road and rail between India and Myanmar", the MD was quoted as saying in the release. Myanmar and Bangladesh being the closest countries, additional thrust has been given to establishing markets in these countries for NRL products, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Propelled by engineering goods and petroleum sectors, India's exports rose 12.36 per cent to USD 27.03 billion in December even as the trade deficit touched a 3-year high. Imports too surged significantly to USD 41.91 billion, up 21.12 per cent, on increased inbound shipments of crude oil and gold. Exporters body FIEO said India is on course to reaching the USD 300 billion milestone for overseas shipments. As per the data released by the commerce ministry, the trade deficit or difference between imports and exports was USD 14.88 billion, up about 41 per cent year-on-year. "Exports have been on a positive trajectory since August 2016 to December 2017 with a dip of 1.1 per cent in the month of October 2017," the ministry said in a statement. Exporters' body FIEO said that positive growth for the second month in a row, after a fall in October, shows resilience of the Indian exporters. "Since we have already achieved exports worth USD 224 billion in first 9 months of the fiscal and global trade growth remains robust in 2018, we are on our course to achieve the milestone of USD 300 billion in 2017-18," said FIEO President Ganesh Kumar Gupta. The exports had totalled USD 274.64 billion in 2016-17, up from USD 262.29 billion in the preceeding industry. As per the commerce ministry data, exports of engineering goods as well as petroleum products showed an increase of over 25 per cent in December. However, shipments of ready-made garments declined by 8 per cent to USD 1.33 billion last month. Gold imports surged by 71.5 per cent to USD 3.39 billion last month as against USD 1.97 billion in December 2016. The imports of petroleum products and crude oil increased by a significant 35 per cent to USD 10.34 billion in December, from USD 7.66 billion a year ago. The ministry said the global Brent prices increased by 18.75 per cent last month, compared to December 2016 as per World Bank commodity price data. Cumulative value of exports for April-December, 2017-18, was USD 223.512 billion as against USD 199.467 billion in the year-ago period, a growth of 12.05 per cent. Imports during the first nine months of the current fiscal amounted to USD 338.369 billion as against USD 277.89 billion, a growth of of 21.76 per cent. The trade deficit during the period widened to USD 114.85 billion. On the trade balance, FIEO said the rising deficit "is alarming" and the import profile needs to be analysed carefully to see whether imports would augment domestic production or pose a challenge. The rising import of gold and precious and semi-precious stones can help the exports of gems and jewellery sector in next few months, Gupta added. Exports of only 21 (as against 24 in November, 2017) out of 30 major product groups were in the positive territory in December, 2017 including engineering goods, petroleum, organic and inorganic chemicals, gems and jewellery, and drugs and pharmaceuticals. Gupta further said exporters are having "huge problem" in getting refund of input tax credit (ITC) both due to "ignorance and recalcitrant approach" of the tax authorities. He said exporters should be given reasons for the delay and there should be close monitoring of GST refund for exports on day to day basis. Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist with ICRA said that a sharper than expected rise in imports of gold, and pearls, precious and semi-precious stones, amid a considerable decline in the pace of growth of non-oil merchandise exports, bloated the merchandise trade deficit to a three-year high of USD 14.9 billion in December 2017. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank data showed that the exports in services in November 2017 were valued at USD 15.392 billion. The imports were valued at USD 9.64 billion. It said in a press release that the trade balance in services (net export of services) for the month was estimated at USD 5.74 billion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Barely days after a 23-year-old woman was allegedly abducted and gang raped on Saturday in a moving car in Old Faridabad, the Haryana government today transferred the Police Commissioner of Faridabad. Faridabad Police Commissioner Hanif Qureshi has been posted as Inspector General of Police (IGP), Security, and has been replaced by IGP Hisar Amitabh Singh Dhillon, an official release said here. Sanjay Kumar, is IGP Security, will be the Hisar IGP. The release, however, did not specify reasons for transferring Qureshi. The accused had dumped the woman near Sikri village and she had claimed that she was raped by four men of whom three had raped her before, the police said. During the past three days, a number of rape incidents have been reported from different parts of the state, including the alleged rape and murder of two minor Dalit girls. The cases have triggered outrage with the opposition hitting out at the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar government. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Finance Ministry may tweak the provisions on in the forthcoming Union Budget to help the industry over come the impact of tax reforms in the US, say experts. The purpose behind the introduction of MAT in the Income Tax Act was to bring all zero tax companies and to neutralise the impact of certain benefits/incentives. Both the leading industry chambers, Ficci and CII, have suggested to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to reduce the incidence of MAT which has "impacted significantly" the cash flow of companies who otherwise have low taxable income or have incurred tax losses. Tax expert Amit Singhania, Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, said that considering the recent slashing of corporate tax rate in the US, there is a need to revisit the corporate tax rate in Union Budget 2018-19, to be presented to Parliament on February 1. "In order to encourage flow of funds (in form of dividend) from overseas subsidiaries, the reduction of MAT on such dividends is warranted," he said. In a memorandum to the finance ministry, Ficci said that with the phasing out of exemptions and deductions available under the Act, "the burden of MAT should also be gradually reduced from the current levels of 18.5 per cent to a rate which will be commensurate with the phasing out of tax exemptions and incentives. "It is recommended that dividend received from foreign company should be exempt from MAT just like domestic dividend is exempt from MAT". CII, in its memorandum, suggested that MAT be abolished in view of removal of all incentives or, alternatively, the rate be brought down to 10 per cent. "It is submitted that levy of MAT should be restricted to those incomes that are taxable under regular provisions and incomes that are exempt under normal provisions such as LTCG (Long Term Capital Gains) on sale of listed equity shares or incomes that are not taxable such as Capital Receipts, should be kept out of the ambit of MAT," CII said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last week brainstormed with economists and experts on the state of the economy as the government looks to revive growth which is estimated to be at a 4-year low of 6.5 per cent in 2017-18, against the backdrop of introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to present the Union Budget 2018-19 on February 1. It will be the last full budget of the current NDA government. Former State Minister Anand Asnotikar today quit BJP and joined the Janata Dal Secular, ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka. Asnotikar along with his followers joined the JDS in the presence of party supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, and state President H D Kumaraswamy here. Asnotikar said he was joining JDS, a regional party for the welfare of the border region he represents. "After certain painful incidents that my family and I had to face in the district, my supporters and well-wishers advised me to start afresh with a regional party," he said. Only a regional party can bring development to border areas like Karwar and Ankola, he said. Welcoming Asnotikar, Gowda said his joining shows how the JDS is growing stronger day by day. Asnotikar, who was elected on Congress ticket in 2008 from Karwar, had resigned from the party and the assembly to switch loyalty to the then ruling BJP, following which he was made Minister for Fisheries, Science and Technology. B S Yeddyurappa was the Chief Minister then. Asnotikar, who won the subsequent bypoll from Karwar on BJP ticket, lost during the 2013 assembly polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The unprecedented crisis that rocked the Supreme Court appeared to ease today with four top Supreme Court judges--who had virtually revolted against the Chief Justice--attending work as usual and the Bar Council of India (BCI) saying "the story is now over." Describing the crisis as a "storm in a tea cup", Attorney General K K Venugopal also said the issue has been settled. Belying the simmering tensions sparked by their public accusations against Chief Justice Dipak Misra, the four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- took up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after their January 12 press conference when they dropped a bombshell with various complaints. Warning that democracy is at risk, the judges had raised questions about the "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders by Justice Misra, sending shockwaves across the judiciary and polity. The BCI said its members met yesterday 15 judges of the Supreme Court who have assured that the issues have been resolved. The judges included three of the four dissenters while Justice Gogoi was not in the capital yesterday. The current strength of the apex court including the CJI is 25. "Kahani khatam ho gaya" (the story is now over), BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra told a press conference here. He also said that political parties should not try and earn mileage out of the four justices accusations at the press conference -- unprecedented in the annals of Indian judiciary. "We met 15 judges and all have assured that issues have been resolved," he said. To a question whether any action should be taken against the four judges for criticising the Chief Justice of India, he said there is no need of any action and they "are all honest and men of integrity." Meanwhile, Attorney General Venugopal told NDTV: "Now everything has been settled. The courts are functioning. It was a storm in a tea cup." He did not elaborate. Yesterday, the chief justice had met a seven-member delegation of the BCI as well as the Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh at his residence. After the meeting, the visitors told reporters that the CJI had assured them that the crisis would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four senior-most judges, who had held an unprecedented press conference and raised the issue of assignment of cases, on Monday attended court and took up routine work. The four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- have taken up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after the January 12 press conference. In the presser, these judges had flagged some problems, including the assigning of cases in the apex court, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court. On Sunday, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had met a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council of India and Bar Association President Vikas Singh and had assured them that the crisis would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. France plans to expand a law protecting its "strategic" industries from foreign takeovers by adding technologies such as artificial intelligence to the list, economy minister Bruno Le Maire said today. "Make no mistake, France is an open country and we want to make France attractive" to foreign investors, Le Maire said at a press conference. However, "openness does not mean pillaging of our technologies, our know how, our talents." In 2014 France passed the so-called Montebourg law setting strict oversight of foreign bids for companies in key industries such as energy and transportation. Le Maire said France would now set out a "new investment doctrine" to ensure more clarity over investments by foreign groups. It will also now consider digital sectors including data stockage and artificial intelligence as strategic sectors subject to strict oversight if there are foreign shareholders. France will also ask the European Commission, along with Germany, Italy and Spain, to set out rules on foreign investments in Europe, citing a need to "defend national interests". The move dovetails with a decision by Germany's cabinet last year to tighten scrutiny over takeovers of companies in strategic industries by buyers outside the EU, reacting to Europe-wide disquiet over Chinese takeovers. Le Maire, who accompanied President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to China earlier this month, called for "reciprocity" with France's trading partners and the respect of "clear rules". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today said it has received nod from Directorate General of Health Services, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, to conduct study for evaluating safety and efficacy of its novel molecule GRC 27864 in patients with osteoarthritic pain. The company has been granted permission to conduct a Phase IIb dose range finding study to evaluate safety and efficacy of GRC 27864 in patients with moderate osteoarthritic pain, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said in a statement. "We are excited that GRC 27864 is moving forward in clinical development and this validates our focus and commitment to develop potential first-in-class molecules," Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Chairman and MD Glenn Saldanha said. In spite of several available treatment options, there is significant unmet medical need in chronic pain, he added. The phase II study is planned in India in 624 patients of osteoarthritis of the knee and hip, Glenmark said. Shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today closed 0.19 per cent down at Rs 623.05 per unit on BSE. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Public sector accounts for only 30 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure in the country and investment in building and maintaining public health infrastructure needs priority in the forthcoming budget for FY 2018-19, a report says. Public sector investment on healthcare accounts for less than 1.5 per cent of GDP, which is one of the lowest globally, and the government intends to increase the expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2025. The outlay on healthcare increased by a healthy 28 per cent in the last budget and the allocation is likely to see a similar increase in the forthcoming budget as well, according to a report by rating agency Icra. In line with National Health Policy (NHP) 2017, the expenditure is expected to be directed towards setting up of new hospitals to increase the number of beds in the country, and for transformation of existing district and town level health centres to provide better healthcare facilities across geographies while using the existing infrastructure. Public sector accounts for only 30 per cent of the total healthcare expenditure in the country, as compared to 42-58 per cent in Brazil, 58 per cent in China, 52 per cent in Russia, 50 per cent in South Africa, 48 per cent in USA and 83 per cent in UK as per the WHO reports. ICRA believes that investing in building and maintaining public health infrastructure should be given priority in the budget as these facilities are lagging and vast majority of the population has to bear their own healthcare costs due to low penetration of health insurance. Besides, along with the setting up of new hospitals, the report recommends setting up of medical colleges and nursing academies to address the shortage of beds and skilled medical professionals in the country, it said. The budget is also likely to increase the allocation for addressing the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and to increase the outlay for providing free drugs, diagnostics and emergency services across all public hospitals, in line with NHP 2017. Icra suggested that new infrastructure developed through incentives can also be utilised for catering to the growing medical tourism in the country, which is expected to continue to grow by 20 per cent over the next five years generating export revenues and employment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to place before it the rules regarding the display of only the State Emblem of India on cars of constitutional authorities and dignitaries such as the President, instead of their registration numbers. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar directed the concerned ministry to check the actual position and inform it before the next date of hearing on February 26. "Please ascertain the exact position and place it before us," the bench said after the counsel for the Centre sought more time to file a response. The court's directions came on a plea seeking to enforce the display of registration number on cars of constitutional authorities and dignitaries. The petition, filed by an NGO Nyayabhoomi, claimed that the practice of displaying the state emblem of four lions, instead of the registration numbers, make the cars conspicuous and the dignitaries become easy targets for terrorists and anyone with malicious intent. "The practice of replacing the registration mark with the State Emblem of India, instead of displaying them both, is arbitrary and symptomatic of the desire to rule rather than to serve," the petition alleged. The public interest litigation (PIL) by NGO's secretary Rakesh Agarwal also sought direction to the Delhi government and Delhi Police to seize the cars used by the Rashtrapati Bhawan, Vice President, Raj Niwas and Protocol division of the Ministry of External Affairs for not being registered under the Motor Vehicles Act. The plea referred to an RTI response by the Ministry of External Affairs saying none of its 14 cars maintained by its protocol division were registered. On the other hand, the plea claimed that the Rashtrapati Bhawan refused to supply the registration numbers of its cars on the ground that disclosure of such information would endanger the security of the state and life and physical safety of the President. It said a person meeting with an accident involving such a car cannot bring any claim against it as due to the absence of any identification mark, the vehicle's ownership cannot be known and the citizens get the message that if a dignitary could disobey the law and get away with it, so could they. It also sought prosecution of the owners of cars being used by such dignitaries in a time-bound manner and sought a direction to the ministries of home affairs and external affairs to register the cars used by the dignitaries and obtain their insurance policies. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government to frame guidelines to deal with emergency situations related to organ donation and retrieval. A bench of justices Naresh Patil and N W Sambre said the government should "frame guidelines and constitute a team of medical experts" to suggest ways during emergency situations. The court's direction came on a petition filed before it by Swapnil Raut, who suffers from a kidney-related ailment. The plea focused on an incident at a Mumbai hospital, where another patient, who suffered from a similar issue as Raut, was awaiting kidney donation from a brain-dead patient. The patient lost out on receiving the organ since the potential donor died of a cardiac arrest, the plea said. The hospital could not retrieve organs after the donor's death since the facility's licence for organ transplant had been suspended a few years ago, the plea said. "The procedure to retrieve organs was to be carried out, but the health department had barred the hospital. But this was an opportunity. If the patient's organs could be retrieved, the lives of several recipients including the said kidney patient could have been saved," the petition said. The bench noted that this was a serious issue and the government should "frame guidelines, and constitute a team of medical experts who can intervene in such situations in the future. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court today granted bail to an 18-year-old engineering student, accused of raping a minor by befriending her on WhatsApp and then taking her to a park, where he allegedly committed the crime. Justice A K Pathak granted him the relief subject to furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one surety of a like amount. The court also directed the student not to contact the girl or her family members or influence any witness in the case. As per the prosecution, the boy first came in touch with the 14-and-a-half year old girl through a social networking site in December last year and on December 29, 2017 took her to a park here and allegedly raped her. The accused's lawyer, Vijay Kumar Aggarwal, opposed the charges and contended that while the alleged incident was of December 29, 2017, the FIR was lodged a day later. He said the girl was medically examined only on January 1, 2018. "Even in the statement, the prosecutrix has not levelled any allegations of rape or oral sex. In FIR, the girl has simply stated that the petitioner has been conversing with her on WhatsApp and Instagram. She has improved her version at the behest of her father," Aggarwal submitted. Additional Public Prosecutor M P Singh, appearing for the Delhi Police, contended that the girl, a minor, was studying in class nine, whereas the accused is 18-years-old and is pursuing B Tech from Manipal University in Jaipur. "The accused had allured her to a park and raped her," the counsel for the police argued, adding that the girl was nervous when she returned home on the date of incident and had not disclosed the rape incident to her mother or in the complaint made to the police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court on Monday permitted hotelier Vishal Karia, who was arrested earlier this month in connection with the Kamala Mills fire, to seek immediate bail from a magistrate's court. Karia was booked under Section 216 of the Indian Penal Code for harbouring an offender after the police found an Audi car belonging to prime accused Abhijeet Mankar, co-owner of the '1 Above' pub, at his residence. On January 10, the Bhoiwada magistrate court remanded him to police custody till January 17. Karia approached the Bombay High Court today challenging his police remand, saying that he had no connection to the fire incident. He said since the offence was bailable, the magistrate's order remanding him to week-long police custody must be quashed. He said he had merely kept the accused's car at his house, and should not be penalised since the "car had not committed any crime". Justice Revati Mohite-Dere, who was presiding over Karia's plea, asked the police if it had intentions of booking Karia under any other sections of the IPC based on their probe. The Special Public Prosecutor told the court that they had "not found any material to link Karia with the main offence of the fire, or for any other offence" but for keeping the car at his residence while the owner was absconding. The SPP, however, objected to Karia's plea arguing that he was arrested in connection with the incident of fire in which several people had been killed and hence, he must be dealt with severity. "However, if you have not found any other material against him then keeping him in continued custody for a bailable offence does not make sense. He can apply for bail as a matter of right in such a circumstance," Justice Mohite-Dere said. The Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government have resolved to use as a tool to bring normalcy to the state. The central and state governments today signed a memorandum of understanding at the 65th Cabinet Advisory Board of (CABE) meeting here. "The government is engaging with the state to mainstream children and use as a tool to bring normalcy. We have travelled some distance in this," HRD School Education Secretary Anil Swarup said at the MoU signing. Swarup said the state government had also agreed to look at the NCERT curriculum for convergence and more schools from Jammu and Kashmir were seeking CBSE affiliation. The two governments have planned a number of measures, including an exchange programme involving 9,000 to 10,000 students from the state from January 18 and setting up ICT and digital platforms in the state's schools. The MoU titled "School Education Transformation Roadmap" is a joint study of the Centre and the state government. The roadmap will be implemented in three years with the goal of bringing a major improvement in learning levels of students by 2020. It comprises a comprehensive framework, including human resource management to quality interventions. The roadmap has identified high priority areas, including restructuring of state teacher education institutes, created integrated data management information system and curriculum revision. According to Swarup, the government will identify special districts for intensive engagements with students. Both the governments will also undertake exchange programmes wherein 9,000 to 10,000 students from the state will travel to other parts of the country and vice versa. The initiative will start from January 18 and the first batch of students from the state will also get to witness the Republic Day celebrations in Delhi. "This is not a one-time exercise. The other initiative is to set ICT and digital technology in the schools of the state. For that we will also use solar energy platform," said Swarup. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu today announced joint research and development projects under the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F). The 'I4Fund Call for Proposal' was announced with the launch of a website as well as the unveiling of a brochure by the two prime ministers at the India-Israel Business Summit here. The fund was announced in July, 2017 during Modi's visit to Israel. Under this, the Department of Science and Technology, India and the National Innovation Authority of Israel have established a USD 40 million fund. Through this flagship bilateral programme in the field of science, technology and innovation, support will be extended to research and development (R&D) projects, official sources said here. The fund will provide a comprehensive set of support tools to encourage joint projects that convert "know-how" into "show-how", they said. It will lead to joint development of affordable technological innovations in identified areas such as water, agriculture, energy and digital technologies. India and Israel will make a contribution of USD 4 million each for the fund annually for five years. The fund will also promote bilateral industrial R&D and innovation cooperation in the fields of science and technology by extending support to joint projects for innovative or technology-driven new or improved products, services or processes. Institutional support in building up consortia, including private industry, enterprises and R&D institutions from India and Israel will be enabled through these collaborative projects, the sources added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India and Israel will not allow "a single issue" to determine ties -- this was the message given today by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in the backdrop of New Delhi voting against the Jewish country on the Jerusalem issue at the UN. During their "wide-ranging and intensive" talks, the issue of India's position on Palestine, resulting in its voting against Israel at the UN on the Jerusalem issue, also figured with Indian officials maintaining that both sides put forth their views. "What the two sides agreed, that the our relationship was much larger than any single issue...that we need to look at it holistically and while we continue to talk to each other, our relationship is not determined by a single issue," Vijay Gokhale, secretary (economic relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, said. He was asked whether the long-pending issue of Palestine figured in the talks between the two prime ministers. Gokhale also said as far as the issue of Palestine is concerned, the Israeli side expressed its position and the Indian side explained its stand both on the status of Jerusalem and Palestine. India had last month joined 127 other countries to vote in the UN in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of the US to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Ahead of today's meeting, Netanyahu had made it clear that even though the Jewish state was "disappointed" by India's vote at the UN against it on the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect ties. A joint statement after the delegation-level talks said Modi and Netanyahu discussed the developments pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. "They reaffirmed their support for an early resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians for arriving at a comprehensive negotiated solution on all outstanding issues, based on mutual recognition and effective security arrangements, for establishing a just and durable peace in the region," the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India's National Knowledge Network and Sri Lanka's LEARN which connect to educational institutions between the two countries have now been linked with each other through high capacity internet, the government said today. Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is on an official visit to Sri Lanka, inaugurated the connectivity between the two networks. "On the first day of his visit, he (Prasad) inaugurated the gigabit connectivity between the National Knowledge Network of India and LEARN network of Sri Lanka. This dedicated high speed internet connectivity will boost the collaboration among the academic institutions of India and Sri Lanka," an official statement said. Sri Lankan Minister for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Harin Fernando was also present on this occasion. "Both countries signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for enhancing cooperation between India and Sri Lanka in the IT sector, cyber security and eGovernance. On this occasion, the Minister also inaugurated the use of eOffice software developed by National Informatics Center (NIC) by the government of Sri Lanka," the statement said. NKN aims to connect all universities, research institutions, libraries, laboratories, healthcare and agricultural institutions across the country to improve access to knowledge and meet communication and computational need of the institutions. NKN has already connected over 1,648 institutions under various categories throughout the country. Similarly Lanka Education And Research Network (LEARN) also connects leading educational institution in Sri Lanka. Prasad later called on Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He shared the success of UMANG app which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of Wickremsinghe a few months ago during the inaugural ceremony of Global Conference on Cyber Space in New Delhi. Prasad invited experts and officers from Sri Lanka to visit India to study some of the eGovernance applications developed by the National Informatics Centre. He delivered the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture 2018 on the invitation of the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka where he spoke on the Evolution of India's Constitutional Democracy, the statement said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India has assured Sri Lanka of its support in developing the island nation's information technology sector, the Sri Lankan government said today. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office stated this following a meeting between the premier and visiting Union Minister for Law, IT & Electronics Ravi Shankar Prasad. Prasad called on Wickremesinghe this morning and the Sri Lankan premier directed his Telecommunications Minister Harin Fernando to obtain Indian assistance in the sector, a release said. An MoU for cooperation in IT and electronics was also signed by Prasad and Fernando. The scope of the MoU includes e-governance, m-governance, and e-public services delivery including e-learning, tele-medicine, and cyber security, among others, the Indian High Commission here said. Prasad told Wickremesinghe that the Unified Mobile Application for New Age Governance (UMANG) - jointly launched by the Sri Lankan premier and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi - has been operating successfully. Sri Lankan Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake also sought Indian assistance in cyber security, the release added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seven Pakistani soldiers were killed today in retaliatory firing by the Indian Army after a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir where a infiltration bid was also foiled with the elimination of five militants of Pakistan-based JeM, army officers said. The army action came on a day when its chief Gen Bipin Rawat sent a stern messsage to Pakistan, saying it may escalate its offensive against terror groups and carry out the 'other action' if forced by the neighbouring country. In his address to army personnel in Delhi to mark the Army Day today, the Army chief said Pakistan Army is continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along the Line of Control (LoC) in J and K. "Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the LoC and resorted to shelling on forward posts in Jaglote belt in Mendhar sector(in Poonch district) early today," a senior Army officer told PTI in Jammu. Indian troops guarding the LoC took positions and targetedthe Pakistani post involved in the ceasefire violation in Kotli by retaliatory action of heavy shelling, he said. In the retaliation, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed and four other soldiers injured, the officer said, adding the dead included a Major. The retaliation also comes after an Indian soldier was killed in Pakistan firing along the LoC in J and K's Rajouri district last Saturday. The Pakistan Army, however, said it lost four of its soldiers in a cross-border firing by India across the LoC and claimed to have killed three Indian troops. The army personnel were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar rounds while carrying out "line communication maintenance" along the LoC in Kotli sector's Jandrot area, the army's media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement in Islamabad. Four Pakistani soldiers were killed in the exchange of fire, it said. Three Indian soldiers were also killed, the statement claimed. The cross-LoC travel between J and K and Pakistan- Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) has been suspended due to tension at the LoC, custodian of LoC Trade and Travel, Mohammad Tanveer told PTI. The Indian Army also foiled a major infiltration attempt by Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) militants along the LoC in Uri sector in Kashmir, killing five members of the group's suicide squad, a senior army officer said in Srinagar. The Army foiled the infiltration bid - the first such attempt this year - by the Pakistan-based outfit in an overnight operation that ended this morning, Brigadier Y S Ahlawat told reporters in Uri, 100 km from Srinagar. Brig. Ahlawat said the infiltration attempt was made along the river Jhelum, which flows into Pakistan from India. "A major infiltration bid - the first of 2018 - by a fierce 'fidayeen' group has been foiled along the LoC in Uri sector. A major tragedy has been averted on Army Day and in the run up to the Republic Day celebrations," he said. The army officer said alert troops picked up the movement "as the terrorists were moving along the banks of Jhelum and subsequently tracked their movement." "In the ensuing firefight, the Army neutralised five terrorists in the operation," Brig. Ahlawat said, adding that four bodies have been recovered and the fifth was lying near the boat the militants had used to cross the river. A cache of arms - including four AK-47 rifles, three Underbarrel Grenade Launchers, 38 UBGL grenades, 23 hand grenades, nine IEDs and "other war-like items", have been recovered from the dead militants, he added. In September 2016, heavily-armed militants of the JeM had carried out one of the deadliest attacks on the Indian Army and stormed their base in Uri, killing 18 Indian soldiers. Ten days later on September 28 that year, the Indian Army responded with "surgical strikes" on terror launch pads across the LoC, inflicting "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK. Today, Brigadier Ahlawat said: "The Indian army continues with its resolve to keep a strict vigil along the LoC and foil such nefarious designs of Pakistan in future too." Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police S P Vaid earlier today said the militants belonged to the JeM group. "Three suicidal JeM terrorists killed in Dulanja Uri while infiltrating in a joint operation by @JmuKmrPolice/Army/ CAPF. Search for the fourth terrorist is still on," Vaid had said in a tweet when the operation against the militants was still in progress. The toll was later updated by a defence spokesperson. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited Israeli defence companies to India for co- production, as he held comprehensive talks on strategic issues with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who called him a "revolutionary leader". The two countries also inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas such as cyber security and gas and oil after extensive delegation-level talks between their prime ministers. During the talks, the issue of India voting against Israel at the UN on the Jerusalem issue also figured with Indian officials maintaining that both sides put forth their views. However, the officials asserted that the two leaders agreed that the ties "are not determined by a single issue". India had last month joined 127 other countries to vote in the UN in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of the US to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Terming their talks as "wide-ranging and intensive", Modi, at a joint press event with Netanyahu, said they reviewed the progress in the bilateral relations and agreed that "the possibilities and the opportunities" that beckon the two countries need to be seized. "We will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology, and security...In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime to make more in India with our companies," Modi said. According to a joint statement, the leaders noted the "grave" threat that terrorism poses to peace and security including from non-state actors, and reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds. They advocated strong measures against terrorists, terror outfits, those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups, the statement said. At the press event, Netanyahu said, "Indians and Israelis know too well the pain of terrorist attacks. We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai. We grit our teeth, we fight back, we never give in." The two leaders also noted that the next meeting of the Joint Working Groups on Homeland and Public Security will be held in February 2018, the statement said. They reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space, the statement said. On whether the multi-million Israeli missile Spike deal figured in the talks, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (Economic Relations), did not give a direct answer and said defence and security cooperation was discussed. He did not get into specific details. On defence cooperation, the statement said the two prime ministers consider it important to set the direction for developing more business models and partnerships for joint ventures and joint manufacturing, including transfer of technology as well as joint research and development in defence and security fields. The two leaders asked their respective defence ministries to hold discussions this year with active involvement of the public and private sectors, in order to create the basis for viable, sustainable and long term cooperation in the defence industry, the statement said. The bonhomie between the two leaders was on full display with Modi starting his press statement welcoming Netanyahu in Hebrew and the visiting leader describing the Indian prime minister as a "revolutionary leader". "You are a revolutionary leader and you are revolutionising India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into the future. And you have revolutionised the relations between Israel and India," Netanyahu, popularly known as 'Bibi', said. Dubbing Netanyahu's visit as a "long-anticipated moment in the journey of friendship" between India and Israel, Modi said the visit was also a fitting climax to the commemoration of 25 years of bilateral diplomatic relations and marked a special beginning to the new year calendar. Asserting that their discussions were marked by the desire to do more, Modi said, "Prime Minister, I have a reputation of being impatient in getting results. If I may let out an open secret, I know that so are you." Referring to his visit to Israel last year, Modi said they had promised each other and their people to build a strategic partnership as also progress of diverse and cutting-edge cooperation, and of joint endeavours and shared successes. He said last year in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu had expressed the intent to cut down bureaucratic red tape with a machete and forge ahead with speed. "I am happy to tell you that in India, we are well on our way to doing just that. We have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions," he said, asserting that the results were already visible on the ground. The two leaders also exchanged views on scaling up the centres of excellence that have been a mainstay of agricultural cooperation by bringing in advanced Israeli practices and technology. Modi said the two countries are also venturing into the less explored areas of cooperation, such as oil and gas, cyber security, films, and start-ups. Asserting that they are committed to facilitating the flow of people and ideas between their geographies, Modi said, "We are working with Israel to make it easier for our people to work and visit each other's countries, including for longer work durations. To bring people closer on both sides, an Indian Cultural Centre will soon open in Israel." He also said that they have decided to start an annual exchange of bilateral visits by 100 young people from science-related educational streams. Modi said that he was looking forward to accompany Netanyahu to his home state, Gujarat. "There, we will have another opportunity to see the fulfilment of the promise, which our mutual cooperation holds in diverse areas such as agriculture, technology, and innovation," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Security forces today foiled an infiltration bid near the Line ofControl in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing four Jaish-e-Mohammad militants,a senior police official said. Director General of Police S P Vaid said four JeM militants were killed at Dulanja in Uri sector in a joint operation by the Army,police and other security forces. "Three suicidal JeM terrorists killed in Dulanja Uri while infiltrating in a joint operation by @JmuKmrPolice/Army/ CAPF.Search for the fourth terrorist is still on," Vaid said in a tweet. The DGP later updated that the fourth militant has also been killed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir government has a started process of identification of nomadic population to issue fresh ration cards to them, an official spokesman said. The government has issued an order authorising deputy commissioners to identify nomadic population in their respective districts, he said. As per the order, DCs would identify nomadic population through committees comprising tehsildars, block development officers, tehsil supply officers of areas concerned, and ration cards would be issued on the recommendation of the committees under Priority Household Category, the official said. The recommendation of the committee would be the sole criterion for issuance of ration cards and no additional documents would be required, the order stated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party (JKNPP) today began a relay hunger strike here against what it called "socio-political discrimination meted out to Jammu" by the PDP-BJP government. A group of nearly two dozen JKNPP activists from Reasi district began the hunger strike near Tawi bridge in the heart of the city and will be replaced by the volunteers from Udhampur districttomorrow, the party said in a statement here. It said the relay hunger strike at the Maharaja Hari Singh Memorial would continue till "justice" is granted to Jammu region. Chairman JKNPP and former minister Harsh Dev Singh alleged that there had been a "huge regional bias" in the recruitments made by the government for the last three years which revealed "abysmally low share of Jammu region dropping to mere three to four per cent as compared to the Kashmir valley". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As a part of the strike called by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) today, students burnt the "compulsory attendance" circular and staged demonstrations outside every school and centre of the institute to oppose the move. Anticipating untoward incidents, the administration had deployed security guards in front of all the schools and centres and advised them to videograph "unruly" incidents. The circular issued by Registrar Pramod Kumar for the deployment of security guards was also burnt by the students. "In a shocking move, the JNU administration, in order to intimidate the students, had deployed guards at all the school buildings in response to the strike," the JNUSU said in a statement and condemned the administration for treating the students as "criminals". Based on the recommendations of its compulsory attendance committee, the university had, for the first time, directed the students of BA, MA, MSc, MTech, PG diploma, MPhil, Phd and part-time programmes to maintain a minimum of 75 per cent attendance for appearing in the end-semester examination. The JNUSU, along with the JNU Teachers' Union (JNUTA), had announced that it would defy the direction. The JNUTA had said it was "unproductive" and would lead to the teachers doing a "meaningless" form of bureaucratic work. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It was business back to normal today in the first five courts presided by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and four senior judges who had publicly hurled accusations against the CJI on assignment of cases and other issues last week. On the first working day after the unprecedented presser on Friday, speculations were rife in the apex court corridors as to how the four judges and the CJI would move forward in resolving the crisis and take up respective judicial work. The press conference by Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph on January 12 was the single major controversy in the chequered 67-year old history of the Supreme Court. The CJI's courtroom saw lawyers, litigants and scribes rushing in to witness the court proceedings which began around 10.35 AM, when lawyer R P Luthra mentioned the issue of the press conference by the judges and urged the CJI to take action. Luthra's plea was strongly rejected with the CJI saying "no, no", when lawyer R P Luthra referred to the January 12 press conference held by four judges on the issue of assignment of cases and sought stern action in the matter. The CJI, heading the bench which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, then went ahead with the mentioning of urgent cases and hearing of 56 listed matters. Justice Chelameswar, who had led press conference, was in his cool self. He began presiding over court number 2 almost simultaneously and dealt with 60 cases listed for the day. Justices Gogoi, Lokur and Joseph presided courts three, four and five respectively without showing any signs of discomfort. The three judges dealt with 49, 41 and 53 matters listed today respectively. Justice Lokur also chaired a special bench comprising Justices Joseph and A K Sikri at 2 PM, to deal with coal scam cases in which CBI informed that it would examine the bank accounts of those who had visited the official residence of then agency chief Ranjit Sinha. Justice Gogoi had asserted earlier that the four judges have not "broken the ranks" and will "start doing things which we do" from today. Attorney General K K Venugopal later told PTI that everything has been settled among the judges who were busy doing normal judicial work. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Protesting against the upcoming release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversial film "Padmavat", Rajput Karni Sena members today staged a protest at the collectorate here. Members of the Rajasthan-based outfit handed a memorandum to the district magistrate demanding a ban on the film. "Karni Sena will not allow screening of film 'Padmavat' at any cinema hall or PVR in Gautam Buddha Nagar district. If the film is released and screened in the district, mass protests will be held. If any damage is caused during these protests, Sena will not be held responsible. We have demanded a ban on the release of the film in the memorandum," Karni Sena district president Thakur Mukesh Singh said. The protesters also raised slogans against the producer, director and actors of the film. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kerala government has again written to the Centre seeking a CBI probe into the alleged custodial death of a youth in May 2014, as the protest by his brother in front of the secretariat entered 767th day today. The letter in this regard was sent last night by the state chief secretary asking CBI to re-examine its earlier decision not to take up case, a CMO press release here said. The state government had in July last year written to the Centre for a CBI investigation as some police personnel were accused in the case registered in Parassala police station. However, the plea was rejected by CBI stating they had an overload of cases and this particular incident did not come under the rarest of rare cases, the release stated. The protesting youth, Sreejith, has been lying in front of the Secretariat here for the past 767 days, demanding a CBI inquiry into his brother's death and bringing the guilty to book. With the social media taking up the youth's cause, there has been an outpouring of support for Sreejith. CPI(M) leader, V S Sivankutty today met the youth and said the state government was prepared to hold talks with him to find a solution to the issue. Meanwhile, Malayalam actors Prithiraj and Parvathy today came out in his support. In a Facebook post, Prithviraj said the protest had 'touched' the collective conscience of the people. "#SREEJITH You single-handedly represent the most valuable human faculty of modern times. One that we are fast losing...And one that we have ceased to respect. The quest for the truth, the refusal to settle for the compromise that's a lie!," he said in the post. "You may be doing this for your brother, for your family, for your self. But what you have become through the course of the last 2 years, is an embodiment of hope...for a whole generation who's forgotten the merit of peaceful protest, the eloquence of silence, the power of one." Yesterday, actor Tovino Thomas, had met Sreejith promising support for his cause. Politicians from the Congress and BJP camps have also lent their support for the protest. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Lebanese authorities have banned Steven Spielberg's latest film, political thriller "The Post", and Australian drama "Jungle" to comply with a boycott of Israel, an official said. "Screening of the film 'The Post' has been banned," the official from Lebanon's General Security authority told AFP Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Spielberg "is blacklisted by the Arab League's boycott office, which Lebanon complies with", the official explained. The pan-Arab body maintains a regional boycott of Israel, and blacklisted Spielberg after he donated USD 1 million to Israel during its 2006 war with Lebanon. The two countries are still technically in a state of war. While Lebanon is generally considered the most liberal of Arab countries, it occasionally bans content considered immoral, inciteful, or supportive of Israel. Lebanon's General Security -- in addition to controlling the country's borders -- is responsible for censoring films, plays, and books. "The Post" was slated for a January 18, 2018 release date in Lebanese theatres. The acclaimed production tells the behind-the-scenes story of the 1971 publication by The Washington Post of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the lies behind US involvement in the Vietnam War. Starring Hollywood heavyweights Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, the film has been hailed for using star power to highlight the virtues of a free press. The other film that got the censorship axe was "Jungle", a survival drama about Israeli adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg, who got lost in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon in 1981. The production, starring Daniel Radcliffe, had been screening for two weeks in Lebanon but is now being pulled, the same official told AFP. "It received an authorisation to be screened, and it was indeed screening, but several registered complaints prompted us to pull it from theatres to avoid any problems," the official said, without specifying the nature of the protests. Several days ago, the Lebanese branch of the Campaign to Boycott the Supporters of Israel (CBSI) called on Lebanese nationals to boycott "Jungle," citing ties to Israel. "It is about an Israeli backpacker and is based on the book by an Israeli author, Yossi Ghinsberg, who was born in the Zionist entity, grew up in Tel Aviv and served in the Israeli navy," the campaign said. "One of its producers, Dana Lustig, is also Israeli," it added. Restrictions from Lebanese authorities and public pressure from groups including CBSI have swelled recently. Last year, Lebanon banned the screening of Hollywood blockbuster "Wonder Woman" because lead actress Gal Gadot had served in the Israeli military. French-Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri was held for questioning by Lebanese authorities in September over his film "The Attack," which was partially shot in Israel. The 2012 film, banned in Lebanon, follows the story of an Israeli surgeon of Arab origin whose wife is the perpetrator of a suicide attack. And just last week, celebrated Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab was the subject of public scrutiny over a picture he posted on Instagram of Gal Gadot wearing one of his dresses. The photograph was deleted after a barrage of critical comments. The boycott-driven bans have sparked controversy in Lebanon. Some have welcomed them as a bulwark against the "cultural normalisation" of Israel's occupation. Writer and CBSI member Samah Idris said the recall of "Jungle" was "another achievement for supporters of the boycott of the Israeli enemy in Lebanon and the Arab nation, and supporters of Palestine generally." But others have insisted that boycotting should be a choice made by individuals, not imposed by authorities. Film critic Nadim Jarjura called on the government to adopt "clear standards" when restricting films. "When Lebanese authorities decide a particular film is allowed to be screened because it complies with the laws and conditions of the boycott, I don't understand how other authorities can come back and change this decision," he told AFP. Banned films can often be found in bootleg movie shops across the country for as little as a one dollar, and even blacklisted books can sometimes be found in regular bookstores. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Less than two per cent of the intended beneficiaries of the government's ambitious maternity benefit scheme have received cash incentive since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced it over a year ago. The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) aims at providing partial compensation for wage loss to women during their pregnancy and offers a cash incentive of Rs 6,000 to mothers for the birth of their first child. The Union Cabinet approved the scheme in May last year after Modi, in a televised address to the nation, had in December 2016 announced that an existing pilot scheme -- Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) -- being implemented across 53 districts, would be extended across the country. Since the Cabinet nod, payments through direct cash transfer for PMMVY have been made to 96,460 beneficiaries, which is a mere 1.8 per cent of the estimated 51.6 lakh women the government scheme aims to help annually, according to data shared by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) on Twitter. The government has received a total of 6.4 lakh applications of beneficiaries so far. WCD Minister Maneka Gandhi held a review meeting with NITI Aayog member V K Paul on the status of implementation of the scheme today. Top economists of the country had written to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in December last year, flagging the delay in rolling out the scheme. A total amount of Rs 12.2 crore has been transferred to the accounts of these beneficiaries, and a sum of Rs 2,031 crore has been sanctioned for all states and union territories, the ministry said in another tweet. The scheme is being implemented on 60:40 cost-sharing basis with state governments and the Centre is contributing Rs 2,700 crore per year for the programme. A ministry official said that 10,000 beneficiaries are being added to the system everyday and efforts are on to double that rate by January-end. Therefore, it can be extrapolated that the government will be able to reach its target of over 51 lakh beneficiaries in the next six to seven months. The official also highlighted that many states such as Tamil Nadu, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana have been slow in implementing the scheme and named them as the "worst performing states" for not registering any beneficiary. Maharashtra and UP have been relatively better performers and have enrolled 2.4 lakh and 1.25 lakh applicants, respectively. The official stated that the delay has been because the maternity benefit programme is the "first scheme" to be linked with the Public Finance Management System, adding that mapping villages through the local government directory (LGD) of panchayats and local bodies was a time-consuming exercise. WCD secretary R K Shrivastava earlier told PTI that the implementation of the programme had been slow due to "initial hiccups" faced in executing a new scheme. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) today said it has forayed into over-the-counter (OTC) segment in the country with plans to touch Rs 3 billion (Rs 300 crore) turnover in the vertical over the next five years. The Mumbai-based firm has introduced its legacy product 'Softovac' across the country as an OTC medicine. "It was imperative for us to enter the OTC segment as the vertical has been steadily growing over the years in the country. Over a horizon of five years we are looking at a turnover of Rs 3 billion (Rs 300 crore) from the business," Lupin Head OTC Business Anil Kaushal told PTI. For over 30 years, Softovac has been a product of choice for many patients who suffer from constipation and considering the widespread prevalence of this condition, the shift from prescription to OTC has made it more accessible to those who need it the most, he added. Softovac's shift to OTC was piloted in West Bengal during which the brand witnessed a growth in sales of over 25 per cent, and post the success, a pan-India rollout was initiated. Lupin, one of the top five pharma in the country, plans to launch a variety of products across various categories like vitamins/minerals and lifestyle OTC products going ahead, Kaushal said. "In the next 12-18 months there will be regular product launches every 3-4 months. We plan to be present across all the major OTC product categories," Kaushal said. According to industry sources, the Indian consumer healthcare business is pegged at around USD 2.7 billion (over Rs 18,800 crore) and is expected to touch USD 6 billion mark (over Rs 40,000 crore) by around 2026. In order to reach out to target customers, the company has roped in veteran Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor as the brand ambassador for Softovac. Lupin Managing Director Nilesh Gupta said: "The OTC segment is one of the fastest growing segments in the Indian pharmaceutical market. This, combined with our capabilities and expertise in this space, makes it a lucrative business opportunity for Lupin." The company's long-term strategy is to have a portfolio of new products as well as offerings like Softovac, all of it aimed at addressing the unmet needs of patients, he added. Lupin shares were trading 0.13 per cent down at Rs 917.95 on BSE. A special NIA court is likely to frame charges against Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit and six other accused in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case on February 7, The matter was listed today. As the judge was unavailable, the case was adjourned to February 7. The court had on December 27 rejected the pleas of the accused for discharge from the case. However, it dropped some sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused, provisions of which attract punishment up to life in prison. The court had also dismissed the NIA's contention that there was no evidence against Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, saying it was difficult to accept the claim given that her motorcycle was used in the blast. The accused will now face trial under sections 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (conspiring for and committing/organising a terror act) and under the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder and causing hurt besides charges under the Explosive Substances Act and Arms Act. The charges are punishable by varying prison terms up to life, and death for murder. The NIA, while filing a chargesheet in the case last year, gave a clean chit to Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and three others -- Shyam Sahu, Praveen Takalki, Shivnarayan Kalsangra -- saying it found no evidence against them and they should be discharged from the case. The court absolved only Sahu, Kalsangra and Takalki from all the charges, leaving Thakur to face trial. Two others, Jagdish Mhatre and Rakesh Dhawde, will face trial only under the Arms Act "before concerned courts", the NIA court had said. The NIA had claimed in its chargesheet that there was no evidence of Thakur ever being part of conspiracy meetings, and though the motorcycle used in the blast once belonged to her, she had sold it much before the blast and had no knowledge of the conspiracy. Six persons were killed when an improvised explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off at Malegaon, a town with sizable Muslim population in north Maharashtra's Nashik district, on September 29, 2008, while 101 people were injured. The Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra police, which probed the case initially, charged Thakur, Purohit, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Ramesh Upadhyay, Sudhakar Chaturvedi, Jagdish Mhatre, Rakesh Dhawade, Ajay Rahirkar, Samir Kulkarni, Shyam Sahu, Shivnarayan Kalsangra, Pravin Mutalik and Ramchandra Kalsangra. According to the ATS, it was Ramchandra Kalsangra who planted the bomb, and who is still absconding. Thakur gave her motorbike to Kalsangra to plant the bomb, the ATS had said. Thakur filed a discharge plea after the Bombay High Court granted her bail in April. The NIA didn't oppose her bail application. Purohit is also out on bail. The court also had dropped the UAPA sections 17, 20 and 23 against all accused. These sections relate to raising funds for a terrorist organisation, being part of a terrorist organisation and aiding someone who is part of a terrorist organisation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today saluted the country's soldiers on the occasion of Army Day for their exemplary sense of duty towards their motherland. On Army Day, my salute to all Army personnel for their exemplary sense of duty to the nation, Banerjee wrote on her Twitter handle this morning. Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year. The celebrations mark the day when Lieutenant General K M Cariappas took charge as the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army in 1949. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A man was today arrested for allegedly selling gutkha worth Rs 5 lakh, police said. Following a tip-off, sleuths of Commissioners Task Force, officials from North Zone of Hyderabad police along with personnel from Cyberabad police raided a godown at Saibaba Nagar here, an official release said. One Narayana Ram Chowdary, who runs a general stores was apprehended and adulterated gutkha worth Rs 5 lakh was seized from him, it said adding a probe was on. The Telangana government has banned the sale, manufacture, distribution and storage of gutkha and all its variants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 67-year-old man suffered bullet injuries after Myanmarese Army personnel, who reportedly mistook him for an insurgent, shot at him twice on Friday evening in southern Mizoram's Lawngtlai district, a police report has said. Monondo and his wife Banati, members of the Bru community, were collecting medicinal herb - locally known as nchiri' - along the border area when the Myanmarese Army personnel shot at them, Lawngtlai SP Lalsanglura said. "The shooting stopped after Banati screamed aloud and said they were Indian citizens, not insurgents," he said, adding that the bullets hit Monondo on both the legs, breaking the bone of his right thigh. The Myanmar troops then approached the couple and gave medicines, food and torchlight, Lalsanglura said. "The local villagers carried Monondo on a bamboo stretcher to Lawngtlai District Hospital, where he is still undergoing treatment. Doctors treating him there have said that he should be referred to an Aizawl hospital after his condition stabilizes," the SP said. Police and Assam Rifles personnel, who rushed to the site soon after the incident, are carrying out investigations into the case, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Overwhelmed by the culture and tradition of the Toda community in Nilgiris district, Mauritius vice-president Paramashivam Pillay Vyapoory today invited some of them to visit his country to showcase their living style among the population. Vyapoory, who visited major tourist spots in the district, told reporters during a stopover at a Toda village that he was very impressed by the lifestyle of the population. "Their art of embroidery, hairstyle and dance were a treat to the eyes and I wanted to take these valuable traditions and culture to my country," he said. The Mauritius Vice-President, who met Vasamalli, the first graduate from the community, said he had asked her to bring some members of the community to Mauritius and also to provide documentation about the arts and dance. He said he also met Suttur Peethadhipathi, who runs the famous JSS Institutions and wanted to start medical, ayurveda and pharmacy course in Mauritius colleges. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a first such attempt, the central government will organise a coordination meeting with states on January 18 to ensure effective implementation of various welfare schemes meant for the minorities, sources said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will inaugurate the conference to be held in Lucknow, they said. Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi will attend the conference. Ministers concerned from Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana will also take part in the meet, the sources added. "Agenda of the meeting is to take stock of various schemes of central and states governments meant for minority welfare," a source in the Union minority affairs ministry said. The ministry is planning more such meetings in eastern and southern states later, they added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Misuse of a penal provision cannot be an argument for not criminalising an act, the Delhi High Court said today while hearing several PILs calling for "criminalisation" of marital rape. The observation by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar assumes significance as one of the reasons given by the Centre for not making marital rape a criminal offence was that it could be "misused". Advocate Karuna Nandy, appearing for NGOS-- RIT Foundation and the All India Democratic Women's Association-- told the court that there might be false complaints lodged by women, but such cases were rare. She said the possibility of false cases being lodged and that it could destabilise the institution of marriage as well as become a tool to harass husbands cannot be a defence for not declaring forcible sexual intercourse between a married couple as an offence. In apparent agreement with the petitioner NGOs, the bench said, "Misuse cannot really be an argument on whether an act should be criminalised or not". While concluding their arguments, the civil society organisations said around 20 million married women in India were victims of marital rape every year. They also argued that since the neighbouring nations of Pakistan and Bhutan have criminalised marital rape and the Sri Lankan Cabinet has forwarded a proposal for doing so, India should follow suit. The court had earlier remarked that the issue had "huge ramifications" and was of "tremendous importance". The Supreme Court, in a historic verdict in October last, held that sexual intercourse with a girl below 18 years of age, even by the husband, would amount to rape. It, thus, read down a provision in the Indian Penal Code of 1860, exempting males from being tried for rape if the wives were between the age of 15 and 18 years. The top court's verdict will have a ramification in the petition pending before the high court. In the original petition before the high court, the NGOs had highlighted that the provision under the IPC did not consider non-consensual sexual intercourse with a wife, above 15 years of age, as rape. The high court is also hearing two intervention applications, one in support of pleas to make marital rape an offence and the other opposing it. The Centre had advocated retaining the exception clause in section 375 (rape), saying child marriages were taking place in India and that the decision to retain a girl's minimum age as 15 years to marry was taken under the amended rape law to protect a couple against criminalisation of their sexual activity. The NGOs' counsel had said that they have challenged the constitutionality of IPC section 375 on the ground that it discriminated against married women being sexually assaulted by their husbands. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A mob barged into the annual day function of a private school today and disrupted a student's dance performance on the "Ghoomar" song from the film "Padmaavat", police said. A child and a parent was injured in the incident which happened in a school in Jaora, about 42 kilometres from Ratlam, police added. MPS Parihar, station in-charge of Jaora police station said, "Nearly 15-20 persons barged into the school premises where as part of its annual day function, "Ghoomar" dance from the film "Padmaavat" was being staged by a young student. The mob threw chairs, caused panic among the audience, disrupted the function and then fled the venue." He said investigations were underway to check whether they belonged to the Karni Sena which has been opposing the movie. Police were in the process of registering a case, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov today said Moscow "understands" the anger of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who earlier denounced White House peace efforts as the "slap of the century." "We completely understand the emotions the Palestinians currently have. For years they made concessions without receiving anything in return," Lavrov said at an annual press conference in Moscow. "We constantly hear that the US is about to unveil an important deal (on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) that would satisfy all sides. We have not seen this kind of document," Lavrov added. Palestinian leaders today held a meeting called after US President Donald Trump's controversial December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state and Abbas has said Trump's stance means the US can no longer be the mediator in peace talks with Israel. In December, Abbas sent delegations to China and Russia to ask them to take on a greater role in the peace process with Israel. Lavrov said Russia welcomed the Palestinians because "they were ready for direct talks with the Israelis without preconditions." Moscow's chief diplomat added that the chances of direct contact between the two sides are "unfortunately approaching zero."Lavrov went on to say "the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the most serious factors that allows radicals to recruit newer and newer generations of terrorists."Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen since they collapsed in 2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor-comic Kumail Nanjiani has mocked US President Donald Trump on his "I'm not a racist" comment, saying one would have to conduct themselves in way that reflects in their behaviour. The 39-year-old actor's comments come after the POTUS said he was not a racist as he sought to steer clear of the controversy surrounding his reported derogatory remarks against immigrants from Haiti and Africa. "You know how you can tell you're racist? You have to say 'I'm not racist!' a lot," Nanjiani wrote on Twitter. A row broke out last week over Trump's alleged use of the word "shithole" to describe African nations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Nationalist Congress Party today announced that the second phase of its "halla bol" agitation against the state government would begin from tomorrow. State NCP chief Sunil Tatkare today said that the agitation would begin from Tuljapur tehsil of Osmanabad district. He said that the party would be having rallies at 27 tehsils spread across eight districts of Marathwada and the agitation would conclude with a rally in Aurangabad on February 3 to be addressed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar. "The third phase will be held in north Maharashtra and will conclude in Nashik with a rally by the NCP chief," he said. "We have been demanding compensation to cotton cultivators affected by the pink bollworm as well as those affected by cyclone Ockhi. While the state government has announced compensation, it was yet to be implemented. Hence we have decided to go to the people and protest against the government," Tatkare told reporters today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Ram Nath Kovind today called for greater cooperation between India and Israel in countering terrorism and said a strong global response would defeat the menace in all its manifestations. Welcoming visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called on Kovind today, the president said India-Israel security cooperation was defined by their common fight against terrorism. "This challenge is eating into the vitals of our society. Our counter terrorism cooperation is progressing well but we need to do more. We need to work together to develop a strong global response to defeat terrorism in all its manifestations," the president said. Netanyahu's visit was the culmination of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel, he said. "Our warm and friendly ties are growing stronger. In a little over two years, the two countries have exchanged presidential and prime ministerial visits," Kovind was quoted in an official statement as saying. The president said bilateral cooperation had expanded manifold. "Political understanding, security cooperation and technology partnerships are the key pillars of strategic engagement between India and Israel," he said. The president also emphasised that collaboration in newer areas such as space, cybersecurity and innovation would add depth to the partnership. He said there were ample opportunities before the two countries in the fields of investment, manufacturing, services, start-ups and technology. Kovind appreciated the presence of Israeli companies in India, especially in the water, defence, technology and pharma sectors, and urged them to collaborate in programmes such as Make in India, Clean India, Smart Cities and Digital India. Appreciating Israels cooperation in the field of agriculture, he said the country had taught India "to do more with less". "Israels support has served our farmers exceedingly well, especially in water deficient areas. As we work to make our farming choices more sustainable, we will seek more Israeli support," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the arrest of six persons, the Nepal Police today claimed to have busted a gang of fraudsters who duped over 60 people by promising them job in India's external intelligence agency RAW. The six people werecollecting hefty sums from unsuspecting individuals over false promise of securing them jobs at the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), according to a police statement. Those arrested have been identified as Ramananda Nauniya, Santosh Karki, Binod Karki, Padam Bahadur Shrestha, Chitra Bahadur Shrestha and Geeta Maharjan, it said. Nauniya, the mastermind of the gang, with the help of other accused, had been using fake letterhead of the Indian Embassy to prepare counterfeit job contracts, the police said. They would charge interested individuals anywhere between 3 lakh to 5 lakh Nepalese rupees for the job. "Nauniya would ask the 'hired' people to go to certain areas and observe the activities and report back," Superintendent of Police, Teku, Dibesh Lohani said. "They had also duped millions of rupees from various people. He had asked people to pay him an amount equivalent to four months salary for his services in securing the job," Lohani said. Police launched an investigation into the matter after more than a dozen victims approached them, alleging fraud. The victims have said that they were promised a jobwith a monthly salary of 75,000 Nepalese rupees. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Green Tribunal has directed the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) to inform the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) about the latest groundwater data in the national capital within a week. A bench headed by Acting Chairperson Justice U D Salvi asked the CGWA to apprise the DJB regarding extraction of groundwater by the industries in highly exploited areas. "Looking to the progress in the present cases and considering the role of CGWA in regulation, control, development and management of groundwater resources in the country, we direct the CGWA to communicate to the DJB about latest available groundwater data...within a week," the bench said. The tribunal warned that it would take coercive measures if the direction was not complied with within the stipulated time. During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the CGWA told the green panel that the 2017 policy for groundwater consumption "is in the making" and the groundwater data for such policy was available with it. The matter will be heard on February 9. Earlier, the tribunal had directed the secretary concerned of the Delhi government, CEO of the DJB and managing director of the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd to hold a meeting on the issue of extraction of water by industries in Narela and Bawana. It had also rapped the city government and the DJB over illegal borewells in Narela and Bawana industrial areas in the city which had led to serious depletion of water levels. The NGT had taken exception to the "abuse" of its interim order by the Delhi government to allow borewells in these industrial areas. The tribunal was hearing petitions filed by the NGT Bar Association and Raj Hans Bansal opposing the illegal use of groundwater in Delhi. The green panel had in 2014 set up committees comprising officials of the DJB, the CGWA, the city government and other bodies to seal the illegal borewells in these industrial areas and file a comprehensive report. It had also ordered the committees to prepare a comprehensive report on how many borewells were operating in the industrial pockets, including Bawana and Narela, and whether they had permission from the competent authority or were registered with the Delhi administration. Taking serious note of the "water scarcity" in Delhi, the tribunal had pulled up the authorities for failing to perform their statutory administrative obligation in ensuring adequate water supply. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Scotland's economy would contract by 8.5 per cent if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said today as she unveiled an economic impact study. "There is no option short of EU membership that is as good as being in the EU," Sturgeon said as she presented an analysis of possible future ties with the bloc. "This is about degrees of what does the least damage to our economy," she told journalists in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. According to the new analysis, Scotland's GDP would plunge 8.5 per cent by 2030 if no deal is reached with Brussels and Britain has to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules. This compares to 6.1 per cent fall if a free trade accord is signed with the bloc, and 2.7 per cent drop if the UK joins the European Economic Area and therefore stays part of the single market. Sturgeon said the impact study served as "compelling" evidence that Britain should remain part of the single market, if it is not possible to stay an EU member as her Scottish National Party would like. She predicted a majority of British lawmakers would support single market membership, despite Prime Minister Theresa May ruling it out largely owing to its condition of continuing free movement of people. London and Brussels are due to move on to the next stage of Brexit negotiations this year, after reaching agreement in December on exit terms. Sturgeon accused the British government of a "reckless and irresponsible approach" in the negotiations so far, arguing London had entered talks with unachievable aims, and urged the government to put single market membership back on the table. The SNP leader has previously pushed for a second referendum on Scottish independence from Britain, as a result of Brexit, and said Sunday a decision on holding another vote would be taken when the shape of the EU deal becomes clearer. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The new policy for the country is being formulated without any "specific instruction from the Centre", K Kasturirangan, the head of the panel preparing the final draft, said today. "There is no specific instruction from the Centre and we are working on it on our own," the former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief told PTI, when asked if the Centre had given any direction regarding the policy. Kasturirangan was here to attend the 235th foundation day celebrations of the Asiatic Society and deliver the foundation day speech on the "Influence of India's Space Endeavour on its Societal Development". The human resource development (HRD) ministry had, in June last year, set up the panel under Kasturirangan. The scientist, however, declined to elaborate on the changes the panel was mulling as regards the policy. "I am not supposed to speak about it because it is still in the formative stage and if I say anything unnecessarily now, there will be some misunderstanding," he said. Asked if he was hopeful that the draft would be prepared by March-end, Kasturirangan said, "That does not depend on my decision. This much I can say." The HRD ministry had given its nod after the panel, which was supposed to submit its final draft to it last month, sought an extension, stating that it was still holding consultations with various stakeholders. Apart from Kasturirangan, the committee has eight members, including mathematician Manjul Bhargava and Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons, who is also a former bureaucrat. The panel will also take into account the report of the panel headed by former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian, which was formed by the HRD ministry during the tenure of Smriti Irani. The Subramanian panel had submitted its report to the government in May 2016, suggesting measures to strengthen the sector that catered to over 300 million students. However, the government decided to have more deliberations and use the Subramanian panel report as an "input" for the future draft and set up the Kasturirangan panel. The existing National Policy was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992. A new National Education Policy was part of the BJP's poll manifesto. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rafael Nadal dispelled any injury worries to storm into the Australian Open second round today as Venus Williams led a slew of seeds out of the tournament in a dark day for American players. The Spanish world number one was hampered by a knee injury at the tail-end of the 2017 season, and he entered the opening Grand Slam of the year without playing a warm-up event. But he wore no strapping and appeared to move freely in a ruthless 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 demolition of the Dominican Republic's Victor Estrella Burgos in just 94 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. "I'm very happy to be back, it's a very important beginning for me. It's good for me," he said, adding that he had experienced "no problems" with his often troublesome knee during the match. "I want to enjoy every moment I'm here on this court." Second seeded Caroline Wozniacki also comfortably progressed with a straight sets win over Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu as she searches for a maiden Grand Slam crown. But there was no celebrating for fifth seed Williams, who was stunned by Swiss star Belinda Bencic, fresh from winning the Hopman Cup with Roger Federer. Fellow American and US Open champion Sloane Stephens was also sent packing, along with big-hitter CoCo Vandeweghe, the 10th seed and a semi-finalist last year. And the US misery was compounded on the men's side with eighth seed Jack Sock toppled by Japan's Yuichi Sugita and 16th-seed John Isner sent home by Australian Matthew Ebden. Other seeded casualties included South Africa's 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson, who was bundled out a in a five-set thriller by Britain's Kyle Edmund. Third seed Grigor Dimitrov survived, as did volatile Australian Nick Kyrgios, who collected a code violation for swearing at the crowd. - Learning curve - ==================Seven-time Grand Slam winner Williams, in her 77th major, struggled against a player who had never before beaten her to go down 6-3, 7-5 and deprive the tournament of one of its biggest names. It is the first time since 1997 that there will be neither of the Williams sisters in the second round, with Serena not playing after giving birth to her first child. "I don't think I played a bad match. She just played above and beyond," said the 37-year-old. Bencic, 20, said featuring with Federer at the Hopman Cup had helped a lot, with the Swiss legend giving her advice and tips. "I think all the week it was so great learning from him on the court or off the court," she said, adding she spoke to him briefly after her match and he "was very happy for me". Vandeweghe slumped out to Hungary's Timea Babos 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and revealed afterwards she had been bedridden with flu for four days. With Stephens also departing, to China's Zhang Shuai, it was a calamitous day for the United States, in stark contrast to the last Grand Slam of 2017, when all three of them made the semis at the US Open. It left the women's draw more unpredicable than ever, which was good for French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who saw off Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-4. The seventh seed raced through the first set on Rod Laver Arena against the veteran Italian who was bizarrely wearing a back brace on the outside of her shirt, before a tougher second set. "I knew before the match that it's not going to be easy. She's very experienced player and she's very long time on tour," said the Latvian. Fourth seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who won the lead-up Brisbane International after picking up five WTA Tour titles last year, was another to stay in the hunt. Also into the next round was German 12th seed Julia Goerges, who won the lead-up Auckland Classic and is now on a 15-match unbeaten streak having ended 2017 with victories at Moscow and Zhuhai. Twelve-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, seeded 14, starts on Tuesday, along Federer, former world number one Maria Sharapova and top seed Simona Halep. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) is reviewing offshore logistics operations after five of its 'energy soldiers' were killed in the tragic helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The company employees and officers today held a condolence meetings to mourn the death of five of its officers in Pawan Hans helicopter crash off the Mumbai coast on Saturday. All the seven onboard the ill-fated chopper, including two pilots, are reported to have died in the accident. "We have lost bright and hardworking officers in line of service to the company and the nation. In a way they were energy soldiers who were killed in the tragic accident," said Narendra K Verma, Managing Director & CEO of ONGC Videsh Ltd. Verma, who was part of the condolence meeting held in Delhi, said the Chairman and Managing Director Shashi Shanker is camping in Mumbai since Saturday, supervising medico-legal assistance to the bereaved families and "to be with the families in their hour of grief". "The company stands in solidarity with the families and will support them in all possible ways," he said. "The loss of five bright officers is tragic and a great loss to the company." The five were on the way to ONGC's oil installation in the Arabian sea when the accident occurred on Saturday morning. Verma said the company has begun reviewing offshore logistic operations. "We will do all it takes to make them more safe and secure." ONGC, he said, is going in to every aspect of how employees and officers are currently transported from land to offshore installations and trying to cut the risk associated with such journeys. Shanker, who has been camping in Mumbai to oversee the search operations as well as ensuring all support for the bereaved families, has stated that a high level independent investigation will be immediately instituted to ascertain the reasons. The helicopter crash is not the first accident in ONGC's history. In August 2003, Mi-172 helicopter crashed off Mumbai coast killing 27 company persons and pilot on-board. Over 92 per cent people do not trust healthcare system in India, with hospital being the most distrusted organisation followed by Pharma and insurance companies, as per annual survey by fitness device firm GOQii. "As per the GOQii India Fit 2018 report, 92.3% of citizens do not trust the healthcare system in India, which includes doctors, hospitals, pharma, insurance companies and diagnostic labs," the survey said. The survey claims to have used inputs from about 2 lakh GoQii product users in the country. As per the survey, 74 per cent people said that they do not trust hospitals, followed by pharma and insurance firms (62.8 per cent), medical clinics (52.6 per cent), 50.6 per cent doctors and diagnostic labs (46.1 per cent). "The key reason for the erosion of trust is largely due to a series of failure in the healthcare system, particularly the negligence by hospitals in the recent past. In addition, lack of transparency also came out as the single biggest impediment to the healthcare system in India," the report said. Interestingly, the survey found Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar as the most trusted celebrity or public figure for health advice, followed closely by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev. "Indians are no longer silent or docile patients, but instead they are now well informed consumers keen to participate in the care process and demanding dignity and transparency from the healthcare providers," GoQii Founder and CEO Vishal Gondal said. People in most of the cities expressed major concern on air-quality. "The 'Quality of Air' is a major concern among people and rated it the lowest at 3.3. Quality of food got the highest rating followed by water, with a rating of 4.1 and 3.8, respectively. This indicates that most Indians feel the quality of air in their city is substandard," the report said. People assigned lowest air-quality rating of 1.8 in Delhi-NCR followed by Bengaluru and Mumbai with score of 3 and 3.1, respectively. The survey found more than half of the population is overweight with highest number of such people in Ahmedabad, followed by Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR and Pune. In comparison to last year survey, there was rise in the number of lifestyle diseases among people. "Diabetes has increased from 7.7 to 7.9 per cent. Also, more Indians have high cholesterol this year, increasing from 9.4 to 10.1 per cent. With age as well people are more prone to lifestyle diseases. 23.8 per cent people below the age of 45 have one or more diseases such as diabetes, cardiac problems, including high cholesterol, blood pressure, thyroid and cancer," the report said. The average sleeping hours of people came down to 6.54 hours in 2017 compared to 6.72 hours found in previous survey. As per the food habit, survey found Kolkata has 82 per cent non-vegetarians and Ahmedabad least with 44 per cent. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Maulana Sufi Muhammad, the founder of a banned militant outfit and the father-in-law of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Mullah Fazlullah, was today released from jail eight years after his imprisonment in 2009. The Peshawar High Court had ordered his release last week after accepting the octogenarian cleric's bail application due to his deteriorating health condition. Sufi Muhammad, the founder of Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat- e-Mohammadi (TNSM), was arrested in 2009 for hate speech against the government. He has been in jail since his arrest. Swat police had booked the TNSM chief for hate speech against the government in 2009. In that speech, Sufi Muhammad had termed the Constitution "un-Islamic" and demanded enforcement of the Sharia law. At the time of his arrest, the TNSM chief was exercising much influence and had even stopped regular courts from functioning in Malakand, especially Swat. According to local media reports, a number of cases were registered against Sufi Muhammad. However, in each case, witnesses against him had either died or could not be traced. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's Punjab government today banned Chinese salt after finding it hazardous for health. "The salt (Ajinomoto) contains Monosodium glutamate which is a harmful chemical and known to cause health problems like headache, heart disease and other mental and physical illnesses," the Punjab Food Authority said in a statement. It said the scientific findings show that the Chinese salt can cause headaches, fatigue, palpitations, nausea and vomiting, sweating, flushing and numbness of the face. "It can also cause hypertension and is extremely hazardous for pregnant women," the statement said, imposing an immediate ban on the usage of Ajinomoto in all eateries, frozen foods, and all other food products in the province of 100 million people. Interestingly, the Chinese salt (Ajinomoto) has been in use in Punjab and other parts of the country for decades. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan's relations with the US should move forward in an atmosphere of "mutual trust and respect", the country's top diplomat said today, days after Washington suspended military aid to Islamabad for failing to rein-in terror groups operating from its soil. Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua made the remarks during her meeting with US Acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells, who was in Pakistan along with senior officials from the US National Security Council for a scheduled dialogue on bilateral and regional cooperation. "The foreign secretary underscored that the relationship with the United States needed to move forward under an environment of mutual trust and respect," the Foreign Office said in a statement. The US delegation was apprised about recent counter- terrorism actions taken by Pakistan's law enforcement agencies that contributed to visible improvement in the security situation in the country, it said. It was mentioned that these comprehensive counter- terrorism actions would also contribute towards peace and stability in the entire region, it added. Janjua "expressed concerns on the continued use of Afghan soil by elements hostile to Pakistans stability." She also drew the attention of the US delegation to the recent statement by Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat and the ceasefire violations at the Line of Control. "She asked the US side to advise restraint to India and stop its escalation tactics," the Foreign Office said. Wells acknowledged Pakistans efforts in eradicating terrorism and conveyed the US desire to work with Pakistan in furthering the shared objectives of stabilizing Afghanistan,m the statement said. She argued that as an immediate neighbor and important country of the region, Pakistans support was critical to the success of the US strategy for Afghanistan, it said. Wells also underlined the need for strengthening intelligence cooperation between the two sides to improve coordination in counter-terrorism efforts. The two sides agreed that all initiatives owned and led by the Afghans for seeking a peaceful solution should be supported by the regional countries. Janjua reaffirmed Pakistans commitment to continue its efforts for promoting peace and stability in the region. US President Donald Trump has accused Pakistan of providing safe havens for terror groups like the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network. On January 1, he tweeted that the US had "foolishly" given Pakistan more than USD 33 billion in aid in the last 15 years and had gotten nothing in return but "lies & deceit." Since then, Washington confirmed it will withhold USD 255 million in US military aid to Pakistan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan Army today said it lost four of its soldiers in a cross-border firing by India across the Line of Control (LoC) and claimed to have killed three Indian troops. They were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar rounds while carrying out "line communication maintenance" along the LoC in Kotli sector's Jandrot area, the army's media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. Four Pakistani soldiers were killed in the exchange of fire, it said. Three Indian soldiers also while killed, the statement claimed. In Jammu, the Indian Army said it carried out a "retaliatory action" against Pakistani troops, killing seven of their soldiers and injuring four others others along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The action comes after an Indian solider was killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pakistan today summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh to protest the deaths of four of its soldiers in firing across the Line of Control. The Foreign Office (FO) here said in a statement that India violated the ceasefire agreement in Jandrot sub-sector of Kotli sector, "resulting in the martyrdom of four Pakistani soldiers, while injuring five others". The Indian Army today said seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in its retaliatory firing after a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir where an infiltration bid was also foiled with the elimination of five militants of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group. Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces, using heavy mortars," the statement said. He said despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 100 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary in just 15 days, he claimed. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1,900 ceasefire violations," Faisal alleged. He said "deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas and troops carrying out maintenance activities is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws". The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation, he claimed. He also urged India to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the working boundary. He said India should permit the UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control (LoC). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Palestinian leaders met today to plan a response to what they see as US President Donald Trump's attack on their long bid for statehood, after Mahmud Abbas denounced White House peace efforts as the "slap of the century". The rare meeting of the Palestinian Central Council - a high-ranking arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation - was called after Trump's controversial December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state, and president Abbas has said Trump's stance means the US can no longer be the mediator in peace talks with Israel. The US president has sought to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, with talks stalled since 2014. Speaking late yesterday at the opening of the council, which brings together Palestinians from multiple political parties, Abbas told delegates: "We said 'no' to Trump, 'we will not accept your project.'" "The deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it," the 82-year-old leader added, referring to Trump's pledge to reach the "ultimate deal". He instead called for an internationally mediated peace process. Israel is unlikely to accept any other mediator than the United States, accusing United Nations bodies of systematic bias against it. The delegates began meeting Monday morning, with talks expected to end in the evening with a joint statement. The last meeting of the PCC in 2015 called for ending security coordination with Israel, but its decisions were non-binding and it was never implemented. The Palestinians' relations with the US leadership have deteriorated rapidly since Trump's election. He came to power promising to lead the most pro-Israel administration in history, but also to pursue a peace deal. His envoys, including senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, had been shuttling between the two sides in search of common ground. But Trump also infuriated the Palestinians by refusing to commit to the idea of an independent Palestinian state, and recently threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid. The Jerusalem announcement prompted the Palestinians to freeze ties with the administration, and Abbas is expected to shun Vice President Mike Pence when he visits the region next week. Last night, Abbas attacked the US ambassadors to Israel and the United Nations, David Friedman and Nikki Haley, calling them a "disgrace". Both Trump appointees have been strong supporters of Israel, with Friedman having backed Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. An indignant Abbas also said that Trump had accused them of refusing to engage in peace negotiations. "May God demolish your house. When did we refuse?" he said, using a common Arabic curse. Israeli media focused heavily on the phrase on Monday, while Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the statement showed Abbas was "losing his wits and giving up negotiations". In a speech during a visit to India today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mention Abbas's comments. Abbas said all options were on the table for responding to Trump's Jerusalem declaration, but did not specifically mention suspending recognition of Israel or ending security coordination with the Jewish state - both policies mooted in the days before the council. He did, however, say the Oslo accords that led to the creation of his Palestinian Authority and envisioned a final resolution to the conflict were in effect finished. "I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo. Israel ended Oslo," he said, referring to persistent Israeli settlement building and other issues seen as eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict. In response to Abbas's comments, the European Union said its position on the conflict remains "based on the Oslo accords". "A negotiated two-state solution which fulfils the aspirations of both sides, Israel and Palestine, is the only realistic way of bringing the lasting peace and security that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve," European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters in Brussels. France, which organised an international conference in support of the two-state solution a year ago, issued a similar reaction, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow "understands" Abbas's anger. "For years they made concessions without receiving anything in return," Lavrov said at an annual press conference in Moscow. "We constantly hear that the US is about to unveil an important deal that would satisfy all sides. We have not seen this kind of document. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Goa Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar today said neighbouring Karnataka was a "habitual lier" on the Mahadayi river case. Earlier in the day, Karnataka Water Resources Minister M B Patil demanded an apology from Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar over alleged abusive words used by Palyekar against Kannadigas recently. "If Karnataka minister feels that Goa and Goans are liars then it is they (Karnataka) who are habitual liars in Mahadayi case and their witnesses are exposed before Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal," Palyekar said. "Goans don't have a habit of lying. I personally visited the site along with the team of our engineers. It was quite visible that work on the canal was on and we have collected the evidence which would be produced before the tribunal," the minister said. Patil, who had visited the spot in the morning, had claimed that Goa's allegations were "false" and "baseless." "Goa minister Vinod Palyekar who visited Kanakumbi had alleged that we have started work on the Kalsa-Banduri canal project. But that is false. What he has seen is signs of old work," Patil was quoted as saying by media reporters this morning. Palyekar said Karnataka had been lying about the Mahadayi issue since July 2007. "Karnataka's witnesses have been exposed by our Additional Solicitor General Atmaram Nadkarni before the tribunal," the minister said. The hearing on Goa's arguments against Karnataka's proposed dams on the river will be heard by the tribunal in the first week of February. Nadkarni had said Goa's case was essentially to challenge the construction of 12 dams by Karnataka on the Mahadayi river and also oppose Karnataka's proposal to divert Mahadayi waters to the Malaprabha reservoir. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Party-driven electoral system has fomented social ills like corruption, casteism and violence in the country, anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare today alleged even as he strongly pitched for removal of party symbols in polling exercises. Addressing a gathering at a seminar here, the 80-year-old veteran social activist, also said, "Various parties have vitiated the atmosphere in colleges and universities by opening their wings, and led the youth astray." According to the Constitution any person above a certain age can fight elections and it does not talk of any party or party symbol, he said. "So, we must do away with it, only then the democracy will come in the truest sense. And, a candidate's name and face is enough," Hazare added. "And, it is this party-driven electoral system that has fomented corruption, casteism violence and other social evils. And, a race for electoral supremacy started since the 1952 general elections," he said. Dressed in his trademark starched white dhoti-kurta and Gandhi topi, the Maharashtra-born activist, said he was contemplating undertaking a journey from Kaniykumari to Kashmir to "awaken the masses to exert pressure on the Election Commission to jettison the party symbol system". Hazare is also set to hold an agitation in the national capital on March 23 on Lokpal and other issues. "If there was no political party system in the county, the problems of large-scale corruption, and deeply-entrenched casteism would not have arisen, the way it has today. Parties have given tickets to criminals and individuals, who were of bad character, to get into power, and that is how tainted people have entered into the ruling system. "The parties have also opened wings in various colleges and universities, thereby vitiating the atmosphere of their campuses by instigating discord. Youth power, which should have been channelised in the making of the nations, have been led astray by the parties," Hazare said. The native of Ralegan Siddhi said people can reach out by giving "a missed call on a number -- 8879069688 -- to connect with me, and further to my Facebook account and send queries to my email". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab government today decided to introduce a system of self-declaration on land holdings by those who avail the benefit of its farm loan waiver scheme after ruling Congress MLAs pointed out that big farmers were transferring portions of lands to their sons to claim benefits. The state government also decided that government employees and retired pensioners who pay income tax would be excluded from the farm debt waiver scheme launched by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on January 7. "The Punjab government has decided to introduce a system of self-declaration on land holdings by the beneficiaries of the farm debt waiver scheme to ensure that only deserving and eligible farmers get the benefit of the scheme," said an official release here. Such self-declaration should relate to the farmers' land holdings in villages in Punjab as well as in other states, said the chief minister in a release, pointing out that data from the secretaries of the cooperative societies could not alone be relied upon as they were all appointed by the Akalis during their regime. Self-declarations, followed by random checks, would ensure fool-proof mechanism to plug any loopholes in the farm debt waiver scheme, said Amarinder Singh, adding that it would also help prevent the Akali "wrongdoings" from adversely impacting the farm debt waiver scheme. These measures would help address the various concerns of the MLAs, he said, responding to the issues raised by the elected representatives. The MLAs, who were present in the meeting, pointed out that many big farmers who had transferred a small part of their land holding to their sons resulting in waiver of their loans despite huge land holdings, said the release. Some big farmers with land in Rajasthan but holdings less than 2.5 acres in Bathinda had been included in the debt waiver, leading to resentment, they said, suggesting that the government take affidavits about the land holdings before finalising beneficiary lists. In fact, they said, some NRIs had also ended up getting the benefit of loan waiver, which should have been limited to the deserving small and marginal farmers. There was a suggestion for issuance of waiver certificates district wise, with proper checking of revenue records to ensure that the real beneficiaries get the waiver. "It (government) has also decided to exclude government employees and retired pensioners who pay income tax from the scheme to ensure that the poorest of the poor get its benefit," release said. A notification to this effect will be issued soon, it was decided at a meeting chaired by the chief minister. Chief Principal Secretary to the chief minister, M Suresh Kumar, explained to the MLAs how the phased implementation of the scheme would work. Waiver of loans for farmers who committed suicide would be taken up after the committee set up by the Vidhan Sabha in this regard submits its report, he added. The chief minister assured the MLAs that all steps would be taken by the government to prevent misuse of the waiver benefit and ensure that no undeserving farmer is able to take advantage. The government rolled out the farm debt waiver scheme on January 7 from Mansa. In the initial phase, the state government has decided to waive loans taken by farmers from cooperative institutions. It has already identified 5.63 lakh farmers, who took loan of nearly Rs 2,700 crore from cooperative institutions as on March 31, 2017, as beneficiaries. The Punjab government had announced farm debt waiver in which loan waiver for up to Rs 2 lakh for small and marginal farmers (up to 5 acres) and a flat Rs 2 lakh relief for all other marginal farmers would be given, thus benefiting over 10 lakh farmers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Private equity firms invested $23.8 billion across 591 deals in 2017, making it the biggest year for in India, says a report. According to deal tracker Venture Intelligence, the investment value is 39 per cent higher than the previous high of $17.1 billion (recorded in 2015) and 55 per cent higher than $15.4 billion invested during 2016. In terms of number of deals the year 2017 saw 21 per cent less activity as compared to 2016 (731 deals), indicating large number of big-ticket transactions. "The year witnessed 31 investment deals with size greater than USD 200 million, aggregating to $15.4 billion or 65 per cent of the total investments," the report said. These figures include venture capital investments, but exclude in real estate. In terms of industries, IT/ ITeS companies accounted for 45 per cent of the value pie attracting $10.7 billion worth investments across 325 transactions. Flipkart received India's largest ever PE investment of $2.5 billion in a single round from Softbank and another $1.4 billion from strategic investors Tencent, eBay and Microsoft. Softbank also invested $1.4 billion in mobile wallet and payments firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand. BFSI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance) companies continued to enjoy the second spot attracting $4.40 billion across 61 transactions. The sector was led by Bain Capital's $1.04 billion investment in Axis Bank -- the largest ever single investment in the sector -- and Warburg Pincus' $384 million pre-IPO investment in ICICI Lombard General Insurance. On the back of its two mega bets (Flipkart and Paytm), Softbank emerged as the largest investor during the year with investments totaling over $4 billion (including a $250 million investment in Oyo Rooms). Other top investors include Canadian pension fund CPPIB with $2 billion investments across five companies; while Warburg Pincus invested $1.6 billion across nine companies, and KKR invested about $680 million. China's Tencent emerged as a significant strategic investor in the Indian Internet and mobile sector with investment of $1.1 billion across home grown leaders like Flipkart, Ola, Byjus Classes and Practo. Promising more reforms to further improve the ease of doing business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited investments from Israeli companies saying the country has a huge development agenda and offers vast opportunities. Speaking at India-Israel Business Summit here, Modi referred to the further opening up of the single brand retail to foreign investment recently as also allowing foreign airlines to buy stake in national carrier Air India, saying that substantial reforms have been undertaken by his government. "India's development agenda is huge. It presents a vast economic opportunity for Israeli companies. I invite more and more Israeli people, businesses and companies to come and work in India," he said while promising all support to them. In the presence of visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi said, "We want to do more and do better" to improve ease of doing business in the country. The role of business and industry is crucial in the transformation of ties between the two countries, he added. "It is your combined efforts that will add real value to our interaction and produce concrete successes. Given the scale of the Indian economy and the relevance of cutting-edge Israeli technologies for us, even sky is not the limit for what we may achieve together," he said. Modi also said that despite deep structural reforms being carried out, India is among the fastest growing major economies. "FDI inflows are at an all-time high, with 40 per cent rise. Tremendous work is being done to skill and employ the youth. 65 per cent of our population is below 35 years of age and is hungry for technology-enabled growth," he said. Modi said India has emerged as the sixth largest manufacturing nation, "but we are not done yet. We are positioning India as a global manufacturing hub leveraging the energy of our youth". The 'Make in India' initiative, he added, is designed to help achieve this. "Through these initiatives, combined with the new ecosystem of a formal economy and a unified tax regime, we are trying to create a New India," Modi said. He further said the just launched India-Israel Innovation Bridge will act as a link between the start-ups of the two nations. "I have been saying that Indian industries, start-ups and the academic institutions must collaborate with their Israeli counterparts to access the huge reservoir of knowledge," he said. In his speech, Netanyahu stressed on the importance of technology in sectors like agriculture and water management. He also talked about increasing cooperation in health sector as well as startups. "I believe in India because I know your heritage, your culture, your creativity, your humanity... I came here to say Prime Minister Mr Modi, thank you for believing in Israel the way we believe in India," he said. Both leaders launched the maiden call for joint R&D projects under the 'India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F)'. The 'I4Fund Call for Proposal' was announced with the joint launch of the website and the unveiling of the brochure by the two Prime Ministers. India and Israel will make a contribution of USD 4 million each for the Fund annually, for five years. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 22-year-old post graduate student of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) was found hanging inside her hostel room today afternoon with police officials suspecting that it might be a case of suicide. The deceased has been identified as Reshma Gaikwad, a second year student of M.Sc Botany, officials said. University security officials said that three of her room mates in the hostel found the door bolted from inside when they came back in the afternoon. "After repeated knocks on the door did not garner a response from inside, the security guards of the hostel were called. A security guard then scaled the door and peeped through a gap and saw Reshma hanging," said a university security official. The door of the room was broken and police was called, the officials added. Senior police inspector Dayanand Dhome of Chaturshringi police station said the reason for the alleged suicide is not yet known and statements of her family members were being recorded. She hails from Shirur, Dhome said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jadavpur University students began a sit-in today outside the Aurobindo Hall to protest against provisions of a bill that effectively dissolves the students unions. The agitating students are demanding immediate revocation of the bill, which had been passed in the West Bengal Assembly last year. "The bill will turn the democratically elected students unions redundant and vest all authorities on the university executive council, which cannot be allowed under any circumstances," a spokesperson of Arts Faculty Students Union (AFSU) said. The members of AFSU and Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students Union (FETSU) sat in front of the Aurobindo Bhavan of JU, as the executive council members including the vice-chancellor pro-VC and Registrar were in a meeting inside. "The university will always take the students in confidence and never oppose any democratic movement, but we have nothing to do with the bill. We have already communicated the sentiments of students to the Higher Department," VC Prof Suranjan Das said before entering the meeting. The provision in the West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Bill 2017, against which the students are protesting, will enable the state government to prescribe rules and procedures for conducting students bodies or unions' elections. It was passed in the the state Assembly in February 2017. In August, agitating students had gheraoed the VC and other EC members on the same issue. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP today took a dig at Rahul Gandhi after he started his first tour of Uttar Pradesh as Congress president with a temple visit, saying that it was "just for show". BJP general secretary Arun Singh said if Gandhi was serious about visiting temples, he would have gone to one for blessings when he was elevated to the post of party president. "It is our tradition that we go to temples and seek divine blessings after assuming a new responsibility. He did not go to any temple when he became Congress president while he had been visiting temples during the Gujarat polls. It just highlights that his temple visits are just for show," Singh told reporters here. He said Gandhi was in "pitiable" frame of mind as the Congress has been losing one election after another and has been "wiped out" even in the Gandhi family pocket borough of Amethi. Gandhi represents Amethi in the Lok Sabha. The BJP had won a majority of the Assembly seats there in last year's UP polls and fared well in local elections later. The Congress president today began his two-day UP tour with a visit to a Hanuman temple on his way to Amethi from Lucknow. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rahul Gandhi arrived in this Congress bastion in Uttar Pradesh on a two-day visit, his first after taking over as party chief, and attacked the Modi government for "lying" and not honouring promises made to people. BJP supporters staged protests against the Congress leader, who began his visit to Rae Bareli and Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituencies represented by his mother and himself, after offering prayers at a Hanuman temple. After offering prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on Lucknow-Rae Bareli road, he proceeded towards Amethi, and addressed a public meeting on way at Salon, where some Congress supporters clashed with protesters, who the party claimed, were sponsored by the BJP. "People belonging to the BJP are continuously telling lies, one after the other. Whether it is a lie about Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of every citizen or giving remunerative prices to farmers for their produce or construction of roads," he told the meeting. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked of giving employment to two crore youth. Is there even a single young person here who has got employment? We are in competition with China. I would like to tell you, the government of China gives employment to 50,000 youngsters every 24 hours...I had raised this point in the Lok Sabha," Gandhi, fresh from his party's remarkable show in the Gujarat poll, said. He asked Congress workers to "expose the lies" being spread by the BJP. Gandhi, who flagged demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax during his aggressive Gujarat campaign, once again attacked the government on these. He also accused the government of working only for a handful of industrialists. He claimed there were 30 lakh unemployed youth in Gujarat demanding employment, but the prime minister was silent. "I had said that wherever we go, we find made in China mark on mobile phones, shirts, shoes and other accessories. You had promised Make in India... This is a matter of shame ...the work done by the Chinese government in two days, the same work takes a year for Narendra Modi government to do ...This is the truth," he said. The Congress president raked up the issue of cancellation of the food park project in Amethi, and said it would be built once the Congress returned to power. "I want to say one thing. Come what may, food park will be set up here (in Amethi), and I will prove this... Listen to me, as soon as our government is formed, whether it is the sugarcane farmer, potato farmer or a farmer who grows other crops, your produce will be sold here, and you will get a handsome price," he said. As the Congress president's convoy was leaving for the next the venue, Parshderpur, some alleged BJP workers raised slogans against him. There were heated exchanges between Congress workers and protesters. A Congress MLC from Rae Bareli--Deepak Singh--and Additional SP Shekhar Singh were seen talking to each other angrily. The protesters were later chased away from the scene. In Amethi also, Rahul Gandhi had to face angry protesters at Rajiv Gandhi Chowk because of which he could not garland the statue of his father. Supporters of the BJP and the Congress fought a pitched battle, giving the local police and Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel a trying time containing them. There were no immediate reports of injury to anyone. A local BJP leader and trader Rajesh 'Masala' said it was the protesters' way to "welcome" their "missing" MP. The Congress leader's visit to the Hanuman temple was much talked about. Gandhi spent some 10 minutes at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old leader, attired in white kurta-pyjama, came out sporting a bright vermilion 'tilak' on his forehead. His frequent visits to Hindu shrines are being seen as an attempt to blunt the BJP's charge of Muslim appeasement against the Congress. The BJP had also accused Gandhi, a self-proclaimed 'Shiv Bhakt', of going temple-hopping in Gujarat for votes, and his visit to Hanuman temple today could effectively quell such perception. Rahul Gandhi had visited around 20 temples across Gujarat during the Assembly poll campaign and it seemed to have worked well for the party. "We expect that his temple visits in Uttar Pradesh too will pay dividends in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019 and the Assembly polls in 2022," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said. As Gandhi embarked on his first visit to the Congress strongholds of Rae Bareli and Amethi after assuming the reins of the party, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath advised him to shun "negative politics" and focus on development. "The Congress president should give up doing negative politics," Adityanath told reporters in Gorakhpur. Asked as to how he viewed his first visit to the state after donning the mantle of the Congress president, the chief minister said, "My advise to Rahul is that he should focus more on of development." Adityanath said had the Congress laid more emphasis on development, Amethi would not have languished. "See the plight of his Lok Sabha constituency - Amethi - nursed by four generations of Nehru-Gandhi family," Adityanath told porters on the sidelines of an event at Gorakhnath temple, of which he is the head priest. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) on Monday began his two-day tour of Uttar Pradesh, the first after becoming the Congress President, with a visit to a Hanuman temple en route Amethi from Lucknow. The Congress president offered prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli road hours after landing in the state capital where enthusiastic party workers greeted him with garlands. According to a local party worker Ram Kumar, the Congress leader regularly visits Amethi - his Lok Sabha constituency - and this is perhaps for the first time that he has offered prayers at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi, donning a spotless white kurta-pyjama, came out porting a bright vermilion 'tilak' on his forehead. Today is Makar Sankranti, and the auspicious day has been chosen by to visit Rae Bareli -- his mother's parliamentary constituency, and adjoining Amethi, which party insiders view as an attempt to play a soft Hindutva card to counter the hardline image of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Congress leader spent some ten minutes at the temple. The last time he offered prayers at a Hanuman temple was at the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya on September 9, 2016, becoming the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to visit Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Hanuman Garhi is about a kilometre from the Ram temple at the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. Before darshan at Hanuman Garhi temple, had met Mahant Gyan Das. His visit to temples is seen in the political circles as an attempt to dump the BJP's criticism that he went temple-hopping during the Gujarat campaign only to garner votes. Rahul Gandhi had visited around 20 temples across Gujarat during the Assembly poll campaign as part of a conscious approach to counter the ruling BJP. After the results were out, the Congress president prayed at the Somnath Temple. Describing himself as a Shiv-bhakt, Rahul had explained that he was praying for the well-being of Gujarat during these visits to the temples. The strategy paid off as the Congress tally in the state Assembly jumped from 57 in 2012 to 77 and its vote share rose by 2.5 per cent from 39 per cent in 2012 to 41.5 per cent. "We expect that his temple visits in Uttar Pradesh too will pay dividends in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls in 2022," UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said. As Rahul Gandhi arrived in Uttar Pradesh on his first visit to the state after becoming the Congress president, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today advised him to shun "negative politics" and focus on development. The Congress leader arrived in the state on a two-day visit to galvanise party workers for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and breathe life into the Congress party which saw its worst- ever performance in the 2017 Assembly elections getting just seven seats in the 403-member House. "The Congress president should give up negative politics," Adityanath told reporters here as Gandhi arrived in Lucknow en route Raebareli and Amethi, his Lok Sabha constituency. Asked how he viewed Gandhi's first visit to the state as Congress chief, the chief minister said, "My advise to Rahul is that he should focus more on of development." Adityanath said that had the Congress focused more on development, Amethi would not have languished. "See the plight of his Lok Sabha constituency - Amethi - nursed by four generations of Nehru-Gandhi family," the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Gorakhnath temple, of which he is the head priest, on the occasion of Makarsankranti. Adityanath also defended his move to withdraw 20,000 politically motivated cases against workers of all parties, including one against himself. "It was done in quite a transparent manner through a bill in the House unlike the SP government which withdrew cases only against the Yadav family and their own workers," he said. Adityanath attacked former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying he should ask his supporters to behave. "They (SP workers) killed innocent villagers in Azamgarh with spurious liquor and were also caught in Hardoi for making spurious liquor. They tried to disturb the environment in Lucknow which is not good," he charged. In Lucknow, two persons, including a Samajwadi Party worker, were arrested last week for allegedly hurling potatoes near the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and some other places in the VVIP zone to highlight the plight of farmers. Adityanath also criticised Akhilesh Yadav for protesting against UPCOC Bill. "Akhilesh Yadav is protesting against Uttar Pradesh Control of Organized Crime Bill (UPCOC Bill) as he fears that criminals patronised by him will also be nabbed," he said. On the Ram temple, Yogi said, "It is not a political issue and it is related to faith of crores of Hindus. The case is in Supreme Court and a decision will come soon and I believe it will be the right solution of the issue." The UP chief minister also greeted BSP supremo Mayawati on her birthday today. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Concerned over the recent spate of crimes against women in the state, the Haryana government has decided to centralise its women's helpline number (1091), a top official said today. The helpline would be available 24*7 to assist women in distress across the state, Chief Secretary D S Dhesi, and Additional Chief Secretary (Home) S S Prasad said here today. Currently, the helpline number 1091 is operational at the district level. Under the new system, the calls would be received at a single centre and immediate steps for redressal would be initiated, they said. Complaints from all over the state would be attended on this centralised system, which would provide integrated support and assistance to women in need of help, Prasad said. Notably, over the past three days, a number of rape incidents have been reported from different parts of the state, triggering outrage, with the Opposition hitting out at the Khattar government for failing to tackle the law and order situation. Two minor Dalit girls were allegedly raped and killed in separate incidents yesterday, barely a month after a similar case involving a six-year-old girl shook the state. A 23-year-old woman was allegedly abducted and gang-raped in a moving car in Old Faridabad area on Saturday evening, while in yet another incident, a 50-year-old man was arrested for allegedly mutilating the private parts of a 10-year-old girl near Pinjore. Meanwhile, official sources said Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar took serious note of these incidents and asked the DGP to ensure that culprits behind those heinous crimes, who were still at large, be immediately brought to books. Haryana is also mulling setting up a special court to expedite trials of crimes/offences against women. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rear Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi today took over as the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Eastern Fleet at an impressive ceremony held here. He was handed over the charge by Rear Admiral B Dasgupta, a Navy release said. Rear Admiral Tripathi is a specialist in Communication and Electronic Warfare. He is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and graduate of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. He has also completed the Naval Higher Command Course and Naval Command College at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island where he won the prestigious Robert E Bateman International Prize, it said. His sea commands include the stealth frigate INS Trishul and the indigenous built ships INS Vinash and INS Kirch, said the release. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police charge sheet against Shambhulal Regar, accused of killing a Muslim migrant labourer in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district, has said that he linked the killing to "love jihad" in a bid to cover his illicit relationship with a woman. The 36-year-old had hacked Mohammed Afrazul, a native of West Bengal's Murshidabad district, burnt the body and filmed the barbaric act on December 6. According to the charge sheet, the accused had illicit relations with a woman, but she used to like a Bengali Muslim man. Regar was upset and angry about it. "If Regar killed Afrazul, then other labourers from West Bengal will not migrate to Raj Nagar due to the fear. He had planned to link the murder with 'love jihad' to cover his illicit relations and establish himself as a hardcore Hindu fundamentalist," it said. He had prepared five videos on communal and religious subjects on his mobile phone. In the charge sheet, police said they had recovered a diary from a hill behind a temple, in which Regar had written the inflammatory remarks that he made in the videos. He had started watching videos of Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists a year before executing the murder, it said. The charge sheet further read that Regar had gathered information related to videos about Islamic jihad, love jihad, section 370, terrorism in Kashmir, Ram temple, period film 'Padmaavat', another Bollywood film 'PK', reservation and other issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A court in Pakistan today ordered restoration of an FIR against a former CIA station chief for his alleged role in killing civilians in the country's tribal region in a drone attack, officials said. Islamabad High Court judge Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui issued the directives during a hearing of a case against former CIA station chief Jonathan Banks and his legal adviser John A Rizzo. Haji Abdul Karim Khan, a native of Mirali area of North Waziristan, had requested the court to register an FIR against the two US officials after his son, brother and several other civilians were killed in a drone attack on December 31, 2009. Justice Siddiqui reprimanded police for suspending the original FIR registered in 2015 and the concerned Station House Officer accepted the mistake and issued an unconditional apology. Khan initially approached authorities for registration of case in 2010 but it was not done until in 2015. However, the FIR was closed last year by police with observation that the case did not fall within its jurisdiction. "The CIA station chief planned the drone strike while sitting at an office in Islamabad. The city falls under our jurisdiction. An FIR can be filed against him in this regard," the judge said as he ordered police to restore the FIR. He rejected legal reservations that the attack took place in tribal region which is out of jurisdiction of Islamabad police. Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had ordered police in 2015 to register the FIR after an order of 2014 was not complied by the police. America had pulled out the two officials from Islamabad after their cover was blown away due to allegations by Khan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four former defence officials today expressed hurt and anguish at the remarks made by Union Minister for Shipping Nitin Gadkari against the Navy at a public function in Mumbai a few days ago. The minister, during his speech, had said that his ministry would not "give an inch of land" for Naval housing in south Mumbai. Retired officials Captain Raj Mohindra, Captain Ashok Batra, Commodore Mike Bhanda and Major SK Lamba in a statement issued today said these were agonizing and distressing to Navy personnel. "We can well imagine the deleterious impact of these on not only morale of the officers, men and women of this proud fighting service but also on the gallant personnel of the other two services," the statement said. The statement issued by these four retired officials asserted that they did not represent any organization. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant today lauded the Navy officials for taking a firm stand against the Union governments plan for a floating jetty at Malabar Hill. "Many influential people under the disguised name of 'development' try to pressurise the administration to compromise on crucial security norms for their personal interest. The MPCC appreciates the Western Naval Commands objections whenever it felt the security of Mumbai is endangered for private helipads, floating hotels etc," Sawant said in a statement. He added that the Navy "must not bow down to pressure from anyone even if he or she is at a very high position. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A senior RSS leader today asked people in the country to unite and be fearless, saying 'Bharat Mata' was the unifying factor. Greeting people on the occasion of Pongal, RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi said "our festivals are not for mere enjoyment or celebration alone and signified unity". Citing the significance behind the harvest festival of Pongal which marks sun's movement towards north giving more light, he quoted a Upanishad shloka "Tamsoma Jyotirgamaya," (Lead me to Light from darkness). Joshi said knowledge will help resolve differences and it should be enhanced, while bearing in mind that 'Bharat Mata' was the binding factor. He was participating in a temple function in suburban Hasthinapuram here. Citing the example of a seasame and jaggery based sweet made in Maharashtra, he said the sesame seeds when mixed with jaggery became strong and even difficult to bite. Similarly, when people came together shedding differences the society will get strengthened, he said. "There may be differences in respect of language, dress, and even the food we eat," he said. Despite this, the philosophy of Hindu thought was that God is one though forms could differ and that 'pranashakthi,' (the force that sustains life in every being) was the same in every human being. He said "we have the strength of devatas (angels)...we have to be fearless and help the needy...Pongal gives the message of Rashtra Bhakthi (love for one's country)." Joshi also participated in "Gho puja (cow worship)" and later offered prayers at the Desa Muthumariyamman temple and distributed prizes to winners in various competitions held as part of Pongal festival. His address in Hindi was later translated in Tamil. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Right-To-Information activist and journalist has been arrested by the anti-corruption bureau of the Thane police for extorting money from a builder. Charushila Patil (37), who works with a local channel, was arrested here last evening while accepting money from the Kalyan-based builder, said police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar. Patil had filed complaints against the builder with the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, and had threatened to have his constructions demolished by the municipal body if he didn't pay he Rs 50 lakh, police said. On January 3, the builder paid her Rs 2 lakh, and then approached the Thane police, who laid a trap and arrested Patil yesterday when she was accepting another Rs five lakh from him, the police spokespeson said. An offence of extortion under IPC section 384 has been registered against her at the Kolsewadi police station. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Independent MLA Saleng A Sangma today resigned from Meghalaya Legislative Assembly and is made state president of NCP in the poll-bound Meghalaya. Saleng has taken over as state chief of Sharad Pawar's NCP after incumbent Sanbor Shullai had quit the party to join BJP a month back. "I have received the resignation letter of Mr Saleng Sangma. I have also forwarded the same to the Speaker where he had accepted his resignation," Assembly commissioner and secretary Andrew Simons told PTI. He said a notification in this regard will be issued shortly. In all 13 MLAs have resigned till date from the current Assembly. NCP national general secretary Praful Patel send a letter to Saleng appointing him as new Meghalaya unit president. "You have been appointed president of the Meghalaya state NCP with immediate effect," Patel's letter, a copy of which is made available to the media, said. Patel is scheduled to visit Meghalaya tomorrow. The NCP had 2 MLAs in 2013 elections and is lending support to the Congress-led Meghalaya Progressive Alliance in the government led by Mukul Sangma. After exit of Sanbor Shullai its now left with one MLA in M A Sangma. The 60-member Meghalaya would go to poll soon as the term of the present house will end on March 6. Exuding confidence that the party will further improve in the assembly elections this year, NCP working president Vijay Raj said another sitting MLA is likely to join the ranks. Meanwhile, the NCP got a shot in its arm when two BJP leaders and a mahila leader joined the party shortly after Saleng took over. BJP mahila morcha Shillong city district president D Marbaniang, Pynthorumkhrah mondal president B Wanswett and BJP Yuva Morcha vice president Vijay Gupta along with their followers joined the NCP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sarod maestro Pandit Buddhadev Dasgupta today died of cardiac arrest at his residence in south Kolkata. He was 84. The Padma Bhushan awardee had been suffering from respiratory problems for the past few days, a family member said. He is survived by wife and two sons. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said his death has created a void in the field of classical music. "My heartfelt condolences to his family and disciples," she said in a tweet. The musician, born in 1933 at his maternal home in Bhagalpur, Bihar, learnt sarod under the tutelage of Pt Radhikamohan Moitra. His father, Prafulla Mohan Dasgupta, was a district magistrate and a music aficionado. He was conferred Sangeet Mahasamman and Bangabibhusan in 2015. Dasgupta's body is kept at the Peace Haven morgue for people to pay their last respects. He will be cremated on Wednesday after his younger son returns from the US, one of his close disciples said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BSP chief Mayawati today termed the virtual revolt against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) by four top Supreme Court judges a "matter of grave concern". Her remark came after senior judges J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph convened an unprecedented press conference on Friday to complain about "selective" case allocation by the CJI. "Dr B R Ambedkar, the architect of India's Constitution had rightly said that no constitution is good or bad, but it depends on those implementing it, whether their intention is good or bad," the BSP chief, who turned 62 today, told reporters here. "This is a historic truth that at a time when the opposition's presence is virtually negligible, it was the judiciary, which was playing the role of the opposition, and the country was assured that the roots of democracy are very strong," she said. But, now there is a "collision within the judiciary, which is a matter of grave concern", Mayawati said. Lashing out at the Narendra Modi government, she said, "Prime Minister Modi's dispensation is not a BJP or a NDA government, rather it has completely become a government of the RSS, and is working as per the divisive and hate-oriented thinking of the RSS." "It is trying to influence the constitutional and democratic institutes... Every work is being done by the Modi government violating the Constitution and tampering its sanctity," Mayawati alleged. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court today came to the rescue of a senior woman judicial officer of Delhi by staying a High Court order initiating criminal contempt and departmental enquiry against her. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice D Y Chandrachud called Additional District Judge Kamini Lau and asked her to tender an unconditional apology in the Delhi High Court, saying it "wanted to protect" her for future as well. A division bench of the Delhi High Court, on December 22 last year, had ordered initiation of contempt and enquiry proceedings against Lau after taking note of her alleged objectionable words used in four applications seeking expunction of adverse remarks passed by a single judge bench of the High Court in as many civil appeals. Lau, in her appeal, had said that the higher courts "should judge the judgements and not the judge". At the outset, the CJI said he wanted to protect the judge and even asked senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, appearing for Lau, not to argue. He then called the ADJ for an interaction saying he used to be the Chief Justice of the High Court and knew the judicial officers there more than anybody else. Lau said had the harsh words she had used been pointed out during the proceedings before the High Court, she would have straightaway taken them back. "I had no intention whatsoever to undermine the majesty of law and the words used were unintentional," she said, adding that she would file the affidavit tendering unconditional apology in the High Court as asked by the top court. "It is in your interest, we are asking you to file this affidavit in the High Court. We are going to protect your in interest in this regard," the bench said. Earlier in the day, Justice A M Khanwilkar, who was part of the three-judge bench, recused himself from hearing the appeal of Lau. A single bench of the High Court had set aside the judgements passed by Lau as Additional District Judge of Tis Hazari in four civil cases and made some adverse remarks. The ADJ had filed intra-court appeals before a division bench seeking expunction of adverse remarks on various grounds. The larger HC bench took strong note of certain words used in the appeals and prima facie made an opinion that they had scandalised the court and the proceedings and had ordered initiation of criminal contempt and departmental proceedings against her. The apex court today stayed the proceedings and asked the ADJ to tender an unconditional apology in the High Court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court today sought to know the status of trial in a rape case involving self-styled preacher Asaram Bapu and asked the Gujarat government to file a progress report on it. The apex court, which has earlier rejected several bail pleas by Asam and was today hearing one more application moved by him, asked the state government to file the report by January 22. "Tell us what is the stage of trial in the pending cases against him. The state government should file the status report by January 22," a bench of Justices N V Ramana and A M Sapre said. Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra and advocate Saurabh Ajay Gupta, appearing for petitioner Asaram, said there were two cases pending against him -- one each in Gujarat and Rajasthan. "In the Gujarat case, out of 92 witnesses, 22 material witnesses have been examined, 14 of them are dropped and rest need to be examined," he said. Counsel appearing for Gujarat government said she needed some time to file the report. The bench listed the matter for January 22 for further hearing at the request of the counsel. On August 28, the apex court had expressed anguish over the tardy pace of progress in the rape case and had asked the state government to file the report. It had told the state government that directions for expediting recording of evidence were given in April last year, even after which there was a delay in the trial. On April 12 last year, the apex court had asked the Gujarat trial court to expedite the recording of evidence of prosecution witnesses in a sexual assault case lodged by two Surat-based sisters against Asaram. It had asked the Surat trial court to record the testimonies of the 46 remaining prosecution witnesses, including the alleged rape victims. Earlier, the top court had refused to grant bail to Asaram on various grounds in the two sexual assault cases lodged in Rajasthan and Gujarat. The apex court, while dismissing his bail plea on January 30 last year, had observed that Asaram had placed a "fictitious document" to persuade the court to grant him bail and ordered registration of an FIR against those responsible for preparing and filing the alleged fake papers. The Gujarat government had then told the top court that the rape case registered against Asaram would very likely proceed in an expeditious manner and trial would be completed in six months. The two Surat-based sisters had lodged separate complaints against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape and illegal confinement among other charges. The elder sister, in her complaint against Asaram, had accused him of repeated sexual assaults between 2001 and 2006 when she was staying at his ashram near Ahmedabad. In the case in Rajasthan, a teenage girl had accused him of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur. The girl, who belonged to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, was a student living in the ashram. The apex court had noted that trial in the matter had been unnecessarily prolonged and the prosecution witnesses were being attacked, which had resulted in the death of two witnesses. It had on November 18 last year sought the response of the Centre and five states on a plea seeking a CBI probe into the alleged murder of children and attacks on several witnesses in the Asaram rape cases. Asaram was arrested by Jodhpur Police on August 31, 2013 and has been in jail since then. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court today said it would hear after four weeks a plea of an animal rights' body challenging a bill to legalise traditional buffalo race 'Kambala' and bullock cart races in Karnataka. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said the fresh plea filed by the Federation of Indian Animal Protection Organisations (FIAPO) would be heard along with the plea of animals rights body PETA. "List after four weeks," the bench said. FIAPO has filed the plea opposing the state government's bill to legalise traditional buffalo race "Kambala" and bullock cart races in Karnataka on the ground of cruelty being meted out to the animals. Bullock cart races are held in parts of north Karnataka and in the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. To pave the way for the sports, the state cabinet had on January 28 last year decided to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, (Central Act 59 of 1960), enacted to prevent infliction of unnecessary cruelty and suffering on animals. Kambala race, held between November and March, involves a pair of buffaloes tied to a plough and anchored by one person. They are made to run in parallel muddy tracks in a competition in which the fastest team wins. It is believed to be held to propitiate the gods for a good harvest, besides being a recreational sport for farmers. PETA has also opposed Kambala on grounds of cruelty to animals and said the agitators have taken a leaf out of pro- jallikattu protesters' book and called for banning the sport. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab local government, tourism and cultural affairs minister, Navjot Singh Sidhu has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to release a special package of Rs 100 crore for the historic Jallianwalla Bagh National Monument. In a letter, Sidhu said that he sought a special package of Rs 100 crore for this monument to get started the facelift right away and to ensure that it was completed by April 13, 2019. Sidhu said the prime minister was also a chairman of the Jallianwalla Bagh Trust and said there should be a cafeteria, modern amenities, landscaping, world class light and sound system at this place. As we got this freedom from the British after losing many lives, it is our duty to deliver now, as next year we will be observing 100 years of the British atrocity that led to the loss of lives of hundreds of innocent Indians, Sidhu said in the letter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Coast Guard today said the remains of six of the seven persons, who were aboard the Pawan Hans helicopter that crashed into the sea off the Mumbai coast on Saturday, were recovered. In a statement in the evening, the Coast Guard said the Cooper Hospital had informed that it had six bodies. Commenting over the confusion, the Coast Guard said some body parts of the sixth person could have been handed over, along with five bodies, to the ONGC on January 13. "Today, another body was recovered by an ONGC vessel. We are searching the area to find the remaining body parts, if any," it added. On January 13, Coast Guard ships had recovered the bodies, most of which had disintegrated severely, and thus, the authorities were unable to ascertain if there were five or six bodies. The Coast Guard confirmed that ONGC vessel Samudra Sevak had recovered a body of a missing crew of the crashed helicopter today. The ONGC vessel had also managed to retrieve parts of the aircraft, including the rotor blades, main gearbox, tail gearbox, both the engines and the emergency locator transmitter (ELT), the Coast Guard said. It added that a high-level delegation from the ONGC and Pawan Hans visited the Coast Guard's western region headquarters today to assess the situation and formulate the further strategy for an early recovery of the debris and body parts, if any. It said a Dornier aircraft from Daman also continued to scan the area, along with the ships. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel today seized deer antler weighing 2 kilogram and valued at Rs 55 lakh in the International market from Indo-Nepal border in Bihar's Araria district. The antler was seized from a paddy field near pillar number 160 on Indo-Nepal border in Sikti village under Sikti police station of the district when SSB team was on a patrolling duty this morning, SSB's 52nd battalion Deputy Commandant Ashwini Kumar said. The value of antler is estimated to be around Rs 55 lakh in the International market, he said. Deputy Commandant said that the seized antler was later handed over to D K Das, the Divisional Forest Officer, Araria. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today suggested that the CBSE, NCERT and other state bodies reduce the syllabus by 50 per cent. Sisodia, who is also Delhi's Minister made the suggestion at the 65th Central Advisory Board of (CABE) meeting chaired by HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar today. "As long as the sword of syllabus completion hangs over the teachers they can never shift their attention to learning outcomes," he said during the meeting. Sisodia also suggested that the problem of terrorism and global warming would be found through education only. "The time has come when all the education ministers put their heads together to assure the country that they will bring the solution of terrorism through education. We will bring the solution of terrorism and global warming through education," he said. "Until now we have been using education as a tool to reduce poverty or provide employment and eradicate poverty and have found ourself successful to a large extent, but we have never used education as a tool to solve problems like terrorism," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A day after a new-born baby was stolen from the Civil Hospital here, the Thane police today rescued him alongwith four more children and arrested three persons from a village near Kalyan. A crime branch team led by inspector Nitin Thackre raided a house at Pisavali in Kalyan tehsil of the district today morning, and arrested Gudiya Sonu Rajbhar (35), her husband Sonu Rajbhar (40) and Vijay Kailas Srivastava (55). Apart from the stolen infant, they found four other children there. One of them was a 2-month-old boy. Other three were girls who were one-and-a-half years old, five years old and nine years old, respectively. They were apparently not related to the accused, police said. The stolen infant was reunited with his mother. The baby boy was stolen from the maternity ward of the Thane Civil Hospital early morning yesterday, a few hours after a tribal woman gave birth to him. A woman approached her and asked to hand over the boy saying 'your mother wants to see him'. Taking the baby, the woman fled. Thane police commissioner Madhukar Pandey said that police started a massive search operation from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in south Mumbai to Kalyan. CCTV footage at the hospital and railway stations led the police team to Pisavali village. The three accused were arrested under section 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC. The commissioner said police were probing if the other four rescued chidren too had been stolen, and whether any organised child-trafficking gang was involved. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 26-year-old man of Bangladeshi- origin who was arrested with a sword near Buckingham Palace and charged with a terror offence today denied engaging in the acts of terrorism. Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, from Luton area of England, appeared at the Old Bailey court in London via a video link from Belmarsh Prison, a high-security jail in south-east London. He denied engaging in the preparation to commit an act or acts of terrorism on August 25, 2017 and was remanded in custody to stand trial in June. Chowdhury, who worked as a self-employed Uber driver, was stopped by Scotland Yard officers when he stopped his vehicle near a police car on Constitution Hill near Queen Elizabeth II's London residence before he was arrested. "Mohiussunnath Chowdhury was charged with an offence contrary to Section 5(1) of the Terrorism Act 2006 namely, on or before August 25 2017 engaging in conduct in preparation for giving effect to his intention to commit an act or acts of terrorism," Metropolitan Police said in a statement. Chowdhury was caught with a four-foot sword shouting "Allahhu Akbar" near the palace and three police officers were injured in the course of the attack. Scotland Yard's Counter Terrorism Command had earlier revealed details of the attack, which took place on August 25 when a man stopped his car in a restricted area near a police vehicle. Officers spotted a large bladed weapon in his vehicle and went to arrest him. During the course of detaining the man, three male police officers suffered minor injuries to their arm. Two of the injured officers were taken to hospital for treatment and were later discharged. Chowdhury was also taken to a London hospital for treatment of minor injuries before being questioned by police. "We believe the man was acting alone and we are not looking for other suspects at this stage. While we cannot speculate on what the man was intending to do this will be determined during the course of the investigation it is only right that we investigate this as a terrorist incident at this time,"Commander Dean Haydon, the head of the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, had said. A 30-year-old man was detained on suspicion of terrorism offences a few days after the incident in west London in connection with the palace attack. He was later released without charge. Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family were not in BuckinghamPalaceat the time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) IT major Tech Mahindra today said it has partnered with Israeli firm ContextSpace Solutions to develop the world's first global software privacy ecosystem, MyData Shield. Besides, it has also launched 'Tech Mahindra NxT' to power start-ups in Israel, under which it will engage with 20 firms. The announcement coincides with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India. Tech Mahindra CEO CP Gurnani said the company has been in Israel for a long time and has leveraged acquisitions and alliances to strengthen its operations there. "Now what we are focussing on is a programme called Tech Mahindra NxT where we are going to partner with about 20 companies in Israel," he told PTI. Tel Aviv, Israel's financial and technological hub, will be the nerve centre for the programme and will focus on creating collaborative solutions across cyber security, fintech, mobility, artificial intelligence and data analytics. Besides, the initiative will also mentor and help accelerate growth for start-ups by availing ready infrastructure and market know-how. Currently, Tech Mahindra NxT is active in Silicon Valley, California with active collaborations with nine start-ups. Talking about the 'MyData Shield' -- a cloud-based privacy protection solution, Tech Mahindra Senior VP(Global), Cybersecurity Business, Rajiv Singh said the offering will address security and personal data protection concerns of enterprises. With countries moving towards stronger privacy regulations, organisations too are increasingly concerned about personal data protection and regulatory compliance, Singh added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court today directed the Thane police to submit its reply to a petition filed by a woman alleging that her 22-year-old son committed suicide due to harassment by the police last year. A bench headed by Justice B R Gavai directed that a senior officer from the Thane police department file the reply by January 17, responding to the allegations made in the petition. The plea was filed by Pushpa Jagtap, a resident of Thane district near here. In her petition, Jagtap claimed that her son Mitesh was arrested by officials of Titwala police station in Thane district on August 21, 2017, on the charge of stealing a motorcycle. The petitioner claimed that the police beat her son in the custody and abused him even though he was innocent. She said some police officials refused to return her son's mobile phone when he was released from their custody on August 22. "They (police officials) threatened to incriminate him in other cases and asked us for money in return for the phone. When my son told them he didn't want his phone back since we had no money to give, they threatened they would ensure that I was publicly shamed," Jagtap said in her plea. "My son couldn't bear this humiliation and constant harassment at the hands of the police and hanged himself in the house on August 23," she said. Jagtap demanded that the police officials concerned be booked on the charge of abetment of suicide. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Supporters of the ruling Trinamool Congress and Opposition BJP today clashed with each other in West Bengal's Howrah district, police said. RAF had to be called in to maintain peace in the area, they said. The two parties traded allegations over the incident that took place in Kantaberia near here, ahead of a BJP roadshow for the upcoming Uluberia Lok Sabha bye-election, a police officer said. BJP supporters claimed that two of their members were injured when TMC workers attacked them in Kantaberia shortly before the start of the roadshow in Gangarampur here, he said. On the other hand, TMC supporters said the party's banners were set on fire by the BJP workers, who also allegedly disfigured posters of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, police said. TMC supporters claimed that when they tried to object, they were attacked by the BJP workers, the officer said. "Atrocities have become widespread in West Bengal, and this incident is no exception. The CM (Banerjee) is responsible for all this," BJP leader Mukul Roy said after the roadshow. Countering him, TMC Howrah district head and MLA Pulak Roy said that BJP is concerned about "losing its deposits" before the bye-elections, and are trying to "disrupt peace" in the area. One person has been detained for questioning in connection with the incident, the police officer said, adding, the situation was under control at present. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The TMC has embarked on a rally across the state to counter BJP youth wing BJYM's motorbike campaign that resumed today after a two-day break. The Calcutta High Court had on Friday directed the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) members to halt its bike rally for two days in the wake of clashes between the members of the of the saffron party and the TMC. Several workers of the two parties were injured in Friday's clashes. The "Sampriti rally" (harmony rally) will be the TMC's answer to the BJP's 'Sankalpa Pratirodh Yatra' in the state, a senior leader of the Mamata Banerjee-led party said. "The BJP is trying to gain foothold in Bengal with its own brand of communal ahead of the upcoming panchayat polls. The Sampriti rally will be our answer to the saffron party's statewide campaign," a senior TMC leader said. Sources in the TMC said the party will take the rally to the nooks and corners of the state. "The Sampriti rally has already started at various places. It will be conducted in each and every block of the state this month," TMC general secretary Subrata Bakshi said. The upcoming panchayat polls in the state, scheduled in the middle of this year, will be a crucial test for the TMC and the BJP, ahead of next year's Lok Sabha elections. The BJP has been making steady inroads into the state to emerge as the main opposition party in Bengal, which has 30 per cent Muslim electorates. The party has mocked the TMC and said its leaders suffer from "fear psychosis". "They can conduct as many rallies as they want but the people of Bengal very well know that the TMC government is only interested in Muslim appeasement," BJP president Dilip Ghosh said. West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, the party's national secretary Rahul Sinha and senior leader Mukul Roy flagged off the 'Sankalpa Pratirodh Yatra' rally today from Swami Vivekananda's ancestral house in north Kolkata. The eight-day motorbike rally that started from New Digha in East Midnapore district last Thursday is scheduled to culminate at Cooch Behar in the northern part of the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hours after being "untraceable" from Ahmedabad in the morning, VHP international working president Pravin Togadia was found in an unconscious state in Shahibaug area of the city tonight and was rushed to a hospital. The VHP leader, a Z Plus category protectee, went "missing" after stepping out of the VHP headquarters in Paldi area of the city when a contingent of Rajasthan Police came to arrest him in an old case. According to a statement issued by the VHP in Delhi, Togadia (62), who suffered from low blood sugar levels, was found in an unconscious state in Shahibaug and was taken to Chandramani Hospital located in the same area. Gujarat VHP general secretary Ranchod Bharward said here that Togadia was traced, but didn't disclose where he was found. "Togadia was brought to the hospital by someone in the 108 ambulance service. He was in an unconscious state," said Dr. Rupkumar Agrawal at the hospital. He said Togadia became unconscious as his sugar level had dipped, but was stable now. "He is stable now. He was unconscious as his sugar level had dipped...he is stable now," Dr. Agrawal said. Shahibaug is around 12 kms away from the Paldi office of the VHP. The city police formed four teams to locate the Hindutva leader after he went "missing" from the VHP office this morning. VHP spokesperson Jay Shah said, "Togadia was brought to the hospital by somebody in an 108 ambulance." As the word spread, hundreds of VHP workers rushed to the hospital. The VHP had earlier claimed Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police in connection with the case, but the latter denied this. The mystery over Togadia's disappearance had deepened, with a senior police officer maintaining that neither the local Sola police nor the Rajasthan Police arrested him. Sola police station officials said a team of Rajasthan Police visited them today to execute an arrest warrant against Togadia under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC, but could not find him at his residence. According to a senior Crime Branch officer, Togadia, a resident of Thaltej area in the city, boarded an auto-rickshaw from the VHP headquarters in Paldi area this morning and has been untraceable since. Addressing a press conference this evening, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) J K Bhatt said neither the Sola police nor the Gangapur police in Rajasthan have arrested Togadia. "The Rajasthan Police went to Togadia's residence in Thaltej area with the Sola Police to execute an arrest warrant (at around 10:45 AM) this morning. But, Togadia was not found there. However, VHP workers thought that he was arrested, which is not true," Bhatt told reporters. The officer said Togadia was present at the VHP state headquarters in Paldi area of the city since last night. He left the office in an auto-rickshaw with a "bearded man" at around 10:45 AM today, said Bhatt. "An SRP (State Reserve Police) jawan, who was deployed outside the VHP office, told us that Togadia and a bearded man called an auto-rickshaw and left the office at around 10:45 AM. Before leaving, Togadia told the security staff the he will be back within 30 minutes. We have formed four teams to trace him," the JCP said. Earlier in the day, VHP spokesperson Jay Shah claimed that Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police in an old case. Rajasthan Police had denied having detained or arrested Togadia. "Togadia was not at all arrested by our team. As per my information, the police team of Gangapur (in Rajasthan) is returning without executing the arrest warrant, as he (Togadia) was not found in Ahmedabad. It is a rumour that Togadia is in our custody which is not true at all," said Inspector General of Police, Bharatpur range, Alok Kumar Vashishtha had said. Gangapur town is in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan and falls under the jurisdiction of Bharatpur range of the state police. At around 4 PM, a group of 40 workers of the VHP laid a siege to Sola police station and shouted slogans for the "release" of their working president. Later, another group of VHP workers blocked the busy Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway, but police broke up the protest. Similar protests were held in Paldi area here and in Surat city during evening. In Paldi, VHP workers had blocked roads and damaged some buses. The situation was brought under control after police rushed to the spot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After hanging fire for nearly two months, Delhi government's ambitious programme for doorstep delivery of public services has been cleared by Lt Governor Anil Baijal, who had red-flagged a few provisions in the scheme. The Lt Governor's office issued a statement today announcing the decision, minutes after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked Baijal on Twitter for approving the scheme. The scheme was cleared by the Cabinet on Nov. 16 last year. "Hon'ble .@LtGovDelhi approves Delhi govt's scheme for 'Doorstep delivery of services'. All citizens of Delhi are grateful to u sir. Thank u," Kejriwal tweeted. Under the scheme, assistants will turn up at the doorstep of individuals willing to avail certain government services and upload requisite documents online, ending the need for them to visit government offices. Baijal had advised the government to reconsider the proposal and focus on digital delivery of services, "as 35 out of 40 services listed in the scheme are already available online", and set up internet kiosks by unemployed youth for those not able to access the internet. The government had insisted that setting up internet kiosks was a "failed idea" and should not be implemented, and that on an average 25 lakh people visit government offices for these 40 services annually despite they being available online. However, today's LG office statement made it clear that Baijal approved the proposal after Kejriwal's assurance that the Delhi government will simultaneously strengthen the online mechanism. It said the setting up of internet kiosks will provide employment opportunities to educated unemployed youth and also help in delivery of the services. The Delhi chief minister has also assured to work out a financial model to provide soft loan to set up these kiosks, it added. "On the assurance that both the systems will function as complementary to each other, Hon'ble LG approved the proposal and advised the administrative department concerned to finalise the proposal for setting up 'internet kiosks' within a month," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two persons were killed when a truck skidded off the road and rolled down into river Chenab in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. The truck skidded off the road and fell into river Chenab near Jaiswal bridge Karool near Ramban on Jammu-Srinagar highway late last night, they said. The ill-fated vehicle was on way to Srinagar from Rajasthan and was loaded with timber, police officials said. One person was rescued safely from Chenab but two others, the driver and owner of the truck, were washed away in Chenab river, they said. The bodies were taken out of the river after a search operation. The deceased were identified as driver Kalu Ram and Narayan Singh, owner of the vehicle, officials said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) British construction and outsourcing services group Carillion announced its immediate liquidation today after the heavily-indebted company failed to secure a financial rescue from the UK government and banks. Carillion, which employs 43,000 staff worldwide including 19,500 in Britain, said that the government would nevertheless provide some funding to allow current state projects to continue, following crunch talks over the weekend. "This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years," company chairman Philip Green said in a statement. "Over recent months huge efforts have been made to restructure Carillion to deliver its sustainable future... In recent days however we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision." Carillion is a major UK government contractor involved in everything from schools to the multi-billion-pound High Speed Two (HS2) rail project. But it has been struggling for some time and in July last year issued the first of several profit warnings. Carillion today said "it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect". It added: "An application was made to the High Court for a compulsory liquidation of Carillion before opening of business today and an order has been granted to appoint the Official Receiver as the liquidator of Carillion." Despite the red flags, the government continued to award the company major public contracts, including on the flagship HS2 project, leading to criticism. Andrew Adonis, who resigned as head of a government- backed infrastructure commission last month, said Sunday that the Carillion crisis raised "big questions" for transport minister Chris Grayling. Meanwhile Vince Cable, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, called on the government not to bail out the group. "Can't have privatisation of profit and nationalisation of losses," he tweeted. Carillion has a wide range of public sector contracts, including providing support services for almost 900 schools and around 50,000 homes for military personnel. The company, with operations also in Canada and the Middle East, had revenues of USD 7.1 billion last year. In January, British watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority launched an investigation into its market updates. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has praised the "total commitment" of Colombia's government and former FARC rebels to peace- building, as the military blamed a smaller rebel group for bombing an oil pipeline. "A peace-building process is not easy," Guterres said yesterday during a visit to an area where former fighters of the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are being reintegrated in civilian life. The government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the FARC signed a peace deal in November 2016 to end their half- century conflict. Some 260,000 people have died, 60,000 more are unaccounted for and seven million have been displaced since the insurgency began in 1964. The UN is tasked with verifying compliance with the pact. Guterres heard complaints from the former rebels, now transformed into a political party, that it has not been properly implemented. "There are imperfections, there are delays, but what was very clear to me is the total commitment of the government and the FARC to peace-building," said Guterres, who is Portuguese. Before ending yesterday a two-day visit to support the peace effort, he highlighted the "courage" of both sides to put an end the conflict. Guterres met on Saturday with Santos, and heard from ex- rebel leaders about what they called the "disfigurement of the text and the spirit of the agreement" for peace. In a report to the UN Security Council in December, Guterres said that a significant number of FARC rebels "have joined illegal or dissident groups" as a result of a "growing frustration with the lack of opportunities" in civilian life. Additional strain has come over relations between the government and Colombia's last rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN). Santos on Wednesday suspended peace talks with the ELN in response to what he said were guerrilla attacks earlier that day, at the end of a 101-day ceasefire. In the latest incident, on Saturday night, the army blamed ELN rebels for a bombing of an oil pipeline in Narino region on the Ecuador border. Pumping was suspended on the Trans-Andean Pipeline linking Colombia and Ecuador but there were no injuries, an army statement said. State oil company Ecopetrol said "the attack caused a leak of crude oil affecting the Guiza River," and warned residents not to consume the contaminated water. On Saturday police said gunmen claiming to be from the ELN kidnapped a Colombian petroleum engineer near the Venezuelan frontier. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The UN says a ship has arrived in Yemen with four mobile cranes to speed up the delivery of humanitarian aid and commercial goods to the war- torn country, which is facing the world's worst hunger crisis. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday that the cranes, purchased by the UN World Food Program and funded by the US Agency for International Development, will be operational immediately at the port of Hodeida, which handles about 70 per cent of Yemen's imports. WFP Executive Director David Beasley said WFP also needs "better access and smooth, timely clearance of shipments." US Ambassador Nikki Hailey said the cranes can help "tens of millions of innocent people who wake up each day facing hunger and disease." She called on all sides to allow aid deliveries without interference. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of Dalit activists tried to disrupt a speech by Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale here last evening, protesting erection of a separate stage by his party workers. Police detained around 130 protesters. Athawale was speaking at the varsity campus to mark anniversary of the 'name-expansion' of Marathwada University. In the 1990s, following an intense agitation by Dalits, the state government expanded the varsity's name as Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. Following the violence at Koregaon Bhima this month where Dalits visiting a war memorial -- marking the victory of the East India Company army consisting of Dalit Mahar soldiers over the Peshwas -- came under attack, Dalit organisations had resolved to celebrate the name-expansion day on one platform. However, as workers of the Athawale-led faction of the Republican Party of India erected a separate stage for his rally, some activists protested vociferously. As the Union minister, who is a prominent Dalit leader from the state, spoke last night, protesters tossed chairs in air and shouted slogans against him. While Athawale continued his speech, his supporters formed a cordon around him. Assistant Commissioner of Police Nagnath Kode said police detained some 130 protesters who were later released. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday claimed its international working president was "missing" since morning and held a protest demanding that he be "traced". The VHP claimed Togadia (62) was detained by the Rajasthan Police in connection with a case, but the latter denied this. Local Sola police station officials said a team of Rajasthan Police visited them today to execute an arrest warrant against the Hindutva leader under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC in an old case, but could not find him at his residence. VHP workers laid a siege to the Sola police station, shouted slogans, and blocked traffic on main Sarkehj- Gandhinagar highway demanding that the police immediately locate him. "Our International Working President is missing since 10 am today. The responsibility of his whereabouts and security lies with the administration," the VHP's Gujarat unit general secretary Ranchod Bharwad told reporters. He said it was not yet confirmed weather Togadia was arrested or not. BJP spokesperson Jay Shah, however, claimed that Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police in an old case. "Our leader has been detained in an old case and was taken away by the Rajasthan Police from the VHP state headquarters in Paldi area of the city," he claimed. However, the Rajasthan Police denied detention or arrest of Togadia. "Togadia was not at all arrested by our team. As per my information, the police team of Gangapur (in Rajasthan) is returning without executing the arrest warrant, as he (Togadia) was not found in Ahmedabad. It is a rumour that Togadia is in our custody which is not true at all," said Inspector General of Police, Bharatpur range, Alok Kumar Vashishtha. Gangapur town is in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan and falls under the jurisdiction of Bharatpur range of the state police. Sola police officials said the Rajasthan police had sought their help in executing the arrest warrant against Togadia. "Rajasthan police today sought our help to execute the warrant against Pravin Togadia, as his residence falls in our area. The warrant, related to section 188 of the IPC, was issued by a sessions court in Gangapur. We took the Rajasthan Police to Togadia's residence but he was not found there," said Sola police station inspector J S Patel. He said the team of the Rajasthan Police left after they could not find Togadia. "It is not true that he is in our custody. We do not know his whereabouts," the inspector added. At around 4 PM, a group of 40 workers of the VHP laid a siege to Sola police station and shouted slogans for the "release" their working president. Later, another group of VHP workers blocked the busy Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway, but police broke up the protest. On the eve of the anniversary of Goa's historic referendum in 1967, nostalgia has gripped its living witnesses, who are happy that the people of the then Union territory did not opt to merge with Maharashtra. The referendum on whether to merge with the neighbouring state was held on January 16, 1967. When the referendum was held, the then ruling party, Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), was in favour of becoming a part of Maharashtra. But several leaders, led by Jack Sequeira of the United Goans party, were opposed to it. Recalling the day, Uday Bhembre, a well-known local scribe who was among those opposed to the merger, says, "After the first day of counting of votes on January 17, the pro- merger lobby was celebrating. They had a massive lead in all the areas of North Goa. We were virtually on oxygen." The entire Goa was then divided on the basis of two symbols -- "two leaves" (anti-merger) and "rose" (pro-merger). Even after 50 years, Bhembre remembers how sitting at Margao, about 40 km away from the counting centre at Panaji, the opinion poll movement leaders were keeping a track of the results through the All India Radio (AIR) broadcast. "We had almost lost hope when the second day of counting began. But then the tide turned. As the counting was taken up in the areas of South Goa, specially the Catholic-dominated ones, the anti-merger camp got the upper hand," he said. "The Benaulim constituency in South Goa contributed in turning the tide against the merger," Bhembre added. The Catholic population was by and large against the merger, while the Hindus were divided, he said. Bhembre recalls how five different groups, including two political parties -- the United Goans and a section of the Congress -- and three others, the Konkani protagonists revolving around the now-defunct newspaper, "Rashtramat",the late Ulhas Buyao-led musical group and the late Shabu Desai's "Sanghpradesh Jyot", had advocated against merging with Maharashtra. Victor Gonsalves, the former MLA from the St Cruz constituency, near Panaji in North Goa district, was a child when the anti-merger movement was underway. He remembers that the police had detained his mother, along with others, in their village for their agitation against the proposal to merge. Sequeira had also represented St Cruz in the Goa Assembly and when the veteran leader died in 1989, it was Gonsalves who moved the condolence motion in the House. "The movement in St Cruz was entirely local. There was no influence of any leader from outside. There was no scope for pro-merger sentiments in our village," Gonsalves said. While the elders were busy in the intellectual discourse over the referendum, the kids contributed in their own way to prevent Goa from being a part of Maharashtra "by making the 'two leaves' a part of their collection of toys," he added. Music also played an important role in convincing the people to vote against the merger. The "Jai Gomantak Kala Pathak" group, led by late Ulhas Buyao, penned songs and performed across Goa, telling the people why they should not go with Maharashtra. "There were times when they would not even have a microphone or sound system but even then, the group performed, sometimes standing atop a mini-bus," Siddhanath Buyao, the son of Ulhas Buyao said. The Maharashtra-based musical troupes were filling the air with the pro-merger songs, which were countered by Buyao and his group, who sung in Konkani and Marathi, he added. The songs of Buyao are still performed in Goa, half-a- century after the historic move. Meanwhile, the state government of the day plans to celebrate the Opinion Poll Day in a big way. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had last week said Goa would celebrate January 16 as the "Asmitai Dis" (Identity Day) to mark the referendum. The Goa Forward Party, an ally of the ruling BJP, had recently demanded that the opinion poll episode should be included in the state's school curriculum. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a stern message to Pakistan, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat asserted today that the Army will not allow anti-India activities to succeed in Jammu and Kashmir and it was ready to escalate military offensive to combat cross-border terrorism if Islamabad forces it to do so. Addressing Army personnel on the occasion of Army Day, Rawat also said that disputes along the Line of Actual Control with China were continuing and the Army was trying to stop the Chinese transgressions. "Ensuring security along the Line of Actual Control (with China) is our main duty," he said without elaborating further. Talking about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K. "We will not let these anti-national elements to succeed at any cost. If we are forced, then we may escalate our military action and carry out (the) 'other action'," he said. The Army has been adopting a 'tit-for-tat' approach in dealing with ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops as well as foiling infiltration bids by terrorists. "The Army is using its might to teach them a lesson," the Army chief said, adding that, "terrorists and their handlers are creating various challenges within the country by adopting new tactics." Rawat said the Army will continue to give a befitting reply to Pakistani action along the border. "Targeting of Amarnath pilgrims, attacking policemen and Army personnel from Jammu and Kashmir, including murder of Lt Ummer Fayaz, were attempts to attack national unity and divide the society," Rawat said. Young Army officer Fayaz, from Kulgam district, was killed in May last year when he had gone to Shopian to attend the marriage of one of his relatives. Talking about Pakistan's proxy war and evolving security challenges facing the region, Gen Rawat asked the forces to remain ready to face any eventuality. "We will have to keep high-level of readiness" to deal with any eventuality, he said. On defence spending, Rawat said it acts as an engine of economic growth. The armed forces are expecting higher allocation in the budget for 2018-19. "Size of our defence budget is sixth globally. 30 per cent of the defence budget is spent on procurement of weapons. A portion of it is spent on the country's development and providing jobs. The defence budget should be looked as engine of development," he said. Referring to the security situation in several states of the northeastern region, he said the Army's intelligence based operations have contained militancy to a large extent. He also cautioned that success is never permanent and the troops will have to continue their hard work to deal with any security challenge. Rawat said there has been sustained efforts to enhance capability of the Army and that contracts worth Rs 30,000 crore have been finalised in 2017-18. Talking about modernisation of the infantry, he said the focus was on futuristic weapon systems. The Army's aviation wing is being bolstered by inducting new helicopters. He said the missile system in the Army's air defence is also being strengthened. He said cadre review of JCOs (junior commissioned officers) and other ranks have been approved which has resulted in the creation of 479 additional posts of Subedar major, 7,769 posts of Subedar, 13,466 naib subedars, 58,493 havaldars and 64,930 naiks. The Army chief also said that an Aadhar-based mobile application is being developed through which Army personnel will be able to post their grievances online. The aim is to resolve their grivances as soon as possible, he said. The Army chief also awarded the sena medal to a number of Army personnel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central Bureau of Investigation told the Bombay High Court on Monday that it will not challenge the recent discharge of any of the senior IPS officers in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh encounter case. CBI counsel Sandesh Patil and Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the HC that the agency had already challenged the discharge of some junior officers in the case. However, the CBI had decided not to challenge the trial court order that absolved senior officers, including former deputy inspector general of Gujarat D G Vanzara, Rajasthan IPS officer Dinesh MN, and Gujarat IPS officer Rajkumar Pandiyan, in connection with the alleged fake encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati, they said. The CBI's submissions came while a single bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere was hearing a revision application filed by Sohrabuddin Shaikh's brother Rubabuddin Shaikh, challenging the trial court orders of discharge of these officers. The trial court had in 2016 and last year discharged Pandiyan, Vanzara and Dinesh MN. Rubabuddin Shaikh has filed separate petitions challenging the discharge of the three officers from the case. However, his counsel advocate Gautam Tiwari told the high court today that while they had been able to serve notices to Dinesh MN and Pandiyan in the case, they had been unable to trace the address or contact details of Vanzara. The high court had earlier directed the CBI to provide Vanzara's address to the petitioner, but Tiwari said the central agency had provided an incorrect address. The court today directed the CBI to trace Vanzara's whereabouts and serve him the notice directing him to present his side of the case in the HC on the next date of hearing. "The CBI is a premier probe agency. It should not encounter any impediment in finding the respondent's (Vanzara's) whereabouts, or getting his address. We often direct the investigating officers to serve notices, so in this case the CBI should do it to avoid further delays in hearing," Justice Mohite-Dere said. The special CBI court in Mumbai, hearing the case after the Supreme Court ordered for the trial to be transferred out of Gujarat, had discharged the above three officials on the ground that the CBI had failed to get prior sanction or the special permission to prosecute them. However, on a previous hearing, Justice Mohite-Dere had questioned whether the lack of such sanction alone could be an adequate reason to warrant an accused person's discharge from the case. She had also dismissed the CBI's argument that it had challenged the discharge of two Rajasthan police sub-inspectors Himanshu Singh and Shyam Singh Charan and senior Gujarat police officer N K Amin. The judge had observed that while the CBI was opposing the discharge of sub-inspectors and constables, it had conveniently gone quiet on the discharge of most of the senior IPS officers. Today, advocate Tiwari told the high court that while the CBI had challenged Singh and Charan's discharge in 2016, the pleas were yet to be taken up for hearing by the HC. The high court has now tagged together all the pleas filed by Rubabuddin Shaikh and the CBI in the case, and will hear them together on January 29. Of the 38 people accused in the case, 15, including 14 IPS officers, have been discharged by the special court. The CBI has challenged the discharge of two junior officers, and one of the 14 senior officers (N K Amin) accused in the alleged fake encounter cases of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kauser Bi, and also that of Ishrat Jahan. Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his wife were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad from Hyderabad on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra. Shaikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005, after which his wife disappeared. Prajapati, an aide of Shaikh and an eyewitness to the encounter, was allegedly killed by police in Chapri village in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in December 2006. Vanzara, who was heading the ATS at the time, was charged by the CBI for having conspired with the other accused officials to kill Shaikh and the other victims and pass the incident off as an encounter. The European Union's trade tsar has no idea what Donald Trump will tell his audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, but she is clear what the EU's message to the U.S. president will be. America is shooting itself in the foot by withdrawing from global leadership on trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, the 49-year-old Swede who has served as Europe's trade commissioner for the past three years, told Reuters. Under Malmstrom's direction, the EU has juggled a dizzying array of trade talks over the past year. In July it clinched a preliminary deal with Japan. ... Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has picked Citic Securities, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as joint sponsors for its proposed IPO, IFR reported. The initial public offering could be the world's biggest tech float this year - valuing the company at up to $100 billion - and is expected to come in the second half of the year, the Thomson Reuters publication reported. A spokesman for Xiaomi declined to comment. The smartphone maker last month told bankers that it would beat its 2017 sales targets by up to 18 percent as it continues to benefit from a business overhaul that ... We are merchant exporters. We procure goods from manufacturers on payment 0.1 per cent tax. Can we export the goods on payment of IGST and claim refund of the same? No. You have to export under letter of undertaking without payment of IGST. Of course, you can take credit of the 0.1 per cent and claim refund of the same, as well as the input tax credit availed in respect of other inputs or input services to the extent used in making such export of goods. Please see notification 75/2017-Central Tax dated December 29, 2017 that amends the relevant CGST Rules. We have a query regarding ... On Day 2 of his maiden visit to India, second by any Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu held delegartion-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi invited Israeli defence companies to take advantage of the liberalized FDI regime to make more in India with Indian companies. The two countries also inked 9 MoUs in areas like oil and gas, air transport, space, etc. In the joint statement, the two leaders also expressed desire to scale up the existing Centers of Excellence in India which have been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation between the two countries by bringing in advanced Israeli practices and technology. We are venturing into less explored areas of cooperation, such as oil and gas, cyber security, films, and start-ups, PM Modi said in his address. "Thriving two-way trade and investment is an integral part of our vision for a strong partnership... After the meeting in Tel Aviv last year, we will interact for the second time with our CEOs under the bilateral Forum," PM Modi added. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's six-day visit to India is a historic occasion because he is only the second Israeli leader to come to India since Ariel Sharon's 2003 trip. Netanyahu is accompanied by a 130-member delegation comprising of individuals from agriculture, cyber and defence sectors. Earlier, in an exclusive conversation with Raj Chengappa, India Today's Group Editorial Director (Publishing), the Israeli premier talked optimistically about an Indo-Israel partnership, saying that it is "a marriage made in heaven but consecrated here on earth". Among the things he hopes to concentrate on during this visit is cooperation in technological areas, especially agriculture. "Can you imagine drones for agriculture? That is what Israel can do for the Indian farm," said Netanyahu, explaining how the big data and photographs of fields collected by drones can help farmers to "direct the water to the level of the individual plant". This will, thus, help India produce more crops for less-less water, less energy. "This is using technology to change not only the future, but to change lives today to make people healthier, safer, better nursed and to live longer, better lives. This is one area I intend to concentrate on but there are many others," he added. When asked his opinion for taking Indo-Israel relations beyond diamonds and defence, Netanyahu had a short, candid answer: Free trade agreements. Or at least, moving in that direction, as he put it. To illustrate his point, Netanyahu gave the example of the auto industry. "India has a very well-known auto industry," he said but pointed out that though Israel's auto industry was just five years old, it was already turning out to be a leader in the field. "We have 500 start-ups that just deal with automotive technology or autonomous vehicles. Because [going forward] 85% of a car is going to be software and just 15% will be hardware," he explained. In other words, cars of the future will be "basically a computer on wheels", and this is where Israel is a pioneer. "Our car industry receives billions of dollars of investments every year. Why shouldn't we have the same partnership between us and Indian car manufacturers? And this can happen everywhere, be it digital health, water, energy, transportation, IT... And all this is before you discuss security," said Netanyahu. Read the full text of joint statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India from 14 to 19 January 2018 closes a momentous twenty fifth anniversary year of India-Israel relationship and its growing partnership. The summit level meetings between the Republic of India and the State of Israel that commenced with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Israel from 4 to 6 July 2017, have further strengthened the bonds between the two governments and peoples and have consolidated the foundation for their Strategic Partnership. The two Prime Ministers share a common vision for the relationship. They believe that in the next twenty-five years the two respective countries should strive to raise bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors to a qualitatively new level in consonance with our Strategic Partnership. Both sides are working together on a Five Year Joint Work Plan for strategic cooperation in Agriculture and Water. Both sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in innovation, business and trade, space, homeland security and cyber, higher education and research, science and technology, tourism and culture. The two prime ministers noted with satisfaction the commencement and implementation of India-Israel development cooperation - three-year work programme in Agriculture (2018-2020) under the stewardship of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MASHAV) and the Ministry of Agriculture of India aimed at increasing farmers' productivity and optimization of water use efficiency. The two Prime Ministers were apprised of state of progress on the twenty-eight Centres of Excellence that are being jointly established in different States of India, and noted with satisfaction that seven more Centres of Excellence have become operational in the last six months since the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Israel. The two Prime Ministers will be visiting Centre of Excellence in Vadrad, Gujarat and will inaugurate the Centre of Excellence in Bhuj, Gujarat, during this visit. The Prime Ministers welcomed the completion of all formalities for the launch of the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) that was announced during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel. During this visit, both the Prime Ministers will launch the first Call for Proposals under the fund to encourage enterprises from both countries to utilize this significant platform for undertaking joint R&D projects in innovative and futuristic technologies and products for the benefit of the two peoples. They underscored the role of youth in enhancing future collaboration in innovation, and have decided to commence an annual exchange of visits of one hundred youth from the science streams. The two Prime Ministers commended the decision of the respective Ministries of Science and Technology to commence nine joint R&D projects in the areas of big data analytics in health care and security in cyber space, in pursuance of their decision in July 2017 to upgrade scientific and technological collaboration. Further, in order to build a strong network between the next generation of the best women scientists and technologists of the two countries, an India-Israel Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Symposium will be organized in October, 2018 in India. The two Prime Ministers also noted with satisfaction that the Heads of the Indian Space Research Organization and the Israel Space Agency have met in November 2017 to discuss the implementation of the two MoU's and one Plan of Cooperation signed between the two space agencies. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the initiation of cooperation between India and Israel in the energy sector with the signing of an MoU on Cooperation in the Oil and Gas sector that will promote, inter alia, collaboration in the upstream sectors, research and development in future technologies and start-ups in oil and gas. They also noted the intention of Indian public sector companies and Israeli companies to begin collaboration in the areas of metal air batteries for stationary energy storage systems and in solar thermal technologies, and urge industry on both sides to explore business collaboration in new energy technologies. Welcoming the initiative taken by India to establish the International Solar Alliance to promote renewable energy for sustainable development in the context of climate change, Israel declared its willingness to become a Partner Country. The two Prime Ministers urge research institutions and industry to collaborate, including in third countries, to promote greater use of solar technologies through the International Solar Alliance. The two Prime Ministers agreed that renewed efforts are required to realize the full potential for bilateral trade and investment, and took note of the next round of discussions between the two sides to be held in February 2018 in Israel. Underlining the role of the private sector in trade and investment, both Prime Ministers urged the private sector to actively explore investment opportunities in both countries, including through the India's flagship programmes such as Make in India, Start-Up India and Digital India. They also expressed their satisfaction that the India-Israel CEO Forum, established in July 2017 during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel, held its second meeting in India during this visit. In this context both Prime Ministers also recalled the importance of facilitating the movement of business persons through simplification of visa regulations, fast-tracking of visa applications, issuing of multiple entry visa, especially for the information technology and new technology sectors. Recognizing the important contribution made by Indian caregivers in Israel, the two Prime Ministers agreed to embark upon negotiations in 2018 in order to move forward as speedily as possible and to the satisfaction of both sides towards an early bilateral agreement. In this respect, a delegation from India will be invited to Israel in the first half of 2018. Noting that doing trade and business also requires better connectivity, the two Prime Ministers have decided to expedite the conclusion of an Agreement on Maritime Transport that will encourage greater business between the shipping organizations of India and Israel, and create new opportunities in maritime services and training. They hope that this Agreement will also encourage wider cooperation in development of maritime business and Israel's participation in the Sagarmala Project. The two Prime Ministers are convinced that enhanced people-to-people contacts will forge the strongest bonds of friendship between India and Israel in the future. They deemed it essential to enhance connectivity between the two countries through the signing of a Protocol Amending Air Transport Agreement to expand the scope of cooperation in the civil aviation sector. An Indian Cultural Centre will open in Israel in 2018 in pursuance of the Prime Minister of India's desire to promote greater cultural understanding. Both sides have signed an MoU in Film Co-Production in recognition of the role that films play in promoting people-to-people contact. Both Prime Ministers agreed to holding Festivals of India and Israel in their respective countries in the Year 2019 as a further step to solidify friendship between the peoples of both countries. Both Prime Ministers noted the readiness of Israeli companies to enter into joint ventures with Indian companies in the defence sector under the Make in India initiative. They consider it important to set the direction for developing more business models and partnerships for the joint ventures and joint manufacturing, including transfer of technology as well as joint research and development in defence and security fields. They call on the Defence Ministries to hold discussions in 2018 with active involvement of the public and private sectors, in order to create the basis for viable, sustainable and long term cooperation in the defence industry. Recognizing the grave threat that terrorism poses to peace and security including from non-state actors, both Prime Ministers reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever and advocated strong measures against terrorists, terror organizations, those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups. They also noted with satisfaction that the next meeting of the Joint Working Groups on Homeland and Public Security will be held in February 2018. They reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space, and welcome the signing of the MoU on Cooperation in Cyber Security between India and Israel. The two Prime Ministers understand the significance of sharing their respective development experiences with other countries. They agreed to explore ways to develop joint programmes of assistance for third countries in the areas of training, capacity building, and the development of small projects in the agriculture, water, health-care and education sectors. They asked their respective Foreign Ministries to commence discussions in this regard in 2018. The two Prime Ministers discussed the developments pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. They reaffirmed their support for an early resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians for arriving at a comprehensive negotiated solution on all outstanding issues, based on mutual recognition and effective security arrangements, for establishing a just and durable peace in the region. The two Prime Ministers believe that durable and multifaceted cooperation is beneficial for the welfare of the people of both countries, and consider the next twenty five years as an opportune time to strengthen bonds between the peoples of India and Israel through activities that enhance understanding and create opportunities for mutual progress. They agree to continue high level exchanges and to maintain dialogue in all areas, and to work in practical ways for the benefit of their peoples. Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked Prime Minister Modi, the people of India and Government of India for their gracious welcome and hospitality. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's six-day visit to India is a historic occasion because he is only the second Israeli leader to come to India since Ariel Sharon's 2003 trip. Accompanied by a 130-member delegation comprising of individuals from agriculture, cyber and defence sectors, Netanyahu hopes to upgrade the economic cooperation between the two nations. In an exclusive conversation with Raj Chengappa, India Today's Group Editorial Director (Publishing), the Israeli premier talked optimistically about an Indo-Israel partnership, saying that it is "a marriage made in heaven but consecrated here on earth". Among the things he hopes to concentrate on during this visit is cooperation in technological areas, especially agriculture. "Can you imagine drones for agriculture? That is what Israel can do for the Indian farm," said Netanyahu, explaining how the big data and photographs of fields collected by drones can help farmers to "direct the water to the level of the individual plant". This will, thus, help India produce more crops for less-less water, less energy. "This is using technology to change not only the future, but to change lives today to make people healthier, safer, better nursed and to live longer, better lives. This is one area I intend to concentrate on but there are many others," he added. When asked his opinion for taking Indo-Israel relations beyond diamonds and defence, Netanyahu had a short, candid answer: Free trade agreements. Or at least, moving in that direction, as he put it. To illustrate his point, Netanyahu gave the example of the auto industry. "India has a very well-known auto industry," he said but pointed out that though Israel's auto industry was just five years old, it was already turning out to be a leader in the field. "We have 500 start-ups that just deal with automotive technology or autonomous vehicles. Because [going forward] 85% of a car is going to be software and just 15% will be hardware," he explained. In other words, cars of the future will be "basically a computer on wheels", and this is where Israel is a pioneer. "Our car industry receives billions of dollars of investments every year. Why shouldn't we have the same partnership between us and Indian car manufacturers? And this can happen everywhere, be it digital health, water, energy, transportation, IT... And all this is before you discuss security," said Netanyahu. Last year, too, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Tel Aviv, Netanyahu had spoken about "I2 T2" or Indian talent times Israeli technology being the formula for success. But the speed-breaker on promising Indo-Israel technological agreements, according to him, is bureaucracy. "We are all suffering from this malaise, this disease of bureaucracy," he said but explained that it is possible to break out of red-tapism. "I chair a ministerial committee and, every few weeks, I take a machete and hack through the wild vines of bureaucracy." In the bargain, over the past two years he claims Israel has been able to improve its ranking on the Global Competitiveness Index published by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum-jumping up from 27th place to 16th place last year. "On this visit I don't want to tackle all of Indian bureaucracy. I just want to hack a path in the bureaucratic jungle that afflicts both of us to allow Israeli entrepreneurs to come to India, do business with India, for the benefit of the people of India," he added. On the more contentious issue of India's UN vote against recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Netanyahu didn't hide his disappointment but added that this "visit is a testament that our relationship is moving forward on many fronts". According to him, this is true not only in the political sense or in the realms of technology, security matters and tourism, but also at the level of the individual citizen. "The fact that you can grow your crops better, that you can have cleaner water, cleaner energy, cleaner air... these are things that make a difference in the lives of people. And I think our cooperation advances that and ultimately you will see that reflected in all the UN votes, not just now but soon," he quipped. Israel and India were able to tide over the Jerusalem issue through diplomatic channels, but a bigger sore point is India cancelling the $500 million Spike anti-tank guided missile deal less than a fortnight ago. "I hope that this visit can help resolve this issue because I think there is a reasonable chance we can reach an equitable solution. But we will have to wait till the end of this visit," said Netanyahu. "But our defence relationship is quite significant and it encompasses many things. The key word is defence, we want to defend ourselves. We are not aggressive nations. But we are very committed to making sure that no one can commit aggression against either one of us." Speaking about protecting one another, he answered India Today's questions on terror cooperation saying that "intelligence" is the key to fighting terrorism. "Israel has, on the whole, superb intelligence. Nobody is better than our intelligence services I would say, and that is what we share with you," he said, adding that "In the last few years we have stopped some 30 major terrorist attacks by sharing vital intelligence, not vis a vis India alone but dozens of countries." Given that Moshe Holtzberg, who lost his parents in the Mumbai terror attack, has accompanied the Israeli premier to Mumbai, Netanyahu used some tough words against Hafiz Saeed, a key accused in the attacks who currently roams freely in Pakistan. "Ultimately we will catch up with the killers but the objective is also to prevent future killers," he explained. While he was emphatic that "you fight terrorism by fighting the terrorists", he shied away from sharing an opinion on India's surgical strikes against Pakistan. "I let India makes her own choices. But the doctrine of fighting terrorism is to firstly have intelligence so that you can pre-empt it and secondly, to take action against the killers. Try not to take action against innocent people but that is something that's not always easy to do," he admitted. He might be "trying be a diplomat" there, but he had no such reservations when it came to talking about Modi. "I respect PM Modi as a great leader. I see in him a kindred spirit because he is impatient to bring the future to his people and to change the world." The hugs on the tarmac yesterday clearly were not just for photo-ops. He was equally candid in claiming that "The future belongs to those who innovate. Israel is an innovation nation. India has great innovation. In Silicon Valley, I always say, you hear two dialects: You hear Hindi and Hebrew. Sometimes you hear a little English, too. I think this visit will help secure this partnership which is so natural and so promising." This morning, after inspecting the Guard of Honour at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Netanyahu had declared that "this is a dawn of a new era in friendship between India and Israel". Let's hope that the delegation level talks that are expected to be held around noon also bear fruit. Indian auto enthusiasts have high hopes from the Auto Expo 2018 on account of the new launches the event promises. Premium carmakers are expected to turn up at the car show, including names which have already garnered substantial attention. Considering there are many budget offerings, it is a good event for buyers to track. Not only popular companies like Maruti Suzuki, who is planning to showcase 18 cars, there are new entrants in the industry that can bring a serious competition in the automobile sector. Kia being one of them is expected to showcase an extensive line-up of cars ranging from practical hatchbacks to flamboyant, high performance cars like the Stinger. Kia is still one year away from launching thier first commercial car in India. Indian buyers, on the other hand, will be on the look out for cars launching this year. Below are the cars under Rs 10 lakh that are likely to be showcased at the Auto Expo 2018: New Maruti Suzuki Swift Probably the most awaited car this year, the next-generation Maruti Suzuki Swift will be introduced in the Indian markets at the Auto Expo 2018. The most notable change with the car is a new design language, and a reformed face. Also, the new Swift is based on the HEARTECT platform which makes the car lighter and stronger. The engine options will be kept unchanged, though. The new Swift will be powered by the same 1.2-litre K-series petrol engine, and 1.3-litre DDiS diesel engine, seen on the outgoing model. Both the engines on the new Maruti Suzuki Swift are expected to be coupled with a five-speed manual gearbox. The company might even launch other variants with CVT automatic transmission. A sportier RS variant of the new Swift is also on the cards, with the 1.0-litre Boosterjet engine, which currently runs the Baleno. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz facelift The Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is expected to show up at the Auto Expo 2018 in a new avatar. This will be the mid-life facelift for the sole offering from the market leader in the mid-size sedan segment. The test mules spotted by far indicate substantial cosmetic changes in the car. The new Ciaz, however, is likely to keep the existing 1.4-litre K-series VVT petrol and 1.3-litre SHVS diesel engine options. Maruti Suzuki will reportedly keep the interiors unchanged too. The suspension and steering might be tweaked, without changing rest of the mechanicals. The new Maruti Suzuki Ciaz will be pitted against the Hyundai Verna, which recently got a cheaper variant, and Honda City. Maruti Suzuki ConceptFutureS Maruti Suzuki is planning to introduce its ConceptFutureS at the Auto Expo 2018 to cater to the growing love of Indians for SUVs, and introduce an aggressive look to its hatchbacks. The new design language brings SUV-like design to hatchback cars 'to delight customers in the compact car space'. The design language will deviate from the usual proportions of a compact car, Maruti Suzuki has claimed. Design elements revealed so far show an upright stance, higher seating and ground clearance, and a horizontal hood, similar to what is usually seen on SUVs. Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Maruti Suzuki could bring out the facelift for Ertiga in the Auto Expo 2018. The test mules spotted on Indian raods suggets that the car will be based on the new HEARTECT platform which promises lighter yet stronger body. The new Swift will also be based on the same platform. While changes in the looks of the car are to be expected, the engine and transmission options are likely to remain the same as the outgoing model. Hyundai Elite i20 Hyundai will be coming to the Auto Expo 2018 with a facelift version of the Elite i20. The test mules spotted so far reveal an updated front end with a changed bumper, single-piece cascading grille, and new fog lamp enclosures that will get LED DRLs. The rear end of the car has been tweaked too with new LED taillights. The engine options are likely to be kept unchanged, with the same 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre petrol engines, or the 1.4-litre diesel engine powering the Elite i20 facelift. Hyundai, however, might offer a CVT variant with 1.2-litre petrol engine to challenge the Maruti Suzuki Baleno. Hyundai Santro!? Hyundai is planning to replace its budget offering Eon this year, and the substitute could be unveiled at the Auto Expo 2018. Now, this could either be an Eon facelift, or the Hyundai Santro might be making a comeback. Test mules of a small Hyundai car were spotted recently, which might make its way to the Auto Expo 2018. The spotted test vehicle showed a few Santro-like design elements, like the familiar 'tallboy' design, featuring large rear and side windows and more space inside. The body dimensions might also have been increased. While there is no official confirmation, reports suggest that it will be an 800cc, 1.0-litre petrol engine will run the Hyundai Santro reboot. The smaller engine might be coupled with the segment-first full automatic transmission, and an AMT option. Tata X451 With the premium hatchback segment heating up, Tata Motors will be introducing a car in the category at the Auto Expo 2018. Codenamed X451, the car will be placed above Tiago, and compete against market favourites Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Hyundai Elite i20. The Tata X451 will be the first car to be based on company's Advanced Modular Platform (AMP). Tata intends to use this platform for all its small cars in the future. It will be designed around next-stage of Impact design language. The Tiago, Tigor and Nexon, that allowed Tata's auto sales to bounce back, were designed on the first level of the same design language. Next-gen Honda Amaze Honda will stake its claim in the bustling compact sedan segment with the global launch of the next-generation Honda Amaze at the Auto Expo 2018. Reports suggest that the new Honda Amaze will borrow design elements from the Honda City, and come with a revised platform conforming to the stringent safety regulations. The engines driving the new Honda Amaze will be same 1.2-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel motors, which does duty on the outgoing model, coupled with the same five-speed manual transmission and CVT. Changes in the central console and the interiors are to be expected, with extra space. Its direct competitor will be the new Swift Dzire, which has replaced Alto as the top-selling car last year. Renault Kwid-based compact SUV The aggressive styling of the Renault Kwid will be put to better use with a SUV based on the same design language as the hatchback. The compact SUV will be based on Common Module Platform A (CMF-A) which has been seen on the Kwid, and will be seen on several upcoming cars from the French carmaker. Apart from the compact SUV, Renault plans to launch compact sedan and station wagons on the CMF-A platform. The sub-four meter car will compete against the likes of Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Creta and Tata Nexon. Mahindra S201 Known for its full size SUVs, Mahindra has been trying for some time to venture into the growing compact SUV segment. The carmaker might showcase a car based on the Ssangyong Tivoli at the Auto Expo 2018. Codenamed S201, Mahindra is reportedly planning to launch a compact and a stretched variant of the car. The smaller version will compete against the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Hyundai Creta and Tata Nexon, whereas the longer one will be pitted against the Renault Duster and the like. The expected engine options are a 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine and a 1.5-litre diesel engine. The company may even bring the bigger 1.6-litre mFalcon engine to the compact SUV in coming days. The government will soon invite fresh applications for the post of RBI Deputy Governor, a position that fell vacant after S S Mundra retired on completion of his three-year term on July 31, 2017. Although interviews were conducted on July 29 last year, the government has decided to start the process all over again, sources said without giving reasons. Advertisements seeking application from eligible bankers would be issued soon, they added. The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) headed by the Cabinet Secretary will select a suitable candidate to succeed Mundra. The central bank has four deputy governors -- two from within the ranks, one commercial banker and one economist -- to head the monetary policy department. The members of the search committee include the RBI Governor, Financial Services Secretary and three independent members. According to the earlier notice put up on RBI s website, applicants should have extensive experience as a full-time director or board member and possess understanding, at a very senior level, of supervision and compliance in the financial sector. Strong competencies working with financial performance data, including interpreting, summarising, high level output and strong and clear communication skills on matters of public policy, are also listed as criteria for the post. The appointment will be made for a period of three years and the person will be eligible for reappointment, it had said. The deputy governor will draw a fixed salary of Rs 2.25 lakh per month plus allowances, it added. | BY Lynchy | Campaign Brief can reveal that Aussie expat Cam Hoelter has joined McCann New York as an executive creative director. Hoelter, who moved to New York from Australia in 2016, had previously held an ECD position at DDB New York. Hoelter has broad experience that includes award-winning work for brands in the automotive, fast food, and food & beverage categories. A champion for strong work and collaboration, he has won major regional and international recognition, including at Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD, AWARD, Spikes, Clio, Adfest, Effies, and Global Facebook Awards. Before moving to New York with DDB, Hoelter was deputy executive creative director at DDB Sydney, where he helped that agency become Australias most awarded agency in Cannes in 2016, winning Lions for Volkswagen and McDonalds Australia. He also has held creative leadership roles in Australia at Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne and The Campaign Palace, Sydney. news, latest-news The ACT government rejected a tender proposal to provide a therapeutic protection place for Canberra's young in 2010 because of the cost and an evaluation deeming the operator unfit to provide such a facility. But the government revealed this was despite Housing ACT renovating a home in Belconnen in preparation. No such facility has yet been introduced in the ACT. The government refused to name the unsuccessful tenderer, nor would it confirm whether they provide services for Canberra's young people in another fashion in the ACT. It comes as the Australian Lawyers for Human Rights join the list of advocates calling for the ACT's criminal age of responsibility to be raised. Do you know more? Contact finbar.omallon@fairfaxmedia.com.au or text +61 437 464 126 via the Signal app on your smart phone. In December, ACT Chief Magistrate Lorraine Walker expressed frustration in court that she could not send an 11-year-old girl to a therapeutic protection place despite such a place being mandated in the ACT Children's Act. The girl had been arrested three times in a week for alleged violence against her carers. The girl was ultimately released back to her carers. The alternative was sending her to the Bimberi juvenile detention facility. Her case prompted calls for the government to raise the criminal age of responsibility to at least 12 and establish a therapeutic protection place. A spokeswoman for ACT children's minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said a tender was undertaken in 2010 to find an operator for a therapeutic protection place. "One proposal was received and the Tender Evaluation Committee found the proposal was lacking in several key requirements," the spokeswoman said. "[It] did not demonstrate sufficient understanding of current research and best practice models for providing therapeutic secure care for children and young people affected by severe and complex trauma; and failed to provide value for money." The government claimed they were unable to locate documents relating to the failed bid despite it progressing as far as having a property renovated in Belconnen. "A Housing ACT property was renovated in preparation for being declared as a place of Therapeutic Care. However, the property was never used for this purpose and was subsequently used for residential care," the spokeswoman said. The properties are now Housing ACT residences which were completed in June last year. Canberra solicitor and Australian Lawyers for Human Rights' ACT convenor Sangeeta Sharmin said the United Nations has recommended the minimum age of criminal responsibility to be set at 12-years of age. "We really think that it should be raised from 10 to a minimum of 12 and ideally a bit higher than 12. There's a few reasons for that, scientifically," Ms Sharmin said. "Children under the age of 14 really just don't understand their actions." Ms Sharmin said each time a young person was incarcerated it raised the possibility of them returning to prison. "It should be a measure of last resort and it should be a minimum of 12 years across the ACT and all criminal jurisdictions," she said. She said more than 600 children under the age of 14 were currently serving detention in Australia, with Indigenous children over represented in these statistics. Follow Finbar O'Mallon on Twitter. news, latest-news Work on two two-storey homes on a former Mr Fluffy site in Chapman has come to a halt after local residents say an "error" was found with the height. Russell Johnson, whose home is behind the development at 3 Tudawalli Place, Chapman, said surrounding residents were approached by the designer, VRD Design, which told them work had stopped because the structures were 1.53 metres higher than originally planned. The problem was put down to a "mistake", Mr Johnson said. "A retaining wall which was not on the original plan was built to cater this huge mistake and this alteration in the building now means that that we have a privacy issue with the bottom and second floor." The dispute in Tudawalli Place comes as the mass buyback and demolition of Mr Fluffy asbestos-contaminated homes enters its final phase, with new owners rebuilding on the cleared blocks. The ACT government controversially changed planning rules to allow Fluffy blocks over 700 square metres to be divided in two and used for two houses. Unlike other dual occupancies, the two homes on Fluffy blocks can be sold as separate titles. The new homes are set to change the face of some of the established, older suburbs. The Chapman neighbours objected to the original dual occupancy plans but Mr Johnson said he and wife Joan accepted the neighbouring development once it had been approved. Now, they find the height overwhelming - with a new retaining wall built to cater for the "mistake" in height. The frame of the first storey on the higher neighbouring property was built at the end of last year. Mr Johnson the ground level was now almost at the same height as his back fence. "The reality of the height of the beginning of the project shocked and disgusted us when some wall frames were erected. "Workers standing on the slab could see directly into our yard, pool, kitchen and family room. Just stepping into the yard now was always a shock as we had to look into the structure and see the workers. "We had a little oasis here and then when they cut the trees down and started building the structure it's turned us into a goldfish bowl. Mr Johnson said he had lived in Chapman for more than 30 years and had enjoyed "total privacy in our backyard". "Our concerns are not only for our privacy but also for the devaluation of our Chapman property. We feel that it is totally unfair to have bought into a RZ1 zone and then must contend with a Mr Fluffy property that have the rights of a RZ2 zone ... "This development has seriously affected us for our privacy, screening expenditure and devaluation of our property." The Johnsons now fear the new application for a higher building will be approved. VRD Designs did not want to comment on questions from The Canberra Times. Director Robert Valk said, "Due to the time of year, not all stakeholders are up to date with the project and therefore do not expect to be able to respond any time soon if at all." An Access Canberra said it had "stringent planning procedures in place for all developments to follow. It is up to private developers to meet them in order for the building to pass certification." The development application was approved in April last year for a dual occupancy and the drawings were endorsed in June. The original approval raised privacy concerns, saying given the site was sloping, the design had a single-level at the front and two storeys at the back. "The new dwellings including the outdoor dining/balcony areas are proposed at the rear of each of the dwellings which achieve the rule requirement of a 6 metres setback, however the assessment has identified that these areas are not sympathetic to the adjacent properties' private open space." The rule said "a person at 1.5 metres should not be able to see directly into an adjacent dwellings [private open space] for more than 50 per cent." "The proposed design nominates a glass balustrade, however this is not considered to provide reasonable privacy to the adjacent properties' private open space. A condition has been applied requiring the balustrades to be amended to meet the minimum 1.5 height and to be screened. After worked stopped, the developer submitted a new development application on December 22 to raise all floor levels. The spokesperson said the new application had been submitted but not formally lodged. The planning directorate was yet to assess whether the application could be lodged and whether to renotify the application. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/fe8d9b4a-c0e6-490b-a733-7cf78e274403/r0_114_1999_1243_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg news, latest-news A Canberra tenant was shocked to come home not once but twice to find a bird in her dining room, a tribunal has heard. The uninvited visitors - more specifically, allegations they had entered the property through damaged heating ducts - were behind one of a litany of complaints the tenant later made against her landlord. She took the landlord to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, asking that it order the man compensate her more than $4800 on six grounds. She was only partially successful. In a decision published earlier this year, the tribunal ordered the landlord pay the tenant a total of $154.50 for delays in various repairs. The woman had rented the Palmerston home in August 2016. But she alleged there were problems, and in April the next year the woman made a claim for compensation for the landlord's alleged delay in repairs to the heating ducts. A few months later she announced her intention to end the lease, which the landlord accepted. But the landlord said he would hold $120 from the bond to fumigate the place when she left. The woman had kept three cats and that was a condition in the lease. But she challenged him on that, saying her cats "don't have fleas", and there was nothing about a flea infestation in the final report. The dispute over the bond was sent to the tribunal but before it was settled, the landlord chose to release the $120. The saga did not end there. In August, the tenant made an application to the tribunal seeking compensation for various delays in repairs. One of six grounds was about the birds. The woman argued that she had been entitled to compensation as she waited for repairs to the ducting, through which she had alleged the birds got in. She said she had not been using the heating during the day to stop more birds coming in. Over the next few months four tradespeople came to the property and made minor repairs. But one person inspected the ducting and found there was no damage, meaning the birds could not have entered that way. They also reported that the vents were too small for a bird to come through. The tribunal said it was not convinced they had come in through the ducts. "How the two birds came to be on the floor of the dining room remains unknown," the tribunal said. It also rejected a claim for delay to repairs to the ducted heating, after the woman said there had been a lack of hot air coming into the lounge room. The tribunal further declined to compensate her following allegations the property had not been clean enough when she moved in, and as a result had to spend two days cleaning. But the tribunal did award $16 for what was a "minor breach" in the delay in fixing a dining room blind, which the woman had said meant people could look into directly into the living area. The woman had also claimed for the delay in fixing the alarm system. She argued that as a single person, living alone, the security alarm was important and that she should be compensated for the lesser security. The tribunal accepted that the alarm needed to be repaired but found that it was not urgent. It awarded the tenant $80 for the delay. It also awarded $38 for the delay in providing keys for certain doors and windows and, $20 for the delay in servicing the ducted vacuum cleaner. The landlord was given 28 days to pay. /images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/41669626-152d-4e3f-8c4e-93dcb9ea5311/r0_542_2000_1672_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg The Oscars of the automotive industry have been handed over to the big winners at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. One of the vehicles that managed to stand out in the 2018 North American Car of the Year awards, turning out to be more popular than the other two finalists Kia Stinger and Toyota Camry, is the new generation Honda Accord. Unveiled last summer and launched a few months later, it has a more modern styling and higher-tech cabin with new technologies, including 4G LTE connectivity and wireless smartphone charger, and three powertrains, including a hybrid. Receiving top honors from the jurors is the new Volvo XC60, which walked home with the 2018 Utility of the Year award. The small luxury SUV faced the Honda Odyssey and Alfa Romeo Stelvio in the final, but it managed to impress the 60 jurors from the United States and Canada, who appreciated its safety and driver assistance systems in a package that exudes Scandinavian design, according to the NACTOY President, Mark Phelan. Last, but definitely not least, the Lincoln Navigator has been named 2018 North American Truck of the Year, being favored over the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 and Ford Expedition. This is the first time a Lincoln vehicle walks home with such an award, making the brands President, Kumar Galhotra, say that the team is honored to be named the best among such a strong field of competitors. The road to the 2019 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year will start this summer, when the nominees will be announced in each category. PHOTO GALLERY While crossovers and SUVs are dominating the market, Toyota isnt ready to put its traditional saloons to rest, with the brand unveiling the fifth generation Avalon at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. Underpinned by the TNGA architecture, the large Toyota sedan is now longer, wider, and lower than before, at 196in (4,978mm) long, 72.8in (1,849mm) wide, 56.5in (1,435mm) tall, with a 113in (2,870mm) long wheelbase. It features new and more premium styling, with the most eye-catching part being the massive razor blade-like (and mustache-shaped) grille that brings to mind Lexus and which is flanked by slim headlights. The Avalons design also incorporates a more muscular profile, and a redesigned rear end, with new taillights connected by a prominent strip. Inside, the big news is Toyotas Entune 3.0 infotainment system that dominates the central console and provides access to connected services, Wi-Fi hotspot, and sound system, among others. Audiophiles can go ahead and get the optional JBL 7.1-channel system, which boasts 1,200-watt. Qi wireless mobile device charger, Toyota Remote Connect with Smartwatch, Amazon Alexa Connectivity, Apple CarPlay, are also part of the offerings, along with up to 5 USB ports, and a selection of wood and leather trims. Whats absent is Android Auto support, which is weird given the percentage that Android holds on the smartphone market. Theres a new 7-inch display in the instrument cluster as well, which allows the driver to see the vehicle information, safety settings, navigation, and other functions, while the addition of a 10-inch head-up display, said to be the largest in the segment, should earn extra points for the car. Powering the 2019 Toyota Avalon are two engines: an upgraded version of the 3.5-liter V6, with an 8-speed automatic gearbox, and a 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid, with a 650-volt electric motor and CVT. No power figures have been released yet, but these appear to be very similar to the units that power the Camry, and in the latter, the V6 makes 301hp (305PS) and 267lb-ft (362Nm) of torque, whereas the smaller one is rated at 203hp (206PS) and 184lb-ft (249Nm) of torque. Other changes made to the new Avalon include the active variable suspension with adaptive damping, shock absorbers at each corner with solenoid control valves for independent wheel control, front and rear G sensors, and a multilink setup at the rear. Drivers will get to choose between one of three driving modes on all trim levels Eco, Normal, and Sport, while those who sit behind the wheel of the Touring grades will get a fourth one, called Sport+. Elsewhere, the 2019 Toyota Avalon benefits from active noise control, engine sound enhancement, a new exhaust system, and intake sound generator. A suite of safety systems equip the car, including the standard Toyota Safety Sense P, which offers Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection, Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, and Automatic High Beams. Other driving assistance features available are the Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Back Guide Monitor, Panoramic View Monitor with Alert, and Intelligence Clearance Sonar with Rear Cross Traffic Braking system. Toyota will start taking orders for the 2019 Avalon in late spring, with pricing to be announced at a later date. PHOTO GALLERY Joining the rest of the Civic range in the United Kingdom is the new diesel model, which will arrive at dealers nationwide next month. Pricing for the diesel starts at 20,120 ($27,620), in the new entry-level S grade (with 6-speed manual), but consumers will be able to specify it in the SE, SR, and EX trim levels as well, like they would the 1.0-liter three-cylinder petrol model. The EX starts from 24,925 ($34,216) and can be had with an optional Tech Pack, for 600 ($824), which adds a few amenities such as the LED headlights with washers, LED fog lamps, heated rear seats, and wireless phone charging. The arrival of the diesel variant completes the lineup for the Civic hatchback in the UK. This 1.6-liter i-DTEC is the most technologically advanced diesel unit we have launched to market, and will deliver a very competitive offering for both the retail customer and the fleet market, commented Honda UKs chief, Phil Webb. This version of the Honda Civic uses a 1.6-liter unit that delivers 120PS (118hp) and 300Nm (221lb-ft) of torque to the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. It takes 10.4sec to reach 100km/h (62mph) from a standstill, and promises to return 76.3 UK mpg (3.7 l/100 km / 63.6 US mpg), while releasing just 99 g/km of CO2 into the atmosphere. If you would rather have an automatic transmission paired with the Civic diesels engine, then you need to wait until early summer, when Honda will launch it across Britain. PHOTO GALLERY Bob Iger, the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, suffered a 17% year-over-year decline in his salary for 2017, earning just $36.3 million. It is the smallest compensation package he has received since 2013. But like every Disney fairytale, the story of Igers salary has a happy ending. Thanks to Disneys $52.4 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Iger will be granted a bonus of 245,098 shares of Disney stock. Those shares are currently valued around $27.5 million. Further, he is entitled to an additional 687,898 performance-based shares of stock that are subject to the completion of the Fox deal and meeting certain financial targets. That bonus is worth at least $77.3 million and will vest in 2021. Photo: Thinkstock, Canadian Press, Wayne Moore, Abbotsford Police, Vernon Search and Rescue Front-line Frequencies is a six-part series in which we talk to five first-responder organizations about the realities of life working on the front lines. There's an old newsroom truism that "If it bleeds, it leads." However, when the attention shifts, that doesn't mean the suffering ends. Today is the first in a six-part series called Front-line Frequencies in which we talk to five first-responder organizations about the realities of life working on the front lines. "Violence. Not part of the job." Acting president of the British Columbia Nurses Union Christine Sorensen. "Unimaginable to most." Operations supervisor with the B.C. Emergency Health Services Glenn Braithwaite. "Do not use the term hero." Deputy fire chief Scott Hemstad of Vernon Fire and Rescue, and president of B.C. Professional Fire Fighters Association Gord Ditchburn. "A crack in the armour." Sergeant Judy Bird of the Abbotsford Police Department. "This is not a 9 to 5 job." Search manager Leigh Pearson of Vernon Search and Rescue. The aim is to create a conversation about the stresses first responders face, and the mechanisms and supports in place to help them manage the physical and emotional rigours of their jobs. These organizations may be the most high-profile first responders, but when tragedy strikes, the ripples spread far across communities. Dr. Jeff Morley spent 23 years as an RCMP officer before retiring from the force to work solely on helping emergency service professionals deal with the stresses of their careers. "So often, we forget that there are other groups of people who are deeply affected by tragic events, like what happened in Kelowna." (33-year-old Clara Forman and her two young daughters, Karina and Yesenia, were killed at their Rutland home in December.) Morley points to plainclothes detectives, investigators; forensic crime scene examiners, the victim services workers, 911 dispatchers who may all be affected by tragedy. "Just in policing, there are employees within the department who are affected," he says. Then there are doctors, social workers and correctional officers, all of whom, Morley adds, "are so badly affected by such a tragedy." As a registered psychologist, Morley now focuses on individual counselling and crisis intervention, such as critical incident stress debriefings and defusing. He says there are three key types of incidents or stressors that affect first responders' mental health and well being. "There is what I call 'primary trauma.' Those incidents where the first responder is the one in harm's way, secondary trauma, which is about the experience of confronting unfixable suffering, and, organizational stressors ... whether that is the challenge of being under investigation, bureaucratic processes or short staffing." As a community, we ask first responders to deal with traumatic, threatening and violent events. "We know that that kind of exposure and that kind of work can take a toll on people," said Morley. "Our first responders are the ones who are on the pointy edge when it comes to dealing with these things." "They are not perfect. They do not walk on water. But knowing the work they do takes a toll will hopefully create some compassion for our first responders if and when they struggle or suffer or even make a mistake." Part two in Front-line Frequencies, we pull back the curtain on the violent realities of life in the nursing profession with BCNU acting president Christine Sorensen. Photo: The Canadian Press People are silhouetted as they gather at a vendor selling LED grow lights at the Lift Cannabis Expo in Vancouver. Canadian marijuana companies are on a hiring spree, looking to fill an array of roles as they gear up for the legalization of recreational cannabis later this year. The workforce is booming, said Alison McMahon, who runs Cannabis At Work, a staffing agency focused on the burgeoning industry. Right now, she's recruiting for positions in everything from growing and production to sales and marketing, all across the country. The buzz around Canadian pot is allowing companies to be picky and choose top talent, said Kerri-Lynn McAllister, chief marketing officer at Lift, a company that puts on cannabis events and runs a website sharing marijuana news and reviews. "Because of all the excitement, it's really an opportunity for companies to pick up the A-players in business or whatever field they're operating in," said McAllister, speaking from first-hand experience. She recently left a job in the financial tech sector to join Lift. The industry has come out from the shadows recently, McAllister said, and that's allowing companies to attract business executives, tech wizards and marketing masters who are at the top of their game. Dozens of prospective employees came to meet McMahon and her staff at the Lift Cannabis Expo in Vancouver on Saturday, resumes in hand. Chad Grant said he's been working in construction, but wants to get a job growing marijuana. "It's going to be a big industry, so I'd like to be on the ground floor type thing," he said. Working with marijuana is nothing new for some of the applicants. Grady Jay said he's been growing for the underground industry for years. Now he wants to transition to working for the legal market. "I basically want to wake up and do what I love in the morning," Jay said. Successful applicants can expect to make salaries comparable to what similar industries offer, McMahon said. A general growing position would probably make about $50,000 per year, she said, while a director of production could expect around $100,000. Photo: Contributed Port Hardy, B.C. was rocked by two earthquakes before noon this morning. No damage was reported, but two earthquakes registering at 4.2 and 4.5 magnitude happened on Sunday morning. Seismologist John Cassidy said the event is an opportunity to be reminded that islanders live in an earthquake zone. with files from CTV Vancouver Island Photo: CTV A targeted shooting on a major Vancouver street has left three people injured, including someone police describe as an "innocent" teen. Vancouver police said several shots were fired Saturday evening in a busy commercial and residential area on Broadway. Sgt. Jason Robillard said a man in his early 20s, who is believed to be the target of the attack, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. A 15-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., who was driving through the area when the shots were fired, was also seriously injured and taken to hospital. "At this time the evidence suggests that he is innocent," Robillard said at a news conference Sunday. He said the victims taken to hospital remain in serious condition. A man in his 30s, who police said was not a target, suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene and released. It's unclear what prompted the incident, but Robillard said there are indications that gunfire was exchanged. "This is bad and we are concerned with how brazen this was," Robillard said, adding that more than 30 officers are working on the case. No arrests have been made. The area of Broadway and Ontario Street remained closed through Sunday evening as the investigation continued. Area resident Gloria Gribling said she heard what she thought were fireworks going off Saturday evening. "I heard quite a large bang and then I thought that sounds like a gunshot, and then I thought ridiculous, I'm watching too much TV," she said. "And then I hear immediately afterward what sounded like fireworks, very fast explosions but they weren't as loud as the first one." She said Broadway is a busy thoroughfare, and while the noise seemed out of character, she considers the area typically safe. "I have no fear of going for walks or anything like that around here, it's very safe," Gribling said. A number of local businesses, including a furniture store and yoga studio, posted on social media that they would remain closed while police had the area cordoned off. Robillard said police need time to gather evidence and capture the scene accurately. "Our officers are working diligently to try to put all the pieces together," he said. Police are asking witnesses or anyone with dash-cam footage of the scene to come forward as the investigation continues. Photo: DriveBC UPDATE: 8:45 a.m. Southbound lanes of the Coquihalla reopened shortly after 8 a.m. UPDATE: 6:50 a.m. DriveBC reports the southbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway should reopen by 8:30 a.m. ORIGINAL: 6 a.m. The Coquihalla Highway is closed southbound at the Clearwater interchange between Merritt and Hope because of a crash. DriveBC reports a vehicle incident closed the route about 3 a.m. No detour is available, and drivers are advised to take an alternative route via Highways 1 and 8. A scene assessment is ongoing, and no estimated time of opening is available. Foggy conditions with limited visibility and slippery sections are reported on both the Coquihalla and the Okanagan Connector. Photo: The Canadian Press People who live with chronic pain need options beyond prescription opioids, and it's up to the B.C. government to provide more services such as physiotherapy, says the head of a group that supports patients and their families. "There has really been a lack of any appropriate response to chronic pain in our province and in our country," said Maria Hudspith, executive director of Pain BC, the only non-profit society in Canada to bring together clinical experts and policy-makers to work on chronic pain management initiatives. Beside painkillers, patients must have access to physical therapy and psychological support but wait lists stretch from one to three years at the few specialized pain clinics in the province, she said. "We've seen this overreliance on the prescription pad as the only tool in the toolbox," Hudspith said. "Some people may become dependent on the medication in order to function and some of those people may become addicted." One in five people in B.C. lives with pain that can be relentless and crippling but she said some communities have no specialized health-care providers for patients who need intervention after an injury or surgery, for example. A lack of dedicated pain services means patients make more doctors' visits and may require more surgeries, resulting in high health-care costs and poor quality of life, Hudspith said. "There's a growing recognition that this is a huge problem that is really, in many way, at the root of a lot of issues that we're seeing." Hudspith said Pain BC has been in discussions with the provincial government to expand services. In June 2016, B.C. doctors became the first in Canada to face mandatory standards for prescribing opioids and other addictive medications. At the time, the College of Physicians and Surgeons replaced guidelines offering only recommendations with legal standards that allowed for consequences, such as complaint hearings and disciplinary action. Following the introduction of the standards, some doctors began weaning or cutting patients off pain medication. Hudspith said that has left people suffering, especially if they don't have access to other options for pain relief. "We have documented cases of people who are no longer able to work, they've maxed out their sick time, they're contemplating going on disability," she said. While the college's policy came into effect with the intention of minimizing the effects of opioids in the midst of an overdose crisis, overdoses have "continued like a runaway train," Hudspith said. "There are people who have said to us or have said to their physicians or MLAs (members of the legislature) that they are going to the street and buying opioids through the illicit market despite the risk," she said. "Chronic pain is a very misunderstood condition. The approach needs to be very different from other chronic conditions that are very well understood." Photo: The Canadian Press Crews are beginning a massive cleanup in parts of Atlantic Canada that saw power lines downed, buildings pummelled and roads cleaved away by heavy rains and snowmelt. Officials in western Newfoundland estimate damage to homes and infrastructure will be in the millions following flooding over the weekend that washed out roads or compromised their integrity. Corner Brook Mayor Jim Parsons says a state of emergency has been lifted, but that residents need to be careful on roadways that may not be stable after swollen rivers sent gushing torrents of water flowing through some areas. Premier Dwight Ball toured the west coast over the weekend and says he will reach out to the federal government for assistance, saying he's never seen that kind of damage from a January thaw before. A state of emergency was continuing in the town of Trout River, where Mayor Horace Crocker said there was so much flooding that the school was like a floating island. In New Brunswick, more than 100 people in Musquash were allowed to return home after being evacuated from their homes Saturday night due to concerns about the water level at the nearby East Branch dam. Some areas of the province were deluged by more than 100 millimetres of rain since Saturday, causing localized flooding and water levels at the dam to rise to near capacity. Madison Erhardt UPDATE: 4: 50 p.m. ''I was sitting on my couch and there was a big bang. I looked out the window and all you could see were flames coming out of the whole barn," said neighbour Mike Dore. "By the time the fire department got there the building was already gone," Dore added. The cause of the fire remains unknown at this time. UPDATE: 10:55 a.m. Deputy Chief Todd Bannatyne, with the Ellison Fire Department, tells Castanet they responded to a barn fire near Rittich Road by the airport at three a.m. Monday morning. When they arrived the structure was fully involved in flames so they began a defensive attack to ensure the blaze wouldn't spread to any other structures. "The property owner was doing renovations, but the building is pretty much gone so it will be difficult to determine the actual cause of the fire. He was using a diesel generator to keep the place warm because he was going to be doing concrete work today." The fire is now out. Bannatyne says his team will go back after the noon hour to ensure there are no hot spots and crews will be on site this evening going over the wreckage to try to determine the official cause of the fire. ORIGINAL 8:08 a.m. Kelowna fire Platoon Captain, Tim Light confirms there has been a fire on Rittich Road near the airport. The Ellison fire department is taking the lead on scene and Kelowna fire is supporting. The pictures sent to us by Robert Cameron show a building fully involved. "We are still on scene in a support capacity, there is more to this story but we need to confirm any details before we release the information." We will have more information as it becomes available. Photo: The Canadian Press Rail traffic controller Richard Labrie, waits in a courtroom hallway as the jury deliberates. Jurors in the Lac-Megantic criminal negligence trial have asked the judge their first questions since being sequestered last Thursday. During their fifth day of deliberations today, the jurors requested a dictionary and clarifications on various judicial matters. Jurors are asking for clarification on the term "reasonable doubt." They are also seeking an explanation about the legal concepts of a reasonable person and a reasonable and prudent person. The jurors are deciding the fate of Tom Harding, Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre, who are charged in connection with the July 2013 tragedy in which 47 people were killed when a runaway train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded. Harding was the train's engineer, Labrie the traffic controller and Demaitre the manager of train operations. Photo: CTV A Toronto police investigation has concluded that an incident reported by an 11-year-old girl who claimed her hijab was cut by a scissors-wielding man as she walked to school did not happen. The alleged incident, which was reported on Friday, made international headlines and drew public condemnation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario's premier and Toronto's mayor. On Monday, police said their investigation had concluded, with no charges laid and no consequences for the girl. "These allegations were extremely serious and not surprisingly, they received national and international attention," police spokesman Mark Pugash said in an interview. "We investigated, we put together a significant amount of evidence and we came to the conclusion that what was described did not happen." Pugash said police don't know how the story escalated and he's not sure it's their job to speculate why. He stressed that it's "very unusual" for someone to make false allegations of this type and said he hopes it will not discourage others from coming forward. The Grade 6 student had said she was walking to Pauline Johnson Junior Public School with her younger brother when a man came up behind her, pulled off her jacket hood, and started cutting the bottom of her hijab. She had said the man ran off but returned a short time later and once again started cutting her hijab from behind. The girl said that when she turned to confront him, the man smiled and ran away. Photo: The Canadian Press National home sales rose 4.5 per cent in December from the month before as buyers scrambled to nab homes ahead of stricter mortgage regulations coming into effect, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday. The organization's monthly report said the number of homes on the market also jumped up by 3.3 per cent between November and December. CREA said the bounce likely stemmed from heightened demand for homes ahead of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions' tighter stress tests for those with uninsured mortgages that came into effect on Jan. 1. The rules require would-be homebuyers who have more than 20 per cent down payment to prove they can still service their uninsured mortgage at a qualifying rate of the greater of the contractual mortgage rate plus two percentage points or the five-year benchmark rate published by the Bank of Canada. "The new OFSI measures and a shift to a rising-state environment should prevent speculative froth from building again, and contain price growth to a reasonable pace for the remainder of the cycle," BMO Capital Markets senior economist Robert Kavcic wrote in a note. The real estate association has cut its sales forecast for 2018 as a result of the anticipated impact of new stress tests, forecasting a 5.3 per cent drop in national sales to 486,600 units this year, shaving about 8,500 units from its previous estimate. "It will be interesting to see if the monthly sales activity continues to rise despite tighter mortgage regulations," Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist, said in the report. In the final month of 2017, the average national home price reached just over $496,500, up 5.7 per cent from one year earlier. December home sales were up 4.1 per cent from the previous December, signalling that the country is "fully recovering from the slump last summer," said CREA. Various real estate experts have said that a set of policies introduced by the Ontario government in April produced the desired market slowdown in Toronto during the second and third quarters following a hot first quarter. Sixty per cent of all local markets also saw a surge in activity in December with the Greater Toronto Area, Edmonton, Calgary, the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, Hamilton-Burlington and Winnipeg leading the country. Photo: Laurie Koss A Kelowna artist who's had her work featured on Canada Post stamps is putting her paintbrush to work to raise funds for colorectal cancer research. Laurie Koss painted "Gillian's Flower" for good friend Gillian White. The painting is one of a collection of 22 from her solo art show, Pansy, which came to be dedicated to White, a five-year survivor of colorectal cancer. All proceeds from the sale of prints and greeting cards support the BC Cancer Foundation's work to support advancements in colorectal cancer research. So far, the effort has raised more than $3,000. "Gillian and I would like to ... create more awareness around this deadly disease that is curable if caught early enough," said Koss. "The available screening practices are underused in our community because people are either unaware of them or don't bother getting them done. I alone have known three people in our city diagnosed too late in the past six months." Koss' works are on display at Hambleton Galleries in Kelowna. Previously, her works were featured on Canada Posts celebrated Flower Series stamps. Photo: The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team Michael Bonin who was murdered in April of 2017. UPDATE: 1:40 p.m. Three men accused of killing a 20-year-old man near Hope appeared in Kelowna provincial court on Monday morning. Ryan Watt, 26, Joshua Fleurant, 20 and Jared Jorgenson, 27, have all been charged with first-degree murder. RCMP were called to a rural forest service road north of Hope, where they identified Michael Bonin as the deceased on April 20, 2017. Their next court appearance is on Jan. 29. ORIGINAL: 11:39 a.m. B.C.'s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team has arrested and charged three males in connection with the murder of a 20-year-old male in April 2017. Michael Bonin's body was found on a rural forest service road north of Hope on the morning of April 20. The victim, of Rycroft, Alberta, was found dead at about 7:30 a.m. IHIT investigators worked tirelessly to advance this investigation and the complexity was such that a successful resolution would not have been possible without the support of our many partners, said Cpl. Frank Jang of IHIT. We are hopeful that this can now help the family of Mr. Bonin begin their journey towards the healing process. Almost nine months after the homicide of Bonin IHIT has collected enough evidence to lay criminal charges against Ryan Watt, 26, Joshua Fleurant, 20 and Jared Jorgenson, 27. All three males have been charged with first-degree murder and will be appearing before a B.C. Provincial Court Judge today. "Michael did not deserve to die, he was a loving, helpful and loyal young man who had lots to live for," said Bonin's mother in a statement. "The pain of losing Michael will never go away and many lives have been changed by this selfish act." "I hope those responsible for taking Michaels life are held accountable." IHIT is unable to release the specifics surrounding evidence or motive. The case is now before the court, investigators believe that this homicide was not a random incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the IHIT information line at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or by email at [email protected] To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). with files from The Canadian Press Photo: Contributed Kelowna RCMP are on the hunt for a driver who fled from a routine traffic stop last Friday. Police tell Castanet news Emergency crews and the motoring public were put at risk Friday afternoon when the driver of a pickup truck fled from police who were conducting traffic control at an unrelated scene of a motor vehicle collision along Highway 33 near Joe Rich. The incident happened around two in the afternoon when RCMP were coping with numerous crashes along Highway 33 near Goudie Road. An officer was informed by a motorist that a Dodge Ram pickup truck, in the lineup, had been seen driving erratically. The officer directed the driver of the Dodge Ram pickup truck to the side of the road and began to approach the drivers side window when the operator suddenly took off. Attempts by officers to apprehend the driver and vehicle led to not one but two officers almost being run over. Due to the risk the suspect posed to the public, Kelowna Air Services were engaged and RCMP helicopter, Air 4, took to the skies to assist, states Cpl. Jesse ODonaghey. The burgundy Dodge Ram pickup truck was later discovered abandoned in a ditch along Como Road near Fisher Road on the edge of East Kelowna, says Cpl. Jesse ODonaghey. The vehicle has since been seized by police and remains part of our ongoing investigation. RCMP are asking you to contact them if you witnessed this incident and have not yet spoken to police, or you have any information that may assist investigators. Photo: RCMP RCMP have collared a man wanted in connection with a live sex show that turned into an armed robbery. Cal Little was arrested Sunday afternoon in Kelowna. Our officers were actively investigating tip information from the public, when an individual believed to be Cal Little was spotted running northbound along Ethel Street, says Cpl. Jesse ODonaghey. RCMP converged on the area and engaged in a foot pursuit, which ended in an alleyway adjacent to Cameron Park, where that male was taken into police custody. Little was wanted on several outstanding warrants related to robbery, firearms and drug offences. Little, 52, remains in police custody pending a court appearance. He had been on the lam since jumping bail last year in connection with a 2016 robbery incident. His alleged partner in the sex show, which turned into a robbery, received five years in jail for her part in the bizarre incident. The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold its first meeting of 2018 on Jan. 18-19 (Thursday-Friday) at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agencys Ray Bell Region II Building. Committee meetings begin at 1 p.m., Jan. 18. The formal commission meeting starts the following day at 9 a.m. TWRA Waterfowl Program Coordinator Jamie Feddersen will preview the waterfowl and other migratory bird hunting seasons, including sandhill cranes, for next fall and winter to the commission. Due to changes in the timing of the federal regulation process in regard to the waterfowl and migratory game bird hunting, the annual proposals are now made in January. The 2018-19 regulations will be voted on by the commission at next months meeting. Ducks Unlimited/Canada representative Dave Kostersky will be present to make the organizations annual presentation to the commission. He will discuss highlights of the last year and the continued partnership with the TWRA. TWRA Fisheries Division Chief Frank Fiss will have a follow-up of his December presentation on the status of Asian carp in Tennessee waterways. He will continue to discuss the latest efforts by the TWRA and its partners to control and contain the invasive species. TWRA Communications Manager Doug Markham will provide an update on the agencys campaign efforts to inform the public about chronic wasting disease (CWD) and efforts to keep it out of Tennessee. Among the efforts, is a page on TWRAs website specifically dedicated to providing information about the disease. There will also several presentations at this months meeting. These include the presentation of the second Robert M. Hatcher Ornithological Scholarship Award, named in honor of the late TWRA employee. Also presented will be the Information Technology Division Professional of the year and the annual Wildlife and Forestry Divisions wildlife technician and biologist of the year awards. In addition, retiring TWRA Region IV Manager John Gregory will be recognized. Clariant announced that it has signed two key agreements with SINOPEC, Chinas largest petroleum and chemical company. The agreements were signed in Beijing by the companies senior management on September 27, 2017. The first of these is the FCAS Series Sorbent Agreement in which SINOPEC has agreed to license its FCAS series of S-Zorb sorbent to Clariant. The cooperation agreement will allow Clariant to scale up the catalyst product portfolio for commercial production of low sulfur gasoline. The second is the FCC (Fluid Catalytic Cracking) Agency Agreement between Sinopec Catalyst Company (SCC) and Clariant Qatar W.L.L. stating that Clariant Qatar W.L.L. will be the representative for Sinopecs FCC catalysts to oil refineries in Qatar. FCC naphtha is the major contributor to the gasoline pool. However, it typically contains up to 2,000 ppm wt. sulfur. As the China V specification requires a sulfur concentration of below 10 ppm wt., sulfur removal is essential. Hydrodesulfurization, a method widely used to remove sulfur from naphtha, requires a considerable amount of hydrogen, and results in the loss of RON (research octane number). In contrast, the S-Zorb process uses catalysts to adsorb all sulfur species from FCC gasoline with high RON retention and high liquid yield. Moreover, the single step process requires no recycle streams, and consumes significantly less hydrogen. These factors have made S-Zorb a technology of choice in China for upgrading gasoline from China National IV (equivalent to EURO IV) to China National V (equivalent to EURO V) standards. Since 2001, Clariant has partnered with SINOPEC to supply next generation S-Zorb catalysts for producing low sulfur gasoline at more than 25 world-scale units in China and USA. In all cases, the technology and catalysts have demonstrated their superior performance in clean energy production and emission control. Ma Yongsheng, Senior Vice President of SINOPEC Group, commented, Cooperation with a well-respected, innovative and reliable catalyst partner is essential for SINOPECs fuel upgrading technologies. Although we have successfully collaborated with Clariant in the past (including their predecessor company Sud-Chemie), we are very delighted to continue and further expand our partnership. Stefan Heuser, Senior Vice President & General Manager Business Unit Catalysts at Clariant, welcomed the agreement, stating, We are honored to have enjoyed a successful partnership with Sinopec since 2001, and are delighted to further strengthen our cooperation through these agreements. As a leading provider of catalysts for fuel upgrading, we are committed to driving value and innovation through sustainability. Calhoun was born in 1925 to a family that included one of the village's founders, and his father was the village board president in the early 20th century. Calhoun graduated at 16 from New Trier High School and then enrolled at the University of Arizona, where he served in the last ROTC cavalry unit in the country, according to Patricia. For many of us, Girl Scout cookies are a treat that we look forward to all year. Whether you love their sweet and salty peanut butter sandwich cookies (Do-si-dos) or the chocolate-drizzled cookies topped with toasted coconut and gooey caramel (Samoas), everyone has a favorite that they stock up on when the Girl Scouts start taking orders. But what do you do when you've eaten your last Thin Mint and there's nothing but crumbs left in the package? Why not make your own? Still, I think youll find this show exceptionally interesting. Shannons dynamic production is stocked with superb actors (Dado is especially truthful here, as is Fitzgerald), and the scenes in the Stock abode throb with energy and tension. Shannon does not mess around: The show, which is cleverly designed by John Musial, moves fast and furious, and theres a risky, even a messy, impulsiveness to all that transpires, which is exciting in and of itself. A load of new actors appear in the council scene which put me in mind of David Cromers famous Our Town and it means that you never quite know where to look for the next chaotic manifestation on what now passes for democratic debate. Flaws or not, the piece is not to be missed, folks, if you chart a city by its most significant art and want to take a pulse. We also see a bit more about how the police themselves are treating both murders. Detective Wallace (Brian King) is aggressively awful and smug and is very much the type of Chicago cop described in that damning report from the Department of Justice last year. Hes unbothered by the potential fallout if they fail to close the case (Theyll eventually kill who needs to be killed and then we file the paperwork, he says boredly between sips of coffee). And then theres Detective Cruz (Northwestern alum Armando Riesco), who we spend the most time with and who were meant to empathize with. Hes thoughtful and observant and invested in the human dimension of his cases. Im sure there are cops like Cruz out there as well, but he seems idealized. Im here to say, hands off our bodies. If you choose to never have an abortion, thats your right. I respect that, Wsol said. But you dont get to tell me what I get to do with my body or any other person that chooses abortion. The small fire broke out around 10:30 p.m. near the Dune Park station, police said. No one was injured. For Adams and others on fixed incomes, its a conundrum: SROs are in dire need of renovations to make them more livable, but those updates which will mean larger apartments with, for example, their own bathrooms rather than shared toilets and showers in the building effectively reduce the number of affordable housing units in the city. And that leaves fewer options for Adams, 55, who has been living on Social Security benefits since the 1980s because of a learning disability. But when I hear such ignorance and stupidity aired out by someone who knows so little about so much, I dont think theres an appropriate place for them to be on a podium on a dais with other people who have given these issues thought and have the emotional capacity to be empathetic at the same time, he said. While Trump said at the time that the Jerusalem decision would have no impact on the final status of the contested city, he later tweeted that it had been taken "off the table" for negotiations, from which he accused the Palestinians of walking away. Corey Lewandowski, former campaign manager for President Donald Trump, speaks in Cleveland on Aug. 3, 2017. Lewandowskisaid he will testify this week to a House committee probing Russian interference in the 2016 election. (Dake Kang / AP) This position is most troubling because it trivializes anti-Semitism, and other forms of racism, under the rubric of mere idiocy or personal opinions. Although it is tempting to dismiss bigots as fools, the truth is that anti-Jewish imagery is constantly used to inspire attacks on synagogues, schools, community centers, museums and kosher supermarkets. Some academics may not comprehend the power of internet caricatures to instigate violence, but it is well understood by the neo-Nazis, whose style guide advises that There should be a conscious agenda to dehumanize the enemy, to the point where people are ready to laugh at their deaths. Partisan gerrymandering is an abuse that Republicans ought to fear will be deployed against them. In 2018 and 2020, they may lose control of many state legislatures just as the time comes for decennial redistricting. The Illinois GOP, of course, is well acquainted with how the Democrats in Springfield have been able to use their map-drawing power to help keep Michael Madigan in charge of the House for all but two of the past 35 years. By the time the steam fire engines America and Little Giant arrived, the blaze that would become the Great Chicago Fire was well on its way to ravaging the city. But it was only a matter of days after the flames subsided that an enterprising real estate developer would start the process of rebuilding. "I started it to be part of a gaming community that we didn't have in this area," Howard said. "I wanted a way to get people who are interested in games to have one day a month to relax, get themselves outside, meet new people and play games." On Jan. 9, park board commissioners meeting as the Special Projects and Facilities Committee were joined by staff and roughly 15 members of the public to see the second set of design concepts from Chicago-based landscape architect Altamanu Inc. for proposed refurbishments at Old Elm Park, Woodlawn Park and the unnamed park at Vernon and Jefferson avenues. Police said they found a man Sunday inside this van, which allegedly contained stolen property. The suspect is under investigation for burglaries along the North Shore and in DuPage County. (Lake Forest Police) Slazes said the cause of the fire was under investigation and a state fire marshal was at the scene Monday. Slazes said the fire appears to have started in the basement, but it is the area where the first floor burned and collapsed into the basement. "If you're not necessarily going to the gym, you can park far away from the door when you're at the store or work, take the stairs instead of an elevator and make healthier choices when you eat," Diaz said. "It's about making healthy choices over time because it all has an impact." Trinity, she said, is "a place that is helping young women come in touch with self-knowledge, where they can embrace the rights and responsibilities of full citizenship as educated women. I'm thrilled to be in an institution where young women are coming of age, learn how they can contribute and participate fully in the world. ... The Dominican Sinsinawan tradition is singular; women-centered, pioneering in the best sense of that term. And it always has been! That's very attractive." "Well, since my father's still alive at 93 and I'm only 58, I'm hoping I'll still be around and I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I think it will be something especially worth celebrating. We've had a great run. Theaters come and go, but the Pickwick is still here. And I expect it'll be here for a long time to come." Valparaiso police have issued a community alert about thefts from vehicles at businesses in the city after two instances when a man smashed car windows and took items out of parked cars, police said. "I'm disgusted by many pronouncements of the president of the United States," he said, adding that includes how Trump refers to women and people who don't look like him, and his separation of immigrants based on their country of origin. "It has no place in a good country, which I consider the United States." "But my methods of finding out what a patron needs have stayed largely the same," she said. "Most of the questions I get are still asked the old-fashioned way, in person. In this job, it's important to remember what a big deal it is to ask a complete stranger for help." For Subscribers Pueblo County has state's highest unemployment rate Pueblo's complex job market features the highest unemployment rate in the state, yet job recovery is not far off state and national averages. Foreign investors are now subject to a more relaxed criteria when applying for the withholding tax deferral system. Withholding tax is a form of tax that applies to various China-sourced incomes derived by non-resident enterprises without establishments in China, or by non-residents enterprises with establishments in China, but whose income is not related to these establishments. Originally, Circular 88 (Cai Shui [2017 No. 88]) stated that non-residents enterprises which incurred their income from January 1, 2017 onwards were able to defer withholding tax payments by reinvesting their equity investment incomes (such as dividends and bonuses) from resident enterprises into projects encouraged by the country. These were projects that fall under the list of sectors encouraged either under the Catalogue on Industry Guidelines for Foreign Investment, or the Catalogue of Priority Industries for Foreign Investment in Central and Western China. However, in October 2018, this legislation was repealed and replaced by a new circular. Under the Notice on Expanding the Scope of Application of Withholding Income Tax Policy for Direct Investment by Foreign Investors to Distribute Profits (Cai Shui [2018] No. 102) (Circular 102), non-resident enterprises are now able to defer withholding tax payments by reinvesting equity in any non-prohibited foreign investment projects and fields, removing the prior limitation of investing in encouraged sectors only. In effect, this means that Chinas withholding tax deferral system is now subject to a wider scope of application and can be more flexibly applied by foreign investors. This treatment should help foreign investors with long-term development by encouraging continued investment in China. However, foreign investors interested in WHT deferral treatment should continue to closely study the criteria, ideally with experienced local tax advisors that can liaise with authorities in China. Furthermore, foreign investors should work closely with the Chinese Tax Resident Enterprises (TRE) to ensure that they satisfy the necessary conditions to ensure smooth record filing. Tax deferral treatment criteria Under Chinas Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Law, dividends are generally subject to 10 percent withholding tax, unless a more favorable rate can be accessed through a relevant tax treaty. Foreign investors seeking to enjoy the WHT deferral treatment on dividends paid by Chinese TREs must satisfy all of the following conditions. Direct investment Foreign investors are required to use the profits distributed from the Chinese TRE to directly invest or re-invest in the following ways: Increase, or transfer, paid-up capital or capital reserves in Chinese TRE; Invest or establish a new Chinese TRE; Acquire equity of Chinese TREs from non-related parties; and Other methods acceptable to the authorities. Investment into publicly listed companies is not permitted except where the foreign investor and the A-share listed company meet the requirement of a strategic investment, as stipulated in Administrative Measures on Strategic Investment in Listed Companies by Foreign Investors (2015). Nature of the distributed profits The nature of the profits distributed must be equity investment income such as dividends, bonus issues, retained and realized by the foreign investor, and then distributed to the Chinese TRE. Direct payment The profits both cash and non-cash forms must be transferred directly from the profit-distributing enterprises account to the new investment. Transfers to any intermediate parties before being passed onto the new investment will not qualify. Record filing procedures The Chinese TRE that distributes the dividends should perform record filing procedures with the relevant in-charge tax authority for the purposes of deferring the WHT. This should be done after the Chinese TRE affirms that the foreign investor is eligible to receive the WHT deferral treatment by submitting relevant documents. Retrospective treatment Dividends derived by foreign investors on or after January 1, 2018 are eligible for the WHT deferral treatment and a refund for the tax already paid could be applied. Eligible foreign investors can also apply for the treatment retrospectively within three years from the date the tax payment was made and claim a refund. Deferred WHT settlement If a foreign investor benefits from the WHT deferral treatment recoups their direct reinvestments through equity transfer, equity buyback, liquidation, or other means they should report and settle the tax deferral payments with the relevant in-charge tax authority within seven days from the receipt of the relevant payment. However, if the invested enterprise restructures, and this restructuring meets all the conditions for special restructuring, and has met the requirements for tax treatment based on special restructuring, the foreign investor may continue enjoy the preferential deferred tax treatment and will not be required to pay the deferred withholding tax. Local guidance advised Foreign investors in China welcome the clarifications on WHT deferral treatment in Circular 102. Circular 102 grants more stability to foreign investors in China, who can now plan their long-term China investments with greater certainty. However, new tax reforms require due diligence and planning on the part of foreign investors. Foreign investors interested in availing themselves of WHT deferral treatment need to ensure that they meet eligibility requirements, liaise with the appropriate tax authorities, and work closely with the TRE to ensure that record filing is executed properly. Accordingly, foreign invested enterprises should consult with trusted local advisors before attempting to take advantage of this beneficial reform. Local advisors ensure your business employs best practices when coordinating between foreign headquarters, China-based business, and local tax authorities. Editors Note: This article was originally published in January 2018, and has been updated to reflect the latest developments. "I love Chinese food and I would like to go back to China again," said Kuwait Television director Ahmad Alhomoud on Saturday at a Chinese New Year's celebration held in Kuwait. Alhomoud has attended the annual celebration for more than twenty years. He believes the event helps Kuwaitis better understand Chinese culture. Hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait in collaboration with the Association of Chinese Companies in Kuwait, the celebration gathers representatives of Chinese enterprises in Kuwait, Chinese students and Chinese citizens living in Kuwait. Dozens of employees of Chinese companies and Chinese students performed Chinese songs, traditional dances and martial arts to celebrate the Chinese New Year of 2018. "I am so happy to be here tonight, it is really amazing to watch the Chinese martial arts," Alhomoud said. Alhomoud had been in China on a business trip for two weeks last year. "I went to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai and tasted different Chinese food, what I like most -- fried prawns," he said with a smile. "Chinese food is very popular in Kuwait, as a part of traditional culture Chinese cooking helps us know your country," he told Xinhua. Fayez Shalaan, media advisor of Kuwaiti International Parliament of States For Safety and Peace, had been to China for four times. "I went to Beijing and Shanghai as a tourist. Chinese calligraphy, acrobatics and lion dances gave me a very deep impression," he said. "I like Chinese culture very much, especially the traditional Chinese snacks. In Kuwait spring roll is very famous food, you can find it in supermarkets and local restaurants," Fayez Shalaan said, pointing at the spring roll, served at the celebration. "I know spring roll has a long history, Chinese always eat it during the Spring Festival," said Fayez Shalaan, hoping Kuwait and China would continue strengthening cultural exchanges and deepening the understanding and communication between the two peoples. The Belt and Road Initiative, first put forward in 2013 by China, gives a full play to the role of cultural exchange in an effort to enhance all-round cooperation among countries along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative. In a speech at the celebration, Wang Di, the Chinese Ambassador to Kuwait, said that China and Kuwait have signed cooperation agreement in the field of culture, and Chinese performing art organizations, invited in 2017 to Kuwait, brought Kuwaitis opportunity to fully feel the charm of China's traditions and culture. "I hope within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Kuwait and China would seize the opportunity to promote mutual beneficial cooperation and strengthen our cultural communication," said Alhomoud. "In 2018, we will further integrate the initiative with Kuwaiti development strategy, deepen pragmatic cooperation in various fields and maintain close cultural exchanges," said the Chinese ambassador. "I hope that the celebration here would promote mutual understanding and friendship between people in China and Kuwait," said the ambassador. The 50th anniversary of the world-famous Beatles traveling to Rishikesh in India is to be marked with a new exhibition in their home city of Liverpool. The exhibition, Beatles in India, at the award-winning The Beatles Story museum will open on Feb 16 and run for two years. It will look at what was a key and relatively secretive part of the lives of the four-strong band comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The exhibition at the historic British city will feature never-seen-before memorabilia, imagery and personal accounts from the people who visited India with the band in 1968. A sitar used by Ravi Shankar will go on display at the immersive exhibition, loaned to The Beatles Story by the Ravi Shankar Foundation. As George Harrison's mentor, Shankar's influence on him ultimately helped to popularize the use of Indian instruments in 1960s' pop music. Other exhibits will also include photography from Paul Saltzman, a sound engineer for the National Film Board of Canada at the time, who photographed The Beatles during their stay. He is responsible for some of the most iconic and intimate images of the Fab Four in India. A spokesman for The Beatles Story museum says: "The exhibit will look at the groups' inspiration for the trip, their introduction to transcendental meditation, and the songs they worked on in advance of the famous Beatle's White Album." Pattie Boyd, former wife of George Harrison, and her sister Jenny Boyd, who were among the star-studded list of attendees in India, will also be providing their personal insight into the trip. "It really was a special, magical time; forming many memories and, of course, an abundance of great Beatles music. I look forward to sharing thoughts and memories of India as part of the exhibition," Boyd says. The Beatles Story museums' Diane Glover visited Rishikesh in April to meet with government officials and went to the Maharishi's Ashram, which recently opened as a tourist attraction. She says: "It's a magical place and as we walked through the remains of the Maharishi's Ashram, it is clearly a place of peace and seclusion." The 1968 visit was an important time of reflection for The Beatles as their manager, Brian Epstein, had died unexpectedly in the summer of 1967, prompting them to escape from their fans and the media in search of spirituality. Chinese manufacturing enterprises need to promote industrial transformation and upgrading based on their own conditions, said Zheng Yuewen, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce in his keynote speech at the 2018 Made in China Forum, a one-and-a-half-day event which concluded in Foshan, Guangdong Province on Jan. 14. Zheng stressed the importance of manufacturing, saying that the sector is a foundation for the country's economic development, technological progress and employment. China has developed rapidly into a manufacturing giant owing to its advantages of low-cost production and its abundant labor force. However, with rising production costs and growing demand for environmental protection, China's manufacturing sector is facing enormous pressures to transform and upgrade. According to the Chinese entrepreneur, China's manufacturing enterprises can be classified into three categories: Large-scale enterprises, innovative enterprises as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with each required to pursue a tailored path to achieve industrial transformation and upgrading. Specifically, large-scale enterprises, especially state-owned enterprises, should focus on integrating resources, reducing labor costs and improving social productivity; innovative enterprises should leverage the capital market to raise the funds they urgently need for development; and SMEs should promote workmanship to foster brands that can gain international recognition. Themed as the "New Industrial Revolution in a Changing Global Manufacturing Landscape", the 2018 Made in China Forum gathered political, business and academic leaders from China and abroad to discuss global manufacturing trends, China's new role in the global industrial chain and other key issues. You are here: Business Alibaba appears to be making significant strides in autonomous driving technology, reports thepaper.cn. Research by Alibaba's autonomous driving team iDST has made it to the KITTI list, which is an analysis list of autonomous driving attributes developed by Germany's Karlsruher Institute of Technology and the Toyota Research Institute at Chicago. The iDST ranked the first in three items of the Road/Lane Detection Evaluation on Urban unmarked roads, urban multiple marked lanes and in the generalized urban road category. Alibaba started working on autonomous driving technology in October 2017 through its research institute, the DAMO Academy. The company plans to invest over 100 billion yuan (around 15 billion USD) over the next three years in the development of advanced technology. Several scientific institutions and leading companies in China are now working on developing self-driving vehicles. Baidu has developed its autonomous driving platform Apollo 2.0, conducting several road tests for its self-driving cars. Education authorities in Minhang District are checking the qualifications of a teacher at a local school after claims that because she had attacked a doctor in 2015 she was unfit for promotion. Minhang District Education Bureau said it had received telephone calls from local citizens who had noticed that Miao Xian, a Chinese teacher at Wenlai Middle School, was on a list of teachers to be promoted to senior titles on a Shanghai Human Resource and Social Security Bureau website. The list was posted on Sina Weibo by concerned citizens who pointed out that Miao had attacked a doctor who refused to treat her as an emergency patient at the Shanghai International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital on September 26 in 2015, breaking the doctor's nose and causing other medical problems. They argued that Miao was morally unqualified to be a teacher and should have been fired, rather than considered for promotion. "Such a person with a propensity for violence is no longer suitable for teaching and no parents would like to have their children taught by her," one Weibo user posted. But others said the professional title was in recognition of her teaching ability and she should be given a chance if she had made amends for her wrongdoing. According to police, Miao required emergency treatment but the doctor said she should go instead to the outpatient department. The dispute escalated and both were injured in an ensuing fight. Later a settlement was reached in which Miao paid 200,000 yuan (US$31,000) compensation to the doctor and her school also apologized for her behavior. Miao also aroused public concern after the attack when she applied for Shanghai hukou, or permanent residence, in 2016. Her eligibility was questioned by the public for the same reason. Miao withdrew her application for"personal reasons." Wang Zhengping, director of the Shanghai Teacher's Morality Assessment Center, said teachers should play the role of moral models both at school and in their daily lives because their behavior had a great influence on students and society. "Teachers should not turn wilful and lower requirements on themselves out of school," he said. But he also said the public should allow teachers who made mistakes to mend their ways. "There should be a process for teachers to develop their own morality and we should give them the chance to correct and develop themselves," he said. Sociologist Hu Shensheng also said the public had higher expectations and requirements on teachers who educated the next generation than ordinary workers in terms of morality, including professional ethics, family virtues and social morality. But he pointed out that the requirement for professional titles focus more on professional ethics, such as teaching skills, caring for children and a passion for teaching. He also said punishment for misconduct should not be interminable and there should be a mechanism to assess how well a person had corrected a wrongdoing. "Students who are punished with warnings or demerit records are not going to be excluded for appraisal activities, such as outstanding students selection after the end of the punishment," he said."The rule should be same when it comes to teachers." You are here: China Thirteen of last year's 34 State Council executive meetings approved moves to boost employment, improve education and healthcare services, and undertake shantytown renovation work. Four of the meetings, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang, were devoted to employment policies, addressing job creation and ensuring steady rises in employment. In January, the 13th Five-Year Plan on Promoting Employment (2016-20) was approved by an executive meeting with the aim of creating more jobs and improving the quality of the labor force. On April 5, the State Council decided to boost employment prospects for key groups, including migrant workers, graduates, returnees and those affected by the reduction of outdated production capacity. In the first eight months of last year, more than 10 million jobs were created for urban residents, while an executive meeting in September approved preferential policies to help key groups, including funds to boost startups. As a result, 11.9 million jobs were created in urban areas between January and October, beating the target of 11 million Li pledged in the Government Work Report. The premier also frequently reiterated the importance the government attaches to employment as a vital way of improving people's lives. The Government Work Report also pledged the renovation of shantytown homes. By Dec 20, work had started on more than 6 million shantytown apartments, with investment of 1.84 trillion yuan ($278 billion), according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The reform of public hospitals and direct settlement of medical reimbursements were discussed at an executive meeting on Oct 9, and earning commission from the sale of medicines is now banned in public hospitals. The premier also announced the cancelation of roaming charges paid to telecommunication companies. Employment is a key priority, and the premier has noted that a steady income is the best way of improving people's livelihoods, said Jia Xijin, associate professor of public management at Tsinghua University. The executive meetings aimed to fulfill targets outlined in the Government Work Report to reduce costs and improve people's sense of improvement, especially in areas such as healthcare, education and jobs, she added. Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Monday reiterated the authority and unified, centralized leadership of the CPC Central Committee. The Standing Committee heard reports from leading Party members' groups of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) as well as a report from the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. For the whole Party, it should be "a primary political principle and essential political rule" to safeguard the authority of CPC Central Committee and its unified and centralized leadership, said a statement issued after the meeting. The committee urged all Party members to strengthen their consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core and keep in alignment. "The committee has heard reports from these organs for three years, which is a necessary and significant mechanism and should be carried on," the statement said. Acknowledging the performance of and progress made by leading Party members' groups of the Standing Committee of the NPC, the State Council, the National Committee of the CPPCC, the SPC and SPP, the committee urged them to keep in line with the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core. They should maintain a "correct political stance, direction, principle and path" and ensure smooth and effective implementation of policies," the statement said. They are encouraged to steadily push forward their work, carefully investigate and improve efficiency and accuracy when making decisions and carrying them out. They are urged to set an example to follow Party regulations against undesirable work styles, tighten up political disciplines and improve internal management. The statement also noted that, during the past year, the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee has implemented policy decisions made by the CPC Central Committee, promoted full and strict governance over the Party, guided mass organizations over their work, improved Party regulations, and helped organize many important meetings. The Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee should improve the consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in terms of the big picture, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment, said the statement. It should also work under the guidance of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and its standing committee. The Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee should also safeguard Xi's position as the core of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party, and focus on the study, promotion and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress. Protests in Iran [Photo/rmzxb.com.cn] More than a week of protests in Iran created widespread panic and anxiety in that conservative country. It all happened so quickly the government and its security machine was caught unawares, and officials are still trying to figure out exactly what went wrong. There were deaths and arrests, but not on the scale witnessed in 2009. According to Iranian officials, more than 20 people died and over 1,000 were arrested, including many students. Initially, it seemed the unrest might get out of control, but it never happened. The government was lucky as the demonstrations were badly organized and poorly led. There was also no visible pre-planned strategy to prolong them. The absence of a credible leader or some kind of crowd-puller also worked in favor of the government. It can be said that the anger over soaring prices was genuine but it could not be funneled into a cascading avalanche of people pouring onto the streets. The official response was also well coordinated, measured and decisive. Once the red button was pressed, the state machinery went into action and cleared the trouble-makers without much resistance. The counter-protests in support of the regime did the rest by occupying major roads and chanting death to America and Israel and others. Should the Iranian government consider it a victory against conspirators? Was the protest movement a foreign-funded coup attempt or a failure of the state agencies to address (genuine) grievances of the people? Officially, it is being deemed a crushing blow against evil domestic forces trying to create unnecessary trouble on behalf of "enemies." Despite such allegations, the exact amount of foreign interference to instigate the civil unrest is difficult to determine. Of course, such interference cannot be ruled out, given Iran's inimical ties with regional countries as well as acrimonious relationship with the United States. However, in the presence of the existing political control of the government in Tehran, it is not easy for any power to meddle on a large scale. Iran is a complex country, yearning for newness and change but also holding fast to tradition. The people have used available options to elect moderate and hardline presidents but the economic and political situation has not changed much. Iran's peculiar mode of controlled democracy has been working according to its requirements; however, young Iranians seem less happy with it. There's hardly any political consensus as how to move ahead. It was also reflected during the protests when contradictory slogans were raised, including some in the support of restoration of the monarchy. It shows the protests were largely an outpouring of anger at domestic economic hardships. It's true foreign powers trying for regime change in Iran could have easily hijacked the entire movement as we saw in case of uprisings in Syria and Libya. But that point never came. Iran was successful in stopping the drift of unrest towards anarchy. However, the regime should not get carried away with the relative ease with which it controlled the situation. Rather, it is time for soul searching. The government should look at its regional policies and geo-strategic issues that are sapping its vital energies. The Iranian people have a right to ask why their government is pouring money into regional conflicts when they need basic amenities of life and daily items at cheaper rates. The people have right to disagree and should have ways available to show anger through peaceful protests. The government should realize that when people take to the streets, they often issue demands, including a change in the government. They make demands as they expect the government to come forward and listen to them. Every protest is not essentially against the established system of governance, although it can be against the bad policies of the government or its corrupt officials. The ruler should patiently listen to the grievances, rather than following the tendency to brand every opponent as a paid agent. The Iranian government should listen to its people, especially those patriotic folks who have real issues and want authorities to address them. Otherwise, it might have to face bigger challenges. Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. You are here: World Flash One person was killed, and several others seriously injured after a speedboat carrying tens of Chinese tourists exploded on Sunday morning near Phi Phi Islands in southern Thailand. According to the Chinese Consulate-General in Songkhla, all 27 Chinese tourists aboard have been rescued. Five of them were seriously injured and hospitalized, without any life-threatening conditions. The accident occurred at around 11:10 a.m. local time (0310 GMT) in front of "Viking Cave", when the speedboat was heading to Phi Phi Islands from Thai Morning Sun Pier in Koh Sirae, local media reported. The search and rescue work is still underway to ensure everyone aboard is rescued. Local media reported that a fuel leak is believed to have been behind the accident. Flash The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation will on Monday meet the second-in-charge of the embassy of the United States of America in Pretoria over "disturbing" statements made by the U.S. President Donald Trump. "The department will provide an opportunity to the Charges de Affaires (second-in-charge) to explain the statement that African countries, alongside Haiti and El Savador constitute 'shitholes' from where migrants into the United States are undesirable." Clayson Monyela, Spokesperson of the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said in a statement on Sunday. Trump said on January 11 that he would rather have more immigrants from Norway and fewer from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa. Monyela said Trump made "crude and offensive statement." He said South Africa supports statements made by African ambassadors criticizing Trump. "Africa is united in its affirmation of the dignity of the people of Africa and the African diaspora. Relations between South Africa and the United States, and between the rest of Africa and the United States, must be based on mutual respect and understanding," he said. Trump's statements have been widely condemned in Africa and beyond. It has been criticized by governments, civil society and prominent individuals. Botswana's Foreign Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi described Trump's comment as "an insult" and "racist." Flash Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday said the U.S move to establish a border control force in northern Syria is a "unilateral decision." In a written statement, the ministry noted that it was not clear with which coalition members the U.S. consulted and has taken the decision to establish such a force. "Explaining the unilateral steps on behalf of the coalition is a very wrong move that could harm the struggle with DEASH," read the statement, using the Arabic acronym of the Islamic State (IS). "Turkey was determined to eliminate any threat posed against its territory," the ministry said. Turkey sees YPG as the offshoot of outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). "Such initiatives that endanger our national security and the territorial integrity of Syria by continuing the cooperation with the PYD / YPG in contradiction with the commitments and statements of the United States are never acceptable," said the ministry. The ministry condemned this "wrongful approach" and said Turkey was determined and capable to eliminate all sorts of threats. On December 22, 2017, U.S. Central Command Commander General Joseph Votel announced they would establish border forces in Syria, which he said would help prevent a resurgence of IS. Around 400 militants "trained by U.S. as border guards" are to establish what they call "The North Army" in Syria, Turkish media reported. Turkey and the U.S. have long been at odds over the latter's support to the Syrian Kurdish militia. Flash Egypt's lawmakers approved on Sunday a limited cabinet reshuffle, with four new ministers named for the portfolios of local development, culture, tourism and the public business sector. The four new appointments, proposed earlier by President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, was approved by the parliament in an extraordinary plenary meeting on Sunday, the state-sun news website Ahram Online reported. The reshuffle of Prime Minister Sherif Ismail's cabinet is the third since it was appointed in September 2015, with the two previous reshuffles taking place in March 2016 and February 2017. Abu Bakr al-Guindy, head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, was appointed as minister of local development, while Inas Abdel Dayem, head of the Cairo Opera House, became culture minister. Rania Mashat, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, was named minister of tourism, and Khaled Al-Badawy, the CEO of a joint-stock private-equity firm established by the National Bank of Egypt, was chosen as the minister of the public business sector. According to the Egyptian constitution, the president can reshuffle the cabinet following consultation with the prime minister and with the approval of the parliament by an absolute majority of the attendees. Flash China on Saturday called on all sides to cherish the hard-won Iran nuclear deal after the United States decided to extend sanctions relief on Tehran. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang made the remarks when asked to comment on the U.S. statement. The Chinese side has also noticed that the international community widely supports the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and fully acknowledges Iran's implementation of the pact, Lu said. In July 2015, after a decade of strenuous negotiations, Iran and six major countries, namely, China, Russia, Britain, France, the United States and Germany, struck a final agreement on Iran's controversial nuclear program, in which the West promises to relieve sanctions on Tehran in exchange for a halt in Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon. China has always firmly supported the JCPOA, Lu said, adding that the deal is not only an important multilateral achievement, but also an example for resolving international hot issues through political and diplomatic means. To ensure the implementation of the agreement is of practical significance to maintain peace and stability in the Middle East and safeguard the international non-proliferation regime, which serve the fundamental interests of all parties, he said. Under the current situation, China hopes all related parties can consolidate their political will, properly manage differences, and continue to comprehensively and effectively implement the agreement from an overall and long-term perspective, he said. It is China's consistent and clear position to oppose unilateral sanctions against other countries in accordance with a country's domestic law, he stressed. Flash A Chinese woman has died from gunshot wounds after being shot in a robbery in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad last Friday, according to the Chinese embassy in Pakistan. The Chinese embassy confirmed the death on its website on Sunday. The woman was shot when three gunmen stormed a residence rented by a group of Chinese nationals on Dec. 29, 2017 in Islamabad. She was later transferred to hospital for treatment. According to local media, the gang opened fire at the 35-year-old woman and looted 550,000 Rupee in cash (nearly US$5,000) then fled. No arrest has been made so far and the Chinese embassy has urged the Pakistani side to attach importance to the case, arrest the perpetrators as soon as possible and protect the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens. In June last year, two Chinese nationals teaching Chinese in Pakistan were killed in southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan Province after being abducted in May. Flash Zimbabwe's Chief Justice Luke Malaba has called for the upholding of the rule of law to ensure that national elections scheduled for 2018 are free and fair. Opening the 2018 legal year Monday, Malaba said he wished to assure the nation that the judiciary stood ready at all times to fulfill its mandate provided for in the Constitution and that it was its duty to ensure there was rule of law in the country. "I am mindful of the fact that during the course of the year Zimbabwe will hold harmonized elections. As the judiciary, we expect the rule of law to prevail, especially in the coming months when political parties start their campaigns. "This is the only way that will ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible," he said. He implored judges to uphold the rule of law by correctly interpreting and applying the laws of the country without fear or favor. Zimbabwe is due to go for harmonized elections this year with citizens choosing a president, legislators and councilors. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has since pledged that the elections will be free and fair. Opposition parties have constantly been calling for electoral reforms, alleging that existing ones are skewed in favor of the ruling Zanu-PF party. Flash Turkey has strongly slammed the United States decision to establish a new border army with the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in order to secure Turkish and Iraqi borders with Syria. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Monday the U.S. support for YPG in Syria on the ground to fight Islamic State (IS) is not compatible with the strategic partnership. "The U.S. is playing with fire with its new army plan in Syria," Bozdag wrote on his Twitter account. The U.S.-led coalition against IS had issued a written statement to some media outlets earlier on Sunday, and confirmed it will set up a 30,000-strong new border security force with the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The coalition named the new army the Syrian Border Security Force. About 15,000 of the fighters will be SDF veterans as the fight against IS came to a close. Another 15,000 will be recruited and trained in the near future. Currently, 230 individuals are being trained in the inaugural class, according to the coalition statement. Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said on Sunday that Turkey reserves its right to intervene against terror threat "in any way, time and place." Turkey will continue to take necessary measures to ensure its security in line with national interests, Kalin said. Turkey sees YPG as the Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). However, the U.S. has supported the YPG as its ally on the ground in combating IS in Syria. Abe kicks off Europe tour with DPRK on agenda By Cai Hong in Tokyo | China Daily | Updated: 2018-01-15 07:35 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe left Tokyo on Friday for Estonia, kicking off his official visit to Baltic and Eastern European states of Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania. On his agenda is confirming coordination over imposing pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, among other issues such as expanding the borders of Japanese diplomacy. But even US President Donald Trump suggested in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that he has developed a positive relationship with the DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, but declined to say whether they have spoken. In a telephone call on Wednesday, Trump told Republic of Korea's President Moon Jae-in that the United States was open to talks with the DPRK "at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances". On Tuesday, the two sides on the Korean Peninsula had their first high-level talks in two years, with the DPRK announcing its plan to attend the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the ROK, which will open on Feb 9. On Wednesday, Moon said he is open to a summit meeting with the DPRK's top leader. At a press conference on Thursday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that the Japanese government has yet to decide whether Abe will attend the opening ceremony for the Olympics. Japan's Jiji Press quoted sources as saying that Abe plans to skip it due to the ROK's demand for Japan's official apology for "comfort women", a euphemism for girls and women who were forcibly recruited to serve as sex slaves for Imperial Japanese soldiers before and during World War II. It is still too early to predict how far the "comfort women" issue will strain Japan-ROK relations and the trilateral ties of China, Japan and the ROK. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono may visit Beijing on Jan 27-28 for discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on improving ties and scheduling the trilateral summit of China, Japan and the ROK, according to the Kyodo News. Japan is eyeing a meeting of Premier Li Keqiang, Abe and Moon in early April. The trilateral leaders' meeting was last held in November 2015. caihong@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily 01/15/2018 page12) US president accused of using vulgar term in meeting to discuss immigration ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Vulgar comments attributed to US President Donald Trump have caused outrage and demands for an apology across Africa. Trump reportedly used the slur to describe African countries, Haiti and El Salvador while discussing immigration issues with US lawmakers on Thursday. Trump issued a statement on Friday denying the vulgar words attributed to him, though he admitted to using strong language in the Thursday discussion. Trump's alleged remarks have caused outrage across the world with officials in African, European, Latin American countries and the United Nations expressing condemnation and summoning US diplomats in protest. The African Union issued a statement on Friday evening calling Trump's reported remarks outrageous and hurtful. "While expressing shock, dismay and outrage, the African Union strongly believes there's a huge misunderstanding of the African continent and its people by the current administration. There is a serious need for dialogue between the US administration and the African countries," said the AU statement. It further called for the US president to issue an apology for the hurtful remarks not only to Africans but people of African descent across the globe. "The African Union condemns the comments in the strongest terms and demands a retraction of the comment as well as an apology to not only Africans but to all people of African descent around the globe," further read the AU statement. Nevertheless, aware the US is still a powerful military and economic power, the AU statement called for continued strategic partnership with the US. But it emphasized that such a partnership should be based on mutual respect and accepted international principles of respect of basic human dignity. AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo pointed out the US role in the Atlantic slave trade, as an example of how African nations Trump described as "shithole countries" were exploited in a shameful manner. She added the purported statement was particularly unfortunate coming from a leader of country that describes itself as a global example of a successful migrant nation. The African group of ambassadors to the United Nations issued an extraordinary statement condemning Trump's "outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks" and demanding a retraction and apology. Former US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power shared the statement on Twitter, saying: "Whoa. I've never seen a statement like this by African countries directed at the United States." In South Africa, a senior official of the ruling African National Congress said Trump was "extremely offensive" in using the slur. Developing countries do have difficulties but they are not as Trump described, said ANC Deputy General Secretary Jessie Duarte, calling the remarks "unfortunate". "Ours is not a shithole country, neither is Haiti or any other country in distress," said Duarte. Kenya joined the list of critics, with its second largest newspaper, The Standard, on Saturday carrying an editorial condemning Trump's language. "While it can be argued that Trump's toxic language and Twitter rants towards his domestic opponents is not criminal because they are on opposing sides, it is wrong to imply that some developing countries such as those from Africa are in such worse state that they deserve such a derogatory moniker," it said. Xinhua - Ap (China Daily 01/15/2018 page12) The vice chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has given more information about what happened during her meeting with American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been jailed in Turkey for more than a year now because of his faith. During the release of the 2018 Open Doors USA World Watch List on Jan. 10, USCIRF vice chair Kristina Arriaga revealed more details on her meeting in Istanbul with Pastor Brunson together with fellow vice chair Sandra Jolley in October. She emphasized the need for the American pastor to be freed from the Turkish prison, saying he was merely "a victim of hostage diplomacy," The Christian Post relayed. For the past 23 years, Pastor Brunson had been involved with his ministry in Turkey. However, he was taken into custody on October 2016 where "secret" charges were filed against him. The North Carolina pastor has been accused of being linked to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is currently in the U.S. and is suspected of being the mastermind of a failed coup attempt that happened the year Brunson was arrested. Arriaga said Brunson's appearance was far from what she saw in pictures, and she supposed that the pastor had dropped at least 50 pounds since he was jailed in Turkey. The USCIRF vice chair added that the American minister was wondering how a NATO ally country could do something like that to him and if he would be spending the rest of his life there because of the unknown charges filed against him. In addition, Arriaga said Pastor Brunson stays with two other inmates in a cell and is only permitted to leave when his wife Norine visits once a week. He eats inside the cell, and his weekly conversations with his wife take place with a plexiglass standing between them. "He is very comforted by the idea that we continue to advocate for him," Arriaga shared with the Post. "There should be an end in sight. President [Donald] Trump, Vice President [Mike] Pence, Senator [James] Lankford, and a number of U.S. government officials continue advocating for his release and I know they are committed to advocating until he is released. He will not be forgotten. USCIRF will make sure that we continue to highlight his case." At the beginning of the year, Middle East Concern shared a note that Brunson's wife released. His message to her included his gratitude for people who continue to pray for him as he goes through this difficult ordeal. However, Brunson also revealed that one of his greatest fears is that he will be forgotten in jail. Nevertheless, he was encouraged by the support and prayers that people were sending his way. home World Iran sentences 2 Christians to 8 years in prison Two Iranian Christians were sentenced to a total of eight years in prison after they were convicted of national security-related crimes last month. According to Pakistani Christian Post, Eskandar Rezaei and Soroush Saraei were each sentenced to seven years' imprisonment each for "action against the National Security" and an additional year for proselytizing and organizing house meetings. Saraie and Rezaie, both members of the Church of Iran denomination, are appealing the verdict which was handed down on Dec. 18, 2017 by the Fourth Chamber of the Revolutionary Court in Shiraz. During the same hearing, the court sentenced a Christian woman named Zahra Norouzi Kashkouli to a year in prison for "being a member of a group working against the system." Kashkouli is also appealing the sentence, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Saraie and Rezaie were initially arrested with five other Christians in October 2012 during a raid on a prayer meeting. In July 2013, they were found guilty of "action against national security" and "propaganda against the order of the system." Saraei received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence and was jailed in July 2014 after losing his appeal. A one-year sentence was handed down to Rezaie, who began serving it in July 2015. The two Christians were both released from Adelabad prison in November 2015, but they were rearrested and jailed again in 2017. A few months later, Saraie and Rezaie were released on bail after making payments of US$95,000 and US$140,000, respectively. CSW's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said that their sentences were "yet another example of the unjust treatment of Iranian Christians, who are being criminalised on account of their faith." "We call for these convictions to be overturned, and for the Iranian government to end its harassment of religious minorities. We urge the EU, the UK and the US to ensure that improvements in freedom of religion or belief and other human rights are a central part of any dialogues with the Iranian government," he added. In 1975, Iran ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that "everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion." However, many former Muslims have been arrested in recent years after they converted to Christianity. Last month, four Iranian converts to Christianity were arrested in the city of Karaj, while they were taking part in a Christian ceremony at a house church. IRNA, the Iranian government's official news agency, said that the arrested converts were part of a "devious Christian cult" who were seeking to "disrupt the market and economic order." The World Christian Database (WCD) reported in 2010 that there were 270,057 Christians in Iran. No recent official statistics are available on the actual number of Christians in the country, but the 2011 state census has indicated that there were 117,704, with most belonging to recognized and tolerated traditional ethnic churches, such as Armenian churches. Eddie Seal Royal Dutch Shell plans to build its first major oil-production vessel in the northern U.K. North Sea in almost three decades, in an effort to redevelop the Penguins oil and gas field, the company said Monday. Shell believes the floating production, storage and offloading vessel will pump 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day from the Penguins field at its peak, and that it could break even on its investment even if oil prices slide below $40 a barrel. Tilman Fertitta has opened a second flashy restaurant at his still-under-construction development, The Post Oak: Willie G's, one of the billionaire's favorite brands within his vast Landry's portfolio and a longtime Galleria area staple. The relaunch and relocation of Willie G's (the old location at 1605 Post Oak closed in late December) comes about a month after the opening of the swank Mastro's Steakhouse within the 10-acre Post Oak campus, which also will include the Post Oak Hotel scheduled to debut in March. Houston Community College trustees will consider censuring their most outspoken colleague at Thursdays board meeting, alleging he violated the boards code of conduct. In the last six months, board member David Wilson has paid an outside investigator to probe the college, accused a colleague of violating board rules by casting a vote remotely, and accused another colleague of not living in her district. Board chair Eva Loredo is scheduled to present the agenda item accusing Wilson of violating the code on Thursday. She has criticized Wilson's investigation and his residency allegations in the past, but she declined to comment on what specifically prompted the censure vote -- besides saying that there are "several things" -- when reached by phone Monday. Trustees will discuss the item in closed session before a public vote, Loredo said. "We have some due diligence we need to do," she said. In 2016, Wilson was reprimanded by his colleagues. Then-board chair Adriana Tamez said at the time he incurred nearly $273,000 in legal fees to the college over two years, a figure Wilson disputes. Tamez did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. In one instance, he filed a complaint with the Harris County District Attorney alleging that college officials overpaid on a building for a district. Investigators did not find evidence of a crime. He called the possibility of a censure "foolish." "They can't deal with transparency and they don't want to be accountable. They don't want to deal with truth," he said. He said he was not sure about the resolution's chances. "I'll vote against it." The vote on the resolution would continue a tumultuous year for HCCs board. Trustee Chris Oliver was sentenced to 70 months in prison last week after admitting to taking bribes in connection to college contract work. After learning of his allegations over the summer, the board censured Oliver, who was the longest-serving current trustee until he did not pursue re-election in November. Loredo said Monday that board members need to be focused on the betterment of HCC and that trustees' actions -- not the college's teaching -- have consumed attention recently. "We're a great institution and we've done so much in the 47 years," she said. "We can't let the board undo what the college has done. We want to make sure all the trustees are focused on the betterment of the college. Are we on board, is everybody really taking their oath seriously?" Lindsay Ellis writes about higher education for the Chronicle. You can follow her on Twitter and send her tips at lindsay.ellis@chron.com. A unit of Shell Oil Co. announced Monday that it has signed an agreement to acquire nearly half of a Nashville-based solar developer Silicon Ranch Corporation. Shell will pay between $193 million and $217 million if the deals meets regulatory approval, and Shell will also be able to increase its ownership of the company after 2021. Initially, Shell hopes to acquire 43.83 percent of Silicon Ranch. The January opening of The Cornelius Clinic will allow the Citizens for Animal Protection to expand its efforts to help control the feral cat population in west Houston and provide low-cost preventative care to pet owners. The clinic, named after Sig Cornelius, CAP chairman of the board/president, and his wife, Patricia, was two years in the planning, said Sandi Mercado, CAP executive director and chief administration officer. Located southwest of the main CAP building at 17555 Katy Freeway, the clinic has a surgical side with a holding area for dogs and cats after their operations. The other side focuses on vaccinations with three exam rooms sponsored by Marian and Austin Cornelius, Cathy and Jesse Marion and the Mark A. Chapman Foundation. The clinic offers vaccinations for cats, kittens, dogs and puppies. It will be open every Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on a walk-in basis only; no appointments are necessary. For information, visit www.cap4pets.org or call 281-497-0591. CAP formerly used a trailer at the back of the building to house its clinic that provided vaccinations, said Mercado. When that no longer was available, the education room in the center became the site of clinics every Saturday. That required setting up for the clinic and then putting away the equipment for the next week because the education room is used for other purposes, she said. The clinic does not treat sick or injured animals and instead refers pet owners to a full-service veterinary clinic. An 18-year-member of the CAP staff, Jessica Marks, director of operations & chief operating officer, said that what's improved over time is the community and public outpouring of support. "We're 100 percent supported by the community," added Mercado. The nonprofit receives no federal or United Way funds, but instead relies on the support of the community, individuals and foundations. What remains a problem and concern are low rates of spaying and neutering that produce an overpopulation of unwanted pets, said Marks. Mercado said education is key so that people understand the importance of microchipping their pet if it gets lost, spaying and neutering and vaccinations to prevent disease. For example, people might think that pets kept indoors don't need to be vaccinated, but that's not true. "It's all about education which is why we have to get out in the community," Mercado said. CAP sponsors events and visits students in schools. It hosts children's birthday parties. Mercado wants children to grow up in an environment that teaches responsibility for animals so they learn what they should and need to do. Through a feral cat program offered by CAP, volunteers pick up traps and place them in neighborhoods to capture the wild felines who are then brought to CAP to be spayed or neutered. After the cat recovers from the operation, it is returned to the neighborhood where the volunteer found it and released. Last year CAP altered 1,500 feral cats, according to Marks. Last year the clinic also performed about 7,000 total surgeries on animals that are within CAP's custody. CAP has one part-time veterinarian as well as technicians and hopes to add another veterinarian to expand the clinic services. Because CAP has limited shelter space, The Cornelius Clinic will open up rooms formerly used for ailing pets kept in isolation, for example, said Mercado. The agency takes in about 10,000 animals per year, Marks said. People bring animals to CAP for different reasons - because they can't afford to keep them anymore, their owner died and no one is available to take care of the surviving pet or the apartment management learns a tenant has a pet in violation of its rules. "Having an animal is like having a two-year-old," said Marks. "You don't know what to expect and have to be ready to take care of everything." Strays or lost animals also find their way to CAP. Mercado, who joined CAP about six months ago, said a lost animal is held for 72 hours before it is prepared for adoption. Animals who have collars and who look cared for may be held a little longer before they are entered into the adoption program. Agency staff and volunteers scour online websites such as NextDoor and Facebook to see if the animal they have matches any posting of lost pets. Mercado added that CAP has a rigorous application process for adoptions to help ensure that people and pets are matched appropriately. Beneath ice, mud and at least a foot of water, the headstones of former slaves, native Americans, veterans, law enforcement officials and original settlers of the Tamina community peeked through the surface of the now-submerged Sweet Rest Cemetery Saturday morning. "It literally brings tears to my eyes to see this condition in 2018 as if it was 1918," said 52-year-old Tamina resident Elijah Easley as he waded through the cold, murky water and growth where his father, mother and maternal grandparents and great grandparents were laid to rest. Easley's family is among an estimated 261 buried in graves now covered in water. The grave sites date back to 1870, including those of Tamina's founding fathers, such as Easley's grandfather, Romie Hollins Sr., whose names can be found on street signs of the post-Civil War Freedman's settlement. Tamina's history can be traced back to R.B. Smith, an educator from the city of Montgomery, and John Nilor, a Houston-area businessman; and to 1871 when freed slaves who had moved to the area helped build the railroad in the area. Many past Tamina residents worked for the Grogan's Mill. For the past 10 years, the roughly 12-acre cemetery, which does not have an owner, has been left dormant and exposed to the elements without a caretaker aside from the occasional volunteers who try to help. Some of the graves are inaccessible due to the standing water and grassy growth, which Easley believes may be because the natural water flow has been blocked on various sides. An effort to save the cemetery came to light after the tragic loss of 13-year-old Terrance "TJ" Mitchell, 6-year-old Kaila Mitchell and 5-year-old Kyle Mitchell in a nearby fatal house fire before sunrise May 12, 2017. According to family members who survived the tragic blaze, the children's grandfather and pastor of Thergood Memorial Church of God in Christ in Willis, Bobby Johnson Jr., broke out a second floor window of his home and was able to get most of the family out, but they were unable to get through the flames to save the children, who were trapped in their bedroom on the other side of the second floor. The 59-year-old Johnson, his wife, 65-year-old Carrie, and their son, 34-year-old Jarvis Johnson, were all hurt in the desperate rescue attempt, although they were able to save a fourth child, Adrian. The Johnsons are descendants of an original settler of Tamina and lived on a road named for one of their ancestors. The late Mitchell children have several family members buried in Sweet Rest Cemetery; however, no one has been laid to rest in the cemetery for nearly a decade due to the poor conditions. Easley is the board chairman of a new nonprofit called the Tamina Cemetery Project Community Development Corporation, which includes other relatives of the Mitchell children on the board. The corporation is comprised of descendants from Tamina's forefathers, churches, and other members of the community and even some members who are from outside the community, such as the Chair Lady for Hundred Hands Alliance Georgia Carroll. "We have (descendants) of forefathers that are here in this community some 90 almost 100 years old that would have a desire to be buried here but they can't be because of these current conditions," Easley said. "If we can get that corrected, I have an uncle (Romie Hollins Jr.) who's 88 years old whose father is one of the founding fathers of this community, the Hollins family. I know if my uncle was given the opportunity, he would care to be buried there." The 501(C)3 nonprofit, which began meeting three to five months ago, is on a mission to collaborate with elected officials, community leaders and others to fix the drainage issue. "It's about honoring our ancestors," board treasurer Victor Harris, 34, said. "It's about honoring our legacy." Community leaders believe drainage and environmental issues are contributing to the flooded cemetery, which still has not recovered from the rainfall during Hurricane Harvey's storms in late August. "I don't even know where Uncle Will is at," said advisory board member Vanesta Davis, 55, as she pushed through mud. "It's because they covered up the lake. The natural water flow has been disrupted." Easley and board members are asking for support, including from the county. Advisory board member James Leveston, 75, said the board feels like the county should put a lot of attention to this project because they believe illegal dumping is a cause of the environment issues. During the Montgomery County Eagle Forum with Precinct 4 Commissioner candidates Jim Clark and challenger Bob Bagley in Shenandoah Thursday, the board members and several Tamina residents discussed the cemetery with the candidates. Easley said he felt there was a genuine response from the community, nonresidents of Tamina and both candidates in attendance (candidate James Metts did not attend the forum). "The candidates committed to assist the civic and humanitarian cause, not with taxpayer dollars, but with their time and talent," Easley said. The board also has an interest in connecting with the Texas A&M Army Corps of Engineers as the first step to solving the drainage problem. "This is our start," Vanesta Davis said. "First, last and everything. We want to pass this on to future generations. We want this to be something to be proud of not to have this go on and keep repeating itself." Tax deductible donations can be mailed to the new nonprofit at the following address: The Tamina Cemetery and Community Project CDC at 29526 Legends Line Drive, Spring, TX 77386. For more information, contact Easley at Easley.elijah@gmail.com or 832-342-0404. The man who brought Italian gelato and famous Chicago-style pizza to the Houston Heights is about to open up a proper Italian grocery store in the neighborhood. Louie Comella is opening Italian American Grocery on Tuesday morning at 11 a.m., next door to his Gelazzi gelato and pizza shop located at 3601 White Oak. RELATED: Chicago pizza favorite Connie's coming to Houston's Heights The shop will have roughly the same hours as Gelazzi and will soon offer up delivery of pizza, sandwiches, ready-made pasta, lasagna, dessert, as well as craft beer and wine in a limited geographic area. Heights-area beer lovers will especially enjoy the local and Texas craft beer on the shelves, along with some select craft beers from around the country. According to Comella, up to 80 percent of the wines on the shelves are imported from Italy as well. "There are a lot of unique retail we will be offering that no one else in the area currently does," Comella said Sunday afternoon as he was putting the final touches on his new project. Once its up and running it will be a colorful one-stop shop for those looking to put together a traditional Italian meal at home. Soon, there will be special tastings of the items on the shelves for those looking to sample the goods. For Comella, it is all about expanding the palette of locals while also offering up an authentic taste of home for natives from Chicago, New York City, and other Italian-American outposts. There is a similar place called Jimmy's Food Store in Dallas that has been a community staple for four decades. The shop will sell items from Comella's private label Little Italy Foods brand, in addition to Italian dry goods and specialty meats and cheeses. RELATED: Chicago Cubs send Astros congratulatory pizza When Comella came to Houston nearly 20 years ago, he saw in the Heights lot of the features from the neighborhoods he spent time in Chicago as a boy. He's finally able to add a traditional corner shop into the mix. "It's a taste of Little Italy in the Houston Heights," Comella says. "There is a Facebook group called Chicagoans in Houston and those people are looking for things that you just can't find anywhere here," he says. Comella's grandfather was in the food business back in Chicago so this shop, built originally in the '40s, is a continuation of a family tradition for him. "This is a passion project for me," says Comella. "I am doing this for the neighborhood." Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. He's an intolerable native Texan with too much ink in his skin and too much brisket stuck in his teeth. He didn't scream or laugh. He didn't plead or apologize. Anthony Shore was calm, almost stoic, when he confessed to the murders just like he was 20 years ago. But this time, apparently, it was a lie. Days before his aborted execution in October, the notorious Houston serial killer admitted to two more gruesome slayings in an apparent ruse to test investigators, sources familiar with the case told the Chronicle this week. Now, he's scheduled once again to meet his fate Thursday in Huntsville's death chamber, leaving behind a swirl of unanswered questions. "With a serial killer like Shore, there is always a possibility he has committed other crimes, left other unknown victims behind," said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. At the moment, prosecutors said, he's officially not a suspect in any unsolved killings and has no unresolved appeals. BEFORE: Sister of notorious Houston serial killer: 'He should be killed' After four brutal strangulations, a pair of apparently false confessions, a bizarre death row plot and a slew of creative appeals, the end of the decades-long drama may finally be in sight. "I am relieved that he's finally going to be put to rest," his sister, Laurel Scheel, told the Chronicle Monday. "His expiration date is finally coming." The serial sadist known as the Tourniquet Killer terrorized the Houston area in the 1980s and 1990s, leaving behind a trail of bodies. All girls and young women, tortured and raped. He escaped detection for nearly two decades, but ultimately it was DNA put on file after he was convicted of molesting his daughters and forced to register as a sex offender that brought police to his door in 2003. The former wrecker driver coolly confessed to four murders and a rape. Then, during his 2004 trial, he begged the court for a death sentence. After nearly two decades of appeals blaming everything from ineffective lawyers to previously unrealized brain damage, the 55-year-old was slated to die by lethal injection on Oct. 18. At the time, his youngest sister predicted he'd avoid death with a last-minute confession. "He's good at keeping things hidden," Scheel said in October. FOR SALE: 'Tourniquet Killer' murderabilia hits internet just days from his expected execution And sure enough, hours before the scheduled execution, a judge called it all off in light of an alleged confession plot that would have seen him admit to another man's crime, threatening to muddy the waters in a Montgomery County death row case and save a jailhouse friend from the death chamber. Eventually, according to defense lawyer K. Knox Nunnally, Shore signed a statement admitting he had nothing to do with the Willis-area crime, the 1998 slaying of Melissa Trotter. He still maintains his death row friend, Larry Swearingen, is innocent. But, according to an unanswered Oct. 16 reprieve request sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, Shore also promised he'd give written answers "regarding his commission of other murders" to be revealed by his attorney after his death. That never happened, Nunnally said. Instead, the Texas Rangers showed up. *** At first, Shore wanted nothing to do with them. But the lawmen came back again and again, according to sources close to the case. Then one night, the week before he was to be put to death, he opened up. There were others, he said. Two, to be exact. One was Aurora Rojas, a missing mother whose skull was found in a Polk County field in 1995 just a couple miles away from one of Shore's in-laws. In years past, he'd already been a suspect in the case. But forensic evidence was scant, at best. Police only recovered the woman's bra and 10 percent of her skeletonized body, investigators said. Even though the slain woman was last spotted at a bus stop blocks from where Shore worked at the time, there was never enough to tie him to the killing. Shore had a penchant for picking up women at bus stops, and Rojas fit the profile. Yet, the dump site way out in the country didn't quite fit Shore's pattern. But in his last-minute confession, Shore didn't know the right details about the case, or in the other killing he confessed to an unsolved slaying near the notorious Texas Killing Fields southeast of Houston. A PLOT: Judge grants 90-day stay of execution for 'Tourniquet Killer' He'd once been a suspect in that slaying as well. But after a busy night of examining "timelines and scientific testing," the Rangers determined he couldn't have done it, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The next day, the lawmen returned to confront him, and he recanted. "He was playing, just probing around," said another source familiar with the case. "With this guy who knows what he's going to say. You know he's done more crimes than he's been caught doing. The question is what crimes and where." *** Tiffany Hall groaned when she heard of her father's apparently false confessions. "He's just crazy," she said. "I am not shocked by his behavior. I'm just shocked anybody is listening to him." Scheel tutted in disgust. "What an ass," she said. "He wants to know it'll all go down with him pulling the strings. As long he's in control, he's okay with dying." Manipulative and controlling, the charismatic erstwhile musical prodigy has showed scant concern for the killings or their consequences, until recently. In letters to his family over the past year, he's spoken of wanting to live "a bit longer" and even hinted at remorse. "Maybe he's just working it," Scheel said. "It's hard to know what the truth is." But some things are certain. He's never tried denying the original confessions he offered up in 2003. In 1986, he slaughtered 14-year-old Laurie Tremblay, snatching the girl up on her way to the bus stop then dumping her corpse behind a Ninfa's Restaurant. Six years later, he raped and murdered 21-year-old Maria del Carmen Estrada before leaving her naked body in the drive-through of a Spring Branch Dairy Queen. In 1994, he killed 9-year-old Diana Rebollar. When her battered body was found, she was wearing only a black Halloween T-shirt and a ligature twisted around her neck. Less than a year later, he murdered 16-year-old Dana Sanchez, then reportedly called a local TV station to report a serial killer on the loose. SECOND LOOK: Dive teams come back empty-handed after search for new evidence in Trotter murder All of the victims were raped and tortured before he strangled them with handmade tourniquets. Even after the conviction for molesting his daughters forced him onto the sex offender registry in 1998, it took another five years before authorities finally tested cold-case evidence and matched a murder to Shore. "I think he knew he was going to get caught," Scheel said. Now, 15 years later, he's scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. on Thursday. "I think it'll happen this time," Schell said. "But who knows, we're talking about Tony Shore." Does she still think her brother killed anybody else? "Hell, yeah," she said. "He's a piece of work, that boy." DEATH PENALTY: For those who might still revere Harris County's lingering reputation as a law-and-order bastion a place once considered the symbolic home of American capital punishment the coming years are unlikely to offer much solace. Read more about how Kim Ogg is ushering in a progressive death penalty agenda on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. Click here to subscribe. Bunker Hill 1/6/18 at 1115 Hours. 12100 Block of Rhett. Fraud. Victim reported receiving information that 5 credit/debit cards had been opened using his personal information and that transactions were being conducted on the cards. Information about the accounts (which were being closed) was obtained and forwarded to detectives for follow-up investigation. 1/7/18 at 0815 Hours. 500 Block of Flintdale. Mail Theft. Officers were dispatched to the area in reference to mail being found on the ground. The mail was found to have been taken from 3 residences in the Villages. A check of video surveillance systems showed that the suspects were in either one of 2 vehicles, a small light colored hatchback or a single cab pick-up truck. The victims were contacted and notified of the theft. Investigation is on-going. 1/8/18 at 1400 Hours. 100 Block of Blalock Woods. Identity Theft. Victim reported receiving information of an on-going identity theft where the suspects continue to use his personal information in attempts to open charge accounts. The on-going attempts were documented and credit monitoring companies have been notified. 1/10/18 at 0615 Hours. 12100 Block of Rhett. Identity Theft/Fraud. Victim reported receiving information that 2 credit cards had been opened in his name and over $5,000 had been charged at a Home Depot and a Lowes. Information was obtained and provided to detectives who are checking to see if this case is related to another ID theft earlier in the week or to several cases from Cobblestone last week. Piney Point 1/5/18 at 1030 Hours. 500 Block of Blalock. Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, Possession of Burglary Tools and Possession of a Controlled Substance. Officers conducted a traffic stop after observing a traffic violation on Blalock. Upon approaching the vehicle officers observed the steering column to be broken out and the vehicle being operated without a key. After removing the driver from the vehicle a controlled substance was found inside the car along with handgun and burglary tools and a mask. A check of the VIN number showed the car to be reported stolen out of Houston. The male occupant was placed under arrest and admitted to stealing the vehicle. He was also found to be a convicted felon and a prohibited possessor of a firearm. The suspect was booked into the Harris County Jail. 1/5/18 at 1300 Hours. 11500 Block of Quail Hollow. Fraud. Victim reported receiving information from a collections agency for an overdue bill. After checking with the collections company the victim learned that an unknown person opened an account under her name with Sprint and purchased over $1000 in services. Information was obtained about the account and provided to detectives for follow-up. 1/5/18 at 1300 Hours. 11100 Block of Wickwood. Theft. Victim reported that sometime between 1/2/18 and 1/3/18 someone had stolen his locked mailbox by unscrewing and removing it from the post. It is unknown what mail might have been inside of the mailbox. Information was provided to detectives for a follow-up investigation. 1/6/18 at 1800 Hours. 300 Block of Hedwig. Ordinance Violation. Officers were dispatched to the area in reference to a construction ordinance violation. Upon arrival, construction crews were found to be working and planning on continuing work into the evening. The work was stopped upon the issuance of a citation. 1/7/18 at 0915 Hours. 11200 Block of Smithdale. Indecent Exposure. Officers were dispatched to the area in reference to a male possibly exposing himself or performing a lewd act. Upon arrival to the area, officers learned that a male had been observed standing near a white truck (unknown make or model) possibly exposing himself. Officers checked that area, however were unable to locate the vehicle. 1/7/18 at 1730 Hours. 100 Block of Stillforest. Fraud. Victim reported receiving information from Verizon of 4 cell phones being ordered in her name. The victim had not ordered any phones. Information was obtained and provided to detectives for follow-up investigation. Hunters Creek 1/5/18 at 2100 Hours. 700 Block of Creekside. Disturbance/Consumption of Alcohol by Minors. Officers were dispatched to the area after neighbors reported hearing screaming in the area and the road being blocked. Upon arrival of officers, several juveniles were observed running in the area. Additional reports included juveniles being in area yards. Officers then located several juveniles hiding in nearby garage. The juveniles (ages 14-15) had been consuming alcohol and were cited for MIP. Through investigation it was learned that while the parents were away from home, their child had hosted an unauthorized party. 1/6/18 at 1130 Hours. 700 Block of Camelot. Burglary of a vehicle(s). Several residents reported that sometime during the night unknown individuals had unlawfully entered their vehicles and rummaged through the glove boxes and/or consoles. At this time nothing appears to be missing. The vehicles were checked for signs of how entry was gained and found there was no obvious evidence. The residents all believed that their vehicles had been locked. Detectives are actively working the cases and reviewing video surveillance. 1/9/18 at 1745 Hours. 10800 Bridlewood. Soliciting. Residents reported a solicitor in the area. Upon arrival to the area, officers located a female going door to door selling water purification systems. The female was cited and escorted from the area. 1/11/18 at 0200 Hours. 10900 Wickwild/600 Voss. Possession of a Controlled Substance. Officers observed a vehicle driving slowly in a residential area commit a traffic violation. Upon approaching the vehicle officers could smell the odor of marijuana. When asked why they were in the area the occupants stated that they were looking at houses. Officers located a quantity of suspected marijuana inside of the car and cited the driver. The subjects then left the area. After she successfully started a parent-teacher organization in 2012 at her fifth-grade son's Alief school, Candace Ferreira started getting questions about what she planned to do next. Ferreira has pondered the inquiries for a few years, wondering if her next step is to run for local political office, never quite throwing her hat into the ring. "I always look for ways to make things a little more efficient, more effective, so it's just a natural way for me to get involved," said Ferreira, a stay-at-home mother with a background in accounting. "I'm very interested in my community and education." Ferreira inched closer to running Sunday when she joined about 40 women for a workshop in downtown Houston aimed at recruiting and preparing pro-abortion rights, progressive candidates for public office. The program took place during the AFL-CIO's 2018 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference in partnership with EMILY's List, a national organization that supports women in politics. Participants received tips on getting involved in local politics, deciding whether to seek office and launching a campaign for the first time. Attendees included Houston-area residents interested in community boards and offices, along with union representatives from across the country. Women hold 84 of 535 seats in Congress, with 62 serving as Democrats and 22 as Republicans. Muthoni Wambu Kraal, vice president of national outreach and training for EMILY's List, said her organization has seen a spike in interest following the 2016 election of President Donald Trump. His history of misogynistic comments contributed to candidate Trump's double-digit loss among female voters. About 26,200 women have contacted EMILY's List since the 2016 election to inquire about running for office, the organization reported this month. In October 2017, conservatives formed their own network, Winning For Women, to support female candidates, reporting that "tens of thousands" of members have signed up. Wambu Kraal said potential Democratic candidates need to turn political activism into Election Day victories on the local and state level, where Republicans have made enormous gains in the past decade. Since the 2008 election, Democrats have lost nearly 1,000 seats in state legislatures, 74 seats in Congress and seven gubernatorial offices, according to the Associated Press and federal data. "We are now at a point in time where we need to once again focus on the state and local structure. A lot of those have been robbed of resources," Wambu Kraal said. "The winds are changing again. We're seeing a restructure and refocus on what these state and local offices do, as well as who holds these offices." Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO Executive Council, said she believes more female union members could become effective political candidates if they're encouraged to run. Polls conducted in 2017 by Gallup and Pew Research Center show public support for labor unions has rebounded in recent years, with about 60 percent saying they approve of them or view them favorably. Fewer than 50 percent of respondents voiced support for labor unions in the early 2010s. "We often say union members are the best people to run for office because we're in the trenches in the workplace," Shuler said. "There are so many different issues that they're naturally prepared to run for office." Organizers hoped to inspire potential activists and candidates like Asia Truss, a member of a government workers union in Columbus, Ohio. Truss said her union is largely male-dominated, and she hopes to employ lessons from the workshop to push for more female representation in her union leadership. "I'm one of those people in the back, taking it all in, but I never really speak up," Truss said. "I want to be able to have a voice to help someone else run." AUSTIN Embattled Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller lost an important political supporter Monday when a major industry group he belongs to opted to back his political opponent, dealing a blow to the incumbent Republican in a contested political battle. The Texas Nursery and Landscape Association turned its back on Miller Monday by endorsing Trey Blocker in the Republican primary election over Miller a farmer and rancher who has long owned a nursery and a landscape business. "We wanted to make sure we had the right person on the job to continue to be successful in what we do and how we do it. It was a huge decision," said Amy Graham, president of TNLA, who said Miller's is a member through his nursery and landscaping business. The association had to fight an attempt by the department to increase fees, she said, and added the agency is sometimes non-responsive. "This endorsement does not come as a surprise and is an a example of special interests in Austin rallying around a low-level lobbyist in order to provide some semblance of credibly to an otherwise foundering campaign," said Todd Smith, Miller's campaign spokesman. "We would expect our opponent to gather a couple of minnows in his net while we are landing the huge fish in our boat," he said, adding Miller's campaign will announce more endorsements this week. The decision to switch was more about supporting Blocker, whose message about servant leadership and listening to the industry "just truly, truly resonated with us," Graham said. She said Blocker also shared the association's view of immigration as a labor force issue rather than a political one. "It was more about looking toward the future rather that looking backward," Graham said. The association has been in Miller's corner for nearly two decades. The group contributed $10,000 to his campaign when he first ran for commissioner in 2014. Since his first foray into state politics in 2000, the TNLA has contributed more than $20,000 to his bids for office. The race for agriculture commissioner is one of the hottest in the Republican primary this year among officials elected statewide. The Department of Agriculture performs tasks like regulating fuel pumps, administering national school lunch and breakfast programs and facilitating trade of commodities like livestock, but controversies have surrounded Miller since he took office. Miller has also announced several endorsements in recent weeks, including Joe the Plumber and Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty of violating a federal court order to stop racially profiling Latinos. Miller on Sunday announced the endorsement of Bob Tallman, a rodeo announcer. Blocker announced three other endorsements Monday as a show of strength that industries the state's Department of Agriculture oversees want new leadership at the state level. "As Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller has done real damage to Texas Agriculture and other small businesses regulated by the agency. I'm running for this office to clean up the mess he has made," said Blocker in a campaign press release. Groups endorsing Blocker, an ethics lawyer and former lobbyist who hosts a conservative podcast, include the Texas Food and Fuel Association, the Texas Restaurant Association, the Manufacturers PAC of Texas and the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association. The Texas Food and Fuel Association, who represents companies that collectively pump about $80 billion into the Texas economy, has never endorsed a candidate in its 69-year history until now, according to Paul Hardin, the group's president. The TFFA historically contributes to candidates but normally stops short of issuing endorsements, but Hardin said the organization has found Miller to be vindictive, spurring the group to back Blocker and commit to hosting fundraisers for his campaign. "I think it's a control issue and I've been around [Miller] enough... and he really does whatever he wants to do whenever he wants to do it" without listening to stakeholder input, Hardin said. Blocker's campaign has gone on the attack against Miller, a first-year Republican who had found himself in several controversies during his tenure at the agency, including taking two personal trips on taxpayers' money. Blocker last aired campaign ads accusing Miller of waging a war against barbecue, an accusation stemming from Miller wanting certain restaurants to move scales to where consumers can see them. Miller argues Blocker is too liberal to be a Republican. Also running in the primary election is Jim Hogan, a former dairy farmer and a retired insurance salesman. The primary election is March 6. The winner goes on to run against Kim Olson, a farmer and author. Andrea Zelinski covers politics and the courts for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com. The battle to represent the heart of Houston's long underrepresented Latino community in Congress has drawn a most unexpected name. Tahir Javed. He's an outsider in the 29th congressional district. He's not Latino. He's never lived in the congressional district he is running in until now. And he's never run for office in his life. But what he does have is lots of money he's not afraid to put into the campaign, ties to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and what he says is a kinship with Latino voters in the area because of his own struggles as an immigrant. "Our struggle is the same," the 51-year-old Pakistani native said. "I was told 'go back to your country' many times." But nearly 16 years after he arrived in Beaumont with just $500 to his name, Javed now is a wealthy businessman who turned a single convenience store business into a 28-company enterprise that includes hospitals, distribution networks and real estate businesses. After years of donating money to candidates, including hosting a major fundraiser with Clinton in Beaumont, Javed said this time he wants to be the one that goes to Washington to fight for the Houston area on Capitol Hill. Javed is one of seven Democrats in a battle for the seat represented by U.S. Rep. Gene Green since 1992. Green, a Houston Democrat, announced in October he wound not seek re-election. The primary election is March 6. Early voting starts on Feb. 20. The district is one of the most heavily Latino districts in the nation and includes much of the Greater East End, South Houston and Pasadena. Of the 765,000 people who live in the 29th congressional district, 77 percent are Hispanic according to the U.S. Census. Of that nearly more than 88 percent list themselves as having a Mexican background. Only five congressional districts in the nation have a higher percentage of Hispanic residents than the Green district, according to the Pew Research Center. But while many see it as a chance for Houston to elect a Latino to Congress for the first time in the city's history, Javed said he's perfectly positioned to represent the area in Washington. Javed said he's always focused his businesses in underserved communities to help people, even when he could make bigger profits elsewhere. He points to a medical facility he is opening in Galena Park as evidence of his mission. "A lot of my businesses are in underserved areas," he said. "This is my passion." He said the district needs a strong voice to help work on big needs in the communities, like access to health care, better schools, better roads and higher wages. "I have a proven history," Javed said of his business success. "We walked into where there was a need. I understand health care. I can do it with so minimum resources. I've developed a system where we don't waste money. We just do it." Javed is already putting up billboards, hiring seasoned political staff and opened a headquarters off Shaver Street. He said he's already raised more than $252,000 for his campaign, but says if he feels it's necessary he will pour his own money into the race as well. Garcia looms It's all caught the attention of State Sen. Sylvia Garcia, who many saw as a clear front runner for the Democratic nomination before Javed jumped into the race. "We need a champion for the people now more than ever," Garcia said about her candidacy. Garcia, 67, has a long history in politics and in the district. Garcia was the city controller from 1998 to 2002, then a Harris County Commissioner from 2002 to 2010. She has been in the State Senate since 2013. At her campaign headquarters grand opening off Harrisburg Boulevard, Garcia said the community really needs someone with experience and a track record. "It's about who knows the district, who lives and breaths the issues that people care about in this district," Garcia said. "Its really hard for anyone to vote for someone who is from out of town who has no feel for the area and is just trying to come in with a lot of money." Javed just moved to the district last month, after living primarily in Beaumont since he arrived in the United States. According to the Jefferson County records, Javed holds a homestead exemption on a 9,000 square foot home in Beaumont. Javed said he's changing that homestead and now lives in the 29th Congressional District. "It's about who has a track record of getting things done for working families," Garcia said. "It's a tough sell if you live in a mansion and you drive a Bentley." On Javed's Facebook page he featured a photo of him and his wife in a Bentley. He took that photo down within the last couple of weeks. Javed is hoping his connections to Clinton and her presidential campaign will pay off. Javed was part of her finance team and traveled the nation for her to help raise money and support her campaign he said. He even hosted a fundraiser for Clinton in Beaumont that netted more than $500,000. Javed himself ended up donating $171,000 to Clinton campaign or her political action committee called Hillary Victory Fund. "She just changed my life," Javed said. When she gave her concession speech after losing to Donald Trump, Javed was on the front row and the two talked for several minutes with her encouraging him to stay active politically and keep fighting for Democratic ideals. "I did not go home," Javed said. "I started helping other candidates. I started helping other Democratic candidates. I realized there is more work that is needed to be done." In addition to backing his own campaign, Javed has donated $10,000 to help U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri in her re-election campaign. Garcia said she's known the Clinton's since they started in Arkansas and isn't intimidated in the least about going up against one of Hillary Clinton's big donors. "I've got more than my fair share of pictures with Hillary too," Garcia said. Javed and Garcia face a crowded field of candidates in the primary, though none have ever held public office before. The other candidates include Marine veteran Augustine Reyes, real estate agent Dominique Michelle Garcia, teacher Hector Morales, businessman Pedro Valencia and attorney Roel Garcia. Four Republicans are running in the GOP's primary on March 6. The winner of the primary between Carmen Maria Montiel, Jaimy Z. Blanco, Phillip Aronoff and Robert Schafranek would face the winner of the Democratic primary in November. Jeremy Wallace writes about state politics and government for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter at @JeremySWallace. AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man was hurt Friday during a shootout with police officers in the city's Kenmore neighborhood, police said. Michael S. Higgins, 39, is charged with felonious assault in the shooting on West Waterloo Road near 30th Street Southwest, police said in a news release. An Akron police officer's shot grazed Higgins' left arm, police said. Akron Fire Department paramedics took Higgins to Cleveland Clinic Akron General for treatment. An Akron Police Department spokesman did not say if Higgins or an officer fired the first shot. The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on paid administrative leave, which is the police department's protocol for officer-involved shootings. The spokesman did not release the officers' names or say how many are on administrative leave. A woman called 911 just after 11:30 p.m. and reported that a man was acting erratically while threatening to shoot someone, police said. The caller also said the man may have been using drugs, police said. Officers arrived at the house and found Higgins holding a gun. They exchanged gunfire before Higgins barricaded himself in the house, police said. Higgins surrendered following a brief standoff, police said. No police officers were injured. Officers recovered two handguns in the house. Higgins remains in custody at the Summit County Jail, police said. His arraignment is scheduled Tuesday in Akron Municipal Court. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Monday's crime and courts comments section. CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland Heights, which has one of the highest property tax rates in Cuyahoga County, is actually closer to the middle of the pack when examining what a typical homeowner pays. The same goes for other places with some of the highest rates, a cleveland.com analysis found. And in Garfield Heights, the typical bill is actually one of the lowest in the county despite the third-highest rate. This is because the property tax bill is the result of two factors: tax rates and home values. Where home values are high, it takes fewer homes - and lower rates - to raise as much money. (Find how each city, village and township in Cuyahoga County ranks with the chart at the bottom of this story.) Cleveland.com last week published the new tax rates for each place in the Greater Cleveland/Akron area, ranking Cleveland Heights, Garfield Heights, Shaker Heights and University Heights near the top. No. 1 was a small slice of South Euclid in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school system. But today's separate analysis offers a different picture, examining tax bills based on the median home value in each place. A small area of South Euclid has the highest tax rate, but ranks 58th for tax bills, at $2,851 a year for the median home in that area. The Shaker Square area of Cleveland, which is part of the Shaker Heights school system, is second for tax rate, but 49th for bills at $3,030. Garfield Heights is third for rate, but 58th for bills at $2,496. Shaker Heights is fourth for rate, but ninth for bills at $8,623. University Heights is fifth for rate, but 20th for bills at $5,642. And Cleveland Heights is sixth for rate, but 30th for bills at $4,317. The highest bills, not surprisingly, are in the wealthiest areas, despite often lower rates in those places. This illustrates a sometimes crippling problem for areas with low home values, such as Garfield Heights. Much higher tax rates are required to raise money in those places, causing people to pay more than others with similarly valued homes elsewhere. County records place the median value of Hunting Valley homes at just over $1.2 million. The tax bill for such a home is $29,825 a year. Bills for median homes also top $10,000 in Chagrin Falls Township ($18,155), Bentleyville ($14,512), part of Moreland Hills ($12,531) and Gates Mills ($12,298). On the low side, the bill in Linndale is $970 based on a median-valued home at $37,550. Also low is Cleveland. The median bill in most of Cleveland (all areas with the exception of the portion in the Shaker Heights school district) is $1,319 for a fully taxed home with a median taxable value of $45,700. This does not account for homes receiving tax abatement. Tax bills by community Notes: These bills are based on the median value for single-family homes in each area. Cities and villages with more than one school district are listed more than once, to show the rates for each portion of town. The number of homes in each area are listed to provide an idea of the size for each. Excluded are areas without any single-family homes, according to tax records. They may have only condos or no homes at all. Place (school district) Single- family homes Median value Tax bill for median value Hunting Valley (Orange schools) 194 $1,238,600 $29,825 Chagrin Falls Twp. (Chagrin Falls) 37 $669,200 $18,155 Bentleyville (Chagrin Falls) 319 $499,200 $14,512 Moreland Hills (Chagrin Falls) 277 $432,100 $12,531 Gates Mills (Mayfield) 940 $435,950 $12,298 Pepper Pike (Orange) 2,461 $403,900 $9,883 Moreland Hills (Orange) 1,024 $406,250 $9,685 Chagrin Falls (Chagrin Falls) 1,312 $294,850 $8,677 Shaker Hts. (Shaker Hts.) 7,073 $206,500 $8,623 Bratenahl (Cleveland) 400 $263,200 $7,783 Orange (Orange) 1,048 $293,850 $6,979 Broadview Hts. (North Royalton) 2,127 $255,200 $6,334 Bay Village (Bay) 6,114 $198,300 $5,939 Glenwillow (Solon) 228 $256,700 $5,920 Brecksville (Brecks.- Broad. Hts.) 4,369 $239,100 $5,891 Solon (Solon) 7,558 $253,450 $5,872 Rocky River (Rocky River) 6,005 $224,000 $5,869 Beachwood (Beachwood) 3,157 $271,600 $5,728 Highland Hts. (Mayfield) 3,275 $222,300 $5,682 University Hts. (Cle. Hts.- Unv. Hts.) 3,908 $137,250 $5,642 Mayfield (Mayfield) 1,173 $208,400 $5,341 Pepper Pike (Beachwood) 18 $230,950 $5,249 Westlake (Westlake) 8,430 $242,900 $5,239 Olmsted Twp. (Olmsted Falls) 3,413 $170,000 $5,216 North Royalton (Brecks.- Broad. Hts.) 128 $210,550 $5,114 Broadview Hts. (Brecks.- Broad. Hts.) 3,542 $200,050 $5,015 Solon (Orange) 146 $204,700 $4,651 North Royalton (North Royalton) 8,468 $192,500 $4,630 Seven Hills (Parma) 5,091 $154,600 $4,483 Cleveland Hts. (Cle. Hts.- Unv. Hts.) 11,664 $105,600 $4,317 Berea (Olmsted Falls) 32 $150,200 $4,308 Olmsted Falls (Olmsted Falls) 2,400 $150,550 $4,227 North Olmsted (North Olmsted) 10,054 $135,250 $4,213 Strongsville (Strongsville) 15,089 $180,800 $4,198 Richmond Hts. (Richmond Hts.) 2,880 $127,850 $4,185 Lakewood (Lakewood) 9,391 $128,200 $4,134 Independence (Independence) 2,881 $211,900 $4,121 Valley View (Cuyahoga Hts.) 748 $212,050 $4,116 Fairview Park (Fairview Park) 5,663 $137,900 $4,085 Lyndhurst (S. Euclid- Lyndhurst) 5,762 $117,550 $3,753 Middleburg Hts. (Berea) 4,976 $149,700 $3,743 Richmond Hts. (S. Euclid- Lyndhurst) 305 $112,100 $3,733 Walton Hills (Bedford) 974 $169,850 $3,686 Olmsted Falls (Berea) 121 $136,900 $3,636 Woodmere (Orange) 139 $153,200 $3,511 Fairview Park (Rocky River) 120 $129,450 $3,421 Mayfield Hts. (Mayfield) 5,230 $118,400 $3,244 Berea (Berea) 5,950 $117,700 $3,233 Cleveland (Shaker Hts.) 489 $71,100 $3,030 South Euclid (S. Euclid- Lyndhurst) 7,815 $85,000 $2,927 South Euclid (Cle. Hts.- Unv. Hts.) 500 $66,200 $2,851 Oakwood (Bedford) 1,268 $124,350 $2,831 Bedford Hts. (Bedford) 2,630 $99,200 $2,809 Parma Hts. (Parma) 6,047 $98,700 $2,720 Highland Hills (Warrensville Hts.) 151 $73,100 $2,524 Brooklyn Hts. (Cuyahoga Hts.) 602 $134,350 $2,514 Euclid (Euclid) 14,503 $66,900 $2,499 Garfield Hts. (Garfield Hts.) 9,182 $59,100 $2,496 Parma (Parma) 27,963 $92,600 $2,486 Brook Park (Berea) 6,869 $97,800 $2,446 North Randall (Warrensville Hts.) 139 $78,100 $2,344 Brooklyn (Brooklyn) 3,547 $89,700 $2,330 Cuyahoga Hts. (Cuyahoga Hts.) 181 $123,200 $2,305 Bedford (Bedford) 3,964 $75,900 $2,145 Cleveland Hts. (East Cleveland) 1,234 $69,300 $2,113 Warrensville Hts. (Warrensville Hts.) 3,094 $62,500 $1,915 Maple Hts. (Maple Hts.) 9,157 $50,100 $1,897 Newburgh Hts. (Cleveland) 482 $53,250 $1,848 Garfield Hts. (Cleveland) 862 $50,100 $1,684 Cleveland (Cleveland) 82,124 $45,700 $1,319 East Cleveland (East Cleveland) 3,138 $37,100 $1,133 Linndale (Cleveland) 16 $37,550 $970 Source: cleveland.com/datacentral analysis of Cuyahoga County tax and property records. Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The police officer who fatally shot a 21-year-old man who attacked him at the Corner Alley bowling alley in University Circle had previously been convicted of lying about working when he was actually at his home. Sgt. Dean Graziolli, a 26-year veteran of the police department, will spend three days on paid administrative leave, then will be assigned to light duty in the gym at the downtown Cleveland police headquarters while the investigation into the shooting proceeds, according to Cleveland Fraternal Order of Police President Brian Betley. Graziolli, 51, was treated and released from University Hospitals after the attack, Betley said. He said he suffered several bruises and cuts on his face, head and body from the attack. He received several stitches and is resting at home, Betley said. "The FOP stands behind him and will guide him through this process," Betley said. The incident at the Corner Alley began about 11 p.m. Saturday when a fight broke out inside the popular bowling alley, bar and restaurant on Euclid Avenue and Ford Drive. Bar employees kicked out the brawlers and Graziolli, who was working part-time security at the business, escorted them outside, a police spokeswoman said. The 21-year-old man, however, returned and attacked Graziolli outside the bowling alley, just a few steps from the front door. Graziolli, a sergeant since 2002, fired shots, killing the man, who has not yet been identified. A witness told cleveland.com that he heard two gunshots. "The Corner Alley Uptown in University Circle is saddened by the very unfortunate incident that occurred last night," a statement from the restaurant's director of operations, Jonathan Seeholzer said. "We remain committed to working with our partners at Cleveland Police, University Circle Police and CWRU police to create a safe and fun environment for all our patrons." Graziolli is a day-shift sergeant in the Fifth District, Betley said. Graziolli in 2014 pleaded guilty to eight first-degree misdemeanor counts of falsification. He claimed on his pay records to have been working on eight different days between Oct. 14 and Nov. 1, 2012. His cellphone records showed that he wasn't in the Fourth District, where he claimed to be, for most of those days. An investigation later found that Graziolli was at home when he claimed to be working those days. He was given a suspended six-month jail sentence and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. He was also suspended 30 days without pay. It's the first fatal Cleveland police-involved shooting since patrolman Steven Fedorko fatally shot 33-year-old Antonio Levision on Oct. 25 in the city's Glenville neighborhood. Levison ran from officers investigating a shots-fired complaint and had pointed his gun at Fedorko before the officer fired the fatal shots, according to police accounts of the shooting. The investigation into that incident is ongoing. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. ELYRIA, Ohio - Lorain County Community College will increase tuition and fees by $10 a credit hour for county residents beginning this summer. Trustees on Thursday approved a resolution to increase tuition and fees from $124.04 to $134.04 per credit hour. The total cost for a full-time student who takes 12 hours is $1,742.52. That price remains the same if a student takes up to 18 hours because the college's so-called "blanket tuition policy." The cost per credit hour also increased for out-of-county ($147.19 to $159.22) and out-of-state residents ($286.54 to $310.79). The college has not increased tuition and fees since 2014. The current two-year state budget allows community and technical colleges to increase tuition and fees up to $10 per credit hour. "We know 65 percent of the jobs by the year 2025 will require a post-secondary credential and many of the jobs today didn't exist just ten years ago, a trend that is predicted to continue," LCCC President Marcia Ballinger said in a news release. "Our mission as the community's college is to ensure students are prepared to compete and thrive in this ever-changing economy; we must invest in keeping our educational programs, support services and technology up-to-date and relevant to job market changes. We understand that even slight increases like this one can be difficult but our graduates get a strong return on their investment in their education." LCCC's tuition and fees are fifth lowest out of 23 community and technical colleges in Ohio, the college reported. Revenue from the tuition increase will support the creation of new programs as well as the costs to keep technology, labs and student services up to date, the college said. The college said it has done the following to help students save money: CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland police are investigating after a man and woman were shot dead on the city's East Side. Both victims suffered gunshot wounds to the head, Cleveland police spokesman Det. Reginald Lanton said The incident happened at East 96th Street and Kennedy Avenue in the Kinsman neighborhood. Police learned of the shooting about 9:30 a.m. Monday, Lanton said. Detectives remained at the scene about 10:30 a.m. where they appeared to be focusing their investigative efforts on a car that was stopped near the curb just a short distance from the intersection. The car appeared to be a silver Chevrolet Cruze. Investigators were seen measuring distances around the car, and inspecting the vehicle's interior. One detective was seen knocking on the door of a nearby house and going inside. Police tape blocked off the car itself, the surrounding street, and the front yard of a home. Investigators haven't announced if they have identified any suspects. To comment on this story, please visit cleveland.com's crime and courts comments section. MASON, Ohio -- A school district has placed a teacher on administrative leave after she told a black student he might be lynched by his classmates because he wasn't focused on his work, reports say. Mason School District also has formally reprimanded Renee Thole, a social studies teacher at Mason Middle School, and will require her and the rest of the district's personnel to undergo more training, WXIX Channel 19 reports. This is the first time Thole has been disciplined in her 22 years with the district, school officials tell WCPO Channel 9. She did apologize to her class for making the comment. "There's no explanation or defense that would make such a comment appropriate in any setting," Superintendent Gail Kist-Kline said in a statement on the district's Facebook page. "It was wrong. Racism is real in America and we all have an obligation to fight it." The statement does not say how long Thole will be on leave. Thole reportedly told 13-year-old student Mason Agee-Bell, "If you don't get back on task, your friends are going to form an angry mob and lynch you." Thole reportedly admitted making the statement to Mason's mother, Tanish Agee-Bell. Kist-Kline credited Mason for his response to Thole's comment. "The student bravely stood up and called his teacher to account," Kist-Kline said in the statement. "The student could have reacted poorly and could have rightfully berated the teacher for her thoughtlessness. Yet he extended grace to the teacher. The student is the hero in this story." Mason has been removed from Thole's class. Mason, Ohio, is located northeast of Cincinnati. SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio - Crews are searching a Shaker Heights lake for a man who may have fallen through the ice while running from police officers. Officers lost sight of the man about noon Monday near Green Lake by South Woodland Road and Andover Road, Shaker Heights police Commander John Cole said. The officers never saw the man fall into the lake, but the Shaker Heights Fire Department has rescue teams searching the water, Cole said. The man was suspected of being involved in a hit-and-run crash that caused property damage, Cole said. Officers also believe the car he was driving may have been stolen. The man stopped the car near the lake, got out and ran away, Cole said. The Shaker Heights Fire Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This is a developing story that will be updated. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Monday's crime and courts comments section. SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio - Firefighters pulled an unresponsive man from a lake Monday afternoon in Shaker Heights. Officials believe the man fell through the ice and into Green Lake while running from police officers, Shaker Heights Fire Chief Patrick Sweeney said. Paramedics took the man to University Hospitals for treatment. Sweeney could not provide an update on his condition. Shaker Heights police officers were investigating a report of a suspicious car when they found footprints leading to the lake by South Woodland Road and Andover Road. The officers did not see the man fall into the water, Sweeney said. Firefighters pulled him from the lake just after 1:30 p.m. He was likely in the water for more than an hour and a half, Sweeney said. Investigators believe the man abandoned a car in a driveway on Chagrin Boulevard, police said. Investigators also believe the car was stolen earlier Monday from a Shaker Heights resident, police said. If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Monday's crime and courts comments section. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. MRFR Press Release / - Market Research Future Published at Half Cooked Research "Global Automotive Coatings Market Research Report - Forecast to 2022" - Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast up to 2022. BASF SE (Germany), Bayer AG (Germany), DuPont (United States), Solvay SA (Belgium), Arkema (France), Nippon Paint Holdings (Japan), PPG Industries (United States), Kansai Paint Co.Ltd. (Japan), AkzoNobel NV (the Netherland) and Royal DSM (the Netherland) among others are prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Automotive Coatings Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis. Automotive Coatings Market - Market Overview Automotive Coatings Industry is witnessing significant growth on account of its properties such as excellent UV radiation, extreme temperature resistance and durability. Automotive Coatings produced based on technology as water borne and solvent borne. The future of Automotive Coating Industry is based on water borne automobile coatings. Water borne Automotive Coatings has replaced the solvent borne coatings owing to low volatile organic content (VOC) emission and possess resistance to heat and abrasion. Moreover, cost advantage and excellent chemical and physical properties over solvent based coatings is anticipated to drive the water based Automobile Coating Market. Major material used in Automotive Industry are metal which needs to be coated in order to protect the material from rust, wear and tear. The increasing consumption of passenger cars to meet growing demand is anticipated to drive the Automotive Coatings Market. Automotive refinishing industry is growing significantly due to rising vehicle collisions along with proneness of consumer to repair vehicles are expected to augment the market growth. Primer, basecoat, and E-coat are trending in the market owing to its superior properties. Basecoat is expected to dominate in the market as they are capable to provide desired color and aesthetics to automobiles. E-coat or electric coat is expected to grow at considerable market share over the forecast period. This is due to equal deposition of coating on metal part with high operation speed. Growing demand of plastic parts in Automotive Industry on account of lightweight, design flexibility and cost effective is driving the product in automotive industry. Plastic parts are resistance to corrosion, durable and easily recyclable. Additionally, rising consumption of carbon fiber and composites material in vehicle manufacturing will stimulate the market growth. Apart from growing consumption of plastics, metal consumption in Automotive Industry has been reduced down from 80% to around 60%. However, volatile in steel prices and growing usage of composites materials is projected to hamper the market growth. The Global Automotive Coatings Market are dominated by Asia Pacific region owing to rising production of vehicle along with increasing consumer preference for domestic transport. Changing trend of lightweight components in vehicle parts in order to improve fuel efficiency in various regions is expected to complement demand growth. China witnessed strong growth owing to large production base and economic labor. Moreover, countries like Japan, India and South Korea are leading countries in automotive industries and manufacturer are relocating base owing to lenient government regulations and easy availability of resources. Europe is second largest automotive coating market followed by North America. Strong consolidation and favourable economic conditions are likely to boost the product demand in regional market. Receive a Sample Report upon Request @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1754 Automotive coatings Market Competitive Analysis Automotive coatings market is fragmented market with tier 1 and tier 2 players dominating the overall market. The key strategies adopted by key players are expansion, collaborations or partnerships, acquisition and product launch. In order to meet regulations, set by various bodies of respective regions, manufacturer is entering into agreement with raw material supplier to reduce the cost. Auto manufacturers are focusing more on performance of vehicle by lowering of greenhouse gases with significant reduction in weight of vehicle. In highly competitive market, companies are investing more in innovations and brand building thereby, fostering the strong relationship with customer. Industry/ Innovation/ Related News: June 20, 2017 BASF is expanding its Automotive Coatings production in North America. The company is investing USD 40 million in next two years to add production capacity in Greenville and Tultitlan. Waterborne basecoat capacity in Tultitlan and E-coat capacity in Greenville enables BASF to capture the demand in North America region. This would also help the company to innovate more product offering in automotive coatings. January 20, 2017PPG industries acquired automotive refinish Coatings Company named Futian Xinshi (Futian) based in China. The acquired company has 200 distribution networks in China along with low cost proven technology. This would help the company to grow at rapid pace in China market. March 01, 2017 - PPG industries completed production facility of high performance waterborne coatings at its Wuhu facility in Anhui province, China. With increasing regulations in the automotive coatings markets to lower emission of VOC, the manufacturer is increasing production in line with environmental friendly coatings across China. April 20, 2016 - BASF signed agreement to acquire the automotive refinishes coating business of Guangdong Yinfan Chemicals Co., Ltd. Through this acquisition, BASF would be able to improve its position in China. December 14, 2016 - BASF acquired Chemetall a leading producer of surface treatment coating. The merger of these companies would benefit the growing opportunities in the coatings industry. This coating is used to protect metals from automotive and aerospace, and metal finishing industries. Access Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/automotive-coatings-market-1754 About Market Research Future: At the Research Market Future (MRFR), we provide our customers to unravel the complexity of our industries through our Cooked Research Reports (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous -Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimal quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Applications, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enabling our clients to see more important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. MRFR Press Release / - Market Research Future published at Cooked Research Report on "Global Dimethyl Ether Market Research Report - Forecast to 2023" - Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023. Akzo Nobel NV (the Netherlands), China Energy Limited (China), The Chemours Company (US), Mitsubishi Corporation (Japan), Royal Dutch Shell plc (the Netherlands), Ferrostaal GmbH (Germany), Grillo Werke AG (Germany), Jiutai Energy Group (China), Oberon Fuels (US), and Zagros Petrochemical Company (Iran) among others. Dimethyl Ether Market - Overview The Global Dimethyl Ether (DME) Market is precipitating with the rapid speed; mainly due to the proliferation of its application in manufacturing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global market of Dimethyl Ether is predicted to witness significant growth over the forecast period. The market is forecasted to demonstrate a stunning growth by 2023, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR during the estimated period (2018 2023). Globally, the market for Dimethyl Ether is driven by the region Asia pacific, owing to the rise in the population resulting in to increasing demand for LPG for household purposes. DME is manufactured by dehydration of methanol from syngas which is obtained from coal. Due to the numerous coal reserves in the Asia Pacific is anticipated to bridge the raw material demand gap for DME raw materials. Dimethyl Ether are extensively used to blend with LPG as a solvent additive to cost economize the manufacturing process. Dimethyl Ether has a low boiling point, low viscosity and a smoke free combustion can be achieved when it is used as a solvent blender with transportation and heating fuels. Due to the high cost of DME, it is blended with LPG to save the manufacturing cost. DME, is getting a huge demand from construction industry owing to its use in manufacturing spray based paints & coatings in the vapour state bottled in a pressurized container. When DME is subjected to moderate pressure and temperature it is modified into liquid phase from gas phase vice versa. Thus, it can be transported easily when compared to LPG or LNG. Dimethyl ether is not expected to be persistent in the environment and is not bio-accumulative. Rising population defines the growth of LPG applications. Moreover growing industries such as DME based aerosol propellants applications in Cosmetic & Personal Care, and Automobile industry provide momentum to the Dimethyl Ether Market growth. Receive a Sample Report upon Request @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/787 Dimethyl ether is utilized in industrial applications as an intermediate in the preparation and manufacturing of other basic organic chemicals, as a catalyst in industrial polymerization processes, as an alternative fuel, and as an aerosol propellant for a variety of products that include adhesives, sealants, foam in a can, coatings, paints, automotive care products, deodorants, perfumes, household cleaning sprays and a variety of other personal care and household products. LPG blending application is most widely used in manufacturing for household appliances after that dimethyl sulphate (methylating agent) production for used in manufacturing chemical intermediates is most popular. Aerosol propellant application which is used in personal care & cosmetics industry has large market share in U.S. Dimethyl Ether Market Competitive Analysis The Dimethyl Ether Market appears to be competitive with the presence of several large and small players operating in the Dimethyl Ether Market. These Key players compete based upon pricing, quality, Technology and reputation. Dimethyl Ether market demonstrates a high growth potential which is likely to attract many entrants to the market resulting in to intensified competition further. Manufacturers operating in the Dimethyl Ether Market strive to respond to the growing demand for Dimethyl Ether as an alternate fuel for LPG attributed to the recent talks by Volvo and Shell cooperate in developing LNG/DME fuels for heavy trucks. They ensure to deliver the best quality products based on innovative technologies, and best practices. Industry/ Innovation/ Related News: September 2015 - Tokyo (Japan), one of the key manufacturers of Dimethyl Ether, Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), has been announced to be a methanol and dimethyl ether plant at Trinidad and Tobago. ) and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) is expected to be complete by March, 2019. January 2017 - DME fuel, which is approved for use in the entire US, as DME releases zero, same diesel performance and it is considered to be a clean energy, use of DME assuring the zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs) air pollution. Greenhouse gas emissions by a DME can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 68% -101% relative to diesel as calculated by the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. Access Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/dimethyl-ether-market-787 About Market Research Future: At the Research Market Future (MRFR), we provide our customers to unravel the complexity of our industries through our Cooked Research Reports (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous -Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimal quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Applications, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enabling our clients to see more important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. MRFR Press Release / - Market Research Future Published at Half Cooked Research Report on "Global Nonwoven Filter Media Market Research Report - Forecast to 2022" - Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2022. 3M Company, DowDuPont Inc., Sandler AG, Hollingsworth & Vose, Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, Ahlstrom-Munksjo, Parker Hannifin Corp, Pentair Residential Filtration LLC, and Johns Manville among others are prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Non-Woven Filter Media Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis. Nonwoven Filter Media Market - Overview Nonwoven Fabrics described as a random fibrous web formed by either mechanical, wet or air laid means and having interconnecting open area throughout the cross-section. They are able to remove a percentage of particulate from liquid or gaseous fluid streams flowing through it. Hence they find applications in filtration. The Nonwoven Filter Media Market is being driven by factors such as increasing application in transportation industry coupled with rising consumer awareness regarding water & air pollution. Significant increase in automotive production and sales, specifically in emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America such as China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina is set to propel market growth over the forecast period. Better economic situation and shift in lifestyle along with the rising consumer confidence have resulted in the increasing demand for new, fuel-efficient, and technologically advanced cars. In addition, major steps taken up by government and environmental bodies across the globe towards reducing water pollution is set to uplift nonwoven filter media demand over the next seven years. The ongoing progression in Federal Laws and regulatory activities directly influence the development of nonwoven filter media market. Regulatory bodies are promoting a greener tomorrow through various regimes, regulations, and awareness programs with sustainability being a focal point in major business negotiations. It is notable that the emergence of green standards does not only pose additional challenges to the production of Nonwoven Filter Media, but also provide great opportunity for new technologies, new products for Nonwoven Filter Media. This also provides an opportunity for smart filtration companies to capture early mover advantage of green projects and become the technology leaders of these programs. Receive a Sample Report upon Request @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2088 Industry/ Innovation/ Related News: February 2017 Freudenberg Filtration Technologies added a new state-of-the-art cabin air filter production line to its U.S. manufacturing facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. With this investment, the company confirmed its commitment to the U.S. automotive market. This expansion strategy would help Freudenberg Filtration Technologies to increase their market share in the North America region. November 2017 Ahlstrom-Munksjo, a global leader in fiber-based materials, launched Ahlstrom-Munksjo Trinitex Advance W3000, a unique filtration media specifically designed for pulse jet gas turbine applications. With this product launch strategy, company brought more innovative solution in air filtration sector. October 2017 Teijin offered new Nanofront Bag Filter designed to offer efficient solution for industrial air pollution. The product launch strategy would help Teijin to boost its Asia Pacific market share in air filteration. May 2017 Donaldson Company, Inc., a global leader in the filtration industry, acquired Hy-Pro Corporation. Hy-Pro designs and manufactures filtration systems and replacement filters for stationary hydraulic and industrial lubrication filtration applications. The acquisition strategy would help Donaldson Company, Inc. to increase their overall revenue and filteration market share. March 2017 Andritz agreed to supplies line to Indian needle puncher. The agreement would help the nonwoven filter media market in India after the impact of GST. April 2017 Bouckaert Industrial Textiles, a maker of nonwovens for the thermal and acoustical insulation, equestrian, automotive, specialty filtration, vibration dampening, green-roof and industrial markets, planned to add a new, 3.4 meters wide, air-lay line from Laroche S.A. and TechnoPlants srl. This expansion strategy of Bouckaert Industrial Textiles would further increase the global consumption of nonwoven filter media. Nonwoven Filter Media Market Regional Analysis Market Research Future has segmented the Global Nonwoven Filter Media Market in five different regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The North American market is further divided into the US and Canada while the European market is segmented into Germany, Russia, the U.K., France, Italy and Rest of Europe. The Asia Pacific market is sub-divided into China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The global nonwoven filter media market is expected to reach USD 7206.7 million by the end of forecasted period i.e. 2022. Asia Pacific has accounted for the largest market share followed by North America and Europe. The Asia Pacific region offers huge growth potential for Nonwoven Filter Media Market and is slated to register the highest CAGR of 7.14% to reach USD 3234.4 million by 2022 owing to the presence of a large number of producers, cheap labor cost and growing application segments in the region. Access Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/non-woven-filter-media-market-2088 Competitive Landscape In the competitive landscape, the report analyzes the degree of competition from the industry players as well as the industry growth and market scenario. The Global Nonwoven Filter Media Market is a growth stage, which represents moderate results in terms of market value and overall volume. Nonwoven Filter Media Market has witnessed healthy demand from industries like transportation, water filtration, HVAC, food & beverages, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and refining. Nevertheless, the degree of competition among the market players is still less owing to the limited market players across the globe. Globally market for Nonwoven Filter Media is a combination of growth and expansion through the use of partnerships, expansion and joint-venture strategies and product launch strategies. About Market Research Future: At the Research Market Future (MRFR), we provide our customers to unravel the complexity of our industries through our Cooked Research Reports (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous -Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimal quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Applications, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enabling our clients to see more important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Synopsis of Sand Control Systems Market Scenario There has been a considerable contraction in the revenues as well as investments in the oil and gas industry following the oil price decline, since mid-2014. However in recent months, oil prices have been rising steadily and are expected to achieve price stabilization. The demand-supply gap is gradually reducing resulting into a change in the industry dynamics. This change has instigated an increase in the rig count leading to a rise in the demand for production operations. Growth in production to curb the expected increase in oil demand is would boost the market for sand control systems. Segments The Sand Control Systems is segmented on the basis of type as gravel pack, frac pack, standalone screens, expandable screens, sand consolidation, inflow control devices, and others. On the basis of well type the market has been segmented into land and offshore. Regional Analysis of Sand Control Systems North America dominates the sand control system market, with the U.S. and Canada contributing a considerable share within the sand control systems market. The Asia-Pacific and European region account for considerable portion of oil and gas demand and are expected to have significant impact on the sand control system market. Get Sample of Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1004 Study Objectives of Sand Control Systems To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the global Sand Control Systems To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To Analyze the Sand Control Systems based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, Porters five force analysis. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to six main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East, and Africa To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by type, by well type, and by region as well as its sub segments To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, and new product developments in the global Sand Control Systems market Get Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/sand-control-systems-market About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. Contact: Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Overview: U.S. is the major cheese producing country in the world which alone contribute around 26% of market share in world cheese production. U.S. Cheese market is projected to reach 6787 Kilo Tons by year 2023 with growth rate of 3.41% during the period 2017 to 2023. Wisconsin and California together holds more than 50% of market share in U.S. cheese production. Wisconsin state alone captures major market share of more than 28% in 2017 and it will grow at the rate of 3.55% during the forecast period as majority of cheese producing plants are located in Wisconsin and California. California will witness significant growth rate during 2017 to 2023 due to increasing milk production in California. Mozzarella will continue to dominate the U.S. Cheese market with more than 50% of market share in 2017. Increasing popularity of pizza and other fast foods is creating huge demand of Mozzarella cheese which will result in faster growth of Mozzarella cheese compare to other cheese types. The production of Cheddar cheese will grow at CAGR of 3.43% during the forecast period. Advancement in manufacturing process and availability of raw material is supporting the growth of various types of cheese that includes Feta, Hispanic, Montery Jack and Cream cheese. Wisconsin is the major cheese producing state of U.S. which captures around 30% of market share in U.S. during 2017. Wisconsin cheese market is projected to reach around 1900 Kilo Tons with growth rate of 3.55% by 2023. In Wisconsin, Mozzarella cheese has large market share in 2017 and it is growing at faster rate compare to other cheese product type. Other Italian cheese mainly includes Provolone, Parmesan and Romano cheese. Other American cheese mainly includes Bergenost, Bloomsdale, Dorset, Cup Cheese and many more. Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2842 Key Players: The leading market players in the U.S. Cheese market primarily are Land O'Lakes, Inc., Dairiconcepts L.P., The Kraft Heinz Co., Leprino Foods Company, Associated Milk Producers Inc. Foremost Farms USA Cooperative and Dairy Farmers of America Inc. In 2013, in order to strengthen the companys portfolio, Land O'Lakes, Inc. acquired a firm named Geosys, which is a company that provides satellite imaging and insights to agribusiness, where as in 2017, Land O'Lakes, Inc. acquired company named Vermont Creamery. In 2013, Dairy Farmers of America Inc. Dairy Maid Dairy., located in Frederick, Maryland, the U.S. Target Audience: Cheese Manufacturers Food Industry Milk Suppliers E-commerce Retailers and wholesalers Traders, importers and exporters Access Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/u-s-cheese-market-2842 Key Findings: People have been getting loaded ever since Julius Wine ate all those bad grapes, and we're mostly OK with it. Sure, we have that War on Drugs business, but as long as dealers aren't shooting each other within our immediate vicinity, we tend to put our heads in the sand about the whole matter. But prescription opioid painkillers, our latest drug epidemic, are a different beast entirely, affecting everyone from inner-city dwellers to Middle-American grandmas. Ignoring this problem has only allowed it to grow more powerfully weird. For example ... 5 Fentanyl Can Kill You Even If You DON'T Take It Taking opiates like heroin or morphine has been at best an intensely frowned-upon hobby, and at worst a life-ruining addiction that might lead to membership in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. And it's only getting worse. Overdose has become the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, thanks to a relatively new drug called fentanyl. The potent painkiller didn't really hit the streets until 2012, but by 2016, it racked up a staggering 20,000 related deaths in that year alone (more than double the year before it). Not that any one person's life is inherently more valuable than any other's, but one of those deaths was Prince. If fentanyl were a person, we'd have it drawn and quartered. The problem with fentanyl is that it's 50-100 times more powerful than morphine, and up to ten times more powerful than heroin. The difference between fun and fatal doses is damn near microscopic. New Hampshire State Police Forensic Lab You could realistically get a lethal dose stuck under your fingernail. Continue Reading Below Advertisement The thing that really makes fentanyl dangerous is that you don't even have to take it to overdose on it. It's so potent that merely touching it or breathing near it can send you to the hospital. A police officer in New Jersey had to be rushed to the emergency room because a little puff of air came out of the bag of fentanyl he was closing. Police have begun stocking protective gear like Tyvek suits and respirators, and crime labs are researching ways to never have to open a bag of the stuff. Hell, even the nurses tending to an overdose patient can become afflicted, as was the case in Ohio in which three nurses came down with symptoms of fentanyl poisoning from secondhand exposure. Continue Reading Below Advertisement It's like heroin met anthrax in a dark alley, and they found, to everyone's great dismay, that they actually got along great. Nancy OConnell made a splash at the Vogue Knitting show in New York City over the weekend with the launch of her private-label yarn. Its like the Comic-Con for knitters, she said of the show held at Marriott Marquis. I had a consumer booth in the marketplace. It gave me a lot of exposure and I sold a lot of yarn. Based on the weekend Im excited about it and thinking about expanding it. OConnell said knitting expert Nicky Epstein visited the booth and gave the yarn a thumbs up. OConnell has owned the yarn and gift shop Nancy O at 23 Catoonah St. in Ridgefield for 13 years. She closed her shop for three days last summer to rearrange the store to give it a fresh appearance and make room for more knitting classes. The launch of the new line of yarn is an extension of that overhaul. I did a rebranding in July and at the same time I was thinking of ways to differentiate myself and my shop, OConnell said. Ive thought about this in earnest since the beginning of 2017. Our store takes pride in offering knitters a personalized experience, and I believe the private label makes it even more personal. The yarn is now available at her store, although supplies are limited because sales went so well at the show in New York. A second run is on its way, but since it is home spun and dyed, orders take a few weeks to make and be delivered. Sheep hair and natural fibers for the product are shipped in from England and the yarn is spun and dyed at a small farm in Pennsylvania. OConnell launched two fibers: Petals and Soft. Petals is a blend of cashmere, rose fiber and hair from Bluefaced Leicester sheep. OConnell said the sheep hair gives the yarn its texture, the rose fiber its luster and the cashmere its softness. It comes in six colors, all named after a different flower: begonia, iris, orchid, teal vine, fern and hydrangea. Its spun from the stem of a rose, she said. From what I saw, mine was the only one with rose fiber at the show. It was good to know we had something unique. Soft is made from 100 percent extra-fine, artisanal Merino wool from England. It also comes in six colors: blush, sea foam, smooth stone, spring sky, gray cloud and natural. With its low micron count, Soft is among the softest Merino yarn on the market, OConnell said. This makes it ideal for baby blankets, and, in fact, we are offering baby blanket kits, as well as fur-trimmed accessory kits, with the yarn. She said she hopes to launch a third fiber and expand the weight and color options soon. Ridgefield artist Amy Bock, a knitter herself, designed the labels and helped create the color palette. We decided to go narrow on colors to start to make sure we got it right, OConnell said. The quality is exceptional, Id say. Im happy with it and experts who have tried it like it. Its easy to work with and holds up to washes. The writer may be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338 While Connecticut has seen the departure big-name companies like General Electric, Westport-based Terex Corp. is staying put for the foreseeable future with the help of state funding. Terexs lease at the Nyala Farms complex in Westport was soon to expire in 2017. According to Senior Vice President Eric Cohen, executives were considering their options as they looked to the future. While a possible exit was on the table, the Fortune 500 company ultimately chose to keep its corporate headquarters in southwestern Connecticut. There were a lot of factors that went into (staying in) Connecticut, he said. The primary one is this is where we were, this is where our people were, and to move that, which we did consider, thats a big undertaking. Terex was one of 13 businesses statewide to receive a portion of almost $57 million in funding approved by the State Bond Commission in November to assist with expansion and relocation efforts with the goal of helping the states ailing job market. While Terex is staying put, the states economic woes and recent developments in tax reform could create challenges. The funding is contingent on job retention and creation which may be a tougher task following the passage of the new tax law. We have a 10-year lease now, which may be, potentially, slightly shorter depending on certain options and rights that we have and the landlord has, and we will continue to monitor the situation, Cohen said. Where that takes us long-term in Connecticut will really depend a lot on what happens with the state and how it reacts both to its current fiscal situation as well as to the change in the tax law. Cohen said executives are still looking at how it will ultimately affect the companys operations, especially regarding the deduction of state and local taxes. It does put pressure on being able to retain and bring new jobs to Connecticut because most of our operations and many of the people we find come from different areas and different parts of the country, many of which are no-state and local-tax states, Cohen said. Attracting them to come to our local headquarters is certainly going to be more challenging today than it was a while back. Terex received a $1 million grant for capital improvements to its headquarters, which requires the company to retain 140 local employees over the next four years. The business stands to see an additional $500,000 in funding if it can create 30 new jobs over the same period. The grant was included in a $5.5 million capital improvement plan that Terex used to renew its lease and take on more space in the same building. A portion of the funding went toward technology upgrades. Terex manufactures cranes and other heavy equipment for construction and other industries and employs more than 20,000 people in 50 countries. A merger was in the works several years ago between Terex and Finland-based company Konecranes before it was called off early in 2016. The international company has been the based in Westport for more than 20 years. Westport First Selectman Jim Marpe said funding for Terex was a win not only for the company, but for the town. I frequently refer to them as one of the important companies in part because theyre a Fortune 500 company and were honored to have a company of their quality and their stature located in Westport, Marpe said, adding that a Terex exodus would have been a blow to the town and regions image. It would send a negative signal to other organizations regarding whether or not they might want to locate their headquarters or other operations in southwestern Connecticut, he said. jordan.grice@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @JordanEGrice Right about now you might be thinking to yourself its time for a change. The same old song has been playing and while the tune is catchy, its time for a remix. The new year will do that to you. For many, its a time to start fresh and reinvent themselves. Something about the new year represents a new start with carte blanche to do so. I like to begin with something small but effective, like a total clean-out of my closet. If I was a betting lady, Id bet you have pieces in your closet that either still have tags on them (and have been stashed for two years) or have been so overworn even your unfashionable uncle has noticed you wear the same T-shirt at every family gathering. Theres comfort in clothes weve had for years, scored on major sale or invested a lot of money on. I get it. I've got a pair of strappy silver Michael Kors stilettos I bought with my first real paycheck I cant seem to let go. Do I wear stilettos anymore? Rarely. Are they a good representation of my current style? Not in the slightest. But they sit in my closet like an ex-boyfriend that just wont take the hint its over. Im not playing fashion police OK, maybe a little and Im certainly not out to get anyone (this one is true), but theres truth in looking good equating to feeling good, and when you feel good youre likely to focus on other areas of your life that need your undivided attention. Toss, donate or sell anything that doesnt fit. Its time to say goodbye to your when I was 20 pounds lighter jeans. Ive got some double 00 junior high pants that are never getting past my knees again, so Ive got to face reality and toss those in the donate pile. More than just taking up space, clothes that dont fit have a way of making us feel bad about ourselves. They fuel unrealistic expectations and keep us stuck in the past. Separation anxiety. Some of us cant part from clothes weve had for ages. Ive got a solution: Box the clothes you dont wear regularly and if you dont reach for them within three months, its time to either toss, donate or sell them. Youll feel a heavy weight lifted off your shoulders once you clear space in your closet. Invest in organization. Purchasing bins, hangers and dividers arent among the first things you think about when cleaning out your closet, but it should be. Once space is cleared, youre going to want to store everything in a way that makes sense for you. I want to see what I have in order to use it, otherwise I forget, and thats how the cycle of a messy closet starts again. Investing in things like shoe racks and garment storage bins not only have a place for everything, but youll declutter your living space. Feeling like youre not swimming in stuff improves productivity and helps you have a sense of accomplishment and well-being. Store out-of-season items. If you arent used to storing jackets come summer and tanks in winter, then your closet is probably bursting at the seams. I admit, I just started doing this a couple of years ago, but thats because I used to live in a state that didnt really fluctuate in weather; Connecticut is much different. Put away clothes and shoes you wont be using for the next several months to make space. The reason is to preserve the clothes you do plan on wearing again. If an item is just hanging in your closet, it's more likely to get damaged. Another plus is to make room for new pieces you might want to add to your wardrobe. After youve done a thorough clean-out, you might notice youre missing essential wardrobe pieces. Perhaps you finally parted ways with the first pair of work trousers you purchased and its time to go shopping. Your closet now has the space for new items without feeling crowded and a disarray. Ask yourself if you would purchase the item now. Does it fit your current style? This one is major when cleaning out your closet. Evolving in style is inevitable and Ill be the first to admit my style took a drastic turn in 2017. Ive got clothes I wouldnt dare throw on today, so Im getting rid of them and not looking back. I love re-evaluating wardrobe pieces because it almost feels like a peek into the person you were when you purchased the item. Was this an outfit you bought to land a job? Did you buy this top for a special vacation you took? Once you finish taking a trip down memory lane, ask yourself if the style fits who you are today and if it doesnt, pass it on to someone who can benefit from it just as much as you did. Asking yourself this question will give you insight on how you want the new year to pan out for you. You might notice youre starting to dress for a certain lifestyle you aspire to have and that will be a huge indicator of the steps you should start taking to accomplish that goal that go beyond a clean closet. Visit fashion and lifestyle blogger Ilse Inzunza, of Stamford, at www.livelearnluxeit.com BRIDGEPORT A road straight to Long Island could shave commuting time and free access to jobs but right now it is still mostly in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. A report released last week explores what a tunnel or bridge spanning Long Island Sound might look like, and Bridgeport, Milford and Port Chester, N.Y, are all part of the speculation. The Long Island Sound Crossing Feasibility Study was published in December, funded with a $5 million grant from New York state. Public and private firms have been considering similar pie-in-the-sky projects every decade or so since 1938. Its an interesting idea, said Av Harris, Bridgeports director of public policy, of a roughly 20-mile-long bridge or tunnel. Not sure how feasible it is given the geographic distance between the two locations and the fact that we have a longstanding, successful ferry between Bridgeport and Port Jefferson. But well be interested to see how and if this project develops further. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the his state Department of Transportation are pushing forward with the concept. We should continue to (pursue) a tunnel from Long Island to Westchester or Connecticut, Cuomo said in his Jan. 3 State of the State address. DOT has determined its feasible, it would be underwater, it would be invisible, it would reduce traffic on the impossibly congested Long Island Expressway and would offer significant potential private investment. Justifying the $5 million expenditure for the study, Cuomo said last year that right now the only way to get off the island is to drive all the way to the end, or you have to be a great swimmer. The study considered a $45 toll and a $20 toll, and concluded that the economics would moderately address the goal of developing cost-effective transportation options. It calculated that the $45 toll would earn around $699 million per year. Now, a basic one-way ferry ticket with a car from Bridgeport to Port Jefferson, N.Y., costs $59. It saves time and toll costs for anyone considering driving the 86-mile journey to a Long Island town like Kings Park. Cost estimates for Bridgeport and Milford designs ranged from $13 billion (for a bridge) to $31.2 billion (for a tunnel/bridge hybrid). Port Chester/Rye designs varied more widely from $8.5 billion (for the cheapest bridge) to 55.4 billion (for a six-lane tunnel). We dont have enough money to keep our existing roads and rails in good shape let alone work with New York to undertake a $50 billion project like this, said commuter advocate and Hearst Connecticut Media columnist Jim Cameron. Whatever NY DOT and Cuomo might want to do, if the project lands on Connecticut soil it will need cooperation and funding from CDOT and (state) taxpayers. I dont see any potential benefit as justifying the cost. The New York proposal, which would take at least 16 years to complete, was not mentioned in a recent CDOT draft of its long-term transportation strategy. Other routes considered in the study were ruled out either because they were not cost effective or they had high environmental costs. Bridgeport, Milford and Port Chester were recommended for further study by WSP, a Montreal-based consulting firm. However, it said the Bridgeport and Milford projects would be less able to handle adverse environmental issues than similar construction sites in Port Chester and Rye, in Westchester County, N.Y. For me, the environmental impact on Long Island Sound is just too great, said Milford Mayor Benjamin Blake. The Sound is Milfords greatest natural asset and a bridge/tunnel would place this sensitive resource at risk. So, yes, Im opposed to any plan which would put fishing, swimming and boating on the Sound in jeopardy. BRIDGEPORT - Persistence earned a local man a jail cell. Police said Phillip Anthony harassed his mail carrier for several days about a package he was expecting. Suspicious, postal inspectors intercepted the package at the Middle Street post office, police said. They said the package had been mailed from Denver, CO, by Anthony to his address here on George Pipkins Way. When a drug-sniffing dog hit on the package, police said the postal inspectors opened it to find a large amount of marijuana. Although marijuana is legal in Colorado its still illegal here and the 53-year-old Anthony was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell. He was being held in lieu of $10,000 bond. NEWTOWN When Elle Sauli was buying lunch in the high school cafeteria one afternoon last year, she realized that the student behind her did not have money for his own. She knew how that felt. Her family had struggled to pay for school lunches when her father lost his job in the 2008 recession, and she knew other classmates had, too. But with the economy rebounding, Sauli thought this problem had decreased. This shouldnt be happening, she thought. Everyone should always be able to eat in school. Sauli paid for the students lunch that day, and then came up with a way to keep other Newtown students from going hungry at school. Sauli launched a program called Lunch Love earlier this year that encourages students to decorate paper hearts and donate money to buy lunch for Newtown students who cant afford it. The effort garnered $2,000 in November and Sauli plans to run the project again next month. A family of four qualifies for free or reduced-priced lunch if they make $45,500 a year or less, but Sauli noted that families who make more than that still struggle to cover the cost of school lunches, which ranges from $2.85 at elementary school to $3.35 at the high school. Newtown students pay for lunch through an electronic system, but Elles mother, Natalie Sauli, said it is easy for parents to fall behind and into debt, especially if they are laid off or are seasonal workers. It happens more than you think, she said. The money raised through the program goes into an account that will cover this debt. Over the course of eight months last year, Elle Sauli organized the project with the help of her mom, friends and administrators. During the week of Thanksgiving, students throughout the district were asked to decorate paper hearts with images of their favorite foods and bring back their art with a $2 donation. Elle Sauli said some parents donated more than $2, while other kids sent in bags of change with notes and handwritten hearts. It was nice to see the kids were putting their heart into it, she said. Elle Sauli said many students, even friends who helped her with the project, did not know how many families struggled to pay for lunch. But the project has raised awareness about the problem. I have seen the most positive, amazing response from teachers and principals, she said. Seeing the reaction and how its help the students, its really worth it. She plans to hold the project again the week of Valentines Day and hopes her younger brothers, who are in third and 11th grades, will continue the program after she graduates. Sauli hopes to study marketing at a college in New York and eventually go into fashion marketing, while continuing her work as a model and auditioning for acting gigs. She has appeared in commercials and a few episodes of the long-running drama, As the World Turns, in 2006 and has worked with Hollywood stars Kate Winslet, Martin Scorsese and Helen Hunt. Sauli earlier this month won the Miss Connecticut Teen U.S.A. pageant and as Miss Connecticut aims to spread Lunch Love to other districts. She said it is an easy way for kids to help their classmates. Not only does it benefit the students [in need]...but it shows them [other students] a way of giving back that makes a difference, she said. The federal judge who blocked President Trump from eliminating a program that protects nearly 700,000 young immigrants from deportation issued a follow-up ruling Friday saying the lawsuits challenging the presidents order can seek to prove discrimination, based on Trumps disparaging comments about Latinos. U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco issued a nationwide injunction Tuesday preserving the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, while suits against its repeal continue. The program allows youths who entered the United States without documentation before age 16, and who had attended school or served in the military and had no serious criminal record, to obtain renewable two-year reprieves from deportation and work permits. Trump announced in September that he would abolish DACA in March unless Congress passed it as a law. In his Tuesday ruling, Alsup said Trump had offered no reasoned explanation for his action and had no basis for his assertion that former President Barack Obama had acted illegally in a 2012 order establishing the program. More News News Gavin Newsom calls on Trump to resign over 'shithole'... In Fridays order, Alsup dismissed some claims in the lawsuits that a repeal would violate the constitutional rights of DACA recipients, and that the public was entitled to advance notice and an opportunity to comment on the repeal. He said a new administration can change an earlier immigration policy, as long as it follows legal procedures, and noted that Obama had not provided notice and a comment period before launching the program. But the judge reiterated his previous assessment that the plaintiffs were likely to show that Trumps action was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law because he offered no plausible rationale to show a repeal was in the national interest. And Alsup also refused to dismiss a claim that Trump was violating DACA recipients constitutional right to equal protection of the law. Latinos make up 93 percent of DACA recipients, Alsup said, and some of Trumps statements might be used to show a racial motivation. He cited the presidential candidates charge in 2015 that Mexican immigrants are drug dealers, rapists and killers, his assertion during a Republican debate that the Mexican government was sending the bad ones to the U.S., and his description in August of undocumented immigrants as animals. Although judges should be cautious in considering campaign rhetoric as evidence of presidential motives, Alsup said, they need not disregard clear-cut indications of racial prejudice on the campaign trail. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko NEW HAVEN Yari Ijeh, over her lifetime, has lived with 50 siblings. Her mother, Carmen Maria Duran, 65, brought that many mainly young teenage girls into their home in Bridgeport as foster children over the years. She would never however, allow her two daughters to refer to them as anything but their sisters. Duran, who was visiting Ijeh in New Haven, had a surprise reunion Saturday with two of the girls she helped raise, now grown women with homes of their own and careers as dental assistants. There were hugs and tears as she met Maria Santos, 30, and her sister, Dina Santos, 33, at Ijehs house as part of a 65th birthday celebration for Duran. Mary Ann Townley, who for years saw Duran bi-weekly as a Department of Children and Families case worker, also came to the family party. Townley said she had the longest tenure as a social worker with Duran. She was a wonderful foster parent. She was wonderful with the kids. She cared for her foster children like her own children, said Townley, who retired last week after 25 years, most recently as the supervisor in the foster care and adoption unit. She would take them on vacation with her. She never left them behind, Townley said. Everything Id do for my two daughters, I would do for them, Duran said. If I do good for these children, they will grow up the right way. Townley described Duran as great cook, who she remembers dancing with the members of her evolving family. She was always happy, frugal. Nothing bothered her. Townley said. She said even after the young adults had left, they would keep in touch and come back to visit her, Townley said. She gave them the foundation that they needed the life skills, Townley said. She was their private counselor. She was their mother, she was their friend. She also made a point of helping the sisters keep a relationship with their mother, at one point bringing her to the United States for a visit. Townley said it was rare for foster parents to do that. Duran said adoption was off the table as she wanted her foster children to keep their family ties. She said it was important for her that the Santoscontinue to be close to each other in their adopted country and the two sisters, and later their brother, lived together for many years. The example of her mother and Townley convinced Ijeh to become a social worker herself after getting her undergraduate degree from Southern Connecticut State University and a masters from Fordham University. Ijeh has been a social worker with DCF for 18 years. The Santos sisters came here more than 15 years ago from Cape Verde, which is an island off the coast of Africa. They came to live with their father, but it didnt work out and soon thereafter found themselves living with Duran and her family. I think the hardest time for me was being separated from my younger brother, Maria Santos said. As a child, he eventually lived with extended family members in Waterbury. When they first came to the U.S., the sisters spoke Portugese and Creole, but didnt speak English or Spanish, which is Durans first language. Nevertheless, Duran said they worked hard and did well in school. Both sisters worked for years at the same dental office in Bridgeport, the city where Dina Santos bought a home. After her recent move to Hamden, Maria Santos switched to a dental practice closer to home. Their brother lives within blocks of Maria. You have a lot of opportunity to be a good person in your life, Duran said she always told the girls when they came to live with here, a message she also had for her other charges. Ijeh said DCF is always looking for foster parents and her mother is an example of how rewarding and successful that can be. Duran, who has a home in Puerto Rico, comes back and forth to help her daughters with their children. She said she was lucky that her home was not damaged in Hurricane Maria. mary.oleary @hearstmediact.com Call 203-641-2577. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is "not a racist" and denied that he had spoiled chances for an immigration overhaul in Congress by using a vulgarity to describe poor countries as relations between key Republican and Democratic lawmakers turned poisonous. With the fate of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants in the balance, Trump blamed Democrats for fouling chances for a deal addressing young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children. And in an extaordinary statement, he called himself "the least racist person." Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and David Perdue, R-Ga., who attended the Oval Office meeting last week at which Trump reportedly referred to "shithole countries," had previously said they could not recall whether Trump used the term, but on Sunday they denied outright that the president had. They suggested that a Democrat who publicly confirmed the remarks, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, could not be trusted. "This is a gross misrepresentation. It's not the first time Senator Durbin has done it, and it is not productive to solving the problem we're having," Perdue said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." The accusations prompted Democrats to blast the GOP senators for impugning a colleague's integrity, while also slamming Trump and his remarks as unabashedly racist. The only administration official to speak publicly this weekend about the meeting was Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, who attended the session. She said in an interview with "Fox News Sunday" that she did not "recall him using that exact phrase" but acknowledged that Trump "did use and will continue to use strong language." Vacationing in Florida, Trump spoke to reporters before a dinner at his Trump International Golf Club with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The question of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was on the agenda, Trump said. He denied making the "shithole countries" remark and said he is not a racist. "Nah, I'm not a racist," he said. "I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you." Trump accused Democrats of spoiling chances for a deal on immigration legislation and DACA. "Honestly, I don't think the Democrats want to make a deal," he said. "I think they talk about DACA, but they don't want to help the DACA people." Asked what was standing in the way of a deal, Trump again blamed Democrats. McCarthy said nothing. "I think we have a lot of sticking points, but they are all Democrat sticking points," Trump said. "Because we are ready, willing and able to make a deal, but they don't want to. They don't want security at the border, there are people pouring in. They don't want security at the border, they don't want to stop the drugs. And they want to take money away from our military, which we will not do." The White House did not dispute Trump's use of the vulgarity when The Washington Post first reported it Thursday. Trump offered a vague denial in a Friday tweet, and not until Cotton and Perdue spoke Sunday did another participant challenge whether Trump had used the word "shithole." International reaction to Trump's comments was strong, and U.S. diplomats in Haiti and other nations have been called to host government offices to hear the complaints directly. "One of the great things about being president is that you can say whatever you want," Undersecretary of State Steven Goldstein said in an interview. "We have advised our ambassadors . . . to indicate that our commitment to those countries remains strong." The developments together stand to undermine bipartisan talks aimed at shielding from deportation immigrants brought illegally to the United States as children, including the roughly 800,000 who secured work permits under the DACA program, created under President Barack Obama. Democrats have suggested they could force a government shutdown Saturday unless an agreement protecting those "dreamers" is reached. Conservative hard-liners who want tighter immigration policies and the pro-immigrant and business groups opposing them have long mistrusted one another, but the sniping in recent days has been unusually fierce. "Both sides now are destroying the setting in which anything meaningful can happen," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a conservative, said on NBC's "Meet the Press." A tentative deal worked out Thursday by a small bipartisan group of senators crumbled in an Oval Office meeting in which, according to multiple people involved, an angry Trump asked why the United States should accept immigrants from "shithole countries" such as Haiti, El Salvador and African nations over those from European countries such as Norway. In a Sunday morning tweet, Trump declared the immigration talks to be failing: "DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military." Democrats have tied the immigration talks to spending negotiations being held ahead of a shutdown deadline at midnight Friday. Republicans are seeking a military spending increase; Democrats want a DACA deal and a matching increase in nondefense funding. Durbin, the sole Democrat to attend the Oval Office meeting, told reporters Friday that Trump had used the vulgar word "not just once but repeatedly." A Republican attendee, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, issued a statement that did not specifically confirm the words used but backed up Durbin's account. Cotton and Perdue issued a joint statement Friday saying that they did "not recall the President saying these comments specifically." But Perdue told Stephanopoulos definitively Sunday that Trump did not refer to "shithole" countries: "I'm telling you he did not use that word, George." Cotton said much the same in an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation": "I didn't hear it, and I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin was." Both senators pointed to a statement Durbin had made in 2013 about comments allegedly made by an unnamed GOP leader during a private White House meeting that were later denied by an Obama administration spokesman. "Senator Durbin has a history of misrepresenting what happens in White House meetings," Cotton said. Ben Marter, a Durbin spokesman, tweeted a rebuke early Sunday: "Credibility is something that's built by being consistently honest over time," he said. "Senator Durbin has it. Senator Perdue does not. Ask anyone who's dealt with both." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., forcefully backed Durbin, who has written a bill to grant young illegal immigrants a citizenship path and is the leading Democratic negotiator on the DACA issue. "To impugn [Durbin's] integrity is disgraceful," Schumer said on Twitter. Accounts of the meeting have not fallen neatly along party lines. Besides Graham's endorsement of Durbin's account, Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., said Sunday on "This Week" that he had spoken to meeting participants immediately afterward - before The Post reported Trump's use of the vulgar term. "They said those words were used before those words went public," Flake said. Nielsen is scheduled to testify under oath Tuesday at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing. Both Durbin and Graham sit on the panel and could press her for details of the Oval Office session. The "shithole countries" remark has vexed Republicans, compelling many to make statements critical of Trump. "I can't defend the indefensible," Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, whose parents are Haitian immigrants, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." Democrats see the comment as evidence of malicious intent in Trump's policymaking. "I think he is a racist," Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said on "This Week." "We have to stand out; we have to speak up and not try to sweep it under the rug." But Paul called the racism accusations "unfair" and said the "bonkers" outcry over Trump's remarks could scuttle a deal. "I do want to see an immigration compromise, and you can't have an immigration compromise if everybody out there is calling the president a racist," Paul said. While Democrats have expressed openness to a deal that would combine legal status for dreamers with funding for border security measures, Republicans have tried to broaden the talks. They have targeted the abolition of a special program allowing citizens of some countries to apply for visas distributed by lottery, as well as rules allowing naturalized U.S. citizens to sponsor family members for legal status - a system that Republican critics refer to as "chain migration." The tentative deal unveiled Thursday would give legal status and a pathway to citizenship to dreamers while also providing $2.7 billion for border security - some of which could be used to construct the border wall Trump has proposed. The visas now offered under the lottery system would be reallocated to other immigration programs, such as one offering temporary status to citizens of nations in crisis - such as the ones Trump referenced in his Oval Office remarks. Trump said in a second tweet Sunday that he wanted more aggressive measures in any deal. "I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries!" he wrote. Echoing dozens of Democrats, Lewis said he would not vote for any government spending measure until the dreamer issue is settled. "We must not give up or give in," he said. Republicans cannot pass a government funding bill without Democratic votes. There are 51 Republicans in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to pass major legislation. And GOP leaders are facing problems in the House, as well, where some Republican members have balked at the prospect of passing another stopgap that does not increase military funding. A federal judge in California last week halted Trump's decision to end the DACA program and ruled that program participants should retain their legal status. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said late Saturday that it would resume accepting renewal requests from people already enrolled in the program. But there is little indication the ruling has defused the standoff. Multiple Democratic aides involved in the effort to secure a compromise said this weekend that the urgency of the situation had not changed and that Democrats are trained on securing a legislative solution to the crisis ahead of the Jan. 19 deadline. Speaking on "Face the Nation," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., urged lawmakers not to let the tussle over Trump's remarks derail the talks. "It was hurtful, it's harmful, it shouldn't have been said," he said. "But let's move on - don't let it stop the whole procedure." --- The Washington Post's Todd C.Frankel, Amy B Wang and Anne Gearan contributed to this report. --- Video Embed Code Video: President Trump said "I am not a racist" when asked about his alleged comments about Haiti, El Salvador and African nations. He also blamed Democrats in the delay on passing immigration reform that includes protection for young illegal immigrants.(The Washington Post) Embed code: The decision to release rapist John Worboys from prison has provoked an eruption of public outrage but is typical of how the justice system works Why all the fuss about the impending release of the 'taxi rapist' John Worboys? The new Justice Secretary, David Gauke, has instructed lawyers to see if he could halt, via judicial review, the parole board's decision to release the black-cab driver, found guilty in 2009 of 19 sexual assaults (including one of rape) against female passengers he had drugged. Such a judicial review of a decision by the independent parole board would, I believe, be unprecedented. It reflects the eruption of public outrage at the board's decision an eruption which has shaken the Government itself. But my mystification remains. Because the decision to release Worboys is entirely typical of how the justice system works and the reason it works that way is because it's how successive governments have instructed it to act. It has caused brutal bereavement to countless families, including my own. Protection There is particular fury about Worboys because more than 100 women have come forward with claims that he drugged and assaulted them: his modus operandi was to tell young female passengers that he had won money in a lottery, and invited them to join him in a bottle of champagne to celebrate. It was spiked with sedatives and when they took effect, he pounced. But the police and the courts pursued only those cases in which they felt sure of a successful prosecution. The 2009 trial judge imposed an 'indeterminate sentence for public protection', but with a minimum of eight years. That was arrived at by halving the term the judge thought would have been standard for the (dreadful) offences committed. But why this halving, and why is Worboys being released now? Because that is what happens. For the vast majority of sentences, prisoners are released automatically after serving just half of what the judge has pronounced. This is nothing to do with justice, but merely a form of arbitrary hotel management: the government is responsible for the prison estate, and would prefer to push out the residents half-way through their stay at Her Majesty's pleasure, rather than build more cells. Sometimes, when governments are particularly concerned about prison overcrowding, they accelerate this process to include the most dangerous offenders. It was during such a period of a government-mandated 'early release programme' in 2004 (when 'tough-on-crime' Tony Blair was prime minister) that a man called Damien Hanson was set free after having served six years of a 12-year sentence for attempted murder. He had used a machete, and the trial judge had recommended that Hanson should serve at least nine years of that term in prison. Damien Hanson, left, murdered John Victor Monckton three months after being released after only six years of a 12-year sentence for attempted murder. Accomplice Elliott White, right, was himself out on bail awaiting a court appearance for offences involving heroin and cocaine But that was ignored, and just three months after his release Hanson murdered my wife's cousin John Victor Monckton, and also stabbed John's wife Homeyra with such ferocity that she had 'no recordable blood pressure' when the ambulance service arrived at their home called by their nine-year-old daughter Isobel, who witnessed this horror. Hanson was obsessed with the idea of violently robbing rich people, and had identified John and Homeyra's home (John was responsible for running the insurance firm Legal & General's 35 billion bond portfolio). Hanson got John to open the door of their house in Chelsea by masquerading as a postman, aided by an accomplice, Elliott White himself out on bail awaiting a court appearance for offences involving heroin and cocaine. I will never forget the moment, in the early hours of the morning of November 30, 2004, when I was woken by the phone, to hear my wife's brother Jonathan Monckton saying: 'I have just been called by the police. They say that John Victor has been murdered and Homeyra has been terribly wounded. She may not survive.' Naturally, I wanted to find out everything I could about what had led to this tragedy and whether it could have been avoided. What the men at the Metropolitan Police told me, under cover of anonymity, was appalling. Hanson had not even been interviewed by the parole board which sanctioned his release. John Victor Monckton was murdered at his Chelsea home after opening the door to a man masquerading as a postman. It was later found his killer had a '91 per cent probability of re-offending' when he was released It was a tick-box exercise: Hanson had dutifully attended an 'anger management' course in prison. The parole board did, as required, carry out a 'risk assessment', which actually suggested that this lethal man who, when I studied him in court, exuded the impervious coldness which we associate with psychopaths had a '91 per cent probability of re-offending'. Dangerous Yet still the parole board designated him as being in the lowest of three categories of danger to the public. When I asked a senior policeman at the time if the Hanson case was unique, he shook his head wearily: 'Scores of people have been released on licence, who are dangerous, unstable, out of their minds on cannabis. But the probation service is overwhelmed. An awful lot of risks are taken by minimally trained people, poorly resourced. You despair, honestly.' This is, if anything, even more true today, 14 years on. Probation officers tasked with monitoring released violent offenders, especially in London, are more overstretched than ever. Though as one friend, a former prison psychiatrist, put it to me: 'What is it about probation that would stop people from committing fresh crimes? Going to an office for 15 minutes every two weeks?' This is borne out by what the Daily Mail revealed just nine days ago. A record number of violent criminals, including 19 murderers, are on the run after breaking their parole conditions. The count includes no fewer than 55 convicted rapists. It's true that nearly 99 per cent of offenders known to have broken their parole conditions are returned to custody. But I'm more bothered by the fact of their early release in the first place. This, obviously, is now the concern of the women who suffered at John Worboys's hands. Some of them are furious that they were not consulted by the probation service, or even told of his imminent release. But being 'consulted' is a right accorded only to those whose assaults were part of the trial process. And even then, as one criminal lawyer explained to me: 'What those women feel or fear is irrelevant. Their views are only taken into account insofar as they provide evidence of the likelihood of Worboys reoffending.' The account of an independent psychologist hired by John Worboys's defence team was said to have been the most influential with the parole board According to police and probation officials quoted in yesterday's Observer, the person whose account had been most influential with the parole board was an independent psychologist hired by Worboys's defence team. Fancy. Violent This has been denied by the parole board, which adamantly defended its decision, saying it 'carefully considered a detailed dossier of evidence from nine witnesses four psychologists, two probation officers and three members of prison staff'. That sounds convincing. But if Worboys is the sort of man who could convince countless women with a carefully calibrated lie, he is perhaps equally able to fool a flotilla of psychologists. After all, as my friend the former prison psychiatrist once told me: 'We know that a certain proportion of violent prisoners released early will reoffend: the problem is, we don't know which ones.' This helps explain why one in seven murders is committed by men under the supervision of the probation service. As a retired judge Lindsay Burn, commenting last week on the parole board's decision to release Worboys observed, their assessments of a 'safe release' take little account of the reality of inadequate monitoring of offenders. He said: 'I had a case in which I sentenced a rapist for imprisonment for public protection, and he was released and committed exactly the same offence again shortly afterwards. His risk clearly could not be managed. 'Performance and confidence were seriously eroded over my 11 years. It is much more difficult now. We should not pretend the public are safe when they are not.' Judge Burn is telling us that the Worboys case is far from unusual which is my point, too. He is notorious, that's all. Week in, week out, more violent men than the 'taxi rapist' are released half-way through their sentences, for no other reason than that it is long-standing government policy. So don't blame the judges. And don't be fooled when ministers rush to reassure us. Cosmetics fans from around the world are always in search of the latest must-have product - and this Korean beauty offering might just be it. The Acne Spot Dots from Korean beauty brand Peach Slices have won rave reviews from customers around the world who swear by the patches' results. The $4.49 (3.29) skincare treatment offers users a selection of 'transparent, no-colour, blemish sticker patches' which can be placed on problem areas to help them heal. Must-have: Brand owner Alicia Yoon said the product is a go-to acne treatment in Korea Rave reviews: Dozens of shoppers left five-star reviews on the Peach and Lily website A single packet offers a variety of sizes of patches so customers can use the one that best fits the size of their acne blemish. Speaking to beauty website Sweety High Alicia Yoon, co-founder of Peach and Lily, which sells the product, explained it has long been popular in Korea. She said: 'This is the must-have acne solution in Korea. It's Korea's acne secret that everyone uses for faster healing of blemishes. And yet, it's so hard to find in the U.S.' The website state: 'The sticker-like hydrocolloid acts as a protective cover over the treated area to keep you from picking and quickly and effectively helps reduce inflammation so the blemish becomes smaller in less than one day. Delighted: Shoppers praised the spots for helping to reduce the appearance of acne 'The transparent, adhesive dots are non-drying (so no flaking!) and come in a variety of sizes that can be worn night or day, with or without make-up.' The product has been praised by a number of beauty bloggers, with High, saying how she noticed her blemish was much 'flatter' after just one wear. Another at Beauty Con agreed it was a 'small investment for a big return'. Broad appeal: Women as young as 18 and aged over 45 were among those who liked the spots The beauty spots have received more than 100 four and five star reviews on the Peach Slices website. Just three customers have left two-star reviews while none have awarded it one star. It also received five-star reviews on the CVS website. Excited shoppers praised the product on the Peaches and Lily website. One wrote: 'These work so well and I can wear them throughout the day.' Another gushed: 'These... really work! I put them on at night and wake up to clear skin!' Advertisement A couple from Tennessee who picked out the perfect location for their engagement photos got a truly magical surprise when they arrived at the idyllic waterfall spot to discover that it had completely frozen over - creating an icy wonderland unlike anything they had ever seen. Josh Morris and Morgan Daye have always planned to take their photos at Bald River Falls near their hometown, but they had no idea that they would arrive and find that the water had turned to ice, making for the most magical photoshoot set. The couple's photographer, Kellie Elmore, told Bored Panda, 'Josh and Morgan wanted to shoot in the mountains and around the falls from the beginning. Stunning: A couple from Tennessee had planned to take their engagement photos in front of Bald River Falls but they never dreamed it would turn into the magical frozen scene when they arrived Flawless: Josh Morris and Morgan Daye arrived at the Falls on foot in below freezing temperatures and were completely blown away by the setting as they were not expecting it to look so beautiful Happy: The couple wanted to shoot at the Falls in Tennessee from the beginning because they both love the outdoors, nature and hiking, but their photographer, Kellie Elmore, said, 'she wanted to glam it up a little' 'It's a beautiful area and reflects what brought them together - their interest in the outdoors, nature and hiking. Except she wanted to glam it up a little.' The couple arrived by foot in frozen temperatures of 25F (-3C) and they had no idea what they were in for. 'We didnt know when we planned the shoot, but a few days prior we found out through social media that the falls were frozen. But what we didnt expect was how awesome it looked in real life once we arrived,' Kellie shared. Kellie explained that they took all safety precautions before getting on the ice to make sure it was safe enough for them to stand on. 'My son, Damon and fiance, David, were sure to check the stability of the ice before anyone got on, but when we arrived, there were dozens of people already out on it. 'I did manage to fall on my butt one good time, and head butt a tree during our hike back up to the top though,' the photographer shared. In response to all of the positive feedback the photographer is getting for her absolutely stunning photos, Kellie said she is shocked. 'I honestly never imagined this would happen. I am overwhelmed and overjoyed. To have something you love so much to do be shared on such huge platforms and large scale, its a true blessing.' Josh and Morgan have planned their wedding for May this year. Movie set: They took safety precautions before getting on the ice and Kellie said, 'My son, Damon and fiance, David, were sure to check the stability of the ice before anyone got on, but when we arrived, there were dozens of people already out on it' Gorgeous: Josh looked so handsome in a perfectly tailored black suit, while Morgan looked like a princess in her purple sequin gown with a keyhole back Love: Even though Josh proposed to Morgan on a beach, that didn't stop the two lovebirds from letting the cold get in the way of their stunning photos Freezing: The pair obviously did not mind the freezing temperatures, despite neither of them wearing jackets and Morgan wearing an open-back dress Military wives and daughters have spoken of their mental health battles Military wives and daughters have bravely spoken out about their mental health battles in a bid to raise awareness of the struggles faced by Armed Forces families. Their revelations come as new figures published today by the charity Help for Heroes show that one in four partners or family members of British military veterans feel their own mental health has been affected by their loved one's service. That amounts to the equivalent of almost 200,000 family members across the country. However, many confess they would never seek professional help - because they believe they 'need to be the strong one' in the relationship Now, British women have opened up about how their husbands' and fathers' military service placed a strain on their own mental well-being, leaving them feeling depressed and pushing them to their 'breaking point'. Speaking on the launch of the charity's Hidden Wounds campaign, Help for Heroes' Karen Mead said: 'Stigma continues to be a big barrier in coming forward for support for serving personnel and veterans but also their families... We need to reach these families to let them know if they need support, we are here for them.' Here, five women share their deeply personal stories with FEMAIL... Scroll down for video Kerry's husband Kenny developed PTSD after he was caught up in two bomb blasts in Afghanistan in 2012 'I feared for my marriage' Kerry, 27, struggled to cope when her husband Kenny, 28, developed PTSD after being caught in two bomb blasts in Afghanistan in 2012. Kerry gave birth to her first son shortly after husband Kenny returned from Afghanistan, where he was caught in two bomb blasts. She struggled to cope as Kenny developed PTSD. The effect of Kennys PTSD and injuries affected the whole family, and Kerry feared their marriage was in danger of coming to an end as a result of the strain. She approached the Hidden Wounds service for help in dealing with the stress she was under. As a result of the help she received their marriage is stronger than ever and Kenny, who was medically discharged last year, is now a full-time engineer while Kerry has enrolled at university. Kenny, pictured in his uniform, suffered hearing loss and back injuries from the blast Kerry feared for their marriage as Kenny's injuries and PTSD affected the whole family 'After my husband was discharged we felt lost in the civilian world' Fiona Watts, 40, is from Ipswich in Suffolk. Her husband Calum, 44, was discharged from the Army following a career-changing injury. Fiona Watts, 40, from Ipswich, (pictured with husband Calum) sought help from Help for Heroes after her husband Calum, 44, was discharged from the army following a career-changing injury One military wife who has sought help from Help for Heroes is Fiona Watts, who has been attending the charity's recovery centre in Colchester for five years. Fiona said she felt like she 'finally counted' for the first time after receiving support from the charity. 'There was a time where we both got quite depressed and the recovery centre became a sanctuary for us,' she explained. 'When I walked through the doors of the recovery centre for the first time I finally felt like someone was on our side and that people genuinely cared about us.' Fiona says she felt like she 'mattered for once' after going to one of the charity's recovery centres for the first time Fiona (pictured), who has enjoyed photography classes and respite weekends through Help for Heroes, says she has made 'so many friends' She continued: 'I also felt like I mattered for once. All the questions had previously been focused on Calum, but now people were interested in how I was feeling. 'I began to appreciate that looking after myself, through the various events I attended and techniques I learnt at the recovery centre, was acceptable. 'Help for Heroes knows that to look after our veterans the loved ones must be physically and mentally well too. I felt like I finally counted'. ... to look after our veterans the loved ones must be physically and mentally well too. I felt like I finally counted... During his time as a Warrants Officer in the Royal Logistics Corps, Calum had toured Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo. But his career came to a sudden end while he was injured during a training exercise in 2014. Fiona says that while her husband has enjoyed activity days and been given career support, she has also been able to attend respite weekends. 'I've made so many friends. Those who are going through a similar journey to you who just understand,' she said. 'It's an accepting and supportive environment; sometimes you don't even need to say anything for someone to know how you're feeling. After Calum was discharged we didn't have that close-knit Army family around us anymore and we felt a little lost in the civilian world.' 'I was left at breaking point' Julie's husband Glyn served in the military for 22 years and served in operational posts in Northern Ireland and Bosnia, at times of great turmoil. Julie (pictured with husband Glyn and their children) was left at breaking point as her husband Glyn struggled to return to military life Glyn was forced to leave the military after discovering he needed a quadruple heart bypass back in 2015 In June 2015 Glyn, from Stockbridge in Hampshire, began suffering with chest pains during a paragliding competition. Nothing could prepared him for the stark diagnosis that followed; he needed a quadruple heart bypass to save his life. As a result of the operation his health suffered to the extent he could not continue in his military role. He was discharged, and suffered depression as he struggled to return to civilian life. Julie meanwhile battled to keep her family together and give him the support he needed. Her well-being suffered immensely and her emotional state declined. She was almost at breaking point when she decided to contact Help For Heroes for support. Since then she has received treatment from a psychological wellbeing counsellor and has rebuilt her life. She started a new job this week and faces the future with a fresh and optimistic outlook. Julie sought help from Help for Heroes as she struggled to keep her family together and give Glyn the help he needed 'My father tried to take his own life' Louise's father Norman struggled with suicidal thoughts after battling with PTSD. Louise managed to save her veteran father Norman after he tried to take his own life When her dad Norman developed PTSD, Louise, 38, from Southampton, was at a loss as to how to help him. She worried for her father but didnt realise how bad things were until she discovered he had disappeared and attempted to take his own life. Louise found him just in time, called an ambulance and thankfully he was saved. She had been concerned about her father as he was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder Both Norman (pictured in his uniform) and daughter Louise have received support from Help for Heroes She sought help from Hidden Wounds to enable her to deal with the anxiety she suffered after the incident, and for support for her father. Louise calls Norman her hero, but Norman says Louise is the real hero. Both have come out stronger, and say they have Hidden Wounds to thank for giving them their lives back. 'After everything we've been through, he's more like my best friend than my dad' Hollie was just 17 when life changed overnight. She became a carer for her father, who survived a near fatal battle with pneumonia but was left with acute respiratory distress syndrome Hollie Hardwick, 21, from Plymouth, was diagnosed with depression while acting as a carer for her father, who left the Navy after becoming seriously ill. Hollie Hardwick, from Plymouth, was 17 when she was told to make her way to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham to say goodbye to her dad. She had just landed at Heathrow Airport having competed for England at an international sporting event in Norway. Gary Hardwick, 59, was working with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, a service he joined after an 18-year career in the Royal Navy, aboard a ship in the Caribbean when he developed pneumonia in 2013. He had been ill for some time but continued his duties as the ship was on operation. Gary became so ill that he was medically evacuated. In the UK he spent seven months in hospital, four of which he was in an induced coma, and was resuscitated three times. Against the odds he pulled through, but has been left with acute respiratory distress syndrome resulting in 50% lung capacity and mobility issues. Almost overnight, teenager Hollie, had to grow up. She became a carer to her dad, helping him eat and shower while her mum was at work. She managed to complete her A-levels despite the stress of the situation and sleepless nights, but gradually became very down and was eventually diagnosed with depression. Three years on, Hollie, now 21 and working as a full-time professional carer, is only just gaining her confidence back, with the support of Help for Heroes. She regularly takes part in activities, such as Wheelchair Rugby, offered by the Charity at its Recovery Centre in Plymouth with Gary. Hollie says Gary is now more like her best friend than her dad because of what they have been through together. For more information on Help for Heroes click here. A pink complexion thanks to endless hot flushes. Waking up with dark circles after another restless nights sleep. And a sudden acne break-out because of a surge in hormones. These may all be common symptoms of the menopause, but did you know theres a beauty arsenal to help combat them? Beauty companies are finally wising up to the fact that midlife complexions demand a whole new genre of skincare. Menopause triggers hormonal skin changes that both accelerate ageing and cause skin discomfort, says Jamie Rosenberg, global skincare analyst at market analyst Mintel. Brands are realising the potential of marketing around this life-stage. Those that can successfully relieve menopausal symptoms may win the loyalty of older post-menopausal consumers. Victoria Woodhall, 49, tested the latest beauty cosmetics aimed at women with menopause Skincare expert and facialist Joanne Evans agrees. During the menopause, women need a product that is calming, soothing and non-aggressive, she says. Its a time when skin can be really sensitive, or dry one minute and then break out the next. Rosacea can also kick in because of hot flushes. As our oestrogen levels drop, our skin becomes thinner and we lose nearly a third of our collagen. This means skin doesnt have the bounce-back ability it once had and its moisture and glow are harder to restore. As a perimenopausal 49-year-old, whose skin is noticeably drier, thinner, more lined and breakout-prone than before, I put some of the new ranges to the test . . . SPOT ZAPPER Stratum C Menopause Spot Relief, 25 What is it? Its thought that 70 per cent of menopausal women suffer breakouts, but most spot creams are designed for teenagers and can dry out older skin. This gentle, but powerful, lotion contains acne-zapping salicylic acid, plus sulphur and zinc to reduce inflammation and soothe. Its free of parabens and other nasties and the company behind it, Forme Laboratories, uses only the mildest of preservatives, which is perfect if you are worried about heavier formulations clogging pores. Stratum C Menopause Spot Relief, 25, (pictured) rated highly for it's ability to dramatically reduce the appearance of spots What Is it like: I felt as though I had discovered a vial of magic potion when I dabbed this night-time clay-like lotion onto a whopper of a spot on my chin. Theres often little you can do with painful and classically hormonal, deep spots, apart from wait it out. This lotion cuts down the waiting time dramatically. By morning the redness and size of my spot were greatly reduced. There was no drying or flaking, making it easier to hide with concealer. 10/10 MATTIFYING OIL Vichy Neovadiol Magistral Elixir, 30ml, 30 What is it: During the menopause, skin can feel uncomfortably dry and tight as hormonal changes cause a loss of lipids and moisture. This non-greasy mixture of three oils rice bran oil, shea butter and zafflower oil is rich in omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids to restore lost lipids. Its part of Vichys replenishing Neovadiol range, whose claim is to provide comfort and hydration to skin during and post menopause and fight visible signs of hormonal ageing. Vichy Neovadiol Magistral Elixir, 30ml, 30, (pictured) reduced the appearance of lines and gave skin a youthful glow What Is it like: Having very dry skin, I use buckets of face oil to stop my skin feeling tight, but cant normally use it in the morning as it makes my foundation slide off by midday. This Elixir, however, is a dry oil, meaning it has a satin rather than gloss finish and a fine texture. I put it on first thing and it sank in without stickiness and with no foundation slippage to report. It felt extremely comfortable and left my skin supple with a more youthful glow. My lines, especially frown lines, were noticeably less furrowed. 9/10 HOT FLUSH MASK B. Nourished Cooling & Soothing Mask, 6.99 What is it? When menopause sends your internal thermostat awry, your skin can feel hot, red and blotchy. A cooling mask with Redyless, an innovative ingredient clinically proven to control temporary and persistent redness, sounds like a dream for stressed skin. This lightly scented thick gel, part of Superdrugs B. Nourished Skin Phase Four range aimed at women in their 50s and 60s, can be applied during the day or in a thick layer as a night mask. B. Nourished Cooling & Soothing Mask, 6.99 (pictured centre right) gave skin a sigh of relief with instant cooling What Is it like: Soothing witch hazel and moisturising hyaluronic acid make this the skincare equivalent of a cold flannel. It was like a sigh of relief for my face, offering an instant cooling effect. When applied in a thick layer at night, its too sticky for my liking my cheek stuck to the pillow but in a thinner layer for daytime it felt soothing and comfortable. If excess shine is an issue, this is a good choice as it does appear to mattify without drying. And the price is unbeatable everything in the range is under 15. 6.5/10 LIFTING EYE SERUM Nurture Replenish Eye Serum, 15ml, 12.95 Nurture Replenish Eye Serum, 15ml, 12.95 (pictured) reduced the appearance of puffiness around Victoria's eyes What is it? Eye bags and drooping lids are a fact of menopausal life as collagen begins to desert this most delicate skin area. Eyes can appear more droopy, if weighed down by heavy creams, but this eye serum is light and fine and contains natural phytoestrogens to replace lost oestrogen and boost collagen. What Is it like? Light in texture and fragrance-free, this reduced the puffiness around my eyes slightly after a week, but my dark circles hadnt changed. 7.5/10 HAIR VOLUMISER Plantur 39 Phyto-Caffeine Shampoo, 9.75, Conditioner, 7.65, and Tonic, 10.49, all 250ml What is it? Over the age of 40, oestrogen levels fall, losing their buffering effect against the male hormone testosterone. This can cause hair loss and thinning. The Plantur 39 range is designed to be used from the earliest signs of hair loss and thinning from age 40 onwards to help us hang on to our precious locks for longer. Plantur 39 Phyto-Caffeine Shampoo, 9.75, (pictured) has been highly commended for reducing hair loss and/ or hair thinning A Phyto-Caffeine complex in the shampoo and scalp tonic claims to penetrate the hair follicle and protect the hair roots from premature exhaustion and from the effects of testosterone. What is it like? The shampoo and conditioner come in two formulations: Fine and Brittle and Colour Treated and Stressed. For a week, I tried the latter, which is slightly richer and left my hair feeling soft. The shampoo needs to be left on for two minutes for the ingredients to penetrate the scalp. Id need to try it for three to four months to notice a change in my hair growth, but a GP I know swears by it. Im optimistic given trials in more than 1,000 women showed 57 per cent noticed a reduction in hair loss and/or hair thinning after three months. 8/10 Pop culture is fixated on the gorgeous fantasy creature that wields a colourful tail, and now the mermaid fascination has even trickled down to the food industry. One cafe on the Gold Coast in Queensland has re-imagined mermaids in croissant form, complete with blue pastry and explosive cream centres. Bam Bam Bakehouse introduced the decadent treat a couple of weeks ago with roaring success. Scroll down for video One cafe on the Gold Coast of Queensland has re-imagined mermaids in croissant form (pictured) The bright blue croissant is created using blue algae - a super food that is slowly becoming a staple in wholefood cafes. The powder is rolled into the pastry before baking and once cooked a bright blue baby is born. Bam Bam Bakehouse told FEMAIL that in the beginning they had two variations that people could buy: one with a pink fairy floss cream filling or another with white Chantilly cream. 'It's a photogenic product that tastes good as well,' a Bam Bam spokesperson explained. 'The business is about the croissant, so we thought it would be cool to make a croissant using the super food.' Bam Bam Bakehouse introduced the decadent treat a couple of weeks ago with roaring success The bright blue croissant is created using blue algae - the superfood that is slowly becoming a staple in wholefood cafes Once you tear open the parcel of fun you are met with the white or pink filling that stands out against the blue pastry. Of course these goodies wouldn't be complete without an appropriate amount of glitter sprinkled on top. Unfortunately the croissant isn't a staple of the cafe but a special offer they do over the weekends. In order to get your hands on the magical baked good you have to pre-order one online and pick it up in store as they are only able to make a certain amount at any one time. Once you tear open the parcel of fun you are met with the white or pink filling that stands out against the blue pastry Of course these goodies wouldn't be complete without an appropriate amount of glitter sprinkled on top It seems appropriate that a cafe located in Mermaid Beach is selling mermaid related treats The delicious treats encompass flour and butter from France and it takes the cafe three whole days to create their croissants. 'We made them a few weekends in a row then we posted a photo about it online during the week and it went absolutely gangbusters,' the cafe said. It seems appropriate that a cafe located in Mermaid Beach is selling mermaid-related treats and the croissants will be available to preorder one last time this Saturday. The team at Bam Bam Bakehouse are constantly coming up with fun new ideas for their customers. To glance through many fashion bloggers' Instagram profiles, you would be forgiven for feeling disheartened. Between the designer clothing labels and lavish shoes, hardly anything they wear is affordable - and so unattainable for many of us with a normal budget. However, Tina Abeysekara is different. The 32-year-old Sydney-based blogger behind Trash to Treasured boasts close to 50,000 followers - all of whom tune in to her posts to see which budget label and how little she has spent next. Here, FEMAIL spoke to the thrifty Tina behind Trash to Treasured - to find out her shopping secrets. FEMAIL spoke to the thrifty fashion blogger, Tina Abeysekara (pictured), who never spends more than AUD $150 on an outfit (pictured in a $10 Kmart dress and $45 H&M wedges) She shared the secrets of how you can spend thriftily but well on the high street (pictured wearing $45 H&M wedges and a $25 dress from Target) According to Tina, she is a huge fan of shops like Kmart, Target and Glassons, as well as online stores including Boohoo and ASOS (pictured wearing TK Maxx, entire outfit is under $150) Tina recommends holding out for the sales, when you can get your hands on fantastic bargains - such as this dress from Boohoo, which she got for $26 with 40 per cent off (pictured) According to Tina - who has blogged on fashion for the past five years - she has always been into bargain hunting: 'I've always loved dressing up and shopping since I was a kid,' Tina told FEMAIL. 'But it was only when I started university and found myself a poor university student that I started bargain hunting and looking for budget outfits.' When one of Tina's friends told her to post one of her high street outfits on the Internet after she'd bought it, she unwittingly planted the idea for what is Trash to Treasured today. 'After I posted the picture and saw the reaction, it all sort of launched from there,' Tina said. 'I started a blog and Instagram page together, detailing my outfits and the things I'd bought from regular high street stores.' The 32-year-old blogger has always had an interest in fashion - however, it was only when a friend recommended she publish details of her outfits that she started her blog, Trash to Treasured Tina said she heads into the shops a few times a week to see what various high street stores are selling (pictured wearing Kohko Clothing) Speaking about her favourite retail haunts, Tina said there are many places she hits up on a three times weekly basis to what they're offering. H&M, Target and Kmart are some of her top shops - but the 32-year-old also loves on-trend cheap options such as Glassons, Bardot and online outlets including Boohoo. 'Most of my shopping I do on my lunch breaks,' Tina said. 'I work next door to a big Westfield, so two or three times a week I'll go there to check out what's new.' When it comes to shopping, Tina has a few tips - she recommends knowing your size as well as what suits you in various shops; then you can be more adventurous (pictured in Boohoo) She also recommends investing in classic colour palettes, which will always look expensive, and then adding details and trend-focused pieces which cost very little So how can you track down a bargain should you want to start dressing thriftily? Tina's favourite shops * Kmart * Target * Glassons * H&M * Uniqlo * Bardot * Boohoo * ASOS Advertisement Tina advises knowing what size you are in different shops, knowing how the high street stores work and holding out for the sales. 'When it comes to Kmart and Target, they have 50 to 60 per cent of their stock all year round - and you'll never find much good,' she said. 'But it's all about heading straight to the front section, where they'll put the newer, more fashion-focused items which are replaced roughly once every three weeks.' Tina also recommends checking out a few different stores from the same shop: 'I think it pays to go to different places if you have the time,' she said. The 32-year-old believes you shouldn't necessarily trust how something looks online: 'I've had lots of people message me to say a certain Kmart item didn't look as good in online as it does in the flesh,' she explained. 'So you need to be prepared for that.' The 32-year-old believes you shouldn't necessarily trust how something looks online - many people have messaged her saying this about high street pieces (pictured in Grid the Label) She recommends subscribing to newsletters, so you can know when certain stores are about to have sales or new stock dropped in 'You don't have to buy into every trend or print that comes out,' she said. 'And you certainly don't need to throw money at it,' she added Tina now has around 50,000 followers of her blog, Trash to Treasured, which she regularly updates with her buys Tina is also a fan of shopping in the majority for the 'classic colour palettes' - cream, black, grey, brown and navy - and then adding a 'pop of colour' via something that is trending that season: How to get a good buy from the high street * Sign up to the store's newsletters, so you know when they're going to have their sales and events. * Invest in classic colour palettes which will always look more expensive. * Be prepared that something might look better in the flesh than it did online. * Pay attention to shop layouts. Often, when stores change the floor plan, it can indicate a sale is coming. * Remember in places like Kmart and Target that the good stuff is going to be at the front. 50 - 60 per cent of their stock they keep all year around. * Know your body shape, the size you are in each store and what sorts of styles suit you. This will save you time and money. Advertisement 'I think classic colour palettes make things look more expensive than they really are,' she said. 'Then, you can get little embellishments - like gold details on handbags and high heels - they're what make people think something cost more than it did.' Tina also holds off to shop certain items until they're in the sale: 'I've noticed that when Zara change the floor plan, it's often because they're about to have a sale,' she said. 'You can save precious dollars by hanging out for this.' Lastly, Tina said you can become more 'adventurous' with your shopping when you know your body shape and what suits you: 'You don't have to buy into every trend or print that comes out,' she said. 'And you certainly don't need to throw money at it. 'When stars were big recently, that's the sort of time when I'll head to somewhere like Glassons. So I can get my hands on something that's in fashion without spending $200.' To read more from Tina Abeysekara, you can visit Trash to Treasured here. You can also follow her on Instagram here. Organising any wedding is stressful, so imagine what its like when your father is heir to the throne. Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markles nuptials are four months away, tensions are already surfacing. I hear that Prince Charles has suggested his controversial former valet, Michael Fawcett, should organise the wedding reception at Windsor Castle. Prince Charles has suggested his controversial former valet, Michael Fawcett, should organise Harry and Meghan's wedding reception at Windsor Castle The idea has, however, gone down like a lead balloon with Harry and Meghan, who are said to want nothing to do with Fawcett, the aide so indispensable to Charles that he reportedly squeezed the royal toothpaste on to HRHs toothbrush. The Prince of Wales thinks Michael is a wonderful events organiser, a royal source tells me. But the suggestion has created tensions. The disagreement comes as Charles has handed major new powers to Fawcett, 55, who earlier resigned not once but twice from the Royal Household. Fawcett is paid 85,000 a year as executive director of Dumfries House, the Scottish stately home Charles saved for the nation in 2007. The idea has, however, gone down like a lead balloon with Harry and Meghan, who are said to want nothing to do with Fawcett Now, I can reveal, Fawcett is also to gain control of the Princes Foundation, Charless architectural charity, which boasts an income of 2.46 million, according to the latest accounts. The foundations annual report states that it is to be merged with the charity which runs Dumfries House, with the stately homes management team initially taking control. The finance function has already been transferred to Dumfries House Trust, confirms the report. Earlier this month, I disclosed that Fawcetts company, Premier Mode Ltd, received just over 276,000 from the Princes charities last year. A spokesman for Dumfries House Trust said a significant portion of the payments went to third-party suppliers of services. When a number of the Princes staff complained to Charles about Fawcetts bullying attitude in 1998, he duly resigned. Within a week, however, he was not only reinstated but promoted. Then, in 2003, he was forced out as a senior valet when an inquiry found he had sold off gifts on Charless orders. However, he was retained as a highly paid consultant. Former model, agent and soon to-be-published author, Chelsea Bonner, has always been a champion of the body positivity movement. While she might have over 20 years in the business, Ms Bonner began her career at a time when plus-size models were the exception rather than the norm. The journey toward greater inclusivity is one Ms Bonner has poured her heart and soul into, and despite hers, and others' struggle, is one she believes has turned a corner. Chelsea Bonner (pictured) begun her modelling career when plus-size models were scarcely seen Ms Bonner believes the body positivity movement has turned a corner with more and more people using their voices 'as truthfully and as honestly as they can' Speaking to FEMAIL, Ms Bonner, who heads up her own modelling agency which was one of the first to cater to plus size women in Australia, revealed she's always felt passionate about championing the cause for greater diversity. 'I feel like after so many years of pushing the rock up the hill, it's on the other side and it's starting to roll down,' she said of the body positive movement. 'People are now using their voices as truthfully and honestly as they can, and that's really important.' The former model recalled her aspiration to become a model at 14 was met with some derision because though she was tall she had 'boobs and a booty' Ms Bonner, who was born to top Australian model Nola Clark and well-known actor Tony Bonner, was always destined for a career in front of the camera. But as she revealed to Mia Freedman during her No Filter podcast, though she had aspirations of modelling as a 14-year-old teenager, she was a tall girl with 'boobs and a booty.' On one of her earliest interactions with a modelling agency, Ms Bonner recalled was being told to come back 'when your shape settles down'. 'I thought that's a nice way of saying you're fat,' she said. Internationally acclaimed model Robyn Lawley (pictured) has been on the books of Ms Bonner's modelling agency since her career began The comment, though scathing, didn't stop Ms Bonner from later finding her place in the modelling world, a niche she carved out for herself in her twenties when she started working as a junior booking agent. 'While I was working for this agent, I noticed there were only a couple of plus-sized clothing labels but they were only using mid-thirties brunettes - there was nobody relatable,' she said. She struck a deal with her boss where she got some professional photos taken and was added to the agency's books as a plus-sized model. The body positivity movement now means women of all shapes and sizes can feature as positive role models for all women Ms Bonner shared that she took time off work to go to castings and shoots, before landing her first big job doing posters and magazine coverage for My Size in Melbourne. Driven by a burning desire to make a difference in her industry, and to offer women a safe space to model on their own terms, this meant she would later branch out on her own. In 2002, Bella Models for women sized 10 to 18, was launched, an agency focused on health and changing the perception of beauty. Brisbane-born New York-based model Bree Warren is also among those on Ms Bonner's books The impetus to start her own business, she explained, was driven in part by seeing girls 'just destroy themselves mentally and physically to fit into sample sizes'. Ms Bonner also touched on how seeing a close family friend - who was also a model - suffering from an eating disorder pushed her towards starting her agency. 'We were all hanging out with a big group of models. 'They would eat lettuce leaves spread with a little bit of Vegemite for flavour all day. They would crush up all the cold and flu tablets and snort them, and drink cans of Coke all day.' The impetus to start her modeling agency, Ms Bonner said was in response to seeing how other models were affected by impossibly high standards of body perfection Though Ms Bonner admitted that growing Bella Models at a time when body positivity was virtually unheard of, she said she felt determined to see it succeed, at any cost. While it took seven years for the business to become a success, Ms Bonner shared that there moments that were 'really rough'. 'I just couldn't stop. It was like a compulsion. I had to keep going somehow,' she said on the podcast. Model Lucy Bennett, who is also represented by the agency, juggles a career both in Australia and Europe Now, Bella Management features some of Australia's biggest model names on its books, including internationally recognised swimwear model Robyn Lawley who has just signed to front a new campaign for Bras N Things. Though Ms Bonner said her critics often feel justified in their accusations she's promoting obesity, the former model maintains weight it not a predictor of health, and those who are too thin are just as prone to weight-related issues as those who are too big. Ms Bonner (pictured) will publish a 'memoir / manifesto on her life later this year With ten years in the business, Bella Models is a broader church, and features models on its books ranging in size 6 upwards. 'We allow the body to be what it is naturally supposed to be, so the models do whatever it is they want to do,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'They do sports, or other activities and eat well. If they stay a size 10, they are marketed as a size 10, if their size changes, we market them as that. 'The pressure is off the models in maintaining their size. 'It's more important we have a safe space for working professionals,' she concluded. A couple shocked their loved ones by turning a 30th birthday party into their surprise wedding. Jenn and Matthew Brisch spent months secretly planning the June 2017 ceremony - tricking their guests into thinking they were all gathering for the bride's birthday bash. Teacher Jenn, of Cambridge, Massachusetts who recalls jaws dropping when she whipped away her floor-length black skirt to reveal a wedding dress underneath, announcing that she was marrying Matthew there and then, said: 'Everyone was shell-shocked. 'Nobody knew what was going on, then my mother Kim figured it out and started crying. 'It was a better day than I ever could have imagined. We think the wedding industry can be so commercial, so it was great to bring it back to us and our love, with the people who know us best.' Jenn and Matthew Brisch from Cambridge, Massachusetts surprised their guests by turning her 30th birthday party into their wedding Jenn wore a black wrap skirt to the party to hide her wedding dress underneath Priding themselves on being forward thinking, Jenn and Matthew, who works for a start-up in Boston, Massachusetts, first met on Bumble, a dating app where it is up to the woman to initiate conversation. Jenn recalled: 'Matthew's profile said he was a sapiosexual. I had no idea what that was, so I looked it up and saw it means someone who is attracted to intelligence and the mind. 'I jokingly messaged him saying, "Is it bad that I had to Google what that word means?". And it just went from there.' After exchanging messages, the pair met for the first time at a local bar. Jenn whipped away her floor-length black skirt to reveal a wedding dress underneath, announcing that she was marrying Matthew there and then The couple staged a fake proposal so their guests would think that was the surprise Halfway through the evening, Jenn received a text from her best friend, who was out with her now-fiance just around the corner, so she and Matthew joined them for a double date. Matthew said: 'After that, we hung out for around 10 days in a row. It was intense, but felt right.' Then, in autumn 2016, during a romantic trip to Martha's Vineyard an idyllic island just south of Cape Cod the topic of marriage came up in conversation, and Jenn mentioned she had always liked the thought of a surprise wedding. Although Matthew loved the idea, the couple only spoke about it jokingly at first, until February 2017, when they decided to do it for real. Jenn and Matthew first hit on the idea of a surprise wedding during a romantic island getaway Jenn and Matthew first met on Bumble, a dating app where the woman has to initiate conversation She recalled: 'I told him that I needed to know if he was serious about it, and he said if I was, so was he. 'So, despite not technically being engaged, we began to plan our wedding.' With Jenn's 30th birthday approaching, the pair decided that was the perfect excuse to gather their family and friends in one place. To make sure everyone came, they hinted in their invitations that Matthew was going to propose. He said: 'We told everyone that there'd be a surprise. We sent three invites in total one was a save the date, one had all the details, and we also included a picture with a ring hidden in it as a hint, then one as a final reminder that said, 'I propose you all join us.' The couple picked Charles River Footbridge - a local beauty spot - as their venue Jenn gave Matthew a Ring Pop sweet in return for her engagement ring 'We wanted to make it really obvious so everyone would come, but they all thought it would just be the proposal. They'd no idea it was the wedding.' For the next few months, Matthew and Jenn set about secretly organising their big day, picking rings, booking their favourite restaurant for the reception and hiring a photographer and videographer. Bride-to-be Jenn ordered a designer white gown from Rent the Runway, as well as a black wrap skirt to cover it up with. The officiant Matthew's friend Nicole and Jenn's sister Tricia, who had to take the time off from her nursing studies, were the only people who knew about the special plans. The couple spent months secretly organising wedding. They wanted something personal for their big day, rather than a typically commercial celebration 'In the run up, I did everything I could to throw my friends off the scent,' Jenn said. 'One had started to twig and was asking me loads of questions about the day's plans. 'I just told her I thought the surprise was that Matthew was taking me away, and she seemed to buy it.' On June 24 Jenn's birthday the couple asked their friends to gather at Charles River Footbridge, a Cambridge beauty spot. In an unconventional twist, they got ready together at a local hotel after clearing their apartment of any wedding clues, as they had family staying there overnight. Jenn and Matthew say they have no regrets about the quirky way they tied the knot Jenn, Matthew and their officiant Nicole. They didn't have bridesmaids or groomsmen, but Jenn's father walked her down the aisle As they walked across the bridge to meet their guests, Matthew and Jenn staged a fake proposal. 'It felt so real. There was so much love,' said Jenn. 'Everyone thought that was the surprise we'd hinted at. 'We then asked everyone to head off the bridge over to an area we'd decorated with balloons, saying it was for a group photo. 'Then, once everyone had gathered, I whipped off my skirt to reveal my dress. Matthew said, 'That wasn't the surprise, the real surprise is we're getting married now.' Everyone was floored. Family and friends were 'shell shocked' at the moment the surprise was revealed Jenn and Matthew on their way to the surprise wedding Jenn and Matthew tied the knot on her 30th birthday in June 2017 'We didn't have any bridesmaids or groomsmen, although my dad Mike gave me away. We're not very traditional people, so none of that mattered to us.' After tying the knot, Matthew, Jenn and their guests went to a local restaurant for their reception, before heading onto a club to dance the night away. As word got out over the next few days, the newlyweds were met with a flurry of congratulatory messages from friends. The pair tricked their guests into thinking they were gathering for Jenn's birthday bash Jenn, her dad Mike who walked her down the aisle and officiant Nicole Now loving married life, they have no regrets about the quirky way they tied the knot. Matthew said: 'The video captured on the day is brilliant. When we first got it back, we watched it on repeat for about three hours straight.' Jenn added: 'We go to a lot of weddings, and they're so fun but we wanted to do something different. We didn't want to go broke getting married either, or have to save for years. 'We just wanted to be married as soon as we could, and we love the way we did it.' Piers Morgan has waded into the debate sparked by the use of a 'sickly skinny' model in Victoria Beckham's latest ad campaign. The designer and former Spice Girl was criticised by parents for featuring Lithuanian model Giedre Dukauskaite, 29, in her eyewear campaign. Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain on Monday, Piers said he was 'horrified' by the advert, which he described as 'dangerous'. The presenter said seeing such images used in major marketing campaigns made him fear for his six-year-old daughter's future body image. Speaking on Good Morning Britain on Monday, Piers Morgan said he was 'horrified' by a recent advert from Victoria Beckham featuring a very slim model The designer posted images from her latest Spring Summer 2018 Victoria Beckham Eyewear campaign featuring model Giedre Dukauskaite, who was branded 'sickly skinny' by fans Piers said he felt looking at adverts like the controversial Victoria Beckham campaign could lead to young women becoming body conscious. 'A lot of young women absolutely do look at Victoria Beckham, who herself is pretty skinny, let's be perfectly blunt here ,and probably sees no problem with that image,' he said on GMB on Monday. 'I've got a young daughter, she's only six, but I don't want her, when she gets to a little bit older, thinking that's the body image she should aspire to.' The journalist said he had been 'horrified' by the advert, and described the model is features as 'emaciated'. He continued: 'What I'm saying is the image that is being propagated here is incredibly dangerous.' The designer was hit with a barrage of complaints on her Facebook and Instagram pages after she shared two shots of the model wearing a pair of oversized glasses from the Victoria Beckham Eyewear Spring Summer 2018 range. Outraged parents said it was the model's frame, and not the glasses, that caught their attention as they blasted the shots on social media. The mother-of-four has come under fire from fans on social media after they claimed she was promoting an unhealthy image 'This image is exactly why my already tiny daughter thinks she needs to eat less,' fumed one upset mother. Viewers agreed with Piers's comments, with one saying that the fashion industry had 'lost the plot' over the choice of model. One tweeted: 'Young girls looking at this and WANTING to be like her is just so wrong.' Some viewers agreed that the company had been irresponsible in their choice of model, while others said it's wrong to criticise someone's weight no matter their size Another posted: 'This model may be naturally very thin. But to young impressionable girls looking up to women (and MEN) portrayed how they are in the fashion industry, this could be very dangerous psychologically and physically. 'WTF. Its not normal. Its not right. Thought this was old and out of date?' a third agreed. Others criticised the debate, saying it's wrong to judge anyone for their weight whether they are over or underweight. MailOnline has approached Victoria Beckham for comment. It is one of America's best loved sitcoms, and fans were delighted when all ten seasons of Friends came to Netflix UK in January. However, as fans return to the old favourite many have noticed some rather inconsistent storylines. With many viewers watching the sitcom for the umpteenth time they have begun to spot plot holes that had initially escaped their attention. From narratives that drastically change from one season to the next to continuity errors only true fans would spot, FEMAIL lists the major mistakes you might have missed. All ten seasons of Friends arrived on Netflix in January, and while this was welcomed by fans, many have spotted several plot holes in the sitcom THE GANG'S FOREVER CHANGING AGES The ages of the six central characters dart back and forth throughout the ten series, remaining inconsistent with the on-screen time. Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) is listed as being 29 throughout seasons 3-5 despite the three series featuring various Thanksgiving and Christmas episodes suggesting a change in year. Equally season 7 implies that Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) is the youngest of the group as she is last to turn 30. However, season 1 listed Joey (Matt Leblanc) as the youngest character at 25. THE INCONSISTENT BIRTHDAYS Both Ross and Rachael are listed as having different birth dates throughout the series. Both Ross and Rachel birth dates change throughout the seasons, with the pair listed as being born on two separate dates In the episode where Ross visits the hospital after injuring his hand he tells Joey that his birthday is October 18. However, in an earlier episode he tells Gunther (James Michael Tyler) that his birthday is in December. In the same episode Rachel tells Gunther that her birthday is in May, but had previously revealed that she is an Aquarius meaning it would have to be in either January or February. CHANDLER AND RACHEL FORGETTING ONE ANOTHER In the pilot episode of the sitcom we see Rachel arriving at Central Perk coffee house having run out on her wedding to Barry. In the pilot episode of the show, Rachel is introduced to Chandler by Monica after arriving in New York However, later plot lines reveal that the pair had met while Chandler was still in college (pictured) She is introduced to everyone in the group (apart from Ross) by Monica Geller (Courtney Cox) whom she grew up with, including Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry). However, fans may notice that this is inconsistent with a later storylines which sees Chandler and Rachel attending Geller Thanksgivings on several occasions, and in an episode from season 10 the pair are seen kissing in a flashback to Chandler's college years. PHOEBE'S UNDERSTANDING OF FRENCH We see Phoebe teaching Joey French as she claims to be fluent in it in season 10, however, in season 8 she failed to understand the meaning of 'sous' In season 10 we see Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) attempting to teach Joey how to speak French for an audition revealing that she is fluent in the language. However, two seasons earlier Phoebe fails to understand the meaning of 'sous chef' mistaking Monica's sous-chef for her boss. ROSS' AVERSION TO ICE CREAM In the episode The One Where Chandler Doesn't Like Dogs, in season 7 Ross admits to the group that he doesn't like ice cream because it is too cold. But in season 2 we see him sharing an ice cream with his pet monkey Marcel and is again seen enjoying the dairy treat with girlfriend Elizabeth in season 6. Ross claims he doesn't like ice cream in season 7 despite having been seen eating it twice in previous episodes BRUCE WILLIS GOES UNNOTICED Chandler, Ross and Joey have all voiced their appreciation of the movie Die Hard in various episodes of the sitcom. It therefore seems an unusual choice of the producers to select the film's lead actor Bruce Willis to star as Rachel's lover Paul Stevens in season 6. None of the three central male characters acknowledge the resemblance between Stevens and the Die Hard protagonist John McClane. Bruce Willis has a cameo role as Rachel's lover Paul Stevens, but goes unnoticed by Joey, Ross and Chandler who claim to be huge Die Hard fans In season one Ross says that his ex-wife Carol Willick is the only woman he has ever slept with, however, a later episode sees him admit sleeping with a 'cleaning lady' in college THE CONFUSION OVER ROSS' VIRGINITY In season one of Friends, Ross reveals that his ex-wife Carol Willick is the only woman he has slept with at that point, meaning that he lost his virginity to her. However, this is problematic with a later episode in season 7 where Chandler reveals that Ross slept with 'the cleaning lady' from their dorm during college. If this was true it would mean that Ross had previously had sex before getting together with Carol. CHANDLER'S CLAIMS HE CAN'T CRY In series 6 Chandler tells his friends that he is unable to cry, despite being seen shedding tears in previous seasons In series 6 in an episode called The One Where Chandler Can't Cry, the gang are seen trying to force some tears from Chandler after he claims he is unable to cry. However, fans of the show will be well aware that Chandler has cried in several prior episodes including during his break up with Kathy in season four and when he was asked to be the best man at Ross' wedding in the same season. THE CHANGE IN WEDDING VENUE Fans of Friends will remember that Chandler was inspired to propose to Monica after learning that she had put their name on the waiting list at the museum for their wedding venue. Initially Monica puts her name on the waiting list at a museum as her wedding venue, but gets married in a New York hotel However, when it actually came to the wedding in season 7 it transpires that the couple's wedding venue was another location entirely. The characters make reference to the fact that they are in a hotel several times with Joey and Chandler both making trips to 'the hotel gift shop' throughout the wedding day. THE MYSTERY OF RACHEL'S KEY Rachel is seen using her 'old key' to Monica and Chandler's apartment, two seasons after the locks were changed In episode The One With The Late Thanksgiving in season 10, the gang are locked out of Monica and Chandler's apartment after arriving late to dinner. But Rachel is able to open the door using 'an old key' she has from living with Monica before Chandler moved in. However, Rachel's old key should not have fit the lock as in season 8 we see the locks replaced after the superintendent replaces the locks after knocking down the door after being told there is a gas leak. Last night's BBC documentary Coronation unveiled many secrets surrounding the day the Queen was crowned, but perhaps the most fascinating revelation of all was Her Majesty's dry sense of humour. From joking about the Bishops of Durham and Bath and Wells being there to hold her robes, to saying she wished she'd been there when the Star of Africa diamond was 'smashed' the monarch showed that her wit is as sharp as ever at the age of 91. During the documentary, which aired last night, royal commentator Alastair Bruce focused on a moment when two bishops symbolically lifted the Queen on to a raised platform. 'I can see the Bishop of Bath and Wells is very attentive Ma'am. The role of the two bishops is to take the weight of the crown, but they never have to do that,' he said. 'Really?' she replied. 'I thought they were just there to hold one's clothes and stop one falling over them.' Scroll down for video The Queen, 91, showed her wit is sharp as ever in The Coronation, a BBC documentary aired last night The Bishops of Bishop of Bath and Wells and Durham symbolically lifting the Queen on to a raised platform. The monarch joked that she thought they were there to hold her clothes She was also asked about what Prince Charles and Princess Anne had got up to on the day of her Coronation. Charles came along to the ceremony for just '10 minutes', while Anne remained at Buckingham Palace but the Queen seemed unconcerned with how they'd spent their time. 'I have no idea, I wasn't there,' she said. Later, she touched on the subject of the children again, when viewing footage of her return to the palace when Charles cheekily hid under the huge train on her robe. The Queen gave the presenter a short shrift when he said that hiding under her robes must have been fun for Charles (left) and Anne 'Such fun for the children,' the presenter observed, only for her to remind him - 'not what theyre meant to do.' The pair also viewed footage of her father King George VI's coronation in 1937 when the Archbishop of Canterbury handed over the St Edward's Crown back-to-front after the threads he'd attached as a reminder were removed by a cleaner. The Archbishop was left floundering - another annoyance for the King, who had seen one Bishop treading on his train and another covering the Oath with his thumb. The King wrote in his diary: 'I never did know whether it was right or not.' Her Majesty agreed that here father was not 'best pleased' when the Archbishop of Canterbury apparently put his crown on the wrong way When Alastair observed that he didn't seem 'best pleased', the Queen was quick to shoot back: 'No he wasn't'. While her father's Coronation may have had its hiccups, the presenter commented on how remarkable it was that everyone knew exactly where to be at the right time on the Queen's big day, as if they were in an impeccably coreographed ballet. 'They jolly well should have done after the number of rehearsals we had,' she replied, archly. Faced with her diamond encrusted Imperial State Crown, which she wore at the end of her Coronation and until recently used for most State Openings of Parliament, the Queen spoke about the Star of Africa diamond cut from an huge diamond which was found in 1905 in South Africa. It was presented to King Edward VII for his birthday in 1907 with a request for it to be set into the Crown of England. Because of its size, the diamond was sent to a craftsman, Mr Joseph Asscher, in Amsterdam who was reputed to be the best diamond cutter in the world at the time. 'I always wish I'd been there when they smashed it into pieces,' the Queen said. 'He hit it with this, whatever you hit a diamond with, and he spent hours looking at it. And then he fainted. I don't know whether that's just a story or not.' It is just a few short months until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say their I dos at their wedding in Windsor. And as rumours of who will and won't be attending circulate, many will be wondering what to expect when it comes to the seating plan. However, royal expert Alastair Bruce says that this is a decision that should be left up to the couple. Speaking to Town and Country Magazine, Bruce explained: 'It's very much a matter for the bride and the groom.' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry at St George's Chapel in Windsor on May 19 and are predicted to opt for a 'traditional' seating plan St George's Chapel in Windsor, where the couple will marry on May 19, has a capacity of 800 people compared to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's venue of Westminster Abbey which can hold 1,900. Bruce added: 'The thing about Prince Harry is that he's not seen to be in the direct line of succession, and therefore the pressure on him to invite the long list of people, who had to be asked to the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, is not present.' According to Bruce the bride and groom will also received assistance from The Lord Chamberlain's Office when it comes to organising the seating plan. The pair are likely to follow the tradition of having the groom's family on the right and the bride's to the left; close family will sit in the choir section to the front of the chapel. The ceremony is expected to be a smaller one that that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the capacity of just 800 compared to Westminster Abbey's 1,900 The Royal Household have said that Harry and Meghan's wedding is expected to be a more low-key affair that Kate and William's Royal Household sources have made clear that Prince Harry's nuptials were not a state occasion and would be, by royal standards at least, a more low-key, family affair than the wedding of his parents or brother. 'Although the wedding is being attended by the Queen, it isn't an official, state occasion. It is a family event,' the source said, adding that US president Donald Trump is unlikely to receive an invite. 'Unless the President was a close personal friend, which he is not, there would be no protocol, no reason for him to be invited. Harry and Meghan have made clear that this is very much an occasion and a celebration for their close family and friends.' Downing Street said it was a matter for the Royal Household. Previous royal weddings of those low down the succession list have not been attended by US presidents. According to experts, today is officially the most depressing day of the year, when people are at their loneliest, debt levels are at their highest and the weather is at its worst. But there's no such thing as the January blues when you've got the means to jet off to sunnier climes or treat yourself to some designer goods to take the edge of. The Rich Kids of Instagram are known for flaunting their lavish lifestyles online, and what better time to take advantage of those private jets, luxury holiday resorts and platinum credit cards than amidst the gloom of January? In snaps uploaded throughout January, moneyed youngsters from around the world have been showing us what life looks like when there's no such thing as post-Christmas gloom. Stylist Nicole Majdalany shared a video of her epic shopping spree in Dubai, after which an assistant staggered to car carrying so many designer bags from brands such as Louis Vuitton, they couldn't be seen underneath. While others showed off their private jet jaunts, Dimash Adilet from Kazakhstan, boasted about getting a helicopter home when the ski lift closes during a 'normal ski day in Courchevel'. No Blue Monday here! Russian model Carina Zavline chasing away the January slump in Dubai Viviene Bodnar forgets all her cares while relaxing in the infinity pool at the five star Hotel Villa Honegg in Switzerland Unboxing your latest haul of designer goods is sure to cheer anyone up on a dull January afternoon In swinging form: Lana Scolaro is not experiencing the post-Christmas gloom after excaping to Tulum, Quintana Roo in Mexico Dimash Adilet took his helicopter when the ski lift closed on a 'normal ski day' in Courchevel Stylist Nicole Majdalany went on such an epic shopping spree in Dubai that her assistant was barely visible under the mountain of shopping bags Getting away from it all! If the UK is feeling a bit gloomy around this time of year, a jaunt on the private jet can soon sort that out Wellbeing experts might recommend a relaxing bath to combat the Monday blues, but yours probably won't look like this Bader Alsafar couldn't be more vocal about his love of Supreme x Louis Vuitton It is almost five months since Spain was left in mourning following the terror attacks in the city of Barcelona. Having witnessed the heartbreak of the events first hand Queen Letizia was more than glad to offer her support and praise for brave victims at an awards ceremony on Monday. The Queen of Spain joined husband King Felipe VI at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid for the Victims of Terrorism Foundation Awards. Queen Letizia of Spain showcased her compassionate nature as she attended the Victims of Terrorism Foundation Awards in Madrid on Monday The mother-of-two looked her elegant best in a herringbone dress with laser cut floral detail as she met with award winners. The former journalist wrapped up in a black wool coat and wore her glossy locks straight for today's important event. The 45-year-old was joined by husband Felipe, 49, who looked his best in a dapper suit for the ceremony. The Queen of Spain was joined by King Felipe VI at the prestigious venue in the Spanish capital The royal couple were invited up on stage where they presented awards to brave victims of terrorist attacks The couple were welcomed to the stage where they presented awards to those who had been victims of terrorism. Letizia looked delighted to meet one young schoolboy whom she presented with an award for his bravery having faced terrorism first hand. Following the awards ceremony the royal couple were joined by members of the foundation on stage where they posed for photos. Both the king and queen of Spain were prominent voices against the terrorist attack on Barcelona in August 2017, keen to support the victims of the atrocity. The couple were delighted to present the prestigious award to a young school boy who had suffered terrorism first hand Following the awards ceremony the royal couple were joined by members of the foundation on stage where they posed for photos On the morning of August 17, Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, drove a van into the busy La Rambla in the Spanish city killing 14 people and injuring 130 others. Hours later, a car attack in the seaside town of Cambrils killed another person early Friday. The Islamic State group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks. The terrorists had originally planned to drive three vans packed with explosives into iconic parts of Barcelona including the Sagrada Familia cathedral, it was reported. Just hours after the attack Letizia and Felipe travelled to the city where lead tributes to the victims as well as visiting survivors in hospital. Barcelona came to a halt at noon the day after the attack where a minutes silence was observed in the Placa Catalunya, close to the scene of the attack. Led by King Felipe and Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy the silence was then followed by applause for the victims. Three days of mourning were then declared by the government of Catalonia. A mother whose weight ballooned to 22 stone as she gorged on 4,000 calories a day has revealed how she dropped six dress sizes after overhauling her lifestyle. Jane Auguste, 51, from Romford, Essex, told how she would eat 13 slices of bread, four packets of crisps and an entire packet of biscuits every day. The learning support assistant, who used to wear a UK size 24, admitted that she would often eat in secret at work or home so that she could have even more food without anybody knowing. But when a consultant warned her mother Ann Turner, 79, that her weight was causing damage to her knee after having a hip replacement, Jane decided they both needed to make a change. Jane is now making the most of her newly slimmed-down figure by buying clothes she once would have avoided wearing because of her size. Jane Auguste, 51, (pictured before) shared her lifelong struggle with her weight which ballooned to 22 stones at her heaviest Jane Auguste (pictured after) shed 10 stones after following a popular weightloss program along with her mother and daughter Jane (pictured centre with her daughter right) decided to make changes to her lifestyle after her mother Ann Turner (pictured left) was warned that her weight was damaging her knee In July this year, Jane reached her target weight of 11st 10lbs after halving her 4,000 calories a day habit and now delights in wearing size 12 clothes she felt she couldn't wear in her 20s. Jane said: 'I have always loved clothes and now I can enjoy going anywhere and buying anything. It is almost like I've been living the life I should have been having in my twenties. 'It makes me sad because I missed out on it before but I would have never had this feeling if I didn't lose the weight. I am able to go out without being ridiculed. Jane (pictured left before with her daughter and mother) and her family began working towards their target weights in May 2016 BEFORE DIET BREAKFAST - Seven pieces of toast with butter and cheese LUNCH - Three sandwiches with cheese and mayonnaise and soup with croutons DINNER - Three quarters of a family size meat pie, chips and baked beans SNACKS - Two ice creams, apple pie and cream, one entire pack of biscuits, four packet of crisps, two donuts, chocolate DRINKS - Two litre bottle of fizzy drinks. 4000 calories Advertisement AFTER DIET BREAKFAST - Fruit chopped up with yogurt or eggs, lean bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach LUNCH - Couscous or pasta salad with salmon, ham or chicken DINNER - Chicken with roasted cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, sweet potato or homemade spaghetti bolognaise SNACKS - Fruit, sugar free jelly, curly wurly, ham, cereal bar DRINKS - Two litres of water, coffee 2000 calories Advertisement 'I can't believe I was like that for the majority of my life. There is no going back. I know now that I don't want to feel like that again.' Jane revealed how she has always struggled with her weight and was teased at school because of her size. Comments and looks from strangers left her feeling self-conscious. 'I would act loud and over the top to make myself feel better but I felt absolutely horrific,' Jane said. 'People would look and stare at me. One of the worst things about going out would be when I had the "fat bird" comment.' Jane (pictured after) admits before her weight loss she would dread getting ready to go out Jane (pictured before left and after right) was able to reach her goal weight of 11st 10lbs in just over a year The mother revealed how she was surrounded by unhealthy food at her desk-based job. She continued: 'As I work in a school, it is always somebody's birthday so there would be things like chocolate and cake there. 'I would secretly go and eat them and then go back in and pretend I hadn't already eaten them so that I could have more. 'I would get home in the afternoon and eat biscuits without anybody knowing and then have dinner. It was like if no one saw me do it then I hadn't eaten it. There was no control over it.' Jane revealed people have walked past without recognizing her since her weight loss Jane (pictured before left and right after) initially began cutting down on fatty foods in 2014 before transforming to a size 12 with the help of Slimming World Jane began cutting down on fatty foods in 2014 and had lost 4st by the time she joined Slimming World with mother Ann and her daughter Elena Turner-Thorne, 21, in May 2016. Her mother Ann has lost 4st and Elena has lost 3.5st. Jane added: 'It is nice that we've done it together. I enjoy getting ready to go out now. I would dread it before. It is an amazing feeling. I've never worn leather trousers before. 'It is just unbelievable. I really wish I could bottle up this feeling. There is nothing better. Nothing can top it. I think people think I'm a bit evangelical about it. 'I think the way my life has changed is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I've had some people walk past me because they didn't know it was me. They can't believe I am the same person. 'Some people have also said how much younger I looked now. I can't believe people think that.' Bethany Meyers, the girlfriend of the Younger star Nico Tortorella, has opened up about her length battled against anorexia and bulimia in a candid Instagram post. The New York City fitness instructor, 31, identifies as gay and has been in an open, polyamorous relationship with the actor, 29, for a decade. Nico has been described as bisexual and sexually fluid in the past. 'I battled anorexia and bulimia for many years, starting in college and lasting well into my mid-twenties,' Bethany wrote. 'Once I won the fight over purging / starving, I was left with a new eating disorder a mental eating disorder obsessing over each bite I took and beating myself up over every meal because it was inevitably never good enough.' Message: Bethany Meyers, the girlfriend of the Younger star Nico Tortorella, has opened up about her length battled against anorexia and bulimia in a candid Instagram post Duo: The New York City fitness instructor, 31, identifies as gay and has been in an open, polyamorous relationship with the actor, 29, for a decade Evolution: Bethany revealed she was once consumed by the prospect of being skinnier, and was motivated only by self-hate The fitness instructor said she chose to discuss her past struggle with disordered eating after launching a new workout fitness program, be.come, and receiving many messages from other people recounting their own 'life challenges, body struggles, injuries, eating disorders, s****y relationships and how they are overcoming these through movement'. 'I wouldn't eat the day (sometimes two) before I had a photo shoot. I constantly stood in the mirror pinching pieces of my body I didn't feel were tight enough,' she recounted. 'When I worked out, I would let the thought of being skinnier consume me until my only motivation came from a place of self-hate.' Bethany kept hoping the conditions would heal, and found steps that helped her along the way. 'I threw away my bathroom scale. I only allowed myself to workout when my reason for doing it didn't involve vanity or losing weight,' she wrote. 'I found a nice thing to say about my body everyday. I stopped reading nutritional labels and started reading ingredients. I said thank you to every piece of food I put into my bodyeven the ones that contained sugar, dairy and carbs. Healing: Bethany detailed her steps towards recovery, writing: 'I threw away my bathroom scale. I only allowed myself to workout when my reason for doing it didn't involve vanity' Healing: The fitness instructor also found a nice thing to say about her body every single day and stopped reading nutritional labels while on her path to recovery 'And then I created a business with the same message to help you be.come the same.' The fitness instructor also explained why she chose to post her message next to a photo of herself partially covering her face with her hands, while bringing a crystal close to her mouth and nose as a way to represent healing and protection. 'I'll let you take that metaphor as you please. To me it shows that our pain and shame can be used for good to help others,' she added. Bethany previously opened up about her relationship with her body in another Instagram post to mark her birthday in May last year. She explained that body positivity has been a 'lifelong struggle' for her, and that the past 12 months had seen her make her biggest strides yet. 'My friends can remember a time just a few years ago when I would say, "sorry I can't eat I have a photo shoot in two days" and this is when I thought I was healthy (!!?!?) Blows my mind,' she wrote. Journey: Bethany previously opened up about her relationship with her body, explaining that body positivity has been a 'lifelong struggle' for her Past: 'My friends can remember a time just a few years ago when I would say, "sorry I can't eat I have a photo shoot in two days,"' Bethany wrote Finding peace: Bethany explained that ultimately, self-love was the key to prompt her to eat more and exercise in a truly healthy manner Modern love: 'I think for so long there's been like one quote-unquote normal way of life,' Nico previously said. 'And anybody that doesn't live in that structure needs to find a home of sorts' The fitness instructor also shared the two steps that had helped her the most, explaining: '1) I'm not allowed to speak negatively about my body. When I get off track and eat like s**t for a week and don't feel my best, I give a gentle reminder that it's OK and how I feel now isn't my permanent reality. '2) I workout to feel good, be healthy and create uninterrupted time with myselfnot to lose weight. I repeat NOT TO LOSE WEIGHT. A tough one I'm still working on.' Bethany explained that ultimately, self-love was the key to prompt her to eat more and exercise in a truly healthy manner. Over the weekend, Nico shared a candid post of his own, telling his 392,000 followers that Saturday marked the third anniversary of his sobriety. 'Today marks exactly three years sans alcohol. When they say it gets better, holy do they ever mean it,' he wrote. 'I'm going to keep it simple this time around. I don't hate alcohol, in fact quite the opposite. For without it I would never understand the true power of healing.' Nico described alcoholism as 'a disease that never dies away but is one that in time, with sacrifice, has the power to heal even the most broken of souls in unconditional self love, gratitude, and faith'. The actor, who plays Josh in the hit series Younger, previously posed with Bethany on the cover of the Advocate, and inside the pages of the magazine, candidly opened up about their modern, queer family. Together, Bethany and Nico challenge the norms surrounding gender and sexuality, and Nico said during the interview that he 'would give it all up, everything in my life, to be able to carry a child myself'. In addition to being described as sexually fluid, Nico has also been called bisexual, demisexual, and queer, and he has no problems with being labeled if it helps others find someone with whom they can identify. Hollywood heartthrob: On the TV Land series Younger, Nico plays Josh, a straight man who is in love a middle-aged woman named Liza, played by Sutton Foster (pictured) Workout wonder: Bethany is a fitness instructor and entrepreneur, and she often shares photos of herself showing off her incredible strength on Instagram 'I think for so long there's been like one quote-unquote normal way of life,' he said. 'And anybody that doesn't live in that structure needs to find a home of sorts. 'And I think labels are really important for kids, especially, [who] can't find their tribe where they are, and need to go find their people, their family. For that reason, I think labels are extremely important.' On the TV Land show Younger, Nico's character Josh is in an on-again, off-again relationship with Liza, played by Sutton Foster, and his modern views on love and sex haven't affected his heartthrob status in the least. In a previous interview, he told the New York Post that he falls 'somewhere under the bisexual umbrella', noting: 'I am a white, cisgender-passing bisexual man, and I realize that not everyone has that privilege.' Although he said it is possible that his sexual fluidity may one day affect his career, he refuses to change who he is. 'I don't think there have been positive bisexual role models in the worldespecially in Hollywood,' he said. 'If you have a story that's different than what you're seeing out there, just get it out there.' A short cartoon made to launch a short story competition for children sees the Duchess of Cornwall flying high over the streets of London in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. A smiling Camilla, 70, sits alongside Radio 2 presenter Chris Evans, as they make a whistle-stop tour of the capital in the famous car to promote BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show's 500 Words competition. The royal has been involved with the writing project, which encourages young people between the ages of five and 13 to pen their own works of literature, since 2015 and provided voice-over for the animation. The Duchess of Cornwall sits alongside Radio 2 star Chris Evans in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the short cartoon made by the BBC to promote its 500 words story competition What a jolly jape! A carrot-topped Evans and a grinning Camilla soar high above London's sights in the animation The young winners of the competition will actually get to ride in a real version of the car made famous by the 1968 film A passionate reader herself and a patron of many literary organisations, Camilla is heard uttering the words: '500 words, let your imagination run wild'. The first prize winners of the competition's two age groups will walk away with the Duchess' height - 5ft 6in - in books. This Morning, Evans also launched the competition revealing that the finale of this year's competition will take place on June 8th during the annual Hampton Court Palace Festival. Young writers vying for the bronze, silver and gold prizes in the two age categories, five to nine years and 10 to 13, have another goal to aim for. The winners will be treated to a ride in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - the flying car from the famous film - around the palace's grounds and down to the river where they will have tea on the River Thames in the Queen's row-barge, Gloriana. A right royal tour: The cartoon sees the pair swoop under Tower Bridge The competition, which has seen stars such as Benedict Cumberbatch and David Walliams presenting awards to young winners, will reach its peak at Hampton Court Palace Orf we go! Camilla and Chris make for the stars during the magical animation What an adventure: The competition is now in its eighth year and last year saw more than 131,000 children enter Evans said: 'This year's 500 Words is going to be Chitty Bang-tastic. 'I encourage children across the UK to fire up their creative engines, accelerate their imaginations and go full steam ahead to write us an amazing story and perhaps see us at the live final in June.' Camilla has been an honorary judge of the competition since 2016, while the other judges are authors Malorie Blackman and Francesca Simon, screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce, and author and actor Charlie Higson. Lewis Carnie, head of BBC Radio 2, said: 'We're thrilled that 500 Words is returning for its eighth year. 'Last year we had a record 131,798 entries, and I'm so proud that Radio 2 is inspiring children all over the UK to get creative and produce such brilliant stories year after year.' The competition is now open and the closing date for entries is 7pm on February 22, for more information, visit the 500 words website. Their whirlwind romance sounds like something straight from a Hollywood rom-com. An American actress meets her very own Prince Charming and the pair fall in love while criss-crossing the globe. Now the real-life love story of Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 36, will be given the full movie star treatment when it is reimagined as a Lifetime TV film. Harry & Meghan: The Royal Love Story will tell the backstory of the Prince's relationship with the American actress, including their first meeting and the moment he popped the question at their cottage in Kensington Palace. Scroll down for video Lifetime TV are set to make a movie about the Royal romance between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Although a release date has yet to be confirmed, it could coincide with the couple's wedding in May. According to Deadline, the news was confirmed by head of programming Liz Gateley during a conference. The film will portray the lives of both the Prince, and the Suits actress ahead of their meeting, before detailing their meeting via a mutual friend. It will then follow the story of their secret romance, before the couple went public at the end of 2016, and subsequently announced their engagement in November 2017, garnering intense media attention. Entitled Harry & Meghan: The Royal Love Story, the film will examine the backstory to the prince's relationship with the American actress Currently said to be in the casting stage, The Royals director Menhaj Huda has been named as the director, while Merideth Finn and Michele Weiss will executive produce. While no release date has been confirmed, the channel's previous film William & Kate: The Movie, based on the romance between Prince William and Kate Middleton, aired 11 days before their wedding on the 29th April 2011. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met in the summer of 2016 after being set up on a blind date by a mutual friend, thought to be fashion designer Misha Nonoo. Although no release date has been confirmed, this could coincide with the couple's wedding nuptials in May In November 2016 Harry confirmed their romance after he released a statement asking for his girlfriend's privacy to be respected, revealing she had been subject to a torrent of abuse amid rumours of their romance. Just weeks later the Prince visited the American actress on set of Toronto-based legal drama Suits, before the couple were first sighted together in London during December 2016. The duo then made a number of low key appearances together in 2017, and announced their engagement in November 2017, spending Christmas together with the Queen at Sandringham. The couple will marry on 19th May 2018 at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England. The news of Lifetime TV's new film comes after it was reported that Meghan's ex-husband and film producer Trevor Engelson is making a show about a divorced American mother who moves to London to marry a British royal. The show, which is currently untitled, is believed to have been inspired by a conversation he had with producer Dan Farrah, musing on what would have happened if he and Meghan had had children together. While Timberland footwear has always been marketed towards outdoorsman, in recent months, the rugged boots have become a must-have accessory with Hollywood 'it' girls. Stylish stars like Gigi Hadid, Jennifer Lopez and Khloe Kardashian are incorporating 'Timbs' into their street style looks. Having been around since 1973, the sturdy yellow high-tops are very recognizable. Until now! FEMAIL rounds up current styles with a fresh twist. Limited editions: Looks like sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid own the same boots or one sibling has been borrowing from the other's shoe closet Looks like sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid own the same boots or one sibling has been borrowing from the other's shoe closet. Gigi was spotted in Tribeca, New York, in mid December looking like a fashion plate from head-to-toe. The 22-year-old wore a yellow faux-fur dRa jacket, clear Ray Ban glasses, printed Happy Socks and Off White x Timberland boots. Bella, 21, stepped out five days later wearing the exact same pair of shoes, Chrome Hearts pants, and Andy Wolf sunglasses, with an Alyx bag slung around her chest. Fortunately Gigi owns more than just one pair. She was photographed this weekend in traditional Timberlands and a Max Mara coat, while clutching a Miu Miu purse. A classic: Fortunately Gigi owns more than just one pair. She was photographed this weekend in a traditional Timberland style, a Max Mara coat, while clutching a Miu Miu purse They're versatile: Khloe Kardashian, 33, is also a fan of the Off White X Timberland collaboration. The mom-to-be has been spotted at the airport twice rocking the limited-edition boot Khloe Kardashian, 33, is also a fan of the Off White X Timberland collaboration. The mom-to-be has been spotted at the airport twice rocking the limited-edition boot. In all black, the 'Revenge Body' host accessorized both of her sporty looks with Celine sunglasses and an Hermes bag. Jennifer Lopez, 48, has been a long time fan of Timberlands. From workout pants to a designer Gucci sweater, the 'Shades of Blue' star styles them with just about everything. An OG: Jennifer Lopez, 48, has been a long time fan of Timberlands. From workout pants to a designer Gucci sweater, the 'Shades of Blue' star styles them with just about everything LIMITED EDITION COLLABORATION: Off-White teamed up with Timberland to create this plush camel velvet style Velvet Ankle Boots by Off White + Timberland, $955; net-a-porter.com 3 INCH HEELS: Field boots featuring updated styling and layered leathers Camdale Field Boots by Timberland, $140; timberland.com BONE: A softer shade makes for a softer look Waterproof Leather Ankle Boots BY Timberland, $170; lordandtaylor.com PRETTY IN PINK: Available in 5 other colors like navy and light green 6-INCH Premium Waterproof Boots by Timberland, $170; timberland.com FLORAL DESIGN: A ladylike print offsets the toughness of the silhouette Ankle boot by Timberland, $189; yoox.com LACE-UP HEELS: The classic workboot with a chic, feminine twist Glancy 6" Lace-Up Boots by Timberland, $130; macys.com INTERNAL WEDGE: Get over an inch of extra height with a built-in wedge 6-INCH Premium Waterproof Internal Wedge Boots by Timberland, now $139.99; timberland.com PEEP-TOES: Fashion-forward details like buckles and peep-toes are unexected Marge Buckle Peep-Toe Boots by Timberland, $250; timberland.com CUSTOMIZE YOUR OWN: Choose from 16 colors, 19 different laces and monogramon the tongue, heel or hangtag As any parent of a picky eater knows, how expensive or exclusive a food is has little bearing on whether a child will eat it or not. So that's what makes watching this group of children react to some of the most expensive dishes from the last 100 years so hilarious. Created by Bon Appetit, the video, which is the latest in the 'Kids Try Food' series, saw the youngsters attempt to eat a selection of culinary delicacies that were at one point, the most expensive dish of the decade. Scroll down for video Tasty: Bon Appetit has created a video of kids trying the most expensive dishes from the last 100 years to gauge their reactions and the result is hilarious, as seen here when trying oysters Experiment: The video, which is the latest in the 'Kids Try Food' series, sees the youngsters attempt to eat a selection of culinary delicacies, including frog legs provencale Unusual: The dishes included several seafood options such as raw oysters, and a shrimp cocktail (pictured) Bygone era: Starting in the 1920s, the video samples food from every decade right up to the 2010s, including lobster tremidore from the 1950s, pictured Starting in the 1920s, the children were first asked to eat raw oysters, garnished with lemon. Their reactions varied, with some children asking if they should eat the shell or the inside, while another simply exclaimed, 'woah' when she first caught sight of the seafood platter. They then described the oysters as 'weird', 'like salt' and 'like the ocean'. One girl even went on to say the oysters smelled like 'one of those animals that goes deep in the ocean', adding, 'that's not a good smell'. Moving onto the 1930s, the children were asked to sample frog legs provencale, a recipe for frog legs sauteed with butter, lemon juice and parsley. Approaching the dish with hestitation, one of the boys asked if it was duck, before claiming it was fish. When one of the girls found out she was about to eat frog legs, she held her head in her hands, and claimed that 'just thinking about it is weird, but if you think about it a little bit more, humans eat like every single animal'. She diligently tasted the dish in front of her, giving her critique that the frog legs were 'chewy' and 'rubbery'. However, the little boy struggled to make peace with the fact that you could clearly distinguish the shape of the leg, even thought he enjoyed the taste. For the next dish, another three children tasted shrimp cocktail featuring tomato and horseradish, the most expensive food of the 1940 after over-fishing left shrimp in short supply. One girl revealed that she would only eat it again if it was 'the only thing on earth'. While a young boy claimed it tasted like 'spicy chicken'. Confused: A lot of the children didn't know what they were eating and even confused common things like beef wellington for chicken Not a fan: Truffle shavings, popular on pasta in the 1970s, didn't impress the kids Egging each other on: The kids trying the caviar and eggs loved the taste but couldn't understand the texture of the soft boiled egg Staying with a seafood theme, the 1950s were all about lobster thermidor, a French dish consisting of a creamy mixture of cooked lobster meat, egg yolks, and brandy, stuffed into a lobster shell, and topped with Gruyere cheese. One child asked why the lobster appeared 'fluffy', before deeming she had 'mixed emotions' over the taste. 'I like it, it has a good texture, but then it has a weird sauce,' she said. Another child called it 'delicious' and said she could taste mushroom so was very surprised to hear she had tasted lobster,as it didn't taste like the lobster she had tried before. The most expensive dish of the 1960s was beef wellington, and one of the children said it smelled familiar but was surprised to learn he was eating beef. One of the boys then told the camera it tasted like chicken before saying it tasted like meatballs. The next dish on the menu was truffled tagliatelle with truffle butter and shaved truffles, the most expensive thing people liked to eat in the 1970s. After an adult carefully shaved fresh truffle onto the pasta, the children got stuck in, saying the dish 'smelled really good'. However, one girl didn't love the taste, grimacing at the camera before calling the truffle a 'strange bread thing'. In the 1980s, caviar and egg, consumed with a small spoon, was the most expensive dish you could order. One of the children told the camera the spoon looked like it had been made for mice, while another commented on how small the dish was. French delight: Foie gras went down a treat with the children who liked its sweet flavor Super sub: Although the kids in this clip were being treated to wagyu beef, the boy thought he was eating chicken and then meatballs Going for gold: The video ended with two of the participants being treated to $100 gold leaf donuts but the children weren't impressed with the 'metallic' taste Both children enjoyed the taste, and said they liked the texture, however the soft boiled egg caught them off guard, as they couldn't fathom how it was cooked this way. Next up, the 1990s were on the menu, and a plate of foie gras, garnished with cherry gastrique took center stage. One little boy asked, 'What the heck is that?' as he stared at the plate, before another boy asked if he was about to eat French toast. The children all agreed they liked the taste but couldn't figure out what they were eating. In the 2000s, Barclay prime wagyu cheesesteak with yellow label Veuve Clicquot champagne was the most expensive dish of the decade, and despite looking like a regular sandwich, the kids struggled to make sense of what they were eating. One little boy proudly told the camera, 'it smells like butter' before stating that it 'tasted like vegetables', and that he liked grilled cheese better. The final dish on the menu was the Manila Social Club 24K golden Cristal Ube donut, the most expensive dish of the decade so far. Covered in 24 carat gold leaf, it is available from the Manila Social Club in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesdays and Fridays only, and costs $100 per donut. Packaged individually in a black box, tied with a purple ribbon, the children were first asked to open up their final taste test. Confused that their food wasn't on a plate, the children initially thought they were receiving a gift instead of something to eat. And when they opened the boxes, they all worried the gold wasn't edible, repeatedly asking the camera if they could eat it. One girl said it tasted 'like gold', and said it had a metallic texture, adding it looked like a 'statue of a donut', before her tasting partner claimed the donut looked more like a tomato, signing a rhyme about a tomato looking at him. Three in five adults hit the bottle to cope with the stress of everyday life, research suggests. Alcohol advice charity Drinkaware today warns a 'worrying' number of people drink at the end of the day to ease their problems. Their poll found that 58 per cent of us admit drinking to deal with the pressures of daily life. Three in five adults hit the bottle to cope with the stress of everyday life, according to a YouGov survey of 6,000 people Some 47 per cent said they did so to cheer themselves up and 38 per cent to forget their problems, according to the YouGov survey of 6,000. The figures will raise fears that people may not be fully informed about the risks of heavy drinking, such as links to cancer, heart disease and mental health issues. Regular drinking lowers levels of serotonin the brain chemical that helps to regulate moods. Experts last night said drinking was likely to be a particular problem at this time of year, with many families struggling with post-Christmas debt. Feeling sad? Blame it on Blue Monday If you're feeling low you're not alone because today is 'Blue Monday', supposedly the most depressing day of the year. Experts point to the gloomy combination of the second Monday back at work after the festive break, Christmas bills pouring in, limited daylight and typical January weather. British Red Cross research has found more than a quarter of us feel loneliest in January. Sarah Coles, of investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Whether we call it Blue Monday or the less catchy 'the day I realised how much Christmas cost', the effect is the same. 'The good news is, if we take action now, this will be as bad as our finances look all year.' Advertisement Elaine Hindal, chief executive of Drinkaware, which is funded by the alcohol industry, said: 'January can be a difficult time of year for many people when day-to-day concerns about finances and debt come sharply into focus. 'While people might think having a drink after a hard day can help them relax, in the long run it can contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety and make stress harder to deal with.' If you're feeling low you're not alone because today is 'Blue Monday', supposedly the most depressing day of the year. Experts point to the gloomy combination of the second Monday back at work after the festive break, Christmas bills pouring in, limited daylight and typical January weather. British Red Cross research has found more than a quarter of us feel loneliest in January. Sarah Coles, of investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Whether we call it Blue Monday or the less catchy 'the day I realised how much Christmas cost', the effect is the same. 'The good news is, if we take action now, this will be as bad as our finances look all year.' Joanna Rog, 22, from London, said: 'Life can often be incredibly stressful for me as I do my best to juggle the demands of living, working and studying in a big city. 'There are some weeks when I drink every day just to keep myself going. 'I know that it's not great but there is a release in doing that which helps me to temporarily forget my problems and worries. 'While I take some comfort from the fact that I am not the only one who feels this way, that in itself is really worrying.' While teenagers used to be considered Britain's biggest drinkers, now experts are more worried about the middle-aged and middle-class, who buy wine in supermarkets and drink at home. Some 45 per cent of English hospital admissions caused by drinking were for those aged 55 to 74 in 2015/16, official statistics show. Under-35s made up only 9 per cent of alcohol-linked admissions last year. Katherine Brown, head of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said: 'The public need to be better informed about the health risks associated with alcohol use. 'Health information on labels and mass media campaigns from government would help to equip drinkers with all the facts.' A father, who dismissed his cold-like symptoms as flu, has lost his arm after being infected with a life-threatening flesh-eating bug. Luke Dobson, 42, from Undy, near Chepstow, South Wales, initially just had pain in his elbow but was rushed to hospital when his condition took a turn for the worse. After being diagnosed with sepsis, doctors realised the IT engineer's symptoms were far more serious as he battled a deadly bacterial infection, known as necrotising fasciitis, which permanently damages tissue. Dr Dobson, who is one of two sufferers of the infection his doctor has seen in 30 years, spent three days on life support and is awaiting further surgery. It is unclear how he became infected. His wife Julie Dobson, 42, is speaking out to raise awareness of the condition. She said: 'What Luke wanted to do was go back to bed but it was serious. It's about knowing what the signs of sepsis are and when someone seems more and more unwell, that is the instance to act on it.' Luke Dobson (pictured with his wife Julie Dobson) initially dismissed his cold-like symptoms as flu, but has since lost his arm after being infected with a life-threatening flesh-eating bug He initially had pain in his elbow but was rushed to hospital when it took a turn for the worse After being diagnosed with sepsis, doctors realised his symptoms were far more seriously as he battled a deadly bacterial infection (pictured with Ms Dobson and his daughter Claudia, 14) WHAT IS NECROTISING FASCIITIS? Necrotising fasciitis is a serious bacterial skin infection that spreads quickly and kills the body's soft tissue. This can lead to amputations or death in a very short period of time. It can be prevented by keeping wounds clean. Necrotising fasciitis is rare in healthy people who practise good personal hygiene. Those with diabetes, cancer and kidney disease are more at risk. Early symptoms include muscle pain and swelled skin, followed by fever, fatigue and vomiting. Treatment usually involves IV antibiotics and surgery to remove the infected tissue. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advertisement 'Something that seems really small can become life-threatening' Doctors first realised Mr Dobson's symptoms were serious when his arm continued to swell. Ms Dobson said: 'There was a fantastic doctor who just said: "this isn't right, he's too ill for sepsis and there is something else going on". 'It was such a shock that this can happen and happen so fast. Something that seems really small can become something life-threatening.' Mr Dobson, who is in intensive care at the Royal Gwent Hospital, has faced multiple surgeries and is due to undergo cosmetic surgery on his arm at Swansea's Morriston Hospital. Ms Dobson added: 'He had quite a lot of tissue removed. 'Fortunately, they didn't go down to the muscle. He has recovered physically but now it's about the mental recovery. ' 'Luke wanted to go back to bed but it was serious' Ms Dobson, who is running the Severn Bridge 10k for the UK Sepsis Trust, wishes to warn others about the dangers of the condition. She said: 'What Luke wanted to do was go back to bed but it was serious. 'It's about knowing what the signs of sepsis are and when someone seems more and more unwell, that is the instance to act on it.' Sean Hughes, from Dublin, passed away in hospital on Friday A 15-year-old boy died from the 'flu', his heartbroken parents have revealed as the death toll from the killer virus continues to escalate. Sean Hughes, from Dublin, passed away in hospital on Friday - after being rushed for emergency treatment the evening before. Doctors were adamant the aspiring rapper, known to his friends as Lil' Red, had the flu when they saw him on Wednesday. His death comes as the known toll of flu fatalities sits at 93 across England and Scotland. Up to 10 are known to have died in Ireland while a precise figure is unavailable for Northern Ireland or Wales. At least three other fatalities have come to light in recent days, and include 18-year-old Scottish girl, Bethany Walker, who died from one of the flu bugs sweeping the UK. The majority of cases have been blamed on H3N2, an aggressive strain of influenza A known as 'Aussie flu' after it rocked Australia during its winter. However, a less severe subtype of influenza B, dubbed 'Japanese flu', which has triggered the majority of cases in the UK could also be responsible. Projections also claim that the flu will become an epidemic within two weeks, with the home nations being hit by the aggressive flu strains. Tributes have flooded in for Sean, who was 'loved by everyone' and described as a 'larger-than-life young man' who was 'way ahead of his years'. Speaking at their family home, his grieving father Joe told the Irish Sun at the weekend: 'We are still waiting for answers. Doctors were adamant the aspiring rapper, known to his friends as Lil' Red, had the flu when they saw him on Wednesday WHAT FLU STRAINS ARE IN THE UK? There are many different types of flu circulating around the world, but four main types are being seen in Britain this winter. H3N2 - Dubbed Aussie flu after it struck Australia hard last winter, this strain is more likely to affect the elderly, who do not respond well to the current vaccine. This is one of the most common strains seen so far this winter, with 63 confirmed cases seen in official laboratories. H1N1 - This strain known as swine flu - is generally more likely to hit children, who respond well to vaccination. This has been seen nearly as often as H3N2 so far this year, with 50 cases confirmed in labs. In the past it was only commonly caught from pigs, but that changed in 2009 when it started spreading rapidly among humans in a major global pandemic. B / Yamagata - This is known as 'Japanese flu'. Only people who received the four strain vaccine - which is being slowly rolled out after it was introduced for the first time this winter - are protected against the Yamagata strain. Those who received the normal three strain vaccine are not protected, and it has been seen in 63 lab cases so far this winter. B / Victoria - This strain is vaccinated against in the normal three strain vaccine, but has hardly appeared so far this winter, with just four confirmed cases. Advertisement 'It was a very bad chest infection to start off with and there were complications after that. 'He went into the hospital. He had the chest infection a few days before that. He just passed away after a sudden illness.' His mother, Karen, revealed they took him to the GP on Wednesday - two days before he died - to discuss his flu-like symptoms. The doctor said 'he has the flu'. His condition rapidly worsened and he was taken to Temple Street Hospital on the Thursday. His parents are reluctant to talk about Sean's death because they can't confirm that it was the flu that killed him. Hundreds of relatives, friends and locals have since visited the family's home to pay their respects for the young rapper. Touching stories of how Sean, a fan of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur, helped the elderly and bullying victims have also been unearthed. His father plans to give out some of his CDs in the next few days as the community copes with the 'big impact' his death has had. At least three other fatalities have come to light in recent days, and include 18-year-old Scottish girl, Bethany Walker, who died from one of the flu bugs sweeping the UK. Miss Walker, of Applecross in northern Scotland, passed away from pneumonia, which was triggered by the virus, last week. Her death made national headlines. Tributes have flooded in for Sean, who was 'loved by everyone' and described as a 'larger-than-life young man' who was 'way ahead of his years' (pictured with unnamed family members) MOTHER'S HEARTACHE AS HER 18-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER DIES FROM FLU An 18-year-old girl has become the tragic victim of the flu, her heartbroken mother has revealed. Bethany Walker, from Applecross, died after taking ill at home - initially from flu symptoms which later developed into pneumonia. Miss Walker was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but died later last Friday. Tributes have poured in on social media. Bethany Walker, from Applecross, died after taking ill at home - initially from flu symptoms which later developed into pneumonia Her mother Heather Teale wrote on Facebook: 'My beautiful Daughter Bethany Walker was taken from me yesterday (Jan 5). 'She had been suffering from a flu virus, which became pneumonia. 'She was airlifted to Raigmore with me by her side yesterday morning (Jan 5), where she rapidly deteriorated. 'The staff in Intensive Care could not have done more, she was given the best possible treatment from a team of eight people for over two hours, they tried everything possible but sadly despite their best efforts she didn't make it.' She added: 'I am broken, the bottom has fallen out of my world. I have my mum with me, and my wonderful son Danny Walker who are both feeling the same loss as I am. Miss Walker was airlifted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness but died later last Friday. Tributes have poured in on social media 'Life will never be the same again. Bethany, I love you to the moon and back, I always have and I always will, you were the best daughter I could have ever wished for and I will always be the proudest mum in the world. 'I have no more words. I'm truly devastated. Sleep tight my beautiful girl, your brother and I will love you forever, you will never be out of my thoughts as long as I live.' Among those paying his respects was TV adventurer Monty Halls, who lived on the Applecross peninsula in 2008 for his Great Escapes series. He wrote: 'Heather, I am so, so sorry to hear this news - it is beyond comprehension. Words seem so completely inadequate. 'Every member of the film crew for Great Escapes remembers her so fondly, a total delight. 'My deepest condolences to you, and your family. I know the entire team send their best wishes, their thoughts, and their love. Monty xxx' The Applecross Inn Facebook also paid its own special tribute: 'Farewell to dear Bethany another fantastic member of our team who we sadly lost last Friday after a short illness, you were the 'belle of the ball' at Hogmanay......and indeed everywhere. 'Such a tragic loss of someone so perfect in every way, so polite, such beauty, humour, fun, music and studies. 'You were pure pleasure as an employee.....loved by every member of our team, so much devotion and dedication to all you did.' Miss Walker wanted to study midwifery and was due to head for Aberdeen University later this year. Advertisement Scores have also taken to social media to describe their ordeal as they battle the virus, with some declaring they have been left 'suicidal' during their battles with the virus. The rocketing number of flu cases has been put down to a surge in two aggressive subtypes attacking the population simultaneously. One includes the so-called 'Aussie flu', a strain of influenza A which triggered triple the number of expected cases in Australia during the country's winter. Experts fear the virulent H3N2 strain, which has now reached the UK, could prove as deadly to humanity as the Hong Kong flu in 1968, which killed one million people. The other is a strain of influenza B, called Yamagata and dubbed 'Japanese flu', which has been blamed for the majority of cases so far this winter. Its rapid spread has raised concerns because it is not covered in a vaccine given to the elderly. Currently, Scotland is reporting the highest number of GP consultations for flu in the UK - rising from 46.3 per 100,000 people to 107.2 per 100,000 people. This is more than double the amount in Northern Ireland (52.6) and almost triple that of Wales (38.9). In contrast, Englands rate is 37.3. Officials class an outbreak as reaching epidemic levels when flu-like symptoms being reported in GP consultations hit a certain rate. Each of the home nations has a different level, with England's being set at 109 cases per 100,000 people. In Scotland it is 419, Northern Ireland 142 and Wales 75. Between the last week of December, dubbed 51, and the first week of January, dubbed one, England saw a 77 per cent jump in flu symptoms. Using this percentage, MailOnline predicted that England will reach epidemic levels by week three - before the end of January. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all saw jumps of between 131 and 132 per cent in flu symptoms. These figures were used for their projections. Scotland and Northern Ireland will hit epidemic levels at the same time as England. Wales will reach its epidemic threshold by next week, if current trends continue. More than half of young people experience side effects from energy drinks, new research reveals. Some 55 percent of those aged between 12 and 24 years old suffer everything from vomiting and chest pains to even seizures from the drinks, despite most consuming less than the recommended one-to-two beverages a day, a Canadian study found today. As well as the drinks' alarmingly high caffeine levels, the researchers believe consuming them with alcohol or during exercise makes them even more dangerous, and urge for them to be banned for young children. Earlier this month, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver spoke about his campaign to ban the sale of 'addictive' energy drinks to children amid claims teachers are forced to change their lesson plans as youngsters are unable to concentrate while suffering 'highs' after drink consumption. Energy drinks can contain around 160mg of caffeine, despite 105mg being the safe daily limit for 11 year olds. Professor Steven Lipshultz, pediatric cardiologist at the Childrens Hospital of Michigan in Detroit previously said a 10-year-old could get caffeine poisoning after consuming 80mg of caffeine, while a 12-year-old may suffer symptoms, including hallucinations and convulsions, after 100mg. Sales of energy drinks, such as Red Bull and Monster, in the UK increased by 185 per cent between 2006 and 2015, making the market worth more than 2 billion. More than half of young people experience side effects from energy drinks, such as Red Bull CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 12 ARE GUZZLING ENERGY DRINKS SO THEY CAN STAY UP LATE TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES Children as young as 12 are guzzling energy drinks to help them stay up late and play video games, experts warned in October last year. Young people are attracted to such drinks due to their promises of enhanced energy, as well as their low cost and ready availability, a study reveals. Previous research has linked energy drinks, such as Red Bull, to obesity, heart abnormalities and even sudden death due to their high-sugar and caffeine content. Excessive caffeine causes cells to release calcium, which negatively influences heart rates, putting people at risk of fatal attacks. Most energy-drink consumers are unaware of the products' main ingredients, health implications or appropriate serving sizes, the current study adds. Study author Dr Jacinta Francis from the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth, said: 'Drinking energy drinks to stay alert while playing video games was a common theme that emerged through all of the age groups. 'I think for the young gamers it would be wise to ban energy drinks.' Advertisement 'Vast majority' consume less than recommended safe levels The researchers from, the University of Waterloo in Ontario, asked 2,055 young people about their consumption of energy drinks. Results reveal 24.7 percent of youngsters have experienced a fast heart rate, while 24.1 percent have struggled to sleep, due to energy drink consumption. Some 18.3 percent have suffered headaches due to the drinks, while 5.1 percent report having experienced nausea, vomiting or diarrhea. A further five percent have sought medical attention due to their symptoms and 3.6 percent report experiencing chest pains. Alarmingly, 0.2 percent have even suffered seizures after drinking the beverages. Of those who have suffered symptoms, the 'vast majority' consumed less than the recommended one-to-two energy drinks a day. The findings were published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Consuming energy drinks with alcohol may make them worse The researchers believe caffeine alone may not be responsible for energy drinks' negative health effects. Lead author Professor David Hammond said: 'Most risk assessments to date have used coffee as a reference for estimating the health effects of energy drinks, however, it is clear these products pose a greater health risk. 'The health effects from energy [drinks] could be due to different ingredients than coffee, or the ways in which they are consumed, including with alcohol or during physical activity.' Some 55 percent of those aged 12 to 24 suffer vomiting, chest pains and seizures (stock) Waitrose banned sales to children The researchers add more needs to be done to restrict children from being able to purchase energy drinks. Professor Hammond said: 'At the moment, there are no restrictions on children purchasing energy drinks, and they are marketed at the point-of-sale in grocery stores, as well as advertising that targets children.' Earlier this month, Waitrose announced it is voluntarily banning the sale of energy drinks to children. This will be introduced from March 5. Simon Moore, the supermarket's director of technical and corporate social responsibility, said: 'As a responsible retailer we want to sell these products in line with the labeling guidance. 'These drinks carry advice stating that they are not recommended for children, so we're choosing to proactively act on that guidance, particularly given the widespread concerns which have been raised about these drinks when consumed by under 16s.' A nurse at England's worst performing A&E department was caught looking at beach holidays on her work computer by a furious patient, who claims she was waiting more than five hours to be seen. NHS bosses have confirmed the incident took place and have said the unnamed nurse was being 'managed accordingly'. The woman was snapped scrolling through pictures of sunny beach resorts while on the phone. The image was taken at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, was shared on a community Facebook page. It comes amid record pressure on the overstretched NHS, with A&E waiting times, ambulance delays and bed occupancies rising to record levels. The woman was snapped scrolling through pictures of sunny beach resorts while on the phone The picture covertly taken at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, was shared on a community Facebook page The nurse was slated online in the anonymous post shared by Spotted in Harlow. The post read said: 'Been in A&E for five hours... Meanwhile the nurse is booking her holidays.' But dozens of people jumped to her defence commenting on the post: 'With the hours they do, it might be the only chance she gets. 'They work hard, they deserve a break.' This comes after the hospital's A&E department recorded the worst waiting times in England in December. It comes after NHS England announced two weeks ago all non-urgent operations would be cancelled until February. The controversial move was slammed by experts, but was considered as the only way to cope with the mounting pressure placed on the health service. The NHS crisis is now the forefront of a political row over funding, with furious medics arguing this entire situation was avoidable with extra money. Prime Minister Theresa May and Health and Social Care Secretary Jeremy Hunt have been forced to publically apologise amid the crisis. Bosses have also warned the health service is in the midst of a 'watershed moment' because it cannot currently deliver required levels of care. A&E staff have spoke of their grave concerns of the 'battlefield' conditions they have faced this winter, revealing they are 'ashamed' over the 'substandard care'. Damning figures released on Thursday highlighted how poor the NHS is performing this winter, with A&E waiting times hitting their highest on record. New data from NHS England shows the health service is operating at a poorer level than at the same point in 2016, which was branded a 'humanitarian crisis' PM WARNED PATIENTS ARE 'DYING PREMATURELY' IN CORRIDORS, LEAKED LETTER REVEALS Furious A&E chiefs have warned Prime Minister Theresa May that patients are 'dying prematurely' in hospital corridors. A leaked letter, written by the bosses of 60 casualty units, reveals there are 'serious concerns' about patient safety amid the NHS' worst winter on record. Chiefs warned just 45 per cent of patients had been seen within four hours in some A&E units during last week - well below recommended levels. The strongly-worded letter also revealed how levels were 'never higher than 75 per cent'. The Government time-target is 95 per cent. Furious A&E chiefs have warned Prime Minister Theresa May that patients are 'dying prematurely' in hospital corridors Their revelation, seen by HSJ, mirrors figures released by NHS England today which showed waiting times have reached their worst on record. Fears have been raised that the problems will only worsen, amid the rapid spread of flu which some expect to be the worst outbreak in 50 years. Names on the scathing letter, dated yesterday, included some of the bosses of the biggest and busiest casualty units across the country. They included: Cambridge University Hospitals, Guys and St Thomas Hospital, Kings College Hospital and Central Manchester University Hospitals. They warned the NHS is 'chronically underfunded' and not prepared for the winter onslaught, now considered to be the worst recorded in recent history. Advertisement Just 85.1 per cent of patients were seen within the four-hour time target set by Government - equaling last January's record low - which was branded a 'humanitarian crisis' by the Red Cross. And more than 300,000 patients were forced to wait for at least four hours in all A&E units - the highest amount since figures began in 2010. Ambulance delays have also risen to record proportions, with more than 5,000 patients left stuck in the back of the vehicles waiting to be transferred to A&E. While bed occupancy levels have hit their worst point yet this winter, with 24 trusts declaring they had no free beds at some point last week, the figures showed. The 'disappointing' figures have been escalating rapidly in the past few week, and are only expected to get worse by the end of the month. Furious A&E chiefs wrote to Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this week to inform her that patients are 'dying prematurely' in hospital corridors. A leaked letter, written by the bosses of 60 casualty units, revealed there are 'serious concerns' about patient safety amid the ongoing crisis. Chiefs warned just 45 per cent of patients had been seen within four hours in some A&E units during last week - well below recommended levels. Names on the scathing letter included some of the bosses of the biggest and busiest casualty units across the country. And thousands of patients are being urged to get on ferries and the Eurostar to visit a hospital in Calais as the worst winter ever tightens its grip on the NHS. Calais Hospital, ran in partnership with health chiefs in south Kent, has launched a campaign encouraging patients to make the trip across the Channel for 'fast care' The data shows that over 5,000 extra beds were brought into service to cope with demand A four-year-old boy with a genetic disorder has been killed by the flu and now his older brother is in the hospital with the same virus. Jonah Rieben died on January 6 just hours after first showing symptoms, making him the first child to die from the flu in Ohio this season. The boy who loved to play with his 16 adoptive siblings was born with Noonan syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes heart defects, developmental delays and short stature, and doctors are still investigating if his condition contributed to his death. Now his parents who have spent years caring for children with rare, debilitating disorders are reeling as they fight such a common virus as the flu. Jonah's older brother, who also suffers from a disorder, is in the hospital with a severe case of the flu that has been sweeping the US this season, killing at least 20 children and 85 adults. Scroll down for video Jonah Rieben, four, became the first child to die from the flu in Ohio on January 6 His parents Valerie and Richard Rieben had less than a year with Jonah after adopting him from Bulgaria in February 2017 Jonah was the first of two children to die in Ohio from the flu. The second reported child death was of a one-year-old boy from Lucas County. He died within hours of being brought to Dayton Children's Hospital after showing flu-like symptoms. Jonah had spent less than a year with his new family after being born in Bulgaria and adopted by Valerie and Richard Rieben in February 2017. He was the youngest of 17 children, 14 of who were adopted from Bulgaria, Ukraine and Uzbekistan and suffer from disorders. The boy who loved music, car rides and chocolate smoothies was described in his obituary as 'the happiest when he was in the middle of the chaos and craziness of his large and loving family.' Now his older brother Nikolai, who was also adopted and has a medical disorder, is in the hospital with flu-like symptoms. 'At this point he is stable and doing very well,' Valerie told Dayton Daily News. Doctors are still investigating if Jonah's genetic disease contributed to his death. He suffered from Noonan disorder, a genetic condition that causes heart defects and developmental delays. A complete report by the medical examiner will take about six months to determine the exact cause of his death. Typically someone would show signs of the flu before it gets to the point of death, leading experts to believe that Jonah's condition could have made an impact. His father Richard said: 'You know, you belong to the "special needs parents" group. You belong to the "big family" group. The group I didn't think I was ready to join was the group that has lost a young child.' Jonah was the youngest of 17 children (pictured together at Christmas 2017), 14 of whom were adopted and have medical conditions He showed flu-like symptoms just hours before being rushed to Dayton Children's Hospital where he died. He had a genetic disorder that is thought to have contributed to his death Jonah's death comes as this season's massive flu outbreak is devastating the US. This season the flu has killed at least 20 children and more than 85 adults in the US, according to the CDC. The rate of hospitalizations almost doubled in a week, leaving hospitals overcrowded, understaffed and turning some patients away. Experts warn that infants and elderly people are the most vulnerable. The flu is now widespread in more than 46 states as the outbreak reaches his peak, making it one of the worse flu seasons in years. It is especially dangerous because while most people suffering from the flu experience fever, chills, muscle aches, cough, congestion, runny nose, headaches and fatigue, not all those infected show symptoms. Dr Angela Tonozzi director of Infectious Disease and Prevention at Aurora Health Care told Daily Mail Online that showing no symptoms is called the flu subclinical disease. She said: 'Subclinical disease is known as carrier status because you have the virus and are able to share those germs without symptoms. 'You can have the flu but your body fights it and you have no knowledge that you had the disease.' This is why healthcare professionals warn to wash your hands and avoid close contact with anyone, whether they show symptoms or not. In common with other newspapers an agency report on 21 December said that Richard Benyon MP was caught texting at the wheel despite having been warned not to by police. Mr Benyon has since asked us to clarify that, while he did commit the offence, it was not suggested in court that this followed any warning. To report an inaccuracy, please email corrections@dailymail.co.uk. To make a formal complaint under IPSO rules go to www.dailymail.co.uk/readerseditor. You can also write to Readers Editor, Daily Mail, Northcliffe House, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or contact IPSO directly at ipso.co.uk The chairman of housebuilder Persimmon insisted its 630 million bonus scheme was necessary to keep senior executives onside then quit just four months later over his failure to rein in their massive payouts. The developer has faced a barrage of criticism over the lucrative deal that will see around 150 managers handed vast sums of shares in one of the biggest pay days in British corporate history. Chief executive Jeff Fairburn, 51, has been labelled Mr 131m over his huge payout, while finance director Mike Killoran, 56, is in line for about 90 million making them the FTSE 100s best-paid bosses. It has emerged that as chairman Nicholas Wrigley presented Persimmons half-year results in August, he suggested the unprecedented bonuses were required to keep hold of senior executives. Jeff Fairburn: CEO of Persimmon has been labelled Mr 131m over his huge payout Flanked by Fairburn (pictured) and Killoran, he said: We need to make sure that all the key people are onside and fully committed. Wrigley, 62, also ruled out putting a cap on the payouts that were due through a long-term incentive plan (LTIP) that was agreed in 2012. We are very comfortable with the LTIP, he said. Any suggestions we might go back and introduce a retrospective cap to a contractual position with our top 150 people would be on a scale of shooting oneself in the foot, or perhaps a tad higher. Quite destructive. I make no apology for that. The bonus scheme was tied to Persimmons share price, which has rocketed as the firm made vast profits fuelled by the launch of the Governments Help To Buy initiative in 2013 to get first-time buyers on the housing ladder. But Wrigley and fellow director Jonathan Davie, who as head of the remuneration committee signed off the pay deal in 2012, quit last month as the row over the bonuses intensified. Nicholas and Jonathan recognise the 2012 LTIP could have included a cap, the company said at the time. In recognition of this omission, they have therefore tendered their resignations. Critics said it was ridiculous to claim that such large bonus payments were necessary to retain top staff. Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable branded the scale of the bonuses as obscene and added: These bonuses are absolutely and completely unjustified and a rather bad case of corporate greed. It is quite shocking. Stefan Stern, director of the High Pay Centre, said: The idea you have to pay people this much to keep them is a myth. Talk of a global war for talent, and the need to retain people because no one else can do the job, is massively overblown. The company has really struggled to justify this scheme. Persimmon is now facing a backlash from major investors over the terms of the bonus scheme. British Airways owner IAG has called on Heathrow to sell its high-speed rail service and focus on running the airport. The airline, which has been at loggerheads with Heathrow management over the high cost of building a third runway, now wants it to sell its Heathrow Express train line. IAG wants Heathrow to sell its Express train line Heathrow Express charges as much as 27 for a single ticket between the airport and London, but is facing a threat from Crossrail, which is due to start running rival services in May. Crossrails entrance into the rail market is expected to hike Heathrows infrastructure costs and could result in higher landing charges being imposed on airlines. Heathrow is revealing plans for its expansion on Wednesday which could see billions cut from the current price tag of 14 billion. A security company boss has accused Kevin Spacey of racism claiming the disgraced actor refused to shake hands with his predominantly black employees while on the set of House of Cards. Earl Blue, 51, the head of VIP Protective Services, was hired by Knight Takes King Productions to manage on-set security during season one filming of the Netflix series in 2012. He claims Spacey, who played lead character Frank Underwood in House of Cards, refused to acknowledge the black team members and even made racial slurs. Blue said a group of black security guards were watching the trailer for the show when he heard the actor tell his personal security manager: 'I don't want n***ers watching my trailer.' When Blue raised concerns with set managers about Spacey, who was referred to as 'The Powers That Be', he was told: 'That's just the way he is; we've got to keep him happy.' And despite producers allegedly telling VIP Protective Services - who have provided security services for HBO in the past - that they were pleased with their work, their $1.1 million contract was not renewed. Scroll down for video Disgraced actor Kevin Spacey, who played lead role Frank Underwood in Netflix's House of Cards, has been accused of being racists to black security staff on the set of the show Earl Blue, 51, (pictured right with his business partner William Spencer) says his company VIP Protective Services was hired by Knight Takes King Productions to manage security on the set of the show in 2012, but were not signed to work again after season one Breaking his four-year silence, dad-of-three Earl, who plans to sue Spacey, claims the fallout resulted in his business, which employs 40 guards, losing millions of dollars in revenue. One of his employees, supervisor Eric Lyles, 47, corroborated Blue's allegations and claimed Spacey also refused to shake his hand or acknowledge him. The pair fear dozens more will have suffered discrimination at the hands of the Hollywood star, who has separately been accused of sexual assault by more than a dozen men. Blue, from Annapolis, Maryland, is a married Navy veteran who served for 11 years before going into security. He said: 'I was a tremendous fan of the man but now I am disgusted by him. 'I lost faith that I am in the right job after the contract was terminated. I questioned myself for months. What could I have done differently? 'Then I came to the realization that I did everything I was supposed to do, I was just dealing with a racist man. 'I sat on it for four years because I believe in confidentiality but when it comes to the point where people are being harmed, enough is enough. 'I realized he was getting worse and worse.' Blue says he knew he 'might have a situation' with Spacey on the first day of filming in Baltimore when he and Lyles were introduced to the actor. Eric Lyles (left) another employee, also claimed Spacey refused to shake hands with staff and did not acknowledge them when they greeted him on set. Above some of the security team are pictured with Oprah at the wrap party for her HBO show The company was hired in April 2013 but Earl claims the contract was not renewed after the first season despite being told the production team was 'pleased' with their work VIP Protective Services previously provided security work for HBO He said: 'The locations manager wanted to introduce him to me and my supervisor for the company and then meet a police officer who was handling the police situation. 'So Spacey comes out of the trailer and the locations manager says, "Kevin, I just want to introduce you to the security team." He introduced me, the supervisor, and the policeman by name. 'Kevin is standing right next to me. He looks me up and down, looks at my supervisor up and down, and reaches across us to shake the hand of the police officer and then walks away. 'We are all standing there looking at each other like, "OK, that was awkward." 'From that point on we had a security officer posted outside of his trailer and my security force is predominantly African American. 'Every time he walked back he would look at this black officer but he wouldn't even speak. 'He never spoke to my security guards but he was talking to everyone else. He even talked to the location manager that tried to introduce us to start with. 'He talked to all the police officers, laughing and joking with them,' Blue said. Blue's employee Lyles, a supervisor at VIP Protective Services who has worked in the industry for 17 years, also recalls the alleged incident. He said: 'I always meet the stars and see what they're like, what their likes and dislikes are. 'When I went to meet Mr Spacey to say hello to him, I went to extend my hand to him to shake his and he didn't want to shake my hand. The production company allegedly told Blue they wanted to go 'in a different direction' after they had a meeting with Spacey. Blue (pictured right with business partner William Spencer) claims that since his contract ended his business has been 'operating at a loss' 'I have never had that problem before.' As company boss, Blue says he would usually position himself next to the main talent, so he was stationed around 15 to 20 feet from Spacey's trailer. He claims that every time the actor left to go on set, he would lock the door behind him and start to walk away before turning around and checking the door a second time. Blue, who has a degree in Digital Media Forensics from John Hopkins University, said: 'He would look at me, walk back to his trailer and check to make sure the door was locked. 'Over the course of that day I started laughing at him. He did it every single time he left his trailer - at least a dozen times. 'He obviously had some uneasiness about me being near the trailer. I would smile at him and even speak, say "good morning" or "good afternoon." But he would never reply. 'I have experienced this before. I have been black my whole life and I can tell when a person is not looking at me as a person but they are looking at me as a color. 'They are coming to a conclusion about what type of person I am. 'But I'm there to do a job and it doesn't matter if you speak to me, I'm going to do that job. So we kept filming.' Determined to do a good job, Blue claims he regularly changed the guard who was positioned outside Spacey's trailer - but the actor found other things to complain about. Blue says Spacey raised various concerns with his personal security outfit, who acted as a go-between the actor and VIP Protective Services. The security guard who was stationed 15-20 ft from Spacey's trailer said the actor would often 'lock the door behind him' any time he left. Above Spacey is pictured with his co-star Mahershala Ali Reg E. Cathey, played Freddy Hayes, a lowly dishwasher in House Cards. He later became Spacey's character's closest friend 'He started nit-picking about the uniforms, so we changed the uniforms,' he said. 'Then he would have his security come over and ask about a guard: 'Why is that guard over there and not over here?' 'I spoke to the production manager and it was always the same thing; "That's just the way he is, we've got to make him happy." When the contract came to an end in April 2013, Blue says he was called into a meeting with the location manager, business partner, and producer Iain Paterson. He claims the representatives of Knight Takes King told him they were 'really pleased' with VIP Protective Services' handling of season one and that there were 'no complaints.' 'There was no theft or damage and they were pleased as punch with the work we had done,' Blue said. But Blue says that after separate meeting between production company staff, where Kevin Spacey was present via a phone link, their contract was terminated. He says a production manager later told him Spacey had announced over speaker that 'he did not want n***ers on his set anymore.' He said: 'In the film industry we are a close knit group of people. One of the people called me and told me what Spacey had said. 'We were blown away. He was blown away. 'Two days later I got a call from Iain (Paterson). He was on the phone upset. He said Earl, "I have some bad news. Unfortunately we are going to have to part ways and not renew the contract." 'I said, "What?" He said, "Unfortunately the contract is being terminated. We need to go in a different direction." 'In my contract there is a clause for remediation, so we are supposed to sit down and talk about it but he said, "Unfortunately Earl it is the powers that be." 'They cut us a check for the next two weeks even though we didn't work. 'I have been in the industry for almost 20 years. I worked on Oscar-nominated movies. My most recent projects include Marvel and Oprah Winfrey. 'But my projects have been few and far between since then. I have got commercials but no real substantial work. 'Since I left that show I have been operating at a loss.' A former employee of Knight Takes King, who asked not to be named, said he has 'no particular recollection' of Spacey behaving in a racist manner towards security staff. However, he said Spacey was a 'real a**hole' who was 'temperamental' on set and would 'get frustrated' if things didn't go his way. He said the reason Earl's contract was severed was 'never explained,' adding: 'My understanding was Kevin Spacey wanted the company fired and wanted a new deal. 'It was never explained to me. It was just, "This is what's going on.'' Producer Iain Paterson, who went on to work on Stranger Things, declined to discuss the allegations but said VIP Protective Services's work was found to be 'unsatisfactory'. He added: 'I have no idea about any of this. I can't help you.' Netflix declined to comment and directed the inquiry to Media Rights Capital, who handle production for the show. MRC also refused to comment. Attempts were made to reach Kevin Spacey or a representative for the actor for comment. A source claimed: 'VIP Protective Services had the set security contract for season one, when break-ins occurred in both the make-up trailer and Kevin Spacey's trailer. 'The contract for set security was then awarded to Master Security for Season 2-6, yet VIP has continued to bid each year.' Blue denied the claim and said: 'There were no break-ins. I pride myself on our service and integrity so to hear these lies has struck a cord. No reason was given for terminating the contract.' Bus suspect: Margarito Vargas-Rosas, 33, is accused of threatening to kill other passengers on board a Greyhound bus from Milwaukee to Chicago on Friday An undocumented man traveling aboard a Greyhound bus from Milwaukee to Chicago on Friday sparked a dramatic police chase after hinting that he was armed with a gun and allegedly threatening to kill other passengers. None of the 37 people on the bus were injured and the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Margarito Vargas-Rosas, of Chicago, was taken into custody after authorities, using spike strips to flatten the tires of the bus, forced the vehicle to stop on Interstate 94 near the Illinois community of Wadsworth. Authorities said they began chasing the bus shortly before 10pm on Friday after getting a call from someone who was on board reporting the threat. Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said Vargas-Rosas was charged with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct. The suspect, who is said to be in the US illegally and has been repeatedly deported, is being held at the Lake County jail in Illinois. Scroll down for video Dramatic scene: Police stopped the bus using spike strips following a 17-mile chase (pictured) It was not until police flattened the tires on the bus that the driver realized he was being pursued by dozens of cops Vargas-Rosas also made threats of violence against the arresting officers as well as the investigators at the police station, Schmaling said. One passenger, Patrick Dodd, told the Chicago Tribune that the incident began unfolding when the man who said he had a gun started to threaten passengers riding in the back of the bus after getting into a dispute with another traveler. Deported: Vargas-Rosas has been deported five times to his native Mexico, including in 2012, but he currently lives in Chicago Dodd said Vargas-Rosas was 'acting crazy' and pacing the aisle back and forth. At one point, he pulled something out of his pants that Dodd believed may have been a weapon. The sheriff stated Saturday that no gun was found on the suspect, but police planned to sweep the bus for a weapon. Dodd and other passengers were left shaken by the ordeal and wondering why it took so long for the bus driver to stop after police began their pursuit. He said passengers in the back of him were yelling at the driver to pull over. 'He didn't stop after the first spike strip,' Dodd said. Terrance Williams, of New Jersey, was in the middle of the bus and initially thought police were escorting the bus, not realizing what was happening in the back. But he too was confused about why it took so long for the driver to stop. 'The law is you see emergency lights you pull over,' Williams said. '[The police] were in front of us, they were in back of us.' Witness account: A passenger on board the Greyhound bus said Vargas-Rosas was acting 'crazy' and pacing up and down the aisle while making threats to kill people The 33-year-old suspect got into an argument with another passenger on the bus while traveling from Milwaukee to Chicago Sheriff Schmaling said the bus driver told authorities that he didn't stop the bus because he thought the squad cars were following another vehicle, or that it was a training exercise. Dozens of officers were involved in the pursuit. When the bus finally screeched to a halt following a 17-mile chase, police ordered Vargas-Rosas off of the Greyhound at gunpoint and took him into custody. Officials told Fox News Vargas-Rosas was deported to his native Mexico in 2012. His record includes a total of five previous deportations and a DUI arrest. The 33-year-old lives in Chicago but works at a restaurant in Milwaukee. Vargas-Rosas appeared in court on Sunday, at which time a judge denied bond and scheduled an extradition hearing for Wednesday. A top US official on Sunday defended government early-warning systems after a false missile alert terrified Hawaii, in what a congresswoman called an epic failure that emphasized the need for talks with North Korea. The Pacific archipelago was already on edge over fears of a North Korean attack when the phones of residents and tourists blared the alert just after 8:00 am (1800 GMT) on Saturday. Emergency management officials later admitted 'the wrong button was pushed' during a shift change. Honolulu residents were terrified by a false alert about an incoming ballistic missile on Saturday morning But it took them nearly 40 minutes to issue a corrected message. Hawaii's governor said there was no automatic way to cancel the false alarm, meaning it had to be done manually. Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii issued her own advisory of the false alarm much earlier after directly checking with civil defense officials, she told ABC television's 'This Week.' 'It's an epic failure of leadership,' said Gabbard. 'It was unacceptable that this went out in the first place, but the fact that it took so long for them to put out that second message, to calm people, to allay their fears that this was a mistake, a false alarm is something that has to be fixed, corrected with people held accountable.' The alert, which read 'BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL,' sent people rushing for safety, whether in a bathtub, a basement, a manhole or cowering under mattresses. The Pacific archipelago was already on edge over fears of a North Korean attack when the phones of residents and tourists blared the alert just after 8:00 am 'False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies,' said Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, which is responsible for Emergency Alert System procedures and is investigating what happened. 'It appears that the government of Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place to prevent the transmission of a false alert,' Pai said in a statement. The erroneous message came after months of soaring tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, which claimed it had successfully tested ballistic missiles that could deliver atomic warheads to the United States, including the Hawaiian islands popular with tourists. Several residents were forced to take precautionary measures and shelter in the meantime Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urged people 'not to draw the wrong conclusion' from the Hawaii incident. 'I would hate for anybody not to abide by alert warnings coming from government systems,' she said on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'They can trust government systems, we test them every day. This was a very unfortunate mistake, but these alerts are vital; seconds and minutes can save lives.' - Risk of accidental war - She said her department is working with state and local authorities 'to make sure it doesn't happen again.' Vern Miyagi, administrator of Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency, has acknowledged that 'we made a mistake,' for which he apologized. He said a rule has already been put in place ordering that two people be present before the button is pushed to issue an alert. A cancellation message 'template' will also be created to avoid a delay. 'What happened today was totally unacceptable,' Hawaii Governor David Ige said. The false ballistic missile warning sent Hawaii into panic for nearly an hour until emergency officials confirmed it was a false alarm The false alarm highlighted a broader issue -- the risk of accidental nuclear war, said Gabbard, a Democrat and Iraq War veteran. 'We have got to get to the underlying issue here of, why are the people of Hawaii and this country facing a nuclear threat coming from North Korea today? And what is this president doing urgently to eliminate that threat?' she said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'I have been calling on President Trump to directly negotiate with North Korea.' President Donald Trump recently said that, under the right circumstances, he would be willing to speak directly with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, with whom he has traded sharp words over Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests. The White House said Trump was briefed about the Hawaii incident, but called the alert 'purely a state exercise.' Sri Lanka's president has reinstated a 37-year-long ban on women buying alcohol - just days after the restriction was lifted by his finance minister. Maithripala Sirisena said he had ordered Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to revoke his decision to overturn the 1979 law prohibiting the sale of all alcohol to women. 'From tomorrow, the minister's order will be rescinded,' Sirisena's office said in a statement, which gave no explanation for the sudden change of direction. Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena (pictured) ordered his finance minister to revoke his decision to overturn the 1979 law prohibiting the sale of any type of alcohol to women The reversal comes after a finance ministry official said Samaraweera had revoked the 39-year-old law in an effort to strike sexist bills from the statute books. 'The idea was to restore gender neutrality,' ministry spokesman Ali Hassen said of the decision Wednesday to roll back the ban. The finance minster said strict curbs on Sri Lanka's licensed liquor manufacturers only encourage a black market for spirits, and deprive the state of much-needed revenue. But last week's decision to relax laws on alcohol provoked a backlash in some quarters of the majority-Buddhist nation of 21 million people. The National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection had accused the finance minister of encouraging drinking, and had urged Sirisena to intervene and restore the restrictions. Under further new measures passed by Samaraweera, bars and pubs can remain open longer, and a ban on women working in bars, distilleries and breweries was lifted. But Finance Minster Mangala Samaraweera said restrictions only encourage a black market for spirits, and deprive the state of much-needed revenue But Sirisena's office also moved to restrict these new rules, saying the president was reducing the time period bars could be open. It was not clear from Sirisena's statement yesterday if the decision to allow women to work in the alcohol industry had also been reversed. The ban on women buying liquor was originally imposed in 1979 to appease the conservative Buddhist hierarchy of the time. Liquor vendors in Sri Lanka are also forbidden to sell spirits to police or members of the armed forces in uniform. Sri Lanka unveiled steep tax rises on hard liquor in its November budget but greatly reduced tariffs on wine and beer. Charlie Dunne, 18, was on his way to a night out when he picked up the white creme egg One lucky teenager has scooped up a rare white Creme Egg and a hefty cash prize while he's still studying. Charlie Dunne, 18, from Aylesbury was on the way to a night out in Oxford with his friends when he stopped the taxi to nip into a a nearby co-op to pick up some sweet treats for the journey. The student, who has a weekend job working at Tesco, was over the moon to discover that the chocolate treat was one of Cadbury's winning Creme Eggs, meaning he'd scooped up 200 and a rare taste of white chocolate treat. Speaking to the MailOnline, Charlie said he was hoping to save the money or 'put it towards a party holiday' such as Magaluf in Majorca or Ayia Napa in Cyprus in the summer before he starts University. 'It really made my night out' Charlie said. 'It meant I had a better, and more expensive, night! I spent about 100 more than I usually would.' Charlie hopes to go to Birmingham City University and study for a BA in Horology - the craft of making watches, but for now is enjoying his final year of a-levels. The teenager found the creme egg on Friday night but has not yet claimed the prize as Cadbury's customer services is closed over the weekend. Charlie snapped a picture in the back of a taxi with the Creme Egg on his way to a night out in Oxford Charlie ate the egg straight away after snapping a picture of it. 'I was pretty tipsy and didn't think to savour it' he admitted. 'It was delicious, much nicer than an normal creme egg, I'd buy it way more often if it was sold regularly.' 'I'd seen the MailOnline article about the special creme eggs so I knew they were out there, but it was a one in a million chance so I didn't ever expect to find one - I know there's very few of them' he added. Earlier this week a Luton nursery manager became the first person to unwrap one of Cadbury's sought-after white Creme Eggs. Natasha Bream, 30, purchased three Creme Eggs while on her lunch break from a Tesco Express in the town and scooped up 1,000 in prize money. She told MailOnline she was: 'Very excited and a little shocked. It was quite bizarre as we had just been talking about it at work so we knew what it meant.' Luton nursery manager Natasha Bream (left) was shocked to unwrap one of Cadbury's coveted white Creme Eggs, which is worth 1,000. Student Charlie Dunne (right) scooped up 200 prize after being a Creme Egg in Ayslebury While the white chocolate goodies appear to be identical on the outside to the classic milk chocolate goods, eagle-eyed chocolate fans have discovered a sneaky way to find out if they've got a special edition white chocolate Creme Egg, without even taking off the wrapper. Lucky buyers could be in with a chance of winning up to 2,000 and, thanks to a sneaky find, can now tell if they've got the special egg by just looking at the ingredients list. The list, on the back of every Creme Egg, usually includes milk chocolate as an ingredient. The limited edition goodies were revealed by Cadbury's last week with 350 to 400 white chocolate eggs hidden in normal Creme Egg wrappers However, the special version replaces the milk chocolate with white chocolate. The news of the trick will be a relief to supermarkets and shoppers all over the country after Creme Eggs everywhere were hit by eager hunters. Shoppers took to Twitter to share photos of Creme Eggs that had been opened and then put back in the hunt for the elusive white eggs. The special promotion, which delighted fans, is reminiscent of Willy Wonka and his five golden tickets hidden in chocolate bars in the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate factory. There are 500 million Creme Eggs produced a year and about 333 million of those are sold in the UK, meaning shoppers will have about a 1 in 850,000 chance of winning a prize. Shoppers from all over the country have been sharing pictures online of apparently tampered with Cadbury Creme Eggs Shoppers across the country have shared pictures of the Creme Eggs on social media, saying people are unwrapping sweets in the store in the hope of winning a white chocolate treat Paul Lang said he initially thought there was a production problem with the Creme Eggs, but later realised it was due to people searching for the 2000 prize A gang including a Home Office worker masterminded a conspiracy to allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country, a court has heard. Shamsu Iqbal was allegedly the lynchpin of the group that used his trusted Home Office position to falsify documents with investigators identifying 437 potential cases over five years. The 61-year-old changed the records of migrants who had permission to stay in the UK, giving their identities to people who were in Britain illegally, jurors heard. Arriving at court: Shamsu Iqbal (left) and his co-accused, lawyer Mohammed Hussain. Iqbal was allegedly the lynchpin of the group that used his trusted Home Office position to falsify documents with investigators identifying 437 potential cases over five years Iqbals co-accused lawyers Sheikh Muhammad Usman, 45, Mohammad Khawar Aftab Hussain, 49, and Mohammad Ibrahim Ali, 47 would then allegedly contact the Home Office to straighten out the status of impostors who had taken on another identity. Alexandra Felix, prosecuting, told Croydon Crown Court: The result would be the impostor would end up with documents in their own names which enable them to be in the UK should they ever be challenged when they were not properly entitled to be here. This case is about these defendants engaging in conduct as part of an agreement which enables people who are not entitled to be in the UK to stay in the UK. Mr Iqbal is the lynchpin. It is his ability to access Home Office records that really enabled it. The court heard Iqbal had a secure log-on to a Home Office system known as the Case Information Database, which holds details of applications to remain in the UK. Investigators found he had been looking at data he should not have been looking at while allegedly changing details and issuing documents that could allow people in Britain illegally to remain. Jurors were told one man, Azad Passa, came to Britain as a child in 1989 before being granted citizenship in 2005. It is alleged his Home Office record was manipulated to submit a fake request for a Biometric Residence Permit identity card so that it could then be issued to another man, Gufranur Rahaman, who was in the UK on a time-limited student visa. The court was told that, in the fake application, the address given to the Home Office for Mr Passa was linked to Usman, who represented Mr Rahaman. Miss Felix said: Mr Usman was acting for and assisting in facilitating Mr Rahaman remaining in the UK, disguising himself as Mr Passa. This was not coincidence or a mistake. These were deliberate acts. Iqbal and Usman, clearly by their actions, were engaged with Rahaman to pass him off as Mr Passa. They wanted to legitimise and regularise him to enable him to stay in the UK when he was not entitled to do so. The court was also told of Ghanaian national Kofi Norman, who had entered the UK in 1996 and was granted indefinite leave to remain. It is claimed that, in March 2014, Iqbal logged that Mr Norman had called the Home Office to request a Biometric Residence Permit. Sheikh Muhammad Usman (left), 45, and Mohammad Ibrahim Ali, 47, arrive at Croydon Crown Court accused of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration However, Mr Norman had been jailed for five years for robbery in 2000 and was liable for deportation. Miss Felix told the court the plot, also allegedly involving Hussain, was to allow another man, Nurul Islam, to remain in the country when he was not entitled to do so. She told the court: The Crown says that what we have here demonstrates that Iqbal, Hussain and the impostor were heavily involved in claiming the identity of Kofi Norman. The court heard that by February 2016, Home Office investigators had identified 437 potential cases, but these were narrowed down to more than 20 for the ten-week trial, which opened on Thursday, because there was not time to investigate them all. Iqbal, an administrator working for the asylum workload and administration team, was suspended in May 2015 and sacked in October. Iqbal, Usman, Hussain and Ali had each others numbers saved on their mobile phones and data shows they corresponded with one another. Miss Felix said money went in and out of an account of a south London restaurant in which Iqbal had a business interest, even though the restaurant was shut at the time. Iqbal, from Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, Usman, from Wandsworth, south London, Hussain from Colliers Wood, south-west London, and Ali, from Ilford, Essex, all deny charges of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. Ali also faces a count of unlawful possession of two British and 11 Bangladeshi passports relating to someone else, which he also denies. The trial continues. Advertisement A casino shuttle boat caught fire on Sunday in a waterway off the west coast of Florida, leaving one person reportedly missing. Fifty people were on board the Sun Cruz Casino boat shuttle when the fire erupted as it sailed along Port Richey Canal, according to WFLA-TV. Forty-nine of the passengers were able to make it to shore, where they were treated by emergency crews. Fifteen of the rescued passengers needed to be taken to the hospital, according to WFTS-TV. The Pasco County Fire Department said the injuries sustained were minor and not life threatening. A casino shuttle boat caught fire on Sunday in a waterway off the west coast of Florida, leaving one person reportedly missing Fifty people were on board the Sun Cruz Casino boat shuttle when the fire erupted as it sailed along Port Richey Canal Investigators said that at one point there were more than 40 people in the water after the boat had caught fire Authorities are still searching for the missing passenger. The initial distress call reporting a fire was made at 4:17pm Passengers evacuated to hospital were experiencing smoke inhalation and chest tightening, according to ABC News. Authorities are still searching for the missing passenger. The initial distress call reporting a fire was made at 4:17pm, according to WTSP-TV. Pasco County Sheriff's Office told CBS News that the fire took place as the boat was 100 feet offshore. Investigators said that at one point there were more than 40 people in the water after the boat had caught fire. All of the passengers in the water were pulled out and treated by emergency crews. Pasco County Sheriff's Office told CBS News that the fire took place as the boat was 100 yards offshore. Investigators said that at one point there were more than 40 people in the water after the boat had caught fire. All of the passengers in the water were pulled out and treated by emergency crews. The fire erupted on one of the coldest days of the year in the Tampa area. Temperatures in the afternoon fell to as low as 43 degrees. The temperature of the water at the time was about 59 degrees - which is cold enough to cause hypothermia if a human being stayed in the water long enough. The fire continued to devour the boat hours after it initially erupted. Temperatures in the afternoon fell to as low as 43 degrees. The temperature of the water at the time was about 59 degrees - which is cold enough to cause hypothermia if a human being stayed in the water long enough. The image above shows an aerial shot of the boat on fire Fire officials said that the survivors were fortunate the blaze broke out when the shuttle boat was so close to shore The shuttle boat takes gamblers three miles offshore, where a casino boat floats in international waters SunCruz Casinos is a privately owned company that operates boats that sail at least three miles off shore in order to allow gamblers to legally play while avoiding federal and state laws against gaming After the boat caught fire, the captain beached it about 100 feet from the shore. The fire department said that because the water wasn't deep, rescue workers were able to get to the victims much quicker. Some passengers were also able to swim to shore safely. The shuttle boat takes gamblers three miles offshore, where a casino boat floats in international waters. Fire officials said that the survivors were fortunate the blaze broke out when the shuttle boat was so close to shore. Once the fire is extinguished, officials will begin an investigation to determine the cause. A family of four have died in their beds after a fire swept through their house in the middle of the night. Parents Jamie I. Franks, 35, and Robyn A. Franks, 36, along with Brody West, 9, and Joise Franks, 3, perished in the fire early Sunday in rural Savannah, Tennessee. Around 1.20am, a neighbor spotted flames roaring from the single story home and called 911, Hardin County Fire Chief Melvin Martin told WOPC. Fire crews rushed to the scene within 10 minutes of the call, but found the house engulfed in flames and were unable to make entry. Scroll down for video Brody West, 9, and Joise Franks, 3, (together left) perished in the house fire early Sunday alongside parents Jamie I. Franks, 35, and Robyn A. Franks, 36 (together right) Around 1.20am, a neighbor spotted flames roaring from the single story home and called 911, Hardin County Fire Chief Melvin Martin said Jamie Franks is seen with his four children. The older son and daughter (seen with faces obscured) survived because they were staying with their mother at the time of the fire After the fire was extinguished, the bodies of the family were all found in their beds, fire officials said. Robyn Franks worked as a waitress, according to her Facebook profile. Jamie Franks suffered from nerve injuries sustained in a logging accident several years ago, but worked three jobs to support his family, a neighbor told the local press. He had two other children, a young son and daughter, who were spared because they were staying with their mother at the time of the fire. The tragedy sparked an outpouring of grief from friends and family in the community. 'Literally heartbroken right now,' wrote friend Allie Kirkland on Facebook. 'Prayers for Robyn's family. She was such an amazing person who cared for everyone, especially her family.' Josie and Brody are seen together in a family photo. The tragedy sparked an outpouring of grief from friends and family in the community The Franks' family home is seen in the file photo. A neighbor noticed the flames and called 911, but the home was engulfed with flames when fire crews arrived, making rescue impossible Family members have established a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral arrangements. The cause of the blaze has not been determined, and it is unknown whether there were working smoke detectors in the home, Chief Martin said. Investigators with the States Fire Marshals Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are looking into the cause of the fire. 'This is every firefighter's worst fear, having people inside a burning residence and not being able to do anything to save them,' the Hardin County Fire Department said in a statement. 'Please remember the families in this terrible tragedy as well as the Hardin County Firefighters that responded to the scene. Please make sure your smoke alarms work.' Visitors at the Pearl Harbor memorial were startled Saturday as they watched a documentary video of the 1941 attack when their phones went off during a statewide false alarm. Early that morning, the accidental emergency missile alert was issued that read: 'Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill.' Panic broke out in the auditorium while visitors were gathered to reflect on the Japanese military strike from 76 years ago - just weeks after the December 7 anniversary of the attack. One man inside the auditorium captured a video from the inside, and says visitors were frightened and utterly confused, according to Hawaii News Now. Panic broke out in the auditorium while visitors were gathered to reflect on the Japanese military strike from 76 years ago The USS Arizona sinking in a cloud of smoke after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II in Hawaii December 7, 1941 A false ballistic missile threat alert was sent to all cell phones in Hawaii on Saturday morning Luckily, within the hour, emergency personnel confirmed the alert had been sent in error from one of the management employees. Hawaii Gov. David Ige issued a statement hours later to apologize about the serious matter. 'I know firsthand that what happened today is totally unacceptable, and many in our community were deeply affected by this,' Ige announced in a news conference. 'I'm sorry for that pain and confusion that anyone might have experienced. I, too, am very angry and disappointed that this happened.' The false ballistic missile warning sent Hawaii into panic for nearly an hour until emergency officials confirmed it was a false alarm Several residents were forced to take precautionary measures and shelter in the meantime According to Hawaii News Now, dispatchers answered roughly '3,000 calls before the alert was canceled,' Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard said of the shock. Residents were forced to temporarily take shelter while flights were delayed and traffic stalled. 'It's totally unacceptable... there was anxiety across the state and it was terrifying. There was a lot of unnecessary pain and anxiety,' said U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. 'It's important to have accountability at the state level and the emergency management level in terms of what exactly what went wrong.' A beloved family dog has been beaten to death in a vicious attack before being hung outside on a fence. Kelly Morrow found her four-year-old pet staffy Rocko hanging from a fence at her home in Gatton, west of Brisbane on Friday night. Ms Morrow said her young children have been traumatised by the killing, The Chronicle reported. 'The kids loved him and are just devastated and keep asking where he is and why they can't go out and play with him,' she said. Kelly Morrow found her four-year-old pet staffy Rocko hanging from a fence at her home in Gatton, west of Brisbane on Friday night Ms Morrow said her young children have been traumatised by the killing Rocko - also known as 'Boof' - had been the family pet since he was eight weeks old. Ms Morrow took to Facebook in an effort to find the person responsible for the horrorific treatment of her pet. 'People are just pure scum.' she said. 'Some lowlife oxygen-thieving scumbag has beaten my beloved staffy and hung him on the fence dead... I need to find who did this.' She said only one of her neighbours was at home during the time the attack occurred, but they didn't hear or see anything. She believes Rocko was attacked with a star picket driver before being hung up on her fence. Her other young dog also had a mark on her head and is now afraid of people and reluctant to go outside (pictured with Rocko) The dog was alive about 7pm on Friday, but she made the gruesome discovery 30 minutes later when she went to feed him. 'On one side there were no marks at all. But on the other side it looked like he'd been beaten,' she said. Her other young dog also had a mark on her head and is now afraid of people and reluctant to go outside. Queensland Police are investigating the incident, while Rocko's body has been taken to an animal hospital. Advertisement Sydney Seaplanes has resumed operations a fortnight after the New Year's Eve accident which killed five passengers and the pilot, with the first flight expected to take off later this week. Aaron Shaw, the company's managing director, said there was 'never a perfect time to recommence flying after an incident of this nature' but getting back in the air was necessary due to the people and businesses that relied on its services. 'It's also what our late colleague Gareth Morgan, a passionate seaplane pilot for all of his adult life, would have wanted,' Mr Shaw said on Monday. A British family-of-five was killed along with Mr Morgan when the seaplane crashed into the Hawkesbury River at Jerusalem Bay, north of Sydney, on December 31. Scroll down for video Wreckage of the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver which crashed into the Hawkesbury River on December 31 is raised on January 4 Emma Bowden, 48, and her daughter Heather, 11, died in a horror seaplane crash in the Hawkesbury River, north of Sydney, on New Year's Eve One of the six killed on New Year's Eve was experienced 44-year-old Australian pilot Gareth Morgan (pictured) Sydney Seaplanes was confident there were no systemic failings in the de Havilland Beaver DHC-2 aircraft, the type that crashed on New Year's Eve. However, the company will not be flying its remaining DHC-2 planes before the release of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's (ATSB) preliminary factual report, which was expected within the next fortnight. Instead, flight services will commence with the company's Cessna C-208 Caravan aircraft, both of which are turbine-powered 2008 models. 'The forecast and strong southerly winds required us to cancel today's scenic flights, however our flight schedule will return to normal once flying conditions are favourable,' Mr Shaw said. Millionaire CEO Richard Cousins was on board the plane with his two sons, Edward, 23, and William, 25, fiancee Emma Bowden and her 11-year-old daughter Heather when it plunged into the river. Mr Morgan, 44, was also killed. Richard Cousins (right) - a millionaire CEO in charge of British catering company Compass - was on board the plane with his fiancee, her daughter and his two sons Mr Cousins' sons Edward, 23 (left) and William, 25 (right) were also killed when their seaplane plunged into the Hawkesbury River Ms Bowden (left) and her daughter Heather (right) were travelling with Mr Cousins and his sons on a festive family holiday The resumption of Sydney Seaplanes services will also allow bookings to return to normal at some of Sydney's premium restaurants, including Cottage Point Inn, Jonah's at Whale Beach and the Berowra Waters Inn. Those eateries are made easily accessible to diners by Sydney Seaplanes flights. The Cousins-Bowden group had dined at Cottage Point Inn on the day of the fatal crash and were flying back from the restaurant to Sydney's Rose Bay. Shane Oleson, owner of Cottage Point Inn, said the restaurant had worked closely with Sydney Seaplanes for the past 12 years. 'Sydney Seaplanes brings in a significant percentage of our clientele each year, particularly during the summer months,' Mr Oleson said. 'It's a partnership we value immensely.' Mr Shaw said the Cessna aircraft to go back into service this week would be manned by two pilots for some time. Mr Morgan (pictured), who was one of the six to be killed on New Year's Eve, was described as a 'very experienced pilot' 'Safety has and always will be our absolute priority and we continue to abide by relevant aviation safety guidelines,' Mr Shaw said. 'Our decision to increase pilot numbers exceeds any safety regulation but will give our customers additional peace of mind and allow them to concentrate on enjoying their flights around Sydney's beautiful harbour.' Sydney Seaplanes said it had always exceeded the best maintenance standards and employed highly skilled pilots. Until the New Years Eve tragedy the company had an unblemished record after 70,000 flights since commencing operations in 2006. Kevin Bowe, vice president of the Seaplane Pilots Association Australia, said: 'Sydney Seaplanes is an excellent operation with some of the most experienced pilots in the world.' 'The company has always exceeded best practice industry standards. The company is a crucial pillar of the seaplane community in Australia.' Six people including five Britons were killed in a seaplane crash north of Sydney on New Year's Eve; pictured is one of the bodies being removed by police and paramedics A New South Wales policewoman is seen holding a piece of debris from the seaplane which crashed in the Hawkesbury River Mr Cousins, the chief executive of British catering giant Compass, was due to retire in March having spent the past 11 years at the helm and transforming a business on its knees to turning a 1.6billion annual profit. When he announced in September that he planned to retire in March, the company's share price plummeted. Mr Cousins was named at No 11 on last year's 100 Best Performing CEOs in the World by Harvard Business Review. The 58-year-old had also served on the board of supermarket giant Tesco, but resigned last year in protest at plans to buy wholesaler Booker. The wreckage of the aircraft was found on the bottom of Cowan Creek under 42ft of water with the bodies inside. Witness Myles Baptiste said he saw the plane crash. He told 9News: 'It made a tight right-hand turn and as it actually turned around, the wings dipped and it nosedived straight into the water.' Emergency services working to retrieve the plane from 42ft below the surface after it crashed on the Hawkesbury River An officer carries a piece of debris recovered from a seaplane that crashed into the Hawkesbury River on New Year's Eve After the accident Mr Shaw said: 'All at Sydney Seaplanes are deeply shocked by this incident and the resulting loss of life. 'We wish to pass on our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the passengers and pilot who were tragically killed. We do not yet know the cause of the accident. 'We are dedicating our full resources in assisting the NSW Police, the Australian Transport Safety Board, Civil Aviation Safety Authority and other relevant authorities to understand the cause of the accident.' A Sydney Seaplanes pilot took to Facebook to write: 'Thoughts are with the guys from Sydney Seaplanes this afternoon, hope they are all well and things have a positive outcome. Top bunch of guys working there.' Sydney Seaplanes managing director Aaron Shaw confirmed that the aircraft was one of theirs A table of six who racked up a Mexican Restaurant bill of $325.50 before doing a runner have had a change of heart. The owners of Carlos Cantina in Boronia, East Melbourne, took to Facebook in disgust on Saturday night after the table left without paying. When they opened the doors to the restaurant the next morning, however, they found a envelope containing cash had been slipped inside in the night. A table of six boys who racked up a Mexican Restaurant bill of $325.50 before doing a runner have had a change of heart (pictured is the envelope they left the next day) When they opened the doors to the restaurant the next morning, however, they found a envelope containing cash had been slipped inside in the night The table - who the owner said had been going in and out for cigarettes all night - were slammed by commenters on social media. 'That bill is worth three staff wages for the night. Go back and pay it guys,' wrote one Facebook user. 'I hope you catch the six men, businesses are struggling enough without having to foot people's drunken food splurges!' said another. The owners of Carlos Cantina in Boronia, East Melbourne, took to Facebook in disgust on Saturday night after the table left without paying (pictured) Carlos Cantina had posted a photo of the receipt with the caption: 'To the table of 6 boys that walked out tonight. You forgot to pay. Please come back' Carlos Cantina had posted a photo of the receipt with the caption: 'To the table of 6 boys that walked out tonight. You forgot to pay. Please come back.' In reply to some of the comments they wrote they would have to start taking IDs again after the incident, but luckily the public shaming worked. Poll Do you think the table really forgot to pay? Yes, it could happen to anyone No, but it is good they did they right thing Do you think the table really forgot to pay? Yes, it could happen to anyone 72 votes No, but it is good they did they right thing 174 votes Now share your opinion The next morning the owners returned to Facebook, this time with a photo of an envelope reading: 'Sorry, we forgot to pay'. 'We came into work today and found a envelope with full payment under our door. We are extremely happy. Thank you very much boys. We hope you had a good night,' they wrote. The happy ending left some debating whether the customers had paid because they really forgot, or because they were shamed online. 'I call bulls*** on forgetting to pay, they could have at the very least handed the money over in person, $300+ is a lot of money to flippantly put under your door but they have paid so that's a good thing,' wrote one person. 'The alcohol probably was enough for them to accidentally forget. At least they paid and apologised. Well done on keeping it honest and classy,' said another. President Donald Trump has denied he is a racist in response to controversy over his recent alleged remarks. 'I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you,' he told reporters in Florida on Sunday, as he was on his way to dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. It marks the president's first direct response to accusations of racism that have dogged him since he allegedly asked 'Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?' in an Oval Office meeting about immigration on Thursday. Trump has denied using that language, however a Democrat senator present at the meeting insists he did. A Republican senator present backed the president. 'I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you,' Trump said Sunday on his way to dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (left) Trump addressed the media scrum at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, marking the first time he has responded to repeated questions over whether he is a 'racist' Trump was reportedly speaking about Haitians and citizens of various African nations, and asked why the US doesn't welcome more immigrants from countries like Noway instead. Trump on Sunday again denied making the statements attributed to him, but didn't get into specifics about what he did or did not say. 'Did you see what various senators in the room said about my comments?' he asked. 'They weren't made.' The alleged remarks brought down furious condemnation on Trump from Democrats and media talking heads. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, told CNN 's Erin Burnett on Friday, 'We know he's a racist, he's demonstrated that... he's a racist both in his actions and his words.' Trump has denied using the specific term that brought him condemnation, but acknowledged using 'tough' language in the meeting about DACA Trump shakes hands with attendees after signing a proclamation to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Friday. He has directly addressed a racism row for the first time Johnson said that the language Trump reportedly used hearkens back to the '50s and '60s, it is the language of a Ross Barnett and a George Wallace.' He added that the issue will help to motivate African-American voters in the 2018 mid-term elections. Trump repeatedly told voters he is not a racist leading up to his 2016 election. The president claimed in a tweet on Friday morning that the widely reported 'sh**hole' comments he is said to have made Thursday were not correct. 'The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.' In the press scrum on Sunday, Trump added that he was 'ready, willing and able' to reach a deal to protect immigrants brought to the United States as children A husband who chose to take his wife's surname has been trolled with nasty death threats by complete strangers from across the world. Grant Phillips has copped a torrent of vile social media abuse after swapping his maiden name of Davis for his life partner Jade's family name shortly after they married in November. 'What sort of a man takes his wife's name?' one man said on Facebook. Grant Phillips, pictured with his wife, has bucked tradition by taking his wife Jade's surname after they were married The 30-year-old newlywed has received vile death wishes from right across the world 'I hope you and your w**** of a wife die in a car crash so that your genes don't continue.' The 30-year-old Sydney man said he felt sorry for the trolls who messaged him on Facebook, saying they were all conservative, rural men from Australia and as far afield as the U.S., United Kingdom, Brazil and New Zealand. 'I just feel sad for these people that they need to take the time out of their daily lives to track me down or to leave nasty comments on social media,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday. 'The thing I have an issue with is that people think they have a right to tell me to go kill myself or to tell me to go die in car accident or wish upon me that my wife has several miscarriages. 'The American men, they were the most threatening but then the Australian men were just kind of, almost childish - comments like, "Do you wear a tampon?". Grant Phillips, pictured with wife Jade, has had death threats over his personal surname choice Grant Phillps said he chose to forgo his maiden name of Davis because his wife was last in line 'Every single hate mail I got was from a male but the ironic thing was the men would proudly display pictures of them with their daughters on the same social media pages they used to condemn me.' The newly-married man said they mutually decided he would buck tradition and take her surname about a year before they married in November. However he didn't change his name by deed poll until December when he needed a new passport. The abuse started after he announced his decision on Facebook. Grant, who has two brothers and plenty of male cousins, said his wife, 28, had no brothers to continue the family name. 'No political reason at all, mate,' he said. Kissing goodbye to tradition: Grant Phillips wants his future kids to have his wife Jade's family name Grant Phillips, pictured with his wife Jade, already has two brothers to carry on his family name 'She's the last line in her family. She has no male cousins, no one to carry on the name and it kind of made sense. 'There's nothing tying me to having to force her to take my name. 'We want our kids to be able to have the same names as us.' Grant said his family, who initially supported his decision to take his wife's surname, found the social media abuse to be comical, but some comments were of very bad taste. 'One person said to me, "This guy must have been raped by his father which is why he changed his surname",' he said. Grant Phillips, pictured with wife Jade, said many of the online trolls appeared to be leading double lives online 'My father's on social media - obviously that's so ridiculous and not true at all. 'There was one comment that was pretty bad about myself and women in general and I looked at the guy's Facebook page and I screen shot his message and actually sent it to his wife and his wife was just disgusted. 'Clearly, this guy was just living a double life online trolling people but playing happy families at home.' Grant met his wife 10 years ago when they were both university students in Brisbane working at a video store. They became engaged in early 2016 and mutually decided that he would take his fiancee's surname later that year as they enjoyed drinks at Sydney's Balmoral Beach near Mosman. Their decision had nothing to do with making a statement about gender equality. 'My dad especially was our biggest cheerleader. He loves my wife. He loves my wife's family,' he said. 'No one had a concern at all.' Two years ago, he emerged from his hiding place in a lorry carrying frozen chips and stepped on to British soil for the first time. Having made the journey from war-torn Syria in just a T-shirt and shorts, 17-year-old Sulaiman Wihba didn't know what his new life in Britain would hold. But the refugee, now 20, has exceeded all expectations with his academic achievements and is now celebrating having won a place at Oxford University. Sulaiman left Damascus after enduring a daily battle for survival as bombs and bullets rained down on his neighbourhood. Having made the journey from war-torn Syria in just a T-shirt and shorts, 17-year-old Sulaiman Wihba didn't know what his new life in Britain would hold His home became so dangerous that in 2015 he and his mother took the decision to flee. After travelling to Turkey, they endured the dangerous five-hour journey across the Mediterranean in an over-crowded boat. Surviving on meagre supplies, Sulaiman and his mother who arrived in the UK with just one shoe made their way to Calais, where they managed to stowaway on a refrigerated lorry. Within a fortnight of his arrival in Britain, he managed to enrol at a local school and with the help of charity Voices In Exile launched his bid for asylum. As a way of keeping busy, Sulaiman began teaching Arabic to refugees through the charity, which rented out a room at the prestigious Brighton College. He completed his studies at Brighton College, here (right) he is pictured getting his 'A' levels results last Summer The headmaster at the 23,000-a-year school, Richard Cairns, heard about his selfless work and offered him a full scholarship. Sulaiman rewarded the faith shown in him by gaining four A*s in further maths, maths, physics and chemistry after sitting his A-levels last summer. He is overjoyed after being offered a place at Balliol College which numbers three prime ministers among its alumni to study maths. 'For me, this feels truly unbelievable,' he said. 'Who would have thought that 17-year-old me, jumping off a lorry when I arrived in the UK, could make it to Oxford? 'It's been such a tough journey since I left the bombings and the bullets in Damascus but I wouldn't change anything about it. I am also so grateful as I couldn't have done any of this if it had not been for my parents and my teachers' amazing support.' Pictured left: Sulaiman Wihba (far right) with his brothers in Syria before fleeing two years ago. Pictured right: The soon to be Oxford student age 4 in Syria Other family members arrived from Syria last year under the Dubs Amendment - a regulation that means refugees have a right to go to join family members if they are legally in another country. Now Sulaiman, his mother, father and two brothers are all settled into life in Hove, East Sussex, with Sulaiman revealing a previously undiscovered passion for rugby. Brighton College headmaster Richard Cairns said: Sulaiman has worked incredibly hard, in the face of great adversity, and he richly deserves this offer. Were proud to have helped this remarkable young man attain his goal. He serves as a shining example to our other pupils of how perseverance and determination are rewarded. We know he will achieve great things in the future. Some 30 more Brighton College pupils have been made offers to Oxbridge this week. The income and commuting habits of every household in the country are to be recorded in unprecedented detail by Whitehall as part of the next census. The Office for National Statistics will use new legal powers to collect data from tax and social security records to compile details of peoples salaries, benefits and investments. It will be the first time since William the Conquerors Domesday Book that everyones income will be recorded. The income-gathering exercise aims to publish information on wage levels in different areas, when the census reports in 2023. At the same time, the ONS is to use material supplied by Vodafone so officials can monitor peoples daily commute. The move, which marks the unprecedented use of information gathered by private companies, is designed to provide more accurate information on commuting than in previous censuses. The census is carried out every 10 years, and helps government plan services and understand the make-up of the country In addition, people will be asked to disclose not only their ethnicity and religious allegiance but also their sexual preferences and, almost certainly, whether they are transgender. Last night some campaigners expressed unease about the plans. Dr David Green, director of the Civitas civic values think-tank, said: The inclusion of income information makes me suspicious. You can end up on a slippery slope. The more information the state has about us the closer we get to the Government exerting excessive control. I am not a libertarian but this census may be going too far. We all pay our taxes already, and I cant see a good reason for wanting to include peoples incomes in the census. The census is already becoming increasingly used for political purposes. The counting of minorities of various kinds allows people to present themselves as victim groups and demand preferential treatment. The next national census is due to take place in 2021. Every one of the 24million households in the country will receive a form, but people will be encouraged to submit their answers online. Only those who have difficulty with the online version will be supplied with a paper form. ONS chiefs are to report to ministers in 2023. While politicians, government departments and councils have long wanted financial information about individuals, families, streets and districts, the ONS has regarded a question about income on census forms as taboo. Trials have found that the public regards it as too intrusive. But the ONS is to use powers granted in legislation slipped through Parliament last year to collect information on incomes from tax records at HM Revenue and Customs and from benefits and pensions data at the Department for Work and Pensions. Under the Digital Economy Act, the ONS can demand details of every individuals income and tax and work out the prosperity levels of streets and districts. It must keep all information secure and private but can use it to publish accurate accounts of incomes in different areas. Questions about sexual orientation are due to be included in the census for the first time. Pictured is the Pride London parade last year It will be the first time the once-a-decade census, first carried out in 1801, will record incomes. William the Conquerors survey of England, which began in 1086, was so thorough that there was no single hide nor a yard of land, nor indeed one ox nor one cow nor one pig which was left out. It became known as the Domesday Book because people believed it heralded the last judgement. As part of the revolutionary use of information gathered by private companies, the ONS has bought data from the property website Zoopla to find residential addresses. The ONS has long had difficulties locating every home in the country. Further supplementary material will be supplied by Vodafone. The ONS believes mobile phone records will give an accurate picture of how and how far people travel to work. They show which mobile cell towers phones are connected to at different times of the day. The first national census was taken in 1801, propelled by official fears of the risks of a population explosion, and the count has been repeated every decade since, except in 1941 Last month, the Daily Mail reported that the ONS had disclosed that the questionnaire is likely to include a question on gender identity, phrased so that it can run alongside another query about peoples sex at birth. Jim Killock, of the Open Rights Group, which campaigns against state surveillance, warned: The census already has a large number of loopholes about the re-use of data, which can be used for research or in crime detection. All the census loopholes will now apply to the other data and all the private sector data collected by the census could be used by the security services. We are going to need to know that strong safeguards will be put in place. The census exercise is budgeted to cost taxpayers 840million. Answering some questions will be voluntary, but a refusal to respond to the census at all is a criminal offence that can bring a fine of 1,000. "A spokesperson from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has since contacted us to say: The ONS has no plans to ask people about their incomes in the 2021 Census, nor to produce information on wages down to street level. We are looking at ways in which the ONS can use information that people have already provided to Government bodies such as HMRC. All ONS statistics are anonymous and used to help understand and plan for different needs in our society. The Governments failure to identify the number of illegal immigrants in the UK is fuelling widespread anxiety about numbers in the country, a report claimed last night. MPs said fears about the impact of those here unlawfully is able to grow unchecked because of a lack of official information. They said many perceive the long-standing paucity of figures as representing official indifference on a matter of huge public interest. The Governments failure to identify the number of illegal immigrants in the UK is fuelling widespread anxiety about numbers in the country, a report claimed last night Members of the Home Affairs Select Committee said Ministers must do more to reassure voters that the issue is being taken seriously. In a wide-ranging report, they said illegal migration can only be tackled effectively if the true scale and nature of the problem is identified. And they called for exit data and other sources to be used to produce an annual estimate of the numbers who have breached immigration rules. They also stressed the importance of effective enforcement, highlighting how large numbers of foreign nationals, including convicted criminals, have disappeared. MPs said the Government cannot rely on its hostile environment policy as a solution for enforcement and building confidence. It came as the newly-appointed Immigration Minister reaffirmed the Conservative commitment to reducing net inward migration to tens of thousands. Caroline Nokes said the Government is duty bound to honour the very clear message from voters in the Brexit referendum for the target to remain. Speaking on the Sunday Politics show, she said: They want to see us reducing immigration to sustainable levels. And were doing exactly that it was there in the manifesto so that is the direction of travel. She added that the Home Secretary has also been very clear, adding: We are going to get these numbers down and do it in a manageable and sustained way. Officials insist it is not possible to accurately quantify the number of overseas nationals in the country illegally. Last year a former immigration enforcement chief claimed the figure was likely to run to more than a million. Thirteen years ago a Home Office assessment put the total unauthorised migrant population living in the UK in 2001 at 430,000. A report published by think-tank Civitas last June suggested illegal immigration is running at a minimum of 150,000 a year. This would include those who remain in the country beyond the period allowed under their visas, or after asylum claims are rejected, as well as people who arrived with no legal entitlement in the first place. The Commons report made a string of recommendations, including an annual report setting out a rolling three-year plan for migration. It said a new framework of targets should replace the Governments net migration target and myths and inaccuracies about immigration should be challenged. Officials insist it is not possible to accurately quantify the number of overseas nationals in the country illegally MPs said: We recognise the Governments concern that to create an official estimate of overall illegal immigration without any reliable evidence would not add value to the debate. However, we also believe that more analysis of the scale and nature of the problem of illegal immigration is needed in order to develop appropriate policy responses and reassure the public that the issue is being addressed seriously. A separate report published alongside the MPs work found high-profile failures erode public trust in the Government to control immigration. Participants in a large-scale study highlighted difficulties in deporting foreign national prisoners at the end of their sentences. Researchers for campaign group Hope Not Hate found many people feel migration is uncontrolled because they do not trust the Government to enforce immigration policy. Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Commons committee, said: Most people think immigration is important for Britain, but they want to know that the system is under control, that people are contributing to this country and that communities and public services are benefiting rather than facing pressures. We believe people should be working together to build consensus on the benefits and address concerns about problems on immigration. Immigration has always been an important part of our history, economy and culture and will continue to be a crucial policy area for our future. A Home Office spokeswoman said: We are making it harder than ever before for those with no right to be here to remain in the UK. Whether it is working, renting a property, opening a bank account or driving a car, we are now taking tougher action on those who flout the law. This is for the benefit of the whole of society as illegal migration drives down wages, allows rogue employers to undercut legitimate businesses and puts pressure on taxpayer-funded public services. Vulnerable people living here illegally can also find themselves at the mercy of exploitative employers or landlords. However, by its very nature, it is not possible to estimate the size of the illegal population and so we cannot make any official estimates. The plane was the brainchild of Reginald Mitchell, a former locomotive engineer from Stoke, whose passion for flying had made him the youthful chief designer at Supermarine, a Southampton-based company that specialised in maritime aviation. Described by one of his managing directors as a curious mixture of dreams and common sense, Mitchell had gained international renown with a succession of fast seaplanes which had thrice won the coveted biannual Schneider trophy for racing over water. In 1931 Mitchells final Schneider Trophy winner, the Supermarine S6, had attained an astonishing speed of 407mph, smashing the world record. It was this achievement that led the Air Ministry to encourage Supermarine to build a new military fighter that incorporated this cutting edge technology. But Mitchells initial effort was a dismal failure. Called the Type 224, it featured a thick cranked wing, fixed, trousered undercarriage and the unreliable Rolls-Royce Goshawk engine that used a complex evaporative cooling system. The test pilot Jeffrey Quill described it as a dogs breakfast, just not a very good design. What hindered Mitchell was not just his inexperience with landplanes but also his poor health. In 1933 he was diagnosed with cancer, for which he had to undergo major surgery and the installation of a permanent colostomy bag. But he was a resilient, determined man. Having returned to Supermarine, he came up with a far more streamlined, faster plane, complete with a retractable undercarriage and elliptical wings. There was also a much more efficient, powerful engine, the newly created Rolls-Royce Merlin, which was to become the mainstay of the wartime RAF. The revamped design looked like a potential winner, a belief that was reinforced by the maiden flight of the prototype on March, 5, 1936, by test pilot Mutt Summers. I dont want anything touched, he declared once he had landed. Amid all this praise, Mitchells only objection was to the title of the new plane. He favoured the Shrew or the Snipe, but the Supermarine management insisted on Spitfire. Just the sort of silly name they would think of, Mitchell said. The Government, deeply concerned about the pace of Nazi rearmament, was delighted with the early trials and placed an initial order for 310 Spitfires. Mitchell had fulfilled expectations, though tragically he did not live long, succumbing to cancer in June 1937. By then, the contract had run into severe difficulties. For all its technical expertise, Supermarine was a relatively small company without the facilities for mass production. Much of the work therefore had to be farmed out to subcontractors, many of which had little experience in aero engineering. One firm put no fewer than 15,000 queries through to Supermarine in 18 months. The delays over the delivery of the first Spitfire contract caused official frustration a disgraceful state of affairs said one Government report and political outrage, ultimately forcing the resignation of the Air Secretary, Lord Swinton in early 1938. His successor Kingsley Wood, in a bold attempt to galvanise production, ordered the creation of a vast Spitfire factory at Castle Bromwich, Birmingham. Run by Morris cars magnate Lord Nuffield, this colossal plant was meant to have turned out 1,000 Spitfires within two years. But by June 1940, not a single plane had emerged from Castle Bromwich, thanks to gross mismanagement and a recalcitrant workforce. A secret inquiry found that there was every evidence of slackness and labour is in a very poor state. Fortunately, some of the shortfall in production was made up as Supermarine resolved its teething problems, so that by the outbreak of war at least ten RAF squadrons had been equipped with Spitfires. Nevertheless, the early Castle Bromwich fiasco left a serious deficiency of the plane within Fighter Command on the eve of the Battle of Britain just when it was needed most. New management under the Vickers industrial giant, combined with political leadership from the newspaper tycoon Lord Beaverbrook, whom Churchill appointed as his Minister for Aircraft Production, brought a swift change at Castle Bromwich. Soon the factory was operating efficiently. At its peak in 1943, the 14,000-strong workforce 40 per cent of whom were women was building 300 Spitfires a month. Supermarine had also undergone a major expansion since the Battle of Britain, not least because the bombing of its Southampton factory forced the dispersal of production across southern England. Warehouses, rolling mills, bus depots, car showrooms, a steamroller works, a strawberry basket factory and a stately home were all commandeered for this purpose. Throughout the war, the Spitfire underwent continual improvements. In all, there were 19 different marks and 54 variants as new weaponry or engines were introduced and the airframe was altered to meet new requirements, such as photo-reconnaissance or use on aircraft carriers. Some Spitfires were converted into fighter bombers, proving highly effective against German supply lines in the African desert and in Northern Europe. The final land version produced during the war, the Mark XIV, was more than 3,000lb heavier than the original Mark I that went into service in 1938. Test pilot Alex Henshaw, commenting on one of the last marks, felt something of the original spirit had been lost in the quest for more power: The genius of Mitchell had died. The beautiful symmetry had gone. In its place stood a powerful, almost ugly fighting machine. Even so, the changes meant the Spitfire, unlike the Hurricane, never became obsolete in wartime. When the Mark IX was developed in 1942, largely to counter the new German Focke-Wulf 190 fighter, RAF pilots were thrilled. With its roaring two-stage, two-speed supercharged Rolls-Royce Merlin 61 engine, the Mark IX was the supreme Spitfire, according to Al Deere. When Brian Kingcome first flew the Mark IX he said: It took my breath away. It was exhilarating, a feeling I could never forget. I yearned for a chance to demonstrate this astonishing new tool to the Germans. Other later versions, including those powered by the mighty Rolls-Royce Griffon engine, never invoked such enthusiasm. The Spitfire remained in British service after the war, even taking part in the campaigns in Korea and Malaya, and not finally retiring until 1955, when it bowed out in Hong Kong. In one strange twist of history, it was involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1948-9, serving not only with the RAF, which was leaving Palestine, but also with the Egyptian and Israeli air forces. In January 1949, three RAF Mark XVIIIs were shot down by Israeli Spitfires. All this was a far cry from the glory days of the plane during World War II, when it served as an instrument of freedom. Without the Spitfire, the course of European history might have been very different. Pilot Neville Duke wrote that in the plane he felt part of a fine machine, made by a genius. He added: It is said that the Spitfire is too beautiful to be a fighting machine. I sometimes think that is true but then what better fighter could you want? Spitfire: Portrait Of A Legend, by Leo McKinstry, 12.99, John Murray. Britain will cut foreign aid spending on countries that do not use their own resources to help their citizens, Penny Mordaunt said Britain will cut foreign aid spending on countries that do not use their own resources to help their citizens, the International Development Secretary has pledged. Penny Mordaunt said there were legitimate questions about how the 13billion budget is spent when the UK had domestic needs. The minister, who replaced Priti Patel in November, said that Britain would not provide handouts when others should be putting their hands in their pockets and will increasingly target spending on helping countries stand on their own two feet. In an article for the Daily Telegraph, she wrote: We must be able to demonstrate why it absolutely needs to be Britain that pays for projects rather than other donors, the private sector or, where it can, the government of the country itself. I want the governments of developing countries to take responsibility for investing in healthcare or education. If it chooses not to, that will inform our decisions. We will continue to prioritise investments in saving lives, tackling under-nutrition, improving health and getting kids a quality education. But our focus will increasingly be on helping developing countries stand on their own feet and build sustainable health and education systems that they invest in themselves. Experts from my department will help them manage their public finances better and reform their tax systems in order to fund public services. The minister, who replaced Priti Patel (pictured) in November, said that Britain would not provide handouts when others should be putting their hands in their pockets Miss Mordaunt said she recognised concerns from voters about how much was spent on foreign aid by the Department for International Development (DfID). She added: What they question is the weight and resource given to this task by their parliament and their government, especially when there are domestic needs and a national debt to address. I understand those legitimate questions, having come to DfID from the ministries of local government, work and pensions, and defence. Ministers have been under pressure to improve how aid money is spent following Theresa Mays announcement during the election campaign that the Government would keep the controversial spending target 0.7 per cent of national income. Figures released in November showed the countrys aid spending reached 13.4billion in 2016, up 1.3billion on the year before. Money funnelled through the EU rose by 177million to 1.5billion, despite warnings from Miss Patel about the lack of oversight on how Brussels distributed the money. EU-run projects include providing juggling lessons in Tanzania and promoting African dancing. Despite pledges to stop aid to India, last year 92.6million was spent on projects there by Whitehall officials. UK-funded schemes included 86,616 on testing whether yoga helps people who have had heart attacks in India, and 100,000 on bringing female scientists from the country to visit Cambridge University. The amount sent to China jumped by 2.6million to 46.9million. British aid went on improving dementia care in Qingdao and a schools programme to encourage children to eat less salt. Ministers were facing questions last night over the decision to award more than 1.5billion of contracts to construction giant Carillion as the firm teetered on the brink of collapse. Officials at the Cabinet Office were locked in talks with company bosses yesterday amid fears that it could go under as soon as today without a government bailout. Theresa May was under pressure to unveil state help for the firm, which is a key supplier to the Government and has contracts in the rail industry, including HS2, education and the NHS. It employs 43,000 staff. But last night a row was growing over its contracts. Ministers were facing questions last night over the decision to award more than 1.5billion of contracts to construction giant Carillion as the firm teetered on the brink of collapse In the past six months, the firm has issued three profit warnings and its share price has fallen from 2.30 last January to less than 20p today. In the same period, at least three contracts have been awarded one worth 1.4billion for HS2, another with the Ministry of Defence worth 158million, and the 62million deal to electrify the rail line between London and Corby. Labour MP Jon Trickett, shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, said: Alarm bells have been ringing for over six months about the state of Carillions finances, so the Government must come forward and answer questions on exactly what due diligence measures were undertaken before awarding contracts worth billions of taxpayers money. Rail, jails and NHS... its many projects SCHOOLS Carillion provides school dinners and cleaning services at 875 schools. It built around 150 schools. The most recent 12million school-building contract was awarded in November after profit warnings. HOSPITALS The firm carries out maintenance work and manages facilities at hospitals, including 200 operating theatres and covering 11,800 beds. Its caterers make almost 19,000 patient meals a day. RAIL The company will do much of the main construction work for the controversial 56billion HS2 rail link from London to Birmingham. It is also a major contractor on Crossrail in London. It has contracts with Network Rail to upgrade track and power lines. ROADS It is building smart motorways for the Highways Agency that ease congestion by adjusting lanes or speed limits, and has other road and bridge building projects. ARMED FORCES Carillion maintains 50,000 army base homes for the Ministry of Defence. In July it signed a 158million contract to manage services such as catering at 233 military facilities. PRISONS It carries out maintenance and repairs at up to half of the countrys prisons. LIBRARIES The firm manages a number of libraries in England. ENERGY It builds substations and puts up overhead cables for the National Grid. Advertisement Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis said the Government was keeping a very close eye on the crisis. The public sector union Unite called for an inquiry and warned tens of thousands of jobs were at risk. And last night it emerged that Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, could be questioned by MPs on why government contracts were given to Carillion despite repeated profit warnings. Carillion is a major Government contractor in charge of building projects such as the HS2 rail project Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the Commons public administration committee, said a new inquiry would be held into government procurement, outsourcing and contracting. Carillion has met lenders to discuss options to reduce debts, recapitalise or restructure the groups balance sheet. It is believed administrators could be called in as early as this morning unless shareholders, creditors or the Government agree to stump up funds to save it. Carillion has struggled since reporting half-year losses of 1.15billion and a meeting was held on Friday to discuss its pensions deficit. Carillion is playing a major role in the HS2 railway development Labour health spokesman Jon Ashworth warned the collapse of Carillion could badly affect the NHS, where it is running several building projects as well as facilities management at a handful of hospitals.Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said the HS2 contract demonstrated an appalling lack of judgment. TUC deputy general secretary Paul Nowak said: Tens of thousands of jobs are at risk, along with vital public services and major infrastructure projects across the country. The Government needs to step in, guarantee jobs and services, and explain how they let this mess happen. A top restaurant is trialing a new 'travel industry' pricing system by charging its customers less if they eat during off-peak times. Bob Bob Ricard in Soho, London, is known for its fine dining and a Beef Wellington dish will set customers back 44.50 each. But its owner has now revealed they are introducing the new pricing model which is based on the travel industry. Customers can now pay 25 per cent less if they eat during off-peak times such as Monday lunchtime. Bob Bob Ricard in Soho, London, is known for its fine dining and customers can press a button to get more champagne The menu has remained exactly the same but dinner during mid-peak times, including dinner on Tuesdays and Sundays, will be 15 per cent cheaper. However, the bill on Saturday evenings restaurant, will not be discounted. Leonid Shutov, the restaurant's founder, told Bloomberg: 'The idea just came from looking at how the rest of the world functions. 'Airlines wouldn't be able to exist, the business model wouldn't work unless you could balance supply and demand. Leonid Shutov (pictured) has introducing the new pricing model in a bid to stay 'competitive' Everything that we have taken that is widely accepted in the modern economy and applied to restaurants, seems to have worked.' The move means a lobster macaroni & cheese dish would cost 20.50 instead of 26.50 during off-peak times. Mr Shutov added that an average customer at his restaurant spends 100 each but he realises they need to serve great food without 'charging ridiculous prices'. He added: 'One of the ways of doing that is ensuring a more even occupancy throughout the week so that we are not subsidizing our Monday lunch with a Saturday dinner.' A Victorian mother has shared pictures of a bath-time disaster, showing how a nice thought can go terribly wrong. The woman had purchased a $3 Vanilla Latte bath bomb from K-Mart in anticipation of a fun surprise for her children, but the bomb turned a luxurious soak into a grossly unpleasant wash. Pictures shared to a Facebook group of mothers showed the bath had turned brown from the bath bomb, a shade often associated with unsafe water. A Victorian woman bought her children a bath bomb as a present, but the Vanilla Latte flavoured treat did not go down as expected The bomb turned the water a muddy brown, a similar colour to if someone had soiled themselves in the tub, the woman said 'Looks like someone pooped in the bath,' she wrote. Despite the unfortunate conditions, the children appear to have put up with the unfortunate colouring and bathed anyway. In pictures of the water shared to social media, limbs were seen off to the side of the bath tub. The woman explained to other members of the Facebook group her kids had made the best of a bad situation and laughed the whole thing off. 'I said to my kids, It looks like you are bathing in poop and they also had a bit of a laugh,' she wrote. Other members of the social media group laughed at the woman's predicament, telling her the bath looked like 'river water', while some likened it to being the fifth child to wash in the family bath water. Prisoners in at least eight Florida state-run penitentiaries will strike on Monday, which falls on Martin Luther King Jr Day, it was reported on Sunday. The Florida inmates announced the work stoppage as part of a protest against 'unpaid labor' and 'price gouging' in prison commissaries, according to The Intercept. This will be the third time in the last year that inmates in Floridas prison system the third largest in the United States announced a strike en masse. Last August, state authorities ordered all 97,000 inmates in the 143 facilities run by the Florida Department of Corrections to be confined to their cells and all prisons were on lockdown. Prisoners in at least eight Florida state-run penitentiaries will strike on Monday, which falls on Martin Luther King Jr Day, it was reported on Sunday. Barbed wire fence is seen at Dade County Men's Correctional Facility in the above stock image The government also canceled weekend visitations for the inmates at all 50 major detention facilities, according to The Miami Herald. The punitive measures were in response to intelligence that the authorities said indicated that prisoners were planning coordinated riots in a number of facilities. The organizers of Mondays strike have asked to remain anonymous so as not to invite retribution. In a statement posted to Facebook, an organization known as SPARC (Supporting Prisoners and Real Change) listed the reasons for the strike. Pasco Sheriff's inmates in New Port Richey are seen above filling sandbags in preparation for a tropical depression in August 2016. Florida inmates say that they are denied pay for labor performed The list of grievances include payment for our labor, rather than the current slave arrangement, ending outrageous canteen prices, and reintroducing parole incentives to lifers and those with Buck Rogers dates. Buck Rogers time is prison slang for a sentence with a parole date that is unrealistically in the distant future, according to Mother Jones. Florida inmates are accusing correctional officers of brutalitywhich has resulted in the highest death rates in prison history. One inmate was quoted by The Intercept as saying that the work stoppage on Monday was a nonviolent protest to get what we deserve from our government. Prisoners say the current slave arrangement is one where instead of getting paid for their work, inmates are credited with time off their sentences. Inmate Eric Sumner is seen above carrying sandbags for a resident at a makeshift filling station in Palm Coast, Florida last year They use word play and deceive the public about what really goes on inside the system, and we want to expose those things, he said. Floridas own Department of Corrections estimates that prisoners in the state assigned to community work squads outside of the facilities performed 3.15million hours of work worth more than $38million in 2017. Florida prisoners even helped with cleanup work after the Sunshine State was ravaged by Hurricane Irma. Prisoners also do work inside their prisons, including laundry, cooking, maintaining facilities, and growing food. Our goal is to make the governor realize that it will cost the state of Florida millions of dollars daily to contract outside companies to come and cook, clean, and handle the maintenance, the prisoners wrote in their statement. This will cause a total BREAK DOWN. Prisoners say the current slave arrangement is one where instead of getting paid for their work, inmates are credited with time off their sentences. But civil libertarians say that often times prison guards will invent reasons to add time that was already deducted from inmates sentences. We want to be paid for the work we do, so that somebody doesnt end up spending 10, 15, 20 years not being paid, and sent home with a bus ticket and a $50 check, said the prisoner quoted by The Intercept. Floridas own Department of Corrections estimates that prisoners in the state assigned to community work squads outside of the facilities performed 3.15 million hours of work worth more than $38million in 2017 We want to create an environment where someone can do their time, be rehabilitated, and enter into society with some type of hope. That would be helpful for society instead of creating a revolving door where you lock people up and just set them up for failure so that they keep coming back. The inmates are also claiming that the Department of Correction is price-gouging by charging exorbitantly for goods sold in the canteens. This is highway robbery without a gun, the prisoners wrote. Its not just us that theyre taking from. Its our families who struggle to make ends meet and send us money - they are the real victims that the state of Florida is taking advantage of. The inmates are also demanding that Florida restore the option of parole, which the state did away with for non-capital felonies beginning in 1984 The inmates are also demanding that Florida restore the option of parole, which the state did away with for non-capital felonies beginning in 1984. Advocates of criminal justice reform say that the lack of parole has led to overcrowded prisons in Florida, which in turn has resulted in a large number of deaths. In December 2016, the Department of Justice published a report which ranked the states with the most deaths in their prison systems. In 2014, Texas, Florida, and California led the nation in reported inmate deaths. In 2016 alone, Florida saw 356 deaths in state prisons. These include homicides and suicides. Civil libertarians and reform advocates say Florida, unlike 36 other states that have enacted reforms in their criminal justice systems, has refused to change its ways. New Tory chairman Brandon Lewis needs to address the serious issue of how to halt the catastrophic decline in Party membership One of the most pressing tasks that new Tory chairman Brandon Lewis faces will be to halt the catastrophic decline in Party membership. Lewis has admitted, in the absence of a centralised membership list, that he doesnt know the true figure, which is reputed to have fallen as low as 70,000. The Party is now talking, I hear, to businessman Richard Harpin to try to stop the rot. Worth more than 300 million, Harpin wants to turn the Tories into a mass membership party like Labour, who have more than 560,000 members. But is he the right man for the job? Harpin is founder of the home repairs business HomeServe, which was the subject of a record fine of 30 million from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) four years ago. The fine was for mis-selling and duping its customers into buying home insurance for burst pipes, broken boilers and blocked drains. At the time, Harpin said: We sincerely regret that some customers have been affected by these issues. We have transformed the business, rebuilding and strengthening the management team, retraining staff and restructuring systems and controls. The fine came on top of millions of pounds in refunds to thousands of wronged customers, who took out the policies because of misleading information and hard-sell tactics. Lets hope the same tactics wont be used to persuade people to join the Tories. ADONIS, A NERDISH NIGHTMARE Former Labour Cabinet minister Lord Adonis quit his job as government infrastructure tsar in protest at Brexit, which he is determined to sabotage. The Tories were livid at the way he milked the issue for maximum personal publicity. But it seems that his former Labour colleagues were not exactly fans of the high-handed Adonis either. In Tom Bowers excellent book, Broken Vows: Tony Blair The Tragedy Of Power, there is a telling account of working with Adonis in the Labour government. Estelle Morris, when she was Labours Education Secretary, is quoted saying: Andrew is as bright as a button. But a nightmare to work with. Many people in the Labour Party disliked him as a Right-wing self-aggrandising nerd. Jeremy Corbyn has been critical of the annual meeting of the financial elite at Davos. This year, his shadow chancellor John McDonnell will be there IN 2015, Comrade Corbyn poured scorn on the annual get-together of the great and not-so-good at Davos. He wrote witheringly: The ill-named World Economic Forum is gathering once again in Davos where hordes of delegates are invited to attend, dominated by kings, princes, presidents, prime ministers and large corporations. To that list, Jezza can add his own shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who is attending for the first time. As Britain battles its way through a flu crisis, a Mail reader has coincidentally sent me a letter they received from the NHS bowel cancer screening service warning of possible delays. On the reverse side were translations in Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Polish, Punjabi, Somali, Turkish and Urdu. Will the Left ever accept that mass immigration is one of the problems putting pressure on NHS resources? Gingering up culture New Culture Secretary Matt Hancock is standing by his widely mocked decision to name ginger warbler Ed Sheerans cod-Irish ditty Galway Girl as his favourite song. Look, I really like Ed Sheeran and I wont have anything said against a Suffolk man, says the Honorable Member for . . . West Suffolk. Advertisement BUCK UP, REDS, IT'S FOR THE NATION Interesting job advertisement for a highly organised and experienced operations surveyor. With a salary of up to 50,000, the task will be to lead restoration of a tired but much-loved monument. The job description says it is building a sustainable future for world-famous historic buildings. How true: the job is at Buckingham Palace, set to undergo 367 million of restoration work, at public expense, to the fury of republicans, who always conveniently forget the Palace is owned by the State, not the monarch. A Muslim organisation is calling for followers to wave flags and hold barbecues and a 'special prayer' at mosques on Australia Day to show their love for their country and dispel myths they are not loyal citizens. Amid calls for the date to be changed, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Australia is planning to throw its support behind January 26 at mosques across the country with flag waving, loud anthem singing and a 'special prayer' for Australia. The group has also launched a hashtag #MuslimsForLoyalty on social media. 'There's a lot of talk that Muslims aren't loyal to Australia, so we want to show through our actions that we are,' Association spokesman Aqeel Ibraheem told Daily Mail Australia. 'We want to get our members to not feel shy to be proud of Australia,' he said. A Muslim organisation is calling for followers to proudly wave flags and show their love for their country at mosques across the country on Australia Day Ahmadiyya Muslim Association Australia is planning a celebration of the national day in all capital cities, which will include flag waving, loud anthem singing and a 'special prayer' for Australia The day will start early for the association's members, with a special prayer being said at 4.30am There will be a free barbecue open to anyone at the Baitul Huda Mosque in Sydney, where the street outside will be lined with hundreds of flags The planned Muslim celebrations come as Greens leader Richard Di Natale and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott weighed in on calls to change the date of Australia Day. Mr Di Natale told The Australian the January 26 date was inappropriate. 'All Australians want a day on which we can come together and to celebrate our wonderfully diverse, open and free society, but January 26 is not that day,' he said. 'It's time that we stop papering over an issue that for 200 years has been so divisive and painful for so many of our citizens.' Mr Abbott took to Twitter to respond to those calls. 'There are 364 other days a year for the Greens to be politically correct, 'Why can't they just accept that January 26 is the best available day to celebrate all that's good about life in Australia.' The celebrations will start early for the association's members, with a special prayer being said at 4.30am. 'All our members will get up and say a special prayer for Australia. We will pray for prosperity and peace in Australia', Mr Ibraheem said. There will be a free barbecue open to anyone at the Baitul Huda Mosque in Sydney, where the street outside will be lined with hundreds of flags. At the mosque there will be speeches on a variety of topics related to living in Australia, including why Muslims love to live there Attendees and speakers at past events have draped themselves in the Australian flag, and worn hats and t-shirts adorned with the Union Jack and southern cross At the mosque there will be speeches on a variety of topics related to living in Australia, including why Muslims love to live there. Attendees and speakers at past events have draped themselves in the Australian flag, and worn hats and t-shirts adorned with the Union Jack and southern cross. Mr Ibraheem said members of the association have handed out flyers to the public with pictures of the Australian flag expressing their loyalty to the country in the lead up to Australia Day. Association president Imam Inamul Haq Kauser said his organisation 'always prays for the progress and development of our homeland Australia'. Mr Ibraheem said members of the association have handed out flyers to the public with pictures of the Australian flag expressing their loyalty to the country in the lead up to Australia Day The plans come as Greens leader Richard Di Natale and former Prime Minister Tony Abbott have weighed in on calls to change the date of Australia Day 'As per our traditions we will celebrate Australia Day in all mosques across Australia. 'We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our nation, government and people because our religion teaches us that love of country of residence is part of faith.' Association president Imam Inamul Haq Kauser said his organisation 'always prays for the progress and development of our homeland Australia' Officials will be given new powers to close off access to fly-tipping sites under government plans. The Environment Agency will for the first time be able to padlock gates leading to illegal dumps. The proposals also suggest allowing local authorities to fine householders whose waste ends up fly-tipped or illegally dumped. Currently councils can only prosecute them in court, but a fixed penalty notice would be less costly to enforce, and more proportionate. Environment minister Therese Coffey said waste crime cost the English economy more than 600million in 2015, including lost landfill tax revenues and clean-up costs. It also creates problems for people who live or work nearby with odour, vermin, pollution and fires. Waste criminals also undercut genuine businesses that dispose of rubbish responsibly. Officials will be given new powers to close off access to fly-tipping sites under government plans The new powers were unveiled days after Theresa May launched the governments 25-year environment strategy, and will now go to consultation. Miss Coffey said: Waste crime and fly-tipping blight our communities and spoil our countryside, and we need determined action to tackle it. These new powers will curb the rise of waste sites that operate outside the law. But we must all take responsibility for our waste to make sure it does not end up in the hands of criminals who dump it. Our new consultation looks more widely at the waste sector and we are keen to hear from industry and the public how we can improve performance, tackle illegality and protect our precious environment. A consultation will now be conducted on the proposals. The new powers will allow the Environment Agency to lock the gates or block access to problem waste sites to prevent thousands of tonnes of waste illegally building up. The powers will also enable the EA to force operators to clear all the waste at a problem waste site, not just the illegal waste. The government also launched a new consultation to tackle crime and poor performance in the waste sector. Proposals include raising the bar required to hold Environment Agency waste permits, and putting a stop to criminals hiding their illegal activities by requiring them to register low-risk waste operations which are currently exempt from the need to hold a permit. The consultation proposes improving awareness amongst householders, so people can check on the EA website to see if the recipient of their waste is licensed to take their waste, or their duty to pass waste to legitimate carriers. The proposals also suggest allowing local authorities to fine householders whose waste ends up fly-tipped or illegally dumped It also suggests providing local authorities with the option of fining those whose waste ends up fly-tipped or illegally dumped rather than having to pursue them through the courts. Currently councils can only prosecute householders in court but a new fixed penalty notice would be less costly to enforce for local authorities, and more proportionate for householders. The government said new fixed penalty notices should not be abused simply as a means of raising money. Guidance on how the fines should be applied will therefore be issued to councils. Latest statistics show that some of the worst hit areas include London which saw over 360,000 fly-tipping incidents last year and the North West of England which saw 128,000 incidents in 2016/17. Emma Howard Boyd, chairwoman of the Environment Agency, said: We welcome these new powers, which will enable our teams to block access to problem sites, preventing illegal waste building up and becoming even more serious. This will allow us to take faster action against criminals and will make a real difference to communities, but everyone has a role to play. We all need to check our waste is going to the right place and is handled by the right people. Dorian Puka, 23, who was deported for carrying out a series of burglaries has now been jailed for three-and-a-half years An Albanian criminal deported for carrying out a string of burglaries has been jailed after sneaking back into Britain and being caught wearing a designer watch he had just stolen. Dorian Puka, 23, was originally jailed for nine months in 2016 and then deported for attempting to break into a property when the owner spotted him on a webcam while on holiday in France. David Pearce rang a neighbour after seeing the illegal immigrant on his wifi webcam trying to get into his home in Twickenham, south west London. The neighbour shouted 'police, police, you b*******, I can do karate' and chased two men from the property before calling the police. One of the men escaped in a BMW but Puka was arrested hiding in a bush near the property in August 2015. His DNA also linked him to another burglary in Ealing, west London, a month before where he had dropped a glove after people had seen his legs 'flailing' through the window of a property he was attempting to burgle. From that house he made off with just 20 worth of goods. He was jailed for nine months in January 2016 at Isleworth Crown Court. Judge Robin Johnson told him: You have not been in this country for a long amount of time and are, according to the probation officer, an illegal immigrant. The judge ordered his deportation, which took place in November 2016. But within 12 months Puka had sneaked back into the country illegally and was living in Greenford, only a few miles from his victims. The illegal immigrant was caught on webcam (pictured) breaking into a home in Twickenham, south west London, before being jailed and deported in 2016 On November 16 last year plain clothes officers were patrolling Surbiton, south west London, after an increase in burglaries when they stopped Puka in the street and caught him wearing an expensive watch he had stolen. A Kingston police spokesman said: 'He was searched and various items were discovered including expensive male and female watches along with a purse he couldnt account for. 'He was arrested on suspicion of burglary and taken into custody. Checks on the items recovered were traced to a burglary that very day in Surbiton. 'He also had the cheek to be wearing an exclusive and very expensive watch on his wrist which was also taken from a burglary that very day in Tolworth.' Puka admitted two counts of burglary at Kingston Crown Court on December 15 and was jailed for three-and-a-half years at a later hearing at the same court. A police spokesman said: He will be deported after his sentence. Experts said the case made a mockery of Britains border controls. David Green, of think-tank Civitas, said: This shows there is something going wrong with the immigration system if someone who has been deported can just come straight back into the country. The curious thing is, how did he get back in? There is supposed to be a database on deported offenders but they clearly dont use it properly. He probably got on a plane on his passport and no one noticed. In mitigation during his original case, Jemima Ivens said that Puka had already signed the papers for his deportation. A Home Office spokeswoman said: 'The Home Office routinely considers deportation or other immigration enforcement action for all foreign national offenders who receive a custodial sentence following a criminal conviction. 'In 2016/17 we removed more than 6,000 foreign criminals, the highest number of removals ever. 'It is harder than ever before for those with no right to be here to remain in the UK. We expect those with no basis of stay to leave voluntarily and where they do not we will enforce their removal.' The former MTA bus driver who shot his ex-girlfriend and her daughter to death in the Bronx, has died in the hospital according to police on Sunday. Jorge Vega, 52, was confirmed dead at the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, on Thursday. Vega gunned down Susan Trivino, 54, and 29-year-old Suchari Guzman at their home in Soundview, located at East 174th Street near Cross Avenue. Jorge Vega, 52, was confirmed dead at the Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, on Thursday Susan Trivino, 52 (left), and her daughter Suchari Guzman, 29 (right), were both killed by Jorge Vega according to police, in the afternoon tragedy in the Bronx Wednesday The couple had had a tumultuous relationship and a domestic dispute was even filed four months leading up until the killing, according to authorities. Cops say Jorge Vega, 52, fatally shot his ex, Susan Trivino, 54, in the head and chest on Wednesday. Trivino was also an MTA bus driver. He then turned the gun on her daughter, Suchari Guzman, 29, shooting her in the chest. She later died at Jacobi Medical Center. She was one-year-old Abbygail's mom. Vega turned the gun on himself and blasted himself in the head. The incident unfolded in what police are calling a domestic dispute in the family's apartment in the Soundview section of the Bronx at around 2:20pm. Jorge Vega, 52, had resigned from his job as a bus driver with the MTA last week. The family of Trivino claimed he had a drinking problem- he turned the gun on himself The little girl wasn't harmed in the incident but was taken to an area hospital for a check up. Trivino's mother Blanca Pinto screamed outside of the apartment building: 'I have to go up to see my daughter's body!' 'He killed my daughter and my granddaughter!' the grief stricken family matriarch wailed, according to the Daily News. 'I warned her so many times about that evil man!' she said, of the man that was a police officer in Puerto Rico before joining the MTA in New York. Trivano's youngest son Ricardo Caceres, who horrifically discovered his family members' bodies, told ABC7 he was stunned by Vegas's act of horrific violence. 'I have no idea what went on, this is something that was told to us suddenly,' he said. 'And we came over here and encountered this tragedy.' Trivano's youngest son Ricardo Caceres, who horrifically discovered his family members' bodies, told ABC7 he was stunned by Vegas's act of horrific violence Police packed the hallway of the apartment building where the tragedy unfolded Wednesday Evette Trivino said her sister Susan and Vega dated but recently broke off their volatile relationship. 'He loved her and she left him,' she said to the Daily News. However, a woman identifying herself as Vega's wife said he and Trivino were only colleagues. 'Oh, my God,' the woman who declined to give her name, told the DailyNews. 'I've been trying to call him.' 'I've seen her before when I drop my husband off at work,' she said of Trivino. Police exit the building in the Soundview section of the Bronx following the horrific tragedy Combing the scene for clues: Police recovered a 9-mm pistol from the scene Medical Examiner's office came to the building with gurneys to remove the bodies from the scene 'They brought out the baby wrapped in a yellow blanket,' eye-witness Ronisha Roderick added. 'She had a little teddy bear and a pacifier.' Cops recovered a 9-mm pistol at the scene. Police originally thought Trivino's son was the shooter and briefly detained him before realizing he was the one to walk into the tragedy, as neighbors called 911. '(Cicardo) was crying,' Roderick said. 'He was really upset.' 'Susan was a beautiful person. She was a hard worker her entire life,' a man who identified himself as Trivino's brother-in-law added to the Daily News. Trivano's family said Vega had a drinking problem and had resigned from his job with the MTA a week prior. The family was new to the building, and their neighbors called 911 after hearing pounding. Qantas passengers have been left outraged after at least one plane took off with multiple bags missing. A fault on a baggage belt at Sydney Airport left 'approximately' 100 bags behind. But journalist Peter Van Onselen took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to report his flight to Perth had taken off without anybody's bags. The airline announced their error to passengers after takeoff, with Mr Onselen describing the issue as 'insane incompetence'. Journalist Peter van Onselen was left outraged after his flight from Sydney to Perth took off without anyone's bags Mr Van Onselen and his fellow passengers all arrived at Perth Domestic Airport without their bags (stock image) Qantas were soon able to fix the issue, and the bags left behind were delivered on the next flight to the destination. A spokesperson for the airline denied that every passenger arrived without their baggage. They told Daily Mail Australia about 100 people had been affected, and they were on a range of flights headed around the country. 'Due to a mechanical issue with the baggage belt at our Sydney Domestic Terminal, approximately 100 of our customers bags did not make it on to their scheduled flights,' they said. 'The backup baggage belt is now operating and the bags have been placed on the next available services. 'We understand delays are frustrating, particularly during the holiday period, and we apologise sincerely to customers for the inconvenience this has caused.' Despite his earlier anger, Mr Van Onselen later praised the airline for it's quick recovery from the 'debacle'. Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has reportedly told a friend that he will run for Utah's open Senate seat. Romney texted 'I'm running' to prominent Utah business leader Kem Gardner, who relayed the remarks last Saturday to Governor Gary Herbert, who is anxious to find a successor to Orrin Hatch, the New York Times reported. Hatch, 83, announced his intention to retire after seven terms in office earlier this month, freeing up the safe Republican seat and immediately sparking speculation of a Romney run. 'Let's not be coy about this,' Herbert recounted telling Gardner to the Times. 'If he's going to run, let's go. If not, we need to find somebody else to run, and there's people that have been trying to queue up for the opportunity.' Mit Romney reportedly texted a friend 'I'm running', in yet another sign he will seek the Senate seat that will be vacated by Utah Republican Orrin Hatch Hatch (pictured) said he will be retiring after seven terms at the age of 83 Before, after: Mitt Romney updated his Twitter bio to Holladay, UT hours after Senator Orrin Hatch announced he would not be seeking another term Though Romney grew up in Michigan and was the governor of Massachusetts, he is well known in Utah for saving the Salt Lake City Olympics and as a Mormon icon. Last week, he disclosed that he had been treated for prostate cancer last year, a move that was viewed as a sign he is preparing to run for Hatch's seat. If elected, Romney is expected to bring vocal opposition to Trump to the Senate floor. He has been an outspoken Trump critic, branding him' 'a fraud' during the 2016 campaign who had 'neither the temperament nor the judgment to be president.' Romney dropped a hint about his Senate ambitions last week after Hatch announced his plan to retire, changing the location listed on his Twitter account from Massachusetts to Holladay, Utah. Trump had urged Hatch, his 83-year-old longtime ally, to run for another term. But the senator said last week that 'every good fighter knows when to hang up the gloves. Romney could create real road blocks to the administration's agenda. If he is elected in deep-red Utah, his role as a never-Trump voice could occasionally ally him with Democrats working to counter the president. During his famous 2016 speech, Romney said: 'I'm afraid that when it comes to foreign policy he is very, very not smart.' 'Dishonesty is Donald Trump's hallmark,' Romney said in the blistering remarks. Trump responded at the time by labeling Romney a 'choke artist' who lost the 2012 election to Barack Obama a 'winnable' race. President-elect Donald Trump and Mitt Romney dined at Jean Georges restaurant, November 29, 2016 in New York City when Romney was under consideration for secretary of state The two appeared to have a detente after the 2016 election, when Trump said he was considering Romney for secretary of state. They were seen dining together in an infamous photograph, before Trump pulled the rug out from Romney's diplomatic ambitions in what many considered an act of revenge for Romney's attacks during the campaign. Last week, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders declined to answer whether Trump would campaign for whoever becomes the GOP nominee in the deep-red state. 'Obviously, I don't think we've made a determination in terms of campaigning, but the President certainly has the greatest and deepest amount of respect for Senator Hatch and his over four decades of experience in the Senate,' she said. A man has been jailed for 12 months for photoshopping his teenage stepdaughter on to pornographic images A man who had a 'sexual obsession' with his teenage stepdaughter and photoshopped her face into pornographic images has been jailed. The 51-year-old created the images in late 2014, just months after he was given a suspended sentence for touching the same girl's genitals while she slept. He used Photoshop to digitally add images of the girl when she was about 13 on to the bodies of adult women engaged in sexual acts with himself. He also created an image of her engaged in bestiality with a dog. The man was arrested in September 2015 after being caught with around 100 images on hard drives in his luggage as he returned to Brisbane from a trip to South Africa. The Brisbane District Court was told the man did so because he was 'morally outraged about her blossoming sexuality'. However, Judge Leanne Clare dismissed his claims as 'implausible', saying his sexual obsession with the girl he had raised since she was two warranted 12 months behind bars. He described the photos as 'artworks' and said there was no sexual motivation behind their creation. The man pleaded guilty to four charges including possessing or producing child pornography material outside Australia, and importing and exporting objectionable goods without approval. The man created the images ust months after he was given a suspended sentence for touching the same girl's genitals while she slept. His lawyer, Colin Reid, urged the court to accept the man's claims, saying he had 'unusual beliefs' about promiscuity. He told the court his client created the photos after his stepdaughter, then aged 16, told him she was becoming sexually active with her boyfriend. Judge Clare was sceptical. 'On material that I currently have before me, I find your client's explanation not credible,' she said. 'Perhaps you were jealous of her interest in other people, but what you did was hardly an act of parental concern.' She sentenced the man to two years' jail but ordered he be released on a good behaviour bond after serving 12 months. The suspect in a deadly swatting prank has a history of making threatening calls - and revealed he previously did so for bets. Tyler Barriss, 25, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter Friday after the hoax emergency call led to the fatal SWAT team shooting of Andrew Finch, 28, in Kansas, spoke from jail about the serious matter. 'It hasn't just affected my life. It's affected, you know, someone's family too. Someone lost their life,' Barriss said in the new interview, as seen on KABC-TV. Barriss revealed he made the fake 911 calls 'on numerous occasions' in the past and was paid to do so - but claimed there was no motive behind the horrific December 28 incident. Tyler Barriss is shown making his first court appearance via video from jail before Sedgwick County District Court judge Faith Maughan on Friday, Jan. 12, 2018 Barriss (left) is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal Wichita, Kansas swatting case that took the life of Andrew Finch, 28 (right) 'There's no inspiration... I don't just get bored and sit around and decide that I'm going to make a SWAT call,' Barriss said. The Thursday before the new year, Barris, who was located in Los Angeles, California at the time, made the emergency call to police in Wichita, Kansas. He concocted a story to a dispatcher about a domestic kidnapping and shooting and informed he had 'shot his father in the head and was holding his mother and a sibling at gunpoint,' according to the news station. Barriss also said in the startling call he was preparing to set the house on fire - which immediately provoked a SWAT team to the random address provided by the suspect, where victim Finch resided. A frame grab from the Wichita Police Department's release Friday, Dec. 29, 2017, of some body cam footage of the fatal shooting of Andrew Finch, 29, by a Wichita police officer The victim who is pictured was unarmed during the incident, but was shot by a police officer who believed he was pulling out a gun In video footage from the scene, a police officer is heard shouting at Finch: 'Show your hands!' and 'walk this way!' Finch complied to the confusing orders, but at one point he seemingly moved his hand toward his waist, when an officer believed he may have been pulling a weapon out. Instantly, an officer opened fire and shot Finch once. He was transported to the hospital where he tragically died. The heartbroken mother to the father-of-two Finch, Lisa Finch, said her son was unarmed during the incident she described to be 'murder'. This Dec. 29, 2017 photo shows Lisa Finch, surrounded by family members reacting to the killing of her son Andrew Finch after he was shot by police at his home 'I understand the magnitude of what happened,' Barriss added from jail. 'I never intended for anyone to get shot and killed. I just wish I could have re-wound somehow, you know, and just never done it.' Just six days before the deadly December 28 call, Barriss also made a prank call to police in Calgary, Canada, according to KABC-TV. Shockingly enough, the suspect was convicted in October 2015 after he called the news station about a bomb threat. Barriss appears in court for his extradition hearing in Los Angeles, California U.S. January 3, 2018 While Barriss claims there was no motive for the Kansas swatting prank, investigators believe he may have been involved in a $2 dispute over the video game, Call of Duty. His bond was set at $500,000. If convicted, Barrass could face 11 years behind bars. It's currently unclear as to whether the police officer who fatally shot the victim will face charges. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said in court that further investigation will determine the decision. 'There is no other situation quite like this to reference... I am not going to stand right here and say I am not considering anything else. That would be untrue.' An Australian sailor has described the terrifying seven minutes he waited to be rescued after he was flung overboard from a yacht in the Volvo Ocean race. Rob Gough, 24, is part of the crew aboard Scallywag captained by Sydney sailor David Witt in the around-the-world race. Gough fell overboard in the Pacific Ocean during the Melbourne to Hong Kong leg of the race. Scroll down for video Gough fell overboard in the Pacific Ocean during the Melbourne to Hong Kong leg of the race An Australian sailor has described the terrifying seven minutes he waited to be rescued after he was flung overboard from a yacht in the Volvo Ocean race The incident was captured on camera by a reporter on the yacht. 'He went out on the outrigger, I was driving, and we went off a big sea and it picked him up threw him off, like a horse,' said skipper David Witt. Video of the incident shows the crew desperately searching for Gough, before throwing over a yellow rope to pull him in. It took the crew seven minutes to rescue Witt, but Gough said it he was just lucky he didn't fall over at night. 'He's safe. But I think it's shown everyone how hard it is to see the guy in the water. Even on a sunny day, 18 knots of wind... you wouldn't want to be doing this in 20 knots in the dark,' Witt said. Gough admitted he should have been tethered to the boat. 'I was pretty stupid, but luckily the guys were on to it,' he said. Master of None star Aziz Ansari has denied a woman's claims of sexual misconduct while they were on a date, saying that the encounter was completely consensual 'by all indications' he had at the time. Ansari, 34, spoke out with his side of the story on Sunday, one day after a 23-year-old photographer in New York shared her allegations about their September date with the women's website Babe. 'In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date,' Ansari acknowledged in a statement to Variety. 'We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual,' Ansari said. 'The next day, I got a text from her saying that although "it may have seemed okay," upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable. It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned,' he said. 'I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said.' 'I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture,' he said. 'It is necessary and long overdue.' Award-winning comedian Aziz Ansari is seen wearing a Time's Up initiative pin at a Golden Globes after party last weekend Ansari's denial came one day after the anonymous woman offered allegations about their date that were highly detailed, claiming the actor had pressured her for sex at his apartment over the course of the night while they were on a date. The woman's claims did not involve force or violence. The woman said she met Ansari at an after-party for the Emmys in Los Angeles on September 17 when she noticed they had both brought the same kind of film cameras. She said she exchanged phone numbers with Ansari at the party and later made plans for a date when they had both returned to New York. On Monday, September 25, she said she went to Ansari's swanky TriBeCa apartment, where they drank white wine and talked. After dinner at an oyster bar a few blocks away, she said they returned to his apartment. She claims he performed oral sex on her and then asked her to reciprocate, which she did. Ansari is pictured above with Master of None co-creator Alan Yang (left) and co-stars Eric Wareheim and Alessandra Mastronardi after the Emmys AZIZ ANSARI'S FULL STATEMENT ON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CLAIMS Aziz Ansari's publicist released the following statement on Sunday: 'In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. 'We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual. 'The next day, I got a text from her saying that although "it may have seemed okay," upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable. It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned. 'I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said. 'I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue.' Advertisement The woman claims he stuck his fingers down her throat and allegedly kept moving her hand towards his penis. She said she couldn't say whether Ansari was just clueless or actively ignoring her signals. 'I know I was physically giving off cues that I wasn't interested. I don't think that was noticed at all, or if it was, it was ignored,' she said. She alleges that Ansari repeatedly asked her 'Where do you want me to f**k you?' When the woman stood up to leave, Ansari insisted on calling a car for her, she claims. 'I cried the whole ride home. At that point I felt violated. That last hour was so out of my hand,' she said The woman said that Ansari's reputation as a feminist and 'woke' individual on social issues heightened the sense of disconnect she felt on the date. 'This was not what I expected. I'd seen some of his shows and read excerpts from his book and I was not expecting a bad night at all, much less a violating night and a painful one,' she said. The next day, before the woman could figure out what to say to Ansari about the date, he allegedly sent her a text message. 'It was fun meeting you last night,' the message read. The woman responded: 'Last night might've been fun for you, but it wasn't for me. You ignored clear non-verbal clues; you kept going with advances. 'I want to make sure you're aware so maybe the next girl doesn't have to cry on the ride home.' Ansari allegedly replied: 'I'm so sad to hear this. Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I'm truly sorry.' A 17-year-old has been banned from buying a dog for two years after she pleaded guilty to repeatedly kicking a dog and sharing a video of the attack online. Claire Elizabeth West filmed herself kicking the puppy, named Buster, 26 times and making threats near the central Queensland town of Rockhampton on Saturday. 'Dog's dead... how do you like that?' she said in the distressing video she posted on social media. The RSPCA and Queensland police were alerted to the vision after others distributed it on additional social media sites. Claire Elizabeth West was banned from buying a dog for two years after she pleaded guilty to repeatedly kicking a dog named Buster (pictured) and sharing a video of the attack online She kicked Buster 26 times and making threats near the central Queensland town of Rockhampton on Saturday West appeared in Rockhampton Magistrates Court on Monday where she pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty. The court heard she had received a series of troubling messages from her ex-boyfriend and his new partner before the attack, The Morning Bulletin reported. Her defence lawyer told the court she was remorseful and was 'completely humiliated and angry' at herself following the incident. The teenager receives a disability support pension and has been diagnosed with several psychological disorders, the court heard. 'Dog's dead... how do you like that?' the teenager said in the distressing video she posted on social media West filmed herself kicking Buster 26 times and making threats near the central Queensland town of Rockhampton on Saturday Magistrate Jeff Clarke reportedly described the incident as 'quite a despicable act'. 'Unfortunately I cannot make an order that you not access or maintain social media accounts - I would make that order if that order could be made,' he said. West was banned from buying a dog for two years and given a two-year probation order. She must also take part in counselling and anger management sessions. A young man who fell victim to a violent Apex gang carjacking has tearfully called on the government to deport the ringleader, saying his upbringing 'isn't an excuse'. Daniel Sibberas was sitting in the passenger seat of his friend Sam Newman's car on their way home from a Melbourne bar in 2015 when they were rammed from behind. When the pair, who were both teenagers at the time, got out to inspect the damage a group of African youths jumped out of a stolen BMW wielding sawn-off shotguns. The attack left Mr Newman so traumatised he took his own life just months later. Now, with the government struggling to deport the Sudanese-born gangster who led the shocking attack, Mr Sibberas says he believes a stance should be taken to send a message to refugees. Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia, he said: 'You need to realise how lucky you are'. Scroll down for video Daniel Sibberas (pictured), who was victim to a violent Apex carjacking in 2015, says strict new deportation laws must be used against gangsters The 21-year-old tearfully spoke with Daily Mail Australia about the brazen attack by a group of youths in a stolen BMW as he and his best friend Sam Newman drove home from a nightclub Just months after the attack a traumatised Mr Newman (right) took his own life Isaac Gatkuoth, an alleged Apex gang ringleader, spent 16-months in a youth jail and had his visa automatically cancelled as a result of the attack. But the 20-year-old has since appealed against his deportation, something his victim Mr Sibberas told Daily Mail Australia needed to be stopped. 'It's all about getting harder laws, they can't just take it easy because they're worried to offend a minority,' Mr Sibberas said. 'The thing with Isaac saying "I was on ice, I didn't sleep for two weeks" sure (but) it's not an excuse. 'You see people come from a third world country who are so happy and appreciative to be here and they want to work and they're amazing at what they do. 'But then you see young kids who just take it for granted and push the boundaries to a point where they cause trouble.' Gangster Isaac Gatkuoth (pictured) is fighting a move to deport him back to Sudan In the months after Mr Sibberas and his best friend were attacked, the pair met with one of the youths who was inside the stolen car. Having agreed to the meeting for their attackers rehabilitation, Mr Sibberas said they were delivered a kick in the teeth when he re-offended only months later. 'Everybody deserves a second chance but it's when they repeat offend you have to point towards sending them back home,' he said. 'It's on the verge of getting real nasty again in Melbourne, it feels like it's going to go one of two ways. 'Either it's going to fizzle out and become nothing, or it's going to be on again.' 'Everybody deserves a second chance but it's when they repeat offend you have to point towards sending them back home,' Mr Sibberas said Gatkuoth (pictured) spent 16 months in youth detention after the carjacking and is now being held on Christmas Island. He is appealing against a move to have him deported back to Sudan Mr Sibberas' decision to speak out comes just a week after his mother told Daily Mail Australia her son was too frightened to stay in Melbourne and was planning a move overseas. Shelley Sibberas said that while the African thug who attacked them didn't pull the trigger on that night, he essentially took the lives of two young boys anyway. 'Daniel relives Sam's death everyday. The day Sam took his own life was the day I lost a part of my son,' she tearfully said. 'My son's leaving the country in August because he can't handle it anymore. I'm now losing him and it's not fair, it's all because of this stupid idiot. 'He's scared to go out now in case any of that kid's friends recognise him and attack him again.' The shocking carjacking attack wasn't the only one to be committed by members of the Apex gang in that stolen BMW. Amanda Matheson, 47, died after her vehicle was struck head-on by the same luxury car as it hurtled down the wrong side of the road three days later. The mother-of-three died in hospital three days after the attack. A 15-year-old boy at the wheel of the stolen car was jailed for three years in 2016. Amanda Matheson (pictured), 47, died after her vehicle was struck head-on by the same stolen BMW just days after the carjacking. A 15-year-old boy was jailed for killing the mother-of-three A petition aiming to 'stop the Australian government deporting Issac Gatkuoth' was set up last year by his supporters Gatkuoth has previously denied being a member of the Apex gang, with supporters of his online saying his 'hellish upbringing' had contributed to his crime spree. A petition aiming to 'stop the Australian government deporting Issac Gatkuoth' was backed by 602 people when set up last year. 'Issac Gatkuoth came to Australia as a nine-year old child refugee. He "endured a hellish, parentless upbringing in Sudan",' the petition read. 'He hasn't seen his mother since he was five years old, his two brothers were killed when his village was "wiped out".' But according to Mr Sibberas, while his story is an unfortunate one, there's no way it can be an excuse for violent behaviour that eventually cost his best friend's life. 'As kids we always had clothes on our back, food in your lunchbox and school to go to and later in life you realise how lucky you were,' he said. 'These kids didn't have that yet they're still mistreating it - it can't be allowed to go on.' A mother warmed the hearts of Sydneysiders when she shared a photo of her young son eating his dinner beside a lonely homeless man. Alyce Ransom said three-year-old Issac pulled up a chair next to the man, who was sitting by himself at the front of a restaurant. The two were pictured at separate small tables alongside each other less than a metre apart with their backs to the camera. A mother warmed the hearts of Sydneysiders when she shared this photo of her three-year-old son eating his dinner beside a lonely homeless man Alyce Ransom (pictured) said three-year-old Issac pulled up a chair next to the man, who was sitting by himself at the front of a restaurant 'Why is it that a three-year-old can have more compassion than a lot of adults?' she wrote. 'A lot of people could learn a lot from this lil man! People judge each other too much.' Other Sydney residents praised Issac for his actions, and his mother for raising a boy with compassion for others. 'Alyce you should be so proud. Well done for raising him right! That's beautiful what your son did, we need more people like him in the world,' one said. 'There's a kind-hearted boy who has been taught by his parents how to show compassion and respect to others,' another said. The former NBN installer has been sentenced to 16 months home detention He told them he needed to access their device to connect to their internet A technician who stole more than 80 explicit photos from multiple women's phones while connecting their homes to the NBN has been spared time behind bars. Aydin Agar, 25, was sentenced to 16 months home detention for stealing the images, which included lingerie snaps, nude pictures and a video of a woman engaged in a sex act. He was heckled outside of Downing Centre Local Court on Monday afternoon with a reporter asking, 'You don't want to show your face but you're happy to look at [women's] photos?' Aydin Agar (pictured on Monday outside of Sydney's Downing Centre) pleaded guilty to stealing private and explicit images off female customers' phones Agar told the women he needed access to their devices to connect them to Wifi and then accessed their image galleries. He then sent himself the images while they weren't looking and deleted any trace of outgoing messages from their devices. Agar was only caught when one of the women noticed that a private image had been accessed and opened. He also assaulted one of the victims who noticed what he'd done during a second visit to her home. He pushed and shoved her while attempting to snatch her phone and run away. Mannon White, who was one of the women from whom Agar stole intimate photos, told 9NEWS reporters she felt violated. 'They were private, explicitly sensitive images that you wouldn't share with absolutely anyone except for with a partner or someone you extremely trust,' she shared. Agar tried to avoid media outside the Downing Centre Local Court after sentencing on Monday One of the women from whom Agar stole intimate photos, told reporters that she felt violated Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson says his actions were a complete abuse of trust and caused significant emotional harm. 'This is completely and utterly unacceptable,' she told Agar in court. 'The fear somebody has that these images are going to be spread around the world is enormous - it's absolutely awful.' Ms Atkinson stressed that while he wasn't being sent to prison his behaviour did deserve a jail term. During sentencing, she said, 'He abused the women's trust and inflicted substantial emotional harm on the victims who lived in fear their sensitive private images would be spread around the world,' she said during sentencing. The former NBN installer told women he needed access to their phones to connect to the Wi-Fi Aydin Agar's lawyer (centre) pushed for home detention rather than time spent behind bars Agar's lawyer pushed for home detention rather than jail time, arguing that he had already been punished with the loss of his $2000 a week job. In addition to serving his 16-month term in the community by way of an intensive correction order, he is also reportedly addressing his behaviour in therapy. Meanwhile, a recent survey by the eSafety Commission showed one in five Australian women aged 18-45 suffered image-based abuse. A man who was relaxing in a spa pool has been smacked in the face by a fish which fell out of the sky. Russell Hogg felt the flounder slap him in the face while sitting in a spa pool at Parnell Baths in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday. Mr Hogg told Radio New Zealand he thought someone had 'done a big belly flop' before watching the large flounder sink to the bottom of the pool. He reached in and grabbed the dead fish out of the water. 'I thought, what the f**k?' Mr Hogg said. Russell Hogg felt the flounder slap him in the face while sitting in a spa pool at Parnell Baths in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday He was sharing the spa pool with three women at the time of the interruption from above, who also got a fright from the fish's unexpected arrival. Mr Hogg was visiting the pools with his wife and three children, and offered them the fish to hold. He said they decided not to as it 'stank too much'. He believed a large bird dropped the fish onto his head from high in the sky. 'It landed with a great force from quite high up and no-one's got a half-dead flounder in their hand when they go to Parnell Baths,' he told the New Zealand Herald. He estimated the fish weighed about 2kg. 'I'm pretty accident-prone as it is. I think maybe I should buy a lottery ticket tonight. 'It's not something that happens every day is it?' He believed a large bird dropped the fish onto his head from high in the sky Mr Hogg - originally from Portsmouth, England - said a crowd gathered around him at the pools as he emerged clutching the large flounder. After snapping a selfie with the fish, he fed it to some seagulls. Parnell Baths operator Community Leisure Management told Newshub they are investigating the incident and will be reviewing CCTV footage. The United States Homeland Security chief has said anyone who says President Donald Trump is racist would have to say the same about Malcolm Turnbull. Kirstjen Nielsen said the merit-based immigration system Mr Trump wants to introduce is the 'exact' same as what Australia currently has. The president allegedly described Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as s**tholes and suggested the US should accept more people from nations like Norway. The United States Homeland Security chief has said anyone who says President Donald Trump is racist would have to say the same about Malcolm Turnbull 'I take a little bit of offence to the comments and suggestions that the president is racist,' Ms Nielsen said during an interview with Fox News on Sunday. She said a merit-based immigration system was already in place in Australia and Canada. 'I'm sure that we are not, any of us, suggesting that Canada and Australia and their leaders are racists.' Interviewer Chris Wallace suggested Mr Trump 'seems to be suggesting you'd rather have a janitor from Norway than a doctor from Haiti', but Ms Nielsen disagreed. 'I think what he's trying to do is move away from a quota-based system, whether that's a quota of underrepresented countries or a quota of Norway, for example,' she said. 'I think what he's trying to say is we need to look at the individual and ensure that we look at those who can bring merit to our country.' Mr Trump allegedly made the 's**thole' comment in front of Democrat and Republican members of Congress Ms Nielsen was in the Oval Office on Thursday when Mr Trump allegedly made the 's**thole' comment in front of Democrat and Republican members of Congress, while discussing a potential bipartisan immigration deal. Mr Trump has denied meaking the comment. Ms Nielsen said she didn't 'recall him saying that exact phrase'. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham said he confronted Mr Trump about using disparaging remarks, although he did explicitly confirm the president used the word 's**thole'. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told reporters he heard the president use the word 's**thole'. Two venomous snakes have fought to the death in an Australian backyard, before the hungry victor devoured the other. Video shared by Liz Williams shows a brown snake and a tiger snake grappling at a Nanneella property, near Rochester in Victoria on Friday night. The brown snake can be seen coiling itself around the other reptile as the pair roll around in the dirt. Two venomous snakes have fought to the death in an Australian backyard, before the hungry victor devoured the other The brown snake then clamps its fangs down on the tiger and starts eating its head. 'It was amazing, I didn't even know they would fight like that, let alone eat one another,' Ms Williams told the Riverine Herald. A snake catcher was called to bag the pair up. He later called Ms Williams to tell her the brown snake regurgitated the tiger snake. Both brown snakes and tiger snakes are venomous, and snakes do occasionally eat each other. Prosecutors have dropped charges against all but one of the 65 people who were arrested at a 'Christmas Lingerie Party'. After the mass arrests in the early hours of December 31, the district attorney's office in Barstow County, Georgia said on Friday that evidence was insufficient to convict 64 out of 65. 'The District Attorney's Office has reviewed the files pertaining to the arrest of sixty-five individuals for possession of marijuana on December 31, 2017,' the office said in a statement. 'The review concludes the evidence is insufficient to convict sixty-four of the sixty-five charged. Accordingly, charges against those sixty-four individuals have been dismissed.' Officials did not say which person had charges stick, or for what reason. Around 2am on New Year's Eve, Cartersville Police responded to a 911 call about shots fired at the home where the party was being held. Partygoers (l to r): Party Host Deja Heard, Nickalas Bankhead, Elija Battle, Hailey Bishop Partygoers (l to r): Priscilla Cook, Ladamian Curtis, Matthew Floyd, Jantisha Gainor Partygoers (l to r): Mariah Gray, Aliana Hall, Shaquana Hampton, Ashley Huskins Partygoers (l to r): Tiffanique Irby, Lemarc Johnson, Antoine Lawrence, Cayde Martin The fliers for the party promised jello shots, beer pong and 'drunk/strip twister' The party was held at this home in Cartersville, about 45 miles northwest of Atlanta Deja Heard was the party's host, and threw it as a combination Christmas and 21st birthday party for herself, according to fliers for the event. The fliers promised jello shots, beer pong and 'drunk/strip twister'. Police responding to the 911 call arrived to a jam packed house. Over scanners, police commented on how many people were on the porch, and as they walked around back they noted 'there are quite a few people inside the house.' Cops said that they smelled pot and saw several people trying to flee. They were then faced with the daunting task of getting everyone who was inside the packed home outside as they started arresting people on pot charges. Police seized three handguns, and released a photo showing what appear to be various small amounts of marijuana that were recovered from the partygoers. Police seized three handguns, and released a photo showing what appear to be various small amounts of marijuana that were recovered from the partygoers Partygoers (l to r): Tiara Jones, Trinity Morris, Jaelin Isaiah Randall, Tyler Austin Reed Partygoers (l to r): Courtney Michelle Simpson, Anastasia Stollings, Elizabeth Suaste Martinez, Derricka Ivy-Octavia Sullivan Partygoers (l to r): Khari Christine Villegas, Alan Lamar Ware, Israel Aimon Wells, Daidron Travon Williams Partygoers (l to r): Kelsey Kianna Wright, Yanci Akselson, Anthony Wilson, Auston Davis Partygoers (l to r): Randy Blanco Gonzalez, Braden Thomason, Ghamal Brown, Christavious Calloway The NAACP complained that the mass arrests on small marijuana charges amounted to a civil rights violation. A parent to one of those rounded up by police complained to WGRZ that had the arrests happened in Atlanta - just 40 miles to the south - the arrestees would have received a $75 ticket instead of being placed behind bars. Attorney Gerald Griggs, a representative with the NAACP who helped defend the partygoers, told WMAZ that the district attorney's decision to drop the charges was 'thoughtful and effective.' 'We also want to thank the public for voicing their [concerns] in the case,' Griggs said. He added that the NAACP still intends to investigate this case for 'any and all civil rights violations' and 'proceed accordingly.' Partygoers (l to r): Aaron Conelly, Da'kelin Wells, Damek Lewis, Darius Jackson Partygoers (l to r): Desean Ware, Eutychus Wilson, Tydaesha Fezzia, Nija Guider Partygoers (l to r): Elizabeth Hargis, Horace Booker, Jacobe Smith, Ahzhane Johnson Partygoers (l to r): Sidnee Johnson, Jorven Byrd, Kintavious Cullins, Lazarus Williamson Partygoers (l to r): Andrea Lopez-Martinez, Sirandon Marshall, Courtney Mathis, Andre Miller Partygoers (l to r): Munterys Fezzia, Qaokrus Morgan, Rodney Mitchell Advertisement Dramatic footage shows the moment a balcony collapsed at the Indonesian stock exchange today as a large group of students were being given a tour. The CCTV clip shows people plunging to the lobby below along with a cascade of glass, metal and rubble as the structure gave way. Many of them are understood to have been university students from Palembang in Sumatra. Several other people were walking beneath the walkway as it crashed down inside the building in Jakarta. Officials say 80 people have been injured in the collapse. Pictures show huge slabs of concrete on the ground and victims being treated at the scene. The high-rise building, constructed in the late 1990s, is part of a two-tower complex also housing offices of the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation. It was the target of a car bombing by Islamist militants in September 2000. Police ruled out a bomb as a cause of the collapse and described the incident as an accident. A crowd of students could be seen walking along the mezzanine level moments before it started to give way beneath them The CCTV clip shows people plunging to the lobby below along with a cascade of glass, metal and rubble as the structure gave way The floor crashed down several metres taking dozens of people with it and sparking scenes of chaos in the stock exchange building More than 70 people have been injured after a floor overlooking collapsed in the lobby of the Indonesian stock exchange today. Victims lay injured on the ground as emergency crews scrambled to rescue those caught up in the floor collapse this morning Emergency crews could be seen frantically removing rubble as they searched for victims of the floor collapse in Jakarta today There were chaotic scenes as mass evacuation took place at the Jakarta Stock Exchange building and pictures show people being treated at the scene. Pictures showed how the floor collapsed into the building's lobby Hundreds of college students from Palembang in Sumatra were visiting the building at the time and one witness said a group of them were on the mezzanine level when it started collapsing There was no immediate explanation for the collapse. Footage showed several people lying on the ground or being carried outside the building. Images aired on television and circulated on social media showed a concrete and metal structure that had collapsed around a Starbucks cafe near the entrance to the lobby of the building with blue-tinted windows. A spokesman for Jakarta's Siloam Hospital had earlier said it received 28 people from the tower, and the seriousness of the injuries was still being assessed. However the number of those now known to be injured has since increased. Jakarta police said there were no reports of deaths. A spokesman told Metro TV: 'We are still investigating the cause, but for now our priorities are the casualties.' TV news footage showed people panicking and screaming as officials tried to evacuate the area amid piles of debris. A reporter from Metro TV, who was in the building to cover the stock market, said the incident happened shortly after noon local time (5am UK time). Dramatic footage shows the moment a balcony collapsed at the Indonesian stock exchange today as a large group of students were being given a tour People are seen running for cover at the entrance of the Indonesian stock exchange in Jakarta More than 70 people have been injured after a floor collapsed in the lobby of the Indonesian stock exchange today sparking a chaotic evacuation Victims of the floor collapse were carried out and received emergency treatment on the ground outside the building There were frantic scenes as injured people were taken away on stretchers during a chaotic evacuation of the building Injured people are treated outside the Indonesian Stock Exchange building after the incident An injured person is seen inside an ambulance following the structural collapse today 'There was a loud banging so people who were inside immediately ran outside of the building,' said journalist Marlia Zein. 'Slabs of concrete started to fall, there was lots of dust. Water pipes had burst,' said Megha Kapoor, who works in the building and was in the lobby at the time. 'I heard a loud cracking sound. I saw a lady unconscious stuck under slab of concrete,' she said, adding that the collapsed level was just above the reception desk. She said there had been group of high school students on the level when it started collapsing. The grounds outside the building turned into a make-shift hospital ward as people rushed to help victims of the collapse Workers were seen covering a window to block the view inside the building at the Indonesia Stock Exchange after the floor came down Officers were called in to guard the scene as rescue teams worked at the scene, in Jakarta's Stock Exchange building There was no immediate explanation for the collapse. Footage showed several people lying on the ground or being carried outside the building The structure appeared to be an internal balcony or mezzanine floor. It collapsed on to the ground level of the complex's second tower. An Indonesian Stock Exchange spokesman told Bloomberg confirmed that there had not been an explosion. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she hoped the collapse would not affect investor confidence in the tropical Southeast Asian archipelago. The exchange resumed business in the afternoon as per schedule. The Indonesia Stock Exchange is located in the centre of Jakarta, and the local office of the World Bank is also housed on the 12th floor of the complex. Safety standards are often loosely enforced in Indonesia. Last year, a fire that ripped through a fireworks factory on the outskirts of Jakarta killed around 50 people in one of the country's worst industrial accidents. A police investigation found multiple safety violations. Mass delays are expected across Sydney's train and bus networks, as transport workers refuse to work overtime. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union announced on Tuesday its members would take industrial action from 12pm Thursday, January 25. With Sydney Trains relying on its drivers to do overtime to run its schedule, the move is expected to cause chaos for commuters. Scroll down for video Mass delays are expected across Sydney's train and bus networks, as transport workers refuse to work overtime Union members have asked for a six per cent annual pay increase. In a statement sent to Daily Mail Australia, NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Alex Claassens said the government could stop the industrial action from going ahead if it met their demands. 'From Thursday the 25th of January, there will be an indefinite ban on overtime work. We've seen in the past few days that excessive overtime is leaving workers across the network fatigued and exhausted,' he said. 'The ban on overtime is important in order to protect our workmates and commuters.' Mr Claasens said the union was 'incredibly disappointed we've had to get to this point'. 'No one wants to take industrial action, but we haven't been left with any other options at this stage,' he said. 'We're still hopeful that management and the government will come to the table and deliver an enterprise agreement that provides workers with the wages and conditions they deserve, so we don't have to take any more action. Our door is always open.' With Sydney Trains relying on its drivers to do overtime to run its schedule, the move is expected to cause chaos for commuters Sydney Trains Chief Executive Howard Collins (pictured) as he speaks to the media Mr Claasens said the NSW Government expected transport workers 'to do more with far less'. He ensured commuters they would be kept updated with as much information as possible in lead up to next week's action. 'The last thing any railway worker wants to do is inconvenience commuters... but i'm sure everyone will understand, we've been forced to this point.' Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins responded to the announcement on Tuesday saying it would create havoc for commuters. 'That will have an impact on the network... we are working on those contingency plans now,' he told reporters. 'It would be an important challenge for us and we would have to reschedule (trains).' Former soap opera star Amber Tamblyn has called on Disney to add women of color to its board of directors. The 34-year-old actress took to Twitter on Sunday, sharing a link to a story about a four directors that are set to step down from Disney's board, two of them well-known tech executives. 'Hi @Disney and @RobertIger. It looks like youre about to have two seats open on your board of directors,' wrote Tamblyn. 'We call on you to choose women of color for these seats. Be a shining example for your fellow studios. Were watching,' she continued. Former soap opera star Amber Tamblyn (left) called on Disney CEO Bob Iger (right) to fill spots on the company's board of directors with non-white women Disney said Friday that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey won't be standing for re-election to the board As well, Orin C. Smith (left) will be retiring at the age of 74 and Robert Matschullat (right) will step down after reaching the boards 15-year term limit Disney said Friday that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey won't be standing for re-election to the board at the company's annual meeting on March 8. The two found conflicts of interest increasingly difficult as Disney moves increasingly into technology. As well, Orin C. Smith will be retiring at the age of 74 and Robert Matschullat will step down after reaching the boards 15-year term limit. Tamblyn's tweet demanding that their seats on the board go to non-white women included the hashtag #TimesUp, in reference to the legal defense fund for women fighting sexual misconduct. Currently, four out of Disney's 12-member board of directors are female. Disney has already said that Israeli-born woman Safra Catz, Oracles co-CEO, and Illumina CEO Francis deSouza, a man from Ethiopia, will join the board starting February 1. If they, along with the eight incumbent members, are elected at the annual meeting, Disney will end up with 10 directors. Incumbent board members: Susan Arnold, John Chen, Bob Iger, Fred Langhammer An Aboriginal mother put schools on high alert after threatening to shoot the 'white racist privileged children'. Two high schools on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland were prepared for a possible disturbance after Iesha Lillian Nixon got into an argument with the Department of Education and Training. The 38-year-old wanted to enrol her son into Burnside State School after feeling he was 'racially vilified' at Nambour State College, according to Sunshine Coast Daily. Nixon accused Nambour State College of being 'racist' towards her son because they wouldn't let him take a spear to class. Aboriginal mother Iesha Lillian Nixon (pictured) put schools on high alert after threatening to shoot the 'white racist privileged children' The 38-year-old (right) wanted to enrol her son into Burnside State School after feeling he was 'racially vilified' at Nambour State College, Sunshine Coast Daily reported The mother complained about Nambour State College (pictured) because they would not let her son take a spear to class where she reportedly threatened to 'get a gun' to use at school The mother called the Department of Education and Training to complain but it quickly became violent and left the phone operator feeling uneasy. Nixon reportedly threatened to 'get a gun' to use at the schools. In a second incident, the 38-year-old verbally abused another phone operator when she called to complain about Burnside State School not accepting her son because they lived out of the area. The mother then threatened to 'hang herself from the flagpole' out the front of the school, the publication reported. Maroochydore Magistrates Court heard Nixon was taking her anger out on white people, showing little remorse for her actions. Nixon was reportedly convicted and fined $1000. Two teenagers have stabbed a teacher and eight pupils as young as ten 'in the neck' during a knife rampage at a Russian school today. Corridors were left covered in blood after the young knifemen launched their attack at School number 127 in the central city of Perm. The suspects were named as Lev Bidzhakov, 17, and Alexander Buslidze - both described as 'big fans' of the 1999 Columbine massacre at a US school in which 12 students and a teacher were slaughtered. Dramatic footage shows Bidzhakov being led from the school by police and taken to hospital in a grave condition after reportedly cutting his own veins. Buslidze, was reported to have jumped out of a window before being arrested. There are reports in Russia that Bidzhakov, who had material from the Columbine mass murder on his social media account, had taken offence at being called a 'dog' online. Scroll down for video Two teenagers have stabbed a teacher and eight pupils as young as ten 'in the neck' during a knife rampage at a Russian school today. The main suspect was named as Lev Bidzhakov (pictured), believed to be 17, who was accompanied on the school rampage by a friend called Alexander Pictures have emerged showing suspect Lev Bidzhakov (circled) being detained at the scene this morning Bidzhakov (pictured being detained today) is said to have had material from the Columbine massacre on his social network account. There are reports in Russia that he had taken offence at being called a 'dog' on social media Pictures show corridors covered in blood at School number 127 in the city's Motovilikhinsky district One ten-year-old pupil was reported to be in an extremely bad condition. There were also claims that the toll of victims was even higher. Teacher Natalia Shagulina was badly wounded as she fought off the knife attackers to defend her young students at the school. She is undergoing emergency surgery and 'fighting for her life'. An unnamed boy in her class said the teenagers brandishing knives burst into to their classroom during a lesson on technologies. 'All of a sudden two big teenagers came in the classroom,' he said. 'They were wearing black trousers and sweatshirts, their mouths covered with dark masks and with sunglasses over their eyes. Both had knives in their hands.' Teacher Natalia Shagulia (pictured) was badly wounded as she fought off the knife attackers to defend her young students at the school The teacher rushed to get her phone, said the boy. The intruders were right next to his desk in the third row. 'They didn't have regular kitchen knives, but some professional ones, for hunting. 'When one of them noticed our teacher was reaching out for her phone, he jumped to her and grabbed her. 'The other one rushed to the kids and started grabbing us.' Some fled out screaming for help. Older pupils came running from other classes to help. The boy said he managed to escape in to the minus 5C cold. 'Snow cleaners were there and I told them what happened and they ran to the hospital with other children. 'Some of our classmates ran to shopping centre to hide there and ask for help.' One mother told how Shagulina saved her son's life amid the panic during a technology lesson. 'My son escaped only because the teacher pushed away the attacker, which let several boys run away,' said the unnamed woman. A pupil told Mash online media of his terrifying ordeal during which he was stabbed. Bidzhakov (pictured) is believed to have taken offence at being called a 'dog' on social media The 17-year-old (left, in a social media and, right, being detained) was described as being a 'fan' of the Columbine massacre in the US 'Suddenly two senior students dressed in black rushed into the class, one of them went to the teacher and started stabbing her with a knife,' he said. 'The second, also with a knife, stood by the door and didn't allow anyone escape. 'We panicked, screamed "Help2 and moved towards a window. As soon as we tried to escape, the first pointed the knife at us. He started stabbing those who tried to escape. 'When he stabbed me with a knife, I backed off towards the window. Then the second one came came closer to me. 'I raised hands to surrender and he made a gesture to show he won't stab me again. 'One of the boys, Sasha, ran towards the door and then the was stabbed with a knife. 'They were stabbing us in complete silence, not calling each other by name.' Four of the wounded have undergone emergency surgery at the state clinical hospital number four in Perm. All are in a 'grave condition' from knife wounds. Most of the students are in a specialist children's hospital where two have undergone surgery. Most are in a 'medium grave condition'. Eight ambulances and dozens of fire appliances rushed to School number 127 in Motovilikhinsky district. Children were evacuated from the building One suspect was reported as having material from the Columbine High School massacre in the US on his social network account One has a serious neck wound, another a knife wound to the eye. Witnesses said the attackers had agreed to target the school but ended up fighting each other during the bloody assault. A student said of Bidzhakov: 'Last year he finished year nine, he had repeated a year a few times. He should have been in year 11 now. 'He wasn't doing well at school. He wasn't aggressive, but quiet. Nothing like he wanted to kill someone. I don't understand why it all happened. 'He's from a good family, with a father and mother together. But he used to run away from home. He didn't like that he was controlled.' This morning a source in the FSB security service this morning said that two 'criminals in masks' attacked a teacher and students. 'As a result of armed attack, nine people received knife wounds, one teacher and eight students' Another said that there was 'blood everywhere in the school.' A pair of masked knifemen have stabbed a teacher and eight pupils 'in the neck' during a rampage at a Russian school today, leaving corridors covered in blood. A victim is pictured receiving treatment at the scene Gruesome pictures appear to show blood on the floor in the school after the rampage Dramatic footage showed Bidzhakov being dragged away from the scene of the attack There were confused reports including claims of a fight between students at the school Some wounded children fled the school to a nearby shopping centre. There were also claims there was a fire at the school. Eight ambulances and dozens of fire appliances rushed to School number 127 in Motovilikhinsky district. Children were evacuated from the building. A father said: 'The school told my wife two intruders armed with knives attacked a chemistry teacher and pupils in room 39, and they were stabbing them on their necks.' Pavel, a student, told journalists: 'We were having geography lesson on the third floor of the school where everything happened. We heard fire alarm and teachers started walking us out of classrooms. THE SCHOOL MASSACRE THAT SHOCKED THE WORLD It was a massacre that shocked the world and sparked a nationwide debate on gun control in the US. On April 20, 1999 students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, walked in to Columbine High School in Colorado before opening fire and slaughtering 13 people . In a meticulously planned attack, they used a firebomb as a diversion and stacks of explosives laid around the high school. The pair shot and killed 12 students and one teacher in the attack. Chilling CCTV footage showed the heavily armed killers walking around the school's cafeteria during the mass killing. On April 20, 1999 students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold (pictured), 17, walked in to Columbine High School in Colorado before opening fire and slaughtering 13 people Harris (pictured) and Klebold shot and killed 12 students and one teacher in the attack and chilling CCTV footage showed the heavily armed killers walking from room to room They injured 21 others while three more were hurt while attempting to escape the school. The pair subsequently killed themselves before they could be caught. While the motivation behind the attack is still not fully understood, a reading of their journals showed they wished their actions to rival the notoriety of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. The ease in which they acquired their weapons went on to form the basis of the Bowling for Columbine documentary, that reignited the US gun control policy debate. Dylan Klebold (right) and Eric Harris are shown in the Columbine High School cafeteria on the day they killed twelve students and one teacher before killing themselves At the time, it was the worst school shooting in the country's history before 2007, when 23-year-old Virginia Tech student Seung-Hui Cho went on a shooting rampage on the Blacksburg college campus, killing 32 people. Five years later, 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 20 students and six teaching staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Advertisement 'When we were leaving, we saw drops of blood every five metres. 'When we left [the building], we saw smoke coming out of a window on the third floor. 'At first we were told that a lamp exploded and allegedly injured some children. 'From my classmates I heard that a stranger or even two entered the building and wounded our chemistry teacher and several children.' A teacher who was trying to pull the fighters apart was seriously injured and was reportedly undergoing surgery at a local hospital. A woman claims she was fired from her job in a restaurant because she told her boss Taiwan was not a part of China. The Taiwanese woman, known only as Winnie, had been working at a restaurant in Sydney's inner-west when she was asked, apropos of nothing, about the heavily disputed conflict, News.com.au reported. 'Winnie, Winnie, could I ask you a question?' Winnie claimed on Facebook she was asked by her boss. 'Does Taiwan belong to China?' She replied 'definitely not,' and within 20 minutes was told to leave and that she no longer had employment. A woman claims she was fired from her job in a restaurant because she told her boss Taiwan was not a part of China The Taiwanese woman, known as Winnie, had been working at a hotspot restaurant in Sydney's inner-west when she was asked about the heavily disputed conflict (stock picture) Winnie took to Facebook make the claims, saying she was 'dumbfounded' and 'speechless' at the abruptness and unfairness of her sacking. 'Personally speaking, I hold a neutral position on the relationship between China and Taiwan,' she said. People responded to the post urging Winnie to take legal action against her former employer, with some Chinese commenters saying it was an issue that had been 'indoctrinated' into citizens. 'Taiwan is very democratic, we must respect the people in Taiwan,' a man named Yangson Tsai responded. 'I did not work after that. I would like to ask, if Chinese people are so patriotic, why don't they go back? Why are they dying to stay in Australia?' However, one man supported the alleged actions of Winnie's boss, and even went further with China's ownership. 'And one more sentence. Australia belongs to China,' he said. Taiwan was claimed by Japan during the First Sino-Japanese War, but unofficially came back under Chinese rulership after they were defeated by the Allies in World War II The issue has become a vitriolic topic of debate in the region, with China and Chinese citizens often laying claim to the island despite holding no legal ownership. Taiwan was claimed by Japan during the First Sino-Japanese War, but unofficially came back under Chinese rulership after they were defeated by the Allies in World War II. Taiwan have been offered reunification by the Chinese government several times since, which have all been rejected. This was the dramatic view a Frenchman had from his window when he woke up to find a tornado ripping through the countryside. Frederic Hemart captured the recognisable spiral storm as it towered above the village landscape and scattered debris into the air. The 52-year-old was woken up by the ferocious weather and looked out of the window to see what had stirred him. He was at home with his wife and picked up his camera when he saw the tornado beginning to form outside to film the unusual weather. Mr Hemart, a foreman for a medical packaging company, took the video in his home of Saint-Jean-Pla-de-Corts in the very south of France, near the Spanish border. He said: 'It woke me up at 8.30am and our region was placed on orange alert by the weather services because of a significant risk of thunderstorms. 'At 9am it began to hail and the low clouds started to turn on themselves to form the whirlwind of the tornado which was about 200 yards from our housing estate. 'The tornado made a noise that I had never heard before, like a big vacuum. It was very impressive to see as this never happens in our region.' This was the dramatic view a Frenchman had from his window when he woke up to find a tornado ripping through the countryside Frederic Hemart captured the storm as it towered above the village landscape and scattered debris into the air The extremely strong winds tore up trees and damaged multiple houses in the Pyrenees-Orientales region of the country. The storm started in Maureillas, two miles from Mr Hemart's village, where roofs were damaged, caravans overturned and power lines disrupted. Mr Hemart said lightning bolts were also coming from Spain, with the violent weather forming what he called a 'Mediterranean episode'. An Afghan man on trial for the rape and murder of an EU official's daughter in Germany could be found guilty with the help of the data from his iPhone. The pre-installed Health app recorded Hussein Khavari performing 'strenuous activity' at the time when Maria Ladenburger, 19, was attacked in Freiburg in October 2016. Khavari has admitted to raping and killing the medical student, but claims her death was an accident. Caught out: Afghan migrant Hussein Khavari's iPhone recorded him as 'climbing stairs' which would match him dragging his victim down a river bank and climbing back up again Prosecutors in Freiburg dispute Khavari's account of the murder and say he planned it beforehand. They have used the data from the defendant's iPhone app, which records the amount of steps taken and stairs climbed in a day using movement and elevation, to match two peaks in his movement with the attack. The elevation recorded as 'climbing stairs' would 'correlate to him dragging his victim down a riverbank and climbing back up', police said according to the BBC. Police sent out an officer carrying an iPhone to re-create the walk down to the river, and climb back up the bank and the Health app recorded the movement as 'climbing stairs'. Last month it was revealed that Khavari, who had claimed he was 17 when he arrived in Germany to be granted asylum as an 'unaccompanied minor', is in fact 34 years old, according to his own father. Charged: Hussein Khavari has admitted to raping and murdering 19-year-old medical student Maria Ladenburger in Freiberg, Germany, last year Data proof: iPhone's Health app records the amount of steps taken and stairs climbed in a day using movement and elevation Dental checks had found with 'near certainty' that Khavari is aged between 22 and 29 years old, but his father, who lives in Iran, informed the court via telephone that his son is born in January 1984, Welt reports. A dental research scientist had said it has been established with 99.7 per cent probability that his true age is between 22.05 and 29.55 years. Despite initially claiming to be 17, Khavari has since admitted said he did not know his true age but that he was no older than 19 - an age which would see him sentenced as a juvenile. Khavari had earlier testified that on the night of the killing he was so drunk he was ejected from a bar and left alone by his friends in town. He claims he accidentally came across Maria who shouted out as she fell from her bicycle. He said he pressed her mouth shut then choked her with a scarf and put her unconscious into the water. 'When I saw how pretty she was, I wanted to have sex with her,' he said, but claims he was too drunk. Khavari's trial is taking place in Freiburg, where he was seen in handcuffs being led in to court (pictured) He broke down in court and added: 'I want to apologize to the family of Maria'. Reading from a statement he went on: 'I beg your pardon. I want to apologise to the family of Maria. I wish I could undo it. What I have done, I am sad for from the bottom of my heart '. Khavari ended a life rich in potential and polarised a nation struggling to adapt to over a million refugees in its midst. It was learned after his arrest that he had been arrested and sentenced to ten years for attempted murder in Corfu in 2013 before coming to Germany seeking refuge in 2015 as an 'unaccompanied minor.' German authorities knew nothing of his past and so let him into the country as a registered asylum seeker. His victim, whose father is a senior legal adviser to the European Commission in Brussels, worked in her spare time in Freiburg helping out migrants in various shelters and homes. The killing sparked frenzied new waves of hatred and fear of refugees. Even the leader of the country's police union said her death would have been prevented had the open door asylum-seeker policy of Chancellor Angela Merkel been less lax than it is. A judge has allowed an 11-year-old to use medical marijuana at school in Illinois. Although medical marijuana is legal in the state, students are prohibited from using it in school or having a school nurse administer it. So Ashley Surin's parents Maureen and Jim filed a lawsuit in federal court against the school district and the state of Illinois claiming the state's ban violates the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Now, U.S. Judge John Robert Blakey ruled that Ashley could take her medication, saying, 'No one's saying she wants to fire up a bong in math class,' the Chicago Tribune reports. A judge has allowed 11-year-old Ashley Surin (pictured) to use medical marijuana at school in Illinois Ashley, a sixth-grader at Hanover Highlands Elementary School in Hanover, battled a leukemia diagnosis at the age of two with extensive chemotherapy. She has been in remission since 2011, but she had suffered from debilitating seizures every day because of brain damage she sustained from using a prescription chemotherapy drug. One of her seizures was so bad that she fell and hit her head, needing brain surgery, her parents told the Tribune. But she's only had one seizure since she started medical marijuana treatment in December. Ashley Surin's parents Maureen and Jim (pictured with the 11-year-old) filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming the state's ban violates the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act The treatment involves her wearing a patch on her foot and rubbing an oil extract on her wrists. The drops are a mix of CBD, a marijuana extract shown to limit seizures and a tiny amount of THC, which is the psycho-active element of marijuana but the amount is too little to get her daughter high, Ashley's mother Maureen told the Tribune. 'Her brain used to be like in a cloud,' she said. 'Now she can think clearer, she's more alert, she can interact, and she seems like she can now go back to school and learn.' On Friday, officials from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office and from Schaumburg School District 54 agreed to let Ashley use her medication for now. Lawyers for both will meet back in court to come up with a long-term plan for the girl and the school. 'This is not just going to help her, I hope it's going to help other kids down the road,' Ashley's mother added. A businessman battered his Thai wife with their two-year-old daughter's Peppa Pig book during a row over her UK visa. Edward Linse, 46, erupted with rage at partner Papapait when their child burst into tears during bath time at his parents' 1.2million home in the village of Nether Alderley, Cheshire. Linse launched a tirade of abuse at his wife, calling her a 'b****' and hitting her repeatedly with a shoe before grabbing the book and hitting on the head with it. Mrs Linse who is in her 30s was also grabbed by the neck and choked to the point where she claimed she couldn't breathe for five seconds. She was so scared she even agreed to slap herself in the face when told to do so by her husband. Edward Linse, 46, erupted with rage at partner Papapait when their child burst into tears during bath time at her 1.2million home in Nether Alderley, Cheshire The attack eventually ended when Mrs Linse broke free and begged neighbours for help. When police arrived at the scene her husband retorted: 'It was just a flimsy Peppa Pig book'. Linse admitted assault by beating, but avoided jail at Stockport magistrates' court. He was handed a 12 month community order and will have to complete 100 hours unpaid work. Linse was also made subject of a 12 month restraining order, stopping him from contacting his wife, except through a monitored email address, and was ordered to pay her 50 in compensation plus 335 court costs. The court heard the couple had originally met whilst he was on holiday in Thailand, married in 2015 after a year long courtship and had two children together. But after failing to set up a business togther in Thailand they couple decided to settle in England in August 2017 and moved in with Linse's parents. Their new life ran into difficulties when a mistake on an application form led to her being refused a visa allowing her to live in the UK. She was granted a temporary visa but it is due to expire next month. Prosecutor Carl Myles said: 'The incident happened on 12th October. During the day they had taken the children to nursery and then the both went into Manchester to sort out the problems his wife was having with her visa. 'They returned home and were already quite stressed because of the situation. Mrs Linse was in the bath with her daughter when her daughter became upset and started crying. 'Mrs Linse tried to calm her down by getting out of the bath, but was unable to and the defendant became infuriated. 'He kicked the bathroom door and shouted at her calling her a b****. He became angry due to an argument from the night before. He put his forehead to hers and pushed hard then pushed her so she fell to the floor. 'He then hit her over the head with a shoe four times. She was so scared that when he told her to slap herself, she did. 'He picked up a book and hit her on the head with it then through it at her. He then pushed her against the wall and grabbed her by the throat, strangling her so she couldn't breathe for four to five seconds. 'He then forced her to apologise. The defendant then heard the other child calling for her so went to find him. The complainant then used this as an opportunity to leave the house and go to the neighbours, who had witnessed her crying. 'This witness said she seemed distressed, and her face was red and blotchy. The defendant was stood outside the house waiting for her holding the youngest of their children, which only gave the wife more reason to fear him. 'The wife told the neighbours that her husband had hit her and that she was afraid so the police were called. 'When they reached his address, his parents house, he commented that he only hit her 'with a flimsy Peppa Pig book'. Whilst there have been no domestic call outs from the police in the past, Mrs Linse has told me that he has pushed her before and hit her. 'In interview he explained that he had 'had it up to here' and gestured with his hand above his head. He admitted he kicked the bathroom door when he gets angry, but he also explained that they both throw objects, like crockery, when they are angry. 'He also stated that he was being 'flippant' when he made the joke about the Peppa Pig book. He stated that he had had enough of 'it', alluding to the arguments with his wife. 'The defendant has no previous convictions and there have been no reported call outs to the police for domestic matters before. Whilst there was no serious injury caused, this will most definitely have more of a psychological effect on her.' Linse (pictured, outside court) admitted assault by beating but avoided jail and was ordered to carry out unpaid work In mitigation, Linse's lawyer Peter Malone said: 'Initially he did enter not guilty pleas, but he now accepts his actions. They have two children aged one and two. Her visa was refused so they have had to go through the judiciary and appeal the decision for the refusal. 'This has created an immense amount of stress on the defendant and his family. On that day they had been trying to sort out her visa issues in Manchester, but had been arguing. Then they got back, she got in the bath, he had two screaming children to manage and he became angry. 'He does accept he was responsible for the red mark on her breast bone.' Mr Malone added: 'He went to a boarding school and found that he struggled whilst he was there and he couldn't properly deal with his emotions. That has led to this sort of his behaviour and he is willing to accept help and support from the probation service. 'His wife and himself wanted to start a business together, but struggled to do so whilst in Thailand. They decided to move over to England to try again. This proved to be difficult as his wife was refused a visa following a mistake made on her application. 'Following the incident she now lives in sheltered accommodation. He hasn't spoken to her because of his bail. His children have dual nationality so once these proceedings are over, they will have to sort something out for them. It's a possibility his wife may have to return to Thailand, which would, of course, be heartbreaking for the whole family. 'They have tried to appeal the refusal, but this has meant numerous court appearances and has put a lot of stress on family life, and Mr Linse accepts that he has struggled to cope emotionally. He accepts he does kick the bathroom door and throw objects when he is angry.' Mrs Linse, who is originally from Chiang Mai in Thailand, is now living in a council run property with the children whilst she fights a legal battle to remain in Britain. She has also written an online SOS about the incident on the Go Fund Me website asking for 100,000 in donations and saying: 'I am now on a Visit Visa in with my children being homeless in the UK with no money and no other better choices as human rights and mother's rights should have. 'I was physically and verbally abused and threatened by the father of my children. We still have to live in fear and being stressful and unsafe most of the time. I truly need financial help and support very urgently. I have no money to support myself with two small children right now.' British Airways was forced to ground one of its planes after it became infested with bedbugs and the cabin crew refused to fly it. The crew allegedly walked out shortly before take off from Heathrow to Ghana. A replacement plane was eventually found and the flight left four hours late. BA said it took the plane out of service as soon as the issue was raised. British Airways was forced to ground one of its planes after it became infested with bedbugs and the cabin crew refused to fly it (stock image) A BA source told The Sun: 'The cabin crew saw bedbugs crawling over the seats visible to the naked eye. They said it was unacceptable to work on that aircraft.' A spokesman told MailOnline: 'The comfort of our customers is paramount, so as soon as this very rare issue was identified at Heathrow, we immediately took the aircraft out of service for treatment.' But it is just the latest bedbug embarrassment to hit BA. Passenger Mike Gregory, 35, said he was covered in dozens of itchy bites after taking a 4,000 BA flight Last week the Daily Mail reported a man has complained of being bitten by the insects in British Airways business class. Passenger Mike Gregory, 35, said he was covered in dozens of itchy bites after taking a 4,000 flight from London to Cape Town to spend the New Year with his family. His ordeal follows a similar case where a Canadian family was left covered in bedbug bites after flying BA in September. It is yet another embarrassment for the flagship carrier, which is fighting to restore its reputation after being accused of poor customer service and cutting perks. BA was also criticised over its response to an IT meltdown last May which resulted in hundreds of flights being cancelled and tens of thousands of passengers around the world being stranded. Mr Gregory's itching started on New Year's Eve, a few hours after he arrived in Cape Town, where his wife and two small children live. The BA Gold Card holder had left London at 9.30pm the previous day and settled down to sleep but woke in the morning to find spots of blood on his pillow. 'I had an incredibly itchy waist, torso and hands,' he said. 'I realised I had been bitten 120 to 150 times.' He said: 'I had an incredibly itchy waist, torso and hands' and claimed he was bitten 150 times The businessman did some online research and realised this had all the hallmarks of bedbugs. The insects administer an anaesthetic substance which means victims usually only notice the next morning when red, itchy areas appear. There are often spots of blood on sheets from bugs crushed when the person rolls over. Mr Gregory's research also uncovered the incident involving the Canadian family flying from Vancouver to London. They spotted bedbugs on the seat in front and another crawling out from behind a TV monitor but claimed flight attendants said nothing could be done. Mr Gregory's itching started on New Year's Eve, a few hours after he arrived in Cape Town, where his wife and two small children live After the nine-hour flight, the married couple and their seven-year-old daughter were left covered in bites. Mr Gregory saw a doctor who confirmed he had been bitten by bedbugs and advised him to stay out of the sun to prevent scarring. 'I was shocked and obviously appalled by it,' he said. 'I was amazed it was even possible to have bedbugs on a flight. It has ruined my family holiday.' The businessman, who spends up to 30,000 flying around 30,000 miles a year with BA and divides his time between Kent and Cape Town, complained immediately. After numerous phone calls, he was informed yesterday that the plane had been fumigated but only several days after he raised the alarm. The businessman did some online research and realised this had all the hallmarks of bedbugs Bedbugs tend to hide after feeding to digest their meal of human blood and lay eggs. Mr Gregory added: 'This is not acceptable. It means it is quite likely that other passengers were bitten.' A BA spokesman said the plane was investigated immediately and has now been 'fully treated' with no further reports of problems. He added: 'We have been in touch with Mr Gregory to apologise. British Airways operates more than 280,000 flights on 280 routes every year and reports of bedbugs are extremely rare. 'As soon as we are made aware, we take steps to investigate, cordon off and treat the seat as necessary.' A Tory council is facing criticism after putting up posters which urge people not to give money to homeless street sleepers because they may be fakes. The poster in question was created by Gloucester city council and reads: 'Are you really helping homeless people? In some cases the people you see sleeping rough are not really homeless. They are in accommodation receiving support and benefits.' The poster shows an image of a street sleeper holding a cup and sitting behind a cardboard placard saying 'Change is more than coins - think before you give.' Gloucester's Tory-run city council has come under criticism after publishing a poster that urges people not to give to the homeless as they could be fakes It goes on to advise people to instead call the local 'Streetlink' homeless outreach team or make a donation to a charity for the homeless if they want to help. The poster has infuriated the Gloucester branch of the Labour party. In a joint statement the city council's Labour group leader Terry Pullen and the Gloucester Parliamentary candidate Fran Boait called on the council to remove the posters. 'We are absolutely disgusted by these posters and the Tories should be ashamed they have allowed them to go up,' they said. 'Clearly the nasty party is alive and kicking In Gloucester. The posters imply that most homeless people are not genuine but trying to con people out of money. 'This is shameful and effectively demonizes one of the most vulnerable groups of people in our society who need our kindness and care. 'We call upon Gloucester City Council to immediately withdraw these posters. 'We are fully supportive of the initiatives that are in place to help homeless people and would welcome these being publicised in a positive way so that the public are aware as to what they can do to help the homeless. 'Streetlink is an important organisation but its advertised in small print at the bottom of the page. The current campaign is based on negativity and not the right way to go about things.' The poster has infuriated the Gloucester branch of the Labour party. In a joint statement the city council's Labour group leader Terry Pullen and the Gloucester Parliamentary candidate Fran Boait called on the council to remove the posters Councillor Jennie Watkins, cabinet member for communities and neighbourhoods, said: 'A huge amount of work to help people who are sleeping rough in Gloucester has been taking place over the past 18 months with partners working closely to support some of the most vulnerable people and understand the root causes of their circumstances. 'We've had good results, reducing the number of those people rough sleeping by offering accommodation to those who are homeless and helping many into support for mental health or addictions. 'The partnership work has found that in the majority of cases the individuals are housed and in receipt of benefits but struggle with addictions and complex needs which can lead to a chaotic lifestyle and begging. 'The launch of our 'Street Aware' campaign is to raise public awareness about alternative giving. 'It's a tough message to deliver, but we must consider whether giving money directly to individuals is the best way to support them to make positive and sustainable change. 'Giving money to people who beg may make life on the street easier for them in the short term, but, in the worst case, could feed dependency. It takes more than money to turn a life around. The Labour group have released a statement condemning the poster with members of the public quick to also criticise the council Homeless Britain, an account that shares news about homeless people in Britain, strongly criticised the Gloucester city council 'The intention behind the poster campaign is to catch the public's attention, to ask them to think about whether their money is helping in the best way and to provide important information about how to refer someone who they may be concerned about for support. 'It is a challenging and sensitive issue but one we must raise if we are genuine about working together to help people to achieve real change. 'We are fortunate in Gloucester to have many great charities and organisations who are working to help make lives better. 'Diverting donations to these causes could really make a big difference and ensure that any funds donated directly helps those in need.' A few people on Facebook questioned the council's decision to run the poster campaign rather than spend that money on helping the homeless Others reacted strongly with anger, criticising the council's poster and accusing it of doing nothing to help rough sleepers A number of concerned people took to Facebook to express their anger at the poster. Neil Booth commented: 'They seem to have the money to do a poster campaign, but when it comes to help solving the homeless problem, 'oh no we can't find money for that'.' Janey Read wrote: 'I'm so angry. Gloucester council your poster is demonizing the most marginalised people who are already left in the cold to perish.' Susan Cummins said: 'The poster should be headed - Gloucester City Council: are you really helping the homeless? The rest of the text could be deleted and replaced with NO.' An account named Homeless Britain shared the poster with its followers and said: 'Gloucester city should be ashamed, this demonising homelessness is beyond disgusting, it is inhumane and a disgrace as is the poster.' Tony Monaghan, 74, who is retired from the RAF, said: 'I think it's true that you dont always know where the money is going' A few people in Gloucester city centre agreed with what the poster was saying about not giving money to homeless people. Tony Monaghan, 74, who is retired from the RAF, said: 'I think it's true that you dont always know where the money is going. 'I would certainly give money to homeless charities, but I wouldn't give change out willy-nilly on the streets. Some of these people are on benefits, like the poster says. 'I can see how people would be offended by it, but I think it's sending quite a strong and important message.' David Bailey, 44, added: 'I don't think it's offensive. It's just encouraging people to give money in a different way. 'If I want to help a homeless person I wouldn't give them money anyway, I'd buy them a coffee or a sandwich. So I don't see a problem with it.' Julie Dobson, 55, who works in quality control for a soft drinks company, also said she doesn't give money to homeless people. NHS workers Bex McCollogh (pictured left) and Kath O'Donnell (pictured right) were shocked by the poster Bex (pictured left), 26, said: 'I don't agree with that at all. Anyone can end up like that at any point in their life, you don't know their situation.' Her colleague Kath added: 'They should be advertising it more positively, as in, did you know there is support out there?' 'I have a friend who always used to give a little change to homeless people, but then one day she asked a homeless man whether he wanted a sandwich, and he started verbally abusing her over it. All they want is your money.' But others were shocked by the poster. NHS worker Bex McCollogh, 26, said: 'I don't agree with that at all. Anyone can end up like that at any point in their life, you don't know their situation. 'I think the poster is a bit backwards. It should have the bit about the outreach programme at the top, in bigger print.' Her colleague Kath O'Donnell, 62, added: 'They should be advertising it more positively, as in, did you know there is support out there? 'It's wrong to say that all homeless people are on benefits, or suggest they have accommodation somewhere. 'I give to Shelter and charities like that, but if I see a homeless person on the street I'm not just going to tell them to get lost. It's my money, I'll spend it how i like. 'I think there's an underlying issue about wanting to get them off the street - which is all well and good, but where are you going to put them?' Homeless George King (pictured), 26, who has been living on the streets for three months, described the posters as 'sick' And homeless George King, 26, who has been living on the streets for three months, described the posters as 'sick'. He said: 'I understand that there are some people who aren't actually homeless and who just come out and beg for money, but some of us really have no address and nowhere to go. 'I'm signed on to a programme called P3, and they told me that they'd get me help within three weeks. 'Three weeks have just passed, and now they've told me it'll be another week. It's getting on my nerves a bit, to be honest.' A Navy veteran who died from leukemia at the age of 22 was buried without his mother at his side after she was twice denied a visa to attend his funeral. Ngoc Truong, who was born in Vietnam but lived in Arkansas and was a US citizen, served four years as a machinist's mate aboard the USS John McCain before leaving the service in October last year. He moved to Florida to study graphic design but shortly afterward was diagnosed with leukemia before passing away on December 17. Ngoc Truong served four years in the Navy as a machinist's mate before leaving in October last year to study graphic design in Florida He was diagnosed with leukemia after leaving the Navy and died on December 17 aged 22 Truong's mother, who is divorced from his father and still lives in Vietnam, was twice denied a visa to attend her son's funeral While father Hung Truong made preparations for his funeral, his mother - who is divorced and still lives in Vietnam - was trying to get a visa. She applied twice for permission to attend her son's funeral, and was turned down both times according to WREG. Eventually Truong was buried on December 26 without his mother present. On his grave were the words of John F. Kennedy: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' Hung said: 'He's already done for this country, but what has this country done for him? What did this country do for him?' The episode left the jewelry store owner, who lives in Blytheville, 'fuming mad'. Hung added that he has no idea why the visa was denied, and the State Department has refused to shed any light on it, saying all visa documents are confidential. Hung Truong, who lives in Arkansas and works as a jeweler, said his son deserved better after serving his country Truong worked aboard the USS John McCain during his four years of military service A badly-injured teenager has been pulled from the mangled wreckage of his car 24 hours after he crashed it and rolled down an embankment. Sam Lethbridge, 17, survived the night with a bone sticking out of his leg after his car left the Pacific Highway and slammed into an embankment at Crangan Bay, south of Newcastle, on Saturday morning. Sam, a Newcastle man, was trapped in the driver's seat with a compound fracture to his right femur and fractures to his ankle and arm. Sam Lethbridge, 17, survived the night with a bone sticking out of his leg after his car left the Pacific Highway and slammed into an embankment at Crangan Bay The teenager was only discovered when his family hired a private helicopter to scour the roads after he failed to return home. NSW Ambulance superintendent Jeff Atkins said the teenager was reported missing by his family shortly before they instigated a search with the helicopter. Sam was discovered at 10.45am on Monday when his uncle spotted the wreckage on the side of the road. Emergency services including ambulance and fire crews were called to the scene. Sam (left) was discovered at 10.45am on Monday when his uncle spotted the wreckage on the side of the road. His sister and father are pictured right The teenager was only discovered when his family hired a private helicopter to scour the roads after he failed to return home The rescue operation took a painstaking 45 minutes, during which time Sam was given pain medication and stabilised by paramedics The rescue operation took a painstaking 45 minutes, during which time Sam was given pain medication and was stabilised by paramedics. 'When we got to him he was pretty dehydrated. But his clinical observations were quite good which was amazing,' Superintendent Atkins told The Daily Telegraph. 'He then had to be carried back to the highway.' Sam was taken to the John Hunter Hospital by ambulance, where he remains. Superintendent Atkins said the teenager would need to undergo a 'world of physio' to regain full use of his injured leg. A local pastor and his wife have died after they drove across railroad tracks into the path of an Amtrak train. Eugene and Dorothy Lyons, both in their 60s, were in the SUV which was spotted driving around a crossing barrier near Whitakers in rural North Carolina. It is understood Mrs Lyons was driving the car, which was left mangled by the impact which killed the couple at the scene in Nash County. A local pastor and his wife have died after they drove across railroad tracks into the path of an Amtrak train Eugene and Dorothy Lyons, both in their 60s, were in the SUV which was spotted maneuvering around a crossing barrier near Whitakers in rural North Carolina. They were named by CBS as the victims of the crash Whitakers Police Chief Darrell Cofield told CBS North Carolina it wasn't clear why the driver decided to go around the crossing arm. Witnesses saw the horror crash unfold but could do nothing to stop the devastation. Cofield, who knew the couple personally, said: 'It bothered me because growing up here I've seen train wrecks before, it really touches close to home with people who grew up with and know.' Around 120 passengers were on the train, but none were injured. Amtrak spokeswoman Kimberly Woods says no one about the southbound train was injured and service was suspended as law enforcement investigated the crash site some 70 miles east of Raleigh, the state capital. The train originated in New York City and was bound for Savannah, Georgia. Loved ones of a disabled boy who cannot walk or talk were left in tears after a group of men made cruel jokes about him in the street. Craig Rennoldson, 13, has cerebral palsy and is currently recovering from spinal surgery. Returning from a check-up at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle shortly before Christmas, his family decided to enjoy a meal out together and headed to Pani's restaurant. But their good mood was destroyed when they say a group of men stumbled out of a nearby pub and began mocking Craig. Laughing at him, one is claimed to have said to his friends: 'What part of a cabbage can't you eat? The wheelchair.' Craig Rennoldson, who has cerebral palsy, was returning from a check-up at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle with his father Jonathan, and mother, Lisa Henry (pictured), when they claim a group of men made cruel jokes about him WHAT IS CEREBRAL PALSY? Cerebral palsy is the umbrella term for a number of brain conditions that affect movement and coordination. Specifically, it is caused by a problem in the parts of the brain responsible for controlling muscles. The condition can occur if the brain develops abnormally or is damaged before, during or shortly after birth. It's estimated that 764,000 children and adults in the US have one or more symptoms of the disorder. The CDC says that about 10,000 babies born every year will develop cerebral palsy. There's no cure for cerebral palsy, but some treatments are available to ease symptoms, such as physiotherapy. Life expectancy is usually unaffected, however, the emotional and physical strain can put a great deal of stress on the body which can cause further problems in later life. Advertisement His mother Lisa Henry, from Seaham, County Durham, said she was appalled by the 'vile' jokes hurled at her family and wants to speak out to highlight the pain abuse like this can cause. She said: 'They were all absolutely in stitches, they thought it was hilarious. They were looking straight at us, not trying to hide at all. 'We were absolutely devastated, I've never felt so humiliated. These guys were all about in their 40s, they were probably drunk, but that's no excuse - it shows a total lack of thought. 'I want people to see how vile it is to hear things like that. It's hard enough caring for a disabled child without being targeted like that while we were minding our own business.' Lisa, 46, said she hasn't come across abuse like this before, and people are usually kind and accommodating towards Craig. Initially too shocked to respond, Lisa was later reduced to tears by the jibes. Her sadness began to affect Craig, who had previously been feeling happy and upbeat. One allegedly said: 'What part of a cabbage can't you eat? The wheelchair.' The 13-year-old, from Seaham, County Durham, cannot walk or talk because of his condition Lisa said: 'Craig is always happy, he's got a lovely personality, a lovely sense of humour - I don't see why he should have to put up with this sort of negativity' Lisa added: 'Craig is always happy, he's got a lovely personality, a lovely sense of humour - I don't see why he should have to put up with this sort of negativity.' The incident was reported to Northumbria Police and the force is treating it as a hate crime. Newcastle city centre sergeant, Andy Percival, said: 'This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in this region or anywhere else in the UK. 'Not only were the comments incredibly hurtful but the group made the victim and his mother feel incredibly intimidated as they walked through our city centre. 'We are treating this as a hate crime and we would encourage anyone else who is targeted because of who they are to report the incident to police. 'If you saw what happened on this occasion then please get in touch so we can have serious words with the men involved.' Anyone with information that may help police should call officers on 101 quoting log 1046 23/12/17. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeatedly berated the US at his annual press conference Monday, accusing the Trump administration of 'destabilizing' the situation around the world by using threatening rhetoric. Lavrov said the past year had not been easy from a foreign policy perspective as he took questions on Syria, Ukraine, the Korean peninsula and other global issues, in a diplomatic round-up of 2017. 'Unfortunately, our American colleagues and their allies still want to do business solely on the basis of issuing ultimatums and do not want to listen to the views of other centers of world politics,' he said when asked about President Donald Trump's position on the Iran nuclear deal. Not mincing words: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said threats coming from Washington in 2017 had 'seriously aggravated' tensions in different parts of the world, including in North Korea Lavrov on Monday took questions from the press on Syria, Ukraine, the Korean peninsula and other global issues, in a diplomatic round-up of 2017 'In fact they do not want to recognize the reality of the emerging multipolar world,' Lavrov said at the press conference where relations with the United States proved to be the dominant topic. Lavrov warned that Moscow won't support the US demand for changes in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that saw Iran accept curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions. President Donald Trump on Friday kept the accord alive by extending sanctions waivers, but warned that the US would pull out of the deal in a few months unless 'terrible flaws' in the deal are fixed. '[The Americans] resort to methods that are, largely, questionable and unscrupulous, in order to contain their competitors,' Lavrov said. 'They use a number of these methods, from deploying a global missile defense system to unilateral sanctions, to the extraterritorial use of their own legislation or threats to resolve any international problems solely according to their own scenario.' Lavrov called the new US demands to Iran 'deplorable,' saying they raise doubts about Washington's ability to observe international agreements. Without mentioning Donald Trump by name, Lavrov lashed at the US over 'deplorable' demands concerning Iran nuclear deal Iran warned Saturday that it won't accept any changes to the nuclear deal. The Europeans have indicated they are willing to discuss the matter with Washington, but have shown little enthusiasm with Trump's hard line. Vladimir Putin's long-serving foreign minister also said threats coming from Washington in 2017 had 'seriously aggravated' tensions and destabilized the situation in different parts of the world, including in North Korea. As Trump prepares to mark a year in power, Lavrov said the actions of the current US administration were in some cases 'more assertive' than under Barack Obama, 'despite Trump's line during the election campaign.' And Lavrov said Moscow could understand the anger of Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, who has denounced White House peace efforts as the 'slap of the century.' Last month, Abbas sent delegations to Russia and China to ask them to take on a greater role in the peace process with Israel, as Trump controversially recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif attends a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, on January 10 Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state and president Abbas has said Trump's stance means the US can no longer be the mediator in peace talks with Israel. The United States was afraid of fair competition in various areas, including energy and the supply of gas to Europe, Lavrov said, adding that Washington was failing to contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Syria. Russia launched a military intervention in Syria in 2015, propping up President Bashar al-Assad's regime after a popular revolt was crushed by a brutal crackdown. Sir Richard Branson has come up with a novel way of solving London's runway expansion dilemma - with a system of super fast 'hyperloops' linking passengers between the capital's airports. Underground tubes carrying passenger pods at speeds of 670mph may sound like a pipe dream, but the billionaire has faith in the hyperloop, describing it as the 'world's most revolutionary train service'. Virgin Hyperloop One, a California start-up chaired by Sir Richard, has been exploring the possibility of a series of high-speed tubes between Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. It has claimed it could transform London's three airports into one 'hub', as it could ferry passengers between them in just five minutes. The hyperloop train would propel pods through a near-vacuum tube, reaching speeds of up to 670mph - it has claimed it could ferry passengers between London's three airports in five minutes Virgin boss Sir Richard has invested 65million investment in 'Hyperloop One', which has built the first full-scale hyperloop testing tube and pod near Las Vegas It has claimed Virgin Hyperloop One could transform London's three airports into one 'hub', as it could ferry passengers between them in just five minutes This new form of transport would propel pods through a near-vacuum tube, reaching speeds of up to 670mph. Passengers would be loaded into the pod before accelerating via electromagnetic propulsion through the tube - which can be built above or below ground. The pod lifts above the track and glides as fast as a plane with minimal drag. Rob Lloyd, Virgin Hyperloop One's chief executive, said the ambitious plans could remove the need for a third runway at Heathrow. Mr Lloyd told the Telegraph: '[We're] thinking about how technology could make it a much different proposition than the third runway. You'd think of this as moving between terminals instead of moving between airports.' Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at rapid speeds between distant locations WHAT IS HYPERLOOP? Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at roughly 670mph (1,000 kph) between distant locations. It was unveiled by Elon Musk in 2013, who at the time said it could take passengers the 380 miles (610km) from LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes - half the time it takes a plane. It is essentially a long tube that has had the air removed to create a vacuum. The tube is suspended off ground to protect against weather and quakes. Advertisement Entrepreneur Elon Musk - former PayPal boss and founder of electric car firm Tesla - came up with the concept, launching a contest to develop the technology in 2015. Sir Richard is spearheading a 65million investment in the firm, which has built a hyperloop testing tube and pod near Las Vegas. With speeds of up to 670mph, the billionaire has claimed it could connect London and Birmingham in 14 minutes, and London and Edinburgh in 50 minutes. By comparison, a Virgin West Coast train has a top speed of 125mph, while the new HS2 trains will hit 250mph as it connects London and Edinburgh in three-and-a-half hours. The hyperloop would also be quicker than a flight between London and Edinburgh, which takes one hour and 10 minutes. However the plans are still in the very early stages. Hyperloop is a proposed method of travel that would transport people at 670mph The only successful tests of the technology so far have been unmanned trials on Virgin Hyperloop One's 500-metre track in the Nevada desert, which have reached a maximum speed of 240mph. In December, a paper published by the Department for Transport said a hyperloop in the UK would be 'at least two decades away'. They claim the 'topology of the UK, its dense population and intensive land use' will delay the roll-out of hyperloop in Britain. Airbus has said it will have no other choice but to halt the costly A380 programme if Dubai's Emirates airline does not place another order. The European aerospace giant's sales director, John Leahy, told a news conference on Monday that it will stop making the superjumbo if it can't strike a long-term deal with the airline for a steady supply of the planes. He said the Dubai-based airline is 'the only one who has the ability' to commit to a minimum of six planes a year for a minimum of eight to 10 years, which Airbus needs to make the program viable. Airbus has said it will have no other choice but to halt the costly A380 programme if Emirates does not place another order. Above, an Airbus A380 lands at the tarmac at Dubai's International Airport Orders from Emirates, the main customer of the superjumbo, have stalled over the past two years. However, Mr Leahy added that he is still hopeful that a deal with Emirates could be worked out. 'We are still talking to Emirates, but honestly they are probably the only one to have the ability right now on the market place to take a minimum of six per year on a period of 8 to 10 years,' Leahy said. 'Quite honestly, if we can't work out a deal with Emirates there is no choice but to shut down the programme,' Leahy said. 'But I'm hopeful that we work out a deal with Emirates,' he added. Emirates, the government-owned, Dubai-based long-haul carrier, declined to immediately comment. The A380 the world's largest passenger airliner - drew worldwide attention when launched a decade ago but has always struggled to win enough customers. File photo Emirates now relies solely on the Airbus 380 and the Boeing 777 for its flights, making it the largest operator of both. It has over 160 Boeing 777s in its fleet today and took possession of its 100th A380 in November. Reports circulated before the Dubai Air Show in November that a major A380 sale would be coming. Instead, however, Airbus employees found themselves attending a news conference where Emirates announced the purchase of 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners in a $15.1 billion deal. The air show ended without an A380 deal, throwing the line into question. AIRBUS A380 Overall length: 72.72m Cabin length: 49.80m Wing span (geometric): 79.75m Height: 24.09m Typical seating: 544 (4-class) Max seating: 853 Range: 15,200km Max fuel capacity: 320,000 litres Average list price (2018): $445.6million (323.22million) Source: Airbus Advertisement The A380 the world's largest passenger airliner - drew worldwide attention when launched a decade ago but has always struggled to win enough customers. There have only been a total of 317 orders for the A380 since its launch in 2007. Airbus delivered just 15 of the planes last year, and aims to deliver 12 more this year and could scale down production to six per year after that, CEO Fabrice Bregier said. Abandoning the A380 would be a disappointing defeat for Airbus, which spent many years and many billions developing the double-decker behemoth. But skeptics had questioned the whether it could generate enough demand to justify its cost and the bigger runways it requires. Monday's announcement came as Airbus said it sold 1,109 planes year, outstripping the 912 commercial planes sold by rival Boeing thanks to a raft of end-of-year deals, a growing global economy and travel demand. The planemaker, based in Toulouse, France, also reported that it delivered 718 planes in 2017, fewer than Boeing's 763 but still a record for Airbus. Mr Bregier said Airbus will speed up production in the coming year, notably of its long-delayed widebody A350, and hopes to out-deliver Boeing by 2020. Bregier, who's being replaced next month by Guilaume Faury as Airbus overhauls its top management, acknowledged 'challenges' ahead but called them 'manageable.' Airbus is facing multiple corruption investigations, notably in Britain, France and Austria. Pro-European MPs met with the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels today. Tory rebels including Dominic Grieve and Anna Soubry were among the delegation, along with Labour's Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie. The talks come as Remainers up the pressure for a softer approach to Brexit - with some demanding the process be cancelled altogether. The Government is also braced for more resistance to the EU Withdrawal Bill when it returns to the Commons tomorrow and Wednesday. Former Attorney General Mr Grieve, who led a revolt which forced the government to commit to a 'meaningful' vote on the final withdrawal deal, described the visit as an opportunity to have a 'better understanding' of the EU's position. Tory rebels including Dominic Grieve (pictured far right) and Anna Soubry (pictured left) were among the delegation, along with Labour's Chuka Umunna(pictured centre) were in the delegation which met with Michel Barnier to discuss Brexit today Labour's Chuka Umunna (pictured leaving the EU HQ today) has been leading the push by Remain-backing Labour MPs to convince Jeremy Corbyn to change his Brexit policy and keep pledge to try to keep Britain in the customs union and single market Mr Barnier has been meeting a range of UK politicians - including Brexiteers such as Nigel Farage. The former UKIP leader encouraged Remainer hopes last week by seemingly endorsing the prospect of another referendum. Mr Farage said he thought the new ballot might be needed to 'kill off' the issue once and for all. Amid a wave of condemnation from Brexiteers, Mr Farage later tried to backtrack by insisting he had merely been voicing concerns that relentless opposition from Europhiles in parliament could end up torpedoing the UK's departure. Theresa May has flatly reject the idea of a second national vote warning that it would only throw the process into chaos. Polls suggest that there is little appetite among the public for another referendum. However, Jeremy Corbyn sparked fresh speculation yesterday by pointedly refusing to rule out backing the idea. Speaking on ITV's Peston programme, Mr Corbyn made clear he was not yet calling for a new national poll on withdrawal - but said he was not implacably opposed to one either. The Labour leader told ITV's Peston On Sunday: 'We are not supporting or calling for a second referendum. What we have called for is a meaningful vote in Parliament.' Close ally Emily Thornberry also suggested the party would shift its position if public opinion turned dramatically against leaving the bloc. Mr Barnier has been meeting a range of UK politicians - including Brexiteers such as former UKIP leader Nigel Farage Saudi Arabia's richest man has been moved from the luxury hotel where he was being held and thrown in jail after reportedly refusing to pay Riyadh authorities $6billion. Saudi billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was arrested two months ago in what the Saudi government called an 'anti-corruption sweep'. His situation worsened earlier this week when he was moved from his restricted quarters at the Riyadh Ritz Carlton Hotel to the high security Al Ha'ir prison. Saudi billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal (pictured) has been moved to Al Ha'ir prison after refusing to reportedly pay the Saudi government $6billion It was revealed today that bin Talal is negotiating a possible settlement with authorities. But so far he has not agreed on terms, a senior Saudi official said. Prince Alwaleed, whose net worth has been estimated by Forbes magazine at $17 billion, is chairman and owner of international investment firm Kingdom Holding. 'He offered a certain figure but it doesn't meet the figure required from him, and the attorney-general hasn't approved it,' the official said on condition of anonymity under government briefing rules. A second source familiar with Prince Alwaleed's case told Reuters on Saturday that the prince had offered to make a 'donation' to the Saudi government, which would avoid any admission of wrongdoing, and to do so from assets of his own choosing. The government refused those terms, the source said. Kingdom Holding's share price jumped as much as 9.8 percent on Sunday in response to news of the negotiations, adding about $860 million to the company's capitalisation. The stock price was still 7 percent below its level just before Prince Alwaleed was detained. It was revealed today that bin Talal is negotiating a possible settlement with authorities but so far they had not agreed on terms Prince bin Salman (pictured) came to power last summer. Straight away he began his 'anti-corruption sweep' arrested members for the royal family as well as influential officials He has for the last two months been held at the Riyadh Ritz with 200 other princes and top officials. That number dwindled after many former detainees capitulated to the new Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Alwaleed bin Talal was one of the few who held out. The Ritz Carlton announced today that, no longer needed by the authorities, it would soon reopen to commercial guests. He was hung upside down and beaten during this time. He reportedly refused to pay the $6billion bin Salman demanded from him, as well as declining to hand over control of some of his investment companies. Prince bin Salman came to power last summer. Straight away he began his 'anti-corruption sweep', arresting members for the royal family as well as influential officials. He has since invested heavily in Saudi Arabia's military defences against Iran. He also took moves to strengthen ties with the US and Israel, moving to purge to country of anti-Semitic and anti-American Islamic clerics. The arrest and subsequent incarceration of the 200 princes and top officials - potential roadblocks to his power grab - came as part of his economic reforms. Earlier this week the Saudi government seized the Binladen construction group and arrested some of the Bin Laden family - relatives of Osama Bin Laden. Reuters reported the government took over managerial control and may also erase the $29billion in debt it owes to the company. Prince bin Salman has so far avoided condemnation from allies in the Trump administration and elsewhere. This is the shocking moment a circus horse is being bitten by a tiger and a lion during rehearsal in northern China. Footage shows a tiger pounces on a white horse's back while a lion is biting the horse's legs as workers whipping the two wild animals in attempt to free the horse. It's said the horse survived and sustained minor injuries. A tiger and a lion attack on a white horse during rehearsal in a circus in northern China (left). The tiger pounces onto the horse's back and bites on it (right) Mr Xu, a staff member from Taiyang Circus told btime.com that the crew were practising a show that a tiger and a lion riding a horse with a saddle on. The incident was claimed to be happened about a month ago, around end of December and beginning of January in Cangzhou, Hebei Province. Mobile phone footage shows the white horse running along the circus in the cage, whilst having a lion gnawing from bottom. A tiger can also be seen chasing close behind and ready to attack. Mr Xu explained to the reporter that this is a law of nature: 'Lions and tigers are wild animals. They are different from horse. You can see from documentaries that they eat cows. This is absolutely normal.' Circus workers try to separate the animals using whiplashes and long poles The white horse keeps running in circles in the cage and desperately trying to get rid of attack (left). However, Mr Xu, spokesman of the circus said this is normal in the nature (right) The lion and the tiger give up on the attack and the horse sustains minor injuries after attack Around four circus workers used whiplash and long poles to hit and beat the big cats until the horse was set free. Mr Xu said he was not worried the staff member being attacked as the circus kept the lion and the tiger at young age. He is confident that there will have no danger to walk close to the animals. It's claimed that the white horse survived and sustained minor injuries. Web users commented on Weibo, a Chinese social media site, and requested the government to look into animal cruelty problems. 'Shut down the circus! This is too cruel to both wildlife and domestic animals!' said 'joyemiao'. 'WangxingWX' said circus animals had a lot of pressure to take on and the workers 'were lucky to have it avoied'. Keith Guo, PETA Asia press officer for China told MailOnline that 'it's only a matter of time before captive animals lash out at their oppressor'. 'Big cats in the circus suffer mentally and physically every single day. When they are not performing, they are confined in cramped, filthy cages and whips and beatings are used to force them to perform,' he said. Jayden Penno-Tompsett, 22, from Newcastle is still missing - two weeks after an ill-fated road trip to Cairns with a friend The devastated mother of missing Newcastle man Jayden Penno-Tompsett has broken her silence two weeks after her 22-year-old son disappeared in far north Queensland. Rachel Penno, who is currently in Charters Towers looking for her son, told Daily Mail Australia she has 'barely slept and hasn't been able to eat' since he went missing. She is exhausted, devastated and 'running on adrenaline'. 'I am struggling to go on but I just don't have time to stop,' she said. Mr Penno-Tompsett hasn't been seen since the early hours of December 31 - when he had an argument with friend Lucas Tattersall as the pair made their way from Newcastle to Cairns to celebrate the New Year. Police and Mr Penno-Tompsett's family fear the worst for the 22-year-old, who stormed off after the altercation and hasn't used his bank card since. His distraught mother said physically searching the area where her son was last seen two weeks ago has nearly made her lose hope. His mother Rachel has kept this picture, her favourite photo of her son as a toddler, with her for good luck since he went missing but is starting to lose hope The last time the 22-year old was seen was at a Roadhouse near Charters Towers - south-west of Townsville 'It was 48C here yesterday when we were searching - I am trying to stay positive but no one could survive that,' she said. 'We were down looking at rivers and creeks and I walked into the hills and nothing. 'There are just too many bush tracks - the police are doing their best to search but there is so much space out here.' Mrs Penno has kept in contact with her son's friends and is very concerned that he hasn't touched base with them. 'He has a lot of good mates and people that love him and want him home - he hasn't even contacted his best friend and he would have. 'I still have no answers - I just want him safe and found and home.' The man has not been in contact with his family or friends and hasn't used his bank account 'It was 48C here yesterday when we were searching - I am trying to stay positive but no one could survive that,' his mother said SES, police and volunteer firefighters have combed through 85 kilometres of bush but still haven't found trace of the man The desperate mother has even contacted psychics, put money in her son's account hoping he would use it to get in contact and has been carrying around her favourite picture of him as a toddler for good luck. 'We have taken in so much information but we still haven't uncovered anything,' she said. 'Everytime I wake up it is like a smack in the head - not that I have slept much because I just keep thinking and crying.' 'Everytime I wake up it is like a smack in the head - not that I have slept much because I just keep thinking and crying.' His distraught mother said physically searching the area where her son was last seen two weeks ago has nearly made her lose hope 'We have taken in so much information but we still haven't uncovered anything,' she said The mother doesn't want to head back to Newcastle but realises others in her search party have to go home soon to tend to their own lives. 'I am going to go to an empty house full of Jayden's stuff and I don't know how I will handle that,' she said. Mrs Panno has spoken out as police reveal their latest efforts in looking for the lost young man. 'Around 20 police with the assistance of 32 State Emergency Service and 12 Rural Fire Service volunteers have continued to search in Breddan since first light on Saturday morning,' police said. 'Aerial searching is also being conducted to locate the man but has so far been unsuccessful.' The last person to see the young man alive was his friend Luke Tattersalls, pictured Police are appealing for anyone who has seen Mr Penno-Tompsett and in particular the red Nissan Pulsar Sedan with NSW registration CN3 2ZB, within the Charters Towers area from 3am on Sunday, December 31 and throughout the day Mr Penno-Tompsett's father, Brendan Thompsett, who lives in Western Australia has also made a renewed plea for his son Police have searched dry creek beds and heavy vegetation in an 85 kilometre radius of Charters Towers. They are yet to find anything leading them to the 22-year-old who was last seen wearing a black singlet, navy blue board shorts, and black and red thongs. Mr Penno-Tompsett's father, Brendan Thompsett, who lives in Western Australia has also made a renewed plea for his son. 'Knowing your child is missing is the worst thing in the world,' he said. 'He is a good kid with a good heart and we just want to find him - we want to take his name off that missing person's list.' Police are appealing for anyone who has seen Mr Penno-Tompsett and in particular the red Nissan Pulsar Sedan with NSW registration CN3 2ZB, within the Charters Towers area from 3am on Sunday, December 31 and throughout the day. A transgender sex worker is not criminally negligent for passing on HIV to a man because she never knew she had the disease, her lawyer has told a Perth court. Clayton James Palmer, who identifies as a woman and advertised her services under the name Sienna Fox, is on trial in the WA District Court accused of causing grievous bodily harm by having unprotected sex with a man who was later diagnosed with HIV. Prosecutor Ben Stanwix told the jury on Monday that Palmer visited the WA Substance Users Association in August 2014 to get tested for sexually transmitted infections. Clayton James Palmer, who identifies as Sienna Fox (pictured), is not criminally negligent for passing HIV to a man because she never knew she had the disease, her lawyer told Perth court Palmer is on trial in the WA District Court accused of causing grievous bodily harm by having unprotected sex with a man who was later diagnosed with HIV The following month, nurse Joanne Morgan visited Palmer's home and told her there was a positive indication of HIV and gave her information, including her disclosure obligations. He said Palmer asked Ms Morgan if she was going to die and whether she would have to take medication forever. But Palmer never returned follow-up phone calls or text messages. 'Ms Palmer, it seems, didn't want to face reality,' Mr Stanwix said. Two months later, Palmer met the complainant, who cannot be named, and continued to see him until August 2015, telling him she was regularly tested for sexually transmitted diseases. In September 2015, the complainant saw a doctor and was told he had HIV. Police tracked down Palmer, who had moved to NSW, via online advertisements for her services. Nurse Joanne Morgan visited Palmer's (pictured) home and told her she had tested positive to HIV and gave her information, including her disclosure obligations Mr Stanwix said it was not alleged Palmer deliberately gave the man HIV, but she was criminally negligent because she knew she had the disease and did not take reasonable care or precautions. Defence counsel Simon Freitag disputed whether Ms Morgan, who he said had her own personal issues at the time and was not the 'stereotypical image' of a nurse, had communicated to Palmer she had HIV. He also questioned claims the complainant was only having sex with Palmer at the time. Mr Freitag said the complainant and Palmer developed a relationship, with Palmer even getting jealous when she thought he was seeing another transgender woman. Both lawyers asked the jury to put aside personal feelings and deal with the evidence clinically, reminding them that Palmer was not on trial for being a sex worker or transgender. This is the terrifying moment a plane crash-lands in a field in the United States - but the pilot and passengers escaped unscathed. The pilot was flying to Birmingham, Alabama, with his son and his girlfriend when he was forced to make an emergency landing. While in midair he heard a loud pop and found that the small plane's engine had completely lost power. In the video, which was taken on Thanksgiving in November 2013 and has recently re-emerged on the web, the plane starts to shake violently, oil starts to appear on the windscreen and smoke begins to fill the cockpit. In the video, the plane starts to shake violently and oil starts to appear on the windscreen as the tree-covered ground comes into view The footage becomes shakier as the plane descends and tilts sideways and the tree-covered ground comes into view. With the propeller still whirring away the plane approaches the earth at a terrifying angle with the pilot apparently cursing in terror. As the pilot struggles to bring the plane under control he manages to reach the ground but then hits some trees. The video ends abruptly because the phone was sent flying 75ft out of the plane window, the filmer later said, but the plane eventually came to rest at the foot of a tree. As the pilot struggles to bring the plane under control he manages to reach the ground but then hits some trees before the video ends abruptly as the phone is flung out of the plane The retired naval aviator and test pilot had taken off from Virginia Beach, Virginia, three hours earlier. He was flying in a Beech V35 which was not close enough to land at an airport so had to come down in a field. The lucky passengers managed to get away with only small injuries from the November 28, 2013 flight and were able to have Thanksgiving dinner with their family. 'The airplane was too far away to glide to the destination airport, so the pilot chose to perform a forced landing to a field,' an official report explained. The five British men quizzed after a 27-year-old woman fell to her death during a Benidorm hen-do may be forced to return to Spain for further questioning. Kirsty Maxwell, 27, of Livingston, West Lothian, died after plunging 100ft from a balcony of a hotel room where the five men were staying, after reportedly walking in to their room by mistake. Her family's legal team have asked the investigating judge to be allowed a a re-construction of the events leading up to her death, which would see the five men, who are still under investigation, be ordered to fly to Benidorm to take part. Claims: The lawyer of the family of Kirsty Maxwell, 27, pictured with her husband Adam, claims she was fleeing a 'sexual attack that had begun to materialise' The Spanish lawyer acting for Mrs Maxwell's husband Adam and her parents Brian and Denise has also reversed an earlier decision denying them the right to know what DNA tests were carried out on the clothes she was wearing when she died. Luis Miguel Zumaquero claims Mrs Maxwell was fleeing from a 'sexual attack that had begun to materialise' in a written document submitted to a Benidorm court. Mr Zumaquero also demands to know if there was male DNA on the clothes belonging to one of the five British men under investigation. Police, who in a report after the tragedy described their efforts to find witnesses as 'unsuccessful', will also be asked to specify the efforts they have gone to to speak to guests whose windows overlooked the block where Mrs Maxwell fell. A report put together by an expert hired by Mrs Maxwell's legal team concluded many people staying at the hotel had not been questioned by police. Getting answers: Mrs Maxwell's husband Adam and her parents have won the right to find out which DNA tests were carried out on the clothes she was wearing when she died Kirsty, 27, was part of a group of 20 women who travelled to the holiday resort where she fell from a tenth floor window The 27-year-old's husband and parents Denise and Brian are continuing to search for answers Mr Zumaquero, in a written document submitted to the Benidorm court, has said: 'It's vital the police contact all the guests who had rooms with windows overlooking the Payma building. 'Managers at the Presidente Hotel have been asked about the possibility of sending a letter to each one of those guests, along with a request for information from Kirsty's family, but the hotel has said it would only do it if served with a court order.' Insisting police should be asked to reveal how many officers had initially sought to identify potential witnesses at the hotel and what additional work had been done, he also said he wanted to know the names of the staff questioned by officers and the numbers of the rooms where guests had been quizzed. Yesterday he said: 'At the moment we're still waiting for the judge to rule on a key examination we have requested, which is entry into the apartment Kirsty plunged to her death from so we can carry out a reconstruction. 'It's something that should have been done in the initial stages of the investigation. 'We are also preparing requests for more tests.' A source close to Mrs Maxwell's family added: 'The family and her lawyers are concerned that the five men under investigation will not come back to Spain if they are ordered to stand trial and feel they should be remanded in prison. 'All the weight of the investigation has fallen on her family and those assisting them because of the passive attitude of the police and state prosecutors, who have not requested any tests or examinations which could clarify what happened. 'We hope they rectify and began to work on this investigation with the intensity the case deserves.' Her family brought the 27-year-old's body back to the UK after spending a week in Spain The five Brits questioned over Kirsty's death have been allowed to return to the UK. They deny any involvement in her death. Joseph Graham, 33, from Nottingham was the only man arrested at the time. The four other men in the apartment with him, named afterwards as Ricky Gammon, 31, Anthony Holehouse, 34, Callum Northridge, 27, and Daniel Bailey, 32, were summonsed to appear in court in Benidorm last July. They insisted they were innocent of any wrongdoing at a behind-closed-doors hearing. All five are being investigated on suspicion of homicide, although none have been formally charged with any crime as is customary in Spain where charges are only laid shortly before trial. Mrs Maxwell died instantly after plunging from apartment 10E at Apartamentos Payma early on April 29. The Scot, who married her husband in September, 2016 had been out partying with a group of female friends she had travelled to Spain with for a hen-do. She went to bed about 4am on April 29 in her ninth-floor apartment. She woke up shortly before plunging to her death, left her flat dressed but barefoot and was let into the mens' apartment on the floor above after knocking on the door. Mr Graham told police Mrs Maxwell was acting as if she was 'mad, drunk or drugged' and headed for the bathroom before trying to get through an indoor window and then disappearing from his view as she headed towards the balcony. Kirsty's death is still being investigated by Spanish police and local authorities Police said at the time they believed Mrs Maxwell may have mistaken the apartment for a friend's flat - and become disorientated from the effects of her night out boozing. Mr Zumaquero said when he demanded all five British men be placed under formal investigation last May: 'The authorities here would be in a stronger position to make all five men return to Spain if they were placed under investigation and were not treated as mere witnesses. 'I don't think she was pushed but I do believe she was fleeing from something or somebody. 'We know she was trying to get out of a window because of what happened in the bathroom. 'My suspicion is she didn't end up in the mens' apartment voluntarily and that she came across these well-built males who Joseph has described as active bodybuilders and include a cage fighter as she was heading to her friends' flat. 'My suspicion is that she was locked in the bathroom and was very frightened and may have jumped gripped by fear to avoid a worse fate or to escape someone trying to grab hold of her. 'I believe that makes far more sense than the version we have been given by the men in that room which I believe is unrealistic.' Donald Trump's ex-wife has defended the US President over his 's***hole countries' comments - saying he is not racist. Ivana Trump, 71, spoke out after her former husband sparked outrage across the world when he allegedly asked 'Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?' in an Oval Office meeting about immigration on Thursday. Yesterday in Florida, Mr Trump denied being racist, telling reporters: 'I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you.' And today his ex-wife, Ivana, who married the billionaire in 1977 and is mother to Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka, backed him. She told Good Morning Britain: 'I don't think Donald's racist at all. Sometimes he says these things which are silly or he doesn't really mean them. But he's definitely not racist, I'm sure of that.' Ivana Trump, 71, spoke out after her former husband sparked outrage across the world when he allegedly asked he allegedly asked 'Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?' in an Oval Office meeting about immigration on Thursday 'I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you,' Trump said Sunday on his way to dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (left) Ivana Trump, Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on the Good Morning Britain sofa earlier today Asked why he makes such offensive comments Ivana shrugged and said: 'Who knows! 'He has so many people telling him left and right what to say and what not to say and things like that, and sometimes maybe it can confuse him.' She also described President Trump, who she split with in an acrimonious divorce in 1992, as a 'stable genius' and 'not that bad'. Trump was reportedly speaking about Haitians and citizens of various African nations, and asked why the US doesn't welcome more immigrants from countries like Noway instead. Yesterday, he again denied making the statements attributed to him, but didn't get into specifics about what he did or did not say. 'Did you see what various senators in the room said about my comments?' he asked. 'They weren't made.' Asked why he makes such offensive comments Ivana shrugged and said: 'Who knows!' Today his ex-wife, Ivana, who married the billionaire in 1977 and is mother to Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka, backed him The alleged remarks brought down furious condemnation on Trump from Democrats and media talking heads. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, told CNN 's Erin Burnett on Friday, 'We know he's a racist, he's demonstrated that... he's a racist both in his actions and his words.' Johnson said that the language Trump reportedly used hearkens back to the '50s and '60s, it is the language of a Ross Barnett and a George Wallace.' He added that the issue will help to motivate African-American voters in the 2018 mid-term elections. Trump shakes hands with attendees after signing a proclamation to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Friday. He has directly addressed a racism row for the first time Trump repeatedly told voters he is not a racist leading up to his 2016 election. The president claimed in a tweet on Friday morning that the widely reported 'sh**hole' comments he is said to have made Thursday were not correct. 'The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.' Philip Hammond (pictured outside No10 last week) said that 'whatever people say' the election result 'made it very clear' the British people want to stick with the current system. Philip Hammond has said the UK will keep a 'European-style' economy after we quit the EU - despite pressure by leading Brexiteers to diverge. The Chancellor said that 'whatever people say' the election result 'made it very clear' the British people want to stick with the current system. And he urged Europe to 'keep us close' and ensure the UK retains a 'European approach'. His comments will infuriate Brexiteers who backed Leave so Britain could carve its own global path and diverge from Europe - including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove. In an interview with the German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag, Mr Hammond - a prominent Remainer - said: 'We've had an election in the UK in the meantime which made it very clear that the British people have no appetite for changing our economic model. 'Whatever people say, in practice they have a strong attachment to a European-style market economy, with strong social welfare, strong labour protection and strong environmental rules. All the things we take for granted. 'And I hope very much that our European neighbours will want to keep us close and ensure we retain a European approach across Europe.' The Chancellor said Britain will stick to all EU rules and regulations during the two-year transition deal after Brexit. But his remarks are likely to set him on a collision course with leading Brexiteers in the Cabinet who have urged for Britain to use Brexit to free itself from Brussels' red tap. Environment Secretary Michael Gove used an interview at the weekend to say he would use this week's Brexit Cabinet meeting to demand the UK ditches the common fisheries policy when we leave. While Boris Johnson has reportedly told allies he is afraid Theresa May is being persuaded to pursue a 'soft Brexit' that will keep the UK tied to EU rules. Philip Hammond's will infuriate Brexiteers Boris Johnson and Michael Gove who backed Leave so Britain could carve its own global path and diverge from Europe The Foreign Secretary reportedly said that if Britain left the bloc but still had to take orders from Brussels, then the Brexit vote would have been a 'total waste of time'. The brewing Cabinet clash comes as the Brexit Bill returns to Parliament this week where MPs will get another chance to vote and amend it. Jeremy Corbyn has indicated that Labour will vote against it but the legislation is expected to pass the commons. It will then move over to the House of Lords where Remain-backing peers are expected to try to scupper it and send it back to the Commons for further changes. Ministers have tabled a number of amendments which are designed to ease the concerns of the rebels in the Commons. MPs have called for more guarantees for EU nationals loving in the UK while the SNP want more assurances that powers returned from Brussels will go to the devolved administrations. Nicola Sturgeon today accused Theresa May of a 'dereliction of duty' for planning to take Britain out of the single market. The Scottish First Minister joined a renewed Project Fear as she became the latest to publish her own impact assessment on Brexit. She insisted the research showed the 'least damaging option by far' was staying in the EU single market after Brexit. The SNP leader insisted Scotland's economy would be hammered by a no deal Brexit, according to her research. Nicola Sturgeon (pictured today in Edinburgh) accused Theresa May of a 'dereliction of duty' for planning to take Britain out of the single market Ms Sturgeon presented the report (pictured right) alongside her Brexit spokesman Michael Russell (pictured together left arriving for today's press conference Theresa May (pictured yesterday in Maidenhead with husband Philip) has said Britain must leave the single market and customs union to deliver on Brexit Ms Sturgeon's report follows an impact assessment published by London Mayor Sadiq Khan last week which also backed staying in the single market as the least painful for the economy. The UK Government has already made it clear it will seek to take Britain out of the single market and pursue a bespoke trade deal with the EU. The Scottish Government's study, launched by Ms Sturgeon in Edinburgh today, looks at the impact of three different Brexit outcomes on GDP, trade and immigration. These include staying in the single market and customs union, striking a UK-EU trade deal or reverting to WTO (World Trade Organisation) terms. Ms Sturgeon said: 'More than 18 months on from the Brexit vote, it beggars belief that the UK Government is not only still unable to say what kind of relationship it wants with the EU, but has also failed to produce any meaningful economic assessment of the different possibilities.' She added: 'It will be a fundamental dereliction of duty as Prime Minister if Theresa May continues to pursue her red lines without providing information on their impact, and publicly discussing the options available.' A hard Brexit without a trade agreement would cost Scotland's economy 12.7 billion a year, the Scottish Government analysis found. The figure is equivalent to an 8.5 per cent drop in GDP by 2030 - or 2,300 per person in Scotland per year - compared to retaining full EU membership, the study claims. Meanwhile, disposable income would fall by 1.4 per cent, with business investment expected to be just under 3 per cent lower. Ms Sturgeon's report suggests Scotland's economy shrinks under all Brexit scenarios considered but does better if Britain stays inside the single market (left hand bars) than it does in a no deal scenario (right hand bars) Ms Sturgeon added: 'Of course, there is no alternative arrangement that can deliver the jobs, people and economic benefit that come from remaining members of the European Union but if the UK continues down the path of leaving the EU, it is the Prime Minister's duty to do as little harm as possible to the economy. Brexit Secretary David Davis (pictured in Downing Street last week) told MPs the UK Government had not carried out any impact assessments of leaving the EU 'The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that, if the UK is indeed leaving the EU, then it must stay within the single market and customs union to prevent needless job losses and cuts in living standards.' Mrs May's official spokesman dismissed the report today. He said: 'The Prime Minister has made clear her commitment to getting a good deal which serves the interests of all parts of the United Kingdom and that we are confident of doing so. 'I'd also point out the vital importance that we protect the UK economy, which is worth around 48billion to Scotland, and that's four times as much as that of the EU. Also worth pointing out that the UK economy supports four times as many jobs compared to the EU. 'We are carrying out extensive preparations in relation to delivering Brexit and the will of the British people.' Brexit Secretary David Davis told MPs last month that the UK Government had not carried out any impact assessments of leaving the EU on the UK economy. He said 'sectoral analysis' of different industries had been drawn up, but not a 'forecast' of what would happen after Brexit. The SNP administration has previously called for a 'differentiated deal' for Scotland, allowing it to remain in the single market even if the rest of the UK leaves. The Scottish Conservatives urged Ms Sturgeon to make it clear she is no longer pursuing such a deal, and called on her to back UK-wide trade and immigration rules. Yesterday, Ms Sturgeon vowed to decide whether to press ahead with a second Scottish independent referendum by the end of this year. Yesterday, Ms Sturgeon vowed to decide whether to press ahead with a second Scottish independent referendum by the end of this year. The SNP leader said her next move would be determined by the shape of the deal hammered out between Britain and the EU. Ms Sturgeon has suffered a series of knockbacks in her campaign to hold another vote on tearing up the UK, losing seats to the Tories in the election in June. In an interview on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Ms Sturgeon said: 'By roundabout the autumn of this year we should have some clarity about that future relationship. 'That's when I will be able to look at that and make a judgment on what I think the next appropriate steps are for Scotland.' Donald Sutherland has categorically denied that his sex scene with Julie Christie in 1973 film Don't Look Now was real. Speaking at the New York Premiere of his new film The Leisure Seeker, 82-year-old Sutherland said that anyone who claims otherwise is 'an idiot'. He said performing the act would have been impossible since no take lasted longer than 15 seconds before the action was stopped so he and Christie could reposition. Donald Sutherland has denied long-standing rumors that the sex scene in Don't Look Now was real, saying people who claim otherwise are 'idiots' Sutherland said that despite the scene's erotic nature the filming was anything but, because he and co-star Julie Christie had to stop every 15 seconds to change position Sutherland, who spoke to the New York Daily News, said he adored the scene because it 'reminded you of making love.' The scene was hugely controversial when the film was first introduced and described as 'one of the frankest love scenes ever to be filmed'. It caused issues for censors both in Britain, where it received an X-rating, and in America, where it was rated R. The scene was entirely removed by the BBC when it first aired on British television. Rumors that the sex was genuine have persisted for years, helped along by the likes of former Paramount executive Peter Bart, who said as much in his 2011 book. Sutherland, 82, spoke out at the premiere of his new film The Leisure Seeker (pictured) where he stars alongside Helen Mirren In 2008, Michael Deeley, who oversaw the film's UK distribution, told the BBC that Christie's then-boyfriend Warren Beatty had flown to London and demanded that the sex scene be removed. Sutherland has been protective over the film in the past, suggesting back in 2015 as rumors of a remake swirled that it would be an 'embarrassment'. 'Why do they do it?,' he said. 'Its just people wanting profit, trying to profit off the back of [director] Nicolas Roeg, and something thats very beautiful. 'Its shameful. They should be ashamed of themselves.' Sutherland's latest film sees him star alongside Helen Mirren. The pair play a married couple who embark on a road trip before his Alzheimers and her cancer catch up with them. Paula Salvador, 37, (pictured) married notorious prisoner Charles Bronson, now Charles Salvador, at HMP Wakefield on November 14 The new wife of notorious prisoner Charlie Bronson has launched a legal battle to be allowed her wedding photos. Actress Paula Salvador, 37, got married to Bronson - now called Charles Salvador - at HMP Wakefield last November, but two months later has still not been allowed access to the snaps from their wedding at the high security prison. In a note posted on Facebook, Mrs Salvador described herself as the only bride in Britain not to have her wedding photos. Mrs Salvador is now urging supporters to write to the governor of HMP Wakefield, where Salvador lives in a 'cage' in the segregation unit, to demand she is allowed the photos taken at the ceremony on November 14. Her note was posted on the Facebook group Charles Salvador 44 Years and Counting on Friday. She said that she visited Salvador on Friday and found him sporting a new FCUK vest, which he bought from the prison catalogue. She said: 'Seen Charlie today and he's on fine form (he had a new vest on 'FCUK' 14.99 from the catalogue!) and looked amazing. Former Coronation Street star Paula Salvador now says that she still hasn't been given her wedding photos - two months on from her big day Mrs Salvador says that she is the only bride in Britain not to have her wedding photos and asked supporters of her husband to contact the prison's governor 'We spoke a lot about our future and plans, it was was lovely to hear him speaking about our future in realistic terms. 'We also laughed until my stomach hurt...we'll never ever tire of each other let me tell you all that.' She added: 'Spoke to his legal (team) today too, we are pursuing all avenues we can in order to get our wedding photos. 'Please can I ask our supporters to write into Governor David Harding, HMP Wakefield, 5 Love Lane, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF2 9AG to express their disgust as to WHY we can't have our photos. 'To those who wrote before re our wedding...thank you, it really helped. Please write again and express your disgust at me being the only bride in Britain to not have any wedding photos. 'Thank you all for your support, in the words of The Artful Dodger 'I'll be back soon....' xxx Paula xxx.' Mrs Salvador made the comments on a Facebook page set-up in support of her husband and confirmed that she would launching a legal battle Rod Harrison, who was Salvador's best man at his wedding, said that Salvador paid for the snaps, but that the copyright is held by the Prison Service. He said: 'Photos taken in prison remain the copyrite (sic) of the prison and Charlie and Paula signed a paper to say they would not publish them. 'Charlie paid for the photos out of his canteen but the crown still own copyrite (sic) - Crazy ain't it?' Charles Salvador (pictured in 1997) was given a life sentence in 1999 after taking a prison art teacher hostage for criticising his work Pal James Waldron wrote: 'Hope you get em soon Paula so wrong that.' Amie Shepherd wrote: 'Everybody deserves their wedding pics - its disgusting but i shall write a letter and get my friends to do glad u had fantastic visit with ur hubby.' Kathleen Borthwick wrote: 'Surely they have no right hold your wedding photos from you.' After passing a string of violence reductions courses in prison, Salvador - real name Michael Peterson - is now appealing against his life sentence. Salvador was first locked up for armed robbery in 1974, but during his time inside he has taken hostages in 10 prison sieges, attacked at least 20 prison officers and caused 500,000 in damage in rooftop protests. In 1999, he was given a life sentence after taking prison art teacher Phil Danielson hostage at HMP Hull after he criticised one of his drawings. This is the shocking moment a massive brawl broke out in a California pizza restaurant over a missing iPhone that turned out to have been in the lost and found the whole time. Police were called to John's Incredible Pizza Company in Newark's NewPark Mall on Saturday night after violence erupted. It broke out after a girl missing her phone had approached a group to see if they'd seen it but quickly descended into chaos, with video showing two large groups of people exchanging blows and screaming at each other. Newark police officers had to call in officers from the Fremont Police Department for help because of the size of the brawl, NBC Bay Arena reports. Credit: Facebook/Nicole Davis A massive brawl broke out in a California pizza restaurant over a missing iPhone that turned out to have been in the lost and found the whole time Police said the fight was eventually broken up and only minor injuries were reported. No arrests were made. Later, as officers began to investigate the incident, the restaurant's manager found the missing phone had been turned into the lost and found hours earlier. The girl who lost her phone used the Find My iPhone app to get to the location of the brawl, but the device was actually a floor above in the lost and found. Her mother claimed they were attacked for just asking a group if they'd seen the phone. Newark police officers had to call in officers from the Fremont Police Department for help because of the size of the brawl Police said the massive fight was eventually broken up and only minor injuries were reported Drake Lynn, who works at the restaurant, told NBC that he saw two young women arguing before it escalated into a physical fight. 'Their boyfriends, or males who they were with, backed them up, and then they started throwing punches, and then their friends started throwing punches, and they started throwing punches at other parties that were there,' Lynn said. 'We would have definitely found the cellphone, if they would have just given us a little bit of time and let us do our jobs instead of throwing punches.' Nicole Davis shared footage of the brawl on Facebook, writing: 'Took the kids to John's Incredible Pizza in Fremont tonight and it really went down in the buffet line smh.' At least 20 people were involved in the fight, the woman who recorded footage of it said At least 20 people were involved in the fight, she told SF Gate. 'It was a horrible experience,' she said. 'I made sure I protected my kids until they cleared the way so we can get out, but I just hated the fact they did this at a family establishment.' She added: 'It makes me sick that my kids had to see that and all the kids that were scared crying.' A US Army hero dog, who met Winston Churchill during his military duties in the Second World War, has been posthumously awarded the 'animal Victoria Cross' for his brave service. Chips, a Husky-cross, was recognised with a PDSA Dickin Medal for protecting the lives of his platoon during beach landings when the British and Americans invaded Sicily in July 1943. He met the then-British Prime Minister, Mr Churchill, at a Second World War summit in Casablanca. The medal was first introduced in 1943 by Maria Dickin, the founder of the UK's leading veterinary charity the PDSA, and is a large bronze medallion bearing the words 'for gallantry' and 'we also serve'. It was given at the Churchill War Rooms in London today, during the 75th anniversary of the Casablanca Conference. Chips, a Husky-cross, was recognised with a PDSA Dickin Medal for protecting the lives of his platoon during beach landings when the British and Americans invaded Sicily in July 1943 Chips, the war dog who was recommended for gallantry in Sicilian campaign, getting a donut from GI John Wren (left), who was four years old when Chips the family pet returned from the war effort, with military working dog Ayron and his handler Staff Sergeant Jeremy Mayerhoffer (centre) and US Lieutenant Colonel Alan Throop (right) in London today During the US-led mission, called Operation Husky, as Chips and his platoon landed on the shore at dawn they immediately came under fire During the US-led mission, called Operation Husky, as Chips and his platoon landed on the shore at dawn they immediately came under fire. But, as the soldiers headed for cover, Chips escaped from his lead and ran towards the line of fire which appeared to be coming out of a hut. His handler Private John Rowell and the rest of the platoon watched as Chips entered the shack and the firing stopped. One of the enemy soldiers then appeared with the dog at his throat, enabling them to push forward. As well as his heroics on the battlefield, Chips served as sentry at the Casablanca Conference in Morocco in January 1943 when the Allies were still fighting to clear the Germans from North Africa. This is where Mr Churchill and US president Franklin D Roosevelt mapped out the Allies' strategy for the next phase of the war, and is where Chips met both leaders as he undertook his protection duties. The best breeds for service have been determined to be German shepherds, Belgian sheep dogs, Doberman pinschers, farm collies, and giant schnauzers. The highest award any animal in the world can achieve while serving in military conflict, Chips will become the 70th recipient of the medal Chips is greeted by his original owners, the Wren family of Pleasantville, N.Y., upon his return to the U.S in 1945 Chips, a collie-shepherd-husky mix, once spent his time chasing the postman or biting garbage men back home with the Wren family in Pleasantville, New York Chips, the mongrel dog who received a Silver Star for heroism in the invasion of Sicily, gets a friendly pat from William Wilson, Railway Express Co. employee, as he arrived in New York City Chips, a collie-shepherd-husky mix, once spent his time chasing the postman or biting garbage men back home with the Wren family in Pleasantville, New York. The Wrens answered the call and offered Chip's services to the war and he became the most famous war dog of World War II. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for meritorious conduct and met President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British prime minister Winston Churchill and General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who Chips bit on the hand. Back home in Pleasantville, Chips didn't seem to wag his tail as much as before going to war, Mr. Wren told the New York Times. He was suffering from battle fatigue but he was now a hero and didn't need to be chasing the mailman. John Wren, from New York, with military working dog Ayron who received the PDSA Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, on Chips' behalf, in London In 1990 a Disney film called Chips The War Dog was made to celebrate the hero dog's life When scout dogs were being sent to Vietnam in 1965, they reportedly saved more than 2000 lives. More requests for dogs to accompany units on missions had to be refused because there weren't enough dogs. They were 'the only weapon system [the military] ever devised to save lives', stated Jesse Mendez, who headed up the scout dog program at Fort Benning, Georgia during the Vietnam War. 'First thing is trust your dog', Marine Corporal Eric Roethler said. 'You trust your dog, you follow him where he goes. If you don't trust your, you need to rethink your situation. You should have total faith to trust and walk behind him'. The highest award any animal in the world can achieve while serving in military conflict, Chips will become the 70th recipient of the medal. In the years since its creation a total of 32 other dogs, 32 Second World War messenger pigeons, four horses and one cat have also joined the roll of honour. The horrific gang rape of a 15-year-old girl has shocked India after it was revealed she suffered a ruptured liver and lungs as her aggressors took turns mutilating her. The lower-class Dalit child from the northern Indian state of Haryana went missing on Tuesday after she left home for school. She was found dead on Saturday with 19 serious injuries to her body - which police say indicate she was tortured. A 15-year-old girl from the northern Indian state of Haryana died after she was raped and mutilated by at least four aggressors who ruptured her liver and lungs before drowning her. Pictured: the police chief of the district in which she lived 'At least four men are suspected to be behind the crime,' said district police chief Abhishek Garg. 'A massive search is underway to arrest the perpetrators', he added. Her liver and lungs had been ruptured and an object had been jammed into her privates, doctors said. The school girl's half-naked body was found near a canal about 100 kilometres away from her home near the city of Kurukshetra. She was discovered wrapped in a torn shirt with wounds on her face, neck, lips and chest. The school girl's half-naked body was found near a canal about 100 kilometres away from her home near the city of Kurukshetra. Pictured: SK Dattarwal who carried out the post mortem A post mortem also suggested at least four people had been involved in her rape and torture. It also confirmed she had suffered drowning. Police said they believe she died two days before she was discovered, reports NDTV. 'The body had many injury marks, the private parts were mutilated and there were lots of internal injuries,' said SK Dattarwal, a doctor from the Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences. 'Signs of sexual assault are visible and it looks like at least four people were responsible, a hard and blunt thing was inserted inside her, signs of drowning also found.' He said it was apparent that the girl had struggled to escape but was gagged, and someone sat on her chest. Damning criticism of the Indian administration came from the victim's father (pictured) The girl's distraught father criticised the Indian administration, saying: 'My daughter was kidnapped and raped. She was tortured. If the administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened.' Local police said two special investigation teams had been set up to look into the girl's death. Just hours after the grisly discovery, police in Panipat district on Saturday found the body of a 12-year-old girl in a pond. Panipat police chief Rahul Sharma said two men, both neighbours of the victim, had been arrested over the crime. Both had confessed to luring the girl to their house before raping and killing her, Sharma said. The crimes underscore India's atrocious record on sexual violence, which remains high despite authorities vowing to stamp out the scourge. Pawan Gupta (left) and Vinay Sharma (right) were found guilty of the high profile gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student in Delhi in 2012. They were sentenced to death Akshay Singh Thakur (left) and Mukesh Kumar (right) were the other two men sentenced to death for the rape and murder that caused an international outcry The event reignited anger about high numbers of attacks against women, after the public outrage that erupted over the fatal gang-rape of a student in Delhi in 2012. That incident sparked tougher punishments for rapists and improved policies for police handling of assault cases, to try to encourage more victims to report the attacks. The crimes underscore India's atrocious record on sexual violence, which remains high despite authorities vowing to stamp out the scourge. Official figures show nearly 36,000 minors were sexually assaulted in 2016. A UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2014 said one in three rape victims in India was a minor and expressed alarm over the widespread sexual abuse of children. An Uber driver accused of attacking police officers with a samurai sword outside Buckingham Palace as part of an alleged terror plot will go on trial. Terror suspect Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 26, is accused of driving a blue Toyota Prius at a marked police van on Constitution Hill on the evening of August 25 last year. It is alleged that he then reached for a four foot long samurai sword he had stored in the well of the car, but was sprayed with CS gas and arrested as he shouted 'Allahu Akbar'. Terror suspect Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 26, is accused of driving a blue Toyota Prius at a marked police van on Constitution Hill on the evening of August 25 last year (This sketch of Chowdhury was taken during his last appearance in court) Two officers were taken by ambulance to hospital with minor cuts and discharged a short time later. A third injured officer did not require hospital treatment. As part of the attack Chowdhury wrote a suicide note, it has been claimed. Today he appeared at the Old Bailey via video link and pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts contrary to section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. Due to communication breakdown between the court and high security Belmarsh prison, the court was not able to hear the defendant, but he was able to hear the proceedings. These scene outside Buckingham Palace after the incident. Two officers were taken by ambulance to hospital with minor cuts and discharged a short time later Prison staff wrote out a number of signs with pieces of paper with the words of 'yes', 'no', 'guilty' and 'not guilty'. Chowdhury was wearing a prison issue jumper and used the pieces of paper to confirm his name and enter a plea of not guilty to the single count. The charge alleges that he obtained a samurai sword, purchased a knife sharpener, prepared a suicide note and 'drove to the area of London adjacent to Buckingham Palace'. Mrs Justice Ceema-Grubbb said: 'This case will be fixed for trial to commence on June 18 this year, with an estimate of seven days.' Chowdhury, of Luton, Bedfordshire, was remanded in custody to appear at the same court for his trial on June 18. The desperate mother of a four-year-old girl who was bashed, raped and killed, has revealed her anguish as her daughter's murderer is set to be released from prison. Lauren Hickson was four years old when she was tortured and raped before being drowned in the Nepean river in south-west Sydney, just 300 metres from her home. The horrific 1989 murder was committed by Neville Raymond Towner, then aged 23. Now 28 years after the 'sickening' murder, the New South Wales parole board is considering Towner's release. Scroll down for video Lauren Hickson (pictured) was four-years-old when she was tortured and raped before she was drowned in the Nepean river in south-west Sydney, just 300 metres from her home The State Parole Authority is expected to meet on Tuesday to decide his fate. Lauren's heart-broken mother, Jurina Hickson, pleaded with the parole board on Monday, to keep him behind bars. 'God forbid what he'll do (if he's released),' she told Nine News on Monday. Ms Hickson struggled to hold back tears as she remembered the life taken away from her. 'It's very very hard. She'd be 33 this year,' she said. 'She's not here. She's not here for Christmas, not here for family gatherings.' Ms Hickson claimed Towner showed no remorse for the crime since his conviction in 1989. 'He won't talk about the murder. He just won't talk about it He's shown no remorse, he's never said once he's sorry,' she said. The horrific murder, which happened on May 17 in 1989, was committed by Neville Raymond Towner (pictured), then 23 Ms Hickson (right) struggled to withhold tears as she remembered the life taken away from her On May 18, 1989 Towner confessed to abducting Lauren (pictured), sexually assaulting her and her ultimate murder On May 18, 1989 Towner confessed to abducting Lauren, sexually assaulting and murdering her. A year later he was sentenced to life in prison. In 2002, a judge changed his life sentence to a life with parole, for which he was eligible in 2009, Nine News reported. In 2017 the State Parole Authority announced it intended to release Towner. They are expected to discuss his fate on Tuesday this week. A man found dead after allegedly murdering a father-of-three with a crossbow and injuring his pregnant partner is a 'nutter' and 'psychopath', according to neighbours. Anthony Lawrence, 56, vanished after an apparent dispute over noise ended with the death of Shane Gilmer, 30, and his girlfriend Laura Sugden, 27, being injured. The tiny village of Southburn, near Driffield, East Yorkshire, was put on lockdown as police hunted for the suspected killer after the incident on Friday night. Shane Gilmer, 30, and his girlfriend Laura Sugden (pictured together), 27, moved next door to wanted suspect Anthony Lawrence a few months ago Mr Gilmer (left) was rushed to the Hull Royal Infirmary where he died following a crossbow attack. Police were searching for Anthony Lawrence (right) and have now found his body The body of Lawrence was found in a campervan in a rural part of North Yorkshire last night But the manhunt ended yesterday when police found the body of Lawrence in a campervan in the rural North Yorkshire location of Hackness at 6pm. One neighbour in Southburn aged in his early 30s, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'Anthony Lawrence was a loner, he was a psychopath. 'He was a nutter who lived alone and kept himself to himself, but he took out revenge on Shane and Laura for them being noisy.' Asked about whether drugs were involved, he said: 'I've heard he was on drugs at the time when doing what he did - I don't know anything else about that.' A neighbour living outside the cordoned area, which circled over 20 properties, said Lawrence acted out revenge on his 'noisy neighbours'. The man went on to say he believed the couple were threatened with an axe a month before the attack. Police forensic officers leave the homes of Lawrence and Mr Gilmer in Southburn today Lawrence's home is believed to be on the left, and Mr Gilmer's is said to be on the right Lawrence was on the run for almost 48 hours, but officers soon closed in on a campervan parked up with its blinds drawn closed at around 6pm last night. Mr Gilmer (pictured) and his girlfriend Laura Sugden, 27, moved next door to Lawrence just a few months before the incident It came just an hour after a press conference was called to urge Lawrence to hand himself in by Detective Chief Superintendent Judi Heaton. Police believe Lawrence attacked the couple at their home, and a crossbow recovered from the scene is being examined by forensic scientists. Miss Sugden, who works for the local council, fled the house bleeding from a wound to raise the alarm. Villager Chris King, 25, a factory worker, said Miss Sugden ran to a large farmhouse nearby at 9.20pm on Friday. 'The lady had blood pouring down her face,' he said. 'It was terrifying. The woman was panicking and was scared.' Miss Sugden and Mr Gilmer were taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, but he was later confirmed to have died from his injuries. Detective Chief Superintendent Judi Heaton, of Humberside Police, said: 'Laura's injuries were not life threatening and she and the baby are stable.' A local man said he had heard that Lawrence, who lived alone, had threatened Mr Gilmer and Miss Sugden with an axe in a dispute over late-night noise. Police wanted to speak to 55-year-old Lawrence over the alleged murder of Shane Gilmer (pictured) and attempted murder of Laura Sugden, who is still in hospital Lawrence was said to be concerned about 'loud music' from his neighbours' home. The man, who asked not to be named, said: 'We were told this guy had gone around and threatened them with an axe a month or so ago, but we don't know any more details. Apparently, there was some problem over noise.' Humberside Police refused to discuss details of the problem between Lawrence also known by the name Tony Howarth and the neighbours, but indicated that they were aware of the background. Police named him as being wanted on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. The suspect's blue Vauxhall Meriva car was found in Driffield. Police tape that had encircled up to 20 properties in the East Yorkshire village was lifted today Police forensic officers stand and sit outside the houses in the rural location of Southburn Today, a police cordon encircling up to 20 properties in the village was lifted, three days after being put in place after the attack on Friday. But tape remained in place blocking the entrances to two red-brick semi-detached houses guarded by an officer sat in a police van outside. A green slide, a trampoline with collapsed netting, football net and a swing set could be seen in the garden of one of the properties. Forensics wearing white coats could be seen unloading equipment. Several other police vehicles were seen around the village, including a scientific support van. Tributes have been left for Mr Gilmer outside his home in the East Yorkshire countryside It is thought Mr Gilmer was killed at his home address following a dispute with his neighbour Southburn is a small community of around 20 houses, some of them rented by farm workers. Police had stopped all vehicles from entering the village. Lawrence was not well known in the area and had lived in the village for a couple of years. Mr Gilmer, who is understood to have three children from a previous relationship, and Miss Sugden had also arrived relatively recently. Police dismissed a report that Lawrence had broken in through a cellar, saying that the house does not have a cellar. Today a woman who lives close to Miss Sugden's mother June in Driffield said she had previously been awoken by Mr Gilmer and Miss Sugden having a row in the early hours. Tape remained in place blocking the entrances to the two red-brick semi-detached houses The body of Lawrence was found last night in the rural North Yorkshire location of Hackness The couple had been visiting Mrs Sugden, 51, when they could be heard arguing loudly last year, the woman claimed. The woman, a 77-year-old mother-of-three who asked not to be named, said: "I don't know him (Mr Gilmer) but there was an incident last year whereby they'd had an argument and some jewellery had been thrown in my front garden. "It could have been jewellery that he (Mr Gilmer) bought. This was the early hours of the morning and it woke me up. "The whole thing was a bit odd. I didn't see the couple around here very often. I didn't even know they lived at Southburn. Tributes have been left for Mr Gilmer in the village of Southburn, saying: 'Sleep tight' Speaking at a press conference in Hull, East Yorkshire, Detective Chief Superintendent Judi Heaton confirmed that a crossbow had been recovered from the victims' home There was one item I found once all the shrubs had been cut down. One item was a pair of sunglasses, they were very expensive Ray-Bans. There was the noise, shouting. I didn't see the couple walk past my house but June told me about what happened. She asked me whether I'd found any of these two items that had been thrown in my garden. June thought she owed me an explanation because it woke me up and disturbed me." There was no answer today at the door of Mrs Sugden's address. Friends said father-of-three Shane Gilmer had taken his pregnant partner to a house in the village of Southburn near Driffield, East Yorkshire A mile-long area of the small village in Driffield (pictured) was cordoned off by police Neighbours claim a woman 'pouring with blood' ran for help after being attacked by an alleged 'crossbow killer' who broke into a property and killed her boyfriend A former neighbour said: 'He lived on his own and kept himself to himself. In fact, he hardly ever spoke.' Police refused to confirm or deny if he had a criminal record. Friends paid tribute to the murder victim, who is believed to have worked for the local council in the housing department. One, Lisa George, said: 'Shane never had a bad word to say about anyone and would bend over backwards to help anyone. He is going to leave a large hole in a lot of people's lives.' Another commented: 'Such a lovely person who helped a lot of people.' A former neighbour of Miss Sugden said: 'She is a lovely girl and what's happened is terrible.' Pakistani police hunting the man who raped and killed a six-year-old girl have released further sketches and surveillance footage of the last moment she was seen alive. CCTV footage shows Zainab Ansari being led away by a suspect five days before she was found raped and strangled on a rubbish pile about a mile from her home in Kasur, east Pakistan. The child's horrific murder sparked outrage across the country and led to thousands of people taking to the streets of Kasur, Lahore and Karachi in protest. Murdered: Zainab Ansari, six, was caught on CCTV being led away by a mystery man and was found raped and strangled on a rubbish pile about a mile from her home five days later New evidence: Police released the second clip of Zainab and a man after nearly a week of trying and failing to catch the killer Police have come under fire for their slow response to Zainab's murder, and this weekend failed to catch the killer within a 36-hour deadline given to them by the Lahore High Court. In the wake of their failure, police have now released another CCTV clip showing Zainab walking alongside a man. They have also released a third clip, showing a lone man walking down a street, believed to be the same man as in the second clip. The police's new releases have been criticised, as the appearance of the man in the new footage seems different from that of the man seen taking Zainab in earlier release. However, with police questioning dozens of people in Kasur, it is thought they may pursue a lead that Zainab's killer did not act alone. Suspects: Police have released these two suspect sketches as they continue to hunt Zainab's killer more than a week after her death Mystery: Police also released another clip of a lone man walking, saying he is a 'person of interest' Criticised: Local news has questioned why the CCTV of the lone man was released as he appears to be of a different build than the man who took Zainab CCTV footage captured a man walking hand in hand with the little girl the day she disappeared Zainab was kidnapped on her way to a Koran recital while her parents were in Mecca on a religious pilgrimage. A post-mortem examination revealed Zainab died of strangulation with local media reporting examiners found evidence of torture. Doctors said the young girl's hyoid bone had been fractured, which strongly suggests she had been strangled. Her father Anees Ansari has accused the police of acting slowly and letting he culprit get away. 'If the police would have acted immediately, the culprit would have been caught,' he said upon his return to Pakistan. According to a police document obtained by the BBC, there have been ten similar cases in Kasur since January last year. Traces of the same DNA have been recovered from six of the victims, including Zainab's body, indicating that she was the victim of a serial killer. All six of those victims were young girls who went missing close to their homes and all of their remains were found in rubbish dumps or abandoned houses. They all lived within a two mile radius. Pakistani students protest during a rally condemning the rape and killing of Zainab Ansari Anees Ansari, Zainab's father, accused the police of being slow to respond when his daughter went missing. The protests against police inaction had erupted on January 10 with two demonstrators killed in clashes with the police Anger: Hundreds of people blocked roads and shut down markets for a second day in the city of Kasur to demand justice for Zainab Zainab's murder caused outrage in Pakistan, and violent mass protests have been shaking Kasur, located in Punjab province, since her body was found. Hundreds of protesters hurled projectiles at a hospital, attacked the home of at least one local politician, and complained of police inaction. Last Wednesday, at least two protesters were killed when police fired into the crowd of demonstrators as they tried to storm a government building in Kasur, 'Up to 1,000 protesters are in the streets,' Kasur police spokesman Muhammad Sajid said. 'They have thrown stones on the buildings of the government hospital, police and deputy commissioner's office... Security is deployed and trying to control the situation.' The demonstrators accused police of failing to act over the child murders. Sajid said that up to 20 suspects had been apprehended 'but the investigators have been unable to find any clue so far'. A young boy has luckily survived after falling from an ascending ski lift in a resort in Hebei Province, northern China. Mobile phone footage emerged online capturing the moment the boy in red jacket had his body dangerously hanging at the bottom of a ski lift and dropped into the snow. Ski resort staff said the boy, believed to be aged around eight or nine years old, was not injured and went off to ski after a short rest. A young boy is seen hanging dangerously on a ski lift at Thaiwoo Ski Resort in northern China (left). It is said that he is not injured as he falls on a thick layer of ice (right) According to The Paper, the incident took place at Thaiwoo Ski Resort, Chongli district of Zhangjiakou on January 13. The young skier was believed to have gotten on a ski lift on his own and mistakenly slipped off from it while going up the mountain. The boy was not harmed despite the high fall as he luckily dropped onto a thick layer of snow. An onlooker who saw the moment of the boy falling said in the camera: 'Oh my gosh!' A worker told The Paper that young children can only take the lift when accompanied by their parents. One shocked skier can be heard saying 'Oh my gosh!' as he watches the boy falling from the lift He was not sure how did the boy get on the lift as his parents were not around when the incident happened. 'Our operator might not have spot the children but the parents are very irresponsible of letting their son going up the lift on his own,' he told the reporter. It is unclear who the other adults inside the ski lift were but further investigations will have to be carried out for details. Workers at Thaiwoo Ski Resort reminded visitors to remind of safety signs and to follow the regulations when using any gears or transportation in the resort. With 200 planned ski trails of a total length of 138 kilometres, Thaiwoo Ski Resort will be one of the main venues for Beijing Winter Olympic Games in 2022. The United Arab Emirates claims Qatari jets 'intercepted' two of its passenger planes within just 30 minutes today after allegations that a Qatari royal was being held captive in Abu Dhabi. Both commercial airliners were intercepted in international airspace during flights to Bahrain - the first at 10.30am and the second at 11am, UAE media have claimed. Doha denied the first incident had occurred but the row threatens to escalate tensions between Qatar and the four Arab nations that have been boycotting it for months - among them the United Arab Emirates, home to the world's busiest international airport. It comes after a controversial member of Qatar's royal family said he was being detained in the UAE, a claim quickly denial by Emirati officials on Sunday. Two commercial airliners were intercepted by Qatari jets in international airspace during flights to Bahrain, it has been claimed in the United Arab Emirates (file picture) Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani (right, with Saudi King Salman) a controversial member of Qatar's royal family has said he is being detained in the UAE. The claim was quickly denied by Emirati officials on Sunday Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani, a little-known royal, emerged as a key figure in the dispute between the Gulf states in the weeks after Riyadh and Abu Dhabi cut ties with Doha in June. He is seen by some as a potential challenger to the Qatari leadership. A video circulating online shows the sheikh warning that he was 'afraid something could happen to me that will be blamed on Qatar'. Hours after the video emerged, the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said this morning it had received a message from a 'national carrier' that an aircraft on a routine flight to Manama was intercepted by Qatari fighter jets. The authority said it was 'a flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation and a clear violation of international law'. 'This is a routine flight that has all the required paperwork,' it said. The authority later said a second Emirati passenger plane bound for Bahrain was also intercepted by Qatari fighter jets. It said the second plane was intercepted 'during its descent towards Bahrain International Airport', adding that it was also on a routine pre-scheduled flight. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani, a little-known royal, emerged as a key figure in the dispute between the Gulf states in the weeks after Riyadh and Abu Dhabi cut ties with Doha in June. He is seen by some as a potential challenger to the Qatari leadership A spokeswoman for Qatar's foreign ministry denied the first incident had occurred. 'The state of Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft (are) completely false,' Lulwa al-Khater said on Twitter. Four UAE-based airlines - Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia - operate flights to Bahrain. Spokespersons for the airlines contacted by AFP could not immediately confirm or deny the news. Monday's allegations came after Qatar accused UAE fighter jets of violating its airspace in December and January. Qatar is located in the Gulf, between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and across the Gulf waters from Iran. Tensions have escalated in the Gulf since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all ties with Qatar in June, accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremists and being too close to Saudi Arabia's arch-rival, Iran. They have banned all flights to and from Doha and cut off most trade links. Qatar denies the allegations, arguing the bloc aims to incite regime change in Doha. Meanwhile, tensions were heightened yesterday after exiled Qatari ruling family member Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani appeared in an online video, claiming he wass being held against his will in the UAE 'I am now in Abu Dhabi, where I was a guest of (UAE crown prince) Sheikh Mohammed' bin Zayed al-Nahyan, said Sheikh Abdullah. 'That is no longer the case. I am now detained.' 'I want to make clear that the people of Qatar are innocent,' the sheikh said. 'Sheikh Mohammed bears full responsibility for anything that happens to me.' The UAE denied that Sheikh Abdullah was being held against his will, with state news agency WAM reporting he was in the country 'at his own behest'. 'Sheikh Abdullah has had unrestrained mobility and freedom of movement during his stay in the UAE,' WAM cited an unnamed foreign ministry official as saying. Commercial airliners were intercepted in international airspace during a flight to Bahrain, according to the UAE's state-run news agency which cited aviation officials. Officials in Doha (file picture) have denied the claim 'Subsequently Sheikh Abdullah had expressed his desire to leave the UAE following which all measures were taken to honour his desire without any reservation.' Ali Rashed al-Nuaimi, who heads the UAE's Hedayda counter-extremism centre, meanwhile tweeted that Sheikh Abdullah had asked to stay in the Emirates 'for his own safety'. 'For the record, a trusted source confirmed that Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani is free to leave the United Arab Emirates as he likes and to whatever destination he likes,' Nuaimi wrote. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June over allegations that Doha supported Islamist extremists and had close ties to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations. In response to the video, Qatar's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Lulwa al-Khater, said Doha was monitoring the situation. 'The state of Qatar observes the situation closely, and due to the total severance of ties with the UAE it is difficult to clearly establish the circumstances surrounding the situation,' she said in a statement. 'Despite that, the State of Qatar principally stands with the protection of rights for every individual and affirms the entitlement of his family to pursue all legal means for the protection of his rights.' In August, Sheikh Abdullah met powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to mediate on reopening a land border to allow Qatari pilgrims to perform the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. It was the first public high-level encounter between the two nations since the diplomatic crisis erupted. Doha was quick to point out that he was in Saudi Arabia in a personal capacity and did not represent the government. Qatari officials also accused Gulf rivals of seeking regime change in Doha and replacing Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani with Sheikh Abdullah - who belongs to a branch of the Al-Thani family that has seen its power eroded but is still well-connected in the Gulf. An American scientist who has seen the North Korean nuclear secrets claims Kim Jong-un is not bluffing and that the White House should be concerned. Dr Sig Hecker, who was once in charge of designing nuclear weapons for the US, was shown around the hermit kingdom seven times and each time was given access to confidential information. The doctor, who the North Koreans knew would feed the information back to his bosses in America, held plutonium extracted at a secret complex in Yongbyon. Combined with the country's massive stock of uranium, it is estimated Kim Jong-un's army has between 30 and 60 nuclear weapons at its disposal, according to Hecker. Experts now believe Pyongyang has a better understanding of Washington than the other way around, which could be a stumbling block for Donald Trump. Sig Hecker (pictured leaving for North Korea in 2004), who was once in charge of designing nuclear weapons for the US, was shown around the hermit kingdom seven times and each time was given inconceivable access to confidential information North Korea's spent nuclear fuel rods, kept which are kept in a cooling pond, are seen at the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, North Korea The doctor, who the North Koreans knew would feed back to his bosses in America, held plutonium extracted at a secret complex in Yongbyon (pictured) An aerial shot of the nuclear complex which is said to be constantly growing their capabilities of developing weapons Although Kim Jong-un's workers would have known the information gathered by the American doctor would have found its way back to the Pentagon and the White House, it was still an unexpected level of exposure. Hecker told CBS: 'I was immensely surprised by how much they showed me and with the openness with which they showed and explained that to me.' He had been director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory - more commonly known as the birthplace of the American atomic bomb - for 11 years. In 2004, he was invited for his first tour of Yongbyon, and he has returned six times since. It was here he was given North Korean plutonium to hold - a heavy, radioactive metal encased in a glass jar. The moment Hecker physically testified to the isolated nation's nuclear might, the balance in Washington shifted. 'It changed from one of "we don't know exactly what they have, if they have enough to make anything" to the fact that they actually could have four to six bombs,' he said. The complex continues to be monitored by satellites orbiting above the country, and 14 years later it is thought the number of weapons has increased by at least five-fold. Expert Robert Carlin, who has been studying North Korea for four decades, told CBS: 'I think they understand us better than we understand them. We're still weighed down with a lot of stereotypes and they're going to trip us up.' Combined with the country's massive stock of uranium, it's believed Kim Jong-un's army has between 30 and 60 nuclear weapons at its disposal, according to Hecker When Hecker returned in 2010, he was invited into a different part of the nuclear base where 2,000 modern centrifuges were lined up. It is thought they were manifesting uranium, ready to be used for another type of chemical bomb. By now, the building which Hecker was given access to has doubled in size meaning it could be holding up to 10,000 centrifuges, according to director of the Institute for Science and International Security David Albright. Given the rate of development, he estimates North Korea has 13 to 30 nuclear weapons. Hecker believes this figure could be as high as 60, and that more worrying was the fact that they could be built as small disco-ball-type bombs, capable of being fitted to a missile. Although the technology isn't yet there to merge the two, the expert doesn't think the hermit kingdom is too far away . He told CBS: 'They're going to get there, you know, that's, that's one thing you can count on. 'We've tried to sanction them into submission. They've not submitted. They just keep testing and keep evolving.' Advertisement Welcome to the coldest village on earth where the average temperature in January is -50C and inhabitant's eye lashes freeze solid mere moments after stepping outside. The remote Siberian village of Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world. It was so icy in the Russian village that a new electronic thermometer conked out after recording a bone-cracking minus 62C. Scroll down for video Temperature in the remote Siberian village of Oymyakon average -50C in January The official weather station at the 'pole of cold' registered minus 59C, but locals said their readings were as low as minus 67C - less than 1C off the lowest accepted temperature for a permanent settlement anywhere in the world. And that record breaking recording was taken in the town back in 1933. One villager in Oymyakon recorded a temperature of minus 67C, while others agreed that the official reading of minus 59C did not tell the full story. The digital thermometer was installed last year to help Oymyakon market itself to tourists, but it gave up the ghost at minus 62C. 'It broke because it was too cold,' reported The Siberian Times. The remote village is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world Temperatures dropped so low in the Russian village that a new electronic thermometer broke at a bone-cracking minus 62C The town's name translates as 'the water that doesn't freeze' and comes from the fact it sits above a thermal spring The village is home to around 500 hardy people and in the 1920s and 1930s was a stopover for reindeer herders who would water their flocks from the thermal spring. This is how the town got its name which translates as 'the water that doesn't freeze'. The Soviet government later made the site a permanent settlement during a drive to force its nomadic population into putting down roots. In 1933, a temperature of minus 67.7C was recorded in Oymyakon, accepted as the lowest ever in the northern hemisphere. Lower temperatures are recorded in Antarctica, but here there are no permanently inhabited settlements. Lower temperatures are recorded in Antarctica but only in areas where there are no permanent settlements Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing, glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power. Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them. Rock solid earth makes burying the dead a difficult task. The earth must first have thawed sufficiently in order to dig, so a bonfire is lit for a few hours. Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole just a few inches deep is dug. The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin. Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them A millionaire care home owner who left left his residents to live in squalor while he partied in paradise has been banned from nursing. Urine and mould were found in three care homes in Surrey, owned by Soondressen Cooppen and his wife Maleenee, in an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Residents staying in Cooppen's care homes were found to be malnourished and dehyrdrated and as a result he has been struck off the nursing register for life. Following the closure of Merok Park in Sutton after residents were evacuated Cooppen escaped criminal prosecution. Neglect: Soondressen Cooppen and his wife Maleenee celebrating their daughters 18th birthday with a lavish family party on their native Mauritius while residents suffered in squalor Despite the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) stating that he 'abused his position of trust'. Pictures previously emerged of Cooppen, who lives in a 2.5million house in Surrey, partying in his native Mauritius while residents were living in filth in his care homes. Meanwhile residents who were charged 500 a week to stay at Merok Park were unable to access the bathroom after the lift broke down - one resident developed scabies as a result. In another home owned by the Cooppens, Grantley Court, also in Sutton, residents had to put up with ill fitted 20-year-old mattresses. Residents were evacuated in their night clothes from Merok Park Care Home in Surrey Read The NMC said that the elderly residents 'were at risk of getting trapped between the bed frame and the mattress'. After inspecting Grantley Court, the CQC found that residents were left in soiled and wet clothes for hours at a time. Several allegations of assault from 'untrained staff with no DBS checks' were made to Cooppen, which he never followed up. Inspectors found used toilet paper on the bathroom floors in Grantley Court, with an overwhelming smell of urine. Inspectors found wallpaper hanging off the walls and curtains dangling off railings - leaving residents without privacy - when they looked around Merok Park. Often there were only four staff members covering a home of 29 elderly and vulnerable residents with numerous requirements. Mystery injuries: Edna Slann (pictured). Her daughter said she was 'angered and disgusted' that the Cooppens seemed to be carrying on with their lives 'as if nothing had happened' At Merok Park, residents were also trapped in their chairs by staff who built a wall of tables round them to stop them moving. Among those to suffer was 89-year-old Edna Slann whose health deteriorated rapidly during her stay at Grantley Court, leaving her with an unexplained head injury and a severe infection which her family believe contributed to her death in February. Her daughter Linda Cackett, 55, said: I am angered and disgusted that the Cooppens seem to be carrying on with their lives as if nothing had happened yet there are many people who have had their lives changed forever because of their actions. 'It is a disgrace this has been allowed to happen without any consequences to them. Soondressen Cooppen and his wife Maleenee are pictured at their daughter's 18th birthday party in Mauritius Despite the suffering of residents, Cooppen does not acknowledge any wrongdoing according to the NMC, stating in a phone call that he cannot understand the charges against him. NMC Panel chair Katrina Tanner said: Mr Cooppen failed to ensure that individual residents care needs were met. He failed to ensure that appropriate systems were put in place in the homes. He failed to protect residents from abuse or the risk of abuse. He failed to ensure premises were safe and secure, and failed to ensure that equipment in the homes was fit for purpose. He failed to ensure that the homes were clean and hygienic. He failed to ensure that the nutritional needs of residents were met. Mr Cooppen failed to ensure that the dignity, privacy and independence of residents were respected. He failed to ensure that residents were able to participate in decision making with regards to their own care and treatment. Soondressen Cooppen, third from right, with his family at the lavish Mauritius wedding of his daughter Davina Mr Cooppens failings were numerous and widespread, and occurred over a significant period of time. The panel was not satisfied that Mr Cooppen has insight into his failings, and considered that this was aggravated by the fact that he is still unable to see what he has done wrong. His reckless and negligent actions put a number of vulnerable residents at risk of harm. He abused this position of trust by failing to manage the homes in a way which ensured that care was delivered safely. The panel determined that a striking-off order was the only appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case. Cooppen, who was not present at the hearing, was struck off the register. The Queen has joked that Princess Charlotte loves to boss around her big brother Prince George. Queen Elizabeth II made the comment at Sandringham House in Norfolk after asking if a schoolgirl she was presenting with a Bible 'looked after' her little sister. The girl's mother replied that it was 'the other way around', prompting the Queen to say: 'It's like that with Charlotte and George.' Princess Charlotte puts her hand over her brother Prince George's arm as they watch Trooping the Colour from Buckingham Palace in London in June last year Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh leave together after attending a church service yesterday at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk Emily Clay (right) receives a Bible from the Queen, 28 years after her father received his. She is pictured (left) with her mother Ellen, father Thomas and sister Hadleigh, at Sandringham Her comment echoes a reported remark by the Duchess of Cambridge who claimed in March last year that her daughter was 'the one in charge'. The Queen made the comment about her great granddaughter to Ellen Clay, 38, who was at Sandringham to watch her daughter Emily, ten, receive a Bible. Princess Charlotte and Prince George are pictured together in Berlin in July last year Every year, she presents a bible to the pupil from one of the local primary schools on her Norfolk estate who does best in a religious studies project. This year the prize was awarded to Emily, of Dersingham, Norfolk, whose father Tom Clay, 38, also won it in 1990. Dersingham Primary School pupil Emily went to Sandringham for the presentation after church on Sunday, along with her parents and six-year-old sister Hadleigh. Mrs Clay said: 'She asked if Emily looked after Hadleigh and I said it was more the other way round. She said it was like that with Princess Charlotte and Prince George.' Insurance worker Mr Clay added: 'The Queen was implying that Charlotte keeps an eye out for George rather than the other way around. 'It is often the case that a younger child is more confident. It is second child syndrome.' Members of the public are searched by police as they arrive to see the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attend the church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham yesterday The Duchess of Cambridge speaks to Princess Charlotte after the wedding of Pippa Middleton and James Matthews at St Mark's Church in Englefield, Berkshire, last May The Queen also asked Emily about her project - a folder about the Bible story of Daniel in the lions' den - before asking Hadleigh if she liked school. The picture used on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Christmas card last month Mr Clay said he still remembered speaking to the Queen when being presented with his Bible in 1990. He said after the presentation: 'The Bible I got was half the size of Emily's which was massive. The Queen said, 'You will have to be careful holding this'. 'She made a joke about the size of it and the fact that mine was smaller. It was very good that we all got to go in. When I won it, it was just me and my headmaster who were allowed in.' The Queen told the family she thought they were the first to have a parent and child who had both won the Bible. Mr Clay said he hoped that daughter Hadleigh would win the prize as well, making it a hat trick for the family. Charlotte, who turns three on May 2, revealed her confident nature last week in an official photograph released to mark her first day at Willcocks Nursery School. The picture taken by the Duchess of Cambridge, who is pregnant with her third child, showed the two-year-old beaming in delight as she sat on the steps at Kensington Palace before setting off for the nursery. Last March, the Duchess also allegedly disclosed how Charlotte liked to be in command of her brother. Mr Clay (left, with his daughter Emily) said he still remembered speaking to the Queen when being presented with his Bible in 1990 (right) The Bible that Emily received from the Queen at Sandringham House over the weekend The Duchess was assisting the Queen and Prince William in unveiling a memorial for those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan when she stopped for a chat with Samantha Burge, the wife of Royal Marine Warrant Officer, Chris Burge. Charlotte revealed her confident nature last week in an official photo released to mark her first day at Willcocks Nursery School Mrs Burge, who has two young daughters, said: 'Kate said that Charlotte is growing up really fast. She is the one in charge. 'We have both got two-year-olds and they are ruling the roost. It was a bit of a mummy chat.' Kate was also said to have revealed that the young Royal siblings were becoming 'very good friends.' Charlotte first put her fun-loving nature on public display when she was 16 months old and joined her parents and brother at a tea party for military families on their tour of Canada in September 2016. The toddler appeared besotted with an array of balloons and excitedly made a beeline for them as soon as the Duchess of Cambridge set her down on the grass. The balloons inspired what appeared to be her first words in public, exclaiming 'pop' before summoning her father with a lively 'Dada!' Kate also told youngsters at a tea party in the Natural History Museum in November 2016 that Charlotte was 'extremely chatty' and loved playing with George. The FBI and Virginia police are investigating after flyers purporting to be from the KKK and denouncing Martin Luther King Jr were found ahead of MLK Day. At least 10 people in Leesburg found plastic sandwich bags containing a flyer calling Dr King a 'communist, alcoholic, pervert' over the weekend. Many of the bags also contained bird seed along with a single Jolly Rancher candy. Bags containing flyers purporting to be from the KKK and denouncing Martin Luther King Jr were found around a Virginia town ahead of the national holiday. Many of the bags also contained bird seed or a piece of candy After a similar incident in November, in Rappahannock County, Washington, last year, the sheriff said he believed the bird seed was used so the fliers didn't blow away. Jolly Ranchers have also previously been used by the KKK during 'recruitment drives'. Bishop Shawn Stephens, a local black pastor, told NBC Washington he was in his driveway when a woman drove past and threw one of the bags out of the window. 'I believe [Martin Luther King Jr.] would be heartbroken,' Stephens said. 'He was impactful for every group out there. He fought for them. And he was a fair gentleman. And he was a gentleman that loved all people.' Jack Oden was the first to report one of the flyers around 10pm on Friday after finding one outside a home on the east side of the town. During Halloween last year the same town was targeted with similar bags that contained KKK recruitment material He told DCW50: 'I believe in free speech but if youre going to say things or do things like that, you need to stand up in front of other people and listen to their response, doing it this way is cheap.' Others reported finding more of the flyers through Saturday morning and afternoon. Officers say the flyers were deliberately issued ahead of the national holiday, but it appears they were distributed at random. This is not the first time that Leesburg has been the target of an apparent KKK flyer campaign. During Halloween last year several more bags were found with recruitment flyers inside, including racist cartoons of Jewish people and black people. Those bags also included candy, according to reports from the time. Advertisement A casino shuttle boat caught fire on Sunday in a waterway off the west coast of Florida, leaving one person dead and 14 others injured. Fifty people were on board the Sun Cruz Casino boat shuttle Sunday afternoon, when the fire erupted as it sailed along Port Richey Canal, according to WFLA-TV. The San Cruz Casino boat had just set off Sunday afternoon, and was sailing along the Port Richey Canal towards the Tropical Breeze Casino cruise boat, when a fire started in the engine room and soon engulfed the entire boat. The captain drove the boat and got it as close to land as possible so that the passengers on board could jump and swim to shore. About 50 passengers swam to the beach where they were treated by emergency crews. One woman died late on Sunday shortly after arriving at the hospital emergency room. She had apparently gone home after the fire but fell ill. Port Richey police said 15 people were injured in the fire, with eight treated at the hospital and subsequently released. Scroll down for video Fifty people were on board the Sun Cruz Casino boat shuttle when the fire erupted as it sailed along Port Richey Canal Investigators said that at one point there were more than 40 people in the water after the boat had caught fire The captain drove the boat towards the shore so that the passengers could jump out safely and swim to shore Passengers evacuated to hospital were experiencing smoke inhalation and chest tightening, according to ABC News. The initial distress call reporting a fire was made at 4:17pm, according to WTSP-TV. Pasco County Sheriff's Office told CBS News that the fire took place as the boat was 100 feet offshore. Investigators said that at one point there were more than 40 people in the water after the boat had caught fire. All of the passengers in the water were pulled out and treated by emergency crews. The fire erupted on one of the coldest days of the year in the Tampa area. Temperatures in the afternoon fell to as low as 43 degrees. The temperature of the water at the time was about 59 degrees - which is cold enough to cause hypothermia if a human being stayed in the water long enough. The fire continued to devour the boat hours after it initially erupted. Temperatures in the afternoon fell to as low as 43 degrees. The temperature of the water at the time was about 59 degrees - which is cold enough to cause hypothermia if a human being stayed in the water long enough Fire officials said that the survivors were fortunate the blaze broke out when the shuttle boat was so close to shore The shuttle boat takes gamblers three miles offshore, where a casino boat floats in international waters SunCruz Casinos is a privately owned company that operates boats that sail at least three miles off shore in order to allow gamblers to legally play while avoiding federal and state laws against gaming After the boat caught fire, the captain beached it about 100 feet from the shore. The fire department said that because the water wasn't deep, rescue workers were able to get to the victims much quicker. Some passengers were also able to swim to shore safely. Jason Zimmerman of Port Richey Police said: 'The boat was fully engulfed in flames and everybody was off the boat. There were multiple people in the water. 'We rescued probably 12 to 15 people that were out in the water.' Local resident Larry Santangelo, 57, told the Tampa Bay Times: 'It was so windy and they were soaking wet. 'I just started putting them anywhere I could fir them - my garage, my fishing room. I brought them socks and more towels.' The shuttle boat takes gamblers three miles offshore, where a casino boat floats in international waters. Fire officials said that the survivors were fortunate the blaze broke out when the shuttle boat was so close to shore. Once the fire is extinguished, officials will begin an investigation to determine the cause. A couple have been handed more than 1million in compensation after suing a billionaire prince for pulling out of a deal to buy their house. Nigerian oil baron, Prince Arthur Eze, exchanged contracts with Richard and Deborah Conway on their seven-bedroom mansion in North London in August 2015. He agreed to pay them 5million, but the deal was 'aborted' before completion, London's High Court heard. Mr and Mrs Conway went on to sell the property to another buyer for 4.2million and later moved into a new 2.9million home in Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire. They sued Prince Eze by claiming damages over the lower price their house sold for and the extra costs they faced in pushing through their move to the country. Richard Conway (left) successfully sued Nigerian oil baron Prince Arthur Eze (right) for more than 1million in compensation after he pulled out of a 5million deal to buy their property Now Judge Andrew Keyser has awarded them more than 1million in compensation for thelosses and expenses caused by the prince's pull-out. Prince Eze, 62, is the founder of Atlas Oranto Petroleum, an oil exploration company with holdings throughout West Africa, and is believed to be worth 2billion. He is well known as a philanthropist and has a fleet of Rolls Royces and a private jet. Matthew Collings QC, for the Conways, previously told the judge that Prince Eze's failure to complete the purchase of the couple's Mill Hill home forced them to take out an expensive bridging loan. Approaching retirement, Mr Conway, now 62, said he and his wife had wanted to 'pay off all our debts and start again' and had a target selling price of 5million. But, after being left high and dry by Prince Eze, they had no choice but to sell their home in Uphill Road at a reduced price, he added. The Conways and the Nigerian royal exchanged contracts after a 'go-between' - described as 'a chancer' by Mr Collings - told him about the seven-bedroom property. Prince Eze did not know the middleman before he approached him about the house and 'did not trouble himself greatly about the finer details of the transaction'. He did not view the house before making an offer and denied breach of contract, counter-suing the couple for return of his 500,000 deposit. The seven-bedroom property in Mill Hill, North London features a beautiful swimming pool in a pool-house extension. After the prince pulled out of the deal, it sold for 4.2million Mr Conway, now 62, said he and his wife had wanted to 'pay off all our debts and start again'. Judge Keyser awarded the Conways 800,000 to cover the drop in sale price and a further six-figure sum, yet to be calculated, to cover the extra costs they incurred while waiting to sell The prince's legal team claimed the sale contract was 'void' because the middleman had arranged a 'secret commission' to secure the deal. He said he 'thought something funny was going on' and denied that a 'drastic fall in oil prices' prompted his decision to pull out of the deal. The prince told the court he had 'good intentions' to buy the house, but was concerned he was not receiving the 'proper information about what was going on.' But, finding for the Conways, Judge Keyser said the contract to buy the house was valid and ought to have been completed. 'Prince Eze had signed the contract,' said the judge, while the middleman who brokered the deal 'certainly did have the authority to instruct the solicitors to exchange contracts' on the prince's behalf. Ruling that the deal was binding, the judge concluded: 'Prince Eze had signed... the only contractual term that remained outstanding was the completion date.' He awarded the Conways 800,000 to cover the drop in the sale price, plus a further six-figure sum, yet to be fully calculated, to cover the extra costs they incurred. The judge said that Prince Eze's 500,000 deposit would count towards the damages payment. Lawyers for the Conways did not respond to attempts to contact them after the judge gave his ruling. A Victorian MP is pushing for the national flag to be flown at half-mast on Australia Day. The first Victorian Aboriginal politician, Lidia Thorpe, made the controversial call and is encouraging others to support her stance. Ms Thorpe told the Herald Sun the highly debated celebrations were like dancing on the graves of her ancestors on a 'day of mourning'. Scroll down for video The first Victorian Aboriginal politician, Lidia Thorpe (centre), made controversial call for the national flag to fly at half-mast on Australia Day Ms Thorpe told the Herald Sun the highly debated celebrations were like dancing on the graves of her ancestors on a 'day of mourning' (stock image) The Northcote MP also called for the date of January 26 to be dumped and replaced with a new one that represents all Australians (stock image) 'This country needs to own the truth of what's happened to its first people. We need to own that we were invaded and atrocities occurred,' she said. The Northcote MP also called for the date of January 26 to be dumped and replaced with a new one that represents all Australians. While some politicians are calling for change, one Aboriginal politician has been hit with death threats because she supports keeping the national date. Alice Springs councillor Jacinta Price said she had been slammed with people online wishing her a 'painful death' according to The Australian. Ms Price said the cyber trolls, who also insulted her disabled nephew, had left her 'disgusted to [her] core'. While many Aborigines have called for the Australia Day date to be changed, Ms Price believed the majority did not care or hold grudges against 'white Australians' and instead blamed 'middle-class' Australians with Aboriginal heritage for the online abuse. Alice Springs councillor Jacinta Price (pictured) said she had been slammed with people online wishing her a 'painful death' for wanting to keep the traditional Australia Day date While many Aborigines have called for the Australia Day date to be changed, Ms Price believed the majority did not care about the national date dumped (stock image) Australia Day continues to cause a stir among politicians, with some councils across the country choosing to cancel celebrations completely. NSW councils, Ryde and Port Stephens, are contemplating changing the national date according to News Corp. 'It has become uncomfortable and it is no longer a clear date we can all celebrate,' Ryde Deputy Mayor and Greens member Christopher Gordon said. While the two NSW councils events will go ahead next week, they will reportedly review their Australia Day events for next year. NSW councils, Ryde and Port Stephens, are contemplating changing the national date according to News Corp (stock image) Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull previously said he was 'deeply disappointed' in the council's decision to change the national day of celebration (stock image) Mid last year, Melbourne councils including City of Darebin, City of Yarra and City of Moreland controversially decided to cancel their traditional Australia Day celebrations. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull previously said he was 'deeply disappointed' in the council's decision to change the national day of celebration. Mr Turnbull said changing the date of Australia Day was 'dividing Australians' instead of 'uniting' them. The former partner of travel agent killed in a TUI shop has described the heart-wrenching moment she told their four-year-old daughter her mother had died. Cassie Hayes, 28, was killed on Saturday in Southport, Merseyside, at the branch of Tui where she was assistant manager. Andrew Burke, 30, from St Helens, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today charged with her murder. A post-mortem examination showed Miss Hayes' cause of death was shock and haemorrhaging as a result of the wound. Leah McDonald, the former partner of Cassie Hayes, pictured with their daughter Ruby, four in an undated photo A murder probe has been launched after travel agent Cassie Hayes (right) allegedly had her throat slit. Her partner Laura Williams (left) has paid tribute following her death Andrew Burke, (right) has been charged with the murder of Southport travel agent Cassie Hayes (left) Miss Hayes had a four-year-old daughter, Ruby, with her former partner Leah McDonald, 31, a shop worker. Miss McDonald met Miss Hayes on a dating website in 2007 and they were together until 2015. They had a daughter Ruby, but split after her birth because they 'lost the connection', although the youngster stayed with Miss Hayes three nights a week. Miss McDonald said her daughter had burst into tears when she broke the devastating news to her. Writing on Facebook she said: 'As if my heart couldn't break anymore having to watch my little girl break down crying as I tell her that mammy has gone with her nana to the angels, telling her she's never going to see her again. 'Ruby asking why did she go without her?? Mammy was my best friend, mummy I love her so much. What me and Ruby are gunna do now I have no idea, our little world is shattered - like she said me you and mammy were best friends!' She added: 'Cassie was the most amazing thing to enter my life back in 2007. I'm so lucky to have had the pleasure to be her first girlfriend and her first love and best friend...the one person who stood by my side. 'Even when we split, we were there for each other. She was the best person I could have picked to be the mammy to our little girl. Devastated members of Miss Hayes' family leave Liverpool Crown Court today after Andrew Burke appeared in court accused of murdering the travel agent at her workplace The family of Miss Hayes (pictured outside court today), who was originally from Alnwick, Northumberland, said: 'Our whole lives have been shattered. This has torn our hearts from our bodies' 'What's happened has torn her family's world apart. My heart is breaking for her mam and sister. I loved her from the moment we met till this day. I will always be her lil, and Ruby forever her gummy bear.' Her brother, Ryan, added: 'Ruby has lost a huge part of her future. She doted on Cassie, as did Cassie on her - they were two peas in a pod. 'Ruby is not yet five and she's lost three people very close to her; her granddad, her nana and now her mammy. 'The main thing now is her and her mum, sister and family. Our thoughts and prayers are with anyone connected to Cassie in any way.' The family of Miss Hayes, who was originally from Alnwick, Northumberland, added: 'Our whole lives have been shattered. This has torn our hearts from our bodies. 'Cassie was an amazing, kind human being who would do anything for anyone. She doted on all her family and our loss is beyond calculation.' Cassie's partner, Laura Williams, also issued a statement which read: 'Words will not explain my sorrow and loss, she is the most amazing, gorgeous, selfless and strong person I know. She is my future wife and my forever.' Miss Williams is said to have 'idolised' Miss Hayes and raced to the hospital after the attack. Debbie McAllister said: 'Laura is devastated. I've never seen her so happy since she's been with Cassie. They had been together 13 months.' Leah McDonald, right, shared her heartbreak over the death of Cassie Hayes, left, whose throat was allegedly slit Miss Hayes with ex-girlfriend Leah McDonald and the couple's child, Ruby. Andrew Burke (right) has been charged with her murder Miss Hayes, pictured here with her daughter, was killed on Saturday in Southport, Merseyside, at the branch of TUI where she was assistant manager Miss Hayes and Miss McDonald had a daughter Ruby, now four, but split after her birth because they 'lost the connection', although the youngster stayed with Miss Hayes three nights a week Miss Williams had previously been engaged to Burke. After the couple split, Burke was apparently involved in a custody dispute with his ex-fiancee over their daughter. Appearing in court today Burke, wearing a grey T-shirt and with facial hair and tattoos showing on his left arm, spoke to confirm his name, age and address and told the court his nationality was white British. Half a dozen members of Miss Hayes' family were in court for the short hearing. No bail application was made and Recorder of Liverpool Judge Clement Goldstone QC remanded Burke in custody until February 19, when he is expected to enter a plea. A provisional trial date was set for July 2. Witnesses claimed Miss Hayes had her throat slit and Andrew Burke, 30, has been charged with murder One of Miss Hayes' ex-colleagues Gordon Campbell, 44, paid tribute to the mother saying he would always remember the sound of laughter when they worked together. Describing her as 'a little slip of a girl' with 'an absolute heart of gold', he added: 'She will be most definitely missed by everybody that knew her.' Yesterday a video emerged showing Miss Hayes in the shop where she was attacked, joking with colleagues. The clip showed her laughing, clapping and dancing with her fellow travel agents. A fundraising appeal on website GoFundMe set up by Travel Gossip, an online community of travel professionals, has already raised more than 4,000. A spokesman for TUI said: 'We send our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of the staff member involved. 'We're doing everything possible to assist the local police with their investigation and support our customers and staff at this difficult time.' Westminster jihadi Khalid Masood took steroids before he mowed down four pedestrians and stabbed a police officer in the horrific terror attack Westminster jihadi Khalid Masood took steroids before he mowed down four pedestrians and stabbed a police officer in the horrific terror attack. Masood, 52, was shot dead by police after he drove a rental car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing PC Keith Palmer, 48. Masood, who was born in Kent, may have taken performance enhancing drugs hours before he launched the rampage on Westminster Bridge, a pre-hearing inquest at the Old Bailey was told. Evidence of rage-inducing substances were found in a urine sample taken from Masoods dead body after he killed PC Palmer and four pedestrians at 2.40pm on March 22. The families of his victims today called for internet giants to police terrorist material online and questioned why apps like WhatsApp and Telegram require end-to-end encryption. They also asked that upcoming inquests into the terror attack to investigate whether Masood, 52, was radicalised online or in prison. Gareth Patterson, QC, representing the victims, said: Why it is that radicalisation material continues to be freely available on the internet we dont understand. This particular attacker used WhatsApp to send a jihadi document without any difficulty. Evidence of rage-inducing substances were found in a urine sample taken from Masoods dead body (pictured) after he killed PC Palmer and four pedestrians at 2.40pm on March 22 We just dont understand why it is necessary for WhatsApp and Telegram and these sort of media applications to have end-to-end encryption. Lawyers representing the Home Office said the issue of end-to-end encryption is too broad for an inquest and is a matter of legislation and social policy. Masood was shot dead after ramming a hired Hyundai 4x4 into at least 35 people on the bridge and leaving the vehicle to stab PC Palmer to death by the Palace of Westminster. Spanish teacher and mother-of-two Aysha Frade, 43 from London, US tourist Kurt Cochran, 54, window cleaner Leslie Rhodes, 75, and Romanian tourist Andreea Cristea, 31, died of their injuries after Masood crashed into them. Judge Mark Lucraft, QC, will preside over inquests into all the deaths, which are due to start at the Old Bailey on 10 September. The lives of many were torn apart by less than two minutes of high and terrible drama. Can I start by expressing my condolences to the families, he said. The scene by Westminster Bridge after Khalid Masood's murderous rampage on May 22 A submission by Jonathan Hough, QC, assisting the coroner, read: A urine sample from Khalid Masood provided evidence of anabolic steroids having been taken in the hours or days prior to his death. The sample analysis is attested to by a forensic toxicologist. A more specialist pharmaceutical toxicologist has been instructed to prepare a report addressing how steroid use may have affected Khalid Masood. The whole incident was witnessed by the Mets Acting Commissioner Craig Mackey, who was waiting to leave the House of Commons in a car with his driver and personal assistant. Detective Superintendent John Crossley of the Counter Terrorism Command outlined the incident to Westminster Coroners Court as the inquest into the deaths of the victims was formally opened. DSI Crossley told the inquest the incident lasted 82 seconds and was recorded on CCTV footage. A Subway franchisee and his wife were found executed in their home, in a gated community in Spring, Texas, on Saturday. Bao and Jenny Lam's adult son Richard called police to conduct a welfare check on his parents this weekend when he hadn't heard from them in two days. Police broke into the two-story home around 9pm and found the couple bound and shot dead on the first floor. The home - located in the gated Northgate Country Club community - was ransacked, with firearms and other items missing. Scroll down for video Bao and Jenny Lam, both 61, were found executed in their Spring, Texas home on Saturday Police say the couple were found bound and shot on the first floor of their home (pictured) in a gated community late Saturday night 'Everything was disturbed,' said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told KTRK. 'Furniture was overturned, drawers were opened. It will take some time to process the scene.' It appears that the couple, both aged 61, were targeted as they parked their car in the garage, and that they could have been dead for up to three days before their bodies were found. A source told KTRK that the double murder does not appear to be random, and that the couple was likely targeted. It's unclear if the crime was perhaps motivated by money; Mr Lam was the owner of six Subway sandwich shops in the Houston area. The couple's adult son Richard (pictured) called police to conduct a welfare check on his parents after not hearing from them in two days Richard shared these pictures of him and his parents after their bodies were found this weekend 'It's very scary. That's why I am worried right now,' one neighbor said. 'You don't know what is going on next door.' Police are hopeful that surveillance cameras in the neighborhood will help them nab the person or persons responsible. Anyone with information on the double murder is being asked to call the Harris County Sheriff's Office at 713-274-9100 or CrimeStoppers at 713-222-TIPS. President Trump lobbed another attack at Democrats engaged in contentious immigration negotiations with his administration Monday, saying they 'don't want to help' DACA recipients. Trump on Monday morning tweeted out comments he made Sunday night where he said Democrats don't want to make a deal on immigration, after an extraordinary blowup last week where he is accused of referring to African countries as 's**holes.' 'Honestly, I dont think the Democrats want to make a deal,' Trump said of Republican negotiators. 'I think they talk about DACA, but they dont want to help the DACA people,' Trump said Sunday. lT'S YOUR FAULT: Trump on Monday morning tweeted out comments he made Sunday night that Democrats don't want to make a deal on immigration 'We are ready, willing and able to make a deal but they dont want to. They dont want security at the border, they dont want ... to stop drugs, they want to take money away from our military which we cannot do,' Trump continued in a pair of tweets. 'My standard is very simple, AMERICA FIRST & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' Trump also said Sunday that an immigration deal is 'probably dead' at this stage because Democrats 'don't really want' one. Speaking to reporters before a dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Trump repeated his claim that Democrats 'don't want to' make a deal even claiming the opposition party 'don't want' security and 'don't want to stop drugs' from coming into the country. 'We are ready, willing, and able to make a deal, but they dont want to,' Trump said at Mar-a-Lago, where he met with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy 'I think you have a lot of sticking points, but they're all Democrat sticking points, because we are ready, willing, and able to make a deal, but they dont want to,' Trump said at Mar-a-Lago, where he met with McCarthy. 'They don't want security at the border. We have people pouring in. They dont want security at the border, and they dont want to stop drugs. And they want to take money away from our military, which we cannot do. So those are some of the sticking points,' Trumps said. In a tweet, Trump blamed the opposing party for a stall in talks that came after a widely-publicized claim that he said he doesn't want people from 's***hole' countries relocating to the United States. 'DACA is probably dead because the Democrats dont really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military,' he said. A follow-up message proclaimed: 'I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST'. President Donald Trump sent out his own comments on immigration from Sunday night President Donald Trump sent out his own comments on immigration from Sunday night President Donald Trump said Sunday that an immigration deal is 'probably dead' at this stage because Democrats 'don't really want' one Trump, pictured Friday, is blaming Democrats for the collapse of a deal to protect Dreamers and fix flaws in the immigration system Trump also sent this tweet on Sunday morning explaining his position on a deal A bipartisan group of senators said they had reached an agreement on Thursday only to hear from the president by way of his spokeswoman at a news a conference that the proposal was unsatisfactory to the White House. Later, the president said in tweets that Democrats seem 'intent on having people and drugs pour into our country' and the agreement they offered was a 'big step backwards.' 'Wall was not properly funded, Chain & Lottery were made worse and USA would be forced to take large numbers of people from high crime...countries which are doing badly,' he said. 'I want a merit based system of immigration and people who will help take our country to the next level. I want safety and security for our people. I want to stop the massive inflow of drugs.' Trump is also demanding that the Democratic Party give him the boost in military spending he's been requesting as part of the negotiations to protect Dreamers and keep the government funded beyond Friday. Accusing Democrats of 'not being interested in life and safety,' Trump said last Friday, 'Sadly, Democrats want to stop paying our troops and government workers in order to give a sweetheart deal, not a fair deal, for DACA. Take care of our Military, and our Country, FIRST!' Democrats are saying that an immigration compromise must include a route to citizenship for illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children and are currently living and working in the country under the Deferred Action for Childhood arrivals program. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett, one of the Democratic senators involved in the negotiations said Sunday on Meet the Press that his group was willing to offer Trump $1.6 billion for his border wall and another $1.1 billion for other border security enhancements. 'And at the same time, we're saying that we should put the DREAMERS on a pathway to citizenship,' Bennett said. 'There are other compromises as well. This was a hard-fought negotiation over four months. I think that it's a middle-of-the-road approach that I hope other colleagues will support.' The money would only get Trump through the first year of construction, though. His administration prefers a bill that would allocate $30 billion to border security and the wall. Republican Sen. Jeff Flake said Sunday on ABC News' 'This Week' that the deal that had been worked out and Trump is rejecting is truly bipartisan. 'There are three Democrats, three Republicans and were working now to add more Republicans to that list and we will have more this coming week,' he said. 'I think that when we get back into town, people will realize theres only deal in town, theres only one bipartisan bill and we need 60 votes and that bill will be presented with even more Republicans and Democrats than we have right now.' A bipartisan group of senators said they had reached an agreement on Thursday only to hear from the president by way of his spokeswoman at a news a conference that the proposal was unsatisfactory to the White House. Trump had the above to say on Friday am Shortly after the White House rejected the senators' immigration compromise, a claim that Trump had referred to Haiti and other African nations as s***hole' countries emerged. The comments were supposedly uttered by Trump at a Thursday session in the Oval Office that Republican senators and one Democrat, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, had attended. 'He said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly,' Durbin said on Friday. Republicans in the room have said they 'do not recall' the president making the comments Durbin says he did. 'Im saying that this is a gross misrepresentation,' Sen.David Perdue clarified to ABC News on Sunday. One Republican has suggested that Trump did make derogatory comments, though, and he confronted him. Alluding to the dispute, Sen. Lindsey Graham said in a Friday afternoon statement, ' I said my piece directly to him' in the meeting. 'The President and all those attending the meeting know what I said and how I feel.' To that, Perdue said on Sunday, 'Youll have to deal with him. Basically is an operative word.' Appearing on 'This Week,' though, Sen. Flake, a Republican. cast doubt on Perdue's version of events. 'All I can say is I was in a meeting directly afterwards where those who had presented the president our proposal spoke about the meeting. And they -- they said those words were used before those words went public. So thats all I can tell you is I -- I heard that account before the account even went public,' Flake revealed. The reported remarks created chaos for Trump at home and abroad. Hatian-American Republican Rep. Mia Love of Utah, said the comments were 'unkind, divisive [and] elitist' and demanded that Trump apologize. House Democrats said they would move to censure Trump for the reported comment after the three-day holiday. UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said, 'If confirmed, these are shocking and shameful comments from the President of the United States. Sorry, but there is no other word one can use but racist.' Asked point blank if he's 'a racist' on Friday by veteran reporter April Ryan after he signed a Martin Luther King Jr. Day proclamation, Trump exited the room swiftly without commenting. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that there was no deal yet to help the 'Dreamers,' immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children, despite a handful of senators boasting that a deal had been made Trump on Friday pushed back aggressively on the original claim, which had appeared in the Washington Post, that he asked in the meeting, 'Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?' He said in a lengthy set of tweets that 'the language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.' 'What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made - a big setback for DACA!' he said, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program his administration is ending. Trump said, among other things, that the deal he was presented did not include enough funding for his border wall and did not make radical enough changes to the visa system. Complaining about the proposal on Saturday he said it was a 'missed opportunity,' which is, 'Too bad!' 'The Democrats are all talk and no action,' he said. 'They are doing nothing to fix DACA.' Six senators had boasted on Thursday that they had a deal in place that would solve the issue of what to do with the roughly 800,00 people brought to the U.S. illegally as children and whose legal status granted under the Obama administration is about to expire. Yet, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters, 'There has not been a deal reached yet.' Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, was one of six senators who signed on to a statement saying that a deal had been etched out between the two parties in the upper chamber Even after Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the deal was a no-go, the senators involved were touting it on social media President Trump told a bipartisan group of lawmakers to keep working on an immigration after a group of senators thought they had one done. He also made headlines by allegedly claiming in the meeting, 'Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?' Minutes after the briefing, Durbin, Democrat from Illinois, and Cory Gardner, a Republican from Colorado, tweeted a statement saying there was indeed a deal. 'Several of my colleagues and I have reached an agreement that reflects the discussion we had this week with @realDonaldTrump on a solution for Dreamers and border security,' Gardner wrote, sharing a statement that was co-signed by five of his colleagues. The group of senators working together included Gardner and Durbin, along with Republicans Jeff Flake and Graham, as well as Democrats Michael Bennet and Bob Menendez. 'We have been working for four months and have reached an agreement in principle that addresses border security, the diversity visa lottery, chain migration/family reunification, and the Dream Act the areas outlined by the President. We are now working to build support for that deal in Congress,' the statement said. A spokeswoman for President Trump told DailyMail.com then that what Sanders said from the podium stands. CNN reported that Durbin and Graham had met with Trump at the White House, along with a handful of other senators on Thursday, and Trump told the lawmakers to keep working. More shockingly, when those in the meeting breached restoring protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of the deal, the president mocked those parts of the world. After news of the insult broke, White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah issued a long-winded statement on immigration, but not a denial. 'Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people,' Shah said, according to CNN. 'The President will only accept an immigration deal that adequately addresses the visa lottery system and chain migration - two programs that hurt our economy and allow terrorists into our country,' he continued. 'Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation.' 'He will always reject temporary, weak and dangerous stopgap measures that threaten the lives of hardworking Americans, and undercut immigrants who seek a better life in the United States through a legal pathway,' the Trump spokesman added. At the White House's daily briefing, Huckabee Sanders warned that the Democrats best not play politics over immigration and risk a government shutdown. 'Democrats should stop making our brave troops and essential government functions political pawns in their swamp games,' she said. 'They should stop their obstruction and work with Republicans to fund the government.' She also told reporters that she believed a deal would get done. 'We are confident and we feel we're going to get there,' the press secretary said as she exited the podium for the day. The White House meeting was also attended by Republicans including Sens. Tom Cotton and David Perdue, along with Reps. Bob Goodlatte and Kevin McCarthy, the Republican's chief vote counter, Sen. John Cornyn, said. Cornyn indicated to CNN that the gang of six's proposal wouldn't be enough to get an immigration bill over the finish line. 'I think the message has now been delivered that we need to get everybody at the table and we'll take the best of their ideas,' Cornyn said. Goodlatte, who serves as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, unveiled an immigration bill Wednesday afternoon that would give Trump most of what he wants and give the Dreamers three-year documents that could be renewed indefinitely. The White House has indicated its support for Goodlatte's bill, but Democrats have said that the Dreamers must be awarded permanent residency status, an action conservatives are rallying against as amnesty for the illegal immigrants. In accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission on Tuesday will conduct a planned monitoring of the ceasefire on the Artsakh-Azerbaijan border, on the Akna-Hindarkh road section. January 15, 2018, 11:03 OSCE to conduct monitoring on Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact STEPANAKERT, JANUARY 15, ARTSAKHPRESS:From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring will be conducted by Mihail Olaru (Moldova), field assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO), and Martin Schuster (Germany), staff member of the Office of the CiO Personal Representative. The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have expressed their readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and to ensure the safety of the OSCE Mission members. President Donald Trump accused Sen. Richard Durbin of having blown up an immigration compromise to provide protections for 800,000 people when he stated publicly that Trump railed against 's***house' countries in the Oval Office. The president also referred to the longtime Illinois lawmaker and Number Two Senate Democratic leader, who had just been seated next to him in another immigration meeting where the cameras were allowed to roll, as 'Dicky Durbin.' 'Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military,' Trump tweeted on Monday. By going after Durbin, Trump was adding force to his denial of reports, backed up by some sources but not recalled by some Republicans in the room, that he complained about immigrants coming in from 's***hole countries,' and expressed a preference for people form countries like Norway. President Trump has denied the comment, and on Sunday told reporters he was the 'least racist' person they would ever interview A Washington Post report on the meeting led to wall-to-wall television coverage, and forced Trump to declare himself 'not racist' during a brief media availability Sunday night. The Senate whip goes by the nickname Dick. Durbin joins 'Little Marco' Rubio, 'Liddle' Bob Corker, Lyin' Ted Cruz, and 'Pocahontas' Elizabeth Warren as among those senators to earn a Trump nickname. Trump was otherwise quiet for the start of MLK Day, playing golf at his Florida golf club and tweeting appreciation for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Trump went after Durbin, who last week backed up the report of what he said in the Oval Office Sen. Dick Durbin (pictured) said President Trump made the 's***hole countries' comment Durbin says he stands by 'every word' he said aboutPresident Trump's explosive comments in the Oval Office amid a new report of a dispute about whether some heard Trump say 's***house' but not 's***hole.' Durbin also took a shot at Sen. David Perdue, who issued a statement saying he could not recall Trump's comment but then on Sunday denied it occured. 'I stand by every word I said and I think my colleagues now have restored memory,' the Illinois Democrat told the Chicago Sun-Times. 'They were there. They heard the same words I did.' SEAT OF HONOR: Durbin was seated next to Trump during a negotiating sessions that turned into a televised display earlier this month A reporter for the Washington Post, which broke the story on the Oval Office meeting which Trump says merely consisted 'tough' language wrote Sunday evening that there was an 'internal debate' in the White House about whether Trump actually said 's***hole' or 's****house.' A White House official told the reporter GOP Sens. Perdue and Tom Cotton of Arkansas were using the discrepancy to deny Trump had referenced 's***hole countries,' a comment that drew charges of racism that Trump disputed on Sunday. 'I'm telling you he did not use that word, George, and I'm telling you it's a gross misrepresentation.' Perdue told anchor George Stephanopoulos on ABC's This Week. 'How many times do you want me to say that?' Lindsey Graham is the guest today, Monday, January 8, 2018 on ABC's "The View." Graham released a statement after the incident where he said 'I said my piece' to the president following his comments 'I'm saying that this is a gross misrepresentation, it's not the first time Senator Durbin has done it, and it is not productive to solving the problem that we have at hand,' Perdue said. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Fox News Sunday: 'I don't recall him saying that exact phrase,' only to get pressed by host Chris Wallace on how she could fail to recall something so explosive. In a twist, Nielsen must testify under oath before Senate Judiciary panel Tuesday for an oversight hearing. On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that Trump had deemed Haiti, El Salvador and the whole of Africa 's***hole countries' during a bipartisan meeting on with six senators. Durbin said after the initial Post report. 'In the course of his comments, [Trump] said things that were hate-filled, vile and racist,' Durbin told reporters Friday. 'I use those words advisedly. I understand how powerful they are. But I cannot believe in this history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday,' Durbin said. 'You've seen the comments in the press,' Durbin said. 'I have not read one of them that's inaccurate. To no surprise, the President started tweeting this morning, denying that he used those words. It is not true. He said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly.' Sen. David Perdue (left) told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos (right) that President Trump 'did not use that word.' Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, backed up the Washington Post's account of the meeting Trump denied he is a racist in response to controversy over his recent alleged remarks. 'I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you,' he told reporters in Florida on Sunday, as he was on his way to dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. It marks the president's first direct response to accusations of racism that have dogged him since he allegedly asked 'Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?' in an Oval Office meeting about immigration on Thursday. Trump has denied using that language, however a Democrat senator present at the meeting insists he did. A Republican senator present backed the president. 'I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you,' Trump said Sunday on his way to dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (left) Trump addressed the media scrum at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, marking the first time he has responded to repeated questions over whether he is a 'racist' Trump was reportedly speaking about Haitians and citizens of various African nations, and asked why the US doesn't welcome more immigrants from countries like Noway instead. Trump on Sunday again denied making the statements attributed to him, but didn't get into specifics about what he did or did not say. 'Did you see what various senators in the room said about my comments?' he asked. 'They weren't made.' The alleged remarks brought down furious condemnation on Trump from Democrats and media talking heads. Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, told CNN 's Erin Burnett on Friday, 'We know he's a racist, he's demonstrated that... he's a racist both in his actions and his words.' Trump has denied using the specific term that brought him condemnation, but acknowledged using 'tough' language in the meeting about DACA Trump shakes hands with attendees after signing a proclamation to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Friday. He has directly addressed a racism row for the first time Johnson said that the language Trump reportedly used hearkens back to the '50s and '60s, it is the language of a Ross Barnett and a George Wallace.' He added that the issue will help to motivate African-American voters in the 2018 mid-term elections. Trump repeatedly told voters he is not a racist leading up to his 2016 election. The president claimed in a tweet on Friday morning that the widely reported 'sh**hole' comments he is said to have made Thursday were not correct. 'The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.' In the press scrum on Sunday, Trump added that he was 'ready, willing and able' to reach a deal to protect immigrants brought to the United States as children A St Bernard missing for two years was reunited with his owner in Texas after being found in Nebraska. Robin Delgado, from Austin, reunited with Bowser in Omaha after the dog disappeared from her backyard in 2015. On Thursday, she went to pick him up from the Nebraska Humane Society, 'She was ecstatic, 'Pam Wiese, spokeswoman for the Humane Society, told the Omaha World-Herald. So how did Bowser manage to travel 850 miles from Austin to Omaha? Robin Delgado, from Austin, Texas, was reunited with her St Bernard, Bowser, in Omaha, Nebraska, after the dog disappeared from her yard in 2015 (Pictured, Delgado and Bowser) Bowser (pictured with Delgado) was sold on Craigslist to Alexa Mosqueda and her husband. The family moved to Omaha last year It's an 850-mile trip from Austin, Texas, to Omaha, Nebraska (map view) A couple of years ago, Alexa Mosqueda and her husband bought the dog from a seller on Craigslist who told the couple he'd rescued the St Bernard from a high-kill shelter. '[That] should have been a sign right there, because he was perfect from day one,' Mosqueda wrote on Facebook. '[He was] fully house trained, knew commands, and you could tell that someone had put a lot of money into buying him and taking care of him. I could never understand why someone would let a perfect dog like [him], go to the pound and not go looking for him.' She, her husband and their children called the dog Bane and moved to Omaha just last year. Mosqueda said the dog got loose from the family's backyard last week. They tried searching for the dog but had no luck. Last week, Bowser (pictured, with Delgado) escaped from Mosqueda's backyard and he was picked up by the Nebraska Humane Society The Society told Mosqueda that Bowser was registered to another owner back in Texas. The St Bernard with reunited with Delgado (pictured) on Thursday Mosqueda (pictured) said that despite her family loving the dog and the difficulty of explaining to her young children that he would not be coming back to their house, she's happy the reunion occurred Mosqueda called the Humane Society and learned it had picked up the dog on Monday in her neighborhood. The family had plans to pick him up the next day, but the Humane Society called ahead and told Mosqueda that the dog had a microchip registered to his original owner: Delagdo. Wiese said that purebreds dogs like Bowser are often stolen or found and then sold to unsuspecting buyers. She adds that buyers should try to make sure they know where the animal came from and that dogs should be microchipped. Mosqueda said that her family loved the dog, and that it's been hard explaining to her young children that he would not be coming back to their house. But she said she's happy Bowser has been reunited with Delgado, the original owner, who also has kids. 'She had to live for two years not knowing,' Mosqueda said. 'I know he's going to a great home that loved him.' President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, was cited by inspectors for poor maintenance, a year after the exclusive resort was already cited for having foods in stock that could make people sick, DailyMail.com has learned. Like every business that serves food and provides lodgings, the president's club, which costs $200,000 in initiation fees alone, is checked yearly by the state of Florida. Mar-a-Lago is subject to several separate inspections for two restaurants - one for members and the other for banquets as well as a beach bar and a bed-and-breakfast where Trump occasionally hosts heads of state and celebrities such as Regis Philbin, Charlie Sheen and Oprah Winfrey. Now, state records obtained by DailyMail.com show the bed-and-breakfast wing of Trump's 'Winter White House' needed emergency repairs in order to pass the latest inspection a few months ago and had several violations in the club's kitchens. Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, was hit with several violations and cited for poor maintenance in November. Pictured: Trump at his office at Mar-a-Lago on Thanksgiving The bed-and-breakfast wing at Mar-a-Lago (pictured) had improper smoke detectors for the hearing impaired and slabs of concrete missing from a staircase, which could cause a fall Trump's club, located on a beachfront property where the historic main house was built in the 1920s for Post cereals heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post, was cited on November 8 for two violations deemed high-priority: the lack of smoke detectors capable of alerting the hearing impaired through flashing bright lights; and slabs of concrete missing from a staircase, exposing steel a reinforcing bar that could cause a fall. 'High priority lodging violations are those which could pose a direct or significant threat to the public health, safety, or welfare,' the inspection code reads. The club was re-checked on November 17, a week before Trump's return for his Thanksgiving vacation, and this time 'met inspection standards,' according to the state inspection report. Club General Manager Bernd Lembcke did not return calls for comment left on his answering machine at Mar-a-Lago, and neither did Alan Garten, the chief legal officer of Trump's private businesses. The November inspections of the club's two main kitchens, meanwhile, yielded a total 15 violations. Among the no-nos were the staff's failure to track the freshness of potentially hazardous foods, including curry sauce with a use by date of October 21 pulled from freezer and improperly marked, milk stored at 49 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the safe temperature of 41 degrees, and cases of hot dogs that were stored on the ground of the walk-in freezer. The club's two main kitchens had 15 violations: Staff failed to track the freshness of potentially hazardous foods, including curry sauce dated October 21. Pictured: Chefs at the club in 2005 However, the kitchens passed the inspections on the first try. That wasn't the case when, just days before the state visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mar-a-Lago in February 2017, inspectors found sushi ready for consumption without the obligatory treatment for parasites and cited the club for storing food in two broken down coolers at temperatures that spoiled fresh ingredients. At the time, inspectors found 13 health violations, according to recently published documents - a record for the club. The inspectors returned a week later to make sure things were fixed. Before he became president, the billionaire was known to be involved personally in the day-to-day operations of Mar-a-Lago. It wasn't rare to see him check out the kitchen's cleanliness and directing floor personnel. Then, Mar-a-Lago passed inspections with flying colors. But as Trump jumped into presidential politics, so did the number of health violations. Trump used to be involved in the day-to-day operations, but as he jumped into presidential politics, so did the number of health violations. There were only two violations in the kitchens in 2015 - the early stages of his campaign. pictured: Trump with kitchen staff in 2006 There were just two violations in the kitchens in 2015, in the early stages of his campaign. Finished in 1927 after three years of construction, Mar-a-Lago was a classic example of homes along the Eastern Seaboard constructed for 'robber barons' at a time when many Americans went hungry. Built for socialite Merriweather Post and her family, the property stretches from the sands of the Atlantic Ocean to the Intracoastal Waterways to the west. The house was eventually donated to the National Park Service in 1973 because it was costly to maintain. The federal government, however, returned it to the family eight years later, and Trump bought it for $5 million in 1985. Facing financial difficulties in the early 1990s, records show that Trump sold the club to a business entity he controlled for $12 million then turned the property into a private club that, unlike the others in Palm Beach, didn't discriminate on the basis of ethnicity and religion. Pictured: Inspection report on Mar-a-Lago's kitchens, where the inspector cited the club for having out-of-date curry Advertisement The sprawling Texas ranch once owned by the late President Lyndon B. Johnson is now on the market for $2.8 million - complete with his original bathtub and bedroom. Johnson purchased the ranch in Texas Hill Country, near Johnson City, just one week into his presidency in 1963. Located on 142 acres, the main residence has a hilltop elevation of more than 1,800 feet and provides a 360-degree view of Central Texas. The Texas ranch once owned President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s has hit the market for $2.8million with his original bathroom still in place While the home has been updated since Johnson owned it up until 1971, his bedroom and bathroom have been preserved and are still in use The main three bedroom home has been updated since Johnson lived there, but his bedroom and bathroom have been preserved and are still in use. A separate one bedroom, one bathroom cottage also remains on the property, which is where Johnson's secret service agents used to stay. Johnson sold the ranch in 1971. He used the secluded ranch as a private retreat away from the White House. Johnson purchased the ranch in Texas Hill Country, near Johnson City, just one week into his presidency in 1963 Getting away from it all: He used the secluded ranch as a private retreat away from the White House The three bedroom home has several stone fireplaces throughout and soaring windows to look out over Central Texas Johnson sold the ranch in 1971 and he used it as a private retreat while serving in the White House The kitchen has been updated with granite countertops, gas range stove, and stainless appliances Three stone fireplaces are within the home on the sprawling ranch The ranch has been owned by Italian artist Benini and his wife Lorraine since 1999. They transformed an existing hangar on the estate into a gallery and an educational venue. The couple no longer live there, but the property still maintains some of Benini's sculptures and various artworks. The scenic ranch is located at 377 Shiloh Road, which is about about an hour away from both San Antonio and Austin. It is being listed by DMTX Realty. The main residence has a hilltop elevation of more than 1,800 feet and provides a 360-degree view of Central Texas The ranch has been owned by Italian artist Benini and his wife Lorraine since 1999 who have populated the grounds with various artworks and sculptures The couple no longer live there, but the property still maintains some of Benini's sculptures and various artworks The property also features multiple outdoor porches, with one having an outdoor shower A man was assaulted and robbed after he got off a bus in the Brisbane suburb of Durack. The 35-year-old man was violently attacked on Monday evening by three men shortly before 8pm. 'He was assaulted several times to the head and body,' Queensland Police said in a statement. A man was assaulted and robbed after he got off a bus in the Brisbane suburb of Durack and was rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital (pictured) The thugs took off with the victim's mobile phone, wallet, phone chargers, sunglasses, house keys and a sum of cash. Queensland Police said the three thieves were seen running towards parkland at Akama Road, south-west of Brisbane. The man was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital for treatment. Investigations into the robbery continue. A two-bedroom home with a large backyard and teenager's retreat has gone on sale for just $55,000 in Victoria - but there's a catch. The house sits on more than 2,000 square metres of land based in a quiet, leafy suburb. The property sits at $655,000 below the median price in the state's capital Melbourne, but there is a simple explanation for the bargain. A two-bedroom home with a large backyard and teenager's retreat has gone on sale for just $55,000 in Victoria - but there's a catch The house sits on more than 2,000 square metres of land based in a quiet, leafy suburb The property sits at $655,000 below the median price in the state's capital Melbourne , but there is a simple explanation for the bargain The home sits in the suburb of Walpeup, a bushland town located 460 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD. It is so far from the Victorian capital, it is actually closer to Adelaide, the capital city in the neighbouring state of South Australia. The bedrooms features bright colour schemes, while the modest kitchen has a gas oven setup. The large, landscaped backyard features a bungalow that could easily be converted into a teenager's retreat. The home has been installed with gas heating for the cold winter months, and evaporative cooling for summer. The home sits in the suburb of Walpeup, a bushland town located 460 kilometres from Melbourne's CBD The bedrooms features bright colour schemes, while the modest kitchen has a gas oven set up The home has been installed with gas heating for the cold winter months, and evaporative cooling for summer Walpeup has a population of 158 people, making it one of the more exclusive residences in the country. The town's lack of pubs and clubs means bids will be encouraged by people looking to trade in their party lifestyle and instead live a more peaceful existence. It is located just an hour's drive from Mildura, a large town where people often commute for work. The large, landscaped backyard features a bungalow that could easily be converted into a teenager's retreat A local real estate agent told RealEstate.com.au they had received a lot of interest from interstate buyers A local real estate agent told RealEstate.com.au they had received a lot of interest from interstate buyers. 'They can sell their $400,000 house in Melbourne, buy something up here for $65,000 and have money to spare,' Gordon Agency director Peter Gordon said. 'I live in Mildura and would happily live in Walpeup; it's a great community and a beautiful bush setting.' A beatboxer was silenced mid-flow after an irate church-goer strode up to him to complain 'the whole church is shaking - there's too much bass'. The worshipper had come from a church near to where the street artist was performing to complain about the volume. Footage shows him receiving a public telling-off then reaching to turn down his amplifier as the heckler strides away. At the start of the video the artist is entertaining shoppers and passers-by with his music and his moves on the street in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. A woman in a purple coat emerges from the crowd towards him, though he carries on his act for a few seconds, clearly unsure what is happening. She gestures towards the church she has come from and tells him the building is shaking, miming a volume dial as she says: 'There's too much bass'. The musician laughs and sheepishly turns the volume down, though the woman seems in good spirits as she walks back towards the church. As she walks off audience members laugh and jeer while one shouts 'you can never have too much bass'. A beatboxer was silenced mid-flow after an irate church-goer strode up to him to complain 'the whole church is shaking - there's too much bass' The woman gestures towards the church she has come from and tells him the building is shaking, miming a volume dial as she tells him to keep it down Delivery driver Roger Dobbs, 31, filmed the video in Harrogate on Saturday. He said: 'She looked proper concerned but the guy just laughed - I think he was a bit shocked. 'I just don't think he was expecting it - I think he was more shocked than anything else. I mean the bass was loud but that's just the effect of it. 'I don't think anyone could believe it but he carried on afterwards for a couple more hours. 'I think he's great - I see him performing all the time in Leeds - but it's a bit more wide-open there and there are more teenagers hanging about.' The parents of a 10-month-old boy, who is at the centre of a life-support treatment dispute, have been given more time to prepare for a High Court trial. Specialists at King's College Hospital in London say giving further intensive care treatment to Isaiah Haastrup is 'futile, burdensome and not in his best interests'. Isaiah's mother Takesha Thomas and father Lanre Haastrup want treatment to continue. But A hearing was told doctors did not think there were any 'further investigations or forms of treatment' which would benefit him. Mr Justice MacDonald said independent experts 'concur entirely'. Isaiah's mother Takesha Thomas and father Lanre Haastrup want treatment to continue Isaiah, pictured, suffered serious brain damage due to possible oxygen deprivation which experts at King's College Hospital claim makes further intensive care treatment 'futile' A judge had been scheduled to start analysing detailed evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London today. But Mr Justice MacDonald adjourned the start of the trial until next Monday after Isaiah's mother and father said they needed more time to prepare their case. He also said two independent specialists asked for second opinions have agreed with treating doctors. Barrister Fiona Paterson, who is representing King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at preliminary hearings, has told Mr Justice MacDonald that Isaiah was born at King's College Hospital on February 18 with a severe brain injury thought to have been caused by a deprivation of oxygen. She said he was 'ventilator-dependent' and being cared for in a paediatric intensive care unit. Mr Hasstrup was banned from King's College hospital after relations between the himself and doctors deteriorated. In November, he failed in a legal bid to overturn the ban. Lanre Hasstrup, left, pictured with his partner Takesha Thomas, right, has been barred by staff from King's College Hospital in London where their infant son Isaiah is being treated In a letter to the High Court last year, the hospital claimed Mr Haastrup was 'verbally abusive' 'physically aggressive' and 'created significant risk, anxiety and undue stress not only to Trust staff but also other acutely unwell children'. In a ruling, Mr Justice Lavender said Mr Haastrup had 'not addressed (let alone denied) this alleged behaviour in the Claim Form or in his statement'. The Judge concluded Mr Haastrup had not 'demonstrated any arguable error of law' on the part of the hospital and refused his appeal. The High Court had previously heard Mr Hasstrup had been banned as a result of an incident at the hospital at a private hearing at the Family Division. Specialists at King's College Hospital say giving further intensive care treatment to the seven-month-old is 'futile, burdensome and not in his best interests'. Isaiah's parents reject the medical evidence and insist the hospital should continue treating their son who was born on February 18 in King's College Hospital in London Mr Justice MacDonald has made an order barring staff caring for Isaiah, whose family home is in Peckham, south-east London, from being identified in media reports. In an earlier hearing, Mr Haastrup claimed: 'There was no violence. Police were simply called by the (hospital staff) for breach of the peace. 'I am not a saint but I am not a demon either, as is being portrayed.' Mr Justice MacDonald said he wanted Isaiah's parents and hospital bosses to mediate in the hope of reaching agreement and avoiding the need for a trial. Barrister Fiona Paterson, representing King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, on Monday asked the judge to widen the restrictions and also bar journalists from naming independent medical experts in media reports. Isaiah's mother and father objected and said there was no need for such a move - journalists also raised concern - and Mr Justice MacDonald refused to widen the restrictions. He suggested the trust's lawyers would need to provide evidence showing that independent experts were at risk of abuse, and give editors a chance to respond, before an order could be considered. Timothy Brennan, 45, is accused of sending a female student sexually explicit pictures and videos over Snapchat A 45-year-old science teacher is behind bars after a female student went to police - claiming he had been sending her sexually explicit pictures and videos over Snapchat for the past three years. Timothy Sean Brennan turned himself into police on January 4, and has been held on $150,000 bail at the Regional Justice Center in King County, Washington since then for two counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He is due in court on January 22 for an arraignment. The married man taught at Kentwood High School, where he has been on administrative leave since the accusations were first made in November. According to court documents, the alleged victim says the harassment started in September 2015, when she was 14. Shortly after starting her freshman year, she says she was contacted by a user on Snapchat with the screenname Seanbee4. She says the user started exposing himself in pictures he sent to her through the app, as well as videos of him masturbating. He also made sexually-explicit comments on her content. Until recently, Brennan was a science teacher at Kentwood High School in Washington state Because his face was hidden in all of the pictures and videos that he sent her, the victim didn't know who was harassing her, so she assumed it was a classmate. While she says she asked him to stop multiple times, she says she also talked to the user to try and figure out his identity. During one conversation, she asked who he was and he said he couldn't say because it would 'mess up his marriage and his job'. Because his Snapchat videos and pictures disappeared and she didn't have proof of them, the victim says she was hesitant to go to police at first because she didn't think anyone would believe her. The harassment continued into her sophomore year, when she finally was able to identify Brennan by a dark green jacket he wore to school, that she had seen her harasser wearing in a photo in which he exposed himself. Brennan (pictured above in a Facebook photo) has been behind bars since January 4. He is also on administrative leave from his school She says she confronted Brennan on the app and he admitted that it was him. She says he stopped messaging her, but only for about a month. Then he started messaging her in earnest again, inviting her to the back office in his classroom to 'have some fun'. In another instance, he allegedly used his school email address to invite her to his classroom to do homework, which she found bizarre since she never had Brennan as a teacher. The victim says Brennan also showed up to her work - at the Tukwila Family Fun Center - twice. Once with his family and once alone. She says she had a co-worker serve him so she wouldn't have to. The victim, now a 17-year-old junior, finally decided to report Brennan on November 7, when she suffered a panic attack at school after seeing him. She told her friends about the harassment and they urged her to go to police. Brennan was removed from teaching soon after, and in December he was notified about the coming charges. He turned himself into police on January 4. The school has not commented publicly, other than to say that Brennan has been placed on administrative leave, which is typical in such cases. Usually, teachers are put on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation. The school's principal released this statement to parents on November 30: 'Recently, we received and responded to allegations of inappropriate behavior made against one of our staff members,' the email read in part. 'Per our policy dealing with student safety, the employee was immediately removed from service, halting any contact with students. Local law enforcement was then notified, and the school district has been cooperating fully with the police investigation.' A 16-year-old Indiana girl has died after she was struck by a drunk driver while sledding on Saturday night. Davis Collier, 16, was hit by the car after she slid onto the roadway at the Old Lock and Dam in Newburgh. Warrick County officers responded to the call around 10pm. When they arrived, they pronounced Collier dead at the scene, reported the IndyStar. Galina Witte, 20, was arrested on preliminary charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated endangering others. Davis Collier, 16 (pictured), was killed after she was struck by a car when she accidentally slid into the road while sledding in Newburgh, Indiana, on Saturday night Warrick County officers responded to the call around 10pm. When they arrived, they pronounced Collier (pictured) dead at the scene Collier (pictured) was a junior at Castle High School. The school's auditorium was open on Sunday from 2pm to 4pm for students who needed to speak with a counselor Friends of the Collier family have set up a Meal Train for meal donations to be made to the family as well as monetary ones. So far, $1,220 has been raised out of a $10,000 goal (Pictured, Davis Collier, center, with her family) This is not Witte's first offense. She was arrested in January 2017 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and endangering a person. Witte reportedly weaved from shoulder to shoulder on I-64, traveling in excess of 80 miles an hour, and eventually stopped in the middle of the left lane near the 31-mile marker. At the time, Indiana State Trooper Sgt Tom Weber called the erratic driving the worst driving he'd seen in his 23-year career. Galina Witte, 20 (left), was arrested on preliminary charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated endangering others. She was arrested back in January 2017 (right) on similar charges In the first offense, Witte (pictured) reportedly weaved from shoulder to shoulder, on I-64, traveling in excess of 80 miles an hour, and eventually stopped in the middle of the left lane near the 31-mile marker The then-19-year-old pleaded guilty to a Class A Misdemeanor. She was required to enroll in and complete the Warrick Country Pre-Trial Deferral Program while following all rules of the Substance Abuse Program. Just 10 months later, in October 2017, Witte was sentenced to one year at the Warrick County Security Center. She only served four days and the rest was moved to probation. Witte was also required to attend a victim impact session, which is meant to show drivers the effects impaired driving can have on others. A social media search of Witte shows her filming videos while driving, as well as smoking in her car Witte (left and right) reportedly failed three field sobriety tests and troopers reportedly found marijuana and a hydrocodone pill in her car. At the time, Indiana State Trooper Sgt Tom Weber called the erratic driving the worst driving he'd seen in his 23-year career In October 2017, Witte (right) was sentenced to one year at the Warrick County Security Center. She only served four days and the rest was moved to probation. Witte was also required to attend a victim impact session, which is meant to show drivers the effects impaired driving can have on others Just a day after the accident, the sledding hill (pictured) at the Newburgh Old Lock and Dam had a road barrier up for the first time ever According to a release from the Newburgh Police Department, the investigation is ongoing, and additional charges may be filed. Collier was a junior at Castle High School. The school's auditorium was open yesterday from 2pm to 4pm for students who needed to speak with a counselor. Friends of the Collier family have set up a Meal Train for meal donations to be made to the family as well as monetary ones. So far, $1,220 has been raised out of a $10,000 goal. Just a day after the accident, the sledding hill at the Newburgh Old Lock and Dam had a road barrier up for the first time ever. 'You can't even tell once you're up there the difference between ground and the street,' Samantha James, told the Tristate Homepage, as she went sledding with her children on Sunday. 'Kids aren't paying attention to cars and if anything people just need to be slowing down because they know kids are sledding.' Thieves seized a 10,000 haul of illegal tobacco after bungling officials accidentally revealed where they were being stored on a YouTube video. The closing shot provided thieves with the vital clue they needed to locate the haul inside a shipping container - and steal it. In the clip, posted on YouTube by Cumbria trading standards, two vehicles in Cumbria fire service livery could be seen. This was all the thieves needed to locate the stash by a fire station. Just two weeks after the seizure, they cut a 3ft by 2ft hole in the side of the container and made off with the entire tobacco haul. A video posted online by Trading Standards bragging about a seizure of 10,000 of illegal tobacco contained clues that may have allowed thieves to steal the haul At the time, Cumbria trading standards said the seizure had sent out a clear message that illegal tobacco would not be tolerated in the county. Their video showed bags full of the cigarettes and tobacco in a shipping container awaiting destruction. Thieves stole 10,000 of seized cigarettes after officials accidentally revealed where they were being stored on a YouTube video The YouTube video showed bags full of the cigarettes and tobacco in a shipping container awaiting destruction HOW THE ILLEGAL CIGARETTE TRADE COSTS UK AT LEAST 2BN How many illegal cigarettes are in the UK? Border officials in 2015 said that close to 50 million cigarettes are seized each month - but the overall figure is much higher What do they cost? Illegal packets of cigarettes can cost between 3 and 4 - less than half the price of legal packs How much revenue is lost? 2.1 billion was lost between 2014-2015 because of illegal tobacco trade Of the average pack of fags, how much of the price goes to the government in tax and duty? On a typical pack of 20 cigarettes the total tax burden is 6.17 on typical 7.98 pack Advertisement It also illustrated how Mollie, a Border collie cross spaniel, could sniff out the illegal substances and was crucial to the success of the operation. A spokesman for Cumbria Police said: 'A burglary occurred at Carlisle East Community Fire Station. A container was broken into and cigarettes were stolen. The value of the tobacco is estimated to be in excess of 10,000.' A Cumbria County Council spokesman added: 'I can confirm the cigarettes that were stolen were the ones seized during the Trading Standards and police operation just before Christmas. The container is no longer in use for storage of seized goods.' Operation Ash, a joint operation led by Cumbria County Council's Trading Standards officers alongside Cumbria Police, saw a trained sniffer dog hunt out more than 1,000 illegal cigarettes from one of four targeted premises in Botchergate. Intelligence given to Trading Standards suggested some takeaways and shops in the Carlisle street were potentially selling illegally imported or counterfeit cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. Clues: The shipping container on the Carlisle estate that thieves worked out contained 10,000 of illegal tobacco In the last year more than 70,000 counterfeit cigarettes and 1,600 pouches of hand rolling tobacco have been seized from the streets of Cumbria (file picture) The operation, on December 14, was deemed to be a success but the haul was lifted sometime between 5.30pm on December 23 and 10.30am on Christmas Eve, sparking a police investigation. Counterfeit cigarettes are illegally manufactured and sold by a party other than the original trademark or copyright holder. Trading Standards regularly target illegal tobacco sales across the county. In the last year more than 70,000 counterfeit cigarettes and 1,600 pouches of hand rolling tobacco from the streets of Cumbria. Advertisement When the likes of mob kingpins like Joe the Boss and Kid Twist ruled the streets of New York in the 1930s, they instilled a legacy of murder, robbery, and petty crime in the city. Enemies were dealt with in the most violent ways imaginable: public shootouts and concrete boots were common the phrase for dipping peoples feet in concrete and dumping them in the East River to sleep with the fishes. With the overlap of the Prohibition era and emerging influence of opium smugglers at the time, jarring photos of New York City's criminal underground in the early 20th century illustrate the environment of chaos that was created. Today's residents can rest easier - 2017 showed the lowest murder rate on record in New York City. Police Commissioner James O'Neilly credited this to the NYPD's focus on targeting gang activity - much as their mission was at the height of the mafia era nearly a century ago. The familiar lights of Little Italy in Lower Manhattan glimmer outside the O sole Mio Scungilli Bar and Seafood Restaurant on Mulberry street as detectives gather at the side of a murder where the bloody corpse of a man lies in the road in the late 1930s The early 20th century saw the dawn of the FBI as an effort to combat violent crime in the US. This undated photo shows a homicide squad at a crime scene with the advanced investigative tools available to them at the time - portable lamps, pistol-grip light, rubber gloves, lights, files, tape, fingerprint equipment, and magnifying glasses Criminals looked a bit different in the 1900s as well. Two young men, John Kerr and Peter Macon (center and left) who were handcuffed together after being arrested for a mugging in Manhattan charged a New York Daily News photographer who was taking their photo in 1955 at the West 68th Street Precinct In the 1930s, mafia violence was at its peak. Pictured is the bloodied body of Guisseppi 'Joe the Boss' Masseria, the leader of the Genovese Crime Family - one of the 'Five Families' that ruled New York City's organized crime. Having already survived several attempts on his life and being dubbed 'the man who can dodge bullets', Masseria was shot dead at the Nuova Villa Tammaro Cafe in Coney Island in 1931 while clutching the Ace of Spades, also known as the 'death card' Organized crime in New York has served as inspiration for some of the most iconic American pop culture images, portrayed in television and award-winning movies such as The Godfather series. The mafia was far from fiction for men such as Walter Sage, who was a key member of the group Murder, Inc, who served as enforcers for the Italian and Jewish Mafia in the 1930s and 1940s. Sage was killed by four Murder, Inc members in 1937 after they found out he was skimming profits off of the slot machine money the group ran in Brownsville, New York. When the rest of the men learned Sage was pocketing some of the money for himself, they stabbed him with an ice pick, hogtied him, tied a slot machine frame to his chest and threw his body in Swan Lake in upstate New York. Murder, Incorporated was one of the most murderous groups in New York in the early 20th century - and were known for turning on their own if they dared betray them. Walter Sage was murdered by fellow Murder, Inc members in 1937 after they discovered he was skimming profits from the group's slot machines. They stabbed him, tied his body to a slot machine frame, and weighed him down while hogtied by a large rock in Swan Lake in upstate New York Meanwhile, public shootouts were a common fear for innocent New Yorkers as mafia members retaliated against each other and their enemies. Here a car is seen shot up in 1933 - the driver was riding near 120th street when he was shot twice in the head and killed Slain on the East Side: A policeman looks at the body of Louis Riggiona, found dead in the gutter of Mulberry Street with two bullets in his heart. He was shot down as he walked away from his clam bar, just off Bowery with his brother Joe. Joe, who was held for questioning, fled when the shots were fired and escaped a hail of bullets. There were once six Riggiona brothers, as tough as any men on the Bowery. Abraham Reles, known in the streets as Kid Twist, was one of the leading members of Murder, Inc at the time of Sage's death. Reles has gone down in history as the whistle blower for the deadly organization. After being connected to a number of killings, including three of the infamous Shapiro brothers Irving, Meyer and William, he became a confidential informant for the authorities rather than face capital punishment. With Reles' help, eight mafia bosses were convicted and executed, including his captain at Murder, Inc, Lepke Buchalter, and his childhood friend 'Buggsy' Goldstein. On November 12, 1941 - the day he was set to testify against the 'CEO' of Murder, Inc, Albert Anastasia, he mysteriously fell to his death from the sixth floor of the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island where he had been staying in protective custody. Officers deduced that he was trying to escape the hotel by tying two sheets together, and fell when the knot came undone. In addition to his role at Murder, Inc, Anastasia was also a high-ranking member of the Italian Mafia (Cosa Nostra) - and fellow mob boss Frank Costello, also known as 'the Prime Minister', reportedly raised $100,000 (worth $1.7million today) to bribe the officers guarding Reles to off him. Despite that - his death was ruled an accidental fall by a grand jury a decade later. Another Murder, Inc hitman to meet an early end was Abe Reles, also known as Kid Twist. He was a leading member of Murder, Inc before becoming a confidential informant for law enforcement after being connected to several murders that he would otherwise face the death penalty for. He's pictured here lighting a cigarette at the District Attorney's office in Brooklyn, New York in 1940 On November 12, 1941, the day Kid Twist was supposed to testify against one of Murder, Inc's most leading members, Albert Anastasia, he mysteriously fell from a sixth story window and died. It appeared to investigators that he had tried to escape by tying bed sheets together that came undone Kid Twist had been in protective custody at the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island. It was rumored that Frank Costello, a high ranking member of Cosa Nostra (the Italian Mafia) raised $100,000 to bribe officers to off Kid Twist The complex web of mafia relations only made up a percentage of the other illegal activities taking place in the city in the early 20th century which saw the creation of the FBI in a concentrated effort to combat crime. The First World War provoked a devastation the nation had never seen before. The Wartime Prohibition Act in 1918 forbade the sale of alcohol in an attempt to conserve grain supplies for soldiers overseas. Instead, it inspired an underground movement of liquor distilling and rum smuggling. One of the largest busts was aboard the SS Augustus in New York Harbor in the summer of 1925, where a false bottom in the ship was revealed to contain 3,000 liquor cases valued at $200,000 ($2.8 million today). The Prohibition Era opened up an entirely new world of illicit smuggling. Rum runners and illegal distilleries were operating underground all over New York City. One of the largest busts was aboard the SS Augustus in New York Harbor in the summer of 1925, pictured here, where a false bottom in the ship was revealed to contain 3,000 liquor cases valued at $200,000 ($2.8 million today) Many illegal distilleries making bootleg alcohol popped up around the city before they were busted, like the one in this 1925 photo in Brooklyn. Two liquor stills and $18,000 worth of liquor (more than $251,000 today) were seized Around the same time, the opium market had begun to thrive in New Yorks Chinatown neighborhood. Importation of heroin of any kind, even medicinal, was prohibited in 1924 but many criminals found ways around that. Police aggressively pursued smugglers and dealers at various ports in the city on 9th avenue and Lower Manhattan. However, opioids have continued to be a problem in New York and the rest of the nation. In 2017, the epidemic was dubbed a public health emergency, and opioid overdoses are now the number one cause of death for adults under 50 years old. Opium smuggling also became a big market in the 1920s and 1930s. China was the main export for the drug - here a Chinese seaman is being arrested at the port of New York for attempted opium smuggling Drug smuggling remains as a persistent issue in New York City - though the types of drugs have changed over time. In 1960, two state detectives are seen dumping 15,000 amphetamine sulfate pills (also known as 'Pep Pills') into the city incinerator. The drugs were being smuggled by gas station attendants who were selling them to truckers to keep them awake during long drives Detectives cracked down on smuggling rings across the city - including one pictured here that operated for six years bringing drugs into New York. Investigators are pictured here in photo from 1925 after a raid on 9th Avenue that discovered two oil paintings and $3200 worth of opium (more than $44,000 today) Juvenile crime is also a significant problem, with the most recent statistics showing nearly 100,000 instances of children aged seven to 15 committing various violent and nonviolent crimes. This was no different in the early 20th century photos show two young men being searched after stealing from a grocery store, and some small children are being arrested for pick-pocketing. Although many of the issues facing New York City in the early 20th century have since become obsolete, its evident that many still plague the Big Apple. Gang members like Murder, Inc arent patrolling the streets today, but other criminal organizations like the Bloods, Crips and Mexican Mafia make victims of innocent New Yorkers daily. Despite the issues that persist according to the numbers issued by police, 2018 is on par to be a year of increasing safety and well-being. Juvenile crime is still a significant problem in New York, with the most recent statistics showing nearly 100,000 instances of children aged seven to 15 committing various violent and nonviolent crimes. This was no different in the early 20th century photos show two young men being searched after stealing from a grocery store in 1951 A fugitive cop who carried out a grenade attack in a stolen helicopter in protest at Venezuela's government has posted a defiant video claiming he was surrounded. Oscar Perez appeared with a bloody face in a series of Instagram clips, claiming that he was being shot at in a poor neighbourhood outside the capital Caracas. Perez, a 36-year-old former police pilot, is wanted for using a stolen helicopter to lob grenades and shoot at government buildings in June as well as for breaking into a National Guard unit in December to steal weapons. Police appeared to finally track him down in the poor hillside neighborhood of El Junquito and in a dozen dramatic videos posted on Instagram, Perez said authorities were firing at him with grenade launchers and that snipers were outside. State television later read out an official statement that said two police officers and several militants were killed in the clashes and that five 'terrorists' were arrested, but did not specify Perez' fate. Fugitive cop Oscar Perez (pictured) who carried out a grenade attack in a stolen helicopter in protest at Venezuela's government has posted a defiant video claiming he was surrounded Oscar Perez appeared with a bloody face in a series of Instagram clips, claiming that he was being shot at in a poor neighborhood outside the capital Caracas Perez, a 36-year-old former police pilot, is wanted for using a stolen helicopter to lob grenades and shoot at government buildings in June (pictured) 'They are firing at us with grenade launchers. We said we are going to surrender but they do not want to let us surrender. 'They want to kill us,' said Perez, seemingly wearing a bulletproof vest, as he crouched down in what appeared to be a small house and gunshots were heard in the background. 'His face becomes increasingly covered with blood with each video. 'Venezuela, don't lose hope... Now only you have power so that we can all be free,' he said in an earlier video, staring into the camera and telling his children he loves them and hopes to see them again. President Nicolas Maduro's leftist government has described him as a 'fanatic, extremist terrorist' and a manhunt has been under way for months. Some critics of Maduro have questioned whether his attacks were staged in cahoots with the government to justify a further crackdown on the opposition. Police appeared to finally track him down in the poor hillside neighborhood of El Junquito and in a dozen dramatic videos posted on Instagram, Perez said authorities were firing at him with grenade launchers and that snipers were outside Pictures appeared to show his hide-out as he spoke to the camera. Perez claimed that the building was surrounded Oscar Perez rose to fame in June after allegedly hijacking a police helicopter, flying over Caracas' centre and firing shots at and lobbing grenades on the Interior Ministry and the Supreme Cour The Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However, some members of Maduro's government scoffed at Perez on Monday morning. 'What a coward now that he's caught like a rat!' tweeted Prisons Minister Iris Varela. 'Where is the courage he had to attack military units, kill and injure officials and steal weapons?' An action film star who portrays himself as a James Bond or Rambo-like figure on social media, Perez has added surreal twists to Venezuela's long-running political drama. President Nicolas Maduro described Perez's actions in June as a 'coup' and a 'terrorist' attack and launched a manhunt for him and his co-conspirators A nationwide manhunt was launched for Oscar Perez after he targeted a government building in Caracas in protest at dictator Nicolas Maduro's government. He is pictured during an event of the Body of Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigation in Caracas in 2015 In many of his posts, Perez shows off his skills on the firing range - including this footage where he hits a target behind him using a makeup compact mirror Perez does have an acting past - having produced and starred in a 2015 film called Suspended Death in which he plays a cop rescuing a wealthy hostage from a vicious gang He rose to fame in June after allegedly hijacking a police helicopter, flying over Caracas' centre and firing shots at and lobbing grenades down on the Interior Ministry and the Supreme Court. Perez claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was to fight what he said was a tyrannical government. He went into hiding afterward, only to pop up two weeks later at an opposition vigil for anti-government protesters killed during demonstrations that rocked the country last year. Then in December, a video posted on Perez's YouTube account shows armed, masked men taking control of military barracks under cover of night. They smash photos of Maduro and his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez, handcuff around a dozen soldiers and berate them for supporting 'dictatorship' in Venezuela. Perez says his team stole around 26 AK-103's and over 3,000 munitions for the rifles, as well as pistols. Kenneth Fenske has been acquitted of charges he raped an eight-year-old boy during 'furry meets' at his home in 2009 A man has been acquitted of all charges in a case in which he and others were accused of assaulting a boy at parties for 'furries'. The Bucks County panel deliberated for about two hours Friday before acquitting 57-year-old Kenneth Fenske of Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Prosecutors alleged that the boy was abused at 'furry' parties in the county beginning in 2009. Furries are people who dress up as animals and identify as the chosen animal, often as a sexual fetish. The boy, who was eight at the time, says he was forced to dress as Tony the Tiger, the Frosted Flakes mascot, while his attacker sometimes wore a full-body fox costume. Fenske's attorney called the charges an attempt to profit off his client's wealth. 'I'm just happy for Mr Fenske that he was vindicated by the jury,' said Fenske's defense attorney Steven Fairlie. 'He's maintained his innocence throughout and obviously the jury believed him.' Fairlie had argued in court that the alleged victim's testimony should be dismissed and pointed to inconsistencies and an 'unnatural smile' and a demeanor that lacked a 'ring of truth', according to the Bucks County Courier Times Authorities said the case began with the arrest of Jeffrey A. Harvey, 40, (left) in summer 2016 on charges he tried to have sex with someone online that he thought was a 13-year-old boy. Craig M. Knox, 36, (right) is also charged with sexual offences WHAT ARE FURRIES? HOW PEOPLE CREATE 'FURSONAS' IN THE ANIMAL COSTUME COMMUNITY Furries are people who dress up as animals and identify as the chosen animal, often as a sexual fetish. Furry fandom encompasses much more than just the 'therians' or, people who feel as though they're spiritually connected to animals, according to FurScience. Furries represent fans of media featuring anthropomorphic animals, and may include artists, writers, gamers, and role players. Most create a 'fursona,' or anthropomorphized animal character for themselves, to interact with the community. The demographics: More than 75% of furries are younger than 25 About 84% identify as male, while 13% are female, and 2.5% are transgender Most furries (83.2%) are white About one-third identify as 'exclusively heterosexual,' but research has shown furries 'are about five times more likely to identify as exclusively homosexual than the general population' Advertisement Three other men and a woman are still awaiting trial in the case. Another man pleaded guilty to child sex trafficking and is awaiting sentencing. Attorney General Josh Shapiro has said the boy was abused for nearly eight years, starting in 2009. Authorities said the case began with the arrest of Jeffrey A. Harvey, 40, of West Wyoming, Pennsylvania, in summer 2016. Harvey was charged for trying to have sex with someone online that he thought was a 13-year-old boy, but was in fact an undercover investigator. After he was caught, detectives found text messages he exchanged with Parker where they discussed Harvey wanting to have sex with the sex trafficked young boy forced to dress in the tiger costume. Parker was arrested the next day. Police said Parker admitted he sexually fondled the boy when he was one to three years old. The boy told investigators Parker molested him on multiple occasions in Schuylkill County before he was age 13 and, according to a search warrant affidavit, 'would take him to homes or apartments where... other adults would touch (him) in a sexual way.' The boy told investigators in October that Craig Michael Knox, 35, of Henrico, Virginia, had molested him at a home in Pittston. Knox told investigators that Parker encouraged him to 'have at it' with the boy, and that he sexually abused the child in an upstairs bedroom. He said Parker also forced the child to perform a sexual act, according to police. Stephen Taylor (left) and Paige Tasker (right) are also charged over the sex assaults The victim said he was forced to dress as Frosted Flakes mascot 'Tony the Tiger' (pictured) at parties before being attacked 'Knox stated that during this time the victim appeared embarrassed and looked at the floor as he did what he was instructed to do,' police wrote. Knox was charged last November. The teen said his parents were present at the parties but had no idea about the assaults. He only opened up about the horrific incidents last year. 'I kept it to myself,' the boy testified, according to Philly.com. 'I didn't tell anyone.' Stephen Taylor, Knox's roommate, is also charged over the crimes, and has also admitted bestiality and cruelty to animals after sexually abusing two Rottweilers. Paige Tasker, 28, of Stroudsburg, is charged with statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and corruption of minors. A police constable accused of looking up information on a domestic abuse victim for the suspect in the case was revealed when he ex-boyfriend reported her. Jessica Hamer carried out the search on a police computer while a colleague was away from the desk but still logged in, a Kent Police hearing in Maidstone, Kent, was told today. She is said to have accessed the woman's name, address and crime report - which showed her boyfriend's friend was listed as a suspect - just before 2pm on August 11 2014, at Margate Police Station, while she was on duty. Jessica Hamer is accused of looking up information on a domestic abuse victim for the suspect in the case while on duty at Margate Police Station in Kent (pictured) The force said there was no policing reason for the search. Her then boyfriend reported her after their relationship broke down. She is also accused of pressuring him to drop the statement, the hearing at force headquarters was told. Ms Hamer, who joined the force in 2001 and is now a detective constable, denies gross misconduct and breaching professional standards of behaviour. Her former partner - only identified as Mr A when he attended to give evidence - said he came forward to 'do the right thing'. He said a friend asked if he could help track down an ex-partner so he asked Ms Hamer for a 'favour' but not to get herself 'in trouble'. He added: 'I later found out it was a (breach of responsibility).' He denied knowing there had been a domestic incident between the pair and claims Ms Hamer told him she found a 'marker' on the case so could not look into the matter further and did not provide the information. He claims he told her she had used someone else's computer so there would be 'no paper trail' back to her. But Ms Hamer's defence barrister Kevin Baumber accused Mr A of carrying out a 'character assassination' of the officer with a 'splatter gun' approach of a string of 'speculative complaints' to see 'which one stuck'. Mr A, who claimed he was the subject of domestic abuse, harassment, coercive behaviour and was 'frightened' of Ms Hamer, said: 'I don't think she should be a police officer. 'When you're in a relationship with someone who has so much control of you, you just toe the line. 'I was under the thumb and controlled. I wouldn't put anything past her. 'But I wanted to do the right thing in the end. I'm a victim. 'I don't think people who abuse their position should be in a job of authority.' Pc Leah Roberts, whose computer log in was used to carry out the search, said she initially could not remember whether she made the inquiry herself or whether she left her desk at the time her computer was used to access the information. She told the hearing it was possible that search could be made as part of her role but it was unlikely on that day as she was carrying out other tasks. She is not facing misconduct proceedings, the panel heard. The hearing is expected to last three days. Norway's government announced it will ban fur farms by 2025 - a move that has dismayed producers and delighted animal rights activists. On Monday, the nation's newly formed coalition government announced a manifesto pledge to ban all fur farming and have a total phase out by 2024. Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg's government agreed to shut fox and mink farms that produce about one million pelts a year as part of a deal to broaden her minority government by adding the anti-fur Liberal Party. Almost a million foxes and mink are intensively bred and killed for their fur on Norway's 340 fur farms every year. Norway's government announced it will phase out fur farms by 2025, sparing a million foxes and mink a year Norway is now set to become the 14th European country to ban all fur farming - a sign that fur is out of fashion even in a nation that was once the world's top producer of fox pelts. It will spare animals who would otherwise spend their lives in cramped barren cages and suffer agonising deaths by gassing or electrocution, the Humane Society International, which campaigns against the fur trade, said. The ban must now be voted on in Parliament, but the majority of the country's political parties are expected to support it. 'We're shocked, shaken to the core,' said Guri Wormdahl of the Norwegian Fur Breeders Association. She said there are about 200 fur farms in Norway employing about 400 people under strict rules for animal welfare with annual turnover of between 350 million to 500 million Norwegian crowns ($44 to $63 million). But the announcement delighted animal rights campaigners. Almost a million foxes and mink are intensively bred and killed for their fur on Norway's 340 fur farms every year Norwegian animal rights group NOAH, who have long fought for a fur farming ban, hailed the decision as part of a shift against what it views as an outdated and cruel business with dwindling appeal to fashion-conscious consumers. 'We're very pleased,' the group's leader Siri Martinsen said, adding the plan seemed sure of majority support in Norway's parliament. Ruud Tombrock, executive director of Humane Society International, said: 'We are thrilled to see such an unequivocal pledge from the Norwegian government to ban all fur farming, and look forward to seeing this important decision receiving the political backing it deserves.' He said he hoped Norway's fur farmers will decide to dismantle their businesses before the 2024 deadline. Animal rights campaigners said the ban will spare animals who would otherwise spend their lives in cramped barren cages and suffer agonising deaths by gassing or electrocution The nation's newly formed coalition government announced a manifesto pledge to ban all fur farming and have a total phase out by 2024 'Factory farming wild animals for fur in appallingly deprived conditions is unconscionably cruel, so to see a ban on this dreadful trade in a Scandinavian country is truly historic,' he said. 'It will spare nearly one million mink and fox a year from miserable lives in small wire cages, ending in horrible deaths.' He added: 'Consumers are turning their backs on the bloody fur trade, and it is only right that Norway's politicians enable Norway to join the fast-growing list of compassionate nations refusing to allow cruel fur farming within their borders.' Fox farming peaked in Norway in 1939, just before World War Two, when the Nordic nation was the biggest world producer with almost 20,000 farms, according to a government report. Fox farming peaked in Norway in 1939, just before World War Two, when the Nordic nation was the biggest world producer with almost 20,000 farms. Above, a fur farm Norway is now set to become the 14th European country to ban all fur farming following in the footsteps of the UK, Denmark ad the Netherlands In 2013, by contrast, Norway produced only about three percent of 7.3 million fox furs worldwide in a market dominated by China, with 69 percent, and Finland, it said. That same year, Norway produced one percent of world mink output of 72.6 million, a market also dominated by China. 'It's not a very lucrative business in Norway,' said Sveinung Fjose, of Menon Business Economics and an expert on fur farms. 'It wouldn't harm the Norwegian economy severely' to close it down. Last year, Italy's Gucci said it would stop using fur in its designs, joining a growing number of fashion houses looking at alternatives after coming under pressure from animal rights activists and changing consumer tastes. Fur farming bans have been introduced in Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and the United Kingdom. Bans are being considered in Belgium and Luxembourg. Germany, Sweden and Switzerland all have regulations requiring such high welfare standards that they effectively make it impossible to continue to farm animals for fur. Former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon is to appear before the House Intelligence Committee this week, after suffering an extraordinary public break with President Trump. Bannon and former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski are each scheduled to testify the committee, which is probing Russian interference in the 2016 elections, Bloomberg reported. Amid partisan clashes on the panel, the GOP majority is also probing the conduct of FBI agents involved in probes of Hillary Clinton's emails as well as of Donald Trump and his associates during the campaign. Bannon was cast out of the president's circle after he gave slashing interviews in the new book, 'Fire and Fury,' including a comment where he called a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians 'treasonous.' Former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon is scheduled to appear before the House Intelligence Committee this week That meeting has proven central to special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of any collusion or obstruction of justice. Bannon said afterward he did not mean to be referring to Donald Trump Jr., who attended, but was speaking of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, who has been charged with money laundering and conspiracy. Trump son in law Jared Kushner also attended. Last week, Bannon has hired Bill Burck of the law firm Quinn Emanuel to represent him. The panel has fallen into partisan camps, as Republicans, led by chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, dig for information to muddy the FBI and the golden showers dossier, while Democrats push to call back witnesses to grill them on Russian election interference and ties between Trump associates and Russia. Bannon's lawyer, who participated in the Martha Stewart prosecution and is a former Special Counsel and Deputy Counsel to President George W. Bush, also represents ex-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and current White House counsel Don McGahn. President Donald Trump (L) congratulates Senior Counselor to the President Stephen Bannon during the swearing-in of senior staff in the East Room of the White House on January 22, 2017 in Washington, DC In this Nov. 9, 2017, file photo, Steve Bannon, speaks during an event in Manchester, N.H. Breitbart News Network announced Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, that Bannon is stepping down as chairman of the conservative news site Corey Lewandowski, original campaign manager for Donald Trump for President, also is expected to appear Former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell arrives at Federal Court with her attorney William Burck in Richmond, Va., Monday, Aug. 25, 2014. Bannon reportedly hired Burck as he prepared for the House Intelligence Committee Bannon reportedly will appear next week before investigators for the House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes of California Following the release of 'Fire and Fury,' the president tweeted that Bannon had 'lost his mind,' which included numerous disparaging quotes from Bannon about the Trump family, the president tweeted that Bannon had 'lost his mind.' White House senior policy advisor Stephen Miller in an appearance on CNN on Sunday, calling him an 'angry, vindictive person' whose 'grotesque comments are so out of touch with reality.' Bannon apologized for his comments and was pushed out of his job running Breitbart News within days of publication. Although he was pushed out from his post atop the Trump campaign, Lewandowski has maintained contact with Trump and his network. A math teacher and her teenage son have been arrested after a booze-fueled New Year's Eve party at her home, where minors drank alcohol, and one claims they were sexually assaulted. Kristi Crawford, 46, a teacher at Wylie East High School in Texas, is charged with furnishing alcohol to minors, while her son Jacob Crawford, 17, faces charges of sexually assaulting a child. The pair were arrested last Wednesday and released the following day after posting bail, Dallas News reports. Kristi Crawford, 46, (left, in her mugshot) is charged with furnishing alcohol to minors, while her son Jacob Crawford, 17, (right, in his mugshot) faces charges of sexually assaulting a child Police were alerted on January 9 by a minor that claimed she'd been assaulted at the New Year's Eve party at their home in Glendale Drive, Texas. However, lawyers for the defense insist the sexual encounter was consensual and that Kristi never bought the alcohol for the teens. Defense attorney Todd Shapiro said Kristi had bought the drink for a party for adults on New Year's Day. Kristi, who teaches 10th grade algebra at Wylie East High School in Texas (pictured) has been placed on leave He told the court that when Kristi had left her kids home alone on December 31, to go to her second job, her son had invited his friends over. But the party quickly got out of hands, as his friends invited their friends over, and helped themselves to his mom's alcohol without her knowledge. Shapiro also said that Jacob denied sexual assault and insisted that the interaction between himself and the alleged victim had been 'consensual'. According to state law, a person who is impaired from drugs or alcohol cannot legally give consent. 'There is a very big other side of the story,' Shapiro said. 'Both of their lives are temporarily ruined based on unfounded allegations and a poor investigative job by Wylie police.' Jacob Crawford (pictured) has denied sexual assault and insists the encounter was consensual A Wylie Independent School District spokesman said that Crawford, who teaches 10th grade algebra, has been placed on paid leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. 'Because of the nature of the allegations, we immediate (sic) notified the Wylie Police Department,' they said. 'Our goals are to ensure that quality learning continues while maintaining the safety and security of our students, faculty and staff. We immediately placed the teacher on leave pending further investigation. The student will be disciplined in accordance with the student code of conduct. Because this is still an active case, Wylie ISD is not able to comment on other aspects.' Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20, has been arrested in connection with the death of Blaze Bernstein. Police say DNA links Woodward to the case Authorities in Orange County used the Snapchat of an Ivy League college student whose body was found in woodlands to trace the man suspected of killing him. Using the social media platform - famed for the sending of videos and pictures which 'disappear' once they are viewed - detectives traced a friend of slain Blaze Bernstein, 19. That friend told officers he had picked the victim up the night before he was reported missing on January 3, but that the University of Pennsylvania pre-grad had walked off in Borrego Park, Anaheim, according to the LA Times. The information led officers to arrest Bernstein's former classmate - 20-year-old Samuel Lincoln Woodward. He is accused of killing Blaze Bernstein, 19, though there is no obvious motive behind the incident. Woodward and Bernstein had attended the Orange County School of the Arts together. The victim was at home on a break from his studies at Penn. Over the weekend it emerged Woodward defended the Confederate flag and wrote disturbing posts on social media, according to The New York Post. He wrote in one post that the rebel flag 'represents Southern pride, not racism.' On another social media platform called askfm, Woodward said if he could have two items while being stranded on a deserted island, it would be 'The Bible and a Colt .45'. On his profile, Woodward picks the torture method 'waterboarding' as a new skill he wants to learn and in another message, someone states to Woodward: 'You are violence. It scares me.' The body of Bernstein (pictured), a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, was found on Tuesday at Borrego Ranch Park in Southern California. Bernstein was home for winter break when he went missing on January 2 Woodward, in a previous interview with police, said he had sustained scratches while participating in a fight club Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20 wrote in one post that the infamous rebel flag 'represents Southern pride, not racism' (Pictured: Woodward's image placed in front of Confederate Flag) In another message, someone states to Woodward that 'You are violence. It scares me,' to which he replies 'I wouldn't fight anybody unless they attacked me' The Newport Beach man says in his reply: 'I wouldn't fight anybody unless they attacked me.' On Friday, Undersheriff Don Barnes said that Orange County police collected DNA evidence which links Woodward to the crime. Details of Bernstein's death aren't being released. Barnes says investigators are still trying to determine a motive. Woodward was the last person to see Blaze Bernstein alive, Barnes says. Authorities say the suspect previously told them he had left Bernstein at the park to go see his girlfriend, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Woodward could remember neither the name nor address of his 'girlfriend', police said. Woodward also had scratches on his hands, which police say he told them he had sustained while participating in a fight club. Woodward also had dirt under his fingernails, which he told authorities was due to falling into a 'dirty puddle' while sparring. Bernstein was visiting his family in Foothill Ranch during winter break from the Ivy League school when his high school friend Woodward picked him up on January 2 and drove with him to several places before winding up at Borrego Park in Lake Forest, 6ABC reports. Bernstein's body was found in brush at the park on Tuesday after recent rains partially exposed it. Woodward has asked for an attorney, authorities say. During a meeting with authorities earlier this week, police say Woodward put his jacket over his hand so that his bare skin would not touch any part of the doors he opened and closed on his way out of the police station. Authorities had previously said they were investigating the death as a homicide. Orange County Undersheriff Don Barnes, left, takes a questions as District Attorney Tony Rackauckas looks on during a news conference about the death Gideon and Jeanne Bernstein speak on January 10 during a news conference Jeanne Bernstein tweeted about the news that an individual had been arrested in connection with her son's murder 'Nothing will bring back my son so we ask the world to please honor Blaze's memory by doing an act of kindness today - don't wait - do it now. Celebrate the goodness that still exists in this world in-spite of these acts of senseless evil. People are good and Blaze knew that,' Bernstein's mother Jeanne told the Los Angeles Times. She tweeted, when hearing the news: 'Finally. My thoughts are: Revenge is empty. It will never bring back my son. 'My only hopes are that he will never have the opportunity to hurt anyone else again and that something meaningful can come from the senseless act of Blaze's murder. 'Now Do Good for Blaze Bernstein.' Pictured is the park in which Bernstein was found. The Ivy League student was planning to major in psychology and later study medicine, his father said Pictured is another view of the park. His father had said his son had a passion for cooking and was a creative writer When he was arrested, Woodward was wearing a shirt that read: 'Keep the peace.' A woman who lived at the house where Woodward lived would not comment on the matter to the Los Angeles Times. Bernstein, a sophomore, was planning to major in psychology and later study medicine, the Orange County Register reported his father, Gideon Bernstein, saying last week. His dad said that he had a passion for cooking and was a creative writer. He had recently been named to the staff of Penn Appetit magazine at school. A friend at school told WPVI that she had been communicating with Bernstein over break over ideas for the magazine for the next semester. The mother of Track Palin's son has broken her silence about the domestic violence she suffered after he choked her when she was seven months pregnant and attacked her while she held their weeks-old baby. Jordan Loewe spoke to DailyMailTV about her ordeal at the hands of the troubled veteran, who she said was obsessed by guns, and also shared phone calls of his chilling death threats. DailyMailTV has viewed records of the calls made to Jordan from a number registered to Track Palin. In one call from 2016, Track says: 'Obviously, if you're coming out here, and you're going to bring anybody else out here, then your person who you're going to bring out here is a hostile intent, and I'm going to treat him like a hostile intent I'm going to put him in the ground. I'm going to bury him.' Jordan told DailyMailTV: 'This is a violent person. This is a really dangerous, unstable person. I started recording him and saving every voicemail he left me.' The 24-year-old revealed the physical assaults, harassment and psychological torture she endured as her ex awaits trial for assaulting his father at the Palin family compound in Wasilla, Alaska last month. DailyMailTV has reached out to legal representatives of Track Palin for comment. Track Palin, 28, was convicted of weapons misuse under the influence in plea bargain in which he agreed to complete an alcohol-related treatment program. Speaking out: Jordan Loewe says she is telling her story to DailyMailTV because she has found the strength and wants other women to do the same. She reveals how Track Palin attacked her as she held their son Charlie in her arms when he was just a few weeks old, prompting her to finally leave him Happy times: At the beginning of their relationship, Jordan Loewe said there were 'a couple of red flags' but 'nothing that really alarmed me'. But she has told DailyMailTV of the time they spent together becoming increasingly violent and abusive Awaiting trial: Track Palin was photographed by DailyMailTV just before Christmas after finally being freed on house arrest after an alleged attack on his father, Todd, at the home he and Sarah Palin share Injuries: The extent of Todd Palin's facial injuries were revealed his wife on New Year's Eve on social media. Jordan Loewe says she had hoped Track was improving until the alleged assault A domestic violence protective order was put in place by the state of Alaska to keep Track away from Jordan but has since expired. Jordan, whose son Charlie is 16 months, says that she was prompted to tell her story after seeing other victims come forward as part of the #MeToo movement. She hopes that her experiences can help others in abusive relationships. She told DailyMailTV: 'From the outside, abusive relationships are hard to comprehend. 'People think, 'You're being abused? Just leave.' It seems so simple but it's not. These perpetrators are people we know, we love and we trust. 'I'm finally accepting of what happened to me and I want to talk about it. Not because I want people to hear my sob story but because it's not just me, it's happening everywhere. 'I feel like I'm a pretty confident, regular girl but many people don't have the support system that I have. 'You have to know it's not your fault, you did nothing to deserve this. That took me a long time to understand. 'No one deserves to live in fear for their life, to be tortured or abused. We overcome by talking and telling the truth.' The college graduate, who works full-time as a patient care technician on the surgery wing of a local hospital, met Track through mutual friends in the summer 2014. At the time he was divorced from the mother of his daughter. They began a relationship at the beginning of 2015. For six months they had a 'pretty normal' relationship, Jordan said, but that changed when Palin took a contracting job in Iraq. He previously served as a U.S. Army reservist and is known to have deployed to Iraq for a year in 2008 although details of his combat duty are not available, ADN has previously reported. Jordan said: 'At the beginning, there were a couple of red flags but nothing that really alarmed me. When he left, he became very controlling and possessive about who I was with, where I was, who my guy friends and girlfriends were. 'He was checking in at every location that I was at. He blamed it on being out of the country and I blamed it on that too, because he wasn't like that before.' Facade: Although Jordan Loewe's relationship with Track Palin may have appeared normal, he increasingly isolated her from her friends and was jealous and controlling Contact: Track Palin went to Iraq as a contractor early in his relationship with Jordan Loewe, but bombarded her, her family and friends with calls. Despite her concerns, they remained an item when he returned, with Jordan rationalizing that Iraq had been difficult for him When he returned from Iraq, Jordan said she and Track took a number of trips together, including to Las Vegas, Arizona and Kentucky, but didn't socialize a great deal. 'Track was very possessive about me and going out in public and being around my old group of friends,' Jordan said. As the long-distance relationship progressed, the phone calls and messages became relentless. 'It was out of control. I think he had a lot of free time. He was stuck in a building with Wi-Fi and could blow up my phone with texts and calls. 'If I said I was with my friends, he would call them. He just needed reassurance 100 per cent of the day, all the time. 'He had no boundaries on who to call, when to call, how many times to call. If I blocked his number, he had calling cards that showed up as different numbers.' Jordan decided to 'tough it out' and deal with the problems when Track returned to Alaska. 'I had no idea the extent of what the problems were going to be,' she added. When he returned from Iraq, Jordan said she and Track took a number of trips together, including to Las Vegas, Arizona and Kentucky, but didn't socialize a great deal. 'Track was very possessive about me and going out in public and being around my old group of friends,' Jordan said. 'He was so threatened by my girlfriends, guy friends, my family, my brother - anybody. He didn't want me around them. 'He tried to make everybody in my life out to be a bad person and would find any flaws they had as people and make them well known to me.' Loewe says that she became increasingly isolated. 'It was one thing at a time. Track was very paranoid. 'He didn't like any of my male friends and said there was no reason for me to be texting any guys when I was in a relationship. I would argue that there was no problem and I wanted him to be their friend too. 'We went back and forth arguing, Finally, I gave up and I agreed to stop [texting them].' Palin then decided that her Loewe's girlfriends were not suitable, and would refer to them as 'peasants'. 'He said he has PTSD, Iraq messed him up, his family and the media messes him up. His kids getting taken away messed him up.' Track returned from Iraq the first time to be greeted by his daughter Kyla, who is now six. But he is now divorced from her mother Loewe said: 'Anything he could think of - they go out too much, they sleep around, they don't have college educations, they don't have good family structure. 'He would tell me, 'Your best friend Maddie, she's homeless, she can't afford anything, and she doesn't have a real job.' 'He would text, call and FaceTime my friends and try to turn them against me.' Things came to a head in January 2016 when Track seriously assaulted Jordan for the first time. Jordan said that Track's drinking was an issue and although he didn't drink often, when he did he would become dangerously intoxicated. 'Our relationship was very off and on, but we would meet up to talk. I went out to Wasilla and it was the same old story. He's manipulative he knows what to say and how to say it. 'He told me he was sorry and he had Bible verses of things he's going to do to change. 'He would have this whole presentation for me. That night he told me he was going to change and we were going to be better together. I was sick of it all. 'The next day, he said, 'Let's go to dinner.' We started drinking wine and then kept drinking. We didn't have anything to do the next day, so we planned a fun, happy night.' The date soured when Jordan received a text message while they were driving to Sarah and Todd Palin's home in Wasilla after dinner, where Track was living at the time. 'He wanted to see who the text was from but I wouldn't show him my phone. We were in his car and at this point, I was ready to leave,' she said. 'I wanted to get in my in car and go home. He was trying to get my phone out of my hand and I was very adamant that he was not getting it. 'I wouldn't give him my phone and he pushed me on the ground. I was laying and he was on top of me, and still just trying to pull it out of my hands and was hitting me in the face, telling me to let go, let go, just give it to me. 'I wouldn't give it to him so he started kicking me and kneeing me and finally got it out of my hands and threw it across the driveway [of the Palin family home]. 'I found my phone and the screen was cracked but I tried to call 911 and it wasn't working. I wanted to get out of there and go hide but he had my keys so I couldn't leave.' Jordan went into the house to retrieve her car keys and found Track sitting in the living room holding his mother's pink-camo AR-15 rifle to his head. It had been a gift from Ted Nugent, the rocker known for his conservative views. Suicide threat: Track Palin put his mother's pink camo AR-15 to his head and threatened to pull the trigger after attacking Jordan in the driveway of his parents' home in Wasilla, Jordan Loewe told DailyMailTV. Police had noted the same account Police file: This was the police report of how Track Palin attacked Jordan Loewe at the Palin family home in Wasilla New life: Track Palin's reaction to the news that Jordan Loewe was pregnant at first convinced her that they should try to be together. 'He really wanted a child he could take care of and be a part of their life on a regular basis. He knew that God would bring us back together. I felt very differently but nonetheless we had the same goal and that was to raise our baby,' she said Come back: During her pregnancy, Jordan Loewe found the courage to leave but Palin arrived at her place of work with flowers and tried to convince her he had changed Ups and downs: Track Palin wrote this letter as he tried to win back his pregnant then ex-girlfriend. But when they were reunited, he turned violent again 'I just stopped and stared at him. In the driveway, I had called him a 'p****' because I was angry. Then he said, 'I want you to call me that one more time and I'll shoot myself. Do you want to say any last words to me before I kill myself? ''Are you going to feel guilty that I killed myself because of you, all because you wouldn't let me see your phone?' 'I couldn't say anything. He put the barrel of the gun in his mouth. I was just standing there, still trying to call 911. 'I ran out of the house and he followed me. It was dark and I ended up coming in a side door and running up to his little brother's room and hiding under bed. 'About ten minutes later, I heard the police and it was the biggest relief.' Track was arrested and spent the night in jail. According to the police report, Jordan told an officer that 'Palin... struck her on the left side of her head near her eye with a closed fist'. The report said Palin kicked her while she was in the fetal position and that she said he 'cocked the gun' and was 'holding the rifle out next to him... with the barrel just away from his face pointed to the side'. He was charged with assault, interfering with the report of a domestic violence crime and possessing a weapon while intoxicated. The first two charges were dropped in July 2016 when Track agreed to plead guilty to misconduct involving weapons while being under the influence. A domestic violence protective order was put in place by the state of Alaska to keep Track away from Jordan, and he agreed to complete an alcohol-related treatment. The Anchorage DA's office said in July 2016 thatTrack planned to enter a therapeutic program for 'several months' to deal with PTSD. Jordan said that he never completed the PTSD program. 'Track was apologetic, said he did need help and would go to counselling. But when it came down to getting the help, he didn't believe that anyone or anything could help him. He's had so many opportunities, so many different times. He was unlucky and dealt a bad hand. If his Mom wasn't famous - these things wouldn't have happened. 'If he hadn't been sent to Iraq - this wouldn't have happened. Or else, it's his ex-wife's fault or my fault. Track doesn't think he's made his life terrible. Jordan Loewe on what Track Palin thinks 'I don't know where he stands mentally - he's all over the place. He said he has PTSD, Iraq messed him up, his family and the media messes him up. His kids getting taken away messed him up. '[He believes] that he was unlucky and dealt a bad hand. If his Mom wasn't famous - these things wouldn't have happened. 'If he hadn't been sent to Iraq - this wouldn't have happened. Or else, it's his ex-wife's fault or my fault. Track doesn't think he's made his life terrible.' Following the assault, Track's father and a friend cleared his home of guns, Jordan said. 'There were 25, 30 guns in the house - from shotguns and hunting rifles to pistols, assault rifles,' Jordan said. 'He's a gun fanatic. They are hidden in different places - his car, hunting bag, garage, bedside table, storage unit. 'You can take away the guns that you see but he knows where other guns are hidden. 'Even after there were no guns - there were still guns. He has friends who would bring him a gun or would buy him a gun. 'There will never be a day that Track doesn't have access to a gun if he's not in jail.' Jordan said that Track often carried a gun with him and in particular when he was around strangers. 'It was a regular thing that when he was yelling and mad, he had a gun in his hand. 'After a while it didn't even faze me. Looking back that's so crazy. He never pointed a gun at me but he has had a gun in his hand, telling me he was going to kill me. He has put a gun to his head and in his mouth multiple times.' In the family: Pregnant Jordan Loewe (second from right with Track) was surrounded by the Palins including from left Dakota Meyer, holding his daughter Sailor, his wife Bristol Palin, her sister Willow, their brother Trigg, mom Sarah, father Todd, and sister Piper New father: Although he held his son Charlie tenderly just after his birth, Track Palin had assaulted Jordan Loewe when she was seven months pregnant, she told DailyMailTV Built home: This was the home which Track Palin built for his young family but which his then girlfriend Jordan Loewe fled in terror when their son was just a few weeks old Family time: Jordan Loewe is now bringing up Charlie as a single mom, and says Track Palin has not paid full child support or used all the court-allotted visitation time he was given with his son Following the January 2016 assault, Jordan had no contact with Track but in March, she found out she was pregnant. 'It was a really tough time,' she said. 'After a lot of thinking and being scared, I decided to tell Track that I was pregnant and I was going through with it. 'He had a way different reaction than I did he was so excited, it was his dream to have another kid. He didn't have much custody of his daughter [Kyla, from his marriage to Britta Hanson]. 'He really wanted a child he could take care of and be a part of their life on a regular basis. 'He knew that God would bring us back together. I felt very differently but nonetheless we had the same goal and that was to raise our baby.' At this point, the assault case against Palin was still open but he pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm while intoxicated and the other charges were dismissed. Sarah Palin indicated that post-traumatic stress disorder might have been a factor in that case. Jordan said he was supposed to attend classes to deal with domestic violence, alcohol and substance abuse and anger management. The apparent turning over of a new leaf was enough to convince Jordan that they should reunite. She moved to Track's hometown of Wasilla, an hour's drive from Anchorage. Jordan said: 'I was just so lost, I didn't know what to do. I was scared to be a parent. 'Track said our baby needed a house and a nursery. He convinced me that living in Wasilla was the first step, to be surrounded by family - his family. I was scared and naive so I said okay.' Track bought a property lot to build a family home. Jordan moved to Wasilla in May 2016 but Track's possessiveness became more intense now that Jordan was pregnant. 'I was six months pregnant and had a friend's birthday dinner to go to on a Tuesday night after work. 'He was so worried that I was going to drink because the restaurant had a bar and other people would be drinking. Obviously, I was not going to drink, I'm a responsible adult. 'I told him I would text when I was leaving but it wasn't good enough, he needed an exact time. 'At the dinner, he was calling and texting people at the table, wanting to know who was there. 'Thirty minutes later, he showed up and said, 'I'm here to get her, we have to go. I'll pay her tab, let's go.' 'I was mortified and I just left with him because I was scared and I didn't want people to know that's how terrible our relationship was at that point.' Jordan added: 'The question everybody asks, and it's really easy to ask, is, 'Why did you put up with it? Why didn't you just leave?' 'That question used to be really hard for me because I didn't know the answer. 'I would try to leave at one point during my pregnancy, I got my own apartment. He would show up and knock on the door and windows for an hour. I would have to turn off my phone because he wouldn't stop calling. 'I would shut all the blinds and lock the door. But he would just bang and bang.' Over the summer months, Track's explosive outbursts continued. 'He would swing from manic, violent, yelling and calling me names to I'll do anything, here's money, here's fresh flowers. It was two extremes.' But Jordan didn't tell anyone the extent of their problems. 'I felt this need to stick up for him because I had so many times before. I felt that I was buried so far down this hole with him.' The cycle of violence continued and escalated. 'He started out calling me names and tearing me down, telling me I had gained too much weight in my pregnancy, that no guy would ever want me and I was lucky to have him. 'He told me I was a '178lb c***'. He actually called me that twice, once on the phone and once in a voicemail. 'Then it would be an argument and he would punch the wall next to my head trying to scare me. He would spit in my face. Father: Jordan's father Matthew Loewe, 49, is among those who have helped her rebuild her life after leaving Track Palin 'He would throw hard objects at me. Then it was grabbing my arms, squeezing me and I would try to leave his house and he would be pulling me on to the ground, telling me I'm not leaving.' Jordan said she feared for her life when he assaulted her at seven months pregnant. 'He put his hands around my neck and choked me. 'He said, 'If you tell anybody about this, I will put your dad in the ground. I will kill your family dog. And if you think your brother is going to save him, he's not. I'll kill him too.' 'That sounds crazy but when someone's looking at you, who has pulled guns multiple times, and has this crazy switch, I believed him. 'He would say, "Go ahead, see if the cops will save you. While they are saving you, I'll go kill your family.'" 'What do you do in that situation? I didn't know what the right answer was.' On other occasions, he would bully her into silence. 'If I told him he could go to jail for hitting me, he would say, "You think the police are going to believe you? The hormonal pregnant girl over me? Go on, call them. That would be a hilarious story."' Jordan gave birth to their son, Charlie, on September 19, 2016. Although she hoped that his son's birth would improve Track and give him a reason to work on his issues, she and her son were soon in danger. 'I had just gone back to work so Charlie was maybe six or seven weeks old. I started caring about how I looked again and fitting into my old clothes. 'When I was pregnant I didn't do my hair or wear makeup, I just kind of gave up. 'I had curled my hair for work that day and put on makeup. I had come home straight from work after picking up Charlie and I was rocking him to sleep in his nursery. 'Track came in and saw my hair was curled and I was wearing makeup. He turned on the lights and said, 'Why do you look like that? Where did you go? What did you do today?' "Go ahead and give our son one more embarrassing headline to read when he grows up. Call the police, I dare you Text from Track Palin to Jordan Loewe 'I told him I just wanted to look good and feel good and that I was trying to put Charlie to sleep. 'He started screaming, "There's no way, who are you working with? Did someone get hired at your work? What did you do after work? What time did you leave work? Where did you go when you left work?" 'Charlie was now awake and screaming. I said I'm going to leave, I'm not doing this. 'He shoves me back down and tells me I'm not leaving. This is while I'm holding Charlie who is 8lb, he was really little. I was really scared because this is the first time he had pushed me while I'm holding Charlie. 'I stand up and dart for the door and he grabs me by the shoulders. He tells me I'm not leaving, I live here now and I need to grow up. 'He shoved me onto the floor and I didn't want to let a single hand off of Charlie, so I couldn't catch myself or anything, and I fall to the floor with Charlie in my arms 'I run to my car and set Charlie in the carrier and lock all the doors. I'm hiding in the backseat with him trying to get Track away from us. He's banging on the windows and throwing rocks at the car. 'I buckle Charlie in, climb into the front seat, start my car and go down the driveway. It was a gravel driveway so he's picking up handfuls of rocks and throwing them at my car. 'I'm a mile down the road and I see his car, his big F150 truck, behind me in my rear-view mirror and I don't know what to do. He's swerving into my lane as I'm getting on to the highway. 'He keeps swerving and I'm terrified we are going to get into an accident with my baby in the back seat, so I pull over. 'I have a text from Track which reads: "Go ahead and give our son one more embarrassing headline to read when he grows up. Call the police, I dare you." 'All I could think about was Charlie. Track was right I didn't want to call the police, I didn't want another blow up. I just sat there and cried. Finally, I drove to Anchorage and he followed me but eventually turned around.' Jordan said: 'That was when I finally left. My son's life was in danger so many times in that day. 'I don't know why it took that long but that was where I drew the line. I didn't care if I had to live in a box with my son - I'm not letting him live through this hell. 'Charlie's going to have a dead mom and a dad in prison if I don't leave. I felt that Track was going to kill me or kill both of us.' I know where you are, you're in your living room, and I can see you. If anyone comes into this driveway, they'll be shot. I don't care if they are a cop, your family, a friend Track Palin's call to his ex Jordan drove to her best friend's house that night and for the first time, told her in detail about the litany of the abuse. The friend confirmed Jordan's account to DailyMailTV. 'I had never told anyone the extent of his actions,' Jordan said. 'No one knew the truth of his violence. I felt things had gotten so bad that I didn't know how I would ever explain to someone how I got there.' Jordan stayed in Anchorage but the threats continued, one night in particular making her believe he was right outside. 'He said, "I know where you are, you're in your living room, and I can see you. If anyone comes into this driveway, they'll be shot. I don't care if they are a cop, your family, a friend." 'I don't know if he's being crazy, sitting at home or sitting outside my home with a gun. I was living in fear for a while. 'A couple of days later, I filed a restraining order. Track obeyed the order which I was so thankful for but since then, it's expired.' Jordan said that it was Charlie who gave her the strength to finally break out of the toxic cycle of her relationship. 'I attribute where I am right now to Charlie. He gave me the strength to leave. When my life was in danger that wasn't enough. I left when Charlie's life was in danger.' Following a custody case in court, Jordan was awarded full physical custody of Charlie and Track had supervised visits for four hours a week. Jordan said: 'The deal was he had to go to the classes for substance abuse and anger management, counselling, and have a psychological evaluation. He agreed to it. 'I said that once he had completed all of this, his visits with Charlie don't have to be supervised. 'He never did any of it - but he didn't ask to see Charlie once a week either. In 2017, I think he saw Charlie nine times when he could have seen him 52 times.' Jordan said that she is essentially raising Charlie as a single mother, both in physical care and financially. 'Track is supposed to pay me child support and he makes payments when he can afford it. I think a couple of months ago was my last check, I got $100 dollars.' She said that contact had been minimal and that she had hoped that his life had finally calmed down - until the alleged assault on his father. Changed: 'Just looking at how my life is now versus how I was living in pure hell, its crazy. I was living in denial. I was so brainwashed and trying so hard to keep him happy so that he didn't erupt,' Jordan Loewe told DailyMailTV Ongoing case: Jordan Loewe has applied for Track Palin's visitation rights to be curtailed after his alleged attack on his father Todd. The case wa ssealed by a judge and is ongoing Inspiration: 'I attribute where I am right now to Charlie. He gave me the strength to leave. When my life was in danger that wasn't enough. I left when Charlie's life was in danger.' Track Palin pleaded not guilty last week to assaulting his father, Todd, at the family's Wasilla home in December. The judge set Palin's trial for the week of February 26. Jordan applied to the court to change Track's visitation rights to their son after his alleged assault on his father. On December 28, Palin filed a motion in opposition to Jordan's attempt to take away his visitation. The court papers were sealed by a judge. 'I filed for a change in our custody because there has been a change in circumstances. Track filed in opposition, saying this event did not involve Charlie and me and he is still a fine and capable father. 'This isn't about Charlie, this is about Track being able to say he's a dad and he didn't lose custody.' Jordan credits her family, close friends and two years of intensive counselling to getting her where she is today. One of the people she is most grateful for is Britta Hanson, Track's ex-wife and mother of his daughter, six-year-old Kyla. Hanson also filed a protective order preventing Track from coming near her and Kyla. Palin is not allowed near Hanson's home, her daughter's school and is not able to call his ex or daughter. 'Britta has been a big help to me with everything I've had to go through. She was with Track for a long time. 'I don't want to speak to any of her experiences but as soon as everything happened with Track and I, she reached out and wanted to help. She's a great mom and Kyla is a great girl. That's Charlie's sister, so we keep in contact.' She added: 'Just looking at how my life is now versus how I was living in pure hell, its crazy. I was living in denial. I was so brainwashed and trying so hard to keep him happy so that he didn't erupt.' Palin was photographed exclusively by DailyMailTV in December carrying his belongings in a plastic bag as he returned to his home. He had spent five days in jail for the alleged domestic assault and was released on bail with electronic monitoring. However Jordan said there is still a part of her which looks over her shoulder. 'I do believe that Track could kill somebody and there is no doubt in my mind that if he was mad enough, he would come after me. It's always in the back of my head. 'I scan every room and store I walk into and watch my back. He's a dangerous and scary person and anything will set him off. 'That's a legitimate fear I have but I also try not to live in fear because I have to keep going and try to be happy.' She added: 'I just had hope that he'll turn around, he'll do better. He will see what a great son he has and that will motivate him. 'I want people to know and the best thing you can do is come forward and tell the truth. The truth will get you as far as you need to go.' Zinke acknowledged that there will be parts of the shelf where drilling isn't appropriate. It wasn't long after he unveiled the drilling proposal that he traveled to Florida and announced the state would be exempt from offshore oil and gas exploration. Some governors questioned why Florida received a carve-out so quickly. Democrats believe there were political considerations. Zinke indicated the decision was made after he spoke with Florida Gov. Rick Scott. Scott is a Republican and Trump won Florida in the 2016 election. Others have suggested the decision was made because Trump owns Mar-a-Lago, a resort in Palm Beach where he often spends weekends during the winter months. Zinke has said he plans to speak with governors of states that would be impacted by expanded drilling. Since the Florida exemption was announced, no other state has been excluded from the draft plan. In his letter, Cuomo compared New York to Florida and how the state's share of the Atlantic coast contributes to the economy. Most of the state residents, he noted, live along the coast. Recreation, shipbuilding, tourism and other sectors generate billions in economic activity each year and support hundreds of thousands of jobs. Authorities have seized 100 dogs from an Ohio woman's home where they were left to roam around with missing ligaments, lived with little food and water, and were made to walk on feces-lined floors. Bernice Robertson, was scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Athens County Municipal Court on a misdemeanor charge of cruelty against a companion animal. The charge against the 76-year-old alleges that she kept a large number of dogs at her residence and 'failed to provide veterinary care, failed to provide sufficient exchange of fresh air, failed to provide normal grooming and failed to clean fecal matter and urine from the dwelling'. County Dog Warden Mary Beth Brown said none of the dogs had life-threatening health problems despite living in squalid conditions. The home in Coolville was deemed uninhabitable by the Athens City-County Health Department last week after the warrant was executed. Authorities have seized 100 dogs (including one, pictured) from an Ohio woman's home where they were left to roam around with missing ligaments, lived with little food and water, and were made to walk on feces-lined floors Bernice Robertson, 76 (pictured), was arraigned on Friday on a misdemeanor charge of cruelty against a companion animal after many of the dogs were found to be living in squalid conditions According to The Athens News, Brown testified that she and law enforcement found that the floor was covered in feces and the smell of ammonia was so strong that they had to wear face masks. The temperature inside the home was 100 degrees and the dogs had multiple health conditions including missing ears, missing toes, eye injuries, skin conditions, and overgrown toenails, but none were life-threatening. Investigators said they found 17 dogs in cages without water and the rest loose in the home. 'They were not skinny, and had good body conditions, but some of them have injuries, and they have very poor skin condition,' Brown told the newspaper. 'They were very, very dirty.' Athens County Municipal Judge Todd Grace ordered a $20,000 bond in order to help the county pay for the costs of housing and caring for the seized dogs, which was calculated at about $1,000 per day for the 100 dogs, or $30,000 per month. The temperature inside the home (pictured) was 100 degrees and the dogs had multiple health conditions including missing ears, missing toes, eye injuries, skin conditions, and overgrown toenails, but none were life-threatening County Dog Warden Mary Beth Brown testified that she and law enforcement found that the floor was covered in feces and the smell of ammonia was so strong that they had to wear face masks (Pictured, a notice of condemnation on the house) Eliason explained that if Robertson doesn't post the cash deposit or the bond, the 'impounding agency' can determine what will happen to the dogs, unless the court issues an order that specifies otherwise. The idea is that the dogs who are being cleaned up, fed and having their medical issues taken care of at the Dog Shelter can be adopted out if that bond is not posted. Eliaon also testified that neighbors has reported seeing Robertson burying dead dogs. Brown said the conditions that the dogs were being kept in have been generating complaints for 'a few years'. In October, according to Brown, the Athens County Humane Society sponsored a spay-neuter clinic at Robertson's home, during which 43 dogs were spayed or neutered after initially only expecting to receive 18. The dogs were passed through the doorway, and the clinic's workers were not allowed inside the home. First Lady Melania and the rest of the Trump clan have been mercilessly trolled on social media for their Martin Luther King Day posts just days after the President's 's**thole' comments about immigrants. Melania and her husband's three eldest children - Ivanka, Don Jr and Eric - all took to Twitter Monday to post tributes in honor of the late civil rights leader. But those left reeling after Trump's comments last week when he expressed a preference for immigrants from countries like Norway have since questioned the family members' posts as they called for equality and justice. It started around the same time the President was arriving at his Florida golf club. Scroll down for video Eric Trump, his siblings Ivanka and Don Jr and First Lady Melania were trolled on social media for their Martin Luther King Day posts on Monday Eric Trump tweeted: 'Happy #MartinLutherKingJrDay! Hope you all have a wonderful day'. His post accompanied a photo of King with a transcript of his famous speech with the words: 'If you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward...' One Twitter user wrote an extra line for King's speech, saying: '...In order to eradicate the world of people like Eric Trump.' Another person responded: 'I don't know. It really doesn't have the same meaning coming from you. Huh? Kinda like an atheist wishing me Merry Christmas.' 'You too son of a monster. This is probably your first time mentioning his name,' someone else hit back, while another wrote: 'MLK would be ashamed of your family!!' 'Another Trump trying to appease the country with their fake honoring of MLK. We all know you don't give a damn about the black community or anything MLK stood for. In fact, your racist father is trying to take America back to where is was BEFORE Dr. King made it what it became,' one user commented. The First Lady said in her tweet that the US continually strives for 'equality and justice' nearly 50 years after King's assassination. 'Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & his service to this great country. I am honored to be First Lady of a nation that continually strives for equality & justice for all,' Mrs Trump wrote. The response was instant as Twitter users questioned whether Melania had spoken to Trump about her views. 'You might want to talk to your husband about equality and justice for all,' one person tweeted. Another wrote: 'Surely you can understand how empty your words appear when the current President acts with such blatant disregard toward people of colour and diversity.' 'Such a nice sentiment. If only you weren't married to a @Potus who is racist, and actively working to keep inequality and injustice alive and well in this country,' someone else tweeted. Ivanka tweeted: 'Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the world's great heroes. Today we donor his profound life and legacy. The backlash against her was swift. 'He would have HAAAAATED your family,' one person tweeted. Another asked Ivanka to remove her tweet: 'I'm gonna need you to remove this tweet. You and your family are exactly who #MLK and other civil rights heroes fought against. 'Please do not quote #MartinLutherKing today if you were silent about Donald Trump's racism last week,' one user wrote. Another tweeted: 'You may want to remind your dad to honor MLK instead of tweeting about himself before heading out to the golf course. 'Until you actively condemn your father's words and actions, you are complicit. You don't get to play both sides.' Melania and her husband's three eldest children - Ivanka, Don Jr and Eric - all took to Twitter Monday to post tributes in honor of the late civil rights leader Donald Jr. posted a photo of himself with MLK's niece Alveda King. He was called out for his choice of wording, which suggested that the late King himself was a Trump supporter. 'This picture bring back fond memories of when I had the honor of campaigning with Alveda King, niece of the great and amazing Trump supporter,' he wrote. One person hit back: 'The weird way he wrote this suggests he thinks #Martinlutherking was an 'amazing Trump supporter'.' 'When MLK said 'I have a dream', it wasn't your father he envisioned,' another wrote. Another wrote: '"This picture bring back...". Is this #S**tHole English or your own version of Trumplish?' Donald Jr. posted a photo of himself with MLK's niece Alveda King. He was called out for his choice of wording, which suggested that the late King himself was a Trump supporter The trolling comes after Trump made headlines last Thursday when he lashed out in a meeting with lawmakers about immigration reform, demanding to know why the US should accept citizens from what he called 's**thole' countries. He was speaking about people from Haiti, El Salvador and various African nations, people briefed on the meeting told the Washington Post. 'Why are we having all these people from s**thole countries come here?' Trump said. 'Why do we need more Haitians?... Take them out.' Trump spent the weekend denying he made the comments and clearing his name. The eldest son of Martin Luther King Jr called out Trump over the comments on Monday in Washington DC. 'When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don't even think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is,' Martin Luther King III said. 'We got to find a way to work on this man's heart.' A 96-year-old German convicted over his role in the murders of 300,000 people at the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland has filed a plea for clemency, a regional justice spokesman said today. Oskar Groening, known as the 'bookkeeper of Auschwitz', was sentenced to four years in prison in 2015 for being an accessory to murder at Auschwitz. He has not yet started his sentence due to a dispute about his health. In December, Germany's constitutional court ruled Groening must go to jail, rejecting arguments from his lawyers that imprisonment at his advanced age would violate his right to life. Scroll down for video Oskar Groening was known as the 'bookkeeper of Auschwitz' for his job counting cash taken from victims of the notorious camp in Poland during the Second World War. He is pictured here at his trial in 2015 SS Sergeant Oskar Groening - known as 'the bookkeeper of Auschwitz' - was on trial charged with complicity in the killing of 300,000 Jews at the Nazi extermination camp Christian Lauenstein, spokesman for the justice ministry in the northern state of Lower Saxony where the 2015 trial took place, said Groening's plea for clemency had been passed on to public prosecutors. He added: 'A plea for clemency does not have a delaying effect such as on starting the prison sentence.' The public prosecutor's office was not immediately available to comment. Groening's court battle was seen as one of the last major trials related to the Holocaust, during which some 6 million Jews were murdered by Adolf Hitler's regime. Oskar Groening, 96, was sentenced to four years in 2015 after being found guilty of being an accessory to the murder of 300,000 Jews in Auschwitz between May and June 1944 In December, Germany's constitutional court ruled Groening must go to jail, rejecting arguments from his lawyers that imprisonment at his advanced age would violate his right to life Prosecutors said Groening - who did not kill anyone himself while working at Auschwitz - had helped support the regime responsible for mass murder by sorting bank notes seized from trainloads of arriving Jews. Groening admitted he was morally guilty for the work he carried out at Auschwitz, which included sending bank notes he found in Jews' luggage to SS offices in Berlin, where they helped to fund the Nazi war effort. Although Groening did not kill anyone himself while working at Auschwitz, in Nazi-occupied Poland, he helped support the regime responsible for mass murder by sorting bank notes seized from trainloads of arriving Jews. He was an enthusiastic Nazi when he was sent to work at Auschwitz in 1942, at the age of 21. SS officer Oskar Groening was an enthusiastic Nazi when he was sent to work at Auschwitz in 1942, at the age of 21 He came to attention in 2005 after giving interviews about his work in the camp in an attempt to persuade Holocaust deniers that the genocide had taken place. Some six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust carried out under Adolf Hitler. Following his trial in 2015 Jewish groups and Holocaust survivors welcomed the four-year jail term given to the 'Bookkeeper of Auschwitz', saying there is 'no statute of limitation' for those who inflicted Nazi horrors during the Second World War. Dr Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress, said the verdict and trial had been of 'historic significance'. He said: 'Although more than 70 years have passed since the liberation of the Nazi death camps, this trial reminds us that there is no statute of limitations for those responsible for Nazi horrors and demonstrates the constant need to guard against anti-Semitism, racism and hate. 'We welcome the opportunity it provides for us to educate a generation that is all too distant from the horrors of the Holocaust.' Martin Luther King Jr.'s eldest son is calling out President Donald Trump following accusations the president railed against immigration from 's***hole' African countries during a meeting last week and expressed a preference for immigrants from countries like Norway. Martin Luther King III spoke in Washington on Monday, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. 'When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don't even think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is,' King said, referencing Trump's explosive reported comments from last week. Martin Luther King III,with his wife Arndrea Waters, and their daughter Yolanda, 9, during their visit to the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. The son of the late U.S. civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., and his family had earlier participated in an event commemorating the life and legacy of his father 'We got to find a way to work on this man's heart,' said King's eldest son. King made a comparison to George Wallace, who ran for office as a segregationist, promising to protect Albama's 'Anglo-Saxon people,' but expressed regret later in life if his views were taken for racism. Referring to former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, King added: 'George Wallace was a staunch racist and we worked on his heart and ultimately George Wallace transformed.' King's statement followd a Washington Post report that the president railed in an Oval Office meeting against immigration from 's***hole countries' in Africa, something the president and his allies later denied. Martin Luther King III compared Trump to Alabama Gov. George Wallace 'George Wallace was a staunch racist and we worked on his heart and ultimately George Wallace transformed,' said King. Wallace, right, is shown at the Governor's Mansion in Montgomery with a meeting between presidential hopeful Rev. Jesse Jackson in this July 21, 1987 photo Members of the University of the District of Columbia women's lacrosse team stop to take a group photo at the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) Martin Luther King III, right, with his wife Arndrea Waters, left, and their daughter Yolanda, 9, center, during their visit to the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. The son of the late U.S. civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., and his family had earlier participated in an event commemorating the life and legacy of his father. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) The Trump camp found support from another King family member, Dr. Alveda King. She told Fox and Friends over the weekend that Trump was not a racist. "Racism is just a word that is being bandied about and thrown... at the president unjustly," she said on the program. "President Trump is not a racist." President Donald Trump tweeted out a videotaped statement hailing Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of racial harmony President Donald Trump shakes hands after signing a proclamation during an event about Martin Luther King Jr. in the Roosevelt Room of the White House January 12, 2018 in Washington, DC She also tried to turn attention to some of the nation's Trump reportedly labeled 's***holes.' "Some of their own leaders have taken advantage of them," she said. As he continued to take fire for the Oval Office meeting, Trump on Monday tweeted out a videotaped statement hailing Dr. Martin Luther King's dream of racial harmony, just hours after declaring himself 'not a racist' in response to his reported comments in an immigration controversy. Trump's comments are interspersed with footage from King's 'I Have a Dream' speech and the March on Washington 'Dr. Kings dream is our dream. It is the American dream. Its the promise stitched into the fabric of our nation, etched into the hearts of our people, and written into the soul of human kind,' Trump said in the statement. His pre-recorded statements were interspersed with clips from the historic 1963 March on Washington and King's 'I Have a Dream' speech. 'It is the dream of a world where people are judged by who they are, not how they look or where they come from,' Trump said in a plain-spoken paraphrase of King's lofty rhetoric. Just hours earlier, Trump defended the content of his own character, when he told reporters at Mar-a-Lago: 'No, no, I'm not a racist.' He added: 'I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you.' Johnny Depp's former business managers have accused the A-lister of living off borrowed funds to support his $2 million-a-month lifestyle and are demanding he hand over his financial documents as proof, DailyMail.com can reveal. The actor had filed a $25 million lawsuit against former business managers Joel and Robert Mandel at The Management Group (TMG) last January, who he fired in 2016 after his new team allegedly discovered financial misconduct by the brothers. Depp, 54, accused TMG of negligence and fraud for failing to pay his taxes on time - resulting in $5.6 million in tax penalties and interest - loaning out $10 million of his money to third parties without his permission and keeping sloppy financial records. TMG fired back and claimed Depp lived beyond his means, shelling out $2 million-a-month for his exuberant lifestyle while knowingly choosing 'to live in debt'. Now, TMG is demanding that Depp hand over any documents for loans he has received that are more than $5,000, according to papers filed in a Los Angeles court last week. Johnny Depp is accused of supporting his $2 million-a-month lifestyle through loans, claims his former business managers at The Management Group (TMG) Depp filed a $25 million lawsuit against Joel and Robert Mandel at TMG last January, who he fired in 2016 after his new team allegedly discovered financial misconduct by the brothers (pictured together) TMG says the documents are relevant because Depp 'falsely alleges' TMG took out loans without his knowledge. They also claim Depp is lying that he didn't know about the loans because he signed every loan he received while TMG was working for him. The firm claims that Depp uses the borrowed money to maintain his lifestyle, which consists of multiple homes, an $18 million luxury yacht, as well as dropping $30,000 a month on fancy wine and having a fleet of at least 45 luxury vehicles. Other costs included Depp's full-time staff of 40 employees, costing him $300,000 per month, $150,000 on 24/7 security for himself and his two children, a Gulfstream GV which sets him back $200,000 every month and the $4 million he put up to fund a friend's independent music label, Unison. However, Depp is refusing the request that would reveal his financial position and claims the loan documents aren't relevant to the case. He insists that if he had to take out loans it doesn't prove that he chooses to live an extravagant lifestyle as alleged, but rather he was forced into this situation due to TMG failing to properly manage his finances for 17 years. TMG believes the documents Depp won't fork over will prove he is living on borrowed money and could show the actor knowingly chooses to live in debt rather than reduce his over-the-top lifestyle. TMG claims that Depp used the borrowed money to maintain his lifestyle, which consists of 14 homes, an $18 million luxury yacht (pictured) and dropping $30,000 a month on fancy wine The Management Group filed in November to force a sale of Depp's properties - all of which are in Los Angeles - in order to cover the $5 million loan TMG says it gave the actor in December 2012. Pictured: One of Depp's home in Los Angeles In December, Depp's lawyer said TMG has 'chosen to employ a reprehensible "blame the victim" strategy in a transparent attempt to save their own skin and deflect away from their malfeasance.' The statement continues: 'Mr. Depp did not sue his former business managers for his own personal investment decisions or the "financial distress" they wildly allege - Mr. Depp sued them for fraud and multiple breaches of their fiduciary duty, among other claims. 'Gaslighting the public with global press releases will not save the defendants in court from their gross misconduct set forth in the complaint.' Depp filed his $25 million lawsuit after claiming he discovered that he had been a victim of 'gross misconduct at the hands of TMG' according to the original filing in January of last year. The actor claims he learned this shortly after he left TMG, who he had been with since just before his career took off in 1999, with the already A-list star becoming the highest-paid actor in the world following the success of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise. This alleged misconduct was detailed later in the complaint, and included the more than $28 million in contingency fees TMG paid itself without any written agreement from Depp; a $5.6 million fine that the actor incurred when TMG failed to file his federal taxes on time; and a $10 million loan made by TMG to a third party using their client's money without his consent. The Mandel brothers have said in court papers that 'Depp, and Depp alone, is fully responsible for any financial turmoil he finds himself in today.' Depp is reportedly also suffering fiscally from his divorce from Amber Heard (pictured together in 2016), which he had to fork over $7 million to the actress last year Meanwhile, Depp has been unloading some of his properties, as reports say he is $40 million in debt. In November, he sold the final unit of his five penthouses for $1.425 million, having originally listed all five as one listing of $12.78 million. In the end, the five units - which totaled a combined 11,500 square feet of space - were each sold separately, bringing in $10.88 million, around $2 million under the collective asking price. Depp is also suffering fiscally from his divorce from Amber Heard last year, and was said to be facing selling his other LA properties in order to pay back his debts. After a convoluted and bitter battle, the couple settled on $7 million which Amber donated to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union. Despite getting rid of the five LA apartments, Depp is now set to lose a further five of his other homes as his former business managers at TMG attempt to have the actor repay the massive loan owed to them. The Management Group filed in November to force a sale of Johnny's properties - all of which are in Los Angeles - in order to cover the $5 million loan TMG says it gave the actor in December 2012. RAF crews took out ISIS terrorists using drones in Syria for the first time - as Gavin Williamson warned the jihadis will be 'totally destroyed'. British pilots killed several extremists using the remote-controlled aircraft, which have been used to carry out reconnaissance and bombing raids on innocent Syrians. In a direct warning to terrorists, the Defence Secretary said they have nowhere to hide and the UK would fight until their poisonous global network is destroyed. His comments came as the Ministry of Defence declared approximately 130 UK-linked nationals have now been killed in the fighting in the region. In a direct warning to terrorists, the Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (pictured in Iraq earlier this month) said they have nowhere to hide and the UK would fight until their poisonous global network is destroyed. He said: As the threats we face rapidly evolve and intensify, the work our brave Armed Forces do is paramount to our security at home and abroad. We have been clear that Daesh terrorists have nowhere to hide and we will continue to fight until their poisonous global network is totally destroyed. ISIS terrorists on the back-foot in Syria have increasingly turned towards using drones to spy on ground forces. They have also armed them with grenades in an attempt to kill and maim troops on the ground. The MoD said last Thursday British drone pilots took out a fanatic who was spotted on a rooftop controlling a drone used to locate local ground forces and kill them. A Reaper drone was deployed again to eliminate a terrorist drone team launching a quadcopter from a rooftop just days later. Then on Sunday, a Reaper spotted the third terrorist drone team in a week, and fired a Hellfire missile on extremists hiding in a building. A Hellfire was directed accurately through the window, eliminating the Daesh drone operator, the MoD said in a statement. An MoD statement said: The threat Daesh pose is constantly evolving and the terrorists are increasingly using drones on the battlefield, with RAF and coalition aircraft striking three terrorist drone teams this week alone. Britains Reaper drones are operated by pilots based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire and at a US air base. A Reaper drone (pictured) was deployed in Syria to eliminate a terrorist drone team launching a quadcopter from a rooftop just days later Last year military commanders claimed victory against IS in Iraq, but the US-led coalition is continuing the battle against the militants in Syria. RAF aircraft have carried out around 1,700 strikes against Daesh in Iraq and Syria since 2014. Last week Russia warned extremists had developed the ability to carry out hi-tech attacks using unmanned weapons in any country. The Russian military said it had thwarted a massive attack by 13 drones launched by jihadists against its bases in Syria. But they said it was the first time terrorists had applied a massed drone aircraft attack launched at a range of more than 30 miles using modern GPS guidance systems. Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an ex-British army officer and chemical weapons adviser operating in Syria, said it needed to be a wake up call for Britain to develop counter-measures. A southern Missouri teacher has been arrested for allegedly having sex with one of her male students. Elizabeth Morgan, 30, is charged with felony sexual contact over accusations she had sexual contact with a teen at Lebanon High School, KOLR reports. Lebanon police were first alerted to the accusations on January 5, after the school launched an investigation into claims she was having an inappropriate relationship with one of her students. Elizabeth Morgan, 30, is charged with felony sexual contact over accusations she had sexual contact with a teen Cops interviewed the student and spoke to witnesses. They also reviewed texts and social media and say they found evidence of a sexual relationship. Morgan was arrested on Friday, but was released the same day after she posted $5,000 bond. An attorney is not yet listed for her. Lebanon R-III school district did not respond to DailyMail.com's requests for comment. This is the latest in a string of sex scandals involving female teachers and their students. Morgan, a teacher at Lebanon High School, Missouri, was accused of having a sexual relationship with a male student A former Texas English teacher was accused of having a sexual relationship with her 16-year-old student on Wednesday. Marisela Mendoza Winn, 39, of McAllen was charged with improper relationship between educator and student on Wednesday, according to the criminal complaint. Winn posted bond and was released but has been placed on administrative leave from IDEA McAllen Public School. Dozens more have been charged with having inappropriate relations with students in recent months at schools all over the US. A 30-year-old Delaware drug addict was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday, after admitting to killing her eight-month-old son. Casey Layton pleaded guilty to first-degree murder by neglect in court on Friday, in connection to the 2015 death of her son Aiden. The boy was just three months old in May 2015, when paramedics were called to the boy's home in Harbeson because he was allegedly having a seizure and was unresponsive. He was rushed to Beebe Medical Center in Lewes where doctors determined that he was suffering from a severe head injury and multiple broken bones. Casey Layton, 30 (left), pleaded guilty to first-degree murder by neglect in Delaware court on Friday, in connection to the death of her son Aiden (right) Doctors discovered that not only was the malnourished boy suffering a partial skull and clavicle fracture, a broken leg and wrist, and several fractured ribs - there were signs that he was recovering from previous fractures, according to court documents. The blood vessels in the back of his eyes had also hemorrhaged and an E Coli blood infection had spread to his brain. Little Aiden was airlifted to Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in critical condition, and spent the next five months on life support before dying in September of that year. Aiden's death was ruled a homicide due to 'massive brain injuries caused by abusive head trauma'. Layton (left) initially told investigators that she saw the boy's father, Doyle Hundley (right), slam her son down in his bassinet the night he was taken to the hospital Layton and the boy's father, 39-year-old Doyle J. Hundley, were arrested in February 2016 and charged with first-degree murder by abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. Hundley pleaded guilty in May to murder by neglect but has not yet been sentenced. At the time, Layton told investigators that on the night Aiden was hospitalized, she woke up to a noise and found Hundley in the bedroom holding their son. He allegedly told her that he had tripped and 'Aiden may have hit his head and leg'. Layton says she went to call police and saw Hundley 'slam' Aiden down in his bassinet before running over and jumping on top of her. Hundley (left, with Layton) pleaded guilty to the same charge in May but has not been sentenced 'He began strangling her until she could not breathe,' court documents stated. 'Casey states that [Hundley] told her that he would kill her and the kids if she told anyone that he hurt Aiden.' Hundley gave a different version of events to police. He says he tripped on a duffel bag and Aiden fell into his bassinet as a result, and that he may have landed on the baby's left side. But he says this accident happened weeks before the baby's hospitalization. Layton also said that she had left Aiden in Hundley's care for a period of several days just before the boy's hospitalization. Layton herself was hospitalized at Beebe Hospital for abdominal pain from April 28 to May 1. While Layton was in the hospital, Hundley allegedly complained to several people that Aiden would not stop crying and that he was 'struggling to care' for the boy. The couple both dealt with drug addictions that saw their baby boy hospitalized for 26 days just after he was born Both Layton and Hundley were longtime heroin addicts, and their son was hospitalized for 26 days at his birth because he was addicted to the drugs his mother was taking during her pregnancy. Babies born addicted to drugs cry more than healthy babies. And comforting Aiden would have been difficult since it would have been painful for the boy to be picked up due to his injuries. Aiden's death inspired lawmakers to draft a bill - titled 'Aiden's Law' - that would require the state to more closely monitor drug addict moms. Many were outraged since Layton tested positive for drugs and was under investigation at the time of Aiden's birth and subsequent hospitalization, yet she was able to leave with the boy at the end of his stay without challenge. Aiden's Law did not pass in 2016 but it was recently reintroduced. It has not come up for a vote yet. At the time of Aiden's hospitalization, Layton and Hundley also had another two-year-old boy in their care, who was taken out of their home and placed with child protective services. Grzabel was given unconditional bail until his trial set for June 18 A sixth passenger, who was aged 37 at the time, survived the crash Five Romanian nationals were killed when a HGV ploughed into their car Lorry driver, Zbigniew Grzabel leaves Stafford Crown Court after being charged with five counts of causing death by dangerous driving when his lorry collided with another car on the M6 near Stafford A Polish lorry driver today denied causing the deaths of five people in a horrific motorway crash. Zbigniew Grzabel, 61, also denied causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a collision between a truck and car on the M6, near Stafford, on May 24 last year. Four women and a man, all Romanian nationals, were killed when a Mercedes HGV ploughed into their Nissan Micra at 4.30am. Nissan driver Marius Zevian, 45, along with passengers Cucoana Zevian, 49, Gheorghita Radu, 56, Nicoleta-Marinela Florea, 42, and Marcela Sandu, 34, died. A sixth passenger, who was aged 37 at the time, survived the crash. The victims, from Stoke-on-Trent, were on their way to work when the crash happened on the southbound carriageway between junction 14 and 15. Two ambulances, two fire crews, a paramedic officer, a MERIT trauma doctor and two emergency doctors were sent to the scene. Four women and a man, all Romanian nationals, were killed when a Mercedes HGV ploughed into their Nissan Micra at 4.30am on May 24 last year Aerial view of the crash scene on the M6 in Staffordshire on May 24, 2017. Five people, all Romanian nationals were killed and another was seriously injured Grzabel was charged with five counts of causing death by dangerous driving when his lorry collided with another car on the M6 near Stafford on the 24th May 2017 Grzabel, of Tipton, West Midlands, was charged with five counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing injury by dangerous driving. Appearing at Stafford Crown Court today with a Polish interpreter, he spoke only to confirm his name, age and address and enter his pleas during the 24-minute hearing. Grzabel, wearing a black suit, was given unconditional bail and ordered to appear before the same court on June 18 for trial. The collision, which occurred at around 4.30am in the morning, involved a HGV lorry and a car The remains of the Nissan Micra after five people died in a collision in May last year Five people in the Nissan Micra car were pronounced dead at the scene while a man in his 40s was rushed to hospital with 'multiple serious injuries' Rescue crews, including two ambulances, a paramedic and three doctors, dashed to the scene of the crash which happened between junctions 14 and 15 in Seighford, Staffshire Judge Martin Butterworth said: 'Your trial will is going to be on June 18. 'You have obligations before then, in particular to provide a defence statement by March 21. 'If that is not sufficiently detailed it may count against you in trial. 'You must attend your trial, and if you do not you will have committed a criminal offence and you will be tried in your absence and your advocates may withdraw. 'I renew your bail with the same conditions are before. 'That's the conclusion of your hearing and you may leave the dock.' A fraudster dubbed 'The Black Widow' who is accused of poisoning four wealthy lovers appeared in a French court today. Patricia Dagorn, 57, faces life in prison if found guilty of murdering two of her former flames while trying to extort their fortunes. Dagorn, who is French and has a degree in law, was given the 'Black Widow' title by those who survived her attacks. Patricia Dagorn, 57, dubbed 'The Black Widow', faces life in prison if found guilty of murdering two of her former flames while trying to extort their fortunes Until the death of her husband she lived a conventional middle-class life with their son and insists she just wanted to settle down with a widower like her. But on Monday morning she was driven to court from a prison cell in Nice where she is serving five years for theft, fraud and sequestration. That conviction relates to an attack on 87-year-old Robert Mazereau, who had agreed to let Dagorn live with him in exchange for regular sex. After seducing Mazereau and plying him with alcohol, Dagorn is said to have administered large quantities of medicine to him, including Valium and methadone. Following the ordeal - which he survived - Mazereau told police: 'Three months of love almost cost me my life.' Now Dagorn is involved in a week long criminal trial in Nice relating to the mysterious death of Michel Kneffel, 64, whose body was found in a hotel in the city in July 2011, and Francesco Filippone, 85, who died nearby in the same year. Nice prosecutor Jean-Michel Pretre said outside court that Dagorn was 'great manipulator and seductress' who faked 'empathy towards these men, establishing a confiding relationship, taking money, and ending by arranging their disappearance.' Enquiries by detectives uncovered notes Dagorn was keeping on up to 20 men, including their bank account details and health records. Filippone's decomposing body was found in a bath at a villa in the town of Mouans-Sartoux near Cannes in February 2011. Dagorn cashed an 18,000 cheque signed by Filippone at around the same time. But her counsel said she had never harmed Kneffel or Filippone, with defence barrister Cedric Huissoud saying 'she is eager to explain herself in court'. Dagorn faces two charges of 'causing death by poisoning', and four of administering potentially lethal substances to vulnerable people with premeditation Mr Huissoud said: 'We have five days to demonstrate that, beyond the suspicions, beyond the sulphurous side that people wanted to give this affair, the evidence in the case is sorely lacking.' Dagorn is said to have targeted selected octogenarians through dating agencies and small adds in newspapers, asking them if she could be named in their wills after just a few dates. In some cases, according to prosecution documents, she stole private papers, and also accused some of her victims of raping her. Among those due to testify against Dagorn in court were Ange Pisciotta, 82, and Robert Vaux, 91, who lived with the defendant in picturesque resort of Frejus in 2012. Dagorn faces two charges of 'causing death by poisoning', and four of administering potentially lethal substances to vulnerable people with premeditation. She denies any wrongdoing and the trial is expected to conclude on Friday. HPV is short for human papillomavirus. HPVs are a large group of related viruses. HPV is divided into two main groups: Low-risk: Some types of HPV can cause warts (papillomas) on or around the genitals and anus of both men and women. Women may also have warts on the cervix and in the vagina. Because these HPV types rarely cause cancer, they are called low-risk viruses. High-risk: Other types of HPV are called high-risk because they can cause cancer in both men and women. Doctors worry more about the cell changes and pre-cancers linked to these types, because theyre more likely to grow into cancers over time. Common high-risk HPV types include HPV 16 and 18. Infection with HPV is very common. In most people, the body is able to clear the infection on its own. But sometimes, the infection doesnt go away. Chronic, or long-lasting infection, especially when its caused by certain high-risk HPV types, can cause cancer over time. Three adults were found dead at a home in Los Angeles County Saturday in what police believe to be a triple homicide. Police responded to a home in Palmdale, California at about 3.50pm Saturday after a sister of one of the victims called about a welfare check on one of the residents, according to a news release. Upon entering the home deputies immediately spotted a man lying dead. In another room they found two more victims, another man and a woman. Scroll down for video Police responded to a home in Palmdale, California at about 3.50pm Saturday after a sister of one of the victims called about a welfare check on one of the residents (pictured are authorities rolling out one of the three dead bodies) Upon entering the home deputies immediately spotted a man lying dead. In another room they found two more victims, another man and a woman (pictured are authorities rolling out one of the three dead bodies) The victims haven't been positively identified, but are thought to be a father, the home's owner, the man's son and his daughter-in-law, who are both in their 50s (pictured are authorities rolling out one of the three dead bodies) The victims matched the description of the people who live in the home, but according to police, but a positive identification is pending so the identities haven't been released. Police believe the victims are a father, the home's owner, and the man's son and his daughter-in-law, who are both in their 50s, Lieutenant John Corina told KTLA. The victims' all exhibited signs of trauma to their bodies, but cause of death has yet to be determined, police said. Police don't yet have a description of the suspected murderer, and anyone with information is urged to call the department's homicide bureau. Theresa May launched her parliamentary bid to allow Britain's first commercial flights into the cosmos - but was blasted after it emerged she has not yet appointed a new Space Minister. MPs debated the Government's new Space Bill today which if passed will allow the creation of a network of 'spaceports' to be built across the UK. This will allow private companies to launch rockets which carry normal people out of the Earth's atmosphere and into galaxy beyond. Ministers say the Bill will put rocket boosters on the Government's plans to ensure Britain stays at the forefront of the space industry. But the PM was today accused of having a 'black hole' in the heart of her plans after it emerged she has not yet appointed a new Space Minister after her Cabinet reshuffle last week. Jo Johnson (pictured in the Commons today) had been the Space Minister as part of his brief at the Business Department where he took the lead on the sciences but the PM has not yet appointed a replacement or said if he will continue in the role Jo Johnson had been the Space Minister as part of his brief at the Business Department where he took the lead on the sciences. Chi Onwurah, Labour's shadow business minister who lead on space for the party, told Mail Online: 'Is there no space for space?' (file pic) But he was moved to the Transport department last week and a spokesman for the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) told Mail Online the ministerial responsibilities have not been fully dished out yet. It means that while the Space Bill hits the House of Commons for debate today there is no specific Space Minister to steer it through. Chi Onwurah, Labour's shadow business minister who lead on space for the party, told Mail Online: 'Is there no space for space? 'I can only assume that given the black hole at the heart of the Prime Minister's authority she has forgotten the existence of the rest of the universe and the contribution it can make to our economy.' Mr Johnson opened the debate on the Bill by saying the UK is determined to have 10 per cent of the space sector by 2030. He said the space industry and satellites in particular are crucial to keeping people in Britain safe. What is the #SpaceIndustryBill? MPs will be debating it later today. https://t.co/qkINff4Kww pic.twitter.com/v4A234mBw3 UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) January 15, 2018 He said: 'We want to move forward on many fronts and this Bill will allow us to capture some of the opportunities which are out there for Britain's space sector.' The Bill will create a regulatory framework to enable commercial spaceflights to be carried out at a series of ports across Britain. Meanwhile, the House of Commons was so excited about the Bill debate that it tweeted a video plugging the legislation which was designed to look like the opening credits from Star Wars. Mark Wayne Thompson, 50 of Pitkin in Vernon Parish pleaded guilty to burning mail A postal worker from Louisiana has pleaded guilty to burning at least 20 tubs of mail at his home over the course of six months. Mark Wayne Thompson, 50, pleaded guilty to the destruction of mail by a postal employee. Instead of delivering the post along his rural route Thompson took everything back to his home in Elmer and burnt it between December 2016 and May 2017. He estimated that he burned at least 20 tubs of mail. Thompson now faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentencing is in April. The man who was filmed slapping Harvey Weinstein at an Arizona restaurant last week has his own colorful and criminal past. Steve Salamone has found himself in the courtroom a number of times in the past seven years DailyMail.com has learned, including just four days before he made his friends film the moment he barely landed two backhanded pats on Weinstein as the disgraced mogul exited Elements at the Sanctuary on Camelback in Scottsdale. He appeared in Scottsdale City Court on January 5 to be arraigned on charges of driving with a suspended license and failure to provide evidence of financial responsibility for his motor vehicle. Salamone - who has held a number of jobs including window washer and part time personal trainer - is best known among Scottsdale locals, however, for an incident in 2012 though when he was charged with shoplifting and theft after he stole a bicycle from outside a Tommy Bahama store. Scroll down for video The slap: Steve Salamone (above) is the man who was caught on video slapping Harvey Weinstein at an Arizona restaurant last week Whack-stein: The father, who in 2012 proclaimed himself a 'rattlesnake whisperer,' has a lengthy criminal record and served five years in prison for theft in the 90s Tommy boy: Salamone was arrested for shoplifting and theft in 2012 after he stole a beach cruiser from outside a Tommy Bahama store (1997 mugshot left, 2012 right) His grab and dash was a matter of much public interest due to a Fox 10 segment that had aired weeks prior in which Salamone, 46, dubbed himself the 'rattlesnake whisperer' after managing to capture one of the reptiles with his bare hands. And it was not his first time being charged with theft and robbery, with a 1990 arrest landing him in jail for five years per Arizona prison records. Salamone was released in July 1996 according to state records, and other than a 2010 citation for not wearing his life jacket on a boat appears to have stayed out of legal trouble for the next 15 years. That all changed in 2012 though, with Scottsdale City Court records showing that Salamone was picked up by police after trying to sell the beach cruiser, with a member of the force responding to the ad he placed on CraigsList. Salamone was looking to get $1,000 for the Bahamas bike on the website, despite the fact that it was listed as being valued at over $2,500 in the complaint. When confronted by police, Salamone claimed that the bicycle had been given to him by an individual who owed him money for a window washing job and had agreed to let him take the money from the sale in exchange for his work. Court records show that this claim fell apart when an eyewitness and store employee both identified Salamone as the thief. He managed to work out a plea that saw him plead guilty to shoplifting and theft, both of which are Class 5 felonies in Arizona. Salamone received three years of probation for the shoplifting and six months behind bars for the theft in his plea, with one condition of his probation being that he not leave the state without the approval of a parole officer. He did however leave the state, and in October 2014 his probation was extended as a result. All the wrong moves: He served six months in prison on that charge and three years probation, which was extended after he left the state without prior approval (2010 left, 2013 right) Gellin' like a felon: Salamone was indicted for driving with a suspended or revoked license on January 5, four days before the Weinstein incident Supportive: He has an ex-wife and two children with two other women, one of whom has claimed he owes her $60,000 in child support (2014 left, 2016 right) Salamone is no longer on probation or parole and Weinstein has not filed charges after the slapping stunt. He is also on the hook for child support, with records showing he owes money to multiple women. One told 12 News that the amount she is owed tops $60,000, but that amount could not be confirmed. Salamone did not have any children with ex-wife Rosaide, whom he divorced in 2005, just one year after the pair became the owners of a $385,000 house in Corona, California according to property records. It was the evening of January 9 when Salamone walked up to Weinstein as he was leaving Elements restaurant at the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort in Scottsdale, and claimed to have punched him twice. Video of the incident - which a source told DailyMail.com was at one point being shopped around for $100,000 - showed a much different story, however, revealing that Weinstein was actually slapped in the face. Salamone could be seen laughing while he hit Weinstein, who wore a black beanie hat and soiled grey shirt for his night out at the restaurant. A lodger trying to rent out his London room pulled no punches in his SpareRoom advert - describing it as a 'cramped sh*thole in E1'. But despite the very up-front opening gambit, Raphael gives his Whitechapel flat and housemates a fair hearing. The tenant, who is leaving the capital, wrote that it is a 'Large room with double bed and built-in wardrobe'. A lodger trying to rent out his London room pulled no punches in his SpareRoom advert - describing it as a 'cramped sh*thole in E1' He continues enthusiastically: 'Current tenants are British, Italian, and New Zealander, including a student, an accountant, a chef, a waitress, and a junior banker!' The flat is a stone's throw away from three tube stations and Raphael clarifies that 'ABSOLUTELY ALL bills' are included in the 660 per month offer. Though the room looks rather compact, the property comes with a washing machine, gas cooker and fully-fitted kitchen. But despite the very up-front opening gambit, Raphael gives his Whitechapel flat and housemates a fair hearing The tenant, who is leaving the capital, wrote that it is a 'Large room with double bed and built-in wardrobe' He continues enthusiastically: 'Current tenants are British, Italian, and New Zealander, including a student, an accountant, a chef, a waitress, and a junior banker!' It is possible that the advertiser decided to capitalise on Donald Trump's alleged use of the term 'sh*thole' to describe African nations during a meeting last week It is possible that the advertiser decided to capitalise on Donald Trump's alleged use of the term 'sh*thole' to describe African nations during a meeting last week. He is said to have used the term at the Oval Office while discussing immigration reform. Raphael is hoping to have filled his room by January 31. Riina Elisabeth Sjogren, 38, (pictured) was last seen at a tram stop in the centre of Edinburgh on Tuesday, January 9 There is 'increasing concern' for the welfare of a female Finnish tourist who disappeared a week ago, police have said. Riina Elisabeth Sjogren, 38, was last seen at a tram stop in the centre of Edinburgh on Tuesday, January 9. The Finnish tourist had bought a plane ticket at Edinburgh Airport earlier that day but then took a tram into the city where she was seen at York Place at around 10.20pm. Riina is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, of medium build with long dark brown hair and wears glasses. When last seen she was wearing dark trousers, and a blue cardigan with a red or pink top underneath and a black and white scarf. A friend of missing Finnish tourist Riina Elisabeth Sjogren said they had no idea that she was visiting Scotland. They thought the teacher from Helsinki was going for a holiday in London before she was reported missing in Edinburgh last week. When last seen she was wearing dark trousers, and a blue cardigan with a red or pink top underneath and a black and white scarf Close friend Marjo Moilanen, 38, said: 'Everybody is so worried. I've known Riina since we were just six years old. 'We found out on Wednesday last week that she is missing. It's a mystery. We don't know anything other than what the police have said. 'We thought she was going to London for a holiday by herself. She lived there and worked at a hotel a few years ago. 'We don't know what she was doing in Edinburgh. I hope that she is okay and that we will find her.' Police said they established that Riina visited Edinburgh Castle on the evening of Monday, January 8, and that she left a number of her belongings at the airport. Riina is described as white, 5ft 3ins tall, of medium build with long dark brown hair and wears glasses Officers are growing increasingly concerned for her welfare and continue to ask anyone with information to come forward in the effort to find the tourist. Chief Inspector Alan Carson from Edinburgh Division said: 'It has now been a week since Riina was last seen and I am eager to hear from anyone who has seen her since this time. 'We know she alighted the tram at York Place from the airport at around 10.20pm last Tuesday but since then she has not been in contact with family or friends. 'I would ask anyone who has seen Riina, or who knows of her whereabouts, to contact us immediately.' Those with information are asked to contact us via 101, quoting incident number 3748 of 9 January. The body of a murdered California woman has been found dumped in her car just days after her younger sister was killed in an unrelated wrong way crash. Karen Garcia's body was found in her car in a Marshall's parking lot in Woodland on Sunday afternoon as police named her ex-boyfriend as the prime suspect in her murder. The 21-year-old had been reported missing on January 9 - two days after her 19-year-old sister Jessica died in a car crash on her way home from Denny's with a group of friends. Karen Garcia's body was found in her car in a Marshall's parking lot in Woodland on Sunday afternoon as police named her ex-boyfriend as the prime suspect in her murder The body of Karen Garcia, 21, was found dumped in a car in Woodland, California on Sunday. Her ex-boyfriend Salvador Garcia Jr, who she shares a daughter with, has been named as a suspect (they are all pictured above) Family had initially believed the mother-of-one's disappearance was related to the recent death of her sister, saying the tragic news was 'probably just so hard for her'. But when police searched her home where she had last been seen, they found evidence that she had been killed. Police named Garcia's ex-boyfriend Salvador Garcia Jr as a suspect on Monday. The victim's ex-boyfriend spoke to media last week when she disappeared, saying they had known each other since they were in third grade and had dated for nine years before they mutually ended their relationship this year. They have a two-year-old daughter named Ariana together and Garcia Jr. said the couple had remained friends for the sake of the toddler. Police named Garcia's ex-boyfriend Salvador Garcia Jr as a suspect on Monday. Last week, he told media they had dated for nine years but separated this year. He said they remained friends for the sake of their daughter Family had initially believed the mother-of-one's disappearance was related to the recent death of her sister, saying the tragic news was 'probably just so hard for her' Karen Garcia's body was found in her car (pictured above) in a Marshall's parking lot in Woodland on Sunday afternoon He told the Sacramento Bee that Karen was 'the sweetest person you'll ever meet' and a great mother. The Garcia family are still reeling from the death of 19-year-old Jessica Garcia (pictured) who died in a car crash on her way home from Denny's with a group of friends on January 7 'She loves her family,' he said. 'She's one of the most upbeat people you'll ever meet.' 'I've never had to go through anything like this, I don't know how to react to it,' he said prior to being named a suspect. 'Everyone's been telling me to stay strong for my daughter.' The Garcia family had still been struggling with the death of Jessica when they learned of Karen's death at the weekend. Jessica was one of six people killed when a female driver entered an off ramp to head the wrong way down Interstate 5 on January 9. The crash is not in anyway related to the murder case involving Karen Garcia. Authorities said anyone with information on the whereabouts of Salvador Garcia is encouraged to contact the Colusa Police Department. The husband of a British woman found dead in Marbella was arrested last night over a six-figure fraud. Paul Muldoon, 33, faces extradition over an alleged scam in which OAPs were conned into investing in dodgy green energy bundles. A body found on a beach in the Spanish resort on Sunday was believed to be that of his wife Rebecca, a mother of two. Paul Muldoon, 33, (pictured with wife Rebecca) faces extradition over an alleged scam in which OAPs were conned into investing in dodgy green energy bundles A body found on a beach in the Spanish resort on Sunday was believed to be that of his wife Rebecca, a mother of two On New Years Day, Muldoon had been arrested at their penthouse flat over allegations of domestic abuse after neighbours heard shouting and screaming. But he was released by a judge when Mrs Muldoon, 35, did not attend a hearing to give evidence against him and could not be traced. Officials confirmed Essex-born Muldoon was still in custody when his wife went missing. Before his arrest last night, he was one of the countrys most wanted fraudsters and had been on the run for at least a year. He was detained by Spanish police after they summoned him to a meeting yesterday evening. Muldoon faces extradition to England where detectives want to speak to him about a boiler room fraud involving the supposed sale of rare earth metals five years ago. He and a gang of accomplices are accused of promising extraordinary returns for investments in rare metal compounds used to make LEDs and lasers. On New Years Day, Muldoon had been arrested at their penthouse flat over allegations of domestic abuse after neighbours heard shouting and screaming They occupied a virtual office in Canary Wharf and used Coutts, the Queens bank, to give their activities an air of prestige. But clients complained they were duped out of huge sums. One customer, an 83-year-old widow, claimed she handed over 235,000 for precious metals, diamonds and even plots of land in Brazil. But he was released by a judge when Mrs Muldoon, 35, did not attend a hearing to give evidence against him and could not be traced Mrs Muldoon, originally from Southend-on-Sea, is believed to have met her husband several years ago before they embarked on a life of luxury in New York, Los Angeles and Spain. Online photos show them posing against the Manhattan skyline. Muldoon also appears in a selfie with former England boss Sam Allardyce and posted an image of Michael Douglas as the Wall Street film character Gordon Gekko. The couple, who married in the US, recently settled with her two children, aged eight and 11, in Camino del Pinar an area of Marbella popular with expats. Mrs Muldoon was last seen on January 2, less than 24 hours after her husband had been arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse. Muldoon faces extradition to England where detectives want to speak to him about a boiler room fraud involving the supposed sale of rare earth metals five years ago - one customer claimed she handed over 235,000 She spent most of the evening of New Years Day at a police station after officers were called by a neighbour. But she declined to press charges and failed to answer a court summons as part of a swift justice procedure. Friends circulated messages online in a bid to trace her, as relatives flew in from Essex to take care of her children. The couple, who married in the US, recently settled with her two children, aged eight and 11, in Camino del Pinar an area of Marbella popular with expats A walker alerted the emergency services after finding a body on Oasis Beach on Sunday morning. Spanish police said the body appears to be that of Mrs Muldoon but were waiting for forensic test results for confirmation. Sources told local media they recognised her from photos and that she was wearing the same clothes as when last seen. There were said to be no signs of external violence. Sources at Spains National Police confirmed Muldoon was arrested yesterday evening on a European Arrest Warrant. According to Crimestoppers, he was first held by British police in 2013 but released due to the complexity of the inquiry. It added that he was summonsed last year but has so far failed to appear at several court hearings. Robert Francis Krebs, 80, has been arrested by Arizona police after he allegedly robbed a credit union at gunpoint Friday An 80-year-old man from Tucson, Arizona has been arrested after he allegedly robbed a credit union at gunpoint Friday. Authorities circulated surveillance photos of him entering the Pyramid Credit Union and at a teller's window. Police arrested Robert Francis Krebs Saturday. Police said Krebs had a handgun and demanded money from the teller who gave him cash before he ran out of the bank. A local hotel clerk called police Saturday to report a man that looked like the one in the photos had tried to cash a check. On their official Facebook page the Tuscon Police Department said 'an employee at a local-area hotel called 911 to report that they had spotted the suspect earlier in the day.' 'He had attempted to check in at the hotel but ended up leaving the property without doing so. Later that day, the employee saw a social media post and recognized the suspect as the same male from earlier in the day.' Police began checking nearby hotels and located Krebs. He was booked into the Pima County Jail on two counts of armed robbery. It is unclear if he has an attorney. Police said Krebs had a handgun and demanded money from the teller who gave him cash before he ran out of the bank (pictured here on surveillance footage) He was booked into the Pima County Jail on two counts of armed robbery (Krebs is pictured here at the bank) The US State Department has warned Americans that they may be asking for a death wish if they decide to travel to North Korea. The agency published on its website that those who wish to visit the regime of Kim Jong-un shouldprepare for the worst, including drafting a will and making funeral and property arrangements with family and friends. North Korea is classified as a 'Level 4 - Do Not Travel' country. Other countries listed as level-four high-risk areas include Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The US State Department published on its website that those who wish to visit the regime of Kim Jong-un should draft a will and make funeral and property arrangements with family and friends (Pictured, Kim inspects the People's Army tanks, April 2017) Americans were warned to '[d]raft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney' North Korea is classified as a 'Level 4 - Do Not Travel' country. Other countries listed as a level-four high risk area include Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Mali and Somalia Americans were warned to '[d]raft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.' The recommendations also suggest: 'Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc.' The agency also mentions that although the Swedish Embassy in North Korea is the protecting power for Americans, US officials cannot guarantee they will be able to reach Americans in need of aid. Potential travelers are also advised to 'establish your own personal security plan in coordination with your employer or host organization, or consider consulting with a professional security organization'. President Trump designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in November, adding the hermit nation to a short list including Iran, Sudan and Syria. North Korea had been removed from the list by the Bush administration in 2008. Trump cited Kim's 'murderous' rogue regime and the death of American college student Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned in North Korea for more than a year and died days after he returned to the US in a coma, as reasons for the return to the list. The agency also mentions that although the Swedish Embassy in North Korea is the protecting power for Americans, US officials cannot guarantee they will be able to reach Americans in need of aid (Pictured, Kim attends an event organized the People's Army, September 2017) President Trump designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism in November, citing Kim's 'murderous' rogue regime and the death of American college student Otto Warmbier (pictured, in North Korea), who was imprisoned in North Korea for more than a year and died days after he returned to the US in a coma Early in the morning of New Year's Day, Warmbier (pictured, center, March 2016) allegedly tried to steal a propaganda poster from a staff-only area of the hotel he was staying in. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor Early in the morning of New Year's Day, Warmbier allegedly tried to steal a propaganda poster from a staff-only area of the hotel he was staying in. He was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. Following his death, the House passed the Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions Act which aimed to impose the most far-reaching financial sanctions yet to be directed at North Korea by cutting off Pyongyang's ability to finance its weapons programs. 'North Korea has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil,' the president said. 'This designation will impose further sanctions and penalties on North Korea and related persons.' The State Department's recent warning comes just weeks after Kim threatened to strike the US mainland with missiles, claiming he had a button to fire nuclear weapons on his desk. 'The entire area of the US mainland is within our nuclear strike range,' he said. 'The United States can never start a war against me and our country. Sean Spicer has been out of work for almost six months, but that did not stop the former White House Press Secretary from cashing in on his 15 minutes of fame over the weekend. The man who was once set to become Ambassador to Ireland traveled overseas to the Emerald Isle for the weekend, having booked a spot on the long-running RTE program The Late, Late Show. And while in Dublin, Spicer stayed at The Shelbourne, a swanky hotel where rooms go for upwards of $5,000 each night. It is not clear how Spicer paid for his room and what accommodations he was provided by the talk show, but many seem to believe he was put up for free in exchange for social media posts. That is due to postings that appeared on his social media accounts which tagged the property, @theshelbournedublin, and its owner, @marriotthotels. Scroll down for video National pride: Sean Spicer (abobve at the National leprechaun Museum) was in Ireland over the weekend, with the former White House Press Secretary appearing on The Late, Late Show Casual shout-out: While staying in Dublin, he posted brand-tagged content about Marriott and the Shelbourne, where he was staying for the weekend (above) Befuddlement: This led many to believe he had been given the rooms for free in exchange for promoting them on his social media accounts (Spicer on Late, Late Show above) .@SeanSpicer on @RealDonaldTrump's comments about women, revealed during the presidential campaign, and why he believes the president deserves forgiveness on them #latelate pic.twitter.com/kxULKO7XEp The Late Late Show (@RTELateLateShow) January 12, 2018 A picture posted Friday afternoon on Spicer's Facebook as well as his Twitter and Instagram accounts shows clear signage for the property under a pitcher of cream and bottle of Jameson. 'Irish breakfast #jameson #jamesonwhiskey #ireland #dublin #dublinireland,' wrote Spicer. Then on Sunday, he uploaded a gallery of photos from the Shelbourne, writing: 'Thank you to @theshelbourne for an amazing stay in #dublin #ireland amazing hotel and staff #dublinireland cc @marriotthotels.' This led to social media users calling out Spicer for what appeared to be a free hotel stay. The layout of Spicer's two posts was remarkably similar to what other celebrities have posted to secure free stays at similar properties. A rep for Marriott would neither confirm nor deny that Spicer got a free stay, telling DailyMail.com: 'This was a private booking and as such we are not in a position to discuss further as we do not disclose guest information.' Social media users also lashed out at RTE, believing that the semi-state network might have put Spicer up with some of their tax dollars. Misfunded: Others became angry with RTE, wondering if the semi-state network put him up at the hotel with taxpayer money (Spicer's post from Sunday above) Silence: Reps for Marriott and RTE refused to comment, while Spicer's reps and the Shelbourne did not respond to multiple requests for comment (Shelbourne above) Dublin dream: Spicer, who has been out of work since August, was once pegged to become ambassador to Ireland and has been unable to land a steady TV gig 'I'm guessing @RTE & @RTELAteShow paid for your stay in the exorbitantly priced Shelbourne hotel out of the tax payers TV licence fee. Was the travel Lodge booked out?' wrote one person on Twitter. Another person added: 'Compliments of the taxpayers Im sure.' A publicist with RTE said: 'We don't comment on the arrangements made for individual guests on The Late Late Show.' Reps for Spicer and the Shelbourne did not respond to a requests for comment. The posting meanwhile gained little traction, all getting less than 500 likes and just a handful of comments, which were mostly negative. Spicer is now heading back to the US, where he has failed to land a spot on any of the television networks since he left the White House in August. There was also talk that Spicer would become ambassador to Ireland, but that did not pan out after he announced he would be stepping down as Press Secretary, which gave way to the 11-day reign of his West-Wing foe Anthony Scaramucci. An Army veteran is suing after a five-inch scalpel was left in his abdomen for four years following surgery causing severe pain. Glenford Turner, 61, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, only discovered the source of his discomfort when he went for an MRI at a clinic at the Veteran Affairs' Connecticut Healthcare System on the West Haven Campus, following a dizzy spell. As soon the veteran went through the MRI scanner - which acts as a giant magnet - he suffered such agonizing pain, the tests had to be stopped immediately. Glenford Turner, 61, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, is suing after a five-inch scalpel was left in his abdomen for four years following surgery causing severe pain (pictured is his X-ray, showing a large, sharp knife stuck inside the patient) Glenford Turner, 61, (pictured) was left in pain for years after the scalpel was abandoned in his abdomen Doctors then carried out an X-ray which revealed the 'abandoned scalpel' inside his abdomen, near his stomach and intestines. A copy of the X-ray reveals the large, sharp knife stuck inside the patient. Faxon Law Group, who filed the lawsuit against at VA Connecticut Healthcare System on behalf of the patient, said the scalpel had been left behind by a trainee surgeon four years earlier. The lawsuit states that Turner underwent a prostatectomy, to remove his prostate, at West Haven VA hospital on August 30, 2013. The surgery was performed by Dr Jaimin Shah, then a fifth year urology trainee, supervised by Dr Preston Sprenkle, chief of urology. Previous radiological studies had shown there were no foreign bodies in Turner, a married father and Army veteran, before that point, the suit states. Turner went for surgery to remove his prostate in 2013 at West Haven VA hospital (pictured) after he was diagnosed with cancer Faxon Law Group, who filed the lawsuit, said the scalpel had been left behind by a trainee surgeon four years earlier. A doctor, called in for a second opinion, revealed that Turner was forced to undergo another surgery, with its associated serious anesthesia risk, in April 2017, to remove the scalpel Turner was forced to undergo another surgery, with its associated serious anesthesia risk, in April 2017, to remove the scalpel. Sprenkle later made a note that the patient 'does notice the pelvic pain that has been present since his prostatectomy is now gone.' 'It is shocking that in return for that service the VA thanked him by deploying a rookie surgical trainee to perform the surgery who showed an incomprehensible level of incompetence by losing the scalpel in Mr. Turner's abdomen and not bothering to find it,' New Haven attorney Joel T. Faxon said in a statement on Monday. 'He just sewed him up and moved on to his next victim,' he said, adding that is is 'unconscionable that any hospital-particularly one serving our United States' veterans-would be so haphazard in the care they provide.' 'The VA's low standard of care has been the subject of much discussion lately, but this is a new low,' Faxon said. 'Better care can be had at a veterinary hospital. They should be ashamed of themselves.' The medical malpractice lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages. A psychologist said to have recommended the release if the black cab rapist has spent 30 years calling for softer sentences for sex offenders, it has been revealed. John Worboys is set to be freed from prison nine years after he was jailed indefinitely following his conviction for sexually assaulting 12 female passengers. His release was signed off by the Parole Board following a report by Dr Jackie Craissati, a renowned clinical psychologist hired by Worboys' defence team. It has now been revealed that Dr Craissati has campaigned for soft justice for sexual predators and paedophiles, who she claims should be 'treated' in the community. John Worboys (left) will be released after it was signed off by the Parole Board following a report by Dr Jackie Craissati (right) Guido Fawkes reported that she will also host a lecture on the 'myths' surrounding sex offenders at Goldsmiths University in London this month. Four years ago, she argued that there were different levels of severity of child abuse in a paper entitled 'Can paedophiles be good people?' She also criticised the media coverage of child molesters, claiming that it made them 'defensive, anxious, withdrawn, uncooperative'. In 2014, she argued that society should only be worried by 25 to 33 per cent of those who view child pornography. Describing paedophiles in the same year, she said: 'If you look at child sex offenders with victims under 16, only 30 per cent meet the clinical definition of paedophile. 'Although child molesting is necessarily sexual, the sexual element is only one part of a more complicated psychological explanation.' Police found a rape kit in the back of Worboys' taxi which including sleeping tablets, condoms and an ashtray he used to crush the drugs (top right) When contacted by MailOnline today, Dr Craissati declined to comment. Worboys is due to be released from prison less than 10 years after he was jailed for drugging and sexually assaulting 12 women and raping one. But police said they believe he could have attacked up to 102 victims lawyers believe the were 105. The 60-year-old was assessed to no longer be a danger to the public by a panel of three people, who approved his released on licence with 14 secret restrictions. However, his victims - who were attacked between 2002 and 2008 - only found out though the media. A letter by Parole Board chief executive Martin Jones conceded that victims and the public would 'find it impossible' to understand the decision. The rapist's ex-wife Jean Clayton is pictured left, near her home in Yambol, Bulgaria. Right, Worboys arrives at Sutton Magistrates Court ahead of a preliminary hearing into his rape trial Worboys, a former porn actor and stripper, attacked numerous women during a five-year period between 2002 and 2008. Many of his victims were young women who had been drinking in trendy night spots in the West End and Chelsea. On several occasions he offered to drive a woman home for a fraction of the normal cost, or even for free, claiming that he lived in their direction. But once he had them secure in his taxi, the driver who occasionally used the name Paul or Tony - would put his plan into action. His constant theme was sex and often asked the women if they would perform sex acts for varying amounts of money, or exposed himself. He took trophies from his victims, including a wristband from one and scribbled the names and addresses of several others in a notebook. During the seven week trial, victim after victim told how they felt safe with the middle-aged driver because they were stepping into a registered black London taxi. Most of the women were young professionals lawyers, insurance brokers, office workers or journalists. One victim was a new mother out celebrating for the first time with her friends. He offered the women cheap lifts home after nights out, telling them he had just won thousands on a bet and wanted to celebrate. To aid his pretence, Worboys kept as much as 4,000 in cash stashed in a plastic bag which he showed his victims as evidence of his win. The rapist would convince the women to share a glass of wine or champagne with them, spiking the drinks with sleeping pills. The drugs left the women insensible and unable to protect themselves as he pounced on them in the back of the vehicle. Police also found a 'rape kit' in the back of his taxi which including sleeping tablets, condoms, gloves and an ashtray he used to crush the drugs. Worboys, who called himself Terry the Minder, was jailed indefinitely in April 2009 with a minimum tariff of eight years. A report published after his conviction found there was a 'mindset' among police that the driver of a black cab was unlikely to be responsible for a sex attack. The paper by the Independent Police Complaints Commission discovered a catalogue of missed opportunities, errors of judgment and failures by Scotland Yard had left Worboys free to prey on women. A young mother returning home from her morning walk on the Gold Coast has been groped on the bottom by a random stranger. Jesse Ratu, 24, was unlocking the door to her Southport apartment on Sunday when a man allegedly approached her from behind and grabbed her backside five times. The man smiled into cameras after performing the 'disgusting' assault, which was captured on CCTV footage of the front of the building, Gold Coast Bulletin reports. Scroll down for video Gold Coast mother-of-two Jesse Ratu, 24, was groped repeatedly as she returned to her Southport apartment from a morning walk Sunday 'He said, 'Sorry, I just had to do it, you have the best arse,' the mother-of-two said. The terrified woman said she told the man 'don't f***ing touch me' before running inside and telling her partner, Brendan Wilson, what happened. The sales assistant said despite Mr Wilson running outside to confront the man, the offender had already fled the area. Ms Ratu remembered feeling too scared to turn back out of fear she would be picked up and 'stolen', and said she now felt too traumatised to walk outside alone. She's now too scared to walk outside alone and is considering moving house - despite only being in the block for six months The terrified woman said she told the man 'don't f***ing touch me' before running inside and telling her partner, Brendan Wilson, what happened The man even reached out for a second attempt at grabbing Ms Ratu's hind end, but she quickly fled inside out of his reach 'We've only been here for six months,' Ms Ratu said. 'We're now thinking about moving. I've always lived in Southport but never lived down this end.' 'I shouldn't really be worried to walk in my own street, so I probably won't be doing that anymore,' Ms Ratu told Nine News. An image of the man, who is described to be of African descent, about 1.8m with facial hair and short black hair, has been sent out to police in the area. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. 'I shouldn't really be worried to walk in my own street, so I probably won't be doing that anymore,' Ms Ratu said Tammy Langton, 32, was charged after her passenger Laura Cooper, 35, (pictured) was killed in the M25 crash A woman who ran out of petrol on a motorway before a fatal smash has been put on trial accused of causing death by dangerous driving. Tammy Langton, 32, was charged after her passenger Laura Cooper, 35, was killed in the M25 crash. The case is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. Langtons Nissan Note ran out of fuel and became stranded on the motorway in Essex in March 2016. Miss Cooper, who was sitting in the back seat, was killed when their car was hit by an HGV pulling a fully laden trailer. Prosecutors argued Langton was culpable as she knew the car did not have enough petrol, but still made the journey back to London from Leicester. Prosecutor Mark Halsey, told the Chelmsford Crown Court jury: The car being driven by Tammy Langton ran out of petrol on the M25. We say she knew that was going to happen. The car was driving in a dangerous condition. It was foreseeable it would run out of petrol and would be stranded in the nearside lane and the consequences of her driving the car in that condition played a significant part in bringing about the fatal collision and causing the fatal collision. He said Langton had put others in danger by obviously driving the vehicle without enough petrol. The court was told yesterday that there was no hard shoulder or lights at the point where the accident happened near junction 27 in the early hours of the morning. Langton, from Blackheath in London, is on trial along with the driver of the lorry - Anthony Cheshire, 63, from Sutton Hill. Both deny causing death by dangerous and careless driving, and causing serious injury to front seat passenger Yasmin Fry by dangerous driving. Mr Halsey said Langton had carried on driving when the fuel warning light was on and she had said while still in Leicester to Yasmin Fry there isnt enough petrol to get back to London. Langton, from Blackheath in London, is on trial along with the driver of the lorry Anthony Cheshire, 63, from Sutton Hill who smashed into the car in his Scania R620 lorry (File photo) And in a phone conversation between Miss Cooper and someone else, just 16 minutes before the crash, Langton mentioned they were 36 miles from nans. Lorry driver Cheshire had been travelling 30 seconds behind Langtons Nissan at the wheel of his Scania R620 articulated lorry. Jurors heard Langtons car was protruding into lane one when the front nearside of the HGV struck the offside rear of the vehicle, where Miss Cooper was sitting. Its hazard warning lights were switched on by Langton when she stopped. But the impact caused the Nissan to strike the crash barrier, bounce back and it was struck again by the middle of the passing trailer, the court heard. After the crash, Cheshire said he had suddenly seen the Nissan in front of him. Mr Halsey claimed Cheshires driving dropped far below the expected standard of a competent driver. He told the jury of nine women and three men that Langton and Cheshire could both be found guilty of dangerous driving, and they did not have to choose between them. Cheshire further denies causing serious injury by dangerous driving to Langton. While Langton has also denied causing death by careless driving when she was unfit through drugs, or by having in her body an amount of cannabis which exceeded the specified limit. The trial continues. A mother-of-eight has died suddenly just seven weeks after giving birth leaving her family totally devastated. Cheryl Hardy, 31, was studying with the aim to become a midwife at Kirklees College in Huddersfield when she became ill and died suddenly at home in Bately, West Yorkshire on Saturday. A post-mortem examination to find out why she died will be carried out on the 31-year-old who had given birth to her latest child, a little boy, Mikhail Hardy, only seven weeks ago at Pinderfields General Hospital. Cheryl Hardy and six of her children. From Left: Amirah, 8, Kameel, 7, (with red pillow), Rhianna, 9, Cheryl herself, Jordan, 15, Kesaar, 5, and Layla, 4, (in the push chair) Her 36-year-old partner Fakir Mulla - known as 'Zack' and father of five of her children - paid tribute to her today as friends rallied round to support him. More than 4,400 has already been raised by well-wishers on the Just Giving website for the children. Zack said Cheryl, who also worked at Batley Girls' High School in West Yorkshire, had a history of poor health dating back several years including pulmonary embolism which happens when a clump of material, most often a blood clot, gets wedged into an artery in a person's lungs. She had not been in good health since returning from a trip to Disneyland in Paris but there had been no specific concern and Zack said her death 'had come out of the blue.' He said: 'I had gone to sleep in a downstairs room. I went up to see her at 4.30am and she was OK but at 7am my eldest child Rhianna who is nine-years-old came running downstairs, saying: 'Dad, dad, come up, mum has fainted.' 'I ran upstairs and she was lying flat on her stomach - she was just there in a heap. I rang 999 and a neighbour Saeeda Patel came across and started doing CPR until the paramedics took over. Fakir Mulla known as 'Zack' with Cheryl. Zack was Cheryl's partner and father of five of her eight children 'There were four paramedics worked on her for 45 minutes. I begged them to carry on but eventually she was pronounced dead some time between 8am and 8.30am. 'Cheryl was a real family woman - her kids were her number one priority. She had a heart of gold and always gave 100 per cent. She did lots of work for charity and would go out of her way to help everybody. There was nobody like her.' And he thanked everyone who had helped raise thousands of pounds saying he was delighted with the response. He added he would be 'all right' raising eight children as 'he comes from a family of 10'. However, telling Cheryl's eight children - Jordan Hardy, 15, Rhiann Mulla, 9, Amirah Mulla, 8, Kameel Mulla, 7, Kesaar Mulla, 5, Layla Mulla, 4, Freya Hunter, 18 months and Mikail Hardy who will be eight-weeks-old on Wednesday - will be a different matter. Zack added: 'My eldest who found her like that is really the only one that's feeling it properly.' Cheryl was described by her partner as 'a real family woman'. He added 'her kids were her number one priority' Cheryl attended Kirklees College every Thursday morning and was studying Maths and Science with a view to eventually training to become a midwife. Her mother Susan Hardy added: 'Cheryl was unique in many ways'. Aimee Lancaster who set up the Just Giving page wrote: 'Cheryl was not only a family member but a dear friend to myself and many others across the community. 'Cheryl had a passion for life like I've never known, tirelessly helping others with her voluntary work for various charities as well as her employment at Batley Girls' High School where she was a much-valued and loved member of the team. 'Cheryl was a wonderful mum who doted on all of her eight children. This is going to be a very scary and challenging time for her children and partner Fakir.' Advertisement The siblings found chained to their beds in their family home begged police for food after they were rescued following a daring escape by their brave sister, it has been revealed. The 13 brothers and sisters - including the 17-year-old girl who fled the home and alerted cops - were all desperately malnourished and pleaded with officers for food and water after they were freed in Perris, California on Sunday. Police said the victims were so emaciated they were shocked to discover that while all looked like children, they actually ranged from two to 29 years of age. Seven of them are over the age of 18 and six of them are children. The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said it was not known how long some of them were chained, padlocked and shackled before they were discovered. The victims were only freed after their sister - who was so small officers initially believed she was only 10 - broke out of the home, grabbed a cell phone and called 911. Police arrested their parents David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, and charged them with torture and child endangerment. They are being held on $9 million bail. It has now been revealed that their parents filed for bankruptcy back in 2011 and were up to $500,000 in debt, despite David Turpin earning $140,000 a year as an engineer for a top defense contractor. Scroll down for video David and Louise Turpin, seen renewing their vows at an Elvis Chapel in Las Vegas in 2016, have been arrested after 13 of their children were found shackled to beds inside their home in California Parents David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested and charged with torture and child endangerment The siblings were immediately taken to hospital after they were saved from the 'foul-smelling' room on Sunday morning. 'The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty. Perris Station Detectives were dispatched to the residence for further investigation,' police said. 'Child Protective Services (CPS) and Adult Protective Services (APS) arrived to assist in the investigation. The victims were provided with food and beverages after they claimed to be starving.' The Turpins were between $100,000 and $500,000 in debt when they filed for bankruptcy in August 2011, the New York Times reported. At the time of the filing, David Turpin was earning a $140,000 salary at defense firm Northrop Grumman where he had been working for eight months. His wife was listed as a stay-at-home mom. Records show the large family's expenses exceed Turpin's pay by just over $1,000 a month. He previously worked for Lockheed Martin but left the job in 2010. Their bankruptcy lawyer, Ivan Trahan, told the New York Times that the couple often spoke fondly of their children but he never saw them. 'They spoke about them highly,' Trahan said. 'We remember them as very nice couple. This is shocking.' They are believed to have moved to California from Texas around 2010. The Turpins lived in Murrieta first before purchasing their current four-bedroom home in Perris in August 2014 for $351,000. Their house in Perris is also the address of Sandcastle Day School - a private school registered in 2014-15 so David Turpin could home-school six of his children. In the 2016-17 school year, it had an enrollment of six students - one each in the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th grades. David Turpin's parents, James and Betty Turpin, told ABC News they were 'surprised and shocked' at the allegations. The couple, who live in West Virginia, said they had not visited the family for four or five years but had spoken to them on the phone, although not with their grandchildren. The grandparents described the family as very religious and said the parents had so many children because they believed 'God called on them' to do so. They added that the 'very strict homeschooling' would involve the children memorizing long Bible passages and even attempting to memorize the entire book. Police originally thought all of the victims were children but soon discovered seven were adults. The family are pictured above 'Things 1 to 13': The family are seen in Dr Seuss-style shirts, and all in blue jeans, in a family photo taken in April 2016 Andrew Santillan, who lives nearby to the home (pictured) said: 'I didn't know there were kids in the house. I had no idea this was going on' The Turpin family, as well as extended relatives, are seen enjoying a holiday at Disneyland in California in 2011 They appear to have had marriage-renewal ceremonies in Las Vegas by an Elvis impersonator at least three times in 2011 (pictured above), 2013 and 2015 The shocking allegations provide a stark contrast to the life shown on David and Louise's joint Facebook page. They appear to have had marriage-renewal ceremonies in Las Vegas by an Elvis impersonator at least three times in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Their children were present at the ceremonies are seeing posing for photos in 2015 in matching outfits for the boys and the girls. The 10 girls are all dressed in pink dresses with white tights and white shoes, while the boys are seen in suits with purple ties - and bowl haircuts like their father. Footage of the ceremony posted online showed the smiling children awkwardly dancing and clicking their fingers behind their parents. Another ceremony with the same Elvis impersonator in 2013 - prior to their youngest child being born - shows the children wearing the same outfits. Photographs from 2011 show the couple by themselves, but impersonator Kent Ripley said the children were in attendance that time as well. 'I'm still disturbed. This is a sad day for everybody, especially the children, I mean they were sitting right around here three different times,' Ripley told Fox5Vegas. He added on Today: 'Nothing seemed to be unusual apart from the fact there was a lot of them. They were well behaved and smiled a lot'. Other pictures show the family smiling on several trips to Disneyland, while another shows them wearing Dr Seuss-style shirts, with each child's top emblazoned with 'Thing 1' to 'Thing 13'. It also features several photos of the youngest child when she was a baby in late 2015. She was often pictured posing with her mother, including in a Snow White costume, inside a Krispy Kreme store and at a lake. The last public images that appeared on the Facebook page were posted in July 2016. Speaking to CNN, grandmother Betty Turpin said the parents made the children dress alike for safety reasons. She describes how the children would line up according to age and the mother and father would walk in front and back of the line. 'They were very protective of the kids. This is a highly respectable family.' The couple are pictured above on a neighbor's surveillance cameras being arrested on Sunday morning House of horrors: The victims, all siblings aged between two and 29 years old, were being held captive in a home in Perris, California, police said. Media are seen outside the house Loved-up: Pictures on Facebook show the Turpins renewing their vows in 2016, with their children next to them at the altar Playing happy families: The Turpins are pictured smiling at the most recent of their vow renewals, which was conducted by an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas Tradition: The couple are seen in a picture from 2011, renewing their vows in front of the same Elvis impersonator More than once: The family are gathered for yet another vow-renewal ceremony in 2013, with the children dressed in the outfits which were then re-used three years later Neighbors said they family were unusual and reclusive, with some saying they did not even know children lived in the home. Housewife Wendy Martinez, 41, who lives in a home behind the single-story ranch-style property, told DailyMail.com she saw four of the children kneeling in the front yard late at night at the end of October, looking emaciated and pale. 'They were on their knees, four little kids, and they were just rolling on the grass. It was odd at that time of night. 'Their mother was in the archway, I just remember the mother in the archway, and I said, hi. There was like no movement, not even to look over to see who's saying hi, like if they were told not to speak to anybody. ' Asked whether she thought the children needed help, she told DailyMail.com: 'Honestly, I didn't see they needed help.' Another neighbor said Louise Turpin was defiant when cops arrived at the home on Sunday. They said she 'smirked' and 'spat twice down at the floor'. Andrew Santillan, who lives nearby, told Press-Enterprise: 'I didn't know there were kids in the house. I had no idea this was going on.' Others said they had seen the children digging for food in the garbage bins, but had not taken notice as it did not look sinister. 'Nonchalant, looked like they were having fun like a regular family,' neighbor Nicole Gooding told CBS2. 'The older kids, I thought they were, like, 12, because they looked so malnourished, so pale,' Kimberly Milligan added. Another neighbor, Andria Valdez, said she had seen the children before, joking that they were like the vampire family in the Twilight books and films because they were 'really, really pale' and 'only came out at night'. Another local said the children were seen building a Nativity scene in the front yard of their home a few years ago, but were 'weird about it' when complimented on their work. The couple's joint Facebook page features several photos of the youngest child when she was a baby in late 2015. She was often pictured posing with her mother outside the house, including dressed as Disney Princess Snow White (left) David and Louise are pictured in front of Disneyland's iconic castle appearing to hold Tinker Bell. The photo appeared on Facebook in October 2010 and was one of multiple trips to the theme park Mr and Mrs Turpin were arrested and charged with nine counts of torture and 10 of child endangerment. Neither of them have a serious criminal record. Camera crews are seen outside the home Neighbors stand outside a home where a couple was arrested after police discovered that 13 people had been held captive in filthy conditions The siblings were only found after the 17-year-old girl broke out of the home and called the police. Officers arrived at the home early on Sunday morning and found several children and adults chained and padlocked to beds in a foul-smelling room. They were malnourished, dirty and all of them have been hospitalized, police said. The victims were given food and drinks and Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services will care for them once they are well enough to be released from hospital. Police initially thought all of the victims were children but soon discovered seven were adults. Mr and Mrs Turpin were arrested and charged with nine counts of torture and 10 of child endangerment. Neither of them have a serious criminal record. The couple are being held at Robert Presley Detention Center east of Los Angeles and their bail has been set at $9million. They will appear in court on Thursday. 'THEY SEEMED LIKE THE PERFECT FAMILY': NEIGHBORS HORRIFIED TO DISCOVER PARENTS' HORRIFIC SECRET Wendy Martinez thought the Turpins were the perfect family Four of the children living in the California house of horrors were seen less than two months ago looking very thin and very albino, a neighbor has said. Housewife Wendy Martinez, 41, who lives in a home behind the single-story ranch-style property, told DailyMail.com she saw four of the children kneeling in the front yard late at night at the end of October. She said the quartet looked emaciated and pale, and appeared to have been instructed not to respond when she tried to say hello to them. It was about 9pm at night and we came around right here and at the gate, we saw four children inside, Martinez said. They were on their knees, four little kids, and they were just rolling on the grass. It was odd at that time of night. Their mother was in the archway, I just remember the mother in the archway, and I said, hi. There was like no movement, not even to look over to see whos saying hi. No movement, like if they were told not to speak to anybody. The mom, no movement at all. Asked whether she thought the children needed help, she told DailyMail.com: Honestly, I didnt see like they needed help. They were in their yard. It was awkward that it was at 9pm at night but they were in their yard. David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested Sunday after 13 adults and children aged between two and 29 were found inside their four-bedroom Perris home. Some of the children had been shackled to their beds and, cops said, were being held in a foul-smelling room. The Turpins purchased the house, which sits on a quiet well-to-do street, for $351,000 in August 2014 later registering it as a school. Sitting within a new development, the house had been a model home and was, said Dennis Cooke, 61, already tricked out with custom fittings when they moved in. Cooke, who works at Home Depot in Perris, said he had been shown around the property before the Turpins moved in, adding: This one was very beautiful, it was already tricked out with custom fittings, the backyard done, the landscaping done. But he said the spacious four-bedroom home is nowhere near large enough for 15 occupants, telling DailyMail.com: Oh no, no. Absolutely not. I would say a normal family, if they had six children, it could be adequate but 13, no. absolutely not. Neighbor Dennis Cooke did not the think the Turpins' 'beautiful' home was big enough to house 13 children Although the Turpins were understood to be running a school from the house, neighbors said they saw no sign of parents arriving to drop off their children and most said they had no idea that a young family lived in the property. You know what, I drive past this way every day but Ive never seen the family or anything, said nurse Janeece Calhoun, 21. Never anybody coming in or out. Neighbor Michelle Walls, 47, added: You would think you would have heard them. In our neighborhood, kids are usually out playing, shooting hoops. Going to the park. Im surprised I never saw them because most kids need to go outside and play. Martinez says she last saw a member of the family a month ago, when she spotted one of the couples teenage daughters drive past in a red Volkswagen Jetta, which was seen parked outside the home today. She said: One of the girls was coming in in the red Jetta. They were in and out. I think it was one of the girls, I dont know which one it was, but as I was going out, she was coming in. Shed been out. Martinez added: Its weird you never know whats going on. Theyve got three cars and that [mini]van. They move it, theres no cobwebs. Theyre mobile. I dont understand why they would wait so long to say something. Looking at their pictures, they seemed like the perfect family. Advertisement A group of homeless people have rescued a lost toddler wandering the streets of Darwin. Stanley Gameraidj, Janis Ganawa and Patania Marawa found a three-year-old boy wandering the streets of Darwin alone at 3am on Monday. 'He wasn't upset,' Mr Gameraidj told Sky News. The two men began to look for the boy's parents, while Ms Marawa lay with the child in a park in Fannie Bay. Scroll down for video Patania Marawa, Janis Ganawa and Stanley Gameraidj found a three-year-old boy wandering the streets of Darwin alone at 3am on Monday 'We waited for if his parents would come and look for him... we waited for three hours and then he fell asleep with us, he was really tired, and then after that we called the cops,' Mr Gameraidj said. Northern Territory Police said the boy had walked away from his parents' nearby apartment in the early hours of the morning while they were sleeping. The group took the boy back to his parents' house to reunite the family, where the rescuers were met with hugs and appreciation. 'We're homeless people... we're all human beings. We help each other no matter what, white or black... 'We found that... little boy, that's what we did, always love,' Mr Gameraidj said 'We found that... little boy, that's what we did, always love,' Mr Gameraidj said. 'He's in safe hands now with his parents so I'm glad that I did something that I really loved. A really grateful thing that I did.' The rescue comes after the NT government announced they were looking to address the issue of homeless people in Darwin. The Territory Connect Program is one of the measures introduced, which aims to return people to their home communities. The rescue comes after the NT government announced they were looking to address the issue of homeless people in Darwin Trisha Anderson Rogers, 47, was doing her training at Murray Middle School when she was detained in July 2016 in New Hanover County A former student teacher received an eight-month sentence for soliciting a 13-year-old boy for sex at a North Carolina middle school. Trisha Anderson Rogers, 47, was training at Murray Middle School when she was detained in July 2016 in New Hanover County. She was said to have used her cell phone to meet with the teen for an 'unlawful sex act' between February 29 to May 5, according to an arrest warrant. A blog associated with Rogers lists her as being a 'wife, mother, and a child of God' and she often posted about her faith and love for her family. The blog claims that she graduated from Liberty University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pschology, with a specialization in Christian Counseling. Rogers pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of indecent liberties. She received 60 months of supervised probation, on top of her prison sentence. She was said to have used her cell phone to meet with the teen for an 'unlawful sex act' between February 29 to May 5, according to an arrest warrant Rogers only worked at the school as a student teacher for one semester during the spring, a district spokesman said, but had previously been a substitute instructor in the area The woman also has to register as a sex offender and pay $600 in court fees. Rogers only worked at the school as a student teacher for one semester during the spring, a district spokesman said, but had previously been a substitute treacher in the area. Sheriffs spokesman Lt. Jerry Brewer said that Rogers was reported to investigators on May 5, and that her internship at the school was removed the same day. Rogers had also been removed from the district substitute teachers' list, WNCN reported. Former policeman Vaughan Hildebrand (pictured) stands accused of 51 serious offences Former policeman Vaughan Hildebrand stands accused of rape, sexual harassment and soliciting child pornography. The 29-year-old has been in jail for more than six months after 10 women alleged they were sexually harassed by the former Sydney constable. Another two women have since come forward, leading to 18 fresh charges - including 14 counts of rape - to be laid against him. June 2017: Hildebrand is arrested and charged with 17 offences after three separate women made serious allegations against the policeman. The charges include four counts of stalking and harassment, six of using a carriage service to harass and misconduct in public office. November 2017: Seven more women come forward and accuse the former constable of sexual assault. Hildebrand is charged with another 16 offences - including using a carriage service to solicit child pornography and one count of rape. December 2017 - to present: Another two women, one who accuses Hildebrand of repeatedly raping her in 2010, come forward. Among 18 new charges to be laid against him are 14 counts of rape. The 51 offences relating to the accusations of 12 women allegedly occurred between 2010 and 2016. Yudo to build island for driverless vehicles Shanghai (Gasgoo)- It is reported that the municipal government of Putian City, Fujian Province and Yudo New Energy Automobile Co.,Ltd (Yudo) plan to build Meizhou Island into an islet for driverless vehicles. Meizhou Island is a small island close to the shores of Putian in Fujian Province. It is known for being the birthplace of the goddess Mazu. With a dispersed population and a relatively isolated geographic location, it is endowed with many natural advantages to develop driverless vehicle business. Besides, Yudos R&D of driverless vehicles provides preconditions for this project. As a new energy vehicle startup that firstly achieved mass production and sales of vehicles in China, Yudo has completed the tests of two driverless vehicles, according to Liu Xinwen, general-manager of Yudo. Liu Xinwen also stated that it may take nearly 3 years to build this driverless-vehicle islet. The project has already been initiated and will be processed step by step from vehicle electrification to driverless stage. Meanwhile, Yudo will cooperate with China Mobile (a Chinese state-owned telecommunication corporation) in particular areas to build base stations using China Mobiles 5G technology. According to Liu Xinwen, the utilization of 5G will help reduce the cost of LiDAR and achieve high definition for vehicle sensors at the same time. It has been described as one of the most devastating epidemics in human history - and now scientists have discovered what caused it. An outbreak of a mystery disease in 1576, and second wave in 1576, killed around seven million to 17 million people and helped destroy the mighty Aztec Empire. Known to the locals as cocoliztli, the symptoms of the disease were horrific; they included red spots on the skin, bleeding from various orifices and vomiting. A new study of ancient teeth has helped reveal that Aztecs collapse may have been due to the food poisoning bug salmonella, to which the locals had no resistance. The study claims this is the first evidence of the bacteria ever found in the South Americas. Scroll down for video The mighty Aztec empire was wiped out because of a food poisoning outbreak, new research shows. Researchers made the discovery after analysing the teeth of individuals buried in a cocoliztili ('pestilence' in the indigenous Nahuatl language) cemetery (pictured) SALMONELLA IN SOUTH AMERICA South America was devastated by several disease outbreaks in the 16th century and millions of people perished. The 'cocoliztli' epidemic of 1545 devastated large areas of Mexico and Guatemala. For the first time, bacterial DNA has been found from the remains of skeletons in a Mexican cemetery. Salmonella enterica - which can cause typhoid - has now been confirmed as the likely cause of the outbreak. Advertisement When forces led by Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes arrived in Mexico in 1519, the native population was estimated at about 25 million. A century later, after a Spanish victory and a series of epidemics, numbers had plunged to around 1 million. The outbreak impacted large parts of Mexico and Guatemala, including the town of Teposcolula-Yucundaa, located in Oaxaca, Mexico. Here, archaeological digs unearthed an almost untouched cemetery. Ashild J. Vagene, co-author of the study from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (MPI-SHH), said: 'Given the historical and archaeological context of Teposcolula-Yucundaa, it provided us with a unique opportunity to address the question regarding the unknown microbial causes responsible for this epidemic.' Scientists took samples of pulp from inside of the teeth found in skeleton. They found ten of the skeletons whose burials dated after the conquest tested positive for salmonella. The town of Teposcolula-Yucundaa, located in Oaxaca, Mexico was home to an untouched cemetery which provided the first evidence of an epidemic caused by bacteria in South America By contrast none of the five skeletons whose burials predated the Spanish conquest tested positive for the disease. The researchers say the findings make salmonella a strong candidate for helping to wipe out the Aztecs and other peoples including the Mixtecs. The authors said it was conceivable that the disease was brought by European carriers who travelled across the Atlantic without suffering the effects. The type of salmonella led to a condition called enteric fever, which still kills millions around the world today. It is spread by poor sanitation. It causes high fevers, dehydration, gastro-intestinal complications and in serious cases when left untreated, death. Salmonella was brought over to South America by European settlers. The natives had no resistance to the bacteria and millions of people died as a result SYMPTOMS OF SALMONELLA Symptoms include diarrhoea, stomach cramps and sometimes vomiting and fever. On average, it takes from 12 to 72 hours for the symptoms to develop after swallowing an infectious dose of salmonella. Symptoms usually last for four to seven days and most people recover without treatment. But if you become seriously ill, you may need hospital care because the dehydration caused by the illness can be life-threatening. You usually get salmonella by eating contaminated food. Contamination is possible if raw and cooked foods are stored together. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement Normally, identifying infectious diseases in skeletons is extremely difficult as they leave no trace. The team used the Megan Alignment Tool (MALT) to identify DNA sequences from the teeth of individuals buried in a cocoliztili ('pestilence' in the indigenous Nahuatl language) cemetery. This is the first time scientists have recovered molecular evidence of this bacterium using ancient material from the New World. In the past, scientists usually targeted a particular pathogen or a small set of pathogens. 'A key result of this study is that we were successful in recovering information about a microbial infection that was circulating in this population, and we did not need to specify a particular target in advance,' explains Alexander Herbig, also of the MPI-SHH and co-author of the study. Previous candidates for the lethal disease have included smallpox, viral haemorrhagic fever and even bubonic plague. Human corpses frozen by cryogenics could be brought back to life in the next decade, an expert has claimed. Around 350 people worldwide have had their corpse preserved at low temperatures immediately after death in the hope it can be revived in the future. Dennis Kowalski, president of the Michigan-based Cryonics Institute - an organisation fronting the human freezing process - has now claimed scientists could reanimate one of these corpses within the next ten years. Scroll down for video Human corpses frozen by cryogenics could be brought back to life in the next decade, an expert has claimed. Around 350 people worldwide have had their corpse preserved at low temperatures immediately after death in the hope it can be revived in the future (file photo) Speaking to the Daily Star, Mr Kowalski, 49, said: 'If you take something like CPR, that would have seemed unbelievable 100 years ago. Now we take that technology for granted. 'Cryonically bringing someone back to life should definitely be doable in 100 years, but it could be as soon as ten.' Mr Kowalksi's Cryonics Institute has almost 2,000 people signed up to be frozen after they die. The firm already has 160 patients frozen in specialised tanks of liquid nitrogen at its headquarters. Mr Kowalski said that when the first patients are reanimated depends on the rate at which modern medicine improves. 'It depends on how much technology like stem-cells advances,' he said. Cryonics, also known as cryogenics and cryopreservation, is the art of freezing a dead body or body parts in order to preserve them. Dennis Kowalski (pictured), president of the US-based Cryonics Institute - an organisation fronting the human freezing process - has now claimed scientists could reanimate one of these corpses within the next ten years WHAT IS CRYONICS? WHAT IS CRYONICS? The deep freezing of a body to -196C (-321F). Anti-freeze compounds are injected into the corpse to stop cells being damaged. The hope is that medical science will advance enough to bring the patient back to life. Two main US organisations carry out cryonics in the US: Alcor, in Arizona, and the Cryonics Institute, in Michigan. Russian firm KrioRus is one of two facilities outside the US to offer the service, alongside Alcor's European laboratory in Portugal. HOW IS IT MEANT TO WORK? The process can only take place once the body has been declared legally dead. Ideally, it begins within two minutes of the heart stopping and no more than 15. The body must be packed in ice and injected with chemicals to reduce blood clotting. At the cryonics facility, it is cooled to just above 0C and the blood is replaced with a solution to preserve organs. Cryonpreservation is the deep freezing of a body to - 196C (-321F). Anti-freeze compounds are injected into the corpse to stop cells being damaged The body is injected with another solution to stop ice crystals forming in organs and tissues, then cooled to -130C. The final step is to place the body into a container which is lowered into a tank of liquid nitrogen at -196C. WHAT'S THE CHANCE OF SUCCESS? Many experts say there is none. Organs such as the heart and kidneys have never been successfully frozen and thawed. It is even less likely a whole body, and the brain, could be without irreversible damage. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? Charges at the Cryonics Institute start at around 28,000 ($35,000) to 'members' for whole-body cryopreservation. Rival group Alcor charges 161,000 ($200,000) while KrioRus' procedure will set you back 29,200 ($37,600). HOW LONG BEFORE PEOPLE CAN BE BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE? Cryonics organisations claim it could be decades or even centuries. However, medical experts say once cells are damaged during freezing and turned to 'mush' they cannot be converted back to living tissue, any more than you can turn a scrambled egg back into a raw egg. Advertisement Advocates see it as a miracle procedure to cheat death, with the hope that they will be revived once medical science has progressed far enough to cure whatever killed them. Currently, it is only legal to freeze someone when they have just been declared dead. The freezing process must begin as soon as the patient dies in order to prevent brain damage, with facilities currently available in Russia, the US and Portugal. In the procedure, the body is cooled in an ice bath to gradually reduce its temperature bit by bit. Experts then drain the blood and replace it with an anti freeze fluid to stop harmful ice crystals forming in the body. Mr Kowalski made headlines in December when he paid 100,000 ($140,000) to have his entire family frozen so they could be reanimated together. The 49-year-old, his wife Maria and their three sons - Jacob, 19, Danny, 17, and James, 16 - are all down to be preserved in a vat of liquid nitrogen when they pass away. In an interview last month, the ex-paramedic said the process could give his family a 'second chance at life'. Mr Kowalski, who lives in Wisconsin, suggested those who take part have 'little to lose and virtually everything to gain'. In the procedure, the body is cooled in an ice bath to gradually reduce its temperature bit by bit. Experts then drain the blood and replace it with an anti freeze fluid to stop harmful ice crystals forming in the body (file photo) The freezing process must begin as soon as the patient dies in order to prevent brain damage, with facilities currently available in Russia, the US and Portugal (stock image) He said: 'I heard about the process when I was a teenager. I thought it sounded really interesting. 'Many years later I signed up with the Cryonics Institute. That was 20 years ago now. Now my wife and three teenage sons are also all signed up. 'Of course my sons are young so not thinking about it too much. 'But things happen in life and you never know.' A newly-found dinosaur may have sparkled in the sun with beautiful rainbow feathers. Its 161 million-year-old remains were found in northeastern China by a group of stunned researchers. Based on tiny structures found in its well-preserved fossil, scientists believe its head, neck and chest were covered with iridescent feathers like a modern hummingbirds. The feathers would have produced a glittering display that could have provided a sexual cues to potential mates, in the same way as peacock tails. Scroll down for video A fossil unearthed in northeastern China has revealed that a species of dinosaur that lived 161 million years ago had colourful feathers very similar to those seen on modern-day hummingbirds (artist's impression pictured) RAINBOW DINOSAUR Scientists have announced the discovery of a crow-sized, bird-like dinosaur with colorful feathers from northeastern China that lived 161 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. They named it Caihong, the Mandarin word for rainbow. Microscopic structures in the nearly complete fossil unearthed in Hebei Province indicated that it boasted iridescent feathers, particularly on its head, neck and chest, with colors that shimmered and shifted in the light, like those of hummingbirds. The feathers would have produced a glittering display that could have provided a sexual cues to potential mates, in the same way as peacock tails. The discovery 'suggests a more colorful Jurassic World than we previously imagined.' Advertisement An international team of researchers, led by Dr Dongyu Hu of the Shenyang Normal University, found the immaculate fossil in the Hebei region of China. They named it Caihong, the Mandarin word for rainbow. The team saw microscopic structures in the exquisitely preserved fossil that indicated the presence of the bright plumage. Using powerful microscopes, the scientists detected within the feathers the remnants of organelles - sections within a cell - called melanosomes. These structures are responsible for pigmentation The discovery 'suggests a more colourful Jurassic World than we previously imagined,' said evolutionary biologist Chad Eliason of the Field Museum in Chicago, one of the researchers in the study. Their shape determines the colour and Caihong's feathers had pancake-shaped melanosomes, similar to those of vibrantly coloured hummingbirds. Much of its body had dark feathers, but ribbon-like iridescent feathers covered its head and neck. While it possessed many bird-like characteristics, the researchers doubted it could actually get airborne. Despite having a stunning plumage of different colours that glistens in the sun, the head of the rainbow dinosaur is very similar to the skull of a Velociraptor with a crested head Using powerful microscopes, scientists found organelles - structures within a cell - that are responsible for the pigmentation of feathers (called melanosomes). These structures were a flat, pancake-like shape that closely resembles those seen in hummingbirds Its plumage could have been used to attract mates, in a similar way that modern-day birds choose a mate, while also providing insulation. Caihong was a two-legged predator with a Velociraptor-like skull and sharp teeth, probably hunting small mammals and lizards. It had crests above its eyes that looked like bony eyebrows. It is now widely accepted that many dinosaurs possessed feathers and birds evolved from small feathered dinosaurs near the end of the Jurassic Period. The fossil was found to be in excellent condition and when analysed under a high-power microscope the feathers were revealed to be very similar to those found on hummingbirds The fossil of the small dinosaur was found in the northern region of the Hebei Province in north east China. The animal has a skull like a Velociraptor but had colourful feathers much like a hummingbird Caihong had two types of feathers, 'fuzzy' feathers and pennaceous ones, those that look like writing quills. It is the earliest-known creature with asymmetrical feathers, a trait used by birds to steer when flying. Caihong's were on its tail, not on it's arm feathers - suggesting that the tail was first utilised for flight. The almost immaculately preserved fossil from the Jurassic Era revealed that the feathers around the head, neck and chest of were very colourful - very similar to the vibrantly colourful birds found today These scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show that the structures within the cells of the fossilised feathers (first three images from left to right) that control pigmentation are very similar to the ones found in hummingbirds (right) 'It is extremely similar to some early birds such as Archaeopteryx,' said paleontologist Dr Xing Xu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, referring to the earliest-known bird, which lived 150 million years ago. 'Its forelimbs were configured like wings. 'To be honest, I am not sure what function the feathers have, and I don't think that you can completely exclude the possibility that the feathers helped the animal to get in the air.' Asked what someone might say upon seeing Caihong, University of Texas paleontologist Dr Julia Clarke said, ''Wow!' And if they are anything like me, they might want one as a pet.' The dinosaur's full scientific name, Caihong juji, means 'rainbow with a big crest.' The study was published in the journal Nature Communications. Controversial AI software that researchers claimed could determine if someone is gay by looking at the shape of their face has been debunked. Experts say that the computer program, developed by Stanford University, is not able to determine sexuality simple by looking at facial features in photos. Instead, they say the AI relies on patterns in how homosexual and heterosexual people take selfies to make its determinations. That includes superficial details like the amount of makeup and facial hair on show, as well as different preferences for the type of angles used to take the shots. Critics slammed the software when it first emerged in September, saying it could be used to 'out' men and women currently in the closet. The methods used to create the software also caused outrage, being limited to a predominantly young, white section of the LGBT community. Scroll down for video Controversial AI software that researchers claimed could determine if someone is gay by looking at a photo of their face has been debunked. Experts say that the computer program is not able to determine your sexuality by scanning physical differences in facial structure (stock) HOW THE SEXUALITY DETECTING AI WORKS There are two competing explanations on offer for how the AI works. Researchers Michal Kosinski and Yilun Wang at Stanford University, who created it, say it detects differences in facial structure. They said that, in the womb, hormones such as testosterone affect the developing bone structure of the foetus. They suggested that these same hormones have a role in determining sexuality and the machine is able to pick these signs out. A team of researchers from Google and Princeton University refute these claims. They suggest that the AI identifies more obvious surface level differences, like the presence of glasses and the angle from which selfies are taken, between homosexual and heterosexual groups. They say 'the obvious differences between lesbian or gay and straight faces in selfies relate to grooming, presentation, and lifestyle - that is, differences in culture, not in facial structure.' Advertisement Rsearchers from Google and Princeton University looked at the data used to create the original Stanford software, to make the findings. The AI analysed 35,326 images of men and women from a US dating website, who had all declared their sexuality on their profiles. The Stanford team claimed their software, which was able to correctly identify a man's sexuality 91 per cent of the time and a woman's 71 per cent, could detect subtle differences in facial structure that the human eye struggles to pick out. Google AI experts Blaise Aguera y Arcas and Margaret Mitchell, joined by Princeton social psychologist Alexander Todorov, studied the composite images generated by the AI as average representations of the faces of heterosexual and homosexual men and women. They found more obvious surface level differences, like the presence of glasses, which stood out in the images. They conducted a survey of 8,000 Americans using Amazons Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform to independently confirm these patterns. Further study suggested that it was these kind of variables the AI was able to pick up on, rather than any physiological differences. Presenting their findings in a Medium blog post, its authors wrote: '[Stanford researchers] assert that the key differences are in physiognomy, meaning that a sexual orientation tends to go along with a characteristic facial structure. 'However, we can immediately see that some of these differences are more superficial. 'For example, the average straight woman appears to wear eyeshadow, while the average lesbian does not. 'Heterosexual men tend to take selfies from slightly below, which will have the apparent effect of enlarging the chin, shortening the nose, shrinking the forehead, and attenuating the smile. 'The obvious differences between lesbian or gay and straight faces in selfies relate to grooming, presentation, and lifestyle - that is, differences in culture, not in facial structure.' Researchers Michal Kosinski and Yilun Wang at Stanford University, the authors of the original study, offered a different explanation for the findings. Experts conducted a survey of 8,000 Americans using Amazons Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing platform to independently confirm these patterns. This included how much makeup is worn by heterosexual versus homosexual women Further study suggested that it was these kind of variables the AI was able to pick up on, rather than any physiological differences. Homosexual men and women were also found to be more likely to wear glasses in their selfies They said at the time that in the womb, hormones such as testosterone affect the developing bone structure of the foetus. They suggested that these same hormones have a role in determining sexuality and the machine is able to pick these signs out. The claims and the methodology used to make them were met with fierce criticism. GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, and the Human Rights Campaign, the US's largest LGBTQ civil rights organisation, hit back after the study was released, Its statement called on all media who covered the study to include its flaws, saying that it made inaccurate assumptions, left out non-white subjects, and was not peer reviewed. HOW WAS THE SEXUALITY DETECTING AI CREATED? To 'train' their computer, Stanford University researchers downloaded 130,741 different images of 36,630 individual men's faces, and 170,360 images of 38,593 women from a US dating website. The users had all declared their sexuality on their profiles. Removing images which were not clear enough, they were left with even numbers of 35,326 pictures of 14,776 people, gay and straight, male and female. Digitally scanning contours of the face, cheekbones, nose and chin the computer made hosts of measurements of the ratios between the different facial features. It then logged which ones were more likely to appear in gay people than straight people. Once the patterns associated with homosexuality were learnt, the system was shown faces it had not been shown before. The system was tested by showing it a picture of two men, one gay and one straight. When shown five photos of each man, it correctly selected the man's sexuality 91 per cent of the time. The model performed worse with women, telling gay and straight apart with 71 per cent accuracy after looking at one photo, and 83 per cent accuracy after five. In both cases the level of performance far outstripped human ability to make this distinction. Advertisement 'Technology cannot identify someones sexual orientation,' said Jim Halloran, GLAAD's Chief Digital Officer. 'What their technology can recognize is a pattern that found a small subset of out white gay and lesbian people on dating sites who look similar. 'Those two findings should not be conflated. 'This research isnt science or news, but its a description of beauty standards on dating sites that ignores huge segments of the LGBTQ community, including people of color, transgender people, older individuals, and other LGBTQ people who dont want to post photos on dating sites. Researchers studied the composite images generated by the AI as average representations of the faces of heterosexual and homosexual men and women. They identified more obvious surface level differences, like the presence of glasses, which stood out in the images 'At a time where minority groups are being targeted, these reckless findings could serve as weapon to harm both heterosexuals who are inaccurately outed, as well as gay and lesbian people who are in situations where coming out is dangerous.' The software in the wrong hands could in theory be used to pick out people who would rather keep private their choice of sexual partners. Google search results show that the term 'is my husband gay?' is more common than 'is my husband having an affair' or 'is my husband depressed'. Dr Kosinski has previously been involved in controversial research. He invented an app that could use information in a person's Facebook profile to model their personality. This information was used by the Donald Trump election campaign team to select voters to target it thought would be receptive. Google has been slammed for 'fixing' its racist image recognition algorithm by simply removing the word 'gorilla' from its auto-tag tool. The software outraged many users back in 2015 after it tagged images of a computer programmer and his friend as primates. Now, nearly three years later, it has been revealed the company has 'fixed' the issue by blocking identification of gorillas, chimpanzees and monkeys. Twitter users have criticised the company for not working to develop a diverse model for an algorithm and instead just banning identification of gorillas and black people. Scroll down for video In 2015 Jacky Alcine, from New York, spotted photographs of him and a female friend had been labelled as gorillas by Google Photos image recognition software. Google has admitted its image labelling technology is 'nowhere near perfect' but instead of fixing it the company has simply banned the term 'gorilla' WHAT HAPPENED? Google launched its standalone Photos app in May 2015, announcing a number of features such as automatically creating collections of people and objects like food or landscapes. However shortly after, Jacky Alcine, from Brooklyn, New York, spotted photos of him and a female friend posing for the camera had been grouped into a collection tagged 'gorilla'. In a series of Tweets to Google back in 2015, Mr Alcine said: 'Google Photos, y'all f***** up. My friend's not a gorilla. 'The only thing under this tag is my friend and I being tagged as a gorilla. 'What kind of sample image data you collected that would result in this son? 'And it's only photos I have with her it's doing this with. 'I understand how this happens, the problem is more so on the why. This is how you determine someone's target market.' Advertisement Google launched its standalone Photos app in May 2015, announcing a number of features such as automatically creating collections of people and objects like food or landscapes. The internet giant's Google Photos application uses an auto-tagging feature to help organise images uploaded to the service and make searching easier. However shortly after its launch, Jacky Alcine, from Brooklyn, New York, spotted photos of him and a female friend posing for the camera had been grouped into a collection tagged 'gorilla'. The incident caused outrage and Google said that it was 'appalled' and 'genuinely sorry' for the mistake. At the end of last year, reporters from Wired tested Google Photos using 40,000 images - many of which contained animals. It could identify many animals such as pandas and poodles. It could also identify baboons, gibbons, orangutan and marmosets. However, it could not identify gorillas, chimpanzees or monkeys. A spokesperson confirmed that 'gorilla' was censored after the 2015 incident and 'chimp,' 'chimpanzee,' and 'monkey' have since been blocked too. 'Image labelling technology is still early and unfortunately it's nowhere near perfect,' the spokesperson said. 'How about making the effort to develop a diverse (eg not all white) model base for the algorithm?' tweeted Agustin Fuentes, a US-based Professor of Anthropology. 'Google has "fixed" its image recognition algorithm which misidentified black people as gorillas. The algorithm no longer identifies gorillas, or black people', tweeted John Overholt, a curator of Early Modern Books & Manuscripts at Harvard University. 'How about making the effort to develop a diverse (eg not all white) model base for the algorithm?' tweeted Agustin Fuentes, a US-based Professor of Anthropology 'Google has "fixed" it's image recognition algorithm which misidentified black people as gorillas. The algorithm no longer identifies gorillas, or black people', tweeted John Overholt, a curator of Early Modern Books & Manuscripts at Harvard University In a series of tweets to Google back in 2015, Mr Alcine said: 'Google Photos, y'all f***** up. My friend's not a gorilla. 'The only thing under this tag is my friend and I being tagged as a gorilla. 'What kind of sample image data you collected that would result in this son? 'And it's only photos I have with her it's doing this with. 'I understand how this happens, the problem is more so on the why. This is how you determine someone's target market.' His tweets triggered a response from Yonatan Zunger, chief architect of social at Google, who said programmers were working on a fix to the problem. He said: 'Thank you for telling us so quickly. Sheesh. High on my list of bugs you *never* want to see happen. Shudder.' Jacky Alcine's tweet about the problem triggered a horrified response from Google's chief architect of social Yonatan Zunger, who said engineers were working on a variety of fixes to prevent similar issues in the future Mr Zunger later said that Google had turned off the ability for photographs to be grouped under that label to stop the problem. He said however the error may occur in photographs where their image recognition software failed to detect a face at all. He said a fix for that was being worked upon. Advertisement Boeing has finally unveiled a concept for the potential successor to the legendary Blackbird SR-71 spy plane - and it is set to travel at more than five times the speed of sound. This 'Son of Blackbird' could become a high-speed strike and reconnaissance aircraft in warfare of the future, travelling at such speeds that adversaries would have no time to react or hide. It is designed to carry out spy missions in the same way as the Blackbird SR-71, which was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. In 1976 it set an absolute speed record of 2,193.2mph (3,529kmh) - a record it still holds today. Scroll down for video Boeing has finally unveiled the potential successor to the legendary Blackbird SR-71 spy plane (pictured)- and it is set to travel at more than five times the speed of sound The concept was unveiled at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics SciTech forum and is the direct competitor to Lockheed Martin's design which could be in the skies late in the 2020s. The speed of sound, Mach 1, is around 767mph (1,235kmh). Hitting Mach 5 would mean the new craft has to travel at an astonishing 3,836mph (6,174kmh). 'It's a really hard problem to develop an aircraft that takes off and accelerates through Mach 1 all the way to Mach 5 and beyond', Kevin Bowcutt, Boeing chief scientist for hypersonics told Aviation Week. The SR-71 replacement needs to take off, accelerate and slow down but itself - just like the 1964 model. Hypersonic technologies, including a combined cycle propulsion system that blends a rocket engine and a supersonic jet engine, are now sufficiently advanced to allow the planned SR-72 project to begin, it is believed. This demonstrator vehicle could become a high-speed strike and reconnaissance aircraft in warfare of the future, travelling at such speeds that adversaries would have no time to react or hide The company is planning a two-step process. First it plans to being test flights with an F-16, single-engine design and then test flights with a twin-engine, full-scale operational vehicle that would be around 107 foot long (33 metres). The design has not yet been approved for full-scale development but it shows a twin-tail, highly swept delta wing configuration. 'The specific impulse of an air breathing engine goes down with increasing velocity, so you have to make the engine bigger to get to Mach 5', said Mr Bowcutt. 'But doing that means a bigger inlet and a bigger nozzle, and trying to get that through Mach 1 is harder', he said. THE BLACKBIRD SR-71 The SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft throughout its career. On July 28 1976 it broke the world record for absolute altitude - reaching 85,069 feet. Advertisement That same day a different SR-71 set an absolute speed record of 2,193.2mph - a record it still holds today. The plane was so fast that it could outrun surface-to-air missiles as it traveled close to the edge of space at about 85,000 feet, or about 16 miles above the earth. On July 28 1976 it broke the world record for absolute altitude - reaching 85,069 feet If a surface-to-air missile launch was detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile. The plane flew so high above the Earth's surface that Joersz said there was no real sense of speed at all with the clouds so far below. A total of 32 of the aircraft were built which flew from 1964 to 1999; 12 were lost in accidents, but none were shot down by enemies. The plane's titanium skin was capable of surviving temperatures up to 482C In late 1957, the CIA approached the defense contractor Lockheed to build an undetectable spy plane and within ten months they had come up with the design for the Blackbird. Flying at 80,000 ft meant that crews could not use standard masks, which would not provide enough oxygen above 43,000 ft, so specialist protective pressurised suits were made. The plane's titanium skin was capable of surviving temperatures up to 482C. Lockheed Martin posted an artist's impression of the craft to its website, with the caption 'The Skunk Works hypersonic design an aircraft developed to execute Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance and strike missions at speeds up to Mach 6.' In September last year it was announced Lockheed Martin was already testing a radical hypersonic update of its Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird spy plane. The SR-72 hypersonic plane will be a strike and reconnaissance aircraft that tops Mach 6, and the firm has been working on the project since the early 2000s. 'Although I can't go into specifics, let us just say the Skunk Works team in Palmdale, California, is doubling down on our commitment to speed,' Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president of aeronautics at Lockheed Martin, told the SAE International Aerotech Congress and Exhibition. 'Simply put, I believe the United States is on the verge of a hypersonics revolution.' 'We've been saying hypersonics is two years away for the last 20 years, but all I can say is the technology is mature and we, along with Darpa and the services, are working hard to get that capability into the hands of our warfighters as soon as possible,' Rob Weiss, Lockheed Martin's executive vice president and general manager for Advanced Development Programs, previously told Aviation Week. It is expected to be around the same size as an F-22 and powered by a full-scale, combined cycle engine. 'Hypersonic aircraft, coupled with hypersonic missiles, could penetrate denied airspace and strike at nearly any location across a continent in less than an hour,' said Brad Leland, Lockheed Martin program manager, Hypersonics. 'Speed is the next aviation advancement to counter emerging threats in the next several decades. 'The technology would be a game-changer in theater, similar to how stealth is changing the battlespace today.' Hypersonic jets, flying at up to Mach 5, could also allow passengers to dramatically cut journey times. For example, a commercial flight from New York to Shanghai currently takes about 15 hours - but at hypersonic speeds, could take two. NASA recently said it is is seeking proposals for the development of its supersonic X-plane, with plans to begin work as early as next year. The Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) low-boom flight demonstrator aims to produce a much lower 'boom' than other supersonic aircraft, and NASA is hoping to see the first flight tests take place in 2021. Lockheed Martin has been working on the preliminary design, with hopes to move on to build the demonstrator, but NASA has now opened the door for other companies to submit their own designs as well. Artificial Intelligence software has beaten humans in one of the worlds most-challenging reading comprehension tests. In a feat being hailed as a world first, a deep neural network scored higher than the average person on a Stanford University designed quiz. The breakthrough could lead to more advanced robots and automated systems, capable of solving complex problems and answering difficult questions. Future applications could range from customer service to helping tackle social and political issues, like climate change and conflicts over resources. Scroll down for video Artificial Intelligence software has beaten humans in one of the worlds most-challenging reading comprehension tests. In a feat being hailed as a world first, a deep neural network scored higher than the average person on a Stanford University designed quiz ALIBABA'S AI MODEL The accuracy of Alibaba's AI is tied to its ability to infer meaning, narrowing down from paragraphs to sentences to words, locating precise phrases that contain potential answers. In a process known as natural language processing (NLP), machines mimic human comprehension of words and sentences. The model, which uses the company's Hierarchical Attention Network, is viewed as having strong commercial value, particularly in Asia. Alibaba has used the underlying technology in its 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the largest online shopping day in the world but celebrated only in China on November 11. For several years, Alibaba's machines have answered large numbers of inbound customer inquiries using the AI system. Advertisement The AI, created by retail firm Alibabas Institute of Data Science and Technologies, based in Hangzhou, China, took part in the Stanford Question Answering Dataset (Squad). Squad is a large-scale reading comprehension dataset comprised of over 100,000 question-answer pairs based on over 500 Wikipedia articles. It is seen as the worlds top machine reading-comprehension test and attracts universities and institutes ranging from Google, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft to Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University and the Allen Research Institute. Teams competing in the challenge have to build machine-learning models that can provide answers to the questions in the dataset. Alibaba's deep neural network model scored 82.44, beating the human score of 82.304 in providing exact answers to questions. The company said its the first time a machine has out-done a real person in such a contest. Microsoft Research achieved a similar feat, scoring 82.65, but those results were finalised a day after Alibabas, the firm said. Luo Si, chief scientist for natural language processing at the Alibaba institute, said in a written statement: 'It is our great honor to witness the milestone where machines surpass humans in reading comprehension. 'That means objective questions such as "what causes rain" can now be answered with high accuracy by machines. 'The technology underneath can be gradually applied to numerous applications such as customer service, museum tutorials and online responses to medical inquiries from patients, decreasing the need for human input in an unprecedented way.' The accuracy of Alibaba's AI is tied to its ability to infer meaning, narrowing down from paragraphs to sentences to words, locating precise phrases that contain potential answers. In a process known as natural language processing (NLP), machines mimic human comprehension of words and sentences. The model, which uses the company's Hierarchical Attention Network, is viewed as having strong commercial value, particularly in Asia. Alibaba has used the underlying technology in its 11.11 Global Shopping Festival, the largest online shopping day in the world but celebrated only in China on November 11. The breakthrough could lead to more advanced robots and automated systems, capable of solving complex problems and answering difficult questions. Future applications could range from customer service to helping tackle social and political issues For several years, Alibaba's machines have answered large numbers of inbound customer inquiries using the AI system. The Chinese e-commerce group is one of a number in the region in a race to develop advanced AI. Tencent Holdings and Baidu are also competing to create smart software that can enrich social media feeds, target ads and services or even aid in autonomous driving. The government in Beijing has endorsed the technology in a national-level plan that calls for China to become the industry leader by 2030. Mr Si added: 'We are thrilled to see NLP research has achieved significant progress over the year. 'We look forward to sharing our model-building methodology with the wider community and exporting the technology to our clients in the near future.' Sending the wrong emoji or liking a post on social media could be enough to ruin your relationship, a leading psychologist has warned. Showing too much interest in the digital lives of someone other than your partner can be considered acts of infidelity, dubbed micro-cheating. While the actions themselves may seem relatively trivial, they can have the same emotional impact as sleeping with someone else, according to one expert. Scroll down for video Sending the wrong emoji could be enough to ruin your relationship, a leading psychologist warns. Showing too much interest in the digital lives of someone other than your partner can be considered acts of infidelity, dubbed micro-cheating (stock image) FIVE WAYS YOU MIGHT BE MICRO-CHEATING Adding a former partner on social media apps like Snapchat or following them on Facebook and Instagram. Using too many emojis with romantic connotation, like hearts and flowers, in online communications. Saving the contact details of a friend of the opposite sex under a false name. Sending complimentary messages, either publicly or privately, to someone of the opposite sex online. Tagging a member of the opposite sex in a post as part of an inside joke. Advertisement Dr Martin Graff, a psychologist from the University of South Wales, says that the click of a mouse button can be enough to put you at risk of micro-cheating. The term has risen in prominence over recent years as a way of describing the grey area between friendly interaction and infidelity, particularly in the online world. Examples of micro-cheating may include checking the social media accounts of a former lover or saving the contact details of a friend of the opposite sex under a false name. Messaging someone without your partners knowledge or adding a previous partner on Snapchat could also be considered acts of micro-cheating. It might even be something as seemingly innocent as sending a heart emoji to someone. Speaking to The Telegraph Dr Graff, who is an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society, said: 'In terms of the history of human communication and relationships this is all brand new. 'Social media interactions have an inherent ambiguity. Is sending a heart in a Facebook message being unfaithful? Or is it micro-cheating? 'It can be something as simple as repeatedly "liking" someones posts on Instagram or commenting on someones Facebook. 'Secrecy or covert communications are often, but not always, a sign of micro-cheating.' Interest around micro-cheating was renewed recently when Australian psychologist Melanie Schilling spoke to MailOnline about the types of behaviour that the concept describes. Examples of micro-cheating may include checking the social media accounts of a former lover or even just liking the Facebook post of someone other than your partner (stock image) She said: 'You might be engaging in micro-cheating if you secretly connect with another person on social media, if you share private jokes, if you downplay the seriousness of your relationship to your partner or if you enter their name under a code in your phone. 'These are all signs that you are conducting a "covert flirtation" and keeping it from your partner. If you feel you have something to hide - ask yourself why.' Not everyone is convinced by the concept, however, with critics claiming that the idea encourages controlling behaviour, as well as spying on the online lives of your significant other. Not everyone is convinced by the concept, however, with clinical psychologist Dr David Ley among hundreds of people who have taken to Twitter to criticise the idea Forms of micro-cheating involve engaging with a person on social media, sharing private jokes or downplaying the seriousness of your relationship but people aren't buying it Hundreds of people are taking to Twitter to question the validity of the concept, saying it encourages abusive behaviour Many people have also suggested it's human nature to see the beauty in others but this doesn't equate to cheating Lots of people have also commented that micro-cheating only seems to relate to heterosexual couples and ignores homosexual relationships Others have poked fun at the concept, suggesting that any action could be interpreted as evidence of micro-cheating Hundreds of people have taken to Twitter to call out the concept as stupid, BS and controlling. Clinical psychologist Dr David Ley said: Claims of micro-cheating, like emotional infidelity and financial infidelity are insidious ways to expand therapists intrusion into all aspects of normal life, feeding on the anxiety they induce by pathologizing every life problem encountered. Another user added: '"Microcheating" is a stupid concept and you're ALLOWED to have meaningful friendships with people outside of your relationship. 'If your partner tells you otherwise, that! is! abuse!' Every child learns at school that the Black Death was spread by rats which carried infected fleas. But the textbooks may need to be changed, as a new study suggests rodents have been unfairly blamed for the plague which killed millions of people across medieval Europe. The Black Death, it appears, may not have been spread by filthy rats, but by lice and fleas carried by humans instead. Scroll down for video Every child learns at school that the Black Death was spread by rats which carried infected fleas. But a new study suggests rodents have been unfairly blamed for the plague (artist's impression) which killed millions of people across medieval Europe EUROPEAN PLAGUES The Black Death of 1348 famously killed half of the people in London within 18 months, with bodies piled five-deep in mass graves. When the Great Plague of 1665 hit, a fifth of people in London died, with victims shut in their homes and a red cross painted on the door with the words 'Lord have mercy upon us'. The pandemic spread from Europe through the 14th and 19th centuries - thought to come from fleas which fed on infected rats before biting humans and passing the bacteria to them. But modern experts challenge the dominant view that rats caused the incurable disease. Experts point out that rats were not that common in northern Europe, which was hit equally hard by plague as the rest of Europe, and that the plague spread faster than humans might have been exposed to their fleas. Most people would have had their own fleas and lice, when the plague arrived in Europe in 1346, because they bathed much less often. Advertisement Researchers from Oslo University created a mathematical model for how people would have died if rats were the villains. But the death rates in nine European cities including London fail to match. If fleas from rats spread the bubonic plague, experts would expect to see a few people dying at first. Then the numbers would spike, as plague-infected rats carrying the parasites died off and their fleas made the jump to humans. Instead the death records suggest the great unwashed may have fuelled the Black Death's spread. Most people would have had their own fleas and lice, when the plague arrived in Europe on 1346, because they bathed much less often. Computational biologist Boris Schmid, from the centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis at the University of Oslo, said: 'For seven out of nine medieval cities, the model that could best describe medieval plague outbreaks was the one assuming that human ectoparasites - human fleas and body lice - were the main way in which the plague spread. 'Even assuming one rat for every person in medieval cities, which was probably 10 times the actual number of rats, the death rates did not fit.' The Black Death of 1348 famously killed half of the people in London within 18 months, with bodies piled five-deep in mass graves. When the Great Plague of 1665 hit, a fifth of people in London died, with victims shut in their homes and a red cross painted on the door with the words 'Lord have mercy upon us'. The Black Death, it appears, may not have been spread by filthy rats, but by lice and fleas carried by humans instead, research has found The pandemic spread from Europe through the 14th and 19th centuries - thought to come from fleas which fed on infected rats before biting humans and passing the bacteria to them. The Black Death of 1348 killed a third of Europe in just a few years. Pictured is an artist's impression a medieval Venitian doctor But modern experts challenge the dominant view that rats caused the incurable disease. Experts point out that rats were not that common in northern Europe, which was hit equally hard by plague as the rest of Europe, and that the plague spread faster than humans might have been exposed to their fleas. The Norwegian researchers, who also created a mathematical model for human fleas and lice, found their graph of mortality rates came closer to the deaths recorded in articles and government reports from the time. This would have spread the plague much more efficiently as people sleeping in the same beds would have been bitten by the same fleas and lice. Professor Mark Bailey, a historian and Black Death expert from the University of East Anglia, said: 'It was only less than a decade ago that scientists and historians accepted that the Black Death was definitively a version of the plague albeit a variant form of the bacterium acting differently to the plague today. Death records suggest the great unwashed may have fuelled the Black Death's spread. Most people would have had fleas and lice, when the plague arrived in Europe because they bathed much less often. Pictured is Yersinia pestis, the bacterium responsible for the bubonic plague 'This explains why the Black Death behaved differently to the modern form of the disease, spreading too fast and at the wrong time of year. 'The suggestion that ectoparasites, such as human fleas and lice, carried the medieval disease would also explain its rapid spread, and this study provides very strong grounds for accepting that theory. And it just shows how science is reshaping our understanding of history.' The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Advertisement Apple's spaceship is getting its finishing touches. The latest drone video of the $5bn HQ have revealed the final landscaping touches being made to the huge campus. It shows the landscaping that has transformed the giant building site into a lush green park. Scroll down for video The drone footage reveals the incredible landscaping inside the giant ring to turn it into a park. Apple Park contains over 9,000 native and drought-resistant trees, and is powered by 100 percent renewable energy. APPLE'S ORCHARDS According to David Muffly, Apple's senior arborist, the soil is incredibly fertile - and there area was once used to farm prunes, with one street bordering the campus is still called Pruneridge Avenue. Fruit trees will provide fresh food for the four-story Caffe Macs on campus. Muffly told Wired last year 'We think maybe 20 percent of all the fruit that will be eaten here we'll be able to grow.' There will be 37 varieties, 'Lots of plums, the apricots, persimmons, and then 17 varieties of apples and cherries.' he said, along with Apples including Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gravenstein and Pink Lady - but no McIntosh. Advertisement Much of the large construction equipment has been removed from the campus as it is no longer needed. Officially known as 'Apple Park', it is believed some staff have already moved into the new Cupertino campus in April, the firm said today. The parklands offer two miles of walking and running paths for employees, plus an orchard, meadow and pond within the ring's interior grounds. David Muffly, the expert dubbed 'Apple's tree whisperer' last year revealed the incredible lengths Apple went to in a bid to fulfil Steve Jobs' vision - even buying a Christmas tree farm in Nevada. Muffly said the biggest challenge was finding enough trees, especially as the number rose from Jobs' original 6,000 to the current goal of 9,000. When Jobs presented his plan to the Cupertino City Council in June 2011, he said that Apple would add to the 3,700 existing trees for a total of 6,000 - but this proved impossible, so new trees had to be brought it. The process of moving more than 12,000 people will take over six months, and construction of the buildings and parklands. Before his death in 2011, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs set out to create one of the most futuristic buildings ever created. 'Steve was exhilarated, and inspired, by the California landscape, by its light and its expansiveness,' said Laurene Powell Jobs. 'It was his favourite setting for thought. Apple Park captures his spirit uncannily well.' 'He would have flourished, as the people of Apple surely will, on this luminously designed campus.' To 'honour his memory and his enduring influence on Apple and the world', the theater at Apple Park will be named the Steve Jobs Theater, Apple said last year. The entrance to the 1,000-seat auditorium is a 20-foot-tall glass cylinder, 165 feet in diameter, supporting a metallic carbon-fibre roof, and opened last year for the launch of the iPhone X. The footage reveals the trees taking root within the giant spaceship's interior. The parklands offer two miles of walking and running paths for employees, plus an orchard, meadow and pond within the ring's interior grounds The Steve Jobs Theater is situated on top of a hill one of the highest points within Apple Park overlooking meadows and the main building. 'Steve's vision for Apple stretched far beyond his time with us. 'He intended Apple Park to be the home of innovation for generations to come,' said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. HOW APPLE MADE STEVE JOBS' VISION FOR ITS NEW CALIFORNIA 'SPACESHIP' CAMPUS A REALITY Apple Park, the company's brand new 3.5 billion ($5 billion) headquarters, will soon house 12,000 employees. The building was the brainchild of Steve Jobs, who came up with the design months before his tragic death in 2011. The incredible lengths Apple went to in making Jobs' vision a reality, from buying a Christmas tree farm in Nevada to buying so many local trees it caused a shortage, have been revealed. While the office itself boasts elaborate glass canopies, a two-story yoga room, a 4,000-person cafe with four-story glass doors, and even patented pizza boxes to prevent food from getting soggy, the parkland surrounding it is just as impressive. David Muffly, the expert dubbed 'Apple's tree whisperer' has revealed the incredible lengths Apple went to in a bid to fulfil Steve Jobs vision - even buying a Christmas tree farm in Nevada. Muffly said the biggest challenge was finding enough trees, especially as the number rose from Jobs' original 6,000 to the current goal of 9,000. When Jobs presented his plan to the Cupertino City Council in June 2011, he said that Apple would add to the 3,700 existing trees for a total of 6,000 - but this proved impossible, so new trees had to be brought it. David Muffly, the expert dubbed 'Apple's tree whisperer' has revealed the incredible lengths Apple went to in a bid to fulfil Steve Jobs vision - even buying a Christmas tree farm in Nevada Jobs hoped to recapture the lost feel of an area that was once mostly open spaces and fruit orchards. 'The landscape design of meadows and woodlands will create an ecologically rich oak savanna reminiscent of the early Santa Clara Valley,' Apple said in its original proposal. 'It will incorporate both young and mature trees, and native and drought tolerant plants that will thrive in Santa Clara County with minimal water consumption. 'The thoughtful and extensive landscaping will recall Cupertino's pre-agricultural and agricultural past.' 800 of the healthiest and most attractive trees were 'boxed' so they could be stored in a corner of the construction site Apple's tree strategy involved first preserving the best trees already on the site for replanting later. According to planning documents, Apple removed 3,616 trees from the land before construction could begin. Muffly and his team selected and stored 800 of the healthiest and most attractive of those trees and 'boxed' them so they could be stored in a corner of the construction site. A report from the city's consulting arborist, Michael Bench, included photos of a couple of trees from the site being readied for transplantation to these large boxes, and revealed how they were moved. The pain painstaking process was revealed in an October 2013 report. 'The pipes are driven under the root ball using a pneumatic hammer. 'A large I-Beam will be bolted to these pipes on the 2 sides where they extend past the root ball. 'When it is time to transplant the trees, cranes will affix cables to the I-Beams to lift and move the tree. 'The root balls are being irrigated and will continue to be irrigated on a regular schedule for up to 5 years.' Developers working on San Francisco's new Transbay Transit Center train station are having a hard time getting trees for the new 5.4-acre green rooftop City Park. Patrick Trollip, the lead landscaper on the transit project, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Apple has become their biggest obstacle because the company keeps buying all the trees at landscaping centers along the coast. In a cluster of East Bay nurseries, Apple has been growing more than 4,600 trees, which are nestled in large, wooden boxes 'Buying trees is a surprisingly cutthroat business. 'And it's been especially challenging to locate desirable specimens because Apple has been buying up 3,000 trees for its new Cupertino headquarters. When Greenspan and Trollip found a tree they fancied they would 'tag it' with a locking yellow tag, so that nobody else like Apple could get it. Eventually all the tagged trees were moved to a nursery in Sunol, where the transbay project team leased 4 acres.' Advertisement 'The workspaces and parklands are designed to inspire our team as well as benefit the environment. We've achieved one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the world and the campus will run entirely on renewable energy.' The campus' ring-shaped, 2.8 million-square-foot main building is clad entirely in the world's largest panels of curved glass, and the firm's fanatical attention to detail is seen throughout. 'Steve invested so much of his energy creating and supporting vital, creative environments, said Jony Ive, Apple's chief design officer. When Jobs presented his plan to the Cupertino City Council in June 2011, he said that Apple would add to the 3,700 existing trees for a total of 6,000 - but this proved impossible, so new trees had to be brought it. 'We have approached the design, engineering and making of our new campus with the same enthusiasm and design principles that characterise our products.' 'Connecting extraordinarily advanced buildings with rolling parkland creates a wonderfully open environment for people to create, collaborate and work together. 'We have been extremely fortunate to be able to work closely, over many years, with the remarkable architectural practice Foster + Partners.' Apple said it will take six months to move all 12,000 staff into the $5 billion (4 billion) 2.8 million-square-foot campus, which features a 1,000 seat auditorium named the Steve Jobs Theater. The Steve Jobs Theater is situated on top of a hill one of the highest points within Apple Park overlooking meadows and the main building. Opening later this year, the entrance to the 1,000-seat auditorium is a 20-foot-tall glass cylinder, 165 feet in diameter, supporting a metallic carbon-fibre roof The campus' ring-shaped, 2.8 million-square-foot main building is clad entirely in the world's largest panels of curved glass Apple Park will also include a visitors centre with an Apple Store and cafe open to the public, a 100,000-square-foot fitness centre for Apple employees, secure research and development facilities and the Steve Jobs Theater. A recent flyover of Apple's mothership reveals the massive $5 billion (4 billion) Campus 2 is nearly complete. The incredible drone images also reveal the astonishing attention to detail of the site. From the arrangement of electrical wiring to the finish of a hidden pipe, no aspect of the 2.8 million-square-foot main building has been too small to attract scrutiny. Since Apple unveiled its plans in 2011, the move-in date has slowly receded. Jobs' initial projection was 2015, but this spring now seems most likely, according to people involved in the project. More than $1 billion (800 million) was allocated for the interior of the main building alone, according to a former construction manager. The campus is something of an exception to the trend of radically open offices aimed at fostering collaboration, said Louise Mozingo, a professor and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at University of California, Berkeley. Its central office building - a massive ring of glass frequently likened to a spaceship - could be a challenge just to navigate, she noted. 'It's not about maximizing the productivity of the office space, it's about creating a symbolic center for this global company,' she said. 'They are creating an icon.' An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment. The circular, four-storey building will be around a mile in circumference and a third of a mile wide and was recently described by the San Francisco Weekly as a 'massive glass doughnut' Technology companies have long favoured generic office parks, but the Apple Campus 2 marks a new chapter in Silicon Valley architecture. When completed, the campus will house up to 14,200 employees, according to the 2013 project description. The main building - which boasts the world's largest piece of curved glass - will be surrounded by a lush canopy of thousands of trees. Little remains from the cement-laden campus Apple acquired from Hewlett-Packard, though the iPhone maker preserved a century-old barn that remained intact. But what was most striking to those who worked on the project was Apple managers' insistence on treating the construction of the vast complex the same way they approach the design of pocket-sized electronics. Apple's in-house construction team enforced many rules, including no vents or pipes could be reflected in the glass. And guidelines for the special wood used frequently throughout the building ran to some 30 pages. The company's keen design sense enhanced the project, but its expectations sometimes clashed with construction realities, a former architect said. 'With phones, you can build to very, very minute tolerances,' he said. 'You would never design to that level of tolerance on a building. Your doors would jam.' Apple's novel approach to the building took many forms. Architect German de la Torre, who worked on the project, found many of the proportions - such as the curve of a rounded corner - came from Apple's products. The elevator buttons struck some workers as resembling the iPhone's home button; one former manager even likened the toilet's sleek design to the device. But Mr de la Torre ultimately saw that Apple executives were not trying to evoke the iPhone per se, but rather following something akin to the Platonic ideal of form and dimension. Elsewhere underground, the auditorium will be where Apple's CEO Tim Cook will present the companies keynotes ahead of product launches, for example 'They have arrived at design principles somehow through many years of experimentation, and they are faithful to those principles,' Mr de la Torre said. Early in construction, Apple managers told the construction team that the ceiling - composed of large panels of polished concrete - should be immaculate inside and out, just as the inside of the iPhone's audio jack is a finished product, a former construction manager recalled. Each of the thousands of ceiling panels had to win approval from both Apple's in-house team and the general contractor, once at the shop and then again at the construction site. Technology companies have long favoured generic office parks, but the Apple Campus 2 marks a new chapter in Silicon Valley architecture. Pictured left is Apple's current Cupertino campus Covering 175 acres, Apple's 'Campus 2' headquarters will replace its current offices at 1 Infinite Loop (pictured) 'The things you can't see, they all mattered to Apple,' the former construction manager said. One of the most vexing features was the doorways, which Apple wanted to be perfectly flat, with no threshold. The construction team pushed back, but Apple held firm. 'We spent months trying not to do that because that's time, money and stuff that's never been done before,' the former construction manager said. Advertisement They say what goes up, must come down. So it's understandable that December's festivities are followed by a natural, but completely unwelcome, slump. And, according to experts, the slump 'peaks' each year today, on January 15, in a phenomenon known as 'Blue Monday'. Dubbed the most depressing day of the calendar, it's supposedly when all the bitter realities of life collide into one truly miserable 24-hour period. But others believe the playful term is misguided, especially when considering the supposed benefits of the hue, include everything from de-stressing to fighting infection. In fact, colour therapist Alison Standish claims it 'calms and soothes the mind, body and spirit'. With this in mind, Celebrity Cruises has listed the world's best locations for people to benefit from the shade - everywhere from Iceland to Italy, with not a sad face in sight. Santorini, Greece Into the blue: Santorini in Greece is one of the most visually-striking locations thanks to its rich waters and blue rooftops Potentially the most well-known on this list, the image that first comes to mind when you think of Santorini is its deep blue rooftops that overlook the seemingly endless sea. When you couple this Greek islands world-renowned rooftop views, authentic food, invigorating walks and its average temperature of 26C, theres definitely nothing to feel down about. But it is also known for its cobalt blue shades, which dominate the skyline - and this could potentially perk you up. 'Cobalt is a vibrant blue which creates deep feelings of calm and allows the body to de-stress and sooth,' Alison says. 'It also supports the ability to communicate on a one-to-one basis with clarity and truth.' Porto, Portugal Colour me good: The external wall of the Santa Catarina church in Porto, Portugal, decorated with typical azulejos tile-work Destination point: The walls of a walkway in the 18th century cathedral are covered with pictorial blue-and-white tile work What Blue Monday? Porto is all about the Baroque blue tiles that line the streets The Portuguese flag might be red and green, but its second city is all about the blues. While its coastal position brings with it the shades of the sea, the city is all about the Baroque tiles that line the streets with royal blue hues. Youll find them all across the city, on buildings' exteriors and under church arches. But be sure to pay a visit to the church Igreja do Carmo for the best example. 'This colour clears fogginess and confusion,' says Alison. 'Royal Blue creates the feelings of authority. It is intricately related to law and order. It is a colour loved by royalty since ancient times, creating feelings of justice and fairness. 'If you are travelling for culture, this colour draws you in and helps you experience the history and stories of its locations.' Juzcar, Spain Juzcar: Nicknamed the Village of Smurfs, blue-coloured sky-blue houses stand out among the deep green hilly skyline Malaga is an ever-popular holiday destination for Brits. But, in addition to the golden sands, theres another, lesser-known reason to pay a visit here: the small village of Juzcar. Nicknamed the Village of the Smurfs, sky-blue houses stand out among the deep green hilly skyline for an impressive - and possibly healing - sight. 'This is a transparent blue with a few tones of green, which create feelings of trust and integrity,' Alison adds. 'This colour creates calm but also is associated with nature and nurture, therefore encouraging kindness and generosity. 'The gentleness of this combined colour allows us to gently unwind and detach from the stresses in our lives.' Capri, Italy Secret space: The Blue Grotto is considered one of the must-see attractions on Italys Amalfi Coast Natural wonder: The so-called grotto is a natural sea cave, 60 meters long and 25 meters wide, which enhances colour Italys Amalfi Coast is packed with things to see and do, but a must-see is the island of Capri. A stomping ground for celebrities ranging from March-Francis Vandelli to Mariah Carey, youll be treated to breath-taking views and great food. However, the jewel in its crown has to be the Blue Grotto. Reachable by boat, the light inside this cove creates an other-worldly midnight blue that shimmers in the water. 'As the name suggests, this deep and powerful colour hides amazing insights and brings forward brilliant revelations,' says Alison. 'If youre feeling lost, then this colour invites you to be more constructive by creating structure and allowing you to re-create your personal identity. 'The older the location the more you can connect to its heritage with this colour'. Blue Lagoon, Iceland World-famous: People relaxing in Blue Lagoon spa, while Svartsengi Geothermal Power Station hovers in the distance And relax! A woman swimming in Iceland's Blue Lagoon feels the benefit of the natural elements In recent years, Iceland has grown in popularity - and, with amazing vistas, the chance to see the Northern Lights and geothermal spas such as Blue Lagoon, it's easy to see why. Picture-perfect and a great way to spend a morning or afternoon, this spas haze of powder blue is an ideal way to unwind. 'Warming yet also anti-septic, this shade of blue calms the mind and balances both our physical and emotional wellness,' Alison explains. 'This particular hue helps with contemplation and an ability to look inward, allowing ideas and plans to manifest.' Blue Caves, Zakynthos Glorious: The Blue Caves of Zakynthos are a common draw for holiday-makers Enhanced: The blue of the caves comes from the water below reflecting back off the rocks in a subtle aqua-marine shade Known by many as Zante, this Greek island has become synonymous with a buzzing nightlife, but by day it can be one of the most picturesque places in Europe. There are multiple beaches and coves, however most visitors will pay a visit to the Blue Caves, a succession of caves dotted along the coast of the island. The blue of the caves comes from the water below reflecting back off the rock faces in a subtle aqua-marine shade. 'This cool blue is very therapeutic to the mind and body,' Alison adds. 'This particular blue alters with the light as it bounces off water and displays shades of green depicting the nature within the sea, helping us to breathe a little easier.' Turquoise Seas, Sardinia Dive in: Sardinia is often compared to the likes of the Caribbean due to its white sandy beaches and extremely clear blue sea Stunning: Boasting over 1,800 kilometres of unspoilt coastline, plus a hot climate, it's a perfect summer getaway Sardinia is often compared to the likes of the Caribbean due to its white sandy beaches and extremely clear blue sea. Boasting over 1,800 kilometres of unspoilt coastline, plus a hot climate, it's a perfect summer getaway. But, alongside being able to top up your tan, Sardinia should be an uplifting experience because 'turquoise heals and rebalances our emotional centre, creativity is heightened and develops our ability to care for ourselves and others'. Alison adds that it's 'a fabulous, uplifting colour which is gentle and mollifying, especially when mixed with sunshine. This combination will relieve any feelings of negativity. A great colour for treating the immune system and fighting any form of infection.' Spain is being urged to limit the number of slots given to Ryanair and give them to other carriers in protest at the new baggage rules introduced by the Irish airline from today. Tourists are also being called on to boycott the low-cost carrier, with the Spanish Association of Users, Employers and Professionals of Air Transport (Asetra) slamming the new charges as 'looting' passengers. The organisation has attacked the new Ryanair baggage policy as 'disproportionate' and is calling on Spain's Ministry of Development to cut back on the airline's slots over the country. Spain is being urged to limit the number of slots given to Ryanair and give them to other carriers in protest at the new baggage rules From today, Ryanair passengers will still be able to travel with two items of luggage but the larger bag will be placed in the hold unless they pay for priority boarding. Only the smaller bag which can be the size of a handbag or laptop bag will be allowed in the cabin. Priority boarding costs from 5. Asetra says the new charge is unacceptable and 'a clear abuse'. It is calling on the Spanish government to favour other airlines, which it claims have the real interests of Spanish travellers and their economic situation at heart. The association is also outraged at Ryanair's intention to charge anyone 50 euros if they fail to abide by the new rules, slamming the decision as 'a coercive message' and 'violating good faith'. Asetra said: 'This new condition violates the rights of passengers at a time when Ryanair enjoys a dominant position in the Spanish air transport market. NEW RULES: HOW RYANAIR'S LUGGAGE POLICY WILL AFFECT PASSENGERS The new rules regarding hand luggage on all Ryanair flights has come into force. According to the Irish airline, passengers will still be able to travel with two items of luggage, but the larger bag will be placed in the hold unless they pay for priority boarding. Only the smaller bag which can be the size of a handbag or laptop bag will be allowed in the cabin. The policy means many more travellers will have to wait at airport carousels to collect bags on arrival. Priority boarding costs from 5. Ryanair has also lowered the price of flying with a check-in bag from 35 to 25 and increased the weight allowance from 15kg to 20kg. Chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said the change will reduce delays caused by passengers struggling to fit wheelie bags into overhead lockers and will cost the Dublin-based carrier up to 50 million euro (45 million) each year. If you want to be certain of getting your bag on board, then visit the Ryanair website and buy a 'Ryanair Guaranteed Cabin Bag', manufactured by Samsonite. These are designed to comply exactly with the airline's size regulations. Advertisement 'This prevents users from choosing other airlines in some routes that the Ryanair company exclusively carries out and thus limits their ability to choose.' Asetra believes the new Ryanair rules can be challenged in the European courts or via the Spanish Agency for Aviation Safety. It is encouraging any traveller who bought their ticket before the new rules were announced last September to take legal action on the basis of a 'change of contract in the agreed conditions.' In the event that they are prevented from travelling with a carry-on suitcase for not paying the fee, it urges them to demand compensation, as set out in the European Regulation EC 261/2004. However, Ryanair has hit back at the claims by the Spanish transport body, saying the policy is intended to reduce delays. In a statement, Ryanair's Kenny Jacobs told MailOnline Travel: 'These claims are baseless. Since we announced this new policy, we have had a positive reception from our customers. 'This new policy is fair, will speed up boarding and will eliminate any risk of Ryanair flights being delayed because of too many bags being brought on board. 'These new bag rules are centred around lower checked bag fees and bigger bag allowances, changes which will cost Ryanair up to 50m per year so we hope our customers will enjoy and welcome them. 'All Ryanair customers can still bring two free carry-on bags but because of our heavily booked flights (94 per cent load factors), we don't have space on board for this many wheelie bags so are asking non-priority customers to put their bigger bag in the hold free of charge from today in order to eliminate boarding delays and improve our industry leading on-time departures.' Ryanair says the changes will reduce delays caused by passengers struggling to fit wheelie bags into overhead locker Meanwhile for passengers flying with Ryanair today, the new policy was greeted with a mixed response. Hannah Beagley accused Ryanair of going 'out of your way to make things difficult for your customers', while Jonny Lavery claimed a suitable motto for the Dublin-based carrier would now be: 'Low fares. Made extremely complicated.' And Shehnaz Hansraj tweeted: 'No mention of this strange rule when I booked with @Ryanair last week. I then got an email almost a week later 'reminding' me of this rule. Had I known no carry on luggage was allowed I would have booked with another airline #tedious However, Gareth J Bond described the hand luggage rules as 'long overdue', adding that the changes have been 'clear on website for months'. While Twitter user Dan added: 'Honestly don't understand the fuss over @Ryanair's new baggage policy, you're not getting any more/less for your money, you just put your bag in the hold for free instead of finding space on board! #simple.' And Rory Borland, travel editor of consumer group Which?, urged Ryanair passengers to make sure they are aware of the new policy and how it could affect them. He explained: 'Ryanair needs to make sure customers understand that they may not be insured for loss, theft or damage of their valuables if their luggage ends up in the hold as a result of these new rules. 'We would advise travellers to remove wallets, keys, laptops and other important or expensive items from any bag the airline plans to put in the hold. 'If anything does go missing, you should claim against the airline as they should honour your rights under the Montreal Convention.' She was known as Strictly's siren during her 10-year stint on the hit BBC show. And Ola Jordan showcased her incredible physique once again as she headed to rehearsals for her upcoming show. Clad in fishnet tights and a tiny black leotard, the 35-year-old turned heads in the skimpy ensemble as she put on an amorous display with her husband James. Scroll down for video Skimpy: Ola Jordan showcased her incredible physique once again as she headed to rehearsals for her upcoming show in London on Sunday The Polish beauty left little to the imagination in the dancewear which she paired with a black padded jacket, furry boots and leg warmers. Ola looked perfectly preened, as she styled her long blonde tresses in soft waves and accentuated her good looks with fluttery eyelashes and a pale pink lip. The married couple looked in the throes of love as they headed into the studios hand-in-hand. The duo have been busy rehearsing for their upcoming UK tour James and Ola: Uncensored got underway. Racy: Clad in fishnet tights and a tiny black leotard, the 35-year-old turned heads in the skimpy ensemble as she put on an amorous display with her husband James The Polish beauty left little to the imagination in the dance-wear which she paired with a black puffer jacket, furry boots and leg warmers Glamorous: Ola looked perfectly preened, as she styled her long blonde tresses in soft waves and accentuated her good looks with fluttery eyelashes and a pale pink lip Smitten: The married couple looked in the throes of love as they headed into the studios hand-in-hand James, 39, looked relatively dressed down in comparison to his glamorous wife, sporting black denim jeans, trainers and a dark grey parka jacket. Back in December, the former Strictly star James Jordan confessed his 18-year relationship with wife Ola has not been easy as he revealed on Lorraine: 'Life isnt all smooth sailing we have had ups and downs'. The Kent-born dancer discussed the famed 'Strictly Curse' with his wife as they insist their romance is 'a love story' and insist the bonds formed with fellow dancers do not have to turn sexual. Peachy: Ola flashed her pert derriere as she made her way into Pineapple studios Rollercoaster journey: Back in December, Ola's husband confessed his 18-year relationship with her has not been easy as he revealed on Lorraine: 'Life isnt all smooth sailing we have had ups and downs' James and Ola, who have been married for 14 years and a couple for 18, were keen to discuss all things Strictly and the subject of the relationship curse arose - to which he discussed their own lengthy tale. Speaking about their relationship, he said: 'At the end of the day, ours is going to be a love story. Life isnt all smooth sailing... 'Weve been together 18 years and we have had ups and downs, from when we met and started training, Ola struggling in Poland.' Ola previously spoke about her troubles growing up in her native country, as she said: ' Life in Poland was difficult but it made me the person I am today. When I was young we would have to queue for meat, milk and bread at four in the morning. Turning heads: Ola was known as Strictly's siren during her 10-year stint on the hit BBC show 'When you would hear meat was coming to a shop everyone would leave the house and get in line late at night to get it and then you would share it out as a family.' Speaking of James' involvement, she went on: 'We lived in a big apartment block just outside Warsaw. It was 11 floors and grey looking with old lifts. My husband James and I went back to visit and he was like: "Oh my God I cant imagine how you lived!"' The couple spoke in the past about their love woes, with Ola saying: 'It's not all beautiful and sometimes you can look at people's posts on Instagram and Facebook and you think, oh they've got perfect lives, but it's not like that... True love: The show will tell the couple's love story and kicks off in Blackpool with a full cast of dancers showcasing various styles of dance Casual: James, 39, looked relatively dressed down in comparison to his glamorous wife, sporting black denim jeans, trainers and a dark grey parka jacket 'Marriage is not like that, no one's got a perfect marriage. It's a work in progress and I think if two people want to be together, they'll make it happen. 'Sometimes you have dark times and you need your other half's support, and it's not all pretty and perfect that people seem to think.' Of the Strictly curse, James told Lorraine: 'It doesnt necessarily mean its sexual. Sometimes it does go that way. People talk about the Strictly curse and I can understand why people think that. 'But in any walk of life, like I have friends that work in big office blocks with lots of people, and theyve said its rife in their offices as well. It just happens in all walks of life. Sweet: The pair, who have been married for 14 years, appeared in high spirits She's been remarkably candid in her struggles to conceive. And in Monday's Woman's Day, it's been alleged that Nicole Kidman's Nashville pastor, is encouraging the A-list actress and her husband Keith Urban to adopt. Reverend Edward Steiner reportedly told the publication that the pair are 'wonderful parents.' However a representative for the 50-year-old slammed the adoption claims, telling Daily Mail Australia: 'Story (is) completely made-up rubbish!' 'Completely made-up rubbish!' Nicole Kidman's management SLAMMED reports by Woman's Day magazine on Monday, that a Nashville pastor is encouraging the actress 'to adopt' with Keith Urban The pastor, who is said to have known the A-list couple for years, was quoted as saying: 'It would be great to see them welcome another child into the family. If they have enough love as a couple to invest in another child they should definitely [adopt].' Edward reportedly went on to add that that in an ideal world, Keith and Nicole would have an open adoption where the family meets the birth mother, and wasn't short in gushing over the couple. 'It's clear they're very much in love,' he remarked, before going on to say that they can be 'a bit intense at times.' Reports: The pastor, who is said to have known the A-list couple for years, was quoted as saying: 'It would be great to see them welcome another child into the family. If they have enough love as a couple to invest in another child they should definitely [adopt]' Claims: Edward reportedly went on to add that that in an ideal world, Keith and Nicole would have an open adoption where the family meets the birth mother Daily Mail Australia reached out to Reverend Edward Steiner for comment. Nicole and Keith, both 50, who wed in 2006, are already proud parents to daughters Sunday Rose, nine, and Faith Margaret, seven, the youngest of which was born via a surrogate. Moulin Rouge actress Nicole also shares two adopted children, Isabella Cruise, 25, and Connor Cruise, 22, with ex-husband Tom Cruise, 55. Nicole has made no secret of her desire to add to her brood, having told The Mail on Sunday in January last year, that despite suffering several 'heartbreaks' during her attempts to conceive, she still hopes to become pregnant as 'children are the joy' of her life. Affection: Edward reportedly wasn't short in gushing over the couple: 'It's clear they're very much in love,' going on to say that they can be 'a bit intense at times' Brood: Nicole and Keith who wed in 2006, are already proud parents to daughters Sunday Rose, nine, and Faith Margaret, seven, the youngest of which was born via a surrogate Adopted children: Moulin Rouge actress Nicole also shares two adopted children, Isabella Cruise, 25, and Connor Cruise, 22, with ex-husband Tom Cruise, 55 The Academy Award-winner said: 'In everything that has happened in my life, being a mother has been the overriding thing that has changed everything and made it better.' Candid about her struggles to conceive, Nicole went on to add that she never gives up hope on conceiving. 'You go through heartbreak again and again and then you start to tell yourself it might never happen. I honestly never believed I would actually give birth to a child, then at 41 I became a mother.' Optimistic: Nicole has made no secret of her desire to add to her brood, having told The Mail on Sunday in January last year, that despite suffering several 'heartbreaks' during her attempts to conceive, she still hopes to become pregnant as 'children are the joy' of her life She is known for her tumultuous love life. But Stephanie Davis has reportedly been left terrified after being hounded by a cyber-stalker who has faked an online 'roller coaster romance'. The 24-year-old reality star is reported to have contacted the police after the troll created false Facebook screengrabs to appear to be in a relationship with her. Scroll down for video Fearful: Stephanie Davis is reportedly terrified after she has been hounded by a cyberstalker who has faked an online 'roller coaster romance' with the star 'There is absolutely no truth in these messages, Steph doesn't know this person and is increasingly feeling targeted by them,' a source told The Mirror Online. 'She is looking forward to going back to work and putting everything behind her. 'She wants to work and will do anything to look after her son, she just wants this person to leave her alone.' The source said Stephanie hasn't used her account for weeks, despite gushing messages appearing from the television personality appearing on social media. Concerned: The 24-year-old reality star is reported to have contacted the police after the troll created false Facebook screengrabs to appear to be in a relationship with her They added the stalker couldn't have targeted the former soap star at a worse time, leaving her unnerved as she prepares to make a comeback to work after several months off. MailOnline has contacted Stephanie's representatives for further comment. The alleged cyber attack comes after the former Celebrity Big Brother star lashed out at her ex Jeremy McConnell after he sent a birthday message to their son Caben on Saturday, in which he vowed to be reunited with the tot after his stint in prison following a conviction for assaulting the actress. Shock: Stephanie lashed out at her ex Jeremy McConnell after he sent a birthday message to their son Caben-Albi on Saturday, in which he vowed to be reunited with the tot after his stint in prison following a conviction for assaulting the actress As he rang in his son's first birthday, Stephanie also shared a message in which she appeared to make a dig at the star as she commented on 'one becoming two' - in a clear exclusion of Jeremy from the message. However, after he posted his note, the former Hollyoaks star took to the photo-sharing site to lash out at Jeremy as she accused him of contributing nothing to their family and using the scenario for attention and publicity. The 27-year-old Beauty School Cop Outs star's message included a sweet throwback clip with his son while adding the caption: 'Happy birthday son shame I can't be there see you soon' while Stephanie shared a trio of clips of then together. Not true: However, after he posted his note, the former Hollyoaks star took to the photo-sharing site to lash out at Jeremy as she accused him of contributing nothing to their family and using the scenario for attention and publicity Stephanie meanwhile posted: 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY!!!! ONE TODAY!!!! I cannot believe it!! Where has the time gone!!?? 'I'm so proud of you and the beautiful caring, loving, cheeky little monkey clever stunninggg little boy you are This time last year, when One became two love you so much baby, lots of love Mummyxxxx' Shortly after her gushing message, Stephanie became aware of Jeremy's note as she took to Instagram to pen: 'In Jeremy's Instagram. PLEASE don't act father of the year when you haven't paid one penny towards your son you have never asked about him or asked to see him. 'This for everyone to know is another typical mind game to gain publicity (of any kind as that's what you crave) You are no role model to your son so don't act like you give a damn!! As if you did you would have been there in his life!! Furious: Shortly after her gushing message, Stephanie became aware of Jeremy's note as she took to Instagram to pen: 'In Jeremy's Instagram. PLEASE don't act father of the year when you haven't paid one penny towards your son you have never asked about him or asked to see him' 'Not partying and being a total disgrace. your behaviour is a reflection of that. Please no one buy into his bull. No Christmas present or birthday LET ALONE A CARD!! So drop the act! Now to continue enjoying my boys day who I raised ALONE don't pretend you care now. Disgusting using your son. Shame on you!' Stephanie recently denied reports that she is 'extremely upset' following his release from prison after serving 34 days behind bars for missing community service. In a message shared on Twitter via her representatives, she wrote: 'A source close to Steph denied she was upset and said: 'She has no thoughts or feelings regarding him and has not made any such comment to anyone so whoever has said that is untrue''. Jeremy, who had an 18-week suspended sentence activated after breaching the 200-hour community service handed to him for assaulting Stephanie, is said to be in 'good spirits' and has even commented on 's**t prison food'. Upbeat: Jeremy, who had an 18-week suspended sentence activated after breaching the 200-hour community service handed to him for assaulting Stephanie, is said to be in 'good spirits' and has even commented on 's**t prison food' (the former couple are pictured in February 2016) The Irish model had been given the suspended sentence after a high-profile trial where he was found guilty of attacking Stephanie at her home in Rainhill, Merseyside in March. During proceedings in August, a judge said Jeremy had shown no remorse for the attack on his ex-girlfriend or the impact it must have had on Caben. He then missed eight work appointments in the 200-hour order and the court activated the sentence for failing to comply with his punishment. Sentencing him at Liverpool Magistrates Court, District Judge Wendy Lloyd said she tried to rehabilitate McConnell with a suspended sentence to protect women from future violence. She added: 'Your enthusiasm for co-operation has been short lived and there's nothing to show in the future things will change. ' Moving on:Aside from her wellwishes to her son, it has been revealed Stephanie has a new boyfriend who has now been unveiled as long-haired hunk Jacob Gill, who she has been friends with for 'a while', according to The Sun Aside from her wellwishes to her son and fury at her ex, it has been revealed Stephanie has a new boyfriend who has now been unveiled as long-haired hunk Jacob Gill, who she has been friends with for 'a while', according to The Sun. The former CBB star has remained coy about her reported new romance, keeping her man's identity under wraps despite fans pleading with her to tell them. A source told The Sun Online: 'It's early days but Steph is really happen. She's known Jacob for a while, he's a good man.' Jacob's own profile picture on Instagram shows the pair cuddling up together, with Stephanie planting a kiss on his forehead as he flashes a beaming smile. Stephanie has been single since ended her turbulent relationship with Jeremy. MailOnline has contacted Jeremy and Stephanie's representatives for comment. Updating her account on Monday evening, the former Hollyoaks star shared an untitled 'Crush Quote' with her 825,000 followers, detailing the heady impact of speaking to someone you are instantly attracted to. It's official: Aside from her wellwishes to her son, it has been revealed Stephanie has a new boyfriend who has now been unveiled as long-haired hunk Jacob Gill, who she has been friends with for 'a while', according to The Sun Cryptic: Updating her account on Monday evening, the former Hollyoaks star shared an untitled 'Crush Quote' with her 825,000 followers, detailing the heady impact of speaking to someone you are instantly attracted to 'So there's this boy, and the way he laughs makes me smile,' it read. 'And the way he talks gives me butterflies, and everything about him makes me happy.' Tellingly, the actress also changed her Instagram profile to an indistinct black and white image of an unidentified man lounging on a sofa with a phone pressed to his ear. Fans were quick to comment on her latest post, with one writing: 'Awwww so this is where you've been! So happy for you and what a turnaround.' Another wrote: 'So happy for you Steph your and Caben deserve the best love you.' (sic) Curious: Tellingly, the actress also changed her Instagram profile to an indistinct black and white image of an unidentified man lounging on a sofa with a phone pressed to his ear Special boy: Some fans suggested her latest post was in fact a reference to 11-month old Caben Albi, her only child with convicted criminal McConnell, who celebrates his birthday in February However others suggested the post was in fact a reference to 11-month old Caben Albi, her only child with convicted criminal McConnell, who celebrates his birthday in February. 'I'm guessing that boy calls you mumma,' wrote one, while another added: 'U haven't put any pics on of yr son lately?' (sic) A third commented: 'Awww missed you posting but just want to say Happy Birthday to Caben-Albi!' 'Pretty sure she is talking about her little man, what a fantastic mumma keep doing what you are doing girl,' wrote another. Cute as a button! The birthday boy looked cute in his striped Co-Ords and woolen socks as he lounged on the furry rug Doting mum: Stephanie lavished her son with affection when she cradled him lovingly in her arms for the cute Instagram post about his birthday Celebration of life: The former Hollyoaks star also shared a throwback picture of the first time she held her newborn to mark the one-year milestone She celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary to Tom Ackerley last month. And amid reports Margot Robbie is looking to start a family sooner than later, her father Doug Robbie is 'ecstatic at the thought of becoming a grandparent'. The 27-year-old's dad, who recently resolved a 20-plus year estrangement from his famous daughter, spoke with Woman's Day on Monday about the growing baby talk. Scroll down for video Plans: Amid reports Margot Robbie is looking to start a family sooner than later, her father Doug Robbie is 'ecstatic at the thought of becoming a grandparent' Asked about rumours Margot and Tom, 28, are planning to fall pregnant in the near future, Gold Coast-based Doug 'couldn't hide his joy'. 'Margot would be an amazing mum,' he told the magazine. 'She'd do a good job,' he added. Proud of his daughter: 'Margot would be an amazing mum,' Doug told the magazine While Doug's ex-wife Sarie Kessler walked Margot down the aisle during her Byron Bay nuptials in 2016, he said he was 'thrilled' to be part of the special occasion. 'It was a beautiful wedding, I'm very proud of Margot - of all my children,' he said, in reference to Margot's sister Anya and brothers Cameron and Lachlan. The Hollywood star, who is scoring rave reviews for her leading role in I, Tonya, has previously said she is open to having her own big family. Family ties: While Doug's ex-wife Sarie Kessler (pictured right) walked Margot down the aisle during her nuptials in 2016, he said he was 'thrilled' to be part of the special occasion Clucky: The Hollywood star, who is scoring rave reviews for her leading role in I, Tonya, has previously said she is open to having her own big family 'I want tons of children. Well, maybe not too many. I grew up in a family of four, so that sounds like a good number,' she offered in a past interview. 'I know once I have kids, they'll be my priority,' she continued. During a chat with The Project in July 16, Margot revealed she planned to raise her children in Australia. 'I want tons of children. Well, maybe not too many. I grew up in a family of four, so that sounds like a good number,' she offered in a past interview. Pictured with her brother She is about to give birth to her first baby with former NRL player Braith Anasta any day now. And Rachael Lee showed off her huge baby bump during an outing in Coogee on Sunday. After revealing she was suffering from a bout of morning sickness, the brunette beauty was glowing despite falling ill, as she strolled around with her older son and Braith's daughter Aleeia, three. Scroll down for video Ready to pop! Braith Anasta's heavily pregnant girlfriend Rachael Lee showcases her baby bump in a tight white minidress as they celebrate his birthday on Sunday in Coogee, Sydney Rachael Lee's dress featured thin spaghetti straps and a red polka dots. The Sydney-based personal trainer showcased a golden tan, and had her long dark locks out and over her shoulders. She accessorised with a wicker bag and tan flats. Feeling a bit better: After revealing she was suffering from a bout of morning sickness, the brunette beauty was glowing despite falling ill, as she strolled around with her older son and Braith's daughter Aleeia, three Gorgeous: Rachael Lee's dress featured thin spaghetti straps and a red polka dots Sweet treats: The brunette bought the little ones sweet treats during the outing On the day, Rachael Lee and Braith enjoyed time at the Coogee Pavillion with friends and family before she took the kids home to the couple's nearby pad. Braith spent more time celebrating his birthday at the popular watering hole. On Sunday, Braith took to Instagram to share a video of Rachael Lee getting morning sick in the car. Celebrations: On the day, Rachael Lee and Braith enjoyed time at the Coogee Pavillion with friends and family before she took the kids home to the couple's nearby pad Family: Rachael Lee has her son from a previous relationship and Braith shares Aleeia with ex Jodi Anasta 'The baby is well and truly cooked': On Sunday, Braith took to Instagram to share a video of Rachael Lee getting morning sick in the car Braith told fans he has a newfound respect for women after seeing the mother-of-one struggle through pregnancy. 'Poor girl, she's gonna hate me for this,' he is heard saying in the video before making dry retching noises. His fragile girlfriend is seen holding her mouth on the side of the road before leaning over to be sick. Count down is on! It comes after the brunette beauty recently found herself in hospital after suffering a 'false alarm' 'This baby is well and truly cooked - poor Rach,' he captioned while adding the hashtags #women and #respect.' It comes after the brunette beauty recently found herself in hospital after suffering a 'false alarm.' Sharing a short Instagram story from hospital, the brunette beauty put her baby bump on display with medical equipment wrapped around her stomach. Rachael Lee told Daily Mail Australia that it was a 'false alarm' and that she has a few weeks to go until she gives birth. After big wins at the Golden Globes last week, Reese Witherspoon was ready to spend some quality time with family. The Big Little Lies actress/producer shared a cool photo from her snowy vacation Sunday on Instagram. In the snapshot, the Southern belle, 41, and husband Jim Toth, 48, appear in front of scenic snow-peaked mountains while bundled up in their winter's finest. Snow day! Reese Witherspoon shared a cool photo from her Winter family vacation with hubby Jim Toth Sunday on Instagram Reese was bundled up in a white and black jacket with bright pink fleece underneath. She left her blonde locks loose and masked the sun's glare with gold-mirrored shades. Besides her husband Jim Toth, who is senior talent agent at CAA, kept cozy in a grey cardigan beneath an olive green jacket. He accessorized with a knit beanie and dark wraparound sunglasses. The cat's meow! Later the Draper James designer/founder put on a warm red hat with a pom pom while using a cute kitty cat filter on her face High hopes! Another pic showed daughter Ava and a family friend and was stamped with their elevation: a whole 6570 feet The Draper James designer/founder shared several more candid moments in her story. Later she put on a warm red hat with a pom pom while using a cute kitty cat filter on her face. Another pic showed daughter Ava and a family friend and was stamped with their elevation: a whole 6570 feet. That same day Reese appeared on CBS Sunday Morning alongside America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Tracee Ellis Ross, Shonda Rhimes, producer Kathleen Kennedy, and talent attorney Nina Shaw in a panel about sexual assault and the Time's Up initiative moderated by Oprah. Power players: That same day Reese appeared on CBS Sunday Morning alongside (left to right) actress Natalie Portman, producer Kathleen Kennedy, America Ferrera, Oprah, Shonda Rhimes, talent attorney Nina Shaw and Tracee Ellis Ross in a panel about Time's Up Speak up: 'There's moments that you have to evaluate whether silence is going to be your only option, and certain times that was our only option,' said Witherspoon. 'But now is not that time.' These women have all signed the Time's Up pledge in addition to donating their time, money and other resources to the cause, which aims to eliminate sexual misconduct across all industries. During the conversation, Oprah spoke to Witherspoon about the sexual assault she endured at the age of 16 while working for a director she has declined to publicly name. 'There's moments that you have to evaluate whether silence is going to be your only option, and certain times that was our only option,' said Witherspoon. 'But now is not that time.' He's one of Australia's most loved and successful television presenters. But things haven't always gone smoothly for Grant Denyer, who recalled a time when his Sunrise weather segment couldn't have gone more wrong. Opening up on his new 2Day FM breakfast radio show on Monday, the 40-year-old revealed that once a van was driven on top of a child's foot and no-one realised he was stuck until four minutes later. 'He was crying and screaming': Grant Denyer reveals his biggest TV screw up during his stint on Sunrise... which caused a child to be injured 'There was a thing where Paul Newman was giving away a lot of money, $1 million for charity and we were doing it on Sunrise,' he explained on the show. 'We were going to present a $100,000 cheque to a special needs school, they brought a brand new van with a nice rear loading door to get the wheelchair in the back. We showcased the van in all its glory on television.' 'We lowered the door right down onto the foot of one of the special needs little kiddies,' he continued. Horrible accident: Opening up on his new 2Day FM breakfast radio show on Monday, the 40-year-old revealed that once a van was driven on top of a child's foot and no-one realised he was stuck until four minutes later And although the child was screaming, it took the team four minutes to realise what they had done. 'He was crying out and screaming and his mum, she was on television and was enjoying being on television, so she was trying to quieten him down and we didn't realise the door was on his foot,' he continued. Meanwhile, on Sunday, the father of Sailor, 6, and Scout, 2, uploaded a heartfelt post about how he was going to miss his daughters with his latest role alongside Ed Caverly and Em Rusciano. Family: Meanwhile, on Sunday, the father of Sailor, 6, and Scout, 2, uploaded a heartfelt post about how he was going to miss his daughters with his latest role alongside Ed Caverly and Em Rusciano 'Maximum cuddles in the last precious hours before Dad flies out for his first day of work for the year,' he captioned. 'Having the best holidays together means we've bonded stronger than ever...but that makes parting, painfully difficult for all of us. 'Love them so much. Hope one day they realise this is all for them. I value these cuddles so very much,' he continued. Another weekend, another rash of farmers markets. This Sunday, Kourtney Kardashian, 38, was photographed heading through the farmers market in Studio City in pine green sweats, her bra showing beneath a sheer black tank top. And on Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, the mother-of-three admitted she's ready to vacation alone with boyfriend Younes Bendjima, 24, saying 'I think it is important to take time, especially because my relationship is important to me'. Scroll down for video On the go: This Sunday, Kourtney Kardashian was photographed heading through the farmers market in Studio City, her bra showing beneath a sheer black tank top In the episode, Kardashian said: 'Ive definitely learned from my past relationship, where I really wouldnt travel without the kids.' 'Just because those worlds arent colliding right now, just making sure that I make time for both.' 'I think going on a trip once in a while reminds me the importance of being present and in the moment when Im home. And I think it makes me the best mom I can be.' Simply chic: The 38-year-old reality TV starlet complemented the top with a pair of pine green sweats and a black sweater flung over one shoulder While strolling alone through the farmers market, the reality TV star wore a pair of Yeezy Wave Runner 700 'OG's - Yeezy being a sobriquet for Kourtney's brother-in-law Kanye West. Keeping Up With The Kardashians star Kourtney was at one point glimpsed chatting away on her cellphone as she strolled the alfresco marketplace. She did stop by a brick-and-mortar establishment as well, though, and was snapped emerging from it with a couple of green beverages and a bulging paper bag. Kourtney has three children by her on-and-off paramour Scott Disick, Mason's 2009 birth having been immortalized on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Correspondence: Keeping Up With The Kardashians star Kourtney was at one point glimpsed chatting away on her cellphone as she ambled about through the alfresco marketplace The co-parents welcomed their now five-year-old daughter Penelope into the world in 2012, and Kourtney gave birth to her youngest child, a son called Reign, in 2014. Kourtney and Scott, who had been introduced in 2006 by Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis in Mexico, last ended their romantic relationship in July of 2015. Each half of the erstwhile couple is now with someone more than a decade younger - Kourtney's beau is 24-year-old model Younes Bendjima, whereas Scott at the age of 34 is dating Lionel Richie's 19-year-old daughter Sofia. Family connections: As it happens, her shoes were a pair of Yeezy Wave Runner 700 'OG's - Yeezy being a sobriquet for Kourtney's brother-in-law Kanye West Refreshments: She did stop by a brick-and-mortar establishment as well, though, and was snapped emerging from it with a couple of green beverages and a bulging paper bag The Kardashian family is expanding, with Kourtney's younger sister Kim Kardashian and the latter's husband Kanye West expecting a baby via surrogacy. Kim and Kanye - who is her third husband and who married her in 2014 - already have a four-year-old daughter called North and a two-year-old son called Saint. Meanwhile, Kim and Kourtney's younger sister Khloe Kardashian is pregnant by her Cleveland Cavalier beau Tristan Thompson - who last year welcomed his first child, a son called Prince, with his ex-girlfriend Jordan Craig. At the till: Kourtney had a tortoiseshell pair of cat-eye sunglasses on her face Backdrop: Kourtney has three children by her on-and-off paramour Scott Disick, Mason's 2009 birth having been immortalized on an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians The Kardashian sisters' rotund younger brother Rob has a one-year-old daughter named Dream by his ex-fiancee Blac Chyna. There is also a swirl of speculation that the Kardashian siblings' half-sister Kylie Jenner is pregnant at 20 by her 25-year-old rapper boyfriend Travis Scott. Before she was with Travis, Kylie used to date a now 27-year-old rapper called Tyga, who in a bizarre twist has a five-year-old son called King Cairo by Chyna. Upcoming: Kourtney's family is expanding - her sister Kim is expecting via surrogate, her sister Khloe is pregnant and their half-sister Kylie is rumored to be pregnant These days: Kourtney's beau is 24-year-old model Younes Bendjima She's a mother of three known for her ageless appearance. And on Monday, Elsa Pataky showed she was also young at heart, sharing a video to Instagram of her jumping off a rope into the water. The 41-year-old also flaunted her toned figure in a bikini as she doted on one of her twin sons with husband Chris Hemsworth. Young at heart! Chris Hemsworth's age-defying wife Elsa Pataky, 41, flaunts her toned figure in a bikini as she jumps off a rope into the water Taking to Instagram, the Spanish beauty shared a video from the day before of her enjoying the water. In the social media clip, a bikini-clad Elsa could be seen swinging on a rope over a river and jumping into the below water. 'Sunday funday!!' The mother of three captioned the video to her 1.7 million Instagram followers. Cannonball! In the social media clip, a bikini-clad Elsa could be seen swinging on a rope over a river and jumping into the below water Natural beauty: The Snakes On A Plane star flaunted her toned figure in a bikini as she cuddled up to her toddler son Elsa also shared a photo to her Instagram story of her doting on one of her twin sons Tristan and Sasha. The Snakes On A Plane star flaunted her toned figure in a bikini as she cuddled up to her toddler son. Meanwhile on Friday Elsa shared an adorable photo of Tristan and Sasha walking down a country road together. Cute: On Friday Elsa shared an adorable photo of Tristan and Sasha walking down a country road together Carefree life: When not acting Chris and wife Elsa live a quiet existence in Byron Bay Both barefoot and surrounded by lush trees and greenery, Sasha and Tristan were clearly enjoying their chance to explore their surrounds. 'Full of adventures!!' Elsa captioned the cute photo to her 1.6 million followers on Instagram. Last week, Chris revealed he might have some competition his role as Thor from his toddlers. Loved up as ever: Chris and Elsa enjoyed a whirlwind romance before marrying in 2010 He took to Instagram to share a video one of his twins scaling the fridge in search of treats stored on top of it. 'My son found out where the chocolate is kept. Must find a new hiding place. He's three,' Chris captioned the photo, before adding the hashtag: 'Tarzan rules'. Chris and wife Elsa Pataky have three children together - five-year-old daughter India Rose and three-year-old twin sons Sasha and Tristan. Their relationship has been heating up since going public with their romance last September. And a bikini-clad Sofia Richie, 19, showed off her amazingly toned body while lounging in a luxury beach resort with her boyfriend Scott Disick, 34, in Mexico on Sunday. The daughter of Lionel Richie and the ex-boyfriend of Kourtney Kardashian were all smiles as they got steamy in the hotel hot tub. Scroll down for video Just peachy! Sofia Richie, 19, showed off her amazingly toned body while lounging in a luxury beach resort with boyfriend Scott Disick, 34, in Mexico on Sunday During their romantic getaway, Sofia sported a black string bikini which flaunted her ample assets. Her high cut at the waist thong bottoms highlighted her trim and peachy posterior. The model wore her newly-dark locks up in a ponytail while hiding her make-up free face with black designer sunglasses. Scott showed off his toned physique by going shirtless while wearing black swim shorts. Loved up! The daughter of Lionel Richie and the ex-boyfriend of Kourtney Kardashian were all smiles as they got steamy in the hotel hot tub Packing on the PDA! During their romantic getaway, Sofia sported a black string bikini which flaunted her ample assets All smiles! Her high cut at the waist thong bottoms highlighted her trim and peachy posterior Pool day: The model wore her newly-dark locks up in a ponytail while hiding her make-up free face with black designer sunglasses The happy couple couldn't keep their hands off of each other as they packed on the PDA in the water. This is Sofia and Scott's second time together on the Mexican beach of Puerto Vallarta. The love birds are a well-traveled couple who have also been spotted together in Colorado, Miami, Italy and Los Cabos since going public with their relationship. Scott and Sofia went public with their romance in September, although they were linked as far back as May. Toned up! The happy couple couldn't keep their hands off of each other as they packed on the PDA in the water Out and about: This is Sofia and Scott's second time together on the Mexican beach of Puerto Vallarta Life of luxury: Scott showed off his toned physique by going shirtless while wearing black swim shorts Ab-tastic: The love birds are a well-traveled couple who have also been spotted together in Colorado, Miami, Italy and Los Cabos since going public with their relationship Drying up! Scott and Sofia went public with their romance in September, although they were linked as far back as May Dynamic duo: After having some fun in the hot tub, the two stepped out of their resort to go ziplining in a Mexican rainforest After having some fun in the hot tub, the two stepped out of their resort to go ziplining in a Mexican rainforest. Sofia shared a snap of the two strapped up in their ziplining gear, ready to hang loose. The father-of-three posted a video of the 19-year-old showing off her daredevil moves as she slid past trees while spinning in her harness. Scott simply captioned the video: 'She's a spinner.' Sofia and Scott ended their adventurous day back at their resort, this time on a sunbed overlooking the Pacific ocean. The Adidas model shared a romantic photo on Instagram which featured the two wrapped up in eachother's arms. What's so funny? The two always make time to travel together despite their busy schedules Love birds: Sofia and Scott shared a laugh together while sunbathing Relaxing: Despite it being winter, the darling couple made sure to get in some sun Kicking back! Sofia and Scott stayed cool in the shade of their hotel Scott was previously in a relationship with Kourtney Kardashian, who is now dating Younes Bendjima. The pair share three children, Mason, eight, Penelope, five, and Reign, three, and have continued to co-parent amicably. Scott also still appears on family show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and in April admitted he still had feelings for Kourtney. Scott has remained a big part of the Kardashian family, and recently attended Kris Jenner's annual Christmas Eve bash - Sofia was not seen at the party. Romantic getaway: The Adidas model shared a romantic photo on her Instagram account, which featured the two wrapped up in eachother's arms Picture perfect: The pair posed on board the yacht and against the helicopter for a candid Instagram photo Keeping it casual: Sofia shared a snap of the two strapped up in their ziplining gear, ready to hang loose Hanging loose: The father-of-three posted a video of the 19-year-old showing off her daredevil moves as she slid past trees while spinning in her harness Daredevil! Scott simply captioned the video: 'She's a spinner' He's 15-years-old and already in high school. James Wilkie Broderick was treated to a day of shopping by his superstar parents Sarah Jessica Parker, 52, and Matthew Broderick, 55, on Sunday in New York City. The trio looked at a variety of watches at Shinola Detroit on Prince Street in the SoHo area of The Big Apple. Parker and Broderick, who tied the knot in 1997, are also parents to 8-year-old twins Marion Loretta Elwell and Tabitha Hodge He's so grown up! Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick shop with their son James Wilkie on Sunday in New York City The Sex and the City star was bundled up in a puffy black coat with a fur-lined hoodie, jeans and black booties. Broderick wore a similar coat with dark green chinos and sneakers. The high school student wore a camo print jacket, jeans featuring rips at the knees and sneakers for a day of shopping. Our boy: James celebrated his 15th birthday on October 28 How much?: The Sex in the City star seemed to be suffering from sticker shock while looking at watches James checked out watches at the popular shop where prices start at $550.00 and run well over $1,000. It looks like their first born might've picked out a time piece that ran on the higher end as the Divorce actress brought her hands to her head in alarm. Dad looked a little more relaxed, enjoying their time out together with their only son. Happy camper: Their first born son looked to be happy the best time spending the day with his parents James, who already has aspirations to be an actor, spent time in Los Angeles in December when his father performed on Fox's A Christmas Story Live. The Manchester by the Sea star played the role of the narrator in the musical version of the classic released in 1983. The father/son duo attended the 2017 GQ Men of the Year Party held at the Chateau Marmont together. He has dazzled Australian fans during his brief trip to Sydney. And on Monday, Will Smith shared a comical video to his new Instagram profile where he reported hazardous weather conditions from Bondi Beach. The 49-year-old, who has become an instant sensation on the social media platform, rode the choppy seas on a tiny boat while hilariously impersonating a news reporter. Career change? Will Smith shared a comical video to his new Instagram profile on Monday, where he reported hazardous weather conditions from Bondi Beach The Bright star, who called himself 'Chris Cuomo Smith' after CNN television reporter Chris Cuomo, told his 4.8 million followers he was reporting 'live from a boat'. 'We're at Bondi Beach, in the fast boat, as you can see it's pretty bumpy,' the actor animatedly reported as he held his own camera. 'I'm taking repeated blows to my genitalia,' he added. 'We're at Bondi Beach, in the fast boat, as you can see it's pretty bumpy,' the actor animatedly reported as he held his own camera 'I'm taking repeated blows to my genitalia,' he added While reminding his fans he was 'reporting to you live', the father of three also showed off the small size of the boat and how he was seated towards the back. 'This is Will Smith, Bondi Beach Australia, yeeeee haaaaw,' he signed off the video. With over 12,000 notes and counting in the snap's comments sections, one in particular stood out from Will's youngest son, Jaden Smith, 19. 'This is Will Smith, Bondi Beach Australia, yeeeee haaaaw,' he signed off the video 'And everyone thinks I'm crazy,' the teenage actor and rapper wrote, garnering almost 6500 likes. High-profile talent manager Scooter Braun, who oversees the careers of artists like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, added: 'Awesome'. The Hollywood A-lister is in Australia to promote his new Netflix film Bright, which was recently greenlit for a sequel. Call The Midwife is introducing its first permanent black cast member as actress Leonie Elliott joins the series. But Victoria Yeates, who plays Sister Winifred in the drama, confessed her fears over use of 'racist' terms in the script, revealing that bosses wanted to use authentic 1960s language. The actress, 34, told The Sun it made her feel uncomfortable to use the word 'coloured' but she did it because of the period in which the drama is set. Scroll down for video 'It felt so vile': Call the Midwife cast member Victoria Yeates has admitted her fears over racist 1960s language as the BBC drama introduces its first permanent black character in season seven She told the publication: 'Initially I said, "Theyre going to be worried that shes black". It was "black" in the script. Then they decided to do another take where I had to say "coloured". 'It was really difficult and I did it because its the period. But it felt so vile for the actors to say that word.' Leonie, 29, is going to slip into the shoes of new character Lucille, a young nurse who joins forces with the midwives in the latest season. Welcome to the team: Leonie Elliott will play young nurse Lucille in the new series The storyline will reflect the movement where the government recruited more than 5,000 Jamaican nurses in the 1960s to help with the NHS crisis. Leonie will make her debut in the first episode of season seven at Nonnatus House when she becomes the newest addition to the medical team. Season seven will pick up in 1963 after the sixth series, set in 1961, ended with its dramatic conclusion of the Thalidomide storyline in which Doctor Turner discovered that drugs he prescribed are responsible for a spate of birth defects. One of the girls: The 29-year-old (pictured with Jennifer Kirby, Helen George and Charlotte Ritchie) is going to slip into the shoes of Lucille, a nurse who joins forces with the midwives Fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of the BBC One series onto the small screen since it came to an end in March 2017. The period drama about a group of convent based midwives working in impoverished surroundings in the late fifties and early sixties. Call The Midwife, which is set a little more than a decade after the birth of the NHS, has been in huge demand after its first series aired in 2012. Revealed: The storyline will reflect the movement where the government recruited 5,000 Jamaican nurses into the NHS in the 1960s Jenny Agutter, who plays compassionate Sister Julienne, recently explained the quality of the writing is what lures viewers in. She told the Daily Mail: 'It's wrong to assume the only way now to entice a TV audience is by sexualising a show. 'I think the viewers will come if the quality of the writing and the acting is good enough in the first place. 'People look for good programmes and I think sometimes being commercial means ticking boxes, but not always the right boxes.' She's a timeless Hollywood beauty who looks far younger than her years. And Catherine Zeta-Jones showed off her classic beauty at the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour in The Langham Huntington Pasadena, Los Angeles on Saturday. The 48-year-old actress oozed glamour in a floral monochrome Michael Kors Collection skirt as she joined the likes of Cat Deeley and Juan Pablo Espinosa at the glitzy event. Scroll down for video Age-defying: Catherine Zeta-Jones showed off her infinite beauty at the 2018 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour in The Langham Huntington Pasadena, Los Angeles on Saturday Skimming just below the knees, the Oscar-winner teased her tremendous pins in the silky skirt and cinched in her trim waist with a patent black belt. She complemented the look with a sheer black blouse which highlighted Catherine's ample assets with a deep v-neckline and added a boost to her height with pointed Louboutin heels. The wife of Michael Douglas accentuated her clear complexion with blush-swept cheeks and a slick of pink lipstick and styled her sleek brown tresses in soft curls. Hollywood icon: The 48-year-old actress oozed glamour in a floral monochrome Michael Kors Collection skirt as she joined the likes of Cat Deeley and Juan Pablo at the glitzy event Flawless: The wife of Michael Douglas accentuated her clear complexion with blush-swept cheeks and a slick of pink lipstick and styled her sleek brown tresses in soft curls Catherine was joined by Juan Pablo Espinosa as they promoted their upcoming movie 'Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story'. The brunette beauty bulked up to play ruthless Colombia drug lord Griselda Blanco in the Lifetime original movie but was back to her slender physique. 'I gained weight, I was hunched over. If I had balls, Id have grabbed them from time to time. I wanted to let it all hang out,' the mother of two told Deadline in October. Elegant: Skimming just below the knees, the Oscar-winning star showcased her tremendous pins in the silky skirt which featured a leafy pattern Stunning: She complemented the look with a sheer black blouse which highlighted Catherine's ample assets with a deep v-neckline and added a boost to her height with black Louboutin heels She added: 'She thought she was beautiful. She was the movie star starring in her own movie. She didnt give a s***.' And the Chicago actress said she was happy to play someone who was so tough. 'As women we get knocked down for being ambitious. I often wish we could take a little bit of that true ambition and be proud of it,' said the Zorro star. High spirits: Catherine was joined by Juan Pablo Espinosa as they promoted their upcoming movie 'Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story' Blanco was depicted as a violent, vain drug lord who killed anyone who stood in her way. It is believed she ordered the murders of 200 people in her lifetime. Blanco first dipped her toe into drug dealing when she was living in Queens, New York. She then moved to where the action really was, Miami, and staffed up. Transformation: The brunette beauty bulked up to play ruthless Colombia drug lord Griselda Blanco in the Lifetime original movie but was back to her slender physique When her second husband died she was given the nickname The Black Widow. She amassed an incredible amount of wealth but when her enemies closed in, she moved to California. When she was deported to Colombia in 2012 she was quickly killed. Catherine did not want to 'homogenize her or find a sympathetic quality' for the criminal. 'I dont think she had one. I applaud Lifetime and A+E. It would have been easy to rose-tint this story,' she added. Challenging: The Chicago actress said she was happy to play someone who was so tough Pin-credible: Pregnant star Cat Deeley, 41, put on VERY leggy display in thigh-skimming dress at the glitzy event after announcing second pregnancy husband Patrick Kielty Meanwhile Cat Deeley exuded elegance in the intricate garment which flattered her sensational figure with its fashionable cape-style overlay draped over her shoulders. The expectant mother added to her height in nude stilettos, which didn't detract from her eye-catching dress. With her locks in loose curls to frame her face, she enhanced her natural beauty with deftly touches of eye make-up and a slick of pink lipstick for a pop of colour. Graceful: Cat's exuded elegance in the intricate garment which flattered her sensational figure with its fashionable cape-style overlay draped over her shoulders Leggy lady: The expectant mother added to her height in nude stilettos, which didn't detract from her eye-catching dress On Saturday night, she was delighted to reveal to her legion of loyal fans that she is pregnant with her second child. The TV host, who had first child Milo in January 2016 with husband Patrick Kielty, 46, is expecting a new baby in the spring, after saying she was considered a 'geriatric mum' by doctors. She told her fans on Twitter: 'Over-the-moon to share that Milo is going to be a big brother! Can't wait to be a family of four in the spring. We're all so excited.' Positively glowing: With her locks in loose curls to frame her face, she enhanced her natural beauty with deftly touches of eye make-up and a slick of pink lipstick for a pop of colour Excitable: Cat couldn't contain her excitement as she revealed on Saturday night that she was pregnancy with her second child The Coronation Rating: Hard Sun Rating: Royal rumour says Prince Philip is a fan of Game Of Thrones. Quite what it is that he relishes about all the raunchy, bloodthirsty, back-stabbing palace plots, we can only guess but he thoroughly enjoyed a tour of the studios in Belfast, a few years ago. As for the Queen, she likes nothing better than settling down to watch the Antiques Roadshow. And as we discovered during her extraordinary appearance on The Coronation (BBC1), she has the connoisseurs eye and depth of knowledge to earn her a place among the shows resident experts. Examining the Crown Jewels, as she reminisced about the 1953 ceremony that ordained her as Queen, Her Majesty displayed an art lovers enthusiasm for the stones themselves. Her Majesty displayed an art lovers enthusiasm for the stones of the crown jewels in the Coronation Stroking the pair of teardrop pearls that once belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, which are now fixed below the orb and sceptre that top the Imperial State Crown, she mused: They dont look very happy now. Most pearls like to be living creatures pearls are live things and they need warming. Lament of the weekend Wronged wife Oksana Godman complained to her husband in McMafia (BBC1): You have spat on my soul. Theres no doubt about it Russians really do have a poetic turn of phrase when it comes to their feelings. Advertisement Then she turned the crown, which she wears at the State Opening of Parliament, to examine a gigantic ruby, into which a feather had been set by the Black Prince in the 15th century. Her grimace told us that she thought this gimmick was a tad common, but at least, she admitted, it helped her to tell the front of the crown from the back. Her favourite tale concerned the Cullinan diamond, a jewel the size of a brick, sent from South Africa to Edward VII in 1905 via parcel post. Even if it went by recorded delivery, that seems risky though probably the Royal Mail was more reliable in Edwardian days. The giant diamond was broken up for jewels by a cutter in Amsterdam. I always wish I had been there when they smashed it into pieces, smiled the Queen. She was wearing two Cullinan lumps, big as Milky Way chocolate bars, on her jacket. Another, the size of a Wagon Wheel, adorned the crown. There is a regal protocol, of course, that the Queen doesnt do interviews. She certainly appeared to bristle faintly when presenter Alastair Bruce asked direct questions rather than offering gentle prompts. Without the royal contributions, however, this competent documentary with its humdrum reminiscences from elderly choirboys and pompous courtiers would probably have ended up on BBC4. To have the Queens own memories of Coronation Day transformed it, especially as she was far less reverential than the rest. Awful lot of walking backwards, wasnt there, she murmured, watching a flickering film of the dress rehearsal. Most of the walking is more like staggering on Hard Sun (BBC1), the utterly dire, ultra-violent, sci-fi police thriller. Characters stricken with fear or emotion adopt a sort of zombie trudge. Jim Sturgess (left) and Agyness Deyn (right) lead cast for Hard Sun Whenever the detectives Renko and Hicks (Agyness Deyn and Jim Sturgess) encounter a gore-soaked murder scene, which is every few minutes, they slow to a shuffle. Even when rescuing two sleeping children from the house of a maniac with a shotgun, they stumbled along like drunks. Renko and Hicks are being hunted by MI5 assassins, to prevent them from releasing secret documents which have already been published in the national Press, though nobody took much notice the first time. If that makes no sense, neither does anything else in this heap of melodramatic stodge. The kindest criticism is that it looks like a YouTube movie by a film studies undergraduate on a multi-million-pound budget. Rebecca Romijn has two rescue dogs, so there was no one who could better serve as host of the first-ever American Rescue Dog Show. The X-Men star, 45, posed with her dog Phil at the event on Sunday held at The Fairplex in Pomona, California in a peach, lace dress with matching high heel sandals. She also made time to cuddle up to other attending pups including a pair of adorable Maltese pups and Hallmark's own adopted therapy-dog-turned-actor Happy the Dog. Take doggy to work day: Rebecca Romijn took her rescue dog Phil to the first-ever American Rescue Dog Show Double trouble: The Librarian star can't help but grin from ear-to-ear when posing with a pair of Maltese dogs The event, set to air on February 12 on the Hallmark Channel, will focus on bringing awareness to mixed breed dogs and rescued purebreds. Other attendees included Linda Blair and Rick Springfield who also served as celebrity judges for the evening. 'We are proud to honor rescue pets and raise awareness of how truly special these animals are,' said Bill Abbott, President and CEO, Crown Media Family Networks. 'There are beautiful animals available at local shelters and we encourage our viewers to choose adoption through our pet programming, which is at the heart of our brand.' Too adorable: Can this duo win top honors at the event? Rescue mom: The actress supports the rescue movement and have two four legged family members named Faith and Phil Superstar: Happy the Dog, a Jack Russell terrier mix, was a therapy dog adopted by the Hallmark Channel who recently starred in a network movie titled Love at the Shore Competitors will go up against fierce competition in categories that include Best in Couch Potato, Best in Wiggle Butt, Best in Underbite, Best in Talking, Best in Snoring, Best in Senior Dog, Best in Fetcher, Best in Kissing, Best in Special Needs and Best in Listener. And since only one canine can take home the title of top dog, the top 10 winners from each category will face off in the finals. The winner of the night will be crowned Best in Rescue for 2018. Adopt them! Celebrity judges and animal advocates Rick Springfield and Linda Blair posed with animals ready to be adopted Cuddle time: This puppy cuddled up to The Exorcist star ahead of the competition SWAK: Springfield made friends with a dalmatian on the red carpet Best friends: Rescue dogs make the best companions no matter the breed Springfield, known for his 1991 hit Jesse's girl, is taking his duty as an animal advocate seriously. He reached out to his fans on social media to get his new buddy a home as soon as possible. 'Need your help,' he told his Twitter followers on Sunday. 'At an amazing dog benefit and Sid needs a home! To inquire about adoption, please email: DreamTeamRescue@yahoo.com' Save a pup: Rick asked his fans to help get his new friend adopted She is starring alongside her husband Chris Hemsworth for the first time in the upcoming war drama, 12 Strong. And Elsa Pataky has joked that she's had plenty rehearsal time to practice for the role. Taking to Instagram on Monday to share a trailer of the film, the 41-year-old mother-of-three wrote: 'Seven years of rehearsals to play this part!' Scroll down for video 'Seven years of rehearsals to play this part!' Elsa Pataky jokes about her first acting role alongside real-life husband Chris Hemsworth as she shares trailer of their new film 12 Strong 12 Strong tells the story of the first Special Forces team that's deployed to Afghanistan following the events of 9/11. Chris, 34, in the role of Captain Mitch Nelson, has the task of leading his team of 12 soldiers to take down the Taliban. Elsa plays the part of the captain's dutiful wife, who looks after their daughter while he's at war. Lead role: 12 Strong tells the story of the first Special Forces team that's deployed to Afghanistan following the events of 9/11. Chris, 34, in the role of Captain Mitch Nelson, has the task of leading his team of 12 soldiers to take down the Taliban Dutiful wife: Elsa plays the part of the captain's dutiful wife, who looks after their daughter while he's at war Motivating force: While on the battlefield, Chris' character later states 'I made her [his wife] a promise, I'm coming home' The beginning of the trailer, shared to Elsa's Instagram, sees the on-screen husband and wife embracing before learning of the imminent war. A narrator is heard saying 'How do you leave your family and go to war?' and while out in the battlefield Chris' character states 'I made her a promise, I'm coming home.' Elsa captions the trailer playfully: '7 years of rehearsals to play this part on @12strongmovie ! Hope you will feel the chemistry!' Speaking of their working relationship, the Spanish-born beauty told HOLA! USA!: 'He made me work twice as hard. That's what we do when we work together.' On-screen antics: Speaking of her working relationship with Chris, Elsa told HOLA! USA!: 'He made me work twice as hard. That's what we do when we work together' Family life: Chris and Elsa married in 2010, later welcoming three children, daughter India Rose, five, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, three However proving that the spark between them is well and truly alive, Elsa shared with a laugh: 'The romantic scenes were not difficult at all. It was very interesting, we had a great time and hopefully we can do it again.' Chris and Elsa married in 2010, later welcoming three children, daughter India Rose, five, and twin sons Tristan and Sasha, three. The Hollywood heartthrob recently opened up on his relationship with Elsa, telling GQ Australia: 'My wife and I fell in love, had kids, didn't really see each other for a few years, then fell back in love.' 'In terms of work, [Elsa] has certainly given up more than I have,' Chris added. Rob Kardashian made a rare appearance on Keeping Up With The Kardashians on Sunday's episode after being absent from his family's reality show for months. The 30-year-old reclusive reality star, who has struggled with weight gain and depression, appeared in good spirits as fans saw him arrive at Khloe's house to workout with his sister and her boyfriend Tristan Thompson. When Tristan commented that Rob had gone to bed early the previous night, Rob revealed he needed to get some sleep before waking up at 5am for an appointment with his doctor. Rare appearance: Rob Kardashian made a rare appearance on Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians Asked by Khloe what the appointment was for, he said: 'Just a checkup to do blood work and stuff. If you don't see the doctor, you can't get medicine and then I start to feel like s***.' 'One day you can stop taking it?' Khloe asked, referring to his insulin medication. 'Yes,' Rob said. 'I've just got to be on it, work out, eat well and that s*** will go away.' Rob's appearance on the E! show came as the family finally addressed Rob's split with Blac Chyna, which saw him post nude photos of her on Instagram. Working out: The 30-year-old reclusive reality star was working out with sister Khloe and her boyfriend Tristan Thompson Keeping fit: Khloe joked with Tristan as they exercised together Hoops star: Tristan plays pro basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers Discussing the bitter break up, Khloe told Kim: 'There's a plus and a minus. The plus is that there's no way Rob and Chyna could get back together after this. Let's focus on the positive. The negative is all of this other s*** right now.' Appearing to refer to Rob's explicit social media rant, Kim said: 'With Rob having sisters, he should just know better. He should have just, like, controlled himself.' Khloe added: 'It just sucks that he's made out to be this bad guy when she's taunting him.' Bitter break: Khloe and sister Kim talked about Rob's break up with Blac Chyna and his social media rant against her She told the camera: 'I know this is super hard because he was so in love with that girl and this is definitely not the way he thought his relationship was going to end. This has been really hard on my mom as well.' After Kris Jenner told Khloe that the custody agreement had been resolved, Khloe said: 'With Rob, when he loves he loves hard. He would kind of do anything for her. 'A lot of us are impulsive when we do things, especially out of love and jealousy. We've all been there. He knows it was wrong what he's done.' Been there: The reality star admitted that her family can be impulsive in the love department Kris agreed: 'I think he's learned a lot of lessons from this.' While Rob was embroiled in legal drama with Blac Chyna, Kourtney battled with her guilt over a planned trip to Egypt with boyfriend Younes Bendjima and a group of friends. After Khloe said she was proud of her sister for doing something for herself, Kourtney explained: 'Because it's a new relationship, I'm not ready to mix the two worlds. Going on a trip and going out of town is like the easiest way to keep my two worlds separate right now.' Crisis management: Kris Jenner was feeling worn down after wading into Rob's break with Blac Chyna Mom guilt: Kourtney meanwhile was feeling guilty about going to Egypt without her kids Their cousin Cici Bussey, however, forced Kourtney to re-think her decision when she told her she should not leave her children for so long. After Kourtney told Cici about her planned seven-day trip over the phone, her cousin said: 'That's a long time. You don't want them to think you're always getting up and going.' 'No, especially since I didn't for so long,' Kourtney agreed. Boyfriend visit: The mother of three was headed to see her new model boyfriend Younes Bendjima Certain situation: Kris also helped reportedly pregnant Kylie Jenner who was having problems with a staff member taking photos of her at her home Cici said: 'That's probably what helps them keep grounded, that you are there. Even though you work and they know that, you're there. When you're not there, there's a void. Our greatest gift is our stability from our family I think you should stay at home.' Kourtney complained: 'I already feel like I'm having separation anxiety when it comes to leaving my kids and Cici is making the situation worse.' But after deciding to go on the trip, she called her mother to tell her she was having a 'great time' while her family members took turns to look after the children. Vacation photos: The show featured some snaps from Kourtney's trip to Egypt Good times: The reality star told her mother she was having a 'great time' on the trip She told the camera: 'I've definitely learned from my past relationship, where I really wouldn't travel without the kids. 'I think it really is important to take time, especially because my relationship is important and those worlds aren't colliding right now. I'm just making sure I make time for both. 'Going on a trip once in a while reminds me of the importance of being present and in the moment when I'm home and makes me the best mom I can be.' Best mom: Kourtney said the trip actually helped her be a better mom The episode also saw Khloe handcuff Kris to a mime for a few hours, in a bid to lift her mood. After initially being reluctant to take part in the prank, Kris grew fond of Pierre The Mime and saw the funny side of his antics. After Kris went to the bathroom, Pierre stood outside wafting his nose and the pair then took a trip to Erewhon supermarket with Kourtney and Penelope. Having fun: Penelope was getting a kick out of the mime that Khloe got for Kris While Kris tried to get on with her shopping, the mime balanced a ladder on his head, threw unwanted items into the cart and sat on the checkout conveyer belt. 'I just had to surrender,' Kris said. 'Pierre was never going to give up. He has more energy than you can ever imagine and he wasn't getting tired any time soon.' After getting assistant Jenna to cut her free from the handcuffs, she told a visibly upset Pierre: 'Now I feel bad. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.' Mood improved: Kris laughed while being chained to mime Pierre She later laughed: 'By the end of the day, I've got to say it was really fun. I've never laughed so much in my whole life.' Kris told Khloe: 'I kind of have a crush on Pierre.' To pay Khloe back for the prank, Kris dressed as a mime herself and arrived at Khloe's house to handcuff herself to her daughter. Set free: Pierre was bummed after Kris got her assistant to cut her free Khloe said: 'I love my mom as a mime. She looks awesome. She should be a mime more often. If this is my Mom trying to get back at me, then honey you've got to try harder. Handcuff yourself to me all day long because I love me a double dose of Kris Jenner.' When Khloe took Kris upstairs to see Tristan, he did not realise who was under the disguise until she turned round to look out of the window. 'That's your mom?' Tristan shouted. Mom mime: Kris later got into mime makeup to shadow Khloe Khloe asked: 'You saw her a** and knew it was her?' 'It runs in the family,' Tristan quipped. A preview of Monday's episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians saw Khloe and Tristan gathering their family and friends to reveal news of Khloe's pregnancy. Tristan tells the group: 'Thank you all for coming. We have an announcement. Koko?' The preview then cut to Kris putting her hands over her mouth as the group cheered. In bed: Tristan didn't recognize the mime was Kris at first Next episode: Khloe and Tristan gathered friends to reveal her pregnancy in a preview of the next episode Kim Zolciak made an astonishing claim during Sunday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Atlanta that Kandi Burruss attempted to seduce her. The 39-year-old reality star made the allegation over dinner with Sheree Whitfield. 'On my kids' life, God strikes me dead, I wouldn't let her lick my box,' she crudely told Sheree. Astonishing allegation: Kim Zolciak during dinner with Sheree Whitfield claimed that Kandi Burruss attempted to seduce her 'Don't tell me she offered to lick your box,' Sheree said. 'She just ...,' Kim said covering her face with a napking as Sheree squealed in delight. As the women both covered their faces with their napkins, Sheree screeched: 'Oh my god. Oh, this is getting juicy.' Kim added during a confessional: 'I'm not saying that to be mean. I'm telling you the f***ing truth.' Not true: Kandi took to social media and refuted Kim's claim and called her a liar But Kim shot back on Twitter with even more shocking accusations Kandi, however, took to social media to refute Kim's claim. ''I'm sick of these bitches lying on me. @KimZolciak I have NEVER wanted you or your box. And stop swearing on your kids while you're telling lies. Lying a** b****. Somebody's really reaching for a permanent peach here... This is my house. You're just a visitor,' Kandi shared on Facebook and Twitter. But Kim shot back on Twitter, writing: 'If anybody is lying its you @Kandi You and your husband are full on swingers f**king all kinds of girls and can NEVER admit it. And bitch if it werent for me there would be no house. Remember I built this house!' Kandi was also at the center of an ugly rumor spread by former cast member Phaedra Parks last season that she and husband Todd tried to drug and seduce Porsha Williams. Gossip session: Kim and Sheree were gossiping about their friends when Kim made the claim In other developments, the RHOA women met with a psychic medium organized by Nene Leakes to address their problems with one another, but the energy balancing session only sparked more rows between the women. While Nene and Sheree argued about Sheree's relationship with jailed boyfriend Tyrone Gilliams, Kim also clashed with Nene and asked if she had been on drugs at her tea party. Kim told Nene: 'I don't feel like you're yourself. I feel like you're off. I feel like at your party you were not really there.' Psychic medium: Nene got a psychic reader to help the women address the elephants in the room 'I was there,' Nene said: 'I had a great time until you guys were doing your thing.' Kim told her: 'Sorry, I apologize for acting like a coconut in your house. I really wondered if you were on f***ing drugs at your house. Pills or something. Your eyes were, like, over here.' A shocked Nene asked: 'Are you kidding me?' Tense time: Sheree, Kim and Porsha Williams talked about the elephants in the room Addressing the camera, she raged: 'She's pulling s*** out of her a**. I'm on some vodka b****, but I damn sure ain't on no drugs.' Nene told Kim: 'We've known each other the longest and it just seems like our relationship is never anything other than very surface. You are just never supportive.' A defensive Kim said: 'Stop complaining. You don't even believe in that s***.' Face to face: Kim and Nene had a one-on-one conversation Nene resolved: 'Kim and I are not on the same page. We're not going to be besties. It is what it is.' Nene organized the group session with energy reader Mbele after skipping an outing with Kim and Sheree. When the pair called her to ask why she had failed to show up, Nene told them: 'I just think there needed to be a bigger conversation. The couple of times I've been around you, at least with you Sheree, there's been elephants in the room. But I think there's a lot of damn elephants in the damn room.' Energy reader: Mbele was brought in by Nene to help the women but she bailed out She later added: 'I want to get all the girls together because there are a lot of elephants we need to address. We need to do this before they get any bigger than Porsha's fat a** and Kim's gigantic duck lips.' While Porsha Williams and Kim, who was clad in a pink dress, refused to hand over their phones in the 'no phone zone', the other women did as Mbele asked and sat down for their session. As the lights flickered on and off, Kenya Moore quipped: 'I don't know if someone's trying to tell us there's a bad spirit in the room, but if they are it must be someone in a blonde wig and dresses as a bottle of Pepto-Bismol.' Good one: Kenya Moore said if there was a bad spirit in the room, it 'must be someone in a blonde wig and dresses as a bottle of Pepto-Bismol' After Mbele told Cynthia to listen to her friends' warnings about boyfriend Will and told Nene that she was a 'sweetheart', Kim muttered under her breath to Porsha that the advice was nonsense and she did not believe the medium was genuine. As Mbele walked out, Kenya snapped: 'I'm really tired of this back and forth so either we're going to sit here and we're going to listen or you can f***ing leave because I'm tired of this stupid s*** that's going on. Who the f*** are you?' With a lack of psychic medium, Kandi took over the leadership role and asked Porsha about her issues with Nene. Pink dress: Kim wore a pink dress that Kenya compared to a bottle of Pepto-Bismol Took over: Kandi took over as moderator after Mbele bailed out Porsha said: 'I just felt like I wasn't sitting in front of anybody who gave a damn and the face you're giving right now is the same bulls*** face you gave me at the tea party. 'I'm here to support the general positiveness of the group, but as far as what this is with me and Nene, I have nothing for somebody who continuously gives me their a** to kiss.' Nene told the camera: 'We're really talking about this again? The whole point of this event was to talk about the other damn elephants in this room.' Turning to Kandi, she said: 'Well, you guys got your own elephants you ain't resolved.' Live long: Kandi reminded Nene that elephants live long 'Oh you know elephants live long, honey,' Kandi said. The attention soon turned to Sheree, who asked what Nene had been talking about when she referred to elephants in the room between them. 'I don't have anything I need to talk to you about,' Nene said. Rift explored: Nene and Sheree also clashed during the get together Sheree continued: 'Is the issue with Tyrone? Let's be clear. You've got mugshots too.' Nene snapped: 'I got a mugshot and he's in prison. This man is really in prison for a million years for doing some con stuff and you're over here talking to me about an arrest.' When Kenya tried to defend Nene, Kim fired back: 'Don't even let her bother you b****. She wants to be you, in love honey. Just keep it moving.' United front: Kim made a jab about Kenya while sticking up for Sheree A riled Kenya said: 'Half the reason we're here is obviously the other elephant in the room, of Kim being rude.' As Kim checked her text messages, Kenya said: 'I'll wait for you to put your phone down if you want to have a conversation.' 'I don't actually,' Kim replied. Wait for it: Kenya told Kim that she would wait to have a conversation, but Kim declined Asked by Cynthia why they did not like one another, Kenya explained: 'I don't have a problem with anyone until they have a problem with me. 'When Sheree and I saw each other at her house warming and I was throwing silly shade, that was between me and Sheree, so Kim made it a point to jump into that and start making nasty comments to me. 'Then we had the situation at Nene's house. Kim, as all of you guys know, came for me. I didn't start with her.' Good question: Cynthia asked Kenya why she didn't like Kim Kim said: 'I didn't like my behavior last time and how mad she got me talking about my kids. That's a line that you crossed.' When Kenya denied making comments about her children, Kim said: 'Life is good, let's move on.' Kenya told the camera: 'This b**** is the rudest person I've ever seen in my life. You cannot get any ruder than her. She is a nasty piece of work. I don't think it's going to get resolved any time soon.' Elsewhere in the episode, Cynthia worried about Will's trip to Brazil a country full of beautiful women and Porsha prepared to start acting lessons for her role in a theater production of Two Can Play That Game. Road trip: Cynthia was worried about her new boyfriend Will going to Brazil Tender moment: Will and Cynthia kissed during his visit Former Sister, Sister star Tamera Mowry-Housley wore a stunning black strapless dress as she co-hosted a NAACP dinner Sunday night. The 39-year-old flashed cleavage in the number that had a plunging sweetheart neckline. The dress had a semi sheer panel under the lingerie-style bodice and a sheer gossamer skirt. Former Sister, Sister star Tamera Mowry-Housley, 39, wore a stunning black strapless dress as she co-hosted a NAACP dinner Sunday night The mother-of-two, who is married to Fox News reporter Adam Housley, accessorized with diamond chandelier earrings and had a diamond clasp in her loose curls. Her lashes were thickened with lashings of black mascara and pink lip color. She co-hosted the dinner, that took place in Pasadena 24 hours ahead of the NAACP's annual Image Awards show, with Jeannie Mai, Adrienne Houghton and Loni Love. Her dress had a semi sheer panel under the lingerie-style bodice and a sheer gossamer skirt. She co-hosted with Jeannie Mai, Adrienne Houghton and Loni Love TV personality Mai, 39, showcased her figure in an asymmetrical shiny black dress and shiny blue slingback heels Houghton, 34, left, opted for a wide-legged black jumpsuit with semi sheer long-sleeve top while Love, 46, wore a long-sleeved black top with black pants and a black cape-style wrap TV personality Mai, 39, showcased her figure in an asymmetrical shiny black dress and shiny blue slingback heels. Houghton, 34, the former girlfriend of Rob Kardashian, opted for a wide-legged black jumpsuit with a semi sheer lace y long-sleeve top with an asymmetrical neckline. Comedienne Love, 46, wore a long-sleeved black wet-look top with black pants and a black cape-style wrap. Orange Is the New Black star Samira Wiley and her OITNB writer spouse Lauren Morelli held hands as they posed for photos on the red carpet. Wiley, 30, wore a black jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to the waist while Morelli, 35, chose a patterned two-piece of sleeveless crop top and matching ankle-length skirt. Orange Is The New Black star Samira Wiley, 30, left, and her OITNB writer spouse Lauren Morelli, 35, right, held hands as they posed for photos on the red carpet Actress Keesha Sharp, 44, stood out from the crowd in a green dress with low neckline and keyhole bodice that she paired with black sandal heels Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin, 16, looked sharp in a checked two-piece suit. He wore an open-necked black shirt over an orange turtleneck sweater and shiny black shoes Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin, 16, looked sharp in a checked two-piece suit. He wore an open-necked black shirt over an orange turtleneck sweater and shiny black shoes. On hand, too, was Hollywood star Morgan Freeman, 80, who was dressed in a black shirt and black suit. The NAACP Image Awards, hosted by Anthony Anderson, are set to air live on TV One from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium starting at 9 p.m. ET on Monday. On hand, too, was Hollywood star Morgan Freeman, 80, who was dressed in a black shirt and black suit Tamera Mowry-Housley was joined on stage by Adrienne Bailon and Loni Love Marsai Martin won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy The NAACP Image Awards, hosted by Anthony Anderson, are set to air live on TV One from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium starting at 9 p.m. ET on Monday They are the fifth lineup to feature on the Hit Network's beleaguered Sydney breakfast show since Kyle and Jackie O departed the radio broadcaster in 2013. But according to industry blog RadioToday Em Rusciano, Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee are already showing a 'promising start' and could easily rival their KIIS 1065 counterparts - who have a lengthy unbeaten run as the top FM breakfast show. According to radio expert Zanda Wilson, Rusciano and co 'felt natural from the outset'. Scroll down for video I wake up with... 2DayFM? Radio expert suggests Em Rusciano, Grant Denyer and Ed Kavalee are the 'next Kyle and Jackie O' after the trio debuted their breakfast show this week He also added that Kavalee had 'seamlessly' settled into his role as anchor. 'It's clear that Ed suits the three-person format. It's undoubtedly no longer The Em Rusciano Show, and much more The Ed Kavalee Show,' he said. The blog also speculates that the move to a three-person format was designed to 'squeeze' Em out by Southern Cross Austereo. However, the extra presenters means she can focus on her specialty segments like 'Em's Gem' and 'Emtertainment'. It also left Grant, whose was previously Sunrise's weather presenter, with more time to show off his comical flair. The new tag team? The trio have debuted their breakfast show together and will be the fifth group to move into the Hit Network role in Sydney since Kyle and Jackie O departed in 2013 'Grant was there for his deep trove of anecdotes and was able to kick off their first phone segment where listeners called in with workplaces stuff-ups,' the blog said. Rumours suggest Em and Ed have been broadcasting from Melbourne and Grant from Bathurst, which could make 'local' news harder to report. However, Zanda cited their coverage of the recent Sydney train delays to refute such claims. Wrong station! Grant could change the ratings right around for the network The Hit Network has made a series of high-profile changes to its breakfast lineup since Kyle and Jackie O defected to KIIS in 2013, including turns from Merrick Watts, Jules Lund and Sophie Monk. Dan and Maz took over the breakfast slot in January 2015 followed by Rove McManus and Sam Frost just one year later, The Daily Telegraph reports. But due to poor ratings they were moved to a later time slot which was eventually axed all together and Em Rusciano was ushered in. They have been put through rigorous training regimes on the route to their Dancing On Ice debuts. But Stephanie Waring and her skating companions took themselves straight to McDonald's on Sunday night for a little overindulgence. The Hollyoaks actress celebrated getting through to another week at the fast food eatery with competitors Jake Quickenden, Brooke Vincent, Kem Cetinay and his dance partner Alex Murphy, as they filled up on late night snacks before bed. Scroll down for video Keeping up their energy: Stephanie Waring (right) shared an amusing picture of the Dancing On Ice crew (from left) Jake Quickenden, Kem Cetinay with his dance partner Alex Murphy and Brooke Vincent Alongside a group shot, Stephanie wrote: 'When you have been @dancingonice all you need is a McDonald's...' All of the stars were pleased to skate through to a third week of Dancing On Ice, after dodging the first Skate-Off of the competition. Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown was sent home on Sunday night when she faced off against Lemar. Dancing debut: Brooke made her debut on the night, as she hit the ice with partner Matej Silecky Toned: Brooke showed off the results of her new fitness regime last week, by sharing an impressive before and after shot of her 12 week slim-down to Instagram after ditching junk food Jake and Kem emerged as favourites last Sunday when they made their debut performances alongside Stephanie. That week, Candice found herself at the bottom of the leaderboard and discovered that she would be in the Skate Off, the following weekend. Yet this weekend was a first performance for Coronation Street star Brooke, who admitted to making it through 'by the skin of her teeth' while Lemar skated off against Candice. 'Thank you to everyone for your kind words,' Brooke wrote after her performance on Sunday. Dancing diva: Stephanie and her dance partner Sylvain Longchambon made their debut last weekend 'It helps especially when something out of my control happened.. we are ready to come back fighting so please continue to support us.. 'Thank you so much for our support up to now.. it means the world to us both.!! Week 2 down - JUST -BY THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH.' The late night snack was no doubt quite a treat for Brooke, who has celebrated dropping a stone in weight in just 12 weeks, after ditching junk food and cigarettes. Sharing a recent image beside one taken twelve weeks ago, the impressive difference in her figure was clear for followers to see - with Brooke owing the transformation to a gruelling fitness regime. Skating stars: 11 pairs will go through to Week 3 of the competition after losing one this weekend Having completely overhauled her lifestyle, she wrote in the caption: 'This picture is no way the finished product. It's just what happens when you cut out all of the rubbish you eat.' She then confessed that giving up cigarettes had been the biggest life-changer, adding: 'I'm not going to lie I've not been perfect, but taking out my smoking was the biggest health improvement I could have done. 'I never thought I would able to give up, I really NEEDED something to turn to. And now that I've actually completed it, I'm so proud of myself. He's the Married at First Sight 'villain' who ran his mouth off about his TV wife on a boys night. But it looks like Perth firefighter Andrew 'Jonesy' Jones, 39, is finally ready to face the music - literally. On Monday NW reported that the handsome former reality star plans to ditch the fireman's hose and is planning to embark on a new career in music. Scroll down to video Facing the music: Married at First Sight villain Andrew 'Jonesy' Jones is reportedly embarking on a new music career, hoping to get aired on Triple Js 'unearthed' program later this year Reports suggest Jonesy is hoping to debut his first original single on Triple J's 'unearthed' program later this year. While its unclear if he will use his reality TV experience as material for lyrics, it's clear the one-time TV groom has love on his mind. He recently shared a clip of him performing a cover of love song 'Hold' to Instagram. 'I try to loosen up your hold,' the ballad starts, while he plays the guitar. 'But you stayed and nothing made you fall,' before continuing, 'When I am yours, we are home.' Boys being boys? The TV groom made headlines during a controversial boys night on the show, when he said a number of rude things about TV wife Cheryl The song, which was released by The Voice finalist Ceila Pavey, continues: 'Wanting you to know before things become overgrown, their are reasons why I am this way,' continuing, 'I have opened my heart so many times, you have a hold...' A music teacher by day, Jonesy's love of music is already known to fans of season four of Married at First Sight. During it he performed a song for 'wife' Cheryl, although the gesture fell flat. Paired with two TV wives on the show - Lauren Bran, who was dubbed a 'runaway bride' and bikini model, Cheryl Maitland, who has since moved on with new boyfriend Dean Gibbs. Despite both the hunky firefighter and busty Cheryl keeping a low-profile lately, model Cheryl recently shared a snap of herself with current beau Dean on New Year's Eve, indicating their relationship has become serious. Going forward : Despite their disastrous relationship, his 'wife' busty bikini model Cheryl Maitland has since moved on with new boyfriend Dean Gibbs 'Well 2017 you have been good to me,' she said. 'I couldn't have asked for anything more...here's to a new chapter of our lives, 2018 we are coming for you.' No love lost: Glamorous Cheryl was the groom's second wife, after his first pairing ditched him on their wedding night Despite her 52 years, she remains one of the world's most lust-after women. And Elizabeth Hurley once again set pulses racing as she stripped down to a sultry red swimsuit while enjoying an idle day on the beach on Sunday. The stunning actress flashed serious cleavage in the plunging number, in a bid to prove that the one-piece is 'no longer the poor relation to the bikini'. Scroll down for video Red hot! Elizabeth Hurley once again set pulses racing as she stripped down to a sultry red swimsuit while enjoying an idle day on the beach on Sunday The Royals star oozed sex appeal as she brushed away beaded curtains to reveal her raunchy swimwear style. 'No longer the poor relation to the bikini: One pieces are our new best friends @elizabethhurleybeach #candaceonepiece #comingsoon,' she captioned the snap. Amplifying the glamour, Elizabeth styled her brown, sun-kissed tresses into soft waves and let her tanned complexion shine through with only minimal make-up. 'Nothing beats a string bikini': Elizabeth proudly flaunted her ample cleavage and designer chops in a racy Instagram post showcasing her aqua two-piece on Friday The mother-of-one has been busy promoting her new swimwear range on her Instagram page to her 798k followers. On Friday, the star proudly flaunted her ample cleavage and designer chops in yet another racy social media post. Fans of the British beauty got an eyeful of the bombshell as she relaxed on a sun lounger during her sun-soaked beach trip. The bronzed beauty donned a jaw-dropped aqua blue bikini, accented with tiny gold hoops on the string straps, giving just a glimpse of her toned stomach and gym-honed arms. Making a splash: It's not the first time Elizabeth has set tongues wagging with her social media uploads. On Monday, The Royals star continued to steal the limelight as she stripped down to a skimpy pink bikini during a sun-soaked throwback video Elizabeth showed off her natural beauty in the make-up free pic, as she pulled her best model pout while keeping the sun rays out of her eyes with giant gold rimmed sunglasses. She swept her trademark brunette tresses up away from her face, leaving delicate wisps of hair to frame her youthful complexion. She captioned the saucy snap: 'Trends come and trends go, but nothing beats a string bikini #aquariusbikini #aqua.' It's not the first time Elizabeth has set tongues wagging with her social media uploads. On Monday, The Royals star continued to steal the limelight as she stripped down to a skimpy pink bikini during a sun-soaked throwback video. The model sent fans wild as she showed off her sensational age-defying physique while dancing seductively on an idyllic sandy beach. The Austin Powers star looked incredible as she spun around and shimmied to the camera as guitar music played in the background. Wearing a fuschia two-piece from her own bikini line, the mother-of-one certainly turned heads as she danced around on the pristine white beach. Looking good: The model and actress showed off her sensational age-defying physique while dancing seductively on an idyllic sandy beach Elizabeth, who has a 15-year-old son Damian with ex Steve Bing, ran her hands through her hair as she beamed at the lens. She captioned the seductive video: 'Happy Sunday. @elizabethhurleybeach #Islabikini.' Her followers went wild for the video, flocking to praise her incredible figure in the comments section. Throwing some shapes: The Austin Powers star looked incredible as she spun around and shimmied to the camera as guitar music played in the background Island life: The British beauty wore her half-wet tresses in tousled waves and appeared to show off her natural beauty by foregoing make-up 'I'm 52 and I am not going to eat ever again. Or Until I look like this, whichever comes first,' one quipped. Another gushed: 'Looked up youthful exuberance in the dictionary and I was re-directed here!' A third wrote: 'B***dy beautiful and ageless' while a fourth agreed: 'Wow, sure looks GREAT for fifty-two!' The veteran actress' skimpy display was a stark contrast to her look just days earlier, as she donned a camouflaged balaclava helmet. The words Watch out were emblazoned across the bottom of the snap, hinting that Hurley could be teasing fans with a possible new acting role. Beach babe: Wearing a fuschia two-piece from her own bikini line, the mother-of-one certainly turned heads as she danced around on the pristine white beach What's her secret? Fans went wild for the video, dubbing her 'beautiful' and 'ageless' Sensational: One follower gushed in the comments section: 'I'm so in love with you, you're a goddess' while another added: 'Looked up youthful exuberance in the dictionary and I was re-directed here!' Hurley was catapulted to stardom in 1994 when she wore a skimpy Versace dress held together with safety pins while attending the Four Weddings And A Funeral premiere with now-ex Hugh Grant. She later cemented her sex symbol status playing Mike Myers' love interest in the 1997 comedy Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery. Hugh recently talked about their relationship, admitting he bonded so much with Hurley as they were initially both out of work. Speaking on The Jess Cagle Interview, Hugh said: 'Were like brother and sister... I think its partly because we went from zero to somewhere together. Taking centre-stage: She first garnered international attention in 1994, when she donned a daring Versace safety-pin dress while accompanying then-boyfriend Hugh Grant to a film premiere 'We went through terrible years at the beginning when neither of us had any work, living in a tiny flat. It was quite bonding.' He also reflected on the cause of their split, admitting he was an 'idiot' for the 1995 scandal in which he was arrested for lewd conduct with a prostitute. The Notting Hill star was arrested over two decades ago in Los Angeles for his actions with a prostitute named Divine Brown a week before his movie Nine Months was due for release. Now reflecting on his actions, Hugh claimed he should have claimed he had a 'psychological problem'. He explained: 'I was just an idiot. I didnt try to say, "Ive got this psychological problem." I just said, "I did it"'. She has played the famous monarch several times, and even bagged an Oscar for her portrayal in 2006 flick The Queen. However Helen Mirren confirmed she would not be reprising her role as Elizabeth II in a future series of The Crown, despite heavy speculation. Speaking to DailyBeast last week, the 72-year-old actress confessed she was 'done' with the royal character, when asked if she would ever appear in the hit Netflix series. Scroll down for video 'I'm done': Helen Mirren has confirmed she will not be reprising her role as Elizabeth II in a future series of The Crown, despite heavy speculation Iconic: Helen has played the monarch in 2006 flick The Queen (above) and 2013 play The Audience - both produced by The Crown's creator Peter Morgan Helen portrayed the Queen in the Academy Award-winning flick as well as a 2013 theatre production of The Audience - both produced by Peter Morgan, who is also the creator of The Crown. However, while the character has found Helen huge success over the years, she was quick to confirm she had no plans to reprise the role in the Netflix series. She simply said of playing the Queen once again: 'No, I'm not. No, no. Done with that.' In the past: However, Helen was quick to assure she will not be reprising the role in the Netflix series, revealing: 'No, I'm not. No, no. Done with that' (pictured in the 2006 film) The Crown follows the reign of Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip from 1947 to the present day, and plans to cast numerous actresses in the lead role, to accurately portray the monarch as she ages. Claire Foy wrapped the second series last month, and is set to be replaced by Broadchurch star Olivia Colman in the third and fourth installments of the show. However, Wolf Hall star Claire recently confessed herself that she had tipped Helen for the role in the future. Star of the show: The Crown follows Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip from 1947 to the present day - with Claire Foy and Matt Smith (above) playing the roles in the first two seasons Moving on: However Claire is set to be replaced by Broadchurch star Olivia Colman in the third and fourth installments of the show (pictured in February 2016) She said of Helen's casting last year: 'It's definitely not a done deal, but I'd put money on it. Do it now, go. Gamble, gamble. It would be amazing.' Helen certainly looked every inch the leading lady as she embarked on a busy day of promotion on Friday, for her new film The Leisure Seeker. Rocking a PVC biker jacket and a bright pink jumper, the Academy Award winner looked decades younger than her 72 years as she arrived at the Sirius XM studios in NYC. Leading lady: Helen certainly looked every inch the leading lady as she embarked on a busy day of promotion on Friday, for her new film The Leisure Seeker Joined by co-star Donald Sutherland, 82, the Calendar Girls actress appeared in high spirits as she rested her head on the renowned actor during their promo trail of The Leisure Seeker. Helen, who plays Ella Spencer in the film, made a bold fashion statement for her appearance, donning a sheer full length skirt with the word 'feminist' emblazoned on it. She accentuated her ageless skin with a pretty pink lip and blush-swept cheeks and completed the look with drop pearl earrings and black biker boots. Meanwhile, Donald looked dapper in a black suit and purple scarf as he posed next to the Hollywood starlet. Ageless: Rocking a PVC biker jacket and a bright pink jumper, the Academy Award winner looked decades younger than her 72 years as she cosied up to co-star Donald Sutherland Clear complexion: She accentuated her ageless skin with a pretty pink lip and blush-swept cheeks and completed the look with drop pearl earrings and black biker boots Back in 2014, the silver siren told The Times she was considering cosmetic surgery 'very, very soon' but has always been vocal about her natural approach to beauty. Speaking to Femail in 2016, Helen admitted she regularly goes make-up free, explaining: 'The irony is that - the older you get - the less you care. 'I think: 'God, when I was young, and probably had much better skin, I wouldn't dream of going out without mascara. Now I really don't mind. Daring: Helen, who plays Ella Spencer in the film, made a bold fashion statement for her appearance, donning a sheer full length skirt with the word 'feminist' emblazoned on it 'I mean, if you're taking your dog for a walk at eight in the morning it doesn't really matter.' Speaking on her appointment as the spokesperson for L'Oreal (and becoming one of the oldest faces of a major cosmetics brand in the process) Helen has previously admitted she asked for 'minimal retouching' in her campaign images. 'In all honesty. I don't think I said: 'Absolutely no retouching. I said: 'Minimal - the absolute least we can do.' Because sometimes a hair is sticking up or there's a shadow. Silver beauty: In 2014 Helen told The Times she was considering cosmetic surgery 'very, very soon' but has always been vocal about her natural approach to beauty 'But I did not want that overly smooth face that's hardly recognisable. I've been retouched in movie posters and I look at it and go: 'Well, it's all very well, I look kind of great, but, it's not me at all. It's some construct up there.' ' Meanwhile Helen insisted she was OLDER than she actually is when she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday. Host Ellen complimented her, saying: 'You're not shy about saying your age, you're 72...' Helen interrupted saying, '73' as the audience clapped. 'Wow, when did you turn 73? Are you sure?' the confused host asked. Happy: Joined by co-star Donald Sutherland, 82, the Calendar Girls actress appeared in high spirits as she rested her head on the renowned actor during their promo trail of The Leisure Seeker Film icons: The duo have been on the promo trail for the latest film The Leisure Seeker, which follows John and Ella Spencer taking one last road trip from Boston to the Hemingway House in the Florida Keys before his Alzheimer's and her cancer catch up with them 'I think I'm 73,' the silver-haired beauty replied, explaining that she and her director husband Taylor Hackford are just six months apart in age and they're always trying to work out how old they are. 'Well anyway, this year we thought he was 74, which would make me 73.' When a voice off stage confirmed her age, the delighted star replied: 'I'm 72, this is fantastic. I've just made a whole year. Wow!' A smiling Ellen pointed out: 'Yeah, you've gotten younger being here.' But she couldn't resist jokingly adding: 'You look great but you're losing it.' Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong will reportedly face an awkward reunion at the Britain's Got Talent auditions on Monday, days after their divorce was announced. Sources told The Sun that the couple will come face-to-face when the series kicks off in Blackpool, as Ant reunites with co-host Declan Donnelly while Lisa returns to her duties as a makeup artist for the show. The insider added that Lisa is determined to return to work as she 'needs the money,' despite claims their divorce could be the most expensive in Britain's history with a 31million price tag. Scroll down for video Difficult: Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong will reportedly face an awkward reunion at the Britain's Got Talent auditions which kick off in Blackpool today The source said: 'It's hard for stars not to side with either Ant or Lisa and it will be doubly difficult on Britain's Got Talent so soon after the split. 'Ant hardly thinks that she needs the money. But he'll be okay with her being there and he has no hard feelings.' Ant's representative decline to comment when contacted by MailOnline. Back to it: Ant will return to host the ITV show with Declan Donnelly, while Lisa will return to her duty as a makeup artist on the show Ant announced his split from Lisa on Saturday after 11 years of marriage, with a statement from the star reading: 'In response to the recent speculation in the media, Ant is very sad to announce that, after 11 years, he is ending his marriage to Lisa McPartlin. 'Ant asks for privacy at this difficult time, for both himself, Lisa and their immediate families. No further statement will be made.' Sources added the split had been a 'tough decision' for Ant, but that the pair had spent eight months 'giving it a go', and a divorce was the best option for his health. Split: The couple announced their divorce on Saturday after 11 years of marriage, with a statement confirming the news to MailOnline Sources have also claimed that Ant could be set to part with 31m in Britain's priciest divorce ever, in a bid to keep his divorce from Lisa as amicable as possible. The insider told The Sun: 'Its a huge amount but he wants Lisa to be financially and emotionally supported. 'He wants things to be amicable and doesnt want a drawn out court battle with Lisa. 'He still views her as a best friend and wants them both to be able to walk away from the marriage positively.' News of their breakup came as Lisa thanked fans for their support after her split from the TV presenter was confirmed on Saturday. 'I really feel for her': Fans supported Lisa in their droves, with one championing her and saying she has 'stayed classy to the end' Breaking her social media silence in the wake of the announcement, the make-up artist 'liked' a number of encouraging tweets from her followers, one of which praised her for being 'classy to the end'. The 41-year-old has so far remained silent on the split, though she seemed to have found a suitable way to vent her outlook through the messages of her fans. 'Going through difficult times we must always be reminded that better times are ahead,' read one tweet Lisa had 'liked'. 'For a beautiful person like yourself it will be tough but keep your chin up and you will bloom again.' Expensive: The news came amid reports Ant could be set to part with 31million in the divorce settlement - Britain's priciest ever It has now been reported the divorce could cost Ant around 30million - almost half his net worth. Ant's fortune is estimated at 62million , with him and sidekick Dec reportedly earning a whopping 29.48million before tax in 2016. Divorce lawyer Cara Nuttall told The Mirror: 'The starting point will always be a 50:50 division of all assets. 'It is likely her lawyers will argue that due to the length of their relationship that there is no room for negotiation on that.' Ant has been living apart from partner Lisa in recent weeks - having moved out of the 6million property they share last year following his stint in rehab for an addiction to painkillers. She's been proudly flaunting her post-baby bikini body on the beach in recent weeks. And Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 30, proved she works hard to stay in shape as she was spotted leaving a Body by Simone fitness club in Los Angeles on Sunday. The British beauty - who welcomed her first child with fiance Jason Statham six months ago - flashed her toned stomach in a cropped sweater and displayed her long, toned legs in black leggings. Scroll down for video Yummy mummy: Rosie Huntington-Whiteley flashed her toned stomach in her cropped hooded jumper while leaving the Body by Simone fitness club in LA on Sunday The Transformers actress wore her golden blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail for her fitness session. She completed her sporty look with black trainers and gave her style a superstar finish with a pair of over-sized black sunglasses. The Victoria's Secret beauty welcomed son Jack with long-time partner Jason Statham just seven months ago. Sporty beauty: The British beauty displayed her long toned legs in a pair of tight black leggings with her blonde tresses tied back in a ponytail for her work-out session The Marks & Spencer lingerie model has been dating the action star, 50, for seven years. The couple are yet to tie-the-knot after getting engaged in January 2016. The pair took to Instagram in June last year to confirm the arrival of their sweet little boy, writing in the caption: 'Our little man arrived! Jack Oscar Statham 8.8lbs on Saturday June 24th.' In perfect shape: The lingerie model proved in a variety of snaps on her Instagram page that she has bounced right back to her supermodel physique in her black studded bikini Rosie has proved in a variety of snaps on her Instagram page that she has bounced right back to her supermodel physique. Last week, she showed off her slender post-pregnancy body as she posed up a storm in a black studded bikini from her own collection. The runway fixture was recently placed in fifth on Forbes' annual list of the world's best-paid supermodels, with earnings of a staggering $9.5 million in just 12 months. He was the butt of character Eileen Grimshaw's joke during an episode of Coronation Street last week. And Piers Morgan joked that he wasn't best pleased as he confronted the ITV soap over its 'unprovoked attack' during Monday's instalment of Good Morning Britain. The 52-year-old TV host hit back after last Wednesday's instalment saw Eileen, played by actress Sue Cleaver, moan that she 'gets enough of a headache with Piers Morgan'. Scroll down for video 'Where did this attack come from?' Piers Morgan joked that he wasn't best pleased as he confronted about being mocked by Sue Cleaver during an episode of Coronation Street last week Addressing the jibe, Piers accused GMB's showbiz correspondent Richard Arnold of being responsible. He ranted: 'I couldn't understand where this impromptu and unprovoked attacked came from... 'Then a little part of my brain took me back to Sue Cleaver - who is your best friend! Have you given me zingers in Corrie, Arnold?' Denying he played any part in the insult, Richard joked that he had only befriended Sue all of these years because he was hoping to get a mention in the soap. Ouch! The 52-year-old TV host hit back after last Wednesday's instalment saw Eileen Grimshaw moan that she 'gets enough of a headache with Piers Morgan' He quipped: Twenty-three years I've been carrying that woman and you get the mention!' But despite his supposed outrage, the journalist eventually admitted that he was in fact flattered to have been cited in the long-running show. 'My grandmother loved Corrie, she would have loved me being mentioned...' he praised. 'Have you given me zingers in Corrie, Arnold?': Piers accused GMB's showbiz correspondent Richard Arnold of being responsible, as the host is long-time friends with actress Sue Cleaver Piers' mention came as a light-hearted moment in what had been a dark double instalment of Coronation Street, after the villainous Pat Phelan admitted to murdering Luke Britton and threatening Seb Franklin. Having been oblivious to her partner's evil ways, a terrified Seb soon tells Eileen everything about her wicked husband, prompting her to make an appointment to visit Anna Windass in prison. A terrified Seb then told Eileen everything about her evil husband and she made an appointment to visit Anna Windass in prison the next day. She has turned the clock back on her troubled relationship with her family, and patched things up with her father Michael Lohan after years of family drama. And actress Lindsay Lohan looked to be in high spirits as she enjoyed a night out on the tiles, appearing as a special guest at an LGBTQ Super Trade Party in Brooklyn,New York on Sunday night. The 31 year-old, who returned to her natural copper tresses, threw a peace sign to cameras as she made her way to the trendy event. Scroll down for video Hit the club: Beaming Lindsay Lohan enjoyed a night out on the tiles at Super Trade club in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday night wearing a blue fur jacket and thigh high boots The Herbie Fully Loaded actress caught all the attention in a eye-catching royal blue faux-fur jacket, with dramatic fur shoulders and cuffs. The head-turning style was offset with an oversized Adidas sweater skimming the very tops of her thighs. The rather cosy club ensemble took a racy turn, with the socialite slipping into saucy black leather boots. All smiles: Lindsay beamed as she chatted away to friends at the Big Apple haunt, tucking her trademark red locks behind her ears and into a comfortable low ponytail Stunner: The rather cosy club ensemble took a racy turn, with the socialite slipping into saucy black leather boots. Looking happier than ever, Lindsay beamed as she chatted away to friends at the Big Apple haunt, tucking her trademark red locks behind her ears and into a comfortable low ponytail. The fresh-faced starlet enhanced her natural features with a delicate touch of rosy blush and nude pink lip colour. Lindsay has been putting the past behind her as of late, particularly with her family. Au-naturale: The fresh-faced starlet enhanced her natural features with a delicate touch of rosy blush and nude pink lip colour The Mean Girls alum told Wendy Williams on Friday's show that she and her father, Michael, now get along. 'It's great,' said the Herbie Full Loaded star, who now calls Dubai home. Both her parents were in the audience of the daytime talk show as well as Lindsay's 94-year-old grandmother. The split between her mom Dina and dad Michael in 2007 was anything but civil as tabloids ran stories about unpaid child support and domestic abuse. 'I think that in life, parents have their things together and sometimes the children are immersed in it and you just have to really step back and let your parents do what they do and figure out everything for themselves,' she said. Fun night: Lindsay looked happier than ever during the LGBTQ bash, posing for pictures with her trademark auburn hair in full display 'And we all have a great relationship now so it's nice . . . it's much simpler that way.' After a rocky several years dealing with substance abuse and family turmoil, the child star seems to be back on track. She also told Wendy that she's got a lot of little projects in the worksincluding opening a chain of nightclubs and designing an island in Dubai. Lindsay told the talk-show host that she's planning on developing her own film called Frame, centered on an American photographer who moves with her husband to Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh. Of the film, she said: '[The main character] starts to understand the culture and she starts to understand the women there fencing, that's a big thing for the women there, so there's a lot of fencing courses and horse-back riding'. Busy lady: Lindsay is said to have new projects in the works, telling talk show host Wendy Williams that she plans to develop her own film The former Home And Away star has just returned from a romantic Hawaii escape with fiancee Tyson Mullane. And on Monday, Pia Miller head out for a girls' night with an old pal she hadn't seen for some time. The stunning actress, 34, looked radiant as she posed for a photo with Karissa Dalton (nee Fanning) - ex-wife to professional surfer Mick. 'I don't see you enough': Ex Home And Away star Pia Miller enjoys girls' night out with surfer Mick Fanning's ex-wife Karissa Dalton in Sydney The brunette beauties looked chic in all-black ensembles as they flaunted their slender physiques in sleeveless designs. Pia captioned the photo, in part: 'I dont see you enough.' She continued: 'But when I do... its honest, its inspiring & its nourishing. Love you @karissa_lea.' 'Love you': The last time they featured on each other's account appears to be from a weekend trip they shared together in 2016 Karissa was quick to respond on the picture, writing: 'Love you.' The last time they featured on each other's account appears to be from a weekend trip they shared together in 2016. The celebrated a long weekend in June at a beachside location, sharing makeup free selfies from on the sand. Celebrating with her friend? The catch up follows Pia's recent engagement to long-term boyfriend Tyson Mullane in November Karissa gushed over her close friend at the time, writing, 'camping with this divine human' and 'so grateful for you.' The catch up follows Pia's recent engagement to long-term boyfriend Tyson Mullane in November. Announcing the news to Instagram, Pia wrote: 'In a hundred lifetimes, In a hundred worlds, In any version of reality - Id find you & Id choose you. Yes today Yes always.' They recently finished working on heist thriller Ocean's Eight together. But Sarah Paulson and Sandra Bullock are set to join forces once again in new horror film Bird Box, which will be released on Netflix. The first-look pictures of them in their roles gives a hint of the film's setting, but not the terrors that are in store for their characters. Scroll down for video High flyers: Sarah Paulson looks unrecognisable in a brunette wig and red tartan dress on the set of new Netflix horror flick Bird Box Sarah, 43, was seen walking out of her trailer in a red tartan dress, which was paired with a light brown felt jacket for the unnamed character's look. Her wig was tied-up into a loose side ponytail, and her make-up was kept simple and natural. Sandra, 53, who is in the lead role as Malorie, was seen in an all-blue ensemble of jeans, jacket and a silk shirt with tie-detailing on the front. Mother knows best: Sandra's character protects her children from an ominous alien threat by getting them wear blindfolds to stop them looking at the aliens and go mad with violent rage Her character is determined to protect her children from an ominous alien threat, and makes them wear blindfolds to avoid making eye-contact with creatures that make people go mad with violent rage. Sandra's character and her children face a dangerous journey which sees them travel along a river in a small rowing boat with only her wits and her children's trained ears to protect them. Susanne Bier is in the director's chair for the film, while the script is written by Arrival's Eric Heisserer, who has been on board for the project since before it was even released to the public. Sarah and Sandra are joined by John Malkovich, Danielle Macdonald, Trevante Rhodes, Jacki Weaver, Rosa Salazar and Lil Rel Howery. Unexpected romance: Sarah opened up about her 'brave' relationship with actress Holland Taylor, 74, she said: 'My choices in life have been unconventional, and that's my business' Earlier this year Sarah opened up about her 'brave' two-year relationship with actress and playwright Holland Taylor, 74, in a cover feature for the February 2018 issue of Town & Country magazine, shot by Victor Demarchelier. The American Horror Story star explained the couple's union 'represents hope and risk', as she detailed her fears about starting a family and being too 'selfish' to ever be a mother. She said: 'I do not want to be defined by who I share my bed, my home, my soul with,' she said. 'My choices in life have been unconventional, and that's my business. 'Our relationship represents a certain amount of hope and risk. Maybe theres something brave in it. Maybe it encourages others to make brave choices. What else can I say? We love each other. Star-studded cast: The pair will next be seen together in Steven Soderbergh's heist thriller Ocean's Eight, which also stars Cate Blanchett, Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter The pair will next be seen together in Steven Soderbergh's heist thriller Ocean's Eight, which also stars Cate Blanchett, Rihanna and Helena Bonham Carter. The film sees Sandra's character recruit seven women to help her pull off a jewellery heist at the annual in New York, after only just getting out of jail. The Ocean's trilogy - running from 2001 to 2007 - starred the likes of George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, and grossed an incredible $1.1 billion worldwide. Oceans 8 opens in theatres on June 8, 2018. He's just wrapped up a one-show extravaganza in Sydney's Opera House. And with the announcement that he will embark on a tour of Australia in November Sam Smith has revealed the difficulties he experienced when he became world famous at the tender age of 21. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, the now 25-year-old vocalist admitted he was initially 'scared' of fame and needed some time to get used to it. Scroll down for video 'I ran into a hole and hid from it': Sam Smith opens up about dealing with worldwide fame at 21 ahead of his Australian tour 'I ran into a hole and hid from it and slept with it and I've had my heart broken a few times,' he said. Sam released his debut album In The Lonely Hour four years ago and won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe. His second studio release The Thrill Of It All matched its brilliance and single Too Good At Goodbyes was an instant radio hit. NOW: His second studio release The Thrill Of It All matched its brilliance and single Too Good At Goodbyes was an instant radio hit THEN: Sam released his debut album In The Lonely Hour four years ago to the tune of an Oscar and Golden Globes win 'My dream is to just do this for the rest of my life. I am not trying to beat every album, I am playing the long game,' he continued. 'I want to be here like the Eltons of the world. I want to be here when I'm 60, still singing and still performing.' In a recent interview with V Magazine, the Grammy winner joked he is finally able to write some 'happy songs' after finding love with Miami-based star of 13 Reasons Why, Brandon Flynn. Finding love: In a recent interview with V Magazine, the Grammy winner joked he is finally able to write some 'happy songs' after finding love with Miami-based star of 13 Reasons Why, Brandon Flynn While Sam appears content in his relationship, he shared an insight into his tumultuous romantic past while introducing songs at a Nova Red Room. 'I got dumped last year and it wasn't a good time,' Sam told the crowd, adding 'last year I struggled with becoming famous.' Before performing one of his hit tracks, he added: 'And all my past lovers and trying to look back on them in a positive way, because sometimes I ask myself if it was worth it, if those sad times were worth it.' It wasn't always a bed of roses...While Sam appears content in his relationship, he shared an insight into his pasts with former flames while introducing songs at the exclusive Nova concert Sam and Brandon were first linked in October when they were spotted kissing in NYC, but made their relationship 'Instagram-official' before Christmas. Hinting they were spending the festive season together, Brandon shared a selfie of the pair with his 3.5 million followers, captioned: 'Rare sighting in London!' After a few months of blossoming romance, Sam confessed he only hoped their love would grow stronger and 'deeper' throughout 2018. Ant McPartlin's estranged wife Lisa Armstrong has expressed her gratitude to fans for showing their support after her split from the TV presenter was confirmed on Saturday. Breaking her social media silence in the wake of the announcement, the make-up artist 'liked' a number of encouraging tweets from her followers, one of which praised her for being 'classy to the end'. The 41-year-old has so far remained silent on the split, though she seemed to have found a suitable way to vent her outlook through the messages of her fans. Scroll down for video Staying strong: Ant McPartlin's estranged wife Lisa Armstrong has thanked fans for their support after her split from the TV presenter was confirmed on Saturday 'Going through difficult times we must always be reminded that better times are ahead,' read one tweet Lisa had 'liked'. 'For a beautiful person like yourself it will be tough but keep your chin up and you will bloom again.' Another enthused: 'Well I think @lisaAmakeup has stayed classy to the end. She hasn't deserved any of this.i really feel for her. (sic) 'Just no need @antandedec keep stuff private.chin up Lisa.' 'My wife and I would like to wish you well and hope you have your family and friends around you take care you are a lovely lady,' comforted a further fan. Ant's spokesman confirmed to MailOnline that the spouses had parted ways on Saturday. 'Better times are ahead': The 41-year-old has so far remained silent on the split, though she seemed to have found a suitable way to vent her outlook through the messages of her fans Happier times: Ant and Strictly Come Dancing make-up artist Lisa have known each other for 23 years and tied the knot in 2006 A statement read: 'In response to the recent speculation in the media, Ant is very sad to announce that, after 11 years, he is ending his marriage to Lisa McPartlin. 'Ant asks for privacy at this difficult time, for both himself, Lisa and their immediate families. No further statement will be made.' A source close to Ant added to The Sun on Sunday: 'This was a tough decision for Ant but he has to do the right thing for his health. The marriage has effectively been struggling for eight months. He's given it a good go. 'I really feel for her': Fans supported Lisa in their droves, with one championing her and saying she has 'stayed classy to the end' They added: 'Ant's big concern in the whole thing is Lisa and making it as easy as possible for her.' Ant and Strictly Come Dancing make-up artist Lisa have known each other for 23 years and tied the knot in 2006. Ant has been living apart from partner Lisa, having moved out of the 6million property they share last year following his stint in rehab for an addiction to painkillers. He had spent the last two months filming in Australia for ITV reality show I'm A Celebrity, but Lisa was unable to join him overseas, due to her commitments to BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing. At the time, Lisa dismissed claims that this made her 'estranged' from husband Ant, explaining that she had not been out to Australia with him for 10 years. Comedian Sarah Silverman donned fifties-style glasses and a high ponytail as she enjoyed a meal out with friends at West Hollywood hotspot Craig's on Sunday evening. The 47-year-old funnywoman toted a not-so-chic blue backpack with her all- black casual outfit consisting of a leather jacket, T-shirt, skinny jeans, and sneaker wedges. This month marks the two-time Emmy-winning writer's three-year anniversary romancing Golden Globe-nominated actor, Michael Sheen. Scroll down for video Dressed down: Comedian Sarah Silverman donned fifties-style glasses and a high ponytail as she enjoyed a meal out with friends at West Hollywood hotspot Craig's on Sunday evening Out with pals: The 47-year-old funnywoman toted a not-so-chic blue backpack with her all- black casual outfit consisting of a leather jacket, T-shirt, skinny jeans, and sneaker wedges The 48-year-old Welshman is father to NYU-attending daughter Lily, turning 19 this month; with his ex-partner Kate Beckinsale. Last week, Sarah charitably called on her 14.6M social media followers to contribute $4,420 (of a $150 goal) to her Twitter troll Jeremy Jamrozy's GoFundMe page after he called her a c***. 'I do this all the time, not to be cocky, anyone can do it it's not a big deal,' Silverman told TMZ last Thursday of her act of kindness. 'We're still on a constant DM chain. He has severe back pain. He's having trouble managing the pain so it keeps him from working. He has a lot of medical issues and no insurance and he just needs to get on his feet. It's a lot of despair.' Still going strong! This month marks the two-time Emmy-winning writer's three-year anniversary romancing Golden Globe-nominated actor, Michael Sheen After he called her a c***: Last week, Sarah charitably called on her 14.6M followers to contribute $4,420 (of a $150 goal) to her Twitter troll Jeremy Jamrozy's GoFundMe page Silverman - who was hospitalized in 2016 for epiglottitis - told TMZ last Thursday: 'I do this all the time, not to be cocky, anyone can do it it's not a big deal' The New Hampshire-born brunette was sympathetic having suffered her own medical emergency in 2016 when she spent a week at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's ICU for windpipe-blocking epiglottitis. 'Thanks to everyone for their love donations which I must spend on pain management,' the San Antonio man later tweeted. 'I'm also going to a chiropractor. Will go to sexual assault groups soon they said they'd call me you are all amazing lets pay it foward (sic).' 'Good luck my brothers!' The Speck of Dust star will next compete against Dave Chappelle, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld, and Kevin Hart for the best comedy album trophy at the Grammy Awards, which air January 28 on CBS 'I'm excited to get it out there!' The Battle of the Sexes actress will next appear in Judd Apatow's two-part, four-hour documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling about the late comedian, which airs March 26-27 on HBO The Speck of Dust star will next compete against Dave Chappelle, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld, and Kevin Hart for the best comedy album trophy at the Grammy Awards, which air January 28 on CBS. Sarah - who hosted I Love You, America on Hulu - tweeted to her all-male fellow nominees: 'Good luck my brothers!' The Battle of the Sexes actress will next appear in Judd Apatow's two-part, four-hour documentary The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling about the late comedian, which airs March 26-27 on HBO. She has been trotting across the globe to promote her latest film The Post, in which she plays the first female editor of the Washington Post, Kay Graham. And Meryl Streep meant business on Monday as she sported a floral pussybow blouse for the film's photocall in Milan. The 68-year-old Oscar winning actress was joined by her co-star Tom Hanks, 61, and the film's director Steven Spielberg, 71, as they promoted the film which tells the story of the publishing of the Pentagon Papers. Scroll down for video Chic: Actress Meryl Streep, 68, was as stylish as ever on Monday as she attended a photocall in Milan for her upcoming film The Post Meryl put on a chic display in the black pussybow blouse with floral detailing, teaming the look with black wide leg trousers. The Iron Lady star showed off her youthful complexion with barely-there makeup, with her blonde cropped tresses lightly coiffed. Meanwhile her co-star Tom, who plays Washington Post executive editor Benjamin Bradlee in the film, sported a casual ensemble as he promoted the film. Meryl and team made time for an outfit change between the photocall and the official screening later that evening. Terrific trio: Meryl was joined at the event by her co-star Tom Hanks, 61, and the films director Steven Spielberg, 71 Man of the hour: Tom sported a casual ensemble to promote the film, which tells the true story of the Washington Post's plan to publish the Pentagon Papers Looking sharp: The film has been tipped for a slew of Oscar nominations next week, after receiving six Golden Globe noms Switching things up! Meryl and team made time for an outfit change between the photocall and the official screening later that evening Streep continued the floral theme with her second look, trading her blouse for a striking Valentino plum number paired with a peachy-pink coat. Hanks and Speilberg looked handsome in dark blue suits. The USC alum director added a stylish touch with a silk scarf around his neck. Ever the charmer, Forest Gump favorite Tom played it up for the cameras. He flashed several animated faces and gestured wildly before laughing and finding his way inside the theater for the film. Not camera shy! Ever the charmer, Forest Gump favorite Tom played it up for the cameras Tickled pink! Streep continued the floral theme with her second look, trading her blouse for a striking Valentino plum number paired with a peachy-pink coat Say cheese! Tom flashed several animated faces before laughing and finding his way inside the theater for the film The Post has already been tipped for Oscars glory ahead of the nominations announcement on Wednesday 24 January, after receiving six Golden Globe nominations. The film also delivered solid numbers upon going into wide release in the US over the weekend, estimating $18.6 million for the weekend and $22.2 million for the four-day holiday weekend. Set in 1971, The Post is centred around the 7,000 page Pentagon Papers which revealed the United States' involvement in the Vietnam war from 1945 to 1967. Actress Meryl has rarely been out of the spotlight recently because of her involvement in the Time's Up initiative. Leading man: In the film, Tom plays Washington Post executive editor Benjamin Bradlee, and the film is set in 1971 Superstar: Meryl plays the Washington Post's first female editor Kay Graham Fashion foward: The three-time Oscar winner has been at the centre of a media storm recently due to her involvement in the Time's Up movement Leading lady: Meryl plays the editor who is on a mission to publish the Pentagon Papers, in a story that showed the brutal rivalry between journalism and the government The movement, launched by hundreds of Hollywood women to advocate for the end of sexual harassment, features a legal defence fund which subsidises legal support for victims who have experienced abuse in the workplace. Meryl walked the Golden Globes red carpet with Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Writing in Cosmopolitan after the event, Ai-jen said: 'On the night of the awards, after taking a shot of vodka for courage, we stood shoulder-to-shoulder in front of countless cameras, shared our message with the media, and cheered others on who were doing the same.' Looking good: Meryl rocked the black pussybow blouse with floral detailing, teamed with black wide leg trouser He is one of the a veteran actor who is already considered as a living legend. But Robert De Niro looked even more distinguished for his latest role. The 74-year-old actor looked much older on the New York City set of his latest film The Irishman on Monday. Keeping balance: Robert De Niro looked much older on the New York City set of his latest film The Irishman on Monday His already graying locks were completely white as he walked along with two crutches while filming his new Martin Scorsese flick. As the actor is a consummate professional, he looked like he had completely submerged himself in the role as he hobbled along while using the two steel object to aid him in walking. De Niro was dressed comfortably in a brown track jacket with matching baggy trousers and black leather shoes. Stable: The 74-year-old actor walked along with two crutches on set Helping hand: A fellow actor was seen helping the star as he struggled to get out of a car Moving on: As the actor is a consummate professional, he looked like he had completely submerged himself in the role as he hobbled along while using the two steel object to aid him in walking The Oscar-winner also wore a button-down top as he covered up his light locks with a checked brown baker boy cap. De Niro was not alone on set as co-star Anna Paquin - who plays his daughter in the film was spotted heading to filming on the same day. In the flick the talented star portrays a mob hitman who played a part in the death of Jimmy Hoffa named Frank Sheeran also known as The Irishman. Living legend: De Niro was dressed comfortably in a brown track jacket with matching baggy trousers and black leather shoes New look: His already graying locks were completely white Mature: He looked much older than usual No doubt this day on film was more toward the end of Sheeran's life as De Niro has previously been seen looking much younger while filming the project. The period piece is based on based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses. It's the latest creation from De Niro and Scorsese, who've worked together on timeless film such as Goodfellas, The King of Comedy, Cape Fear and Raging Bull - which garnered the actor his second Academy Award in 1981. Big role: In the flick the talented star portrays a mob hitman who played a part in the death of Jimmy Hoffa named Frank Sheeran also known as The Irishman Back to the future: No doubt this day on film was more toward the end of Sheeran's life as De Niro has previously been seen looking much younger while filming the project As with many of Scorsese's films, the cast is an ensemble of the acting elite, also including Oscar-winners Al Pachino, who plays American labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, Joe Pesci, who plays mobster Russell Bufalino, and Paquin, who plays the daughter of De Niro's character, Peggy Sheeran. Veteran screen tough guy Harvey Keitel, plays mafia figure Angelo Bruno, while funnyman Ray Romano plays Hoffa attorney Bill Bufalino in a dramatic turn. The film is slated to wrap filming this month, after an extended string of events that's cast plenty of uncertainty over various aspects of production and distribution. Paramount and Mexican producer Fabrica de Cine were initially tied to the film, but both dropped out amid its soaring budget. Netflix eventually purchased the rights to the motion picture for $105 million and and covered budget costs, which have risen to $125 million. Some questions have arisen about the medium in which the film will be distributed as last month, Netflix's head of film publicity Julie Fontaine told Variety that 'it's premature to say anything at this point' in regards to its release. Lovely lady: De Niro was not alone on set as co-star Anna Paquin - who plays his daughter in the film was spotted heading to filming on the same day Warming up: The 35-year-old actress wore a long black puffer jacket over a white top, grey trousers, and black leather heels Gorgeous: She wore her brunette locks down and finished off her make-up with a swipe of red lip Netflix film division chief Scott Stuber promised Scorsese it will be released theatrically for at least two weeks, which would in turn, make it eligible for an Academy Award, sources told the trade publication. The project sees DeNiro resume his working schedule for the end of 2017, after pulling out of an Amazon series with Julianne Moore in October, due to the recent sexual harrassment scandal in Hollywood. The crime drama was set to be directed by David O'Russell and produced by The Weinstein Company, but was dropped following his numerous allegations of sexual abuse and harassment from actresses, models and producers in the industry. Supporting Amazon's decision to pull the show, the two lead stars said in a joint statement: 'We support Amazon's decision. 'In light of recent news and out of respect for all those affected we have decided together that it is best to not move forward with this show.' She was proposed to during a romantic New Year break in Aspen, Colorado. And Paris Hilton has celebrated with the release of a love song called Never Be Alone, in which she sings about 'coming alive' and no longer being 'lonely'. Newly-engaged Paris dropped the new music video on Sunday, two years after the collaboration with DJ Poet was released on YouTube but just two weeks after her fairytale engagement. Scroll down for video Coming soon! Paris Hilton revealed a new song on Instagram on Sunday In the short video, the hotel heiress was seen in various glamorous ensembles, as the camera cut between herself and Old Hollywood movie clips. 'Seen the stars are falling until I laid my eyes on you,' she sings. 'You don't have to be lonely because I knew just what to do. 'Kill the pain, come alive, elevate, see the light,' the musician is heard singing in the new dance track. On Instagram stories, the blonde beauty also took her followers with her into the studio, where she was seen recording new music. Playful: The music video shows Paris perching on a pink throne In love: Her song debut comes just off the heels of her engagement to fiance Chris Zylka, 32 Paris released her eponymous debut album in 2006, and is set to release her followup this year. In an interview with TIME, the entrepreneur said she would have a 'whole new sound' and will feature dance and techno music. She has yet to reveal a release date yet she will no doubt be busy planning a wedding in 2018, thanks to the New Year's news. Her zone: In the short video, the hotel heiress was seen in various glamorous pink ensembles Talented: On Instagram stories, the blonde beauty also took her followers with her into the studio, where she was seen recording new music Happier now: The blonde bombshell says her love has been a fairytale Over the Christmas holiday, the star's boyfriend of two years, Chris Zylka, got down on bended knee. The hotel heiress took to Instagram to share the happy news. 'I said Yas! So happy & excited to be engaged to the love of my life. My best friend & soulmate. Perfect for me in every way,' she began. 'So dedicated, loyal, loving & kindhearted. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world! You are my dream come true! Thank you for showing me that fairytales do exist.' Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is heading to India in a bid to double trade with the country and urge for the extradition of "cowardly" hit-run driver Puneet Puneet. The premier announced a new strategy on Sunday to boost trade with the country to $1 billion in the next decade and increase the number of Indian postgrade research students. "Our biggest export is in fact the international education market," Mr Andrews said on Sunday. "This is a huge part of our economic story and I think we can be confident, in fact buoyant about what the future holds." The premier also renewed a previous promise to discuss the case of hit-run driver Puneet Punnet with senior Indian government officials. Puneet was a 19-year-old learner driver when he hit and killed nursing student Dean Hofstee, 19, and seriously injured Clancy Coker, 20, in Melbourne in October 2008. "As I said the other day this is not about forgiveness this is about facing up to what he did and ending this cowardly hiding on the other side of the world," Mr Andrews said. He also said Mr Puneet will be treated no differently to any other prisoner if he was to be extradited after the man's lawyer claimed he would be a victim of racism. $100 milion Nigigon Bridge Snapped bolts cause deck to be yanked up by cables Tons of concrete to hold it down Two years after several bolts snapped off of the newly-opened multi-million dollar Nipigon Bridge, the Ontario government just doesnt want to talk about who is going to pay for the cost of fixing it. A Canadian Press report says there is a repair bill of perhaps $12 million to pay according to documents it has seen. The bridge itself cost $100 million to build. But the Ontario government is refusing to say just how much over, and whether taxpayers will have to foot the bill for fixes to the bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway. Engineering reports found that a combination of design and installation deficiencies of several key components caused the bridge to fail, severing the critical national link. Specifically, Improperly tightened bolts on one portion of the bridge snapped, causing the steel decking to lift about 60 centimetres. That was just 42 days after the bridge had opened in late 2015. Tons of concrete have been used to hold down the deck as a temporary means of making the bridge passable. The CP report does not name the contractor or the engineering firm NSW firefighters have worked through the night to get the upper hand on a bushfire that has burned through more than 2200 hectares in the Port Stephens area, north of Newcastle. The bushfire, which began on Saturday, ravaged land in the Tomago, Williamtown, Raymond Terrace and Campvale areas and forced the closure of Newcastle Airport on Sunday afternoon. The large air tanker Nancy Bird assisted crews combating the fire, with the NSW Rural Fire Service downgrading the warning from emergency to watch and act on Sunday evening. Crews remained on the ground overnight in an attempt to contain the blaze ahead of hot conditions forecast this week. The airport is expected to operate as normal on Monday. Hundreds of revellers were forced to evacuate a Darwin nightclub over the weekend after a fire, that is suspected to have been deliberately lit, caused more than $50,000 in damage. More than 500 people fled the Discovery club around 2am on Sunday morning while staff extinguished a blaze inside the laundry. Northern Territory police used security footage to identify and arrest the alleged arsonist, and charges are expected to be laid on Monday. "Reviewing the CCTV footage, we've discovered that it appears that someone's pushed a trolley or something similar up against the external laundry door, and it appears that at this stage that they purposely set that alight," Duty Superintendent James O'Brien told ABC Darwin. The fire is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to the building. Police say two other people were arrested and later released without charge. A Victoria farmer held up his own head by his hair and rode his motorbike to help after fracturing his neck twice when he hit a ditch. Jim, 73, was leaning over the front of his bike, checking his West Gippsland land for hatching grasshoppers when he hit a hole, banging his head on the ground and breaking his neck, he told 3AW on Monday. He then got up on his bike, held his head up by his hair, and rode 500 metres to his house to call for help, before being taken by ambulance to the Dandenong and then the Austin hospitals. A man who photoshopped his teenage stepdaughter into pornographic photos involving himself said he did so because he was morally outraged about her blossoming sexuality. However, Brisbane District Court Judge Leanne Clare on Monday dismissed his claims as "implausible", saying his sexual obsession with the girl he had raised since she was two warranted 12 months behind bars. The court heard the creation of the images took place in late 2014, just months after he was given a suspended sentence for touching the same girl's genitals while she slept. He used Photoshop to digitally add images of the girl when she was about 13 onto the bodies of adult women engaged in sexual acts with himself. He also created an image of her engaged in bestiality with a dog. The man, now 51, was arrested in September 2015 after being caught with around 100 images on hard drives in his luggage as he returned to Brisbane from a trip to South Africa. He described the photos as "artworks" and said there was no sexual motivation behind their creation. However, he pleaded guilty to four charges including possessing or producing child pornography material outside Australia, and importing and exporting objectionable goods without approval. His lawyer, Colin Reid, urged the court to accept the man's claims, saying he had "unusual beliefs" about promiscuity. He told the court his client created the photos after his stepdaughter, then aged 16, told him she was becoming sexually active with her boyfriend. Judge Clare was sceptical. "On material that I currently have before me, I find your client's explanation not credible," she said. "Perhaps you were jealous of her interest in other people, but what you did was hardly an act of parental concern." She sentenced the man to two years' jail but ordered he be released on a good behaviour bond after serving 12 months. Beachgoers are being warned to take care along the NSW coastline as hazardous surf conditions and powerful swells are predicted for most of the week. A strong and challenging swell is set to build along the coastline from Monday, stretching from the Hunter region through to the state's far north coast, peaking at more than 3.5 metres. Up to a dozen beaches, predominantly in the state's north, have already been closed on Monday. From Tuesday to at least Thursday, hazardous surf conditions will batter the entire NSW coastline. NSW Lifesaving manager Matt du Plessis warned beachgoers to take extra care following a number of drownings over the holiday season. "Please take note of the safety warnings and if you have any doubt whatsoever about your ability to handle the water it's better not to go in," Mr du Plessis said in a statement on Monday. Rock fishers are also being advised to avoid activities on exposed beaches and rock shelves due to a predicted 13-second period swell. Police are hunting an arsonist who allegedly lit a bushfire which blanketed Perth in an ominous cloud of ash. The fire began in Sawyer's Valley at about 8:30am on Sunday, with 200 firefighters battling the blaze at its peak as it burned through about 4000 hectares of bushland and threatened homes and property near Mundaring Weir. Arson squad detectives say they want to speak to the driver of a grey early model Ford Falcon which was seen on Gorrie Road, in the area of Hancock Brook. Rail workers across Sydney will take industrial action later this week but have stopped short of going on strike. The Rail, Tram and Bus Union says workers will wear campaign clothing and badges from Friday and, from the following Thursday, implement an indefinite ban on overtime. "No one wants to take industrial action, but we haven't been left with any other options at this stage," NSW union secretary Alex Claassens said in a statement on Monday. The union is fighting for an annual six per cent pay rise over four years but the government insists any pay demand must be within the 2.5 per cent cap for all public sector employees. Sydney Trains boss Howard Collins earlier on Monday said if drivers refused to work unplanned or rostered overtime the result could be fresh chaos on the rail network. "That will have an impact on the network ... we are working on those contingency plans now," he told reporters in Sydney. "It would be an important challenge for us and we would have to reschedule (services)." A Sydney technician who stole explicit photos off multiple women's phones while connecting their homes to the NBN has been spared time behind bars. Aydin Agar was given a 16-month jail sentence at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday but will serve it in the community by way of an intensive correction order. The 25-year-old sent himself more than 80 images - some naked, some topless and others with lingerie - and a video of a sexual act from four women's phones while working as an NBN sub-contractor in 2017. He told them he needed access to their devices to connect them to wi fi and then accessed their image galleries. Agar then deleted any trace of the messages he sent. Magistrate Jennifer Atkinson says his actions were a complete abuse of trust and caused significant emotional harm. "This is completely and utterly unacceptable," she told Agar in court. "The fear somebody has that these images are going to be spread around the world is enormous - it's absolutely awful." Agar also assaulted one of the victims who noticed what he'd done during a second visit to her home. He pushed and shoved her while attempting to snatch her phone and run away. The 25-year-old pleaded guilty to all charges. Ms Atkinson stressed that while he wasn't being sent to prison his behaviour did deserve a jail term. Agar lost his job following his arrest and has sought psychological treatment. Inflicting some payback for a rare defeat will be on Sydney's minds when the A-League pacesetters host Central Coast on Saturday. The Sky Blues lead the competition by six points following Sunday's 0-0 away draw with a youthful and understrength Adelaide United. Sydney's attention now turns to the Mariners, who beat them 2-0 in Gosford back in November. "They're the only team to have beaten us this year, so we definitely owe them one," Sydney captain and forward Alex Brosque said on Monday "We remember the loss up there and the way they reacted to that win. "There's a little bit burning in there from that last game for us." Sundays game in Adelaide was the first time in their past 11 matches since the loss to the Mariners, that Sydney went goalless. They had scored 23 goals in their six games prior to being held in Adelaide. "We threw everything at them, we had a lot of chances," Brosque said. "Enough chances to do what we've done in the last few games, which is get three, four, five goals, but It just didn't come. While second-placed Newcastle moved a couple of points closer after the last round, Sydney are still setting a blistering pace with 39 points from 16 games. "This time last year everyone was raving about how good we were going and we're only one point off where we were last year," Brosque said. "We're still going great. We're on target to do what we want to do which is win the Premiership. "We've got the rest of the league chasing us which is a good spot to be in." A cyber-hate expert says a proposal to ban an app that could aid online bullying is not the solution and instead societal attitudes need to change. Queensland mum Katrina, who has not disclosed her last name, started a petition to ban anonymous feedback app Sarahah following the tragic death of Northern Territory teen Dolly Everett, who took her own life. "I do not want my daughter or any other to become the next Dolly," she wrote on the online page. The petition has received more than 100,000 signatures in less than one week. But journalist Ginger Gorman, who is writing a book on cyber-hate and has been a victim herself, told AAP it was not practical to ban one social media app as there were new platforms being introduced every day. "It's also crucial for vulnerable kids to have access to social media because they often find support networks there," she said on Monday. "We shouldn't deprive them of that opportunity." Ms Gorman said she understood why Dolly's "devastating" death had made parents fearful, but an attitudinal shift was needed to address cyberbullying. "We are not taking it serious enough," she said. "If you are getting attacked online it is real life, they are credible threats. Everybody should feel safe online." Ms Gorman said teaching children resilience, using resources like the eSafety Commissioner website on digital safety and having parents be aware of their child's online activity would help. She also suggested further government legislation, education for law enforcement and platforms taking responsibility for an issue that affected people of all ages. Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 or Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). Australia's six Super Hornets have reportedly flown their last missions after three years of air strike operations against Islamic State in the Iraq and Syria. AAP understands the fighter jets are likely to return to Australia as early as next week. The Turnbull government announced their withdrawal late last year shortly after Iraq's prime minister declared victory over the militant group. Belgium also brought home its six F-16 Falcons fighter jets late last year. At its peak the so-called IS caliphate controlled most of eastern Syria and about one-third of Iraq's territory. The Super Hornets call the RAAF Base Amberley in Queensland home. As well as fighter pilots and weapons operators, also returning to Australia will be some aircraft maintenance workers and armament technicians ("gunnies") who assemble the precision-guided bombs. Air force personnel are likely to be relieved they won't have to endure another summer at Australia's main air operating base in the Middle East, where the temperature often reaches 50 degrees on the tarmac and 65 degrees on top of the aircraft. The return doesn't mark the end of Australia's military commitment in the fight against IS. The Wedgetail air battlespace management aircraft, on an operational pause, is expected to recommence sorties early this year. Australia also has a KC-30 refueller tanker in operation which will continue to provide petrol in the air to the fighter jets from other countries in the US-led coalition. Hundreds of Australian troops based out of Taji in Iraq will continue to train and mentor Iraqi soldiers, switching from combat training to ways to hold territory. Australia's air contribution to the fight against IS has not been without controversies. An Australian Super Hornet was responsible for an air strike in west Mosul in Iraq which may have killed a child in June. In a separate incident in March, Australian military personnel had been involved in the target decision-making process of a botched air strike in which seven civilians were killed or injured, including a child. The previous year, two Australian fighter jets dropped six bombs as a part of a bungled coalition air strike which hit Syrian government irregular forces rather than Islamic State. RAAF OPERATIONS IN IRAQ AND SYRIA * The Super Hornets have flown more than 21,400 flying hours, dropping more than 2400 precision-guided bombs on about 2750 sorties in the past three years. * The air-to-air refueller tanker has flown 9400 hours on about 1200 sorties, and transferred about 42 million litres of fuel. * The Wedgetail air battlespace management aircraft has clocked up more than 5000 flying hours and 400 sorties. Former prime minister Tony Abbott says January 26 should be accepted as Australia's national day. The Australian Greens are campaigning for the date of Australia Day to be changed. Greens leader Richard Di Natale believes it's time Australia stops papering over an issue which, he says, has been divisive and painful for so many for 200 years. However, Mr Abbott says there are 364 other days a year for the Greens to be politically correct. "Why can't they just accept that January 26 is the best available day to celebrate all that's good about life in Australia," he tweeted. Senator Di Natale joked there should be a national holiday when Mr Abbott retired from parliament. "That would bring the country together in a way like few other national days." Neither Labor nor the government endorse a date change, which has been adopted by a number of local councils. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says the government is focused on making the nation stronger, not arguing that "Lachlan Macquarie and Captain Cook were bad buggers". Indigenous leaders have been pushing for the change in recent years, saying January 26 marks the date the First Fleet landed in Sydney Cove in 1788, marking the beginning of British colonisation. The Rail, Train and Bus Union is expected to meet with Sydney Trains management to nut out the issues in the newly updated train timetable which has been partly blamed for the recent chaos on the city's rail network. Almost 40 scheduled train services were cancelled ahead of the morning and afternoon peaks on Monday to avoid a repeat of last week's debacle that left thousands of passengers stranded. The meltdown was due to a combination of storms, trackwork, a spike in sick leave and "excess" annual leave approvals. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian apologised to commuters for the delays and said if "permanent tweaks" were needed to Sydney's new more intensive train timetable "then we'll make them". Rail bosses met with the RTBU last week to discuss the problems ahead of what was termed a "pressure day" on Monday due to staffing issues and the re-opening of the new Hornsby junction. But, NSW union secretary Alex Claassens said the union had warned Sydney Trains the timetable wouldn't be able to cope with minor issues and the smallest of incidents could send the network into chaos. The union will meet with Sydney Trains management on Tuesday to discuss the timetable implemented in November before meeting chief executive Howard Collins on Thursday regarding the enterprise agreement which has left workers unhappy and voting to take industrial action. Rail workers voted in favour of wearing campaign clothing and badges from Friday and from the following Thursday, will implement an indefinite ban on overtime as they continue to fight for a six per cent pay rise and improved working conditions. Mr Collins said if drivers refused to work unplanned or rostered overtime it could cause fresh chaos. A private equity company has bought a majority stake in 90-year-old Australian confectionary maker Darrell Lea. The maker of favourites such as Rocklea Road and liquorice has bounced back following its voluntary administration more than five years ago following a major restructure. Quadrant Private Equity has bought the stake from the Quinn family, which owned the Queensland-based VIP Petfoods, for a reported $200 million. "Darrell Lea has been around since 1927 so it really is an iconic Australian brand with a huge amount of heritage and good will from consumers,'' chairman Chris Hadley told News Corp Australia. Earnings nearly doubled to $23 million in the last financial year and annual sales exceeded $110 million. Mr Hadley said his firm planned to continue the growth of Darrell Lea, including expanded manufacturing capacity. He said the company already enjoyed "an extremely strong position in the licorice market'' and had a very strong presence in the US, UK and New Zealand. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman are expected to sign an agreement to fast forward a City Deal for Hobart, just months out from a state election. A City Deal - the fourth under the federal government's Smart Cities Plan - would include a possible new Science, Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) centre, the Hobart Mercury reported on Tuesday. "There is no doubt that Hobart is undergoing significant growth and development and a City Deal will help guide and sustain that development well into the future and ensure that Hobart's livability is not compromised," Mr Turnbull is expected to say. Colleagues are raising money for the family of a stall holder who died after collapsing in extreme heat at a Gold Coast market. The 45-year-old woman died in hospital on Monday surrounded by her family, and her work mates from Helensvale's NightQuarter markets are doing what they can to provide support. The woman's family have advised she had a pre-existing medical condition that caused a heart attack, and heat stress was not to blame. They have asked the media not to name her. "Nobody is above the law" -- since his appointment in August, Angola's President Joao Lourenco has sought to root out corruption The first major scalp claimed by Angola's new president Joao Lourenco in his war on corruption and nepotism was that of his predecessor's daughter, who was sacked as head of the state oil company. The next big name linked to former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos was that of his son, Jose Filomeno, who was removed from his post at the top of the African nation's $5 billion sovereign wealth fund. Quick work for a president with barely 100 days on the job. Lourenco's manoeuvering against the nepotistical vestiges of Angola's last president began in earnest in November with the toppling of Isabel dos Santos -- said by Forbes to be Africa's richest woman. The shake-up at the Sonangol oil giant marked a watershed moment in Lourenco's young presidency as he sought to assert his authority and clear out the legacy of his controversial predecessor. During his presidential campaign, the former defence minister vowed to distance himself from Dos Santos who remains head of the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party. Just a month after Isabel dos Santos was fired, Sonangol announced it was opening an investigation into "possible misappropriation" of funds during her time as chief executive. Angolan media outlets have accused her of ordering suspect transfers and payments worth tens of millions of dollars. But although her sacking caught some Angola watchers off-guard, Lourenco's dismissal this week of Jose Filomeno as head of the oil-rich country's vast wealth fund did not. Lourenco, 63, had hinted he might sack Filomeno during a speech to mark his first 100 days in office after winning August's election on an anti-graft, reformist platform. - Sidelined - "Lourenco has sidelined all of those over whom he doesn't have control," said Benjamin Auge, an analyst at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). "The members of the Dos Santos family fall into this category, which is why they've been cast-off, one by one." Like his sister, Jose Filomeno was the embodiment of the political-financial empire built by their father that funnelled the nation's wealth to friends and relatives of the all-powerful Dos Santos clan. But the new sheriff in town appears determined to end the family's grip on the nation's purse strings. "No one is above the law," Lourenco said before being sworn in. For weeks now, Angolan media have been running stories alleging corruption by the Dos Santos family, which had previously been seen as untouchable. As well as the corruption probe facing Isabel, her half-brother was implicated in the "Panama Papers" scandal which showed how the world's wealthy shift profits around the globe to drastically cut tax. Also this week, state television revealed the lavish terms of a government contract awarded to another of Dos Santos' daughters, Welwitschia. - 'Might dig his feet in' - Isabel dos Santos headed Angola's state oil company until November when she was sacked Facing official scrutiny is proving to be an uncomfortable new experience for the former first family. Isabel has huffily denied the allegations against her and accused her critics of a "campaign of defamation" and "fake news". And even Dos Santos himself waded in, admitting in a rare public appearance last month that while "the changes are necessary, they should not be so radical". Angola's opposition has been quick to praise the government's campaign against "nepotism" -- an issue it has long campaigned about, urging Lourenco see the process through to the end. "All of these sackings will be irrelevant if they aren't followed by legal action," said Lindo Bernardo Tito, vice president of the Casa-CE party. "The president should order judicial inquiries without delay." - Personal crusade? - Few observers thought that Lourenco would push his fight against nepotism and corruption as far as he has. "I don't imagine any serious case will emerge against the family (although) the Sonangol probe is clearly a warning of what could happen," said Alex Vines, an analyst at Britain's Chatham House think-tank. Keen to keep the peace with his one-time mentor, Lourenco has denied any kind of "vendetta" against the Dos Santos family. "I don't see any tension in our relations," he said on Monday. "We are not persecuting them." But Vines said the new president needed to be cautious. "Lourenco does need to now prove he is not personalising this -- and allow an up-to-now exemplary transition to continue to be smooth," added Vines. "Dos Santos had planned to step down from the MPLA presidency in 2018 -- but if he senses there is a witch hunt again his family and friends, he might dig his feet in." SoftBank Group has been aggressively investing in technology ventures Shares in Japan's SoftBank Group soared six percent Monday on reports it could list its mobile unit, raising up to $18 billion in one of the country's biggest public offerings. In a statement, SoftBank Group insisted no decision had been made, but acknowledged the listing was an "option." "We are always studying various capital strategy options," the company said. "The listing of SoftBank Corp. shares is one such option, but no decision has been made to officially proceed with this course." The Nikkei economic daily, which first reported the plan, said the listing could bring in two trillion yen ($18 billion), one of the largest initial public offerings ever for a Japanese company. The report sent SoftBank shares up nearly six percent at the market's open, though they later settled up four percent. The Nikkei said SoftBank hopes to apply to the Tokyo Stock Exchange in spring and begin trading on the bourse around autumn, offering around 30 percent of the shares in its subsidiary up to investors. It is hoping for an overseas debut at the same time, possibly in London, the daily added. SoftBank Group has been aggressively investing in technology ventures under its flamboyant leader, Masayoshi Son. In 2016, it announced the creation of its massive Vision Fund -- a venture capital fund worth nearly $100 billion, set up with Saudi Arabia's government and other investors. In December, SoftBank announced it was acquiring a large stake in the ridesharing giant Uber. Sources said it was acquiring 15 percent of the company in a deal totalling $7.7 billion. The Nikkei said the listing plans would further consolidate SoftBank Group's status as an investment company and give its subsidiary greater autonomy. The listing could rival the record 2.2 trillion yen that formerly state-run Nippon Telegraph and Telephone raised in 1987. US President Donald Trump (C) during a meeting with bipartisan members of the Senate on immigration at the White House in Washington, DC Here is a look at several key moments in the first year of Donald Trump's turbulent presidency: - Travel ban: the legal saga - Out of the blue, one week after taking office, Trump decreed a 90-day ban on arrivals of people from seven Muslim majority countries and a 120-day ban on all refugee arrivals. Chaos broke out at US airports, with travelers detained upon arrival, and Americans nationwide staged protests against a measure seen as discriminating against Muslims -- though Trump said it aimed to keep out extremists. Trump's move kicked off a legal saga that has dragged on through the first year of his presidency -- and is not yet over. The initial ban was quickly blocked in court, as was a modified version removing Iraq from the countries targeted, and a third iteration adding citizens of North Korea and some Venezuelan officials. Last month, the Supreme Court authorized enforcement of the ban's third version as the legal challenges against it make their way through the courts. - Sacking James Comey - In one of the most momentous moves of his young presidency, Trump abruptly fired FBI director James Comey on May 9, sacking the man leading a probe into whether his election campaign colluded with Russia in an effort to defeat Hillary Clinton. Trump later acknowledged he had the Russia probe in mind when he sacked Comey. US President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI director James Comey (C), sacking the man leading a probe into whether his election campaign colluded with Russia in an effort to defeat Hillary Clinton In the end, Trump's move backfired. The sacking led to the appointment of a more powerful, independent counsel, Robert Mueller, to head the Russia investigation -- which Trump dismisses as "fake news." The former FBI director may also be looking at whether Trump and his inner circle sought to obstruct justice. Two Trump associates, including campaign manager Paul Manafort, have been indicted so far. Two more -- including former national security advisor Michael Flynn -- have admitted lying to investigators and have become government witnesses. - 'Pittsburgh, not Paris' - On June 1, 2017, Trump announced America was pulling out of the Paris climate deal, reversing its commitment to fight global warming in spite of appeals from environmental groups, foreign leaders, industry and even his own daughter Ivanka. Trump painted the accord as a "bad deal" for the US economy, declaring he "was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris." This month, he said the United States could "conceivably" return to the deal under more favorable terms, renewing questions about whether he is bluffing -- and simply wants easier emissions targets. - Pushing N. Korea's buttons - In his maiden speech to the UN General Assembly last September, Trump fired the opening salvo in what would be months of brinkmanship with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un -- a.k.a. "Rocket Man" -- vowing to destroy the nuclear-armed country if it threatened America. In his maiden speech to the UN General Assembly last September, US President Donald Trump fired the opening salvo in what would be months of brinkmanship with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un As 2017 came to a close, the North Korean nuclear threat had soared dramatically -- with Kim boasting that his missile arsenal can hit any city on the US mainland, and Trump faced criticism for stirring tensions. The new year opened to signs of a potential cooling, as Pyongyang reached a landmark agreement to send athletes to the Winter Olympics in the South -- with the White House arguing Trump's tough rhetoric, coupled with intense diplomatic pressure, had helped bring the Koreas together. But many analysts fear Trump's erratic outbursts -- he recently boasted he has a "much bigger" nuclear button than Kim -- dangerously raise the risk of a miscalculation that could lead to disaster. - Merry Christmas, America - On December 22, Trump signed into law the most sweeping rewrite of the US tax code in decades, sealing his biggest legislative victory to date -- after the stinging failure to repeal his predecessor's health care law, Obamacare. Delivering on a core electoral pledge, Trump billed the $1.5 trillion of tax cuts as a "Christmas gift" for the American people. Opposition Democrats branded it a giveaway to the wealthiest that risks blowing a hole in the national debt. But Trump and his Republicans are confident the overhaul will play to the party's advantage in this year's crucial mid-term elections. - Trump the peacemaker - Trump came to office boasting he could achieve the "ultimate deal" for Middle East peace, something that has eluded US presidents for decades. Palestinian supporters of the Islamic Jihad movement protest US President Donald Trumps's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip On December 6, he threw those efforts into jeopardy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a decision that overturned decades of US policy. The status of Jerusalem is deeply contentious: Israel claims the whole of the disputed city as its capital, while Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Trump's move triggered a spasm of protests, with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas warning he would "no longer accept" any peace plan proposed by the United States. - Bye bye, Bannon - Since Trump took office, traditional Republicans had competed for the president's ear with the anti-Washington populists who carried him to power -- Steve Bannon chief among them. In the opening days of 2018, the establishment regained the upper hand. For months, the president let the firebrand Bannon, who was his top strategist, conduct open war against the Washington "swamp" of party leaders and lawmakers they saw as undermining Trump's revolution. After Bannon exited the White House in August, he continued to push Trump's agenda from the helm of provocative right-wing website Breitbart News. But when Bannon was quoted making unflattering remarks about the president in an explosive West Wing expose, Trump split with his ally, branding him "Sloppy Steve" and declaring he had "lost his mind." Banished by the president and rejected by his financial backers, Bannon stepped down from Breitbart, further isolating a man once dubbed "the most dangerous political operative in America." - 'A very stable genius' - The book that precipitated Bannon's demise -- tantalizingly titled "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" -- threw the White House on the back foot with its bombshell portrayal of a disengaged, ill-informed and temperamentally unstable president. Stung by its publication, Trump took to Twitter to describe himself as "a very stable genius" and "like, really smart." That did little to quell a swirling debate about the president's fitness for office, with media outlets emboldened to muse about his tweetstorms, body language and tendency to repeat himself. And while the White House assailed the media, it failed to put a lid on the free-for-all of speculation that has cast a pall over the start of his second year. The men in Ghala village gather each Friday for the "Sabla", a traditional council where problems large and small are mediated without interference from the state Omani Mahmoud bin Yousef Temtemi found himself in a pastoral predicament this autumn -- his neighbour's flock of sheep had overrun his farm and gobbled up his crops, threatening his income. Rather than make a scene or turn to the police, Temtemi chose to raise his complaint in Omani tradition: through the local "sabla", or council. Dressed in a robe and embroidered cap, Temtemi took his place on a sunny Friday morning at his neighbourhood sabla in the village of Ghala -- held outdoors on a patch of sidewalk. "The farm is our livelihood," Temtemi told an AFP correspondent attending the meeting. "I told myself I would lodge a complaint at the sabla, where the owner of the sheep would be present." In Ghala, just outside the capital Muscat, the sheikh humbly brings breakfast for meetings of the council. The youngest serves coffee. The fellowship broke the ice for the mediation Temtemi sought. Acknowledging a problem needed to be solved, the men filed over to the meeting hall -- a sparse room with little more than benches built into the walls. The elders listened to the farmer's story, discussed, then decided on compensation from the sheep owner. "He will pay 150 riyals ($390) and keep an eye on his sheep," said a satisfied Temtemi. Oman's sabla is a unique form of consensus building that many see as central to the Gulf nation's traditions, and which some want to see adapted to the age of the smartphone. "This council is where the old and young come to learn. The youth learn manners from their elders," grey-bearded Sayeed bin Khalfan Nabhani said in Ghala. Nabhani said the history of the sabla goes back "ages", but some 40 years ago -- after Sultan Qaboos took power in Oman -- it was granted a degree of government recognition. "From the early 1970s, you had the governor and judge sitting at the council, along with witnesses and people of the villages -- plus the person with the problem," said Nabhani. A solution is often found before the judge is called to get involved, he said. - Sabla 2.0 - In far-flung areas, the sabla remains central to life, but even there it is changing, with women for example reserving the hall for their own meetings. Hilal al-Siyabi, an Omani community activist, believes the sabla can -- and should -- keep up with the times. In the lush Muscat suburb of Saael, a new kind of sabla is under construction. A shell of a building stood off the main road, a mountain range in the background. Siyabi's voice echoed as he pointed to where LCD screens would be installed and computers set up for a future internet cafe. "We are leveraging on the concept of sabla to do something much better -- something which is beneficial to today's community," he said. This centre would embrace the whole family, he explained, with a special emphasis on the young. Siyabi said an exploratory meeting three years earlier was packed with curious residents -- notably women. "Young women," he said. "They were excited to have such a centre. They said, 'We are not working but we are going to sell our precious gold to contribute to something like this.'" Siyabi said the government has fully supported the initiative, which seeks to build on tradition in a changing world and keep conflict resolution local. He sees the sabla evolving from its role as a mediation authority to a town hall-style forum and community centre. - Royal consensus - For Muscat-based public policy analyst Ahmed al-Mukhaini, the sabla is a "microcosm" of the Omani state: discreet and tribal. "You don't hang out your dirty linen," Mukhaini said, adding it was no surprise the government supports the continuation of the sabla. Under Sultan Qaboos, Oman has not replaced the sabla -- now a "benign form of assembly", the analyst said, but institutionalised it, with modern forms of government continuing to function in the same patriarchical and hierarchical way. "In Oman they spend a lot of time on consensus building, versus majority-based decisions," Mukhaini said. Authorities in Muscat continue to recognise tribal chiefs as official representatives, registered with the interior ministry. Each tribe's "rasheed", or interlocutor, functions as a conduit to the government, often feeling out sentiment on domestic policy changes, such as recent healthcare privatisation proposals. "I'm not aware of any other country where tribal leaders are on a payroll or where the system of sheikhdom is controlled by the government," Mukhaini said. Even the modern Shura council, Oman's only elected body, is dominated by tribal heavyweights -- not the technocrats and intellectuals found in the council of state appointed by the sultan. "The system that remains until now keeps tabs on public opinion or resentment," said the analyst. When Qaboos overthrew his father in a bloodless coup in 1970, the British-educated ruler reached out to the tribes in an early radio address, reassuring tribal leaders and promising to institutionalise their role. The sabla is so important to Omani culture that it will even decide who will succeed the 77-year-old sultan when he dies. "Basic law gives the appointment of the next sultan to the royal family sabla," Mukhaini said. If the cousins of Qaboos -- he has no brothers or heir apparent -- fail to choose a successor within a matter of days, Mukhaini said it will fall to the defence council, chief justice and Shura council to reach a consensus, this time on behalf of the nation. Venus Williams was shocked 6-3, 7-5 in the first round by world number 78 Belinda Bencic on day one of the Australian Open The Australian Open will be without a Williams sister in the second round for the first time since 1997 after Venus was sent packing by a Roger Federer-inspired Belinda Bencic Monday. The seven-time Grand Slam champion departed in straight sets as Swiss 20-year-old Bencic followed up her recent Hopman Cup win alongside compatriot Federer with a stunning 6-3, 7-5 victory in just under two hours on Rod Laver Arena. Serena is missing following the birth of her daughter in September and the last time neither of the American tennis sisters got to round two in Australia Steffi Graf was world number one and Bencic was still two months away from being born. Bencic, who lost to Serena in straights sets at the same stage last year, said she had received a huge confidence boost by having 19-time Grand Slam champion Federer rooting for her. "I think all the week it was so great learning from him on the court or off the court," she said of her victorious week in Perth with the world number two. "Even now, I think it's amazing he's giving me advice, trying to give me tips, help me, like, looking how I'm doing. That feels great. I saw him after the match... he was very happy for me." Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, in form again after winning the Hopman Cup warm-up team event, shocked Venus Williams 6-3, 7-5 in the first round at the Australian Open Venus, who lost in last year's final to Serena, gave credit to Bencic, saying the Swiss youngster had "played above and beyond" to win. "I think she played well," said Williams. "I don't think I played a bad match. She just played above and beyond. I just have to give her credit for that." The match started in routine fashion until the seventh game when former world number seven Bencic broke the Williams serve. But she then had to hold off a ferocious fightback, saving five break points in an attritional game before a passing rain shower caused a 20-minute delay while the roof on Rod Laver Arena was closed. They resumed with Bencic serving at deuce and the Swiss then crucially took the next two points for 5-3 before breaking Williams again to take the opener 6-3. - 'I want to learn from him' - Williams departed for a bathroom break and, seemingly refreshed, struck back at the start of the second, breaking Bencic's opening service game. But the Swiss was not to be denied and put the pressure back on the Williams serve and levelled on her third break point. Bencic, who made her WTA Tour debut as a 14-year-old against Williams in Luxembourg in 2012, had never beaten the seven-time Grand Slam winner in four previous meetings. But at 6-5 in the final set Bencic seized her opportunity, watched from her players' box by Federer's parents. A ferocious backhand winner helped her get to match point on the Williams serve and she then secured a famous victory, with a little help from the Federer playbook. "He's so relaxed, being funny with his team, or even with everyone," she said of the tennis great. "Then on court, he's so focused. "I think that's the main thing I want to learn from him. That he's trying to give advice and help also someone like me. I think that makes him pretty special." Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu told media he had a "special relationship" with India's Narendra Modi Benjamin Netanyahu hailed a "new era" in ties with India on Monday as he signed a series of deals during the first visit by an Israeli Prime Minister in 15 years. Netanyahu made the comment after talks with Narendra Modi, who made history in July when he became the first Indian leader ever to visit Israel. He is accompanied by the largest-ever business delegation to travel with an Israeli leader, including technology, agriculture and defence executives. The two men embraced warmly, appearing to overcome any tensions over India's refusal to support US moves to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, before signing agreements on cybersecurity and energy. "We are ushering today a new era in our relations," Netanyahu said after their talks. "We have had diplomatic relations for 25 years, but something different is happening now because of your leadership and our partnership." Earlier, Netanyahu said he was "disappointed" by India's decision to vote for a resolution at the UN General Assembly opposing the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Israel is already a major weapons supplier to India, exporting $1 billion of military equipment annually. Earlier this month India announced it would buy 131 surface-to-air missiles from Israel for its first domestically made aircraft carrier. But New Delhi needs to balance closer ties with Israel with its historic support for the Palestinian cause. Dozens gathered near the Israel embassy to protest at Netanyahu's visit on Monday. Modi also wants to end India's status as the world's top defence importer and encourage foreign companies to transfer their technology to local firms to create much-needed jobs. India has already cancelled a $500 million deal to buy Israeli Spike anti-tank missiles after apparently deciding to manufacture the equipment at home. On Monday Modi said he had invited Israeli defence companies "to take advantage of the liberalised FDI (foreign direct investment) regime to make more in India with our companies". Netanyahu is the first Israeli leader to visit India since Ariel Sharon's trip in 2003. On Tuesday he will visit the Taj Mahal and travel to Modi's home state of Gujarat before heading to Mumbai where the majority of India's estimated 4,500 Jews live. There, he will make an emotional visit to a Jewish centre targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Netanyahu is accompanied by 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents were among 166 people killed by Pakistani militants in coordinated attacks on the city. While in Mumbai he will also host a party for Bollywood producers where he will trumpet Israel as a filming location. Indian activists shout slogans against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New Delhi India said it was sending a delegation to Israel next month for talks on a free trade agreement. The two countries have been negotiating the agreement since 2006 with a focus on information technology, biotechnology, and agriculture. Trade between India and Israel rose to $5 billion in 2016-17 from $4.91 billion in the previous fiscal year. More than 150,000 people are killed each year on India's roads A speeding truck ploughed into a rickshaw in eastern India killing at least 12 passengers, police said Monday. The dead were returning from a Hindu festival late Sunday when the truck rammed the vehicle on a highway in Jharkhand state's Gumla district, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) from state capital Ranchi. A hunt is on for the truck driver who sped away from the accident, Gumla police chief Anshuman Kumar told AFP. He said four other passengers were in hospital with serious injuries. India has some of the world's deadliest roads. More than 150,000 people are killed each year with most accidents blamed on poor roads, badly maintained vehicles and reckless driving. Last December at least 32 people were killed after their bus swerved off a bridge and plunged into a river in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. Japan says one of China's nuclear submarines was spotted off the disputed islands Japan said Monday that a Chinese naval submarine spotted in waters off flashpoint islands in the East China Sea was one of its new type of nuclear-powered attack vessels. Tokyo's statement comes on the same day that China announced three of its "Coast Guard vessels conducted a patrol in territorial waters off the Diaoyu Islands," Beijing's name for the contested isles called Senkaku in Japan. Japan launched an official protest last Thursday after their navy spotted the 4,000-tonne Jiangkai II class frigate and an unidentified submarine in waters surrounding the Tokyo-administered islands. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters Monday the submarine has been determined to be "China's Shang-Class nuclear-powered attack submarine," which he said can be equipped with long-range cruise missiles. "Nuclear-powered submarines can also cruise for long hours and it is more difficult to detect them because they dive deep," Onodera said. "We have serious concerns as the submarine's underwater passing through our country's contiguous waters is an act that unilaterally increases tension," he added, noting that Japan would stay vigilant. Contiguous waters are a 12-nautical-mile band that extends beyond territorial waters. China has not confirmed that it had sent a submarine. In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing last week "the Chinese naval vessels conducted surveillance over the activities of the Japanese side" and repeated China's claim to the islands. "As for the submarine, I'm not aware of the relevant issue," he added. Relations between Japan and China deteriorated in 2012 when Tokyo "nationalised" some of the islets. Since then, the two top Asian economies have taken gradual steps to mend fences but relations remain tense. Chinese coastguard vessels routinely travel around the disputed islands. The incident came as Japan is pushing to host a trilateral summit with leaders from China and South Korea. Police detain a protester against the film outside the censorship board's offices this month A Bollywood epic about a legendary Hindu queen will finally be released next week despite months of violent protests, Indian filmmakers have confirmed. "Padmaavat" was initially due to hit screens in December. But producers Viacom18 Motion Pictures delayed the release following protests sparked by speculation that it would depict a romantic liaison between the queen and the 13th and 14th century Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji. Politicians had threatened to ban the film for distorting historical facts, even though historians say the queen, Padmavati, is a mythical character. It will hit screens on January 25 after censors cleared it for release subject to five changes, the producers announced late Sunday. Full-page advertisements appeared in Indian newspapers Monday saying the film portrayed the legendary queen "with utmost respect". Film-makers say the movie is based on a work of fiction by a 16th-century Sufi poet, the epic entitled "Padmaavat". The movie's title has been changed from "Padmavati" to "Padmaavat", possibly to reflect the fact it is based on the work. The film first ran into opposition in January 2017 when protesters attacked director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and vandalised the set during filming in Rajasthan. Protesters attacked another set near Mumbai in March, burning costumes and other props. They stepped up demonstrations in November last year, including making a death threat against the lead actress Deepika Padukone and against the director Bhansali. India's Hindi film industry churns out hundreds of movies every year but filmmakers often face intimidation from fringe groups. Critics say the censorship board acts in an overzealous way, fuelling fears over creative freedom in the country. Ministers in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have said the film will not be shown in those states. The movie stars Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh, the husband of Padmavati, and Ranveer Singh as Khilji who leads an invasion to try to capture the queen. Sirisena's bid for an extra year in office has been rejected Sri Lanka's top court has rejected a controversial attempt to extend President Maithripala Sirisena's term in office by an extra year, further souring the ruling party's relations with its coalition partners. Sirisena had asked the Supreme Court whether a limit on presidential terms, which he introduced in 2015 as part of measures to curb the power of the executive, applied to his own mandate. His chief attorney general last week told the court that the constitutional provision reducing terms from six to five years would not apply to the incumbent. But that position was unanimously rejected by the five-judge bench which ruled that Sirisena was not exempt from the law, official sources said. "The Supreme Court has conveyed the opinion that the President's term of office is five years," Sirisena's office said in a statement Monday. "The court arrived at this opinion after the President sought its opinion with regard to the term of office of the incumbent President." Efforts to extend Sirisena's rule have further strained relations with his main coalition partner, which has indicated it may go it alone in the next general election in 2020. The United National Party joined hands with Sirisena to topple Mahinda Rajapakse in January 2015, ending the strongman president's decade in power. But since then their alliance has fractured, with Sirisena clashing with his Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over economic policy. Sirisena has publicly accused Wickremesinghe's UNP of being more corrupt than the regime which together they helped oust. During his rule, Rajapakse granted himself greater powers over the police, judiciary and civil servants, excesses which Sirisena pledged to curb upon his election. Parliament voted overwhelmingly in early 2015 to restrict the power of the presidency, restoring a two-term limit and reviving independent bodies to manage key institutions such as the police and the judiciary. Philippine regulators stopped the sale and distribution of Dengvaxia last month French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi will reimburse the Philippine government for leftover doses of an anti-dengue vaccine whose use was suspended due to health concerns, the two parties said Monday. The manufacturer said the refund had nothing to do with safety issues and was meant to improve ties with the Philippine health department, which is investigating the deaths of more than a dozen children injected with Dengvaxia. Philippine regulators stopped the sale and distribution of the drug last month after Sanofi warned that the injections could worsen the symptoms for vaccinated people who contracted the disease for the first time. Health Secretary Francisco Duque told AFP he was scheduled to meet Sanofi representatives on Tuesday to discuss the refund, as well as a government demand that the company test all 837,000 Filipino children who were given the vaccine against dengue fever. The health department said in a statement it had issued a "demand letter" to the company's vaccine unit Sanofi Pasteur to refund 1.4 billion pesos ($27.8 million) for unused supplies of the drug. "Our decision to reimburse for unused doses is not related to any safety or quality issue with Dengvaxia," said a statement from Sanofi Pasteur, which did not disclose the agreed amount. "Rather Sanofi Pasteur hopes that this decision will allow us to be able to work more openly and constructively with the (health department) to address the negative tone towards the dengue vaccine in the Philippines today." Philippine authorities have been investigating the deaths of 14 children who were among the students given Dengvaxia last year in the world's first public immunisation programme against dengue. After the programme began, Sanofi Pasteur released findings in November of a new study which showed Dengvaxia could lead to severe infections in some cases. The disclosure triggered a public furore, with some parents blaming the vaccine for their children's deaths and a number of legislators accusing the government of endangering public health. Duque said he would ask Sanofi at Tuesday's meeting to provide testing kits to determine which of the injected Filipino children had no prior exposure to the disease. "We have no choice. We've got to do that," he said of the testing, which he added would enable health authorities to have a more focused system to monitor the injected children. Sanofi would be asked either to provide testing kits or finance the testing by an entity authorised by the health department, he added. Duque said the test kits had been developed by Sanofi and the University of Pittsburgh to determine whether a person's immunity to the dengue virus was the result of vaccination or of a previous infection. Sanofi Pasteur has maintained that no death has been found to have been caused by Dengvaxia. "Sanofi Pasteur strongly believes that this tone is due to a misunderstanding of the benefits and risks associated with the dengue vaccine," its statement said. It cited "a lack of awareness amongst the general public, particularly parents of vaccinated children, that the overall benefit of dengue vaccination remains positive in high endemic countries like the Philippines". Iraqi security forces cordon off the area where a double suicide bombing killed 26 people in central Baghdad A double suicide bombing killed at least 26 people in Baghdad Monday, in the second such attack in the Iraqi capital in three days, testing authorities who have declared victory over jihadists. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but most such attacks in Iraq are the work of the Islamic State jihadist group. The bombing comes after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government declared victory over IS in December and as the country gears up for parliamentary elections. "Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Tayyaran Square in central Baghdad," said General Saad Maan, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, which includes the army and the police. Abdel Ghani al-Saadi, health chief for east Baghdad, reported "26 dead and 90 wounded". Tayyaran Square is a bustling commercial centre and a place where day labourers gather in the early morning waiting for jobs. It has been the site of deadly attacks in the past. Security forces cordoned off the scene of the bombing as ambulances gathered in the area, an AFP journalist said. Abadi held an emergency meeting with the Joint Operations Command and intelligence officials after the bombing, his office said, asking them to "eliminate IS sleeper cells and protect the security of civilians". Analysts have warned that IS would increasingly turn to such attacks as it was pushed underground after losing territory spanning the Iraq-Syria border. - Elections in May - A double suicide bombing in Baghdad that killed 26 people comes fter Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's government declared victory over IS in December In December, the government announced the "end of the war" against IS, which has been expelled from the Baghdad region and urban areas of Iraq that it controlled. Jihadist elements are still active however. On Saturday, a suicide bomb attack near a security checkpoint killed at least five people in northern Baghdad. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that bombing. The bombings come as Iraq gears up for elections in May. Abadi has said he will stand for re-election in the parliamentary polls as the head of a new coalition. Abadi's newly created "Victory Alliance" will compete against the "State of Law" bloc of Nuri al-Maliki, his predecessor and a key rival who now holds the post of vice president. Both Abadi and Maliki are members of the Shiite Dawa party. Abadi was little known when he became premier three years ago, after Maliki ceded power to him in August 2014 amid IS's sweeping offensive across the country. Since taking over, Abadi has also rebuilt the armed forces and taken back disputed areas in the north from the Kurds, dashing their hopes for independence. He has also succeeded in convincing the Hashed al-Shaabi, a Shiite-dominated paramilitary force that helped fight IS, to join his "Victory Alliance". The Hashed, or Popular Mobilisation Units, are now seeking to become a key political player in Iraq after proving to be a formidable force on the battlefield. In November, IS claimed an attack by suicide bombers on a market on the outskirts of Baghdad that killed 11 people. This handout picture from China's Transport Ministry taken and released on January 13, 2018 shows smoke and flames coming from the burning oil tanker Chinese ships scrambled Monday to clean up a massive oil spill after an Iranian tanker sank off China, raising fears of devastating damage to marine life. The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, went under on Sunday after a new and massive fire erupted, sending a cloud of black smoke as high as one kilometre (3,280 feet) above the East China Sea. The bodies of only three of the 32 crew members have been found since the vessel collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, on January 6, sparking a fire that Chinese rescue ships struggled to extinguish. Iranian officials said there was no hope of finding survivors among the crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, prompting grief and anger among families of the sailors in Tehran. The search and rescue effort was cancelled and a clean-up began after a fire on the sea surface was finally extinguished on Monday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. Two ships sprayed chemical agents aimed at dissolving the oil, CCTV said. The spill was 11.5 miles long and up to 4.6 miles wide and located east of the submerged ship, it added. This would amount to an area of some 50 square miles (129 square kilometres). "This (clean-up) work is one of our focuses. It is also a priority area of our efforts. No one wants to see a large-scale secondary disaster," said foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation. Ship collision and tanker blaze Alaska-based oil spill consultant Richard Steiner called the accident "the single largest environmental release of petroleum condensate in history". "Given the poor condition of the hull of the ship after a week of explosions and fire, it is my assumption that none of the cargo holds or fuel compartments remain intact, and thus all of the condensate and fuel has been released," Steiner told AFP. Even if only 20 percent of the vessel's cargo was released into the sea, it would still be an amount about equivalent to Alaska's disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez crude oil spill, he said. "I don't know of any condensate spill into a marine environment larger than 1,000 tonnes, and most that we know of have been less than one tonne," he said. The Sanchi's own fuel tank was able to accommodate some 1,000 tonnes of heavy diesel, according to Chinese media. - 'Worst situation' - On Sunday state broadcaster CCTV cited Zhang Yong, a senior engineer with China's State Oceanic Administration, as playing down environmental concerns. The Sanchi's light crude would have "less impact on the ocean" than other kinds of oil, and minimal impact on humans given how far offshore the incident occurred, he said. The accident happened 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai. But the sinking of the ship before more oil had a chance to burn off was "the worst situation" possible, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times newspaper. "The condensate oil, a kind of ultra-light oil on Sanchi, is different than other types of crude oil and is poisonous to marine life," he warned. Unlike crude, condensate does not form a traditional surface slick when spilt. Instead, it generates a toxic underwater plume of hydrocarbons invisible from the sea surface. Whales, porpoises, seabirds, fish, and plankton in contact with these hydrocarbons in the East China Sea will either die quickly or develop "sub-lethal injuries" such as physiological impairment, reproductive failure and chronic diseases, said Steiner. Iranian friends and relatives of the oil tanker crewmen react to news they are all feared dead The region is also a crucial spawning site for many large fish species, whose eggs and larvae have "undoubtedly been exposed" to the toxic compounds, he said. "Just because there is no traditional surface slick does not mean there is minimal impact. While the toxic phase of the spill may only last a few months, the injury to populations could persist much longer," he said. He slammed governments for failing to gather environmental data more quickly. "As no one has been conducting a scientific assessment of (the environmental impact), the governments and ship owners are likely to claim, erroneously, there was limited damage." Under diplomatic pressure, Myanmar has vowed to repatriate refugees driven into Bangladesh by an army crackdown last year Talks were held Monday to "settle issues" over the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, Bangladeshi officials told AFP, as doubts linger over how many of the 655,000 Muslim minority who fled violence are likely to return. Under diplomatic pressure, Myanmar has vowed to repatriate refugees driven into Bangladesh by an army crackdown last year, if they can verify they belong in western Rakhine state. But aid agencies question how many Rohingya, a Muslim minority reviled inside Myanmar, will be able to prove their residence given the speed of their flight and complexity of their status in Myanmar. Most Rohingya refugees approached by AFP in the Bangladeshi camps also say they will not return to a state where their villages have been torched and where they allege atrocities by the army and ethnic Rakhine locals. Officials from the two countries met in Naypyidaw on Monday to "settle issues" related to repatriation, two Bangladeshi officials familiar with the talks told AFP, requesting anonymity and without giving specific details. The two governments signed an agreement in November paving the way for repatriations from January 23. The deal applies to Rohingya who fled Myanmar in two major outbreaks of violence since October 2016. It does not cover an estimated 200,000 Rohingya refugees who were living in Bangladesh prior to that date. Last month Bangladeshi officials said they had sent a list of 100,000 names to Myanmar for the first round of repatriation. Myanmar is yet to publicly endorse the list or even confirm it has received the names. But the country is on track for the January 23 deadline, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar reported Monday, adding building work is ongoing at the 124-acre Hla Po Khaung "temporary camp" in Rakhine's Maungdaw district. Eventually the site "will accommodate about 30,000 people in its 625 buildings" before they can be resettled permanently. The report did not mention the Rohingya -- who are denigrated by many in Myanmar as "Bengali" immigrants and mostly denied citizenship. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have languished in squalid IDP camps inside Rakhine after earlier unrest in 2012, raising fears that any returnees from Bangladesh will be thrust into a similar limbo. Diplomats have also cast doubt on Myanmar's willingness to allow substantial numbers of Rohingya back after an intense army campaign forced over half their number out. In an unprecedented statement last week, Myanmar's army admitted security forces took part in the extra-judicial killings of 10 Rohingya in their custody at Inn Din village. Amnesty International called the admission "the tip of the iceberg" of alleged massacres, rapes and arson attacks on Rohingya villages carried out in the weeks after August 25. Myanmar's army defends its 'clearance operations' as a legitimate response to deadly raids by Rohingya militants. burs-apj/amu Bahrain's high court upheld January 15, 2018 a two-year jail sentence against Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab who seen in this July 14, 2015 picture Bahrain's court of cassation on Monday confirmed a two-year jail sentence against prominent activist Nabeel Rajab, convicted for press statements critical of his government, a judicial source said. In July, the high-profile activist was found guilty of "disseminating rumours and false information" and sentenced to two years in prison over television interviews critical of the Bahraini government. He had appealed the sentence but a lower court upheld it in November and Monday's verdict means he can no longer appeal the jail term. Rajab also faces a potential 15-year sentence in a second case linked to tweets in which he criticised Saudi Arabia and its allies, including Bahrain, for their role in the Yemen war. He will face a new hearing in that case on February 21, the judicial source said on condition of anonymity. Bahraini rights groups the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, which was founded by Rajab, both confirmed Monday's high court decision. International rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticised the Rajab trials, with Amnesty slamming them as "farcical". Home to a majority Shiite Muslim population, the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom has been rocked by unrest since security forces cracked down on Shiite-led protests in 2011 demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister. Rajab was among the leaders of the protest movement. Bahrain is located between Saudi Arabia and its arch-rival Iran and has been ruled for more than 200 years by the Al-Khalifa dynasty. Authorities accuse Shiite Iran of backing the protesters and inciting unrest, a charge Tehran denies. Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet and a British military base that is still under construction. India has about 500,000 troops in the Himalayan territory, which is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan At least nine people including four Pakistani soldiers were killed in fighting in disputed Kashmir on Monday, India and Pakistan said. The Pakistani army said four of its soldiers and three Indian troops had been killed in an exchange of fire across the heavily militarised de-facto border known as the Line of Control (LoC). India denied it suffered any casualties, but said its soldiers had killed five "militants" who attempted to cross the LoC in a separate incident in Uri, 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of the main city of Srinagar. India frequently accuses Pakistan of sending fighters across the LoC to launch attacks on its soldiers in Kashmir, which has been divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbours since partition in 1947. "During the night a group of infiltrating militants were challenged by the army, triggering a fierce exchange of fire in which five militants were killed," superintendent of Indian police Imtiyaz Hussain told AFP. Hussain said the militants appeared to be from Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), a Pakistan-based militant group that police say has recently stepped up its activities in the volatile territory. It has been blamed for a series of audacious attacks inside Indian-administered Kashmir in recent weeks including one on New Year's Eve in which four paramilitary troops were killed. The latest violence comes in the wake of the deadliest year in a decade in Indian Kashmir, where the army killed at least 200 militants, decimating the rebel leadership. Scores of civilians were also killed in last year's violence. India has about 500,000 troops in the Himalayan territory, which is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan. On Monday India's army chief Bipin Rawat warned the force would react strongly to any aggression from Pakistan. "Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along LoC," he told soldiers in a speech. "We are using our might to teach them a lesson." Islamabad denies allegations that it arms and trains militants to launch attacks on Indian forces, saying it only provides diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for right to self-determination. Opposition to Indian rule intensified in the mainly Muslim territory in 2016 after the slaying of popular rebel leader Burhan Wani. More than 100 civilians died in clashes with government forces that year during months of protests against India. Iraqis carry the coffin of a victim of the Baghdad blasts during a funeral in the holy city of Najaf on January 15, 2018 Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called Monday for the elimination of jihadist "sleeper cells" after a twin suicide bombing killed 31 people in Baghdad in the second such attack in three days. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but most such attacks in Iraq are the work of the Islamic State jihadist group. The bombing comes after Abadi's government declared victory over IS in December and as the country gears up for parliamentary elections. "Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Tayyaran Square in central Baghdad," said General Saad Maan, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command (JOC) which includes the army and police. A police officer reported "31 dead and 94 wounded". Iraq bombing Tayyaran Square is a bustling commercial centre and a place where day labourers gather in the early morning waiting for jobs. It has been the site of deadly attacks in the past. Iraqi analyst Hisham al-Hashemi said attacks at the square since 2011 have killed 180 people, "often in the run-up to elections or just after the polls". They aim to "create chaos and exacerbate sectarian divisions", he said. Security forces cordoned off the scene of the blasts as ambulances gathered in the area, an AFP journalist said. - May elections - Abadi held an emergency meeting with the JOC and intelligence officials after the attack, his office said, asking them to "eliminate IS sleeper cells" and ensure the security of civilians. Iraqi security forces cordon off the area where a double suicide bombing killed 31 people in central Baghdad on January 15, 2018, the second such attack in the Iraqi capital in three days Analysts have warned that IS would increasingly turn to such tactics as it was pushed underground after losing territory spanning the Iraq-Syria border. Just hours after the first attack, another person was killed and three wounded in a grenade explosion east of Baghdad, the police said, blaming it on a tribal dispute. Attacks increased in Baghdad after the start in 2016 of a battle to retake second city Mosul from IS. Iraqi forces retook the northern city in July last year. In December, the government announced the "end of the war" against IS, which has been expelled from the Baghdad region and urban areas of Iraq that it controlled. Jihadist elements are still active, however. On Saturday, a suicide bomb attack near a security checkpoint killed at least five people in northern Baghdad. And last November, IS claimed an attack by suicide bombers on a market on the outskirts of Baghdad that killed 11 people. - Abadi, Hashed to stand separately - The latest attacks come as Iraq gears up for elections in May, with voters deeply concerned about security in a country wracked by violence since the 2003 US-led invasion. On Sunday, Abadi said he had persuaded the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force which helped fight IS to join a "Victory Alliance" which he described as a "cross-sectarian" list. But their alliance collapsed within 24 hours of being announced because of what a source close to the premier said was electoral reasons. The collapse left Abadi's list and the Hashed competing separately against the "State of Law" bloc of Nuri al-Maliki, his predecessor and a key rival who now holds the post of vice president. A member of Iraq's elite Rapid Response Division holds an Islamic State group flag upside down in second city Mosul on July 1, 2017 Both Abadi and Maliki are members of the Shiite Dawa party. Abadi was little known when he became premier three years ago, after Maliki ceded power to him in August 2014 amid IS's sweeping offensive across the country. Since taking over, Abadi has also rebuilt the armed forces and taken back disputed areas in the north from the Kurds, dashing their hopes for independence. The Hashed, or Popular Mobilisation Units, for its part, is now seeking to become a key political player in Iraq after proving to be a formidable force on the battlefield. US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley was among Security Council representatives visiting Afghanistan Representatives of the United Nations Security Council including US ambassador Nikki Haley held talks with Afghanistan's top leaders during a three-day visit to the war-torn country that ended Monday. The unannounced trip by representatives of the 15-member council caused traffic chaos in Kabul, with major streets blocked due to heavy security for the visitors. It was the first visit by the full council since 2010. There have been a series of recent high-profile visits to Afghanistan, including by US Vice President Mike Pence last month, as Afghan police and troops struggle to beat back the resurgent Taliban and Islamic State militants expand their foothold. The talks focused on political, security, socio-economic and human rights issues in Afghanistan, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement after the delegation flew back to New York. "Council members aimed to get a first-hand account of progress made by the Afghan National Unity Government, with the assistance of the international community, in addressing a wide range of interconnected challenges and to learn how the Security Council could further assist efforts on the ground," UNAMA said. Among other things "all parties reiterated the need for greater international and regional security cooperation". Afghan President Ashraf Ghani described the talks as "productive" in a statement from his office. "Regional cooperation was discussed in the meeting and it was noted that pressure be exerted on Pakistan for the purpose of bringing stability in Afghanistan," the statement said. Pakistan has long been accused of supporting various militant groups, including the Taliban, and providing them with safe havens -- charges it denies. US President Donald Trump's administration this month announced a suspension of military aid to Pakistan, said to be worth up to $2 billion in equipment and funding. The Security Council also urged Afghanistan to ensure parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for this year and next were "timely" and "credible". Afghans are due to vote in parliamentary elections -- already more than two years late -- in July but Western diplomats have expressed doubt about whether the ballot will happen on time, or at all. mam-amj/sm Kurdish female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqa's iconic Al-Naim square on October 19, 2017, after retaking the city from IS Syria on Monday lambasted the US-led coalition's plan to create a 30,000-strong border force in the country's northeast, saying it would consider its members "traitors". The alliance fighting the Islamic State group announced on Sunday that it was working with Arab and Kurdish fighters to establish a Border Security Force (BSF). The BSF would be responsible for preventing a "resurgence" of IS in areas where the jihadists had been cleared by the Syrian Democratic Forces. But an official source in Syria's foreign ministry on Monday denounced the plan. "Syria strongly condemns the US announcement on the creation of militias in the country's northeast, which represents a blatant attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity and unity of Syria, and a flagrant violation of international law," said the source, cited by state news agency SANA. "Syria considers any Syrian who participates in these militias sponsored by the Americans as a traitor to their people and nation, and will deal with them on this basis." Backed by the US-led coalition's air strikes, advisers and weapons, the SDF has ousted IS from swathes of territory in the east and north, including IS bastion Raqa. With the offensive winding down, the coalition and SDF said they were shifting their focus to border security to prevent a jihadist comeback. "A strong Border Security Force will prohibit Daesh's freedom of movement and deny the transportation of illicit materials," the coalition said, using the Arabic acronym for IS. In a new emailed statement on Monday, it said it aimed to create the 30,000-strong force "over the next several years". About half would be SDF veterans, and another 15,000 would be new recruits. "The Border Security Force will be stationed along the borders of SDF-held areas, to include portions of the Euphrates river valley and international borders to the east and north of SDF-liberated territory," the coalition said. Turkey reacted sharply to news of the border force on Sunday, saying it would "legitimise a terror organisation". Ankara is fiercely opposed to the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) -- considered by the Turkish government to be a "terrorist" group. Both the US-led coalition and the SDF declined to comment on potential rules of engagement with Turkish or Syrian troops. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on the US to "recognise realit" on the Iran nuclear deal Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called on Washington to "recognise reality" on the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump demanded tough new measures to keep the agreement alive. "We will continue to work with the aim of the United States recognising reality," Lavrov said at at an annual press conference in Moscow on Monday. He added that US statements to end the deal "do not add optimism or stability." On Friday, Trump said Washington will not reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran for the moment, but would withdraw later this year unless the terms of the deal are changed. Trump called on European partners to work with the US to "fix the deal's disastrous flaws." Lavrov said it was "hard to say" what position European countries will have. "They are starting to somehow, I believe, call on looking for compromises. This will be a slippery slope in a very dangerous direction," he said. Russia's chief diplomat went on to warn that a withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal will have a negative effect on the North Korea crisis. "If Kim Jong-Un is required to stop (North Korea's) nuclear military programme and, in exchange, is promised sanctions will be lifted then this is precisely the essence of the agreements between the world community and Iran," Lavrov said. "If this arrangement is taken away and Iran is told: you remain within the framework of your obligations and we will reimpose sanctions - then put yourself in North Korea's place," he added. Under the hard-won 2015 deal with Russia, the US, China, France, Britain, Germany and the EU, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting a raft of international sanctions. America's allies see the accord as the best way to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions and as a victory for diplomacy. Iran on Saturday rejected any modification of the deal after Trump's comments. The crimes underscore India's atrocious record on sexual violence, which remains high despite authorities vowing to stamp out the scourge Indian police said Monday they were investigating the gang rape and murder of two teenage girls whose mutilated bodies were found just hours apart in a state bordering New Delhi. The brutality of the crimes in Haryana, a deeply conservative state in northern India, has created shockwaves even in a region with a grim record of violence against women. Police are pursuing a group of men suspected of raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl from Kurukshetra district whose badly disfigured body was found dumped in a stream on Friday. District police chief Abhishek Garg said the girl had sustained terrible internal injuries suggesting the attackers used a blunt object during the attack. "At least four men are suspected to be behind the crime," said district police chief Abhishek Garg. "A massive search is underway to arrest the perpetrators", he added. Just hours after the grisly discovery, police in Panipat district on Saturday found the body of a 12-year-old girl in a pond. Panipat police chief Rahul Sharma told AFP that two men, both neighbours of the victim, had been arrested over the crime. Both had confessed to luring the girl to their house before raping and killing her, Sharma said. The crimes underscore India's atrocious record on sexual violence, which remains high despite authorities vowing to stamp out the scourge. Official figures show nearly 36,000 minors were sexually assaulted in 2016. A UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2014 said one in three rape victims in India was a minor and expressed alarm over the widespread sexual abuse of children. In a separate incident on Sunday, a 22-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped and raped inside a car by four men in Haryana before being dumped by her attackers on a roadside. The high rates of assault continue despite an overhaul of laws in the wake of a high-profile fatal gang rape of a Delhi student in 2012 that sparked mass protests. That crime shone a spotlight on the rising levels of violence against women in India, and saw the introduction of tough penalties for offenders and accelerated trials through court. The army last week announced an offensive against the ADF Three Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers died on Monday while repelling an attack in the eastern Beni region by ADF Ugandan Islamist rebels, who are suspected of murdering 14 UN peacekeepers last month. The army had on Saturday announced an offensive against the Allied Democratic Forces, one of a number of armed groups acting in North Kivu and South Kivu -- the two provinces which border Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. "The ADF attacked our position in Muzambay at 4:00 am (0200 GMT)," said army spokesman Captain Mak Hazukay. "We have listed five wounded, three of them in a serious condition," he said. But a witness told AFP he saw the corpses of three soldiers in the morgue of Beni's general hospital. He saw four other troops being treated for wounds at the same facility. Another source reported seeing an army ambulance transporting two bodies and five wounded soldiers to hospital. - Ugandan support - "The firing started very early while we were still sleeping but stopped around 6:30 am," said Aimee Makinda, the wife of a soldier whose house is located near the site of the clashes. An AFP correspondent in Beni reported hearing heavy and light weapons fire for two and a half hours from 4:00 am. Gilbert Kambale, who heads a local community organisation, said the ADF had made an "incursion" into Beni. Present in DR Congo since 1995, the ADF was created by Muslim radicals to oppose Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's rule. On Sunday, Museveni said Ugandan forces -- who claim to have killed 100 ADF fighters in air strikes in eastern DRC last month -- would support Kinshasa's offensive "where necessary," but did not go into detail. - No UN involvement - Congolese authorities and the UN mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, accuse the ADF of killing more than 700 civilians as well as combatants in the Beni region since 2014. The group also stands accused of killing 14 UN peacekeepers in eastern DR Congo last month, the biggest single loss of peacekeepers in nearly a quarter of a century. A UN source told AFP that the DRC armed forces had launched their offensive without the involvement of MONUSCO, which had vowed to crack down on the ADF after the December ambush. "They consider us to be a backup force. If we are not involved in planning the attack, we don't join in," the source said. The fighting in eastern DR Congo is part of a larger mosaic of disorder and violence in the sprawling, volatile country. Another troublespot is the vast central region of Kasai, where the death of a rebellious tribal chief in August 2016 unleashed clashes with government forces that according to UN figures have led to more than 3,000 deaths and displaced 1.4 million people. Mineral-rich but mired in poverty and corruption, the country is led by President Joseph Kabila who has been in power since 2001, when he succeeded his assassinated father at the age of 29. Kabila's constitutional term in office expired in December 2016, but he stayed on -- a move that stoked a bloody spiral of violence. Under an agreement brokered by the Roman Catholic church, he was allowed to stay in office provided new elections were held in 2017. The date has since been postponed to December 23, 2018. The Shabaab have carried out a string of deadly attacks in Somalia -- a new report by Human Rights Watch says they are demanding parents hand over their children for indoctrination Somalia's Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab insurgents are increasingly threatening civilians to force them to hand over young children for "indoctrination and military training", Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday. The rights watchdog said an aggressive campaign to recruit children had begun in mid-2017, with the jihadists taking reprisals against communities who refuse to cooperate. Hundreds of children have fled their homes to avoid this fate, often alone, it said in a statement. "Al-Shabaab's ruthless recruitment campaign is taking rural children from their parents so they can serve this militant armed group," said Laetitia Bader, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. The practice was revealed to be taking place in three districts largely under Shabaab control, in the southern Bay region. According to HRW, Al-Shabaab has opened large Islamic religious schools since 2015 in areas under their control, bringing in younger children and pressuring teachers to teach the Shabaab curriculum in schools and avoid "foreign teachings". Village elders near Baidoa in southwestern Somalia told HRW that in September, Shabaab militants ordered them to hand over dozens of children between the ages of nine and 15. "They said we needed to support their fight. They spoke to us in a very threatening manner. They also said they wanted the keys to our boreholes. They kept us for three days. We said we needed to consult with our community. They gave us 10 days," one resident told HRW. The community refused to hand over the children, and has since received threatening calls including death threats. That same month residents of Burkhaba district said Shabaab fighters had forcible taken at least 50 boys and girls from two schools to a village called Bulo Fulay, reported to host a "number of religious schools and a major training facility". A large group of Shabaab militants returned two weeks later to another local school and threatened the teacher who refused to hand over the children, said HRW. "They wanted 25 children ages eight to 15," the teacher told HRW "They didn't say why, but we know that it's because they want to indoctrinate them and then recruit them." In Berdale district -- also in the Bay region -- Shabaab has abducted elders who refuse to hand over children in at least four villages, said the statement. According to HRW, hundreds of often unaccompanied children have fled their homes since the recruitment campaign began. The watchdog said that while government had taken some steps to protect schools and students, it should work to identify recruitment drives, assist displaced children and ensure children "are not sent into harm's way." The Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow successive internationally backed governments in Mogadishu since 2007 and frequently deploys car and truck bombs against military, government and civilian targets. The Shabaab lost its foothold in the capital in 2011 but still controls vast rural areas. Lavrov said "the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the most serious factors that allows radicals to recruit newer and newer generations of terrorists." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said Moscow "understands" the anger of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who earlier denounced White House peace efforts as the "slap of the century." "We completely understand the emotions the Palestinians currently have. For years they made concessions without receiving anything in return," Lavrov said at an annual press conference in Moscow. "We constantly hear that the US is about to unveil an important deal (on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) that would satisfy all sides. We have not seen this kind of document," Lavrov added. Palestinian leaders on Monday held a meeting called after US President Donald Trump's controversial December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state and Abbas has said Trump's stance means the US can no longer be the mediator in peace talks with Israel. In December, Abbas sent delegations to China and Russia to ask them to take on a greater role in the peace process with Israel. Lavrov said Russia welcomed the Palestinians because "they were ready for direct talks with the Israelis without preconditions." Moscow's chief diplomat added that the chances of direct contact between the two sides are "unfortunately approaching zero." Lavrov went on to say "the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the most serious factors that allows radicals to recruit newer and newer generations of terrorists." Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen since they collapsed in 2014. An armed militiaman stands guard at the entrance of the headquarters of a Muslim 'self-defence force' in Bangui Catholic bishops in the Central African Republic have appealed to armed groups controlling swathes of the chronically unstable country to stop looting and lay down their arms. Mired in poverty but rich in minerals, the former French colony has been battered by a conflict between rival militias that began in 2013 after then president Francois Bozize was overthrown. The bishops made the appeal during an episcopal conference in the capital Bangui on Sunday. "In the name of God, we ask the armed groups to unconditionally lay down their arms," and "stop all sorts of crimes (including) looting natural resources and causing the dysfunction of the state", they said during mass. The closing ceremony of the conference was attended by President Faustin-Archange Touadera. The bishops also condemned the delay in disarming fighters from varied groups and "the slow response and inaction by some contingents of MINUSCA", the UN peacekeeping force in the country. Thousands of people have been killed in the fighting. According to the UN, more than a million people have fled their homes and 2.4 million people -- more than half of the Central African population -- are in need of humanitarian aid. The country has seen an upsurge in violence since France shut down its Sangaris mission there last year, but the UN Security Council agreed in November to extend its MINUSCA peacekeeping mission for a year and beef it up with 900 extra troops. The bishops called for the speedy deployment of government troops although they noted that the soldiers, like the various rebel groups, turned to extortion to supplement their income. The army's restructuring has been hobbled by a UN arms embargo in place since 2013. However the UN authorised Russia last month to deliver weapons to CAR and China got the go-ahead in October to supply military equipment. Pharmaceutical giant Teva has been fined $22 million by Israel's justice ministry for bribing foreign officials Israel's justice ministry said Monday it had fined pharmaceutical giant Teva $22 million for bribing foreign officials in a settlement that spares the company a potential criminal trial. The deal signed on Sunday comes a month after Teva announced plans to cut 14,000 jobs globally, triggering strikes in Israel and pressure from the government and the powerful Histadrut labour union. The fine was over Teva paying bribes to foreign officials to win business in Russia, Ukraine and Mexico, the ministry said. The Israeli generic drug firm had in December 2016 paid $519 million in the United States for similar charges in a separate settlement, known as a deferred prosecution agreement. Israeli authorities had launched their own investigation "to examine the ramifications of the affair in Israel", the ministry said. Rather than pressing charges in court, the justice ministry decided to fine Teva, which admitted its role in the affair, 75 million shekels ($22 million, 18 million euros). The settlement took into consideration the US fine, Teva's cooperation and organisational changes already made to prevent future such occurences, it said. Teva's current fiscal situation and global layoffs were factors in the Israeli decision to waive a trial and impose a relatively light fine. "As a global firm, a criminal conviction now could cause it significant damages," the justice ministry said. Teva said that since learning of the original US investigation, the company "has implemented a robust compliance and enforcement programme with very high standards designed to protect it and its subsidiaries from future violations". "All employees that had been wilfully involved in the wrongdoing are no longer employed by the company," it said in a statement. Teva had bribed a Russian government official to boost sales of Copaxone, its multiple sclerosis drug, resulting in more than $200 million in profits for Teva and about $65 million for the Russian official between 2010 and 2012, US authorities said. Teva also admitted to paying bribes between 2001 and 2011 to a senior government official in Ukraine, who agreed to promote Teva drugs. In Mexico, Teva's subsidiary paid bribes to doctors employed by the Mexican government since at least 2005, US officials said. Teva has been saddled with debt after its $40 billion acquisition of the generics arm of rival Allergan last year. The acquisition has been accompanied by low prices for generics, particularly in the United States, a major market. Teva expects to save $3 billion by the end of 2019 with a two-year restructuring plan announced in December that will include 14,000 layoffs, 1,750 of which in Israel. Histadrut trade union launched a series of strikes and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Teva's Danish boss Kare Schultz in an effort to soften the blow to local employees. A funeral was held for the victims of a January 6 massacre in Senegal's Casamance region A gunman was killed in Senegal's southern Casamance region during a shootout at the weekend with soldiers searching for the killers of 14 men in an area known for its illegal logging networks. A military source told AFP on Monday that troops fell upon an armed group in the search area. "There were clashes. We killed one of them," the source said. Senegalese police said Sunday they had arrested 22 people suspected of involvement in the January 6 massacre, which many have blamed on rival criminal outfits who target prized teak and rosewood timber. The arrests were the first in connection with the killings in a region largely separated from the rest of Senegal by The Gambia, and which has also been the target of an independence campaign for more than 35 years. A female Moroccan porter carries a bundle of goods on her back to transport it across the Tarajal II border between Spain's Ceuta enclave and Morocco Two women carrying goods between Morocco and Spain's Ceuta enclave were killed on Monday in a stampede at the border between the two countries, a rights group and officials said. The stampede took place at the Tarajal II crossing for pedestrians between the Moroccan border town of Fnideq and Ceuta, rights activist Mohamed Benaissa said. Two women in their 40s named Ilham and Souad, both from Fnideq, were killed, the head of Morocco's Northern Observatory for Human Rights said. Known as "mule women" on the Spanish side of the border and "hamalat" or porters in Morocco, these impoverished women eke out a living lugging back-breaking goods between the two countries. Ilham and Souad were about to cross the border with merchandise when the stampede occurred. Local officials said in a statement that authorities were investigating the deaths. Last year, at least four female porters were trampled to death in crushes at the same border crossing. The porters often carry loads much heavier that their own weight strapped to their backs. It is estimated that around 15,000 female porters tread the route between Ceuta and Morocco, even if the daily number is lower after the Spanish authorities established a limit of 4,000 people per day. Rights groups have repeatedly denounced the work as "humiliating", saying it is tantamount to trafficking tolerated by the authorities. Watchdogs say the women are being exploited by powerful interests. US film director Steven Spielberg (L), US actress Meryl Streep (C) and US actor Tom Hanks pose on arrival for the European premiere of "The Post" in London on January 10, 2018 Lebanese authorities have banned Steven Spielberg's latest film, political thriller "The Post", and Australian drama "Jungle" to comply with a boycott of Israel, an official told AFP Monday. "Screening of the film 'The Post' has been banned," said the official from Lebanon's General Security authority, speaking on condition of anonymity. Spielberg "is blacklisted by the Arab League's boycott office, which Lebanon complies with", the official explained. The pan-Arab body maintains a regional boycott of Israel, and blacklisted Spielberg after he donated $1 million to Israel during its 2006 war with Lebanon. The two countries are still technically in a state of war. While Lebanon is generally considered the most liberal of Arab countries, it occasionally bans content considered immoral, inciteful, or supportive of Israel. Lebanon's General Security -- in addition to controlling the country's borders -- is responsible for censoring films, plays, and books. "The Post" was slated for a January 18, 2018 release date in Lebanese theatres. The acclaimed production tells the behind-the-scenes story of the 1971 publication by The Washington Post of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the lies behind US involvement in the Vietnam War. Starring Hollywood heavyweights Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, the film has been hailed for using star power to highlight the virtues of a free press. - Survival drama 'pulled' - The other film that got the censorship axe was "Jungle", a survival drama about Israeli adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg, who got lost in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon in 1981. British actor Daniel Radcliffe takes a selfie on September 10, 2016 in the northwestern sea resort of Deauville as part of the 42nd Deauville US Film Festival The production, starring Daniel Radcliffe, had been screening for two weeks in Lebanon but is now being pulled, the same official told AFP. "It received an authorisation to be screened, and it was indeed screening, but several registered complaints prompted us to pull it from theatres to avoid any problems," the official said, without specifying the nature of the protests. Several days ago, the Lebanese branch of the Campaign to Boycott the Supporters of Israel (CBSI) called on Lebanese nationals to boycott "Jungle," citing ties to Israel. "It is about an Israeli backpacker and is based on the book by an Israeli author, Yossi Ghinsberg, who was born in the Zionist entity, grew up in Tel Aviv and served in the Israeli navy," the campaign said. "One of its producers, Dana Lustig, is also Israeli," it added. Restrictions from Lebanese authorities and public pressure from groups including CBSI have swelled recently. Last year, Lebanon banned the screening of Hollywood blockbuster "Wonder Woman" because lead actress Gal Gadot had served in the Israeli military. - 'Clear standards' - French-Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri was held for questioning by Lebanese authorities in September over his film "The Attack," which was partially shot in Israel. The 2012 film, banned in Lebanon, follows the story of an Israeli surgeon of Arab origin whose wife is the perpetrator of a suicide attack. And just last week, celebrated Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab was the subject of public scrutiny over a picture he posted on Instagram of Gal Gadot wearing one of his dresses. The photograph was deleted after a barrage of critical comments. The boycott-driven bans have sparked controversy in Lebanon. Some have welcomed them as a bulwark against the "cultural normalisation" of Israel's occupation. Writer and CBSI member Samah Idris said the recall of "Jungle" was "another achievement for supporters of the boycott of the Israeli enemy in Lebanon and the Arab nation, and supporters of Palestine generally." But others have insisted that boycotting should be a choice made by individuals, not imposed by authorities. Film critic Nadim Jarjura called on the government to adopt "clear standards" when restricting films. "When Lebanese authorities decide a particular film is allowed to be screened because it complies with the laws and conditions of the boycott, I don't understand how other authorities can come back and change this decision," he told AFP. Banned films can often be found in bootleg movie shops across the country for as little as a one dollar, and even blacklisted books can sometimes be found in regular bookstores. The G5 Sahel force will number up to 5,000 troops from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mauritania Five Sahel countries - Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso -- on Monday launched their second anti-Jihadist operation in the troubled region, after talks in Paris with their partner France. After the discussions between the defence ministers of the so-called G5 Sahel and their French counterpart no details were released about the new operation due to "security reasons". "We are moving forward... the joint force is gaining momentum... the first operation has taken place, the second one is starting today," Malian Defence Minister Tiena Coulibaly told a press conference, alongside his G5 counterparts and French Defence Minister Florence Parly. The force has been operating, with heavy French backing, to re-establish control in lawless frontier regions in the Sahel, south of the Sahara, where terror groups have been able to flourish. "Jihadist groups are extremely mobile, however we have observed a particularly critical area, the 'tri-border' area, which is why G5 Sahel forces are focusing efforts there," said Parly The "tri-border" area is where the frontiers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso converge, and where the first G5 Sahel force operation "Hawbi" took place in November with French support. At Monday's meeting the African nations also agreed on a "common roadmap" to speed up deployments of the force and to "strengthen staffing before the spring", said Parly. The unprecedented initiative aims to create a fully fledged force of 5,000 troops by mid-2018. - Poorly equipped armies - The G5 Sahel countries have been hit by jihadist attacks that began in Nigeria, claiming thousands of lives, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, crippling local economies and worsening food security. The G5 Sahel force is intended to work alongside France's 4,000 Barkhane troops, which deployed to Mali in 2013, and the UN's 12,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping operation in Mali. But the five participating countries -- all former French colonies -- are among the poorest in the world and their militaries are badly under-equipped. France, an enthusiastic backer of the force, is leading efforts to drum up funding. So far, 294 million euros ($360 million) has been pledged, led by 100 million euros committed by Saudi Arabia. That sum has enabled the first phase of operations. Another round of funding talks takes place in Brussels on February 23. In an interview Monday with the French daily Liberation, Parly said a key goal of the G5 Sahel plan was to ease dependence on French forces, enabling them to pare back their presence in the Sahel. "The Africans themselves say it -- this security problem is first and foremost their problem," she said. On Friday, a group claiming to be from the so-called Islamic State organisation said the various jihadist groups in the Sahel were teaming up to fight the G5 force. "We are joining hands to fight the miscreants," said a spokesman for the group, which calls itself the Islamic State in the Great Sahara. Western security and military sources have recently said they have detected stepped-up cooperation on the ground among the various jihadist groups in Sahel. A Congolese woman wades down a Kinshasa street after flooding in February 2017 The World Health Organization Monday said there was a high risk of a cholera epidemic after flooding in Kinshasa, the teeming and ramshackle capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. "In a big city like Kinshasa, which has between 10 and 12 million inhabitants, the rains and the floods make the risk of a spread of this epidemic very high," the WHO's Africa director Matshidiso R. Moeti said at a press briefing. Since a cholera outbreak was first reported in November, officials had registered "531 cases, with 32 deaths," senior health ministry official Sylvain Yuma Ramazani told journalists. The highly infectious disease, which thrives in conditions of poor sanitation and contaminated water or food, has spread to 21 of the 35 health zones into which Kinshasa is divided, and "the situation is serious," Ramazani said. The WHO announced that it has delivered 11 tonnes of medical supplies to the Congolese authorities, including antibiotics and products to treat dehydration. The epicentre of the outbreak is Camp Luka, a poor neighbourhood in central Kinshasa, marked by overcrowding and the lack of both toilets and potable water. Three-quarters of homes in Kinshasa are slums which have no access to sanitation or electricity, Corneille Kanene, former head of UN-Habitat, said last year. The charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF - Doctors Without Borders) last week set up one of its two treatment centres in Camp Luka. Flooding in Kinshasa was caused by torrential rain during the night of January 3, which was followed by a second bout on January 7, claiming 48 lives, according to the authorities. Beyond the capital, the latest cholera outbreak has affected 23 of the 26 provinces in the vast central African country since 2017, with "almost 50,000 cases and around 1,000 deaths", MSF estimates. Such figures make it the worst outbreak in DR Congo since 1994. Cameroonian police were deployed in Buea, the main city of Southwest Region, in a crackdown on separatists last October A policeman was killed on Sunday by presumed separatists in a restive English-speaking region of Cameroon, where the situation remained extremely tense on Monday, sources told AFP. No further details were released about the incident in Dian, in Cameroon's Southwest Region, but other officers may have also been killed, an official added. "According to some information, other police were killed but we are still looking into this," the official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Reports of multiple killings also circulated on social media. Witnesses said panic had gripped several schools, including in Buea, the main city in the English-speaking southwest, and in Muyuka and Tiko. "We are leaving the campus because people in the city are saying that separatists are in the area," said a student at Buea University. "I am on my way to take my children out of school," said an official based in Kumba. Over the past year, there has been mounting tension in Cameroon's Southwest and Northwest regions -- home to anglophones who account for about a fifth of the West African nation's population of 23 million. English-speakers complain they have suffered decades of economic inequality and social injustice at the hands of the French-speaking majority. On October 1, the breakaway anglophone movement issued a symbolic declaration of independence for "Ambazonia", claiming autonomy over English-speaking regions in the country. Calls for independence or greater autonomy have been firmly rejected by President Paul Biya. His government has led a crackdown on the separatist drive, imposing night-time curfews, restrictions on movement, raids and body searches. Separatists on Monday also called on social media for English-speaking cities to be shut down, to protest the alleged arrest of leaders in neighbouring Nigeria. Ten separatists, including Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the president of the anglophone separatist movement, were detained at a hotel in Abuja earlier this month, according to a human rights lawyer. A senior Nigerian intelligence official has denied the claims. Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani held talks in Turkey on Monday with his chief ally President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as tensions again surged between the emirate and its regional foes. The talks, announced only hours in advance, got under way at Erdogan's presidential palace in the capital Ankara, the Turkish presidency said. Erdogan has been a major supporter of Doha in the crisis that has left Qatar diplomatically and economically isolated. On June 5 last year, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar accusing it of backing extremism and fostering ties with their Shiite rival Iran. Doha, however, denies the claims and Ankara has insisted there is absolutely no evidence to back them. The latest meeting between the two men came as the UAE accused Qatar of "intercepting" two Emirati passenger planes en route to Bahrain. Erdogan has strongly denounced the sanctions against Doha and, in a show of solidarity, Turkey has also sent cargo ships and hundreds of planes loaded with foodstuffs. In recent years, Qatar has emerged as Turkey's top ally in the Middle East, with Ankara and Doha closely coordinating their positions on a number of issues. Notably, both are outspoken against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Ankara has a military base in Qatar, a key foothold for Turkey in the Gulf. But Turkey also does not want to wreck its own relations with regional kingpin Saudi Arabia and its hugely powerful new Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Erdogan has carefully worked to improve Ankara's relations with Riyadh, hit in 2013 by the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in Egypt, a close ally of Ankara. The Turkish leader has levied only the most veiled criticism against Saudi Arabia during the crisis, although the pro-Erdogan Turkish press have repeatedly bashed the kingdom. Tensions with the UAE however flared when UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan retweeted a post on Twitter last month critical of the former Ottoman rulers of the region. Ankara in response renamed the street in the Turkish capital where the UAE embassy is located after the Ottoman governor of the time. Mugabe's 37-year rule ended in a welter of protests after the military intervened in a struggle over his succession An aide to former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe has revealed how generals warned him to step aside as protests against him grew, or face being "lynched" like Libya's Moamer Kadhafi. Massive street protests against 93-year-old Mugabe erupted after the military briefly took power in November following the veteran leader's sacking of then-vice president, Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mugabe subsequently resigned after apparently striking a deal with the army and supporters of Mnangagwa who then succeeded Mugabe. "The commanders sent us with a very chilling message, they said 'please go and get the president to appreciate the gravity of the situation out there'," Mugabe's former spokesman, George Charamba, told the Daily News Sunday paper. "There was the possibility of a Libyan scenario where the president would have been dragged out of the Blue roof and lynched," he added, referring to Mugabe's private residence in Harare. Kadhafi was overthrown in 2011 after a violent popular uprising and slaughtered by a mob after he was found hiding in a drainage pipe. Charamba, who now serves as Mnangagwa's official spokesman, revealed that Mugabe desperately tried to reappoint his former deputy at the height of massive street protests against him. Charamba was heavily involved in the negotiations that eventually led to Mugabe stepping aside. In his interview about the upheaval that shook the country at the end of last year, Charamba also described how Zimbabwean border guards attempted to shoot Mnangagwa as he sought to flee, fearing for his life. "Mnangagwa recounted a scuffle at the Mozambican border where officials attempted to shoot him, but were disarmed by one of his twin sons," the paper reported. Mnangagwa has previously said that he feared an attempt would be made on his life after his personal protection officers were withdrawn following his sacking. He subsequently made it to an airstrip where an acquaintance sent a private plane which carried him to South Africa from where he negotiated with Mugabe. By the end of the crisis, even former first lady Grace Mugabe, whose ambition to succeed her husband was widely credited as a catalyst for the army's intervention, wanted Mugabe to go. "Even the first lady was behind Mugabe's decision to resign," said Charamba. "When you have a president who can no longer command institutions he is supposed to lead, there is a problem. But what should be noted is that Mugabe never refused to step down, he wanted to do it in his own way." A billboard for Equatorial Guinea's ruling PDGE party, which is led by Teodoro Obiang, Africa's longest-serving president An opposition activist died in prison after being tortured in Equatorial Guinea, the country's main opposition party said Monday, accusing the government of "cruel and inhumane" treatment of its detainees. Santiago Ebee Ela, 41, died at the central police station in capital Malabo on Saturday night as a result of "cruel torture", Citizens for Innovation (CI) said in a statement. "The death of Santiago Ebee Ela is a consequence of the cruel and inhumane treatment shown to CI detainees by security forces of the PDGE regime," it said, referring to the ruling Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea headed by President Teodoro Obiang. The death was not confirmed by Equatorial Guinean authorities nor reported by state media. Ebee Ela was arrested at home on the night of January 2, according to CI, which believes more than 200 of its activists have been detained over the past two months as part of a government crackdown following the mid-November elections. During the vote, the PDGE won 99 out of 100 seats in parliament in a result condemned as fraudulent by the opposition. The sole opposition MP, who is from CI, did not attend the opening of parliament on Friday as he was also in detention, the party said. Obiang, who has ruled the oil-rich West African nation since 1979, is Africa's longest-serving president. The YPG played a key role in the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance that last year ousted Islamic State jihadists from their stronghold of Raqa in northern Syria Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday threatened to destroy a planned US-backed 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria, describing it as an "army of terror". Turkey fears that the mooted new force will be comprised of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militia, whom Ankara accuses of being terrorists and have been a constant bone of contention in Turkey-US ties. The new upsurge of tensions between Ankara and Washington also comes as Erdogan has repeatedly threatened that Turkey could launch a cross-border operation to oust the YPG from the Kurdish-held town of Afrin in northern Syria. "America has acknowledged it is in the process of creating a terror army on our border. What we have to do is nip this terror army in the bud," Erdogan said in a televised speech outside Ankara. - 'Gang of murderers' - The YPG played a key role in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance that last year ousted Islamic State jihadists from their stronghold of Raqa in northern Syria. American officials said at the weekend that the new force was needed as the focus shifted from fighting IS extremists to border security in northern Syria. Erdogan on Monday reaffirmed that the Turkish army was ready to launch an operation against the YPG in Syria. "The preparations have been completed, the operation could start at any moment," he said. State media said that Turkey deployed two dozen armoured vehicles to the Syrian border on Monday. Turkey accuses the YPG of merely being the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has waged a rebellion in the Turkish southeast for more than three decades and is regarded as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. The row is the latest dispute between Turkey and the United States that goes beyond the YPG and Syria to include arguments over a New York court case, detained US consulate staffers and the prosecution of Erdogan's bodyguards in the United States. "A country -- which we call as our ally -- is insisting on having an army of terror along our border despite our objections, warnings and well-meaning advice." "You will be disgraced in front of your strategic ally," he warned Washington. "Don't get between us with the gang of murderers." "Otherwise we will not be responsible for any unwanted incidents that could emerge later," he added. The US-led coalition said that 230 people are training to be part of the border security force. The SDF -- which is dominated by Kurdish elements after the capture of Raqa -- now controls territory bordering Turkey to the north and Iraq to the east, and alongside land controlled by Syrian government forces to the west. - 'Dividing up Syria?' - Turkey, despite being a prime foe of the Syrian regime, has in the last months worked closely with President Bashar al-Assad's ally Russia to bring peace to Syria. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, in an annual Moscow press conference marked by strident anti-US rhetoric, also sounded alarm over the US plan. He said it raised fears that "the course has been set on dividing up Syria" and was out of step with the peace talks aimed at ending the conflict. "Just like our Turkish partners... we are awaiting detailed explanation," he said. For once in agreement in Ankara, the Damascus regime lambasted the plan to create the force, saying it would consider its members "traitors". A foreign ministry source, cited by state news agency SANA, said the move "represents a blatant attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity and unity of Syria." Turkey meanwhile is also keeping a close eye on the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib which is almost entirely controlled by anti-government forces dominated by the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). It has urged Russia and Iran to rein in their Syrian regime ally and stop bombing the area, in a dispute that has led to rare public tensions with Moscow. Russia is hoping to hold a Syria peace congress in Sochi on January 29-30 with the specific aim of setting up a new constitution for post-war Syria. But Turkey has made clear it will go nowhere near the event if there is any representation by the YPG there. Zambian police have been deployed across the capital to stop a public protests against measures to curb a cholera outbreak Police in Zambia's capital Lusaka on Monday fired tear gas at angry traders marching to the president's office in protest over a ban on street commerce aimed at curbing a deadly cholera outbreak. The 500-strong crowd was trying to deliver a petition to President Edgar Lungu who has become the public face of the campaign against the outbreak that has claimed at least 70 lives since September. "Kill us if you want... it's hunger that is going to kill us. We voted Lungu and we want to see him over this issue," shouted one trader as police blocked them from reaching State House. Police spokeswoman Esther Katongo confirmed that officers "discharged tear smoke to disperse them" but said no-one had been arrested. Authorities have banned several street markets in Lusaka in an effort to reduce the volume of food and drink sold in unsanitary open-air locations, which are particularly vulnerable to the spread of cholera. On Sunday, local government minister Vincent Mwale said vendors working in Lusaka's central business district would be moved to an unfinished marketplace elsewhere in the city as part of efforts to combat the water-borne disease. But many traders say they won't have adequate facilities at the unfinished market, prompting efforts to take their grievances directly to Lungu. Cholera is a water-borne diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated but is easily cured with oral rehydration, intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Clean water and sanitation are critical to controlling transmission. Lungu previously said he was "deeply concerned" at the spread of the disease, blaming water from shallow wells, unsanitary conditions in residential and public areas and contaminated food. On December 30, he ordered the military to assist efforts to combat the disease. Palestinian supporters of the Islamic Jihad movement protest in the Gaza Strip on January 12, 2018 against US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has shown unfailing support for Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians, distancing himself from the two-state solution and recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital. - Radio silence - In January 2017, the White House refuses to comment on whether the president backs Israel's decision to approve 2,500 new settler homes in the West Bank. "Israel continues to be a huge ally of the United States," says spokesman Sean Spicer. "He wants to grow closer to Israel to make sure it gets the full respect in the Middle East." The following day the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), Saeb Erekat, says he is shocked by Trump's silence on the plans. - First rupture - In February the new president makes his first sharp break with previous US Middle East policy. Welcoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington, he says the two-state solution to the conflict is not the only one possible to achieve peace. In March, the Trump administration again breaks with years of diplomacy when a meeting goes ahead between his representative and those of Israeli settlers. - Hard talk - Jerusalem and the West Bank In March, addressing the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the new US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, vows to never allow "Israel-bashing" at the world body. In May, Trump expresses optimism about the possibility of reaching a peace agreement when he hosts the first ever visit to the White House by the Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. "We will get it done," he says, remaining vague on specifics. - Trump first at Western Wall - During a two-day trip to Jerusalem in May, Trump hails the "unbreakable bond" between the United States and Israel. He warns Israelis and Palestinians they "will face tough decisions" and urges "determination, compromise and the belief that peace is possible". On the same trip he becomes the first sitting US president to visit the Western Wall in the city, one of the most sacred sites in Judaism, also known as the Wailing Wall. - 'Alleged occupation' - Jerusalem In September the Palestinians attack as "unacceptable" comments made to Israel by US Ambassador David Friedman when he refers to the "alleged occupation" of the Palestinian territories. Later that month, Friedman again provokes anger by downplaying Israel's 50-year occupation of the West Bank, claiming the Jewish state was "only occupying two percent" of the territory. - 'Slap of the century' - In a momentous announcement that breaks spectacularly with the policy of his predecessors, Trump in December recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Upending decades of US policy, Trump's decision provokes a wave of condemnation around the world with the exception of Israel itself. Abbas accuses the United States of "deplorable and unacceptable measures" that "deliberately undermine all peace efforts". In January 2018, Abbas is emphatic in his response to Trump's pledge to reach the "ultimate deal" in the conflict. "The deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it," he says. Protesters in central Tunis on January 14, 2018 celebrate the seventh anniversary of the uprising that ousted ex-president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and launched the Arab Spring Tunisia said Monday more than 930 people have been arrested since social unrest erupted a week ago, fuelled by unemployment, corruption and austerity measures in the 2018 budget. "A total of 937 people are in custody" after acts of violence, theft or vandalism, interior ministry spokesman Khlifa Chibani told AFP. On Sunday, the North African country marked the anniversary of the 2011 uprising that gave birth to the Arab Spring. Chibani said 41 people aged between 13 and 19 were detained on Sunday amid fresh protests. Tunisia since the fall of Ben Ali The authorities say that in a week of clashes, 105 members of the security forces were injured, but no record of the number of protesters injured was available. One protester died last Monday in circumstances that remain unclear. The results of an autopsy due to be released last Thursday have not yet been made public. Minor incidents including youths burning tyres were reported overnight Sunday-Monday in two Tunis suburbs, media reports said. The North African country is seen as having had a relatively smooth democratic transition since the January 14, 2011 toppling of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power. But anger has risen over new austerity measures after a year of rising prices, with protesters on Sunday again chanting the 2011 slogans of "Work, Freedom, Dignity". Tunisia's 2011 revolt was sparked by the self-immolation of a fruit seller in desperation at police harassment and unemployment. Hodeida is a key entry point for United Nations aid to war-torn Yemen Four mobile cranes purchased by the United States arrived Monday at a rebel-held port in Yemen, the United Nations said, after months of delays imposed by the Saudi-led coalition. The cranes will boost the capacity of the Huthi-controlled Hodeida port to receive food, fuel and medical supplies as Yemen remains on the brink of famine after nearly three years of war. "This will allow for faster delivery of relief items for Yemeni families in the grips of the world's biggest hunger crisis," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Coalition planes destroyed the cranes at Hodeida in a 2015 attack and Saudi Arabia has for months held up the delivery of the new cranes, which had been kept at a Dubai storage depot. After a Huthi missile attack targeted Riyadh airport in November, the coalition shut down access to all airports and sea ports, including Hodeida. UN officials say access for humanitarian deliveries remains a concern even if the blockade has been lifted. US Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement that aid should be delivered to Yemen "without interference." "No one should ever have to live the way the people of Yemen are living," she said. With an offloading capacity of 66 tons (60 metric tons), the cranes will "significantly boost the discharge of humanitarian cargo," said Dujarric. About 70 percent of Yemen's imports transit through Hodeida, which is also a key hub for aid deliveries. The coalition accuses rebels of using Hodeida to smuggle in weapons. The United Nations has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with 17 million people in need of food, seven million of whom are at risk of famine. A severe outbreak of cholera has left 2,000 dead and one million infected, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to push back the Iran-backed Huthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa, and restore the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to power. The war has had a heavy toll on civilians and UN efforts have failed to ease the conflict. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), says he has no plans to sell off the group's popular Jeep brand Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler (FCA), swatted down speculation Monday that he might sell the group's popular Jeep brand and forecasted a future strategic plan by June in anticipation of his retirement. "We're not going to break up anything," Marchionne said during a question and answer session with reporters at the Detroit auto show. He also offered a firm "no," when asked if he might sell Jeep. Wall Street has speculated that FCA might sell off or spin off some units, while also exploring alliances. The speculation sent the company's stock to a record high last week. The retiring CEO also predicted that a new strategic plan would be announced by the end of June and followed with an announcement of who will be his successor. Marchionne offered a spoiler: the next CEO would come from the ranks of the current C Suite. "My successor is going to come out from those ranks," he said, adding that with only men currently occupying those positions, "it's going to be a male that will succeed me." The company has been engaged in getting its financial house in order and paying down debts by 2018, he said, and will next present a new strategic plan by June 1. That date is the anniversary of Marchionne taking the helm at Fiat. The outspoken CEO valued the recently passed US tax cuts as being worth approximately $1 billion for FCA. He said the cuts ensured an economic boost and offered more confidence in the future. "That's exactly what we, as an auto maker in the United States, were waiting to hear. I think it facilitated a number of decisions that needed to be done." Marchionne credited the cuts with his decision to move production of the company's popular Ram pickup back to the US. It had been sent to Mexico almost a decade ago. "I think it should have never left. It belonged to this country," Marchionne said. Senior Palestinian official Salim Zaanoun reads a statement at the end of a meeting of the Palestinian Central Council in the West Bank city of Ramallah January 16, 2018 Palestinian leaders voted on Monday to call for the suspension of recognition of Israel in a move with potentially deep implications as they met in response to US President Donald Trump's declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. While withdrawing the Palestine Liberation Organisation's recognition of Israel could spark international backlash, it was unclear whether the vote was binding. A previous vote by the same Palestinian Central Council, a high-ranking arm of the PLO, in 2015 to suspend security coordination with Israel was never implemented. That vote was also reaffirmed on Monday. However, even if the move goes no further, the vote was another expression of Palestinian fury over Trump's Jerusalem declaration and what they see as the White House's attack on their long bid for statehood. On Sunday as he opened the meeting, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who voted in favour of the suspension, called Trump's peace efforts the "slap of the century." The vote ordered the Palestine Liberation Organisation to suspend its recognition of Israel until it "recognises the state of Palestine", cancels its annexation of east Jerusalem and stops settlement activity, a statement said. The PLO is considered the official representative of the Palestinians internationally and formalised its recognition of Israel in 1993. In a statement, the delegates also backed comments on Sunday by Abbas that the Oslo peace accords of the early 1990s, which form the basis of the Palestinians' relations with Israel, were "finished." Abbas had said that Israel had ended the accords through its actions, referring to activities seen as eroding the possibility of a two-state solution such as persistent settlement building. - Removing the 'mask'? - There was no immediate Israeli reaction to the vote, but earlier Monday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbass comments had "torn off" his "mask" as a supposed moderate. Maps of Israel, the West Bank and Jerusalem Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip and does not recognise Israel, appeared to welcome the vote but said in a statement that the "real test" would be "to implement it effectively on the ground and put in place the necessary mechanisms." The rare meeting of the PCC was called after Trump's controversial December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state, and Abbas has said Trump's stance means the United States can no longer be the mediator in peace talks with Israel. The US president has sought to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, with talks stalled since 2014. Speaking late Sunday at the opening of the council, which brought together Palestinians from multiple political parties, Abbas told delegates: "We said 'no' to Trump, 'we will not accept your project'." "The deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it," the 82-year-old leader added, referring to Trump's pledge to reach the "ultimate deal". He instead called for an internationally mediated peace process. - Threat to cut aid - The Palestinians' relations with the US leadership have deteriorated rapidly since Trump's election. He came to power promising to lead the most pro-Israel administration in history, but also to pursue a peace deal. His envoys, including senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, had been shuttling between the two sides in search of common ground. But Trump also infuriated the Palestinians by refusing to commit to the idea of an independent Palestinian state, and recently threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (C) arrives for a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 14, 2018 The Jerusalem announcement prompted the Palestinians to freeze ties with the administration, and Abbas is expected to shun Vice President Mike Pence when he visits the region next week. On Sunday night, Abbas slammed the US ambassadors to Israel and the United Nations, David Friedman and Nikki Haley, calling them a "disgrace". Both Trump appointees have been strong supporters of Israel, with Friedman having backed Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. An indignant Abbas also said that Trump had accused them of refusing to engage in peace negotiations. "May God demolish your house. When did we refuse?" he said, using a common Arabic curse. He also said the Oslo accords that led to the creation of his Palestinian Authority and envisioned a final resolution to the conflict were in effect finished. "I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo. Israel ended Oslo," Abbas said. In response to Abbas's comments, the European Union said its position on the conflict remains "based on the Oslo accords". "A negotiated two-state solution which fulfils the aspirations of both sides, Israel and Palestine, is the only realistic way of bringing the lasting peace and security that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve," European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters in Brussels. France, which organised an international conference in support of the two-state solution a year ago, issued a similar reaction, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow "understands" Abbas's anger. "For years they made concessions without receiving anything in return," Lavrov said at an annual press conference in Moscow. "We constantly hear that the US is about to unveil an important deal that would satisfy all sides. We have not seen this kind of document." Chilean President Michelle Bachelet met Pope Francis upon his arrival at the Arturo Merino Benitez airport in Santiago Pope Francis admitted Monday he was frightened by the prospect of an accidental nuclear apocalypse, as he began a weeklong visit to Chile and Peru to bolster a local Catholic Church riven by sex abuse scandals. "I think we are at the very edge," the pope told reporters aboard his plane when asked about the threat of a nuclear war in the wake of a recent string of tests by North Korea and a false missile alert last week that sparked panic in the US state of Hawaii. "I am really afraid of this. One accident is enough to precipitate things," he said. The pope landed in Santiago late Monday on his first visit to Chile since becoming pope, and his sixth to Latin America. The 81-year-old Argentine pontiff will find a very different Chile to the one he first encountered as a student priest in the 1960s. Socialist President Michelle Bachelet has presided over major change in the once deeply conservative country, decriminalizing abortion, recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples and introducing a bill to legalize gay marriage. Catholic faithful wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at the Parroquia San Luis Beltran church in Santiago Preparations for the visit have been overshadowed by a recent report that almost 80 members of the Chilean clergy have been accused of the sexual abuse of minors since 2000, more than half of them convicted by a Vatican court. Protests are expected over Francis's appointment of a bishop in the southern city of Ororno who is accused of covering up for Fernando Karadima, an influential priest whom the Vatican convicted of abusing children in 2011. In a sign of growing exasperation at Church inaction, activists from several countries meeting in Santiago on Monday launched a new global organization, Ending Clerical Abuse (ECA). The organization "seeks to stop child sexual abuse by the clergy," said one of its founders, Jose Andres Murillo. The body aims to form a group of prosecutors "to bring to court these crimes against humanity," said Sara Oviedo, former vice president of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. - Protests planned - During his three days in Chile, Francis will meet with victims of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, while there are no formal plans to meet victims of pedophile priests. Bachelet, who will meet Francis on Tuesday, has called on Chileans to welcome the pope, though a positive reception may not be universal. Security forces prepare for Pope Francis's arrival in Santiago On Friday, five Catholic Churches in the capital were attacked -- three with firebombs -- by what police said was an anarchist group. Demonstrations are planned by feminist and gay rights groups. The highlight of the three-day visit will be an open-air mass in a Santiago park on Tuesday. At another mass at the airport in Temuco, the capital of the impoverished southern Araucania region, Francis is expected to draw attention on Wednesday to state persecution of the indigenous Mapuche people and also meet members of the community. The Mapuche -- some seven percent of the Chilean population -- inhabited a vast territory before the arrival of Spanish colonists in 1541, and have long protested the loss of ancestral lands. During his visit to Chile, the pope will also meet representatives of the poor and young people, as well as visit a women's prison. Authorities expect nearly a million Argentines, Bolivians and Peruvians to visit Chile to see the pope. Francis sent "warm greetings" to his native Argentina in a telegram to President Mauricio Macri as he flew over the country on his approach to Santiago, though he made no mention of a much-awaited visit. The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires has now visited all of Argentina's neighbors except Uruguay on official tours -- Brazil, Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay. Elsewhere in Latin America, he also traveled to Colombia and Ecuador. The absence has raised questions in the Vatican and in Argentina. Many consider that Francis's homilies would be interpreted as carrying more political weight at home than may be acceptable, and -- particularly given the pope's defense of the poor -- may be seen as pointed political attacks against Macri's market-friendly austerity. Aerial view of the coastal city of Iquique, where Pope Francis will give an open-air mass On Thursday, the pope will travel to Iquique in northern Chile, where he will preside over another open-air mass, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, before traveling on to Peru's capital Lima. Peru is in the throes of a political crisis sparked by a controversial pardon for ex-president Alberto Fujimori, who was serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses, as well as another abuse scandal involving the clergy. NORTH BETHESDA, Md. (AP) - Chelsea Manning intends to run for the U.S. Senate in Maryland, returning the transgender former soldier to the spotlight after her conviction for leaking classified documents and her early release from military prison. Manning, 30, filed her statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday, listing an apartment in North Bethesda as her address. She is running as a Democrat and will likely challenge two-term Sen. Ben Cardin in the primary. The state's senior senator is an overwhelming favorite to win. Known as Bradley Manning at the time of her 2010 arrest, the former Army intelligence analyst was convicted of leaking more than 700,000 military and State Department documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. She's been hailed as a traitor as well as a courageous hero. Manning came out as transgender after being sentenced to 35 years in prison. President Barack Obama granted Manning clemency before leaving office last year. The conservative media organization Red Maryland first reported Manning's intention to run. The Associated Press was unsuccessful in reaching Manning for comment. A spokeswoman for Cardin, Sue Walitsky, did not immediately return a phone call. Nor did Fabion Seaton, a spokesman for the Maryland Democratic Party. Manning would not be the first transgender candidate to challenge a sitting member of Congress. Kristin Beck, a retired Navy SEAL who is transgender, failed to unseat U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer in Maryland's Democratic Primary in 2016. Beck got 12 percent of the vote. "It was too much for me to run for Congress," Beck said in a phone interview Saturday. "I should have run for something lower. She might as well be running for president." Beck said Manning is pulling a "publicity stunt." "I totally, 100 percent disagree with everything she did," Beck said. "She's just grabbing headlines. I know what that feels like. I've been in the headlines. You get a sense that you're worthy and doing something that counts. And when you lose that, you try to do something to grab a headline." Manning was held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she attempted suicide twice, according to her lawyers. Obama's decision to commute Manning's sentence to about seven years drew strong criticism from members of Congress and others, with Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan calling the move "just outrageous." When Manning was released in May, she told The AP in an email that she was eager to define her future - but made no mention of politics. "I'm figuring things out right now - which is exciting, awkward, fun, and all new for me," Manning wrote. She added: "I am looking forward to so much! Whatever is ahead of me is far more important than the past." The Oklahoma native had planned to move to Maryland, where she has an aunt. She has been registered to vote at the apartment in North Bethesda since mid-August, according to the Maryland Board of Elections. In September, Manning spoke at the annual conference for The Nantucket Project in Massachusetts, a venture founded to bring together creative thinkers to uncover ideas. Her appearance came just after Harvard University reversed its decision to name Manning a visiting fellow. CIA Director Mike Pompeo had scrapped a planned appearance over the title for Manning, calling her an "American traitor." Manning told the audience in Massachusetts that Harvard's decision signaled to her that it's a "police state" and it's not possible to engage in actual political discourse in academic institutions. "I'm not ashamed of being disinvited," she said. "I view that just as much of an honored distinction as the fellowship itself." NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on Mark Wahlberg's decision to donate the $1.5 million he made reshooting a film to sexual misconduct defense initiative Time's Up (all times local): 11 p.m. Michelle Williams says her co-star Mark Wahlberg's decision to donate the $1.5 million he earned for reshoots for "All the Money in the World" to the sexual misconduct defense initiative Time's Up isn't about her. The actress, who reportedly was paid less than $1,000 for the reshoots, says in a statement Saturday that her fellow actresses and activist friends stood by her and "taught me to use my voice, and the most powerful men in charge, they listened and they acted." She says it was "one of the most indelible days of my life" because of Wahlberg, talent agency William Morris Endeavor and "a community of women and men who share in this accomplishment." The reshoots occurred over 10 days when Christopher Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey in the film after sexual misconduct accusations against Spacey surfaced. Both Plummer and Williams were nominated for Golden Globes for their performances. ___ 2:33 p.m. Mark Wahlberg has agreed to donate the $1.5 million he made for reshoots on the film "All the Money in the World" to the sexual misconduct defense initiative Time's Up. The actor said Saturday he'll make the donation in the name of his co-star, Michelle Williams, who was reportedly paid less than $1,000 for the reshoots. The agency William Morris Endeavor represents both actors and said it will donate an additional $500,000, also in Williams' name. The reshoots occurred over 10 days when Christopher Plummer replaced Kevin Spacey in the film after sexual misconduct accusations against Spacey surfaced. Both Plummer and Williams were nominated for Golden Globes for their performances. Williams had no immediate comment Saturday. Wahlberg said he "100 percent" supports the right for fair pay in Hollywood. BOURNEMOUTH, England (AP) - With star forward Alexis Sanchez left at home, Arsenal squandered a lead by conceding two goals in five minutes to lose 2-1 at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday. Callum Wilson equalized in the 70th minute for Bournemouth before setting up Jordon Ibe for the winner in the 74th minute, intensifying Arsenal's problems in what could be developing into another crisis under Arsene Wenger. Hector Bellerin opened the scoring in the 52nd for Arsenal, which is in sixth place and has dropped five points off the Champions League qualification positions. Arsenal's Jack Wilshere, right, is tackled by Bournemouth's Steve Cook during the English Premier League soccer match against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, England, Sunday Jan. 14, 2018. (David Davies/PA via AP) Wenger said Sanchez was omitted because the Chile international was "being vague" while Manchester City and Manchester United fight for his services. It seems inevitable that Sanchez will depart this month, leaving the team without its game-changer and top scorer from last season. "Half in, half out," Wenger said of Sanchez's current position at Arsenal. "You never know this kind of situation during the transfer period." Mesut Ozil was also missing because of injury and Arsenal's lineup looked a shadow of the past teams under Wenger. "We were 1-0 up and suddenly we lost two goals and we don't know where they came from," Wenger said. "It is very frustrating. Overall we have to look at it in a very objective and harsh way - we made mistakes we should not have made. "The team that fights against relegation will fight and you cannot afford any concentration mistake." It was a first Premier League win over Arsenal for Bournemouth, and a first victory against a top-six side this season that lifts Eddie Howe's team into 13th place. "In this division, if you can get two or three wins your whole outlook can change," Howe said. "Then if you get two or three defeats it all changes. We have just tried to be very stable. "That was a famous win for the club." Arsenal's Hector Bellerin celebrates scoring their first goal of the game against Bournemouth, during their English Premier League soccer match at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England, Sunday Jan. 14, 2018. (David Davies/PA via AP) NEW YORK (AP) - Donald Trump's vulgar remarks questioning why the U.S. should admit immigrants from Haiti and Africa have spotlighted the bitter divide among American evangelicals about his presidency. While some of his evangelical backers expressed support for his leadership, other conservative Christians are calling the president racist and say church leaders had a moral imperative to condemn him. "Your pro-life argument rings hollow if you don't have an issue with this xenophobic bigotry," tweeted pastor Earon James of Relevant Life Church in Pace, Florida. FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2015, file photo, Pastor Mark Burns, co-founder & CEO of Christian Television Network, from Easley, S.C., right, speaks to the members of the media outside Trump Tower in New York. A few of President Donald Trump's leading evangelical supporters defended him after he questioned why the U.S. should accept more immigrants from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa. However, many other evangelicals condemned his remarks, citing their increasing devotion to fellow Christians overseas, along with the large numbers of immigrants in U.S. churches and their families. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) Trump won 80 percent of the white evangelical vote in the 2016 election. But recent polls show some weakening in that support, with 61 percent approving of his job performance, compared with 78 percent last February, according to the Pew Research Center. Still, conservative Christians remain as polarized as ever over his leadership. Many evangelical leaders who defended him in the past would not comment on Trump's remarks to a group of senators. A few offered some criticism. Pastor Ronnie Floyd, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said it was "not good" to devalue any person. Johnnie Moore, a public relations executive and a leader among Trump's evangelical advisers, said the reports of what Trump said were "absolutely suspect and politicized." Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who attended the Oval Office meeting Thursday, and people briefed on the conversation said Trump did make the comments as reported: He questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa as he rejected a bipartisan immigration deal. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who Durbin said objected to Trump's remarks at that time, did not dispute Durbin's description. On Sunday, Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., who attended the Oval Office meeting, insisted that Trump did not use the vulgar word. Pastor Mark Burns from South Carolina remained skeptical, but said if the remarks were true, Trump was only reacting to poor conditions in Haiti and Africa that were the fault of "lazy governments" there. The Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Dallas and a frequent guest at the White House, said that apart from the president's choice of words, "Trump is right on target in his policy," putting the needs of the U.S. above those of other countries. Yet anger spread among other conservative Christians. They posted family photos on social media and proudly noted immigrant relatives. Bishop Talbert Swan of the Church of God in Christ, or COGIC, the country's largest black Pentecostal denomination, tweeted a photo of one of his grandchildren born to what Swan said was his "educated, hard-working" Haitian-American daughter-in-law. Swan, based in Springfield, Massachusetts, called Trump's comments "vile, foul-mouthed, racist," and posted the hashtag #ImpeachTrump. A significant number of African immigrants are Christians who joined U.S. evangelical congregations, and many have become advocates for more generous immigration policies and critics of Trump's views on the issue. Thabiti Anyabwile, pastor of Anacostia River Church, a Southern Baptist congregation in Washington, said his church includes Christians from Rwanda, Nigeria, Guyana, Cameroon and Zimbabwe. "This is my immigrant family, my true brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus," he wrote on the site of The Gospel Coalition, an evangelical group. "As a shepherd, I cannot abide the comments our president makes regarding immigrant peoples and their countries of origin. I cannot leave them alone to hear racist barbs, evil speech, incendiary comment, and blasphemous slander against the image and likeness of God in which they are made." American connections with Christians overseas also have grown in recent years through mission projects often in Haiti and Africa. In one of the more dramatic examples, Rick Warren, author of "The Purpose Driven Life," created a partnership between his Saddleback Church in California and the government of Rwanda that involved short mission trips by more than 2,000 congregants. Church members worked with more than 4,000 Rwandan churches providing health care, training pastors and helping orphan, among other projects. At the same time, evangelicals are increasingly aware in a geographical shift in global Christianity. As its numbers shrink in North America and Western Europe, the Christian population is exploding in Africa, Asia and elsewhere, creating ties across borders. Todd Johnson, director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, said African Christians closely follow evangelical voting in the U.S., and have deep concern about American evangelical support for Trump. "I heard many Africans say they were dumbfounded by this," Johnson said. The Rev. Tish Harrison Warren, an author and Anglican priest who serves at The Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, worried about the fallout for the fellowship of evangelicals outside and inside the U.S. Her denomination, the Anglican Church in North America, was formed under the leadership of African Anglican bishops to serve conservative U.S. Episcopalians and others. Her local church includes parishioners from Uganda, Iran, Turkey, China and other countries. "It hurts evangelism," Warren said of the president's comments. "I've sort of come to expect him to say outlandish things. I sort of expect that from him. But I do expect more from the church and from Christian leaders." ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jessica-Rose Clark ended a difficult week with a unanimous decision over Paige VanZant on Sunday in the UFC Fight Night card. The 30-year-old Australian improved to 9-4, receiving winning scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 from the judges. Clark's Las Vegas home was broken into Thursday while she was in St. Louis for the flyweight battle. Thieves stole $30,000 worth of jewelry and video games. Her 1-year-old cat, Dwight, was kicked repeatedly, suffered broken ribs and had to be euthanized. "I had a stressful week and I did let the stress get to me a bit," Clark said. "I just want to get home and I will figure out the rest later." VanZant, a former "Dancing With The Stars" runner-up, fell to 7-4. The 23-year-old VanZant held a 68-67 advantage in strikes, but Clark was the aggressor. She successfully took the fight to the ground where she held control for 5 minutes and 5 seconds of the three-round 15-minute affair. "I knew coming in that I was the better fighter and I worked hard to show that," Clark said. The fight was the co-feature on an 11-bout card, Jeremy Stephens beat Dooho Choi at featherweight n the other featured fight. Stephens, from Des Moines, Iowa, knocked out Choi at 2:36 of the second round with a right hand to the head. He immediately pounced on Choi and pummeled him with short punches. Stephens improved to 27-14. "There is no way I was coming to the Midwest and losing," Stephens said. Choi, from South Korea, is 14-3. BELFORT TO TRY AGAIN Vitor Belfort was supposed to conclude his 21-year career in a 185-pound bout against Uriah Hall as the co-feature on Sunday's card. But Hall failed to make weight on Saturday morning and the fight was cancelled. "I'm devastated," Belfort said. Belfort, who hails from Brazil, has a record of 26-13. He trained hard for the fight and was hoping to go out on top. Belfort indicated that he will fight at least one more time. "Vitor was offered a (different) fight tonight, he chose not to take it," UFC President Dana White said. "But we'll get him another one down the road." PARIS (AP) - The Latest on Airbus (all times local): 9:50 a.m. Airbus says it sold more than 1,100 planes last year, outselling rival Boeing thanks to a raft of end-of-year deals and a growing global economy and travel demand. FILE - In this June 18 2015 file photo, vapor forms across the wings of an Airbus A380 as it performs a demonstration flight at the Paris Air Show, Le Bourget airport, north of Paris. Airbus sAys it will stop making its costly A380 superjumbo if it can't strike a long-term deal with Emirates airline for a steady supply of the planes. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File) The European planemaker reported Monday that it delivered 718 planes in 2017, fewer than Boeing's 763 but a record for Airbus. Outgoing CEO Fabrice Bregier said Airbus will speed up production in the coming year, notably of its long-delayed widebody A350, and hopes to out-deliver Boeing by 2020. Bregier acknowledged "challenges" ahead but called them "manageable." Airbus is facing multiple corruption investigations, notably in Britain, France and Austria. And its chief salesman said Monday that Airbus will abandon its high-profile superjumbo A380 if it can't strike a long-term deal for the plane with airline Emirates. ___ 9:35 a.m. Airbus says it will stop making its costly A380 superjumbo if it can't strike a long-term deal with the airline Emirates for a steady supply of the planes. Airbus chief salesman John Leahy told reporters Monday that "if we can't work out a deal with Emirates, there is no choice but to shut down the program." He said the airline is "the only one who has the ability" to commit to a minimum of six planes a year for a minimum of eight to 10 years, which Airbus needs to make the program viable. The double-decker A380 drew worldwide attention when launched a decade ago but has long met questions as to whether it could generate enough demand. The announcement came as Airbus announced it sold 1,109 planes year, outstripping rival Boeing thanks to a raft of end-of-year deals. BERLIN (AP) - Supporters and opponents of a new alliance with Chancellor Angela Merkel sought Monday to win over members of Germany's main center-left party who will decide this weekend whether to negotiate a new governing coalition. Merkel's conservative Union bloc and leaders of the center-left Social Democrats last week reached a preliminary deal to open formal coalition negotiations. That needs approval from a party congress Sunday of the Social Democrats, many of whose members are deeply skeptical after a disastrous election result in September. The two sides have governed Germany together for the past four years, but Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz said until November that his party would go into opposition following the election results. He reversed course reluctantly after Merkel's negotiations with two smaller parties collapsed. FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2018 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, shakes hand with Social Democratic Party Chairman Martin Schulz during a joint statement after the exploratory talks between Merkel's Christian Democratic block and the Social Democrats on forming a new German government in Berlin, Germany. Supporters and opponents of a new alliance with Chancellor Angela Merkel are making their case to members of Germany's main center-left party who will decide this weekend whether to negotiate a new governing coalition. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file) Schulz said Friday his party had achieved "outstanding results" in initial talks with the conservatives. But efforts to persuade members started badly over the weekend, with a small regional party branch coming out against a new coalition and some prominent Social Democrats picking holes in the deal. A new "grand coalition" of Germany's biggest parties faces vehement opposition from the Social Democrats' youth wing, which argues that serving as Merkel's junior partner again could erode support even further. "We are convinced that carrying on as usual in a 'grand coalition' would endanger the existence of the Social Democrats, at least as a major party," Kevin Kuehnert, the youth wing's leader, told foreign reporters in Berlin. Kuehnert complained that "many central aims" were not reflected in last week's agreement, for instance an overhaul of the health-insurance system, while "we had to swallow very bitter pills." He cited a pledge in the agreement to keep a lid on the number of asylum-seekers entering Germany and curb the number of relatives allowed to join migrants already there. Sunday's congress isn't the final hurdle. If a coalition agreement is reached, it would be put to a ballot of the Social Democrats' full membership for approval. If the new coalition doesn't come together, the only remaining options would be an unprecedented minority government led by Merkel's conservatives or a new election. Schulz and Andrea Nahles, the party's parliamentary leader, were hitting the road Monday to campaign for coalition talks to proceed. Nahles highlighted a commitment to guarantee the current level of pensions through 2025, among other things. She told Deutschlandfunk radio she's optimistic about winning over a majority of members. "Those who are against the 'grand coalition' are willfully talking down the result - I won't accept that," she said. "I will ask whether we are a party that engages in politics for talk shows, or whether we want to implement things." FILE - In this Nov. 24, 2017 file photo Kevin Kuehnert gives thanks for having been chosen as federal chairman at the federal congress for Young Socialists in the SPD (Jusos) at the E-Werk in Saarbruecken, Germany. Supporters and opponents of a new alliance with Chancellor Angela Merkel are making their case to members of Germany's main center-left party who will decide this weekend whether to negotiate a new governing coalition. (Oliver Dietze/dpa via AP) FILE - In this Nov 21, 2017 file photo the chairman of German Social Democratic Party, SPD, Martin Schulz, left, and SPD faction leader Andreas Nahles, right, attend a plenary session of German parliament Bundestag in Berlin. Supporters and opponents of a new alliance with Chancellor Angela Merkel are making their case to members of Germany's main center-left party who will decide this weekend whether to negotiate a new governing coalition. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file) PARIS (AP) - France center Mathieu Bastareaud has apologized after using an anti-gay slur during a Champions Cup match. The tournament organizers have opened an investigation into Sunday's incident and Bastareaud could face a lengthy ban after the Toulon captain appeared to direct the insulting slur at Italy forward Sebastian Negri during the team's 36-0 win over Benetton. In a statement issued Monday by his club, Bastareaud apologized, saying he "reacted badly" in responding to Negri's provocation. Bastareaud added that he was "sincerely sorry for the people I might have hurt." Toulon defended Basteareaud and insisted he "is not homophobic by any means." Bastareaud, who has made 42 appearances for France, could miss the Six Nations if he is found guilty. MOSCOW (AP) - Russia spoke out strongly Monday against the U.S. push for modifying a nuclear agreement with Iran, while Germany said it would seek more detail on what the U.S. wants and analyze the situation with its European partners. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Moscow won't support the U.S. demand for changes in the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers that saw Iran accept curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for lifting international sanctions. President Donald Trump on Friday kept the accord alive by extending sanctions waivers, but warned that the U.S. would pull out of the deal in a few months unless "terrible flaws" in the deal are fixed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during his annual roundup news conference summing up his ministry's work in 2017, in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) Lavrov called the new U.S. demands to Iran "deplorable," saying they raise doubts about Washington's ability to observe international agreements. He particularly noted that the dismantling of the Iran nuclear deal would discourage North Korea from negotiating any future agreement to abandon its nuclear and missile programs. "We will not support what the U.S. is trying to do - to change the text of the agreement to include things, which are absolutely unacceptable for Iran," Lavrov said at a news conference in Moscow. Trump said he would work with European allies to remove so-called sunset clauses that allow Iran to gradually resume advanced nuclear activities in the next decade. He paired Friday's concession with other, targeted sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses and ballistic missile development. Iran warned Saturday that it won't accept any changes to the nuclear deal. The Europeans have indicated they are willing to discuss the matter with Washington, but have shown little enthusiasm with Trump's hard line. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, stressed Monday that Berlin stands by the nuclear deal. He said that Germany would analyze the situation with its European partners. German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said officials would sit down with the Americans and "see what goal and request exactly Mr. Trump's comments contain." She said that Trump's statement appeared to have been directed "first and foremost to his own Congress." The 2015 nuclear pact with Iran involved the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia. ___ Geir Moulson reported from Berlin. German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a joint statement after the exploratory talks between Merkel's conservative bloc and the Social Democrats on forming a new German government in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Jan. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during his annual roundup news conference summing up his ministry's work in 2017 in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) JOHANNESBURG (AP) - South Africa summoned the United States' senior diplomat in Pretoria on Monday over President Donald Trump's recent disparaging comments about African nations and Haiti. Trump has been accused of describing African nations as "shithole countries" during a meeting with U.S. senators last week. He has denied making the statements, as well as the ensuing accusations that he is racist. South African foreign ministry officials met the U.S. charge d'affaires and other U.S. Embassy officials in the capital to express South African concerns about Trump's reported comments, the ministry said in a statement. "It was noted that Africa and the African diaspora has contributed significantly to the United States and to its development into the country that it is today, and that the African and international reaction to the alleged statements clearly serve as a united affirmation of the dignity of the people of Africa and the African diaspora," the ministry said. The meeting provided an opportunity for the U.S. Embassy to reiterate its "commitment to working with South Africa to achieve shared goals and strengthen our bilateral ties," embassy spokeswoman Cindy Harvey said in a statement. "We remain committed to working together to realize the promise of a more peaceful, more productive, more prosperous South Africa." Trump's comments were met with widespread consternation in Africa, with an African Union spokeswoman saying the union was "frankly alarmed." "Given the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, this statement flies in the face of all accepted behavior and practice," AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo said. The governments of Namibia and Botswana have also condemned the comments. DORTMUND, Germany (AP) - Borussia Dortmund has signed Swiss defender Manuel Akanji from Basel. The Bundesliga club says the 22-year-old Akanji signed a deal through June 2022. Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc says "Manuel's performances put him on the radar of a number of top European clubs, and we're delighted that he's chosen to join us. He has already demonstrated at international and Champions League level that he can play at the highest level in Europe." FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2017 file photo, then Basel player Manuel Akanji speaks during a press conference the day before the Champions League Group A soccer match between FC Basel and England's Manchester United in Basel, Switzerland. German club Borussia Dortmund has signed Swiss defender Manuel Akanji from FC Basel. The Bundesliga side says Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, the 22-year-old Akanji has signed a deal through June 2022. (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP,file) Akanji helped Basel win the Swiss league in 2016 and domestic double last year after joining in 2015. He scored five goals in 42 league appearances and also made four appearances for Switzerland. Kicker magazine reports Dortmund is paying 18 million euros ($22 million), potentially rising to more than 20 million euros ($24.5 million), for the transfer. BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) - Heavily armed Libyan militias clashed in Tripoli on Monday, killing at least 20 people and forcing the capital's only airport to close, officials said. The Health Ministry said another 63 people were wounded in the fighting between two militias that are ostensibly allied with the internationally-backed government, underscoring the lingering instability in the country seven years after a popular uprising toppled long-ruling dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Civilians were among the dead, including an airline employee who was trying to get home after Matiga airport shut down. An airport official said staffers were evacuated from Matiga airport and that five flights have been canceled. A picture posted on the airport's Facebook page showed a passenger plane with its roof blown off. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The Special Deterrent Force, a militia which controls the airport, was fighting a rival militia led by local strongman Bashir al-Baqara. Both are allied with the internationally recognized government in Tripoli. A rival government and parliament rule in Libya's east, but across the country real power is held by a dizzying array of armed groups. The Presidency Council - one of the three ruling bodies in Tripoli - said al-Baqara's men wanted to release suspected al-Qaida and Islamic State members held at a prison near the airport that is also run by the Special Deterrent Force. The government has ordered al-Baqara's men to hand over their weapons and disband. Special Deterrent Force spokesman Ahmed bin Salem said four of his men were killed. He said the situation is now under control, and that a number of the attackers were arrested while trying to storm the prison. On its Facebook page, the force says the prison houses 2,500 detainees. The chaos in Libya has made it a major transit point for migrants from across Africa and the Middle East hoping to reach Europe. On Monday, the coast guard intercepted three boats carrying at least 300 migrants bound for Europe, according to Ayoub Gassim, the spokesman for Libya's navy. The boats departed from different points near Tripoli and the coastal city of Sabratha, he said. SANAA, Yemen (AP) - Yemen's Houthi rebels have released a prominent activist nearly six months after detaining him. International rights groups had appealed for Hisham al-Omeisy's release since he was detained on Aug. 14 in Sanaa, the rebel-held capital. Al-Omeisy's brother, Essam, said he was released Monday and is at home in good health. A vocal critic of all parties to the devastating civil war, al-Omeisy has used social media to document the conflict and its toll on civilians. He was held without charge in an undisclosed location. The Houthis, Shiite rebels allied with Iran, have detained scores of activists, journalists and lawyers. Rights groups have documented dozens of cases of forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests, and say detainees have been tortured to death inside Houthi-run facilities. Brick-and-mortar retailers are using different tracking technologies to better understand their customers and keep up with e-commerce giant Amazon. Here is a sampling of the different tracking methods available to stores: FLOOR SENSORS Paper-thin tiles developed by Milwaukee-based Scanalytics measure foot compressions to analyze people's movements over time so stores know what products displays draw customers' attention and for how long. That allows businesses to study what sells, know when to schedule staff for busy times, and what store layout is most effective. The technology might still be too pricey for smaller retailers, however. INTELLIGENT VIDEO CAMERAS Companies such as Toronto-based Vendlytics and San Francisco-based Prism use artificial intelligence with video cameras to analyze body motions. That can allow stores to deliver customized coupons to shoppers in real-time on a digital shelf or on their cellphones on an app. MOTION SENSORS Sunglass Hut and fragrance maker Jo Malone are using laser and motion sensors from Perch Interactive to tell when a product is picked up but not bought. The technology can also make recommendations for similar items on an interactive display. WI-FI BEACONS Wi-Fi beacons can track customer movements - as long as they connect to the store's internet. Because not everyone opts in, stores have a smaller sample size to analyze. Another drawback is that it's not possible to tell whether a customer is inches or feet from a product. BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Authorities have dropped a second charge against a Bismarck woman accused of abusing and exploiting her elderly mother during protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota. Authorities last week dismissed a charge of felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult against Kathleen Bennett, saying the case had become too difficult to prove, The Bismarck Tribune reported . A defense attorney said Bennett's mother died a few months ago. Bennett, 59, was accused of leaving her 82-year-old mother with dementia tied to a chair in a protest camp in North Dakota while she attended demonstrations in December 2016. Protesters were trying to block construction of the oil pipeline, which is operated by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners. Bennett's mother was taken to a hospital during a blizzard. Hospital staff said she was frail and malnourished. The exploitation charge resulted from Bennett allegedly using $1,200 of her mother's money without consent to rent hotel rooms, buy meals and pay legal fees while her mother was hospitalized. Bennett had also been charged in Morton County with endangering a vulnerable adult, but the defense and prosecution agreed in November to dismiss that case with $2,050 in fines forfeited from Bennett's bond. "The victim is deceased and the case became difficult to prove once the Morton County companion case was dismissed," Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Marina Spahr said in court documents. It's not clear when her mother, Mary Trujillo, died. She had been living with family in Nevada. Defense attorney William Kirschner said Trujillo's death happened a few months ago, but he did not have an exact date. ___ Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com The University of Iowa is caught up in a legal fight with a conservative Christian student group that denied a leadership position to a student who is gay. The case pits a university policy barring discrimination based on sexual orientation against the religious beliefs of a 10-member group called Business Leaders in Christ. The group sued after the state's flagship university in Iowa City revoked its campus registration in November. The group says its membership is open to everyone, but that its leaders must affirm a statement of faith that rejects homosexuality. The university says it respects the right of students, faculty and staff to practice the religion of their choice but does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. Marcus Miller, a gay student at the University of Iowa (pictured above), complained about Business Leaders in Christ after they wouldn't allow him to take a leadership position The group, founded in the spring of 2015 by students at the university's Tippie College of Business, met weekly for Bible study, to conduct service projects and to mentor students on 'how to continually keep Christ first in the fast-paced business world.' The group's loss of registration as an on-campus student organization means it can no longer reserve campus meeting space, participate in student recruitment fairs, access funds from student activity fees or use university-wide communication services. Miller (pictured above) was rejected for a leadership position because he said he was gay A student member of Business Leaders in Christ, Marcus Miller, filed a complaint with the university last February after the group denied his request to serve as its vice president. Miller's request was rejected after he disclosed he was gay. The group says it denied Miller's request because he rejected its religious beliefs and would not follow them. Group leaders must affirm a statement of faith that affirms that they 'embrace, not reject, their God-given sex' and support the idea that marriage can be only between a man and a woman. Business Leaders in Christ, a 10-person group at the University of Iowa, wants it campus privileges restored - they were suspended from campus after not allowing a gay student to take a leadership position (Protesters, above, at a rally for LGBTQ rights in Iowa in April) 'Every other sexual relationship beyond this is outside of God's design and is not in keeping with God's original plan for humanity,' the statement of faith says. The group's lawsuit, filed in federal court in Davenport, says it 'cannot and will not ask leaders who do not share its beliefs to lead members in prayer or to convey those beliefs.' 'Every organization to exist has to be able to select leaders who embrace its mission,' the group's attorney, Eric Baxter with the nonprofit law firm Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said. 'You would never ask an environmental group to have a climate denier as their leader. It's the same thing here.' Judge Stephanie M. Rose has set a hearing for Thursday on a request from the group to reinstate its on-campus privileges in time to participate in spring recruitment fairs Jan. 24-25 - something the group says is 'crucial to its existence.' The university said it has a right and obligation to ensure an open and nondiscriminatory environment on campus. University spokeswoman Jeneane Beck said that on-campus groups must guarantee 'that equal opportunity and equal access to membership, programming, facilities, and benefits shall be open to all persons.' But the university also acknowledged that the court 'must carefully weigh the compelling interest of religious freedom on the one hand and the compelling interest of preventing discrimination on the other hand.' Miller did not respond to messages seeking comment about the lawsuit. He has since started his own university-recognized, Jesus-centered student organization, Love Works, to advocate for justice on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual issues. QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani officials say militants opened fire on a paramilitary convoy in the country's southwest, killing at least six troops and wounding four others. Abdul Qadus Bizenjo, the top elected official in the Baluchistan province, says Monday's attack took place in the town of Turbat, about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) south of the provincial capital, Quetta. No one immediately claimed the attack. Baluchistan is home to a low-level insurgency by separatists and tribes that want greater local autonomy. Islamic militants have also carried out attacks there. JERUSALEM (AP) - The Latest on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (all times local): 9:45 p.m. The United Nations spokesman says the work of the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees "is critical" and if the United States or any other donor cuts its contributions "we will have to find other sources." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, center, speaks during a meeting with the Palestinian Central Council, a top decision-making body, at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed,l) Stephane Dujarric was responding to questions Monday about published reports that the United States - the largest contributor to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, known as UNRWA - is planning major cuts to its budget. Dujarric said UNRWA has a mandate from the U.N. General Assembly to foster the "human development" of Palestinian refugees and serves "some of the most marginalized population in the Middle East." He said the agency's health, education and humanitarian help "is a force for stabilization in a very volatile area." UNRWA's mandate covers 5.15 million registered Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank. ___ 7:30 p.m. The Palestinian Health Ministry says a man was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the northern West Bank. It said the 24-year-old died Monday after sustaining serious head wounds near Qalqiliya. Israel's military said dozens of Palestinians hurled rocks at soldiers during a "violent riot" and that troops used "live rounds." His death raises to 17 the number of Palestinians killed in violence along the Gaza border and in the West Bank since President Donald Trump's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians were enraged by Trump's declaration, viewing it as siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in the conflict. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it disqualified the U.S. from its traditional role as mediator of the peace process. ___ 10 a.m. Israel's defense minister says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has "lost his senses" following his fiery speech against President Donald Trump. Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday that Abbas has given up on the prospect of negotiations and is opting instead for a confrontation with both Israel and the United States. Abbas sharply escalated his rhetoric in a speech on Sunday, lashing out at Trump over recent policy moves, such as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Abbas also slammed Trump's recent Twitter comment threatening to cut American aid. Abbas said to Trump: "Yehreb Beitak," which literally translates as "may your house be demolished." In colloquial Palestinian Arabic, the phrase can have different connotations, from a harsh to a casual insult, but its use in a widely watched speech seemed jarring. SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - Macedonian parliament has adopted an amnesty bill to ease overcrowding in the country's prisons, which have faced acute criticism for their inhumane conditions. According to the law passed Monday, about 670 convicts serving sentences of up to six months will be released from prison. More than 3,000 prisoners who received sentences longer than six months will have those sentences reduced by one third. The bill excludes convicts sentenced to life imprisonment and prisoners convicted of murder, electoral irregularities, sex offences, and crimes against the state. Macedonia's left-wing Prime Minister Zoran Zaev recently visited the country's largest correctional facility, Idrizovo, near the capital Skopje and said he was "ashamed" of being a prime minister of a country with such prison conditions. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The murder of a Hispanic New Mexico jailer in 1968 - a year of unrest in the U.S. - has divided residents, scholars and civil rights advocates for decades. Fifty years and two investigations later, one of the most dramatic conflicts of the civil rights era remains unsolved. On a frigid January evening, assailants abducted Eulogio Salazar in front of his home in the rural community of Tierra Amarilla. His body was later found in a ravine. Police said the perpetrators viciously pistol-whipped Salazar. FILE - In this 1967 file photo, New Mexico National Guard tanks and troops search northern New Mexico for Reies Lopez Tijerina. The 1968 murder of a New Mexico Hispanic jailer, Eulogio Salazar who was preparing to testify against Hispanic land grant leader-activist Tijerina and his followers remains a mystery. The group was accused of leading an armed raid of the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse several months earlier. Tijerina long denied any role in Salazar's murder (Ray Cary/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File) Hysteria followed in northern New Mexico amid racial tensions and a push by Hispanic activists for the return of land they say the government illegally seized from their ancestors in New Mexico and southern Colorado. "I think whoever did it probably went to his grave," Maria Varela, a photographer who worked with civil rights activists in the area, said of the killing. "But there are people in that community who know who did it." The murder came as Salazar was preparing to testify against Hispanic rights activist Reies Lopez Tijerina and his followers, who six months earlier led an armed raid of the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse about 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Albuquerque. The raid was connected to age-old land disputes and began after activists from the group La Alianza Federal de Mercedes sought to make a citizen's arrest of Santa Fe's district attorney. The group wanted local officials to honor Spanish land grants outlined in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo - the agreement that ended the U.S.-Mexican War of 1848 - and give back land to the descendants of Hispanic pioneering families. Salazar was working at the courthouse as a jailer and was shot during the raid. Afterward, he told then-Gov. David Cargo it was Tijerina who shot him, according to Cargo's memoirs. Tijerina and his followers escaped into a nearby national forest, generating excitement among supporters and fear among others. Their actions helped spark the Chicano Movement - a militant phase of the Mexican-American civil rights struggle. Salazar was recovering from his wounds when he was killed. His body was found with his car at the foot of a hill 5 miles (8 kilometers) from his home. The car was nose-down against a snow-banked barbed-wire fence. There were no witnesses. No one was ever convicted. But Salazar's family says they know who was behind the murder: associates of Tijerina. "Someone did this because blood was boiling, and they were trying to cover their tracks," said Michael Olivas, Salazar's cousin and a University of Houston law professor. Tijerina denied having any role in Salazar's killing up until his own death in 2015. Others say Salazar was a casualty of overzealous law enforcement working to dismantle the growing influence of Mexican-American civil rights groups and thwart activists' efforts to reclaim the land they argued was stolen from them. Tijerina and other Alianza members were under constant surveillance and infiltration by the FBI and New Mexico State Police, said David Correia, author of "Properties of Violence: Law and Land Grant Struggle in Northern New Mexico." In fact, scholars have uncovered evidence authorities were trying to provoke Tijerina and his group into a violent confrontation. "When Eulogio Salazar gets killed, that's the context in which he's murdered," Correia said. "There was a coordinated, covert campaign to politically delegitimize Alianza." Salazar was not an Alianza member, but some scholars have suggested he might have changed his mind about testifying against Tijerina, angering authorities. Salazar's family disputes that theory. The truth likely will never come out, said Toney Anaya, a former New Mexico attorney general who oversaw an investigation into the murder nearly 10 years later. "There simply were not enough leads to try to get down to the bottom of who done it," Anaya said. A report by then-New Mexico Assistant Attorney General Michael Francke faulted the State Police for a sloppy investigation and all but cleared Tijerina and his associates. But it had pages redacted, furthering conspiracy theories. John Crenshaw, a former Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper reporter who covered the Salazar murder, said despite the many theories, Salazar's death cast a "cold feeling" over the land grant movement. "Talk about a cold case," Crenshaw said. "Whoever or for whatever reasons, I'd love for the whole world to know after all these years ... but I don't think that will ever happen." ___ Associated Press writer Russell Contreras is a member of the AP's race and ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras FILE - In this Tuesday, June 5, 2007, file photo, Reies Lopez Tijerina, 80, a land grant activist, speaks to friends and family at his Carlos Tijerina ranch in Coyote, N.M. The 1968 murder of a New Mexico Hispanic jailer, Eulogio Salazar who was preparing to testify against Hispanic land grant leader-activist Tijerina and his followers remains a mystery. The group was accused of leading an armed raid of the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse several months earlier. Tijerina long denied any role in Salazar's murder. (Jane Phillips/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP) FILE - In this 1967, file photo, armed guards along with New Mexico State Police guard the Santa Fe County Courthouse before the appearance of Reies Lopez Tijerina in Santa Fe, N.M. The 1968 murder of a New Mexico Hispanic jailer, Eulogio Salazar who was preparing to testify against Hispanic land grant leader-activist Tijerina and his followers remains a mystery. The group was accused of leading an armed raid of the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse several months earlier. Tijerina long denied any role in Salazar's murder. (Ray Cary/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File) FILE - In this June 1967 file photo, Reies Lopez Tijerina, right, is led into court by Arthur F. Garcia Santa Fe county under-sheriff in Santa Fe, N.M. The 1968 murder of a New Mexico Hispanic jailer, Eulogio Salazar who was preparing to testify against Hispanic land grant leader-activist Tijerina and his followers remains a mystery. The group was accused of leading an armed raid of the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse several months earlier. Tijerina long denied any role in Salazar's murder. (Ray Cary/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File) A bail hearing for former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle could be weeks away after a brief court appearance on Monday relating to the multiple sexual assault charges he is facing. He is pictured above in October A bail hearing for former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle could be weeks away after a brief court appearance relating to the multiple sexual assault charges he is facing. Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, the 34-year-old faced an Ottawa court in Canada by video link on Monday. Boyle, who is Canadian, has not yet had a bail hearing and will remain in custody until he faces court again on January 26. When the judge asked him on Monday if he understood what was happening, Boyle replied: 'I have no idea.' He later thanked the court for explaining the judicial pretrial procedure, according to the Ottawa Citizen. His lawyers are seeking disclosure of the evidence against him and are working on a bail plan. Boyle is facing 15 charges, including eight counts of assault, two of sexual assault, two of unlawful confinement and one count of causing someone to take a noxious thing. Court documents indicated the noxious charge relates to Trazodone, which is an anti-depressant. A publication ban bars reporting information that could identify the alleged victims. Boyle, his American wife Caitlan and their three children were freed in October in Pakistan - five years after the couple was abducted by a Taliban-linked group during a backpacking trip in Afghanistan. The children - two boys aged two and four and a baby girl - were born in captivity. Boyle, his American wife Caitlan and their three children were freed in October in Pakistan. They are pictured above with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau following their release Boyle and his wife Caitlan (left) have three children born in captivity - two boys aged 2 and 4 and a baby girl. Boyle is pictured (right) with one of their sons after returning to Canada The purported acts allegedly occurred after Boyle returned to Canada between October 14 and December 30. In a statement to the Toronto Star after his arrest, Boyle's wife wrote: 'I can't speak about the specific charges, but I can say that ultimately it is the strain and trauma he was forced to endure for so many years and the effects that that had on his mental state that is most culpable for this.' 'Obviously, he is responsible for his own actions but it is with compassion and forgiveness that I say I hope help and healing can be found for him. As to the rest of us, myself and the children, we are healthy and holding up as well as we can.' When the family returned to Canada in October, they briefly stayed with Boyle's parents in Smith's Falls, Ontario, but have since moved to an apartment in Ottowa. Boyle told the Associated Press in October that his wife had been hospitalized in Ottawa, but did not specify why she was taken there. He took a picture of her in her hospital bed at the time. Boyle and his wife were abducted in 2012 by a Taliban-linked militant group while on a backpacking trip in Afghanistan Pakistani troops rescued the family in an operation October 11 aimed at their captors from the Taliban-linked Haqqani group During their captivity, the couple claimed that their guards forced Caitlan to undergo an abortion and even raped her. The group has denied the accusation of sexual assault and the forced abortion, saying instead that Caitlan suffered a miscarriage. Pakistani troops rescued the family in an operation October 11 aimed at their captors, the Taliban-linked Haqqani group. The Pakistanis caught the Haqqani fighters at some point after they had moved with their captives across the border from Afghanistan. Caitlan said that they were being moved in a car when they came under fire and were rescued by the Pakistani forces. Boyle said he was hit by shrapnel in the incident and that the last thing he heard his captors say was 'kill the hostages'. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said the operation was based on a tip from US intelligence. Boyle was once briefly married to Zaynab Khadr, the older sister of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr and the daughter of a senior al-Qaida financier who had contacts with Osama bin Laden. SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - The latest on Pope Francis' visit to Latin America (all times local): 9:20 p.m. Thousands of people have lined avenues in Chile's capital to get a glimpse of Pope Francis as he passes by in his popemobile. Locals wave at Pope Francis as he rides the pope mobile on his way to the Apostolic Nunciature in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Jan., 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) But compared to papal visits to other Latin American countries, the crowds are very thin, in many areas a single line of people. Francis' first visit to Chile as the head of the Roman Catholic Church comes at a time when many Chileans are skeptical of the church and even angry over one of the pope's decisions. In 2015, Francis appointed a bishop who had been close to the Rev. Fernando Karadima, who abused dozens of minors over decades. Some people cheered "Long live the pope!" when he passed by. Others carried signs criticizing the pope or extolling him to act. "Stop the abuse, Francis!" read one sign. "You can so you must!" ___ 7:15 p.m. Pope Francis has landed in Chile, where protests are expected over his decision to appoint a bishop who was close to the Andean nation's most notorious pedophile priest. Francis' arrival Monday night marks his first visit to Chile since becoming pope in 2013. After deplaning, he'll meet with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. Over the next three days, Francis is scheduled to celebrate Mass in Santiago, the southern city of Temuco and the northern city of Iquique. On Thursday, the pope will go to Peru. Francis' trip is aimed at highlighting the plight of immigrants and underscoring the need to preserve the Amazon rain forest. However, sexual abuse by priests has taken front and center. ___ 7 p.m. Pope Francis is sending greetings to his homeland of Argentina as his plane flies over the country en route to neighboring Chile. Francis says he sends "my heartfelt best wishes to all the people in my homeland." The papal flyby was yet another reminder that Francis has assiduously avoided returning to Argentina in his five years as pope and on his six trips to Latin America. Most Vatican watchers attribute his reluctance to return home to his abhorrence of being used by Argentina's political factions, since any visit would involve a series of protocol visits, photo-ops and propaganda opportunities for whichever government is in power. Francis is so attuned to the possibility that his image could be exploited for political ends that he refused while archbishop of Buenos Aires to offer communion at Mass to the rank and file, since it could be seen as an endorsement of the recipient. ___ 6:45 p.m. Government officials in Chile say no topic will be off limits when Pope Francis meets with President Michelle Bachelet late Monday. Government spokeswoman Paula Narvaez says Bachelet views the visit like any head of state. Many Chileans have expressed concern in recent weeks that Francis may openly support Bolivia's push for a piece of land from Chile to connect that landlocked country to the Pacific Ocean. The topic is a sensitive for Chileans, who feel that giving Bolivia a slice of land would compromise their national borders. There has also been talk about whether the pope would bring up proposals to legalize abortion in the Andean nation. Currently abortion is only legal if the life of a woman is at risk, if pregnancy results from or if a fetus is not viable. Politically, the Roman Catholic Church has had a strong influence in Chile, managing to keep some of the world's most restrictive abortion laws in effect. The pope will be in Chile until Thursday, when he travels to Peru. ___ 4:30 p.m. Hours before Pope Francis is set to arrive in Chile, activists on issues related to sex abuse by priests are calling for sanctions against both abusers and anyone who helped cover up their actions. About 200 people attended the first of several planned meetings and protests aimed at making priest abuse a central topic of Francis' first visit to the Andean nation since becoming pope. Priestly abuse in Chile is an open wound. That's in part because of Francis' decision to appoint a bishop with close ties to the country's most notorious abuser, the Rev. Fernando Karadima. Juan Carlos Cruz, who was abused as a child by Karadima, says it's time for the pope to ask for forgiveness and take action. Locals wait for the arrival of Pope Francis on a street in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. Francis is coming to a country in which the majority of people continue to declare themselves Roman Catholics, but where the church has lost the influence and moral authority it once enjoyed thanks to the scandals, secularization and an out-of-touch clerical caste. (AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo) Pope Francis holds a photo of U.S. photographer Joseph Roger O'Donnell of child victims of Nagasaki bombing, aboard his flight to Santiago, Chile, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) A girl waves a flag with the image of Pope Francis as she waits for his arrival in Santiago, Chile, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. Francis is coming to a country in which the majority of people continue to declare themselves Roman Catholics, but where the church has lost the influence and moral authority it once enjoyed thanks to the scandals, secularization and an out-of-touch clerical caste. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Pope Francis talks to journalists onboard the plane for his trip to Chile and Peru, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (Alessandro Bianchi/Pool Photo Via AP) SHATI REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip (AP) - Mahmoud al-Qouqa can't imagine life without the three sacks of flour, cooking oil and other staples he receives from the United Nations every three months. Living with 25 relatives in a crowded home in this teeming Gaza Strip slum, the meager rations provided by UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugee families, are the last thing keeping his family afloat in the territory hard hit by years of poverty and conflict. But that could be in danger as the U.S., UNRWA's biggest donor, threatens to curtail funding. "It will be like a disaster and no one can predict what the reaction will be," al-Qouqa said. In this Sunday Jan. 14, 2018 photo, a Palestinian woman waits to receive food aid at a U.N. warehouse in the Shati refugee camp, Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) Across the Middle East, millions of people who depend on UNRWA are bracing for the worst. The expected cut could also add instability to struggling host countries already coping with spillover from other regional crises. UNRWA was established in the wake of the 1948 Mideast war surrounding Israel's creation. An estimated 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the fighting. In the absence of a solution for these refugees, the U.N. General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate, the original refugee camps have turned into concrete slums and more than 5 million refugees and their descendants now rely on the agency for services including education, health care and food. The largest populations are in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon. Seen by the Palestinians and most of the international community as providing a valuable safety net, UNRWA is viewed far differently by Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses the agency of perpetuating the conflict by helping promote an unrealistic dream that these people have the "right of return" to long-lost properties in what is now Israel. "UNRWA is part of the problem, not part of the solution," he told foreign journalists last week. Noting that the Palestinians are the only group served by a specific refugee agency, he said UNRWA should be abolished and its responsibilities taken over by the main U.N. refugee agency. Some in Israel have even tougher criticism, accusing UNRWA of teaching hatred of Israel in its classrooms and tolerating or assisting Hamas militants in Gaza. Blaming the Palestinians for lack of progress in Mideast peace efforts, President Donald Trump has threatened to cut American assistance to the Palestinians. UNRWA would be the first to be affected. The U.S. provides about $355 million a year to UNRWA, roughly one-third of its budget. U.S. officials in Washington said this week the administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the year's first contribution, cutting a planned $125 million installment by half or perhaps entirely. The decision could come as early as Tuesday. Matthias Schmale, UNRWA's director in Gaza, said Washington has not informed the agency of any changes. However, "we are worried because of the statements ... in the media and the fact that the money hasn't arrived yet," he said. Schmale dismissed the Israeli criticisms, saying that individuals who spread incitement or aid militants are isolated cases and promptly punished. And he said Netanyahu's criticism should be directed at the U.N. General Assembly, which sets UNRWA's mandate, not the agency itself. Any cut in U.S. aid could ripple across the region with potentially unintended consequences. Gaza may be the most challenging of all of UNRWA's operating areas. Two-thirds of Gaza's 2 million people qualify for services, and its role is amplified given the poor state of the economy, which has been hit hard by three wars with Israel and a Israeli-Egyptian blockade since the Hamas militant group seized power over a decade ago. Unemployment is 43 percent and the poverty rate is 38 percent, according to the official Palestinian statistics office. "Nowhere else are we the biggest service provider for the population of the entire territory," Schmale said. He said UNRWA provides food assistance to 1 million Gazans, calling it "an expression of collective shame for the international community." With more than 12,500 teachers, nurses and other staff, UNRWA is Gaza's largest non-governmental employer. It is also involved in postwar reconstruction projects. The dire situation in Gaza is evident inside al-Qouqa's home, which is so cramped the family has made sleeping spaces with wood boards and fabric. Two male family members are unemployed. Two others are Hamas civil servants and get paid only intermittently by the cash-strapped movement. At 72, al-Qouqa is worried about his grandchildren. "If UNRWA provides them with bread, they can remain patient. But if it was cut, what will they become? They will become thieves, criminals and a burden on society," he said. Many believe Hamas, which administers schools and social services in Gaza, will step in to fill the void. Jordan, a crucial ally in the U.S.-led battle against Islamic militants, is home to the largest number of Palestinian refugees and their descendants - with nearly 2.2 million people eligible for UNRWA services. This has turned the U.N. agency into a major contributor to social welfare services in the country, which also hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced by war. U.S. aid cuts could heighten the threat of instability in Jordan, which is grappling with a worsening economy hurt by the spillover from conflict in neighboring Syria and Iraq. More than one-third of Jordan's young people are without jobs, turning them into potential targets for recruitment by extremists. Most of the Palestinians eligible for UNRWA services in Jordan hold Jordanian citizenship, and some argue that this has ended their refugee status. But most maintain that UNRWA services are vital to propping up an important ally. UNRWA's services are also vital in Lebanon, where Palestinians are prohibited from working in skilled professions and owning property. Lebanon is the least-welcoming Arab country to Palestinian refugees, because it does not want Palestinians to settle and because it does not want the refugees to upset the country's delicate sectarian balance. Camps in several cities are ringed by concrete barriers and Lebanese security forces use checkpoints to control who enters and leaves. A recent census found 175,000 Palestinian refugees or their descendants living in the country. The civil war in Syria has made many Palestinians refugees twice over. Some 32,000 Palestinians who were living in Syria fled to Lebanon, according to UNRWA. In Syria, Palestinians enjoyed the right to own property and to work in all professions. They are not entitled to the same in Lebanon. Balkees Hameed, 33, arrived in 2013 with her husband, two children and in-laws from Damascus, where their apartment was damaged by rocket fire. The family depends on UNRWA assistance to rent a one-bedroom apartment in a ramshackle building in Bourj al-Barajneh, a Beirut camp. Her husband wipes tables at a restaurant outside the camp. Hameed, like all Palestinians, was painfully aware of the rumors coming out of Washington. "We are already defeated and now they want to oppress us some more?" she asked. While more than 5 million Syrian refugees worldwide are entitled to assistance from the U.N.'s general refugee relief agency, Palestinians are barred from it under the logic that UNRWA serves them. But UNRWA in Lebanon is chronically underfunded, and the wave of Palestinians arriving from Syria has strained its finances even further. "What UNRWA provides is not even a quarter of what a Palestinian refugee needs," said Ramy Mansour, 34, who fled to Lebanon from the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus in 2013. "Take everything and return us to our homes. We don't want any assistance or anything, just return us to our country." ___ Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Amman and Philip Issa in Beirut contributed reporting. In this Sunday Jan. 14, 2018 photo, Palestinians receive food aid at a U.N. warehouse in the Shati refugee camp, Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) In this Thursday Jan. 11, 2018 photo, a Palestinian sits outside his house in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) In this Thursday Jan. 11, 2018 photo, Palestinian children play in an alley at the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) In this Thursday Jan. 11, 2018 photo, a Palestinian man sits outside his house in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) In this Thursday Jan. 11, 2018 photo, Palestinians sit outside their house in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) In this Sunday Jan. 14, 2018 photo, Palestinian women wait to see a doctor in the UNRWA-run clinic in the Shati refugee camp, Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) In this Sunday Jan. 14, 2018 photo, a Palestinian woman has her child checked at an UNRWA-run clinic in the Shati refugee camp, Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) In this Sunday Jan. 14, 2018 photo, a Palestinian medic gives a vaccination to a baby at an UNRWA-run clinic in the Shati refugee camp, Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) In this Sunday Jan. 14, 2018 photo, Palestinians receive food aid at a U.N. warehouse in the Shati refugee camp, Gaza City. From the Gaza Strip to Jordan and Lebanon, millions of Palestinians are bracing for the worst as the Trump administration moves toward cutting funding to the U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees across the region. The expected cuts could deliver a painful blow to some of the weakest populations in the Middle East and risk destabilizing the already struggling countries that host displaced Palestinian refugees and their descendants. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra) Typhoon jets from RAF Lossiemouth have been scrambled to monitor Russian air activity near the UK. The quick reaction alert (QRA) aircraft took off in response to a suspected Russian plane heading towards British airspace in the latest example of the tensions between the West and Moscow. An RAF spokesman confirmed the Typhoons had taken off, but the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said they had not intercepted the aircraft. An RAF Typhoon (Owen Humphreys/PA) A Royal Air Force spokesman said: We can confirm that quick reaction alert Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled this morning, this is a live operation and therefore we will not be providing any additional information until the mission is complete . Tin Man (@DDCRAFPO) January 15, 2018 The unidentified Russian plane was on a course towards the UK from the north, where it has been monitored by other Nato allies. An RAF spokesman said: We can confirm that quick reaction alert Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled this morning, this is a live operation and therefore we will not be providing any additional information until the mission is complete. An MoD spokesman said: We have got jets up in the air monitoring the situation but we have not intercepted anything. Russian military activity near the UK in recent months has seen a series of planes scrambled and warships diverted to monitor naval vessels. On January 8 it was reported HMS Westminster, a Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate, was tasked to intercept two of Vladimir Putins warships and two supporting vessels as they passed close to UK waters. More than 70 children were forced to wait on hospital trolleys over the past two weeks. As concern over the hospital overcrowding crisis continues, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) warned that keeping children for long periods in emergency departments is simply not acceptable. According to figures released on Monday by the INMO, for the first two weeks of January 73 children were left to wait on trolleys in the three paediatric hospitals Our Ladys Childrens Hospital Crumlin, National Childrens Hospital Tallaght and Childrens University Hospital Temple Street. This is the first time the INMO has counted and published the number of children left waiting for a hospital bed. INMO general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said exposing children to extended periods in an emergency department was unsatisfactory on many levels, not least of which is the possible exposure to traumatic events. All systems, processes and procedures must aim to avoid unnecessary waiting times in EDs (emergency departments) as a matter of urgency, she added. Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation director of industrial relations Phil Ni Sheaghdha (PA) Childrens nurse and INMO executive council member Catherine Sheridan said that attending hospital is a fearful and anxious experience for children and their families and that long waits must be kept to an absolute minimum. She added: It is simply not acceptable to us that environments that are totally unsuitable are added to this anxiety and fear. INMO president Martina Harkin-Kelly said it was important to put the spotlight on the problem to help ensure appropriate measures are taken to provide safe, effective quality care. INMO figures also showed that on Monday 506 patients across the country were left waiting for hospital beds. The worst affected hospital was University Hospital Waterford, where 44 patients were left waiting. It was followed by University Hospital Limerick, where 38 people were left on trolleys, and Cork University Hospital where the figure was 31. At South Tipperary General 29 were kept waiting, and another 29 in Midland Regional at Mullingar. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (PA) Earlier this month when the number of people waiting for treatment exceeded 600 Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that people left waiting in emergency departments were being denied dignity. Health Minister Simon Harris also insisted that no effort or resource is being spared to improve the situation. Police are becoming increasingly concerned for a Finnish tourist who has been missing for almost a week. Riina Elisabeth Sjogren, 38, was last seen in Edinburghs York Place at around 10.20pm on Tuesday January 9. She had bought a plane ticket at Edinburgh Airport earlier in the day but left the airport at around 8.50pm to take the tram to the city centre. She also left a number of her belongings at the airport. Riina Elisabeth Sjogren went missing in Edinburgh last week (Police Scotland / PA) Officers said they are growing increasingly concerned for Ms Sjogrens welfare and are asking anyone with information to come forward. She is described as being white, 5ft 3ins tall, of medium build with long dark brown hair. She also wears glasses and was last seen wearing dark trousers and a blue cardigan with a red or pink top underneath and a black and white scarf. Chief Inspector Alan Carson said: It has now been a week since Riina was last seen and I am eager to hear from anyone who has seen her since this time. We know she alighted the tram at York Place from the airport at around 10.20pm last Tuesday but since then she has not been in contact with family or friends. I would ask anyone who has seen Riina, or who knows of her whereabouts, to contact us immediately. Construction giant Carillion had multimillion-pound contracts spanning the education, health, justice, defence and transport industries. The stricken construction giant, which employs 20,000 workers across Britain said on Monday it was going into liquidation after talks failed to find another way to deal with the companys debts. Here is a list of some of the largest recent public sector deals Carillion has signed: :: In July 2017, Carillion announced that it was part of a partnership which had won two HS2 deals worth 1.4 billion. The CEK joint venture made up of Carillion, Eiffage and Kier was commissioned to design and build a 50-mile section of the high speed railway roughly between Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire and and Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. (HS2/PA) :: The firm was selected by the Education and Skills Funding Agency in November 2017 to be part of its school building framework. The framework allowed education providers to access pre-selected contractors who can build new facilities. At the time, Carillion wrote on its website that work in areas in which it had been approved are anticipated to be worth around 2.64 billion in total over the period to 2021. :: Oxfordshire County Council said around 18,000 students at 90 schools in its area are supplied with dinners by the company. (Chris Radburn/PA) The council said it had taken over services previously provided by Carillion, including school meals, and put the fire service on standby to deliver them. :: Carillion signed multiple contracts with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) responsible for estate infrastructure. In 2017, a joint venture involving Carillion was awarded two contracts which would deliver catering, retail and leisure, hotel and mess services, with one contract employing around 1,500 people across 130 military establishments. The companys website said the contracts would have core revenue value of 158 million over the initial period of five years. An MoD spokesman told the Press Association: Todays announcement has no direct impact on defence or the services provided to the Armed Forces and their families. Housing will continue to be serviced, catering facilities provided and buildings and offices cleaned. :: Last November, Carillion announced that it had signed a contract with Network Rail to upgrade the existing track and infrastructure on the route between London and Corby in Northamptonshire. (Jonathan Brady/PA) Carillion said the contract was expected to generate revenue of 62 million over the succeeding two-and-a-half years. :: In 2014, Carillion said that it had agreed a joint venture with Sunderland City Council to redevelop key sites across the city. The company said the contract was potentially worth up to 800 million to Carillion over the 20-year life of the regeneration programme. A council spokeswoman told PA that building work on Vaux Phase One part of the city due to be redeveloped has ceased with immediate effect. Works were due to be completed in the coming months. She added: The council is in discussions with Carillion and liquidators PricewaterhouseCoopers regarding next steps and to ensure that work is resumed and the Phase One building is delivered as soon as possible. :: Carillion was selected to build the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in 2013. Carillion's situation is deeply disturbing. It must be resolved urgently. The new Royal Liverpool Hospital must not face any further delays. Its medical and research facilities are vital for the city. Louise Ellman (@LouiseEllman) January 14, 2018 At the time of being awarded the contract, the company said it would be the largest all single-bed hospital in the country with 646 beds, including a 40-bed critical care unit, and 18 operating theatres. A statement from Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust said Carillions liquidation was extremely worrying, but added that the hospital would be built, and contingency plans were being implemented. :: In January 2015, Carillion announced that it had signed two contracts to provide a range of hard and soft facilities management services to around 50 prisons. :: In November 2014 Carillion was one of five companies handed deals to carry out high value construction work for Highways Englands 5 billion five-year investment in Englands motorways and major A roads. It holds a major role in the smart motorway project, through which the hard shoulder is converted to a live traffic lane. Martin Luther King Jrs eldest son has condemned Donald Trumps comments about immigrants from African countries, saying: We got to find a way to work on this mans heart. Speaking in Washington DC, Martin Luther King III said: When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I dont think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is. His sister, the Rev Bernice King, also took aim at Mr Trump, remarking: We cannot allow the nations of the world to embrace the words that come from our president as a reflection of the true spirit of America. Martin Luther King III on the National Mall in Washington (AP) At gatherings across the nation, activists, residents and teachers honoured the late civil rights leader on what would have been his 89th birthday and ahead of the 50th anniversary of Kings assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. At a service in Atlanta, the Rev King said: We are one people, one nation, one blood, one destiny. All of civilisation and humanity originated from the soils of Africa. Our collective voice in this hour must always be louder than the one who sometimes does not reflect the legacy of my father. Mr Trump insisted he is not a racist, and said the Rev Martin Luther Kings dream of a colourblind society is the American dream. He dedicated his weekly address to King. Mr Trump spent Mondays King federal holiday in Florida with no public appearances on his official schedule, but he tweeted the radio and video address to his followers. In it he said that Kings dream of a colourblind society offers dignity and hope to every American, regardless of colour or creed. The president marked his first King holiday in office buffeted by claims that he used a vulgarity to describe African countries and questioned the need to allow more Haitians into the US. In Atlanta, the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Rev Raphael Warnock, urged those who packed the pews to honour King to speak out against racism. He also took issue with Mr Trumps campaign slogan to Make America Great Again. America is already great in large measure because of Africa and African people, said Rev Warnock, urging people to speak out against such remarks about other countries, echoing Kings own words that silence is betrayal. BERLIN, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The German administrator of insolvent airline Niki said he still wanted to sell the leisure carrier to British Airways parent IAG, despite a battle between Austria and Germany over where insolvency proceedings should be handled. An Austrian court ruled on Friday that the insolvency proceedings should be held there, throwing the deal to sell Niki into doubt. Intensive talks were held at the weekend with all parties, German administrator Lucas Floether said in a statement on Monday, adding that the Austrian court had no right to revoke the decision made by a court in another European Union country. Niki's German creditors, which account for more that 75 percent of its debt, and the staff council have already agreed the deal, Floether added, calling on the Austrian administrator to approve the sale. "If the package is unwound, then I believe the future looks bleak for Niki," he said. "IAG and Vueling are showing a lot of patience and good will, but everyone would understand if the investor wanted to exercise its legal right to withdraw from the purchase contract." Niki, a unit of collapsed German carrier Air Berlin, filed for insolvency in Berlin in December after Lufthansa scrapped plans to buy part of it. After renewed talks, IAG then agreed to buy Niki, founded in Austria by former motor racing champion Niki Lauda, and make it part of its Spanish budget carrier Vueling. Lauda has already said he would be willing to make another bid for Niki by a Jan. 19 deadline set by the Austrian court. (Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Edmund Blair) BEIRUT, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Syrian army is determined to end any form of U.S. presence in the country, state television said on Monday, citing an official source in the foreign ministry. The U.S.-led coalition is working with Syrian militias to set up a new border force of 30,000 personnel. The move has also heightened Turkey's anger over U.S. support for Kurdish-dominated forces in Syria. The Syrian foreign ministry blasted the U.S.-backed border force as a "blatant assault" on its sovereignty, state media had also said. (Reporting by Ellen Francis; Editing by Catherine Evans) SINGAPORE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Singapore said on Monday it was seeking to extradite a Canadian man suspected of a rare bank robbery in the city-state, after he was detained by authorities in Britain last week. The suspect, David James Roach, allegedly stole SS$30,000 ($22,691) from a Standard Chartered bank branch in July 2016, before fleeing to Thailand where he was arrested. After serving a prison sentence for criminal offences in Thailand, Roach was deported and arrived in London on Jan. 11, where he was detained by British authorities, Singapore's Attorney General's Chambers and the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. "We sought the assistance of the UK authorities to arrest Roach, with a view to his eventual extradition to Singapore," they said. "We are working with the UK authorities to commence the extradition proceedings." The rare bank robbery in Singapore sparked a flurry of debate about whether the country has grown too complacent about security. Singapore has very low levels of crime, thanks in part to decades of strict policing and tough punishments, ranging from death for drug trafficking and murder to prison and caning for lesser crimes. A senior official in Thailand's Immigration Bureau, Major General Choochat Thareechat, said Roach had been deported last week, but to Canada, not to Britain. He declined to comment when asked about Roach's travel arrangements after leaving Thailand. (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Additional reporting by Amy Lefevre in BANGKOK; Editing by Robert Birsel) By Polina Ivanova and Julie Zhu MOSCOW/HONG KONG, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Russia's largest gold miner Polyus said on Monday that plans to sell a 10 percent stake to a consortium led by China's Fosun International had been dropped after one of the conditions of the agreement was not met. Russia, the world's third largest gold producer, had been looking for investments from Asian countries, including China, since sanctions were imposed on Moscow by the West over its actions in Ukraine. The Fosun-led consortium had been in talks since 2016 to buy a large minority stake in Polyus, which is controlled by the family of Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov. Kerimov was arrested as part of a tax evasion case in France late last year. Shares in the Russian gold producer fell 3.6 percent to a five-month low after news the $887 million deal had fallen through, leaving the company the worst performer on Russia's MOEX index. "After the condition precedent was not satisfied, the parties discussed further options but did not reach a consensus, following which Polyus Gold International Limited proposed to terminate the agreement," Polyus said in its statement. "The parties agreed to terminate the agreement, including the option for the consortium to acquire an additional 5 percent of the company's share capital pursuant to the agreement," the company said. Polyus declined further comment. According to one source with knowledge of the matter, the decision, made jointly by the companies, was due in part to Kerimov's arrest as this cast uncertainty over Polyus's prospects and sent the company's share price down. GOLD TO BLAME The deal for the Fosun-led consortium to buy 12,561,868 ordinary shares was signed in May 2017 and later delayed until February this year. Polyus delisted from the London Stock Exchange in 2015, but it returned to London in June last year, buoyed by a rise in global gold prices and news of the Fosun-led deal. Another source familiar with the deal said that Polyus' interest in the Fosun deal has faded after the London listing and especially as the gold price was on the rise, pushing the company's value higher. "Initially, this was a good deal but something went wrong ... After (the) IPO Polyus interest has faded but there are multiple reasons... (I think) Kerimov - is the last thing to blame," the source said. Global gold prices stood at around $1,339.7 per ounce on Monday, up from about $1,268 on May 31 when the deal was announced. The Chinese deal had valued Polyus at $70.6 per share, which was at the upper end of the price range for its share offer in June. Polyus shares closed at 4,382 roubles ($77.79) per share in Moscow on Monday. Polyus is set to increase its dominance as Russia's largest gold producer towards the end of this decade as its Natalka gold deposit in the country's far east is increasing its capacity. Fosun's interest in the Russian gold miner came when a number of Chinese companies were targeting gold mine acquisitions to build on domestic demand amid the global recovery in prices. China, the world's top consumer, producer and importer of gold, has ambitions to be a global price setter. It was to be the Chinese group's first Russian deal. Fosun, one of China's most prolific dealmakers headed by billionaire Guo Guangchang, had already set up two subsidiary companies, Fosun Management (Russia) and Fosun Eurasia Capital, with the aim of building its asset management business in Russia and neighbouring regions, according to the company's website. The Shanghai-based conglomerate is best known outside China for its portfolio of businesses including French resort chain Club Med, margarine maker St Hubert and Portugal's largest listed bank Millennium. The collapse of the Polyus deal marks a setback for Fosun, which along with other Chinese conglomerates such as Dalian Wanda and HNA Group has dialled back on some ambitions abroad after Beijing stepped up scrutiny of outbound dealmaking, notably in sectors such as property, hotels and entertainment. Fosun has already pared back its foreign real estate portfolio. It sold off a Sydney office tower for A$142.5 million ($109 million) this week and is also selling Lloyds Chambers in London. ($1 = 56.3302 roubles) (Additional reporting by Olga Popova and Andrey Kuzmin in MOSCOW; Editing by Katya Golubkova, Mark Potter and Jane Merriman) )) To me who shunned liquor fearing hell, was given them as part of a plot, beheading the children who were adorable, I fell prey to the enemy design Two hundred and two years ago, on January 25, 1816, when the last monarch of Sri Lanka, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe was deported to India a poet had penned down what would have been the sentiments of the young king. The above stanza in that anthology of verses delineates that the king repented his alcoholism, a habit inculcated in the king by the British through conspirators in the Kings court. An intoxicated Rajasinghe killed the family of Ehelepola earning the wrath of masses which ultimately led to his alienation and capture by the British. Recounted even today the collection of verses is best known by the poignant last line of the last stanza Ithin Ayubowan Lakmawuni Garu or Goodbye Honourable Mother Lanka. Though vilified by the British writers, Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe who built the Paththirippuwa, the Octagon of Sri Dalada Maligawa, is known for his contribution to agriculture and architecture and was popular among his subjects.The British design to make the king unpopular among the people yielded results with the macabre punishment meted out to Ehelepolas family by an intoxicated Rajasinghe. Making the teetotaller king an alcoholic with the assistance of intermediaries, was only a part of the greater alcoholism agenda of the British.The biggest plan was to intoxicate the entire male population of the country. The British governors were on record that defeating Kings in Ceylon was not an easy task as the entire male population in the land forms their army. Any given time these strong men, who were mostly farmers, were ready to go to war. If at all if they had any experience in alcohol it was the occasional tasting of toddy. So unlike the Portuguese and the Dutch, the British ambitiously promoted liquor by opening taverns in almost every town and village in view of emasculating the Sinhala population thus making them weak fighters and also to increase the tax revenue of the British Raj. In the post-independence Sri Lanka teetotalism was once again feted, especially in the villages, with a wave of nationalism steeped in traditional Buddhist values. Peace and harmony reigned and people became healthier and peaceful. This idyllic scene however changed once again, in 1977. With the influx of foreign liquor, change of social values and the privatization of distilleries, there was a sharp upward trend in liquor consumption in the post-1977 era. While Sri Lankan men were once againemasculated the picked up alcoholic habits started causing irreparable damage to the countrys social fabric. Liquor licences were doled out to local politicians and their henchmen breeding a new creed of lawless neo-rich class who in turn went on to patronize the underworld in order keep their business intact. Hospitals were flooded with patients suffering from alcohol related diseases like cirrhosis, hypertension, haemorrhagic stroke, epilepsy and atrial fibrillation and also depression due to alcoholism. Annually a slew of suicides were attributed to the alcohol habit. There was a steady flow of alcohol related liver, mouth, throat, colon, bowels, bladder and oesophagus to the cancer hospital. Alcohol related homicide, rape and other crimes, road traffic accidents continued to spiral while domestic violence where women and children suffered mercilessly saw a new high. Alcoholic husbands dealt a lethal blow to home economies. Studies conducted by international institutes including World Health Organization (WHO) and University of Washington ranked Sri Lanka among the highly intoxicated nations in the world with an upward curve in consumption since 1980s while we also recorded worlds second highest rate of Cirrhosis in the world, only second to Moldova. Doctors, civil society and especially the clergy belonging to all faiths urged quick action to arrest the trend. Largely due to the pressure from these sections and political parties like the JHU, new regulations were brought in to fight alcohol. They went hand in hand with measures against the tobacco. Thus a strong message was conveyed to the masses especially to younger generation that alcohol and tobacco are lethal vices for health and should be avoided. However during the past couple of months, starting from the last budget, the present government has been turning the anti-alcohol policy upside down. Reducing beer taxes and deregulating at a rate the rules that protected the Sri Lankan from alcohol, the government today is out to promote what was once put on hold after learning all the bitter lessons. Failure to understand the local pulse and scant regard to middle class values led to the exit of the UNP led government in 2004. It looks as if it has not yet learnt its lessons and bent on walking down the suicidal lane with its reckless policy on alcohol. Rafael Nadal dispelled any injury worries to storm into the Australian Open second round Monday as Venus Williams led a slew of seeds out of the tournament in a dark day for American players. The Spanish world number one was hampered by a knee injury at the tail-end of the 2017 season, and he entered the opening Grand Slam of the year without playing a warm-up event. But he wore no strapping and appeared to move freely in a ruthless 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 demolition of the Dominican Republic's Victor Estrella Burgos in just 94 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. I'm very happy to be back, it's a very important beginning for me. It's good news for me, he said, adding that he had experienced no problems with his often troublesome knee during the match. I want to enjoy every moment I'm here on this court. Second seeded Caroline Wozniacki also comfortably progressed with a straight sets win over Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu as she searches for a maiden Grand Slam crown. But there was no celebrating for fifth seed Williams, who was stunned by Swiss star Belinda Bencic, fresh from winning the Hopman Cup with Roger Federer. Fellow American and US Open champion Sloane Stephens was also sent packing, along with big-hitter CoCo Vandeweghe, the 10th seed and a semi-finalist last year. And the US misery was compounded on the men's side with eighth seed Jack Sock toppled by Japan's Yuichi Sugita and 16th-seed John Isner sent home by Australian Matthew Ebden. Other seeded casualties included South Africa's 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson, who was bundled out a in a five-set thriller by Britain's Kyle Edmund. Third seed Grigor Dimitrov survived, as did volatile Australian Nick Kyrgios, who collected a code violation for swearing at the crowd. Seven-time Grand Slam winner Williams, in her 77th major, struggled against a player who had never before beaten her to go down 6-3, 7-5 and deprive the tournament of one of its biggest names. It is the first time since 1997 that there will be neither of the Williams sisters in the second round, with Serena not playing after giving birth to her first child. I don't think I played a bad match. She just played above and beyond, said the 37-year-old. Bencic, 20, said featuring with Federer at the Hopman Cup had helped a lot, with the Swiss legend giving her advice and tips. I think all the week it was so great learning from him on the court or off the court, she said, adding she spoke to him briefly after her match and he was very happy for me. Vandeweghe slumped out to Hungary's Timea Babos 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and revealed afterwards she had been bedridden with flu for four days. With Stephens also departing, to China's Zhang Shuai, it was a calamitous day for the United States, in stark contrast to the last Grand Slam of 2017, when all three of them made the semis at the US Open. It left the women's draw more unpredicable than ever, which was good news for French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who saw off Francesca Schiavone 6-1, 6-4. The seventh seed raced through the first set on Rod Laver Arena against the veteran Italian who was bizarrely wearing a back brace on the outside of her shirt, before a tougher second set. I knew before the match that it's not going to be easy. She's very experienced player and she's very long time on tour, said the Latvian. Fourth seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who won the lead-up Brisbane International after picking up five WTA Tour titles last year, was another to stay in the hunt. Also into the next round was German 12th seed Julia Goerges, who won the lead-up Auckland Classic and is now on a 15-match unbeaten streak having ended 2017 with victories at Moscow and Zhuhai. Twelve-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, seeded 14, starts on Tuesday, along Federer, former world number one Maria Sharapova and top seed Simona Halep. Colombo district UNP MP S.M. Marikar today slammed President Maithripala Sirisena and even described him as a 'pickpocket President'. Addressing a meeting in Colombo, he said the President had let down former president Mahinda Rajapaksa after partaking in a hopper meal with him. The MP charged that the same conspiratorial activity was being mooted to fix the UNP. "The President accused us of being thieves. We call him the pickpocket President. We are asking him not to back-stab the UNP like what he did to Mahinda Rajapaksa," he said. Mr Marikar was responding to a statement made by the President on the brawl that took place in Parliament on January 10. The President said the UNP and the joint opposition are calling each other thieves but people are aware as to who the real thieves are. He called us pickpocket karayas. Yes we are pick pocket karayas but the President should not forget that we pick-pocketed him out of former president Mahinda Rajapaksas pocket. He should not forget that it was the UNP which made him the President. He is a pickpocket President, Mr Marikar said. The president is planning to disassociate with us during the next national elections after becoming the president with our support, Mr Marikar added. Though the political focus now is on the February 10 elections to local councils the national unity or consensus government needs to concentrate on vital issues such as global warming with latest reports indicating that solar energy could provide the worlds entire fuel requirements for one year instead of depending on the polluting fossil or coal fuels. The Cable News Network (CNN) in its January 16 programme titled eco-solutions, quoted scientists as saying the pure and renewable solar energy, available to all, should be utilised much more, so that within two decades or so it will be our main source of power. In Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on January 8 completed the third year of his election to the highest office in the country with one of his pledges being a full scale battle against climate change. But in recent months the President has found himself in an awkward position with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party split down the middle as the battle intensified to 341 municipal, urban councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas. The President has also pledged that he would not seek a second term in office in contrast to former president Mahinda Rajapaksa who was ousted when he sought a third term. President Sirisena, apparently under pressure from his party front liners, is now saying it is up to the SLFP Central Committee to decide whether Sri Lanka should continue with the Executive Presidency and whether he should contest for a second term. Analysts point out that the President needs to remember that the SLFP Central Committee members severely opposed him at the January 8, 2015 presidential election and fully supported Mahinda Rajapaksa even at the August 2015 parliamentary elections. This has raised questions whether President Sirisena who was once hailed as a statesman is now becoming a politician. There is the well-known saying that a statesman works for the next generation while a politician works mainly for the next election. What is the choice that President Sirisena will make? Tragically if he chooses to act in the manner that politicians do he may have become a victim of the political disease where power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. President Sirisena has regularly pointed out that he is the worlds only President who has willingly and voluntarily clipped his powers as he did through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Analysts hope he maintains that reputation by giving priority not to the next election but essentially next generation issues such as the battle against poverty, global warming and the campaign for a ban on nuclear weapons. Last Saturday Hawaii experienced the horror of what could happen through nuclear weapons when a false warning about a ballistic missile heading to Hawaii sent hundreds of thousands of people into a state of shock with some even saying their final prayers. On the global warming issue President Sirisena who is in charge of environmental affairs needs to give priority and work on the latest discoveries relating to eco-solutions and clean renewable energy. CNN reported that despite President Donald Trump still insisting that climate change is a Chinese hoax Americans are paying a huge price for global warming. The federal governments National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reported recently that the three powerful Atlantic hurricanes of 2017 -- Harvey, Irma and Maria -- cost Americans US$265 billion, and massive Western forest fires another US$18 billion. Scientists have shown that human-induced climate change has greatly increased the frequency and intensity of such disasters In contrast New York City recently showed bold leadership with decisive action for climate safety and justice. New York has decided to go green and electric by mid-century through electric vehicles, electricity-powered public transport, and electric heat pumps for buildings, powered by electricity from wind, solar and hydroelectric power. We hope Sri Lanka also will launch similar projects for climate justice and work with nature rather than against nature. Dharmasiri Bandaranayake: The four films of Dharmasiri Bandaranayake stand out like zeitgeists of the eighties and the nineties. They reflect what could have been, but was not, a more illustrious, colourful career. The alienation of the individual from his surroundings, the unreliability of an objective voice, the solace of psychological confinement, are all themes that bring these four films together; they differentiate them from his political plays. Bandaranayakes cinema is never totally political in that sense. They never concede to political polemics. Based on the rift between power and its absence, the helplessness of the loner in the face of patriarchy, feudalism, and the many manifestations of power (the police, the institution of marriage), they delve acutely into the personal. The late Cyril Perera observed that his films never really received the critical treatment they deserved. He was correct. I remember the launch ceremony of Kumar de Silvas book on Irangani Serasinghe more than two years ago, in which Bandaranayake (Who had worked with Ms. Serasinghe and her husband Winston several times) subtly but confidently differentiated his generation from hers: They were the generation of Ernest MacIntyre and English theatre. We were the generation of 1956, the children of 1956. It was that generation which in later years, particularly after the disillusionment which th e 1971 insurrection compelled in young idealists, fresh from University, determined that the local theatre belonged to a left-of-centre political sphere. Bandaranayake took over Henry Jayasenas version of Makara and transformed it into Makarakshaya, reflecting this shift from Jayasenas aestheticism to his deeply felt, sincerely articulated political convictions. The message that the play gave out, that there are more burgomasters than there are dragons, was aptly valid for a period in our history in which those burgomasters flourished in our political culture. But that was the theatre, a manifestly different medium to the cinema. To trace Bandaranayakes as a film director one needs to read on his childhood. He was born in 1949 and was educated at Vidyarathne College in Horana. Even then there had been a politically active theatre culture throughout Sri Lanka, particularly outside Colombo, and the man had felt this acutely through one of his drama teachers at his school, Hemasiri Liyanage (who also hailed from Horana). Apparently Liyanage had been one of his figures of destiny, who had let his students imagination run riot through the many plays he staged at school. This was during the sixties, a tense, uneasy period in our history. Surprisingly, he was only a teenager when he first encountered the cinema. While he had not been a film fan as such before, his many encounters with the theatre had enabled him to meet Dayananda Gunawardena, who was directing his debut. Those who have seen Bakmaha Deege would no doubt remember Bandaranayake as the manservant, the childishly silly and innocent Premadasa. I believe he himself, speaking at that book launch ceremony I alluded to before, offered the most fitting comment or riposte: When Avurudu is around the corner and when TV stations telecast the movie, I hear laughter throughout my neighbourhood and, I suspect, the country whenever Premadasa comes in. He was about 17 at the time. Surprisingly, however, he never was interested in pursuing acting in the cinema thereafter: he was more interested in the camerawork and the editing, and hence struck up a friendship with Willie Blake and Sumitra Peries. What fascinated me were the technicalities involved in the making of a film, he told me. He kept an admirable balance between the theatre and the cinema. He was, in other words, conscious of the differences which existed between the two media They were the generation of Ernest MacIntyre and English theatre. We were the generation of 1956, the children of 1956. BBandaranayakes cinema is never totally political in that sense. They never concede to political polemics. Based on the rift between power and its absence, the helplessness of the loner in the face of patriarchy cinema is never Young Bandaranayakes assessment of Gunawardena was clear: He kept an admirable balance between the theatre and the cinema. He was, in other words, conscious of the differences which existed between the two media while being aware of their parallels. The film was an adaptation of an Italian opera. Gunawardena was very careful about vetting if not filtering out the theatrical side to it when transposing it. To me, and no doubt to countless other viewers, this was and is one of the two biggest strengths of Bakmaha Deege, the other strength being the fact that it cant really be sourced, i.e. that one cant really state that it was an adaptation at all in the first place. I therefore put to Bandaranayake that the man indigenised the story so well that it became truly Sri Lankan, a point he agreed with at once: Thats why the man was unmatched in his field. After that first encounter with the cinema, however, the man let go of any ideas about the industry he may have entertained, and concentrated on the theatre. During the seventies, when our political theatre (and, to an extent, cinema) matured, he displayed his talent, proved his mettle, and took over from the stylised and the kitchen sink plays that had been the norm in the preceding decades. The shift from Ediriweera Sarachchandra to the likes of Sugathapala de Silva had been one of mood and temperament, from the formers reliance on imagery to the formers reliance on speech. The shift from the likes of de Silva to the likes of Bandaranayake was less of mood than of conviction, although the kitchen sink play, the best example of which was Boarding Karayo, reflected the personal agonies and social angst that would be unleashed in gushes and torrents after 1971. Boarding Karayo, in that sense, was a precursor to Makarakshaya, if only distantly so. As with Nanda Malini in our musical sphere, hence, it is to Bandaranayake that we owe our understanding of political potential of the arts, in this case, the theatre, more clearly. It was in this context that Vasantha Obeyesekere selected him for the role of the protagonist in Palagetiyo. Between this and Bakmaha Deege there had been a space of 10 years, a long enough time for attitudes, idealisms, and personal convictions to change and, if provoked, sour beyond expectation. In Palagetiyo we come across a different actor in Bandaranayake: As Sarath Gunawardena, the embittered protagonist who works as a manager for a rich mudalali and then elopes with his daughter, he virtually distilled the alienation from personal feelings the youth of his time might have, against their will, felt. In Obeyesekeres hands there is no attempt at romanticising the elopement (Which occurs secretly, and quickly, at night) barring the first few sequences in Saraths village. The misery and the harsh realities that the girl (played by Dammi Fonseka, slain tragically in Kahathuduwa after the film was released) forces herself to are poignantly depicted, as is her confused, repressed feelings of love towards a neighbour (played by Ranjan Mendis) in the shanty house they are compelled to live in, given Saraths unemployed status. Even on a first viewing, the parallels between Palagetiyo and Bandaranayakes debut, Hansa Vilak, are certainly hard to miss: Both have Bandaranayake as the condemned protagonist, both have Henry Jayasena as a ramrod figure of the establishment that he is pitted against, and both involve the conflict between eroticism and social discrepancies. But while the latter conflict in Palagetiyo is tempered by class rifts, the conflict in Hansa Vilak is tempered by a forever irreconcilable rift between personal feelings and familial obligations. Not even the acceptance of the divorce between the vague Miranda (Swarna Mallawarachchi) and Douglas (Jayasena) by the courts is enough for those obligations to be swept away in favour of personal feelings, and the message we finally get that the institution of marriage represses, absorbs, and does away with everything that comes in its way is enough to tide over what I consider to be a deliberately and provocatively confused ending. Hansa Vilak (Which Reggie Siriwardena referred to in his review as a Permanent landmark) was probably the first technically superior debut made by a film director here. (The freshness it evokes is reminiscent of the freshness that Sugathapala Senarath Yapas Hanthane Kathawa evoked: Both filmmakers were avid film lovers, and both for some reason never got beyond three films thereafter, with Yapa entering the Government Film Unit and Bandaranayake resuming his career in the theatre.) In Thunveni Yamaya he went beyond the psychological subjectivity depicted in Hansa Vilak, to varying degrees of success. Perhaps the relative failure he encountered with that film the authors of Profiling Sri Lankan Cinema correctly surmise that in it there is a disjuncture between the directors bold outlook and the complex demands the themes he explored required compelled him to fall back on adaptations of literary texts thereafter: Suddilage Kathawa, Bhava Duka, Bhava Karma (the latter two of which were filmed together). The complexities of mood and milieu that these films open the viewer up to cant really be ascertained or described through one review, let alone a newspaper sketch, so suffice it to say that they reveal the directors belief that the personal always has a hand in shaping the social, that relationships between individuals can congeal into power relationships between different layers of society. In these three seminal films, those layers are determined by a feudal structure, which is where an interesting historical contradiction in Bhava Duka and Bhava Karma comes out: the fact that Colonialism was so easily able to intrude on our society because the stratifications in our society, between the favoured and the unfavoured, allowed the conqueror to easily disrupt our lives. Perhaps thats the most fitting tribute we can make to this all too misunderstood director. And perhaps thats why the last word should be his: People come to me today requesting permission to remake Suddilage Kathawa with me. Forget the costs involved in doing that. The fact is that one cannot remake Suddi. The fact is that I simply will not. UDAKDEV1@GMAIL.COM Says govt. shouldnt neglect other aspects of economy in quest to build up reserves Expects to hold discussion with CB over their lofty reserve targets CB confident of building US $ 10bn in reserves by end of this year By Chandeepa Wettasinghe The Central Bank of Sri Lanka must be careful when building up more foreign reserves than planned if they come at the cost of overall macroeconomic performance, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Building higher reserves shouldnt be done at all costs, IMF Sri Lanka Mission Chief Jaewoo Lee, who was in Washington D. C., said during a teleconference with local journalists on a discussion based on the third review of the US$ 1.5 billion 3-year Extended Fund Facility Sri Lanka is participating in. He said that the government and the Central Bank must ensure that policies, which adversely affect other economic aspects, such as imports, are not introduced when building up extra buffers of reserves. The Central Bank last month said that it was confident of building up to US$ 10 billion in gross foreign reserves by the end of this year. The IMF programme with Sri Lanka is projecting the Central Bank to have US$ 8 billion of gross foreign reserves by end-2018. Lee said that the mission would conduct discussions with the Central Bank over its lofty target when the mission next visited Sri Lanka. If the circumstances allow it, its a very welcome development, he said. However, by end-2017, the countrys gross foreign reserves stood at US$ 7.95 billion. Ratings agency Moodys, which had projected that increasing the figure above US$ 7.5 billion this year to be a challenge for the Central Bank, was mocked by the regulator since that level was surpassed in 2017 itself. Lee admitted that both the Central Bank and the government have been over performing on most of the monetary policy and fiscal policy targets respectively. The IMF programme has highlighted that low foreign reserves is one of the main reasons for Sri Lanka to remain vulnerable to external shocks. Sri Lanka missed the net foreign reserves target for December 2016, which saw the third tranche of the IMF programme being delayed by two months. REUTERS: Chilean officials on Saturday criticized the World Bank, saying it treated the South American country unfairly in its closely watched annual Doing Business competitiveness rankings. What happened with the World Banks competitiveness rankings is very concerning, socialist President Michelle Bachelet, whose four-year term ends in March, wrote on Twitter after the World Banks chief economist apologized for Chiles slippage in the rankings under her tenure. Rankings that international institutions conduct should be trustworthy, since they impact investment and countries development, Bachelet wrote, adding that the government would formally request a complete investigation from the World Bank. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Friday, World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer apologized to Chile for changes to the reports methodology that he said conveyed the wrong impression about the business environment under Bachelet. Chile currently ranks 55th out of 190 countries on the list, down from 34th in 2014, the year Bachelet took office. Its ranking declined to 41st in 2015, 48th in 2016, and 57th in 2017, the World Banks reports show. Romer told the newspaper the decline resulted from methodological changes, rather than a deterioration of Chiles business environment, and may have been the result of the World Bank staffs political motivations. He told the newspaper he would revise the reports. In a statement on Saturday, the World Bank said it would conduct an external review of Chiles indicators in light of Romers concerns. It said any changes to its methodology undergo a rigorous consultative process and that the indicators are based on hard data like tax rates and legislation passed. The Doing Business indicators and methodology are designed with no single country in mind, it said. Objective data is not subject to political influence. Chile is one of Latin Americas wealthiest and most stable countries. While Bachelet introduced progressive tax and labor reforms that the countrys business community said crimped investment, she has not fundamentally altered the countrys longstanding free-market model. Economic growth decelerated under her watch in large part due to low prices for copper, the countrys main export. In presidential elections last month, conservative billionaire and former President Sebastian Pinera trounced Bachelets preferred candidate, Alejandro Guillier, in part on promises to slash red tape and boost investment. Pinera presided over a booming economy from 2010-2014 amid high copper prices. He had succeeded Bachelet, who served her first term from 2006-2010. Chiles constitution prohibits consecutive re-election. The World Banks Doing Business ranking weighs factors such as the ease of starting a business, obtaining credit, paying taxes and getting construction permits. It is rare to see an action this immoral, Economy Minister Jorge Rodriguez Grossi said in a statement. We hope it is corrected quickly, but the damage is done. Officials of the Police and Government Analyst Department are seen preparing to destroy the cocaine haul weighing 928.2 kilos at BOI in Katunayake today in the presence of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Pix by Pradeep Dilrukshana Indian Supreme Court Judges revolt stems from Last week India witnessed, for the first time in its history, the spectacle of an open and public revolt in its much respected Supreme Court. However, by the end of the week, a major and unsettling denouement seemed to have been averted with all sides saying that discussions will be held to sort out matters internally and appealing to outsiders not to interfere or make political capital out of the conflict. Even the four judges who had raised the banner of revolt against Chief Justice Dipak Misra, expressed the hope that a reasonable way out would be found for the sake of the credibility of the institution in the eyes of the public. Interventions by the all India bar and former judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, and the studied silence of the government and the opposition parties have helped place the responsibility for resolving the issues at stake at the door of the Chief Justice and his judges so that they do not become part of partisan politics and worsen an already bad situation. However, the revolt gives an opportunity to the judiciary and the government to take a deep and hard look at the issues plaguing the Indian judiciary, including the Supreme Court. The issues relate both to internal management of the judiciary and its relations with the executive and political arms of the State. Political inclinations and caste, communal and regional considerations have shaped appointments in the judiciary. Governments and members of the judiciary have both used each other to promote their political and individual interests. When Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister and battling the powerful right wing old order called the Syndicate, she had introduced the concept of the Committed Judiciary to pack courts with judges of her political, economic and social persuasion. While this led to the legalization of her radical social welfare and equalitarian policies, it also destroyed the equally desirable concept of a neutral and independent judiciary. It harmed the theory of the Separation of Powers between the Judiciary and the Executive. From then on, selection of judges became arbitrary. In 2013, parliament passed a law creating a joint government-judiciary structure to select judges, but this gave equal power to the Judiciary and the Executive. Therefore the body was not autonomous. At any rate, this law was struck down in 2014 as being unconstitutional and the judiciary reverted to the collegial system. But this too has not been working satisfactorily. There have been charges of corruption against judges and a judge had even been sentenced for it. Political, communal and caste considerations have continued to vitiate appointments. The extraordinary powers given to the Chief Justice have also come under criticism as these could be misused as the author of the Indian Constitution Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had warned in the Constituent Assembly in the late 1940s. He had said that the character of a Chief Justice could be as flawed as that of a common man and that there should be checks and balances against arbitrariness at the highest levels of the judiciary. What is disturbing is that while rules and norms have been established, there have been instances when judges have misused them. Rules and norms may appear to have been observed, but a closer look would reveal a violation of the spirit of these regulations Misuse of Rules What is disturbing is that while rules and norms have been established, there have been instances when judges have misused them. Rules and norms may appear to have been observed, but a closer look would reveal a violation of the spirit of these regulations. It is the issue of subversion of rules by Chief Justice Dipak Misra which was brought to the fore publicly when four of the 25 judges of the Supreme Court revolted and held the first ever press conference by judges to air an issue troubling them. Justice J.Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M. B. Lokur and Kurien Joseph called an urgent press conference on Friday and also issued a statement in which the main issue was the observance of norms regarding the assignment of cases to benches to hear important cases. The disgruntled judges did not dispute the primacy of the Chief Justice in deciding which one should hear a case, but they expected Chief Justices to be reasonable, unbiased and rational in deciding the bench to which a case should go. The judges suspected a political rat in Dipak Misras assigning judges to hear politically critical cases. The statement issued by the protesting judges said: There have been instances where cases having far reaching consequences for the nation and the institution had been assigned by the Chief Justices of the court selectively to the benches of their preference without any rational basis for such an assignment. This must be guarded against at all costs. Justice Loyas Death The statement did not allude to any particular case or cases, but the judges let it be known that they had in mind the case relating to the mysterious death in 2014 of Justice B. H. Loya of the Central Bureau of Investigation Special Court while he was hearing a case in which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President, Amit Shah, was an accused. The case had to do with the extra-judicial killing of gangster Sohrabuddin. Suspicions were aroused and agitations were staged, when Shah was discharged in the case after the death of Justice Loya. Even as a case relating to the death was being heard at the Bombay High Court, Chief Justice Dipak Misra admitted a Public Interest Litigation seeking a fresh probe into Loyas death and assigned the case to a bench under Justice Arun Mishra, who is 10th in the pecking order of the courts 25 judges. The four protesting judges said that the nationally important Justice Loya death case should have been assigned to a bench of more senior judges. Additionally, the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Misra entertained a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) relating to the murder of Justice Loya even though the Bombay High Court was already hearing the case. The Chief Justice asked the Bombay High Court to send all the documents relating to the case. According to The Citizen the bench under Arun Mishra has two judges who are very junior. Justice Ashok Bhushan had risen very fast and become a Supreme Court judge as recently as May 2016. Justice Abdul Nazeer is the only Supreme Court who has never been a Chief Justice of a State. He became a Supreme Court judge only in 2017. The rebelling judges suspected an ulterior political motive in Dipak Misras admitting a petition to hear the Justice Loya death case even though the Bombay High Court was hearing it. The Citizen also pointed out that the Supreme Court had also taken up other cases under controversial circumstances. Lawyers Kapil Sibal and Rajiv Dhawan had objected to the courts taking up the Babri Mosque-Ram temple case before the 2019 parliamentary elections. They feared that the ruling of the court could affect the outcome of the elections, given the sensitivity of the issue. Political inclinations and caste, communal and regional considerations have shaped appointments in the judiciary. Governments and members of the judiciary have both used each other to promote their political and individual interests Sibal pointed out that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Dr. Subramanian Swamy and Yogi Adityanath were anxious to carry out the construction of the Ram temple in place of the demolished Babri Mosque in the holy city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh to please the Hindu majority before the 2019 parliamentary elections. Their plan to use the issue to win votes is being stymied by the fact that the matter is sub-judice. Sibal argued that since the case involved critical issues relating to Indian democracy and the fundamental character of the Indian State (whether it is secular or biased towards Hindu beliefs) it should not be heard hurriedly. He pointed out that the case involved studying 19,000 documents which would require time. It is not clear whether the revolt of the four judges will bear fruit or fizzle out for lack of support in the government and the polity. One only hopes that the crisis will make Indian politicians and the Indian intelligentsia look critically at the judiciary from top to bottom and come up with cures for its ills. An economy is driven by both the public and private sectors, duties of which are clearly defined in economics, in order that economic growth can be further accelerated. The public sector sets the ground, so that the private sector can play efficiently and score. Hence, the private sector can be considered to be the lifeblood of an economy. The labour, one of the production factors, should be trained to meet the private sector requirements, if the economy needs to be on the right track. The labour demand survey that was recently conducted by the Census and Statistics Department revealed that there are about five million people engaged in the private sector and there are around 500,000 vacancies in various job categories related to the private sector in Sri Lanka. It was the first time when such a survey was conducted to meet the data requirements for policymaking with regard to the private sector. Gravity Whenever a business cannot recruit talented workers, that particular business cannot be expanded to supply for the growing demand. No matter how sophisticated the equipment the businesses use, the strength behind them is a talented workforce. The survey findings indicate that in the private sector, the highest demand is in the sewing machine operators job category. This cannot be taken lightly at a time when the nation has regained GSP Plus, whereby the garment exporters are able to increase the volume of exports. Furthermore, the labour shortage has been one of the main hindrances for the apparel industry in the country, preventing the opportunity to fully harness GSP Plus. It is up to the private sector in Sri Lanka to take the economy forward, being backed and facilitated by the public sector Imbalance Once the demand and supply dont match with each other, the labour market becomes imbalanced, opening a can of worms where there are unfilled vacancies as well as unemployed graduates seeking employments. This is of course a result of lack of coordination between industrialists and education authorities responsible for policymaking. Going beyond the high literacy rate, the nation needs to get rid of labour market imbalance, so that youth labour is not wasted. The education system, which was designed by the British imperialists to produce clerks capable of running the then plantation economy, has to be re-questioned concerning its validity in this globalized world. The businesses, which produce goods and services for the world market, cannot be run by that kind of workers. Necessity In order to bridge the gap between demand and supply in the labour market, graduates and other professionals produced for the labour market need to be changed. Thats why it has been emphasized that unemployment can never be minimized without reforms in the education system. It is true that the job categories, which have the highest number of vacancies, are mainly blue-collar jobs which low recognition is attached to in the society. That is the main reason as to why the youth dont like to get recruited. The necessity is that there should be proper coordination between human resource producing factories like universities, vocational training colleges, other professional bodies and product manufacturing factories. Surveys like this can be considered a need of the hour, as it helps to decide where we are as a country, making the coordination stronger. The education system, which was designed by the British imperialists to produce clerks capable of running the then plantation economy, has to be re-questioned concerning its validity in this globalized world Action It has to be stated here that actions speak louder than words. Therefore, one step forward will resolve many issues or at least mitigate a few of them. The nation seems to have missed professional education. Vocational training colleges should be further expanded and made popular among the youth, in order that the school dropouts will be directly picked by them. Idle time can be minimized by this kind of initiatives. Big corporations should come forward to train people and then recruit as employees. Private hospitals can train people as nurses without waiting for the government to do so. It is up to the private sector in Sri Lanka to take the economy forward, being backed and facilitated by the public sector. Hence, the private sector must be empowered with a talented workforce, which could be an outcome of radical reforms in education through strong coordination. (Amila Muthukutti is an economist) Stax Research Head Piyumi Kapugeekiyana, Ph.D, was recently a finalist and received a special mention for having the Most Original Submission within the Professionals category at the Peter Drucker Challenge organised for the ninth consecutive year by the Global Peter Drucker Forum (GPDF). The institute is dedicated to its namesake, Peter Drucker (19092005), an Austrian-born American management consultant, educator and author, who was frequently referred to as the Father of Modern Management, authoring 39 books and contributing to countless thought leadership pieces throughout his lifetime. Drucker offered his consulting and advisory services to several major multinationals, including GM, GE and IBM, while also supporting non-profits, including the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. The competition is aimed at keeping the management philosophy of Peter Drucker alive while introducing it to younger generations. This annual challenge is open to both students and professionals between the ages of 18-35. The guiding topic for 2017 Human Prosperity in a Changing World attracted 422 submissions from 79 countries. Through a rigorous three-stage review process, 15 finalists were recognised in each category. The top three winners in each category, as well as Dr. Kapugeekiyana, who was the recipient of the Most Original submission in the Professionals category, were invited to attend the ninth GPDF held in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Kapugeekiyanas essay on the Battlefield of the Mind explored the idea that prosperity is not just a financial notion but one that encompasses the freedom to think unencumbered. The broader forum, titled Growth & Inclusive Prosperity, focused on combating management challenges for the private and public sector organisations in the context of a fast-changing, complex and volatile global environment. The event brought together several leading management thinkers, thought leaders and academics from around the world to share their ideas around the topic. REUTERS: Indonesias Central Bank has issued a fresh warning about trading in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin because of the risk of losses to the public and even a potential threat to the stability of the financial system. Bank Indonesia (BI) has previously said that cryptocurrencies were not recognized as a legal medium of exchange, so that they could not be used as a means of payment in Indonesia. The ownership of virtual currencies is high risk and prone to speculation because there is no authority who takes responsibility, there is no official administrator and there is no underlying asset to be the basis for the price, BI spokesman Agusman said in a statement issued late on Friday. He said that virtual currencies could also be used in money laundering and terrorism funding, and due to all these factors could have an impact on the stability of the financial system and causes losses for society. (Cryptocurrency) is not a legal medium of exchange. We remind (people of) its risks. When the risks occur, the losses will be borne by the public. We are obliged to protect consumers and protect them from a bubble, Agusman said by telephone on Saturday. Asked whether such statements from authorities could stir panic among those who had already invested in cryptocurrencies, he said: They didnt consult with us when buying please help us make the people understand. Indonesian authorities have been stepping up their warnings and last month BI issued a regulation banning use of cryptocurrencies by financial technology companies involved in payment systems, and said it is examining whether theres a need to regulate trading on virtual currency exchanges. South Korean authorities this week sent global bitcoin prices temporarily plummeting and virtual coin markets into turmoil when the justice minister, Park Sang-ki, said regulators were preparing legislation to halt cryptocurrency trading. Prices later rebounded on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp, bitcoin to stand at US$14,116 in latest trading after touching US$12,800 this week. Bitcoin.co.id, an Indonesian online cryptocurrency exchange, said on its website that bitcoin was trading at 217.44 million rupiah (US$16,288) per unit. Some Indonesian merchants, including an online babyware supplier, indicate on their websites that they accept payment in Bitcoin. Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama during a two day visit to Geneva recently met with Borge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and senior officials engaged in areas relating to Sri Lanka. The visit of the minister took place as a continuation of Sri Lankas engagement with the Forum facilitated by the Sri Lankas Permanent Mission in Geneva, on the eve of the 2018 Davos Summit, which will take place from January 23rd to 27th2018,where the WEF Annual Programme takes shape. Sri Lankas Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Sri Lankas Permanent Representative to the WTO Ambassador R.D.S. Kumararatne, Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry Agency for Development Managing Director (Designate) Mangala Yapa and officials of the Mission were associated in these meetings. During the meetings on January 4th and 5th, the two parties agreed to explore the possibility of hosting an Investment Round Table in Sri Lanka in the near future. Borge Brende, who was the former Foreign Minister of Norway recalling his interactions with Sri Lanka, assured to work closely with the government to strengthen cooperation between WEF and Sri Lanka. The minister also held discussions with senior WEF officials on the areas of trade facilitation, future of production, private sector engagement and Sustainable Development Investment Partnership (SDIP). The possibility of embarking on collaboration between the WEF and Sri Lanka in the areas of focusing on sustainable production in apparels and textiles, upgrading the tourism sector, strengthening ICT related industries and making the agriculture sector more productive was also discussed. It was also agreed to explore avenues under SDIP initiative, which is a joint initiative of the World Economic Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in order to establish investment partnerships relevant to Sri Lankas interest, in particular in the area of transportation and connectivity. It was also considered on having contacts with experts in relevant areas on both sides on a more regular manner, to exchange views and to follow up on developments. During the visit the minister also had a bilateral meeting at the Permanent Mission, with the representatives of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation programme and it was agreed to consider a cooperation agreement to implement a Multi-Country Consolidation hub in Sri Lanka, under the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation programme, leveraging on Sri Lankas high potential to become a trade hub in the Indian Ocean and bolstering investment opportunities. Launched at the WTO 10th Ministerial Conference in 2015, the Global Alliance for trade facilitation is a public-private platform that leverages business expertise, leadership and resources to support effective trade facilitation reforms that foster broad-based opportunity and economic growth in both developing and least developed countries. Sri Lankas engagement with the World Economic Forum gained much momentum following the participation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Summit in Davos in January 2016 which was the first formal visit of a Sri Lanka leader to the WEF Summit on a special invitation, and subsequently in 2017. Following Dr. Philipp Rosler, the Head of the Centre for Regional Strategies and member of the WEF Managing Board visiting Sri Lanka in July 2016, marking the first official visit by a WEF representative to Sri Lanka, several WEF delegations have visited the country. Sri Lankas Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Samantha Jayasuriya, First Secretary (WTO) Tharaka Botheju and First Secretary (UN) Mafusa Lafir, were also associated with the minister. Helena Leurent, Head Government Engagement and Member of the WEF Executive Committee, Philippe Isler, Director, Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation, Philip Moss, Head of Sustainable Development Investment Partnership, Indira Kithsiri, Community Specialist, India and South Asia, and other WEF officials participated in the meetings from the WEF side. ISLAMABAD REUTERS Jan 12 Pakistans army chief told a top U.S. General the nation felt betrayed by criticism that it was not doing enough to fight terrorism, the Pakistani military said on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of lies and deceit. U.S. Central Command chief General Joseph Votel told General Qamar Javed Bajwa during a telephone call this week that the United States was not contemplating any unilateral action inside Pakistan, the Pakistani army said in a statement. Tension between the United States and Pakistan has grown over U.S. complaints that the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network that target American troops in Afghanistan are allowed to take shelter on Pakistani soil. Trumps administration last week announced the suspension of about $2 billion in security aid to nuclear-armed Pakistan - officially a U.S. ally - over accusations Islamabad is playing a double game in Afghanistan. Islamabad denies this and accuses the United States of disrespecting its vast sacrifices - casualties have numbered in the tens of thousands - in fighting terrorism. Trumps tweet infuriated Pakistani officials and caught the rest of the U.S. administration off guard. However, the U.S. military is also concerned that the Pakistani army, which effectively runs foreign policy, might close the air and land corridors on which U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces in landlocked Afghanistan depend for supplies. So far, Pakistan has not done so. The failure on our part of the world in adopting commonsensical social reforms has much to do with the political hypocrisy. Competitive politics, of course, mandate that the politicians grasp the public mood, but in our societies, when politicians do that, they often tend to relate to the fringe; the homophobes, puritans, ethnic and religious bigots and when there is none of them, the bottom of the social gutter. (See the types of people who are generally mobilized for election campaigns). When President Maithripala Sirisena spewed his puritanism before the villagers in Agalawatta, he did exactly the same. There, he told a rally that he had ordered the government to rescind a Gazette notification on revoking the prohibition of selling liquor to females and the time extensions on liquor shops. That is a cheap political gimmick that we are all too familiar with by hordes of successive political leaders. That is also retrograde garbage. Needless to say that this arcane law is discriminatory against women- that it was never implemented may suggest that an average Sri Lankan bartender could perhaps be more enlightened than the Head of State. The ban on selling alcohol to women was first introduced in 1955, one in a long list of religiously and culturally tinted policy making buffoonery that the independent Sri Lankan leaders indulged in well until whatever prosperity we inherited at the independence slipped through our hand. Having come into effect during the wave of prohibitionist movement, it might even have reflected the public mood at the time, which was much less perfect and less sophisticated than today. But, why keep them now? Why President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who albeit her other misdemeanours is a social liberal, could not annul this anti- women booze law could well be because no one really knew that it existed. Therefore, the original gazette notification on revoking the ban by Minister Samaraweera is more of a symbolic act. It is also an act of political courage to stand up for very basic liberal values that define any civilized society. The Presidents intervention to rescind the gazette notification would not turn bar tables on the women. However, if this leads to a new kind of vigilantism against women who happened to unwind in a pub or places that served alcohol ( which happened in Mumbai after a puritanical drive by Hindu nationalists), the president should take responsibility. His remarks threaten to energize the same regressive elements and rhetoric that Sri Lanka should strive to suppress if it is to become a successful modern society. Empowering those fringes at the expense of the aspiring and hardworking Sri Lankans who tend to mind their own business was the curse that led to incremental ruin of this nation. Sri Lanka should empower the aspiring middle class, who as they become prosperous, also become more socially, economically and politically liberal and accommodating Sri Lanka should empower the aspiring middle class, who as they become prosperous, also become more socially, economically and politically liberal and accommodating. Government policies should also aim to enable lesser privileged sections, who are also economically and socially less productive to graduate into upper social, economic and cultural ladder. That is not possible if the state policies are overly dictated by political short-termism to celebrate the social and cultural ignorance as bliss. President Sirisena has been more accommodating towards political aspirations of Tamils. Though whether that political accommodation would in the long run doze the destructive attributes of Tamil exceptionalism- which itself is tribal- is to be seen, the Presidents commitment to ethnic pluralism is commendable. However, sadly though, at the same time he had stood on the path of equally important social reforms, which any forward looking government should undertake. The President may genuinely believe in his social conservatism of the by-gone era. He has all the right to his opinion, as much as women have their right to booze, - and gays and lesbians to their sexual identity Earlier, he forced the government to rescind the plans to decriminalize homosexuality. The original government proposal was to revoke the Article 365A of the Penal Code, an arcane Victorian law inherited from the British. Like the ban on serving booze to women, Article 365 A has not been enforced for decades, yet it remains in the book. Expunging these laws signals a state commitment to shed the old baggage and journey towards more accommodating and pluralistic society. The President may genuinely believe in his social conservatism of the by-gone era. He has all the right to his opinion, as much as women have their right to booze, - and gays and lesbians to their sexual identity. But, when he acts upon his dogmatism, he is doing a great disservice to this country and future generations. ( Even the youthful crown prince of Saudi Arabia wants his country to shed its clock of religious ultra -conservatism). If he really cares for the country ( which I believe he does) he should get the government to invest in our education system, modernize our school syllabuses and teach more science, Maths and English to our kids. Set up a presidential committee, hire proven experts internationally, borrow successful practices from East Asian meritocracies, and make the government fund for a concerted progamme of education reforms. In the meantime, let the women drink their drink, and gays and lesbians mind their own business. Follow @RangaJayasuriya We aired the Tamil song Niththiraya Thamila Nee Nimirnthu Parada as the Tamil leadership continued to deceive the Tamil people, Jaffna District Parliamentarian Angajan Ramanathan said. The introduction of the SLFP candidate for Jaffna and the election manifesto was released on Friday. The event began followed by airing the Tamil song Niththiraya Thamila Nee Nimirnthu Parada and certain songs composed by the LTTE. Apparently, the matter became the topic in the Southern politics when Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa twittered whether Maithri had granted recognition to Tamil Eelam. Under these circumstances, news flashed across the social websites on Saturday, that President Maithripala Sirisena had reprimanded Parliamentarian Angajan Ramanathan. However, when he was questioned about it, Parliamentarian Ramanathan said that he had too viewed the news on social websites and was amused as there was no truth, whatsoever, in it and such an incident did not take place at all. "A Tamil renaissance song was aired and hence one need not view that with an ulterior motive. We belong to the SLFP and just because we support them, we need not shelve our sentiments as Tamils. When the Tamil leadership continued to deceive us we cannot close our eyes and maintain silence. That was the reason that we aired the song. Meanwhile, I will respond to Namals question at the appropriate time in the proper place," he said. (M. Roshanth) Launches eOffice and LEARN, which are gifts from India Indian Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad exchanging the MoU to increase collaboration between India and Sri Lanka in the IT field with Sri Lankan Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando Sri Lanka and India pledged to heighten their cooperation in the field of digital and information technologies yesterday, during the visit of Indian Law and Justice and Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. We have come to assist, to help you to innovate, to create opportunities and employment. This is a modest beginning, which must become a powerful platform, Prasad said yesterday at a ceremony held at the Sri Lankan Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Ministry. The ceremony saw Sri Lanka launching two services, which were gifts from India. The first, which is the eOffice Lite eFile platform, will enable the Sri Lankan government to upload, process and take action on procedures currently done manually, such as approval of foreign leave for public servants. eOffice is more transparent and eOffice means faster governance, Prasad said. The second service is LEARN or the Lankan Education and Research Network, which will allow 16 local state universities and more than 50 other education and research institutes to connect directly with their Indian peers, instead of connecting through a third party in Singapore. LEARN was developed from and is connected to Indias own National Knowledge Network (NKN), which connects research and education units within India. The ceremony yesterday also saw India and Sri Lanka signing two agreements. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two governments to increase collaboration in IT, while a joint declaration of intent was signed between Indias National Informatics Centre and Sri Lankas Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Ministry. Prasad said that Indias IT development has helped the average Indian lead a better life and that Indias IT boom should help the region. The digital empowerment of India must find resonance in the neighbourhood, he said. He added, similar to Sri Lanka, the NKN will be expanded to Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Afghanistan. Sri Lankan Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Minister Harin Fernando expressed gratitude towards India for introducing the new platforms and engaging closely with Sri Lanka on technology development. We look up to India as our big brother. Always, he said. Fernando added that he has been trying to introduce the services available in India, such as the digital ID programme Aadaar and the government services app Umang but that bureaucracy in Sri Lanka is obstructing him from implementing them. He said that if he were a senior minister like Prasad, with the portfolios of law and justice, he may have been able to cut through the red tape. Thirty MBA students and several professors from Stanford University visited Aitken Spence PLC as part of an intensive study tour to Sri Lanka recently. The students visit was aimed at gaining a deep understanding of how Sri Lanka was healing from the deep wounds of decades-long armed conflict and how the country is embarking on an ambitious social and economic development programme. During an intense one-week programme ended on the 5th of January, the visiting group held meetings with leaders of the private and government sector, non-governmental organisations and social organisations. The visit of the Stanford MBA students and faculty was made possible by the 2017 Distinguished Careers Institute Fellow at Stanford University Tushara Canekeratne, Founder & CEO, Nadastra, Inc.and Co-Founder of Virtusa Corporation. The MBA students from Stanford University engaged in discussions with Aitken Spence directors, J. M. S. Brito (Deputy Chairman and Managing Director/CEO), Stasshani Jaywardena (Head of Leisure) and Dr. Rohan M. Fernando (Head of Business Development & Plantations) on a range of topics that included external business challenges, strategy, government relations and sustainable business. Stanford School of Business is one of the top business schools in the world. The Stanford MBA programme, with a 6 percent admission rate, enrols the most selective class among business schools. Faculty includes Nobel laureates and pioneering thinkers in areas from economics to organizational behaviour and operations. The school convenes a full panoply of CEO speakers, forums, and global leaders. Donald Trump was embroiled in a new row last night after Washington said the UK was as dangerous as countries he has described as s***holes. Security advice issued by the State Department ranks Britain on par with the Congo and Zimbabwe, with US travellers warned about heightened risks to safety and security. It comes amid the continuing fall-out from Mr. Trumps decision to cancel a trip to London next month and growing global anger over his reported remarks about the number of citizens of s***hole countries in Africa and the developing world being allowed to enter America. Under a new system, the US now divides countries into four levels of danger for its citizens. Level 1 is deemed as safe as staying in America, while Level 4 means do not travel. The UK is classed at Level 2, the same as the Congo, Zimbabwe and Algeria. Under its advice for the UK, the State Department says its citizens should exercise increased caution because of the threat of terrorism. US, (Daily Mail), 14 January 2018 Xiaoru Cai, a Forbes-listed young billionaire of mainland China, has signed the partnership agreement and committed to invest US $ 30 million into SupremeSAT, the Sri Lankan satellite company, through his Shenzen-listed company, Tatwah Smartech. The agreement signing was concluded in Colombo paving the way for Sri Lankas only satellite company to go global using the expertise and resources of the new-found investment, SupremeSAT said in a press release. Tatwah is evolving as a globally strong player in the satellite communications industry. I am very pleased to see the remarkable growth SupremeSAT has achieved within a very short span of time, competing against many strong global brands. I am confident that this partnership will bring more value of Tatwahs resources and redefine the capabilities of SupremeSAT to further grow in all areas of its operations, Smartech Co. Ltd Chairman Xiaoru Cai was quoted as saying in the press release. As a private company hailing from a small island nation, SupremeSAT has proven to the world that the company has become a formidable player in the global space industry. Having established the long-term strategies and infrastructure to expand the companys business, we expect to accelerate our growth by way of selected acquisitions worldwide, Supreme Global Holdings Chairman R.M. Manivannan stated in the press release. Five years ago, we vowed to take Sri Lanka to the next level of technology and we have walked the talk. Our concentration was on making Sri Lanka a formidable player in the global space industry and today we are taking another giant step towards that, he added. The new strategic partnership will focus on growing SupremeSATs existing activities in Sri Lanka whilst also concentrating on large-scale expansion globally with the combination of synergies. The SupremeSAT-3 Capacity, created by SupremeSAT in partnership with Intelsat SA, has given the company a long-term contract with Sri Lankas Dialog TV, thus providing over 90 percent of the local market share. The company is hence concentrating on growth globally for further expansion. During an era where even countries were finding it difficult to launch a satellite, we, as a Sri Lankan private company, achieved that goal and we did not stop there. We continued building the state-of-the-art space port located in Pallekele, Kandy, which not only provides satellite control services but also has now commenced building of small satellites and will soon become the regions best satellite control centre, controlling many satellites of the world, Manivannan had stated. SupremeSATs Pallekele satellite control centre is also called South Asia Space Academy, where the company has invested heavily on space-related research, development and training. Many young Sri Lankan scientists work tirelessly days and nights to make Kandy the knowledge hub of Sri Lanka. Having gained the space business expertise with the launch of SupremeSAT-1, the company further expanded aggressively creating the SupremeSAT-3 capacity and also completing the construction of its teleport in Pallekele. SupremeSAT has now secured many globally reputed companies as its long-term customers, making Sri Lanka a formidable player in the satellite industry. The company is steadily progressing on many innovative initiatives including the building of Sri Lankas first humanoid robot named Shakthe, building of small satellites within its newly built Clean Room, etc. The existing activities of the company are supported by many global companies. Japans NEC and Swedens Swedish Space Corporation are already cooperating with SupremeSATs ground control activities. The satellite control centre functions in partnership with a US company whilst satellite manufacturing is supported by a European company. This item is available in full to subscribers. Attention subscribers We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription. If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site. If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account by clicking here. Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing. Leading coffee growing countries like Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, Indonesia has caused an oversupply with prices of the commodity falling by about 30% in the global markets. Bengaluru: The Coffee Capital, Bangalore, will host a four-day international coffee festival, beginning today, amidst global uncertainty over the future of the commodity. Excess coffee production from leading coffee growing countries like Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam and Indonesia has caused an oversupply with the prices of the commodity falling by about 30% in the global markets. Indian coffee industry is at the crossroads now and the only option available for the industry is to create its own coffee brand, for the domestic and international markets, suggested Anil Kumar Bhandari, president, India Coffee Trust. The Ministry of Commerce should set up a special focus group for coffee, involving all stake holders in the industry, to create a profile, brand and a sophisticated communication for Indian coffee at home and outside. The government also has to sanction a fund to build a brand, he said. Prediction for climate change impact on coffee producing countries, including India, is already causing a lot of concern for coffee growers. The entire industry is worried about the rumour of Coffee Board getting restructured. The board is the only entity that holds the industry together. Also the industry hears that an Export Promotion Board is on the anvil for coffee. Bhandari said, ``India has been exporting all its surplus coffee for decades. We grow the best quality coffee, including several specialty varieties. In fact we are the only country that grows coffee under the shade of rain forests. No other country does that. Still, Indian coffee is not able to command a premium in the global markets, because we have not yet built a brand for it. So the need of the hour is to build a sophisticated campaign for our coffee and not creating another entity for exports. Coffees from Central American countries, South American countries, Kenya, Ethiopia are getting premium in global markets, alth-ough none of these countries grow superior quality coffee. During last fiscal, India exported coffee worth Rs 5,600 crore, the basic price fetched at the New York Futures Exchange. We have the potential to double the value, with the same quantity of exports, if we are able to position our coffee under specialty and premium varieties and not as bulk commodity sold at the basic price, added Bhandari. Vietnam has recently launched a five-year campaign to build its own premium coffee brand. The country is spending some $7.5 million in this exercise. Indonesia, with an average production of 691,000 tonnes a year, is witnessing a sudden spurt in coffee culture, followed by a mushrooming of cafes across the country. Brazil is the largest coffee producer, consumer and exporter of coffee followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and Columbia. China is also quite bullish on coffee retailing, and its enthusiasm in the space is evident with every fortnight witnessing the opening of a Starbucks outlet in the country. Chinas domestic coffee consumption is in the 12 to 15% range against 5 to 7% that of India. Mumbai: Veteran filmmaker JP Dutta, who gave the film industry some of the finest war dramas of all time, including the National award winning 'Border', is currently shooting for his ambitious next, 'Paltan' featuring Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Harshvardhan Rane, Luv Sinha, Siddhant Kapoor, and Gurmeet Choudhary. While Border went on to achieve several milestones and was even screened to commemorate Indias 70th Independence Day, the director- producer is now hoping to push the envelope and present audiences with another chapter from Indian history Paltan, based on the Indo-China war of 1962. The veteran filmmaker was invited by Chief of the Army Staff, India, Lt. General Bipin Rawat, for celebration in Delhi today to commemorate the Army Day. January 15 is observed every year as Army Day in India. Army Day is dedicated to the soldiers who fought to safeguard the country's honour. J P Dutta informs, The armed forces have lived because of their defining work. What they have done for their country cannot be put into words. Protecting a country like India, which is not a conqueror, but a liberator, a democracy where every religion is accommodated, is not easy. If there was no armed force, no Army, there would be no India. Making movies for those who take bullets in their chest for us, is the least we can do." Paying his tribute to the army men on his social networking site, Luv Sinha says, Id like to wish our heroes in the armed forces and the nation on #Indianarmyday2018. I had the opportunity to experience what a real soldier must face, and am grateful for and respect how much they sacrifice for our nation. Jai Hind. @ZeeStudios_ #Paltan #indianarmy #ArmyDay For those that stand strong so that we may wake up free tomorrow, we will always be grateful for all that you sacrifice. Jai Hind. @ZeeStudios_ #ArmyDay #IndianArmyDay #message #Paltan pic.twitter.com/y8bYu7eKcb Luv S Sinha (@LuvSinha) January 15, 2018 Arjun Rampal wrote, Today is a special day. Its #IndianArmyDay #SaluteourSoldiers #WeThePaltan #ZeeStudios #Respect #HappyIndianArmyDay Harshvardhan Rane mentioned, I salute the armed forces #wethepaltan #Armyday2018 #jpdutta @zeestudios_ #paltan #ArmyDay #IndianArmy #soldiers. Gurmeet Choudhary Wrote,"On this special day I feel closer to the Indian army than ever before #wethepaltan #paltan #ArmyDay2018 @ZeeStudios." Currently working on his next, Paltan, also based on the Indian Army, Dutta recently completed a month-long shooting schedule in Ladakh. While two songs were also canned, the unit will now begin filming the soldiers' back stories in Chandigarh. I have returned to direction after a gap, and working on this film is a dream come true. I have completed 95 per cent of the movie. Talking about Paltan, which focuses on the personal relationships around the lives of men in uniform, the veteran filmmaker adds, The emotions we are dealing with here are more complex and varied. Its about the relationship the soldiers leave behind and how it affects the families. Border dealt with the soldiers love interests, but Paltan will also showcase their siblings and parents. It will also display the soldiers brotherhood, as they save each other when at war. Sujay Kutty, Business Head of Films Zee Studios adds, Paltan is a very special film for us and we are proud to be associated with the project that salutes the army men. Its a fitting tribute to the Indian Army. Produced by JP Films and directed by Dutta, the film is scheduled for a summer 2018 release. After the Padmaavat team was accorded additional security, it is Salman Khan who has been receiving death threats. The actors security has been beefed up after he received intimidating threats from Laurence Bishnoi, a gangster. On Sunday night, when Salman was shooting for the Bigg Boss 11 finale, his security was doubled. In addition to the posse of security men and bodyguards from his Man Friday Sheras team, Salman was also in the company of a few policemen, who ensured that he was at a safe distance from anyone who could mean trouble. Apparently, he was a little uncomfortable with so many people around him, but Salman doesnt have a choice as of now. Laurence belongs to the Bishnoi community, for whom the black buck or the chinkara, is sacred. He went on to say that Salman will be killed in Jodhpur for allegedly killing a black buck during the shooting of the film Hum Saath Saath Hain two decades ago. But our team does not want to take any chances. The chances of the gangster saying that the attack could be in Jodhpur could merely be a red herring, says a source close to the actor. Incidentally the shooting of one of the sequences for the film Race 3 was cancelled, becuase of threats to Salman. Mumbai: Gerard Butler and Curtis Jackson (aka 50 cent) will be seen on screen together in director Christian Gudegast's gritty crime escapade, 'Den Of Thieves'. A gritty Los Angeles crime saga, 'Den of Thieves' follows the intersecting and personally connected lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew, who as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles. Speaking about the film Gerard Butler said, "What I love about this movie is that it has a taste, an ingredient, of many of my favorite films, like Heist and Heat, with touches of a Dog Day Afternoon and The French Connection. But it stands entirely on its own. It may be a complex heist film, but theres a surprising amount of heart and emotion. It has the potential to become one of those unforgettable movies because of the characters weve created. Director Christian Gudegast reunites with Gerard Butler after 'London Has Fallen' which Gudegast wrote the screenplay for. With 'Den of Thieves', he makes his features directorial debut and of course brought back Butler to lead his film's cast. In addition to Butler and Jackson, the film also stars Jordan Bridges, Pablo Scheriber (Orange is the New Black fame), O'Shea Jackson Jr among others. Den Of Thieves starring Gerard Butler, Curtis Jackson all set to release pan India on Feb 2. While the obsession for cinema along with a fire in the belly to pursue that dream is what drives most actors to find success, one cannot discount another important factor, which is Lady Luck. Often luck can be about being in the right place at the right time or else it could take the form of a person who can give an actor a nudge in the right direction or recommend him to the right people. In Krishna Kumars case, it was a technicians good words that had him being considered and finally confirmed for a role in the Sugeeth-directed Shikkari Shambu. Krishna Kumar explains, but for that he has to talk about his character first. I play Ranger Vasu, who is 60 years old. There is also a flashback where I play a young man who was very active and energetic till misfortune befalls him. He lives in a village. It is from here that Krishna Kumar explains how the role came to him. I give full credit for my makeover to makeup man Rasheed Kozhikode. I had worked with him earlier in the film Mohanlal but he reminded me that he had started off his career applying makeup on me many years ago when I was still working in TV serials. That was something I did not recall. Then one day out of curiosity I asked Sugeeths wife Saritha, who is also the costumer of the film, on why they had zeroed in on me to play the old character, which is when Saritha revealed that it was Rasheed who had recommended my name after working in Mohanlal. That incident touched Krishna Kumar deeply. By now, many would be curious to know what role he plays in Mohanlal. He answers, I play Manju Warriers father in the film but the novelty of the role is that I appear as a photo and get to act through the photo. He lets on that he accepted the role since the film had a class sense of humour. In addition to this film, he also has the Mammootty-starrer Parole where he plays a jailer who is sympathetic to Mammoottys character. This is a prominent role in a film that is shot totally in a jail. After that is the Pramod Mohan-directed film Oraayiram Kinakkalaal, where he plays a dead body. Krishna Kumar shares a humorous thought. I dont know the reason but in 90% of my films, I die. Just last year most of my characters in films were killed off. But in Oraayiram Kinakkalaal, I not only die but also get to play a dead body. He has four films each in Malayalam and Tamil. The actor, who has been a part of Kollywood films like Billa II, Deivathirumagal, Mugamoodi, etc. has Kanal Kaalam, Maya Valai, Laali, and Moonara to look forward to. Krishna Kumar is happy that he is getting work. What is most important is that I am being called for roles. To me the role size is immaterial visibility is what is important. The teenager was not only gangraped but a foreign object was inserted into her private parts causing serious internal injuries. (Representational Image) Chandigarh/Kurukshetra: The half-naked, mutilated body of a Dalit girl was found from the banks of a water channel in Haryana's Jind district on Saturday. Upon medical examination, it was found that the 15-year-old girl was subjected to violence similar to that of Jyoti Singh, the December 2012 Delhi gangrape victim. The teenager was not only gangraped but a foreign object was inserted into her private parts causing serious internal injuries. Her body was also brutalised by her assailants in various ways. According to PGIMS Rohtak's forensic department, her body parts were damaged and water was found from her body, suggesting both brutal sexual abuse and drowning. "In all, her body had 19 injuries largely on face, head, chest and hands. Her lungs were ruptured, suggesting someone might have sat on her chest," said head of the hospital's forensic department Dr S K Dattarwal, according to a report in the Times of India. "The girl was subjected to immense brutality. We have asked the police to provide us the scene of the crime report and photographs of the spot for confirmations," the doctor added. The class ten student was the elder daughter of a tailor living in a village under Jhansa police station in Kurukshetra. She had earlier gone missing with a 20-year-old person from her village and her family had him booked in a case of abduction. The 20-year-old man is still missing. However, there is no proof yet of his link with the crime. According to news agency ANI, the victim's distraughted father demanded justice for her daughter. "My daughter was kidnapped and raped, culprits should be punished, we want justice for her. If administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened," he said. An FIR has been registered under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. Two Special Investigation Teams (SIT) as well as four more squads have been constituted under a DSP for the probe. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, on Sunday, declared that one person has been identified in lieu of the case. In Kurukshetra, the teen's family refused to accept her body for cremation. They demanded the case be handed over to the CBI, a government job for a member of her family, Rs 50 lakh from the Nirbhaya Fund and two arms licences. They accepted the body only after Haryana minister KK Bedi assured them of a timebound probe and release of compensation. On Friday, the 4 senior SC judges stunned the country as they held a press conference at the house of Justice Chelameswar, who is the most senior judge in the country after Justice Misra, and declared that the administration of the Supreme Court 'is not in order'. (Photo: ANI) New Delhi: Four top Supreme Court judges on Monday resumed work like always, belying the simmering tensions sparked by their accusations against the Chief Justice, while the Attorney General described the unprecedented crisis as "a storm in a tea cup". The four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- took up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after the January 12 press conference. Attorney General KK Venugopal said the issue has been settled. "Now everything has been settled. The courts are functioning. It was a storm in a tea cup," Venugopal told NDTV. According to reports Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra "smiled but didn't answer" at the Supreme Court on Monday morning when the rebellion of the four senior most judges after him was raised in his courtroom. Sources to NDTV speculated that the feud was openly discussed, but it is not confirmed. During a press conference on Friday, the four judges had flagged certain problems, including the assigning of cases in the apex court, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court. Also Read: Met 15 SC judges, they assured issues have been resolved: Bar Council On Sunday, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra had met a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council of India and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh and had assured them that the crisis would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. The CJI is yet to reach out to Justices Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurien Joseph, who took him on in an extraordinary press conference on Friday. On Sunday, senior lawyers of the apex court who met the CJI said, he had said he "would ensure there was congeniality in the top court at the earliest". Vikas Singh, the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, handed over a resolution to Justice Misra, which appeared to support the four judges and said all public interest litigation should be taken up by senior judges. The four senior SC judges stunned the country as they held a press conference at the house of Justice Chelameswar, who is the most senior judge in the country after Justice Misra, and declared that the administration of the Supreme Court "is not in order". The judges spoke out against the allocation of sensitive cases to junior judges and said without an independent judiciary, "democracy wouldn't survive". Stating that it was "with no pleasure" that they had gone to the media, the judges said they were making their disagreement with the Chief Justice public after private talks failed to address what they said were serious problems. Among the cases that they had taken up with the CJI over allocation to a junior judge was that of judge BH Loya's death in 2014, months after he took over a case in which BJP president Amit Shah was an accused. (With inputs from PTI) BENGALURU: Pointing out numerous mistakes and errors in the content and the design of textbooks published by the state for school students, educationists and experts have called for revising them. They claimed that this was one of the reason the students from state were faring poorly at the national level exams. Members of the Karnataka Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools (KAMS) have taken up the matter with the Director of DSERT to revise these books as per the National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) recommendations. "The state government is failing to follow the NCERT and National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 guidelines and this has contributed towards substandard learning provided to the students," said D. Shashikumar, general secretary of KAMS. The Association has also demanded assurance in writing from the state government to revise the books before the upcoming academic year. For Manaswini P, a primary school teacher, the errors in the textbook have turned out to be a challenge while teaching students. When a student finds that what I teach is different from what is printed material they own, confusions arise. The state government should ensure that only correct information gets printed," she said. Venkata Subbaiah Chetty, president of Unaided Schools Association in Ramanagara said the officials in charge of printing and publishing affairs should strategise better research methods to ensure error-free textbooks. Hyderabad: The geo-tagging initiative of the Telangana police of all the criminals may not be a fool-proof exercise. About 30 per cent of the criminals involved lived in other states and even abroad. Police teams would visit their households and geo-tag them based on their location. The location would be fed into a police network and checked whenever the need arises. The exercise was earlier done in Hyderabad city and was now being expanded to all districts. Whenever a police team visits a locality, they would know the houses of criminals or their operational hideouts. This would help keep a tab of them, senior officials of TS police officials said. Physical verification of offenders in the addresses would be done regularly to keep a watch on their activities. In Hyderabad, geo-tagging of houses of criminals was done on a pilot basis. Cops found that those involved in unplanned offences could be located at home, but not other criminals. Professional property offenders, history sheeters, land grabbers, brothel organisers and human traffickers shifted their residences often, said a city police official. It is difficult to go to other states and geo-tag criminals as it involves a lot of procedures and official interactions. In such scenario, we are handing over a list of criminals of other states to the respective police and to embassies for those from other countries, said Cyberabad DCP, Janaki Sharmila. Army Chief Bipin Rawat was addressing the Army officials on the occasion of Army day in Delhi. (Photo: FIle) New Delhi: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday said the ceasefire violations by Pakistan are frequent but the Indian Army retaliates to it effectively. "Ceasefire violations by Pakistan happen frequently, to which we respond effectively. We will take even stronger steps against our enemies if we are compelled to do so," Gen Rawat said, while addressing the Army officials on the occasion of 70th Army Day. General Bipin Rawat, further talking about the same, said that Pakistan keeps helping intruders enter India and if compelled India will take strong actions. "Pakistan Army keeps helping intruders, but we will retaliate strongly if we are forced to do so," he added. Gen Rawat also added, "Our intelligence based and people-friendly operations in the north-east have managed to limit terrorism to a large extent." Gen Bipin Rawat was addressing the Army officials on the occasion of Army day and awarded Sena medals at Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi. Army Day, celebrated annually on January 15, commemorates the valiant soldiers for their sacrifice to the nation and its citizens. Recalling statement former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's statement, he called upon the current Indian leadership to build a bridge between India and Pakistan. (Photo: PTI) Srinagar: Raking up another controversy, National Conference President Farooq Abdullah has said that India was equally responsible for the tragedies in Pakistan. Addressing the media on Sunday, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said, "Our neighbour has its own hates. They think we have divided Pakistan by taking Bangladesh. We were not dividers. The tragedy was in the country itself. It was not our creation. That is the tragedy we still face. And don't say we are not involved in their tragedy. As much as they are involved in our tragedy, we are also involved in their tragedies. It's not one-sided." Recalling a statement by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he called upon the current Indian leadership to build a bridge between India and Pakistan. "I still remember Vajpayee's word that he made at the border in Pakistan. He said friends can be changed, neighbours cannot be changed. You can either live in peace and progress with neighbours or live in enmity and harm each other which will not be of any good. I would like to say the same thing to present Prime Minister, let us build bridges," he added. Meanwhile, Abdullah also stressed on the two countries to come together to combat terrorism. "National Security Advisers of India and Pakistan have met in Bangkok. If there is terrorism, then it is necessary that both the countries (India and Pakistan) meet together and discuss over this issue," he said. 'Army has carried out retaliation against Pak troops across Jaglote area along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district', a senior Army officer said. (Photo: File | PTI) Jammu: The Indian Army, on Monday, carried out a "retaliatory action" against Pakistani troops, killing seven of their soldiers and injuring four others others along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The action comes after an Indian solider was killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday. "Army has carried out retaliation against Pakistani troops across Jaglote area along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district", a senior Army officer told PTI. "In the retaliatory action, there were seven fatal causalities to Pakistani troops and four others injured," he said. The action at the LoC coincides with Army Chief General Bipin Rawat saying today his force will not let anti-India activities succeed at any cost in Jammu and Kashmir and warned of stronger reaction against Pakistan-supported terrorism. Addressing Armymen on the occasion of Army Day, General Rawat also said that disputes along the Line of Actual Control in northern border (China) were continuing and transgressions were taking place and "We are working to stop them". "Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along LoC (Line of Control) in J&K. We are using our might to teach them a lesson," he said. "If we are forced, then we may resort to 'other action' by stepping up military offensive," he added. On Monday morning, an infiltration bid was foiled near Dulanja area in Uri district of Jammu and Kashmir. At least 5 Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants were killed by security forces. Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police SP Vaid said 5 suicidal JeM terrorists were killed and their bodies were recovered while the search for the sixth body is underway. The militants were killed in a joint operation by the Jammu and Kashmie Police, Army and the Central Armed Police Forces. Further details are awaited. Security forces foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, a senior police official said. (Representational Image) Srinagar: Security forces, on Monday, foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing six Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, a senior police official said. Director General of Police SP Vaid said 5 JeM militants were killed at Dulanja in Uri sector in a joint operation by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). He said security forces are searching for the sixth militant. Recalling the horrors of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack Israeli PM Netanyahu said: 'We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai (26/11 attacks), we will never give in and will fight back.' (Photo: ANI/Twitter) New Delhi: India and Israel, on Monday, inked nine pacts, including for cooperation in cyber security, science and technology, oil and gas sector, film cooperation, homeopathy and alternative medicine. Issuing a joint press statement after the signing of pacts, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed his Israeli counterpart to India. "My good friend welcome to India, your visit marks a special beginning to our new year calendar," Modi said. Modi added: "Today and yesterday we reviewed progress in our relations and renewed our relations on the opportunities that beckon us." Modi said, "We have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions. The results are already visible on the ground. Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and to scale up our partnership." Reacalling his visit to Israel in 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Last year in July, I carried the greetings and friendship of 1.25 billion Indians during my momentous journey to Israel. In return, I was overwhelmed by the generous affection and warmth of the Israeli people led by my friend Bibi (Benjamin Netanyahu)." Modi said that both India and Israel will strengthen existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of people of both the countries. Also Read: Modis statement in press conference with his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu Modi said: "We (Modi and Netanyahu) exchanged views on scaling up the Centers of Excellence that have been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation." Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Defence, he has invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI (foreign direct investment) regime to make more in India with the Indian companies. The visiting prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and said: "You are a revolutionary leader, you have revolutionised India and catapulting this state to the future, your visit to Israel was groundbreaking as it was the first time an Indian leader visited." Netanyahu said Jews in India have never witnessed anti-semitism like in some other countries, "this is a tribute to India's great civilisation, tolerance and democracy." Recalling the horrors of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack Israeli PM Netanyahu said: "We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai (26/11 attacks), we will never give in and will fight back." Remembering Modi's visit to Israel, the visiting PM said: "It (Modi's Israel visit) excited all Israelis and of course many Israelis of Indian descent and origin came. Well I thought I was in a rock concert. But it was a historic event." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. (Photo: pmindia.gov.in) New Delhi: Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a marriage made in heaven, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that even though the Jewish state was disappointed by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. Netanyahu said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward, Netanyahu said when asked to comment on Indias vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital. I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits, he told 'India Today' in an interview. In December, 2017, India joined 127 other countries to vote in the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The resolution was approved with 127-9 at the UN General Assembly. First of all, there is a special relationship between the two countries, between their people and then between the leaders. The partnership between India and Israel is a marriage made in heaven but consecrated on earth, Netanyahu said. Hailing Narendra Modi as a great leader, Netanyahu said the Prime Minister was impatient to bring future to his people. Asked about his agreement with Modi on counter-terrorism, Netanyahu said the doctrine of counter-terrorism included having intelligence to prevent it. You fight terrorism by fighting it, Netanyahu said. Our defence relationship is quite significant and comprises many things. I think the key word here is defence. We want to defend ourselves, we are not aggressive nations. We are very committed to making sure that none can commit an aggression against the either one of us, the Israeli Prime Minister said. Commenting on the ways to strengthen ties, Netanyahu said Israel was developing rapidly and is creating industries out of thin air. He said given India's importance in being a major auto dealer, it would be important for India and Israel to have a good tie-up between car manufacturers. After getting a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Netanyahu and his wife moved to Rajghat, where they paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. (Photo: ANI/Twitter) New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Addressing the media, Netanyahu said: "This is the dawn of a new era in the friendship between India and Israel. PM Modi set the ball rolling with his historic visit to Israel, which created tremendous enthusiasm and it continues with my visit here (India). Our visit to India has been deeply moving for my wife, me and the entire people of Israel. I think it heralds a flourishing partnership to bring prosperity, peace and progress for both our people." The Israeli prime minister and his wife Sara Netanyahu then left for Rajghat where they paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi. Netanyahu will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold delegation level talks around 12 noon. The two sides will sign agreements and is scheduled to issue a joint press statement at 1 pm. The Israeli Prime Minister will, around 6 pm on Monday, call on President Ram Nath Kovind. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set aside protocol to receive his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in New Delhi for a historic six-day visit. Modi welcomed Netanyahu with a hug upon his arrival. According to Israeli officials, Netanyahu was pleasantly surprised by Modi welcoming him at the airport. "I very much appreciate the gesture," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by officials. Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a marriage made in heaven, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that even though the Jewish state was disappointed by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. Netanyahu said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also called on the Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday and discussed various aspects of the Indo-Israel ties aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership. Bengaluru: A setback to efforts by state BJP leaders for a negotiated settlement of the dispute over sharing water of the river Mahadayi following abusive language used by Goa's water resources minister Vinod Palyekar against Kannadigas, prompted them to demand an unconditional apology by the minister, and vow not to deal with the controversial issue anymore, on Monday. Wary of the impact of such statements on the party's prospects in forthcoming polls to the Legislative Assembly, state BJP leaders took a hostile stand against Mr Palyekar and decided to bring the issue to the notice of top leaders of BJP in New Delhi and urge them to haul up the minister for hurting the sentiments of people of Karnataka. The leaders swung into action a day after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah described Mr Palyekar's statement as "reprehensible" to demand an unconditional apology from the minister. State B. S. Yeddyurappa, told the media that Mr Palyekar has no right to speak against Kannadigas and therefore should apologies to the people of the state. "Nobody has a right to speak against Kannadigas. He (Mr Palyekar) should seek the pardon of people of the state," he added. Mr Yeddyurappa lamented the fact that when efforts were on by himself and other leaders of the state unit to create a cordial atmosphere between the two riparian states for arriving at an amicable settlement to the dispute, the minister had vitiated the atmosphere. Mahadayi: points of contention Mariammal disappeared from her place of work after the theft and her phone was switched off. Chennai: A 54-year-old woman arrested by Kancheepuram district police in connection with a theft case died while in police custody on Monday. While no official word is out on the cause of the womans death, police claim the woman developed health complications during investigations and was moved to a hospital where she died. The deceased has been identified as Mariammal, a native of Rajapalayam in Virudhunagar district. A special team picked up Mariammal from her village after she was suspected to have stolen from a house in Kalpakkam township, 60 km from Chennai. Mariammal was working as a domestic help at Ramesh Kumars house on 8th street in Kalpakkam township. Ramesh Kumar works as a staff at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (Igcar) at Kalpakkam. Police sources said he had hired the services of the woman about over a month ago through a manpower agency. Mariammal used to begin work early in the morning and leave the home by noon. She stopped reporting to work from January 4 and her phone was switched off. Coincidentally, Ramesh Kumars wife, while going through the cupboard found 15 sovereign worth gold jewellery missing after which they filed a police complaint. Since there was no forced entry, the needle of suspicion naturally fell on the elderly woman who was also missing, police sources said. Police contacted the manpower agency and traced her address and a special team picked her up on Sunday and brought her to Kalpakkam. During investigations, she confessed to have stolen the jewellery. The jewellery was recovered from a pawn shop in Tamb-aram, said a source. While she was being interrogated in Kalpakkam police station about her involvement in any other thefts, she complained of chest pain. She was rushed to a clinic nearby and later moved to a private multi-speciality hospital in Kelambakkam where she died during the early hours of Monday. The body is expected to be taken to a Government hospital for autopsy, after which the exact cause of death can be ascertained. Chennai: The Madras high court directed family courts not to use the popular adage of beg, borrow or steal to pay maintenance since begging and stealing are prohibited under law. Justice RMT.Teeka Raman gave the directive while lifting the order of attachment of salary of the husband to the tune of Rs 1, 38, 750 passed by the family court in Coimbatore and remanded the matter back to the family court with a direction to redo and re-determine the balance of maintenance, if any, and pass orders within 12 weeks. The judge was allowing a petition from the husband, which challenged an order of the family court in Coimbatore, attaching his salary towards arrears of maintenance. The couple wed in March 1991 and a girl was born to them. Due to some dispute resulting in misunderstanding between the couple, the wife filed a petition before the family court in Coimbatore for dissolution of marriage under the Hindu Marriage Act and after contest the marriage was dissolved by a judgment in January 2007 and Rs 5,000 ordered towards maintenance of the child. Thereafter, the wife filed a petition before the family court for maintenance under section 125 of Cr.P.C for herself and her minor daughter. The petition was disposed of on July 29, 2011, granting monthly maintenance of Rs 5,000 to the wife and Rs 2,500 to the child. Subsequently, on a petition for arrears filed by her, the family court directed the husband to pay Rs 1, 38, 750 on or before a cut off date, failing which it ordered attachment of salary. Aggrieved, the husband filed the present petition. The judge said that the claim of the wife before the family court was that she was entitled to both maintenance awards granted under two different provisions under two different acts. While dealing with the maintenance claim of the wife under various acts or laws, the court has to adjust the smaller maintenance awarded under one provision of law as against the higher maintenance award in the other, on the principle of same relief under different provisions/laws. The judge also cautioned the family court not to compel the husband to commit the prohibited act of begging and stealing. Gravediggers houses are in a dilapidated state and they do not have ration cards to take care of their nutrition needs. Bengaluru: Gravediggers in the city are a neglected lot and claimed that the BBMP has not paid them for the last eight years and the promised wage hike too still remains on paper. They earn their living from the contributions of relatives and friends, who visit graveyards for final rights. The children of gravediggers too are ending up in the same profession as they do not have access to basic education. Their houses are in a dilapidated state and they do not have ration cards to take care of their nutrition needs. Shourie Raja, general secretary, Ambedkar Dalit Sangharsh Samithi Rudrabhoomi Workers Association, told Deccan Chronicle that the BBMP assured them that the dues would be cleared, but nothing has been done till now. Around 200 workers are registered with the BBMP and officials had assured us Rs 1,000 per month. But since 2010, we havent received a single paisa. Every time we ask for money, they give us various reasons, knowing that we do not understand anything, as we are not educated, he rued. Raja, who also works as a gravedigger at the Kalpalli cemetery, said that in 2017, when gravediggers protested, the BBMP had assured them an increase in salary equivalent to that of pourakarmikas, which is Rs 17,000. We were happy that at least they considered us and decided to give us a rise in salary. They told us that the procedure will be completed by October 2017 after getting the approval of the Council, but till today there is no news of it, he said. He said that their houses leak during rains and may collapse anytime. We have cell phones but no proper toilets, such is our pathetic state. Officials promised us loans to build houses, but everything is only on paper. Another gravedigger Naresh from the Ulsoor graveyard said that for several generations, they have been staying inside graveyards, as they do not have any knowledge of the outside world and no access to education. Now, our children are trying to learn our trade but we do not want that. We like to educate them, but we dont have money to buy even a pair of shoes. A BBMP official said that they are discussing about clearing gravediggers wages at the earliest. 235 gravediggers are registered with the BBMP and we have asked them to submit valid documents, but they are not coming forward. We will hold a meeting with them and ensure that their problems are solved." Mayor Sampath Raj said, I will contact the officers concerned and check the dues. I will make sure that they are paid. We will also seek the councils approval and pay their increased salary at the earliest. New Delhi: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday centred on cooperation in several fields including the critical defence sector with inside sources indicating that the $500 million Spike anti-missile deal junked by India may still be alive. However, while talks included anti-terror efforts, cyber security, agriculture and trade, Israel is understood to have strongly raised the recent decision by Delhi to vote in favour of a UN resolution opposing the decision of the US to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, although both sides concluded that the "relationship was much larger than any single issue", The biggest takeaway could now be that India and Israel will begin work on a free trade pact that Israel has been pushing for. Also, in the first such move, Israel has given initial approval for Indian energy companies to explore oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean, officials said. India and Israel have built close ties over the years, largely centered on arms purchases, away from the public eye. But PM Modi, who has long admired Israel for its tough approach to terrorism, "invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime to make more in India with our companies", clearly indicating that India was interested in not just buying Israeli weapons off the shelf but also to acquire these technologies so that Indian companies can also co-manufacture it. We have had diplomatic relations for 25 years, but something different is happening now," Netanyahu said soon after the two sides signed nine agreements covering cooperation in cyber security, space and oil and gas exploration. Netanyahu, who said he saw a "kindred spirit" in Modi in terms of getting things done, pushed for a free trade pact with Asia's third largest economy during the talks on Monday. New Delhi: Denying that it is politicising the issue of Judge B.H. Loyas death, the Congress on Monday demanded a court-monitored inquiry into it, saying the matter relates to a vital organ of Indian democracy. Nobody is suggesting that the Congress party will be appointing a commission of inquiry. The whole argument that the party is politicising the matter is false. We as a responsible stakeholder of Indian democracy, as a party are asking for an inquiry. The country wants a court-monitored independent inquiry, said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. My comments have nothing to do with the so-called Supreme Court imbroglio. I think every citizen in this country and every political party is independently entitled to ask for a fair and comprehensive inquiry into his death. Singhvi also said: If a matter impinges on a vital organ of Indian democracy, then the demand for an inquiry is a demand by responsible stakeholders, and is not dependent on whether a family member wants it or not. This comes a day after Loyas son Anuj said his family had no suspicions now regarding the death. The Congress leader read out Anuj Loyas statements made two years ago at the time of his death and the statements of the judges father and two sisters raising suspicion over his death. This whole argument that there is a politicisation is false, he said. Singhvi said an independent, time-bound probe is necessary to bring out the truth in the case and the contradicting statements made by Loyas family two years ago and now are also reasons enough for it. It all began when the fisheries dept started to implement the ban on light fishing in malpe in udupi which was opposed by purse seine boat fishermen. Udupi: Fishermen here are divided over the government's ban on light fishing carried out at night at sea using mechanised boats. Powerful lights are trained on the water and when the fish rise to the surface, attracted by them, they are caught. In November last year the Union government banned the practice, which is allegedly harmful to the survival of fish species as even the small fish are caught this way, and the state government too followed suit. Trouble began when the fisheries department and district administration officials started to implement the ban in Malpe, Udupi district, as the purse seine boat fishermen strongly opposed it. However, backing the ban strongly, another section of fishermen has decided to boycott fishing until it is enforced. "Fishermen, who are into light fishing are doing it only for few days in a month and only in deep sea. It is not true that fish catch decreases because of light fishing," argues fishermen leader, Naveen, demanding,"Why is there objection to it only in Malpe?" But another fishermen's leader, contends light fishing is dangerous to their profession as their catch could eventually decrease as a result of it. "When light fishing has been banned by the state and Centre, officials should take steps to stop it. Until then we will not go fishing," declares trawler fishermen's leader, Kishore. Going by sources, the issue is gaining political colour with elections to the state assembly fast approaching. "Some want to put the blame on the state government and some on the Union government for the ban," they reveal. The Deputy Director of Fisheries, meanwhile, said the government order banning bull trawling and light fishing would be strictly implemented from Tuesday. Gnani's grieving family of wife and son, along with the large gathering of friends and admirers, handing over his body to the Madras Medical College for students' study and research on Monday evening, as per his wish (Photo: DC) Chennai: Noted journalist and political analyst 'Gnani' Sankaran passed away here early Monday following a brief illness. He was 64 and is survived by his wife Padma and son Manush Nandan. "He was undergoing dialysis. He complained of breathing difficulty last night and breathed his last at around 12.30 am", a relative said. He said the body was donated to the Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in keeping with his wish. Sankaran had worked in the Indian Express Group and also edited several Tamil magazines. He was an editor at the Dinamani Kathir and at Junior Post, besides writing many articles in Junior Vikatan. He was the editor when Chutti Vikatan was launched. His O-Pakkangal written in Ananda Vikatan, Kumudan and Kalki were huge hits among the Tamil readers across the world. There was not a subject that Gnani was not proficient in, be it politics, cinema, theatre, social issues, human rights, literature, and so on. He was also a good actor and an artist-his Bharatiyar portraits were a big draw at a public exhibition. Above all, he was a fierce believer in democratic values and did his best in propagating his strong views on freedom of expression, social equality and ethical living among the younger generation. In April 2014 he unsuccessfully contested the Alandur by-poll representing the Aam Aadmi Party. He later quit AAP citing health issues. He was editor of Tamil magazine 'Deem Tharigida' and had also staged many plays on strong social issues over the last four decades with his drama troupe 'Pareeksha'. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami Opposition leader M.K.Stalin, PMK chief Dr S. Ramadoss, DMDK leader Vijayakant, AIADMK rebel TTV Dhinakaran and MDMK chief Vaiko were among the political leaders who paid condolences and paid rich tributes to Gnani. Superstar Rajinikanth went to Gnani's house in KK Nagar in the morning to pay his last respects and console the family. "Gnani was my good friend and I was a great fan of his articles. He was a good writer, one who spoke strongly for the people. He always expressed his views without fear", Rajini told reporters outside Gnani's house. Actor Kamal Hassan also condoled the demise of Gnani and tweeted his respects to the family for its decision to donate his body to the hospital-the family had only respected Gnani's noble decision taken during his lifetime, even when he was hale and healthy. Hailing Gnani as a 'multi-faceted' personality, CM Palaniswami said his demise was a great loss to journalism. "I convey my deep condolences to the bereaved family members", he said in a statement. Gnani had done his B.A.in English literature as well as diploma in journalism from the Madras Christian College. Hubballi: Disillusioned with both the Congress and BJP's posturing on the Mahadayi water dispute, farmers here have now decided to take things into their own hands and on Monday launched a political party, the Jana Samanyara Paksha to fight for their cause. The party, which has the tractor as its symbol, will field candidates in all constituencies of the state in the coming Assembly poll. Formally inaugurating the party at the pilgrimage centre of Kudal Sangam in Bagalkot district, the farmers pledged to complete the Kalasa Banduri project within a month by diverting the water of the Mahadayi river to the Malaprabha reservoir with the involvement of people. They plan to mobilise Rs 20 crore for the project though voluntary contributions collected from the region. Taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for failing to intervene in the dispute and find an amicable solution to it, president of the party, Dr Ayyappa Satish accused him of misleading the farmers through his speeches. He added disparagingly that he was a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), which he called "an organisation for the unemployed." "All parties have given us hollow assurances so far on the Mahadayi water dispute. So we will work to redress the regional imbalance in North Karnataka ourselves. We have launched this party after consultation with several farmers leaders. The (Kalassa Banduri) project report has been prepared after discussion with legal experts and engineers over the last few months and we are awaiting the Centre's approval as we are prepared to complete it on our own," he added. A farmer, who has been agitating for the Mahadayi river water, Vijay Kulkarni, said his party was committed to completing the Kalasa Banduri project without assistance from either the state or Centre. Pattan: ban Palyekars entry into karnataka Demanding that the state government ban the entry of Goa Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar into Karnataka for abusing people here, Congress Chief Whip Ashok Pattan hit back at Palyekar calling the latter the real harami.' Objecting to the use of such bad language by a minister, Pattan questioned the latter's culture. Speaking to the media at Kankumbi, Pattan warned the Goa government not to cross its limits and said its political gimmick ahead of elections would not materialise. He objected to the entry of Palyekar into the Mahadayi project site at Kankumbi without bringing it to the notice of the Belagavi district administration and wondered what was the need for Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to write a letter on the Mahadayi project to BJP state president B.S. Yeddyurappa. Veerapandi and his friends immediately rushed him to the first aide centre at Palamedu. Madurai: A youth was unfortunately gored to death and 25 others were injured at a jallikattu event held at Palamedu near Madurai on Monday. The 19-year-old youth Kalimuthu from Amakalapuram village near Dindigul was gored to death by a bull when he was standing near the bull collection point (end point) and watching the bullfight with his friends. Kalimuthu, the breadwinner of the family, died before he was taken to the government Rajaji hospital in Madurai, informed sources said. The deceaseds friend Veerapandi who was with him when the bulls horn pierced Kallimuthu said, around 500 spectators were near the collection points when this unfortunate incident occurred on Monday. We were watching the event from near the end point and around 500 spectators were with us in the place when the four bulls ran towards the collection points, he said. Sensing the danger, we tried to escape from the bull, but it gored Kalimuthu in his stomach, said Veerapandi. Veerapandi and his friends immediately rushed him to the first aide centre at Palamedu. After examining him, the doctors referred him to GRH, Madurai, but he died on way to the hospital. Kalimuthus father died recently, and the youth was working in the mill to support his mother and sister. The police informed about the death to his mother. The incident could have been avoided if the police had not allowed people to gather near the collection points to watch the event, said the locals. Deputy Election Commission Director (Expenditure), Dilip Sharma revealed the expenditure limit for each candidate had been raised to Rs 28 lakh from Rs 7.5 lakh during the 2013 elections. Bengaluru: The Election Commission of India (ECI) could announce the calendar of events for the coming state assembly poll in the first week of March, according to official sources. The poll will be conducted in a single phase despite the state government's request to the contrary. Going by sources ECI officials made it clear during an interaction with political parties on Tuesday that the decision had already been taken to conduct elections in a single phase and there would be no change. Although the commission wanted to announce the calendar of events by February 25, the date has been postponed. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, Umesh Sinha said Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as well as VV pats would be used. The latter would allow a voter to verify which candidate he has voted for. Deputy Election Commission Director (Expenditure), Dilip Sharma revealed the expenditure limit for each candidate had been raised to Rs 28 lakh from Rs 7.5 lakh during the 2013 elections. In a voter friendly move, the state Election Commission has prepared a mobile App to help voters verify if their names are in the voters' list and also identify their constituencies and booth names and the ECI has prepared an e-platform for grievance redressal. Deputy Election Commissioner Mr Sandeep Saxena explained the single window e-platform could also be used by political parties to obtain permission for holding of public functions and use of helicopters as well as to lodge complaints about malpractices and see action taken on them in real time. WhatsApp groups too will be formed to allow the public to inform the EC about violations of code of conduct and break down of law and order. Meanwhile, the Congress and BJP are said to have clashed during the meeting over alleged induction of two lakh illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, in the voters' list. Bengaluru: Playing it safe for now, Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah on Monday persuaded various Dalit organisation leaders primarily belonging to Chaluvadis and Madigas to accept the state government's proposal to constitute an expert panel to look into demands for internal reservation within the community. Speaking to reporters after the meeting at the CMs Home Office here, Social Welfare minister, H. Anjaneaya said, "The CM has assured that the expert panel will look into every aspect before sending the final draft of the internal reservation proposal to legal experts in order to get all communities within Dalits get equitable justice." Meanwhile, in an unprecedented move, leaders belonging Chaluvadi community too endorsed the view of Mr Anjaneya and asserted that they were never opposed to Madigas getting reservation benefits. "The CM has assured the leaders that no one will lose out on any benefit and has asked the leaders to keep the issue on hold until the upcoming polls. The Madiga community wants the Sadashiva Committee Report to be implemented as they stand to benefit from it," a Chaluvadi Association functionary told reporters. Leaders belonging Madiga community made an unsuccessful attempt to secure a promise from the Chief Minister to get legal experts opinion within eight days of the meeting. However, the CM turned down their request stating that no time frame can be fixed on such matters of sensitive nature. Mr Anjaneya termed the meeting a "big success" as until now, no one had waded into the internal reservation issue. "The government agreeing to implement the Justice Sadashiva Commission report is a big success as no government has shown the courage to open the Sadashiva Commission report. This is a moral victory for those Madiga leaders fighting for internal reservation for three decades," he added. Those who saw the 1956 film The Swan, starring Grace Kelly, Alec Guinness and Louis Jourdan, may recall one royal victim of Napoleons German conquests recommending to another a new book that conclusively proved the Corsican emperor had never existed. Thats the kind of convenient history many Indians crave for. Some are inspired by patriotic zeal. Others dont realise that in flogging the dead horse of colonialism, they are only jumping through a hoop held up by the British who take a masochistic delight in flagellation, especially when their former subjects crack the whip, Caliban whipping Prospero. We havent come to terms with the past. No one argues as yet that Supreme Court judges are at sixes and sevens because the British wouldnt allow them to wear full-bottomed wigs all the time. Or that India boasted superb rail, air and postal services until the British came and ruined them through their inefficient bureaucracy and corrupt politicians. But the New Years Day conflagration in Punes Bhima Koregaon village revealed how difficult it is to mine history to support modern causes. The attacked were dalits celebrating the 1818 victory of British and Mahar (Maharashtras largest dalit group) troops over the Peshwas Maratha Confederacy, which was regarded as oppressively casteist. The attackers were saffron flag-waving mobs upholding Maratha pride. It all began with the innocent fervour of P.N. Oak, who eulogised the saffron paradise before it was born. His Institute for Rewriting Indian History was meant to correct the biased and distorted versions of invaders, colonisers and secular and Marxist historians. Had he been with us still, he would no doubt have been sent to the Rajya Sabha and given some rank to match Britains Poet Laureate or Astronomer Royal, perhaps Rashtriya Itihas Guru. But although circumstantial evidence does suggest our ancient seers and sadhus may have stumbled on certain scientific concepts like the laws of gravity, that hardly means they whizzed round the universe in spaceships. Nor did their mastery of genetic science create a nation of warriors who were born outside the maternal womb. Its even less likely that rampant plastic surgery resulted in hordes of decapitated elephants. Our leaders invite the worlds ridicule with flippant boasts about such accomplishments. Even Oaks theories, far-fetched though they were, might have merited some attention had it not been for a series of bad puns such as seeing Abraham and George as aberrations of Brahma and Garg, or describing the Vatican as a Vedic creation called Vatika. He even titled one of his books Christianity is Chrisnnity, meaning you guessed it! Christianity is the ethics of Krishna. Such myths about ancient times would have caused less concern if the fantasising hadnt followed British fashion and shifted to the recent past. Since the United Kingdom vogue is to denigrate empire and imperial achievements, our intellectuals feel obliged to follow suit. Never mind if Jawaharlal Nehru wrote: After every other viceroy has been forgotten, Curzon will be remembered because he restored all that was beautiful in India. If hallowed Balliol College thinks it fashionable to remove the very superior persons portrait from its great hall, no self-respecting Indian can continue to honour the man whose Ancient Monuments Bill drew Nehrus lavish praise by rescuing Indias past. Earlier, Indias Rhodes Scholars, past, present and future, suffered agonies of indecision and uncertainty until only the fear of alienating rich and generous donors persuaded Oriel College not to send Cecil Rhodess statue packing. Some of our Rhodes Scholars might have enjoyed emulating Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and the Beatles by flinging back the distinction with a proud flourish. But Gandhi, Tagore and the Beatles didnt have to return any money. Would patriotic Rhodes Scholars have had to reimburse their stipends? Such commercial motives often lie coiled like the asp in Cleopatras basket of figs in many seemingly principled decisions. History is passe, but revisionist history sells. Think also of the money West Bengals canny Marxist-dominated coalition saved by rededicating the existing Ochterlony Monument to martyrs of the independence movement. The Irish could have done the same and renamed Nelsons Pillar in Dublin to honour Roger Casement, the patriot whom England hanged. Instead, being Irish, they bombed it. Also, being Irish, the explosives they planted during the Easter Rising, the one in which our V.V. Giri cut his revolutionary teeth, were too damp to explode. While the government dithered over dismantling the trust charged with the task of preserving Nelsons Pillar in perpetuity, the bombs planted in 1966 failed to blow up the entire column and statue. No one was accused of the demolition, fuelling the suspicion that the authorities looked the other way while Irelands police bungled the job. Not at all like the Babri Masjids efficient destruction. Oak would have been more pleased with Rajasthans decision 441 years after the Battle of Haldighati that far from winning it in 1576, the Mughal forces lost to the valiant Maharana Pratap of Mewar. There still remains a small difficulty. Akbar, the wise and enlightened emperor whom some today want to be posthumously declared an enemy alien and banished to Central Asia, was nowhere near the battlefield. His trusted general, Raja Man Singh I of Amber, led the Mughal forces. Far from representing Hinduisms triumph over Islam, a Mughal defeat would have meant Man Singhs disgrace. Its far safer to let the past remain undisturbed. Living in troubled times, Omar Khayyam knew what he was about when he advised: The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,/Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit/ Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,/Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. Creative invention wont either. It is noteworthy that Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat should concede that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is only marginally better since he assumed charge a year ago. This can be said to be a fair assessment, and a candid one. From his recent remarks to the Press Trust of India, it may be inferred that the general thinks that at least a part of the reason for more fruitful results eluding us is the absence of politics to go hand in hand with the stepped-up military action that the Army launched in J&K in slow stages after July 2016 to deal with the volatile situation that developed following the neutralising of Burhan Wani, an emerging terrorist leader. Pakistan has not been put on the backfoot, as repeated cross-border violations and killing of Indian soldiers on the Line of Control demonstrates. The number of terrorists killed in the Valley in the past 12 months has been higher than in the previous year, suggesting more encounters. Equally, though, there have been more civilian and security forces casualties. The total picture is of continuing chaos and something approaching a military stalemate. It is to set this right that Gen. Rawat presumably underlines the use of the instrument of politics. He does note that in October the Centre appointed Dineshwar Sharma, who recently retired as head of the Intelligence Bureau, for a sustained dialogue with all stakeholders in Kashmir. But the tenor of the Army Chiefs observations implies that the effort hasnt gone far enough. He is right. The Centre has given no indication so far that Mr Sharmas brief is to proactively seek opportunities for political discussions with all leading political players in the Valley. The former intelligence officer appears to have spoken mainly so far only to fruit-growers and some artisanal groups. These categories alone dont hold the key. It will be surprising if the government does not understand this. It then follows that it wasnt the governments real intention to start a political engagement in Kashmir. The idea appears to have been only to give an impression of talks. This stems from a military methods alone approach. Evidently, there is to be a raising of the military tempo. Gen. Rawat, in response to questions, has spoken of ramping up military action in order to deter Pakistan and to prevent local terrorists in Kashmir from reaching fruition point. He doesnt wish to be status quoist in terms of tactics and strategies. Thats fair enough from a military perspective. But the Army Chief will doubtless appreciate that this will be accompanied by probably risking longer-term failure in Kashmir if the military ramping-up is not accompanied by any meaningful political moves. As I was reading the statements of the gang of four judges, a Tamil adage crossed my mind which when translated to English means: If a father beats a child, the child can go to the mother, if the mother beats the child, it can go to God. But if God himself beats the child, where does the child go? We go to the court to resolve our disputes, but if the judiciary itself is rigged with problems, where do we go? The court has always been the last resort for citizens. If doubts are created about the functioning of the Supreme Court itself, what happens to public confidence? The question arises whether the four judges were right to speak to the nation through the media? Its a to be or not to be situation. The courts flourish with precedents and procedures. Normally, judges speak either through judgments or in meeting halls, not otherwise. Therefore, when four senior judges of the Supreme Court held a press conference, questions were raised about the propriety of such an action: were the judges right to approach the people of the country? Now, look at the facts. They are the top judges of the nation. To their right is the executive government headed by the President of India, to their left is the legislative government headed by the Prime Minister, and before them the entire country, represented by the media. The judges said that they failed in their attempt to convince the Chief Justice of India about the roster issue, which, as things stand today, is no doubt a privilege of the CJI. The CJI is expected to act judiciously and follow the rules, procedures and conventions and act without fear or favour. The allotment of work and constitution of the benches is not a judicial act but a pure and simple administrative action and should be done fairly, without mala fide and fear or favour. Courts have been repeatedly striking down administrative action on the ground of mala fide and when they were colourable action (counterfeit; something that is false but has the appearance of truth). The four judges have gone on record stating that they raised the issue repeatedly before the CJI but failed to convince him. Since the CJI disagreed with these four judges, there were three options before them: to approach the President, the Prime Minister or to meet heavyweight politicians. Meeting the President would be condemned as submitting to the executive; meeting the Prime Minister would be futile as resolving a complaint through the legislature is long-drawn process; and if politicians are involved, then the four judges would be accused of politicising the issue. I feel Justice J. Chelameswars meeting CPI leader D. Raja, a Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, was in any case a tactless act. The Supreme Court snatched the constitutional power of appointing judges from the executive government, contrary to the constitutional mandate, and gave to itself the power to appoint judges. The Supreme Court has phrased the word collegium in which the five seniormost judges are given the power to appoint and regulate the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts. Now the question is: If the collegium is a powerful body to regulate the judiciary in this country, is the CJI not bound by the majority view in the collegium, which is now split into 1:4? Considering that the collegium is a body created by the Supreme Court itself, doubts are raised when the CJI refuses to consider the view of its majority. Who then is the CJI listening to? If the Supreme Court can take away the executive power of appointment of judges, should not a collegium have the power to decide the internal administration of the Supreme Court? All this meant that the only option before the four judges was to go to the citizens of India through the media to create public opinion about the functioning or non-functioning of the Supreme Court. Purists may say that taking the matter to the public by a judge is unheard of. Equally unheard of is a Chief Justice acting mala fide and violating rules and procedures while forming benches. What is the difference between the outbursts of Justice C.S. Karnan and the present development? Justice Karnan had said that judges were corrupt at a time when the needle of suspicion was also against him without any proof. When asked to explain, he went astray and landed in jail. As against that, these judges made no personal allegations against anyone, including the CJI. They had one grievance which they raised in-house many times and failed, and as they ould not go either to the President or the Prime Minister, they approached the people, who are the ultimate sovereign in our democracy. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong in it. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had said: However good a Constitution may be, it will tend to be bad if those who are called upon to work on it happen to be a bad lot. A Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court went a step further when he declared: We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final. As Sufi teacher Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee explains, the Sufi comes into this world to love and serve the divine and this destiny is stamped within the heart in fire. Eros makes his home in mens hearts, but not in every heart, for where there is hardness he departs. Plato Look in your own heart, says the mystic, For the kingdom of God is within you. He who truly knows himself knows God, for the heart is a mirror in which divine is reflected. Just as a steel mirror, if coated with rust, loses its power of reflection, so do our inward senses which are the eyes of the heart. When this visual heart becomes numb to the celestial impulses owing to the dross of material impressions it no longer remains a clarified beacon. Our quest for the numinous becomes barren and we experience tremors of the dark night of the soul. The heart has long been the starting point for many spiritual schools, but for a mystic, the heart is a fixed referent for true enlightenment. The heart announces the first sign of life and its silence signals the message of the death of the physical body. The mystic regards God as the real agent in every act, and therefore takes no credit for his good works nor desires to be recompensed for them. The heart is normally veiled or stained by sins, tarnished by sensual impressions, pulled to and fro between reason and passion: a battlefield on which the armies of God and the devil contend for victory. Through one gate, the heart receives immediate knowledge of God, through another it lets in the illusions of sense. No previous society has offered seekers so many different ways to chase after Nirvana, so many different paths to spiritual epiphany. One powerful way is by polishing the heart. When we polish the mirror of the heart with daily spiritual practices we can see beyond the illusion of our transient world and perceive the vast and luminous landscape of our true nature. This is one practice that in time can help us make the marriage between our being and our humanness. By its very nature, living in the world leaves a material impression on our heart, while our thoroughness of being and our impulses of love unveil it. The clear heart is the best guide to living. It is the mirror of our inner state, as also a hologram of all. As Sufi teacher Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee explains, the Sufi comes into this world to love and serve the divine and this destiny is stamped within the heart in fire: We bring this purpose into the world, and when our heart is awakened we feel this need of the heart, this call of the soul. This divine remembrance awakens the slumbering soul to its real purpose and the journey home begins. The mystics have discovered that, in addition to the mind, the heart is a very most important centre governing our spiritual consciousness. With diligent practice, teachers have perfected the techniques that moderate the heart, cultivating profound intuition and realisation. The polished heart becomes a mirror that catches the light of truth and reflects it in ones consciousness. The surest way of achieving this sparkling quality is by focusing attentively on God and negating the ego. From then on the seeker starts to experience God, and see him with the inner eyes of the heart. In the words of Hildegard von Bingen: It is the heart that sees the primordial eternity of every creature. For Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP ruling setup in the country, which he personally exemplifies, the current year has been ushered in on a belittling note. As the previous year was turning, Mr Modi won a victory in Gujarat which his party just cannot celebrate, given its mocking nature. And, just when the year turned, official data suggested that under this leader the country has registered its lowest economic growth in four years. It is becoming increasingly clear that practically everything that Mr Modi touched has turned to mud. The former RSS pracharak, or full-time volunteer, was evidently born with a good luck charm. The first time he entered the Gujarat Assembly was as chief minister, and the first time he entered Parliament was as Prime Minister, as he has himself informed us. But this personal luck has not translated to luck for the country, as mindless initiatives have turned sour, demonetisation being a perfect example. Mr Modi will be remembered as a PM in whose tenure economic miseries were piled on the people even as the glue of social and cultural cohesion that joined different sections of society was forced unstuck through violence by lumpen squads unrestrained by the hand of the law. Not all the prayers to Lord Vishwanath in Kashi, Mr Modis parliamentary constituency, are likely to help him. Bhole Baba cannot be pleased with the unholy goings-on in Modis India. The Lord has a mind of his own. It cannot be bent by threats or blandishments from keepers of the Gorakhnath Mutt in UP or from Amit Shah, who is the real Master-of-Rolls no matter what the Chief Justice of India may think when it comes to keeping the judiciary on a tight leash in Gujarat or elsewhere. Mr Modi in 2014 had the brahmastra in his hand, bestowed by a once-in-a-generation parliamentary majority. With it he could defeat any enemy of the people he chose to. Instead, he focused on little things, and on shadows that did not exist but were cooked up and labelled as enemies by the RSS. The real enemies unemployment, poverty, farmers distress, the woes of small entrepreneur werent even touched. This is because the PM proved incapable of 21st century imagination. He couldnt think big. His poverty of ideas restricted him to small talk in a big voice on radio broadcasts on Sundays, and he vowed to destroy his opponents. This was on full display when he accused the Congress Party of conspiring with Pakistan to win the Gujarat election. He focused more on the silliest things like building the tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Even this didnt cut ice with the voters of Gujarat. The Narendra Modi raj has alienated the country. This wasnt immediately evident as he acted under the cover of religious symbolisms of Hinduism, the faith of the majority in the country, with which simple people were taken in. But it is in the nature of rot to spread. This Prime Minister inherited an economy that, on average, had grown just under eight per cent a year for 10 years even with a conspicuous slowdown toward the end. The global outlook too was propitious with oil prices at a record low, a luxury his predecessor didnt have. This is the political equivalent of being born with a silver spoon in the mouth. But Mr Modi blew it. Businesses have not grown since May 2014 when the Modi government took office. Industrial performance has dipped. Green shoots of recovery that occasionally show up as is the case right now wilt before the day turns to night. The urban middle classes, the BJPs principal supporters, will be thrown sops in the forthcoming Budget because a clutch of state elections are around the corner and the BJP-led government must prepare for the Lok Sabha polls in early 2019, but will these help retain their affection as the economy slips and joblessness and prices take their toll? How far can the stunt of invoking Hindu mythology and the promise of Hindu power as a conscious counterpoise to the poison of Islamist beliefs really go? The trick of getting by with calling opponents corrupt has also lost its sting after the so-called 2G scam devised by an evidently motivated Comptroller and Auditor-General of India was roundly decried in a recent court order. The CBI is so discredited that it cant summon the nerve to challenge this verdict. Rural society is in the middle of being turned upside down. After a lag of some years, we had a good monsoon in 2016. But the harebrained scheme of demonetisation wiped out any chance there may have been of seizing the momentum. Agriculture and the informal sector, which provide the bulk of jobs and export earnings, are struggling with negative expectations, especially after the ill-considered implementation of a poorly-crafted Goods and Services Tax, touted as the next best thing after Indias independence, and inaugurated as such with high ceremony at the midnight hour in the Central Hall of Parliament last July in an un-historical, unbecoming and grotesque mimicking of the midnight glory over 70 years ago when Jawaharlal Nehru rose to speak in high cadence of India coming to life and freedom, as the Union Jack was lowered for the last time in India and the tricolour unfurled. Mr Modi has won. But the country is on the mat. The promise of achche din or better times now strikes people as a compact that was not meant to be honoured. It rings hollow today. To recall Mr Shahs incomparably cunning words, it was no more than a part of a throwaway, election-time jumla (sentence). We are in a social mess, and the economic front remains dispiriting. But matters are a lot worse. Brazenly discriminatory actions are being taken against the poor. Indian workers headed to the Gulf for their livelihood will have a different colour of passport from the rest of us. Institutions are being subverted. The Supreme Court is in the news. Just before the Gujarat poll, the Election Commission was up to lousy tricks which fooled no one. Democracy in India is being pushed to the wall. More than 650,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown in August following attacks on police posts by a militant group. (Photo: AFP) Bangkok: A top Myanmar official said on Monday that a camp to house Rohingya Muslim and Hindu refugees who return from Bangladesh will be ready by its promised deadline next week. More than 650,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown in August following attacks on police posts by a militant group. Though Myanmar's army claimed it was a clearance operation against the terrorists, the United Nations, United States and others have said the operations were "ethnic cleansing" to remove the Rohingya from the country. Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement in November to repatriate Rohingya and set up a working group last month to oversee the repatriation of people who had fled violence in the northern part of Rakhine state in western Myanmar. Win Myat Aye, the minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, said Myanmar was hosting a one-day meeting Monday with Bangladesh officials in the capital Naypyitaw to discuss the logistics of how many Rohingya will be allowed into Myanmar and how they will be scrutinized to be placed in the camps. Officials plan to start the repatriation process from January 23. "We are planning ahead to be able accept the returnees from next week and we are sure that this will be done on time," Win Myat Aye said. The UN refugee agency said it is not involved in the process but is willing to play a "constructive role" in the process if allowed, specifically in registering the refugees and helping determining whether they are returning to Myanmar voluntarily. "Our involvement in the process and our full access to areas of return in Myanmar can help to build confidence for all concerned, including the refugees," said Vivian Tan, UNHCR's senior regional communication officer. In the November agreement, Myanmar's civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, pledged to take measures to halt the outflow of Rohingya to Bangladesh and restore normalcy in the region. The UN and rights groups have urged the Myanmar government to ensure the safe and voluntary return of the Rohingya refugees. Many have questioned whether Rohingya would return to Myanmar under the current circumstances. Japan's foreign minister on a visit to Myanmar last week urged Suu Kyi's government to guarantee the safe and voluntary return of the refugees. State-run media in Myanmar reported on Monday the 124-acre Hla Po Khaung camp will accommodate about 30,000 people in 625 buildings and that at least 100 buildings are to be completed by the end of the month. It would be the first camp built in the repatriation process. Most Rohingya refugees in the Bangladeshi camps also say they will not return to a state where their villages have been torched and where they allege atrocities by the army and ethnic Rakhine locals. (Photo: AFP) Yangon: Talks were held on Monday to "settle issues" over the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, Bangladeshi officials told AFP, as doubts linger over how many of the 655,000 Muslim minority who fled violence are likely to return. Under diplomatic pressure, Myanmar has vowed to repatriate refugees driven into Bangladesh by an army crackdown in 2017, if they can verify they belong in western Rakhine state. But aid agencies question how many Rohingya, a Muslim minority reviled inside Myanmar, will be able to prove their residence given the speed of their flight and complexity of their status in Myanmar. Most Rohingya refugees in the Bangladeshi camps also say they will not return to a state where their villages have been torched and where they allege atrocities by the army and ethnic Rakhine locals. Officials from the two countries met in Naypyidaw on Monday to "settle issues" related to repatriation, two Bangladeshi officials familiar with the talks told AFP, requesting anonymity and without giving specific details. The two governments signed an agreement in November paving the way for repatriations from January 23. The deal applies to Rohingya who fled Myanmar in two major outbreaks of violence since October 2016. It does not cover an estimated 200,000 Rohingya refugees who were living in Bangladesh prior to that date. In December 2017, Bangladeshi officials said they had sent a list of 100,000 names to Myanmar for the first round of repatriation. Myanmar is yet to publicly endorse the list or even confirm it has received the names. But the country is on track for the January 23 deadline, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar reported Monday, adding building work is ongoing at the 124-acre Hla Po Khaung "temporary camp" in Rakhine's Maungdaw district. Eventually the site "will accommodate about 30,000 people in its 625 buildings" before they can be resettled permanently. The report did not mention the Rohingya -- who are denigrated by many in Myanmar as "Bengali" immigrants and mostly denied citizenship. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have languished in squalid IDP camps inside Rakhine after earlier unrest in 2012, raising fears that any returnees from Bangladesh will be thrust into a similar limbo. Diplomats have also cast doubt on Myanmar's willingness to allow substantial numbers of Rohingya back after an intense army campaign forced over half their number out. In an unprecedented statement last week, Myanmar's army admitted security forces took part in the extra-judicial killings of 10 Rohingya in their custody at Inn Din village. Amnesty International called the admission "the tip of the iceberg" of alleged massacres, rapes and arson attacks on Rohingya villages carried out in the weeks after August 25. Myanmar's army defends its 'clearance operations' as a legitimate response to deadly raids by Rohingya militants. Legazpi, Philippines: The crater of a rumbling Philippine volcano was glowing bright red on Monday, with volcanologists warning it could erupt within days, sending thousands fleeing from their homes. Volcanic earthquakes and rockfalls have shaken the summit of Mayon over the last 24 hours, after a number of steam-driven eruptions, scientists said. More than 12,000 people have been ordered to leave a seven-kilometre (four-mile) evacuation zone, and there are warnings of destructive mudflows and toxic clouds. "It is dangerous for families to stay in that radius and inhale ash," Claudio Yucot, head of the region's office of civil defence, told AFP. "Because of continuous rains in past weeks, debris deposited in the slopes of Mayon could lead to lahar flows. If rain does not stop it could be hazardous." Lahar is the technical term for volcanic mudflows. The volcano, a near-perfect cone, sits around 330 kilometres southwest of Manila. Steam-driven eruptions and rockfalls began over the weekend, and the crater began glowing on Sunday evening, in what the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said was a sign of the growth of a new lava dome. Lava last flowed out of Mayon in 2014 when 63,000 people fled from their homes. "We think the lava now is more fluid than in 2014. This means the flow can reach further down (the slopes) at a faster rate," Phivolcs head Renato Solidum told AFP. "We see similarity with eruptions where the first phase of the activity started with lava flow and culminated in an explosive or hazardous part. That's what we are trying to monitor and help people avoid." The 2,460-metre (8,070-foot) Mayon has a long history of deadly eruptions. Four foreign tourists and their local tour guide were killed when Mayon last erupted, in May 2013. In 1814 more than 1,200 people were killed when lava flows buried the town of Cagsawa. An explosion in August 2006 did not directly kill anyone, but four months later a typhoon unleashed an avalanche of volcanic mud from Mayon's slopes that claimed 1,000 lives. An AFP photographer at the site of the bombing said many ambulances had gathered and security forces had been deployed in large numbers. (Photo: AFP) Baghdad: Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a busy street market in central Baghdad on Monday, in back-to-back explosions that killed at least 38 people, Iraqi health and police officials said. The attackers struck during rush hour in the city's Tayran Square, which is usually crowded by laborers seeking work. The twin explosions also wounded at least 105 people, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to the media. Earlier reports by spokesmen from the Health Ministry and the Interior Ministry had 26 killed and at least 16 dead, respectively, and dozens wounded. Ambulances rushed to the scene as security forces sealed off the area with yellow tape. Slippers could be seen scattered about on the blood-stained pavement as cleaners hurried to clear the debris. Photographs posted on social media showed lifeless bodies and pieces of limbs. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has claimed many such attacks in the past. The twin explosions shocked residents in the Iraqi capital because large attacks had decreased significantly in Baghdad and other parts of country since security forces retook nearly all territory once held by IS militants. Iraqi and US officials have warned that IS would continue with insurgent-style attacks even after the Iraqi military and US-led coalition succeeded in uprooting the Islamic State group across the country. The cost of victory has been nearly incalculable as the three years of war against IS devastated much of northern and western Iraq -- roughly a third of the country -- where Islamic State militants had held most of the territory. Security forces today foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing four Jaish-e-Mohammad militants, a senior police official said. Director General of Police S P Vaid said four JeM militants were killed at Dulanja in Uri sector in a joint operation by the Army, police and other security forces. "Three suicidal JeM terrorists killed in Dulanja Uri while infiltrating in a joint operation by @JmuKmrPolice/Army/ CAPF.Search for the fourth terrorist is still on," Vaid said in a tweet. The DGP later updated that the fourth militant has also been killed. Four senior most judges, who expressed their public dissent with the Chief Justice of India on allocation of cases, on Monday resumed their normal work in the Supreme Court, by taking up matters listed before them. An informal meeting of CJI Dipak Misra with all Supreme Court judges is understood to have taken place before the start of the proceedings in courts, delaying the assembling of the benches by about 10 minutes in the morning. Attorney General K K Venugopal and Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, however, said the stalemate is over. "Everything has been settled is what I believe. Everything is under control," Venugopal said. BCI chairman Mishra said, "We met around 15 judges on Sunday and all of them said that BCI has done a very good job and this mediation was required." "They have resolved the issue and you can see that the courts are functioning smoothly and they are discharging their duties. There is nothing left," Mishra told reporters. He said the BCI has been successful in its effort. No outside interference was required in the matter. Mishra also said the system was working properly and transparency was in place. However, there is no formal indication so far from the four senior most judges Justice J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, who came out in public on Friday against the CJI, that all of their concerns have been addressed. Earlier, an advocate, R P Luthra urged a bench presided over by Chief Justice Misra to take action against the four judges, saying no body should be allowed to destroy the institution. He said he was speaking on behalf of the millions of the people. The court, however, did not make any observation. The four senior most judges had on January 12 cited the R P Luthra's case pertaining to Memorandum of Procedure questioning the CJI as to why the matter was allowed to be dealt by a two-judge bench when the Constitution bench had already passed the judgement on it in the NJAC Act case in December, 2016. As Rahul Gandhi arrived in UP on his first visit to the state after becoming the Congress president, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today advised him to shun "negative politics" and instead focus on development. The Congress leader arrived in the state on a two-day visit to galvanise party workers for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and breathe life in the party which saw its worst-ever performance in the 2017 Assembly elections getting only seven seats in the 403-member House. "The Congress president should give up doing negative politics," Adityanath told reporters here even as Rahul Gandhi arrived in Lucknow en route Raebareli and Amethi - the party bastions. Asked as to how he viewed his first visit to the state after donning the mantle of party head, the chief minister said, "My advise to Rahul is that he should focus more on politics of development." Adityanath said that had the Congress laid more emphasis on development, Amethi would not have languished. "See the plight of his Lok Sabha constituency - Amethi - nursed by four generations of Nehru-Gandhi family," the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Gorakhnath temple, of which he is the head priest, on the occasion of Makarsankranti. Adityanath also attacked former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying he should ask his supporters to behave. "They (SP workers) killed innocent villagers in Azamgarh with spurious liquor and were also caught in Hardoi for making spurious liquor. They tried to disturb the environment in Lucknow which is not good," he charged. In Lucknow, two persons, including a Samajwadi Party worker, were arrested last week for allegedly hurling potatoes near the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and some other places in the VVIP zone to highlight the plight of farmers. Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said today his force will not let anti-India activities succeed at any cost in Jammu and Kashmir and warned of stronger reaction against Pakistan-supported terrorism. Addressing Armymen on the occasion of Army Day, Gen Rawat also said that disputes along the Line of Actual Control in northern border (China) were continuing and transgressions were taking place and "We are working to stop them". "Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along LoC (Line of Control) in J&K. We are using our might to teach them a lesson," he said. "If we are forced, then we may resort to 'other action' by stepping up military offensive," he added. Rahul Gandhi today began his two-day tour of Uttar Pradesh, the first after becoming the Congress President, with a visit to a Hanuman temple en route Amethi from Lucknow. The Congress president offered prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli road hours after landing in the state capital where enthusiastic party workers greeted him with garlands. According to a local party worker Ram Kumar, the Congress leader regularly visits Amethi - his Lok Sabha constituency - and this is perhaps for the first time that he has offered prayers at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi, donning a spotless white kurta-pyjama, came out porting a bright vermilion 'tilak' on his forehead. Today is Makar Sankranti, and the auspicious day has been chosen by Rahul Gandhi to visit Rae Bareli -- his mother's parliamentary constituency, and adjoining Amethi, which party insiders view as an attempt to play a soft Hindutva card to counter the hardline image of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Congress leader spent some ten minutes at the temple. The last time he offered prayers at a Hanuman temple was at the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya on September 9, 2016, becoming the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to visit Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Hanuman Garhi is about a kilometre from the Ram temple at the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. Before darshan at Hanuman Garhi temple, Rahul Gandhi had met Mahant Gyan Das. His visit to temples is seen in the political circles as an attempt to dump the BJP's criticism that he went temple-hopping during the Gujarat campaign only to garner votes. Rahul Gandhi had visited around 20 temples across Gujarat during the Assembly poll campaign as part of a conscious approach to counter the ruling BJP. After the results were out, the Congress president prayed at the Somnath Temple. Describing himself as a Shiv-bhakt, Rahul had explained that he was praying for the well-being of Gujarat during these visits to the temples. The strategy paid off as the Congress tally in the state Assembly jumped from 57 in 2012 to 77 and its vote share rose by 2.5 per cent from 39 per cent in 2012 to 41.5 per cent. "We expect that his temple visits in Uttar Pradesh too will pay dividends in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls in 2022," UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said. India and Israel on Monday inked nine pacts to step up bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including investment, cyber security, science and technology and hydrocarbon sector. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu held formal talks at Hyderabad House in New Delhi before witnessing exchange of the agreements by the officials of the two governments. Modi called upon the defence companies of Israel to make more in India taking advantage of the liberalized Foreign Direct Investment regime. "We will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology, and security," said Modi, as he and Netanyahu addressed the media-persons after the meeting. India and United Kingdom have signed two agreements to share data on criminal records to tackle international criminality and return illegal Indian migrants who are living in Britain. The agreements were signed by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, who is on a visit to the UK, and Minister of Immigration Caroline Nokes.The new two-way deals reflect increased co-operation between the two countries. The signing of agreements comes as India has sought UK's help in early extradition of liquor baron Vijay Mallya from Britain for trial in loan default and money laundering cases in India.The MoU on criminal records exchange will lead to British and Indian law enforcement agencies sharing criminal records information, fingerprints and intelligence. This will assist police protecting public from known criminals, including sex offenders. It will also allow the courts in both countries to access more information to support tougher sentencing decisions. The agreement on returns paves the way for a quicker and more efficient process for documenting and recruiting Indian nationals who have no right to be in the UK to India. This has proven difficult in the past due to some Indians not having the required paperwork or travel documentation for them to be accepted back in India. Details of the types of information exchanged through the MoUs and operational procedures, together with the details of any restrictions on using or disclosing the information will be the subject of further negotiations. Cockfights have become more organized and violent in coastal Andhra Pradesh on the occasion of Sankranti this year despite direction from the Supreme Court that blades and betting must be kept away from the traditional sport. The districts of Krishna, Guntur, East and West Godavari have witnessed unprecedented zeal with even women participating in betting and witnessing the cockfight in large number. In Muramalla, in east Godavari the organizers have set up separate arenas, ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5 lakh as base of betting amount. While initial rounds were organized without tying the blades to the legs of the roosters, slowly it turned bloody as cocks fought to death. All the roads leading to arenas called "Bari' were chock-a-block with vehicular traffic, with punters coming from far away places like Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. Rural areas of Kakinada, Rajamundry, Bhimavaram, Vizianagaram, Samarlakota, Jangareddygudem, Palakollu, Nidadavolu, Narsapuram and Pithapuram in the Godavari district, organizers who have the support of local politicians are using Drones to telecast the cockfights live to the audience sitting outside the arenas. In many places organizers have introduced token system to do away with cash. The tokens could be exchanged with cash after the betting. In west Godavari district alone betting worth Rs 50 cr has taken place during past 48 hours. The police who were supposed to ensure that no betting takes place were nowhere seen. In Kankipadu of Krishna and Tadipatri in Anantapuram districts, organizers have set up arenas for Pig fights. While Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and his family have been celebrating Sankranti in their ancestral village Naravari Palli in Chittoor district, opposition leader YS Jaganmohan Reddy who is on Padayatra has celebrated the festival at Parakalva Cross in the same district. Only a few knew where the Chabad House - earlier known as the Nariman House - is located at Colaba Causeway, until Lashkar-e-Taiba's fidayeen attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, which made the place known world wide. The six-storey building was a Jewish outreach centre run by Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, who owned the building since around 2006. Chabad House was one of the places that were targeted by militants- the others being the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, two five star hotels - the Taj Mahal Palce & Tower, the Oberoi-Trident and Leopold Cafe. In fact, two terrorists - Imran Babar and Nasir - held it for three days, before the National Security Guard, during Operations Black Tornado, stormed into the five-storey building and killed both of them. One commando was killed in the operations. However, the two terrorists killed seven occupants of the building. Gavriel and Rivka's son Moshe, who was then two-years-old, was saved by his nanny, Sandra Samuel, who is now granted honorary citizenship of Israel. The Holtzbergs arrived in Mumbai in 2003 to serve the small local Jewish community, visiting business people and the tourists, many of them Israeli, who come to Mumbai. Gavriel Holtzberg, 29, was born in Israel and moved to the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, N.Y., with his parents, when he was nine. A prodigious student, Holtzberg was a two-time champion in a competition of memorizing the Mishnah, a compendium of rabbinical laws and enactments redacted in the second century C.E. He used to lead the Friday-night Shabbat services at the Knesset Eliyahoo synagogue. His 28-year-old wife, born Rivkah Rosenberg, was a native of Afula, Israel. What the chargesheet says? Babar Imran and Nasir after landing at fishermen's colony walked to Nariman House, located at a distance of approximately 500 meters. Before entering the building, one of the terrorists planted a RDX-laden IED weighing approximately 8 to 10 kgs. Also, on entering this building, the second terrorist planted another 8 to 10 kgs RDX-laden IED near the staircase at ground (parking) level area. Subsequently, both these RDX-laden IEDs exploded. Both these terrorists held some residents of the building as hostage and under the fear of dire consequences, compelled one of the Jewish hostages to speak to their Embassy on the phone. The two terrorists also repeatedly contacted their co-conspirators in Pakistan and received operational and motivational inputs. OCCUPANTS KILLED Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg Rivka Holtzberg (she was pregnant at that time) Salim Hussain Harharwala Mehzabin @ Maria Salim Harharwala Ben Zion Chroman Norma Shvarzblat Robinovich Yokevet Mosho Orpaz SECURITY PERSONNEL KILLED NSG commando, Havaldar Gajendra Singh Bisht, was killed during the operation. THOSE WHO ESCAPED Moshe Holtzberg Sandra Samuel (his nanny) THE TWO TERRORISTS Imran Babar alias Abu Aakasha Resident of Multan, Punjab, Pakistan Nasir alias Abu Umar, Resident of Faislabad, Punjab, Pakistan 26/11 attacks Between 26-28 November, 2008, 10 fidayeens trained by Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out multiple assaults with firearms, grenades and improvised explosive devices against multiple targets in Mumbai, including the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, the Leopold Cafe, the Chabad House and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, each of which Headley had scouted in advance, killing 166 and wounding 300 others. A seven-year-old boy Ayush Nigam, who was kidnapped from Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district on January 11, has been rescued from West Champaran in Bihar. The kidnappers, who kept the boy at Valmikinagar in West Champaran, had demanded Rs 1 crore as ransom from the family for the safe release of the abducted boy. Since West Champaran shares border with Nepal as well as Uttar Pradesh, it is considered a safe hideout for kidnappers, who appear to be active again after a brief lull. The Uttar Pradesh police on Sunday recovered Rs 4 lakh, which was handed over to the kidnappers as the first installment of the ransom to the abductors. The main suspect Neeraj Shrestha was arrested from Nepal. The police also apprehended Raghav Yadav in whose house the boy was kept at Valmiki Nagar. "Two more accused Sonu and Rajesh, suspected to be involved in the kidnapping case, have also been arrested," said a police source. Though the kidnapping industry, the only industry which flourished during Lalu-Rabri era in the 90s, was crushed when Nitish Kumar took over as Chief Minister in November 2005, but, of late, it seems the kidnappers are having a field day again. "Recently, there has been a spurt in kidnapping cases in Bihar with 38 cases (of kidnapping for ransom) being registered last year. Apparently, some of the kingpins of kidnappers' gang are out of jail. The West Champaran, having a large forest area and sharing border with Nepal as well as UP, is considered to be the kidnappers' safest hideout," said a senior police officer, who recently attended a meeting convened to review similar cases. A senior Uttar Pradesh BJP legislator has said that India will become a ''Hindu Rashtra'' in 2024, the year, when the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will be completing 100 years of its establishment. BJP MLA Surendra Singh also said that Muslims were ''supporters'' of Pakistan and that only those, Muslims would remain in India, who ''accepted'' the culture of the country. Singh also took potshots at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and said that the latter could never become prime minister of the country as he (Rahul) had ''mixed'' culture. ''India will become a Hindu Rashtra by 2024....RSS will be completing 100 years in 2024,'' the MLA said while speaking to reporters on Sunday in Ballia. A video containing the remarks of the MLA has gone viral on the social networking sites. ''Very few Muslims are patriots...they do not think for the country...though they live here and eat here but they support Pakistan....nothing can be more unfortunate than this,'' Singh went on to say. He said that Rahul represented ''mixed culture''. ''Rahul's father was an Indian and mother an Italian...he is like a jersey (a small breed of dairy cattle...orginally bred in the Channel Island of Jersey) cow...he can never feel the pain and difficulties of the people of India,'' Singh said. UP BJP leaders termed the utterances as the ''personal opinion'' of the MLA and said that the party had nothing to do with it. Earlier also BJP MLA Sangeet Som had said that India was only for the Hindus. Goa Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar's comments calling Kannadigas 'harami' (illegitimate or bastard) continued to draw condemnation from political leaders in the state on Monday. BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa sought an unconditional apology from Palyekar over his remarks. "I strongly condemn and demand an unconditional apology from Goa Forward Party leader and Goa Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar for his derogatory remarks and insulting Kannadigas," Yeddyurappa tweeted. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday had taken to Twitter to express his displeasure. JD(S) state president H D Kumarawamy said that it was irresponsible on the part of the minister to insult Kannadigas just to impress the people of Goa. Members of the Youth Congress staged a protest at Mahatma Gandhi statue on Race Course Road to condemn Palyekar's remarks. Speaking to reporters in another part of the city, JD(S) national president H D Deve Gowda said he had repeatedly brought the Mahadayi river water dispute with Goa to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I do not know why he is hesitating to take the issue forward," he said. Vibrio spp work as pathogens of aquatic creatures like fish and shrimp, causing serious losses in the aquaculture industry, said Nitte Deemed to be University vice chancellor Prof Dr Satheesh Bhandary. He was speaking after inaugurating an international workshop 'Vibrios in one health', organised by Nitte University Center for Science Education and Research (NUCSER). "Vibrio spp are common aquatic bacteria found in a range of ecological niches ranging from fresh water to estuarine and marine environments including deep sea. Human diseases caused by Vibrio spp include cholera, gastroenteritis, septicaemia, cellulitis and other extra-intestinal infections, are a public health problem globally," said the professor. He expressed concern on bacterial infections in aquaculture, which might lead to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, further resulting in the selection and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Speaking on the occasion, Nitte Deemed to be University Registrar Dr Alka Kulkarni emphasised the need for international collaboration to deal with complex issues such as "one health" dealing with human, animal health and environment. Scientific talks were delivered by Dr Iddya Karunasagar, senior director (International Relations) of Nitte Deemed to be University; Dr Peter Bossier from Ghent University; Dr Anna Godhe from Gothenburg University, Sweden; Dr Lucy Turner from Plymouth University, UK; Dr Dharshanee Ruwandeepika from Sabaragama University, Sri Lanka; and Dr Krishna Kumar, Dr Praveen Rai and Juliet Mohanraj from Nitte Deemed to be University. Nitte Deemed to be University director (Research and Development) Dr Indrani Karunasagar, and NUCSER deputy director Dr Anirban Chakrabarty were present among others. Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Monday cautioned against social media, which he claimed, was being misused against the armed forces. "Social media is being used against us. We have to be careful in its use," Gen Rawat said in his army day address at the Cariappa parade ground in Delhi Cantonment. While he did not elaborate on the nature of the damage in front of a large crowd, Gen Rawat in the past waved red flags against social media, including how these platforms were abused to radicalise the youths of Jammu and Kashmir. "Damage is being done through the social media, which is being used to radicalise the youth in J&K," Gen Rawat had observed in his annual media interaction on Friday. Almost three years ago, the Indian Army came out with its social media policy that barred men in uniform to disclose personal details like rank, unit, formation, appointment, place of duty and movement on social network sites. Also, the release of operational and administrative matters, photos in uniform or background depicting army installations and equipment are to be avoided. Army personnel cannot create or be a member of social media groups depicting religious sects, political groups, foreign military networks and hate groups. They are also barred from circulating chain mails, messages and posts on the armed forces. "We need to improve our cyber (warfare) and information warfare capability. This is being addressed as a national issue. We have moved forward on this and not behind (like China) as it appears. Army's cybersecurity is a part of the national effort," Gen Rawat said. After soldiers took recourse to social media to air their grievances against the establishment, the army chief cautioned them and asked them to go through the established mechanisms and drop boxes set up at multiple locations. Also in January 2017, the army set up a WhatsApp number (9643300008) for its soldiers to post their problems directly to the army chief. The move came after some soldiers posted videos of their complaints online. JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy on Monday challenged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to contest the Assembly elections as an independent and win to prove his claim about personal charisma. Speaking to reporters after inducting former minister Anand Asnotikar who quit the BJP into the JD(S), Kumaraswamy said Siddaramaiah, in his early days, grew politically due to the support of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. "He is surviving today because of the Congress. Personally, he has no political base or strength, but claims to command enormous public appeal and charisma. Let him prove his claim by contesting without a Congress ticket and win the election," challenged Kumaraswamy. Kumaraswamy rubbished Siddaramaiah's charge that he (Kumaraswamy) was a "political opportunist". "It is the Congress and BJP which approached me for support. I have never knocked on the doors of either the Congress or the BJP". He said there will be a lot of political developments in the coming weeks which will reveal the strength of the JD(S). Speaking on the occasion, Gowda said Siddaramaiah had become inevitable to the Congress due to dearth of leaders. He said the JD(S) would come to power on its own after the elections. Gowda said he had performed the Satharudra Yajna at Sringeri Shankara Mutt in Chikkamagaluru district recently not to defeat his political opponents as claimed by the Congress. "The yajna was conducted for the welfare of the people of the state," he said. Taking a potshot at BJP's Hindutva plank, Gowda said, "Tolerance is the philosophy of Hindusim. But if you are intolerant to other religions, what sort of Hindutva are you practising?" In a major success, the army on Monday foiled an infiltration bid in Uri sector of north Kashmir's Baramulla district by killing six Jaish-e-Muhammad militants, who were on a mission to target security installations. "The militants were travelling in a boat on river Jhelum at Dulanja, Uri. On being challenged, they opened fire and in the ensuing gunbattle, all the militants were eliminated," Brigadier Y S Alawat said while briefing the reporters in Uri, 102 km from here. He said that it was a major infiltration bid in which heavily armed militants had sneaked into this side (LoC) and were planning to target army installations. This was the first infiltration attempt by militants in 2018. Sources said all the six slain militants were Pakistanis. State police chief Shesh Pal Vaid confirmed the killing of six militants in the operation. "The bodies of five terrorists recovered from encounter site, the sixth being searched," he tweeted. Senior Superintendent of police (SSP) Baramulla, Imtiyaz Hussain said the militants were planning a fidayeen (suicide) attack. "From the recovery of arms/ammunition and other warlike stores it appears that the militants had come with a plan to carry out a fidayeen attack. The slain militants belonged to the Jaish-Muhammad terror outfit," he said. Four AK-47 rifles and 23 hand grenades were recovered during search operations, he added. Uri is located on the left bank of the Jhelum River, about 10 km of the LoC with Pakistan. On September 18, 2016, in one of the worst causalities suffered by the army in peacetime operations, 18 troopers were killed and 18 others injured after a group of fidayeen militants stormed a strategic military base in the same area. Online payments solution company, Razorpay, on Monday said it raised $20 million (Rs 127 crore) in Series B, led by Tiger Global and Y Combinator, along with participation from Matrix Partners. With this round, the total funding of the company touches $31.5 million. The company had previously raised $11.5 million in their Series A round from the same marquee investors along with 33 angel investors, and a strategic investment by MasterCard in 2016. "We are elated to see our marquee investors reinstating their faith in Razorpay and our vision," said Harshil Mathur, CEO & Co-Founder of Razorpay. The company will use the funds for its next phase of growth by scaling products launched as part of Razorpay 2.0 and bolster its technological capabilities and offerings, a company release said. The funds will also be utilised towards expanding the product portfolio into new verticals, building new experiences through cutting edge data science and expansion of team to meet market demands. After suffering heavy casualties at the hands of security forces last year, militants in Kashmir are focusing on carrying out more fidayeen (suicide) and IED attacks on vital security installations in the state. "Taking advantage of civilian unrest in 2016, militants managed to recruit more local boys from south Kashmir and also set up strong network as security forces were not able to carry out any operations for almost six months. However, after elimination of nearly 220 ultras, including top commanders last year, the militant handlers across the border are desperate to boost the morale of their cadres," a senior police officer involved in counter-insurgency operations told DH. He said of late fidayeen and IED attacks have been the strategies adopted by militant handlers across the border to inflict more causalties on security forces and create news. "Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit, which has been assigned the job of carrying out fidayeen and IED attacks, is desperate to set up its networks across Kashmir" the officer said. In the last two weeks, the Jaish militants carried out one deadly fidayeen attack in southern Pulwama and one IED attack in north Kashmir's Sopore town. While four paramilitary troopers were killed when fidayeen militants launched a pre-dawn attack on a CRPF camp in Pulwama district on New Year's eve, four policemen on patrol duty were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in Sopore on January 6. "While fidayeen attack was not the first in recent months, the IED blast in Sopore has triggered concern among security agencies. They apprehend that some experts from across the border may have infiltrated recently and joined the militants here to revitalise and use the deadly old technique of IED blasts," the officer said. After Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Lashker-e-Toiba received major setbacks at the hands of security forces last year, Jaish took a frontal role in carrying out strikes on police and army. According to sources, Jaish has around 20 militants on its ranks and only three-four local militants remain associated with it. "The killing of six Jaish militants in border town of Uri in Baramulla points out that Pakistani handlers want to send reinforcement even in the peak of winter when most of the infiltration routes are closed due to heavy snowfall," sources said. More attacks likely Earlier this month, J&K police had arrested two militants and nine alleged over ground workers (OGWs) of militants from Sopore. The module, police said, was directly controlled by Hizb-ul commander Riyaz Naikoo and Jaish's Pakistani commanders Hammad and Ali, all based in south Kashmir. "Militants move freely in cars from north to south through a well established network of OGWs. If they feel the heat in south, they come to north Kashmir and keep low. There is a possibility of more fidayeen and IED attacks in coming months as local recruitment, as well as infiltration continues unabated," sources revealed. The stake sale in Air India could be done by splitting the flag carrier into four separate companies, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha has said. The disinvestment process of the debt-ridden airline is expected to be completed by 2018-end, Sinha said. The core airline business comprising Air India and Air India Express will be offered as one company, while its regional arm of ground-handling and engineering operations will also be sold separately, Sinha was quoted by Bloomberg as saying. "Aviation is a very fast-growing sector, with really exciting opportunities for all participants, so we felt that all of this will unlock growth and competitiveness of Air India group. We expect it to be a very bright future for its employees," he said. Sinha's comments come days after the Union Cabinet approved changes in the FDI policy to allow foreign carriers to own 49% stake in the flag carrier under the approval route. This would now allow foreign airlines to bid for the national carrier with an Indian partner, who will have majority stakes and control over management. The Union Cabinet on June 28, 2018, gave an "in principle" go ahead for the strategic disinvestment of Air India, which has a debt of over Rs 52,000 crore and surviving on a bailout package rolled out by the previous UPA government, after tasking a Group of Ministers to work out its modalities. Earlier in 2000, the then A B Vajpayee government had cleared the disinvestment of Air India, but it could not go through, following protests. Low-cost carrier IndiGo and the Tata Group had earlier evinced interest in bidding for the national carrier. Meanwhile, demanding a rollback on the decision to disinvest Air India, senior CPI MP D Raja shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the hasty move to sell off the national carrier will do "irreversible damage" to the country. Raja warned that the ticket prices will sky-rocket, if the government goes ahead with its plans, as the national carrier is acting as a "buffer" against a price cartel. "It is only the presence of Air India that is acting as buffer against the informal price cartel already in place," he said. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharam will fly in the Indian Air Force's Su-30 MKI combat jet on January 17 at the Jodhpur airbase. After her recent stay on board the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, this sortie would be a part of Nirmala's continued effort to gauge and review the operational preparedness and combat capabilities of the armed forces, said an IAF spokesperson. In 2006, President A P J Abdul Kalam and three years later his successor Pratibha Patil flew in the front line fighter aircraft, creating history. Last year, the Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju took a spin in Su-30MKI, which is the mainstay of the IAF. The IAF will use a two-seater trainer version of the aircraft for Nirmala's flight. India purchased 272 Su-30 MKI from Russia, out of which 236 jets were delivered to the IAF by Hindustan Aeronautics that manufacture the aircraft under a licence from Russia. The public sector aviation major targets to complete the entire delivery by 2019-20. Hours after Anuj Loya, the son of late Judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, said there was nothing suspicious in his death, the ex-CBI judge's uncle contradicted him and expressed anguish. Shrinivas Loya, the 81-year-old paternal uncle of judge Loya, told a magazine that Anuj was "too young" and likely "under pressure", pressing that an inquiry should be conducted into the death of the judge. When Deccan Herald contacted Loya in Latur, he seems to be apprehensive. "I have nothing to say now. Since he (Anuj) has already spoken, what can I saw now." Asked about the probe into the death of the judge, he said: "Who am I to decide on this. Since Anuj has already spoken, I have nothing left to speak." On Sunday at a hurriedly-convened news conference, Anuj said, "We are pained by the chain of events. Please do not harass us...my father's death was tragic. I don't have any suspicion of his death." Asked about the statements of his grandfather and his father's sisters, he said: "I was 17 then....we were under emotional turmoil." The committee set up to design a flag for Karnataka is preparing to submit a report to the government soon. A nine-member team had been set up under the chairmanship of Chakravarthi Mohan, secretary to the department of Kannada and Culture, through a government order dated June 6, 2017, to look into the legal sanctity of having a separate flag. The committee was also asked to design the flag. The committee has met two times and will hold its third meeting on January 17. Sources said that the flag design would be finalised in the upcoming meeting. "At the first meeting, we discussed whether the state needs a separate flag or not. In the second meeting, we resolved the issue. There is some work left with regard to the flag's colour and design and the legal aspects of having a separate flag," a source said. The task of creating four to five flag designs and presenting it at the meeting on Wednesday has been entrusted to the department of Kannada and Culture. The Law and Parliamentary Affairs department has been asked to prepare a study on the legal aspects. The secretaries to the law, home, parliamentary affairs, personnel and administrative reforms departments are the other members. Presidents of Kannada Sahitya Parishat and Kannada Development Authority and vice-chancellor of Hampi University are also part of the committee. During his recent visit to Delhi, Maldivian Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim said that his government will continue to adhere to Maldives's 'India First' policy with regard to the conduct of its foreign relations. The statement is welcome. It is a positive first step the Maldives has taken to repair relations with India. A little over a month ago, Maldives signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China during President Abdulla Yameen's visit to Beijing. This made the archipelago the second South Asian country, after Pakistan, to sign an FTA with the Chinese. Understandably, it triggered concern in Delhi as the FTA is likely to expand Chinese influence into Maldives, perhaps even pave the way for a Chinese military presence there. Such a presence would threaten India's interests as the Maldives is located near the Indian mainland and also lies near sea lanes through which traverse India's oil imports. Relations between India and the Maldives were strong for decades and India has always looked upon Male as a friend. After all, it has played a huge role in Maldives' political stability, security and economic development. Consequently, it believed that the archipelago would be sensitive to India's security and other concerns. The Yameen government's FTA with China has been seen in Delhi as a betrayal of that trust. Adding salt to injury was the fact that Maldives had promised to sign its first FTA with India. It did not do so. Moreover, the furtive manner in which the Yameen government went about finalising the FTA with China added to Delhi's suspicions. What transpired at the meetings between Indian leaders and Foreign Minister Asim has not been made public. It will take more than a feel-good statement from the Maldivians to convince India that Male prioritises India in its foreign policy. India will be watching to see whether Asim's verbal assurances translate into action. Last year, three Chinese warships docked at Maldives. Have we seen the last of such visits by Chinese vessels? Will Maldives finalise an FTA with India that will enable the latter to gain lost ground in the archipelago? Whether or not the Maldivian government has cleared the air with Delhi, India cannot undo the FTA. China's giant footprint in Maldives is a fait accompli. Hopefully, the Narendra Modi government has drawn some lessons from the Maldives fiasco. India's tardiness in finalising an FTA with Maldives opened space for the Chinese to step in. India's diplomats and intelligence officials failed the country. They did not foresee or act to prevent the Chinese from gaining ground in our strategic backyard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have the company of his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu when he will go for a yoga session next time. The bonhomie between Modi and Netanyahu was on full display when they addressed journalists after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Monday. If Modi called the Israeli prime minister by his nickname "Bibi", Netanyahu reciprocated the gesture by referring to his host as "Narendra". "My friend Narendra, any time you want to do a yoga class with mea it's a big stretch but I'll be there. Trust me," Netanyahu promised Modi, who is known to be an avid yoga practitioner and has taken part in public sessions on International Yoga Days in the past. The audience a journalists and officials joined them in laughter. And the two leaders hugged each other, just as they did at the airport on Monday, when Modi broke protocol to receive Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu at the tarmac. Earlier, Modi was the first to speak before media persons after he and Netanyahu witnessed an exchange of agreement. And he began by greeting the latter. "My good friend, Welcome to India," he said in Hebrew, amid applause from Netanyahu and rest of the delegation accompanying Israeli Prime Minister. Prime Minister recalled his landmark visit to Israel in July last year. "I carried the greetings and friendship of 1.25 billion Indians during my momentous journey to Israel. In return, I was overwhelmed by the generous affection and warmth of the Israeli people, led by my friend, Bibi," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday joined his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to call for early resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Modi and Netanyahu discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process at a one-to-one meeting they had in the afternoon and the formal parleys they later had leading their respective delegations. A joint statement issued after the Modi-Netanyahu meeting said that they had reaffirmed "their support for an early resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians for arriving at a comprehensive negotiated solution on all outstanding issues, based on mutual recognition and effective security arrangements, for establishing a just and durable peace in the region". The prime minister of Israel is on a six-day visit to India. His visit came just a few days after New Delhi voted at the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution asking the United States to withdraw President Donald Trump's recent decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. New Delhi, itself, however, stopped seeking East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine after December 2016. Ahead of Netanyahu's visit, Israel made it clear that while it was disappointed by India's vote at the UNGA, it would not affect efforts by the two nations to take bilateral ties to new heights. Modi's visit to Israel in July was the first by a prime minister of India to the Jewish state and it de-linked New Delhi's relations with Israel and Palestine. Indian dignitaries visiting Israel in the past had made it a point to visit Palestine, too. Former President Pranab Mukherjee had visited both Israel and Palestine. External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, too, had visited Palestine after touring Israel in January 2016, just as one of her predecessors, S M Krishna, had done in October 2012. India was the first non-Arab country to recognise Palestine way back in 1988. But New Delhi's growing ties with Israel after the BJP's ascent to power in May, 2014 fuelled speculation about India reviewing its position on Palestine. The Modi government made it clear that while India would continue to support the cause of Palestine, it would also seek to build stronger ties with Israel. The prime minister himself is likely to visit Palestine next month. At a meeting convened by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday on implementing the A J Sadashiva Commission report on internal reservation for the Scheduled Castes, the Left and the Right wings of the community seem to have come to an consensus. Siddaramaiah has invited leaders of Dalit associations on Monday, a day after he held a meeting with legislators and MPs from the community, to discuss the implementation of the report. The meeting was held in the wake of demand by the SC Left wing groups and their leaders that the government should provide internal reservation in order to ensure justice to those who failed to get the benefits of reservation in education and employment. The internal reservation has become a controversial issue with some SC Right wing groups and their leaders vehemently opposing it. Of this reservation of 15% to SCs, the commission recommended 6% to Left Community, 5% to Right Community, 3% to 'Touchables' and 1% to Other Scheduled Castes communities. According to sources, the consensus arrived at Monday's meeting is that reservation will be shared equally - 5.5 % each - between both Left and Right communities. Social Welfare Minister H Anjaneya said a final decision on implementing the report will be taken after obtaining legal opinion. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and senior Congress leaders may soon embark on a mass contact programme to seek inputs from the electorate on their expectations from the party if voted to power again in the upcoming Assembly elections. The manifesto-drafting exercise, helmed by senior leader M Veerappa Moily, has by and large been an internal affair involving consultations with party leaders from various regions to understand the aspirations of the people. On Saturday last, Congress president Rahul Gandhi asked the party leaders to fan out across the state and seek inputs from the people and include them in the party manifesto for the Assembly elections. The idea was first mooted by the Aam Aadmi Party which had reached out to voters in Delhi ahead of the 2013 Assembly elections seeking their inputs for the manifesto. The fledgling party had also come out with constituency-centric manifesto. The Congress tried out this concept during the recently concluded Gujarat Assembly elections. Technocrat and Overseas Congress Chairman Sam Pitroda was tasked with drafting the "People's Manifesto" for Gujarat. Pitroda had held meetings with the residents of five cities a Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Surat to prepare the manifesto covering areas such as healthcare, small and medium enterprises, job creation and environment protection. For Karnataka, Gandhi has asked the chief minister to involve senior leaders in a similar exercise. The Congress manifesto is expected to focus on five transformational ideas that would bring about fundamental changes in the economic and social conditions of the people of the state. Moily had claimed that the Siddaramaiah govenment had fulfilled 98% of the promises made in the Congress manifesto for the 2013 elections. The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has decided to launch "operation digital board" to provide interactive smart boards for every classroom in the government schools across the country. This came after the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) on Monday gave its approval to the ministry's proposal for providing an interactive digital board to all government schools along with other ICT tools to supplement the teaching-learning process in five years. "We will provide digital board, which is also known as whiteboard or smart board, to all the schools. This will be undertaken jointly by Central government and the state governments," HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said after the CABE meeting. The government will reach out to the India Inc for their contributions under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) to drive the programme. Efforts will also be taken to ensure community participation in the move, he said. "This will improve the quality of education. Students will be empowered with 360-degree information with the interesting learning experience and teacher accountability will also increase," the minister added. The CABE meeting also discussed the recommendation of its sub-committee to extend the scope of the Right to Education Act to pre-primary and secondary level schools. When asked if any decision was taken on the proposal, Javadekar said, "No final decision has yet been taken. This will require an amendment to the RTE Act. "It will take time. We will work on it and let you know when a final decision is taken. ," "Education ministers of 20 states attended the meeting, while rest of states and UTs were represented by their officials," Javadekar said, During the meeting, the minister also released district-wise report cards prepared on the basis of the first-ever class-wise and subject-wise assessment of the learning outcome of the students of Classes III, V and VIII conducted by the NCERT last year. The CABE members resolved to commit to ensuring quality, equity, accessibility, accountability and affordability in education "by pro-active action and plan." It also resolved to promote "human value education, life skill education, experiential learning to bring out good human beings out of the education system." Five Union Minister including Maneka Gandhi, Thawar Chand Gehlot, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore attended the meeting which will conclude on Wednesday. The BBMP will introduce Raksha Bands, wristbands that will act as a security device for women in distress in the city. The 'motion-sensitive' wristbands will detect any attack on women and send out a message or alarm to the police control room. The application used in the band raises the alarm whenever a woman in distress moves her arm to defend herself. The alarm will also alert the emergency contact numbers of the victims already registered through the app. The BBMP will invest nearly Rs 10 crore on this project that has been named Suraksha Mitra. It is part of a proposal the BBMP has submitted to the Centre to allocate Rs 100 crore from the Nirbhaya Fund. CCTV cameras and streetlighting are also part of the project. Mayor R Sampath Raj told DH: "Women's safety is our first priority. We will not only introduce safety wristbands but will also use the Nirbhaya Fund to instal streetlights and CCTV cameras in the identified black spots." A number of safety bands and mobile apps are already available in the market. For instance, the city police have the 'Suraksha' mobile app which sends SOS alerts to the Namma 100 emergency helpline that will direct the nearest pink Hoysala patrol team through the GPS technology to track and help the distressed women. But women activists say the authorities should enforce the law and order in the city, instead of relying on technology-based bands. "Security bands or apps are not useful all the time. The authorities should have zero tolerance for crimes related to women," said Tara Krishnaswamy, of Citizens for Bengaluru (CFB). "They must make sure criminals are punished so that these crimes do not recur." In her opinion, the government could spend this money on hiring more policewomen and providing basic safety amenities such as streetlights and CCTV cameras. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday called upon Israeli companies to manufacture more military hardware in India as the two nations inked nine pacts. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nudged Modi to restart the negotiation on the proposed India-Israel Free Trade Agreement. The Ministry of Commerce will now send a delegation to Israel next month to discuss the issue with the officials of the West Asian nation. The nine deals signed after the two prime ministers met at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi includes two for bilateral cooperation in cybersecurity and the hydrocarbon sector. Israel offered cutting-edge technology to help revolutionise agriculture in India with the use of big data, ground sensors and drones. Modi and Netanyahu also agreed to deepen cooperation in innovation, business and trade, space, counter-terrorism and homeland security, higher education and research, science and technology, and tourism and culture. Modi later told media persons that he had called upon the defence companies of Israel to set-up joint ventures with firms in India and manufacture more in the country, taking advantage of the Foreign Direct Investment regime, which his government had liberalised. Netanyahu also said that he had discussed issues related to "cooperation in defence" so that the two governments could keep people of their nations "safe and secure". The prime ministers, however, did not comment on India's recent decision to cancel the Rs 3,200 crore ($ 500 million) tender (Request for Proposal) to procure 1600 Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel's Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, a state-owned entity. Secretary (Economic Relations) Vijay Gokhale later told media persons that the two prime ministers did not go into the specifics of the issue. Sources, however, told DH that both sides explored possibilities of a government-to-government deal for India to procure a lesser number of anti-tank missiles from Israel. A joint statement issued after the meeting noted that it was important to set the direction for developing more business models and partnerships for the joint ventures and joint manufacturing, including the transfer of technology as well as joint research and development in defence and security. The prime ministers have asked the defence ministries of both the governments to hold discussions this year with the active involvement of public and private sectors to create the basis for a viable, sustainable and long-term cooperation in the defence industry. Modi and Netanyahu recognised the "grave threat" that terrorism posed to peace and security, "including from non-state actors". There could be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever, Modi and Netanyahu noted and advocated "strong measures" not only against terrorists and terror organisations but also against "those who sponsored, encouraged or financed terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups". The Memorandum of Intent between Invest India and Invest in Israel will facilitate the exchange of information on investment opportunities, relevant laws and regulations, policies and government initiatives. The MoU on cybersecurity cooperation will set the stage for collaboration in skill development and exchange of information. The MoU on cooperation in hydrocarbons is intended to promote collaboration in upstream sectors, research and development in future technologies and startups in oil and gas sector. Israel has been offering India partnership in production from its new-found natural gas reserves in the Mediterranean Sea as well as for sale of the produce. 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe WikiLeaks source Chelsea Manning confirms Senate bid Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst convicted of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks, confirmed Sunday that she's running in Maryland for a Senate seat. Chelsea Manning "Yup, we're running for Senate," Manning tweeted three days after she filed her statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission. The tweet also included a campaign video indicating her intention to run in the 2018 Maryland Democratic primary and was followed by a tweet seeking donations to her campaign. She is running for the seat held by two-term Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin. The 71-second video weaves together images of white supremacists holding tiki torches in Charlottesville, Virginia, as well as protesters clashing with police elsewhere. "We live in trying times . times of fear . of suppression . of hate," Manning said. The montage shifts to the US Capitol and President Donald Trump sitting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats. "We don't need more or better leaders," Manning continued. "We need someone willing to fight. We need to stop asking them to give us our rights. They won't support us. They won't compromise." The video also shows Manning holding a rose and ends with her saying, "You're damn right we got this." The 30-year-old Manning was known as Bradley Manning when arrested in 2010 for leaking the classified documents to WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy website. Manning came out as transgender after being sentenced to 35 years in prison. Former President Barack Obama granted Manning clemency before leaving office last year. She was released from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in May. However, Manning has yet to file for the primary with the state elections board, which she must do in person by 27 February, according to the board's website. Cardin also has not filed. But campaign finance reports show that his organisation had nearly $2 million cash on hand in late September. The Washington Post first reported Saturday that Manning has filed to run in Maryland for the seat of Democratic Sen Ben Cardin. When Manning was released from Fort Leavenworth, she told the AP in an email that she was eager to define her future - but made no mention of politics. Manning was born in Oklahoma and had planned to move to Maryland, where she has an aunt. She has been registered to vote at the apartment in North Bethesda since mid-August, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. Her recent move would not affect a Senate bid. To run for that office, a person must be at least 30 years old, a US citizen for nine years and an inhabitant of the state at election time, according to the Maryland State Board of Elections. A felony conviction does not appear to preclude a run. Since leaving prison, Manning has become known for controversial tweets, often accompanied with a series of emojis and the hashtag #WeGotThis. Manning recently tweeted out the message ''f---k the police'' on Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, along with the hashtag #DisarmThePolice. Manning has also referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as ''literally the new Gestapo.'' Find out how increased super contributions, as well as other changes, could affect you and your employer in the year to come. Several crucial changes to Australians superannuation came into effect from the 1st of July last year. Those who made extra super contributions, couples whose combined income was less than $40,000 and those with an income close to or exceeding $250,000 were among those who are expected to be affected. But as 2018 begins, it is time to focus on the latest set of scheduled changes to superannuation. A thorough understanding of these changes, and how they will affect you, will assist you in making informed decisions for the balance of the 2017/2018 financial year, and beyond. The rising Maximum Super Contribution Base, and further changes. The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has released the key facts and figures regarding superannuation rates and thresholds for the 2017/2018 financial year. For 2017/2018, the Super Guarantee (SG) rate is 9.5%, the same as it was in 2016/2017. The SG rate is not due to increase until July 2021, when it is expected to rise to 10%. While the SG rate will not be increasing in the immediate future, the maximum super contribution base (MSCB) for 2017/2018 will be is increasing. The MSCB will be rising to $52,760 per quarter (an approximate 2.21% increase on the 2016/2017 MSCB ). The maximum SG obligation for your employer will be $5,012.20 per quarter (being 9.5% of $52,760), or $20,048.80 per year. Whilst the maximum super co-contribution entitlement remains unchanged at $500, the eligibility income thresholds are set to increase. The lowest income threshold for full entitlement will be $36,813 (an approximate 2.20% increase on the 2016/2017 threshold) and the highest income threshold will be $51,813 (an approximate 1.55% increase on the 2016/2017 threshold). Other changes include the low rate cap amount for super lump sum payments will increase to $200,000, and the super Capital Gains Tax (CGT) cap increases to $1,445,000 (this cap applies where you make a personal super contribution using the capital proceeds of the sale of certain small business assets. In addition to these changes, the First Home Buyer Super Saver Scheme (FHSSS) has passed through Parliament. From the 1st of July 2018, the scheme means that first home buyers can use their superannuation savings for a house deposit. From the 1st of July 2017, the FHSSS will apply to personal super contributions of up to $15,000 per year above your compulsory contributions, up to $30,000 in total. Then, according to the FHSSS, these entry-level buyers can access these contributions, along with deemed earnings, and use them to acquire property. Commentary on the implications of FHSSS What do industry experts have to say about these upcoming changes? Treasurer Scott Morrison said, of FHSSS, that the majority of first-home buyers that use the scheme would be able to accelerate their savings by at least 30%. Michael Sukkar, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer, said that FHSSS would also allow older Australians to contribute the proceeds of the sale of their family home to superannuation, better target deductions relating to residential investment properties and boost the availability of rental accommodation in the market. However, the exact number of people who will take advantage of FHSSS will not become clear until the scheme itself begins to gather momentum. Dr. Martin Fahy, the chief executive of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), speculated that it may take time before the FHSSS becomes widely known. How Does This Affect You? Your superannuation is your future, so being aware of how these recent changes affect you will assist in planning for a comfortable one. Seeking guidance from a professional financial planner is always advisable before making any decisions regarding your superannuation or savings. NSF Nominees Pty Limited ABN 29 053 228 667 AFSL 253129 Trustee of Nationwide Superannuation Fund (Nationwide Super) ABN 15 201 768 813 This document contains general information only and has been prepared without taking into account your financial objectives, situation or needs. It may, therefore, not be right for you. Before you make any investment decision, we suggest you consult Nationwide Supers Product Disclosure Statement available at nationwidesuper.com.au/PDS and/or seek licensed financial advice. As at the time of compilation, the information contained in this document is correct and any estimates, opinions, conclusions or recommendations are reasonably held or made. Subsequent events may mean that the information becomes out-of- date and so, to the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all liability and responsibility for any direct or indirect loss or damage which may be suffered by any recipient through relying on anything contained in or omitted from this document. Author Bio: Nationwide Super looks after the superannuation needs of people who work in and run small businesses right around Australia. Theyre a multi-industry superannuation fund that has been serving the Australian community since 1987, offering competitive products and highly-regarded personalised service. As a member-based business, their focus is not on generating profits for shareholders but to return benefits to members for their retirement. 'Putschist' Sisi prepares for the elections Egypt's putschist President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi began his propaganda studies fort the elections in late March. Banners are being hanged on behalf of Sisi on the streets in Egypt. Egypt will hold a presidential election in late March, authorities said on Monday, starting the countdown toward a likely second term in office for Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Despite of Egypt was dragged into economic and sociological crisis since Sisi was elected as president, he doesnt consider giving up his throne. CAIRO IS FULL OF BANNERS Al-Sisi has yet to formally announce his candidacy, but with less than three months to go before the vote, no candidate who could pose a serious challenge to him has emerged. Banners are being hanged on behalf of Sisi by goverment officials. Sisi is shown as savior of country and hero as is he didnt drag Egypt into catastrophy. In the wake of the ongoing sexual assault epidemic that is currently sweeping through Hollywood, one of the most effective campaigns created in response to it was the Time's Up movement. The movement was launched at the beginning of 2018. Now, it has more than 300 people in the industry attached to it, including Oprah Winfrey, Shonda Rhimes, and Reese Witherspoon. One of the goals of the campaign is to provide better opportunities, benefits, and pay for the female workers in Hollywood. Because of this, more females gained the strength to name their attackers. The recent award shows have also picked famous actresses to present throughout the ceremonies. The 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards show will do just the same. The Women Continue To Take Over Hollywood The SAGs has just announced its list of presenters for the evening. Just like the 2018 Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards, it will be another night for the ladies. Confirmed to be presenting throughout the night are Halley Berry, Emma Stone, Dakota Fanning Lupita Nyong'o, Dakota Fanning Kelly Marie Tran, Holly Hunter, Mary J. Blige, Frances McDormand, and Allison Williams. "Beginning with the Women's March in January, it's been the year of the woman. This is a unifying salute to women who have been very brave and speaking up," executive producer Kathy Connell stated. In addition to the actresses, actors Jason Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Daniel Kaluuya, Kumail Nanjiani, Sam Rockwell, and Ray Romano will also grace the stage. Actor Morgan Freeman will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Bad Moms and Frozen actress Kristen Bell will be the host of the show for the first time ever. "I'm so glad that I'll be in the company of my fellow actors, many of whom I've worked with before, so I know they'll be warm and supportive. It's going to be an amazing night," Bell stated. There hasn't been any word yet if the Blackout movement will be present on the red carpet. However, the award show will probably touch on the scandals in a humorous, yet graceful way. Films such as I, Tonya, The Shape of Water, Call Me by Your Name, The Darkest Hour, and The Post will once again compete for the prize. The Screen Actors Guild Awards will air on Jan. 21, 2018 live on TNT and TBS. Steve Bannons spontaneous combustion By Michael R. Shannon Its been said that death was a good career move for Elvis, it remains to be seen if Steve Bannons WatchMeBurnDownMyCareer Tour will be equally favorable for his future prospects. The coverage of his quotes and leaks in Michael Wolffs new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House has been nothing short of incendiary. Last week Bannon alienated President Trump, driven away his largest financial backer and made himself look delusional by thinking he could successfully run for president. He now joins another Breitbart.com alumnus, Milo Yiannopoulos, in the firm of Persona Non-Grata and Partners. Right now, the only way Bannon could possibly make the situation worse would be for him to start dating Kathy Griffin or ask to borrow her Trump head. Ive been reading coverage of the book excerpts and making lists. I started with the list of people who thought Trump would lose the election and then moved on to the list of people who hold Trump in contempt. There is plenty of overlap, but the name thats surprising is Trumps! Trump is on the roster of people who thought he wouldnt win the election. That goes a long way toward explaining why he broke his first promise to his voters and didnt selffund the campaign. Trump doesnt back losers. According to Wolff, his goal was to become even more famous and then cash in on his increased notoriety after the election and make Trump enterprises even bigger. No wonder his campaign was composed of a thin veneer of consultants on top and large numbers of enthusiastic rally attendees at the bottom, with mostly nothing in between. Trump was happy with the adulation of the masses, the attention of the media and the consternation of the entrenched political class. Trump was liberated by his low expectations. What the Opposition Media overlooks is the narrative of no expectation for victory completely undermines the colluded with Russia to win fantasy. If a steelyeyed Trump was telling his meager staff to win at all costs, well its Putin on line #1. But if the campaign was a lark, an ego trip and a roadshow then it makes no sense for Trump to be looking to Moscow for help in beating Crooked Hillary. The motive for collusion vanishes. Trumps references to Russia and email were laugh lines at rallies and debates that grim, humorless, Trumphating reporters purposely choose to take literally. Trump in the book was on a funfilled romp insulting other Republicans, attacking Hillary and generating unprecedented news coverage that was going to conclude on election night. He would have one last rally that night, claim Hillary stole the election and then start exploiting his newfound fame. Much of the staff planned on doing the same thing. According to the book, The candidate and his top lieutenants believed they could get all the benefits of almost becoming president without having to change their behavior or their worldview one whit. A vote margin of under 10 points for a candidate with Trumps negatives, would be impressive and help build the client list. Colluding with Russia on the other hand would have been work. Serious business like that requires planning and longterm strategy, which were not a characteristic of the Trump campaign. And that leads me to the tragedy of the book and the campaign. A candidate who didnt think he would win, won a stunning victory because he ran on issues that resonated with Americans who were tired of being told their beliefs were hateful or backward. These citizens were sick of being treated with thinlyveiled contempt by political, academic and corporate elites who intended to change the US whether they liked it or not. These voters stayed with Trump through thick and thin and delivered an Electoral College victory. If Trump had been a candidate who left discussions of female anatomy exploration to experts like Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer, theres an excellent chance he could have won the popular vote, too. Reestablishing the rule of law, protecting borders, putting America First, protecting the unborn and rolling back the cultural depredations of the left are important issues and Trumps victory may be the last chance conservatives will have. If his feckless approach to governing doesnt deliver on his promises or Trump is forced out of office, no foreseeable Republican presidential candidate will embrace those issues. It will be one complacent, country club Republican after another. A failed state of affairs that will make Trumps outraged response to Bannons comments become poignant. Trump said his historic victorywas delivered by the forgotten men and women of this country. A failed presidency or one that betrays his promises will guarantee they remain forgotten. Michael R. Shannon is a public relations and advertising consultant with corporate, government and political experience around the globe. He is a dynamic and entertaining keynote speaker. He can be reached at mandate.mmpr (at) gmail.com. He is also the author of Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!). Home Leftist arrogance: Why liberals need to look down on conservatives By Selwyn Duke Did you ever wish you could buy liberals for what you know theyre worth and sell them for what they think theyre worth? A common theme among progressives is that conservatives arent just wrong, theyre dumb. Reagan was dumb. G.W. Bush was dumb. Trump is dumb. Knuckle-dragger, mouth-breather, stupid and uncultured are typical pejoratives hurled at conservatives, who apparently tend to live in trailer parks, require dental care, handle snakes and marry first cousins. Why, I had a liberal actor (excuse the redundancy) tell me once that I wasnt necessarily bad, just not as evolved as he was. (I had a great retort at the ready, but decided to just lash him with my tail instead.) The reason for this arrogance isnt as simple as many may think, as it relates to a deep psychological phenomenon that makes it difficult for those afflicted to evolve out of the leftist primordial soup. Ill introduce this with a story. Many years ago I was at an affair attended by a very chauvinistic, left-wing Greek fellow who would expound upon the superiority of Greek culture while at times demeaning the U.S. He was like the father character in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, only with an anti-American twist. Desiring to take him down a peg and do a little face-to face trolling, I finally said with a smirk, If all thats true, why is Greece now like a Third World country? (For those offended, know that I have great respect for ancient Greek accomplishments, just love moussaka and have the physique of a Spartan hoplite.) Well, I exaggerate not when saying he turned red and, with veins popping out in his neck, exclaimed, Dont say that! Dont say that!! It was the kind of situation where you get the feeling the guy might take a swing at you. His intense reaction wasnt hard to explain. His self-esteem, his self-image, were wholly dependent upon the idea that he was a member of an elite, a superior group, with which he identified so closely that there was little to no separation in his mind between it and him. This was something deeply ingrained, part of the fabric of his being. Thus, any challenge to this idea struck directly at an intractable self-image, threatening to upset his egos world order, which had him, through group association, at its very pinnacle. This phenomenon is common. Its often exhibited by those considering themselves part of a master race or any kind of special group. It can be very comforting: A person may not be very accomplished, intelligent or gifted and might otherwise feel quite inadequate. But his group association saves his psyches day, for whatever he is or isnt, at least hes not like those other people, those untouchables. What this means is that the claim to superiority is often a cover for feelings of inferiority. Remember that at issue here isnt a mere intellectual appreciation. For example, I truly believe Western culture (which did originate with ancient Greece, mind you) is superior to all others. Yet I derive no self-esteem from being a Westerner; its just not part of who I am. Rather, the phenomenon in question here is a deeply emotional one. For this reason, its wholly resistant to intellectual appeals. You cant logically talk someone out of something irrational on which his self-worth is entirely based. In fact, if it begins to dawn on such a person that his notions of superiority and hence his self-image rest on a lie, it will be intensely painful and depressing. The individual will thus have a strong incentive to rationalize this realization away. I dont claim that every single leftist derives his self-esteem from the notion hes part of a superior group called liberals, nor does this phenomenon completely explain leftist resistance to reason. But it is common among devoted liberals, and its part of why, as a group, they cant give traditionalist views a fair hearing. Doing so doesnt just threaten their ideology; it threatens who they are, their entire self-image. Any argument that may give them even an inkling they may be wrong can induce a bit of panic and is thus quickly rationalized away often as the rambling of uneducated, un-evolved mouth-breathers who just dont know any better. This phenomenon is exacerbated by two related factors. First, liberals are generally dysfunctional, vice-ridden people who embrace what we call liberalism because its underlying moral relativism/nihilism helps them justify their sins (they become the arbiters of their own values Everything is gray, a matter of perspective. I have my own truth). Simultaneously, liberalism allows these virtue-bereft people to virtue-signal by paying homage to the days fashionable values. In other words, liberals are generally morally unaccomplished people who often have nothing to cling to but the illusion of intellectual, and often moral, superiority. (As to the lefts actual moral inferiority, I urge you to read the excellent 2008 piece Don't listen to the liberals Right-wingers really are nicer people, latest research shows.) Second, conservatives are more likely to have authentic faith while liberals tend be to avowed or de facto atheists, which is why church attendance is one of the best predictors of voting patterns. This has an effect. Theists may, and hopefully will, recognize moral differences among people and groups; any tendency to become haughty, however, is often tempered by a divine injunction prescribing humility and the knowledge that were all sinners, part of a fallen race. Love for others is also demanded. But atheism involves no such requirements; in fact, its correlative moral relativism/nihilism (explained here) makes If it feels good, do it the ultimate guide for behavior. Moreover, unable to look up at divine perfection, and with the individual becoming his own source of (pseudo) morality, the self is often exalted, the ego deified. Like a pharaoh believing hes a god on Earth, it then becomes easy to look down on others. Just as liberalism is defined not by an unchanging set of doctrines but by opposition to conservatism and what it defends the status quo godless liberals can only judge themselves relative to other people. And being moral train wrecks, they cant really be happy. But, hey, whatever they may or maynt be, Mr. Conservative, at least theyre not you. And thats one status quo theyre dead set on maintaining. Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com. Home From "Lone Wolf to "Known Wolf: The role of "cultural fuel and "personal triggers By Dr. Irwin J. Mansdorf When a solitary 37-year-old Palestinian Arab, known both to the local Israeli community and to security forces as non-threatening, friendly and as having good relations with all drew a pistol and killed three Israelis in Har Adar in September 2017, many questions that challenged the traditional thinking of who is a potential terrorist were raised. If this individual, who ostensibly did not fit the profile of a potential terrorist, committed such an act, is there any way to accurately predict such behavior? More to the point, is there anyone that can be trusted not to be a potential attacker? The lone wolf phenomenon continues to pose extraordinary challenges to security forces and has become, as Charles Krauthammer stated, the new nightmare. Less rigorously studied than organized terrorism, it represents a privatization of terror that can be carried out by literally anyone and almost anytime, hence, the difficulty in early detection and prevention. Conventional wisdom among the Israeli political right consistently speaks of incitement as the critical element in accounting for terrorism, including lone wolf attacks. Among the political left, broader concepts of lack of progress towards peace and frustration appear to be used more. But despite the cause, these attacks are always treated with reverence by the Palestinian Arab press and in Palestinian organizations and institutions, with attackers being hailed as national heroes and families, as well as prisoners being rewarded financially. It is precisely this societal acceptance, reinforcement, and status that, as noted by Zuhdi Jasser makes these cases known wolves rather than lone wolves, since every member of the society is exposed to these factors and thus a potential wolf. But as demonstrated in a previous study, some young Palestinian Arabs feel that perpetrators of attacks all suffer from some sort of personal psychological or social distress which, if true, would point to these individuals being more at risk and thus more known to carry out an attack. However, while such distress may predispose these individuals to carry out an attack, it may not be the actual cause of the attack. Without the fuel of cultural support, the triggers would likely find another outlet or target. In this way, the attackers may fit the description of Yossi Kuperwasser as being like the first kernels of popcorn that pop in a microwave. However, while Kuperwassers description speaks of the popcorn kernels being randomly ignited, with every individual potentially subject to the same behavior, it may be the ones with predisposing factors (which may include personal and psychological distress) that pop first and fall into the known wolf category. Factors Related to Lone-Known Wolf Terror Attacks: Incitement and cultural support Political stalemate Popular (civil) frustration Reinforcement by society as heroes Material benefits to family Personal distress While each factor carries with it an ideological-political basis (i.e., the right focuses on incitement as the major factor, the left on political frustration, Palestinian officialdom on national and Islamic pride) there may actually be multiple and indeed interactive forces at play. But, similar to lone wolf active shooter incidents around the world, it may also be possible that these behaviors are only peripherally associated with political or nationalistic motives, and are ascribed such motives only after the fact. Spaaij notes that to be classified as terrorism the main purpose of the attackers actions must be ideological or politically driven and not due to other, personal reasons. In the realm of Palestinian Arab terror, it may be helpful to look at two major elements at work. First, a fuel of cultural acceptability and veneration of those carrying out the attacks. Second, a trigger that activates the fuel and results in an actual attack. While not all global lone wolf actions (such as active shooters) necessarily follow this structure, Palestinian Arab lone wolf terror almost certainly does, with the presence of a strong ideological fuel almost ubiquitous in the broader society acting as a contributing factor. This fuel can be ignited by factors which place an individual at risk (known) for this behavior and reinforce the actions, notwithstanding the attackers personal intentions. Who Is a Risk for Lone Wolf Behavior? As noted in an earlier paper, to fully understand the dynamics of Palestinian Arab lone wolf terror, it is necessary to examine not only who commits such attacks, but also who does not. For example, until the July 14, 2017, attack on the Temple Mount, few, if any, cases of Israeli Arab citizens involved in terror have taken place. Moreover, it appears that when these attacks have occurred, they are related more to broader Islamic factors than to Palestinian nationalism. Indeed, when attacks by Israeli citizens take place, the rarity of the phenomenon leads to questions of motives, unlike more common traditional Palestinian violence where the motive is assumed to be nationalistic. The investigation into another attack by an Israeli Arab similarly showed the motives to be broad Islamic factors rather than nationalistic based; this is a finding that would support the notion that individuals subscribing to this ideology would be more known as potential attackers. Another subgroup that historically has not been involved in attacks are Palestinians with work permits. While the Har Adar attacker did have a work permit, this was a striking exception to the lack of terror activity in this population, seemingly making this population less known to carry out an attack. While Jerusalem Arabs do not require work permits, they have indeed been involved in terror attacks. However, significant and integrated work venues with large Palestinian Arab work forces, particularly hotels and hospitals as well as supermarkets and restaurants, have never had a terror attack perpertrated by their employees, despite the presence of means (knives) and opportunity (Israeli Jews and tourists). Questions can be legitimately raised as to why those who are employed in these particular venues, Israeli Arabs and Palestinians with work permits, have generally not been involved in terror. Does the absence of terror in these populations point to the absence of fuel (i.e., incitement) or does it perhaps mean that certain triggers are not present to ignite the fuel? Triggers can be personal, such as individual psychological or social distress, or they can be environmental, such as a signal or message in social media, or a dog whistle by the political leadership to act. When the trigger is presented, however, will those with a greater concentration of fuel would be more likely (known) to react? Notwithstanding the presence of cultural fuel, the concept of protective vs. risk factors may also be relevant here. Risk factors (such as having had a relative killed by Israeli forces) are associated with increased likelihood of an event taking place; protective factors, such as employment in an Arab-Jewish environment, are characteristics that lower that likelihood. Identifying potential risk vs. protective factors may be important in determining who will be a known wolf. Are Lone Wolves Psychologically or Socially Distressed above and beyond Their Peers? Young attackers in the 20152016 knife intifada. Clockwise: Hilwa Salim Darwish; Diyaa Abdul Talahmeh; Fadi Aloun; Muhannad Halabi Although saying that a lone wolf attacker has personal issues may seem to some to be logical and obvious, attributing such motives as a factor in these attacks is encumbered by political constrictions of both the right and the left. On the right, such reasoning is quickly dismissed and attacked as excusing away terror through what some, like Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, consider media psychobabble, which provides an alibi for intentional incitement in Palestinian society. On the other hand, witness this reaction by Michael Waltzer to psychological explanations for terror behavior (by Avner Falk). He speaks of such explanations simply being left-wing excuses for terrorism and chooses to dismiss the psychological and focus solely on the political. Maybe psychologists have something to say on behalf of understanding. But the only political response to ideological fanatics and suicidal holy warriors is implacable opposition. The left, as noted by Seth Frantzman, may also minimize personal motives and focus solely on ideological-political issues such as lack of diversity in accounting for terror. This is the logic that underpins why our society always sympathizes and excuses serial killing terrorists. Can anyone imagine someone giving a speech in Congress saying that the lack of having southern white men in cinema would drive them to join the KKK? Not enough Germans portrayed positively, then they have to join the Nazis? Why is it if you dont have enough Korean actors portrayed in cinema in the UK, that Koreans dont all become extreme? To illustrate the minimization of other than ideological-political explanations, here is another left-wing perspective (the Socialist Worker [UK]) on a terror attack in Britain that focuses on the reaction to the attack by Prime Minister Theresa May as worse than the attack itself: The specific measures May proposed since the London attack are even more shocking than her racist rhetoric: increased surveillance of Arab and Muslim communities, tighter regulation of the Internet, escalations in the war against ISIS in the Middle East, even new laws to ban the burka and strip convicted terrorists of their citizenship This will produce the exact conditions that drive some individuals among the persecuted in Britain to lash out, in despair and bitterness, with further acts of terror, whether these are coordinated with reactionary Islamist forces such as ISIS or not. Even when a cogent analysis of lone wolf terror is presented by progressive writers, as in an ACLU presentation by Matthew Harwood, the conclusions and lessons to be learned seem to be political, i.e., avoid violating the civil rights of individual Muslims. In Palestinian Arab society, public explanations are always ascribed to nationalistic motives, and terror acts are almost never (except in the case of particularly heinous attacks) condemned publicly (although individual off the record condemnations do take place). This has not prevented the Israeli political echelon to repeatedly demand such condemnation, even though unconditional condemnation (as opposed to terror on both sides) usually never happens. Palestinian press tends to focus on the victimization of Palestinians as an aftermath of these attacks rather than condemnation of the attack itself. We see thus, that there is a tendency towards right-wing linking of terror to a political agenda, left-wing linking of terror to a social agenda, and Palestinian political linking of terror to martyrdom and heroism. Nowhere in these ideological frameworks is psychological or personal distress or other behavioral-social factors considered. While the ideological component is, of course, important, it is only part of the picture and ignoring other potentially relevant factors effectively lowers the chances of identifying the known wolf. The Quandary with the Psychological Study of Terror Scholars and researchers need to be able to present explanations for lone wolf attacks, which can be studied and considered without becoming embroiled in political controversy. Such explanations in a scientific study are not either-or options, and the psychological factor may co-exist within a political framework. This is often difficult to present, with any description that includes psychological factors mistakenly criticized as attempts to normalize or explain an attackers behavior and thus met with derision and bafflement. The reasons behind lone wolf terror attacks are increasingly seen as varied and taking a one size fits all approach may be expedient politically or ideologically, but may also be inaccurate scientifically. When it comes to the lone wolf turning into the known wolf, the standard rulebook is a work in progress, with new cases shedding light on factors not always previously considered. Being stuck in an ideological bubble clouds the understanding that such new information brings. The Har Adar attack, where a seemingly normal individual carried out the murder of three Israelis is one such presentation. Despite the appearance and behavior that the Har Adar residents ascribed to the attacker, reports claim that he was beset by serious family issues, with his wife leaving him a few weeks earlier. More importantly, the attacker differed from other lone wolves in that he did not broadcast extremist views to others in his immediate social environs. While these observations have yet to be verified definitively, the appearance of normality of the attacker has created yet another set of criticism from those who see any psychosocial component as an illegitimate cover for terror activity. Whether or not the Har Adar attacker, who was killed in the attack, had personal motives is a clinical question not easily answered without more definitive information, but what is clear is that whatever the motive behind the attack, it will be used by each ideological and political camp for their own purposes. Whether or not the intention was nationalistic, Palestinian media and officials will define the attack as martyrdom and declare the attacker a hero. And even if the attack was shown to be a vehicle for some personal grievance unrelated to nationalism, others will declare it another example of how incitement inflames Palestinian to terror or how desperate conditions fuels violence. Yet, the common denominator that cannot be ignored in almost all Palestinian Arab lone wolf attacks is the cultural factor of support for these attacks, with a strong almost romantic religious element of istishihad [voluntary martyrdom, which results in no pain upon death]. This is true whether or not the attacker intended it as such, as the society at large will inevitably support the attack, and the attacker will serve as a model for future attackers. What appears to be clear in creating known wolves is the following: Leadership promotion and societal acceptance of false and racist narratives regarding Jews and Israel (see Kuperwassers pillars) is multifaceted and broadly accepted in Palestinian society. This behavior, along with overt reinforcement and praise for attackers, creates a cultural atmosphere (the fuel) that supports violence against Israelis. While specific subgroups of Palestinian Arabs are more likely to carry out lone wolf terror attacks; certain subgroups of Palestinians have never carried out terror attacks, despite means and opportunity and despite being exposed to incitement narratives. There may be known protective factors operative in these populations that should be identified. There is evidence that lone wolves carry with them a higher level of psychological and/or social distress. This can be considered a potential risk factor. The venue plays a role in the likelihood for violence. Palestinian Arabs in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria are more likely or known to be violent than those who reside in Israel proper with Israeli citizenship. An Alternative Possibility: Exploitation of Terror by the Lone Wolf The evidence appears to show that lone wolves can fit different profiles. One possibility (politically incorrect to the right-wing) is that the behavior is a socially acceptable means of acting out that is more related to psychopathology or other socio-personal issues than to ideological drive. Sometimes, this can be misused and grossly misapplied, as in the case of the Fort Hood shooting by someone clearly motivated by Islamist ideas being labeled as workplace violence. But other cases of seemingly good guys who go on to commit atrocious acts show that such behavior is not always only in the realm of the ideological, but can also be in the realm of criminal or psychopathological behavior. From serial killers, to those with hitherto unknown personal issues, to ordinary people next door, cases of individuals who commit violent acts without warning are not uncommon. Complicating this picture in Palestinian terror is the predictable self-sacrifice that comes with attacking security forces and behavior not unlike the phenomenon known as suicide by cop with at least one such (unsuccessful) attempt behind the alleged terror attack by one Israeli Arab woman. Other attacks by Palestinian women where they have been or were likely to be killed have been attributed to attempts to atone for social-religious transgressions, such as having an adulterous affair, becoming pregnant out of wedlock, etc. If, as some evidence suggests, Palestinian Arab lone wolves carry a higher degree of psychological and social distress, it may be that their attacks have a functional purpose that fits under the guise of a noble and ideological act. Functionally, they may be suicidal, but cultural proscriptions against this behavior and the shame their families would face prevents them from taking their own lives. It is important and critical to note, however, this does not negate the central contributory influence of factors referred to as incitement. The social acceptance of antipathy towards Jews (and Israelis) and the approval of violence as a means of resistance and rectifying perceived injustice may make the exploitation of terror the perfect vehicle for attackers with non-ideological grievances. Among Palestinians, suicide rates are an issue, with data showing the rates similar to that in Western society. Some attempt to attribute this to despair by the occupation although the phenomenon appears to be fueled by psychological issues and family disputes. Murder rates are also reported by the Palestinian Authority, and to the degree the data is reliable, they reported 54 homicides in 2015. And while, as mentioned earlier, Israeli Arabs have not been involved in terror activity, they account for 59 percent of the murders in Israel (almost three times their share in the population). Presumably, none of the murders reported by the PA or Israel involving Arabs have an ideological basis or are considered terror-linked. The presence of an ideological cover for a violent act may be convenient, but in all probability ideology alone is not the sole or even primary motive when criminal, psychological, or social issues are a major force driving the behavior. Without the ability to save face, it may be that the act would not have taken place, but it is also possible that it simply would be part of the mundane statistics of other criminal behavior such as noted above. For cases where psychological issues or personal or family distress drives the behavior, being seen as a martyr may be a side benefit, but not the major reason for committing the act. Recognizing this possibility does not diminish the need to call out and condemn the consistent cultural messages in Palestinian Arab society that have long existed, which have created an atmosphere where violence against Jews is accepted. However, to accurately analyze and address the issue, the science and not the ideology needs to be the determining factor. Sometimes there are exceptions to the rule, while at other times the exception is the rule. Appropriating an individuals behavior for a political purpose takes place whether it is from the right, the left or from the source of terror itself. For example, in the Las Vegas shooting at the Mandalay Hotel, perpetrated by a non-Muslim lone wolf, ISIS was quick to take credit for the action, although the FBI denied any connection. Curiously, the claiming of responsibility by ISIS then allowed the left to point out that more white men than Muslims are involved in shooting attacks and the right, to further speak of the dangers of Muslims in the United States. In the case of the Sutherland Springs, Texas church shootings on November 5, 2017, the shooter, Devin P. Kelley, had a serious and strong mental health background with a documented history of violence, even escaping at one point from a mental hospital. This did not stop both sides of the gun control debate to weigh in with their respective opinions despite the known quality of the perpetrators behavior and the revelation that it was a reporting error (and not a failed policy) that mistakenly allowed him to be able to purchase weapons legally. Ideology sometimes takes a back seat to practical considerations in Palestinian society as well. In a recent interview on Palestinian TV, one official stated that Palestinian minors commit terror acts not to hurt Israelis necessarily, but primarily to enhance their status in society. In short, the evidence and reality often are at odds with the ideological or political interpretations that are common following acts of violence, including acts of terror. Moving from looking at the lone wolf towards identifying the known wolf may require expanding examination of the ideologically based broad-brush characterizations that are common following these attacks. While there is always fuel at play (such as societal incitement) looking at and considering other empirical evidence, including evidence of psychological, social, and other personal triggers, will ultimately aid in identifying those who should be known as potentially liable to carry out attacks. Irwin J. (Yitzchak) Mansdorf, PhD., is a clinical psychologist and a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He directs the Centers Israel-Arab studies program for university students. Home Killing Trump is Deep States Plan C, warns advisor Roger Stone By Selwyn Duke Its a shocking claim made by a political insider: The Deep State is so opposed to draining the swamp that it will, if necessary, kill President Trump to prevent it. Roger Stone, a longtime Trump advisor and confidante, certainly knows his way around Washington, having worked as a senior campaign aide to Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Senator Bob Dole as well as having held many other political positions. This proximity to the Deep State is what makes his claim, expressed in a recent wide-ranging interview with The New American magazines Alex Newman, that much more eyebrow-raising. Stone outlined three plans the Deep State has for eliminating the president, as Newman relates: The Deep State's Plan A, Stone said, is the imploding investigation into alleged Russian collusion by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. If and when that fails, which Stone suggested was likely, the establishment would move to Plan B. In essence, that plot would involve trying to get a majority of Trump's cabinet to declare him unfit for office. This would allow Trump to be removed under the U.S. Constitution's 25th Amendment another scheme Stone said would probably flop. Last but not least, though, if all else fails, Stone warned of Plan C: Killing the president. Interesting here is that Newmans piece was published January 1, just before talk of President Trumps alleged mental instability became the months big news story. In fact, released just four days later was journalist Michael Wolffs book Fire and Fury, which makes the case that Trump is psychologically unfit to hold office. Note, too, that Wolff has boasted that his book will bring down the president. Yet this bold claim will more likely just bring up book sales. Its not only that Wolff has said that he cant be sure everything in his book is true, that it contains factual errors and that he is, as ex-Trump strategist Sebastian Gorka put it, a partisan self-promoter with credibility issues. Its that removing a president for inability to discharge his duties isnt easy. As per the 25th Amendments Section IV, Vice President Mike Pence would have to declare Trump unfit, 13 of the 24 cabinet members would have to agree, and then two-thirds of both houses of Congress would ultimately have to vote to uphold the decision. Unless Trump starts fainting right and left and throwing behind-the-scenes temper fits like Hillary Clinton, Stone is correct in saying this is unlikely. This leaves the alleged Plan C. But is such a Deep State course of action really in the cards? Calling Trump a shock to the system, Stone explained his thinking to the New American: It's easy to forget that the shocking upset that Donald Trump pulled off has never been forgotten or acknowledged by the globalist cabal that has really infected both of our major parties. And with the economy flourishing and public confidence up, it's easy to misread the deep enmity and hatred that the globalists and the [i]nsiders have for this president, and to underestimate their resolve to remove him, said Stone. If all else fails, writes Newman, Stone believes the Deep State would, in fact, attempt to murder the president. Stone emphasized that if Mueller should fail in his illegitimate coup detat to take down the president, he thinks you will see an uptick in the 'Trump-is-crazy' talk, reported Newman. Again, weve already witnessed this. Newman further relates, Stone warned that even some of Trump's most senior officials would throw him under the bus if given the opportunity. I can tell you, there are members of Trump's cabinet that would stick a dagger in his heart, he warned, echoing other warnings that he has offered publicly in recent weeks. There are globalist insiders who, for one reason or another got into this cabinet, who do not share the president's vision of reform, and are not loyal to him as I am and so many Americans are. Explaining the presence of these dangerous establishment figures within the administration, Stone said, Unfortunately, I think that the president misunderstood early in the process that personnel is policy. Stone also believes that Trumps lawyers are doing him a disservice, saying that theyre currently walking him into the blades. Stone, a colorful political operative known among other things as a dirty trickster, further explained the Deep States enmity for Trump. As Newman reports, Trump is a real American, a patriot, hes a real believer in Americana, and also in American superiority American exceptionalism, if you will and a believer in American sovereignty, Stone said. He's always been deeply suspicious of the international types that he was happy to sell condominiums to at inflated prices, but he never shared their politics. Stone also emphasized that, unbeknownst to most, Trump comes from a long line of anti-communists. Moreover, because of Trumps wealth, Stone says hes unbought and unbossed.. Anybody who has tried to boss Donald Trump around knows that that won't work. Hes very much his own man. So, a patriot and a believer in Americana, sovereignty and American exceptionalism who cant be bought or bullied that certainly is the Deep States worst nightmare. The question is: Would it resort to murder to end it? Is Stones warning risible or realistic? All I can say is that its a striking claim, and it certainly warrants more media exposure than a questionable book written by an attention-seeking journalist. Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com. Home Regionalism and nationalism in Canada a reassessment (Part Two) By Mark Wegierski The author will look at the role of Toronto in Canadian history. It should be remembered that Toronto has undergone a massive identity shift over the last five decades of Canadian history. In the 1950s and before, the city was considered as so conservative and British-oriented that it was nicknamed Tory Toronto. Indeed, it was snidely said of those times, that on Sunday, you could fire a cannon down Torontos main street and not hit anyone (because everybody was at church)! In the 1960s and later a vast roaring tide of change engulfed and massively transformed the city. Certainly, the city almost from the beginning had the reputation of being a very wealthy centre of commercial power, as one of its other nicknames Hogtown points to. However, it was also sometimes called Toronto the Good. Some years ago, it was also characterized as a New York City run by the Swiss. Ironically, much earlier in Canadas history, during the 1920s and 1930s, there was the opposition between Tory Toronto and the Prairie provinces, where there was the electoral insurgency of the Progressive Party. In 1942, the Conservative Party was renamed Progressive Conservative in the hopes of attracting many supporters of the former Progressives. However, it was also a highly convenient name in a society that was becoming increasingly liberal-tending. In the post-1960s period, Tory Toronto was annihilated, and the former strongholds of the Western-based Progressive Party (which had in fact existed well within the pre-1960s traditionalist-centrist consensus) mostly became bastions of small-c conservatism. Indeed, it could be argued that since the 1980s, the tide of change has increasingly overwhelmed the city of Toronto and its surrounding suburbs and environs. What is now called the City of Toronto (which is coterminous with what was formerly called Metropolitan Toronto) clearly does not represent the totality of the urban conurbation which has been termed the G.T.A. (Greater Toronto Area) whose informal boundaries are ever expanding with urban sprawl. Ontario, the most populous province in Canada, is also clearly the wealthiest. Ontario now holds around a third of the seats in the federal Parliament -- with its vast megapolitan node and power-centre for all of Canada, Greater Toronto, with all its endless suburbs and environs. It may be noted that in one of the 1987 Statistics Canada reports, Metropolitan Toronto had an unemployment rate of 3.9% -- while most economists consider a rate of 4% as full employment. During the 1980s, Ontario consistently had unemployment rates at least 2 percentage points below the national average. It may be noted that considerable parts of Ontario itself tend to hate Toronto, and that the Toronto arts cliques also loathe what is called small-town and rural Ontario. The so-called rural Ontario is seen as the main base of the Conservatives both federally and provincially the core areas where both Stephen Harper and Mike Harris have drawn their support. Indeed, at the height of the conflict between Mike Harris Tories who were frequently characterized as hard right and the larger urban centres of Ontario especially Metropolitan Toronto there were some tendencies afoot that wanted Metropolitan Toronto to secede from the province of Ontario. It was thought that the interests and needs of Ontario and Metropolitan Toronto were so divergent that only the creation of an eleventh province in Metropolitan Toronto could assuage them. Of course, it is not surprising that some of the most powerful infrastructures of the socialist New Democratic Party (and, to some extent, of the Liberal Party) exist in the municipal bureaucracies of large-urban centres most especially in the new City of Toronto (formerly Metropolitan Toronto). What is of some interest is that in the elections that brought Mike Harris to power in 1995 and 1999 the so-called suburbs of Toronto an area characterized as the 905 zone -- tended to vote for Mike Harris. (Because of increasing telephone line congestion, the former 416 area code was split in two a new 416 area embracing only Metropolitan Toronto, and the entirely new 905 area for all the suburbs, smaller cities, and rural areas beyond Metropolitan Toronto.) This certainly signified a considerable breakthrough by Mike Harris to voters who were frequently visible minorities as some of the areas in the 905 zone are easily as multicultural as in the 416 zone. (Visible minority is a term officially used in Canada at various levels of government.) Ironically, what weakened Harris the most in the 416 zone was probably powerful cadres of highly motivated and effective WASP opponents in the media, intellectual, and cultural elites who energized the vote of the various recognized minorities against him. In the 2010 municipal election, other neighbourhood cleavages appeared within the new City of Toronto -- reflecting the former divisions within the old Metropolitan Toronto. What was the former, smaller City of Toronto within Metropolitan Toronto mostly the downtown areas voted against the right-leaning Rob Ford whereas the outlying areas notably, Etobicoke, North York, and Scarborough, voted for him. Rob Ford won the municipal election. The Toronto arts cliques now directed some of their resentment at the outlying neighbourhoods of the old Metropolitan Toronto. However, in the 2014 provincial election, virtually the entire GTA elected Liberals thus giving Premier Wynne a majority of seats in the provincial parliament. In that election, it is somewhat disconcerting to see the territorial imbalance between the Liberal and Tory-held ridings in Ontario the Liberals elected virtually no one outside the GTA and Ottawa. The frequently more progressive nature of large-urban centres is also seen in the nickname of Edmonton Redmonton. In Alberta, it is usually deployed as a term of criticism. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home The 'Trump Effect' and the 2018 midterm elections By Mark Alexander In the 2016 presidential election, what put Donald Trump over the top was middle America's disgust with the status quo in Washington, both Democrat and Republican. Grassroots Americans from all walks of life, who have been used, abused and discarded by both political parties, sent Donald J. Trump to DC with a mission to drop a bomb on both the political and bureaucratic entrenchments. He did, and there's plenty of fallout most good and some not so good. While the results have been positive for working Americans those who sent Trump to DC positive results are big political negatives for the Democrat Party, and Democrats are determined to dwell on the negatives from now until November. Is it too early to contemplate the 2018 midterm elections? A New York second after Trump's election, Democrats and their affectionate mass media outlets began calculating a path to victory in 2018 and 2020. Part of that collusion reflects their virtually indistinguishable ideology, but the perpetual election cycle propagated by the mainstream media's 24/7/365 endless loop of talkinghead political hyperbole is also their most significant revenue generator, flooding their coffers with advertising and donor dollars. I mention this to say that 99% of the media's political chatter, which converts even the most mundane political claptrap into a "Breaking News Alert," is still just claptrap. However, now that 2018 is here, let's take a serious reading from the political balance sheets to get some sense of Republican congressional opportunities and obstacles under Trump beginning with the negatives on the left side of the ledger. Democrats, unhinged over Hillary Clinton's electoral loss, immediately claimed that she actually won the election because she got almost 2.9 million more votes than Trump. Of course, that claim can be chalked up entirely to Clinton's more than 4.2 million-vote margin in one state, California to say nothing of her votes stolen from Bernie Sanders. Fortunately, as legal and judicial scholar Hans von Spakovsky argued before the 2016 election, the Electoral College ensures that California does not run the nation. But the second part of the "Clinton won" argument has been the most perilous for the Trump administration and Republicans. Days after her defeat, the Democrats claimed collusion between Trump and Vladimir Putin, and they made that spurious claim the centerpiece of their effort to delegitimize Trump's victory. So far, they've managed to get a lot of mileage out of that charade, compliments of their media outlets and a flood of fake news. They also received a lot of help from Clinton's billionaire socialist backers. But it was only after the May 2017 appointment of the once well-regarded former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special prosecutor to investigate Trump that the claims began to lose traction. Three months after Mueller's appointment, serious questions about who crafted the Russia collusion setup finally surfaced. And it wasn't until November, a long year after the claims first surfaced, that it became apparent that it was Hillary Clinton and her Democrat operatives who actually funded the Russian Fusion Collusion Delusion. Moreover, it was propagated with the assistance of Barack Obama's deep state operatives within the Department of Justice and FBI. Of course, Mueller can take his investigation anywhere he wants, and he will. But a proper investigation would instead reset its focus onto Clinton and the FBI's political efforts to undermine Trump while Mueller's FBI protege, James Comey, was at the helm. Let's just say we're not holding our breath. So, while that investigation continues, what's the Democrats' backup strategy to undermine Trump/Republican favorability ratings across the nation ahead of the midterm elections? Recall, if you will, that female majorities have elected every Democrat president since 1960 and have been a major force in midterm elections. Thus, inciting female voter outrage to overturn Republican majorities in 2018 is a powerful and likely possibility. Democrats are counting on their perennial political calculus that a majority of female voters are emotionally incontinent dupes and do not have the discernment to avoid being co-opted by emotive appeals. Thus, they're going to make the "epidemic of sexual assault" the centerpiece of the 2018 and 2020 elections, and they'll float candidates like Oprah Winfrey to make their case. Call it the "Roy Moore Strategy." All the sketchy Trump sexual harassment claims and his admittedly offensive remarks about women will be revisited ad nauseam in an effort to coerce Republicans in the House and Senate to distance their campaigns from the president and his agenda. The Democrats' strategy, as noted at the outset, is to turn Trump's positives into negatives and, in effect, campaign against peace and prosperity against Making America Great Again. Along the way, they'll endeavor to portray Trump as "mentally unfit," accusing him of being, well, crazy. (What does it say about the state of the Democrat Party when it loses the presidency to a man who's "mentally unfit"?) Trump, however, is a New Yorker, and he's always acted like a New Yorker brash, boastful and utterly unpredictable. In this respect, he's "crazy" by their hypersensitive, Chardonnay-sipping standards. Trump entered office with almost no experience in political protocols, and he's unorthodox by virtually every Beltway standard. And while he isn't crazy, he is driving Democrats crazy. Indeed, Trump Derangement Syndrome is just the latest manifestation of the well-documented pathology of the Left. Democrat prospects are bolstered by the fact that 36 GOP House members are vacating their seats, but they have a long, uphill battle to retake the House. Retaking the razor-thin Senate majority is also possible, but Democrats are defending 25 seats this cycle, while Republicans are defending just eight. Democrats dare not again underestimate Trump's tell-it-like-it-is bravado the bomb dropper which won him the support of many grassroots Americans and disaffected blue-collar voters. Republicans seeking office in 2018 had also better take note. Despite all the noise marking Trump's first year in office, the results have been impressive. Consequently, the positives on the right side of the ledger are a clear indication of what Democrats are up against and what Republicans can successfully run on. To recap in more detail, some of the Trump Effect positives I highlighted in "Year One of Making America Great Again, here's what Democrat Party hopefuls are facing ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. GDP topped 3% for the last two quarters of 2017. (In the 32 quarters of Obama's "recovery," only twice did he register a GDP of 3% or better.) American businesses have created more than 1.7 million new jobs, including almost 160,000 manufacturing jobs and another 58,000 in mining and logging. And the number of illegal immigrants vying for American jobs, and at the same time lowering American wages, has declined significantly. (Illegal border crossings are now at a 45-year low.) The headline unemployment rate of 4.1% is the lowest mark in 17 years, though I note this benchmark with caution as there are many Americans who had to take subsistence jobs or had given up on looking for work over the previous eight years. The real unemployment rate is closer to 8%, though that is down 2% in the last year. Unemployment declined for workers of all educational levels. As the Trump-hating Washington Post declared in a headline: "Trump's first year jobs numbers were very, very good." For the record, those bold black Americans who voted for Trump have been vindicated: The jobless rate for black workers dropped to the lowest level since 1972. And "food stamp" rolls declined by more than two million in 2017. Our economy, refueled in large part by enthusiasm for the future, is once again growing. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index is at a 17-year high, and the National Association of Manufacturers' Outlook Index is at its highest annual average in its history. Manufacturing orders and production are the strongest since 2004. Even The New York Times has had to acknowledge, "A wave of optimism has swept over American business leaders, and it is beginning to translate into the sort of investment in new plants, equipment and factory upgrades that bolsters economic growth, spurs job creation and may finally raise wages significantly." (One can only imagine the gnashing of teeth that took place prior to publishing that single sentence.) The prospects of continued growth are being supercharged by the Republican passage of tax reform, Donald Trump's signature agenda achievement. The package includes $1.5 trillion in tax cuts almost 60% to families, most of whom will now be able to file their IRS return on a single page. Of course, undermining the Democrats' power to tax and spend is resulting in outrage and spurious claims of impending doom. Reducing Democrats' ability to seize and redistribute income undermines the greatest power they have. But despite all their hyperbolic exhalation about "ransacking the middle class" and only "benefiting the rich," Republicans might remind them that at one time, the Democrats' most revered leaders understood the benefits of lowering taxes. John F. Kennedy, arguing for tax cuts in 1963, proclaimed, "It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power ... an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenues to balance our budget just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits." On the relationship between taxes, income and revenue, JFK noted, "It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now. ... A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget. ... As the national income grows, the federal government will ultimately end up with more revenues. ... A rising tide lifts all boats." Indeed, tax cuts do increase revenues, and a rising tide does lift all boats. The positive effects of the Republican tax cuts are just beginning to emerge. More than 100 companies have already announced that they're providing bonuses and/or offering higher wages and improved benefits for their employees. And a new study finds that more than a million workers will receive wage increases and many more to come. Even utility companies announced rate cuts for customers based on tax savings. The Republican tax reform measures also repealed the so-called "Affordable Care Act" individual mandate, which has been an onerous burden on many individuals and families. At the same time, the Trump administration is proposing rule changes that will extend health care options for 11 million uninsured. Economic growth will be boosted by record cuts in government regulations and new accountability measures. The Trump administration eliminated 22 regulations for each new one enacted, and Trump signed 15 Congressional Review Act resolutions into law, more than any other president. Regulations are now at the lowest count since such recordkeeping began in the mid-1970s. The rogue Environmental Protection Agency, which was weaponized by Democrats to control and micromanage economic development, is being reined in, including a 50% cut in staff scheduled over the next three years. Trump has unleashed energy development to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign energy sources. And the so-called "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau" is now under Republican management. On the coattails of the U.S. economic recovery, the global economy grew at a faster rate than it has since 2011. That's American leadership. The Trump administration has worked to close hundreds of billions in deals to sell American products abroad. And in recent months, foreign companies have announced $50 billion in new U.S. projects. Trump is also putting American workers first by withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, working to modify NAFTA, and saying farewell to the utopian socialists' so-called "climate change" treaty. While economic strength certainly bolsters Liberty, Trump's nomination of more than 70 conservative federal judges, including that of now-Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch for the seat vacated by the revered late Justice Antonin Scalia, has been a critical step to ensuring Liberty for the next generation. Republicans confirmed a record-setting 12 conservative federal circuit judges. The Trump administration is also implementing measures to restore law and order, further dismantling organized crime, combating the opioid crisis, aiding local police and confronting human trafficking. A strong economy also bolsters national security. The year in foreign policy has been favorable, unless you're an adversary of the United States. The most notable advances in U.S. national security interests would certainly include Trump's confrontation of China's nuclear puppet, North Korea and Kim Jong-un. Just a few short years ago, we heard that "al-Qa'ida is on the run." And when that proved untrue, we heard that "we've contained them." Today, however, we can truthfully report that al-Qa'ida's bloodier successor, the Islamic State, founded in effect by Obama and Clinton, is really on the run, having been largely eradicated from its rat holes in Iraq and Syria. However, so-called "lone wolf" Islamist sympathizers remain a daunting threat to Western Europe and the U.S. Furthermore, there are emerging democracy movements around the world fueled by the knowledge that they will now have U.S. support. The most notable movement now underway is that challenging the terrorist-sponsoring Islamist theocracy of Iran. Democrats have thus far failed to derail Trump's "Make America Great Again" agenda, although they have inflicted serious damage. Unfortunately, they have received a fair amount of help from Trump, who has a propensity to undermine his administration's achievements with distracting petty social media disputes. That notwithstanding, it's worth noting that, though the mainstream media has been overwhelmingly anti-Trump during his first year in office versus Barack Obama's overwhelmingly admiring media during his first year, and all that followed their first-year approval ratings are virtually identical, with both at 46%. In his 1980 presidential debate with Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan did what he would often do in the years that followed: He talked over the mainstream media cameras and spoke directly to the American people. On this particular occasion, he asked, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" They were not, of course, and they thus entrusted Reagan with two presidential terms to right our nation's course. And he did. This year, Republicans across the nation only need ask their constituents if they are better off than they were just one year ago. Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post. 2018-01-12 Maeci Attracting new talent from strategic foreign countries has become an increasingly important asset for promoting corporate growth on foreign markets. This is the mission of the Invest Your Talent in Italy programme, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ICE - the Italian Trade and Investment Agency for the promotion and internationalisation of Italian companies abroad, and Uni-Italia, backed by Confindustria and Unioncamere. The programme aims to foster a high level of mutual knowledge between Italy and countries of particular interest for Italian businesses, and focus on young foreign entrepreneurs who could play the role of cultural and entrepreneurial mediators. Foreign students acquire skilled training at Italian universities, and complete their education with a three-month training course in an Italian company. This will be the third programe, and will be launched on 18 January 2018, at Rome's Chamber of Commerce, at 2.30 p.m. The event, which includes an aperitif, will present programme details, opportunities and advantages for Italian businesses. It has been organised in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce office for entrepreneurial training, and is also a good opportunity to meet foreign students now completing their training path. Registration and details about the programme may be found at https://www.eventbrite.it/e/ biglietti-invest-your-talent- in-italy-talenti-stranieri- per-linternazionalizzazione- delle-imprese-41492870292. To reach me for collaborations, sponsorships, and event invitations, I am contactable at the-ice-angel@hotmail.com The European Union warned Kosovo last week that a war crimes court linked to the violent independence endeavor was tightly linked to the quality of relations with the bloc. The EUs warning came on top of one issued by the United States last month and both strike Kosovo amid uncertainty as to whether the countrys parliament will put a vote on the court back on its agenda this week after putting it aside in late December. This initiative, still pending before the Kosovo parliament, is of extreme concern to the EU and its member states, the EU representation in Pristina said in a statement. This would adversely impact Kosovo relations with the EU. Representatives from Germany and France arrived in Kosovo last week to try to lobby among Kosovan leaders to drop any attempt to abolish the Specialist Chamber set up in 2015 to try ex-Kosovo Liberation Army guerillas alleged to have committed atrocities in the 1998 and 1999 war that led to Kosovo breaking off from Serbia. Kosovos Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, President Hashim Thaci and parliamentary speaker Kadri Veseli are ex KLA commanders. The courts judges and prosecutors are foreigners, but Kosovan authorities have jurisdiction as it was established under Kosovo law. Washington warned Pristina in December that the overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian country in the western Balkans would be isolated if it abolished the court. The United States is Kosovos most important ally but the EUs warning is also substantial since the small, impoverished nation hopes for eventual closer ties with the bloc. NATO air strikes on Serbia forced Belgrade to withdraw troops from Kosovo in 1999 and the US-led alliance keeps 5,000 soldiers there to maintain a delicate peace. More than 100 countries recognized Kosovos independence in 2008 but not Serbia. The majority of EU member states have recognized Kosovo, but Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain have not. This site provides information about genealogy-related online meetings, classes, hangouts, seminars and webinars, where there is a visual slide share, website or software demo. There are currently over 35 hosts and speakers with posting access to this calendar and blog, and over 200 hours of scheduled instruction for genealogists wishing to hone their research skills during the coming year. If you'd like to join the calendar to post your organization's events, contact to this calendar and blog, and over 200 hours of scheduled instruction for genealogists wishing to hone their research skills during the coming year. If you'd like to join the calendar to post your organization's events, contact Myrt@DearMYRTLE.com , add this feed code, without the square brackets: [http://blog.geneawebinars.com/feeds/8104658385246233799/comments/default] of Google Calendars, click the "+Google" button in the lower right portion of the calendar. including Adobe Connect, AnyMeeting, Captera, Google Hangouts, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, Live Meeting, Skype, Web-Ex, and Wiggio, to name a few. Hi, I'm a British Citizen about to sponsor for my wife's spouse visa application to the UK in 6 months. (She's from Bangladesh). We got married on 06th September 2016. I have returned to the UK from Bangladesh on 21st September 2016 and been contacting her ever since, daily for which I have call logs and other proofs. It's now 14th January 2018 which is more than a year and 4 months and I wish to apply on July 2018. I will see her again on 18th March 2018 for around 2 weeks (can't take any longer than that due to work). The reason why I haven't seen her for more than a year since September 2016 was because I have been applying and looking for a job where I can receive enough income to meet the minimum financial requirement. Hence the large gap. I have finally got a job now since the beginning of this January 2018 actually that's why i have to wait 6 months to be able to apply. I have come across some posts that some people were refused visa because their sponsors did not visit their spouse for more than a year so the ECOs believe that the relationship is not genuine even after submitting proofs of regular contact and chats. I'm worried if this same situation will happen to me. Please let me know soon whether this will impact on the decision of the ECO for my wife's spouse visa application to the UK. Thanks. Hi all, I need to extend my study permit as it expires in April. I'm filling out the IMM5709 form, and one question asks if I am also applying for a work permit. I intend to continue to live and work in Canada after graduation, so I've been trying to find information regarding the criteria for the "Post Graduation Work Permit". Does anyone know whether you have to graduate and receive your degree before applying for the "Post Graduation Work Permit", or can I apply for it now while I extend my study permit for another year and be set when I graduate in April 2019? Thanks! butcherboy said: We are debt and mortgage free so the plan would be to buy a static caravan on a residential site in France, sell the static at home rent out the house and live in France. We would have an income of around 20k which i think we could easily live on in France quite comfortably. Is it just a case of finding a residentail site buying a Static paying rent/rates ? would there be any other costs involved or anything we need to decalare or do ? any info would be much appreciated. Click to expand... rented buying proof of regular residence Hi and welcome to the forum.We're in the process of acquiring a mobil home to install on an empty 200mspace in a residential camping site owned by the local municipality. Amazing view, 1km from town centre, quiet and spacious.There was another possibility open to us in another residential camping:the place/spot/place and also the existing m-home for 65K asking price.There was a co-property contract for that one; no yearly rent but just paying pro rata for on-site maintenence - about 450 per year. Individual water & electricity meters.Legally if your principal residence is the static then you are liable to pay local rates but nobody is going to come asking for them.It can get complicated however, if you needin France as some municipalities can be reluctant to consider your static as a primary residence.It's very important that you consider this, that you ask other people living in the park if they are really registered there or have a primary address at their sister's house for example.Proof of stable residence in France is vital for all administrative stuff: health insurance, mobile phone contract, bank account, buying a car etc...The (almost) 200m spot we've reserved will cost 1800/year to rent.There's around 250/year maintenance to pay and there are no individual water & electricity meters yet so total charges are split equally among all 40 residents, meaning that those who live all year round pay the same as those who spend 6 weeks on holiday in the summer. That works out at 200/month.I guess I've answered most of your questions but here's some more for free:There are many scams and sharks in the world of mobil homes so please don't rush into anything before carefully reading the contractas sometimes there are clauses which oblige you to buy your static exclusively from the manager,that from time to time the whole park of statics has to be updated because flat roofs went out of fashion etcand you have to pay to exit your static then buy the new approved model through the manager who takes his commission.There can be clauses giving the management exclusivity when renting your static to holidaymakers - they fix the price, charge for cleaning etc and can take a big percentage (45%)More horror stories on the net if you're up to reading French; maybe French sharks have cousins in the UK and these scams are universal anyway...We've been looking at 10m x 4m size used statics but 12m x 4m are available too; very many are imported from the UK to France.UK builds have extra comfort perhaps unnecessary in warmer climates, I mean propane fired central heating with radiators everywhere for example, whereas French builds have a reversible "pompe a chaleur" and just electric radiants.Whatever - prices range from 16K to 25K (euros) with delivery included on a wide load truck.There are many much cheaper on sale: from 2000 - look at le bon coin website:The transporter may just leave your static on the road and you'll need a SUV or tractor to position it on your spot. Installing, levelling and connecting to water, elec & sewers can be done by certain transporters for an extra fee (estimate 1000).There are websiteswith lots of info and adresses about residential campings.Here are two:lists of Parcs Residentiel de Loisirs by regionlots of general common sense & legal infoWe are essentially hard-core nomads and have cast off many many houses over the years - so the ultimate goal of owning a stone cottage in the countryside has never appealed to us as such.For reference: prices for renting a similar-sized spot are about the same (1800/year) in Spain but within walking distance of the Mediterranean- and with much more noise from the neighbours at nightMaybe there'll be a debate about the good and bad side of living in a 40m static among forum members but first take a look at this terribly kitsch video with rather disturbing music: I'm retired in Mexico, but long term might relocate to Thailand. I've avoided having any non-US bank accounts or non-US interest income due to US FATCA/FINRA rules and the complexities of filing taxes. But being on a retirement visa in Thailand for me would require an 800kB account, which would, I think, trigger all that. For anyone from the US who's done it, how hard is it, really, to handle all the required paperwork? Do you get some kind of interest on your 800kB account (which you then have to pay US and/or Thai income tax on?) Or is the interest not worth the paperwork/tax hassle and you just leave the money in a no interest checking account? Do the Thai banks know how to file the required US anti-money-laundering reports? In Mexico, some banks now flat out refuse US expat customers because it's not worth their hassle to file the reports. DALLAS Josie Zamora, 44, born in Mexico and a legal resident of Texas for nearly 15 years, says she can feel the building pressure. You can feel it in the community, she says in describing her Oak Cliff neighborhood, where many of the families are from the same small towns in Mexico. First was Donald Trumps border wall and the push from politicians to deport all undocumented immigrants. Then came the passage in Austin of a Texas ban on sanctuary cities and the calls to deport so-called Dreamers, the young immigrants who were brought into the U.S. illegally by their undocumented parents. Last week, when Trump announced that he was ending a protective amnesty program for about 200,000 Salvadorans nationwide, Zamora said she just shook her head. Were Trumps punching bag, said the office manager at a Dallas bookkeeping firm. I try to ignore what he and a lot of his Republicans say. It makes me angry. As Democrats look to make gains in Congress and mount a challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott this year, they shouldnt count on a big Latino vote, despite the backlash to hard-line policies and rhetoric of Trump and the GOP on immigrants. Its more complicated than that. To succeed, they would have to translate that anger into a surge in Latino voter turnout something Democrats have predicted for years but has not materialized. Democrats would also need their predictions to come true that more Latino voters means more votes for them. How likely is that? Zamora and several of her friends laugh. You act like all (Latinos) vote and think alike. Wrong, said one friend, Maryana Gonzales, adding that she would probably vote Republican, if she votes in November at all. The Democrats think well all turn out for them. Im Catholic. No abortion or gay marriage. Im not a Democrat. Its an election year in Texas when Latinos are considered key, when Democrats are touting the candidacy of the first Latina running for governor, former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez. But the Latinos at a restaurant with Zamora mostly said they werent interested in the election at all yet. Only one knew who Valdez is, though the sheriff is said to live nearby. Most (immigrant voters) probably dont want to rock the boat, so they just dont vote, even if theyre mad, Zamora explained. Ive heard again and again how (Latinos) are going to turn out and win everything for the Democrats. I dont see that. Others disagree. Its true that Latinos dont vote as a bloc, because Republicans have done a better job in the past of courting Latinos in a sincere way, said Sylvia Manzano of Latino Decisions, a research company that focuses on Hispanic voters. But thats not happening anymore. And its not just that theyre ignoring Latinos. Theyre doing worse. Theyre actively working to repel Latinos. Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, agrees with the latter statement. The track record is clear: Texas Republicans have refused to fund neighborhood schools, refused to raise the minimum wage and refused to protect the Affordable Care Act, Garcia said. At the same time theyve attacked DREAMers, attacked the Voting Rights Act and passed the show me your papers bill, SB 4. Donald Trump, Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans have pulled every trick in the book to attack Latino families, and in 2018, they will be held accountable. Texas Latinos are fired up and fighting back to protect their families, Garcia said. Even in a year when polls show that Trump has fallen out of favor with many who voted for him, especially Latinos, observers are split on whether the building pressure on Latino communities will benefit Democrats like they predict. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said, Of course, this is going to hurt (Republicans), said Guadalupe Correa, an immigration expert and former chair of the government department at the University of Texas at Brownsville who now teaches at George Mason University outside Washington, D.C. Today, I would also say yes, but I dont know to what degree. Trump factor Trumps election in 2016 with nearly 30 percent of the Hispanic vote despite his many taunts against Mexican immigrants has forced a revision in how analysts must view the Latino vote, she said. I thought that with all that rhetoric the Republican Party was going to lose of Hispanic support, and that the Hispanic vote was going to really have an impact on the election, Correa said. Well, it happened that more Hispanics voted for Donald Trump than I would have assumed. Or the Hispanic vote just wasnt as important as I had assumed. Despite Trumps provocative rhetoric about building a massive border wall and creating a deportation force, Hispanic voters in 2016 were only 11 percent of the electorate nationwide, about the same as in 2012. While Texas Democratic Party officials and party activists say registrations of Hispanics are up significantly, GOP campaign consultants say their polling shows that many Latinos are likely to vote Republican because they agree with the partys pro-life, small-government, pro-business policies and even their stance that immigration laws should be followed. Its clear that the Hispanic vote is not monolithic and that neither party can take the vote for granted, said Javier Palomarez, president and CEO of the Washington-based Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Elected officials, on both sides of the aisle, should be working hard to earn the Hispanic vote and the trust of the Hispanic constituency. Surges in the Latino vote have been predicted before, but they did not turn out in big numbers to protest Trump. Latinos did vote for Hillary Clinton by more than a 2-1 margin, according to exit polls. But 2016 underscored that Latinos are not ideologically monolithic, even if they generally break for Democrats, much like other minority groups, political scientists have posited. There are other factors as well, including Hispanics low voter participation rates, particularly in Texas. Less than 40 percent of Latinos in Texas registered to vote in 2016, lower than Anglo or black voters. In a state with a long history of low voter turnout, even fewer voted: Just 28 percent of Latino voters cast a ballot in 2016, according to Census Bureau estimates. By comparison, 63 percent of Anglo registered voters went to the polls. They dont all have the same concerns, either. Though many Salvadorans enjoy protections from the Temporary Protected Status program Trump is phasing out, Correa said, it doesnt affect most Hispanics. At the same time, many Hispanic conservatives have little more sympathy for illegal immigration than other Americans. Plus, there is a segment of the population that has been in the country for generations, and are not voting as a class, she said. Many of them voted for Trump because of the way they identify themselves in politics. Identity politics play in a very different ways, and its not so straightforward. There are other factors that impact how the Hispanic population votes, Correa added. This is all happening now. It is very confusing, and we dont know if the issues are going to be different by the end of the year. There could be North Korea, or any number of things. In 2014, when he was elected governor, Abbott received 44 percent of the Latino vote, giving the party optimism that those numbers could grow further in the 2018 elections. But that optimism is now diminished, with Trump getting much of the blame. Even so, Alfonso Aguilar, a former George W. Bush administration official and executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, thinks that Democrats make a huge mistake by thinking they have a hold on the Hispanic vote just like they didnt understand why average Americans would vote for Trump, they still dont get why Hispanics voted for Trump. They might not like the man, but they respond to some of his ideas, Aguilar said. Aguilar supports the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, as do many Republicans. While he wants to see the issue resolved, he accuses liberal activists of turning it into a wedge issue by threatening a government shutdown over a deal, something he thinks would backfire on Democrats. He also accuses Democrats of ignoring the diversity of the Latino community in the U.S., which he considers an artificial construct. You cannot apply the African-American model to the Latino community, Aguilar said. The African-American model is a homogenous experience. The Latino is not. Following the rules Ask Javier Monte, 38, a construction foreman who has lived in Texas for two generations, whether he is a Democrat or Republican, and he rolls his eyes before answering. I voted Republican when I voted, he said. I agree on most of what they want. The rest I can live with. And deportation? My family came here legally. We followed the rules. Others should do that, too. If its the law, its the law for everybody. His friend Ray Lopez Padreda, 40, stands nearby shaking his head. Hes wrong. A lot of good people who have never done anything wrong are going to get hurt, he said, admitting that he has never voted in the 14 years he has lived in Texas. I got signed up a couple of times, but I never went out. We never voted in Mexico, he said. I just want to keep my head down and keep working and have a good life. The politics dont involve me. At the same time, Soraya Colli, 40, a Texas-born Democratic Party activist in Dallas, predicts that this will be the year Texas Latino voice is heard. Before a year and a half ago, I had never had to think about the fact I was Mexican, she said. Trump changed everything. I always carry my passport now so that if I ever get stopped, I can prove that I am a U.S. citizen. If Latinas voted in numbers, we could be the Blue Wave that the Democrats are hoping for. State Sen. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat running for Congress, has hopes for the same wave. Were running a campaign for Congress, but we are also running a campaign to energize and increase the minority vote, she said, echoing the sentiments of Democratic Party activists in Dallas who are hoping that a blue wave will help them take local offices and legislative seats from Republicans, even if the party does not win its first statewide office after a 24-year drought. This is a building process that will take time, Colli said. While Latinos have been underrepresented at the polls in the past, some activists believe that this could change going into the second year of Trumps presidency, particularly if a border wall progresses while the hopes for Dreamers recede like the Temporary Protected Status program did for Salvadorans. I see Hispanic voters looking at these issues and really thinking about coming out to vote, said Vanessa Rodriguez, a Dreamer from Austin who recently met with lawmakers from Texas in Washington. For some time, a lot of Latinos have not realized that a lot of power is in their hands when it comes to voting. As a 19-year-old undocumented immigrant, Rodriguez, whose parents brought her to the U.S. illegally when she was 6, will not be able to vote. But shes become active in politics nonetheless. All these issues surfacing are making an impact, she said. People are becoming more aware, and the more that this issue (DACA) is prolonged and is left up in the air without resolution, more people are looking at voting as a way of guaranteeing that something will be done. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas is among Republican leaders in Washington who are confident that Trumps policies will resonate with many in the Hispanic community, especially on the economy and lax enforcement of immigration laws that are blamed for much of the current political mess. Cornyn focused on minority outreach in his last re-election bid and said he recently met with a group of Hispanic leaders who reiterated that many immigrants and Hispanic voters care about security. I think the president is uniquely situated to come up with a solution that not only demonstrates compassion but also demonstrates a commitment to security, Cornyn said. AUSTIN The Blue Wave that Texas Democrats are hoping for this year could also result in a surge of gay elected officials in the state. Amid reports that a record number of 2018 election candidates in Texas are LGBTQ, doubling the previous record in the Lone Star State, party leaders and consultants are predicting that large field of candidates could drive up turnout for Democrats statewide. Houston-based OutSmart magazine reported that at least 42 LGBTQ people lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender and queer are running for a variety of offices. All but four of them are running as Democrats. Included on the list are two Democrats for governor former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Dallas businessman Jeffrey Payne one candidate for the Texas Supreme Court, three for the Texas Senate, 10 for the Texas House, eight for the U.S. House and dozens for various judicial seats. I believe its motivated by the fact that in 2017, members of the LGBT community in Texas watched themselves be attacked in the Texas Legislature and they have decided to get involved in the political process to keep that from happening again, said Chuck Smith, chief executive officer of Equality Texas, an LGBTQ equal-rights advocacy group. I hope this is a watershed moment, that many of these candidates will be elected. Michael Webb, president of Houston GLBT Political Caucus, the oldest equality organization in the South, echoed that sentiment. This is a result of people who are tired of being the scapegoat of the far right, tired of being discriminated against, tired of being oppressed, said Webb, noting that the filings are part of a progressive wave involving numerous communities in Texas that have been used as targets. Fourteen of the LGBTQ candidates are from the Houston area, nearly a third of the total, according to the magazine. Twenty-one are women and 21 are men and five are transgender. Six are incumbents who currently are among 18 current LGBTQ elected and appointed officials in Texas. Included among the LGBTQ hopefuls are Plano attorney Mark Phariss, who in 2013 was a plaintiff in the successful Texas marriage equality lawsuit. Longtime Austin activist Glen Maxey, who became the first openly gay member of the Texas Legislature in 1991, said the numbers are clearly historic and signal a notable shift in Texas acceptance of the LGBTQ community. In many respects, the larger numbers of candidates highlights how the LGBTQ community is going mainstream, activists and political consultants say. The glass ceiling we once had is no longer cracked, its not even there any more, said Maxey, now the legislative director for the Texas Democratic Party. The previous elections of (Mayor) Annise Parker in Houston, Lupe Valdez in Dallas, (Travis County Sheriff) Margo Fraser in Austin, (state Rep.) Celia Israel in Austin and others paved the way to where we are. Gay people have been running for and serving successfully in office for some time, and their orientation is no longer a consideration for most voters ... 2018 is not where Texas was 10 years ago, and certainly not where it was in 1991. In a year when Democrats are predicting a blue wave will hit Texas, fueled by voter opposition to President Trumps policies and Texas increasingly ultra-conservative GOP leadership, longtime Democratic insiders insist the record wave of LGBTQ candidates signals a new energy that could prove significant. Not surprisingly, Republican Party officials and their consultants downplay the uptick. The LGBT community is central to the Democratic Party, and while its potentially valuable to them in the Democratic primary, I dont see that carrying through into the general election, said Matt Mackowick, a longtime GOP consultant and chairman of the Travis County Republican Party. Republicans don't evaluate candidates based on their identity race, sexual orientation, gender identity. We evaluate candidates based on their principles. Should the record number of LGBTQ candidates help fuel a larger-than-expected turnout in the Democratic primary, that could benefit the party heading into the November general election, political consultants say. And if more LGBTQ candidates win offices, it will increase their clout on issues facing that community and perhaps spell trouble for Republican leaders who might want to try again to pass the bathroom bill or other measures the LGBTQ community opposes. By some measures, it could also increase the chances that Valdez or even Payne could become the Democratic Party nominee for governor, perhaps even end up with them in a primary runoff. Such developments would almost certainly draw national attention to Texas and its hard-line GOP policies that have been labeled as punitive by gays and transgender people. At the same time, that could help draw more conservative Republican voters to the polls as they seek to ensure Texas continues as Red State as most politics watchers believe it will. Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University who has been watching Texas politics for years, thinks the large number of LGBTQ candidates, while significant, may not make much difference to many voters. Lupe Valdez is seen by most people as a Latina sheriff. Her sexual orientation is not a defining factor in her career, he said. Jeffrey Payne is a businessman who is gay. With less than two months before voting begins, both will want to get their message out on what they will do as governor not about their orientation. In the end, he and other political scientists say their identity as Democrats will be a key in the primary. In the general election, not being a Republican could be an insurmountable goal for them as they try to break Democrats two-decade drought in holding statewide office in Texas. Maxey and other Democratic officials maintain hope that the Blue Wave will happen this year in Texas. These numbers are pretty significant and having the LGBTQ community firmly in the Democratic column will help the party this year, especially in the primary, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. How that plays out in the general election remains to be seen. Mike Ward is the Austin Bureau chief, covering Texas politics, the Executive Branch, criminal justice, ethics and other issues for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send him tips at mike.ward@chron.com. Every year, San Antonio marvels even brags that it has the nations largest, or one of the largest, marches dedicated to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Its remarkable, of course, that a metropolitan area with an African American community of about 102,000 7.1 percent of a population nearing 1.5 million can get an estimated 300,000 people to show their love for a man who dedicated his life to loving even those who hated him. Many have ventured guesses as to why the seventh-largest city in the country, predominantly Mexican American, has gained a reputation for its MLK march. No doubt part of its success lies in the City of San Antonios sponsorship and the creation of a commission, established under former Mayor Henry Cisneros, to run it each year. Others say its no surprise the march is well-attended, given national, state and local MLK holidays. Closed schools encourage families to participate. But Sho Nakpodia, creator of the DreamWeek Summit thats growing up around the march, says the reason for the marchs success is in the citys own inherent assets. He finds something almost genetic in San Antonios bloodstream that brings people out to celebrate Kings life of nonviolent struggle against racism. If San Antonio doesnt always get along, at least it always gets through tumultuous times without riots and bloodshed. I think thats what has happened, said Nakpodia, a Nigerian-born, British-educated transplant who not only envisions a million-strong march in the citys future but a DreamWeek Summit that will make San Antonio a destination for civil civic dialogue as well as for celebrations of diversity, equality and tolerance. A student both of King and San Antonio, Nakpodia sees in the citys DNA a unique ability to welcome or address conflict with little drama. Celebrating MLKs legacy fits that profile. As a child in Nigeria, he watched newsreels about the U.S. civil rights movement and saw a nobility in King and the peaceful protesters with him. Against police brutality, violent racists, attack dogs and fire hoses, civil rights activists stood their ground. The images of fellow black people marching peacefully made an impression on a boy whose continent has battled colonial regimes with much bloodshed. Today he comes away from Kings legacy and sees even more: a leader who surrounded himself with eloquent, gifted leaders who both supported and challenged him. Thats the part of MLKs legacy he most wants the 16-day DreamWeek Summit to embody. Its an especially timely lesson given last weeks blatantly racist comments from President Donald Trump, who referred to Haitian and African immigrants as coming from shithole countries. Even from such language Nakpodia sees hope for civil dialogue. It requires all voices, he says. Voices of racism, of hate, have always been there. Once expressed, it can be challenged in public. Now you can have a discussion about it, he says. Its important to allow expression and challenge that expression with love and intelligence. Its what Gandhi did. Its what MLK did. The righteousness of positions and the truest voice will triumph, he said. DreamWeeks opening keynote address delivered by Daryl Davis illustrated that. Davis, a black man, has traveled around the country and spoken with hundreds of Ku Klux Klan members, challenging them to hate him if they must, but only after meeting him. He has had long conversations that have convinced at least 200 Klansmen to renounce their affiliations with the hate group. Davis also has collected dozens of Klan robes and brought one with him to San Antonio. Nakpodia wasnt alone in feeling a chill at the sight of the garment. As difficult as Davis work has been, Nakpodia says he told San Antonians they must find the humanity in their enemies. Its the only way, Nakpodia says, no matter how long it takes to get there. If we dont consider each other human beings, we are lost. Hes encouraged at each DreamWeek event where he sees people disagree and learn to like one another, or at least agree to disagree. Hes encouraged about how San Antonio is starting to see DreamWeek. He was driving to work last Friday and it was mentioned, not as an event, but as a season. In a small way, he hopes DreamWeek is an example of what MLK dreamed about in the future. Nakpodia will be at todays MLK march at the vanguard all the way to the very end, he says. The DreamWeek team will be handing out T-shirts that say, Advancing the voices of tolerance, equality and diversity. It will take time, he says. We shall overcome. Elaine Ayala is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | eayala@express-news.net | @ElaineAyala Nathan Carr J: Do you live in the area? N: Yeah, I live in Rye, N.Y. But Im not originally from there. Im from Ohio. J: Oh wow, when did you move to Rye? N: Eight years ago. J: And how long have you been working here (at Starbucks in Riverside)? N: Three months. My brother is actually an assistant manager at Starbucks and he told me this place was great. J: And what are you looking to do in the future? N: Well, Im going to be going into networking. Im in the process of getting my computer science degree, getting my associates in computer science and my CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. Thats what Im going into. Thats why I'm here, temporarily so I have income while I go to college. J: And where are you going to college? N: WCC (Westchester Community College). I like networking, I like troubleshooting, I like building things, I like fixing things. I love troubleshooting, its fun. J: Some people have that mathematical mindset, or logic. N: Its how Ive always worked, how Ive always been. I cant remember peoples names but I can remember that weird thing I heard about quantum mechanics like it was yesterday. My brain works in very interesting ways. Its kind of fun. ... I have 15 different websites I check every day when I get up in the morning and every night when I get home. And Ill spend an hour or two hours every day reading articles. J: Well, thats definitely important. N: It is. I need to. But it makes it really fun because I'm always learning about new things. ... And Im here, because I actually love people. I love talking to people, too. Its fascinating. But for me, the reason why I love people is not for the social aspect, but for me I find them a puzzle. I want to know how they work. Because if I know how they work, I can get to know them better. J: And you also get to know yourself better. N: Exactly. J: You came here to Rye and Greenwich from Ohio that's a completely different culture. What is it like working in a Starbucks environment here? N: Here actually, the people are absolutely amazing. There are only a couple people here where I have to set boundaries, but if that's all I have to do I mean, come on. ... And you're working with people from different cultures, people who grew up in different areas. Some people grew up very rich, some people I myself grew up with very little means, you know, and I grew up in a farming community. Theres not a lot of money in a farming community. I actually worked on a farm at 14 years old. I learned how to drive stick on the tractor. J: And that's really interesting. It plays into all the little bits and pieces of you that make you who you are. N: Yeah. I learned how to fix things as a child. I couldnt just drive out or walk five minutes to the store and buy something. I had to learn to fix it. So all my toys, instead of buying them because one, we didnt have really too much means, but two, because it was 45 minutes just to get to the grocery store I learned to fix stuff. Ultimately, I had a computer, it was bad, and I was like, Let me fix it. J: So theres a lot of different parts that end up bringing you here today. N: Exactly. Liberal Politics from the Heart of Bluegrass Country FAIRFIELD On her first trip to Italy this summer, Sacred Heart University student Lauren Celentano didnt have any grand expectations. She didnt expect to launch a career, or be noticed by television executives. Celentano, a member of SHUs Dance Company, was one of 12 students to travel in July with Director of Dance Kari Williams to Bari, Italy, to participate in World Dance Movement, an annual international dance workshop. At that point, Celentano, 19, had never heard of the Italian reality show, Amici. But shortly after she arrived, she had received an offer to move to Italy and compete on the nationally televised talent show. Its definitely been a little overwhelming, said Celentanos mother, Felicity. It was a huge decision when it was presented to us, because it wasnt something she was seeking out. She just happened to be at a dance convention, was seen and asked to audition, and next thing they were asking if shed be on the show. Celentano, a sophomore at SHU double majoring in education and theater with a minor in dance, was recently home for the holidays, but from November through March, or until she is eliminated, shes living with other contestants in a country more than 4,000 miles away from her Cheshire home. Though she began taking lessons after being offered the show, she left her home country with only a cursory knowledge of Italian. According to her mother, Celentano started dancing recreationally when she was 4, but started competing soon after. Through high school, Celentano competed and won national and regional titles, dancing with Dance Unlimited in Hamden under Janet Gambardella, before joining the SHU Dance Company. Williams said Celentano excels at all styles, but is particularly strong in jazz, tap, commercial dance, classical ballet, contemporary, hip hop and musical theater. In fact, Celentanos mother said her daughter not only dances, but also sings and acts, and has dreams of one day performing on Broadway, or a similar venue in which she could display her multifaceted talents. But it is in the dance category of Amici that Celentano is competing. She is one of the most talented students that I had coming in. But shes also the most humble and the most willing to develop artistically and find out what she doesnt know, Williams said. Though Celentanos selection was a surprise for her and her parents, Williams had been working behind the scenes to help get Celentano noticed. Before leaving for Italy, Williams contacted her friend, Michelle Assaf, the artistic director of World Dance Movement. I had multiple conversations with Michelle before going, just because we didnt know what to expect, about the faculty and the opportunities that would be presented, Williams said. She talked to me about scholarship opportunities that would be available. She told me that Royal Caribbean was holding an event and offering contracts. Then she told me about Amici and how casting directors were coming and scouting for this talent show. I had never heard of it. Once producers noticed Celentano, she was called in for two auditions and, shortly thereafter, was offered a spot on the show. She and her family had less than 24 hours to make` their decision. Lauren was in total shock. It was difficult for her to make that decision so quickly, Williams said. Ultimately, Celentano and her parents, who had been to Italy once, on their honeymoon, decided to go for it. Its been really exciting, and life-changing for her. I think no matter what happens at this point its been a great opportunity in performing, but also as a person to take this leap of faith and go to a country where she doesnt speak the language, Felicity Celentano said. Shes been very brave. justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1 The U.S. Department of Agriculture today finalized a regulation that will allow all Mexican states to export pork to the United States, a move supported by the National Pork Producers Council. USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is implementing a science-based risk assessment that determined Mexico is free of Classical Swine Fever (CSF), highly contagious viral disease in pigs. It was eradicated from the United States in the late 1970s. APHIS in 2016 concluded that the risk of CSF from pork imports from Mexico is negligible. The U.S. pork industry is a strong supporter of free trade and of using epidemiological science and risk analyses to determine if trade can be safely conducted between countries, said NPPC President Ken Maschhoff, a pork producer from Carlyle, Ill. Mexico in 2017 was our No. 2 export market, so maintaining our good relationship with that country by ensuring fair and reciprocal trade is paramount for our producers. Through November last year, the United States shipped $1.4 billion of pork to Mexico. Mexico in late 2007 requested market access to the United States for pork from the eight states in its central region but later amended that request to include all Mexican states. Click here to see more... The U.S. Department of Agriculture today finalized a regulation that will allow all Mexican states to export pork to the United States, a move supported by the National Pork Producers Council. USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is implementing a science-based risk assessment that determined Mexico is free of Classical Swine Fever (CSF), highly contagious viral disease in pigs. It was eradicated from the United States in the late 1970s. APHIS in 2016 concluded that the risk of CSF from pork imports from Mexico is negligible. The U.S. pork industry is a strong supporter of free trade and of using epidemiological science and risk analyses to determine if trade can be safely conducted between countries, said NPPC President Ken Maschhoff, a pork producer from Carlyle, Ill. Mexico in 2017 was our No. 2 export market, so maintaining our good relationship with that country by ensuring fair and reciprocal trade is paramount for our producers. Through November last year, the United States shipped $1.4 billion of pork to Mexico. Mexico in late 2007 requested market access to the United States for pork from the eight states in its central region but later amended that request to include all Mexican states. APHIS at that time conducted multiple reviews and determined Mexicos control program for CSF was not sufficient to classify the country as negligible risk for the disease. Click here to see more... Kondinin farmer Natalie Browning hopes to bring her board experience, financial and leadership studies, fresh ideas and passion for farming to the CBH Board if elected to the District 3 position NATALIE Browning believes fresh ideas, increased grower engagement and effective governance is the key the CBH Groups longevity and prosperity. And the Kondinin grower believes she has what it takes to help the CBH board ensure the co-operatives continued success for the next generation of WA farming families. Ms Browning is one of four candidates vying for the District 3 position on the CBH board, following the resignation of Pingelly grower John Hassell who is not seeking re-election. The Kondinin farmer runs a 100 per cent cropping program with her husband Karl and their three children Jace, Noah and Chloe on the familys 6400 hectare property. Ms Browning said it was her love of farming and strong desire for the ongoing success of the agricultural industry that prompted her to run for the board. My family lives and breathes farming and I think that CBH is just such an important asset for WA grain growers and a company with fantastic potential, Ms Browning said. I just want to contribute and really help it to be a strong company for now and also for future generations. After meeting her husband and moving to his family farm, the 34-year-old has become an integral part of the enterprise and has gained more than 15 years experience in a variety roles. She said this experience had given her a deep understanding of farming, business and the CBH Group structure. Ive got a strong understanding of the financial side of the business and I understand the hands-on practical side, Ms Browning said. When I was 17 I was a grain sampler at CBH and then I worked on the farm until we had kids Ive actually driven a truck and delivered grain and now I manage the complete financial and administration side of the business, so I think Ive got a really good balance of skills. Despite her youth, leadership experience is not an issue for Ms Browning who sits on the CBH Grower Advisory Council, the Rabobank Client Council and is getting ready to start as the chairperson of the Narembeen District High School board. Along with this, she is completing a commerce degree through Curtin University and nearing graduation of the Australian Institute of Company Directors program. Ms Browning is a firm supporter of the CBH Groups co-operative structure, and has participated in the Executive Leadership Program: Co-operatives and Mutuals run through The University of Western Australian and the Australian Institute of Management. Im a believer in the co-operative structure and Ive focussed some of my study around that, Ms Browning said. Through my studies Ive gained a good understanding of business structures and legal requirements, legislative acts and financial statements. Ive got a bit of professional development and experience there and Im committed to continuing to develop that. If elected as a member director, Ms Browning planned to focus on increasing grower engagement and consultation, particularly with once-in-a-generation decisions such as the Network Strategy. She said improving flexibility for growers by expanding services would also be a priority. CBH is still providing its core traditional services but we store a fair bit of grain on-farm mainly because of harvest logistic issues, Ms Browning said. Im a big CBH supporter and would like to sell grain back to CBH but theyre quite often significantly less competitive, Id really like to look at that and see whether there can be a bit more flexibility with on-farm storage grain. Getting Tier 3 rail services back on track and improving network efficiencies would also be areas of focus for Ms Browning if elected, along with improving effective governance and promoting a positive culture within the co-operative. She hoped to contribute her strong communication skills to the board to ensure the next generation of farmers remained supportive of the bulk handler. Being a younger grower, a lot of people I speak to have almost lost their connection with CBH and I really think we need to look at that, Ms Browning said. We dont want in another 15 years when the next lot of growers are making the decisions to let it slip through our fingers because we havent engaged with our growers enough. Im an analyser and a very strategic thinker and Id like to bring a bit of refreshment and some new ideas in to try and get that connection in with the younger growers and try and build a good culture going forward. Ms Browning was one of four who have nominated for the 2018 CBH Group Grower Members Director Elections in District 3, seeking election in the seat held by Pingelly farmer John Hassell who has not renominated. CANCER Council is pushing for awareness with their kNOw Workplace Cancer project. The project is encouraging people to be aware of the dangers of occupational and environmental cancers. National Occupational and Environmental Cancer project officer Sharnae Zanotti said diesel engine exhaust fumes are known to likely cause cancer in the lungs and possibly the bladder. Ms Zanotti said people who regularly consume diesel fumes were 40 percent more likely to develop the cancer. An estimated 1.2 million people are exposed to DEE across Australias workforce. Fourteen percent of the workforce are exposed to diesel engine exhaust at work and around 130 Australians develop lung cancer each year as a result, Ms Zanotti said. Farmers were found to be one of the top occupations to have the most exposure to diesel engine exhaust with 94 percent of agriculture workers being exposed. Ms Zanotti said it was important to understand when they were exposed to these fumes. Anytime someone is around a diesel filled vehicle like trucks or tractors, they can be exposed, especially in confined spaces such as sheds or workshops. Other items such as compressors or generators can also be a rick as they emit fumes. To reduce diesel engine exhaust fume consumption the Cancer Council suggests farmers have adequate ventilation and wind up windows when driving a diesel-fuelled vehicle. For more information on diesel engine exhaust fumes go to the cancer council website - cancer.org.au/workcancer. ONCE again the Landmark Special Angus Weaner Sale held at the Mt Barker Regional Saleyards saw premium prices paid for the quality Angus steers and heifers on offer. Now in its sixth year, the sale continues to attract buyers from throughout the State chasing the well-bred, quality genetics on offer in the Landmark yarding. Prices at the sale are often above market values at the time, and this year was no exception with steers topping at $1266 and heifers at $1208. It is a unique sale in that all cattle yarded are Angus and the majority of them weaned, so buyers purchased with confidence with the total offering of 1974 head grossing $2,156,135 and averaging $1092. Steers and heifers on offer came from mostly Great Southern properties with many of the vendors featuring as top-price buyers at Angus bull sales in recent years, another indication of the quality of genetics on offer in the yarding. Due to a tough winter in the Great Southern, weights were down slightly on last year but the offering stood out for its consistency and quality. The top price line of steers was offered by Carmdam North, Mt Barker and bought by Harmony Operation. The line of 18 steers was unweaned and weighed in at 436kg and sold for $1266 or 290c/kg. Not far behind these was a line of 14 weaned steers that were offered by Jarrod and Sarah Carroll, Rayview Park, Albany and bought by Cullalla for $1265. Weighing in at 398kg, these Coonamble, Koojan Hills and Diamond Tree blood steers equated to 318c/kg. The Bairstow family, Arizona Farms, Lake Grace, had the largest offering of steers in the sale with close to 550 and these also featured in the higher prices. The Arizona steers were all weaned and of mostly Coonamble Angus stud blood. One pen from Arizona consisted of 16 steers that weighed in at 393kg and sold for $1258 at 320c/kg to Harmony Operation. Another line of 15 that weighed in at 400kg made $1256 or 314c/kg and were also bought by Harmony. A line of 14 Arizona steers sold to Cullalla for $1252 and at an average weight of 396kg, equating to 316c/kg. Cullalla also paid $1250 or 320c/kg for a line of Arizona steers that weighed 391kg. DJ & JE Bell, Redmond, offered a quality line of 13 steers that weighed in at 418kg and made $1253 at 300c/kg. These steers were bought by Harmony. A line of 14 Rayview Park steers sold for $1249 also to Harmony. These steers weighed in at 416kg and equated to 300c/kg. Cullalla took a liking to another line of Rayview Park steers paying $1247 for a pen of 15 that averaged 392kg and made 318c/kg. Johnson Bros offered a line of five unweaned steers that weighed in at 402kg and were bought by Harmony. These steers made $1246 (310c/kg). RA & MA Wright, Kojonup, offered a line of 16 Angus steers that were weaned and weighed in at 377kg. These steers sold for $1230 (326c/kg) to Cullalla. The momentum of the sale didnt slow down as the weights dropped off, with a line of 20 offered by Arizona Farms selling for $1195 to Pulfer & Nussbaum. These steers weighed 348kg (348c/kg). A line of 15 Rayview Park steers that weighed in at 335kg sold for $1180 to Pulfer & Nussbaum. These steers equated to 352c/kg. A line of 11 steers offered by RJ & IS Bunn, Redmond, also made good money selling to Cullalla for $1175. These steers averaged 344kg (342c/kg). A line of 20 steers offered by regular sale vendors MJ Blyth & Co, Manypeaks, sold for $1166 to Pulfer & Nussbaum. These steers weighed in at 331kg and made 352c/kg. Lighter steers made up to 360c/kg including a line of 16 offered by SA & SH Smith, Narrikup, selling for that amount to S & C Livestock. These steers averaged 260kg and made $936. Also selling at 360c/kg was a line of 16 from Silverstone Livestock, Narrikup, that weighed 232kg and made $836. A line of 20 Arizona steers that averaged 310kg sold for $1108 (358c/kg) to volume buyer Pulfer & Nussbaum, while another line of 20 from the same home sold for $1166 to the same buyer. These steers weighed in at 328kg and made 356c/kg. A line of 20 steers offered by another sale regular, MI & DM Twentyman, Nanarup, sold for $1107 and was bought by Pulffer & Nussbaum. These steers weighed 315kg and made 352c/kg. Another line of Blyth steers made $1151 when bought by Pulfer & Nussbaum. These steers weighed in at 329kg and made 350c/kg. With 144 pens filled with cattle in the sale, only a small proportion of these were heifers, taking up 29 of those pens. The top price here was $1209 paid for a line of nine heifers offered by Carmdam North and bought by FE Brockman Family Trust. These heifers weighed in at 414kg and made 292c/kg. Another line of Carmdam North heifers sold for $1142, also to the Brockmans. These heifers averaged 394kg and equated to 290c/kg. A line of seven heifers offered by the BJ Panizza Family Trust, King River, sold for $1115 to Dundeal Holdings, Narrikup. These heifers weighed 387kg and equated to 288c/kg. A line of six heifers offered by L,B & J Parke, Lake Muir, sold for $1073 to GC & ER Frusher, Narrikup. These heifers weighed in at 383kg and equated to 280c/kg. Other heifers to sell well included another line from BJ Panizza that went for $1040, also to Dundeal Holdings. The 344kg heifers equated to 302c/kg. A line of 10 from DJ & BE Bell, Redmond, made $1066 when bought by Landmark national livestock manager Leon Giglia. At 384kg these heifers made 278c/kg. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. Sean Penn says US President Donald Trump is "an enemy of the state". Sean Penn The award-winning actor has hit out at the businessman-turned-politician following recent reports that he described Haiti and other nations as "s**thole countries". In an essay on Time.com, Sean wrote: "President Donald Trump's words describing the glorious people of Africa, El Salvador and Haiti are far worse than mere insensitivity or even nationalism. "Those standards are not disgraceful enough." Sean added that the current President is not the solution to divisions within American society and elsewhere. He said, too, it's important that the US shows unity with other parts of the world in order to achieve progress. He explained: "The solution to our current divisiveness does not live in the White House. "Instead, we will find unity only when we recognize that in our current president, we have elected, perhaps for the first time in our history, an enemy of compassion. Indeed, we can be unified not only with each other but with Africa, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, the Middle East and beyond if we recognize President Donald Trump is an enemy of Americans, Republicans, Democrats, Independents and every new child born. An enemy of mankind. He is indeed an enemy of the state. (sic)" During the election campaign in 2016, Sean was a vocal supporter of Trump's rival, Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton. He previously said: "There are two options: Either you can decide to divorce yourself from loving your children and p**s on a tree and show that you have the power to p**s on a tree. "Or you can go out and vote in a very big way for someone like Hillary Clinton - who then you can challenge and support, which is the only way that any kind of president can have any success - and you stick it out for four years." by Charlotte Hough for www.femalefirst.co.uk Warner Bros. UK this week revealed the official teaser trailer for their upcoming release Teen Titans GO! To The Movies, featuring the voices of Will Arnett and Kristen Bell, amongst other big stars. You can check out the brilliant video for the feature film below, along with some cute new teaser artwork: Directed by Aaron Horvath and Peter Rida from a screenplay by Horvath alongside the brilliant Michael Jelenic, the film will see Arnett and Bell star alongside the likes of Greg Cipes as Beast Boy, Scott Menville as Robin, Khary Payton as Cyborg, Tara Strong as Raven and Hynden Walch as Starfire, all reprising their roles from the series. Arnett produces alongside Peggy Regan, with Jelenic, Horvath and Sam Register serving as executive producers. All apart from Arnett are regular Teen Titans GO! series contributors. Promising to provide a tongue-in-cheek play on the regular superhero movie genre, Teen Titans GO! To The Movies will see all the major superheroes starring in their own films, apart from our titular characters. Hoping to remedy the situation, Robin is ready to step out into the spotlight and become the star rather than a sidekick. With songs in their hearts (yes, there are musical numbers) and fire in their bellies, the Teen Titans head to Hollywood to chase their dreams. Misdirected by a super villain and his plan to take over the planet however, the group must once again put everything aside to fight the crime that threatens their future. For now, it would seem that the identity of that villain and whoever is voicing them is being kept under wraps, but wed imagine its somebody special from the DC rogues gallery. With a wealth of incredibly compelling characters to choose from, they could add yet another layer of brilliance to a feature film that sounds like it could really be something special, and a breath of fresh air for the superhero genre. Teen Titans GO! To The Movies is officially released on August 3, 2018. by Daniel Falconer for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Heavy D was forced to fork out 5,000 in damages after Judge Rinder found him guilty on today's show (15.01.18) of trashing his rental home in North London late last year. Judge Rinder The former 'Celebrity Big Brother' star was taken to court by landlord Stephen Cooper because he owed him 12,000 in unpaid rent and left the house in Enfield in such a mess that it required thousands of pounds worth of repairs once he had moved out. The 'Storage Hunters' funny man - who is also known as Colin Newell - had also filed a counterclaim for 8,000 on the basis of loss of earnings because he believed a negative story that Stephen had sold to a newspaper for 200 had ruined his career. Speaking on today's episode of 'Judge Rinder', Heavy D said: "No one is going to book me again, it's going to affect my livelihood and I can't provide for my family." However, after looking into all of the evidence - including seeing photographs of the state the property was left in - Judge Rinder decided to throw out Heavy D's counterclaim out because Stephen had given his 200 fee to Great Ormond Street Hospital and he didn't feel he went to the papers in order to be "malicious." Judge Rinder said: "Now I don't know whether it's 6,408 but I am perfectly satisfied that it is in excess of 5,000 to put that house right. "Consequently, as a matter of law, you are liable for that sum because you had to keep that house in good and reasonable order ... and you did not. "So this court awards you the maximum sum of 5,000. Now because you did not leave that house in good and reasonable order, he was, as a matter of free speech, entitled to tell the world about it and consequently he got in touch with the newspaper. I would be upset if he pocketed that money himself but he did not. "It give some some indication as to whether he was malicious or not. He was cross, certainly, but not malicious! ... This court does dismiss your countercase. " And Stephen was pleased with the ruling because he thinks Heavy D is a "leech." He said: "He can't be allowed to carry on like this. He's just a leech. He just thrives on other people and it's not right. What you did to my family, I will never forgive. I am totally pleased you have lost money." But the 45-year-old star doesn't believe Stephen gave his newspaper fee to charity and is convinced he's just "obsessed" with him. He said: "I don't believe he gave the money to charity. You're obsessed with me..." Natalie Lowe has got married. Natalie Lowe The former 'Strictly Come Dancing' professional tied the knot with her beau James Knibbs on Balmoral Beach in Sydney, Australia, on January 8 surrounded by their friends and family. Natalie told Hello! magazine: "He [James] looked so handsome. I didn't want to look up [as I walked down the aisle] as I didn't want to be a blubbering mess before I reached him ... Ian [Waite] recited a poem that he and his husband drew [Merriman] had written for us. It was extremely moving, funny and heartfelt." The couple held their reception at the Public Dining Room restaurant and their guests were treated to Australian food and wine, including local salmon and king fish, before they took to the floor for their first dance to 'Iris' by the Goo Goo Dolls. Natalie added: "The whole day was filled with lots of laughter, singing and dancing." The 37-year-old dancer met James in 2013 when she was on a train to Leeds and the couple are convinced their meeting was fate because Natalie had just pulled out of 'Strictly Come Dancing' with a leg injury and was on her way to a meeting. She added: "I always knew James was the one for me from the moment we met on that train." Meanwhile, Natalie walked away from the ballroom and latin show in 2016 because she wanted to try something different, but she has since admitted that she goes through waves of getting cold feet because it was such a huge part of her life for so long. She said: "I'm still pinching myself - have I made the right decision? But no, I'm excited to see what's going to happen next. "I was a part of that world for 14 years. It is my life, it's still my family and I will still be heavily involved doing choreography eventually. I could not have 'Strictly' not be part of my life." Our pick of what is been going on in Fethiye and around Turkey over the last week. News Kocacals residents fear another winter of floods Residents of Kocacals fear another winter of floods as they wait for preventative work to be carried out by Fethiye Municipality. The areas of Mavi Kent, Saglk Sitesi and Cicek Sitesi are built on reclaimed marshland bordering on reed beds, rich with plants and wildlife. An important part of the regions ecosystem, these wetlands filter rain and snow-melt from the mountains before it enters the Gulf of Fethiye. Sounds idyllic, however when left to themselves, the reed beds become lakes whenever there are periods of heavy rain, causing a problem for homeowners when the lakes flood. This falls under the jurisdiction of the regional water authority, MUSKI, whose responsibility it is to keep the outlet from the river, open to the sea. The canal is the responsibility of DSI. On 30 December many homes in Kocacals were again flooded as a result of the canal overflowing and the outlet from the river to the sea being blocked. MUSKI carried out pumping and cleaning works after the floods. Spokesperson for the residents, Dave Gardner, told Fethiye Times I have been asking MUSKI for a solution to our flooding problem for the last three years. They claim they do not have the money to carry out the project to solve the flooding problem. The flooding on 30th December was caused by MUSKI not carrying out adequate cleaning of the outlet. I have also been asking them for three years to build a simple stone breakwater in the sea to stop the river that drains Koca Calis from being blocked every time there is a storm. They have built a small breakwater but it needs to be a lot more substantial for it to work In a meeting this week MUSKI told Gardner that the long term solution is to build a pumping station at the river but they still dont have the funding for it. They also said they will contact DSI to have the canal cleaned out. Gardner went on to say We are being let down by a government department. Our homes have been flooded and it will happen again until MUSKI takes action Small steps in the right direction but a long way from providing a permanent solution. Survivor China comes to Fethiye Locals watched with interest as filming for the TV series, Survivor China, took place in Uzumlu on Saturday. China Zhejiang TV will be in Fethiye for a month filming in various locations including Babadag, Oludeniz, Kayakoy, Cals an Gocek. The contest includes eight famous actors and is expected to attract up to one billion viewers. Zhou Xin, the sets account manager, said We are celebrating the year of Turkish-Chinese friendship through this program and we are also introducing Chinese and Turkish cultures, and local clothes and meals are being shown during the shootings Tercan Akcin, member of parliament of Fethiye Municipality, stated that they tried to help the team in every way and that the program would contribute to Fethiye tourism contribution and culture integration. Source: SonDakika Turkeys state of emergency to be extended once again The state of emergency rule will to be extended once again following an advisory decision made by the National Security Council (MGK), the government spokesman and Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Jan. 8. The state of emergency was first declared on July 21, 2016, in the wake of the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. In line with the constitution, which allows state of emergency rule to be endlessly extended albeit in three-month periods, the coming extension is set to be sixth extension since the initial declaration in 2016. Source: HurriyetDailyNews Booking.com likely to resume operations in Turkey The activities of the Netherlands-based online reservation portal Booking.com in Turkey were suspended after the Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TURSAB) filed a lawsuit against the leading online travel agency. Ministry of Culture and Tourisms Assistant General Manager of Promotions Ahmet Temurci recently announced the start of negotiations with Booking.com. Temurci stated that Booking.com, which has agreed to pay the necessary fines, can soon resume its operation in the Turkish market. Hosted by the Turkish Independent Industrialists and Businessmen Associations (MUSIAD) Antalya branch, the Turkey Consultancy Meeting was organized by the MUSIAD Services Sector Council under the main theme of Tourism Trends in Turkey. Temurci, who attended the said meeting, later announced the start of negotiations with the leading online travel agency. Noting that the restrictions on Booking.com solely covers reservations in Turkey, Temurci said it is still possible for users to make reservations in Turkey from abroad and vice versa via the companys website. Temurci said the company will resume its operations in Turkey after renewing the website. This is not a problem that Booking.com has faced in Turkey alone. Similar lawsuits are ongoing in France and Germany, as well, Temurci said. Source: Daily Sabah Turkey drafts new law to jail anyone convicted of animal abuse All those who are found guilty of animal abuse in Turkey will face jail, a new draft law has proposed. After increasing reports of animal cruelty, proposals have been tabled to guarantee jail time for anyone who harms animals. Those found guilty of animal abuse could be jailed for up to four a half years and those who kill endangered animals could face up to seven years behind bars. Those who have forced animals to fight will be given between two months and two years in jail and the severity of all punishments depends on whether the crime is a first time offence or a reoccurrence. Gulay Yedekci the deputy of the opposition Republican Peoples Party, requested that parliament put forward this bill to protect animals and said that current punishments are too lenient. The provisions of the present law are not sufficient. The legal rights of all living creatures must be recognised. With this law proposal we want animal rights to be secured. The right to life for animals also needs to be defined legally, Ms Yedekci said, according to Hurriyet Daily News. She also called on parliament to change the fact that animals are considered to be peoples property. The draft, which is formed of 27 articles, has been sent to all the necessary ministry departments by the Justice Ministry. They have 30 days to express their opinions. Source: The Independent Sport Basketball Fethiye Belediyespor won their home match against UPS on Saturday. The final score was 83 67. Fethiyespor Thank you to Brian Lloyd for the Fethiyespor update Fethiyespor have now finished boot camp training in Antalya. The Technical Director/Manager said the training has gone well. Fethiyespor won a training match in the week. The result was 2-1. Fethiyespor also signed up four new players this month. The next league matches are: Sunday 21st January 2018 away against Hacettepe Spor. Kick off is at 13:30. Sunday 28th January 2018 at home against Pendikspor. Kick off is at 13:30. For more information about Fethiyespor please visit Fethiyespor Yabancilar on Facebook. Turkish Money Turkish Lira (TL) exchange rates: The British Pound bought 5.14 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 5.06 TL. The US Dollar bought 3.74 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 3.73 TL. The Euro bought 4.57 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 4.49 TL. Weather Forecast Heres your weather forecast for the week ahead. Todays featured image is by local blogger and photographer, Casey Russell. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / January 14, 2018 / LUXCORE is a unique Enterprise focused Blockchain Ecosystem and its open source public blockchain asset, LuxCoin, has the potential to become a leading cryptocurrency due to the implementation of new features including Smart Contracts and SegWit aimed at enhancing the blockchain's usability and transaction speeds. LUX have made recent announcements about upgrades include the addition of smart contracts allowing users to create pre-defined contracts and the implementation of SegWit and providing revolutionary layers of security and privacy through its upcoming closed source products LuxGate and Parallel Masternodes. Given these recent announcements, LuxCoin has made considerable growth in recent days solidifying its place in the cryptocurrency market. Introduction to LUX By providing customers with a faster, more efficient and more secure transaction solution LUX creates a more profitable service for individuals, enterprise and governments. LuxCore incorporates a new GPU PHI1612 algorithm built from: Skein, JK, Cubehash, Fugue, Streebog and Echo. PHI1612 boasts the most efficient ASIC resistant GPU mining algorithm to date with faster hash rates while reducing the power needed by 10%. Many cryptocurrencies use a Proof-of-Work protocol which is incredibly inefficient with time and energy. By adopting both Proof-of-Stake and Proof-of-Work and further enabling Masternodes as well, LuxCore can minimise the time and power needed to complete transactions being made which further increases the ability and scale of LuxCore. LUX would like to give customers a choice in the levels of security and privacy to suit their individual needs. Segwit for LUX - A New Era Segwit is currently planned to be introduced around the 20th of February, 2018. Segwit is the process by which the block size limit on a blockchain is increased by removing signature data from transactions. This frees space up which allows for more transactions to be added to the chain. This new function will separate transaction signatures which ensures a higher level of security as the data is 'detached' from the transaction. This prevents the receiver from intercepting and modifying the sender's transaction ID which can in some circumstances allow them to receive more coins. SegWit will be a critical addition for the scalability of the Lux blockchain which already contains numerous groundbreaking features to draw in new customers. Getting Smart With Smart Contracts Smart Contracts will be able to be deployed directly from the wallet which can trigger cross network transactions and tasks based on predetermined conditions. Smart Contracts will help users exchange in a transparent and conflict-free manner while avoiding the need for a middleman. This will help end users to digitally trigger, authenticate, or enforce the negotiation or performance of a contract. LUX Masternodes Any computer which is mining or staking a cryptocurrency is considered a node. In LuxCoin's case, one can also run a 24/7 dedicated Masternode, backed by a collateral, allowing owners to earn rewards for supporting the network because they add a layer of stability and security to the network by verifying blockchain transactions. To run a Masternode an owner must possess at least 16,120 LuxCoins in their wallet. These rewards are named Proof-of-Service rewards which is derived from 40% of the proof-of-stake (PoS) and are randomly distributed to Masternode owners. As of this moment owners are rewarded 0.4 LuxCoin and the PoS is being rewarded 0.6 LuxCoins for every block found. The team also has plans to revamp the reward structure for incentivizing and rewarding the Masternode owners. Extra Layers of Security LuxCore's blockchain has been built to have the capacity for Parallel Masternode on a Private Network which will run alongside the public network. The revolutionary concept that bridges the two networks together is called the LuxGate. LuxGate will allow communication between validated blockchains or algorithm with the ability to perform advanced functions and tasks. With LuxSend, which is a form of coin-mixing, users have the choice to mask their transaction information. Another feature are multi signature wallets, providing another layer of security which requires all the concerned parties to authorize the transaction which can combat fraudulent and unintended transactions providing individuals and enterprises alike with a stronger sense of security. LuxCoin Growth Over the past few days LUX's price has grown considerably which highlights the fact that it is being adopted by users and becoming increasingly popular. The potential for LuxCoin keeps on growing with the upcoming announcements boosting its credibility. The price of LUX was close to 8$ last week and since then has increased to just under 30$ which means it has made significant growth since the new announcements have been made. If the coin follows this recent trend LuxCoin will be a staple cryptocurrency and LuxCore an enterprise platform to reckon with. Visit the Luxcore Website: https://luxcore.io Read the Whitepaper: http://www.luxcore.io/LUX_WP_V1_NOV_2017.pdf Follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LUX_Coin Chat on Telegram: https://t.me/LUXcoreOfficial Media Contact: Name: Ali Omer Horzum Email Address: info@tokensuite.io City and Country: Tel Aviv, Israel LUX are the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest. SOURCE: LUX LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / January 14, 2018 / On January 5, the International Ice and Snow Festival opened in Heilongjiang, China, in Harbin. Many architects and sculptors from around the world from the ice repeated the iconic sights from around the world, including from Canada. Giant ice buildings are located on the territory of more then 75 acres. According to Neil Shekhter, the festival of ice sculptures in Harbin has been held since 1985. This year, all the contest participants had to recreate the civilization along the route of the ancient Silk Road. In the exposition there is a castle from Japan, a South Korean temple, a Buddhist monastery, a traditional building for Russian architecture with onion domes and other structures. The magical ice city is equipped with neon lights and is especially good after sunset, writes The Daily Mail. All buildings are fairly stable and open to visitors. Tourists can stroll along the bridges connecting the temples, and climb the stairs leading to the ice cathedrals and towers. Drone footage captures the rainbow-coloured city, which features iconic landmarks from all over the world, including Russia's St. Petersburg, Japan's Kanazawa Castle and the famous silk road, Neil Shekhter points out. Organizers of the festival say that in the theme park is now quite cold - minus 30 degrees Celsius. The exposition will be open to visitors until the end of February, until spring comes to Habrin and sculptures begin to melt. Per Neil Shekhter the drone footage shows an ice kingdom filled with palaces and landmarks from all over the world. Neon lit kingdom created from ice in China's Harbin. Recall that in Sweden in late December 2017 opened IceHotel - with numbers sculpted from ice by the best sculptors in the world, says Neil Shekhter. This is the 34th consecutive year that Harbin has hosted the festival through which visitors could experience very low temperature. You can read more at DailyMail. Launching NMS Properties in 1988, Neil Shekhter assumed the role of CEO in January 1995. The real estate management company focuses on multi-family and mixed-use properties in the Greater Los Angeles area and in Santa Monica. At present, NMS properties manages more than 70 properties. Neil Shekhter - Founder and CEO of NMS Properties Apartments For Rent In Los Angeles NMS Residential: http://www.nmsresidential.com NMS Properties - Real Estate Management Firm: http://www.nmsproperties.com Contact Information: news@neilshekhter.com info@neil-shekhter.com SOURCE: NMS Properties, Inc. LAS VEGAS, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, NovuMind continued to attract people's attention with its first AI chip NovuTensor. "Designed for artificial neural networks byonly using very small (3x3) convolution filters, NovuTensor runs on a 15 teraflops of performance (ToP) under 5 watts." Said Mike Li, IC engineering VP of NovuMind, "with such top-ranking performance, it is expected to apply AI technology to be truly omnipresent in a near future." At NovuMind's CES booth,people are very much impressed by the showcase powered by NovuTensor. Through AI processing, NovuMind can make any source image packed into super high-quality 8K image. NovuMind Super-Resolution can intelligently create even micro details, reduce image noise and make it sharper through deep neural networks. Up to now there are well-knowninternational manufacturers already reached to NovuMindfor cooperation. Another showcase is that with NovuMind's full stack AI technology support, West China Hospital of Sichuan University announced the first global artificial intelligence digestive endoscope in the middle of 2017. According to the data published by West China Hospital, the accuracy rate of detection reached a high level of 92% - 96%, which is even better than human doctor. With the mission of embedding power-efficient AI everywhere, Dr. Ren Wu, founder & CEO of NovuMind, formerly a distinguished scientist at Baidu, began to start NovuMind in August 2016. Now, with a 50+ top scientists and engineers team, NovuMind brings their new chip to CES 2018. NovuMind not only provides high performance and low power AI chip, but alsoprovidesNovuStar, a supercomputer specially designed for AI, and NovuForce, a distributed AI training platform that delivers near-linear scalability, industry leading performance and state-of- the-art accuracy. "Our products are like brains that sense, process, react and adapt to the environment and interact with therest of the world - intelligently." Dr.Wu said. At the largest consumer electronics exhibition in the world, NovuMind stands out of many high technology companies with its AI chip, which was praised by media as the next-generation innovation ASIC. After raising $15.2 million in series A funding in December 2016, NovuMind is raising another new round of financing. It is revealed that NovuMind's FinFET ASIC is expected to launch in mid-2018. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628244/NovuMind_AI_Chip_great_power_efficient_performance.jpg DGAP-Ad-hoc: Airbus SE / Key word(s): Legal Matter Airbus Provides Update on Legal Cases 13-Jan-2018 / 17:00 CET/CEST Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. *Ad-hoc release, 13 January 2018* *Airbus Provides Update on Legal Cases* *- *Acknowledges arbitral award of EUR 104 million in commercial dispute between Matra Defense S.A.S. and the Republic of China - In discussion with Munich public prosecution (Staatsanwaltschaft Munchen I) for potential termination of Eurofighter Austria investigation Airbus SE (stock exchange symbol: AIR) is providing an update on two unrelated legacy legal cases. The first legal legacy case concerns a commercial dispute, previously mentioned in the company's Financial Statements, between subsidiary Matra Defense S.A.S. and the Republic of China (Taiwan). In 1998, Matra Defense S.A.S. was acquired by one of the French predecessor companies which later merged into EADS. Airbus acknowledges notification of an arbitral award on 12 January 2018 concerning a breach of contract claim related to a purchase agreement signed in 1992 for the supply of missiles for which the products were delivered in the years shortly thereafter. The award amounts to EUR 104 million. Matra Defense S.A.S. is reviewing the award before evaluating the next steps to take following the outcome of this arbitration. The second unrelated legal legacy case concerns the ongoing investigation by the Munich public prosecution (Staatsanwaltschaft Munchen I) in relation to the sale of Eurofighter aircraft to the Republic of Austria. Airbus confirms that it is in discussion with the Munich public prosecution (Staatsanwaltschaft Munchen I) about the potential termination of the investigation in the context of the sale of Eurofighter aircraft in 2003 by former EADS Deutschland GmbH (renamed Airbus Defence and Space GmbH) to the Republic of Austria. Once concluded, Airbus will disclose the result. ***** *About Airbus* Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2016 it generated revenues of EUR 67 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats and business aviation products. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world's leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide. *Media contacts* Martin Aguera +49 (0) 175 227 4369 martin.aguera@airbus.com Rod Stone +33 (0) 630 521 993 rod.stone@airbus.com Gregor Kursell +49 (0) 177 725 3027 gregor.kursell@airbus.com 13-Jan-2018 CET/CEST The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de Language: English Company: Airbus SE P.O. Box 32008 2303 DA Leiden Netherlands Phone: 00 800 00 02 2002 Fax: +49 (0)89 607 - 26481 Internet: www.airbusgroup.com ISIN: NL0000235190 WKN: 938914 Indices: MDAX Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange End of Announcement DGAP News Service 645243 13-Jan-2018 CET/CEST (END) Dow Jones Newswires January 13, 2018 11:00 ET (16:00 GMT) FELTON, California, January 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dental implants market was valued at over USD 3.56 billion in 2015 and is expected to show attractive growth over the forecast period. Dental implants have wide application as anchors used for positioning of dental prosthesis such as dentures, bridges, or crowns. Dentists prefer these implants for replacements for missing teeth which are considered as long-term solutions with excellent results. Boosting the demand via oral rehabilitation is majorly performed by the prosthetics. These involve restoring facial forms and oral function of patients. Patients and dentists are readily accepting the implants since there are limitations of removable prosthesis such as lack of natural appearance, discomfort and requirement of maintenance. The major advantage of these implants is if the prosthetics are mounted on dental implants, they do not affect soft tissues with enhanced aesthetics, which will act as the driver to its growth. The increase in the base population plays a vital role in the growth of the segment. The development of diseases for tooth loss is mostly observed in the geriatric population. Also, the aging population is expected to grow over the next six years which will help to increase this segment. Browse 120 page research report with TOC on "Global Dental Implants Market" at: https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/dental-implants-market Titanium metal generated revenue of USD 3.4 billion in 2016, owing to its flexibility and versatility along with surgical placements. This metal is finds wide application in dental implants because of its advantages such as high bone bonding ability and high biocompatibility. Also, it acts an alternative for tooth replacement. Zirconium is estimated to grow with highest CAGR over the forecast period owing to benefits such as noncorrosive property. Besides, the dark colored zirconium cannot be seen through the gums, which makes it patient compliant. Browse reports of similar category available with Million Insights: Electroceuticals/Bioelectric Medicine Market - https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/electroceuticals-bioelectric-medicine-market Orthopedic Braces and Supports Market - https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/orthopedic-braces-supports-market Peripheral Vascular Stents Market - https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/peripheral-vascular-stents-market Pipette Tip Market - https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/pipette-tip-market Europe held the largest market share in 2016, since the base population is more. The European Commission reported that by 2020, one fourth of population will be aged over 60 years of age, therefore, this will help to drive the market. Moreover, Europe is considered for dental tourism as a cost-effective region, which is anticipated to serve as a high impact driver. The increase in healthcare spending also supports the growth of the industry. Some of the key players of this market include BioHorizons IPH, Inc., Nobel Biocare Services AG.; Institut Straumann AG; DENTSPLY Sirona; OSSTEM IMPLANT ,Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.; Bicon, LLC; KYOCERA Medical Corporation; Leader Italy; Anthogyr SAS; DENTIS., DENTIUM Co., Ltd.and T-Plus Implant Tech. Co. Dental Implants Market Product Outlook (Market revenue in USD Million, 2013 - 2024) Titanium Implants Zirconia Implants Dental Implants Market Regional Outlook (Market revenue in USD Million, 2013 - 2024) North America U.S. Canada Europe UK Germany Asia Pacific Japan China Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East and Africa South Africa About Million Insights: Million Insights, is a distributor of market research reports, published by premium publishers only. We have a comprehensive market place, that will enable you to compare data points, before you make a purchase. Enabling informed buying, is our motto and we strive hard to ensure that our clients get to browse through multiple samples, prior to an investment. Service flexibility & the fastest response time are two pillars, on which our business model is founded. Our market research report store, includes in-depth reports, from across various industry verticals, such as healthcare, technology, chemicals, food & beverages, consumer goods, material science & automotive. Contact: Ryan Manuel Research Support Specialist, USA Million Insights Phone: +1-408-610-2300 Toll Free: 1-866-831-4085 Email: sales@millioninsights.com Web: https://www.millioninsights.com/ Joint Venture Agreement with Brieke Family Assets Ltd Update on Sale of Peel District Schoolboard Contracts Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2018) - EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies Corp. (TSXV: EHT) ("EHT" or the "Company") today is pleased to announce that it has entered into a joint venture agreement ("JVA") with Brieke Family Assets Ltd ("BFA") to manufacture the Company's ENERTEC panels and solar systems for sales and distribution in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico's antiquated and bankrupt electrical system, leaving millions in the dark and utility crews scrambling to help. Even today, less than 60% of the Puerto Rican grid is working. As announced in numerous US press releases, FEMA and the US Federal Government have agreed to fund the reconstruction of these islands with funding expected to run into tens of billions of dollars. Ramon Luis Nieves, a Puerto Rican politician has stated "We need to focus on not only getting the grid back up, but improving it so it can tolerate more renewable energy." Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello stated "I am 100 percent backing renewables". Gov. Rossello told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee "This is an opportunity to make microgrids in Puerto Rico so they can be sustained in different areas." He is requesting roughly $17 billion in federal funds to revive the island's energy sector, which now uses renewables for less than 3 percent of electricity generation. In December 2017, a working group that includes representatives of the New York Power Authority, PREPA, Puerto Rico Energy Commission, U.S. Department of Energy, Navigant Consulting and others released its proposals, building on New York's experience after Superstorm Sandy five years ago and PREPA's recent efforts. The 63-page plan for Puerto Rico included a "Build Back Better" strategy spanning over a decade with a cost of $17.6 billion. Among its recommendations is the addition of $1 billion in microgrids for critical infrastructure and rural communities. Mr. John Gamble, EHT's CEO, commented that "We are very excited about this joint venture agreement with BFA as it creates the opportunity for EHT to provide Puerto Rico with a locally made solution to its severe energy crisis. EHT's lightweight ENERTEC solar products, employed in a microgrid strategy will generate more reliable power for homes and businesses without the need for massive investment in power grid infrastructure." Mr. Gamble went on to state "We have a much faster solution that will be less expensive, and emissions free. EHT's local JV strategy that is being implemented on a global basis, is designed to create local jobs in manufacturing and installation in the target counties where reliable, inexpensive power is not available. Puerto Rico, with its bankrupt power utility, high unemployment and a US government funded recovery plan, has provided us with an exciting opportunity to showcase our solutions". Entrepreneurs, lawmakers, and activists want more of these small, closed-loop transmission systems called microgrids. These self-contained systems utilize battery storage capacity sufficient to maintain power all night. A Puerto Rico transformed into an archipelago of microgrids would also, in theory, better withstand future storms and deliver cheaper energy. Companies like Tesla, Duracell, and the German energy storage firm Sonnen are already sending battery and solar supplies to Puerto Rico, building a toehold in what may be a lucrative rebuilding project. Solar power companies like SunRun and Vivint Solar are also joining the relief effort, pledging to bring hardware to the US territory. Mr. Malcolm Wright, Director of BFA, stated that "The EHT panels are exactly what the island needs. They are light, add significant insulation to the roof structure thus saving on energy costs, can withstand Cat5 storm winds and debris (unlike glass panels), and unlike glass panels mounted on aluminium frames they require no grounding wires to be installed, and are perfect for single standalone insulations as well as for building microgrids". EHT and BFA plan to open a manufacturing facility on the island (believed to be the first) during the summer of 2018 and in the meantime, the JVA will commence sales and import the EHT systems directly from its facilities in Welland, Ontario. Peel Schoolboard Update The purchaser of the Peel Schoolboard contracts, as previously announced by EHT on July 13, 2017, has recently advised the Company that the financial closing date has been pushed to early in the second quarter of fiscal 2018. Having received an extension to the original contract expiry dates, as a result of a force majeure, the purchaser is continuing to complete solar system installations and expects to finish in March 2018. The overall value of the purchase and sale agreement, for EHT's benefit, is tied directly to the number of megawatts installed. EHT management is pleased with the continuing increase in value for the shareholders of the Company. Further updates will be provided as events warrant. About EnerDynamic Hybrid Technologies EHT delivers proprietary, turn-key energy solutions which are intelligent, bankable and sustainable. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2018) - ParcelPal Technology Inc. (CSE: PKG) (FSE: PT0) (OTC Pink: PTNYF) ("ParcelPal" or the "Company"), announces that it has completed its non-brokered private placement, as announced on January 9th, 2017 (the "Private Placement"). Pursuant to the Private Placement, the Company has issued 12,105,111 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.135 per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,651,040. Each Unit will consist of one common share of Parcel Pal and one share purchase warrant (each "Warrant"), with each whole Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share of Parcel Pal at a price of $0.20 per share for a period of 24 months from the date of issue. In the event that the average closing price is equal to or greater than $0.30 per Share for a period of five consecutive trading days, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants to a date that is thirty days after the notice of completion of such period. In connection with the Private Placement, the Company paid cash commissions of $119,599.20 and issued 708,142 warrants to certain finders (the "Finders' Warrants"). The Finders' Warrants have the same terms as the Warrants. All securities issued in the Private Placement are subject to a statutory four month hold period. President and CEO Kelly Abbott states, "Due to unprecedented demand and size restriction for the Private Placement, the Company wishes to apologize to any investors that were not accommodated. A high number of strategic investors were involved in this financing which bodes well for ParcelPal as we move forward with a number of value added initiatives that will be implemented in the near future." The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Private Placement to execute expansion plans for the ParcelPal app and operations which includes marketing and investor relations, research and development for track and trace block chain technology and ongoing general and administrative expenses. The Offering was priced in the context of the market based on a price reservation made by the Company with the CSE. About ParcelPal Technology Inc. ParcelPal is a technology driven logistics company that connects consumers to the goods they love. Customers can shop at partner businesses and through the ParcelPal technology receive their purchased goods within an hour. The Company offers on-demand delivery of merchandise from leading retailers, restaurants, medical marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores in Vancouver and soon in major cities Canada-wide. ParcelPal Website: www.parcelpal.com The Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") or any other securities regulatory authority has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release that has been prepared by management. CSE - Symbol: PKG FSE - Symbol: PT0 OTC - Symbol: PTNYF Contact: Peter Hinam, Director, ParcelPal Technology Inc. - 604-710-8331 Forward Looking Information This news release contains forward looking statements relating to the Proposed Transaction, and the future potential of ParcelPal. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "intends", "anticipates", "expects", "plans" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the risk that the Proposed Transaction will not be completed due to, among other things, failure to execute definitive documentation, failure to complete satisfactory due diligence, failure to receive the approval of the CSE and the risk that ParcelPal will not be successful due to, among other things, general risks relating to the mobile application industry, failure of ParcelPal to gain market acceptance and potential challenges to the intellectual property utilized in ParcelPal. There can be no assurance that any forward looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cannot guarantee that any forward looking statement will materialize and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will only update or revise publicly any of the included forward looking statements as expressly required by Canadian securities laws. France-based Urbasolar SAS has attracted around US$12.7 million in funding for its planned 14 MW solar PV project in Kazakhstan.The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has said it will fund Urbasolar's planned 14 MW Zadarya solar PV project to the tune of around $8.8 million. The Clean Technology Fund is expected to lend up to a further $3.9 million. The plant will be installed by a special purpose company, Kaz Green Tek Solar LLP, which is majority owned by Urbasolar, in the South Kazakhstan region, near the city of Shymkent. According to Urbasolar's website, the plant will be constructed across two phases over a nine month period, and will comprise over 54,000 270 W solar PV panels. Thirty hectares have been leased for a period of 18 years on state reserve land, which is said to be used by Zadarya residents for the non-intensive herding of livestock. Loan agreements and a project support agreement were signed ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Chelsea Manning, the transgender former US Marine who was jailed for leaking classified documents, is trying to become Democratic Party candidate in her home state of Maryland for the year-end election to the US Senate. The former intelligence analyst is an outspoken activist on intelligence and transgender-rights issues and writes for publications like The Guardian. Manning will challenge the incumbent Senator Ben Cardin in the primary. Cardin, the 74-year old ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is currently serving his second term. Officially launching her campaign on Sunday, Manning said 'We need to stop expecting that our systems will somehow fix themselves. We need to actually take the reins of power from them.' Chelsea E. Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, was a Washington D.C. based network security expert who served as an intelligence analyst for U.S. Army. Manning was arrested in Iraq in 2010 for leaking hundreds of thousands of confidential military and State Department documents and releasing them through anti-secrecy website Wikileaks. Following a court-martial, she was convicted in 2013 for 17 serious crimes, including six counts of espionage. President Barack Obama commuted her 35-year sentence, citing it as 'disproportionate' to the penalties faced by other whistleblowers. She served seven years in prison and was released in May 2017. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Bristol has a proud history of engineering innovations, from Brunels iconic suspension bridge to the technology behind mobile phones in the 70s. 2018 is the Year of Engineering a national campaign to inspire the next generation of engineers and widen the pool of young people who join the profession. The University of Bristols Faculty of Engineering is sharing some of its exciting technology which is helping to pave the way for breakthroughs in neonatal care, 5G the biggest advance yet in mobile network communications, a sound-proof window that lets in air but not sound, and a new farming system which uses less space and water than any other farming method. Manipulating sound waves in real time Metasonics is a new company that will revolutionise our ability to manipulate soundwaves by allowing them to be directed, shaped and focused in real time. It will mean advertisers can target individuals in a crowd, noisy neighbours can mute themselves and fitness enthusiasts can monitor their health using ultrasound. The company, started by University of Bristol and University of Sussex academics, just did their first public demonstration at a global tech show in Las Vegas showcasing the crowd-favourite sound-proof window that lets in air but not sound. Dr Mihai Caleap demonstrating Metasonics at CES 2018 in Las Vegas Earthquake-proof schools In 2015 a huge earthquake devastated Nepal, killing 9,000 people and injuring 22,000. Now Civil Engineers from Bristol are working with local teams in Nepal and experts from USA, Italy, China and the UK to design new earthquake-proof schools. The new schools will be made from local affordable materials and the successful design could be used in other earthquake prone countries. Dr Anastasios Sextos visiting a school in Nepal Your house will keep you healthy Researchers at Bristol are developing a 21st century home health sensor system. The SPHERE project uses a combination of wireless networks, wearables, video analytics and machine learning to quantify health-related behaviours over long periods to diagnose and help manage health problems and wellbeing conditions like stroke, heart disease and depression. The technology will aid early diagnosis, lifestyle change and the ability of patients to live at home while maintaining their privacy and independence. 5G technology the biggest advance yet in mobile communications Bristol will be one of the first cities in the UK to test 5G superfast internet in the city centre. Good news for Netflix addicts and businesses alike. Perhaps more excitingly, 5G wireless technology will support even more new tech developments. Everything from driverless cars to 3D videos will rely on 5G and researchers from the University of Bristol are leading the charge to roll it out across Bristol. Professor Dimitra Simeonidou, Director of the Smart Internet Lab, with Vice-Chancellor Hugh Brady Most powerful tractor beam yet Two years ago engineers at Bristol invented tractor beams that can levitate tiny objects in mid-air using sound waves. Now the same team have levitated the largest object yet at 2cm! The new technique uses tornado-like vortexes made of sound. This technology could be used on a contactless production line, or even to help doctors move things around inside the human body! Asier Marzo using a tractor beam New way to protect premature babies In the UK alone, there are 16,000 transfers of premature babies to medical facilities each year. Transportation of the infants can take place in helicopters, ambulances or aircraft, but moving babies creates high levels of vibration and noise, causing damaging stress to the baby. A new 'metamaterial' created by engineers at Bristol is being adapted to make a new type of incubator that absorbs vibrations and and protect the lives of pre-term babies. Chatting with the International Space Station A new satellite lab in the faculty of Engineering means that this year students and researchers will be able to chat directly to astronauts on in International Space Station. Ground control to Major Peake! Dr Lucy Berthoud in the new lab Vertical farming A vertical farm in Bristol is growing food using mist! A new technology, using a technique known as aeroponics, is being trialled at Grow Bristol to grow strawberries, pea shoots and leafy greens. Bristol graduates Ben Crowther and Charlie Guy developed the environmentally friendly system which uses less space and water than any other farming method. Dermot, a vertical farmer at Grow Bristol Volcano watching drones Last year Engineers and Scientists from the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, and Birmingham teamed up with local agencies in Guatemala to monitor the highly-eruptive volcano Volcan de Fuego using drones. They used multi-copters and fixed-wing aircraft, flying 8km (5 miles) from base and 4100m (13,500ft) above sea level. In 2018 the team will return to fly higher and further, collecting data and ash from inside volcanic plumes, and taking photos of the summit for 3-D reconstructions. Ben Schellenberg, a PhD Student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering To find out more about the Year of Engineering, visit the website or follow the campaign on Twitter. MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 01/15/18 -- Prevtec Microbia Inc. ("Prevtec") is pleased to announce that it has received a market authorization from the Centre for Veterinary Biologics U.S. of the Department of Agriculture (USDA-CVB) to commercialize its vaccine Coliprotec F4 in the US, a front line product against post weaning diarrhea (PWD) in pigs. This represents a very important addition to Prevtec's growing list of market authorizations for its Coliprotec family of vaccines. Coliprotec F4 can now be sold across the Americas, from Canada to the US and to Brazil, accounting for a combined population of more than 140 million pigs annually. "Prevtec's Coliprotec F4 is the only vaccine owned by an Animal Health Company from Canada to have received USDA approval over a period spanning more than 10 years. We are proud that our innovative and efficient product received this recognition and stamp of approval for commercialization across the US", said Dr. Eric Nadeau, Vice-President, Scientific Affairs, of Prevtec. Michel Fortin, President and CEO of Prevtec added: "Our global strategy of selling our vaccines in more and more key markets is enhanced by the market authorization from USDA. We are starting the year with ever more enthusiasm and a strong financial position, thanks to a recent financing of up to CAD$10 million obtained from a large Canadian Investment Fund. This financing will bolster our global development and support the sales of our commercialized family of vaccines in the European Union, Russia and CIS countries, Canada, Brazil and now the US". About Prevtec Microbia Prevtec Microbia is a Canadian biotechnology company developing biological products for the prevention of diseases in food animals. The Company's mission is to find better ways to feed the planet by developing technologies that improve animal health and increase animal production performance. Prevtec Microbia's first commercial product, Coliprotec F4, a swine E. coli vaccine, has been sold across Canada since 2007 and in the EU since 2015. In early 2017, marketing authorizations were granted for Coliprotec F4/F18 in the EU and Canada and, thereafter in Russia and the CIS countries. The Coliprotec line of vaccines is completed with Coliprotec F18, distributed in Canada since 2015. Elanco is our distribution partner in the European Union and in Canada. See more information at www.prevtecmicrobia.com. Contacts: Prevtec Microbia Inc. Michel Fortin President and CEO +1 514 905-0401 mfortin@prevtecmicrobia.com Prevtec Microbia Inc. Dr. Eric Nadeau Vice-President, Scientific Affairs +1 450 774-7700 enadeau@prevtecmicrobia.com www.prevtecmicrobia.com Nicole Blanchard Corporate Communications +1 450 973-6600 nicole.blanchard@isuncomm.com MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 01/15/18 -- Bombardier Specialized Aircraft announced today that Conair Group Inc., the world's leading provider of fixed wing aerial firefighting aircraft, has purchased six Q400 aircraft. Based on the current list price, the firm order is valued at approximately $206 million US. Conair operates the world's largest fleet of privately owned fixed wing airtankers and supplies specialty aerial firefighting aircraft and products worldwide. These six Q400 production aircraft will be modified to incorporate an enhanced version of Conair's proprietary Retardant Delivery System. In the Q400 Multirole configuration, the retardant tank can be removed and reinstalled in the field in a few hours. This enables the aircraft to efficiently perform additional roles in emergency response, passenger and cargo transport, medivac, and coastal patrol without compromising its exceptional firefighting capabilities. "The enhanced Q400 Multirole has the most advanced airtanker capabilities of any aircraft in service today," said Barry Marsden, Chairman & CEO, Conair. "The Q400 Multirole's versatility delivers optimal value by accommodating year-round service in passenger, cargo, combi transport, medivac, emergency response, surveillance and patrol without compromising state-of-the-art airtanker capabilities." "The Q400 Multirole delivers the efficiency, reliability, reduced downtime and low operating costs of the Q400 in a multi-role application. Combining turboprop economics and jet-like performance, the Q400 Multirole delivers exceptional value," said Stephane Leroy, Vice President, Bombardier Specialized Aircraft. "The Q400 Multirole is the ideal aircraft to meet Conair's needs, offering a unique ability to serve diverse and challenging environments." The Q400 Multirole offers the ultimate in flexibility and is able to easily switch between firefighting, cargo and passenger transport, and medivac roles. The Q400 Multirole can operate out of unprepared strips, conduct steep approaches when landing, short take off, and deliver an impressive cruise speed of 667 km/hr. Today, Bombardier has over 1,000 specialized aircraft in service around the world. For over 50 years, governments have selected Bombardier aircraft to perform military surveillance, intelligence and utility activities. Among the advantages of using off-the-shelf platforms for special missions are a reduced development time and faster time to market, civil certification, reliability, ease of maintenance and an international customer support network. Governments also benefit from Bombardier's engineering and flight test experience, and its well-established relationships with top industry mission integrators. About Bombardier Bombardier is the world's leading manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation. Bombardier is headquartered in Montreal, Canada and our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, we posted revenues of $16.3 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier. About Conair Conair operates the largest privately owned fleet of fixed wing firefighting aircraft in the world. Founded in Canada 49 years ago, Conair's operations now extend to Canada, the United States of America, Europe, and Australia. Conair has developed a number of proprietary aerial firefighting products and Supplemental Type Certificates (STC) for modification of aircraft for aerial firefighting. Notes to Editors Follow @Bombardierjets on Twitter to receive the latest news and updates from Bombardier Business Aircraft. To receive our press releases, please visit the RSS Feed section. Bombardier and Q400 are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries. Contacts: Anna Cristofaro Bombardier Business Aircraft +1 514-855-8678 anna.cristofaro@aero.bombardier.com www.bombardier.com WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - An Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea has left a huge oil spill of 120 sq km that could pose a serious threat to marine life. The Sanchi oil tanker sank on Sunday and all its crew members are also presumed dead. The tanker was carrying 136,000 tonnes of ultra-light crude oil from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered CF Crystal freighter in the East China Sea on January 7. Chinese authorities had launched a search-and-rescue operation for the 30 Iranian and two Bangladeshi crew aboard the Sanchi. However, they were not able to get close to the tanker because of the heat. Rescue officials were able to save 21 Chinese sailors from the CF-Crystal. However, Sanchi's crew members were presumed dead, according to Iranian state media. Since its initial collision on January 7, the tanker had been on fire and drifting in the waters between Shanghai and southern Japan. Sanchi's fuel and its cargo of ultra-light crude oil could cause a huge damage to marine life. According to Greenpeace, the oil spill has occurred in an important spawning ground for several species of fish and on a migratory pathway of many marine mammals, including three species of whale. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2018) - Hornby Bay Mineral Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: HBE) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has agreed to settle an aggregate of $1,150,000 of indebtedness owed to certain non-arm's length creditors through the issuance of an aggregate of 23,000,000 common shares ("Common Shares") of the Company at a price of $0.05 per Common Share (the "Debt Settlement"). All Common Shares issued in connection with the Debt Settlement are subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Debt Settlement constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined in Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Securityholders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), as insiders of the Company will acquire the Common Shares issued pursuant to the Debt Settlement. The transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 due to the fact that the Company is in financial hardship. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Arvin Ramos, CFO (416) 271-3877 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 15, 2018) - Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSX: AVL) (OTCQX: AVLNF) ("Avalon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced preferred share financing with an entity managed by The Lind Partners, a New York based asset management firm ("Lind"), as described in the Company's news release of December 22, 2017 (http://www.avalonadvancedmaterials.com/news_media/news_releases/index.php?content_id=813). The financing involved the issuance of 300 Series B1 Preferred Shares on a private placement basis at a price of $5,000 per share for gross proceeds of $1,500,000, which brings Lind's total investment in Avalon to $4,000,000. In addition, Lind received 6,250,000 common share purchase warrants exercisable until January 15, 2023 at a price of $0.15 per common share. The proceeds will be used for ongoing market development work, metallurgical studies and preliminary engineering work on the Separation Rapids Lithium Project and for general working capital purposes. The work at Separation Rapids will include a 1,500-2,000 metre diamond drilling program scheduled to begin during the week of January 22. This program will test projected extensions of the presently defined lithium resource, and test some new targets on the western part of the property. This news release is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act"), and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to US persons (as defined in Regulation S under the US Securities Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration. All currency reported in this release is in Canadian dollars. About The Lind Partners The Lind Partners is a New York-based institutional fund management firm focused on small-and mid-cap companies publicly traded in Canada, Australia and the UK across mining, oil & gas, biotech and technology. Lind employs a multi-strategy investment approach: direct investments of new capital; participation in syndicated equity placements; IPO/pre-IPO investments; and selective open market trades. Since 2009, the Lind team has completed over 75 direct investments totaling over $600 million in value. About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. is a Canadian mineral development company specializing in niche market metals and minerals with growing demand in new technology. The Company has three advanced stage projects, all 100%-owned, providing investors with exposure to lithium, tin and indium, as well as rare earth elements, tantalum, niobium, and zirconium. Avalon is currently focusing on its Separation Rapids Lithium Project, Kenora, ON and its East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project, Yarmouth, NS. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones. For questions and feedback, please e-mail the Company at ir@AvalonAM.com, or phone Don Bubar, President & CEO at 416-364-4938. This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to how the Company plans to use the net proceeds from the financing, that the work at Separation Rapids will include a 1,500-2,000 metre diamond drilling program scheduled to begin during the week of January 22, and this program will test projected extensions of the presently defined lithium resource, and test some new targets on the western part of the property. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "potential", "scheduled", "anticipates", "continues", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "scheduled", "targeted", "planned", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" or "will not be" taken, reached or result, "will occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Avalon to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made. Although Avalon has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to market conditions, and the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses as well as those risk factors set out in the Company's current Annual Information Form, Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure documents available under the Company's profile at www.SEDAR.com. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such forward-looking statements have been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Avalon does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Goji, a London, UK-based specialist direct lending investment manager and platform, secured an undisclosed multi-million pound funding round. Backers included Anthemis Venture Fund 1 (AVF1) and AXA Strategic Ventures (ASV). The company intends to use the funds to further develop its platform and product pipeline, including the Diversified P2P Lending Bond. Launched in January 2017, the bond was the first in the UK to give investors access to a diversified portfolio of over 1,000 loans in an IFISA using Gojis proprietary investment strategy. Alongside Gojis platform, which provides a single point of access for advisers to Direct Lending products, the Bond allows advisers to access Direct Lending through a single vehicle. The Bonds first 12 month results will be released at the end of January. Founded in 2015 and led by Jake Wombwell-Povey, CEO, Goji is an investment manager and technology provider for the Direct Lending sector. Goji also manages and administers over 20m of Innovative Finance ISA assets through its platform for third party lending platforms. In March 2017, the company launched the UKs first diversified peer-to-peer lending bond to enable financial advisers to access a portfolio of over 1,000 different loans in a regulated, IFISA-eligible product. FinSMEs 14/01/2018 Guts, an Amsterdam, The Netherlands-based blockchain ticketing company, raised approx. 6.25m in its ICO. On December, 13th, 2017, the crowdsale was closed with over 10.9k Ether raised from 1180 contributors. The company is using the funds to continue to expand operations and business reach with plans to sell over a million tickets in 2019. Led by CEO Maarten Bloemers, Guts Tickets is a ticketing company selling tickets via the blockchain since 2016 to prevent fraud and ticket touting. The platform leverages the Blockchain to make tickets smart: a ticket knows when its being resold and automatically generates a new unique get-in-code for every new owner. The company struck a deal with Hekwerk in Holland and also enlisted the manager of the no. 1 DJ in the world, Martin Garrix and Chris Payne from the Adele and Maroon 5 booking agency, ITB, in London, to assist them in getting their product adapted internationally. FinSMEs 15/01/2018 According to a post, Y Combinator has launched YC Bio, a fund focused on backing early-stage life science companies that are still in the lab phase. The first area the the fund is going to focus on is healthspan and age-related disease. The companies will go through the regular YC batch, but, instead of the standard deal for YC companies (which is $120k invested for 7% ownership), YC will offer companies any amount between $500k and $1m for 10-20% ownership, scaling linearly. Companies will also receive free lab space, a number of other special deals for YC bio companies, and access to a wide range of experts. Email: [email protected] FinSMEs 14/01/2018 Mercedes Benz states that the interior of the new-gen G-Class has got a complete revision. Mercedes Benz has unveiled the all-new G-Class, an SUV that has always enjoyed a cult following among enthusiasts. The German automobile manufacturer will also be showcasing the new-gen G-Class in the upcoming Jurassic Park movie. The spied and the camouflaged images had already dropped hints of the new age SUV. Additionally, Mercedes-Benz had released an image of the interior and had also stated that the new G-Class will retail the low-range four-wheel-drivetrain with locking differentials. From the images it can be seen that the new-gen Mercedes Benz G-Class gets a new design but not substantially different from the previous model. In fact, there has been no substantial difference since the SUV's debut in 1979. In terms of dimensions, the new Mercedes Benz G-Class has got longer by 53 mm and also wider by 122 mm. Mercedes Benz states that the interior of the new-gen G-Class has got a complete revision. The instrument cluster in the new G-Class looks similar to that of the new E-Class and the S-Class. The company describes it by stating that the the two 12.3-inch displays blend visually into a widescreen cockpit beneath a shared glass cover where the drivers can choose between three different styles for the displays Classic, Sport and Progressive. Being larger in dimensions, the cabin of the new-gen Mercedes Benz G-Class now offers more space, both in the front and the back. The rear seats can be folded down to 60, 40 or 100 percent. The SUV also comes equipped with massage functions, climate-controlled seats and fast seat heating. The new suspension in the new-gen G-Class is a from the collaboration between Mercedes-Benz G GmbH and Mercedes-AMG GmbH. The result is an independent suspension with double-wishbone front axle in combination with a rigid rear axle. In terms of powertrain, the new Mercedes-Benz G-Class comes with a 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine that 422 PS and a maximum torque of 610 Nm at 2,000 to 4,750 rpm. The motor is mated to a 9G?TRONIC automatic transmission with torque converter was specifically adapted to meet the needs of the off-road icon, states the company. Posted 1/15/18 Forest health professionals with the Missouri Department of Conservation advise Missourians to watch for damage from an invasive tree pest in winter months. The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic Air India, estimated to have a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore, is staying afloat on taxpayers' money and the divestment plan is aimed at reviving the airline's fortunes. New Delhi: The government is exploring options of absorbing Air India employees in public sector enterprises and voluntary retirement package as it moves ahead with the airline's disinvestment amid stiff opposition from worker unions, sources said. While foreign direct investment of up to 49 percent has been allowed in the debt-laden carrier, efforts are on to ensure a smooth strategic disinvestment and a group of ministers are weighing various options. Air India, estimated to have a debt burden of more than Rs 50,000 crore, is staying afloat on taxpayers' money and the divestment plan is aimed at reviving the airline's fortunes. Sources in the know said the government is mulling providing airline employees the option of joining public sector companies. The possibility of having a VRS package is also under consideration, sources said while adding that a final decision is yet to be made. "Various options are under consideration to protect the interests of the employees," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey told PTI. His response came to queries on whether the government is looking at giving Air India employees the option to join public sector firms apart from extending VRS package. Air India and its subsidiaries have around 29,000 employees, including those on contract. A group of ministers is in the process of finalising the modalities for the proposed strategic stake sale and expression of interest is likely to be invited from bidders soon. Various Air India unions are opposed to the divestment plan. On January 10, the government allowed overseas entities, including foreign airlines, to own up to 49 per cent stake under the approval route in Air India subject to certain conditions. "Substantial ownership and effective control of Air India shall continue to be vested in an Indian national," the government had said. Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had said permitting 49 per cent foreign direct investment in Air India brings the airline at par with other domestic carriers and does away with the preferential treatment that was extended to the national carrier. The move has also been opposed by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, among others. Meanwhile, a parliamentary panel is likely to suggest that Air India should be given at least five years for revival. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture concluded that the government should review its decision to privatise or disinvest Air India and explore the possibility of "an alternative to disinvestment of our national carrier which is our national pride". Under a turnaround plan approved by the previous UPA regime, Air India is to receive up to Rs 30,231 crore from the government subject to meeting certain performance thresholds. The ten-year bailout package began from 2012. AirAsia India follows a formal recruitment process through its own HR department and does not outsource the final selection of prospective employees to individuals or agencies, the co said Bengaluru: After a few fraudulent job emails in its name surfaced, AirAsia India has cautioned job-seekers against "certain recruitment agencies" attempting to mislead people by fictitiously posing as employees of the budget carrier. Some aspiring crew officials recently received emails in the name of "AirAsia Airlines Limited", which said the company has "selected their resumes" and called them for "direct online interview". The email also mentioned a mandatory refundable fee of Rs 9,600 as charges for "interview processing, maintenance, courier, accommodation and assurance". A 23-year-old aviation professional in another airline raised an alarm over the email, bringing it to the notice of AirAsia India officials. "I was looking for a better work opportunity within the aviation industry. On Friday, I received an email from 'AirAsia Airlines Ltd'. Everything looked fine, but the demand for money in the email made me suspicious and I informed the airlines. Soon the fraud was confirmed," he told PTI, requesting anonymity. An AirAsia spokesperson confirmed that the airline does not ask candidates for any money during recruitment and said it was aware of these "fake advertisements" doing the rounds and it was exploring legal options. "It has been bought to our notice that they send fake communication/e-mails to the potential job-seekers luring them with job offers using the details of the company," an AirAsia India spokesperson said in a statement. "AirAsia (India) Limited would like to caution the general public that in the recent past some unscrupulous individuals and recruitment agencies have tried to mislead the public by fictitiously claiming to be employees of the company or posing as authorised recruitment agencies of the company," the spokesperson added. The airline said it follows a formal recruitment process through its own human resources department and does not outsource the final selection of prospective employees to any individuals or agencies to issue interview intimations, selection or offer letters etc. The company also does not ask for any security deposit or document check (refundable or non-refundable) at any stage of the recruitment process, it added. Trade Unions want the government to allocate more funds in the Union Budget 2018 for employment generation and claimed that opening up the retail market to foreign players would lead to further loss of jobs New Delhi: Trade Unions want the government to allocate more funds in the Union Budget for employment generation and claimed that opening up the retail market to foreign players would lead to further loss of jobs. Though Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said suggestions made by trade union leaders during a pre-budget consultation meet last month would be considered, the leaders felt the government's economic exercise was only meant to benefit corporate house. The leaders of two major central unions claimed thousands of people had lost their jobs because the government's demonetisation decision had adversely affected small and medium industries, forcing them to either shut down or sack workers. "We want the government to spend the maximum in job creation. We think after such a big loss of jobs in India because of demonetisation, the government should bring back jobs lost and generate more jobs," All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) general secretary Amarjit Kaur told PTI. AITUC and the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) also attacked the government's recent decision to open up the retail market to foreign players. "This will only uproot the existing jobs available in the sector," CITU general secretary Tapan Sen told PTI. The trade union leaders said though the government always claimed foreign investment would lead to the creation of jobs, there was no guarantee it would. Foreign investors would like to keep labour costs to a minimum, they held. "So we think the attempt of the government even before the budget is to further attack those sectors which generate jobs. The decision for 100 per cent FDI in retail will again affect the job market," Kaur said. The decision would not only affect retail traders but also workers who produced material for trade, she said. The trade unions alleged that while the issue of job loss had been brought to the notice of the government several times, it had no solutions to offer. Sen also criticised the government's approach towards employment generation. "The government must consider its capacity to generate productive employment. But its approach is to create more entrepreneurs. The government forgets that the workers' numbers are much higher than those of entrepreneurs," Sen said. They also claimed the government's skill development projects were not job oriented. "You need trained people for jobs. We want the government to start vocational training in schools. That is where the government should invest," Kaur said. The trade union leaders attacked the government for doing away with wealth tax and said the government should bring the policy back so that the money generated could be utilised for the social sector and job creation. They also suggested that the government reduce indirect taxes and collect unpaid taxes from corporate houses for use in the social sector. Minister Jaitley, who met a group of trade unions including CITU and AITUC for pre-Budget consultations on December 5, had said the Central government was committed to safeguarding the interests of workers. The Union Budget will be presented on 1 February. Hackers look to gain two things from cyber attacks political advantage (threats towards a country) and financial fraud, the latter of these being the most common motivation. The many and varied cyber attacks that have thrown the global online universe into a tizzy bring light to the fact that advanced cyber security is now a necessity rather than a consideration. These attacks moved the discussion for the need of cyber security in a company from the offices of the IT department to the board room. The number of security incidents in India have also been increasing gradually year-on-year. According to data from CERT-In, there were 50,362 cyber security incidents in 2016. In comparison, there were 27,482 incidents in 2017 until June 2017. We have seen several cyber security incidents in 2017 like the Mirai botnet Malware, Petya, data breaches and WannaCry. Like most things, not all cyber attacks are equal. There are a few industries that are the more vulnerable than others. Hackers look to gain two things from cyber attacks political advantage (threats towards a country) and financial fraud, the latter of these being the most common motivation. Their access point then becomes PII. Personally Identifiable Information PII records are usually transacted on the dark web, where cyber criminals use the information to commit cyber theft. Bulk PII data is purchased and mined for valuable accounts. Often, single purchases of PII lead to enhanced access of other personal accounts as passwords that are stolen from one PII data are often used for multiple accounts. Therefore, although it may seem too easy to be true, utilising strong and unique passwords is a must. Lets look at some of the industries that are most affected by cyber threats. If you happen to run businesses in any of these industries, you might want to use these measures to safeguard your cyber space. Healthcare: Marked as a big target for cyber attacks in the last few years, this industry continues to remain the most targeted as the repercussions of a non-functioning network within hospitals and other healthcare facilities is humongous. The most worrisome of these is the potential affect of cyber attacks on internet connected medical devices that are life-sustaining for patients, like pacemakers. An attack could potential interfere with the working of these devices. Financial Services: While the industry may seem like quite an obvious target access to investment records, personal savings information, tax records etc what needs to be kept in mind is that cyber attacks on financial services firms will get more sophisticated as more and more data is now being moved to the cloud. Security vulnerabilities in the financial sector have increased more than 400 percent from 2013, according to cyber security and risk mitigation expert NCC Group. Cyber criminals gaining access to PII data use it to file fraudulent tax returns, directly access funds and credit card information etc. With the entrance of the online wallet, this threat is now intensified as there are now multiple entry points for cyber attacks. Government agencies: They form the widest reservoir of PII data, given the information they hold on its citizens. These include license records, healthcare information, tax records etc. The data these agencies hold also become a multiple access point to other PII for cyber criminals. Unfortunately, this is also the group that has the least funding for cyber security measures. This makes it a prime and easy target. The worrying aspect is often the intentions behind the cyber attacks on government bodies, given the threat they pose to the safety of a nation. Businesses: More than ever, businesses are now at stake, as operations and commerce are now online. Credit card fraud has now become easier, as information has become accessible and users are often not educated on the basics of privacy and security online. E-commerce has opened a new and not so cryptic access to hackers looking to exploit both the ignorance of common shoppers and the un-advanced security measure taken by vendors online. Transportation: The digitalization of the transportation industry has opened a gateway to hackers looking to extract PII data from the millions of consumers that access their services. The sheer volume of cross-industry data that is also accurate and time-relevant makes it an easy target for cyber crime, as this data is often passed along different platforms with not necessarily consistent levels of cyber security. These loop holes often form an access way for hackers. Every day, the malicious software and hacking ecosystem grows by leaps and bounds. Although efforts to combat the threats are mostly reactionary, there are several steps one can take to mitigate the risk of exposing priceless company data, and safeguard your business in the process. It is important to have a foolproof security plan and meticulously follow up on security measures, to be equipped with both the knowledge and the tools to implement the correct actions to secure company and customer data. (The writer is Managing Director and Vice President, GoDaddy) Industry body CII has sought rationalisation of the dividend distribution tax rate to 10 percent in the upcoming Budget to encourage participation of different stakeholders in the country's financial markets New Delhi: Industry body CII has sought rationalisation of the dividend distribution tax rate to 10 percent in the upcoming Budget to encourage participation of different stakeholders in the country's financial markets. Alternatively, to negate the multiple level taxation issues pertaining to dividend distributed, the dividend paying company should pay tax on its profits, including distributed profits at corporate rates, the chamber said in the detailed representation submitted to the government for consideration. Dividend should be taxed at the hands of the non-corporate (leveraged) shareholders as normal income, and expenses should be allowed against such dividend in full. "Conducive taxation framework is a vital cog in the wheels of the financial markets and has the potential to make or break the market," CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said. Considering that the financial markets are the major provider of risk capital and debt capital, it is important to have conducive tax policies for enabling participation of all stakeholders in the markets, he added. On the with-holding tax provisions for foreign portfolio investors (FPI), CII has recommended that the reduced tax should be made perpetual and not expire after June 2020. Currently, with-holding tax deduction at source on interest payments to FPIs stands at 5 percent on investments in rupee denominated domestic corporate bonds. This rate was reduced from 20 percent to 5 percent and is made available till June 2020. "FPIs interest in participation in Indian economy is increasing due to the sound economic growth of the country and the bare minimum incentive they want is tax certainty in the long term," CII said, adding that it may be worthwhile to grant exemption from with-holding tax to FPIs to incentivise their participation in municipal bonds, arguing that this may help in bringing long term money from pension funds. The industry body has also demanded that the holding period for units of debt mutual fund must be restored to 12 months from 36 months to qualify as long-term capital gains and bring it at par with equity market. CII has also sought exemption of the borrowing charges paid to National Securities Clearing Corporation Ltd by the borrower on securities borrowed under the Securities and Lending Borrowing scheme from provisions of tax deducted at source. Ahead of the Budget, automobile industry body SIAM has asked the government to restore incentives given on research and development in the form of weighted tax deduction to the previous level New Delhi: Ahead of the Budget, automobile industry body SIAM has asked the government to restore incentives given on research and development in the form of weighted tax deduction to the previous level. In its pre-budget wish list, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers has also sought inclusion of certain imported electric vehicle parts in preferential tariff list to help promote the eco-friendly technology. "When the government reduced the weighted tax deduction, it was stated that the corporate tax rate would be reduced from 30 percent to 25 per but that hasn't happened," SIAM Deputy Director General Sugato Sen said. From 2017-18 the weighted tax deduction on research and development (R&D) expenses has been reduced to 150 percent from 200 percent earlier. "What we have requested the government is that if the tax rate is not reduced then the incentive on R&D through weighted deduction should be increased," he added. Sen said such a step is required as many automobile companies in India are spending a lot on R&D expenses. On electric vehicles, he said the industry has said that imported systems and components that are not made in India must be put under the preferential import tariff list. "Already there is a list and we have added more components to it," Sen said. SIAM's demand comes in the backdrop of government promoting electric vehicles in India targeting with a vision of 100 percent electric for public transport and 40 percent electric for personal mobility by 2030. The proposed bond raising programme aims at funding infrastructure and affordable housing, SBI said in a filing to stock exchanges. New Delhi: The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) said it proposes to raise Rs 5,000 crore through long-term bonds to fund affordable housing. The proposed bond raising programme aims at funding infrastructure and affordable housing, SBI said in a filing to stock exchanges. The bank will seek approval of the board for issuance of long term bonds of Rs 5,000 crore for financing of infrastructure and affordable housing in domestic and overseas market, it said. The bank, however, did not specify whether the borrowing would be in rupee denomination or dollar. The executive committee of the central board is scheduled to have a meeting on January 17, it added. The bank announced plans to raise up to $2 billion (over Rs 12,600 crore) by issuing bonds in US dollar or other convertible currency over two fiscals to fund overseas expansion. It said the fund-raising will take place through a public offer and/or private placement of senior unsecured notes in US Dollar or any other convertible currency during 2017-18 and 2018-19. Last month, the banks board had approved raising Rs 8,000 crore through various sources, including masala bonds, to meet Basel III capital norms. Masala bonds are rupee denominated specialised debt instruments that can be floated in overseas markets only to raise capital. The bank said it has time till March 2018 to raise the funds. Banks in India have to comply with the global capital norms under Basel III by March 2019. Internationally agreed time frame for the same is January 2019. What are the conditions prevalent in southern Rajasthan and Rajsamand under which an incident such as the murder of Afrazul could have occurred? It has been over a month since the 6 December murder of Afrazul by Shambhulal Raigar in Rajsamand town. The Rajasthan police filed a 400-page chargesheet on 12 January, suggesting that the actual motive for the hate crime was an extra-marital affair rather than love jihad, which they say was a red herring used by Raigar to gain political sympathy. The circumstances leading up to the gruesome incident are still not fully clear. The legal process should be able to divine fact from rumour and myth and deliver justice. However, one aspect that has not been adequately explored is the socio-economic angle. What are the conditions prevalent in southern Rajasthan and Rajsamand relating to employment, jobs and the local economy under which such an incident could have occurred? To understand this, let us look at Rajsamand district. Many people would never have heard of Rajsamand before 6 December, 2017. After that date, most Indians probably associate Rajsamand with everything thats going wrong between Hindus and Muslims in this country. However, Rajsamand district has a more eclectic history than a cursory glance or acquaintance with newspaper headlines would suggest. The movement for the Right to Information started in the northern part of the district, around 90 km from Rajsamand town as a result of the work that the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) collective did with rural communities over a period of 3 decades. That movement eventually led to the passage of the RTI law in 2005. A lot of the inputs for the MGNREGA also originated in Rajsamand. This author spent two years in Rajsamand district working with the MKSS collective and can testify that a strong grassroots movement still exists in the district that is committed to bringing about transparency and accountability in governance. Rajsamand is located along the Aravalli hills, and extractive industries constitute a major economic activity. Marble, granite, quartz and feldspar mining generates jobs and provides the revenue that fills the state exchequer. Shambhulal Raigar was a small-time marble trader. This is the first connection which provides some clues to the links between the horrific murder and the local political-economy. When this author visited Rajsamand last week, local sources said that there were 1,800 mines operating legally and 200 illegally. They employed 40-50,000 workers, apart from the ancillary industries (cutting, polishing, transportation) and generated a turnover of as much as Rs 5,000 crore annually. However, demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) dealt twin blows to the industry. A mine owner estimated that at least 70% of small traders connected with mining were wiped out. A PUCL/MKSS fact finding team unearthed the following facts, as told by Shambus brother: Shambhulal Raigar, like his father, worked in the marble industry and business was good; the business consisted of building small marble home-temples in the houses of the rich. Shambhu decided to relocate the office to Udaipur, invested heavily in the business and established an outlet office in Gurgaon. The business suffered during demonetisation and Shambhu wound up the business in July or August, 2017. He has been unemployed ever since and spent his time glued to the internet. His neighbours in the Raigar basti in Rajsamand added that he mainly browsed radical Hindutva websites. The Regar caste traditionally skins cattle and tans leather, and is deemed below even the Jatavs or leather-workers in the caste hierarchy. Many are now educated, and the Regar basti in Rajsmand looks like any lower middle class locality: tarred roads, cemented drains, motor cycles and cars. Apart from the displacement caused by demonetisation and GST, the economic conditions in southern Rajasthan are grim. There is very little industry and agriculture is mostly marginal and low yielding. There is a lot of migration to Gujarat in search of economic opportunities. Shambulals father was one such person, who established a small-time marble business, reportedly in Anand. Apart from the pull factors, there were certain push factors. The industries in this region preferred to employ outsiders because they were considered more productive as they worked harder. Unskilled labourers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar toiled in the (few) factories and brick kilns; Bengali labourers were considered to be experts at building RCC roofing (reinforced cement and concrete). These were considered more durable and cheaper than the traditional method of roof building using limestone and Balwara stone. The contractors who specialised in the traditional method were from the Sompura community, while the builders were from ST community. Over the past 4 decades, migration and loss of traditional knowledge systems due to economic change has led to Rajasthanis migrating out and outsiders filling the local economic niches. Here is the second clue: Skilled and hard construction work, especially the raising of RCC roofs, is widely done by Bengali Muslim migrant workers across Rajasthan. The district town of Rajsamand had around 400 workers, mostly from Malda in West Bengal. Afrazul was a petty labour contractor who at the age of 48 had managed to raise his standing in life slightly. Meanwhile, by all accounts, Shambhulal a local had experienced downward social mobility and was struggling after the collapse of his small time business. Whatever the claims and counter claims surrounding the murder, the two men were shaped by larger economic forces that were bound to collide at some point. There is a generalised discontent discernable across the country. The economy is not creating jobs in the numbers required and while markets are booming, they seem disconnected with the real economy. A low rumbling of discontent is audible, if you pay heed to chatter on social media, listen to standup comedians or the argumentative debates at your roadside chai stall. This discontent about the state of the economy could take either of two forms over the next year. It could crystallise into an anti-government anger. More sinisterly, it could be channelised against real and imagined enemies: love jihadis, anti-nationals, beef eaters, and historical figures. "Is the Shambulal-Afrazul case a pointer to the latter possibility?" But just a little over a month after saying the armed forces need to be kept out of politics, Bipin Rawat said schools in Jammu and Kashmir are spreading a 'disinformation campaign' Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat, while addressing an event in New Delhi in December, had said that the armed forces need to be kept out of politics. "The military should be somehow kept out of politics. Of late, we have been seeing that politicisation of the military has been taking place. I think we operate in a very secular environment. We have a very vibrant democracy where the military should stay far away from the polity," he said. In the "good old days", he had said, the norm was that women and politics were never discussed in the forces. However, these subjects were gradually "inching" their way into the discourse and this should be avoided, the army chief had added. "Whenever (any) issue (of) linking any military establishment or military personnel where political entity comes in then... that is best avoided," he said, adding that the defence forces do their best when they don't meddle in the political affairs of the nation. At the time he said it, few could have disputed the argument Rawat had made. Nobody would argue for undue political interference in the armed forces. But just a little over a month after saying this, he himself seems to be treading in political waters. Addressing the media last week, Rawat said schools in Jammu and Kashmir were spreading a "disinformation campaign" and called for a revamp of the education system in the state. "The damage done to us is through the social media. A very large amount of disinformation campaign is being spread in Jammu and Kashmir which is radicalising the youths through the social media and through the schools," he said. "The other issue is the madrassas and masjids what is being informed to them (the students) or incorrectly informed to them is through the madrassas and masjids. I think some controls have to be exercised there and that is what we are looking at," he added. Rawat suggested that some stone throwers in Kashmir were youth from government schools, and stressed on the need to reform the education system. "If you go to any Kashmir school, you will find two maps one is the map of India and one is the map of Jammu and Kashmir. There are always two maps in every classroom. Why should there be a map of Jammu and Kashmir? If you are putting a map of Jammu and Kashmir, then you may as well put a map of every state," he said. "What does it mean to children that I am part of the country but I also have a separate identity. So, the basic grassroots problem lies here is the way the education in Jammu and Kashmir in government school has been corrupted," said Rawat. The statement quickly met with a furious backlash. The state government reacted sharply to Rawat's comments, saying it was "unacceptable" for an army chief to "meddle" in the state's affairs. Minister for education Syed Altaf Bukhari said the state's education system may have shortcomings, but there was no need for sermons about it from the army. "I do not know what the army chief has said or how he said it, but what I know is that our children are not going towards radicalisation," minister for education Syed Altaf Bukhari told reporters. "Everyone has his own domain. Those who have no link to education are talking about it. It is not a fair comment and we do not accept it," Bukhari said. "Those people who are not concerned with education tell us whether there should be one map or two maps in the schools. This is unacceptable," said Bukhari. "This is a state subject. I do not think I will take any sermon from anybody. I have a boss, who is the chief minister (Mehbooba Mufti). If she finds any fault in the education system, we will do (address) it. She is the only one from whom we will take sermons," Bukhari said. He further hit back at Rawat, saying it is probably the army that isn't doing its job properly. "Let him (army chief) do his own job, I am doing mine and if the borders are protected, the incidents of violence will come down... perhaps they are not doing their job properly because of which we are suffering," he said. The minister said India is a democratic country and the army cannot have a control over everything. "Perhaps he (army chief) knows it and I know it very well," he said. With inputs from agencies Advocating a 'politico-military' approach in dealing with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, army chief General Bipin Rawat called for political initiative to go hand-in-hand with military operations in the state. New Delhi: Advocating a "politico-military" approach in dealing with the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, army chief General Bipin Rawat on Sunday called for political initiative to go hand-in-hand with military operations in the state. General Rawat, who has followed a hard-line approach in tackling terrorism, said the armed forces operating in the state cannot be "status quoist" and must evolve new strategies and tactics to deal with the situation. In an interview to PTI, the army chief said, "The political initiative and all the other initiatives must go simultaneously hand-in-hand and only if all of us function in synergy, we can bring lasting peace in Kashmir. It has to be a politico-military approach that we have to adopt." Rawat also asserted that there was room for ramping up heat on Pakistan to cut the flow of cross border terror activities, clearly indicating that the army will continue its policy of hot pursuit in dealing with militancy. In October, the government had appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as its special representative for a "sustained dialogue" with all stakeholders in Jammu and Kashmir. "When the government appointed an interlocutor, it is with that purpose. He is the government's representative to reach out to the people of Kashmir and see what their grievances are so that those can then be addressed at a political level," the army chief said. Asked whether pressure could be increased on Pakistan to force it to stop sending terrorists to the state, he said, "Yes, you cannot be status quoist. You have to continuously think and keep moving forward. You have to keep changing your doctrines and concept and the manner in which you operate in such areas." General Rawat said the army will have to evolve new strategies and new tactics to deal with the situation. At the same time, he said an overall approach was required to deal with the Kashmir issue. Since beginning of last year, the army pursued an aggressive anti-terror policy in Jammu and Kashmir and, at the same time, forcefully responded to all ceasefire violations by the Pakistani troops along the Line of Control with a tit-for-tat approach. "Military is only part of the mechanism to resolve the Kashmir issue. Our charter is to ensure that the terrorists who are creating violence in the state are taken to task and those who have been radicalised and are increasingly moving towards terrorism are prevented from doing so," he said. General Rawat said some youths continue to be radicalised and are joining militancy. The army has been trying to maintain pressure on terror groups, he said. The army's aim is to ensure that it continues to maintain the pressure on the terrorists and those fomenting trouble in Kashmir, General Rawat said. "But at the same time, we have to also reach out to the people," he said. Asked whether the situation in Kashmir has improved since he has taken over as the army chief a year ago, Gen Rawat said, "I am only seeing a marginal change in situation for the better. "I do not think it is time to become over confident and start assuming that the situation has been brought under control because infiltration from across the borders will continue." The LoC has remained volatile in the last year. According to official figures, 860 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were reported in 2017 as against 221 the year before. India has also been effectively retaliating to Pakistani firing and even crossed the LoC to punish Pakistani troops on several occasions as part of tactical operations. Benjamin Netanyahu said that even though the Jewish state was 'disappointed' by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. New Delhi: Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a "marriage made in heaven", Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that even though the Jewish state was "disappointed" by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. Netanyahu said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. "Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward," Netanyahu said when asked to comment on India's vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits," he told India Today in an interview. Last month, India joined 127 other countries to vote in the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of US president Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The resolution was approved with 127-9 at the UN General Assembly. "First of all, there is a special relationship between the two countries, between their people and then between the leaders. The partnership between India and Israel is a marriage made in heaven but consecrated on earth," Netanyahu said. Hailing Narendra Modi "as a great leader", Netanyahu said the prime minister was "impatient to bring future to his people". Asked about his agreement with Modi on counter-terrorism, Netanyahu said the doctrine of counter-terrorism included having intelligence to prevent it. "You fight terrorism by fighting it," Netanyahu said. "Our defence relationship is quite significant and comprises many things. I think the key word here is defence. We want to defend ourselves, we are not aggressive nations. We are very committed to making sure that none can commit an aggression against the either one of us," he said. Commenting on the ways to strengthen ties, Netanyahu said Israel was developing rapidly and is creating industries "out of thin air". He said given India's importance in being a major auto dealer, it would be important for India and Israel to have a good tie-up between car manufacturers. India and Israel have agreed to enhance co-operation in the areas of agriculture, science and technology and security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. New Delhi: India and Israel have agreed to enhance co-operation in the areas of agriculture, science and technology and security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. "We will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples," Modi said in a joint address to the media with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following delegation level talks. "These are agriculture, science and technology and security.," he stated. "We exchanged views on scaling up the centres of excellence that have been a mainstay of agricultural cooperation." The Indian Prime Minister said both he and Netanyahu "have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions". "The results are already visible on the ground. Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and to scale up our partnership." In defence, Modi said he has invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime to make more in India with domestic companies. "We are venturing into less explored areas of cooperation such as oil & gas, cyber security, films and start-ups," he stated. "We are committed to facilitating the flow of people and ideas between our geographies. It requires policy facilitation, infrastructure and connectivity links and fostering constituencies of support beyond government." On his part, Netanyahu, described Modi as a "revolutionary leader", who has catapulted India into the future. He said Modi's historic visit to Israel last July, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, "excited all Israelis and of course many Israelis of Indian descent and origin". "We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai (26 November, 2008 terror attacks). We will never give in and will fight back," Netanyahu said. "Jews in India have never witnessed anti-Semitism like in some other countries," he stated. "This is a tribute to India's great civilisation, tolerance and democracy." He said three things bind India and Israel: both share an ancient culture, both have a vibrant future and both are seizing the opportunities for the future. "The India-Israel partnership will bring tremendous benefits," he said. Following the delegation-level talks, India and Israel exchanged nine agreements, including in the areas of cyber security and oil and gas. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. Benjamin Netanyahu will be formally welcomed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, on Monday followed by a visit to Rajghat Auto refresh feeds Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will arrive in New Delhi on Sunday on a six-day visit, reported PTI. However, Israeli Ambassador to India Daniel Carmon, at a media briefing, set at rest all speculation over this saying, "I think the relationship is much stronger than one vote in the UN here and there." The visit comes less than a month after New Delhi voted in the UN General Assembly against US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. This is the first prime ministerial visit from Israel to India since the visit of then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Joint Secretary (West Asia-North Africa division) in the ministry B Bala Bhaskar said the Palestinian issue is likely to figure in the talks between the two prime ministers besides other key issues of mutual importance. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Netanyahu will hold talks on Monday covering entire expanse of the ties and explore new areas of cooperation to further deepen the "very very special relationship", the external affairs ministry said. He will leave for Ahmedabad on the morning of 17 January. In Ahmedabad, he will visit Sabarmati Ashram. Modi and he will also visit the Center of Excellence in Vadrad and inaugurate a Center of Excellence for date palms in Bhuj via video conference. On 15 January, Netanyahu will meet with the Indo-Israeli CEO forum in New Delhi and address a separate business event. He will deliver a speech at the Raisina Dialogue on 16 January. "We are strengthening ties between Israel and this important global power. This serves our security, economic, trade and tourism interests, as well as many other areas. This is a great blessing for the State of Israel," he said. "This evening I am leaving on an historic visit to India. I will meet with the Prime Minister, my friend Narendra Modi, with the Indian President and with many other leaders. We will sign very many agreements," Netanyahu said in statement. "Indian Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi is a close friend of Israel and of mine and I appreciate the fact that he will accompany me on extensive parts of my visit," Netanyahu said just before leaving for New Delhi. Sareshwala added, The difference between Congress and Modis style of dealing with Israel is that the Congress would meet Netanyahu behind closed doors, while Modi does it publically." Speaking to CNN-News18, BJP leader and Modi confidant Zafar Sareshwala said, We dont want symbolism. In the past, I have congratulated the PM for not wearing a skullcap and for not holding Iftar parties. The same symbolism has to be done away with in diplomacy as well, he said. Netanyahu's visit to India is only the second one by an Israeli prime minister and comes after a gap of 15 years. Former prime minister Ariel Sharon visited India in 2003. The visit marks 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and takes place about six months after Modi's trip to Israel, the first by an Indian prime minister to the Jewish state. Technion-Israel Institute of Technology would also be signing an agreement with the ministry of science and technology, sources here said. Israel's Saare Tzedek hospital would be signing an agreement with the ministry of health and family welfare. Informed sources here said that this relates to sharing of knowledge in the field of homoeopathy and Ayurveda that have been gaining popularity in Israel over the last few years. Several MoUs, including in the field of oil and gas, renewable energy, amended protocol for airports, cyber security, and co-production of films and documentaries, will be signed between the two sides. The Ambassador described innovation as a "cross-cutting issue" and said this would be reflected in the discussions between Modi and Netanyahu. "Innovation that would, you know, touch any of the areas in which we cooperate. Innovation could be in the field of defence, innovation could be in the field of agriculture, innovation could be in the field of IT, of R&D," he said. According to Daniel Carmon, though cooperation in agriculture and water were the highlights of Modi's visit to Israel in July last year, this time innovation will top the agenda. Agriculture and water resources will also be the focus of visit The Ambassador described innovation as a "cross-cutting issue" and said this would be reflected in the discussions between Modi and Netanyahu. "Innovation that would, you know, touch any of the areas in which we cooperate. Innovation could be in the field of defence, innovation could be in the field of agriculture, innovation could be in the field of IT, of R&D," he said. According to Daniel Carmon, though cooperation in agriculture and water were the highlights of Modi's visit to Israel in July last year, this time innovation will top the agenda. Agriculture and water resources will also be the focus of visit The Ambassador described innovation as a "cross-cutting issue" and said this would be reflected in the discussions between Modi and Netanyahu. "Innovation that would, you know, touch any of the areas in which we cooperate. Innovation could be in the field of defence, innovation could be in the field of agriculture, innovation could be in the field of IT, of R&D," he said. According to Daniel Carmon, though cooperation in agriculture and water were the highlights of Modi's visit to Israel in July last year, this time innovation will top the agenda. Agriculture and water resources will also be the focus of visit The Ambassador described innovation as a "cross-cutting issue" and said this would be reflected in the discussions between Modi and Netanyahu. "Innovation that would, you know, touch any of the areas in which we cooperate. Innovation could be in the field of defence, innovation could be in the field of agriculture, innovation could be in the field of IT, of R&D," he said. According to Daniel Carmon, though cooperation in agriculture and water were the highlights of Modi's visit to Israel in July last year, this time innovation will top the agenda. Agriculture and water resources will also be the focus of visit These centres cover areas like vegetables, citrus fruits, dates, mangoes, flowers, beekeeping, he said, adding that "we are now starting work on a dairy farm in Haryana". Carmon said that by the end of this month, there will be 22 centres of excellence set up with Israeli aid up and running across India. Netanyahu is also scheduled to visit a Centre of Excellence in Agriculture at Vadrad, Gujarat, that has been set up with Israeli assistance. Teen Murti Road will be named after Israeli city of Haifa. After renaming, the road will be called Teen Murti Haifa Chowk. Haifa was the site of a major war during World War 1. Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to meet External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the Taj Diplomatic End shortly, reports India Today. The three bronze statues at Teen Murti represent the Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who were part of the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. The brigade carried out the victorious assault on the fortified city of Haifa on 23 September, 1918, during World War I. Forty-four Indian soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice during the liberation of the city in World War I. Till date, the 61 Cavalry celebrates September 23 as its Raising Day or "Haifa Day." There are various accounts of this battle all narrate the valour with which the lancers undertook the assault on the garrisoned city protected by a joint force of Ottomans, Germany and Austria-Hungary. The liberation of Haifa cleared a supply route for the Allies to the city through the sea. Netanyahu will also be accompanied by Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Moshe, who was only two years old then, will visit Chabad House, where his parents were killed. Apart from the summit-level meeting, the second India-Israel CEOs forum will be held as also a series of other meetings between both sides in New Delhi and Mumbai during the course of the visit. Netanyahu will be accompanied by a delegation of 130 Israeli business leaders. Here is what Modi wrote in the visitor's book at Teen Murti chowk It is the 100th anniversary of the end of World War-1. Many golden pages of the sacrifices of Indian braves are written in the history of both World War. One of these pages was written 100 years ago, in the sacrifice of Indian soldiers at Haifa. The sacrifice commemorated at Teen Murti observes its centenary. Naming spot as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk, marks this historic occasion. In presence of the Prime Minister of Israel, we pay homage to the brave soldiers. Salute to the great Indian traditions of selfless sacrifice and penance. The three bronze statues at Teen Murti represent the Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who were part of the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. The two leaders also laid a wreath and signed the visitor's book at the memorial. Narendra Modi and his Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday attended a ceremony at the Teen Murti Memorial in New Delhi to mark the renaming of Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk. In an interview with India Today , Netanyahu said, "I don't do Yoga but I wake up in the morning and when I look to the east, the first democracy I see is India and when Mr. Modi wakes up in the morning and does his Yoga and looks left, the first democracy he sees is Israel. This is a grand partnership." Benjamin Netanyahu: "I wake up in the morning and when I look to the east, the first democracy I see is India." Narendra Modi receives Benjamin Netanyahu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan before the ceremonial welcome Dr Harsh Vardhan, Hardeep Singh Puri, the three heads of the armed forces were among the dignitaries introduced to Benjamin Netanyahu. 'Visit to India deeply moving for me and my wife': Benjamin Netanyahu at Rashtrapati Bhavan Speaking to reporters at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "It began with Prime Minister Modi's historic visit to Israel that created tremendous enthusiasm. It continues with my visit here which I must say is deeply moving for me,my wife and people of Israel. It heralds a flourishing partnership to bring prosperity, peace and progress for our people," according to ANI . The Israeli prime minister pays homage to Mahatma Gandhi along with his wife Sara. He laid a wreath at the memorial. According to an editorial in Jerusalem Post , India change in its behaviour towards Israel is due to Jerusalem's standing in the West Asia. As per the article, Indian leaders were previosuly wary of publicly supporting Israel out of fear of hurting Muslim sentiments in India. It also says that this changed when the Palestinian ambassador recently hugged LeT chief and 2008 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan. "New Delhi has also realized that its efforts for decades to curry favor with Arab states by taking anti-Israel positions in UN votes have not paid off. [...] There was nothing new about this behavior on the part of the Palestinians and Arabs. Despite Indias willingness to support Arab-backed votes in the UN on a variety of issues, Arab and Muslim states are reluctant to reciprocate," the editorial read. Reasons for India's change in attitude towards Israel: From Israeli media's point of view In a note in the visitor's book at Raj Ghat, Netanyahu wrote: "Such grandeur and simplicity in honor of modern India's founding fathers, one of the world's greatest spiritual leaders." He signed it off as: "In deepest friendship and respect". The two leaders will have a one-to-one meeting for a little over hald an hour. They are expected to deliver the joint press address at around 1.30 pm. Memorandums of Understanding(s) related to terror, oil, cybersecurity, agriculture etc. will be signed on Monday between India and Israel. Referring to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments on Sunday that India-Israel relations were a "match made in heaven", Israeli publication Haaretz wrote in a piece saying that for the arms trade, and public relations, it is a match made in heaven. "But as Modi won't betray the Palestinians or renounce the Iranians, it resembles more an open marriage," the opinion piece read. As Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday, thousands of people marched in Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir to protest Israeli prime minister's visit to India. According to Greater Kashmir , the protest was organised by Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust (IKMT). The protesters raised slogans against Modi and expressed their support for the Palestinians. Speaking to protesters at Laal Chowk Kargil, Chairman Guardian Council IKMT Kargil said the land of Mahatama Gandhi can't tolerate war-criminal like Netanyahu. "People all over India rejoicing the harvest festivals. PM Netanyahu's visit is a good start to the new year. I was overwhelmed by the warmth of the Israeli people laid by my friend, Bibi. I promised our people to uphold a strategic partnerships. Our friendship has linked both countries for centuries." "Our discussions were wide ranging and intensive, marked by a desire to do more. I have a reputation of getting impatient with getting results. If I may let out an open secret, so are you... We want to strengthen agriculture, science and technology. We exchanged views on centres of excellence. In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to make more weapons in India vis-a-vis our liberalised FDI rates. We are also committed to flow of people and ideas between our geographies. Working with Israel to bring people closer on both sides." 'Proud to have you (Netanyahu) in my home state, Gujarat day after,' says Narendra Modi "Thank you for your exceptional friendship and hospitality. I was deeply moved today at the ceremonial reception. You are revolutionary leader of India, revolutionising the India-Israel relationships. Until you visited Israel, none before you had visited our sovereign state." "Israel is a global force of technology. India abounds with creativity, scientific technology. We can achieve this together. We achieve more with less, more crops with less water, more revenue with less expenditure." "We are proud of our present, resilient democracy. The diversity is source of our strength. A fine example is India with its dozens of languages. The Jews of India have never experienced anti-Semitism in India. This is a tribute to India's tolerate nature. India is a living proof that democracy works. It is the free citizens who thrive because they are free. Our commitment to do so is reflected in the agreements we signed. "My friend Narendra, any time you want to do a yoga class, I'll be there," Netanyahu concluded the press statement on that note. "India and Israel know the pain of terrorist attacks. We never give in. When you (Modi) hosted us yesterday, you lit up the house with colours of India and Israel." That India is among the world's largest importers of military inventory and that Israel is a major arms exporter also provides a natural complementarity to the bilateral relationship. With a population below nine million and a GDP of $350 billion, Israel is relatively small compared to the Indian behemoth with a population of 1.25 billion and a GDP of $2.5 trillion. Yet Israel occupies a very special niche in India's security framework and has been a supplier of critical military technology. This was illustrated during the 1999 Kargil War, when precision-guided ordnance was obtained from Tel Aviv. It has had a chequered past since the post-World War II birth of both countries but is poised for a pragmatic future trajectory based on shared interests. The visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India (January 14-19) commemorates the 25th anniversary of the opening of an Indian embassy in Tel Aviv in 1992. India-Israel committed to take their friendship to new heights In his media address, Benjamin Netanyahu said: My wife and I are very happy that we are going to Bollywood. We had seen and heard so much, we wanted to see for ourselves In defence, Modi said he has invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime to make more in India with domestic companies. "The results are already visible on the ground. Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and to scale up our partnership." The Indian Prime Minister said both he and Netanyahu "have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions". "These are agriculture, science and technology and security.," he stated. "We exchanged views on scaling up the Centers of Excellence that have been a mainstay of agricultural cooperation." "We will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples," Modi said in a joint address to the media with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following delegation level talks here. India and Israel have agreed to enhance cooperation in the areas of agriculture, science and technology and security, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said that discussions were held on improving agriculture in India, using technological breakthroughs achieved by Israel. They will first be taken to the Oberoi Amarvilas and then the Taj Mahal through the eastern gates in golf carts. After touring the Taj for a couple of hours they will return to the hotel, where Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will host them for lunch at the hotel. Netanyahu wil tour the Taj for a few hours before being hosted by Adityanath for lunch The Taj complex has been shut for all other visitors since 11am. Benjamin Netanyahu and wife Sara are being accompanied by the Israeli delegation and security personnel. They are expected to tour the monument for a couple of hours as the couple has the entire monument to themselves, News18 reported. Benjamin Netanyahu and Sara Netanyahu are scheduled to have lunch with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after touring the Taj Mahal for a couple of hours. Timeline of how the diplomatic relations between India and Israel have progressed over the years RECAP: I arrived in India with the biggest delegation of business leaders that has ever joined an Israeli PM on an official visit Timeline of how the diplomatic relations between India and Israel have progressed over the years Heavy security arrangements have been put in place with over 1,500 security personnel guarding the 5 kilometre stretch that Israeli Netanyahu will be travelling on, during his visit to the Taj Mahal. CRPF personnel, Rapid Action Force and police teams have been deployed to take care of the security arrangements for the high-profile delegation of 130 members. Agra turned into a fortress in view of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the city. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend the Raisina Dialogue scheduled to start at 6.30 pm today. The agenda of the conference will be "Managing Disruptive Transitions Ideas, Institutions, and Idioms. Nearly all the dignitaries are now seated in the main hall, and the conference will begin shortly. Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place as VVIP figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend the event. The conference has started and the guests were informed about the plan for the evening. Meanwhile, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and his Israei counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu are running slightly behind the schedule. The two prime ministers are expected to arrive shortly. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his wife Sara Netanyahu reached at Taj Palace, where the conference co-hosted by the Ministry of External affairs is being held. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj are also present. While acknowledging the long-standing friendship between India and Israel, Netanyahu in his inaugural address, says that defence power is very important to reinstate one's existence. "The weak don't survive, the strong survive, you make alliances with the strong, you are able to maintain peace by being strong. So, therefore the first requirement from our the time of our first PM was to achieve minimal strength required to assure existence," Netanyahu said. Netanyahu doesn't mince words, getting straight to his very realist view of the world: "Strength. Power" "If you want to be an economic power, you must reduce and simplify taxes and must cut bureaucracy. The main job of both India and Israel is to cut this bureaucracy so the firms can go on with their business of doing business," Netanyahu said. "I was astounded to know that PM Modi has moved India in the scale of ease of doing business 42 places in three years. If you want to be an economic power, you must reduce and simplify taxes," he said. The Israeli prime minister apparently praised the tax reforms introduced by the Narendra Modi government, without really mentioning the Goods and Services Tax. "Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu's visit to India underlines the celebration of 25 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. His brief yet, truly inspiring inaugural address makes for a rare opportunity: with Prime Minister Netanyahu addressing from the podium and Prime Minister sitting in the audience. She also commented on the fact that it was a rare occasion that the Israeli PM was addressing from the podium while Modi was sitting in the audience. Starting the vote of thanks on a lighter note, Swaraj said that the organisers have had problems in the past in adjusting the microphone's height whenever she take over from another speaker. "But this year the organisers seems to have been prepared," she said. Sushma Swaraj starts off vote of thanks like a roast of sorts: One pot shot at herself (height) and one at Modi (sitting in the audience) We believe in India as you believe in Israel: Benjamin Netanyahu to PM Modi Gujarat is set to roll out the red carpet for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in Ahmedabad on Wednesday along with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. The two leaders will hold a roadshow, which will begin from the city airport and end at the Sabarmati Ashram, a journey of eight kilometres. According to reports, security along the 14-km stretch where the two prime ministers will hold their roadshow is quite heavy. 12 teams of Chetak commandoes, Israeli snipers, Quick Response Teams, the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and the Gujarat Police. Modi, Netanyahu expected to arrive at Ahmedabad airport around 10:30 am where they will be received by the top ministers of the Vijay Rupani government. Both the leaders will inaugurate iCreate Center at Deo Dholera Village in Ahmedabad. They'll also dedicate a mobile water desalination van to Suigam Taluka, of Banaskantha district via video link, ANI reports. Netanyahu and Modi will also visit the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables at Vadrad in Sabarkantha district. They will be briefed on work plan of the Centre. They will inaugurate the Centre of Excellence for Date Palms at Kukama, Kutch District, through a video link. The two PMs will also interact with farmers. Modi and Netanyahu will inaugurate the iCreate Center at Deo Dholera Village in Ahmedabad. They will visit a Startup Exhibition and interact with innovators and Startup CEOs. The two prime ministers will dedicate a mobile water desalination van to Suigam Taluka, of Banaskantha district, through a video link. Both leaders will also address the gathering. Benjamin Netanyahu with his wife arrive in Ahmedabad where they were received by Modi. There are 140 Jews in Gujarat, News18 reports. The community had extended an invite to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit their synagogue but since that could not be factored in, they are at the roadshow to greet him. At iCreate Center in Ahmedabad, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is right. Technology is central to development, because all of us rise and fall together. Half a year ago, Israel-India developed an innovation bridge to help solve pressing global problems. Over 600 companies applied. Several dozen were chosen. I have a simple message. i want young Indians to know Israel wants to form partnerships with you. We're your partners. I want Israelis to come to India. Bachelors with a backpack but with a laptop. That's why I have come here." Prime Minister Narendra Modi says: "When I went to Israel in 2017, I made up my mind that this foundation should have more strong relations with Israel. Since then, I was waiting for my friend Benjamin Netanyahu to come to India. "Never stop dreaming and never let the dreams die. It is good for children to have high curiosity quotient. Our youth has energy and enthusiasm, all that they want is a little bit of encouragement, network and institutional support," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, quoting Albert Einstein. "You have seen in iCreate, the letter 'i' is lower case. There is a reason for that. Creativity is halted when 'i' is big," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Ahmedabad. "Today, it is necessary to innovate to get rid of the problems faced by our young country. How to improve the quality of life of an ordinary person at minimal expense, innovate for it. Today a huge campaign of Clean India is going on in the country. Can we do new innovations on sanitation? Waste to wealth, there are immense possibilities of innovation in this one topic," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at iCreate Center in Ahmedabad, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Israeli technology and creativity reaches the whole world. The people of Israel have proven to the whole world that the size of the country and the resolve of the countrymen, is what takes a country forward. Innovation plays a major role in bringing Indian and Israeli people closer." "We're here to make your lives better and I thank you for this warm friendship...We want to help India help itself. Because India has vision. It understand that knowledge is the future. This is the policy of Narendra Modi and this is my policy," Netanyahu said at Vadrad. Mashav is Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "We are working towards doubling farmer incomes by 2022. For this, optimum utilisation of land resources, ensuring minimum wastage and understanding the needs of the market assume importance," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Centre of Excellence for Vegetables. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu have wrapped up their Gujarat visit. The duo are scheduled to reach Mumbai by Wednesday evening. Netanyahu landed at the airport in Mumbai on Wednesday night for the Mumbai leg of his six-day India visit, a senior official told PTI. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have a packed schedule during the Mumbai leg of his visit on Thursday, when he will have breakfast with business leaders, pay tributes to Mumbai terror attack victims and attend a 'Shalom Bollywood' event among other engagements. He will later address the India-Israel Business Summit at the iconic Taj Hotel in South Mumbai. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will also attend the summit, sources in Mumbai told PTI. Moshe arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday, returning to the place where he was orphaned nine years ago. Moshe's father Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and mother Rivka were killed at the Nariman House during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. The Jewish couple ran a cultural and outreach centre for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement at the Nariman House in south Mumbai's Colaba area. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be visiting to the nearby Nariman House, where he will meet 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg. Holtzberg and his orphaned grandson 'little' Moshe are on a visit to Mumbai nine years after the deadly attacks by 10 Pakistani terrorists on Chabad House, or Nariman House. In an exclusive interview to PTI, Holtzberg said: "Pakistan must know best what the people are facing. The sorrows of father, brother, wife and children." Moshe's grandfather Rabbi Nachman Holtzberg, who lost his son Gavriel in the 26/11 terror attacks, said on Wednesday that Pakistan should rethink on its policy of creating terrorists. He said spreading love and compassion is the "only victory" in the world. Following talks I have held with my friend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian government has informed us that it is putting the Spike deal back on track. This is very important and there will be many more deals, Netanyahu said in a brief video statement during his five-day visit to India. Earlier in January, Israels state-owned defence contractor Rafael said Indias Ministry of Defence had cancelled the deal worth about $500 million to buy Spike anti-tank guided missiles. There was no immediate comment from Indian authorities. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday during a tour of India he had been informed by the Indian government that it had decided to put a major anti-tank missile deal back on track. At Thursday's event, the visiting prime minister will take the opportunity to showcase Israel as a shooting hotspot for Bollywood, which is constantly on the prowl globally for exotic foreign locales for what is the world's largest film industry. An invitation to Bollywood by Israeli Ambassador in India Daniel Carmon says that Israel honours Bollywood's starring role in contemporary Indian culture and offers Bollywood many opportunities with its rich history, culture, diversity and breathtaking landscape. The much-anticipated event is expected to attract a galaxy of leading actors, directors and producers including Amitabh Bachchan who will interact with the Netanyahu couple and later join a gala dinner in a south Mumbai five-star hotel. President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli ambassador to India Daniel Carmon have welcomed the magazine and sent congratulatory messages, he said. Jhirad, who is also the president and managing trustee of Bene Israel Heritage Museum and Genealogical Centre, said the magazine's editorial advisory board includes MPs Poonam Mahajan and Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The magazine would be launched at the Magen David Synagogue at Byculla in south Mumbai on Thursday, Ralphy Jhirad, the editorial board member of the magazine, told PTI. The Jewish community will mark Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Mumbai visit with the launch of Namaste Shalom, a regular monthly magazine on bilateral relations between the two friendly nations. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was evidently impressed by Harwardhansinh Jhala, who had developed a drone that can detect landmines. In his speech at the iCreate event in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, Netanyahu said, "(Here) 14-year-old has a drone in the sky that can identify landmine. It can solve so much suffering. Just 14-year-old." According to DNA , Jhala was joyous with the reference. "They met us, saw our drone and understood the technology behind it," he told DNA. Jhala was among the 15 start-ups from Gujarat, who met both the prime ministers at the event. The Israeli prime minister spoke to business leaders Ajay Piramal, Rahul Bajaj, Adi Godrej, Harsh Goenka, Anand Mahindra, Dilip Shanghvi, Ashok Hinduja, Atul Punj and Chanda Kochhar over a 'power breakfast' at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai On Wednesday, Muslim organisations held protests in the city against the Israeli prime minister's visit, reported The Indian Express . Several Muslim children have died in Jerusalem. They (Israel) are a threat to Muslims across the world. Our protest is against India forging such ties with Israel, Mohammed Rizvi, general secretary of the Raza Academy told The Indian Express. Netanyahu will leave for Israel in the early hours of Friday. Netanyahu will cap his hectic schedule by attending the 'Shalom Bollywood' event, in which he will invite leading actors, directors, and producers in the Indian cinema industry to come to Israel to shoot movies and collaborate with the Israeli film and television industry. Netanyahu will then proceed to the nearby Nariman House, where he will meet 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg. Moshe's father Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and mother Rivka were killed at the Nariman House during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Netanyahu will later meet around 25 to 30 members of the Jewish community at the Taj hotel. In the first visit by an Israeli Prime Minister to the financial capital of India, Netanyahu will lay a wreath at the memorial for the victims of the 26/11 terror attacks. "Innovation doesn't happen by itself. Some of it does. But it can be nurtured, it can encouraged. It also can be discouraged. The job of governments like that of Prime Minister Modi and my own government is to facilitate your competitive advantages and ability to innovate," he said "We in Israel are seizing the future, you in India are seizing the future. Together, you will get there a lot quicker and also get a lot further," he said. "It is very, very crucial today for you and your Israeli counterparts to meet up, because the future belongs to those who innovate," Netanyahu said at the first of his numerous assignments for the day as he wraps up his four-day India visit. Stating that the partnership between Israel and India is doing wonders, Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked business leaders to focus on innovation, reported PTI. "The future belongs to those who innovate," Netanyahu said in his opening remarks at a power breakfast with top corporate honchos at the iconic Taj hotel overlooking the Arabia Sea. Future belongs to those who innovate: Netanyahu to India Inc Business leaders who were present at the breakfast included Ajay Piramal, Rahul Bajaj, Adi Godrej, Harsh Goenka, Anand Mahindra, Dilip Shanghvi, Ashok Hinduja, Atul Punj and Chanda Kochhar. "So it is leaders. It is people. But I think the most important thing is to have it among business leaders and technological leaders and entrepreneurs like yourself. This is the cherry on the pie! What a cherry! I thought we will discuss the cherry," Netanyahu said. "In addition, there is a partnership of genuine sympathy between our people. And that is not obvious. Our two civilisations are very old and we have not met each other in real sense. There is an instant chemical reaction of tremendous solidarity and identification and I see it in my Facebook followers. They haven't changed the algorithm yet and I see it very very strongly. We see it when we walk the streets, the responses that we get here. And Indian citizens, when they come to Israel, they can see it. It is powerful," he said. "It is on the level first of a deep personal friendship between Prime Minister Modi and myself," he said. Netanyahu to business leaders: The partnership between Israel and India is doing wonders 'India, Israel are innovation nations, must come together to define future': Netanyahu at business summit India knows value and glory of competition, says Benjamin Netanyahu at India-Israel Business Summit This is the beginning of a wonderful ancient friendship and the possibilities are boundless. We have to bring talents of India and Israel together. Fifteen countries ahead of Israel in the World Banks competitive index make me lose sleep. It isnt Syria, but countries like Singapore, USA and Switzerland which make me lose sleep, Netanyahu was quoted as saying by The Indian Express . "India-Israel partnership is reaching unprecedented heights. This is beginning of a wonderful friendship where possibilities are boundless," says Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the India-Israel Business Summit in Mumbai. "India and Israel are democracies and share the love for freedom. We are a match made in heaven," says Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the business summit in Mumbai. "The agriculture practices used in Israel are very impressive. We are going to sign an MoU for irrigation with an Israeli firm to help sustain the water-starved regions of Maharashtra," Fadnavis added. "The way the Jewish community has assimilated with the Indian community here is very good. India and Israel can become the best partners. A new chapter of friendship and relationship started when Modi visited Israel last year," said Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis at the India-Israel Business Summit on Thursday. "Im sure in time to come, we will see many Israeli businesses mainly in technology and agriculture flourishing, collaborating and cooperating with Indian businesses," he adds. "Maharashtra is the right place to forge alliance. I look forward to many more alliances between Maharashtra and Israel," says CM Devendra Fadnavis. 'Want to collaborate more with Israel for farmers' benefit' Although the early Zionists, such as David Ben-Gurion, were keen to woo Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru whom they perceived to be the architects of modern India, whose support would, in turn, legitimise Israel as a political idea the two were not convinced, inspired ideologically by the Palestinian cause and politically by the need to weld the Muslim minority into the national struggle and the postcolonial nation. If internationalism is shared history, India and Israel were destined for amity. Both nations, however different in their geographical constituency, were carved with an intense political struggle against their hostile neighbourhood, each with a keen sense of civilizational significance in its emergence. "The future belongs to those who innovate and it is our job to encourage you to innovate. It is very crucial for you and your Israeli counterparts to meet," Netanyahu said. His remarks came at a power-breakfast where he held discussions with top Indian CEOs, industrialists and bankers at the iconic Hotel Taj Mahal Palace. Among the CEOs present were Ashok Hinduja, Anand Mahindra, Adi Godrej, Ajay Piramal, Harsh Goenka and Chanda Kochhar, with whom Netanyahu cheerfully interacted before getting down to breakfast-cum-business. Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said "the business partnership between India and Israel is doing wonders" and that he has developed "a strong personal friendship" with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the last leg of his four-day India visit, which he described as extraordinary, Netanyahu said there is a deep and abiding respect for India, it's people and culture."We are the two oldest cultures on earth. We are democracies, we share our love for freedom, and we share our love for humanity. We are truly your partners. This is a partnership made in heaven," Netanyahu said, while appealing to Indian businesses to invest in Israel. Addressing the India-Israel Business Summit, Netanyahu mentioned the "deep personal friendship" he shares with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, adding that the warmth goes deeper, right up to the common man. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday termed his country's partnership with India as one "made in heaven", which rests on shared values of love for humanity, democracy and freedom. Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at Chabad House, lays wreath at the memorial to 26/11 terror attack victims at Taj Hotel in Mumbai, reports Hindustan Times. Netanyahu will later visit the nearby Nariman House, where he will meet 11-year-old Israeli boy Moshe Holtzberg. Moshe's father Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and mother Rivka were killed at the Nariman House during the 2008 attacks. The Israeli prime minister also wrote a message in the visitor's book at the place. Netanyahu, along with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, laid wreath at the memorial of the terror attack victims, that claimed 166 lives, at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in south Mumbai under a heavy security blanket. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday paid tributes to the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. The Nariman House, renamed as Chabad House, was under siege during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. According to Chabad.org , 26/11 survivor Moshe Holtzbeg and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled the plans for the living memorial on Thursday. Netanyahu also unveiled a plaque in the memory of Moshes parents, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg. This was followed by Moshe's two grandmothers lighting an eternal flame in remembrance of the victims. Speaking to CNN-News18, a Jewish resident in Mumbai said, "This (Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 26/11 survivor Moshe Holtzberg) visit to Mumbai is of immense emotional importance to the entire world. This visit shows the courage which Israel stands for." The bespectacled Moshe, now 11, also sporting the 'Kippah' and a dark suit, had an emotional 'reunion' meeting with the Israel prime minister, as his Indian saviour nanny Sandra Samuel and grandparents flanked them in a small room in the Chabad House, in Nariman House, Colaba. Sporting the trademark Jewish small brimless cloth cap, 'Kippah,' Netanyahu was warmly welcomed by the present Rabbi Israel Kozlovsky and other officials of Chabad House in the afternoon. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday visited the Chabad House here along with Moshe Holtzberg, who as a two-year-old was orphaned in the carnage there during the 2008 terror attack. The Israeli prime minister thanked Moshe for hosting him and showing him his room in the Chabad House. "Your parents showed love to the people and welcomed all to this house. They provided for every Jew a home. This is loving Israel but terrorists showed hatred towards Israel," he said. "This place is a unique merge between love for Israeli people and the hatred towards the people of Israel. The nation of Israel is known for salvation," Netanyahu told the gathering in Hebrew. He was addressing people at the Chabad House, or the Nariman House, after meeting 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg whose father Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and mother Rivka were killed along with six others there during the 26/11 terror attacks. Moshe, then a toddler of two years, was miraculously saved by his Indian nanny Sandra Samuel, who now lives in Israel. The Chabad House is a unique blend of love and hatred towards the people of Israel, the country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Thursday. "In the past, the Jewish people have witnessed a lot of challenges but with the help of God they overcame everything. The people of Israel are living and will live forever," he said at the Chabad House, or the Nariman House in Mumbai. Israeli prime minister Benjamin said that the terrorists could not harm Moshe because of the love shown by his nanny. Netanyahu says Moshe Holtzberg was unharmed during 26/11 because of his nanny's love According to Hindustan Times, the proposed memorial would include a small terrace garden and rooms on the fifth floor of the building where Moshe and his parents Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg stayed before the attack. The fourth floor is likely to be converted into a museum. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahi made a formal announcement on Thursday on the setting up of a living memorial at Nariman House, that was under siege during the 26/11 terror attacks. After Benjamin Netanyahu and Moshe Holtzberg visited Nariman House on Thursday, the Israeli prime minister shared an image of the two in one of the rooms formerly occupied by the 26/11 survivor and his parents. "I added today a mark of Moshe's height to the wall where his mother had marked his height," Netanyahu said in the tweet. Speaking to Times Now on his visit to Center of Excellence for Vegetables in Gujarat, Benjamin Netanyahu said that he interacted with farmers who had had their incomes multiply because of the center. "This is tremendous. If we can have that multiplied through half of India, it means we've raised the living standards for a massive number of Indians. I mean, this partnership is real," he said. Netanyahu further added that despite their being markets, and other aspects, he saw the partnership differently. "I see it (India-Israel relations) as a partnership of civilisations, a partnership of two democracies," he said, "This kind of cooperation that we have, with technology on one side and agriculture on the other is so good for every aspect of life. for water, for agricultre, for security. This has statutory benefits," Benjamin Netanyahu told Times Now. "When he thinks about increasing vegetable production, enhancing indian security against terrorism, catapulting young Indians into future with technological know-how, I think he's thinking about what is good for India. I think he is right," said Netanyahu Speaking to Times Now, Israeli prime minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "a great patriot of India" and that he does "what is good for India." Paid humble tributes to 26/11 terrorist attack victims in Mumbai with Hon PM @netanyahu at a memorial in Hotel Taj. 26/11 . . pic.twitter.com/AeNf8yGkRQ PM Benjamin Netanyahu interacted with the leaders of Jewish community in India. Praised their contribution in preserving Jewish values & culture and for cementing India-Israel relations. pic.twitter.com/urWfGifKG0 Thank you Honorable #CM for hosting our #PM and for participating in the #BusinessSummit today with your vision on cooperation between #Maharashtra and #Israel @israelinMumbai @ykv_finkelstein @MASHAVisrael @InnovationAut @CMOMaharashtra @poonam_mahajan https://t.co/hE650B7x1V This is a partnership of civilizations, a partnership of two democracies: B Netanyahu, Israel PM #NetanyahuUpfront pic.twitter.com/iNpmvJH7Ft Speaking to Times Now on his visit to Center of Excellence for Vegetables in Gujarat, Benjamin Netanyahu said that he interacted with farmers who had had their incomes multiply because of the center. "This is tremendous. If we can have that multiplied through half of India, it means we've raised the living standards for a massive number of Indians. I mean, this partnership is real," he said. Netanyahu further added that despite their being markets, and other aspects, he saw the partnership differently. "I see it (India-Israel relations) as a partnership of civilisations, a partnership of two democracies," he said, "This kind of cooperation that we have, with technology on one side and agriculture on the other is so good for every aspect of life. for water, for agricultre, for security. This has statutory benefits," Benjamin Netanyahu told Times Now. PM Modi is a great patriot of India, he does what is good for India: B Netanyahu, Israel PM EXCLUSIVELY in conversation with @RShivshankar #NetanyahuUpfront pic.twitter.com/ob5dhB5ZAd "When he thinks about increasing vegetable production, enhancing indian security against terrorism, catapulting young Indians into future with technological know-how, I think he's thinking about what is good for India. I think he is right," said Netanyahu Speaking to Times Now, Israeli prime minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is "a great patriot of India" and that he does "what is good for India." Very warm meeting between @IsraeliPM @netanyahu and representatives of the #JewishCommunities of #India .Highlighting the Historic bond between us,the fact that Jews were always welcome in #India &never persecuted,some ideas were offered to strengthen ties,especially with youth pic.twitter.com/Iza0z3H3zt In order to deal with terrorism, the first requirement is intelligence. We share intelligence with India & many countries & we prevented dozens & dozens of major terror strikes which could have disrupted the whole international system, says Israel PM @netanyahu #NetanyahuUpfront Latest Updates: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu along with his wife Sara visited the 17th century Mughal monument Taj Mahal. Netanyahu was received by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the Kheria Airport. He was accorded a traditional welcome by Braj folk artists on his arrival at the airport, the chief minister's office said on Twitter. The dignitaries spent some time at Hotel Amar Vilas before leaving for the monument in golf carts. In view of the Israeli prime minister's visit, the Taj Mahal remained closed for over two hours for tourists. The route from the Kheria Airport to the Taj Mahal was sealed and extra security arrangements were made. According to officials, the visiting dignitary will have lunch at Hotel Amar Vilas before leaving for New Delhi. Netanyahu arrived in New Delhi on Sunday on a six-day visit. The Israeli prime minister is scheduled to inaugurate the third edition of the geo-political conference, 'Raisina Dialogue', in Delhi later today. On Monday, India and Israel signed nine MoUs, including those on film cooperation, cyber cooperation. Benjamin Netanyahu is the first Israeli Prime Minister in 15 years to visit India but he comes at a time when his political standing is at the weakest in his three-decade long career. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu held the joint press statement and exchanged nine MoUs between the two nations. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday received a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and then proceeded to Rajghat in New Delhi, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, to pay tribute to the "great leader". He then proceeded to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House at noon. Netanyahu's visit to India is only the second by an Israeli prime minister and comes after a gap of 15 years. The visit also marks 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. His visit assumes even more significance as it comes just over six months after the visit of Modi to Israel, which was the first ever Indian prime ministerial visit to the West Asian nation. It also comes just days after India voted against Israel at the United Nations on the Jerusalem issue. Netanyahu is expected to focus on economic issues and Palestine is not likely to be the central part of discussions with Modi, Israeli daily Jerusalem Post reported. Netanyahu will formally be welcomed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, on Monday followed by a visit to Rajghat, Mohandas Gandhi's memorial. During his stay, Netanyahu will also visit Gujarat and Mumbai. On Monday, Netanyahu will meet members at the India-Israeli CEO forum in New Delhi and address a separate business event. In a sign of growing importance to the ties with Israel, the government on Sunday renamed Delhi's Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti-Haifa Chowk after the Israeli city. Modi and Netanyahu laid a wreath at the iconic Teen Murti war memorial where they were received by army chief General Bipin Rawat and foreign secretary S Jaishankar. The two leaders paid homage to Indian soldiers who fell in the Battle of Haifa during World War I. Netanyahu's entourage includes the largest-ever delegation of Israeli business people, of some 130. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, these businessmen include senior executives of Aeronautics Defense Systems an Israeli drone maker currently under criminal investigation by the police's international crimes division. At least nine commercial agreements are expected be signed during the visit. These include memoranda of understanding on gas and oil, renewable energy, aviation, industrial research and development, cybersecurity, reciprocal investments, supplementary medicine, space research and joint movie productions, Haaretz said. On Tuesday, Netanyahu will fly to Agra to view the iconic Taj Mahal. Netanyahu and Modi will open the Raisina Dialogue, India's annual geopolitical conference to be attended by people from around the world, including former US nuclear negotiator Wendy Sherman, in Delhi. The Israeli prime minister will deliver a speech at the Raisina Dialogue on on Tuesday and also call on President Ram Nath Kovind. He will then leave for Ahmedabad on the morning of 17 January. In Ahmedabad, he will visit the Sabarmati Ashram. Modi and Netanyahu will also visit the Centre of Excellence in Vadrad and inaugurate a Centre of Excellence for date palms in Bhuj via video conferencing. The Israeli prime minister will have a number of engagements in Mumbai on 18 January. The Israeli embassy had said that Netanyahu will meet with Jewish community leaders and select members of the Indian business community in Mumbai. The Israeli embassy said he will reach out to Bollywood in an exclusive "Shalom Bollywood" event. In Mumbai, he will also attend a ceremony at the Chabad House, which will be attended by Moshe Holtzberg, the 11-year-old whose parents were killed during the 26/11 terror strike. Netanyahu will return to Israel on Friday afternoon from Mumbai. With inputs from agencies Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in India on a six-day visit, during which he will hold talks with Narendra Modi. This is only the second visit by an Israeli leader to India. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in India on Sunday on a "historic" six-day visit, during which he will hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Netanyahu said that the visit would provide him with an opportunity to enhance bilateral cooperation with a "global economic, security, technology and tourism power". "We are strengthening ties between Israel and this important global power. This serves our security, economic, trade and tourism interests, as well as many other areas. This is a great blessing for the state of Israel," Netanyahu said before his visit. Netanyahu's visit to India is only the second one by an Israeli prime minister and comes after a gap of 15 years. The visit also marks 25 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations. His visit assumes even more significance as it comes just over six months after the visit of Modi to Israel, the first ever Indian prime ministerial visit to the West Asian nation. While Netanyahu's visit comes days after India voted against Israel at the UN on the Jerusalem issue, Netanyahu's visit to India is expected to focus on economic issues and Palestine will not be the central part of discussions with Modi, Israeli daily Jerusalem Post reported. Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a "marriage made in heaven", Netanyahu said that even though the Jewish state was "disappointed" by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. Netanyahu said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. "Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward," Netanyahu said when asked to comment on India's vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits," he told 'India Today' in an interview. Last month, India joined 127 other countries to vote in the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The resolution was approved with 127-9 at the UN General Assembly. "First of all, there is a special relationship between the two countries, between their people and then between the leaders. The partnership between India and Israel is a marriage made in heaven but consecrated on earth," Netanyahu said. The Jerusalem Post also quoted un unnamed Israeli diplomatic officials as saying they did not expect India's vote against Israel on the Jerusalem issue in the UN General Assembly last month to cloud the visit. "The issue is behind us," one diplomatic official said. Modi broke protocol to receive Netanyahu at the airport Setting aside protocol, Modi received his Israeli counterpart with a hug upon his arrival. "Welcome to India, my friend PM @netanyahu! Your visit to India is historic and special. It will further cement the close friendship between our nations," Modi tweeted in English and Hebrew. Welcome to India, my friend PM @netanyahu! Your visit to India is historic and special. It will further cement the close friendship between our nations. @IsraeliPM #ShalomNamaste pic.twitter.com/sidgMmA1fu Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 14, 2018 Netanyahu, who arrived with his wife Sara and a high-level business delegation, tweeted, "We have landed in India. Thank you to my good friend Narendra Modi for the warm welcome!" Netanyahu also shared a video of Modi's greeting, saying, "Thank you to my good friend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who surprised me with a personal welcome at the airport upon my arrival in India. Together we will bring the relations between our countries to new heights!" We have landed in India. Thank you to my good friend Narendra Modi for the warm welcome! https://t.co/mLsGxZT1E7 Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) January 14, 2018 Thank you to my good friend, Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi , who surprised me with a personal welcome at the airport upon my arrival in India. Together we will bring the relations between our countries to new heights! pic.twitter.com/bPZftC4caF Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) January 14, 2018 According to Israeli officials, Netanyahu was pleasantly surprised by Modi welcoming him at the airport. "I very much appreciate the gesture," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by officials. During Modi's visit to Israel last year, Netanyahu had also received the Indian prime minister at the airport. In another tweet later in the afternoon, the Israeli prime minister tweeted, "My first visit to India, a world power that is strengthening its relations with Israel. I am excited about this historic week that will further strengthen Israel's international standing." Teen Murti Chowk renamed after Israeli city Haifa Modi and Netanyahu later attended a ceremony to rename Teen Murti Chowk in central Delhi as Teen Murti-Haifa Chowk. They also laid a wreath and signed the visitor's book at the memorial. In the visitor's book, Modi wrote that he saluted the "great Indian traditions of selfless sacrifice and penance" of Indian soldiers, who laid down their lives during the liberation of the city of Haifa and the First World War. In the presence of PM @netanyahu, paid tributes to the brave Indian soldiers who fought at Haifa. The spot where we commemorate their sacrifice will now be called Teen Murti - Haifa Chowk. pic.twitter.com/WmXdS6pE7F Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 14, 2018 "One of these pages was written 100 years ago, in the sacrifice of Indian soldiers at Haifa. The sacrifice commemorated at Teen Murti observes its centenary. Naming this spot as Teen Murti-Haifa Chowk marks this historic occasion. In the presence of the prime minister of Israel, we pay homage to the brave soldiers," Modi wrote in the visitor's book. The three bronze statues at Teen Murti represent the Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Mysore Lancers who were part of the 15 Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade. The brigade carried out the victorious assault on the fortified city of Haifa on 23 September, 1918, during World War I. There are various accounts of this battle all narrate the valour with which the lancers undertook the assault on the garrisoned city protected by a joint force of Ottomans, Germany and Austria-Hungary. Till date, the 61 Cavalry celebrates 23 September as its Raising Day or "Haifa Day". The renaming gesture underscores the special link and the common history between Israel and India, Netanyahu said after the event. Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "This gesture underscores the special link and the common history between Israel and India." pic.twitter.com/HyBgZb5k00 PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 14, 2018 External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the memorial was renamed "in memory of supreme sacrifice by Indian soldiers to liberate Haifa in 1918". Forty-four Indian soldiers were killed during the liberation of the city in World War I. Sushma Swaraj calls on Netanyahu External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Netanyahu at the at Taj Diplomatic Enclave in New Delhi. During the meeting, Netanyahu told Swaraj that he was overwhelmed by the warmth he received upon his arrival. He also said that his visit can catapult bilateral ties to the next level. Swaraj said that at the meeting, they held, "Warm and engaging conversation on various aspects of our bilateral ties aimed at strengthening our strategic partnership." EAM @SushmaSwaraj called on @IsraeliPM Benjamin Netanyahu. Warm and engaging conversation on various aspects of our bilateral ties aimed at strengthening our strategic partnership. #ShalomNamaste pic.twitter.com/u50qosUxmM Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 14, 2018 Netanyahu also tweeted about this interaction, saying, "We are here in India on a historic visit. It is important for the State of Israel that one of the world's major powers wants to develop close relations in many areas economics, trade, security and agriculture." We are here in India on a historic visit. It is important for the State of Israel that one of the world's major powers wants to develop close relations in many areas economics, trade, security and agriculture. pic.twitter.com/manzS6Ab3C PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) January 14, 2018 Later, Modi hosted a private dinner for Netanyahu and his wife at his official residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Delighted to welcome Mrs. Netanyahu and PM @netanyahu to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. @IsraeliPM pic.twitter.com/FDI4MJlKBq Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 14, 2018 Netanyahu's itinerary for his stay in India During the Israeli prime minister's visit, several MoUs, including in the field of defence, oil and gas, renewable energy, amended protocol for airports, cybersecurity, and co-production of films and documentaries are expected to be signed between the two nations. Netanyahu will be formally welcomed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, on Monday followed by a visit to Rajghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi. During his stay, Netanyahu will also visit Gujarat and Mumbai. On 15 January, Netanyahu will meet the Indo-Israeli CEO forum in New Delhi and address a separate business event. He will deliver a speech at the Raisina Dialogue on 16 January. Netanyahu will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind. He will then leave for Ahmedabad on the morning of 17 January. In Ahmedabad, he will visit the Sabarmati Ashram. Modi and Netanyahu will also visit the Center of Excellence in Vadrad and inaugurate a Center of Excellence for date palms in Bhuj via video conferencing. The Israeli prime minister will have a number of engagements in Mumbai on 18 January. The Israeli embassy had said that Netanyahu will meet with Jewish community leaders and select members of the Indian business community in Mumbai. The Israeli embassy said he will reach out to Bollywood in an exclusive "Shalom Bollywood" event. In Mumbai, he will also attend a ceremony at the Chabad House, which will be attended by Moshe Holtzberg. Fondly known as baby Moshe, the 11-year-old's parents were killed in the Chabad House during the 26/11 terror strike, which had come under attack. Netanyahu will return to Israel on Friday afternoon from Mumbai. With inputs from agencies Here is the full text of the speech of Narendra Modi made at Hyderabad House in New Delhi after receiving Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after receiving Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning, accompanied him to Hyderabad House in New Delhi to start delegation level talks. While recalling his visit to Israel in 2017, Modi referred to the joint efforts of India and Israel in agriculture, science and technology and security. The visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India (14-19 January) commemorates the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv in 1992. Here's the full text of Modi's speech delivered at Hyderabad House. Your Excellency Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Members of the media, It is a great pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on his first ever visit to India. (My good friend, Welcome to India!) Your visit, Prime Minister, is a long-anticipated moment in the journey of friendship between India and Israel. Your visit is also a fitting climax to the commemoration of 25 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. As our first honoured guest in 2018, your visit marks a special beginning to our New Year calendar. It comes at an especially auspicious time as people all over India are rejoicing the arrival of spring, renewal, hope and harvest. The festivals of Lohri, Bihu, Makar Sankranti, and Pongal celebrate the splendour of Indias diversity and unity. Friends, Last year in July, I carried the greetings and friendship of 1.25 billion Indians during my momentous journey to Israel. In return, I was overwhelmed by the generous affection and warmth of the Israeli people, led by my friend, Bibi. In that visit, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I promised each other and our people to build a strategic partnership: of hope and trust and progress of diverse and cutting-edge cooperation, and of joint endeavours and shared successes Such a promise flows as much from the natural affinity and friendship that have linked us for centuries as it does from the compelling win-win case for engagement in almost all spheres . And it is a measure of our shared ambition and commitment that six short months after that visit; your extraordinary visit is taking place to India. Today and yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I reviewed the progress in our relations and renewed our conversation on the possibilities and the opportunities that beckon us and need to be seized. Our discussions were wide-ranging and intensive. They were marked by the desire to do more. Prime Minister, I have a reputation of being impatient in getting results. If I may let out an open secret, I know that so are you. Last year in Tel Aviv, you had expressed the intent to cut down bureaucratic red tape with a machete and forge ahead with speed. Prime Minister, I am happy to tell you that in India, we are well on our way to doing just that. We have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions. The results are already visible on the ground. Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and to scale up our partnership. We will pursue this in three ways: First, we will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology, and security. We exchanged views on scaling up the Centers of Excellence that have been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation by bringing in advanced Israeli practices and technology. In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalized FDI regime to make more in India with our companies. Second, we are venturing into less explored areas of cooperation, such as oil & gas, cyber security, films, and start-ups. You will find this reflected in the agreements that were just exchanged. Several of these areas are indicative of our desire to diversify and broad-base engagement. And third, we are committed to facilitating the flow of people and ideas between our geographies. It requires policy facilitation, infrastructure and connectivity links and fostering constituencies of support beyond Government. We are working with Israel to make it easier for our people to work and visit each others countries, including for longer work durations To bring people closer on both sides, an Indian Cultural Center will soon open in Israel. We have also decided to start an annual exchange of bilateral visits by 100 young people from science-related educational streams. Friends, Thriving two-way trade and investment is an integral part of our vision for a strong partnership. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I agreed on the need to do more in this direction. After the meeting in Tel Aviv last year, we will interact for the second time with our CEOs under the bilateral forum. I welcome the large business component that Prime Minister Netanyahu has brought along with him. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I also exchanged perspectives on the regional and global situation. We reviewed our cooperation as a factor for stability and peace in our regions and the world. Friends, Yesterday, as his first stop after touching Indian soil, Prime Minister Netanyahu joined me at the re-named Teen Murti Haifa Chowk to pay homage to the memory of the brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives a century ago in the Battle of Haifa in Israel. We are both countries that have never forgotten our history and our heroes. And we deeply appreciate this gesture by Prime Minister Netanyahu. As we look to the future of this exciting partnership with Israel, I am filled with hope and optimism. In Prime Minister Netanyahu, I have a counterpart who is equally committed to taking the India-Israel relationship to soaring new heights. Finally, I am delighted to have the chance to be with you, Prime Minister, in my home state, Gujarat, day after. There, we will have another opportunity to see the fulfilment of the promise, which our mutual cooperation holds in diverse areas such as agriculture, technology, and innovation. I wish Prime Minister Netanyahu, Mrs Netanyahu and the delegation a memorable stay in India. Thank you very much. Toda Rabah! The entire text has been taken exactly as posted in a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs and has not been edited by Firstpost. As two elected representatives of the BJP, including a union minister, cite rising Muslim population as a threat to India, the facts reveal otherwise. By Chaitanya Mallapur As two elected representatives of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including a union minister, cite rising Muslim population as a threat, the facts are: Muslim mothers have three children on average, while Hindus have two, but fertility rates are falling, and Muslim population growth is at a 20-year low. No more than 18.4 percent of Indians will be Muslim by 2050, from 14.4 percent in 2011, and after 32 years, three in four Indians will be Hindu, according to a FactChecker analysis of available data. Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Jain fertility rates are lower than that of Hindu and Muslim. On 1 January, 2018the year eight states go to the pollsunion minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises Giriraj Singh said a growing population, especially Muslims, is a threat to the social fabric, social harmony, and development of the country, and Banwari Lal Singhal, a BJP legislator from Rajasthan said while Hindus have one or two children and focus on educating them, Muslims worried about (sic) how to take over the nation by increasing their population. The latest figures on children per mother by a religious group are more than a decade old, sourced from National Family Health Survey, 2005-06 (NFHS-3). Hindu and Muslim fertility rates are falling at an equal pace, data shows. Despite the decadal increase in the proportion of Muslims in India from 13.4 percent in 2001 to 14.4 percent, as per Census 2011, Muslim population growth recorded a 20-year low in 2011falling to 24.6 percent from 32.8 percent in 1991, a decline, as we said, similar to that of Hindus (22.7 percent in 1991 to 16.7 percent in 2011). Despite the four-percentage-point rise in the proportion of Muslims over the next 32 years, there is no likelihood they canas the BJP leaders suggestoutnumber Hindus, according to projections made in 2015 by Pew Research Center, a think-tank based in the US. Muslims want to take over nation by increasing population: Rajasthan legislator Hindus giving birth to only one or two children and are worried about educating them, said Singhal. But Muslims worried (sic) about how to take over the nation by increasing their population; education and development have no significance to them. Its my personal opinion." "Hindus giving birth to only 1 or 2 children & are worried about educating them.But Muslims worried about how to take over the nation by increasing their population,education & development has no significance to them. Its my personal opinion."says Rajasthan BJP MLA BL Singhal pic.twitter.com/Jstjr5R5zN ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2018 Singhals statement generated discussion and debates on television channels and social media. BJP MLA Banwari Lal Singhal, from Alwar, has triggered a massive row by alleging that Muslim were deliberately giving birth to more children in order to out number Hindus by 2030. Report by Arvind Singh in conversation with @roypranesh #BigotBanwari pic.twitter.com/2V8xOkVygZ TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 1, 2018 In a similar statement to Singhals, union minister Singh said: The growing population of the country, especially Muslims, is a threat to the social fabric, social harmony, and development of the country. The growing population of the country, especially Muslims, is a threat to the social fabric, social harmony, and development of the country: Union Minister Giriraj Singh pic.twitter.com/iM8nDRwoif News18 (@CNNnews18) January 2, 2018 In brief, these are the claims made: Claim 1 - Hindus give birth only to one or two children; Muslims worried about how to take over the nation by increasing their population: Singhal Claim 2 - Growing Muslim population is a threat to social fabric, social harmony and development of the country: Giriraj Singh Lets explore these claims in detail. Fact 1 - 2.6 births per Hindu woman, 3.4 births per Muslim woman: NFHS 3 The rise in population is linked to the total fertility rate (TFR), the number of children a woman has over her childbearing years. Indias TFR has declined from 3.4 in 1992-93 (NFHS 1) to 2.2 in 2015-16 (NFHS 4). The latest data have not made TFR by religion available. The TFR for Hindus in 2005-06 was 2.6 births per woman and 3.4 for Muslims, according to NFHS 3, the latest available fertility rate by religion. The fertility rate among Hindus and Muslims saw a similar declining trend of 0.2 percentage points each, according to our comparison of NFHS 3 and NFHS 2 (1998-99) data. The fertility rate for Indian Muslim women fell from 4.1 in 2001 to 3.2 in 2010 and is expected to be 2.1 by 2050, FactChecker reported, quoting from a Pew report. Hindu fertility rates are 2.5, expected to fall to 1.9 by 2050, below the replacement levela point at which population stabilisesof 2.1. Indias Muslim community will expand faster than its Hindu population, rising from 14.4 percent in 2010 to 18.4 percent in 2050, the Pew report said. But, even with this increase, Hindus will make up more than three-in-four Indians (76.7 percent) in 2050. Indeed, the number of Hindus in India will still be larger than the five largest Muslim populations in the worlds biggest Muslim countries (India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Bangladesh) combined. Fertility rates in India are more closely related to education levels and the socio-economic development within a state, than to religious beliefs, IndiaSpend reported. Richer families, states with better health facilities and higher female literacy have lower fertility rates, the analysis revealed. Fact 2 - Muslim population growth at 20-year low; Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists have least children India is home to more than 1.21 billion people: 79.8 percent Hindu (966 million), 14.2 percent Muslim (172 million), 2.3 percent Christian (28 million) and 1.7 percent Sikh (20 million), among major religious groups, according to Census 2011 data. Over the decade to 2011, Indias population grew 17.7 percent. Muslim population grew fastest at 24.6 percent, followed by Hindu (16.8 percent), Christian (15.5 percent), Sikh (8.4 percent) and Buddhist (6.1 percent), according to census 2011 data released by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner in August 2015. The proportion of Muslims in Indian population increased from 13.4 percent in 2001 to 14.2 percent in 2011; the proportion of Hindus declined from 80.5 percent in 2001 to 79.8 percent in 2011; Sikhs decreased from 1.9 percent to 1.7 percent over the same period. There was no change in Christian and Jain proportions. Based on the data released by the government in August 2015, media reports also pointed out that Islam was the fastest growing religion in India. However, as we said, Muslim population growth fell to a 20-year low to 24.6 percent in 2011, the proportion of Muslims increasing across all states. The decadal population growth rates of both Hindus22.7 percent (1991), 19.9 percent (2001), 16.7 percent (2011)and Muslims32.8 percent (1991), 29.5 percent (2001), 24.6 percent (2011)are declining. The growth rate of Muslim population will continue to decline and will stabilise to the rate of Hindu population growth, Ram Puniyani, a social activist and former professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, wrote in Countercurrents.org, an online opinions portal. Interestingly, the population increase of Hindus during the period of 2001 to 2011 has been 133 millions (sic), which is close to the total population of Muslims in 2001, wrote Puniyani. The scare being spread through (a) word-of-mouth campaign and through social media about Muslim population taking over the Hindu population holds no water, as there are clear trends of decline in the decadal rate of growth of (the) Muslim population as well. FactChecker is fact-checking initiative, scrutinising for veracity and context statements made by individuals and organisations in public life. The security of the iconic Victoria Memorial Hall in the city was on Monday handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Kolkata: The security of the iconic Victoria Memorial Hall in the city was on Monday handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The Victoria Memorial Hall, a magnificent makrana marble edifice built between 1906-1921 by Lord Curzon in memory of Queen Victoria, is a museum under the union ministry of culture. Built in the India-Saracenic style and incorporating Mughal elements, the museum houses a collection of rare and antique books and paintings. The museum secretary and curator Jayanta Sengupta said 30 CISF personnel took over the manning the gates of the sprawling grounds and guarding its boundary from this afternoon. "The handing over to CISF is part of the revamping of the surveillance system of the heritage Victoria Museum Hall and the museum authorities will bear the cost of the deployment of the personnel who will be armed with all modern surveillance equipment," Sengupta said. The museum authorities will also bear the salary bill of the deployed personnel, he said. Issues like accommodation of the personnel were recently solved at the intervention of the culture ministry, which was keen that the paramilitary force was deployed at the earliest, he said. In 2004 after the theft of Tagore's Nobel medallion from Visva-Bharati and a fifth-century Buddha bust from Indian Museum, a PIL had been filed in Supreme Court highlighting the security lacunae of museums. On 15 February, 2015, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to take steps to bolster security. Former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising on Monday demanded an 'independent and impartial' probe into the alleged mysterious death of judge BH Loya. New Delhi: Senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising on Monday demanded an "independent and impartial" probe into the alleged mysterious death of CBI judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya and asked why the Chief Justice of India did not initiate a suo motu inquiry into the issue. At a public meeting organised by the All India People's Forum (AIPF), Jaising also called for support of the four Supreme Court judges who had come out and addressed the public last week. "When judge Loya died, the Chief Justice of India should have initiated a suo motu inquiry. Why was it not done?...These four judges have done us a big favour by coming out and addressing the press. By showing that there can be transparency in the judiciary. By showing that people like you and me have a right to know," she said. Jaising also queried if the executive was interfering with the functioning of the judiciary in the case of death of judge Loya. She said lawyers and bar associations can protect independency of judiciary, adding that all governments want a "loyal judiciary" and we (lawyers) can prevent this from happening. Journalist Niranjan Takle, who had written an article on the death of judge Loya, raised questions on who convinced the judge Loya's family members that the death was due to natural causes. Judge Loya's son, Anuj on Sunday in a press conference said that his family has no suspicions now regarding the death, and that they don't want to be victims of any political issue. Retired Bombay High Court judge Justice BG Kolse Patil, who also attended the public meeting, sought an independent probe into judge Loya's death case and said the "credibility of the judiciary was at stake" after his death. He also said that it was the golden day in the history of judiciary when four Supreme Court judge came out before media. Congress MLC from Amethi Deepak Singh was caught on camera abusing a police officer, a media report said. Congress MLC from Amethi Deepak Singh was caught on camera abusing a police officer, a media report said. Singh, however, said, "We were only trying to prevent some people from abusing. I was only trying to pacify the crowd and convince the superintendent of police." The clashes happened in Salon where Congress president Rahul Gandhi was attending an event. #BREAKING | We were only trying to prevent some people from abusing. I was only trying to pacify the crowd and convince the SP: Deepak Singh, Congress MLC to CNN-News18 pic.twitter.com/zybTcvZuvS News18 (@CNNnews18) January 15, 2018 Heated argument between Police officials and Amethi MLC Deepak Singh during the clashes which erupted in Salon where Congress President Rahul Gandhi was attending an event. #UttarPradesh pic.twitter.com/D3KSQOQnhA ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 15, 2018 Singh is close to the Gandhi family and a native of Rae Bareli, CNN-News18 said. BJP MLA Dal Bahadur Kori, however, said, "We were attacked by Congress worker." Clashes erupt in #UttarPradesh's Salon where Congress President Rahul Gandhi was attending an event, police intervene; BJP MLA Dal Bahadur Kori says, 'we were attacked by Congress workers'. pic.twitter.com/IGiVcMgtmF ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 15, 2018 On Monday, Rahul Gandhi visited his parliamentary constituency of Amethi for the first time as Congress president, exactly one month after he took over from his mother Sonia at the helm of India's oldest political party. For welcoming him, a poster had been put up by Congress workers which created a ruckus in Amethi. According to DNA, the poster, portraying Rahul as Lord Ram and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Ravana, created chaos in Amethi a day before the visit. On Sunday, shortly after Modi welcomed Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in India, the Congress posting a satirical video of the embraces the prime minister has shared with other world leaders. Sreejith's brother's case highlights the rising number of policemen involved in criminal cases in Kerala, which has seen an uptick with each passing year. Kerala has one of the highest education and media exposure levels in the country. Yet, no one took notice of a 30-year-old youth sitting on dharna in front of the state secretariat for more than 760 days, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of his elder brother while he was in police custody. A social media post about the one-man crusade of Sreejith, however, saw hundreds of netizens from across the state marching to the capital on 14 January in support of the youth. The apolitical protestors included youths, senior citizens, women and several celebrities. Some came from as far as the northern districts of Kannur and Kasargod. The multiple protests organised by various Facebook fraternities demanding justice for "non-celebrity Sreejith" continued throughout the day, waking up the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and several other agencies from their deep slumber. While state chief secretary Paul Antony shot off a letter to the Union secretary, department of personnel, seeking his intervention for a CBI probe, the State Human Rights Commission has directed the state police chief to instal CCTV cameras in all police stations, to prevent third-degree brutalities by the police. Sreejith's brother Sreejeev was a victim of such a brutality. He paid with his life for loving the daughter of a police official. The youth was taken into custody by the Parassala police in Thiruvananthapuram district two days prior to the girl's wedding on 19 September, 2014, following rumours that he would elope with her. The police slapped a petty theft case against him. The State Police Complaint Authority (SPCA), which probed the case, came to the conclusion that the youth had died two days later due to brutal physical assault. The probe report submitted by the agency in May 2016 said that the police had made him consume poison in order to make the death look like a suicide. The SPCA held former Parassala circle inspector Gopakumar and assistant sub-inspector Philipose guilty of misconduct and ordered departmental and criminal action against them. The agency also ordered the government to recover Rs 10 lakh from the duo to compensate Sreejith and his mother. Sreejith had launched his agitation before the report came. The government sought to placate him by paying the compensation from the state exchequer. But he continued the agitation saying his struggle was not for money but for justice for his deceased brother. He believed that the Sreejeev's soul would rest in peace only when those responsible for his death were punished. However, the government was not even ready to suspend the two police officials from service. A stay obtained by the cops from the high court came as an excuse for the government. The government took no step to get the stay vacated. When pressure mounted, it wrote a letter to the Union home ministry seeking a CBI probe but the plea was turned down by the CBI, saying that the case was not rare and exceptional warranting the central agency investigation. The attempt by the government, headed by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who claims himself to be a victim of police brutalities, to shield the police officials has come as a surprise to social activists. Advocate Harish Vasudevan said that the chief minister, who holds the home portfolio, has been shying away from action thinking it would affect the morale of the police. "He doesn't realise that shielding criminals in the police would only encourage such elements to continue with their criminal activities and deter people to approach the police. This is the major reason why the police brutalities are continuing in Kerala," he added. No wonder, the number of policemen involved in criminal cases in the state has been showing a rising trend every passing year. According to information provided under the Right to Information Act, there were 1,134 police personnel in the state as on April 2017 against whom criminal cases have been registered. The cases included murder, atrocities against women, sexual offences, forgery, assault on complainants, violation of traffic rules, illegal financial transactions, threatening, drunken brawls etc. Apart from this, around seventy officials, including an ADGP and eight deputy SPs face vigilance probes for various offences. Most of these officials are continuing in service with the criminal tag. The present chief minister had promised he will end custodial torture after he was sworn in. He had urged the police to adopt scientific methods in dealing with persons taken into custody in connection with various cases. Yet, the state has witnessed as many as eight cases of custodial deaths during his term so far, according to KA Pouran, president of Kerala chapter of the People's Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL). He said none of the policemen involved in the cases had been arrested so far. Pouran told Firstpost that such cases were on the rise because of the failure of the government to take action against the guilty. This is mainly because of the connections they have with the political class. The most sensational custodial death case in the state was that of Kozhikode engineering college student P Rajan during the Emergency. His father, TV Eachara Warrier, had to wage a long battle to bring out the truth that led to the resignation of the then chief minister late K Karunakaran. A recent case to rock the state was that of V Sampath, who died while in the custody of Palakkad South police in 2010, after he was arrested in connection with a murder. The CBI team that investigated the case found five cops, including two IPS officers, involved in the custodial torture of Sampath, a casual labourer. "Police force in Kerala is one of the most educated in the country. However, they lack in professional education. Therefore, they still rely on third-degree methods in dealing with the criminals. Even senior police officers, who have received scientific training are not free from this malaise," he added. Former state police chief TP Senkumar said that there were more lawbreakers in the top echelons of the force than the constabulary. The percentage of criminals among lower ranking officers was one percent, while it was four to five percent in the IPS, he said. The sole threat the police faced was from within its own ranks. Felons inside the force often create problems, Senkumar added. In another case of brutal sexual assault in Haryana, a 50-year-old man was arrested for allegedly mutilating the private parts of a 10-year-old girl by inserting a wooden object, police said on Monday. Chandigarh: In another case of brutal sexual assault in Haryana, a 50-year-old man was arrested for allegedly mutilating the private parts of a 10-year-old girl by inserting a wooden object, police said on Monday. The incident, which took place on in an area near Pinjore, comes barely days after two minor Dalit girls were allegedly raped and killed in separate incidents in the state. In one of the cases, a 15-year-old school student was brutally assaulted and her private parts mutilated. The girl's family has lodged a complaint, following which the man was arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Assistant Sub-Inspector, Pinjore police station, Brij Pal said. The man, who is a distant relative of the victim, allegedly inserted a wooden object into her private parts, police said. The officer said that as per the complaint given to the police the accused had not raped the girl, but assaulted her in a brutal manner. "According to the complaint, the accused mutilated the private parts of the girl," Pal said. The girl's mother found her crying and rushed her to a hospital in Panchkula. The crime was allegedly committed when she was playing outside her house, he said. The matter is being investigated. The man and the girl's family hail from Uttar Pradesh and have been living in an area near Pinjore for the past many years, the assistant sub-inspector said. Opposition Congress in Haryana has alleged that these shocking incidents were a grim reminder of how the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated in the past three years. These cases come close on the heels of another incident last month, in which a six-year-old girl was raped and killed in Haryana's Uklana area in Hisar district. Two minor Dalit girls were allegedly raped and killed in separate incidents in Haryana, barely a month after a similar case involving a six-year-old girl shook the state. Two minor Dalit girls were allegedly raped and killed in separate incidents in Haryana, barely a month after a similar case involving a six-year-old girl had shook the state. Police said that one of the girls, a 15-year-old Class X student, had been brutally assaulted and her private parts mutilated. The body of the other victim, an 11-year-old girl, was found in a village in Panipat district on Sunday morning, a police official said. The official said she was abducted by two men on Saturday evening when she had gone out of her house to throw garbage in the village dumpyard. Rahul Sharma, superintendent of police, Panipat, told PTI over the phone that two men who lived in her neighbourhood were arrested on Sunday for the crime. After abducting her, the accused took her to a house, where they allegedly raped and strangled her. They also burnt her clothes in a bid to destroy evidence, the SP said. The 15-year-old girl had been missing since Tuesday. She left home to attend tuition classes, but never returned. Her body was found near a canal at Budha Khera village in Jind district's Safidon town on Saturday, the police said. The girl, who belonged to a village in Kurukshetra district, had been brutally assaulted, an official said. Her private parts were mutilated and some of her vital organs had been ruptured, the official said. She was a Class X student, the police said, according to a report on NDTV. It said the girl's body was found with 19 severe injuries and signs of ''unspeakable torture''. "The body had many injury marks, the private parts were mutilated and there were lot of internal injuries. Signs of sexual assault are visible and looks like three-four people were responsible, a hard and blunt thing was inserted inside her, signs of drowning also found," SK Dattarwal, a doctor at PGI Rohtak was quoted as saying by NDTV. According to a Hindustan Times report, the police have detained six people from the victim's native village of Jhansa in Kurukshetra district. The main accused is a Class XII student who lives in the victim's neighbourhood. The police, however, is trying to verify his age, the report added. Two special investigation teams (SITs) under DSP-rank officers have been constituted to probe the incident, the Jind police said. Responding to the incidents, former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday said there was a complete breakdown of law and order in the state. Hooda said the BJP government had failed to put a check on the rising crime graph. Demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits, he said, "This government has failed on all fronts. The law and order situation has completely broken down. Children are neither safe in schools nor in their homes. Such heinous crimes are increasing, but the government seems to be in slumber." The two incidents come close on the heels of another incident last month, in which a six-year-old girl was violently raped and killed in Uklana area in Haryana's Hisar district. Some unidentified men had allegedly abducted the girl when she was sleeping with her sister and mother at their home in a slum area. Doctors who conducted the post-mortem examination had said that the accused had inserted a wooden stick into the girl's private parts, which ruptured her intestine. "When the body was handed over to us, it was soaked in blood," a kin of the girl had told reporters. The brutal rape of the six-year-old, and the recent savage incidents, were a stark reminder of the 16 December 2012 incident, in which a physiotherapy intern was raped by a group of a men in a moving bus and a rod was inserted into her body. She died in a hospital 13 days later. With inputs from agencies India and Israel on Monday signed nine agreements, including in the areas of cyber security and oil and gas, following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu in Delhi. India and Israel on Monday signed nine agreements, including in the areas of cyber security and oil and gas, following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu in Delhi. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cyber security was signed. A second MoU was signed between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Israel's Ministry of Energy in oil and gas sector. A protocol between India and Israel on amendments to the air transport agreement was also signed. Another agreement was on film-co-production between India and Israel. A third MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Centre of Israel, related to cooperation in the field of research in homeopathic medicine. Another MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field of space was signed. A memorandum of intent was on Invest India and Invest in Israel. Indian Oil and Israel's Phinergy Ltd signed a letter of intent for cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries. Another letter of intent between Indian Oil and Israel's Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd was signed for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies. Here's the full list. MoU on Cyber Security Cooperation between India and Israel MoU between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Energy on Cooperation inOil and Gas Sector Protocol between India and Israel on Amendments to theAir Transport Agreement Agreement on Film-co-production between India and Israel MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Cooperation in the field of Research inHomeopathic Medicine MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field ofspace Memorandum of Intent between Invest India and Invest in Israel Letter of Intent between IOCL and Phinergy Ltd. For cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries Letter of Intent between IOCL and Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived in New Delhion Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. With inputs from IANS Here's the full text of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, in which he mentioned the 26/11 attacks and lauded India's tolerance. In his address at Hyderabad House of Delhi during his six-day visit to India, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled "the horrific savagery in Mumbai(26/11 attacks)" and said India and Israel "will never give in and will fight back". He noted that India's Jews have never experienced anti-Semitism and mentioned this as an example of tolerance in India. He said that India and Israel are ushering a 'new era' in the bilateral relations between the two countries. Here is the full text of the Israeli prime minister's speech. "Thank you my friend, Prime Minister Modi, Narendra. Thank you for your exceptional friendship and hospitality that you showed me, my wife, and our delegation. I was deeply moved today in the celebration at the ceremony. It was an expression not only of the honor you showed me but the honor you showed the people of Israel and the State of Israel. You are a revolutionary leader in the best sense of the word 'revolution'. You are revolutionizing India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into the future and you have revolutionized the relationship between Israel and India. I'm the son of a historian. Our peoples have had thousands of years of history. India and Israel are two of the most ancient civilizations on earth and yet it is an amazing fact that until you visited Israel no leader of India in 3,000 years of our own sovereign existence and our history has visited Israel. You are the first leader of a state, of an Indian state to do this. So it was a groundbreaking visit. It excited the imaginations of all Israelis and of course of the many Israelis of Indian descent, of origin, who came and werehow shall I say thiswell I thought I was in a rock concert but it was a historic event as well. We are ushering today a new era in our relations. We've had diplomatic relations for 25 years but something different is happening now because of your leadership and because of our partnership. There are three things that bind our countries together: The first is that we have an ancient past. The second is that we have a vibrant present. And the third is that we are seizing together a promising future. We are proud of our past, our rich histories, our peoples' contributions to human civilization in language, in literature, in mathematics and medicine, in philosophy and faith. The greatest texts that human beings produced are in Sanskrit and in Hebrew. None greater and none more enduring and we never forget this. More recently, you mentioned, just a century ago, brave Indian soldiers played a vital role in the liberation of the State of Israel and the land of Israel. This led to our Independence. And yesterday I was again deeply moved as we paid tribute to these brave Indian fighters and commanders who gave their lives in that historic fight. We honor their memory as you mark today Indian Army Day. We are proud of our present, of our resilient democracies. Our people are free to say what they want, do what they want, believe what they want and these values and our diversity are not a source of our weakness but the source of our strength. Evidence of this abounds in India where you hear a symphony of dozens of languages and dialects and where Jews, and you mentioned this yesterday Prime Minister, you mentioned the fact that makes India stand out in the community of nations because over 2,000 years the Jews of India have never experienced anti-Semitism as our people experienced in so many other lands. This is a tribute to your civilization, to your tolerance, to your humanity. Israelis and Indians are bound by the kinship of free peoples but I believe that democracy cannot be taken for granted. Despite the doubts, despite the challenges, India and Israel are living proof not only that democracy works but they demonstrate something deeper the intrinsic value of freedom which I believe is the intrinsic value of life. Citizens thrive ultimately it is the free citizens who thrive because they are free and when they are free. Finally, we are proud that we are seizing the future so we can make a better life for our peoples and for others around the world. Our commitment to do so is reflected in the manifold agreements that we sign today in cyber, in aviation, in energy, even in cinema. My wife and I are very happy that we are going to Bollywood, we'd like to see it firsthand, and so many other areas. Israel is a fountainhead of innovation. It's a global force of technology. India abounds with creativity, with ingenuity, with scientists, with mathematicians and I think that when we join our respective talents together we can achieve tremendous things for our people. We can actually achieveyou say we want morePrime Minister Modi and I are the same. We want more for our people, we want it now, we want it yesterday. But one of the things that Israel brings to this world of innovation is that we achieve more with less. More crops with less water, more energy with less expenditure of money. More with less. We want more, a lot more and we can do that even more productively by cooperating. When you and I walked shoeless along the Mediterranean shore, we drank sea water that was purified before our eyes using technology that will save untold lives. India and Israel are working together to provide clean water, to increase crop yields, to keep our people safe from terrorism and other challenges to the future we both seek. You mentioned the areas: Agriculture where I presented to Prime Minister Modi an idea of revolutionizing Indian agriculture as we're revolutionizing Israeli agriculture precision agriculture that goes down to the individual plant. Some plants need more water, some less. We can see it today with big data, with drones, with other instruments of technology to make farmers produce much more crops. More crops with less. We're talking about cooperation in science and technology in every field and we're talking about cooperation in defense so that our people are always safe and always secure. Indians and Israelis know too well the pain of terrorist attacks. We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai. We grit our teeth, we fight back, we never give in. My friend last night you again showed us your tremendous hospitality and when you hosted Sara and me at your home so graciously it was brilliantly lit, illuminated by the national colors of India and Israel and I thought at that moment about your honesty, your passion, you vision, your commitment and it fills me with hope, hope that this new era of India-Israel relations will bring unprecedented benefits to India, to Israel, to all humanity. And finally and this is perhaps the most important statement that I can make here my friend Narendra, any time you want to do a yoga class with me it's a big stretch but I'll be there. Trust me. Thank you very very much. Thank you my friend." The entire text has been taken exactly as posted in a press release by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has not been edited by Firstpost. In a strong message to Pakistan, army chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday said India will scale up 'action' if Islamabad continues supporting terror and infiltration of militants. New Delhi: In a strong message to Pakistan, army chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday said India will scale up "action" if Islamabad continues supporting terror and infiltration of militants. On the 70th Army Day celebrations at the Cariappa Parade Ground, the army chief said any provocative action from Pakistan will lead to a befitting reply. "On the Line of Control (LoC), the Pakistan Army is continuing ceasefire violations and helping terrorists to infiltrate (into India). We are using our might to teach them a lesson. Any provocative action from Pakistan's side will get a befitting reply," he said. "If we are forced, we will scale up the level of our action, and can take other steps." The army chief also said that Pakistan was trying to disrupt social harmony, citing attacks on the Amarnath pilgrims and killing of Jammu and Kashmir policemen and soldiers like Lieutenant Umar Fayaz. "It is an attempt to target our national unity and social fabric. We will not allow these anti-national forces to succeed." Rawat said that in the country's North East, people-friendly operations had curbed terror though some groups were still trying to disrupt peace. "The Indian Army has coordinated with Assam rifles and others to isolate these groups and is continuing operations." He said the government was in talks to ensure return of normalcy to the North Eastern states. Army Day is celebrated on 15 January to commemorate the day when Lt General KM Cariappa took over as Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher in 1949. The Indian Army carried out a 'retaliatory action' against Pakistani troops, killing seven of their soldiers and injuring four others along the LoC in J&k's Poonch district. The Indian Army on Monday carried out a "retaliatory action" against Pakistani troops, killing seven of their soldiers and injuring four others along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The action comes after an Indian soldier was killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday. "Army has carried out retaliation against Pakistani troops across Jaglote area along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district", a senior army officer told PTI. "In the retaliatory action, there were seven fatal casualties to Pakistani troops and four others injured," he said. Sources told The Indian Express that the Pakistani troops resorted to sudden mortar shelling and small arms fire on forward Indian positions along the LoC in Dehri Dabsi area around 10:15 am and the Indian Army retaliated strongly. Meanwhile, the Pakistani government also released a statement: Four soldiers of #Pakistan Army have embraced martyrdom in unprovoked #Indian firing along the Line of Control in Jandrot-Kotli Sector. The troops were busy in line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round by Indian forces. pic.twitter.com/wHLtFdr4nR Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) January 15, 2018 Security forces on Monday also foiled an infiltration bid in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing five Jaish-e-Mohammad militants. A defence spokesman said that five militants were killed. This comes as Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said that India will scale up "action" if Islamabad continues supporting terror and infiltration of militants. "On the Line of Control (LoC), the Pakistan Army is continuing ceasefire violations and helping terrorists to infiltrate (into India). We are using our might to teach them a lesson. Any provocative action from Pakistan's side will get a befitting reply," he said. With inputs from agencies Five militants from Jaish-e-Mohammed's suicide squad were killed on Monday near the Line of Control (LoC) in a joint operation by Jammu and Kashmir Police Srinagar: Five militants from Jaish-e-Mohammed's suicide squad were killed on Monday near the Line of Control (LoC) in a joint operation by Jammu and Kashmir Police, army and paramilitary forces, officials said. Defence spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia said a group of militants was spotted infiltrating from Pakistan into India near Dulanja area of border town Uri some 120 kilometres from Srinagar. The infiltrating militants opened fire at the forces, ensuing into a fierce gun battle that left five militants dead, Colonel Kalia said. Director General of Police SP Vaid tweeted about the operation and said four "suicidal JeM terrorists were killed in Dulanja while infiltrating, in a joint operation by (Jammu and Kashmir) Police, army and (central armed police forces) CAPF". "Keep up the good work," he lauded the forces. Police sources here said all the slain militant were Pakistan nationals. The BJP on Sunday asked Jammu and Kashmir education minister Altaf Ahmed Bukhari 'not to lock horns with the Army chief'. Jammu: The BJP on Sunday asked Jammu and Kashmir education minister Altaf Ahmed Bukhari "not to lock horns with the Army chief", a day after he said General Bipin Rawat should "do his own job" and not meddle in the state's affairs. Rawat had on Friday said social media and government schools in the state were spreading a "disinformation campaign" resulting in radicalisation of youths. He had called for "some control" over mosques and madrasas in the state and suggested a "major revamp" of the education system. Bukhari had then accused the Army of "meddling in the state's affairs". BJP J&K unit spokesperson Brigadier Anil Gupta (retd) in a statement asked "the minister to be pragmatic and accept the reality rather than locking horns" with the Army chief. Gupta said General Rawat's remarks should be viewed positively and not turned into a political issue. The Army chief's "statement was based on his vast experience in the valley and interactions with students at various levels", the BJP leader said. "Even the chief minister has voiced her concern over radicalisation and indoctrination of youths in her recent speech on the floor of the House while replying to the motion of thanks on the Governors address," the statement read. The Army is an important stakeholder in the restoration of peace and normalcy in the state, Gupta said, adding General Rawat was "well within his rights and democratic mandate to voice concern on issues which affect national integration". The issue of safety and operational efficiency of Pawan Hans choppers have again come to forefront after a helicopter, belonging to Pawan Hans Limited, with seven people on board went missing in Mumbai The issue of safety and operational efficiency of Pawan Hans choppers has again come to forefront after a helicopter, belonging to Pawan Hans Limited, with seven people on board went missing in Mumbai soon after take-off from the Juhu airport on Saturday. Six bodies of five ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited) officers, who were aboard, and one of the two pilots were recovered on Sunday. The Coast Guard on Monday traced the aircraft's voice data recorder and fished out one more body from the Arabian Sea, The Telegraph reported. Pawan Hans Limited is a joint venture between the government of India owning 51 percent stakes whereas state-owned ONGC holding 49 percent stakes. As of January 2017, Pawan Hans has a fleet of 46 helicopters. Pawan Hans Limited reported a net profit of Rs 38.8 crore in FY15, The Economic Times reported. The company was incorporated with the objective of providing helicopter support services to the oil sector, services in remote and hilly areas, as well as, for charter services. Pawan Hans' dubious record According to The Times of India, in the past seven years accidents involving Pawan Hans helicopters, including latest crash which killed ONGC executives, have claimed 36 lives. Quoting an RTI query on Pawan Hans, the report added that in a span of three years (2014 to 2016), Pawan Hans had 38 "incidents". "A high incident rate is an indicator of poor safety culture. It's never a result of failings of one department or a section of people," a senior helicopter commander was quoted as saying by The Times of India. In 2015, a Pawan Hans chopper had crashed off Bombay High, an offshore oilfield 176 kilometres off the Mumbai coast. The helicopter, which was conducting night landing practice, was carrying two pilots. Only one body was found, NDTV reported. The chopper had crashed despite one of the most experienced helicopter pilots in the world on board Captain Eeso Samuel who had more than 20,000 hours of flying and was one of the most experienced helicopter pilots in the world. In 2011, a Pawan Hans helicopter carrying the then Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu and four others, crashed in the state's Tawang region, killing all on board, India Today had reported. This Firstpost report from 2011 terming Pawan Hans a 'flying coffin' had said that on 19 April 2011 a Pawan Hans MI 17 helicopter had crashed seconds before touch down at the Tawang helipad killing 17 of the 23 people on board. On 22 September, 2004, Meghalaya was witness to another tragedy involving a Pawan Hans when 10 people died in a crash, including, Meghalaya's chief minister's father-in-law. The blame was put on old helicopters. What is the problem? In a report published in 1989, India Today had said that the shoe-string operation that Pawan Hans was running and the faulty choice of helicopter-was a recipe for disaster. Blaming Pawan Hans' management for growing its operation too fast, the report had said that within two-and-a-half years of its inception - in August 1986 - Pawan Hans was operating a fleet of 42 helicopters from 14 stations, some of them located in the most inhospitable parts of the country. Ironically, despite "being one of the most accident prove helicopter operators", Pawan Hans Limited in 2014 bagged an award for Operational Excellence in Golden Category for the year 2012-13. Not only this, Helicopter Association International (HAI) had conferred Pawan Hans with Operator Safety Award for the year 2014. The government in 2015 had expressed concern over the rising number of crashes involving choppers of Pawan Hans. The then minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma had said that Pawan Hans had taken several remedial measures to improve safety. Managerial mismanagement The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), according to The Times of India report, had carried out an audit at the Andaman and Nicobar base of Pawan Hans four months ago, where a number of engineering and maintenance deficiencies were pointed out. After which, the Pawan Hans top management had issued an order to replace the quality manager and air worthiness manager. However, both continue to hold the posts, added the report. Here's what safety experts have to say After the latest crash, aviation safety experts have called for better precautionary measures by chopper services in the country, Indian Express said. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) prepares a report after every accident. Such reports sometimes fail to zero in on the exact cause of the accident. The nature of such accidents proves that no safety recommendation is followed, Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation expert was quoted as saying by Indian Express With inputs from agencies Pakistan on Monday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to protest the deaths of four of its soldiers in firing across the Line of Control. Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to protest the deaths of four of its soldiers in firing across the Line of Control. The Foreign Office (FO) in Islamabad said in a statement that India violated the ceasefire agreement in Jandrot sub-sector of Kotli sector, "resulting in the martyrdom of four Pakistani soldiers, while injuring five others". The Indian Army had said seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in its retaliatory firing after a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir where an infiltration bid was also foiled with the elimination of five militants of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group. Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces, using heavy mortars," the statement said. He said despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 100 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary in just 15 days, he claimed. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1,900 ceasefire violations," Faisal alleged. He said "deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas and troops carrying out maintenance activities is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws". The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation, he claimed. He also urged India to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the working boundary. He said India should permit the UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control (LoC). A chili cook-off that was set for Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Luminary-Frostbite Volunteer Fire Department has been delayed until Feb. 10. Officials said, "Unfortunately, due to wide spread illness we must postpone this event until 10 February 2018. We would like to thank all of our registered entrants for their support. Those who may not be able to participate on the 10th, please contact us and we'll be more than happy to refund your registration fees. We'll also be personally contacting everyone." The event is a fundraiser for members of the Rhea County High School Color Guard and the LFVFD. This is a challenge event, RCHS Color Guard girls challenging local emergency responders. However, anyone who believes their chili is better than a high school girls' team is eligible to join the fray. Tonya Roberson, wife of 2018 Bledsoe County Road Commissioner candidate Robby Roberson and first paid entrant, said, "Mine will win. Hands down, there's no question about it." To which Olivia Harvey, challenge instigator, retorted, "Excuse me, Mrs. Roberson, but you'll have to prove that." When asked why he's sending his champion, Mr. Roberson responded, "I'm a degreed civil engineer who's spent the past 35 years building and maintaining roads and bridges. I know my limitations and cooking is one of them, so our team's best will participate. I'll hold the salt and pepper shakers." LFVFD's representatives, Michael Steadham and Chief John Hilliard, are being quiet. Really really quiet. There will be chili, coffee/tea, cornbread, chips, condiments... all the fixins. Additional side challenges are rumored but these haven't been substantiated at the time of this submission. There will be trophies for best chili (two), prize for most distant challenger, and a door prize drawing. There will also be a soup lunch for those desiring lighter fare. The fire station is at the crossroads in the heart of downtown Luminary, Tn., in front of the pond, and is the only red and white building in town. Additional information may be obtained at the VFD website. As many as 26 persons, including 10 women, have been arrested in connection with stone-pelting on Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's convoy in Buxar district Patna: As many as 26 persons, including 10 women, have been arrested in connection with stone-pelting on Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's convoy in Buxar district and a high-level probe is underway, an official said on Sunday. "In the last two days, 26 persons have been arrested," the district official said in Buxar. Upset over lack of development, a group of villagers on Friday stoned the convoy in Nandan village during the chief minister's ongoing 'Samiksha Yatra', injuring nearly a dozen security personnel. According to police, when Nitish Kumar was passing through the village, some people urged him to visit the area inhabited by Dalits which they claimed was neglected. But the chief minister ignored the plea, angering the villagers who attacked his convoy. Some youths also shouted slogans against Nitish Kumar. Police had said that nearly a dozen police officials were injured and windscreens of several vehicles damaged in the attack. Five FIRs have been registered in connection with the incident against 99 named and 500-700 unnamed persons. Nitish Kumar on Sunday said he was the "target" of the attack. Patna Divisional Commissioner Anand Kishore visited Buxar on Saturday along with Inspector General of Police (Patna Zone) NH Khan and began a probe. It is not yet known, under what circumstances did Togadia reached there as the report said that he was still only partially conscious and not coherent enough to give a statement. Vishwa Hindu Parishad's national working president Pravin Togadia was found unconscious in Ahmedabad's Shahibaug area, hours after he went 'missing'. Togadia, who is undergoing treatment for hypoglycemia at a hospital in Ahmedabad, was found to have low blood sugar levels. Director of Chandramani Hospital Roop Kumar Agarwal confirmed that Togadia was brought in an unconscious state and said that he was partially conscious and not coherent enough to give a statement, according to the report. Togadia went missing on Monday morning. Investigation by the crime branch revealed that he was last seen at the VHP state headquarters in Paldi area of the city, where he was present since Sunday night. He left the office in an autorickshaw with a "bearded man" around 10.45 am on Monday, and thereafter became untraceable. Before leaving, Togadia told the security staff the he will be back within 30 minutes, PTI reported. His party men alleged that Todadia had been taken away by Rajasthan Police, apparently in a conspiracy hatched by someone 'higher up in the BJP to implicate him in an old murder case, according to IANS. An oncologist himself, Togadia reportedly went missing from the VHP headquarters in the Paldi area in Ahmedabad. However, the mystery over Togadia's disappearance deepened, with a senior police officer maintaining that neither the local Sola police nor the Rajasthan Police arrested him. The police said that a contingent of Rajasthan Police had indeed come to arrest him under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC in an old case, but could not find him at his residence. Meanwhile, around 50 VHP workers created a ruckus at a police station in Ahmedabad, alleging that the police, in connivance with their Rajasthan counterparts, had taken Togadia into custody in connection with a 10-year-old murder case. Angry VHP workers on Monday took to streets after reports said Togadia had been arrested and continued sit-ins even after a Gujarat police statement that he had gone "missing". Alleging that the Sola police helped the Rajasthan Police arrest the VHP's international acting president from Paldi area in Ahmedabad, the workers demanded to know his whereabouts. "We are pretty sure the Rajasthan Police has arrested our leader. They were in the state searching for Togadia in connection with the murder in Rajasthan that took place 10 years ago. "We ask the Gujarat Police to tell us where he is if he has not been arrested," said Raju Patel, the Ahmedabad city VHP general secretary. "We fear that Togadia might be killed by the police in a fake encounter." "The way Togadia has been speaking against the government on many issues... their poll promises, regarding Ram Mandir, many in the government do not like it and they want to silence him," Patel added. The VHP workers tried to block traffic on the busy Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway in western Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the police in Ahmedabad maintained that the Rajasthan Police left the city without making any arrest. "The Rajasthan Police had a search warrant for Togadia but no arrest was made. If the VHP workers allege that Togadia is missing, then we will look into that matter," said Sola Police Station Inspector GS Patel. On 5 January, Togadia also alleged a conspiracy had been hatched against him by a "higher up in the BJP" to implicate and jail him in a 1996 murder case by ensuring he did not get the summons issued against him. The Metropolitan Court on Friday cancelled a non-bailable warrant issued against Togadia, once a powerful figure in the Hindutva camp. "The police did not make those summons available to me. I have received information that this was done purposefully by someone higher up, without the intervention of (state) Home Minister or Chief Minister." Togadia added: "Just like it happened during the Patidar agitation, when (then chief minister) Anandiben Patel said she did not order the lathicharge on agitators, this case is similar. "(Deputy chief minister) Nitin Patel, (Chief Minister) Vijay Rupani wouldn't do that. Why were the summons not made available to me despite my presence in Ahmedabad? Since some time I feel my voice is being gagged. I will later reveal who is behind it all," he added. With inputs from agencies President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted the officers and troops of the Indian Army on the occasion of Army Day New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted the officers and troops of the Indian Army on the occasion of Army Day. On Army Day, greetings to the valiant men and women of the Indian Army, to veterans and to families of those who have worn the uniform. You are our nations pride, the sentinels of our liberty. Citizens sleep securely knowing you are ever awake and ever vigilant #PresidentKovind President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 15, 2018 Modi saluted the Army personnel who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation and said every citizen of the country has "unwavering trust and pride" in the Indian Army. On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen of India has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2018 Our Army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2018 Army Day is celebrated on 15 January every year to mark Field Marshal K M Cariappa's taking over as the first commander-in-chief of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Butcher in 1949. A rocket landed in the premises of the Indian embassy in Kabul on Monday and caused minor damage to a structure in the embassy compound, an MEA statement said. A rocket landed in the premises of the Indian embassy in Kabul on Monday and caused minor damage to a structure in the embassy compound, the Ministry of External Affairs said. "Our Charge d' Affaires informs that all Embassy employees are safe," the MEA said in a statement. A rocket landed in the premises of our Embassy in Kabul a while ago causing minor damage to a structure at rear side of the Embassy compound. No fire or casualties. Our Charge d' Affaires informs that all Embassy employees are safe. Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 15, 2018 According to Zee News, the rocket, fired from an undisclosed location, landed in the 14th Street of Wazir Akbar Khan close to Canadian Embassy in Kabul's PD10. The rocket has clipped the top of the three storied ITBP barracks, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said. A rocket has landed in our Chancery compound in #Kabul. The rocket has clipped the top of the three storied ITBP barracks. There are no casualties. All Indians and staff are safe: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/DBHyowLnQG ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 Earlier, in June 2017, a rocket had landed inside the India House in Kabul, but there were no reports of any injury, Free Press Journal quoted external affairs ministry spokesperson as saying. Irrespective of the side one is supporting, it is clear that the prestige of Indian Judiciary has taken a hit due to the SC judges' rift with CJI Misra. The developments at the Supreme Court of India are at best regrettable. Irrespective of the side one is supporting, each one of us will have to agree that the prestige of Indian Judiciary has taken a hit due to the whole development. The most disturbing consequence of this is that it may have long-term ramifications on the judicial discipline in practice in our country. All other courts in the country are junior to the Supreme Court of India and are constitutionally bound to follow the precedents set by the apex court. It is explicit in the Constitution that the judgments pronounced by the apex court are binding on all lower courts, which also then becomes the law of the land. The precedents of judicial practices and conduct are also implicitly part of the precedent set by the Supreme Court. Therefore, any development in the Supreme Court, positive or negative, is bound to affect the overall health of the judicial system in the country. For instance, the practice adopted by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) of assigning individual cases to specific benches has indeed set a wrong precedent. By virtue of being the master of the roster, the CJI could have only decided the subject matter of the benches and the composition of the benches, but not individual cases. The subject matter here means that the CJI can decide that 'Judge A' will hear criminal cases, this doesn't entail assigning of specific cases. This can be followed by the chief justices of high courts and they can cite the precedent of the CJI doing it in the first place. Also, the four judges coming out in the open in front of the media has also set a wrong precedent, even though we can empathise with their cause. The lower courts can follow suit. Any judge in a high court can hold a press conference against the respective chief justice. Similarly, any magistrate can hold a press conference against the district judge, citing the precedent set by the Supreme Court. This has indeed opened a Pandora's box. It needs to be impressed here that the Judiciary functions in a very different way than the other two organs of the government the Executive and the Legislature. In Judiciary's functioning, there are also rules and laws which are followed without being written. It is because we have chosen to follow the common law tradition of our former colonial masters the British. In globally recognised best judicial practices, ethics and integrity form an inseparable part of the character of a judge. The United Nations has come out with Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, 2002, which recognises the values essential for good judicial conduct. The value which is stressed the most is propriety. It elaborates that not just the presence of propriety but even appearance of it is essential. It is to be noted that the character and personality of a judge need to be very different from that of a politician. The standards of integrity are much higher and even the slightest of impropriety can jeopardise the reputation of a judge. Ideally, the judges in common law traditions are even forbidden to attend any sort of social gathering, for it will impact the judge's impartiality in a case which may come up in front of them involving such people the judge may have socialised with. Therefore, holding a press conference is almost unimaginable. It is common for a politician to face allegations and then return some to his other colleagues, but it is not so for judges. Hence, the development in the Supreme Court needs to be contextualised in such best practices. The court needs to set straight the strains that have now come up. It needs to pass orders specifically stating that these don't form part of the precedent of the court. We can hope that a full court sits and reinstates the dignity and respect the court still commands in the heart of a common Indian. The author is a research fellow with the department of humanities and social sciences, IIT Bombay, Mumbai. He can be reached at raghav10089@gmail.com, Twitter: @raghavwrong Four senior-most Supreme Court judges, who had held an unprecedented press conference and raised issue of assignment of cases on Monday attended court and took up routine work New Delhi: Four senior-most Supreme Court judges, who had held an unprecedented press conference and raised issue of assignment of cases on Monday attended court and took up routine work. The four judges, Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph have taken up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after the 12 January press conference. In the presser, these judges had flagged some problems, including the assigning of cases in the apex court, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court. On Sunday, chief justice of India Dipak Misra had met a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council of India and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh and had assured them that the crisis would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. Click here for LIVE updates. Recent SC, CJI crisis reflects a pattern in which old empire is trying to strike back by rendering institutions dysfunctional through orchestrated attacks. There are many ways to look at last Friday's imbroglio in the Supreme Court. But, like most things in life, the timing of the implosion is significant if not intriguing. That much was wrong inside the grand premises on New Delhi's Tilak Marg has been a poorly kept secret for long. Corruption in the higher judiciary has been spoken of not only in hushed tones inside chambers and corridors but sometimes even in open court. Eminent lawyers like Ram Jethmalani and Shanti Bhushan have submitted to the reigning chief justices of the day names of retired CJIs and judges who, in their view, would have failed the 'Caesar's wife' test. However, in a closed club of senior counsels and former judges, impeachments have been all too rare. Similarly, differences and conflicts between judges are not unknown. As eminent barrister Harish Salve pointed out, anyone making it to the highest judiciary of the land would, by definition, have a "robust intellect". Judges, after all, are also human and it would be highly unnatural if strong individuals do not have occasional disagreements. Salve said in his long years of practice he has seen such bouts of tensions from close quarters and as Solicitor General, he was personally privy to quite a few such situations. But, those were always resolved within closed doors among the bench. Surely, there could not have been a unanimous agreement always and at times brother judges would have had to bury their differences in a spirit of "agree to disagree". A few retired judges like Justice RS Sodhi and Justice Santosh Hegde, who appeared on television, expressed similar views. Unfortunately, this time around, the family linen has tumbled out of the washing machine into the lawns of a judge's residence. Justice Chelameswar's discomfort with the Collegium precedes the present chief justice (he refused to attend Collegium meetings even in CJI TS Thakur's tenure). The current saga ostensibly began with a letter the four senior judges had written to the chief justice a couple of months ago. The concerns raised by them were certainly worthy of consideration. But, Justice Dipak Misra is not the first CJI whose administrative decisions have raised eyebrows. There were other CJIs, during the tenure of these four eminent judges in the Supreme Court, who did not have a lily-white reputation. Not that any of that can be a justification, no specific instances were cited at the press conference at Justice Chelameswar's residence, which can be deemed as posing 'a grave danger to democracy'. It is only after persistent prodding by some journalists and non-journalists (who had gate-crashed into the presser) that Justice Ranjan Gogoi yielded the Judge Loya case had something to do with the impasse. Obviously, more was left unsaid than said, leading to avoidable inferences, insinuations and innuendos. Sections of the media and a few notable members of the bar were quick to extrapolate that the crisis had arisen out of arbitrary decisions of the chief justice in allotting cases between the various benches. While reluctantly admitting the CJI as 'master of the roster', they hinted that his decisions to assign certain 'sensitive' matters to relatively junior judges were not innocuous. Among the political parties, quite predictably Congress with its battery of legal eagles came out all guns blazing. Stopping short of accusing the chief justice of acting at the behest of the government, they questioned his prerogatives. It was repeatedly said that he is at best the first among equals with no special powers and can be held accountable even for administrative decisions. Rahul Gandhi, in an entirely unwarranted intervention, went a step ahead to advise that the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court must hear the Judge Loya case (which many thought was a sheer giveaway of the Congress' game plan). Some loose cannons in the press and from the lawyer fraternity plainly talked of government interference in the Judiciary. However, to a lay observer, if one were to go by the government's track record in the Supreme Court over the last three years, it has been at the receiving end more often than not. In fact, "legal management" was never seen as a forte of the Narendra Modi government unlike the Congress, which has historically been a party of lawyers. Therefore, if the BJP government tried to meddle with the courts, it has certainly not been very successful or effective at that. Dhananjay Mohapatra of The Times of India, one of the most experienced and knowledgeable Supreme Court reporters has compiled a list of cases from the past twenty years to show there is no precedence that "sensitive cases" must go to the senior-most judges. Then, there is also the question of who, or what criterion, determine a case is 'sensitive' or not? On this too, Salve commented tongue firmly in cheek to a TV Channel reporter: "... you should ask these questions to lawyers who handle matters of national interest and not to me, who deals with cases of petty commercial interest". This is what makes the timing of the press conference curious. The letter of the judges released to the press was written several weeks ago. So, what exactly precipitated the showdown? Was Justice Loya's case of such tremendous national importance for the judges to take it to the peoples' court or the "nation" as Justice Chelameswar announced? If that was indeed so does it not betray a certain predisposition in the minds of the four judges, which itself may have been a reason for the CJI to refer it to another bench. This is what lends credence to the theory that there was more to it than meets the eye. It is not for this writer to infer if this could be a spillover of the Medical College bribery case, which the CJI had taken away from Justice Chelameswar's court. While Justice Chelameswar would have reasons to be miffed, it is difficult to believe that someone of his stature would have taken it personally to heart. However, the lawyers who were rebuffed did not make any secret of their hostility and, coincidentally, these are the same people who have been most vocal against the CJI over the weekend. Similarly, it would be tempting to attribute reactions of the Congress to their discomfiture over Justice Misra's order to reopen SIT investigations on the 1984 Sikh riots or his presiding over Ram Janmabhoomi case hearing, that is slated to commence soon. But, that would be entering the realms of speculation, which is best avoided in a legally loaded issue. However, it is clear from the developments of the last few days that the incumbent CJI is isolated among his colleagues of the Collegium and a certain section of the Bar, who have very clear ideological and political affiliations. This reflects a kind of polarisation that one is seeing in many institutions of the country and here Justice Misra is the quintessential "outsider" in an eco-system that was kept watertight till recently. A pattern seems to be emerging in which the old empire is trying to repeatedly strike back by rendering institutions dysfunctional through well engineered and orchestrated attacks. Whether the Supreme Court is its latest target can only be a subject of conjecture. If one were to subscribe to conspiracy theories then this could easily pass as an attempt by elements in the Opposition to impeach by subterfuge since they neither have "justiciable evidence" (as Pratap Bhanu Mehta calls it) nor the numbers in Parliament to move an impeachment motion. All this while, the chief justice himself has not uttered a single word on the issue and is going on with his court work as usual. The government to its credit has maintained a studied silence, calling it an internal matter of the Judiciary. Barring some unconfirmed report of the prime minister's principal secretary being spotted in a car outside the chief justice's residence, it would appear they have at best left the matter to the attorney general's wisdom and standing in the Judiciary. It is entirely possible that after the outburst truce will be restored, the crisis will blow over and the judges will return to the bench, as indeed they have done today. But, the earth would have moved a few inches after the weekend tremors. On Friday, four senior Supreme Court judges chose to break norms and go public with their grievances against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra. Since then, some have said that their tipping point was the decision by the CJI to assign the case regarding Justice BH Loya's death to a bench headed by a relatively junior judge. On Friday, four senior Supreme Court judges chose to break norms and go public with their grievances against the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra. Since then, some have said that their tipping point was the decision by the CJI to assign the case regarding judge BH Loya's death to a bench headed by a relatively junior judge. Though the Loya case was not mentioned in the letter which the four senior (Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph) wrote to the CJI, during the press conference, when one of the media persons asked the judges whether their grievance about allotment of cases also related to the judge Loya case, the judges nodded in the affirmative. Since then, a great deal of air time, digital space, and newsprint has been devoted to the Loya case. To hear the Congress, CPI, a section of the media, and certain legal luminaries supporting the four dissenting judges say it, the survival of our democracy and higher judiciary depended on which bench heard the judge Loya case. Except for an article in Caravan, no case has been made of foul play in the death of judge Loya. So now we have the bizarre situation of judge Loya's 21-year-old son Anuj holding a press conference to announce that there was no foul play in his father's death (judge Loya died of cardiac arrest on 1 December, 2014), even as a section of influential people don't want to believe him and want the Bombay High Court and Supreme Court to institute an inquiry. Anuj, at the Sunday press conference said: Since the past few days, due to media reports, our family is facing a lot of pain. We have no allegation against anyone. We are really pained, we are already trying to get out of this thing Please I request you people, please do not harass us or trouble us. He told PTI, My father died of natural causes, our family is convinced it was a natural death I have made myself clear that we do not have a suspicion It was a natural death. That should have ended the controversy, but it didnt. While arguments are being made that Anuj made this statement under pressure, statements made by Anujs aunt over her suspicions about judge Loyas death and other charges relating to that are still being taken at face value. Judge Loya's death evokes a great deal of curiosity even three years later because when he passed away he was handling the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case, in which BJP president Amit Shah was one of the accused. Any suggestion of foul play in Sheikh's death thus has serious implications, both political and legal. The Caravan story entitled: A Family Breaks its silence: Shocking Details Emerge in Death of Judge Presiding over Sohrabuddins trial was rebutted point by point and almost conclusively rubbished by two investigative reports by The Quint (Judge Loyas Death: Caravan Questions Shoddy Records, Testimonials) and by The Indian Express (CBI judge BH Loyas death in 2014: Nothing suspicious, say two Bombay HC Judges who were at hospital). However, PILs seeking inquiry into judge Loya's death were filed in Bombay High Court and Supreme Court by Bombay Lawyers Association and Tehseen Poonawalla, brother-in-law of Robert Vadra. By going public, the four senior judges wittingly or unwittingly allowed themselves to be dragged into political domain, onto debates in TV studious, corridors of court rooms, government offices, offices of political parties, residences of political leaders, and tea shops. This is not a healthy development. The issue emerging from the public debate is about which judge or bench is competent to hear the Loya case. What the argument that only one of the five top judges either the CJI or one of the senior judges who virtually revolted against him should hear the case means is open to public interpretation. Incidentally, Rahul Gandhi is demanding much the same. As of now, the case is being heard by Justice Arun Mishra, who is 10th in the pecking order of 25 Supreme Court judges. The argument was that Justice Mishra did not have the requisite seniority and experience to hear such a case and the CJIs decision as master of the roster was a case of selective court or bench fixing. It should be noted here that the public places its trust and faith in the institution of the Supreme Court and not individual judges (irrespective of their seniority). By questioning the competence of judges on the basis of seniority, public faith in the institution of the Supreme Court has been dented. A report published in The Times of India entitled: Super Sensitive cases being given to junior SC Judges for last 20 years noted 15 such cases (Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Bofors, LK Advanis trial in Babri Mosque demolition, Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, Best Bakery case, BCCI case, disqualification of MPs and MLAs upon conviction and sentencing of two years or more, Coal Scam, Black Money case) were assigned not to the four senior most judges but to select benches headed by junior judges. The report said such instances did not attract any comment from activist lawyers about possible breach of bench fixing. Let us compare Justice Mishras seniority with the fourth senior most judge Kurian Joseph. While Justice Joseph assumed his post on 3 March, 2013, and is set to retire on 29 November, 2018, Justice Mishra (former Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court and Calcutta High Court) assumed office on 7 July, 2017, and will retire on 2 September, 2020. In fact, by the end of the year, Justice Mishra will move up four spots (two senior judges are retiring this year) to sixth position. Next year, two more judges would retire thus bringing him into the list of the four senior most judges. The question: What difference would a year or two make as to his competence to hear the case? Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Sunday assured a Bar Council of India delegation that the crisis in the Supreme Court resulting from a virtual revolt against him by four colleagues will be sorted out soon, the council chief said. Auto refresh feeds Justice Chelameswar along with Justice Lokur and Kurian Joseph at the venue "The democracy cannot survive without an independent judiciary. All our efforts to convince the Chief Justice have failed," he added. "With no pleasure in our hearts that we do this. But sometimes, the administration of the Supreme Court is not in order. We owe a responsibility to the nation to do this," says Justice Chelameswar. It appears that the four judges are upset with the Chief Justice Dipak Misra When pressed by the media, he acquiesced that this was about the BH Loya death case. "Today we went to the Chief Justice and asked him to do a certain thing," says Justice Chelameswar. "The four of them gave a signed letter to the CJI. We wanted a thing to be done in a particular manner. The thing was done an unsatisfactory manner," said Justice Chelameswar. However, they only had one copy of the letter. They have sent someone to get some photocopies of the letter. The judges try to distribute copies of the letter they gave to the CJI Justice Gogoi says there is nothing else to say, everything is in the letter The judges have risen and the press conference is over Senior Advocate and former president of the SC Bar Association Dushyant Dave in The Indian Express has pointed at serious issues in the constitution of benches and the allocation of work to such benches by the Chief Justice. Bar and Bench had detailed the clash which took place between the CJI and Justice Chelameswar in November in Kamini Jaiswal's petition. Justice Ranjan Gogoi, on being asked if it is about CBI Judge BH Loya said, 'yes' "It's quite shocking. There must have been compelling reasons for the senior-most judges to have adopted this course of action. One could see pain on their faces while they were speaking," SC advocated KTS Tulsi tells ANI. SC judges must have had compelling reason to call for the press conference "Issues don't matter. It is their complaint on administrative matter. They are only 4, there are 23 others. 4 get together and show the Chief Justice in a poor light. It is immature & childish behaviour," Justice R S Sodhi was quoted as saying by ANI. I think all four should be impeached. Four judges cannot come together and speak against the CJI like this. Why should the CJI cow down to them? Retired Delhi HC judge Justice RS Sodhi hits out at Supreme Court judges Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurien Joseph for speaking out against CJI Misra. "We are not mentioning details only to avoid embarrassing the institution but note that such departures have already damaged the image of this instituition to some extent," Supreme Court judges' letter to CJI Dipak Misra. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra will meet Attorney General KK Venugopal shortly after the countrys top judiciary was rocked by an unprecedented press conference by four sitting judges. News18 reports that the meeting will take place at 1.30 pm. "Certain orders... have adversely affected judicial functioning... and independence of High Courts..." In another part, the letter reads, "Well settled... that Chief Justice is only first among equals nothing more, nothing less." The Chief Justice seeks to consult Venugopal on how to move further on this unprecedented development. We can't criticise them, they are men of great integrity and have sacrificed a lot of their legal career, where they could've made money as senior counsels. We must respect them. Prime Minister must ensure that the four judges and Chief Justice of India, in fact, the whole Supreme Court come to one opinion and proceed further, ANI quoted Subramanian Swamy as saying. 1) Is top judiciary being run on whims? 2) Are most senior judges being bypassed by the CJI? 3) Are all big cases against Govt being assigned to "selective" benches 4) Is Govt interfering with highest judiciary? 5) Doesn't CJI need to answer? On Friday, Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph addressed the media to highlight their grievances about how cases are allocated in the Supreme Court. Read the full text of the letter issued by the four Supreme Court judges Sources tell ANI Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad about the allegations made by the four Supreme Court sitting judges. "Deeply sad and pained by the development. Also feel a sense of agony that highest court of land should come under such severe stress that forces judges to address the media," says senior advocate Salman Khurshid. Former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde, was quoted as saying, "It is very unfortunate that the internal dispute of the judiciary was brought out in this manner publicly. What the four judges have done today by holding the press conference to bring out their dispute in public is that theyve denigrated the institution of judiciary... When the judiciary goes for public opinion it spells the end of judiciary." But it comes with a caveat, when the matter involves the Chief himself, the Chief shouldn't be involved in the decision to preserve integrity of the institution. But in this case, Misra didn't follow that procedure at all. The Chief Justice determines which judges/benches hears cases of a particular type (i.e Criminal Appeals go to X, Civil Appeals go to Y, Writs go to Z). When it comes to constituting larger benches though, that becomes CJI's absolute discretion (3 or more judges), just like any boss can decide who gets what special assignments. Ideally, the Chief gets this power cause he's expected to know who's the best person for the job. CJI determines which judges/benches hears cases, but when the matter involves the CJI himself, the chief shouldn't be involved Judges had to come before media and take this unprecedented step. This means that there is a serious dispute, either with Chief Justice of India or some internal dispute, says PB Sawant, former Supreme Court judge on press conference by four sititng Supreme Court judges This proves there's a serious dispute within the judiciary: Former SC judge Soon after the four judges ended their media address, the Chief Justice had called upon Attorney General KK Venugopal to chart his next course of action. According to sources in the Supreme Court, CJI Dipak Misra is likely to make a statement at a special hearing in a short while when the apex court resumes its proceedings for the day. The market crashed to its lowest to 34349.99 points at 12:45 pm, taking a hit by 256 points as compared to the figures at noon before the presser. The Bombay Stock Exchange stood at 34606 points at noon on Friday and fell to 34550.2 points at 12:15 pm, at the time the press conference of the Supreme Court judges began and further fell to 34423.8 at 12:35 pm, exactly five minutes after the press conference ended, plummeting by 183 points in a span of half an hour. The markets responded adversely after four Supreme Court judges held a press conference for the first time in the history of Independent India. Former Maharashtra Advocate General Shreehari Aney says, "I agree, some damage has been done to the office of Chief Justice of India (CJI), but this is not a permanent damage" Going to the press is the last resort. And if the four judges have taken this last resort it also says that there is something seriously wrong with the judiciary. But I wish these issues were settled internally. The required changes within the system should have been brought about internally." By this I dont mean to imply that Im supporting the Chief Justice of India. The four judges have got good reasons to challenge the monopoly of the CJI. But they should have challenged him in the confines of the four walls of the judiciary. There are reasons for people to be aggrieved with the system but unlike other wings the executive and the legislature the judiciary doesnt discuss its disputes in public. It is bound to protect its own integrity. "It is very unfortunate that the internal dispute of the judiciary was brought out in this manner publicly. What the four judges have done today by holding the press conference to bring out their dispute in public is that theyve denigrated the institution of judiciary. If the four judges have taken this last resort it also says that there is something seriously wrong with the judiciary: Santosh Hegde People have the right to know what's going on within the judiciary: Indira Jaisingh "We are very concerned to hear 4 judges of the Supreme Court expressed concerns about the functioning of the Supreme Court. #DemocracyInDanger," the Congress' official Twitter handle said. The Congress said "democracy is in danger" after four seniormost Supreme Court judges came out in the open to say that the situation in the apex court was "not in order". CJI Dipak Misra had called Attorney General KK Venugopal for the Unitech case and not about the judges press conference as some media outlets are putting it out, Bar and Bench tweeted. "The CJI is hearing cases like he does everyday," Bar and Bench further reported. "This is an internal matter of the judiciary, it is best they solve it themselves, a top source told CNN-News18 , adding that Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has received a copy of the dissenting note circulated by Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph. Top government sources told News18 that the Centre is likely to distance itself from the crisis, in the hope that the judges will be able to sort it among themselves. Let the judges sort it out among themselves: Centre plans to distance itself from crisis Four judges went public against CJI because issues raised were grave: Justice Mudgal We can't criticise them, they are men of great integrity and have sacrificed a lot of their legal career, where they could've made money as senior counsels. We must respect them. PM must ensure that the four judges and the CJI, in fact whole Supreme Court come to one opinion and proceed further, Swamy said. Subramanian Swamy bats for establishing consensus amid judges, says these are men of great of integrity Bar Council of India says it was unaware of judges' internal matter, will meet tomorrow to discuss issue Speaking to IndiaToday senior advocate Indira Jaisingh said, "We all know that the Chief Justice of India is the master of the roasters, but he cannot behave arbitrarily. He has to take on record the feedback provided by his colleagues." Yes CJI is master of rosters but he can't be arbitrary in his choices: Indira Jaisingh Former Supreme Court Judge AK Ganguli said that the CJI cannot afford to be rigid on issues like this after all this is not a matter of clash of egos but a matter of principle. These should have been thrashed out within the institution, he added. "I heard that the justices said that they tried and approached the CJI but did not succeed. Well, the CJI must try and resolve this internally as he must first earn the confidence of his peers, that is how he will become the Chief and not my merely by seniority," Ganguly said. Judges should not make it an issue of egos but principle: Former judge AK Ganguly CNN-News 18 reported that the four judges who have come out in public against the CJI had differences on the matter of appointment of judges. While Justice Chelameswar was the lone dissenting voice, who spoke against the Collegium system, Justice Gogoi and Justice Joseph, however, said that the traditional system must be upheld. The dissenting judges had different views on Collegium system of appointment Meanwhile, CPM, another Left-wing party has demanded a thorough investigation "to understand how the independence and integrity of judiciary was being affected." According to a report by CNN-News28, CPI's D Raja met Justice Chelameswar, one of the four Supreme Court judges who held a press conference earlier today, speaking out publicly against the CJI. However, it was not clear whether Raja's meeting with the Supreme Court judge was related to the matter. Reports say that Raja shares a close family relation with Justice Chelameswar. According to CNN-News18, Chief Justice Dipak Misra will confirm later whether he wishes to go public with his response over the issues raised by four senior Supreme Court judges. It is likely that the CJI chooses to address his colleagues first, before going public with a statement, the report said. CJI yet to make up his mind on briefing media: Reports News18 said it has learnt from sources close to Justice Chelameswar that the judge is ready to hold a discussion with his colleagues to sort out the issue. He has also reportedly said that his intention was never to humiliate the CJI but he did what he could to raise his point. Mamata Banerjee tweeted on the issue, expressing her anguish and disappointment on the open fall out between Supreme Court judges. She, however, also added that "extreme interference of Central Government with Judiciary" is dangerous for society. Government not to interfere in 'clash of personalities' within judiciary: Reports The Congress senior leadership is in a huddle before they address the press on the party's stand on the crisis that unraveled today. The party will hold a press briefing at 6.30 pm. The Supreme Court is currently hearing a plea seeking inquiry on the death of Justice Loya. This issue was raised up today after four Supreme Court judges went public with their allegations that CJI is not following procedure on allotment of cases. When one of the media persons asked the judges, whether their grievance about allotment of cases also related to the Justice Loya case, the judges nodded in affirmative. Some legal luminaries also said the turn of events had raised a question mark about the credibility of the judicial system. The decision of four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to hold a press conference was today termed as "unprecedented" by the legal fraternity, with some experts terming it as "shocking" while some others saying there could have been some compelling reasons for such a move. "As a retired judge of the Supreme Court, I feel devastated. "For some reason or the other, their cause is justified, (but) relief they are seeking is wrong...going to the media? No. Judiciary was always considered as a family. Family disputes are never taken to the streets," he told PTI. Expressing deep anguish over four Supreme Court judges going public on issues related to the apex court, former Solicitor General of India N Santosh Hegde today said he was "devastated" by their action which has caused "irreparable" damage to the institution. "What has happened today could have been avoided. The judges will now have to act in statesmanship and ensure that the divisiveness is wholly neutralised and total harmony and mutual understanding will prevail in future," he said. - PTI Attorney General KK Venugopal said the unprecedented move by the four Supreme Court judges in holding a press conference "could have been avoided" and the judges would now have to act in "statesmanship" to ensure complete harmony. The case of RP Luthra versus Union of India was specifically mentioned in the letter sent by four judges of the Supreme Court to the Chief Justice of India. The case pertained to appointments to the higher judiciary and the memorandum of procedure for doing soissues which were highlighted in the press conference called by the judges on Friday. A particular judge may have domain expertise in an area of law and therefore would be suitable for a particular matter while another judge may not. These decisions are often taken by the Chief Justice while assigning matters. While there is usually a system that is followed for most regular cases, when it comes to constituting special benches or assigning matters of constitutional import, the exercise of this power becomes as important as some of the decisions of the court itself. The record of the allotment of cases to benches is called the roster. The CJI is the first amongst equals at the Supreme Court and his judgments carry no more weight than any other judge of the court. But the CJI does have more administrative powers, which includes control on the roster. This means it is up to the CJI to decide which set of judges hears which matters. In the early years of its existence, the SC had only 7 judges and they would all hear matters together. But as the court expanded and its workload increased, the Supreme Court became an institution with multiple benches. Explainer: What is a Supreme Court roster that the dissenting judges had objections to? "The judiciary is independent and reputed. They will resolve it themselves. The government should have no need to intervene," said MoS Law PP Chaudhary. Surjewala quoting the letter written by the four judges said that the Congress party is deeply disturbed by these developments. Speaking to the press, Congress spokesperson said that while the Congress party was deeply disturbed by these development, we would request the senior most judges to hear the case and appoint an independent SIT to probe it. Senior most judges should hear PIL in death of Justice Loya, says Congress party "All citizens are looking at this issue and it must be addressed. It is an unprecedented move, so the questions raised by the four judges should be thoroughly looked into," Rahul Gandhi said. The four judges Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Madan B Lokur besides Justice Chelameswar released a letter they wrote to Justice Misra a couple of months ago, conceding that he was the master of roster but that was "not a recognition of any superior authority, legal or factual of the Chief Justice over his colleagues". At a hurriedly called press conference at his residence, Justice J Chelameswar and three other colleagues said the Supreme Court administration was "not in order" and their efforts to persuade Justice Misra even this morning "with a specific request" failed, forcing them to "communicate with the nation" directly. Divisions in the Supreme Court burst out in the open on Friday when four senior most judges took an unprecedented step of addressing the media to accuse Chief Justice Dipak Misra of breaching rules in assigning cases to appropriate benches, with one of them pointing to the plea regarding the mysterious death of Special CBI judge BH Loya. Omar Abdullah voices support for SC judges, says 'worst thing we can do is wish it away' Speaking to ANI , former additional solicitor general of India and the Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh said, "If they had to come for a press conference, then they should have said something substantial. Just creating doubts in the minds of people will not serve the interest of the judiciary. This was not properly planned. They didn't say anything about Justice Loya." Former ASG Vikas Singh says judges' press conference was not planned, should have said something 'substantial' Justice Chelameswar, who is set to retire as an apex court judge on 22 June this year, has also dealt with several important issues including Aadhaar and the JNU case which had witnessed violence inside the Patiala House Court complex in New Delhi. Justice Chelameswar was the lone judge who had dissented when a five-judge bench had struck down the constitution amendment and held as unconstitutional the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act. He was part of the nine-judge constitution bench which had declared right to privacy as a fundamental right. Justice Chelameswar had stoked controversy several times and was in the news for not attending the collegium meetings on the appointment of judges for higher judiciary. He is the second senior most judge of the apex court after Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra. Profile of the four SC judges who held the press conference: Justice Jasti Chelameswar Speaking to CNN-News18, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal said the press conference held by four senior Supreme Court judges could impact public confidence. "Public confidence in the Supreme Court of India may be affected. We will settle this matter completely," he said. CNN-News18 reported that the Supreme Court Bar Association will hold a meeting on Saturday over the judges' press conference on Friday at 5 pm. The SC Bar Association chief Vikas Singh will brief media at 6 pm. The news of their sudden exit spread like wildfire in the corridors of the apex court, sending a shockwave among the journalists, lawyers and litigants and leading the scribes to scramble to the venue of the presser, about four kilometres away. All four of them left the Supreme Court premises within minutes and gathered at the 4, Tughlaq Road Bungalow in Lutyen's Delhi, the official residence of Justice Chelameswar to hold an unscheduled press conference no Supreme Court judge had ever addressed the media publicly. Around 11.30 am, Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Kurian Joseph rose for the day in their respective court rooms, numbered 2 and 5. Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in the meantime, rushed through and disposed of most of the day's listed business, while Justice Madan B Lokur heard matters in his chamber. But a brewing judicial firestorm, invisible to all except four judges, erupted an hour later, taking the nation by surprise and plunging the judiciary into an unprecedented crisis whose reverberations will continue to ring for years to come. Nothing seemed amiss when the Supreme Court started work at 10.30 am on Friday, as always. Judges strode out of their chambers, lawyers fussed through the papers, litigants hung around and reporters took their assigned seats in court rooms. RECAP: It was normal day in the Supreme Court, no hint of press conference He further added that people would be failing in their national duty if they did not take note of this. "If political parties, or anyone concerned about the future of democracy in the country, don't take note of this, we fail in out national duty. It is a serious matter. All those who care about the future of the country and of democracy should raise their voice," Sinha said. Speaking to reporters, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha attacked the Central government over the short Winter Session of Parliament and said, "If the country's Parliament is not in order, the Supreme Court is not in order, then democracy is under threat in the country. If the four senior judges have gone public then how is it a Supreme Court matter alone? If you read the letter, one thing is clear that Supreme Court judges or benches were appointed selectively to hear certain cases." This has led to imagination of the country running wild. The institution derives its respect for the credibility it has garnered over these years. If the credibility goes, who will respect the institution? The press conference has only led to speculation, he added. There is no question of impeachment in this case. This has to be addressed within the system rather than going to press like this. You go for a press conference to reveal, but the intention of this press conference was to conceal, he told News18 . The Supreme Court Bar Association on Saturday dismissed possibility of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra's impeachment and said there was "no question" of it. Mishra further added that Bar Council is set to have a meeting at 5 pm on Saturday and meet the four senior judges on Sunday. "We have a meeting at 5 pm today (Saturday). Tomorrow (Sunday) our delegation will meet those senior judges, Chief Justice of India and other judges and request them to not bring issues like these in front of public," he said. According to ANI , chairman of Bar Council of India Manan Kumar Mishra criticised the four Supreme Court judges for holding a press conference on Friday. "Holding a press conference on a minor issue of roster is saddening," he said. "Let's hope everything works out very well. I am sure everything will be settled," he told reporters in New Delhi. Attorney General KK Venugopal expressed the hope that the crisis in the top judiciary following a revolt by four Supreme Court judges would be "settled". Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that "there is no crisis" when asked about the way forward to resolve the crisis. Asked whether their (judges') act had amounted to a violation of discipline, Gogoi refused to comment - PTI Justice Kurian Joseph said there was no constitutional crisis in the apex court and there are only problems in procedure they had objected to. "There will be no constitutional crisis and there are only problems in procedures and that will be corrected," Justice Kurian told reporters. IANS News18 reported that Bar Council of India's meeting has ended and it is expected to address media shortly. The Bar Council of India discussed the contents of the letter sent to the CJI on Friday, said Manan Mishra, council chairman. "There are enough mechanisms to address this inhouse. We discussed the contents of the letter. We have decided to form a seven-member delegation of judges. We will be meeting all the judges at the Supreme Court. We have already got appointment from 50 percent of the SC judges," said BCI chairman Manan Mishra SC judges should not have gone public: Bar Council of India He further said that the first move is to meet the rest of the judges, which means all judges excluding the CJI and the four judges who wrote the letter, reported News18. BCI chairman Mishra said that the matter has to be sorted out anyhow and cannot go out in the media again. On behalf on the Bar Council of India, he also appealed to the judges not to create such an opportunity again. The matter cannot go out in the media again: BCI chairman The Supreme Court Bar Association said that instead of playing out in public, the matter should be resolved in closed court. SCBA president Vikas Singh said that the association will meet the CJI before meeting the four judges. Matter should not be played out in public: SC Bar Association Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Sunday separately met high-level delegations of top two lawyers' bodies -- BCI and SCBA -- and assured them that the crisis erupting after the revolt by the four seniormost judges against him would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. "Our family is pained by the chain of events in past few days. Please don't harass us," Judge BH Loya's son, Anuj Loya said to the media during a press conference on Sunday. A seven-member Bar Council India (BCI) panel led by its chairman Manan Kumar Mishra had a 50-minute meeting with the CJI after hectic parleys with several apex court judges, with whom they shared the views of the apex body of the Bar regulating the lawyers. Mishra said they would hold a press conference on Monday to apprise about the BCI's day-long parleys with the judges of the apex court in the wake of the crisis. The BCI chairman said the panel met Justices J Chelameswar, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, and they also assured that everything would be sorted out. He did not mention whether the panel had any talks with Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who was not in the city. And there were all indications that there was something stinking in the corridors of the Supreme Court, to borrow a phrase from Justice Markandey Katju (he was referring to the Allahabad High Court). All this was exposed in a jiffy as the judges pointed fingers at CJIs alleged indiscretion in allocating cases to benches and his other administrative functioning. It was brewing for some time is the general refrain if you talk to anyone conversant with what is going on. Letters were being secretly written to judges and circulating, pointing out skeletons in cupboards hidden from public view. Insinuation and innuendo over the formation of benches on certain issues of critical economic and political importance were the order of the day. For those who have access to portals of the Supreme Court, the spectacle of four of its senior most judges raising the banner of revolt against their Chief Justice did not come as a surprise, but rather a conspiracy to alter the course of history. According to The Times of India , there have been fifteen 'super sensitive' cases which have been handled by junior judges and not the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. These cases include Bofors, Rajiv Gandhi assassination, LK Advani's trial in Babri masjid demolition, Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter, Best Bakery and the case that changed how BCCI, reported the publication. According to Hindustan Times, the petition challenging the validity of the Aadhaar scheme will be heard by a five-member Constitutional bench on Wednesday. According to Hindustan Times, there are three more cases that will be heard by the Constitution bench this week. One of the cases refers to an IPC code that makes adultery a criminal offense for a man but not a woman. Another case that will come up for hearing is Section 377, which criminalizes homosexuality. The final case pertains to the ban on women from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala. Three more cases to be heard by Constitution bench Of frequent reference is also the case of caste. It is argued that the judiciary, populated by as much as 95 percent of its constituency by individuals of the Brahmin caste, is Brahmanical. This criticism resurfaced in the defiance and subsequent punishment of Justice CS Karnan whose persecution, it is said, was about his caste. Based on the letter to the CJI, the four justices made public on Friday, it seems clear that the main point of contention at present is the delay in implementing the Memorandum of Procedure towards the appointment of judges in India. "...there should be no further delay in finalisation of MOP in larger public interest," the SC order in the Luthra case had said and was reiterated by the four judges as well in their letter to the CJI. The RP Luthra case is at the centre of the whole fiasco. To convey the "less than desirable" things taking place inside the apex court, the four justices referred to a letter that they had written to the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The letter mentions an order passed in the case RP Luthra vs Union Of India Ministry Of Law And Another respondents passed on 27 October. What does the order in the RP Luthra case say that made the four justices speak publicly against the CJI? "We are very concerned to hear 4 judges of the Supreme Court expressed concerns about the functioning of the Supreme Court. #DemocracyInDanger," the Congress' official Twitter handle said. The Congress said "democracy is in danger" after four senior-most Supreme Court judges came out in the open to say that the situation in the apex court was "not in order". According to a News18 report, Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde is brokering peace between Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on one side and four other senior-most judges Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph on the other. According to Times Now, Attorney General KK Venugopal, who is heading to the Supreme Court, has said that all the courts will be functioning as usual and that everything is okay in the Supreme Court. A-G says everything is okay in Supreme Court Regardless of the roster, it will be "business as usual" today at the Supreme Court, the four judges have reportedly told members of the Bar Council. "The judges will hear whatever is assigned to them," said sources. Work will go on as usual, say sources According to NDTV, every day, before work begins, all judges convene at the judges lounge and have coffee. However, the report claimed that on Monday, all court staff were asked to leave the lounge. Four retired judges including an ex-Supreme Court judge have written an open letter to the Chief Justice of India urging him to resolve the ongoing crisis. According to an Economic Times report, the four judges have backed the four rebelling judges on the issue of allocation of cases. Four senior-most Supreme Court judges, who had held an unprecedented press conference and raised issue of assignment of cases, today attended court and took up routine work, PTI reported. The four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- have taken up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after the 12 January press conference. According to NDTV, Supreme Court advocate RP Luthra has raised the judges issue before the Chief Justice of India's bench. The advocate is believed to have said that there is conspiracy to destroy the institution and Misra must take action. The report added that Misra listened to him and smiled without answering him. Attorney General KK Venugopal was quoted by NDTV as saying that everything has been settled after an informal meeting in the morning today. he added that the courts are functioning. Nevertheless, Chief Justice Misra is yet to reach out to Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurien Joseph, who took him on in an extraordinary press conference on Friday last. A-G says 'everything has been settled now' He said that the view expressed by the retired judges is "quite similar to the views of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) that till this crisis is resolved, the important matters should be listed before a five-judge Constitution bench of senior judges". Justice Shah confirmed having written an open letter along with the other retired judges and told PTI, "We have written the open letter which the other judges named in the letter have also consented to." An open letter by former apex court judge PB Sawant, ex-chief justice of Delhi High Court AP Shah, former Madras High Court judge K Chandru and ex-Bombay High Court judge H Suresh was given to the media. It has also gone viral on social media. "I met the CJI and handed over a copy of the resolution. He said that he would look into it and ensure there was congeniality in the Supreme Court at the earliest," Singh told PTI after his 15-minute meeting with the CJI. Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh on Sunday met the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and handed over a resolution on the crisis in the apex judiciary to him. The senior lawyer told PTI that he handed over a copy of the SCBA resolution to the CJI, who assured him that he would look into it. Sinha, however, insisted that it was for the apex court to sort out the crisis after the four senior judges virtually revolted against the country's chief justice on Friday, raising questions on "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders. "Every citizen who feels for democracy should speak up. I will ask party (BJP) leaders and senior cabinet ministers to speak up. I will appeal to them to get rid of their fears and speak up," he said. Sinha said "if four senior most Supreme Court judges say democracy is under threat, we have to take their words very seriously"" "The Chief Justice's administrative power effectively transform itself into a power to significantly influence the outcomes of cases (sic)," Bhatia further said. Bhatia argued that two features in the Indian legal system "the splitting up of the Supreme Court into multiple different benches, and the massive backlog of cases" make these powers problematic. "In this context, the Chief Justice's powers to assign cases to benches and to decide when a case is to be heard become very significant," he said in one tweet. Advocate Gautam Bhatia, in a series of tweets, said on Friday that in the last 20 years, the office of the Chief Justice of India has received a lot of power without having any system of accountability to keep it in check. When asked how can such a major development be solved "internally", BCI chief Manan Kumar Mishra said that it was a matter "within a family" which has been resolved after the judges meet in the CJI's chambers at 10.30 on Monday morning. Two days after four Supreme Court judges held a press conference citing lack of accountability and integrity in the apex court, the Bar Council of India told the media on Monday that "it was an internal issue and it has been resolved internally." Justice Loyas son, Anuj, said he did not have any doubts about the way his father died three years ago. "I had an emotional turmoil, hence I had suspicions about his death. But now we don't have any doubts about the way he died," he told reporters at a press conference. The family of Justice BH Loya on Sunday said the death of the special CBI judge , who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh "fake encounter" case, was being politicised and urged all parties to refrain from taking advantage of the situation. "Why drag the Judge Loya case into this? As you can see, Judge Loya's family has said that they do not have any doubts on the matter," says BCI chief Manan Kumar Misra. "We did not want any political party to take advantage of the situation. Everyone are discharging their duties and everything has been resolved as the Attorney General has also said," BCI chief Manan Mishra told media on Monday. The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Monday said its members have met 15 judges of the Supreme Court following the crisis in the apex judiciary and they have assured that the issues have been resolved. "Kahani khatam ho gaya (the story is now over)", BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra told a press conference in New Delhi. He also said that political parties should not try and take mileage out of the January 12 press conference by the four senior most apex court judges to flag some problems, including the assigning of cases. The story is over, says BCI; asks politicos to not take advantage of issue "All four senior most judges have resolved the differences and are attending the court. There is no need of any action on these four judges; all of them are honest and men of integrity," said BCI Chairman, Manan Kumar Misra. Here are the five key questions raised in open letter to CJI A day after Attorney General KK Venugopal called the ongoing crisis in Supreme Court a "storm in a tea cup", on Tuesday said the crisis seems to be unresolved and hoped it will be "fully settled" in a couple of days. CBI judge BH Loya, was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case when he passed away. After doubts were raised around the circumstances of his death, two pleas were filed by BR Lone, a Maharashtra-based journalist and activist Tehseen Poonawala, seeking a probe in the death. BR Lone's petition sought a probe saying there were several contradictions emerging in the matter, according to The Indian Express . Tehseen Poonawala, in his plea contended that circumstances of the death of the judge were questionable, mysterious and contradicting. A Constitution Bench comprising CJI Dipak Misra, Justice AK Sikri, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan has been constituted to hear important cases including those on Aadhaar, decriminalisation of homosexuality, validity of adultery law under IPC, entry of women into Sabarimala temple etc. It will start the hearings from 17 January. The Bar Council of India on Tuesday said there was "absolutely no crisis now" in the Supreme Court and normalcy will be restored soon in the higher judiciary that saw four top judges coming out in the open against the Chief Justice of India. Absolutely no crisis now in SC, says Bar Council of India Judge BH Loya's death case must not be confidential, the Supreme Court said in a 5-minute hearing. Everything must be before the public. Tehseen Poonawala told Times Now that SC has ordered that all documents should be given over to him. He said that his faith in the judiciary has been restored as the case was not dismissed. SC said that all documents must be given to me: Tehseen Poonawala Maharashtra government tells Supreme Court that barring certain confidential reports placed by it, the petitioners can access other documents. The Supreme Court, without fixing any specific date, lists the matter for hearing after a week. CJI meets the four dissenting judges. Holds talks for 15 minutes over possible solutions to the issues raised The discussion took between the CJI and the four dissenting judges, reported CNN-News18. The meeting was cordial and everyone agreed that the issues were important than the personalities. The issues are expected to be resolved by the end of the week. The discussions are expected to continue tomorrow, according to NDTV. However it could take some time to resolve everything as many issues were raised by the dissenting judgments. Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Tuesday said he had filed a complaint against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in the medical college scam case and requested five senior most apex court judges, including the four rebel judges, to hold an in-house inquiry into the matter. "Nagpur Police undertook a thorough investigation in this case and his death was due to a heart attack", Shivaji Bodkhe, Joint Commissioner of Police, Nagpur told reporters. "The postmortem, as well as the forensic reports too, confirm the same. There was nothing unusual in the report," he said. The Nagpur Police on Tuesday said that there was no cause for suspicion regarding the death of judge Loya and that he had indeed died of a heart attack. RECAP: Judge Loya died due to 'heart attack', no cause for suspicion, says Nagpur Police The Supreme Court made certain observations in the Bofors case regarding who can file a case in criminal matters, reported The Times of India . This could have an effect on the Loya case as all the PILs in the case have been filed by advocate associations or individuals who had no connection with the judge. However there are numerous instances where incidents have come up where Aadhaar's secureness has been questioned. These include app-based flaws, disclosures on government websites, third party leaks, sale of data etc. Click here for report on all of these incidents. Despite the number of reports over the last couple of years, UIDAI has constantly maintained that the server and the data itself, especially biometric data is safe. He goes on to insist that we should "applaud the UIDAI for being responsive to the concerns of the public. We need to recognise that providing a unique, secure identification, with instant authentication anywhere, to 1.3 billion Indians is an evolving endeavour." In an article in the Hindustan Times , Nandan Nilekani argues that the concern about the linking of Aadhaar to various services are over-hyped and baseless. Policy expert Alok Prasanna Kumar weighs in on the possible change of bench in the Loya case Suhrith Parthasarathy argues in The Hindu that the government will, no doubt, argue that Aadhaar can bring about many benefits. However any policy, howsoever poorly framed, will likely bring about certain gains. The question is ultimately one of proportionality and justice. Arguing that the government's aim is to create a seamless police state, which will chill our freedom and give the State rampant power he asks whether the Supreme Court will dare to stop this. In the five years that the Supreme Court has been hearing the Aadhaar petitions, the number of people issued Aadhaar numbers have gone up from 20-25 crore in 2012 to 119 crore, reports NDTV . Legally speaking, the petition is being termed as an 'intervention application' which has yet to be accepted by the SC. There is no clarity on when it will be heard according to legal experts who have spoken to ET. According to an Economic Times report, a petition has been filed by the Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) which comprises startups such as CapitalFloat, LendingKart, ZestMoney, IndiaLends as well as early-stage investment firms and companies which provide authentication services and background verifications. These companies are particularly appealing to ensure advantages such as eKYC offered by Aadhaar help a lot in real-time verification of customers. Group of private companies bat for use of Aadhaar for eKYC and background verification process The court will take up 29 pleas against Aadhaar. The final hearing on the pleas challenging Aadhaar comes five years since the first was filed. Some policy experts are not impressed with those efforts. Union ministers including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajyavardhan Rathore are using #AadharMythBuster to extol the virtues of Aadhaar. Five-judge bench led by CJI Dipak Misra will start hearing the Aadhaar case at 11.30 am Livelaw reported that the petitioners argue that details for Aadhaar are collected by private contractors and NGOs hired by UIDAI without any safeguard. This makes them prone to misuse. They claimed that empirical research shows that the biometric identification denoted for UID, namely the the iris scan and fingerprint identification, is faulty and is could be abused. "A new day seems to be in order in the Supreme Court after clouds over its cohesiveness and probity. The CJI should now show the light and redeem the institution's glory by getting all his brother and sister judges along, to end this crisis and convert it into a chance to bring about all necessary institutional reforms," writes Utkarsh Anand on News18 . "Tuesday was a sunny day at the Supreme Court after days of clouds over its cohesiveness and probity" Petitioners argue that if the Aadhaar programme is allowed to continue unimpeded, it will hollow out the Constitution Petitioners: The case at hand is unique. There are few judicial precedents to guide us Petitioners: The State is empowered with a switch by which it can cause the civil death of an individual Shyam Divan is taking the court through the history of the case Shyam Divan for the petitioners: You cannot live as a citizen of India without an Aadhaar Shyam Divan takes Court through work of the petitioners to counter the State's claims that there are only elitist concerns against Aadhaar Meanwhile companies are unable to stop themselves from sending informative messages India Today reported that the CJI is meeting the judges for lunch. Three of the dissenting judges are present at the meeting. Justice Chelameswar is absent. Justice Bobde and Justice Goel are not present as well. A total of five countries Uruguay, New Zealand, France, Brazil, and England and Wales legalised gay sex in 2013. Here is the full report on how the world has changed its views on homosexuality since 2013. Since Supreme Court's 2013 verdict on homosexuality, at least 10 countries have legalised homosexuality The final arguments in Aadhaar case begin before the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court. At the start of the arguments, Attorney General sought time bound arguments. A-G reminded the Bench that Ramjanmabhoomi land title dispute case is also scheduled to be taken up from 8 February. 'People's Constitution is being sought to be converted into a State's Constitution' Senior Advocate Shyam Divan today submitted in court that Aadhaar seems too alter the relationship between the citizen and the State, while diminishing the status of the citizen. All rights, a citizen could earlier freely assert have now been made part of a compulsory barter, averring, The barter compels the citizen to give up his biometrics voluntarily, unless the number is seeded in databases of the service provider, the citizen is denied access to these most essential facilities. "Inalienable and natural rights are dependent on a compulsory exaction. Aadhaar alters the relationship between the citizen and the State Justice Chandrachud asked that if the government ensures that Aadhaar data is used only for the purpose it is collected, will it address the concerns raised by the petitioners. To this the petitioner's lawyer replied that the design in itself is bad as it allows State domination. Shyam Divan further argued that the problem is not that whether the State is actually tracking its citizens or not but the fact that the Aadhaar makes it possible. Ensuring Aadhaar data is not misused not enough to grant it legality, petitioners argue in case Justices AK Sikri and DY Chandrachud seek to know how is the Aadhaar biometrics system different from the biometrics for US Visa? Meanwhile... Aadhaar tweets out 'myth busters' intermittently; claims banking, financial data not tracked via UIDAI #AadhaarCase | Shyam Divan also argues that #Aadhaar Act cannot be used to deny basic amenities, rights or benefits pic.twitter.com/nSUvl1Gb4L Aadhaar act cannot be used to deny basic amenities, rights or benefits, says petitioner's lawyer Shyam Divan #Aadhaar case: Senior Supreme Court lawyer, Shyam Divan, appearing for petitioners, told the five-judge Constitution bench that ' #Aadhaar may cause death of citizens' civil rights. A people's Constitution is being sought to be converted into a State's Constitution.' 'People's Constitution is being sought to be converted into a State's Constitution' Senior Advocate Shyam Divan today submitted in court that Aadhaar seems too alter the relationship between the citizen and the State, while diminishing the status of the citizen. All rights, a citizen could earlier freely assert have now been made part of a compulsory barter, averring, The barter compels the citizen to give up his biometrics voluntarily, unless the number is seeded in databases of the service provider, the citizen is denied access to these most essential facilities. "Inalienable and natural rights are dependent on a compulsory exaction. Aadhaar alters the relationship between the citizen and the State Justice Chandrachud asked that if the government ensures that Aadhaar data is used only for the purpose it is collected, will it address the concerns raised by the petitioners. To this the petitioner's lawyer replied that the design in itself is bad as it allows State domination. Shyam Divan further argued that the problem is not that whether the State is actually tracking its citizens or not but the fact that the Aadhaar makes it possible. Ensuring Aadhaar data is not misused not enough to grant it legality, petitioners argue in case Justices AK Sikri and DY Chandrachud seek to know how is the Aadhaar biometrics system different from the biometrics for US Visa? #Aadhaar : You make take several steps to prevent leakages. But still an architecture which allows surveillance is not be permissible, Shyam Divan. SD points to the Committee's observation that the United Kingdom revoked its national biometric database. SD: the UK abandoned its identity system beacause it was "unsafe, untested.... and could be a threat to personal rights." (still quoting the Standing Committee) Meanwhile... Aadhaar tweets out 'myth busters' intermittently; claims banking, financial data not tracked via UIDAI Latest updates The Bar Council of India chairman Manan Mishra has said that the issues raised by the four dissenting top judges of the Supreme Court have been resolved. "We did not want any political party to take advantage of the situation," said Mishra. There seems to be some headway in the Supreme Court crisis. All the judges of the top court, including the four dissenting judges, met over tea at 10.15 am on Monday. Sources said there was a consensus that issues need to be solved institutionally. Meanwhile, not just the Attorney-General of India KK Venugopal but sources close to Live Law too have confirmed that the four 'rebel' judges of the Supreme Court have buried their differences with Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The latest development took place after the judges met Misra in full court room this morning. Earlier, Attorney-General said that "everything has been settled after the judges had an informal meeting on Monday morning. Speaking before Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Senior Advocate RP Luthra urged him to resolve the issue. He claimed that there is a conspiracy to destroy the judiciary. All four judges who rebelled against Chief Justice Dipak Misra resumed their work on Monday. Meanwhile a News18 report claimed that SA Bobde was emerging as the peacekeeper between the Chief Justice of India and the four rebel judges. The Bar Council of India is likely to hold a press conference on Monday. Meanwhile, a report in The Times of India stated that there has been a precedence of the Chief Justice of India delegating 'super sensitive' cases to junior judges. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Sunday assured a Bar Council of India delegation that the crisis in the Supreme Court resulting from a virtual revolt against him by four colleagues will be sorted out soon, the council chief said. Also on Sunday, the son of special CBI judge BH Loya said in Mumbai that his father died of natural causes and not in suspicious circumstances. Loya's death, while he was hearing the politically sensitive Shohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, is the subject of a PIL in the Supreme Court that was one of the triggers for the revolt against Misra. The Indian judiciary was thrown into a turmoil on Friday when four senior Supreme Court judges J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, MB Lokur and Kurian Joseph convened an unprecedented press conference to complain about "selective" case allocation by Misra and passing of certain judicial order. Misra had assigned the Loya death PIL to Justice Arun Mishra, a relatively junior judge. In their press conference, the four justices said Indias democracy is at risk unless the wrongs in the Supreme Court are set right. Capping a weekend flurry of activity by jurists, lawyers and politicians, a delegation of the Bar Council of India, the highest body of lawyers in the nation, today met Misra at his residence for 50 minutes. "We met CJI in a congenial atmosphere and he said everything will be sorted out soon," BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, who led the delegation, told reporters. He said that before meeting the CJI, the panel also discussed the crisis plaguing the apex judiciary with other judges including the three out of the four judges who have made the allegations against Misra. Mishra said the panel met justices Chelameshwar, Lokur, and Joseph, who also gave an assurance that the crisis will be resolved. He did not mention whether the panel had a meeting with Gogoi, who is out of town. Gogoi is next in line to succeed Misra as the chief justice. The BCI will hold a press conference on Monday. Earlier, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Vikas Singh met the CJI and handed over a resolution in which the association has asked for a full court discussion to defuse the present crisis. "I met the CJI and handed over a copy of the resolution. He said that he would look into it and ensure there was congeniality in the Supreme Court at the earliest," Singh told PTI after his 15-minute meeting with the CJI. In another major development today, Anuj Loya, the son of the deceased CBI judge, held a press conference in Mumbai to say his family was "pained" by the recent developments surrounding his father's death. He claimed NGOs and politicians should stop "harassing" his family members over the issue. "My father died of natural causes. Our family is convinced that it was a natural death," the 21-year-old Anuj told reporters, adding that although he and his family had earlier been suspicious about his father's sudden death three years ago, they no longer harboured doubts. "I had an emotional turmoil, hence I had suspicions about his death. But now we don't have any doubts about the way he died," Anuj said. "Earlier, my grandfather and aunt had some doubts about his death, which they shared. But now neither of them has any doubts," he said. The deceased judge's father and Anuj's aunt had alleged foul play in his death. Judge Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh "fake encounter" case, had allegedly died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. BJP chief Amit Shah was an accused in the case but has been discharged. With inputs from PTI In its urgency to push through the Triple Talaq Bill, govt appears to have overlooked five criminal laws relating to women that need immediate attention. By Alison Saldanha In its urgency to push through the Triple Talaq Bill, the government appears to have overlooked five criminal laws relating to women and marriage identified in 2015 by a government committee as needing immediate political attention. These are: Criminalising marital rape, clarifying the definition of cruelty by husband and his relatives, plugging a loophole in the anti-dowry law, ensuring the same age of marriage for women and men, and outlawing khap panchayats that impinge on the right to choose whom one wants to marry. Over the last two weeks, the Triple Talaq Bill or the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill has been extensively debIndian Pated in Parliament, with the proposed legislation now stalled in the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) till the budget session begins later this month. The bill seeks to turn the practice of talaq-e-biddat, or instant triple talaq, which allows a Muslim man to divorce his wife by uttering the word talaq three times in quick succession, into a cognisable and non-bailable offence. It proposes a prison term that may extend to three years and a fine for Muslim men who are guilty of instant triple talaq. This law also provides for subsistence allowance to affected women and custody of minor children as determined by the magistrate. The government has been criticised for pushing the proposed legislation without holding discussions with Muslim women while outwardly seeming to protect their rights. [It] pushes Muslim women into incarcerating their husbands. What is frightening is that it gives power to a third person to file a criminal charge. How will this sword of criminalisation be used in the current atmosphere where anti-minority feelings are heightened? said this opinion-editorial in The Asian Age. Union minister of law and justice Ravi Shankar Prasad, who introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament), said the government views the bill not through the lens of siyasat (politics) but insaniyat (humanity), according to this Indian Express report. A ban on triple talaq had been recommended by the high-level committee in its four-volume report on the status of women in India. There should be a complete ban on the oral, unilateral and triple divorce (talaq) as it renders wives extremely vulnerable and insecure regarding their marital status, the report said. The committee did not specify if the practice should be criminalised. The expert committee, formed in 201325 years after the last such panelsubmitted the report to the ministry of women and child development department after two years of poring over data and reports, widespread consultations, intense and insightful meetings, independent research and more importantly many hours of listening to women in the field. In volume two of the study, the panel recommended several measures to ameliorate the status of women across communities, in fields relating to the economy, environment and law. In its assessment of women and criminal law, the committee lists several recommendations, not restricted to Muslim personal laws alone, to help women through legislation and the justice system. These range from proposing new laws and amendments to improving the infrastructure to protect female victims of violence and womens representation in the judiciary. Less than a handful of these recommendations have been initiated. Improving the legal status of women involves a multi-pronged approach that looks first and foremost at the legislative inadequacies and state policies and schemes closely, followed by addressing the inadequate implementation of laws by the State, police and courts, the report said. Though there have been a number of legislative enactments, gender-based violence and discrimination continue. There are clearly lacunae in the laws and also gaps in their implementation. Criminalise marital rape: Relationship irrelevant in evaluating consent Currently, there is no legal recourse for victims of marital rape as section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, provides an exception to marital rape. The exemption of marital rape stems from a long outdated notion of marriage which regarded wives as no more than the property of their husbands, the high-level committee report observed. Recalling several previous recommendations to the government, the committee once again recommended the exception now be removed to make marital rape an offence irrespective of the wifes age. The relationship between the perpetrator and the victim should be irrelevant in evaluating consent, the report said. Supreme Court advocate Karuna Nundy, an expert on constitutional law who has argued for criminalising marital rape, pointed out that cases of marital rape may be filed under section 498-A of the IPC relating to cruelty by husband and his relatives. However, these laws treat victims of marital rape differently from other victims and also limit their access to compulsory free healthcare and legal aid otherwise provided to victims of rape, Nundy told IndiaSpend. The justice served in these cases is also limited as the perpetrators of this kind of rape are subjected to non-rape penalties that are much lighter in comparison. Expand the definition of marital cruelty: Abuse is not always physical Under section 498-A of the IPC, which refers to cruelty by husband or relatives of husband, the law seeks to punish the husband or his family for harassing a woman to the point of driving her to suicide or for coercing her or any person related to her to meet unlawful demands. If found guilty, the accused can be jailed for a term extending to three years or be fined. Over a third, or 34 percent (110,378 cases) of 325,652 serious crimes against women reported in 2016, were filed under section 498-A, showed National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2016, the latest available. This was the most among all categories of crimes against women reported that year. These numbers are still low compared to the number of cases where police turn away victims of various kinds of abuse that are not merely physical, said Flavia Agnes, womens rights lawyer and co-founder of Majlis, a non-profit that provides legal services to women and children. Since it is not clearly defined under the current law, these cases are often not registered. The committee report has recommended that the definition of cruelty be reviewed to include the varied forms of violence against women in the home and to ensure that it is in line with the definition of domestic violence given under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (PWDVA), 2005. The Act seeks to protect and shelter women who report facing any kind of abusive behaviour husband/male partner or their relatives (male and female). It clearly defines and expands the concept of abuse to include not only the physical but also verbal, emotional, sexual and economic. As many as 31 percent of ever-married Indian women have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional spousal violence, according to the National Family Health Survey, 2015-16, report. The most common type of spousal violence is physical violence (27 percent), followed by emotional violence (13 percent), while 6 percent of ever-married women have experienced spousal sexual violence. Amend the anti-dowry law: Include other kinds of assets as well Currently, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, prohibits the giving or taking of dowry. An offender is subject to a minimum of five years imprisonment. The law requires those getting married to make a list of gifts and presents. The committee report reiterated the amendments to the anti-dowry law proposed by the National Commission for Women (NCW)widen the definition of dowry and lower the penalty levied on the giver of dowry. It recommended that stridhan (all the movable, immovable property, gifts and so on a woman receives in her lifetime) be included in the definition of dowry; and also that the legal provisions that allow a husband to inherit this stridhan be deleted. There is a ubiquitous pressure on the family of the girl child to provide a dowry and often, creative ways that fall outside the definition of the law are used to avoid penalisation, Agnes told IndiaSpend. However, in July 2017, the Supreme Court of India struck down the use of section 498-A in dowry cases, putting an end to the immediate arrest of the husband and his family in dowry cases. The courts decision was based on the high acquittal rate in dowry cases reported under section 498-Aa median 81 percent over the decade to 2015, according to this FactChecker report from August 3, 2017. However, for a decade from 2005 to 2015, 88,467 women, or an average of 22 each day, died in dowry-related cases, indicating how little has changed despite the existence of an anti-dowry law for nearly six decades, the report said. In 2016 alone, 1,354 dowry deaths were reported, NCRB data showed. While the launch of campaigns such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and debates around dowry reflect concern on the issue of sex selective abortion, the declining sex ratio and dowry death, there seems to be more concern about the unborn and the dead and a lack of thrust in securing the rights of the women who are alive and facing violence, said the committee, with reference to the changing institutional stance on section 498-A. Same minimum age of marriage for both sexes: Dont deny girls their childhood The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 outlaws the solemnisation of child marriageswhere the a boy is under 21 years of age or the girl, under 18. The committee recommended that the minimum age be made the same. Child marriage is not just a social norm but denial of childhood with irreversible consequences, especially for girls, the report said. Underage marriages, especially of girls, are rising in urban India and declining in rural India, according to this IndiaSpend report from June 9, 2017. Girls & Boys Married Below Legal Age Criminalise khaps ordering honour killings: Defend right to choose in marriage Unequal economic, social and political status and position of women is an outcome of patriarchy and the deeply entrenched socio-cultural stereotypes about women. This is sometimes perpetuated by laws, regulations and policies which do not sufficiently address the subordinate status of women, the report said. Honour killing (a crime wherein a member of a family is murdered, due to the perpetrators belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family) is not just a way of punishing the one who has brought dishonour to the family, it is indeed a barbaric murder usually of girls. Since 2014when the NCRB started recording data on honour crimesto 2016 honour crimes more than doubled, from 28 cases to 71 cases. In 2015 alone, 192 honour killings were recorded, NCRB data showed. To address the high rate of such killings and their gender skew, the committee recommended a separate legislation, previously recommended by the NCW and other womens organisations. This would involve the shifting of criminal consequences of the extra-judicial honour killings on the khap panchayats that order them. Honour crimes and khap diktats have received widespread media coverage and incited social and judicial outrage, the panel noted. However they form a major lacuna in the law and poses a complexity that the IPC is unable to address. The committee also recommended mandatory police and legal protection for couples/women/children/families who approach any institution fearing harm at the hands of family members or community. Violence against women has been acknowledged as one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men and therefore a violation of womens equality rights, the report said. Passing legislation, however, does not indicate judicial or executive sensitivity to womens rights. Faithful implementation of the laws is thus the essence for good governance. Saldanha is an assistant editor with IndiaSpend. It was with dismay that I read the commentary on vaccine mandates for health care workers. This is not a new or PC tactic. Many health care facilities have required its employees to get the flu shot for years. As health care institutions and providers of care to our most vulnerable, we have a duty to provide the safest environment in which they obtain their evaluation and treatment. ... (click for more) After the first week of college football, no less than 10 of the nations teams fans chanted on Saturday Were No. 1, but in Tennessee the distinction only applies to COVID. According to the CDC, the state of Tennessee is reporting 790 infections per 100,000 citizens which is the highest in the nation. South Carolina, where COVID is now 719 per 100K, is No. 2. This means that ... (click for more) Multi-faceted personality Gnani Sankaran, who made his mark as a dramatist, writer, journalist and political analyst died here on Monday morning due to illness, family members said. He was 64. Chennai: Multi-faceted personality Gnani Sankaran, who made his mark as a dramatist, writer, journalist and political analyst died here on Monday morning due to illness, family members said. He was 64. Sankaran was suffering from kidney ailment for quite sometime. Gnani, as he was known, was forthright in his views when queried about the current political climate and parties in Tamil Nadu. He was the editor of a Tamil magazine Dheemtharikida and staged several plays for the drama troupe Pariksha. "Gnani was a childhood friend. He was very witty, would regale us with his wit. He also used to play conga drum. During his college days his views on many things would be different," MJ Krishna, a childhood friend of Gnani, told IANS. Remembering the man who built Old Monk rum into a powerful brand | #FirstCulture It was not an in-your-face impression that one got when entering the sprawling office of the chairman and managing director of Mohan Meakin Ltd at Mohan Nagar in Ghaziabad, on the outskirts of Delhi. The ambience was simple, somber, friendly even with none of the frills of modern-day corporate offices. Brigadier (retd.) Kapil Mohan, sat in this office for more than four decades, and presided over one of the oldest liquor companies of our country. My last meeting with the grand old man of the Indian liquor was a couple of years ago. As usual, the patriarch of Mohan Meakin was sitting in his unassuming office lined with trophies, shields and certificates and surrounded by about half a dozen people. He was regaling them with interesting anecdotes. He was a known treasure trove of such stories, featuring politicians, bureaucrats and colleagues of all hues. During one such favourite storytelling trip, I suggested (rather, asked) he write these down as first-person accounts where all such stories could find a place; he laughed it off, saying that would rub several people the wrong way. Man behind Old Monk rum, Brigadier (retd.) Kapil Mohan dies of cardiac arrest at 88; was awarded Padma Shri in 2010 Even for his own team, he was never the stiff corporate boss. Senior personnel who have worked closely with Brig. Mohan said his most significant strategy and strength was that he involved the entire labour team for any discussions about company-related issues, and paid due heed to their suggestions. Intensely philanthropic and empathetic, he always showed keen interest in the welfare of labourers at times even more so than that of his executives. Through his brilliant man-to-man personal skills, he created an environment of friendship for the labourers, and went the extra mile to encourage his staff to do the same. This was possibly the biggest reason why Mohan Meakin remained till the 1990s the only company in India that never had a labour strike. The current COO of Khoday India Limited Satpal Chaudhry too had been on receiving end of Brigadier Mohans large-heartedness. Chaudhry worked with Brig Kapil Mohan for 19 years before moving on to bigger things. I joined Mohan Meakin in 1971. I wanted to improve my qualifications, and in 1974 appeared for an entrance test for IIT Delhi for MTech. I approached the brigadier to allow me to do the course; he didnt even bat an eyelid and gave me permission, that too on full-term basis. Chaudhry was emotional while remembering the brigadier. According to Chaudhry, Brig. Mohan was a great visionary who always looked for excellent brands, and better quality for liquor products and beer. The brigadier went on to modernise the distilleries and breweries, while we could not even meet the demand for liquor, which exceeded that of our supply. At that point, Mohan Meakin was the only liquor producer in India which had such a large number of popular brands, Chaudhry said. Brig. Kapil Mohan also had an eye for spotting talent. Chaudhry was among those headhunted by the brigadier. He recollected the time while he employed with Mohan Meakin and received a call from the boss; Chaudhry was asked by Brig. Mohan to come in for a promotion. I was working in Lucknow for about seven years, looking after the distillery, brewery and soft-drink plant. One day I got a call from Brig. Mohan to join as Works Manager of the company in Mohan Nagar. This was a dream job for anybody: it was a designation next to the managing director himself. Brig. Mohan did not even bother with the senior people who were quite close to the management, but offered me to opportunity to run the operations of the brewery, distillery, malting plant and juice factory. He also made me the engineering chief of Mohan Meakin, which was a personal milestone, Chaudhry said. There are many who will remain forever indebted to this man with a golden heart. Not many know that it was under Brig Kapil Mohans stewardship that the group was rechristened Mohan Meakin Limited. Brig. Kapil Mohan was the person who modernised the plants and machinery, and brought in new technology and undertook major diversification of three distilleries in India, two breweries and a host of franchises. Although the iconic Old Monk rum was launched by his father, Narendra Nath Mohan, in 1954 and brought to prominence by his brother Colonel VR Mohan, it was Brig. Kapil Mohan who made it into the instantly recognised and largest-selling rum in India. Before Indian single malts came into the picture, Old Monk was the one of the most recognised brand available in all foreign liquor stores and airport duty shops across the world. Till 2012, Old Monk was undisputedly the No.1 rum brand, but began to slide in volume, and lost its top position to other brands such as McDowells Celebration Rum by USL. However, the slide has not dimmed the charm of Boodha Padri (Old Monk transliterated into Hindi, and fondly called so by its fans) and the iconic squat bottle it comes in. I dont think there is any other person in the liquor industry that can match Brig. Mohan. He was a true architect of the Indian liquor industry, says Chaudhry. Job creation, revamping of the education system and making India the global hub of healthcare are the three goals which Rahul Gandhi has set for a 'new, shining' Congress, as he told a convention of NRIs in Bahrain recently. Job creation, revamping of the education system and making India the global hub of healthcare are the three goals which Rahul Gandhi has set for a "new, shining" Congress, as he told a convention of NRIs in Bahrain recently. Since there's many a slip between the cup and the lip, it is too early to say whether his hope of being in a position to fulfil these promises will come true. But as far as the Congress is concerned, the objectives which he underlined denote a shift from the party's earlier policies which can be said to have led to its downfall in 2014. The leitmotiv of those policies, which were the handiwork of the Left-leaning National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by then Congress President Sonia Gandhi, was populism, which cared little for either fiscal discipline or for being in tune with the economic reforms introduced in 1991 and continued by Manmohan Singh from 2004. Nothing exemplified the absence of monetary restraint more than Sonia Gandhi's pet project of food security, which aimed at providing subsidised food to an estimated 67 percent of the population at an annual cost of Rs 1.25 lakh crore. There were other such profligate initiatives as well, including the rural employment programme, which were ostensibly targeted at the poor. But they didn't help the party. Instead, the voters turned from the lure of doles and freebies to the prospect of employment promised by Narendra Modi. The age of subsidies provided by a paternalistic, mai-baap ki sarkar was over. If Rahul has understood this, it is all to the good. What his emphasis on job creation, etc., shows is a welcome change of focus from his mother's socialistic approach (which she appears to have learnt from Indira Gandhi) to an encouragement of free enterprise, which will boost growth, which was a dirty word for the NAC's Aruna Roy who lamented Manmohan Singh's preoccupation with economic development rather than with welfare measures. It was the objection of crypto-communists like her which made the government of the time take its "foot off the accelerator of reforms", as former Finance Minister P Chidambaram subsequently regretted. The Congress is now paying the political cost of that mistake. Rahul's task, therefore, is to undo that lapse of judgement. But it will not be easy because his mother is not the only "socialist" in the party. The Congress has always been uneasy about the economic reforms as it believed that they benefited only the capitalists. Rahul's 'suit-boot ki sarkar' jibe against the Modi government is a reflection of that mindset. Yet, if he is interested in reducing unemployment, there is no option for him but to enlist the support of the suited and booted private sector in order to increase its share of investment. He will also have to encourage foreign investment. As of now, the Congress chief has not been too forthcoming with his economic views, concerned as he is with countering the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) propaganda against his dynastic lineage and his party's supposedly pro-Muslim inclinations. One reason why he may not have articulated his economic thinking with greater clarity is probably that the Congress will then have to come out virtually endorsing the BJP's pro-market line with an emphasis on industrial and infrastructural development. Indeed, there is nowadays little difference in the outlook of the various parties on this score with the earlier focus on a controlled economy with the public sector being perched on the "commanding heights", to use Indira Gandhi's phrase, being replaced by a preference for an open market with the private sector playing a leading role. From whatever little that Rahul has said so far on the economy, he seems to prefer small and medium industries rather than large ones, apparently because the former can generate more employment than the large, automated factories with their component of robots. But as long as he steers the Congress away from its 1955 goal of ushering in a "socialistic pattern" of society, he will be a true inheritor of Jawaharlal Nehru's vision of an advanced country where dams standing for industries will be seen as the "temples of a new India". For Nehru's great grandson, the coming months will provide an opportunity to eradicate the party's two major mistakes which enabled the BJP to move from the margins of politics to centre-stage. These were, first, the Shah Bano episode in the mid-1980s which tended to substantiate the BJP's charge of Muslim appeasement against the Congress; and, secondly, the stalling of economic reforms in the last two years of the Manmohan Singh government which boosted Modi's prospects in 2014. Even as Rahul's temple visits aim at robbing the BJP of its monopolistic claims on Hinduism, he will also have to pick up the pieces which the Congress foolishly let fall from its hands at a time when poverty was being reduced at the fastest-ever rate, as between 2005-06 and 2011-12, by reaffirming the party's commitment to economic reforms. Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad on Sunday said the 'theory' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CBI that former finance minister P Chidambaram and then Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran did something in tandem in the Aircel-Maxis case is too far-fetched. New Delhi: Congress leader Shakeel Ahmad on Sunday said the "theory" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CBI that former finance minister P Chidambaram and then telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran did something in tandem in the Aircel-Maxis case is too far-fetched. In a tweet, the Congress leader said Chidambaram had strained relation with Maran. Attempts by PM Modi&CBI to float a theory that Mr P Chidambaram and Mr DN Maran have done something in tandem to benefit each other in Aircel-Maxis Deal is too far fetched. Their strained relation was known to all of us, when they were in government. I was MoS with both of them. Shakeel Ahmad (@Ahmad_Shakeel) January 14, 2018 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday searched the houses of Chidambaram and his son Karti in Delhi and Chennai in connection to the Aircel-Maxis case. Following the raids Chidambaram had said that there is no FIR against him or his son in the Aircel-Maxis case. "There is no predicate scheduled offence. Hence the ED has no jurisdiction. Yet the ED, at the instance of the government, continues to misuse its powers. "I belong to the Opposition party. Let the government misuse the ED. I shall neither bend nor break and I shall continue to speak and write," he said. The BJP on Monday took a dig at Rahul Gandhi after he started his first tour of Uttar Pradesh as Congress president with a temple visit, saying that it was 'just for show'. New Delhi: The BJP on Monday took a dig at Rahul Gandhi after he started his first tour of Uttar Pradesh as Congress president with a temple visit, saying that it was "just for show". BJP general secretary Arun Singh said if Gandhi was serious about visiting temples, he would have gone to one for blessings when he was elevated to the post of party president. "It is our tradition that we go to temples and seek divine blessings after assuming a new responsibility. He did not go to any temple when he became Congress president while he had been visiting temples during the Gujarat polls. It just highlights that his temple visits are just for show," Singh told reporters here. He said Gandhi was in "pitiable" frame of mind as the Congress has been losing one election after another and has been "wiped out" even in the Gandhi family pocket borough of Amethi. Gandhi represents Amethi in the Lok Sabha. The BJP had won a majority of the Assembly seats there in last year's UP polls and fared well in local elections later. The Congress president today began his two-day Uttar Pradesh tour with a visit to a Hanuman temple on his way to Amethi from Lucknow. The CPM on Monday asked the government to clarify why NSA Ajit Doval was present at the BJP's meeting on the upcoming Assembly polls in three northeastern states, alleging that it was a violation of norms. New Delhi: The CPM on Monday asked the government to clarify why NSA Ajit Doval was present at the BJP's meeting on the upcoming Assembly polls in three northeastern states, alleging that it was a violation of norms. A party statement said it was reported by sections of media that the meeting was held on Sunday at Home Minister Rajnath Singh's residence attended by the BJP and the RSS leaders to discuss the elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland. It said the media had reported that national security adviser also attended the meeting. "If correct, this is a shocking violation of norms and serious misconduct", it claimed. The Left party asked the home minister to clarify the government's stand on the issue. "How can a senior government functionary like the NSA be present in a meeting to discuss the BJP's election campaign? The Union home minister must immediately clarify," the statement said. With the Assembly elections due early this year, the northeastern state of Meghalaya is set to be a tough battleground for political parties in the region. With the Assembly elections due early this year, the northeastern state of Meghalaya is set to be a tough battleground in the region for the ruling Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), National Peoples Party (NPP) and other regional parties. With a population of 29,66,889 as per the 2011 Census and spread over an area of 22,429 square kilometers, Meghalaya has roughly as many people as Jamaica, living in as big a country as the Central American nation, Belize. It was carved out of Assam as an Autonomous State in April 1970 and declared as a full-fledged state in January 1972. It is a narrow stretch of land and shares about 443 kilometres of international border with Bangladesh in the south. Demographics of the state The population in Meghalaya comprises 14,91,832 males and 14,75,057 females according to the 2011 Census. The northeastern state has a large of Scheduled Tribes population of 2,555,861 persons and 17,355 people from the Scheduled Castes. The state has a high sex ratio (number of females per 1,000 males) of 989. The sex ratio in rural parts is 986 while for urban areas it stands at 1001. The literacy rate is 74.43 percent with males having a higher literacy rate (75.95 percent) compared to females (72.89 percent). The population in the hilly state comprises tribal groups predominantly, namely the Khasis, Jaintias, Garos, and other tribal communities such as Koch, Rabhas, and Bodo. A majority of the population in Meghalaya is Christian (74.59 percent) followed by Hindus (11.53 percent), Muslims (4.40 percent), Buddhists (0.33 percent), Sikhs (0.10 percent), and Jains (0.02 percent) as per the Census 2011 report. There are eleven districts in the state: East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi, West Jaintia Hills, East Jaintia Hills, East Garo Hills, West Garo Hills, North Garo Hills, South West Garo Hills and South Garo Hills district. The official languages of Meghalaya are Khasi, Pnar, Garo and English, along with regional dialects of Koch, Boda, Abeng, Dual, Uibok, Chisak Megam to name a few. Key players in 2018 In its long and unstable 46-year-old political history, the state has seen eleven chief ministers, six of whom belonged to Congress, including the first Williamson A Sangma (originally in All Party Hill Leaders Conference and later shifted to Congress in his 1976-1978 term as chief minister) and the incumbent Mukul Sangma who leads the Congress-led Meghalaya United Alliance government. This year's state election presents a unique challenge to all the parties involved. Elections to the Meghalaya Assembly are due in the first half of this year as the term of the present Assembly expires on 6 March. Bharatiya Janata Party: Speaking to Firstpost, H Srikanth, a political science professor at the North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, said that people in Meghalaya are not very keen about the BJP. "BJP may not have much clout, though it may claim so," he said. During a recent visit to the West Garo Hills district, BJP president Amit Shah expressed his confidence of overthrowing the Mukul Sangma-led Congress government in the state. "While on my way to Tikrikilla (to address a public rally), I did not have hope but after seeing the response of the people in Tikrikilla, and the anger of the public against (the Mukul) Sangma government, I am convinced that the next government will be of the BJP," Shah said on 6 January. BJP is also trying to woo voters with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Act East Policy to boost infrastructural development in the region. Most recently, the Centre announced a Rs 70 crore tourism package to develop religious and spiritual circuits in the state. Another reason why Meghalaya will be a tough nut to crack is that more than 60 percent of the population are Christians. BJP, with its support for a Hindutva nation and reserved views on beef consumption, will have a hard time in convincing the voters. Congress: For the Congress, it will be imperative to retain the state after its string of defeats elsewhere in the country. Moreover, it has greater chances of doing so due to its strong political presence over the last several decades in the state. On 8 January, NCP legislator Marthon Sangma and four other Independent candidates - Brigady Marak, Ashahel D Shira, Michael Sangma and David Nongrum - announced they would be joining Congress ahead of the Assembly polls. It was a recovery of sorts for the party when a few days earlier, five MLAs quit the party to join the NPP an ally of the BJP-led NDA, bringing down the ruling party's strength to 24 in the state Assembly. Following this, Congress president Rahul Gandhi appointed a new Meghalaya Congress unit chief, Celestine Lyngdoh, replacing DD Lapang. He also formed the Pradesh Election Committee under Lyngdoh. "Congress is in a state of crisis, with many of its members leaving the party to join NPP. In the Khasi Hills, people are generally pro-Congress. It's possible a coalition may become necessary with a truncated majority for Congress," said Srikanth. It is important to note that parties as entities don't matter as much as the people involved in them, Srikanth points out. "In the North East, parties dont matter. People jump from party-to-party, but it is the people that matter. The only party with a strong hold in Meghalaya is Congress," he said. United Democratic Party: Among regional parties in the state, United Democratic Party (UDP) has a strong following in the northeastern state. Adter Congress and NCP, it is the third-largest party in Meghalaya. For the upcoming elections, it has forged an alliance with Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) and the Garo National Council (GNC). The UDP is against national parties ruling the state and believe the "communal" BJP and "cancerous" Congress must not be allowed to come to power. National People's Party: Apart from the above, one of the regional parties gaining prominence in the last few years is the NPP. The party chief Conrad K Sangma expressed his confidence to win the upcoming elections and replace the Congress government in Meghalaya. "NPP would not be the single largest party but the single majority in the 2018 election," Sangma said at a rally for party candidate Sniawbhalang Dhar on 9 January. It currently holds two seats in the Meghalaya Assembly. Aam Aadmi Party: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also decided to contest 35 seats in Meghalaya, claiming they "have a good chance of winning". "We are aam aadmi and we will have common man as candidates. We have few retired officers, few intellectuals who want to contest and we prefer our candidates be to be AAP candidates," AAP state president Wanshwa Nongtdu told reporters in Shillong. Again the chances of AAP winning are slim as regional parties have a greater base than national parties in the region, except for Congress. None of the above parties have declared a chief ministerial candidate so far. Electoral history till 2000 1972: In the first Assembly election held in the state, only four parties (Communist Party of India, Congress, All Party Hill Leaders Conference and Independents) contested the polls. Of these three parties, except CPI), formed the Legislative Assembly with APHLC holding the majority (32 seats). Williamson A Sangma was the appointed chief minister. 1978: This time around, HSPDP got elected to the Assembly (14 seats) and APHLC's share went down to 16 seats from the previous election. However, Congress gained a stronger foothold and managed to win 20 seats. 1983: More than 10 years after the first Assembly election, Congress cemented its presence in the state winning 25 seats in 1983. 1988: With seven parties contesting in the state in 1988, Congress won with a vote share of 32.65 percent. So far, the BJP had not contested the polls. 1993: BJP contested the Assembly election in Meghalaya in 1993 for the time but did not win any seat. By the 1990s, the number of regional parties in the state had also risen with HSPDP, APHLC, Hill People Union and Meghalaya Progressive People's Party elected to the Assembly. 1998: Congress wins 25 seats, and is still in majority, followed by UDP with 20 seats. Garo National Council also made its way to the Assembly for the first time with one seat. Vote-share in the past Analysing data from the Election Commission of India (EC) on the vote shares parties received in Meghalaya in the last two Assembly elections, it shows Congress had the larger vote share in both 2008 and 2013. In 2008, Congress won 25 seats in the Assembly, while trailing it was the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with (15 seats. Congress' share in the Assembly grew further in 2013 at 29 seats while Independent candidates grabbed limelight with 13 seats. In both these elections put together, the BJP won just one seat in 2008. Congress had the maximum vote share in both election. In 2008, with 3,62,617 votes, the party captured 32.9 percent of the votes, followed by NCP at 20.76 percent. BJP polled a mere 2.67 percent while United Democratic Party (UDP) received 18.37 percent of the vote share. In 2013, Congress' vote share improved to 34.78 percent followed by UDP at 17.11 percent. However, NCP's share in the vote dropped drastically to 1.84 percent. As a regional party, NPP received 8.81 percent in the state. Key issues plaguing Meghalaya 1) Unemployment Following the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) ban on coal mining in the state in 2014, lives of 1.5 lakh families dependent on coal mining in Meghalaya were crippled. A majority of the families from the lower income group in the state worked in coal mines. The effect of the NGT ban is still palpable. "The ban adverself affected coal miners and their families. The money that was flowing in from this industry three-four years ago isn't there anymore," Srikanth told Firstpost. Moreover, job opportunities in Meghalaya are limited as there is no alternate source of income from industrial activity. "There is no mobilisation of internal resources for development in the state. There is no industrial activity in the state. In recent times, the government is trying to develop horticulture as an alternate means of livelihood," Srikanth added. "States in the North East depend more on Central government funds than revenue generated with the state economy," he also said. 2) Drug abuse In September 2016, the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly voiced concern over the rising use of drugs, especially heroin, and said it was the highest in the country, surpassing even Punjab, according to a report in The Times of India. State home minister HDR Lyngdoh had said state police and other agencies were probing the matter and had seized various kinds of drugs between 2013 and 2016, including heroin, cannabis, cough syrup, sedatives and other substances. Lyngdoh attributed easy access of drugs from Myanmar, the second largest illicit opium producing country in the world, as a major reason. 3) Insurgency Insurgency in Meghalaya began in the 1980s as a movement against the socio-economic and political domination of the dkhars (outsiders). Initially, various militant groups such as Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council (HALC), Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC), Achik Matgrik Liberation Army (AMLA), and Achik National Volunteers Council (ANVC) which eventually lost their hold. In 2009, the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) was created with an aim of creating a separate Garoland' in the western parts of Meghalaya. Calls for a separate state for the tribe has grown in the last few months. On 18 March, 2014, the Meghalaya Assembly had rejected a resolution for the creation of a separate "Garoland" state in Garo Hills in the western part of the state. While insurgency in the state has declined over the last few years, it still remains a threat with frequent calls for bandhs disrupting day-to-day functioning. According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), insurgency-related fatalities registered a sharp decline of 57 percent in 2016 as compared to 2015 in the state. Some of the major reasons for insurgency and illegal activities in the state are porous borders with Bangladesh, tribal aspirations and ineffective autonomous district councils, according to a report published by the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. "Compared to other northeastern states, militancy has been brought under considerable control under the Congress government," said Srikanth. He gave the example of HNLC, which had a strong presence in Khasi and Jaintia Hills. "The HNLC are now neutralised to a considerable extent now through development. However, this is not so in the Garo Hills, which is severely underdeveloped, thus raising the risk of militancy in the area," he said. He also added that for the past few years, Shillong has been largely peaceful with no bans imposed on Independence and Republic Day. 4) Development Infrastructure facilities in rural Meghalaya are dismal comapred to its urban counterparts. Lack of medical facilities, motorable roads and transportation make life difficult for those living in rural parts of the state. As per a report in The North East Today, even if a path for road construction is made, it is mostly never completed or is dug up and left like that. Recently, North East Democratic Alliance chairperson Himanta Biswa Sarma blamed the Mukul Sangma-government for under-developement in the state. "Compared to the Khasi Hills in Meghalaya, Garo Hills is hardly developed. It is poorly connected, especially in the interior areas," said Srikanth. A UN report states that the availability of road infrastructure is quite poor in Meghalaya when compared to other states. The road density in Meghalaya is one of the lowest in the northeastern region. Poverty also acts as a hindrance in the state's development process. As per a Planning Commission report, 11.9 percent of Meghalaya's population lives under the poverty line. In rural Meghalaya, 12.53 percent of the population are BPL, while the figure for urban areas of the state is 9.26 percent. 5) Heathcare In Meghalaya, the infant mortality rate is 30, close to the national average of 41, as per the latest National Health Family Survey 2015-16. The under-5 mortality rate stands at 40. Only 21.8 percent of the households use clean cooking fuels. The rest depend on firewood, coal etc. The parties that come to power in the upcoming state election will have to re-evaluate the state of public healthcare and policy. Meghalaya is likely to go to polls this February. With inputs from agencies Rahul Gandhi will visit his parliamentary constituency of Amethi for the first time as Congress president on Monday, exactly one month after he took over from his mother Sonia Gandhi at the helm of India's oldest political party Rahul Gandhi will visit his parliamentary constituency of Amethi for the first time as Congress president on Monday, exactly one month after he took over from his mother Sonia Gandhi at the helm of India's oldest political party. To welcome him, a poster had been put up by Congress workers which has created a flutter of sorts in Amethi. The poster, portraying Rahul as Lord Ram and Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Ravana, created chaos in Amethi a day before the visit, Zee News reported. In the poster, Rahul can be seen carrying a bow and an arrow, pointing towards Modi. The inscription states that Rahul is an incarnation of Lord Ram who will bring Ram Rajya in 2019 by winning the general elections, defeating Modi, the report said. News18 reported that after reaching Amethi via Rae Bareli for a two-day visit, Rahul will visit the Hanuman Mandir and eat khichdi specially prepared for the occasion of Makar Sankranti. On Tuesday, Rahul is scheduled to hold a roadshow and a padyatra from Musafirkhana in an effort to reach out to the people of his constituency, the report added. Thereafter, he will move towards Gauriganj, Jagdishpur and Mohanganj before finally going back to Lucknow. Poster seen in Lucknow ahead of Congress president Rahul Gandhi's visit today. pic.twitter.com/pB4AStHorx ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 15, 2018 Prior to the visit, Congress leaders in both Lucknow and Amethi had held day-long meetings on Sunday to prepare for the events, The Indian Express reported. Party workers said they plan to welcome Rahul with drum beats and a showering of flower petals, while the route he is slated to take has been decked with Congress flags, posters and hoardings. "It is going to be a festival for Amethi, as he is not only their MP but the upcoming prime minister as well. There is a tradition that once a Congress president is elected from Amethi, Congress gets a government at the Centre. This is an indication for us that in 2019, Rahul Gandhi will lead us to form a government at the Centre," the report quoted Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh as saying. In December 2017, Union minister Smriti Irani had visited Amethi and hailed BJP's victory in the Uttar Pradesh civic polls, congratulating party workers for the "triumph of development" in the Congress president's parliamentary constituency. As Rahul Gandhi arrived in UP on his first visit to the state after becoming the Congress president, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday advised him to shun 'negative politics' and instead focus on development Gorakhpur: As Rahul Gandhi arrived in UP on his first visit to the state after becoming the Congress president, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday advised him to shun "negative politics" and instead focus on development. The Congress leader arrived in the state on a two-day visit to galvanise party workers for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and breathe life in the party which saw its worst-ever performance in the 2017 Assembly elections getting only seven seats in the 403-member House. "The Congress president should give up doing negative politics," Adityanath told reporters in Gorakhpur even as Rahul Gandhi arrived in Lucknow en route Raebareli and Amethi, the party bastions. Asked as to how he viewed his first visit to the state after donning the mantle of party head, the chief minister said, "My advise to Rahul is that he should focus more on politics of development." Adityanath said that had the Congress laid more emphasis on development, Amethi would not have languished. "See the plight of his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi nursed by four generations of Nehru-Gandhi family," the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Gorakhnath temple, of which he is the head priest, on the occasion of Makarsankranti. Adityanath also attacked former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying he should ask his supporters to behave. "They (SP workers) killed innocent villagers in Azamgarh with spurious liquor and were also caught in Hardoi for making spurious liquor. They tried to disturb the environment in Lucknow which is not good," he charged. In Lucknow, two persons, including a Samajwadi Party worker, were arrested last week for allegedly hurling potatoes near the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and some other places in the VVIP zone to highlight the plight of farmers. Meanwhile, Adityanath greeted BSP supremo Mayawati on her birthday on Monday. On his first visit as Congress president to party bastions Rae Bareli and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the BJP, accusing it of continuously 'lying' and not honouring its promises made to the people. Rae Bareli: On his first visit as Congress president to party bastions Rae Bareli and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi on Monday slammed the BJP, accusing it of continuously "lying" and not honouring its promises made to the people. He was addressing a public meeting at Salon, which is located in Rae Bareli district but falls in his Lok Sabha constituency, Amethi. "The BJP people are continuously lying...one lie after the other. Whether it is pertaining to the Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of people or giving a remunerative price to the farmers or construction of roads...," the Gandhi scion said. "In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had promised that it would deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every citizen if it came to power." Stating that lakhs of youngsters were jobless in the country, Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi never uttered a word about them. He asked the Congress workers to "expose the lies" being propagated by the BJP. "It is your responsibility to tell the public about the lies being said by the BJP. Also tell the people of Amethi about the various development works done by us. Whether it is related to the highways, the rail line network, the food park, the IIIT or the petroleum institute," the Congress chief said. He also asked the party workers to tell the people about the work done by the Congress and what had been done by the Modi government. Referring to Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi claimed that there were 30 lakh unemployed youth in the BJP-ruled state. "They are demanding employment, but Modi is not saying anything (about it)," he said. "However, I want to say one thing. Come what may, the food park will be set up here (in Amethi) and I will prove this...As soon as our government is formed, whether it is the sugarcane farmers, potato farmers or farmers who grow other crops, your produce will be sold here and you will get a handsome price," he added. After the meeting, as the Congress president's convoy was leaving the venue, some BJP workers raised slogans against him. A commotion ensued between the workers of the saffron party and Congress and the police had to intervene. In the melee, Congress MLC from Rae Bareli Deepak Singh was seen engaged in a verbal exchange with Additional Superintendent of Police Shekhar Singh. My precious five-year-old granddaughter DellaMae came home from kindergarten last week, exclaiming in an excited and very concerned tone, "Mommy, they shot the King!" My daughter quickly figured out that her teachers had done a lesson on Dr. Martin Luther King, whose birthday is officially celebrated today. She immediately explained to DellaMae the true meaning of that lesson. Dr. King's tragic death is not what we celebrate. We celebrate what his all too short life meant to our society, to people of all races. For example, the events last year in Charlottesville, Virginia where Neo-Nazis and white supremacists clashed with other protesters resulting in one death, other injuries and many arrests. Charlottesville wasn't the only example that true racial hatred still exists in our country. The appearance of Confederate flags along with increased numbers of marches by those same white supremacists all tend to lead to one conclusion; there is much more racial hatred still alive in our country than we ever realized. In 50 years on the surface, it appears we have come a long way in race relations. Then again, in the past year alone we've had instances that send a loud message that we may be headed several steps backward.For example, the events last year in Charlottesville, Virginia where Neo-Nazis and white supremacists clashed with other protesters resulting in one death, other injuries and many arrests. Charlottesville wasn't the only example that true racial hatred still exists in our country. The appearance of Confederate flags along with increased numbers of marches by those same white supremacists all tend to lead to one conclusion; there is much more racial hatred still alive in our country than we ever realized. It's not just in the South, it's everywhere. In "Red" states as well as some "Blue" states there are still people who believe the color of one's skin determines your status in life. That premise was wrong 50 years ago and it's still wrong today. Growing up as a teenager in the 1960's I was there to see the turmoil we went through as a nation during the Civil Rights Movement. I saw the lunch room sit ins, the peaceful protests that resulted in people of all ages including children being hit by water cannons and beaten to within an inch of their lives. I remember seeing actual news clips of police dogs being turned on protesters; an effort to keep them in their " place." Racism was indeed alive and well then and it's still alive in 2018. Hate is something that doesn't come naturally. It must be taught and white supremacists begin teaching hate at an early age. My granddaughter was taught early on that we must all love each other, just as all my grandchildren have been taught and my two children before them. None of us are perfect but even though we may have lapses in judgement from time to time, hate is not something we carry in our hearts. Reuters Chinas tourism authority has urged accommodation companies to review their websites and apps to fix what Beijing deems to be inaccurate labeling of Taiwan or other Chinese-claimed territories as countries. The move expands the Chinese governments efforts of recent days to police how foreign businesses refer to parts of China, or territories claimed by Beijing, including Taiwan and Hong Kong, even if only in pull-down menus on websites. On 11 January, the government suspended Marriott International Incs Chinese website for a week to punish the worlds biggest hotel chain for listing Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as separate countries in a customer questionnaire. No activities that challenge Chinas legal red lines would be permitted, the state news agency Xinhua quoted a China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) official as saying. It said the administration had ordered immediate and thorough checks of websites and apps by accommodation companies to ensure they comply with the law. The civil aviation authority on 12 January demanded an apology from Delta Air Lines for listing Taiwan and Tibet as countries on its website, while another government agency took aim at Inditex-owned fashion brand Zara and medical device maker Medtronic Plc for similar issues. Marriott, Delta, Zara and Medtronic have all apologized. The Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) ordered all foreign airlines operating routes to China on 12 January to check their websites and apps. The crackdown was accompanied by an outcry online in China over the perceived slights, and efforts to unearth other infractions. On 13 January, the Shanghai-based newspaper The Paper reported that it had found 24 other foreign airlines with websites listing Taiwan, Hong Kong or Macau as countries. Most were in pull-down menus in registration or comments sections, it said. The mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, the Peoples Daily newspaper, said in an editorial the essence of the problem is the political arrogance of foreign companies unafraid to hurt the feelings of people from other countries. tech2 News Staff Do you remember the time when Googles image recognition algorithm created a major controversy after it categorised a black couple as Gorillas? If you dont then we dont blame you as this actually happened back in July 2015. Once discovered, the company issued an apology after acknowledging the sensitivity and gravity of the error. It seems that the company went around to fix the problem but according to a report by Wired, the fix did not go beyond quickly patching the issue at hand. Instead of fixing the problem by teaching its algorithm the difference between coloured people and gorillas, the company went around to fix the problem at hand by directly removing gorillas from the image-labelling technology. It seems that the company has simply blocked its algorithm from identifying gorillas to ensure that history does not repeat itself. The thing to note here is that the company employed this workaround even after making it evident that image recognition will be the spine of most artificial intelligence operations like self-driving cars, personal assistants and other products. Wired tried a number of tests to check the image recognition algorithm ranging from using Google Lens and Google Photos to try and recognise 40,000 images with a variety of subjects and objects. The system refused to identify chimps, gorillas, chimpanzee or monkey. What is interesting is that Google Assistant correctly identified a gorilla as a gorilla. In fact, the Cloud Vision API, a service that Google's Cloud computing division offers to businesses, was also able to identify chimpanzees and gorillas. According to another test, the algorithm did not serve any results to the term African American while only giving results of black and white coloured images for terms such as black man, black woman and black person. Google Photos, y'all fucked up. My friend's not a gorilla. pic.twitter.com/SMkMCsNVX4 Jacky Alcine (@jackyalcine) June 29, 2015 Google issued a statement to Wired confirming that the gorilla term was censored from the search and image tags after the incident. The representative added, Image labelling technology is still early and unfortunately its nowhere near perfect. The report goes in on more detail about the research conducted while investigating about how far Google went in fixing the problem This issue highlights the complexities and potential problems when it comes to image identification and detection algorithms. However, regardless of the problems, it is unclear on why the search giant has not been able to make a more comprehensive solution to this instead of the fix. AP Chinese tech giant Huawei won a patent infringement lawsuit against South Korea smartphone rival Samsung on 11 January, according to information released by a Chinese court. The court ruled in the Chinese companys favour over two patents involving fourth-generation phone technology, according to a notice released through the courts WeChat account and video of the trial. The judge ordered Samsung Electronics to immediately stop selling or manufacturing products using the technology and to pay a small court fee. The ruling did not cite specific phone models. The decision by the Shenzhen Intermediate Court is the latest in a series of deepening patent disputes between the Asian smartphone makers, which have filed lawsuits against each other in the United States and China in recent years. Huawei Technologies Ltd.s headquarters is in Shenzhen, in southern China across the border from Hong Kong. The company is the dominant player in Chinas smartphone market, though globally it trails Samsung and Apple. The court said it ruled in Huaweis favour after finding that Samsung maliciously delayed negotiations that began in July 2011 and was obviously at fault. Samsung said in a statement that it would thoroughly review the courts decision and determine appropriate responses. Huaweis legal victory comes days after it was dealt a setback in its efforts to expand sales in the US when, according to media reports, a planned deal to sell handsets phones through AT&T fell through. Rohan Naravane OnePlus has been on a roll lately, just four years after its inception, the Chinese companys phones have cemented themselves as champions of the budget flagship category. Starting with the OnePlus 3T in 2016, it has adopted a bi-annual product release strategy. With the OnePlus 5T launching in November last year, the pattern suggests a OnePlus 6 should be out by June this year. Pete Lau, the OnePlus CEO, has confirmed that the next flagship will be launching in June this year. While not outright naming the device, Lau has also confirmed that the OnePlus 6 would come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. And just to keep things interesting (and probably not drive away potential OnePlus 6 buyers to avoid the fate the OnePlus 5 buyers faced this year after the launch of OnePlus 5T), Lau said that he wasn't sure if there would be two phone releasing this year. For Rs 32,999, the OnePlus 5T has many features that rival Android brands like Samsung, LG, or Google, which also charge a lot more for. Having said that, there are certain omissions the OnePlus makes, presumably to keep the costs down. With every generation, weve seen the company fill the gaps between its products and the competition. With the OnePlus 5T, it was the tall aspect-ratio display, the OnePlus 5 added the dual-camera setup, while the OnePlus 3 was built using aluminium, etc. Looking at what the competition offers, and things that consumers think should be an absolute must in a flagship, it is not hard to deduce what the OnePlus 6 or even the OnePlus 6T after it will be. Plus, the company also openly talks about what features it wants to keep, and what it would rather not implement today, making it easier. 1: Refreshed Design This is a no-brainer change that will very likely come to the OnePlus 6. Much like Apples s upgrades to the iPhones, OnePlus has been reusing hardware design for two generations. The OnePlus 3T looks like the OnePlus 3, the OnePlus 5T looks like the OnePlus 5. Theres a good chance the OnePlus 6 will bring about a new design, but frankly, I wonder how different can it really be from the current crop. Apple switched to glass backs for enabling Qi wireless charging. As linked above, the company doesnt really seem to be in favour of wireless charging today. Apples adoption of Qi is said to give the standard the shot in the arm it needed for widespread adoption. Maybe this will convince OnePlus otherwise. Switching to glass purely for aesthetics has its own downsides glass is far more susceptible to damage, so we hope a company known for practical decisions like retaining the 3.5mm headphone jack wont trade durability for looks. 2: Updated System-on-Chip and more storage The OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T were based on Qualcomms current-latest Snapdragon 835 platform. And System-on-chip (or SoC) is something the phone maker has never skimped on. In December 2017, the chipmaker announced the next generation of its flag bearer, titled Snapdragon 845. You can click on the prior link to know the exact improvements; long story short, like clockwork, the Snapdragon 845 is faster, more power efficient and more intelligent than the Snapdragon 835. OnePlus has also been a torchbearer in upping the amount of RAM put in a smartphone. I believe both the 6 GB and 8 GB configurations should prove amply-large even in 2018. But we might just see the storage of the higher-tier models bumped from 128 GB to 256 GB. It will better justify the Rs 5,000 price difference between it and the 64 GB storage base unit. 3: Water Resistance Ingress Protection (IP) rating, which suggests the tolerance electronics have towards water and dust, have been a selling point for manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, Apple and others. Although, today nearly every phone maker avoids promoting the usage of its smartphone underwater. They even absolve themselves of any warranty claim if the liquid damage is detected (even for products that are IP rated). In an interview, OnePlus CEO also argued the cost-benefit of waterproofing, suggesting it affects thermal dissipation and makes the phone thicker and heavier. So why bother with this certification when OnePlus phones already offer some resistance to accidental spills? For one, better peace of mind knowing your phone has IP certification means you dont have to be as protective of it in bad weather, or say, when youre at the beach. Next, the feature is already been widely available in nearly every 2017 flagship out there from Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC, Google, to Sony (of course) without any big compromise to their size or cooling capability. To keep their #NeverSettle mantra, the OnePlus 6 will want to add IP-rated water and dust resistance to its feature set. 4: Improved Cameras If theres been one perceptible difference between OnePlus phones and the higher-priced Android flagships, its almost always been the camera. Dont get us wrong the current crop of OnePlus phones click good quality photos, provided the lighting is sufficient. In low light, the quality difference when compared to the likes of Samsung, Google or Apple is noticeable. The company tried to mitigate this issue with every release, sometimes using experimental methods. For example, youll be intrigued to know that the OnePlus 2, OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T featured Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) the mechanical system that negates the unsteadiness of the hand when taking pictures or videos. But interestingly, this feature was dropped in the OnePlus 5, and the quality of low-light shots (where OIS is helpful) took a hit. Next, the OnePlus 5T removed the telephoto lens (which enabled the 1.6x lossless zoom) in favour of a specialised sensor for low-light photos. But as real-world testing showed, a better single camera lens with OIS would have done a better job than the OnePlus 5Ts odd dual-lens combination. So the OnePlus 6 has a tall task of convincing the pundits that it too has a camera system thats as good as the competitors its trying to undercut. 5: Stereo Speakers The OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T already have a fairly loud speaker at the bottom. Adding a stereo speaker system should be a natural progression since its not just about loudness. Having a pair of speakers enables stereo separation a cool effect when the phone is facing you sideways. And its not compulsory to accommodate these speakers on the front face of the phone (although that is ideal for that stereo effect). Phones like the Apple iPhone 8 and X or the HTC U11 have one typical down-firing speaker, while the earpiece doubles up as the secondary output source. The OnePlus 6 could follow a similar path. 6: Under-the-display Fingerprint Scanner The OnePlus 5T moved the fingerprint scanner from the front to the back, because the tall 6-inch display occupied the front face almost entirely. As an alternative unlock method, the company added a custom Face Unlock feature. Although known to be blazingly-fast, it isnt as secure as the fingerprint scanner or Apples Face ID, due to the lack of any specialised biometric hardware (it just uses the front-facing camera). Due to this, activities like authorising payments in Google Play still require the fingerprint scanner to be used. OnePlus parent company BBK electronics also owns the brand Vivo. In mid-2016, Vivo demoed the worlds first smartphone prototype to bear a fingerprint scanner underneath the display. After giving the world a demo of its first smartphone prototype to bear a fingerprint scanner underneath the display, the smartphone maker showed up at CES 2018 with a proper unit. Vivo at the event showed off the new unnamed smartphone with a functional under display fingerprint reader and also said that it was made in partnership with Synaptics. Having two unlock mechanisms offers flexibility while Face Unlock on the OnePlus 5T can suffice for typical use, the fingerprint scanner at the back comes in handy when the former doesnt work (like in pitch dark conditions, or when lying in bed sideways). But having two ways to unlock a phone also brings some confusion you have to pay attention if one method didnt work to use the alternative not great for muscle memory. If the technology is genuinely ready for mass consumption, theres a fair chance OnePlus parent company may want to consider an under-screen fingerprint scanner for the OnePlus 6. There also were rumors about the same, so it seems plausible. So those are our predictions for the OnePlus 6. Do you think any other feature should make it to next OnePlus phone? Lets talk about them in the comments section. We must temper expectations from Benjamin Netanyahus visit. Unless structural impediments are cleared and cobwebs of the mind cleared, little progress will be made. It is hard to miss the camaraderie between Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu as both leaders seek to take bilateral relationship to new heights. However, as the Israel prime minister returns Modis visit amid a blaze of hype and high symbolism, it must be asked why even after 25 years of diplomatic ties between the two nations, the leaders need to bank on personal chemistry and mutual affinity to build a strategic partnership. In Modis own words at the joint press briefing following Mondays delegation-level talks: Prime Minister Netanyahu and I promised each other and our people to build a strategic partnership: of hope and trust and progress of diverse and cutting-edge cooperation, and of joint endeavours and shared successes Such a promise flows as much from the natural affinity and friendship that have linked us for centuries as it does from the compelling win-win case for engagement in almost all spheres. So the question is, why isnt a strategic partnership already in place between two nations that enjoy ancient civilisational ties and deep, broad-based alignment of interests? An honest appraisal of the answer gives us a microcosm of the issues that continue to plague Indias rise: the need for virtue-signalling in foreign policy, pandering to vote-bank politics, failure to recalibrate policymaking to changing geopolitical realities, bureaucratic red tape, systemic lacuna, structural deficiencies and lack of political will. Right from the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, successive Indian governments have banked on Israel for security needs but have treated the ties as an affair, not a relationship. Right from 1962 when Nehru sought help in the forms of arms and ammunitions from his Israel counterpart Ben Gurion during the 1962 war against China, Indira Gandhis request in 1971 for artillery assistance to Israels supply of laser-guided missiles during the Kargil conflict, Israel has been rock solid in its backing of India during our times of need, expecting and receiving little in return. By becoming the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel, Modi adequately demonstrated political will. He has taken forward the Atal Bihari Vajpayee legacy in ensuring that bilateral ties are de-closeted and flaunted as an open embrace. The jury is still out though on whether he will be able to move beyond symbolisms and ensure that the relationship is divorced of its transactional trappings and developed into a strategic partnership. Despite his display of political will, eagerness in changing the trajectory of bilateral ties and attempts at diversifying the areas of cooperation between two nations, Modi is still hemmed in by institutional constraints. Two recent developments reveal the extent of his challenge. One, notwithstanding the non-stop chatter about a pro-Israel tilt in Indias foreign policy, India voted against Israel in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution rejecting US move to formally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The BJP governments arrival at the Centre in 2014 with a thumping mandate had raised expectations that Indias foreign policy would finally be exorcised of its Nehruvian moorings of preachy idealism and reset in alignment with Indias security and economic interests. A closer strategic embrace of Israel was expected, and it was hoped that such a reorientation would manifest itself in a revised voting pattern at the UN. After all, the realities that governed Indias repeated voting at the UN against Israel no longer exist. This isnt a bipolar Cold War world where Arab nations will use oil as a geopolitical weapon against India. It is foolish to fear that Indian expatriates will be forced to return home in droves if New Delhi votes in favour of Israel. It is staggering to think that our foreign policy is guided by such paranoia. The more likely explanation is that Modi government, like its predecessors, commits the same mistake of conflating voting at UN with domestic compulsions a perverted belief that going against Palestine might enrage the Muslim population and worsen the situation at Kashmir. This principled approach is counterproductive and does little to improve our bilateral ties no matter how much praise Modi and Bibi lavish on each other. As Dhirenn Nair from the University of Nottingham has noted in The Diplomat, Given the connection made between the recognition of Israel and the settlement of the Kashmir dispute, Indias pro-Arab policy was not solely the product of staunch anti-colonialism. It was in fact a carefully devised policy of appeasement; a pragmatic undertaking that was influenced by internal factors such as Indias large Muslim population, the Kashmir issue and also external factors such as Arab support at the UN. The second development relates to our defence (in)capabilities and how it has been taken hostage by an agenda that is unsupported by reality. India inked a $500 million anti-tank missile deal with Israel during Modis visit, and then, not surprisingly cancelled the deal owing to pressure from the domestic lobby. The DRDO claimed that it could deliver such a missile (even better ones) at a cheaper cost and since such a claim aligned beautifully with Modis Make in India initiative, the deal with Israel was unceremoniously scrapped. Except that it wasnt. General Bipin Rawat, the army chief, was quoted in the media as saying that since the DRDO missiles wont be ready before 2022, this could hit India's operational capabilities in the interim and therefore it made better sense to get the Israeli missiles to meet the gap. As critics have pointed out, we have no expertise in integrating Israeli sub-systems to our Soviet-era military hardware. Modi government wants to reverse Indias status from worlds biggest arms importer to an arms manufacturer but the PMs ambition has been curtailed by structural capabilities. As Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, senior fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies has noted in Business Standard, The naval MF-STAR radar and long range Barak missile which India paid for and was meant to co-develop are manufactured wholly in Israel, India having failed miserably in its development share... Even where technology has been transferred as in the case of gallium arsenide chips for radars, Indian AWACS radars have abysmal performance since Indias atrocious engineering talent pool cannot develop the matching signal processing algorithms. Therefore, we must temper our expectations from Netanyahus visit. Unless the structural impediments are cleared and cobwebs of the mind done away with, the relationship will continue to be characterised with high optics and little content. Terms such as soaring heights or revolutionary leader are a poor substitute for on ground progress in firming up of strategic ties. Donald Trump on Sunday denied having told a leading US daily that he shared a 'good relationship' with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Washington: US President Donald Trump on Sunday denied having told a leading US daily that he shared a "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, asserting that he was "falsely" quoted in the "fake news" story. In an interview on Thursday, 'The Wall Street Journal' reported that Trump had developed a positive relationship with the North Korea's leader despite their differences. "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un. I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised," Trump was quoted as saying in the interview. Trump said the leading US newspaper knew exactly what he had said, but simply wanted "fake news". The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un (of N. Korea). Obviously I didnt say that. I said Id have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 ...and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 Moments later, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders released the audio clip of the interview. "As you know, I have a great relationship with Prime Minister Abe of Japan and I would probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong un of North Korea," the President said in the audio. The Wall Street Journal, however, defended its version of the interview. "We have reviewed the audio from our interview with President Trump, as well as the transcript provided by an external service, and stand by what we reported," the daily tweeted. It also released the portion of the audio disputed by the White House. In a subsequent tweet, Sanders said the White House had approached The Wall Street Journal on Friday for a correction, but they refused to do it. "We first contacted the WSJ Friday morning and asked for a correction. They repeatedly refused to issue one despite clear audio evidence they'd misquoted POTUS," she tweeted on Sunday in response to a question asked on the social media site. "So much Fake News is being reported. They don't even try to get it right, or correct it when they are wrong. They promote the Fake Book of a mentally deranged author, who knowingly writes false information. "The Mainstream Media is crazed that WE won the election!" Trump tweeted, expressing his frustration over his coverage by the mainstream media. Trump has ridiculed Kim in the past, calling him a "maniac" and "little rocket man". Kim has responded by describing the US president a "mentally deranged US dotard". Last week, Trump told South Korea's President Moon Jae-in that he was open to direct talks with North Korea on its nuclear programme. "Sure. I always believe in talking. If something can happen and something can come out of those talks, that would be a great thing for all of humanity," he told reporters. The president had previously dismissed the idea of direct talks with North Korea, tweeting in October that negotiations with the country were a waste of time. A double suicide bombing killed 26 people in Baghdad on Monday, officials said, the second such attack in the Iraqi capital in three days. Baghdad: A double suicide bombing killed 26 people in Baghdad on Monday, officials said, the second such attack in the Iraqi capital in three days. Dr Abdel Ghani al-Saadi, health chief for east Baghdad, reported "26 dead and 90 wounded". "Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Tayyaran Square in central Baghdad," said General Saad Maan, spokesman for the Joint Operations Command, which includes the army and the police. Tayyaran Square is a bustling centre of commerce and a place where day labourers gather in the early morning waiting for jobs. It has been the site of deadly attacks in the past. An AFP photographer at the site of the bombing said many ambulances had gathered and security forces had been deployed in large numbers. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but most such attacks in Iraq are the work of the Islamic State jihadist group. In December, the government announced the "end of the war" against Islamic State, which has been expelled from the Baghdad region and urban areas of Iraq that it controlled. Jihadist elements are still active, however, north of Baghdad. Myanmar is building a camp to temporarily house 30,000 Rohingya Muslims targetted for repatriation after fleeing violence in Rakhine State, state media reported on Monday Yangon: Myanmar is building a camp to temporarily house 30,000 Rohingya Muslims targetted for repatriation after fleeing violence in Rakhine State, state media reported on Monday, as Myanmar and Bangladesh meet to discuss how to implement a repatriation deal. More than 6,50,000 Rohingya have headed across the border to Bangladesh after a sweeping Myanmar Army counteroffensive in response to Rohingya militant attacks on 25 August, 2017. The crackdown has been described by the United States and UN as ethnic cleansing, which Myanmar repeatedly rejects. Officials from Myanmar and Bangladesh meet on Monday to discuss a repatriation deal signed on 23 November. The meeting in Myanmars capital, Naypyitaw, is the first for a joint working group set up to hammer out the details of the agreement. The state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper said a camp in Hla Po Khaung in northern Rakhine will be a temporary transition camp for people who are to be "accepted systematically" for repatriation. "The 124-acre Hla Po Khaung will accommodate about 30,000 people in its 625 buildings," the newspaper said, adding that some 100 buildings will be completed by end of January. Aung Tun Thet, chief coordinator of Myanmars Union Enterprises for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement and Development, told Reuters that the camp in Hla Po Khaung will be a "transition place" for Rohingya refugees before they are repatriated to their place of origin or the nearest settlement to their place of origin. We will try to accept all of those who are coming back to Myanmar, he said, adding that to verify returnees residency, they will be sent to assessment camps in Taungpyoletwei or Ngakhuya before they are moved to the Hla Po Khaung camp. Soe Aung, permanent secretary of Myanmars Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement, said returnees will spend at least one or two months in Hla Po Khaung before their new homes are built. It is unclear, however, how many returnees would qualify for citizenship in Myanmar. The authorities have said Rohingya Muslims could apply for citizenship if they can show their forebears lived in Myanmar. But the latest deal - like the one in 1992 does not guarantee citizenship. Myanmar government officials have said the 1992-1993 repatriation deal, which followed a previous spasm of violence in Myanmar, would accept those who could present identity documents issued to the Rohingya by governments in the past. Buddhist-majority Myanmar has for years denied Rohingya citizenship, freedom of movement and access to basic services such as healthcare and education. They are considered illegal immigrants from mainly Muslim Bangladesh. Bangladesh officials have said it was unclear when the first refugees could actually return as the two countries need to work out how to jointly verify the identities of returnees. United Nations agencies and human rights watchers have voiced scepticism about the resettlement plans and demanded a more transparent process to safeguard the Rohingyas voluntary return. India is unique as it splits up the court into different benches which gives the CJI the power to influence judicial matters which he is not even a part of. The country witnessed unprecedented events on Friday after four senior judges of the Supreme Court took their grievances against the Chief Justice of India to the media. In a letter addressed to the Chief Justice, the judges said that they were unhappy with the way cases were being allotted to different judges in the apex court. The Chief Justice is the first among equals at the Supreme Court and his judgments carry no more weight than any other judge of the court. But the chief justice does have more administrative powers, which includes control on the roster. This means it is up to the chief justice to decide which set of judges hears which matters. India is unique in this aspect as it splits up the court into different benches which gives the Chief Justice the power to influence judicial matters which he is not even a part of. Other countries around the world use different systems. However it must also be kept in mind that different countries ascribe different roles to their courts and those courts take up different amount of case loads. Therefore it is not a straight comparison between courts but one still worth discussing. USA The highest court is the Supreme Court of the United States. It does not have to deal with the allocation of cases as all judges hear all cases which the court accepts. Over the years, various Acts of Congress have altered the number of seats on the Supreme Court, from a low of five to a high of 10. Shortly after the Civil War, the number of seats on the court was fixed at nine. Today, it comprises a Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. The US Supreme Court is known for accepting a minuscule number of cases filed before it. Each term, approximately 7,000-8,000 new cases are filed before it out of which the court grants and hears oral argument in about 80 cases. The court hears cases in a panel of nine Justices (i.e. en banc). It is however not necessary for all judges to be present at a hearing as the quorum to decide a case is six. Justices may also participate in a case by listening to audio recordings of the oral arguments and reading the transcripts. UK The corresponding court in the UK is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. It has a total of 12 Justices. Currently they are 10 men and 2 women, and they come from a variety of legal backgrounds but have all been practising barristers at one stage. The current President of the court is Lady Brenda Marjorie Hale while Lord Jonathan Hugh Mance is the Deputy President. The court receives around 230 applications for permission to appeal and hears around 90 cases per year. The justices also serve on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) which is the final court of appeal for some small commonwealth countries and British overseas territories. The JCPC hears around 40 cases per year. The justices usually hear cases in a panel of five, although they have the potential to hear cases as a panel of seven or nine depending on the importance of the appeal. Cases are allocated on a random basis at the court, although either the President or Deputy President will sit on most cases, and in specialist areas other judges with particular expertise may be selected. South Africa It is relevant to consider the South African Constitutional Court in this discussion as the South African Constitution and its early jurisprudence have been discussed extensively among comparative constitutional law scholars and other academics. Frequently, the Constitution has been described as a model document for protecting human rights and the court has been praised for advancing the cause of equality and justice. The Constitutional Court is South Africa's highest court on constitutional matters. So its jurisdiction the scope of its authority to hear cases is restricted to constitutional matters and issues connected with decisions on constitutional matters. The court comprises of 11 judges and is headed by the Chief Justice of South Africa and the Deputy Chief Justice. The Constitution requires that a matter be heard by a quorum of at least eight judges. In ordinary practice, all 11 judges hear every case. If any judge is absent for a long period or a vacancy arises, an acting judge may be appointed. Thus here too the Chief Justice is not required to decide on the allocation of cases. Australia The High Court is the highest court in the Australian judicial system. It was established in 1901 by Section 71 of the Constitution. Its functions are to interpret and apply the law of Australia; to decide cases of special federal significance including challenges to the constitutional validity of laws and to hear appeals, by special leave, from Federal, State and Territory courts. It comprises of seven Justices: the Chief Justice of Australia, currently The Honourable Susan Kiefel AC, and six other justices. In cases which involve an interpretation of the Constitution or if the court might need to overrule one of its previous decision or where the principle of law under consideration is of major public importance, a full bench of all seven Justices hears the matter. Other cases which come to the court for final determination involve appeals against the decisions of lower courts and are dealt with by a full court of not less than two Justices. In addition there are certain matters which can be heard and determined by a single justice. In this court, the chief justice "proposes" a roster of the court for each sitting. However, their power of assignment is recommendatory and not determinative. In the 1930s, Justice Starke emphasised this point by regularly sitting in cases in which he wanted to even if his name was not included in the roster "proposal". The High Court of Australia is thus similar to the Indian court to an extent. However, because most important cases are decided by a full bench, the power of the Australian Chief Justice is more limited than that of the Indian Chief Justice. Sri Lanka has lifted a 39-year ban on women buying alcohol or working in places that sell or manufacture liquor Colombo: Sri Lanka has lifted a 39-year ban on women buying alcohol or working in places that sell or manufacture liquor, an official said on Sunday. The 1979 law prohibiting the sale of any type of alcohol to women on the island of 21 million people was overturned in an effort to strike sexist bills from the statute books, said a spokesman for the finance ministry. "The idea was to restore gender neutrality," Ali Hassen told AFP of the decision Wednesday to roll back the ban. The move also repeals a ban on women working in places where alcoholic drinks are made or sold, like bars. Liquor vendors are still forbidden to sell spirits to police or members of the armed forces in uniform, Hassen said. Sri Lanka in its November budget unveiled steep tax rises on hard liquor, but greatly reduced tariffs on wine and beer. Under new measures also passed by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera, bars and pubs can remain open longer. It was unclear why the ban on women was imposed in the first place, but a finance ministry official said he believed it was intended to appease the conservative Buddhist hierarchy at the time. The relaxed laws on alcohol have provoked a backlash in some quarters of the majority-Buddhist nation. The National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection accused the finance minister of encouraging drinking, and urged President Maithripala Sirisena to intervene and restore the restrictions. Samaraweera has said that strict curbs on Sri Lanka's licenced liquor manufacturers only encourage a black market for spirits, and deprive the state of much-needed revenue. Back in April 1961, eight years before the Woodstock Festival and eight years after Duke Ellingtons last pop hit, the Modern Jazz Quartet was heard for the first time in the South, performing to an audience at the University of the South in Sewanee. At this point the progressive MJQ was not yet the household name it would become later; it had landed in Sewanee entirely thanks to the efforts of the student Jazz Society. The University, lacking a real concert hall, offered up its gymnasium one Sunday afternoon for a concert in the round by the MJQ. That gym, named for a segregationist, hosted hundreds of listeners in one of the first integrated events to occur on campusor anywhere in that region. The University of the South pays tribute to that landmark event by hosting another momentous concert, the Aaron Diehl Quartet in performance, reviving the songs played by the MJQ back in 61. It will be held Sunday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. CST. Aaron Diehl, celebrated for his virtuosity as both jazz and classical pianist, brings the outstanding vibraphonist Warren Wolf along with Paul Sikivie, bass, and Peter Van Nostrand, drumsaltogether forming an ensemble capable of handling the MJQ book. In the preceding days, Feb. 9-10, the University also hosts a symposium dedicated to the music of the MJQ. The symposium assembles several leading names in jazz studies, including Gary Giddins, featured expert in Ken Burnss Jazz and author of Visions of Jazz and Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star; and George Schuller, drummer with the Lee Konitz Quartet and son of famed composer and jazz advocate Gunther Schuller. Symposium participants will also hear from Phil Schaap, a fabled New York City jazz personality (curator, Jazz at Lincoln Center, faculty member of Juilliard Jazz Studies, and WKCR jazz host), and Dr. Christopher Coady, the author of John Lewis and the Challenge of Real Black Music and lecturer at the Sydney (Australia) Conservatorium of Music. Dr. Coady will lecture on the significance of the MJQs experience in Europe and the impact of that on their lead songwriter in Jazz Possibilities: John Lewis at Home and Abroad. Mr. Schaap, regarded as the worlds premier jazz disk-jockey, will curate listening sessions of MJQ recordings in the acclaimed Ralston Listening Room on the campus of the University of the South. Aaron Diehl, who at an earlier stage of his career was selected by John Lewiss widow, Mirjana, to archive the music of her husband, also contributes to the symposium with a performance-discussion on Lewiss charts from a pianists perspective. Review for MJQ: The MJQ, referred to as the premier concert ensemble in jazz and even the worlds finest chamber group in any kind of music, modeled a rare degree of egalitarian, even democratic, cooperation. In the words of John Lewis, the pianist and primary composer, they tried to make it a reflection of this country, the ideal reflection that it should be a democracy, where the group takes advantage of the best abilities of each of the participants. The vibraphonist Milt Jackson gave the group a brilliant soloist, and the drummer Connie Kay and bassist Percy Heath each added personal stylistic elements essential to the mature MJQ sound. The foursome opened jazz to new audiences at the same time that it expanded the arts frontiers. Some of their recordings apply jazz inspiration to classical forms and textures, heading in the direction sometimes labeled third stream, while others venture towards the cool or bop idioms within jazz. In the late 60s The Beatles brought out two MJQ albums on the Apple label. Together the quartet recorded, performed, and toured longer than virtually all other chamber ensemblesfor more than four decades, from the early 1950s to the mid-90s. The MJQ members died between 1994 and 2005, but the quartet retains its hold on todays listeners with recordings like Django and Bags Grooveand continues to attract attention from leading contemporary jazz musicians, notably Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter, and Aaron Diehl. A special attraction of the symposium will be a viewing of Music Inn, hosted by George Schuller, who co-produced the film. This documentary conveys the story of the School of Jazz in Lenox, Ma., and the performers who for three legendary decades graced the stage of its Music Barn, including Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck, Dizzy Gillespie, and Pete Seeger. All these artistsamong many othersalso played on the Sewanee campus in the 1960s and 70s, sponsored by the student Jazz Society. (Among the first of these was the celebrated 1961 MJQ concert.) These performances were notable for occurring in what was a still largely segregated South, and it was here that integration was first possible in the region. Not coincidentally, the Highlander Folk Schoolwell known as a training site for non- violent protest where champions of the civil rights era assembled, including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Septima Clarkwas just a few miles up the road from Sewanee. Some of the same individuals were active in both the Sewanee Jazz Society and at Highlander. For more information about specific dates, times, locations and registration and ticket charges, visit www.sewanee.edu/mjqinsewanee. Several divisions of the University of the South underwrite these events: the Vice-Chancellors Office, Lectures Committee, Performing Arts Series, Office of Minority Affairs, Office of Alumni and Parent Programs, Departments of Music and History, Program in American Studies, along with the Sewanee Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation. The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee, comprises a nationally recognized College of Arts and Sciences and a distinguished School of Theology. Located on 13,000 acres in Tennessees Cumberland Plateau, Sewanee enrolls 1,700 undergraduates and approximately 100 seminarians. For more information about the University of the South, visit www.sewanee.edu. The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said on Sunday it was working to create a 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria. Beirut: The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group said on Sunday it was working to create a 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria, drawing sharp condemnation from Turkey. With the offensive against Islamic State winding down, the coalition and its allies in the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance were beginning to shift their focus to border security, coalition spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told AFP. "There is a goal of a final force of approximately 30,000," about half of whom would be retrained SDF fighters, he said. "There are approximately 230 individuals that are training right now in the border security force. That's an inaugural class," Dillon said. Backed by the US-led coalition's air strikes, special forces advisers, and weapons, the SDF has ousted IS from swathes of northeastern Syria. Its Kurdish and Arab members now control territory bordering Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and Syrian government forces to the west. Turkey reacted sharply to news of the border force on Sunday, saying it would "legitimise a terror organisation". Ankara is fiercely opposed to the SDF, which is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) - considered by the Turkish government to be a "terrorist" group. "Rather than end its support to the PYD-YPG, these steps taken to legitimise a terror organisation and to make it permanent in the region are worrying," said Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Accepting this state of affairs is absolutely not possible," Kalin added. Top SDF media official Mustefa Bali confirmed the creation of the border force, and said training had already begun. "We are transitioning to a new phase of coordination between us and the international coalition," Bali told AFP. "The wide areas and cities that were liberated need someone to protect them." Bali said the new units would be deployed along the Turkish border and adjacent to territory held by Syrian troops, but did not immediately respond to a question on rules of engagement in those areas. Turkey has often targeted YPG positions in northern Syria and on Sunday, Erdogan threatened to attack the Kurdish-held area of Afrin in northern Syria "in the days ahead". The SDF's relationship with regime forces is less tense. Since 2017, a "de-confliction line" cutting diagonally across eastern Syria has largely kept the two forces from clashing. There was no immediate reaction from the Syrian government to the border force announcement. The coalition declined to comment on possible military protocol when it came to Turkish or regime troops. Dillon said the force was primarily part of a broader strategy to "prevent the resurgence of IS". "With the fight against IS, as the remaining pocket continues to go away, we know that doesn't mean the end of Daesh," he told AFP, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "We'll have to make sure that there is security that can be maintained," he said. Dillon said SDF troops in Syria's east were already coordinating with Iraqi forces across the border to target any "transient movement" by Islamic State fighters between the two countries. UAE accused rival Qatar of 'intercepting' two Emirati passenger planes en route to Bahrain Monday in the latest incident between the Gulf rivals. Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates accused rival Qatar of "intercepting" two Emirati passenger planes en route to Bahrain Monday in the latest incident between the Gulf rivals. Qatar denied that the first plane had been intercepted, but there was no immediate denial from Doha for the second incident. The UAE "General Civil Aviation Authority received a message from a national carrier on Monday morning that an aircraft on a routine flight to Manama was intercepted by Qatari fighter jets", it said in a statement carried by the state news agency. The authority said it was "a flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation and a clear violation of international law". "This is a routine flight that has all the required paperwork," it said. The authority later said a second Emirati passenger plane bound for Bahrain was also intercepted by Qatari fighter jets. It said the second plane was intercepted "during its descent towards Bahrain International Airport", adding that it was also on a routine pre-scheduled flight. A spokeswoman for Qatar's foreign ministry denied the first incident had occurred. "The state of Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft (are) completely false," Lulwa al-Khater said on Twitter. Four UAE-based airlines Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia operate flights to Bahrain. Spokespersons for the airlines contacted by AFP could not immediately confirm or deny the news. Monday's allegations came after Qatar accused UAE fighter jets of violating its airspace in December and January. Qatar is located in the Gulf, between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and across the Gulf waters from Iran. Tensions have escalated in the Gulf since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all ties with Qatar in June, accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremists and being too close to Saudi Arabia's arch-rival, Iran. They have banned all flights to and from Doha and cut off most trade links. Qatar denies the allegations, arguing the bloc aims to incite regime change in Doha The United Arab Emirates on Monday claimed that Qatari fighter jets intercepted one of its commercial airliners in international airspace on the way to Bahrain, an allegation promptly denied by a Doha official Dubai: The United Arab Emirates on Monday claimed that Qatari fighter jets intercepted one of its commercial airliners in international airspace on the way to Bahrain, an allegation promptly denied by a Doha official. The UAE's two major airlines declined to immediately comment. The claim could further escalate tensions between Qatar and the four Arab nations that have been boycotting it for months, among them the UAE, home to the world's busiest international airport. It also follows two complaints by Qatar to the United Nations about Emirati military aircraft allegedly violating its international airspace amid the diplomatic crisis. The UAE's state-run WAM news agency made the claim on Monday , citing the country's General Civil Aviation Authority. "The GCAA received a message from one of the UAE's national carriers on Monday morning that one of its aircraft on a flight to Manama on a normal route had been intercepted by Qatari fighters," the report said. "The flight was a regular, scheduled service on a known flight-path that met all the required and internationally recognised approvals and permits." WAM did not identify the carrier involved, nor did it elaborate on details of the purported encounter. Saif Al Thani, a Qatari government spokesman, denied the UAE's claim on Twitter, calling it "completely untrue." He promised a detailed statement would come later on Monday. The UAE is home to two major national carriers, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Dubai-based Emirates. Both airlines declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press. US Air Force Central Command, which is based at the sprawling Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, also did not immediately have any report about any incident involving a commercial aircraft in the region, said Lt Col Damien Pickart, an Air Force spokesman. However, Pickart cautioned that US forces don't routinely monitor the flights and operations of the Qatari air force. The Qatar crisis began 5 June with Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE cutting off Doha's land, sea and air routes over its alleged support of extremists and close ties with Iran. Qatar has long denied funding extremists. It recently restored full diplomatic relations with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field that made the country and its about 250,000 citizens extremely wealthy. Recently, Qatar accused Emirati military jets of violating its air space in December and January in two incidents, filing a complaint to the United Nations. Last night, an exiled Qatari ruling family member once promoted by Saudi Arabia amid its ongoing dispute with Doha appeared in an online video, claiming he's being held against his will in the United Arab Emirates, an allegation denied by Abu Dhabi. The video of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani, a little- known ruling family member until the Qatar crisis, also offered new fuel to the stalemated dispute. It also recalled the bizarre, now-reversed resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri while on a trip Riyadh, a 4 November decision that was widely perceived as Saudi-orchestrated at the time. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, students at The Bright School marked the holiday with activities that commemorated the 50th anniversary of his death.The day began with the Morning Meeting at the Centennial Theater, and Head of School O.J. Morgan talked to students about what he hoped they would think about during the day, leading up to hearing a clip from Dr. Kings I Have a Dream speech.At Bright School, we always take time to recognize Dr. Kings importance, he said.I want you to dream about things you want to do for others that give your life purpose. Each and every one of you have the brains and heart to do something special in this world.Throughout the day, students completed their 50th anniversary projects, which they presented to the rest of the school in an afternoon assembly.The pre-kindergarten collected 50 reasons to smile and posted them on a bulletin board.The kindergarten spent 50 minutes in the morning collecting trash around school.The first grade collected 50 gently-used books, wrapped the books and made bookmarks to give to Little Miss Mag, an early learning center in Chattanooga.The second grade collected 50 caps for patients at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital and wrote letters to the children who will receive the caps.The third grade wrote 50 letters to residents at nursing homes through the Love for the Elderly letters of love project.The fourth grade researched and then presented facts, people, events and places about civil rights in each of the 50 states.The fifth grade put together a display of 50 words that describe Dr. King and made their own personal word clouds of 50 words.During lunch, students were encouraged to choose only the foods they would eat and not waste anything. Parents Leslie Simmons and Elizabeth Jackson helped science teacher Melanie Nestler, who is spearheading the green teams efforts to reduce waste at school, by keeping track of which classes had the most clean trays at lunch. Dr. King was a hero and a brave man, Mrs. Nestler told students. He would not ignore the hunger that millions of Americans face while others throw food away.The goal was 50 clean trays, but the students made very good choices and ate what they were served. The total was 165 clean trays for grades first through fifth. On top of the clean trays, the amount of food thrown away during lunch was significantly reduced. This was a success, Mrs. Nestler said. The three classes with the most clean trays will receive a cookie party.Students ended the day by seeing pictures of their fellow students completing their activities, and representatives from each grade (K-fifth) came to the stage and told the school what they did. Afterward, Mr. Morgan introduced a clip of Dr. Kings I Have a Dream speech and asked students to remember what he talked about that morning, about having dreams of what they can do.Mr. Morgan reminded students that other children have started non-profit organizations, such as Katie Stagliano with Katies Krops, who visited the school last year, and Jacob Cramer, who started Love for the Elderly, which the third grade participated in. We are not talking about what you can do 25 years from now. You can do something now, Mr. Morgan said. Ive seen it in you already. You will be living out what Dr. King was talking about. Corey Lewandowski, a former campaign manager for the 2016 Trump presidential campaign, will be the keynote speaker for the Lincoln Day Dinner of the Hamilton County Republican Party. It will be Friday, April 27, at the Chattanoogan hotel. The speaker is an American political operative and political commentator. He was a commentator for One America News Network and Fox News and a former political commentator for CNN. He earlier worked for Americans for Prosperity, leading its national voter registration drive. Though AMDs initial response to Spectre security flaw was positive as the company said the impact is near zero, today it confirmed that the processors are vulnerable to both variants of the Spectre security flaw. The company further added that it is rolling out firmware updates available for Ryzen and EPYC owners this week. AMD will be rolling out the patches to suppliers who will be pushing them to the users. The company didnt mention anything about the performance impact. AMD says that Google Project Zero Variant 1 (Bounds Check Bypass or Spectre could be contained with an operating system patch. It is been working with Microsoft to roll out the patches for the majority of AMD systems and is also closely following up to correct the issue that paused the distribution of patches for some older AMD processors. Linux vendors are also rolling out patches across AMD products. The variant two; Branch Target Injection or Spectre is also applicable to AMD processors. While it is hard for the variant two to exploit AMD processors, the company said that it is working to further mitigate the threat. It also mentioned that patches and firmware updates to older processors will be rolled out over the coming few weeks and confirmed that the chips arent vulnerable to Meltdown. Apple released iOS 11.2.2, macOS 10.13.2 supplemental update with security fixes for Spectre vulnerability earlier this week. Given the wide range of handset makers and operating system versions, the situation with Android is even more complex. Source Users of TP-Link, Linksys and Synology routers are reporting a consistent network crashes when the Google Home Max device is online. Many users took Google Product Forum and Reddit to report the issue which started off with Home Max device and later noticed even on the less expensive Google Home and Chromecast devices. According to the reports, the problems start as soon as the Home Max is added to a network. TP-Link points out the MDNS packets that keep a live connection with Cast devices which is also the same issue that Google blamed during the Nexus Player crashes. Apparently, instead of sending packets in 20-second time-frame, Home Max is said to be broadcasting thousands of them and overloading the router. Post the reports, TP-Link Archer C7 has got a beta-firmware update that should fix the issue, and even Google reported that they havent heard any complaints post the firmware update. Since it is possible that the issue might arise with Chromecast and other Home devices, its worth giving the beta firmware update a shot. However, Googles Home Product forum manager, Paula has asked users with network crashing issues to submit the feedback by including screenshots, logs, and firmware version your router is on. Also mentioned that the company is looking into it. Now that Google is looking into it, we should know more details on the fix soon. Source 1, 2 | Via HTC just announced HTC U11 EYEs, the companys latest mid-range smartphone in the U11 series in Taiwan, as expected. It has a 6-inch full HD+ 18:9 display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 with 4GB of RAM. Like the original U11 and U11 Plus, this feature Edge Sense technology for squeeze interaction, but this runs on Android 7.1 (Nougat). It has the same 12MP HTC UltraPixel 3 on the back Optical image stabilization (OIS), dual LED flash and f/1.7 aperture and the main highlight of the smartphone are the dual 5-megapixel front cameras to for HDR Enhancement and Bokeh Mode to blur the background. It has a fingerprint sensor on the back and also comes with Face Recognition Unlocking. It has a glass back and packs a 3930mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging capabilities. It is also dust and water-resistant with IP67 ratings. HTC U11 EYEs specifications 6-inch (1080 x 2160 pixels) Full HD+ Super LCD 3 display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection Octa-Core Snapdragon 652 64-bit Mobile Platform with Adreno 510 GPU 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, expandable memory with microSD Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) with HTC Sense UI 12MP UltraPixel 3 rear camera with Dual LED flash, Phase Detection Auto Focus (PDAF),BSI sensor, OIS, f/1.7 aperture, 4K video recording 5MP + 5MP dual front-facing cameras with f/2.2 aperture, 80-degree wide-angle lens, Real-time bokeh effects Dual SIM Fingerprint sensor Dimensions: 157.9 x 74.99 x 8.5 mm; Weight: 185g Water and dust resistant (IP67) USB Type-C audio, HTC USonic with Active Noise Cancellation, Hi-Res audio certified 4G LTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4 and 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2 and GPS with GLONASS, USB 2.0 Type-C 3930mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 The HTC U11 EYEs comes in Red, Silver and Black colors, is priced at NT$ 14,900 (US$ 504 / Rs. 32020 approx.) and is already available for pre-order in Taiwan and ships from February 1st. Nobody expects to find a Rembrandt sitting under the ping-pong table in the basement. So the Landau brothers, natives of Teaneck, N.J., felt perfectly comfortable skipping their own estate auction. What happened next was incredible, even for an episode of Strange Inheritance, the Fox Business Network series which premieres its fourth season Monday, Jan. 15. The Landaus tell their story to host Jamie Colby at 9 p.m. ET. Their inheritance tale started typically: Back when Ned, Roger and Steven Landaus grandparents died, their mother cleared out their house, keeping some items that might go well in her dining room like his silver tea set and a couple of old paintings. Then mom died in 2010, and her three sons repeated the drill. We had a garage sale, but there were a few things like the china and silver that looked very nice and we thought, well, we dont really want to just give them away, Ned tells Colby in the program. One item that again made the cut was a small painting that had always creeped out Ned. It was of a woman passed out in a chair, and two men trying to revive her. As a kid I thought, why did we have a painting like that in our dining room? he says. Moms nice stuff went straight into Rogers basement. Though the boxes made it hard to play ping-pong, Roger procrastinated another four years before calling the estate sale guy up the parkway, John Nye. Nye valued the silver pieces at a couple of thousand dollars, and each of three paintings at a few hundred. Like Ned, Nye wasnt impressed by the picture of the men reviving the woman with smelling salts: It had varnish that had cracked and paint loss. Not a beautiful painting and the people in the picture were not beautiful people. It was remarkably unremarkable. The appraisal sounded about right to the Landau brothers. Steven thought, If I get my, you know, few hundred dollars, Ill be extremely happy. I even forgot when the auction was happening, adds Roger. It was Yom Kippur and I dont answer my phone. There wasnt going to be much to phone home about anyway, it seemed. The silver fetched a little more than expected, and a couple of the paintings a little less. As for that unappetizing portrait from their dining room, the bidding started at $250 and worked up to Nyes $800 high estimate. Then a phone bidder from France made clear he was in it to win. All of a sudden its at $5,000 and man, that happened in no time, says Nye. When a caller from Germany answered every bid by the Frenchman, the price blew past $80,000, and then $100,000. Everyone started creeping back into the sales room, and the bidding just kept going! recalls Nyes wife Kathy who was on the phone to France, while her colleague Amy Ludlow handed the German. Eventually were at $450,000, and I said, Would you like to bid? Ludlow recalls. He says, Yes, bid. I was in disbelief. Only after the French buyer scared him off with a $1.1 million winning bid (including commission) did Ludlows German bidder explain what was going on. He said, Amy, it was a Rembrandt. Ive been looking for this painting my whole adult professional career. It would take a little longer before the Landau brothers learned about their strange inheritance. Maybe one, two days after Yom Kippur I returned Johns call, says Roger. I asked, Oh, so howd the auction go? and he said, Well, it actually went quite well. The painting turned out to be one of Rembrandts earliest works part of a lost series on the five senses from the early 1600s. It appears the Landaus grandfather had unknowingly purchased the Sense of Smell from an equally clueless seller at an estate auction before the Depression. Whatever the case, the painting that freaked out young Ned Landau every Thanksgiving has become his all-time favorite work of art. Its one of Rembrandts best! he now opines. Eighteen states raised their minimum wages at the start of 2018, but increasing labor costs are strangling the dining industry so much that restaurants could soon face the same fate as shopping malls. I think youre going to see thousands of restaurants close their doors, Willie Degel, Restaurant Stakeout host and CEO of Uncle Jacks Steakhouse, told FOX Business. Fine dining is going to go by the wayside. The downward cycle seems daunting to Degel and other industry insiders. As costs rise, only so much of the burden can be passed along to consumers in the form of price hikes before they decide they cannot afford the expense. When we increase in prices we see guest count go down, Degel noted. The consumer is not willing to pay for the experience then. Michael Mabry, president of MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes, told FOX Business throughout recent years he also turned to price increases in order to balance out swelling costs. However, at the first opportunity, he brought menu prices back down by 10%. In addition to raising prices, businesses often cope with minimum wage increases by firing staff. Last week, casual dining chain Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (NASDAQ:RRGB) announced it would eliminate busboy positions at 570 restaurant locations. Degel said he got rid of busboys at his New York restaurants two years ago, and has more recently turned to staff cuts across the board. I cant fire any other people or I cant even do my business, he said. Many business owners have turned to technology to both compensate for the loss of labor and to reduce expenses. Some restaurants, including Chilis and Applebees, have already replaced servers with tableside tablets for placing orders and paying bills. But technology has had another effect. Services like GrubHub (NYSE:GRUB) are beginning to change the nature of the dining experience for consumers, who can enjoy a meal from their favorite restaurants without ever having to step foot inside. Similar to the way e-commerce triggered a shift in the retail industry, mobile orders and delivery could deepen existing trends for restaurateurs by transforming the traditional, in-house meal. Who suffers from these trends? One answer is low-skilled and entry-level workers, who are often the first layer of staff cut when profits run thin or new technologies are introduced. I think its a real problem for people with low educational attainment and a low basic skills base, Iain Murray, vice president for strategy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, told FOX Business. That sets you in a trend whereby its very difficult to gain the extra skills to [get] a job even at minimum wage. That sets you in for long-term unemployment. Michael Saltsman, director of the Employment Policies Institute (EPI), said that his first job at age 15 was working as a busboy, where he had no particular skills but the business took a chance on him. [It is] drilling down to people who are young, who arent enrolled in school [a demographic with] unemployment rates that are three to four times the overall [national] unemployment rate, he said This year, the youth unemployment rate in July was 54.8%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The national unemployment rate clocked in at 4.3%. But Degels situation, as a small business owner and entrepreneur, suggests that the suffering is even more widespread. Weve been attacked every which way, he said. Now Im in the make-believe business because I dont make money anymore. Degel is not alone. Last year a number of restaurant chains made the difficult decision to close locations, including Bloomin Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN), the parent company of Outback Steakhouse and Carrabbas Italian Grill, which closed 43 restaurants; Howard Johnsons, which closed for good; and Pollo Tropical, which shuttered 30 stores. Both Murray and Degel agree that having politicians with business experience could help mitigate the damage and help work toward a solution that better satisfies all parties involved. I suspect that most of the people who are promoting [minimum wage hikes] ... have not actually owned or managed a business that exists with razor-thin margins, Murray said. In addition to the 18 states and 20 cities that raised their minimum wages on Jan. 1, three more states will implement a hike later this year. Oil hovered near a three-year high above $70 a barrel on Monday on signs that production cuts by OPEC and Russia are tightening supplies, although analysts warned of a red flag due to surging U.S. production. International benchmark Brent crude futures LCOc1 last traded 29 cents higher at $70.16 by 1937 GMT, having risen to a high of $70.37 a barrel earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 gained 51 cents at $64.81 a barrel. Both benchmarks hit levels not seen since December 2014, although trading was thin due to a holiday in the United States. A production-cutting pact between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers has given a strong tailwind to oil prices. Growing signs of a tightening market after a three-year rout have bolstered confidence among traders and analysts. Its catching a lot of people by surprise and I think (prices) are sustainable, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group. Were seeing the reality of strong demand and declining supplies. Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Monday raised its 2018 Brent price forecast to $64 a barrel from $56, forecasting a deficit of 430,000 barrels per day (bpd) in oil production compared to demand this year. OPEC and non-OPEC producers remain committed to production cuts at the same time world oil demand continues to increase, said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. As we go through 2018, the market is also going to continue to look at geopolitical supply disruptions that could occur in Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela. RED FLAG Still, some analysts have warned that the 13 percent rally since the start of the year could peter out due to global refinery maintenance and rising North American production. U.S. energy companies added 10 oil rigs in the week to Jan. 12, taking the number to 752, energy service firm Baker Hughes (NYSE:GE) said on Friday. That was the biggest increase since June 2017. In Canada, energy firms almost doubled the number of rigs drilling for oil last week to 185, the highest level in 10 months. Vienna-based consultancy JBC Energy expects U.S. production to grow by 600,000 bpd in the first quarter of 2018 compared to a year earlier. From a fundamental perspective, the surge in U.S. managed money raises a clear red flag for us. We see the U.S. complex as decidedly bearish over the next two months. But Flynn said a fast climb in U.S. output is not so clear. The realities of the shale market are starting to sink in. Shale producers have to add a lot of rigs, frack crews and add a lot of investment. It takes time to raise that production. Voice of the People Recently four members of Porter County Board of Zoning Appeals approved to give an Iowa company special exceptions and variances to build a THIRD gas station at U.S. 6 and Indiana 149, on the northwest corner adjacent to Liberty Township. In this growing age of... Voice of the People We havent betrayed the Afghan people; they betrayed us. Monday morning quarterbacks criticizing our government and military are nothing more than cheap shot malcontents. Id like to see or at least hear how, under these same circumstances, they could do better. Joel Sutlin Chesterton September... Voice of the People Chesterton needs an Italian beef place like Portillios or Pops. Next to the new Aldi would be a great location. Please and thank you. Linda Williams Westville Monitor childrens online activity to prevent exploitation Now that the new school year has begun and notwithstanding the increase of in-person classes, our children will likely continue to use their various devices with access to the internet. By doing so, they can unknowingly become the target of online human traffickers and predators,... Citing new policy changes under President Donald Trump, Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn said Sunday the U.S. economy is creating a great environment for business. We think presently the U.S. economy is one of the very positive spots on the planet, and this is something that the industry likes and this is something the industry would like to sustain, Ghosn told Trish Regan on Sunday Morning Futures, regarding the Trump administrations potential infrastructure deal in particular. Ghosn, who also serves as chairman and CEO of French automaker Renault, added that the tax reform legislation passed by Republicans in December will likely also benefit the auto industry. I think its a good thing because obviously well be sustaining [economic] activity, he said. In fact, I think thanks to the tax reformwe were expecting the car market to go down in 2018I dont think it will. I think it will be remaining stable. Though some companies, including Comcast, Wells Fargo, Boeing, airlines Southwest and JetBlue and most recently Wal-Mart, announced they would provide employees with bonuses due to the new tax laws, Ghosn said it was too early to decide what his companies would do. The auto exec, who is not a U.S. citizen and spends most of his time between Paris and Tokyo, said he gives the president credit for the strong economy, since he is the main person behind all the decisions being made. As a business person, I just applaud this economy All my companies operate in the United States. We look at it independently of any other consideration. We look at the economy, the economy is going very well, Ghosn said. Additionally, the auto industry will closely watch any developments from the latest round of meetings among officials from the U.S., Canada and Mexico to determine the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement, especially with Trump threatening to pull out of the deal. Ghosn said any changes would affect the industry a lot, though the fact that the agreement is being renegotiated comes as no surprise, citing changes to the countries since the trade pact was created 24 years ago. Its something very logical, Ghosn said. Obviously the outcome will have a lot of importance for all the car manufacturers because we have based the supply system on North America for the North American market. If anything needs to happen here, it will have a major impact on our supply system. The company that bought FairPoint Communications is discarding the old name and making plans to upgrade the service of tens of thousands of customers in northern New England. Consolidated Communications, which has operations in 24 states, is going to begin rebranding with its own logo for trucks and buildings early in the new year, providing the most visible change for its customers in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont since it bought FairPoint last summer. "It is a new beginning," said Rob Koester, vice president for consumer products. "It's a new chapter for us. It's a rededication to our customers." The Mattoon, Illinois-based company has been making changes behind the scenes since closing on the $1.5 billion deal: It has eliminated state presidents in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in favor of the new company's regionalized structure and has been quietly preparing to roll out higher-speed internet offerings. The new team will be negotiating its first contract with workers in the coming year. "This is going to be a challenging year for them," said Barry Hobbins, the public advocate in Maine. Nonetheless, he added, "I'm cautiously optimistic." Consumers have been pining for faster internet offerings in a rural region where internet access and data speeds have lagged behind more populated places. The goal is to upgrade service for existing subscriber locations to enable faster speeds; there are no price increases planned for existing customers, said spokeswoman Angelynne Amores. Michael Charter, a FairPoint customer in Jericho, Vermont, lives just outside the state's largest city, Burlington, where there is a multitude of internet service providers. But his only option for a provider is FairPoint. And it is so slow, he said, that he has purchased two service lines to try to keep the family's online television, internet use and work from choking for lack of bandwidth. Some of his televisions and computers are on one high-speed modem and router; other equipment is linked to another modem and router. He welcomes the idea of faster speeds. "I love the sound of that," he said. FairPoint's acquisition of Verizon's landline assets in northern New England was fraught with problems. FairPoint struggled with debt, declining landline accounts and customer service issues before filing for bankruptcy, from which it emerged in 2011. The company also weathered two strikes. But FairPoint left behind an extensive fiber network in the three-state region that will provide the backbone for the improvements Consolidated wants to make. With the acquisition, Consolidated is one of the nation's Top 10 telecommunications companies when it comes to fiber used for high-speed data, Koester said. The key to the company's growth is utilizing the fiber to boost speeds, and the goal is boost speeds for 300,000 customers in the coming year, he said. That represents about 30 percent of homes in the company's three-state territory in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Analysts are looking favorably on the merger but note it will take time to realize full benefits. "We are encouraged to see the FairPoint integration is progressing as planned," wrote Jonathan Charbonneau, an analyst at New York-based Cowen Group, "and continue to view the deal positively long-term however the story will take time to fully play out." ___ This story has been corrected to show that the analyst's name is Jonathan Charbonneau, not Carbonneau. Sam's Club announced that it will close its three Alaska stores by Jan. 26. In response, hundreds of people visited the Fairbanks warehouse on Friday for a liquidation sale that symbolized a shift in suppliers for many businesses, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported . The Sam's Club in Fairbanks is the largest bulk wholesale store within 350 miles (563 kilometers). It is one of 63 that Sam's Club is closing nationwide about 10 percent of its total number of stores. The other two Alaska stores closing are in Anchorage. "With Alaska, the cost of delivery and the logistics in delivering merchandise and making sure we have the right merchandise at the right time for our members was very difficult," said Delia Garcia, a Sam's Club spokeswoman. "Obviously, that is a factor that we would take into account." Trucking business Sourdough Express said on its Facebook page that it will conduct weekly Costco runs from Anchorage to meet demand for bulk products in Fairbanks. The service is intended more for business shoppers than individuals. Josh Norum, director of operations for Sourdough Express, said about 20 local businesses inquired about the service as of Friday. "I just threw some numbers together and came up with a route that could work for us and could possibly be a cost-saving solution for them," he said. Alaska residents also have started an online petition urging Costco to open in Fairbanks. An employee at the Costco investor relations office said the store doesn't comment on new locations until they are ready to announce plans to open. Daniel Kamin, owner of the 150,000-square-foot building that the Sam's Club occupies, said he learned of the store's closing Thursday through media reports. He said he is already looking for a new tenant. "We'll see what we can come up with," Kamin said. "This is not unusual. We are used to it." ___ Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com A mezzanine floor inside the Jakarta Stock Exchange tower collapsed on Monday, injuring nearly 80 people and forcing a chaotic evacuation. Security camera footage circulated online showed the collapse, with a group of people plunging several meters (feet) to the ground as the structure gave way beneath them. People fled the building through a lobby strewn with debris. Emergency personnel tended to the injured on the grass and pavement outside the tower. National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said most of the injured were college students from Palembang in Sumatra who were visiting the stock exchange as part of a study tour. Wasisto ruled out terrorism as a cause of the collapse. "There is no bomb element in the incident," he said. Figures released by five hospitals showed 77 people were injured. A spokeswoman for Jakarta's Siloam Hospital said it had received more than two dozen victims. A college student from Palembang said she felt a tremor just before the floor collapsed. "The structure suddenly collapsed, causing chaos," the student, identified as Ade, told MetroTV. She said some of her friends were hit by debris and suffered head wounds and broken bones. The stock exchange remained open for its afternoon trading session and its general manager, Tito Sulistio, asserted no one had been killed. "I guarantee that there were no fatalities," he said. "I helped evacuate the victims to the park and as far as I know, the worst injuries are fractures." He said the exchange will pay the students' medical costs. The 2018 congressional midterm elections are on the verge of turning into all-out war, and one of the most powerful Republican-led super PACs is preparing to take aim at 10 states as they try to maintain a majority in the United States Senate, FOX Business has learned. The Senate Majority Leadership Fund, a PAC dedicated to keeping the Senate in the hands of Republicans, is planning to focus their efforts on removing Senate Democrat incumbents from many of the states that President Donald Trump won during the 2016 election, with their top targets being West Virginia, North Dakota, Montana, Indiana, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio and Florida, according to sources close to the PAC. They also plan to protect Senate seats in Nevada and Arizona, which are already held by Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and retiring Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., according to those same sources. The PACs blueprint includes unleashing a bevy of attack ads against the eight Democrat incumbents: Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bill Nelson, D-Fla. The ads will focus on these Democrats voting against the tax reform bill and will attempt to label them as obstructionists, a title many in the GOP have come to give those who they claim turned against the Republican agenda, according to those familiar with the decision making. For most of the states, the PAC is not backing a preferred candidate, as their main objective is to derail any chance the Democrats have of gaining control of the Senate. There are, however, exceptions to the funds lack of support toward specific candidates. Heller is currently seeking reelection and sources say his campaign has been reinforced by the PAC. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., is also receiving the backing of the fund as she tries to capture Flakes seat, as first reported by FOX Business. The swing state of Florida is also being watched by the funds leadership, where the states governor, Rick Scott, is expected to run, as his final term in office comes to an end this year. If he does, he will likely have the Senate Leadership Funds blessing, sources close to the PAC tell FOX Business. Finally, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, McCaskills opponent in the states Senate race, should expect the PACs endorsement and, according to those familiar with the matter, will be publishing TV ads against the Democrat incumbent throughout the year. Sen. Sherrod Browns campaign spokesman responded to the news that the PAC was targeting their campaign, telling FOX Business in a statement: Mitch McConnell and corporate lobbyists wrote a tax bill with huge giveaways to the same wealthy interests that fund this super PAC. Were not surprised they are coming after Sherrod for telling the truth about how McConnell and Washington Republicans cater to special-interest donors, while hardworking Ohioans are left behind. A campaign spokesman for Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., the establishment candidate running for Hellers seat, reacted to their opponent being backed by the PAC, calling it desperate. Mitch McConnells Super PAC is planning to reward Sen. Heller with millions of dollars worth of ads after he caved and broke his promise to Nevada families by supporting the toxic Republican health care agenda. Its no surprise to us that McConnells allies in Washington are now desperately gearing up to dump money into Nevada to help re-elect their spineless rubber stamp in the Republican Congress, Rosens campaign spokesman Stewart Boss told FOX Business. Jacky Rosen is a problem-solver who will stand her ground and always put Nevada first, and voters are ready to replace Dean Heller with a senator who fights for working families instead of billionaire donors and giant corporations, he added. Testers campaign manager Christie Roberts noted in her response the special interest and lobbying groups that theyve had to combat throughout the early portions of their reelection campaign. "Outside special interest groups are already flooding Montana trying to distort Jon's work to defend Montana, work that includes more laws signed by President Trump than Jon can count on his own fingers, Roberts said. The truth is Jon has been rated one of the Senate's most effective senators, and he'll continue to fight for Montanans in Washington, she added. A spokesman for the Senate Majority Leadership Fund declined to comment. The Republican lawmakers mentioned in this story did not return requests for comment in time for publication. The seven other Democratic lawmakers also declined to comment for this story. Spokespersons for Scott and Hawley did not return requests for comment. The PAC is led by allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., including their CEO Steven Law, who previously served as the McConnells chief of staff and later created the Leadership Fund in 2015. Since its debut, the fund has been supported by Republican mega-donors such as Blackstone (NYSE:BX) CEO Steve Schwarzman, Las Vegas Sands Corporation (NYSE:LVS) CEO Sheldon Adelson and Point72 Asset Management founder Steve Cohen, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group that tracks the effects of money and lobbying on elections. The additional campaign resources for those receiving the PACs support could give a colossal advantage to Republican candidates and may be potential blow to Democrats that were hoping to ride the coattails of President Trumps recent blunders, which includes him calling countries in Africa and nations under Temporary Protective Status such as Haiti, s---hole countries. What this does tactically is force Democrats to spend money in non- challenging states and defend incumbents, said Democrat political strategist Hank Sheinkopf. The Democrats wanted to make this about attacking Trump and now it has to be about defending their incumbents, he added. So far in the 2018 midterm election cycle, the PAC has spent more than $3 million in TV advertisements for its allies running for Republican Senate seats. During the 2016 election cycle, the PAC spent $83 million on TV ads and $4 million on internet attack ads. Schwarzman and Adelson were some of the funds top donors that year, with the Blackstone executive contributing more than $3 million and Adelson handing out over $17 million. Cohen is one of the top donors this year, giving $2 million to the PAC so far. The Honda Accord has won the latest battle against its archrival, the Toyota Camry. Hondas midsize sedan was named North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday, ahead of the Camry and surprise second-place Kia Stinger. It was the Accords first win, and the first time it went head to head with the Camry for the award. In the truck category, the Lincoln Navigator fended off a fraternal challenge from its cousin, the Ford Expedition, with the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 performance pickup splitting the cousins and keeping things close, losing to the Lincoln by just a dozen votes, 212 to 200. Foreign brands made up all of the nominees for Utility Vehicle of the Year, with the Volvo XC60 claiming the crown ahead of the Honda Odyssey minivan and Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV, the first Italian-made vehicle up for the award. Actress Ashley Judd, one of the most prominent figures in the Me Too movement after she accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, praised actor James Franco for his response to the recent sexual misconduct allegations leveled against him. In an interview with BBCs Stephen Sackur released Friday, Judd called the fellow actors handling of the matter terrific and praised his culpability. I think that what James said is terrific. And I think that weve all behaved at a certain level unconsciously, and done things that were insensitive, inappropriate, without necessarily understanding that they were, she said. I mean weve all operated with a certain amount of tone-deafness, and I like the culpability. Franco has become the latest celebrity to become entangled in a sexual misconduct scandal. Five women have come forward alleging sexual misconduct by the actor. Franco recently defended himself on Wednesday during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, but acknowledged the need for action. I have my own side of this story, but I believe in these people that have been underrepresented getting their stories out enough that I will hold back things that I could say, just because I believe in it that much, Franco said. If I have to take a knock because I am not going to try and actively refute things then I will, because I believe in it that much. Judd, who was among one of the first women to accuse disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, acknowledged Francos response as being a part of the need for change. This is about men and women being all together and having a more equitable and just workplace, home life, social spaces, she said. It takes that kind of individual accountability to collectively make the change on a large scale. Comedian Aziz Ansari has responded after a young woman claimed anonymously that a date in New York City last year turned into a very uncomfortable situation for her. The woman said, according to babe.net, that Ansari would not take no for an answer when he took her back to his luxury Tribeca apartment and aggressively tried to have sex with her, ignoring her verbal and non-verbal cues to indicate her discomfort. The 23-year-old Brooklyn photographer said she escaped the apartment in an Uber in tears and expressed her displeasure to him in a text message the following day. In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual, Ansari told Fox News in a written statement. The next day, I got a text from her saying that although 'it may have seemed okay,' upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable. It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned. I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said. I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue. The accuser said she wanted to speak up after the star wore a Times Up pin at the Golden Globes ceremony, where he won Best Actor in a TV comedy or musical. The accuser told her story in graphic detail to babe.net, which drew parallels to a character on Ansaris Netflix show Master of None called Chef Jeff, who gives Ansaris character, Dev, a huge career opportunity before being accused of sexually inappropriate conduct by several women. So it was like, 'Okay, what if this is one of those types of guys and we just get the audience to love him?' And then pull the rug out from under them at the end and reveal that hes actually not a good dude? babe.net reports he said of the storyline. The woman said she met Ansari, 34, at a post-Emmy Awards party in September. On the date a week later, she said that within minutes of returning to Ansari's apartment after going out to eat, the comedian began kissing, fondling and undressing her and then said he was going to get a condom. I said something like, Whoa, lets relax for a sec, lets chill, she told babe.net. According to the news outlet, the woman says that when Ansari returned he resumed kissing her, briefly performed oral sex on her, and asked her to do the same thing to him. She did, but not for long. It was really quick, she said. Everything was pretty much touched and done within 10 minutes of hooking up, except for actual sex. Babe.net posted on social media a screenshot of a text conversation the woman and Ansari had the next day. It was fun meeting you last night, Ansari wrote, according to the news outlet. Last night mightve been fun for you, but it wasnt for me, she responded. You ignored clear non-verbal cues; you kept going with advances. She added, I want to make sure youre aware so maybe the next girl doesnt have to cry on the ride home. She also thanked him for dinner. Babe.net reported that Ansari responded, Im so sad to hear this. Clearly, I misread things in the moment and Im truly sorry. The woman told babe.net that the Golden Globes rekindled the memory of her date with Ansari. It was actually painful to watch him win and accept an award, she said. And absolutely cringeworthy that he was wearing the Times Up pin. I think that started a new fire, and it kind of made it more real. Babe.net reported that she added, I believe that I was taken advantage of by Aziz. I was not listened to and ignored. It was by far the worst experience with a man Ive ever had. The 34-year-old is best known for his role as Tom Haverford on "Parks and Recreation" and as the creator and star of Netflix's "Master of None" for which he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV comedy or musical. Season 3 of "Masters of None" has not been confirmed but the comedian has three stand-up specials on the streaming service. Netflix did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment. Following statements reportedly made by president Trump about the nation of Haiti, comedian Conan OBrien is responding by bringing his show to the Caribbean country next week. Reps for the star confirmed to Fox News that his popular TBS late-night talk show Conan will be heading to Haiti next week as part of his Conan Without Borders banner. OBrien frequently takes his show out of its Los Angeles home and on to other parts of the world including New York, San Diego, Cuba, Armenia, South Korea, Mexico, Berlin, Qatar and Israel. OBrien himself announced the news on Twitter with a jab at the president and the recent comments he reportedly gave about Haiti in which he lumped it in with other nations as s---hole countries. Still reeling from @realDonaldTrumps very negative Yelp review of Haiti, which means Ill love it. Headed to Haiti later this week to explore and make some new friends. Stay tuned for my report. #ConanWithoutBorders. Over the summer, TBS executives said they were kicking around the idea of changing the entire format of Conan to accommodate more trips around the world in exchange for either a shorter episode runtime or fewer episodes per week. However, according to Deadline those plans were tabled in favor of keeping the longest-working late-night host in the same format. No air date for Conan in Haiti has been announced as of yet. The A&E network is bringing former O.J. Simpson prosecutor Marcia Clark to true crime TV with a newly-announced series titled Marcia Clark Investigates The First 48. According to Deadline, the show will be a seven-part, two-hour episodic series that dives deep into the mysterious and often shocking world of unsolved cases. The show will reportedly also cover cases that ended with controversial outcomes, which Clark is uniquely suited to discuss given her rise to prominence with the much-debated Simpson trial in 1995. The series will open with an investigation into Casey Anthony, who was accused of killing her daughter in 2008 but was ultimately acquitted. Other episodes will reportedly tackle high-profile cases involving the likes of Robert Blake, Stacy Peterson, Chandra Levy and many more. This series feels like a continuation of a mission I've been on my whole life, Clark told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. To discover the truth, bring that truth to light and seek justice has always been a driving force for me. I couldn't be more excited or more honored to be a part of it. With Marcias unrivaled knowledge and expertise leading the way, this series is an example of the brave storytelling necessary to question assumptions made and uncover the truths buried within the first 48 hours of these high profile cases, A&Es executive vice president and head of programming, Elaine Frontain Bryant, added. In addition to Clarks show, the network is adding a new program called Grace vs. Abrams, starring attorneys Nancy Grace and Dn Abrams. The latter series will focus on the duo sparring over their different points of view on specific cases. Both series are set to premiere on the network in March. Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel is no stranger to taking shots at President Trump. The comedian has repeatedly made jokes -- and seriously criticized -- the president on his late night talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! He hit Trump repeatedly last February when he hosted the 89th Academy Awards. So it's no surprise Kimmel kicked off the awards show with a few jabs at the president and Vice President Mike Pence. Here's a look at Kimmel's comments during the 90th annual Academy Awards, and other jokes he's made about Trump in previous years. Let the tweetstorm...begin," March 2018 At the top of the show, Kimmel started listing stars in attendance, pointing out that Black Panther actress Lupita Nyongo. The stunning Lupita Nyongo, she was born in Mexico and raised in Kenya, Kimmel said. Let the tweetstorm from the president's toilet begin! The host then began to comment on the years diversity, highlighting Get Out star Jordan Peele. Jordan is only the first person in 90 years to be nominated for directing, writing and best picture for his debut film, Kimmel commented. What a debut it was. None other than President Trump called Get Out the best first three quarters of a movie this year. He ended his opening act by discussing gay romance film Call Me By Your Name," saying it didn't perform too well at the box office. We dont make films like Call Me By Your Name for money, he quipped. We make them to upset Mike Pence. His hair tried to fly away to Mar-a-Lago on its own, February 2018 Kimmel poked fun at Trump's hair "flapping in the wind" on his show in February. Trump is getting on Air Force One, headed to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend and his hair tried to fly to Mar-a-Lago on its own," Kimmel said. "Now the red hats make sense. Thats unbelievable. I think we might have to see that again he added, before the clip was replayed. Yes, you can see - this is why Darth Vader had the good sense to wear a helmet. Kimmel joked, According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, the presidents hair stayed perfectly still, he does not have a bald spot and anything to the contrary is fake news." Two maniacs, January 2018 Kimmel called Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un two maniacs in January. North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times, Trump tweeted. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works! After reading Trumps tweet on-air, Kimmel said, Happy New Year, everybody. We have two maniacs with nuclear warheads bragging about who has the bigger button. Quit that boring job, October 2017 Kimmel called on Trump to leave the presidency in October. Late Night host are dealing with the Democrats for their very "unfunny" & repetitive material, always anti-Trump! Should we get Equal Time? Trump said in a tweet. Excellent point Mr. President! You should quit that boring job - I'll let you have my show ALL to yourself #MAGA, Kimmel later replied. Bad at math, September 2017 The comedian made headlines in May when he spoke on-air about his son Billy, who was born with heart defects. Kimmel used his show as a platform for families access to equal medical care, and repeatedly spoke out against congressional attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In late September, Kimmel called Trump bad at math regarding the proposed Graham-Cassidy health care bill. Kimmel aired a clip of Trump saying, "We have the votes. We can't do it now because we have somebody in the hospital." Kimmel pointed out a tweet from Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss, which said he was at home. There was no senator in the hospital, Kimmel said, and even if he was, there were still at least three other Republicans who were against the bill. He later offered a summary. So just to recap, Mr. President: There was no Senator in the hospital, you didn't have the votes, the bill didnt pass, and youre bad at math, okay? he said. DACA remarks, September 2017 Kimmel spoke about Trumps decision to repeal the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program. This morning, our president woke up and asked his staff, Now that this hurricane is over, whats something horrible I can do to distract people from the Russia investigation? he said. Someone said, You know, there are 800,000 innocent kids you could deport for no good reason, and he said, Done and done! Kimmel eventually joked, The presidents spokesperson said it was a difficult decision, the presidents been debating it for months, but ultimately Donald Trump believes that if these kids want to be American, they have to do it the right way: by marrying Donald Trump. And thats as simple as that. King of America, August 2017 Kimmel slammed Trump after the president spoke at a press conference about a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., that had been met by counter-protesters. The comedian called Trump completely unhinged and the press conference astonishing. The only thing I can compare it to is, remember when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfields ear off? And then he bit his other ear off? he said. This was the presidential equivalent of that. Later in the monologue, Kimmel put forward the idea of naming Trump the first king of America. We need to set him up in a castle, maybe in Florida, lead him to the top, and then lock the door to that castle -- forever, Kimmel said. Comey firing, May 2017 Kimmel said that Trump firing FBI Director James Comey is kind of like O.J. firing Judge Ito halfway through the trial. He added that Comey was fired while investigating potential Russian collusion. This is the kind of thing dictators do, Kimmel said. This is the kind of thing reality TV hosts do, they fire someone every week. Maybe thats what happened, he thinks hes still on The Celebrity Apprentice. It was between James Comey and Meatloaf and, well, the Loaf won again. Kimmel later said, One reason they gave -- and this is really something -- for firing Comey is because he mishandled the Hillary Clinton email situation, which is hilarious because that would mean Trump fired James Comey for making him president. Jared Kushners trip to Iraq, April 2017 Kimmel spoke about White House senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushners Iraq trip on his show. The comedian said that Kushner has no experience dealing with foreign governments and called him a guy who negotiates rent. I mean -- this is his job, is to figure out how much it will cost to put a Dunkin Donuts on the first floor of an office building, he said. Dennis Rodman has more foreign policy experience than Jared Kushner. Thats for -- for real. Kimmel said hed been thinking about why the president would send his son-in-law -- and that there is only one possible explanation -- I think the president might be trying to kill him. You know, a lot of fathers dont get along with their son-in-laws, he joked. Oscars, February 2017 The 2017 Oscars featured multiple Trump references - including when Kimmel thanked Trump and praised Meryl Streep in his opening monologue. And maybe this is not a popular thing to say, but I want to say thank you to President Trump, Kimmel said. I mean, remember last year when it seemed like the Oscars were racist? Thats gone! Thanks to him. The joke came in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, sparked by a lack of diversity among major award nominees. Kimmel went on to reference Trumps labeling of Streep as over-rated. Streep was up for Best Actress at the awards show. This is Meryls 20th Oscar nomination, made even more amazing considering the fact that she wasnt even in a movie this year -- we just wrote her name down out of habit, he said. Meryl, stand up if you would. Everybody please join me in giving Meryl Streep a totally undeserved round of applause, will you? The highly overrated Meryl Streep, everyone. Stages of grief, November 2016 After Trump won the presidential election, Kimmel described the five stages of grief -- denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Now stage one, is, of course, denial. As in, No, the host of Celebrity Apprentice is not our president, he cant possibly be, Kimmel said on his show. CNN must have the map wrong, they must have missed a county or something. When he reached the stage of acceptance, Kimmel said, No matter how you feel about it, Donald Trump is the president of the United States of America, Kimmel said. "So thank God we legalized marijuana yesterday, he continued, in an apparent reference to a California proposition. Emmys monologue, September 2016 Television brings people together, but television can also tear us apart, Kimmel said during his opening monologue at the Emmys. I mean if it wasnt for television, would Donald Trump be running for president? No, he would be at home right now quietly rubbing up against his wife Malaria while she pretends to be asleep. Kimmel later said that Celebrity Apprentice producer Mark Burnett was responsible for the Trump phenomenon. Thanks to Mark Burnett, we dont have to watch reality shows anymore because were living in one, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Nathan Mendes is still haunted by the 2008 murder of salesman Travis Alexander and the media spectacle that ensued. Alexander was a 30-year-old Mormon whose body was discovered in his shower by friends. He was stabbed nearly 30 times and shot in the head with a .25 caliber pistol. His ex-girlfriend Jodi Arias, who insisted at the time two masked intruders attacked her and killed Alexander, was found guilty in 2013 of first-degree murder. Prosecutors said it was a premeditated act carried out in a rage after Alexander wanted to end their romance and later planned a trip to Mexico with another woman. Her trial stirred headlines for televising salacious evidence, along with shocking testimony depicting the couples stormy relationship. The slaying also inspired numerous books and TV specials and would also become the subject of a 2013 Lifetime film titled Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret. And now for the first time, the former detective for Siskiyou County, California, who arrested Arias at her grandparents home after it appeared she was on the move, is coming forward. He discusses his involvement in the explosive investigation and trial in the three-part limited series on Investigation Discovery (ID) titled Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery. The special explores the death of Alexander and the subsequent legal circus as Arias was tried. Mendes told Fox News hes hoping it will help audiences focus on Alexander instead of Arias. I think people should realize the whole thing is a travesty, he said. As sad as it is, everybody focused on Jodi. Books are named Jodi Arias, shows have the name Jodi Arias. Taglines are Jodi Arias. Its almost like we forgot Travis even existed in all of this. It became such a circus about Jodi. "And she shouldnt be the headliner here. And hopefully, some people will get to see that other side and realize Travis was the victim here. Jodi made that decision, but we shouldnt have ever highlighted her. Books and shows should be based on Travis Alexander, not Jodi Arias I think Travis and his family deserve that. Still, Mendes admitted there was no denying Arias strange behavior after her former lover was savagely killed in his own Mesa, Arizona, home. The crime scene was such a mess, he said. But when I first came across Jodi and we arrested her at her grandparents house, my initial impression of her was she didnt seem concerned at all The whole case was bizarre. Especially her demeanor Even when we booked her, she wanted to make sure her hair looked OK Things like that were not sitting well with a lot of us. "She was almost more concerned about her image She didnt have a concern for consequence or outcome Like for me, I wouldnt care what my hair looked like if I was being arrested or what my picture is going to look like. To me, that was just weird. In the show, Mendes shared how he observed Arias while she was being interrogated and the jaw-dropping behavior that quickly followed. Arias, who was initially sobbing through a four-hour police interrogation, dramatically changed her attitude when the prosecutor left the room. She was seen talking to herself, laughing, singing, playing with a garbage can and doing a headstand against the wall. At the time, we were watching it from the next room, recalled Mendes. She was trying to burn off stress. That was an indicator of stress. When people are put under a lot of stress that energy has to go somewhere, so you do see a lot of bizarre things in the interrogation room. She was just kind of rambling. But the whole yoga scene was a little strange to me. Ive seen some strange things, but thats up on the top. During the trial, Arias attempted to depict herself as a physically and emotionally battered woman who was forced to satisfy the perverted demands of her lover. However, it was revealed in court Arias was willing to chronicle her sexual escapades with Alexander through photographs and recordings. I was a little surprised by the relationship that they had, said Mendes. And the relationship she had with other men. Sexually. I know everybody has their private lives that they dont share with other people. But that was the thing with Jodi. The world got to see it. "For a lot of folks that was the first time they had seen someones sexual exploitations plastered all over the media. And that was shocking for a lot of people. You read about it and you certainly hear about it, but in her case, it was just put out there. Mendes also revealed Arias family, whom he described as hardworking and normal, were stunned by their daughters horrific actions. She has a great family, he said. They were devastated. Absolutely devastated I know initially they were dumbfounded and it was kind of surreal to them as far as her grandparents and parents were concerned. It was like, You guys must have made a mistake. That was their initial reaction. You have the wrong person. And thats normal behavior from parents, family members. No one wants to think that their child, [or] grandchild, can do something that brutal to anybody. Still, Mendes claimed Arias had no intention of becoming a celebrity. I think unfortunately, she was sensationalized by the media and I think at some point, it just got addicting. And she kind of ran with it. I dont know if she had any intentions of making it about her. [But] a spotlight was put on her and she became sensationalized. I think thats just the way things went. "And thats what happens when the media a lot of times get involved. Everybody was just so shocked by what happened and then the trial became a circus. I dont think anybody had any intentions of it. It just happened, going the way it did. In 2015, Arias was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Mendes is now a supervisory special agent for the Department of Justice. Mendes said Arias was motivated to kill. I think she just wasnt willing to share him with anybody else, he said. Thats my personal opinion. Just seeing the evidence and seeing what was transpired before Travis was killed. "I think she had come to the realization that Travis wasnt going to settle down with her and that she wasnt willing to share him with anyone else or have him date or marry anybody else. It had to be Jodi. I think thats what prompted a lot of this. She wasnt willing to let him go. Its the old, If I cant have you, nobody can. Part two of Jodi Arias: An American Murder Mystery airs Monday, January 15th at 8 p.m. on ID. A group of pizza-parlor patrons in Newark, Calif., were involved in a massive brawl this weekend over a missing cell phone that wasnt exactly missing. On Saturday, a simple misunderstanding escalated into a violent rumble at Johns Incredible Pizza Company inside the NewPark Mall in the San Francisco Bay Area, with one witness estimating that at least 20 people were involved in the melee, the San Francisco Gate reports. FOOTAGE OF VIOLENT MCDONALD'S BRAWL SPARKS DEBATE OVER FILET-O-FISH, NUGGETS The trouble began after a family asked another group of patrons about their daughters missing phone, which unbeknownst to them had already been returned to the restaurants lost and found. "Next thing you know, there's just a massive brawl and people throwing fists, and it was quite crazy," Drake Lynn, an employee at Johns, told KNTV. Lynn added that he initially saw just two women arguing over the phone, but their male companions and friends came to each of their defenses and started throwing punches at the other parties that were there. BURGER KING MANAGER FILMED SCREAMING AT CUSTOMER WHO TOOK TOO LONG TO ORDER Restaurant employees attempted to intervene before Newark police arrived on the scene. The Newark PD, however, was apparently not aware of the scale of the fight, and soon called in reinforcements from the nearby Fremont Police Department, KNTV reports. "It was a horrible experience," said Nicole Davis, a witness who spoke with the SF Gate. "I made sure I protected my kids until they cleared the way so we can get out, but I just hated the fact they did this at a family establishment. It makes me sick that my kids had to see that and all the kids that were scared crying." FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS Following the ordeal, the manager of Johns dug up the cell phone that sparked the altercation, revealing that it had been turned in to the lost and found hours beforehand. "We would have definitely found the cellphone, if they would have just given us a little bit of time and let us do our jobs instead of throwing punches," Lynn told KNTV. Police in DeKalb County, Ga., are currently searching for a McDonalds guest who was interested in more than just a Big Mac. Shortly before midnight on Jan. 2, a McDonalds in Decatur was burglarized by an armed robber who climbed through the drive-thru window and made off with an entire cash register, according to DeKalb County Police Department. WOMAN CLIMBS THROUGH MCDONALD'S DRIVE-THRU, STEALS CASH AND FOOD In surveillance footage recently released by the DeKalb police, the suspect can be seen running up behind a row of cars at the drive-thru before approaching the window and pointing a gun at the McDonalds employee on the other side. He then attempts to grab the drive-thru operator by her shirt, but when she evades his grasp and runs away screaming, the gunman decides to climb through the window himself. "This subject decided this was a better way to do it, DeKalb police Lt. Lonzy Robertson told WSB-TV Atlanta. He was small enough to get through the window at the time. The suspect briefly gives chase after the employee, demanding she open the register. When she doesnt comply, he proceeds to rip the register from her station before escaping back through the drive-thru window. THE ONE MCDONALD'S ITEM YOU SHOULD NEVER ORDER, ACCORDING TO AN EX-EMPLOYEE Customers waiting in line inside the McDonalds reportedly fled the restaurant, as did a car waiting for their order outside. "I hope they get him, said Ju Washington, a witness who spoke with WSB-TV. They need to get him. There could have been kids in the car. Anybody could have gotten shot." Police are currently seeking the publics help in identifying the robber. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the department at 404-286-7900. This is also the third instance of a robber targeting a McDonalds drive-thru in recent months, following a woman in Maryland who climbed through a McDonalds drive-thru window to steal food and cash, and another man in Texas who climbed through the drive-thru before running off with an empty register. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS A mother from Fargo, N. D. says she was kicked out of a Chick-fil-A over the weekend after she started breast-feeding her infant daughter. "The owner came to our table where I was showing no more than the upper portion of my breast, barely more than what was visible in my shirt and asked me to cover, Macy Hornung wrote on her Facebook page. I tried to explain that I couldnt, because my baby refuses to be covered and she started harping about the children and men who can see my indecency and I need to cover," she went on. "I said they could practice the simple art of looking away and tried to cite North Dakota breastfeeding laws. She told me if I chose not to cover, then she would have to ask me to leave, so I told her my review would reflect my experience and I would be relaying the experience in every local mommy group." WOMAN PHOTOGRAPHED BREAST-FEEDING SON AT DISNEYLAND GOES VIRAL Following the social media post, the fast-food chain apologized for the awkward moment. Owner/operator Kimberly Flamm released an official statement that read: "My goal is to provide a warm and welcoming environment for all of my guests and I sincerely apologize for the way I handled this situation." BREAST-FEEDING MOTHER KICKED OUT OF FLORIDA RESTAURANT The state's legislature passed a law in 2009 giving a woman the right to "breast-feed her child in any location, public or private, where the woman and child are otherwise authorized to be." U.S. Intelligence believes that North Korea possesses as many as five dozen nuclear weapons, according to media reports. Furthermore, in November of 2017, the North tested a new kind of ballistic missile called a Hwasong-15 capable of hitting any city in the U.S. Not only do nuclear bombs cause structural devastation where they explode, but those who survive are still likely to be contaminated by extreme and even lethal doses of radiation. Dr. David Brenner, the director of Columbia Universitys Center for Radiological Research, told Fox News that, depending on the size of the bomb, everyone within a half mile from the epicenter of the blast would die immediately. The other major issue is the radiation fallout, he said the residual radioactive material that gets released into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast. It looks like a massive mushroom cloud and, once the radiation begins to fall, the ground becomes full of dangerous radioactive material. The major source of radiation exposure is the radioactive material on the ground, Brenner said. The immediate effects can be lethal, you can develop acute radiation syndrome which you can die from in a few minutes or hours. There are also lots of delayed syndromes where you may not die until a few weeks and even long-term effects like cancer risks, said Brenner, who studies the effects of radiation in different settings, ranging from cancer radiotherapy and medical CT scans to radiological terrorism and the future of nuclear power. TEEN CELLPHONE ADDICTION: HOW BAD HAS IT GOTTEN? According to the Centers for Disease Control, radiation syndrome is an acute illness caused by irradiation of the entire body by a high dose of penetrating radiation in a very short period of time. The severity of symptoms depends on the type and amount of radiation, length of exposure and body part(s) that were exposed. Initial symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, headache, and diarrhea. These symptoms typically start within minutes or days after the exposure. There are three severe types of radiation syndromes: bone marrow, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular (CV)/central nervous system (CNS) syndrome. In the first one, the destruction of the bone marrow causes infection and hemorrhage and can become fatal within a few months. The gastrointestinal (GI) syndrome causes destructive and irreparable changes in the GI tract and death usually occurs within two weeks; and the CV/CNS syndrome typically causes death within three days due to the collapse of the circulatory system and increased pressure in the confining cranial vault. If survivors can get to a working hospital, there are medications to treat these syndromes. One of the major things that happens if youre exposed to a large dose of radiation is that your white blood cells get destroyed, so you need to be able to stimulate the bone marrow in your body to work doubly hard to generate new blood cells, Brenner said. And there are drugs that can be given to stimulate the bone marrow to work harder to create new blood cells, he explained. But with so many possible adverse health effects, what can people do to survive a nuclear bombing? If youre outside the radius where the blast or fire will be fatal, the best thing to do is to go inside immediately. Do not try to run away you dont know which direction the fallout will be blown and upper-level winds are likely going in a different direction than surface winds, said radiation safety specialist Andrew Karam. If youre evacuating through the plume then theres a good chance that youll be exposed to a fatal dose of radiation, he said. CDC DIRECTOR: NEW PARENTS, THIS ADVICE COULD SAVE YOUR BABY'S LIFE Karam added that you should not try to pick your kids up from school, or pick your spouse up from work. It may be tempting, but if youre in the fallout plume, going outside means very likely picking up enough radiation exposure to be fatal, for you and for your kids, he said. Brenner also recommended you should stay inside a concrete building or basement away from windows for at least a day or two, until the most intense radiation outdoors decays away. Radioactivity has a half-life, it does simply decay away in roughly a day or two, Brenner said. In addition to acute radiation sickness, people who have been exposed to high doses of radiation can also have skin damage like severe itching, burns, blisters, ulcers and temporary hair loss. If you were caught outside during a fallout, Brenner said to remove the clothes you were wearing and take a shower immediately. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! The nuclear attack false alarm in Hawaii this weekend should be a wake-up callnot just to the need to prevent mistakes like this again, but also for the need to get serious about ballistic missile defense. What if the launch had been real? What if it really had been headed for Hawaiior a city on our West Coast? What options do we have for stopping a catastrophic missile attack by North Korea? The FCC is launching a full-scale investigation into what went wrong in Hawaii, to make sure nothing like it happens anywhere again. Now, the Pentagon and its Missile Defense Agency need to launch a full-press investigation into making sure we have all the tools they need to prevent a missile attack. Ground-based ballistic missile defenses like THAAD and Aegis aim to kill missiles in their terminal or descent phase, and the Trump administration and Congress have just authorized an additional $4 billion for missile defense, including expanding our Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system which has sites in Alaska and California. Fortunately, theres also a system that could intercept Kims missiles in their initial boost phase in other words, almost as soon as they leave the launching pad, thanks to former science and technology director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Dr. Leonard Caveny. This is a system that uses existing technology and is getting serious attention on Capitol Hill. Fortunately, there is also a system that could intercept Kims missiles in their initial boost phase in other words, almost as soon as they leave the launching pad. Every large multi-stage rocket like a North Korean ballistic missile needs high-thrust booster engines to get out the atmosphere. Intercepting a missile in this boost phase has huge advantages. Since its the hottest stage of a ballistic missile launch, its the easiest for long-range infra-red sensors to detect and identify. Its also the slowest phase of the launch, while a missile in later phases of the launch such as the final or terminal phase gains speed as it closes in on its target. Ground-based missile interceptors like THAAD or Aegis cant do boost-phase intercept (BPI) of a North Korean missile, because they cant detect the launch soon enough. But American-built unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), also known as drones, such as Predator or Global Hawk carrying up to four two-stage interceptor missiles could do the job, even while stationed in international air space off the North Korean coast at altitudes of 45,000 to 55,000 feet. The key is creating a two-stage interceptor missile which can deliver speeds up to 3.5-3.8 kilometers per seconda larger and faster version of conventional air-to-air missiles that can use its own built-in sensors to intercept its target. Manned fighter aircraft have successfully done BPI tests using single-stage missiles of this type. Deploying two-stage versions in a rotating UAV patrol off the North Korean coast would provide a 24/7 frontline layer of security from missile attackwhile also ensuring that any debris from an intercepted missile falls onto North Korean territory, or into the Sea of Japan. For example, an Unha-type 2000kg missile aimed at Oahu would be in boost phase a total of 278 seconds. Dr. Caveny has calculated that a UAV stationed 100 kilometers off the Korean coast at 54,000 feet could intercept that missile 200 seconds into boost phase with a 3.8 km/second missile, with more than 115 seconds for the on-the-ground operators to decide to interceptplenty of time to initiate the kill chain. Will it work? I organized a Hudson Institute conference this summer in San Diego where American and Japanese engineers tested the numbers Dr. Caveny proposed. Their verdict was unanimous: BPI using UAVs and conventional missiles was not only technically feasible, but the best short-to-midterm solution to stopping North Korean missile launches in the boost phase. The numbers have impressed members of Congress enough that Senators James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, have offered a bill requesting that $100 million of the $4 billion missile defense supplemental be spent on developing a UAV version of BPI. Right now our Missile Defense Agency is working on a BPI system using high-energy lasers, but admits it will be at least five years before its ready to test. Since all the technology for a UAV BPI has already been tested, a fast-track development and deployment schedule could create a working prototype in a year or less, at a fraction of the one billion dollar price tag for THAADand with a big boost in peace of mind for Americans living in Hawaii or anywhere on the countrys West Coast. No ballistic missile system is ever foolproof. Thats why ground-based systems like THAAD and Aegis are still necessary, and why development of a laser BPI system must still press ahead. But UAV BPI will add a vital and timely layer of protection from attack, and will send a powerful message to Kim Jong Un: America wont submit to nuclear blackmail, and is more than ready to deploy the technologies needed to stop that threat cold. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! All I could think about was that I would die at the hands of a madmenand there was nothing I could do to stop it. These words, expressed to me by a U.S. Navy active-duty sailor based in Hawaii, go to the heart of Saturdays accidental warning of an inbound ballistic missile that most assumed would come from North Korea. And while it seems clear Pyongyang has the necessary technology to strike South Korea and Japan with nuclear fire (along with U.S. bases in East Asia, Guam, Alaska and Hawaii), there is evidence to suggest Kim might already have an even more sinister capability: the ability to kill millions of people in the U.S. homeland with a nuclear-armed long-range missileright now. Now, to be fair, this is a minority viewpoint in the U.S. national security community circles, but something at least some of the most senior U.S. defense officials have been saying for a few years now. However, there is evidence to suggest Kim Jong Un, the ruthless dictator of North Korea, might have the ability to put together at least a crude weapon that could deliver a blow to America thousands of times deadlier than anything we experienced on 9/11. To understand how this is possible, let us explore for a moment the things Kim would need to strike our homeland and what he already has in place. "If Kims missiles have the range we have seen ... He wont be able to target buildings and be precise, but if he wants to throw a nuke at something the size of Los Angeles I bet he has crude tracking and targeting for something like that. First, we know that Kim has missiles with the necessary range to strike America. We know this through three long-range missile tests last year two in July and one in November. This is the most difficult part of a nuclear weapons system to develop. Next, according to a bombshell report in the Washington Post over the summer, U.S. intelligence officials revealed they believe North Korea can militarize a warhead. Third, while there is debate whether Pyongyang has the targeting and tracking systems needed to guide a missile towards a U.S. city, there are those in the U.S. intelligence community who think he does. One explained to me just recently on background that, If Kims missiles have the range we have seen13,000 km ICBMsI would say it seems very likely his tracking and targeting might very well be good enough to strike something as large as a U.S. city. He wont be able to target buildings and be precise, but if he wants to throw a nuke at something the size of Los Angeles I bet he has crude tracking and targeting for something like that. A retired U.S. intelligence official, also speaking on background, agreed with that assessment. This is where things get tricky and the debate heats upliterally. Does Kim have the most critical component vital heatshield technology that would allow him to fire a long-range missile with a miniaturized warhead that can pass through the atmosphere and land on target? Many experts say no, however, there is at least one report back in 2017 that said yes, and that seemed to get lost in the dizzying amount of North Korea news. In a report for The Diplomat, journalist Ankit Panda, a senior editor and seasoned Asia watcher, explained that according to a CIA assessment back in August: [B]ased on the two observed flight tests of the Hwasong-14 to date [the July ICBM tests], North Koreas reentry vehicle technology is likely sufficiently advanced to pose no performance problem should the missile be fired at a minimum energy trajectory. The assessment of the reentry vehicle is supported by analysis of data gathered from ground, sea, and air-based sensors by the U.S. National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), one source told The Diplomat. To put it in simpler terms, if North Korea were to fire an ICBM not in a lofted, or near up and down manner, as it has been during testing, but in a normal trajectory at the United States, it should be able to survive its trip through the atmosphere and hit a target in the U.S. homeland. While Pandas later reporting certainly details the difficulties Pyongyang is still having with its heatshield technology, especially on the Hwasong-15 tested in late November, he notes that [T]he CIA-NASICsuggested that it was more likely than not that the reentry vehicle exhibited satisfactory performance during the November 29 flight test. To put it in simpler terms, if North Korea were to fire an ICBM not in a lofted, or near up and down manner, as it has been during testing, but in a normal trajectory at the United States, it should be able to survive its trip through the atmosphere and hit a target in the U.S. homeland. While the above is certainly not clear-cut proof, and raises more questions than answers, the above should serve as a warning of where North Koreas nuclear program currently stands. With that said, have we reached the point where it is time to launch an attack to degrade or potentially even destroy this capability? The challenge, as I have laid out on a few occasions in these digital pages, is that there is no silver-bullet to destroy North Koreas nuclear or missile programswithout millions of people paying the ultimate price. Suppose, for example, North Korea has 40 nuclear weapons, and those weapons are scattered around the country, some in near-bombproof tunnels buried deep into the Earth. If Washington were to commence with a massive strike, the Trump administration would need to get every single nuclear weapon. Otherwise, Kim would have every incentive to strike back with whatever atomic arms he has leftand that says nothing about North Koreas large stockpiles of short and medium range missiles, chemical weapons and 11,000-plus pieces of artillery pointed at Seoul. Like it or not, there is no perfect solution to the challenge of North Koreas growing nuclear weapons programas there is no viable military option that is anything close to risk-free. Our best option, a mix of sanctions to limit the resources Kim can put into his nuclear program as well as diplomatic and economic isolation, is our best course of action, as imperfect as it is. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! It seems that no national holiday is exempt from the medias need for political controversy. This Monday, on what should be a day for Americans to put aside politics and come together to honor the legacy of an extraordinary American, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the media has decided instead to seize upon it as yet another opportunity to further sow the division and partisan polarization already plaguing our country. The New Yorker magazine decided to use Dr. King to touch on the continuing raw nerve that is NFLs national anthem protests, with its cover depicting Dr. King kneeling alongside Colin Kaepernick and Michael Bennett, two of the instrumental leaders in the controversy. The covers artist, Mark Ulriksen, says the inspiration for it came after he asked himself: what would King be doing if her were around today? He goes on to say: How would you feel if you had to show up at work every day and salute a country that treats black people like second-class citizens? Im glad that Colin Kaepernick and Michael Bennett are making it political. Im sure that if King were around today, hed be disappointed at the slow pace of progress... In his famous book From Strength to Love, Dr. King wrote only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit. On a day designed for public service and national unity, some in the media insist on making it about politics. This day shouldnt be about whether or not Dr. King would support the national anthem protests. Frankly, no one will ever know. Perhaps, we should reflect on what we do know about Dr. King: his teachings on love, his commitment to ministering the Gospel, his dream of equality for all people. Reporters at the White House on Thursday didnt care to treat MLK Day with reverence either. I found it telling that even after Dr. Kings nephew gave a powerful speech about his uncles legacy, not a single reporter made much of what he said. Instead, the entire event centered around President Trumps controversial remarks about immigration. Couldnt they allow American families, even if just for a moment, to appreciate Dr. Kings legacy without being bombarded with top trending political stories? On Friday, CNN published an opinion piece entitled Three ways MLK speaks to our time. Rather than reflecting on Dr. Kings many achievements in the civil rights movement, the article somehow devolved into an argument for climate change and democratic socialism. The sad thing is that the crucial point being missed amid all of this is that it is precisely Dr. Kings teachings that we ought to embrace in order to combat the very forces of division the media seems determined to encourage and enflame. In his famous book From Strength to Love, Dr. King wrote only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight vigorously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit. As a Christian minister, Dr. King asked God to examine his own heart first. He believed that darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that and thus he knew that authentic inner change must first begin in himself. Despite the many attempts to sow discord on a holiday meant for unity, MLK Day should serve as a reminder for well-intentioned Americans that we ought to be the change that we seek. We cant combat political rancor by adding our own fuel to the fire. Instead, it will take humility to respond in love as other people make enemies out of their fellow citizens. It will take strength not to retaliate when people demonize other Americans just because of their political differences. Indeed, it will take an inner spiritual transformation to change the vicious nature of our political discoursejust as Dr. King taught us over fifty years ago. Regardless of the national anthem debate, we can all at least agree that when Dr. King knelthe knelt in prayer. Indeed, before ever becoming a civil rights icon, he was always a minister first. Let this day serve as a reminder that nowmore than everwe should follow his example and pray that someday America would lay aside bitterness and contempt and, instead, choose unity and understanding. NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles! What started out as any usual Saturday morning in Hawaii this past weekend turned into a nightmare with the sound of an alert blaring from my phone at 8:05 am. Living in paradise for the past 17 years, my kids and I became accustomed to packing the car with a 2-hour warning of potential tsunamis after major earthquakes off the coasts of Japan, Fiji, South America, Alaska and the west coast of the United States. We have become near experts at tracking storms and potential hurricanes, as well as creating evacuation plans in case of a tsunami. Extra water, food that could last 14 days, filling the car with gas, keeping the dogs leash and crate near the back door, remembering to charge our electronics at the beginning of a hurricane watch seemed routine for the three of us. Other than repeating run toward the hills over and over in my mind I have always been fairly confident that we would be OK during a natural disaster. Living near the beach in a tsunami zone is a risk but with proper planning we have learned how to mitigate the stress when we hear a warning siren. I started creating a roadmap of what I wanted them to accomplish and how I wanted them to move forward no matter what happened to me. I sent texts to them both so that if the missile hit sooner at least they would have something to read, to remember. Years ago while living in Lanikai, Hawaii, on Thanksgiving Day, my daughters and I were greeted with a large earthquake just off the coast of Hawaii that rocked the ground steadily and felt like being on a large ship with rolling swells rocking us back and forth. That was my first encounter with an earthquake living in Hawaii and what followed were moments of sheer panic as we were told to evacuate the tiny area that was feet within the shore. My daughters were very young at the time but they dutifully helped throw suitcases full of clothes, computers, and phones, loaded the dogs, food, water and we buckled up. Once ready to trek up to higher ground, we started the car, and as I pressed the button to open the electronic gate, I realized the electricity on the island was out. We were stuck. I panicked. The electricity stayed off for what seemed like days and we quickly learned that life on an island isnt always paradise. That was the beginning of a solid education about life on an island and how what survival really means. When I heard the alarm blaring this time and looked at my phone, shock set in for a few seconds -- as I put my reading glasses on to verify that I was really reading the message that sent terror across the island chain and fear into loved ones around the world. It wasnt a natural disaster but a man-made disaster and the result of international frustration and political tension. Our lives were in danger and it was the press of a button that could end it all. I stood in my bedroom for what seemed like too long, then walked into the living room -- staring at my windows -- wondering how long we all had, where to go, what to do. Although I had attended workshops and read pamphlets on what to do in a nuclear attack, so many things rushed through my head. Once I realized that it would be nearly impossible to prepare in the short amount of time (anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes) I decided the best thing to do would be to send messages to my daughters. I especially wanted to send a message to Alyssa, who just started college at the University of Southern California. As a freshman, I didnt want her life to stop if something happened to me. The similarity to my childhood was uncanny. I had lost my mom in a tragic death when I was a teenager. If she had left me words of encouragement and a roadmap I would have followed it. So that is what I wanted for my kids. I started creating a roadmap of what I wanted them to accomplish and to describe how I wanted them to move forward no matter what happened to me. I sent texts to both of them so that if the missile hit quickly at least they would have something to read, to remember. I wrote to my oldest daughter Alanna, who is a student at Seattle University, If this is the end, stay strong and no matter what happens take care of you and sis. Find a way to get to California and be together soon and be a family. I love you so much. To my youngest daughter at college in California I messaged her, No matter what happens get your degree! Have a good life and be successful! And take care of your sister. After messaging my kids and trying to get in touch via phone, I realized that everyone was calling out and the cell lines were jammed. I started on a plan via a shared Google doc so that at least my kids would have a chance to read it in case all our belongings were obliterated in the attack. My roadmap included much of what a will would include, but mine dug a little deeper. It went on to share details of what to expect in life, how to manage financial concerns, marriage, divorce, priorities, and most of all, how to move forward no matter what happened to me in Hawaii. Thank God I didnt have to share that roadmap with them within the terrifying 15-30 minutes that we thought we had left. Thirty-eight minutes after the first alert Hawaii received another text alert that the message was a false alarm. Neighbors and friends were crying at the relief that it was not the end. Many of us already knew it was a false alarm -- we had contacted people we knew in law enforcement or the government who had confirmed it was a false alarm. But the possibility still lingers in everyones minds, especially those of us here in Hawaii. Living with the idea that, it could happen creates additional stress in a place where we should all be focused on aloha and not seeking shelter from a nuclear attack. What happened in Hawaii gives us all reason to reflect on what is really important in life, and how we can continue to strengthen our relationships with family and friends. And, instead of waiting until there is a natural disaster or nuclear threat to give my kids a roadmap of life, Im giving them this gift now so they can prepare for their futures. They may not follow it, but at least they will know mom loved them enough to help them have a better life. Cynthia L. Manley is a public speaker and mom living in Hawaii. Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson will not attend President Trumps first State of the Union address later this month, months after she quarreled with the White House in the wake of the death of Army Sgt. La David Johnson. Wilson told The Tampa Bay Times Sunday in a statement she doesnt plan to attend Trumps speech to Congress on Jan. 30. "For the first time since I began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, I will not be attending the president's State of the Union address," Wilson said. "I have no doubt that instead of delivering a message of inclusivity and an agenda that benefits all Americans, President Trump's address will be full of innuendo, empty promises, and lies. Wilson and the White House dueled after she went public about a conversation Trump had with Johnsons widow, during which Trump reportedly didnt know Johnsons name and said he knew what he was signing up for. Read more at WashingtonExaminer.com Republican Senator David Perdue of Georgia came to President Trumps defense Sunday after he said reports of the presidents choice of words during a meeting on immigration last week were a gross misrepresentation. Speaking to ABC News George Stephanopoulos on This Week, Perdue slammed reports that Trump used the word s---hole to reference Haiti and Africa during a bipartisan immigration meeting on Thursday. Im telling you he did not use that word, George, Perdue said. And Im telling you its a gross misrepresentation. As Fox News has reported, senators including Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Trump did indeed use those words. He said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly, Durbin told reporters, calling the words vile and racist. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., responded without stating definitively what the president said. Following comments by the President, I said my piece directly to him yesterday. The President and all those attending the meeting know what I said and how I feel. Ive always believed that America is an idea, not defined by its people but by its ideals, he said, adding that he appreciated Durbins statements and has enjoyed working with him and many others on this important issue. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., had released a joint statement on Friday with Perdue, denying the offensive language. "President Trump brought everyone to the table this week and listened to both sides. But regrettably, it seems that not everyone is committed to negotiating in good faith. In regards to Senator Durbins accusation, we do not recall the President saying these comments specifically but what he did call out was the imbalance in our current immigration system, which does not protect American workers and our national interest." Doubling down on his statement, Perdue reiterated Sunday that Durbin was the only person to make the accusation. There were six of us in the room, Perdue said. I havent heard any of those six sources other than Senator Durbin talk about what was said. Building on this doubt, Perdue questioned Durbins credibility. The senator was referencing a 2013 incident when Durbin said in a Facebook post that a House Republican told then-President Barack Obama, I cannot even stand to look at you, during a meeting. The White House and House speakers office later denied that these claims were true, Politico reported. Quick to defend, Durbins communications director Ben Marter sent a tweet out Sunday criticizing Perdues credibility. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also came to Durbins defense. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson added her name to a growing list of Democratic lawmakers who say they are fed up with President Trump and will boycott his State of the Union address at the end of the month. Wilson, who was elected in 2010 and made headlines last year for fighting with Trump over his telephone call to the widow of a fallen soldier, cited the presidents recent racist and incendiary remarks about Haiti and African nations for reasons why she wouldnt be attending the Jan. 30 speech. For the first time since I began serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, I will not be attending the presidents State of the Union address, Wilson said in a statement late Sunday. I have no doubts that instead of delivering a message of inclusivity and an agenda that benefits all Americans, President Trumps address will be full of innuendo, empty promises and lies. Wilson joins Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.; Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga.; and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., in boycotting the event. Why would I take my time to go and sit and listen to a liar? Waters said on MSNBC over the weekend. Someone who lies in the face of facts, someone who can change their tune day in and day out. What does he have to say that I would be interested in? I dont appreciate him and I wouldnt waste my time sitting in that house listening to what he has to say. He does not deserve my attention. Lewis made his announcement Friday, citing reports that Trump had referred to some African countries as s---holes in a conversation with lawmakers about immigration. I cannot in all good conscience be in a room with what he has said about so many Americans, Lewis said on MSNBC Friday. I just cannot do it. I wouldnt be honest with myself. Blumenauer said he would be skipping the event before Trumps remarks became public, but said it would be a waste of time and that he was staying home. "Rather than listening to another destructive, divisive speech by Trump, I will not attend this years annual address to Congress," Blumenauer said in a statement. "Instead, like I did during his inauguration, I'll be working at home listening to Oregonians about what they think about the State of the Union." On Sunday, the president addressed the people who are accusing him of being a racist. Im not a racist, Trump told reporters. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you. The State of the Union boycott isnt the only protest planned by Democrats. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said she is planning on wearing black in order to stand in solidarity with victims of sexual harassment, while other House lawmakers say they are planning on inviting victims of sexual assault to attend the presidents first State of the Union address. Some members will be bringing survivors of sexual assault and advocates as their guests, an aide to Florida Rep. Lois Frankel told NBC News. Other ideas that have since been nixed include holding mock trials with the women who have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. Trump has denied any claims of sexual misconduct. Democrats boycott of the annual address isnt something new. In 2016, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, skipped former President Barack Obamas last State of the Union address. That same year, three conservative Supreme Court judges -- Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia -- were also a no-show. Scalia, who died in 2016, had missed the State of the Union address more than a dozen times, and called the event a childish spectacle." Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., will make a speech scheduled for Wednesday where he will compare President Trumps concerns of media objectivity to similar comments made by communist dictator Joseph Stalin. Flake, a fervent critic of the Trump administration, is set to give the speech the same day Trump is expected to announce the winners of the so-called fake news awards. The senator will use his speech to condemn Trumps attacks on the press and for calling it the enemy of the American people. In the draft of the speech, obtained by The Washington Post, Flake will then compare Trumps comments to statements made by Stalin, who is responsible for the murder of millions. It is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words infamously spoken by Josef Stalin to describe his enemies, the senator is expected to say, according to the excerpts published by the Post. It bears noting that so fraught with malice was the phrase enemy of the people, that even Nikita Khrushchev forbade its use, telling the Soviet Communist Party that the phrase had been introduced by Stalin for the purpose of annihilating such individuals who disagreed with the supreme leader. According to the outgoing senators speech excerpts, Trump has it precisely backward despotism is the enemy of the people, adding that When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesnt suit him fake news, it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press. The relationship between Flake and Trump has been soured from the start. During the 2016 presidential election, Trump said Flake is a very weak and ineffective Senator. Last summer, the commander-in-chief praised his Republican challenger Kelli Ward, adding that the Arizona senator is weak on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic! Flake announced his resignation in October with a scathing attack on the president, calling his behavior reckless, outrageous, and undignified." He also criticized the Republican Party that, in his view, had given in or given up on the core principles in favor of a more viscerally satisfying anger and resentment, adding that anger and resentment are not a governing philosophy." The Associated Press contributed to this report. A decades-long water war is now before the nations highest court pitting Georgias use of water to supply its multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry and the booming Atlanta area, against the Sunshine States need for fresh water to revive its oyster business. The case, still sitting with the Supreme Court, is centered around the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers. These freshwater sources start in Georgia, then join together and form the Apalachicola River near the Florida border, which flows into Apalachicola Bay. There lies what once was a thriving oyster market. A decade ago farmers could harvest nearly 20, 60-pound bags of oysters on any given day in the bay of brackish water, according to Riverkeeper Dan Tonsmeire. Today, he says farmers struggle to bring home one to three bags because the salinity is too high. Tonsmiere says that all parts of the society that lives down here really is coming apart, and its because their lifes work and familys whole culture has disappeared. The stakes are high for both states, which are knee-deep in millions of dollars of legal fees as a result of Floridas call to limit Georgias water consumption. Agriculture is the heart of our region (Southwest Georgia), and water is the lifeblood of agriculture, Casey Cox, a sixth generation farmer, told Fox News. Farmers have been very invested in followingthe water wars over the last several decades because it will immensely impact what we do, and that uncertainty is something we have to take into account. Despite a recommendation to side with Georgia from Special Master Ralph Lancaster Jr., an attorney hired to research the issue on behalf of the Supreme Court, the Sunshine State left last weeks oral arguments with a ray of hope. Its common sense that that water, if left unattended, would flow down stream, Tonsmeire said, a sentiment that appeared to resonate with some of the justices. Justice Elena Kagan acknowledged that Florida had common sense on its side. Can we agree that a cap at the very least would prevent the situation in Florida from getting worse?" Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Can we agree that a cap at the very least would prevent the situation in Florida from getting worse? Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked. But Georgia attorney Craig Primis argued this notion was wrong, pointing to Lancasters report from last February. His evaluation found that while Florida showed decreased water flow harmed the state, it failed to prove cutting Georgias water use would provide Florida any benefit. The [U.S. Army] Corps of Engineers management regime from the top of the Chattahoochee right through to the Gulf is complex, and its just not a zero-sum game with respect to savings being automatically passed on or passed on in full, Doug Miell, an energy and natural resources consultant to the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said. The Corps manages five dams along the Chattahoochee River under congressional direction. It abides by an operations manual that Miell says looks at transportation, water supply, flood control and endangered species. As a result of the Corps high level of control, Lancaster reported that even with a cap on Georgias water use, Florida might not see a difference. However, Chief Justice John Roberts did not appear to mirror Lancasters concern to the same extent. It seems to me it's asking an awful lot of Florida to have to say: We know that the Corps is going to change things the way it benefits us, Roberts said. It could take months before the Supreme Court takes action on the case. Meanwhile, time is ticking for the fragile ecology of the Apalachicola Bay. Tonsmeire says after years of fighting high salinity, the damage will inevitably become irreversible without more fresh water soon. With the exacerbated drought conditions that we have now, its like stretching the rubber band a lot further than where we would typically get to, Tonsmeire said. You get to a point where the rubber band wont come back to where it was or even worse it would break and the system unravels. New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is getting slammed by fellow liberals and others for lauding a petition effort to recall a California judge for his sentencing in the high-profile sexual-assault case involving a Stanford swimmer. Organizers last week turned in roughly 95,000 signatures to recall Judge Aaron Persky, who sentenced Brock Turner to six months in jail for the 2015 sexual assault of a young woman while he was a member of the Stanford swim team. This is incredible, Gillibrand gushed this past weekend on Twitter. In California, the activists behind @RecallPersky gathered 100,000 signatures to recall the judge who sentenced Brock Turner to just six months in jail after he was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside a frat party. The signatures still must be certified by Santa Clara County, but the campaign appears to have more than the roughly 60,000 needed to force a recall vote in early June. Critics say the recall effort -- along with Gillibrands support -- is fueling a pervasive political climate in which judges are being pressured to order longer jail or prison sentences, which will only add to the problem of mass incarceration. Im extremely disappointed to see this from Gillibrand, Marc Joseph Stern, a lawyer and a liberal-leaning writer for Slate.com, tweeted Sunday. These campaigns only exacerbate mass incarceration by scaring other judges into imposing higher sentences across the board. Stephen Shanley, another Gillibrand follower on Twitter, wrote: Sound more like mob mentality. Your support is dangerous to independent Judiciary. You should not be supporting this recall. Such criticism marks the second time in recent weeks that Gillibrand -- a potential 2020 presidential candidate -- has been under attack from liberals. The senator was criticized last month for leading an effort to force Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken to resign from Congress for alleged sexual misconduct before a congressional ethics committee even investigated the accusations. Critics suggested she used the situation as an opportunity to nix a possible 2020 White House bid by Franken, another liberal favorite, and that Gillibrand disrespected the Clinton family, who has supported her, for saying Bill Clinton should have resigned as president during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. All this reeks of is political opportunism, a Democratic strategist told The Hill newspaper. And that's what defines Kirsten Gillibrand's career. Others, including law school professors from such liberal-leaning California universities as UC Berkeley and Stanford, have reportedly backed Persky, amid the recall effort and Gillibrands support. The California Judges Association has also backed Persky, who has filed a legal challenge to the petition-recall effort. If a party believes a judge made a wrong decision, that party may appeal the decision, the group said as the recall movement started. It does harm to our constitutional system, however, to place judges in fear of recall or personal harm before making unpopular decisions that comply with the law. The judge who barred the Trump administration from turning back the Obama-era DACA program last week has some legal scholars concerned that the ruling could damage the notion of an impartial bench. The New York Times reported Sunday that Judge William Alsup, the federal judge from the Northern District of California, used a local case before issuing the nationwide stop. How can a single judge decide a question for the whole country? Samuel Bray, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, asked the paper. Bray wrote a recent article where he spoke out against federal judges issuing nationwide injunctions, the paper reported. Increasingly, legal scholars are concerned about the way national injunctions are transforming the relationship between the courts and the political branches, he said. Alsup wrote that it is plausible that President Trump ended the program for racial reasons, Politico reported. "Circumstantial evidence of intent, including statements by a decisionmaker, may be considered in evaluating whether government action was motivated by a discriminatory purpose," Alsup wrote on Friday. "These statements were not about the rescission (which came later) but they still have relevance to show racial animus against people south of our border." DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, has protected about 800,000 people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families who overstayed visas. The program includes hundreds of thousands of college-age students. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement Wednesday that the ruling was outrageous, especially in light of the presidents successful bipartisan meeting with House and Senate members at the White House on the same day. The Times' report said the U.S. Supreme Court might address the issue of these injunctions. Josh Blackman, a professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, told the paper, The justices dont like the district courts changing national policy overnight. The Associated Press contributed to this report New York Police Department detectives are now formally looking into a mans claim that former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer crudely threatened to stab him in a Manhattan restaurant. Jamie Antolini filed a formal complaint Friday at the NYPD 19th Precinct over the Jan. 2 incident. Antolini claimed that Spitzer threatened that he would get a f---king knife and stab you right in your f---g ck! after overhearing him praise a longtime Spitzer enemy. The complaint was listed as a harassment violation, according to Antolinis attorney, Joe Murray. Murray, who also represented former escort Svetlana Travis Zakharova whom Spitzer also allegedly threatened, confirmed to Fox News that he wants a formal investigation into Spitzer. He suggested others are coming forward, saying another man called him with a complaint similar to Antolinis. ATTORNEY FOR MAN ALLEGEDLY THREATENED BY SPITZER VOWS TO FILE COMPLAINT, LAWSUIT I am calling this the Eliot Spitzer Me Too movement, Murray told Fox News before formally filing the complaint last week. He has, so far, escaped criminal prosecution. He thinks hes untouchable and above the law and that he can get away with anything he wants. Were hoping this will be the thing to bring him down. Murray told Fox News that he is requesting to have the same NYPD investigators who probed the Zakharova case investigate Antolinis incident. The incident took place at the restaurant Avra Madison Estiatorio, where Antolini was dining with potential business partners. Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 amid revelations of being a high-priced prostitution patron, allegedly walked by Antolinis table and overheard him call his so-called archenemy Home Depot founder Kenneth Langone an amazing guy and say Langone should have been president. The comments reportedly enraged Spitzer, who allegedly leaned into Antolinis face and yelled I dont know who the fk you think you are! Ill f---g have you killed! Spitzer then, allegedly, left the table, but returned minutes later with more threats. Murray told Fox News that Spitzer returned a third time. My client was in definite fear of his safety. Mr. Spitzer threatened to stab in him in the penis, saying different things each time he returned to the table, Murray said. This guy [Spitzer] has lost it. But Spitzer's spokeswoman Lisa Linden claimed Antolini provoked the incident, and that the allegations are absurd. "There was an argument started and provoked by an Avra patron. Mr. Spitzer was at a dinner celebrating his mother's 90th birthday," Linden said in a statement to Fox News. "The patron persisted in making aggressive remarks, which Mr. Spitzer initially ignored. An argument ensued, but at no time did he make any threats." The incident occurred just days before Zakharova, who accused Spitzer of choking her, gave the police a recording where Spitzer is reportedly heard threatening her. You know whats going to happen to you? Youre going to be fg dead, Spitzer allegedly says in the recording. Youre going to die a slow painful death and your family is going to look at you and laugh because youre a f---g bh. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., told ABC's "The View" Monday that Donald Trump would not be president if Martin Luther King Jr. was still alive, adding that the civil rights leader "would have been able to lead us to a different place." The 77-year-old Lewis, himself a prominent leader in the 1960s civil rights movement, joined the panel on "The View" for an emotionally charged 10-minute segment to mark Martin Luther King Day. Lewis reflected on his decision to skip what he called Trump's "so-called inauguration" last year, saying that he "couldnt be at home with myself if I had to participate or be part of it." "The movement taught us to withdraw from evil," Lewis added, "and I never felt that [Trump's] election was legitimate." "Yes, I'm with you on this," panelist Joy Behar remarked. Behar drew loud applause when she brought up Lewis' non-attendance at the opening of a civil rights museum in Mississippi due to Trump's presence. "I feel it, too," Behar said, "I dont want to be anywhere near him." Lewis also disagreed with King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, who said that her father would have met with the president. "Well, I knew her father very, very well," said Lewis. "I think he would have took the same position that I took." In response to a question about the 50th anniversary of King's assassination, which will be marked in April, Lewis said that America "has not been on the right path since" King's killing. "I felt, when he was assassinated, that something died in America and something died in all of us," he said. "Its been off since then," Behar agreed. "We gotta get back on track." Mitt Romney took a swipe at Donald Trump on Monday, condemning the crude comments the president was said to have made about Haiti and African countries -- calling them inconsistent (with) Americas history and antithetical to American values with a reference to Martin Luther King, Jr. The poverty of an aspiring immigrants nation of origin is as irrelevant as their race, Romney tweeted. The sentiment attributed to POTUS is inconsistent w/Americas history and antithetical to American values. May our memory of Dr. King buoy our hope for unity, greatness, & charity for all. On Thursday, sources said Trump questioned why the U.S. should permit immigrants from s---hole countries during negotiations with a bipartisan group of senators. Neither Trump nor the White House initially denied making the comments, though 24 hours later, Trump tweeted to his 46.7 million followers that he had never made the derogatory remarks. Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who was present at the Trump meeting, released a statement saying he had heard the president make the comments himself. South Carolina Republican Sens. Tim Scott and Lindsey Graham suggested the reporting of Trumps remarks was basically accurate. Romneys tweet on Martin Luther King Day underscores the one-time GOP presidential candidate and potential Utah senate candidates resistance to Trump. Romney has taken Trump to task over his handling of the Charlottesville, Va., race-based riots. Whether he intended to or not, what (Trump) communicated caused racists to rejoice, minorities to weep, and the vast heart of America to mourn, Romney wrote on Facebook last August. His apologists strain to explain that he didnt mean what we heard. Then, in December, Romney rebuked Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, whom Trump had supported. Moore ultimately lost to the Democrat, Doug Jones. Roy Moore in the US Senate would be a stain on the GOP and on the nation. Leigh Corfman and other victims are courageous heroes. No vote, no majority is worth losing our honor, our integrity, Romney tweeted in reference to the women who accused Moore of sexual assault and misconduct. Former White House chief strategist and ex-Trump campaign manager Steve Bannon will testify before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday as part of its Russia probe, in what will be his first appearance on Capitol Hill since the Michael Wolff book firestorm. Bannon, who stepped down as executive chairman of Breitbart News last week following a dramatic falling out with the president over Wolffs anti-Trump book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, will be interviewed behind closed doors by congressional investigators probing Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election. A source close to the committee told Fox News that Bannon would likely be questioned over information in Wolffs book. In the book, Bannon slams the presidents eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Bannon called their infamous June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya during the campaign treasonous and unpatriotic. RUSSIAN LOBBYIST, UNNAMED TRANSLATOR ATTENDED TRUMP TOWER MEETING WITH RUSSIAN LAWYER Even if you thought that was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad s**t, and I happen to think its all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately, Bannon said in the book. Bannon also said Trump Jr. would crack like an egg in any possible public testimony about the situation. RUSSIAN LAWYER WHO MET TRUMP JR.: 'I WOULD HAVE' CONTACTED CLINTON, TOO, IF SHE COULD HELP Trump Jr. fired back on Twitter, calling Bannon an opportunist who brought a nightmare of backstabbing, harassing, leaking [and] lying to the White House. Bannon, who left his post at the White House in August, was a dominant figure in the novel -- which enraged the president enough to have his personal attorneys demand the publisher halt the books publication -- a request that was ultimately rejected. The lawyers also sent a cease and desist notice to Bannon, arguing he violated a non-disclosure agreement signed during the campaign by disclosing confidential information in speaking to the media about the campaign, and disparaging members of the Trump family. The president issued a multi-paragraph blistering takedown of sloppy Steve Bannon, after excerpts released early revealed the information in the Wolff book. Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency, Trump said in the statement. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. STEVE BANNON STEPS DOWN AS EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN OF BREITBART NEWS Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski also is expected to testify this week before the House Intelligence Committee. I have nothing to hide. I didnt collude or cooperate or coordinate with any Russian, Russian agency, Russian government or anybody else, to try and impact this election, Lewandowski said on WABCs The Rita Cosby Show. Ill be happy to come out and set the record straight about my lack of involvement with any type of foreign entity. Lewandowski was replaced by Manafort in June 2016 ahead of the Republican National Convention. Manafort has been indicted on money laundering charges as part of Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation. The former top Trump campaign officials are testifying before the committee, as Democrats, like committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff, D-Calif., claimed that Republicans would prematurely shut down the investigation. It appears Republicans want to conduct just enough interviews to give the impression of a serious investigation, Schiff said last month. A source close to the committees majority told Fox News that it was funny that Schiff has accused Republicans of prematurely ending the investigation at the behest of Trump and Bannon. New witnesses are still being interviewed, the source told Fox News Monday. Its almost as if Schiff prematurely launched this critique, whose purpose is to provide an excuse for why Democrats, after a full year of investigating, cant prove any of the collusion allegations theyve been making. Schiff has called for at least a dozen more witnesses to testify before the committee, including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Trump administration officials on Monday honored Dr. Martin Luther King, paying tribute to the fallen civil rights leader as the nation marked the day celebrating his legacy. At a wreath-laying ceremony at the MLK Jr. Memorial in Washington, FBI Director Chris Wray and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke praised King and said his words were just as important today. Dr. King understood no man is an island and that we rise and fall together, Wray said. He noted that whatever effects one directly effects all indirectly, listing violent crime, discrimination and hatred. We have made progress as a nation over the last 50 years, but it isnt enough, he said. We still havent reached that mountain top that Dr. King referenced so eloquently. Wray said that the FBI was determined to ensure fairness and equality, and foster diversity to better reflect the communities they serve. [Our job at the FBI] is simple and profound. To protect the American people, and uphold The Constitution, and to follow the facts independently wherever they may lead, he said, adding that protecting civil rights and observing civil liberties was at the heart of everything the bureau does. Wray announced that the FBI now requires every new analyst and agent in training to take a course specifically dedicated to King, and to visit this memorial to understand how we can better do our jobs. We will only continue to make progress as we continue to move forward together, he said. One day we will reach that mountain top together. Zinke told the crowd that Kings dream was highly rooted in the dream of all Americans. His dream was a fully integrated American for all people, all faiths, genders, religions, he said. We all have the obligation to make sure our fight for justice, equality the battle that we face every dayis fought and won because it is deeply rooted in us as a people. Over the weekend, Vice President Pence and his wife visited the memorial for a private wreath laying. Honored to lay a wreath at MLK Jr. Memorial w/ @SecondLady, Pence tweeted. He was a great American leader who inspired a movement & transformed a Nation. He took the words of our Founders to heart to forge a more perfect union based on the notion all men are created equal & in the image of God. Also Monday, President Trump remembered King in a recorded White House weekly address posted on Twitter. Dr. King's dream is our dream, Trump said. It is the American Dream. It's the promise stitched into the fabric of our Nation, etched into the hearts of our people, and written into the soul of humankind." He spent the day at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, and the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach. Trump signed a Martin Luther King Jr. proclamation last week, amid criticism over comments he made Thursday at an Oval Office meeting on immigration with seven lawmakers in which he questioned why people from "sh--hole" countries like Haiti, Honduras, and African countries come to the United States. King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, called out Trump's comments on Monday. "When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don't even think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it does," King said. "We got to find a way to work on this man's heart." Other critics have denounced Trump and accused him of being a racist. On Sunday Trump told reporters that he was "not a racist." He also has denied making those comments. First Lady Melania Trump also paid tribute Kings memory Monday. "Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & his service to this great country. I am honored to be First Lady of a nation that continually strives for equality & justice for all. #MLKDay," the first lady posted on her Twitter page. Other administration officials, including White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, Ivanka Trump tweeted in commemoration of King. The Associated Press contributed to this report. In the face of ongoing backlash against President Trumps reported s---hole comments during a bipartisan meeting on immigration last week, the president came out swinging on Monday afternoon by blasting one of his chief opponents in the Senate, Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois. Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting, Trump tweeted. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military. It's unclear if the Dicky moniker will stick. The president has given derisive nicknames to many of his opponents, including presidential election rivals Little Marco Rubio and Lyin' Ted Cruz. A small group of Republicans and Democrats was in the closed-door meeting on Thursday at the White House, including Durbin and South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. Why are we having all these people from s---hole countries come here? the president reportedly said, seemingly referring to people from Haiti, as well as some Central American and African countries. The president added that the U.S. should admit more people from countries like Norway. Trump made the comments, sources said, as Durbin was reading a list of temporary protected status countries. I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday, Durbin tweeted on Friday. President Trump said things that were hate-filled, vile, and racist. He used those words repeatedly. But Trump fought back against reports of the meeting, arguing on Jan. 12 that the language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made - a big setback for DACA! Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country, the president continued. Never said take them out. Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust! The comments at the meeting sparked outcry from both Republicans and Democrats, prompting the president to counter claims that he is racist. Im not a racist, Trump said Sunday night to reporters. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you. The president and Congress are attempting to reach a deal on comprehensive immigration reform as part of a federal spending bill that Congress must pass by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Trump and Congressional Republicans are seeking increased funds for border security and changes to the lottery and chain migration programs in exchange for providing permanent protection for "Dreamers" in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Fox News Alex Pappas, Brooke Singman and Samuel Chamberlain contributed to this report. Throughout the first year of his presidency and even as he campaigned for the office President Trumps rhetoric regarding North Korea has been harsh. He warned earlier this year that Americas nuclear capabilities were much bigger [and] more powerful than that of the Asian nation. And at the end of 2017, Trump designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror again a classification that came with additional sanctions. On the heels of a planned, historic summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Trumps tone softened, saying great progress has been made. But Trump ultimately cancelled that meeting, citing "open hostility" from North Korea. From agreeing to meet with Kim to dubbing him Little Rocket Man, heres a look at what Trump has said about North Korea and its leader over time. Back together again After meeting with a North Korean official in the White House for more than an hour, Trump announced the June summit with North Korea is back on. We'll be meeting on June 12 in Singapore," the president told reporters after the meeting. Let's call the whole thing off Trump announced on May 24 that he has decided to pull out of the June summit with North Korea. "We were informed that the meeting was requested by North Korea, but that to us is totally irrelevant," Trump said in a letter to Kim. "I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting." "You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used," Trump said. "I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only that dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you," he added. "In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated." Deal or no deal? After speaking with the South Korean president amid threats from the rogue regime to cancel talks, Trump suggested the historic summit between him and Kim might not happen after all. If it doesnt happen, maybe it will happen later. You never know about deals. Ive made a lot of deals, Trump said on May 22. You never really know. It may not work out for June 12. Trump said he wants the Korean peninsula to be denuclearized in an all in one manner. I can guarantee Kims safety. He will be safe. He will be happy, Trump said. His country will be rich. Trump also said hes noticed a change in Kims attitude recently. I cant say that Im happy about it, he added. Save the date Trump officially announced that he would meet with Kim in Singapore on June 12. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace! Trump said in a tweet. The announcement came hours after Trump and the first lady welcomed the three Americans freed from detention in North Korea at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland early on May 10. After Trump met with the three men, he publicly thanked Kim for releasing the prisoners. Were starting off on a new footing, Trump said. Positive gesture of goodwill In announcing that a date and place has been set for his much-anticipated meeting with Kim, Trump also confirmed three American prisoners have been released. The three Americans Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak Song are returning to the U.S. with newly-confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump said in a tweet. The president confirmed the three men are also in good health. WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE HISTORIC SUMMIT BETWEEN TRUMP, KIM JONG UN White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Trump appreciates Kim Jong Uns action to release these American citizens, and views this as a positive gesture of goodwill. Another American detainee, Otto Warmbier, died in June 2017 after he was released back to the U.S. with severe brain damage. Good relationship formed Trump has confirmed that CIA Director Mike Pompeo his pick to lead the State Department secretly met with Kim in April and a good relationship was formed. He said the meeting went very smoothly. The president also disclosed that the U.S. and North Korea have held direct talks at extremely high levels in preparation for the summit. Kim will do what is right After Kims first reported visit to China, Trump said there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility, Trump said in a March tweet, adding that he is looking forward to his upcoming meeting with the North Korean leader. He also gave North Korea the benefit of the doubt earlier that month, saying he believes the country will abide by its pledge to suspend missile tests. When Trump delivered a speech in Pennsylvania, the crowd booed the mention of Kim, but the president stopped them. No, it's very positive ... no, after the meeting you may do that, but now we have to be very nice because let's see what happens, let's see what happens, Trump said. Invitation accepted Trump accepted an invitation from Kim to meet, the White House said. While a time and place has yet to be determined, the two leaders are expected to meet by June. The invitation to convene was extended by Kim. Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached, Trump said on social media. Meeting being planned! The deal with North Korea is very much in the making and will be, if completed, a very good one for the World. Time and place to be determined, he later said. Possible progress As North Korea is reportedly willing to negotiate its nuclear weapons, Trump cautiously acknowledged possible progress. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned, Trump said on Twitter. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction! At a later White House news conference, Trump said he believed North Korea, which has a long history of deception and threats to target U.S. cities with nuclear missiles, is sincere. We have come certainly a long way, at least rhetorically, with North Korea, Trump said. Of the possibility for peacefully resolving the nations deep differences, he said: Itd be a great thing for the world, would be great for North Korea, it would be a great thing for the peninsula. But well see what happens, Trump said. Spirit of the Olympics At the conclusion of the 2018 Winter Olympics, North Korea sent the U.S. a message through South Korea, saying it has ample intentions of holding talks with America. During a meeting with the nations governors at the White House in February, Trump said those talks will only occur under the right conditions. The administrations position has been that North Korea must get rid of its nuclear and missile programs first before any talks can take place. Relationship status: Its complicated In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump reportedly said he probably has a very good relationship with North Korea. Trump also suggested that he is open to diplomacy with the country hes spent years criticizing, the newspaper reported. I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised, Trump said. The Wall Street Journal released the audio and transcript of the interview after Trump denied making the comments. 'Success for the world' Trump told South Korea that he would be open to talks with its northern neighbor under the right circumstances, the White House said. Trump also took credit for the talks between North and South Korea ahead of next months Winter Olympics. At a January Cabinet meeting, Trump said it was his administrations pressure on North Korea that caused the rogue nation to negotiate with the South. "Without our attitude that would have never happened," Trump said of the inter-Korean dialogue. "Who knows where it leads. Hopefully it will lead to success for the world not just for our country but for the world, and we'll be seeing over the next number of weeks and months what happens." Whose button is bigger? After Kim warned Trump about North Koreas nuclear capabilities, Trump hit back on social media, arguing that his Nuclear Button is bigger [and] more powerful. North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the 'Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,' the president tweeted. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works! Kim previously warned the U.S. should know that the button for nuclear war is on my table. The entire area of the U.S. mainland is within our nuclear strike range, he said. The United States can never start a war against me and our country. Good news or bad news? Trump insinuated at the start of the new year that sanctions and additional pressures are having a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea, Trump said. Kim now wants to talk to South Korea for the first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not we will see! In his tweet, Trump was seemingly referring to the recent, dramatic escape of at least two North Korean soldiers across the heavily militarized border into the southern country He also alluded to Kims recent comments indicating he would send a delegation to the Winter Olympics to be hosted in South Korea. Trump also took credit for the talks between North and South Korean leaders. With all of the failed experts weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasnt firm, strong and willing to commit our total might against the North, Trump said in a Jan. 4 tweet. Fools, but talks are a good thing! 'Sick puppy' While giving a speech on tax reform at a Missouri event in November, 2017, Trump digressed from the topic to call the North Korean leader a "sick puppy." His comments drew hoots from the crowd. State sponsor of terror Trump re-designated North Korea a state sponsor of terror on Nov. 20, 2017, citing its support of international terrorism, including assassinations on foreign soil. During a Cabinet meeting, Trump announced the designation came along with new sanctions on the murderous regime as part of the administrations maximum pressure campaign in dealing with North Korea. He said these sanctions will be the highest level of sanctions on the North. North Korea was on the list but was taken off by the Bush administration in 2008. Why can't we be friends? In a series of tweets while in Vietnam, Trump said he doesn't know why the North Korean dictator would "insult" him. Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me old, when I would NEVER call him short and fat? Trump said. Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and maybe someday that will happen! The comment came after Kim referred to Trump's speech in South Korea as reckless remarks by an old lunatic. 'Dont try us' In Asia, Trump issued a stern warning to North Korea, saying it would be a fatal miscalculation for the country to attack the U.S. or an ally. This is a very different administration than the United States has had in the past. Do not underestimate us. And do not try us, Trump said during an address at South Koreas National Assembly. North Korea has interpreted Americas past restraint as weakness, Trump said. 'Lets make a deal' While on his Asia trip, Trump implored North Korea to come to the table for talks on its nuclear weapons program. Trumps request for North Korea to make a deal was in stark contrast to his previous hardline rhetoric when it comes to the rogue nation. "It makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that is good for the people of North Korea and for the world," Trump said during a news conference alongside South Korean president Moon Jae-in in November 2017. Trump also said hes seen a lot of progress in dealing with North Korea but still called the country a worldwide threat. In a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo the day before, Trump repeated his assertion that the era of strategic patience with North Korea was finished. Some people say my rhetoric is very strong but look what has happened with very weak rhetoric in the last 25 years, Trump said then. 'Rocket Man' is on a 'suicide mission' After dubbing him Rocket Man in a tweet, Trump eventually tried out the new nickname for Kim during his inaugural address to the U.N. General Assembly. During his speech, Trump vowed to totally destroy North Korea if the country so provokes him. He also said Kim was on a suicide mission. No more talking After North Korea said it successfully launched a missile over Japan, a U.S. ally, and into the Pacific Ocean, Trump initially had a subdued response. "Threatening and destabilizing actions only increase the North Korean regime's isolation in the region and among all nations of the world," Trump said in a written statement after North Koreas missile soared almost 1,700 miles into the Pacific Ocean, triggering alert warnings in northern Japan and shudders throughout Northeast Asia. "All options are on the table." The missile launch was said to be a precursor to North Koreas containment of the U.S. territory of Guam by Kim, according to state-run media. But in a tweet, the president suggested the U.S. is finished talking to North Korea. The U.S. has been talking to North Korea, and paying them extortion money, for 25 years. Talking is not the answer, Trump tweeted. The U.S. is 'locked and loaded' Trump took to social media in August 2017 to proclaim that the U.S. military is locked and loaded in case North Korea act[s] unwisely. 'Fire [and] fury' isn't 'tough enough' With the threat of nuclear violence growing, Trump warned North Korea on Aug. 8, 2017 that he would unleash fire, fury and frankly power, the likes of which this world has never seen before. But when tensions continued to rise and North Korea threatened to attack Guam, Trump said maybe that comment wasnt "tough enough." "Lets see what [Kim] does with Guam. He does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before what will happen in North Korea," Trump said. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Trump was "sending a strong message to North Korea in language that Kim Jong Un can understand, because he doesnt seem to understand diplomatic language." Kim Jong Un is 'not getting away with it' Trump said Kim has disrespected our country greatly. He has said things that are horrific. And with me, hes not getting away with it, Trump said. He got away with it for a long time, between him and his family. Hes not getting away with it. Its a whole new ball game. 'Strategic patience is over' After meeting with the South Korean president in Washington, D.C., in June 2017, Trump said that the era of strategic patience with the North Korean regime has failed. Frankly, that patience is over, he said. As Trump made these comments, the U.S. was rocked with the death of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American college student who suffered extensive brain damage while being held captive in North Korea for more than a year. There are 'worse things' than assassinating Kim Jong Un In an interview with CBS News during the presidential campaign, Trump said he could get China to make [Kim Jong Un] disappear in one form or another very quickly. When asked if he was talking about assassinating the North Korean dictator, Trump shrugged. Well, you know, Ive heard of worse things, frankly. I mean, this guys a bad dude and dont underestimate him, Trump said. Any young guy that can take over from his father with all those generals and everybody else that probably wants the position, this is not somebody to be underestimated. 'What the hell is wrong with speaking?' Trump told supporters at a campaign rally in Atlanta that should Kim want to come to the U.S., he would be accept[ed]. I wouldnt go there, that I can tell you. If he came here, Id accept him, but I wouldnt give him a state dinner like we do for China and all these other people that rip us off when we give them these big state dinners, Trump said in June 2016. What the hell is wrong with speaking? Trump said, referencing the criticism he received for being willing to talk with North Korea. Its called opening a dialogue. 'Maniac' During a GOP presidential debate in September 2015, Trump railed on the maniac in North Korea while answering a question about Planned Parenthood and womens health issues. Nobody ever mentions North Korea, where you have this maniac sitting there, and he actually has nuclear weapons and somebody better start thinking about North Korea and perhaps a couple of other places. But certainly North Korea, Trump said. You have somebody right now in North Korea who has got nuclear weapons and who is saying almost every other week, Im ready to use them, and we dont even mention it, he continued. China needs to solve the problem Even before he was president, Trump urged China to step in and help alleviate problems with North Korea. North Korea is reliant on China. China could solve this problem easily if they wanted to but they have no respect for our leaders, Trump tweeted in March 2013. In April 2013, Trump continued that line of thinking, adding that North Korea cant survive, or even eat, without the help of China. He then accused China of taunting the U.S. As president, Trump has said he is very disappointed in actions China has taken regarding North Korea, particularly allowing oil to go into the nation. He also said a Chinese envoy to North Korea had no impact on Kim. Additionally, Trump has said hes spoken to Chinas President Xi Jinping regarding the provocative actions of North Korea as well as the planned meeting between Trump and Kim. President Xi told me he appreciates that the U.S. is working to solve the problem diplomatically rather than going with the ominous alternative, Trump said in March 2018. China continues to be helpful! 'Wack job' In April 2013, Trump urged then-President Barack Obama to be very careful with the 28-year-old wack job in North Korea. At some point we may have to get very tough, he tweeted. 'Negotiate like crazy' Trump warned that the U.S. needed to do something to stop North Korea in 1999 during an interview with the late Tim Russert on Meet the Press. "Do you want to do it in five years when they have warheads all over the place, every one of them pointing to New York City, to Washington and every one of us, is that when you want to do it, or do you want to do something now? Trump said. You'd better do it now. And if they think you're serious they'll negotiate and it'll never come to that. He said then that if he ever became president, the first step he would take would be to negotiate like crazy to make sure that the country would get the best deal possible. Trump also predicted then that in three or four years, North Korea would have weapons aimed all over the world, including at the U.S. Fox News' Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report. President Trump slammed his political foes early Monday, tweeting that Democrats dont want to make a deal on the Obama-era program shielding immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children from deportation. In a series of tweets Monday morning, the president quoted himself from remarks he made over the weekend, regarding the Democrats and their lack of desire to reach a deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Statement by me last night in Florida: 'Honestly, I dont think the Democrats want to make a deal. They talk about DACA, but they dont want to help..We are ready, willing and able to make a deal but they dont want to. They dont want security at the border, they dont want to stop drugs, they want to take money away from our military which we cannot do,' Trump tweeted, quoting his comments made Sunday evening to reporters at his resort at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. In a separate tweet, he added fresh remarks. TRUMP SAYS DEMS DON'T WANT TO MAKE DACA DEAL, ADDS HE'S 'NOT A RACIST' My standard is very simple, AMERICA FIRST & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! the president tweeted. Trump and Congress are attempting to reach a deal on comprehensive immigration reform as part of a federal spending bill that Congress must pass by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. The president and Republicans are looking for increased funding for border security and changes to the so-called Visa Lottery System and to chain migration programs in exchange for providing permanent protection for so-called Dreamers. Democrats have resisted the Republican "wish list," which drew the presidents ire over the weekend. The bipartisan negotiations take place in the wake of comments Trump apparently made during a bicameral meeting at the White House last week to discuss immigration. The president apparently said: Why are we having all these people from s---hole countries come here? referencing people from Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and some African countries in temporary protected status program, according to lawmakers who were at the meeting, including Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. Trump responded to claims following the remarks that he was a racist. Im not a racist, Trump said Sunday night to reporters. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you. Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain contributed to this report. Eliminating chain migration, the process that allows family members of immigrants to come to the U.S., has been a target of President Trump. Trump has often lambasted the program and called for its end, including in his first State of the Union address. And at a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers earlier this month, Trump said any immigration reform package would have to include a solution to chain migration in order for him to be on board. What is it? Chain migration occurs when immigrants enter the U.S. through sponsorship from family members already settled in the country. Relatives are able to apply for visas through this system. Another term for this system is family reunification. Green card holders are able to petition for their spouse and unmarried children to become permanent U.S. residents, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. U.S. citizens can petition for visas for additional family members. Critics have argued that the system is flawed in that it could trigger an endless flow of family members emigrating into the country. What has Trump said about it? While giving the State of the Union address, Trump walked through four pillars of his immigration reform plan, one of which includes stopping chain migration. "Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives," Trump said. "Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children." The president also spoke about two New York City terror attacks which he said were made possible by the visa lottery and chain migration. Accused terrorist Sayfullo Saipov reportedly immigrated via the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Saipov is accused of mowing down pedestrians in October on a crowded bike lane in Manhattan, killing eight people and wounding a dozen others. Terrorist suspect Akayed Ullah reportedly immigrated through chain migration. Ullah allegedly set off a pipe bomb in a corridor of the Times Square subway station in December. Trump has also often tweeted his call to end chain migration. Some people come in, and they bring their whole family with them, who can be truly evil, Trump said in one online post. Fox News Zoe Szathmary and The Associated Press contributed to this report. The Trump administration announced last year its plan to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) which provides a level of amnesty to certain undocumented immigrants, many of whom came to the U.S. as children with a six-month delay for recipients. But a federal appeals court ruled against the proposal in early November, declaring the government couldn't immediately end the program. The Executive wields awesome power in the enforcement of our nations immigration laws, the ruling said. Our decision today does not curb that power, but rather enables its exercise in a manner that is free from legal misconceptions and is democratically accountable to the public. Trump had initially set a March 5 deadline for the program and called on Congress to pass legislation pertaining to the young immigrants. But the deadline came and went, with no congressional action but several lawsuits challenging the administration's decision to end the program. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ON DACA Federal judges in New York and Washington also have ruled against President Trump on DACA. President Trump has repeatedly blamed Democrats for inaction. Heres a look at the DACA program and why the Trump administration wants to dismantle it. What is the DACA program? The DACA program was formed through executive action by former President Barack Obama in 2012 and allowed certain people who came to the U.S. illegally as minors to be protected from immediate deportation. Recipients, called Dreamers, were able to request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, which was subject to renewal. Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated. Deferred action does not provide lawful status. Individuals were able to request DACA status if they were under the age of 31 on June 15, 2012, came to the U.S. before turning 16 and continuously lived in the country since June 15, 2007. Individuals also had to have a high school diploma, GED certification, been honorably discharged from the military or still be in school. Recipients could not have a criminal record. It did not provide legal status. How many people are affected by DACA? Nearly 800,000 youth, called Dreamers, are under the program's umbrella. Daniel Garza, president of the conservative immigration nonprofit Libre Initiative, told Fox News that DACA offers a reprieve from a life of uncertainty for innocent kids who didnt break the law. Its rather disappointing to think they could return to a state of anxiety and fear, he said. What did the Trump administration do? The Trump administration announced in September 2017 that it planned to phase out DACA for current recipients, and no new requests would be granted. But a lower court order required the administration to continue accepting renewal applications for those under the DACA program, and the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration's request to intervene. Since the announcement, Trump had offered to work with lawmakers on a solution for the hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. who fell under DACAs umbrella of protections. But at the same time, he has repeatedly blamed Democrats on social media for lack of a solution. Earlier this year, Trump released his four pillars of immigration reform, which included a provision for legal status for DACA recipients and others who would be eligible for DACA status. The White House estimated that total to be 1.8 million people. The Senate rejected the plan. Republicans and some Democrats opposed Obamas directive establishing DACA from the start as a perceived overreach of executive power. Obama spoke out on social media after the Trump administration announced a plan to dismantle the program, stating that it's "self-defeating ... and it is cruel" to end DACA and questioned the motive behind the decision. Do any DACA recipients serve in the military? Despite some rumors circulating online to the contrary, Dreamers were eligible to serve in the U.S. military since 2014 when the Pentagon adopted a policy to allow a certain amount of illegal immigrants to join. In fiscal year 2016, 359 DACA recipients had enlisted in the Army which is the only branch to accept immigrants of this category. Fox News' John Roberts and The Associated Press contributed to this report. As the White House and lawmakers continue to work toward immigration reform, President Trump has remained steadfast in his demands including an end to a visa lottery program aimed at increasing immigrant diversity. Aside from the diversity visa program, Trump wants to end chain migration, come up with a solution for the several hundred thousand undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who were brought to the country as minors and increase border security. The State Departments diversity visa program is on Trumps chopping block. The president has accused other countries of selecting people that they dont want for the lottery to come to the U.S. Heres a look at the program and how it works. What is the program? The diversity visa program allows for immigrants from certain nations, with low immigration rates to the U.S., to come into the country. These visas are available to countries in six geographical regions, and one country cannot account for more than seven percent of the available visas per year, according to the State Department. The Immigration Act of 1990 created the program, although it didnt go into effect into 1995. The program grants about 55,000 visas per year, according to the State Department. The State Department has a full list of countries eligible for diversity visas here. What has Trump said about it? Trump told a group of bipartisan lawmakers at the White House early January that ending the diversity visa program was one of a handful of paramount measures when it comes to immigration reform. Countries come in and they put names in a hopper. Theyre not giving you their best names; common sense means theyre not giving you their best names, Trump said. Theyre giving you people that they dont want. Trump also blasted the program after Sayfullo Saipov, from Uzbekistan, allegedly mowed down pedestrians on a crowded Manhattan bike path in October 2017. Saipov was able to enter the U.S. through the diversity visa program. The year that Saipov won the lottery, he was one of 3,284 people from Uzbekistan to be granted visas. Daniel Garza, president of the conservative Libre Initiative, told Fox News that the diversity visa lottery should be diminished and a greater focus shifted to merit-based visas. Dont reduce visas but get smarter about how we allocate them, he said, saying the focus should be on those who can improve our economy, security and communities. What did Sen. Chuck Schumer have to do with the program? After the attack, Trump blamed Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the program, calling it a Chuck Schumer beauty. Trump singled out Schumer as he was the lead sponsor on a 1990 House bill that included the diversity visa program, the Weekly Standard reported. As the conservative magazine noted, former President George H.W. Bush would sign the Immigration Act of 1990 which included diversity visas and other parts of Schumers original legislation but Schumer was not the lead sponsor on the bill's final version. Schumer also played a part in an effort that would have eliminated the very program. In 2013, Schumer was part of the so-called Gang of Eight a bipartisan group of senators who worked on comprehensive immigration reform that came up with legislation that would have done away with the program, according to reports at the time. Don't expect to have Diluvicursor pickeringi for Thanksgiving dinner anytime soon. Paleontologists have discovered a new species of dinosaur in south eastern Australia that was the size of a turkey. Named after the late paleontologist David Pickering, the new species of dinosaur was found in 113-million-year-old rocks that form a sea platform near Cape Otway in Victoria. The findings, published for the first time ever, were made by University of Queensland School of Biological Sciences alumnus Dr. Matt Herne and his colleagues. Diluvicursor pickeringi (pronounced di-loovy-cursor pickering-i) means Pickerings flood-running dinosaur. TICK FOUND PRESERVED IN AMBER LIKELY SUCKED THE BLOOD OF FEATHERED DINOSAURS, STUDY SUGGESTS Diluvicursor shows for the first time that there were at least two distinct body-types among closely related ornithopods small, two-legged grazing dinosaurs in this part of Australia, Dr. Herne said, according to a press release from the University of Queensland. He added that one of the types, known as Leaellynasaura, "was lightly built with an extraordinarily long tail, while the other Diluvicursor was more solidly built, with a far shorter tail. Full details of the findings have been made available in PeerJ, a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Dr. Herne also noted that thanks to the reconstruction of the newly found dino's tail muscles, it most likely had "powerful leg retracting muscles and was most likely a good runner. Volunteer George Caspar made the discovery of Diluvicursor pickeringi's skeleton in 2005, but it has taken this long to understand both the geology of the surrounding area, as well as its relationships, Herne said. Much of the fossil vertebrate material from this site has yet to be described, so we hope to discover further dinosaur species, specimens and other exciting animals there," Dr. Herne said. The Melbourne Museum plans to put the specimen on public display. Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia Scientists across the globe are carefully monitoring Chinas discarded Tiangong-1 space station, which will plunge into Earths atmosphere at some point in the coming months. In a post on Jan. 12, the European Space Agency (ESA), which is hosting an international monitoring effort, said that the re-entry window is between March 17 and April 21. However, it is still unclear when exactly Tiangong-1 will appear, with the ESA noting that the re-entry window is highly variable. There is also uncertainty about where exactly the unmanned space lab will enter Earth's atmosphere. Reentry will take place anywhere between 43N and 43S (e.g. Spain, France, Portugal, Greece, etc.), wrote the ESA. Areas outside of these latitudes can be excluded. The area inside the latitudes, however, extends across a large part of the globe, and includes much of North America. SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE RETURNS TO EARTH AFTER SPACE STATION DELIVERY The space agency added that at no time will a precise time/location prediction from ESA be possible. The good news is that most of the 9.4-ton spacecraft is expected to burn up on re-entry, although there is a chance that some fragments could still reach Earth. Owing to the stations mass and construction materials, there is a possibility that some portions of it will survive and reach the surface, explained the ESA, in a recent post. In the history of spaceflight, no casualties due to falling space debris have ever been confirmed, it added. The spacecraft, which is 39.3 feet long with a diameter of 10.8 feet, had a crew of three people, but has been unoccupied since 2013. There has been no contact with Tiangong-1 since 2016. METEORITE'S ORIGINS POINT TO POSSIBLE UNDISCOVERED ASTEROID In a statement released on Jan. 9, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said that, between Dec. 31, 2017 and Jan. 7, 2018, Tiangong-1 stayed at an average altitude of 174.8 miles. No anomaly occurred, it said. Tiangong-1, which means Heavenly Palace in Mandarin, was launched in 2011 as China ramped up its space efforts. Space.com reports that the space station was used for six successive rendezvous and docking with other Chinese spacecraft. The lab, however, ceased functioning in March 2016. The re-entry monitoring effort hosted by the ESA is being conducted by the Inter Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC). In addition to the ESA and CMSA other organizations involved in the monitoring include NASA, European national space agencies, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Russias Roscosmos. ZUMA SATELLITE LAUNCHED BY SPACEX REPORTEDLY 'TOTAL LOSS,' FAILED TO LAUNCH INTO ORBIT Officials at ESA will be updating their forecast approximately every week in January and February. This story has been corrected with additional detail on where Tiangong-1 could re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers While John Young, who died on Jan. 5 at age 87, is famous for his Apollo 16 moonwalks and his role as commander of the first space shuttle mission, the NASA astronaut is also remembered for a small scandal he triggered with a sneaky act: smuggling a corned-beef sandwich into space. Young slipped the sandwich into his pocket just before launching on Gemini 3 on March 23, 1965. It was the first U.S. mission to carry two astronauts Young and his crewmate, Gus Grissom. But the Soviets had launched their own two-person mission, Voskhod 2, less than a week earlier, so tensions were already high among politicians when Gemini 3 safely made it to space and efficiently completed its objectives. The corned-beef sandwich sparked a brief conversation between Young and Grissom, according to the Gemini 3 transcript. The chat lasted for only about a minute of the nearly 6-hour mission.[John Young in Photos: Astronaut, Moonwalker, Shuttle Pioneer] "What is it?" Grissom asked. "Corned-beef sandwich," Young replied. "Where did that come from?" Grissom asked. Answered Young: "I brought it with me. Let's see how it tastes. Smells, doesn't it?" Grissom tasted the sandwich but quickly announced he would stick it back in his pocket because it was starting to break up. Young suggested the sandwich was "a thought not a very good one." Replied Grissom: "Pretty good, though, if it would just hold together." Shortly after returning home from the mission, Grissom later recounted the taste test for Life magazine. "I took a bite, but crumbs of rye bread started floating all around the cabin," he said, adding that he and Young enjoyed "the chance to carry out some real 'firsts' in spaceflight." [Space Food Evolution: How Astronaut Chow Has Changed (Photos)] But the brief incident sparked a review by the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Appropriations, in which one member of Congress called it "a $30 million sandwich" and politicians cited safety concerns about crumbs interfering with spacecraft operations. Several senior NASA officials, including then-Administrator James Webb, testified at the proceedings. Young recalled that review in his 2012 memoir "Forever Young": "Today the theater that took place inside the meeting room that day strikes me as totally comic, but I can assure you that those testifying for NASA at the time were not smiling." A frequently cited quote from that meeting comes from George Mueller, then NASA's associate administrator for manned space flight: "We have taken steps to prevent recurrence of corned-beef sandwiches in future flights," he said. Corned beef flies officially in 1981 The offending sandwich came from a Cocoa Beach, Florida, deli called Wolfie's Restaurant and Sandwich Shop, at the Ramada Inn. (The chain closed in 2002, according to Space.com partner site collectSPACE .) Noted astronaut prankster Wally Schirra bought the sandwich and gave it to Young, who smuggled it on board in a spacesuit pocket. For context, early space food (by today's standards) was pretty bland, with astronauts often needing to suck nutrition out of a pouch. Today, astronauts commonly make their own sandwiches ( and even pizzas ) on the International Space Station but they use tortilla bread to reduce crumbs. "I didn't think it was any big deal," Young wrote in his memoirs of the sandwich, pointing out that one of the mission objectives had been to test NASA food anyway. "It was very common to carry sandwiches in fact, the corned beef was the third sandwich that had been carried on a spacecraft." Corned beef did appear on the menu of the first space shuttle mission in April 1981 -- which Young happened to command. While the infamous sandwich is no longer available to historians, a similar one, preserved in acrylic, is on display at the Grissom Memorial Museum in Mitchell, Indiana. Chris Kraft was NASA's flight director during Gemini 3. In his 2001 memoir, "Flight," Kraft defended the astronauts' actions. "No matter how brave or focused an astronaut is, there's a tension in spaceflight that none of us on the ground can truly appreciate. A moment of diversion up there is no bad thing." Young added that, in any case, the sandwich was missing some ingredients. "It didn't even have mustard on it," he wrote. "And no pickle." Follow us @Spacedotcom , Facebook and Google+ . Original article on Space.com . The fossilized remains of a tiny duck-sized dinosaur with rainbow feathers have been discovered. Dubbed Caihong juji, which is Mandarin for rainbow with a big crest, the dinosaur discovery was revealed in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications. The dino, which had a bony crest on its head, likely sported iridescent feathers on its head, wings and tail, according to paleontologists. The bright feathers were probably similar to a modern hummingbirds feathers. EXPERTS MAKE INCREDIBLE TURKEY-SIZED DINOSAUR DISCOVERY When you look at the fossil record, you normally only see hard parts like bone, but every once in a while, soft parts like feathers are preserved, and you get a glimpse into the past, explained Chad Eliason, a postdoctoral researcher at The Field Museum and one of the studys authors, in a statement. The preservation of this dinosaur is incredible, we were really excited when we realized the level of detail we were able to see on the feathers. The specimen was found by a local farmer Qinglong County, Hebei Province, China and acquired by the Paleontological Museum of Liaoning in February, 2014. Eliason, who began work on the project as a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, explained that experts analyzed Caihongs melanosomes, the parts of cells that contain pigment. To find the color of Caihongs feathers, we compared its melanosomes with a growing database of thousands of measurements of melanosomes found in modern birds, he said. DINO DESTRUCTION: VANDALS WRECK DINOSAUR FOOTPRINT Color is not only dictated by pigment, but by the structure of the melanosomes that contain the pigment. Hummingbirds have bright, iridescent feathers, but if you took a hummingbird feather and smashed it into tiny pieces, youd only see black dust. The pigment in the feathers is black, but the shapes of the melanosomes that produce that pigment are what make the colors in hummingbird feathers that we see, said Eliason. The dinosaur is the earliest-known animal with asymmetrical feathers a feature that modern birds use for steering in flight. Caihong, however, couldnt fly its feathers were probably used to attract mates and keep warm. Xing Xu of the Chinese Academy of Science, who co-authored the study, notes that, unlike modern birds, who have asymmetrical feathers on their wingtips, Caihongs asymmetrical feathers were on its tail. The tail feathers are asymmetrical but wing feathers not, a bizarre feature previously unknown among dinosaurs including birds, he said, in a statement. This suggests that controlling [flight] might have been first evolved with tail feathers during some kind of aerial locomotion. DUCK-DINOSAUR HYBRID BAFFLES SCIENTISTS WITH MIXED-UP BODY The bony crest on Caihongs head is also noteworthy when combined with its feathered features. This combination of traits is rather unusual, said study co-author Julia Clarke of the University of Texas at Austin, in the statement. It has a velociraptor-type skull on the body of this very avian, fully feathered, fluffy kind of form. The international team that worked on the Caihong project was led by Dongyu Hu, a professor in the College of Paleontology at the Shenyang Normal University in China. Caihong is not the only dinosaur making headlines. In a separate announcement, paleontologists recently revealed the discovery of a new turkey-sized dino species in southeastern Australia. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship left the International Space Station and returned to Earth Saturday (Jan. 13), wrapping up a nearly month-long delivery mission for NASA that also marked the spacecraft's second trip to space. The uncrewed Dragon supply ship detached from the space station's robotic arm at 4:58 a.m. EST (0958 GMT) and began firing thrusters for its return to Earth. The space capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California to be retrieved by SpaceX, the company announced at 10:39 a.m. EST (1539 GMT). [See photos of the Dragon cargo ship's mission] "Good splashdown of Dragon confirmed, completing the second resupply mission to and from the @Space_Station with a flight-proven commercial spacecraft," SpaceX representatives said in a Twitter update. Dragon is carrying nearly 4,100 lbs. (1,860 kilograms) of cargo to Earth, much of it science gear from human and animal research, and other experiments. That gear includes hardware from an experiment by space manufacturing company Made In Space to 3d-print ZBLAN glass fiber optic wire in space, and a group of live mice from NASA's Rodent Research 6 study to develop medications that address muscle loss in space., NASA officials said. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Dragon mission on Dec. 15, with the capsule arriving at the International Space Station on Dec. 17. The mission, SpaceX's 13th resupply flight for NASA, delivered 4,800 lbs. (2,177 kilograms) of supplies and gear for astronauts. In addition to delivering cargo, the mission marked a milestone for SpaceX's rocket reusability program. Both the Dragon capsule and its Falcon 9 booster made their second trips to space on this flight. The Falcon 9 booster's first stage previously launched a different Dragon capsule to the space station in June 2017. The Dragon capsule on this flight, meanwhile, previously visited the space station in April 2015. Original article on Space.com. Boeing has finally unveiled a successor to the legendary Blackbird SR-71 spy plane, capable of travelling at five times the speed of sound. The new 'Son of Blackbird' was revealed at an event in Orlando, Florida, but it's only a concept design for now. The new aircraft will be a direct competitor to Lockheed martin's upcoming SR-72. These rival firms are racing to create a hypersonic aircraft that's capable of stealthy recon assignments and strike missions, too. Speaking to Aviation Week Aerospace Daily, Boeing's hypersonics chief described how Boeing was planning a two-step development process for the new war plane. The first stage would involve flight tests of an "F16-sized, single-engine" precursor vehicle that acts as a "proof of concept". The second stage is the creation of a "twin-engine, full-scale operational vehicle" that has roughly similar dimensions to the 107-foot-long SR-71. Boeing's end goal is an aircraft that can travel at speeds beyond Mach 5 that's five times the speed of sound. The speed of sound or Mach 1 is around 1235km/h. So hitting Mach 5 would mean the Son of Blackbird would have to travel at an incredible 6,174km/h. For comparison, a Boeing 747 passenger jet typically reaches cruising speeds of just 885km/h. The tricky part is that the SR-71 replacement needs to to be able to take off, accelerate, slow down and land all on its own just like the original 1964 model. Boeing is looking at using a conventional turbojet to hit Mach 3, then switching to a different configuration to boost beyond Mach 5. Sadly, there's no guarantee when Boeing will have a sky-ready model, so we'll just have to drool over concept renders for now. This story originally appeared in The Sun. The latest update to Googles Arts & Culture app has created a viral sensation by allowing users to compare their selfies to museum portraits. Users, including a number of celebrities, have been taking to Twitter and Instagram to share their portrait doppelgangers. GOD IN CYBERSPACE: THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT - IN FACT, LOTS OF THEM Comedian and actor Kumail Nanjiani was quite impressed with the result: Actress and neuroscientist Mayim Bialik also entered her selfie into the app: Musician Pete Wentz has been enjoying the app: Other users, such as the writer Susie Meister and the author of this article were less than impressed with their matches: When you take a photo with this feature, your photo is sent to Google to find artworks that look like you, explains Google. Google wont use data from your photo for any other purpose and will only store your photo for the time it takes to search for matches. The portrait comparison is just one feature of the app, which also lets users take virtual tours of historic museums such as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Users can also browse artworks by color and time period and zoom into famous artworks such as Vincent van Goghs The Starry Night. Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers The fallout over Apples throttling of older iPhones is continuing as Republican lawmakers sent a letter on Friday to the tech giant demanding answers to more than a dozen questions. Apple admitted in December that it slows down processing speeds for certain iPhone models, but claimed it only does so to prevent the device from shutting down due to battery capacity. After the companys announcement, the outrage from customers and lawmakers grewwith some critics charging that the company was purposely making its popular smartphones become too slow just a newer models were being released. The letter demands answers from Apple no later than Jan. 26 to a range of questions, including: Prior to installation of an iOS software update, does Apple inform users of the potential for a reduction in processor performance associated with the update? APPLE UNDER FIRE IN FRANCE FOR 'PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE,' COULD FACE BIG FINES Does Apple utilize processor performance throttling for iPhone models that predate the iPhone 6? When and how did Apple first become aware of the need to develop an iOS software update to address instantaneous phone shutdowns attributable to battery degradation? Aside from processor throttling, please describe the actions, if any, Apple is taking to remedy instantaneous iPhone shutdowns attributable to battery degradation. Since the battery issue became public, the California-based company apologized, it cut battery replacement costs and said it will change its software to show users whether their phone battery is good. APPLE DEFENDS ITSELF AMID OUTCRY OVER CHILDREN'S USE OF ITS SMARTPHONES Weve been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process, Apple said in a statement posted to its website. We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down. We apologize. Theres been a lot of misunderstanding about this issue, so we would like to clarify and let you know about some changes were making. Still, lawmakers wrote that they are concerned with ensuring the integrity of iPhone batteries and ask for clarification on a number of specifics from Apple. U.S. Senator John Thune, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, sent a similar letter to Apple on Tuesday. Apple, which took heat after investors demanded it do more to combat childrens addiction to its products, could also face fines in France over the planned obsolescence of its smartphones. A bizarre video of a "humanoid UFO" over Mexico has gone viral, sparking plenty of skepticism. The humanoid-shaped object was filmed hovering above the city of Mexicali in the state of Baja California in Mexico. Self-described UFO expert Pedro Ramirez noted that it was "first sighting of 2018" and said it may be the result of mankind's space activity in recent years. "Aliens are aware that we have made a number of space launches recently and have identified that we have been sending up 'war material'," he claimed to the CEN news agency, according to comments obtained by The Mirror. FIGHTER PILOT CHASES UFO, URGERS WORLD LEADERS TO TAKE THE THREAT OF ALIENS SERIOUSLY Ramirez said that aliens may be concerned by mankind's activity and "they have been increasingly monitoring our planet. This year will be very important for those of us who follow this phenomenon closely." While some believe the object is not of this world, others believe it has a more plausible explanation or is a fake. Commentator Andrew LaSane said on Outerplaces.com that while it does look like it is a flying person, there hasn't been any corroborating evidence of it, making him skeptical. According to The Express, Ufoofinterest.org's Scott Brando said the image is likely that of a helium balloon designed to look like a Star Wars stormtrooper, even going so far as to tweet an image of the balloon. "The video of so-called 'vertical UFO' or 'humanoid-shaped object' taken in #Mexico has gone viral," Brando wrote. "There's a possible explanation like this 'stormtrooper balloon'." So far, the video has been viewed more than 50,000 times, making it one of the first viral UFO videos of 2018. 2017 was recently declared to be the safest year in aviation history by the Netherlands-based Aviation Safety Network, all thanks to a grand total of zero commercial aviation-related fatalities recorded anywhere in the world. But while that may be great news for the airline industry, it doesnt mean air travel is without its pitfalls entirely especially as of late. 7 INSANE AIRLINE INCIDENTS CAUGHT ON CAMERA The previous calendar year was filled with horrific tales of in-flight fights, unruly passengers and extreme turbulence. And if the first few weeks of 2018 are any indication, these trends are set to continue into the New Year. Take a look at the following budget-airline horror stories of 2018, and pray your travels go much better than those of the poor passengers who endured these nightmares. Ryanair passenger walks out the wing On New Years Day, a passenger aboard a Ryanair flight from London to the Spanish city of Malaga opened the emergency exit and climbed out onto the wing shortly after the aircraft touched down. According to witnesses, he was either tired of waiting for the flight to deplane, or suffering from an asthma attack and needed some fresh air. The man was eventually coaxed back into the aircraft, where he was arrested by airport security. Spirit passenger urinates all over the plane A Spirit Airlines passenger flying out of Southwest Florida International Airport was removed from his flight on Jan. 4, following reports that he smelled of alcohol and urinated all over the lavatorys toilet and carpet. Once back in the terminal, he cursed out a gate agent, refused a breathalyzer and ignored requests to leave the airport. He was ultimately arrested and charged with disorderly intoxication and trespassing. BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT GROUNDED OVER BEDBUGS JetBlue flight doubles back to Boston A JetBlue flight leaving for Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, was forced to return to its departure city of Boston on Jan. 6 after crew members reported an unusual odor that was causing them and passengers to feel ill. In an abundance of caution, the crew elected to return to Boston and was met by medical personnel, JetBlue later confirmed. Sexual assault on a Spirit flight A passenger aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Detroit was arrested upon landing at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport for allegedly assaulting a 22-year-old woman. According to a federal complaint, the woman claimed that fellow passenger Prabhu Ramamoorthy was putting his fingers in her (genitals) and vigorously moving them while she slept aboard the early January flight, although Ramamoorthy claimed he only undid the womans bra, cupped her breast, and tried to put his hand into her pants. He has since been detained in Detroit pending a trial. Pegasus flight goes over a cliff On Jan. 13, 2018, a Pegasus Airlines jet skidded off the runway at Turkeys Trabzon Airport, sending 168 passengers and crewmembers over the side of a cliff and just barely avoiding a dip in the Black Sea. The airline confirmed that there were no injuries as a result of the incident, but passengers reported screaming and panic within the cabin. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS A man traveling from Iceland to England was arrested at the Iceland Keflavik International Airport for attempting to avoid an excess luggage fee by wearing eight pairs of pants and ten shirts. Ryan Carney Williams, who goes by Ryan Hawaii, was reportedly denied a boarding pass at the British Airways desk for his flight home after he put on all his clothes that wouldnt fit properly in his checked luggage. AN AIRLINE LOUNGE DENIED THIS WOMAN ACCESS BECAUSE SHE WAS WEARING UGGS According to Icelandic news site, Mbl., the airline said it turned an over-dressed Hawaii away for being rude, and when he refused to leave the desk, a security guard was called. In a video Hawaii posted on his personal Twitter, airline staff asks if the police need to be called when Hawaii continues to ask why he cant board. Hawaii claimed in a later tweet that when the police arrived, he was arrested, sprayed with mace and held on the ground after refusing to leave. Hawaii maintains that he had been polite during the incident. Once Hawaii gave his report to the police at the station, he was sent back to the airport for a flight he had booked with EasyJet for the next day. Hawaii says he got through check-in and security, but once he arrived at the flight gate, a man told him he wasnt allowed to board because of the incident the previous day. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS "And AGAIN! Refused from 2 flights in 2 days for no valid reason," Hawaii wrote on Twitter. Hawaii was stuck in Iceland airport without money, Mbl. reports, and without luggage since his bag he had checked successfully traveled to England without him. Eventually Hawaii was able to get back to England aboard a Norwegian airline flight. Hawaii reached out to EasyJet and British Airways after being denied access to his flight, twice. Both airlines refunded him. Hawaii believes his treatment could have been due to racial profiling, which he writes on his Twitter. New Behavioral Study to Explore Impact of Bible-Based Programming in Prisons WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2018 / There are more than 22,000 prisons worldwide, and more than 10 million incarcerated. Over the last 15 years, the worldwide prison population has grown almost 20 percent with the rate of repeat offenders soaring as high as 50 percent. Critics of contemporary criminal justice argue that by focusing exclusively on punitive justice, prisoners are not effectively rehabilitated and demonstrate greater difficulty reintegrating back into society and remaining outside the crime cycle upon release. Prison Fellowship International developed The Prisoner's Journey evangelism and discipleship program to address this issue by appealing to the internal transformation of prisoners as a rehabilitative method. First piloted in Nigeria and South Africa in 2014, it has spread to 30 countries, reaching nearly 400,000 prisoners, and is expected to reach 1 million prisoners by 2020. "During the four years we've been running The Prisoner's Journey we've found when a prisoner is transformed at a heart-level, his or her chances of thriving outside of prison dramatically increase," says Prison Fellowship International Director of Prison Programming Rae Wood. "We receive regular reports from prison officials that prisoners are calmer and fewer fights breakout among inmates after they go through the program. This study will be a breakthrough for us in empirically demonstrating the program's long-term impact on the individual, the prison culture, and the local community." The study will be led by Dr. Byron Johnson, a prominent expert on the scientific study of religion, faith-based rehabilitation programs, and criminal justice. In February, the research team will begin collecting baseline data to launch a comparative analysis of prisoner behavior and outcomes between prisons that implement The Prisoner's Journey programs and those that do not. The study will also provide a prison cost-savings analysis of the program from reduced prison incidents, lower recidivism rates, and the prosocial benefits from family (re)engagement and improved employment for ex-prisoners. Johnson will publish his findings in relevant academic and peer-reviewed journals over the next three years. ABOUT PRISON FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL: Prison Fellowship International helps restore justice and healing in response to crime in more than 120 countries. For more information visit ABOUT DR. BYRON JOHNSON: Byron Johnson is Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University and founding director of the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion. He is recognized as a leading authority on the scientific study of religion, the efficacy of faith-based organizations, offender treatment, and recidivism reduction. His recent book, The Angola Prison Seminary: Effects of Faith-Based Ministry on Identity Transformation, Desistance, and Rehabilitation, uses survey analysis along with life-history interviews of inmates and staff to examine the impact of faith and the implications of religious programs for American correctional systems. Share Tweet Contact: Lindsey Frederick, 703-554-8669WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2018 / Christian Newswire / -- Prison Fellowship International (PFI) today announced the commencement of a 40-month study to show the impact of a Bible-based program, The Prisoner's Journey, in prisons throughout Colombia, Nigeria, and South Africa.There are more than 22,000 prisons worldwide, and more than 10 million incarcerated. Over the last 15 years, the worldwide prison population has grown almost 20 percent with the rate of repeat offenders soaring as high as 50 percent. Critics of contemporary criminal justice argue that by focusing exclusively on punitive justice, prisoners are not effectively rehabilitated and demonstrate greater difficulty reintegrating back into society and remaining outside the crime cycle upon release.Prison Fellowship International developed The Prisoner's Journey evangelism and discipleship program to address this issue by appealing to the internal transformation of prisoners as a rehabilitative method. First piloted in Nigeria and South Africa in 2014, it has spread to 30 countries, reaching nearly 400,000 prisoners, and is expected to reach 1 million prisoners by 2020."During the four years we've been running The Prisoner's Journey we've found when a prisoner is transformed at a heart-level, his or her chances of thriving outside of prison dramatically increase," says Prison Fellowship International Director of Prison Programming Rae Wood. "We receive regular reports from prison officials that prisoners are calmer and fewer fights breakout among inmates after they go through the program. This study will be a breakthrough for us in empirically demonstrating the program's long-term impact on the individual, the prison culture, and the local community."The study will be led by Dr. Byron Johnson, a prominent expert on the scientific study of religion, faith-based rehabilitation programs, and criminal justice. In February, the research team will begin collecting baseline data to launch a comparative analysis of prisoner behavior and outcomes between prisons that implement The Prisoner's Journey programs and those that do not. The study will also provide a prison cost-savings analysis of the program from reduced prison incidents, lower recidivism rates, and the prosocial benefits from family (re)engagement and improved employment for ex-prisoners. Johnson will publish his findings in relevant academic and peer-reviewed journals over the next three years.ABOUT PRISON FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL:Prison Fellowship International helps restore justice and healing in response to crime in more than 120 countries. For more information visit www.pfi.org ABOUT DR. BYRON JOHNSON:Byron Johnson is Distinguished Professor of the Social Sciences at Baylor University and founding director of the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion. He is recognized as a leading authority on the scientific study of religion, the efficacy of faith-based organizations, offender treatment, and recidivism reduction. His recent book, The Angola Prison Seminary: Effects of Faith-Based Ministry on Identity Transformation, Desistance, and Rehabilitation, uses survey analysis along with life-history interviews of inmates and staff to examine the impact of faith and the implications of religious programs for American correctional systems. At least one woman was killed after a casino shuttle boat went up in flames Sunday afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida forcing more than 50 passengers to jump overboard into the shallow water. The woman died late Sunday hours after the fire began, while 14 other people were injured, Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point spokesman Kurt Conover said on Monday. The woman had gone home after escaping the boat when it caught on fire, but she went to the hospital's emergency room after she became ill. Other passengers experienced chest pain, smoke inhalation and other injuries. Conover said eight people treated at Bayonet Point have been released. Authorities responded to the scene around 4:00 p.m. after receiving a call the San Cruz casino boat caught fire, WTSP reported. The flames quickly spread, causing people to jump overboard into the shallow water. The 50 passengers made it to shore safely where medics treated them, the news station added. Larry Santangelo, 57, said he had just driven into his neighborhood when he saw smoke and fire and thought a house possibly his own was ablaze. But then he realized it was the boat, which sat just about 100 yards offshore. "It was so windy and they were soaking wet," said Santangelo, adding a woman collapsed when she reached the shore and vomited. He worried some might suffer from hypothermia. Santangelo said he brought in about 30 passengers into his garage to warm them up. "They didn't have much time to decide whether or not to jump," said Bakr Jandali, 19, who was with his family at home nearby when they heard the commotion. "The fire was moving fast. It was a hard jump." Port Richey Chief of Police Gerard DeCanio told The Associated Press the shuttle boat's crew detected engine problems and decided to turn back. Police released a photo and video showing the boat in flames, spitting thick black smoke into the air. The shuttle boat carries people back and forth from the Tropical Breeze Casino Cruise, which is offshore because it can't legally operate close to land. A representative for the casino declined Fox News' request for a comment. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A northern Michigan woman has been charged with murder in the death of her second infant in five years. The Grand Rapids Press reports 32-year-old Lisa Rae Bryan faces charges of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and obstruction of justice. The Emmet County woman is charged in the November 2016 death of her infant daughter, Isabella Powrozek. A police report says Bryan changed her statement multiple times when questioned about her daughter's death and admitted holding the infant close to her chest while sleeping in a bed with the child. It's unclear if Bryan has an attorney. She was convicted of second-degree manslaughter in 2011 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and served 15 months. Emmet County Sheriff Pete Wallin says that conviction involved the death of another infant Bryan had given birth to. ___ Information from: The Grand Rapids Press:MLive.com, http://www.mlive.com A well-known pastor and his wife were killed Sunday after an Amtrak train crashed into their SUV in North Carolina, officials said. The SUV attempted to go around a lowered crossing arm and cross the tracks just after 2:20 p.m. when an Amtrak train collided with it in Whitakers, about 10 miles north of Rocky Mount, WNCN reported. The couple, identified as Eugene and Dorothy Lyons, were pronounced dead at the scene. It bothered me because growing up here Ive seen train wrecks before, it really touches close to home with people who grew up with and know, Whitakers Police Chief Darrell Cofield told WNCN, adding the couple was well known in the community. Eugene Lyons was a pastor in Whitakers, friends told the news station. The Amtrak train 89 was traveling from New York City to Savannah, Ga. when the collision happened. No one aboard the train was injured, but service was temporarily suspended. Authorities say an Arizona woman has died after being struck in the chest by a stray bullet while visiting a desert area popular for target shooting. Police on Monday announced the death of 24-year-old Kami Gilstrap of Goodyear. Buckeye police spokeswoman Detective Tamela Skaggs says Gilstrap was with family members at the shooting area Sunday when she was struck. She was flown by helicopter to a hospital but later died. Gilstrap was in the desert about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Phoenix when she was shot. Skaggs says neither the type of bullet that struck her nor the person who fired the shot has been identified. A large number of people apparently were shooting in the area. It's legal to shoot on large swaths of U.S.-owned land in Arizona. The body of a missing California woman whose sister was killed in an unrelated wrong-way crash a week before was found in a car, authorities said on Sunday, as they hunted for her ex-boyfriend in connection with her death. The body of Karen Garcia, 21, was found in her car parked in a lot outside a Marshalls store in Woodland around 3:45 p.m. Sunday, FOX40 reported. She was first reported missing on Jan. 9, two days after her 19-year-old sister Jessica was killed in a wrong-way crash. Four other people, all 25 years old and under, were pronounced dead. Garcia initially left her home to go shopping. She then texted her family on Jan. 8 to tell them she was in Roseville and heading to Vacaville, but then never returned. Garcias ex-boyfriend, Salvador Garcia Jr., was named a suspect in the 21-year-olds death after investigators found evidence of a homicide inside her apartment, Colusa Police Department said on Monday. Garcia Jr. told the Sacramento Bee last week that he and his ex-girlfriend have known each other since the third grade. They dated for nine years before breaking up this year and had a 2-year-old daughter together, CBS Sacramento reported. "She loves her family," he said. "She's one of the most upbeat people you'll ever meet." Karen Garcias family told FOX40 last week the 19-year-olds death was probably just so hard for the grieving sister to comprehend. A 30-year-old southern Missouri teacher was arrested Friday on a charge of felony sexual contact with a high school student. Earlier this month, the Lebanon Police Department said it became aware of an investigation pertaining to sexual contact with a teacher, Elizabeth A. Morgan, and a male high school student, KOLR reported. Investigators spoke with the student and witnesses and gathered electronic evidence they said showed Morgan was having an inappropriate relationship with one of her students. Morgan was released Friday on a $5,000 cash/surety bond with conditions. An attorney is not yet listed for Morgan in online court records. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A Southern California couple is in custody on suspicion of torture and child endangerment after 12 of their children allegedly were found captive in the couple's home, with some of them shackled to beds. David Turpin, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49, were each being held on $9 million bail, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Monday afternoon. Authorities said the investigation began after a 17-year-old girl "escaped" from the home in Perris and called 911 early Sunday to report that her 12 brothers and sisters were being held by their parents. The sheriff's office said investigators initially believed the "slightly emaciated" girl was just 10 years old when they first saw her. When officers and deputies went to the Turpins' home, they found "several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings," according to the sheriff's office. The statement added that the parents were "were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner." Authorities initially believed that all the victims they found were children. However, investigators eventually discovered that seven of the victims were over 18. The sheriff's office said the victims "appeared to be malnourished and very dirty" and were given food and drinks after they "claimed to be starving." They were sent to two local hospitals for treatment. Their conditions were not immediately known. The Los Angeles Times, citing public records, reported that the Turpin home's address was listed as the location of the Sandcastle Day School, a public K-12 institution that opened in 2011. David Turpin was listed as its principal. In the 2016-17 school year it had an enrollment of six with one student in each of the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th grades. The Turpins had lived at the home about 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles since 2010, the Times reported, and had previously lived in Texas. The New York Times reported that the Turpins filed for bankruptcy in 2011, stating in court documents they owed between $100,000 and $500,000. At that time, David Turpin worked as an engineer at Northrop Grumman and earned $140,000 annually and his wife was a homemaker, records showed. Their bankruptcy lawyer, Ivan Trahan, told the New York Times he never met the children but the couple "spoke about them highly." "We remember them as a very nice couple," Trahan said, adding that Louise Turpin told him the family loved Disneyland and visited often. Neighbor Kimberly Milligan told the paper that she rarely saw the Turpin children and said the few she did see were very pale. "I thought the kids were home-schooled," Milligan told the Times. "You know something is off, but you dont want to think bad of people." Milligan also recounted that she once saw some pre-teen children putting up Christmas lights on the Turpin home. When she greeted them, Milligan said, "They looked at us like a child who wants to make themselves invisible." Another neighbor, Robert Perkins, told the Associated Press he and his mother saw a few family members constructing a Nativity scene in the Turpins' front yard a few years ago. Perkins said he complimented them on it. "They didn't say a word," he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Authorities have dropped a second charge against a Bismarck woman accused of abusing and exploiting her elderly mother during protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota. Authorities last week dismissed a charge of felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult against Kathleen Bennett, saying the case had become too difficult to prove, The Bismarck Tribune reported . A defense attorney said Bennett's mother died a few months ago. Bennett, 59, was accused of leaving her 82-year-old mother with dementia tied to a chair in a protest camp in North Dakota while she attended demonstrations in December 2016. Protesters were trying to block construction of the oil pipeline, which is operated by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners. Bennett's mother was taken to a hospital during a blizzard. Hospital staff said she was frail and malnourished. The exploitation charge resulted from Bennett allegedly using $1,200 of her mother's money without consent to rent hotel rooms, buy meals and pay legal fees while her mother was hospitalized. Bennett had also been charged in Morton County with endangering a vulnerable adult, but the defense and prosecution agreed in November to dismiss that case with $2,050 in fines forfeited from Bennett's bond. "The victim is deceased and the case became difficult to prove once the Morton County companion case was dismissed," Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Marina Spahr said in court documents. It's not clear when her mother, Mary Trujillo, died. She had been living with family in Nevada. Defense attorney William Kirschner said Trujillo's death happened a few months ago, but he did not have an exact date. ___ Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com A former student teacher at a North Carolina middle school was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to soliciting a young student for sex. Trisha Anderson Rogers, 47, was a teacher-in-training at Murray Middle School when she was arrested in July 2016 for using her cell phone to try to meet with a 13-year-old boy student for an unlawful sex act, the Wilmington Star News reported, citing an arrest warrant. Rogers allegedly attempted to meet the student between Feb. 29 and May 5, 2016, and was arrested in July, according to WNCN. A blog account which appears to be Rogers, states she is a wife, mother, and a child of God who graduated from the conservative Liberty University in 2012 with a specialization in Christian Counseling. The blog, titled Life in the Blender, was active from 2009 until 2013 and features frequent mentions of Rogers faith, as well as her volunteer work as a biblical counselor at her church. New Hanover County School officials told WNCN that Rogers worked as a student teacher at the middle school for one semester in spring 2016 and had previously served as a substitute teacher. When the school was informed of what Rogers allegedly attempted, they notified law enforcement immediately, terminated her internship and removed her from the substitute teacher list on May 5. The former teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of indecent liberties and was sentenced to eight months in prison, with 20 to 33 months in prison suspended, in addition to 60 months of supervised probation. Rogers must also register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay at least $600 in court fees. A U.S. Navy veteran is suing the VA hospital that he said misdiagnosed his stomach pains as cocaine addiction and discharged him without treatment. Eric Walker, 47, filed a lawsuit against Dorn Veterans Hospital in Columbia, S.C., alleging that the hospital switched his urine sample with another patients in May 2015. Walker claimed that the move lead to his misdiagnosis as a cocaine addict, The State reported. Dorns staff had told him his stomach pains were a direct result of ingesting multiple illegal drugs, in particular, excessive cocaine, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said he was offered pamphlets on treating substance abuse and sent home. Walkers condition worsened, and days later a neighbor brought him to Lexington Medical Center where he was properly diagnosed and rushed to emergency surgery for gall stones and disease of the gall bladder and pancreas, his attorney Todd Lyle told The State. He is recovered and now seeks unspecified damages for his medical bills and for pain and suffering. Walker joined the Navy in 1989 and served four years, including a six-month tour in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield in the first Iraq War, The State reported. The U.S. Attorneys office in Columbia likely will represent Dorn and the Veterans Administration. It declined comment. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Activists Oppose Abortion and Planned Parenthood's Cover-Up of Sexual Predators at 'Women's March' Jan. 20 in DC Contact: Mark Harrington, National Director, Created Equal, 614-419-9000, mark@createdequal.org COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 15, 2018 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Jan. 21, 2017, record numbers of abortion advocates flooded the National Mall in Washington, DC to oppose the Trump administration and support preborn child-killing as part of the "Women's March on DC." This year, on January 20, 2018, thousands will converge on the Lincoln Memorial in what has been coined the "March on DC Anniversary March." See our event: Outreach for Women & Preborn Children in DC Once again, Created Equal will be there as a voice of women killed in the name of "women's rights"born and preborn. Additionally, we will stand in solidarity with those women who have been betrayed by Planned Parenthood's cover-up of sexual abuse. Outreach at the Women's March: WHO: Created Equal, partnering groups, and volunteers WHEN: January 20, 2018 from 11:00AM 2:00PM WHERE: Exact location TBA near the Lincoln Memorial "We agree with this event's purpose 'of ensuring all women and their allies persist in civic and political roles moving into 2018.' We disagree with the event's promotion of killing women. There is no group more marginalized than preborn children killed in their mother's womb or women who bleed to death from a 'safe, legal abortion.' We will be at the march for the millions of women who are truly voiceless." -- Mark Harrington, Created Equal A Washington state high school teacher was reportedly charged with two counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes last week. Timothy Brennan, 45, a science teacher at Kentwood High School, allegedly sent naked photos and videos of himself through Snapchat to a 14-year-old girl, Q13 Fox reported, citing charging documents. The girl said she was contacted by someone she did not know when she entered Kentwood High School as a freshman and assumed the person was just another student, according to the station. The girl reportedly began to receive explicit pictures and videos from the person, and when she asked who the other person was, the sender said he could not tell her because it would mess up his marriage and his job. The explicit photos and videos were still being received into the girl's sophomore year, Q13 Fox reported. The girl said she saw Brennan wearing a jacket she recognized in one of the messages and after more research, the girl said she realized it was Brennan who was sending her the pictures, station reported. The girl said she confronted Brennan about the messages and he stopped contacting her for about a month after the confrontation, Q13 Fox reported. However, Brennan continued to message her and allegedly asked her to have sex with him in his office. The girl also alleges that he showed up at her work. The girl reported the incidents to the school in November. Brennan was placed on administrative leave after the accusations were reported, according to Q13 Fox. The Kent School District told the station that Brennan is still on leave. The body of a British man dubbed the crossbow killer was found in a vehicle Monday after he allegedly killed his neighbor and injured a pregnant woman after an ongoing noise feud, reports said. Anthony Lawrences body was found in a vehicle parked in North Yorkshire on Sunday evening, Humberside police said Monday. The 55-year-old went missing after he allegedly attacked Shane Gilmer, 30, and Gilmers pregnant girlfriend, Laura Sugden, 27, in their rural Southburn home, near Driffield in East Yorkshire. Our inquiries into this tragic murder investigation continue. The incidents over the weekend have led to the death of Shane Gilmer and attempted murder of Shanes partner, Laura Sugden, who is pregnant, police said in a news release. Residents in the neighborhood told local media the alleged murder began because of an ongoing spat over noise, the Telegraph reported. Lawrence, who lived next to Gilmer, reportedly complained about sound coming from the couples house last month. "They were apparently being too noisy. Shane and Laura lived next door to him, but hadn't been there long. This Anthony Lawrence guy wasn't happy about the noise, an unidentified man told the Telegraph. He added: "It sounds like a horror movie." Lawrence confronted the couple again on Friday about loud music when the evening apparently turned deadly. Gilmer, a father of three children, and Sugden were found injured in the home, Sky News reported. A crossbow was located at the scene. The couple was rushed to the hospital, where Gilmer was pronounced dead. Sugden suffered serious injuries, however, they were not life threatening. She and her unborn child were said to be in stable condition as of Monday. British parliament members are demanding to see an annual estimate of how many migrants enter the U.K. illegally -- saying public anxiety has increased in part because of perceived governmental indifference. A new report published by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee makes more than three dozen different recommendations, including: focus on using actual data to shape immigration policy, enforce existing law around securing the border, give more weight to higher-skilled migrants and affirm that immigration should be a net positive for the economic interests of British citizens. The United Kingdoms Home Office, which is responsible for immigration and security, estimated in 2001 there were about 430,000 migrants living illegally in the country, reports the Times of London. A study by the London School of Economics in 2009 takes other factors into account and estimates up to 863,000 migrants living in the country illegally. The lack of reliable data on exactly how many people are in the country illegally or continue to enter the country illegally has fostered an atmosphere of fear, according to the report. It has allowed anxiety to grow unchecked and has been perceived as the Government showing indifference toward an issue of high public interest, the report states. 6 MIGRANTS FOUND DEAD NEAR SPANISH ISLAND In addition, while noting that there are a range of views on what Englands migration policy should be post-Brexit, the report demands more accountability, as well as an annual migration report and debate. We call on the Government to be more proactive in challenging myths and inaccuracies about immigration and the asylum system, including by publishing more factual information about the costs and benefits of immigration at local and national levels, the report states. The report also calls for better criminal and security checks of anyone trying to enter the U.K. We recommend the Home Office reviews cross-agency practices for removing foreign national offenders, including where recent arrivals have received custodial sentences and are eligible for removal, the report stated. Yvette Cooper, the committee chairwoman, told the Times of London that most people want to know the system is under control, that people are contributing to this country and that communities and public services are benefiting. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the U.K.s Home Office said net migration to the country has fallen over the last year. We are making it harder than ever before for those with no right to be here to remain in the U.K., the spokesman told the BBC. However, we also believe that more analysis of the scale and nature of the problem of illegal immigration is needed in order to develop appropriate policy responses and reassure the public that the issue is being addressed seriously. In addition, the report concludes with a call for more investment in housing and public services, better integration of migrants and more sensitivity about how local communities will react to demographic shifts. "Integration is immensely important but is not embedded in immigration policy," the report states. "Immigration policy should be underpinned by a strategy to help communities faced with rapid population change, and should be responsive to local and regional issues." Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a busy street market in central Baghdad on Monday, in back-to-back explosions that killed at least 38 people, Iraqi health and police officials said. The attackers struck during rush hour in the city's Tayran Square, which is usually crowded by laborers seeking work. The twin explosions also wounded at least 105 people, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media. Earlier reports by spokesmen from the Health Ministry and the Interior Ministry had 26 killed and at least 16 dead, respectively, and dozens wounded. Ambulances rushed to the scene as security forces sealed off the area with yellow tape. Slippers could be seen scattered about on the blood-stained pavement as cleaners hurried to clear the debris. Photographs posted on social media showed lifeless bodies and pieces of limbs. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has claimed many such attacks in the past. The twin explosions shocked residents in the Iraqi capital because large attacks had decreased significantly in Baghdad and other parts of country since security forces retook nearly all territory once held by IS militants. Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned that IS would continue with insurgent-style attacks even after the Iraqi military and U.S.-led coalition succeeded in uprooting the Islamic State group across the country. The cost of victory has been nearly incalculable as the three years of war against IS devastated much of northern and western Iraq roughly a third of the country where Islamic State militants had held most of the territory. The notorious hook-handed British hate preacher Abu Hamza claimed he was tipped off by militant contacts in Afghanistan about the September 11 attacks four days before planes struck the World Trade Center in 2001, court papers revealed Monday. Hamza, 59, said he was warned that something very big will happen very soon and he interpreted the message as an impending terrorist attack on the U.S., according to a 124-page court submission obtained by Britains The Sunday Times. What made pro-war governments and intelligence [agencies on] both sides of the Atlantic more furious about the defendant [Abu Hamza is] that defendant received a call from Afghanistan on Friday, Sept 7, 2001, from 2 of his old neighbors in his Pakistan time (1991-93) saying Something very big will happen very soon (meaning USA)," court documents obtained by The Sunday Times stated. The former imam, who remains behind bars in a Colorado prison, said he believed the phone in his London home was being tapped by police. Hamza became a leading figure in Britains Islamic scene in the late 1990s most famously preaching in Finsbury Park Mosque. The phone calls also reportedly showed that Hamza was an MI5 agent, the U.Ks domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, and operating under the code name Damson Berry. Hamza was sentenced to life in prison in the U.S. after he was convicted in 2015 of terrorism and kidnapping. He was thrown in prison without the possibility of parole, but is currently appealing to return to the U.K., claiming hes being kept in inhuman conditions at the supermax prison. Court documents said Hamza was being kept in a tiny cage and that the stumps in both arms are subject to regular outbreaks of infection, which have been increasing in severity, the Telegraph reported. An Australian man photoshopped his 13-year-old stepdaughter on to porn images showing women pleasuring him, officials said. District Court Judge Leanne Clare in Brisbane said Monday the man's sexual obsession with the girl he had raised since she was two warranted a year behind bars. The court learned the images were created in late 2014, a few months after the man was given a suspended sentence for touching his stepdaughters genitals while she was sleeping, The Sun reported. He used Photoshop to digitally add images of the girl when she was about 13 on to the bodies of adult women engaged in sexual acts with himself, according to The Sun. He also created an image of her engaged in bestiality with a dog. WASHINGTON STATE SCIENCE TEACHER SENT EXPLICIT SNAPCHAT MESSAGES TO TEEN GIRL, COPS SAY The man, now 51, was arrested in September 2015 after being caught with around 100 images on hard drives in his luggage as he returned to Brisbane from a trip to South Africa. Although the man reportedly described the altered photos as artworks and said there was no sexual motivation behind their creation, he pleaded guilty to four charges including possessing or producing child pornography material outside Australia. His lawyer, Colin Reid, urged the court to accept the mans claims, saying he had unusual beliefs about promiscuity. Reid told the court his client created the photos after his stepdaughter, then aged 16, told him she was becoming sexually active with her boyfriend. Judge Clare seemed skeptical. On material that I currently have before me, I find your clients explanation not credible, Clare said. next Image 1 of 2 prev Image 2 of 2 President Emmanuel Macron has ordered an overhaul of France's overcrowded penitentiary system, as prison staff burned tires and set barricades in protests over violent working conditions. Long-running complaints by prison guards erupted into protests Monday at prisons around France, after a knife-wielding inmate reportedly tried to attack several people last week at the high-security Vendin-le-Vieil prison in northern France. The director of Vendin-le-Vieil reportedly submitted his resignation Monday under pressure from prison staff, who accuse him of not doing enough to prevent such violence. Macron said Monday he ordered his government to come up with a "global penitentiary plan" by the end of February that would modernize facilities and prison intelligence-gathering. He also suggested a "massive" shift to alternative punishment such as obligatory public service or electronic bracelets. Spain's prime minister has warned that the government will keep control over the restive region of Catalonia if ousted Catalan leader Carlos Puigdemont tries to be regional president from Brussels, where he's a fugitive from Spanish justice. Puigdemont, who led Catalonia's independence declaration in October that prompted the government intervention, wants to present his candidacy for regional president to the Catalan parliament via video or through a delegate to avoid returning to Spain and being arrested. But Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Monday that the president must be sworn into office in person and that the special powers invoked by Spain have to remain in place until that happens. Secessionist parties won the most seats in the December election, but eight of their lawmakers are fugitives or in jail. The Syrian army is determined to drive out the U.S. from any involvement in the country, state television reported on Monday. Bashar al-Assads army objects to any form of U.S. presence in the country and will seek to put an end to it, Reuters reported, citing state media. The U.S.-led coalition is currently training Syrian militias and plans to establish a new border force together with the Syrian Kurdish-led opposition fighters, consisting of 30,000 personnel over the next several years, according to the coalition. The move has been criticized by the Syrian foreign ministry, branding it as a blatant assault on the countrys sovereignty, according to the state media. The coalition officials said that it had recently recruited 230 cadets for the new force that it will be tasked with securing areas recently liberated from Islamic State militants, Syrias northern border with Turkey and the eastern border with Iraq. Half of the force will be made up of soldiers from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which currently controls a quarter of Syrias territory along the borders with Turkey and Iraq. Turkey objects to the creation of the border force, seeing the Kurdish militia in Syria as an extension of an active Kurdish insurgent group operating in the country. A senior Turkish official said the training of the new border force was the reason the U.S. top diplomat stationed in the country was summoned in Ankara last week, Reuters reported. A spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan said the new force is unacceptable. The Associated Press contributed to this report. An alleged scissor attack targeting a hijab-wearing Toronto schoolgirl that drew condemnation from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau never happened, police revealed Monday. Khawlah Noman, 11, reported to police on Friday that she was heading to the Pauline Johnson Junior Public School when she was approached from behind by a man who pulled off the hood of her jacket and then cut her hijab with a pair of scissors before fleeing. After a detailed investigation, police have determined that the events described in the original news release did not happen, Toronto Police said in a statement. The investigation is concluded. Authorities had described the imaginary suspect as an Asian male wearing a black hooded sweater, black pants and brown gloves, and asked business owners to review security footage in the area of the alleged incident. My heart goes out to Khawlah Noman following this mornings cowardly attack on her in Toronto, Trudeau posted on Twitter on Friday, before police announced the attack was fake. Canada is an open and welcoming country, and incidents like this cannot be tolerated. Police told CBC News that Noman wont be charged. "These allegations were extremely serious and not surprisingly, they received national and international attention," said police spokesman Mark Pugash, who added he hoped the false tale doesnt discourage others from coming forward to report alleged hate crimes. The school board said it is "very thankful that this assault did not in fact happen, according to CBC. Noman had told reporters Friday she was confused, scared and terrified. I think what you are doing is really wrong, you should not act like this, and especially Im a kid, she said. Her mother Saima Samad, fighting back tears, said she had gotten a call from the school and was very sad. My recent musings have come from a deep seeded conviction that community and friendships are essential to live a fulfilled life. But it must go beyond the previous statement, because left in seclusion, it will drive the individual to think that this life, in its entirety, is all about themselves. That community and friendship only has one end: to live fulfilled. To gain everything from the people around them, to take and only give when it benefits them. Can this be the underlying theme of people trying to make friends? I would suggest the answer is yes, because it could be the underlying theme of people in general, not just when it comes to friendship. I have recently returned from a 3 year missions experience in which I lived in intentional Christian community with about 100 people. Every day I interacted with the same people, with a common goal and common interests (the first and foremost being God). Coming back into the real world of a white middle class society, where everyone retreats to their homes in the evening has been a little bit of shock. Dont get me wrong, I understood that this happened. People get up, go to work and then go home. They may hang out with some friends on the weekends, but for the most part they live in seclusion from the rest of the world. So, why is it to hard to make friends!? Let me pose my current situation to you: I usually see friends of mine 1-2 times per week. Two times a week would be a stretch, because we usually get busy and dont have time to get together. So, in a whole month, I may see this person 4-8 times. Thats it. Thats why people say they make their best friends in college. Because you may see the same person 4-8 times in one day, much less a whole month. To make a legitimate friend, you have to feel like that person is your friend. If you can be you. If you know that you wont be judged no matter what comes out of your mouth, that you will be accepted and loved just because of who you are, then friendship (on a deeper level) has started. The surface level stuff has started to fade away and each person starts to be vulnerable and actually enjoy each others company. This, plus shared experience will create friendship. When friends allow others into what they have, it creates community. God calls us into community. Its what we were made for. As soon as Jesus started his ministry he created community by calling his disciples. He didnt run away from people, he ran toward them. He didnt sit on his throne and watch us, he interacted and loved us. He shared experiences with us, taught us and befriended us. Jesus didnt see us and run, he saw us and took a step forward. He called us his friends. If we are going to make friends we have to build people up, encourage them and be vulnerable before them. Lets go back to my first statement: Community and friendship are essential to live a fulfilled life. That fulfillment comes when we start giving more than we take. It comes when we fight for friendship. It happens when we live life with someone, not just a moment with them. Heres a challenge and some practical steps to making friends: 1. Seek people out. Realize that each person wants deeper friendship and this only happens when someone takes initiative. 2. Open your home or find a place to meet on a regular basis. Create a game night or a movie night. Find a common interest and make space for you to share in it together. *Tip: There are certain people that God has created for hospitality and its OK if its not you. Find someone that loves to host and talk with them about possibilities to create a fun recurring event. 3. Create space for vulnerability. Think about opening your community night with a sharing time. Something simple: How has your week been? If there is a problem or issue, seek to come together as a group and help that person in a practical way. Ask: Is there anything this group can do to help? Maybe end in a short prayer asking God to intervene. Jason LaLone was on staff at YWAM Brisbane and is currently in America working with Truro Anglican Church located in Fairfax, Virginia. He is passionate about discipleship, taking Jesus command to make disciples a practical reality that he can live on a daily basis. He loves lasagna, cats and used to dislike Monday's, making him most like Garfield. Jason LaLones previous articles might be viewed at: http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/Jason-LaLone.html The Afghan government says President Ashraf Ghani has met with a top-level U.N. Security Council delegation that included U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Monday's statement says Ghani and the U.N. team met in Kabul on Sunday and discussed Afghanistan's security situation and how to move the country forward. It says Ghani requested continued U.N. pressure on neighboring Pakistan, which Kabul accuses of harboring Taliban insurgents. According to the statement, along with Haley, representatives of China, Russia and Britain also took part in the meeting, which was not previously announced for security reasons. President Donald Trump has taken a tough stand on Pakistan, which in turn has accused the United States of scapegoating Islamabad for its own failure to bring peace to Afghanistan where the war is now entering its 17th year. Americans can travel to North Korea, if they wish -- but it may just be a death wish, the U.S. State Department cautioned. The State Department last week issued a stark warning to people setting out for the Hermit Kingdom, cautioning that anyone heading to the dangerous dictatorship should prepare for the possibility of not returning. The U.S. government is unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in North Korea as it does not have diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea, the State Department published Wednesday on its website. Those who wish to travel to North Korea must be approved for a special validation, which are handed out on very limited circumstances. U.S. travelers given the approval to experience Kim Jong Uns regime should then prepare for the worst including drafting a will and making funeral and property arrangements with family and friends. Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney; discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc., according to the recommendations. The agency also urged people to have a contingency plan for emergency situations, be updated on the State Departments social media platform and alert systems. President Trump announced in November the U.S. designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, adding the country to a short list including Iran, Sudan and Syria. North Korea had been removed from the list by the Bush administration in 2008. Trump cited Kims murderous rogue regime and the death of American college student Otto Warmbier, who was imprisoned in North Korea for more than a year and died days after he returned to the U.S. in a coma, as reasons for the return to the list. "North Korea has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism including assassinations on foreign soil, the president said. This designation will impose further sanctions and penalties on North Korea and related persons. The State Departments recent warning comes just weeks after Kim, while calling for improved relations with South Korea, threatened to strike the U.S. with nuclear warheads, claiming he had a button to fire nuclear weapons on his desk. "The entire area of the U.S. mainland is within our nuclear strike range," he said. "...The United States can never start a war against me and our country." Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 14) The eldest son of British power couple David and Victoria Beckham arrived in Manila to meet his fans Saturday. Brooklyn went to several shopping malls to promote his photo book, "What I See," a collection of photos of his family and friends. He was also the guest of honor at the opening ceremony of retail brand Bench's flagship store in Bonifacio Global City. Fans eagerly waited for their chance to meet and greet Brooklyn, and even local celebrity endorsers took the opportunity to see the British star. t one point during his book signing event, Brooklyn couldn't help but to react when 'Wannabe," the first hit song by the Spice Girls, played in the background. His mother, Victoria Beckham nee Adams was part of the original group as "Posh Spice." Brooklyn is Bench's newest global endorser. Manila (CNN Philippines Life) The Mt. Pinatubo eruption of 1991 took the lives of over 700 Filipinos and left more than 200,000 people homeless. In what seems like natures move to right itself, the mudflood, one of the most destructive byproducts of eruption, became the breeding ground of a mangrove forest in Sasmuan, Pampanga, which is a critical source of oxygen for the overly polluted Manila Bay. The mangrove forest, which now has a wooden walkway for visitors, has been turned into an ecotourism area called the Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad Critical Habitat Ecotourism Area (SBMCHEA). Jason Salenga, the tourism officer of Sasmuan, says that this is their way of getting more people involved in the conservation of the areas biodiversity. Kung may ecotourism site kasi dito and of course critical habitat siya, mag-i-increase yung awareness ng mga tao na hindi sila magtatapon ng basura kasi maapektuhan yung critical habitat, he says. Visiting mangrove forests may not necessarily be the first thing on a tourists mind when wanting to explore the white-sand beaches or the mountain peaks in the Philippines. This concept of ecotourism or sustainable travel certainly is still a niche movement. But the area can be a sight to behold. The branches of mangrove trees naturally form an arch over the walkway, which leads to a bamboo hut where one can see a view of the ocean. The mangrove forest, which now has a wooden walkway for visitors, has been turned into an ecotourism area called the Sasmuan Bangkung Malapad Critical Habitat Ecotourism Area (SBMCHEA). Photo courtesy of SMART COMMUNICATIONS, INC. Recognizing the importance of the ecotourism area and the critical habitat, Smart Communications and Ericsson launched the Connected Mangroves project to help conserve the marine ecosystem of Bangkung Malapad. This project, which introduced a new data gathering technology and eventually won Ericsson the United Nations Framework for Climate Change award in 2016, is in conjunction with Smarts Internet of Things project, which highlights the use of wireless technology that would enable government agencies and the general public to gather and monitor data that are relevant to the survival of the mangroves. Naglagay kami ng mga sensors na nakikita na ho kung ano ang nangyayari sa tubig, anong nangyayari dun sa soil, gaano kalakas po yung ulan at gaano kataas na yung water levels doon, para yung community pwede po nilang gawan ng paraan, depende po kung anong nangyayari sa community nila, says Ellen Alarilla, head of sustainability and corporate responsibility for Southeast Asia, India, and Oceana at Ericsson. Ericsson first introduced the Connected Mangroves project in Malaysia, and Alarilla says that 70-80 percent of the mangroves grew after only six months of monitoring, as opposed to the 20-40 percent that reached maturity prior to the project. Ibig sabihin po mas mabilis yung pagtubo, mas madali po nilang mare-reforest ulit yung area nila, she explains. Fishing is the main industry in this town and we need to know the salinity, and then we need to measure kung gaano kaya siya ka-severe, [kung] hindi na siya puwede sa mga isda, says Jason Salenga, tourism officer of Sasmuan, Pampanga on the importance of data collection. Photo from SASMUAN BANGKUNG MALAPAD CRITICAL HABITAT ECOTOURISM AREA/FACEBOOK Salenga also adds that the reforestation of the mangroves is particularly crucial for the people residing in the coastal areas of Sasmuan because the forest can serve as a shield during storm surges (the rapid rise of sea water level during a storm). In 2014, Typhoon Glenda hit Pampanga, and two barangays in Sasmuan were unharmed by the storm surge because the existing mangroves were able to absorb a substantial amount of water. Pero meron kaming isang barangay na natamaan Unfortunately, yung mangroves nila doon medyo nag-convert sila into fish ponds, so nabawasan yung mga mangroves. And from then on, doon nila na-realize kung gaano kahalaga yung mga mangrove, lalo na dito sa bayan ng Sasmuan. Thats why we have so many planting activities, he says. This is also not the only time that mangroves saved communities during storm surges. Filipinos living in General MacArthur, a community in Eastern Samar, largely survived Super Typhoon Haiyan because of their mangrove forests. The residents of the town say that they owe their survival to the mangrove trees. When natural disasters dont strike, the value of these ecosystems can be hard to imagine but these instances of calamities have a way of forcing people to reevaluate what is crucial and what is not. Solar-powered sensors were installed in various regions of the mangrove forest and data, from soil salinity to ambient temperature, are instantly transmitted to the Connected Mangroves website. Photo courtesy of SMART COMMUNICATIONS, INC. Data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature show that approximately 50 percent of the worlds mangroves have disappeared, and one percent is lost every year. The alarming rate in which mangroves are depleting is also a factor that Ericsson and Smart considered in introducing the new technology in the Philippines. Solar-powered sensors were installed in various regions of SBMCHEA and data, from soil salinity to ambient temperature, are instantly transmitted to the Connected Mangroves website, enabling the public to monitor the data collection in real time. Getting all this information, such as the water level, could help the local government unit prepare for plausible storm surges, and hence, preempt evacuation plans when necessary. But it is not only beneficial to the local government or to government agencies such as the Department of Environment and National Resources or the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. Salenga says that it also informs the people within the community. Fishing is the main industry in this town and we need to know the salinity, and then we need to measure kung gaano kaya siya ka-severe, [kung] hindi na siya puwede sa mga isda, he explains. Kaya nga nagka-interesado yung LGU dun sa project ng Smart and Ericsson para din sa protection ng mga mangroves and protection ng habitat ng SBMCHEA, he adds. And of course, para din sa future ng mga anak namin, na madadatnan pa ito, na makikita pa nila yung mga mangroves. Crusaders march past Saints Free Access Limestone struggled in all three phases of the football game offense, defense and special teams in a 37-16 season-opening loss at North Greenville on Saturday. Limestone scored only... SPORTS BRIEFS Free Access Playing a fall match for the first time since 2019, the Limestone mens soccer team used an explosive offense to go along with a stellar defensive effort to open the... SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT Pattons play speaks volumes about his enormous athletic skills Its easy to see why Limestones Jerkoya Patton is a communications major. Get Patton talking and he is liable to chat for quite a while. Talkative, funny and good-natured all... Saints look to notch first-ever victory over N. Greenville LIMESTONE (0-0) VS. NORTH GREENVILLE (0-0) Saturday, 7 p.m. Tigerville Limestone University will be looking to make history Saturday at North Greenville. North Greenville and the Saints have met... News editor's pick centerpiece Council could consider disputed Beachtown agreement kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News Houses line E. Seaside Drive in Beachtown in Galveston on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. Beachtown is a neighborhood steps from the beach on the islands East End. kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News Construction workers work on stilts for a new house in Beachtown in Galveston on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. kelseywalling / KELSEY WALLING/The Daily News The entrance to the beach stands next to a house in Beachtown in Galveston on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. GALVESTON The Galveston City Council is considering voting to validate a controversial development agreement for the Beachtown neighborhood, which is the subject of a lawsuit against the Galveston Redevelopment Authority, Mayor Jim Yarbrough said. The council has met in executive session to discuss the lawsuit brought by three residents against the authority, which oversees special tax zones designed to encourage development. The lawsuit claims authority board members broke open meeting laws to reconfigure a deal with the developer of Beachtown, a luxury subdivision on the islands East End. The three residents contend in the lawsuit the board renegotiated a deal with the developer in a series of meetings hidden from the public in 2014. Yarbrough said no decision has been made as to whether the council will put the item on an upcoming agenda, as some legal issues need to be reviewed. Were not saying we need to do that, Yarbrough said. We dont want to take action and do something incorrect. Jackie Cole, Jos Wristers and Elizabeth Beeton filed the lawsuit in June 2016. Beeton had been a member of the authority board but was ousted by the city council before the deal was restructured. Beachtown is being developed in Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 13. A tax increment reinvestment zones, or TIRZ, is a designated space in a city where developers build public improvements such as streets and drainage and are reimbursed by an increase in property taxes generated by the development. The city continues to receive the amount of tax revenue generated before the new development, while taxes on the new development values are used to pay for improvements. A previous authority in October 2012 found Beachtowns developer, Tofigh Shirazi in default of an agreement to build a set amount of retail space, single-family housing units, multifamily housing units, retirement housing units and a hotel in the subdivision. Shirazi contended that the authority misinterpreted the development agreement and said circumstances beyond his control, such as Hurricane Ike in 2008 and the housing market collapse in 2007, slowed progress. In August 2013, the city council removed members, including Beeton, from the authority that had found Shirazi in default and replaced them in the middle of their terms. Beeton, Cole and Wristers lawsuit claims the authoritys agreement with the developer substantially changed over the course of seven closed session meetings from January to July 2014. The public didnt have the opportunity to contribute input to the changes, and the developer and authority agreed not to seek approval from city council or other elected officials, the plaintiffs claim. Beeton said the city council should be telling the judge presiding over the lawsuit that the Galveston Redevelopment Authority gave inadequate notice in changing the development agreement. If the city council validates the agreement, the lawsuit could be in trouble, Beeton, a former council member, said. It may very well moot our lawsuit, Beeton said. Thats the problem from our point of view. And thats why they would do it. This is an initiative of the developer to prevent any possibility that the deal from the RDA might not become permanent. Validating the agreement is a rubber stamp of something negotiated behind closed doors, Beeton said. The failure to allow public input cant really be cured by just rubber-stamping what was done, Beeton said. It needs to be opened up so that the council can look at it afresh without its hands being tied by what was originally agreed to behind closed doors. Hey Long Beach! The end of summer is almost upon us, but there's still plenty of sunshine and warm weather outside, which makes for a fun day with the pups at Rosie's Dog Beach. We talked to the beach's creator,... Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) Two Supreme Court (SC) justices said Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno violated the collegiality or the collegial nature of the Supreme Court on several instances. Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin and Diosdado Peralta confirmed the allegation Monday before the House Justice Committee at the resumption of the impeachment hearing against Sereno. However, the two refused to comment when asked if they think Sereno deliberately committed culpable violation of the Constitution when she violated the collegiality of the Supreme Court. In the impeachment complaint, Atty. Larry Gadon alleged Sereno made several decisions without the approval of the Supreme Court En Banc. Sereno is facing a complaint based on four grounds for impeachment: culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption, and other high crimes. Committee, TWG caused delayed release of pension Meanwhile, Peralta and Associate Justice Samuel Martires confirmed the special committee and Technical Working Groups (TWG) created by Sereno delayed the release of pensions for the surviving spouses of justices and judges for over two years. They noted that prior to the creation of the committee, it took the SC only a couple of weeks to process retirement benefit applications. "Some of us are interested or in favor of dissolving this technical working group. Kawawa naman ang mga byuda. Two years...yung mga surviving spouses, they came to us. They were crying, bakit nade-delay," Peralta said Some congressmen blamed Sereno for the delay for creating the committee and TWGs and for not doing anything about it. Sereno's lawyers earlier said, however, Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and Presbitero Velasco also approved the creation of the special committee. They said if there is delay, it cannot be attributed to Sereno because the applications were referred to the special committee and TWGs. No hard feelings against Sereno Associate Justices Peralta, Bersamin, and Martires denied harboring ill feelings toward Sereno when asked why they testified against her. They said they attended the hearing because the House Justice Committee asked them to. Peralta also said he considers Sereno a friend, while Bersamin said he respects the Chief Justice. Martires, meanwhile, said while Sereno did not vote in favor of his appointment, she had already apologized, which he accepted. Psychiatrists, more justices to testify A total of six SC Associate Justices and one retired Associate Justice have so far testified in the impeachment hearings. House Justice Committee chairman Rey Umali said they will also invite SC Associate Justices Mariano del Castillo and Andres Reyes to the next hearing, along with retired SC Justice Adolf Azcuna, and Court of Appeals Justice Remedios Salazar-Fernando. The House Justice Committee also subpoenaed two psychiatristsDr. Dulce Liza Sahagun Reyes and Dr. Genuina Ranoywho gave failing marks on the mental evaluation of the Chief Justice. The psychiatrists' contracts were allegedly not renewed when Sereno assumed office. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday said the President will accept the resignation of Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chair Patricia Licuanan. Licuanan announced her resignation on Monday after receiving a call from the Palace over the weekend. "I received a call from (Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea) asking me to resign as chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education. I have decided it is time to go," Licuanan said. Licuanan is in hot water for various issues, including accusations of going on trips abroad without the approval of the President. She continued to dispute what she called "false and baseless accusations," adding she decided to step down as her presence "will only attract more controversy harmful to the agency." "The accusations hurled against me - excessive travel, then traveling without permission from Malacanan, now misuse of K to 12 transition funds for teachers - are all false and made up by people in CHED who want me out," Licuanan said. "I have also ceased to be effective as I am almost always outvoted in Commission en Banc meetings," she added. Former CHED Executive Director Julito Vitriolo, in a text message to CNN Philippines on Monday, said they have been clamoring for Licuanan's resignation since December 2016, when she was asked to desist from attending Cabinet meetings. "CHED (cannot) be effective without the trust and confidence of the President. She should have done this much earlier to avoid an unpleasant exit in her career," Vitriolo said. Also read: CHED Chairman also barred from Cabinet meetings Earlier this month, PBA Party-List Rep. Jericho Nograles posted on Facebook photos of Licuanan's supposed permits to travel abroad. The supposed documents showed Licuanan approved her own travels. Licuanan disputed this, saying she gets travel authority from the President for all her trips. "I was first accused of excessive travel. When records revealed that I travelled eight times officially in 2017, with only five of these trips paid for by government... the accusation turned to travel without authority from the Office of the President," Licuanan said. The CHED chairperson said she does not know how Nograles got hold of her travel documents, as only a few offices in CHED had access to the papers. "These are internal documents to support the administrative release of funds and while I sign the internal document for my own travels, my signing is always based on an official travel authority from Malacanan. The question is, who put these together and who offered it to the congressman?" Licuanan said. She also disputed accusations of mismanagement and corruption in K to 12 funds. "I must strongly denounce malicious allegations of corruption and mismanagement of funds. It has been my personal commitment to stamp out corruption in CHED since day one, despite the odds and the strong resistance. The K to 12 Transition Program has been implemented with the highest level of ethical stewardship and every peso is accounted for," Licuanan said. Licuanan was first appointed as CHED Chairperson in July 2010. She was reappointed in 2014, and was expected to end her term in July 2018. Also read: CHED chair Licuanan disputes lawmaker's allegations over trips abroad President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday said he has signed an executive order which will allow him to control travels of officials under the Executive branch, as part of his crackdown on corrupt officials. He also warned of firing officials who have gone on more than a dozen trips. "They go out every convocation, convention, pow wow, seminar, labas nang labas. And for those who have traveled more than 12, you have to go. Hindi na ako bilib diyan sa most of the time nag-ibang bansa [I'm not impressed by those who go out of the country very often]," he said on Friday. READ: Duterte signs EO to limit travels of Executive branch officials Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. Theres been some mass speculation that a new Florence album could be dropping this year! Polands Orange Warsaw Festival, which Florence + The Machine play on June 2, recently speculated that album number four will be released in 2018, adding that fans could even hear it before the summer ends. Last year, Florence teased her eagerly awaited return by announcing festival appearances for 2018. As well as Orange Warsaw Festival, she will taking on Germanys Melt! Festival in July. Yarning to The Telegraph, Florence said that her fourth album will explore the black hole she fell into with alcohol and upheaval after splitting with boyfriend James Nesbitt back in 2014. Im happier now, Im content, but Im never going to be fixed, ever. I dont think thats how it works. A lot of things almost worked for me: partying almost worked, being famous and successful almost worked, the relationship almost worked but it wont sustain you. These are transient things. Its working out how to be OK regardless." We're so amped for this!! Keep it locked on George FM to be hearing this as soon as it drops. A man who was caught with his second wife after his first wife saw them on a television show together has been sentenced to six months in prison for bigamy. Daniel Gundry, 36, appeared with his wife, Susan Brooker, as guests on a British surprise wedding television show in 2016. However, his other wife, Helen Gundry, happened to be watching the show from home, reports 7 News. When she recognised her husband she took to the show's Facebook page to share her reaction. "I loved the wedding and the surprise guests - I didn't love the sight of my husband who's supposed to be working in Dubai arriving on the arm of another woman, a woman he's supposed to have split from last year." Daniel and Helen married in 1998 and after separating for some time, he asked her to give their marriage a second chance. Unbeknownst to Helen, he had married Susan in the meantime. Daniel has been sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay his wives A115 (NZ$217) for causing them "embarrassment, shame and humiliation". "He has been lying for a long time so I'm just glad that finally he's been found out," Helen told local media. Helen and Susan have since become friends. Source: Newshub. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Patricia Licuanan said she resigned upon Malacanang's request. But President Rodrigo Duterte is saying otherwise saying he "dismissed" her. READ: CHED Chair Patricia Licuanan resigns Whatever the case may be, what is crystal clear is that another government official is out and President Duterte saying that more will get the ax. The President didn't say anything on why he wanted Licuanan out, but speaking Monday at the inauguration Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 11's newest crime lab, he again stressed his anti-corruption drive. He said, "I have dismissed Licuanan today, 'yung sa CHED [the one from CHED]. And 'yung sa Marina [And the one from Marina], he has tendered his resignation. And many will follow. Do not look at me as a saint. Pare-pareho lang tayong lahat [We are all equal].". The President did talk about his plans to fire more than 40 police officers and about two to three generals. But still, no names on who these are. PNP Chief General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, who was also at the event, said the status of these officials were still pending with the National Police Commission. In his speech, the President admitted graft and corruption will likely remain in government. But he made an appeal to those engaging in unlawful acts, don't do it during his time. If possible, give the Filipino a respite from corruption even just for another four years. Licuanan: I have decided it is time to go Licuanan said she received a call from Malcanang over the weekend asking her to resign. "I received a call from (Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea) asking me to resign as Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education. I have decided it is time to go," she said. Licuanan is in hot water for various issues, including accusations of going on trips abroad without the approval of the President. She continued to dispute what she called "false and baseless accusations," adding she decided to step down as her presence "will only attract more controversy harmful to the agency." "The accusations hurled against me excessive travel, then traveling without permission from Malacanang, now misuse of k to 12 transition funds for teachers are all false and made up by people in CHED who want me out," Licuanan said. RELATED: CHED chair Licuanan disputes lawmaker's allegations over trips abroad Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) Communist leader Joma Sison on Monday said he welcomes having a private talk with President Rodrigo Duterte over the resumption of the peace negotiations. "In the interest of the Filipino people and for the sake and purpose of resuming the peace negotiations, I am willing to have serious conversations with President Duterte," Sison said in a statement. Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), proposed that he and the President could meet in a neighboring country for the one-on-one talk. The communist leader has been in self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987. In November last year, Duterte said he will not allow Sison to set foot in the country, threatening his arrest. Sison's remark follows presidential spokesperson Harry Roque's statement Sunday, saying Duterte is open to having a private conversation with Sison. He said, however, the President is closed to peace talks for now. READ: Roque: Duterte wants to have private talk with Joma Sison Roque, in a press briefing Monday, said the New People's Army (NPA) must first show humility, citing the communist rebels' offensives against government troopers while peace talks were ongoing. The NPA is the armed wing of the CPP, while its political arm negotiating with the government is the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Roque clarified the one-on-one talk between Sison and Duterte is not a pre-condition for the resumption of the peace talks. "It is not as if the President said he is willing to resume peace talks after he talks to Joma Sison. No. What he said was kailangan magpakumbaba muna ang NPA (What he said was the NPA must first show humility)," Roque said. He added the NPA must respect the sovereignty of the Philippines, and that they must refrain from bringing up talks of power-sharing during peace negotiations. The government in November ended the peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDFP, following the escalation of attacks and violence. READ: How peace talks with communist rebels failed Before Duterte terminated talks with the communists, the long-stalled fifth round of peace negotiations was scheduled for November 25 to 27, 2017 in Norway. The Norwegian government had acted as third party facilitator of the talks to put an end to the 48-year-old insurgency, the longest-running in Asia. Last December, Duterte declared the CPP-NPA movement a terrorist organization. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, Januaray 15) "If a bully has squatted on your front yard, and requests to look at your backyard, would you grant the request of the bully?" Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio posed this question in the wake of reports the government granted China's request "to study the waters off the eastern parts of Luzon." Magdalo party list Rep. Gary Alejano said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) approved the request of the Institute of Oceanology of Chinese Academy of Sciences for a marine scientific research in Philippine waters. Alejano added the project area includes resource-rich Benham Rise, now officially called Philippine Rise after President Duterte renamed it in May 2017. Philippine Rise is a 13-million hectare undersea plateau that lies 216 kilometers (135 miles) east of coast of Aurora province. The extended continental shelf as declared by the United Nations is wider than the island of Luzon. Both Malacanang and DFA did not confirm nor deny approving a Chinese think tank's request. But Carpio pointed out China has squatted on the West Philippine Sea and refuses to leave despite the ruling of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) tribunal. "The Philippines would be dumb (bugok) to grant China's request," Carpio said in an e-mail statement to CNN Philippines. By refusing to accept the award of the UNCLOS arbitral, he explained China is not accepting its obligation under UNCLOS. "China should not be allowed to enjoy its rights under UNCLOS, like conducting marine scientific research (MSR) in Benham Rise, while it refuses to accept its obligation under the arbitral award. Otherwise, China is cherry picking and not taking UNCLOS as one package deal," Carpio said. The senior magistrate cited Article 246 of UNCLOS, stating, "Coastal States shall, in normal circumstances, grant their consent for marine scientific research projects by other States." "The refusal of China to comply with the arbitral award of the UNCLOS tribunal is not a 'normal circumstance,' and thus the Philippines should refuse China's request for MSR in Benham Rise," Carpio noted. Carpio further explained there's no law regulating MSR in the extended continental shelf (beyond the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone) like Benham Rise. But he said the country having ratified UNCLOS, makes the international convention part of the Philippine legal system. "Under Article 246 of UNCLOS, the Philippines has an obligation to allow foreign states to conduct MSR in its continental shelf like Benham Rise 'to increase scientific knowledge of the marine environment for the benefit of all mankind.' Thus, the results of the MSR must be made known to the whole world," Carpio added. The senior magistrate added the marine research of foreign states in Benham Rise is purely for scientific research, and cannot be conducted to explore the mineral resources for purposes of exploitation of these resources. Carpio pointed out, "Neither the President nor the Foreign Secretary can waive this exclusive sovereign right to a foreign state. To ensure that the foreign state conducting MSR in our extended continental shelf is not exploring for purposes of exploitation, Filipino marine scientists must be on board the foreign research vessels." Carpio was part of the Philippine delegation to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that argued and won the country's case against China. felicilin at 15-01-2018 10:47 AM (3 years ago) (f) An over-speeding car flew into the air and slammed into the second floor of a building in Orange County, California, early Sunday morning. An over-speeding car flew into the air and slammed into the second floor of a building in Orange County, California, early Sunday morning. The incident unfolded in the 300 block of East 17th Street in Santa Ana, CBS Los Angeles reports. The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) said the driver hit a center divider, catapulting the vehicle into the air. The car was reportedly traveling at a high speed when it hit the median and flew into the building, which houses a dental practice. Speeding car flies and crashes into second floor of California building, occupants miraculously survive Upon impact, a fire broke out and was quickly extinguished. Firefighters said there were two people inside the vehicle. Both victims were safely removed from the car with minor injuries. The driver admitted to using narcotics and was admitted to a hospital for observation, Santa Ana police said. The incident unfolded in the 300 block of East 17th Street in Santa Ana, CBS Los Angeles reports. The Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) said the driver hit a center divider, catapulting the vehicle into the air. The car was reportedly traveling at a high speed when it hit the median and flew into the building, which houses a dental practice.Speeding car flies and crashes into second floor of California building, occupants miraculously surviveUpon impact, a fire broke out and was quickly extinguished. Firefighters said there were two people inside the vehicle. Both victims were safely removed from the car with minor injuries. The driver admitted to using narcotics and was admitted to a hospital for observation, Santa Ana police said. Post Reply Posted: at 15-01-2018 10:47 AM (3 years ago) | Hero clarajancita at 15-01-2018 02:53 PM (3 years ago) (f) Innoson Motors which is the 1st Made-in-Nigeria automobile brand manufactured in Nigeria to eradicate tokunbo automobiles from Africa, has just delivered military vehicles to the Nigerian Army. To make good on its promise, the Nigerian Army has started taking delivery of some of the vehicles it has ordered from Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company, a local vehicle manufacturer, which the Army has configured fit for deployment for its counterterrorism Operation Lafiya Dole. Innoson Motors which is the 1st Made-in-Nigeria automobile brand manufactured in Nigeria to eradicate tokunbo automobiles from Africa, has just delivered military vehicles to the Nigerian Army.To make good on its promise, the Nigerian Army has started taking delivery of some of the vehicles it has ordered from Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company, a local vehicle manufacturer, which the Army has configured fit for deployment for its counterterrorism Operation Lafiya Dole. This was disclosed by the director, Army public relations; Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman via a Facebook post. He also shared pictures of the vehicles already delivered by the Nnewi-based indigenous car manufacturer. The Nigerian Army has partnered with the company for the immediate supply of 100 vehicles, supply of appropriate gears, engines and chassis required for immediate modifications and repairs of armoured fighting vehicles in the northeast theatre of operations. The contract also includes identifying requirements for production of armoured fighting vehicle in Nigerian Army Central Workshop in Kaduna and enhancing capacity of Nigerian army personnel to actively participate on the successful implementation of these joint ventures. Innoson motors had earlier shared photos of the vehicles on social media. This was disclosed by the director, Army public relations; Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman via a Facebook post. He also shared pictures of the vehicles already delivered by the Nnewi-based indigenous car manufacturer.The Nigerian Army has partnered with the company for the immediate supply of 100 vehicles, supply of appropriate gears, engines and chassis required for immediate modifications and repairs of armoured fighting vehicles in the northeast theatre of operations.The contract also includes identifying requirements for production of armoured fighting vehicle in Nigerian Army Central Workshop in Kaduna and enhancing capacity of Nigerian army personnel to actively participate on the successful implementation of these joint ventures. Innoson motors had earlier shared photos of the vehicles on social media. Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 15-01-2018 02:53 PM (3 years ago) | Hero A priest has been allegedly killed because he preached against the killings by the Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria. Rev. Father Joseph Mulimibi was reported to have preached against the activities of Fulani Herdsmen on Wednesday, 10th January 2018 and was murdered the next day, in a village in Uganda.Here is Facebook user, Regal Ibokette Renees tribute to him. Quote THIS IS NIGERIA TODAY NOBODY IS SAFE! ADIEU REV. FATHER JOSEPH MULIMIBI This is one of the numerous reasons why you shouldnt vote for Buhari/APC come 2019 Rev. Father Joseph Mulimibi preached against Fulani Herdsmen on the 10th January 2018 wednesday, next day he was murdered. That is how bad the situation is in Nigeria now. Rest In Peace Father. Enternal rest grant unto your soul and let perpetual light shine upon you. Rest On Padre! Ondo State governor, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu, while reacting to the menace caused by these Herdsmen declared that his administration will apply force to arrest the menace of Fulani herdsmen in the state. The governor made the declaration in Akure, on Sunday, during an event to commemorate the Armed Forces Remembrance Day. We have been using security agencies to engage the herdsmen to carry out their business peacefully but when engagement fails, we will use force. We will confront the herdsmen with all we have, the governor said. kacylee at 15-01-2018 09:18 PM (3 years ago) (f) On behalf of the Oyo State government, the Deputy Governor Otunba Moses Alake Adeyemo received 11 returnees from Lybia this afternoon at the governor's office aided by SEMA (Oyo State Emergency Management Agency) with a view to reintegrating them back into the society and provide support. Journalists interacted with some of them but the ladies refused to speak. One of the male returnees, who gave his name as Oluwatobi spoke of the harsh conditions there, how he escaped shipwreck, being duped by a lady of 430k after promising to ferry him to Europe, being locked up in different prisons, etc. He also narrated the story of how Nigerians in collaboration with the Arabs treat them. On behalf of the Oyo State government, the Deputy Governor Otunba Moses Alake Adeyemo received 11 returnees from Lybia this afternoon at the governor's office aided by SEMA (Oyo State Emergency Management Agency) with a view to reintegrating them back into the society and provide support. Journalists interacted with some of them but the ladies refused to speak. One of the male returnees, who gave his name as Oluwatobi spoke of the harsh conditions there, how he escaped shipwreck, being duped by a lady of 430k after promising to ferry him to Europe, being locked up in different prisons, etc. He also narrated the story of how Nigerians in collaboration with the Arabs treat them. He said he is a graduate of the Polytechnic Ibadan and does not mind getting a job. He came along with his certificates. Interestingly, he said if given the chance, he would love to go to Europe to hustle again since there is nothing here for him in Nigeria. The ladies among them hid their faces from the cameras. He said he is a graduate of the Polytechnic Ibadan and does not mind getting a job. He came along with his certificates. Interestingly, he said if given the chance, he would love to go to Europe to hustle again since there is nothing here for him in Nigeria. The ladies among them hid their faces from the cameras. Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 15-01-2018 09:18 PM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero BENSHEIM, Germany, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AAF Lufttechnik GmbH, a German affiliate of American Air Filter Co. Inc., d/b/a AAF International, today announced the acquisition of RIS Facility Management GmbH, a leading provider of Indoor Air Quality services in Germany. With this acquisition, AAF International will further expand its operational footprint and enhance both the level and the quantity of services offered in Germany and all of Europe. RIS is headquartered in Eppingen, Germany, and provides HVAC inspections, process technology, repairs and maintenance to a wide range of industries, for both supply and exhaust air. The family-owned company employs approximately 100 qualified employees that are able to deliver first class consultancy and service for clean air related process security and value retention of equipment and buildings. AAF International is an industry leader with ambitious goals for the future. We are looking forward to join forces with the AAF team and combine AAFs high quality product portfolio and unique intelligent data tools with our service offerings, said Mehmet Tiftikci, Management Director of RIS. Both of our companies philosophies are dedicated to Bringing Clean Air to Life, which is an excellent fit for a new partnership, said Philip Whitaker, AAF Internationals Chief Executive Officer. Since 2006, RIS has successfully built up their business from zero to now serving the biggest brands in the automotive industry. With this new partnership we are now looking forward to further expand this great track record. This acquisition will immediately help us to meet our customers demand for value-added air filtration solutions in Germany, said Stefan Berbner, AAF Internationals Chief Operating Officer in Europe. In addition, we are now strategically positioned to expand our idea of a true one-stop-shop across all of Europe. About the AAF group of companies Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., American Air Filter Co. Inc., d/b/a AAF International, offers the most comprehensive manufacturing capabilities in the air filtration industry. A global leader in the clean air industry, AAF develops and manufactures a wide variety of air filtration solutions that are designed to remove and control airborne particulates and gaseous contaminants in commercial, residential, industrial, cleanroom, transportation and nuclear power applications. AAF is committed to manufacturing the highest quality filter and containment housings necessary to protect people, processes and systems. American Air Filter Co. Inc. is supported in its international ventures through the resources of its parent company Daikin Industries Ltd., based in Osaka, Japan, a diversified international manufacturing company and a global leader in air conditioning. For more information, visit www.aafintl.com. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) The judge in the drug case of Senator Leila de Lima at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court has inhibited herself. In an order dated January 4, Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204 Judge Juanita Guerrero said that "in order not to cast doubt on the integrity and impartiality of the Presiding Judge and to disabuse the mind of the accused and her counsels who have expressed serious doubts on her objectivity in resolving this case due to the adverse orders issued against her, the court, acting on its sound discretion, voluntarily inhibits herself from further hearing this case." De Lima's lawyer moved for Guerrero's inhibition on Nov. 16, 2017 for exhibiting "evident partiality and bad faith" manifested by acting with undue haste in issuing an arrest order against De Lima without even considering the "political undertones" of the case. But Guerrero said the court is fully aware that a mere imputation of bias or partiality, without any proof or evidence, is not a ground for a judge to inhibit in a case. With her inhibition, De Lima's scheduled arraignment on January 24 is cancelled. "Let the records of this case be forwarded to the Office of the Clerk of Court for re-raffle to other branches of the Regional Trial Court in this jurisdiction," Guerrero ordered. Guerrero also denied De Lima's motion to hold in abeyance her arraignment. She explained under the Rules of Court, she's impelled to proceed with the case without any temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction that may be issued by the higher court. "In the case at bar, as there is not such injunction that will stop this court from further hearing this case, it is well within its jurisdiction to continue its proceedings - with dispatch as directed by the Supreme Court in its October 10, 2017 decision," Guerrero said. PERTH, Australia, Jan. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perseus Mining Ltd. (ASX:PRU) (TSX:PRU) is pleased to advise that: The development and commissioning of its second gold mine, the Sissingue Gold Mine in Cote dIvoire, is nearing completion with the introduction of crushed ore to the mill and the CIL plant on Saturday 13 th January 2018. January 2018. First gold is expected to be produced at Sissingue ahead of schedule, prior to the end of January 2018, and the ramp up to full scale commercial production is expected to be achieved by 31 March 2018. The estimated capital cost of the full development of the Sissingue mine and infrastructure, excluding early works but including operational readiness initiatives, was US$107 million and on current estimates this budget will not be exceeded. Based on the updated life of mine plan for Sissingue published in March 2017, estimated gold production totals 358,000 ounces over the life of mine including approximately 80,000 ounces per annum for the first 3.25 years and approximately 70,000 ounces per annum over the full 5 year life of mine. Forecast average weighted all-in site costs, including all direct production costs, royalties, waste stripping costs and sustaining capital expenditure, are estimated at approximately US$625 per ounce in the first 3.25 years of production and approximately US$630 per ounce over the full mine life. Significant potential exists to increase Sissingues currently delineated Mineral Resources, Ore Reserves and mine life. Exploration programmes targeting mineralisation located within trucking distance of the mine have been developed and are scheduled to be implemented once the mine is generating positive cash flows. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Perseus, Mr Jeff Quartermaine, said: The introduction of crushed ore to the mill at Sissingue on Saturday was an important milestone in the journey towards bringing our second operating gold mine into production. We are looking forward very much to starting gold production later in January 2018 and to seeing Sissingue ramp up to full scale production and positive cash flow by the end of the March quarter. At that point, Perseus will be transformed from a single mine, single country business to a multi-mine, multi-jurisdiction operation and we will be well on the way to achieving our goal of producing in excess of 500,000 ounces of gold per year from late 2021 from our three West African operations, namely Edikan, Sissingue and Yaoure. To discuss any aspect of this announcement, please contact: Managing Director: Jeff Quartermaine at telephone +61 8 6144 1700 or email jeff.quartermaine@perseusmining.com; Media Relations: Nathan Ryan at telephone +61 4 20 582 887 or email nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au (Melbourne) Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information: This report contains forward-looking information which is based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made by the Company regarding, among other things: the price of gold, continuing commercial production at the Edikan Gold Mine without any major disruption, development of a mine at Tengrela, the receipt of required governmental approvals, the accuracy of capital and operating cost estimates, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used by the Company. Although management believes that the assumptions made by the Company and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the actual market price of gold, the actual results of current exploration, the actual results of future exploration, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Companys ability to carry on its exploration and development activities, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Perseus does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Competent Person Statement All production targets for the Sissingue Gold Mine referred to in this report are underpinned by estimated Ore Reserves which have been prepared by competent persons in accordance with the requirements of the JORC Code. The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources for Sissingue was first reported by the Company in compliance with the JORC Code 2012 and NI43-101 in a market announcement released on 15 December 2016. The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources for Bele was first reported by the Company in compliance with the JORC Code 2012 and NI43-101 in a market announcement released on 20 February 2017. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information in those market announcements and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in that market announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company further confirms that material assumptions underpinning the estimates of Ore Reserves described in Technical Report Sissingue Gold Project, Cote dIvoire dated 29 May 2011 continue to apply. Orosur Mining Inc. (Orosur or the Company) (TSX/AIM: OMI), a South American-focused gold producer, developer and explorer is pleased to announce the results for the first half of its fiscal 2018 (H1 18) and second quarter ended November, 2017 (Q2 18 or the Quarter). All dollar figures are stated in US$000 unless otherwise noted. EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS Drilling in the APTA portion of the Anza gold project in Colombia commenced in October 2017, with first drill results announced on November 14, 2017, including 5.32m at 17.76 g/t in hole MAP-54. Depth potential is being confirmed with gold mineralization intersected down to 200m. Mineralized zones remain open. In Uruguay, a final infill drilling campaign and block model were finalised for San Gregorio Central (SGC), with mine development planned to start in Q3 18. The Company is accelerating the preparation and permitting of Veta A Underground, a new underground project with higher grades next to the San Gregorio CIL Plant. The deadline for Asset Chile to move into Phase 2 in Anillo expired on December 31, 2017 unexercised. As a result, Asset Chile will forfeit the 16% interest it had earned and Orosur is currently evaluating strategic alternatives to move ahead with the project with external and non-dilutive funding. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS Extended downtime of two long hole drill rigs used in stope production at the SGW UG mine caused the deferral of 2,000 ounces of production planned for Q2 18. Development activities continued as planed at the SGW UG mine and the Company resumed full underground production by the end of November. Q2 18 production was 7,052 oz of gold, compared to 6,852 oz in Q2 17. As a result of the Companys focus on profitability and not purely ounces produced, the Company is targeting the lower end of its production guidance at San Gregorio for FY18, being 30,000 ounces of gold. Average cash operating cost was $867/oz, compared to $914/oz Q2 17. The Company expects to achieve its annual guidance for cash operating cost of US$800 - US$900 per ounce. The Uruguayan government continues to demonstrate its support for the Company with an exemption granted on royalty payments (equal to 3% of sales) for the period April 2017 to March 2018. This is forecast to total approximately US$1.0 million. All-In-Sustaining Costs (AISC) were $1,455/oz compared to $1,345/oz in Q2 17, an increase of 8%. The increase was predominantly due to higher development, brownfield exploration and the construction of the fourth phase of the tailings dam. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Operating profit of the San Gregorio operation was $3,423 compared to an operating profit of $2,261 in Q2 17. The improvement mainly due to lower operating costs. Loss after tax was $251 compared to a profit of $942 in Q2 17. This was mainly due to higher depreciation and the recognition of a provision for staff retrenchments following the Q2 production deferral at SGW UG. Cash flow from operations before changes in working capital was $2,160 compared to $2,234 in Q2 17. The Company invested $3,359 in capital expenditures and $1,704 in exploration compared to $3,835 and $609 respectively in Q2 17. The Company significantly increased its investment in exploration and development in Uruguay with the aim of expanding reserves. The Companys cash balance at November 30, 2017 was $2,064 compared to $3,357 at May 31, 2017. The deferral of approximately 2,000 ounces of planned production for the Quarter from the SGW UG mine caused the Company to draw on the full Santander line of credit in the amount of $1,500 during the Quarter. The committed line of credit with Banco Santander available as at November 30, 2017 was renewed for another year (until November 30, 2018). Operational & Financial Summary1 Q2 18 Q2 17 Diff YTD 18 YTD 17 Diff Operating Results Gold produced Ounces 7,052 6,852 200 15,677 16,802 (1,125) Operating cash cost3 US$/oz 867 914 (47) 886 783 103 AISC US$/oz 1,455 1,345 110 1,422 1,135 287 Average price received US$/oz 1,299 1,252 47 1,277 1,290 (13) Financial Results (unaudited) Net profit/(loss) after tax US$ 000 (251) 942 (1,193) (542) 3,701 (4,243) Cash flow from operations2 US$ 000 2,160 2,234 (74) 3,614 7,029 (3,415) Cash & Debt Summary (unaudited) Nov. 30, 2017 Aug 31, 2017 Diff Nov. 30, 2017 May 31, 2017 Diff Cash balance US$ 000 2,064 4,533 (2,469) 2,064 3,357 (1,293) Total debt US$ 000 1,773 330 1,443 1,773 403 1,370 Cash net of debt US$ 000 291 4,203 (3,912) 291 2,954 (2,663) 1 Results are based on IFRS and expressed in US dollars 2 Before non-cash working capital movements 3 Operating cash cost is total cost discounting royalties and capital tax on production assets. H2 OUTLOOK SG UG is a continuation at depth of the San Gregorio open pit deposit, which produced approximately 536,000 oz at an average grade of 2.12 g/t Au. Since November 2016, SGW UG has been the primary source of ore feed to the plant. Mining in the SGW sector is forecast to be complete in H2 18 when development and initial production of SGC is scheduled to commence. SGC is planned to be the main source of underground ore feed to the plant during H2 18. To view the full release, showing all maps and figures, please click here. During Q2 18, 792 metres of diamond core were drilled around the San Gregorio West underground mine aimed at improving accuracy and planning of the mining in this sector. A 250 metre development access ramp is necessary to fully access SGC from the SGW UG mine and is under construction. The block model for SGC was finalized in Q2 18, and shows that the mineralized structure is less economically viable at current gold prices at depth and to the East based on reductions in both ore grade and thickness. Due to this, and amongst other measures, the Company has been working with SRK Peru in order to optimize the mineplan for SGC, with a special emphasis on profitability following the deferral of production from SGW in Q2 18. The new design concentrates mining on the upper levels of the mine to minimize additional and uneconomic development. Additionally, an existing crown pillar between the open pit and the UG mine is being evaluated for potential inclusion in the mine plan. The Company is accelerating the preparation and permitting of Veta A, a new underground project that is 1.2 kilometres from the plant, for development. Initial work indicates Veta A is currently the highest grade source of underground ore available on the San Gregorio mine complex. Veta A was previously mined as an open pit, producing 29,000 oz with an average grade of 3.1 g/t between September 2006 and March 2008. Current reserves are 9,440 oz (122,328 tonnes @ 2.40 g/t Au). The Company is targeting a significant increase in reserves following a positive drilling campaign that proved the continuity and extension of the ore body over 140 metres from the current defined reserves. A preliminary study by SRK Consulting at Veta A supports its geotechnical feasibility. In addition to the redesign of underground production in San Gregorio, the company has implemented a number of initiatives to preserve cash. These include an 11% staff reduction at the end of November, the recently granted royalty exemption by the Uruguayan Government for a one year period and the deferral of planned greenfield exploration in Uruguay. Orosur remains focused on profitability over production and as a result is targeting the lower end of its production guidance at San Gregorio for FY18 at 30,000 ounces of gold, while maintaining its operating cash cost guidance of between US$800 US$900/oz. The Company continuously considers and analyses strategic options to develop its Uruguay, Colombian and Chilean assets to create shareholder value. The Company expects to conclude its first phase of drilling at the APTA zone, which is part of the Anza project in Colombia next month. Additional drill results are expected by the end of February. As announced in November 2017, preliminary results from the current drilling campaign have demonstrated APTAs potential at depth, with gold mineralization intersected to 200m, and along strike. The broader Anza potential (beyond APTA) has yet to be tested at any of the four high priority identified targets with coincident geochemical and geophysical anomalies. To view the full release, showing all maps and figures, please click here. Ignacio Salazar, CEO of Orosur, said: The Company is concentrating on advancing exploration in Colombia while maintaining profitability in Uruguay. We have built the SGW UG mine, entirely financed from cash from operations, while advancing exploration and development around it. SGC is well under way and on track to commence production during Q3 18 and we are swiftly advancing a new higher grade underground mine at Veta A. While we are taking some tough measures to implement this plan, we are getting some initial results already and are proud to count on the support of the Uruguayan government which granted us a second, and unprecedented, annual royalty exemption. As announced in November, preliminary results in Colombia from the current drilling campaign validate the APTA gold potential. Depth potential has been confirmed at APTA with gold mineralization intersected down to 200m. Mineralized zones remain open. We plan to update the market in the next several weeks. In addition to APTA, and in respect of the broader Anza potential, four high priority targets with coincident geochemical and geophysical anomalies, remain untested. Potential for a New UG Mine: Veta A Underground Historically, Veta A was a relatively small high grade open pit, located next to the now reclaimed San Gregorio tailings dam, which was in operation from September 2006 until March 2008. The Veta A open pit produced approximately 29,000 oz at average gold grades of 3.10 g/t. To view the full release, showing all maps and figures, please click here. As open pit mining progressed, the mineralized body appeared to run underneath the tailings dam. When operations approached this physical barrier, mining was halted and the pit was backfilled with waste and then reclaimed. A preliminary geotechnical study of the Veta A deposit was performed by SRK Consulting during the first Quarter with positive results. During Q2 2018, drilling continued at Veta A, with 968 metres drilled (adding up to a total 1,665 metres drilled to date for this campaign). The results are encouraging. Drilling interceptions to date are shown below: HOLE From (m) To (m) Metres Au g/t VADD17-006 161.9 168.6 6.7 5.0 VADD17-007 165.2 167.1 2.0 3.3 VADD17-008 125.0 131.1 6.1 2.6 VADD17-009 170.5 175.3 4.9 1.8 VADD17-010 107.7 109.7 2.0 0.4 VADD17-011 107.6 110.2 2.6 5.8 VADD17-012 124.4 130.8 6.4 1.7 VADD17-013 97.5 99.0 1.5 1.5 VADD17-014 96.30 97.70 1.4 0.7 VADD17-015 155.4 157.0 1.6 1.6 VADD17-016 133.6 136.7 3.1 3.4 All 11 holes drilled to date at Veta A intersected mineralization, confirming the extension of the mineralized body for at least 140 metres downhole. The best mineralization intercepts show the continuity of the mineralized trend to the south-west down-deep. This indicates the strong potential for an increase in the volume of the mineralized structure, which may materially increase current reserves, albeit requiring further work. The block model was updated in-house during Q2 18 and a mine plan design is in progress to advance with the feasibility study. To view the full release, showing all maps and figures, please click here. Qualified Person's Statement The technical information related to the current assets of Orosur Mining in this presentation has been reviewed by Miguel Fuentealba, a Mining Engineer who is considered to be a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 reporting guidelines. Mr. Fuentealba is a graduate in Mining Engineering from the University of Santiago de Chile and is an AusIMM Member and Qualified Person of Chilean Mining Commission. Mr. Fuentealba has 20 years of professional experience in the field of mining engineering, mine development and management. Reserves and Resources stated in this announcement have the meaning ascribed to such terms under N.I. 43-101, and have been prepared on such basis and published in the Companys annual information form dated August 29, 2017. About Orosur Mining Inc. Orosur Mining Inc. (TSX: OMI; AIM: OMI) is a fully integrated gold producer, developer and explorer focused on identifying and advancing gold projects in South America. The Company operates the only producing gold mine in Uruguay (San Gregorio), and has assembled an exploration portfolio of high quality assets in Uruguay, Chile and Colombia. The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR"). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. If you have any queries on this, then please contact Ignacio Salazar, Chief Executive Officer of the Company (responsible for arranging release of this announcement) on: +1 (778) 373-0100. Forward Looking Statements All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained or incorporated by reference in this news release, including any information as to the future financial or operating performance of the Company, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the Securities Act (Ontario) and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are based on expectations estimates and projections as of the date of this news release. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Such statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties some of which are described in Section 8 of the Q2 2018 Management Discussion and Analysis, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation success of exploration activities; permitting time lines; the failure of plant; equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents; labour disputes; requirements for additional capital title disputes or claims and limitations on insurance coverage. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. Orosur Mining Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Financial Position Thousands of United States Dollars, except where indicated As at November 30, 2017 ($) As at May 31, 2017 ($) Assets Cash 2,064 3,357 Accounts receivable and other assets 1,706 1,519 Inventories 12,457 13,157 Total current assets 16,227 18,033 Accounts receivable and other assets 304 550 Property plant and equipment and development costs 18,331 16,160 Exploration and evaluation costs 20,756 17,677 Deferred income tax assets 3,115 3,115 Restricted cash 227 229 Total non-current assets 42,733 37,731 Total assets 58,960 55,764 Liabilities and Shareholders Equity Trade payables and other accrued liabilities 14,158 14,518 Current portion of long-term debt 1,626 202 Warrants 577 - Environmental rehabilitation provision 243 243 Total current liabilities 16,604 14,963 Long-term debt 147 201 Environmental rehabilitation provision 5,349 5,405 Total non-current liabilities 5,496 5,606 Total liabilities 22,100 20,569 Capital stock 63,461 61,162 Contributed surplus 5,880 5,836 Deficit (31,455 ) (30,913 ) Currency translation reserve (1,026 ) (890 ) Total shareholders equity 36,860 35,195 Total liabilities and shareholders equity 58,960 55,764 Orosur Mining Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of profit/ (loss) and Comprehensive profit/ (loss) Thousands of United States Dollars, except for loss per share amounts Three months ended November 30, Six months ended November 30, 2017 ($) 2016 ($) 2017 ($) 2016 ($) Sales 9,028 10,765 20,979 23,423 Cost of sales (7,708 ) (9,567 ) (19,480 ) (18,810 ) Gross profit 1,320 1,198 1,499 4,613 Corporate and administrative expenses (749 ) (704 ) (1,394 ) (1,143 ) Restructuring costs (750 ) 164 (810 ) 288 Exploration expenses and exploration written off (17 ) (2 ) (26 ) (11 ) Obsolescence provision (9 ) (12 ) (45 ) (100 ) Other income 1 507 130 857 Net finance cost (59 ) (45 ) (146 ) (90 ) Derivative profit/(loss) - 8 (10 ) (412 ) Net foreign exchange gain/(loss) 11 (87 ) 262 (188 ) (1,572 ) (231 ) (2,039 ) (887 ) Profit/(loss) before income tax (252 ) 967 (540 ) 3,726 Provision for income taxes 1 (25 ) (2 ) (25 ) Net profit/(loss) for the period (251 ) 942 (542 ) 3,701 Other comprehensive profit/(loss) Cumulative translation adjustment 142 (20 ) (136 ) (57 ) Total comprehensive profit/(loss) for the period (109 ) 922 (678 ) 3,644 Profit/(loss) per common share: Basic (0.00 ) 0.01 (0.00 ) 0.04 Diluted (0.00 ) 0.01 (0.00 ) 0.04 Orosur Mining Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Thousands of United States Dollars, except where indicated Six months ended November 30, 2017 ($) 2016 ($) Net inflow/(outflow) of cash related to the following activities Cash flow from operating activities Net profit/(loss) for the period (542 ) 3,701 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided from operating activities: Depreciation 4,064 2,829 Exploration and evaluation expenses written off 26 11 Obsolescence provision 45 100 Fair value of derivatives (20 ) 186 Accretion of asset retirement obligation 38 38 Stock based compensation 44 88 Gain on sale of property, plant and equipment (61 ) (14 ) Other 20 90 Subtotal 3,614 7,029 Changes in working capital: Accounts receivable and other assets 29 (249 ) Inventories 656 211 Trade payables and other accrued liabilities (360 ) 1,094 Net cash generated from operating activities 3,939 8,085 Cash flow from financing activities Loan payments (129 ) (127 ) Investment in Anillo 69 - Loans received 1,500 - Proceeds from private placement 2,894 - Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities 4,334 (127 ) Cash flow from investing activities Purchase of property, plant and equipment and development costs (6,164 ) (5,617 ) Environmental tasks (95 ) (145 ) Proceeds from the sale of fixed assets 10 18 Exploration and evaluation expenditure assets (3,317 ) (1,158 ) Net cash used in investing activities (9,566 ) (6,902 ) Increase/(decrease) in cash (1,293 ) 1,056 Cash at the beginning of period 3,357 4,320 Cash at the end of period 2,064 5,376 Orosur Mining Inc. Condensed Interim Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders Equity Thousands of United States Dollars, except where indicated Six months ended November 30, 2017 ($) 2016 ($) Capital stock Balance at beginning of period 61,162 60,751 Exercise of stock options - 174 Grant of shares - 34 Private placement 2,299 - Balance at end of period 63,461 60,959 Contributed surplus Balance at beginning of period 5,836 5,925 Stock based compensation recognized 44 83 Exercise of stock options - (102) Balance at end of period 5,880 5,906 Deficit Balance at beginning of period (30,913) (33,497) Net profit/(loss) for the period (542) 3,701 Balance at end of period (31,455) (29,796) Currency translation reserve (1,026) (1,041) Shareholders equity at end of period 36,860 36,028 View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180114005088/en/ Contact Orosur Mining Inc Ignacio Salazar, +1 (778) 373-0100 Chief Executive Officer info@orosur.ca or Cantor Fitzgerald Europe Nomad & Joint Broker David Porter/Keith Dowsing Tel: +44 (0) 20 7894 7000 or Numis Securities Limited Joint Broker John Prior / James Black / Paul Gillam Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 Hole IC1719 intersects true thickness 19.1 feet (5.8 meters) grading 0.46% CoEq (0.43%Co+0.30%Cu) within 61.2 feet (18.7 meters) grading 0.37% CoEq (0.30%Co+0.67%Cu) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- US Cobalt Inc. (the "Company") (TSXV:USCO) (Frankfurt:26X) (OTCQB:USCFF) announces analytical results from a further seven surface core holes drilled during 2017 at the Iron Creek project (the "Property") in Idaho, USA. All seven of these core holes encountered sulfide mineralization with significant cobalt values. Several of the holes have discovered much thicker cobalt-bearing zones not previously identified at Iron Creek. These mineralized zones occur in the footwall of the main No Name Zone. The interpretation of these results are allowing the expansion of the Companys search for cobalt mineralization outward from the previously targeted areas. The objective of the 40-hole, 2017 drilling campaign is to confirm the historical estimates of cobalt mineralization (see Company news release - September 7, 2016). The historical estimates are comprised of two zones with a gap along strike of approximately 400 feet (122 meters) between them. Hole IC1719, located in this area, intersected a true thickness of 19.1 feet (5.8 meters) grading 0.46% CoEq (0.43%Co+0.30%Cu). This intercept lies within a true thickness of 61.2 feet (18.7 meters) grading 0.37% CoEq (0.30%Co+0.67%Cu). [CoEq = Cobalt Equivalent; calculated as copper/10.58=CoEq]. IC1719 indicates the potential continuity of mineralization between the two areas of the historical estimates. Results of five additional holes completed in this gap will be released as they become available. Significant intervals (true thickness) in the current seven drill holes include: IC17-19: 19.1 feet (5.8 meters) grading 0.46% CoEq. (0.43%Co+0.30%Cu) within --61.2 feet (18.7 meters) grading 0.37% CoEq. (0.30%Co+0.67%Cu) --61.2 feet (18.7 meters) grading 0.37% CoEq. (0.30%Co+0.67%Cu) IC17-16: 9.3 feet (2.8 meters) grading 0.56% CoEq. (0.18%Co+4.05%Cu) within --21.9 feet (8.9 meters) grading 0.36% CoEq. (0.14%Co+2.39%Cu) --21.9 feet (8.9 meters) grading 0.36% CoEq. (0.14%Co+2.39%Cu) IC17-17: 23.1 feet (7.0 meters) grading 0.37% CoEq. (0.37%Co+0.001%Cu) within --78.2 feet (23.8 meters) grading 0.20% CoEq. (0.20%Co+0.001%Cu) --78.2 feet (23.8 meters) grading 0.20% CoEq. (0.20%Co+0.001%Cu) IC17-18: 4.7 feet (1.4 meters) grading 0.64% CoEq. (0.64%Co+0.02%Cu) IC17-20: 8.9 feet (2.7 meters) grading 0.44% CoEq. (0.16%Co+3.02%Cu) within --47.4 feet (14.4 meters) grading 0.20% CoEq. (0.07%Co+1.42%Cu) Additional previously unknown thicker intervals (true thickness) include: --47.4 feet (14.4 meters) grading 0.20% CoEq. (0.07%Co+1.42%Cu) Additional previously unknown thicker intervals (true thickness) include: IC17-14: 116 feet (35.4 meters) grading 0.12% CoEq. (0.09%Co+0.34%Cu) incl. IC17-16: 74.6 feet (22.7 meters) grading 0.18% CoEq. (0.16%Co+0.18%Cu) incl. --5.9 feet (1.8 meters) grading 0.32% CoEq. (0.32%Co+0.02%Cu) and incl. --9.6 feet (2.9 meters) grading 0.3% CoEq. (0.22%Co+0.96%Cu) and --6.5 feet (2.0 meters) grading 0.33% CoEq. (0.26%C0+0.75%Cu) --5.9 feet (1.8 meters) grading 0.32% CoEq. (0.32%Co+0.02%Cu) and incl. --9.6 feet (2.9 meters) grading 0.3% CoEq. (0.22%Co+0.96%Cu) and --6.5 feet (2.0 meters) grading 0.33% CoEq. (0.26%C0+0.75%Cu) IC17-17: 364.4 feet (111.1 meters) grading 0.13% CoEq. (0.11%Co+0.13%Cu) incl --10.6 feet (3.2 meters) grading 0.25% CoEq. (0.13%Co+1.23%Cu) and incl. --18.1 feet (5.5 meters) grading 0.26% CoEq. (0.25%Co+0.07%Cu) Sr. Vice President, Exploration, Brian Kirwin commented: "These exciting drill results continue to instill confidence in the historic work conducted by Noranda and Cominco, among others. The current results are very encouraging with respect to our goal of confirming the historic estimates. These drill results also indicate that mineralization may be continuous between the two zones which comprise the historic estimates. Further, the results confirm newly discovered cobalt-bearing zones in the footwall of the main No Name Zone, which will be targeted in our upcoming drilling. In response to the several very wide intercepts, the Company is expanding its sampling protocols." Wayne Tisdale, President, commented: "These are further excellent drill results, from one of the very few active cobalt drilling programs in North America. With cobalt prices near $34 per pound, near 8 year highs, Iron Creek is showing expanding potential and we are excited to continue exploration at the project, with drilling from underground expected to begin imminently. US Cobalt is conducting the first exploration program at Iron Creek in several decades. The Iron Creek Property covers a west-northwest striking, steeply northerly dipping mineralized zone named the No Name Zone which contains cobalt and copper mineralization in sulfides. The 2017 surface drilling campaign is complete and analysis of the samples continues. The 2017 drilling consists of 40 drill holes with a combined length of approximately 35,000 feet. The Company is building the geological and grade models for resource estimation. In anticipation of completing a resource estimate during 2018, the company has started density testing, mineralogical investigations, and will soon initiate metallurgical testing. A summary of the intercepts from the current drill holes are: Hole ID From feet To feet Drilled Length feet True Thick Feet True Thick Cobalt% CoEq% Meters Cu % IC17-14 62 394.5 332.5 116 35.4 0.34 0.09 0.12 including 62 240 178 58.3 17.8 0.23 0.11 0.13 which includes 75.7 92 16.3 5.3 1.6 0.01 0.2 0.2 and includes 105 130 25 11 3.4 0.08 0.12 0.12 and includes 145 185 40 14.5 4.4 0.19 0.14 0.16 and includes 210 240 30 10.6 3.2 0.92 0.12 0.21 and includes 275 394.5 119.5 41.5 12.6 0.56 0.06 0.11 which includes 365 394.5 29.5 10.2 3.1 0.61 0.11 0.16 IC17-15 164 172 8 4.2 1.3 0.04 0.13 0.13 and 185 229 44 23 7.0 0.17 0.23 0.25 which includes 215 225 10 5.4 1.6 0.04 0.31 0.31 and 245 295 50 27.8 8.5 0.12 0.11 0.13 and 340 375 35 18.1 5.5 0.47 0.08 0.13 and 438.6 442.8 8.3 2.2 0.7 0.02 0.16 0.16 and 462.6 491.6 29 14.8 4.5 0.01 0.11 0.11 and 725 735 10 5.2 1.6 0.004 0.14 0.14 IC17-16 41.7 160 118.3 74.6 22.7 0.18 0.16 0.18 which includes 61 70 9 5.9 1.8 0.02 0.32 0.32 and includes 115 130 15 9.6 2.9 0.96 0.21 0.3 and 210 230 20 12.4 3.8 0.49 0.18 0.23 which includes 219.5 230 10.5 6.5 2.0 0.73 0.26 0.33 and 250 296.8 46.8 29.1 8.9 2.39 0.14 0.36 which includes 260 275 15 9.3 2.8 4.05 0.18 0.56 and 410 540 130 82.2 25.1 0.003 0.15 0.15 which includes 415 425 10 6.25 1.9 0.002 0.21 0.21 which includes 470 490 20 12.5 3.8 0.001 0.25 0.25 which includes 530.5 540 9.5 6.2 1.9 0.002 0.22 0.22 IC17-17 154.5 665.5 511 364.4 111.1 0.13 0.11 0.13 which includes 154.5 245 90.5 63.4 19.3 0.14 0.1 0.12 which includes 225 245 20 14.1 4.3 0.33 0.18 0.21 and includes 290 350 60 42.9 13.1 0.59 0.08 0.14 which includes 290 305 15 10.6 3.2 1.23 0.13 0.25 and includes 370 435 65 46.9 14.3 0.09 0.18 0.18 which includes 410 435 25 18.14 5.5 0.07 0.25 0.26 and includes 470 495 25 18.15 5.5 0.05 0.15 0.15 which includes 480 487.5 7.5 5.44 1.7 0.03 0.27 0.27 and includes 519.5 625 105.5 78.15 23.8 0.002 0.2 0.2 which includes 585 616 36 23.05 7.0 0.001 0.37 0.37 and includes 655 665.5 10.5 7.8 2.4 0.01 0.15 0.15 IC17-18 245 265 20 18.5 5.6 1.97 0.06 0.24 and 445 460 15 14.1 4.3 0.84 0.04 0.11 and 486.2 491.2 5 4.7 1.4 0.02 0.64 0.64 IC17-19 121 185 64 61.2 18.7 0.67 0.3 0.37 which includes 130 150 20 19.13 5.8 0.30 0.43 0.46 and 205 217.4 12.4 11.9 3.6 0.60 0.12 0.18 and 292 328.8 36.3 35.5 10.8 0.52 0.15 0.2 which includes 322 328.3 6.3 6.1 1.9 0.04 0.41 0.41 and 365 393 28 27 8.2 0.01 0.23 0.23 which includes 370 383.6 13.6 13.13 4.0 0.003 0.37 0.37 and 435 445 10 9.7 3.0 0.003 0.15 0.15 IC17-20 425.5 481.6 56.1 47.4 14.4 1.42 0.07 0.2 which includes 452.5 463 10.5 8.87 2.7 3.02 0.16 0.44 and 562 568.5 6.5 5.76 1.8 0.10 0.17 0.18 and 608.1 661.7 53.6 47.2 14.4 0.002 0.1 0.1 which includes 657 661.7 4.7 4.15 1.3 0.002 0.33 0.33 and 902.5 912.5 10 9.3 2.8 0.02 0.14 0.14 and 983.2 992.6 9.4 8.7 2.7 2.66 0.12 0.37 As previously announced, The Project is leased from Chester Mining Company subject to the Company's buy-out rights. As previously announced, historic tonnage and grade estimates indicate that the Property contains 1,279,000 tons grading 0.59% cobalt please refer to the Company's news release dated September 7, 2016. Due to the age of the geological work done to establish current anticipated tonnage, the Company is treating these tonnage and grade estimates as historical estimates. The historical estimates do not use categories that conform to current CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves as outlined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and have not been redefined to conform to current CIM Definition Standards. They were prepared in the 1980s prior to the adoption and implementation of NI 43-101. The historical estimates are contained within a report entitled "Iron Creek Prospect, Lemhi County, Idaho (#0483) Progress Report" by Terry A Webster and Thomas K Stump for Noranda Exploration, Inc., July 1980, which report does not detail cut-off grades and metal prices used to estimate the historical mineralization and used a tonnage factor of 11 cubic feet per ton. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources. More work, including, but not limited to, drilling, will be required to confirm the estimates to current CIM Definition Standards. Investors are cautioned that the historical estimates do not mean or imply that economic deposits exist on the Property. Other than as provided for in this press release, the Company has not undertaken any independent investigation of the historical estimates or other information contained in this press release nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the accuracy of the information. The Company believes that the historical estimates and other information contained in this press release are relevant to continuing exploration on the Property because they identify significant mineralization that will be the target of the Company's exploration program. The drill samples and underground channel samples are collected by Company personnel or contractors working for the Company at the drill or portal. All of the Company's facilities are kept secure. The core is transported to the Company's core processing facility in Challis operated by Earl Waite and Sons Mining Contractors who are contracted by the Company. There the core is logged, cut and sampled and subsequently delivered to the laboratory. All facilities are secure. All core is logged for recovery and other geotechnical features, prior to being sawed lengthwise in half by the Company's contractors. Individual core samples are selected on a geological basis to characterize mineralization. The core is geologically logged and half core is stored on site as reference samples in a secure facility. The samples are bagged, labeled and tied at the core processing facility by the Company's contractors. Geologic information is recorded on standardized sample description forms which included color, rock type, alteration, mineral species and abundance. Samples are stored in a secure facility at the core processing site until delivered to the laboratory. Blanks, duplicates and standards are inserted at the core processing site as part of the QA/QC program. The drill samples were loaded directly from the core processing facility the truck of a shipping company and driven directly to the laboratory where the lab took custody directly from a Company employee. The sampling was overseen by Brian Kirwin, Senior Vice President Exploration for the Company. American Assay Laboratories (AAL) in Sparks, Nevada conducted the analyses of the drill core samples, and analyzed the Company's QA/QC samples at the same time, and the Company plans to utilize the services of AAL for the core samples. AAL is ISO / IEC 17025 certified and has successfully completed Canadian proficiency testing (CCRMP). Approximately 24% of the samples analyzed are control samples consisting of checks, blanks, and duplicates inserted by the Company - this is in addition to the control samples inserted by the lab. Correlation of the standards with expected values were excellent. At the AAL laboratory, the drill core samples were dried, weighed crushed to 85 % passing -6 mesh, roll crushed to 85% passing -10 mesh, split 250 gram pulps, then pulverized in a closed bowl ring pulverizer to 95 % passing -150 mesh, then analyzed by a 5 acid digestion for ICP analysis. Mr. Garry Clark, P. Geo., of Clark Exploration Consulting, is the "qualified person" as defined in NI 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the technical content in this press release. For additional information please contact: US Cobalt Inc. Wayne Tisdale, President T: (604) 639-4457 E: info@uscobaltinc.com Website: www.uscobaltinc.com. Reader Advisory This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the proposed exploration program on the Property. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada and globally; industry conditions, including governmental regulation and environmental regulation; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; liabilities inherent in mining operations; competition for, among other things, skilled personnel and supplies; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; geological, technical, processing and transportation problems; changes in tax laws and incentive programs; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and dispositions; and the other factors. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) Rappler was dealt a blow by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today, after it revoked the news organization's registration. In a 29-page decision dated January 11, the SEC said the company was liable for violating SEC rules by engaging in a fraudulent transaction and circumventing constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership. READ: SEC strips Rappler of license to do business The topic "Rappler" has been trending on Twitter since the news broke, however, netizen's reactions are varied, with some siding with the SEC: Hashtags showing support for Rappler have appeared on social media, however. Netizens are using #IStandWithRappler, #SupportRappler, and #DefendPressFreedom are showing up on Twitter: Marga Deona, a multimedia producer of Rappler, allayed fears that the organization would be closing today. In a tweet, she said: "To friends worrying if we're shutting down today - no, we aren't. This is not executory at the moment, and we're taking this to court. Thank you for supporting @rapplerdotcom, for believing in what we stand for. For now, it's business as usual. Back to work." To friends worrying if we're shutting down today no, we aren't. This is not executory at the moment, and we're taking this to court. Thank you for supporting @rapplerdotcom, for believing in what we stand for. For now, it's business as usual. Back to work. Marga Deona (@margadeona) January 15, 2018 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Azincourt Energy Corp. (Azincourt or the Company) (TSX-V:AAZ) is pleased to announce it has entered into a definitive property agreement with New Age Metals (TSX.V:NAM) (the Optionor), and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Lithium Canada Development Inc., pursuant to which it will acquire the option (the Option) to earn up to one-hundred percent (100%) in a series of five lithium exploration projects located in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, Manitoba, Canada (collectively, the Projects). Figure 1 Project Location Map The agreement covers the Lithium One, Lithium Two, Lithman West, Lithman East and Lithman North projects. The land package included in this agreement represents the largest mineral claim holdings (6000 hectares) of projects for the lithium group or type of minerals in the Bird River Greenstone Belt, which contains the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field. The Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field is host to numerous lithium-rich pegmatites in addition to the world-class Tanco Pegmatite, a highly fractionated lithium-cesium-tantalum (LCT) type pegmatite that has been mined at the Tanco Mine since 1969 for spodumene (a major rock unit for lithium (Li)), tantalum (Ta), cesium (Cs), rubidium (Rb), and beryllium (Be) ores. Three of the five projects are drill ready: Lithium Two Project * Historical estimate from drilling in 1947 defined 545,000 tonnes of 1.4% Li2O, drilled to a depth of 60 meters Field work in 2016 confirmed that the Eagle and FD5 Pegmatites contained significant surface spodumene 12 samples collected returned a range of 0.02% to 3.04% Li2O from the Eagle Pegmatite, and up to 2.08% Li2O from the FD5 Pegmatite The Eagle Pegmatite is ~1100 meters in length, up to 12 meters wide and open to depth Project is adjacent to Quantum Minerals Corp (TSX.V: QMC) Cat Lake Lithium Project (aka Irgon Lithium Mine) * Note: The mineral reserve estimate cited above as part of the Lithium Two project is presented as a historical estimate which does not conform to current NI43-101 standards. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Although the historical estimates are believed to be based on reasonable assumptions, they were calculated prior to the implementation of National Instrument 43-101 standards. These historical estimates therefore do not meet current standards as defined under sections 1.2 and 1.3 of NI 43-101; consequently, the issuer is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Lithium One Project Field work in 2016 sampled several historical pegmatites Grab samples of the pegmatitic granites and pegmatites in the project area returned values from 0.00 to 4.33% Li2O with the high values obtained at the Silverleaf Pegmatite Several of the other pegmatites in the project area yielded lithium values from lepidolite and spodumene Approximately 40 pegmatites are estimated to exist north of Greer Lake with around 100 to the south of the lake The Silverleaf Pegmatite was excavated and mined for spodumene in the 1920s, with surface exposure of 80 m X 45 m Several drill ready targets Lithman West Project Historical rock and soil geochemical anomalies Anomalies have not been drill tested Drill ready The Lithman West and East projects are adjacent to the Tanco Mine lease property. Tanco Mine is an underground cesium, spodumene and tantalum mine. The mine has the largest known deposit of pollucite and is also the world's largest producer of cesium. The pegmatite ore body now mined by the Tanco Mine was discovered in the late 1920s. Major minerals found in the mine include spodumene (lithium bearing), amblygonite (lithium bearing), pollucite (cesium bearing), and beryl (beryllium bearing) and a host of tantalum bearing minerals. The additional projects contained in this agreement, Lithman East (adjacent to Tanco) and Lithman North, represent prospective exploration areas that require additional ground work to determine drill targets. This definitive agreement highlights Azincourt Energys continued determination to be part of the solution to the increasing demand for battery metals, for today and tomorrows EV revolution, stated Chairman Ian Stalker. We continue to look to unlock shareholder value from previously worked properties that have distinct promise and where our team can add input from their collective experience. We are also please to be working with the New Age Metals team and look forward to utilizing their knowledge of the projects to date. The work that will commence on these properties, along with the work underway on our uranium focused properties, shows the Companys commitment to this energy demanding environment, continued Mr. Stalker. Our corporate strategy is to identify, acquire and develop highly prospective projects that will add immediate value in addition to presenting measurable upside, said Alex Klenman, president and CEO. The addition of the Manitoba lithium properties is but one step in this process. We are currently conducting due diligence on additional projects in the clean energy-clean fuel space that would expand our portfolio and continue to add value, continued Mr. Klenman Terms Pursuant to terms of the Option, the Company can acquire a fifty percent (50%) interest in the Projects by: (i) completing a series of cash payments totaling $200,000 over an eighteen-month period, (ii) issuing 1,000,000 common shares over a thirty-six-month period, and (iii) completing a minimum of $2,100,000 of exploration expenditures on the Projects prior to August 31, 2020. Once the Company has acquired this interest, it can acquire a further ten percent (10%) interest in the Projects by completing the issuance of a further 1,000,000 common shares, and incurring further exploration expenditures of at least $750,000 prior to October 31, 2021. The remaining forty percent (40%) interest in the Projects can be acquired by completing the issuance of a further 1,000,000 common shares, and incurring expenditures of at least $1,000,000 prior to October 31, 2022. Once the Company has acquired a one-hundred percent (100%) interest in the Projects, it will grant to the Optionor a two percent (2%) net smelter returns royalty on commercial production from the Projects. In addition, the Projects are subject to an existing one percent (1%) royalty on lithium production from the Projects which can be purchased for a one-time cash payment of $250,000. All securities issued in connection with the property option will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period. The property option remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The contents contained herein, which relates to Exploration Results or Mineral Resources, is based on information compiled, reviewed or prepared by Carey Galeschuk, Principal Consulting Geoscientist for New Age Metals. Mr. Galeschuk is a Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release. About Azincourt Energy Corp. Azincourt Energy Corp. is a Canadian-based resource company specializing in the strategic acquisition, exploration and development of alternative energy/fuel projects, focusing on uranium, lithium, cobalt, and other critical energy & fuel elements. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF AZINCOURT ENERGY CORP. J. Ian Stalker J. Ian Stalker, Chairman Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release includes forward-looking statements, including forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Azincourt. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information represents managements best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. For further information please contact: J. Ian Stalker Tel: 604-638-8063 info@azincourtenergy.com A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d2ced9da-3cd5-489f-951a-f0b8ffa7a2e4 VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - January 15, 2018) - Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: MRO) (OTCQX: MLRKF) ("Millrock" or "the Company") is pleased to provide an update on its exploration activities, an overview of the Company's goals and growth plans for 2018, as well as a review of 2017 accomplishments. Millrock continues to rigorously follow the Project Generator-Joint Venture business model and in 2017 took advantage of the numerous acquisitions it has made over the past few years. "Metal prices and investor interest fluctuated significantly over the year, but despite the market fluctuations, we were successful in delivering on the two areas most important to our approach to early-stage mineral exploration: new funding partnerships and new project generation," stated Company President and CEO Greg Beischer, when reflecting back on 2017. In 2017, exploration expenditures exceeded US$5 million, of which 90% was funded by partners through earn-in option agreements. Exploration work was completed on nine projects and Millrock attracted two new earn-in partners. Revenue from property payments and exploration management fees helped to offset overhead costs. The following is a highlight of Millrock's most-notable advancements: 2017 A Year in Review Generation, Partnerships, & Exploration Alaska: Liberty Bell Gold Project (In partnership with Kinross) Millrock announced that it entered into an Option to Joint Venture Agreement with an affiliate of Kinross Gold Corp. on its Liberty Bell project in Alaska. Kinross can earn a 70% interest in the project by making exploration expenditures of US$5.0 million over four years, and Millrock is entitled to receive advanced minimum royalty payments and management fees as the project operator. During the summer field season, Millrock executed a geochemical exploration program on the project, with more than 1,600 soil samples, as well as stream sediments and rock samples being collected from the property. Plans for follow up work, including drilling, are currently being formulated. Stellar Copper-Gold Project (In partnership with PolarX) Millrock sold its Stellar copper-gold project for an equity stake in a new Alaska exploration and development company -- PolarX Limited (ASX: PXX). Induced Polarization geophysical surveys were completed in advance of a 2,055m drilling program designed to delineate the high-grade copper-gold mineralization at the Zackly prospect. Indicators for a larger scale porphyry copper-gold deposit were confirmed. A major exploration program is being contemplated by PolarX. Millrock presently owns 10.74% of the issued and outstanding shares of PolarX and is entitled to certain milestone and royalty payments on portions of the project. Millrock operates exploration on the project in return for a management fee. Mexico: Strategic Alliance with Centerra Gold Throughout 2017 Millrock worked with Centerra Gold in a strategic alliance agreement focused on gold projects in Sonora, Mexico. Under the alliance, Millrock executed generative exploration and evaluated prospective properties to develop gold exploration projects. The agreement was concluded at the end of 2017. The most significant outcome was the formulation of the El Picacho gold project. El Picacho Gold Project (In partnership with Centerra Gold) This project targets orogenic gold deposits. A number of prospects were identified in 2017 through prospecting, geological mapping, soil geochemical surveys and magnetic and induced polarization geophysical surveys. Further work plans are being formulated for each prospect. Drilling of the best prospects is being contemplated later in the year. Centerra Gold can earn an 80% interest by making exploration expenditures, as well as cash payments to the underlying third-party owner of the mineral and surface rights. La Navidad Gold Project (In partnership with Centerra Gold) Millrock acquired an option on La Navidad Gold Project and shortly after made a joint venture agreement with Centerra Gold. A comprehensive surface exploration program was executed to expand upon gold intersections known from historic drilling. A drilling program consisting of 2,200m in twelve holes was completed in December. Results are pending. Violeta Gold Project Millrock sold its Violeta concession, bringing in $10,000 and 100,000 Riverside shares, as well as a 0.5% Net Smelter Returns royalty. British Columbia: Oweegee Dome Copper-Gold Porphyry Project (In partnership with Sojourn Exploration) Millrock entered into an agreement to option the Oweegee Dome and Willoughby projects to Sojourn Exploration in return for a 12.6% stake in the company, and royalty interests. Promptly after the agreement was signed, a comprehensive stream sediment sampling and targeted soil sampling program on the Oweegee Dome project was executed. The work, which was funded by Sojourn, indicated strongly anomalous metal concentrations in the immediate vicinity of several of the high-potential geophysical targets. The targets are ready to drill. Willoughby Gold Project (In partnership with Sojourn Exploration) At Willoughby, where high-grade gold has been intersected by historic drilling, prospecting was carried out along the edges of receding alpine glaciers. A new mineralized zone was discovered and drilling is the next step for the project. Todd Creek Gold Project (Millrock funded) Millrock carried out a property-wide stream sediment sampling program in 2017. Two new prospect areas were identified and Millrock is presently negotiating an earn-in agreement with a funding partner. Corporate Advancements In February 2017, Millrock was named to the 2017 OTCQX Best 50, a ranking of the top performing companies traded on the OTCQX market in the previous year. Out of more than 400 companies, Millrock ranked in the top ten with a change in Average Daily $ Volume of 1,341% and a 2016 Total Return of 118%. To close the year, Millrock completed a $1.7M private placement, strengthening its cash position and setting the foundation for 2018. The company intends to continue to rigorously follow the Project Generator business model throughout 2018 and outlines the following key catalysts and growth plans for the year: 2018 -- Corporate Update Growth Plans and Potential Catalysts "We continue to carry forward into 2018 the spirit of optimism that has proved so valuable for us over the previous years. The cycle has changed for the better and Millrock is well situated to take advantage. We have a number of strong chances to make a transformative mineral deposit discovery in the year ahead." stated Gregory Beischer. Some key milestones Millrock intends to execute on are: Drilling at the Alaska Range copper-gold project, Alaska; Drilling at the Liberty Bell gold project, Alaska; Developing partnerships on projects in the Golden Triangle District, British Columbia; Developing new partnerships on gold, silver and zinc projects in Mexico; Further drilling at the La Navidad gold project, Mexico; Drilling at the El Picacho gold project, Mexico; and New projects and new partnerships in the southwest USA, Alaska, Mexico, and British Columbia. The technical information within this document has been reviewed and approved by Gregory A. Beischer, President, CEO and a director of Millrock Resources. Mr. Beischer is a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43-101. About Millrock Resources Inc. Millrock Resources Inc. is a premier project generator to the mining industry. Millrock identifies, packages and operates large-scale projects for joint venture, thereby exposing its shareholders to the benefits of mineral discovery without the usual financial risk taken on by most exploration companies. The company is active in Alaska, British Columbia, the southwest USA and Sonora State, Mexico. Funding for drilling at Millrock's exploration projects is primarily provided by its joint venture partners. Business partners of Millrock have included some of the leading names in the mining industry: Centerra Gold, First Quantum, Teck, Kinross, Vale, Inmet, and Altius. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "Gregory Beischer" Gregory A. Beischer, President & CEO Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include without limitation the completion of planned expenditures, the ability to complete exploration programs on schedule and the success of exploration programs. "NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE." TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avidian Gold Corp. (TSXV:AVG) (the Corporation or Avidian) is pleased to report the results from its mapping and sampling program at the 100% owned Golden Zone project, Alaska. Highlights include: Figure 1: Mineral Occurrence Locations and Names, Surface Gold Sample Results with Follow up Areas Highlighted Gold mineralization grading > 1 g/t Au can be traced along a trend of 8 km long. Surface sampling and trenching uncovered numerous high-grade gold occurrences of > 4 g/t Au to > 25 g/t Au plus Ag base metals; such as a 11.0 g/t Au, 2,550 g/t Ag, 0.24% Cu, 14.3% Pb and 2.54% Zn from a grab sample. The discovery of a new mineralized breccia located approximately 500 m west of the known Breccia Pipe Deposit. Grab samples from this new discovery have gold and silver values that range from 15 ppb Au to 14.64 g/t Au and 0.6 g/t Ag to 355 g/t Ag. This new discovery referred to as Breccia Pipe West is proximal to a 1.5 km long feldspar-biotite porphyry. Quartz veined sediments immediately adjacent to a quartz stockwork granite returned 4.8 g/t Au, 106 g/t Ag and 1.41% Cu from a grab sample. Polymetallic mineralization in conglomerates is a mineralization style that has not previously been explored, but for which there appears to be significant potential as a number of conglomeratic units have been mapped on the property with sample results such as 1.51 g/t Au, 67.0 g/t Ag and 1.05% Cu (grab sample) and 6.1 m of 13.8 g/t Au, 34.4 g/t Ag and 0.85% Cu (historical trench). Known mineralization on the property is proximal to intrusive bodies, analogous to what is observed in many of the large gold deposits within the Tintina Gold Belt. The Golden Zone property lies within the gold endowed Tintina Belt, is located 320 km north of Anchorage, Alaska and is accessed by a 16 km road west of the main transportation route between Anchorage and Fairbanks. The property is comprised of a 2,960 acre Uplands Mining Lease with an expiry date of 2050, surrounded by 92 State of Alaska claims totaling 11,600 acres and a nearby, non-contiguous, 40-acre Mill Site Lease. Mineralization styles on the property are directly associated with Intrusive Gold Related Systems with numerous polymetallic, gold-dominated mineral showings contained within three northeast trending fault-bounded belts or corridors, named from northwest to southeast, the Golden Zone, Long Creek and Silver Dikes corridors. The mineral showings are generally hosted within north to northeast trending sedimentary units of intermixed siltstone/sandstone/conglomerates that are often offset by west/northwest trending structures. These cross-structures, evident from the airborne magnetic survey map, likely provided the conduits for the fluids responsible for much of the mineralization in the sedimentary units. All the known mineralization on the property is spatially associated with Cretaceous age intrusive rocks that have been identified through mapping and or airborne/ground geophysics. The intrusive bodies on the property range from equigranular to porphyritic intrusives such as monzodiorite in the northern portion of the property to more quartz porphyritic granites towards the southern portion of the property. The nature of the gold-bearing showings on the property are variable and include the dominant mineralized deposit styles associated with Intrusive Gold Related Systems such as: 1) shallow level style mineralization: breccias, quartz-arsenopyrite-sulphide veins, stockwork/disseminated veins, shear zone mineralization; 2) peripheral style mineralization: skarn, precious/base metal veins and shear zone mineralization, and: 3) intrusion hosted mineralization: sheeted veins and stockwork vein systems. The 2017 work program included historical data compilation, geological mapping and prospecting, trenching, rock and soil sampling, 43 line km of IP surveying and 2,578 m of diamond drilling. The geophysical and drilling results will be reported in separate press releases. It should be noted that, due to their selective nature, assay results from grab samples reported in this press release may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the property. Surface Sampling Program Results The 2017 surface sampling program was comprised of 175 trench samples, 752 surface grab samples and 155 soil samples. These results combined with the 2016 Avidian sampling program (257 grab samples) along with historical sample results (1,435 surface grabs, 18,000 trench and drill hole samples) define an 8 km strike length of gold mineralization grading > 1 g/t Au within the northeast trending Golden Zone and Long Creek corridors. Within these corridors there are numerous high-grade gold occurrences of > 4 g/t Au to > 25 g/t Au plus Ag base metal mineralization (see Figure 1). Mineralization within the Golden Zone Corridor can be traced in excess of 5 km in strike length (Riverside mineral occurrence to south of the Breccia Pipe deposit and remains underexplored further to the southwest) and contains some of the highest gold values on the property, such as 177.5 g/t Au from a 0.3 m wide quartz-arsenopyrite vein and 1.49 m of 34.6 g/t Au from a historical channel sample. Approximately 1.5 km southwest of the Riverside occurrence there is a hornblende porphyry body over which anomalous gold (>25 ppb with a high value of 156 ppb Au) and As (>100 ppb with a high value of 1,035 ppm As) results were obtained from the 2017 soil sampling program. A northeast striking zone 150 m wide by 600 m long, open to the northeast, can be defined using a threshold of 0.5 standard deviation above the mean. This area will require further follow up as gold mineralization on the property is generally associated with As anomalism and this area is completely unexplored. The Golden Zone Corridor sampling program also resulted in the discovery of a new mineralized breccia, referred to as Breccia Pipe West. It is located approximately 500 m west of the known Breccia Pipe deposit that contains a NI 43-101 Indicated gold resource of 267,400 ounces and an Inferred gold resource of 35,900 ounces. Mineralized grab samples from this new discovery returned values ranging from 15 ppb Au to 14.64 g/t Au and 0.6 g/t Ag to 355 g/t Ag, plus base metals outlined over an area of 200 m by 50 m and proximal to a 1.5 km long feldspar-biotite porphyry. This proximity to a porphyry is considered highly relevant as the main Breccia Pipe deposit is confined to a plug-like monzodiorite porphyry, which is known to be mineralized, some of which falls into the existing 2016 mineral resource. The Long Creek Corridor, located east of the Golden Zone Corridor, hosts the Copper King, Long Creek and South Long Creek occurrences. These occurrences contain gold as well as some of the strongest copper mineralization found on the property. The mineralization in these occurrences collectively can be traced in excess of 2 km long and remains under-explored to the northeast and southwest (see Figure 1). At the Copper King prospect mapping indicates the mineralization is proximal to a quartz eye porphyritic granite (exposed over 200 m in strike length). The gold/base metal mineralization occurs as: semi-massive sulphide in a skarn, such as found within a historical trench grading 13.72 m of 7.01 g/t Au, 94.1 g/t Ag and 4.0% Cu and intersected in a historical drill hole that returned 7.62 m @ 4.94 g/t Au, 76.7 g/t Ag and 3.52% Cu; disseminated chalcopyrite and molybdenite in a quartz eye porphyritic granite; mineralization proximal to a quartz stockwork granite that returned 4.8 g/t Au, 106 g/t Ag and 1.41% Cu from a grab sample; disseminated chalcopyrite in a conglomeratic unit (grab sample of 1.51 g/t Au, 67.0 g/t Ag and 1.05% Cu); chalcopyrite associated with a mafic dike (grab sample of 1.44 g/t Au, 87.5 g/t Ag and 3.29% Cu); and chalcopyrite stringers in siltstones (6.1 m of 1.09 g/t Au, 9.17 g/t Ag and 0.36% Cu in a historical drill hole). Limited work has been conducted on the Long Creek and South Long Creek occurrences but known mineralization is impressive with a number of high grade gold, silver and base metal showings. The mineralization at Long Creek is exposed along a river cut that runs perpendicular to the strike of the geology (intermixed sedimentary units) with high grade mineralized grab samples and historical trenches exposed along a strike length of at least 200 m. An example at the Long Creek occurrence includes 6.1 m of 13.8 g/t Au, 34.4 g/t Ag and 0.85% Cu from a trench in mineralized conglomerate. This exposure is located approximately 1 km south of the conglomeratic unit(s) noted above at the Copper King showing. At the South Long Creek 11.0 g/t Au, 2,550 g/t Ag, 0.24% Cu, 14.3% Pb and 2.54% Zn was obtained from a grab sample of an arsenopyrite-quartz-carbonate vein. This mineralization is proximal to quartz eye porphyritic granite dikes. Exploration programs in 2018 will focus on expanding the identified areas of interest (see Figure 1) followed by drilling of priority targets. Quality Control/Quality Assurance Sampling included insertion of certified standards and blanks into the stream of samples for chemical analysis. Every tenth drill hole sample was a standard or a blank, and every twentieth surface sample was a standard or a blank. Samples were prepared at ALS Chemexs laboratory in Fairbanks, Alaska and shipped to their Vancouver and Reno facilities for gold analysis by fire assay and other elements by ICP analysis. ALS is a certified and accredited laboratory service. Gold results varied from below detection to a high of 47.3 g/t Au. The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Dr. Tom Setterfield, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of Avidian, who is a Qualified Person as defined in "National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects." Historical assays mentioned herein have been verified through a review of assay certificates and field data, but may have not necessarily been resampled by the Corporation. Further detailed information on the Golden Zone property along with historical references and those that have been resampled and verified by an independent QP can be found in the Technical report dated August 17, 2017 prepared by Leon McGarry, B.Sc., P.Geo and Ian D. Trinder, M.Sc., P.Geo (the Technical Report) that has been posted on SEDAR. It should be noted that, due to their selective nature, assay results from grab samples may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the property. About Avidian Gold The Corporation is an exploration and development company whose primary business interest is in four advanced gold properties located in the USA: the Golden Zone and Amanita properties, situated in southcentral Alaska, and the Jungo and Dome Hill properties located in Nevada, each held 100% by the Corporation. The Golden Zone property hosts a NI 43-101 (2017) Indicated gold resource of 267,400 ounces (4,187,000 tonnes at 1.99 g/t Au) plus an Inferred gold resource of 35,900 ounces (1,353,000 tonnes at 0.83 g/t Au). The deposit is exposed on surface and is open at depth and along strike. Avidian also holds a 100% interest in the Strickland massive sulphide property located in Newfoundland, Canada. Reference to Indicated and Inferred gold resource provided above has been obtained from the Technical Report. Further details on the Corporation and the individual projects can be found on the Corporations website at www.avidiangold.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Dino Titaro, President & CEO Tel. +1 (647) 283 7600 The TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forward-Looking Statements: This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward- looking statements". Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate, and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities and events or developments that the Corporation expects, are forward-looking statements. Although the Corporation believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward- looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or managements estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Figure 1 accompanying this press release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8b777c30-1326-4793-90b4-250ca6fc52e1 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) Lava is slowly flowing out of the crater of Mayon Volcano as of Monday morning, authorities said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported pyroclastic flow, which contains fragments, ash and volcanic gas. Although the volcano is not yet "explosive," authorities are not discounting the possibility of an eruption. PHIVOLCS raised the alert level over Mayon Volcano in Albay to level 3 on Sunday night, meaning there is an "increased tendency toward eruption." Here are more details on what has been happening in Albay since the ashfall in communities near the volcano. What's happening? The volcano has been spewing ash since late Saturday afternoon, with ash plumes going as high as three kilometers, and rocks falling out of Mayon's mouth. PHIVOLCS Director Renato Solidum said they have monitored two volcanic earthquakes since Sunday morning. Three phreatic or steam-driven eruptions have been recorded as of Sunday, prompting residents to flee to safety. How are residents affected? The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said more than 4,300 residents within the volcano's 7-kilometer radius have evacuated and sought shelter in schools. Albay resident Engr. Bert Recamunda told CNN Philippines on Monday, the military will force residents to leave should they refuse to evacuate. The most affected areas are 10 barangays in Camalig, Guinobatan, and Malilipot in the province of Albay. Class suspensions, flight cancellations Classes from kinder to senior high school in all public and private schools in the province have been suspended starting Monday. Solidum said residents have been asked to use face masks and damp cloths as protection from the ashfall. "Meron naman kaming masks na ready. But then tumatama sa mata yung ashfalls nya eh... Ma-feel mo talaga na may ash na pag-inhale mo. Mapapaubo ka, mapapa-throat clearing ka," Recamunda added. Philippine Airlines' flights to and from Legazpi, Albay have not been affected by Mayon's activities except for a few delays, PAL Corporate Communications Head Cielo Villaluna said. "The only effect has been flight delays of Manila-Legazpi and Legazpi-Manila flights, ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour," Villaluna said. Meanwhile, two Cebu Pacific Air flights to and from Legazpi were cancelled. 5J 321/322 Manila-Legazpi-Manila 5J 323/324 Manila-Legazpi-Manila Mayon Volcano alert levels The volcano has been on Alert Level 3 since Sunday night. If it hits Level 4, PHIVOLCS said it means hazardous eruption is imminent. Persistent and low frequency earthquakes are expected. The agency will also need to extend the Permanent Danger Zone to 8 kilometers. A hazardous eruption would lead to a Level 5, which means pyroclastic flows, tall eruption columns, and extensive ashfall could happen. When did Mayon Volcano last erupt? PHIVOLCS had recorded 51 eruptions, as of 2017. The most destructive one was on February 1, 1814, when volcanic materials buried the town of Cagsawa, located some 11 kilometers from Mayon, leaving 2,000 dead. Only the bell tower of the town church was left standing. On August 7, 2006, Alert Level 4 was raised, where the Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) was extended to 8 kilometers. Although it did not result to deaths, four months later some 1,000 were killed when heavy rains brought by Typhoon Reming caused volcanic mud to flow. On August 12, 2014, a 30-to-50-meter-high lava dome shot up from the summit's crater. On September 2014, thousands were evacuated as Alert Level 3 was raised due to an escalation of unrest. Mayon Volcano fast facts Mayon Volcano is located in Albay province, over 300 kilometers southeast of Manila. The majestic volcano stands 8,075 feet high. Despite being an active volcano, Mayon remains one of the country's best sights because of its picturesque, symmetric near-perfect conical shape. Description GIS - 15 January, 2018: Mauritius and Australia are gearing efforts towards further building and consolidating the existing ties between the two countries as well as reinforcing the people to people relationship. Mauritius and Australia are gearing efforts towards further building and consolidating the existing ties between the two countries as well as reinforcing the people to people relationship. This was at the fore of discussions during a courtesy call by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Mr Tony Smith, on the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, on 12 January 2018 at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis. In a statement, Mr Tony Smith spoke about the strong collaboration between Australia and Mauritius in the education sphere in addition to the growing business linkages. He also expressed interest to furthering the parliament to parliament relationship which he said will eventually strengthen the bond among parliamentarians. The Speaker of the House of Representatives Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia is the first to visit Mauritius in his capacity. Mr Tony Smith was elected 30th Speaker of the House of Representatives in August 2015 and was re-elected as Speaker in August 2016. Flavio Briatore said he hopes Fernando Alonso can "return to the podium" in 2018. As Alonso's management impresario, the former Renault boss was among those who helped broker the Spaniard's ill-fated move to McLaren-Honda. Now, McLaren is dumping Honda and Briatore backs Alonso's decision to stay with the British team for a fourth consecutive year and its new customer Renault engine era. "Fernando's extra time at McLaren is testament to his great loyalty to the team," the Italian told France's Auto Hebdo. "Fernando never expected to encounter so many reliability problems with the Honda engine. For three years, the team also suffered from a lack of performance, but Fernando has decided to stay. "He knows the Renault people very well and what to expect from the engine. I hope he can return to the podium this year," Briatore said. (GMM) Valtteri Bottas says he expects this year's Mercedes car to suit him better. The Finn arrived at the German team unexpectedly early in 2017, after new world champion Nico Rosberg suddenly quit. "Although very fast, the car was rarely perfect for me," Bottas now tells Finland's Turun Sanomat. "But from what I've seen of the new car, I think everything will be in a better direction." He confirmed that "there are differences" between his and world champion Lewis Hamilton's driving styles. "I believe that everything I learned in the past season will help me in the future," Bottas said. (GMM) F1 is heading for trademark trouble after launching its new official logo. Some fans were dismayed late last season when Liberty Media revealed that it is replacing the sport's iconic 'flying F' logo of the Bernie Ecclestone era. But also dismayed is the stationary company 3M, according to F1 business journalist Christian Sylt. He wrote in the Telegraph that the new F1 logo "bears a striking resemblance" to an existing 'F' logo already registered by 3M for a brand of compression tights. A 3M spokesman said: "We have not had any discussions about the logo with the other party. We are looking into this matter further." (GMM) The new generation is now based off of Volkswagens MQB platform; compared with the current car, the new Jetta grows outside in every direction. It offers a longer wheelbase105.7 inches compared to 104.4 incheswith shorter overhangs, and is longer, wider and taller than the outgoing model. The increased exterior proportions add up to more interior space than the previous car as well. Volkswagen of America, Inc., unveiled the new 2019 Jetta at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The Jetta is one of the worlds most successful sedans, with more than 17 million models sold worldwide since it was introduced in 1979; more than 3.2 million of those vehicles have been sold in the United States. The new Jetta will continue to be powered by Volkswagens 1.4-liter turbocharged and direct-injection TSI engine, making 147 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque, the highest in the compact sedan class. The power is taken to the front wheels via a new standard six-speed manual transmission, with an eight-speed automatic transmission optional on the base model and standard on higher trims. Automatic transmission models come standard with a Start/Stop system designed to improve fuel efficiency. The driver-oriented cockpit features an infotainment screen placed high in the dashboard, making all vehicle information easily accessible to the driver. Every Jetta offers standard Driver Personalization with up to four driver settings. Dependent on trim, customizable features include: driver seat memory, driver assistance system preferences, temperature, Volkswagen Digital Cockpit arrangement (if equipped), ambient lighting color, radio presets, navigation view, and more. Jetta SEL and SEL Premium models feature a standard Volkswagen Digital Cockpit display, offering drivers a reconfigurable display of key data and the ability to position navigation data front and center for easy viewing. The available Volkswagen Car-Net system provides a suite of connected vehicle services, including standard App-Connect technology that offers compatible smartphone integration with the three major platforms: Apple Car Play, Android Auto and MirrorLink. A rearview camera comes standard and available features include: Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking (Front Assist); Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Traffic Alert; Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), upgraded for use in stop and go traffic; High Beam Control (Light Assist); and Lane Departure Warning (Lane Assist), which actively helps the driver steer the car back into its lane should the vehicle start drifting into another lane without using the turn signal. In addition, the 2019 Jetta offers a combination of both passive and active safety systems that are engineered to meet or exceed current crash regulations. These systems include the class-exclusive Automatic Post-Collision Braking System. Despite all the additional premium features and technology, the all-new 2019 Jetta pricing starts at $18,545$100 less than the outgoing base model. The 2019 Volkswagen Jetta will be available in S, SE, SEL, and SEL Premium trim levels and is expected to arrive at US Volkswagen dealers in the second quarter of 2018. An R-Line trim will join the lineup at launch and features sportier styling, exclusive interior and exterior design elements, R-Line badging, and the XDS electronic differential. Story updated to include statement of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is revoking news agency Rappler's license to do business. In a 29-page decision dated January 11, the SEC cancelled Rappler's certificate of incorporation and referred its decision to the Department of Justice for "appropriate action." The decision covers Rappler, Inc., the media entity, and Rappler Holdings Corp. The SEC said the company was liable for violating SEC rules by engaging in a fraudulent transaction and circumventing constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership. According to SEC, Rappler "intentionally created an elaborate scheme" to justify the receipt of over a $1 million from a foreign investor, Omidyar Network (ON). ON is an investment company owned by eBay auction site founder Pierre Omidyar. It further said Rappler is a "mass media entity that sold control to foreigners," and it undertook a "deceptive scheme to circumvent the Constitution." The Constitution prohibits foreign ownership in media institutions. Rappler has repeatedly said it is owned and managed by Filipinos. It was founded in 2012 by a team led by veteran journalist Maria Ressa. The SEC decision was signed by Chairperson Teresita Herbosa, and Commissioners Antonieta Ibe, Ephyro Luis Amatong, and Emilio Aquino. The fourth commissioner, Blas James Viterbo, did not take part in the final ruling. Rappler to go to court Rappler CEO Maria Ressa announced in a media briefing on Monday they will question the decision in court. "If warranted, we will even go to the Supreme Court... This is a press freedom case, because the decision was just so quick," Rappler's Investigative Desk head Chay Hofilena added. In a post addressing its readers on Monday, Rappler decried the decision as "pure and simple harassment," an attack on freedom of the press. It said the ruling was "first of its kind in history both for the Commission and for Philippine media." Ressa and Hofilena said they will not back down against efforts to silence critical media. "We will continue bringing you the news, holding the powerful to account for their actions and decisions, calling attention to government lapses that further disempower the disadvantaged," Rappler wrote in its editorial statement. "We will hold the line... We ask you to stand with us again at this difficult time," it added. SEC claims deceit In recounting the facts of the case, SEC said in 2013 and 2014, Rappler, Inc. received over $1 million from foreign investors. This was supposedly in exchange for a grant of control and financial returns. The SEC also said the company formed Rappler Holdings Corporation "for the sole purpose of issuing [Philippine Depositary Receipts]." The SEC decision declared void a PDR of one of Rappler's foreign investors, Omidyar Network, and questioned the corporate deal. A PDR is a financial instrument that foreign entities can buy into for financial returns in a local company but not in the form of dividends which are tied to ownership. "Because Omidyar was the later purchaser... it caused the insertion of certain provisions that assure control over other PDR holders, and also over the corporate policies of Rappler, Inc. and its alter ego Rappler Holdings Corporation," the decision read. The SEC said while the PDR was not a stock that indicates ownership, it gives holders "certain rights derived from equity and reserved to Filipinos." However, Rappler said PDRs do not give ownership rights, and other large companies have a similar set-up. It also clarified the investment does not affect editorial operations. Ressa likened PDRs to betting on a horse, with no assurance of control over how the horse is run or of financial returns. "This means our foreign investors, Omidyar Network and North Base Media, do not own Rappler. They invest, but they don't own. Rappler remains 100 percent Filipino-owned," Rappler said. According to its website, North Base Media says it is a "global venture-capital firm with a singular focus on media, content and information technologies in the world's fastest growing markets." Rappler also reported that SEC accepted Omidyar-related documents in 2015. Malacanang, OSG speak up The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) welcomed the decision on Monday. "This decision demonstrates that even influential media outfits cannot skirt the restrictions set forth in the Constitution. Rappler is free to seek redress before our courts," said Solicitor-General Jose Calida. "The OSG is ready to defend the sound decision of the SEC in any forum," he added. Malacanang on Monday acknowledged the SEC decision. "We respect the SEC decision that Rappler contravenes the strict requirements of the law that the ownership and the management of mass media entities must be wholly-owned by Filipinos," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Monday. "Rappler may wish to exhaust all available legal remedies until the decision becomes final," he added. Duterte had 'no hand' in SEC decision In an interview with CNN Philippines Monday, Roque added the Palace had no hand in the SEC decision. "We have nothing to do with the SEC decision. That was a very sound decision of the SEC," Roque said. Roque added the accusation may have had weight if the President appointed the SEC's commissioners, however, that wasn't the case. "The President did not even appoint a majority of that Commission. Accuse us of that if the chairman and the commissioners were appointed by the President - they were not," he added. President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly slammed Rappler for its critical reportage of his administration. In his second State of the Nation Address in July 2017, Duterte accused Rappler of being under American ownership. NUJP slams decision Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines expressed outrage on Monday at the turn of events against the news agency. "We are sure Rappler, as it has said, is capable of mounting a legal defense against what amounts to their closure," the group said. "As it does so, the NUJP declares it full support to Rappler and all other independent media outfits that the state has threatened and may threaten to shut down," it added. The group called on all Filipino journalists to come together and "resist every and all attempts to silence us." It noted the Duterte administration has also been critical of other media agencies, particularly the Philippine Daily Inquirer and broadcast network ABS-CBN. Jumbo, a heavy lift shipping and offshore transportation and installation contractor, recently signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with China Merchants Industry Holdings (CMIH) for the provision of the detailed engineering and construction of a new DP2 Heavy Lift Crane Vessel (HLCV) estimated to be delivered in the first quarter of 2020. The vessel will be powered by dual fuel engines and has the ability to run on natural gas (LNG). The hull will be outfitted with a state-of-the-art X-BOW enabling a significantly more consistent transit speed and offshore workability in severe weather conditions. With a vessel length of 185 meters and a width of 36 metres the HLCV will be the worlds largest X-BOW vessel. The new HLCV will be further equipped with two offshore mast cranes with a lifting capacity of 2,200 and 400 tonnes respectively and with water depth ratings of 3,000m each. These cranes, designed and constructed by Huisman Equipment B.V., will enable Jumbo to meet customer demands for lifting capacities beyond what Jumbos offshore division can offer today. The new HLCV will also be equipped with a moon pool and is flex-lay prepared. With this vessel, Jumbo will provide smarter and more cost efficient solutions to the following markets: Installation of wind turbine foundations Installation/decommissioning of fixed oil and gas facilities in shallow waters Installation of moorings systems and floating structures in deeper waters Installation of subsea structures, foundations and (flex-lay) tie-backs Jumbo currently operates a fleet of ten heavy lift vessels which provide lifting capacities from 650 to 3,000mt. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Vietnam under which they plan to explore how best to promote the use of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country. Mitsubishi Motors will work with Vietnam Industry Agency (VIA) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) to conduct a joint study of efficient EV usage and the public policy programs and incentives that could support the accelerated adoption of sustainable automotive technology. An Outlander PHEV and quick battery charger have been delivered to VIA MOIT as part of the agreement. The first joint DLR/NASA flights, which were conducted from Palmdale, California in 2014, showed that adding 50% alternative fuel for cruising flight reduces the soot particle emissions of an aircraft engine by 50 to 70%, compared to the combustion of pure kerosene. ( Earlier post .) The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are conducting joint research flights in Germany for the first time. The focus will be on alternative fuel emissions and the characterisation of ice crystals in condensation trails (contrails), using biofuel as an example. Flying behind the A320 ATRA with the Falcon. The planned research flights are intended to determine particle emissions and how they affect cloud formation through contrails, thus investigating their impact on the climate. NASAs DC-8 research aircraft are visiting Germany for three weeks and will fly together with the DLR A320 Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA). The research flights will start from Ramstein Air Base.repv The joint research flight campaign has been given the title ND-MAX/ECLIF 2 (NASA/DLR-Multidisciplinary Airborne eXperiments/Emission and CLimate Impact of alternative Fuel). We have installed instruments on board the DC8 to simultaneously measure the size distribution of soot and ice particles and gas emissions as it follows in the wake of ATRA. The focus of our measurements is to characterise the emissions produced using different fuel blends. We are particularly interested in finding out how the soot emissions of the different fuels affect the radiation properties and lifetime of the contrails. Hans Schlager from the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics For the international research mission, the DLR A320 ATRA will fly using various fuel blends, while NASAs fully instrumented DC-8 flying laboratory will follow at a safe distance, measuring soot particles, gas emissions and ice crystals in ATRAs exhaust gas stream. Numerous DLR measuring instruments have been installed on board the NASA aircraft for this purpose. We are currently in the process of delivering the fuels that have been specially produced for these test flights. We have created fuel blends that contain 30 to 50 percent Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids (HEFA), which will be used in a total of eight planned joint research flights. Andre Krajewski from the DLR Flight Experiments Facility The HEFA biofuel selected for these trials is largely derived from the oil of Camelina plants, representative of alternative fuels, which could also be synthetic. In addition to the emissions, the international research team is interested in how the different fuel blends affect the performance of the engines. Biofuels such as HEFA differ in their composition from conventional kerosene in that they are pure paraffins and contain no cyclic hydrocarbons. When mixed with conventional jet A-1 kerosene, one obtains an approved fuel. The modified fuel composition has an impact on the formation of soot during combustion. Patrick Le Clercq of the DLR Institute of Combustion Technology In recent years, several research campaigns into alternative fuels have been conducted in the United States and Germany under different meteorological conditions. Earlier NASA-led research campaigns, called ACCESS I and II (Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions), were carried out in California in 2013 and 2014. (Earlier post.) During these campaigns, NASAs DC-8 flew with alternative fuels, while smaller research jets such as the NASA HU-25 Falcon and the DLR Falcon 20 conducted measurements in its exhaust stream. The ECLIF campaign followed in 2015 and was led by DLR in Germany, with the involvement of a number of NASA researchers. (Earlier post.) In this campaign, the DLR A320 ATRA flew with alternative fuels, while the DLR Falcon 20, equipped with instruments, followed behind, carrying out measurements of the emissions and contrails. In addition, extensive emissions readings were carried out from the ground. Previous results from research flights have shown a significant reduction in soot particles when alternative fuels are used and suggest that this also leads to a lower quantity of ice crystals in contrails. Lower soot emissions from these alternative fuels are good news for the environment, and it would be even better if the flight tests confirm that using alternative fuels also reduces the number of ice crystals in contrails. Bruce Anderson, NASA This is a significant issue because contrails and the cirrus clouds that are formed as a result are thought to have a greater warming effect on Earths atmosphere than the total carbon dioxide emissions that have accumulated as a result of air travel over the last century or more. Hans Schlager, DLR Contrails contain many small ice particles that form due to the condensation of water vapour on the soot particles in aircraft exhaust gases. Contrails can linger for several hours in humid, cold conditions at altitudes of between eight and 12 kilometers, forming high-level clouds called contrail cirrus. Depending on the position of the Sun and the ground, these clouds can have a local warming or cooling effect. Knowledge of this is essential for assessing the climate impact of aviation. The winter meteorological conditions in Germany are favorable for the upcoming DLR/NASA flights and the planned measurement of ice crystals in contrails. The use of the DLR A320 ATRA as a source of emissions and the NASA DC-8 as a measuring platform will allow the researchers to conduct their flight tests at the altitude and usual cruising speed of passenger jets, under which conditions contrails typically form. To this end, the researchers have installed the most extensive range of measuring equipment ever employed for such investigations in the DC-8, with half of the measuring devices provided by the DLR Institute of Atmospheric Physics. A total of 80 flight hours for taking measurements are planned between 16 January and 2 February. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 15) The lawyers of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said the House panel's discussion on the delay in the release of survivorship benefits is "irrelevant to the charges" against the top magistrate. "It covered actions by the (technical working group) that evaluates cases and merely recommends decisions to the Supreme Court en banc. Throughout the discussion, there was no evidence or indication that the Chief Justice tried to control or influence the TWG work in any way," Sereno's lawyers said. Court Administrator Midas Marquez earlier said dozens of retired justices and judges or their surviving spouses were denied the timely release of their benefits due to the special committee and technical working groups created by the Chief Justice. In December, the lawyers of Sereno said the new system provided for a "significant improvement in the speed, efficiency, and consistency in the processing of petitions for retirement benefits." READ: Court Administrator: Groups formed by Sereno created delay in judges' benefits "The fact is she did not need to interfere because all of the TWG's recommendations would have to be taken up by the Supreme Court en banc," Sereno's lawyers said on Monday. The House Justice panel resumed the proceedings to determine if there is probable cause to impeach the Chief Justice. Three justices - Associate Justices Samuel Martires, Diosdado Peralta, and Lucas Bersamin - testified before the House panel. Representative Romeo Acop also said he was trying to find out if the delay can be attributed to the Chief Justice. "If we read the verified answer of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, babagsak po ito lahat sa special committee on retirements and civil service benefits, unless we can impute malice on the creation of the special committee. But how can we impute malice when this was created and signed by three senior justices?" Acop said. (Translation: If we read the verified answer of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, it will all boil down to the special committee on retirements and civil service benefits.) The discussion led to suggestions that the High Court just dissolve the TWG, and return the processing of survivorship benefits to the Office of the Court Administrator. "It can be dissolved any time because it is just the creation of the Chief Justice and two senior justices. I think they are already aware of the problems. If you ask me what should they do, I would suggest it should already be dissolved," Peralta said. Martires said the TWG should have broadened its understanding of the law, which could have paved the way for the faster release of the benefits. "Kung nilawakan lang kasi nila ang pananaw sa batas, binigyan nila ng interpretasyon na pabor sa claimants. After all yung pera na ibibigay naman sa mga claimants hindi naman mangagaling sa kanilang mga bulsa, eh dapat sana nung araw pa natapos na ang usapin na ito, hindi na sana umabot sa akin," Martires, appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on March 2017, said. (Translation: If they just broadened their understanding of the law and interpreted it in favor of the claimants. After all, the money which will be given to the claimants would not come from their pockets. The issue should have been closed a long time ago.) Francois Kwaku-Dongo never set foot in culinary school. His father, a nurse, never made pasta dough; his mother never pickled radish sprouts. Yet here he was, the new executive chef at the historic Roger Sherman Inn in New Canaan doing just that. His trajectory from his birth in the Cote dIvoire, Africa, to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Greenwich and New Canaan in the United States is a story of how determination, a desire to learn and a passion for life can lead down unexpected country roads to highways of opportunity and success. The Roger Sherman Inn is a dream come true for Kwaku-Dongo.I love the fact that it dates back to the 1700s, he says, and that it is named for an American patriot who was the only delegate to the Continental Congress to sign all four of the key documents of the American Revolution. When the inn was threatened by a developer in early 2017, town residents rallied to preserve it and won. And today they are the inns most stalwart patrons. The formal dining room with its white linens, brown walls and paintings of the Revolutionary War is a comfortable haven for polite conversation and enjoyment of Kwaku-Dongos ever-revolving menu. The inn has a kitchen where he can showcase his preference for the Provencal cuisine of southern France and Spain, although he has been known to explore other regions as well. His is always the unexpected touch: a quail egg with the ricotta in a ravioli; juniper berries in a creamy chestnut soup; a swirl of cumin in the vinaigrette that dresses shaved carrots; a tinge of ginger in a seafood risotto; a sweep of caramelized onions over Vermont cheddar cheese atop a burger. It doesnt get any better than that, Kwaku-Dongo says. Sandro Art & Photograph / Contributed photo When he was young, Kwaku-Dongo never dreamed of a career in a kitchen. With his two brothers and sister, he attended school in the cosmopolitan port city of Abidjan. Every Friday afternoon after school and every Saturday, he joined them on his grandfathers cacao plantation, a 45-minute bus ride inland. His grandfather, a chief of the Baoule ethnic sect of the French-speaking Akan people, assigned each of them a plot to cultivate. We would pick the large cacao pods, break them open and spread them out to dry, Kwaku-Dongo says. Then we would take them to the market at the port and sell them. (The beans would be transformed into cocoa elsewhere.) The money they earned paid for their school books and uniforms. My grandmother was a formidable woman, he says. She insisted that we had to go to school. And in my culture, women had the stronger voice. Oddly, Kwaku-Dongo never tasted chocolate until he landed in the States in 1981. The dual aspects of hard work on a farm and love of learning (he speaks six languages) stood the soft-spoken, friendly Kwaku-Dongo in good stead from when he tried his first chocolate bar to when he made his own chocolate confections years later at Eleven-14 Kitchen at the J house in Greenwich, a town he calls home together with his wife Ruth. His son Joseph-Paul aspires to be a doctor, so he can cure his allergies, says his father with a broad smile lighting up his face. His daughter Christine-Elizabeth is studying to be a lawyer. Kwaku-Dongo is the culinary director of Omanhene Cocoa Bean Co. in Ghana, the first company to sustain exports of bean-to-bar, single-origin chocolate produced exclusively in Africa. The chocolate reminds him of the smell of the drying cacao pods of his childhood. His culinary 101 odyssey began when he took a job as a dishwasher at Remi restaurant in New York City, following jobs as a pizza delivery man and then as a night worker sweeping floors. At Remi, he learned to make fantastic pasta sauces, he says, from chef Francesco Antonucci. Those sauces caught the attention of food critic Bryan Miller, who awarded the restaurant two stars. Whenever musician Miles Davis came to dine, Kwaku-Dongo personally made the jazz stars favorite: spaghetti with garlic, olive oil, chili flakes and chopped parsley. Then Kwaku-Dongo picked up his knives and moved to a restaurant in Los Angeles, where his culinary expertise attracted other celebrities who had heard of him. When Sean Connery came to dinner, he got risotto, the stars favorite dish, simmering away. He cooked for Nancy Reagan, Sidney Poitier, Tony Curtis, Betsy Bloomingdale, who put one of Kwaku-Dongos recipes in her cookbook on entertaining, and food maven Ruth Reichl, who credited him with introducing artisan pasta to Californias gourmands. This was at the time Kwaku-Dongo was at Spago, a renowned restaurant helmed by the charismatic Wolfgang Puck. I watched him make his own pastrami, smoke his own salmon, bake his own bread, Kwaku-Dongo says. Spago was my college. I felt like a kid in a candy store in his restaurant. I learned from him that being always behind the stove in your own kitchen is vital to the success of your dishes and of your restaurant. His mentor sent him to Japan and France to study with masters, eventually anointing him executive chef at Spago in 1992. Four years later, he opened Spago in Chicago and several more years later, he landed in Greenwich at LEscale, all the while racking up plaudits as a 2008 Iron Chef contestant, a James Beard nominee and an up-and-coming chef by Forbes magazine. Besides being an excellent chef, Kwaku-Dongo is a good teacher and he always begins his instruction with Start with three fresh, good ingredients. Thats all you need, he says of his philosophy. Add spices and herbs to taste and you will have a beautiful dish. His go-to model in his profession is Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group and owner of many New York City restaurants. He taught us the meaning of hospitality, Kwaku-Dongo says. He talks about the emotional connection that Meyer espouses. Thats what I want to do: be understanding and kind to the people I work with, to the food I cook with and to the people I serve. Rosemarie T. Anner is a frequent contributor to Sunday Arts & Style. Alan Taylor The Dodge Demon is currently the fastest production car ever made. In fact, there is so much power in the Demon that the National Hot Rod Association has banned it from its drag courses. Manufactured as a limited production vehicle, Dodge has pledged to make 3,300 -- 3,000 in American and 300 in Canada. Entrepreneur Network partner Alan Taylor was awarded serial number eight, making his Demon an instant collectors item. The functional Air-Grabber hood scoop hints to the power beneath the hood, a Supercharged 6.2L HEMI SRT Demon V8 engine. Effortlessly cranking out 840-HP, the SRT badge that adorns this muscle car stands for Street and Racing Technology. Achieving a 0-60 mph time of 2.3 seconds, this car was built for the track with the comfort of a daily driver. (Oh, and did we mention that its the first production car to be able to pop a wheelie?!) Specialty drag slicks were designed specifically for the Demon to help this rocket ship achieve a 9.65 second quarter mile. As Dodge says, If you know, you know." GREENWICH Les de Villiers, an author, travel consultant and conservationist from New Canaan, spent weeks in the forests of Rwanda tracking gorillas and studying their behavior. De Villiers will share his experiences with the big primates at a lecture Jan. 24 sponsored by the Retired Mens Association of Greenwich. From the RMA: Seeking to find the gorilla inhabitants of the mountain jungles of East Africa can be, to say the least, an awe inspiring experience. One might come upon the majestic creatures in the early morning much as did famed naturalist Dian Fossey as depicted in the classic 1988 film Gorillas in the Mist. Veteran Africa traveler and former South African resident, Les de Villiers, discovered the magic of mountain gorillas when he undertook to track them in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda several years ago- in his words: a life-changing experience. He will share his enthusiasm and insights and will show a selection of pictures as well as a short video of his encounters. Mr. de Villiers grew up in the Great Karoo region of South Africa where he learned to appreciate nature. Horse riding, hunting and playing rugby were rites of passage. But in the seventies he traded in his rifle for a camera and began his life-long pursuit of wild life photography. He is a graduate of Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape province of South Africa and he holds a doctorate in economic history obtained through studies at both Stellenbosch and New York Universities. He had a 17 year career as a diplomat and later served as vice-chairman of a consulting firm in New York. He currently runs a publishing firm specializing in Africa books and a boutique safari operation. He has written more than a dozen books on economics, politics, conservation and travel. Haiti - FLASH USA : Traveler Advisories, Haiti ranked 3 on a scale of 4 The State Department has unveiled a new device to inform their citizens about the risks of traveling abroad. Now the country will be ranked on a scale of four levels of risk. This new system aims, according to officials to provide clearer information for travelers. In its latest travel advisory, the State Department rated Haiti Level 3 "Reconsider Travel" on a scale of 4 [Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions - Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution - Level 3: Reconsider Travel - Level 4: Do Not Travel] Reconsider travel to Haiti due to crime and civil unrest. : "Violent crime, such as armed robbery, is common. Local police may lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents or emergencies. Protests, tire burning, and road blockages are frequent and often spontaneous. The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in some areas of Haiti. U.S. Embassy personnel must receive permission from the Embassy security officer to travel to some areas of Port-au-Prince. Embassy employees are discouraged, and in some instances prohibited, from walking in city neighborhoods, including Petion Ville. After dark, Embassy personnel are prohibited from visiting establishments without secure, on-site parking. Travel outside of Port-au-Prince is prohibited after dark. Embassy employees are under a curfew from 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. The use of public banks and ATMs by Embassy employees is prohibited at all times. Embassy personnel are prohibited from using any kind of public transportation throughout the country," wrote the State Department. If you decide to travel to Haiti : - Avoid demonstrations. - Arrange airport transfers and hotels in advance, or have your host meet you upon arrival. - Do not physically resist any robbery attempt. - Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency. - U.S. citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Travelers Checklist. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Economy : IMF on mission in Haiti A delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Jean Pierre Nguenang, senior economist in public finance management and public finance department is in Haiti for a mission of a dozen days where it will meet several public institutions. The delegation has already met the officials of the Ministry of National Education. At this meeting in Delmas 83, chaired by the Minister of Education Pierre Josue Agenor Cadet, in particular were addressed the public financial management issues, financial management mode adopted by the Ministry and the multiannual programming. Minister Cadet explained the main lines of his management and the measures taken in the fight against corruption within the education system. After two hours of discussions, the IMF delegation said it was satisfied with the reception, of informations and quality of the exchanges. HL/ S/ HaitiLibre Haiti - FLASH : Nearly 105,000 Haitians arrived in Chile in 2017 According to figures from the PDI (Policia de Investigaciones) 104,782 Haitians entered Chile in 2017, 114% more than in 2016 when 48,783 Haitians entered the Chilean territory. Of the total number of Haitians who arrived in Chile in 2017, 4,669 left, or 362 more than in 2016 according to the data made available. 312 Haitians were returned after their arrival, unable to prove their tourist status, a significant decrease in forced returns, while they were 718 in 2016. Bernardino Cardenas, head of the prefecture of the international airport of PDI, reminds that every Haitian arriving must answer several questions "We ask them how much money he brings, how long he intends to stay, if he has a return ticket or if he has a relative in Chile..." Because of the huge increase in this Haitian migration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile intends to ensure better control of the entry of Haitian nationals who claim to be tourists when they arrive in the country while they have the intention to stay and work illegally in Chile recalling that if their intention is to work in Chile, there is a visa to that effect. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21970-haiti-flash-equivalence-of-haitian-studies-in-chile.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21709-haiti-social-mass-arrival-of-haitian-migrants-chile-preoccupied.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21900-haiti-social-more-than-85-000-haitians-have-migrated-to-brazil-chile-and-argentina.html SL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Security : Start of operations of the new Border Police The 118 agents of the first Promotion of the Border Police "PoliFront" a new Specialized Unit of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23106-haiti-security-graduation-of-the-1st-promotion-of-the-border-police.html have joined their Headquarter in the department of North-East at Morne Casse (Commune of Fort-Liberte) where they will share with the Departmental Unit of Maintenance of Order (UDMO), the former military base of the blue helmets of the Minustah. This new unit will be deployed at the official border crossing points and will intervene in the border communes of Ouanaminthe, Capotille, Ferrier and Mont-Organized. At the ceremony marking the beginning of operations of the PoliFront, Divisional Commissioner Marc Justin, Director of this new police unit is convinced that his unit will put an end to human trafficking, drugs, weapons and smuggling of any kind and declared "Vakans la sou fwontye a fini ! [...] It is time for the order to reign [...] It is time for each country to take its responsibilities," deploring the complicity between the Dominican and Haitian criminals, he urged the agents of the PoliFront not to let corrupt by those they will fight. Recall that the objectives of the PoliFront are: to monitor and secure the border - prevent and respond to transnational crime - collaborate with customs and immigration - support government agencies - Support the administrative police and cooperate with the Dominican police if necessary. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23116-haiti-security-the-united-states-supports-the-new-border-police.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23106-haiti-security-graduation-of-the-1st-promotion-of-the-border-police.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23026-haiti-news-zapping.html TB/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Trump : The Haitian Senate will take an official position Reacting to President Trump's alleged remarks in the US media https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23259-haiti-flash-haitian-government-s-reaction-to-president-trump-s-remarks.html Joseph Lambert the new Speaker of the Senate said "Following the words of US President Donald Trump describing Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as 'shithole country', the Senate of the Republic, with regard to its prerogatives and responsibilities, will take an institutional position on Tuesday 16 January 2018." Palace : Donations of 250,000 Gdes of youth Friday during the laying of the first stone at the National Palace https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23261-haiti-politic-jovenel-moise-laid-the-first-stone-of-the-national-palace.html the representatives of the local youth committees of the 10 departments of the country presented 10 checks totaling 250,000 gourdes as a voluntary contribution for the reconstruction of the National Palace. The future FDS very resistant The new buildings of 3 levels of the Faculty of Sciences (FDS), whose first stone was laid Friday https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-23258-icihaiti-reconstruction-laying-of-the-first-of-the-future-faculty-of-sciences-of-the-ueh.html with an area of 5,050 m2 will be able to accommodate up to 2,200 people. The buildings will include an auditorium with more than 275 seats, classrooms, laboratories and lecture theaters, and serve the community as a whole. The FDS will be built by the firm Expert Concept and designed to withstand a magnitude 8.5 earthquake on the Richter scale. The work should last 18 months. Trump : reaction of Michaelle Jean "As January 12, marks the commemoration of the earthquake that devastated Haiti 8 years ago, it was so disturbing to hear President Trump's comments reported all over the news calling my poor native land and African countries 'shithole' nations. It is such an insult before Humanity. For the First Representative of the United States of America to speak in such a manner is quite troubling and offensive." https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23263-haiti-flash-trump-chancellor-rodrigue-convenes-the-american-diplomat-diallo.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23259-haiti-flash-haitian-government-s-reaction-to-president-trump-s-remarks.html Cap-Haitien promises an extraordinary carnival At the local of the Twon Hall of Cap-Haitien the Executive Committee in the presence of the authorities concerned, officially launched the carnival for the year 2018. The Committee has promised to make an extraordinary event this year. The international confident uman Resources (OMRH), met with Ambassadors including: Vincent Degert (European Union), Manuel Lorenzo (Spain) Mrs. Sharon Campbell (United Kingdom and Northern Ireland) and Elisabeth Beton Delegue (France), on the progress of state reform since its installation at OMRH. These diplomats said they were optimistic and confident as for the sites already committed and renew their commitments to the Haitian Government to advance the reform. HL/ HaitiLibre Norwegian Cruise Line(MIAMI) -- A family from Iowa is suing Norwegian Cruise Line in a civil case after their 12-year-old daughter was allegedly sexually assaulted by one of the ships crewmembers in her cabin. A jury trial in Miami last February found the accused not guilty, according to documents obtained by ABC News. The girl, who was identified as H.P. in civil court documents, was sexually assaulted, sexually battered and sexually abused as she napped in her cabin aboard the NCL Escape on Feb. 16, 2017, around 1 p.m., the civil complaint said. The lawsuit alleges that Norwegian was negligent in properly screening its staff and providing stewards with master keys to access each passengers cabin. The suit references NCLs safety and children programs, saying the cruise line invites parents to rely on the cruise line to provide a safe environment for children, and that alongside our well-trained staff, your children will experience a wide range of exciting activities with kids and teens they own age. The family is suing for damages in excess of $75,000, excluding interest, costs and attorneys fees. The alleged incident caused the girl to suffer bodily injury, emotional distress, mental anguish, pain loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, medical and psychological expenses, the suit said. The family is pretty much devastated by this, the familys lawyer told ABC News. Norwegian Cruise said it cannot comment on legal matters. It is unclear if the crewmember is still working for the cruise line. The crewmember entered cabin 15858 as the girl was napping, according to the suit. He then began to sexually abuse her until she moved to the other side of bed, the suit said. When the crewmember left the room, the girl ran next door to find her family and friends, reporting the incident to them, the suit said. According to a February 2017 criminal complaint obtained by ABC News, the FBI was made aware of the incident from the cruise line after it was reported to them by the girls parents. Once the parents notified Norwegian Escapes security team, the crewmember was confined by the Escapes captain until the vessel returned to the Port of Miami, the complaint said. The FBI referred ABC News to court records when asked for comment. The cruise line provided security footage of the crewmember entering cabin 15858, and both the employee and the minor were interviewed, according to the complaint. The security footage matched the timeline of what was said from each interview, the complaint said. According to the complaint, the crewmember admitted that he made contact with the girl and was later charged with sexual abuse and sexual abuse of a minor. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Broadland and Paul Schaafsma part ways after just four months By Lisa Riley Broadland Wineries has announced the departure of CEO Paul Schaafsma. Schaafsma, who was brought in to help drive the Broadland branded portfolio, will be leaving the company at the end of this month to establish a new venture in partnership with previous Accolade colleagues, Ian Anderson and Amy White, Schaafsma told Harpers. The new venture, poised for launch in the next three weeks, would be focussed on bringing blue-chip wine to the UK via producer partnerships, he revealed, adding his time with Broadland had been "positive", but an opportunity had arisen to establish a new sales and marketing company. Broadland chairman Mark Lansley, who will resume to the role of CEO having concentrated on building the companys business in the US in the past few months, said the departure of Schaafsma was simply a parting of the ways". Paul, who has a track record of building brands, was brought into Broadland as CEO primarily to drive the growth of Broadlands branded portfolio, but this hasnt worked out, he said. We have enjoyed working with Paul during his four months at Broadland and we would like to thank him for his contribution, said Lansley. Lansley said Broadland would continue its long-term strategy to develop its branded portfolio going forward and told Harpers it had promoted its current sales director, Peter Bisley, to sales and marketing director to help with this. In addition, Broadland would be adding a number of blue-chip brand builders to the team during the next few months, he said. The decision to extend the permit was made in spite of a report by Verdens Gang , the largest newspaper by circulation in Norway, that an armoured vehicle manufactured by the state-owned company had been sighted in use by the UAE in the ongoing civil war in Yemen. The vehicle had been retroactively fitted with a machine gun. The Finnish government has agreed to grant a one-year extension to the permit of Patria, a majority state-owned defence technology provider, to export spare parts to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A spokesperson for the defence technology provider confirmed to both YLE and Verdens Gang that the vehicle captured on video was indeed manufactured by Patria. Patria stated in a press release that except for the spare parts it has not applied for additional export permits to the UAE. It also stressed that any permit application would be denied if it was deemed that the export project could undermine the security or the foreign policy approach of Finland. The Middle East, however, remains a strategically interesting region in the long term, the technology provider said. Kongsberg Gruppen, a Norwegian supplier of high-technology systems and solutions, owns 49.9 per cent and the Finnish government 50.1 per cent of shares in the defence technology provider. Norway has suspended all weapons exports to the UAE. Patria was granted a permit to export a total of 40 armoured modular vehicles (AMVs) to the UAE in 2016. The vehicles were delivered unarmed before the end of the year after being manufactured in Poland. The decision to extend the permit was met with dismay by many members of the opposition, including Tuula Haatainen, the presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party. Does the [extension] deal with the same armoured vehicles that, evidence shows, have been used in the war in Yemen? Does Finland violate international treaties by exporting weapons to a country thats waging war? she tweeted on Thursday. Paavo Arhinmaki (Left Alliance) similarly demanded in the wake of the sighting that the government must recognise the problems associated with its weapons export policy and suspend exports to conflict-affected countries in the Middle East. He also estimated that the focus of the exports has shifted toward the region during the tenure of Prime Minister Juha Sipila (Centre). Mark Lowcock, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has warned that Yemen could be facing the worst humanitarian crisis the world has seen since the late 1960s. Unless the situation changes, were going to have the worlds worst humanitarian disaster for 50 years, he was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera on 5 January. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Pekka Sakki Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi CHILDREN across Oxfordshire will still receive their school meals despite the company which provided them going into liquidation. Carillion served about 18,000 pupils across 90 schools in the area in addition to cleaning services. But the company had run into difficulty after losing money on big contracts and running up huge debts. Talks with its lenders and the Government failed to reach a deal to save it. Oxfordshire County Council announced this morning (Monday) that it had taken over the services provided by Carillion and that affected staff were told to report for work as usual. The authority has been planning for the possibility of the companys collapse for some time and the fire service has been placed on standby to deliver the meals in case of problems. Alexandra Bailey, the councils director for property, assets and investment, said: We expect school staff will be in work as normal today but if this doesnt happen we will provide school lunches to schools needing support and the fire service are on standby to deliver them. We are confident no child will go hungry at school. We thank schools for their support and understanding as we deal with the situation. Id also like to thank staff for continuing to do a great job during a period of uncertainty, and to reassure them that the county council will ensure staff are paid. In July, the council decided to transfer back most of its contracts from Carillion to meet changes to its property and estate needs. A few services, including the delivery of school meals and cleaning services, were due to continue until March 31 at which time they would transfer to the council along with about 250 catering and cleaning staff. The companys liquidation meant this was brought forward. The council had a back-up plan in the event of this happening and had been talking to affected schools to reassure their catering and cleaning staff that their roles are secure and that they will be paid. It had signed a 10-year contract with Carillion in 2012 to provide a range of services including routine property management, facilities management, energy management and the design and build of capital work such as building new schools and new classrooms. Carillion is the UKs second biggest construction company and is involved in major projects such as the HS2 high-speed rail line. It is the second biggest supplier of maintenance services to Network Rail, and it maintains 50,000 homes for the Ministry of Defence. The company has 43,000 staff worldwide, including 20,000 in the UK. It is not clear yet how those staff will be affected. For more information, visit www.oxfordshire.gov.uk Provo City @provocity So many have begged Roccos to open one last time to say goodbye to this iconic Provo Deli. So they are going to open up one final time! Today from 5-9pm. Their CC processor has been turned off, so Cash only! RobertGehrke @RobertGehrke The rivalry lives on at the #MonsonFuneral. For the record, Monson was a Utah man, sir. Natalie Kay @talie321 I just heard Utah County referred to as The UC. I need to move Trib @JffTrib Mia, I also live in Utah county. You are an embarrassment. Shut up! I am so tired of you. You ran telling us all who you are and immediately folded once you got back there. If you cant handle some tough talk, then do us all in Utah Co a favor, resign! American Fork City @AmericanForkAFC WATER SHUT OFF: Residents near 500 N and 100 E will have their water shut off on Wed, Jan 17 while our water crew replace a section of pipe. Please plan accordingly (no January water gun fights on that day). Thank you. Emily McBride Boyle @emilymcboyle You know youre in Utah County when you hear my coworkers talk about being on the wagon and you know theyre talking about not drinking soda. Highland, Utah @HighlandCity The #HighlandUT Offices, Highland City Library, Lone Peak Police- Utah, and Justice Court will be closed on Monday, January 15 in honor of Civil Rights Day. We apologize for any inconvenience this will cause. Robert Jimenez @paleck Why is it in Utah county, Lehi station especially, that people are practically pushing their way into the #UTA #Frontrunner train and not giving people on he train a chance to get off first. I see it every time I commute via mass transit to work. UDOT Region Three @UDOTRegionthree To improve safety for drivers connecting to and from U.S. 89 in @AmericanForkAFC, UDOT reconfigured the intersection at 200 East and Main Street. Please use caution while drivers adjust to the new configuration. Reyna Vela @Vela4Reyna My professor walked in to our class and said everyone take out your phone, now turn them off and put them on this table. This is what you will do every time you come to this class so better get used to it no ifs, ands or buts #UVU aubinworkinontherailroad @auburnrainpot Just spent half an hour and half a tank of gas looking for a #UVU parking space. Stop coming to college theres no more room. NEWS Pentagon transforms Campia Turzii unit into a NATO air hub at the Black Sea A former Soviet airbase in central Romania could become a hub for US Air Force operations in south-eastern Europe, where the Pentagon is seeking to Mai mult Nuclearelectrica shareholders approved to terminate negotiations with Chinese for building reactors 3 and 4 from Cernavoda Nuclearelectrica's Board of Directors has been mandated to initiate proceedings to terminate negotiations with China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN), as well as legal effects Mai mult Renault holds expansion of its plant in Romania, 15,000 jobs cancelled at global level "Putting capacity growth projects planned in Morocco and Romania on hold" - is one of the measures included in the draft plan of Renault Group Mai mult Romania is a net importer of electricity in 2020 as well Romania imported an amount of electricity of almost 796 GWh in the first month of this year, by more than 36% above what it exported Mai mult Shareholders of Galati steel plant promise investments of one billion euros GFG Alliance has committed to invest one billion euros to upgrade Galati steel plant in order to reduce emissions and increase production. Another EUR 1 Mai mult Top 3 reasons why young people leave Romania Lack of trust in authorities, corruption and low living standards are the main reasons why young people leave Romania. The data is part of a Mai mult IMM Invest Romania program implementing rules have been published The Ministry of Public Finance announces that it has issued the methodological norms for the implementation of the Program for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises Mai mult Pollution import and car park expansion: comparisons with the other EU states Romania is the EU country with the fewest cars in terms of the number of inhabitants, according to data recently published by Eurostat. 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Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. After a gap of three years, the Karnataka government has reintroduced ragi/finger millet in its public distribution system (PDS). To feed the PDS system, the government has announced a procurement price much higher than the market price and introduced bonuses. With interventions on the sides of both production as well as consumption, the objectives are to improve nutrition and increase the climate-resilience of agriculture since ragi is a drought-resistant crop and to improve returns for the farmer. In theory, if ragi were to displace water guzzlers such as sugarcane and paddy, it should help fight climate change. Making ragi available at a subsidy should increase consumption. Procurement at high MSP should ideally reduce market uncertainty for farmers. To sum it all, ragi in the PDS should mean better nutrition, greater climate-resilience and higher farm incomes. Everybody is a winner, it appears. However, there are no free lunches and no free ragi either. Introducing ragi in the PDS is fraught with several challenges pertaining to implementation notwithstanding the promise of serial benefits. Estimates from the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare show that for Karnataka, the costs of production per quintal of paddy (an example of a competing crop) are much lower and the yields much higher than ragi. To make ragi compete with other crops would require significant increases in the MSP for farmers, the costs of which might turn out to be prohibitive. The evidence, based on producer responses is that farmers have not switched from crops such as sugarcane and paddy in any significant way. On the side of consumption, since millet is a naturally nutrient-dense food, making it available through the PDS should enable the poor to have higher consumption leading to improved nutrition. Though the National Food Security Act (NFSA) provided for disbursing millets through the PDS as well, the only state that has introduced it in the system is Karnataka. Globally, one of the most commonly applied policies to improve nutrition among the poor is a food subsidy. Yet the outcomes show that improved nutrition from food subsidy is not guaranteed and evidence is mixed (Jensen and Miller 2011). There is substantive debate about the extent to which nutrition among the poor improves with lower food prices (Ecker and Qaim 2011; Behrman et al 1988; Guo et al. 1999; Shimokawa 2010). Because of the high incidence of undernourishment, price subsidy programmes enjoy political and public support despite widespread evidence of corruption and poor targeting (Kaushal and Muchomba 2015). Yet, expanding the portfolio of PDS with nutritive products such as ragi could be desirable if it were to bring in nutrition benefits. The proponents of PDS product portfolio expansion advocate the move precisely on these grounds. Biraj Pattnaik, principal advisor to the Supreme Court commissioners on the right to food, argues: Its time for the PDS to diversify in a basket of foods. We are giving cereals but we should also look at distributing millets, pulses, oils, and possibly even fruits, eggs and milk to provide wholesome nutrition. This reasoning overlooks the mechanics of consumer choices. With inclusion in the PDS, only limited changes in consumption might occur: Households generally tend to reduce their market purchases of food to offset the government transfer, thereby spending exactly the same amount on total food expenditure irrespective of the food transfer. One can learn from the experience of the introduction of pulses in the PDS where despite it being provided for in the PDS, the consumption of the households showed status quo results. Households reduce the market purchase precisely by the amount by which PDS adds pulses to the basket (Chakrabarti et al 2016). In Karnataka, there is a strong consumer preference for rice. The MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in its study finds that despite PDS supply, Karnatakas consumers source a significant proportion of their rice from markets. Similarly, a sizable proportion of ragi/jowar is also sourced from the market. The PDS accounts for less than 25% of millets consumed by households. Hence the same kind of offsets can come into play in case of ragi as well. With strong preference for rice, households could sell off extra millets and buy their preferred grains. What is the food for thought here? Ragi or for that matter any product from which consumer preferences are shifting away cannot be revived through a patchwork of policies such as introducing ragi in the PDS and supporting it with procurement with elevated MSP. The core of the problem is shifting consumer preferences. Prices can do only a bit by making ragi comparatively cheap. The promotion of ragi with all the merits it can bestow is a promising step but expecting it to deliver on farmer welfare, consumer welfare and environmental sustainability is probably asking too much from one crop. Mamata Pradhan is doctoral scholar, University of East Anglia Devesh Roy, is senior research fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute, based in Washington The views expressed are personal Nimrat Kaur was only 12, when her father, Bhupinder Singh SC, (Shaurya Chakra) an Army officer was kidnapped and killed after seven days. Nimrat, along with her mother and younger sister, Rubine, were taken care of, by her fathers friends in the army, and the actor says, we werent left alone for even a moment to adjust to the civilian lifestyle. But, Nimrat feels not every family is lucky enough to receive that kind of care. On Army day today, Nimrat asks people, especially civilians, to not celebrate the day by merely posting a I am proud of Indian Army post on their social media accounts. The actor urges people to do something for the families, who lost their loved ones while they were fighting for the country. Especially the foot soldiers people should do something [for them]. They [soldiers] come from low income groups, and in most of the cases, they are the only earners in their family. And after their death, its really difficult for their families to sustain. So, maybe people can support their childrens education, or something like that, adds Nimrat. Its been 24 years since her father died, but Nimrat is still in touch with her fathers unit. So many years have passed and they still treat me as their own daughter. I keep in touch with most of them through my mother, because she is in touch with almost all of them. Its a matter of great pride for me that they are still in touch with us. They get excited with whatever I achieve, and I am equally as excited to see them happy with my achievements, she shares. Though Nimrat has been away from the army life for more than 20 years, she still has vivid memories of her father, and their unit celebrating the army day. I remember the ceremonial flag hosting event that took place in my fathers unit for the Army Day. He used to take all of us for the ceremony, and I felt so proud when I saw the tricolour unfurl, and get super proud at the fact that my father was in the Army, protecting this country, she recollects. On the occasion of Army Day, Nimrat concludes by talking about respect. Thats the only thing that matters. You know we had so many people taking care of us, and my father made sure that we, as children, didnt belittle them or disrespect them. He told us that we should respect every human being on this planet, and that is something that I still follow. Its one of the simplest things that I ever learnt from him, she signs off. Follow @htshowbiz for more The makers of Padmaaavat, through front page advertisements in newspapers on Monday, listed disclaimers clarifying that it never had dream sequence featuring Alauddin Khilji and Rani Padmavati, and that it is a movie every Indian will be proud of. The ad comes a day after the controversial movies producers -- Bhansali Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures -- officially announced that the film will hit the screens on January 25 with due modifications suggested by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Padmaavat is a film that every India will be proud of. Please visit your nearest theatre on January 25 to experience it yourself, the makers have stated at the end of the ad, which has the movies poster, featuring lead actor Deepika Padukone, on the flipside. Statutory warning on a cigarette pack, I understand. This, I don't. No place for art in my country.#Padmaavat pic.twitter.com/dazvLQ4ffu Nakuul Mehta (@NakuulMehta) January 15, 2018 The following are the points clarified by the makers of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial, which also features Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in pivotal roles: * The film Padmaavat is based on the epic Padmavat by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi which is a revered work of fiction. * The film does not have and never had a dream sequence between Alauddin Khilji and Rani Padmavati. * We have made this film as an ode to the famed valour, legacy and courage of Rajputs. * The film portrays Rani Padmavati with utmost respect and does not tarnish her repute or misrepresent her character in any manner. * The film has been cleared with only five modifications by the CBFC and is officially approved for release in India with a U/A certificate. * There are no further cuts or modifications to the film. * We are grateful to the government authorities, CBFC, film fraternity and our fans for their support. Follow @htshowbiz for more Airbus will have no other choice but to halt the A380 programe if Dubais Emirates airline does not place another order, the European aerospace giants sales director, John Leahy, told a news conference on Monday. Originally launched in 2007, the A380 is the worlds largest passenger airliner. Orders from Emirates, the main customer of the superjumbo, have stalled over the past two years. There have been a total of 317 orders for the A380 since its launch in 2007. We are still talking to Emirates, but honestly they are probably the only one to have the ability right now on the market place to take a minimum of six per year on a period of 8 to 10 years, Leahy said. Quite honestly, if we cant work out a deal with Emirates there is no choice but to shut down the programme, Leahy said. But Im hopeful that we work out a deal with Emirates, he added. Ford Motor Co will significantly increase its planned investments in electric vehicles to $11 billion by 2022 and have 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles in its model lineup, chairman Bill Ford said on Sunday at the Detroit auto show. The investment figure is sharply higher than a previously announced target of $4.5 billion by 2020, Ford executives said, and includes the costs of developing dedicated electric vehicle architectures. Fords engineering, research and development expenses for 2016, the last full year available, were $7.3 billion, up from $6.7 billion in 2015. Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett told investors last October the automaker would slash $14 billion in costs over the next five years and shift capital investment away from sedans and internal combustion engines to develop more trucks and electric and hybrid cars. Of the 40 electrified vehicles Ford plans for its global lineup by 2022, 16 will be fully electric and the rest will be plug-in hybrids, executives said. Were all in on this and were taking our mainstream vehicles, our most iconic vehicles, and were electrifying them, Ford told reporters. If we want to be successful with electrification, we have to do it with vehicles that are already popular. General Motors Co, Toyota Motor Corp and Volkswagen AG, have already outlined aggressive plans to expand their electric vehicle offerings and offer them to consumers who want luxury, performance and an SUV body style - or all three attributes in the same vehicle. Mainstream auto makers are reacting in part to pressure from regulators in China, Europe and California to slash carbon emissions from fossil fuels. They also are under pressure from Tesla Incs success at creating electric sedans and SUVs that inspire would-be owners to line up outside showrooms and flood the company with orders. GM said last year it would add 20 new battery electric and fuel cell vehicles to its global lineup by 2023, financed by robust profits from those very same traditional internal combustion engine vehicles in the United States and China. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra has promised investors the Detroit automaker will make money selling electric cars by 2021. Volkswagen said in November it would spend $40 billion on electric cars, autonomous driving and new mobility services by the end of 2022 significantly more than when it announced two months earlier it would invest more than 20 billion euros on electric and self-driving cars through 2030. Toyota is racing to commercialize a breakthrough battery technology during the first half of the 2020s with the potential to cut the cost of making electric cars. Fords president of global markets, Jim Farley, said on Sunday that Ford would bring a high-performance electric utility vehicle to market by 2020. The company will begin production of a hybrid version of its popular F-150 truck at a plant in Dearborn, Michigan, in 2020. What we learned from this first cycle of electrification is people want really nice products, Farley said. THINK BIG Fords shift to the electric vehicle strategy has been more than six months in the making after Hackett replaced former Chief Executive Mark Fields in May. The plan was finalized in recent months after an extensive review, a person familiar with the process said. In October, Ford disclosed it had formed a team to accelerate global development of electric vehicles, whose mission is to think big and make quicker decisions. Some of the electric vehicles will be produced with Fords JV in China aimed at the Chinese market. One aim of Fords Team Edison is to identify and develop electric-vehicle partnerships with other companies, including suppliers, in some markets, according to Sherif Marakby, vice president of autonomous vehicles and electrification. China, India, France and the United Kingdom all have announced plans to phase out vehicles powered by combustion engines and fossil fuels between 2030 and 2040. Police in Handia town of Uttar Pradeshs Allahabad district have arrested a member of the gang that honey trapped truck drivers by dressing up as women and looted them of their cash and valuables on gunpoint, officials said on Monday. They said the arrested robber confessed that he and his gang members looted truckers when they stopped their vehicles after seeing women waving at them to stop on the highway, particularly at night. Inspector of Handia police station Anil Kumar Singh said he received information about incidents of loot on the highway in the trans-Ganga area around 15 days ago. Singh and his team nabbed Saleem on a tip-off on Saturday after raiding a village in Handia police station area. Some months back, Saleem was sent to jail in some other crime cases and had come out on bail a few months ago, Singh said. The gang has looted about 40 truckers on the Allahabad-Varanasi highway in the past three months, he added. No one lodged a formal complaint as the robbers looted only cash and valuables and not the truck or goods in it but Singh took help from police informers to get a clue about the looters. Police are now hunting for the three other members of Saleems gang. While many truckers used to ignore these women (robbers) on the highway, some of them used to stop their vehicles to offer a lift to them, but got looted on gunpoint, Singh said. Some prostitutes were active at some roadside eateries on the highway some years back. It is possible that some drivers may have stopped their vehicles assuming the women (robbers) to be prostitutes, he added. Uttar Pradesh, with the longest road network among all states, accounts for the highest number of highway crimes in India. In a packed public gathering a few days ago, when Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath described Karnataka as Hanumans birthplace, he received a huge applause. The same day BJP president Amit Shah said in Agartala that all the ministers in the incumbent state government were corrupt. The BJP will send them to jail as soon as they come to power, he added. Rahul Gandhis salvo was fired at Bahrain two days later. The country is in trouble, he told the NRIs, it needs your help. Obviously Bahrain has a lot of migrants from Karnataka, who wield a huge influence over their families and friends back home. Rahul will also be travelling to Karnataka later this month. In their own style, both the BJP and the Congress have sounded the poll bugle. By using Yogi Adityanath prominently, the BJP has made it clear that it will serve the voters a familiar cocktail of Hindutva, administration and development. On the other hand, the Congress will focus on the issues of unfulfilled promises, communalism and social justice. Those who want elections to be contested on real issues may again be in for disappointment. Since they take place 12 months a year, elections in our country have begun to evoke boredom and fear. Most days, in the garb of political discourse, we keep listening to such discussions that were once not acceptable. Not just India, the entire world is infected by this malaise. How beneficial will this tendency prove for democracy is a subject that can be discussed at another time. For now, let us focus our attention on the assembly elections that will take place in eight states of the country this year. An extremely efficient electoral machinery has emerged in the form of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in the last four years. After the Lok Sabha elections, this partnership has gone on form governments in 14 states. Even if theyve faced defeats in Delhi, Bihar and Punjab, theyve more than made up with a regime change in Bihar and winning the civic body elections in Delhi. They are again ready to jump into the electoral fray eyeing a victory. No wonder they succeeded in forming a government in Goa and Manipur despite losing the elections. Will the Congress manage to successfully challenge this duo? The Congress is brimming with hope these days. Its members feel they can repeat their Gujarat exploits in the days ahead. The countrys oldest party benefited from the sparking of caste unrest during the Gujarat elections. Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mevani are all products of this unrest. The anger within the communities where Alpesh and Jignesh come from is not as surprising as the Patidar agitation is. For the first time in Indian politics, youngsters from a section of society that has shared the fruits of power for a long time are stepping out of their homes armed with placards and banners. If such agitations crop up in a few other states, it will turn all the political permutations topsy-turvy. The question is, are the tensions between the Marathas and Dalits in Maharashtra the sign of a bigger conflict? I hope Meghalaya, Tripura, Nagaland or Mizoram stay away from such venom-spewing. The Northeast has witnessed a lot of bloodbath for a long time. Fiddling with democratic values in the region can be a source of enormous trouble. Another significant development is that Rahul Gandhi has emerged as a matured leader during the Gujarat elections. Mani Shankar Aiyar was associated with his party and family for many decades. He uttered an expletive and was immediately suspended. In Himachal, when seasoned MLA Asha Kumari had a scuffle with a constable, the new Congress president compelled her to publicly apologise. Clearly, he is busy creating the image of a disciplined, graceful and rational politician. The year 2018 will also decide how useful this image will be for the Congress when compared to the aggressive combination of Modi and Shah. These elections are also a huge opportunity for voters. Tired of politicians mouthing cliched slogans during the Gujarat elections, the voters adopted a unique strategy. More than 5,00,000 people pressed the NOTA button to send out a meaningful and strong message. Had the Congress got these votes, it would have come into power. Had the BJP received them, its victory would have sounded more respectable. Clearly, if our politicians get a few more similar jolts, they will be forced to change the way they function. I am not advocating the use of NOTA here. Still, the message that the people of Gujarat have delivered cannot be ignored. Shashi Shekhar is editor-in-chief Hindustan letters@hindustantimes.com Living a lane away from Delhis busiest artery the Ring Road my biggest worries should be the vehicular fumes that float into my house, shooting up the ambient Air Quality Index (AQI) that the city residents are now so obsessed about. But even before I get the nearest station AQI notification on my mobile phone every morning, I am already awake from the traffic noise. One can perhaps get used to the dull noise of vehicular movement. But how does one cope with the shrillness of incessant honking, even in the middle of the night? The problem is not peculiar to my neighbourhood. Nearly half of Delhis population lives within 500 metres from arterial roads with traffic spilling to internal lanes. There is no recent source appropriation study for noise pollution, but experts say much of Delhis deafening din emanates from the fleet of 10 million vehicles in a city of 17 million people. In most monitoring stations across Delhi, decibel levels exceed the permissible limits any time of the day. We suffer the onslaught without realising that noise causes physical harm. The World Health Organisation says that prolonged exposure to sound above 80 decibels can interfere with immune systems, boost stress hormones, contributes to cardiovascular maladies and damages hearing. A study by Mimi Hearing Technologies and Charite University Hospital in Berlin last year found that Delhi is only second to Chinas Guangzhou in terms of the degree of hearing loss suffered by citizens in proportion to their age. Cities least afflicted by noise pollution, namely Zurich, Vienna, Oslo and Munich, registered the lowest levels of decline in hearing. The researchers, using data on 2,00,000 people from 50 cities drawn from a hearing test administered via mobile phones, concluded that noise pollution and hearing loss had a tight correlation. Honking is banned in India at intersections and near temples, schools and hospitals. But the rule is flouted routinely. The offenders cannot be penalised because traffic police, the prosecuting agency, do not have sound measuring machines. It anyway does not matter since the fine is as low as Rs 100. At 100-110 decibels, blaring car horns are comparable with a rock concert or a running jet engine. There is little policing on motorcyclists who customise silencers, or break them, to create the revved-up sound effect. The deafening pressure and multi-toned horns continue to be used by heavy vehicles despite a Supreme Court ban. Eleven years ago, the Master Plan for Delhi red-flagged sound pollution as a pressing problem. It directed the authorities to prepare an area-wise traffic-calming scheme and a noise monitoring and control plan. It also asked for creation of a green buffer of thin leaf trees, land formations, mounds, embankments etc along busy roads. But implementation of these measures has remained a big ask, considering the capital does not have the wherewithal or even the administrative will to tackle the basics. Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience, said Dr William H. Stewart, former Surgeon General of the United States. Delhi, albeit belatedly, has got a plan to fight the air pollution. Now it badly needs one to bring its noise levels down. Apart from better enforcement of anti-noise pollution laws say, against illegal use of loudspeakers and noisy generators the administration should launch noise mapping drives across the city to draw up local mitigation plans. Sound barriers, for instance,can bring noise levels down by five decibels. But we must now know where all to install them. However, the bulk of noise pollution can only be controlled by making improvement in traffic management and enforcing better driving habits. Controlling vehicle speed helps since the ones moving below 60 kmph emit least sound. In a city where continuous honking has become almost the default mode of driving, it is worth remembering that horns were invented to warn other road users or animals of the vehicles approach. In all other situations, it is possible to drive without honking. For overtaking or changing lanes, using indicators should suffice. After all, no matter how much you honk, you cannot make traffic jams disappear. You just end up stressing yourself and your fellow citizens in an already stressful city. shivani.singh@hindustantimes.com Nand Kishore landed in Pakistan as a young boy in 1946, and returned to India 19 years later as Hasmat Ali. And now in the last stage of his life, the 80-year-old wants to die an Indian. Basking in the winter sun at his home in Narayanpur village on the outskirts of Uttarakhands industrial city Rudrapur, 250km from the national capital, the old man shuffles in his seat at the thought of deportation to a land he never called his own. I am staying here for so long. I wish to remain Indian before I die, said the man in a toothless slur, delivered in a mix of Bhojpuri and Hindi. The octogenarian can barely walk and his words are almost unintelligible, but his expressions convey the emotions that he struggles to communicate. Slowly he narrates how his impoverished mother from a village in Devariya in eastern Uttar Pradesh sent him to Karachi to work a domestic help for a landlord named Abu Ahmad. He was eight then, and a year later the British colonial rule ended. India and Pakistan emerged as two nations, and the horrors of Partition made his mother anxious about his well-being. She pestered a traders brother, who worked for the railways, to bring back Nand Kishore. I came back as a grown man with a Pakistani passport and with a new name, Hasmat Ali, he said. As he is no longer the Nand Kishore of Devariya, but a man on a Pakistani passport, he had to live the life of fugitive. Between 1974 and 1998, his visa was extended annually. But the external affairs ministry did not approve any extensions thereafter and ordered his deportation. Nand Kishore had married and made Rudrapur his home by then. Narayanpur and its neighbouring villages have a sizeable population of people from eastern Uttar Pradesh, who have settled there and worked in the farms and industrial units. In 2000, he was supposed to be deported but the process was stopped on humanitarian ground. Nand Kishores case was referred to the government in 2008 for further action, was not taken because of his age and physical state, senior superintendent of police Sadanand Date said. Ramnavam, the eldest of Nand Kishores four sons, said on Saturday that then foreign minister ND Tiwari intervened and his father was sent back home from the Attari border post. Another son, Shyam Bahadur, is worried that his father will die a Pakistani on police records, which say the old man came to India in 1965. Surrounded by an extended family of 24 members, including daughter in law Sonmati who looks after him round-the-clock, Nand Kishore remains hopeful as he murmurs: Nothing will happen to me in my homeland. The Uttarakhand forest department will consult legislators on two proposed tiger reserves in the Terai belt after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) gave its in-principle approval, officials said on Monday. Uttarakhand has now Corbett and Rajaji tiger reserves. The Nandhaur wildlife sanctuary in Nainital district, which stretches till the Nepal border, and Surai range, which is close to Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, are proposed to be new tiger reserves. Officials claim that the Nandhaur sanctuary, notified in 2012, has over 40 tigers, and Surai range has 12. The new reserves will be notified after the state wildlife board gives its approval. Its been three years since we mooted the idea (to NTCA) for having two more tiger reserves. The state government has to take a final call, and we are already in process of looping in concerned legislators whose constituencies are close to the proposed reserves, chief wildlife warden Digvijay Singh Khati said. Additional chief conservator of forest Dhananjai Mohan said both the areas are potential tiger habitats and need a better conservation strategy. Surai is close to Pilibhit and we believe that the tiger movement is to and fro in both the areas. If a reserve is declared in Surai, then better management of tigers in the landscape will be done, Mohan said. Declaration of a tiger reserve will necessitate restrictions on several activities in the notified areas that may not go down well with the local people. The forest department wants to take legislators on board to avoid oppositions. The legislators are not okay with the proposals. Naveen Chandra Dumka, BJP legislator from Lalkuan, said he is against the project. A part of the Nandhaur sanctuary touches Dumkas constituency. We wont be supporting this project as it will hamper development in the area, he said, adding I have already written to the chief minister. In 2016, then chief minister Harish Rawat turned down both the proposals in the state wildlife board meeting. Present chief minister TS Rawat is yet to take up the projects in the board meeting. An embattled Uttarakhand Congress, which has got fresh ammo with the recent suicide of a debt-ridden transporter, will undertake a fact-finding exercise to ascertain the employment losses in factories located in the key industrial belts of the state after demonetisation. The survey comes ahead of the civic polls due in Uttarakhand in April. Transporter Prakash Pandey, who attended a janata darshan (public grievance redressal) programme at the BJPs state office after consuming poison, had blamed demonetisation and subsequent introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for his financial losses. Congress leader Indira Hridayesh said her party would soon reach out to industrialists and labour unions to find out about the quantum of losses including to employment and revenue generation after demonetisation. The surveys focus will be on key industrial belts in Uttarakhand located in Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun districts, said the former finance minister in the erstwhile Congress government. As a part of the exercise, our (Congress) leaders will find out about the impact of demonetisation and GST launch in different industries their respective areas. After the survey, we will submit a report of our findings to the government to demand a special package for the affected persons, said Hridayesh, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2016 announced the NDA governments decision to withdraw the high-denomination notes of 500 and 1,000 in a bid to crack down on the black money and circulation of fake currency. After the currency note recall, a study by the All India Manufacturers Organisation (AIMO) released last year, stated that the micro-small scale industries suffered around 35% job losses and 50% dip in revenue. The AIMO is a body that represents over 3 lakh micro, small, medium and large scale industries of the country. The Congress is also planning to undertake a public campaign in the form of rallies, candle marches and foot marches from January 29 to highlight the suffering of the small businesses and businessmen due to demonetisation and GST among other issues. The ruling BJP, meanwhile, dubbed the Congresss proposed survey as a mark of their frustration. They (Congress leaders) are baffled due to our (BJP) governments growing popularity. They are not able to find any concrete issues and hence resorting to such steps to oppose progressive decisions to fight corruption, said Devendra Bhasin, BJP state unit media in-charge. The Uttarakhand animal husbandry department will establish a unit to distil urine of Badri cows, an indigenous breed, at Nariyal village in Champawat district, and supply it to ayurvedic and pharma companies for medicinal purposes, officials said. Nearly 300 litre cow urine of other breeds is now supplied every month to Patanjali in Haridwar at the rate of Rs 25 per litre. Badri cows became the states first cattle breed to get certified by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal. Present chief minister TS Rawat had named the local cow breed as Badri in 2011 when he was the agriculture minister. In 2012, a cattle breeding centre was opened at Nariyal village, which houses about 150 cows, for preservation of the native breed. The milk of Badri cow has high nutritious value; its urine too holds the key to various health problems. Keeping this in mind, we will establish a unit for distilling the cows urine, which could be supplied to ayurvedic and other pharma companies, said animal husbandry department director SS Bisht. Badri cows give high-quality milk as they feed on herbs and shrubs. Like sheep and goats, these cows graze on steep slopes and have access to better- quality grass and plants. This is not the case with other cow breeds. Other breeds like Red Sindhi are reared in Kalsi in Dehradun district, and their urine is supplied to FMCG group Patanjali, which, officials said, is the only establishment that buys cow urine from Uttarakhand. Officials said 200 Badri cows will be kept at the new unit at Nariyal to distil their urine. Experts claim cow urine helps in the treatment of disorders caused by bacteria, virus and fungi. Theres immense potential in Badri cow urine. In Nagpur (Maharashtra), licences are given to people for collection (of cow urine). If the Uttarakhand government is planning this, it will give boost to the conservation and rearing of the breed here, said Avadhesh Kumar, head of the department of veterinary & animal husbandry extension education, college of veterinary and animal science at Govind Ballabh Pant University in Pantnagar. A research conducted by the Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology and the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee has established that the milk of the cow contains A2 genotype beta casein, which is used for the treatment of diabetes and heart ailments. The animal husbandry department has adopted the Badri breed cow as its logo, which is likely to be inaugurated by the CM on January 19. A 23-year-old woman was abducted and gang-raped in a moving car in Old Faridabad area on Saturday evening. In her statement she said there were four youths in the car out of which three raped her. She was dumped near Sikri village on Mathura Road from where she contacted her brother. At 9pm the victim called her brother and informed that she was near Sikri village on Mathura Road and teams were rushed to the spot, a police spokesperson said. The victim was taken to a hospital for medical examination and her statement was recorded. The woman was returning home from work and was talking to a family member on phone when the incident took place in Rajiv Gandhi Chowk area of Old Faridabad. The victims brother called the police and reported the matter. Police spokesman said the control room also received a call around 6.45pm from a passerby who reported abduction. The victim said that three youth raped her in a Scorpio car while the fourth one was driving, the spokesperson said. She said they switched off her cell phone and gave it back only when they offloaded her, the police spokesman said. A case of abduction and rape has been registered in Old Faridabad Police station and an SIT has been formed. SIT head, Pooja Dabla, was quoted by ANI as saying, Girl was coming back home from office around 6.30pm when she was dragged inside a car, after 2 hours she was dropped near Ballabhgarh. Victim registered FIR, 4 accused not arrested yet, examining CCTV footage. The Aam Aadmi Party will hit streets on Monday to protest against on-going sealing drive by BJP-ruled civic bodies.Party spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said representatives of as many as 250 traders bodies will assemble at the AAP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg at 12 noon before proceeding for a march towards Civic Centre. Officials of three municipal corporations initiated a sealing drive last month, in accordance with the instructions of a Supreme Court-appointed panel that was recently revived by top court. AAP, however claimed that the BJP-ruled civic bodies were harassing traders under the garb of the sealing drive. Municipal corporations ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party have been harassing traders across the city by sealing shops and establishments without prior notices. We have been demanding that the conversion charges be waived off. But the MCD wont listen and continue the harassment, Bhardwaj said. The partys legislators will also discuss the issue during the special session of Delhi Assembly called at 2pm on Monday. AAP Traders Wing convener, Brajesh Goyal, alleged that MCD officials are demanding conversion charges from shop owners who have already paid it. Not just retail markets in Rohini, Pitampura, Shadra but whole sale markets in in Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazaar have also been affected. We fail to understand what is the pressing need to collect conversion charges when we do not know what happened to charges in crores collected over the last decade, Goyal said. The monitoring panel comprising, KJ Rao, former advisor to the Election Commission, Bhure Lal, chairman of Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority (EPCA) and Major General (retd) Som Jhingan is also empowered to seal commercial establishments that have done illegal construction and where agricultural land has been misused for commercial purposes. The Aam Aadmi Partys plans to organise a protest march on Monday afternoon over the on-going sealing drive by civic bodies were marred by counter-protesters who raised anti-Kejriwal slogans outside the partys office at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg. At noon, as party workers, leaders and municipal councillors started assembling to participate in the scheduled protest march from AAP office to the Civic Centre, a group of youths appeared outside the office raising anti-Arvind Kejriwal slogans. The members of the group Delhi Dehat Yuva Shakti alleged that the Delhi chief minister had cheated the people of rural Delhi by ignoring their demands of better facilities such as roads, transport and drinking water. Arvind Kejriwal has come with a promise of better services in Delhi, particularly in rural parts on outer Delhi. But he has failed on every count. We wanted to meet him but he has no time even to meet us, said Devender Kumar, one of the agitators. As the group protested, a group of policemen rushed to the spot and confined the protestors to one end of the road by placing barricades. It took police officials around 15 minutes to disperse them till the AAP protest march came out of the office and proceeded towards Civic Centre on Minto Road. Before the AAP march, party leader and Delhi convener Gopal Rai alleged that traders were being harassed by the BJP-led corporations in the garb of the sealing drive across Delhi. The drive is being carried out under the supervision of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee against commercial establishments flouting municipal byelaws. Traders are already burdened with demonetisation and improper implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Now, the sealing drive has sent shockwaves among traders. The MCDs are using the exercise to extort money from them, Rai said. AAPs march, attended by over three hundred traders and party workers, was led by party leader Dilip Pandey. We know the MCDs have collected crores of Rupees as conversion charges. But we dont know where that money is being spent, Pandey said. The march ended at the Civic Centre where the agitators staged a demonstration against MCD. AAP traders wing convener Brajesh Goyal alleged that MCD officials are demanding conversion charges from shop owners who have already paid it. Officials of three municipal corporations initiated a sealing drive last month, in accordance with the instructions of a Supreme Court-appointed panel that was recently revived by top court. The monitoring panel comprising KJ Rao, former advisor to the Election Commission, Bhure Lal, chairman of Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority and major general (retd) Som Jhingan is also empowered to seal commercial establishments that have done illegal construction and where agricultural land has been misused for commercial purposes. Day One of the Delhi Assemblys winter session was mired in disruptions as Aam Aadmi Party legislators and the Opposition sparred over the ongoing sealing drive in the city. Marshals had to be called in to take the Opposition BJP MLAs out of the House. Soon after the House was convened, the ruling AAP MLAs rushed into the well of the House, demanding a discussion on the drive against properties that allegedly violate municipal norms. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, on the other hand, raked up the issue of an alleged delay on the governments part in changing the land use of 351 roads across the national Capital. The din forced the Speaker Ram Niwas Goel to adjourn the House four times in a span of just two hours. After the fourth adjournment, when the House resumed at 4:15 pm, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia accused the BJP of extorting money from the traders in the name of sealing drives and conversion charge. The BJP is running away from a discussion because they have cheated the traders. They are extorting money through sealing drives. They do not want traders to do business, Sisodia told the House. Sisodias speech was interrupted by the leader of the Opposition Vijender Gupta and his party colleague Manjinder Singh Sirsa. The two BJP members insisted that the issue of 351 roads, which has been pending since 2007, be taken up in the House. This prompted Goel to order that they be escorted out by the marshals. Summon MCD commissioners AAP MLA from Greater Kailash Saurabh Bharadwaj urged the Speaker to summon the commissioners and chief accountants of the three municipal corporations in the Assembly on Wednesday. He said that the commissioners should inform the House of how the MCD spent around Rs 1,000 crore that was allegedly collected as conversion charges over the past 12 years. Through RTIs it has come to our knowledge that they have diverted this money (collected as conversion charge) in the name of fake loans. A resolution will be tabled tomorrow, if other MLAs agree to the proposal, Bharadwaj said. Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba also hit out at the BJP, alleging that it had been collecting conversion charges for over 10 years, but was not issuing receipts to traders. The Delhi government in 2006 had notified 2,550 roads as commercial or mixed land use but 351 roads were left out. The AAP government has been blaming the BJP-ruled MCDs, citing certain deficiencies on the part of the civic bodies for the delay in notifying the 351 roads. The discussion will continue on Tuesday with the urban development minister Satyendar Jain likely to reply to the queries of the Opposition. Opposition protests After being marshalled out of the House, Gupta displayed a poster which read AAP, stop drama on sealing drive and notify 351 roads. He also alleged that AAP was sitting on files related to the notification of roads. Gupta alleged he was not allowed to speak in the house. The mike of BJP MLAs was switched off again and again whenever they tried to raise the issue. Ultimately, the speaker forced us out of the House. On the contrary, the Speaker allowed the AAP MLAs to display banners in the House and shout slogans in the well, he said. The admission process to Delhi University (DU) may begin earlier than usual for the upcoming academic session as a senior university official said that registrations for admissions may begin as early as the first week of April. Until now, the registration of admissions usually begins around the last of week of May. The university is working to make the process of admissions more streamlined and easier for the students, said MK Pandit, chairperson of the admission committee and the dean at the faculty of science. The admission committee is mulling measures to deal with moderation in marks that takes place in many state boards, which would, in turn, help the colleges to set realistic cutoffs and shorten the admission process. Pandit added that DU is also considering steps to make the process easier like computer-based online tests for PG admissions, forensic experts to check the veracity of certificates, and reinforcing the grievance redressal mechanism by fixing phone lines and deploying more volunteers at the University Information Centre. The ministry of human resource development (MHRD) had last year issued advisories to all state and central boards, asking them to give up the practice of spiking marks in Class 10, and 12. However, school boards reportedly continue with a policy to grant marks for difficult or ambiguous questions in exam papers and offer a level playing field to all students in the evaluation process. The 47-member admission committee, 33 of which met on Monday, has said it will ask all boards about such moderation policies before setting cutoff guidelines. CBSE has said that it will not allow any moderation this year. We will ask the other boards if they are going to have moderation or spiking... so we may frame our guidelines (for cutoffs) based on that. Otherwise, it would be unfair to applicants (whose boards dont moderate or spike marks), said Pandit, adding that the panels efforts are to put students from all boards on an equal setting. Pandit said the committee may have an orientation of sorts for principals of different colleges, as many colleges set unrealistic cutoff, and hence their seats remain vacant until the third or fourth cutoff lists. The admission committee was acting on feedback about the prolonged admission process at the university, with more than 10 cutoff lists commonplace most years. We are thinking we will have a kind of orientation prior to finalising the first, second and third cutoffs. We will bring the principals (of colleges) in one place and present to them the whole data, so they know where their college can stand in terms of cutoffs, said Pandit. While they are mulling over taking the entire admission and counselling process online, starting from the 2019-2020 academic year, admissions to all post-graduate and the entrance-based undergraduate courses will be done on the basis of computer-based online tests, starting this academic year. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Monday proposed to install free sanitary napkin vending machines in all secondary and senior secondary Navyug or NDMC schools, develop five institutions on Lodhi Road as schools of excellence and set up language labs and digital libraries this financial year. The council announced its budget for the financial year 2018-19 with a focus on education and smart governance. The total receipts of the budget estimates (BE) 2018-19 are R3935.91 crore against R3677.24 crore provided in revised estimate (RE) 2017-18. The actual receipts in 2016-17 were R3465.20 crore, NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar said, while presenting the budget on Monday. The proposals include introduction of a student exchange programme with the states in the northeast and introduction of management automation systems in NDMC and Navyug schools. Development of five NDMC schools on Lodhi Road into schools of excellence, conducting quality assessment of Navyug schools and setting up of teachers resource centre have also been proposed to be taken up in education department. To increase level of hygiene in girl students, sanitary napkin vending machines will be installed in the year 2018-19 in all secondary and senior secondary Navyug or NDMC schools in collaboration with HLL Lifecare Limited to dispense free sanitary napkins to girl students, Kumar said. It is also proposed that a 100-bed girls hostel will be constructed and attached with Navyug Girls International School for the daughters of martyrs of the paramilitary forces. The council will bear the cost of education, boarding and all other facilities for such students. It has proposed that the money for the scheme will be incurred from the smart city initiatives. The budget proposed by the chairman also focuses on e-governance. Kumar said the council will link all the services with the mobile app NDMC 311. The focus of our budget is to ensure good governance using technology and improving efficiency. The idea is to rely more on digital systems and cut down use of paper. We have already introduced e-health care, smart parking, grievance system and so on, through our mobile app and, further, we will add more features in the app, said Kumar. People do not have to visit the council offices after the file tracking system is enabled. They will be able to track the status of their file while sitting at home, he said. The goals set up for e-governance and m-governance, include rendering municipal services and grievance redressal through mobile application, mobile e-challaning, geo-tagging of public toilet units, development of software for municipal housing allotment, online road cutting permission system, online applications for electricity and water connections and online mutation of properties. The smart city project continued to get a major portion of the civic bodys budget for the third consecutive year. Under the Smart City project, the NDMC proposed to set up solar trees, smart roads and smart parking systems, smart bus queue shelters and smart public toilet units. The council also announced its intent of improving its rank in the Swacchta standings. Last year, the NDMC area had been placed seventh in the country and first in North India. NDMC is planning to procure four organic waste converters of 2 metric tonnes capacity, which will to be placed at residential colonies where the segregation of waste has already been started by the residents, the budget document stated. More e-waste bins, mechanical road sweepers, reverse vending machines and composting pits will also be installed in such areas, as per the budget. A 31-year-old gangster was killed after three men fired nearly a dozen bullets at him outside an eatery in Rohinis Prashant Vihar on Monday afternoon, police said. The victim, Ravi Bhardwaj, was a resident of Alipur and was involved in at least nine cases, including murder and attempt to murder, police added. Kumar went to the eatery, almost a kilometre away from the Rohini Court, where he had earlier appeared for a hearing. The murder is suspected to be an outcome of a fallout between Bhardwaj and Jatinder alias Gogi, who is one of Delhis most-wanted gangsters. Police are probing if Bhardwaj had joined Gogis rival gangster Tillu and if one of the shooters on Monday was Gogi himself. Deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta said the incident happened around 1.30pm. Bhardwaj had gone to a chhole bhature shop close to Lancers Convent School and after finishing his meal, he came out to wash his hands. While washing his hands, three men with their faces covered reached there in a car and started firing at him with pistols, said Gupta. A CCTV footage of the incident showed three men shooting Bhardwaj in presence of other eyewitnesses. Some of the onlookers were seen running away as soon as the firing started.The men then fled the spot. Gupta said they are probing if there was a fourth person present in the car. Locals took Bhardwaj to the nearby Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The police was informed by the hospital staff. Gupta said Bhardwaj had gone to the court in the morning in a car with four friends. They, however, left him at the eatery and then left. We are questioning his friends to find out if they had provided any leads to the shooters. One of the three men accompanying Bhardwaj also had a court appearance, said Gupta. Property dealer turned criminal Gupta said he was not aware about the case for which Bhardwaj was to be produced at the court and refused to divulge his previous crime history. A senior Delhi police crime branch officer said that Bhardwaj was a property dealer turned criminal and was active till 2014. He was arrested by us in 2013 but he jumped his interim bail and was arrested the following year by the special cell of Delhi police for his repeated involvement in organised crimes. He was also involved in the murder and assault on policemen in the past, said the officer. The Godmother of one of Delhis largest crime families is on the run after fresh charges of murder and kidnapping surfaced against her barely two months after she was released on bail, police said on Sunday. The 62-year-old Basiran and her seven sons, including a teenager, were in jail for more than 100 crimes ranging from bootlegging to robbery and extortion to murder. The family is based in South Delhis Sangam Vihar. The woman took a contract of Rs 60,000 for a murder and plotted to kidnap a young man for ransom in an attempt to collect money to pay for her sons bail, a police officer said. The police are considering charging her with stricter laws, which will make getting bail tougher. As reported by Hindustan Times on November 2, Basiran was in jail for extortion and was never charged with more heinous crimes such as murder, though she is considered by the police to be the ringleader of a crime syndicate. Police are trying to track Basiran after three men and another woman were arrested on January 10 in Sangam Vihar for kidnapping and murder. The men worked allegedly for Basirans son, Rahul Khan, who is in jail. They were thrashing a young man and trying to extort Rs 50,000 from him. The man had bought a new motorcycle and they tried to get some money out of him, Sangam Vihar station house officer Upender Singh said. The three allegedly told the police that Basiran was involved in a murder after her stint in jail. This led the investigators to a woman named Munni Begum, who had allegedly paid to get her brother killed. Begum was arrested and police found during questioning that Basiran took the contract money and paid Rs 18,000 to hitmen working for Khan. They killed Begums brother, disfigured his face and burned the body in a woody area, officer Singh said. The findings fit the case of an unidentified, disfigured and burnt body found in a patch of forest near Sangam Vihar on November 15. Basirans husband, Malkhan Singh, the lone male member in the family who does not have a single criminal case against him, is also on the run. Maybe he has crossed over to the wrong side of the law too, an investigating officer said. A desperate quest for money to buy a birthday present led to a robbery-cum-murder in Govindpuri where a 24-year-old civil engineering student was stabbed to death in a park two days ago by four people, the police said on Monday. Deputy commissioner of police (south east) Chinmoy Biswal said that all four accused have been arrested, who said that one of them wanted to buy a present for his wifes birthday, the day the crime was committed. We arrested four men identified as Surender, Sanjay, Pawan Kumar and Ram Babu. Surender, along with other three accomplices, planned a robbery to buy a gift for his wife during which the murder took place, said Biswal. Surender and Sanjay have been previously involved in robberies and were aware that they could find vulnerable people in the park. They convinced Kumar and Babu to join them as the duo wanted to enter the crime world to make quick money, said Biswal. Biswal said all the accused kept a watch at the forested area in the monkey park from Tughlaqabad Fort and decided to target Naresh and his 21-year-old female friend while they were entering the park. The accused already had knives and they all descended from the fort walls towards the jungle where they found the victims. They demanded that their wallets, mobiles and the womans jewellery be handed over to them. When Naresh refused to handover the articles and resisted, one of the assailants stabbed him in the chest, said Biswal adding that the four men then decamped with all the articles. Biswal said that the police first questioned the listed criminals of the area and saw their phone locations to zero in on the suspects. We also deployed secret informers to gather local intelligence about the accused. Based on all these clues, we zeroed in on Surender and Sanjay who had also served jail term after getting convicted in a robbery case earlier, said Biswal. Thereafter, raids were conducted at Tughlaqabad Extension and Surender was arrested, who confessed and led the police to his accomplices. The robbed articles were also recovered from them. Surender claims to have completed studies and learnt dancing while he was in jail. He claims to have participated in several dance competitions and shows around Delhi and even in Tihar Jail where he was lodged earlier. After being released, he tried to open a dance school but that did not take off. He was sustaining on money his wife and mother were earning, said Biswal. Sporting a black coat, black trousers, white shirt, a hat and a flowing black beard, Akiva Soundry is an eccentric foreigner for some, and a magician for some others. However, for the thousands of Israelis visiting Delhi, Akiva - the Rabbi at Chabad House in Paharganj is a friend, religious leader and a local guide. I always wear the dress whenever I go out, so that I am recognised as a Rabbi, says Akiva. But, beyond the narrow streets of Paharganj, where he is now a familiar figure, it is a difficult pursuit in a city which has only 10 Jewish families, and where there is little awareness about Judaism. However, that has not deterred Akiva from living a rabbinic life. Akiva is pretty excited about the growing friendship between India and Israel. He will be meeting the visiting Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, along with other Rabbis from across India at Chabad House in Mumbai the site of the 2008 terrorist attacks on Wednesday. While most visitors to the Chabad House are Israeli tourists who stay in Paharganj hotels, Akiva says, some of the Delhi Jews too come at times. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) I am happy that our prime minister is paying a reciprocal visit after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel a few months back, says Akiva. India is a great country, where all religions have found acceptance. It has transformed me from an angry, impatient man into a calm, patient person. But his thoughts about India were different when, as a 23-year-old, he landed in Delhi in the middle of a cold, foggy January night in 2011. It was frightening as the taxi cut through Delhis floating fog. All I could see were blinking red tail lights of vehicles, says Akiva. I thought I would not survive Delhi for more than a couple of weeks. But since that cold January night seven years ago, Delhi has grown on Akiva, a native of Jerusalem. Slowly, I fell in love with the city and I stayed, says Akiva. Chabad House, a part of Jewish community network, is headquartered in Brooklyn in New York. There are about 5,000 such centres, including 20 in India, that advance the cause of orthodox Hasidic movement (a mystical Jewish movement founded in Poland in the 18th century in reaction to the rigid academicism of rabbinical Judaism). One of the four volunteers who help Rabbi Akiva Soundry run the Chabad House. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) As the Rabbi of the Chabad House, he and his wife host programmes, activities and religious services for the Israeli tourists and business travellers visiting capital. Two armed personnelone each from Delhi Police and Rajasthan Armed Constabulary guard the place throughout the day. Akiva says that about 200 Israeli tourists visit the place every day in summers. They come here not just to seek my guidance on religious matters but also on finding hotels, dealing with situations like lost passports, and for kosher food. For them it is a home away from home, he says, sitting at a large table at the first-floor of the Chabad House located in a narrow lane in Paharganj. Behind him is a wooden bookshelf with hundreds of books on Jewish philosophy and religion, and an almirah with the Torah. The pale yellow walls of the large first-floor hall has the pictures of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Chabad Rebbe, who is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century. Many visiting Israelis spend a lot of time talking to me about Judaism. In fact, for a lot them it is the first opportunity to interact with a Rabbi. Many of them are too busy to have such long discussions on Judaism back home, says Akiva, who, on Friday and Saturday, leads Shabbat prayers at Chabad House. It is a place where we eat, sing, dance and offer prayers, says the Rabbi. Two armed personnelone each from Delhi Police and Rajasthan Armed Constabulary guard the Chabad House throughout the day. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) While most visitors to the Chabad House are Israeli tourists who stay in Paharganj hotels, Akiva says, some of the Delhi Jews too come at times. A majority of Israeli Jews who live in Delhi are diplomats, but now a lot of young Israeli expatriates also work in multinational companies in Gurgaon, he says. India has about 5,000 Jews, of which 4,000 live in Mumbai. The government should provide them the minority status to help preserve Jewish culture, religion and their way of life in India, Akiva says. The first-floor of Chabad House is the place for prayers and community programmes. The second has kitchen which offers kosher food and the third floor is the Rabbis residence where he lives with his wife and three children. The Chabad House is supported by donations from visitors; besides, Akiva, too has to raise funds. Four young volunteers from Israel two men and two womenalso help the couple in running the affairs of the community house. The most difficult aspect of Akivas life in the city, he says, has been food. When I came here it was very difficult to find kosher food. But now our own kitchen offers it to the visiting Israelis, says Akiva. In the kitchen with the seating arrangement, one can see backpackers enjoying a range of Israeli dishes, including Falafel and Bamba. But the family still gets its milk, cookies and sweets from Israel. Chabad House, a part of Jewish community network, is headquartered in Brooklyn in New York. There are about 5,000 such centres, including 20 in India, that advance the cause of orthodox Hasidic movement (a mystical Jewish movement founded in Poland in the 18th century in reaction to the rigid academicism of rabbinical Judaism). (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO) As we talk, a visitor from Israel arrives with a carton and as his wife, Chaya, opens it, his three children rushes to pick their favourite cookies and sweets. Chaya, who was born and brought up in a village near Tel Aviv, came to Delhi in the summer of 2012, and found the heat, noise, crowds, the pollution, oppressive. I wanted to go back immediately but my husband said I should try out the city for two weeks, says Chaya She did, and, like her husband, she too decided to stay back. One of their three children was born In India. The couples eldest daughter, Shira, will be joining an online Jewish school since there are no Jewish schools in Delhi. We are deeply religious people and want our children to go to a Jewish school only. Once she is in high school, she will have to go to Israel for studies, says Chaya, who has picked a bit of Hindi. I have been told by countless people that Chaya is also a Hindi word and it means shadow in Hindi. But in Hebrew, it means life. Chaya, who last visited Israel three years ago, says while she likes Delhi, life in Paharganj Delhis backpackers heaven is not easy for her children. There is hardly any place to walk or to play. In fact, once or twice a week, we travel to malls in south Delhi, not for shopping but to ensure our children can move around, and play a bit she says. The family spends most of their time at the Chabad House, attending to the travellers. I do not have local friends, so I spend a lot of time here meeting visitors, says Chaya, who also gives lessons in Judaism to the Jewish visitors. Once in a year, in August, the family travels to New York where the couple has friends and relatives. What is it about India that fascinates her most? The fact that people are very simple, happy and content with whatever they have, says Chaya. New Delhi A day after Hindustan Times reported how the Godmother of one of Delhis largest crime families is on the run, the Delhi police on Monday wrote to a subdivisional magistrate (SDM) and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) that the 62-year-old had control over three government borewells in Sangam Vihar. The family was illegally extracting water from these wells and selling it to local residents. In south Delhis Sangam Vihar, one of Indias largest unauthorised colonies where the DJB is yet to provide piped water to all houses, the government has installed bore wells. Police said Basiran and her gang members, mostly her jailed sons friends, control the three bore wells and illegally sell water. They charge anywhere between Rs 600 and Rs 1,000 per month from each household. Police told the SDM of Kalkaji that the family is a part of the water mafia and supply water to at least 500 families at I block and K-6 block during the Sunday market. DCP South Romil Baaniya said, We have written to the DJB seeking clarification on how they have control over the wells. Investigation is on. Hindustan Times had earlier reported on November 2 that the woman was in jail for extortion along with her seven sons, including a juvenile, who have over 100 criminal cases such as murder, robbery, extortion, snatching, arms act and other similar crimes. While the woman was out on bail, fresh charges of murder and kidnapping surfaced against her on January 10. She has been absconding since Friday evening, police said. In November, within days of coming out of prison on bail, Basiran had allegedly taken a contract of Rs 60,000 for a murder and plotted to kidnap a young man for ransom in an attempt to collect money to pay for her sons bail, a police officer said. On January 10, police rescued a 21-year-old who was being beaten by three men inside a jungle in Sangam Vihar. The three men told police they were friends of Basirans son Rahul Khan, presently lodged in Tihar. After allegedly admitting that they were hired by Basiran, they led the police to a woman named Munni Begum, who had reportedly paid Rs 60,000 to Basiran for a murder. Police said on Sunday that Basiran had paid Rs 18,000 to her sons friends to kill Begums brother, whose disfigured and burnt body was found in the second week of November. Investigating officials said Basirans husband, Malkhan Singh, is the only male member in her family without a crime record. While his wife and sons were in jail, Singh was always at home rearing his goats in the forested areas near their house. Since Friday, Singh is also missing along with his wife. Investigating officers say this has never happened before but by locking his house and switching off his phones, police suspect Singh may have finally become a fugitive. The Social Attitude Research India survey conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and UP recently does not throw up any significant surprises. It shows that close to two-thirds of the population in rural Rajasthan and rural Uttar Pradesh practise untouchability and half the same population is opposed to Dalit and non-Dalit Hindu marriages. In fact, the respondents favoured a law which would prevent such marriages. While caste prejudices are very hard to erase in a rural milieu, what should be equally worrying is that they are still very much prevalent in urban areas and institutions. We saw evidence of this in the Rohit Vemula case in Hyderabad University and in the Kanhaiya case in JNU. The easiest answer is the quota system for Dalits in institutions of higher education, government jobs, local governments and so on. This is contentious because critics will argue that this gives an unfair advantage to the better off among Dalits, reinforces caste and goes against the merit principle. The better option would be to address the problem at the primary education level. The public education system should be re-oriented to ensure that Dalit children enrol and stay in schools. Education is a cost-effective tool to ensure that disadvantaged children get a more equal footing in later life. The other method would be to have more robust implementation of poverty alleviation schemes for Dalit families. Studies have shown that those who attend schools undergo a generational transformation in their aspirations and their confidence. The main aim should be to enable Dalits to compete on their own steam. To expect social attitudes and casteist mindsets to vanish overnight is utopian. The very fact that Dalits are still described as disadvantaged is proof how little progress there has been. The state should create enabling conditions for them to move up the social mobility ladder on their own merit. The biggest obstacle in the understanding of the persistence of class and caste is the near total absence of empowering education among Dalits. For regressive concepts such as untouchability to vanish, it is politics that must change first, mindsets will follow. In a recent missive issued to the faculty members of the Indian Institute of Management - Lucknow, director Ajit Prasad has restricted professors from speaking to the media. May we stick to the protocol of letting CCMR (Corporate Communication and Media Relations) be the only body to issue press statements, said Prasad, making it clear that if any faculty member wanted to speak to journalists, they had to do so in their individual capacity. Make sure you tell the correspondent that you have nothing to do with IIM-L, said Prasad. Expressing his unhappiness with professors interacting with media persons, the director said in an e-mail: Some of you are talking to the press on CAT (Common Admission Test) and other related issues. IIM-L conducted CAT 2017, the result of which was declared on January 8. This year, two women and three non-engineering aspirants figured among the top 20 candidates who scored 100 percentile. After that, many journalists called up the institutes professors to get an insight into the changes that were made in the question paper format to help women and non-engineering students crack the coveted top 20 list. Reportedly, this did not go down well with the director. Within a day or two after the results, the director sent an email to all faculty, telling them not to speak to media, said an angry professor on condition of anonymity. Another professor upset with Prasads email said, Why should teachers be kept from speaking to free press? In search of answers to their questions, journalists will approach different professors to get their views and the director should not object to this. Some professors also said they would approach members of the board of governors in their individual capacity to express their anguish in the matter. When contacted, Ajit Prasad said, There is a danger of misrepresentation and conflicting views and interpretations. That is why I have requested all faculty to route all communication through the CCMR, so that a consolidated view can be presented. IIM-L, one of the top management institutes of the country, has been mired in controversy of late. The 132nd meeting of the board of governors on September 29, 2017 recorded allegations of violation of norms for faculty promotion, appointment of extra deans, extension of retirement age, purchase of vehicle and reclining chairs, etc. A committee, constituted by the union ministry of human resource development (MHRD) to probe the alleged financial irregularities in the institute, has begun procuring records from the accounts department For 25-year-old Surekha Pawar, a visually-challenged MA student of Politics at the University of Mumbai (MU), the three-step journey via bus-train-bus from her hostel in Mulund to the Kalina campus of MU is a daily struggle. As a newcomer to the city from the remote village of Valtur in Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, the first six months of travelling alone were the most difficult, says the former student of Kirti College. She has been living in Mumbai since the past four years and the struggle is easier now, she says. She is not alone. More differently-abled students are opting for higher education despite the logistical and physical challenges, yet there is a long way to go. On December 15, the Supreme Court stated that disabled students have a right to higher education, and not providing it amounts to discrimination on the part of the institutes. It directed the government institutions of higher education and those that received aid from the government to abide by the provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. The Act provides for reservation of not less than five per cent seats for persons with benchmark disabilities (a person with no less than forty per cent of any of the disabilities listed in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, namely blindness, low vision, leprosy cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation, mental illness, cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, acid attack victims, hard of hearing, speech and language disability, specific learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, chronic neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinsons disease, blood disorders such as haemophilia, thalassemia, and sickle cell anaemia, and multiple disabilities). The All India Survey on Higher Education (2016-17) conducted and published by the Ministry of Human Resource Development Department of Higher Education of the Government of India mentions that the Enrolment of Persons with Disability (PWD) has mix trend of growth over the years in all states but no definite trend is visible. UNITED WE STAND When Mumbai resident and visually challenged student, Siddhesh Tendulkar (right) took admission at Wilson College at Class 11 in 2011, his hurdle was not the usual kind. It was the English medium of instruction that he found challenging. Most students would have simply dropped out. But the following year, Tendulkar enrolled in Ruia College with Marathi as his language of instruction. The blind centre in our college was very helpful, says the 24-year-old student. He participated in extra-curricular activities throughout college. Our college celebrates Louis Braille day with a special event. I participated in singing and quiz contests and also anchored in the event, he says. He and a group of seven visually challenged friends also formed a study group to share notes and study. Together we can progress faster, he says. He earned his BA degree in 2016 and is currently enrolled in a certificate course in Fragrance and Aroma with CPL institute. INDEPENDENCE MATTERS Born with a tumour on her backbone and physically-challenged since she was nine months old, due to surgical complications (during the removal of the tumour), Gitanjali Suryawanshi, 23, didnt let her body or her childhood in a small town in rural Maharashtra get in the way of her educational dreams. She moved to Pune to complete undergraduate studies at S P College and completed her Masters in Social Work at Karve Institute of Social Sciences. As an undergraduate, she participated the college hostels dance, drama and singing contests. She was also a part of the management team of the events. Living independently in a city like Pune was the biggest challenge for me, says Suryawanshi. She topped the entrance test of Karve Institute in the first year. She now aspires to travel the world. ACTIVIST MODE As a child, orthopedically-challenged Diksha Dinde (above), 24, was denied admission in a regular school and ended up completing her education until Class 7 at a local municipal school and thereafter in a regular school till class 10. She appeared for her SSC exams and did well enough to secure a place Class 11 at the same school that had rejected her as a child. She went on to complete her Bachelors degree in Commerce majoring in Business Administration from Hujurpaga college in Pune. Dinde is now a student of MA in History at the Indira Gandhi Open University. Shes also a global youth ambassador of A World At School, a United Nations-supported digital mobilisation and communication initiative harnessing the efforts and energies of the many NGOs, teachers organisations, faith groups, individuals and youth campaigners to make education a reality for all the worlds children. The Pune resident volunteers to work with underprivileged children, is also a motivational speaker and champions disability rights. VISION FOR ALL Visually-challenged student Abhay Patil, 27, is pursuing an M A in History at the University of Mumbai. He had to take a break of four years before his Class 10 exams, due to health problems that led him to losing his vision completely. His biggest challenge in college was not coping with the curriculum, but finding a writer for his exams. Today, he volunteers as a coordinator with a non-profit called Team Vision, which works for the visually-challenged by providing readers and writers for their studies, organising cultural events and treks for them. I acted in a play while volunteering [with Team Vision] and played the role of Shivaji Maharaj, says Patil. He is working on a creating and running an online audio library to provide academic resources for students like himself and hopes to become a professor of History. Success is a journey, not a destination, he says. FINDING YOURSELF A second-year MA student in Convergent Journalism at Jamia Milia Islamia University, Tavanpal Singh suffers from cerebral palsy, a condition that limits his mobility. The 23-year-old hails from Amritsar, Punjab and came to Delhi for his post-graduate studies. During his journalism course, he created a photo-essay of his experience as a differently-abled student. It helped me express my feelings of claustrophobia, says Singh. He says his family many of them are doctors has been very supportive of his career choices and aspirations and has received similar support from the faculty members in college and university. If you are not getting enough support as a differently-abled student, voice your concerns, he says. You are not disabled, you are differently-abled. Every person has a quality that makes him or her unique. You just have to find yours. Consuming coconut oil daily for just four weeks may lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, suggests a recent study. Researchers Kay-Tee Khaw and Professor Nita Forouhi from the University of Cambridge conducted the study on 94 volunteers between the ages of 50 and 75, none of whom had a history of heart disease or diabetes, reports Independent. They split the participants into three groups and each of them was asked to consume 50 grams or roughly three tablespoons of either coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil or unsalted butter every day for four weeks. They wanted to analyse that how eating these fats regularly would affect the volunteers cholesterol levels. The findings indicated that the participants, who consumed butter saw an average rise of 10% in their levels of LDL cholesterol, known as the bad cholesterol. Those, who consumed olive oil saw a slight reduction in LDL levels and a five percent rise in HDL cholesterol levels, which is often referred to as the good cholesterol. Meanwhile, the participants who ate coconut oil saw the biggest rise in HDL levels with an average of 15%. I think decisions to eat particular oils depend on more than just the health effects, the researchers stated. Delhi-based businessman Rahul Sainani, 32, has been vaping for almost a year and says he is almost 99% off cigarettes. He used to smoke a pack a day. Apart from a drag here and there, I have nearly stopped. I cut down almost as soon as I started getting my fix in another form, Sainani adds. Hes not sure about getting over the vaping, though. Sainani started smoking when he was in Class 11. He developed respiratory issues last year and his doctor calculated he had smoked close to 65,000 cigarettes in all. That kind of scared me. I realized I needed to do something about this habit, he says. That something is working for now, but its still delivering a toxic substance to his bloodstream and hes not sure he can give up his e-cigarettes at all. I plan to gradually reduce the nicotine content in my vaping liquid. Even if I am never able to stop, its still better than smoking a cigarette, he says. This is a common refrain, and its cause for concern, doctors say. In just 14 years since the e-cigarette was invented by a Chinese pharmacist, it has already spread around the world. By 2023, its adoption rate is expected to outstrip that of cigarettes. The reason it has caught on so rapidly is the same reason it is so hard to give up vaping (incidentally, Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year in 2014) mimics the smokers ritualistic behaviour of holding a cigarette, puffing, and delivers a hit of the addictive nicotine too. E-cigs are certainly less damaging to the lungs and respiratory system, but the jury is still out on how safe they inherently are. And because of the misconception that they are relatively harmless, they are proving to be a gateway drug for nicotine addiction among the young including teens who may not have taken up smoking at all. Amid the concern, Bihar recently became the eighth Indian state to ban e-cigarettes, after Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Mizoram, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh. The government is examining how to tackle the consumption of electronic smoking on the basis of the reports of three panels formed by the health ministry to study different aspects of the issue, union health minister JP Nadda said in the winter session of Parliament. E-cigarettes cause population-level harm, doctors say. Side-effects include insomnia, heightened risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, complications in pregnancy and low sperm count. (Sanchit Khanna / HT Photo) Safety is a concern. There is no arguing with the fact that Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is the best way to get smokers to quit. But nicotine patches, gum and lozenges are all less addictive than e-cigarettes in this role, doctors say. Apoorv Pandit, a 37-year-old entrepreneur from Mumbai, started smoking in 2003 and smoked about a pack a day for the next decade. E-cigarettes seemed like a lesser evil, so he switched in 2013. It was a step towards quitting, but still an addiction, he says. Because the ritual of puffing persists, theres arguably a higher risk of returning to cigarettes, as Pandit did in three months. Since last July, he has gone cold turkey. E-cigarettes helped but I realised that smoking both electronic and real ones are addictions making my lifespan shorter. If I was going to quit, I had to just quit, he says. For those who dont give it up, long-term side-effects of vaping include insomnia, anxiety, a heightened risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, complications in pregnancy and low sperm count. As a rule, we recommend patches over e-cigarettes because patches are external; the nicotine doesnt go into the bloodstream directly, says Dr Jaishree Bankira, consulting oncophysician at Mumbais SRV Mamata Hospital. As a result, patches also dont have the kinds of severe side-effects one risks with e-cigarettes, she adds. A World Health Organisation (WHO) report released in 2014 on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems or ENDS had this to say about nicotine in the bloodstream: Although nicotine itself is not a carcinogen, it may function as a tumour promoter. Nicotine seems involved in fundamental aspects of the biology of malignant diseases, as well as of neurodegeneration. The evidence is sufficient to caution children and adolescents, pregnant women, and women of reproductive age about ENDS use because of the potential for fetal and adolescent nicotine exposure to have long-term consequences for brain development. Given the relatively recent entry of ENDS into the market and the lengthy lag time for onset of many diseases of interest, such as cancer, conclusive evidence about the association of ENDS use with such diseases will not be available for years or even decades. E-cigarettes cause population level harm, one or two people may benefit but overall it seems more like a gateway product to smoking cigarettes, especially among kids, says Dr SK Khandelwal, former head of psychiatry at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. Actor-comedian Aziz Ansari issued a statement Sunday in response to a claim of sexual misconduct by a woman he dated briefly last year in September. He was responding to a Brooklyn photographer who revealed how Ansari coerced her into oral sex. Addressing the womans accusation that she felt violated, Ansari on Sunday said he had taken her words to heart. The actor was quoted by The Wrap as saying, he believed everything that happened between him and the woman, a Brooklyn photographer who spoke with Babe.net about her accusations, had been consensual. The said photographer had written a first-hand account, published on Babe.net, titled I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into the worst night of my life. She accused him of repeatedly pressurising her for oral sex and intercourse, and at several points ignoring her clear non-verbal cues. This image, released by Netflix, shows Aziz Ansari in a scene from, Master of None. (AP) The lady said she asked Ansari to slow down but the actor responded, Where do you want me to f*** you? She also shared the alleged text messages that she shared with Aziz the next day, after he asked her how the date was for her. Last night mightve been fun for you, but it wasnt for me. You ignored clear non-verbal clues; you kept going with advances. She carried on, I want to make sure youre aware so maybe the next girl doesnt have to cry on the ride home. Ansari purportedly replied, Clearly, I misread things in the moment and Im truly sorry. In a statement released on Sunday, Ansari further said that he reached out to her privately after taking the time to process what she had said. He also said that he continues to support anti-sexual assault and harassment movements like #MeToo and Times Up, The Hollywood Reporter reported. A copy of his statement, which The Hollywood Reporter says was released by his rep, reads: In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual. The next day, I got a text from her saying that although it may have seemed okay, upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable. It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned. I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said. I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue. Follow @htshowbiz for more The Congress on Monday asked BJP to appreciate humour in politics, and said there was nothing vicious or malafide in the video put out by it that made fun of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hugging world leaders. I think it is time that we started appreciating the virtues of humour in politics. I think it is time that we stop tilting at windmills. Whatever the view depicts is nothing but a sense of humour and a coining of words, Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said when asked about BJP taking strong objection to the tweet. With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visiting India, we look forward to more hugs from PM Modi! #Hugplomacy pic.twitter.com/M3BKK2Mhmf Congress (@INCIndia) January 14, 2018 Puncturing of pomposity with humour is very important, he said. The Congress leader also said the content cannot be said by any stretch of perverse or normal imagination to be vicious or in any sense meant to create a malafide intent. I will say that certain sense of humour should not escape us and that is all that depicts, he said. The Congress had yesterday put out a tweet along with a video mocking Modi for hugging world leaders while carrying the hashtag Hugplomacy on its official twitter handle. With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visiting India, we look forward to more hugs from PM Modi! #Hugplomacy, the Congress had said in the tweet. The tweet came hours after Modi received Netanyahu at the airport, setting aside protocol, and embraced him as he deplaned. The Congres today put out another tweet that said: Does the shah of shahs not take his criticism even jokingly. It that carried a cartoon of Modi, along with top BJP leaders Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley. In yet another tweet, the Congress highlighted the five U-turns made by Modi on issues like Aadhaar, FDI and ties with Pakistan and China, before and after he became prime minister. Union Human Resource Development minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar had reacted strongly to yesterdays tweet, saying it showed the Congresss lack of political sensibility. What they have tweeted shows their immaturity and lack of political sensibility. We condemn this. I hope wisdom prevails on them some day, Javadekar had said. He said the Congress lacke concrete issues, and since it cannot defeat the prime minister electorally, it posted such a tweet. This not only insults our prime minister but also the guest (Netanyahu). The Congress should not only withdraw the tweet but also issue an apology for it, he said. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress consistently abusued the prime minister and that the tweet was appalling and unpalatable. The BJP on Sunday asked Jammu and Kashmir Education Minister Altaf Ahmed Bukhari not to lock horns with the Army chief, a day after he said Gen. Bipin Rawat should do his own job and not meddle in the states affairs. Rawat had on Friday said social media and government schools in the state were spreading a disinformation campaign resulting in radicalisation of youths. He had called for some control over mosques and madrassas in the state and suggested a major revamp of the education system. Bukhari had then accused the Army of meddling in the states affairs. BJP J&K unit spokesperson Brigadier Anil Gupta (retd) in a statement asked the minister to be pragmatic and accept the reality rather than locking horns with the Army chief. Gupta said Gen. Rawats remarks should be viewed positively and not turned into a political issue. The Army chiefs statement was based on his vast experience in the valley and interactions with students at various levels, the BJP leader said. Even the chief minister has voiced her concern over radicalization and indoctrination of youths in her recent speech on the floor of the House while replying to the motion of thanks on the Governors address, the statement read. The Army is an important stakeholder in the restoration of peace and normalcy in the state, Gupta said, adding Gen. Rawat was well within his rights and democratic mandate to voice concern on issues which affect national integration. The security of the iconinc Victoria Memorial Hall in the city was on Monday handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The Victoria Memorial Hall, a magnificent makrana marble edifice built between 1906-1921 by Lord Curzon in memory of Queen Victoria, is a museum under the union ministry of culture. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style and incorporating Mughal elements, the museum houses a collection of rare and antique books and paintings. The museum secretary and curator Jayanta Sengupta said 30 CISF personnel took over the manning the gates of the sprawling grounds and guarding its boundary from Monday afternoon. The handing over to CISF is part of the revamping of the surveillance system of the heritage Victoria Museum Hall and the museum authorities will bear the cost of the deployment of the personnel who will be armed with all modern surveillance equipment, Sengupta said. The museum authorities will also bear the salary bill of the deployed personnel, he said. Issues like accommodation of the personnel were recently solved at the intervention of the culture ministry, which was keen that the paramilitary force was deployed at the earliest, he said. In 2004 after the theft of Tagores Nobel medallion from Visva-Bharati and a fifth century Buddha bust from Indian Museum, a PIL had been filed in Supreme Court highlighting the security lacunae of museums. On February 15, 2015, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre to take steps to bolster security. Class 8 and 9 students may soon be learning about corruption, social harmony, gender issues and crimes against women and children as part of their extra-curricular activities in schools. These are among 16 topics the research wing of the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) has identified under a proposed student police cadet (SPC) programme for schools. The syllabus under the proposed optional programme which is expected to be launched shortly, other than disseminating reading material, will include short films, documentaries and art work that promote peace and social justice. A BPRD official said the idea was to devote one period per week during school hours to the SPC programme and could be treated as an extra-curricular activity. State governments will be charged with driving enrolment for the SPC programme. A syllabus has already been prepared and it includes 16 topics. Another 30 topics have been identified and all of them will be taught to students of class 8th and 9th, a senior BPRD official said. After its official launch, the ministry will hold discussions with state and union territory governments on including the programme in the states education system. They will also be advised to recommend that SPC be adopted by private schools as well. A senior MHA functionary said that the programme intends to introduce an interface mechanism between the police and students, which, the ministry believes, could achieve peace and public safety in the society. Another official said Union home minister Rajnath Singh was very keen on the progamme. AP Maheshwari, director general, BPRD, said the programme will prepare students to lead a life with the right moral values. Right ideas about gender, weaker sections of society, crimes against women and social harmony have to be taught at a stage of child when his/her mind is most impressionable. We are sure programmes like SPC will engineer a social transformation across Indian society, he said. Rahul Gandhi on Monday began his two-day tour of Uttar Pradesh, the first after becoming the Congress president, with a visit to a Hanuman temple en route Amethi from Lucknow. The Congress president offered prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli road hours after landing in the state capital where enthusiastic party workers greeted him with garlands. According to a local party worker Ram Kumar, the Congress leader regularly visits Amethi - his Lok Sabha constituency - and this is perhaps for the first time that he has offered prayers at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi, donning a spotless white kurta-pyjama, came out porting a bright vermilion tilak on his forehead. Monday is Makar Sankranti, and the auspicious day has been chosen by Rahul Gandhi to visit Rae Bareli -- his mothers parliamentary constituency, and adjoining Amethi, which party insiders view as an attempt to play a soft Hindutva card to counter the hardline image of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Congress leader spent some ten minutes at the temple. The last time he offered prayers at a Hanuman temple was at the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya on September 9, 2016, becoming the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to visit Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Hanuman Garhi is about a kilometre from the Ram temple at the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. Before darshan at Hanuman Garhi temple, Rahul Gandhi had met Mahant Gyan Das. His visit to temples is seen in the political circles as an attempt to dump the BJPs criticism that he went temple-hopping during the Gujarat campaign only to garner votes. Rahul Gandhi had visited around 20 temples across Gujarat during the Assembly poll campaign as part of a conscious approach to counter the ruling BJP. After the results were out, the Congress president prayed at the Somnath Temple. Describing himself as a Shiv-bhakt, Rahul had explained that he was praying for the well-being of Gujarat during these visits to the temples. Congress tally in the state Assembly jumped from 57 in 2012 to 77 and its vote share rose by 2.5% from 39% in 2012 to 41.5%. We expect that his temple visits in Uttar Pradesh too will pay dividends in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls in 2022, UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said. Denying that it is politicising the issue of Judge B.H. Loyas death, the Congress on Monday demanded a court-monitored inquiry into it, saying the matter relates to a vital organ of the Indian democracy. Nobody is suggesting that Congress party will be appointing a commission of inquiry. The whole argument that the party is politicising the matter is false. We as a responsible stakeholder of Indian democracy, as a party are asking for an inquiry. The country wants a court-monitored independent inquiry, said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. My comments have nothing to do with the so-called Supreme Court imbroglio. I think every citizen in this country and every political party is independently entitled to ask for a fair and comprehensive inquiry into his death. Singhvi also said: If a matter impinges on a vital organ of Indian democracy, then the demand for an inquiry is a demand by responsible stakeholders, and is not dependent on whether a family member wants it or not. This comes a day after Judge Loyas son Anuj Loya said his family had no suspicions now regarding the death. He also said they were being harassed and victimised. Singhvi said: I have read the letter of Anuj Loya, son of Judge Loya, written in February 2015. The letter is very specific...requiring an inquiry in writing... There is then a clear doubt and suspicion of a grave kind expressed by one sister of Judge Loya, Anuradha Biyani. I have also quoted the shorter but clear suspicion expressed by the other sister of Judge Loya, Sarita Mandhane. She also contemporaneously has expressed grave doubt. Singhvi maintained that even Judge Loyas father and an one of his uncles also expressed their doubts about the his death, adding that as a citizen, member of the family, and as an individual he would be very much for an inquiry. Judge Loya died of heart attack on December 1, 2014 while on a visit to Nagpur, where he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleagues daughter. At that time, he was handling the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh case in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah was one of the accused (but later discharged), besides top Gujarat Police officers. Singhvi said: A matter of public and national interest is not dependent for an inquiry on whether anyone asks for it or deny and oppose it. The cross-LoC travel between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) has been suspended due to tension on the LoC following the killing of seven Pakistani soldiers in retaliatory action by the Indian Army in Poonch district Monday. Cross-LoC travel has been suspended after Pakistan shelling and firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and the tension that followed, custodian of LoC Trade and Travel, Poonch, Mohammad Tanveer. The Pakistani troops Monday morning violated ceasefire and resorted to shelling and firing along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district, forcing the Indian Army to retaliate. Seven Pakistani soldiers, including a Major, were killed and four others injured when the Army targeted their posts. Earlier, the cross-LoC travel and trade via the Poonch- Rawalakot road had resumed in early November last year after remaining suspended for nearly four months. Heavy Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Poonch district in July then had forced its suspension. The trade and travel between the divided families of Jammu and Kashmir and PoK through Chakan-Da-Bagh crossing point in Poonch had begun in 2006. It was considered a major confidence-building exercise between India and Pakistan. A six-year-old Class 1 student of a government-run residential school in Odishas Koraput district was beaten to within an inch of his life, allegedly by four seniors from Class 4 and Class 5, police said on Monday. The four accused boys, all between nine and 11 years old, broke both arms of their junior. They also pinned him by sitting on his chest and hit him with their fists and stones, said a police officer associated with the investigation. They threw their victim into a drain near their school, thinking he was dead, added the officer, sharing what the Class 1 student, who spent a night in the drain, and the accused boys told the police. The juvenile accused said they wanted to teach the Class 1 student a lesson because he had gotten into a fight with one of them, said the officer. He did not want to be named. Police zeroed in on the accused boys on Sunday after their victim regained consciousness four days after the assault and gave their names. Along with Indian Penal Code sections related to wrongful restraint and causing grievous hurt, police have slapped attempt to murder charge against the four minors, who were produced before the district juvenile justice board. Koraput sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Balabhadra Deep said, All four were sent to a juvenile home. Deep said the four accused boys had asked their junior to join them for games on Wednesday evening. This is when they allegedly assaulted him. After the Class 1 student could not be traced on Wednesday night, school authorities informed his father. After a long search, the boy was found from the drain on Thursday afternoon, said Deep. Apart from the fractured arms, the child has multiple injuries on his chest and neck. He is undergoing treatment at a hospital. Two of the accused minors are in Class 4 and two in Class 5, said police. The Mahadayi river dispute may hurt the Bharatiya Janata Partys chances in the assembly elections just four months away in Congress-ruled Karnataka after its government in Goa upped the ante against sharing of the water with the southern state. Karnataka and Goa, the riparian states of the Mahadayi river (known as Mandovi in Goa), are locked in a bitter battle over sharing of the river water, which originates in Belagavi in the southern state. The Supreme Court ordered Karnataka last year to stop construction of the canal at Kankumbi, which was aimed at diverting water from the Mahadayi tributary. Goa irrigation minister Vinod Palyekar on Saturday allegedly used abusive words towards the people of Karnataka after visiting the site of the Kalasa-Banduri Canal Project, which seeks to divert water from the Mahadayi to the arid Mumbai-Karnataka region comprising Belagavi, Gadag, Vijayapura, Haveri, Dharwad and Bagalkot districts. And on Sunday, Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar said the states chief secretary had written to his counterpart in Karnataka pointing out to the violations of the SC directives by the resumption of the work on a canal at the Mahadayi tributary. These developments have taken place after the issue was escalated since former chief minister and state BJP president BS Yeddyurappa read out a letter from Parrikar on December 21, in which the Goa chief minister said he was willing to consider the diversion of water for drinking purposes in the arid northern regions of Karnataka. Farmers in the region comprising Belagavi, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Gadag, Viajayapura and Haveri districts in the northern part of the state are up in arms after Goa objected to the proposed diversion of water from the rivers tributaries. Their anger boiled over because the letter was addressed to Yeddyurappa and not to the state government. Farmers from the northern districts held a protest outside the BJP state office in the capital Bengaluru. Reacting to Palyekars comments and Goas claim that the work on the canal projects had not been stopped, state irrigation minister MB Patil said the allegations were completely baseless. It is clear that in a bid to save face in Goa, Parrikar has orchestrated this current move because his letter to Yeddyurappa had drawn flak in that state, Patil said. According to Patil, who is a leader from the northern Mumbai-Karnataka region, where the river originates, the whole issue was avoidable and Yeddyurappa was to be blamed for the current impasse. To discredit the state government and show that he was the only person who could solve the dispute, Yeddyurappa decided to play with the sentiments of the people of the region, especially farmers. This will definitely come back to haunt him, Patil said. The Mumbai-Karnataka region, comprising 50 of the 224 seats in the state assembly, has long been called the base of the BJPs support in the state. However, the party was reduced to a fraction of the seats in the region in the previous assembly election after Yeddyurappa broke away from the party. The BJP rubbished any such threat. The party has already condemned the comments made by the minister and there is absolutely no threat of being caught on the wrong foot on this issue, S Prakash, a spokesperson for the party, said. They have been demanding that the Prime Minister should intervene in the matter. But, the state government has not shown any interest in resolving the issue. Besides, the Goa Forward Party was an ally of the Congress till recently, Prakash said. However, pro-Kannada organisations, which had already called for a shutdown on January 25, are angrier now. The Kannada Okkoota, an umbrella organisation of pro-Kannada groups, has threatened to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi with black flags when he visits the state on January 28. Vatal Nagaraj, a leader of the Okkoota, said the Prime Minister had shown no interest in resolving the issue. On top of that, we also have to listen to these abuses from the minister of Goa. We will not tolerate such humiliation, he said. First, we need to ask under what authority the Goa minister visited the state to inspect the works. Was he asked to do so by the tribunal? Or the Centre? Or was he invited by the state government? Nagaraj asked adding that if no such invitation was extended then it was a violation on his part to have visited the spot. Political analyst Sandeep Shastri said Yeddyurappas effort to show that he was capable of providing a solution in the Mahadayi issue seemed to have backfired. I doubt if this issue will be resolved before the elections because both the Congress and BJP have been trying to make the most of it, he said. Ever since the Congress said chief minister Siddaramaiah would lead the campaign, he has strategically attempted to steer the issue away from the BJPs pan-India nationalism by privileging the local, Shastri said. Siddaramaiahs insistence on addressing press conferences in Kannada despite being fluent in Kannada, Shastri said, was an example of this. According to Shastri, there is a significant consolidation of Kannada identity on the ground, even if it does not take the militant form it does in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Hence, he said, it was set to become a significant issue in the elections. Inhabitants of her native village knew her as a bright student who aspired to be a doctor and was determined to become one despite odds. A sombre mood now prevails in this village in Haryanas Kurukshetra district, as the family of this 15-year-old Dalit girl try to come to terms with the brutal reality of her being raped and savagely killed. A grievously hurt father now seeks nothing less than capital punishment for the culprits. The Class 10 students half-naked body was found on Saturday from near the bank of a canal in a village in Jind district after she had gone missing last Tuesday. She was brutally assaulted, her private parts mutilated and some of the vital organs ruptured, police had said earlier. The girls family and other villagers have been in a state of shock and disbelief, ever since the gruesome crime came to light. They recall how despite family odds she was studying hard to realise her dream of becoming a doctor. She was a bright student. She wanted to become a doctor. Her uncle was also helping her to realise her aim. He was sure that she will become a doctor or some high-ranking officer, the girls father told reporters. Fighting hard to control his tears, he said all those who were behind such brutality meted to his daughter should be given capital punishment. They should be hanged. If there is even harsher punishment than hanging, they deserve that, he said. The victims mother said her daughter never used to hurt anyone. Even beasts will not be this cruel. Those who gave so much pain to my daughter and killed her in this manner, are much worse than that, she said. Some of the victims teachers recalled that she was a bright student whose conduct in the school was quite good. Two special investigation teams (SITs) under DSP-rank officers have already been constituted to probe the incident. Police have launched a hunt to nab an accused youth who is alleged to have abducted the girl from Kurukshetra when she went to attend a tuition class. Police said they believe that the number of persons involved in the crime could be more than three. The shocking incident came close on the heels of another incident last month, in which a six-year-old girl was violently raped and killed in Haryanas Uklana area in Hisar district. The brutal rape of the six-year-old, and the recent savage incidents including involving a 11-year-old girl in a village in Panipat, were a stark reminder of the December 16, 2012, incident in Delhi, in which a physiotherapy intern was raped by a group of a men in a moving bus and a rod inserted into her body. She died in a hospital 13 days later. Four rapes, mostly of minors, in the last four days in Haryana have raised serious questions about womens safety in the northern state. The assaults on women and girls and mutilation of their private parts, in some cases remind of the brutal gang rape and murder of a physiotherapy student in Delhi in December 2016 that led to a huge uproar across the country. Delhi was then called the rape capital of the country. For Haryana, which has been known for a very poor sex ratio, the incidents come at a time when the Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government announced that the number of girls born in the state had touched an all-time high of 914 per 1,000 boys in 2017. 48-year-old held for sexually assaulting, brutalising 10-year-old A 48-year-old man allegedly sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl and inserted a stick into her private parts in Pinjore on Saturday. Based on a complaint by the girls mother, the man, who was their neighbour, was arrested on Sunday. Neighbours rape 11-year-old in Panipat The semi-naked body of an 11-year-old girl was recovered in Panipat on Sunday. Police arrested two of her neighbours, who confessed to having raped and murdered her, the superintendent of police said. Men gang-rape woman in car in Faridabad A 23-year-old woman was abducted and gangraped in a moving car in Old Faridabad on Saturday. The woman was bundled into the car, raped and later dumped on Mathura road. The woman accused three persons of committing the crime. The accused are at large. Kurukshetra minors gang rape: Kin allege police inaction The family of a 15-year-old Kurukshetra girl who was gang raped and murdered on Friday, have accused the police of inaction. Medical examination revealed the girl was raped by multiple persons and a blunt object was inserted into her private parts. The Kurukshetra SP said the main accused, a Class 12 student, and his accomplices are on the run. The girl was a good student and aspired to be a doctor, according to her family. Punjab shame In neighbouring Punjab, a 62-year-old speech impaired Patiala woman was raped on January 12. Police said the complaint was filed on Sunday. The accused were arrested on Monday. A six-year-old girl was raped in a village in Bathinda district on Sunday. On a complaint from the childs mother, police have registered a case against a person from the village. The accused is on the run. (With inputs from Panipat, Faridabad, Patiala & Bathinda) India and Israel inked nine pacts on Monday to boost cooperation in key areas, including cyber security, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu held extensive talks to strenthen ties in the strategic areas of defence and counter- terrorism. Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, Modi said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. On his part, Netanyahu described Modi as a revolutionary leader. You are revolutionising India and also relations between India and Israel, Netanyahu said, addressing Modi. The two prime ministers, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest. Apart from a pact on cyber security, the agreements included cooperation in the oil and gas sector, film-co- production as well as amendments to an air transport pact. Netanyahu, who arrived in Delhi on Sunday, will also visit Ahmedabad and Mumbai during his six-day stay in India. A live bands rendition of timeless Bollywood song Ichak Dana Bichak Dana proved the cherry on the cake when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted visiting Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for lunch on Monday. Also, the song from Raj Kapoors 1955 film Shree 420 set the tone for the Israeli premier and wife Saras celluloid engagement in India after heavy-duty diplomatic commitments. Netanyahu, popularly known as Bibi, said he and Sara are excited and happy that we are going to Bollywood and see it first-hand. They will be in Mumbai on January 18 to attend an exclusive Shalom Bollywood event where a host of tinsel-town stars, including Amitabh Bachchan, will be present. As the band played Ichak Dana Bichak Dana, many Israeli dignitaries accompanying Netanyahu gushed they know the song, said Vijay Gokhale, the economic relations secretary in the foreign ministry. The band also played the popular Hebrew song, Hevenu Shalom Aleihem, which means we brought peace upon you. It is a traditional song sung by Jews after prayers at the synagogue. Bollywood was clearly on everyones mind as the two countries signed a pact for co-production of films. This is in recognition of the role films play in promoting people-to-people contact, a joint statement said. President Ram Nath Kovind too had a surprise to keep the spirits high for Netanyahu, the second Israeli premier to visit the country in 25 years after the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992. The visiting dignitary was served olive tea produced in Bikaner by the Rajasthan government in collaboration with Israeli partners, said a tweet from the President. At a time when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting India on a six-day visit to strengthen ties between the two countries, the bond that Himachal Pradesh shares with Israel may also deepen. Two villages in HimachalDharamkot, better known as Tel Aviv of hills and Kasol, famous as Mini Israelare much liked by Israelis tourists. While Dharamkot is in Kangra district, Kasol falls in Kullu. For the last three decades, these villages have emerged as the favourites of Israelis who visit India. Tourists, particularly the young who have just finished their two-year compulsory military service, frequent these villages quite often. They live in groups in the villages and rarely mix with the locals. Residents in Dharamshala also host an annual community feast for the Israelis to mark Rosh Hashanahthe Israeli new years. Our village is mostly visited by Israelis. They are very peaceful and we have not had any problem with them in these years, said Shanta, panchayat pradhan of Kasol village. He added: There are many Israelis who visit our area for spiritual tranquillity. Kasol is a village located around 32 from Bhuntar in Kullu district is famous for its scenic beauty. The village also has small chabad house where Israelis gather in the evening. The chabad house was set up in the village ten years ago. On an average, around 500 Israelis visit Kasol every year. Some of them also visit Manali and Tosh villages in Kullu district. Besides this, there are 1,500 Israeli settlers in Kullu district . Many Israelis have settled in Kullu district. During winter, they travel to Goa and other destinations and return to spend summer in the mountains, said Shalini Agnihotri, superintendent of police, Kullu. Similarly, the small village of Dharamkot, 13 km from Dharamsala, has also been a popular destination among Israeli tourists. The village is inhabited by the Gaddi shepherd community. However, over the years, regular visits of Israelis tourists have changed the village. It is now dotted with cafes, restaurants, yoga centres and gift shops. Over the time, locals have also acclimatised and many can now fluently speak Hebrew. Signage and boards in the village are also written in Hebrew. Israelis have found this village to be very comfortable. They also enjoy conversing with the locals in Hebrew, says Onkar Neharia, a hotelier and businessman in Dharamshala. Residents in Dharamshala also host an annual community feast for the Israelis to mark Rosh Hashanahthe Israeli new years. Modi donned Himachali cap in Israel During his visit to Israel in July last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi donned a traditional Himachali cap with a maroon band when he met his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. The PMs sartorial touch had sent Himachal BJP into raptures Bihars veteran politician and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad will have to face bigger challenges this year as the pending cases against him in the fodder scam are fast heading towards finality, in a worrying situation for his party especially in the run-up to the 2019 general election. With five fodder scam cases and a recently lodged railway contract case on his head, Prasad, along with co-accused, is now lined up to face the results of the two other fodder scam cases -- verdict in one is fixed for January 24 and other is expected in February or March. Prasad had bounced back after his first conviction in the fodder scam case in September 2013 and cobbled up a grand alliance before the 2015 Bihar assembly election to trounce the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His trouble started in May last year when the Supreme Court restored charges of corruption against him after quashing a Jharkhand high courts order and instructed the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court to conclude the trial within nine months. Since then, Prasad has appeared in the Ranchi court every week on fixed dates. The 70-year-old has been languishing at Birsa Munda Central Jail in Jharkhands capital Ranchi since December 23 last year when a special CBI court convicted and sentenced him 3.5 years of jail term in the second fodder scam case. The CBI has, meanwhile, also registered the railway contract case against Prasad, his son Tejaswi and others. Lalu initially didnt face any direct trouble as his cases were moving at a snails pace. When 47 of the total 53 cases registered by the CBI in 1996 were disposed of, the entire focus eventually shifted to remaining five cases involving Lalu and other politicians. A day-to-day hearing resulted in the quick disposal of two cases out of the five, a CBI counsel said. Pending cases against Lalu Prasad #RC 68 (A)/96 (fake withdrawal of Rs 33.61 crore from Chaibasa treasury) - Judgment on Jan 24 #RC 38 (A)/96 (fake withdrawal of Rs 3.31 crore from Dumka Treasury) - Verdict expected in February-March #RC 47 (A)/96 (fake withdrawal of Rs 139.39 crore from Doranda treasury, Ranchi) - Verdict expected by the end of 2018. Lalu in jail in past (as informed by his lawyer) July 30, 1997-December 11, 1997: 135 days November 26, 1998- January 8, 1999: 44 days May 5, 2000-June 18, 2000: 45 days November 26, 2001-December 21, 2001: 26 days December 22, 2001- January 27, 2002: 37 days One day in disproportionate asset (DA) case in 2000 September 30, 2013, to December 15, 2013: 77 days December 23, 2017, to till date: 24 days Total days: 389 A jail year consists of nearly 9 months for a convicted prisoner after subtracting the statutory remission, which varies from state to state, from the whole one year of 12 months. What is the fodder scam A sum of Rs 950 crore fraudulently withdrawn from various govt treasuries in united Bihar by making paper supply of fodder, medicines, equipment and other articles to animal husbandry department (AHD) Theft spanned many years involved numerous officials, politicians across party lines The scam first surfaced in 1996 after raids at AHD offices in Jharkhands Chaibasa district The suppliers received payments from treasuries against fake supplies Accused politicians are charged with receiving kick-back and extending patronage to the scamsters. Lets see the result of the third case against Prasad on January 24, the date fixed for the verdict. This case is related to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 33.13 crore against the annual allotment of Rs 7.10 lakh during 1992-93 from Chaibasa treasury. As many as 56 accused have faced the trial. This is a bigger case in comparison to the last one in which Prasad was convicted, he added. Prasad is facing similar charges in all these cases. According to the CBI, Prasad as the chief minister and finance minister never initiated any action to find out the cause behind such alarming withdrawals from animal husbandry department (AHD) and thus actively connived with scamsters to facilitate the fraud. The trial against Prasad is on in two cases in which one is running at an advanced stage of trial and judgment is expected in February or March. But, the biggest fodder scam case and the last one relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 147 crore from Ranchis Doranda treasury and involving 120 accused is still at the initial stage of trial and evidence of prosecution witnesses (PWs) are being recorded. The case involves nearly 799 PWs out of which 448 have been examined. We may reduce the number of witnesses. But, it will take a minimum of six months to attain the finality, said advocate BMP Singh, conducting the case on behalf of the CBI. Given the charges levelled against him and evidence available in these cases, Prasad is going to have a bumpy ride in the times to come, Singh added. Prasads legal woes have stirred Bihar politics with the RJDs opponents and its alliance partners devising new strategies. Bihars Congress legislature party leader Sadanand Singh on January 13 hinted that his party is with the RJD when it comes to national issues but is independent on state issues. Prasad has nominated his younger son as his heir to take his political legacy forward. Tejashwi has shown promise as the deputy chief minister and now as the leader of the opposition. He left his mark in his speech as the leader of the opposition during the confidence motion of the Nitish Kumar-led NDA govt after spilt of the grand alliance. He is also active on social media taking political opponents head-on. Despite the sparkling light, the RJD cadre feels the discomfort about the partys future in absence of the charismatic Lalu Prasad. Tejashwi has no doubt shown promise and the cadre, especially the young, is rallying behind him. However, he is still to cover a long distance when compared to the charisma and political acumen of Lalu ji. If Lalu ji remains in jail for long, it will be difficult to say which way the party would head to, a senior RJD leader in Jharkhand said. However, party spokesperson Manoj Jha said Lalu may be in jail, but his counsel will always prevail. His following can only increase. We have just been strengthened. The left parties on Monday staged a protest near India Gate in Delhi against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to India. Communist Party of India leader D. Raja said that they were protesting against the Israel Prime Ministers visit as India do not approve the policies persuade by the Israel government. The left parties have decided to communicate that people of India do not approve the policies persuade by the Israel government. He further alleged that Israel is an illegal occupation of Palestinian territories adding that it was not accepting the two-state solution offered by Unite Nation. Unless we resolve the Palestinian question there cannot be peace and security in West Asia. It is better to address the Palestinian question in a proper historic prospective. This message we want to communicate to the visiting Israel head of the state. It is part of our democracy, he added. The Israeli Prime Minister is on a six-day visit to India to hold a delegation level talk with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Netanyahu is accompanied by his wife Sara and a 130-member delegation from various sectors, including cyber, agriculture and defence. He is also scheduled to visit Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai. The bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his good friend Benjamin Netanyahu was on full display on Monday when the leaders hugged and shook hands a number of times during their joint press event. While the visiting Israeli prime minister called Modi a revolutionary leader and used an endearment like my friend Narendra, Modi responded with great warmth, welcoming the guest in Hebrew. Netanyahu said he was willing to participate in a yoga class with his friend Narendra. My friend Narendra...any time you want to do yoga a class with me...it is a big stretch but I will be there. Trust me, Netanyahu remarked, reflecting the deep camaraderie the two leaders share. The chemistry between the two leaders is well known. Last year when Modi visited Israel, the first Indian prime minister to do so, he was received by Netanyahu at the airport, a gesture normally reserved for guests such as US presidents. The overwhelming warmth was also seen when the two leaders took a walk along the Mediterranean Sea during Modis visit. The warmth has continued with Modi setting aside protocol to receive Netanyahu at the airport yesterday. At the joint press statement, Netanyahu showered praise on Modi. You are a revolutionary leader and you are revolutionising India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into to the future. And you have revolutionised the relations between Israel and India, Netanyahu, popularly known as Bibi, said. Modi also responded warmly dubbing Netanyahus visit as a long-anticipated moment in the journey of friendship between India and Israel. He further said that the visit was also a fitting climax to the commemoration of 25 years of bilateral diplomatic relations and marked a special beginning to the new year calendar, with Indians rejoicing the arrival of spring, hope and harvest. Modi will also accompany Netanyahu to his home state, Gujarat, on January 17. A Class 12 student is the prime suspect in the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl, whose semi-naked, mutilated body was found near Budhakheda village of Haryanas Jind district last week, and he is on the run, police said. Police on Sunday detained six people from her native village of Jhansa in the northern states Kurukshetra district in connection with the case. The police have detained some people suspecting their involvement but the main accused is still at large. We are conducting raids to arrest him, Kurukshetra superintendent of police Abhishek Garg said. The name of the Class 12 student, who lives in the girls neighbourhood, has not been disclosed by the police, as he is suspected to be a minor. The police are trying to verify his age. Mutilated, tortured The girls body with her private parts mutilated and liver ruptured was found on Friday evening. It was sent to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, for postmortem. Dr SK Dhattarwal, head of the forensics department at PGIMS, said the girl had injuries on her face and inside the mouth, suggesting that she was kidnapped by more than one person, who prevented her from making noise. The autopsy suggests this was an act of frustration. All the damage to her private parts seems to have been done after she was drowned and murdered. This was the work of more than one person who failed to sexually assault the victim while she was alive, Dr Dhattarwal said. She was cremated on Sunday. My daughter was killed brutally, I want justice for her. I cannot fight a long battle for justice but I appeal to the police to send her criminals behind the bars, the girls father said while speaking to reporters. Family blames police The girl had gone missing on January 9 when she had left home for tuition. A missing persons complaint was filed by her family the same day. Why did the police take three days to find our daughter? Had the police acted on our complaint quickly, our daughter may have been alive, the father said. The incident comes barely a month after the state was shaken by the brutal rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Hisar, whose private parts were mutilated by inserting a wooden stick. In a similar case, a semi-naked body of an 11-year-old Dalit girl was recovered from a deserted place on the outskirts of Urlana Kalan village of Panipat district on Sunday morning. Police have arrested two men, who are residents of the same village, in connection with the case. On his first visit as Congress president to party bastions Rae Bareli and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, accusing it of continuously lying and not honouring its promises made to the people. He was addressing a public meeting at Salon, which is located in Rae Bareli district but falls in his Lok Sabha constituency, Amethi. The BJP people are continuously lying...one lie after the other. Whether it is pertaining to the Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of people or giving a remunerative price to the farmers or construction of roads..., Gandhi said. In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP had promised that it would deposit Rs 15 lakh in the bank account of every citizen if it came to power. Stating that lakhs of youngsters were jobless in the country, Rahul Gandhi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi never uttered a word about them. He asked the Congress workers to expose the lies being propagated by the BJP. It is your responsibility to tell the public about the lies being said by the BJP. Also tell the people of Amethi about the various development works done by us. Whether it is related to the highways, the rail line network, the food park, the IIIT or the petroleum institute, the Congress chief said. He also asked the party workers to tell the people about the work done by the Congress and what had been done by the Modi government. Referring to Gujarat, Rahul Gandhi claimed that there were 30 lakh unemployed youth in the BJP-ruled state. They are demanding employment, but Modi is not saying anything (about it), he said. However, I want to say one thing. Come what may, the food park will be set up here (in Amethi) and I will prove this...As soon as our government is formed, whether it is the sugarcane farmers, potato farmers or farmers who grow other crops, your produce will be sold here and you will get a handsome price, he added. After the meeting, as the Congress presidents convoy was leaving the venue, some BJP workers raised slogans against him. A commotion ensued between the workers of the saffron party and Congress and the police had to intervene. In the melee, Congress MLC from Rae Bareli Deepak Singh was seen engaged in a verbal exchange with additional superintendent of police Shekhar Singh. A fringe Rajput group vandalised the campus of a private school in Madhya Pradeshs Ratlam district on Monday when students were performing the Ghoomar song from the controversy-marred Padmaavat movie. The attack happened at the annual function of St Pauls School in Jaora where activists of the Rajput Karni Sena, an outfit opposing the Bollywood movie, barged in when students from the elementary classes were singing and dancing to the tune of yet-to-be-released films song. The Karni Sena and other Rajput groups allege that the movie distorts history and the Ghoomar track portrays queen Padmini or Padmavati as a courtesan, saying royal women never performed the traditional folk dance of Rajasthan. Nearly a dozen activists allegedly threatened the school administration, created ruckus and vandalized property. The activists also misbehaved with parents and teachers. They broke chairs and the stage. Four people were detained after police reached the school. We have registered a case against them, Jaora sub-divisional police officer DR Male said. Karni Sena leaders in Ratlam couldnt be contacted for comments. The district education officer in Dewas had issued an order banning the song on Karni Senas request. The restrictions were withdrawn later. Pakistan on Monday summoned Indian deputy high commissioner JP Singh to protest the deaths of four of its soldiers in firing across the Line of Control. The Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement that India violated the ceasefire agreement in Jandrot sub-sector of Kotli sector, resulting in the martyrdom of four Pakistani soldiers, while injuring five others. The Indian Army on Monday said seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in its retaliatory firing after a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir where an infiltration bid was also foiled with the elimination of five militants of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group. Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces, using heavy mortars, the statement said. He said despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 100 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary in just 15 days, he claimed. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1,900 ceasefire violations, Faisal alleged. He said deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas and troops carrying out maintenance activities is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation, he claimed. He also urged India to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the working boundary. He said India should permit the UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control (LoC). As Rahul Gandhi arrived in UP on his first visit to the state after becoming the Congress president, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday advised him to shun negative politics and instead focus on development. The Congress leader arrived in the state on a two-day visit to galvanise party workers for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and breathe life in the party which saw its worst-ever performance in the 2017 Assembly elections getting only seven seats in the 403-member House. The Congress president should give up doing negative politics, Adityanath told reporters here even as Rahul Gandhi arrived in Lucknow en route Raebareli and Amethi - the party bastions. Asked as to how he viewed his first visit to the state after donning the mantle of party head, the chief minister said, My advise to Rahul is that he should focus more on politics of development. Adityanath said that had the Congress laid more emphasis on development, Amethi would not have languished. See the plight of his Lok Sabha constituency - Amethi - nursed by four generations of Nehru-Gandhi family, the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Gorakhnath temple, of which he is the head priest, on the occasion of Makarsankranti. Adityanath also attacked former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying he should ask his supporters to behave. They (SP workers) killed innocent villagers in Azamgarh with spurious liquor and were also caught in Hardoi for making spurious liquor. They tried to disturb the environment in Lucknow which is not good, he charged. In Lucknow, two persons, including a Samajwadi Party worker, were arrested last week for allegedly hurling potatoes near the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and some other places in the VVIP zone to highlight the plight of farmers. Meanwhile, Adityanath greeted BSP supremo Mayawati on her birthday on Monday. Rajasthan man Shambhu Lal Regar who was arrested on charges of murdering a Muslim labourer-contractor from West Bengal linked the killing to love jihad to hide his illicit relations with a woman he called his Hindu sister, according to the police charge sheet filed in court. Regar, 36, allegedly hacked to death and burnt 50-year-old Afrajuls body in Rajsamand district on December 6 last year. The accused also allegedly got a 15-year-old relative to film the crime and uploaded it on social media, evoking countrywide horror and outrage. In a string of videos Regar allegedly circulated after the murder, he claimed he had rescued his Hindu sister a 20-year-old woman from love jihad, a term seen to have emerged from fringe Hindutva outfits to allege conspiracy by Muslim men to woo and convert Hindu girls to Islam. In their charge sheet filed in the court of the Rajsamand chief judicial magistrate on Friday, police stated Regar linked Afarajuls death to love jihad, Article 370, Islamic terrorism, so that his illicit relations with the woman would not be discovered. Police have booked Regar for murder, outraging religious feelings, and criminal conspiracy, among other charges. The hearing in the case is slated for January 17, said Manoj Kumar, superintendent of police, Rajsamand. The woman Regar referred to as his sister allegedly eloped with a man, a labourer, from Afrajuls village. Regar tried to bring her back, but she reportedly turned him down, said police. Later, she returned on her own, police added. Police suspect Regar targeted Afrajul because he would help people from West Bengal find employment and accommodation in Rajsamand. Police arrested two sisters from Uttar Pradeshs Mathura district on Monday for allegedly stealing a newborn from a government hospital in Rajasthans Bharatpur, but they left the baby on a roadside with a note and a feeding bottle three days later. The suspects, identified as Shivani Devi and Priyanka Devi, aged 23 and 20, said before officers they wanted to gift a baby boy to their mother who was suffering from depression as their father was planning to remarry after their 12-year-old brother died two years ago. The women stole the baby on January 10, but were overcome by fear after reading in newspapers about police trying to catch the culprits. They abandoned the boy on January 13 near Rarah village with a handwritten appeal that whoever found him should inform police that this is the baby stolen on January 10. Bharatpur superintendent of police Anil Kumar Tank said investigators identified the siblings through CCTV camera footage from the hospital. The two women were seen in the video riding a scooter, while a man at the bicycle and motorbike parking lot of the hospital remembered the vehicles registration number. We arrested the sisters from their native village, Swarupa Naugaon, in Mathura under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC and charged them with stealing a baby, the district police chief said. The women allegedly did a recce in Bharatpur and targeted the son of 30-year-old Manish, whose wife had delivered the baby around 4am on January 10 at a community health centre in nearby Pahari town and was shifted to the government womens hospital under Mathura Gate police station for better care. They took away the boy around 2.30pm when the mother was sleeping. But the hospital surveillance video revealed the culprits and Manishs father-in-law, Saddique Mev, registered a complaint. Police superintendent Tank said the two women told police that they initially tried to adopt a boy to stop father Laxman Singh from taking another wife for a son, underscoring a largely patriarchal societys obsession with a male heir. Also, they approached nurses in hospitals to know if they could buy a baby from a poor family. But the sisters gave up because of the long legal process for adoption, and strict laws and punishment against any distress sale of babies. Shivani is a teacher at a private school, married and lives with her husband at Pali Kheda in Mathura. Priyanka is married too, lives in Agra and studying for her graduation in arts. A rocket landed in the Indian Embassy premises in Kabul, causing minor damage to a structure, but all the mission staff were safe, external affairs ministry said on Monday. Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said there was no fire and no casualties were reported in the incident. A rocket landed in the premises of our Embassy in Kabul a while ago causing minor damage to a structure at rear side of the Embassy compound, he tweeted. A rocket has landed in our Chancery compound in Kabul. The rocket has clipped the top of the three storied ITBP barracks. There are no casualties. All Indians and staff are safe, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said. He also said Indias Charge d Affaires there informed that all the Embassy employees were safe. It was not clear whether the target of the attack was the Indian Embassy, which is located in the high-security diplomatic zone of the Afghan capital. In a shrill attack on the Centre over four senior Supreme Court judges raising the issue of selective case allocation, the Shiv Sena said today that those who vouch for democracy are in reality weakening it. Those who alleged that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi used to intervene in judicial matters are now in power, the Sena said, adding her rule seems to be more humane and democratic. It said the country was suffocated and breathed easily with the judges speaking out. The Indian judiciary was thrown into a turmoil on Friday last when four senior Supreme Court judges -- J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph - convened an unprecedented press conference to raise the issue of assignment of cases. The Sena said it was a courageous step taken by the four judges for strengthening of democracy. Is it about CJI Dipak Misra coming under pressure and keeping these four neutral judges aside from certain hearings? the NDA ally sought to know. Those who used to allege that Indira Gandhi was intervening in judicial matters are now in power. And going by the current developments about several constitutional posts, Gandhis regime appears to be more humane and democratic, the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana. You (Centre) talk in favour of democracy but in reality you weaken it and this is going on currently in the country, it further said. Attorney General K K Venugopal, who had a meeting with Justice Misra after the joint news conference of the judges, on Friday said it could have been avoided and that all judges would now have to act in statesmanship to ensure total harmony. The Sena said the attorney general should also throw light on reasons behind the controversy and that the country should stand behind the judges (who held the press conference) in support. The four judges have not let the truth die. They raised their voice in the framework of law for democratic freedom. The country was suffocated and breathed easily with the judges speaking out, the saffron party said. It said the act of judges has also triggered a nationwide debate on what were the cases before the apex court and why were these judges kept away from hearing them. Efforts are made by highest levels to keep these judges away and ultimately it is a devaluation of our judicial system, the editorial alleged. The party also raised questions over judicial impartiality after the judges went public. The judges act also raises questions on whether the judiciary is manipulative. Such things are poisoning the judicial system and it could lead the country to anarchy, the Sena cautioned. It said if such a move by judges had been made during the UPA regime, there would have been an outcry from the BJP and others about the murder of democracy and weakening of the judicial system. But it seems they (BJP) have lost their voice, it said. The judges who spoke out may now be dubbed as Congress agent, or getting a support of outside powers or even connected with Naxalism, it added. Referring to former Calcutta High Court Judge C S Karnan who was arrested last year and sentenced to six months jail for contempt of court, the Sena said, ...he was almost declared mad. It seems he also wanted to speak truth but got crushed. Railway police apprehended six minor Rohingya Muslims, three boys and three girls, from Dharmanagar railway station in North Tripura district on Saturday night. They were forwarded to Juvenile Justice Board on Sunday and sent to a juvenile home. They will be produced before the board again on January 24. Police said the six entered India through Sonamura border in Sepahijala district on Saturday and then reached Dharmanagar by bus. They were about to head to Hyderabad, police added. We didnt find any kind of belongings or documents on them, said GRP officer Indrajit Sinha. The Supreme Court on Monday announced the composition of a five-judge Constitution bench that will begin hearing several important cases on January 17. None of the four senior judges, who on Friday aired grievances against the Chief Justice of India (CJI), is on the bench which will hear, among other cases, challenges to Aadhaar, a challenge to its own judgment criminalising homosexual relationships between consenting adults, and a petition on the ban on women between the ages of 10 and 50 entering the Sabarimala temple. The announcement on the constitution of the bench came on a day when the Supreme Court functioned normally, and both the Attorney General of India and the head of the Bar Council of India claimed the rift had been healed. However, people familiar with the matter said the issues raised by the judges remain unresolved, and that neither the four judges nor the Chief Justice is willing to deviate from their positions. On Friday, the four judges Justices J Chelameswar, Kurian Joseph, Ranjan Gogoi and MB Lokur said they were unhappy with the allocation of important cases by CJI Dipak Misra. They suggested that important cases were being heard by junior judges. The people familiar with the matter added that the CJI is not in favour of calling a full court meeting to defuse the crisis because he believes he has done no wrong. Justice Arun Mishra broke down at an informal meeting of judges over tea on Monday morning, according to the people familiar with the matter. Most Supreme Court judges attend this morning ritual that has been going on for years. Justice Mishra expressed his anguish at the collateral damage his reputation has suffered on account of the grievances raised on Friday and broke down in tears. The Chief Justice had to lead him away, the people added. Hindustan Times could not independently establish this. Justice Arun Mishra is hearing two petitions demanding an independent probe into Judge BH Loyas death in November 2014. Loya was dealing with a criminal case on the alleged fake killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in which BJP president Amit Shah was named. Shah was discharged in the case in December 2014. On Friday, while the four judges didnt name Justice Mishra, they did admit during a press conference that the Loya case was one of the points they had raised with the Chief Justice. Justice Arun Mishra said during the tea meeting that he had been defamed and that questions were now being raised on his competence, according to the people familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal told reporters that everything has been settled. The courts are functioning; it was a storm in a tea cup. Bar Council of India chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said pretty much the same thing to reporters. It was an internal issue and as you can see the matter has been laid to rest and all court rooms in the Supreme Court are functioning normally. (Press Trust of India contributed to this report) A protest by contractual teachers in Bhopal who tonsured their heads to press their demand for regularisng their services has spread to other places in Madhya Pradesh such as Gwalior and Sagar. The protests have given the opposition Congress a stick to beat the government. The party took out a march on Monday in the state capital in support of the teachers and many of its workers also tonsured their heads in solidarity with the agitating tutors. The teachers serving on contract basis in primary schools have been demanding the merger of their services with that of teachers on the roll in the state and payment to them as per the 7th pay commission. On Saturday agitating teachers had assembled at BHEL Jamboorie ground in Bhopal and many of them including four women tonsured their heads in protest. A day later on Sunday, five students of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in Bhopal also tonsured their heads in solidarity with the teachers. On the same day in Sagar district ten teachers tonsured their heads and shouted slogans against the state government. Manoj Nema who among those who tonsured their heads in Sagar said they were appointed in 1995 but so far they have not been absorbed in the education department. We dont know under which department we have been placed. We want that our services be brought on the rolls of the education department. We are not entitled to get any benefit that regular government employee gets, he said. Congress workers shave off their heads ahead of a march on Monday in support of protesting teachers. (HT PHOTO) Nema said they were suffering despite working like other employees. One of our fellow teachers died of cancer as he couldnt afford the costly treatment. Another teacher had to mortgage his house for treatment of his ailing wife. If the state government is facing shortage of teachers, why cant they absorb us in the education department? We are well qualified with many years of experience, he said. In Gwalior, teachers assembled at the station road on Sunday and staged a demonstration. Nearly half a dozen teachers tonsured their heads in protest. Congresss chief spokesperson KK Mishra alleged that apathy of the state government had reached such an extent that even married lady teachers had to tonsure their heads to register their protest and angst. This is not our tradition. Such protests will happen more in the coming days as this government is turning a deaf ear to the demands, he said. Congress leader PC Sharma said the party took out the march on Monday from Roshanpura crossing to governors residence where they submitted a memorandum of demands. We urged the governor to press upon the state government to accept the demands of the agitating teachers who have been working like other teachers for years, said Sharma who led the march. Despite repeated attempts, education minister Vijay Shah was not available for comment. His deputy Deepak Joshi said the demand of the agitating teachers was related to a policy matter on which he could not comment. India and Israeli are set to deepen defence, economic and cultural ties between the two countries during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu Monday noon. The meeting is expected to boost Indo-Israeli engagements and a slew of pacts are expected to be signed after the talks between Modi and Netanyahu, officials said. The two leaders will have a one-on-one meeting before the delegations of the two sides sit for discussions at the Hyderabad House. Several MoUs, including those in the field of oil and gas, renewable energy, amended protocol for airports, cyber security, and co-production of films and documentaries, will be signed between the two sides. An official said Israels Saare Tzedek hospital would sign a deal to share knowledge in the field of homoeopathy and Ayurveda that have been gaining popularity in Israel recently. Technion-Israel Institute of Technology would also be signing an agreement with the ministry of science and technology. A delegation of 130 businessmen from 102 Israeli companies in the fields of agriculture, water, cyber security, health care and security are accompanying Netanyahu on his trip. Netanyahu is only the second Israeli Prime Minister to visit India after Ariel Sharon in 2003 since the two countries established diplomatic ties barely 25 years ago. Ahead of Netanyahus visit a senior official here said Israel will be investing $68.6 million to boost cooperation with India in areas like tourism, technology, agriculture and innovation over a period of four years. The commitment is in addition to the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund of $40 million over five years with equal contribution from both sides that has already been agreed between the two nations, Deputy Director General of Israels Foreign Ministry, Gilad Cohen, had told PTI ahead of the visit. Modi, who made history in July when he became the first Indian PM to visit Israel, will accompany Netanyahu for most part of his tour that will also take him to Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Agra. Israel is one of Indias biggest weapons suppliers, exporting an average of $1 billion of military equipment each year. But days before Netanyahus arrival, India called off a $500 million deal to buy 8,000 anti-tank guided missiles from Israels state-owned defence contractor Rafael. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Pravin Togadia was found in an unconscious state in a private hospital in Ahmedabad, almost 12 hours after he was reported missing and alleged to be arrested by the Rajasthan police, triggering protests. The firebrand Hindtuva leader was reported missing from VHPs office in Ahmedabad Paldi area around 10.30 am after Rajasthan police had landed there to serve a court warrant in connection with a 2001 case. Dr Togadia was brought here in 108 Ambulance in a semi-conscious state. His sugar level was very down at the time of admission. But he has been recovering fast and is stable, said Dr Rupkumar Agrawal of Chandramani private hospital where he was found. The doctor said that he was brought around 9.20 pm. According to a statement of the VHP, Togadia, who suffered from low blood sugar levels, was found lying in an unconscious state at a park in Shahibaug and was taken to the hospital. Preliminary reports revealed that the VHP leader was brought to the hospital in Shahibaug from Kotarpur Water Works area in the city. He had left the VHP office, without his Z category security, in an auto-rickshaw with a bearded man, police said. Earlier in the day, VHP leaders and workers claimed that the Rajasthan police had, with the help of Gujarat police, detained him. They staged a protest and road blockade in Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Surat, demanding he be brought back. Our international working president Pravin Togadia is missing since 10 am today (Monday). The responsibility of his whereabouts and security lies with the administration, VHPs Gujarat unit general secretary Ranchod Bharwad said. The Rajasthan police denied the allegation, saying it had not been able to locate him. Togadia was not at all arrested by our team. As per my information, the police team of Gangapur (in Rajasthan) is returning without executing the arrest warrant, as he (Togadia) was not found in Ahmedabad. It is a rumour that Togadia is in our custody which is not true at all, said Inspector General of Police, Bharatpur range, Alok Kumar Vashishtha. Gangapur town is in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan and falls under the jurisdiction of Bharatpur range of the state police. The Gujarat police maintained that to serve the warrant, it assisted the Rajasthan police in finding Togadia at his home and office, but he was not found. The police had maintained that he was neither found nor detained by either Rajasthan or Gujarat cops. The warrant was issued by a sessions court in Gangapur under the Indian Penal Codes Section 188, which pertains to disobedience of a public servants order. Togadia had allegedly violated prohibitory orders under Section 144 which limits the assembly of people in the Rajasthan town 16 years ago. If we could really bring back people from the dead, would we not have first brought back politicians who filled our hands when they were alive? asks Tulsabai Ramlu Sankhwad, 43, to a round of approving laughter. Her strident language is poetic. She tosses a small wooden hand mirror to the ground. We see death like this. The body falls, everybodys body falls the same way. The jiva, the soul, flies away. All we do is treat the body. The jiva is the same, there is no difference between castes. It is a recurring metaphor in her interpretation of society and politics. Tulsabai is the sarpanch of Arjapur, a village with a population of 2,320 in the Biloli taluka of Nanded district in eastern Marathwada. She sits in her courtyard, calves and goats in a small enclosure at its entrance, a gaggle of village women around her. She is its first woman sarpanch, voted in October 2015, and the first from the Masan Jogi community, a de-notified tribe. The Masan Jogis have been keepers of funereal rites and lived in cremation grounds and graveyards, surviving on alms. Worshippers of Masan, the deity of the cremation ground, alongside the all-consuming jwalamukhi fire, the use of kitchen fire was banned to them. Once fed as a collective responsibility, they came to be seen as beggars. The Masan Jogis were also shrouded with superstition at their supposed mastery over death. In the 1865 census, 1,929 people identified as Masan worshippers. By the 2011 census, the population was estimated at 27,000. Tracing origins to the erstwhile Nizam kingdom of Hyderabad, the Masan Jogis in Maharashtra were located in Nanded, Parbhani and Aurangabad districts. With drought and rapid urbanisation depleting resources, the tribe began to wander in search of employment. Some found stability as cremation groundskeepers. A younger generation began to take up manual labour. The women, however, continue to largely subsist on alms. My mother ate alms when I was in her womb, like her mother before her. For generations, this is how we have been shaped, Tulsabai says. Who are the Masan Jogis? The community is a denotified tribe (falling under the current Of Backward Community under Nomadic Tribes-B in Maharashtra). The Masan Jogis are keepers of funereal rites and lived in cremation grounds and graveyards, subsisting on alms. Worshippers of Masan, the deity of the cremation ground, (also thought to be a corruption of the Sanskrit smashan or cremation), they also worship jwalamukhi, all-consuming fire. The use of the kitchen fire was thus banned to them Once fed as a collective responsibility, they came to be seen as beggars. The Masan Jogis were also shrouded with superstition at their supposed mastery over death and are rumoured to have supernatural powers, including the ability to bring the dead back to life. In the 1865 census, 1,929 people were identified as worshippers of Masan. By the 2011 census, the population was estimated at 27,000. Behind her, her daughter-in-law pats bhakris (a millet flatbread) over a chula and the pressure cooker whistles on a gas stove. This is a big change. The Masan Jogis never cooked before Panchfulla Vadde got there two decades ago. Vadde is currently the regional coordinator for the Resource and Support Centre for Development (RSCD), an NGO that works with women sarpanchs under the Mahila Rajsatta Andolan project. There are 14,000 women sarpanchs out of 28,813 in Maharashtra currently. The challenges of participation are not merely gaining a seat, but understanding what power entails. The RSCD members play snakes-and-ladders in some villages, showing the women that taking a bribe is a snake bite, thus explaining what is ethical. It is an invaluable learning for women otherwise expected to be puppets. The pati sarpanch phenomenon has often resulted in women who know too much being voted out in a no-confidence motion after the mandatory one year cooling-off period. Tulsabai has survived this. The problem has been that when women meet, they discuss jewellery and the prices of vegetables. When men meet, they discuss politics, says Vadde. Tulsabai has overcome that. When Vadde first met Tulsabai, the Masan Jogi galli was a place to be avoided, smelling of arrack, consumed copiously by both sexes after sundown. Their meagre earnings would be spent on meals. Its taken years to get them to even cook. Tulsabais galli only received electricity and water this past year, after she has become the sarpanch. They were not included in ration schemes. They didnt know that their children were entitled to school admissions and uniforms. The women have learned to ask for rights, demand receipts and quotas. We used to stand with folded arms, waiting to be fed, eating bhakris made of bhoosa (cow fodder) and leftovers rotted by heat. When someone in the village would get married, we would go thinking they will feed us now. We would keep standing for hours, shoulders bent, hands folded, thinking food will come now. Our lives were like those of stray dogs, she says. Her father became a member of the gram panchayat, then her uncles, but as they were wanderers, they still did not have the coveted address proofs needed for caste certificates once the legislation came through. I didnt even know how to apply for one, she says. The RDSC helped them know what paperwork, and how to obtain signatures of the police for her nomination. What caste can the Masan Jogi be? We eat what we get, we stay where we can, we have no education, we have no place to rest how will we have a caste? A panchayat in search of women to fulfil its mandatory quotas told her: Get a caste certificate and we will nominate you for elections. They kept asking do you have a pistol? do you have a gun? do you have a talwar (sword)? I understood that caste becomes a talwar. It cuts your path through. When she won the elections, it shocked the small village. They kept ranting, How can a Masan Jogi woman be sarpanch? What woman have you made sarpanch that uneducated one? That kind of woman who begs will tell us what to do? She wont understand Aadhaar card, voter card, ration card; she doesnt know anything; she eats meats, talks a low language will she be sarpanch? Tulsabai raises her voice to mimic the taunts. Her confidence to keep going, she says, came from Vadde, the stories of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, and the words of BR Ambedkar. They said you marry your children off young, which is against the law. It only became apparent to her how much her community needed to change to fit in with a society rapidly moving forward. Tulsabai was married at the age of 12. As a child, she would play in the streets. When first married and sent to her husbands room, she screamed in fear. As night would fall, she would cling to her mother-in-law. Her bhakris would break, and she was not adept at housework. Her first husband returned her to the jat panchayat, the SC of the nomadic tribes. The transaction rescinded, she was returned to her parents to be remarried. We didnt know that you shouldnt marry a girl off before 18, Tulsabai says. Understanding like this has come with time and empowerment. The community is thrilled Tulsabai is sarpanch now. Now there is some hope our poverty will reduce, some of the members say. For the first time, Tulsabai says, mainstream society is inviting her in. They say ya ya ya, basa (come, come, come, sit) now. I feel good. I understand what is education and why it is necessary. Young women in the community now want to enter politics too. She tells them, Go be collector and tahsildar, go further than me. I couldnt study so this is all I could be. Surpass me. For the next generation there are no more child marriages. Her community understands, if they are to participate in a new India they must let go of old ways. When the body falls, as any Masan Jogi knows, all souls release in the same way. And yet, the caste that marginalised her is also what raises her up. If our daughters marry outside the community, we will not let them in the village, she says. We have to protect the community. It is what protects us. OBC status ensures votes that bring light, water, and respectability. The same politicians who tell us jati, bhed, bhav nahin hai (there is no difference between castes) are the ones who only see us when we have a caste certificate. The only way to counter it is to win votes, and for that you need the support of community. And you can only do that with a caste. So even we who didnt have caste have to acquire it. Caste is a sword, caste is a gun, caste cuts the way. There should not be caste, but caste is what protects us. Tragedy struck Jallikattu celebrations at Palamedu village in Tamil Nadus Madurai district on Monday, after a bull gored one person to death and injured 26 people. Despite foolproof arrangements, some spectators came in the way of a running bull near the collection point, nearly half a kilometre from the playing area, and were injured. S Kalimuthu (19), a spectator, succumbed to injuries at a government hospital in Madurai. He hailed from Sanarpatti village of Dindigul district. Another person who suffered serious injuries was among the six admitted to the hospital, according to the police inspector Palamedu who was investigating the case. He said from Palamedu police station that he had received a complaint from the mother of the deceased and was investigating. P Rajasekharan, president, TN Jallikattu Peravai, said that after discussing with the government officials and the police, the association will try and extend some financial help to the family of the deceased. It was an unfortunate incident that should not have taken place, said K Veera Raghava Rao, Madurai collector. But it must be kept in mind that the incident happened far away from the playing area, where double barricading was in place and the number of players were strictly regulated. Which is why there have been no cases of serious injuries or deaths in the playing area, he said. The collector also partly blamed the spectators who gathered near the bull collection point, where the owners of the bulls collect their bulls after their run. It was here that a bull charged towards a crowd and injured some people. Kalimuthu was looking at another bull and did not notice this bull that was charging at him and was gored, said Rajasekharan quoting eye-witnesses, adding that he was not present when the incident took place. On Monday, as against the 1,000 bulls that were given tokens, only 458 could be released owing to paucity of time. The event began at 8.30 am and was declared closed at 3.15 pm. Among those present at the inauguration of the event was revenue minister RV Udayakumar. Jallikattu, a traditional bull taming sport, is played as part of Pongal festivities in Tamil Nadu. As per the rules, a bull tamer will be awarded a prize if he hangs on to the hump of the animal for a certain period of time. Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Shilpa Shetty failed to appear before Churu district police in Rajasthan on Monday in connection with a case lodged against them last month for alleged casteist remarks. Churu deputy superintendent of police Hukam Singh had summoned the actors for allegedly using a derogatory word that hurt the sentiments of Valmiki community. Film analyst Komal Nahta was also summoned. Members of the Valmiki community had staged protests and burnt effigies of the actors outside many cinema halls in Rajasthan. They demanded that a case be lodged against Slaman and Shilpa under the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and they be arrested. Hukam Singh said, The actors were asked to present themselves on January 15 but they did not appear. Summoning orders will now be issued to them for being present on January 22 or 29. Salman had allegedly used the word Bhangi during the promotion of his film Tiger Zinda Hai while referring to his dancing skills. Shilpa had reportedly used the word to describe how she looks at home. Last year, a complaint was also registered against the actors in connection with the matter in Mumbai. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) had sought replies from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the police commissioners of Delhi and Mumbai over the issue after it received a complaint from an ex-chairman of the Delhi Commission for Safai Karamcharis, Harnam Singh. Social activists had demanded that Salman and Shilpa apologise to the Valmiki community. The Gujjar community on Monday staged a protest demanding compensation and a government job for the family of Rameshwar Gurjar, who was shot dead by the Uttar Pradesh police in Dholpur on January 11. People from the community, led by Gujjar leader Jayveer Poshwal, gathered at the district collectors office where they handed over a memorandum to district collector Shuchi Tyagi for chief minister demanding compensation and a government job for the victims and a CBI probe into the murder. The protestors said that the community will be forced to start an agitation in the state if their demands are not fulfilled. The family agreed to take Rameshwars body, after a postmortem, when the police assured them that legal action will be taken against the UP police officials, Poshwal said. The 25-year-old man was killed in firing by the Uttar Pradesh police who had crossed state borders to catch suspected cattle thieves on January 11 at Saypur village in Dholpur. The police teams, led by station house officer of Basai Jagner police in Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Vivek Sharma raided Saypur village (under Sar Mathura police station) in Dholpur to arrest absconding cattle thieves. According to the UP police, complaints against nearly 18 cattle thieves from Saypur have been registered at the Basai Jagner police station in Agra. On a complaint by Gurjars cousin, Mohar Singh, the local police booked UP cops Sharma, sub-inspector Pradeep, constable Uma Shankar, two female constables and five others under section 302 (murder). According to Singh, some miscreants came in two jeeps and tried to forcibly take away some elderly people. Protesting this, villagers started pelting stones, to which the miscreants started firing and killed his cousin. A 16th-century poem immortalised the legend of Padmavati, and now a modern-day play to set the record straight on the Rajput queen of Chittor. Kirti Rathore, a 32-year-old fashion designer in Jaipur, wrote the play Jauhar Rani Padmini recently to present what she affirms the true story of the Mewar queen, whos at the centre of a controversy after Bollywood director Sanjay Leela Bhansali made a movie set on the legendary royal. I want to set the record straight and show that the queen did exist and Delhi sultan Alauddin Khilji never saw her, not even on a mirror, said the amateur playwright on Monday. The Rs150-crore movie is based on Padmavat, a poem written by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi about 500 years ago, who gives an account of a Rajput queen of Chittor choosing to kill herself rather than be captured by Muslim ruler Khilji. Kirti Rathore with the descendants of the Mewar royals in Udaipur. (HT Photo) Historians are divided over whether the queen ever existed. Many Rajputs believe she did exist and accuse filmmaker Bhansali of portraying her in a bad light. Rathore met descendants of the Mewar royals in Udaipur with the first draft of her script to avoid what she said historical discrepancies. I visited Mahendra Singhji, a descendent of the Chittor queen, on December 26 to get the script vetted by him. I wanted the play to portray the true story of Rani Padmini, she said. After the green light from the former Mewar royals, rehearsals for the two-hour play, which includes three war sequences, are on at Rathores studio in Jaipur. A mammoth cast of 70 artistes rehearse their lines every day between 4pm and 6pm. The first show will be held on January 30 at Birla Auditorium. Rathore plays the lead role of the Chittor queen in the play. I am a Rajput and when I heard people question the existence of Rani Padmini, who committed jauhar to save herself from an invader, my blood boiled. So I sat down to write a script, she said. Jauhar is the medieval practice of a woman throwing herself on to a flaming pyre to save her honour. She decided to stage a play because she doesnt have money to make a movie. The play will be converted into a web series and a documentary for an infotainment channel. We cannot allow future generations to be fed wrong history through a Hindi film, Rathore said. The censor board, which cleared Bhansalis movie with several changes, had invited the former royals to be part of the certification process. But Singhs son Vishvaraj wanted some facts cleared before the family could take the offer. The board never got back to them, they alleged. Many people from the Rajput community are also upset with the choice of costume in Bhansalis movie, especially in the Ghoomar song in which actor Deepika Padukone, who plays the queen, wears a dress that leaves her midriff bare. The costumes in Padmaavat have Gujarati influence. The Rajputs did not wear the costumes shown in the films trailer. My play will have authentic Rajput costumes, Rathore said. The play will have live music and LED screens for the audience to live the experience. Rajput Sabha president Giriraj Singh Lotwara recently released the poster of the play that claims to be the communitys answer to Bhansalis distorted version set for release on January 25. Twenty-three candidates are left in the fray for the Ajmer parliamentary by-election after three candidates withdrew their names on Monday. In Alwar, four candidates withdrew their names, leaving 19 in the poll fray. In Ajmer, 30 candidates had filed nomination for the by-election. Four nominations were rejected during scrutiny of forms, said Gaurav Goyal, the returning officer. Goyal said two electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be needed for every both, as one machine can accommodate only 16 names. Now, we have to make arrangements for more EVMs and have to increase the numbers of strong rooms to keep them after elections, he added. We have asked election commission to send more machines; we have got some and some are on way, he further added. In Alwar, district collector and returning officer Rajan Vishal said Shadi Khan, Upen Yadav, Ashwani Bhardwaj and farmer leader Ram Pal Jat withdrew their nominations on Monday. This leaves BJPs Jaswant Yadav, Congress Karan Singh Yadav and nine Independents in the poll fray. Jaipur (rural) SP acting as BJP agent: Cong The Congress on Monday filed a complaint with the election office alleging that the Jaipur rural superintendent of police was acting as an agent for the local BJP candidate, Ramswaroop Lamba. Rameshwar Chaudhary, who is SP of the area under which Dudu (part of Ajmer parliamentary constituency) falls has been threatening Congress workers to implicate them in false cases if they did not slowed down their election campaign, alleged the Congress in its complaint with the election office. He (Chaudhary) is acting as BJP agent and is influencing people to vote in favour of BJP candidate Ramswaroop Lamba, alleged Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, the Congress spokesperson for Rajasthan. We demand election commission to remove Chaudhary on two grounds: 1, Chaudhary is acting a BJP agent and 2, he is in the area for over three years now; it is violation of the norm as no officer with three years or more tenure can stay during election, said Khachariyawas. He also alleged that other ministers of the state government camping in Ajmer are pressurising the officials of their respective departments to convince people in their neighbourhood to vote for BJP. They have convened meetings of officials of their departments and have given tasks to motivate people to vote in favour of BJP, he alleged. Meanwhile, an independent candidate, Shiv Bhagwan, alleged that someone called on his mobile threatening him to withdraw his name. Someone called me on my mobile and threatened to kill me if I did not withdraw my name, said Bhagwan. I have submitted a complaint to SP with the number from which the call was made to take action against the caller, he added. However, Ajmer SP Rajendra Singh expressed ignorance about the incident. Dalit leader and newly elected MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mewanis move to tie up with Bhim Army chief Chandrashekar has compelled the BSP to draw a fresh plan to counter the two Dalit leaders in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Though Chandrashekhar is lodged in Saharanpur district jail on charges of inciting caste violence in the area, members of his organization are active in west UP. Jignesh, who has emerged as the Dalit leader after Gujarat assembly elections, is trying to mobilize members of Jatav community, who are traditional supporters of the BSP. Jignesh not only organized a rally in Delhi in support of Chandrashekhar but also visited Saharanpur to meet the Bhim Army chief in jail. A senior BSP leader said the party was maintaining a close watch on the activities of Jignesh and the Bhim Army. The party had plans to organize cadre camp in the districts of west UP, in which senior BSP leaders will tell the party supporters how Jignesh and Chandrashekhar were trying to weaken the BSP to serve their political interest, he said. The Congress, which had supported Jignesh in Gujarat assembly elections, might be promoting Jignesh and Chandrashekhar as well to regain the support of the Dalit community in UP. The plan of the BSP to spread base in Gujarat received a setback due to Jignesh factor and the partys vote share dropped in comparison to 2012 and 2007 assembly elections. The BSP had fielded candidates on 182 seats in Gujarat and got 2,07,007 votes (0.7 %) in 2017. Whereas in the 2012 assembly elections, it fielded candidates on 163 assembly seats, failed to open account and polled 1.25% votes. In the 2007 assembly elections, the BSP had fielded candidates on 166 seats in Gujarat but failed to win any seat. Yet it had polled 2.62% votes. The BSP has plans to show its strength across UP on Monday, when celebrations for the 62nd birthday of the party chief Mayawati kicks off in 75 districts. The aim is to send a message to the Dalit community that Mayawati is the top leader of the Dalits. Her birthday will be celebrated as Jankalyankari Diwas during which party leaders will help the needy, poor and the handicapped. They will also visit Dalit hamlets and hospitals and distribute fruits and blankets among the poor people. After the birthday celebrations, the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha election is slated to be finalized. Once that is done, Mayawati will launch the election campaign by addressing public meetings across the state. Her brother Anand Kumar, who has been made national vice president of the party, as well as nephew Akash, who has been portrayed as the young face of the BSP, are likely to accompany Mayawati in the election campaign. The victory of the BSP on two mayoral seats in west UP as well as Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchayats in the urban local bodies has boosted the moral of the party cadre after its humiliating defeats in 2014 Lok Sabha and 2017 assembly elections. Now the party hopes to project itself as the main challenger to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. Playing down Jignesh-Chandrashekhar alliance, BSP stat eunit president Ramachal Rajbhar said the BSP votebank was intact and the plans of the two Dalits to woo our supporters would not succeed. Calling Jignesh a creation of media and the Congress, BSP Gujarat unit leader Chattu Ram said Jigneshs effort to mobilize Dalits in adjacent Maharashtra and Gujarat failed and now he was trying to enter UP. The members of the Dalit community know that Mayawati is their leader and has been fighting for their cause. Jignesh will not be able to win the support of the community in UP too, he said. Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia has expressed unhappiness over the failure of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) to revise house tax of around 1 lakh houses in the city and start collection of the tax online. The mayor directed LMC officials to ensure that online collection of house tax begins this month. This will ensure more transparency in tax collection and minimise chances of any sort of corruption in the process. Sanyukta Bhatia said, I have directed the municipal commissioner to revise the house tax of all houses that have not been revised till date. If this is done, LMC is expected to generate more income. The LMC will have to generate more funds by increasing its income from hoardings and using its land bank for construction of markets and flats. Local bodies need to be self sufficient, so they must know how to generate money for development work. By utilising the huge land bank, LMC can generate around Rs 200 crore income this year, she added. The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) plans to provide free tea or coffee to those who undertake night travel on the 302-km access controlled Lucknow-Agra Expressway. We are ready to foot the bill that would come on offering free hot beverages to commuters. If it encourages safe driving and helps avoid accidents it would be worth the effort, UPEIDA chief Awanish Awasthi said after a meeting of UPEIDA officials on Sunday. As per a recent order, commuters on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway would have to pay toll tax from the next couple of days. Two-wheeler drivers would have to pay 50% less tax than what car and vehicle drivers would be required to pay as toll tax. Awasthi explained that the move is an attempt to ensure, what he called, serious drivers on the expressway. If we dont put a charge on two wheelers, we suspect that many non-serious drivers would also take the expressway. This would, besides creating traffic issues on the expressway, also lead to potential driving risks that we want to reduce, he said. He said the free coffee-on-the-expressway idea is born out of the belief that coffee would keep the drivers alert, and awake, making their drive safe. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has offered to lay optical fibres and put up CCTV cameras and phone helplines on the expressway. Optical fibres are used by telecom companies to transmit phone signals, internet and the government plans to offer free wi-fi facility all along the six-lane expressway route. The UPEIDA has also sanctioned nine police outposts on the expressway and they are expected to come up in phases in Agra, Ferozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kannauj, Kanpur, Unnao and Lucknow. The BJP government also proposes to set up eateries and petrol pumps on the route that so far doesnt have any. These eateries and petrol pumps could come up soon at specific points on each side of the expressway, almost 100 km apart, an official said. Night watchmen cant rest, come rain or cold. He gets his bread and butter by maintaining a vigil on the surroundings while people sleep. Indeed, Mohammad Yunuss life gives a peep into how night watchmen do their job. With the night getting foggier and colder, only two persons were spotted around 1.30am at a prominent lane in Aminabad. The street, otherwise chock-a-block with buyers and sellers and their cacophony all day, was absolutely silent at night. Yunus and a destitute companion gave the street the little life that was there. The small bonfire that Yunus had lit could have attracted anyone on that desolate street. Yunus and the other man were huddled around the bonfire. Every night for 15 years, I have been guarding this stretch of the shopping street. A winter night like today is the worst time. The shopkeepers pay me Rs 15,000 every month. It is this money that brings me here every day. Before me, my father had guarded this street. So, in a way, I inherited this job, he said. A watchman and a destitute at Aminabad area of Lucknow. (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT Photo) I am from Faizabad and live here alone in a room behind these streets. For six months, I remain away from my wife and three children. Once every six months, I take a month-long break and visit my family in Faizabad. I just rest and do not take up any occupation, full time or part-time. Yunus, 35, says: I come here every night at 8 and leave at 8am. This is a serious job. If any traders reports theft of his wares, I will have to compensate him. He only guards the makeshift shops that dont have shutters or doors. The traders wrap their thela (cart) or squatting area with thick black tarpaulin and go away each day, leaving Yunus in charge. Its a tough, monotonous and lonely job. The winter makes it all the more worse. I dont have any firewood. I cant spend money on firewood each night, so I gather some wood from around and light a fire to keep myself warm. Today, I burnt a bamboo pole. Asked whether he feels sleepy, he replies: No. I have become a night bird. My job forces me to stay awake all night. No matter how long I sleep during the day, I always feel tired. Day sleep cant compensate for the night winks. Rickshaw pullers preparing their roti-daal dinner at a pavement. (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT Photo) THINKING OF THEIR KIDS FUTURE KEEPS THEM GOING Temperature: Nearly 7 degrees Place: Sikanderbagh crossing, Lucknow Satyapal Pasi and Baraati Maurya the rickshaw pullers - were preparing their roti-daal dinner at a pavement near what is usually a busy crossing during the day. At night, the crossing was deserted, the pavements full. It had been an average day for the two men, a trend they know would last through the winter when people dont venture out much. Their daily routine is taxing. They wake up by 3 am every day. The local public toilet charges them Rs 5 for answering natures call. Another Rs 10 if they want a bath. Lunch is usually on the move, a quick bite between waiting for customers. Dinner is when they get to unwind and share their experiences of the day. Thats what they were doing when we joined them. Shortly afterwards, a third person, Jagjivan, joins them. All three belong to Hardoi district but Jagjivan is new to the state capital. The two do their best to make him comfortable by making his dinner. Both Pasi and Maurya hope their children wont have to follow their profession. Thinking about them takes the pain of their gruelling schedule away. Its the thought of a bright future for their kids that they go to bed with. Staring at the open sky, they close their eyes and their tired bodies aid a sound sleep. The pavement from Parivartan Chowk till Daliganj offers night rest to about 250 odd homeless dwellers. (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT Photo) DIFFERENT STORIES, COMMON FATE Time 11.50pm Place: Parivartan Chowk, Lucknow The pavement from Parivartan Chowk till Daliganj offers night rest to about 250 odd homeless dwellers. Some of them have been spending the night here for years. They are a variety of them: labourers, rickshaw pullers, beggars and a local baba with several plastic garlands around his neck. Their stories are different but virtually everyone, from one end of the pavement to the other, appears resigned to their fate and none we met had any complaint to make. Labourers offloading truck at Nadan Mahal Road. (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT Photo) WORKING IS THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT COLD Time: 2am. Place: Nadan Mahal Road, Chowk, Lucknow They found employment when they were asleep. A person looking for labour to offload truckload of material for his shop woke them up and queried if they could help. They readily agreed and for good reason. We get to make money and then working is the best way to fight cold, they said. Our night vigil had shown that UPs homeless might lack a roof above their heads. But what they seem to have in plenty is tremendous capacity is resolve to fight it out. Their days are busy and their nights are usually bright with the stars under the open sky. Lucknowites woke up to a pleasant Sunday morning with bright sunshine. The day temperature was three notches above normal at 24 degrees Celsius, the Met department said. The night temperature was 3.5 degrees Celsius (four degree below normal). There is a 21.5 degree Celsius difference between the day and night temperatures. Doctors have advised people, especially children and the elderly, not to shed their woollens. The Met department has forecast mainly clear sky with shallow to moderate fog for Lucknow and the adjoining areas. The maximum and the minimum temperature in the state capital will be around 24 and 4 degrees Celsius respectively, said met director JP Gupta. With Lucknow experiencing pleasant weather, several people went for a family outing. As a result, parks were chock-a-block with people. A famous tea stall at Lal Bagh was the destination for those who wanted to have hot tea and samosa. Elders in the state capital attributed this change of weather to Makar Sankranti that marks the end of Malmaas, an inauspicious month in the Hindu (Panchang) calendar. The transition of the Sun to the zodiac sign of Makar (Capricorn) heralds a change in season, they said. Fursatganj (Rae Bareli) was the coldest in the state recording a temperature of 3.2 degrees Celsius, Bahraich 3.3, Kheri 3.4, Sultanpur and Najibabad (Bijnor) 4.2 each, Shahjahanpur 4.3, Bareilly 4.4 and Kanpur 4.4 degrees Celsius. Across the state, the weather was most likely to stay dry with shallow to moderate fog very likely at isolated places on January 16 and January 17, the Met department said. The Met department has issued a warning of the possibility of dense fog at isolated places in the state. VIP treatment to influential or wealthy patients helps them skip the queues at hospitals, but this deprives others of timely treatment. Hospitals across the state capital often find themselves in difficult situations when influential patients come with their supporters and create scenes seeking VIP treatment, which hampers crucial treatment of other patients. The doctors admit VIP disturbance, but theres little they can do! RISK OF INFECTION As soon as a VIP patient enters a hospital, a team of senior administrative officers, doctors and para-medical staff is pressed into service. There might be shortage of staff, but the entire hospital is under pressure to cater to such VIP patients in the best possible way. Apart from the security being compromised, the supporters bring with them infection that might affect patients in the ICU, including the VIP admitted there, said Dr PK Gupta, spokesperson of Indian Medical Association, Lucknow branch. Unnecessary interference not only affects treatment of other patients, but also the VIP patient as our attention too is diverted, said Prof Vinod Jain, senior faculty of King Georges Medical University (KGMU) and former co-faculty in-charge of the trauma centre. Sample this. Recently, over 200 supporters gathered at the PGI emergency to get their leader admitted. Due to this, over 40 other patients in the emergency block had to wait for treatment and were asked to follow protocol. The system at KGMUs OPD and trauma centre often goes haywire due to VIPs. You can see VIP syndrome all over the city. Traffic movement too gets affected when VIPs move, said Prof Sandip Tiwari, faculty in-charge of trauma centre. Sometimes attendants even occupy rooms Hospitals across the globe have a system of medical bulletin, wherein doctors give updates on the condition of VIP patients. This system reduces crowding of people who are anxious to know about the well being of the patient. But in many hospitals of UP, there is no such system. As a result, theres crowding and attendants of VIP patients even occupy rooms adjacent the ICUs illegally. WHAT HAPPENS? As soon as a VIP patient enters a hospital, a team of senior administrative officers, doctors and para-medical staff is pressed into service. There might be shortage of staff, but the entire hospital is under pressure to cater to such VIP patients in the best possible way. Apart from the security being compromised, the supporters bring with them infection that might affect patients in the ICU, including the VIP admitted there, said Dr PK Gupta, spokesperson of Indian Medical Association, Lucknow branch. He said hospital acquired infection is a major worry for doctors, but patients and their relatives do not understand this. WHO CAN STOP SUPPORTERS? It is the family that needs to take a call, said doctors. If a family wants proper treatment for their kin and all others admitted to the hospital, they have to ensure their relatives do not create trouble on the campus, said Dr Jain. Hospitals across the globe have a system of medical bulletin, wherein doctors give updates on the condition of VIP patients. This system reduces crowding of people who are anxious to know about the well being of the patient. But in many hospitals of Uttar Pradesh, there is no such system. As a result, theres crowding and attendants of VIP patients even occupy rooms adjacent the ICUs illegally. In what may act as a deterrent to power theft, a Kanpur court has sentenced a man to three years jail and fined him Rs 35 lakh for stealing electricity about 14 years ago. This is the maximum punishment under the Electricity Act, 2005. The order comes amid the renewed efforts by UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) to control the spiralling lines losses in the state. Special judge (EC Act), Kanpur Nagar, Ajay Kunar Srivastava pronounced the verdict on January 11 when accused Lalit Kumar Kapoor failed to prove his innocence. Though it took a long time for the judgment to come, we welcome the order as this will generate some fear among power thieves, said Vipin Jain, superintending engineer, Hardoi. Jain, as a young SDO, had led the raid team that detected power theft at Kapoors pipe factory in Dadanagar area, under Kanpur Electricity Supply Company (KESCo), on October 9, 2004. As per the complaint filed by the KESCo, during a surprise inspection of the accuseds premises, the raid team found the seal on the energy meter tampered. It also found the factorys contracted electricity load to be 79.7 HP against the approved load of 55 HP. KESCo had slapped a fine of Rs 11,28,650 and compounding fee of Rs 16,00,000 on the accused. It is clear from the perusal of all records that the accused was running his factory on stolen electricity, said the judge in his order, adding accused Lalit Kumar Kapoor is awarded a three years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 35,00,000 is also imposed on him for the offence under section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2005. The judge said the accused would undergo an additional imprisonment of six months if he did not pay the penalty. Under the Electricity Act the offence of power theft under section 135 is punishable with in imprisonment that can extend up to three years or with fine or with both. In this case, the court awarded both maximum imprisonment and fine that was based on the penalty determined by KESCo. As per official records, more than 30% of electricity that UPPCL supplies in Uttar Pradesh is stolen or not paid for. The state-owned corporation is taking various steps, including proposing setting up of special electricity police stations to deal with the power theft challenge. Kanpur is known to be notorious for power theft. The electricity divisions like Alloo Mandi, Electricity House and Zaribchauki record more than 50% technical and commercial losses in the city. In 2014, a documentary titled Katiyabazz was made to highlight the rampant pilferage of electricity in Kanpur. The UP government will come up with a start-up policy having a motto start-up in Uttar Pradesh to help young entrepreneurs set up their own business ventures and generate employment. COS TO BE INVITED TO SET UP INCUBATORS The biggest incubator would be set up in Lucknow. Both government and private sector companies would be invited to set up incubators. The state government would reimburse up to 75% of the expenditure incurred on infrastructure at these incubators by government companies and up to 50% to private companies up to maximum of Rs one crore. Those planning to set up incubators could also expect concessions on stamp duty, electricity tariff and 25% on rent, a maximum of Rs 10 lakh per year for five years The government would extend all support to start-ups to ensure their successful run in the state. The policy would be announced during the two-day investors summit starting from February 21. Industrialists from across the country would come to Lucknow to be a part of the event. These start-ups could be in any field but the governments emphasis would be on agriculture, health, education, Internet-related business and 3-D printing among others. To promote start-ups, the government would provide Rs 15,000 honorarium every month to them for one year. The government would also provide an assistance of Rs 10 lakh to start-ups to market their products. To bring industrial culture in the state, the government has decided to set up incubators and develop them as centres of excellence. An incubator is a place made available at low rent to start new small businesses. At these centres of excellence, the government would promote several industry related activities, including machine learning, data cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cyber security among others. For a centre giving excellent results, the government would provide Rs 10 crore assistance for five years. To promote research in industry, the state government has also decided to provide Rs 2 lakh assistance to those applying for a domestic patent and Rs 10 lakh for an international patent. Anil Kumar, principal secretary, MSME and export promotion, pointed out that the state government would lay special emphasis on promoting start-ups. An 18-year-old man on Sunday drowned in a lake in suburban Powai where he had gone for fishing, police said. The deceased, identified as Mohamad Farhan, had gone to the Powai lake for fishing with his friends on Sunday afternoon, a senior police officer said. The officer said as per Farhans father, he had fits problem. Farhan slipped off the tube they were riding on and fell into the water after suffering from one such fits bout, the officer said, adding that his body was later fished out. A case has been registered and probe is on, said the police. The Election Commission of India, in a special drive undertaken recently, has registered 9.67 lakh new voters to the electoral roll in Maharashtra. Women outnumbered men in registrations during the special drive undertaken between October 3 and December 15, 2017. During the drive, 4.81 lakh men, 4.85 lakh women and 159 people from the third gender category registered themselves as voters. With this, number of those on electoral roll has reached 8.49 crore or around 70% of the states population. These include 4.46 crore men, 4.03 crore women and 1,855 third gender voters. How to register Potential voters can contact on 1800-22-1950 or visit https://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in for enrolment The revised rolls were published on January 10. Of the new registrations, 3.5 lakh are first-time voters in the age group of 18-19 years, though the unregistered voters in the age group are about 25 lakh. Of 40 lakh voters who have just become eligible to vote, just 17 lakh first-time voters have registered themselves. We received good response for the registration of new voters during the recent drive. The registration of first-time voters at colleges and universities was satisfactory too. The registration has taken the percentage of voters to 70%, though there is a whopping number of repeated voters on the rolls. The deletion of absent, shifted and dead (ASD) will be undertaken more strictly this year as elections are to take place next year, said an official from the state branch of the ECI. Around 3.65 lakh voters were deleted from the list for various reasons including shifting of residence, death, among others. Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban districts saw the addition of 12,699 and 50,887 voters respectively. Ahmednagar district registered highest number of voters at 58,754, while Sindhudurg saw lowest addition of 4,994 voters. More than a month after emcee Arpita Tiwaris death, her friend Amit Hazra was arrested on charges of murder on Monday. Tiwari, 25, was found dead at Manavsthal Heights, a high-rise in Malwani in Malad (West), where Hazra lived, on December 11. She had come to the apartment with her boyfriend Pankaj Jadhav. The trio went out drinking and returned to Hazras apartment around 3am. Tiwaris body was found in the duct of the building around 7.30am. The circumstances surrounding Tiwaris death were mysterious. Initially, the police thought it was suicide and filed an accidental death report. The bathroom window was found open, leading the police to believe she jumped off the bathroom. Tiwaris father Triveninath approached the police alleging foul play, after which a case of murder was registered. We have placed Hazra under arrest based on scientific evidence gathered during the course of investigation, said Mumbai police spokesperson and deputy commissioner of police Deepak Devraj. There was no CCTV footage from the high-rise as the cameras were defunct. The police also did a dummy test by throwing a dummy approximately the height and weight of Tiwari. Hazra and Tiwaris boyfriend, were among the suspects, who were questioned repeatedly. During questioning, the help allegedly changed his statement. In his initial statement, he said he had seen someone touch Tiwari inappropriately, but retracted it later. Hazra and four others underwent a lie-detector test recently to ascertain the sequence of events. The four others included Tiwaris boyfriend, two other friends of Hazra who stayed in the apartment and his help. During the custody, we will question him to determine the motive behind the murder, said an officer from Malwani police station. He was produced before a metropolitan court and has been remanded in police custody till January 20. Thousands of students and technology enthusiasts from Mumbai experienced Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the first time after humanoid Sophia spoke at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) on New Years Eve. Although Sophia may have rekindled the interest in AI, several students from engineering institutes in the city were already exploring the topic. AI and its associate fields, such as machine learning and data mining, have emerged as an important area of exploration and debate in the scientific community. While researchers are enamored by its endless potential, they are also concerned about the risk it poses to the human world. However, these concerns have not deterred engineering students from working on various AI-related projects. AI is the future. From ancient times, humans are trying to make things life easier for themselves. This is what AI does, said Shashank Agnihotri, a final-year engineering student at Vivekananda Educations Societys Institute of Technology. Agnihotri and his classmates have written three research papers on the topic. Two of these papers, which have been published in research journals, are about a computer programme they developed to identify the author of a text by combining stylometry - the study of linguistic style - with AI. The programme is said to be useful in forensic science. He is now working on a project to generate automatic replies to online messages. In view of the cyber attacks attack on Iranian nuclear facilities on the Ukrainian electric grid in 2015, a group of three students and graduates from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Matunga developed a real-time intrusion detection software which can detect such cyber breaches at power grids, oil and gas refineries, petrochemical industries and even smart transportation. The students won the first prize for their project at a global competition, held in Delhi, in which nearly 130 countries participated in November. Our software studies the pattern based on regular readings in large public systems and detects anomalies. It sends out an alert to the operator, averting an attack, said Sachin Parekh, a fourth-year electrical engineering student at the college. AI is proving useful in a wide variety of fields. When a group of recent graduates from Saboo Siddik College of Engineering, Byculla started working on a startup to develop artificial limbs a few years ago, they had no inkling that this technology will help them increase the scope of their project. Earlier, our limbs were useful only for the people for which they were designed. But, now we developing a system to train these limbs to adapt to individual needs of every person, said Hamza Shaikh, one of the students working on the project. Amiya Tripathi, dean, research and development at Don Institute of Technology, Kurla said that the students are very enthusiastic about AI, although theres limited funding for these projects. Machine learning and AI are growing at a rapid speed, he said. The possibility of former allies Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) coming together again is being talked about after Maharashtra Congress Chief Ashok Chavan last week said his party is open for an alliance with like-minded parties including the NCP for the 2019 elections. Chavan has said something that is not surprising for leaders from both the parties. They have already been talking about the necessity for the two parties to reunite if they want to take on the ruling BJP. Even though they lost 2014 assembly elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the general opinion in both the parties was that they were defeated because of the Modi wave that saw BJP sweeping to power in early 2014. The impact of the Modi wave continued as the people voted for the state assembly six months later. As such, they were sure that things would change after some time. However, last years civic and district election results came as an eye-opener for them as the BJP swept municipal polls and bagged a significant number of district councils (zilla parishads). The ruling partys surge in both urban and rural areas shocked them which probably also set the tone for the two opposition parties coming together after their bitter divorce in 2014. Congress fight in recent assembly polls in neighbouring Gujarat also made the NCP realise that all is not over for its former ally. Since 1999, when the Congress split in Maharashtra and Pawar walked out of the party to float the NCP, the two parties are forced to stay together to win power in the state. They contested separately in 1999 but came together to run the government. They share the same support base and as such contesting solo means splitting each others votes. When they first forged a pre-poll alliance in 2004, they won 140 seats (Congress 69, NCP 71) close to 145 needed for simple majority in the state assembly. In 2009, the two parties again contested together and won 144 (Congress 82, NCP 62). Their relations turned bitter after 2010 as the NCP faced a series of allegations of corruption and the party leaders blamed the then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan for the same. They contested 2014 election separately and fared poorly. Congress tally halved to 42 while NCP could win only 41. Several leaders from both the sides opine that their situation would not have been as bad had the two parties stuck together. Faced with a ruling party that has maintained its political dominance in the state, leaders from both the parties are now inclined to reunite. Chavans remarks indicate the same. However, the reunion of the two parties is not as easy as it sounds. What happened in the last three years before the 2014 elections led to deep mistrust between the two parties. A section of Congress leaders are strongly against Pawars brand of politics. NCPs decisions to first extend unconditional support to the BJP government in the state and its voting against senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat strengthened their belief. The anti-NCP faction in Congress thinks that Pawars party is keeping its options open and can strike a deal with any of the three parties--BJP, Shiv Sena and Congress as per its convenience. Ironically, on Monday, it was the NCP that alleged Congress of helping the BJP as local units of Congress joined hands with BJP to keep NCP out of power in Gondia district council. That again underlines the fact that both the camps look at each other with suspicion. Both the parties have also been trying to win maximum allies in the run-up to the 2019 elections. Attempts are being made from both the sides to rope in smaller parties like Peasants and Workers Party of India, Raju Shettis Swabhimani Paksha (an ally of the BJP who quit the NDA last year), Janata Dal (S), Prakash Ambedkar-led BRP Bahujan Mahasangh, Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, factions of Republican Party of India and the Left parties. However, both parties know they wont be in the reckoning till they come together and as such the ground is being made for a reunion. The problem is, 2019 elections is more than a year away which is a long period in politics. The Bombay high court on Monday said the December 29 Kamala Mills compound fire that killed 14 people was a result of the civic administrations failure to ensure compliance with municipal rules and regulations. The court said the fire shocked its conscience and also turned out to be an eye opener. The fire incident is a result of the failure of the civic administration in ensuring strict adherence to regulations and conditions imposed on such eating houses, bars and pubs, said the division bench of justice RM Borde and justice Rajesh Ketkar. The unfortunate incident has shocked our conscience, said the bench, adding, It is high time the BMC sets its house in order, the bench. It also tried to impress upon the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation that it must put in place a mechanism to ensure fire safety norms and license conditions imposed on commercial establishments are scrupulously adhered to. It was hearing a PIL filed by former IPS officer Julio Ribeiro, seeking judicial inquiry into the incident and also a direction to the government and civic body to carry out fire safety audit of all eateries and restaurants. Ribeiros lawyer said the initial report of the Mumbai fire brigade exposed illegal alterations and additions inside Kamala Mills. The NM Joshi Marg police have formed three teams to trace Mojos Bistros owner Yug Tuli, in connection with the Kamala Mills fire that killed 14 people and injured 55. The teams have been deployed to Tulis ancestral properties, family homes and hotels in Delhi, Nagpur and Amritsar. We have formed three more teams to trace Tulis wife Pritina, who is from Nepal. As she has a British passport, we will be able to trace her faster, said Ahmad Pathan, senior inspector, NM Joshi Marg police. Tuli and Pritina had married just 15 days before the fire, said officials. We suspect that the couple has fled to Delhi or Amritsar, where Tuli has ancestral properties. We might book Pritina under section 216 of Indian Penal Code for harbouring a fugitive, said a police officer. The police said that on January 5 the day the fire department submitted a report saying the blaze originated at Mojos Bistro Pritinas mother caught a flight to Delhi. An officer said Tuli and Pritina had dropped her off at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj domestic airport. As news channels began reporting the fire departments findings, the couple left for Hyderabad in a high-end vehicle at 9.30pm an hour after the report was released. In the meantime, NM Joshi Marg police arrested Mojos Bistro co-owner Yug Pathak. On January 6, CCTV cameras captured Tulis SUV a Jeep Compass Limited 2.0D speeding at Cyberabad near Hyderabad. Tuli was seated inside the car, which the police seized later. Officials said they issued an e-challan of Rs1,435 to Tulis mother Navjyot Kaur, as the car was registered in her name. The car was bought two-and-a-half months ago., said a police officer. The officer said Pritina had booked a ticket on a Delhi-Nagpur flight on Monday, but did not board it. We made a mistake, Sanghvi brothers tell police 1Above restaurant owners Kripesh and Jigar Sanghvi and their partner, Abhijit Mankar, admitted to having renovated their eatery and said they repented their decision on Saturday. Galti hogaya (we have made a mistake) sir, the three said repeatedly, while being questioned by the NM Joshi Marg police. On January 11, the three were remanded in police custody till January 17. Cops seeking civic bodys NOC, rent docus After interrogating those arrested in connection with the Kamala Mills fire, in which 14 were killed, the NM Joshi Marg police now plan to question Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the fire department officials who gave 1Above and Mojos Bistro a no-objection certificate (NOC)to carry on renovation work. The officials said the accused have failed to hand over documents relating to rental agreement of 1Above and Mojos Bistro. They have also not handed over the civic bodys NOCs regarding their renovations.We are trying to seize the documents, after which we will call the BMC and fire officials for questioning, said Ahmed Pathan, senior inspector, NM Joshi Marg police station. Opposition leaders and social activists will hold a protest march on Republic Day against the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments attempts to change the Constitution. Prominent leaders like NCP chief Sharad Pawar, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, NCP leader Jayant Patil and activists like Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Tushar Gandhi are expected to take part in the 2-km march for the movement Save the Constitution. The march will start from Dr BR Ambedkars statue near Mantralaya and will proceed towards Hutatma Chowk to culminate at Chhatrapati Shivajis statue at the Gateway of India. Here, many will stage a silent protest. According to MP Raju Shetti, who heads the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana (SSS) and is the convener of this protest, it will be an apolitical march to convey the peoples unhappiness with changes being made to Indias Constitution. The government wants to change the constitution which has been the gift of Dr Ambedkar and pursue their divisive agenda. All the people who are against it will take part in the march, said Shetti. It is the protest march of the common people and there will be no political show. Ever since the BJP came to power, it is has faced accusations of trying to sabotage the Constitution. Last December, Union minister of state for skills development Anant Kumar Hegde had said at a public event in Karnataka that the Modi government would remove the word secular from the Preamble of the Constitution. Seculars do not know what their blood is. Yes, Constitution has given that right to say we are secular... but Constitution has been amended many times, we will also amend it. We have come to power for that, Hegde was reported as saying. However, following uproar both from outside and within the party, Kumar retracted his statement and apologised. He claimed that his statement was distorted. I hope he is alive, said Jayprakash Rajan, whose cousin, ONGC deputy manager V K Bindulal Babu, is yet to be found. Jayprakash said Babu lived at Solitaire Evershine, in Vasai (East) with his wife Shyni and their two children. Babu is mild and hardworking. He is a good husband and parent. His death would be a big loss to the nation, said Jayprakash. Babus elder brother, Shyam, 60, a retired banker, arrived from Kerala for a DNA test to be conducted at Cooper Hospital. We were given the sutured body of an unidentified person, but its head, arms and legs were missing. Shyni refused to accept it, saying it was too tall to be Babu. We want the complete body and not just sutured parts, said Jayprakash. With develops offering a variety of discounts and sops, homebuyers in Mumbai have a lot to choose from, and this is slowing down property transactions, much to the unhappiness of builders. Buyers have a lot of options to explore these days, so they are taking time at least three to four months to conclude real estate deals, say builders. Ashok Mohanani, chairman and managing director, Ekta World, said: Buyers now visit many projects before taking a decision. They have got a lot of choice and offers now. For instance, said Mohanani, a buyer looking for a flat in Vikhroli will also check out flats in other localities nearby, such as Mulund, Chembur and Ghatkopar, and this delays the whole process. Manohar Shroff, vice-president of Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry (MCHI), agrees. Many buyers feel that prices will come down further, so they are taking their own time to strike deals. Theres a lot of bargaining and negotiations taking place, he explained. A recent Knight Frank report said that faced with the slowdown and depleting sales, builders have, for the first time since 2010, reduced real estate prices by an average 11%-12 % in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Some builders have decreased rates by up to 25%. Almost 80% of the builders have special offers and schemes such as waiver of stamp duty and registration fees, no floor rises, 24-month rent assurance, as well as gifts. Developers in the MMR are saddled with a huge inventory, with the number of unsold apartments running into around 2.67 lakh, which includes one lakh home units in Mumbai alone. Liases Foras, a real estate research firm, said there is a depression psychosis at work. With the slowdown, homebuyers are assured that prices will not increase for the next two years at least, and so they are not in a hurry, said Pankaj Kapoor, CEO, Liases Foras. Previously, people would book flats in the pre-launch stage itself, but thats not the case anymore. Buyers used to fear that rates would go up if they did not book fast, so deals would get concluded quickly. But now, buyers feel that they can get the best deal by waiting. The Shiv Sena on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government over its role in creating a crisis in the countrys judiciary. In an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said that under the current government, the judiciary seems to be facing pressure. The country was being suffocated and breathes a little easily now that the judges have spoken out. The four judges clearly indicated to the press that truth and democracy are being strangled in the Supreme Court (SC). There is pressure on the SC to act in a particular manner in certain cases, and efforts are being made from the top to keep the four judges, who want the truth to prevail, away from such cases, the Marathi daily alleged. The editorial in Saamana is believed to reflect the views and opinions of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who is editor of the newspaper; Sena MP Sanjay Raut is its executive editor. On Friday, four senior judges of the SC revolted against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra by holding a press conference in which they told the media that the situation in the top court was not in order, and that many less than desirable things have taken place. The government will now criticise the four judges for their move, the Sena said. Soon, these four judges will be termed as Congress agents, or it will be said that there is a foreign hand behind their revolt, or they will be called Naxals, the editorial said. Had the judges addressed a press conference during the Congress-led UPA government, the BJP and other parties would have said that the countrys democracy and the independence of the judiciary are in grave danger, the Sena pointed out. The editorial further said that it was bold of the judges to hold a press conference and make the crisis within the judiciary public, and it served national interest. The role of the judiciary is over and the rule that what we do is law is now established. This has to be stopped, the daily said. A three-year-old boy died after drowning in a water tank at a residential society in Kandivli (West) on Saturday. The Charkop police have arrested one person following the incident. The incident took place around 10pm at Rameshwar Society located in sector 1 at Charkop. The boy, Pranav Waze, was playing in the colony when he ventured near the water tank, the police said. Pranav went missing from his home around 8pm on Saturday. His mother Megha, who is a nurse, started searching for him in the colony but could not find him. After checking the houses in the colony, she finally reached the water tank and found the lid open. Pranavs mother found his body two hours later. He died due to drowning, said an officer from Charkop police station. Megha, along with other residents, pulled the boy from the tank. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. Officials investigating the case said there was renovation work going on at one of the residents house in Rameshwar Society. The society has a one plus one structure where houses are alloted by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority. During the probe, the police found out that the accused Sameer Pednekar, at whose house the renovation work was underway, had allegedly kept the lid of the water tank open. Pednekar was booked under section 304(A) for causing death due to negligence. The police registered the case based on the complaint given by the boys mother. Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Rajive Kumar on Monday said the state government would file criminal cases and take other punitive measures against builders who were not addressing homebuyers problems. Kumar held a meeting with officials of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway authorities in the Sector 6 administrative building on Monday. Many issues, including those faced by homebuyers, industries, municipal services and improving policing in Gautam Budh Nagar district, were discussed in the three-hour meeting. The chief secretary said action would be taken against builders once their audit reports are out. The authorities have commissioned a financial audit of all builders to determine if they diverted funds meant for housing projects. As of now we have received the draft of audit reports in Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway. Once we will have the final audit reports, we will be able to establish if the builders have diverted funds, as alleged by homebuyers. The government will then be able to take action, including filing criminal cases if they (builders) have violated norms, Kumar said. The assurance comes in the backdrop of delay by builders in delivering flats to homebuyers even after receiving complete payment. On September 12 last year, chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed the Noida and Greater Noida authorities to deliver 50,000 flats by the end of 2017, and formed a ministerial committee to address problems of stakeholders. The Noida builders were supposed to deliver 12,500 flats, and the Greater Noida builders were supposed to deliver 27,500 flats but could not meet the target. According to details given by the Noida authority, the builders delivered 6,900 flats (in 2017) but the remaining 5,600 are yet to be delivered. In Greater Noida, the builders delivered 12,000 flats out of 27,500 flats. But these ready flats are not with the aggrieved buyers yet. The builders should have delivered pending flats or shared a schedule of delivery, said Satish Kumar, a buyer. On December 25, the UP chief minister again assured homebuyers that another 40,000 ready flats would be delivered by April 2018. Homebuyers say they are yet to get any relief and accused the state government of not taking tough measures to force the builders to resolve their grievances. The figure of 40,000 or 80,000 is imaginary and has been made up by the officials. The homebuyers, who had been suffering at the hands of builders, continue to suffer because the state government is soft towards the builders and not seriously looking into this issue, homebuyer Indrish Gupta said. On Monday, the chief secretary reassured that the government would address all issues. The Noida and Greater Noida builders will deliver 25,000 flats in February this year; they have already delivered 25,000 flats last year. The state government is very serious about solving all problems faced by homebuyers. But the state government cannot intervene in cases that are being heard in courts. We have decided to take required steps as soon as the audit report will be submitted, Kumar said. In power since 2009 his second time as premier Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has developed his own doctrine governing Israels foreign relations: call it the Bibi Doctrine. And it is a doctrine in which India plays an important role. Since Israels establishment in 1948, a number of different doctrines have governed Israels foreign relations. The first, and most famous, was named after Israels first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. This doctrine held that given the countrys hostile neighbourhood, and no chance of alliances with any of its immediate neighbours, Israel would have to build alliances with non-Arab countries on its periphery: Iran, Turkey and Ethiopia. This doctrine governed the countrys foreign policy for nearly the first three decades of its existence. In the 1990s, following the Madrid Conference, the signing of the peace agreement with Jordan, and the heyday of the Oslo process, another doctrine held sway: that Israels relations with the world would significantly improve as peace would blossom with the Palestinians. It was during this period, following the fall of the Iron Curtain, that there was a burst of diplomatic ties with countries with whom formal relations had either never been established or were frozen after the Six Day or Yom Kippur wars. The peace process served as the pretext for the opening of ties, including formal ties with India in 1992. But now, with Iran implacably hostile, Turkey downright unfriendly, and with no peace process with the Palestinians to pave the way to better relations with other countries on the horizon, the Bibi doctrine is built upon a different basis altogether: what Israel has to offer the world. Were in the midst of a great revolution, a revolution in Israels standing among the nations, Netanyahu said at the UN General Assembly last September. This is happening because so many countries around the world have finally woken up to what Israel can do for them. India is a case in point. The relationship between the two countries has soared not because of a sudden change of heart in New Delhi regarding the Israeli-Palestinian issue, but rather because of a realisation that Israel has a great deal to offer. The Jewish state today has much more to export than just Jaffa oranges. Netanyahus doctrine is simple. The world wants Israeli technology across a wide range of fields, and needs its expertise in fighting terrorism. But Israels tremendous intelligence capabilities cost an extraordinary amount of money, and Israels technological developments be them in the sphere of cyber security or new weapons systems, water or agriculture technology also are expensive. To be able to afford all this, the country needs a strong economy. And for a strong economy, Israel needs to expand its markets. Netanyahus current visit it part of an ongoing effort to open markets around the world. Extensive Israeli diplomatic outreach in Asia and Latin America have been accompanied by similar efforts in Africa, but there the focus is less on opening markets, and more on changing voting patterns. Africa, like India, is hungry for Israeli technology and security expertise, but what it stands to give Israel in return is less a market, and more a change of voting patterns at the UN. There are 54 African states in the UN, and if even half of them start abstaining on Israel-related resolutions, Israels diplomatic situation would improve considerably. In this doctrine, India is important both because it is a massive potential market, and also because of the prospect of it changing its voting pattern, something that could influence others from the non-aligned bloc to do the same. Netanyahus trip, however, is important to him for another reason as well. With scandals swirling around him and his family at home, with domestic rivals making his political life extremely difficult, this trip and the images of it that will be broadcast back home will cast him in his favourite light: world statesmen. Netanyahu wants the media at home to focus on what he is best at meeting world leaders, delivering speeches, articulately defending Israel in interviews. This is what he wants the Israeli public to see and to remember especially since there is widespread speculation in Israel that new elections, which must be held by November 2019, may be held sometime within the year. And if indeed they are held during this time frame, this current trip to India, accompanied throughout by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will provide valuable campaign footage. Herb Keinon is diplomatic correspondent, The Jerusalem Post The views expressed are personal Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari announced last week that the Centre would soon start road and other projects in the 100-km-long Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone (BESZ) in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand after securing approval for them from all concerned departments. This policy scraps the one announced by the United Progressive Alliance in 2012 which marked the area as a no-development zone and asked the state to constitute a monitoring committee to ensure that those activities allowed in the zone can be conducted without disturbing the environment. The policy was opposed by all parties in the state. Expectedly, six years on, theres no panel yet. Instead of addressing this lacuna and setting up a panel , the National Democratic Alliance, which now rules both the state and the Centre, has said projects in the zone will be cleared on a case-to-case basis. One of the first projects to be considered will be the all-weather road that connects the religiously significant Char Dham ---Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The road was promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the run-up to the assembly elections in 2017. The promise of a road in an area that has serious infrastructure challenges obviously went down well with the voters. It is not difficult to understand why. An all-weather road would make life easier for the people in this area and also open the region for more tourists. The BJP won 56 of the 70 seats in the state assembly in the elections. The decision to open up the BSEZ has raised questions on the correct thing to do in this ecologically fragile zone. One of the main reasons why the decision has raised a red flag is the experience of the 2013 floods in the state. In the summer of that year, a sudden cloudburst led to a devastating flashfloods in the state, killing people and destroying property worth hundreds of crores. After the catastrophe, several panels created to study the flashflood warned the state against disturbing this area. The 2013 India Disaster Report, for example, of the National Institute of Disaster Management, warned that blasting for developmental activities must be avoided as it could destabilise the weak rocks in mountainous regions and that a pilgrim control and regulatory body should be constituted to regulate and manage the flow of pilgrims/tourists. Mr Gadkaris claim is that the government has found a middle path by authorising concerned departments for carrying out development works in the zone and that these departments will ensure that the conditions for carrying out such projects are complied with. This is hardly reassuring; the states environment-protection record has not been exemplary. Director Kamal, in his recent interview to popular Malayalam portal Azhimukham, said that Vidya Balan backing out of Aami was a blessing. She was originally supposed to play the titular role of well-known and much-loved poet Kamala Das, popularly known as Madhavikutty, in his film. Vidya opted out of the project for reasons yet unknown and was subsequently replaced by Manju Warrier. On why Vidya was originally signed on to play the lead, Kamal said: Had she played the role, sexuality would have crept in. This is something I didnt pay attention when I initially approached her. Madhavikutty was known for writing boldly about female sexuality, which is still considered a taboo subject. On the other hand, Kamal is all praise for Manju playing the role. It was gods blessing that Vidya backed out of the project. The Madhavikutty Manju has brought to life is very different from the Madhavikutty I had in mind for Vidya. Manju just took two days to transform into the character, he said. During the launch of the films first look poster, Manju took to Facebook and wrote that she is transforming into Aami, slowly, in her heart and in her dreams. She says this transformation is no easy task. She said that she can feel the magical scent of Madhavikutty. In an interaction with the media last year from the sets of the film, Manju said that Madhavikutty as a person is very close to the heart of every Malayali. Every actor in the country would desire to play this role. I consider it my good fortune to have landed an opportunity to play this role. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Actor Jayam Ravi is busy with the promotions of his forthcoming Tamil release Tik Tik Tik, tipped to be Indias first space film. In a recent media interaction, he revealed that his 25th film will be directed by his brother Mohan Raja, who has apparently already begun working on the script. Ravi and Raja had previously worked together in films such as M Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi, Something somethingUnnakum Ennakum and Santhosh Subramaniam. A couple of years ago, they teamed up for again for the path-breaking Thani Oruvan, which went on to be a box-office hit. Amid rumours they plan to join hands for a sequel, Ravi has confirmed about teaming up once again. He taught me to ride a cycle; he taught me to ride a bike fast; he took me to film festivals and promised me hed make me an actor. As promised, he made Jayam. A few years ago, he said lets do a film like Thani Oruvan and we did it. He has now said he will direct my 25th film and he has already started working on something which Im very excited to see, Ravi said, but didnt confirm if the project will indeed be a sequel to Thani Oruvan. Raja, meanwhile, is basking in the success of Sivakarthikeyans Velaikkaran, which has completed its 25th day run in cinemas and still going strong at the box-office. The film has emerged as the biggest grosser in Sivas career. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Filmmaker Sundar Cs magnum opus Sangamithra was launched amidst lot of hype last year in Cannes International Film Festival. The project was announced with Shruti Haasan and she even underwent training in action for nearly a month in London, preparing herself for the role. In an unfortunate turn of events, she walked out of the project as she wasnt handed over the full script of the film as promised when she signed the project. Unsure of the full graph of her character, she chose to exit the project, much to the surprise of everybody. She was subsequently replaced by Disha Patani, whod be making her Tamil debut with the project. Meanwhile, reports emerged that the project has been shelved for the time being and will be revived at a later stage. At the press meet of upcoming Tamil comedy Kalakalappu 2, its director Sundar C clarified that Sangamithra has not been shelved. The pre-production work is still going on. On a project of this scale, pre-production is followed by storyboard creation. Unlike other films where work on graphics will be done only after shooting, here in Sangamithra, we have started it before shooting. The project is very much on; we hope to start shooting from April, Sundar told reporters. Tipped to be made on a lavish scale, the film happens to the most expensive project in the careers of its director Sundar C and its makers, Sri Thenandal Studios. It is also rumoured that the film is most likely to be made into two parts. Going the Baahubali way, the first part will feature Arya while the second one will star Jayam Ravi, who had said that he will start training for the project and also beef up to play the challenging role. Arya, who hasnt had a hit in a long time, has pinned all his hopes on this film as he wishes to bounce back strongly. Composer AR Rahman has been roped in to score music and he has apparently already completed a song. The film will also be made in Telugu and Hindi, but maybe not simultaneously along with its Tamil version. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Actor Suresh Gopi was accused by Kerala polices crime branch of tax evasion and was arrested on Monday, according to a report in Manorama Online. The Rajya Sabha MP was questioned about the alleged registration of his luxury vehicle. Officials have accused the actor of forging documents to register his car in the Puducherry to avoid the higher tax percent levied in Kerala. The police questioned and released him on a bond of Rs 1 lakh and two solvent sureties, states the report. The FIR was filed against him on December 5 for causing revenue loss to Kerala by forging documents. Suresh then filed for an anticipatory bail and said that the allegations against him were false. He explained that he had rented a property in Puducherry, which has been in use since 2009. He also said that the car mostly runs in Tuticorin, Coimbatore and Bengaluru as his brothers are based in Tuticoring and Coimbatore. The police, on the other hand, have stated that the actor used a fake residential address to evade the 20% tax in Kerala, levied on luxury vehicles. Actor Fahadh Faasil and Amala Paul were also accused of evading tax and according to a report in The Hindu. Amala also appeared for questioning regarding the same on Monday. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Faith and survival, not the machinery of death, are the central themes at an atypical Holocaust museum in Brooklyn. The three-year-old Amud Aish Memorial Museum, located far from the tourist crowds near the very edge of the borough, focuses on the experiences of Orthodox Jews during and after the Holocaust. Its collection includes letters, diaries, photos and religious items, like a frayed prayer shawl worn secretly by a prisoner at Auschwitz. Many were donated by Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews, who had stashed the artifacts in basements and attics, and who would not have given them to another museum, Amud Aish staffers said. Part of that is because their culture is different and they dont patronise museums for the most part, said Shoshana Greenwald, director of collections. But here they felt this was a museum that would tell their story and understand where they are coming from. The collection includes the Warsaw Ghetto diary of Hillel Seidman, who wrote about Jews daily struggle to survive and to practice their religion in the face of horrific persecution. Its a well-known diary, said Dovid Reidel, the museums director of research. This is the original. The family of Seidman, who survived the Holocaust and died in 1995, gave the diary to Amud Aish because they felt other museums will just focus on his general story, Reidel said. They felt he wouldnt be appreciated from his religious dimension as well. Currently housed in a temporary space downstairs from a home health care company, far from city subway lines, the Amud Aish Memorial Museum has long planned on moving to a more prominent location. When it opened in the remote Mill Basin neighborhood, there were plans to build an $11 million permanent museum in the boroughs Borough Park section, home to a huge and growing population of Orthodox Jews. Sholom Friedmann, the museums director and CEO, said theres now no fixed date for a move. An exhibit that officially opens at the museum later this month tells the little-known story of thousands of Jews who found refuge in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, China. A group of teenage girls from a private Jewish school clustered around the vitrines during a recent visit and learned about the Walkin family, who fled Lithuania on the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1941, landing first in Kobe, Japan and then in Shanghai. Program coordinator Miryam Gordon pointed out sabbath candlesticks adorned with Chinese characters. Daily life continued, she said. Children were born. People got married. Reidels own grandfather, Mike Tress, is featured in Amud Aishs collection for his work trying to secure passage for European Jews to the United States or another safe haven. There are typed minutes of an October 14, 1944, White House meeting between first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Tress and other rescue activists. They met on a Saturday when religious Jews are not supposed to travel or conduct business, Reidel noted, adding, When it came to rescuing lives, that supersedes the not travelling or not holding these work meetings on shabbos. Colleagues in Holocaust remembrance said theres a place for a museum thats devoted to the devout. The more opportunities there are to engage with Holocaust education, the better, said Elizabeth Kubany, a spokeswoman for the Museum of Jewish Heritage A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, located in lower Manhattan. Tova Rosenberg, the creator of the Names, Not Numbers, a Holocaust oral history program, said Amud Aish shows the spiritual resistance of Jews who maintained their religion even in the concentration camps. They were going to keep their religious commandments no matter what, Rosenberg said. And that isnt portrayed so much in other museums. Michael Berenbaum, a Holocaust scholar who has served as a consultant to Amud Aish and other museums, said he hopes Amud Aish can reach its core community while also attracting a broader audience that may have little contact with the Orthodox beyond passing them on the street. I would hope that lots of non-Jews, non-Orthodox Jews would come to see it in part as a bridge to understanding with these people they live adjacent to, he said. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a busy street market in central Baghdad on Monday, in back-to-back explosions that killed at least 38 people, Iraqi health and police officials said. The attackers struck during rush hour in the citys Tayran Square, which is usually crowded by laborers seeking work. The twin explosions also wounded at least 105 people, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to the media. Earlier reports by spokesmen from the Health Ministry and the Interior Ministry had 26 killed and at least 16 dead, respectively, and dozens wounded. Ambulances rushed to the scene as security forces sealed off the area with yellow tape. Slippers could be seen scattered about on the blood-stained pavement as cleaners hurried to clear the debris. Photographs posted on social media showed lifeless bodies and pieces of limbs. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it bore all the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has claimed many such attacks in the past. The twin explosions shocked residents in the Iraqi capital because large attacks had decreased significantly in Baghdad and other parts of country since security forces retook nearly all territory once held by IS militants. Iraqi and U.S. officials have warned that IS would continue with insurgent-style attacks even after the Iraqi military and U.S.-led coalition succeeded in uprooting the Islamic State group across the country. The cost of victory has been nearly incalculable as the three years of war against IS devastated much of northern and western Iraq roughly a third of the country where Islamic State militants had held most of the territory. The burning Iranian oil tanker that sank in the East China Sea on Sunday in the worst oil ship disaster in decades has produced a 10-mile long oil slick as black smoke continued to billow from the site, Chinese media and Japanese authorities said on Monday. Chinese state TV CCTV said the slick was 1 to 4 nautical miles wide and had grown several times in size since Sunday, stirring further worries about damage to a marine ecosystem rich in fish and bird life. The slick was discovered east of where the ship sank on Sunday, CCTV reported on Monday. A clean-up effort on the seas surface has begun and rescue teams have called a halt to the large-scale search for survivors, reducing it to normal operations, CCTV said. The blazing vessel, which was carrying 136,000 tonnes - almost one million barrels - of condensate, an ultra-light, highly flammable crude oil, sank on Sunday evening after several explosions weakened the hull. A rescue ship works to extinguish the fire on the stricken Iranian oil tanker Sanchi in the East China Sea, on January 10, 2018 in this photo provided by Japans 10th Regional Coast Guard. Picture taken on January 10, 2018. (REUTERS) The tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608) had been adrift and ablaze after crashing into the freighter CF Crystal (IMO:9497050) on Jan. 6. Strong winds had pushed it away from the Chinese coast, where the incident happened, and into Japans exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Chinas State Oceanic Administration said on Sunday that because the explosions had ruptured the hull of the ship, a large amount of oil in surrounding waters was on fire. The sinking marks the biggest tanker spill since 1991, when 260,000 tonnes of oil leaked off the Angolan coast. Black smoke was still billowing from the site of the sinking, the Japan Coast Guard said on Monday. The service sent two patrol boats and an airplane to the area to search for missing crew members and assess the latest situation, a spokesman for the Coast Guard said over the phone. Japanese authorities lost track of the tanker as of 0840 GMT on Sunday, the spokesman said. The ships last confirmed location was about 315 km (195 miles) west of Sokkozaki on the island of Amami Oshima. Amami Oshima is one of the northern islands in the Ryukyu island chain that includes Okinawa. A Chinese salvage team on Saturday recovered two bodies from the tanker, Chinas state news agency Xinhua reported. Another body, presumed to be one of the Sanchis sailors, was found on Jan. 8 and taken to Shanghai for identification. The salvage team recovered the Sanchis voyage data recorder, or black box from the bridge of the tanker, Xinhua also said on Saturday. But the team was forced to leave the ship after just half an hour because the wind shifted and thick toxic smoke had complicated the operation. Iranian officials said on Sunday the remaining 29 crew members and passengers of the tanker were presumed dead. The crew consisted of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. Iranian oil tanker Sanchi is seen engulfed in fire in the East China Sea, in this January 13, 2018 picture provided by Shanghai Maritime Search and Rescue Centre and released by China Daily. (REUTERS) SINKING VS BURNING Experts worry the ships sinking is potentially more damaging to the marine ecosystem than letting the condensate oil burn off. The sinking will likely expel the remaining condensate and the tankers bunker fuel, or the heavy fuel oil that powers a ships engines, contaminating the surrounding waters. Bunker fuel is the dirtiest kind of oil, extremely toxic when spilled, though less explosive. Condensate is poisonous to marine organisms. A harmful plume of condensate would likely be in the water, out of sight of observers on the surface, said Rick Steiner, a US marine scientist based in Anchorage, Alaska, who has experience of oil spills. As with all major oil spills, time is of the essence. This is particularly so with condensate spills, as the substance is so toxic and volatile, Steiner said in an emailed statement. In this Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 photo provided by China's Ministry of Transport, smokes and frames from the burning Iranian oil tanker Sanchi in the East China Sea off the eastern coast of China. (AP) The East China Sea is known for its rich, although already polluted, marine ecosystem, with whales, porpoises, seabirds and fish, he said. Fuel oil is relatively easy to contain because volumes are lower and its viscosity means its easier to extract from water, but even small volumes can harm marine life. A Suezmax tanker can hold a maximum of 5,000 tonnes of bunker fuel. The Sanchi may have been carrying about 1,000 tonnes by the time it hit the grain freighter CF Crystal, according to bunker fuel traders estimates. More than a month after the Left Alliance, a coalition of two communist parties, secured an absolute majority in elections to Nepals federal parliament and assemblies in six of the seven provinces, the formation of new governments continues to be in limbo. The hand-over of power has become an increasingly difficult affair because of constitutional obligations and political bickering, and experts and officials say the new governments at the centre and in the provinces are likely to be formed only after another month. Frustration has been mounting in political circles over the governments failure to appoint governors, who will administer the oath to the newly elected provincial lawmakers, and to name the capitals of the seven provinces that will be home to the new governors, chief ministers, provincial assemblies and new state functionaries. We have urged the government to appoint the governors within five days, otherwise it will be difficult for us to conduct elections to the Upper House because the members of the provincial assemblies will have to cast their votes. Before that, the governors will administer the oath to the provincial lawmakers, chief election commissioner Ayodhee Prasad Yadav said on Monday. The government delayed the appointments after the Left Alliance warned it would revoke the decisions after assuming power. The Left Alliance, which has been pressuring the Sher Bahadur Deuba-led government to pave the way for formation of the new governments, has accused the prime minister of being power- hunger and deliberately stalling the process of handing over power. The deadlock has continued as Prime Minister Deuba is reportedly reluctant to step down before the formation of the new National Assembly. The Election Commission has now set February 7 as the date for elections to the upper house, which along with the already elected lower house makes up the National Assembly. Deubas Nepali Congress party and Elections Commission are of the view that without the formation of the National Assembly, the House cannot be convened and a new government cannot be formed. But the Left Alliance has demanded the immediate resignation of the prime minister, saying the Nepali Congress lost the elections and cannot continue as the government. After the formation of the National Assembly, the Election Commission will submit the final results to the president and publish them in the Gazette, starting the formal process of forming a new government. As none of the political parties have an absolute majority, the president will set a deadline for a government to be formed with the support of two or more than two parties, according to the Constitution. The parties of the Left Alliance, which together have an overwhelming majority, would then stake claim to form the new government. During a function on Monday, Prime Minister Deuba categorically denied he was lengthening his hold on power. None of the parties secured a clear majority in the elections. Parliament has not been formed. Whom should I hand over power to? he asked. It is futile to make rhetorical statements regarding handover of power without understanding the due legal process and constitutional provisions. Who will become the prime minister? I will hand over the power in a minute if a prime ministerial candidate comes up through the legal process. Deuba, who is also the Nepali Congress president, said the Parliament would take shape only after the election of all members of the National Assembly, and then a new government will be formed. Pakistan on Monday protested to the US against what it described as the Indian Army chiefs irresponsible remarks and the pattern of escalation on the Line of Control and called on Washington to advise New Delhi to exercise restraint. Foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua raised the tensions with India during a meeting with visiting US acting assistant secretary of state Alice Wells. Wells is the first top American official to travel to Islamabad since the US suspended security-related aid worth nearly $2 billion over Pakistans counter-terrorism efforts. Read more | General Rawats comments unconstructive, against consensus reached by Modi, Xi: China Janjua drew the US delegations attention to the recent irresponsible statement by the Indian Army chief and the pattern of escalation by India on the LoC and the international boundary. She also condemned Indian mortar attacks on Pakistani posts that resulted in the death of several Pakistani soldiers on Sunday night. She (Janjua) asked the US side to advise restraint to India and stop its escalation tactics, said a statement issued by Pakistans Foreign Office after the meeting. On Friday, Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat said his force is ready to call Pakistans nuclear bluff and cross the border for operations if ordered to do so by the government. We will call the bluff of Pakistan. If we have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff, Rawat told a news conference. He also said India could ramp up pressure on Pakistan to force it to stop cross-border terror attacks in Kashmir. Yes, you cannot be status quo-ist. You have to continuously think and keep moving forward. You have to keep changing your doctrines and concept and the manner in which you operate in such areas, he told PTI in an interview. Wells visit to Pakistan was described by the Foreign Office as part of the regular engagement between the two sides on bilateral and regional cooperation. Wells was accompanied by officials from the US National Security Council and ambassador David Hale. Besides the tensions with India, Janjua and Wells discussed ways to take forward Pakistan-US relations, which are at a new low following the suspension of American security assistance and President Donald Trumps accusation that Islamabad had given nothing but lies and deceit even after getting $33 billion in aid since 2002. Janjua said the relationship needed to move forward under an environment of mutual trust and respect and informed the US side about recent counter-terrorism actions by Pakistans law enforcement agencies that contributed to visible improvement in the security situation. These actions will also contribute to peace and stability in the region, she said. The foreign secretary expressed concern at the continued use of Afghan soil by elements hostile to Pakistans stability and said strengthening border management mechanisms between Pakistan and Afghanistan is vital to addressing concerns relating to cross-border movements, the statement said. The early repatriation of Afghan refugees too is important for improving relations with Afghanistan, Janjua said. The statement quoted Wells as acknowledging the importance of the bilateral relationship and Pakistans efforts in eradicating terrorism. She conveyed the US desire to work with Pakistan in furthering the shared objectives of stabilising Afghanistan and said Pakistans support was critical to the success of the US strategy for Afghanistan. Wells also underlined the need for strengthening intelligence cooperation between the two sides to improve coordination in counter-terrorism efforts. The two sides agreed all initiatives owned and led by Afghans for seeking a peaceful solution should be supported by regional countries, the statement said. The Indian Army said on Monday it killed seven Pakistani soldiers along the Line of Control in Mendhar sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir in retaliatory action against an unwarranted and inhumane act, days after an Indian soldier died in cross-border firing. Both the countries accused each other of violating the 2003 ceasefire agreement amid celebrations in India on its 70th Army Day and a warning from the Army chief that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism would be met with a stronger response from his force. Also Monday morning, at least five suspected Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants planning to carry out a suicide mission were gunned down by security forces in Baramulla district, officials said. The publicity wing of Pakistans army, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said four soldiers were killed and that they were busy with the maintenance of a communication line when they were fired upon and hit by [a] heavy mortar round in the Jandrot sector of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). ISPR also claimed that three Indian soldiers were killed and a few injured in the exchange of fire. A post by the government of Pakistan on its Twitter handle also said four soldiers were killed and Islamabad summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh to lodge a protest. Four soldiers of #Pakistan Army have embraced martyrdom in unprovoked #Indian firing along the Line of Control in Jandrot-Kotli Sector. The troops were busy in line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round by Indian forces. pic.twitter.com/wHLtFdr4nR Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) January 15, 2018 A senior officer of the Indian Armys Northern Command, however, denied there were casualties on its side as claimed by the ISPR. As per our count we have eliminated seven of their soldiers but we have not lost anybody, he said on condition of anonymity. Heavy calibre weapons were used by both the sides. The skirmishes that started around 9am lasted for a couple of hours on Monday, he added. On January 13, Pakistan army killed Lance Naik Yogesh Muralidhar Bhadane in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district. Bhadane was from Khalane village of Maharashtras Dhule district. Part of an Indian patrol, which was on its way to relieve its counterparts from a post in Sunderbani, was targeted and fired upon in which Bhadane was killed. Therefore, what followed on Monday morning could be gauged as our retaliation to their unwarranted and inhumane act, said the officer. Mondays ceasefire violation by Pakistan came less than 24 hours after chief minister Mehbooba Mufti asked both India and Pakistan to have cordial relations for the sake of the people of Jammu and Kashmir, who bear the maximum brunt of hostilities between the two countries. Later in the day, travel between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was suspended . Cross-LoC travel has been suspended after Pakistan shelling and firing along the Line of Control (LoC) and the tension that followed, custodian of LoC Trade and Travel, Poonch, Mohammad Tanveer told PTI. (With Agency inputs) A Palestinian was shot dead during clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Monday, Palestinian officials said. Ahmed Saleem, 24, was shot in Jayyous near Qalqilya, close to the separation fence between Israel and the West Bank, the health ministry said, with official Palestinian media saying he was killed during clashes. The Israeli army said dozens of Palestinians had thrown rocks at Israeli soldiers. In response to the violence, soldiers responded with riot dispersal means and live rounds, it said in a statement, adding it was looking into reports of a Palestinian killed. Saleem was the 17th Palestinian to be killed since US President Donald Trumps controversial declaration of Jerusalem as Israels capital on December 6, most of them in clashes with Israeli forces. One Israeli has been killed since then. Trumps announcement infuriated Palestinians, who see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, and sparked protests. Separately Monday, the Palestinian leadership was meeting to develop a strategy to respond to Trump, with president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday condemning the US leaders peace proposals as the slap of the century. Thousands fled from their homes as lava oozed out of a rumbling Philippine volcano on Monday in what volcanologists described as a quiet eruption, warning it could lead to a hazardous explosion within days. Lava was slowly flowing out of the Mayon volcanos crater along with a spectacular 1,000-metre (3,280-foot) ash plume rising into the sky, the nations volcanology institute said. More than 12,000 people have been ordered to leave a seven-kilometre danger zone around the crater, as officials warned them of potentially destructive mudflows and toxic clouds. Technically, the volcano is erupting but the eruption is fairly quiet. It may escalate into a hazardous eruption, Paul Alanis, science research specialist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), told AFP. Mayon Volcano is seen emitting smoke in Albay province. (Reuters File Photo) A hazardous or explosive eruption means a lava fountain or a spray of hot rocks and gases that could move as fast as 60 kilometres per hour, Alanis added. Local disaster officials also warned of volcanic mudflows known as lahars. Because of continuous rains in past weeks, debris deposited (on) the slopes of Mayon could lead to lahar flows. If rain does not stop it could be hazardous, Claudio Yucot, head of the regions office of civil defence, told AFP. Mayon, a near-perfect cone that draws thousands of tourists, even during minor eruptions, rises 2,460 metres (8,070 feet) above a largely agricultural region some 330 kilometres southwest of Manila. It is the considered the nations most active volcano. In this image made from video, dark pyroclastic ash cloud rises from Mayon volcano after its eruption as seen from Legazpi city. (AP Photo) Steam-driven eruptions and rockfalls began over the weekend, and the crater began glowing on Sunday evening, in what Phivolcs said was a sign of the growth of a new lava dome. Rolling thunder Lava last flowed out of Mayon in 2014 when 63,000 people fled from their homes. We think the lava now is more fluid than in 2014. This means the flow can reach further down (the slopes) at a faster rate, Phivolcs head Renato Solidum told AFP. We see similarity with eruptions where the first phase of the activity started with lava flow and culminated in an explosive or hazardous part. Thats what we are trying to monitor and help people avoid. The Philippines is part of a Ring of Fire of islands in the Pacific that were formed by volcanic activity, and has to contend with 22 active volcanoes. Mayon has a long history of deadly eruptions. Four foreign tourists and their local tour guide were killed when Mayon last erupted, in May 2013. In 1814 more than 1,200 people were killed when lava flows buried the town of Cagsawa. An explosion in August 2006 did not directly kill anyone, but four months later a typhoon unleashed an avalanche of volcanic mud from Mayons slopes that claimed 1,000 lives. The glow (at top) of lava from the cloud-covered Mayon volcano as it erupts. (AFP Photo) In Mondays lava flow, Phivolcs advised residents to use a damp cloth over their mouths and stay indoors to avoid inhaling sulphur dioxide gas. If you breathe, you will feel like coughing and clearing your throat. It also stings and is painful in the eyes, Bert Recamunda, a 55-year-old engineer and Mayon watcher, told AFP after visiting Camalig town near the volcano. Classes were suspended in parts of Albay province where Mayon is at, and some schools were used as evacuation centres. I am afraid. The volcano rumbles like a rolling thunder, Nerry Briones, 40, told AFP from a classroom in Camalig town, where she and her three children have stayed for the past two nights along with other evacuees. The Pakistani Taliban have for the first time claimed responsibility for the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in a book written by a senior leader of the banned militant group. After Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi on December 27, 2007, members of military ruler Pervez Musharrafs regime had blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan for the assassination. However, the group and its leaders had never spoken about the incident so far. The Urdu language book Inqilab Mehsood South Waziristan - From British Raj to American Imperialism, written by Taliban leader Abu Mansoor Asim Mufti Noor Wali and published on November 30, 2017 at Maseed Computer Center at Barmal in Afghanistans Paktika province, makes the claim that suicide bombers Bilal, also known as Saeed, and Ikramullah were tasked to carry out the attack on Bhutto. Bomber Bilal first fired at Benazir Bhutto from his pistol and the bullet hit her neck. Then he detonated his explosive jacket and blew himself up among the participants of the procession, the book says, according to The Daily Times newspaper. Soon after Bhutto was killed, the Musharraf regime had released a recording of a conversation between the two Taliban members discussing the assassination. The 588-page book, which contains numerous photographs of Taliban leaders, was posted online on Sunday. The book says Ikramullah, a resident of Makeen town in South Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, had escaped from the scene of the attack and is still alive. The book does not say if this is the same Ikramullah who was declared a fugitive along with five others by the anti-terrorism court hearing the assassination case. The book further says the Taliban were also involved in an attack by two suicide bombers on an earlier procession by Bhutto in Karachi in October 2007, which killed nearly 140 people. Despite attacks on Benazir Bhuttos procession in Karachi, the government had not taken appropriate security measures that made it possible for the attackers to have easy access to Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, it adds. After a prolonged trial, the anti-terrorism court acquitted five Taliban suspects last year and gave 17-year prison terms to two police officers for dereliction of duty. It also declared Musharraf a fugitive. Musharraf has repeatedly denied any involvement in the matter and dismissed the charges against him as politically motivated. Baitullah Mehsud, who headed the Taliban at the time of the assassination, was killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan in 2009. The book notes that investigators had blamed the Taliban for Bhuttos killing but Mehsud had initially denied involvement. It says the Taliban leaders from the Mehsud clan had denied any involvement until December 27, 2017, Bhuttos 10th death anniversary, but gives no reason why they had changed their stance. The book also reveals that Baitullah Mehsud had approved the attack on Bhuttos procession in Karachi in October, 2007, when she returned to Pakistan from self-exile to campaign for the 2008 elections. The return of Benazir Bhutto was planned at the behest of the Americans as they had given her a plan against the Mujahideed-e-Islam. Baitullah had received information of the plan, the book claims. So when Benazir Bhutto arrived in Karachi, two suicide bombers Mohsin Mehsud and Rehmatullah Mehsud carried out attacks on her procession at Karsaz area of Karachi, the book says. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov attacked the US in an annual press conference on Monday, accusing Washington of issuing ultimatums and failing to recognise the reality of the emerging multipolar world. Lavrov said the past year had not been easy from a foreign policy perspective as he took questions on Syria, Ukraine, the Korean peninsula and other global issues, in a diplomatic round-up of 2017. Unfortunately, our American colleagues and their allies still want to do business solely on the basis of issuing ultimatums and do not want to listen to the views of other centres of world politics, he said when asked about US President Donald Trumps position on the Iran nuclear deal. In fact they do not want to recognise the reality of the emerging multipolar world, Lavrov said. Trump last week said the US would not reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran for now, but would withdraw from the deal this year unless its terms were changed. (The Americans) resort to methods that are, largely, questionable and unscrupulous, in order to contain their competitors, Lavrov said. They use a number of these methods, from deploying a global missile defence system to unilateral sanctions, to the extraterritorial use of their own legislation or threats to resolve any international problems solely according to their own scenario. Lavrov also said threats coming from Washington in 2017 had seriously aggravated tensions in different parts of the world, including in North Korea. As Trump prepares to mark a year in power, Lavrov said the actions of the current US administration were in some cases more assertive than under Barack Obama, despite Trumps line during the election campaign. The US was afraid of fair competition in various areas, including energy and the supply of gas to Europe, Lavrov said, adding that Washington was failing to contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Syria. Russia launched a military intervention in Syria in 2015, propping up President Bashar al-Assads regime after a revolt was crushed by a brutal crackdown. Its time for Leo Varadkar to intervene and bring clarity to the roll out of the National Broadband Plan, says Fianna Fail Spokesperson on Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Timmy Dooley TD . He told us: We have had months on end of Minister Naughten fudging answers on when the NBP contract would be signed, when works would begin and when every single one of the 540,000 people under the Plan would be connected to high speed, quality broadband. Minister Naughten clearly doesnt want to deal with this issue, so I am calling on the Taoiseach to set the record straight and let the people know where they stand. What they need to hear from the Taoiseach is when he expects the contract to be signed with the preferred bidder, when he expects works to commence and when he expects the Plan to be delivered in full. Its not that much to ask on such a critically important national project." He added: I, along with many of TDs, have consistently questioned Minister Naughten on these simple questions for well over a year, and we have been met with silence on all counts. The Governments own Programme for Government set a target of June 2017 for the awarding of the tender with a commitment to to accelerate the roll out of the infrastructure next year [2017]. Clearly this commitment has been dropped by the Government which isnt surprising as every other target; goal or promise to the people of rural Ireland on broadband delivery has been missed. The original National Broadband Plan was due to be completed by 2016 so a failure to deliver isnt new when it comes to this government." He concludes: The Taoiseach prides himself on, and makes a virtue of, his reputation as a straight talker. Here is a perfect opportunity for the Taoiseach to be honest with the people of rural Ireland." Just 14.4 million has been allocated in Budget 2018 compared to allocations of 30.4 million and 14.4 million in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Irelands future economic prosperity is being put at risk by the apparent failure of the Government to adequately resource third level funding schemes, claims Fianna Fail Spokesperson on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Niall Collins TD. Like 2017, the funding for the current year is woefully short of what was previously allocated to 3rd level institutions under the Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) which was established by Fianna Fail in 1998," he tells us. The refrain from Government is that they are investing in a modern and dynamic economy yet the evidence just doesnt stack up. Funding is being cut for the very same 3rd level institutions that are supposed to be on the cutting edge and frontline of Irelands research endeavours. The last Fianna Fail government committed to a 57.9 million budget for the PRTLI in 2011 despite the constraints on public expenditure at the time. This was done in the knowledge and belief that investing in Irelands education system would lead to spin off industries and jobs in the future." He adds: Fine Gael has clearly decided that this is no longer a priority, and has cut the funding. This is one of the main reasons, I believe, why Irish universities are progressively falling in world rankings. FGs decision to move from a five year funding model to yearly funding has severely reduced the ability of 3rd level researchers plan for the future, and entire would-be researchers to locate in Ireland. Minister Humphreys is new to this Department. She needs to call a halt to the underfunding of 3rd level research, and seek additional funds for our universities and colleges." He concludes: If the Government decides to give up funding research in our higher education system, we seriously risk cutting off the supply of top quality researchers and spin off industries that must become the bed rock of our future economic prosperity." If you want to talk about the poorest and most dangerous countries on the planet, I've been to most of them. And those are the places where I met the world's bravest and most resilient people. For 11 years I lived in Africa, making my home in South Africa, Rwanda and Kenya. I'd spend weeks at a time in Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Burundi covering civil wars. I'd vacation in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. These are difficult places marred by bad politics, limited natural resources and unfortunate histories. They may not be as wealthy as Norway, but that doesn't mean people in those places don't deserve our respect. Nor does it mean they are not a source of economic growth for the U.S. America was built by immigrants; desperate, impoverished, uneducated, unwashed people from every corner of the globe. They are still building it. MORE: The world is listening to Trump - and you should, too The belief that someone's birthplace determines the content of their character is, by definition, racist. Where you were born, the color of your skin and your gender does not determine how much you can contribute. That is why President Donald Trump's questions about why the U.S. accepts immigrants from certain countries is so deeply racist, no matter what word he used to describe them. His uneducated opinion on immigration will hurt the U.S. economy. We need immigrants to meet our workforce needs, according to federal data collated by Houston commentator and mayoral candidate Bill King. U.S. birth rates have plummeted, and the population is getting older, which as Japan has demonstrated since 1990, is a bad combination without immigration. "If the U.S. had not been allowing any new immigrants, our population would actually be falling by now," he writes. "We know intuitively that more people in our town means more customers for restaurants, grocery stores, car dealers, etc." The current 4.1 percent unemployment rate further proves that immigrant labor is needed. The labor participation rate is also rising as more Americans look for work as wages rise. But as baby boomers retire in larger numbers, there are not enough Americans to fill all the gaps. Aggravating the current worker shortage are opioid addiction, obesity, diabetes and disability rates that contribute to long-term unemployment and poverty. Trump has yet to propose any programs to help these people address their problems or to escape the impoverished pockets of the country where they are concentrated. They await his help. MORE: Bigotry and ignorance shouldn't be America's reality If Trump does not reach a deal with Congress on immigration reform, and he carries out his threats to increase deportations and end temporary asylum programs, he will shrink the U.S. workforce and stall economic growth. Nearly 400 top executives wrote to Trump and Congress last week asking for quick action on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to permanently grant work permits to 800,000 people brought to the country illegally as children. "At least 72 percent of the top 25 Fortune 500 companies count DACA recipients among their employees," the letter stated. "All 780,000 hardworking young people will lose their ability to work legally in this country, and every one of them will be at immediate risk of deportation. Our economy would lose $460.3 billion from the national GDP and $24.6 billion in Social Security and Medicare tax contributions." Last week the Trump administration announced it was lifting the temporary protective status for close to 200,000 Salvadorans. About 20,000 of them work in Houston, mostly in construction. "Many of these workers are playing an instrumental role in rebuilding the region post-Harvey," the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said in statement. "Studies show that this decision could cost the U.S. economy $1.8 billion, and removing these people from the workforce could unnecessarily cripple the local labor force and devastate industries that rely on their labor." EDITORIAL: Trump's sh--list The chamber points out that many of these people, along with the Haitians and Nicaraguans who have already lost their temporary status, do work that most Americans won't do, such as janitorial services, animal processing and other dirty jobs. Most of the 10 million people working in the U.S. illegally are working construction, washing dishes, maintaining lawns and filling jobs that do not require a college education. If they are deported, there are not enough Americans to replace them. We need low- and semi-skilled labor more than we need doctorates from Norway, which Trump seems to feel are perfect candidates for U.S. citizenship. I've also visited Oslo, though, and I'm not sure why Norwegians would want to emigrate. They are too busy taking in exactly the kind of people that Trump wants to shun to keep their economy strong. It was a bloody Monday for the Houston Grand Opera. Following an evening rehearsal of Richard Strauss' gory "Elektra," the room fell silent. Apprehension built; all eyes focused on one side of the stage and at what was to come next. Within a few short seconds, a gray staircase was streaked with red, as blood seeped down the archaic, crumbling structure into a hollow pool below. This, in many ways, is the calling card of "Elektra," an opera built on one of the more tragic of Greek stories, a tale of familial betrayal and cold-blooded murder. Which, of course, means there will be blood when the production opens in the George R. Brown Convention Center Friday evening. After a week of testing at least seven different recipes, the production team was running the culminating scene for the first time. Consider it an audition, of sorts. "That was a Tarantino," said managing director Perryn Leech. He's referencing how the blood squirted onto the stage just a little too quickly - the viscosity of the liquid was just a bit too thin and its color lacking potency. With that, the team of blood wranglers immediately began to discuss how to adjust the flow - which was a 2 cups distilled water to 1 cup glycerin recipe. Stagehands wiped down the stained set, which is a rental from Lyric Opera of Chicago, before bringing out a Rubbermaid container carrying the next potential star, a batch of blood with a 1-to-1 ratio, with a crimson hue more close to the color of actual blood. More Information 'Elektra' When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday, and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27, 31 and Feb. 2 Where: Resilience Theater at the George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenidas de las Americas Information: $25-325; 713-228-6737, houstongrandopera.org See More Collapse But, the higher amount of glycerin was a concern, as it increases the set's consequential slickness. "It sounds ridiculous, but you are constantly experimenting to see what works," Leech said of the homemade concoction, which also contains coffee creamer, corn syrup, chocolate syrup and food coloring. "The effect we're trying to create is a river of blood down the stairs." To achieve this vision, there are a number of variables that must be considered - from the amount of air trapped in the reservoirs to the functionality of each plastic pipe to the permanence of the liquid on the costuming and more. Of course, operas across the globe have performed this grueling scene since "Elektra" debuted in 1909, but one recipe bears different results depending on the situation. Even Houston's humidity, Leech said, has been a factor. The realistic nature of this short scene is of prime importance to the story, as the progression throughout the entire 100-minute psychodrama leads up to this one moment - a coup de theatre finale. In fact, there is so much relying on its performance that the blood could easily be considered a main character in the one-act opera. With no intermission in this HGO production, the tension never breaks, Leech said. "It builds and builds and builds, so this release of blood is pretty overpowering. It'll make some people feel very queasy, there's no question." Thus far, HGO Properties design director Megan Freemantle has produced every batch of sample blood in her own kitchen. Once the recipe is perfected, the stage crew will make 30 gallons of blood per show, on a daily basis. The blood is stored in two large reservoirs hidden in the wooden frame of the set, from where it feeds into pumps and runs through plastic tubing that disperses into a web of 16 smaller pipes. These lead onto the stage with each opening placed in different spots along the staircase. Technical and safety director Paul Spittle has provided feedback from an operational standpoint of how each batch functions in the pumps. "It will come through the set, so you seal up all the edges you can," Leech said. "As we know, water can get in anywhere." This weekend marks the first time in 25 years that Houston Grand Opera will present the revenge-filled "Elektra," in part because it requires such a strong soprano for the title role, said Judith Kurnick, director of communications. Christine Goerke will perform the title role, which means she'll have an intimate encounter with this crimson liquid. In the final scene, a trembling Goerke dips her hands into the blood, smearing it on herself in a state of euphoric madness because her father's murder has finally been avenged. The heart-stopping moment is initiated by a horrific scream offstage - a scream that represents the death of her mother, Klytaemnestra, and her mother's lover at the hands of her brother, Orest. "Theoretically, that would be the moment when the blood would come down," Kurnick said. "But it's not just her blood. It's all of the blood that this whole family has shed." Which means, it has to be just right. In William Cannady's world there are dogs and there are cats. The longtime Rice University professor teaches students in the school's five-year architecture program, but he also teaches architecture to students in its MBA and engineering schools. "Who are the dogs? Well, they're the business students and they want to be patted on the head. If the numbers are right, they get a pat on the head. If their project gets funded, they get a loan, they get a pat on the head," Cannady said. "Then the architecture students are the cats. They're looking at you like 'I don't believe a word you're saying. I don't care what you're saying," he said, adding matter-of-factly that he is a "cat." At the end of the day - at least in Cannady's classes - both sides learn something important from the other: that the money, numbers and design are intrinsically linked. Cannady, 80 years old and marking 55 years teaching at Rice, has also recently published a book, "Four Houses: Design for Change." He'll have book signings coming up at Brazos Bookstore and at the Christ Church Cathedral Bookstore. More Information Book signings 7-8 p.m. Jan. 30 at Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonet 9:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at Christ Church Cathedral Bookstore, 1117 Texas See More Collapse In addition to teaching a few generations of architects, he's designed more than 200 projects - homes, office buildings and multi-family residential spaces around the city and elsewhere. Some of his most notable spaces include Lovett Square and the Mid Main Lofts, both in Midtown, and the Sugar Land home of Hakeem Olajuwon. Cannady's new book - with a foreword by his dean, Sarah M. Whiting, and an introduction by his former student, historian Stephen Fox - focuses on four modern homes he designed for his own family. Born from a lecture he gave about the homes years ago, Cannady picked away at it for 20 years but got more serious about it a few years ago during a sabbatical. His four homes evolved as Cannady and his family did: a Southampton starter home, a weekend place near Round Top, a 7,500-square-foot Museum District home that could hold their vast art collection, then his 3,200-square-foot empty-nester space near Rice Village. Perhaps the most important thread in the book came to the native Texan after his writing was done. He was having lunch with a former student, New York architect Rob Rogers, who commented that the manuscript showed that Cannady wasn't afraid of major change. Each house was dramatically different in size, floor plan and purpose, and changed with renovations or additions as he lived in each. That comment became part of the book's title and the conversation turned into a question-and-answer section at the back of the book. In it, Cannady explains how each new home affected his work as both architect and teacher. Though Cannady said he never taught students about his homes, he certainly taught them things he learned - such as the value of insulation and solar orientation - during design and construction. His first home later required an addition, but he put it on the front of his home rather than the back. His place in the country had three phases of construction, the third of which was done for its second owner. Space on top of a garage for the third house was finished for another buyer, and his current house has changed a fair amount since he remarried a year ago. Cannady met his new wife, psychotherapist Angela Caughlin, who was leery of moving into the Rice Village home that so clearly represented his life with his first wife, Mollie, an art dealer who died unexpectedly in March 2013. For her, he offered some changes: He would take over his late wife's smaller office, and Caughlin could have his larger office, they would buy some new furniture and, finally, he would reverse the exterior color scheme from being a yellow house - Pratt & Lambert's bold "Zinnia" - with white trim to a white house with yellow trim. "That's a lot of work," he said, noting that his role as husband took precedent over his role as architect. "They're the kind of changes a lot of architects wouldn't make, especially changing the color scheme. But everybody seems to like it." Just inside the house, from a welcoming courtyard that has an ivy-covered waterfall, Cannady's art collection forms a gallery for quiet reading or conversation surrounded by beauty and stunning midcentury modern furniture that includes an Eames chair and ottoman. He's donated several pieces of his well regarded art to museums. What was once a quiet home has taken a turn as Cannady embraced Caughlin's children, grandchildren and extended family. "My family was small, I have two daughters and a sister who lives in Georgia and that's about it," Cannady said of his previously laid-back life. "Now the back room is the family room and it has all kinds of toys. It's rambunctious to say the least. Sometimes we keep our infant grandson. That's really no problem, they sleep and you change diapers. But the 3-year-olds, that's different." The dramatic change hasn't affected Cannady except, perhaps, to make him very happy. As he talks about this new phase of his life he smiles often and laughs at the unexpected side of venturing out with a new partner. In his teaching and architecture work, Cannady considers himself a contrarian - that's the "cat" in him, he joked. He noted that Fox even referred to it in his introduction, describing Cannady as defying convention in his outlook. "What I was intentionally doing was when everybody's going one way, I'm going the other way. I'm always experimenting with things that are not the convention, academically especially," he said. One example is home sizes. As homes get larger and their greenspace gets smaller, Cannady urges restraint. A well designed modest home can live as well as a McMansion, he said. "We're all interested in the same thing, just not in the same way," he said. For the past several days, the White House has been trying to dig itself out of a "shithole" of its own making. Donald Trump's racist remarks about Caribbean and African nations which he made repeatedly at a congressional meeting last Wednesday to discuss immigration issues have inevitably dominated the national conversation. Given the shelf life of his past outrages, Mr. Trump's shocking description of Haiti, El Salvador and all of Africa will not outlive the current news cycle. By the time you read these lines, we will no doubt be steeping in a new scandal. All the more reason, then, to consider the country that Trump compared favorably to those he imagined mired in muck namely, Norway. Why Norway? We can probably scratch Mr. Trump's admiration for, say, the playwright Henrik Ibsen as the reason to recruit Norwegians to our country. Other possibilities, though, have been floated. For example, shortly before the immigration session, Mr. Trump had met with Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Perhaps grateful for her straight face when he boasted of our sale to Norway of F-52 fighter planes a plane that exists only in video games he naturally thought of her country later that day. Another possibility is that Norway is not just the world's happiest country something of a miracle, given its progressive tax system that funds its socialized health care system but also its whitest. According to Index Mundi, two percent of Norwegians are something other than Caucasian. LISA FALKENBERG: The world is listening to Trump and you should, too Observers have not, however, mentioned a third possibility. Along with fjords and Ragnorak, another Norwegian word that has entered our language is "quisling." Like fascist, the term "quisling" is both descriptive namely a traitor who collaborates with a foreign and hostile regime and pejorative. Unlike fascist, though, quisling first denoted not to an ideal, but an individual: Vidkun Quisling. A rightwing politician inspired both by Adolf Hitler and Norse mythology, Quisling founded the Nasjonal Samling, or National Front, in 1933. Though the party failed to elect a single member to the Norwegian parliament, its true importance lies elsewhere: It carved a public space for the dissemination of racist and reactionary ideas. After 1940, when his country was defeated and occupied by Nazi Germany, Quisling had helped make the unspeakable all too unexceptional in Norway. As the Nazi-appointed leader of the civilian government, Quisling played a critical role in applying the Final Solution in Norway. Determined to align Norway's interests with Nazi Germany, Quisling's anti-Semitism was as practical as ideological. In 1942, his security force began rounding up the country's 1,800 or so Jews. About 1,500 were Norwegian citizens, and the remaining 300 were refugees from countries that had already become fatal "shitholes" for Jews. Quisling's government captured and deported about half the Jewish population to Auschwitz, while resistance groups hid and spirited the other half to the safety of Sweden. Two dozen of the deported Jews survived the war. Quisling, who had holed up in the official villa he named Gimle the home of the Norse gods survived just long enough to be arrested, tried and executed by Norwegian authorities. Bob Landry / Getty Images Just as the Nasjonal Samling sought to normalize racism in interwar Norway, our own "alt-right," which has thrown its support behind Donald Trump, is doing the same in our country. Tellingly, the neo-fascist Daily Stormer has published glowing pieces on both Quisling as well as Knut Hamsun, the Norwegian novelist who was both a Nobel Prize laureate and fanatical anti-Semite. No less tellingly, along with the movement's leader, Richard Spencer, the editor of the Daily Stormer cheered Mr. Trump's description of Haiti and Africa. The remark, declared Andrew Anglin, "indicates that Trump is more or less on the same page as us." Of course, no self-respecting Republican would be seen reading from this particular page. And, of course, several self-respecting Republicans took issue with Trump's words, just as they did last year when Trump insisted that some "very fine people" were part of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. CHRONICLE EDITORIAL: Trump's sh--list But here's another "of course": The very fact that these Republicans are, once again, scrambling to distance themselves from Trump's racist remarks reveals two uncomfortable truths. First, the president's remarks are not accidental, but instead essential; they are not sparks from a wire, but the wire itself; they reflect not peripheral concerns, but core values. Second, Republicans believe they can quarantine Trump's racist worldview while together they pursue a common economic agenda. But Quisling's career carries a warning. Though he was a racialist, the Norwegian did not imagine, when he aligned himself with the destiny of Nazi Germany, that it would also made him complicit with its genocidal worldview. That not a single Republican senator or representative has broken with their president over his remarks betrays a quisling-like odor. As that other Norwegian, Henrik Ibsen, declared: "A thousand words will not leave as deep an impression as one deed." Robert Zaretsky teaches at the University of Houston and is the author, most recently, of Boswell's Enlightenment. He's currently writing The Empress and the Philosophe: Catherine the Great, Denis Diderot and the Eclipse of the Enlightenment. Bookmark Gray Matters. It is the wire itself. Ron Rozelle's excellent new biography, "Exiled: The Last Days of Sam Houston," paints a portrait of the man in the last days of his career as a politician and in the last days of his life. Throughout the biography, readers get a sense of Houston's hardy personality through his letters many of them sent from Washington, D.C., back to Texas to his third wife, Margaret and a sense of his legacy. "His stamp," concludes Rozelle, "is on every inch of the western United States. And his almost unbelievable resume commanding general of an army of liberation, twice the president of a republic, U.S. senator, governor of two states is unparalleled by anyone in American history." But what else does the book reveal about the man who gave this city a name? Q: What kind of man was Sam Houston at the end of his life? A: A very good one. He had been tried in battle, both of the sword-wielding variety and in the halls of the national and state legislatures, had had his integrity impugned, had lost many friends and supporters and he was, in his self-imposed exile in Huntsville, devoted to his wife, his eight children, to Texas and to the Union. I included one of my favorites of his many quotes in one of the first pages of the book. "I would give no thought of what the world might say of me, if I could only transmit to posterity the reputation of an honest man." He was most certainly that. Q: One of the major themes in the book is his marriage with Margaret. In many ways, you could argue that Houston came home to himself when he married Margaret. Can you talk about what the marriage meant for Houston? A: It meant nothing less than his salvation, not just in a religious sense though one of her goals from the beginning of their marriage was to see him immersed, spiritually and physically, into the Christian faith that was her absolute anchor. She cured him of an addiction to alcohol that had been so strong that the Indian friends of his earlier years had changed his native name from Raven to one that translates as "Big Drunk." But, most importantly, Margaret was his moral compass, his sounding board and his soulmate. I believe it's highly doubtful he would have become the man he needed to be to face the great moral dilemma of his life whether to take the oath to the Confederacy as the governor of Texas or not had it not been for Margaret and her influence on him. Q: Another of the major themes is Houston's alienation from his party. Though Houston owned slaves, he was against the spread of slavery into new U.S. territories. But he was neither an abolitionist nor a secessionist, and this caused him political problems. How did Houston's politics impact his legacy? A: From the moment he took his oath as one of the two senators from Texas after the state's annexation, Houston found himself virtually alone among his southern peers on several issues. He did oppose the spread of slavery into the new western states and territories, but the most volatile clash came when he opposed any discussion of the South seceding. His devotion to Andrew Jackson, his long-time mentor, and his nonwavering allegiance to Jacksonian Democracy mandated that he could conceive of no path forward for the union other than staying together through any storm that might threaten her. It finally cost him his senate seat and later, when he refused to take that oath, his governorship of Texas. His view on slavery is the fly in the ointment when it comes to his legacy. It's hard to fathom how he could be such a vocal proponent of the inherent rights of Native Americans while he owned slaves and upheld the institution of slavery as essential to the economic infrastructure of the agrarian South. In spite of the fact that he was by all accounts a kind master of those people in his charge, and even allowing that he was a creature of his place and time, it is impossible to justify keeping human beings in bondage. If we view Sam Houston as something of the classical tragic hero of his story and I compare him to Odysseus more than once in the book, finally coming home at last after all his adventures and wars to face the hardest battle of all then his tragic flaw would have to be the fact that he failed to speak out against slavery as the did against the plight of the Indians. Q: Why is it important to revisit his legacy? "Exiled" 232 pages, $29.95, Texas A&M University Press Click here for more information See More Collapse A: His importance has slipped further and further away as time has distanced modern America from him; one good example is that his biographies, if they can be found in the bookstore at all, are usually relegated to the regional or Texana sections, when they should be in American history. His resume is unique: commanding general of one of the most important armies of liberation in history, the only governor of two states, twice the president of a republic, congressman (both state and federal), U.S. senator and a viable candidate for the American presidency in three elections. His army's victory at San Jacinto and his subsequent efforts to deliver Texas into the U.S. forever changed the American southwest, and his fervent support in the Senate of the Compromise Bill of 1850, in league with Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, kept the Civil War at bay for a decade. His legacy deserves to stand as tall as his statue beside Interstate 45 in Huntsville. Q: You bring up the possibility of Houston being elected president in 1860 instead of Abraham Lincoln. What do you think a Houston presidency could have meant for the U.S.? A: That's an impossible question to answer. In that fateful year, with a hodgepodge of candidates and with the winds of war blowing fast and strong, there's no way even to guess how Houston might have pulled together some sort of coalition from both the north and the south. But, knowing what I know about him, I can tell you this with certainty: As president he would never on any occasion have made a decision based on how he would be viewed by the electorate or the press, would never have been swayed by personal gain or political advantage and would have been guided always by what was best for the nation that held his total devotion. Allyn West runs Gray Matters. Find him on Twitter at @allynwest and send him an email if there's something you're curious about: allyn.west@chron.com. Bookmark Gray Matters. It could be your moral compass, your sounding board and your soulmate. Several residents huddled in American Red Cross blankets on a cold Saturday night in Conroe as fire officials investigated the remnants of their destroyed home. At least 11 people lived in the large single-story home next to Lewis Park in the 600 block of Crooke Street. The fire started around 4:18 p.m. Saturday, according to Conroe Fire Department Deputy Chief and Fire Marshal Steve Cottar. The home appears to connect multiple houses but is believed to belong to one family. Houston police are searching in east downtown for an escaped prisoner. Jorge Santana-Trujillo, 30, escaped from a transport van after slipping out of his handcuffs, HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva said. He was in custody on a felony fugitive warrant from the U.S. Marshal's Office, arrested for violation of probation. Sometime before 9:30 a.m., police began swarming the area near Scott and Leeland near the University of Houston and, for a time, Drew and Milby streets, searching for the escapee. Police have K-9 units on hand, and a helicopter is circling the sky. Police have moved their search to east downtown. Now Playing: Texas News & Crime Video: Houston Chronicle This is a breaking news story and will be updated as information becomes available. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. North Adams Library To Host 'Look Up' Film Series Dedicated To Cariddi NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The North Adams Public Library will host a yearlong astronomy program and film series and memory of the late state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi. Starting Thursday, Jan. 18, the library will host a "Look Up" movie series based on the cosmos using some of the $7,500 left by Cariddi's estate, earmarked for astronomy, after she passed in 2017. "Since we couldn't decide how to spend that kind of money on books alone, we decided to do a multimedia program," Library Director Mindy Hackner said. "I think Gail wanted us ... to pay attention to some larger things that are going on instead of just focusing on the mundane." The somewhat enigmatic gift was received this past summer after the four-term representative's death last June. Hackner said a close friend of Cariddi also donated $1,000 that was added to the gift designated specifically for learning materials on astronomy. Hacnker said the library will show "Close Encounters of The Third Kind" on Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. on the third floor of the library. She said other films include "Apollo 13," "Gravity," "Contact," "Space Buddies" and "Starman" and more might be shown in the following months. Hackner said some money from the gift was used to purchase the movie licenses, however, they only scraped the surface of the donation. "There is plenty of gift money and it will last a while," she said. The library will roll out more programming throughout the year and try to coincide with NASA's yearlong celebration. She said currently the theme is "Life on the International Space Station" that will link with the movie "Apollo 13." The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently marking 100 years of aerospace breakthroughs starting with the 1917 establishment of the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. The library will be using its telescope to view the blue moon on Jan. 31 and acknowledge other events such as the current alignment of Mercury, Mars, Venus with the Moon. There also will be visits to the Williams College Planetarium and guest lecturers such as a presentation on "Native American Star Mythology." Hackner said popcorn will be served during the films and she hopes residents attend the film series and programming to learn something and remember Cariddi. "I think right now we all need some distraction because the world is a rough place and I think we need something fun to concentrate on, something outside of ourselves," she said. "I think if Gail was here, she would have told us the universe is a big, wonderful place, and if we can look up, we can take a break from what might be going on here." Winners of the 2017 Real Women Essay Contest are celebrated in March 2017. Berkshires Beat: Real Women Essay Contest Entries Sought Real women The 32nd Berkshire County Real Women Essay Contest has been announced by the Berkshire County Real Women Essay contest task force. The contest was created to honor National Women's History Month in March as an effort to increase awareness of contributions made by women to our society and used to promote students literacy and writing skills. Founded in 1986, the Real Women Essay contest, invites Berkshire County students K-12 to participate by writing an essay, poem, scripted conversation, first-person monologue or journal recognizing a woman in their lives that has inspired them. Students can write about a role model or mentor, a woman on the national stage who has inspired them or an historical figure whose contributions have made a difference in their lives. The essay contest has traditionally been incorporated into the curriculum of various classes and uses recommended state standards. This year the contest has been broadened to include students whose school or class do not participate. Students who would like to submit an essay must follow the rules, standards and guidelines for their grade level but can submit their essays independently. Guidelines and further information can be found online. The deadline is Feb. 15. Essays are judged on various criteria including awareness of the woman as a person in society and a role model. Members of the community will judge essays in up to 13 grade categories. Past essays can be viewed on the Brigham Center web site. The award celebration to recognize winning entries will be held on March 28 at Berkshire Community College. Winning essays will be compiled and published in the annual Berkshire Real Women Essay booklet. Medicare info sessions For those who are either already on Medicare or aging into Medicare eligibility this year, Berkshire Health Systems is offering a public presentation on the free Wellness Visits provided to Medicare recipients. Medicare covers a one-time Welcome to Medicare screening visit for those aging into Medicare during their first year of eligibility, and also a free Annual Wellness Visit for all Medicare enrollees. Registered nurse Ann McDonald, who works for the BHS Physician Practice group, will present a lecture on Medicare Wellness Visits, what they include, and how to schedule one, during two presentations. The first will be held on Wednesday, January 17, at 10 a.m. and the second on Thursday, January 25, at 2 p.m, both at the Berkshire Athenaeum. There is no registration required and no cost to attend. The no co-pay Medicare Wellness Visit includes a health history review and other services, including blood pressure, weight and vision checks, screenings for depression, risk of falling and other potential problems, and recommendations for additional wellness services and healthy lifestyle changes. These wellness visits are performed at the patients primary care office. Free skate The City of Pittsfield Recreation Program has teamed up with the Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires for several upcoming free public skating events. The first 100 people through the door will receive both free admission for skating and skate rental, if needed (limited size availability) on the following times and dates: 4:30-6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20; 3-4:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27; and 3-4:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17. The Boys & Girls Club is located at 16 Melville St. For more information call 413-499-9370. 'Soul and Shul' fundraising A Sandisfield committee working on a book titled "Soil and Shul in the Berkshires: The Untold Story of Sandisfield's Jewish Farm Colony" has announced a fund raising campaign to support the project. The Sandisfield Arts Center is serving as fiscal sponsor. The book is expected to be about 250 pages including chapters on social, economic and religious life and rare photos. It will serve both as a resource for scholars as well as delightful and entertaining reading for anyone connected to or interested in the Jewish experience in the Berkshires. Publication is scheduled for summer 2018. Beginning Beekeeping The Bennington County Beekeepers Club will again offer a free (donations welcomed) beginner course for new beekeepers. Participants will learn about the life of honey bees, the skills and equipment needed to care for them and the many challenges they face. Classes will meet at the Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington, Vt., in the Crispe Room on Jan. 25, Feb. 1, 8 and 15, and March 1 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. To sign up or for more information call Jeanne Davis 802-823-7955 or by e-mail. State your opinion The city of Pittsfield, through its Human Services Advisory Council, is requesting public comment on the human service needs in Pittsfield. The Human Service Advisory Council is an 11-member advisory committee that provides funding recommendations to the mayor on how the city should allocate its human services funding. One of the considerations that the council uses to make those recommendations is to consider the input of Pittsfield residents and others. Public comments will be accepted now through Jan. 31. Comments may be submitted several ways: by email; phone at 413.499.9358, teletype at 413-499-9340; or by regular mail to Justine Dodds, Pittsfield Department of Community Development, 70 Allen St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Adams town census The 2018 annual town census is underway in Adams. The census is mandated by the Massachusetts General Law and it is important to have the correct residential count to apply for state aid, as well as grants. This year census forms have been mailed to all residents. Residents are asked to review the form, make any necessary changes, sign and return it to the Town Clerks Office in the envelope provided, even if there are no changes. There will also be a drop off box in Town Hall. Households with dependent children who are not listed on the census form should add their children and complete the information that pertains to each child. Information regarding the children is not public record and is used only by the schools for enrollment purposes. Residents cannot register to vote or change party enrollment on the annual town census. Any resident who is not registered to vote may register by mailing a voter registration form or visiting the Town Clerk's Office. Failure to respond may result in removal from the active voters list. Anyone who does not receive their census form or wishes to provide the information on the phone should call the Town Clerks Office at 413-743-8300, ext. 176, Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EMT course Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance Squad, Great Barrington, and Lee Fire & Rescue are partnering to teach an Emergency Medical Technician course in February 2018. The purpose of the joint training endeavor is to not only bolster interagency relations, but capitalize on the breadth of instructor knowledge between the two organizations. The course, which will be conducted at Lee Fire & Rescue headquarters, 177 Main Street, Lee, is approximately 160 hours long over a three-and-a-half month span. Students will learn critical thinking and practical skills necessary to provide emergency medical care in the pre-hospital environment. Modules include scene safety, patient assessment, fracture stabilization skills, bleeding and wound care, and pathophysiology of medical emergencies and traumatic injuries. Students who successfully complete the course and pass both a National Registry of EMT (NREMT) written and practical examination, will earn National certification that meets minimal occupational requirements to start a career in Emergency Medical Services. For more information or to register for this course, go online or call 413-884-5729. Imperial Valley News Center Prosecution of Reuters Reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo Washington, DC - The United States is deeply disappointed by Wednesdays court decision in Burma to allow prosecution of Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo under the Official Secrets Act. The media freedom that is so critical to rule of law and a strong democracy requires that journalists be able to do their jobs. We reiterate our call for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oos immediate and unconditional release. Imperial Valley News Center Philanthropist T. Denny Sanford Makes Largest Single Donation Ever to San Diego Zoo to Construct New Sanford Children's Zoo San Diego, California - During an all-hands employee meeting at the San Diego Zoo Friday, philanthropist T. Denny Sanford announced that he is making a $30 million donationthe largest single gift the San Diego Zoo has ever received. This generous gift will go toward the estimated $69 million cost of constructing a brand-new, completely reimagined childrens zoo, to be named The Sanford Childrens Zoo. This project is the most ambitious ever undertaken at the San Diego Zoo and will result in a one-of-a-kind childrens zoo for the 21st Century, said Mark Stuart, president of the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global. Denny Sanfords philanthropy is all about making the world a better place for children. Thanks to his transformational investment, San Diego will have the very best childrens zoo in the world. When the San Diego Zoos current Childrens Zoo first opened in 1957, it was considered advanced for its time. However, when the new Sanford Childrens Zoo is completed, this reimagined 2.3-acre space will give kids greater opportunities to discover the natural world through play, and will be designed in ways to help children develop empathy and better understand and identify with wildlife. More than 100 species will reside in the new childrens zoo, families will be able to venture through four ecosystemscommunities of plants and animals that have unique adaptations for their environment. In each region, children will learn about the animals and their environments in ways that awaken their senses and inspire creativity, exploration, and empathy for nature through play. Since so many children have little or no access to nature, the new Sanford Childrens Zoo will provide them with a unique and engaging outdoor adventure where they will learn about animals and their homes as they play, said Debra Erickson, director of communications, San Diego Zoo Global. During their exciting, ever-changing adventures, they will begin developing an empathy and concern for animals and plants which will lay the groundwork for their future involvement in conservation. As part of the announcement, Sanford officially unveiled The Sanford Childrens Zoo Visitors Pavilion, located on the walkway outside the Childrens Zoo. This new pavilion will give visitors and Zoo members the opportunity to find out more about plans for the Sanford Childrens Zoo project, see renderings of what the area will look like, and view an 8- by 5-foot model showing each of the four unique ecosytems that will be created for children and their families to explore. Sanford has long been a generous supporter of the San Diego Zoo, and he is the largest donor in cumulative gifts to San Diego Zoo Global. In 2013, Sanford funded San Diego Zoo Kidsan innovative television channel with programs produced primarily for medical facilities that serve pediatric patients and their families. San Diego Zoo Kids programming offers family friendly, animal-oriented stories that are both entertaining and educational. The channel debuted in 2013 at Rady Childrens Hospital in San Diego. Since then, it has been installed in 119 childrens hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in 31 states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia, as well as facilities in Mexico, Canada, Australia, and Pakistanand it continues to grow. A fundraising campaign for the new childrens zoo will start immediately. Based on the success of this effort, it is anticipated that the current Childrens Zoo will close in January 2019, as construction begins on the new Sanford Childrens Zoo, which is expected to be completed in spring 2021. To learn more about The Sanford Childrens Zoo project or make a donation, visit sandiegozoo.org/childrenszoo. Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is inspiring children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in childrens hospital nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global. Governor Brown Announces Appointments Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Tuesday announced the following appointments: Sonja Palladino, 34, of Sacramento, has been appointed deputy director of legislation at the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Palladino served as legislative director in the Office of California State Assemblymember Todd Gloria from 2016 to 2017. She served as capitol director in the Office of California State Assemblymember Susan A. Bonilla in 2016, where she was legislative director from 2013 to 2016. Palladino was senior legislative assistant in the Office of California State Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield from 2011 to 2012 and legislative assistant in the Office of California State Assemblymember Lori Saldana in 2010. She was a Rotary International ambassadorial scholar to Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2008, a legislative assistant in the Office of California State Assemblymember Dave Jones from 2006 to 2008 and assistant director at Grassroots Campaigns in 2004. Palladino is a member of InterNations and the Sacramento Valley Concert Choir. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $114,012. Palladino is a Democrat. Jim Evans, 48, of Sacramento, has been reappointed member and chair of the California Gambling Control Commission, where he has served since 2015. Evans served as chief deputy press secretary in the Office of Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. from 2013 to 2015. He was a consultant in the California State Senate Office of Research in 2013 and served as deputy secretary for communications and strategic planning at the California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency in 2012. Evans was a consultant in the Office of California State Senator Mark DeSaulnier from 2009 to 2012 and served as communications director in the Office of California State Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg from 2006 to 2009 and in the Office of California State Senator Joe Dunn from 2005 to 2006. He was a staff writer at the Sacramento Bee from 2003 to 2004, managing editor at the California Journal from 2002 to 2003 and a staff writer at Sacramento News and Review from 2001 to 2002 and at the Industry Standard from 1998 to 2001. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $152,473. Evans is a Democrat. Mark A. Hartwig, 54, of Rancho Cucamonga, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services, where he has served since 2012. Hartwig has been fire chief at the San Bernardino County Fire District since 2011. He served as deputy fire chief at the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District from 2007 to 2011, where he was battalion chief from 2005 to 2007. Hartwig served in several positions at the San Bernardino County Fire Department from 1992 to 2005, including fire captain, apparatus engineer and training and safety officer. He is president of the California Fire Chiefs Association, where he was legislative director in 2016, and is a member of the Loma Linda University Emergency Medical Care Program Advisory Board and the Victor Valley Community College Paramedic Academy Advisory Board. Hartwig was chair of the California Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association in 2016. He earned a Master of Science degree in emergency medical services from California State University, Long Beach. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Hartwig is a Republican. Carole A. Snyder, 55, of West Covina, has been reappointed to the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services, where she has served since 2016. Snyder has been program manager of emergency preparedness at PIH Health Hospital, Whittier since 2009, where she has held several positions since 2003, including educator and staff nurse for the Emergency Department. She was a charge nurse in the White Memorial Medical Center Emergency Department from 1994 to 2002, a sexual assault nurse examiner at Mission Community Hospital from 1996 to 1998 and staff nurse in the Beauregard Memorial Hospital Emergency Department from 1993 to 1994. Snyder is a member of the Emergency Nurses Association and the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Commission. She earned a Master of Science degree in emergency management administration from California State University, Long Beach. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Snyder is registered without party preference. Brent Stangeland, 47, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services. Stangeland has been staff chief for the department training chief at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection since 2016, where he has held several positions since 1993, including deputy chief, battalion chief, safety officer, fire captain, paramedic, academy instructor, fire apparatus engineer, firefighter, seasonal firefighter and safety officer for the Incident Management Team. He served as interim fire marshal for the Cameron Park Fire Department from 2006 to 2009 and as a paramedic instructor at the Good Samaritan Training Center from 1998 to 1999. Stangeland is a chair of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Operation, Safety, Health and Training Advisory Committee and a member of the Safety Special Group, Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Stangeland is a Republican. Michael W. Kirst, 78, of Stanford, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Education, where he has served since 2011. Kirst has been a professor emeritus at Stanford University since 2009, where he has been a professor since 1969. He was staff director for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Manpower, Employment, and Poverty from 1967 to 1969. Kirst is a member of the National Academy of Education. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in political economy from Harvard University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Kirst is a Democrat. Patricia A. Rucker, 57, of Lincoln, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Education, where she has served since 2011. Rucker has been a legislative advocate for the California Teachers Association since 2008, where she was a consultant for instruction and professional development from 1997 to 2008. She was a teacher for the Del Paso Heights School District from 1983 to 1997. Rucker is a member of the American Association of University Women and Voices for Culture and Diversity. She earned a Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from California State University, Sacramento. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Rucker is a Democrat. Ting L. Sun, 52, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California State Board of Education, where she has served since 2015. Sun has been executive director at the Natomas Charter School since 2012, where she was director of educational programs from 2006 to 2012, 2000 to 2003 and 1993 to 1997. She was a senior consultant at Cambridge Education from 2007 to 2009, vice president of leadership and quality at the California Charter Schools Association from 2003 to 2006, an educational programs consultant at the California Department of Education from 1997 to 2000 and a teacher at the Natomas Charter School from 1993 to 1997 and at Natomas Junior High School from 1988 to 1993. She earned a Doctor of Education degree from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Education degree from Stanford University. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Sun is registered without party preference. Estela Mara Bensimon, 68, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Educational Commission of the States. Bensimon has been director of the Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern California Rossier School of Education since 1999, where she has been associate dean since 1996 and professor of higher education since 1995. She was senior research associate for the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State University from 1992 to 1995, where she was a research associate from 1989 to 1992. Bensimon was an associate professor at the Pennsylvania State University College of Education from 1992 to 1995, where she was an assistant professor from 1989 to 1992. She held multiple positions at Teachers College, Columbia University from 1986 to 1989, including assistant director, research associate and adjunct assistant professor. Bensimon was a post-doctoral fellow and staff associate at the University of California, Los Angeles Center for the Study of Community Colleges from 1984 to 1985. She was a project manager for the Urban Community College Transfer Opportunities Program at the Ford Foundation in 1983 and director of Bilingual Education Programs in the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education from 1978 to 1980. Bensimon was director of education at the Puerto Rican Congress of New Jersey from 1975 to 1978 and program director at Aspira Inc. of New Jersey from 1973 to 1975. She is a fellow for the American Educational Research Association. Bensimon earned a Doctor of Education degree in higher education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Master of Arts degree in student personnel services from Montclair State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bensimon is a Democrat. Kimberly Salomonson, 50, of Clovis, has been reappointed to the California Advisory Commission on Special Education, where she has served since 2016. Salomonson has been director of pupil personnel services for the Sanger Unified School District since 2011 and adjunct faculty at National University since 2007. She was adjunct faculty at Fresno Pacific University from 2009 to 2014. Salomonson held several positions at the Sanger Unified School District from 2000 to 2011, including project manager, curriculum support provider and school psychologist. She earned a Master of Arts degree in school psychology and a California pupil personnel services credential from Fresno Pacific University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Salomonson is a Democrat. Louis Steven Winlock, 63, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California Advisory Commission on Special Education, where he has served since 2014. Winlock has been executive director at the Sacramento County Office of Education, School of Education and Leadership Institute since 2009. He was an associate superintendent for the Elk Grove Unified School District from 1991 to 2009. Winlock earned a Doctor of Education degree in educational leadership and curriculum from the University of Southern California and a Master of Education degree in education administration from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Winlock is a Democrat. Governor Brown Announces Appointments Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Thursday announced the following appointments: John Boyd, 48, of Folsom, has been reappointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where he has served since 2013. Boyd has been chief executive officer for system mental health services at Sutter Health since 2016. He was chief executive officer at the Sutter Solano Medical Center and at the Sutter Center for Psychiatry from 2014 to 2017. Boyd was regional executive for behavioral health at the Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region from 2014 to 2017, where he was chief administrative officer of regional behavioral health and continuing care from 2008 to 2014. He was assistant administrator at the Kaiser Permanente Sacramento Medical Center from 2007 to 2008 and held several positions at Shriners Hospitals for Children from 1999 to 2006, including Western Region director of development. Boyd served as a member of the Sacramento Planning and Design Commission from 2004 to 2008. He is chair of the National Behavioral Health Council, an American College of Healthcare Executives fellow and a member of Mental Health America and the Steinberg Institute. Boyd earned a Doctor of Psychology degree in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology and a Master of Health Administration degree from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Boyd is a Democrat. Bill Brown, 61, of Lompoc, has been reappointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where he has served since 2010. Brown has been sheriff-coroner for Santa Barbara County since 2007. He served as chief of police for the City of Lompoc from 1995 to 2007 and for the City of Moscow, Idaho from 1992 to 1995. Brown served in several positions at the Inglewood Police Department from 1980 to 1992, including police officer, sergeant, police lieutenant and acting captain. He was a police officer at the Pacifica Police Department from 1977 to 1980. Brown is president of the California State Sheriffs' Association. He earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Brown is a Republican. Gladys M. Mitchell, 59, of Sacramento, has been reappointed to the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, where she has served since 2016. Mitchell has been a family support coordinator for the Victor Treatment Center at North Valley Schools since 2016. She served as a staff services manager at the California Department of Health Care Services from 2013 to 2014 and at the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs from 2010 to 2013 and from 2007 to 2009. Mitchell was a health program specialist at California Correctional Health Care Services from 2009 to 2010 and a staff mental health specialist at the California Department of Mental Health from 2006 to 2007. She served as a staff services manager and interim executive officer at the Dental Board of California from 1999 to 2005, where she was a budget officer from 1993 to 1996. Mitchell was interim executive officer at the California Board of Occupational Therapy in 2005 and an enforcement coordinator at the California Board of Registered Nursing from 1996 to 1998 and at the Board of Behavioral Science Examiners from 1989 to 1993. She is a member of the St. Hope Public School Board of Directors. Mitchell earned a Master of Social Work degree in social work from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Mitchell is a Democrat. Anne R. Bernardo, 61, of Visalia, has been reappointed to the California Library Services Board, where she has served since 2003. Bernardo has served as director of the Tulare County Public Law Library since 1994. She was general manager at the Tulare County Symphony Association Inc. from 1986 to 1994, a job developer at the California Human Development Corporation from 1980 to 1981, a teacher aide at Stockton Unified School District in 1979 and special assistant to the deputy director of the California Health and Welfare Agency in 1978. She was an office aide for student employment services at the University of California, Davis from 1974 to 1978. Bernardo is a member of the Council of California County Law Librarians, American Association of Law Libraries, Northern California Association of Law Libraries, Heartland Regional Library Network, Self-Help Providers of Tulare County, Special Libraries Association and California Women Lead. She served as law library liaison to the California State Bar, Law Practice Management and Technology Section from 2013 to 2017. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Bernardo is a Democrat. Florante P. Ibanez, 66, of Carson, has been reappointed to the California Library Services Board, where he has served since 2014. Ibanez has served in several positions at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles since 1992, including manager of library computer services and computer resources center assistant and has been an adjunct professor at Pasadena City College since 2016. He was an adjunct professor for the Loyola Marymount University, Asian Pacific American Studies Program from 2007 to 2014 and a communications and hardware support specialist at Ashton Tate-Borland International from 1990 to 1992. Ibanez was a personal computer support specialist at Citizen American Inc. from 1988 to 1990 and project staff at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees from 1982 to 1984. He was assistant director of the early outreach/student affirmative action program at the University of California, Irvine Educational Opportunity Program from 1979 to 1982 and a coordinator of resource development and publication at the University of California, Los Angeles Asian American Studies Center from 1971 to 1972. Ibanez is a member of the Filipino American Library Board of Directors, California Library Association, American Library Association, City of Carson Historical Committee, Los Angeles Community College District Chancellors Advisory Committee on Asian Pacific Islander Affairs and the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, where he was president from 2010 to 2011. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Asian American studies and a Master of Library Science degree in information and library science from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Ibanez is a Democrat. Sandra Tauler, 58, of Calexico, has been reappointed to the California Library Services Board, where she has served since 2016. Tauler has been community services director for the City of Calexico since 2008, where she has served in several positions since 1990, including city librarian and library and cultural arts director. She was a reference librarian and part-time instructor at Imperial Valley College from 1998 to 2006 and a reference librarian at San Diego State University from 1995 to 1998. Tauler is a member of the American Library Association and the Desert Valley Library Media Association. She earned a Master of Library Science degree in library studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Tauler is a Democrat. Governor and First Lady Honor Staff Sgt. Eric C. Schenck Sacramento, California - On behalf of all Californians, Governor Brown and First Lady Anne Gust Brown honor Staff Sgt. Eric C. Schenck, who bravely gave his life in service to our state and nation. The Governor and First Lady extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time. Staff Sgt. Eric C. Schenck, 33, of Placerville, CA, died on December 8 in Pyeongtaek, Republic of Korea, from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident while returning from a field training exercise. The incident is under investigation. Staff Sgt. Schenck was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Suwon Air Base, Korea. In memorial, Governor Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol. Staff Sgt. Schencks family will receive a letter of condolence from the Governor. Last week Tate Modern got a bit of a shock. News came winging over from Italy that an exhibition of works by Modigliani which had been shown at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa last year had included 20 fakes. Twenty! Were the experts at the Tate really sure that the show of portraits by Modigliani which opened in November in London were all genuine? Luckily, a voice of authority one of the shows co-curators calmly assured us that all the works on display had appeared in the standard catalogue raisonnee of 1972. So thats all right then. Or is it? The argument seems to suggest that everyone is absolutely cast-iron certain that all the works in that catalogue were genuine. Were they? And why is a book published 50 years ago cited as the final authority anyway? And is it not perfectly possible that the work you can see in those galleries over at the South Bank this afternoon, though seemingly identical in every way to the work described and photographed (poorly?) in a 50-year-old catalogue, may not in fact be that work at all, but merely a perfectly good copy? It is tricky though, this business of fakery. Fakes are such nasty things. Copies arent half so bad, are they? Why is it OK to copy, but its not OK to fake? Because if you fake, you are trying to trick people into believing that something is what it is not. And for that sort of thing you can go to prison. Whereas, if you make a copy and declare it to be a copy and master painters have always encouraged the young pupils in their studios to make copies because that was a way of learning the craft, the tricks of the trade thats fine. No pretence at all. But is it quite that simple? No, of course not. Art in common with life is never simple. The Posin brothers have been copying the most expensive painting ever to have been sold at auction Leonardo Da Vincis Salvator Mundi (PA) So heres whats tricky about all this business of copying and fakery. What if the copy is identical to the fake? Why should it be regarded as any lesser a thing? What is more, how can anything be wrong with a fake in itself unless or perhaps until you know that its a fake? Art experts have been scratching at their balding pates over these issues for centuries, of course. These mediators between art and its collectors, those who decide whether a painting is an authentic example of its kind or not have often made tidy sums by declaring a painting to be true or false. Some of them have been very dishonest indeed. Some have been in it for the money. Oh dear. Amedeo Modiglianis Nude 1917 (detail) is on show at Tate Modern (Private Collection) The latest intriguing story in the fumy and fishy old world of copying and fakery comes from three artists who were trained in St Petersburg. Three Russian brothers who have a thriving workshop in Berlin their names are Semjon, Michael and Eugen Posin are making tidy sums of money by copying the most expensive painting ever to have been sold at auction. Yes, Im talking about Salvator Mundi, the only Leonardo da Vinci still left in private hands, which was sold in December by Christies New York to an anonymous buyer (which later proved to be a museum in Qatar) after a razzmatazz PR exercise. How much do one of these copies cost? According to the Art Newspaper, which broke the story, the price is $10,000 (7,200). They cant paint them fast enough. We all want one, it seems. Well, enough of us to keep them very busy. Cheap at the price? Cheap for a fake? Sorry! I meant a copy. A legitimate copy. A copy shamelessly, proudly declared to be a copy. The brothers were quick to point out that had you wanted a famous Botticelli instead (and why not, if you happened to be in the mood?), it would have been up to twice the price because copying a Botticelli is much more of a sweat. They are making copies of things like this all the time Caravaggios, Raphaels, Michelangelos, and always lots and lots of da Vincis, who is always a favourite. They are even planning an exhibition of their copies soon. And who buys this stuff? They tell us: businessmen, academics, world-renowned conductors, lawyers, art historians, and even priests. Curious, eh? Why would be an art historian be so eager for a copy? And how could a priest possibly afford one? Unless he were a priest with his fingers in the collection box. A copy of Leonardos Last Supper painted by his pupil Giampietrino will be on view at the Royal Academy from May Heres a good piece of copy about a copy. The newly expanded Royal Academy will open to great fanfare in May of this year. Works long away from home will emerge, blinking, into the light of newly refurbished gallery spaces in the old quarters once occupied by The Museum of Mankind. Among those missing marvels will be an almost full-size, early 16th-century copy of da Vincis Last Supper painted by his pupil Giampietrino just a few years after the original. What a great copy that promises to be, and a very, very old copy too! Almost the real thing! No fly-by-night Russky knocked that one out in a garret in St Petersburg last week! No one will even dream of calling it a fake. Modigliani at Tate Modern until 2 April (tate.org.uk). The newly expanded Royal Academy will open on 19 May (royalacademy.org.uk) What happens when you give a journalist unfettered access behind the scenes at the White House? In the case of author Michael Wolff, whose controversial book Fire And Fury about Donald Trump has just been published, you get chaos, bitter recrimination and lots of angry tweets about Trumps one-time minion, Sloppy Steve Bannon. Greg Barkers new film, The Final Year, which follows President Barack Obamas foreign policy team during their last year in office, offers a very different, far more idealistic, vision of the US government in action. Barker had the same privileged level of access as Wolff. He was able to make the film because of his close links to Samantha Power, US Ambassador to the United Nations during the Obama Administration. Barker had met Power long before she was swept up by Obama and brought into government, when she was still best known as an author and academic. Power featured in his 2004 film, Ghosts of Rwanda, made to mark the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. Powers book, Sergio: One Mans Fight to Save the World, about United Nations diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello, inspired his 2009 documentary, Sergio. He knew her well and had therefore been very frustrated by profiles of her that started appearing in The New Yorker and elsewhere once she became part of Obamas team. They were, in his words, not very good and not revealing of the person I knew. I thought there was more to explore. In the summer of 2015, Barker went to see Power and proposed a film. His idea was to chronicle the Obama Administrations last year in office; their rush to get things done and to define their legacy before they had to vacate the premises. He knew there was bound to be drama as the clock ticked away on the presidency. His idea was for a fly-on-the-wall documentary along the lines of The War Room, the famous film about Bill Clintons election campaign. Power was game. So was Ben Rhdoes, the aspiring novelist who had become Deputy National Security Advisor and who wrote many of Obamas speeches. The White House bureaucracy was resistant at first but was eventually won round. Barker had his magic ticket to film in the White House and the State Department. John Kerry and Obama at the White House during the filming of Barkers The Final Year (Dogwoof) The intention behind The Final Year wasnt to provide a definitive account of the Obama presidency or to judge its successes and failures. It was simply to offer an experiential immersion in a world few of us ever get to see up close. All his subjects from Obama downwards realised he wasnt trying to buttonhole them on the controversy of the moment. They accepted he was discreet and wouldnt leak their secrets. They were so busy coping with the problems that arose day to day that it was a relief to have someone around trying to take a longer view of their efforts. They also thought that the film, if it was done well, would stand as a record of their work long after all the daily press conferences and policy announcements were forgotten. The trick is to be around enough so that when things really start happening, people are comfortable and you get the real authentic emotion, the director explains of his method. An insight the film gives us is that the White House is far less expansive than you expect. You can hear the rats beneath the floorboards. It [the West Wing] is very small; physically, it is not particularly glamorous once youre inside; its dark. The offices themselves are incredibly cramped. Most of them are windowless and with low ceilings, Barker lists the shortcomings of one of Americas most famous buildings. He talks of styrofoam ceilings and facilities in urgent need of renovation I think people get used to it, he suggests. The cramped conditions make it an intimate working space. The grounds are beautiful and the White House still (as Barker puts it) exudes power. Barker was able to make the film because of his close links to Samantha Power (above with Obama) (Dogwoof) The filmmakers werent part of the normal US press corp. Some journalists were resentful of the privileged access they were given. Barker and his crew werent in the press room but were in the heart of the West Wing. They didnt have security clearance but they were still able to shoot in places where cameras were not normally allowed. For the documentary, Barker filmed the President and his team on over 20 foreign trips. The director estimates he shot around 1,000 hours (12 terabytes) of material. The final cut is just just under one and a half hours. He knew from the start just how his film would end, with the protagonists packing up their offices and leaving the White House for the very last time. I never wanted to include interviews afterward because people just talk differently when theyre out of those jobs. Even if theyve only been out of this jobs 24 hours, there is a very discrete moment when you suddenly are not in power any more. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up You cant help but admire the sheer energy of Secretary of State John Kerry in his frantic attempts to negotiate a peace settlement for Syria. (He put on more miles than any secretary of state in history, Barker notes.) Ben Rhodes, Susan Rice and Samantha Power are similarly hard working and resourceful even if they sometimes appear naive and blindsided when confronted by the realpolitik of the Russians. Obama with Ben Rhodes (seated), the aspiring novelist who had become Deputy National Security Advisor and who wrote many of Obamas speeches (Dogwoof) There is a very poignant scene late on in which we see Power hosting an election night event for prominent women, including former UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright and feminist writer Gloria Steinem. We can sense the optimism at the start of the evening give way to creeping anxiety and then full-blown despair as it becomes apparent that Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. Most of the subjects have now seen the film. One observation they all make is how tired they look. The film doesnt always show them in their best light. They dont manage to achieve lasting peace in Syria and they all somehow manage to miss the rise and rise of Trump. Power is pictured looking startled and dismayed when Obama gives a final speech to the United Nations in which he declares that the world is by many measures less violent and more prosperous than ever before. After spending years dealing with the after-effects of one humanitarian disaster after another, that is not how she sees it. The documentary captures seemingly banal but very revealing and human moments. For example, we see Rhodes struggling with his backpack and Power when she cant find the words she is looking for. I know there are moments in this film they would all prefer were not there, Barker says. I was not setting out to make them look good. If you like President Obama and his team, youre going to find a lot of stuff in there to validate your perceptions of him. If you dont like them, he points out, there is ammunition in there for you too. Barely a year after Obama left office, the film already seems a period piece. Watching it, many viewers will feel a sense of yearning and nostalgia as they remember a period (all of 13 months ago) when the White House was functioning in a competent and principled way. Whatever else, The Final Year offers a unique insight into the closing stages of the Obama presidency. I would love it if people are still watching the film in 20 or 30 years. Obamas presidency, whatever you think of it, was a historic presidency and, as it happens, we were the only people in there for this amount of time to capture what the administration felt like, what was inspiring, what was frustrating, the ups and downs, Barker reflects. There will be memoirs coming out which will be fascinating to read but in terms of films, there isnt another one like this about to come out. The Obama presidency is bound to be written about and discussed for decades. Its a fair bet that The Final Year will turn into a key source for historians and journalists trying to understand the workings of pre-Trump America. In this particular moment, we are all looking for a way to make sense of what is going on. As it happens, this story of the recent past, which now seems like 10,000 years ago but was just 12 months ago, is painting a picture of an alternative reality. That [reality] was true a year ago and it could still be true again, Barker speaks wistfully of the Obama era he chronicled and which already seems like a lost golden age. The Final Year is released in cinemas and on iTunes on 19 January Christian Bale has revealed the extent to which he tried not starring in one of his films. The actor - who stars in new film Hostiles - played John Connor in 2009 film Terminator Salvation - and has now elaborated on his previously expressed regrets by claiming he appeared in the McG-directed sequel out of spite. In fact, Bale claims he turned down the role three times before accepting in a bid to prove to others it was a bad decision. I said no three times, he told MTV in a recent interview. I thought that the franchiseI went Nah, theres no story there.' Hostiles - Trailer Theres a perverse side to me, where people were telling me that, theres no way on Gods Earth that I should take that role, and I was thinking the same thing. But when people started verbalizing that to me, I started to go, Oh really? All right, well watch this then. So there was a little bit of that involved in the choice. Bale levelled that the film was hurt by an unfortunate series of events," (the 200708 Writers Guild of America strike and departure of Westworld co-showrunner Jonathan Nolan who, Bale says, left the project after turning in a wonderful script). Its a great thorn in my side, because I wish we could have reinvigorated [the franchise. And unfortunately, during production, you could tell that wasnt happening. Its a great shame. 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Show all 27 1 /27 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Black Panther Released: 12 February 12 February Director: Ryan Coogler Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Greatest Showman Released: 1 January 1 January Director: Michael Gracey Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Darkest Hour Released: 12 January 12 January Director: Joe Wright Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Released: 12 January Director: Martin McDonagh 12 JanuaryMartin McDonagh Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones > Twentieth Century Fox 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Coco Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Lee Unkrich ,p>Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Downsizing Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Alexander Payne Cast: Matt Damon, Christopher Waltz, Jong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Early Man Released: 26 January 26 January Director: Nick Park Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Fifty Shades Freed Released: 9 February 9 February Director: James Foley Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Released: 9 February 9 February Director: Wes Ball Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Shape of Water Released: 16 February 16 February Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Annihilation Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Lee, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Dark River Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Clio Barnard Cast: Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, Sean Bean 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Red Sparrow Released: 2 March 2 March Director: Francis Lawrence Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Tomb Raider Released: 16 March 16 March Director: Roar Uthaug Cast: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 A Wrinkle in Time Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Ava DuVernay Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Pacific Rim: Uprising Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Steven S. DeKnight Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Roman J Israel, Esq Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Dan Gilroy Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo Columbia Pictures 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Isle of Dogs Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Wes Anderson Cast: Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ready Player One Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Avengers: Infinity War Released: 27 April 27 April Director: The Russo Brothers Cast: Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Untitled Han Solo Film Released: 25 May 25 May Director: Ron Howard Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Released: 8 June 8 June Director: J.A. Bayona Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pine, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Deadpool 2 Released: 1 June Director: David Leitch 1 JuneDavid Leitch Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ocean's 8 Released: 22 June 22 June Director: Gary Ross Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Munn, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Matt Damon 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Peyton Reed Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Soldado Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Stefano Sollima Cast: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Incredibles 2 Released: 13 July 13 July Director: Brad Bird Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson Terminator Salvation was the film during the production of which Bale's on-set tirade against cinematographer Shane Hurlbut leaked to the world, something the actor described as a great learning lesson. He said: That was a very unusual occasion. Great learning lesson for me. No matter how much you lose yourself in a scene, you do not allow yourself to behave that way. And yeah, of course, Ive got enormous regrets about it. Bale previously revealed that he wasn't happy with his performance as Batman in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Follow Independent Culture on Facebook A New Year means new music, of course, but what exactly lies ahead? Will Big Shaq manage to stay not hot, will the Latin music reign continue, and who will take on this years Bond theme? So many questions! Here are a few predictions of what to look out for in 2018... Albums Arctic Monkeys Artists excitingly confirmed to be returning with new LPs this year are indie rock favourites Arctic Monkeys, The 1975 with their third record Music For Cars and Justin Timberlake is back soon with his first album since 2013's The 20/20 Experience: Man of the Woods. Other strong rumours include the return of the mighty Kanye West. He recently tweeted that Turbo Grafx 16 was the current name of the new LP, but his last record The Life Of Pablo went through many a name change before it got unleashed into the world, so it may not stay that way. Regardless, we know is a new album from Kanye is always a very exciting prospect. We also hope that 2018 is the year we get a new Ri-Ri full length. After being the most streamed female of the last 12 months (despite not releasing an album), the world is definitely ready and waiting. There are also whispers of new music on the way from Beyonce. Some truly brilliant new talent swooped into the public consciousness in 2017 and we cant wait to hear bodies of work from them, the likes of Jorja Smith, Sigrid and Superorganism to name but a few. Awards season Jorja Smith with the Critics' Choice Award 2018 (PA) We're holding our breath ahead of the Grammys where it looks like Kendrick Lamar may finally get his Album of the Year, for DAMN., while Jay Z, Bruno Mars, Lorde and Childish Gambino also look set to take home a few trophies on 28 January. The house that tumbled off stage during Katy Perrys set at the Brits last year has finally recovered from its injuries, just in time for us to look ahead to the nominations launch next week and this years ceremony in February. Will Ed Sheeran clean up at the Brit awards? Or will UK grime, rap and hip hop continue its meteoric rise and finally achieve the accolades it deserves? Im definitely putting my money on Liam Gallagher for best acceptance speech if he takes home Best Male. Watch this space, all will be revealed on February 21st 2018 The Latin Takeover The Top 5 most watched videos of 2017 on Vevo were all by Latin artists: Luis Fonsi, Shakira, J.Balvin, Maluma and CNCO and of course Camila Cabellos "Havana", which was lodged in everyones brain for months. Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up The underlying reggaeton beat has ingrained itself into modern pop music, so Im sure there will be plenty more mammoth hits over the course of this year. Fans are still holding out for an Oasis reunion According to Liams Twitter, himself and his previously estranged brother Noel appear to have made up and are "all good again" - although he's still making digs about Noel's lack of Brit Award nominations. Maybe theyll let all their issues Slide Away this year so they can headline Glastonbury in 2019? Rise of the boy band K-pop group BTS accepts the prize for Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Theres still a huge 1D shaped hole in all of our lives but this year you might just find your new favourite boy band. The fan army of South Korean superstars BTS is multiplying at a rapid rate, CNCO are enjoying a new audience thanks to their Little Mix collaboration, and there are two other big potential pop acts on the horizon: Simon Cowells latest Syco project PRETTYMUCH and American 5 piece Why Dont We? Bond, James Bond Related video: Bodyguard's Richard Madden backed for Bond (Getty) Daniel Craig has agreed to stay on as James Bond for next years film but who will be the chosen one to conquer the coveted Bond theme and follow in the footsteps of Sam Smith and Adele? Taking your bets Brighton rockers Royal Blood could supply a dark, riff-filled anthem, while Paloma Faith could channel an old school classic. The challenge could also be taken up by one of Britains best & biggest voices - Rag N Bone Man? Not to mention Ed Sheeran, who has threatened/hinted that he already has a Bond theme up his sleeve should Hollywood come calling... Abbie McCarthy is on Twitter @AbbieAbbiemac Follow Independent Culture on Facebook It's the job of Saturday Night Live (SNL) to parody the happenings of the previous week. Was that even possible Saturday night, or was parody defeated by the cumulative surreality of Oprah's political explosion, Steve Bannon's implosion and President Donald Trump's spelunking trip into the English vernacular? SNL at least tried. The week's news was dominated by reports that Trump, in an Oval Office meeting with senators, called Haiti, El Salvador and the entirety of Africa s***hole countries. On SNL's Weekend Update segment, Colin Jost didn't even attempt to lampoon the incident and instead made fun of NBC's censorship standards in the age of Trump. Trump attacked protections for immigrants from African countries, which he called 's***holes, Josh said from his fake news anchor desk. That's what NBC asked us to say, by the way, 'S***hole,' even though the President can say 's***hole.' Oops. SNL, which evidently had to wrestle with the same censorship conundrum as major news organisations after Trump's remark went public, didn't actually bleep Jost's use of the word. Elsewhere in the episode, some viewers noticed, the network let an f-bomb through, too. Some have condemned Trump's remarks as racist, and Michael Che, co-anchor of Weekend Update, picked the theme up. When someone asked me, 'Did you hear what Donald Trump called Haiti and Africa?' I was like, oh boy, did it start with an N? Che, who is black, said. But then I heard what he said, and I was like, that's it? My job is to make fun of the news, but Trump saying something racist isn't exactly news anymore. Che also mixed a history lesson into his routine. Donald, you do realise how rich these places are in resources, right? he said. They're in bad shape because they've been robbed and exploited for centuries by Western powers. So the President of the United States calling Africa a 'shithole' is like telling a kid you molested, 'Boy, did you grow up to be weird.' Weekend Update left talk of holes behind to take up the week's political B story - feverish speculation that Oprah Winfrey might run for president in the wake of her well-received Golden Globes speech about sexism. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up I'm tired of all these fun ideas for president, Che grumbled. Can't we just have a regular one for a while? Just a regular boring old white dude president that smiles and shapeshifts into a lizard at night? Nope. He was soon joined at the anchor desk by an ebullient Oprah (Leslie Jones) and her longtime partner Stedman Graham (Chris Redd), who merely parroted everything she said. Why would you ever do this? Jost asked Jones-as-Oprah. I'll tell you, Colin, Jones replied. I need to get white women back on track. Get them back on track, white women, Redd echoed. Ever since I've been off the air, they've gotten out of control, Jones said. They voted for Trump. They voted for Roy Moore. They kept 12 different shows about flipping houses on air. It's a mess. It's a mess, Redd said. Someone needs to look these women in the eye and say you deserve my three favourite things, Jones said. Love, respect and a new panini maker! She pointed at the audience and channelled one of Oprah's most famous stunts, in which she gave everyone in her talk show audience a free car. You get a panini! Jones cried. You get a panini! You get a panini! At least three of y'all get paninis, Redd agreed. Jones also played Oprah in the episode's cold open. But the star of the segment was probably SNL alum Bill Murray, who played Bannon, the White House and Breitbart News alum. Saturday Night Live lay into Donald Trump's 's***hole' comment At the height of Bannon's power last year, when he was one of Trump's chief advisers, SNL used to have Mikey Day play him in a grim-reaper mask. But Bannon was kicked out of the White House a few months ago. Then he criticised Trump's son in a book interview, angered the president and abruptly left his job at the right-wing website Breitbart News last week. So SNL's version of Bannon finally took his cowl off last night, to reveal a dishevelled and puffy Bill Murray. My God, Steve, I always though you looked like death, but this is death warmed over, said Mika Brzezinski, played by Kate McKinnon on the show's version of MSNBC's Morning Joe. Murray's Bannon insisted that his best days were ahead of him. The Bannon magic is still out there, he said. Steve Bannon, the Bannon cannon, magic, magic, magic, magic. King of kingmakers. Ozymandias. The Bannon dynasty is dawning! Uh huh. And, uh, what are you doing now? McKinnon asked. I'm working on a web series for Crackle, Murray said. 'Cucks and Cars.' Murray was joined by Michael Wolff (Fred Armisen), who in real life authored the book that got Bannon in trouble with Trump. But SNL's Wolff was sympathetic. He seemed to believe that Bannon could make a political comeback. He was, after all, the ruthless political operator who helped lead Trump to the White House. Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters You know, Steve, I have to admit it - you did something amazing, Armisen said. You took the biggest long shot in history and you got him elected, and you unleashed this monster of biblical proportions upon the universe. Michael Wolff, that's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me, Murray-as-Bannon said. Thank you. The Washington Post A burning Iranian oil tanker that sank in the East China Sea could pose a serious threat to the marine environment, according to experts. The incident has resulted in a 10-mile long oil slick, which was discovered east of the site where the ship sank. Chinese state TV CCTV said the slick was 1 to 4 nautical miles wide and had grown several times in size since the ship sank on Sunday. Concerns have been raised about damage to the regional marine ecosystem, which is rich in fish and bird life. The sinking marks the biggest tanker spill since 1991, when 260,000 tonnes of oil leaked off the Angolan coast. A clean-up effort on the seas surface has begun and rescue teams have called a halt to the large-scale search for survivors, reducing it to normal operations, CCTV said. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The blazing vessel, which was carrying 136,000 tonnes almost one million barrels of condensate, an ultra-light, highly flammable crude oil, sank after several explosions weakened the hull. The tanker Sanchi had been adrift and ablaze after crashing into the freighter CF Crystal on 6 January. Experts worry the ships sinking is potentially more damaging to the marine ecosystem than letting the condensate oil burn off. The sinking will likely expel the remaining condensate and the tankers bunker fuel, or the heavy fuel oil that powers a ships engines, contaminating the surrounding waters. Bunker fuel is the dirtiest kind of oil, extremely toxic when spilled, though less explosive. Condensate is poisonous to marine organisms. Recommended Fears Iranian oil tanker stranded off China coast could explode The Sanchi may have been carrying about 1,000 tonnes of bunker fuel by the time it hit the grain freighter CF Crystal, according to bunker fuel traders estimates. A harmful plume of condensate would likely be in the water, out of sight of observers on the surface, said Rick Steiner, a US marine scientist based in Anchorage, Alaska, who has experience of oil spills. As with all major oil spills, time is of the essence. This is particularly so with condensate spills, as the substance is so toxic and volatile, said Steiner. The East China Sea is known for its rich, although already polluted, marine ecosystem, with whales, porpoises, seabirds and fish, he said. Fuel oil is relatively easy to contain because volumes are lower and its viscosity means its easier to extract from water, but even small volumes can harm marine life. Strong winds have pushed the tanker away from the Chinese coast, where the incident happened, and into Japans exclusive economic zone. Chinas State Oceanic Administration said on Sunday that because the explosions had ruptured the hull of the ship, a large amount of oil in surrounding waters was on fire. Black smoke was still billowing from the site of the sinking, the Japan Coast Guard said on Monday. The service sent two patrol boats and an aeroplane to the area to search for missing crew members and assess the latest situation, a spokesman for the Coast Guard said. A Chinese salvage team on Saturday recovered two bodies from the tanker, Chinas state news agency Xinhua reported. Another body, presumed to be one of the Sanchis sailors, was found on 8 January and taken to Shanghai for identification. The salvage team recovered the Sanchis voyage data recorder, or black box from the bridge of the tanker, Xinhua also said on Saturday. But the team was forced to leave the ship after just half an hour because the wind shifted and thick toxic smoke had complicated the operation. Iranian officials said on Sunday the remaining 29 crew members and passengers of the tanker were presumed dead. The crew consisted of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. Additional reporting by Reuters. Kendall Jenner has sparked outrage for wearing what looked like a fur coat during Milan Fashion Week. The reality TV star, who was recently crowned the worlds highest-paid model, prompted a backlash after she appeared on the DSquared2 catwalk on Sunday with the gigantic jacket covering a satin print dress. Critics suggested Jenner, who is the second youngest of the Kardashian clan, was a poor role model after appearing to wear real fur although whether it was the real thing or just a very realistic alternative has not been confirmed by the model or the organisers. Mimi Bekhechi, director of international programmes at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, criticised the jacket. "At a time when luxury brands from Michael Kors to Gucci are dropping fur, and following the news that Norway one of Europe's biggest fur producers is joining the growing list of countries that are banning fur farming, people are rightly gobsmacked to see any label send a mountain of corpses down its catwalk," Mr Bekhechi told The Independent. "On fur farms, foxes, raccoons, and rabbits... are typically kept in tiny, filthy wire cages and denied the freedom to do anything that comes naturally to them, before they're finally killed by being painfully electrocuted, drowned, or even skinned alive. PETA will continue to put pressure on designers and celebrities to say no to fur with so many innovative and beautiful vegan fabrics now available, there's simply no excuse for choosing cruelty over kindness." The really sad thing is, apart from the needless cruel death of animals, is that such high profile models would make an impact if they chose to refuse to wear real fur. Its time they actually had some morals and made these a******* designers think about their actions, said Twitter user Sarah Kirby. Recommended Kendall Jenner responded to pregnancy rumours in most relatable way Kendall Jenner, you are a disgrace, millions of young girls look up to you and youre encouraging them to have no respect for the beautiful animals on our planet. How can you think wearing fur is ok? I hope karma catches up with you soon, added another. Stop using fur, Kendall! So many fashion brands had chosen to use faux fur instead of real fur and youve chosen to model for the one that encourages animal killing! Youre better than this! said one more. Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein Show all 5 1 /5 Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein mycalvins1.jpg Alasdair McLellan/Calvin Klein Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein mycalvins2.jpg Alasdair McLellan/Calvin Klein Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein mycalvins3.jpg Alasdair McLellan/Calvin Klein Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein mycalvins4.jpg Model Simon Nessman Alasdair McLellan/Calvin Klein Kendall Jenner for Calvin Klein mycalvins5.jpg Alasdair McLellan/Calvin Klein Nevertheless, some sought to defend the 22-year-old and argued it was DSquared rather than Jenner who should be criticised. Its funny how everybody is attacking Kendall for the fur coat but nobodys actually attacking the people who made the fur coat aka @Dsquared2, said one. This is by no means the first time Jenner has sparked controversy the model prompted a massive backlash for her Pepsi advert last April. Borrowing images from the Black Lives Matter movement, the Live For Now Moments Anthem was accused of commodifying and trivializing social movements in the attempt to sell soft drinks. The premise of the advert centred around Jenner ditching a modelling shoot to join hoards of smiling young protesters. There, she hands an ice cold can of Pepsi to a riot officer who is monitoring the march, triggering raucous applause from the crowd and the policeman to flash a grin. The moment where Jenner approaches a line of officers is a clear reference to the iconic image of a female protester named Ieshia Evans standing stalwart while being confronted by heavily armoured riot officers during a Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge after Alton Sterling was fatally shot by police last year. Pepsi was forced to cave to widespread criticism at the time and remove the video from YouTube. In a statement, they said: "Pepsi was trying to project a global a message of unity, peace, and understanding. "Clearly, we missed the mark, and we apologise. We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are pulling the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologise for putting Kendall Jenner in this position." This signalled a radical departure from their previous statement which defended the ad as depicting various groups of people embracing a spontaneous moment to live life unbounded, unfiltered and uninhibited. Jenner was named the world's highest paid model by Forbes Magazine, earning $22m (16.6m) in 2017, back in November. She managed to beat Chrissy Teigen, Gigi Hadid, and Adriana Lima to the spot and it was the first time in 15 years that Gisele Bundchen did not win the accolade. Representatives for Kendall Jenner and DSquared did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A woman has been left shocked after allegedly finding a thong inside the pocket of her brand new jeans. Christine Evans, from New York, ordered a pair of Not Your Daughters Jeans from American luxury retailer Nordstrom. But when her order arrived she made quite the unexpected discovery. She claims that upon opening her delivery she found a dirty and worn womens thong concealed in the front pocket. Taking to Twitter, the disgruntled nurse complained directly to the fashion brand. After, many years of loyalty to your company, I was appalled at the lack of customer service you gave me when I received a pair of Not Your Daughters Jeans with a DIRTY and WORN womens THONG in the front pocket, Evans wrote. I called customer services and the response was not adequate with company standards and the customer service you pride yourself on. Evans goes on to explain that she was offered a replacement pair but felt that more could have been done considering the severity of the situation. I would imagine that a company such as this one could do more for a loyal, card-holding customer, she wrote. As a nurse, the numerous amount of health hazards this issue presents is astounding. The fashion chain quickly responded to Evans series of tweets and said that they would get to the root of the problem. Recommended ASOS is selling crotchless jeans and the internet is confused We understand your frustration and don't think that any amount of compensation can make this right, they replied. Just days later, Evans followed up from her original tweet to say that the unfortunate experience had been resolved after receiving a most sincere apology from the brand. The Independent has contacted Nordstrom for comment. Giving up alcohol for January can have both a positive and negative effect on your body, an expert has shared. While there are obvious benefits associated with avoiding alcohol, such as a reduced risk of developing cancer and liver disease later in life, Dry January can also have a surprising detrimental impact on your body. Dr Preethi Daniel from the London Doctors Clinic has explained what happens to your body during Dry January after the indulgence of the Christmas period. For the first few days of the month, you may experience an inability to sleep soundly and some slight dehydration. Read more: How to achieve your New Years resolutions This could be a sign that your body is going through withdrawal from alcohol dependency. Additional extreme symptoms of this may include restlessness, tremors, nausea, sweating and anxiety. However, theres no doubt that reducing your alcohol intake or avoiding alcohol altogether can do a whole lot of good for your overall wellbeing. Having enjoyed many a glass of bubbly over Christmas and New Years, your liver could be in need of a few weeks rest. Your liver generally needs around four to six weeks of recovery following a heavy bout of drinking, so giving Dry January a go could be an ideal way of keeping your health in check. Youll also notice your sleeping pattern improve in the long run. After a few days of restless sleep at the beginning of Dry January, by day seven youll likely have found yourself sleeping far more peacefully. This means that youll also start waking up with far more energy the next morning, ready to take on the day. Another aspect of your body thats affected by your alcohol consumption is your appearance. As the days go by, your skin will appear more radiant and your eyes will look brighter. This is because the majority of the calories entering your body will come from food as opposed to alcohol, thus increasing your vitamin intake. Last but not least, giving up alcohol will give your immune system the boost it needs to stave off the pesky common cold thats going around. Of course, completing Dry January is far easier said than done. With that in mind, Dr Daniel has also provided some tips for participating in the alcohol-free month as healthily as possible. Make sure that youre drinking lots of fluids to keep your body hydrated, drinking a glass of water before bed to ensure that you feel refreshed in the morning. Eating regular, nutritious meals will help keep your cravings at bay, as will drinking alternative drinks such as lemon-infused beverages. This article was originally published in 2018. The liquidation of the giant Government outsourcing and construction firm Carillion on Monday has put tens of thousands of jobs at risk, slashed the pension benefits of all employees, jeopardised the future of many smaller firms and cast a pall of uncertainty over many schools, hospitals and prisons that rely on the company. It has also raised hard questions for ministers. Below we outline the five most pressing ones. Why did ministers continue awarding Carillion government contracts when they knew the firm was in big trouble? The companys difficulties were well-known in financial markets long before its disastrous July 2017 profit warning which led to a share price collapse. But the very same month the Government awarded Carillion a contract, with an estimated worth of 450m, to build part of the High Speed Two (HS2) rail link, prompting a brief spike in its share price. At the time, the then Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: My wish is that Carillion get through their current problems but weve made sure that its not an issue for these contracts. In light of its collapse, that now sounds rather complacent. Did ministers do enough early enough to safeguard public services from the fallout from what virtually everyone in the markets could see was a looming disaster? Why did the public sector become so reliant on a single company in the first place? Carillion received around 1.7bn in total revenues from the public purse in 2016. It manages around half of the UK prisons estate. Hundreds of schools and hospitals cannot function effectively without its services. The fact that the Government has been forced to step in to fund its public operations shows that as an operator it was effectively too big to fail. Ministers insist that if they had frozen Carillion out of Government work after it got into financial difficulties it would merely have collapsed the company sooner. Yet this line of thinking also demonstrates that the firm was effectively too big for the Government to blacklist. So was it irresponsible for ministers (including, to be fair, ministers from previous governments) to allow the public sector to become so dependent on one firm? Why was Carillions chair an adviser to the Prime Minister on corporate responsibility given its record of staff treatment and corporate governance? The unions claim Carillion has had an abysmal track record as an employer, having been one of the construction firms involved in the secret and illegal blacklisting of certain workers over many years. But Philip Green, Carillions chair, served as an adviser to David Cameron on corporate social responsibility. The Daily Mail has uncovered that Carillion quietly relaxed its rules on executive bonus clawback payments in 2016, something that prompted harsh words about the firms corporate governance from the Institute of Directors on Monday. Doesnt this show that the Government is not careful enough when taking ethical advice from large private companies? Why have Carillions public contracts not simply been nationalised? Lord Adonis, who until his resignation last month was chair of the Governments own National Infrastructure Commission, suggested today that the Government should nationalise Carillions public sector service contracts rather than seek to pass them to other private contractors as soon as possible since those firms will demand a kings ransom to take them on. This would, according to Lord Adonis, shortchange the UK taxpayer. So are ministers going to put the principle of private ownership above taxpayer value for money? Shouldnt this force a wider re-think on the policy of privatisation? Over the past 20 years Carillion has been a significant beneficiary of the states drive to outsource as well as the controversial use of Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts to provide public services. The value for money of PFI contracts has been widely questioned by public finance experts. Meanwhile firms, including Carillion, have been paying millions of pounds of dividends to shareholders each year, prompting many to regard these arrangements as a taxpayer rip-off. Shouldnt Carillions ignominious collapse raise questions for ministers about whether this privatisation and outsourcing drive has gone too far, and about whether the state should be doing more of this kind of work in-house? Carillion, a private construction firm and provider of a multitude of outsourcing services to the UK public sector, went into liquidation on Monday. But what does Carillion actually do? How much state money has it been receiving? How did it come to this? And what will happen next? What are its biggest projects and contracts? Wolverhampton-based Carillion is the second-largest supplier of construction services to Network Rail, the publicly-owned company responsible for the UKs rail infrastructure. The private firm is commissioned to do work on signalling, laying new track and other more complex infrastructure projects. Carillion last year won a contract to build tunnels in the Chilterns for the High Speed Two rail project, to connect Birmingham with London on a dedicated new line. Carillion is also a major provider of services to UK schools, with tasks ranging from repairing buildings to providing school diners in 218 institutions through its catering arm. The NHS is also heavily reliant on Carillion. It is one of the largest providers of facilities management services to the health service, with its responsibilities stretching from fixing faults in hospital buildings, to cleaning to providing meals for patients. It is also building the new 646-bed Royal Liverpool Hospital. Carillion does a similar job in the UKs prisons, maintaining around half of the estate. It employs around 20,000 people in the UK, plus a further 23,000 around the world. All of these jobs are now at risk. How much is it paid by the Government every year? In 2016, Carillion received around 1.7bn in total from public sector contracts. This was equivalent to around a third of its total revenue of 5.2bn. How did this collapse happen? In July 2017, Carillion unveiled an 845m writedown on the value of its contracts, prompting the resignation of the chief executive, Richard Howson. The company effectively conceded these contracts (of which 375m were for UK construction work) had been much less profitable than it had originally anticipated. Its share price collapsed around 90 per cent in the following months, slashing its market value from around 850m to just 70m by the end of the year. Carillions financial difficulties were compounded by the companys relatively high level of borrowing (it now has 900m in debt) and a 600m deficit in its pension scheme. What will happen now? The company has entered liquidation, rather than administration. This means there is no prospect of another company buying out its assets. The Government has said it will inject funding to keep the public services provided by the firm running and that all Carillion employees should continue to show up to work as normal. But there is great uncertainty about the medium-term future of those public sector contracts. Another outsourced services provider could take them on. But the Government itself could also continue running them indefinitely, something that the unions are pressing for in order to protect jobs. Employees of Carillion who are still in work will be transferred to the states Pension Protection Fund for collapsed companies, which means an instant 10 per cent cut to their future retirement entitlements. Carillion employees who are already retired will continue to receive their full pension entitlements, but the annual increases may be lower than previously promised. Carillion is a major contractor of services itself and industry experts have warned that the negative knock-on effects of its collapse on other smaller firms could be severe. Another consequence of Carillions liquidation is that its lenders will also have to write down the value of their 900m loans to the company. These lenders include UK banks Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Santander. The Government is facing questions over why it awarded 2bn of official contracts to Carillion after the struggling construction giant issued a string of profit warnings. Crunch talks between company bosses and high-level Government officials broke up last night having failed to produce a rescue plan, amid reports the firm was nearing collapse. The Wolverhampton-based firm is one of the largest construction companies in the country, employing 19,500 workers in the UK and 43,000 globally, but it is struggling under 900m of debt and a 590m pension deficit. Shadow Cabinet minister Jon Trickett said: Alarm bells have been ringing for over six months about the state of Carillions finances" and questioned why several lucrative government contracts were awarded to the firm after it posted the first of three profit warnings in July. As well as being a supplier for the HS2 high-speed rail line, Carillion is also one of the largest suppliers to National Rail, as well as maintaining approximately half of the UKs prisons and nearly 900 of the UKs school buildings. Mr Trickett said: Alarm bells have been ringing for over six months about the state of Carillions finances, so the Government must come forward and answer questions on exactly what due diligence measures were undertaken, before awarding contracts to Carillion worth billions of taxpayers money. In the meantime as emergency meetings take place between officials employees of Carillion, pension holders and taxpayers will want assurances that financial protections are in place in the event the supplier experiencing further financial difficulties. Labour urges the Government to stand ready to intervene and bring these crucial public sector contracts back in-house. The Government cannot outsource its responsibility and duty of care to these workers and vital public sector projects. Brandon Lewis, the new Conservative Party chairman, said the Government was making sure all plans and contingency plans are in place. It is a growing concern and hopefully theyll be able to work with their partners to get the working capital they need to continue providing its important services, he told the BBCs Andrew Marr Show. A rescue package is believed to rest on whether or not the Government is willing to help bail the company out, but Mr Lewis refused to comment on these claims. Its a very commercially sensitive situation so I wouldnt comment further than to say I would hope to see that the working capital that they need will be there working with their partners, he added. Top accountancy company Ernst and Young has been put on notice in case the company falls into administration, which could happen as soon as today. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA UK news in pictures 12 July 2021 A local resident puts love hearts and slogans on the plastic that covers offensive graffiti on the vandalised mural of Manchester United striker and England player Marcus Rashford on the wall of a cafe on Copson Street, Withington in Manchester Getty Images UK news in pictures 11 July 2021 England's Bukayo Saka with manager Gareth Southgate after the match Pool via Reuters UK news in pictures 10 July 2021 Australias Ashleigh Barty holds the trophy after winning her final Wimbledon match against Czech Republics Karolina Pliskova Reuters UK news in pictures 9 July 2021 England 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst stands on top of a pod on the lastminute.com London Eye wearing a replica 1966 World Cup final kit and looking out towards Wembley Stadium in the north of the capital, where the England football team will play Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday PA UK news in pictures 8 July 2021 Karolina Pliskova celebrates after defeating Aryna Sabalenka during the women's singles semifinals match on day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London AP Reports suggested that lenders effectively rejected a rescue plan because it failed to present a solid proposition for restructuring the business. However a spokesperson for Carillion denied the claims. Carillion continues to engage in constructive discussions with a range of financial and other stakeholders regarding options to reduce debt and strengthen the groups balance sheet, the spokesperson said. Suggestions that Carillions business plan has been rejected by stakeholders are incorrect. It is too early to predict the outcome of these discussions but Carillion expects that any such agreement is likely to involve the raising of new capital and the conversion of existing financial indebtedness to equity, which would result in significant dilution to existing shareholders. Liberal Democrat leader and former business secretary Vince Cable said it should be shareholders and creditors, not taxpayers, who should take the financial hit of saving the company. He told the BBC: I think what has to happen in this case is the contracts have to be kept going and supporting the supply chain and the tens of thousands of workers and that can be done by the Government taking a lot of this in-house or re-tendering in other cases. The Government cant just do a financial bailout. The shareholders and the creditors the big banks have got to take a hit, they cant just offload all of the losses on to the taxpayer. TUC deputy general secretary Paul Nowak said that the situation was a textbook example of the failures of privatisation and urged the Government to step in to protect workers. He said: Tens of thousands of jobs are now at risk, along with vital public services and major infrastructure projects across the country. Workers, taxpayers and public service users could well be left to carry the can. Coca-Cola said it will cut the size of its 1.75l bottle of Coke to 1.5l while putting up the price by 20p in the UK. The price of a 500ml bottle will also go up from 1.09 to 1.25, Coca-Cola confirmed on Monday. The global drinks maker said the changes were in response to Britains sugar tax which comes into force in April. Recommended New sugar tax confirmed in fight to combat rising obesity The levy will be set at 18p on drinks containing 5g of sugar or more per 100ml and a higher 24p rate on those with more than 8g per 100ml. Coke contains more than 10g of sugar per 100ml with a 1.75l bottle containing 186g. We have no plans to change the recipe of Coca-Cola Classic so it will be impacted by the governments soft drinks tax, said a spokesperson for Coca-Cola European Partners. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy, or sugar tax, was announced by former Chancellor George Osborne in 2016 as an attempt to combat spiralling levels of type 2 diabetes and childhood obesity. The Treasury estimates the tax will raise 520m a year money that it says will go towards funding sport in primary schools. The tax has prompted some drinks makers to replace sugar in their recipes with artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. An online petition titled Hands off our Irn Bru attracted thousands of signatures this month. It called on the soft drinks maker, AG Barr, to rethink its decision to change the ingredients of the Scottish national treasure. AG Barr earlier announced plans to cut Irn Brus sugar content by more than half. Shell will start drilling in the North Seas Penguin oil field - the firms first new manned project in the region for almost three decades. The move is expected to support 300 to 400 jobs, mostly in Scotland, during the construction of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel for the new development. Shell said the oil and gas field, which is 150 miles off the coast of Shetland, is expected to have a peak production of around 45,000 barrels of oil per day. The announcement comes as the price of oil surged to $70 (51bn) per barrel on Monday, meaning higher petrol prices for motorists and rising costs for many businesses. Many North Sea platforms have shut down in recent years as oil prices had languished at historically low levels. Shell announced last year that it had completed the sale of a package of North Sea assets for up to 3bn to smaller rival Chrysaor. Steve Phimister, Shell's vice president for upstream in the UK and Ireland, said on Monday: Shell has had a strong presence in this part of the northern North Sea for more than forty years. Having reshaped our portfolio over the last 12 months, we now plan to grow our North Sea production through our core production assets. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. In doing so, we will continue to work with the UK Government, our partners and the regulator to maximise the economic recovery in one of Shell's heartlands. Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said the investment demonstrates rising confidence in the region and will boost the Scottish economy. The UK Oil and Gas Authority predicts that it will cost almost 60bn to decommission the North Seas existing oil and gas infrastructure between now and the 2050s with tax payers footing about 40 per cent of the bill. More than three million people at high risk of flu are in need of a vaccination according to top health officials, as fears grow over the current outbreak becoming an epidemic. A letter sent to every GP practice in England urged doctors to use all remaining stocks of vaccinations to immunise as many at-risk patients as possible in the next two weeks. It was sent after reports emerged on Friday that chemists and pharmacists were running out of vaccinations as the number of flu cases in the UK continued to rise. This winters virulent flu outbreak has already claimed 85 lives with pregnant women and young people with asthma among those most at risk. The letter, seen by The Independent has been co-signed by NHS Englands medical director Sir Bruce Keogh and chair of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP) Helen Stokes-Lampard. We appreciate the very real pressures you are under, but we only have a couple of weeks left to maximise the impact of the vaccine programme and nationally there are still more than three million patients in target groups that could benefit from immunisation, it read. Some practices are already running successful flu clinics and vaccinating patients as part of their routine GP appointments. The letter added: Many patients in target groups will be booked in for appointments in the coming fortnight and we are asking you to ensure that all eligible patients already scheduled to attend your practices are offered the flu jab. The main strain of the virus circulating in the UK, "Aussie flu", known scientifically as H3N2, can lead to pneumonia or other serious conditions. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA It came to Britain from Australia where it is reported to have directly contributed to the countrys worst winter death rate in years. The worst hit areas in the UK are York, with 104 GP consultations for flu for every 100,000 people, Herefordshire, with 100 consultations, and Gateshead with 88 consultations, which is nearing epidemic levels. The symptoms are similar to that of a common cold, but more prolonged and severe, and including vomiting or diarrhoea and muscle ache. Doctors and officials have said that although the vaccinations being offered may not protect against all cases of Aussie flu, it is still worth having. A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: Vaccines are the best protection we have against flu. As well as getting the jab from a pharmacy, patients can also book an appointment with their GP. Pensioners, adults with chronic health conditions, pregnant women and children under nine are all entitled to free flu jabs. For everyone else there is a fee of 13. Professor Paul Cosford, Public Health Englands medical director, agreed that the vaccine is the best defence against the spread of flu and reiterated that it is not too late to receive the jab. People suffering with flu-like symptoms should catch coughs or sneeze in tissues and bin them immediately, wash their hands regularly with soap and warm water, and frequently clean regularly used surfaces to stop the spread of flu. Avoid having unnecessary contact with other people if you or they have symptoms of flu. Undergraduate medical students are being urged to help relieve the NHS winter crisis because hospitals are so short-staffed. Despite not yet qualifying as doctors, medical students are being asked to volunteer on A&E units as they struggle to cope with the extra pressure created by budget cuts, cold weather and an outbreak of virulent flu. Students have been asked to perform basic tasks such as fitting cannulas tubes inserted so patients can receive medication intravenously and taking bloods which have previously been done by nurses or trained doctors. Dr Andrew Hassell, the head of Keele University's medical school, wrote to fourth and fifth year students to enlist their support in tackling the NHS' "national crisis" and asking for volunteers to help out at "hard pressed" nearby hospitals and GP surgeries, according to emails obtained by The Guardian. He wrote: Were sure you dont need us to tell you about the extraordinary situation the whole of the NHS is facing this winter. As the medical school for this area we think we should be doing whatever we can to support local services while maintaining student learning. We are sure you will want to be part of our collective effort at this time of national crisis. On 4 January, two days after NHS bosses were forced to cancel tens of thousands of scheduled operations, medical undergraduates in Liverpool were also told they may be put under extra pressure while participating in the hospital and GP placements that are necessary for their training. The email said: "The NHS is currently facing unprecedented pressures, particularly in the emergency departments and acute wards. Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis except themselves Show all 6 1 /6 Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis except themselves Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis except themselves The elderly We acknowledge that there are pressures on the health service, there are always extra pressures on the NHS in the winter, but we have the added pressures of the ageing population and the growing complex needs of the population, Theresa May has said. Waits of over 12 hours in A&E among elderly people have more than doubled in two years, according to figures from NHS Digital. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis except themselves Patients going to A&E instead of seeing their GPs Jeremy Hunt has called for a honest discussion with the public about the purpose of A&E departments, saying that around a third of A&E patients were in hospital unnecessarily. Mr Hunt told Radio 4s Today programme the NHS now had more doctors, nurses and funding than ever, but explained what he called very serious problems at some hospitals by suggesting pressures were increasing in part because people are going to A&Es when they should not. He urged patients to visit their GP for non-emergency illnesses, outlined plans to release time for family doctors to support urgent care work, and said the NHS will soon be able to deliver seven-day access to a GP from 8am to 8pm. But doctors struggling amid a GP recruitment crisis said Mr Hunts plans were unrealistic and demanded the Government commit to investing in all areas of the overstretched health service. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis except themselves Simon Stevens, head of NHS England Reports that key members of Ms Mays team used internal meetings to accuse Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, of being unenthusiastic and unresponsive have been rejected by Downing Street. Mr Stevens had allegedly rejected claims made by Ms May that the NHS had been given more funding than required. Getty Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis except themselves Previous health policy, not funding In an interview with Sky Newss Sophy Ridge, Ms May acknowledged the NHS faced pressures but said it was a problem that had been ducked by government over the years. She refuted the claim that hospitals were tackling a humanitarian crisis and said health funding was at record levels. We asked the NHS a while back to set out what it needed over the next five years in terms of its plan for the future and the funding that it would need, said the Prime Minister. They did that, we gave them that funding, in fact we gave them more funding than they required Funding is now at record levels for the NHS, more money has been going in. But doctors accused Ms May of being in denial about how the lack of additional funding provided for health and social care were behind a spiralling crisis in NHS hospitals. Getty Images Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis except themselves Target to treat all A&E patients within four hours Mr Hunt was accused of watering down the flagship target to treat all A&E patients within four hours. The Health Secretary told MPs the promise introduced by Tony Blairs government in 2000 should only be for those who actually need it. Amid jeers in the Commons, Mr Hunt said only four other countries pledged to treat all patients within a similar timeframe and all had less stringent rules. But Ms May has now said the Government will stand by the four-hour target for A&E, which says 95 per cent of patients must be dealt with within that time frame. Getty Images Everyone the Government blames for the NHS crisis except themselves No one Mr Hunt was accused of hiding from the public eye following news of the Red Crosss comments and didnt make an official statement for two days. He was also filmed refusing to answer questions from journalists who pursued him down the street yesterday to ask whether he planned to scrap the four-hour A&E waiting time target. Sky News reporter Beth Rigby pressed the Health Secretary on his position on the matter, saying the public will want to know, Mr Hunt. Sorry Beth, Ive answered questions about this already, replied Mr Hunt. But you didnt answer questions on this. You said it was over-interpreted in the House of Commons and you didnt want to water it down. Is that what youre saying? said Ms Rigby. Its very difficult, because how are we going to explain to the public what your intention is, when you change your position and then wont answer the question, Mr Hunt. But the Health Secretary maintained his silence until he reached his car and got in. Getty During this difficult time it is likely placements may ask student doctors to assist in the acute areas where there is most pressure." Harrison Carter, the co-chair of the British Medical Association's medical students committee, said the use of students in this way was worrying. He said: Not only would this be exploitation of students who may be reluctant to say no, but it raises concerns over patient safety if those working on the frontline are asked to work beyond clinical competence. Meanwhile specialist nurses who are trained to care for patients with particular needs such as dementia sufferers are now being diverted to help on general wards as they face major staff shortages. A duck-sized dinosaur found in China had a head and chest covered in shiny feathers similar to those seen on hummingbirds. The creature has been named Caihong juji, meaning rainbow with the big crest in Mandarin. When palaeontologists analysed a fossil of the dinosaur, first discovered by a farmer in north-eastern China, they found evidence of brightly-coloured plumage. Iridescent feathers, which are found on some modern bird species, have a metallic sheen and change colour when viewed from different angles, giving them a rainbow-like appearance. Hummingbirds such as this green hermit from Costa Rica have iridescent plumage (Dan Kitwood) When you look at the fossil record, you normally only see hard parts like bone, but every once in a while soft parts like feathers are preserved and you get a glimpse into the past, said Dr Chad Eliason, a bird researcher at The Field Museum in Chicago and one of the authors of the paper describing the dinosaur. The preservation of this dinosaur is incredible; we were really excited when we realised the level of detail we were able to see on the feathers. Their findings were published in the journal Nature Communications. When Dr Eliason and his colleagues examined the preserved feathers under a microscope, they could see tiny imprints of cells called melanosomes. Melanosomes are the cells that contain pigment and give animals their colour. At around 160 million-years-old, the pigment in the cells had long since degraded, but the scientists were able to determine the dinosaurs appearance based on the structure of the cells. Comparison of the ancient melanosomes of the Caihong with modern bird species revealed close similarities with the cells responsible for the iridescent plumage seen in hummingbirds. Iridescent feathers were found covering the dinosaurs head and chest, as well as around the base of its tail. The skull of the Caihong is similar to that of the Velociraptor, but it also has a bony crest in the middle of its head. The discovery opens up questions about how iridescence first evolved. It could be that the Caihongs rainbow feathers were used to attract mates, just like modern peacocks use their colourful tails. I came out of the project with a whole different set of questions that I wanted answers to, said Dr Eliason. When I open up a drawer full of birds in the Field Museums collections, now I want to know when those iridescent feathers first developed, and how. An Uber driver who allegedly injured police officers with a sword outside Buckingham Palace has denied terror offences. Mohiussunnath Chowdhury, 26, pleaded not guilty to a charge of preparing to commit an act of terrorism on or before the incident on 25 August. Justice Cheema-Grubb remanded him in custody ahead of a trial in June. Mr Chowdhury, a British citizen of Bangladeshi descent from Luton, was appearing at the Old Bailey via video link from HMP Belmarsh. He is accused of being behind the wheel of a car that drove towards a police van in a protected area next to the Queen Victoria Memorial, in Constitution Hill. After officers approached the vehicle, the driver allegedly reached for a large sword and shouted Allahu Akbar several times. Three officers were injured in the struggle, when the suspect was subdued using CS spray. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty The incident came amid heightened security around sensitive sights in London in the wake of the terror attacks in Westminster, Manchester, London Bridge and Finsbury Park. Additional reporting by PA Andrew Burke has been charged with the murder of Southport travel agent Cassie Hayes who was attacked in the branch where she worked. The 30-year-old will appear from custody at South Sefton Magistrates' Court in Bootle on Monday. Ms Hayes, 28, died in hospital from a wound to her throat inflicted on Saturday afternoon at the Tui branch in Southport where she was assistant manager on Saturday. Merseyside Police said they were called to the scene at the store in the town centre at around 1:25pm after witnesses reported seeing a woman being stretchered onto a waiting ambulance. Ms Hayes, who lived in the Southport area, later died in hospital from her injuries. In a statement released by police, Ms Hayes said: "Our whole lives have been shattered. "This has torn our hearts from our bodies. "Cassie was an amazing, kind human being who would do anything for anyone. "She doted on all her family and our loss is beyond calculation. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty "We ask that our family be left to grieve in private." Colleagues and friends of the mother-of-one were among those who paid tribute to her online and laid flowers outside the scene in Chapel Street which remained behind a police cordon on Sunday evening. Ms Hayes' ex-partner, Leah McDonald, wrote on Facebook: "What can I say. This girl was and has been my absolute world from the first moment we met on the 4th July 2007 till this very day. Recommended Knife crime has become a scourge that must be stopped in 2018 "We had are fall outs, our ups and downs but I can tell you now despite all that we absolutely loved each other and out of all the people in the world I could not of picked a better mammy for our child. "She's just a gem, my best mate, Even when we split she was there for me ... this girl has been my rock and the most amazing mammy. "I am heart broken and numb. How anyone could do this to my Cassie." A Tui spokeswoman said: "We send our deepest sympathies to the friends and family of the staff member involved. "We're doing everything possible to assist the local police with their investigation and support our customers and staff at this difficult time." Additional reporting by agencies A man being hunted by police after killing his neighbour with a crossbow has been found dead. Humberside Police said Shane Gilmer and his pregnant girlfriend Laura Sugden were attacked at their home in the village of Southburn near Driffield in east Yorkshire on Friday evening. The couple were taken to hospital but Mr Gilmer died at Hull Royal Infirmary on Saturday. Ms Sugden's injuries are not believed to be life threatening and she and her unborn baby are both in a stable condition in hospital. A manhunt was then launched for 55-year-old Anthony Lawrence, also known as Tony Howarth, who lived next door and was known to the couple. Southburn was put under lockdown and villagers were warned not to approach him as the search entered its second day. But police said they believe they have found the body of Lawrence in a vehicle in a rural location in North Yorkshire at around 6pm on Sunday. Police said they had recovered a crossbow from the scene of the crime and are now investigating whether it was used in the attack. Officers say they are still trying to establish a motive for the attack but other neighbours have suggested the attack could have been over loud music. Neighbours told The Sun Lawrence had threatened the couple with an axe in the weeks leading up to the murder. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA One said: They were apparently being too noisy. They were scared but things escalated. DCI Stewart Miller said: "We can confirm that at around 6pm this evening officers discovered the body of a man believed to be 55 year old Anthony Lawrence, in a vehicle in a rural location in North Yorkshire. "Mr Lawrence was wanted in relation to the murder of Shane Gilmer and the attempted murder of his pregnant girlfriend Laura Sugden on Friday 12 January. "Since Friday evening we have been carrying out extensive enquiries into Mr Lawrence's whereabouts, which led to the location in North Yorkshire, upon where officers discovered a body. "We are being supported by North Yorkshire Police as part of our wider investigation." Additional reporting by PA Police have placed a Yorkshire village on lockdown as they hunt a suspected crossbow killer wanted for the murder of a man and the attempted murder of a pregnant woman. The victims have been revealed as Shane Gilmer, 30, and his girlfriend Laura Sugden, who were at their home in Southburn, a village near Driffield, 20 miles north of Hull, when they were attacked on Friday. The pair were rushed to hospital where Mr Gilmer died on Saturday as a result of his injuries. Ms Sugden and her unborn baby remain in a stable condition. The suspect has been revealed as Mr Gilmers neighbour Anthony Lawrence, who Humberside Police believe shot the couple with a crossbow. Mr Lawrence, also known as Tony Howarth, is white, around 5ft 10 in tall, with short dark hair and a large build. A car linked to Mr Lawrence a blue Vauxhall Mevira and a crossbow were recovered at the scene and are both being forensically examined. Police cordoned off the village as the manhunt continues for Mr Lawrence, who has been on the run since the attack. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA Detective Chief Superintendent Judi Heaton urged anyone with any information on Mr Lawrence to come forward, but for people not to approach him if he is seen. We still have teams in the Southburn area and they will be remaining in that area for the next few days, both as part of the investigation and to provide reassurance for those living and working there, she said. As weve said, we dont believe that Lawrence is a threat to the wider public. This was an isolated incident and he was known to Shane and Laura they were neighbours. However, we dont know how he will react if challenged, so if you believe youve seen him, do not approach him. Call 999 and leave it to us. We would welcome any further information from the public. Chief Inspector Parsons urged Mr Lawrence to turn himself in to his nearest police station, adding: Avoiding speaking to us could only make matters worse for you in the long run. Police received reports at around 9.20pm on Friday that a couple had been seriously injured in a disturbance at their home. The couple was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary but Mr Gilmer died on Saturday. Detective Chief Inspector Stewart Miller said: We are able to confirm that the victim killed in the incident was 30-year-old Shane Gilmer. We are supporting Mr Gilmers family during this difficult and sad time. The investigation to find the person responsible is ongoing. Anyone who sees Mr Lawrence is asked to call 999. Lawyers are calling for urgent action to avoid miscarriages of justice after another rape case collapsed because key evidence was not disclosed by police. Samson Makele, 28, feared being deported to Eritrea if he was found guilty of raping a woman he met at Notting Hill Carnival. But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped its case four days before he was due to go on trial after Mr Makeles lawyers presented photos showing him and the complainant cuddling and smiling in bed. The 35-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police Mr Makele raped her and prevented her from leaving his flat in August 2016. She said she only managed to escape the flat after he fell asleep, but the photographs undermined her account. Mr Makele consistently denied the charge and said sex with the woman was consensual, but an initial request to see the photographs was turned down. Paris Theodorou, Mr Makeles solicitor, said prosecutors told his team that apart from selected text messages nothing else on the defendants phone could be disclosed. Liam Allan says rape suspects should have anonymity until proven guilty So we got the telephone and commissioned our own forensic download, he told The Independent. After being sent more than a dozen photographs, showing Mr Makele and the complainant naked, smiling and snuggling together in bed, the CPS announced it would offer no evidence against him. Prosecutors formally dropped the case at a pre-trial review hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday, because there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. Mr Makele said he was relieved but described the effect the 18-month ordeal had, adding: I cannot sleep, I cant go anywhere, even for a day. As a suspected rapist he had been subject to restrictive bail conditions including a curfew and the seizure of his passport and travel documents. It was a huge restriction of his liberty, Mr Theodorou said. Not only could he potentially go to prison but he could have been deported to Eritrea. It is one of at least five sexual offence cases that have fallen through in the past month because of the failure to disclose key evidence. Some have seen police download the contents of complainants phones but fail to pass on the full information they contained to the prosecution or defence, while others have involved other evidence including CCTV. The Metropolitan Police announced an urgent review of all live sexual offence and child abuse investigations as a precaution after two rape cases collapsed within a week in December. Liam Allans alleged victim had told friends she wanted and enjoyed sex she later reported as rape, it emerged, while Isaac Itiary had been charged with the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl but messages showed she had claimed she was 19. Weeks later, judges overturned a rape conviction after new Facebook messages emerged supporting his claim the sex in question was consensual. Danny Kay had been in prison for four years by the time his defence lawyers uncovered an archive of Facebook messages that had been selectively deleted by the complainant. Earlier this month, 29-year-old Mackele Tekleliaimanot was acquitted of attempted rape and sexual assault after CCTV police originally claimed was irrelevant supported his denial, causing prosecutors to drop the case on the fourth day of the trial. Scotland Yard has denied a systemic issue around disclosure, which currently gives police the responsibility to examine electrical devices for evidence and pass anything relevant on to the CPS. Liam Allan, a 22-year-old criminology student, was acquitted of all charges after another disclosure challenge (Facebook) But lawyers have caused for reforms to the current system amid fears of potential miscarriages of justice. Mr Theodorou, of Hodge Jones and Allen, said there was a lack of resources and a lack of knowledge, adding: Im not criticising their intentions because Im sure they are just but the issue is whether they have the right resources and information at hand to ensure the legal process is seen through. Harriet Johnson, a barrister who represented Mr Makele, said the CPS was also understaffed and overwhelmed. Disclosure issues are a recurring theme in all sexual assault cases that Ive seen lately and in criminal trials more broadly, she told The Independent. In this case Samson was really lucky that he had lawyers that went to extreme lengths to make sure he had a fair trial But others cant get legal aid or get lawyers who arent willing to fight for this information. Mr Makeles team made a legal aid application to fund their own examination of evidence on his phone but heavy cuts have been made to the scheme by the current Government. Its been a year-and-a-half with this hanging over him, not knowing whats happened, thinking to himself that those photos are there showing them have a cuddle and a smile, Ms Johnson added. I cant imagine there havent been miscarriages of justice because of this... the whole process does need a review because at the moment its dangerously close to falling apart. Police are legally obliged to examine evidence from all participants in a case, whether it supports or hinders prosecution, and pass it on to lawyers on both sides. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA A report issued in July by HM CPS Inspectorate and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary said even unused items of evidence must be reviewed to see whether it is capable of undermining the prosecution case or assisting the defence case and passed on. Warning of widespread failures by both police and prosecutors, the authority said officers failing to comply with requirements were often ignorant of their disclosure responsibilities. The burden was put on police forces long before the existence of smartphones that can contain more than 40,000 messages each. The dramatic increase in potential evidence has come alongside a rise in recorded crime, 999 calls and the terror threat, seeing police forces requests for increased funding from the Government repeatedly rebuffed. The Metropolitan Police, which investigated Mr Makeles case, has released guidelines instructing officers to stop investigating some low-level crimes as it works to save 400m by 2020. A spokesperson for the force said investigating officers make complex decisions based on the evidence available and disclosures made by defendants and complainants during the investigation process, adding: In this case it is apparent that the police investigation did not find the images, which were first disclosed by the defendant in early January. After this, the case was discontinued. A spokesperson for the CPS confirmed that new information was received from Mr Makeles defence team on 5 January containing the previously unseen photos. The case was reviewed and it was concluded there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction, she added. We made the decision to offer no evidence and did so at a hearing today. Campaigners emphasised that false rape allegations are rare in comparison to the publicity they receive, with the crime believed to be severely underreported. The terrorist who killed five people in the Westminster attack had taken steroids before launching the frenzied rampage, a court has heard. The possible effect of steroid use on Khalid Masood will be considered alongside a psychological autopsy during the inquest into his death. It will examine whether he was radicalised in prison, the extent of his contact with Anjem Choudarys al-Muhajiroun network and what the security services learned during an MI5 investigation that declared Masood a subject of interest in 2009. Recommended Last message left by Westminster attacker Khalid Masood revealed The inquest, where Masoods widow is among interested parties, will piece together his preparations including obtaining the knives and car used in the attack and consider whether his activities gave any warning signs. Judge Mark Lucraft QC, the Chief Coroner of England and Wales, ruled that the inquest will be held before a jury, as required for all deaths involving contact with police. Separate inquests, due to start on 10 September, will be held for each of his victims British mother Aysha Frade, Romanian architect Andreea Cristea, pensioner Leslie Rhodes, American tourist Kurt Cochran and PC Keith Palmer. Specialist witnesses will be called to hearings at the Old Bailey to reconstruct the events of 22 March and Masoods preparations, including body armour experts charged with examining PC Palmers inadequate protection. Judge Lucraft expressed his condolences to their families and the hope that answering their many questions could provide some comfort. Met Police announce that terror perpetrator Khalid Masood was born Adrian Russell The attack that took place tore many lives apart in less than two minutes of high drama, he told the Old Bailey. I will do all I can to ensure this is as wide as it can be. Masood mounted the pavement of Westminster Bridge at 2.40pm and ploughed a hired Hyundai Tucson into crowds before crashing into railings outside the Houses of Parliament. He left the car armed with two knives and ran into the Carriage Gates vehicle entrance, fatally attacking unarmed PC Palmer before being shot dead by police. The attack lasted just 82 seconds. Gareth Patterson QC, representing relatives of PC Palmer, Ms Cristea, Ms Frade and Mr Rhodes, said the families still know very little about how their loved ones met their ends. He said they wanted to know how Masood was able to access radical material and send a jihadi statement from behind the wheel as he launched the attack, which was claimed by Isis. The inquest can point everyone in the right direction to do more to address these problems... which occur again and again in trial after trial, Mr Patterson said. We do not understand why radicalising material remains freely available on the internet. We do not understand why its necessary for WhatsApp, Telegram and other applications to have end-to-end encryption. Mr Patterson also questioned how Masood managed to get through the gates surrounding the Houses of Parliament and how it was PC Palmer was apparently stationed alone and unarmed with, it seems, inadequate body protection. Masood, 52, was born in Kent as Adrian Russell and was known to police after seven convictions for violent crime leading up to 2003, when he may have converted to Islam during his last spell in prison. In pictures: Westminster attack Show all 9 1 /9 In pictures: Westminster attack In pictures: Westminster attack An air ambulance lands after gunfire sounds were heard close to the Palace of Westminster in London PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack MPs wait until the situation is under control in Westminster. 'The alleged assailant was shot by armed police,' David Lidington, leader of the House of Commons, told the house. BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Crowds gather in Westminster after shooting incident, which police are treating as terror attack BBC News In pictures: Westminster attack Police were also called to an incident on Westminster Bridge nearby AP In pictures: Westminster attack Early reports indicate the car, which mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and mowed into around a dozen people, was the same vehicle which then rammed into the railings of the Palace of Westminster, just around the corner Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack Security sources described the suspected assailant as a middle-aged Asian man, who is understood to have left the car before attacking a police officer with a seven-to-eight inch knife PA wire In pictures: Westminster attack Police have asked people to avoid the immediate area to allow emergency services to deal with the ongoing incident AP In pictures: Westminster attack One woman has died and a number of others, including the police officer, have been hurt, according to a junior doctor at St Thomas' Hospital Reuters In pictures: Westminster attack At least three gun shots were heard by those inside Westminster, and proceedings in the House of Commons have been suspended AP He appeared on MI5 records for the first time the following year as a contact of a terror network aiming to launch bomb attacks in the UK, becoming a subject of interest in 2009 after being misidentified as an al-Qaeda facilitator in Saudi Arabia. Masoods case was closed in 2012 following a security review, appearing intermittently as contact of subject in Choudarys network before starting preparations for his attack in 2016. From the end of that year, he told his family he was considering working overseas, but his job and visa applications failed. Masood bought the knives used in the attack on 9 March, sending himself an email with the subject line Retaliation on the same day. Recommended Timeline of MI5 investigations into UK terror attackers revealed Six days later, he created a document entitled Jihad in the Quran and Sunnah, with his photograph on the front page and multiple extracts from the Quran that could be seen as supportive of jihad and martyrdom. He collected the Hyundai Tucson on 16 March, conducted reconnaissance of Westminster Bridge three days later and browsed YouTube for videos relating to terrorism and suicide attacks. Minutes before launching the attack, Masood shared his document with numerous WhatsApp contacts, which was soon sent onwards via iMessage and SMS A review of the intelligence gathered in the run-up to the Westminster, Manchester, London Bridge and Finsbury Park attacks found that Masood had not been re-considered as a potential threat by MI5. No intelligence was being gathered on him and neither MI5 nor the police had any reason the anticipate the attack, said David Anderson QC. Youre looking at someone who is such a long way from the top of anyones grid that frankly, its a bit difficult to see how they would have been easily stopped, whatever agencies had done. The largest producer of Jersey Royal potatoes has warned crops may be left to rot in the fields because foreign workers have left ahead of Brexit. Polish workers who had previously provided the majority of seasonal labour have abandoned Jersey following the EU referendum, according to Charlie Gallichan of Woodside Farms, which grows and exports Jersey Royals, vegetables and flowers. Growers are trying to keep their heads above water until they get reinforcements from Africa and elsewhere, he said, warning that the current shortage of staff could result in crops being left in the fields. Recommended EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier to meet with Tory Remain rebels Mr Gallichan added: We are desperately short of labour, so we are struggling to do everything we need to do, as this is our busiest time of the year. We are trying to harvest vegetables and flowers and have also starting planting potatoes, but we will be losing crops before long if we dont get more staff. We have already lost some daffodils and we are just trying to keep our heads above the water until we get reinforcements. In the peak growing season, Woodside Farms employs up to 130 workers. The business supplies produce to supermarkets, wholesalers and the hospitality sector. Mr Gallichan said that he was now considering bringing in staff from African countries as well as Ukraine on special permits that would limit the time they spent here and where they could work. He said this was how farm workers were sourced in the days before the EU freedom of movement opened up job opportunities across borders. He added: There would be quite a lot of red tape to get through before we could start sourcing workers from any of those countries, but we need to have ready and able pools of labour, and people from these countries want to come. There are lots of reasons why the Poles dont want to come here any more. They now prefer to go to Germany, where the wages are higher and they can go home for the weekend. But the major reason is the low exchange rate since Brexit, which has seen a 10- to 15-per-cent decrease in the value of the pound, so wages are a significant factor. Another significant factor is that the Polish economy is picking up, so there are more opportunities at home for them. We have got a problem but this is an industry-wide problem in the UK and Europe rather than a Jersey problem and we have got to try to find a solution in the long term. Mr Gallichan said in the short term he was banking on the arrival of a group of Romanians next week, who are being brought to the island by the Jersey Farmers Union. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA The islands farmers have relied on seasonal labour for more than 100 years. Until the 1960s they came largely from Brittany for the potato season. The French workers were replaced by Portuguese, mostly from Madeira, who were succeeded by Polish people after Poland joined the EU in 2004. Other farmers have raised similar concerns since the 2016 referendum. Harry Hall, of the Hall Hunter Partnership soft fruit company, said his business would collapse without EU labour. The Leave voter said last June: If I dont have my 2,500 staff that I need, or I have no certainty of that from 2019 onwards, I dont have a business. Its as simple as that. At the same time, the British Summer Fruits industry body claimed that if EU workers disappeared from the UKs fields then prices of strawberries, raspberries and other fruits could soar by 35 per cent or more. SWNS The Government and internet giants have been accused of lacking strategy and direction on suicide prevention, amid concerns that not enough research is being carried out on the impact of the online world on suicide rates. A report based on evidence submitted by search engines, social media sites and charities finds that while work is being done to tackle mental health and prevent suicide, both ministers and the internet industry are failing to take a pro-active approach on exploring the links between suicide and the online world. Recent research by the University of Bristol shows 8 per cent of people who were presented to hospital after a suicide attempt said they had used the internet in connection with their attempt, a figure which rises to 12 per cent for those aged 16-24. Those who had self-harmed and were identified as having a high suicidal risk were even higher at 24 per cent, while among 21-year-olds who had made suicide attempts, almost three quarters had used or accessed suicide related material on the internet. The new report, compiled by Conservative MP Grant Schapps, urges ministers to work more closely with suicide prevention charities and the internet industry to produce research on online behaviour of vulnerable individuals and actions to minimise harm. It also encourages the Government to launch a more detailed public health strategy on online suicide prevention and enforce existing guidelines on the availability of suicide-related content. Internet giants must ensure there are signposts to helplines and support sites and make better attempts to curb the auto-complete functions of search engines when suicide-related terms are searched for, the report states. The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on suicide deaths in the UK show there were 5,965 classified suicide deaths in the UK in 2016, which is a suicide rate of 10.4 deaths per 100,000 people. While overall suicide rates in the UK fell by 4 per cent last year, marking the largest decrease in two decades, concern has been raised because the suicide rate among women between the ages of 20 and 24 is at its highest point on record. The figures show that 118 women in this age group taking their own lives last year, compared with 67 in 2006 a rise of 76 per cent. In exploring reasons for the rise, experts have highlighted the role of social media. A recent analysis by The Independent also revealed that attempted suicides among out-of-work disability benefit claimants had more than doubled in the past decade. Chief executive of Barnardo's, Javed Khan, said that while the Governments recently published Green Paper on childrens mental health was a "step in the right direction", it lacked the "necessary vision and resources for a truly joined up system of prevention and support both online and offline". He added: We know from our work with the UK's most vulnerable children about the positive and negative impact the internet can have on their lives. It is deeply concerning that material which effectively promotes suicide is so easily accessible online. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA Grant Shapps is correct that much more needs to be done to protect children from such shocking material. Its vital the Government works closely with mental health charities, internet companies and content creators to work out when and how restricting such items is appropriate and necessary." In light of the findings, Katie O'Donovan, UK public policy manager at Google, meanwhile said: We take our duty to ensure that our platform is used responsibly and not to cause harm, very seriously. Mental health can be a complex issue; and so we partner and learn from leading experts in this area such as the The Samaritans. We are grateful for the insight of the report and look forward to continuing to work with a wide range of organisations on protecting people's mental health. The Government has been approached for comment. Government measures of reducing illegal immigration undermine credibility in the system due to high instances of inaccuracies and error, an influential group of MPs has warned. "Hostile environment" policies designed in a bid to reduce illegal immigration are unclear and have seen too many people threatened with deportation based on inaccurate and untested information, according to a new report from the Home Affairs Select Committee. The MPs urged that recent high-profile reports of the Home Office wrongly threatening to deport people could not only be deeply damaging and distressing to those involved, but could also undermine the credibility of the whole system. Such reports include a case where letters were wrongly sent to EU nationals stating that they were set to be deported from the UK, which prompted the Home Office to urgently look into why they were mistakenly sent out. The report urges that the Government should not rely on its hostile environment policy as a panacea for enforcement and building confidence, adding: We are concerned that the policy is unclear and, in some instances, too open to interpretation and inadvertent error. Not only can these errors be deeply damaging and distressing to those involvedas with letters being sent to EU nationals about their right to live in the UKthey also undermine the credibility of the system. This is particularly worrying in advance of the need to register EU nationals in preparation for Brexit. The hostile environment policy includes measures to limit access to work, housing, healthcare, and bank accounts, to revoke driving licences and to reduce and restrict rights of appeal against Home Office decisions. The majority of these proposals became law via the Immigration Act 2014, and have since been tightened or expanded under the Immigration Act 2016. A major concern raised by MPs was that the Home Office did not have in place measurements to evaluate the effectiveness of the hostile environment provisions, and that there had been a failure to understand the effects of the policy. Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Show all 7 1 /7 Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The Solidarity With Refugees group said Saturdays protest aimed to show our Government and the world that Britain is ready to welcome more refugees. Rex Features Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis People march through central London as they take part in a protest rally organised by Solidarity with Refugees in a bid to urge the Government to take more action on the migrant crisis Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The protest comes days before world leaders meet to discuss crisis at UN General Assembly Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Demonstrators made their way from Park Lane to Parliament Square in London on Saturday afternoon Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis Marchers chanted refugees are welcome here and waved banners reading no-one is illegal and lets help people Press Association Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis The march was supported by charities and groups including the Red Cross, Asylum Aid, Save the Children, Hope Not Hate, Oxfam and the UN Refugee Agency Rex Features Refugees welcome here: Protesters demand UK resettle more migrants in response to refugee crisis In the wake of Alans death, David Cameron pledged to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees in the UK over the coming five years but there have been additional calls to re-home those who have already reached Europe, as well as asylum seekers coming from other conflict zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan Rex Features In the latest measure introduced as part of the policy, banks and building societies have been required to check 70 million current accounts each quarter. But concern has been raised over the fact that an inspection by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) of data provided by the Home Office to banks last year found 10 per cent of the 169 cases inspected had incorrectly been included on the list of disqualified persons. More than 60 MPs, academics and campaign groups wrote an open letter to the Home Secretary last month urging the Government to halt the inhumane policy, citing the Home Office's poor track record of dealing with complaints and appeals in a timely manner. People with a right to live in the UK have also been caught up in the hostile environment policy as landlords and employers have also sought to minimise perceived risk to themselves. A recent survey by the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) sound that 42 per cent of respondents said they were less likely to rent to people who do not have a British passport because they feared criminal sanctions if they made a mistake under the legislation. There are reports of employers restricting access to job vacancies, for example by insisting that all non-EU applicants provide a biometric residence permit despite this only applying to recent arrivals, or by limiting the vacancy to applicants with British passports which is illegal. The wide-ranging report also noted that anxiety about illegal immigration has been allowed to grow unchecked because of a shortage of official information on the scale of the problem, with the lack of data perceived as the Government showing indifference towards an issue of high public interest. The assessment made a string of recommendations, including an annual report setting out a three-year, a rolling plan for migration, a new framework of targets to replace the Government's net migration target and an immigration system which treats different skills differently. It also recommended ministers introduce a more proactive approach to challenging myths and inaccuracies about immigration, no diminution of the UK's approach to international humanitarian obligations and the development of a national integration strategy. A report submitted as evidence to the Committee, also published today (Monday), reveals high-profile failures have eroded public trust in the Government to control immigration. Based on the biggest ever public consultation on immigration, the study, compiled by think tank British Future and campaign group HOPE not hate, found a lack of public trust in the Home Office's delivery of immigration policy. Most of those who took part in the project are described as balancers, who see both the pressures and gains of immigration. Chair of the Home Affairs Committee, Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP urged that the Government has a responsibility to build consensus and confidence on immigration rather than allowing it to be a divisive debate. She added: What's striking is that there is considerable common ground in contrast to the polarisation we too often hear in national debates. But we need a much more open and honest debate, with sensible reforms to address peoples concerns. The net migration target isnt working to build confidence and it treats all migration as the same. Thats why it should be replaced by a different framework of targets and controls. As long as there are so many errors and so many problems with enforcement, people won't have confidence that the system is either fair or robust. Most people think immigration is important for Britain, but they want to know that the system is under control, that people are contributing to this country and that communities and public services are benefiting rather than facing pressures. And crucially they have different attitudes to different kinds of migration. We believe people should be working together to build consensus on the benefits and address concerns about problems on immigration. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA A Home Office spokesman said: The British people sent a very clear message in the EU referendum: they want more control of immigration and our borders. That is why we are committed to reducing net migration to sustainable levels. Net migration figures have fallen steadily over the past four quarters and after we leave the EU, we will put in place an immigration system which works in the best interests of the whole of the UK. In order to do this, we will engage with a wide-range of stakeholders. As part of this work, we have asked the independent Migration Advisory Committee to assess the economic and social impact of EU citizens in all parts of the UK. Privacy campaigners have called for MPs to investigate why records of 180,000 lung cancer patients were released to an American company that has worked for tobacco giants including Philip Morris. Public Health England (PHE) released the anonymised NHS data under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act to William E Wecker Associates. It was done without the permission of the patients and encompassed every case in England over a four-year period, The Daily Telegraph reported. Silkie Carlo, director of the Big Brother Watch pressure group, said: It is appalling that Public Health England has given away 180,000 cancer patients confidential information to a commercial firm. This release of such sensitive data could only increase patients suffering and many of those affected are rightly outraged. Big Brother Watch fully supports calls for an inquiry by the Health Select Committee. This Government needs to understand the importance of data protection and consent in todays world. It makes absolutely no sense that cancer patients lack consent over their medical records. Philip Morris International produces six of the top 15 brands of cigarette, including Marlboro. Weckers website said it had also worked with Japan Tobacco International, Altria Group and Lorillard. It is also linked to other bodies such as the American Medical Association. The company claims to have established a track record of creative and effective applications of statistical and mathematical analysis to questions arising in regulation and litigation, in business and government. In its data request, Wecker said it wanted to evaluate lung cancer trends in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the US. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA PHE defended its actions, saying it had a legal duty to release the information on 179,040 lung tumours diagnosed between 2009 and 2013, which it did in July 2016. Dr Jem Rashbass, its national director for disease registration and cancer analysis, said: We released this data under our legal duty to comply with the Freedom of Information Act. Patient confidentiality is of utmost importance and weve ensured that not sensitive or identifying patient information has been released. Any organisation or person can submit an FoI request and is legally entitled to a response, provided there is no applicable exemption. Dr Rashbass later added: This is anonymised information of a kind that we regularly provide for cancer research. We have very strict processes for managing patient data and fully comply with NHS requirements for handling it. No identifiable patient information has been released and prior to the disclosure we thoroughly checked the study protocols which stated clearly that it is a piece of medical research. We have a duty to provide data for health purposes when its disclosure is not subject to any exemption. The Independent has contacted Wecker for comment. Additional reporting by agencies RAF jets have been scrambled to intercept Russian ''Blackjack' bombers near UK airspace, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. Two Typhoon fighter jets were dispatched from RAF Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland shortly after 9am on Monday. An RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling jet was also sent from Brize Norton. Recommended Frequency of RAF interceptions of Russian planes revealed by FoI The MoD said two Russian Tupolev Tu-160 bombers were intercepted as they flew over the North Sea between Denmark and the Netherlands. Belgian military planes were also scrambled. At no point did they enter UK airspace, the MoD added. Flight mapping services showed the RAF aircraft circling north of Scotland. An RAF spokesman said: We can confirm that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled to monitor two Blackjack bombers approaching the UK area of interest. "The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea." RAF Typhoon fast jets will be among the military aircraft patrolling the restricted zone (AFP/Getty Images) The mission was called off at around 11.45am after the Russian jets continued north-east towards the Norwegian Sea. The RAF routinely intercepts and escorts Russian aircraft flying in international airspace close to the UK. In September two Typhoons and a Voyager were sent to escort Russian military planes close to Scotland. And again in May, RAF jets were dispatched to deal with a similar potential incursion. But the MoD said Russian military flights have never entered UK sovereign airspace without authorisation. Richard Branson has overturned a decision to stop stocking the Daily Mail on Virgin Trains, a move he acknowledged had been seen as censorship. The billionaire businessman said he had listened to concerns about an announcement last week that the operator would no longer sell the newspaper on its services. The company had said the Mail, one of a handful of publications Virgin sold in its on-board shops, was not compatible with its brand and beliefs. It cited considerable concerns raised by train staff about the newspapers stance on issues including immigration, LGBT rights and unemployment. The tabloid called the move disgraceful, an attack on freedom of speech and suggested its pro-Brexit stance may have influenced the decision. Mr Branson is an outspoken opponent of the UKs departure from the European Union. However, the Virgin founder denied the decision to pull the title from sale was part of some grand campaign or at my behest and said he and business partner Brian Souter had been unaware of the move until they read about it in the media. Writing on the companys website, he said they had instructed our team at Virgin Trains to reconsider this decision and re-stock the Daily Mail. He wrote: The decision was made in response to feedback from some of our Virgin Trains employees. Brian and I respect our people when they make decisions and we listen to their views. But we must also listen to the concerns voiced widely this week by those who agree with the Mails editorial stance and those who vehemently disagree with it that this move has been seen as censorship. Freedom of speech, freedom of choice and tolerance for differing views are the core principles of any free and open society. While Virgin Trains has always said that their passengers are free to read whatever newspaper they choose on board West Coast trains, it is clear that on this occasion the decision to no longer sell the Mail has not been seen to live up to these principles. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA The decision to pull the Mail from sale was taken in November but did not emerge until last week, when a leaked internal memo surfaced in the monthly journal of train drivers union Aslef. In the memo, Drew McMillan, head of colleague communication and engagement, said: Thousands of people choose to read the Daily Mail every day. But they will no longer be reading it courtesy of VT. Theres been considerable concern raised by colleagues about the Mails editorial position on issues such as immigration, LGBT rights and unemployment. Weve decided that this paper is not compatible with the VT brand and our beliefs. We wont be stocking the Daily Mail for sale or as a giveaway. The move was criticised by friends and foes of the Mail, with Jeremy Corbyn promising Labour would not restrict sales of the paper if it renationalised the railways. Downing Street said Prime Minister Theresa May had always been clear on the importance of a free press to our democracy, while Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson condemned the absurd ban as pompous, censorious and wrong. Mr Branson said he had instructed Virgin Trains to re-stock the newspaper while they undertake a full review of their sales policy, making clear that this policy should not single out individual media titles. He added: Brian and I agree that we must not ever be seen to be censoring what our customers read and influencing their freedom of choice. Nor must we be seen to be moralising on behalf of others. A Daily Mail spokesman said: We welcome Sir Richard Branson and Brian Souters support for freedom of speech, which is a cornerstone of our democracy, and his decision to instruct Virgin Trains to restock the Mail. We are sure the many Mail readers who travel on Virgin Trains will be delighted. Brussels will demand a veto over any trade deals signed by Britain during the Brexit transition period, in a new blow for Theresa Mays plan to make the UK a great, global trading nation after it leaves the EU. A leaked draft of member states directives to chief negotiator Michel Barnier for the coming phase of negotiations, obtained by The Independent, shows that the EU27 countries will require the UK not to implement trade deals for nearly two years after Brexit unless authorised to do so by the Union. The move comes amid a general toughening-up of the EUs red lines as talks on what the transition period will look like get underway over the next few weeks. Member states have also instructed Mr Barnier to extend free movement rights for the whole transition period, and to establish a special status for EU nationals living in the UK after that. No date has yet been set for mainline talks to resume in full, but both the UK and EU want to conclude discussion on the transition period by March, so they can move to discussions about the UKs future trade framework. The United Kingdom should continue to comply with the Union trade policy, the guidelines on the transition period, dated 15 January state. It should also in particular ensure that its customs authorities continue to act in accordance with the mission of EU customs authorities including by collecting Common Customs Tariff duties and by performing all checks required under Union law at the border vis-a-vis other third countries. During the transition period, the United Kingdom may not become bound by international agreements entered into in its own capacity in the fields of competence of Union law, unless authorised to do so by the Union. The EUs new, strenthened line on trade deals is a huge blow for Liam Fox, the International Trade Secretary. In just October Mr Fox promised to have signed dozens of international free trade deals one second after midnight on Brexit day 2019. I hear people saying Oh, we won't have any [free trade agreements] before we leave'. Well believe me we'll have up to 40 ready for one second after midnight in March 2019, he told Tory activists at the partys conference in Manchester at the time. Though the veto plans leave open the possibility that Brussels would agree to the UK making a trade agreement with another country, it would likely be extremely difficult for the UK to implement any wide-reaching deal while still following EU rules and regulations during the transition. Mr Barniers team has repeatedly warned that it expects the integrity of the single market to be respected as a condition of the transition period. Liam Fox has pledged 40 trade deals will be ready a minute after midnight in 2019 (Reuters) The document also stresses that the four freedoms of the single market are indivisible and that free movement and other rights should continue in full until the end of the transition period, after which a special negotiated status for all EU citizens in the UK and vice-versa would be provided. Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA Mr Barnier has previously said the transition period, if agreed, should run until 31 December 2020 the end of the EUs current budget round. This would mean Britain would be unable to sign any trade deals with non-EU countries without Brussels say-so for just short of two years after it leaves in March 2019. A British government spokesperson was contacted for this story but declined to comment because it is based on a leaked draft. The European Commissions chief Brexit negotiator is to meet with Remain-supporting British MPs in Brussels on Monday ahead of Brexit talks returning for the New Year. Michel Barnier will receive two Tory rebels, Dominic Grieve and Anna Soubry, as well as Labour figures Chuka Umunna and Chris Leslie. A spokesperson for the European Commission said the MPs had things to say about the process of negotiations and that they would be granted an audience with Mr Barnier. The meeting is the latest in a long line for the EUs chief negotiator, who earlier this month received former Ukip leader Nigel Farage and other Brexiteers, and last year spoke to other Remainers such as Nick Clegg, Ken Clarke, and Andrew Adonis. The hosting of Conservative rebels while negotiations are still on-going might raise eyebrows in Downing Street. Ms Soubry said last year that history will condemn MPs who are not trying to stop Brexit, while Mr Grieve led efforts to amend the Governments EU withdrawal bill, on which Theresa May suffered a humiliating defeat. There is no date yet set for the resumption of Brexit negotiations in Brussels. Both sides hope to agree details of the transition of implementation period before March, when discussions on the future framework for trade are expected to begin. Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA Under the EUs terms, a separation deal will have to be finalised by October this year so that it can be scrutinised and ratified before Britain automatically leaves the bloc under Article 50 in March 2019. Following that, a full free trade agreement is expected to be negotiated, though it is not clear how long or even what form that will take. The European Commission spokesperson said: Michel Barnier receives many, many people who are interested in the process, who have things to say about the process, and his door is open. Carillion bosses face an investigation into a shameful bid to protect their bonuses before the firm went bust, with the companys collapse now threatening to turn into a major corporate scandal. The Government warned directors of the firm, which handled hundreds of public contracts, that they would be hit with severe penalties if found guilty of misconduct in securing some 4m in handouts last year. The bonuses were branded exorbitant in the Commons one former cabinet minister likened the situation to a British Enron while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the collapse is a watershed moment for privatisation. As the fallout spread, ministers were adamant fault lay squarely with the firms management and said taxpayers would avoid significant extra costs, despite stepping in to ensure Carillion-provided public services continued. But a slew of inquiries are now expected to pick through not only Carillions downfall, but the actions of ministers who handed the firm 450 contracts in recent years. After Carillion failed, having racked up debts and liabilities worth 1.5bn, MPs heard how bosses tweaked rules in the firms 2016 annual report to make it harder for investors to clawback bonuses if the company hit trouble. Previously the firm had the right to reduce bonuses not yet paid, but after the 2016 report so-called clawback provisions could only be applied if financial results have been misstated or the participant is guilty of gross misconduct. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA A few months after the alteration an accounting crisis wiped 600m off the firms share value. Labour MP Emma Reynolds, in whose constituency 400 of the 20,000 at-risk UK jobs are located, branded the bonuses exorbitant while workers pensions were at risk and creditors are set to get nothing. Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington told the Commons in response that the official receiver in the case would launch an investigation into the circumstances around the firms collapse, and went on: I think it would be wrong of me from the dispatch box to pre-empt the inquiry into the conduct of both present and previous members of the board of directors. But I can say ... that the official receiver has not only the power to investigate, he has the power to impose severe penalties. His Labour counterpart Jon Trickett said: It is shameful that as Carillion went from crisis to crisis, they were more concerned about protecting their big bosses rather than workers or our public services. The Institute of Directors (IoD) also waded in with a stinging rebuke to Carillions top executives for what it called a lack of effective governance. Jeremy Corbyn attacks Conservatives' 'rip-off privatisation policies' after Carillion collapse Head of Corporate Governance at the IoD, Roger Barker, said: There are some worrying signs. The relaxation of clawback conditions for executive bonuses in 2016 appears in retrospect to be highly inappropriate. The firm was involved in providing school dinners and cleaning services to some 230 schools; delivering maintenance and facility management services to hospitals, including 200 operating theatres, covering almost 12,000 beds and catering for 19,000 meals a day; construction work on rail projects including HS2 and Crossrail; maintaining 50,000 Army base homes; 200m of prison contracts and other major construction projects. There are some worrying signs. The relaxation of clawback conditions for executive bonuses in 2016 appears in retrospect to be highly inappropriate Institute of Directors Head of Corporate Governance Roger Barker The firms share price has plunged more than 70 per cent in the past six months after making a string of profit warnings and breaching its financial covenants. But Downing Street accepted that eight contracts had been signed since a July 2017 profit warning, including a deal last Monday not yet signed with Leeds City Council to provide a new orbital road. Of the others, two were deals with the Ministry of Defence, two related to HS2 and two were Network Rail contracts with a joint venture attached, plus a further one without, worth 62m. Mr Lidington said: It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders and I am disappointed that the company has become insolvent as a result. What is the Carillion fiasco? Economics Editor Ben Chu explains It is however the failure of a private sector company and it is the companys shareholders and its lenders who will bear the brunt of the losses: taxpayers should not and will not bail out a private sector company for private sector losses or allow rewards for failure. He said the taxpayer would step in to ensure workers providing public services were paid and to indemnify the official receiver, but officials insisted it would not mean major extra costs beyond what the Government would have paid Carillion under normal circumstances. But as well as the official receivers probe, the Commons Public Administration Committee announced it would launch an inquiry into how the Government manages the risks of outsourcing. One area of inquiry will likely include a decision to move a Government representative tasked with managing the relationship between Carillion and the public sector to another project, around the time the firm issued a profit warning last summer. Labour Peer Andrew Adonis has said the Carillion fiasco has shades of a British Enron (PA) Ex-Labour cabinet minister Lord Adonis said the situation had shades of a British Enron, adding on Twitter that it involved wild overbidding, fast-and-loose & grossly overpaid management [and] taxpayers taken for a ride. The Transport Committee will also grill Secretary of State Chris Grayling next week over contracts he approved before considering a wider inquiry, while chair of the Pensions Committee Frank Field MP said the Government had failed to heed warnings about Carillion. The Labour MP said: We called over a year ago for the pensions regulator to have mandatory clearance powers for corporate activities like these that put pension schemes at risk and powers to impose truly deterrent fines that would focus boardroom minds. If Government had acted then, the brakes might have been put on Carillions massive ramping up of debt and it never would have fallen into this sorry crisis. Britains corporate governance watchdog, the Financial Reporting Council, revealed they had been actively watching Carillion. A spokesman underlined the bodys powers to investigate, adding: [We] will make a further statement on this matter shortly. Ministers are under pressure to prevent taxpayers being left with a big bill for the collapse of construction giant Carillion, as they admitted to unknown insolvency costs. Labour raised the fear that shareholders would be allowed to walk away with the most profitable contracts, while the taxpayer bails out loss-making parts of the business. Instead, public sector contracts should be brought back in house by the Government to protect public services, staff, taxpayers and pension funds, the Opposition said. Recommended Carillion enters compulsory liquidation Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats demanded a parliamentary inquiry into the award of public contracts to a company that was clearly in danger of collapse. The issue of the former chief executive still being paid his salary, plus perks and bonus, is also a reward for failure that has to be looked into, said Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader. The criticism came as David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, insisted public service contracts were not at risk, telling worried Carillion staff: The Government will pay your wages. He insisted taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out a private sector company, but acknowledged there would be a bill from the company going into liquidation. There will be some money that will arise out of the costs of the official receiver and associated insolvency costs, Mr Lidington told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. We think that will be considerably less than the costs of an unplanned administration. Mr Lidington said some contracts would be taken in-house, with others take on by private firms in existing joint ventures, promising that would happen in a managed orderly fashion. Carillions troubles have a huge political impact, because the firm is involved in major projects including the HS2 high-speed rail line, as well as managing schools and prisons. It is the second biggest supplier of maintenance services to Network Rail, and it maintains 50,000 homes for the Ministry of Defence. Mr Lidington will make a Common statement this afternoon, when he will be under pressure to explain why three contracts - worth nearly 2bn in total - were handed to Carillion over the last six months. They were awarded despite the firm issuing three profit warnings and, Labour said, a government policy to designate a company as high risk and reconsider new contracts in such circumstances. The Government must answer serious questions on their handling of Carillion contracts urgently, said Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labours business spokeswoman. Emmanuel Macron will press Theresa May to take in more unaccompanied child refugees and pay more towards policing the port of Calais in a meeting between the two leaders on Thursday. The French president will on Tuesday visit the refugee camps in Calais ahead of the summit to survey the camp where his government estimates 400 people are living in the hope of reaching the UK. The Touquet accords, signed in 2003, effectively moved the British border to the French side of the channel and allowed UK immigration officers to carry out checks in Calais. While serving as economy minister in the French Socialist government in March 2016 ahead of the EU referendum, Mr Macron himself warned the agreements would have to be renegotiated if the Leave campaign won. Now the French government says the UK must take in more refugees from the area, in particular unaccompanied minors and pay more for policing the daily cat-and-mouse game between authorities and people trying to enter the UK. Gerard Collomb, Frances interior minister, who will accompany Mr Macron to Calais on Tuesday, told Le Parisien newspaper: I hope to succeed in getting an additional element to these agreements, and concrete measures regarding the covering of a certain number of costs by the British, as well as the receiving of a greater number of people, in terms of refugees and non-accompanied minors. These changes would take the form of an additional protocol to the Touquet accords, he said. The French presidential palace issued a statement saying the two leaders would discuss ways to improve the handling of migrants on the common border in Calais when they meet at Sandhurst for bilateral talks on Thursday. Downing Street however did not mention the issue in its opposite-number statement, laying out only defence and security as matters for discussion. Theresa Mays government has a poor record on the issue of unaccompanied minors, having prematurely capped the so-called Dubs scheme after right-wing tabloids led a media backlash against helping the children. The Government used a rambling ministerial statement to quietly announce it would be taking only 480 unaccompanied minors, despite suggestions under David Cameron that 3,000 would be helped when the scheme was initiated. In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A baby being taken on to MSF's Bourbon Argos ship from a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A refugee boat carrying 101 people being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A refugee boat carrying 101 people being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos all images by Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A baby among refugees on a boat carrying 185 people off the coast of Libya Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea Migrants and refugees sleeping after being rescued by MSF's Bourbon Argos ship Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A crew from MSF's Bourbon Argos ship rescuing a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees off the coast of Libya, at sunrise Lizzie Dearden In pictures: A day of refugee rescues in the Mediterranean Sea A woman in a stretcher being lifted onto MSF's Bourbon Argos ship from a boat carrying 130 migrants and refugees off the coast of Libya Lizzie Dearden The UK has taken far fewer refugees in than other large western European countries. David Cameron pledged to take 4,000 a year over five years, while 1.4 million have applied for asylum in Germany since the start of the crisis in 2014. Ministers say Britains large contribution to international aid budgets makes up for the shortfall, and that helping migrants to build new lives in safety only encourages them to flee warzones and other dangers. Ukip leader Henry Bolton will be forced out within days after his girlfriend was accused of racist remarks about Meghan Markle, a former party deputy chairwoman says. Suzanne Evans said Mr Boltons decision to end his relationship with Jo Marney would fail to save his job urging him to quit because he had brought the party into disrepute. Otherwise, next Sundays special meeting of Ukips national executive committee would pass a vote of no confidence, she predicted plunging the party into its fourth leadership battle in just 18 months. Recommended Ukip leader ends relationship with girlfriend over royals racism row He has displayed an astonishing lack of judgment, Ms Evans said, pointing out Mr Bolton had portrayed himself as a family man when he won the leadership last September. I think he has brought the party into disrepute and, certainly, people have been kicked out of the party for that in the past, she told the BBCs Daily Politics programme. She agreed that politicians have a right to a private life, but added: He has left his wife for a woman who is younger than his youngest daughter, who has turned out to have held some reprehensible views. And, noting that the Ukip leader had ended the romantic side of the relationship, she asked: Does this mean he is going to carry on taking her counsel on matters? The mind rather boggles. The comments laid bare the fresh turmoil at the heart of the party, which has staggered from crisis to crisis since Nigel Farages resignation immediately after the Brexit referendum, in June 2016. Diane James was elected as Mr Farages successor but quit after just 18 days to be replaced by Paul Nuttall in a fresh contest in November 2016. Steven Woolfe withdrew from that battle after he was allegedly punched in the face by a fellow Ukip MEP in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, later describing the party as ungovernable. At the General Election last June, Ukip won a miserable 1.8 per cent of the vote and under 600,000 votes, triggering Mr Nuttalls resignation and a third leadership tussle. The party then appeared to step back from the brink, when members picked Mr Bolton instead of Anne Marie Waters, a notorious anti-Islam activist, amid a threatened mass walk-out of members. But, early on Monday, the 54-year-old Mr Bolton asked to choose between his party and Ms Marney announced that the romantic side of our relationship is ended. However, asked if his position as leader had become untenable, he added: First of all, I am not intending to resign - at all. The move came after The Mail On Sunday published texts sent by 25-year-old Ms Marney in which she said Ms Markles seed would taint the royal family when she wedded Prince Harry. In one message she said she would never have sex with a negro, while another read: This is Britain, not Africa. Ms Evans, who was deputy chairwoman until 2016, blamed Mr Farage for Ukips disastrous situation, warning he had too much influence in choosing leaders. Noting he had backed Ms James, Mr Nuttall and Mr Bolton, she added: His influence has meant that the wrong candidates have been selected. Tip-up benches could be installed in the House of Commons to make it easier for disabled MPs to sit alongside party colleagues, a senior parliamentary official has said. Commons clerk David Natzler acknowledged the formidable challenges to disability access in the Palace of Westminster but said the 4bn renovation project will allow authorities to replace some of the iconic green benches with cinema-style flip seats to make space for wheelchair-using MPs. Plans to carry out urgent maintenance on Parliament have been repeatedly kicked forward amid concern over the scale and the spiralling costs of the project. However campaigners have seized on the proposals as a rare opportunity to make it easier for people with disabilities to access the corridors of power. Recommended Vince Cable wants to make Westminster work for disabled people Wheelchair users currently have to sit in the middle of the Lords and Commons chambers, prompting Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable to lobby for several tip-up benches to make space for disabled parliamentarians. In a letter to Sir Vince, seen by The Independent, Mr Natzler said: As you will know, the Palace in particular presents formidable challenges to disability access, and the debate on the Restoration and Renewal offers a chance to discuss the prospects of radically improved facilities. Wheelchair access in the Commons chamber is indeed poor and we have long planned to examine how it could be better in a restored Chamber, along the lines you set out of tip-up seats. A report by MPs and peers into the proposed refurbishment said it would be an error for Parliament to miss this rare opportunity to make the Palace a more inclusive place. Responding to the news, Sir Vince said: The introduction of tip-up seats is welcome news, though its not before time. One of my political missions is for equality of opportunity, so that disability, race, gender and sexual orientation is not an issue for anyones life chances. The Houses of Parliament must act as a beacon for that ambition. The news was also welcomed by Liberal Democrat president Sal Brinton, a wheelchair-using peer, who said: Good. Disability access should be addressed as part of the Restoration and Renewal programme. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA There should not be any barriers to access to Parliament for disabled parliamentarians, staff or visitors. The long-awaited debate on the renovation works was due to be heard last week but the Government postponed the date, casting further doubt over when major repairs will be carried out. Jeremy Corbyns influence on Labours governing body has received a significant boost after left-wing candidates won all the positions up for grabs in a crucial set of elections. All three of the vacancies on the National Executive Committee (NEC) the organ of the party responsible for setting rules were swept up by three candidates backed by Momentum, including the organisations chief and veteran left-winger Jon Lansman. The elections mean pro-Corbyn voices will now have a majority on the key decision-making body and could pave the way for significant changes to Labours rulebook, including the way in which leaders are elected and members are involved in policy-making. The Momentum-backed candidates included Mr Lansman, an architect of the organisation and key ally of the Labour leader, Manchester councillor Yasmine Dar, and Rachel Garnham, who is a constituency Labour Party secretary for Mid Bedfordshire. Ms Dar won 68,388 votes while Mr Lansman achieved 65,163 and Ms Garnham had 62,982 beating her closest opponent, comedian Eddie Izzard, by more than 23,000 votes. After the announcement of the results, Mr Lansman said: The election of Yasmine, Rachel and I shows there is hunger among party members for a new, social-movement style party that is capable of transforming Britain at every level Recommended Momentum planning to launch new network for young members This means energising and empowering members to win the next general election. It also means properly resourcing initiatives that help Labour members to make a difference in their communities now. Ms Garnham said the result showed the continued enthusiasm among party members for the hope offered by Jeremy Corbyns leadership. The ballot was triggered after Labour decided at the party conference in Brighton last year to expand the NEC and create three new positions, directly elected by the membership now believed to be well over 500,000. A fourth position has automatically been given to a trade union representative, taking the total number on the NEC to 39. In an interview with The Independent last year, Mr Lansman said it was his objective to push for changes to the ruling executive, giving members of the party a greater say over determining policy, leadership contests and candidate selection. Looking at how the party is operated, there is a glaring deficiency, given our experience of the value of members and what members can do if you mobilise them because they are ordinary people who know their communities, said Mr Lansman. It is vital that they are fully engaged in the process of the party, in determining policy, in picking candidates, in electing leaders all of the decision-making in the party. Its important they feel ownership of the party. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA Until recently, relations between Mr Corbyn and some on the NEC have often been hostile. A particular flashpoint occurred in the summer of 2016 during Mr Corbyns second leadership contest after the NECs procedures committee appealed against a High Court ruling giving recently signed-up members a vote in the contest. The NEC won the appeal, preventing 130,000 new members from voting in the 2016 contest between Mr Corbyn and his challenger Owen Smith, who now serves as the Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary. But since Mr Corbyn defied his critics at the general election last year and increased the number of seats the party has, the left has won a series of victories on the NEC including the decision to expand it with the current ballot. The significance of the body was also highlighted last year when it approved a crucial change to the way future Labour leaders are elected, reducing the number of MPs needed to nominate a candidate from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. But the alteration was the result of a compromise over the so-called John McDonnell amendment, and left wingers are believed to have ambitions to reduce the number of nominations to 5 per cent. A Scottish government study has warned that leaving the European Union with no deal could leave the countrys economy 12.7bn a year worse off by 2030. Nicola Sturgeon said the analysis by economists will make clear that remaining in the European single market and customs union after leaving the bloc would be the least damaging option for Scotland. The detailed paper also comes as the SNP and other opposition parties in Westminster ramped up their campaign to prevent a hard Brexit and piled pressure on the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to join their cause. But Theresa May has made it repeatedly clear that the Government will seek to take Britain out of the single market and attempt to pursue a bespoke trade deal with the EU27. The study puts the impact of falling back on World Trade Organisation tariffs at around 8.5 per cent of Scotland's GDP or equivalent to 2,300 per person. Due to be released on Monday, the report will also probe the impact of three different Brexit outcomes, on GDP, trade and on immigration. On The Andrew Marr Show, the Scottish First Minister said the report was clear-eyed and hard-headed, adding: It is an economic model and what it says is that by far the best option for the Scottish economy is to stay in the EU, but short of that the least damaging option is staying in the single market. Ms Sturgeon also said she would make her judgement in the autumn as to whether to pursue a second referendum, based on the details of the Brexit deal between the UK and EU. In the months after the EU vote, Ms Sturgeon called for a second referendum on Scottish independence there had been a material change of circumstances in the 2014 vote when pro-union campaigners warned Scots they would lose their EU membership if they voted Yes. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA But the SNP leader was forced to scale back her plans for a fresh vote when the party lost 21 of its 56 MPs in the snap Westminster election in June. Speaking to Andrew Marr on his BBC programme, Ms Sturgeon said: At that point, what Ive said is that we will look at that and determine at that stage if Scotland should then have the right to choose between whatever that new relationship with the UK is going to be or choosing to be an independent country. When asked if this decision would come between October and the end of 2018, Ms Sturgeon said: Thats when I will be able to look at that and make a judgement about what the next appropriate steps are for Scotland, and I will then report that to the Scottish parliament and to the people of Scotland. Theresa May must drop her target to slash net migration to the tens of thousands because it undermines the publics trust in politics, MPs say. People expect practical steps to cut the number of people entering the country, rather than a target that has been missed year-on-year, the Commons Home Affairs Committee warned. Its report is the latest strong criticism of the immigration goal which the Prime Minister has insisted on keeping, despite growing opposition - including from within her own Cabinet. Recommended May facing Commons defeat over counting students as immigrants The Independent and Open Britain, which is pressing for a soft Brexit, are running a Drop the Target campaign calling for the tens of thousands policy to be dropped. Now that campaign has been given backing by the influential committee, in a report which also fears the scale of illegal immigration have grown because of a lack of official data. It concluded: The Governments existing net migration target set at the tens of thousands is not working to build confidence or consent. The continued discrepancy between the target and reality has damaged the publics view of the immigration system because it undermines trust in the states ability to control migration in the way it intends or to deliver on its plans. Setting a long-term target or aspiration does not solve the challenge of achieving credibility, as people want to see practical steps that can be taken in the short-term. The target of reducing net migration to tens of thousands was first set by David Cameron at the beginning of the coalition government in 2010, but that figure has never been achieved. It fell by nearly a third in the year to last June in the first full year of data since the Brexit referendum but still stood at 230,000, way above the benchmark. The Home Affairs Committee called for a switch to a Canada-style model that uses evidence to come up with a framework of targets and controls for different types of immigration. Its report also suggested an annual migration report to set out the economic contribution from migration, as well as the impacts, and actions on skills and integration. There should be better criminal and security checks at borders, more weight given to high-skilled workers in the immigration system and a permanent resettlement programme for asylum seekers. And foreign students, who are currently part of the UK's net migration statistics, should be removed from the target altogether, the MPs said. Ministers are already braced for a defeat on counting foreign students, with MPs poised to bring forward and win an amendment to a new Immigration Bill later this year. But a Home Office spokesman said net migration had fallen steadily over the past four quarters, adding: The British people sent a very clear message in the EU referendum, they want more control of immigration and our borders. And, on wider immigration policy, he added: We are making it harder than ever before for those with no right to be here to remain in the UK. However, we also believe that more analysis of the scale and nature of the problem of illegal immigration is needed in order to develop appropriate policy responses and reassure the public that the issue is being addressed seriously. Close David Lidington gives statement on Carillion collapse in House of Commons Ministers faced questions over the collapse of construction giant Carillion, which holds a string of lucrative Government contracts for railways, education and health projects. The firm went into administration on Monday as a result of its lenders refusing to provide any more financial support, raising fears about the future of hundreds of major projects at an already challenging time for the British economy. Cabinet Office minister David Lidington told MPs that the Official Receiver would investigate the role of company directors in the collapse and warned they could face "severe penalties". He was also set to chair a meeting of Cobra - the Government's emergency response committee - on the situation. Meanwhile, pro-European MPs, including several Tory rebels, went to Brussels for talks with the EUs chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as Brexit talks gear up for their next phase. Jeremy Corbyn also tightened his grip on the party as three Momentum-backed candidates - including his close ally Jon Lansman - swept to victory in the NEC election, shifting the partys ruling body to the left. And Ukip leader Henry Bolton faced calls to quit, despite announcing that he had dumped his girlfriend for sending racist texts about Prince Harrys fiance Meghan Markle. See latest updates below. The self-declared state of Somaliland has introduced a bill to outlaw rape and other violent sexual crimes for the first time in its history, which would see rapists imprisoned for up to 30 years. Under the new law, all forms of sexual offences would be criminalised, including rape, gang rape, sexual assault, child marriage and trafficking. And Africa News reports that rapists who infect their victims with HIV would be handed life sentences. In the past, a rape victim's family could force them to marry their rapist to avoid being shamed. The bill has already been agreed in the lower house of Somaliland's parliament but still needs approval from the upper house. It is hoped the bill will be signed into law by President Musa Bihi Adbi on 1 March. "The bill had been languishing for some years and the newly elected government, which is very serious about tackling violence against women, saw it as a priority to bring it before parliament," Ayan Mahamoud, Somaliland's representative in Britain, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "It is however possible that it will face resistance when it comes before the House of Elders in the coming weeks, as members in the upper house tend to be more traditional." World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after a civil war. It has a population of around four million but is not recognised internationally as a country. Currently, Somalia does not have any laws or legislation against violent sexual crimes. President Abdi's government was said to be shocked by the number of reported gang rapes after he came to power in November and pledged to take action. Although the bill is an important milestone, the United Nations said that more still needed to be done. "Once it is signed into law, there is need to develop the capacities of the national justice and security actors, non-state actors and service providers to create awareness among the public," said Fadumo Dayib, head of UN Women in Somalia. "Every woman and girl has the right to live her life without the threat and fear of violence. Recommended With no support women are being raped because of extreme drought "This law will make a substantial contribution in curtailing sexual violence against women and girls." However the law does not specifically cover domestic violence or female genital mutilation, and it would require victims to prove the use of "force, intimidation or threat". Countries such as Greece, Iraq, Libya, Kuwait, Thailand and Russia have certain laws in place which mean a rapist can escape prosecution if he or she marries their victim, or in some cases if the victim forgives the rapist. Donald Trump has shared a tweet by a notorious far right conspiracy theorist who gained headlines for taking a rape Melania sign to a rally. The US president retweeted a post by Jack Posobiec - a figure linked to the so-called alt right movement who is famed for promoting wholly erroneous and debunked conspiracy theories. Mr Posobiec is best known for the Pizzagate conspiracy theory which falsely alleged a Washington pizzeria was the home of a child sex abuse ring that included people such as Hilary Clinton and her then campaign chief John Podesta. The baseless and spurious theory led to a man firing a gun at the pizza joint in 2016. Mr Posobiec took a rape Melania sign to anti-Trump protest just after the 2016 presidential election in the attempt to paint such rallies as aggressive and belligerent, according to Buzzfeed News. But this did not stop Mr Trump from sharing a tweet posted by Mr Posobiec, who has denied the charge he took such a sign to the rally, over the weekend. Dick Durbin called Trump racist for wanting to end chain migration. Here's a video of Dick Durbin calling for an end to chain migration, Mr Posobiec said in the tweet that Mr Trump then chose to share. The tweet claimed it linked to a video of Mr Durbin calling for an end to chain migration but the video actually showed the Democrat commenting that the DREAM act being extended would not result in chain migration - a term that refers to family immigration. The section of the clip cut by Mr Posobiec shows Mr Durbin reading a description of the DREAM Act and its affect on family migration. Mr Durbin, a senior Democrat senator from Illinois, was among the senators who attended a meeting with Mr Trump in which the president is said to have referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as shithole countries. Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Show all 22 1 /22 Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of Difa-e-Pakistan Council a coalition of right wing Islamic parties, burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump, during a protest in Quetta, Pakistan EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli police scuffle with a Palestinian protester outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City Getty Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn pictures of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu following Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli forces disperse Palestinian protesters outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on 7 December 2017 AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an Islamic organization, chant slogans as they burn Israeli and US flags during a protest against Donald Trump in Peshawar REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinians paint an 'X' over the face of a picture of US president Donald J. Trump which was painted on the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protestors burn the Israeli flag and a poster of US President Donald Trump in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of a Pakistani religious party rally against Donald Trump in Lahore AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn the US and Israeli flags in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital A poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump is burnt during a protest against Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli forces detain a Palestinian protester during clashes that followed protests against US President Donald Trump recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Hebron AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters shout slogans against Donald Trump EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital A Palestinian protester wears a Guy Fawkes mask used by the anonymous movement during clashes with Israeli troops in Hebron AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian demonstrators clash with Isralei troops during protests AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of a Pakistani religious party chant anti-American slogans during a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Pakistanis burn a representation of the U.S. flag during a protest rally in Hyderabad AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Young Palestinian women look on as smoke billows from burning tyres as fellow Palestinian demonstrators clash with Isralei troops AFP/Getty Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protesters burn a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump at a protest in Islamabad REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protestors shouts slogans against US President Donald Trump as they hold Palestinian and Turkish flags during a protest near the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protestors put their feet over a picture of US president Donald Trump during a protest in the West Bank City of Nablus EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Pakistani protesters burn tires at an anti-Donald Trump rally in Multan AP Mr Durbin told reporters Mr Trump had made the remarks, saying: I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday. He added: The President started tweeting this morning, denying that he used those words. It is not true. He said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly. Mr Trump eventually issued a denial on Twitter, insisting the language he used was "tough" but different to what was claimed. Mr Posobiec, who started the viral #DumpStarWars hashtag in December 2016 after claiming Rogue One contained anti-Trump scenes, has also pushed a conspiracy theory that the Democratic National Committee was behind the murder of staffer Seth Rich. It has been proven to be completely false. Mr Posobiec, who worked for far right Canada based site The Rebel Media for two months in 2017, has sparked criticism for his theories. Will Sommer, an editor at US political publication The Hill said Posobiec "make[s] stuff up, relentlessly" and claimed "there's no one at that level." This is by no means the first time Mr Trump has stoked controversy for retweeting someone on the far right. Last November, the billionaire shared a series of islamophobic tweets from far-right extremist group Britain First, prompting outrage for disseminating its "deplorable" ideology to a global audience. The video - which is fake - purported to show a Muslim man attacking a boy on crutches. The White House sought to defend Mr Trump at the time and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted that regardless of whether the videos were real the threats are real no matter how you look at it. Mr Trump also shared a tweet by Mr Posobiec in the wake of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville over the summer which saw anti-fascist activists clash with neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members and farright supporters. Clashes turned deadly after a 20-year-old man, who officials say had Nazi sympathies, mowed his car into the crowd of peaceful anti-fascist demonstrators and killed a female civil rights activist. Mr Posobiec had posted a link to a news story tallying those killed and injured in shootings in Chicago, adding: "Meanwhile: 39 shootings in Chicago this weekend, 9 deaths. No national media outrage. Why is that?" Mr Trump, who has frequently drawn attention to the issue of gun violence in Chicago in his Twitter tirades and speeches, shared the tweet penned by him. The Hawaii state employee responsible for sending out an erroneous missile alert of a ballistic missile threat has been reassigned. The employee in question has been temporarily reassigned within our Emergency Operations Center pending the outcome of our internal investigation. We have also suspended routine missile warning drills, according to spokesman Richard Rapoza. A Saturday morning alert warning Hawaii residents of an incoming ballistic missile threw the archipelago into a panic and left officials scrambling to reassure resident that they were safe. Hawaii Governor David Ige called it a day most of us will never forget a day when many in our community thought that our worst nightmares might actually be happening. Officials have been under intense pressure to explain the mishap, which they have attributed to a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee making an error during a shift change. I know first-hand that what happened today was totally unacceptable, Mr Ige told reporters after the event. Im, too, very angry and disappointed that this happened. We are doing everything that we can immediately to ensure it never happens again, he added. Since the false alarm, Hawaii has moved to review its alert cancellation procedures and has suspended drills. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty We have instituted a two-person verification system before an alert can be sent, and created and programmed the templates needed to issue an immediate False Alarm message if necessary, including identifying appropriate communications channels for that message, Mr Rapoza said. The Federal Communications Commission has also launched an investigation, warning that the government of Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place. A belligerent North Koreas threats to hurl ballistic missiles at the United States have heightened the stakes for emergency-alert systems, with Pyongyangs aggression making the risk of an attack more plausible. More than three decades have passed since Martin Luther King Jrs birthday became a national holiday across America. But it took decades of campaigning for Kings civil rights legacy to be immortalised as a paid public holiday. In 1968, Congress was presented with a petition signed by more than 3 million people supporting demands for a holiday. Initially President Reagan resisted plans to make Kings birthday a public holiday, arguing it would lead to other groups and leaders to seek similar concessions. Republicans also claimed they were concerned King had an inappropriate' sexual past and links to communism. In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights 4510050.jpg AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights 4608656-low_res-martin-luther-king-and-the-march-on-washington.jpg BBC In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights martin-luther-king-6.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights martin-luther-king-7.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights georgiamlk.jpg In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights malcom-x-and-martin-luther-king.jpg Library of Congress/ Wiki Commons In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights martin-luther-king-8.jpg Getty Images In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights 359983.bin AP In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights 4260367.jpg AP In pictures: Martin Luther King Jr's campaign for civil rights MLKAFP.jpg AFP/Getty Images But faced with considerable pressure, Reagan eventually relinquished his doubts and declared the third Monday of every January Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. This was the first national holiday in commemoration of a black American in history. Even so, certain states refused to accept it as a holiday, giving it different names and replacing it with other holidays. It wasnt until 2000 that South Carolina became the last state to officially accept it as a paid holiday. Here are some of his quotes that still resonate today: Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Letter from Birmingham City Jail, 1963 Many white Americans of good will have never connected bigotry with economic exploitation. They have deplored prejudice but tolerated or ignored economic injustice. Why we cant wait, 1964 A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defence than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? 1967 Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Love In Action from Strength to Love, 1963 So we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools. Beyond Vietnam, 1967 We may all have come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now. Origin unknown Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. I Have a Dream, 1963 We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. St Louis, 1964 Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Letter from Birmingham City Jail, 1963 The legalisation of marijuana for medical purposes has led to a significant reduction in violent crime in several US states bordering Mexico, according to new research. The study, published in The Economic Journal, found that the rate of violent crime including robberies, murders and aggravated assaults fell by 12.5 per cent in counties close to the border after the introduction of medical marijuana laws (MMLs). MMLs allow people to grow and cultivate marijuana plants legally within the US, Professor Evelina Gavrilova, one of the studys authors, told The Independent. This means that people dont need to buy illegal marijuana anymore so drug trafficking organisations (DTOs) have far fewer customers. DTOs have long been a major contributor to violent crime in US border states. Their namesake activity the smuggling of illicit drugs is known to be paired with extreme levels of violence, which DTOs use to contest the revenues in the drug market, according to the study. With these organisations now less active in the border regions due to falling demand, instances of violence have also fallen. As revenues decrease, so does the incentive to invest in violent activity, the paper says. Robberies have decreased by 19 per cent in US border states which have adopted MMLs, murders by 10 per cent and assaults by nine per cent. The biggest impact is on drug-law related murders, which have fallen by nearly 41 per cent. Countries closest to the border have seen the most significant reductions. Eight US states have legalised the recreational use of marijuana, including California, one of four states that border Mexico. Two of the others New Mexico and Arizona both have MMLs. Most illicit drugs in the US are supplied through Mexico. Every year, around six billion dollars crosses the border back to Mexico as profit for DTOs. The market for marijuana is the largest drug market in the US and has always been a lucrative cash crop for DTOs, according to the study. Its very likely that they are not going to simply give up on this market, said Professor Gavrilova. There are reports that some DTOs are starting to grow their own opium, which could be used to produce heroin that is smuggled into the US. They could also enter the legal marijuana trade themselves by setting up farms in a border state. Although MMLs do not allow for recreational use of the drug, there can be a low threshold for prescription, depending on the state, according to Professor Gavrilova. This means that even in those states without full legalisation the consumption of marijuana is virtually decriminalised, she explained. This accounts for the rapid fall in demand for illegal marijuana, even in states such as Arizona and New Mexico, where recreational use has not been legalised. In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Show all 26 1 /26 In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A man wears a marijuana leaf mask during the annual 4/20 cannabis culture celebration at Sunset Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia AP In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A lady smokes marijuana on Parliament Hill on 4/20 in Ottawa, Ontario Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies James Reed smokes a joint during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies People sign a 4/20 sign on Parliament Hill on in Ottawa, Ontario Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A woman smokes marijuana on Parliament Hill on 4/20 in Ottawa, Ontario. Polling released showed strong support in Canada for a government drive to legalise recreational use of marijuana, but many would like the proposed minimum age for consumption to be raised. Sixty-three percent of respondents told the Angus Reid Institute they support legalisation Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A man smokes marijuana during the annual 4/20 marijuana rally on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Reuters In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Demonstrators smoke marijuana during the '4/20 Santiago' rally in favour of legalisation in front of the La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, as part of the Global Marijuana March which is being held in hundreds of cities worldwide Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies People play with a mock marijuana joint during a 4/20 party to demand legalisation and to celebrate marijuana culture outside the Senate building in Mexico City, Mexico Reuters In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Adam Eidinger, co-founder of DCMJ, hands out free marijuana joints to DC residents who worked on Capitol Hill as part of the 1st Annual Joint Session to mark '4/20' day and promote legalising marijuana on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Police arrest Rachel Ramone Donlan after she handed out free marijuana joints to DC residents who worked on Capitol Hill as part of the 1st Annual Joint Session to mark '4/20' day and promote legalising marijuana on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC AFP/Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Police arrest Rachel Ramone Donlan after she handed out free marijuana joints to DC residents who worked on Capitol Hill as part of the 1st Annual Joint Session to mark '4/20' day and promote legalising marijuana on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Thousands of people gather to smoke marijuana during the '420 Santiago'rally in front of the La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies People attend the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Kevin Barron and Lasean Moore of Raleigh, North Carolina, share a joint during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Nic Ruhl takes a pull on a giant hand rolled joint at precisely 4:20pm MDT during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Various cannabis paraphernalia on display at a vendor's stall during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Mo Banez, of Austin, Texas, lights a joint during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies A man displays a large container of cannabis during the Denver 420 Rally at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colorado. The rally, held annually, is a celebration of both the legalisation of cannabis and cannabis culture. Colorado is one of twenty-six U.S. states along with the District of Columbia that has legalised the use of cannabis either recreationally or medically AFP/Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Sitting in small groups on mats shaded by trees in the Rose Garden just across from the Knesset, participants lit up as the clock struck 4:20 for the local version of the traditional worldwide April 20 pro-marijuana events, known as '420' rallies Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies An Israeli smokes a marijuana joint in Jerusalem during a rally at the Rose garden Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies Sitting in small groups on mats shaded by trees in the Rose Garden just across from the Knesset, participants lit up as the clock struck 4:20 for the local version of the traditional worldwide April 20 pro-marijuana events, known as '420' rallies Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies An Israeli girl poses with a mock marijuana joint in Jerusalem during a rally at the Rose garden, to celebrate 420 and to express their defiance of current laws Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies aelis pass around a marijuana joint in Jerusalem during a rally at the Rose garden, to celebrate 420 and to express their defiance of current laws Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies An Israeli smokes a marijuana joint in Jerusalem during a rally at the Rose garden, to celebrate 420 and to express their defiance of current law Getty Images In pictures: 4/20 Marijuana world rallies An Israeli smokes a marijuana joint in Jerusalem on April 20, 2017 during a rally opposite the Knesset to celebrate 420 and express defiance of current laws AFP/Getty Images With their study, Professor Gavrilova and her research partners are hoping to draw attention to what they see as a highly beneficial but often-ignored consequence of legalisation. Imran Rasul, Professor of Economics at University College London, agrees that the study usefully highlights some important, unintended consequences of drug-related policies". "Policymakers tend to focus on direct impacts rather than other potential impacts, he told The Independent. While some of these potential impacts can be negative house prices can sometimes fall in areas with high cannabis use others, such as a falling crime rate, can be extremely positive, Professor Rasul explained. Individual US states could soon lose control over marijuana policy, however. Earlier this month, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era directive that promised an easing of raids and other federal enforcement actions as long as states had enacted strong and effective regulatory systems". Some critics believe such a move could lead to a new surge in drug-related violent crime. "Jeff Sessions has shown a preference for allowing all commerce in marijuana to take place in the black market, which will inevitably bring the spike in violence he mistakenly attributers to marijuana itself, Dana Rohrbacher, an Orange County Republican in the House of Representatives, said in a statement. He is doing the bidding of an out-of-date law enforcement establishment that wants to see a perpetual weed war. The move by Mr Sessions comes just a few months after a survey showed that 64 per cent of Americans were in favour of the legalisation of cannabis the highest level of support since the survey began nearly five decades ago. Donald Trumps administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The US President will cut the years first contribution by more than half, or perhaps entirely, and make additional donations contingent on major changes to the organisation, US officials have said. Mr Trump is yet to make a final decision, but appears more likely to send only $60m (44m) of the planned $125m (91m) first instalment to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the officials told the Associated Press. The US is UNRWAs largest donor, supplying nearly 30 per cent of its total budget. The agency focuses on providing health care, education and social services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Nikki Haley says U.S. will withhold funding for Palestinian refugees Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israels establishment in 1948. Today, there are an estimated five million refugees and their descendants, mostly scattered across the region. The plan to withhold some of the money is backed by Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, and James Mattis, the Defence Secretary, who offered it as a compromise to demands for more drastic measures by Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN, the officials said. Ms Haley wants a complete cutoff in US money until the Palestinians resume peace talks with Israel that have been frozen for years. But Mr Tillerson, Mr Mattis and others say ending all assistance would exacerbate instability in the Middle East, notably in Jordan, a host to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and a crucial US strategic partner. Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Show all 22 1 /22 Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of Difa-e-Pakistan Council a coalition of right wing Islamic parties, burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump, during a protest in Quetta, Pakistan EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli police scuffle with a Palestinian protester outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City Getty Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn pictures of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu following Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli forces disperse Palestinian protesters outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on 7 December 2017 AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an Islamic organization, chant slogans as they burn Israeli and US flags during a protest against Donald Trump in Peshawar REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinians paint an 'X' over the face of a picture of US president Donald J. Trump which was painted on the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protestors burn the Israeli flag and a poster of US President Donald Trump in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of a Pakistani religious party rally against Donald Trump in Lahore AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn the US and Israeli flags in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital A poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump is burnt during a protest against Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli forces detain a Palestinian protester during clashes that followed protests against US President Donald Trump recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Hebron AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters shout slogans against Donald Trump EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital A Palestinian protester wears a Guy Fawkes mask used by the anonymous movement during clashes with Israeli troops in Hebron AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian demonstrators clash with Isralei troops during protests AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of a Pakistani religious party chant anti-American slogans during a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Pakistanis burn a representation of the U.S. flag during a protest rally in Hyderabad AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Young Palestinian women look on as smoke billows from burning tyres as fellow Palestinian demonstrators clash with Isralei troops AFP/Getty Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protesters burn a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump at a protest in Islamabad REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protestors shouts slogans against US President Donald Trump as they hold Palestinian and Turkish flags during a protest near the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protestors put their feet over a picture of US president Donald Trump during a protest in the West Bank City of Nablus EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Pakistani protesters burn tires at an anti-Donald Trump rally in Multan AP Last week, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, railed at Mr Trump in a fiery, two-hour-long speech. He said shame on you for Mr Trumps treatment of the Palestinians and warned he would have no problem rejecting what he suggested would be an unacceptable peace plan. The US donated $355m (260m) to UNRWA in 2016 and was set to make a similar contribution this year. But after a highly critical tweet by Mr Trump about aid to the Palestinians on 2 January, the State Department opted to wait for a formal policy decision before sending any of the funding. Mr Trump expressed his frustration over the lack of progress in his attempts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect, he tweeted. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them? Eliminating or sharply reducing the US contribution could hamstring the agency and severely curtail its work, putting great pressure on Jordan and Lebanon as well as the Palestinian Authority. Gaza would be particularly hard hit. Some officials, including Israelis, warn that it might push people closer to the militant Hamas movement, which controls Gaza. The US officials said any reduction in American assistance could be accompanied by calls for European nations and others to help make up the shortfall. Additional reporting by Associated Press Mitt Romney has hit out at President Donald Trump over his racist comments, previewing Mr Romneys potential future role as a public anti-Trump Republican should he win an open Senate seat. Days after Mr Trump was said to refer to a number of countries with derogatory language and question why America did not focus on immigrants from places like Norway, Mr Romney marked Martin Luther King Day by assailing the President. The poverty of an aspiring immigrants nation of origin is as irrelevant as their race, Mr Romney said on Twitter. The sentiment attributed to POTUS is inconsistent w/ Americas history and antithetical to American values, he added. May our memory of Dr. King buoy our hope for unity, greatness, & charity for all. Mr Trump stands accused of using s***hole to describe African countries during an immigration meeting with a bipartisan group of six senators. The president, in the meeting, also questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the US, according to a number of accounts Mr Trump said in the meeting that he would prefer immigrants from countries like Norway instead. No, No. I'm not a racist, Mr Trump said on Sunday, after reporters asked him to respond to such reports. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you. Mr Trump also denied making the statements attributed to him, but avoided the details of what he did or did not say. Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst This is not the first time Mr Romney has publicly assailed the President. He denounced Mr Trump as unfit during the presidential campaign part of an unsuccessful effort by establishment figures, like the former Republican nominee, to derail Mr Trumps candidacy and lambasted the Presidents equivocal response to a neo-Nazi protest. But the likelihood that Mr Romney will run for a US Senate seat thrown open by Utah Senator Orrin Hatchs retirement has raised the possibility that Mr Romney will, a year from now, be issuing such criticism as a Republican Senator. If Mr Romney does choose to run, prevails, and continues to inhabit his role as a Republican detractor of Mr Trump, he would be carrying on a lonely fight. Other Republicans who have publicly blasted the President, like Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee, are retiring. Sen John McCain, whose criticism of Mr Trumps foreign policy has drawn praise from Mr Romney, is battling brain cancer. Benjamin Netanyahu he said he was disappointed when India voted against Donald Trumps decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Israeli Prime Minister was welcomed by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in Hebrew as he arrived in India for a six-day visit. Mr Netanyahu said despite his disappointment over the vote, the relationship between Tel Aviv and New Delhi remained strong. Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward, Mr Netanyahu said in an interview with India Today. India joined 127 other nations in voting to declare Mr Trumps controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital null and void. Benjamin Netanyahu calls the UN the 'house of lies' before Jerusalem vote Mr Netanyahus visit, his first to India, marks 25 years since the two countries established diplomatic relations. Last year, Mr Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. During the Cold War, India didnt have open relations with Israel, leaning heavily in favour of the Palestinians. But over the last 25 years, ties between the two countries have thawed. Mr Modi said the visit was a fitting climax to the commemoration of 25 years of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Show all 22 1 /22 Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of Difa-e-Pakistan Council a coalition of right wing Islamic parties, burn an effigy of US President Donald Trump, during a protest in Quetta, Pakistan EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli police scuffle with a Palestinian protester outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City Getty Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn pictures of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu following Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli forces disperse Palestinian protesters outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on 7 December 2017 AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an Islamic organization, chant slogans as they burn Israeli and US flags during a protest against Donald Trump in Peshawar REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinians paint an 'X' over the face of a picture of US president Donald J. Trump which was painted on the Israeli separation wall in Bethlehem EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protestors burn the Israeli flag and a poster of US President Donald Trump in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of a Pakistani religious party rally against Donald Trump in Lahore AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn the US and Israeli flags in Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital A poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump is burnt during a protest against Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the West Bank city of Ramallah REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Israeli forces detain a Palestinian protester during clashes that followed protests against US President Donald Trump recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in Hebron AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters burn an effigy of U.S. President Donald Trump AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protesters shout slogans against Donald Trump EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital A Palestinian protester wears a Guy Fawkes mask used by the anonymous movement during clashes with Israeli troops in Hebron AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian demonstrators clash with Isralei troops during protests AFP/Getty Images Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Supporters of a Pakistani religious party chant anti-American slogans during a rally in Islamabad, Pakistan AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Pakistanis burn a representation of the U.S. flag during a protest rally in Hyderabad AP Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Young Palestinian women look on as smoke billows from burning tyres as fellow Palestinian demonstrators clash with Isralei troops AFP/Getty Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protesters burn a picture of U.S. President Donald Trump at a protest in Islamabad REUTERS Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Protestors shouts slogans against US President Donald Trump as they hold Palestinian and Turkish flags during a protest near the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Palestinian protestors put their feet over a picture of US president Donald Trump during a protest in the West Bank City of Nablus EPA Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Pakistani protesters burn tires at an anti-Donald Trump rally in Multan AP Mr Netanyahus schedule includes a visit to Agra, to visit the Taj Mahal, and to Gujarat, Mr Modis home state. He will also visit Indias business capital Mumbai, where apart from meeting business leaders he is also slated to meet with the leaders of Indias tiny Jewish community. Between ten and 20 people have been wounded after an explosion in Antwerp caused a residential building to collapse, according to police. Local media is reporting that three buildings were damaged following a huge blast at an Italian restaurant in the Paardenmarkt area of the Belgian city, which is largely populated by students. Antwerp police have also stressed that the explosion is not terror related and is believed to have been caused by a gas leak. Emergency services have so far rescued seven people alive from the rubble, including a child, according to local media. Local resident Brett Buelens told VTM Nieuws: "I heard people calling from under the rubble." The local fire department said that the rubble and debris was "unstable", which was making the rescue operation difficult. Bart De Wever, mayor of Antwerp, thanked the rescue workers in a tweet and added: "My thoughts are with the victims and their families." Austrias new far-right interior minister has sparked outrage by saying his government wants to concentrate migrants in one place which critics have interpreted as an allusion to Nazi death camps. Herbert Kickl used the phrase at a news conference last week, arguing that he wanted basic services centres, suitable infrastructure that enables us to concentrate people in the asylum process in one place. The Nazis ran a concentration camp in Austria between 1938 and 1945 at Mauthausen-Gusen, where tens of thousands of people were murdered as part of the wider Holocaust, which killed millions. Mr Kickl has since backpedalled on the comments, saying he did not intend to provoke anyone. He became interior minister the equivalent of home secretary after the far-right Freedom Party of Austrua (FPO) formed a coalition government with the conservative Austrian Peoples Party following elections in October. The FPO has pledged to adopt a very, very strict asylum policy. The FPO was created by former Nazi officers in the 1950s. Its inclusion in Austrias governing coalition has sparked protests, while representatives of the countrys Jewish community have refused to have any contact with it. Responding to Mr Kickls comments, the Austrian Green Party warned against the language of National Socialism creeping into our way of thinking and feeling, while the New Austria and Liberal Forum Party said Mr Kickl should apologise for his deliberate provocation. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Mr Kickls comments come just days after Manfred Weber, a senior German politician in Angela Merkels CDU/CSU group, apologised for pledging a final solution to the refugee crisis in Europe. Mr Weber had described the policy as a finale Losung, a very similar term, especially when translated into English, to the word Endlosung, used by the Nazis to describe the Holocaust. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov used his start-of-year press conference in Moscow on Monday to accuse the United States of devaluing international law and institutions. They are afraid of honest competition, he told his audience of journalists. That is why they continue to work using the language of diktat and ultimatum. They do not recognise the reality of a multipolar world. The minister's annual press events, which follow on from the presidential set-piece in December, rarely reveal much in the way of policy. But they do give hints about the underlying transcript. Judging by todays performance, it seems to be a case of continuing where we left off in 2017. In other words, awful, but more controlled relations with the US; a continued impasse in Ukraine; and growing confidence about Russias role as Middle Eastern kingmaker. Recommended Death rates spike as Russia shuts down for New Year celebrations Many of the questions today were reserved for correspondents from loyal countries. After a softball thrown by state TV, the second question was offered to a Chinese correspondent. Its good that we turned to such an important partner so early, Mr Lavrov said, shuffling his notes. Later came the turn of a Syrian journalist. Then an Iraqi. Two North Korean journalists, who attend briefings religiously, chose not to break their tradition of complete silence. Apart from the occasional flash of temper - at one point Mr Lavrov asked a photographer to calm down and stop jumping around like a rabbit - the veteran minister offered a lesson in the Ted Heath school of diplomacy. That is to say: thinking twice, then using long-winded phrases to say nothing much at all. There were, of course, nods to the pressing questions of the day. Russia was concerned about the North Korean impasse but will block moves that put too much pressure on Pyongyang. In particular, he railed against the Vancouver summit being held today, and without the participation of either Russia or China. They say that we were consulted; this is outright lies, he said. It is destructive, and I can only hope not completely so. Likewise, the minister pushed Russia's proposed Syrian roadmap, and its controversial "national unity" summit, due to be held in Sochi. Contrary to claims that this would become a talking shop for the Syrian regime, Russia was interested in bringing everyone to the table, he said. The United States, on the other hand did "not want to keep Syria as a state within its current borders. A great deal of the conference was devoted to Ukraine. This, Mr Lavrov argued, had become an artificial barrier" to good relations between the West and Russia. Russia was committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Minsk peace accords. It was the Ukrainians who were pushing things back to war. Somewhat flamboyantly, Mr Lavrov then argued that Russia had always respected the territorial integrity of Ukraine in its post-Crimean phase. Neither had Russia broken its promises under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which provided security assurances to Ukraine in exchange for giving up its nuclear arsenal. We have never employed or threatened to employ nuclear weapons against Ukraine, so we have not broken any treaty, he said. Neither argument will play well in Kiev. The one real announcement made during the course of the two-hour conference was that Moscow was now preparing to sue the US over the seizure of diplomatic compounds last summer. We cant sit by when people attack us, said the minister. It isnt about an eye for an eye, no, but no one should expect us to ignore aggression. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty With new sanctions expected to hit Kremlin-related businessmen in February, most analysts expect, if anything, a worsening of relations with the United States. Was it not now a case of buyers remorse, asked a correspondent from CNN - Don't you wish it was Hillary Clinton sitting in Trumps place? Mr Lavrov evaded an answer. This isnt what diplomacy is about, he said. It was his shortest response all day. Spains Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has warned Madrid will continue to run Catalonias government if separatist leader Carles Puigdemont tries to govern from Belgium, where he is living in self-imposed exile. Separatist parties last week agreed to reinstall Mr Puigdemont as Catalonias president of government, following fresh elections in which they kept their majority in the Catalan Parliament. But the ousted leader is currently in Belgium, where he has fled following charges of sedition, rebellion, and misuse of public funds for his role in the regions independence referendum last autumn. He faces arrest and likely imprisonment if he returns, and says he needs guarantees before he comes back to Catalonia. Recommended Carles Puigdemont set to be named Catalonia president in exile Separatists suggested Mr Puigdemont could be sworn in via video link or by proxy at a meeting of the Catalan Parliament this week, but the Spanish government in Madrid has now vetoed the proposal. In a speech at his centre-right Peoples Party headquarters on Monday, Mr Rajoy said: Its absurd that someone aspires to be president of the Catalan regional government as a fugitive in Brussels its a case of common sense. Spanish government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo added: Parliamentary rules are very clear. They do not contemplate the possibility of a [parliamentary] presence that is not in person. This aspiration is a fallacy, its totally unrealistic and it goes against the rule books and common sense. Catalonia is governed by a highly devolved local government, the Generalitat de Catalunya, which gives the region sweeping powers akin to home rule. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The powers were revoked by Spain last year after a unilateral declaration of independence, however. Fresh elections called to restore the Generalitat however returned another pro-independence majority, in defiance of Mr Rajoy and the powers in Madrid. The newly elected Catalan parliament will meet for the first time on 17 January to choose the committee that rules its day-to-day activities, with a vote on a new leader likely as early as 31 January. Qatari fighter jets have intercepted a civilian airliner flying in international airspace on its way to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates has said. The incident affected a UAE flag carrier en route to the Bahrani capital, the countrys civil aviation authorities were quoted as saying. Emirates and Etihad - two of the worlds largest airlines, which are based in UAE did not respond to requests from The Independent for comment. The claim, published by UAE state-run news agency WAM, follows two complaints by Qatar to the United Nations about Emirati military aircraft allegedly violating its airspace. UAEs General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) received a message from one of the UAEs national carriers on Monday morning that one of its aircraft on a flight to Manama on a normal route had been intercepted by Qatari fighters, WAM reported. GCAA described the incident as dangerous and a violation of international laws. A spokesperson for Qatars Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the claims were completely false. It comes amid a blockade against Qatar by UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The crisis began on 5 June when Dohas land, sea and air routes were cut off over its alleged support of extremists and close ties with Iran. Qatar has long denied funding extremists. It recently restored full diplomatic relations with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field that made the country and its roughly 250,000 citizens extremely wealthy. The Turkish President has vowed to "drown" a US-backed border security force with Kurdish fighters in Syria, exposing the fragile state of relations between the two nations. Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the US, a Nato ally of Turkey, of forming a "terrorist" force on his country's border that would not be tolerated and would be dealt with "before it is even born". A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders, Mr Erdogan said of the United States in a speech in Ankara. What can that terror army target but Turkey? Turkish President Erdogan: 'Jerusalem, Mr. Trump, is a red line for Muslims' On Sunday, the US-led coalition said it was working with its Syrian militia allies, the mainly Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to set up the new border force, whose numbers would be expected to reach 30,000 over a number of years. The force would patrol along the borders with Turkey and Iraq, as well as within Syria along the Euphrates river, which separates most SDF territory from that held by the government and look to defend territory held by the US-backed Kurdish-led fighters. The US has led a coalition of nations that has used air strikes and specialist troops to help fighters on the ground battle Isis since the jihadi group took over swathes of territory across Syria and Iraq in 2014. The group has now lost almost all of its territory across the two nations. The SDF is dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), and the plan for the force dashes Turkish hopes that the US would abandon the YPG once the war against Isis came to an end. Turkey regards the Kurdish YPG militia as affiliated with Turkey's own outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who are considered a terror group within Turkey. For much of the war, the United States and Turkey worked together, jointly supporting forces fighting against the Assad government. But a US decision to back Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in recent years enraged Ankara. The new plan offers a glimpse of the strategy of the administration of President Donald Trump, with US forces seemingly wanting to make sure that any possibility of Isis returning is as remote as possible. President Erdogan was quick to warn the US and other nations over what the future might hold if the plan goes ahead. This is what we have to say to all our allies: don't get in between us and terrorist organisations, or we will not be responsible for the unwanted consequences. Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate victory in Raqqa atop of military vehicles REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces march past destroyed buildings as they celebrate victory REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces evacuate a civilian from the stadium REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures A civilian prays after she was rescued by fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces from the stadium REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters ride atop of military vehicles as they celebrate victory in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate victory in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis in pictures A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrates in Raqqa Reuters "Either you take off your flags on those terrorist organisations, or we will have to hand those flags over to you," he added. "Our operations will continue until not a single terrorist remains along our borders, let alone 30,000 of them." He also said Turkey's military at the border with Syria was striking Syrian Kurdish fighters with heavy artillery, "at the moment hitting them with howitzers and we will continue to strike them". The Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad responded to the US plan by vowing to crush the new force and drive US troops from Syria. Damascus denounced the new border force as a blatant assault on its sovereignty, Syrian state media said. It said any Syrian who joined the force would be deemed a traitor. What the American administration has done comes in the context of its destructive policy in the region to fragment countries ... and impede any solutions to the crises, state news agency SANA cited a foreign ministry source as saying. Russia, an ally of the Syria government, called the plans a plot to dismember Syria and place part of it under US control. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: The actions that we see now show that the United States does not want to maintain the territorial integrity of Syria. Kurdish politicians have said the border force is required to protect from any threats emanating from Damascus or Ankara. The US-led coalition declined to comment on Mr Erdogan's threats in a statement. Turkey is a valued member of a 74-member Coalition and a Nato partner, sharing our mission to ensure the lasting defeat of [Isis] in Iraq and Syria. It would be inappropriate for us to comment on Mr. Erdogan's remarks, Outside of the battle against Isis, Washington and a number of European allies have cited the need for meaningful progress in UN-led peace talks to end a civil war that has lasted almost seven years, destroying large areas of Syria and killing hundreds of thousands of people. At 5am on any Monday morning at Stansted airport, charity is in short supply. But 15 January had the potential for extra stress, as Ryanair chose that date to impose a new cabin baggage policy. Passengers on Europes biggest budget airline can continue to take two pieces of hand luggage through security and to the departure gate. But the larger case will be tagged at the departure gate and go into the hold. At the destination it will be unloaded into the airport baggage system, so the traveller will need to wait for it to appear, hopefully intact, at the baggage carousel. The only exception: if the passenger has paid 5 extra for priority boarding. Ryanair says it is making the move because planes have been delayed due to slow boarding. With a load factor of 96 per cent, all but seven or eight seats are occupied on the average flight. For the past year Ryanair has warned passengers that some have been taking advantage of the two-bag policy. The move, it says, is to improve punctuality. In addition, some checked baggage charges have been reduced, and the maximum weight of each hold bag increased from 15kg to 20kg. Ahead of the change, Ryanair has sent out millions of emails which, for many travellers, appear to have caused confusion, with the wording suggesting the allowance has changed when it has not. Shehnaz Hansraj tweeted: No mention of this strange rule when I booked with @Ryanair last week. I then got an email almost a week later reminding me of this rule. Had I known no carry on luggage was allowed I would have booked with another airline. Reactions at Stansted airport, Ryanairs busiest hub, were mixed. Lorenza Bacino, a passenger to Pescara, said: I got a bit confused about the new rules. I wasnt sure if I needed to pay the priority, which I did. I suppose Im a bit miffed but Im not surprised because its Ryanair. But Christine Thomas had opted for priority boarding: Its only 5. The flight was cheap enough to start with. For the convenience of having it with me on board, getting off quickly at the other end, and walking straight through Im quite happy to pay the 5. Passengers at departure gates at Stansted said the process was working smoothly. Brian Salmon, flying to Perugia, reported from the plane: No baggage wars, baggage handlers ready to receive all suitcases, boarding process considerably quicker once inside aircraft. Sensible move. Steve Strachan reported that passengers in the non-priority queue for his flight to Alicante had had their bags tagged well before departure. In addition, one passenger had tried to sneak their tagged bag on board the plane. Didnt work with the crew, he said. Mr Strachan said he was broadly supportive of the change in policy: Ive been on previous Alicante flights, the overhead luggage racks have been absolutely full to busting, this is perhaps their way of trying to reduce that problem. Ryanairs chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs, told BBC 5 Live: So far weve had lots of flights taking off today and we havent had any issues. Some passengers have expressed fears that valuables may go missing from bags that are placed in the hold. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: Ryanair needs to make sure customers understand that they may not be insured for loss, theft or damage of their valuables if their luggage ends up in the hold as a result of these new rules. We would advise travellers to remove wallets, keys, laptops and other important or expensive items from any bag the airline plans to put in the hold. If anything does go missing, you should claim against the airline as they should honour your rights under the Montreal Convention. Other airlines are watching reactions to Ryanairs new policy closely. British Airways and easyJet have generous cabin baggage allowances, but also encounter problems with inadequate storage space on full flights. The UK has been labelled as dangerous for tourists as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Algeria in a new travel advisory ranking system from the US State Department. The system, which was launched on 10 January, ranks countries from 1 to 4 based on the threat level for American citizens travelling there. The UK was designated Level 2, which advises visitors to exercise increased caution and be aware of heightened risks to safety and security. It goes on to say: Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas be aware of your surroundings when travelling to tourist locations and crowded public venues. Recommended This map shows the most dangerous countries in the world for tourists The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice puts the threat level to the UK from international terrorism at severe (an attack is highly likely) one below the highest level of critical (an attack is expected imminently). The new US rating puts the UK on a par with the Democratic Republic of Congo, also a Level 2, which was ranked 13th in the 2017 Global Terrorism Index, a guide to the countries hit hardest by terrorism. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advice says: Be alert to the risk of street crime and armed robbery at all times. Foreigners are at particular risk of street robbery in Kinshasa, especially near hotels and supermarkets in the centre of town Dont walk in the streets alone at any time, especially at night. It adds: You should be prepared to move at short notice or lock down for a period of time. The local authorities may impose curfews without warning. You should follow the advice of the local authorities at all times. In the event of escalating tensions and civil unrest, commercial flights may be suspended and borders closed. Algeria is also a Level 2; FCO advice states: Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Algeria, including kidnappings. Terrorist attacks have focused on the Algerian state, but attacks could be indiscriminate and include foreigners. Other European countries labelled a Level 2 include France, Spain, Italy and Germany, also as a result of the threat of terrorism. The move coincides with the controversy of Donald Trump cancelling his trip to the UK and reports that the US President called Haiti and Africa s***hole countries. A spokesperson from the FCO said: Britain continues to be a safe and attractive destination for foreign visitors. Russias foreign minister said that US President Donald Trump has further destabilised the world. Sergey Lavrov opened his annual news conference in Moscow with the criticism of the US constant threats towards North Korea and Iran, but stopped short of naming Mr Trump. The US is quite plainly says that the military confrontation [with Pyonyang] is inevitable, however, everyone understands the catastrophic consequences of such recklessness," Mr Lavrov said, apparently referring to Mr Trumps repeated tweets and comments berating leader Kim Jong-un. The President has called Mr Kim Rocket Man and threatened to rain down fire and fury on the isolated nation in light of its continued development of nuclear weapons. Mr Lavrov also said US military exercises in the region "provoked a new escalation of tensions. However, the US and South Korea came to an agreement to suspend any exercises in the lead up to and during the Winter Olympics taking place next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Foreign Minister may have been alluding to Mr Trumps October 2017 tweet in which he wrote that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson should stop wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man...Save your energy Rex, well do what has to be done. Fox News host fact checks Trump on Russia 'hoax' claim immediately following news conference Later that same month, the Mr Trump decided not to re-certify the historic deal, signed by Iran and six world powers - a signature foreign policy achievement by predecessor President Barack Obama. Tehran had pledged to rein in its nuclear program in return for some easing of those economic restrictions imposed on it by the US, the United Nations, and European Union. It opened the door for harsher economic sanctions to be placed on the country, the mitigation of which was a key inducement for Iran to comply with the deal. Mr Lavrov said Mr Trumps decision could undermine any possible deal with a nuclear North Korea. The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images Late last week, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also hinted that there would be new sanctions imposed on Iranians and businesses. "If this agreement is being taken aside and Iran is being told you stay within the frame of agreements but we will return the sanctions -- well, put yourself in place North Korea's place. They are being promised that sanctions will be lifted if they say no to their nuclear program, what if they do it but sanctions are still there?," Mr Lavrov commented. Russia and the US have had strained relations in the last year or so, as the Kremlin has repeatedly denied any interference with the 2016 US election. Congress and the FBI are still investigating whether there was any collusion between Trump campaign team members and Russian officials. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and a former campaign aide George Papadopoulos have pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about their meetings with officials, including former Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. The US has also issued new, tighter sanctions against Russian entities and closed a few of its diplomatic installations in the US. Moscow retaliated by forcing the US to cut back American diplomatic staff. Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com Oh, and if you see me driving my red 2010 Mustang GT convertible, please wave. Hi, I am a retired newspaperman. I wrote 3 books on Trump and the media . I live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 43 years, Lou Ann. I grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather. Today it finally happened. Carillion, a key strategic supplier to multiple government departments, has collapsed. With its share price at rock bottom and with debt having skyrocketed, Carillion went into liquidation following a refusal from lenders to prop up the embattled firm. The damage from Carillions failure will run deep. Carillion manages hospitals, barracks, prisons and houses on behalf of the government, employing almost 20,000 people across the UK. It was a poster child for the outsourcing revolution. It is now a national scandal, and it is one of Tory making. Despite the apparent suddenness of Carillions problems, this is a story that has been unfolding for months. In July 2017 Carillion issued a shock profit warning, setting aside 845m to cover problem contracts and pulling out of others. In September it announced half-year losses of 1.15bn. Remarkably, despite this and a further two profit warnings, Carillion has in the last six months been awarded three more government contracts worth almost 2bn. It is government policy to designate any of their strategic suppliers as High Risk if they issue just one profit warning. It is also government policy to appoint a Crown Representative to manage its relationship with such suppliers. In Carillions case this position was left vacant from August to November 2017, a crucial period in the company's declinea staggering act of negligence from the Conservatives. What is the Carillion fiasco? Economics Editor Ben Chu explains UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA The Government has serious questions to answer on Carillions collapse and their failure to act earlier when the writing has been on the wall for so long. In November my office asked the Cabinet Office what risk was identified prior to Carillion being awarded government contracts and whether the company is able to fulfil its obligations. Then our questions were batted away with generic reference to EU procurement legislation. I expect the same evasion over the coming days. This wont surprise me. Because we know that this government is far more interested in who delivers our public services than in their actual quality or sustainability. The Conservative leadership are dogmatically committed to outsourcing public services to the private sector. This is their primary goal, and the destruction caused in realising it is a necessary sacrificea temporary adjustment before the market delivers value. Only were still waiting. The newly appointed Minister for the Cabinet Office, my counterpart and the person leading on the Carillon crisis, David Lidington, has form here. It was he who, as Justice Secretary, published a controversial tender that proposed giving private security firms the power to arrest UK citizens. There are few more shocking examples of an extreme commitment to outsourcing than giving big business the power to deprive people of their liberty. It seems that for the Conservatives nothing is off the table when it comes to doling out contracts to their friends in the private sector. Yet what they frequently pay less attention to is whether the successful bidder can actually deliver the services theyve promised, or what the cost will be when they cant. The Governments decision to continue paying former Carillion staff to deliver public services is the right one, but it will be a costly fix for their mistake of outsourcing in the first place. The Governments dealings with Carillion is the perfect illustration of how the Conservatives are playing fast and loose with taxpayers money in pursuit of their ideological ambitions. This cavalier attitude was epitomised by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, who blithely insisted that Carillions financial problems were not an issue following its successful tender for HS2 contracts last July, despite the company issuing a profit warning just a few days earlier and even though hedge funds were betting on Carillions failure as early as 2015. Recommended Carillion shows what is really happening to our public services How he is being proved wrong. Of course, it will not be Grayling, one of Theresa Mays closest allies, that suffers the consequences. Nor, I wager, will it be those involved at a senior level in Carillion, who will probably move on to pastures new, well-rewarded for their failure. Indeed, a few months before its difficulties became public, Carillion changed the wording of its pay policy to make it more difficult for investors to claw back bonuses paid to its executives in the event of financial difficulty. Once again, it will likely be the public that pays the price, be it through the cost of bringing all the services back in-house, necessary though this is, or through a repeat of the expensive tendering processes that gave Carillion its government contracts in the first place. This is to say nothing of potential job and pension losses. For what we know for sure about outsourcing is that when times are good and profits are to be had its shareholders that benefit, but when crisis hits and losses mount its the public that picks up the bill one way or another. Like the bailout of the banking sector, its a model that privatises profits and socialises risk. Its economics for the few, not the many, and its time to end it. We can start by bringing the affected public services back in-house on a permanent basis, and we can take it further by electing a Labour Government that will put a stop to the continued corporate sabotage of society. Jon Trickett is MP for Hemsworth and Shadow Minister (Cabinet Office). Foreign doctors in war zones have to talk to the bad guys. Always. NGOs need protection, they have to negotiate checkpoints, they sometimes have to bribe gunmen with food think Darfour. Sometimes remember Afghanistan and the ICRC they are murdered. But the sieges of cities and towns in the Middle East these past two years have produced a new and more profoundly disturbing challenge: medical aid groups who embed themselves in armies and militias and thus align themselves with one side in the conflict. Jonathan Whittall of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) first raised the alarm during and after the siege of Mosul when doctors and medical personnel sometimes allowed local security forces to check the identity of patients entering their hospitals or aid centres. Sometimes they gave the names of patients to the local secret services, Whittall told The Independent. Horrific compromises were made to work hand-in-hand with the international military coalition. The wounded were often not treated as patients but as suspects. This fundamentally compromises the trust patients have in medics. And this makes our work less effective. Based in Beirut, Whittall is director of MSFs analysis department and spent the first four weeks of the Mosul siege as US-supported Iraqi troops and militias surrounded Isis forces amid tens of thousands of civilians on the edge of the fighting as a project coordinator, receiving an influx of wounded as the front lines moved forward. He was so appalled at the compromises which he witnessed that he later wrote to the British Medical Journal. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Sixteen years after the War on Terror began, Whittall gave an angry description of the Mosul siege: most humanitarian actors behave in line with how [ex-US Secretary of State] Colin Powell described their role in 2001: NGOs are such a force multiplier for us, such an important part of our combat team. The majority of wounded patients, Whittall wrote, first arrive in trauma stabilisation points [TSPs] located close to the front line and embedded within different divisions of the Iraqi national security forces. Some TSPs are run by armed medical personnel, some of whom wear patches on their uniforms that say Make Mosul Great Again a clear reference to the US military campaign. MSF is entirely funded by private donations in Iraq. MSFs hospitals, Whittall said, are gun-free zones... we negotiate with all authorities not to use our hospitals for law enforcement. Early last year, the US network PBS Newshour published a photograph of what it called a Norwegian volunteer medic writing Make Mosul Great Again on the base of a destroyed Isis billboard in western Mosul. The most extraordinary part of the illustration unmentioned in the caption is that the Norwegian was wearing full military camouflage combat uniform and a flak jacket. The phrase Make Mosul Great Again has been advertised by the US military Soldier Systems blog which last year showed photographs of shoulder patches with the same logo for sale, alongside Iraqi military insignia, in order to donate 100 per cent of the proceeds towards medical aid and equipment for civilians currently escaping Isis. The insignia belongs to ISOF, the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, the so-called Golden Division, created with the help of the Americans in 2003 and which includes a unit called in Arabic jihaz mukafahat al-irhab it can be translated as counter-terrorism office and is funded by the Iraqi defence ministry. The same Soldier Systems blog boasted 10 months ago that we have been going over to Kurdistan and Iraq for the last two years supporting [Kurdish] Peshmerga and now recently ISOF in [a] certain (sic) capacity. We met and worked together with an organisation called The Academy of Emergency Medicine on our last couple of trips, assisting them in rendering aid to civilians and soldiers on the battlefield. These guys are the real deal. Based out of the Slovak Republic, they are currently embedded with ISOF and are doing a lot of good on the medical front. The Academy of Emergency Medicine describes itself as an international NGO based in Slovakia, that operated in war-torn Iraq where as the fight against the so-called Islamic [sic] State continues, our certified paramedics and doctors are working to save human lives.... But the academy also states that we are closely cooperating with [the] international humanitarian community, civilian and military medical personnel and coalition security and armed forces. It does not describe the nature of its cooperation with the security and armed forces. Theresa May visits Iraq following the reclaiming of Mosul But Jonathan Whittall remains deeply troubled. He says that in an MSF hospital south of Mosul during the fighting, he heard his medical unit described as the American hospital, illustrating the risk that anything foreign was associated with the US military campaign. MSFs difficulties were caused by decisions by other medical actors to align with one side in the conflict. In his BMJ article, Whittall scathingly attacked what he called stethoscopes for hire, contractors for a commercial medical company who operated as contractors driven by profit rather than the principles that guide humanitarian action in conflict. Other patients are referred to a hospital managed by a Christian organisation. At these hospitals, patients are officially screened by security forces against a list of potential suspected Islamic State members or sympathisers. Using health facilities in this way for law enforcement purposes makes health facilities places to be feared and further aligns healthcare to one side of this conflict. The World Health Organisation adheres to the medical professions ethical duties, Whittall says. Yet it is this same WHO that has subcontracted its emergency health programme to these hospitals including the screening practice. Would, for example, the WHO have funded Russian medical posts to be embedded with Syrian army units on the front lines of east Aleppo? They did not do so. But no one questioned the decision to make the same political compromise in Iraq. In Yemen, Egypt, Libya, Mali and Nigeria, similar sieges may soon develop. Whose side will the doctors be on then? Clearly, the Government must take some responsibility for the problems with Carillion but shouldnt the banks also shoulder some blame for continuing to lend large sums of money to the company? Or did they assume that the Government would bail Carillion out and save them losses by doing so? Obviously, the banks have learnt nothing from the financial crisis of 2008 when they lent unduly large amounts to house buyers; the only difference is that now they lend large amounts of money to unsound companies. Gordon Whitehead Scarborough Who is going to run Britain now that Carillion (the company that has been in charge of the UK for the last few decades) has finished asset stripping the UK via multiple colossal government contracts and paying its shareholders and directors gigantic bonuses with UK taxes? Amanda Baker Edinburgh As yet another overstretched mega-firm collapses, we must ask how it was able to run up such massive, unsupportable debt in the first place? Where was the due diligence on the part of the lenders? Why are pension funds included at all they should be ring-fenced and protected, as they are the deferred remuneration of the employees and rightfully theirs. Presumably, once again those at the top will walk away unscathed with massive payoffs; you and I, the taxpayers, will bail out the pension funds, and thousands of honest workers will lose their jobs. Vacant contracts for public services and works will be doled out to the next bunch of undercutting sharks to come along, and the cycle will repeat itself. Mike Margetts Kilsby The collapse of Carillion is potentially catastrophic for those who rely on its services. The company employs nearly 20,000 in the UK and has grown fat from numerous public sector contracts in rail, schools and prisons. For example, Carillion is responsible for 12,000 NHS beds a beneficiary of a twisted doctrine that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that private is better than public ownership. Yet there should be no question of a blank cheque bailout of Carillion by the taxpayer so the privateers can continue their insatiable pursuit of profit. The Carillion crisis is yet more proof that free-market capitalism doesnt work. Carillion must be bought into public ownership without compensation to its shareholders. It must be run as a public service rather than for the benefit of profit-hungry shareholders. The doctrine that private is good and public is bad has had its day. RIP neo-liberalism. You wont be missed. Sasha Simic London N16 Thank you, Ukip There is one thing that we have to thank Ukip for over the years, and that is regular material for letter writers. If one can imagine how many people across the UK write in to one of the national papers, either one off or near daily, to express their opinions on one thing or another! Without the continuous gaffes, mendacity, pugilism, racism, short tenures, infidelity and frankly some bizarre characters, we might sometimes get writers block. Matthew Norman has tipped Neil Hamilton as the new leader I shall continue on this thread to tip David Icke, now there is a man with credibility! Robert Boston Kent The time for action is now The magnitude of climate change is dominating discussions globally. Every country is experiencing the effects of floods, drought, hurricanes, storms, mud slides, earthquakes, heatwaves, melting of glaciers and untimely snowfalls. Having seen the havoc climate change has wreaked in the world, it makes no sense to deny its existence and the consequences of global warming that entail. Yet some sceptics and even deniers are in positions of power and influence. Knowing these facts, President Donald Trump took the wrong step of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, when the rest of world accepts it. These anti-global warmists are harming the environment through their denial of the facts of global warming. Global warming trends over the past century are due to human activity. This has been backed by leading scientific organisations worldwide. Global warming is a growing threat to humanity. Professor Stephen Hawking has long advocated that were treating our planet so badly that we will have to leave it soon within 100 years, perhaps. This human-induced climate change requires urgent action. Rapid societal responses can significantly lessen negative outcomes. The time for action is now, before it is too late. Baldev Sharma Harrow, London People-skills Yesterdays letter from Laura Dawson is spot on. The management of people problems is an extremely important skill, and she is right to say that it sometimes comes second in the rush to get stuff done, but you cant get anything done effectively unless you have the skills to manage people problems. You have only got to look at our politicians to see an illustration of poor people management and the damage it can cause. Peter Cole Northumberland One of the oddities of the great Brexit debate was (and perhaps still is) the degree to which it pulled in questions that were not fundamentally related to the European Union. Among Brexiteers who opposed the EU on the simple grounds that Britain put in more money than it got back, comparisons were often made with the UKs generous overseas aid programme. In short, why should the taxpayer help out people in far-flung places when the cash could be spent on domestic projects? For a few, there is an inherent xenophobia at the heart of that question: why waste money on Johnny Foreigner (not the band) when Brits need it more? These are the same folk who largely oppose immigration too on the basis that we cant afford to expand our public services to deal with an already growing population, let alone additional incomers. Thats not to say that criticism of our spending on overseas development can be dismissed merely as the preserve of racists or nationalists. After all, as a proportion of GDP the UKs expenditure in this field has grown in the years after the financial crash of 2007-08. Meanwhile, many domestic budgets have been squeezed and wages have fallen. In truth, though, we should not condemn Britains overseas outgoings for having increased in recent times. Rather, we should remember that until 2013 the UK had persistently failed to meet the target set by the United Nations for all developed countries to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on foreign aid programmes. We signed up to the objective in 1974. Who is new International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt? Frankly, it was one of the key achievements of the coalition government finally to meet the goal and to enshrine foreign spending in law. Yet question marks over the 0.7 per cent commitment continue to be asked. With that in mind, an article in The Telegraph by the International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has caused something of a stir, with its contention that Britain must be more hard-headed with cash. Mordaunt, a noted Brexiteer, goes on to indicate a change of approach within her department. It will, she says, no longer be enough for a project simply to be achieving good things. We must be able to demonstrate why it absolutely needs to be Britain that pays for them In particular, it appears that richer developing countries such as India may be in line for less UK money if their own governments are not prepared to show a commitment to investing in key areas such as education and healthcare. If they choose not to, says Mordaunt, that will inform our decisions. There is naturally something in this. It should be fairly self-evident that Britain, like any donor, ought not simply to hand out wads of cash with no questions asked, and should consider whether a programme seeking funds might not actually be able to raise the money through other, more appropriate means. But the potential consequence of Mordaunts approach is to leave vulnerable people at the mercy of decision-making by governments which are hardly progressive by British standards. It is all very well for the Secretary of State to say I will not invest when others should be putting their hands in their pockets but for the people who benefit from British-funded projects abroad, it is irrelevant who should be paying they either gain assistance or they do not. Likewise, Mordaunt says she will ensure in the future that British aid directly contributes to tackling the issues that matter most to the British people. Again, it makes sense as a slogan but seems to assume that the global issues which bother residents of the UK are top priorities for those in real need elsewhere, which plainly is not always the case. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA Britain, as Mordaunt correctly notes, is a development superpower which should be proud of its status and its record of bringing relief to those in need abroad. However, one reason for the UKs standing is that we channel funds to such a remarkable range of projects, many of them niche and not all of them providing an obvious, immediate return on our investment. To move to a populist strategy, which seeks to address concerns primarily through a prism of British public opinion therefore puts the UKs position as a superpower of overseas aid programmes in peril even if we continue to meet our overall commitment of spending 0.7 per cent of GDP. It also risks leaving many people who would once have gained desperately needed assistance from Britains generosity wondering why we have decided to look the other way. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser Governor of Taraba State , Darius Ishaku, has said any blackmail and propaganda employed by cattle breeders to turn themselves into victims will fail, saying the herdsmen are the killers and not victims. Ishaku statement is coming on the heels of the comment by his Benue State counterpart, Samuel Ortom, that the claim by the herdsmen that some state governments were arming militias to attack them was a lie. The apex body of Fulani cattle herders, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, in an earlier press conference on Sunday, had said the governments of Benue, Taraba states and others were sponsoring a hate campaign against herdsmen and also arming ethnic militias to kill them. The National Secretary of MACBAN, Usman Ngeljarma, spoke for the group in Abuja on Sunday. The MACBAN secretary said, It is no longer hidden that some state governments are sponsoring ethnic militias against our people, recruiting and arming locals to kill our people and rustle their livestock as seen recently in Benue and Taraba states. But the Taraba State governor, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Bala Abu, said the Miyetti Allah was trying desperately to turn the truth upside down. The people who were given mass burial were not the Fulani. National television stations and newspapers published the story. No single Fulani man was killed; instead, they (Fulani) were the killers. I challenge them to come out with evidence against the governor that he is training ethnic militia against the Fulani. They should also name the location where the training is taking place so security agencies can move in to effect arrest. We are aware of their plot to stop the implementation of the Taraba State Open Grazing Prohibition Law which is due to commence soon, but the governor wont be deterred in his quest to bring peace to the state, he said. The Senior Special Assistant to the Taraba State Governor on Public Affairs, Emmanuel Bello, in an email to The PUNCH, also said the government had not established any militia camp anywhere, as the governor believed in peace. The Lau crisis is under serious investigations to establish the remote and immediate causes. The truth will unravel everything with time, he said. Also, the Benue State governor in a statement by his Media Adviser, Mr. Tahav Agerzua, denied that militias arrested by the military were recruited and trained by the state government. The statement read in part, Governor Ortom is widely recognised for his disarmament policy which brought the amnesty programme, leading to the recovery of about 700 arms and ammunition with over 800 youths laying down their weapons to embrace the programme. It is also on record that the present administration inherited the Taraba State Civilian Joint Task Force from the previous government but later proscribed it. The Benue State Government believes in the use of conventional security agencies to protect the people. Even in the face of renewed killing of innocent people by herdsmen in the Logo and Guma local government areas, Governor Ortom did not let the people resort to self -help. The governor acted swiftly to get the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari for the deployment of more troops in troubled parts of the state. Source: ( Punch Newspaper ) West African nation, Ghana experienced an 80 % increase in new cases of HIV/AIDS infection, according to a 2017 Ghana AIDS Commission report. The report also indicates that the Volta Region and Brong Ahafo Region topped the chart of HIV/AIDS prevalence. A large proportion of the new HIV/AIDS cases were pregnant women, the report also revealed. The commission which revealed its findings during a two-day annual strategic planning meeting urged Ghanaians to take preventive measure in order not to contract the deadly disease. The Director-General of the Commission, Amokowa Adu-Gyamfi, made a passionate appeal to Ghanaians to voluntarily test for the virus. Mrs. Adu-Gyamfi asked persons living with the virus to stick to the approved anti-retroviral drugs because there was no herbal cure for the disease yet. We are not condemning them (herbalist), we are just saying that there is no herbal cure as yet for HIV. If you want to take them its up to you. But then take your anti-retroviral medication, she said. She alleged that the activities of the gay community are to blame for the sharp increase in HIV infection. Since the start of the epidemic, an estimated 78 million people have become infected with HIV and 35 million people have died of AIDS-related illnesses. In 2016, one million people died of AIDS-related illnesses. HIV/AIDS a major public health concern and cause of death in many parts of Africa. Although the continent is home to about 15.2 per cent of the worlds population, more than two-thirds of the total HIV infections, some 35 million people, were Africans, of whom 15 million have already died. Source: ( Premium Times ) Nigerian Comedian, I Go Dye has taken to social media to pen down a great advise to the Nigerian Police Force telling them what to focus on at the moment. He took to his Instagram page to speak on the malaise of Fulani herdsmen currently affecting some states in Nigeria asking who the real herdsmen are? He wrote: THE POLICE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING PRO- ACTIVE MEASURES TO ARREST HERDSMEN WITH AK47 BY INVESTIGATING THEIR SOURCE OF WEAPONRY, BUT THEY ARE BUSY HARRASING GUYS WITH LAPTOPS AND PHONES WHO ARE THE REAL HERDSMEN ? A group of civilians who have been employed by the untouchables and elites have become a national problem.Logically, the principal takes responsibility for the flaws and successes of the agent,so in this premise who are the owners of the cattle and the herdsmen. An Ak 47 rifle is estimated at over a million Naira, so how does these herdsmen walking across the country afford it? The elites should own up to their mistakes. In solving this problem there should be a disarming of all those working for the real herdsmen. An assessment of all those involved should be done,there after, licensing and identification informations should be taken.This will aid the process of knowing those involved in any of such casualties. In addressing this issue, the protection of lives and property is paramount and one cannot comprehend why security agencies have failed to put an end to it. Majority of Nigerians will continue to blame the president, because he has a responsibility to protect the lives of every citizen in this country. Moreover, as one of those who have a cattle ranch, it is expected that he should do everything possible to address this issue.We cannot continue to expand the responsibilities on our military because of internal problems,the Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Ijaw and Igbo man or any other ethnic tribe is not our problem. Nigeria is a blessed country; our fundamental problem is instigated on us by our various leaders across the six geopolitical zones, whose actions are responsible for our present situation,the youth should not allow themselves to be used as instruments of violence. I will earnestly recommend that the process of expanding the cooperation of stake holders to provide land for ranches should be advanced, because we cannot continue to have cattles moving on our roads, feeding on the farms of innocent Nigerians,who have been traumatized by the ill actions of the employers of the herdsmen. I am still wondering who are the real herdsmen? Malia Obama is facing criticism for wearing a Smoking Kills T-shirt to a music festival in Philadelphia just weeks after she was allegedly caught smoking marijuana at another festival. The 18-year-old daughter of President Barack Obama was spotted wearing a T-shirt with the saying Smoking Kills when she attended Budweisers Made In America Festival in Philadelphia on Sept. 4. The teen was spotted at Chicagos Lollapalooza festival in July, where festival-goers caught her allegedly smoking marijuana. Video of the incident was shared on Radar Online, according to The Telegraph. An eyewitness claimed to have smelled marijuana in the air at the time. Malia is currently on a gap year and plans to attend Harvard University starting in the fall of 2017. While at the Made In America Festival, she wore a hat adorned with the letter H, a likely nod to her future alma mater. A robbery suspect identified as , Ridwan Omole, who was arrested by operatives of the Nigeria Police, has denied allegations of robbery against him by the police, saying he is only a cult member. The 21-year-old spoke in a statement he made to operatives of the Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command. According to the police, a three-man robbery gang consisting of one Taiwo Lawal (23), Kabiru Ajiboye (24) and Seyi Ayetoba (27), had been arrested on Thursday during a botched operation in the Somolu area of Lagos State. The men were about attacking a motorcycle rider and his passenger in the area when their intending victims raised the alarm. They were reportedly chased and apprehended by some residents who handed them over to a patrol team of the RRS. The suspects were said to have confessed to the police that the gun with them belonged to Omole. He was then arrested in his parents house in the Ajah area. Omole, who allegedly confessed to be a member of the Aiye Confraternity, said he bought the gun from a former schoolmate for self-defence. He said, I bought the gun from a former schoolmate for N9,000. I bought it in September 2017. I got the gun because of rival cult members who were disturbing me in my street. They knew I belonged to Aiye Confraternity and wanted me to join their camp. Because my friend, Ayetoba, knew that I had a gun at home, he usually came to borrow it. He later requested that I follow him for a job. I asked him the nature of the business and he said robbery and okada snatching. I told him that I couldnt do such a thing. However, whenever he borrowed the gun and went out for an operation, he returned to give me money. On three occasions, he had given me money. First, he gave me N10,000; the second time was N10,000 and an Android phone; and the third was N2,000. He said that operation wasnt smooth. Ayetoba, who was the leader of the gang, said he was initiated into robbery by one Tunde, whom he met in the Mushin area of Lagos. Tunde was the leader of my previous gang. Whatever we stole, we sold in Mushin. It was Tunde who taught me all the tricks I used during operations. He was arrested sometime last year. I didnt go out with him that day. I formed my own gang with Taiwo (Lawal) and Kabiru (Ajiboye) and took the gun from Ridwan (Omole). Each time we went on an operation, I paid him for hiring the gun from him. We live on the same street and belong to the same confraternity. The areas where we have operated included Ajah, Costain, Onipanu, Yaba, and the National Stadium. We sold stolen motorcycles for between N30,000 N60,000, he said. The RRS said it recovered from the gang a locally-made pistol with a 9mm live cartridge and a jackknife. The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, said the suspects were cooperating with the police, adding that the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, lauded the participation of members of the community in the arrest. The case has been transferred to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad for further investigation, he added. Source: ( Punch Newspaper ) Reekado Banks manager and brother, Temi Solomon, insists that his artiste doesnt feel sorry for saying he is a better artiste than Lil Kesh. It will be recalled that when Reekado was adjudged the Next Rated Artiste at the 2015 Headies Awards, it generated mixed reactions. Olamide, who was Lil Keshs boss at the time, was furious that his protege didnt win the award. While reacting to Olamides public outburst, Don Jazzy (Reekados boss) said he was ready to let Olamide and his boy have the car prize if that was what made them upset. That comment degenerated into a war of words on the Internet before both parties were implored to sheathe their swords. Two years after the ugly event, at his recent Thank You concert in Ibadan, Reekado declared in pidgin English that he is better than Lil Kesh and his father. He said, I remember when they said I didnt deserve the Next Rated award. The person that they said deserved the award, I am better than his father. When Sunday Scoop reached out to Reekados manager and brother over the statement, he said his brother only said what was on his mind, but he didnt mean to hurt anyone He said, It is not something I want to talk about. If certain people were annoyed because he spoke his mind, I think those people are not his fans. Our fans would not complain about what he said in that manner. He didnt mean to hurt or harm anyone and we dont have something against the artiste (Lil Kesh). According to Temi, Banks was not misinterpreted, neither was he under any influence when he said he is better than Lil Kesh. He said, If he said he is better than someone, he probably meant it. I really want to know the fans who were angry about it. Was it Reekados fans or the persons fans? He said what was on his mind and it is not compulsory for everyone to agree with him. People who feel that he is arrogant because he said what he wanted to say have their reasons to think so. If I say that one newspaper is better than another, it is my opinion. That he didnt say a word since the 2015 Headies Awards fallout doesnt mean he has not felt like talking. So, if he said he was better than Lil Kesh, it was just an expression. Operatives of the Nigeria Security and Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Osun State, have arrested three men suspected to be ritualists at a building located at Bolorunduro area of Ilesa. According to the Public Relations Officer of the corps, Mr. Babawale, the suspects were nabbed after a commercial motorcyclist reported to the corps that he escaped abduction by the suspects. He said the arrest was made at exactly 11:40am on Friday The suspects were identified as Kayode Olaniyi, aged, 40, a herbalist, Ojo Sunday, aged 30 and Kayode Ezekiel, aged 35. He said the suspects had been handed over to the police at Ijamo Police station and that they were cooling off in the cell. He called on all residents to be vigilant adding that they should not hesitate to report strange movements or faces in their area to security agencies. Source: ( Channels Television ) School teachers that are been owed salaries in 10 states of the country have been ordered by the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) not to resume work until all arrears were paid. According to the General-Secretary of the union, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, who spoke on the directive in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja. Ike-Ene said that 10 out of 36 states still owed teachers several months salaries in spite of the Paris Club Refund given to them by President Muhammadu Buhari. He listed the states to include; Abia, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, Kwara and Taraba, describing them as chronic debtors as far as teachers salaries were concerned. According to him, Abia owes primary school teachers four months and secondary school teachers one month, Adamawa; two months to primary school teachers and one month to secondary. Others are Bayelsa; seven and half months to primary school teachers and four and half months to secondary, Benue owes 12 months to primary school teachers and seven months to secondary. Ekiti owes eight months to primary school teachers and five months to secondary, Kogi; three months to primary school teachers and three months to secondary. Taraba; six months to primary school teachers, Delta; four months to primary school and one month to secondary. Kwara and Ondo owe teachers three and four months salary arrears of 2016 respectively, he explained. Source : (NAN) A Young Nigerian man Edu Val, who had been battling stage 4 cancer for over a year, passed away in the early hours of this morning in Lagos. Edu was in so much pain a week ago that he begged God to take his life. His twitter timeline is proof of how much he was suffering and how heartbreaking it was to see his mother cry over his condition. For the past few days, well meaning Nigerians had been donating blood to him at the Holy Family Hospital, Festac, where he was receiving treatment. May his soul rest in peace. See his posts on Twitter prior to his death. Writer Ese Walter-Ark, in an open post which she shared on her Facebook page revealed her battle with postpartum depression. Ese narrated how she abandoned her 9 months 3 weeks old baby with her mother in Abuja and ran down to Lagos, in November 2015, when she became so depresed after childbirth. She says the depression was so heavy that a certain day, she thought of smashing her baby on the wall. Read below; They called me a bad mother Writer, Ese Walker-Ark, shares her shocking battle with postpartum depression, reveals she abandoned her baby for sometime and even thought of smashing him on the wall? After Boobman was born I struggled to find my Happy. At the same time, I had to act happy because who isnt happy after birthing a child? I carried on everyday reminding myself that as a mother my happiness came second. I needed to be there for my child. I needed to love him, care for him, take care of him etc. As he grew, I felt myself sink deeper into the hole that sat in my core. And I couldnt express this. I remember the day the health visitor came to check on us. She asked, have you had any unpleasant thoughts concerning your baby? No, I have been so happy since he arrived. I lied. She asked a few more questions, checked his height, head size, weight, and was done. As she left, I wondered if I should call her back and tell her about that night he wouldnt sleep and I needed sleep, and as I breastfed him, I imagined what would happen if I threw him against the wall. Perhaps Id be free from this little bondage that seemed to be running my life. But I didnt. I feared they would think me crazy. Some who knew me already thought me crazy. Sigh. I let her go. I returned to getting by one day at a time. The day he turned 6 months, I decided I was going to run away. Because he was breastfeeding and I didnt have any money I stuck around. At 9 months and three weeks, I had saved a little money so I weaned him one Friday, cold turkey style. Nobody knew I was weaning him. By the next day, he had forgotten breast. I was left with swollen painful breasts but I felt it was worth it because finally nothing was tying him to me. On the 1st of November 2015, a week before he turned 10 months, I took him to my mums along with a new nanny I had gotten a week earlier. I told my mum I had a spa date and would be back for him in 2 hours. As I left the house, I headed to the airport, bought a one way ticket to Lagos and left Abuja, Boobman, and motherhood behind. I sent text messages to my family that I was gone and not coming back. They tried to reach me by email. I was told that I abandoned my child and I was a bad mother. It was true. They were right. I had already concluded to myself that I was a bad mother long before anyone else told me so. I wasnt going to mother, I wanted to feel alive. I wanted to feel I mattered too. I wanted to feel, period. I didnt want to hurt my baby. I wasnt sure how long I would have lasted before I snapped. Leaving was the only option. I wasnt going to come back. A few months later we were reunited. I was told to apologize to him for leaving him. What they didnt know was for the months I planned my leaving, he was aware. I told him every time I breastfed him that I was sorry I had to go away without him. I told him the times I was sad. I told him the times I felt lost and empty. And the night before that November 1st, I shed a tear as I told him I was leaving the next day. I still remember my final thought before I left. I said to myself, if I die now, this child will survive and even thrive. At that, my mind made itself up. I know we like to think a mother should sacrifice herself for her babies but sometimes mother wants to run away and leave everything behind. This usually starts and ends as a thought or wishful thinking for most new mothers. For me, it was the only way to live. So I took the leap. #diaryoftheboobmum #badmother #breakingthecord #runningfrommothering#unusualmothering #motherdoesntknowbest #motherstruggles source: Facebook Update 6/20/19 Jumbo Self Storage has selected Integrated Builders to manage construction of the Montvale Avenue project. The facility, designed by BL Cos., will offer 1,000 units. Itll be built into the side of a hill and include retaining walls 30 feet tall, according to a press release. No timeline for the project was provided. Three stories will be above ground, with the fourth floor being a full basement. The building will feature a structural steel frame and insulated metal wall panels. Split-face block will be used around the lower exterior, the release stated. The reception and office areas will be on the first floor. 1/15/18 Jumbo Self Storage LLC received approval this week to raze the Montvale Plaza banquet hall in Stoneham, Mass., and build a four-story self-storage facility in its place. The planning board voted 4-to-1 in favor of the special-use permit for the 1.23-acre property at 54 Montvale Avenue. Jumbo Storage has reached financial terms with the owner of the property, Marty Murphy, but a timeline for the project wasnt released, according to the source. The plans include a 120,000-square-foot storage facility in place of the existing 30,000-square-foot structure. Jumbo will next need site-plan approval from the citys board of selectman, the source reported. "I think it's sad we're going to lose the Montvale Plaza, but I think this is a much more suitable use for the area," said board member Daniel Moynihan, who was Murphy's attorney a decade ago during a zoning dispute regarding the property. Board member Kevin Dolan also addressed his nostalgia about the business. "Part of me would like to see a catering business continue. It's been a hallmark of Stoneham for over 60 years, but it's just not feasible for this site, he said. The banquet hall is still hosting functions and will honor its bookings, said Murphy, whos retiring. He purchased the property in 1998 for $1 million. The site contains just 76 parking spaces, which was a constant problem for the banquet hall but wont be for a storage facility. Jumbo will contain 10 parking spaces, which is consistent with its others facilities, according to attorney Charles Houghton, whos representing the company in the acquisition. The zoning board of appeals has already issued a parking variance for the site, the source reported. The storage proposal has also been endorsed by local residents and the owner of the adjacent strip mall, Montvale Place. "This is an appropriate location for this use, Houghton says. Given the area and the way we've designed this building, it certainly fits, and fits much better than the current use. Jumbo Self Storage is led by Howard Hirsh, partner, and Jay Hirsh, managing partner and co-founder, of Jumbo Capital Management LLC, a privately held commercial real estate firm specializing in office space. The company made its foray into the self-storage market in 2015 with the acquisition of a warehouse in Norwood, Mass., which it converted to storage. Paulus-Merks-_Houthoff_100 x 90 Merks is an expert in domestic and international tax law who advises on M&A transactions, restructurings, reorganisations, public offerings and transfer pricing. He also litigates disputes with the tax authorities, as well as advising on general tax-law matters. Merks regularly advises US and other non-Dutch companies on how best to structure their worldwide operations and acquisitions. He has previously worked as a tax lawyer in New York, Paris, Chicago and San Jose (California). The firm plans to double the size of its tax advisory practice by the end of 2018. The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ. Share this article Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. As should be expected, the Spectre and Meltdown hardware vulnerabilities that affect every major processor out there in the wild caught fire leading into 2018, and customers with plagued devices are not happy about the inherent security concerns therein. As such, class action lawsuits against companies was inevitable, and now Apple is facing one of its own, as first reported by MacRumors. Two folks are moving forward with a class action lawsuit against Apple as of right now. Jacqueline Olson and Anthony Bartling filed the lawsuit in a U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, on behalf of anyone who purchased an Apple-branded device with an ARM-based processor designed by Apple. That includes any of the A-series processors from the A4 to the current A11 Bionic, which are present in iPhones, iPads, Apple TV units, and the iPod touch lineup. According to the complaint, Olson and Bartling argue that Apple knew about the Spectre and Meltdown security defects as early as June of last year, and, as such, did not inform its customer base in a meaningful timeframe. In addition to that, the complaint states that Apple cannot implement a fix for Spectre and/or Meltdown without heavily impacting the performance of those processors. ARM Holdings PLC, the company that licenses the ARM architecture to Apple, admits that it was notified of the Security Vulnerabilities in June 2017 by Googles Project Zero and that it immediately notified its architecture licensees (presumably, including Apple) who create their own processor designs of the Security Vulnerabilities. As it stands right now, Apple has released software-based patches to address Spectre and Meltdown for both iOS and macOS. However, there isnt anything Apple can do to fix the hardware-based issues it can only implement software patches, which it has done, including patching older versions of macOS and OS X as well. The lawsuit is looking to gain $5 million in punitive and compensatory damages if the case does go to trial. Check up on the Specre and Meltdown FAQ right here to get up-to-date on whats going on. Our Take This was inevitable. Despite the fact Spectre and Meltdown affect all processors from Intel, ARM, AMD, and NVIDIA. There is some concern over huge drops in performance in devices where Spectre and Meltdown have to be patched on the software side, as articulated earlier this month with an iPhone 6. There is no doubt its an unfortunate situation across the board, and it will be interesting to see where this class action lawsuit goes from here. [via MacRumors Toyota has had a bit of a rough relationship with Apples in-car infotainment option, CarPlay, but it looks like things have been smoothed out. Recently, Toyota has confirmed that it will officially support Apple CarPlay, beginning with the 2019 Avalon lineup. The announcement was made during the 2018 North American International Auto Show, which is held in Detroit, Michigan. Toyota is including CarPlay with its Entune 3.0 in-car system, and it will be available with plenty of other features, including Wi-Fi hotspot built right into the car. There are some other noteworthy features in the 2019 Avalon series, for some models, including support for Amazons Alexa digital personal assistant, Qi wireless charging support (so the newer iPhones can be charged wirelessly), and a smartwatch app that will allow you to remotely lock and unlock your car. Whats more, Toyota also confirmed that Apple CarPlay support will be available in all of the 2019 Avalon models. As mentioned above, Toyota has not always been keen on supporting Apple CarPlay. The company was name dropped by Apple when the infotainment option was announced many years ago, but in 2015 Toyota backtracked on its plans to support it, saying that it would rather focus on its own infotainment option(s). It did say, however, that eventually it could have CarPlay support at some point in the future. And then last year it was reported that Toyota, Ford, and many other auto manufacturers had formed a consortium to stem the tide of infotainment being ruled over by Apple (CarPlay) and Googles Android Auto. The 2019 Toyota Avalon will go on sale sometime in late spring of this year. Our Take While Toyota a couple of years ago conceded that it would probably support CarPlay one day, it always felt like one of those situations where the company was trying just about everything it could not to support the infotainment option. That apparently didnt work out, with all of the 2019 Avalon models welcoming support, and with other Toyota vehicles probably doing the same from this point on. Still, Toyota held out for a really long time. [via Toyota Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to make the case for keeping the UK in Europes single market "more loudly than before" as the Scottish Government published new research showing that could save every Scot 1,600 a year compared to a hard Brexit. For the UK to quit the European Union with no deal, forcing trading relationships to revert to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, would leave Scotlands economy worse off to the tune of 12.7bn a year by 2030 - the equivalent of 2,300 for every person north of the border, the report claimed. The analysis - which the Scottish First Minister insisted was "more detailed and extensive than anything so far provided by the UK Government" - showed that, under this scenario, real disposable income and business investment would both fall by about 10%. Keeping Britain in the single market is "the least damaging option by far", the research found, with GDP forecast to fall by 2.7% by 2030 - the equivalent to 4bn or just under 700 per head of population, according to Ms Sturgeon. Meanwhile, disposable income would fall by 1.4%, with business investment expected to be just under 3% lower. Ms Sturgeon said: "It is clear from these figures that staying in the single market does not insulate us from the costs of leaving the EU but it will minimise those costs. "Indeed, compared to a hard Brexit staying in the single market will benefit us to the tune of 1,600 per head - 1,600 for every person in Scotland." Speaking in Edinburgh as she launched the new analysis, the SNP leader insisted: "If Brexit is to proceed, staying in the single market is the only option that makes sense." The document looked at what could happen under the "only realistic outcomes of Brexit" - remaining in the single market, the UK striking a trade deal with Europe that is similar to Canadas or a no deal Brexit. "None of these options are as good as staying within the European Union," Ms Sturgeon said. "Our economy will take a hit under all of them. However, the least damaging option by far is staying in the single market." The paper was published as the SNP and other opposition parties ramped up their campaign against a so-called hard Brexit, with Labour facing pressure to join. Ms Sturgeon said: "With the next phase of the talks to determine the future relationship between EU and the UK due to begin in the next few weeks, it is time now to make that case for continued membership of the single market even more loudly than before. "Today we do exactly that backed by new evidence of the importance of single market membership to our economic and social prospects." Theresa Mays official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister has made clear her commitment to getting a good deal which serves the interests of all parts of the United Kingdom, and that we are confident of doing so. "We have been clear that we are carrying out extensive preparations in relation to delivering Brexit and the will of the British people." According to the research, if the UK failed to reach a deal over Brexit and was forced to revert to WTO rules, GDP in Scotland would be about 8.5% - or 12.7bn - lower by 2030 compared to continued full EU membership. Meanwhile, under a free trade agreement it is expected Scotlands GDP would be 6.1% lower - or 9bn in 2016 cash terms - by 2030. Staying in the single market would have the least damaging economic impact, with GDP forecast to fall by 2.7% - 4bn in 2016 cash terms - by 2030. Ms Sturgeon said: "What the modelling in this paper shows beyond any doubt is if the economy, living standards and investment are our priorities, staying within the single market is absolutely essential to minimise the damage of leaving the EU." She insisted Brexit negotiations mist be focused on this rather than on preventing further splits in the Conservative Party. The First Minister said: "Keeping the Tory party together in an uneasy truce cannot and must not be a more important consideration and aspiration for the UK Government than the job prospects, living standards and opportunities for this and future generations." The research highlighted the importance of European citizens to Scotlands economy, with every person in this group contributing an average of 10,400 to government revenues each year. Ms Sturgeon said: "Over the next 25 years our own projected birthrate will not be sufficient to grow our population. "In the period to 2041, all our projected population growth will come from inward migration. "Without that our population could go into decline and with it our ability to grow our economy and fund our public services. "That would be the stark reality for Scotland of a restriction in our ability to attract people to our country "That is why, as First Minister, I have a duty to make the case for free movement, no matter how difficult that is sometimes perceived to be." She concluded: "The weight of evidence in favour of staying in the single market is compelling. "I believe there is a majority there to be harnessed that can achieve at least that outcome, so I hope the UK Government will now start to listen to this evidence." She made clear the Scottish Government "stands ready to work with others to minimise the damage of Brexit". She criticised UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, saying "time is running out" for the party to adopt a clear stance in favour of single market membership. She said: "Jeremy Corbyn may be doing his best to obfuscate on that issue and pretend he doesnt understand this, but I think the pressure within the Labour Party may change that over the next period. "If that happens, if Labour gets its act together, there are some, what I would describe as softer Brexit Tories who would I think favour single market membership." Asked if she thought she could change Theresa Mays mind on the issue, she added: "Who knows whether Theresa May will even be prime minister by the time these negotiations conclude? "There are voices within the Conservative Party that would argue for a softer Brexit and for single market membership, but put that to one side there is I believe a majority outside of the Conservative Party. "I think the bigger issue to get to that majority is to get Jeremy Corbyn off of the ridiculous position he is in. "Either Jeremy Corbyn is still misunderstanding the position of the single market, which given how often it has been pointed out to him cant possibly be the case, or he is now trying to deliberately mislead people with this line that you cannot be in the single market if youre not in the EU. Norway stands as the living proof that that is just not the case. "The forces within Labour in this direction are getting louder, so I believe that majority is there and the House of Commons can, if it chooses to, decide not to allow Theresa May to go down the road that is in her narrow party political interest to go down, and instead force a path that is much more in the interests of the country as a whole." By Gerard Cunningham A decade-old indecent assault allegation against whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe was discussed at a meeting between gardai and lawyers days before the O'Higgins commission of inquiry began hearings, the Charleton tribunal has heard. The DPP directed no prosecution on the case in 2006. The tribunal is looking at whether false allegations of sexual abuse or any other unjustified grounds were inappropriately relied upon by Commissioner OSullivan to discredit Sgt McCabe at the Commission of Investigation chaired by Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins. Ken Ruane, legal advisor to the Garda Siochana, giving evidence to the Charleton tribunal, said that Sgt McCabe's motivation in highlighting complaints had not been questioned by the garda commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan, and an internal report by assistant commissioner Derek Byrne and Chief Supt Terry McGinn accepted that he had acted in good faith. The tribunal heard evidence of notes taken by Annmarie Ryan, a solicitor from the Chief State Solicitor's office, of a meeting on May 11, 2015 between lawyers and gardai before the O'Higgins Commission began hearings days later. In her notes Ms Ryan stated that the alleged assault was raised by chief superintendent Fergus Healy. Sgt McCabe also allegedly told assistant commissioner Derek Byrne he would "bring this job to its knees" at a meeting with the senior officer in a Monaghan hotel, according to Ms Ryan's notes. "These are discussions about Sgt McCabe. They are absolutely nothing to do with the O'Higgins Commission," tribunal barrister Pat Marrinan SC said. Mr Ruane said that the case was "background information in relation to Sgt McCabe." The meeting was also given details of another whistleblower, former garda John Wilson. "This has absolutely nothing to do with the factual matters that are to be investigated by the O'Higgins Commission," Mr Marrinan said. "I believe what Chief Supt Healy was doing was giving a background to interpersonal difficulties that had arisen between Sgt McCabe and other officers," Mr Ruane said. He said that the background information gave an "indication as to what led to a breakdown in communications between Sgt McCabe and certain members of the force." Mr Ruane said that the barristers at the meeting were not given any instructions to raise the issues at the O'Higgins Commission of Inquiry. He said that something must have changed between the meeting on 11 May, and the Commission hearing on Friday 15 May where the issue was raised. Mr Ruane received a telephone call on the night of Saturday 16 May during which Ms Ryan briefed him on events at the Commission, which had sought clarification that the garda commissioner's instructions were to challenge Sgt McCabe's credibility. Mr Ruane said he was later told by Chief Supt Healy that the garda commissioner had a "private meeting with counsel". Mr Ruane said he understood this to mean a meeting without representatives from the Chief State Solicitor's Office. Mr Marrinan said that the challenges to Sgt McCabe's credibility were "entirely inconsistent" with the commissioner's public expressions of support. Mr Ruane said that with hindsight he should have discussed the case with the garda commissioner. "It would seem that there was a certain thrust to that consultation to the effect that he [Sgt McCabe] was a bitter man," tribunal chairman Mr Justice Peter Charleton said. Solicitor Annmarie Ryan told the tribunal that in the days before the Commission held its first sitting, barristers for the commissioner met with garda witnesses. In her statement to the tribunal, Ms Ryan said that "following consultations with all witnesses, Counsel advised that Sgt McCabe should be challenged on his motivation in making numerous complaints of serious corruption against several senior Officers. At the request of counsel, Chief Supt Fergus Healy was to discuss this issue with the commissioner. On the morning of 15 May Chief Supt Healy informed counsel he had spoken with the commissioner and the commissioner's instructions were to proceed in accordance with Counsels' advices." Ms Ryan said that counsel's advice was given orally, and she did not record it. She said she expected a consultation with the garda commissioner about the issue, but that did not happen. Ms Ryan said it was never the intention to bring the investigation into alleged abuse before the commission of inquiry. What mattered was Sgt Mc Cabe's interactions with garda management after the investigation. Ms Ryan said that the commissioner accepted the findings of the Byrne-McGinn internal garda inquiry, and "always accepted that there was problems primarily with younger probationary members and supervision" which were highlighted by Sgt McCabe. The tribunal resumes on Wednesday. Update 5.20pm: A woman who claims she was raped on Jason Derulos tour bus denies making it up to cover her embarrassment for engaging in sexual activity. Two men have denied raping her and falsely imprisoning her on the bus following a VIP aftershow party in Cork city in June 2014. In her direct evidence today, the complainant, who was 19 at the time of the alleged offences, claimed a man on board Jason Derulos tour bus forced her into an upstairs bunk bed and raped her. She told the jury a second man raped her afterwards, and a third said he was next before she managed to get off the bus and raise the alarm. She claims it happened after a VIP party for Mr. Derulo and his crew following a gig in the city. The American musician is not facing any charges. Defence barrister Sean Guerin put it to her that she engaged in sexual activity and then tried to put together an account to explain what happened in order to cover her embarrassment and shame. She strongly denied that was the case and insisted she repeatedly asked them to stop. Her cross-examination will resume tomorrow. Earlier: Court is told Cork VIP party rape accused admits having sex but insists it was consensual A court has heard a man accused of raping a 19-year-old woman following a Jason Derulo concert in Cork does not accept there was no consent to sex. He is one of two men who are on trial for the alleged rape and false imprisonment of the woman following a VIP party in Cork in June 2014. The court heard today how Jason Derulo and his crew attended a VIP party at the Savoy nightclub in Cork city after playing Live at the Marquee in June 2014. The complainant, who was 19 at the time, was also there. Later, she said she was invited on to Mr. Derulos tour bus by a member of his crew. While onboard, she said one of the accused put his hand inside her jumpsuit without asking if he could do so. The bus stopped a short time later, but she said this man wouldnt let her off and brought her upstairs by her arm where she claims he pushed her onto a small bunk bed and raped her. She claims a second accused man from Mr Derulos crew raped her afterwards. She told the jury she was crying. She said she was terrified and asked them to stop. After her direct evidence, Sean Guerin, whos representing one of the accused, told the court his client accepted they had sex that night but said he didnt accept it was without consent and insists no one else took part. - Digital desk Michael Clifford examines a critical review of the Garda Representative Association, which paints a picture of corporate rot that seems to start with its leadership structure. The review of the Garda Representative Association, conducted by international consultants Ampersand, is a devastating critique of a body which, the report suggests, is long past its sell-by date as currently organised. It is excoriating of almost every aspect of how the organisation is run. The greatest criticism is reserved for the management structure and system of accountability. There is precious little within it which can be grasped to explain away a few kinks or management misdemeanours. The review was proposed at the GRAs annual delegate conference in 2016. Numerous issues, most prominently the threat to strike in October, kept the GRA busy and the review wasnt commissioned until March 2017. Maybe the delegate conference should have been careful what it wished for. The conference itself comes in for scathing criticism, being viewed by many of the 10,200 members as a failed formula for policy-making or accountability, a junket, and a financial extravagance. The leadership structure is where all the corporate rot would appear to start. The GRA is divided into district, divisional, and national structures. The national central executive committee is the real power body in the organisation. The authors believe the 31-member CEC is not fit for purpose. In 2016, expenditure on travel and subsistence directly attributable to the CEC came to 658,188, which accounted for two thirds of all travel expenses in the whole organisation. The vast majority of this spending was on mileage and subsistence, but also included over 12,000 paid on road tolls. The CEC organises itself by dividing into sub-committees, a system that came in for heavy criticism. Sub-committee meetings accounted for over 132,000 in travel expenses in 2016. There are 12 sub-committees with an average of seven members on each. Each CEC member sits on three sub-committees but it is not known on what basis members are selected. There is no competence basis apparent in the election of members to sub-committees, the report states. Generally, the sub-committees meet 11 or 12 times a year in HQ, which is located in Phibsboro in Dublin. The sub-committees generally meet at 11am for one or two hours. Agendas are not issued in advance, the report says. Most sub-committees keep written minutes, although not in any standard format. Ampersand was unable to obtain minute books from three of the 12 committees. The meetings were characterised to the reports authors, with a few exceptions, as informal/casual discussions which dont necessarily go anywhere. The average cost of a sub-committee in travel expenses is 11,057. This is an expensive system, particularly where there is little measurable output, the report states. In an organisation where there is no training, and significantly less than adequate communications and information systems, this is a serious amount of money. A picture emerges of the life and tough times of a CEC member attending sub-committee meetings. He or she gets into a car maybe three times a month to drive to Phibsboro, from wherever in the country they are based. If from a far-flung corner of the country, this may require an overnight stay. They meet at around 11am, have a chat which doesnt necessarily go anywhere, and return home thereafter. For that, they pull in just south of five grand each on average, annually, on travel expenses alone. All of which is apart from their general CEC duties and meetings. The members of the CEC are all elected, so presumably the 10,200 members of the association are happy to contribute 0.6% of their annual salary to accommodate such a system. Or maybe not. The report concludes: The current sub-committee structure in the association represents an unnecessary layer, distracting the national attention and resources from the responsibility to pursue national issues to conclusion. Despite the shortcomings in effectiveness and accountability, one might imagine that based on the generous expenses, the CEC would be a happy ship for all on board, but that is not the case. Ampersand uncovered a major degree of disunity on the CEC which was perturbing the district and divisional delegates, as well as ordinary members. The perceived and observed factional position-taking and voting, constant and legalistic bickering, and the apparent inability of the national body is having a significant impact on trust and confidence, the authors say. This conflict is reported as well known within the association, and we found that it is also known to, and has been experienced and observed by external stakeholders. Ampersand sought submissions externally from the Policing Authority, GSOC, the Garda Inspectorate and the Department of Justice. Membership of the CEC is through election, but the report found a perception that it has evolved into an old boys club and a club within a club. Representative members at district level believed the CEC has a system in which internal loyalties determine who gets what in terms of national sub-committee membership. Talent was observed as less important than loyalty to those in power, or time serving in breaking into the upper echelons of the association. Strengthening the perception of an old boys club was the fact that just one of the 31 members of the CEC was a woman, despite women making up 27% of the associations membership. This was widely expressed as unacceptable, the report found. The fact that no action has been taken already The members of the CEC are all elected, so presumably the 10,200 members of the association are happy to contribute 0.6% of their annual salary to accommodate such a system. Or maybe not. The report concludes: The current sub-committee structure in the association represents an unnecessary layer, distracting the national attention and resources from the responsibility to pursue national issues to conclusion. To address the issues that contribute to this, is unusual in our experience in a representative body. Drawing on the whole pool of talent in any organisation is a taken-for-granted principle, and if women are not expressing interest in participating in the association, then this will have to be addressed. The authors recommend that a new Vision 2025 be set out for the long- term overhaul of the whole organisation. The report is due to be addressed at a delegate conference later this month, where it will either be accepted or rejected. Should it fail to be accepted, major questions will arise as to whether any rejection is in keeping with the kind of dysfunctional operation that has been outlined in this review. Richard N. Haass looks at the risks involved as the United States relationship with Pakistan deteriorates into a Twitter shouting match. Harold Brown, the US defence secretary under President Jimmy Carter, was reported to have described the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union in these terms: When we build, they build. And when we dont build, they build. From the US governments perspective, the state of current relations with Pakistan is similar: When we support Pakistan, they do things we dont like; and when we sanction Pakistan, they do things we dont like. From the Pakistani perspective, the past would be mostly a narrative of multiple betrayals, featuring a US that gets close to Pakistan for a time, only to cut off aid whenever its leaders see fit. For example, the US armed the Mujahedeen who fought the Soviets in neighbouring Afghanistan in the 1980s, but then abandoned the region soon after the Soviet military exit in 1989. Conveniently missing from this narrative is that it was Pakistans development of nuclear weapons in contravention of US law that necessitated the withdrawal of aid. Much of that US aid was restored in subsequent years. But mutual mistrust remained, in part because the father of Pakistans nuclear programme (presumably with government knowledge) aided the nuclear programmes of Libya, North Korea, and Iran. The two countries grew closer again after 9/11, when George W. Bushs administration delivered an ultimatum to the Pakistani government, telling it to choose between its relationship with the US and its relationship with the Taliban, which had opened up Afghan territory to al Qaeda. Pakistan promised that it would be a partner in the war against terror, and was rewarded in 2004 by being designated a major non-Nato ally, which qualified it to receive some of the most advanced military hardware and technology. Now, however, another American president has come to be frustrated with Pakistan. Rather than delivering the message in private in Washington or Islamabad, Donald Trump opted to go public: The US has foolishly given Pakistan 33bn in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more! If asked, which I was not, I would have recommended that such a message be delivered through diplomatic channels, because open, rhetorically charged criticism would make it even more difficult for Pakistan to change its policy course presumably US officials goal lest it appear to be a client state. And I would have argued against cutting security ties and in favour of linking US support to specific Pakistani actions. Indeed, the big US error after 9/11 was to treat Pakistan as if it were an ally. With an ally, it is possible to assume a large degree of policy overlap. With Pakistan, no such assumption can be made. Pakistan has the worlds fastest-growing nuclear arsenal, is home to some of the worlds most dangerous terrorists (including, for a time, Osama bin Laden), and, as Trump suggested, provides sanctuary to the Taliban, who are doing all they can to destabilise Afghanistan. Pakistani policy is threatening not only a decade and a half of US effort in Afghanistan, but also the lives of American soldiers still stationed there. But even a more calculated, transactional relationship will not bring the US and Pakistan closer together. Pakistan a democracy in name only, owing to the political dominance of its military and intelligence services wants an Afghanistan in which the Taliban play a dominant role. The US, for many reasons, does not. Moreover, in recent years the US has strengthened its ties with Pakistans archrival, India, with much economic and strategic momentum now carrying the relationship forward. Pakistans natural partner is increasingly China, which is already investing heavily in Pakistani infrastructure and has become a major source of military equipment. China, too, is wary of India, which will soon surpass it in population size and is emerging as an economic and strategic competitor one with which it shares a disputed border. The US should not, however, drop Pakistan. Today, Pakistan is a weak state; tomorrow, it could become a failed one. That would be a regional and global nightmare, given the presence of nuclear weapons and terrorists. Economic and humanitarian support should thus continue to flow, though with close oversight of how it is used. Some limited co-operation in countering terrorism and in Afghanistan might still be possible. To reduce the chance of war, the US should continue to work with Indians and Pakistanis to strengthen their relationship (which is less developed than the US-Soviet relationship at the height of the Cold War). It might also make sense for Pakistan to become a regular part of the US-China agenda. The US and China are discussing various scenarios on the Korean Peninsula involving their troops, nuclear weapons, and local instability. Talks on how to avoid a crisis involving Pakistan and how to manage one should prevention fail are no less urgent. Richard N. Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations. His most recent book, A World in Disarray, has just been published in paperback. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018. President Donald Trump has said a programme that protects immigrants who were brought to the US illegally as children is "probably dead", casting a cloud over already tenuous negotiations just days before a deadline on a government funding deal that Democrats have tied to immigration. At issue is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme created by President Barack Obama to shield hundreds of thousands of these individuals, known as Dreamers, from deportation. Mr Trump, who has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration, announced last year that he will end the programme unless Congress comes up with a solution by March. "Daca is probably dead because the Democrats dont really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military," the Republican president tweeted. "I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on Merit. No more Lotteries! #America First." Republicans and Democrats were already at odds over funding the government, and the negotiations became more complicated after Democrats, whose votes are needed to pass a government funding bill, insisted immigration be included. Government funding expires midnight on Friday without a deal in place, and some government functions will begin to go dark. Further disturbing the talks are comments by Mr Trump during an Oval Office meeting in which he questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the US, along with Africans from "shithole" countries, according to people briefed on the conversation. He also said he would prefer immigrants from countries like Norway instead. The White House has not denied that Mr Trump said the word "shithole". The president also rejected as insufficient an immigration deal drafted by the bipartisan group of politicians who attended that meeting. The deal had included a pathway to citizenship for the Dreamers that would take up to 12 years, as well as 1.6 billion US dollars for border security, including Mr Trumps promised wall along the US-Mexico border. Mr Trumps staunchest supporters consider any route to citizenship for the Dreamers to be an amnesty for lawbreakers. The president has said any deal must include funding for the wall as well as changes to make the immigration system a more merit-based structure. The debate over Dacas fate came as politicians were forced to answer questions about whether Mr Trump is racist. Representative Mia Love, the first black female Republican in Congress and the daughter of Haitian immigrants, denounced Mr Trumps comments as racist and called on him to apologise. "I think that would show real leadership," she said on CNNs State Of The Union on Sunday. Senator David Perdue, a Republican who was at Thursdays Oval Office meeting, insisted on Sunday that Mr Trump did not say "shithole" in referring to African countries. "I am telling you that he did not use that word. And Im telling you its a gross misrepresentation," Mr Perdue said on ABCs This Week. He said Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, were mistaken in indicating earlier that that was the case. - AP Update 8.58pm: A 30-year-old father who had been missing after mudslides cascaded through Montecito earlier this week has been identified as one of the dead. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office says Pinit Sutthithepa's body was found on Saturday afternoon. His two-year-old daughter, Lydia, is still missing. Mr Sutthithepa's six-year-old son, Peerawat, and his father-in-law, 79-year-old Richard Loring Taylor, were also among the 20 people killed. Authorities say four people, including Mr Sutthithepa's daughter, have been reported missing. Friends have said Mr Sutthithepa arrived from Thailand, leaving behind his wife and two children but sending them money for years until he could bring them to the United States. Parishioners prayed for those killed and for families still searching for missing relatives. Because most churches in coastal Montecito remain in an evacuation area, many worshippers attended Sunday services in nearby towns. At a church in Santa Barbara, they lit candles and prayed for families who lost loved ones. They said the victims were their friends and neighbours. In the disaster area, firefighters are going door to door to check the structural stability of homes damaged in the storm. Recovery crews continue to work around the clock, digging away at the masses of mud, boulders and toppled trees. AP Earlier: California mudslides death toll rises to 19 The death toll from the mudslides in California has risen to 19, authorities said. The body of Morgan Corey, 25, was found in mud and debris in Montecito, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. Her 12-year-old sister, Sawyer, had been found dead earlier. Another person who had been on the list of missing, 62-year-old Delbert Weltzin, was found alive and well, Mr Brown said without elaborating on the circumstances. The two developments reduced the number of missing from seven to five. "While every hour it remains less likely that we will find anyone alive, there is always hope," the sheriff said. The army of searchers and recovery workers in Montecito swelled to more than 2,000 five days after a powerful storm swept in from the Pacific and dumped a deluge on mountain slopes above the coastal enclave that were burned bare by a huge wildfire in December. The backbreaking work went on in the summerlike weather that has made the stretch of Santa Barbara County coast about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles a haven for the wealthy, celebrities and tourists. "We have to do whatever it takes," said Capt Tom Henzgen, leader of a team from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Long-range forecasts gave the crews about a week before the next chance of rain - and potential new mudslides - although the precipitation was expected to be disorganised and light. Another system was possible two days later. Crews worked throughout the day on Saturday to clear debris basins and officials said there was still a lot more work to be done. Tom Fayram, the deputy director of the county's flood control district, said the crews were making great progress and he was confident that at least a base level of water would be able to pass through the creek channels. Much of the community of about 9,000 remained under mandatory evacuation orders, even unscathed areas, as crews both removed debris and worked to restore water, sanitation, power and gas. All warnings and orders for neighbouring Summerland and Carpinteria were lifted. Tanker trucks sucked muddy water from flooded sections of US 101, the only direct major artery between Los Angeles and the Santa Barbara region. The California Department of Transportation abandoned an estimate of reopening the highway on Monday and said it was not known when the closure would be lifted. Amtrak, which began restoring rail service two days after the flood, was adding cars to trains because of heavy demand. Two boat companies that normally take tourists out to Channel Islands National Park and on whale-watching excursions were ferrying people between the Ventura and Santa Barbara harbours. Santa Barbara County said authorities were testing the ocean waters. Down the coast in Ventura County, environmental health officials warned that storm runoff can carry disease-causing bacteria and warned the public to avoid contact with ocean water until tests are reviewed next week. In the disaster zone, searchers used chain saws and rakes to remove logs and sift through the remnants of what was left of multimillion-dollar homes. Crews with backhoes and jackhammers pulverised enormous boulders that were left when the torrents stopped. Rescuers said they would search every piece of debris and pile of dirt to look for the missing. The so-called Thomas fire, which led to the floods, was declared fully contained on Friday. It erupted on December 4 in Ventura County and destroyed more than 1,000 structures as it swept through the city of Ventura and then threatened Carpinteria, Summerland and Santa Barbara. At 440 square miles, it became the largest wildfire in California records. AP In an email to GPs last week, Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), said due to long waiting lists for patients with prolapse [prolapsed womb], we are looking at moving towards the HSE model of integrated care with both hospital and GPs playing a part. It would involve GPs fitting a pessary, a device to shore up a prolapsed womb. To train for this role, CUMH invited GPs to attend a masterclass in pessary fitting at a cost of 200 per person, made payable to the Cork University Foundation, to fund research. The email explained that the initiative was against a backdrop of an almost year- long wait for new patients on the pessary waiting-list. Women with prolapse can suffer from a range of distressing problems, including urinary continence. In extreme cases, the entire uterus is outside the vagina. GP Mary Favier, from Cork City, said GPs were absolutely incensed by the proposal, as they had already been FEMPI-ed to within an inch of our lives and yet were being charged by their hospital colleagues to assist in reducing their workload. She said GPs attending the masterclass would have to hire locums for the day at a cost of approximately 250 and with four GPs in her practice, the cost was heading north of 2,000. The Irish College of General Practitioners sent a stinging response to CUMH saying the proposal was doubtless well intentioned but that GPs are currently not resourced or remunerated to provide a pessary fitting service. Additionally pessaries are not covered by GMS prescription nor are they supplied by the HSE, the ICGP wrote. If your clinic received zero funding from the HSE and you required all patients to bring their own pessary, I wonder how sustainable this would be? The response from Barry OReilly, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynaecology, head of urogynaecology, CUMH, was to apologise immediately, while continuing to offer the masterclass, but without charge. It is obvious that we have failed to appreciate the enormous burden of work that you already perform in primary care, said Prof OReilly. Whilst our intentions were entirely honourable we acknowledge our misjudgement. CUMH was in the headlines last year for what Health Minister Simon Harris said were unacceptably high waiting times for women with gynaecological problems. Additional resources have been provided and progress has been made, with the number waiting 12 months or more down from 1,881 last April to 1,147 as of the end of November. The overall number on the outpatient list was 3,874 on November 30 last. The additional funding needed by universities and institutes of technology will be as much as 600m a year by 2020, according to the Cassells Report published by Education Minister Richard Bruton in July 2016. However, he has insisted on awaiting the deliberations of a divided Oireachtas Education Committee. The cross-party committee has failed to reach agreement on whether students or taxpayers should bear the brunt of the cost, which will rise to an extra 1bn a year by 2030. The absolute need to match increasing student numbers with increased investment is emphasised by an expert panel whose proposals have been backed by the Cabinet. They are designed to make the higher education system more responsive to economic and societal needs, as well as making colleges more accountable for how they spend public money. However, the changes will require increased targeted investment in order to generate the maximum impact, said the panel chaired by Brid Horgan, Bank of Ireland Pension Fund chair and a member of Dublin City University governing authority. Our recommendations can deliver much-needed change but can only be fully implemented if supported by increased investment, they wrote. Their report was commissioned by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which administers over 1bn a year in public funding to more than 20 colleges. We believe that the recommendations in this review deliver the reform sought, but will require increased targeted investment to maximise their impact, wrote the expert panel, whose report has been approved by the Cabinet. It is being published today by Mr Bruton and minister of state higher education Mary Mitchell OConnor, but the fine detail of several of the recommendations have yet to decide. For example, the additional investment that would go to colleges for running higher-cost science and technology courses, or the increased funding for having disadvantaged students, or running part-time or other flexible learning courses, have all yet to be decided. Further discussions have yet to decide also the level to which courses in a number of disciplines might be better resourced. These include areas such as computer science or health profession degrees with lab-based and work-based training, or teacher education and pharmacy courses in which recent reforms have not been reflected in the funding colleges get to run them. Among the recommendations the experts said are conditional on extra overall funding to the sector, whether from public investment or student fees, are an innovation funds and a performance fund to reward colleges that excel in particular areas. The possibility of including capital funding for maintaining buildings and equipment within each colleges annual allocation is also contingent on additional investment. The Department of Education said it looks forward to receiving the committees recommendations. The measures are part of a funding overhaul aimed at making universities and institutes of technology more responsive to economic and societal needs. However, while those who meet targets in those areas will be eligible for a greater share of public funding, they will also be expected to be more accountable for over 1bn of taxpayers money they receive annually. A new system of monitoring performance under several governance headings is among the plans being announced today by Education Minister Richard Bruton and Higher Education Minister Mary Mitchell OConnor. A further incentive for third-level institutions to toe the line, following a series of high-profile spending and oversight failings dealt with at the Dail Public Accounts Committee last year, will see a penalty system introduced. The level or range of financial sanctions is yet to be determined, and will be the subject of discussions by the Department of Education and Higher Education Authority (HEA) with bodies representing the universities and institutes of technology. However, the Cabinet has approved the proposal, which is recommended in an 82-page report for the HEA by an expert panel tasked with proposing reforms to how individual colleges share of the higher education budget is decided. The panel, chaired by Bank of Ireland Pension Fund trustees chairperson Brid Horan, recommends a penalty system for serious breaches of compliance with governance. They suggest this could be used for issues such as: Unsanctioned payments to staff; Failure to provide timely and accurate submission of required information or data; False financial statistical, or governance reporting; Wilful breaches of the relevant codes of governance. A number of unsanctioned payments were the subject of grillings for several university chiefs over the last decade, when they acknowledged senior management or researchers were being paid salaries or packages outside agreed caps. The expert panels report, also published today, says constraints over industrial relations and capital borrowing are critical impediments to the market responsiveness needed for a fully internationally-competitive Irish higher education system. These constraints are unlikely to be eased without full confidence over the governance of, and accountability for, exchequer funding, it says. The CSO is conducting a detailed examination this year of the recording of domestic abuse incidents by gardai to determine if the data is reliable. The CSO also said it is unclear when it will be able to resume publishing Garda crime statistics after it postponed publication over concerns on homicide figures for a third time at the end of December, but planned to publish again in the first half of 2018. As reported in the Irish Examiner last May, the CSO concluded that it can not stand over Garda domestic violence figures after conducting an analysis and recommended that a number of measures be taken. The CSO said its quality report on domestic abuse data will be quite an arduous process and involve examination of Pulse computer records and paper records to determine if domestic abuse is recorded as such. There have been long-running concerns in this area, highlighted in particular in the Garda Inspectorates landmark Crime Investigation report in November 2014, which found that 45% of domestic violence calls to gardai were not recorded on the Pulse system. Last May, the CSO said it conducted an analysis of Garda domestic violence data going back six years and concluded they were not sufficiently robust to be published. Olive Loughnane of the CSO Crime Section said they will conduct an examination of domestic violence data this year. We will be examining it as part of our quality report, in what is now called domestic abuse to reflect that it does not necessarily involve physical violence, said Ms Loughnane. We will look at the data from 2017 and look at the progress of the issues we raised. She said it will involve trawling through records on Pulse and paper, adding that the report should be finished by September. Ms Loughnane said there is a box on Pulse for MO and that domestic violence can be put into that but said the issue is gardai are not sure when to put that in. To count something, people need to know what they are supposed to be counting, she said. Ms Loughnane said issues raised with gardai include clarity over what constitutes domestic abuse and the need for ongoing monitoring of the quality of data. She said there have been improvements with Pulse and that the imminent hiring of a Garda data quality officer should make a big difference. A Garda spokesman said a pilot scheme is ongoing where all incidents including domestic violence and sexual abuse are classified on Pulse at the Garda Information Service Centre (GISC) and not by individual gardai. In addition, there is a data quality review team in GISC to ensure that incidents are being classified correctly, said the spokesman. Two regions have been involved in the pilot the North and the West and it is expected that all regions will come under this process by the end of the year. Gardai also produced a domestic abuse intervention policy 2017 last July. The spokesman said this policy provides direction to members on classifying domestic abuse incidents on Pulse and that training of members is in progress. Ms Loughnane said the CSO also intends to publish the general Garda crime data in the first six months of this year. It last published quarterly data in March 2017 and has since postponed publishing three times in June, September, and December. She said it is unclear when exactly they will be able to publish the data, but plan to do so either in March or June. The delay relates to CSO concerns on homicide figures as well as an internal Garda review. It has also confirmed that it has issued hundreds of fines to lobbyists who failed to submit returns on their activities on time. The Irish Examiner can reveal that the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) has levied more than 500 fines to lobbyists who failed to submit their returns on time, under powers granted last year by the Regulation of Lobbying Act. The law makes it an offence for lobbyists to lobby politicians without registering with Sipo, fail to make their returns on time, provide Sipo with misleading or inaccurate information, or obstruct or fail to comply with an investigating Sipo officer. While the Act was introduced in 2015, its powers were rolled out on an incremental basis in order to afford lobbyists time to register with Sipo and meet the new legal requirements. However, as of January 2017, the act armed Sipo with powers to investigate and prosecute contraventions of the new law. A spokesperson for Sipo confirmed that it has now initiated several prosecution proceedings in the District Court against registrants who have failed to comply with their obligations. I cannot comment on individual compliance matters or investigations, said the Sipo spokesperson. What I can say is that the Commission has, since the commencement of the enforcement provisions, levied more than 500 fixed payment notices in respect of returns filed after the relevant deadline. If a person submits a return after the deadline, they may be levied with a fixed payment notice of 200, and if it is paid, no prosecution will ensue. If it is not paid, the contravention may be prosecuted on a summary basis. The fixed payment notice is issued only in cases where returns are filed late. Where the Commission has information about other possible contraventions, including lobbying without registering or failing to make a return, the Commission does undertake to investigate, Sipo said. Such violations of the act can result in a 2,500 fine at District Court level, however if found guilty on indictment, the sanction can result in a prison sentence of up to two years. Sipo also said it will reveal details of the cases brought to the District Courts when it issues its 2017 Regulation of Lobbying Annual Report sometime later this year. Last years annual report revealed that there was a total of 1,565 lobbyists registered with Sipo. These registrants made 8,314 returns across 2016. Lobbyists must file their latest returns, covering their activities from September to December 2017, by 21 January 21. The Department of Education agreed the purchase last May with the Irish Grehyound Board (IGB), but the deal was subject at the time to a change in zoning that would facilitate institutional and community use on the six-acre site. A vote by members of Dublin City Council last September approved that change, which opens the way for a planning application to build schools. The department hopes to use the site to meet future requirements for a growing south Dublin population, the rezoning does not guarantee success for any such application. Despite the planning variations, the IGBs latest financial accounts published with its 2016 annual report, suggest it could be late July before the deal is completed. The accounts signed off at the end of October say the closure of the Harolds Cross site is anticipated to be concluded in the next nine months. The Department of Education told the Irish Examiner the acquisition is in final stages of conveyancing which is a routine part of an acquisition process. No payments will be made until conveyancing has been completed and contracts are signed. The agreement for Education Minister Richard Brutons department to buy the site was announced on May 2, and Agriculture Minister Michael Creed and Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Paschal Donohoe gave their approval within weeks. The valuation on the Harolds Cross stadium site was questioned by TDs when IGB officials and board members were quizzed at the Dail Public Accounts Committee last May. Sinn Feins David Cullinane said it was remarkable how the value of the deal was enough to wipe out the boards debts, with some additional funds. The IGBs total debts at end of 2016 were 20.3m but this had reduced to 18.1m by the end of March. Fianna Fail PAC member Marc MacSharry, who is also an auctioneer, suggested that current south Dublin land values mean the site should only have been worth around 9m. The Department of Education said the 23m price was based on the market value that was provided by the Valuation Office, as required by protocol for the transfer of property assets between two State entities. The boards decision to cease racing at the Harolds Cross track in February caused a major rift with owners and breeders. Louis Duffy, head of the county council environment directorate, has said that, on average, approximately 59% of septic tanks inspected in the county so far were non-complaint with regulations. While many can be fixed by simple desludging, some have more serious defects requiring total replacement, which could cost householders in excess of 10,000. Those who did not sign up to the septic tank register before February 1, 2013, will not be eligible for a government grant to fix them. Mr Duffy said up to 20% of systems require significant remediation works. Costs can vary from less than 2,000 where a percolation area needs to be renewed, to more than 10,000 where the whole system has to be replaced, he said. Grant aid of up to 80% of the cost of the works is available, although the maximum payment is capped at 4,000. A total of 146 inspections were carried out in the period 2013 to 2014. Of these, 79 were found to be non-compliant, and advisory notices were served on them requiring remediation works to be carried out. All but four of those householders have rectified problems. The four that still have not complied because they can not afford to do so. Council officials say that the four do not pose a direct risk to human health, but do pose a risk to the environment. Cork County Council continues to work in a co- operative manner with householders to encourage them to carry out any necessary remediation works to comply with their notices, said Mr Duffy. Where necessary legal action will be taken to achieve compliance. While inspections are random, they are being carried out in what are known as at- risk areas. The are areas close to rivers, lakes, groundwater sources, coastal and estuarine waters. Since the inspections started in 2013, the county council has carried out a total of 459. Of those, 59% were deemed non-complaint. Mr Duffy has said more grant aid should be provided to enable increased inspections, especially because of the high non-compliance rates. He said at the current rate of inspection, around 100 per year, it would take 500 years to inspect every septic tank in the county. For high risk areas such as beaches where water quality may be at risk from septic tanks, Cork County Council initiated a new approach and produced a specific leaflet for distribution to householders in particular high risk areas. The leaflets identify the risks posed by poorly functioning septic tanks in their area and recommend basic maintenance measures, including desludging which should be undertaken every two to three years by an authorised contractor, Mr Duff said. He added that the leaflets have been distributed door to door in a number of beach areas and have been well received by the public. Fiona Tuomey alleges that these flaws contributed to the death of her daughter, Milly Tuomey, in 2016. The case, against the HSE, a private psychology clinic, St John of God community services, a doctor and a therapist, was launched on January 3, almost two years to the day after Millys death, according to a report in yesterdays Sunday Independent. The inquest into Millys death heard that the Dublin schoolgirl had been unhappy with her physical appearance and posted on her Instagram account the date on which she intended to die. She was referred to a private clinic and later the HSEs Child and Adolescent Services (CAMHS) for a clinical assessment. She died on January 4, 2016, the day before her first appointment with the service. Fiona Tuomeys solicitor, Michael Finucane, told the paper: My clients are not focused on monetary damages but rather in exposing the flaws in the Irish health care system that contributed to their daughters death by suicide. The inquest into Millys death was far too restrictive an exercise to achieve this to any meaningful extent. The HSE said they were not in a position to comment on any such legal matters. The inquest was confined to examining the circumstances leading to Millys death. On New Years Day 2016, the family had dinner and settled down to watch a movie. The inquest heard that Milly said she was bored and left the room. A short time later she was found by her older sister in a critical condition. She died three days later. Her first appointment with CAMHs had been scheduled for the following day. Originally, the appointment was scheduled for January 30, but was brought forward when her mother found a suicide diary and medication under her daughters bed. During the inquest, the coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, noted evidence that more resources were needed for child and adolescent mental health services and recommended that more support and information be provided to parents while they waited for their children to be seen. Last month, childrens charity Barnardos highlighted the latest HSE figures which show 2,333 children waiting for mental health services. However, within the meeting, more than a few concerned glances will be shot towards Fianna Fails offices as it becomes clear that both parties and therefore individual constituency rivals are leaning opposite ways on an issue that could prove crucially to securing local support for swing seats at the next general election. An Irish Examiner poll of all Fine Gael and Fianna Fail Oireachtas members over the weekend has found that while there is a slow but growing support for a repeal vote among Fine Gael representatives, the view among Fianna Fail could not be more different. Among Fine Gael TDs and senators, 24 (18 TDs and six senators) are now in favour of repealing the Eighth, five are publicly opposed (three TDs and two senators), with the remaining 40 (29 TDs and 11 senators) yet to express a view. Similarly, on the likely introduction of a law to allow for unrestricted access to abortion up to 12 weeks pregnancy in the event of a repeal decision, 19 (15 TDs and four senators) are in favour, 11 (eight TDs and three senators) are opposed and the remaining 39 (27 TDs and 12 senators) are undecided. However, among Fianna Fail representatives, the split is different for those who have decided a position. Among the partys TDs and senators, nine (six TDs and three senators) are in favour of repeal, 22 (18 TDs and four senators) are opposed, and the remaining 27 (21 TDs and six senators) have no view. And on the 12 week question, just seven (four TDs and three senators) Fianna Fail representatives are in favour and a notable 27 (23 TDs and four senators) are opposed, with the remaining 20 (14 TDs and six senators) yet to decide their position. The divergent views come early in what will be a long referendum campaign, the first real shots of which will be fired this week. What is clear is that despite growing disquiet within Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, there should be enough numbers in the Dail to carry the referendum bill to hold a vote to repeal the Eighth. What is less clear is what will replace it. There is a split in Fianna Fail regarding support for unrestricted access up to 12 weeks and flaky support in Fine Gael. Leo Varadkar, who like Micheal Martin is one of those still undecided TDs, came in for criticism last week when he suggested the 12-week limit may be a step too far. And, while the public may or may not agree, among politicians he has a point. A repeal vote and 12 week unrestricted abortion access may be what the country ultimately wants, but how it impacts on crucial seats in the Dail and Seanad at the next election is the last thing TDs and senators trying to decide where they stand while keep an eye on their constituency rivals really need. Where Fine Gael and Fianna Fail politicians stand FINE GAEL TDs Maria Bailey: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Sean Barrett: Did not respond Pat Breen: Did not respond Colm Brophy: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: I support the committees views Richard Bruton: No view until after this weeks debates Catherine Byrne: Did not respond Ciaran Cannon: Repeal: No view until after this weeks debates; 12 weeks: No Marcella Corcoran Kennedy: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Simon Coveney: No view until after this weeks debates Michael Creed: No view until after this weeks debates Michael DArcy: Did not respond Jim Daly: No view until after this weeks debates John Deasy: Did not respond Pat Deering: Did not respond Regina Doherty: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Paschal Donohoe: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Andrew Doyle: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Bernard Durkan: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Damien English: Did not respond Alan Farrell: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Uncertain... a limited, qualified term limit may be required Frances Fitzgerald: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Peter Fitzpatrick: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Charlie Flanagan: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Brendan Griffin: No view until after this weeks debates Simon Harris: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Martin Heydon: Did not respond Heather Humphreys: No view until after this weeks debates Paul Kehoe: No view until after this weeks debates. However, he is understood to have raised significant concerns at last weeks cabinet meeting and referenced his Catholic faith Enda Kenny: Did not respond Sean Kyne: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Undecided, but has a number of concerns Josepha Madigan: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Helen McEntee: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Tony McLoughlin: Did not respond Joe McHugh: Declined to comment. However, he is understood to have raised significant concerns at last weeks cabinet meeting Dara Murphy: Did not respond Eoghan Murphy: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Hildegarde Naughton: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Tom Neville: Did not respond Kate OConnell: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Mary Mitchell OConnor: Did not respond Patrick ODonovan: Did not respond John Paul Phelan: Repeal:No; 12 weeks: No Michael Ring: Did not respond Noel Rock: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes David Stanton: No view until after this weeks debates Leo Varadkar: No view until after this weeks debates Fergus ODowd: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: No view until after this weeks debates Peter Burke: No view until after this weeks debates Joe Carey: Did not respond FINE GAEL SENATORS Colm Burke: No view until after the referendum bill and 12 weeks legislation is published Paddy Burke: Did not respond Ray Butler: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Jerry Buttimer: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Tim Lombard: Did not respond Gabrielle McFadden: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Conflicting views Michelle Mulherin: Did not respond Catherine Noone: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Maria Byrne: Did not respond Maura Hopkins: Did not respond Frank Feighan: No view until after this weeks debates Paudie Coffey: Did not respond Martin Conway: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: I will be supporting whatever the Government propose Paul Coghlan: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Kieran ODonnell: Did not respond John OMahony: Did not respond James Reilly: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Did not respond but is understood to support the plan Neale Richmond: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Joe OReilly: No view until after this weeks debates FINE GAEL MEPs Brian Hayes: Did not respond Sean Kelly: Did not respond Mairead McGuinness: Did not respond Deirdre Clune: Repeal: Yes;12 weeks: Surprised at recommendation but has no view until after this weeks debates FIANNA FAIL TDs Bobby Alyward: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No John Brassil: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Declan Breathnach: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Mary Butler: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Jackie Cahill: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Dara Calleary: Did not respond Pat Casey: Did not respond James Lawless: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Sean Haughey: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Pat the cope Gallagher: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Sean Fleming: Did not respond John Curran: Did not respond Jack Chambers: Did not respond Shane Cassells: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Marc Mac Sharry: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Michael McGrath: No view until after this weeks debates John McGuinness: Did not respond Aindrias Moynihan: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Eugene Murphy: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Kevin OKeeffe: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Fiona OLoughlin: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: No, I am grappling with the 12 weeks issue Sean OFearghail: Did not respond Eamon Scanlon: Did not respond Brendan Smith: Did not respond Michel Martin: No view until after this weeks debates Barry Cowen: Repeal: No view until after this weeks debates; 12 weeks: I have concerns there Darragh OBrien: Repeal: No view until after this weeks debates; 12 weeks: No Stephen Donnelly: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Robert Troy: Repeal: No view until after this weeks debates; 12 weeks: I have reservations Michael Moynihan: No view until after this weeks debates Timmy Dooley: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Jim OCallaghan: Repeal: Yes;12 weeks: No John Lahart: No view until after this weeks debates Margaret OMahony Murphy: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No James Browne: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Lisa Chambers: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Billy Kelleher: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Eamon OCuiv: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Niall Collins: No view until after this weeks debates Thomas Byrne: No view until after this weeks debates Willie ODea: No view until after this weeks debates Charlie McConalogue: Did not respond Anne Rabbitte: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Niamh Smyth: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No FIANNA FAIL SENATORS Mark Daly: No view until after this weeks debates Paul Daly: Repeal: I believe in the right to life of the unborn other than in lifethreatening circumstances; 12 weeks: No Aidan Davitt: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Robbie Gallagher: Did not respond Gerry Horkin: Did not respond Lorraine Clifford Lee: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Catherine Ardagh: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Jennifer Murnane OConnor: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Denis ODonovan: No view due to his Seanad cathaoirleach position Ned OSullivan: Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Diarmuid Wilson: Repeal: No; 12 weeks: No Keith Swanick: Did not respond Terry Leydon: Did not respond OTHER PARTIES Sinn Fein (23 TDs, six senators): Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Currently unable to support this due to party policy. However, this may be changed at a still unscheduled normal ard fheis before the referendum Labour (Seven TDs, three senators): Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Solidarity-People Before Profit (Six TDs): Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks: Yes Social Democrats (Two TDs): Repeal: Yes; 12 weeks:Yes Greens (Two TDs, one senator): Repeal: Yes; 12weeks: Yes Independents4Change (Four TDs): Repeal: Yes; 12weeks: Yes Independents (17 TDs, 16 senators): Repeal: (19 yes, seven no, 11 undeclared) An exclusive Irish Examiner poll, before a special three-day Dail and Seanad debate this week and a private Fine Gael meeting today, has found that the two parties are diverging on the repeal issue and specifically the proposed 12-week limit. The poll shows 24 Fine Gael TDs and senators back repeal and only five are openly opposed, while nine Fianna Fail TDs and senators are in favour and 22 are opposed. On the question of allowing unrestricted access to abortion up to 12 weeks, the split widens further, with 19 Fine Gael TDs and senators in favour and 11 opposed, compared to just seven Fianna Fail representatives in favour and at least 27 opposed. Under plans agreed as part of last years Citizens Assembly recommendations on the Eighth Amendment, a cross-party committee was tasked with providing a two-stage roadmap on how to reform Irelands abortion laws. This committee last month recommended a straight repeal-or-retain referendum if it is backed by the Oireachtas, and that politicians should legislate for unrestricted access to abortion up to 12 weeks pregnancy if this referendum is passed. The growing split in the views of Irelands two biggest parties on the repeal and 12-week issues is set to weigh heavily on this weeks Dail and Seanad debates, and the behind-closed-doors Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting this afternoon. This is because of the possible impact of these views on tightly contested constituencies in the run-up to the next general election, with fears from backbenchers that they could be out-flanked by local rivals depending on their referendum position. While both parties have given members a free vote on the questions, the split is also likely to influence the large number of both parties TDs and senators who have yet to express a view. And while overall Dail and Seanad numbers mean that the repeal referendum bill is still likely to be passed, allowing for a referendum on the Eighth Amendment this summer, such influence raises serious questions over whether the recommended 12-week limit legislation following a yes vote referendum will be introduced. According to the Irish Examiner poll, out of Fine Gaels 50 TDs and 19 senators: 24 (18 TDs and six senators) back repealing the Eighth Amendment, five (three TDs and two senators) are opposed, and 40 (29 TDs and 11 senators) have yet to express a view; 19 (15 TDs and four senators) support the suggested the 12-week limit, 11 (eight TDs and three senators) are opposed to legislating for this, and 39 (27 TDs and 12 senators) have yet to express a view. Among Fianna Fails 45 TDs and 13 senators, the poll findings show: Nine (six TDs and three senators) back repealing the Eighth Amendment, although no backbenchers support this move, 22 (18 TDs and four senators) are opposed, and 27 (21 TDs and six senators) have yet to express a view; Just seven (four TDs and three senators) support the 12-week limit planned legislation, 27 (23 TDs and four senators) are opposed, and 20 (14 TDs and six senators) have yet to express a view. Meanwhile, Fine Gael will hold a special four-hour parliamentary party meeting on the abortion issue at Leinster House today before a three-day Dail and Seanad abortion debate begins tomorrow. The meeting will take place behind closed doors between 2pm and 6pm and will hear senior ministers say there is no plan B on the 12-week limit. However, a number of pro-life TDs and senators are also due to say that the abortion committees recommendations go too far and cannot be supported. A number of backbench Fine Gael TDs said they are likely to raise the issue at a behind-closed-doors Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting at Leinster House this afternoon in a bid to ensure their constituencies are not left behind. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy will tell Fine Gael colleagues the Government will publish a 100bn capital plan this month, outlining which infrastructure projects will be prioritised. In particular, they are expected to say that unlike previous plans during the Celtic Tiger era, the new capital plan will be linked to a separate planning framework document to help ensure that initiatives are practical and do not waste money by becoming white elephants. The plan is set to focus on further rollout of the Luas project in Dublin, rail and road developments in Munster and Connacht, education funding rises, health projects including the building of new hospitals, and housing initiatives, in tandem with growing communities in specific areas. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the 10-year plan is needed to ensure our economy has the capacity to grow and to allow much- needed investment in public services that have been neglected in years gone by. The Taoiseach has emphasised the need to ensure all regions receive funding boosts. However, a number of FG TDs in rural areas said they are concerned their constituencies may be overlooked, and will raise the issue at todays meeting. The meeting takes place hours after Mr Murphy this morning publishes a 2017 housing sector progress report which he will claim shows the Rebuilding Ireland strategy is working. He will say 25,000 people received new homes last year and the number of social housing units built was three times that of 2016 a claim likely to be questioned by homelessness campaign groups. Actor, Paul Newman, was definitely onto something when he noted that there really is no such thing as a sick child; there are children who happen to be sick. And any child who is in hospital for an emergency treatment or management of an ongoing condition is still a child they just cant rampage around or pop out to the nearest playground. Aches and pains, feelings of confusion; a pulverised routine and fear of whats coming next teamed with a worried parent who may have spent the night on a hospital floor and you have a recipe for a pretty miserable time which may just prompt a terror of any future medical interventions. Thats where Children in Hospital Ireland (CHI) volunteers come in. They literally make hospital a happier place for a child who has to be there. Children who are well enough to walk or be brought to the play area can enjoy a bright, colourful environment filled with books, jigsaws, games and arts and crafts. The volunteers also pop around and visit children who cant leave their ward, bringing puzzles or some other distraction. CHI was set up by Dublin mum, Patricia Hemmens, whose child was hospitalised in 1969. The advice at the time was to not visit the child who might naturally get upset when their parent had to leave. She wasnt happy with the stark, clinical experience her child endured for five weeks and teamed up with like-minded parents to form childrens charity, CHI. CHI spokeswoman, Maura Lavelle, explains that each year there are more than 270,000 child visits to hospitals: For more than 150,000 children this means an average of a three night stay. And 75,000 child inpatients are under four years of age and almost all admitted through A&E an unexpected and unplanned visit. Most parents of young children wouldnt plan a car journey of more than an hour without treats and activities on hand so once their hospitalised child is being looked after medically you can imagine the need for a few distractions might kick in. And a parent who probably hasnt slept or eaten properly might not be best placed to improvise some fun games. My own daughter was in Cork University Hospital a few years back and still has happy memories of the volunteers and the playroom there. Thankfully, she wasnt seriously ill and once her IV antibiotics started working she was eager to get the sleepover party started. I, on the other hand, had left two other kids at home with my husband and had spent the night moving between the floor and an armchair. Besides a bit of stolen toast from my daughters tray, I hadnt had much breakfast and was feeling grimy and crabby. In fairness, there is a very handy little kitchenette in the childrens hospital wing for parents to use but you cant bring hot drinks into the wards and cant really leave your child alone too long, so when a smiling volunteer in a bright t-shirt popped in to invite us to a playroom we were both thrilled. A flurry of make-and-do with glitter and stickers followed and I got my cup of tea. Small pleasures but a big deal at the time. And my daughter even got a copy of Spraoi which all her classmates were using. She had been fretting over missing out on this classic pre-Christmas annual loved by school children. Maura laughs: Yes its the little things that make a child happy but if they leave hospital with a good memory it makes it easier on them if they have to be treated again later. "And Folens [publisher of educational material] are great they donate 8,000 annuals to us every year. Disney Ireland is another company supporting CHI they give them around 450 gift bags to distribute each year. The 402 CHI volunteers are based at 13 hospitals nationwide and there are hopes to expand this scheme to other hospitals. They are looking for volunteers with around 2-3 hours to spare per week. Theres a 10 membership fee but CHI cover the 300-plus cost of vetting and training. Volunteers must be over 18 years of age, enthusiastic, caring, reliable and be prepared to sign up for at least a year, explains Maura. While 95% of the volunteers are women, men are very welcome also. Volunteers are aged from 18 to some in their 80s. They dont have to have children of their own and dont need any specific skills as the play is child-led. Becky Pinckheard (far left) has been a CHI volunteer at Cork University Hospital for two years. She got involved when she moved home to Ireland from America. The 29-year-old had volunteered as a Candy-Striper in a hospital gift shop in the US so wanted something similar and which was at a consistent time each week. Becky, a civil engineer, finds the work very enjoyable and rewarding: I love meeting new children and also the ones who have been in hospital for a while. I have one little girl who has been coming to the playroom for around seven weeks now. "They are delighted to see you and while I love working with them I am really delighted when they are not visiting any more and have recovered and gone home. Dippy the dinosaur goes on display at the Ulster Museum in Belfast, one of eight venues on a grand tour the giant reptile will make following his rehabilitation in Canada. Norwich cathedral will host him in July 2020. Remembering the anger of Bishop Wilberforce and his supporters when On the Origin of Species appeared in 1859, this may be one for the books. The dean of the cathedral, Jane Hedges, said: The presence of Dippy in Norwich will naturally bring people from all backgrounds and beliefs and will stimulate questions and debate about creation and the origins of life. Anyone who has visited the Natural History Museum in London will remember Dippy. His skeleton, 21.3m length and 4.25m high, dominated the large hall at the entrance to this great secular cathedral. The original fossilised skeleton, nearly complete, was discovered by workmen building a railway through the badlands of Wyoming in 1898. The species was named Diplodocus carnegii in honour of the great philanthropist and housed in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Carnegie had 10 plaster copies made of the bones, one set of which he sent to London. The reassembled skeleton went on show to the public there in 1905. The giant reptile lived about 150m years ago. Standing on four stocky legs, this vegetarian browser, resembling a suspension bridge, had the horizontal posture of a cow. A very long tail counter-balanced the long neck. It may also have functioned as a defensive whip, capable of producing loud warning cracks. The experts, a century ago, did a remarkable job in working out how a diplodocus might have looked but todays palaeontologists think they didnt get it entirely right. The beasts head and tail were carried higher than was formerly thought. The fossils of the front feet were not found; it was assumed that, elephant-like, they were similar to the back ones. Examination of diplodocus footprints, however, shows that the animals weight was carried mainly by the back legs. The front feet were small. The restored plaster cast will present a thoroughly modern, 21st century, version of Dippy. The embalmed bodies of Chairman Mao Zedong in Bejing, and Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, are on permanent display to the public. I didnt pay my respects to Mao on a visit to Tiananmen Square, the queue was too long, but I did call on Ho in his huge mausoleum in the Vietnamese capital. The constant adulation of millions of pilgrims takes its toll on the cadavers and, I was told, the remains are sent away for servicing from time to time. Dippy needs similar maintenance. Despite his size, he should be somewhat easier to repair than the bodies of the great helmsman and Uncle Ho; he consists mainly of plaster, a material which crumbles into dust over time. The countless admirers, who insisted on touching Dippy, accelerated the process. He was dismantled and sent to Toronto in 2017. A blue whale, the largest animal ever to have lived, and twice the size of titanosaurus the largest known dinosaur, has taken Dippys place up front at the museum. This is an actual skeleton and not a plaster cast. The giant, injured by whalers, came to grief when he was beached in Wexford Harbour in 1891. Dippy goes on show at the Ulster Museum from September 28 next to January 6 2019. 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for 2 days only For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have blocked the interstate road Call on the international community for an adequate response against azerbaijani aggresssion Google Ad Transformation and trust are important for success in modern banking. Artak Hanesyan UCOMS LEVEL UP 1700 REGIONAL TARIFF PLAN USERS TO RECEIVE MORE THAN THOSE IN YEREVAN Joint statement Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Covid-19: 163 new cases in Armenia Armenia: Remarks by Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi at the press point with Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan The United States Welcomes Azerbaijans Release of Armenian Detainees and Armenias Actions to Facilitate Demining The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia International aviation: Council greenlights signing of major agreements with four countries With UCOMs level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Netflix, Duolingo and Zoom Armenia: Statement by the Spokesperson on the early parliamentary elections Armenias Parliamentary Elections PRESS STATEMENT Google Ad COVID19:77 new cases Armenias early parliamentary elections were competitive and well run, but polarized and marred by aggressive rhetoric, international observers say International election observers to Armenias early parliamentary elections held press conference Drop Charges Against Rights Defender Sashik Sultanyan The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia The European Union in Armenia calls all parties to contribute to a peaceful Election Day to celebrate democracy 22 ventilators to Armenia PACE to observe the early parliamentary elections in Armenia With Ucom's level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Tiktok, Spotify and Coursera PACE rapporteur welcomes Azerbaijans release of Armenian captives and Armenias handing over of mine-maps to Azerbaijan Armenia/Azerbaijan: Statement by High Representative Josep Borrell on the latest developments Pashinyan to publicly apology to Khachatryans During EURO 2020 Ucom subscribers to take part in the uMeter voting and draw President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan met with Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovayev "uDays" special offer at Ucom: discounts for all smartphones and accessories for 2 days only For more than 3 hours, 50 or more Azerbaijani servicemen have blocked the interstate road Call on the international community for an adequate response against azerbaijani aggresssion Transformation and trust are important for success in modern banking. Artak Hanesyan UCOMS LEVEL UP 1700 REGIONAL TARIFF PLAN USERS TO RECEIVE MORE THAN THOSE IN YEREVAN Joint statement Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group Covid-19: 163 new cases in Armenia Armenia: Remarks by Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi at the press point with Acting Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan The United States Welcomes Azerbaijans Release of Armenian Detainees and Armenias Actions to Facilitate Demining The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia International aviation: Council greenlights signing of major agreements with four countries With UCOMs level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Netflix, Duolingo and Zoom Armenia: Statement by the Spokesperson on the early parliamentary elections Armenias Parliamentary Elections PRESS STATEMENT Google Ad COVID19:77 new cases Armenias early parliamentary elections were competitive and well run, but polarized and marred by aggressive rhetoric, international observers say International election observers to Armenias early parliamentary elections held press conference Drop Charges Against Rights Defender Sashik Sultanyan The Coronavirus-Related Situation in Armenia The European Union in Armenia calls all parties to contribute to a peaceful Election Day to celebrate democracy 22 ventilators to Armenia PACE to observe the early parliamentary elections in Armenia With Ucom's level up tariff plans subscribers have unlimited access to Tiktok, Spotify and Coursera PACE rapporteur welcomes Azerbaijans release of Armenian captives and Armenias handing over of mine-maps to Azerbaijan Armenia/Azerbaijan: Statement by High Representative Josep Borrell on the latest developments Pashinyan to publicly apology to Khachatryans During EURO 2020 Ucom subscribers to take part in the uMeter voting and draw As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience the local community. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. Close There is a decrease in acute respiratory diseases due to snowfall - Ara Asoyan (video) During the meeting with journalists, chief of the RA Ministry of Health Ara Asoyan stated that these acute respiratory diseases are widespread among the country, including flu. "These are seasonal diseases and the weather also contributes to their spread. During the holidays, people's contacts with each other increase, which also impacts on the spread of the deceases," said Ara Asoyan. He did not deny the well-known view of people that the virus would disappear during the snowfall. "There is no scientific justification that snowfall contributes to the destruction of the virus, but statistics show that in those days when it's snow, there is a fall in the flu disease," said the infectionist. Speaking about vaccination, Ara Asoyan mentioned that it gives a result. In particular, as a result of vaccination, cases of acute respiratory illness are not registered among recruits. There are no officials among those who pay tribute to Hovhannes Kajaznuni (video) Hovhannes Kajaznuni, one of the founders of the Armenian Republic, died on this day in 1938, on January 15, in the Soviet prison, because of pneumonia. Today, a number of citizens burned candles at the tomb of Kajaznuni, in memory of the first prime minister of Armenia and the chairman of parliament. "If Aram Manukyan became the founder of the First Republic, then Hovhannes Kajaznuni was the spirit of the Republic and his honesty became a symbol for our country. And the next generations of the state have much to learn from him," said Albert Achemyan, a member of Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF). The exact location of Kajaznuni's grave is unclear. "Probably he was buried at the Cozern Cemetery, where the Armenian National Assembly's building is now built; his body is left under that building," says journalist Tatul Hakobyan and adds, "Albert Hovhannes Kajaznuni died at the age of twenty. He was the son of a man who were going to become the prime minister of our country after a few days. This man sent his son to war, a phenomena, which is incomprehensible for nowadays. I do not want to underestimate anyone, but imagine that today a war is going to be started; where our prime minister's sons will be?" The Armenian National Council elected Kajanuni as the first prime minister of the independent Armenian state on June 6, 1918. He was in diplomatic missions in Europe (beginning in August 1919) and the United States (from October 9, 1919 until August 1920). He returned to Armenia to become chairman of the parliament on November 4, 1920. Kajaznuni prepared a critical report for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation party convention held in Bucharest during April 1923 , titled Dashnaktsutyun Has Nothing More to Do, which called for the party's support of Soviet Armenia. Kajaznuni was arrested after the Bolsheviks came to power in December 1920 but was liberated during the February 1921 revolt against the Soviet regime. There were no officials among those who pay tribute to Hovhannes Kajaznuni. On February 14, Kajaznuni's 150th anniversary will be marked. Today, those who remember him, hope at least to see the authorities on that day. In Myanmar, members of the Muslim community are facing long delays in citizenship applications unless they acquiesce to officials suggestions that they be labelled Bengali. Ma Hnin Hlaing, a bright, young Bamar Muslim, cannot become a Myanmar citizen unless she agrees to be called Bengali. She finds the label offensive, but without citizenship she cannot complete the business law degree she began in 2014. If she cannot graduate she cannot become a lawyer, her chosen profession. Immigration officials insist she cannot be both Bamar and Muslim and must register as Bengali. She refuses. Its quite disgusting, she said. Why should I be treated as an alien in a country I was born in? That my ancestors died in? Citizenship, heritage denied Hnin Hlaing is among thousands of young Myanmar Muslims facing widespread, but largely unacknowledged, denial of ethnic heritage and access to citizenship. Prior to 1988, Myanmars Muslims were relatively free to describe their ethnic identity on their National Registration Cards, leading to a wide range of ethnic designations. In 1989, the State Law and Order Restoration Council began replacing NRCs with the pink-coloured Citizenship Scrutiny Cards now in use. At that time, volunteers and [immigration] officers always put Bengali [on the cards of Muslims], the deputy head of one township immigration office told Frontier. I was a staff officer in the immigration department then. That was when we really started to use the terms Bengali and mixed blood. The Bengali label has assumed a sinister dimension in recent years because it has been used to describe the Muslims in Rakhine State who call themselves Rohingya. The implication is that members of this community of more than one million people are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, though many have lived in Myanmar for generations. Access to citizenship is one of the most sensitive issues in Rakhine, where attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militants in late August triggered the ferocious military response that has sent about 650,000 Rohingya fleeing to safety in Bangladesh. But citizenship is an issue throughout the country, and Muslim community leaders want the world to know that its not only those who call themselves Rohingya who face prejudice and discrimination. Hnin Hlaing, 25, can laugh at absurdity of her situation but five years after first applying for a citizenship card her options are limited. At the moment the word Bengali is applied in a racist way, so I dont want to be Bengali on paper, she said. An example of a National Verification Card. (Teza Hlaing | Frontier) None of her family members are from Bangladesh. Hnin Hlaings family practises Islam, but culturally she says she is Bamar. Her faith is not obvious because she does not wear a hijab and she prayed in the Buddhist way at school. Citizenship should be a certainty for Hnin Hlaing. Both parents are full citizens; her mother is a Bamar Buddhist and her father a Bamar Muslim from Mon State. However, 30 years ago her father submitted to pressure from an immigration official in his hometown and was listed as a Bengali. When Hnin Hlaing first applied for a citizenship card in 2012, the immigration officer loudly announced to the room: We cannot give you the citizenship card because your father is a Bengali. Recounting the experience, its clear shes still shaken. Her many attempts since then to register as a Bamar Muslim, involving persuasion and bribes, have been in vain. Hnin Hlaing graduated with her first law degree in 2013 after persuading immigration officers to issue a letter explaining that she was in the process of obtaining citizenship. But without a CSC she cannot complete the mandatory internship in a court or receive a licence to practice law. Companies dont want to hire non-citizens, so shes unable to get a job. Shes had to forego overseas scholarships because she cannot get a passport. Im not the only one having this issue, she said. There are many people like me. Discrimination against Muslims in the citizenship process is rife. Frontier is aware of many cases of delayed, witheld or inaccurate citizenship cards for residents who qualify to receive one under the 1982 Citizenship Law. Ko Myo Kyaw, 24, was not asked if he wanted to be labelled as a Bengali. After the usual delays and bribes, when he finally collected his new pink Citizenship Scrutiny Card at an immigration office he was stunned to see it described him as: India/Bamar + Bengali + Islam. The first two entries were no surprise. His parents are listed as both Bamar and Indian, due to an Indian grandfather. But the family has no connection with Bangladesh. He protested, but quickly gave up. It would be wasting the air out of my mouth, he said. I dont even know what I am now. For my future generations, what do I say? Indian, Bamar, or Bengali? Ko Myat Naing, 22, from Bago Region, received an empty leather folder in place of his degree when he graduated with a Bachelor of Technology in 2016. Myat Naing first applied for a citizenship card in 2011 but has faced repeated delays. Born to a Bamar father and a Muslim mother from Taunggyi, he suspected immigration officers had no interest in processing his application because of both his religion and darker complexion. Theres a further complication, though. Myat Naings mother lost her NRC often referred to as a three-fold card and his local immigration office needed confirmation of her citizenship from Nay Pyi Taw. The confirmation was obtained but then the immigration office said it needed more information from an archive in Yangon. So far its taken six years. Myat Naing is now studying for an engineering degree but is uncertain whether he will ever be able to graduate and find work. Frontier has changed the names of young Muslims in this report to respect their privacy. Such cases are familiar to U Khin Maung Cho, a Muslim lawyer who has been assisting young Muslims with their citizenship applications. The world only knows about the discrimination of the Rohingya, but the world should know about discrimination of Myanmar Muslims as a whole, Khin Maung Cho said. Mixed-blood Over the past two years, Khin Maung Cho has participated in a series of high-level meetings with immigration officials in his capacity as a prominent Muslim lawyer, to discuss the citizenship process. Representatives of five Muslim organisations met first with senior immigration officials in Yangon, and then with departmental heads, ahead of a meeting in January 2017 with Minister for Labour, Immigration and Population U Thein Swe, a member of the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. At the meetings, the Muslim community representatives urged that officials adhere to the letter of the 1982 Citizenship Law, of which they are critical but reluctant to publicly condemn. Lawyer U Khin Maung Cho helps young Muslims with citizenship applications. (Steve Tickner | Frontier) The law, which has been widely criticised for failing to meet international human rights standards, split the previous single citizenship category into three: citizen, associate citizen and naturalised citizen. The 1982 law defines a citizen as someone whose parents each have a form of citizenship. Those who do not meet this criteria qualify for either associate or naturalised citizenship, with fewer rights than full citizens. Lawyer U Ohn Maung has a stack of case files on his desk about residents who are entitled to receive citizenship but are being pushed to get the naturalised citizenship card. The change from a single citizenship category to three created much room for discrimination, said Ohn Maung, who is also general secretary of the Peace Cultivation Network, an organisation which aims to reduce communal violence and develop peace processes. Policy and paperwork have changed many times since 1982 and each change has relegated Muslims closer to second-class status. For example, after the 1982 law took effect, mosts Buddhists who had been issued with the old, tri-folded NRCs changed them to the pink CSCs, but most Muslims were unable to make the change. The people were told, Okay, you are Muslim, you can be called mixed-blood, come back in six months. The people became frustrated, so they still hold the tri-folded [NRC] card, Ohn Maung said. Those who attained a CSC with the ethnic designation Bengali or mixed blood now find that their children are unable to access citizenship. When students are issued IDs at kindergarten, at secondary schools, if they call themselves Buddhist they become citizens, said Ohn Maung. But a mixed-blooded child sitting on the same bench seat will struggle to get citizenship. Whether their parents have got citizenship or not, they dont get the same rights. U Wunna Shwe, joint secretary general of The Republic of The Union of Myanmar Islamic Religious Affairs Council, which has offices in 122 townships in 11 of the countrys 14 states and regions, said even squatters were being issued with citizenship cards, while Muslims were neglected. We told [immigration officials]: dont call us mixed-blooded people. Its taboo and rude, and everyone is mixed-blooded when you look at it, he said. The discrimination persists. Few Muslims have received citizenship cards under the National League for Democracy government, Wunna Shwe said. If the law is implemented properly, it would be very easy to get it. Lawyer U Kyaw Nyein says he has nostalgia for the early 1970s, when there was little hate speech then and no attacks on mosques. (Thomas Manch | Frontier) U Kyaw Nyein, lawyer for Muslim group Jamiat Ulama El-Islam Myanmar, is nostalgic for what he calls the olden days of early 1970s. There was little hate speech then and no attacks on mosques, he said. We are born in Myanmar, we are eating the same rice, we are one and the same, he said. Government policy The deputy head of the Yangon township immigration office, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that immigration officials are supposed to examine a Muslim applicants family origins before deciding on an ethnic designation, such as Bengali, Indian or Pakistani. In this period, we do not always put only Bengali on their cards. If we do that, they never accept it and they will probably complain. We need to check their background and their documents to see who are they and what their ethnic heritage is, he said. The citizenship process is delayed if an applicants parents are not full citizens. In such cases, the application has to be decided at state or regional level. Sometimes the process takes a very long time, not only for Muslims but also other people [whose parents are not full citizens], the immigration official said. U Myint Kyaing, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, said delays or corruption could be reported to higher ranking officers. He said the ministry had taken action against 68 immigration department since the NLD government took office in 2016 but did not say why they were punished. Myint Kyaing defended the use of the term Bengali, noting that it was used to describe some Muslims in censuses conducted by the British colonial authorities in 1921, 1931 and 1941, and in the census of 1983. He also said that delays occurred in citizenship applications when they had to be referred to the district, or state or regional level. A township officer can issue a Citizenship Scrutiny Card to someone who is born to parents who are both full citizens, whether they are Burmese or Muslims. Institutionalised racism Mr Nickey Diamond, who investigates human rights abuses as a researcher with watchdog group Fortify Rights, said the treatment of Muslims in Myanmar amounted to institutionalised racism. Diamond said all Muslims face some kind of discrimination, but the treatment by public servants of those labelled as Bengali has worsened since the attacks by ARSA militants in northern Rakhine State in October 2016. I see a lot of people having trouble in rural areas, Diamond said. They are poor and they cannot appeal [bribe] under the table. Most are generally uneducated and struggle with the frequently changing policy and practices. The government never listens to the people who are suffering. The government should have a mechanism to report what is happening on the ground. After listening to the voices they can formulate policy to end discrimination and corruption. Immigration officers take a photograph of a woman applying for a citizenship document in Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, in January 2017. (AFP) Diamond said a childs right to identity, including nationality, was enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which Myanmar ratified in 1991. Every child who is born within the territory of Myanmar is entitled to citizenship, and a lot of children are being denied; it is a violation of the UNCRC and international human rights law, he said. Diamond describes himself as Myanmar Muslim. But when he applied for a CSC and immigration officials drew attention to the Arabic name of his grandfather, a Bamar Muslim, he chose to be identified as Indian instead. Safer to be labelled as an Indian than a Bengali, he thought, as he sat in the immigration office. Across the room, the motto of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population was displayed on a wall. The earth will not swallow a race to extinction but another [race] will. Little faith in National Verification As well as having little expectation that immigration officials will respond to their complaints, Muslim leaders also have little confidence in the National Verification process that has been proposed for refugees repatriated from Bangladesh. NV cards were introduced to replace Temporary Registration Cards, or white cards, which were issued in large numbers from 1995 and annulled by the Thein Sein government in early 2015. At the time there were thought to be close to one million in circulation, mostly to Muslims in Rakhine State; holders were ordered to hand them in and register for an NV card, after which an application for citizenship would be processed. Uptake has been slow, however. Many oppose the process because they apply using their preferred ethnic identity, and because they say they previously held full citizenship. About 10,000 Muslims in Rakhine State have received an NVC, according to the final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, headed by former United Nations secretary-general Mr Kofi Annan, which was released in Yangon on August 24. Frontier was told that at meetings with leaders of the Islamic community during the past two years, immigration officials had even proposed applying the NV programme to all Muslims in the country. Many who attended the meetings told Frontier the officials have since backed away from the idea. The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population did not respond to questions about the proposal. Lawyer U Khin Maung Cho described the NV card as being baseless in law, and offering neither legal protection nor the promise of real citizenship. Khin Maung Cho said the NV programme relies on the 1951 Resident of Burma Registration Rules, which created the temporary identity document known as a white card. The temporary cards may be issued for a number of reasons, including if a residents other identify document was lost or damaged. But he said many people, particularly in Rakhine State, held the white cards for 20 years until they were cancelled in 2015. U Wunna Shwe, joint secretary general of The Republic of The Union of Myanmar Islamic Religious Affairs Council, said he had little hope that those returning from Bangladesh would be able to access citizenship through the NV programme. We urge the government just to scrutinise the people according to the law and show the world you can do your jobs properly, he said. This article was first published by Frontier. Additional reporting by Hein Ko Soe. Mommy Bloggers Philippines Christmas Party 2017: Christmas in Bloom When someone asks me what I blog about, I always answer beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. Well, that's my answer three years ago but now I'm proud to say that I'm a mommy blogger too. I made the right decision to include parenting as one of my blog's focus. It paved the way for many opportunities for me and my son. Being a mommy blogger has ups and downs. When I started a parenting section on my blog, a group of mommy bloggers- Mommy Bloggers Philippines tap me whenever there are opportunities for event coverage and feature post. My heart is full because finally, I was able to join the yearly intimate gathering of Mommy Bloggers Philippines last December 09, 2017. Mommy Bloggers Philippines Christmas Party 2017: Christmas in Bloom "Christmas in Bloom" was the theme of last year's Christmas party. It was an intimate get-together of mommy bloggers who share the same sentiments, challenges, and all things beautiful about motherhood. The Christmas party was held at Vanilla Cupcake Cafe at Mother Ignacia, Quezon City. Mommy Bloggers Philippines Christmas Party 2017: Christmas in Bloom Yours truly, Lani, Jen, Joy, and Louisa It's an exciting and fun afternoon for mommy bloggers. We had a short but informal program headed by mommies Lani, Louisa, and Joy. The hard-working and energetic admins of MBP made sure that we all had a blast because they raffled-off a lot of prizes that will be useful not only for the mommy but also for the whole family. Mommy Bloggers Philippines Christmas Party 2017: Christmas in Bloom Mommy Lani and Mommy Louisa This year-end party for mommy bloggers was made possible by sponsors who supported us throughout the year. One of the major sponsors was Pampers Philippines. Is this a sign that I'll have a baby soon? I'm claiming it now :) My son, Kenzo was a pampers baby and I'll definitely #choosepampers again :) Mommy Bloggers Philippines Christmas Party 2017: Christmas in Bloom Thank you so much!!! The gathering was not just a year-ender, but thanksgiving to fellow mommy bloggers who always support one another through thick and thin and to the generous sponsors who took their time preparing gifts for all the attendees. Mommy Bloggers Philippines Christmas Party 2017: Christmas in Bloom Thank you to the generous sponsors I was not able to take photos of the delicious and highly recommended offerings at Vanilla Bakery Cafe because I was busy chitchatting with mommy blogger friends. It's an awesome afternoon! I'm so happy and honored to be a part of this group who shares the same passion and appreciation for motherhood. Mommy Bloggers Philippines Christmas Party 2017: Christmas in Bloom photos are grabbed from Michelle of R0ckstarmomma, Jaimie of Mermaid in Stilettos, and Nish of Dyosa the Momma MEDFORD, Ore. -- Sunday afternoon, hundreds packed into Central Medford High Schools auditorium to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy and to celebrate and encourage diversity throughout the Rogue Valley. Medford has been putting on a Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration for more than 20 years, to remember who he was and what he, and many others, fought for. "He is a constant reminder of what we should be striving for in the United States in light of our history in the past," said a member of the City of Medford Multicultural Commission Debra Lee. Hundreds saw performances from different schools across the Southern Oregon and even a speech from Dr. Geneva Craig who fought for civil rights alongside Dr. King. "We should celebrate this man. I celebrate Dr. King because Dr. King was an influence in my life. Dr. King was a person who inspired me to continue with my education and become the person who I am today," Dr. Geneva Craig said. She grew up in segregated Selma, Alabama. She said Dr. King inspired her and constantly reinforced that she was somebody and was important. "He was our idol. He was our hero. He was our leader. When I say our, I'm talking the teenagers that were along with me, in Selma, Alabama where I was born and raised. We were a group of teenagers who were angry and who wanted change," Dr. Craig said. We were in a Black and White society in Selma, Alabama. We were segregated and we were on the inferior side of segregation. We wanted change." Dr. Craig said she's happy the Rogue Valley is still celebrating Dr. Kings legacy decades after his assassination. "This is a great man who died at an early age but look at the contributions he made. We can inspire our youth to do the same. There are more Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations happening on the holiday, Monday, January 15th, 2018. Ashland will be hosting the 30th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at the Historic Ashland Armory at Noon. UPDATES TITLE TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AMERICAS - Anders Gustafsson, senior vice president Americas Volvo Car Group, stands in front of the 2018 Volvo XC60 as he shows off the award for the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year at the North American International Auto Show, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jose Juarez) Joshua Boyle speaks to the media after arriving at the airport in Toronto on Friday, October 13, 2017. A bail hearing for former Afghanistan hostage Joshua Boyle could be weeks away after a brief court appearance by video link today relating to assault charges. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette In this Nov. 3, 2016 photo, a crew from the television program "Live PD," a reality show by the A&E Network, records an officer from the Bridgeport Police Department while on patrol in Bridgeport, Conn. Some law enforcement agencies, including the Bridgeport Police, have ended their agreements to be on the show after local government leaders concluded the national spotlight on criminal activity overshadowed the positive things happening in their hometowns. (Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP) FILE- In this Sept. 10, 2017, file photo, George Clooney attends a press conference for "Suburbicon" on Day 4 of the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. Clooney is directing and starring in a TV series version of the novel "Catch-22." The streaming service Hulu said Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, that the six-part series based on Joseph Heller's anti-war satire will go into production in 2018. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) In this photo provided by Pasco County flames engulf a boat Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, in the Tampa Bay area. Florida authorities say the casino ventureAos shuttle boat caught fire on Sunday and dozens of passengers safely made it to shore in Port Richie after a rescue operation. (Tambrey Laine/Pasco County via AP) SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- The Lane County Sheriff's Office is looking for candidates to fill 12 open Deputy Sheriff positions. Dozens of men and women attended the Lane County Sheriff Department's open house at Pleasant Hill Elementary School on Saturday. Applicants had the chance to meet with officers in the department. Some even took the Oregon Physical Abilities Test also known as the OPRAT. The spokewoman for the Lane County Sheriffs Office, Carrie Carver, said they are looking for people who are looking for a fast-paced, exciting career, where they can really help other people. She said the hiring process is a multi-step process with the ORPAT being the first step. It encompasses an obstacle course that you do six laps of, they do a push-pull machine, and they also do a dummy drag, Carver said. One applicant said the position appealed to him because law enforcement runs through his family. "Well law enforcement has been in my life. I have family that are law enforcement and it's a great career field. Lots of opportunity and a good place to serve your community and it's attractive," said Joey Fischer. Carver said they had more than 50 applicants make an appearance. She said out of all of those who took the ORPAT about half of them passed. She also highly encourages those who are interested to apply. You can do so here. EUGENE, Ore. This year, Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on Kings actual birthday, Jan. 15. If alive today, the civil rights icon would have been 89-years-old. A Eugene-Springfield NAACP lifetime member shares her memories of early civil rights work from the 1960s. Antonia Lewis grew up in Washington, D.C. where she began her journey working in civil rights in the early 1960s. She was indirectly involved in the NAACP in Washington, while she participated as a college student in nonviolent actions in Maryland and Virginia. Lewis participated in sit-in protests at various lunch counters, drug stores, and movie theaters that were for "white people only." Events: The cities of Eugene and Springfield are honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. by marching as a community on Monday. In Eugene, the Standing United march begins at 10 a.m. Participants will start gathering at the University of Oregons PK Park at 9 a.m. In Springfield, the 20th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. march and celebration starts at 1 p.m. at the Springfield Justice Center. We were inspired by the first sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina in February of 1960 when some young black university students decided they were tired of not being able to sit down at the drug store lunch counter, Lewis said. They were tired of it and decided they werent going to leave and that was the beginning of the sit-in movement. Lewis said she thought in recent years racism was nearly over, but 2017 brought back memories from the past. "People of all races and colors and so forth were advancing into various positions of importance and getting elected to offices and it really looked like things were going well, Lewis said. Then recently, we've had this backlash. We have to be more aware of everyone around us, and not just look only through our eyes." NAACP educator Anetra Brown said she focuses on educating children to grow up knowing theyre valuable, no matter the color of their skin. She said she hopes MLK Day will remind people to get involved in fighting racial and social injustice. Whatever youre doing now is what would have done then, Brown said. So Ive been thinking about that the last few days and just the role I can play as a young black woman in Eugene. Its exciting to me because its an opportunity to do my part and make this community safe for everyone. President Donald Trump is encouraging Americans to observe the federal holiday by doing acts of civic work and community service. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929 and was killed in April 1968. This year marks the 50th anniversary of his assassination. Former president Ronald Reagan signed MLK Day into law in 1983. The first national MLK Day was observed three years later in 1986. There is little doubt that the resource sector has seen the bottom of the bear market, and is looking up. The last few years have been rough for almost any company that is involved with mining, but it would appear that the first stages of a recovery are well underway. There has been a definite uptick in the share prices for a number of mining companies, especially those with exposure to materials that will make the next technological leap forward a reality. According to estimates from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the top 100 mining companies listed on the TSX-V had $14.4 billion in equity in the year ending June 2017. This is up from $12.2 billion in 2016, and the cash balances from the same group of companies also grew by 74%, to C$ 1.57 billion, which is the highest amount in at least five years. Money Coming In The exploration budgets for gold saw a year-over-year rise of 22% in 2017, compared to 7% in the previous year. The major gold miners are probably waking up to the reality of 'peak gold' and wondering where their next round of reserves is going to come from. Of course, elements like nickel, zinc, cobalt and lithium went red hot over the last year. And while the demand created by Electric Vehicles (EV's) may be a few years away, it is likely a question of when the current supply levels become inadequate, and not one of if they are sufficient. All of these factors paint a very positive image for the resource industry going forward, with Peter Collibee, Scotia Capitals head of global metals and mining, commenting that The mining industry is in a far better state, before going on to say that, Most of the commodities are financeable at the moment. This puts the annual Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) into an enviable position, as it will be a showcase of some of the best mining companies in the world. There will be more than 250 mining companies in attendance, with some of the most experienced resource investors and CEO's giving their thoughts on the market, and interacting with the public. This year's VRIC couldn't come at a better time, especially given the dearth of investment in finding reliable sources for vital materials over the last decade. Huge Opportunities The idea that peak gold might be here is a massive opportunity for the junior end of the gold sector. But the lack of new gold reserves is hardly the only area where new resources are needed. While the EV narrative seemed to drive lithium, cobalt and nickel higher over the course of 2017, China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) could be a much larger story for industrial metals going forward. President Xi has made it extremely clear that the BRI will be a top priority for China's foreign policy, and the demands on the industrial metals from this program would be enormous. It is possible that the BRI isn't being widely reported on in the West because of the geopolitical implications that it would have for the US, and the current Western monetary system. But one place the demand for raw materials can't be ignored is the base metal markets, and with the price action in copper, nickel and zinc, it would be hard to look past the impact that Asia's continued development is creating. Zinc prices traded near all time highs over the last few months, and since the middle of the year, both copper and nickel have seen big price gains. This may be the reason why mining companies are upping their exploration budgets across the industrial metals, and if the BRI takes off along the lines that Xi has laid out, these gains could be the beginning of much bigger investments in the near future. According to S&P research, mining budgets for zinc have risen by 29% to $489m for 2017, which is likely the result of zinc's run up in price since the end of last year. One of the largest uses for zinc is galvanizing steel, and both iron ore and thermal coal have also shown strength over the last two years. This all adds a lot of credibility to the idea that real infrastructure growth is happening in Eurasia, and that the rumors of Chinese economic collapse are mere huff and puff. The Right Path Forward There is an apparently solid global growth story in play, but the last year has shown us how fragile the supply side for vital resources can be. Copper's screaming rally was probably only partially driven by Asian demand, and Chinese regulatory changes. The other half of the story is a string of work stoppages at some of the world's largest mines, and these problems may be here to stay. In late 2016 Goldman Sachs published a report on the copper market, wherein they used the phrase Wall of Supply. This concept describes the propensity of a commodity producing nation or labor force to use a rising price to extort the mining company that owns the resource. This past year has seen a number of political actions, and strikes. Both copper and nickel supplies have suffered as a result of this aptly named market dynamic, and these problems were not limited to one region or mine site. The situation in Sub-Saharan Africa is severe. The rising demand profile for cobalt has drawn attention to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where as much as 60% of the world's cobalt supply has come from over the last decade. A tome could be written on the human rights abuses that transpire in the mineral rich DRC, but the underlying problem for industry is that cobalt mining (or perhaps any mining) in the DRC is neither reliable or scalable. With China looking to do away with the petrol powered automobile in a decade's time, and the rock bottom electrical prices that wind generation now offers, there will need to be a lot of new cobalt and lithium brought to market, but there isn't endless amounts of time to get it done. There are, of course, huge supplies of cobalt in Canada and Australia, among other areas that offer political stability, but major investments need to be made in order to bring them into production. VRIC Brings It All Together There really aren't many events like theVancouver Resource Investment Conference. Attendees will have direct access to more than 250 miningcompanies that work in every commercially marketable element there is. In addition the the sheer number of companies that will be exhibiting at the VRIC, there will be companies that run the gamut from speculative junior explorer, to well established major and even royalty companies. GoldMining Inc. will be among the hundreds of companies that are exhibiting at the VRIC this year, and they are a perfect example of how the junior mining space has changed over the last decade. The company that is called GoldMining today started off with the name Brazil Resources, but by making some smart moves over the last two years, has secured a land package that spans the Americas. Instead of drilling their money into the ground, with the hope of getting recognition from the marketplace, CEO Amir Adnani looked for properties that already had been well explored, and picked them up on the cheap. While the company isn't producing any gold at the moment, in a world of 'Peak Gold', GoldMining's portfolio of properties could translate into an exploding share price as the world wakes up to value hidden in the mining sector. There are a number of smart junior mining companies in the industrial metals as well, with companies like Bunker Hill Mining, or First Cobalt Corp. being a few examples among many of well endowed junior companies that could be producers of vital metals in the not too distant future. In the case of Bunker Hill, their Idaho property is more or less ready to mine, and has a proven record of producing huge amounts of zinc and silver. First Cobalt is consolidating a huge package of cobalt rich properties, and has recently listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). It is a near certainty that the world will need new sources of copper, cobalt, lithium and zinc, among other elements that will make the next phase of human technological development possible. Given the lack of investment in exploration over the last decade, it is probably a good idea to look into the companies that are exhibiting at the VRIC, and see if they fit your investment worldview. Heavy Hitters This year's VRIC isn't just about hundreds of mining companies interacting directly with the public. Industry insiders and legendary investors will be speaking their minds, and this is a major opportunity to gain access to people who are deeply involved in the industry. The list of presenters is an impressive one, with major investment managers like Rick Rule and Frank Holmes representing Sprott U.S. Holdings and US Global Investors, respectively. But there will also be research gurus like Peter Spina from GoldSeek and David Morgan from The Morgan Report. Check out the full two-day agenda here. There will be mining investors in attendance who have made a name by being right on the money when it comes to developing new properties, and Frank Giustra and Mickey Fulp will be giving presentations at VRIC that could shed insight into what Rick Rule has described as a potential bull market in the exploration space that could rival the last one in the 1990's. Having a look through the kind of talent the VRIC attracts should give you some idea of how important it is to the resource space, and it all happens on January 21-22 at the Vancouver Convention Center West, right in the heart of Vancouver. Registration is now open, and if you decide to preregister, your entrance into this incredible event will be free! Sources https://www.baystreet.ca/stockstowatch/2748/Canadian-Junior-Miners-Seeing-Major-Increase-in-Value https://www.mining-technology.com/features/budgets-rise-new-age-exploration-cards/ SHANGHAI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Finance auctioned 80 billion yuan ($12.40 billion) of three-month deposits at an average yield of 4.70 percent on Monday, traders said. That was slightly higher than the yield of 4.60 percent in the previous 98-day tenor auction. The sale, like previous auctions, is part of the ministry's cash-management programme. Banks bid for the right to take the deposits. ($1 = 6.4500 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Richard Borsuk) HANOI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0404 GMT. January 15 USD/VND mid-point 22,396 USD/VND interbank 22,709/22,710 USD/VND unofficial 22,700/22,715 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.75/36.97 Interbank offered rates Overnight 1.9-2.7 1 week 2.2-3.0 1 month 3.8-4.5 3 months 4.5-5.0 NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016, the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources. One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co. For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on . For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom) BEIJING, Jan 15 (Reuters) - China's Ant Financial Services Group has received approval to issue consumer credit-backed securities to institutional investors and the securities are currently in the pricing process, the company told Reuters on Monday. Ant Financial said it will increase capital and take other actions including business cooperation to gradually reduce its leverage ratio to meet regulatory requirements. Ant Financial is the financial affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd . Ant Financial is the largest issuer of consumer loan securities in China, accounting for 60 percent of all issues in 2017, according to Reuters calculations based on data from China Securitisation Analytics. The company offers various types of credit products to users on its Alipay platform. (Reporting by Shu Zhang and Elias Glenn, editing by Louise Heavens) PRAGUE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - CEZ Chief Executive Daniel Benes views an option to split the electricity producer into two parts as creating value for shareholders, he said in an interview published on Monday. The split would put CEZ coal and nuclear power plants into one part and renewables, services and other business into a second. "It is one of the options. I see it as very good because it creates value for all shareholders. The decision, however, will be made by them, the shareholders," Benes was quoted as saying in an interview for the Euro weekly magazine. The plan is strongly opposed by Prime Minister Andrej Babis. Benes said that CEZ expected its annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to return to the pre-crisis level of 65 billion to 70 billion crowns ($3.11-3.35 billion) sometime between 2020 and 2025. ($1 = 20.8900 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Robert Muller, editing by Louise Heavens) (Updates prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Mexican peso rose to a more than five-week high on Monday on hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump may soften his stance on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after negotiations hit a bumpy patch last week. Renewed worries that Trump would scrap NAFTA had weighed on the peso last week. The talks between the United States, Mexico and Canada are edging closer to the start of campaigning for Mexico's July 1 presidential election, making a breakthrough more unlikely. However, market participants cited a media report by Axios news site on Sunday that said Trump may be shying away from terminating NAFTA, fearing it would disrupt a U.S. stock market rally and harm farmers and agricultural communities, part of his core constituency. Trump has said he wants the treaty renegotiated to better favor U.S. interests, and that he will scrap NAFTA if this cannot be achieved. Mexico sells around four-fifths of its exports to the United States so it is particularly vulnerable to increased U.S. protectionism. The peso strengthened just over 1 percent, by far the biggest gainer in Latin America. Low trading volumes on Monday due to the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday helped to accentuate currency moves. In a client note, Continuum Economics said that strength in the peso should continue in the first quarter ahead of this year's elections. "At least for a quarter, investors will be gaining a good carry in one of the most liquid currencies in emerging markets. After one quarter, we may see a return to defensive positions as the market dives into Mexican presidential elections," the note said. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 2104 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1209.83 0.14 4.29 MSCI LatAm 3005.28 0.61 5.61 Brazil Bovespa 79752.37 0.51 4.39 Mexico IPC 49410.81 0.56 0.11 Chile IPSA 5745.95 0.22 3.26 Chile IGPA 28911.17 0.28 3.33 Argentina MerVal 33622.84 2.76 11.83 Colombia IGBC 11553.76 -0.6 1.61 Venezuela IBC 1986.42 20.44 -93.73 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.2152 -0.17 3.05 Mexico peso 18.8425 1.03 4.55 Chile peso 602.4 0.08 2.03 Colombia peso 2859.55 -0.13 4.28 Peru sol 3.21 0.19 0.84 Argentina peso 18.7300 -0.21 -0.69 (interbank) Argentina peso 19.56 -0.10 -1.69 (parallel) <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Axios report on Trump and NAFTA ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; Editing by Frances Kerry and Diane Craft) By George Georgiopoulos NICOSIA, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Eurobank will maintain its Balkan footprint in Bulgaria, Serbia and Cyprus after pulling out of Romania, its deputy CEO said on Tuesday, expecting the group's subsidiaries there to double their profitability over the next few years. Greece's third-largest lender by assets clinched a deal in November to sell its Romanian unit Bancpost to Banca Transilvania , Romania's second-largest bank, as part of a restructuring plan agreed with European Union authorities. That sale closed a decade-long chapter of ambitions by Eurobank and other Greek lenders to spread their wings abroad after the country's debt crisis forced them to retreat and sell foreign subsidiaries to boost their capital ratios. "Foreign operations contribute more than 50 percent of the group's profitability. Our immediate target is to grow this to 200 million euros (from 110 million)," Deputy Chief Executive Stavros Ioannou told reporters. Executives said these countries have emerged from the financial crisis and their economies are now expanding by 3 to 4 percent annually, meaning there is room to grow lending to businesses and households. After deleveraging its non-Greek assets to 8.7 billion euros from about 11.2 billion, meeting commitments agreed with EU competition authorities, Eurobank is set to emerge as the lender with the largest international presence among its Greek peers. The group was fast to pull out of Poland and Turkey at the onset of the global credit crisis in 2008 and sold its Ukraine operations in 2016. "Our strategy was to exit countries that were too large for us to become one of the five biggest banks there. To achieve this would take a lot of investment," Ioannou said. "Romania required more investment for us to become a sizeable player." But in Bulgaria, where Eurobank bought the network of peer Alpha Bank , its unit Postbank is now the fifth largest bank by assets and the only Greek-owned franchise there after the sale UBB by peer National Bank and Piraeus Bank's expected exit. "If we find a good opportunity in Bulgaria we will look into it," Ioannou said. Profitable Postbank competes with big players Unicredit , Austria's Raiffeisen and Societe Generale in Bulgaria. In Serbia, profitable unit Eurobank Beograd is the seventh largest among 31 banks in the country while fully-owned Eurobank Cyprus has grown to the island's third largest by deposits. (Editing by David Evans) JAKARTA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A mezzanine floor that collapsed and injured at least a dozen people in the Indonesia Stock Exchange building on Monday was not caused by a bomb, a police official said. "We can confirm that this was not because of a bomb," national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto told reporters. The building is one of a two-tower complex which was targeted in a car bombing by Islamist militants in September 2000. (Reporting by Agustinus Beo Da Costa; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; editing by Nick Macfie) (Kitco News) - McEwen mining saw total gold and silver production grow by 4.7% in 2017, a year described by CEO Rob McEwen as one of growth and acquisition. Image courtsey of McEwening Mining: Black Fox Mine Monday, in its fourth-quarter and full year production report, McEwen Mining (NYSE: MUX, TSX: MUX) said it produced 109,947 ounces of gold in 2017, in line with company guidelines and up from 101,481 ounces produced in 2016. Silver production for the year totaled 3.178 million ounces, slightly down from the companys guidance, and down from 3.3 million ounces produced in the previous year. Total gold equivalent ounces came in at 152,329, up from 145,530 ounces produced in 2016. The companys San Jose mine, in Argentina, had one of the best performances in 2017 compared to the companys other operations. It produced 49,233 gold ounces, up 6% compared to 2016. The mine produced 3,159,352 silver ounces, down 4% from the previous year. McEwen also reported 14,279 ounces of gold was produced at its newly acquired Black Fox property. The company finalized the purchase of the Timmins-region property in early October. Looking ahead, in recent interviews with Kitco News, Rob McEwen said that he sees strong opportunities in 2018 as he continues to work on his long-term goal of becoming only the second mining company in the world to be listed in the S&P 500. Along with a $10-million exploration project around its Black Fox property, the company is moving forward with the construction of its Nevada-based Gold Bar project, which is expected to start production in 2019. While the mining sector, along with McEwen mining, has struggled to gain investor interest, the CEO said that he remains optimistic that sentiment will shift in 2018. If you compared the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index to the S&P 500, commodity prices are at their lowest point since 1971, he told Kitco News. On a risk/reward basis, there is not much more left on the downside and lots of potential on the upside. He added that he sees higher gold prices lifting mining shares as the U.S. dollar weakens. On Monday, the U.S. Dollar Index, fell to its lowest level in three years. At the same time gold prices, in electronic trading, have pushed to their highest level in four-months, with February gold futures last trading at $1.240.50 an ounce, up 0.42% on the day. (Corrects typo in "scheduling" in paragraph 6) By Jan Wolfe Jan 11 (Reuters) - Tivo Corp has again sued cable operator Comcast Corp of using its patented interactive programming technology without authorization, the latest salvo in the companies' long-running royalty dispute. Tivo filed lawsuits in Boston and Los Angeles on Wednesday, saying Comcast's X1 video recording system infringed on patents describing functionality like pausing and resuming shows on different devices and restarting live programming in progress. A pioneer in digital video recording technology, Tivo said on Thursday that it also planned to sue Comcast at the U.S. International Trade Commission, a government agency that can hear patent disputes and ban infringing products from entering the country. Comcast said in a statement that it independently created its X1 products and that it would aggressively defend itself against the lawsuits, calling them an attempt by Tivo to make money from an "aging and increasingly obsolete patent portfolio." Tivo subsidiary Rovi Corp sued Comcast in federal court in Texas and at the ITC in April 2016 after the cable operator declined to renew a long-standing agreement to license the company's patents. That deal, reached 13 years ago and valued at $250 million, expired in March 2016, according to a Tivo court filing. The ITC ruled in November that Comcast's X1 platform infringed on two Tivo patents describing a system for scheduling recordings through a smartphone app. The agency said four other Tivo patents were not infringed. Comcast said it would remove the scheduling feature, which only a small percentage of customers used, so it could continue to offer X1 to customers while it appealed the ITC's ruling. JPMorgan analyst Sterling Auty said in a November research note that the ruling could prompt Comcast to resolve the lawsuits through a new licensing agreement. San Carlos, California-based Tivo was one of the first DVR makers but in recent years has focused on licensing its patent portfolio. The patents at issue in Wednesday's lawsuits were originally granted to Rovi, a provider of digital television guides that merged with Tivo in 2016, and its Andover, Massachusetts-based subsidiary Veveo Inc. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Richard Chang) BUCHAREST, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Romania's finance ministry sold a planned 700 million lei ($185.53 million) worth of new Oct. 2021 treasury bonds on Monday, with the average accepted yield at 3.63 percent, central bank data showed. Debt managers last issued similar maturity, June 2021 bonds, in November at an average yield of 3.68 percent. So far this month, Romania has issued debt worth 2.35 billion lei. Series: RO1821DBN052 RO1121DBN032 Issue date 17/01/2018 22/11/2017 Auction date 15/01/2018 20/11/2017 Maturity 27/10/2021 11/06/2021 Avg.yield (pct) 3.63 3.68 Avg. accepted price 101.2810 107.3922 Highest accepted yield 3.66 N.A. Tail (highest yield 0.03 N.A. minus average yield) Total bids 933.9 mln lei 435 mln lei Allotted 700.0 mln lei 200 mln lei Bid-to-cover ratio 1.3 2.2 ($1 = 3.7730 lei) (Reporting by Radu Marinas) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. EDINBURGH, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Scotland's economy will be 8.5 percent smaller by 2030 than it would otherwise be if Britain leaves the European Union with no trade agreement, the Scottish regional government said on Monday. Business investment in Scotland could fall by up to 10.2 percent compared with continued membership of the EU, the government said in a report. Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon, who is from the pro-independence Scottish National Party, campaigned for Britain to stay in the EU and now argues that the country should stay in the bloc's single market. The report published on Monday said the only credible outcome of this year's Brexit negotiations between Brussels and London was for Britain to be a member of the European Economic Area, which would allow it to stay in the single market. (Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary; Editing by William Schomberg) KHARTOUM, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Sudanese pound weakened on the black market on Monday amid a foreign currency shortage that has crippled the economy as Khartoum pursues reforms aimed at boosting growth. The pound traded at 34 to the U.S. dollar on Monday, down from about 30 last week, traders said. Sudan devalued its currency to 18 pounds per U.S. dollar from 6.7 previously earlier this month, hoping to attract investment and crush a ballooning black market. Hard currency remains scarce in the formal banking system, however, forcing importers to resort to an increasingly expensive black market. "There is a huge shortage in the market and not enough dollars," one trader told Reuters. Sudan's economy has been struggling since the south seceded in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of its oil output, but the United States lifted 20-year-old sanctions on it in October, pushing it to embark on sweeping reforms. Street protests have broken out last week after bread prices doubled, following a government decision to eliminate subsidies in its 2018 budget as part of austerity measures. (Reporting by KhalId Abdelaziz; writing by Arwa Gaballa; editing by Mark Heinrich) OSLO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Norway's central bank gave the following result of an auction for its NST 39 treasury bill on Monday. Allotment Price 99.8210 Yield (percent) 0.43 Alloted Volume (billion crowns) 4.000 Total volume of bids (billion crowns) 7.730 The Norwegian central bank said the allotment rate on the lowest accepted bids was 96 percent. (Reporting by Oslo newsroom) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. Jan 15 (Reuters) - Tahoe Resources Inc , said on Monday it would lay off about a quarter of its employees at its flagship Escobal silver mine in Guatemala because of uncertainty over whether the company will have its mining license for the site reinstated. The company's license to mine at Escobal was provisionally suspended by the country's Supreme Court in July. Tahoe Resources said it was terminating 250 employees from the mine, given its inability to resume operations pending the court's final decision. The Supreme Court issued the suspension after an anti-mining organization appealed to the court alleging that the country's Ministry of Energy and Mines had not consulted with the Xinca indigenous people before awarding the license to Tahoe's Guatemalan unit, Minera San Rafael. The mine employed more than 1,000 people before the license suspension, Tahoe Resources said. If the court decides to reinstate the license in the next several weeks, the need for future job cuts could be eliminated, the company said. (Reporting by Divya Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Frances Kerry) ISTANBUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Here are news, reports and events that may affect Turkish financial markets on Monday. The lira stood at 3.7545 against the U.S. dollar at 0510 GMT, weakening from Friday's close of 3.7460. The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was at 11.79 percent in spot trade on Friday and fell to 11.77 percent in Monday-dated trade. The main BIST 100 share index fell 0.06 percent to 114,644.62 points on Friday. GLOBAL MARKETS Asian shares hit historic highs on Monday after Wall Street extended its record-breaking run, while the U.S. dollar retreat continued as investors priced in the risk of tighter policies elsewhere in the developed world. Activity was restrained somewhat as a U.S. holiday curbed trade in cash Treasuries, though E-Mini futures for the S&P500 still made gains of 0.22 percent. NEW SYRIAN FORCE The U.S.-led coalition is working with Syrian militia allies to set up a new border force of 30,000 personnel, the coalition said on Sunday, a move that has added to Turkish anger over U.S. support for Kurdish-dominated forces in Syria. President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman on Sunday denounced efforts by the coalition to train such a force including Kurdish YPG fighters as worrying and unacceptable. KURDISH MILITIA IN AFRIN President Erdogan said on Saturday Turkey's military incursion in northern Syria's Idlib province would crush Kurdish militia forces that control the neighbouring region of Afrin. ERDOGAN President Erdogan will speak at an opening ceremony for the Kazan Soda Elektrik plant northwest of Ankara (1000 GMT). He will also chair a meeting of the central executive committee of his ruling AK Party (1400 GMT). UNEMPLOYMENT The Turkish Statistical Institute will announce unemployment data for the September-November period (0700 GMT). BUDGET Finance Minister Naci Agbal is scheduled to hold a news conference to announce the budget data for December and 2017 as a whole (0715 GMT). YILDIRIM Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will attend an event with Turkish tradespeople (1130 GMT). KANAL ISTANBUL Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan will announce the route of Kanal Istanbul, an artificial waterway which Turkey plans to build west of Istanbul between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. (0630 GMT). For other related news, double click on: Turkish politics Turkish equities Turkish money Turkish debt Turkish hot stocks Forex news All emerging market news All Turkish news For real-time quotes, double click on: Istanbul National-100 stock index , interbank lira trading , lira bond trading (Writing by Daren Butler) (Adds details) Jan 15 (Reuters) - Turnaround specialist Melrose plans to meet shareholders in GKN to convince them of the benefits of its 7 billion pound ($9.61 billion) takeover offer, which had been rejected by management. The British engineering firm GKN rejected Melrose's offer as "entirely opportunistic" on Friday and set out plans to split its business in two. Melrose said an investor presentation was available on its website, describing "GKN's current position as an overly complex and under-managed organisation without focus which needs a fundamental change of culture and leadership." "They (GKN shareholders) can elect to sell in the market right now for a substantial premium ... Or they can choose to combine their business with ours and have the majority share in what we are confident will be a business capable of significant value enhancement," Simon Peckham, Chief Executive of Melrose, said. Melrose said it expects to re-energise and re-purpose GKN's operations to enable them to "exceed GKN's own top-end group trading margin target of 10 percent." ( ) "Melrose intends to significantly improve GKN's businesses as opposed to a hasty break up," it said. Investors have been calling for GKN to split its businesses as management failed to meet targets to improve profit and cash flow despite growing sales. The pressure mounted after a profit warning in October, which was sparked by difficulties in its aerospace business. The Jan. 8 share and cash offer valued GKN at 405 pence per share at that time, a 24 percent premium to the closing price the day before. GKN did not respond to a request for immediate comment. ($1 = 0.7282 pounds) (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens) (Adds company news items and futures) Jan 15 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 futures were flat ahead of the cash market open on Monday. * CARILLION: British construction and services company Carillion collapsed on Monday when banks refused to lend it any more money, throwing hundreds of major projects in doubt and bringing down one of the government's most important suppliers. * GKN-MELROSE: Turnaround specialist Melrose plans to meet shareholders in GKN to convince them of the merits of its 7 billion pound ($9.61 billion) takeover offer, which had been rejected by management. * WILLIAM HILL: British bookmaker William Hill said on Monday its adjusted operating profit for 2017 would rise 11 percent year-on-year, ahead of analysts' expectations thanks to strong trading in recent weeks and favourable sporting results. * GKN: GKN Plc is exploring the sale of its aerospace business to fend off more potential approaches after an unsolicited 7-billion-pound offer for the company last week, The Times reported on Monday. * BRITAIN RETAIL: The number of people visiting British stores in December showed its biggest decline in five years, illustrating how retail is being transformed by online shopping, a survey showed on Monday. * GOLD: Gold prices on Monday hit their highest since September, buoyed by a weaker U.S. dollar, which slumped to three-year lows against a basket of currencies. * OIL: Oil prices held just below December 2014 highs on Monday, supported by ongoing output cuts led by OPEC and Russia despite a rise in U.S. and Canadian drilling activity that points to higher future output in North America. * The UK blue chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.2 percent up at 7,778.64 points on Friday, as share index held onto record high levels, supported by a sharp rise in British engineering group GKN which said it had rejected an unsolicited offer from rival Melrose . * For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for: * 3000 Xtra : visit * For Top News : (Reporting by Siju Varghese) HONG KONG, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Chinese developer Yuzhou Properties said on Monday it would buy seven projects from Coastal Greenland for 3.8 billion yuan ($591 million). The Xiamen-based developer said the projects were spread across various major cities, and the purchase would allow it to enter Beijing, the southern city of Foshan and the northeast city of Shenyang for the first time. "(The deal) offers an excellent opportunity for the Group to diversify its property portfolio and enter into a variety of markets in the PRC," Yuzhou said in a statement, adding it could enhance its earning capacity. Yuzhou shares will resume trading on Tuesday, after being suspended from trading on Monday, pending the announcement. The projects have a total gross floor area of 3.13 million square meters and saleable resources worth 40 billion yuan, according to a press release. ($1 = 6.4278 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Mark Potter) Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Chairman Park Yong-maan, right, poses with Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon, left, and two ombudsmen for innovative growth during the opening ceremony of the program at the KCCI headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, Monday. From left are Kim, SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho, Yonsei University Graduate School of Information Professor Cho Kwang-su and KCCI Chairman Park. / Courtesy of KCCI By Nam Hyun-woo The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) is gaining more bargaining power, replacing the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) as the country's most influential umbrella organization of businesses. The KCCI and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance launched an ombudsman program for innovative growth on Monday, which will be a "hotline" between industry and government. For the program, SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho and Yonsei University Graduate School of Information professor Cho Kwang-su will serve three years as ombudsman. Senior officials of both the KCCI and the ministry will support the program. According to the KCCI, Park and Cho's role is "bridging innovative businesses and the government" so policies can address the difficulties companies face. Industry watchers say the ombudsman program gives the KCCI the status of "the representative of businesses," which used to be the role of the FKI. In the wake of the Moon Jae-in administration, the FKI has taken a backseat as it was pinpointed to be one of the "deep-rooted evils" Moon pledged to eradicate. The lobby organization was revealed to have pressured 19 business groups to donate 77.4 billion won to the Mir Foundation and the K-Sports Foundation, which were established and controlled by impeached President Park Geun-hye's confidant Choi Soon-sil. After the scandal, key FKI members, such as Samsung, SK, LG and Hyundai Motor, left the lobby group. As it lost its core revenue sources, reportedly 70 percent of FKI's total membership fees, the organization downsized itself, cutting the payroll by 60 percent. The number of members also reduced to 500 from 640, while almost half of its grand office building on Yeouido, Seoul, is now empty as LG CNS which occupied 14 floors left the building earlier this year. This means a serious cut in its revenue is expected this year, given that 40.8 billion won out of its 90.8 billion won revenue in 2015 came from leasing spaces in the building. During Moon's visit to China last month, FKI Chairman Huh Chang-soo was excluded from the delegation, while KCCI Chairman Park Yong-maan and Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Chairman Kim Young-ju accompanied Moon. The FKI chairman was also excluded from Moon's visit to the United States and Indonesia. While the Moon administration appears to neglect the FKI, the KCCI has been marking itself as the representative for business for the past several months. Amid the government's drive to raise the country's minimum wage to 10,000 won per hour by 2020 and other pro-labor policies in the pipeline, KCCI Chairman Park alone has been arguing the government should also heed the voice of suffering businesses, visiting the National Assembly five times last year to appeal to lawmakers. "The operating margin of small- and medium-sized enterprises averages 4 percent, while the minimum wage rose 16.4 percent from last year to 7,530 won," Park told reporters earlier this month. "I understand that the government's labor policies and tax policies are necessary for running the country and are in line with the administration's cause. However, it is true companies struggle to adopt those measures." While Park's vocal appeal is fetching him a favorable reputation, expectation is also high for new KCCI Executive Vice Chairman Kim Jun-dong. The KCCI cited Kim's communication ability and his keen insight into industry, energy, deregulation and free trade as reasons for the appointment. By Kim Rahn North Korean state media have strongly criticized South Korean President Moon Jae-in about his remarks on the ongoing inter-Korean talks. It is not new for North Korean media to criticize and ridicule a South Korean president, but this time it did so while the two Koreas have been holding talks concerning North Korea's participation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. It was also contrary to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's soft-line stance toward the South in his Jan. 1 New Year speech, which created the mood for dialogue. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Sunday carried a report in which it used critical expressions toward Moon over 25 times. The report raised the issue of Moon's New Year address Jan. 10, that the U.S. and the international community's pressure and sanctions against the North may have led the reclusive state to the inter-Korean talks and U.S. President Donald Trump played a big role in this regard. By Park Si-soo Korea is infamous for its binge and heavy drinking culture. But this trend is sinking, with the focus on wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle rather than on work and social networking. In 2016, the combined amount of alcohol unloaded from domestic liquor suppliers' warehouses was 3.995 million kiloliters, according to Statistics Korea data. This was a 1.9 percent down from a year earlier. The fall was led by reduced consumption of popular alcoholic beverages such as soju (down 2.6 percent), beer (down 3.7 percent) and makgeolli (down 7.2 percent). Whisky consumption has fallen nine years in a row. In 2016, nearly 1.669 million boxes of whisky were sold, down 41 percent from 2008. OECD data shows this trend is not limited to Korea. In 2007, member countries' annual alcohol consumption per capita was 9.8 liters. It slipped to 9.2 liters in 2010 and nine in 2015. The continued decline has taken a toll on domestic liquor makers' bottom lines and also forced them to cut staff. The nation's biggest liquor maker, OB Brewery, is in talks with its labor union over layoffs. Another major supplier, Hite Jinro, sacked about 300 workers -- 9 percent of its payroll -- last year. By Choi Ha-young The government has recommended former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for chairman of the Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), according to officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Monday. Sources said Ban's competitors for the post include a former president of a country, without elaborating. The ministry reportedly sent letters to Korean embassies in the institute's member countries, Jan. 10, calling for their support for Ban. The chairman is picked through a vote by member nations. Former President Lee Myung-bak led the establishment of the GGGI in 2010, as a part of his iconic "low-carbon green growth" initiative. The international organization is committed to supporting and promoting sustainable economic growth of developing countries. A former prime minister under President Lee, Han Seung-soo served as the first chief of the organization. Recently, Ban co-founded the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, to support young people and women around the world. Kim Sang-kon, education minister By Kim Se-jeong The Ministry of Education is flip-flopping on its controversial policy to ban teaching English to preschoolers as parents strongly oppose the move. The ministry had initially announced a plan to stop teaching English at daycare centers and kindergartens. Facing angry parents who want their children to acquire the most-widely spoken second language in the world, however, education policymakers later backtracked saying nothing has been decided. "We will hear from parents and experts first," a high-ranking government official told Dong-A Ilbo, a Korean-language daily newspaper, indicating its earlier decision can be reversed. "We're thinking about discussing this issue at the presidential committee on education." The ministry said it will announce its final approach Tuesday. Only three weeks ago, Dec. 27, the ministry announced its plan to stop English education for children at kindergartens and daycare centers. The reason the ministry gave was it is too early to teach them English and that the ban would be necessary to stay in line with the new law to ban English education for first and second graders the new law will enter into force from March. Facing mounting criticism from parents, the ministry later said it would postpone the implementation until the beginning of next year. Parents didn't hide their disappointment at the government's flip-flopping policy approach. "I am totally disappointed with the fact that the education policies are swayed by several politicians," one citizen wrote on the popular web portal Naver. "Politicians should stay away from making education policies. Leave them to parents. They would do better. President Moon, you'd better go back to square one and listen to what people think first." Another wrote: "Like the policy with higher education, when the government puts its hands on education, it goes wrong, very wrong. Don't ruin Korean children's education anymore." Other critics were English teachers, both Koreans and non-Koreans hired by kindergartens and daycare centers the number of such institutes is approximately 50,000 across the country. The government's decision to ban English education for preschoolers prompted online petitions on the Cheong Wa Dae website with people wanting English courses to continue in kindergartens. At the center of the government's indecisiveness about English education for children is a private English education market in Korea that is growing and powerful. Parents who are enthusiastic about their children's English proficiency sent them to private institutes when they were as young as three. As private English education became more expensive, though, the government intervened and brought English education into the schools with the hope that students would stop learning English at private academies but it didn't turn out that way. Critics of the government's ban argue the government should also consider regulating private education. Kim Sung-kwan is being taken from Yongin Police Station, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, to inspect the crime scene. / Yonhap By Jung Min-ho Kim Sung-kwan, a Korean who flew to Auckland three months ago after allegedly killing three family members here, said Sunday that he had plotted everything to take his mother's money. According to police, he has been arrested on charges of killing his mother, 55, stepfather, 57, and half-brother, 14, with a sharp object on Oct. 21 and stealing 118 million won ($110,000) from the mother's two bank accounts. Police have found that Kim owed 60 million won and had no stable job. Police have also confirmed that for two days before executing the plot, Kim searched information about weapons, how to use them and how a criminal extradition system worked between Korea and New Zealand. According to police, he first killed his mother and half-brother at her apartment in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, between 2 p.m. and 5p.m. He then killed his stepfather at a parking lot in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, at around 8 p.m. the same day. Two days later, he flew to New Zealand with his wife, surnamed Jung, and two daughters one aged two years and the other seven months at that time. But Kim, who has a permanent residency in New Zealand not know he was wanted there for a crime he committed two years ago stealing household appliances. By the time a local court found him guilty of the theft, Korean police learned where he was and asked the New Zealand government to send him back. After serving two months in prison there, he was repatriated on Jan. 11. Kim initially claimed his alleged crime was accidental, but eventually confessed, police said. He told police he plotted killings with his wife, which she has denied. Police are looking into how much his wife was involved and how exactly they planned and executed their plot. The Moranbong Band and other North Korean perform during a key function in Pyongyang, December. / Yonhap By Oh Young-jin Can South Korea stomach North Korea's Moranbong Band, whose performances focus on glorifying dictator Kim Jong-un while belittling the Seoul government and antagonizing the United States? The band sometimes features mockups of North Korean tanks and performers in military uniforms, describing South Korea and the U.S. as helpless enemies. Its music and lyrics reflect the North's military-first policy. A Youtube video shows the band performing at a concert to praise the test-firing of intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 and Kim Jong-un's role in it. The two Koreas are conducting talks about the North's participation in the Feb. 9-25 PyeongChang Winter Games, setting aside their hostile stances over the North's missile and nuclear development. The North is apparently pushing to feature the Moranbong Band, often described as the North's equivalent of a K-pop band and the North Korean dictator's favorite group. Hyon Song-wol, the leader of the all-female band, is part of the North's delegation to the talks. Hyon Song-wol, the leader of the all-female Moranbong Band, is part of the North's delegation to the ongoing inter-Korean talks. The photo was taken in Beijing, China, on Dec. 10, 2015. / Xinhua-Yonhap By Lee Kyung-min The prosecution searched a foundation of which Rep. Hong Moon-jong of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) is chairman, over allegations that the staunch loyalist to former President Park Geun-hye used embezzled funds in election campaigns. I nvestigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office searched the Kyungmin Foundation in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, Monday, to secure documents and accounting books as well as computer hard disks. The search is part of a widening investigation into Park loyalists over alleged wrongdoings. LKP Reps. Choi Kyung-hwan and Lee Woo-hyun were arrested earlier this month for receiving money from the state intelligence agency and a businessman, respectively, in return for favors. A district court issued arrest warrants for both. Many more Park loyalists are expected to face questioning soon, including Reps. Won Yoo-chul and Kim Jae-won. Prosecutors believe Hong gave 1.9 billion won ($1.7 million) in embezzled foundation funds to a man surnamed Kim who led a right-wing civic group supporting then candidate Park in September or October in 2012 in the lead up to the presidential election in December. Park won the election by a narrow margin beating her liberal opponent, then candidate Moon Jae-in. Hong has been the chairman of the foundation established by his father, former lawmaker Hong Woo-jun in 1968, for more than 20 years. However, funds from the family-run foundation are intended to be used for the welfare of students and workers at Kyungmin University, not by a few members of the Hong family. Hong is also alleged to have received hundreds of millions of won from many individuals who sought to be fielded in regional elections in 2014. The prosecution's search comes more than a decade after he was investigated for a similar allegation. The Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency booked him without physical detention in 2005, following a statement from a figure who had knowledge of him pocketing 2.1 billion won in embezzled foundation funds. However, he was cleared of any wrongdoing. Hong was one of eight high-profile Park loyalists who Sung Wan-jong, the former chairman of Keangnam Enterprises, said he bribed in a hand-written suicide note before he killed himself in April 2015. Sung claimed he had become a political scapegoat in the then intensified prosecution investigation into alleged corruption in failed overseas energy projects spearheaded under former President Lee. Of the eight high-profile politicians, only LKP Chairman Hong Joon-pyo and former Prime Minister Lee Wan-gu were indicted. The remaining six avoided indictment due to what the prosecution said was a lack of evidence. The Supreme Court upheld the lower courts' ruling that acquitted the two last December, further drawing skepticism in the criminal justice system in which the public said it has long lost faith. By Kim Rahn President Moon Jae-in's plan to reform investigative bodies may face a bumpy road as the opposition parties are against the move, which requires relevant law revisions at the National Assembly. The opposition claim Cheong Wa Dae's announcement of its own plan ignored the Assembly, which just finished forming a special committee last week to discuss reform of the prosecution and police. The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) said Monday it would not accept the Cheong Wa Dae plan, which is aimed at rearranging the investigative power of the National Intelligence Service (NIS), the prosecution and police. "It is unilateral state management ignoring the National Assembly, which is a representative body," LKP floor leader Rep. Kim Sung-tae said, threatening to boycott the committee. Rep. Chang Je-won, the LKP leader on the committee, said, "Cheong Wa Dae presented the reform measure immediately after the committee was launched. This is a dictatorial and arrogant stance to cripple the committee." The LKP especially opposed the idea of transferring the NIS responsibility for investigating domestic espionage cases to the police, saying the spy agency could not function if it could not catch spies. "The committee will not deal with the NIS reform measure at all," Chang said. Regarding the plan to have police take over some investigative roles from the prosecution, he said, "Cheong Wa Dae exposed its intention to make the police slaves to power by giving them the incentive of a bigger investigative role." The LKP also reaffirmed its opposition to establishing a separate investigative body for corruption cases involving presidential aides, high-ranking government officials and their families. The minor opposition Bareun Party also opposed the transfer of NIS espionage investigation rights to the police. "About the past wrongdoing in which the agency was used as a pawn of those in power, the government is not getting to the core of the problem, but is abolishing the anti-espionage function unreasonably," said Bareun Chairman Yoo Seong-min. Yoo added that transferring an organization's investigative power to another organization was not enough to reform it. "Whether it's the police, the prosecution or the NIS, the key of the reform should be eradicating the problem that former presidents controlled them through their authority over personnel affairs at the organizations," Yoo said. "But the Cheong Wa Dae plan does not have anything about reforming personnel affairs." The minor opposition People's Party also pointed out that it was inappropriate for Cheong Wa Dae to lead the judicial reform when all political parties had agreed to discuss the issue at committee level. By Choi Ha-young The National Assembly special committee on constitutional revision and electoral reform held its first meeting Monday, but lawmakers from rival parties showed wide differences on how to proceed. The committee was created at the end of 2017, following the conservative opposition parties' call to delay any constitutional revision. President Moon Jae-in has vowed repeatedly to put the revision to a referendum in June, in tandem with local elections. To enable a referendum, the legislative body is supposed to propose it no later than March 15. All presidential candidates reached a consensus last April on this schedule to amend the Supreme Law in June 2018 along with the local elections. To meet the deadline, the Assembly earlier launched two committees to discuss the revision and a reform of the electoral system. However, the two committees were disbanded without reaching a consensus on the issues. Eventually, the parties managed to begin a second round of talks. In Monday's committee session, opposition lawmakers lashed out at President Moon's remark that he may submit a separate bill for the constitutional amendment, calling it a "guideline" for ruling party lawmakers. "The committee cannot create a bill by the end of February. It's a reckless request from the President," said Rep. Kim Jin-tae from the conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP). "The ruling camp wants to carry out a national referendum and local elections simultaneously, but amending the Constitution is far more important than the local elections." Having a referendum alongside the elections is generally advantageous for the ruling camp, according to analysts. The largest opposition party is trying to put the brakes on Moon's attempt to keep his election pledge. The LKP took issue with the government's power structure the most disputed point in the constitutional revision talks. The parties are considering various options including a U.S.-style four-year two-term presidency, a parliamentary government and a semi-presidential system. "The most important factor in the envisioned amendment is the power structure. A constitutional revision without touching on this issue is pointless," said Rep. Na Kyung-won from the LKP. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) supported the President's bid, saying the Assembly had already exchanged enough views at last year's committee meetings. "The committee members can resolve differences, since we collected ideas for the past year. A national referendum in June is quite possible," Rep. Park Ju-min said. Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun, who has touted constitutional revision as his top priority, made an unusual appearance at the meeting. "The Assembly made a promise in public to amend the Constitution. The ongoing committee should not discuss this from a zero base. Rather, it should generate a tangible outcome by effective management," Chung said in a speech there. "The lawmakers here are responsible to build a new foundation of the nation. It's up to you, whether the Assembly plays a leading role in the new era or becomes a subject of public criticism for delaying the process." The speaker held a separate press conference the same day, where he urged rapid bipartisan talks on the revision. "The Assembly should complete the constitutional talks, rather than make the President propose a separate bill," he said. If Cheong Wa Dae pushes for a separate bill, President Moon is likely to minimize the revisions limited to improvement of fundamental human rights and the power balance between the central government and regional bodies. The parties roughly reached an agreement on those issues, while they have failed to narrow the gap over the power structure. Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is running for the chairmanship of the executive organ of the Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), diplomatic sources said Monday. Upon recommendation by the South Korean government, Ban has registered his candidacy for chair of the GGGI's council. The GGGI launched in 2012 and currently has 28 member countries. The treaty-based organization focuses on forging strategies for environmentally-friendly development. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently recommended former Secretary-General Ban to the GGGI as the chair of its council," the sources said, adding that other candidates have joined the race, including a former head of state. Candidates are recommended by national governments and the chair is elected through an agreement among member countries. The GGGI is expected to start the election process in the near future. The foreign ministry has recently directed its foreign diplomatic missions to rally international support for Ban's bid. Former council chairs include former Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, former South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and Lars Loekke Rasmussen, the current prime minister of Denmark. (Yonhap) Time to go all-out to prevent hospital infections Police have found that blood poisoning from a bacterial infection caused the death of four newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit at Ewha Womans University Medical Center in western Seoul last month. This finding shows how poorly the hospital operated the unit. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Friday that all four premature babies were found to have died of septicemia caused by Citrobacter freundii. This bacterium can cause death among preterm infants and other patients with an insufficiently developed or weak immune system. Investigators said they will charge five hospital staff, including doctors and nurses, with involuntary manslaughter for neglecting their duty. They deserve harsh punishment for the death of the babies. However, legal action against just them is insufficient in preventing a repetition of such a mishap, not only in the medical center but also in other hospitals across the country. Needless to say, the case cannot and should not be addressed by subjecting only the medical staff to punitive action. A systematic approach is required as many other general hospitals and university-affiliated medical centers have often come under criticism for their shoddy management of emergency rooms, intensive care units and other facilities. The 2015 outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) demonstrated that the country's healthcare system failed to work to prevent the spread of the highly contagious virus. The epidemic killed 38 out of 186 infected people. Yet little has changed, although the health authorities vowed to take bold measures. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11,964 infections took place in intensive care units at hospitals throughout the country between July 2013 and June 2017. What's more serious is those facilities teemed with superbugs, which are fatal to patients due to their strong resistance to antibiotics. So the tragic incident at the Ewha hospital could be repeated at anytime. It seems true to say that people who go to see a doctor in a hospital become infected with more serious diseases. But hospitals have done little to prevent nosocomial infections, citing a lack of money and low coverage by the National Health Insurance. Under the current healthcare system, the problem cannot be solved because hospitals do not want to invest more in the operation of emergency rooms and intensive care units. They complain that the more patients there are, the bigger the deficit is. Now is the time to push for healthcare reform to strengthen oversight of hospitals so they can provide better services and prevent medical mishaps. The government is pushing for a "Moon Jae-in Care," program named after the President, to expand National Health Insurance coverage and provide quality medical services. This program requires 30 trillion won ($28 billion) from state coffers. A certain amount of this should be spent on preventing secondary infections in hospitals. By Jane Han HONOLULU Something unexpected happened yesterday morning during my vacation here in Hawaii. I was picking up coffee at a Starbucks close to Waikiki a little past 8 a.m. Saturday and all of a sudden, breaking the morning peacefulness a loud blaring alarm goes off on dozens of cell phones inside the coffee shop. This isn't your typical alarm sound. It's a built-in mobile alert system that goes off in emergency situations. It is ear-splitting and obnoxious with a distinct tone that triggers an immediate sense of anxiety and urgency. Everyone, including me, scrambled to find their phones and shut off the sound. But what appeared on the screen was enough to put people on panic mode. The alert read in all caps: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. What in the world. That first few seconds, my mind raced with all kinds of scary thoughts. Oh God, it's finally happening, I said to myself. What do I do? Where do I go? Seek shelter? Where? What about my kids? My husband? Everyone was home while I was out alone to grab coffee. I looked around and I could tell everyone was lost. I started exchanging a few words of confusion with some people around me, but that didn't help. We were all clueless. Forget coffee. The lives of me and my family were at stake. I couldn't waste any more time standing around. I began rushing back home and, while on my way, noticed that I wasn't the only one. People on the streets were in panic. Many were on their phones trying to figure out what on earth was going on. After a 10-minute speed walk down Waikiki, I was reunited with the rest of my family. At least we're all together, I thought. What next. My husband suggested calling a local authority for evacuation directions, while I scoured the Internet to find more information. As we got busier scrambling to survive with a North Korean ballistic missile headed our way, another blaring alert went off. Oh no, we'll all be dead soon. That was the only thing that crossed my mind. But what showed up on the screen read just the opposite: There is no missile threat or danger to the State of Hawaii. Repeat. False alarm. Thank God. We're not going to die. GOOD, but what the heck? That was 38 minutes of sheer terror. How can anyone mess up something critical as this? It turns out, it was a mistake made by an employee of Hawaii's Emergency Management Department who "pushed the wrong button" during a routine shift change. Hard to understand, but it is what it is. It was the first time I experienced anything remotely close to a life-threatening emergency of this level. I did some follow-up search online and can't be any more grateful that it was a false alarm. If it was the real deal, I may have been dead by now. It takes just 15-20 minutes for a North Korean missile to hit the Hawaiian island. By Ko Dong-hwanBefore the planned debut of Samsung Electronics' latest smartphone at an international show in Barcelona in February, a fake version is on the loose. In the YouTube video posted on Jan. 3, a Chinese-speaking man shows what appears to be Samsung Galaxy S9+. The unidentified man fumbles through the black device that at large appears like the real deal in the 25 second-long video.But despite the large Infinity Display screen that the original model was expected to have, netizens have been quick to point that the device is the work of a copycat.Clues include: the bottom bezel is thicker than the top one; the stout power button; a FM radio app not expected from the original; an absence of Galaxy Apps shortcuts; a S Planner app instead of a Samsung Calendar; a heart rate app instead of Samsung Health; a camera app that does not look like that on Galaxy Note8; and a flat display.Netizens scoffed at the device in the video, dubbing the allegedly fake "Galaxy A8+," "fake," "Fake 200%," "useless, shame on you," and "more Chinese copycats."The fake could have been built based on leaked design blueprints and rendering of the original, according to South Korean digital products reviewer K Bench.Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy S9-series, including Galaxy S9+, at Mobile World Congress 2018 from Feb. 26 until Mar. 1. The products can be booked following the event and will be available in March.On Monday, following the video controversy, a Galaxy S9 box was reportedly found in China.The box, allegedly for a fake model, lists the device's technological features, including 5.8-inch Quad HD+ super-AMOLED display, 4GB RAM, 64GB of memory and IP68 water and dust resistant. Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho looks out over Seoul from an observatory on the 118th floor of Lotte World Tower in this May 2017 file photo. / Courtesy of Lotte Group By Park Jae-hyuk Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho will move residence and office this week to Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul. After establishing the group's headquarters in 1978 in Sogong-dong, downtown Seoul, Shin has lived and worked at the 34th floor of Lotte Hotel in the area since the mid-1990s. As the Fair Trade Commission still regards the founder as the head of the conglomerate, his transfer will have significant meaning for Lotte, which has been desperate to end the 40-year-long Sogong-dong era and embrace the Jamsil era. The transfer has been postponed, due to a struggle between Shin's two sons over control of the group. Although former Tokyo-based Lotte Holdings Vice Chairman Shin Dong-joo, the founder's eldest son, and Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin, the younger son, were embroiled in legal battle over their father's residence, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the latter. The chairman has already moved his residence and the group's headquarters to the nation's tallest skyscraper. According to Lotte, the founder's attorneys will decide the exact date of the move, considering the businessman's health. A 264.5-square-meter residential area on the 49th floor of the tower, where the founder will live, is one of the luxurious residences located between the building's 42nd and 71st floors. A conference room and a secretary's office will also be included in a 198.3-square-meter space. Nurses and bodyguards will stay on the same floor to take care of the elderly man. Lotte initially planned to offer the 114th floor to the founder. However, it changed its plans, due to the delay of the interior design. The company said it tried its best to decorate the new room to be the same as the founder's previous home. The 123-story building is known as the 95-year-old entrepreneur's grand scheme. He bought the land for the tower in 1987, but its construction took 30 years to complete. The government had cited risks of airplanes from Seoul Air Base colliding with the tower. However, Shin did not give up on his dream of establishing a world-class landmark in Seoul, and the government finally approved the construction in 2008. Despite his age, the founder visited the construction site frequently, showing his keen interest in the tower. The Iranian oil tanker Sanchi burned for more than a week in the East China Sea before sinking on Sunday. / Reuters By Mandy Zuo An Iranian oil tanker on fire for over a week in the East China Sea exploded and sank on Sunday, officials said, with little chance of survival for the nearly 30 missing crew. The Shanghai Maritime Search and Rescue Centre said a blast erupted on the Panama-registered tanker Sanchi at around noon on Sunday, with the vessel confirmed to have sunk by 5pm, Chinese state media reported. The tanker, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, initially caught fire after colliding with the Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter CF Crystal 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai on January 6. On Sunday, China Central Television aired footage of the tanker engulfed in flames and dense smoke after the explosion, with a plume rising as high as a 3km (1.86 miles). The vessel's bow then collapsed and the tanker listed to one side, before sinking. An Iranian official said on Sunday there was no chance any crew members had survived. "There is no hope of finding survivors among the members of the crew," Mohammad Rastad, spokesman for the Iranian rescue team sent to Shanghai, told Iran's state broadcaster. Rastad said information from the CF Crystal's crew suggested that all the personnel on the Sanchi were killed in the first hour of the accident "due to the explosion and the release of gas". An oil slick from the tanker covered 10 square kilometres (3.86 square miles), and an area with a radius of about 150 metres (500 feet) was on fire and still burning on Sunday night, CCTV reported. Emergency workers told CCTV that the slick had expanded rapidly. The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said it would closely monitor the spill and any environmental fallout, Xinhua reported. Before the tanker sank, the SOA said the impact of the oil spill might be limited because light crude evaporated quicker than other forms of oil. Rescuers recovered the bodies of two crew members found on the tanker's lifeboat deck on Saturday morning, CCTV reported. Emergency workers spent less than half an hour on board the tanker but were able to recover data and video recordings, the report said. FROM EIR DAILY ALERT Mueller Knew Taking Trump Transition Team Emails from GSA Was Breaking the Law Jan. 12, 2018 (EIRNS)Trumps transition team lawyers have learned that Special Counsel Robert Mueller knew, when he got the transition team emails from the General Services Administration (GSA)tens of thousands of themthat the GSA was only holding them for the transition team, Trump for America, and did not have the right to turn them over. The transition team learned, apparently from a leaker, that GSA General Counsel Richard Beckler had written to Mueller explaining that the GSA could not turn over the emails without approval from the transition team. Beckler was then hospitalized and subsequently died, while Mueller got the emails from his replacement, knowing it was illegal. The transition teams lawyer, Kory Langhofer, is calling on the GSA to provide a copy of Becklers memo. The GSA had no right to access or control the records but was simply serving as Trump for Americas records custodian, Langhofer wrote. He said that the GSA unlawfully handed over thousands of private and privileged [presidential transition team] emails to the Special Counsels office, and failed to notify [Trump for America] of the production, CBS News reports today. Ken Nahigian, Trump for Americas executive director, said the request to the GSA is intended to respond to the agencys role in the unlawful seizure of Transition documents by Mr. Mueller. Nahigian said the agencys cooperation with the special counsel without the knowledge of the transition team will irreversibly chill the operations of future presidential transition teams. Another nail in the coffin of the criminal operations of Robert S. Mueller and his British Empire masters. FROM EIR DAILY ALERT Working with Russia, China, and India Is a Good Thing, Affirms U.S. President Jan. 12, 2018 (EIRNS)Speaking to the press with Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway after their meeting Jan. 10, U.S. President Donald Trump was asked about Russiagate. His response echoed Lyndon LaRouches critical concept of the Four PowersUnited States, Russia, China, Indiaas the necessary partnership required to defeat the British Empire. Trump said: Working with countries, whether its Russia or China or India, or any of the countries that surround this world and encompass this world, is a very good thing. Thats not a bad thing. He also said that he was for a strong military, massive amounts of oil and gas, and a great deal of energy, and stating: Hillary, my opponent, was for windmills, and she was for other types of energy that dont have the same capacities at this moment, certainly. FROM EIR DAILY ALERT Paris and Beijing Inaugurate Joint Fusion Research Center Jan. 13, 2018 (EIRNS)On the heels of President Emmanuel Macrons visit to China last week, the Sino-French joint fusion research center was inaugurated on Jan. 11 in Hefei, which is the site of the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the home of the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). The French side is led by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the French Atomic Energy Commission. Science and Technology Daily, published by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, reports that the framework agreement to establish a joint research center was signed last November. Its main purpose is to carry out research in support of the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) international fusion project, under construction in France. The center will start its joint research on Europes Tungsten Environment in Steady-State Tokamak (WEST) machine as its first project. Chinese and French scientists will work on technical challenges that ITER will face in operation, including developing and verifying key components. After joint laboratories have been set up by both parties, they will conduct research on both countries fusion machines. The umbrella agreement includes joint bidding on contracts for fusion projects, fusion science and experimental physics research, safety and technical standards on projects of mutual interest, and joint work on the next generation of fusion reactors. China and France, the newsletter reports, have a long history of cooperation in thermonuclear fusion energy, going back to the 1980s. It started with cooperation between Frances Tore Supra tokamak and Chinas HT-7 device, which has gradually transformed into the currently operating machines. FROM EIR DAILY ALERT Russian and U.S. Ambassadors Meet, Plan Joint Efforts To Improve Relations Jan. 14, 2018 (EIRNS)Russias Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov and the U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman met Jan. 11 in Washington, and, according to Antonov, speaking to TASS, they established a friendly relationship and worked out concrete measures jointly to improve relations between the two nations. Antonov told Russian reporters at a reception at his residence in New York on a Day of Russian Press, that, I consider Huntsman a clever, smart professional. The meeting was good, it was constructive, and I estimate as positive Huntsmans mood towards development of the Russian-American relations. TASS reports that the two diplomats outlined joint steps, aimed at improving Russian-American relations. Antonov said that Huntsman would be working with the Department of State, with the White House, and he would be working at Capitol Hill, which is especially important. We shall be working together to restore the relations. He also stated that under the current conditions it is impossible to hope for quick improvement of the bilateral relations. In late 2015, Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook was asked why the technology giant continued to leave a mountain of cash overseas rather than return it to the United States. Id love to bring it home, Cook said of the cash hoard, which now totals a staggering $265 billion, in an interview aired on 60 Minutes. But, he added, it would cost me 40% [in federal and state taxes] and I dont think thats a reasonable thing to do. Now, with the new U.S. tax law providing a much lower cost for cash repatriation, Cook and the managements of many other U.S. multinational companies are expected to bring home a sizable chunk of the $1.4 trillion that Moodys Investors Service estimates is held offshore by nonfinancial U.S. companies. The others include fellow tech giants Microsoft Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc. and Oracle Corp.; drugmakers Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co.; the biotech company Amgen Inc.; and industrial giant General Electric Co. Advertisement In pushing for tax reform, the Trump administration and Republican congressional leaders argued that the new law would end the perverse incentive to keep foreign profits offshore, as they jointly said in their tax proposal, and that the repatriated cash would help spur additional business investment and job growth in the United States. This tax system will bring back trillions of dollars that will be invested here, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in November. President Trump speaks to reporters after signing the tax bill last month. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press ) But the repatriation scenario also has triggered speculation that Apple and other firms will use a good portion of that cash to buy other companies, swelling the number of corporate mergers and acquisitions this year. The rest of the cash is expected to be deployed for stock buybacks, higher dividends and debt repayment along with any business investment and added employment. This is going to be a robust year for mergers and acquisitions with the influx of cash thats going to be brought into the U.S., said Lloyd Greif, president of Greif & Co., a Los Angeles investment bank. The tax law enacted last month not only slashes the federal corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, it imposes a one-time tax of 8% to 15.5% on foreign earnings held overseas. (Los Angeles Times ) That one-time tax must be paid whether the cash comes back home or not, so there is no longer an incentive for companies to keep the cash offshore as a way of deferring paying taxes on those earnings, said Manal Corwin, principal in charge of international tax policy at the accounting and consulting firm KPMG. Advertisement The new law effectively removes the tax cost associated with the decision to repatriate, Corwin said. Its now a business decision whether they actually repatriate their earnings. The companies will incur a charge against their overall earnings for the one-time tax hit on their repatriated dollars, which some firms already have detailed: Amgen, which had $38.9 billion overseas as of Sept. 30, said it expected to incur a tax-related charge of $6 billion to $6.5 billion, although the Thousand Oaks firm did not say how much it planned to repatriate. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said its 2017 earnings would be cut by about $5 billion and that about two-thirds of the reduction is due to the repatriation tax. The investment bank did not say exactly how much cash it planned to bring back to the United States. Johnson & Johnson, with nearly $16 billion in cash overseas, welcomed the tax law and its repatriation features, Johnson & Johnson Chief Executive Alex Gorsky told CNBC. But he said that didnt mean his company would automatically be buying up other firms. Any merger starts with science, the right deal, the right company, Gorsky said, although he acknowledged that the cash infusion gives us more flexibility. The new tax law has triggered speculation that Apple and other firms will use a good portion of their repatriated cash to buy other companies. Above, Apple CEO Tim Cook at a conference in 2015. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images ) Thats true with Apple as well. Advertisement Daniel Ives, head technology analyst at the investment research firm GBH Insights, estimated that Apple would repatriate about $200 billion and that it is a ripe time for the company to make a major acquisition, such as Netflix Inc., even though Apple historically has shied away from big mergers. The burning question on the Streets mind is does Cook make a big bet with this infusion of cash and do a larger deal (e.g. Netflix) to catalyze and jump start its streaming video/content business, Ives wrote in a note to clients this month. Apple declined to comment on its repatriation or acquisition plans, and Netflix did not respond to a request for comment. Although Apple could easily finance a deal for Netflix, some argue that Netflix is too expensive relative to whatever added growth the video-streaming firm could provide Apple. Netflixs stock has soared 72% in the last 12 months, closing at $221.23 a share Friday, and the company now has an overall market value of $96 billion. Given that a buyer would have to pay a premium for the shares, that would lift the price for buying Netflix to well above $100 billion. Advertisement Apple not only has the cash but also could use its stock as currency in a transaction. Apples stock has jumped 49% in the last 12 months, to $177.09 a share Friday, and the companys total market value is $900 billion. Doing a deal that massive would be a cultural shift for Apple, but one that is potentially necessary if Apple wants to make a big bet on the streaming front, Ives contended. There is something about a pile of cash that does excite the acquisition leanings in all of us. USC professor Edward Kleinbard, former chief of staff for Congress Joint Committee on Taxation What other decisions might companies make for the cash they bring back? Advertisement Edward Kleinbard, a professor at the USC Gould School of Law and former chief of staff for Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, said he expected stock buybacks and higher dividends, similar to what occurred in 2004 when American companies last received a tax break on repatriated cash. Those moves could bolster the companies stock prices and you cant ignore the fact that thats in the interest of investors and the senior executives whose compensation is tied to the stock price in many cases, he said. Kleinbard said he also expects a significant amount of debt repayment to take place with the repatriated cash. Greif, however, expressed doubt about a wave of stock buybacks this time, noting that stocks are now trading at or near record highs. Advertisement The stock market wasnt at an all-time high in 2004, so a lot of the cash went into stock buybacks back then, he said. Frankly, I dont see the wisdom of that [now]. You buy back stock when your stock is cheap. Will it also spark a merger wave? Theres no logical reason why that should be true given how cheap money is already in terms of corporate borrowing costs, Kleinbard said. Still, he said, there is something about a pile of cash that does excite the acquisition leanings in all of us. Youve got the liquidity right there in your pocket. james.peltz@latimes.com Advertisement Twitter: @PeltzLATimes Airbus SE publicly questioned the future of its A380 superjumbo jet, saying the program risks being shut down if the manufacturer fails to win a crucial order from the planes main backer, Emirates of Dubai. Emirates is the only airline with enough capacity to take enough planes to keep the program alive, Airbus sales chief John Leahy said Monday in an online presentation. Discussions are ongoing, he said. I believe we can find a solution with Emirates in hopefully the not too distant future, Leahy said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. But we do need a strong base that only a big operator like Emirates can provide. Meanwhile, Airbus widened its sales-order lead over Boeing Co. in 2017 following a record year of jet sales, and it eyed overtaking the North American giant by deliveries as well. Advertisement Airbus booked contracts for 1,109 airliners, or 52% more than in 2016, the Toulouse, France-based company said in a statement Monday, extending the margin over Boeing to 197 aircraft as its rival secured 912 net orders. Although Boeing retains the title of worlds biggest planemaker after delivering an all-time high of 763 aircraft versus Airbuss 718, the order tally represents a coup for the European group after it lagged behind for much of 2017, even enduring a sales defeat in its own backyard at the Paris Air Show in June. While the A380 struggles, Airbus is outselling Boeing on smaller single-aisle aircraft like the A320 family. The company announced a bonanza of orders in late December and said Monday that it sold more than 1,000 of the planes in 2017. The achievement is especially notable since Boeing refreshed its lineup last year with the 737 Max 10, a direct competitor. Airbus has now outsold Boeing for six straight years, encouraging the company to predict that its just a few more away from also out-delivering its Seattle-based competitor, something last achieved in 2011. The groups overall backlog stands at an industry record 7,265 planes, compared with 5,864 at Boeing. Airbus has struggled to rack up sales of the A380 superjumbo, which it argues will be needed to help increase passenger traffic at the worlds busiest airports. The company was forced to slash production rates in July to try and stretch out the order book. Emirates, by far the biggest operator of the plane, scuttled a deal to buy 36 of the planes in November, leaving Airbus hanging and raising doubts about the future of the program. Airbus wants Emirates to order enough planes to sustain production at six a year over the next 10 years, giving the planemaker scope to sell two or three of the superjumbos on top of that to eke out a profit on the program, Leahy said. The company produced 15 in 2017, will hand over 12 this year and just eight in 2019. Because most of the programs cost are in the past, Airbus can produce as few as six of the planes a year with reasonable efficiency, commercial aircraft chief Fabrice Bregier said, adding that a formal decision to drop to that level hasnt yet been made. Advertisement The planes future has been in doubt for several years. As far back as 2014, Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm said the program could be killed if demand didnt pick up. The four-engine A380, introduced in 2005, is so big that some airports had to expand runway facilities in order to accommodate the 550-seat plane. While its used in the worlds biggest airports including Los Angeles International and New Yorks JFK, the industry as a whole has moved toward smaller planes going point-to-point, reducing airlines dependence on bigger hubs. More business from Emirates is key to attracting other buyers of the A380 and ensuring jets sold now would hold their resale value. With a list price of $446 million, the plane is one of the most expensive and least flexible for airlines to deploy in their fleets. Without new orders, it becomes impossible for Airbus and its suppliers, which include Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, GKN Plc and the General Electric Co.-United Technologies Corp. venture Engine Alliance, to make a profit. Benjamin Katz writes for Bloomberg. California, the state that helped birth the global boom in battery-toting electric vehicles, is trying to spark a similar transformation for utilities. And that spells trouble for power plants all across the U.S. that run on natural gas. The California Public Utilities Commission approved an order Thursday that will require PG&E Corp., the states biggest utility, to change the way it supplies power when demand peaks. Instead of relying on electricity from three gas-fired plants run by Calpine Corp., PG&E will have to use batteries or other non-fossil-fuel resources to keep the lights on in the most-populated U.S. state. The shift is possible in California partly because theres a surplus of solar power, after a surge of rooftop panels and large-scale gathering systems helped double the renewable energy it used over the past decade. Batteries can charge up in daylight and dispense electricity later. With improved technology and lower costs, storage systems are becoming more viable for utilities, especially in a state hoping to get half its power from wind and solar by 2030 and targeting major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Advertisement A year ago, Tesla Motors Inc. and Southern California Edison unveiled one of the worlds largest energy storage facilities at the utilitys Mira Loma substation in Ontario. The facility contains nearly 400 Tesla PowerPack units on a 1.5-acre site, which can store enough energy to power 2,500 homes for a day or 15,000 homes for four hours. Storage facilities of similar size have been built by San Diego Gas & Electric with AES Energy Storage and by Greensmith Energy Partners with AltaGas. California is going to create a blueprint for the coming years, said Michael Ferguson, the director of U.S. energy infrastructure at S&P Global Ratings in New York. Renewables proliferated where there was supportive regulation, and that caused the costs to decline. I would expect to see the same thing to happen with battery storage. While natural gas became the biggest source of power in the U.S. two years ago it burns cleaner and more cheaply than coal regulators are looking to reduce carbon emissions to combat global warming and climate change. Gas now accounts for about a third of the countrys electricity, but renewables like solar and wind are expanding faster, doubling their share of the market over the past decade to a projected 17% last year, government data show. There is a big push, especially on the West Coast, to move to cleaner fuels, said Marta Stoepker, a spokeswoman for the Oakland-based environmental group Sierra Club. If we are getting off of coal, lets also skip over gas. The shift away from fossil fuels in power generation has been pronounced in California, where tougher standards for cleaner air and fuel have become a model for the rest of the country and the world. Gas use dropped to 36% of the states electricity supply in 2016 from 42% a decade earlier, while renewables jumped to 25% from 11% over the same period, state data show. Renewables are dumping so much power onto the states grid on some days it can be more than half of all supply some generators are losing money because of weak wholesale electricity prices. Thats a problem for companies whose plants only generate power during periods of peak demand, like some of those run by Calpine. Last year, the Houston-based firm told Californias grid operator that it would have to retire plants because of low prices. The operator determined the market needed the plants for reliability and allowed Calpine to sign profitable, must-run contracts for 2018. These gas plants typically sit idle for much of the year, whereas a battery could be used for a range of other services, such as helping integrate renewables, said Logan Goldie-Scot, an energy storage analyst for Bloomberg New Energy Finance in San Francisco. Advertisement Californias utility commission wants San Francisco-based PG&E to find power storage or a clean energy alternative to those Calpine contracts. The utility said it supports the agencys order and asked that power-line upgrades be considered as part of the plan. Calpine opposes the order. In a Dec. 29 letter to the commission, the company said the move imposes unreasonable costs and risks on customers and departs from a considered, thoughtful approach to grid reliability. California still needs gas plants to back up a state grid thats under pressure from volatile solar power, Kit Konolige, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a note Thursday. In 2016, about 3,100 megawatts of gas plants retired with 700 megawatts of new gas units coming online, Konolige said. One megawatt can power about 750 homes, according to the state. This isnt the first time the states come down on gas. In 2017, regulators moved to reject a permit for a proposed gas plant in Southern California, noting that clean energy resources including batteries could be used to fill the need. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has put on hold gas plant projects to explore alternatives. Advertisement And the shift extends beyond California. Last year, a proposed gas project was pulled in Oregon after opposition from local environmental advocates, and in Connecticut, a plant was rejected by a state panel. Plans for another gas unit in North Carolina were killed in 2016. New gas-fired generators have faced challenges in other states, including Louisiana and Michigan. General Electric Co., the worlds largest maker of gas turbines, said last month that it would cut 12,000 jobs in its power business, part of a plan to get leaner as customers turn away from fossil-fuel energy sources. Batteries may be everywhere in todays appliances, but the scale of electricity distribution on vast utility networks still makes using power storage costly. Thats changing with the development of bigger, more efficient units that can carry a charge longer, especially in the kinds of electric vehicles manufactured by the likes of Tesla Inc. Since 2010, Bloomberg New Energy Finance data show, the price of lithium-ion battery packs have fallen 79%. Advertisement Storing considerable amounts of electricity for future use, Paul Patterson, a utilities analyst for Glenrock Associates, said, has the potential to significantly alter the economics of the power sector. Chediak writes for Bloomberg. mchediak@bloomberg.net A French dairy company has recalled more than 12 million boxes of baby formula in 83 countries over a potential risk of contamination with salmonella bacteria. According to The Guardian, salmonella bacteria allegedly contaminated baby formula produced by the French dairy company Lactalis, which is the worlds largest dairy company. So far the recall includes the companys Picot, Milumel, and Taranis brands of baby formula, and the recall affects 83 countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The company says the U.K. and U.S. are not affected by the recall. According to the BBC, the recall was initially announced in December and involved all products manufactured after February, 2017. But the recall was expanded this week after affected products were allegedly found on supermarket shelves after the recall was announced. Now the recall affects all products manufactured at the companys factory in Craon, in Frances Mayenne region, regardless of when they were produced.. The aim of this radical step is simple: to avoid delays, problems in sorting batches, and the risk of human error, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday, according to The Guardian. Advertisement Salmonella can cause fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping, and they can be life-threatening, especially in small children. So far 35 babies in France, one in Spain, and another in Greece have been reported to have contracted salmonella after consuming the formula. Food recalls are a serious business, here are some of the biggest food recalls of 2017. View slideshow More on Salmonella A prison inmate serving the last year of his sentence in a community program in Los Angeles has been captured after tampering with his GPS monitor and walking off, state corrections officials said. Joshua Cortez, 30, who was serving time for possessing or receiving forged papers, was found Sunday morning in North Hollywood after going missing two days earlier. He had been participating in the Male Community Reentry Program, which allows some inmates to finish their sentences at re-entry centers outside of prison. The men receive help finding jobs, as well as drug and mental health treatment if necessary, in hopes that they will become law-abiding citizens. Cortez was scheduled to be released in September but now faces possible prosecution on escape charges, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release. He had previously served time for first-degree burglary, then returned to prison in April on the forgery charge. He transferred to the Los Angeles community program in October. Advertisement Cortez went missing about 10:10 a.m. Friday, when officials discovered that his GPS device was not working. His last known location was near the North Hollywood Metro station. He was found at a residence on the 8200 block of Lankershim Boulevard, where a parolee named Robert Romero was living, at about 10:10 a.m. Sunday. Special agents from the corrections department saw Cortez leave the residence. Romero, who had served time for assault with a deadly weapon, was a known associate of Cortez. He may face charges of harboring an escapee. cindy.chang@latimes.com For more news on the Los Angeles Police Department, follow me on Twitter: @cindychangLA The 911 call came in at 6 a.m. Sunday. A teenage girl was on the line with an unsettling tale. She had managed to escape from her familys home in Perris, where her parents had been holding her captive. Her brothers and sisters were still locked inside 12 of them. Some were chained to their beds, she said. For the record: An earlier version of this article gave David Turpins age as 57. He is 56. Riverside County sheriffs deputies were dispatched to find the 17-year-old girl. When they saw her, they were struck by her small size and emaciated appearance. She looked to be only 10, according to the sheriffs account released Monday. The nightmarish scene deputies discovered when they entered the house on Muir Woods Road was as bad as the girl had described. They found several children shackled to their beds with chains and padlocks in dark and foul-smelling surroundings, the statement said. Advertisement The parents, David Allen Turpin, 56, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were unable to immediately provide a logical reason why their children were restrained in that manner, deputies wrote. The couple were arrested on suspicion of torture and child endangerment and each was being held Monday night in lieu of $9-million bail. The youngest child was 2. At first deputies assumed from their frail and malnourished appearance that all in the group were minors, but they later determined that seven of them were adults ages 18 to 29, the sheriffs statement said. It was not clear from the statement how many of the children were found locked to their beds. Deputies provided food and drinks to the children, who claimed to be starving, before they were admitted to hospitals. The couples children were found in their Perris home. (Los Angeles Times ) Public records show the couple own the tract house where the children were found. Its address is also listed in a state Department of Education directory as the location of the Sandcastle Day School, a private K-12 campus. David Turpin is listed as the principal. During the last school year, the school was listed in state records as a non-religious and co-ed institution. There were six students enrolled one each in the fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, 10th and 12th grades. David Turpins parents, James and Betty Turpin of West Virginia, told ABC News they were surprised and shocked at the allegations. They said their grandchildren are home-schooled, and that they had not seen their son and daughter-in-law in four or five years. Advertisement Public records indicate the couple have lived at the address for several years and lived in Texas for many years before coming to California. They declared bankruptcy twice, public records show. Ivan Trahan, an attorney who represented the couple in their latest bankruptcy in 2011, said Monday he was shocked at news of the arrests. To me and my wife, Nancy, who was with me during the interviews, we always thought of them as very nice people who spoke highly of their children, the attorney said. They seemed like very normal people who fell into financial problems. Trahan said that David Turpin, who worked as an engineer at Northrop Grumman, an aeronautics and defense technology company, had a relatively high income, but had trouble keeping up with his expenses because he had so many children. Advertisement Bankruptcy documents show David Turpin earned more than $140,000 in 2011, when the records were filed, but that the familys expenses exceeded his take-home pay by more than $1,000 a month. Louise Turpin, listed as a homemaker, had no income, the records show. A spokesman for Lockheed Martin, another aerospace and defense company, said Turpin worked for the company until 2010, but had no other information. The neighborhood where the children were found is a development of neat ranch-style homes built in recent years, residents said. The Turpins house is the type found in developments all across Southern California a single-story residence with stucco walls painted a reddish brown and a tile roof. A nativity star was placed in one window, and a van and three newer model Volkswagens were parked in the driveway. Advertisement Kimberly Milligan, 50, who lives across the street, said that when she first moved in she would see a woman outside the house with an infant, but eventually stopped seeing the child. Over the years, Milligan also occasionally saw three children who looked like preteens coming out of the house to get into a car with their parents. A lot about the family struck her as strange, she said. The children she saw were very pale an observation several other neighbors made as well. And she often wondered why, if there were so many children in the house, they never came out to play. I thought the kids were home-schooled, she said. You know something is off, but you dont want to think bad of people. Advertisement Once about two years ago, she said, she came across the preteens putting up Christmas lights at the home and said hello. They looked at us like a child who wants to make themselves invisible, she said. On Monday, Milligan was struggling to grasp how the alleged cruelty could have gone unnoticed in the neighborhood. Were not acres apart, she said. How did no one see anything? Advertisement As neighbors gathered in disbelief and news trucks descended on the neighborhood Monday afternoon, an ice cream truck roamed the streets and little boys rode skateboards on the sidewalk. Several neighbors recalled an incident several months ago in which a number of children were out in front of the house late at night working under floodlights to put sod in the yard. That was kind of weird, all four of them were on the ground rolling out sod, said Wendy Martinez, 41, who lives around the corner from the family. A woman who appeared to be the childrens mother was standing in front of the home, in an archway, watching, Martinez recalled. At the time, code enforcement officers from the city had visited the neighborhood and were citing homes with unkept yards, said Gary Stein, 32, who lives on the street. Advertisement I thought it was weird, but Im the kind of guy that doesnt want to get in anybodys business, he said. Anyone with additional information was asked to contact Master Investigator Tom Salisbury at the sheriffs station in Perris at (951) 210-1000, or by email at PerrisStation@RiversideSheriff.org Sheriffs officials plan a press conference Tuesday in Perris to discuss the case further. Esquivel reported from Perris, Rubin and Lau from Los Angeles. Times staff writer Anna Phillips contributed to this report. Advertisement joel.rubin@latimes.com Twitter: @joelrubin paloma.esquivel@latimes.com Twitter: @palomaesquivel Advertisement maya.lau@latimes.com Twitter: @mayalau UPDATES: 8:25 a.m.: Updated with upcoming press conference. Advertisement 8 p.m.: Updated with additional background. 6:50 p.m.: This article was updated with an interview of the couples bankruptcy attorney. 5 p.m: This article was updated with interviews of neighbors. 4:20 p.m.: This article was updated to say that authorities did not make clear how many of the siblings were found shackled to their beds. Advertisement 3:35 p.m.: This article was updated with public records showing that the address where the victims were found is listed as a private school. This article was originally published at 2:55 p.m. The cobbled parking lots outside boutiques are empty. The Italian trattoria known as Oprah Winfreys favorite haunt is shuttered, as is the Four Seasons resort owned by Ty Warner, the Beanie Babies tycoon. A place famous for coastal affluence and extravagance is now unlivable and grappling with one basic and primitive question: Where to put all the mud? The picturesque topography that drew the rich and famous here, hills and mountains rising dramatically from Pacific Ocean, fed the destructive mudslides that killed at least 20 people, wiped out 73 homes and damaged hundreds more. The disaster leaves Montecito with a cleanup that is hard to fathom, and with no timetable for completion. Many streets have limited access because of the mud. Bridges are washed out. Power and gas are shut off for thousands. And when the water does come out of faucets, its not drinkable. Advertisement For Montecito to recover, it must first move tons and tons of mud. Who they were: The victims of the Montecito mudslides Work crews continue cleaning mud from the 101 Freeway in Montecito. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times ) The mud is bad; the dirt is different Santa Barbara County officials were hauling lots and lots of dump trucks to a site in Summerland, where it was dried, sorted and stockpiled. At beaches in Goleta and Carpinteria, dump trucks unloaded tons of mud and sediment onto the sand. Public health officials shut down several beaches along the coast after tests showed abnormally high levels of bacteria. The problem over the last three days was the wetness, said Chris Sneddon, deputy director of Santa Barbara County Public Works. It was runny, like trying to pick up soup in your hands and put it into a bowl without leaking. Now the mud has begun to dry spackled onto the pavement or pushed to toward the curbs like mounds of fudge topping several feet. Its heavy, said Ben Chrestenson, whose crew of 40 workers helped clear out the mud-clogged garage at the Montecito Inn and other streets in the shopping district along Coast Village Road. It has the consistency of concrete. He used a broom to sweep dried dirt off the sidewalk as a dozer plowed the CVS parking lot across the street. Cleaning with power washers would have to wait: There was nowhere to drain the water. Advertisement You cant just rinse it off to your neighbors, he added. Chrestenson leaned on the broom outside the Honor Bar a popular nightspot, now closed. He pointed to a mud-caked photo of an infant that was unearthed in the rubble. Peoples lives just tore through here, he said. He knew more discoveries would await. Water rises high near a home on East Valley Road on Friday in Montecito. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times ) This is impacting everything Montecito is accustomed to dealing with natural calamity. Brush fires roar through the hills every few years and periodic storms batter the coast. But the mud piled up with cars, rocks, tree trunks and refrigerators is a disaster on a different scale. Advertisement In wind storms, the power lines are down. In rain, the sewers may clog, Sneddon said. This is impacting everything: gas, power, sewer, communications, and roads. And we have a high level of damage in a concentrated area. For the medley of agencies involved, the response is a puzzle thats always in flux: Search teams cant use chainsaws or cutters if ruptured gas lines are leaking. Sanitation crews cant operate pumps without electricity. And no rescuer can reach the wreckage if streets are blocked. The top priority is to keep the 50 miles of roads and 25 bridges merely passable for firefighters as well as bulldozers, dump trucks and cranes. Open and drivable was the goal. Were not working on getting them beautiful, Sneddon added. Advertisement Crews are also breaking up large rocks, clearing 250 culverts and trying to open up debris basins tasks that are more urgent as forecasters predict storms later this week. Theres already a lot of debris, mud and boulders. When it does rain, it makes it so stuff can move, Sneddon said. Its going to be a constant effort to keep the area clear. The 101 Freeway remained closed here after a swampy bayou formed in the highways lowest point, right next to the Montecito Inn. Jim Shivers, a Caltrans spokesman, said the freeway was shut down indefinitely as crews labored to pump out water and debris. The drying mud on the sides of an abandoned black Range Rover offered a yardstick of progress in the freeway. So far, the swamp line had dropped about one foot. Advertisement Highway 101 will reopen. I can guarantee it, Shivers said. I just cant say when. The absence of a recovery timeline was the new normal. Were not done assessing, said David Song, a spokesman for Southern California Edison. About 1,500 customers remained without power, and so far, officials confirmed 62 power lines were toppled. In the field, 20 crews each with three to six people have barely recognized the area. Homes were flattened. Pools were stuffed with sludge. The concrete foundations sometimes peek out, the only indicators of what once was. Advertisement The mudslides created new terrain, Song said. We have to completely re-engineer and rebuild infrastructure on new ground. Mudflows knocked out six sections of Montecitos main water line that snakes along the hills above most homes. There, a pipeline once partly aboveground is now sometimes 50 feet in the air after the ravines beneath it washed out. Access is difficult and some crews have to reach it by foot. Debris flows also knocked out a 100-foot section of the pipeline to Jameson Lake, which accounts for up to 40% of the areas water supply. For those who have water, pressure can be low, and they are required to boil it. Im hopeful that very soon well be providing water, said Nick Turner, general manager of the Montecito Water District. Were not days away, but certainly sometime before the next two months. Advertisement Another 3,600 Southern California Gas Co. customers were without service. Workers were still trying to stop the gas leaks, which sometimes required shutting down whole swaths of the town, said Jimmie Cho, a vice president with the utility. A Porsche pushed from the garage at a home on East Valley Road shows how far water rose above its banks. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times ) Residents running low Those who defied evacuation orders remain cloistered in their homes, with food and water supplies dwindling. California Highway Patrol officers stand at checkpoints across the town of about 10,000, reminding those who left that they cannot return. Advertisement Barbara Mathews, a physician who owns a gated eight-acre ranch high in the hills, pressed a CHP officer at one checkpoint to allow her to pass. As he waved in firefighters and gas company crews, the officer refused her entreaties. Its frustrating not to know how my house is and what to do, said Mathews, who was now living at her late parents home in Santa Barbara. Im going to pray its all right. Im worried about my barn, stable and little cottage. Randy Hill, 59, stayed put through the evacuation, living off a stock of food and 10 gallons of distilled water. But he lost gas service in his townhouse in central Montecito on Saturday as repairs were underway. His propane tank was low. Weve hunkered down but are thinking about leaving, said Hill. The car was already packed. Advertisement matt.hamilton@latimes.com Twitter: @MattHjourno Moving with missionary zeal, Nathan Thompson swept into a brewpub here bearing a battered globe under his arm with the words this is a scam scrawled on the side. He dropped the defaced orb like a vanquished enemy on a table amid pints of beer. They say we are cult, he announced, but the globe is the biggest cult of all. Thompson, the 31-year-old host of the Official Flat Earth Globe & Discussion group on Facebook, was guest of honor at the nights flat Earth meet-up. Clad in a green jumpsuit festooned with flat Earth maps, he worked the room hard all the while proclaiming Earth is less a big blue marble than a big blue pancake. Advertisement A 16-year-old boy approached and said his friend had started a GoFundMe campaign to prove the world is a disk. Moments later a middle-aged man declared, Earth is flat, not spheroid! Thompson beamed. This is not a conspiracy theory, he said. This is a conspiracy fact. With more people rejecting traditional sources of information and the internet giving rise to a variety of alternative worldviews, the granddaddy of all conspiracy theories is enjoying a renaissance and Colorado is the epicenter. Thousands of YouTube videos claim the world is flat, gravity is uncertain, space is fake and the curvature of the planet is an optical illusion. Followers say this ruse is perpetuated by a powerful cabal determined to make humans feel small and powerless. A conspiratorial mind-set and a deep current of religious ideology permeate the movement, which preaches that Earth was created by design, not by accident. As evidence of its shape, some reference Bible verses touting the four corners of the Earth, foundations of the Earth and Earth being Gods footstool. Many of the most popular flat Earth videos come out of Colorado, host of next years Flat Earth International Conference along with the Colorado International Flat Earth Film Festival. Mark Sargent, a software analyst from Boulder now living in Seattle, is the primary organizer of the movement and has made more than a thousand videos. He believes Colorados open-mindedness accounts for its prominent position among believers. Advertisement Back in 2015, when he typed flat Earth into YouTube hed get 50,000 hits. Now its more than 18.7 million, beating out Lady Gaga and closing in on Donald Trump at about 21.3 million. Sargent said he suspects millions of believers remain in the closet to avoid ridicule. My channel broke 10 million views in December, he said. This is my full-time job now. Sargent, 49, became a believer after watching videos and realizing he could no longer prove the globe. The flat Earth revival, he said, can be explained in large part by YouTube, increased skepticism of authority and the message of hope it conveys. Advertisement Youre not on a tiny little speck of rock just flying through this endless, incomprehensible universe and you are not small, said Sargent, who believes Earth is beneath a dome. It was built just for you. All the world is a stage and youre in it. You are on a ride. Part stage, part terrarium, part planetarium. Whatever it is, it is very deliberate. The concept of a flat Earth goes back to the Bronze Age. Later on, Greek philosophers and mathematicians like Ptolemy, Aristotle and Pythagoras used calculations and observations of Earths curved shadow on the moon during lunar eclipses to conclude the planet was round. Yet millenniums later that still doesnt sit well for some. One of the nations first meet-ups dedicated to the flat Earth cause convenes weekly at the Purple Cup Cafe in Fort Collins. For many, its a safe space to discuss matters others might scoff at. Advertisement John Vnuk started it in 2016 and soon received more than 200 calls from people eager to know more. I suspect there are more people open to the idea of flat Earth then we think, he said. We had a multitude of engineers attend our meeting who just would rather have a peaceful life with full employment than join the battle. At a recent meeting, Nathan Nichols, 39, rattled off proofs for a tabular Earth. He said it looks curved from high altitudes because of wide-angle camera lenses. Ships disappear over the horizon because of the limits of human vision, not a spherical world. Some members believe Earth is surrounded by a wall of ice holding back the seas while others suspect its an infinite plane. Circumnavigating the world, they explain, is simply traveling in a big circle. Advertisement I dont know the motivation for hiding the truth, Nichols said. The sobering part of this is that you have been lied to and continue to be lied to. As conspiracies go, this one is remarkably nonpartisan, said Joseph Uscinski, associate professor of political science at the University of Miami and author of the book American Conspiracy Theories. Just like some have a left- or right-wing worldview, some people have a conspiratorial worldview where they think every institution is a liar, he said. These people are living in the matrix, they are brains in a jar where everything they see and hear is absolutely fake. The Los Angeles-based Independent Investigations Group, which looks into claims of the paranormal and pseudoscience, plans a test in the coming weeks at the Salton Sea hoping to convince a group of flat Earthers. They will fire a laser eight feet above the water to a target on the other side. Advertisement If the Earth is flat the laser will stay at eight feet the whole way, said Spencer Marks, an investigator with the group. If its curved, it will descend toward the surface of the water. Marks has debated flat Earthers including Thompson, but hes not a scientist. In fact, few scientists have weighed in. Science doesnt even get their arguments out there, Sargent said. They try to beat us with math but people dont understand it. It might as well be static, so they listen to me. David Falk, assistant professor of astronomy at Los Angeles Valley College, thinks thats a mistake. Advertisement The serious science community feels its so basic that they dont want to waste their time debunking it, he said. But this is a scary thing. The danger isnt that people dont believe the Earth is round, its the lack of scientific literacy. Back at the Golden pub, Bob Knodel, a 57-year-old engineer whose Globebusters series has more than 2.6 million views on YouTube, held forth on the flat Earth universe. The sun is about 3,419.5 miles away by my calculations. Its not a burning ball of hydrogen gas, it is electrostatic energy, he said. We dont know how its powered. Brian Gegan, 55 and not a flat Earther, wandered over. Advertisement So you believe the Earth is flat and stationary? he asked. Thompson jumped in: We dont believe, we know. We live in a closed system. The Earth is not spinning. What would keep us on it if it was spinning so fast? Gravity, said Gegan. Gravity has never been proven, Thompson said. Advertisement Gegan asked why it would be hidden. They want to dissuade you from the idea of a God, Knodel said. Beyond that, as a way to control your mind. They want us to think that we arent special, but we are. Gegan walked away unconvinced. Kelly is a special correspondent. A blunder that caused more than a million people in Hawaii to fear that they were about to be struck by a nuclear missile fed skepticism Sunday about the governments ability to keep them informed in a real emergency. Residents and tourists alike remained rattled a day after the mistaken alert was blasted out to cellphones across the islands with a warning to seek immediate shelter and the ominous statement This is not a drill. My confidence in our so-called leaders ability to disseminate this vital information has certainly been tarnished, said Patrick Day, who sprang from bed when the alert was issued Saturday morning. I would have to think twice before acting on any future advisory. The erroneous warning was sent during a shift change at the states Emergency Management Agency when someone doing a routine test hit the live alert button, state officials said. Advertisement They tried to assure residents there would be no repeat false alarms. The agency changed protocols to require that two people send an alert and made it easier to cancel a false alarm a process that took nearly 40 minutes. The error sparked a doomsday panic across the islands known as a laid-back paradise. Parents clutched their children, huddled in bathtubs and said prayers. Students bolted across the University of Hawaii campus to take cover in buildings. Drivers abandoned cars on a highway and took shelter in a tunnel. Others resigned themselves to a fate they could not control and simply waited for the attack. The 911 system for the island of Oahu was overwhelmed with more than 5,000 calls. There were no major emergencies during the false alarm, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. An investigation into what went wrong was underway Sunday at the Federal Communications Commission, which sets rules for wireless emergency alerts sent by local, state or federal officials to warn of the threat of hurricanes, wildfires, flash flooding and to announce searches for missing children. The state of Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place to prevent the transmission of a false alert, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement, calling the mistake absolutely unacceptable. False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies, he said. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urged Americans not to lose faith in their government. I would hate for anybody not to abide by alerts and warnings coming from government systems, Nielsen said on Fox News Sunday. They can trust government systems. We test them every day. This is a very unfortunate mistake, but these alerts are vital. Seconds and minutes can save lives. Advertisement With mobile phones ubiquitous, wireless alerts can quickly disseminate information to a wide number of users, but there have been concerns about creating a panic if they are sent too broadly. Authorities were criticized for not sending an alert to mobile phones when fires ripped through Northern California in October, killing 40 people. Officials had decided not to use the system because they couldnt target them precisely enough and feared a wider broadcast would lead to mass evacuations, including people not in danger, snarling traffic that would hamper firefighting and rescue efforts. Lisa Foxen, a social worker and mother of two young children in east Honolulu, said she expects Hawaii officials to make necessary changes and restore trust in the system. The best thing to come out of the scare, she said, was that it pushed her family to come up with a plan if there is a real threat. I kind of was just almost like a deer in headlights, she said. I knew what to do in a hurricane. I knew what to do in an earthquake. But the missile thing is new to me. Advertisement The false alarm triggered a broader discussion about national security at a time when North Korea has been flexing its muscles by launching test missiles and bragging about its nuclear capability. Its leader, Kim Jong Un, has also exchanged insults on Twitter with President Trump about their arsenals. The standoff has whipped up nuclear fears on Hawaii and led the islands to revive Cold War-era siren tests that drew international attention. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said officials should be held accountable for the epic failure of leadership behind the warning. She said the nuclear threat underscored the need for Trump to meet with Kim to work out differences without preconditions. The people of Hawaii are paying the price now for decades of failed leadership in this country by setting unrealistic preconditions, she said. The leaders of this country need to experience that same visceral understanding of how lives are at stake. Advertisement Philip Simmons, an orchestral conductor, said the false alarm was one of the most horrifying events of his life, and he had no idea what to do. He said everyone from Gov. David Ige (D) to Trump should resign. The government has totally blown this, Simmons said. Theyre completely inept at protecting the people of this country and notifying them of whats happening. The mistake was not the first for the states warning system. During a test last month, 12 of the states 386 sirens played an ambulance siren. In the tourist hub of Waikiki, the sirens were barely audible, prompting officials to add more sirens and reposition ones already in place. The Rev. Raphael G. Warnock had not planned to mention the words Donald Trump. It was the day before the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday, and Warnock was going to focus elsewhere. But after the president was said to call African countries, El Salvador and Haiti shithole places last week, Warnock changed his mind. He went all in. Trump is a willfully ignorant, racist, xenophobic, narcissistic con man, he said to a largely black crowd of more than 1,000 that came to celebrate King at Atlantas Ebenezer Baptist Church. All races, he said, must stand up to the president and those he denigrates. Advertisement More than 2,000 miles away in Los Angeles on Sunday morning, the Rev. J. Edgar Boyd was met with murmurs of disapproval when he urged his mostly African American congregation to pray for Trump at First African Methodist Episcopal Church. But when Boyd asked God to hold Trump accountable for his words, his deeds and his actions, the crowd applauded. Shithole and other racist things Trump has said so far Trumps words last week during a meeting on immigration have been widely condemned by world leaders and Republicans and Democrats at home. The president and some Republicans who were present have denied that he said them. But others have confirmed them, and they have particularly hit a nerve among African Americans, a group that has consistently shown low support for Trump and has been regularly insulted by the racially insensitive words that the president tends to casually mutter. On the Sunday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a time that typically rivals Christmas and Easter services at many black churches across America, sermons often reflect broadly on the quest for justice in black communities today in following the King tradition. But in two of the nations most historic congregations a California community of 19,000 thats among the nations largest black churches and the Georgia house of worship whose name is synonymous with King the focus became laser sharp. Nearly a year into Trumps presidency, it was time to take stock of black communities needs and challenges in a nation many felt was getting worse, not better, for them. Trump shouldnt get people down, pastors said. His words should instead spur them to fight on. Some of us came on immigrant ships, others of us came on slave ships, but were all in the same boat, Warnock told more than a thousand congregants some dressed in long fur coats, others in vivid, patterned shirts and robes who packed the wooden pews of Ebenezers airy modern sanctuary. Advertisement Most of those who filled the room were African Americans whose ancestors, in most cases, came to the U.S. on slave ships from whats now Nigeria, Angola, Ghana and Gambia. The Rev. Raphael G. Warnock at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. (Jenny Jarvie / For the Times ) We will not allow the politics of division to get in the way of the vision of a shared humanity, the vision of what Dr. King called the beloved community, the vision of one nation under God, Warnock said. The service, just across the street from the modest brick church where King delivered his first and last sermon, began with members of the churchs drama ministry wearing I AM A MAN sandwich boards and reading excerpts from Kings final speech, Ive Been to the Mountaintop. Advertisement It ended with the congregation linking arms and singing We Shall Overcome. The crowd clapped, said Amen, and stood up as Warnock delivered a rousing, wide-ranging sermon peppered with references to the Bible and Kings speeches, and historical accounts of colonialism and slavery. That wasnt unusual; what was new were references to statements from Trump. The stories are well-known, and also hard to count. The president kicked off his campaign by calling Mexicans rapists. He vowed to ban Muslim immigration into the U.S., and immigration advocates say he achieved partial success with his travel bans. He railed against black athletes who dont stand for the national anthem in protest against social injustice. He described white supremacists as very fine people. He suggested Puerto Ricans were lazy when they requested more assistance from the federal government after a hurricane devastated the island. And he reportedly dismissed dozens of countries, and one entire continent, as essentially worthless. (On Sunday, while in Palm Beach, Fla., Trump declared, I am not a racist in response to a journalists question about the incident.) Archie Shackles, 65, who attends First AME in Los Angeles, said it was really hypocritical for Trump to commemorate King after the remarks he had made. Advertisement Shackles grew up in Texas during segregation and recalls having to step off the sidewalk to let white people go by. Trump, he said, wants to put African Americans in an even lower place than that. Hed love to take us back all the way to slavery, said Shackles, a librarian and member of the church choir. At First AME, the Rev. Charolyn Jones offered inspiration from the Jews who were held captive in Babylon and followed Gods advice to build houses, grow food and raise families. African Americans should turn anger at Trump into action, she said. When people are constantly subjected to racist, vile, offensive and divisive remarks, they should continue to hope and look to the future, whether by speaking out against racism or by running for public office, Jones said. Advertisement At Ebenezer, Warnock reminded congregants of some 2,000 Bible verses that tell us to care for the poor and the widows, the immigrants in our midst. Warnock criticized the large sectors of the American church and their shameful complicity, even their active role in putting Trump in the Oval Office. White evangelicals remain one of the presidents strongest groups of supporters, although recent polls have shown some weakening of that support. He condemned politicians who make mild, pious pronouncements in Kings honor while resisting his ultimate message of love and social justice. Trump signed a routine proclamation declaring the King holiday on Friday, a day after his remarks during the immigration meeting. You cannot celebrate the dream if you will not liberate the Dreamers, Warnock said. Give these 800,000 young people who are in our colleges and in our neighborhoods a path to dignified citizenship, he said, alluding to the presidents vacillating positions on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program. Advertisement Dr. King said a person who has not found something hes willing to die for is not fit to live, Warnock told congregants. Dr. King said the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but in time of challenge and controversy. Outside Ebenezer, a steady flow of locals and tourists braved the bitter cold to walk around the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site upgraded to a national historic park last week in a new act signed by Trump. After watching a 30-minute video on Kings life and legacy, Quiyana Shipp, a 22-year-old supply specialist in the U.S. Army, said she appreciated civil rights pioneers impact on modern-day America. Growing up in Suwanee, Ga., a suburban area of metro Atlanta, Shipp said she had not experienced overt discrimination. Yet she felt many Americans were not used to seeing educated black women. Im told Im so well-spoken as if thats unusual, she said. Weve come a long way, but we still have a way to go. Advertisement Back inside Ebenezer, Veronika Jackson, a 65-year-old musician from Decatur, scribbled notes throughout the service. A descendant of West African slaves, Jackson was born in Birmingham, Ala. As a young girl, her school principals daughter was killed when members of the Ku Klux Klan planted a bomb in the basement of the 16th Street Baptist Church. While Jackson had not been entirely surprised by Trumps remarks I already knew what kind of man he is, she said they left her disheartened. But as she left the sanctuary, passing an obelisk bell tower built in homage to the ancient Stele of Axum in modern-day Ethiopia, she said she felt fired up by the sermon. Advertisement Im lifted up as a black woman in my culture, she said. Im walking with my head up. ALSO For black Americans, Trumps shithole comment was an insult to their histories Trump administration forced to renew DACA permits as furor over the presidents immigration slur persists Advertisement Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is back. So too are Latino voters who helped oust him jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com cindy.chang@latimes.com Staff writer Chang reported from Los Angeles and Kaleem from New York. Special correspondent Jarvie reported from Atlanta. Advertisement More national headlines Leaders of the Cherokee Nation marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day by welcoming the descendants of slaves into their tribe after years of exclusion, while Kings children and the pastor of an Atlanta church where King preached passionately decried disparaging remarks President Trump is said to have made about African countries. At gatherings across the nation, activists, residents and teachers honored the late civil rights leader on what would have been his 89th birthday and ahead of the 50th anniversary of Kings assassination in Memphis, Tenn. In Washington, Kings eldest son criticized Trump, saying, When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I dont even think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is. He added, We got to find a way to work on this mans heart. Advertisement In Atlanta, the Rev. Raphael Warnock of the Ebenezer Baptist Church urged those who packed the pews to honor King to speak out against racism. Warnock also took issue with Trumps campaign slogan, Make America Great Again. Warnock said America is already great ... in large measure because of Africa and African people. He urged people in the audience to speak out against remarks such as Trumps about other countries, noting Kings own words that silence is betrayal. The Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., stands outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta on Jan. 10. (Robert Ray / Associated Press ) We are one people, one nation, one blood, one destiny. Bernice King Kings daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, keynote speaker at the Atlanta service, also criticized Trump. We cannot allow the nations of the world to embrace the words that come from our president as a reflection of the true spirit of America, she said. We are one people, one nation, one blood, one destiny. ... All of civilization and humanity originated from the soils of Africa, Bernice King said. Our collective voice in this hour must always be louder than the one who sometimes does not reflect the legacy of my father. The day took on renewed meaning for descendants of black slaves owned by the Cherokee Nation but whose tribal citizenship was in flux until recently, despite a treaty guaranteeing rights equal to native Cherokees. Advertisement The tribe one of the countrys largest is recognizing the King holiday for the first time this year with calls to service and speeches in which the tribe plans to confront its past. Kings writings spoke of injustices against Native Americans and colonization, but Cherokee Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said the tribe had its own form of internal oppression and dispossession. The time is now to deal with it and talk about it, Hoskin said. Its been a positive thing for our country to reconcile that during Dr. Kings era, and its going to be a positive thing for Cherokee to talk about that history as part of reconciling our history with slavery. Such talk from tribal officials would have been surprising before a federal court ruled last year that the descendants of former slaves, known as Cherokee Freedmen, had the same rights to tribal citizenship, voting, health care and housing as blood-line Cherokees. One descendant of Freedmen, Rodslen Brown-King, said her mother was able to vote as a Cherokee for the first and only time recently. Other relatives, including a 34-year-old nephew with stomach cancer, died before getting the benefits that come with tribal citizenship, she said. Advertisement He was waiting on this decision, said Brown-King, of Fort Gibson, Okla. Its just a lot of struggle, a lot of up and down trauma in our lives. Its exciting to know we are coming together and moving forward in this. Derrick Reed, a city councilman in Muskogee, Okla., and director of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center there, said Mondays events were the first attended by the Cherokee Nation in honor of the holiday. Principal Chief Bill John Baker was scheduled to speak at an after-party the tribe is sponsoring, and Hoskin served breakfast earlier in the day. All the Freedmen are finally relieved to be recognized, and their story itself has been a civil rights struggle, Reed said. Its definitely a turning point in the history of the relationship with the Freedmen Indians as well as the message the tribe is sending to the nation. Gov. Jerry Browns plan to create a statewide community college that offers only online courses seems headed for a bruising legislative brawl. Few important things are easy to achieve in todays fractious politics. This includes a signature agenda item for Brown in his newly proposed $190-billion state budget: the online college that seems so logical, so needed and a no-brainer at least in concept. Brown wants to provide an affordable, easily accessible way for working adults to improve their job skills and financial futures by going online at home, maybe even with a smartphone. The concept is generally applauded. But the way the governor wants to run the online system worries some, especially the teachers union. It fears job losses, although thats not what the union is emphasizing. Advertisement The union and other skeptics make a good point in questioning whether online teaching is the best way to educate. What makes education really come alive for students is interaction with instructors and other students. Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers A Brown-heralded online program at San Jose State was abruptly scrapped in 2013 after half the students failed to pass final exams. What makes education really come alive for students is interaction with instructors and other students, says Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers, which represents community college instructors. Online is not a good approach. Students hurt the worst are at the lower end of the economic spectrum. They tend to drop out of online courses at a higher rate. The idea that its beneficial to them flies in the face of our experience. A student takes an online course offered by San Jose State and Udacity, an online education start-up. (Laura A. Oda / MCT ) That thinking is dismissed by California Community College Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, a loud advocate of Browns proposal whose office would run the online entity. The social network kids are growing up very different today than you or I did, he says. Students meet and get to know each other through social networks. We may not prefer it that way, but thats the way they grow up. Advertisement The main benefit of online courses is convenience. Browns desire is to help an estimated 2.5 million Californians ages 25 to 34 who hold a high school diploma but want more education. Half are Latinos. About 80% are working to support themselves and maybe some kids, and cant afford to take time off to attend classes. Were not targeting the traditional college student, Oakley says. Were targeting people in apprenticeship programs, people who are trying to move from being a medical assistant to a supervisorial job. They dont have the time to spend getting to know instructors and students on campus. So although online teaching probably isnt the best way to educate, it could be the only way for many working adults. Gov. Brown proposes Californias first fully online public community college Advertisement Pechthalt doesnt necessarily agree. California has 114 community colleges, the union leader notes. Theres one nearby everywhere except in isolated outposts. Its a misnomer to think that people cant get over to a college, he says. For those who cant, colleges already offer online opportunities. To create a whole independent college that does just online courses seems counterproductive. Im not opposed to online education, but schools already offer that stuff. Thats the main concern about Browns proposal. Rather than pour extra money into strengthening current online programs operated by individual colleges, the governor wants to create one separate statewide online-only college. Theres a fear that will pull students away from local campuses. Thats not just a worry of the union leader whos concerned about jobs. Its shared quietly by many college heads who fear losing student revenue. But they arent speaking out yet because theyre leery of tangling with the governor and chancellor, according to a community college insider who wants to remain anonymous for the same reason. Advertisement California is becoming undereducated relative to what the changing economy is demanding. We have to create something different to help these individuals. California Community College Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley Brown earmarked $120 million to create an online college that would begin offering courses in fall 2019. Thats $120 million that could be going to community colleges for courses in, say, trade technology or technical training, the insider laments. But theres general agreement that community colleges have been snail-slow in developing online courses. And Brown deserves credit for stepping in and trying to do it himself. Advertisement The challenge we have today in this economy is we have a lot of people, many of them white males 50-plus, who for many years had access to good paying jobs with a high school diploma, says Oakley, the chancellor. Those jobs are gone. Those people are stuck and very frustrated. Weve moved the goal posts on them. They cant drop everything and go back to school. California is becoming undereducated relative to what the changing economy is demanding. We have to create something different to help these individuals. More than 100,000 Californians are enrolled in online courses at private institutions, but their costs are far higher than public college offerings, according to the governors office. Brown intends to push the Legislature hard. Advertisement A top aide called Assemblyman Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles) the day before the budget unveiling to tell him what the governor expected. Brown was setting aside $46 million for the lawmakers signed bill to waive course fees for all first-year, full-time students. And Brown expects the lawmakers support for the online proposal, the aide added. Were going to talk to our friends, Pechthalt says, and were going to push to kill it. Well see what little influence we have. They have a lot. But the governor has more. Brown should compromise with the individual colleges preferably letting them run their own shows rather than creating a new state bureaucracy. Advertisement More from George Skelton Coverage of California politics george.skelton@latimes.com Advertisement Follow @LATimesSkelton on Twitter ALSO Democrats plan to help California taxpayers doesnt pass the smell test. They should still go for it Thanks to Trumps tax plan, victims of disasters large and small are about to get scrooged Advertisement Updates on California politics Allies balk at Trump administration bid to block Chinese firm from cutting-edge telecom markets By David S. Cloud Britain and Germany are balking at the Trump administrations call for a ban on equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, threatening a global U.S. campaign to thwart Chinas involvement in future mobile networks. Both countries are expected to limit Huawei and other Chinese companies from providing core components including routers. But other types of Chinese equipment for next-generation, high-speed communications could still be installed on British and German networks, officials and analysts say. The U.S. push to ban Huawei has provoked a global dispute in recent weeks, with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, publicly urging NATO allies in Europe to exclude the company and warning that the United States might limit its military presence in countries that did not do so. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Confucius Institutes: Do they improve U.S.-China ties or harbor spies? By Don Lee Hanging red lanterns welcome visitors to the University of Marylands Confucius Institute, the oldest of about 100 Chinese language and cultural centers that have popped up over the last 15 years on American campuses, subsidized by millions of dollars from Chinas central government. But last fall, when four U.S. Senate investigators walked into the Confucius offices in Maryland and spent hours questioning staff, they werent looking for an educational exchange. The committee has been seeking detailed information from the university about the program, including contracts, email exchanges and financial arrangements that school administrators have kept under wraps since it started in 2004. American colleges once viewed these jointly funded institutes as an economical way to expand their language offerings one that could also bring warmer ties with China and, importantly, an influx of Chinese international students paying full tuition. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch Live: White House holds surprise news briefing amid government shutdown Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement U.S. policy toward China shifts from engagement to confrontation By David S. Cloud For decades, China had no closer American friend than Dianne Feinstein. As San Francisco mayor in the 1970s, she forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai, the first between American and Chinese communities. As U.S. senator, she dined with Chinese leaders at Mao Tse-tungs old Beijing residence. And in the 1990s, she championed a trade policy change that opened a floodgate of Western investment into China. Today the Democratic senator sees China as a growing threat, joining a broad array of Trump administration officials, national security strategists and business executives who once favored engagement with Beijing and now advocate a confrontational approach instead. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Mnuchins attempt to calm markets backfires as Trump takes another shot at the Federal Reserve By Jim Puzzanghera An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin to calm plunging financial markets backfired Monday, further rattling investors with new fears about whether major U.S. banks have enough cash on top of worries about interest rates, political instability in Washington and a slowing global economy. Adding to the volatile mix was a fresh attack on the Federal Reserve by President Trump, who declared that the central bank was the U.S. economys only problem and that it didnt have a feel for the market. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who cant score because he has no touch -- he cant putt! Trump said on Twitter. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print He speaks to Democratic hearts. But is Beto ORourke a serious White House contender? By Mark Z. Barabak Hes a failed U.S. Senate candidate with an undistinguished congressional record who, for the moment, is a blazing-hot 2020 presidential prospect despite the fact that he may not run and faces long odds if he does. Beto ORourke suggests the will-he-or-wont-he speculation is something he himself cant quite fathom. I think thats a great question, he responded in a Dallas Morning News interview when asked whether his unsuccessful November Senate bid merited a promotion to the White House. I ask that question myself. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Elizabeth Dwoskin Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Associated Press) Months after President Trump took office, Russias disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there. The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with radical Islamic groups. Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday. Read more Timberg, Romm and Dwoskin report for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement President Trump announces Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff By Associated Press President Trump says budget director Mick Mulvaney will serve as acting chief of staff, replacing John F. Kelly in the new year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration.... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print It aint over when its over: In Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere, losers seek to undermine election results By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Gavin Newsom has yet to become California governor, but already a candidate for state Republican Party chairman is promoting a recall effort. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers have rushed through legislation to thwart their incoming Democratic governors and hamper others in the opposing party from doing the jobs voters chose them to do. In Congress, GOP leaders have echoed President Trump and sought to undermine the legitimacy of Democrats strong midterm performance, raising unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and political malfeasance. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print New CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger says she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera On her first full day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger said she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney, the controversial acting director whom she replaced in the powerful regulatory position. To underscore that point, the former White House aide said she would even reconsider a Mulvaney action that critics saw as a gratuitous jab at Democrats who championed the agencys creation: changing its name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Kraningers declaration during a meeting with reporters Tuesday addressed one of the main criticisms of her selection. She is considered a protege of Mulvaney, her boss at the White House Office of Management and Budget who has executed a dramatic, industry-friendly shift at the watchdog agency. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trumps pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running By Associated Press Nick Ayers, right, with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush on Dec. 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Associated Press) President Trumps top pick to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is no longer expected to fill that role. Thats according to a White House official who is not authorized to discuss the personnel issue by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ayers is Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff. The official says that Trump and Ayers could not agree on Ayers length of service. The father of young children, Ayers had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump wanted a two-year commitment. The official says that Ayers will instead assist the president from outside the administration. Trump announced Saturday that Kelly would be departing the White House around the end of the year. Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause. #Georgia Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement U.S. hiring slows to 155,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 3.7% By Jim Puzzanghera Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from Octobers strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday. Still, monthly job gains are averaging 206,000 this year, the best since 2015. Even the slower pace of 170,000 over the last three months is close to last years average of 182,000 and well above the amount needed to keep up with population growth. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump is expected to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador By Associated Press Heather Nauert at a briefing at the State Department on Aug. 9, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump is expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Two administration officials confirmed Trumps plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly before Trumps announcement. Trump has previously said Nauert was under serious consideration to replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year. Trump has been known to change course on staffing decisions in the past. Nauert was a reporter for Fox News Channel before she became State Department spokeswoman under former Secretary Rex Tillerson. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Senate confirms new consumer financial protection chief: Kathy Kraninger, protege of industry-friendly Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera The Senate, in a party-line vote Thursday, confirmed White House aide Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and experts predicted a continuation of the industry-friendly shift it has taken since President Trump installed an acting director last year. Kraninger is a protege of acting director and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the agency that was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent predatory lending and other abuses that led to it. Democrats and consumer advocates have denounced him for sharply departing from the aggressive watchdog role the bureau had pursued under its first director, Obama-appointee Richard Cordray, including scaling back enforcement and moving to reassess tough new rules on payday loans and narrow the definition of abusive practices by banks and other firms. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Shutdown postponed by two weeks under plan approved by Congress By Erik Wasson Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), shown at the Capitol on Tuesday, says President Trumps border wall is a waste of money. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Congress passed a two-week stopgap spending bill that will delay the chance of a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22 as lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate over his demands to pay for a wall on the southern border. The House and Senate passed the measure Thursday without dissent, and Trump has indicated hell sign the bill before the current shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Negotiations were delayed by memorial services this week for former President George H.W. Bush. The temporary measure gives Democrats and Republicans more time to find a resolution to their biggest hurdle: funding a wall on the U.S. Mexico border wall. Trump says he wants $5 billion for parts of a concrete wall on the southern border and is willing to shut down the government if he doesnt get it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said Democrats will provide no more than $1.6 billion for border security, because the wall is a waste of money. The presidents demands for wall funding from Congress come after he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for it. This week he said on Twitter that a $25 billion border wall would pay for itself in two months, without providing evidence. Most of the U.S. governments $1.2 trillion discretionary budget has been appropriated already by Congress for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Departments at a risk of a partial shutdown late this month include the departments of State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security. Talks to resolve the differences have been on hold since a meeting among Trump, Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California originally slated for Dec. 4 was postponed due to Bush memorial events. The three are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama told reporters the rest of the seven-bill spending package being negotiated is basically done. Shelby in recent weeks had tried to broker a compromise in which Trumps $5 billion request would be split over two years, but Schumer has rejected that. Some Democrats have been willing to trade border wall funding for deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants. Pelosi ruled out such a deal in remarks to reporters Thursday. The stopgap government funding measure also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, to Dec. 21. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Bipartisan Senate group wants to formally blame Saudi crown prince for journalists killing By Karoun Demirjian Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Associated Press) A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution Wednesday condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, directly challenging President Trump to do the same. This resolution -- without equivocation -- definitively states that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement accompanying the release of the resolution. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe. The resolution put forward by Graham and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who are expected to lead the Judiciary Committee together next year, comes just one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leading senators about the details of the agencys assessment that Mohammed ordered and monitored the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Senators emerged from that closed-door briefing furious not only with Saudi Arabia, but Trump as well for dismissing the heft of the CIAs findings. You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi, Graham said following the briefing, referring to Mohammed by his initials. He added that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who briefed senators last week, were at best being good soldiers and at worst were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia for presenting the evidence of Mohammeds involvement as inconclusive. The release of the resolution condemning Mohammed also comes as the Senate is preparing to move ahead with debate on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Though the Yemen resolution does not directly address Khashoggis murder, its popularity is a sign of how strained the United States patience with Saudi Arabia is on multiple fronts, including its role in worsening the civilian cost of the war in Yemen, cited by the United Nations as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the Senate voted 63 to 37 to advance the Yemen resolution past an opening procedural hurdle. But Graham and Feinsteins resolution on the crown prince has the potential of drawing broader support, especially from Republicans, who are deeply divided about how fiercely to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggis killing. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and is seen as one of the more influential foreign policy voices in the GOP, did not vote for the Yemen resolution last week or sign on to a bipartisan measure last month to sanction Saudi officials and cease weapons transfers to the kingdom. But he is an original co-sponsor of the resolution condemning Mohammed over Khashoggis death. So is Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who represents the other end of the GOP spectrum in terms of recent Saudi-related votes and endorsements. Young was an initial co-sponsor of the bill Graham wrote with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to sanction Saudi officials deemed responsible for Khashoggis killing and stop the sale of anything but exclusively defensive weapons to the kingdom until it ceased hostilities in Yemen. Young also voted to advance the Yemen resolution something Graham did as well, though Graham has signaled he will not be lending any similar support to the measure, fearing it may establish a precedent of invoking the War Powers Act too broadly. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are listed as original co-sponsors of the resolution condemning Mohammed, which also urges Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Houthi rebels to end the Yemen war, work out a political solution to its standoff with Qatar and release political prisoners. But how much sway the resolution has probably comes down to how forcefully the administration decides to heed it -- and thus far, Trump has not shown any interest in condemning the crown prince the way the senators hope he will. Demirjian reports for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Los Angeles County offices and U.S. Postal Service closed Wednesday in honor of George H.W. Bush By Brian Park The Honor Guard carries the casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush following his funeral on Dec. 5 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service will suspend regular mail delivery Wednesday, which President Trump has declared a national day of mourning in honor of former President George H.W. Bush. All retail postal outlets will be closed, and package delivery will be limited. In Los Angeles, all nonessential county departments, offices and libraries will be closed for the day, L.A. County officials said. The Los Angeles County Library said no overdue fines will be assessed for books, and due dates will be moved forward one week. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offices also are closed Wednesday. The Sheriffs Department, Fire Department, clinics and hospitals will continue to operate, the county said. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinics are being operated with reduced staffing, and the department asked patients to confirm or reschedule any appointments. All county courts and the disaster recovery centers for the Woolsey fire in Malibu and Agoura Hills will remain open. Larger federal government operations will be closed Wednesday. To honor the life and legacy of President Bush, the Postal Service will observe the National Day of Mourning. Learn how Postal operations will be affected. https://t.co/Mffch7bPCh pic.twitter.com/vG46BsIOpm U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) December 4, 2018 L.A. County offices and libraries will be closed tomorrow (Dec 5) in observance of the #NationalDayOfMourning for President George H. W. Bush. The Countys Disaster Recovery Centers in Malibu & Agoura Hills will remain open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sv1J7GoJ7T Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) December 4, 2018 @LAPublicHealth offices will be closed tomorrow December 5 in observance of the national Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush. Essential Services including clinics and other services will remain open: https://t.co/tZGoGGHRlg pic.twitter.com/ypXsV6vlYY LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 4, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to skip 2020 White House race, sources say By Associated Press Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks during an interview in Boston on Dec. 15, 2014. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will soon announce he wont launch a 2020 presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with his plans. They did not say why the Democrat decided against a run. A formal announcement was delayed as the country observed a day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, one source said. News of Patricks plans was first reported by Politico. Patrick, 62, served two terms as governor, from 2007 to 2015, was assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and since leaving the governors office has been a managing director for Bain Capital. Patrick traveled the country in support of Democratic candidates in the recent midterm election. Earlier this year, some of Patricks supporters and close advisors started the Reason to Believe political action committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a positive, progressive vision for our nation in 2018 and 2020. Reason to Believe PAC had been holding meetups across the country, including in early presidential primary states. While Patrick is opting against a 2020 run, dozens of Democrats are considering jumping in, including nearly a half-dozen members of the Senate, several House members, and other Massachusetts politicians. On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal critic of President Trump, said in a statement that he would run. Patrick had previously expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination, telling David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Obama, that he wasnt sure he could stand out in such a large field. Its hard to see how you even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill, sensational or a celebrity, and Im none of those things and Im never going to be any of those things, Patrick said in a September interview with Axelrod. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Former Trump adviser Roger Stone invokes 5th Amendment right and wont testify before Senate Judiciary Committee By Associated Press Roger Stone in 2017. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, says he wont provide testimony or documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. An attorney for Stone said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees top Democrat, that Stone was invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to produce documents or appear for an interview. Stone has been entangled in investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about whether Trump aides had advance knowledge of Democratic emails published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. Stone has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the timing or specifics of WikiLeaks plans. In the letter to Feinstein, Stone said the committees requests were far too overbroad, far too overreaching and far too wide-ranging. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Rebuilding crumbling infrastructure has bipartisan support. But who gets to pay for it? By Jim Puzzanghera The grades for major U.S. infrastructure would give any parent indigestion if they were on a childs report card. Roads: D; bridges: C+; dams: D; ports: C+: railways: B; airports: D; schools: D+; public transit: D-. The nations overall grade: D+, which translates to being in fair to poor condition and mostly below standards with significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure, according to an evaluation last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump calls former lawyer Michael Cohen a weak person who is lying By Associated Press President Trump says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to get a reduced sentence. The president is reacting to Cohens guilty plea Thursday to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia. During a surprise court hearing, Cohen admitted to lying in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen in his guilty plea said he made the false statements to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohens lawyer says he continues to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Mark Z. Barabak When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Sarah D. Wire When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Michael Cohen, President Trumps ex-lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump real estate project in Russia By Associated Press Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, pursued a Russian real estate project on candidate Trumps behalf well into the 2016 campaign, he said Thursday while pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Cohen had previously said that the project was abandoned in January 2016, but he now admits he continued to pursue a deal and says he updated Trump and members of his family about the negotiations, according to a new court document. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement James Comey says acting Atty. Gen. Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer By John Wagner Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 14. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Former FBI Director James B. Comey apparently isnt too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trumps acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston if he thinks Whitaker could derail the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the probe, and Trump as recently as Tuesday continues to call it a witch hunt. I think its a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry, Comey said. The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact. He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and Im sure he doesnt want that, added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions chief of staff before being picked by Trump to lead the Justice Department. Trump has called Whitaker a very smart man. Earlier this year, Trump called Comey an untruthful slime ball. Wagner writes for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Interior Department watchdog clears Zinke in investigation of Utah national monument By Juliet Eilperin Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, third from the left, and Gov. Jerry Brown tour fire damage in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 14. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Interior Departments Office of Inspector General has cleared Secretary Ryan Zinke in a probe of whether he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah to aid the financial interests of a Republican state lawmaker and stalwart supporter of President Trump. In a Nov. 21 letter to Zinkes deputy, David Bernhardt, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote that her office found no evidence that the secretary or his aides changed the boundaries of Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in an effort to help former Utah state representative Mike Noel, who serves as executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District. Last December, Trump shrank the monument, first established by President Clinton in 1996, by 46% based on Zinkes recommendation. Noel owns 40 acres that had been surrounded by the monument, but now lies outside its boundaries. The new boundaries also would make it easier to construct the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, which would deliver water to sites in Kane County that include Noels property. Earlier this year, the Interior Department had proposed selling off 120 acres of federal land from the former monument that lay adjacent to some of Noels land holdings, but later reversed the plan. We found no evidence that Noel influenced the DOIs proposed revisions to the [monuments] boundaries, that Zinke or other DOI staff involved in the project were aware of Noels financial interest in the revised boundaries, or that they gave Noel any preferential treatment in the resulting proposed boundaries, Kendall wrote. Neither the Interior Department nor the inspector generals office would release the actual investigative report. In the letter, Kendall writes that her office will provide the report to Congress no sooner than 31 days from Nov. 21, when it is provided it to Zinkes office. The Associated Press first reported the inspector generals conclusions Monday night, but did not provide details from the report itself. Noel emailed Zinke about the effort to alter Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to emails released by Interior under the Freedom of Informational Act. But those emails do not make references to Noels land holdings. Noel also pushed to rename a Utah highway in honor of Trump, but abandoned that effort in March after some of his fellow Republicans objected to the idea. Noel did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The inspector generals office still has at least two ongoing probes of the secretary, including one focused on his real estate dealings in Whitefish, Mont., and another regarding his decision to deny a permit to two Connecticut tribes who were hoping to jointly run a casino after MGM Resorts International lobbied against it. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift welcomed the watchdogs conclusions. The report shows exactly what the secretarys office has known all along that the monument boundaries were adjusted in accordance with all rules, regulations and laws, she said in an email. This report is also the latest example of opponents and special interest groups ginning up fake and misleading stories, only to be proven false after expensive and time consuming inquiries by the IGs office. But Kendalls spokeswoman, Nancy DiPaolo, defended the inquiry, even though she said the report has not been publicly released and we will not be speaking specifically about the matter at this time. The OIG opens investigations based on credible allegations and reports our findings objectively and independently, DiPaolo added. Any time or resources spent investigating conduct or activity that may be a violation of law, regulation or policy is a service to the public, Congress and the Department. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that he still intended to investigate the way Zinke and his colleague redrew the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante and another Utah national monument, Bears Ears, next year. I have great respect for the inspector general, and I accept these findings, but Secretary Zinke should have known the people he listened to while destroying our national monuments had disqualifying conflicts of interest, he said. Should I chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, the process he and President Trump used to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be front and center in our oversight and investigations efforts. We need to know why they ignored overwhelming public expressions of support for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, why they ignored Native American tribes throughout their decision-making, and why they removed protections on parcels of land with known mineral deposits. Eilperin and Rein report for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump advisor Larry Kudlow says China must do more to end trade war By Jim Puzzanghera Larry Kudlow, President Trumps top economic advisor, said Tuesday that Chinas response to U.S. efforts to rework the two economic superpowers trade relationship has been extremely disappointing but the planned meeting this weekend between the nations leaders is an opportunity for a breakthrough. They have to do more. They must do more, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters ahead of a Saturday dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina. I think the president is exactly right to show strong backbone when prior administrations did not, to break through these Chinese walls, Kudlow said. Theyre so resistant to change. We have to protect the country. We have to protect our technology, our inventiveness, our innovation. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Democrat TJ Cox grabs lead over Republican David Valadao in nations last remaining undecided House race By Maya Sweedler Democrat TJ Cox slipped past Republican incumbent David Valadao on Monday to take the lead in the countrys sole remaining undecided congressional race, positioning Democrats to pick up their seventh House seat in California and 40th nationwide. Cox, who trailed by nearly 4,400 votes on election night, has steadily gained as ballot counting continues nearly three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, a pattern consistent with the states recent voting history. On Monday, he pulled ahead by 438 votes after Kern County updated its results. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former CIA director Michael Hayden hospitalized after suffering a stroke By Deanna Paul Then-CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before a Senate committee in 2008. (Saul Loeb / Getty Images) Former CIA Director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his family said Friday. He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful, according to a statement issued by his namesake organization. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters. Hayden, 73, served as director of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He retired from the CIA in 2009. Hayden has been a vocal critic of Donald Trumps campaign and presidency. Earlier this year, after Trump decided to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, Hayden was one of several former intelligence leaders who signed a statement in opposition. Criticizing the president for crossing a line, he quickly became one of the individuals whose security clearance Trump threatened to review. Deanna Paul writes for the Washington Post. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump tells troops hes thankful for what hes done for the U.S. and rails against courts and migrants By Associated Press President Trump talks with troops via teleconference from his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thanksgiving. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump used his Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trumps call, made from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. Its a disgrace, Trump said of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost control on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops You really are our heroes, he said as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. It was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics. You probably see over the news whats happening on our southern border, Trump told one Air Force brigadier general stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, adding: I dont have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who were letting in. Later, Trump asked a U.S. Coast Guard commander about trade, which he noted was a very big subject for him personally. Weve been taken advantage of for many, many years by bad trade deals, Trump told the commander, who sheepishly replied, Mr. President, from our perspective on the water we dont see any issues in terms of trade right now. And throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. I hope that youll take solace in knowing that all of the American families you hold so close to your heart are all doing well, he said. The nations doing well economically, better than anybody in the world. He later told reporters, Nobodys done more for the military than me. Indeed, asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his great family as well as himself. I made a tremendous difference in this country, he said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing By Josh Dawsey | Washington Post (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIAs assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had feelings but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. He denies it vehemently, Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that maybe he did, maybe he didnt. I hate the crime .... I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, Trump said. Asked who should be held accountable for the death of Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Trump refused to place blame. Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place, the president said. He also seemed to suggest that all U.S. allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, we wouldnt be able to have anyone for an ally. Trumps remarks came after he held a conference call with U.S. military officers overseas, during which he repeatedly praised his administration and sought to draw the officers into discussions of domestic policy. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Former FBI Director James Comey gets subpoena from House Republicans By Bloomberg Former FBI Director James B. Comey said he has received a subpoena from House Republicans, according to a Twitter post on Thursday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Comey would be receiving a subpoena alongside former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch as part of continuing probes into their handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and Russian election meddling, according to a top House Democrat. Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. Im still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a closed door thing because Ive seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Lets have a hearing and invite everyone to see. James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018 Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Republican David Valadaos lead slips to 447 votes over Democrat TJ Cox in still-undecided Central Valley House race By Mark Z. Barabak Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), right, finds himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) On election night, it looked like Rep. David Valadao had survived a close shave and was destined to return to Washington for his fourth term. But on Wednesday, when Fresno County announced its latest vote totals, the Hanford Republican found himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox, with his lead in the Central Valley district shrunken to 447 votes. Thousands remain to be counted. Valadao, a repeated Democratic target, finished election night with a lead of nearly 4,440 votes. Cox, an engineer and a business owner who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, has steadily gained ground in the 21st Congressional District ever since. The trend is consistent with historic patterns showing Republicans in California tend to vote early and Democrats later, meaning their mail ballots continue to stream in past election day. Under California law, ballots postmarked up to midnight on Nov. 6 will be counted. Democrats have already picked up six House seats in California. They ousted Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Mimi Walters, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham and won the seats of retiring Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. All six represented districts that backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Valadao was the seventh California Republican in a district Clinton won, though his previous successes he last won reelection by a 14-point margin suggested his ouster was a longer shot for Democrats. If Cox prevails, it would give Democrats a 40-seat gain nationwide, far more than the 23 seats needed to take control when Congress reconvenes in January. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump says no new punishments against Saudi Arabia in Jamal Khashoggi murder By Eli Stokols In this Oct. 25 photo, candles are lit in front of a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Lefteris Pitarakis) President Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he does not intend to punish Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident killed by Saudi officials in Turkey in October. In a remarkable statement replete with exclamation points, Trump cast doubt on the CIAs reported conclusions that it has a high degree of confidence that the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder and sent his closest allies to Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul to carry it out. Read MoreThis article has been updated with staff. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Sixteen House Democrats vow to oppose Nancy Pelosi as next speaker By Mike DeBonis | Washington Post House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Sixteen House Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority. Their pledge to oppose Pelosi (D-San Francisco), both in an internal caucus election and a Jan. 3 floor vote, delivered in a letter sent to Democratic colleagues, comes as Pelosi has marshaled a legion of supporters on and off Capitol Hill to make her case. But her opponents said Monday they are convinced it is time to select a new leader. We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus, they wrote. However, we also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran on and won on a message of change. Pelosi has expressed complete confidence that she will retake the speakers gavel in January eight years after she lost it following massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms and 16 years after she was first elevated to the top Democratic leadership post in the House. Come on in, the waters fine, she said Friday about a potential leadership challenge. The signers might not be able to force Pelosi out themselves. The size of the Democratic majority remains in flux, but Democrats have already won 232 seats, according to the Associated Press, with five races still undecided. All those races have Republican incumbents, but the Democratic challenger is ahead in only one of them. If the leads hold in the uncalled races, Democrats would have won 233 seats, a 16-seat majority. That means Pelosi could lose as many as 15 Democratic votes when she stands for election as speaker on Jan. 3. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democratic senators sue over Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general By Associated Press Acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitakers appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitutions Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitakers appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level. President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nations top law enforcement official, Blumenthal said in a statement. The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called constitutional nobody and thwarting every senators constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts. The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitakers appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitakers appointment as lawful and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Gov. Rick Scott says Sen. Bill Nelson concedes Florida Senate race By Associated Press Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott speaks with his wife, Ann, by his side at an election watch party in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 7. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas Republican Gov. Rick Scott says incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson called him to concede defeat in their extremely tight race. Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson graciously conceded their Senate race shortly after the states recount ended. The final results show Scott defeated Nelson by just over 10,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday. The defeat ends Nelsons lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years. Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money on ads that portrayed Nelson as out-of-touch and ineffective. Nelson responded by questioning Scotts ethics and saying he would be under the sway of President Trump. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Orange County goes blue, as Democrats complete historic sweep of its seven congressional seats By Michael Finnegan Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim on Saturday in the last of Orange Countys undecided House races, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the states six most fiercely fought congressional contests and marking an epochal shift in a region long synonymous with political conservatism. With Cisneros victory, Democrats will constitute the entirety of Orange Countys seven-member congressional delegation, the first time since the 1930s that the birthplace of Richard Nixon, home of John Wayne and spiritual center of the Republican Party will have no GOP representative in the House. Sitting back in the 1960s, I would never have believed this would happen, said Stuart K. Spencer, a party strategist who spent more than half a century ushering Republicans, including President Reagan, into office. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Going, going ... with midterm wipeout, California Republican Party drifts closer to irrelevance By Michael Finnegan For a party in freefall the last two decades, California Republicans learned that its possible to plunge even further. The GOP not only lost every statewide office in the midterm election again, in blowout fashion but Democrats reestablished their supermajority in Sacramento, allowing them to legislate however they see fit After major defeats in Orange County and the Central Valley, two longtime strongholds, Republicans will have a significantly smaller footprint on Capitol Hill. (Democrats hold both Senate seats.) When the vote-counting is finished, the GOP may not even have enough lawmakers in Californias 53-member House delegation to field a nine-person softball team. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter says she will support Rep. Nancy Pelosi for speaker By Maya Sweedler Democratic Rep.-elect Katie Porter is congratulated by volunteers at her campaign headquarters in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter said she plans to support Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for speaker of the House and will make campaign finance reform her top priority when she enters the chamber in January. Im going to continue to have conversations, but so far I feel like Leader Pelosi is definitely making the things that were a priority to the families that elected me her priorities, including announcing her support for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption as HR1, Porter said in her first public appearance since being declared the winner in Californias 45th Congressional District on Thursday evening. It means a lot to me that she is a Californian. She understands our state, Porter added. When we talk about environmental protections, this is a person who understands as a Californian how fragile our environment is and whats at risk in things like drilling off our coasts. Porter, a law professor at UC Irvine, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters. The 45th District, covering inland Orange County, has never been represented by a Democrat. Porter became the third Democrat to claim a Republican-held seat in Orange County, following the victories of Harley Rouda in the 48th District and Mike Levin in the 49th. A fourth, Gil Cisneros, is running slightly ahead of his Republican opponent in the race for the open seat in the 39th District, which extends into Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Porter attributed the massive political shift in the county, for decades a conservative stronghold, to increased levels of political engagement. Folks here care about education, they care about the environment, they believe climate change is real, they want healthcare that protects preexisting conditions, they want a tax system that doesnt punish California, they want our schools and places of worship to be safe from gun violence, she said. Those are the issues we campaigned on, and to the extent that Donald Trump and Mimi Walters were on the wrong side of those issues, the voters have made clear what direction they want us to go. Porter was flying back from the East Coast when her race was called, she said. She turned on her phone to find 167 text messages from friends and supporters. Among them was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of Porters teachers in law school and with whom she has remained close. The pair spoke via FaceTime this morning, she said. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Bitter battle for Senate seat in Florida goes to hand recount By Associated Press Employees look through damaged ballots during a recount Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas acrimonious battle for the U.S. Senate headed Thursday to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. But the highly watched contest for governor between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum appeared to be over, with a machine recount showing DeSantis with a large enough advantage over Gillum to avoid a hand recount in that race. Gillum, who conceded the contest on election night only to retract his concession later, said in a statement that it is not over until every legally casted vote is counted. The recount so far has been fraught with problems. One large Democratic stronghold in South Florida was unable to finish its machine recount by the Thursday deadline due to machines breaking down. A federal judge rejected a request to extend the recount deadline. We gave a heroic effort, said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. If the county had three or four more hours, it would have made the deadline to recount ballots in the Senate race, she said. Meanwhile, election officials in another urban county in the Tampa Bay area decided against turning in the results of their machine recount, which came up with 846 fewer votes than originally counted. Media in South Florida reported that Broward County finished its machine recount but missed the deadline by a few minutes. Counties were ordered last weekend to do a machine recount of three statewide races because the margins were so tight. The next stage is a manual review of ballots that were not counted by machines to see whether there is a way to figure out voter intent. Scott called on Nelson to end the recount battle. Its time for Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes which will yield the same result and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served, the governor said in a statement. The recount has triggered multiple lawsuits, many of them filed by Nelson and Democrats. The legal battles drew the ire of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker, who slammed the state for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems. He also said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this, Walker said during a morning hearing. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work. This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile, Walker wrote in his ruling turning down the request from Democrats. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark. The overarching problem was created by the Florida Legislature, which Walker said passed a recount law that appears to run afoul of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision by locking in procedures that do not allow for potential problems. A total of six election-related lawsuits are pending in federal court in Tallahassee as well at least one lawsuit filed in state court. Walker also ordered that voters be given until 5 p.m. Saturday to show a valid identification and fix their ballots if they have not been counted due to mismatched signatures. Republicans appealed the ruling, but an appeals court turned down the request. State officials testified that nearly 4,000 mailed-in ballots were set aside because local officials decided the signatures on the envelopes did not match the signatures on file. If those voters can prove their identity, their votes will be counted and included in final official returns due from each county by noon Sunday. Walker was asked by Democrats to require local officials to provide a list of people whose ballots were rejected. But the judge appointed by President Obama refused the request, calling it inappropriate. Under state law, a hand review is required with races that have a margin of 0.25 percentage points or less. A state website put the unofficial results showing Scott ahead of Nelson by 0.15 percentage points. The margin between DeSantis and Gillum was at 0.41 points. The margin between Scott and Nelson had not changed much in the last few days, conceded Marc Elias, an attorney working for Nelsons campaign. But he said that he expected the vote tally to shrink due to the hand recount and the ruling on signatures. The developments fueled frustrations among Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats want state officials to do whatever it takes to make sure every eligible vote is counted. Republicans, including President Trump, have argued without evidence that voter fraud threatens to steal races from the GOP. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democrat Gil Cisneros pulls ahead of Republican Young Kim as more votes are tallied in Orange and San Bernardino counties By Michael Finnegan Congressional candidate Gil Cisneros (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Gil Cisneros pulled ahead of Republican Young Kim in one of Californias undecided congressional races Thursday, an ominous sign for a GOP already reeling from its loss of four House seats in the state. In updated vote counts released by the registrars for Orange and San Bernardino counties, Kim fell 941 votes behind Cisneros in the contest to succeed Republican Rep. Ed Royce in Californias 39th Congressional District. The 39th straddles Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. In another unresolved House race, Democrat Katie Porter pulled further ahead of Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which includes Mission Viejo, Tustin, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills. Porter, a consumer attorney and UC Irvine law professor, is now 6,203 votes ahead. The Nov. 6 midterm election has been devastating to Republicans in California. If Cisneros and Porter win, the party will have lost six of its 14 House seats in the state, essentially a wipeout in every contest that both parties spent heavily to win. The three Republicans already bounced from Congress are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Jeff Denham of Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. Democrat Mike Levin won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista in the fourth district flipped so far. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Florida Senate race likely headed to second recount By Associated Press A Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputy walks past boxes of ballots before a recount on Nov. 15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee) Unofficial Florida election results show that the governors race seems to be settled after a machine recount but the U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a hand recount. Republican Ron DeSantis is virtually assured of winning the nationally watched governors race over Democrat Andrew Gillum. Florida finished a machine recount Thursday that showed Gillum without enough votes to force a manual recount. Unofficial results posted on a state website show the margin between U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is still thin enough to trigger a second review. State law requires a hand recount of races with a margin of 0.25 percentage point or less. Counties have until Sunday to inspect the ballots that did not record a vote when put through the machines. Those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that the machines cannot read but can be deciphered. The election will be certified Tuesday. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Pelosi says she has the votes to become the next House speaker By John Wagner Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington on Nov. 14. (Susan Walsh) House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that she has the votes to become the chambers speaker despite solid opposition from more than a dozen Democrats who want fresh leadership when the party takes control next year. I have overwhelming support in my caucus to be speaker of the House, the San Francisco lawmaker told reporters. I happen to think at this point, Im the best person for that. A vote within the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Nov. 28. The full House votes on Jan. 3 to elect a new speaker. During her remarks, Pelosi touted the size of the Democratic victory in the midterms, which she called almost a tsunami. With a few races still to be decided, Democrats are poised to pick up close to 40 seats in the chamber. Pelosi called that the biggest victory for the Democrats since 1974, when the Watergate babies came in. Pelosis comments come as she faces solid opposition from at least 17 Democrats, setting the stage for a battle over who will ascend to one of the most powerful positions in Washington. After a campaign in which some Democrats prevailed in competitive districts by promising to oppose her, a coalition of incumbents and newly elected members has denied her a smooth path to the speakership. The defections, if they stand, would leave Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for more than 15 years, several votes short of the 218 she would need when the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3. However, no Democrat has stepped forward to run against her for a job she held from 2007 through 2010. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that shes being encouraged to stand for speaker if Pelosi doesnt have the votes. In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, she said she has been overwhelmed by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker. Over the last 12 hours, Ive been overwhelmed by the amount of support Ive received, Fudge said, adding that there are probably closer to 30" Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi. Things could change rapidly, Fudge said. Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies in the caucus, moderate Democrats and newly elected members. To this point, Pelosi has enjoyed the strong backing of the Congressional Black Caucus. On Thursday, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), one of its members, wrote a letter to colleagues praising her insight, fortitude and strategic thinking and urging support for her speakership bid. Former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., an African American who is contemplating a 2020 presidential bid, also voiced support for Pelosi, praising her in a tweet as an architect of the recent midterm success. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a leader of the resistance to Pelosi, said during an interview on CNN on Thursday that Fudge is the kind of new leader that we need in this party. Shes in touch with middle America. She understands what the American people want. Shes a next-generation leader that people will look to and say, Thats the future of our party, thats the future of our country, and thats exactly the kind of leader that I want to see as our next speaker. Wagner reports for the Washington Post. The Posts Robert Costa, Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement GOP Rep. Jeff Denham concedes to Democrat Josh Harder in Central Valley race By Maya Sweedler Rep. Jeff Denham (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Republican Rep. Jeff Denham has conceded to Democrat Josh Harder in the race to represent Californias 10th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been an absolute honor to serve our community and represent the Central Valley in Congress over the past eight years, the 51-year-old congressman said. The enormity of the responsibility was never lost on me. My wife Sonia and I look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives. Harder said he had spoken with Denham and the two were committed to a productive transition. Denham, an Air Force veteran, previously represented the region in the state Senate for eight years and founded a company specializing in plastic packaging used in agriculture. While a member of Congress, he sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture committees. First-time candidate Harder was born and raised in the district. After graduating from Stanford University, he served as vice president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Since moving back, he has been teaching at Modesto Junior College. Denhams House seat is one of four in California that Republicans lost in the Nov. 6 election, with two contests in Orange County still undecided as of Thursday morning. Jeff Denham called me this morning and we had a very productive conversation. I'm honored that I've been chosen to serve our community in Congress, and we're both looking forward to a productive transition that best serves the people of District 10. Josh Harder (@JoshHarder) November 14, 2018 Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Democrat Katie Porter now nearly 3,800 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Mimi Walters By Maya Sweedler Rep. Mimi Walters thanks all of her supporters as she watches election results in Irvine on Nov. 7, 2018. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Democrat Katie Porter opened a 3,797-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in Orange Countys 45th Congressional District. In the neighboring 39th, Democrat Gil Cisneros has nearly tied the race against Republican Young Kim. Cisneros now trails Kim by a razor-thin margin of 122 votes. The 39th District straddles Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties; Wednesdays updated ballot counts came from the latter two. There are more than 202,000 ballots left to count in Orange County, which includes parts of seven congressional districts. The 45th is entirely in inland Orange County. In California, the ballots counted first tend to lean Republican and those tallied later skew Democratic. In the Central Valleys 21st Congressional District, Democratic challenger TJ Cox has pulled within 2 percentage points of Rep. David Valadao, who is serving his third term. The Associated Press had projected a win for Valadao on election night, but his 4,839-vote advantage has shrunk to 2,090. Back in CA-21, Valadao (R) wins a batch of ballots from his stronghold in Kings Co., but by a considerably smaller margin (14 points) than his previous ~30-point margin in the county. We're moving to Lean R from Likely R; today a bit scary for Valadao.https://t.co/WqJVUVkqGW Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2018 A spokesman for Valadao told the Fresno Bee that the changes were expected and that [s]tatistically, David Valadao has won this race. Democrats in California have already flipped four House seats, defeating three Republican incumbents and claiming an open seat previously held by the GOP. Reps. Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Jeff Denham of Turlock have already lost their races, and retiring Rep. Darrell Issas San Diego County seat was claimed by Democrat Mike Levin. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump aide departs West Wing after rebuke from Melania Trump By Associated Press First Lady Melania Trump. (Alain Jocard / AFP-Getty Images) Deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, one day after First Lady Melania Trumps office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal. No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first ladys staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the presidents national security staff. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ricardel would have a new role in the administration. On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, released a statement saying, It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House. President Trumps White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump. An ally of national security advisor John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Race for House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthys to lose By Associated Press (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is running to take over next years shrunken caucus in closed-door elections that will set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthys to lose Wednesday. But the California Republican, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The two encountered questions and finger-pointing during a private meeting with lawmakers Tuesday night as the GOP sorted through the midterm defeat that put Democrats in the majority next year. Elections Wednesday will also determine party leadership in the Senate. Voting for the biggest race, Nancy Pelosis bid to return as the Democrats nominee for speaker, is later this month. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Melania Trump calls for the firing of deputy national security advisor By Justin Sink First Lady Melania Trump arrives at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris on Nov. 11. (Alain Jocard / AFP/Getty Images ) First Lady Melania Trumps office said she wants Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, ousted from the White House. It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement in response to a question about reports the first lady had sought Ricardels removal. Ricardel is the top deputy to national security advisor John Bolton. She drew the first ladys wrath after threatening to withhold National Security Council resources during Melania Trumps trip to Africa last month unless Ricardel was included in her entourage, one person familiar with the matter said. Grishams statement comes as several media outlets have reported that President Trump is considering a broader shakeup of his administration, including ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Sink and Jacobs report for Bloomberg. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print CNN sues Trump over the suspension of Jim Acostas White House press credentials By Jim Puzzanghera CNN said Tuesday that it is suing President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend the White House press credentials of correspondent Jim Acosta after a conflict at a news conference last week. The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, escalates an ongoing battle between Trump and the cable news outlet that he frequently accuses of disseminating fake news for its aggressive coverage of him and his administration. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas 1st Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their 5th Amendment rights to due process, CNN said in a written statement. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Maxine Waters plans to zero in on two big banks Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank when she becomes head of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Los Angeles congresswoman, now the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to gain the gavel after her party won control of the House in last weeks elections. While Waters has outlined a wide-ranging agenda, she said her focus on bank oversight will target two large institutions she has been tangling with for a while including one, Deutsche Bank, that spills into her bitter feud with President Trump. With Trump in the White House, I know that our fight for Americas consumers and investors will continue to be challenging. But I am more than up to that fight, Waters wrote in a letter last week to her Democratic colleagues on the committee that was obtained by The Times. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Heres how a controversial voting system will decide a congressional race in Maine By Kurtis Lee For the first time in U.S. history, a controversial voting system known as ranked choice is being used to decide a federal election. Its happening in Maine, which adopted the system in 2016. Rather than marking a single candidate, each voter ranks them all, assigning a first-place vote, a second-place vote and so on down the ballot. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print ACLU files suit to stop Trumps new asylum limits By Associated Press A group of Central American migrants march to the office of the U.N.'s humans rights body in Mexico City on Nov. 8. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Trumps order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt said the regulations will put families in danger. The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and wants a judge to stop the rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending. The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum. The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban. Read More Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Trump on new acting AG: I dont know Matt Whitaker By Associated Press President Trump talks with reporters before departing for France on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 9. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump is moving to distance himself from Matthew Whitaker as he faces criticism over his choice for acting attorney general. Trump told reporters Friday that I dont know Matt Whitaker and said he didnt speak with Whitaker about special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker has made public comments critical of Muellers investigation, and critics have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the inquiry. Under former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the investigation was overseen by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after. He also called Whitaker a very highly respected man. Whitaker was Sessions chief of staff before Trump made him Sessions interim replacement. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg out of hospital after fall By Associated Press The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is home after being released from the hospital. She had been admitted for treatment and observation after fracturing three ribs in a fall. The court said Ginsburg was released Friday. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says she is doing well and working from home. The court had previously said the justice fell in her office at the court on Wednesday evening and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Gun-control activist Lucy McBath defeats GOP Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia By Associated Press Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Nov. 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Democratic gun-control activist Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia in a suburban congressional district long considered safe for the GOP. Handel had to seek reelection after winning her seat last year in a close special election race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. McBath became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car. McBaths margin of victory was narrow enough for Handel to have requested a recount. The Associated Press declared McBath the winner Thursday after Handel conceded. Handel conceded in a statement Thursday morning, stating that after reviewing all of the election data, its clear she came up a bit short in Tuesdays vote. Handel congratulated McBath, offering good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her. McBath, who is African American, declared victory Wednesday. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall By Associated Press Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court says the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening. Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print White House suspends press pass of CNNs Jim Acosta after heated exchange with Trump By Associated Press The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable. The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her. Acosta tweeted that Sanders statement that he put his hands on the aide was a lie. CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acostas press pass in retaliation for his challenging questions Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acostas actions. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history. Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Contrary to CNNs assertions there is no greater demonstration of the Presidents support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters... Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 As a result of todays incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice. Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Sanders provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better, CNN said. Jim Acosta has our full support. Journalists assigned to cover the White House apply for passes that allow them daily access to press areas in the West Wing. White House staffers decide whether journalists are eligible, though the Secret Service determines whether their applications are approved. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Trump spars with reporters at post-election news briefing, ordering several to sit down By Associated Press President Trump assails CNNs Jim Acosta at a White House news conference. President Trump sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another hes a rude, terrible person. He told another reporter hes not a fan of yours, either. The presidents mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an invasion. Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections. Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the mans actions to the caravan. Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Im living one hour at a time at this point By Christine Mai-Duc Republican congressional candidate Young Kim and gubernatorial candidate John Cox campaign in Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Republican congressional candidate Young Kim greeted gubernatorial candidate John Coxs giant campaign bus, the words HELP IS ON THE WAY emblazoned across it, as it rolled into the parking lot outside her Rowland Heights field office. Standing beside Cox on Saturday, Kim predicted that a string of GOP victories Tuesday would start with voters repealing the gas tax hike. Can you imagine Gavin Newsom being our governor? Can you imagine Gil Cisneros being your representative? Kim asked the crowd, to loud boos and cries of Nooo! The former state assemblywoman who worked for retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is vying for his seat with Democrat Gil Cisneros. She led the crowd in chants of Enough is enough! and, though short-lived, Drain the swamp! Ive served you in Sacramento and Ive seen dysfunction personally, Kim continued. We cannot continue that route. She urged her supporters to stay and help make phone calls or walk neighborhoods. Lets get out there the 72 hours is really critical. Its all going to come down to a few votes, it could be your vote, she said pointing to her left, then pivoting right, it could be your vote. So dont sit back and do nothing. Every night I go to sleep thinking, OK, how many more votes can I get or how many more people can I call tomorrow? Kim said. It can be physically exhausting but Im mentally, emotionally very energized. She listed off her events so far that day and the next one she was heading to. Thats just what I can remember, she said. Im living one hour at a time at this point. Kims campaign invited press to two of her events on Saturday. After she was whisked away to her next event a high tea fundraiser in Walnut, a couple dozen volunteers remained. John Freeman, a statewide field manager for the state Republican Party, tried to pump them up. This is the Super Bowl. Were not in an NFL stadium, were not getting paid millions of dollars, but you know what? Freeman said. Were walking on the field right now. This is that high-stakes-level game. Facebook Twitter Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Copy Link URL Copied! Print Advertisement Its going to be tough out there Democratic candidate Katie Porter speaks to volunteers in Mission Viejo. Jon Bauman, Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, is in the background. (Victoria Kim / Los Angeles Times ) Judging from the cheers in the crowd, about half those assembled at Katie Porters campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo Sunday morning were old enough to remember 70s rock n roll star Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na. Jon Bauman, as Bowzer is known off stage, said it was her position on senior issues including retirement and social security that has him out supporting Porter over her opponent, incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters. I want you to make sure every phone is called and every door is knocked, he told the crowd of about 80 volunteers. There has never been a more important election. Both Bauman and his nephew, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman, were interrupted by yells from Trump supporters coming from an adjoining hillside. We love Trump, the voice cried out. We love him too, he makes great fodder, the younger Bauman retorted, before introducing Porter. Porter, a UC Irvine law professor and first-time candidate, acknowledged the uphill battle some of her canvassers might face in this more conservative end of the long-red Orange County district. I know its going to be tough out there, she said, motioning to the hillside. But she said the attacks meant the other side viewed her campaign as a significant threat. This election is going to be close, she said. If we dont fight all the way to the finish line, until 8 oclock on Tuesday, this could slip away. Bowzer then took to a keyboard piano to lead the crowd in a reworded rendition of the song Good Night Sweetheart: Good night, Mimi Walters, he crooned. A woman in a black tank top, jeans and flip flops holding a cup of coffee later joined the crowd with her two sons, 17 and 14, the younger one wearing a Trump 2016 T-shirt. She declined to give her name, saying she was concerned about being attacked, but said she lived up the hill and said she had been the one yelling. She said she was encouraging her sons to talk to people on both sides and make up their own minds. We need to have a government that runs the way government teachers are telling kids its supposed to be run, said the woman, a retired registered dental assistant who voted early for Mimi Walters. Referring to Democrats, she said: Theyve had control over all these years and Californias gone to crap. Among those canvassing was Stacie Campbell, 37, who was at the launch with her husband Jerome and three children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old. Campbell, a Mission Viejo resident who runs a business, had never canvassed or volunteered for campaigns before, and her husband is a French citizen and unable to vote. She said they had been talking to their children the older ones are 5 and 2 about the presidency and the government since Trumps election. Together, they worked on homemade Katie Porter lawn signs and put them up around town. This is the first time its felt like a big deal and there isnt a president up for election, she said. Because her city is a mix of conservatives and liberals her next-door neighbor is an NRA-supporting Republican she the race felt m The 101 Freeway in the Santa Barbara area wont open until at least Jan. 22, Caltrans tweeted Monday. The agency cited continuing cleanup plus storms predicted this week for the ongoing closure between Carpinteria and Santa Barbara. Until the road reopens, the quickest way to travel to and from the affected area is by train. Detours using Interstate 5 can take up to five hours, depending on traffic. Amtrak is adding 2,000 more seats daily to its popular Pacific Surfliner train service to Santa Barbara to accommodate an uptick in passengers since the 101 Freeway closed. #MontecitoFlood Update: due to ongoing clean-up/repairs/weekend rain forecast, #Hwy101 will NOT reopen for at least another week. Detour remains #Hwy5 to #Hwy46 or #Hwy166. @PacSurfliners train is other option. Caltrans District 5 (@CaltransD5) January 15, 2018 Advertisement Rail travel was suspended last Tuesday and Wednesday but reopened Thursday. Amtrak said in a Sunday news release that the Pacific Surfliner, which operates between San Diego and San Luis Obispo with stops in the freeway closure area, has been extremely busy. Eight extra rail cars and three locomotives have been added. Trains stop in Oxnard, Ventura, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara and Goleta. For example, you can travel between Ventura and Santa Barbara in 45 minutes. Info: Amtraks Pacific Surfliner, (800) 872-7245 Back to the detours. The 101 Freeway closure means adding almost three times as many miles to the usual 87-mile trip between downtown L.A. and Santa Barbara. Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol recommend an L.A.-Santa Barbara detour of 253 miles, traveling north on Interstate 5, west on Highway 166 through the Santa Maria Mountains, and south on the 101 Freeway from Santa Maria. You can expect the journey to take anywhere from four hours and 10 minutes to five hours, according to Google Maps. A second recommended detour of 327 miles travels from Interstate 5, west on Highway 46 until you reach Paso Robles and then south on the 101 Freeway. It takes at least four hours and 50 minutes. If you do visit Ventura or Santa Barbara, heres an update of whats open and whats closed since the devastating Thomas fire and subsequent mudslides. Advertisement Rescuers continue to search for missing people, and Caltrans crews continue to work to clear the freeway. The death toll from the storm-related slides has risen to 20 people. travel@latimes.com @latimestravel UPDATES: Advertisement 2:05 p.m. Jan. 15: This article was updated with information about the postponement of the reopening of the 101 Freeway. This article was originally published at 6 a.m. Jan. 15. Pope Francis on Monday begins a weeklong visit to Chile and Peru that is expected to highlight the plight of the continents indigenous peoples, the decimation of the Amazon rainforests and the struggles of immigrants and the poor. The trip will mark the Argentine popes fourth visit to South America, following his trip to Colombia in September. A series of gasoline firebomb attacks on Roman Catholic churches in Chile before the popes arrival has dramatized tensions in the church here, which has been riven by cases of clergy sexual abuse. No one was injured in the attacks overnight Friday on three churches in the capital, and damage was minimal from the crude strikes with gasoline-filled bottles. But following the incidents, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet called on Chileans to receive the pope in a climate of respect. Advertisement A fourth attack occurred early Sunday at a church in Melipilla, outside Santiago. It was not clear who was behind the strikes, and authorities downplayed the significance, but the firebombings were clearly timed to coincide with the popes visit. The next bombs will be in your cassock, threatened pamphlets found outside one of the targeted churches. The pamphlets also championed the cause of Chiles Mapuche indigenous group, which has been engaged in a battle for the return of ancestral territories and for other rights. On Wednesday, the pontiff is slated to travel to the central city of Temuco to celebrate Mass and meet with Mapuche representatives. Several Mapuche leaders condemned the firebombings and rejected violence as a means of social change, a sentiment echoed by other Chilean officials. There is no place for violence in a democracy, said Claudio Orrego, regional governor of the Santiago area. Also in Chile, victims of clergy sexual abuse have been pushing for a meeting with the pope during his visit here, though no such meeting had been formally scheduled. Workers on Jan. 14, 2018, set up the stage on which Pope Francis will officiate the first open-air Mass during his visit to Chile, at OHiggins Park in Santiago. (Pablo Porciuncula / AFP/Getty Images ) Advertisement Many Catholics here were outraged at the popes appointment in 2015 of Bishop Juan Barros Madrid to head the diocese of Osorno, about 510 miles south of the capital. Barros has denied covering up allegations of abuse by a prominent Santiago priest, Father Fernando Karadima, who was sentenced by the Vatican in 2011 to a life of prayer and penance for sexual abuse of children and adults. The pope is scheduled to be in Chile from Monday to Wednesday before heading to Peru for the second leg of his journey. Massive crowds are expected for a number of outdoor celebrations. Officials in both countries said security was being beefed up before the papal visit. Emotions were running high in advance of the visit to the two largely Catholic nations. Images of the pope and signs welcoming him were already beginning to line the streets of cities he is planning to visit. Visitors from Argentina cross the border through Los Libertadores checkpoint, at Los Andes, Chile, on Jan. 14, 2018. (Mario Ruiz / EPA/Shutterstock ) Advertisement While Francis, a native of Buenos Aires of Italian ancestry, has never visited his Argentine homeland as pope, many Argentines are making the trip to neighboring Chile to pay homage to their compatriot, the first pope from the Americas. The pope is scheduled to meet with the presidents of both countries Bachelet in Chile and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in Peru along with hosting bishops, priests and representatives of the youth. He is also slated to meet with female prisoners at a jail in Santiago. Among other stops in Peru, Francis is scheduled to meet with Amazonian indigenous representatives in the city of Puerto Maldonado, in Perus southeastern Madre de Dios region, a gateway to the Peruvian Amazon. Puerto Maldonado is widely seen as a near-lawless center of illicit gold mining that has ravaged the environment, pushed indigenous people from their lands and resulted in forced labor and trafficking of women and girls for prostitution. Advertisement The Vatican will be hosting a Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region in October 2019. Pope Francis previous visit to South America his four-day trip to Colombia in September was by all accounts highly successful. Huge crowds turned out to see the pontiff, capped by the 1.1 million who attended a Mass on the runways of Medellins downtown airport. At the top of his list of sermon topics was reconciliation, a sensitive topic in the aftermath of a peace deal signed in 2016 by the Colombian government and FARC rebels that ended a half century of conflict. But the pope largely steered clear of inserting himself into what may be the continents biggest crisis, the civil unrest in Venezuela. Although he met during his Colombian trip with five Venezuelan bishops, including Caracas Archbishop Jorge Urosa, who have been sharply critical of President Nicolas Maduro, the pope subsequently limited himself to calls for dialogue and stability. Advertisement The theme of immigration is also expected to be prominent during the popes swing through South America. Both Chile and Peru have seen influxes of Venezuelans and others fleeing economic and political turmoil. Ahead of his departure for South America, Francis used his regular Sunday service in St. Peters Square to make an impassioned plea for immigrants. Being afraid of migration is a natural human reaction and not a sin, the pope said after the Sunday Angelus and speaking in honor of the international day of migrants and refugees. Pope Francis waves as he arrive to deliver his message to pilgrims gathered in St. Peters Square, during his Angelus Sunday prayer at the Vatican on Jan. 14, 2018. (Vincenzo Pinto / AFP/Getty Images ) Advertisement The sin, he said, is to allow these fears to determine our responses, to limit our choices, to compromise respect and generosity, to feed hostility and rejection. He said it was incumbent on residents in countries receiving immigrants and refugees to welcome them, and incumbent on the new arrivals to learn and respect local laws and customs. Francis has consistently voiced support for the poor and for those fleeing violence and turmoil and has assailed what he calls a throwaway culture that, he says, costs lives and damages the environment. He openly criticized President Trumps vow to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, saying those who speak of walls and not bridges are not true Christians. That brought an angry rebuke from Trump. The Vatican newspaper LOsservatore Romano over the weekend criticized Trumps latest characterization of countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean as particularly harsh and offensive. Advertisement ALSO Pope Francis suggests rewording the Lords Prayer. The problem? Lead us not into temptation With their fate in the Trump administrations hands, 260,000 Salvadoran immigrants wait and worry Perus president survives vote to oust him, says hell seek reconciliation in the country Advertisement McDonnell reported from Santiago, Wilkinson from Washington and special correspondent Kraul from Bogota, Colombia. Special correspondents Jorge Poblete in Santiago, Chile, and Adriana Leon in Lima, Peru, contributed to this report. patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com Twitter: @PmcdonnellLAT Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sharply criticized the United States for being a destabilizing force in the world, saying Washington was provoking North Korea into a military confrontation and attempting to derail the Iran nuclear agreement. Despite the Kremlins attempts to rebuild bilateral relations with Washington, the United States continues to push an anti-Russia agenda aimed at undermining Moscows emergence as a global power in a multipolar world, the foreign minister said during his annual press conference. Lavrov addressed a broad list of topics during the two-hour-long conference, including relations with China, Europe and the crisis on the Korean peninsula. With nearly every topic, his answers inevitably returned to what has become a familiar theme from the Kremlin: Washingtons aggressive attempts to push its agenda globally are failing and, in the case of North Korea and Iran, have become potentially dangerous. Unfortunately, our American colleagues still want to operate only on the basis of dictating policy, issuing ultimatums, they do not want to hear the perspectives of other centers of world politics, Lavrov said. Advertisement The United States needs to face the difficult reality that it is no longer the worlds only superpower and adapt to an increasingly multipolar world, Lavrov said. Lavrovs comments came ahead of a new round of U.S. sanctions against Russia for allegations that the Kremlin orchestrated a campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The Kremlin denies the accusations. On North Korea, Lavrov accused the United States of provoking tensions by stating that a military option is still on the table and by conducting military exercises on the Korean peninsula. Kremlin accuses U.S. of anti-Russia fearmongering after State Department travel warning President Trump, in several outspoken tweets, has lambasted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for Pyongyangs missile tests. This month, Trump boasted in a tweet that he had a bigger nuclear button than the North Korean dictator. The United States quite plainly says that the military confrontation is inevitable, however, everyone understands the catastrophic consequences of such recklessness, Lavrov said, referring to Trumps statement. Russia and China have both said they support talks between the two Korean nations, Lavrov said. Although Lavrov did not mention it, Trump has also praised the talks. On Iran, the Russian foreign minister chastised a White House suggestion that it could rewrite the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran brokered by former President Obama. That agreement lifts sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on Tehrans nuclear program. Advertisement Trump last week waived sanctions under the deal, but suggested that he would not do so again, saying he wants to rewrite the agreements terrible flaws. Lavrov warned Washington not to back out. We will not support what the United States is trying to do, changing the wording of the agreement, incorporating things that will be absolutely unacceptable for Iran, Lavrov said. Changes to Irans nuclear agreement with the United States could have broader negative effects, namely on North Korea, which could view Irans experience as a cautionary tale with implications for its own approach to the West, Lavrov said. Advertisement Its sad that the United States once again gives a reason to doubt their ability to be reliable contract partners, Lavrov said. While not naming Trump directly, the foreign minister said the current White House was continuing an anti-Russian agenda set out by the Obama administration. He pointed to U.S. sanctions on Russias energy sector and the military industry as two examples of areas in which Washington has acted to hinder Russias growth. The United States and the European Union have placed economic sanctions on individuals and state-run companies in these two Russian sectors in retaliation for the Kremlins 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea. Russia has insisted that Crimeas referendum vote in March 2014 to leave Ukraine and join Russia was legitimate and in reaction to a Western-supported coup in Kiev, Ukraines capital, which ousted a Moscow-favored president in February of that year. Advertisement Lavrov said he believed the sanctions on Russia were aimed more at boosting Americans position in the gas sector as well as at preventing Russia from securing a foothold in international weapons sales. He accused the United States of trying to persuade the European Union not to complete a proposed gas pipeline that would divert Russian gas from pipes running through Ukraine. I would say that the [U.S.] administrations actions indicate the fear of honest competition in a whole number of spheres, Lavrov said. In addition to economic sanctions, he said he sees the U.S. move to require Kremlin-owned media outlets such as RT and Sputnik to register as foreign agents in Washington, as well as the International Olympic Committees decision to ban Russian athletes from competing under their own flag in South Korea next month, as part of an orchestrated effort to unfairly punish Russia. Advertisement The International Olympic Committee in December announced that Russia would not be able to compete as a national team because of what the World Anti-Doping Assn. called a state-sponsored doping scheme. Russia athletes who test positive are banned from competing in South Korea, while players and teams who test negative may participate only as athletes from Russia under the Olympic flag. Yes, there are the facts of violations made by our athletes, but no collective punishment has ever been imposed on anyone in such cases, Lavrov said. Here I also see the fear of honest competition. sabra.ayres@latimes.com Twitter: @sabraayres Advertisement Ayres is a special correspondent. Venezuelan authorities said Monday they had surrounded and captured members of a rebel group whose leader hijacked a helicopter in June and dropped grenades on the Supreme Court and Interior Ministry. His fate was unclear. According to an Interior Ministry press release, police surrounded a house in the impoverished El Junquito area of western Caracas and exchanged gunfire with the rebels, leaving two police dead and five wounded. An unspecified number of rebels were killed and five captured, according to the statement. The groups leader, Oscar Perez, 37, who formerly was a pilot and inspector with the police intelligence agency known by its Spanish initials, CICPC, sent videos out over his social media account (link in Spanish) Monday morning saying that he and his men were cornered and trying to surrender to police but that the authorities kept firing. We arent firing and they keep attacking us. They want to kill us, said Perez, who was dressed in military fatigues, brandished a rifle and appeared bloodied. Others in the house were heard in the background yelling, Please dont shoot, there are civilians here. Advertisement The Venezuelan Information Ministry didnt respond to requests for more details on the police operation and whether Perez had escaped, been killed or captured. The mess in Venezuela didnt happen overnight. Heres how two successive presidents chipped away at democracy Details of the police operation were still sketchy late Monday afternoon. Residents in the neighborhood said the operation began before daylight at 5 a.m. The government has released no names of those killed, wounded or captured. These terrorists, who were heavily armed with high caliber weapons, opened fire on the officials trying to capture them and tried to detonate a vehicle loaded with explosives, according to the Interior Ministry statement. July 2017 file photo of Oscar Perez. (Miguel Rodriguez / Associated Press ) Perez had managed to escape an intense nationwide manhunt since the June attack. He has been described by officials of President Nicolas Maduros government as a deserter, but others opposed to the government see him as a symbol of anti-government resistance and refer to him as Rambo. During Perezs hijacking of a helicopter in June, he displayed a banner with the letters 350 Libertad, referring to an article of the constitution that gives citizens the right to ignore orders of an abusive government. The June hijacking of the chopper came at the end of three months of sometimes violent protests against the Maduro government that left 130 dead and an estimated 4,000 injured. Several hundred demonstrators were detained. Marchers protested against food shortages, a collapsed economy and Maduros autocratic governing style. Advertisement The Perez group also faces charges for a Dec. 18 attack on a national guard installation in San Pedro de los Altos, in Miranda state. A woman who identified herself as Perezs mother also sent messages out over social media Monday to say her son wanted to surrender. He is fighting for his country, for Venezuela, she said, adding that she is holding the government responsible for her sons life. Special correspondents Mogollon and Kraul reported from Caracas and Bogota, Colombia, respectively. ALSO Advertisement Pro-government candidates dominate Venezuelan election; opposition cries foul These Venezuelans left their lives behind to escape political turmoil. From L.A., they pick up the protest Gustavo Dudamels tour with Venezuelan youth symphony canceled by President Maduro Detroit LIVE: 2019 Hyundai Veloster Jan 15, 2018, 3:10pm ET Hyundai\'s funky hatch gets a redesign and an N model. Hyundai took advantage of the Detroit Auto Show to unveil replacement models for its Veloster and Veloster Turbo lineup of sport compacts. As a bonus, a new "N" performance model joins the mix. Hyundai has experimented with performance models in the past, relying on the R-Spec nomenclature to denote track-prepped suspensions and other accessories. Currently, the brand is in the process of developing a new "N" lineup to denote the absolute top-spec models. Veloster is the first American-market car to wear the badge. While the outgoing Veloster had its merits, we never thought Hyundai quite nailed the formula despite tweaking and tuning along the way. This car is new from the ground up, giving Hyundai the opportunity to address all of the compact hatch's shortcomings once and for all. VelosterFor starters, the Veloster rides on a new platform and boasts a new exterior design. To Hyundai's credit (in our opinion, anyway), the funky asymmetrical door arrangement and hatchback form factor remain. The styling, which very similar to the outgoing car's, has been completely overhauled. The front end is significantly more sculpted, with prominent hood sculpting taking away from the former design's more aggressive fender treatment. The front fender also incorporates air curtains for improved aero and stability. Uderneath, base models are powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0L engine making 147 horsepower. They also make do with a carry-over twist-beam rear suspension. Veloster TurboThe Turbo model is powered by (you guessed it) a turbocharged, 1.6-liter engine that preserves the old Turbo's 201-horsepower output rating. Turbo models get the multi-link independent rear suspension that debuted in the Hyundai Elantra Sport last year. Turbo models get sportier interior and exterior styling, including unique wheels and "turbo" badges and interior embroidering. For both models, manual and dual-clutch transmissions will be available yet again. NThe N model is the big dog. This is where you step up to a Focus-ST-beating 275 horsepower and 260lb-ft of torque from a turbocharged 2.0L engine. The suspension is high-spec too, with an electronic multi-mode setup along with extra bracing for its mounts. Wider, lightweight wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero summer tires finish off the corners. N models also get aggressively bolstered front seats, further interior trim differentiation, and, of course, a higher price tag. What's next?There's a lot going on here, so expect additional info on each trim to be made available as the new lineup is rolled out this year. Stay tuned. Live photos by Brian Williams. When people think of the best days of their lives, it's usually their wedding day or the birth of their children. But for Janice Repnyek of Hellertown, co-owner of the borough's Mike's Kids Doggie Shop, appearing on her favorite television game show also tops the list. "It was the best experience in my whole life," she said. "I still can't believe it happened to me." While watching the CBS Network's "The Price is Right" with her grandmother as a child, Repnyek was mesmerized by the contestants and had visions of someday being on the same stage, spinning the wheel and vying for a spot in the "Showcase Showdown." In the show, in which the concept dates back to the 1950s before being revamped in the early 1970s and then hosted by Bob Barker, contestants compete to win cash and prizes by guessing the prices of merchandise. In September, while randomly waiting for her car to be washed, the thought of appearing on the show came back to her. Repnyek in October would be visiting her 22-year-old son, Zachary Sem, who lives about an hour from Los Angeles. So Repnyek took out her phone and was able to find priority tickets for a taping day. "I couldn't wait to see what the show was all about," Repnyek said. "I actually also printed out tickets for a second day -- just in case I didn't get the call." The show's 46th season started in September. Actor and comedian Drew Carey began hosting in 2007. Viewers can see what happened to Repnyek when the show she appeared on is slated to air at 11 a.m. Monday on CBS. 'Come on Down!' Repnyek, her husband, Sam Repnyek, and Sem arrived 45 minutes early in anticipation for the Oct. 18 taping. And Janice Repnyek came prepared. In the weeks leading up to the taping, she traveled to Palmer Park Mall to have three bright blue T-shirts made up, stating, "We flew 2,454 miles to play a game with Drew." On the back, she made sure to include "Happy 10th Anniversary," knowing it was Carey's 10th anniversary as host. Repnyek hoped the T-shirts would make her and family members stand out from the crowd of 300 possible contestants seated in the audience. She also made sure when being interviewed by producers to have original answers to questions, such as answering with her favorite game being the "shell game" instead of the most popular games typically stated by possible contestants. The plan worked. Repnyek was the third contestant of a total of nine to be called to "Come on Down" by an announcer once the taping got underway. But ironically, she almost missed the cue. A producer interviewing Repnyek prior to being seated warned her she might not hear the announcer due to the lively commotion, but to look for cue cards. Luckily, she said she saw one of the cards over the commotion in the studio audience. "You would not believe the enthusiasm inside," she described. "It's so over the top. My son, called it 'epic.' " And once Repnyek realized her name was called, she jumped up so excited, she accidentally struck her son in the lip, giving him a minor bleed, and broke his watch, she said. "You have no idea," she said. "Your heart is pumping so fast, your hands hurt from clapping and you're screaming so loud you barely have a voice." 'This is a Dream' Repnyek believes the show has spanned generations of viewers and lasted for decades on air because the cast and crew make every guest feel special. Despite a process of five hours of waiting in line, being interviewed, going though metal detectors and awaiting the OK to enter the studio, the entire experience became a blur. "I never met a more friendly group of people," she said. "The entire time I kept thinking, 'Oh my God. This is a dream,' " she said. Repnyek was chosen, along with a handful of other contestants, to guess the price of electronics. Having similar electronics, Repnyek said she was optimistic before her guess and advanced to spin the wheel. Repnyek told her brother, Mike Campanella of Bethlehem Township, who co-owns the eatery and an avid viewer himself, she would say hello to him if she got to spin the wheel. She said she was grateful to greet Campanella and other friends and family members before using both hands to grab the heavy wheel. What happened next Repnyek isn't allowed to say, but continued to express excitement in her voice. "I have played the lottery and never won anything my entire life," she said. A boarded sign is outside Mike's Kids Doggie Shop, 501 Main Street, Hellertown. Repnyek is planning a viewing party Monday at the restaurant, 501 Main St. She has since placed a boarded sign outside the eatery illustrating her appearance and hopes both regulars and newcomers pop by. The eatery has been in the family since 1986, passed down to the siblings by their late father, Mike Campanella Sr., in 2002. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Angie Rivera might not have been able to find the place her long-lost sister frequented before being fatally struck if it wasn't for total strangers leaving candles, flowers, letters and momentos behind. Elizabeth "Liz" Rivera, 47, was struck around 6:30 p.m. Jan. 9 by an SUV while crossing East Broad Street near the Greater Valley YMCA in Bethlehem. Rivera was rushed to St. Luke's University Hospital, and was pronounced dead 25 minutes later. The driver, a 61-year-old man, stopped and spoke with police, who continue to investigate what happened. A crowd of an estimated 50 people turned out Sunday afternoon in a memorial celebrating Liz Rivera's life at the Sun Inn Courtyard. Angie Rivera, the youngest of the three Rivera sisters, and her mother, Elisabeth Rivera, both of Brooklyn, NY, were in attendance. Angie Rivera said she hadn't seen her sister since the early 2000s or her nephew, Nicholas. Liz was independent and had a lot of pride, her sister described, when she left New York and unbeknownst to the family, found a place to live in Bethlehem. Angie received a phone call on Friday notifying her of Liz's death. She then made the trek to Bethlehem with her boyfriend and found the bench along Broad Street her sister used to sell her wares -- now filled by the strangers in tribute. "I have to honestly say for those who have been passing by, leaving flowers, candles ... that's how my boyfriend and I were able to find her," Angie Rivera told the crowd. "So I thank you all for that because that was our landmark; that was our little marker." "Driving to this town not knowing anyone, how to get anywhere, we were just like, 'What do we do? Where do we go?,'" she continued. " Thank you because that was how I knew that that was my sister's spot and literally I had my boyfriend go in a U-turn. Because that really meant the world to me and my family." 'Bethlehem's own' While Liz's mother was too distraught to speak during the memorial, Angie Rivera said the family will be forever grateful to Bethlehem residents and downtown shop owners for taking in her sister as their own. Liz frequented the downtown area, selling handmade jewelry, crafts, knitted bandanas, baskets out of Popsicle sticks, Christmas ornaments and other trinkets as a means to get by. While she was petite in stature, passersby recalled her as having wit, a huge smile and being upbeat and cheerful to those she encountered. Liz Rivera had so much pride, she often turned away offers for clothing, temporary shelter and food, recalled Khrys Exposito of Bethlehem, former owner of the Underground Lair toy store and the organizer of Sunday's memorial. Others said it was hard to even tell Liz Rivera fell on hard times given she always looked put together and had an abundance of joy on her face. She would tell witty jokes and share chuckles with customers looking at her wares, those in attendance said. "She was very independent and lived where she lived," Exposito said, noting Liz often told it "as it is." "She was a spitfire; the type of person who always had a smile on her face and having a good time." After Liz was cited by police for selling trinkets without a permit, Exposito gave her a sign stating Exposito granted her permission to sell outside her storefront. The pair then became close, bonding over whatever issues Liz had, Exposito recalled. "Since I was a good friend, I got a little more of the raw," she said. It remains unknown to the family what caused Liz Rivera to leave Brooklyn that day with her son, Nicholas. The family believes Nicholas, who would now be 21 years old, has since been adopted. No paper trail was left and Angie Rivera said her sister was often stubborn; if she wanted do something, no one could change her mind. Her mother never changed the family's phone number in hopes someday Liz would call and say she was coming back home, Angie said. "Thank you to this entire community who has taken care of her," Angie told the crowd. "These last 17, almost 18 years, we tried so hard to look for her to kind-of bring her home. But home was here for her in Bethlehem." "It's been really hard all this time, but to know that an entire community loved her as much as we have, thank you, you are our second family," she continued. "Her first family finally has closure and peace. And we know she was loved, we know that she was safe." Thousands raised An online fundraiser was launched by Cami VanGorden of Bethlehem to raise money for Liz Rivera's funeral expenses. By 4:30 p.m. Sunday, $12,828 was raised within three days. The family has decided $1,000 will go toward Liz's remaining funeral expenses and another $2,000 will go toward the Trinity Episcopal Church and the church's soup kitchen, in which Liz Rivera was affiliated with. The remaining near $10,000 will go into a trust fund in the family's name for Nicholas, Liz's son, who the family continues to search for. In four years if Nicholas is not located, the funds will go toward Trinity Episcopal Church, the family said. "I've never seen this happen in the community of Bethlehem," VanGorden said if the outpouring. "It really, really speaks to who we are as people." Memorial-goers also spent time writing small phrases in remembrance of Liz, stating such things as, "You brightened my day every time I talked to you," "I will miss your bright smile" and "You'll be missed, Liz, so much love." A woman who was hearing impaired used sign language to explain to Exposito she made a basket out of Popsicle sticks in memory of Liz and she painted a cursive "L" on it. The basket was placed beside the notes. "When you have this type of tragedy, everyone wants to do something," Exposito said. "I thought we could do this memorial and have a bigger impact together." Paying Respects: A viewing is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday at Cantelmi Long Funeral Home, 500 Linden Street, Bethlehem. A service will follow at 3 p.m. Monday. The public is invited by the family to attend. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. An armed robbery early Sunday morning outside a Wilson Borough strip club ended in a car crash in Easton with one shot fired at the victim's car, police said. No one was injured and Wilson police are still looking for the robber, who ran away after crashing a blue Honda Civic near Ferry and South Warren streets in Easton a little bit after 2:30 a.m. Sunday. Anyone with information can call Wilson police at 610-258-8542 or email Det. Jason Hillis at jhillis@wilsonborough.org. Tips can be made anonymously. Wilson police were first called by Easton police at 2:31 a.m. for an armed robbery behind Spanky's East Gentlemen's Club, 1700 Butler St. Two 27-year-old men from New York City were sitting in a Mercedes Benz, when they were approached by an unidentified man who displayed a handgun and demanded "everything" or he would shoot, Hillis said. The men handed over $2,000 in cash and four diamond necklaces worth $20,000, Hillis said. The robber got into the Civic and drove away and the victims followed, chasing him into Easton, according to police. The robber fired one shot at the victims' car, hitting the driver's side door, police said. No one was injured. The robber then crashed in Easton, hitting two parked cars. The robber abandoned the car and ran away, and police found cash around the center console and a black handgun on the passenger side floor. The victims have not cooperated with police, Hillis said. Police impounded the robber's car and the victim's car. Police are trying to find surveillance video of the incident as well as ascertain ownership of the handgun, Hillis said. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. The Lehigh County Coroner's Office is seeking the next of kin for a 73-year-old Luzerne County man who died Sunday. The man is being identified as Krste Svrgovski, of Pardeesville. Svrgovski was pronounced dead at noon Sunday at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Salisbury Township. An autopsy is being scheduled Monday to determine Svrgovski's cause and manner of death. The death is being investigated by Pennsylvania State Police in Hazelton and the Lehigh County Coroner's Office. However, Chief Deputy Coroner Andrew Kehm said the death is not being considered suspicious. Anyone with family information of Svrgovski asked to call the Lehigh County Coroner's Office at 610-782-3426. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. By Sarah Cassi | lehighvalleylive.com Don't Edit The United States Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force conducted a warrant sweep last week in the Lehigh Valley, netting six arrests. The task force includes members of The Pennsylvania State Police, agents from PA State Parole board and members of the Northampton County Sheriff Departments Criminal Warrant Division. Don't Edit Courtesy photo Jamone Dabney Don't Edit Jamone Dabeny, 18, of Easton, was wanted for allegedly violating his bail in an indecent assault case. Dabney, a former employee at the Boys and Girls Club of Easton, was accused of indecently assaulting a 14-year-old girl and sending inappropriate messages to a 13-year-old girl last year. Dabney pleaded guilty to indecent assault in November, and was awaiting sentencing in the case. He was free on $10,000 unsecured bail. In December, Dabney's bail was revoked for violating the terms of his bail, and a warrant was issued for his arrest, records show. Don't Edit Courtesy Photo Branden Vargas Don't Edit Don't Edit Branden Vargas, 21, was arrested Thursday in a home in the 700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue in Bangor. Bangor police were looking for a fugitive in the borough, and found several pounds of marijuana, a firearm and drug paraphernalia in the home, police said. A child was in the home, and Northampton County's division of children, youth and families were contacted, police said. Vargas was charged with possession with intent to deliver and possession of marijuana; two counts of possession of a controlled substance; and three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $15,000.00 bail. Don't Edit Courtesy photo James Peteto Don't Edit James Peteto, 48, of Hellertown, was wanted for failing to appear at a pretrial conference in Allentown in a theft case. Peteto is accused of being hired to do work on a truck in 2014, but instead failing to do the work and abandoning the vehicle in a ditch when he was evicted from his property. Peteto was in a first-time offenders program in the Northampton County case, but was removed from the program in 2016, records show. Peteto was free on his own volition while awaiting trial, but he failed to appear in court in October, and a bench warrant was issued, records state. Petetp was arrested Wednesday in the 1400 block of East Woodlawn Street in Allentown, and he was released on $20,000 unsecured bail. Don't Edit Courtesy Photo Kelly Warrelmann Don't Edit Kelly Warrelmann, 34, of Bethlehem, was wanted by the Office of The Inspector General for felony public assistance fraud; charges were filed Dec. 1 in Northampton County. Warrelmann was arrested Tuesday in the 600 Block of Washington Street in Easton, and was released on $10,000 unsecured bail. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 26. Don't Edit Don't Edit Courtesy Photo Timothy Vrontisis Don't Edit Timothy Vrontisis, D.O.B. 4/16/98, was apprehended in the 90 block of Gaffney Hill Road in Williams Township. Vrontisis was wanted by The Northampton County Sheriff's Department on two separate cases. Vrontisis failed to appear for criminal court on the original charges of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property. He also failed to appear for formal arraignment on the original charges of criminal mischief. Vrontisis was taken into custody without incident and is in The Northampton County Prison awaiting disposition on his cases. Don't Edit Courtesy Photo Jason Dudeck Jason Dudeck (Courtesy Photo) Don't Edit Jason Dudeck, 42, of Easton, was wanted for allegedly violating parole in two cases in Northampton County. Dudeck was paroled previously for a 2009 forgery case and a 2011 theft case, before being re-paroled in both cases in 2013, records show. He failed to show for a parole violation in one case in the theft case and a probation violation hearing in the forgery case, authorities said. Dudeck was arrested Thursday in the 2000 block of Lincoln Avenue in Northampton borough and sent to Northampton County Prison while he awaits hearings in both cases. Don't Edit Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Don't Edit THE brother of Limerick murder victim Martin Clancy has thanked the community of Moyross for its support following his death earlier this month. Eight days after the 45-year-old was found dead at his home on Little OCurry Street, mourners gathered to pay their final respects at Corpus Christi Church in Moyross. The community in Moyross, it stood out this week, especially in the house, John Clancy told the church. People coming and going, laughing and joking. It was a sad occasion this week but it was a very funny occasion as well, for all of us because we were laughing and joking all week, telling stories. The neighbours that were calling in all week, Id like to thank you very much. Mr Clancy is survived by his parents, Joe and Mary,and seven brothers John, Willie, Joseph, Brendan, Peter, James and Christopher. Two men who were arrested as part of the investigation into Mr Clancy's death were released without charge on Friday, January 12. Gardai have confirmed that investigations are continuing and that a file is to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. There are no words that I know for an occasion like this, Moyross parish priest Father Pat Hogan told the funeral congregation. No words to explain anything or to make anything better. Im told that there is no greater pain for anyone than for a parent, a mother or father, to lose their children and lay them to rest. They say that is the greatest pain of all. For Joe and Mary, because having eight sons and losing one, how difficult it is for them and how difficult it has been for the last week, how difficult it will be. We cant imagine the journey they have been on for the last week or more. Theres a lot of waiting and anguish and loss and a lot of not knowing and everything very public. It may not have been an easy time and it wont be an easy time ahead. Loss cuts very deeply into family life, into parents especially. Such a loss as we know, affects people. You can see it in them mentally, you can see it in them physically, you can see it in their hearts. Loss is painful and it rips through people's hearts and peoples lives. Loss is something that doesnt go away but we learn to cope. We learn to kind of live again, we always have the memory and we always have that empty space. Mr Clancy was buried in Mount St Lawrence Cemetery. He is survived by his parents, his brothers, uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, grandnephew, extended family and friends. Stock Market News Airbus threatens to 'shut down' A380 production after poor sales 15-01-2018 15:15 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News Carillion contracts to be taken in-house or re-tendered, says government 15-01-2018 08:59 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News Europe midday: Stocks off lows despite renewed gains for euro 15-01-2018 12:55 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News FTSE 250 movers: Balfour, Galliford hit by Carillion fallout as Serco benefits 15-01-2018 14:02 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk Stock Market News Shell gives green light for revival of Penguins field in North Sea 15-01-2018 11:03 Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover Arthur Rojas Emersons path has taken him from a college student sweeping floors at KENS-TV to launching Telemundo stations in Texas before breaking out his own ad agency. His 2014 appointment as president and CEO of KLRN, San Antonios Public Broadcasting Service affiliate and the citys only locally owned television station, brought his now 53-year career nearly full circle. His first job behind the camera was for KLRN, when station legend Bill Moll rented nighttime studio space at KENS. Emersons tenure at KLRN hasnt been without controversy. He got some blowback last February after cutting a four-minute commentary by former Texas Week host Rick Casey that questioned comments made by conservative Republican Rep. Lamar Smith, who is retiring from Congress. The program was canceled in September after funding dried up, Emerson told viewers at the time. Its a challenging time to run a public television station, as federal funding of PBS has been called into question. Without the car dealership and pharmaceutical ads that keep commercial networks going, money has to come in from other sources, such as studio rentals, video uplinks, grants and fundraising, he said. Public versus commercial television is not that different of a sales game, Emerson said from KLRNs now state-of-the-art downtown studio, where four channels are broadcast to a 30-county area and Laredo. With his street fighters mentality and well-honed knack for pressing the flesh, he knows how to keep income coming in and programming streaming out. Emerson, a 73-year-old Brownsville native, sat down with the San Antonio Express-News to talk about himself including his collection of 30 guitars and penchant for blues artist Buddy Guy and what hes learned in his career. Turn to Mondays Business section or click here on ExpressNews.com to read an edited transcript of the interview. Lynn Brezosky is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | lbrezosky@express-news.net | @lbrezosky Members of the Buffalo Karen community girl's dance group perform at an event to celebrate the New Year on Sunday at Hackett Middle School in Albany. Members of the Utica Karen community dance group Toxik, perform below. The Karen (pronounced kahr-EHN) are an ethnic group from the mountainous regions of Thailand and Myanmar, formerly Burma. Geophagy means to consume earthly substances, and is usually practiced as a cultural tradition or to remedy mineral deficiency, according to Merriam-Webster.com. A word many have never heard of, 73-year-old former Lubbock resident David Nelson - a resident of Meyerland for the last 30 years - recites the spelling and definition effortlessly. In 1959, Nelson competed in the National Spelling Bee as an eighth-grader and placed 12th out of 70 after misspelling geophagy. "It's actually spelled g-e-o-p-h-a-g-y, and I put an 'f' in it," Nelson chuckles. Even though he didn't win, Nelson's experience at the National Spelling Bee was significant for other reasons, namely the moment he received a signed memento from then Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson. Nelson recalled his interaction with Johnson, and said what struck him most was Johnson's large size and powerful nature. At 5 feet 8 inches tall, Nelson remembered looking straight up just to make eye contact with Johnson, whose height surpassed 6 feet. "I could see that if he talked to you and shook your hand, it would be difficult, I think, to turn down a request from him," Nelson said. It was in that moment that Johnson gifted Nelson a souvenir: an autographed mechanical pencil, displaying a tiny photograph of the senator. To Nelson's disappointment, Johnson's signature has faded a bit since 1959, but Nelson's memory of the encounter seemed crystal clear. "He was congratulating us, of course not for winning the bee, but just for winning from our area in Lubbock," Nelson said. "He was very gracious." Nelson was one of nine Texas participants in the national bee that year. Placing 12th overall, he was the second-highest scoring participant from the state. The other participants from Texas that year included Kevin North, John Nelson, Jamie Lou Fuller, Elaine Hassell, John Kennedy, Charles Murphy, Gerardo Aguirre and Sam Hergert. Nelson didn't know if the other spellers received pens as well, but said they all took a group photograph with Johnson hours after Nelson was eliminated from the competition. As a prize for qualifying for the National Spelling Bee, Nelson and the others spent a week in Washington, D.C., touring historic locations. Nelson recalled eating the famous Senate Bean Soup in the Capitol. Before qualifying for the national competition, Nelson said he spent an hour per day practicing words from a booklet. Nelson's mom, a former spelling bee champion, helped him study for over a year, according to Nelson. "It didn't come naturally," Nelson said. "I actually was in it for three years. I had started entering in the sixth grade and I was third in the city that year." In his third and final year to enter, Nelson won his middle school's bee, the Lubbock city spelling bee, the Lubbock County bee and the regional bee before finally qualifying to go to the national bee. In 1959, Johnson wasn't yet a president, but Nelson said many Texans thought of him as powerful and influential. "Actually the next year, in 1960, when he ran for vice president, I think a lot of us from Texas were a little surprised that he would give up his very powerful position as senate majority leader to run for vice president," Nelson said. When Johnson initially ran for president against John F. Kennedy, Nelson said his family favored Johnson. Nelson laughed when he explained: Kennedy was from Massachusetts. "Oh yeah, we were big supporters of Lyndon Johnson back then," Nelson said. "He was from Texas, you know?" Nelson said, as a kid, he was excited while meeting Johnson and was equally thrilled to receive the signed mechanical pencil. To Nelson, the pencil grew in significance over time, especially after Johnson became president in 1963. "It is, far and away, my best keepsake or memento that I have from the National Spelling Bee," Nelson said. What puzzles Nelson to this day, however, is why Johnson chose a mechanical pencil instead of the common fountain pen. Nelson assumed Johnson never signed documents with the pencil, and Nelson's own theory is the mechanical pencil was chosen as a superior receptacle for the encased picture. Research on Johnson's use of mechanical pencils turns up little information, but political pencils were reportedly popular in the '50s and '60s, according to an article on Knoji.com. "I joked to someone that maybe it would be better if some of the legislation was signed in pencil," Nelson said. "Then if it turned out to be bad legislation you could erase it." Get ready to eat some cookies. The Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council enters the next century of Girl Scouts learning how to be future CEOs. The Girl Scout Cookie Program teaches girls essential entrepreneurial skills but also powers amazing experiences for girls across the United States, including outdoor and travel opportunities, exposure to STEM and ways to improve their communities through service projects. This year, GSSJC is rallying the community to donate more than 10,000 cases, or 120,000 packages, of Girl Scout Cookies to first responders who provided relief during Hurricane Harvey across the 26-county jurisdiction as part of Cookies4Heroes. "Following their extraordinary efforts during Hurricane Harvey, we want to tell first responders across southeast Texas, thank you," said Mary Vitek, GSSJC's CEO. "First responders have always been very supportive of Girl Scouts by opening their doors to teach girls about their profession and the positive work they are doing in our communities." Cookies4Heroes is a program where cookie customers can support Girl Scouts by purchasing cookies and donating their purchase. These cookies are given by the council to first responders and groups that support the military. To participate, customers need to let the Girl Scout who is taking their order know that they would like their cookies to be donated to Cookies4Heroes. Cookies will arrive in Houston and surrounding areas Feb. 10-17, and customers can begin purchasing cookies at booths Feb. 23. The last day to purchase Girl Scout Cookies is March 25. Almost 1 million Girl Scouts participate in the Cookie Program in the United States each year, generating nearly $800 million in sales during the average season. And all 100 percent of net revenue raised locally stays within the Council area. Councils use cookie earnings to power amazing experiences for girls through their programming, while girls and their troops decide how to invest in impactful community projects. Fort Bend County officials urged Fresno- and Missouri City-area residents to remain patient with a troubled road construction project facing further delays at a recent Town Hall Meeting. For some, it was a hard sell. "My family and I have lived in this neighborhood for about 10 years and they've been working on Trammel Fresno Road for that long. It's a shame our children can't walk 200 feet to go to high school," Travis Dixon told county officials during the meeting's question-and-answer session. "That road is horrible and it's been like that for years. It's very dangerous and all we get is 'Wait until 2020?'" The $20.9 million phase one construction project to widen a three-mile section of Trammel Fresno Road started in March of 2015. It was expected to be complete by 2017. But, three years later and only 33 percent complete, officials now estimate the project will be finished sometime in 2020. Fort Bend County Commissioner Vincent M. Morales Jr. explained the project's troubled history, which began in 2001 when funds for design and planning were approved as part of the county's first mobility bond was approved by voters. A 2007 bond referendum provided funding for construction. But when the Texas Department of Transportation offered to provide a portion of the funding and be a partner, county officials felt it was a good opportunity and agreed. But disagreements over the county's work to acquire rights to private property needed to complete the project created long delays. "The task of getting all the families to agree to sell portions of their properties along the road was a very difficult task," Morales told residents. State officials disagreed with how the county had handled some of the agreements and that had to be sorted out, Morales said. In addition, environmental concerns and identifying and protecting underground utilities also proved time-consuming. Then, Hurricane Harvey came around and created more delays. Morales encouraged residents to remain patient with the process. "We do all we can to keep these contractors honest. But, the reality is this is an active construction site," Morales said. "We had to do a lot of things to get this road done. If you're building a road in the middle of nowhere it would be easy enough to do. But, if you're building a road in an area that's already part of a neighborhood, that's much more difficult." Dixon and others from the crowd of roughly 150 residents also voiced concerns related to Hurricane Harvey flooding, whether security patrols provided via a contract with Fort Bend County Constable Gary Majors' office needed to be increased, ongoing issues related to illegal trash dumping, problems with the neighborhood trash services and an oil well blowout that caused a bad odor for weeks last December. State Rep. Ron Reynolds updated residents on clean-up efforts related to the oil well blowout that started Dec. 6. "Some of the state regulations are actually very lax and I will be honest in that they favor oil companies and big business," Reynolds told residents. "I fight against that at the state level on an ongoing basis. But, this spill was horrendous and the smell was noticeable as far away as Pearland." Reynolds said officials from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) had reporter the oil well had been capped and the spill was now resolved. "Unfortunately, accidents happen. But, my office made sure the company worked around the clock to get it resolved. I made sure the site was cleaned up in a timely fashion and the company responsible was not able to pass the buck," Reynolds said. "And, I held TCEQ and the Texas Railroad Commission accountable." Company officials say cleanup efforts results in the removal of more than 240,000 gallons of crude and 30,000 gallons of sludge. The spill was caused by an oil well blowout near the Fort Bend County Tollway and FM 2234 on Dec. 6. The oil well was operated by IWR Operating, LLC. TCEQ officials say the spill poses no ongoing health risks. Raleigh, N.C. When truck driver Chris Gromek wants to know what's really going on in Washington, he scans the internet and satellite radio. He no longer flips TV channels because networks such as Fox News and MSNBC deliver conflicting accounts tainted by politics, he says. "Where is the truth?" asks the 47-year-old North Carolina resident. Answering that question accurately is a cornerstone of any functioning democracy, according to none other than Thomas Jefferson. But a year into Donald Trump's fact-bending, media-bashing presidency, Americans are increasingly confused about who can be trusted to tell them reliably what their government and their commander in chief are doing. Interviews across the polarized country as well as polling from Trump's first year suggest people seek out various outlets of information, including Trump's Twitter account, and trust none in particular. Many say that practice is a new, Trump-era phenomenon in their lives as the president and the media he denigrates as "fake news" fight to be seen as the more credible source. "It has made me take every story with a large grain, a block of salt," said Lori Viars, a Christian conservative activist in Lebanon, Ohio, who gets her news from Fox and CNN. "Not just from liberal sources. I've seen conservative 'fake news.'" Democrat Kathy Tibbits of Tahlequah, Okla., reads lots of news sources as she tries to assess the accuracy of what Trump is reported to have said. "I kind of think the whole frontier has changed," said the 60-year-old lawyer and artist. "My degree is in political science, and they never gave us a class on such fiasco politics." Trump has done his part to blur the lines between real and not. During the campaign, he made a practice of singling out for ridicule reporters covering his raucous rallies. As president, he regularly complains about his news coverage and has attacked news outlets and journalists as "failing" and "fake news." He's repeatedly called reporters "the enemy of the people" and recently renewed calls to make it easier to sue for defamation. About 2 in 3 American adults say fabricated news stories cause a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current affairs, according to a Pew Research Center report last month. The survey found that Republicans and Democrats are about equally likely to say that "fake news" leaves Americans deeply confused about current events. Despite the concern, more than 8 in 10 feel very or somewhat confident that they can recognize news that is fabricated, the survey found. Victoria Steel, 50, of Cheyenne, Wyo., said it's important for people to invest time in finding reputable media sources or even friends to get the most information they can. "You're probably not going to get enough information out of sound bites, and you're certainly not going to get it in a tweet," said Steel, who says she voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. Two-thirds of Americans get at least some of their news from social media, Pew found. Using some of their most urgent language since President Donald Trump took office, nuclear experts are warning that Hawaii's false alarm, in which state agencies alerted locals to a nonexistent missile attack, underscores a growing risk of unintended nuclear war with North Korea. To understand the connection, you need to go back to the tragedy of Korean Air Lines Flight 007. In 1983, a Korean airliner bound from Anchorage, Alaska, to Seoul, South Korea, strayed into Soviet airspace. Air defense officers, mistaking it for a U.S. spy plane that had been loitering nearby, tried to establish contact. They fired warning shots. When no response came, they shot it down, killing all 269 people on board. But the graver lesson may be what happened next. Though it was quickly evident that the downing had been a mistake, mutual distrust and the logic of nuclear deterrence set Washington and Moscow heading toward a conflict neither wanted. The story illustrated how imperfect information, aggressive defense postures and minutes-long response times brought both sides hurtling toward possible nuclear war a set of dynamics that can feel disconcertingly familiar today. Ronald Reagan had taken office in 1981 pledging to confront the Soviet Union. Though he intended to deter Soviet aggression, Moscow read his threats and condemnations he had declared its government an "evil empire" that must be brought to an end as preludes to war. Trump's White House has issued its own threats against North Korea, suggesting that it might pursue war to halt the country's weapons development. The 1983 shooting down, on its own, might have passed as a terrible mistake. But the superpowers had only fragmentary understanding of something that had happened on the far fringes of Soviet territory. In an atmosphere of distrust, technical and bureaucratic snafus drove each to suspect the other of deception. Moscow received contradictory reports as to whether its pilots had shot down an airliner or a spy plane, and Soviet leaders were biased toward trusting their own. So when they declared it a legal interception of a U.S. military incursion, U.S. leaders, who knew this to be false, assumed Soviet leaders were lying. Moscow had downed the airliner deliberately, some concluded, in an act of undeclared war. At the same time, Washington made a mirror-image set of mistakes suggesting that such misreadings are not just possible, but dangerously likely. Reagan accused Moscow of deliberately targeting the civilian airliner. He denounced Soviet society itself as rotten and in pursuit of world domination. In fact, a CIA assessment included in the president's daily briefing had concluded the incident was likely an error. Reagan appeared to have simply missed it. But Soviet leaders had never considered this; they assumed Reagan was lying about their intentions. Some concluded he had somehow lured the Soviet Union into downing the aircraft as cover for a pre-emptive attack, which they feared might come at any moment. Each read the other's blundering as intentional, deepening suspicions among hard-liners that the other side was laying the groundwork for war. And if war was coming, the logic of nuclear deterrence all but required firing first. Nuclear-armed missiles gave one power the capability of completely disarming another in a matter of minutes. This created something called first-strike instability, in which firing first even if you think you might be firing in error is the only way to be sure of preventing your own obliteration. The result was that the United States and the Soviet Union repeatedly went to the brink of war over provocations or even technical misreadings. Often, officials had mere minutes to decide whether to retaliate against seemingly real or impending attacks without being able to fully verify whether an attack was actually underway. In the logic of nuclear deterrence, firing would have been the rational choice. That dynamic is heightened with North Korea, which is thought to have only a few dozen warheads and so must fire them immediately to prevent their destruction in the event of war. Had the turmoil unfolded during a major crisis or period of heightened threats, North Korean leaders could have misread the Hawaiian warning as cover for an attack, much as the Soviets had done in 1983. No one died in Hawaii's false alarm. But deaths are not necessary for a mistake to lead to war. Just three months after the airliner was shot down, a Soviet early warning system falsely registered a massive U.S. launch. Nuclear war may have only been averted because the Soviet officer in charge, operating purely on a hunch, reported it as an error. Washington The uproar over President Donald Trump's vulgar remark on immigration took a bitter turn Sunday as lawmakers attacked one another in unusually personal terms and hopes dimmed for any quick deal to protect young unauthorized immigrants and avert a government shutdown. Trump declared that the Obama-era program shielding those immigrants from deportation was "probably dead," while a Republican senator who attended the Thursday meeting where the president addressed immigration denied that Trump had used the phrase "shithole" in describing African nations. The senator, David Perdue of Georgia, said Trump "did not use that word," and he accused another participant in the White House meeting, Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., of a "gross misrepresentation" of what the president had said at the session. He and another Republican senator at the meeting, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, had previously said they did "not recall the president saying these comments specifically." But by Sunday, their recollections appeared to have sharpened, and Cotton joined Perdue in disputing Durbin's account. The two senators' latest assertions also seemed to conflict with the account of another Republican senator who was at the meeting, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The rift over Trump's comments, and how they have since been recounted, risked further eroding trust between Democrats and Republicans at the beginning of a critical week for Congress. Government funding is set to expire Friday, and lawmakers will need to pass a stopgap spending measure to avoid a government shutdown on Saturday. And lawmakers are already facing a difficult fight over the politically volatile subject of immigration, with the fates of hundreds of thousands of young immigrants hanging in the balance. Adding to the uncertain picture for those immigrants, the Trump administration resumed accepting renewals for the program over the weekend, under orders from a federal judge who is hearing a legal challenge to Trump's dismantling of the program. But in Congress, the battle took on an increasingly personal angle as Perdue and Cotton accused Durbin of lying about the president's comments, even after the vulgar remarks were widely reported and the White House did not immediately dispute that the president had made them. "I didn't hear that word either," Cotton said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "And I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin was." Cotton said Durbin "has a history of misrepresenting what happens in White House meetings." BEIRUT - Lebanon's authorities have ordered a ban on the movie "The Post" because of director Stephen Spielberg's associations with Israel, amid an intensifying climate of censorship in what has historically been one of the Arab world's freest countries. The Censorship Committee of the General Security Directorate decided to ban the film, which was due to open in Lebanon on Jan. 18, in accordance with laws obliging Lebanon to enforce the Arab League's boycott of Israel, said directorate spokesperson Nabil Hanoun on Monday. Spielberg, who is Jewish, was placed on the Arab League blacklist of sanctioned individuals after his foundation gave a $1 million donation to relief efforts in Israel during its 2006 war with Lebanon's Hezbollah movement. Most of Spielberg's subsequent films have, however, been shown in Lebanon without problems - except that his name was blacked out from the poster advertising "The Adventures of Tintin." Free speech advocates in Lebanon noted the irony of banning a movie whose plot promotes press freedoms. "The Post," starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, tells the story of the late Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham's decision to defy attempts by the courts to suppress reporting of the Pentagon Papers. "Why is The Post on the chopping block?" asked Gino Raidy of the March advocacy group, on his blog. "Is it because it idolizes journalists who stand up to the powers that be when they do wrong, and choose truth and justice over government bullying?" But the decision was made entirely on the basis of Spielberg's interactions with Israel, Hanoun said. The Interior Ministry has the final word on implementing the ban, he said, but it is unusual for the ministry to overturn the decision of the censorship committee. This latest prohibition illustrates what appears to be a growing appetite on the part of the Lebanese authorities for implementing the country's often arbitrary censorship laws, and especially those pertaining to Israel. The action movie "Wonder Woman" was refused permission to be shown last year because the lead actress, Gal Gadot, is an Israeli citizen who had served in the Israeli military. In the past week the country has been gripped by the outcry directed toward its world-renowned fashion designer, Elie Saab, after she posted a photograph on her Instagram account showing Gadot wearing one of her dresses. Saab has since deleted the photo. With less fanfare, the movie "Jungle," starring Daniel Radcliffe, was banned in December because the story of survival in the Bolivian jungle was based on the autobiography of an Israeli citizen, Yossi Ghinsberg. What seems especially incongruous is that Lebanon is one of the few countries in the Arab world still vigorously boycotting Israel, Raidy said. "Lebanon is the only one doing it, and not even close to consistently, calling to question the point of these pointless bans, and their negative effects on the state of arts and culture in the tiny country." Lebanon is also the only country, apart from Syria, that maintains a hostile border with Israel, leaving it with a greater sense of vulnerability than other Arab states, say proponents of the boycott. Israel occupied large areas of southern Lebanon between 1978 and 2000. In 2006, it waged a month-long war against Hezbollah after the movement's fighters abducted two Israeli soldiers. Over 1,000 Lebanese civilians and 43 Israeli civilians died in the fighting. There is no incongruity in seeking to enforce laws restricting contact with an enemy power, said Samah Idriss, a founding member of the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon, which promotes the laws banning contact with Israelis. Rather, he said, the relaxation of the laws in recent years was an exception that needs to be reversed, especially at a time when other Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, are reported to be pursuing closer ties with Israel. "Israel is still officially at war with Lebanon and when two states are at war it is normal for them to take certain measures against each other," he said. "Lebanon, or certain sectors in Lebanon, have recently realized the dangers of cultural and academic normalization with Israel . . . after this whole Arab overture to Israel." The renewed focus on the boycott laws also coincides with a wider clampdown against free speech that has been discernible since President Michel Aoun came to office in 2016, raising concerns of free speech advocates. In early January, the courts issued an arrest warrant for a television presenter, Maria Maalouf, after she criticized Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. A television talk show host, Marcel Ghanem, is being prosecuted for criticizing the judiciary. Over the years, however, a variety of films have been banned for reasons that often are arbitrary and randomly enforced. The 2015 movie "Spotlight," about the Boston Globe's investigation into the abuse of children by the Catholic clergy, was barred apparently because it cast the Catholic Church in a bad light (around half of Lebanon's population is Christian). "Independence Day" and "True Lies" were barred for portraying Arabs in a bad light, and almost all movies featuring homosexuality are forbidden. Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit legislation returns to Parliament this week, where pro-European Conservative lawmakers who stung her once before will hold their fire and leave the fight for more changes to allies in the upper house. Instead of rebelling again, Tories seeking to preserve ties with the European Union will use the debate to send signals the House of Lords, where members are overwhelmingly anti-Brexit, according to two Tory lawmakers with knowledge of the situation. The European Union Withdrawal Bill returns for debate in the lower chamber on Tuesday and Wednesday. May can still expect roadblocks to be put up by opposition Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who both said Sunday they'll oppose the bill in its current form. That underlines the challenge for the government in passing the legislation, which aims to enshrine all EU laws in domestic legislation to smooth Brexit. Labour submitted five amendments for debate this week. "We've set down our lines on that, which are about democratic accountability, are about protection of workers, environment and consumer rights, and are about human rights," Corbyn said in an interview on ITV's "Peston on Sunday" show. "If our tests are not met by the government, then we will vote against the bill." Sturgeon said she isn't ready to recommend approval of the bill by Scottish lawmakers. While May's alliance with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party means her minority administration has the votes to win, she would have been vulnerable to any rebellion by "Remain"-supporting Tories. In December, they defied her by forcing through a provision for Parliament to hold a meaningful vote on the final terms of the Brexit deal with the EU. This week, they'll instead signal to the Lords the need to make changes on human rights and on returning powers to devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, said one of the lawmakers, who asked not to be identified talking about a future debate. After clearing the Commons, the bill goes to the Lords, where peers are more hostile to Brexit. It's due for its first two days of debate in the upper chamber on Jan. 30 and 31. "There is a large majority of people in the Lords who feel that Brexit is a national disaster," Dick Newby, leader of the Liberal Democrats' 100 peers in the upper chamber, said in an interview on Jan. 9. He indicated that peers will seek to change the bill, depending on what concessions the government makes in the Commons. The Liberal Democrats won't be alone in the Lords in trying to reverse Brexit. Many Labour peers also oppose leaving the EU. One of them, Andrew Adonis, quit as May's infrastructure adviser at the end of 2017, describing the bill as "the worst legislation of my lifetime," and vowing to "oppose it relentlessly from the Labour benches." On Sunday, Adonis told ITV that he now thinks a second referendum is "inevitable" on the terms May secures in any final Brexit deal. May's Tories don't have a majority in the Lords to pass her legislation, so the government will have to seek consensus. There's the potential for a Tory rebellion, too, after more than a dozen Conservative peers, including Ros Altmann, a former minister, Patience Wheatcroft, and Douglas Hogg voted against elements of last year's bill to trigger Brexit. Another potential barrier comes from outside Westminster. The final law must also be approved by the semi-autonomous legislatures of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, under a non-binding convention known as "legislative consent." That may not be forthcoming. "Right now, I cannot and will not recommend to the Scottish Parliament approval of the withdrawal bill, because it's a power grab on the powers of the Scottish Parliament," Sturgeon said on Sunday on BBC television's "Andrew Marr Show." She acknowledged that a vote in the Scottish chamber isn't binding but warned that it's "unthinkable" the Parliament in London would ignore it. "We've never been in this territory before," Sturgeon said. She and her Welsh counterpart, Carwyn Jones, attacked the bill in July and have yet to reach a compromise with May. The government has proposed its own amendments to allay some of the rebel concerns. The proposals would limit the powers of ministers to make revisions without consulting lawmakers, grant additional law-changing ability to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and let citizens and businesses begin legal proceedings to appeal against changes in the law for three months after Britain leaves the EU. Police arrested a Texas teacher who is accused of giving minors alcohol during a New Year's Eve party as well as her son after he was accused of sexually assaulting a guest. Wylie East High School teacher Kristi Crawford, 46, is charged with furnishing alcohol to minors while her son Jacob Crawford, 17, faces charges of sexual assault of a child, according to the Dallas Morning News. The pair were arrested Wednesday and posted bond Thursday and were released from the Collin County Detention Center, the newspaper reports. The search for a Live Oak Police Department K9 continued Monday, a day after it disappeared from its handlers home. Warrant, a brindle-colored Dutch Shepherd, was last seen early Sunday morning in Universal City, according to a news release from the police department. The dog is 2 years old and weighs 70 pounds. Family photos A Mexican immigrant's death near Houston after he was evacuated from the path of Hurricane Irma in September marked the end of the deadliest year for immigrants held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in eight years. Felipe Almazan-Ruiz, 51, was taken to a hospital days after being booked into an immigration contract detention facility in Livingston, according to ICE. Almazan-Ruiz initially had been arrested by ICE in Miami in July, but ended up in Texas after hurricanes struck both states. He died Sept. 17 from cardiac arrest. Mr. George Rigal, Sr., 88, was called by our Lord into eternal rest on Tuesday, January 9, 2018, surrounded by his loving family. Born in Laredo, Texas, on November 10, 1929, Mr. Rigal lived a life of fulfilment and of service. He proudly served our country in the Korean War and then served our community as a dedicated and respected educator. Teaching from elementary level to secondary and post-secondary education within Laredo Independent School District and Laredo Community College, his career spanned 44 years. He believed in having a strong work ethic and was always industrious, working in several other occupations, as well. Through his example, he taught his family to embrace each day and to rise to meet life with faith, joy, laughter, humility, forbearance, fortitude, integrity, and the love for family and home. His was a life actualized that will continue to inspire and serve as an example for all of us. He leaves us now to serve our Lord in Heaven. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Blanca Aurora Rigal, parents; Jose and Luz Rigal and his siblings; Ernesto, Hector and Lidia Rigal. Over 10 years of '10 of the bests' Top-rated articles to help you choose what's best for you While an earthquake usually causes destruction, they can also create natural wonders like what we now see with the new 'quake lake' which has become a popular tourist attraction. Before the earthquake, the lake was merely a small river, but after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake of 2016, the river transformed into a lake after a 150-meter landslide fell into the Hapuku River. Our 10 favourite New Zealand summer swimming holes. The top 10 most Instagrammed places in NZ that you need to visit this summer. MIP Year End 175 Read and download our latest magazine in full with our digital edition, available on flickread: Year-End 2017 issue The issue includes interesting exclusive research from our IP Stars team. The PCT Leaders Report 2017 reveals the top filing firms for international PCT applications between 2014 and 2016 in 19 of the most important patenting jurisdictions. The issues cover story analyses how big a threat the use of tribal sovereign immunity is to the PTAB in the US. Elsewhere, we have articles on how artificial intelligence will change trade mark law, recent patent damages developments in China, analysis of district court stays pending PTAB review in the past 12 months, and trends in trade dress litigation. In addition, we have regular sections including the Utynums Heirs column noting IP curiosities, our people moves round-up and sponsored international briefings with updates from around the globe. The material on this site is for law firms, companies and other IP specialists. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article New Delhi: Setting aside protocol, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on last day received his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrived in New Delhi on a six-day visit. Modi received Prime Minister Netanyahu at the airport. He welcomed Netanyahu with a hug upon his arrival. During the visit, the two leaders will hold comprehensive dialogue on a variety of issues. The two attended a solemn ceremony at the Teen Murti Memorial in New Delhi last noon to mark the formal renaming of the Teen Murti Chowk as the Teen Murti Haifa Chowk. The two leaders also laid a wreath, and signed the visitor's book at the memorial, official sources said. New Delhi: Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a "marriage made in heaven", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that even though the Jewish state was "disappointed" by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. Netanyahu said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. "Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward," Netanyahu said when asked to comment on India's vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits," he told 'India Today' in an interview. Niki Lauda looks to be on the verge of relaunching his career in the aviation business. The former Formula 1 world champion originally set up Lauda Air in 1979 after retiring from the sport. He sold that business to Austrian Airlines in 2000. In 2003 he created budget airline Niki after buying up the assets of failed carrier Aero Lloyd Austria. He subsequently decided to quit the airline business in 2013 in order to focus on his duties as non-executive chairman at Mercedes. But after the Niki airline was placed in administration, Lauda confirmed that he would be making a bid to reclaim it. I will, of course, make an offer for Niki by January 19, Lauda told Germanys Handelsblatt business daily this weekend. That's the new deadline for bids set by the court in the Austrian town of Korneuburg, where Niki's fate is being decided. Lauda was pleased that the legal process had been moved to his native country. Administrators in Germany had provisionally agreed to sell Niki to British Airways owner IAG. "The insolvency process is finally there where it belongs, in Austria," he told Reuters. "I regret that so much time was wasted with the detour through Germany." The 68-year-old had previously been mooted as a possible buyer of the business as part of the breakup of its failed parent Air Berlin. That bid would have been with a number of unspecified business partners. However, his interest in Niki will be as a sole bidder. Lauda did not specify how much he was prepared to bid in order to get control of Niki. He would also not be drawn on whether taking back the business might mean he spends less time on Formula 1. Lauda recently quit his role as F1 pundit for German broadcaster RTL. He's also spoken of retiring after 2020. Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter The following editorial is the last known piece of writing by Rosa Luxemburg. It was written just after the Spartacus uprising was crushed by the German government and in the hours prior to the arrest and murder of her and Karl Liebknecht by the Friekorps. "Order prevails in Warsaw!" declared Minister Sebastiani to the Paris Chamber of Deputies in 1831, when after having stormed the suburb of Praga, Paskevichs marauding troops invaded the Polish capital to begin their butchery of the rebels. "Order prevails in Berlin!" So proclaims the bourgeois press triumphantly, so proclaim Ebert and Noske, and the officers of the "victorious troops," who are being cheered by the petty-bourgeois mob in Berlin waving handkerchiefs and shouting "Hurrah!" The glory and honor of German arms have been vindicated before world history. Those who were routed in Flanders and the Argonne have restored their reputation with a brilliant victory -- over three hundred "Spartacists" in the Vorwarts building. The days when glorious German troops first crossed into Belgium, and the days of General von Emmich, the conqueror of Liege, pale before the exploits of Reinhardt and Co. in the streets of Berlin. The governments rampaging troops massacred the mediators who had tried to negotiate the surrender of the Vorwarts building, using their rifle butts to beat them beyond recognition. Prisoners who were lined up against the wall and butchered so violently that skull and brain tissue splattered everywhere. In the sight of glorious deeds such as those, who would remember the ignominious defeat at the hands of the French, British, and Americans? Now "Spartacus" is the enemy, Berlin is the place where our officers can savor triumph, and Noske, "the worker," is the general who can lead victories where Ludendorff failed. Who is not reminded of that drunken celebration by the "law and order" mob in Paris, that Bacchanal of the bourgeoisie celebrated over the corpses of the Communards? That same bourgeoisie who had just shamefully capitulated to the Prussians and abandoned the capital to the invading enemy, taking to their heels like abject cowards. Oh, how the manly courage of those darling sons of the bourgeoisie, of the "golden youth," and of the officer corps flared back to life against the poorly armed, starving Parisian proletariat and their defenseless women and children. How these courageous sons of Mars, who had buckled before the foreign enemy, raged with bestial cruelty against defenseless people, prisoners, and the fallen. "Order prevails in Warsaw!" "Order prevails in Paris!" "Order prevails in Berlin!" Every half-century that is what the bulletins from the guardians of "order" proclaim from one center of the world-historic struggle to the next. And the jubilant "victors" fail to notice that any "order" that needs to be regularly maintained through bloody slaughter heads inexorably toward its historic destiny; its own demise. What was this recent "Spartacus week" in Berlin? What has it brought? What does it teach us? While we are still in the midst of battle, while the counterrevolution is still howling about their victory, revolutionary proletarians must take stock of what happened and measure the events and their results against the great yardstick of history. The revolution has no time to lose, it continues to rush headlong over still-open graves, past "victories" and "defeats," toward its great goal. The first duty of fighters for international socialism is to consciously follow the revolutions principles and its path. Spartacus uprising barricades / Image: Verlag J. J. Weber in Leipzig Was the ultimate victory of the revolutionary proletariat to be expected in this conflict? Could we have expected the overthrow Ebert-Scheidemann and the establishment of a socialist dictatorship? Certainly not, if we carefully consider all the variables that weigh upon the question. The weak link in the revolutionary cause is the political immaturity of the masses of soldiers, who still allow their officers to misuse them, against the people, for counterrevolutionary ends. This alone shows that no lasting revolutionary victory was possible at this juncture. On the other hand, the immaturity of the military is itself a symptom of the general immaturity of the German revolution. The countryside, from which a large percentage of rank-and-file soldiers come, has hardly been touched by the revolution. So far, Berlin has remained virtually isolated from the rest of the country. The revolutionary centers in the provinces -- the Rhineland, the northern coast, Brunswick, Saxony, Wurttemburg -- have been heart and soul behind the Berlin workers, it is true. But for the time being they still do not march forward in lockstep with one another, there is still no unity of action, which would make the forward thrust and fighting will of the Berlin working class incomparably more effective. Furthermore, there is -- and this is only the deeper cause of the political immaturity of the revolution -- the economic struggle, the actual volcanic font that feeds the revolution, is only in its initial stage. And that is the underlying reason why the revolutionary class struggle, is in its infancy. From all this that flows the fact a decisive, lasting victory could not be counted upon at this moment. Does that mean that the past weeks struggle was an "error"? The answer is yes if we were talking about a premeditated "raid" or "putsch." But what triggered this week of combat? As in all previous cases, such as December 6 and December 24, it was a brutal provocation by the government. Like the bloodbath against defenseless demonstrators in Chausseestrasse, like the butchery of the sailors, this time the assault on the Berlin police headquarters was the cause of all the events that followed. The revolution does not develop evenly of its own volition, in a clear field of battle, according to a cunning plan devised by clever "strategists." The revolutions enemies can also take the initiative, and indeed as a rule they exercise it more frequently than does the revolution. Faced with the brazen provocation by Ebert-Scheidemann, the revolutionary workers were forced to take up arms. Indeed, the honor of the revolution depended upon repelling the attack immediately, with full-force in order to prevent the counterrevolution from being encouraged to press forward, and lest the revolutionary ranks of the proletariat and the moral credit of the German revolution in the International be shaken. The immediate and spontaneous outpouring of resistance from the Berlin masses flowed with such energy and determination that in the first round the moral victory was won by the "streets." Now, it is one of the fundamental, inner laws of revolution that it never stands still, it never becomes passive or docile at any stage, once the first step has been taken. The best defense is a strong blow. This is the elementary rule of any fight but it is especially true at each and every stage of the revolution. It is a demonstration of the healthy instinct and fresh inner strength of the Berlin proletariat that it was not appeased by the reinstatement of Eichorn (which it had demanded), rather the proletariat spontaneously occupied the command posts of the counter-revolution: the bourgeois press, the semi-official press agency, the Vorwarts office. All these measures were a result of the masses instinctive realization that, for its part, the counter-revolution would not accept defeat but would carry on with a general demonstration of its strength. Here again we stand before one of the great historical laws of the revolution against which are smashed to pieces all the sophistry and arrogance of the petty USPD variety "revolutionaries" who look for any pretext to retreat from struggle. As soon as the fundamental problem of the revolution has been clearly posed -- and in this revolution it is the overthrow of the Ebert-Scheidemann government, the primary obstacle to the victory of socialism -- then this basic problem will rise again and again in its entirety. With the inevitability of a natural law, every individual chapter in the struggle will unveil this problem to its full extent regardless of how unprepared the revolution is ready to solve it or how unripe the situation may be. "Down with Ebert-Scheidemann!" -- this slogan springs forth inevitably in each revolutionary crisis as the only formula summing up all partial struggles. Thus automatically, by its own internal, objective logic, bringing each episode in the struggle to a boil, whether one wants it to or not. Because of the contradiction in the early stages of the revolutionary process between the task being sharply posed and the absence of any preconditions to resolve it, individual battles of the revolution end in formal defeat. But revolution is the only form of "war" -- and this is another peculiar law of history -- in which the ultimate victory can be prepared only by a series of "defeats." What does the entire history of socialism and of all modern revolutions show us? The first spark of class struggle in Europe, the revolt of the silk weavers in Lyon in 1831, ended with a heavy defeat; the Chartist movement in Britain ended in defeat; the uprising of the Parisian proletariat in the June days of 1848 ended with a crushing defeat; and the Paris commune ended with a terrible defeat. The whole road of socialism -- so far as revolutionary struggles are concerned -- is paved with nothing but thunderous defeats. Yet, at the same time, history marches inexorably, step by step, toward final victory! Where would we be today without those "defeats," from which we draw historical experience, understanding, power and idealism? Today, as we advance into the final battle of the proletarian class war, we stand on the foundation of those very defeats; and we can do without any of them, because each one contributes to our strength and understanding. Freikorps in Berlin 1919/ Image: public domain The revolutionary struggle is the very antithesis of the parliamentary struggle. In Germany, for four decades we had nothing but parliamentary "victories." We practically walked from victory to victory. And when faced with the great historical test of August 4, 1914, the result was the devastating political and moral defeat, an outrageous debacle and rot without parallel. To date, revolutions have given us nothing but defeats. Yet these unavoidable defeats pile up guarantee upon guarantee of the future final victory. There is but one condition. The question of why each defeat occurred must be answered. Did it occur because the forward-storming combative energy of the masses collided with the barrier of unripe historical conditions, or was it that indecision, vacillation, and internal frailty crippled the revolutionary impulse itself? Classic examples of both cases are the February revolution in France on the one hand and the March revolution in Germany on the other. The courage of the Parisian proletariat in the year 1848 has become a fountain of energy for the class struggle of the entire international proletariat. The deplorable events of the German March revolution of the same year have weighed down the whole development of modern Germany like a ball and chain. In the particular history of official German Social Democracy, they have reverberated right up into the most recent developments in the German revolution and on into the dramatic crisis we have just experienced. How does the defeat of "Spartacus week" appear in the light of the above historical question? Was it a case of raging, uncontrollable revolutionary energy colliding with an insufficiently ripe situation, or was it a case of weak and indecisive action? Both! The crisis had a dual nature. The contradiction between the powerful, decisive, aggressive offensive of the Berlin masses on the one hand and the indecisive, half-hearted vacillation of the Berlin leadership on the other is the mark of this latest episode. The leadership failed. But a new leadership can and must be created by the masses and from the masses. The masses are the crucial factor. They are the rock on which the ultimate victory of the revolution will be built. The masses were up to the challenge, and out of this "defeat" they have forged a link in the chain of historic defeats, which is the pride and strength of international socialism. That is why future victories will spring from this "defeat." "Order prevails in Berlin!" You foolish lackeys! Your "order" is built on sand. Tomorrow the revolution will "rise up again, clashing its weapons," and to your horror it will proclaim with trumpets blazing: I was, I am, I shall be! Courtesy of Marxists Internet Archive India now has the world's fourth-highest infection rate, with confirmed infections of 425,282 and an overall death toll of 13,699 and climbing. Without providing healthcare or aid for millions, Modi has washed his hands of the crisis, and turned his attention to saving Indian capitalism at the expense of workers and youth in his Unlock 1.0 India scheme. 10 major trade unions have called a new general strike on 3 July against attempts by Modis government to impose draconian working conditions on the working class. Forty years ago, this week, the roof of the Hartford Civic Center collapsed under the weight of ice and snow. Several events were re-booked to the Springfield Civic Center including the New England Whalers hockey team. The Hartford facility was expected to be out of use for at least eighteen months. From the January 19, 1978 edition of The Morning Union Earlier this week, former Vice president Hubert Humphrey died after a battle with cancer. He was 66. A presidential jet flew Humphrey's body back to Washington, D.C. to lay in state at the U.S. Capitol. Among those paying their respects was former President Richard Nixon who paid his first visit to Washington since his resignation in 1974. Except for a trip to China, Nixon had been a "virtual recluse" at his home in California From the January 15, 1978 edition of The Morning Union These are some of the headlines you'll see from Page 1 of The Republican and its predecessors over the past fifty years for the week of January 14 - January 20. Each week I'll put together a slideshow of Page 1 images from selected years over the course of that week. We're starting with a look back at one, five, thirty, forty and fifty years ago, with Page 1s from each day of the week for those years. The slideshow for January 14 - January 20 is embedded at the top of this article. We'll also find some humor printed out on page one over the years. In 1968 'Dennis The Menace' could be found on the bottom of page one six days a week. From the January 16, 1968 edition of The Springfield Union Five years ago, this week, the Old Creamery in Cummington became the Old Creamery Cooperative, purchased by 570 members. And back in 1978, the final German-made VW Beetle rolled off the assembly line in Emden, West Germany. 19.2 million had been produced since Ferdinand Porsche designed the vehicle forty years earlier. The Beetle was still in production in Mexico and couple of other countries. From the January 20, 1978 edition of The Morning Union As you'll find with looking through the slideshow, that while many stories come and go, many of the issues and topics that affected lives in the past, continue to have an impact on our lives today. Copies of these and other stories can be found in the online archives. The Historic Archive includes stories from 1824 to 1989, and the Newsbank Archive covers 1988 through the present day. Felix Rosenqvist was thrilled to win his second ABB FIA Formula E race in a row this weekend, saying he no longer felt like a rookie in the series. Rosenqvist started the Marrakesh ePrix from third place, passing Sam Bird and Sebastien Buemi on the way. He survived a scare halfway through when the Mahindra pit crew was scrambling to get his second car ready after a battery problem. "It feels great to come back here and win the race," Rosenqvist said after the chequered flag in Morocco. "I was praying my second car would be ready. My guys told me like one lap before they stopped working on the car. So a really big thanks to the Mahindra boys for putting that together so quickly." The result was the complete opposite of his fortunes in the same event last year. when he started from pole but was passed by Bird and Buemi in the race.. "I was learning race craft in the beginning and losing here was our biggest lesson of the year," he recalled. "We realised we had a lot of work to do and a lot of things to improve "I think I finally feel like a settled Formula E driver now - I don't feel like a rookie anymore, which is a real change." Conversely, former champion Sebastian Buemi was left ruing the elementary error that allowed Rosenqvist to take victory. "It was not a good move from my side, I could have done much better," the Renault edams driver said. "If I had protected that corner, it would have been more difficult for him to pass. I'm a bit disappointed with that." Buemi admitted to losing his rhythm because of a malfunction with the FanBoost that should have allowed him to defend. Only when I tried to use it and it didnt work we thought about it," he said. "Because it didnt I thought Do I block or not? Do I use it at turn 10? "I got out of rhythm, I should have closed the door better," he said. Rosenqvist's win puts him four points ahead of DS Virgin's Sam Bird in the driver standings. Bird was frustrated with gearbox issues during the race. However reigning Formula E champion Lucas di Grassi, who has yet to score a point in the new season after suffering a powertrain failure in Marrakesh. "I think I would have had the same pace as Felix in this race," said the NextEV NIO driver. "As a worst-case scenario, a third place would have been easy to achieve, if not a win." Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter One of the Massachusetts State Police commanding officers being sued in federal court over the redaction of the arrest report involving a Worcester county judge's daughter is asking to be dropped from one of the lawsuits. Lawyers for Major Susan Anderson filed a motion Friday to dismiss the federal civil rights complaint filed by State Police Trooper Ali Rei, one of two troopers who filed federal complaints involving the redaction of Alli Bibaud's arrest from an incident in October. In a memorandum, Anderson's lawyers say Rei's fears that she would lose her job if she did not redact Bibaud's arrest report are unfounded. Rei and Trooper Ryan Sceviour both filed federal lawsuits against Anderson, now-former State Police Col. Richard McKeon and other unnamed defendants accusing them of forcing the troopers to redact the arrest report involving Bibaud. The troopers are suing for violation of constitutional rights, conspiracy emotional distress. Anderson responded to Sceviour's complaint, but has not filed a motion to dismiss in that federal lawsuit. She did deny allegations made in the complaint that state Secretary of Public Safety and Security Daniel Bennett ordered the revision of Bibaud's arrest report and journal entries made by Rei. In the filing, Anderson's lawyers say the major did not threaten Rei with discipline when she ordered her to delete electronic notes, shred any copies of the report and redact the report involving Bibaud's arrest. "Defendant Anderson made no threat of discipline when giving her alleged orders to Plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges only that she 'feared she would lose her job if she did not comply.' She provides no factual basis for that fear, and more importantly, her fears were unfounded," the motion filed by Anderson's lawyers says. In their reports, Rei and Sceviour both noted Bibaud offered sexual favors to Sceviour in return for leniency after the judge's daughter was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs on a Worcester highway in October. She had drug materials in her possession and allegedly made statements about conducting sex acts for drugs and being a judge's daughter. Gov. Charlie Baker said McKeon made the decision to have the reports changed. He retired after the incident became public. McKeon's second-in-command also retired. Rei never changed her reports or shredded them. Both troopers say they were forced to remove the comments about the sexual favors and being a judge's daughter from the Bibaud arrest reports. Reprimands against Rei and Sceviour were removed from their records in the matter. Bibaud pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and motor vehicle violations in November and was ordered to serve 14 months of probation. Danielle Desrosiers lugged two shopping carts full of spices, cans of tuna and corn as she headed out of the Worcester Sam's Club store Monday. Knowing the 1 Tobias Way store would be closing Jan. 26, the owner of The Green Plate eatery in Whitinsville wanted to make sure she grabbed the essentials for her restaurant sooner than later. "When it comes to the bulk items I need, this is where I've been going for three years," she said. "I was shocked, but I went and got my BJ's card." She normally heads to Sam's Club four or five days a week. People waited in the freezing cold Monday and over the weekend to get inside the store. A police detail of two officers was outside the store as workers ushered people inside. The wait was around an hour and a half. Sylvestine Barjolo of Worcester has been shopping at Sam's Club for years. She had juice boxes, shampoos and soaps in her shopping cart. Barjolo waited two hours to get inside and take advantage of the 25 percent off price cut and said she planned on heading back Tuesday as prices continue to drop. "Sam's Club is my favorite place to shop. They have everything, appliances, kid's stuff, towels, clothes," she said. "I don't know what I'm going to do. You get more for your buck." Walmart recently announced the Sam's Club in Worcester is among 63 locations across the country that will close. Stores in Connecticut and New Hampshire are also on the list. The shutdowns were announced when Walmart, the parent company for Sam's Club, said minimum wage was increasing to $11 along with expanding maternity and parental leave benefits and paying a one-time cash bonus for eligible associates of up to $1,000. The raises begin in February and will be worth roughly $300 million. Sam's Club hourly workers will receive compensation for 60 days as they look for other jobs in nearby clubs of Walmart stores. There is a Walmart in the same plaza as Sam's Club in Worcester. If workers haven't transferred at the end of the 60 days, they will receive severance pay. When asked about the store closing, Leslie Abbott, 40, of Worcester bluntly stated, "I'm not happy about it." The convenience of shopping at the Sam's Club is a plus for her, along with the prices, she said. Her family uses the store to stock up on everyday items, but also for holiday gifts. Her mother, Dale Abbott, just asked, "How dare they?" The family just bought a large freezer because they buy food products in bulk from Sam's Club. She now feels like the purchase was a waste. Sue Jordan was stocking up a truck with Steve Nevalsky for his Millbury restaurant, the Wheelock Inn. With the tomato sauce and other items was a large flat screen television that Nevalsky plans to auction during the Super Bowl. "It really kind of rots," Jordan said as she filled the back of the truck. "I'm here four times a week," Nevalsky said. Nevalsky spent $1,307 Monday and had 500 credit points for the store as well. Several people interviewed at the Sam's Club Monday said they will most likely head to BJ's Wholesale Club in Auburn, but they like the prices and selection better at Sam's Club. They preferred driving to Worcester instead of Auburn. The Massachusetts Nurses Association is accusing UMass Memorial Health Alliance Clinton Hospital of violating state Department of Public Health regulations by launching plans to close endoscopy service at the hospital without giving notice to the public or the department. However, the hospital says it is confident it has followed state laws and regulations. The program is set to close on Jan. 26, according to a statement from the nurses association, and will result in the layoff of six registered nurses, a licensed practical nurse and other support staff. Endoscopy services at the hospital allowed for the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer and other gastrointestinal conditions. According to a statement from the hospital, the decision to shut down the service came after a change in physician staffing. The nurses association says that state law requires a hospital to give at least a 90-day notice of a closure of specific services to the Department of Public Health and a public hearing held by the department. It claims that the hospital did not follow those regulations. The hospital disagrees. "UMass Memorial Health Alliance-Clinton Hospital determined this change was necessary due to changes in physician staffing, and the space will continue to be used for other services," the hospital wrote in a statement. "We are confident we have complied with all DPH requirements as well as other applicable laws and regulations." A spokeswoman for the department did not immediately return a request for comment. A public meeting with Health Alliance Clinton Hospital CEO Debra Weymouth is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Clinton Town Hall to discuss changes at the hospital. "We strive to align our programs and resources carefully. Our number one goal is meeting the health needs of our community in a sustainable manner now and into the future," the hospital's statement continued. The nurses association said that the endoscopy service was an important asset for people who live in the smaller communities outside of Worcester. "The loss of this program is a disservice to our community and to the patients we care for every day," said Louise Fusco, a nurse who has worked in the endoscopy service for more than 15 years. "We were surprised by the announcement, as there has been an effort in recent years to enhance this service, with the purchase of the latest equipment, and expanded demand for endoscopy services by our patient population." Clinton Hospital was merged with UMass Health Alliance, which also operates Leominster Hospital and Burbank Hospital. By Jason Burke Murphy Churches and other organizations are calling for a renewal of the "Poor People's Campaign". Martin Luther King was part of this push for a direct approach to poverty, which included a "basic income guarantee". Many of King's allies were concerned about widening his agenda beyond formal civil rights but, after returning to his philosophical studies, he had dedicated himself to building a movement that addressed racism, militarism, and poverty. Every January, I get a little tired of media "celebrations" of Martin Luther King that do not tell us much about him. The reasons he "died for us" are reduced to past problems that we have solved. That is far from true. We have almost 50 million people living in poverty and economic security is felt by the majority. If we are really to respect Martin Luther King, we should spend time with what he wanted, and with the thinking behind his ideas. We would have heard much more if King had not been murdered. In his 1967 book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?, he says that "I am now convinced that the simplest solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a new widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income." In a speech at Stanford University, also in 1967, King calls for a movement to fight for a basic income, This is very different from the way that Martin Luther King is portrayed. I wouldn't fault many schoolchildren for believing that King literally just repeated "I have a dream" over and over and then everyone decided to be nicer after he died. Right now, we are seeing a lot of discussion of basic income in economic and technological circles. A lot of people are worried that careers will be disrupted by new inventions such as driverless cars and trucks. Many economists are impressed by the efficiency of a basic income and hope it will bring more market power to areas that need it. Martin Luther King saw it as a moral mandate. The US would simply function better if we took fear of harm out of our everyday economic decisions. At the very end of Martin Luther King's life, and shortly after it, you would find support a basic income in both political parties. A version almost passed under Richard Nixon. The New Poor People's Campaign is pushing Basic Income front and center again. Leaders like William Barber are turning to Martin Luther King for more than just inspiration. He is looking at King's tactics and at the society that King thought we were morally mandated to seek. The state of Alaska has issued a dividend to every citizen since 1976. The highest it ever got was around $2,000. The current Governor has cut the dividend in half in order to support his state's operating budget. The existence program proves that the federal government and any state government could see a dividend for all as a means for abolishing poverty. We just need to want to end poverty. We need to stop worrying about who will do cheap labor for us if no one is worried about survival. Recent numbers have shown that 3 to 5 percent of the GDP could support a guarantee that keeps every American above the poverty line. There are whole towns that would see a very dramatic increase in economic activity. Workers would also have more support when changing jobs or training for new careers. Caregivers would also have more support if they need to support family full time. We didn't deserve Martin Luther King. We were not good to him. We owe him a serious consideration of the campaigns he carefully endorsed. Ask yourself how much better America would be if we guaranteed economic survival. Jason Burke Murphy teaches ethics and philosophy at Elms College in Chicopee. He serves on the board of the US Basic Income Guarantee Network. CAMBRIDGE -- U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, on Monday called President Donald Trump a "racist" and said the president's comments are "evil." Speaking in frigid temperatures outside Cambridge City Hall at a Martin Luther King Day of Service, Warren told the crowd that the U.S. faces the challenge of "an openly racist president of the United States." Warren made similar comments earlier in the day at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast in Boston, according to news reports. Trump, during a meeting last week with lawmakers on immigration policy related to people from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries, reportedly said, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" Trump later denied that he used that language. Asked by a reporter what she thinks she is accomplishing by calling Trump a racist, Warren said, "I think it calls out evil for what it is." Asked whether she was calling the president evil, Warren said she was referring to Trump's comments. "What he has said is evil. I believe that racism is evil, and I believe saying racist things tears America apart," Warren said. Warren, a national leader in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and a potential 2020 presidential candidate, is up for re-election in 2018. Two of her Republican opponents called her rhetoric divisive. Responding to comments she made at the Boston breakfast, businessman John Kingston said Warren's "toxic message of division could not be more out of step with the legacy of Dr. King." State Rep. Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, said, "Senator Warren's divisive remarks, including her use of an expletive intended for shock value, continue to divide Americans and do nothing for the people of Massachusetts, except ensure that we will not have a seat at the table in Washington, D.C." Warren laughed when a reporter told her that her Republican opponents called her comments divisive. "(Trump) is a racist ... because of what he said," Warren said. "Dr. King said there comes a time when silence is betrayal. That is this time. The American people cannot stand by while the president makes one racist comment after another." A top Trump administration official said its vital for the auto industry to ensure that self-driving cars help improve life in rural communities and not just urban areas. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao also hailed the "tremendous potential" of self-driving vehicles to improve automotive safety and drive economic growth. Her comments Sunday at the Detroit auto show signaled that the Trump administration will take a favorable approach to the industrys aggressive push into autonomous vehicle technologies. But she also said that automakers need to ensure that self-driving cars are accessible to people who live outside big cities. Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/01/14/elaine-chao-detroit-auto-show-self-driving-cars/1032455001/ Every month, NorthWestern Energy http://www.northwesternenergy.com/ President and CEO Bob Rowe sends anniversary cards to employees, thanking them for their years of service. He already knew he worked for an exceptional company, but when a 45th anniversary card crossed his desk, that confirmed it. When employees stick around for more than 40 years, you know your company must be something special. By Katy Spence Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter is offering limited support for a 10-year plan that proponents say could increase the number of doctors practicing in the state. Proponents of the $16.3 million plan to fund additional medical residencies say it will help pull Idaho out of its 49th-in-the-nation ranking for the number of physicians per 100,000 residents. Medical residencies are work experience programs that medical school graduates must complete in order to become practicing physicians. *** Idaho is near-last in its number of doctors. This plan could start to change that. http://www.matr.net/article-80796.html "Obviously, theres only one person who knows the answer to this, and trying to get inside his head is bananas." Lacey Johnson https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/solar-industry-makes-last-ditch-lobbying-against-solar-tariffs?utm_source=Solar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GTMSolar#gs.QuwzbXw Chilly weather, but also chili, awaited a group of Helena residents who gathered at the YWCA to discuss how to decrease homelessness in the city on Thursday. Over two dozen people showed up for the session. Mayor Wilmot Collins, county commissioner Andy Hunthausen and city commissioner Robert Farris-Olsen were all in attendance as Allison Munson, the president and CEO of United Way in Helena, led a brainstorming session to help cut down on homelessness in Helena. THOMAS PLANK [email protected] http://helenair.com/news/local/elected-officials-businesspeople-advocates-meet-to-discuss-homeless-problem-in/article_41508f96-4279-5e9e-856d-de8378999af7.html#tracking-source=home-top-story Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) attends a joint press conference with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto after their meeting in Luanda, Angola, on Jan. 14, 2018. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday called for the transformation and upgrade of cooperation with Angola. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei) LUANDA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday rebuked a false claim that China's financing has increased the debt burden of African countries. Wang, on a visit to Angola, made the comment while holding a joint press conference with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto. Such a claim, which is made with ulterior motives, is an outright false accusation, said Wang, when asked for a response to the claim that Chinese financing to African countries, including Angola, has increased their debt burden and is stringed with political considerations. Wang noted that with deepening Sino-African cooperation in recent years, China has indeed increased its financing support for African countries. In the process, however, China has always adhered to the following fundamental principles, Wang stressed. First, Wang said, China's financing is in response to Africa's demands for self-development. A country would have a huge need for capital in its primary stage of economic take-off and industrialization and Africa is no exception, he said. China has provided financing to the best of its ability in response to the demands of African countries, which has served as a timely help for their socio-economic development and is highly valued and welcomed by them, he said. Second, China has never attached political conditions, he said. Like African countries, China also had memories of a bitter past when, with its economic lifeline controlled by foreigners, it was unfairly treated and even exploited and oppressed, Wang said. Therefore, when providing aid to and engaging in cooperation with Africa, China will not repeat what Western countries did and will never impose its own views on others, he said. Third, China has always followed the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results, he said. Sino-African cooperation is in essence part of South-South cooperation, and a key characteristic of the latter is that sustained and long-lasting common development can only be achieved through treating each other on an equal footing and ensuring mutual benefit, he said. To this end, China's financing support for Africa has always gone through a strenuous process of feasibility study with a market-driven approach so that due economic and social effects could be achieved after fulfilling each one of the cooperative projects, he said. Wang pointed out that the current debt status in some African countries is the accumulative result after a long period of time. China is a staunch supporter of African countries' efforts to remedy the problem through sustainable development and economic diversification, he said. China will continue to do its part in helping Africa enhance its self-development capacity and realize sound economic and social growth, he said. Wang expressed optimism about Africa's economic growth, saying that China is pleased to see that the African economy had bottomed out last year and that African countries have come to realize the importance of sustainable development. Citing a Chinese saying that goes: only the feet know if the shoes fit, Wang said that African countries are the best qualified to speak about their cooperation with China. There is another Chinese saying that goes: people have a sense of natural justice, said Wang , stressing that the African people are in the best position to decide who is Africa's true friend and most reliable partner. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] For much of rural Montana, brain drain has been a fact of life for decades. Come high school graduation, the pattern goes, small towns see their most ambitious sons and daughters pack their bags, heading off to attend college or otherwise try out life somewhere else. And comparatively few of them ultimately come back. Take Anaconda, population 9,000, a former company town abandoned by its founding industry in the 80s. These days it faces a demographic gap, with only 22 percent of its residents in their 20s or 30s, 5 percent less than the United States as a whole. ERIC DIETRICH Solutions Journalism Network https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/solar-industry-makes-last-ditch-lobbying-against-solar-tariffs?utm_source=Solar&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GTMSolar#gs.QuwzbXw Career Opportunities in Montana: http://www.matr.net/news.phtml?cat_id=39&catlabel=Come+Home+Montana The population of the United States increased by 2.2 million people in 2016. Natural growth the number of births less the number of deaths accounted for most of the population increase, while the rest was due to international migration. Population growth was far from even across the country. While populations in the South and West together grew by 1.1% in 2016, the Northeast and Midwest grew by just 0.1%. There were eight states, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest, where the population declined. Meanwhile, the population of eight states grew by more than 1.6%. Evan Comen, 24/7 Wall Street https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/economy/2018/01/15/fastest-growing-and-shrinking-states-closer-look/1019429001/ Tester https://www.tester.senate.gov/ is the only member of Montanas Congressional delegation to hold in-person town hall meetings over the past year. Senator Talks Public Lands, Veterans Affairs, and Foreign Policy With 100 Constituents U.S. Senator Jon Tester today hosted a public in-person town hall meeting in Great Falls to hear from local residents. Tester met face-to-face for over an hour with nearly 100 constituents and answered questions about how to protect Montanas public lands, reform the VA, and keep America safe from the threat of North Korea. "I have been hosting in-person town hall meetings across the state to hear directly from Montanans about the biggest issues facing our country," Tester said. "Everyone deserves a say in our government and it is my job to make sure their voice is heard." Tester last week held in-person town hall meetings in Kalispell http://mtpr.org/post/high-schoolers-pitch-tough-questions-tester-town-hall and Sidney https://twitter.com/SenatorTester/status/952586123989073920. Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine (SAEE) Serhiy Savchuk presented Ukraine's latest achievements in renewable energy at the eighth session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi (the UAE) on January 13, the SAEE's media liaisons department has reported. "Ukraine's government has walked a long path to join the Statute of IRENA. The respective law of Ukraine, No. 2222-VIII, which was drafted by the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving, has recently been adopted by parliament and signed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko," Savchuk said, adding that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has recently signed the respective document on Ukraine's accession to IRENA. The SAEE said in a statement published on Saturday, January 13, that more than 1,200 representatives from 150 countries gathered at a global event to discuss strategies for the development of clean energy. Savchuk presented to the IRENA member countries the latest achievements of Ukraine in renewable energy and prospects for cooperation with IRENA, especially in the sphere of stimulating the attraction of "green" investments. According to IRENA Director-General Adnan Amin, said, the cost of producing clean energy is reduced, technologies are being improved, and the development of renewable energy is accelerating around the world. According to him, this means that the world enters a new era of energy transformation, and renewable energy is becoming an important driver of economic growth, job creation and social development, as well as resolves the challenges of climate change and reduction of harmful emissions. Savchuk called on representatives of more than 150 countries to maintain close cooperation with Ukraine, focusing on advantages of the domestic renewable energy market. In particular, he stressed that the potential for wind energy development in Ukraine was one of the largest in Eastern Europe. In addition, the country has significant opportunities for the briad implementation of projects on energy production from biomass and waste. Savchuk also had an opportunity to discuss trends in the development of clean energy in the world and in Ukraine with Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Janez Kopac and President of the Energy Watch Group, former German MP Hans-Josef Fell. After joining IRENA, Ukraine will be able to increase green investments, get cheap loans for "green" projects, and develop joint mechanisms for financing the preparation and implementation of quality projects. In addition to strategies for the development of clean energy, the forum participants also considered issues for improving energy efficiency in various sectors of the economy, including industry. The Ukrainian delegation participated in the eighth session of the IRENA Assembly with the assistance of the UNIDO/GEF UKR IEE Technical Assistance Project "Introduction of Energy Management System Standards in Ukraine Industry" and the UNDP/GEF Project "Development and Commercialization of Bioenergy Technologies in the Municipal Sector in Ukraine." According to IRENA, more than $1 trillion has been invested in renewable energy all over the world since 2013. To date, almost ten million new jobs have been created in this area. The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has permitted ex-director general of Hyundai Motor Ukraine LLC Ihor Hladkovsky to acquire a controlling stake in the official distributor of the Hyundai brand in Ukraine. The committee said last week that the acquisition of the stake in Hyundai Motor Ukraine LLC, part of the Bogdan Corporation, would grant over 50% of the votes in the management body of the company to Hladkovsky. As reported, Hladkovsky was appointed general director of Hyundai Motor Ukraine at the end of 2015 after the voluntary resignation of Viktor Oransky. At the same time, as the spokesperson of the corporation Serhiy Krasulia told Interfax-Ukraine, Hladkovsky resigned as the director general of the company last year due to the need to study abroad and the inability to carry out operational management. Currently, the company's director general is Hennadiy Chetverukhin, previously he was the company's commercial director. According to the public register, among the co-owners of Hyundai Motor Ukraine LLC with the charter capital of UAH 7.35 million are registered in Cyprus Autoretail Holding Limited with a 15.1% stake, VEHICLES Distribution Holdings with 18.4% and H.U.D.C. Limited with 24%, as well as Bogdan Industry LLC that owns 20.5% and closed non-diversified venture corporate investment fund Breeze with 15.5%. Hladkovsky holds 6.5% of the company. Hyundai Motor Ukraine has about 60 dealerships in the country. According to the information-analytical group Auto-Consulting, in 2017, 4,283 Hyundai cars were sold in Ukraine, or 27.2% more than in 2016, and the share in the market of new passenger cars was 5.34% against 5.22% % a year earlier. Cord blood donations could increase when parents receive information about the procedure at both early and later stages of pregnancies, according to the findings of a two-year study of expectant mothers in Italy. Cord blood contains potentially lifesaving stem cells that can treat a host of blood-based cancers and other diseases. Yet, the blood found in newborns' umbilical cords is almost always discarded as medical waste, rather than banked for future needs. Cord blood donations increased when expectant parents were nudged at early and later stages of pregnancies. A nudging technique uses knowledge of human psychology to take a positive decision. People may not donate their baby's cord blood even if they'd like to because they procrastinate -- such as putting off the required paperwork to allow the donation -- or are overwhelmed by the myriad of decisions and plans parents have to make closer to baby's arrival, among other reasons. Parents may also store their baby's cord blood in a private bank, but this is banned in Italy, where the study took place. The study conditions included no information given about cord blood donation, and information provided early in the pregnancy or late. This could be combined with asking expectant parents about their intention to donate, and, in the case of the early-informed condition, a third-trimester reminder about their intention, plus an opportunity to change it. The combination with the most nudges had the highest donation rate: just over 21 percent of women who received donation information early in their pregnancy, an opportunity to signal their intention, followed by a third-trimester reminder and revision opportunity successfully donated. This compared to donations from 2.7 percent of women who received no information and 11.4 percent of women who received it only in their third trimester. All told, out of 850 expectant mothers, some 57 cord blood donations were made when nudging was used compared to 18 to 20 without the intervention. As positive as these numbers are, the study says donations could have been doubled by the removal of organizational and institutional barriers, such as a lack of staff to perform the cord blood collection and inflexible operating hours at the blood bank. Cord blood donation is a relatively recent option, which may be another reason why so few people do it. Canada opened its first national public cord blood bank in Ottawa in 2013. The Milano Cord Blood Bank, where donations in the study were stored, opened in 1993. Italy's public cord blood donation rate is about one percent. In the U.S., the rate of cord blood donation of any kind is believed to be below five percent. Source: Eurekalert It is the first randomized control study to apply behavioral science "nudging" techniques to cord blood donation. A nudge uses knowledge of human psychology to create a low-key, non-coercive intervention that makes it easier for people to take positive actions they support, but may find hard to do.People may not donate their baby's cord blood even if they'd like to because they procrastinate -- such as putting off the required paperwork to allow the donation -- or are overwhelmed by the myriad of decisions and plans parents have to make closer to baby's arrival, among other reasons. Parents may also store their baby's cord blood in a private bank, but this is banned in Italy, where the study took place.The study conditions included no information given about cord blood donation, and information provided early in the pregnancy or late. This could be combined with asking expectant parents about their intention to donate, and, in the case of the early-informed condition, a third-trimester reminder about their intention, plus an opportunity to change it.The combination with the most nudges had the highest donation rate: just over 21 percent of women who received donation information early in their pregnancy, an opportunity to signal their intention, followed by a third-trimester reminder and revision opportunity successfully donated. This compared to donations from 2.7 percent of women who received no information and 11.4 percent of women who received it only in their third trimester.All told, out of 850 expectant mothers, some 57 cord blood donations were made when nudging was used compared to 18 to 20 without the intervention.As positive as these numbers are, the study says donations could have been doubled by the removal of organizational and institutional barriers, such as a lack of staff to perform the cord blood collection and inflexible operating hours at the blood bank.Cord blood donation is a relatively recent option, which may be another reason why so few people do it. Canada opened its first national public cord blood bank in Ottawa in 2013. The Milano Cord Blood Bank, where donations in the study were stored, opened in 1993. Italy's public cord blood donation rate is about one percent. In the U.S., the rate of cord blood donation of any kind is believed to be below five percent.Source: Eurekalert "We more than doubled the number of cord blood units that were collected. We learned a lot and we did a little bit of good too so that feels nice," said Nicola Lacetera, an applied economist at the University of Toronto Mississauga, who is also cross-appointed to the UofT's Rotman School of Management and one of the study's four authors. Prof. Lacetera is also a Chief Scientist with the Behavioral Economics in Action at Rotman (BEAR) center. He conducted the study with Daniela Grieco of Bocconi University, Mario Macis of Johns Hopkins University and Daniela Di Martino of Opedale Buzzi, Milan. The investigation into possible involvement of Investment Capital Ukraine (ICU) in the withdrawal of funds from Ukraine is still ongoing, Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General Yevhen Yenin has said. "More than a year ago we questioned the head of this company. We threw into question the documents confirming the legality of funds and financial transactions. Therefore, over two months ago we sent a request for an economic examination to a judicial expert institution of Ukraine. The examination is still underway," he said on Hromadske Radio. He added that the activity of officials of this company, as well as of state-owned banks and the National Bank of Ukraine, was the subject of a number of other criminal proceedings carried out by the Prosecutor General's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). Yenin said that the Kramatorsk District Court's judgment had been preceded by about 30 other verdicts. Thus, more than 20 individuals have been brought to criminal liability. According to him, they include top-level officials, for example, deputy heads of ministries under former President Viktor Yanukovych. Yenin also said that the seized funds had already been in the state treasury for eight months and could be spent on the country's needs. "Last July, the Ukrainian parliament unanimously voted on targeted use of these funds for social projects, for example, building roads, medicine, education, and ensuring the country's defense capacity," he said. On January 10, Al Jazeera published the text of a 95-page judgment issued by the Kramatorsk District Court on March 28, 2017, which was later classified as constituting a state secret. Al Jazeera said the judgment reveals the schemes used for misappropriating the state funds under Viktor Yanukovych and asked why the decision was classified. In addition, the channel notes with reference to lawyers and anti-corruption groups that the passing of such a verdict behind closed doors and without the participation of non-resident companies provides these companies with strong arguments to seek return of part of or all of $1.5 billion that fell under special confiscation. The channel also reiterates that transactions for the purchase of government bonds, which fell under special confiscation, were brokered by the Investment Capital Ukraine (ICU) group, which has close links with the current government having advised Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko. At the same time, the material contains the group's comments that in these transactions its role was limited to that of an agent. Yenin said earlier that the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office neither confirmed nor denied the authenticity of text purported to be the ruling of Kramatorsk District Court on March 28, 2017. According to him, the text of the judgment seizing $1.5 billion from people in Yanukovych's entourage is classified due to ongoing investigative activity and in order to protect the people involved in the trial. Asked by Interfax-Ukraine, ICU noted the matter concerns services to support transactions on the sale and purchase of government domestic loan bonds between Oschadbank and non-resident companies in November-December 2013, while Al Jazeera wrote about the period between 2012 and 2014. The investment group explained earlier banks and other market participants could carry out such transactions directly, but the new wording of the law on the depository system from October 2013 obliged market participants to formalize all deals on the sale and purchase of government domestic loan bonds through PJSC Settlement Center and licensed brokers. "It was not unusual that ICU acted as a broker in the deal with government securities, being the leader in this market," the group believes. The group added that before signing contracts for brokerage, they conducted an obligatory identification and financial monitoring procedure in relation to the buyers of securities, who were the clients of state-controlled Oschadbank. "The price, at which the companies bought government domestic loan bonds, was agreed directly without the participation of ICU. The investment group did not open any accounts for these companies and had not worked with them earlier. The role of ICU in these transactions was limited to the function of an agent," the group said. ICU noted that the National Commission on Securities and the Stock Market within the investigation conducted an unscheduled inspection of the company and audited the mentioned transactions and found no violations. In addition, to protect its reputation, the group initiated an independent verification of its operations by a group of experts who previously worked with the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine and the OSCE, which also confirmed compliance with the legislation, ICU added. As reported, the companies affected by special confiscation contested not only the very special confiscation, but also the decision to make a secret out of the court verdict. In particular, Akemi Management Ltd in Kyiv's Solomiansky District Court succeeded in the lawsuit against the state expert on the secrets of the Prosecutor General's Office, the prosecutor general about the cancellation of the decision dated June 3 on the availability of statements containing state secrets in the verdict (which also has the label "secretly"). On December 19, the court by its ruling demanded explanations and/or evidence from the state expert about the circumstances of making the decision to declare this conclusion "secret." Gazprom will not be disputing the ruling by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce regarding the contract to supply gas in the dispute with Ukraine's Naftogaz, Alexander Medvedev, the Russian gas giant's deputy CEO, told reporters. Gazprom filed an appeal with the Svea Court of Appeal (District 356) in Sweden on November 7 against an interim ruling by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce on a claim regarding the gas supply contract dated January 19, 2009 and the partial cancelation of the contract. The interim ruling was made on May 31. The final ruling was handed down at the end of December. "There's nothing new there. The arbitration ruling has gone into effect. An appeal? What for?" Medvedev said. At the invitation of the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias will participate in the Foreign Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula, which is being held tomorrow, Tuesday, 16 January, in Vancouver. A small number of countries have been invited to the Meeting that will focus on the need for the international communitys solidarity in sending a strong and cohesive message to the government of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, regarding its resolve to no longer tolerate illegal nuclear and ballistic activities. A diplomatic solution for the denuclearization of the peninsula remains the ultimate goal of the international efforts. This would constitute a major step in the broader direction of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and related technologies, which is consistently supported by our country. Mr. Kotzias will also meet with his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, on the margins of the Meeting. The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine has lifted sanctions from the Russian coal supplier Yuzhtrans LLC (Rostov region), according to the website of the agency. The corresponding decision is stipulated in ministry resolution No. 1905 of December 29, 2017. As reported, sanctions against Yuzhtrans in the form of prohibition of foreign economic relations with this company were introduced by ministry order No. 1583 of October 30, 2017. They entered into force on December 9, 2017. The Security Service in 2015 suspected Yuzhtrans of participating in an illegal scheme for export of coal from the uncontrolled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. According to the service, part of profit was used for financing the terrorist organizations DPR and LPR. Yuzhtrans is part of South Coal Company, which owns extracting assets in Rostov region of the Russian Federation. It supplies anthracite to a number of Ukrainian enterprises, including Donbasenergo. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) believes that cyberattacks against Ukraine in 2017 were committed by Russian military hackers in order to disrupt the financial system of the Ukrainian state amid its ongoing war in Donbas with separatists loyal to the Kremlin, the Washington Post has said, citing a CIA report. According to the statement, the CIA concluded with "high confidence" that a mock ransomware virus dubbed NotPetya, which attacked computers of Ukrainian banks, energy companies, airports and senior government officials in June 2017, was created by the military spy agency of the Russian Chief Intelligence Directorate (GRU). At the same time, the Washington Post notes that the CIA declined to comment. However, the newspaper recalls that the virus also affected computer systems in Denmark, India and the United States, but more than half of those victimized were in Ukraine. "The attacks reflect Russia's mounting aggression in cyberspace as part of a larger 'hybrid warfare' doctrine that marries traditional military means with cyber-tools to achieve its goal of regional dominance," the newspaper quotes Robert Hannigan, former head of Britain's GCHQ intelligence agency, as saying. MIDDLETOWN Stakeholders are conducting a national search for the next individual who will lead a library in the center of a thriving city with a distinct demographic and usher it into the future. The next director will replace Matt Poland, who retired in October after 18 months of leading the Russell Library at 123 Broad St. Nineteen-year director Arthur Meyers retired in February 2016. Middletowns landscape ranges from urban downtown to residential outskirts. Its people come from a wide variety of backgrounds and walks of life, said Brandie Doyle, interim director and CEO. Our next director must embrace its unique brand of diversity in order to build a library that is responsive to the interests, needs, and potential that exist in such a dynamic, small city. Doyle took over when Poland left. She came on board in May 2011 as the business and career resource librarian. She is a true professional and loves being in the library and doing the work of the library, said Geen Thazhampallath, former library trustees president and current board member. We have a lot of trust and faith in her. Vernon Hills, Illinois-based John Keister & Associates is conducting the search for a dedicated and forward-thinking leader, according to the job posting. We want to cast a wide net to get the best possible candidate with an eye on a person who will fit with the Middletown community and the needs of the Russell Library as it is today, and what it could be 10, 15, 20 years from now, said Thazhampallath. Thazhampallath, the citys parking director, said Poland instituted some changes during his tenure which the new director can build upon. When he came aboard, he knew he was only making a five-year commitment. He told us this would be the last stop in his career and he was happy to come on board, he said. It seemed to be exactly what we needed at the time. After Poland, who came from Hartford Public Library, experienced a personal loss, he made the decision to end his career, Thazhampallath said. He made a lot of positive steps resetting the organization and improving technology in order to get Russell Library ready for the next set of users in the community, he added. When the library board established its strategic plan in 2013, it shifted focus to establishing a bridge to the future with a brand-new mission. Russell Library will be a leader in the community with a focus on literacy and learning, success and achievement and intercultural bridging, according to the report. It will be the go-to place for families, friends, groups and individual users, fun and inviting, welcoming, comfortable and convenient for all. Middletown has a thriving arts scene, home to organizations such as Oddfellows Playhouse, The Buttonwood Tree, Wesleyan University Center for the Arts, Kidcity Childrens Museum, Wesleyan Potters, Greater Middletown Chorale and Greater Middletown Concert Association. It also boasts a Main Street known colloquially as restaurant row, featuring cuisines from around the world. All of that culture will be reflected in the citys library, which will be undergoing a transformation in the near future, according to its strategic plan. We will be efficient and financially stable, with an updated building infrastructure, according to the plan. Doyle said shed like to see a person who had experience constructing a new library something thats on the horizon. Such a director would be familiar with writing grants, obtaining other sources of funding and seeing a library through renovations and a substantial facility overhaul. The individual will have or be able to develop an understanding of how government financing works and be an advocate for advancing the library in the context of a shrinking state and local budgets, Thazhampallath said. Doyle said the institution needs a leader with a special set of qualifications. I decided not to throw my hat in the ring, she said. I know we need to move toward building a new library, which requires a great deal of knowledge of various city and state entities to try to pull together funding for that. Patrons may not realize the stately brownstone library is actually a cluster of different buildings never intended to be joined together. Frances Russell established Russell Library in 1875 in memory of her husband, Samuel. The Episcopal Church of the Holy Trinity had built the building on the corner of Broad and Court streets in 1834, and Mrs. Russell purchased and remodeled it in the Roman Gothic style, according to a history of the building on the website. It opened as a public library April 5, 1876. In 1930, the city helped to add the Hubbard wing, and in 1972, completed the remodeled Childrens Library, originally the First Federal Saving and Loan Association of Meriden, built in 1965, according to Russelllibrary.org. In 1983, the library was again expanded. In 1997, it bought an adjacent building for technical and administrative services, staff offices, and room for the Literacy Volunteers of Central Connecticut. In 1999, a second adjacent building was purchased for possible future expansion. Certain pieces will stay: the church building (where the childrens activity room is) and the Hubbard Room (where programs are held), Doyle said. New technology requires a single, updated facility with the resources to handle the demands of a 21st-century digital society. There are not sufficient outlets to power devices, laptops and chargers, which is required in a modern library, Doyle said. Once the firm settles on a final candidate and he or she is offered the position, Doyle will then return to her previous role as chief public services officer, which is essentially the assistant director position, she said. Russell Library is different from other such entities, Thazhampallath said. It has a public service library component to it. The candidate should have some level of understanding of how a urban library works, he added. Middletown is part suburban and part urban. There is a delicate balance between running a public library in both worlds. It presents very unique challenges. We need a national firm to find more candidates who have those skills. The Russell Library is a quasi-private entity, Thazhampallath said. Almost 99 percent of its funding comes from the city. We want to remain independent. Were not a municipal department. A person has to come in with that understanding, he said. The salary range for the position is between $95,000 and $137,000, based on experience. Applications are due by Jan. 29. Those interested should send a resume and three professional references to middletown@johnkeister.com. For information, visit johnkeister.com/middletown or call 847-955-0541. Managing Editor Cassandra Day can be reached at cassandra.day@hearstmediact.com. You dont have to be a voodoo economics guru to follow the money trail between Bob Stefanowski and Art Laffer. Laffer, an adviser to Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump, endorsed Stefanowskis 26-page plan for resuscitating Connecticuts economy, the centerpiece of Stefanowskis mostly self-funded candidacy for governor. The inventor of the Laffer Curve, an economic model so famous it was mentioned in Ferris Buellers Day Off, even did a string of appearances with Stefanowski to promote the economic blueprint. It turns out that Stefanowski paid Laffers Nashville-based consulting firm $75,000, campaign filings with the state Elections Enforcement Commission show. Of that total, $50,000 was for its work on Stefanowskis plan, which includes Laffers name at the top and calls for the state income, the corporate income and business entity taxes to be phased out, as well as the elimination of the gift and estate taxes. The document further recommends the privatization of the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Appearance fees at $5,000 a pop for five events in December accounted for the rest of Laffers tab. Stefanowski said the plan, which took Laffer and two full-time assistants several months to prepare, is worth every penny. Art and I have been dear friends for years and he was one of the first people I called when I decided to run for governor, said Stefanowski, a one-time UBS and General Electric executive. Art immediately offered his endorsement and help putting together a plan. The law requires that Dr. Laffers firm charge for his work. Not so Sweet Home Alabama Roy Moore is probably the last person a political operative would want as reference in Connecticut, let alone Alabama. But campaign filings by Greenwich hedge fund mogul-turned-gubernatorial candidate David Stemerman show that the Republican paid $67,553 to an Alexandria, Va., consulting firm that was allied with Moore in Alabamas special election for U.S. Senate. Precision Campaign Group is the same outfit that was hired by A Time for Choosing, a super PAC that was created to help Moore in the nationally-watched contest. Despite multiple allegations against him of sexual misconduct involving minors, a defiant Moore stayed in the race and lost in December to Doug Jones, who became the first Democrat in 25 years elected to the Senate by Alabamans. Republicans stung by Moores loss immediately engaged in finger-pointing, including Jordan Gehrke, one of the political consulting firms principals. There is blood in the water now, and more conservative candidates who are hostile to the establishment are primed to step forward, Gehrke wrote in a memo published on the website Medium. Republicans now have a choice: 2018 will either be a successful year with the GOP focused on picking up Democratic seats and passing a conservative agenda, or it will be a bloody Civil War with (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell at the center, desperately clinging to power, forcing incumbent Senators to walk the plank out of loyalty to him. A request for comment was left with Stemermans campaign. Candidate drops over $2K on floral arrangements Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Alas, Dave Walker has the answer. His gubernatorial campaign spent $2,415 on flowers from August to December, all from the same florist, election filings show. The former U.S. comptroller general under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush bought 32 bouquets from Hansens Flower Shop in Fairfield during the second half of 2017. When people host fundraisers for us at their homes, we send them flowers as a thank you, the Bridgeport Republican said. We just think thats a nice thing to do for people who open up their homes. From foster dogs to celebrities Traditionally, those vying for Connecticuts top office are the publicity hounds. But for Republican lieutenant governor candidate Ann Brookes, a pair of rescue dogs fostered by her have grabbed all the spotlight and she wouldnt have it any other way. Meet Tyler and Teddy. One is a 20-week-old chihuahua and Shih Tzu mix who was abandoned by its owner at a Texas kill shelter. The other is a poodle mix who escaped the flood waters of Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Their stories of survival have brought the pair national attention, highlighted by starring roles in the Puppy Bowl XIV and Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl on Animal Planet. The competition of four-legged friends will air Feb. 3-4, Super Bowl weekend. He did a lot of media interviews. I had to translate, Brookes said jokingly of Teddy. People really enjoy these stories. Theyre heartwarming. Both rescue dogs have found adoptive families, according to Brookes, a tax attorney from Westbrook. Tyler was just five months old when Brookes fostered him in October. It wasnt until a DNA swab test was done that Brooks knew his breed. To our surprise, we thought he was a Havanese mix, but hes got a lot of chihuahua and no Havanese, she said. While Tyler hasnt accompanied Brooks on the campaign trail, she did bring him to political events during last falls municipal elections. It was much easier to take a puppy with me than (him) stay home and eat the furniture, she said. http://twitter.com/gettinviggy; nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436 A Ukrainian who worked as a doctor in Libya and was abducted earlier, was released due to diplomats efforts, the Ukrainian Embassy in Tunisia reported. "On January 13, 2017, a Ukrainian doctor who worked in Libya under a private contract in the city of Sebha and was abducted a few days ago by one of the numerous armed groups was released," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website on Saturday evening. It is noted that he was freed due to the agreements reached by Ukrainian diplomats during negotiations with the leaders of the local tribes. "The Ukrainian Embassy once again urges all citizens of Ukraine in Libya to immediately leave its territory, because in the current security situation in this country, the settlement of such issues by diplomatic ways is extremely difficult," the report reads. Cardi B excitedly made the announcement to fans on colleagues via her official Instagram account. We are so overjoyed to finally meet our son, the... Government support to allow shooting over 120 films per year in Ukraine Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said the state support will allow shooting over 120 films a year in Ukraine. "Having increased the government financing of the cinema, we laid the foundations for producing more than 120 films a year. I believe a bright future awaits Ukrainian cinema!" the head of state wrote on Facebook on Saturday. He also recalled that the rights to the Ukrainian film-fantasy "The Watchtower" have already been purchased by 27 countries. GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Grand Rapids Pops is giving people a chance to hear some of their favorite show tunes with "Blockbuster Broadway." The concert will feature music from some of Broadway's biggest and best-loved shows such as "The Phantom of the Opera", "Les Miserables," "Wicked" and "Lion King." Blockbuster Broadway will be presented in three performances: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 28, at DeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave. NW in downtown Grand Rapids. Part of the Fox Motors Pops series, John Varineau will conduct the Grand Rapids Symphony as the orchestra performs an eclectic mix of songs in the show created, produced and directed by the acclaimed cabaret artist Scott Coulter. He'll be joined on stage by guest soloists Jessica Hendy, Kelli Rabke and John Boswell. The four have worked with the Oscar and Grammy award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz, whose work includes "Godspell", "Wicked" and "Enchanted". Schwartz has described Coulter's musical talents like this: "One of the best things that can happen to a composer is to have his music interpreted by Scott Coulter." Coulter previously starred in An Evening with Scott Coulter: Broadway and Beyond at Kalamazoo's Farmer's Alley Theatre, a theater founded by a friend from music school. Hendy previously appeared on Broadway as Grizabella in Cats as well as in Grand Rapids on its national tour. She most recently worked with Schwartz on his cabaret-style show, "The Wizard and I". Rabke, best known for her role of Narrator in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and Eponine in "Les Miserables", also worked with Schwartz in "The Wizard and I". As a frequent musical partner with Coulter, she will join him again in the upcoming show, "Music of the Knights", which features songs composed by three British musical legends, all knighted by the Queen of England: Elton John, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney. Music Director, pianist, and vocalist John Boswell co-arranged the music for "Blockbuster Broadway" with Coulter. In addition to writing music for television, John has crafted numerous piano-driven albums, called "accessible, impressionistic tone-poems" by critics. Tickets start at $18 and are available at the GRS ticket office or online at GRSymphony.org. Full-time students of any age are able to purchase tickets for only $5 on the night of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Tickets program, sponsored by Comerica and Calvin College. This is a MySymphony360 eligible concert. BLUEBERRY AMBASSADOR MOMENTS Flushing Elms Elementary, coordinator Julie Groulx Lily McIntosh-Polega Blueberry Moment 11534 On December 14th, I put a $10 gift card on a person's window at ALDI'S with a note. I did it because I like it when I see a smile on people's faces. I did not see their reaction because we left as soon as we put it on the person's windshield. It affected me by making me feel very good inside. Blueberry Moment 11533 On December 14th, I paid for the person behind me at a fast food place. Their reaction was that they smiled and waved at me. I think that other people should do it too, because I love seeing smiles on others faces. You should pay for someone next time you ever want to see a smile on someone's face. Blueberry Moment 11535 For my last Blueberry Moment, I baked cookies for my neighbor. They were grateful and were very polite and said thank you. I would do it again any time that I could. I recommend that anyone do something kind and spread the kindness. Andersen Schaal Blueberry Moment 11530 For my Blueberry Act, I made a care package for me mothers friend who lives in the Virgin Islands and was affected by the hurricanes. We packed veggies, her favorite chips, milk bones for her dog, and a little Christmas cookie. I did this because almost everything she had was lost in the hurricane. She is doing ok, but every little thing helps. It makes me happy to imagine a smile on her face when she receives the care package! Blueberry Moment 11532 At the grocery store while my mother and I were unloading, our groceries I saw a woman about to put her cart back. I offered to take the cart back for her. Her reaction was to respond, "Sure no problem." I handed the Blueberry Card to her and took the cart back to the cart keeper. On my way there, there were more carts pushed to the side so I decided to get those and take them back. I feel good about this for helping clean up carts. Austin. Langdon Blueberry Moment 11526 I raked one of my nana's friend's yard. I felt that I did well. I felt good that I did that because I like helping people. Blueberry Moment 11524 I helped shovel a neighbor's yard. I felt that I did a good job because it was spotless. Gabriella Bouchillon Blueberry Moment 11536 My first Blueberry Moment was when I baked cookies for my elderly neighbor that lives next door. I noticed she really had no visitors. Therefore, I decided to bake her some Christmas cookies. I made her sugar cookies with sprinkles. I enjoyed my first Blueberry act of kindness and I am excited to do more. Blueberry Moment 11517 For my second Blueberry Moment, I donated a big box of 36 animal crackers to Mrs. Spence's room. I did this because she always has kids with no snack. I enjoyed this very much it made me feel good. Rogan Suttles Blueberry Moment 11529 I shoveled my dad's girlfriend's driveway. Her son helped me with that to a little bit. I decided to do it because she works all day and her son would not do it by himself because it would be a lot of work for him. She lives in Flint Township and she was very excited that she did not have to do it. She was also happy that her son followed my example and helped. It made me feel happy I have to do something for her. She lives across the street from the other person's house I shoveled. Blueberry Moment 11528 The second thing I did is shovel an elderly woman's driveway. I did it because she does not go out of her house very often. The woman reacted very happy and wanted to give me money, but I refused. It made me feel happy to help an elderly person without her having to do something that she would have a hard time with. I was very proud I helped. Blueberry Moment 11527 I donated two bags of goldfish to Mrs. Thompson's classroom. I decided to do it for the students who do not have snack, so they could have a bag if they did not have a snack. It was at our school. She was so happy and excited she could give them a snack if the kids did not have one. It made me happy I could give her something that she would not have for the other kids. Addyson Sherrill Blueberry Moment 11520 Last Sunday, I went to McDonalds and gave the person behind us $10 to help pay for their meal. I thought this would be nice because not everyone can afford their meals. Blueberry Moment 11518 On December 9, I gathered all my stuffed animals that I did not want. I also gathered all my clothes that do not fit me, and donated them to Salvation Army. I thought this would be nice because some kids do not have clean clothes or toys. Blueberry Moment 11519 On December 12, I went to the grocery store, and gave hot cocoa to one of the bell ringers that collect money. They collect money for charity. I thought this would be nice because they stand in the cold all day. DETROIT - Adient is looking forward to assuming a front-row seat in the auto industry as construction crews demolish the interior of the 113-year-old Marquette Building, across the street from the Cobo Center, which houses the North American International Auto Show. The world's largest maker of car seats is pouring $98 million into a makeover of the 10-story red brick building that was originally built as an ice factory. When completed in 2019, the building will be the world headquarters for Adient, which employs 85,000 workers in 238 factories in 34 countries. The new offices will replace Adient's headquarters in Milwaukee and move executives from the company's offices in Plymouth, said Eric S. Mitchell, Adient's executive vice president. Mitchell said the new downtown headquarters will attract hip millennials who are driving the future of the industry. "The industry is going to be very different in the next five to 10 years," he said. "We were really attracted to downtown Detroit because of the buzz that's going on down here," Mitchell said. "We feel it's going to be a big catalyst for us." Adient will continue to operate its tech center in Plymouth, Mitchell said. With about 4,600 employees statewide, Adient also operates manufacturing plants in Battle Creek, Holland, Lansing, Warren and Detroit. Meanwhile, Adient executives were showing off their latest seating designs to suppliers and manufacturers at the private showroom they have occupied in Cobo Center ever since the company was spun off of Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls and several international partners. From futuristic seating that will dial up a massage in autonomous cars to the racy Recaro seats it will build for the Ford Bullitt Mustang, Adient executives were eager to show off the technological underpinnings of their latest seats. With ride-sharing vehicles on the horizon, tomorrow's seats will have to be flexible and easily adjustable, said Nicholas Petouhoff, an Adient designer who was showing off the company's Vision seat. With just three controls, the new seats will offer multiple comfort settings designed to keep their occupants comfortable quickly, he said. DETROIT - As the opens in Detroit this week, self-driving cars are gaining as much attention as new model announcements. While the technology is available for cars to operate on their own, the artificial intelligence that will make them safe is still being developed, according to a panel of experts on artificial intelligence Sunday, Jan. 14. Tomorrow's cars will not only read road conditions better than the humans behind the steering wheel, but they'll also communicate with other cars and systems around them, the panelists said. Danny Shapiro, Sr. Director of Automotive at NVIDIA and sitting at left, speaks on a panel of experts on artificial intelligence in vehicle application on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 at the Cobo Center in Detroit. (Jake May | MLive.com) (Jake May | MLive.com) "We're taking computers and teaching them to do something much better than a human could do," said Danny Shapiro Sr., director of Automotive NVDIA Corp., a software company that started in the computerized gaming. But training a car that's smart enough to take over the wheel requires massive amounts of data repeatedly drilled into the car's systems, according to the panel. For example, a smart camera maker in Germany fed thousands of photographs of stop signs into its autonomous driving program so it would learn to instantly recognize a stop sign, Shapiro said. "It's kind of like how a child would learn," he said. The stakes are high when a software glitch can cause a traffic accident and passenger injuries or death, noted Sam Abuelsamid, senior analyst for Navigant Research. Ken Washington, chief technology officer at Ford Motor Co., said there's no substitute for getting out on the street when gathering the information need for artificial intelligence in a car. Sam Abuelsamid, senior analyst for Navigant Research speaks on a panel of experts on artificial intelligence in vehicle application on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018 at the Cobo Center in Detroit. (Jake May | MLive.com) Developing and using artificial intelligence needed to operate self-driving cars was a predominant theme at AutoMobili-D, a trade show for advanced vehicle systems located in the lower level of Cobo Hall, the Downtown Detroit convention center where the massive annual auto show takes place. Title sponsor for the display is the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which is promoting the state as a center for autonomous technology. Dozens of suppliers and more than 50 startups companies were on hand to show off technology aimed at making self-driving vehicles a reality. In one corner, a Swedish company called Einride was showing off its T-Pod autonomous truck, a white snub-nosed vehicle with a large cargo area and no driver's cab. The 20-ton, 23-foot long T-pod comes without a cabin and is said to be able to transport 15 standard pallets at a time. Einride claims that the T-pod can travel about 125 miles on one charge, and has a battery capacity of 200 kWh. The truck's remote control technology could allow it be used in closed yards and settings and will eventually be enabled to venture out on the streets, according to a company official. The North American International Auto Show opens to the public Saturday, Jan. 20 through Sunday, Jan. 28. For an earlier look at what takes place during press and industry previews, check out full coverage of the show here. CLARKSTON, MI - Former Clarkston Community Schools Superintendent Rod Rock has resigned due to what he told school officials was an "inappropriate" relationship with a recent high school graduate. Rock has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing. The board of education held a special meeting on Sunday, Jan. 14, to accept Rock's resignation, effective immediately, states a letter from Elizabeth Egan, the school board president, to Clarkston Community Schools parents. Clarkston Community Schools enrolls approximately 7,600 students in Oakland County. Rock voluntarily notified the school board last week of a relationship he had with a recent Clarkston High School graduate. The relationship started off as a friendship and became "inappropriate" - as Rock characterized it - only after the now 19-year-old woman had graduated from high school, according to Egan's letter. Rock thought the nature of the relationship compromised his ability to serve as superintendent, the letter states. "This is difficult and deeply troubling news, and we wish to reassure the Clarkston community that student safety and well-being is, and will remain, our top priority," Egan wrote. "The immediate focus of Clarkston Community Schools is to support the young woman involved. As such, the Board of Education has initiated a full and complete outside investigation and we will share findings as appropriate, while also respecting our former student's privacy." Rock was hired as superintendent at Clarkston Schools in 2010, and in the 2017-18 school year, he had a base salary of $150,000, according to the district's financial disclosures. Rock previously served as director of instructional services at the Saginaw Intermediate School District, and he was a teacher and principal at Unionville-Sebewaing Area Schools in Huron County prior to that, according to his LinkedIn profile. Deputy Superintendent Shawn Ryan has been named interim superintendent, states Egan's letter, which was published Monday on the school district's website. Ryan has worked in Clarkston Schools for 22 years, the last seven of which were spent as deputy superintendent, according to Egan. DETROIT, MI - A federal judge has granted a motion to dismiss a major charge in connection with a female genital mutilation case in southeast Michigan. U.S. District Judge Bernard Freidman dismissed one of the counts against Dr. Jumana Nagarwala and Dr. Fakhruddin Attar in a written ruling filed on Sunday, Jan. 14. The count was listed as "conspiracy to transport minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity," which carries a minimum penalty of 10 years of prison and is a potential life offense. "In short, while the indictment may sufficiently allege a violation of the FGM statute - the statute adopted by Congress to address precisely such genital cutting - it does not allege that defendants transported minors intending that they engage in 'sexual activity'," Friedman wrote. The two doctors were arrested in April. Nagarwala, 44, of Northville, a former physician at Henry Ford Hospital, is accused of performing religious-based female circumcisions on multiple young girls from Minnesota at a since-closed Livonia clinic owned by Attar, 53. Attar helped coordinate the after-hours procedures, the government claims. The government says its case includes at least six victims, who are believed to have undergone female circumcisions between ages 6 and 8, and seven co-conspirators from Wayne County, Oakland County and Minnesota. Read: Female genital mutilation is not a sex act, attorney says. Second doctor charged in genital mutilation case Nagarwala is accused of performing at least four genital cutting operations on children between 2015 and 2017. The procedure at question is a religious rite sometimes conducted by the India-based Dawooni Bohra Muslim sect involving removing a portion of a girl's clitoris. Nagarwala claimed she only removed mucous from each girl's genitals using gauze, and gave the gauze to their mothers to bury as part of a religious act, according to court records. The two doctors and six other defendants still face one or more charges, including conspiracy to commit female genital mutilation, committing female genital mutilation and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. ANN ARBOR, MI - Award-winning actor and best-selling author Hill Harper used his platform as keynote speaker of the University of Michigan's Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. symposium Monday, Jan. 15, to say that the power of change rests with the people and that the time is now to act for freedom, justice and equality. Harper's address reflected on the words and actions of King, including King's 1962 visit to UM's Hill Auditorium - the site of Monday's symposium address - while addressing the current political climate in the United States. He said people need to step up to fight injustices, from attempts at immigration reform to alleged police brutality. "Together we have the power, but also together, we have the responsibility," he said. "We are all tied together in a single garment of mutual destiny. If there was ever a time to understand that point, the time is now. "As we think about Dr. King and his legacy, think about the seat you're sitting in and think about Dr. King speaking (at Hill Auditorium in 1962) and asking you, 'What are you willing to do?" Harper later asked the audience. "What are you willing to sacrifice to make the world better? I would suggest to you that you already know." Action, Harper suggested, could come in the fall of 2018 during the nation's midterm elections. He encouraged audience members to get out and vote on elections that could have an impact on their communities and to run for office to have the type of impact they would want to see at the local level. That will only come if people take action themselves, rather than simply speak out about the injustices they see, said Harper, who established the Manifest Your Destiny Foundation, which provides under-served youth with a path to empowerment and educational excellence through mentoring, academic enrichment programming and college access skills obtainment. "I'm going to ask an interesting question I believe Dr. King would have asked of this group (in 1962)," Harper said. "I'm going to ask you guys to run for office. Everybody in here, if you even had an intuition or notion ... we need you. We need your greatness, we need your inspiration, we need you to step out and step in. "Most of us, I believe, have an intuition of the work we're passionate about - how we as activists in this beautiful hall - can have impact, yet something stops us," Harper said. "Clearly something has, because it's a shame for me to stand here next to this podium we see (on the projector) talking about the exact same things (King) was talking about. We have to hold a mirror up to this and be very honest that that is shameful." Harper is noted for his acting roles in the Spike Lee films "Get on the Bus" and "He Got Game." He later appeared as crime scene investigator Sheldon Hawkes on the CBS crime drama "CSI: NY" for nine seasons until 2013. During that time, he was the winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010. Harper also is an accomplished writer, authoring several books including "Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny," "Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny" and "Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement, Hope and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones." He was critical Monday of President Donald Trump and his rise to power during his remarks, crediting him with bringing popularity to the "birther" movement suggesting that then-President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States despite presenting no credible evidence of his claim. Harper said Trump has continued to count on using his influence and energy to push an agenda that limits voting rights for all in the country, while also pushing for limits on immigration into the country. Those fighting against this agenda, Harper said, must respond by turning their potential energy into kinetic energy in bringing positive change. "I would suggest to you fellow activists that we have been bereft in living with too little energy and taking what I would call the easy way out, allowing other people with antithetical agendas to out-energy us," he said. "One thing that you can say about Trump is that he brings energy. "What I believe (Trump realized) is that if he said it with enough energy and kept at it long enough, that he could actually sell a lie," Harper later added. "And not only sell a lie, he could actually get other people to join a movement around a lie. What he's been able to do is take that same notion and out-energy us - shout it louder, say it stronger, keep at it, keep doing it, double down." Harper closed his keynote by asking those in the audience to unlock their own power and potential for greatness by being bold in their words and taking action. "What's beautiful about kinetic energy is it's infectious, it impacts each person around you," he said. "As you raise your vibration up, other people around you start to feel a little bit more empowered, too, and you start to flex a little bit. You start to say, 'We can do this," and, 'We will do this," and, 'This is how we're going to get there.'" YPSILANTI, MI - What would Martin Luther King Jr. have to say about modern America? That was the question MSNBC correspondent Joy-Ann Reid posed during her keynote address for Eastern Michigan University's 32nd annual MLK Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 15. Reid is a political analyst and host of MSNBC's "AM Joy." Two hundred people filled the auditorium at Eastern's Student Center and about 200 more watched from overflow rooms to hear Reid speak, according to the university. Reid called on the attendees not to let Martin Luther King Jr. Day become the "black people's holiday." Instead, people should "make full use" of King's memory and think about what it means to continue the work he started, she said. Reid also critiqued the proclamation President Donald Trump made on Jan. 12 recognizing Monday as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. She said she felt "a certain disconnect, a certain lack of a core connection between the speaker and the words that he was saying" - especially in light of Trump's alleged disparaging comment about African countries one day earlier. Trump has denied making the comment. "This is a jubilee year as they call it for Civil Rights commemoration," Reid said. "We arrive at this jubilee year at this time of some unprecedented things. We arrive at a time of declining moral authority in the White House, declining moral authority for America around the world. It's a time when Dr. King's mandate to change this country has never been more relevant." Reid spent much of her address recapping King's activism and putting his life in historical context, noting that he was born 16 years after Harriet Tubman died, and he negotiated with presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. King was killed at age 39, which is 9 years younger than Jay-Z currently is and 3 years older than Beyonce, Reid said. If he was still alive, King would be 7 years younger than Betty White, she added. Reid also noted that King gave a version of his "I have a dream" speech - famously delivered during the 1963 March on Washington - first in Detroit. King's activism, which started with the Montgomery bus boycotts in 1955, was about more than race, Reid said. He cared about the rights of black people all over the world as well as the plight of those living in poverty, whatever their race, and the death toll of war, Reid said. King was fighting for better working conditions for black sanitation workers on strike in Memphis at the time of his assassination on April 4, 1968. "King's legacy is in fact America's legacy, and I do mean all Americans. ... Because King's goal - and indeed, his struggle - was to make America great. Not great again, but great at all, by forcing his country to reckon with the gap between its founding creating individual liberty and freedom and its actual founding as a slave republic," Reid said. The United States still has not achieved the kind of equity for all people King hoped to see, Reid said, but progress has been made. She gave examples of recent court rulings against gerrymandering, the #MeToo movement's demand for an end to sexual violence and the fact that all 50 states now recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday. "As we commemorate his life, let's also keep the hope that he had in 1964 alive as well as the realism he had in 1968," Reid said. She asked the audience to think about what King would have to say about the Black Lives Matter movement, athletes kneeling during the National Anthem as a form of peaceful protest, immigration bans, the Flint water crisis and health care reform. Moses Lukwago, of Farmington Hills, appreciated Reid's ability to link the historical facts of King's life. He attended the event with his wife Juliet Lukwago and their daughter Sanyu Lukwago, who is a junior at Eastern and was a master of ceremonies for the MLK Day luncheon prior to Reid's address. "(Reid) was able to put Martin Luther King in the context of his time, but also to show that the message that he projected was a universal message," Moses Lukwago said. Lithuanian Mikus Alps, who fought in the 8th battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, has been found dead in a burnt-out car on the British island of Guernsey, the battalion has reported. "We have a loss... A soldier of the 8th separate battalion of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, friend Mikus Alps, who was a volunteer in the battalion for the last two years, has been killed in the center of Europe, on the British island of Guernsey. They tortured, killed him, tied him up and burned him in a car, which Mikus was driving for the military needs of the battalion," the battalion said in a report on its Facebook page on Saturday, January 13. Ukrainian friends of the volunteer, who handed over used cars to volunteers, say that he was burned alive in the car, Ukraine's TSN television news service reported. The report notes that in Guernsey, Alps had a small business for the utilization of cars. According to his Ukrainian friends, the volunteer received many threats. Alps had to drive another car to Ukraine. He asked his friends to meet him at the border, as he feared for his life. "They killed him demonstratively, tying him up in a car and burning him alive. They wrote to him on his page and called him. They said that if he did not stop helping the Ukrainian army and us, he would be killed. Such threatening messages are sent not only to him, but also to friends from Latvia," Alps' friend, volunteer Oleh Nazarenko, said. According to a local police report, the car completely burnt out before firefighters arrived. BAY CITY, MI -- More downtown living is coming to Bay City as part of a $2.8 million renovation project to the eastern half of the old PNC Bank building. Michael Loomis, owner of MDL Realty, and his business partner Earney Stoutenburg, are proposing to redevelop that portion of the building at Center Avenue and Adams Street into a mixed-use building with retail and commercial space on the terrace and ground levels and apartments on the second and third levels. The developers petition the Bay City Commission at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, to designate the 48,000-square-foot building as an Obsolete Property Rehabilitation District in order to make it eligible for up to a 12-year tax break. The city's assessor confirmed the building meets the criteria of being "obsolete." Loomis closed on the former bank building that stretches on Center Avenue from Washington Avenue to Adams Street for $475,000 in October from Bay City businessman Art Dore. Dore bought the building from the bank in 2014 for $100,000. Loomis then sold the western half of the building for $237,500 to KTC Industries LLC, a company registered to David R. Kelley, a Traverse City businessman looking to capitalize on Michigan's new medical marijuana industry. An industry consulting firm, Michigan Marijuana Legal Experts, has been operating out of the western portion of the building for a few months now. In total, Loomis' building will have five ground floor tenants, including his realty firm. A new bookstore called "99 Trees" has signed a lease to operate out of the building, in addition to speech therapist Brittany Stilson, who is opening her practice, "Find Your Voice Therapy." The second and third levels will be renovated to include 16 residential apartments, sized from studios to two-bedroom units. Loomis said Jenifer Acosta's redevelopment of the Crapo Building at Center and Washington avenues and her family's work to open City Market across the street sold him on the idea of purchasing and renovating the building. The Crapo Building, which will be called "The Legacy" upon its completion, is expected to have 26 apartments -- 17 one-bedroom units and nine two-bedroom unit. Once both buildings are completed, there will be 42 additional apartment units downtown. Loomis said he expects there to be enough demand for the rentals. "I think the more we bring down there, the more people will want to come down there," he said. "We see real opportunity in Bay City." As part of the renovation, Loomis plans to install all new windows on the facade, install a new HVAC system and improve interior finishes throughout the building. He could also replace three large heating boilers, three air handling units, a commercial vehicle elevator and all new commercial electrical infrastructure. Construction of the residential units would start in 2018 and be completed by 2021, he said. "This is more economic development for the city," said Sara Dimitroff, the city's economic development manager. "This is a prominent corner of the downtown that's going to benefit from more redevelopment." BAY CITY, MI -- The commander of the U.S. Army Bay City Recruiting Company recently issued a particularly special promotion to a fellow soldier -- specifically, his younger sister. In a small ceremony held Friday, Jan. 12, at the station at 4078 Wilder Road, 42-year-old Capt. Chad M. Hall promoted his adoptive sister Whitney Hall, 28, from the rank of sergeant (E-5) to that of staff sergeant (E-6). In attendance were the siblings' parents, Larry and Marlene Hall. As an officer is required to promote an enlisted person, Hall was in the necessary position to bestow the new rank upon his sister. "Ten years ago, I was my sister's recruiter," the captain said, "and now she's a recruiter for the Army in Indianapolis." In that past decade, the Hall siblings have crossed paths in different countries as their careers dictated. The new staff sergeant made the drive north to be promoted by her brother. "I've wanted him to do it," she said. "He's the one who put me in the Army, and he's always been there throughout my career. He helped me get into this profession that I love." "I think it's awesome," her brother added. "The things that would have had to happen for this to occur are pretty unique. One, I was her recruiter. Two, I moved up the ranks and went from the enlisted side to the officer side. Then I came here into Bay City as the commander of a recruiting company. "Then for her to later to be selected by the Army to be a recruiter herself and then be in a location that's close enough for her to drive here to be able to make it happen." BAY CITY, MI -- A new bookstore offering bulk purchases on used items is coming to downtown Bay City. Dustin Hartz and Samantha Barbour are opening "99 Trees" as early as March at 308 Center Ave., the eastern portion of the old PNC Bank Building that's planned for a $2.8 million redevelopment project. The couple, who previously sold books online, says the name of their business pays homage to the pine trees of Michigan and how big of a selection they hope to offer. "If you take a forest of 99 Michigan pine trees, you can produce 99,000 books," Hartz said. "That's how many books we plan to sell -- this place is going to be packed with books." But the name just doesn't refer to the number of books the business plans to sell, Hartz said. "It's also a way for customers to visualize the environmental impact of our store," he said, referring to the fact that the business reuses and recycles its books. "We extend the life of the natural resources used to create them and reduce the demand to print more." Hartz said for every book a customer finds in the store, two more have been recycled. The business, which will take up 4,500 square feet of space on the ground floor and a lower level, plans to offer a new sale weekly to keep the inventory constantly changing. "The goal is to get customers to get in there early to find the best books," Hartz said. For the first month of business, all books will be 99-cents. Bulk sales will also be a common promotion. For instance, customers can fill a bag with as many children's books as possible for $10. In Bay County, where 14 percent of adults age 16 and older read at or below a third-grade level and about 40 percent of third grade students in Bay County read below that grade level, literacy is also a focus of the new bookstore. "We believe in strong literacy for a community," Barbour said. The business plans to offer a match program to help families in need buy books. Hartz said the business could also carry rare, collectible books in the future. Two Michigan residents were injured, one critically, when their SUV was struck by a teenage driver being pursued by Indiana State Police after an alleged theft from a Meijer store. Miguel Linares Jr., 34, of Bloomfield Hills, suffered potentially life-threatening injuries in Saturday night's collision in Warsaw, Ind., police said. His passenger, Nora Linares, 35, also of Bloomfield Hills, suffered serious injuries. Both were being treated at Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. The incident began about 9:20 p.m. Saturday when an Indiana state trooper responded to a reported theft at a Meijer store in Warsaw. Authorities said the trooper saw a Pontiac Grand Am matching the suspect vehicle's description and attempted to stop it, but it fled east on U.S. 30. It drove through a red light at the intersection of the highway and Parker Street, crashing into three other vehicles, including the one driven by Miguel Linares. The two occupants in the Grand Am both died. The driver was identified by police as Jacob Slone, 19. The passenger was identified as Paige Jefferson, 16. Both were from Warsaw. OAKLAND COUNTY, MI - Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigations and law enforcement agencies across southeast Michigan have been notified to find out if a 40-year-old Flint woman arrested in connection with a pair of recent Oakland County bank robberies may have been involved in other heists. The latest incident took place this weekend at a Huntington Bank branch in Orion Township. Deputies with the Oakland County Sheriff's Office responded shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13 to Huntington Bank, 4983 S. Baldwin Road, for a report of a robbery. An employee was able to phone 911 and let police know a female suspect had entered the bank and filled a black clothing bag, turned inside out, with an unknown amount of cash before fleeing north on Georgia Road in a black Saturn. A physical and clothing description of the suspect and the vehicle were provided to deputies. A deputy located on northbound Interstate 75 spotted a vehicle and female driving it that matched the provided descriptions. Deputies followed the vehicle until additional units arrived, including Grand Blanc Township police, and then initiated a traffic stop on northbound I-75, south of I-475 in Genesee County, police said. A black canvas bag with assorted denominations of cash inside was found in the back seat and recovered by deputies. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office Forensic Science Laboratory was called to the scene for assistance in the ongoing investigation. The woman was transported to the Orion Township Substation to speak with a detective. Deputies were assisted at the scene of the traffic stop by the Grand Blanc Township. The incident remains under investigation. The same woman is also a suspect in a Nov. 20, 2017, bank robbery at the Comerica Bank in Independence Township. In the November incident, tellers told police a suspect of short stature wearing all black, including a full-face ski mask and gloves, walked up to their windows and began yelling for everyone to put their hands up. The suspect implied that they had a gun, police said, and told tellers to fill up a black bag with cash before taking off south on Dixie Highway in a dark blue SUV, possibly a Saturn Vue, with no license plate. The woman is being lodged at the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac pending criminal charges. FLINT, MI -- The Flint pastor who interrupted then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016 and reminded him not to talk politics in her church says she and her family received death threats after the incident. The Rev. Faith Green Timmons of Bethel United Methodist Church made the remark Sunday, Jan. 14, in her sermon to an annual NAACP Martin Luther King Jr. service at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, according to this report from Lancaster Online. Timmons interrupted Trump during his September 2016 visit to her church, asking him to stop when he began discussing Hillary Clinton and what he called the Democratic candidate's failures on the economy and foreign policy. "I invited you here to thank us for what we've done in Flint, not give a political speech," Timmons said at the time to Trump, cutting him off. A small crowd at the church applauded at the time, but appearing on "Fox and Friends" later, Trump later called the pastor a "nervous mess." In the wake of the event, Timmons said she and her family received death threats, according to the Lancaster Online report. Timmons was disappointed that among those who attacked her were evangelicals who supported Trump, reminding her of the persecution faced by Jesus and by King, the story says. The irony, she said, is "I'm an evangelical and a conservative." FLINT, MI -- Attorneys who have prosecuted and defended officials accused of wrongdoing related to the Flint water crisis have been paid more than $20 million, according to the most recent state government records. Information requested by MLive-The Flint Journal from the office of Gov. Rick Snyder, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the state Department of Health and Human Services, and Attorney General Bill Schuette detail the spending on both criminal and civil cases. Schuette has spent $6.2 million on the prosecution of 15 current and former state and city employees, four of whom have reached plea agreements and rest of whom have yet to complete preliminary examinations in Genesee District Court. Snyder's office has spent $5.2 million with two law firms -- Warner, Norcross & Judd LLP and Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker -- to defend the executive office. The DEQ's spending for civil and criminal attorneys related to Flint water to date tops $5.5 million, and DHHS has spent an additional $3.3 million so far for both criminal and civil attorneys tied to the water crisis. The $20.3 million total does not include the cost of providing attorneys for former emergency mangers appointed by Snyder to run Flint during its financial emergency or for other city employees, like former Department of Public Works director Howard Croft, who faces involuntary manslaughter and other charges. Responsibility for those emergency manager and former city employee legal charges have been the subject of negotiations between the city and the state for months and were in excess of $900,000 more than three months ago. State Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, D-Flint, said the rising cost to taxpayers of attorney bills for government workers isn't fair. "It says a lot about what they think of the citizens of Flint that the taxpayers they harmed are now paying for their expensive defense lawyers," Ananich said in a statement to The Journal. "The only justice seems to be for those who committed the crimes." Among those accused of civil or criminal wrongdoing related to the crisis, the most expensive defenses have been paid by state taxpayers for DEQ District Supervisor Stephen Busch ($1.2 million), former DEQ director Dan Wyant ($1.02 million), former DEQ public information officer Brad Wurfeul ($941,691), DHHS Director Nick Lyon ($806,426), and Liane Shekter-Smith, former director of the DEQ Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance ($669,992). Busch, Lyon, and Shekter-Smith are among those in the midst of their preliminary examinations. Croft and former emergency managers Darnell Earley and Gerald Ambrose aren't scheduled to being their exams until at least next month. In addition to the state funding their civil and criminal defenses, state employees who are facing Flint water charges have been granted paid leaves while their cases unwind. Lyon and Wells are the only two state employees to remain on the job despite facing charges that include involvuntary manslaughter. Lyon's case is the next that is scheduled to resume on Friday, Jan. 19, before Judge David Goggins. GRAND RAPIDS, MI-- Police are investigating an overnight shooting in Grand Rapids, which sent a 19-year-old man to a hospital with a gunshot wound. Officers were dispatched around 8:40 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, to a report of a shooting in the 1500 block of Beckwith View Avenue NE in Grand Rapids. On scene, police located a 19-year-old man who had been shot in the leg. The man was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was treated and released for a non-life-threatening injury, police said. Police said the suspected shooter fled the scene before officers arrived. A suspect or victim description was not available late Monday morning, and no arrests had been made. The shooting took place outside Beckwith Place Apartments. The incident is under investigation by the Grand Rapids Police Department. Anyone with information is asked by police to contact the department at 616-456-3400, or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 33-year-old Walker woman has been accused of embezzling more than $49,000 from her second employer in less than four years. Alicia Marie Simatos was out of prison on a prior conviction for a little more than five months before she was accused of embezzling $49,198 from Alystyn Inc., -- a Grand Rapids-based medical day spa -- court records show. Simatos is charged with embezzlement of $20,000 to $50,000 -- a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Because it's her second offense, she faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted. In 2014, Simatos pleaded no contest to stealing about $55,000 from her then-employer, Holistic Care Approach, 3368 E. Beltline Court NE in Plainfield Township. She was convicted of logging cash payments from customers as if they were redeeming gift certificates and then pocketing the cash. The business provided services like acupuncture, skin tightening, Reiki, spiritual healing and a variety of massage services. Police said the initial embezzlement case occurred between January 2010 and January 2014. She was sentenced June 25, 2014, and served almost three years in prison before being released on April 19, 2017, Michigan Department of Corrections records show. Simatos' second embezzlement accusation came Sept. 27, 2017, when police said she stole just shy of $50,000 from Alystyn Inc., located at 1100 East Paris Ave. SE. A company spokesperson confirmed Simatos was a front desk receptionist but is no longer employed by the company. Last week, Simatos' case was bound over from the 63rd District Court to Kent County Circuit Court for trial. A trial date has not yet been set. GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A federal judge said an Ingham County judge should not have released courtroom video of a defendant, armed with a shank, trying to attack a prosecutor. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina allowed the Lansing State Journal to record the attack from courtroom video, which prompted then-Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth to accuse the judge of obstruction of justice. He said the recordings should only be released by the proper authorities because his agency was investigating how the defendant, Joshua Harding, managed to get a shank into the courtroom. An outside prosecutor, Clinton County Prosecutor Charles Sherman, refused to file charges against the judge. In response, Aquilina filed a federal lawsuit against Wriggelsworth and sheriff's detective Charles Buckland, who sought the warrant. The judge's attorney, Nicholas Bostic, alleged that the sheriff retaliated against her because he was embarrassed by the inmate's attack. "(The judge's) First Amendment activities in allowing the video to be recorded by a member of the media were a substantial factor in the decisions of Defendant Wriggelsworth and Defendant Buckland to inform third parties that they were investigating an alleged crime against (the judge)," her attorney, Nicholas Bostic wrote in the lawsuit. "Having an inmate bring a shank into a courtroom is a matter of public concern. ... Granting permission of the media to record a recording of an event that occurred in a room that is open to the public cannot support any valid criminal charge." U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker in Grand Rapids dismissed the lawsuit. "A robust First Amendment necessarily protects citizens who speak from retaliation by public officials. But when the speaker is a public employee, and the subject of the speech is part of the employee's official duties, other critical interests come into play and limit the otherwise applicable protection of the First Amendment," Jonker wrote. "Judge Aquilina addressed a policy issue of courthouse security. It was naturally within her scope of public duties. Moreover, the way she chose to speak - by leaking a courthouse video available to her only because she worked for the Court - obviously involved her public position." He said that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that "that is not the kind of speech that supports a First Amendment retaliation claim, any more than it would if the speaker had been an entry level courthouse employee, and the alleged retaliator had been the Clerk of the Court who fired the employee for the leak." Aquilina contended that she and other judges were not satisfied with courtroom security, and had a meeting on the subject set for Aug. 2, 2016, the day the inmate brought the shank to another judge's courtroom. A Lansing State Journal reporter asked to view courtroom security video. Aqulina granted the request. When Wriggelsworth announced an investigation into the judge's actions, the judge worried about an arrest and arranged care for her children if she was taken into custody. She filed a First Amendment retaliation claim and a state law complaint for invasion of privacy, placing her in false light. The judge dismissed the federal complaint but took no action on the state complaint, which could be filed in state court. The judge said that the First Amendment claim would require Aquilina to show she was engaged in constitutionally protected speech, was subjected to adverse action by the defendants and that "the protected speech was a substantial or motivating factor for the adverse action." He said that "the Supreme Court recognized that 'when a citizen enters government service, the citizen by necessity must accept certain limitations on his or her freedoms.' A Government employee retains First Amendment protections for some types of speech, but the employee's First Amendment rights must be balanced against the Government's right as an employer to 'promot(e) the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees.'" He said that public workers who make statements as part of their official duties are not speaking as private citizens with First Amendment protections. "No one disputes that courthouse security is a matter of public concern. The issue is whether Plaintiff was speaking as a citizen," Jonker wrote. In granting the defendants' request for summary judgement, he said the judge was not acting as a "citizen" when she shared the video. He said his ruling was limited, and did not mean that a public official could abuse another. "In the Court's view, it is especially important to ensure that the speech of a public official does not become a predicate for a retaliation claim against another public official. Citizens elect public officials to speak on issues of public concern, and both citizens and elected officials know that such speech triggers opposition from other public officials," Jonker wrote. "For elected officials to clash in the course of performing their official duties is a natural part of the public policy process. And clashes between elected officials should normally be resolved by the ballot box, not in a courtroom. That is particularly true when the elected contenders are State or local officials, and the courtroom is federal." Harding, 36, assaulted Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Roth shortly before he was convicted of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the sex assault and a consecutive 20-year term for assault with intent to commit murder. A Meridian Township police and Ingham County sheriff's deputies prevented Roth from suffering serious injury. The policy of the Czech Republic regarding Ukraine is unlikely to change after the presidential elections, Radio Liberty reported referring to Ukrainian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Yevhen Perebyinis. "The current government headed by Andrej Babis, who next week will face a confidence vote in parliament, actually, has already declared his position on Ukraine, on supporting Ukraine," Perebyinis stressed. According to him, the foreign policy in the Czech Republic is determined by the government, and presidential functions are mostly ceremonial. As reported, the current head of the Czech Republic, Miklos Zeman, won the first round of the presidential run, but he failed to win an absolute majority. KALKASKA COUNTY, MI -- Authorities have determined that speed and alcohol were likely factors in a deadly snowmobile crash in Kalkaska County. Police were dispatched shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 14, to a report of man who was missing after he went out riding a 2000 Arctic Cat snowmobile around midnight on Manistee Lake in Coldsprings Township. Emergency personnel located Nick Gerald Evers, 49, of St. John's, and pronounced him dead at the scene. Investigators determined that Evers' snowmobile was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit an embankment on the lake's shoreline. The driver was ejected from the snowmobile, and thrown into a tree. Although he was wearing a helmet, Evers died. Police believe speed and alcohol were factors in the crash. Assisting the Kalkaska Sheriff's Office on scene were Frederic EMS and Station 6 Rescue. GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Davenport University pre-law student Daniel Caracheo said he doesn't remember much from Mexico. Caracheo came to the United States when he was just 5 years old. However, he does remember the moment he realized he was in the United States. In 2005, his family was driving through Texas when he saw an enormous American flag in front of a wind farm, waving proudly in the wind. He might not have known it then, he said, but now when he looks at the flag he sees a symbol of an open country that welcomed them in. As an immigrant and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, Caracheo shared his story at a recent press conference held by a group of West Michigan faith leaders. The conference was held at Ministerios Rios de Agua Viva (Joy Like a River) United Church of Christ at 1841 Havana Ave. SW in Wyoming. The goal of the event was to demand passage of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act and call upon local politicians to support, champion and vote for its passage, the Rev. Justo Gonzalez II said. Gonzalez, Southwest Area Minister for the United Church of Christ, said it is vital that we as American citizens recognize the importance immigrants play on our economies. These immigrants are not terrorists, he said, and come because they are in economic need or trying to escape violence and drugs. "The broader community needs to understand these are extremely exceptional young people and we celebrate them and we want to support them," Gonzalez said. He said clergy and others featured at the press conference wanted to be clear in their demands: that Congress stop playing politics while holding immigrants hostage who have already been provided DACA support, and that a clean Dreamer act voted in by the budget reconciliation Jan. 19, providing a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients. "The church is watching you," Gonzalez said. "People of faith are watching you. Rhetoric is no longer acceptable. We demand action and we demand it today." If politicians want to do comprehensive immigration, do that separately and distinct, Gonzalez said. Now is the time to get these young people protection for themselves and their families and to pave a path to citizenship, he said. Although he said it was scary the first time, Caracheo said he shares his story because he does not want to see his future filled with uncertainty. "We will keep on fighting for our future because this is our home and we are here to stay," he said. Others speaking at the press conference included Gema Lowe, Community Organizer for Grand Rapids Movimento Cosecha; Lupe Ramos-Montigny, state Board of Education member; the Rev. Bruce Roller, Executive Director for United Church Outreach Ministries and the Rev. Doug Van Doren, pastor for Grand Rapids Plymouth United Church of Christ. "So as we close, we want to be clear," Gonzalez said. "While we represent a variety of different faith traditions and experiences, we stand united in God's call to welcome, to embrace, to affirm the dignity and worth of all of God's children." TRAVERSE CITY, MI - Two weeks after his death, Michigan's famous airport dog will be honored with a public memorial service Saturday at the City Opera House in Traverse City. Piper, the photogenic border collie whose work clearing wildlife from the Cherry Capital Airport's grounds earned him thousands of fans on social media, died Jan. 3 after a year-long bout with cancer. Since Piper's passing, people have sent countless messages of sympathy and love to Brian Edwards, the dog's owner, handler and airport operations supervisor. He posted a gracious thank-you video for all the support, and released the audio of Piper signing off from duty at the airport - after one last pursuit of his nemesis, a snowy owl. Saturday's short service will begin at 3 p.m. It will feature a video tribute and some words from Edwards. The service will also be livestreamed on Cherry Capital Airport K-9 Team's Facebook page. In a message to supporters, Edwards said he decided that he and Piper would live their lives to the fullest in their last year as the K-9 team. "It was not an easy year," he said in a post on social media. "Learning of the cancer was hard, but we both remained hopeful. Piper began chemotherapy in March and we never looked back. "We chose to continue to live life as normal. We were doing what we could and remained positive." Most people never knew Piper was sick. Edwards told only his family and close friends. "We didn't want any sympathy or to be treated differently. We were no different than countless others dealing with this disease." Edwards again thanked supporters who have donated to Piper's fund over the years, saying the burden of the dog's chemotherapy costs have been lifted because of that. Through it all, Edwards kept up an active social media presence for Piper. Pictures from the last year posted to his Facebook and Instagram accounts show the dog not only doing a job he loved, but rubbing paws with his friends at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, and being a four-legged ambassador for Northern Michigan. "I won't lie, it was tough smiling through the pain sometimes. There are images/posts that take on a different meaning knowing he had cancer, but looking back, I'm glad we made those posts and had such a positive outlet in our social media." Edwards recently posted a photo he took of Piper on the airport runway, his dog's front legs shaved and bandaged after a chemo treatment. It's that kind of photo Edwards had to keep off social media pages in the last year, but to him, it shows the essence of Piper's courage - not letting cancer define him. "That is what I hope part of Piper's legacy will be. Whether it's cancer or anything else crappy going on in your life, don't let it define you. Stay positive, smile, be courageous... be you." KALAMAZOO, MI - Nonla Burger is trying to keep it simple. "That is our goal with Nonla," co-owner Natashia Monk said of the new restaurant on Kalamazoo's south side. "It's basic burgers, fries and shakes." "It's burgers, fries, shakes, sometimes we change out our salads," said her husband Kyle, another co-owner of the 2103 S. Burdick St. eatery. "Sometimes we have desserts. Sometimes we'll have a special, maybe like a fish sandwich. But for the most part, what you see up there (pointing to the menu) is what you get." The business opened on Oct. 17 in about 900 square feet of space on Burdick Street at Alcott Street. The Monks are the owner/operators along with partners Johnny and Kelly Nguyen. Both couples relocated from California to open businesses here. And all but Kelly are from Fullerton, Calif. She is originally from southeast Michigan but has relatives in the Kalamazoo area. The Nguyens relocated here about four years ago to start a family and opened Nonla Vietnamese in Mattawan. It is a tiny (16-seat) eatery that has developed a successful following for its "Vietnamese street food." That includes pho, bahn mi sandwiches and other classic Vietnamese dishes. The Monks moved to the Great Lakes State about eight months ago, fulfilling a longtime wish of Kyle to go into business for himself. He was working as a portrait photographer in California and Natashia was working as a fashion designer when he visited the Nguyens last year and was enamored with the idea of opening a restaurant. "Johnny and I have known each other since we were 13 years old with big baggy pants," Kyle Monk said. "We were little skateboarders - surfing, skating." But he also said, "I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur." Kyle is now 39. Johnny is 38. Natashia Monk said that after 10 years in the fashion industry, she wanted to take a break from that and work with her husband. Johnny is a classically training chef and is considered head chef for Nonla Burger as well as Nonla Vietnamese. He and Kyle considered various business ideas before settling on the restaurant. The Monks said Nonla Burger utilizes a location in Kalamazoo that Johnny thought would be good for a new restaurant. Like Nonla Vietnamese, it is also tiny, with seating for fewer than 30 people. Speaking of the difference between Nonla Burger and Nonla Vietnamese, Natashia Monk said, "It's a whole different cuisine in the sense that at Nonla Vietnamese they have Vietnamese-style dishes. Their price point is just a little bit higher than ours. They're usually around $10 a plate where ours is lower." Nonla Burger serves hamburgers, hand-cut fries, salads, milk shakes and soda pop. It also serves a lettuce-wrap burger which is gluten-free and it regularly changes its side-order salads. A cheeseburger costs about $3.10. It is typically served with lettuce, tomato, onions and a secret "Nonla" sauce. But there is an option that loads a burger with grilled onions, jalapenos, cilantro and cucumbers. An order of fries is about $2.30. A double-burger with fries and a drink may cost about $8. "We have a very simple menu," Natashia said. "That's what we wanted to bring, a simplified menu - tasty and affordable." Of the similarity in names, she said, "Basically Nonla means 'rice hat' in Vietnamese. It's the cone hats they used to wear when they picked rice on the farms in Vietnam. We didn't want to change the name here because of the success of Nonla Vietnamese in Mattawan. It's amazing food and they've been open for three years and had huge success." Including the Monks, the business has seven employees. Since its opening, it has gained a following via social media and by word of mouth. "We wanted to kind of be that in-between," Natashia Monk said of the restaurant as an option between fast food and a sit-down grill eatery. "We wanted to come in and give you a really tasty, affordable burger but not be a fast-food chain." Business hours are 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. GRAND HAVEN, MI - A formerly Grand Rapids-based advertising guru is relocating and opening a new firm in Grand Haven. Bill McKendry, co-founder of the former Grand Rapids advertising agency Hanon McKendry, is opening Haven | a creative hub. Hanon McKendry was sold to Indiana-based advertising agency JDA Worldwide in 2016. Haven will be a "one-stop destination for idea-generation, where creative resources will be custom matched and blended uniquely for the needs and challenges of their clients," according to a news release. "At the pace in which people are engaging with media, messaging today needs to be more clear, compelling, creative and delivered quickly, sometimes instantaneously," said McKendry, who has regularly been quoted by the Grand Rapids Press as an expert source on the topics of advertising, marketing and branding. McKendry describes his new venture as a "no fluff" model with a small staff and large network of resources that he's accumulated during a more than 30-year career. The agency's tagline is "ideas in waves," playing off the location on the shores of Lake Michigan. Haven will be a member of the Gravity Alliance, an agency collaborative formed in 2007 to bring clients, talent and attention to West Michigan. It's spearheaded by McKendry. "I'm leveraging everything I've learned and know about this industry and combining it with a network of everyone I know who is great in this business, and I'm putting it all to work in a fresh way at a time when clients and the market are demanding more fresh ideas," McKendry said. Matt Weigand | MLive.com file By Heather Jordan | hjordan@mlive.com Saginaw County Department of Public Health officials routinely inspect area restaurants, coffee shops, hospital cafeterias, churches, hotels and other places where food is served to the public. The food service inspection reports, which can be found online here, detail any health code violations that are found as well as actions taken to correct them. There are three types of violations: core, priority foundation and priority. Priority foundation and priority violations are the more severe types of violations. Food service establishments typically are subjected to two routine inspections per year. Depending on the number and type of violations found, one or more follow-up inspections may be required. Here's a look at the inspections conducted Dec. 4-10, 2017. Don't Edit Google Maps Arthur Hill High School 3115 Mackinaw St., Saginaw 48602 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 4, 2017 Priority: No chlorine sanitizer detected in dish machine. A chlorine sanitizer shall have the manufacturers recommended concentration. Provide sanitizer solution concentration as required. Note: Facility will use three-compartment sink until dish machine is repaired and sanitizer concentration is verified by this office. A follow-up inspection is required. Don't Edit Google Maps B&C Pizza 230 N. Center, Saginaw 48638 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 Priority foundation: ***Corrected*** no dented cans observed during follow-up inspection. Priority: ***Corrected*** no food present past date for discarding during inspection. Don't Edit Google Maps Bob Evans 12100 S. Beyer Road, Birch Run 48415 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 6, 2017 Priority foundation: There are flies present throughout the facility. To avoid contamination, eliminate harborage conditions for pests. *Note: This violation requires a follow-up inspection. Priority foundation: There are liquid eggs using time as a control being held at the grill line at 55 degrees F not marked with a discard time. In order to use time as a control, provide markings to identify when the food is removed from temperature control and the four-hour time limit in which it is to be discarded. *Note: Person in charge could not identify how long the liquid eggs had been removed from temperature control. Liquid eggs were discarded. *This violation requires a follow-up inspection. Core: The exterior of several pieces of equipment on the grill are not clean. Clean routinely. Don't Edit Google Maps Buena Vista Community Center 1940 S. Outer Drive, Saginaw 48601 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 6, 2017 Core: The vents in the hood over the stove have an accumulation of dust and grease. Non-food-contact surfaces shall be kept clean. Clean all equipment on a regular basis to prevent an accumulation of soil residues. Don't Edit Don't Edit Google Maps Burger King 150 Washington St., Freeland 48623 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 5, 2017 Priority: ***Corrected*** The front ice machine now has an approved air gap provided. Priority: ***Corrected*** Mop sink hose now has an approved atmospheric breaker attached downstream from shut off attachment. Don't Edit Google Maps Carrollton Athletic Concession 1235 Mapleridge, Carrollton 48724 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 4, 2017 No violations Don't Edit Google Maps Charley's Philly Steaks 4338 Bay, Saginaw 48603 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 Priority: Corrected. No unapproved chemicals were observed in facility. Priority foundation: Corrected. At time of inspection, disposable paper towels were provided at hand-washing sink in the dish washing area. Priority: Corrected. At time of inspection, quat test strip verified chemical concentration in sanitizing compartment of three-compartment sink was in appropriate range. Priority: Corrected. At time of inspection, potentially hazardous food was cold held in prep refrigeration unit at appropriate temperature. Priority: Corrected. At time of inspection, no hand washing violations were observed. Core: Corrected. Establishment's ServSafe manager completed the required allergen training. Core: Corrected. At time of inspection, all food workers were wearing appropriate hair restraints. Don't Edit Google Maps Covenant HealthCare 5400 Mackinaw, Saginaw 48603 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 4, 2017 No violations Don't Edit Google Maps Dead Creek Saloon 8030 S. Gera Road, Frankenmuth 48734 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 4, 2017 Core: The ceiling in the walk-in cooler is not clean. Clean the ceiling in the walk-in cooler routinely. Core: There are two outdoor garbage containers and one grease trap stored on grass/gravel. Store the two garbage containers and grease trap on an approved surface listed above. Core: Wiping cloth bucket in the kitchen is registering no chlorine. Provide an approved concentration for storage of wiping clothes. Don't Edit Don't Edit Google Maps Elias Bros Big Boy 6301 Dixie Highway, Bridgeport 48722 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 4, 2017 Priority: ***Corrected*** Proper glove use observed during inspection. No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food observed during follow-up inspection. Priority: ***Corrected*** No medication storage violations observed during inspection. Don't Edit Google Maps First Ward Community Center 1410 N. Twelfth St., Saginaw 48601 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Priority: The chlorine concentration at the three-compartment sink registered above 200 parts per million (verified with paper test strip). Manufacturer's label on chlorine states a concentration of 100 ppm be used for sanitizing food contact surfaces. Provide an approved concentration. ***Corrected*** Person in charge diluted the sanitize solution concentration with water and provided 100 ppm solution (verified with paper test strip). Don't Edit Google Maps G's Pizzeria Bar & Grill 3823 Bay Road, Saginaw 48603 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Priority foundation: *Corrected: There are no utensils or dishes stored still dirty at the time of inspection. Priority: *Corrected: There are no foods past the consume-by date at the time of inspection. Priority foundation: *Corrected: All foods are consistently date-marked for seven days at the time of inspection. Don't Edit Google Maps Grace Baptist Church 4619 Mackinaw, Saginaw 48603 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 4, 2017 No violations Don't Edit Google Maps Heritage High School Music Boosters 3465 N. Center, Saginaw 48603 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 5, 2017 No violations Don't Edit Don't Edit Google Maps J.B. Meinberg 116 S. Hamilton, Saginaw 48602 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Priority: Chlorine test strip did not detect any chemical in Glastender in the Meinberg side bar. To effectively sanitize provide chemical in appropriate concentration as required. Core: Interior of soda gun holders is not clean. Maintain clean as required. Core: Office supplies stored directly in single use take out container. Store single-use items in a manner that protects them from contamination. Core: Storage shelves in kitchen, dish ashing and food prep areas are not clean. Maintain clean as required. Core: In-use wiping cloths sitting on counter and on drain board of three-compartment sink. Store in-use wiping cloths completely submersed in an approved chemical sanitizing solution between uses. Don't Edit Google Maps Jimmy John's 4480 Bay Road, Saginaw 48603 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Core: In-use mayonnaise scoop stored in standing water between uses. Store in-use utensils in an approved manner as required. Don't Edit Google Maps Kentucky Fried Chicken 9230 Birch Run Road, Birch Run 48415 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 6, 2017 Priority: The pop machine ice bin drain line at the drive-thru window area has an air break and requires an air gap. Provide an approved air gap to the drain line. *This violation requires a follow-up inspection. Core: The floors throughout the facility including below equipment and in the walk-in freezer are not clean. Clean the floors throughout the facility routinely. Core: There are two microwaves in the prep area that are not clean. Clean the two microwaves routinely. Core: The floor/wall under the three-compartment sink is missing coving. Install coving to the floor/wall under the three-compartment sink. Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 Priority: ***Corrected*** Facility has provided an approved air gap to the pop ice machine drain line. Don't Edit Google Maps Lazy Dog Pizza Co. 154 S. Main St. Suite 5, Frankenmuth 48734 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Priority foundation: ***Corrected*** No date marking violations observed during inspection. Don't Edit Google Maps Little Caesars 229 N. Main, Frankenmuth 48734 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 Core: The interior of the pizza prep cooler has an accumulation of debris. Clean prep coolers routinely. Core: There is a container of pizza sauce being stored on the floor in the walk-in cooler. To avoid contamination, store food at least six inches above the floor. Don't Edit Don't Edit Google Maps Mama Mia's Pizzeria 16535 Gratiot, Hemlock 48626 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Priority: *Corrected* The toppings in the reach-in cooler across from the pizza oven were verified with a thermometer to be 41 degrees F and below. Don't Edit Google Maps Milano's Pizza 3085 Bay Road, Saginaw 48603 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 No violations Don't Edit Google Maps Nexteer Plant No. 3/Continental Cafe 3900 E. Holland, Saginaw 48601 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 6, 2017 Priority: There are several covered pans of meatloaf cooling in the walk-in cooler. TCS food (food requiring time and temperature control for safety) shall be rapidly cooled using an approved method. Ensure foods are cooled properly. Note: Pans were vented to allow rapid cooling. Priority foundation: The slicer blade is soiled. Food contact surfaces shall be clean to the sight and touch. The slicer was taken to the three-compartment sink to be properly cleaned. Note: This violation requires a follow-up inspection. Core: There are two boxes of foam plates stored on the floor. Single service items shall be stored at least six inches above the floor. Ensure all items are stored in a protected manner. Don't Edit Heather Jordan | heather_jordan@mlive.com Old Town Drive-In 807 S. Granger, Saginaw 48602 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 5, 2017 No violations Don't Edit Google Maps Panda Express 4863 Fashion Square Mall, Saginaw 48604 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 5, 2017 Core: The interior bottom shelf of the stir fry prep cooler is pitted and has large holes present. Repair/resurface the bottom shelf of the stir fry prep cooler to be smooth and easily cleanable. Don't Edit Don't Edit Google Maps Pita Pit in Birch Run 9180 Birch Run Road, Birch Run 48415 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Priority foundation: There are two cans of jalapenos, a can of roasted red peppers, a can of black olives, and a can of artichoke hearts all with dents present on the seams/seals of the cans. Discard/mark for return. ***Corrected*** Person in charge marked all dented cans for return during inspection. Don't Edit Google Maps Poblano's 418 N. Main, Frankenmuth 48734 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 Core: The interior of the reach-in freezer has an accumulation of debris. Clean the interior of freezers routinely. Core: There are several food storage lids throughout the facility that are cracked or broken. Repair or replace the lids so that they are easily cleanable. Don't Edit Google Maps Qdoba Mexican Grill 5165 Bay Road, Saginaw 48604 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 No violations Don't Edit Google Maps Rally's 420 E. Genesee, Saginaw 48607 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 Core: Floors throughout facility especially under equipment are not clean. Maintain floors clean as required. Core: Food workers preparing food without wearing hair restraint. Provide and wear hair restraint that effectively restrains hair. Don't Edit Google Maps Restoration Community Outreach 1205 Norman St., Saginaw 48601 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 6, 2017 Core: The ServSafe allergen manager no longer works for the facility and does not have another ServSafe allergen-certified manager. Provide a ServSafe allergen-certified manager within 90 days. Core: The scoop in the sugar container is stored with the handle in contact with the sugar. Store the scoop with the handle extended out of the sugar. Core: There is a small plastic container and a large storage bin with utensils that are stored jumbled. Store all clean utensils in an approved manner. Don't Edit Don't Edit Google Maps Riverfront Grille 128 N. Front St., Chesaning 48616 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 6, 2017 Priority: The dish machine was verified via test strips to be providing a sanitizer solution below 100 ppm chlorine. Provide a proper sanitizer solution for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing food contact surfaces. *Note* The facility was able to set up the three-compartment sink to sanitize equipment. *Note* This violation requires a follow up inspection. Core: The floor underneath the bar has an accumulation of trash and cups. Clean underneath equipment routinely. Core: 1) The shelves of the reach in freezer next to the grill line has an accumulation of food debris. 2) The floor of the walk in freezer has an accumulation of food debris. Clean equipment routinely. Core: The hood filter system over the grill line is missing a panel. Replace the missing hood filter panel. Don't Edit Google Maps Rusty Saw Smokehouse 540 S. Orr Road, Hemlock 48626 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Priority: *Corrected* All in-house prepared jars of peppers were removed from the facility. Priority: *Corrected* There are no in-house prepared foods that are past date for discarding in the facility. Priority foundation: *Corrected* All in-house prepared foods have proper date marks for discarding. Don't Edit Google Maps SS Francis and Clare Parish 12157 Church St., Birch Run 48415 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 No violations Don't Edit Google Maps St. Charles Athletic Association Indoor 881 W. Walnut, St. Charles 48655 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 5, 2017 Priority: There is no sanitizer at the concession stand for sanitizing food contact surfaces. Provide sanitizer. *Note: Person in charge provided chlorine sanitizer in order to wash, rinse and sanitize food-contact surfaces. *This violation requires a follow-up inspection. Core: Concession stand volunteers are not wearing hair restraints. Provide hair restraints. *Corrected: Volunteers provided hair restraints. Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 Core: *Note: This Michigan food law violation was written in error. Facility is not required to have allergen training. Don't Edit Google Maps Szechuan House Express 120 W. Genesee, Frankenmuth 48734 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 4, 2017 Priority foundation: **Corrected*** No dented cans present in facility during follow-up inspection. Priority: ***Corrected*** No cold holding violations observed. Facility is now cooking and cooling the sweet and sour sauce to be held cold until it is warmed up for the hot-holding unit. Don't Edit Don't Edit Google Maps The Maple Grille 13105 Gratiot, Hemlock 48626 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Priority: Facility has submitted a septic permit application and is in the process of replacing the septic system. *Note* This violation requires a follow-up inspection. Don't Edit Google Maps Tiffany's Food and Spirits 656 S. Main, Frankenmuth 48734 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 4, 2017 Priority: The mechanical chlorine dish machine is registering 10 parts per million chlorine and requires 50 ppm according to manufacturer's label. Repair the mechanical dish machine to provide an approved concentration of chlorine. Note: Facility put in a service call during inspection. Facility will use the high-temp dish machine for all glassware/bar utensils until the machine can be serviced and is sanitizing properly. Priority foundation: The back hand washing station next to the slicer has a colander, ice, and water in it. Hand washing stations shall be used for hand washing only and no culinary purpose. Discontinue use. Note: Person in charge removed colander, ice, and water from hand washing station during inspection. Don't Edit Google Maps Timbers Bar & Grill 6415 State St., Saginaw 48603 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 8, 2017 Priority: Chlorine test strip did not detect any chlorine present in sanitizing step. Provide chlorine in concentration according to products label directions to effectively sanitize. Core: Floors in dish washing area especially under dish washing machine are not clean. Maintain floors clean as required. Core: 1. Gaps in hoods over cooking area in back prep kitchen and grill line. Repair to be tight fitting. 2. Microwave ovens in prep area and grill line are missing interior bottom plates. Replace missing interior plates. Don't Edit Google Maps Tony's I-75 Restaurant 8781 Main, Birch Run 48415 Follow-up inspection conducted Dec. 6, 2017 Priority: ***Corrected*** No food past discard date observed during follow-up inspection. Don't Edit Google Maps Tony's of St. Charles 112 S. Saginaw, St. Charles 48655 Routine inspection conducted Dec. 7, 2017 Core: The floors beneath and behind the grill line are not clean and have dirt, debris, and grease build-up. Clean floors routinely. Core: The interior of the ice machine is not clean. Clean routinely. Core: There are several worn and cracked floor tiles throughout the facility that are not easily cleanable. Repair or replace all worn and cracked floor tiles. Don't Edit Don't Edit You might also like... Bare hands touching salad and more in Saginaw-area kitchens Nov. 20-Dec. 3 Mouse droppings, fly zapper over food in Saginaw-area kitchens Nov. 13-19 Mold growth on cooler walls and more in Saginaw-area kitchens Nov. 6-12 Food stored on the floor and more in Saginaw-area kitchens Oct. 30-Nov. 5 SAGINAW, MI -- The cold weather didn't stop people from participating in the MLK March in Saginaw, and didn't stop a lawmaker from spreading a message to residents. The annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Luncheon this year was preceded by the annual march that began at the corner of Franklin and Hayden and ended at The Dow event center on Monday, Jan. 15. The day was the first time in more than 10 years that MLK's birthday and the federal holiday of its observation fell on the same day. This year, U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township spoke at the event. U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, was also present. "Today is one of those moments where we stop and pause and reflect on the legacy of one of the greatest Americans, Dr. Martin Luther King," Kildee told the audience. "And of course, it's important that we remember the words he spoke and the battles that he fought, but I think that it's also important that we commit ourselves to continue his work to ask ourselves a question. A simple one. Where would Dr. King stand 50 years after that terrible day in Memphis? Where would Dr. King stand on the big questions that we face right now?" Kildee asked about where King would stand on health care issues as well as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals - the American immigration policy that allowed some individuals who entered the country as minors, and had either entered or remained in the country illegally, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit. "Where would he stand in a moment when people at the very top of government use the most ugly and vulgar language to describe entire populations?" Kildee asked. "I think we know the answer to that question." He was referring to recent news that President Donald Trump referred to places like Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries as "s-hole" countries and suggested that we need more people from countries like Norway. Last week, while addressing a Flint group, Kildee argued that King would be "front and center" in fighting to protect the group "and not allow a government that was built by immigrants to dismiss our legacy and send people to countries they don't know." Kildee suggested that every year when people come together to honor MLK, that they take up the fight that they believe he would be leading if he was alive today. "To not be silent," Kildee said. "To not be quiet." Kildee also said that there is a "sin of silence" and that of all of the people who do wrong, there are "so many others that stand silently by and allow that wrong to continue." "We are seeing that happen right now in the moment we are in," Kildee said. The best way to honor Dr. King is not to commit the sin of silence, Kildee said to a room full of applause before exiting the stage. DETROIT - When Eric Smith began his freshman year at Kettering University this past fall, he knew he had an interest in computer science, but didn't know exactly where that would take him. Just weeks into his college career, Smith recognized what he sees as a tremendous opportunity when he got involved with the AutoDrive Challenge at Kettering. The three-year challenge tasks students at the university with converting a Chevrolet Bolt into a Level 4 autonomous vehicle over the course of three years. Their work is on display at the North American International Auto Show at the Cobo Center in Downtown Detroit. Smith says being part of something so groundbreaking and timely is something he could not have imagined when he enrolled last fall. "This is absolutely huge. To come into college in my freshman year and start off on an international autonomous vehicle competition within a month is incredible," Smith said. "I don't know where else I could find such a great opportunity to really kick start a career in not only automotive, but also computer science." Specifically, Smith is working on the vehicle's ability to recognize various road signs and how the car reacts to them when in an autonomous state. And while it may seem simple to recognize the signs based on current technology, unpredictable factors such as sunshine, signs in disrepair and more can impact a cameras ability to read those signs. "As we know from living in Michigan, we can have snow covered signs, so we need to be able to accurately detect these in all sorts of environmental conditions," Smith said. Smith is just one of more than 60 students involved in the challenge, which includes mechanical and electrical engineers, computer science majors and more working to convert the vehicle. The challenge is sponsored by SAE International and General Motors and requires the eight teams involved to hit various stages of completion throughout the course of the challenges. The first challenge is scheduled for April in Arizona and will require the vehicle to perform basic autonomous vehicle functions such as obstacle avoidance, sign detection and lane changing. Kettering University president Robert McMahan said is wonderful to have students working on something so timely in the auto industry. "We have students working in all of these areas and they're all working to create the next generation in mobility," McMahan said. "It's a really exciting time and Kettering is really at the center of what's happening in the world of autonomous vehicles." One of the driving forces behind Kettering's involvement is the Mobility Research Center (MRC) on campus that allows the students to have access to a world-class facility for making the conversion happen. "What we have at Kettering now with the MRC is a world-class engineering and development center for autonomous vehicles," McMahan said. "It's a tremendous competition because it's a three-year intense competition of these schools. This is one of the many things that are happening around autonomous vehicles and leverage the MRC." The students are not allowed to have any teachers or professors on campus work on the vehicle. Instead, they work with graduate students and rely on their own research when they come across an issues or problem that needs to be solved. Thankfully, they've been able to make a lot of progress already. "We're still very early in the development stages here. The competition just kicked off a few months ago, but we have seen some very encouraging early successes here," Smith said. Head of the Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) special investigations department Serhiy Horbatiuk has said offshore companies may file suit to reclaim assets confiscated from accounts controlled by disgraced ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and his cronies. "There are firms, of course, which will challenge the confiscation. Some will be denied and some may appeal to European courts with hope that the European courts will be sympathetic to their arguments," Horbatiuk told the 112.Ukraine TV channel. Horbatiuk also said the confiscation court ruling made public by reporters from Al Jazeera must be checked. "We have information about control over the assets from bureaucrats. The press has reported the assets were confiscated and are not in the State Budget. But, firstly, we need to confirm the authenticity of the court ruling. That has not been done yet," he said. Horbatiuk added that he does not know how the court ruling, which is considered classified information, found its way to Al Jazeera journalists. Al Jazeera on January 10, 2017 published a 95-page text of the verdict of the Kramatorsk City Court dated March 28, 2017, which was later classified as containing a state secret, as the third installment of this week's series of publications on special confiscation in Ukraine. The court verdict is posted on the TV channel's website both in Ukrainian and in English. Al Jazeera argues that the verdict reveals the scheme through which public funds were embezzled under fugitive ex-president Yanukovych, and asks why the court verdict was classified. Ukraine's Deputy Prosecutor General Yevhen Yenin said the Prosecutor General's Office can neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the text of the verdict published by Al Jazeera. According to him, the text of the ruling of the Kramatorsk District Court on the special confiscation of $1.5 billion of Viktor Yanukovych's entourage is classified because of ongoing investigative actions and to protect all the participants in the process. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. cairn_india_15mar_300_29624732 Vedanta's oil and gas vertical Cairn India is planning to invest Rs 37,000 crore to ramp up crude production at its Barmer oil fields in Rajasthan. The investment will be made over the next few years, which will enhance the production of crude oil. Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today inaugurated an Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) programme for Mangala-Bhagyam-Aishwarya (MBA) fields in Barmer. The programme will help the company in achieving the production target of 5 lakh barrels oil per day (BOPD) from the Barmer oil fields. "Production will go up to 3 lakh BOPD based on the capital investment plan of Rs 12,000 crore that has already been initiated and the production will further go up to 5 lakh BOPD with a full investment plan of over Rs 37,000 crore over next few years," the release said. The union minister interacted with young engineers and also with a group of women petroleum engineers after launching the programme. Cairn India CEO Sudhir Mathur said the company has proposed to double the output and MBA-EOR project will play a vital role in achieving the goal. Shared bicycles are seen covered with snow in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China (REUTERS) Ofo, a bicycle sharing startup in China, is planning to launch its services in India via Paytm, sources told Mint. Founder of One97 Communications, the owner of Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma hinted this development on Twitter. The development was reported in October last year by The Economic Times. The report pointed that the users will be able to book and pick up these cycles for USD 1 per hour, i.e. approximately Rs 60 using the app. The service will be available in metro cities and the Chinese firm has already held talks with the authorities. The startup signed an agreement with Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) last week. Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the firm wants to create a bicycle network throughout the city. The firm is expected to launch its services in Chennai, Indore, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru and will invest in importing bicycles to India, according to a Chinese news agency report. In a statement, Ofo said: "We are delighted to partner with the city of Pune. We wish to improve its quality of life in the city by providing a healthier, quicker, and greener alternative to motor vehicles." The firm pointed that this is aimed to solve the last mile transportation problem in Indias urban areas. The firm already has its operations spread in over 250 cities, across 20 countries. Along with Ofo, homegrown startups such as Ola and Zoomcar have also introduced bicycle sharing service in India. Ola introduced bicycle sharing service called Ola Pedal last month, exclusive to IIT campus in Kanpur and the firm has claimed to be expanding its bicycle service in India in the near future. In October last year, Zoomcar also launched a bicycle sharing service in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru, called 'PEDL.' LocalBitcoins | This peer-to-peer exchange allows people from different countries to exchange their local currencies to bitcoins. Users post advertisements on the exchange stating their exchange rate and preferred payment method for buying or selling bitcoins. By replying to these advertisements, a trade is opened and escrow protection is automatically activated. Escrow protects both buyer and seller, by keeping the bitcoins safe until the payment is done and the seller releases bitcoins to the buyer. Bitcoins are placed in LocalBitcoins web wallet from where one can pay for their bitcoin purchases directly. However, investors need to be aware of scams as they are dealing directly with other people unlike other stock-like exchanges or centralized bitcoin trading sites. The Bitcoin frenzy gripped Surat, the industrial hub located on the western coast of India, as it emerged as the topper in relative interest in searching for Bitcoin last year across the globe. Google Trends data shows that the city which processes most of the diamonds in the world was also relatively ahead of others in exploring for new avenues to invest. This means, for all the searches that originated from Surat, the proportion of Bitcoin was highest, compared to other cities. Surat beat cities like Yonkers (New York), San Jose, Cape Town, New Delhi, among others. Two other cities in India, Pimpri-Chinchwad (Pune) at seventh place and Gurugram at eighth place, were in top ten. Noida was placed at 12th position, Jaipur 23rd, New Delhi 52nd, Mumbai 73rd, Bengaluru 81st, Kolkata 88th, Ahmedabad 94th and Pune at 100th in terms of relative interest in searching for Bitcoin. The Google Trends data lists 147 cities when locations with low search volume are included. Also Read: As the price of Bitcoin soared, its dominance in the market plummeted by 57% in 2017 However, when the cities with low search volume were excluded, Gurugram was the foremost city in India interested in Bitcoin. Worldwide, it was placed fifth, behind, Yonkers, San Jose, Capetown and The Hague. Surat was also relatively on top in showing interest for search term cryptocurrency, again, when low search volume regions were included. Region-wise, India was far behind others and not even in top 20 in terms of relative interest in Bitcoin. South Africa topped with Slovenia and The Netherlands at second and third, respectively. The year 2017 was in many ways phenomenal for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. As the digital currency market started attracting institutional investors, the interest of retail investors also grew exponentially. Bitcoin was one of the most searched queries in India in 2017. Note: Google Trends data are relative, i.e., it does not show the number of search queries coming from a city but the proportion of search queries. It places cities or regions on a scale of 0 to 100, where 100 is the territory with the most popularity as a fraction of total searches in that location. Implying, a value of 50 would indicate a location which is half as popular and a value of 0 would indicate a location where the term was less than 1 percent as popular as the peak. For example, a tiny country where 80 percent of the queries are for "bananas" will get twice the score of a very large country where only 40 percent of the queries are for "bananas" and will be placed ahead. Bitcoin took 834 days to reach past $1,000 from the time that BitStamp started to track the price in August 2011. It was another 1270 days to surpass the $2000 mark on May 20, 2017. However, the price surged in the latter half of 2017, crossing successive $1,000 milestones with ever increasing speed on its march toward the $11,000 mark. The move up from $10,000 to $11,000 took less than 12 hours, stoking concerns that a rapidly swelling bubble could be set to burst in spectacular fashion. Here are some facts that you might not know: Cryptocurrencies suffered yet another jolt after Brazil banned funds from investing in them. The decision that comes due to concerns about the legality of cryptocurrency based transactions puts a question mark over their future. As per a report by Reuters, Comissao de Valores Mobiliarios (CVM), the South American nations market regulator stated that the cryptocurrencies cannot be considered as financial assets and hence placed legal restrictions against the use of funds. The interpretation of this technical division is that cryptocurrencies cannot be qualified financial assets and for this reason this their direct acquisition by investment funds is not permitted, stated a CVM circular that was quoted in the report. While the initial ruling may not directly affect those who want to invest in cryptocurrencies using foreign funds, it nonetheless highlights the global trend that is seeing rising skepticism and opposition towards cryptocurrency trading. Regulators across the globe are taking steps to bring a check on cryptocurrencies with South Korea on the verge of banning cryptocurrencies as a whole. While the unregulated and uncontrolled characteristics of the cryptocurrencies are a cause of concern, the unpredicted fluctuation of the value of Bitcoin has also raised concerns. The value of Bitcoin, that rose up to 1500 percent by the end of last year, has fallen drastically since then. Concerns of virtual currencies like Bitcoin being nothing but a bubble were further aggravated when popular investor Warren Buffet opined that cryptocurrencies are heading towards a disaster as they will come to a bad ending. "I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending," he was quoted as saying. It will be crucial for the future of cryptocurrencies how other countries react to these developments. If regulatory authorities across the globe follow suit it may well be disastrous for the future of virtual currencies. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov have discussed the next stage of the release of Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners, as well as the format of a possible UN peacekeeping force in Donbas. "I have just talked with Lavrov about the release of our hostages and political prisoners, as well as the format of a possible UN peacekeeping mission for occupied Donbas. The positions are very divergent, but we should continue to work," Klimkin wrote on his Twitter page on Monday. He also said that he had discussed with Lavrov the work of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC), as well as Lavrov's final press conference. India Economy India has emerged as a fast-growing economy and a country that has secured its borders, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said. The minister was addressing a public gathering in Rajsamand district on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mewar ruler Maharana Kumbha in Madariya Malyawas. "The borders of India are safe... India's image in the world today is that of a fast growing nation," the minister said. Singh said the Centre would assist in the construction of the Maharana Kumbha memorial and other works in Madaria Malyawas in all possible ways. State Home minister Gulab Chand Kataria was also present on the occasion. The Greenko Group, a Hyderabad-based renewable energy company, is in talks with Essel Infraprojects for buying its power transmission business at an estimated USD 1 billion, according to a Mint report. The report, citing sources, said that this will be one of the largest deals in the Indian electricity transmission area. Mahesh Kolli, Greenkos founder, president and joint managing director, did mention of the firm's interest in acquiring the power transmission assets but refused to divulge details. It is part of Greenkos strategy to invest in transmission and distribution assets, Kolli said. The Greenko Group is backed by Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC Holdings Pte and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Projects related to transmission in the renewable energy space are considered to be a safer investment due to the annuity aspect and the restriction of risks concerning right of way, forest clearance and land acquisition are kept to the construction stage. Annuity projects offer a fixed return, making them safer bets. The players in the renewable energy sector are hopeful that the demand for electricity will get stoked by the Rs16,320 crore Saubhagya scheme aimed at providing electricity connections to over 40 million families in rural and urban areas by December 2018. Essel Group has a presence across green energy, transportation, electricity transmission and distribution, and urban infrastructure. Greenko Group currently has over 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of operating capacity, with plans to reach. It last acquired SunEdisons Indian assets at an enterprise value of USD 392 million in 2016 as it aims to achieve an operating capacity of 5GW by 2019 . Essel Infraprojects also plans to sell its solar business and has mandated Investec to find a buyer, as per another Mint report. Wind power tariffs plummeted to Rs 2.43 per kilowatt-hour at (kWh) at the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limted auctions last month. FMCG and IT firms will mostly file petitions in Delhi's and Mumbai's High Courts to seek more clarity in Goods and Services Tax (GST) anti-profiteering clause, according to a Business Standard report. The move comes after firms - Lifestyle, Hardcastle Restaurants - south and western India's McDonald's franchisee and Hindustan Unilever - received a notice from the government that they were not complying with the anti-profiteering clause, which Moneycontrol reported last month. The Business Standard report also mentions that Pyramid Infratech and Honda Motor Vehicles had also received a similar notice. The firms are required to provide their balance sheet, trial balance and profit and loss account for last one year. The anti-profiteering clause points that the input tax credit benefits must compulsorily be passed on to the consumers. The firms which are moving court on the clause have not received a notice, according to the report. "There is a lot of ambiguity in the anti-profiteering clause," an FMCG source told the paper. Sources said that they are unaware of how to compute the input tax credit under the new regime and that it will take close to two weeks to file the petition. In case, the government comes with proper guidelines for this clause, these firms will not file the petition. Guidelines here refer to the methodology of how to determine the input tax credit. Its absence has been the cause of the increase in complaints by customers, according to experts. So far, there have been 169 such complaints. Along with the firms, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has also urged the government to formulate clear guidelines under the anti-profiteering clause. The compliance will require the government to compare the cost of every product before and after the GST. Adding to this, the government will also be required to take note of the producers also or suppliers who deal with products which are not on the record, which lead to difficulties in determining the price margins for individual products. For this, CII says that the tax authorities will be required to be sensitive and avoid harassing the businesses. It also points that the clause has given less time for preparation and adopting the new norms. Representative Image Moneycontrol About 22 years ago, a meeting with Steve Rushmore Sr at the New York University led Manav Thadani to join the hospitality industry veteran. Rushmore Sr, the founder of global consultancy firm HVS, had come as guest lecturer at the University where Manav was pursuing his post-graduation in hotel management. An interview later, it was agreed that Manav would set up the Indian office of HVS in Delhi. That was 1997. Over the next 20 years, as the Indian hospitality industry boomed, Manav Thadani of HVS became one of the most well-known, and quoted, names. When Manav parted ways with HVS and announced his own venture in December 2017, it surprised many in the industry. But people in the know say the break-up was inevitable ever since Steve Rushmore Jr took over from his father at HVS. Every single employee of HVS Indian office moved out along with Manav. In a free-wheeling chat with Moneycontrol, the Founder & Chairman of Hotelivate talks about his new entrepreneurial journey, and why he has never been more bullish about the Indian hospitality industry as he is now. Nobody thought you would be leaving HVS anytime soon We had a great run. Steve was an amazing mentor. I owe it to him. There is mutual respect. He retired three to four years ago and now his son, Steven Rushmore Jr. runs the business. He has his own vision. As I look at it, everything in life has a shelf life and the shelf life of this partnership is coming to an end. Was the parting cordial? Parting is still happening, there are no lawyers involved. I cant say anything more (smiles) I would imagine they would start an India office soon. But I am hoping I have a 20-year start! (Manav Thadani) You managed to bring the entire team from HVS The entire team is here with me. We didnt want to walk away from a market share of nearly 60 per cent and then start something of our own and recapture that market share. Already, an American firm has reached out for a tie up. We are evaluating it. Our focus will be South Asia and South-East Asia. We have done work in Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand. Nearly 30 per cent of last years revenue came from overseas. We would want to continue that. What else will be different with Hotelivate? I have a different vision. You need to be a 360 degree solution provider. At HVS, we had 4-5 core services - asset management, valuation, feasibilities, executive search and operator search and select. The need of the hour is to do more. For instance at Hotelivate, we are doing assignments in Indonesia that are large mixed-used development projects. There is retail, club, residentialtypically this may not have been done earlier. Earlier, we had not gone into F&B consulting. We might do that. Hotelivate will also work closely with independent hotels and help them in revenue management. Conferences that we used to do were never the core strategy for HVS. For us at Hotelivate, it is very key that conferences remain a growth driver. HICSA (Hotel Investment Conference South Asia) in India is a very well-known conference, and Think in Indonesia is also doing well. We are looking to work with startups. If the right opportunity comes along, we will provide mentorship and invest in new startups. Coming to the Indian hospitality industry, one has seen the foreign brands taking the lead over domestic ones. Will that continue? All the international brands have more than doubled their numbers in the last 10 years. The international brands will continue to grow faster than domestic brands. To be fair, many of the domestic ones dont do management contracts, which helps grow faster. And when you see the might of a Marriott, so many hotels, brandsso you know its tough to compete against that. International brands will continue to be strong. How do you see the year panning out for the domestic industry? In 20 years, I have seen two upcycles and three down cycles. Now we are entering, what I would think, is the strongest upcycle the country has ever seen. The industry did better in 2017, than in 2016. And all things remaining equal, 2018 will be better than 2017. We believe there will be double-digit room rate growth in many cities. That hasnt happened in a long time. Occupancy has grown and will keep growing as not much new supply is coming in. Isnt that worrying? It could be worrying, but good for existing hotel owners. Which segment in the industry excites you most? The leisure segment excites me the most. All the leisure hotels are doing better than expected. I will be the first person to admit that even HVS would have done a few of those studies, and wouldnt have projected the kind of numbers we are seeing now. I think domestic travel is taking over. Connectivity has improved because of better roads and expanding network of airlines. And on the other hand, its becoming more and more challenging to travel overseas. So if you find a place to travel within two to four hours, people are doing that. Be it the Coorg property of Taj, Marriott in Mussoorie or the other Taj product in Surajkund, all are doing well. In the leisure space, the luxury properties are is better off. In urban market, hotel rooms between Rs 3,000-5,000 are doing well. This is the middle segment, or slightly upper mid-segment. But the 28 per cent tax is killing the luxury segment. Do you think there will be a revision? There was hope that it will go down to 18 per cent, in line with global markets. But now with tax deficiency, we dont know when that will happen. IT industry leaders TCS and Infosys reported a decent set of numbers for a quarter that is traditionally a weak season. Volume growth and a slight improvement in margin were the positives. This apart, management commentary was quite encouraging. So what should investors make of this optimism? Calendar 2018 to be better say Infosys and TCS Both TCS and Infosys were optimistic about deal flows, traction in digital as well bigger sized digital orders. But they differed in their outlook on the banking and financial services (BFS) segment, a big revenue grosser for IT firms. Infosys attributed the weakness in BFS largely to seasonality, but TCS sounded less confident about things getting better anytime soon. The good news is that with retail making a strong comeback and energy sector getting a boost from rising crude oil prices, most verticals appear to be out of the woods. Majority of the end-user industries served by Indian IT companies are performing well. All companies have indicated bigger size of digital projects as clients appear clearer about their digital strategy. Finally, clients which were spending money on reskilling of in-house resources are largely done with that and should now start giving more regular business. However, in-sourcing (where client uses its own resource or captive company) will continue to remain a potent competition for Indian IT players. Accept single-digit growth The days of industry leading growth for large-sized IT companies are largely over, given the transformative changes in the industry. In the first nine months of FY18, TCS has reported topline of USD 14.1 billion, registering a revenue growth of 7.6 percent in US dollar terms. Over this period, its peer Infosys has reported revenue of USD 8.1 billion a dollar revenue growth of 6.5 percent. Financial services remain a question mark For Infosys and TCS, BFS has traditionally been the dominant segment (nearly one-third of total revenue) and the same is on a slow lane. While Infosys attributed the weakness to seasonality - higher furloughs and holidays; TCS has blamed it on a change in sourcing mix of select US banks. TCS expects the impact of this to reduce but only after two quarters at the earliest. It attributed the weakness to different stages of internal investment by US banks to get ready on digital technologies. Once this investment phase is complete, it expects more balanced spending between internal, captive and outsourcing players. Margin maintained but most levers getting exhausted TCS and Infosys both managed to maintain their operating margins. However, doing so amid rising pricing pressure has exhausted most of the margin levers. For instance, Infosyss utilisation level stands at a high of 84.9 percent and onsite mix at 29 percent is at an eleven quarter low. Unless remunerative digital ramp up happens faster and/or external factors like rupee depreciation aids margin, improving the same remains a challenge. Volume pricing trade off Both Infosys and TCS have reported healthy volume growth. However, they did experience a decline in realisation, perhaps on account of the sluggishness in legacy business which is still a substantial portion of the overall revenue. Digital promising but yet to assume critical mass Both the leading IT service companies have made impressive strides in growing the digital business. For TCS, the digital portion has shown year-on-year growth of 39.6 percent and sequential growth of 13.9 percent (as against the companys growth of 1.3 percent) and forms 22.1 percent of total revenue. For Infosys, the digital revenue is close to 25 percemnt of revenue and its new services have shown sequential growth of 6.4% and new software of 7.3% (much higher than the overall growth of the company at 0.8%). And yet, the digital piece isnt sizeable enough to kick start a virtuous cycle which could fully offset the weakness in the legacy businesses. Dividend yield lucrative and protects downside Both Infosys and TCS generate healthy cash flows, are cautious about acquisitions and now have a well-articulated cash distribution policy in place. Infosys, for instance, has a policy to return 50% of after-tax-profit or 70% of free cash flow to shareholders. In the current fiscal it just concluded Rs 13,000 crore buyback. An equivalent dividend payment works out to 4.4% dividend yield. Even, TCS completed a Rs 16,000 crore buyback and paid dividend of Rs 47 per share in FY17. An equivalent dividend works out to a dividend yield of over 4%. An improving outlook for IT spending for these companies coupled with a very respectable dividend yield should protect downside for these stocks. But investors must brace for single-digit growth rates in the foreseeable future and accept the fact these are not growth businesses till then. If rupee depreciates, it could be an added sweetener. TCS versus Infosys what to bet on? TCS has not yet articulated the impact of various tax changes in the US on its businesses (overall corporate tax rate has been reduced to 21% from 35% but there are new taxes) whereas Infosys has concluded an Advance Pricing Agreement with the US IRS (leading to tax reversal of $225 mn in the quarter and bump up in reported profit) and expects the overall tax changes to have a neutral impact on its tax rates. Both Infosys and TCS have underperformed the benchmark in the past one year, although on relative terms Infosys has underperformed TCS on account of uncertainty pertaining to its top-management. With a new leadership in place, the news flow from Infosys is likely to be incrementally positive. Salil Parekh, the new CEO of Infosys will focus on key areas of new market opportunities, client relationship, people and service offering and lay down the strategic priorities for the company in April, 2018. TCS is at a 20% valuation premium to Infosys and if the new management of Infosys delivers without much hiccup, this premium might narrow. So on a relative basis Infosys might have a little more exciting journey ahead. The Nifty, which rose to a fresh record high in morning trade thanks to strong global cues, pared gains towards the closing of the session and formed an Inverted Hammer kind of pattern on the daily candlestick charts. An Inverted Hammer is a reversal pattern in which the index closes near its opening levels. It has a long upper shadow, small or no lower shadow, and a small body. The index formed an Inverted Hammer or Shooting Star kind of candle on the daily chart, which indicates that there would be a pause before prices bounce back if there is high follow-up supply in the next few trading sessions. However, it still requires confirmation. In Monday's session, Nifty opened at 10,718 and closed at 10,741.55. It formed an intraday low of 10,713.80 and a record high of 10,782.65. Investors are advised to watch the price action in the next couple of sessions to confirm the trend. Till then, they should remain long with a strict stop loss placed below 10,690 levels. If the index manages to stay above 10,780 then the rally could stretch towards 10,800 levels. The Nifty registered an Inverted Hammer kind of formation as profit booking appears to have kicked in from the highest point of the day which forced the indices to close way below its intraday high post gap up opening, Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist Technical Research & Trading Advisory, Chartviewindia.in told Moneycontrol. This is clearly suggesting some sort of nervousness on the part of market participants as what appears to be a strong day ended up with the weak structure on the charts with the negative advance-decline ratio, he said. Hence in the immediate trading session, the index may come under pressure if it slips below 10,713 levels, whereas short weakness will be confirmed by a close below 10,690. Mohammad further added that if the index manage to sustain above 10,782, then the rally will get extended up to around 10,870. Hence traders are advised to put a tight stop below 10,690 on a closing basis. India VIX moved up by 4.19 percent at 14.30. VIX has to hold below 13 zones to continue with its positive and smooth ride in the market. We have collated the top fifteen data points to help you spot profitable trade: Key Support & Resistance Level for Nifty The Nifty closed at 10,741.5 on Monday. According to Pivot charts, the key support level is placed at 10,709.3, followed by 10,677.1. If the index starts to move higher, key resistance levels to watch out are 10,778.2 and 10,814.9. Nifty Bank The Nifty Bank closed at 26,069.2. Important Pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 25,910.8, followed by 25,752.4. On the upside, key resistance levels are 26,159.71, followed by 26,250.2. Call Options Data Maximum call open interest (OI) of 47.93 lakh contracts stands at strike price 11,000, which will act as a crucial resistance level for the index in the January series, followed by 10,800, which now holds 45.38 lakh contracts in open interest, and 10,700, which has accumulated 40.64 lakh contracts in OI. Call writing was seen at a strike price of 10,800, which saw the addition of 9.92 lakh contracts, followed by 10,900, which saw the addition of 2.95 lakh contracts and 11,200, which saw the addition of 1.18 lakh contracts. Call unwinding was seen at 10,600, which saw shedding of 8.45 lakh contracts, followed by 10,700 at 2.48 lakh contracts and 10,500, which saw shedding of 2.37 lakh contracts. Put Options Data Maximum put OI of 83.12 lakh contracts was seen at strike price 10,500, which will act as a crucial base for the index in January series; followed by 10,600, which now holds 71.02 lakh contracts and 10,700 which has now accumulated 55.89 lakh contracts in open interest. Put writing seen at 10,700, which saw the addition of 28.95 lakh contracts, followed by 8.91 lakh contracts at the strike price of 10,800 and 10,600, which saw the addition of 8.25 lakh contracts. There was hardly any Put unwinding seen. FII & DII Data Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 32 crore, while domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 173 crore in the Indian equity market on Friday, as per provisional data available on the NSE. Fund Flow Picture: Stocks with high delivery percentage: High delivery percentage suggests that investors are accepting the delivery of the stock, which means that investors are bullish on the stock. 56 stocks saw long build-up: 24 stocks saw short covering: A decrease in open interest along with an increase in price mostly indicates short covering. 103 stocks saw short build-up: An increase in open interest along with a decrease in price mostly indicates short positions being built up. 28 stocks saw long unwinding: Long unwinding happens when there is a decrease in OI as well as in price. Bulk Deals: (For more bulk deals click here: https://goo.gl/qrXHCH) Adhunik Metaliks: OPG Securities Pvt. Ltd bought 7.69 lakh shares at an average price of Rs6.88. Energy Development Company: Jain Dharmendra bought 2.55 lakh shares at an average price of Rs 32. Jyoti Structures: E CITY HI TECH PROJECTS LLP sold 6 lakh shares at an average price of Rs 14.34. Apollo Pipes: Canara HSBC Oriental Bank Of Commerce Life Insurance Company Ltd bought 1 lakh shares at an average price of Rs 680. Analyst, Board Meet/Briefings: Bajaj Allianz, Reliance PMS, Birla Sunlife, and MET Life Insurance will meet the management of PPAP Automotive between January 16 and 17, 2018. Multiple analysts will be meeting the management of South Indian Bank between January 16 and 18, 2018. A conference call has been invited by PC Jewellers on January 19, 2018. Goldman Sachs is meeting the management of Endurance Technologies. Bharti Airtel informed BSE that the board of directors of the company shall consider the declaration of interim dividend, if any, for the financial year 2017-18 in their meeting scheduled for January 18. HDFC Bank will host an earnings call with analysts and investors at 17:30 hours (IST) on January 19, wherein the senior management of the bank will discuss the financial results with the participants. Stocks in news: Blue Star: Allotted 14,500 equity shares of Rs 2 each under ESOP. Shriram Transport Finance: Fitch Affirms 'BB+' Rating Federal Bank: Q3 net rises 26 percent to Rs 260 crore Axis Bank: The Bank has allotted 74,150 equity shares of Rs. 2/- each on 15.01.2018, pursuant to exercise of options under its ESOP Scheme. The paid up share capital of the Bank will accordingly increase from Rs. 512,83,88,034 (256,41,94,017 equity shares of Rs. 2/- each) to Rs. 512,85,36,334 (256,42,68,167 equity shares of Rs. 2/- each). Max Ventures Max Ventures and Industries Ltd today said its board has approved raising Rs 450 crore by way of rights issue IndiGrid The Board of Sterlite Investment Managers acting as the investment manager of the trust has approved a distribution per unit of Rs 2.89 per unit for third quarter of the fiscal Kotak Mahindra Bank Uday Kotak's Kotak Mahindra Bank has begun discussions to divest its stake in Multi Commodity Exchange, which was dealt a blow in December when market regulator Securities and Exchange Board India paved the way for universal exchange IOC The pact is part of the state's concerted efforts to find sustainable solutions to paddy straw burning, which has emerged as a major environmental concern Lupin Lupin plans to come up with regular product launches every 3-4 months and aims to be present across all the major OTC product categories Tech Mahindra IT major Tech Mahindra on Monday said it has partnered with Israeli firm ContextSpace Solutions to develop the world's first global software privacy ecosystem, MyData Shield Essar Steel Promoters Shashi and Ravi Ruia are working toward setting up a consortium to bid for the company thats in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), said several people aware of the matter Binani Cements Billionaires Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and D-Mart promoter Radhakishan Damani teamed up to bid for Binani Cement, two senior executives in the know of the matter said, intensifying the race for the company which is facing bankruptcy proceedings from its lenders TCS will become a principal technology partner for Marks & Spencer as part of the deal, whose total value has not been disclosed Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has sold a little over 2% stake in drug and chemical firm Merck Ltd through an open market transaction Max Ventures and Industries' board has approved raising Rs 450 crore by way of rights issue JM Financial appoints Credit Suisse and IDFC Bank for its qualified institutional placement (QIP) offering 15 stocks under ban period on NSE Security in ban period for the next trade date under the F&O segment includes companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit. Securities which are banned for trading include names such as Capital First, Dish TV, Fortis, GMR Infra, HDIL, IFCI, Jet Airways, Jindal Steel, Jain Irrigation, JP Associates, Kaveri Seed Company, Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital, Reliance Power and Wockhardt. 22 Companies to report Q3 results on Tuesday As many as 22 companies on the BSE are scheduled to report their results for the quarter ended December on Tuesday which includes names like Den Networks, Hatsun Agro, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Jay Bharat Maruti, MCX, TV18 Broadcast, and Vantage Corporation Services. Flipkart Investments by private equity/ venture capital firms touched a record in 2017 at USD 26.8 billion, as against USD 16.2 billion in 2016, and pulled out a record USD 13 billion from the country, says a report. According to data collated by EY, Softbank's USD 2.5 billion investment in online retail major Flipkart led the PE investment pack, making it the highest-ever in the country. According to the data, PE/VC exits almost jumped two-fold to USD 13 billion across 257 deals, driven by record level of exits via open market, secondary sale and IPOs. The year just gone-by was also the best for PE-backed IPOs featuring the largest IPO exit ever with Fairfax selling its 12 per cent stake in ICICI Lombard for USD 558 million. According to EY's private equity deal tracker, 2017 was the best year for both investments and exits, surpassing their respective previous highs. While investments rose 37 per cent to USD 26.8 billion across 589 deals, the year also saw 257 exits worth USD 13 billion, almost double the previous high recorded in 2016. "Apart from some unforeseen global macroeconomic risks in 2018, the PE/VC sector is likely to continue to see a growth in investments as well as exits. Capital markets are expected to stay buoyant and IPOs should continue to be a compelling exit story for the year," the report noted. In terms of investments the deals saw a sharp increase in value with 19 deals coming in excess of USD 300 million including four deals of over USD 1 billion. Growth, startups and pipe deals witnessed multifold increase in investment inflows compared to 2016 and 2017 was the best year for growth deals at USD 13.8 billion which was 2.4 times the value recorded in 2016. This was primarily driven by four mega deals accounting for 46 per cent of the value of growth deals, three involving Softbank's investments in the e-commerce and fintech space and another involving GIC's investment in DLF. Startup/early-stage investments at USD 3.5 billion across 311 deals was 1.7 times more than the value compared to 2016 and other deals at USD 3.7 billion across 38 deals was 2.4 times more. In comparison, debt and buyout deals had a rather muted performance in 2017, falling 19 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. The year saw USD 3.4 billion worth of buyouts across 26 deals and US D2.4 billion in debt investments across 55 deals. In terms of sectors, e-commerce investments led by Softbank (USD 4.8 billion across 63 deals), financial services (USD 7.1 billion in 103 deals), and real estate (US D4.8 billion in 50 deals) led the pack. Technology was the top sector with 125 deals in terms of volume. "With lots of dry powder awaiting deployment, need for corporates to deleverage and rise of a new business class are expected to drive the PE/VC story well past the highs seen in 2017," EY said in the report. In terms of exits, the sharp rise was driven by a 3.7 fold increase in open market exits compared to 2016 (US D6.2 billion as against USD 1.7 billion in 2016), thanks to buoyant capital markets. From a sector perspective financial services saw the maximum exits at USD 3.9 billion in 51 exits, telecom saw USD 1.9 billion in three deals, e-commerce saw USD 1 billion across eight exits and technology saw USD 1.5 billion across 24 deals. In terms of fund raising through exits, the year saw USD 4.9 billion, up 15 per cent from 2016. Kedaara's USD 750 million and Chrys Capital's USD 600 million sector agnostic fund raises were the largest. New fund raising plans announced declined by 43 per cent to USD 12.2 billion. Tech Mahindra | For the period of 1-year, 3-year, and, 5-year the share price has gained 20 percent, 82 percent, and 55 percent respectively. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Even as the fallout of the Satyam scam continues to make headlines nearly a decade later, employees of the software firm seem to have moved on to other problems, and were largely unperturbed by the ban on Satyams audit firm last week. On Wednesday, Sebi found Price Waterhouse guilty in the multi-crore Satyam scam, and barred its network entities from issuing audit certificates to any listed company in India for two years. Employees are not just worried about their future, but also present prospects. It feels like the crisis never ends- first it was the Satyam scam, then changing and upgrading technologies and now were not even sure if we will have a job in spite of making all the right moves, said another Tech Mahindra employee who joined Satyam in 2007, fresh out of college. Satyam founder Raju confessed to a Rs 7,136 crore fraud on January 7, 2009, sparking a series of events that led to his prosecution and the company's takeover by Tech Mahindra. In 2015, a Special Court convicted Raju and nine others of criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust, among other crimes, sentencing him to seven years in jail, with a fine of Rs 5 crore. There was disbelief then, all those years ago, and we went through some tough times- job uncertainties, banks refusing to give Satyam employees loans, the incessant hounding by the media- but now weve moved on, said another Pune-based former Satyam employee. Transition Tech Mahindra was credited with a smooth transition by most employees and several stuck on for years after the transition. What happened with PwC, I dont have much of an opinion on that but what I do care about is holding on to my job and hoping I get a decent appraisal, if at all, this year, said a Hyderabad- based employee who did not wish to be named. How does this impact any of us? asked a Tech Mahindra employee based in Noida, even as he reminisced about the tough times he and his colleagues went through when the scam came to light in 2008. In spite of its good financial performance, Tech Mahindra has, in the past year, been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Last June, an audio clip of an HR executive of Tech Mahindra firing an employee was made public, leading to much furore and a call for a more human approach to dealing with layoffs. Last February, the company also suspended the appraisal cycle for employees with over six years of work experience, pending a management review. The Indian IT industry is facing multi-pronged challenges as automation takes hold, growth slows, clients tighten their IT budgets and protectionist sentiment in the Indian IT industrys largest markets causes a re-look at existing business models. This (Satyam) was my first job, and I would be happy for this to be my last, except that now we dont know what constitutes career growth any more, he smirks. Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com told CNBC-TV18, "I actually keep on having short positions in PSU banks. Today of course the Bank Nifty itself is expected to do well according to me but even then that is the position as we start the day. So, Canara Bank is a short sell, generally beyond the long side of the market." He further added, "Apollo Tyres is a buy opportunity. The stock has rallied significantly, had a three day correction perhaps that correction is coming to an end." "Asian Paints is a very attractive buy. It is not just a swing trade or a day trade, it is also positional buy. The stock has been consolidating as on the verge of a breakout on the upside. Ceat is a buy, the same story as Apollo Tyres. Tyres stocks have been consolidating after a big rally and there is probably an imminent breakout." "Larsen and Toubro among the big cap stocks is a three day correction. That correction was over on Friday when it crossed its previous highs the earlier days high. So, that three day correction is a flag and suggest that a significantly large amount of momentum is imminent in L&T. So, it is also a positional buy." "I dont know about the market reaction today, but for anyone who is looking at an investing idea Infosys is an investment at current levels. We should be buyers and we should be holding it for at least 6-8 months." "HDFC is telling us that it is going at least a 100 points which means about 6-7 percent higher, with a target of Rs 1,850. So, I think the capital raising is not going to impact negatively," he added. Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com told CNBC-TV18, "For today Dabur India is a buying opportunity. This stock has been outperforming and is breaking out from a very narrow range which lasted for a few days. Vedanta is a buy. Metals are doing well and Vedanta is outperforming. Torrent Pharma which has been giving a spectacular gains for the last few weeks continues to do so. So three ideas to buy but dont go short." "One can hold Titan Company. The current price is immaterial. The stock is outperforming the broad market. In the next few years you will be surprised that the prices you see in this stock hold on, dont do anything else." "NBFCs and private sector banks are good opportunities for the week. But beyond that it is difficult to say, for a short-term trader different sectors may come on the floor later but at least for today and tomorrow the focus should be even more on private sector banks, more than NBFCs look at private sector banks." "The idea is to hold on Eicher Motors but for the next one year I dont see Eicher Motors going through a big rally. It has already done that. This could easily be a period of consolidation. Expect consolidation in a next one year and gains in the next three to five years," he said. Activist Balukh convicted for 5 years in prison in Crimea, Kyiv demands his release The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry demands the release of activist Volodymyr Balukh illegally sentenced to five years imprisonment in the occupied Crimea, Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Mariana Betsa has said. "Five years for patriotism The invader is trying to exterminate all the patriots of Ukraine. We demand the release of Balukh," she wrote on her Twitter account on Monday. As reported, Ukrainian farmer Balukh was arrested on December 8, 2016 in his house in the village of Serebrianka of Rozdolne district of Crimea temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. Russian authorities charged him with possession of ammunition. Crimea's Rozdolne District Court sentenced Balukh to three years and seven months of imprisonment in a low-security penal colony and to a fine of 10,000 Russian rubles. Balukh's defense team said the case was fabricated, and his verdict would be appealed in courts of higher instances. On December 1, Rozdolne District Court changed the measure of restraint for Balukh to two-month house arrest. On December 6, new charges have been brought against Balukh allegedly for disorganizing the activities of institutions ensuring isolation from society. Here are stocks that are in news today: Acquired Erss Xxi Transmission LimitedThe transmission system includes establishment of three new 400kV Substations and associated 400kV transmission lines in the State of Bihar Infosys: The company reported a whopping 37.6 percent growth in Q3 profit, with retaining its full-year revenue guidance. Profit, which was largely driven by a tax reversal, stood at Rs 5,129 crore against Rs 3,726 crore in the previous quarter. IDFC Bank to buy Warburg-backed Capital First in $1.5 bln stock deal IDFC Bank will acquire Capital First Ltd in a share swap deal valued at about $1.5 billion Shareholders in Capital First will receive 139 shares of the bank for every 10 shares held V Vaidyanathan will succeed Rajiv Lall as MD and CEO of the combined entity upon completion HDFC: HDFC board has approved to raise Rs 11,301 crore by issuing 6.43 crore shares at Rs 1,726.05 per share to investors. Telecom Stocks: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Friday cut the termination charge on incoming international calls to 30 paise per minute from 53 paise. Idea Cellular: The National Company Law Tribunal has approved the proposed merger between Idea Cellular and Vodafone -- a move that brings both the companies closer to culminating the deal. Tata Motors: Jaguar Land Rover to recall 8,952 cars over airbag defects in China. The recall was filed by Jaguar Land Rover China to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the national quality watchdog has said. Fortis Healthcare : Fortis, RHT Health extend discussion time by 30 days Fortis' board had approved the proposed acquisition of entire portfolio of RHT Health Trust (RHT) for an enterprise value of around Rs 4,650 crore. Narayana Hrudayalaya: Narayana Hrudayalaya completes acquisition of HCCI. The company earlier held 28.6 percent stake in Health City Cayman Islands through its wholly owned subsidiary Narayana Cayman Holdings Ltd. Shoppers Stop: Shoppers Stop allots Rs 179.26-cr shares to Amazon. According to a BSE filing by the company, it has issued of 43,95,925 equity shares of Rs 5 each at a price of Rs 407.78 per equity share, aggregating around Rs 179.26 crore, to Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC. Gayatri Projects: Societe Generale buys 25 lakh shares of Gayatri Projects. UBS FD Mgnt Switzerland AG on behalf of UBS CH EQTY FD-Emerging A bought 70,00,000 shares of Gayatri Projects at Rs 208. Emami Paper: On January 12, 2018 Ganpati Industrial bought 9,04,000 shares of Emami Paper at Rs 226.29 on the BSE. On Friday, Emami Paper Mills ended at Rs 229.45, up Rs 8.35, or 3.78 percent on the BSE. Hathway Cable: On January 12, 2018 Smallcap World Fund Inc sold 44,60,063 shares of Hathway Cable and Datacom at Rs 40.40 on the NSE. On Friday, Hathway Cable and Datacom ended at Rs 40.60, up Rs 0.30, or 0.74 percent on the NSE. ING Vysya Bank: Markets regulator Sebi today imposed a penalty of Rs 4 lakh on a former official of ING Vysya Bank for disclosure lapses. The order has come following an inspection conducted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) of trading in the shares of ING Vysya Bank for the period from August 2011 to May 2013. Tata Chemicals : Tata Chemicals on Friday said it has completed the sale of its urea fertilisers business to Yara Fertilisers India for Rs 2,682 crore. The deal included transfer of all assets and liabilities (working capital) of the Babrala plant in Uttar Pradesh. Karnataka Bank: Karnataka Bank on Friday reported a 27.5 percent rise in net profit at Rs 87.38 crore for the third quarter ended December 2017 even though provision for bad loans increased. Unitech: Embattled real estate firm Unitech on Friday sought more time to deposit Rs 750 crore in the Supreme Court but offered to deposit Rs 18 crore by next week. The Supreme Court will hear the matter on January 29. BHEL: State-run power equipment maker BHEL today said it has commissioned a 250 MW thermal power unit at the Barauni Extension project of Bihar State Power Generation Company. Tata Steel: Tata Steel today said its actual saleable steel output in the country during April-December of the ongoing fiscal increased by 12.4 percent to 9.24 million tonnes (MT). SRF: SRF gets the green nod for Rs 4,800-cr expansion project in Gujarat. In a letter issued to Gurugram- headquartered SRF Ltd, the Union environment ministry said it has given the environment clearance to the company's proposed expansion project in Gujarat with some riders Jet Airways: Expanding its probe, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is looking into the role of some more crew members of Jet Airways for their alleged involvement in the smuggling of foreign currency, officials said on Sunday. Jubilant Life: Jubilant Life gets the green nod for Rs 250 crore pesticide project. In the letter issued to Jubilant Life Sciences, the Union environment ministry has said it has given the environment clearance to the company's greenfield project with some conditions after taking into account experts' views. Vedanta: Vedanta urges govt to resolve retrospective tax issues. Vedanta, which in 2011 bought Cairn India to enter oil business, is facing a Rs 20,495 crore tax demand that was raised using a legislation that gave the tax department powers to raise tax demand retrospectively. Cairn India: Vedanta's oil and gas vertical Cairn India is planning to invest Rs 37,000 crore to ramp up crude production at its Barmer oil fields in Rajasthan. Binani Cement: JSW Cement plans to increase the production capacity in West Bengal from 2.4 mtpa to 3.6 mtpa besides a captive power plant in the same location, a top company official said on Sunday. ONGC: Six bodies including that of all the five ONGC officers and one of the two pilots of ill-fated Pawan Hans chopper, which crashed in Arabia Sea yesterday, have been recovered. Granules India: Increase in FPIs investment limit from 24% to 49% Sintex Industries - Q3FY18 YoYRevenue up 44% at Rs 840crEBITDA down 29% at Rs 58crMargins at 6.9% vs 14% PAT down 50% at Rs 21cr Revenue up 111% at Rs 257crEBITDA at Rs 42cr vs Rs 8.1crMargins up 980 bps at 16.5% PAT at Rs 29cr vs Rs 3cr Have Added 1 Client in USD 100 m+ Band, 3 in USD 75 m+ Band & 1 in USD 50 m+ bandHave Added 1 client in USD 25 m+ band, 12 in USD 12 m+ Band & 4 in USD 5 m+ band FY18 dollar revenue expected to grow in range of 6.5-7.5% Maintains FY18 EBIT margin guidance at 23-25% Maintains FY18 constant currency revenue guidance at 5.5-6.5% Clients are delighted to be working with InfosysWe have a strong foundation for our business Exciting new opportunity in IT space currently Pipeline remains healthy with $779 m TCVPer capita revenue crossed USD 53,000 per person 5 new deals are from financial service space Master of the roster cannot function in an arbitrary mannerMaster of roster is a constitutional power; can't be wielded as a personal powerGovt must address this issue carefullyCan't say it is an internal matter of judiciary Govt must open a dialogue with the CJI & the judges Other stocks and sectors in the news Eclerx to consider buyback on January 23declares Venus Remedies directors willful defaulters Bodhtree wins orders worth Rs 50cr Mohota Industries announces entry into higher- margin B2C segment through dealers and e-commerce platformsin talks to acquire IRBs USD 2bn road assets Ion exchange to make big investments in BOT, PPP water projects & enter solid waste to energy segmentTata backed resurgent bids from power assets of Jaypee Infra live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Tata Motors today launched branded oils for its range of commercial vehicles (CVs) in the domestic market. The product range includes engine oils, gear oils and rear axle oil for commercial vehicles manufactured by Tata Motors for both on and off road applications segment. "Launched in four variants, Tata Motors Genuine Oil is specially formulated for our new generation engines to enhance the performance of the vehicle," the company's Senior Vice- President Customer Care CVBU R Ramakrishnan said. Be it for better mileage, longer aggregate life or protection, these oils offer the right solution for each of the company's products, he added. The largest software exporter TCS has expanded its relationship with British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) to enable it become a digital-first business. As part of the deal, whose total value is not disclosed, the company will become a principal technology partner for the retailer, TCS said in a statement today. The retailer has a five-year plan to transform its business by making technology function deliver more commercial opportunities, it said, adding TCS will help drive agility, intelligence, innovation and efficiency to up the customer experience and also drive growth in business. TCS chief executive and managing director Rajesh Gopinathan said the company has already built a strong contextual knowledge of M&S' business through the last few years' partnership. "TCS will help the customer adopt a digital-first mind-set to win new customers and create growth at accelerated pace," he said. The retailer's chief executive Steve Row said M&S and TCS will join forces to make its business "faster, simpler and more focused on achieving a seamless customer experience." TCS will transition M&S to a new technology operating model, which embraces the agile mind-set to transform business and IT strategy, aligned with rapid technology innovation to meet fast changing business priorities, the statement said. The announcement comes days after TCS announced a USD 2-billion contract win from American insurer Transamerica to transform the latters insurance and annuity business lines. The TCS scrip was trading 0.61 per cent down at Rs 2,756 a piece on the BSE, as against a 0.74 per cent jump on the benchmark at 1321 hrs. Have a long-term outlook | Timing investment is logically impossible because the best entry and exit opportunities are known only in hindsight. No one can predict market movements with certainty. Therefore, it is important to allow your investments to compound over a long term. India today assured Israeli firms to resolve their concerns and make things easier for them to do business here, a senior government official said. The Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ramesh Abhishek, said that there are few issues pertaining to processes, import duty, taxes and licensing that have been bothering Israeli companies. "I assure you to resolve all problems and make things easier and better for Israeli companies to do business in India," he said here at the India-Israel Business Innovation forum meeting organised by CII. The secretary said the issues were taken up with the ministries and departments concerned. "We have been able to do few things in the last few months and many are in progress," he added. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is here on a four-day visit. He is leading a high-level business delegation comprising 130 businessmen from 102 Israeli companies. India received total FDI of USD 130 million from Israel during April 2000 to September 2017 period. Speaking at the event, Ohad Cohen, Trade Commissioner, Ministry of economy, Israel, expressed hope that the visit of the prime minister would pave the way for the proposed free trade agreement between the countries. The bilateral trade between the countries increased to USD 5 billion in 2016-17 from USD 4.91 billion in the previous fiscal. During the function, a startup challenge was announced for budding entrepreneurs of India. Startup accelerator MassChallenge Israel jointly with Deshpande Foundation and Nassocm India announced this challenge for Indian startups. Under the challenge, up to 10 Indian startups will receive USD 5,000 each to access MassChallenge Israel's industry-leading resources and focus on growing their businesses. Further the selected Indian startups will join the other MassChallenge Israel 2018 finalists for the four-month equity free accelerator in Jerusalem where they will get USD 5,000 cash prize and opportunity to access in two US markets. Besides, they would get four months free office space in Jerusalem and personalised mentorship. IT firm Tech Mahindra also announced a strategic programme - Tech M Next - in Israel. The programme is about accelerating growth strategy with startup collaboration. It will be rolled out in February with Tel Aviv as the nerve centre and it would engage 20 startups in first 12 months with its client base. The focus areas for this programme will be cyber security, mobility and artificial intelligence. This announcement was made by Tech Mahindra CEO C P Gurnani. The IT company also exchanged a teaming agreement with Israel-based data protection expert ContextSpace Solutions. Under the pact, both will launch a global privacy ecosystem - MyData Shield, which is a cloud-based privacy protection service to help address security and personal data protection concerns globally. Besides, eight MoUs were exchanged to increase economic cooperation between the two sides. Three MoUs were signed between CII and Manufacturer's Association of India, Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce and Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. DIPP-supported Invest India exchanged MoU with Israel's Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation. Further, Tata Projects Ltd inked an MoU with Israel-based Water-Gen. Budget carrier AirAsia India has decided to resume its flight to and from Chennai, more than two years after it had discontinued operations from the Southern city, owing to competition. The Tata-AirAsia joint venture airline will fly five times a day in and out of Chennai to Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar, starting next month, AirAsia India said in a release today. Besides, the Bengaluru-based carrier also announced induction of another Airbus A320 into its fleet, raising its size to 15. Effective February 24, the airline will operate three daily flights to Bengaluru and two to Bhubaneswar from Chennai, which becomes its 17th destination, the company said. "We ended 2017 on a high note and are delighted to continue the momentum in 2018. We reinforce our commitment to enhancing connectivity and making air travel affordable to all," AirAsia India managing director and chief executive Amar Abrol said. With the AirAsia group already operating direct flights to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok from Chennai, AirAsia India expects a boom in tourism in the region, he added. The airline also announced special promotional all- inclusive fares of Rs 1,299 and Rs 2,699 for Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar, respectively. A Public Distribution System (PDS) dealer in Jharkhand has put up a notice that if anyone with or without Aadhaar card in the village is "dying of hunger" can contact the dealer. Fulchandra Biruty, a distributor in Rutasai village of Tantnagar block in Pashchimi Singhbhum district, has pasted the notice in his shop. The notice, brought to our attention through a post by Kavita Srivastava on Twitter, reads: Any cardholder or any villager can meet their dealer before dying of Hunger. The notice is signed Fulchand Biruty. When Moneycontrol contacted Biruty, he confirmed the notice is correct said that the food, public distribution & consumer affairs minister Saryu Roy in a visit to Tantnagar had asked the dealers to allow non-Aadhaar holders to avail the benefits. Moneycontrol could not verify Birutys claim as the minister could not be immediately reached on his offices phone. This story will be updated whenever and if there is a response to the mail sent by us. However, in October last year, Roy had said following the death of an 11-year-old that Aadhaar was not mandatory collect food grains. "Aadhaar card is not mandatory. Any card, including a driver's license and voter ID card or any specified card, is permissible for procuring food grains," Roy had said. Though, Biruty added that he has put up the notice on his own accord. Hum paper me padhte rehte hai ki log mar rahe hai so notice laga diye (I keep reading in newspapers that people are dying, so I put up the notice), Biruty said. On being asked, if there has been any death due to starvation in his village, his answer was negative. He also added that there is ample supply of foodgrains to his shop. In recent months, Jharkhand government has faced criticism over multiple reports of deaths due to starvation in the state. Overall, India stood 100th among 119 countries , behind Bangladesh and North Korea, in World Hunger Index prepared by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to frame guidelines to deal with emergency situations related to organ donation and retrieval. A bench of justices Naresh Patil and N W Sambre said the government should "frame guidelines and constitute a team of medical experts" to suggest ways during emergency situations. The court's direction came on a petition filed before it by Swapnil Raut, who suffers from a kidney-related ailment. The plea focused on an incident at a Mumbai hospital, where another patient, who suffered from a similar issue as Raut, was awaiting kidney donation from a brain-dead patient. The patient lost out on receiving the organ since the potential donor died of a cardiac arrest, the plea said. The hospital could not retrieve organs after the donor's death since the facility's licence for organ transplant had been suspended a few years ago, the plea said. "The procedure to retrieve organs was to be carried out, but the health department had barred the hospital. But this was an opportunity. If the patient's organs could be retrieved, the lives of several recipients including the said kidney patient could have been saved," the petition said. The bench noted that this was a serious issue and the government should "frame guidelines, and constitute a team of medical experts who can intervene in such situations in the future. India and Israel today inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cyber security, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu held extensive talks to strenthen ties in the strategic areas of defence and counter- terrorism. Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, Modi said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. On his part, Netanyahu described Modi as a "revolutionary" leader. "You are revolutionising India and also relations between India and Israel," Netanyahu said, addressing Modi. The two prime ministers, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest. Apart from a pact on cyber security, the agreements included cooperation in the oil and gas sector, film-co- production as well as amendments to an air transport pact. Netanyahu, who arrived here yesterday, will also visit Ahmedabad and Mumbai during his six-day stay in India. Samsung has unveiled its most recent product, i.e. a foldable smartphone. The South Korean tech giant made the unveiling in front of a selected crowd last week during the CES 2018 in Las Vegas. The company, as per a report in The Investor, also shared the launch schedule, including production, that is expected to begin by the end of this year during the private meeting. Samsung Display said it has developed a 7.3-inch foldable panel with plans to start production later this year, an industry insider was quoted as saying in the report about the smartphone about which not much has been revealed yet. According to the reports, the tech giant revealed two different variants of the foldable smartphone during the meeting. One version folds inwards, the other one folds towards outwards. While the inwards folding version has a higher angle of curvature and will be the first to go for production, expectedly by November, it is the outwards folding variant that is considered as more durable and sleeker. The smartphone is expected to be called Galaxy X, stated a report in Daily Mail and will work as a phone when folded and as a tablet when it is unfolded as per the report. However, it is not just Samsung that is trying to cash in on the foldable screen technology. Several other tech manufacturers are also reportedly unveiling their foldable smartphone versions during the annual tech event to assess the reaction from people. Samsung attracted more clients to the private meeting compared to last year. The phone development seems to be almost finished, raising expectations for the phone launch, an industry source was quoted as saying in the report. If so, then this could justify the earlier claims made by Koh Dong-jin, president of mobile business at Samsung Electronics that the company is aiming to release the holy grail of smartphones during this year. Answer: Google. Allegations against corporates regarding discrimination based on ethnicity and gender is not something that is uncommon. Especially Google, which is facing the heat of discrimination against women. However, now Google is facing a bizarre allegation of discrimination against white males. The episode started after two former engineers who worked with the tech giant sued the company on charges of discrimination. As per the former employees, i.e. James Damore and David Gudeman, Google discriminates against white males who have conservative political view and outlook. But in the latest development, Gudeman has written in his blog that there is more to this discrimination than mere witch hunting. As per the blog, the company is dominated by a hate group who not only dominates the company but also controls a majority of employees using intimidation and fear. First, I don't hate Google, and I certainly don't hate the people who work there. The large bulk of Googlers are wonderful people smart, kind, and wanting to do the right thing. I wouldn't want this suit to give people a bad opinion of Googlers, but, honestly, they brought this on themselves for tolerating the hatred, racism and misandry of a small but vocal and organized subgroup who want to use Google as a vehicle of social change rather than as a vehicle of delivering excellent service and products to their customers, the blog states. Gudeman also added that he was made a victim as he stood for tolerance and kindness adding that most of his colleagues knew he was right but kept quiet due to the prevalence of fear. He also claimed many in Google will be secretly rejoicing over his decision to take on the situation legally. Gudeman was earlier fired for allegedly accusing his Pakistani colleague of being a terrorist. However, as per his lawsuit, he had only questioned the unwillingness of his colleague to take legal action against FBI, after he accused the agency of targeting him. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) officially notified Ukrainian authorities that the adoption of the bill on the High Anti-Corruption Court submitted by the Ukrainian president is not consistent with Ukrainian authorities' commitments to international partners, the Yevropeiska Pravda publication has reported, referring to a letter of IMF Mission Chief in Ukraine Ron van Rooden to Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Ihor Rainin. "The submission by the President of the draft law on the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC, draft law 7440) was expected to be a positive step in this direction [fighting corruption]. However, we have serious concerns about the draft law that was submitted to Parliament on December 22, as several provisions are not consistent with the authorities' commitments under Ukraine's IMF-supported program and the recommendations of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe," Rooden said in the letter, a copy of which was published by the Yevropeiska Pravda publication. The IMF has nine systemic concerns. In particular, the IMF insists that the Public Council of International Experts includes not only international organizations, but also donors in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and its representatives' negative decision about the appointment of an ineligible judge should be binding on the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ). "The role of the Public Council of International Experts (PCIE) in the selection of the HACC judges should be made crucial, not just advisory A negative decision about a candidate by the PCIE should be binding on the HQCJ," the IMF said in the letter. The jurisdiction of the HACC should align with the investigative jurisdiction of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). The IMF said that the draft law opens opportunities for additional delays in establishing the HACC. "The establishment and operation of the HACC is a key pillar of Ukraine's anti-corruption agenda In its current form, however, we would not be able to support the draft law of the HACC. In this respect, the IMF staff stand ready to support the Presidential Administration to revise the draft law in line with the authorities' commitments under the IMF-supported program and the Venice Commission's recommendations," the IMF said in the letter. Samsung will soon launch a series of mobile phone which will be sold exclusively on online platforms. The move is aimed at Chinese device manufacturer Xiaomi, which has about 50 percent market share of all the mobile phones sold online, reports The Economic Times. Senior industry executives who spoke to the paper said that Samsung will be launching phones in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000 and they will boast of best-in-class specifications. The phone will be priced in order to take on extremely popular Xiaomi phones and will be targeting the youth segment. According to International Data Corporation, Xiaomi and Samsung enjoy pole position as far as market share is concerned with both tied at 23.5 percent each in the July-September quarter. However, Samsung has a vice-like grip in the offline market whereas Xiaomi excels in selling online. Samsung already has made its online presence felt with On series of smartphones and the Galaxy A8+ model phone, which are sold exclusively on Amazon. Priced at Rs 32,990, the phone will directly compete with Xiaomis flagship phone Mi Mix 2. Both the phones have similar specifications and are placed in a similar price band. Hong Kong-based research firm Counterpoint Technology Market Research says Xiaomis meteoric rise in India has been mainly due to its strong online presence backed by an absolute lack of competition in the e-tailing space. According to a Samsung executive, the company is looking to target precisely this segment with the launch of its online series. "Samsung wants to extend its lead with Xiaomi and it is possible only by expanding e-commerce sales while consolidating its presence in offline channels. It will ensure that the 1.5 lakh brick-and-mortar stores selling its handsets are not neglected since Samsung knows it will take time for Xiaomi to build such a vast offline network," a senior industry executive said. The company has adopted various strategies in order to boost sales which includes reducing trade partners to 2-3 from 10-12 earlier. "The layers of distribution for online sales are also being cut to ensure margins are better controlled, which can be passed for aggressive pricing," an executive stated. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may propose cutting the headline corporate income tax rate by one to two percentage points in Budget 2018-19, as a part of the governments broader strategy to attract higher investment, growth and more jobs. At present, companies pay a base rate of 30 percent corporate tax, coupled with various surcharges and cesses, making the effective tax rate higher than 30 percent for some sectors. After a major overhaul in the existing indirect tax system by implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2017, all eyes will be on steps proposed by the government to revamp the direct tax system. In Budget 2015-16, Jaitley had laid a roadmap to bring down corporate tax rate to 25 percent, which is yet to be implemented. In fact, the finance minister had said that corporate tax in the country is higher than rates prevalent in other key Asian economies, making Indian industry uncompetitive. I, therefore, propose to reduce the rate of corporate tax from 30 percent to 25 percent over the next four years...This process of reduction has to be necessarily accompanied by rationalisation and removal of various kinds of tax exemptions and incentives for corporate taxpayers, which incidentally account for a large number of tax disputes, Jaitley had said. The effective collection of corporate tax is about 23 percent. We lose out on both counts, i.e. we are considered as having a high corporate tax regime but we do not get that tax due to excessive exemptions. A regime of exemptions has led to pressure groups, litigation and loss of revenue, the finance minister had said then. Key industry bodies have also urged the government to reduce the corporate tax rate, in sync with what was announced nearly three years back. In terms of the taxation requirement, if we see corporate taxes across the world, the trend is that people are reducing corporate taxes. India is among the highest, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) President Shobhna Kamineni had said last month after the pre-budget meeting with the Finance Minister and top ministry officials. The road map for reduction in corporate tax rate for India should include reducing the corporate tax rate to 18 percent at the earliest with withdrawal of tax incentives and exemptions and withdrawal of surcharges and cesses, CII had said in a statement. Besides, the industry bodies also said that a reduction in tax is crucial as the US is also on the verge of a historic tax reform as it has proposed to cut the corporate tax rate from a top rate of 35 percent to 20 percent. The US tax reform also envisages a complete exemption in respect of dividends declared by foreign subsidiaries of the US companies. This is intended to incentivise repatriation of earnings into the US, which is expected to boost investment and consumption...A similar approach should also be followed by India, industry association FICCI had said in its pre-budget meeting with top government officials involved in the budget-making process. While all eyes are on the 90th annual academy awards, voting for the Oscar nominations got over on January 12 and the ballot process began on January 5. List of contenders for the awards will be announced on January 23 and final voting will take place for eight days beginning on Feb. 20. The winners will be revealed eleven days later on March 4. The award ceremony has been moved to March from its usual February end slot to avoid clashing with Winter Olympics that is slated to be held from February 9- 25 in South Korea. The event will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel and this will be his second appearance as a host. For the 2017 edition, around 7,258 members of the motion picture academy were eligible to vote which is up by more than 550 from last years total tally of 6,687. This year there was online voting due to which the voter participation increased. Which films could qualify to be in the contenders list for Oscars? Best Picture According to a Forbes report, there are as many 36 films that can compete for the Oscars this year. Films like Dunkirk, The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, The Post, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Lady Bird, Get Out and Big Sick are the top eight contenders for the Best Film category. Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy Other media reports speculate that films like The Disaster Artist, Get Out, The Greatest Showman I, Tonya and Lady Bird can be nominated to battle it out under the best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy. Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama Timothee Chalamet Call Me By Your Name Daniel Day-Lewis Phantom Thread Tom Hanks The Post Gary Oldman Darkest Hour Denzel Washington Roman J. Israel, Esq. Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama Jessica Chastain Mollys Game Sally Hawkins The Shape Of Water Frances McDormand Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Meryl Streep The Post Michelle Williams All The Money In The World US President Donald Trump denied having told a leading US daily that he shared a "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, asserting that he was "falsely" quoted in the "fake news" story. In an interview on Thursday, 'The Wall Street Journal' reported that Trump had developed a positive relationship with the North Korea's leader despite their differences. "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un. I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised," Trump was quoted as saying in the interview. Trump said the leading US newspaper knew exactly what he had said, but simply wanted "fake news". "The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them 'I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un' (of N Korea). Obviously, I didn't say that," Trump tweeted. "I said I'd have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, a big difference. Fortunately, we now record conversations with reporters...and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS!" Trump said. Moments later, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders released the audio clip of the interview. "As you know, I have a great relationship with Prime Minister Abe of Japan and I would probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong un of North Korea," the President said in the audio. The Wall Street Journal, however, defended its version of the interview. "We have reviewed the audio from our interview with President Trump, as well as the transcript provided by an external service, and stand by what we reported," the daily tweeted. It also released the portion of the audio disputed by the White House. "So much Fake News is being reported. They don't even try to get it right, or correct it when they are wrong. They promote the Fake Book of a mentally deranged author, who knowingly writes false information. "The Mainstream Media is crazed that WE won the election!" Trump tweeted, expressing his frustration over his coverage by the mainstream media. Trump has ridiculed Kim in the past, calling him a "maniac" and "little rocket man". Kim has responded by describing the US president a "mentally deranged US dotard". Last week, Trump told South Korea's President Moon Jae-in that he was open to direct talks with North Korea on its nuclear programme. "Sure. I always believe in talking. If something can happen and something can come out of those talks, that would be a great thing for all of humanity," he told reporters. The president had previously dismissed the idea of direct talks with North Korea, tweeting in October that negotiations with the country were a waste of time. 20:37 The Business Summit concludes, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves the venue. 20:35 "Indias development agenda Modi ANI We want to do more & better. To enable entry of capital & technology, most of the sectors including defence, have been opened for FDI. More than 90 percent of the FDI approvals have been put on automatic route. We are now among the most open economies: PM Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/oPFB7EPUc6 ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 is huge. It presents a vast economic opportunity for Israeli companies. I invite more & more Israeli people, businesses & companies to come & work in India. Along with Govt & people, the business community of India too is keen to join hands," PMsaid, reports 20:29 India-Israel Innovation Bridge will act as link between Start-ups of the two sides. I have been saying that Indian Industries, start-ups & academic institutions must collaborate with their Israeli counterparts to access the huge reservoir of knowledge: PM Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/FiWNa131Ge ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 20:28 "We have worked sincerely on ease of doing businesses in India. The results are there for everyone for to see," PM Narendra Modi said, reports ANI. Today we have emerged as the 6th largest manufacturing nation but we are not done yet: PM Narendra Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/6WrK2bmYX2 ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 20:25 In India, we have been taking steady steps over three years at both macro as well as micro-level, to make a difference. Our motto is - Reform, Perform and Transform: PM Narendra Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/op1fmVFJoh ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 20:24 There is a vast potential for the India-Israel campaign in the startups field, Modi added. 20:22 "I have always had a deep regard for Israel and its people. I visited Israel in 2006 as CM of Gujarat. Last year in July, I visited Israel, first such visit from India. I experienced the remarkable spirit of innovation, enterprise and perseverance that drives Israel," PM Modi said, reports ANI. 20:21 "The real power of technology and innovation lies in the benefit it brings to a common man," PM Narendra Modi said. The role of business & industry is crucial in the transformation of our time: PM Narendra Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/9aIauXefa4 ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 20:17 "It is an added pleasure to be with the CEOs of both countries. PM Netanyahu and I have had fruitful interactions with the CEOs of both countries," PM Narendra Modi said while addressing the business summit. 20:15 Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now addressing the business summit at Delhi. 20:14 You have brilliant people in India. We have brilliant people in Israel. What we can do, is shape the future together. I believe in India. I came here to say today thank you PM Modi for believing in Israel, we believe in India: #BenjaminNetanyahu PM of Israel #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/GGNMbiGazS ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 20:13 "In the last 5-10 years we have car industries. We have 500 startup companies that receive $ 500 bn investment every year," Netanyahu said. There is not going to be anymore distinction between high tech & low tech because at the end everything is going to be technology: #BenjaminNetanyahu PM of Israel #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/TGfrhkOO3L ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 20:10 While addressing the CEOs forum at Delhi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that bureaucracy is a tremendous opportunity for growth. 20:05 "Economic reform is key because you cannot move if you are stuck," Netanyahu said. 19:50 India-Israel Business Summit has started. 19:31 The business summit is likely to start shortly. Stay tuned for live updates. 19:08 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a business summit with a focus on expanding India-Israel economic cooperation at 7:30 pm. India appreciates Israels cooperation in agriculture. Israel has taught India to do more with less. Israels support has served our farmers exceedingly well, especially in water deficient areas #PresidentKovind President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 15, 2018 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel calls on #PresidentKovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan. President welcomes him as India's "special friend"; @netanyahu is served olive tea produced in Bikaner by the Rajasthan government in collaboration with Israeli partners pic.twitter.com/zTxmsbpjAf President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 15, 2018 18:54 Indo-Israel summit: PM Modi invites Israeli defence companies for co-production Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production, as he held comprehensive talks on strategic issues with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who called him a "revolutionary leader". The two countries also inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas such as cyber security and gas and oil after extensive delegation-level talks between their prime ministers. During the talks, the issue of India voting against Israel at the UN on the Jerusalem issue also figured with Indian officials maintaining that both sides put forth their views. However, the officials asserted that the two leaders agreed that the ties "are not determined by a single issue". favour recognise India had last month joined 127 other countries to vote in the UN inof a resolution opposing the recent decision of the US toJerusalem as Israel's capital. 18:47 "India-Israel security cooperation is defined by our common fight against terrorism. This challenge is eating into the vitals of our society. We need to work together to develop a strong global response to defeat terrorism in all its manifestations," President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted. 18:22 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan, reports ANI. 17:43 A quick recap: India signed nine MoUs with Israel on various issues including cyber security, cooperation in gas and il sector, air transport, film-co-production,research in homeopathy,coopertation in the field of space and solar thermal technologies and others. 17:36: Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet President Ram Nath Kovind at 5:30 pm, following which he will address a business summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a focus on expanding India-Israel economic cooperation. 14:29 India, Israel sign memorandums of understanding on cooperation in oil and gas sector, a protocol on amendments to air transport agreement, an agreement on film co-production, field research in homoeopathic medicine, cooperation in the field of space, letter of intent to invest in India, cooperation in metal battery, and cooperation in solar thermal energy. 14:24 Indians and Israelis remember too well the savagery of terrorist attacks. We fight back, we never give in, Israeli PM Netanyahu said. 14:24 PM Benjamin Netanyahu confirms that Israel is in talks with India for cooperation in science and technology. 14:19 Israel PM Netanyahu calls PM Modi a revolutionary leader and says something different is happening because of his leadership and India's partnership with Israel. 14:16 PM Modi says the two countries are committed to facilitate the flow of people and ideas between them. India and Israel today inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cyber security and energy. The agreements were signed after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu for bolstering bilateral ties in strategic areas. 14:00 Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a "marriage made in heaven", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that even though the Jewish state was "disappointed" by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. A Pegasus Airlines flight with 168 people on board reportedly skidded off the runway of a Turkish coastal airport and plunged down a steep slope on the edge of the Black Sea. Fortunately, there was no casualty. Here we take a look at some major aviation mishaps averted, proving that miracle happens. (Representational Image: Reuters) A major tragedy was averted when an Air Canada plane was prevented at the last minute from landing on a busy taxiway at San Francisco International Airport in July 2017. The aircraft was carrying 135 passengers and crew members, reported Reuters. (Representative Image: Reuters) Over 134 passengers and the crew of an Air India plane from Delhi had a miraculous escape in June 2017 when it suffered a brake failure on landing and skidded beyond the runway before coming to a halt at the end of the strip, reported PTI. (Representative Image: Reuters) In a serious breach of aviation safety precautions, two Jet Airways aircraft came so close on the runway at the Delhi airport that their wings brushed against each other, as per PTI. Fortunately, all passengers and crew of the two aircraft were reported safe. (Representative Image: Reuters) In April 2017, a Dubai-bound Air India flight averted tragedy after it veered off the runway after an engine failure during take off and suffered a tyre burst at the Karipur airport. As per a PTI report, all passengers and crew members were safe. (Representative Image: Reuters) An Ethiopian Airlines plane clipped wings with an Air India aircraft at the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi in August 2017. (Representative Image: Reuters) An aeroplane belonging to a low-cost Turkish airline skid off the runway while landing and stopped metres short of driving itself into the adjoining sea. There were 168 passengers and crew onboard which escaped safely, the airline said. -737 Pegasus Airlines - , , 162 . . pic.twitter.com/MFsWin5TiM (@FreshBreeze99) January 14, 2018 The Boeing 737 aircraft of Pegasus Airlines flying from Ankara was scheduled to land at Trabzon airport at 2355 hours on Saturday, Indian Standard Time. While landing on the strip, the plane skid off to its left, crossed the small grass-patch and stopped on the rocky slopes towards the sea. Pegasus Airlines apologised for the runway excursion incident in a press statement and said that no one was hurt. All 162 passengers, 2 pilots and 4 cabin crew have been disembarked safely from the aircraft. There has been no loss of life or injury to anyone on-board, said Pegasus Airlines. Reportedly, the incident happened due to a bird strike, however, things will clear after an investigation is conducted. Also Read: What passengers don't get to see when their flight lands The Trabzon Airport is situated on the shores of Black Sea. It was closed for several hours after the incident. The bill on the Anti-Corruption Court has been drafted in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and the recommendations of the Venice Commission, and discussions on specific norms should be held in the Ukrainian parliament, the press service of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration has told Interfax-Ukraine. "The bill on the Anti-Corruption Court has been drafted in accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine and in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission. Today, the draft law is in the Verkhovna Rada, therefore all discussions on special norms should be held within the legal framework in the Ukrainian parliament," the administration's press service reported on Monday. President Petro Poroshenko repeatedly stressed that the leadership of the state has the political will to create an independent anti-corruption court, according to the report. Earlier on Monday, the Yevropeiska Pravda media outlet, referring to a letter from IMF Mission Chief for Ukraine Ron van Rooden to Head of the Presidential Administration Ihor Rainin, reported that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had officially notified the Ukrainian authorities that the adoption of the presidential bill on the High Anti-Corruption Court in the current wording would mean the violation by Kyiv of its obligations to international partners. "The submission by the President of the draft law on the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC, draft law 7440) was expected to be a positive step in this direction [fighting corruption]. However, we have serious concerns about the draft law that was submitted to Parliament on December 22, as several provisions are not consistent with the authorities' commitments under Ukraine's IMF-supported program and the recommendations of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe," the letter says. According to the report, the document contains nine systemic remarks. These girls were just too excited when they believed they stopped in front of Maui from Moana at American store Costco. But while he may not be the demi-god they were looking for, he was in a good mood to play along and join the girls in yelling out Maui's catchphrase 'Chee Hoo!' The girls' mum Rella uploaded the clip to YouTube with the comment: "Each time my daughters come to Costco, they search for the 'real life' Demi god, Maui." "Will, featured in this video also does character appearances as Maui for parties and previously at Aulani Disney resort." "Thank you, Will, for bringing a smile to our daughters faces at each visit." Lavrov deceives, hoping no one will look at original text of Budapest Memorandum Marchuk Ukraine's representative in the security subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group, former prime minister, former defense minister and former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Yevhen Marchuk, has recalled that the text of the Budapest Memorandum stated the obligations, including for Russia, not to use not only nuclear, but also any other weapon against Ukraine. "Lavrov just blatantly deceives journalists, hoping that no one will look in the original text. [The memorandum says that] not only nuclear, but also any of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine," he wrote on his Facebook page on Monday. According to Marchuk, allegations about the absence of obligations of signatories in the memorandum are also untrue. "Article 2 clearly states in English that the signatories reaffirm their commitment... that none of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine," he said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference on Monday that Russia had not violated the provisions of the Budapest Memorandum. "We answered [these] questions many times, including on the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, according to which Ukraine renounced nuclear weapons, and Russia pledged not to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. I recall that we have never applied or threatened Ukraine with nuclear weapons, so there has been no violation of the Budapest Memorandum," Lavrov said. At the same time, he said that Ukraine, in contrast to the Budapest Memorandum, pledged in a separate statement not to "encourage racist, neo-Nazi, xenophobic trends, and what happened after the Maidan was a gross violation of these obligations by our Ukrainian neighbors." He told the groups Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) Retreat on January 12 that ASEAN should bring into play its key role in resolving regional issues and improve the capacity of dealing with challenges. In addition, ASEAN member countries should gear up to take advantage of technology and promote innovative development as a way to build an innovative association. Concerning rapid changes in the international and regional situation, Deputy Minister Dung asked the group to keep close consultation and maintain a framework for all partners to continue engaging in and contributing to peace, stability and development. The first SOM Retreat meeting in 2018 was devoted to discussing priorities for 2018 and preparations for ASEANs major activities in the time ahead. The member countries continued to emphasise the role of peace and cooperation in dealing with major challenges such as terrorism and climate change, and agreed to make use of opportunities afforded by technological advances for faster growth. The meeting also looked into preparations for the summit commemorating ASEAN-India relations, the ASEAN-Australia special summit and the 15th anniversary of the ASEAN-China strategic partnership and the ASEAN-China Year of Innovation in 2018. The record might show Orlando Riddicks first week at Midland ISD was in July, but for those wondering what the Riddick era at MISD is all about, wed argue that the first full week of 2018 is when his impact was truly felt. Make no mistake about it: Last week was huge for the district and for Midland ISDs superintendent. When he arrived in Midland, we heard about the journey he wanted to take the district on. We heard on that day in May that there will be trials and tribulation. We were told if people in Midland grab hands, and forge on, faith and determination will help get them out of the storm. This past week was evidence of that journey and what it looks like. Riddick and his staff revealed plans to make Midland ISD a District of Innovation. Then, he gave us a look at the future as the district held a meeting about transitioning Sam Houston Elementary into a collegiate prep campus. Along the way, the district also sent out the news that Midland ISD received a $450,000 planning grant to help design a transformation zone to provide campuses with autonomy and innovation. If you havent kept up with the districts desire to create a System of Great Schools, we encourage you to go to mrt.com and read more about it. The point is: Riddick promised out of the box, and he has delivered during his first six-plus months. In the past, Midland ISD leadership probably would have balked at the type of changes that are being talked about now and in the future (read in-district charters here). Now, everything is on the table, and our guess is Riddick will leave few stones unturned. That is not the person Midland ISD promised when introducing him last year. That is not the person who has promised to transform education in Midland. He sees the future as a time when we will adjust our thoughts about education to what students of today and tomorrow expect. He said it is time to get rid of the standardized footprint. Seeing how well that served Midland for 10 years under the previous two permanent superintendents, we can live with that. Riddick has been bold as to talk about giving Midland ISD students the same opportunities as charter schools and private schools again an idea that makes sense in Midland. He also sees developing a system of learning that makes sense in Midland, now and in the future. And based on demographics and other characteristics of our community, what makes sense in Midland, Texas, might not make sense elsewhere, and our community needs to stop jamming that square peg into the round hole. For years we have called for an education plan that is right for Midland. There is still more to see, but Riddick appears to get this. One doesnt have to look any farther than this past week to see that. Michigan Technological University will lead a team of experts in evaluating the economic and environmental impacts of a worst case scenario spill or release from the Line 5 Straits Pipelines. The State of Michigan announced Friday that it reached a contract agreement with Michigan Tech to have Guy Meadows lead an independent risk analysis of the two parallel 20-inch pipelines that form the 4.5-mile section of Line 5 that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Meadows is the Robbins Professor of Sustainable Marine Engineering and director of the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech. The Agency for Energy (MAE), Attorney Generals Office (AG), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) signed the contract with Michigan Tech. The Straits of Mackinac is perhaps the most dynamically complex region of the Great Lakes, Meadows says. I am glad to have had the opportunity to study the region over the past several years, and to be able to apply that knowledge to this equally complex request from the State. Protecting Against the Worst In conducting the risk analysis, the team is tasked with evaluating: The environmental fate and transport of oil or other products released from the Straits pipelines in a worst-case scenario. How long it would take to contain and clean up the worst-case release. The short- and long-term public health and safety impacts. The short- and long-term ecological impacts. Potential measures to restore the affected natural resources and mitigate the ecological impacts. Estimate the amount of natural resource damages, the governmental costs, and all other economic damages public and private that would result from a worst-case release. When the teams final report is issued, the State will require Enbridge Energy Limited Partners, which owns and operates Line 5, to maintain an adequate financial assurance mechanism to cover liability for all damages or losses to public and private property in the event of a worst-case scenario. The State has the authority to do so under the 1953 easement that granted permission for the pipelines construction. The risk analysis will be paid for by funds in an escrow account the State controls and which was set up in August 2016. The funds were provided by Enbridge, but the company has no say in how the money is spent or in the findings of the independent report. Risk Analysis Team and Timeline On Sept. 18, 2017, the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board (PSAB) unanimously recommended that Michigan Tech organize and lead state universities in an independent risk analysis of the Straits Pipelines. Last month, Meadowswho served on the PSAB as the state university representative before resigning to undertake the risk analysisprovided the PSAB with an update on the risk analysis proposal. After incorporating feedback from the PSAB and the States technical team, Meadows and his team submitted a final proposal to the State in mid-December. The parties finalized their contract agreement on January 12. Meadows has organized a team of 41 researchers, 21 from Michigan Tech and 20 from external organizations. Nine universities are contributing to the analysis, and seven of those are within the state of Michigan. They include Michigan Tech, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Western Michigan University, Grand Valley State University and Oakland University. The two out-of-state universities are North Dakota State University and Loyola University Chicago. Three researchers on the project are from consulting organizations, and two are independent contractors. Two other contributors, both from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, will donate their time and services. The risk analysis team is organized into nine sections, based on the States published scope of work. Each section has a section leader, a chief scientist and at least two section authors. In addition to the nine sections, a broader impacts team will provide a comprehensive overview of risks that various affected communities perceive in connection with the Straits pipelines. Affected groups include indigenous communities; local, state, federal and Canadian government officials; environmental and historic preservation groups; and tourism, fishing and recreation industries. The risk analysis team will use the Michigan Tech high-performance computing cluster, and researchers will develop a multi-layer, web-based GIS portal to accumulate output from each team. This portal will be made available to the State upon completion of the risk analysis to serve as rapid response resource inventory. When the State of Michigan made an investment in the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech, it did so knowing the University would become the leader in this field of study," Michigan Tech President Glenn Mroz says. "Professor Meadows has assembled a world-class team of experts from Michigans universities and other distinguished institutions. They will gather and analyze the data to understand the big picture and provide the State with the information it needs to best serve its citizens." Barring any setbacks, the team will complete a draft risk analysis and hold a public presentation on the draft report in July 2018, followed by a 30-day public comment period that would end in mid-August. After responding to public and State input on the draft, the team would prepare a final report to be delivered by September 15, 2018. Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigans Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior. In a recent interview granted to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, the Vietnamese President affirmed Vietnam and Japan have become important partners of each other in many fields. Since the two nations upgraded their ties to the Extensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia in 2014, bilateral relations have witnessed strong and comprehensive development, he said. Regards political ties, the two sides have maintained high-level meetings, with the highlights being visits to Vietnam in 2017 by Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, and Japanese President Shinzo Abe. The year also marked a new developmental step in the relations as the two countries issued a joint statement on deepening the extensive strategic relationship during the official visit to Japan by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Vietnam and Japan have closely and effectively coordinated in multilateral forums such the UN, ASEAN, APEC and ASEM. In particular, Japans active involvement contributed to Vietnams successful hosting of the 25th APEC Summit during the year. In the economic field, Japan is the largest ODA provider for Vietnam, and the fourth biggest trade partner of the country. In 2017, Japan became the leading foreign investor in Vietnam, with over 2,500 Japanese companies operating in the Southeast Asian country. The two countries are working together on many large-scale infrastructure and energy projects in Vietnam. Japans ODA provision has significantly contributed to Vietnams socio-economic development. Collaboration in terms of security-defence, agriculture, education-training and labour have also recorded practical results. Cooperative links between localities of the two countries have been fostered with 37 pairs of localities setting up twinning relations. People-to-people exchange activities and cultural and tourism cooperation have been expanded, with 230,000 Vietnamese now living and working in Japan and 16,000 Japanese in Vietnam. Japan is the third largest source of tourists to Vietnam. President Quang said he discussed with PM Shinzo Abe major orientations and specific measures to further bolster the bilateral ties in the time ahead on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting in Da Nang last November. He noted that the two sides agreed to enhance political trust via maintaining visits and meetings at all levels, and dialogue mechanisms among their ministries, sectors and localities. They will take advantage of their respective strengths in order to promote win-win cooperation and economic links. Vietnam will closely cooperate with Japan for the more effective use ODA capital, while continuing to improve its investment environment to facilitate Japanese firms operation in the country. The two sides will also forge links in fields of good cooperative potential such as labour, clean agriculture and hi-technology, he added. The President stressed that with its policy on proactive international integration; Vietnam has been and will be a sincere friend, reliable partner and responsible member of the international community. In that spirit, the country will maintain its close and effective collaboration with Japan at international and regional forums in issues of common concern for peace, stability and development in the region and the world as a whole. He expressed his belief that the Vietnam-Japan Extensive Strategic Partnership will continue developing for the sake of the two peoples. President Quang said in the time to come, Vietnam hopes for Japanese investment and technology transfer in six priority sectors in Vietnams industrialisation strategy, including electronics, agricultural machines, farm and aquatic product processing, shipbuilding, environmental protection and energy saving, and automobile industry. Vietnam also wants to benefit from Japans investment and technology in fields of its strengths such as support industry, manufacturing, infrastructure development, energy, clean agriculture, waste and waste water treatment. The President also reaffirmed Vietnams consistent policy to create favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Japan to operate business and production activities in Vietnam. Japanese direct investment in Vietnam totalled almost US$9 billion during January-November, 2017, a four-time increase from the figure of the entire 2016. In Focus with Allison Walker is a 30-minute public affairs program, featuring a roundtable of newsmakers representing a range of perspectives, including local officials and expert analysts as they tackle topical issues of importance to Floridians. In Focus airs Sundays at 11:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., right after Political Connections. A casino shuttle boat traveling in the Port Richey canal caught fire Sunday afternoon, with about 50 people aboard, according to the Pasco County Sheriffs Office. Casino shuttle catches fire off Florida coast About 50 people were on board at the time Cause of the fire remains unclear The fire started just after 4 p.m. on the SunCruz Port Richey Casino shuttle. The captain reported engine trouble and decided to turn the shuttle around. As the shuttle neared the shore off Harborpointe Drive, a fire erupted. Passengers were forced to jump overboard into the chilly waters, authorties said. All passengers made it out of the water. Some swam to shore, while others were pulled from the water. About 15 people were transported to hospitals for treatment. Their injuries were not life threatening, deputies said. The shuttle takes passengers to and from the SunCruz Port Richey Casino boat. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the scene. The Preschool Pass has returned to SeaWorld Orlando for 2018. With it, children age 5 and younger can get into the park for free. The pass also includes access to events such as Electric Ocean, Halloween Spooktacular and the Christmas Celebration. It does not include parking or other discounts. The Preschool Pass is valid for unlimited admission through Dec. 31, 2018 and is only available to Florida residents. CHECK OUT ATTRACTIONS INSIDER: Your all-in-one source for news, pictures and video from Floridas theme parks. Just go to our Attractions Insider page. Sign up to get breaking theme park news alerts and subscribe to our newsletter, Theme Park Roundup, delivered to your inbox or mobile phone. Wayland Baptist Universitys Dr. Jay Givens told his story of his participation in the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for college and university teachers on the theme of World Religions and World Religions Discourse: Challenges of Teaching the Religions of the World, Tuesday at the weekly meeting of the Plainview Rotary Club. The institute, which was held at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota over a one-month period during the summer, brought together 30 scholars from around the country and part of a variety of disciplines to study. Those professors leading the institute included James Laine, a scholar on Hinduism, who organized the program; Tomoko Masuzawa a historian who teaches at the University of Michigan; Donald Lopez, a scholar on Buddhism, Carl Ernst, a scholar on Islam and Michael McNally, who was a scholar specializing in Native American religious beliefs. Givens said a significant part of the first week of the program involved Masuzawas contention that the concept of individual world religions did not truly exist until the 19th century. He said that he and his fellow institute participants discussed and debated this issue at some length during the first week. The following weeks were spent discussing Hinduism, Buddhism and monotheistic religion as well as Native American religious practices. Given gave the assembled audience a few important lessons on a number of different world religions as well as how certain religions, such as Buddhism, differ depending upon the country and culture of believers. Givens, who said he would generally consider himself a small government supporter said that he really believed in the viability of the program supported by the NEH. He said that the program not only influences those who directly participate, but also benefits those students who can learn from the participants themselves. The Endowment is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States. NEH grants typically go to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television, and radio stations, and to individual scholars. A report has found that Chinese kids are more adept at handling digital devices than their parents. A 14-year-old student is better at using the internet than his parents, Youth.cn reported on Jan 11. A digital generation gap has formed between Chinese children and their parents, said the report about Chinese childrens (between age 3 and 14) internet capability in the 2016-2017 period, released by China National Youth Palace Association on Thursday. Chinese children are using the internet at an earlier age, and as a result, their proficiency is rising fast. The report came to this conclusion after analyzing 110,000 online questionnaires. The report has also offered guidance to parents, helping them to better deal with children who are addicted to video games. It is the first paper of its kind in the country. However, parents lag behind their childrens online capabilities, the report found. About 43.6 percent of 14-year-olds said they know more about the internet than their parents, and 63 percent of the parents agreed. For children aged seven, the internet is a source of fun. About 8.5 percent of seven-year-olds said they have shopped online, 16.7 percent said they have uploaded pictures and images, and 4.1 percent said they have their own followers. For kids aged between three and six, 29.1 percent are using the internet for no less than 30 minutes a day, and that duration increases as they grow older. The more prevalence and proficiency of the internet among children is deepening the generation gap, experts warn. This gap is not good for the parent-child relationship, or for childrens online safety. Zhang Haibo, director of the Children's Media Literacy Education Research Center of the China National Youth Palace Association, suggests parents monitor their childrens online activities, enhance childrens awareness about cyber security, adapt ways of educating their kids, and keep up with their kids in internet knowledge. On March 16, 1960, San Antonio became the first southern city to begin integration of its small restaurants, according to the book "African Americans in South Texas History." The book chronicles the events leading up to the day and following. It states San Antonio never actually had segregation laws in place, but the police still enforced de facto segregation. One of the essays in the publication, Racial Change on the Southern Periphery: The Case of San Antonio, Texas 1960-1965 by Robert A. Goldberg, gives insight to the atmosphere within the city during the controversial time. Goldbergs essay states that in town, civil rights has been granted, not won and voluntary desegregation the 'Texas way'" was an example for other cities in the state. San Antonio showed the way and the rest of the region, rejecting the example of the deep South followed, the essay adds. As a response to the February event in which four African American college students in Greensboro, N.C. demonstrated a sit-in at a lunch counter when they were denied service, San Antonio downtown businesses agreed they would refuse service to African Americans who attempted the same type of demonstration. With the backing of the San Antonio chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Our Lady of the Lake College freshman Mary Andrews sent letters to six city stores on March 7, asking for desegregation of their eating areas. After Andrews sent the letters, conversations on racial policy fired up within the city led by church leaders and businessmen. The integration of lunch counters to avoid the problematic situations caused by the issue in other states was seen as motivation to move forward in granting Andrews wishes. But, businesses were hesitant, fearing there would be economic repercussions from the white community if they complied, according to the essay. In the days leading up to March 16, a rally was hosted by the NAACP as conversations and exclusive meetings continued. While the topic intensified, the city showed support for integration. Goldberg accredits city officials like Chief of Police George Bichsell and City Attorney Carlos C. Cadena for their remarks concerning potential sit-in demonstrations in the city. Bichsell told news outlets that police would not stop sit-ins, unless they created a disturbance. Cadena furthered the sentiment by declaring sit-ins would not be considered a breach of peace. An agreement was finally reached. Store owners would comply and serve black customers without racial barriers if the church leaders helped mobilize their congregations to support the movement, in an effort to safeguard against backlash. San Antonio clergymen were asked to speak from the pulpits on the topic and ask their respective community members to cooperate by commending the businessmen for their vision and action and ask them to show appreciation by continued patronage and in every other means of assurance. Finally, on March 16, without much attention, four black people were served at once-segregated San Antonio lunch counters, according to Goldberg. The only backlash from the decision businessmen were nervous to enact were a few cancelled charge accounts and hostile telephone calls, Goldberg wrote. Although the changed policy seemed to go largely unnoticed, San Antonio basked in the spotlight as the first major southern city to integrate its lunch counters. Goldbergs essay lists the San Antonio Express-News as a voice of support for integration during the time in saying, we are confident that everyone concerned in the present situation has come this far in good faith. It is incumbent upon us all to see that this good faith approach is allowed to continue. In the days following, a banquet with both black and white attendees was hosted to celebrate the accomplishment. Since the integration of lunch counters was an initial step in desegregation, the San Antonio Interracial Committee was founded the next month with the goal of swaying public opinion against segregation. Five years after the first movement of integration, city council integrated all public areas with the passing of an ordinance. Businesses that did not comply were fined, according to Glasrud. mmendoza@mysa.com |Twitter: @MaddySkye A new Google app feature took over social media this weekend as users discovered they could find their own museum painting doppelgangers via the Google Arts and Culture app. Using the "selfie feature," users can upload photos of themselves and have Google's face-matching technology search catalogued museum collections to find "similar" looking portraits from decades of paintings. ("Similar" being used loosely.) Social media users gleefully shared the app's best guesses as to which painting subject each person looked like, with results ranging from decently accurate to humorously bad. The feature proved so popular, by Sunday the Google Arts & Culture app ranked at the top of both iPhone and Android's free app lists. To use the selfie feature, users will have to download the app onto their phone and give the app access to the camera. The feature is under the heading, "Is your portrait in a museum?" and the app will prompt users to take a selfie before generating a painting doppelganger. (If you're averse to selfies, there is a workaround of sorts: Some users discovered that you can take a photo of a picture from a different device and the feature will still work.) The Google Arts & Culture app initially launched back in 2016 as a way for people to peruse artwork from over 1,000 museums, learn about specific artists or virtually tour museums around the world. The app works by creating a "faceprint" of each person's facial features, then comparing it against a database that includes over 70,000 works of art, news site Inverse reported. The selfie feature is not available in all areas, however, with customers complaining in the comments of both app stores about the restriction. A Google spokesman confirmed Sunday that the feature is available across the United States with the exception of Texas and Illinois. Citgo Petroleum said it will keep its headquarters in Houston, warding off speculation that it was considering moving its executive hub to the Caribbean. The Venezuelan refiner confirmed it is maintaining its Houston home after its new president and CEO, Asdrubal Chavez, a cousin of the late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, arrived in Houston last week to attend his first meetings. But Citgo at first would not address the potential headquarters change. The CEO change came amid the company's ongoing controversies regarding the arrests of the company's previous leadership team in Venezuela late last year. Citgo is a subsidiary of the state oil company in Venezuela, which is mired in economic and political turmoil. Chavez was installed as the new president at the end of November by current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Earlier in November, the Venezuelan government swept up much of the previous Citgo leadership team, most of whom are dual American citizens living in the Houston area, on embezzlement and corruption charges. The moves are widely seen as an effort by Maduro to further consolidate power. Those arrested remain in custody. RELATED: New Citgo President Chavez arrives in Houston Argus Media reported last week week that Citgo was considering moving its headquarters from Houston to Aruba, where Citgo also has a refinery. However, Maduro recently cut off ties temporarily with Aruba and some other neighboring Caribbean nations because of concerns about smugglers. Chavez, a chemical engineer, plans to unveil his vision for the future of the company over the coming months, Citgo said. Chavez also is a politician and former Venezuelan oil minister. Citgo is a U.S. company with a more than 100-year history that was acquired by Venezuela's state-run oil company nearly 30 years ago. Citgo now acts as the U.S. refining and gasoline marketing arm of Venezuela. Citgo employs about 4,000 people in the U.S., including more than 800 in Houston. The company has roughly 160 branded gas stations in the Houston area, and about 5,500 nationwide. Citgo owns oil refineries in Corpus Christi, Lake Charles, Louisiana, and Illinois. Chinas value of imports, exports to Belt and Road countries rises in 2017 Chinas value of imports and exports to Belt and Road countries rose by 17.8 percent in 2017 on a year-on-year basis, said Huang Songping, spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs at a press conference held by Chinas State Council Information Office on Jan. 12, CRI Online reported. Chinas value of imports and exports to Belt and Road countries reached 7.37 trillion yuan ($1.14 trillion) in 2017, up 17.8 percent on a year-on-year basis, accounting for 26.5 percent of the countrys total value of imports and exports, said Huang. The Belt and Road Initiative complies with the requirements of the era and Belt and Road countries wishes to accelerate development, which, therefore, will contribute to trade among the en-route countries, Huang noted. The spokesman also disclosed that China will continue to strengthen cooperation with the en-route countries, optimize services concerning customs supervision, and actively engage in making international trade rules to build an open global economy. Oil traded near the highest close in more than three years as Iraq echoed a call by the United Arab Emirates and other producers that the OPEC-led output cuts should continue, despite recent price gains. Futures were little changed in New York after rising 4.7 percent last week. The curbs have contributed to stability in the market and should remain, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar al-Luaibi said Saturday. Yet, Brent crude at $70 a barrel may be giving fresh stimulus to U.S. shale-oil drillers to boost output, according to the International Energy Agency. Oil has extended gains after a second annual advance as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies curb supply to drain a global glut. Though they have said the historic deal will run until the end of this year, OPEC is "very likely to cut short" the pact if markets become balanced, JP Morgan Securities said in a report. "In the next 12 months, we see more or less a balanced market," Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said in a television interview. "Global oil demand will increase. But a lot of new oil production is coming." West Texas Intermediate for February delivery was at $64.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 9 cents, at 11:26 a.m. in London. Total volume traded was about 18 percent below the 100-day average. WTI rose 0.8 percent to $64.30 on Friday, the highest close since December 2014. See also: Hot Money's Pushing Oil to $70, but OPEC Should Keep Cool: Gadfly Brent for March settlement lost 16 cents to $69.71 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Prices climbed 3.3 percent last week. The global benchmark crude traded at a premium of $5.59 to March WTI. The U.A.E sees no big changes in OPEC policy as a result of short-term price fluctuations, Energy Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said in Abu Dhabi. Qatar Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada told the official Qatar News Agency that the group should only review its supply accord once crude stockpiles return to a five-year historical average. Oil-market news: Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its 2018 Brent-price forecast to $64 a barrel from $56. The market is tightening faster than expected because of "improving cyclical conditions," cold winter weather and stronger-than-expected OPEC compliance, the bank said. U.S. drillers added 10 rigs to fields last week, the most in more than six months, according to data from Baker Hughes Friday. OPEC holds enough spare output capacity to push the global market from deficit to surplus this year, but there's low probability of it coming into play given the continued commitment to the cut deal, according to a BMI Research note dated Jan. 12. Crude demand will expand by about 1.5 million barrels a day in 2018, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said in Abu Dhabi. Supermarket chain Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. is eyeing a third San Antonio location, according to a new filing with the state. The company recently notified the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation that it plans to build a new grocery store at the intersection of Bulverde Road and East Evans Road on the citys Northeast Side. Construction on the project is slated to start in July and cost about $2.6 million, according to the filing. The store is scheduled to be completed in Feb. 2019. Sprouts spokeswoman Kalia Pang wouldnt comment on the filing, noting that the company has not made a formal announcement regarding a third store in San Antonio. The grocery chain known for focusing on organic products has two stores in San Antonio: one at 8101 Callaghan Road on the citys North Side and another at 17700 U.S. 281 on the Northeast Side. A Sprouts store at 2502 Nacogdoches Road just north of Loop 410 closed in 2015. That space is now occupied by a Planet Fitness gym. The San Antonio grocery market is growing more competitive with the addition of new H-E-B stores, the imminent entry of German supermarket chain Lidl and Amazons $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market last year. San Antonio-based supermarket H-E-B opened two stores in San Antonio last year. In August, the company opened a 118,000-square-foot store with an H-E-B True Texas BBQ drive-thru near the intersection of Bulverde Road and Loop 1604 on the citys Northeast Side. It also opened a 93,000-square-foot store at 12125 Alamo Ranch Pkwy in November. Lidl, known for lean stores and low prices on its generic items, picked the Alamo Ranch area for its first San Antonio store slated to open later this year. The German chain also bought a 5.6-acre lot near the intersection of Culebra and Grissom roads on the citys Northwest Side within spitting distance of H-E-B and Walmart locations and more than 4 acres in August at the intersection of Seguin Road and Wood Glen Drive on the East Side. A filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation shows Lidl also plans to open a store in Universal City. Joshua Fechter is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | jfechter@express-news.net | @JFreports To compete for the travel dollars of big-spending fliers, American Airlines recently unveiled two ways to pamper its most elite fliers. The Fort Worth-based carrier, the worlds largest, opened a new lounge at Los Angeles International Airport last month that includes all the luxuries of a buffet restaurant and bar, plus a counter where fliers can make Bloody Mary drinks with crispy strips of bacon. American Airlines already operates three Admirals Club lounges at LAX that offer free snacks and self-serve bars. Those lounges are open to any AAdvantage frequent flier member who buys an annual pass or any traveler who pays $59 for a daily pass. But the Flagship Lounge in Terminal 4 is reserved for first- or business-class passengers who are flying on international flights or transcontinental flights to New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport. Elite members of the airlines AAdvantage frequent flier program also get access. The lounge offers free food from hot and cold buffets, a station where a chef makes custom dishes and a self-service wine and champagne bar. Showers and a quiet room for naps are nearby. But for the super-elite flier who wants to enjoy a restaurant-style sit-down meal, American Airlines has also added a 59-seat restaurant called Flagship First Dining, reserved only for first-class passengers on certain flights. During a recent visit, the menu included New York strip steak, tagliatelle pasta and a burger made with Japanese Wagyu beef. We want to differentiate ourselves from other domestic carriers, said Suzanne Boda, American Airlines senior vice president for Los Angeles. American operates four Flagship Lounges in the U.S., but only three have a Flagship First Dinning restaurant attached. A petition by a paper maker in Washington state has set off alarm bells at newspapers and printing plants across the country whose leaders say the outcome could drastically increase newsprint costs, adding more financial pressure to an industry already struggling with the drain of advertising and subscription revenue in recent years. The North Pacific Paper Company, or NORPAC, asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to investigate Canadian imports of uncoated groundwood paper, the grade of paper widely used by newspapers and other commercial publishers. The company was acquired in late 2016 by One Rock Capital Partners, a New York-based hedge fund. It has essentially claimed that Canadian government subsidies are giving Canadian newsprint producers an unfair advantage over U.S. paper producers, and that the Canadians are dumping paper on the U.S. market at prices below the cost of production. Commerce has been investigating the matter for the past four months and is expected to issue a preliminary decision this week on one aspect of the case. U.S. newsprint buyers fear that steep import duties of up to 50 percent could increase both Canadian and domestic newsprint prices. Its a big deal if it happens, said Lisa Hills, executive director of the Minnesota Newspaper Association, a trade group that represents about 320 daily and weekly newspaper members. Thats a huge increase when you look at the business costs for a newspaper, she said. Newsprint is one of the largest expenses that a newspaper has, probably second to labor costs. Mike Klingensmith, publisher of the Star Tribune, said Minnesotas largest newspaper spends about $10 million annually on newsprint. Even if the tariff was only 10 percent, he said, it would represent a seven-figure cost for the company that was unbudgeted and unanticipated. It would be very significant economic stress on the company, he said, but it wouldnt put us under. Many newspapers dont print in their own facilities, so an increase in newsprint prices would also affect the printing industry, which sent a letter last month to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross urging him to reject a tariff on Canadian newsprint because it would further stress the financial viability of newspapers. As for our customers, many can barely pay their printing bills now, the letter said. An escalation in paper prices would push some over the edge, and cost their communities not only the newspaper jobs but the news and advertising support that drives other local jobs. To be sure, U.S. newspapers are using less newsprint. But industry officials said thats due primarily to the shift from print to digital media consumption, not to unfair trade practices. The Department of Commerce decision this week would likely increase duties temporarily beginning later in the month, and another aspect of the case would be decided in March. After that, the International Trade Commission would take up the matter and conduct hearings to determine whether the preliminary duties would become permanent. Also weighing in are more than 1,100 small- and medium-sized newspapers, including 13 in Minnesota, that sent a letter to Ross last month urging denial of the petition because it could result in very severe impacts on the industry. If Canadian imports of uncoated groundwood paper are subject to duties, prices in the whole newsprint market will be shocked and our supply chains will suffer, the letter said. It further states that NORPAC does not reflect the views of the paper industry in the United States, and its petition has been opposed by most other domestic newsprint makers and by the American Forest and Paper Association. Given its outlier status, the letter said, it appears that One Rock Capital Partners may be using the petitions as a means of increasing the short-term value of this one mill, without any regard for the dramatic negative implications for U.S. newspapers in thousands of small cities and towns. Officials at both One Rock Capital Partners and NORCO did not respond to requests for interviews or statements about the case. At the time its petition was filed last August, the company blamed unfair Canadian competition for recent cutbacks at its plant in Longview, Wash. In May 2017, NORCOs 400 nonunion employees received a 10 percent wage cut and reductions in retirement benefits. A week after filing the petitions in August, the company announced that it would shut down one of its three paper machines in October, resulting in an undetermined number of layoffs and reducing the plants capacity by nearly one-third to 540,000 tons per year. At the time, company CEO Craig Anneberg said in published reports that NORCO would use all the tools at its disposal under U.S. trade law to address and counteract the dumped and subsidized imports from Canada. In a glass conference room in midtown Manhattan, a few dozen employees from Beacon Health Options are taking turns asking each other an incredibly awkward question: Are you having thoughts of suicide? Theres a right way to ask and a wrong way, and theyre here to learn the difference. The exercise is just one component of an eight-hour course in mental health first aid, a relatively new kind of training that, like first aid or CPR, is designed to give ordinary people tools to help someone in need. And as with first aid and CPR, companies have begun to see the value in having employees who have the skills to say something, if they see something. About 40 employers have trained more than 1,300 people over the last two years, according to the National Council for Behavioral Health, which first imported the program from Australia in 2008 and adapted it for Americans. This year, it plans to train 6,000 workers through company-sponsored courses. Aetna Inc., George Washington University, real estate developer Lendlease Group and the health-care technology companies Cerner Corp. and Netsmart Technologies have all sponsored workshops for their employees. Theres a growing recognition that mental health and addiction problems are having an impact in many ways, driving up health-care costs and absenteeism, said Betsy Schwartz, the vice president of public education and strategic initiatives at NCBH. Companies know thats true. More than a quarter of workers reported some level of depression or anxiety in a 2015 survey by the American Psychological Association, but the most common workplace solutionemployee assistance programsis notoriously unpopular. Most employees dont want to call an employer-sponsored program for help. Beyond offering good benefits, employers tend to duck more holistic solutions to workers mental stress. That challenging piece is really creating a culture where the organization is tuned in to employee well-being, said David Ballard, who leads the APAs Center for Organizational Excellence. When Jessica Caskey was working in human resources at a national park in Alaska, an employee placed an explosive device outside his bosss office. In many ways, things turned out as well as possible. The police came, nobody was hurt and after the employee was released from custody, Caskey fired him. Looking back, though, Caskey thinks she couldve handled it better. The employee had showed signs of suffering from some sort of mental health illness, Caskey said. Nobody took the time to dive in and figure out what was happening. The mental health first aid classes are designed to help people like Caskey do just that. Last year, she was one of 41 managers at Taos ski resort in New Mexico who took the course. Were not making anyone a clinician, Schwartz said. Were just teaching, as a clergy person told me recently, how to be good neighbors. Employees at the Taos resort face specific kinds of emotional stress. At the end of the ski season, most of the 700 temporary staffers will be out of a job, noted Ashley Ryland, the employee wellness coordinator at the resort. Ski patrollers, most of whom are certified EMTs, act as first responders to accidents and other distressing situations, making them particularly vulnerable to mental illness. The course covers the signs and symptoms of anxiety, depression and other common mental health disorders that people might observe among their coworkers. In one exercise, participants role-played what it feels like to hear a constant stream of paranoid thoughts. In another, groups were given art supplies so they could draw what anxiety looks like. As a mnemonic device, the instructors teach an acronym called Algee: Assess risk, listen non-judgmentally, give reassurance and information, encourage people to get appropriate professional help and encourage self-help and other support strategies. Theres a quiz at the end. Those who passgenerally everyoneget a certificate. We kind of zip through some of these things. We could spend days and days on schizophrenia, said Don Decker, a certified mental health first aid instructor, during a recent training at Beacon Health Options Inc., a behavioral health provider, thats requiring all of its 4,700 employees to go through the program. This is to demystify mental health. Were not learning to diagnose; were not the ones doing the treatment. Its about understanding when a problem is developing and how to approach them and connect them to care. Since she took the training last year, Caskey said shes used her Algee skills. A housekeeper recently uncharacteristically missed two days of work in a row and then left an incoherent voice message for her supervisor. Before she took the training, Caskey would have probably started disciplinary action and potentially fired the employee. This time, she got on the phone. Her voice was trembling, she was crying, and she kept saying I just cant do it anymore, Caskey recalled. I jumped into action. I talked to heragain, using what the counselors had taught: calm words, very quiet, not too excited. I gave her a feeling of value and purpose. A few weeks later, the housekeeper came back to her job. Two convenience stores in Sebastopol were robbed in the span of about 40 minutes early Monday morning, authorities said. The first robbery occurred about 12:55 a.m. at a Lucky grocery store at 776 Gravenstein Highway North, according to the Sebastopol Police Department. As the weather takes an arctic turn, it's time to consider the coffee shop's sweeter side: hot chocolate. Click through the slideshow above for 15 San Antonio coffee shops that make a good cup of cocoa. Call it coffee with benefits. RELATED: 25 coffee shops to keep San Antonio buzzing One couple is traveling nearly 5,000 miles from Manchester to San Antonio for the "trip of a lifetime," to see Rascal Flatts perform at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo next month. For the two police officers, still reeling from the deadly attack on an Ariana Grande concert last year, the plans for this show keep getting sweeter. Charlotte West recently surprised her partner of five years, Adele Schofield, with her 40th birthday presents: airfare and tickets to the Valentine's Day show at the rodeo. West captured the moment she revealed her gift in a Twitter video. In the video, West told Schofield she would experience the show like "a proper American cowboy." The teary-eyed Schofield smiled in disbelief. The cherry on top of the surprise came on Jan. 11, when the band saw the heartwarming video and invited the couple backstage to meet them. RELATED: Comedienne Sarah Silverman befriends San Antonio man who was trolling her online "I genuinely can't believe it, I was amazed that I was told I was flying out to watch them in concert but when they invited us backstage, I was completely overwhelmed," Schofield told mySA.com. "This is not only the best present ever, it's a bucket list trip for me and Rascal Flatts have just made a dream come true to be able to meet them too." West told mySA.com she was "wracking her brains for a special gift." When she saw Schofield's favorite band was performing in San Antonio which she heard is an "incredible" place she launched her plan to give the gift of seeing the band live and possibly hearing the couple's favorite song, "Bless the Broken Road." "Adele is a hardworking mother of two. She has the kindest heart you could ever know," West told mySA. "Her reaction on the video comes from the fact that she doesn't expect good things to happen to her. I say, good things happen to good people." The couple will arrive on Feb. 9 and spend the days leading up to the big night traveling to Houston, Lake Charles and New Orleans. West said it will be a nice retreat from a "tough" 2017 for the two women, who are police officers in Manchester. That year included the "awful atrocity" of the May 22 Manchester Arena bombing following Ariana Grande's concert, that claimed 22 lives. "We, as a police force, as community, are still rebuilding," West said. "Adele worked long hours, but still managed to make sure her kids felt OK about her leaving the house every day." The couple said they are "really excited" about spending some time unwinding in the Alamo City. "Take a bucket list concert, add a side order of a highly recommended stock show and rode and -- bingo, you have the trip of a lifetime." Madalyn Mendoza is a digital reporter for MySA.com. Read more of her stories here.| mmendoza@mysa.com | Twitter: @MaddySkye Rotterdam It wasn't until after they arrived at Rotterdam Town Court last week that some defendants discovered they would be represented by the conflict defender and not the public defender. Rotterdam Town Justice Kenneth Litz said Friday that everything changed when Public Defender Stephen Signore, who has held that post since May 2015, was elected in November to the Town Board. Litz, who has nearly 30 years on the bench, acknowledged that he told defendants in court last week that "because of Mr. Signore's election to the Town Board the judges in Rotterdam are disqualified from hearing those matters but they would still be afforded counsel" after some of them seemed confused about why their public defender wasn't in court with them. "My concern was that these indigent defendants have the representation that they're entitled to under the law, and I wanted to be clear to them, 'don't worry, you'll be taken care of that while the PD (public defender) is not here, the conflict defender will pick up where they left off.'" Asked how many cases might potentially be affected, Litz noted "that the majority of our criminal cases are indigent defendants." "There's the appearance of impropriety because Mr. Signore sits on the Town Board that determines our budget, our salaries, so that gives rise to what's referred to as an appearance of impropriety and we're disqualified from hearing the cases that he's involved in," added Litz, 62, who along with the other Town Justice James Bradshaw works part time. Litz earns about $39,000 a year. While acknowledging Schenectady County agreed to shift cases to the conflict defender's office, county attorney Chris Gardner countered that Litz has his own "potential conflicts of interest" with Litz's cousin and law firm business partner Joe Litz and son-in-law Daniel Ciarmiello, both of whom work in the public defender's office. "He put forward what he thought was a potential conflict with Steve Signore but Steve has stated on numerous occasions in internal meetings that there's also potential conflicts with Joe Litz and Dan Ciarmiello being members of his office and his office appearing in front of Judge Litz," he added. He said last week that the matter was referred to Frank Salamone, one of the attorneys in his office, who looked into the matter. "These are waive-able conflicts but the determination was that it would be easier administratively just to have the conflict defender be the first line of defense," said Gardner, explaining that a defense attorney and prosecutor, with the consent of a judge, can waive the issues. Gardner also contends Litz had initially agreed to a remitter an agreement between the district attorney and public defender offices where a potential conflict is identified and all the parties agree to waive it but then changed his mind. As a result, the county shifted all the cases, misdemeanors and violations in Rotterdam Town Court from the public defender's office to the conflict defender's office. Gardner said the county manager is also "redeploying some resources between the offices to make sure that there is adequate defense resources for the conflict defender's office." He said most of the misdemeanor cases or traffic violations in Rotterdam Town Court usually end in a plea deal and "there are very few trials or extended engagements." Conflict Defender Tracey Chance, whose office currently has about a half-dozen full-time attorneys, did not return a call Friday seeking comment. Signore said last week that he "concurs with the decision made by the county attorney's office." "There's a minimal effect on the court because the volume hasn't increased, it's just who's handling it," said Signore, adding the conflict defender's office picked up roughly about 60 more cases, which will be distributed between Litz and Bradshaw over the course of several months. Put another way, Gardner said that it'll amount to about a dozen cases a week. Signore said his office has 14 lawyers, two of whom are part time, including Joseph Litz. Signore said the lawyer who was handling cases for the public defender in Rotterdam Town Court will now be covering those same cases for the public defender. He also revealed that another potential conflict involving Kenneth Litz's daughter, Renee Litz-Taylor, who Signore said receives Family Court assignments and appears in cases involving his public defenders. Asked about Ciarmiello and Joe Litz, Kenneth Litz emphasized that they have never appeared before him and "there are opinions with respect to their ability to be a part of the public defender's office that suggest that is OK." "My son-in-law, he does not practice before me nor will he practice before me because that would be improper and my partner Joe does not practice before me because that would be improper as well," said Litz, a registered Republican. Signore and Gardner are Democrats. Gardner said the dispute is not rooted in partisan politics, citing the fact that Kenneth Litz has been cross-endorsed by Democrats that Ciarmiello and Joe Litz work in the public defender's office. Joe Litz said the issue of potential conflicts with him has come up in the past and was dealt with internally by Signore. "As far as I am concerned those situations, obviously they addressed it from a safety standpoint, I don't handle any cases in Rotterdam," added Litz, who has been with the public defender's office since 1987. Ciarmiello did not return a call Friday to his work phone seeking comment. pnelson@timesunion.com 518-454-5347 @apaulnelson Q: I drive a 2009 Toyota, and I'm worried that it may be part of that airbag recall. How do I find out if my car is affected? I'd rather know for sure before I go to the dealership. Mandy Klein, Schenectady A: To find out if your vehicle is part of this recall or any other, go to https://www.safercar.gov and enter your vehicle identification number. Toyota and Honda announced last week that they added more than one million vehicles to the recall list due to ongoing problems with Takata airbags. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is encouraging motorists to check to see if their vehicles are affected. "The safercar.gov website is a quick and easy way to make sure your car is safe," said Terri Egan, DMV executive deputy commissioner. "Within minutes, you can learn if there are any recalls that affect your vehicle and find out how to get the necessary repairs or replacements." According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Takata airbags can explode when they deploy, causing serious injury or death. The latest recall brings the total number of affected airbags across the country to around 70 million. Takata supplied defective airbags to many vehicle manufacturers for years, creating what the administration calls one of the largest and most complex recalls in history. More Information Hot spots What to watch for this week: Route 396, Selkirk: Between Speeder and Pictuay roads, traffic is reduced to a single alternating lane controlled by traffic signals for a culvert repair. The reduction is expected to last several weeks. See More Collapse The latest expansion is based on new information from Takata and involves more than 600,000 additional Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota said it will notify all known owners by first-class mail. Honda is recalling about 465,000 additional vehicles, including those subject to prior recalls. The company said it will mail notifications to customers beginning in late February. Vehicle owners should contact their dealer to schedule a free repair. Do you have a question about transportation? Email gettingthere@timesunion.com. Please include your name, town and telephone number. BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The State Council, China's cabinet, will report the condition and management of state asset to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) annually, said a key document made public Sunday. The State Council will submit two types of reports to the top legislature, according to a guideline issued by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. One will be a general report on basic conditions of all sorts of state asset, which the State Council will hand in a written one annually and send an official to explain to the lawmakers in the last year of their tenure. The other will be a report on specific aspects of state asset, such as state-owned enterprises, state-owned financial institutions, state-run non-commercial institutions and state-owned natural resources. Every year, except for the last of the legislature's tenure, the State Council is required to dispatch an official to explain one of the specific reports to lawmakers. The general report will include information nationwide but specific reports on state-owned enterprises and financial institutions will mainly cover those supervised by the central government. The official to explain the reports can be the premier or senior officials in charge of state asset, according to the guideline. The move to establish such a mechanism is "a vital decision by the CPC Central Committee to enhance supervision by the NPC over state asset and an essential system for the Party and state to tighten management of state asset," said the guideline. "It is in line with the Constitution and law, meets people's expectation and vital for improving transparency and credibility of management of state asset," the document said. Over the past few years, the NPC Standing Committee has heard reports by the State Council on state asset management but they were limited to state-owned enterprises supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, said a statement from the Commission for Budget Affairs under the NPC Standing Committee, also on Sunday. "The legislature's supervision is not adequate and should be improved with new institutional measures," the statement said. The first review is scheduled to be at a bi-monthly session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee in October this year, when a general report will be submitted and a State Council official will deliver a specific report on state-owned financial institutions, according to the commission. WHAT TO REPORT According to the document, the report on state-owned enterprises and financial institutions will focus on asset and liabilities of the corporations, major investment projects, risk control, reform and salary of senior executives, while the one on non-commercial institutions will center on their liabilities, reform of management, allocation, use and revenue of state asset. The report on state-owned natural resources will be about conditions of natural resources, mechanisms of sustainable development and environmental protection as well as exploitation and conservation. The State Council is asked to establish a complete and accurate database about state asset, which can be shared by relevant ministries and departments. WHAT TO CHECK The NPC Standing Committee is required to organize investigations on relevant issues before reviewing the State Council's reports. They will give feedback to the State Council, which then should report to the top legislature within six months on how it addresses the relevant issues. Lawmakers can also initiate inquiries into certain issues. Lawmakers are expected to check how major Party and government policies and reform plans about state asset are implemented, how certain laws and legislature's resolutions are enforced, how state-owned enterprises and institutions serve national strategies, provide public goods and safeguard national security, and how the State Council works to maintain the value of state asset and prevent loss. The State Council reports and review reports of the NPC Standing Committee will be published, except for information banned by law, the guideline said. The mechanism will be launched step by step, starting from the easiest aspect to the difficult ones, the guideline said. State asset will be divided into different categories, some of which will be reported first and more will be added, it added. GREENWICH Lloyd Hull, a lawyer and World War II veteran who took part in two of the largest invasions of the war, in both the Atlantic and the Pacific theaters, died over the weekend. He was 95. An exhibit based on Hulls wartime experiences is on view at Greenwich Library. The veteran, who was active in Greenwich life, also contributed to the librarys oral history project. Hull served as an officer on the USS Laffey, which earned the nickname The Ship That Would Not Die. During the Allied invasion of Normandy, Hull recalled, Youve never seen so many ships in your life. His ship broke up a formation of German armored speed boats that had torpedoed another U.S. Navy destroyer. The Laffey was later hit by a German shore battery, but the shell turned out to be a dud. During the American invasion of Okinawa, 400 miles off the coast of Japan, the Laffey was attacked repeatedly by Japanese aviators and sustained some 30 fatalities. Hit by four bombs and six kamikaze crashes, the ship was still operating and returning fire. Hull worked in the Laffeys combat information center, coordinating and processing all the data that the vessels command needed to operate and engage the enemy. It was a huge responsibility, he told a group of students at Greenwich High School in 2016. I had 20 guys that I was responsible for ... I brought them all home and they thanked me, he said. Your mind is concentrated on an important job. Youre so damn busy you cant think of anything but if youre doing your job and if your men are OK. A lawyer who was working well into his 80s, Hull had a long career in private practice. He worked previously with the Midland Capital Corporation, Salomon Brothers and the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania before entering the Navy, and studied law at the New York Law School. Sttae Rep. Livvy Floren said he was a political mentor of hers and a friend for 30 years. In my experience during all those years, Lloyd never met a stranger and never spoke ill of another person; his good humor, inclusive kindness and patriotism were legendary. Greenwich has truly lost a treasure, she wrote in an email. Floren said Hull was famously quick-witted and loved a good pun. Hull is survived by his wife, Mary, whom he married in 1957. The couple moved to Greenwich in 1958. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters Lisa Weicker and Victoria Sharp; a son, Robert Hull; and nine grandchildren. Hull was a longtime member of the Representative Town Meeting. RTM Moderator Tom Byrne said Hulls dedication and legal acuity were of great value to the town. Lloyd was a rock upon whom I could rely to be available if ever we needed to activate the emergency subcommittee provision for the Claims Committee, and to preside if ever I was unavailable for a meeting, Byrne wrote in a statement. Lloyd Hull was a great patriot, a man of the highest character. He loved his family, his country and his Town. Hull was also a member of the Republican Town Committee. He enjoyed music, attending performances of the Greenwich Symphony and reading history. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Feb. 3 at the Round Hill Community Church. Kim Brent / Associated Press The American Red Cross will honor those who supported the Red Cross during the 2017 hurricanes with the 2018 Community Impact Award. These hurricane heroes will be honored at the Red Cross Heroes Ball on Saturday, March 3,at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. The 2018 Community Impact Award will be presented to individuals, companies, and foundations who supported the Red Cross with time, manpower, and funding during this devastating hurricane season. A man was found stabbed to death in an apartment complex in the Westchase area overnight, Houston police said. Just before midnight, police were dispatched to an apartment complex on the 3100 block of Hayes in west Houston, said Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson. Upon arriving, they found a man who had been stabbed several times. Have you wondered how your area hospitals stack up in terms of the quality of care they provide? Emergencies obviously call for rushing to the nearest hospital. But when you have time to plan, it is worth doing some research and finding out which hospitals do the best job of caring for their patients. Medicare's Hospital Compare website at medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html has made it easier for you to check that. The site has overall star ratings to help you better understand which hospitals are top performers, which are average and which need improvement. The ratings range from one to five stars, with five being the best. The Hospital Compare site already enjoys a solid reputation with the public, showing how thousands of hospitals scored on various indicators of quality care. You can compare hospitals on the basis of such factors as clinical outcomes, customer satisfaction and patient safety. The just-updated overall star ratings offer a snapshot of particular hospitals' quality of care, by summing up individual measures of hospital performance already posted on the website. The ratings reflect such factors as how often patients get infections after surgery, how long patients must wait in the emergency department before seeing a doctor or nurse, and how likely patients are to get readmitted to the hospital after a heart attack. The stars take into account the mix of patients at a hospital, so that those facilities with a high percentage of sicker patients aren't rated lower than those that handle more run-of-the-mill cases. Medicare assigned stars to 3,692 Medicare-certified hospitals nationwide. Another 887 couldn't be included, mostly because they didn't have enough data to properly evaluate them. They may have been too new or too small and, therefore, had too few cases on which to base ratings. The ratings will be updated regularly on the website, as the government continues to collect the most recent data. Nationally, 260 hospitals received five stars, 753 rated four stars, 1,187 scored three stars, 1,155 received two stars, and 337 had just one star. The 274 rated Texas hospitals scored an average of 3.3 stars for overall quality of care. Thirty-three hospitals received five stars, 84 rated four stars, 105 scored three stars, 43 received two stars, and nine had just one star. Here are the scores for area hospitals: Houston Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center - 5 Texas Orthopedic Hospital - 5 Harris Health System - 2 Tops Surgical Specialty Hospital 5 Memorial Hermann Hospital System - 4 Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center - 2 Methodist Hospital - 5 Methodist West Hospital - 4 Methodist Willowbrook Hospital - 5 St. Luke's Health Baylor College of Medicine 2 Park Plaza Hospital - 4 Woman's Hospital of Texas - 3 Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center - 2 Houston Northwest Medical Center - 2 St. Joseph Medical Center - 2 St. Luke's Hospital at the Vintage - 3 West Houston Medical Center - 3 Katy Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital - 4 Richmond OakBend Medical Center - 3 Sugar Land Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital - 3 Methodist Sugar Land Hospital - 3 St. Luke's Sugar Land Hospital - 3 Sugar Land Surgical Hospital 5 Other Texas hospitals' star ratings can be found at medicare.gov/hospitalcompare/search.html. By using star ratings on its Compare websites, Medicare is trying to help you make more informed decisions about your health care. The public reporting also gives low-performing providers a compelling incentive to improve their practices and procedures and, hence, their scores. Nursing Home Compare, Home Health Compare and the Medicare Plan Finder also use star ratings to help you check out health care providers and choose one with quality in mind. Of course, as informative as these websites can be, they can't tell the whole story about where to go for care. They're simply a screening tool that lets you focus on a few providers that interest you. Visit with your doctor about the best hospital for you. Research shows that some hospitals do better than others at treating certain conditions. And talk to family members and friends about what they liked or disliked about their recent hospital stays and which facilities they'd recommend. Medicare also recently updated its "Guide to Choosing a Hospital," which includes a checklist of questions to ask your doctor and explains how to find the hospital that's the right fit for you. A free copy can be downloaded at medicare.gov or requested by calling Medicare at 1-800-633-4227. Once you've done your homework, you'll have peace of mind knowing you've made an informed choice about your care. Then you can concentrate on the rest of your preparations for your hospital stay. Bob Moos is the southwest regional public affairs officer for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services As fast as things are changing, they are about to change even faster. Technology is making it progressively easier to access the knowledge, experience, and resources of the crowd. We have already seen how applications of crowdsourcing technology can provide funding, services, and navigation. Now this technology will accelerate innovation, problem solving and even politics. We recently had the honor of interviewing the founder of Crowdsourcing Week, Epi Ludvik. Epi is responsible for pulling together the top crowdsourcing practitioners in the world and bringing their insights to corporate c-suiters and entrepreneurs worldwide. Related: How Crowdsourcing Can Help You With Ideas, Content and Labor Q: What is crowdsourcing? A: I've always said that crowdsourcing is about passions, talents, skills and tangible resources facilitated by high tech platforms. Crowdsourcing can take place on many different levels and across various industries. Thanks to our growing connectivity, it is now easier than ever for individuals to collectively contribute ideas, time, expertise or funds to a project or cause. This collective mobilization is called crowdsourcing. The future is human-centric. It's all about participation and the ability to co-create via an increasingly connected world. This new way of doing things (crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, co-creation, collaboration and open innovation) is challenging established business models and how companies work across the board. It offers an immense opportunity to rethink and reinvent conventional processes. Related: Driving Innovation With Crowdsourcing Q: How is crowdsourcing changing today? A: Almost three years ago, Crowdsourcing Week created a diagram that identified the 14 Parts of the Crowd Economy. One of the parts called Crowd Currencies is now named Initial Coin Offering (ICO's), Token Generation Events (TGE's) and Cryptocurrencies. Back then, we anticipated massive crowd participation which is now intensifying and heading toward mainstream. Besides this trend around financial products, we are seeing that crowdsourcing is challenging old centralized models and now decentralization is happening across many different platforms. Crowd Currencies and Decentralization are joining rapid advances in crowd innovation, micro-tasking, co-creation, and the sharing economy faster than most businesses and governments are prepared for. Related: GitHub Is Helping Companies Work Together by Crowdsourcing Software Q: What are the implications to business, politics and culture? A: Massive! Let's put it this way: No country or large organization has ever seen anything like this before. We are now living in the most exciting times for humans to experience. Yet, the world of mixed reality comes with lots of challenges where society and large institutions from the private and public sector are not ready for this massive challenge. For so many centuries we've been looking down and practicing a "dig and burn" mentality for energy resources. Now we are looking up for alternative energy; solar, asteroid mining, etc. The old economy is run on the basis of scarcity compared with the new economy which is run on the basis of abundance. Now we are beginning to see the tensions between the old and the new. Related: Need a New Design? 5 Reasons to Crowdsource It. Q: What is Crowdsourcing Week? A: Crowdsourcing Week (CSW) connects people with the latest ideas and best practices in crowdsourcing and crowd innovation globally. We help organizations to transition and thrive in the new economy through our worldwide conferences and summits, online educational programs, workshops and consultancy. CSW is committed to help organizations transition into a more open, connected, and socially productive society. We focus on how crowdsourcing can address the needs of today's leaders to bring about meaningful change. Our big, ambitious goal is to get everyone thinking about collaborating with their stakeholders to create shared value. Related: Connecting Nonprofits With Pro Bono Help Q: What can attendees expect at this year's CSW Arctic // Europe 2018 conference? A: This year's European conference is going to be held in two places on the top of the world: the city of Lulea and the village of Vuollerim, both in the Swedish Arctic. We will be focusing on important emerging topics such as finance, ICO's, green bonds, energy, sustainability, innovation and CrowdGaming, agriculture, and travel & tourism in the sharing economy. AgTech is one area we have not covered before and I'm very excited to explore the crowdsourcing implications in that critical space. It fits very well with the local economy of Vuollerim. A few years ago, I remember Jim Rogers, an American businessman, investor and financial commentator saying, "Someday farmers will be driving Lamborghinis, stockbrokers will be driving taxis and the smart stockbrokers will learn how to drive tractors." This is exactly what's happening now. Related: 5 Tips to Make Your Crowdfunding Launch Stand Out From the Crowd Q: Why is crowdsourcing becoming a "must have"? A: Many large organizations are too slow and speed is what really matters in this digital economy. We created the Hyperloop of Innovation to demonstrate the importance of embracing talent on demand. Innovation should not be treated as a separate, isolated department. Today you need to pioneer your innovation journey. Crowdsourcing accelerates this process and can get you up to speed quickly. Q: Why have you dedicated your life to this movement? A: Crowdsourcing is bigger than a movement. In the decades to come, it will be the new DNA of our society in the digital and physical world. I'm a strong believer in the world of abundance. It bothers me that we are still fighting wrong fights simply because we are stuck with old mindsets. Today, the global economy runs on the basis of scarcity and fear. These mindsets are lethal for society. Crowdsourcing can be a great enabler to move us toward the well-being of every human on earth, simply by looking to the crowd for supply. As a way of engaging people, many crowdsourcing platforms employ challenges to participate in as often as you like. This exposes participants to various different problems. This can enhance adaptability and problem-solving skills. As I've said many times, crowdsourcing is about passions, talents, skills and tangible resources. Early this year, Women of NASA creator Maia Weinstock inspired a new generation with a LEGO toy, and in just two months, her creation was sold out on Amazon. Keep in mind that Maia's background is in science journalism, and she is currently the deputy editor of MIT News. Now we can start to think about other possibilities with crowdsourcing. So, do you have a concept that needs flushing out, a rough idea that needs polish, or a problem that needs solving? Crowdsourcing could be the answer you've been looking for. See you at the top of the world! Related: How Crowdsourcing Is Shaping the Future of Everything How Crowdworking is Making Headways as a Booming Ecosystem In 2018 The New World of Innovation-as-a-Service Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com NEW CANAAN The 89th anniversary of Martin Luther Kings birthday, celebrated at a remembrance event at United Methodist Church, included messages of hope and unity - and a rebuke of President Donald Trump. Rev. Lindsay E. Curtis of Grace Baptist Church in Norwalk, also a former president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Norwalk branch and guest speaker, referred to President Trump without mentioning him by name in his speech. The pot has been stirred in the past few months, Rev. Curtis said. Clearly there is need for reconciliation because there is an even greater divide today. Curtis, who was 11 years old when he attended the March on Washington in 1963, where King delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech, referenced Barack Obamas presidency and his disbelief at the current administration. We didn't think in our lifetime that we would see an African-American reach the highest office in the land. Eight short years later - oh my goodness, Curtis said. This is 2018, huh? Just the other day, listening to news reports, I had to ask myself that question, did I really hear that? Is this a segment on Saturday Night Live? Can this be real? And yet, the silence is deafening. Racism is still very much alive and unfortunately doing well. The event comes in the wake of President Trump reportedly calling Haiti, El Salvador and African nations shithole countries. Event attendees hailed from towns in the surrounding area. My wife came last year and she suggested we go together this year, Joe Samuel, from Stamford, said. I thought the event was fantastic, a combination of faiths to show that we have one thing in common - hope. Gregory Thornewell, who read excerpts of Kings Dream speech at the service, was eight years old at the March on Washington but the memory of that day has remained with him ever since. The scene of unity and purpose and the overflowing spirit - I had never seen anything like it, Thornewell said. Margaret Pastel, a participant in A Better Chance of New Canaan, a program for minority students to attend New Canaan High School, said that she attends the event annually. Its one of my favorite events of the year, Pastel said. I always love hearing what the boys have to say and its a powerful thing. Attendees and Interfaith Council staffers remarked about the size of the crowd. This is the biggest crowd Ive seen at this event, Catherine Holstein, a member of the Interfaith Council, said. Mary Runestead, a coordinator in the Interfaith Council, agreed. The event was very good. This was something that we started hosting about 15 years ago and its always been held here in New Canaan. Peggy Ruffin, a Norwalk resident who attends the Community Baptist Church in New Canaan, said: Today was great, one of the largest crowds Ive ever seen. Bruce Taylor, a guitarist for the Serendipity Chorale, grew up in New Canaan. Im used to performing here, Taylor said. I grew up in New Canaan so coming back here brings a lot of memories, I went to junior high school just down the road. Rev. Daniel Hickman of Community Baptist Church in New Canaan introduced Rev. Curtis. The capacity of people at the event here was great, more people from our congregation came to help and work, Hickman said. He had been at an early morning breakfast in Norwalk earlier that day and was headed to an event scheduled to start at 2 p.m. At the conclusion of the service, attendees enjoyed refreshments provided by United Methodist. I was pleasantly surprised. I have heard that people saw this as a call to action and if so, then mission accomplished, Rev. Curtis said along with his wife, Janis. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan also spoke at the event. He praised Kings educational trajectory, civil rights efforts and humane accomplishments. Fellow selectman Kit Devereaux was also in attendance. Representatives from St. Aloysius Church and Community Baptist Church, both from New Canaan, were at the event. Grace Baptist Church of Norwalk and Temple Sinai of Stamford were also represented. Serendipity Chorale of Southwestern Connecticut performed the processional at the beginning of the event. The offertory from the event will be donated to the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County. NEW HAVEN Local residents pushing the city to move its funds from Wells Fargo over the banks contribution to the Dakota Access Pipeline could have an opportunity to address the Board of Alders as the board considers their request to hold a public hearing. A letter from several city residents and activists requesting the city remove its municipal funds from Wells Fargo is being presented to the Board of Alders and could lead to a public hearing within the calendar year. The request isnt new. Demonstrators held a rally outside City Hall last September urging the city to remove its money from the bank. They reiterated their reasoning in the letter, which was co-signed by six residents and addressed to Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers in August. Wells Fargo Northeast Corporate Communications Manger Kevin Friedlander issued a statement Friday, saying in itthat Wells Fargo values the long-standing relationship with the city. Wells Fargo donated more than $307,000 in 2016 and similar figures in 2017 to local nonprofits and events, according to Friedlanders statement. Regarding the Dakota Access Pipeline, we were one of the 17 financial institutions involved in the financing of the Pipeline, Friedlander said in the statement. That said, the pipeline has now been operational since June, and our facility has been fully funded. Our commitment to the responsible development of all forms of energy remains unchanged, and since 2012, we have invested more than $70 billion in clean technology and other environmentally sustainable businesses. City spokesman Laurence Grotheer issued a statement Friday on the possible public hearing. Mayor Toni Harp had previously stated during a radio appearance on WNHH Radio that she would gradually withdraw funds. Mayor Harp continues working with Controller Daryl Jones and the rest of her financial team to see how the City can distance itself from Wells Fargo with a competitive bank thats suitably equipped to safeguard the Citys assets and handle the high volume and complex transactions the City requires, Grotheer said in the statement. Wooster Square resident Geremy Schulick was among the co-signers of the letter. On Friday, Schulick said the main reason some residents want the money removed is due to Wells Fargos investment in the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. The $3.8 billion project started shipping oil in June 2017, according to the Associated Press. Schulick cited the Seattle city council voting last year to remove more than $3 billion in annual cash flow from the bank as an example that such a move is feasible. We completely understand that this cant be done tomorrow, or even the next or next month, Schulick said. I recognize it would have be a long process. Activists like Schulick and Newhallville resident Elias Estabrook, who also co-signed the August letter, opposed the pipelines construction due to its interference with the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Several tribes opposed the pipelines completion in North Dakota over concerns it would disrupt sacred sites and potentially pollute water supplies. The letter also cites other issues with Wells Fargo. The group cites the banks admission last year that more than 3 million phony bank accounts and credit cards were created by staff. The bank was fined $185 million. Friedlander said Wells Fargo has, taken a series of significant steps to address improper sales practices, and we are making critical changes to rebuild the trust of our customers and team members. Schulick said the pipeline is unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure. Its a particularly egregious example that fossil fuel projects can have, Schulick said. He added: Other fossil fuel projects have done tremendous damage to indigenous communities. More investment should be made in renewable energy, which Schulick said to Wells Fargos credit, they also invest in. Schulick said he would like to see a public statement from Harp about a more concrete plan to withdraw city funds from Wells Fargo. The request is filed under communications in the Board of Alders Jan. 16 meeting agenda. The item will likely be forwarded to a committee for further consideration. A public hearing would likely occur at the committee level on a different date. At its conclusion, the committee could make a recommendation based on public input at the hearing, according to the citys Office of Legislative Services. Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901 JERUSALEM - In a combative, two-hour speech brimming with colorful insults, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced President Trump on Sunday, calling his forthcoming peace proposal "the slap of the century." He said Palestinians were being offered the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis as the capital of their future state, rather than East Jerusalem, which most of the international community considers illegally occupied by Israel. The area sits outside Israel's security barrier and has been floated but rejected as a capital for a Palestinian state in previous negotiations. "We said no to Trump," Abbas said. "We won't accept his project; his deal of the century is the slap of the century, and we will respond." Trump has charged his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt with working out "the deal of the century" - a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. They have not formally presented a plan. Abbas was addressing members of the Palestinian Central Council as they began to discuss their response to the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Proposals include rescinding Palestinian recognition of Israel, pursuing Israel for war crimes at the International Criminal Court and advancing efforts for a Palestinian state to be recognized internationally. While Trump said at the time that the Jerusalem decision would have no impact on the final status of the contested city, he later tweeted that it had been taken "off the table" for negotiations, from which he accused the Palestinians of walking away. Discussing the tweets, Abbas said there were no negotiations to walk away from. "I see a tweet," he said. "We will not give Palestinians money because they refuse to negotiate." His frustration was evident. "May your house be destroyed," he said, aiming a common Arab insult at Trump. He questioned where Trump had offered negotiations. "On the phone? On television?" Abbas has said that the United States can no longer be a fair arbiter for negotiations, but that the Palestinians are open to talks in line with the Arab Peace Initiative, a framework endorsed by the Arab League in 2002. Abbas also had sharp barbs for U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, whom he criticized for his support of Jewish settlements, and the U.S. envoy to the United Nations, Nikki Haley. The pair are an "insult" to any self-respecting U.S. administration, he said. Haley, he said, wears high heels "not for elegance but to use to hit anyone who attacks Israel." "I say to her, and let her hear me, our reaction will be worse," he said. Haley last month said she would be "taking names" of countries that voted for a U.N. resolution that criticized the recognition of Jerusalem, as Trump threatened aid cuts to those that did. Abbas said the Palestinians are at a "critical moment." Some Palestinian officials say they also plan to request that the United Nations come up with a detailed peace proposal as a basis for negotiations and bypass using the United States as a sole broker. There is some skepticism that the Palestinians will go as far as rescinding recognition of Israel. Ashraf al-Ajrami, a senior Palestinian official, said there may be a decision to add a caveat that it will continue only if Palestinian rights are recognized. However, Abbas said that the 1993 Oslo peace agreement, in which the Palestinian Liberation Organization recognized Israel, was already dead. Israel had destroyed it, he said. Officials will continue their meeting on Monday. "The issues that are going to be discussed are primarily new strategic orientations: our relationship with Israel and the United States," said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's executive committee. Abbas' rebukes were not limited to U.S. officials. He also hinted at less than full-hearted support from regional countries more interested in normalizing ties with Israel, and he lambasted Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls Gaza, for not turning up at the meeting. He pledged to continue payments to families of those imprisoned, killed or wounded by Israel, including those who carry out attacks. In a comment widely reported by Israeli media, he quoted an Egyptian philosopher who had said that Israel's quest for a national home for the Jewish people is a "colonialist project" that has "nothing to do with Jews." Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) attends a joint press conference with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto after their meeting in Luanda, Angola, on Jan. 14, 2018. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday called for the transformation and upgrade of cooperation with Angola. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei) LUANDA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday rebuked a false claim that China's financing has increased the debt burden of African countries. Wang, on a visit to Angola, made the comment while holding a joint press conference with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto. Such a claim, which is made with ulterior motives, is an outright false accusation, said Wang, when asked for a response to the claim that Chinese financing to African countries, including Angola, has increased their debt burden and is stringed with political considerations. Wang noted that with deepening Sino-African cooperation in recent years, China has indeed increased its financing support for African countries. In the process, however, China has always adhered to the following fundamental principles, Wang stressed. First, Wang said, China's financing is in response to Africa's demands for self-development. A country would have a huge need for capital in its primary stage of economic take-off and industrialization and Africa is no exception, he said. China has provided financing to the best of its ability in response to the demands of African countries, which has served as a timely help for their socio-economic development and is highly valued and welcomed by them, he said. Second, China has never attached political conditions, he said. Like African countries, China also had memories of a bitter past when, with its economic lifeline controlled by foreigners, it was unfairly treated and even exploited and oppressed, Wang said. Therefore, when providing aid to and engaging in cooperation with Africa, China will not repeat what Western countries did and will never impose its own views on others, he said. Third, China has always followed the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results, he said. Sino-African cooperation is in essence part of South-South cooperation, and a key characteristic of the latter is that sustained and long-lasting common development can only be achieved through treating each other on an equal footing and ensuring mutual benefit, he said. To this end, China's financing support for Africa has always gone through a strenuous process of feasibility study with a market-driven approach so that due economic and social effects could be achieved after fulfilling each one of the cooperative projects, he said. Wang pointed out that the current debt status in some African countries is the accumulative result after a long period of time. China is a staunch supporter of African countries' efforts to remedy the problem through sustainable development and economic diversification, he said. China will continue to do its part in helping Africa enhance its self-development capacity and realize sound economic and social growth, he said. Wang expressed optimism about Africa's economic growth, saying that China is pleased to see that the African economy had bottomed out last year and that African countries have come to realize the importance of sustainable development. Citing a Chinese saying that goes: only the feet know if the shoes fit, Wang said that African countries are the best qualified to speak about their cooperation with China. There is another Chinese saying that goes: people have a sense of natural justice, said Wang , stressing that the African people are in the best position to decide who is Africa's true friend and most reliable partner. NORWALK Outside the front entrance of West Rocks Middle School, a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. can be seen through the window; inside, student artwork depicting King lines the walls. Let no man pull you low enough to hate him, reads one. While school was out for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the middle school was still busy. Nearly 200 people filtered into the school for a breakfast organized by the Dr. Martin Luther King Scholarship Committee of the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship of Norwalk. Our presence here is a birthday present to Dr. Kings legacy, said Greg Burnett Sr. of the NAACP after people settled down at round tables in the cafeteria, surrounded by artwork and flags from different countries. Burnett, who is also a Democratic member at-large on the Common Council, put recent, racially charged events in the context of that legacy. In recent days, we have seen ugly, violent protests in Virginia. Ugly comments from President Trump, allegedly, about our neighbors in Haiti and some African countries, he said. However, we cannot allow the presence of these individuals define who we are as a country. Hopefully, it will further ignite our commitment to justice everywhere. After a performance by the Rev. Daniel Hickman, pastor of Community Baptist Church in New Canaan (he sang one of Kings favorite songs, Take My Hand, Precious Lord), those in attendance had the chance to catch up over breakfast. Many had been coming to the Community Breakfast Program for years. State Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, had been coming for 17 years, and Mayor Harry Rilling had been coming since 1987, when he became deputy chief of the Norwalk Police Department. After over three decades of coming to the event, Rilling summed it up by saying, Its a gathering of peaceful people, people who espouse the beliefs and dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King. The Rev. Debra Fludd, pastor of New Light Baptist Church, said she enjoys coming every year to learn whats happening in the community. Often times, we dont keep up with whats going on in the community. So its nice to meet and greet and know what is going on. The breakfast raises money for the the Martin Luther King Scholarship, which is awarded every year to Norwalk students. In 2017, a cumulative $10,000 was awarded to Richard Celestin, Thania Flores, Marco Antonio Gonzalez, Zoe Kathleen Victoria Harris, Iman Laborde and Celina Mori. Applications for the 2018 school year will begin being accepted late spring. Over breakfast plates of bacon, eggs and grits, the audience returned to their seats and listened to the Rev. Jeffrey A. Ingraham, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, introduce the main speaker. In the past, undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children (known as Dreamers) and a woman who marched with King have spoken at the breakfast. This year, the Norwalk Housing Authority gave a talk about their Learning Centers and Bridge to College and Career Program. More than 200 students attend the Learning Centers, free academic enrichment program provided for students in Norwalk public housing, every day. And 48 students are currently in college on Bridge to College and Career Program scholarships, studying everything from computer science and law to music and nursing. Im going to close by pointing out how unique this program is. Its the only one of its kind in the country, said Jennifer Reul, the new scholarship director. There are no other housing authorities, large or small, that have scholarship programs of this size. Just last week, the housing authority of Austin, Texas, found us online, and they want to replicate our program. Throughout the event, multiple examples of how to give back to the community were on display, from the organizations offering scholarships to the volunteers who had cooked the breakfast. I think its very important to recognize Martin Luther Kings struggle and also to participate, said Mary Mann, a member of New Light Baptist Church. rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz South Africa is among a growing number of countries taking action against President Donald Trump's remarks last week that Haiti, El Salvador and African nations are "shithole countries" whose inhabitants are not desirable for U.S. immigration. South Africa's government called for a meeting Monday with acting U.S. Ambassador Jessye Lapenn in Pretoria as part of a diplomatic protest of Trump's "disturbing" comments, the Department of International Relations said in a statement Sunday. While officials acknowledged Trump's denial of the exact language used, they said the president's denial was "categorical, referring only to Haiti and not addressing the entirety of the statement attributed to him." Trump in a tweet Friday appeared to deny using the term "shithole" to refer to those countries but acknowledged using "tough" language during the negotiations over immigration legislation. Few Republicans present during the meeting condemned his remarks, though Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, Ill., the lone Democrat present, said that the president's denial was false and that Trump "said things that were hate-filled, vile and racist." Trump blamed Democrats on Sunday for poisoning chances for a deal between key GOP and Democratic lawmakers in deciding the fate of the hundreds of thousands of young immigrants brought to the United States illegally. The president said he "is not a racist" and called himself "the least racist person." South African officials said they hope Lapenn can explain Trump's statement, and why African countries, along with Haiti and El Salvador, "constitute 'shitholes' from where migrants into the United States are undesirable." "Relations between South Africa and the United States, and between the rest of Africa and the United States, must be based on mutual respect and understanding," officials said in the statement. U.S. Embassy spokesperson Cindy Harvey told the Johannesburg-based news site Daily Maverick that Lapenn would visit the Department of International Relations and Cooperation Monday. Lapenn has been serving as acting ambassador since Patrick Gaspard, who had been appointed by President Barack Obama, left last year. "We agree to the importance of strong relations between South Africa and the United States that are based on mutual respect and understanding," Harvey told the news site. "We look forward to continuing to move forward in this relationship and remain focused on accomplishing our shared goals." U.S. diplomats in Haiti and other countries have been called to host government offices to hear complaints about the president's comments. "One of the great things about being president is that you can say whatever you want," Under Secretary of State Steven Goldstein said in an interview. "We have advised our ambassadors . . . to indicate that our commitment to those countries remains strong." Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Paul Altidor, has condemned Trump's remarks and has asked for an explanation from U.S. officials. The president during the Oval Office meeting singled out Haiti, telling lawmakers that Haitian immigrants must be left out of any deal, according to people briefed on the meeting. "Why do we need more Haitians?" Trump said, according to people familiar with the meeting. "Take them out." Altidor said the Haitian Embassy in Washington has been flooded with emails from Americans apologizing for Trump's remark, which he found encouraging. "In the spirit of the people of Haiti we feel in the statements, if they were made, the president was either misinformed or miseducated about Haiti and its people," he said in a statement. Ebba Kalondo, a spokesperson for the African Union, said in a statement last week that Trump's comments referring to migrants from African countries and others were alarming. "Considering the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the U.S. during the Atlantic slave trade, this flies in the face of all accepted behavior and practice," she said. In Botswana, officials in a statement summoned the U.S. ambassador there "to clarify whether Botswana is regarded as a 'shithole' country" and called his comments racist. In Senegal, President Macky Sall said he was "shocked" by the remarks, and said people in Africa deserve the "respect and consideration of all." In Nairobi, a communications specialist, Moses Osani, said it is "derogatory and sad to belong to countries that have been labeled 'shithole' countries." El Salvador's foreign minister, Hugo Martinez, said last week that he is seeking an official response from U.S. authorities. "It's always been a foreign policy priority of our government to fight for the respect and dignity of our countrymen independent of their immigration status," he said. "Our countrymen are hard-working people, who are always contributing to the countries where they're living and, of course, also in our country." - - - The Post's Paul Schemm and Eli Rosenberg contributed to this report. ISTANBUL - The United Arab Emirates said Monday that two of its civilian airliners were "intercepted" by a fighter jet from Qatar during routine flights, in a sign of rapidly escalating tensions between the quarreling Persian Gulf neighbors. It was not immediately clear what was meant by "intercepted." A spokeswoman for Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the reports as "baseless." The accusation comes against the backdrop of Qatar's own claims of interference by the UAE. In recent weeks, Qatar has accused the fellow gulf country of violating its airspace twice with military flights, raising concerns that their lengthy but low-intensity feud could soon escalate into an armed confrontation. The two countries broke off diplomatic relations in June, when the UAE, Saudi Arabia and two other Arab states severed air, land and sea links with Qatar. The Arab bloc accused Qatar of supporting Iran and terrorist groups. Qatar denied the accusations and said it was being punished for pursuing regional policies independent of Saudi Arabia and its allies. The feud has divided the Trump administration's closest regional partners, jumbled alliances across the Middle East and radiated insults and accusations that recall a schoolyard brawl. The quarrel has contributed to an extraordinary period of turbulence across the gulf, exacerbated by the nearly three-year civil war in Yemen, as well as the ongoing and bitter rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. For months after the initial break in diplomatic relations, Kuwaiti and Western officials tried in vain to broker a settlement, even as Qatar and its adversaries enlisted lobbyists and public relations firms to argue their claims in Washington and other foreign capitals. A White House statement, summarizing a call Monday between President Donald Trump and Qatar's emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, made no mention of the airline incident. Trump thanked the emir for "Qatari action to counter terrorism and extremism in all forms, including being one of the few countries to move forward on a bilateral memorandum of understanding" - a reference to an agreement signed in July between the United States and Qatar to combat terrorism and its financing. Statements on Monday by UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority called the interceptions of the civilian airliners, which were traveling to Bahrain, a "clear violation of international law." The statements did not name the carrier or say exactly where the incident occurred. Qatari warplanes were detected by radar in Bahrain and were seen by crew members and passengers on the airliners, the state-run Emirates News Agency said. U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Jenna Lenski, a spokeswoman based at the Combined Air Operations Center at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, referred questions about the incident to the Qatari Defense Ministry. But Qatar asserted that the UAE had fabricated the reports to divert attention from its own recent violations of Qatar's airspace. A lengthy statement by Qatar's foreign ministry Monday noted that the accusations came three days after Qatar notified the United Nations of UAE violations, which it said occurred Dec. 21 and Jan. 3. Another incursion into Qatari airspace - by a UAE C-130 - occurred Sunday, the statement said. The dueling accusations over airspace were not the only signs that the gulf feud was worsening. On Sunday, in a bizarre turn, a member of Qatar's ruling family appeared in an online video, claiming that he was being detained in the UAE. The ruling family member, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani, had previously been hosted and promoted by members of a Saudi-led bloc, suggesting that they viewed him as an alternative to the current Qatari leadership. The video followed similarly strange incidents involving coercion in the gulf states, including the apparently forced resignation of Lebanon's prime minister during a visit to Saudi Arabia and claims by an Egyptian political figure in November that the UAE had temporarily prevented him from leaving the country. The UAE denied that Thani was being detained, calling him a "guest" who had "unrestrained mobility," according to a Foreign Ministry statement. Worst situation for marine ecology: experts The sinking of the oil tanker the Sanchion Sunday, which had burned for more than a week in the East China Sea, is the worst possible outcome, say experts who are concerned the submerged oil could have a severe impact on marine life. The Sanchi broke apart after a fierce explosion and sank at around 4:45 pm on Sunday, said the China's Ministry of Transportin a statement on Sunday afternoon. "The ship sinking is the worst situation," Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs told the Global Times on Sunday. "The condensate oil, a kind of ultra light oil on Sanchi, is different than other types of crude oil and is poisonous to marine life," said Ma. The ministry said that the ship began to list and apparently broke apart after an explosion that sent flames as high as 1,000 meters. It would have been better for the oil to have burned than to sink with the ship, Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Sunday. "The condensate oil will probably leak from the broken ship as it sinks and any marine life that encounters it could be killed," said Lin. "Therefore, it is important to assess how much oil leaked into the sea to determine how serious the marine ecology might be impacted." Ma said the ship sank not far from Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang Province and constant monitoring will be necessary to track any oil slick that might move close to shore. Some netizens worry the accident could affect the well-known Zhoushan fish farm, but a vendor with the farm's Taobao shop told the Global Times on Sunday that the farm is not close to where the ship went down and their fishery is not likely to be affected. Ma said it is important to evaluate how much of the ship's cargo had burned off during the long-fought fire and Sunday's explosion to determine how much was left on the ship when it went down. Four Chinese rescuers recovered the bodies of two sailors and the voyage data recorder on Saturday, the Legal Mirror reported on Sunday. The Sanchi, which was carrying 136,000 tons of light crude oil from Iran, collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, about 160 nautical miles east of the Yangtze estuary on January 6. The tanker had a crew of 32, including 30 Iranians and two from Bangladesh, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Some 13 vessels, including coast guard ships from South Korea, Japan and a Japanese firefighting ship fought the fire, searched for the missing and are involved the cleanup. All San Antonio-area school districts and universities have canceled classes and events Tuesday as a winter storm moves through the region. San Antonio, Bexar County and several surrounding cities and counties have announced their offices will be closed Tuesday as well and many businesses are telling their employees to stay home. Mayor Sylvester Turner is calling for the city to have one parade on Martin Luther King Day. "A house divided cannot stand," he said Monday morning at the MLK Memorial Scholarship Breakfast at George R. Brown Convention Center. At least 38 flights scheduled to depart or arrive at the San Antonio International Airport Tuesday have been canceled, the airport's website shows. American Airlines canceled all flights between 5:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, airport officials said, and multiple Delta flights have been canceled as well. Police in Stockton, Calif. have released photos of the car the 20-month-old missing twins, their four siblings and parents are suspected to have lived in. Detectives found knives, a machete, an ax, suspected mold and narcotics The investigation so far has indicated that the parents forced their children to live in these deplorable and dangerous conditions, police said. RELATED: Man, 2 missing Round Rock children found in Colorado Police are still searching for the 20-month-old missing twins Ren and Setina Weddles, who have been missing more than a week. Weddles and Walker are still in custody at the San Joaquin County Jail and remain uncooperative with police. If anybody knows where the twins are, Stockton police ask you call them at 209-937-8377. No other details were released. This year marks the 50th year that San Antonians march in honor of late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. From the day that Rev. Dr. Raymond R.A. Callies Sr. drove a red truck down an East Side street followed by a group of children just shortly after King was assassinated in April 1968, to the march today that organizers say has drawn as many as 300,000 people, San Antonios event has evolved into one of the nations largest celebrations of diversity. This years theme for the city-sponsored march, which runs through the heart of the East Side, is Equity, Love, Diversity, Unity and Social Justice. An early morning worship service kicked off the day at the MLK Academy, 3501 MLK Drive, with music, motivational dances, and spoken-word performances. Mateen Diop, principal of Sam Houston High School, addressed the gathering as the keynote speaker. At 10 a.m. the 2.75 mile march began its trek through the East Side along MLK Drive, with Pittman-Sullivan Park, located at 1101 Iowa, as the final destination. Cars, motorcycles and other vehicles are not permitted along the march route. The commemorative program will be at the park from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mayor Ron Nirenberg is among the dignitaries scheduled to speak with other county, state and national officials. The keynote speaker will be journalist Roland Martin, syndicated columnist and author, who is the host of News One Now and a commentator for TV One. VIA Metropolitan Transit provided free bus transportation to the march Monday, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at two sites: Lot 1 at Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston St. and St. Philips College, 1801 MLK Drive, at lot 22 located at Montana and Mittman streets. Return service to pick-up points will take place from noon to 3 p.m. from Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa St. For more information about bus service, call 210-362-2020 or go online to viainfo.net. While organizers are celebrating this years march as the 50th, the official city-sponsored event started some 30 years ago, when the first city MLK Jr. Commission was set up during former Mayor Henry Cisneros administration. The city and the MLK Jr. Commission held its first official MLK march on Jan. 19, 1987, but the late Callies Sr. is credited as the first person who walked East Side streets in honor of the slain civil rights leader. RELATED: San Antonio was the first southern city to integrate lunch counters We marched 20 years before we even became a San Antonio commission, said Nathaniel Davis, commission chair. We celebrated 30 years of being an official city commission last year. The MLK commissioner said Callies family has shown him photos with imprinted dates of the pastor and his familys peaceful protests after the civil rights leader was assassinated. As Callies drove his red Ford truck, with his children and other youth from the neighborhood walking behind him, Kings I Have a Dream speech blared from two speakers in the cab of his truck. A teacher and pastor of First Gethsemane Baptist Church for 30 years, Callies is remembered as a soft-spoken man, who worked hard behind the scenes to uphold the memory of Kings message for future generations. He collected more than $9,000 for the MLK statue at Houston Street and New Braunfels Avenue, pushed for Nebraska Street to be renamed for King and lobbied for the Texas Legislature to establish a holiday for the slain civil rights leader in 1991. Davis said their goal is to recognize Callies vision and the many volunteers who set the groundwork for the past 50 years. Wed like for people to get to know their neighbors, speak to their city officials, he said. Its about unity, brotherhood, and coming together as one the human race. For more information about the MLK march and the MLK commission, call 210-207-2066. vtdavis@express-news.net A routine call Sunday morning quickly escalated into a SWAT standoff for Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputies when a man fired a handgun inside a home on the far Southeast Side. According to preliminary reports, BSCO deputies initially responded to a family disturbance about 10 a.m. on the 7600 block of South Foster Road. A 31-year-old man was arrested Sunday after a 15-year-old girl accused him of raping her for about a year, sometimes after he picked her up from school. The suspect, David Allen Sanders of San Antonio, now faces a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child. He was booked into the Bexar County Jail. RELATED: After second home invasion in as many months, San Antonio man catches intruder on camera According to his arrest report, the victim's mom suspected the two of having a sexual relationship. On Sept. 16, the victim's mom searched through her phone for evidence, upsetting the victim and causing a physical fight between the two of them. The mom eventually found Facebook messages between the victim and Sanders that indicated the two were involved in an inappropriate relationship. The woman turned over the phone to police as evidence. In late December, police interviewed the victim. She told them that Sanders "had been sexually abusing her for well over a year," between the summer of 2016 to summer 2017, the affidavit says. "Due to the victim being traumatized by the events, she said her brain has suppressed much of the events after she began to describe [Sanders] taking her clothes off during the different times he would 'rape' her," the affidavit says. RELATED: Driver killed in single-vehicle crash after losing control She told police that Sanders forced her to perform sexual acts on him after he picked her up from school, and that he had sexually assaulted her on several occasions at her great grandmother's house. Police interviewed Sanders on Jan. 11. He allegedly told police that he had a sexual relationship with the victim for about 6 months, and went on to describe their sexual acts and texting behavior. Officers then secured a warrant for his arrest and booked him into jail on Sunday. Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns ATLANTA - Though his voice was silenced nearly 50 years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of nonviolence still resonates and inspires. Decades ago, the famed civil rights leader - also regarded as one of America's greatest orators - recalled driving one night from Atlanta to Chattanooga, Tenn., with his brother A.D. at the wheel. Most cars in the opposite lane failed to dim their lights, and his brother angrily vowed to keep his bright lights on in retaliation. "And I looked at him right quick and said: 'Oh no, don't do that. There'd be too much light on this highway, and it will end up in mutual destruction for all. Somebody got to have some sense on this highway,'" King told the congregation at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., during a 1957 sermon. "Somebody must have sense enough to dim the lights, and that is the trouble, isn't it?" King told the congregation. "That as all of the civilizations of the world move up the highway of history, so many civilizations, having looked at other civilizations that refused to dim the lights, and they decided to refuse to dim theirs." More than a half-century later, in a world full of contentious politics, one of King's memorable quotes remains relevant. It's from his book "Strength to Love," first published in 1963: "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction." As the nation observes Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the AP asked people in the cities where he was born and where he died to consider his words and talk about what they mean for today's world. B B B "When he says 'hate cannot drive out hate, only light can do that,' it recognizes that to be bitter about your circumstance is one thing. To retaliate based on your circumstance is quite another," said Terri Lee Freeman, president of the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., at the site of the old Lorraine Motel. "So, Dr. King reminds us that it is usually through love - actionable love - that we are able to make change." B B B "In order to fulfill a dream, it's going to take a team that's going to demonstrate love and not hate," Cleophus Smith said. Smith was one of the sanitation workers who went on strike in 1968 after two of his co-workers were killed by a malfunctioning garbage truck. King was in Memphis supporting the sanitation workers' strike when he was slain at the Lorraine Motel. B B B "You think about the grand scheme of things, you can't fight hate with hate in the world we live in today. You can't fight violence with violence," said Mike Conley, a guard for the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. "When people come and want to inflict hurt on somebody, you can't come back and do the same to them," Conley said. "Otherwise, we're in this never-ending spiral that we're in the middle of right now." B B B "This is a time of moral reckoning in our nation. We must choose to stand on the side of light and love," said the Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. "We have to stand up as Americans and say that we will stand on behalf of the poor, the marginalized, those who experience discrimination both historically, and presently," he added. "This is our time, this is our moment to decide what kind of nation we want to be." B B B "He talked about love and hate so effectively," said Xernona Clayton, King's office manager in Atlanta. "Dr. King really hated no one. He loved everyone, he really did. He practiced it, and he preached it. "So when he talks about what hate does versus what love does, it's so applicable to today. We have to drive out hate any way we can. We have to strengthen love any way we can." WASHINGTON - Across the military, officers and troops are quietly preparing for a war they hope will not come. At Fort Bragg in North Carolina last month, a mix of 48 Apache gunships and Chinook cargo helicopters took off in an exercise that practiced moving troops and equipment under live artillery fire to assault targets. Two days later, in the skies above Nevada, 119 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division parachuted out of C-17 military cargo planes under cover of darkness in an exercise that simulated a foreign invasion. Next month, at Army posts across the United States, more than 1,000 reserve soldiers will practice how to set up mobilization centers that move military forces overseas in a hurry. And beginning next month with the Winter Olympics in South Korea, the Pentagon plans to send more Special Operations troops to the Korean Peninsula, a step toward what some officials said ultimately could be the formation of a Korea-based task force similar to the types that are fighting in Iraq and Syria. Others said the plan was strictly related to counterterrorism efforts. In the world of the U.S. military, where contingency planning is a mantra drummed into the psyche of every officer, the moves are ostensibly part of standard Defense Department training and troop rotations. But the scope and timing of the exercises suggest a renewed focus on getting the country's military prepared for what could be on the horizon with North Korea. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, both argue forcefully for using diplomacy to address Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions. A war with North Korea, Mattis said in August, would be "catastrophic." Still, about two dozen current and former Pentagon officials and senior commanders said in interviews that the exercises largely reflected the military's response to orders from Mattis and service chiefs to be ready for any possible military action on the Korean Peninsula. President Donald Trump's words have left senior military leaders and rank-and-file troops convinced that they need to accelerate their contingency planning. In perhaps the most incendiary exchange, in a September speech at the United Nations, Trump vowed to "totally destroy North Korea" if it threatened the United States, and derided the rogue nation's leader, Kim Jong Un, as "Rocket Man." In response, Kim said he would deploy the "highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history" against the United States, and described Trump as a "mentally deranged U.S. dotard." Trump's rhetoric has since cooled after a fresh attempt at detente between Pyongyang and Seoul. In an interview last week with the Wall Street Journal, Trump was quoted as saying, "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un," despite their mutual public insults. But the president said Sunday that the Journal had misquoted him, and that he had actually said "I'd probably have" a good relationship if he wanted one. Unique products, technology needed: experts Huawei's exhibition stand at CES 2018 in Las Vegas Photo: VCG Chinese companies are facing increasingly skeptical attitudes from the US government and the only solution is to develop unique and irreplaceable products and technology, experts told the Global Times on Sunday. There has been growing resistance to Chinese investment in the US recently, particularly related to the telecom sector. On January 9, the US Congress proposed a bill in which it said that US government systems, particularly those in sensitive areas, should not include equipment made by Huawei or ZTE Corp, two leading Chinese telecom giants, according to the govtrack.us website. The bill would also ban US government contractors, especially those working on contracts for sensitive US programs, from including Huawei or ZTE equipment in their systems. According to the bill, Huawei is considered to be one of the Chinese companies that is "subject to (Chinese) State influence" despite its claim to be independent. Neither Huawei nor ZTE responded to requests for an interview by the Global Times on Sunday. Huawei's business expansion in the US has also met other obstacles recently. On January 9, US telecom firm American Telephone &Telegraph (AT&T) dropped a planned deal to sell Huawei's smartphones in the US. According to a Reuters report on January 9, the deal failed because of pressure from the US government. Huawei said that it had "proved its competitiveness" by launching high-end products in the US and other overseas markets, according to a statement it sent to the Global Times last Tuesday. Huawei also noted that it would continue to launch new products in the US market. Liu Xingliang, head of the Data Center of China Internet, told the Global Times that the US government isn't only taking precautions against Chinese telecom companies, but it does seem to have a particularly cautious attitude toward firms from China, possibly because the telecom industry is closely related to the safety of mass data. According to Liu, the US government's precautions against Chinese telecom firms have been in place for a long time. "The US government's cautious position on Huawei dates back to 2004 when it stood by the US-based Cisco in its patent infringement lawsuit against Huawei," he said. The Reuters report on January 9 also noted that Huawei and ZTE were the subjects of a US investigation in 2012 into whether their products provided an opportunity for foreign espionage. Firms need unique products Liu Dingding, an independent tech analyst, said that the US government's hostility toward Chinese firms has intensified since US President Donald Trump took office, as Trump has been taking measures to exclude overseas investment in order to protect and prop up companies in the US. "This [prejudice from the US government against Chinese companies] seems like a problem that can't be solved, at least not in the short term," Liu Xingliang said. Chinese companies, especially high-tech firms, have struggled to make headway in the US market so far, Liu Dingding said. According to the Reuters report, Huawei currently has a share of just 0.5 percent of the US smartphone market in terms of shipments, far below South Korean brand Samsung (18 percent) and US brand Apple (39 percent). But Liu Dingding said that the US government's attitude wouldn't deter Chinese companies from entering the US market. "Chinese firms can't give up the US market and just focus on smaller countries if they want to really achieve their global goals," he said. Huawei will soon launch its Mate 10 Pro smartphone in the US market, while ZTE also plans to launch new 5G smart phones in the US in 2018 or 2019, according to media reports. Liu Dingding said that in order for domestic companies to get a firm foothold in the US market, they need to grow stronger and develop unique products. "For instance, if they make a breakthrough in 5G technology, then even if the US government wants to block Chinese products, US buyers won't allow them to do so," he said. He also noted that the Chinese government should strengthen communication with the US government to make mutual investment between the two countries smoother. President Donald Trump has denounced the book Fire and Fury as fiction. But, as his recent comments about shithole countries demonstrate (yes, there was some dispute about whether he said it), the nation didnt need a book to tell us who the president is. His own words and actions do that job well. Where to begin? Two senators, a Democrat and Republican, who were present say outright or appear to say that Trump made the comment. Two, both Republican, say it was a gross misrepresentation. And the White House first offered a nondenial denial, and then the president seemed to say he didnt say it, specifically about Haitians and African nations. Given the presidents unfortunate history on racial and ethnic matters and his troubled grasp on the necessity for truth-telling, it appears virtually certain that what he said and how he said it fits into that so-called textbook definition of racism, a phrase this nation hasnt had to use as frequently in modern presidential history as it has with this man and this administration. About that history. That textbook-definition phrase had to be invoked when he broadly characterized Mexicans as rapists and criminals. When he said an Indiana-born judge was incapable of doing his job because he was Mexican. When he hyperbolized African-American communities as toxic cauldrons of crime and poverty. When he proposed to ban all Muslims from coming here and then refined that via executive order to just people from specific Muslim-majority countries. When he fantasized about U.S. Muslims cheering the 9/11 attacks. When he became the chief birther questioning the citizenship and religion of the nations first African-American president. When he equated the white nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, with those protesting their racism. When he woefully underperformed in getting aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. And this doesnt even include his well-known comments about women a subtopic that nonetheless fits into a broader category of divisive and offensive speech. This is speech from our president, who reportedly was called out on this latest comment when he said it by that one Republican who appears to agree this is how Trump described some nations. That would be Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. After that comment, Trump expressed a preference for immigrants from Norway. Whether or not he used the vulgarity, there is absolutely no way the president didnt realize that people from his undesirable countries are mostly brown and black, from Norway mostly white. His supporters dutifully trot out a few predictable defenses. All fall flat. First, thats not what he said, they say. But, aside from the presidents history on spouting vitriol, there were enough witnesses to the comments to make it a certainty that is precisely what he said. The president said maybe he should start recording his meetings. Yes, by all means. Second, another defense is that he only meant to say that these are poor countries in which economic and other inequities exist. But if you examine his comments about these countries with his follow-up comments about more agreeable immigrants from Norway, the racial and ethnic comparison becomes clearer. In any case, labeling entire countries as undesirable supposes a nations flaws entirely define it and its people. More important, the U.S. has traditionally welcomed immigrants fleeing those economic and other inequities not to mention, war and other violence. And if these are undesirable countries, what are we to think of Trumps views of the people who come here from there? Among these immigrants have been some of this nations best and most hardworking people. Moreover, if high standards of living were the metric on who we allow in, how many ancestors of Americans of Irish, Italian, Russian and German descent among others would have been allowed in? But even if what he said is not what he meant, is it too much to expect that our president be able to communicate without stoking racial and ethnic divisions or insulting friendly nations? A third defense: This is simply Trump speaking in the tongue of everyday, bar stool-sitting Americans, sans all the political correctness. Running in tandem with that is this notion that his comments wont hurt him with his base, these everyday Americans. Sorry, this is an insult both to his base and to everyday Americans. But even if people in his base are unperturbed, does this render the views of the rest of America inconsequential? Not in the least. The broad denunciation Trump is receiving for these comments is entirely deserved. And they demand both fuller explanation and apology. No matter whether he used the vulgar description (and we believe the preponderance of evidence suggests he did), the message was all too clear. It all started with a Craigslist post. Alicia Henderson, the local woman accused of embezzling $291,000 from Centro San Antonio, responded to a job listing on that website in early 2014 posted by local accounting agency Keys Bookkeeping, according to Kyle Edwards, whose wife Keyona is the agencys founder. At that time, Centro had been using Keys for almost a year to help keep its books in order and the agency sent Henderson, an accountant, to the nonprofit, he said. RELATED: Centro executive's future 'very doubtful' after alleged embezzlement Less than a month later, Centro hired Henderson from Keys to be its office manager and staff accountant, Edwards said. The nonprofit paid her an annual salary of about $57,000 funded mostly by taxpayers, Centro officials said. We sent one of our contractors out there to help them out, and they basically hired her from under us, Edwards said. It was shady the way the whole thing ended with Centro and Keys Bookkeeping. You reap what you sow you do bad, you get bad in return. Centro attorney Michael Bernard said there was nothing shady about the nonprofits hiring of Henderson. Centro, at the time, hired Alicia directly because it was the cheaper way to go, he said. Keys was acting as a temp service, not an employment service, so Centro hired a person who was available to be hired. RELATED: Accountant tied to embezzlement from Centro has history of bank fraud, bankruptcy Last month, Centro leaders admitted they didnt perform a background check before hiring Henderson, so they didnt know she had pleaded guilty to felony bank fraud in 1997 and had been charged twice with theft by check. She also has declared bankuptcy twice, and her home has teetered at the edge of foreclosure for five years. Keys Bookkeeping generally runs background checks on its hires, Edwards said, but he couldnt say whether it ran one on Henderson. It could be that the background check wasnt completed during the short time Henderson worked for Keys, he said. Turn to Mondays paper or click here on ExpressNews.com to read the full story. Richard Webner is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | rwebner@express-news.net | @RWebner Chinas increasing IPR efforts shouldnt be ignored: experts Alibaba Group headquarters in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on July 20, 2017 Photo: IC The US Trade Representative (USTR) on Friday put nine Chinese online and brick-and-mortar markets on its blacklist over sales of suspected counterfeit products, a move experts said showed "protectionism" as the US market was facing challenges from China's fast-growing e-commerce business. Experts said that the US side should not ignore Chinese firms' increasing efforts for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection in recent years. Alibaba Group Holding's online shopping platform taobao.com was included in the USTR's 2017 Notorious Markets List as one of 25 online markets, including three Chinese ones, along with 18 physical markets, six of which are in China. The USTR put taobao.com on its blacklist for the second year in a row, citing "a high volume of infringing products reportedly continue to be offered for sale and sold on taobao.com and stakeholders continue to report challenges and burdens associated with IP enforcement on the platform." As a result of the rise of trade protectionism, Alibaba has been turned into a scapegoat by the USTR in a highly politicized environment, the Chinese internet company said in a statement sent to the Global Times over the weekend. The USTR's actions made it clear that the Notorious Markets List, which only targets non-US marketplaces, is not about IPR protection, but acts as another instrument to achieve the US government's trade policies, according to the statement. Alibaba made using its IPR protection programs easier in 2017, leading to an 11 percent year-on-year increase in registries and a 25 percent drop in takedown requests as it removed infringing listings even before they reached its marketplaces, Alibaba Group President Michael Evans said in a post on the company's website. "The blacklist is one of the US's international trade protectionist measures and a customary tactic by the country," Li Min, partner of Shanghai-based Hansheng Law Offices, told the Global Times on Sunday. China's e-commerce business has expanded fast not only at home but also worldwide, which is hitting the US e-commerce sector, Li noted. Since the USTR released its first Notorious Markets List in 2011, Chinese internet companies like Baidu Inc, sougou.com and JD.com Inc have at times appeared. Year after year, big domestic e-commerce platforms such as taobao.com, JD.com and yhd.com, have been putting much focus on IPR protection because violations will hurt their reputations and operations, Li said. As early as April 2015, JD.com announced that vendors who sell fake products on its platform may face fines of 2,000 percent of the vendor's sales volume or $10,000, according to media reports. In June 2017, JD.com announced it was forming an alliance with Chinese authorities including the Ministry of Agricultureand the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, aiming to fight counterfeit goods by tracking products. "But for small platforms, further regulations are needed," Li said, adding that requests for real name registration of enterprises and individuals are an effective way of offering IPR protection. In addition to taobao, the two other Chinese markets on the blacklist are dhgate.com, an e-commerce website for exports, and TVPlus, TVBrowser and KuaiKan, three video clips app and add-on developers that are reportedly operated by related companies in China. The six Chinese brick-and-mortar markets on the list include the Beijing-based Silk Market and Hongqiao Market and Shenzhen-based Jindu Garment Wholesale Market in South China's Guangdong Province. Experts noted that the USTR's blacklist is not meant only as a rebuke of specific Chinese markets but also targets China as a whole. On April 28, 2017, the USTR released the 2017 Special 301 Report, as it kept China on the Priority Watch List with IPR protection concerns. No country can completely avoid counterfeits, including the US, said Qiu Baochang, director of the Beijing Society of E-Commerce Law. Rules, laws and penalties related to IPR protection in the Chinese market have been improved largely in the past decade, which is a fact that the US should respect, Qiu told the Global Times on Sunday. "We will not try to run away from our remaining problems and authorities are expected to strengthen regulations on both online and offline markets," Qiu said. China gives high priority to IPR protection and has taken many effective steps to deal with the situation, with universally recognized progress, the Ministry of Commercesaid in response to the Special 301 Report in May 2017. Drain the Oceans dives deep into the unknown; a truly epic, truly original series that exposes hidden evidence of the most amazing undersea mysteries, as never seen before. The first episode is the Great Barrier Reef. Thursdays from 9:30pm AEST. Two leading Chinese companies on Friday held a groundbreaking ceremony to start the construction of a sub-sea pipeline installation for Dangote Oil Refining Company Limited in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub. Top officials of the Nigerian Dangote's Group, Xie Xianju, Deputy General Manager of China Harbor Engineering Co (Nigeria) and Zhang Qing, General Manager of China's Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC) attended the ceremony, near the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ). The pipeline project is part of Dangote's 17 billion US dollars gas pipeline, fertilizer, petrochemicals and refinery projects. The work-scope includes transportation and installation of nine sub-sea pipelines with a total length of 100 kilometers in water depths of up to 40 meters. Of the pipelines, six are 24-inch diameter and three are 48-inch. The Chinese contractors will also install five single point mooring systems, a catenary anchor leg mooring buoy weighing 240 tonnes and pipeline end manifold carrying a total weight of 220 tonnes for a shuttle tanker that imports crude for the refinery. Xie said the quality of the work to be done at the site would be of the highest international standard, adding that the company's imprimatur of unrivaled excellence would be brought to bear in the project. Sumil Katawia of the Dangote's Group, said the desire to have the best installations informed the decision to work with a reputable, world class firm like COOEC and China Harbor. Dangote Refinery currently under construction would save Nigeria 12 billion US dollars annual import substitution, create 4,000 direct jobs and crash prices of petroleum products. The project would add value to the economy as it would also create 145,000 indirect jobs. The refinery would lower the prices of petroleum products in Nigeria and save some costs on importation, when completed. The refinery will have the capacity to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day while the petrochemical plant will produce 780 KTPA Polypropylene, 500 KTPA of Polyethylene while the fertilizer project will produce 3.0 million metric tonnes per annum of Urea. The 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery will come on stream by September 2019, according to officials of the company. Berlin Reporter Majority of Route 16 project is complete by Jody Houle The Route 16 project is almost complete. (Courtesy Photo) (click for larger version) BERLIN Jay Poulin of HEB Engineers, who designed and is overseeing the Route 16 project, updated the City Council on the progress on Monday, Jan. 8. He told the Council that the majority of the work is complete. New drainage piping was installed deep in the ground and the road on Upper Main Street has been rebuilt and paved. There are bump outs, pavement markings, decorative crosswalks, installed LED lighting, there was significant landscaping with planted trees. On the west side of the street, there are concrete sidewalks with brick pavers and granite curbing. Part of the project was to beautify Main Street along the river to attract people to get out of their vehicles and walk along the street. Part of the project was a beginning phase of the Riverwalk that is expected to be complete within two years. The Riverwalk will be an multi-purpose trail along the river from the Heritage Park to the 12th Street bridge. Mayor Paul Grenier said that "the project substantially changes the view of the city." From the 12th Street bridge to the base of Cates Hill Road, the road was overlaid with pavement getting rid of potholes. Poulin outlined a bucket list of things that still need to be done. He described the project as "very challenging" but added that he is "very proud of the outcome." Puddles on Eighth Street still need to be addressed. Sealers will be applied to the sidewalks. Some of the planted trees, that are specifically tolerant of salt, are expected to die and be replaced. At the start of the project, many citizens complained about some of the bump outs and they ended up being cut back. Poulin said that he believes people have adapted to them. Poulin reported that the project, that covers 2.8 miles, is estimated to cost almost $7 million. The bulk of the project is being paid by the City that bonded $55 million. Payments will be made in lieu of taxes accumulated from the Jericho Power wind farm and from the Burgess BioPower biomass plant. Poulin expects a $150,000 surplus. Additionally, damage from the storm that occurred from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 is expected to take up that surplus. HEB and the City negotiated with Sargent Construction (the general contractor of the Route 16 project) to provide repair work to the the damage caused by the storm. Sargent subbed out AB Construction and that company repaired damage throughout the City while HEB concentrated on the Route 16 Project. $400,000 has been spent on storm damage and about $90,000 worth of repairs remain. Fortunately, President Trump's administration has agreed to declare Coos County as a federal disaster as per request of Gov. Chris Sununu. Berlin will be reimbursed up to 70 percent of the $490,000 from FEMA. Poulin predicts that the City will be responsible for about $150,000. BERLIN Jay Poulin of HEB Engineers, who designed and is overseeing the Route 16 project, updated the City Council on the progress on Monday, Jan. 8. He told the Council that the majority of the work is complete.New drainage piping was installed deep in the ground and the road on Upper Main Street has been rebuilt and paved. There are bump outs, pavement markings, decorative crosswalks, installed LED lighting, there was significant landscaping with planted trees. On the west side of the street, there are concrete sidewalks with brick pavers and granite curbing. Part of the project was to beautify Main Street along the river to attract people to get out of their vehicles and walk along the street. Part of the project was a beginning phase of the Riverwalk that is expected to be complete within two years. The Riverwalk will be an multi-purpose trail along the river from the Heritage Park to the 12th Street bridge.Mayor Paul Grenier said that "the project substantially changes the view of the city."From the 12th Street bridge to the base of Cates Hill Road, the road was overlaid with pavement getting rid of potholes.Poulin outlined a bucket list of things that still need to be done. He described the project as "very challenging" but added that he is "very proud of the outcome."Puddles on Eighth Street still need to be addressed.Sealers will be applied to the sidewalks.Some of the planted trees, that are specifically tolerant of salt, are expected to die and be replaced.At the start of the project, many citizens complained about some of the bump outs and they ended up being cut back. Poulin said that he believes people have adapted to them.Poulin reported that the project, that covers 2.8 miles, is estimated to cost almost $7 million. The bulk of the project is being paid by the City that bonded $55 million. Payments will be made in lieu of taxes accumulated from the Jericho Power wind farm and from the Burgess BioPower biomass plant.Poulin expects a $150,000 surplus. Additionally, damage from the storm that occurred from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 is expected to take up that surplus.HEB and the City negotiated with Sargent Construction (the general contractor of the Route 16 project) to provide repair work to the the damage caused by the storm. Sargent subbed out AB Construction and that company repaired damage throughout the City while HEB concentrated on the Route 16 Project. $400,000 has been spent on storm damage and about $90,000 worth of repairs remain.Fortunately, President Trump's administration has agreed to declare Coos County as a federal disaster as per request of Gov. Chris Sununu. Berlin will be reimbursed up to 70 percent of the $490,000 from FEMA. Poulin predicts that the City will be responsible for about $150,000. Berlin Reporter Morency pleads not guilty by Jody Houle LANCASTER After the Berlin Police Chief's daughter was arrested just shy of Christmas, she appeared in Coos County Superior Court on Monday, Jan. 8 and pleaded not guilty of charges that she allegedly possessed and distributed an undisclosed amount of the opioid fentanyl. Christina Morency, 31, of Berlin, was arrested on Dec. 20 at her residence on upper Main Street after being investigated. She was later released on $5,000 bail. It was reported initially that she was charged with possessing and distributing heroin. However, according to Coos County Superior Court documents, she was actually charged with possessing and distributing the prescription drug, fentanyl, which is a stronger, synthetic opiate known for causing many deaths of addicts and sometimes mixed in with heroin making strands even stronger. There hasn't been any official press release regarding the details of Morency's arrest. The New Hampshire Attorney General's office and the State Police Narcotics and Investigations unit initiated the arrest due to a conflict of interest because she is the daughter of Berlin Police Chief Peter Morency. Berlin officers were not able to comment on the investigation and the NIU did not return phone calls to elaborate. Allegedly, between Dec. 1 and Dec. 10 of last year, the accused Morency sold a certain amount of fentanyl to an informant who was working with the state police. The chief's daughter was represented by New Hampshire Public Defender Attorney Chad Wellins. Morency waived arraignment and plead not guilty. She was released on $10,000 personal recognizance bail. She was ordered to continue living in Berlin and to not use drugs or drink excessively. She was also required to waive extradition. The initial report stated that she was being charged with Class A felony. However, it has been reported now that she is being charged with two Class B felonies. The charges carry up to seven years in prison. Chief Morency, who was kept unaware of the investigation, worked undercover for the New Hampshire Drug Task Force for 10 years. He said he was "devastated" and shocked by the news. LANCASTER After the Berlin Police Chief's daughter was arrested just shy of Christmas, she appeared in Coos County Superior Court on Monday, Jan. 8 and pleaded not guilty of charges that she allegedly possessed and distributed an undisclosed amount of the opioid fentanyl.Christina Morency, 31, of Berlin, was arrested on Dec. 20 at her residence on upper Main Street after being investigated. She was later released on $5,000 bail. It was reported initially that she was charged with possessing and distributing heroin. However, according to Coos County Superior Court documents, she was actually charged with possessing and distributing the prescription drug, fentanyl, which is a stronger, synthetic opiate known for causing many deaths of addicts and sometimes mixed in with heroin making strands even stronger.There hasn't been any official press release regarding the details of Morency's arrest. The New Hampshire Attorney General's office and the State Police Narcotics and Investigations unit initiated the arrest due to a conflict of interest because she is the daughter of Berlin Police Chief Peter Morency. Berlin officers were not able to comment on the investigation and the NIU did not return phone calls to elaborate.Allegedly, between Dec. 1 and Dec. 10 of last year, the accused Morency sold a certain amount of fentanyl to an informant who was working with the state police.The chief's daughter was represented by New Hampshire Public Defender Attorney Chad Wellins. Morency waived arraignment and plead not guilty. She was released on $10,000 personal recognizance bail.She was ordered to continue living in Berlin and to not use drugs or drink excessively. She was also required to waive extradition.The initial report stated that she was being charged with Class A felony. However, it has been reported now that she is being charged with two Class B felonies. The charges carry up to seven years in prison.Chief Morency, who was kept unaware of the investigation, worked undercover for the New Hampshire Drug Task Force for 10 years. He said he was "devastated" and shocked by the news. Littleton Courier Easton woman survives harrowing hike on Mt. Washington by Jody Houle Amy Baker, 45, of Easton, is an experienced hiker who was well equipped to hike Mount Washington; however, after blowing winds blocked her view of the trail she was on, and after a series of mishaps, she is lucky to have survived almost 20 hours on the frigid mountain. Fish and Game conservation officers rescued her after receiving her locator beacon alert. (Photo by Jody Houle) (click for larger version) SARGENT'S PURCHASE A woman survived almost 20 hours out on a very frigid Mt. Washington last Wednesday, Jan. 10. She started her trek in the early morning. After reaching the peak, the trail down was obscured with spiraling clouds of snow keeping forcing her off the trail in knee to chin deep snow drifts. After several hours surviving, Rescuers reached her the next morning and helped her down the mountain to safety. It is a miracle that Amy Baker, 45, of Easton, is alive. "They found me , but they found me alive," said baker. "What saves you is the basic essentials and yourself." Baker, an experienced hiker, has reached the 6,288.2 foot summit of the mountain before and has conquered all 48 4000 footers in the state. According to Fish and Game Lt. Wayne T. Saunders, she had a variety of necessary gear and equipment for hiking and survival, but strong winds created deep snow drifts and blurred the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail on the western part of the Mountain. She had previously reached the peak using the trail on 10 other occasions. Baker took the trail at 8:30 a.m. that Wednesday morning and reached the summit with no problems. She headed down the trail about a mile and a half and, suddenly, there was zero visibility of the trail due to spiraling clouds of snow. She did not bring her snow shoes which could have helped trek down the tightly packed surface of the snow. "There is one word you think of when you are on Mount Washington and see the snow swirling around like a tornado below you in the air in front of the closed Lake of Clouds hut, and that Is fear," said Baker in a Facebook post. Winds blew at 40 miles per hour and gusts at 75 miles per hour causing layers of snow drifts engulfing the trail. When she reached Lake of the Clouds, she assessed the situation. She headed down what she thought was the general direction of the trail but ended up a half mile off trail at Monroe Brook Drainage. The snow drifts were above tree line and she sunk sometimes chin deep in areas where the snow was not packed causing her cuts and bruises. During part of her trek down, she peeled edible bark of some trees to fuel up. She later discovered that she acquired cuts and bruises from the peeling. A few mishaps occurred including losing her last unfrozen bottle of water. She had a program on her cell phone that tracked her steps using GPS, but, unfortunately, her last portable battery charger had fallen when she was rolling. One of her poles broke in a "hole" she said. Without snow shoes, she decided to roll down the mountain to the tree line which is a typical tactic, according to Fish and Game officers, considering the circumstances. She later discovered that she had fractured her pinky finger and hurt her shoulder from rolling. She made shelter on a tree with a bivy sack and activated her locator beaker and hoped for hours that she would be found. Her extra pairs of socks, hats and gloves were soaking wet in her backpack. She was soaked through three layers. She gathered sticks, retrieved matches from a Ziploc bag and made fires. The wind was heavy and there was freezing rain in 10 degree temperatures minus the wind chill factor. She managed to get a little sleep inside of a reflective, foil sleeping bag. She blew her Howler whistle every hour. "It was hard as I was dehydrated. The first time I did it, the silence, the fear, it instilled me. All you can think about is the Titanic where she is whistling to not a soul around, the fear of that every hour, the silence in the darkness," she described. At about 2 a.m. on the following day, she heard a voice. She put her bare feet into her wet boots and slid down to the Fish and Game rescuers who found her. It took them about two hours to guide her to the trailhead where she was rendered safe. Rescuers had received her beacon alert late in the afternoon and hiked four miles up the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail and then headed off trail to reach Baker. At times, members of the crew had also sunk from waist to chin deep in the snow. Although they had her in their sights, it still took them a half an hour to reach her as they fought deep snow and the bushes. Baker and Fish and Game gave a strong warning, that even though she was well equipped and experienced, that no-one should ever rely on those factors alone. "People want to run out and buy a tracker but it is important That no-one relies on that," urged baker. "the tracker did not work from noon to 3 p.m., and from 4:35 p.m. to 3 a.m. That is 10 hours of no tracking." Fish and Game advise hikers to not hike alone. SARGENT'S PURCHASE A woman survived almost 20 hours out on a very frigid Mt. Washington last Wednesday, Jan. 10. She started her trek in the early morning. After reaching the peak, the trail down was obscured with spiraling clouds of snow keeping forcing her off the trail in knee to chin deep snow drifts. After several hours surviving, Rescuers reached her the next morning and helped her down the mountain to safety.It is a miracle that Amy Baker, 45, of Easton, is alive."They found me , but they found me alive," said baker. "What saves you is the basic essentials and yourself."Baker, an experienced hiker, has reached the 6,288.2 foot summit of the mountain before and has conquered all 48 4000 footers in the state. According to Fish and Game Lt. Wayne T. Saunders, she had a variety of necessary gear and equipment for hiking and survival, but strong winds created deep snow drifts and blurred the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail on the western part of the Mountain. She had previously reached the peak using the trail on 10 other occasions.Baker took the trail at 8:30 a.m. that Wednesday morning and reached the summit with no problems. She headed down the trail about a mile and a half and, suddenly, there was zero visibility of the trail due to spiraling clouds of snow. She did not bring her snow shoes which could have helped trek down the tightly packed surface of the snow."There is one word you think of when you are on Mount Washington and see the snow swirling around like a tornado below you in the air in front of the closed Lake of Clouds hut, and that Is fear," said Baker in a Facebook post.Winds blew at 40 miles per hour and gusts at 75 miles per hour causing layers of snow drifts engulfing the trail. When she reached Lake of the Clouds, she assessed the situation. She headed down what she thought was the general direction of the trail but ended up a half mile off trail at Monroe Brook Drainage. The snow drifts were above tree line and she sunk sometimes chin deep in areas where the snow was not packed causing her cuts and bruises.During part of her trek down, she peeled edible bark of some trees to fuel up. She later discovered that she acquired cuts and bruises from the peeling.A few mishaps occurred including losing her last unfrozen bottle of water.She had a program on her cell phone that tracked her steps using GPS, but, unfortunately, her last portable battery charger had fallen when she was rolling.One of her poles broke in a "hole" she said.Without snow shoes, she decided to roll down the mountain to the tree line which is a typical tactic, according to Fish and Game officers, considering the circumstances. She later discovered that she had fractured her pinky finger and hurt her shoulder from rolling.She made shelter on a tree with a bivy sack and activated her locator beaker and hoped for hours that she would be found.Her extra pairs of socks, hats and gloves were soaking wet in her backpack. She was soaked through three layers.She gathered sticks, retrieved matches from a Ziploc bag and made fires.The wind was heavy and there was freezing rain in 10 degree temperatures minus the wind chill factor.She managed to get a little sleep inside of a reflective, foil sleeping bag.She blew her Howler whistle every hour."It was hard as I was dehydrated. The first time I did it, the silence, the fear, it instilled me. All you can think about is the Titanic where she is whistling to not a soul around, the fear of that every hour, the silence in the darkness," she described.At about 2 a.m. on the following day, she heard a voice. She put her bare feet into her wet boots and slid down to the Fish and Game rescuers who found her. It took them about two hours to guide her to the trailhead where she was rendered safe.Rescuers had received her beacon alert late in the afternoon and hiked four miles up the Ammonoosuc Ravine trail and then headed off trail to reach Baker. At times, members of the crew had also sunk from waist to chin deep in the snow. Although they had her in their sights, it still took them a half an hour to reach her as they fought deep snow and the bushes.Baker and Fish and Game gave a strong warning, that even though she was well equipped and experienced, that no-one should ever rely on those factors alone."People want to run out and buy a tracker but it is important That no-one relies on that," urged baker. "the tracker did not work from noon to 3 p.m., and from 4:35 p.m. to 3 a.m. That is 10 hours of no tracking."Fish and Game advise hikers to not hike alone. Littleton Courier Local woman discovers unknown sibling Littleton Select Board accepts federal rescue funds Recent Jody Houle State funding cuts force closure of Brown School 2019-Jan-23 Grenier testifies in support of House Bill aimed at overturning education cuts 2019-Jan-23 Film made in Berlin now available for purchase 2019-Jan-17 School board continues to discuss reorganization of grades 2019-Jan-17 AVH hosting forum on addiction treatment services 2019-Jan-09 Police apprehend armed man following standoff 2019-Jan-09 More... Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com By Express News Service NEW DELHI: A Bar Council of India team which met Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Sunday said the CJI assured it that everything would be sorted out soon. Capping a weekend flurry of activity by jurists, lawyers and politicians, the Bar Council delegation met the CJI at his residence for 45 minutes. The Indian judiciary was thrown into a turmoil on Friday when four senior Supreme Court judges J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph convened an unprecedented press conference to complain about selective case allocation by Misra and passing of certain judicial order. We met the CJI in a congenial atmosphere and he said everything will be sorted out soon, BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, who led the delegation, told reporters. He said that before meeting the CJI, they also discussed the crisis with other judges including the three out of the four judges who have made the allegations against the CJI. Meanwhile, four former judges have written an open letter to the CJI, urging him to set up a Constitution Bench to deal with sensitive and pending cases. ALSO READ: CJI Dipak Misra assures Bar Council that crisis will be sorted out soon The letter, written by former apex court judge P B Sawant, ex-Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A P Shah, former Madras High Court judge K Chandru and ex-Bombay High Court judge H Suresh, stresses on the need to resolve the ongoing crisis between the judges internally. The views expressed by them are quite similar to those of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). The letter also stated that till this crisis is resolved, important matters should be listed before a five-judge Constitution Bench of senior judges. READ HERE | Justice Loya's death was a natural one; stop harassing us, pleads son Anuj The four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court have brought to light a serious issue regarding the manner of allocation of cases, particularly sensitive cases, to various benches of the Supreme Court. They have expressed a grave concern that cases are not being allocated in a proper manner and are being allocated arbitrarily to particular designated benches, often headed by junior judges, in an arbitrary manner, the letter states. 45-minute discussion BCI delegation meets Justice J Chelameswar at his residence and discusses the issue for around 45 minutes. The delegation also meets Justice R K Agrawal, Justice A M Khanwilkar, Justice Arun Mishra, Justice S A Bobde and Justice Joseph Hands over resolution The president of the SCBA, Vikas Singh, meets the CJI and hands over a resolution passed by the members in Saturdays meeting in which it was decided that a delegation would meet majority of the SC judges so that the crisis can be resolved at the earliest By PTI NEW DELHI: India and Israel today inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cybersecurity, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu held extensive talks to strengthen ties in the strategic areas of defence and counterterrorism. Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, Modi said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. On his part, Netanyahu described Modi as a "revolutionary" leader. #WATCH "My friend Narendra if anytime you want to do a Yoga class with me,it is a big stretch but I will be there": PM #BenjaminNetanyahu to PM Modi pic.twitter.com/RUjVtNFckf ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 "You are revolutionising India and also relations between India and Israel," Netanyahu said, addressing Modi. The two prime ministers, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest. You are a revolutionary leader, you have revolutionized India and catapulting this state to the future, your visit to Israel was groundbreaking as it was the first time an Indian leader visited: PM #Netanyahu to PM Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/zs4xbuajwg ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 Apart from a pact on cybersecurity, the agreements included cooperation in the oil and gas sector, film-coproduction as well as amendments to an air transport pact. Netanyahu, who arrived here yesterday, will also visit Ahmedabad and Mumbai during his six-day stay in India. Raven VaronaIf there's one person Cardi B doesn't "wanna party with," it's President Donald Trump. The Grammy-nominated rapper expressed her utter distaste for the Commander-in-Chief on Sunday, tweeting, "Trump is soo disgusting! I hate him Soo much. Im starting to hate him with a f****** passion," followed by three mad face emojis. This isn't the first time Cardi's called Trump out on social media. In September, she tweeted her thoughts about the President's alleged lack of support for Puerto Rico following the devastation left by Hurricane Maria. She tweeted, "Puerto Rico in crisis right now & Donald has not yet visited or talk about it. PR is part of the USA you know Don't forget about the island." Cardi, a native of Bronx, New York, is of Dominican and Trinidadian descent. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. The Panamaregistered oil tanker Sanchi suddenly reignited on Sunday, with smoke and flames shooting up 800 meters. The tanker carrying 136,000 metric tons of light crude oil has been adrift and on fire following a collision with another vessel in the East China Sea on Jan 6. [Photo provided by The Ministry of Transport] The Panama-registered oil tanker Sanchi exploded and sank in the East China Sea on Sunday afternoon, eight days after it collided with a cargo vessel and burst into flames. China's ocean administration is busy monitoring its subsequent environmental impact. Of the 32 crew members, just three bodies had been recovered by Sunday, officials said. A large amount of oil from the spill continued to burn on the sea's surface, affecting the environment, the State Oceanic Administration said on Sunday evening. The consistency of petroleum material in the seawater in the area was up to 25 micrograms per liter on Saturday before the ship sank, the administration said. It did not provide a context as to whether that was serious or not. Officers planned to intensify monitoring and assess its environmental impact, the administration said. The Iranian ship sank about 4:45 pm, 151 nautical miles from the collision site, according to the Ministry of Transport. A 10-square-kilometer oil belt could be observed visually, a report by China Central Television said. The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 metric tons of highly flammable condensate oil, or natural gas liquids, collided with a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship about 8 pm on Jan 6 some 160 nautical miles east of Shanghai. Zhang Yong, an engineer from the administration, told CCTV that the condensate, a type of ultralight oil, has comparatively less effect in damaging the ocean than other crude oil products because of its high volatility. The Sanchi had 32 crew members 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. As of Sunday, three bodies of the missing had been recovered two were found by a salvage team on Saturday and one was discovered at the collision site on Jan 8, according to the ministry. The cargo ship's 21 crew members were rescued. The Panamaregistered oil tanker Sanchi suddenly reignited on Sunday, with smoke and flames shooting up 800 meters. The tanker carrying 136,000 metric tons of light crude oil has been adrift and on fire following a collision with another vessel in the East China Sea on Jan 6. [Photo provided by the Ministry of Transport] On Saturday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif over the phone that "China will continue to carry out 100 percent effort as long as 1 percent hope remains". Zarif expressed gratitude for China's efforts on rescuing the Iranian sailors, and said Iran is willing to keep close communication and cooperation with China on the matter. On Saturday morning, four rescuers were placed on the back of the Sanchi by a crane. They found two bodies on the deck of a lifeboat. The ship's "black box" had also been retrieved, according to the ministry release. Thirteen vessels 10 Chinese, two Japanese and one from South Korea are participating in the search and rescue operation, including searching for victims, contamination control and putting out the fire. By PTI TRIVANDRUM: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today met a youth who is on a protest in front of the secretariat for 767 days demanding a CBI probe into his brother's alleged custodial death and promised all support. Sreejith and his mother Ramani Prameela met Vijayan a day after the LDF government wrote to the CBI asking it to re-examine its earlier decision not to take up the case. Vijayan informed them about the steps taken by the government so far and told that the government was with the family in their pain. However, 29-year-old Sreejith told reporters that he would continue his protest until he receives a formal order regarding CBI probe into his younger brother Sreejeev's death in May 2014 and bring the guilty to book. "The Chief Minister extended all support to our cause, he said, adding, the protest will continue till an order on CBI probe is received." The plea to suspend the police officers accused in the death was not accepted, he said. Vijayan said the government will take a favourable stand to get the stay vacated in the Kerala High Court with regard to the case and necessary instructions had been given in this regard to the Advocate General, a statement from Chief Minister's office said tonight. On being informed by Prameela that some of the accused police personnel had mocked at her, Vijayan directed the DGP to view the matter seriously and take action. Spoke to #Sreejith by phone to convey the Govt's assurance of a CBI inquiry into the custodial death of his brother #Sreejeev. Admired his courage &persistence but urged him to call off his protest now. May truth & justice prevail. @DrJitendraSingh https://t.co/JCWrKbyPqL Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 15, 2018 Meanwhile, Congress MPs from Kerala-- Shashi Tharoor and K C Venugopal met Union Home minister, Rajnath Singh and Minister for Personnel and Public Grievances Jitendra Singh at Delhi. In a tweet, Tharoor said the Home Minister had agreed that custodial deaths should always be inquired into. "Had a very constructive meeting w/ @drjitendrasingh on the imperative need for a CBI inquiry into the custodial death of Sreejith's brother. We then met together with @rajnathsingh ji who agreed that custodial deaths should always be inquired into. Expecting official OK today." In another tweet he said "Spoke to #Sreejith by phone to convey the Govt's assurance of a CBI inquiry into the custodial death of his brother #Sreejeev. Admired his courage &persistence but urged him to call off his protest now. May truth & justice prevail." With the social media taking up Sreejith's cause, there has been an outpouring of support for him. Meanwhile, Malayalam actors Prithiraj and Parvathy today came out in his support. In a Facebook post, Prithviraj said the protest had "touched" the collective conscience of the people. Politicians from the Congress and BJP camps have also lent their support for the protest. China's tourism authority said Sunday it has initiated an emergency plan to help Chinese nationals injured in a speedboat explosion in Thailand. Photo taken by a mobile phone on Jan. 14, 2018 shows a speedboat explosion on southern Thailand's Andaman Sea near Phi-Phi Islands. [Photo: Xinhua] The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) has urged local hospitals to spare no efforts to treat the injured and Thai police to find out the cause of the accident as soon as possible, according to CNTA head Li Jinzao. A speedboat carrying 27 Chinese tourists and several Thai crews exploded on southern Thailand's Andaman Sea near Phi-Phi Islands Sunday. Photo taken by a mobile phone on Jan. 14, 2018 shows a speedboat explosion on southern Thailand's Andaman Sea near Phi-Phi Islands. [Photo: Xinhua] Local media reported that a Thai was killed and 16 others have been found injured. Five Chinese were in serious condition, according to the Consulate-General of China in Songkhla. Li said the CNTA will continue to follow the development of the accident. Everyone wants my feedback. Everyone is dying to know my views. Everyone is looking for my suggestions. Everyone is interested in knowing how our relationship can be improved. OK, heres a start. Stop bugging me. Stop sending me messages and emails asking me for a rating or a review. When it comes to our interactions, assume that no news is good news. Assume that if I were unhappy I would get in touch with you. But as long as you asked, one suggestion I have is do away with this whole customer-engagement schtick and in its place bring back the old Complaint Department. Customers loved the Complaint Department, not because it solved their problem, but because it afforded them the opportunity to vent. No fuss. No muss. No cutesy. You just called up, got a real live person on the line and let er rip. In my experience, when you were done you not only felt better, but you felt better about the company, as well. Although I am sure companies believe their reaching-out strategy is good for their image, in fact, the opposite is true. It makes them seem insecure. It makes them seem like that excessively needy love interest who made your pet bunny nervous. Another thing that annoys me is the way the company or organization asking for your two cents tries to guilt you into participating by telling you how much it will mean to them if you will just take the time to answer a few questions. Personally, I dont give a flying duck about how important I am to the company. And, when you come right down to it, I think the feeling is mutual. If, however, the company is actually interested in my opinions, then make it worth my while. Offer me a big discount, cash or maybe stock options. You do this and rest assured, I will not only respond, but will have glowing things to say. Anyway. It is alarming to see how this pursuit of feedback has trickled down. I recently had minor in-patient surgery, after which I received a message from the anesthesiologist asking for a review. Um, did he not know that I was unconscious? Did it not occur to him that if I had been capable of judging his performance, it would mean that he had not done a very good job? I also wondered about attaching numerical values. Would he want me to recite any numbers I might come up with backwards? I finally responded by saying that in terms of people with whom I have interacted while unconscious, he rated right up there. Politicians, of course, are always looking to take everyones temperature. President Trump has a unique way of going about this. Instead of relying on polls, he holds big rallies with his most ardent supporters. He then determines if their roar of approval matches his own inner roar of approval. Where this ever-expanding quest for consumer feedback is headed is anybodys guess: Dear Death Row Inmate, Please take a few moments to evaluate your recent experience with our institution: How was your last meal? Were the guards helpful? How would you rate your execution? Would you use our service again? Would you recommend us to your friends? Or. Dear Reader, Please take a moment to answer a few questions about this column: How would you describe this column: Good? Bad? Disturbing? Which bathroom did you read this column in? Would it be helpful if future columns were accompanied by information on how to cancel your subscription? Jim Shea is a lifelong Connecticut resident and journalist who believes the keys to life include the avoidance of physical labor and I-95. He can be reached at jimboshea@gmail.com and on Twitter @jimboshea. For Subscribers Tiverton having fun again as it prepares to play in new division This group has been fun to be with, whereas a year ago there was a challenge involved in everything we did." China's lead civil aviation and tourism authorities have asked foreign airlines and hotels operating in the country to audit their websites and mobile apps to ensure they have not listed Chinese territories as separate countries, reports Xinhua News Agency. This move follows recent media coverage of instances where American companies Delta Airlines and Marriott Hotels International incorrectly listed the Chinese territories of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Tibet as separate countries in their information to customers. View of a logo of Marriott Hotel of Marriott International in Hangzhou city, east Chinas Zhejiang province, 11 January 2018. [Photo: IC] Representatives from Delta Airlines have been called in for questioning by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). And the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration recently interviewed senior managers from Marriott Hotels International. The two companies were asked to conduct an investigation into the errors on their website, publish the results of the investigation in a timely manner, and apologize to the public. Both Delta Airlines and Marriott Hotels International have issued apologies and promised to take immediate measures to correct the mistakes. It has been reported that dozens of airlines belonging to the world's three largest airline alliances have listed Chinese territories as separate countries on their official websites. "In cases where this has happened, action should be taken immediately to rectify the mistakes," the CAAC said, adding that it will examine the process. Meanwhile, the China National Tourism Administration emphasized that all hotels in China must abide by Chinese law and respect the Chinese people's feelings. There is something weird going on in Turkmenistan! Based in Central Asia, we dont hear much of a news from the country, but the latest development in Turkmenistan has left everyone astonished. According to Chronicles of Turkmenistan, the police is impounding cars of all the colors, except for white from the capital city of Ashgabat. The whip by officials has come in the backdrop of a week old order to impound all the black cars from the country. Apparently, due to lack of written orders, police is impounding all the colored cars from the roads. Come 2018, police started to impound black cars, followed by all the colors. Also Read: California Investor Buys Bugatti Chiron, Pagani Huayra with 450 Bitcoins While there is no clear communication on why it is happening, according to the report, Turk president Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov is superstitious about the white colored cars, which happens to be his favourite color. The officials banned the import of black cars back in 2015 stating white color is supposed to be lucky. The online publication states that the citizens of Ashgabat city woke up to find their cars missing. They later found that the car has been towed by officials and only after signing a document, which obligates them to repaint their car to white color, they are getting the car back. Also Read: Lexus LS 500h launched in India! This has resulted in a massive price hike of auto body shops, who are demanding $1000 to repaint the car, instead of the earlier set price of $500. When I came to the auto shop, I was told that the repainting would cost 7,000 manats but that in a week the price would rise to 11,000 manats," a black car owner from Ashgabat said. The story further states that "some drivers can be released but the majority of car owners are ordered to re-paint their car or to refrain from using the vehicle." Also Watch: Mumbai: Faced with uncertainty, the once-sunshine telecom sector will continue to witness a decline in headcounts for the next six-nine months, taking the total number of job losses to 80,000-90,000, says a report. The sector, which has been witnessing rough weather in terms of profitability due to rising competition and lower margins, has witnessed large scale layoffs making job scenario uncertain, said a CIEL HR Services in a report today. The report is based on a survey among around 100 senior and mid-level employees of 65 telco and software and hardware service providers to telecom companies. According to the report, since last year the sector has already lost around 40,000 people and the trend is likely to continue for the next six-nine months and may see the culling touching 80,000-90,000. "The attrition rate is like to remain high at least for the next two-three quarters and the sector is likely to reduce around 80,000-90,000 people," the Bengaluru-based company's chief executive Aditya Narayan Mishra told PTI. He said employees worried over the uncertainties about their career with their present employer and the increased levels of anxieties are contributing to speculation. The high cost of loan servicing, aggressive competition for market share, an uncertainty of mergers among others have been hindering further investment by telcos resulting in layoffs, the report said. Further, the report said, salary hikes have been muted compared to other sectors and about 69 per cent got annual salary hike of 7 per cent, while almost one-third of them received less than 5 per cent hike, it added. The report also revealed that most people leaving their telecom jobs are seeking opportunities outside the sector. "This trend highlights the fact that the sector is not recruiting unless it is a critical need that has to be filled by external talent," it added. "The telecom industry has lost its lustre and this negative sentiment is failing to attract any talent into the sector. The vacant seats continue to remain vacant with no fresh applications," Mishra said. The report estimates that 25 per cent of people leave or lose their jobs in the telecom sector without having another at hand. However, 69 per cent feel that they can find employment in other sectors. This points to the fact that skilled employees are quick to find jobs in other sectors, hence, the sector has to put additional measures to retain their top talent. Going forward, Mishra said, the sector will begin to recruit, which will mostly be freshers from campuses. "Except for a few critical positions, we expect telcos to hire freshers. However, there is likely to be 25 per cent reverse movement mostly comprising those who had gone into consulting or not with any employment," he added. New Delhi: The country's richest banker and vice-chairman of Kotak Mahindra Bank, Uday Kotak, has expressed concerns over the surging stock market and India's financial savings going into selective stocks only. "Money is coming to a broad funnel and its going into a narrow pipe where massive amount of Indian savers money is now going into few hundred stocks. And you come back to the question of how good is the governance of these companies. The amount of money thats going into small and mid-cap stocks is something on which we have to ask tough questions. Youre pushing all this (money) into a narrow funnel which inevitably runs the risk of a bubble," said Uday Kotak in an interview to Indian Express. Kotak also headed a Sebi committee which submitted a report last year on changes in corporate governance rules for listed firms. Talking on the same he said, Keep in mind now you have EPFO money, insurance money, pension, investors and savers money. People think nothing can go wrong. I would increase my level of alert from the policy point of view and dramatically improve the level of governance and transparency. Kotak admitted that conventional savings of the country is now dripping into financial savings, that is more use of mutual funds, systematic planning investments etc. With mutual funds witnessing huge inflows into equity schemes after demonetisation, the Sensex has been hitting new peaks everyday. "Micro is improving but the speed at which stock prices are going up is even faster The speed at which stock prices are going up is sheer money power, he said. Kotak also raised concern over the high level of foreign ownership in top private sector banks and explained that foreign investors are benefiting from it. Citing the example of HDFC, he said, More than 80 percent (of HDFC) is foreign owned. Heres a company whose core business is money from retail savers Indian house owners. And of the entire gain made by that company, 80 percent belongs to foreign investors. Comparing Indian ownership with that of the US, he said the biggest growth companies in the US Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Apple are majority American owned. The policy framework should encourage outstanding Indian companies over the next 10 or 20 years. And let broad-based Indian savers over time gain out of that, he said. We have encouraged more and more foreign flows to come in because we have a shortfall in the current account. What have we done? We have basically got some of our jewels majority foreign owned, Kotak said. Kotak also made out a strong case for encouraging what he terms Indian champions, well-governed companies that are not based on any favours by the government, and the need to broadbase owenership. The Insolvency Law has helped shift the balance from the debtor to the creditor but compared to three years ago, there has been a 180-degree turn on the economy front, he said, pointing to improving micro factors but a tougher macro with the current account and fiscal deficit widening. Madurai: A 19-year-old man gored to death by a bull during a Jallikattu event in Madurai in Tamil Nadu on Monday. The police said the incident happened at the end of the bull taming enclosure, known as the collection point. The deceased, Kalimuthu, was a participant in the first round of the event and was attacked by a bull at the collection point few minutes before the event concluded. "Kalimuthu was out after his turn in the event and he was playing with the bull outside the arena in an open space when the bull attacked him," Madurai collector Veera Raghava Rao told CNN News18. About 28 people were also injured during the event. A rural sport played in the state, Jallikattu grabbed national attention only after last year's massive protests. The district administration had overlooked the arrangements and the event closely through the day and had deployed a dozen of medical and veterinary teams with ambulances at the venue. The ring and corridors through which the bulls ran out were barricaded to keep the non participants at a distance and ensure public safety. Kalimuthu, who was injured when the bull's horns pierced through him was taken to a nearby hospital but was declared brought dead. About 700 tamers and 446 bulls had participated in today's event amidst thousands of spectators, a dozen of medical and veterinary teams with ambulances and police personnel. On Sunday, 704 bulls were screened and 643 were found fit to participate. And amongst the participants, 576 players were screened of 479 participated. "Jallikattu is a tradition. It brings us all together. There are isolated incidents every year. There will be injuries during the event too. People come knowing that," said Jayakumar, a bull owner. So far, 79 people have injured during the event. The event is scheduled to continue for the third and final day in Alanganallur village on Tuesday where Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisami. Deputy chief minister O Paneerselvam is also expected to attend. Jallikattu is a sport that involves taming a bull. The bull is released into a crowd of people and the participants try to hold on to its hump or horns. The event is celebrated on Mattu Pongal, which is the third day of the popular harvest festival. The tradition derives its name from the Tamil words "salli" which means coins and "kattu" which means package. This refers to the prize of coins that is tied to the horns of the bulls, which participants try to retrieve. If the taming attempt is unsuccessful, the bull's owner takes home the prize. The Supreme Court had banned Jallikattu in 2014 after animal rights activists said it constitutes extreme animal cruelty. After massive protests, Tamil Nadu enacted a law last year to bypass the apex court's ruling. Reacting to the news of the tragic death, animal rights activist Gauri Maulekhi called Jallikattu barbaric and demanded that it must be stop. It is not an accident. This is a state sponsored barbarism which is taking its own people's lives and now the government and event organisers have blood on their hands. History has repeated itself. Such an incident has happened before in Madurai earlier. It's high time to stop this barbaric culture in the name of Tamil pride, she said. New Delhi: Widow of a victim of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots on Monday accused Congress leader Sajjan Kumar of threatening her and her children if she testified against him. Kumar is accused of instigating violence against Sikhs in Delhi following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Sheela Kaur, widow of Surjeet Kaur, deposed as a witness before Additional Sessions Judge in the Patiala House Court of Judge Poonam A Bamba, and stated that "she could not name Kumar earlier due to death threats." "Sheela Kaur deposed before the court that she had earlier received threats that her children would be killed if she names Sajjan Kumar. She confirmed her statement that Sajjan Kumar was involved," the complainant counsel, Advocate HS Phoolka told News18. The examination of witnesses started today morning amidst heavy security of CRPF personnel, where even press was denied entry. The entire proceeding was in-camera, but News18 has confirmed witness deposition by not only Advocate Phoolka but also one of the lawyers appearing for the CBI. "When the Nanavati commission report came out, CBI was given the direction to investigate two matters. One was the riot at Sultanpuri and another was at Delhi Cantt. There were a number of witnesses in Sultanpuri who had seen Sajjan Kumar and had named him for instigating mobs to kill Sikhs in 1984. She is a witness from there and she has lost her husband, her father-in-law and her brother-in-law. Kaur is survived only by her children," said the advocate. Kaur had "earlier deposed in another case where she had not named Sajjan Kumar but today she said that at that time I was threatened that my children will be killed if I name Sajjan Kumar." News18 has learnt that there are another three to four CBI witnesses who have given statements against the Congress leader. "The witness who was examined before this was Joginder Singh. Sajjan Kumar is a part of the larger conspiracy of instigating the mob but the case is pertaining to the death of Surjeet Singh who is the brother of Joginder Singh," said the lawyer from CBI. CBI had filed its charge sheet in the Sultanpuri anti-Sikh Riot case in 2010. Surjeet Singh's murder too featured in that charge sheet. The lawyer maintained that witnesses in the case had named Kumar only after CBI got involved. "Nanavati commission recommendation had noted that witnesses had mentioned Sajjan Kumar in their affidavit but no action was taken on it. Before Nanavati commission submitted its report and CBI came into the picture, Delhi police had not named Sajjan Kumar even in a single a charge sheet," said the lawyer. Kaur also made an application to the court that she should be given security which was withdrawn three months ago and had been given since the last three years. The next date for the case is February 20, 2018, for the recording of prosecution evidence. Recently, the Supreme Court had ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team to investigate 186 cases of 1984 riots. Justice (Retd) Dhingra is heading the newly formed SIT. The anti-Sikh riots that broke out after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, claimed 2,433 lives in Delhi alone. New Delhi: In one of its biggest cash seizures from a government official in recent times, the CBI has recovered Rs 2.15 crore from raids conducted at the Kolkata residence of Union agriculture ministry employee RK Sasihar, the agency said in New Delhi on Monday. The agency also seized jewellery worth Rs 30 lakh from the residence of Sasihar, Plant Protection Officer under the agriculture ministry, who was posted in Kolkata. The CBI found documents related to post office deposits worth Rs 32 lakh, of properties worth crores of rupees in New Delhi, Kolkata and cities in Bihar and Jharkhand and details of bank deposits worth Rs 44 lakh and fixed deposits worth Rs 5 lakh, officials said here today. Sasihar's residence was among the 26 places which were covered in the search operations conducted by the agency from Saturday till Monday in connection with alleged corruption in clearances given to agri-products imported into the country. The CBI has alleged that Sasihar was taking money from importers for allowing consignments on the basis of forged phytosanitary (related to the health of plants) and fumigation certificates. The agency alleged that he worked in collusion with senior officials of the Plant Protection Quarantine Directorate, Faridabad, also under the Union agriculture ministry, and was sharing the bribes with them. The agency has booked Sasihar, Tanweer Rahman of ITT Shipping, Sanjay Choubey of Innovative Pest and Property Management Sciences and Anurag Tulshan of Atcorp Global Pvt Ltd in the case. The CBI had received information that Sasihar was allegedly demanding and receiving bribes from importers and exporters for extending favours in giving clearances for importing agricultural commodities in violation of norms causing a "colossal loss" to the exchequer. According to plant quarantine rules of the agriculture ministry, the import of agri-based shipments from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries should have fumigation and phytosanitary certificates issued by the country of origin. "Under the said rules, in case a fumigation or phytosanitary certificate is issued at any other loading point in some other country enroute to India...the consignment would be subjected to a five-time penalty consequent upon arrival, in addition to paying normal fumigation charges for the consignment," an official said. It is alleged that from June, 2017, products had been imported by a cartel of importers represented by Tulshan of Atcorp Global. The CBI has alleged that these consignments originating from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries via Turkey were not certified at the ports of origin but in Turkey enroute to Kolkata. The documents submitted along with respective bills of entry by Kolkata-based importers lacked additional declaration details, it alleged. The CBI has claimed that phytosanitary certificates were forged by Choubey of Innovative Pest and Property Management Sciences in Kolkata on the instructions of Sasihar. In return, Sasihar had demanded and accepted illegal gratification from the importers, the agency alleged. The agency has listed a number of bribe amounts allegedly received by Sasihar in its FIR which range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 11 lakh for various consignments. The CBI alleged that Choubey maintained a detailed account of the entire collection of illegal gratification for Sasihar. New Delhi: The assault on a Muslim youth and his two brothers, allegedly by members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, has once again brought into focus right-wing groups fight against what they call love jihad. Over the last year, these organisations have come up with new ways to keep a tab on love jihad so they can intervene and put an end to interfaith relationships. The latest weapon in the VHPs arsenal is a network of spies who work as restaurant employees across Western UP. We have had great success in stopping the scourge of love jihad in Western UP. This is primarily because we get information as soon as we hear about a potential relationship between a suspicious Muslim man and a Hindu girl. In fact, even the cops are befuddled! They dont know how we get information before they do, said a beaming Vivek Premi, VHP convener of Shamli, Muzaffarnagar and Baghpat districts. The organisation, he said, had created an information network among restaurant employees such as waiters, cashiers and kitchen staff across the communally sensitive, riot-scarred districts of Western Uttar Pradesh. And if Premi is to be believed, the strategy seems to be working. In the last 15 days, we have caught four cases of 'love jihad' in Shamli. Two of them were at restaurants. First, we thought of approaching restaurant owners. But we thought they wouldnt help us out because they would not want commotion at their establishments. So we turned to employees. We approached waiters, cashiers, kitchen staff and cleaners. Some were worried because they would lose their jobs if their bosses found out they were helping us. So we promised them anonymity. Like journalists have sources, we do too, said 24-year-old Premi, who shot to infamy after a video of his beating and parading a Muslim man in Shamli went viral in June 2015. He added, Restaurant employees are a very valuable resource for us. They have not been officially inducted as our members since that would mean restaurant owners would find out who they are. But they play an important role in the organisation nonetheless. We have eyes and ears in at least 50% of the restaurants in Shamli district alone. We also have our people who work at roadside dhabas on highways. When they see an odd looking couple, they slip out quietly and give us a call. Our boys reach there in no time. In addition to restaurant employees, these organisations rely on college students and youth spread across the region. These students are connected via social media platforms such as Whatsapp, which helps the VHP get information on love jihad quickly. New Delhi: The Indian Army on Monday said that seven Pakistan soldiers were killed along the border in Mendhar. The statement comes just hours after forces had neutralized six Jaish-e-Mohammad militants in Uri. The action comes after an Indian solider was killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday. Army has carried out retaliation against Pakistani troops across Jaglote area along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district. There were seven fatal casualities to Pakistani troops and four others were injured, a senior Army officer told PTI. Even as the Indian Army claimed a big win on Army Day, Pakistans Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that while four of its soldiers were killed by shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) and Kashmirs Jandrot sector, three Indian soldiers were also killed and a "few injured" in an exchange of fire. Pakistan daily Dawn reported that the armys media wing issued a statement that said that "troops were busy with maintenance of a communication line when they were fired upon and hit by a heavy mortar round." The ISPR further said that three Indian soldiers were killed in exchange of fire and a few others were injured. The incident comes just days after Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat threatened to call the Islamic Republics 'nuclear bluff', a statement that was criticized by the Pakistani leadership. Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said that the statement was very irresponsible and 'not befitting of his office'. New Delhi: Misuse of a penal provision cannot be an argument for not criminalising an act, the Delhi High Court said on Monday while hearing several PILs calling for "criminalisation" of marital rape. The observation by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar assumes significance as one of the reasons given by the Centre for not making marital rape a criminal offence was that it could be "misused". Advocate Karuna Nandy, appearing for NGOS-- RIT Foundation and the All India Democratic Women's Association-- told the court that there might be false complaints lodged by women, but such cases were rare. She said the possibility of false cases being lodged and that it could destabilise the institution of marriage as well as become a tool to harass husbands cannot be a defence for not declaring forcible sexual intercourse between a married couple as an offence. In apparent agreement with the petitioner NGOs, the bench said, "Misuse cannot really be an argument on whether an act should be criminalised or not". While concluding their arguments, the civil society organisations said around 20 million married women in India were victims of marital rape every year. They also argued that since the neighbouring nations of Pakistan and Bhutan have criminalised marital rape and the Sri Lankan Cabinet has forwarded a proposal for doing so, India should follow suit. The court had earlier remarked that the issue had "huge ramifications" and was of "tremendous importance". The Supreme Court, in a historic verdict in October last, held that sexual intercourse with a girl below 18 years of age, even by the husband, would amount to rape. It, thus, read down a provision in the Indian Penal Code of 1860, exempting males from being tried for rape if the wives were between the age of 15 and 18 years. The top court's verdict will have a ramification in the petition pending before the high court. In the original petition before the high court, the NGOs had highlighted that the provision under the IPC did not consider non-consensual sexual intercourse with a wife, above 15 years of age, as rape. The high court is also hearing two intervention applications, one in support of pleas to make marital rape an offence and the other opposing it. The Centre had advocated retaining the exception clause in section 375 (rape), saying child marriages were taking place in India and that the decision to retain a girl's minimum age as 15 years to marry was taken under the amended rape law to protect a couple against criminalisation of their sexual activity. The NGOs' counsel had said that they have challenged the constitutionality of IPC section 375 on the ground that it discriminated against married women being sexually assaulted by their husbands. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire (R) answers questions at news conference on January 11, 2018. Photo: Reuters Paris (Peoples Daily) During an interview in the French weekly Journal Du Dimanche published Sunday, Emmanuel Besnier, CEO of dairy giant Lactalis, responded to his companys latest round of recalls over salmonella concerns. So far 83 countries are on the current recall list accounting for 12 million boxes of baby formula. French authorities confirmed at least 35 infants became ill after consuming milk powder made by Lactalis. We will learn from this crisis and rebuild a stricter sanitary control plan together with the authorities," said the dairy CEO taking full responsibility. Besnier stressed how his company has always focused on their responsibilities, emphasizing that its their job to make sure healthy products are released to the public. There has been no fault of procedure on our part, insisted Besnier, who also said he was obsessed with how his companys dairy products could have become contaminated. After meeting with Besnier, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire announced a recall of all Lactalis products from the Craon plant, regardless of manufacturing date. An investigation has led to 2,500 inspections into operations with more on the way to make sure no contaminated products are sold. Besnier assured that every family affected would be compensated, but did not provide details beyond that. French Government Spokesperson Benjamin Griveaux admired the Lactalis CEOs passion and dedication to consumers and stressed, Compensation is good, but money does not buy everything. Unsure if Besnier's explanations have been sufficient enough, Griveaux promised that no one would go on unspared in the ongoing investigations. Griveaux admitted the French government would take its share of responsibility, especially for the presence of potentially contaminated milk at the nations hospitals, but promised to hold everyone accountable and enact sanctions accordingly. Ratlam: Hindutva groups staged a bandh and protested on the streets in Namli town of Ratlam district in Madhya Pradesh on Monday against the alleged expulsion of 20 students from a school over chanting of Bharat Mata slogan a few days ago. St Joseph Convent School has, however, declined accusations from the Hindutva groups. On Monday the saffron groups reached police station with the affected students and demanded a case to be registered against the school. They also took out a rally before holding public meeting on the issue. Hindutva groups are alleging that the students were ousted from the school just because they chanted Bharat Mata ki jai. Meanwhile, the administration, sensing trouble, has called in for heavy police deployment. We had the usual morning prayer on Jan 11 but soon after some students of class IX started raising slogans of Vande Matram and also kept dancing, MP Catholic Church Associations spokesperson Fr Maria Stephen said. Seeing the students disrespecting Vande Matram, the teacher present on the occasion asked the kids to behave and warned them of stringent action if they did not stop, Stephen added. He further clarified that students were neither debarred from the school nor prevented from taking the exam as reported by a section of the media. Whatever happened at the school was pre-planned, he said. Bajrang Dal functionary Rajesh Parihar, however, claimed that 20 students of St Joseph Convent School Namli were expelled for chanting Bharat Mata ki Jai and sought de-recognition of the school. Superintendent of Police, Ratlam, Amit Singh said that prima facie it did not seem that students were subjected to any undue treatment. Senior officers though are probing the incident. ABVP activists had clashed with police recently after they were denied permission to recite Bharat Mata aarti inside a college in Vidisha district of the state. (with PTI inputs) Jan 15, 2018 14:00 (IST) "I have a reputation for being impatient to get results and so do you PM Netanyahu. We will strength our cooperation in areas that affect the lives of our people i.e. agriculture, science and technology and defence. I welcome Israeli companies to come take advantage of the liberal FDIs in India's defence sector. We will also fecilitate the flow of ideas between both sets of people. We will bring our people closer, with a Indian culture center opening in Israel and we will have an annual programme, wherein 100 young people travelling from India to Israel and vice versa to exchange ideas," says PM Narendra Modi. An unprecedented press briefing by four senior most Supreme Court judges questioning the office of the Chief Justice of India shook the nation on Friday, setting the stage for structural reforms in the higher judiciary. Are there any other scenarios that may pan out in the Supreme Court? News18.com speaks to members of the judiciary to understand what lies ahead. What triggered the historic rebellion' by the four Supreme Court judges? It was an argument early in the morning around 10 am which convinced the four most senior judges in the Supreme Court to go to the people's court. All four had met Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra with a question about the assignment of two PILs on Special CBI Judge BH Loya's death to court No.10, which is headed by Justice Arun Mishra. It is not everyday that sitting judges of the Supreme Court hold a press conference to highlight the issues concerning the judiciary. The four senior-most judges have opened a Pandoras box of unanswered questions. Here, we attempt to decode the tussle. We have all been hearing words & phrases like unprecedented & never ever in independent India to describe the SC judges mutiny. Has it really harmed democracy? Or is this proof that our thriving democracy and its systems are alive and kicking? Here is an easy to digest explainer on what went wrong in court. When the four senior-most Supreme Court judges decided to "address the nation" and "discharge their debt", no other judge in the apex court or even the CJI had any inkling of what was about to happen. Justice Kurian Joseph told reporters in New Delhi that there is no need for outside intervention to solve the matter because its is a matter (that) occurred within an institution. Justice Kurian Joseph, one of the four senior Supreme Court judges who virtually revolted against the country's Chief Justice over "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders, said there was no need for outside intervention to solve the problem. At a time when allocation of important cases among judges in the Supreme Court has resulted in four seniormost judges speaking out openly against the CJI, another development may rattle the ranks. The Supreme Court registry notified eight Constitution Bench cases, which will be heard from January 17. Even though the cases include women-centric issues such as allowing menstruating women to enter Kerala's Sabarimala Temple and making adultery a gender-neutral law, the lone woman judge in the top court doesn't seem to be the part of the adjudication. Never in the history of the SC, except during emergency and Indira Gandhi's time, has there been such interference by the executive. Colin Gonsalves, Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court wrote, It is true that CJI is master of the rolls, but like all discretion and powers that are exercised, those powers need to be exercised transparently and fairly. There is a feeling among a section of the lawyers that the SC has failed to address the concern of the lawyers, and it is not right to say that the power is absolute because no power is ever absolute. Former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice Bashir Ahmed Khan, in an opinion piece for News18.com wrote that the move by these four honourable judges is a double-edged sword. It can either lead to the betterment of and save the judiciary or it can lead to domination of the executive and lead to a washing away of the roots of the judiciary. His message to Chief Justice Dipak Misra: You must now repair the damage. The family of Justice BH Loya said the death of the special CBI judge, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh "fake encounter" case, was being politicised and urged all parties to refrain from taking advantage of the situation. Justice Loyas son, Anuj, said he did not have any doubts about the way his father died three years ago. "I had an emotional turmoil, hence I had suspicions about his death. But now we don't have any doubts about the way he died," he told reporters. In other news, three Bangladeshi inmates escaped from Alipore Central Correctional Home, where they were imprisoned for three years. The inmates were identified as Mohammad Farooq Haoladar, Iman Chaudhuri and Firdaus Sheikh. They were arrested on various charges including robbery, kidnapping and for illegally infiltrating into India. And, yet again, one of our heroes failed us. Aziz Ansari has been accused of sexual assault by a 23-year-old photographer, who claims she went on a date with him in 2017. A 23-year-old woman, who was set on fire after rape allegedly by her father-in-law in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, died during treatment. Benjamin Netanyahu is the first Israeli Prime Minister in 15 years to visit India but he comes at a time when his political standing is at the weakest in his three-decade long career. The grand welcome accorded to him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi may not signal this, but observers in Tel Aviv would be closely watching the takeaways from the visit beyond the optics. On Saturday, Sreejith completed 764 days of protest outside the Kerala State Secretariat, demanding justice for his brother. The 30-year-old alleges that his brother Sreejeev was tortured and killed in police custody in 2014, and is demanding an investigation by the CBI. On reel One of the earliest widespread use of Bitcoins was by the online black marketplace Silk Road, a portal for drug sellers and buyers to conduct transactions without being tracked by authorities. So what does a junkie's medium of exchange have to do with the common person? Watch this explainer for a quick rundown on what the bitcoin philosophy is. (Get a fresh dose of the news that matters, delivered directly to your inbox, every morning. The perfect way, to get you started and informed, for the day ahead. Subscribe to News18 Daybreak here.) Patna: Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmaavat will be releasing on Januray 25 across the country. The Bihar government has not removed the ban on the film and a decision regarding this will be taken in a high-level meeting to be chaired by the chief minister Nitish Kumar. States culture minister Krishna Kumar Rishi on Monday told News18 that he was aware of the cuts and change in the title of the film Padmavati by censor board but the state government would take a final call after reviewing it afresh. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had announced to ban Padmavati in Bihar in December last year amid controversy over portraying Rani Padmini in a bad light. He personally objected the scene in which Padmavati was shown dancing with her associates in the promo of the film. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) cleared the film after changing the title and editing few scenes as demanded by the protestors. Some states like Uttar Pradesh have removed the ban on the film but the Bihar government will examine the changes made by the CBFC. Culture minister Rishi said, We have come to know about changes in the film. But we will take a call after reviewing it. A high-level team will review it afresh and a decision whether to remove the ban will be taken in three-four days. Starting from Rajasthan, the opposition of Deepika Padukone starer Padmavati gained momentum in other states also when a fringe right-wing group Karni Sena raised objections on the portrayal of Rani Padmini of Chittorgarh by the film producers. Karni Sena president Lokendra Kalwi made frequent visits to Patna as well and threatened to disrupt the screening of the film if released on December 1 as previously planned. Islamabad: Pakistan on Monday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh to protest the deaths of four of its soldiers in firing across the Line of Control. The Foreign Office (FO) here said in a statement that India violated the ceasefire agreement in Jandrot sub-sector of Kotli sector, "resulting in the martyrdom of four Pakistani soldiers, while injuring five others". The Indian Army on Monday said seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in its retaliatory firing after a ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir where an infiltration bid was also foiled with the elimination of five militants of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group. Director General (SA & SAARC) Mohammad Faisal summoned Singh and "condemned the unprovoked ceasefire violations by the Indian occupation forces, using heavy mortars," the statement said. He said despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 100 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary in just 15 days, he claimed. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1,900 ceasefire violations," Faisal alleged. He said "deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas and troops carrying out maintenance activities is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws". The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation, he claimed. He also urged India to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct Indian forces to respect the ceasefire in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the working boundary. He said India should permit the UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per UN Security Council resolutions. India maintains that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control (LoC). New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi held comprehensive talks on strategic issues with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday and invited his countrys defence firms to India for co-production, asking them to take advantage of the liberalised FDI norms. Netanyahu, who is on a historic six-day visit to India, called Modi a revolutionary leader as the two countries inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas such as cyber security and gas and oil after extensive delegation-level talks. During the talks, the issue of India voting against Israel at the UN on the Jerusalem issue also figured with Indian officials maintaining that both sides put forth their views. However, the officials asserted that the two leaders agreed that the ties "are not determined by a single issue". India had last month joined 127 other countries to vote in the UN in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of the US to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Terming their talks as "wide-ranging and intensive", Modi, at a joint press event with Netanyahu, said they reviewed the progress in the bilateral relations and agreed that "the possibilities and the opportunities" that beckon the two countries need to be seized. "We will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology, and security...In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime to make more in India with our companies," Modi said. According to a joint statement, the leaders noted the "grave" threat that terrorism poses to peace and security including from non-state actors, and reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds. They advocated strong measures against terrorists, terror outfits, those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups, the statement said. At the press event, Netanyahu said, "Indians and Israelis know too well the pain of terrorist attacks. We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai. We grit our teeth, we fight back, we never give in." The two leaders also noted that the next meeting of the Joint Working Groups on Homeland and Public Security will be held in February 2018, the statement said. They reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space, the statement said. On whether the multi-million Israeli missile Spike deal figured in the talks, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (Economic Relations), did not give a direct answer and said defence and security cooperation was discussed. He did not get into specific details. On defence cooperation, the statement said the two prime ministers consider it important to set the direction for developing more business models and partnerships for joint ventures and joint manufacturing, including transfer of technology as well as joint research and development in defence and security fields. The two leaders asked their respective defence ministries to hold discussions this year with active involvement of the public and private sectors, in order to create the basis for viable, sustainable and long term cooperation in the defence industry, the statement said. The bonhomie between the two leaders was on full display with Modi starting his press statement welcoming Netanyahu in Hebrew and the visiting leader describing the Indian prime minister as a "revolutionary leader". "You are a revolutionary leader and you are revolutionising India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into the future. And you have revolutionised the relations between Israel and India," Netanyahu, popularly known as 'Bibi', said. Dubbing Netanyahu's visit as a "long-anticipated moment in the journey of friendship" between India and Israel, Modi said the visit was also a fitting climax to the commemoration of 25 years of bilateral diplomatic relations and marked a special beginning to the new year calendar. Asserting that their discussions were marked by the desire to do more, Modi said, "Prime Minister, I have a reputation of being impatient in getting results. If I may let out an open secret, I know that so are you." Referring to his visit to Israel last year, Modi said they had promised each other and their people to build a strategic partnership as also progress of diverse and cutting-edge cooperation, and of joint endeavours and shared successes. He said last year in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu had expressed the intent to cut down bureaucratic red tape with a machete and forge ahead with speed. "I am happy to tell you that in India, we are well on our way to doing just that. We have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions," he said, asserting that the results were already visible on the ground. Pune: A 22-year-old post graduate student of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) was found hanging inside her hostel room today afternoon with police officials suspecting that it might be a case of suicide. The deceased has been identified as a second-year student of M.Sc Botany, officials said. University security officials said that three of her roommates in the hostel found the door bolted from inside when they came back in the afternoon. "After repeated knocks on the door did not garner a response from inside, the security guards of the hostel were called. A security guard then scaled the door and peeped through a gap and saw Reshma hanging," said a university security official. The door of the room was broken and police was called, the officials added. Senior police inspector Dayanand Dhome of Chaturshringi police station said the reason for the alleged suicide is not yet known and statements of her family members were being recorded. She hails from Shirur, Dhome said. Smoke and flames rise from the burning Iranian oil tanker Sanchi off the coast of eastern China on January 14, 2018. Photo: AFP Islamabad (Peoples Daily) - Official reports have confirmed the Iranian oil tanker that burst into flames after colliding with a Chinese freight ship in Chinas East Sea on January 6 has sunk. The terrible, tragic incident of fire in our country's oil tanker off the eastern coast of China, which resulted in the martyrdom-like death of its entire crew and hard-working personnel, caused great grief and sorrow for the people of Iran, said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a nationally televised address. National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) owned the Sanchi, the vessel that burst into flames, and remained burning throughout the week. The company reported no survivors. Chinese freighter CF-Crystal was transporting wheat when the collision occurred, and all of 21 of its crewmembers survived. Iranian state-run television (IRNA) reported the fate of the crewmembers on board the oil tanker and said the vessel had been sealed before it sunk. Rouhani called on relevant agencies to investigate the collision and to take any legal action deemed necessary, IRNA reported on Sunday. I, hereby, offer my sincerest condolences to the great nation of Iran, especially their bereaved families with all my heart, and pray to the Almighty for the highest places for those who were the pioneers of the country's economy and innocently lost their lives on the path to working for national authority, and ask the Almighty patience and health for their families, Rhouani said. The Iranian president stressed the importance of identifying the deceased, and to help ease the suffering of those families who lost loved ones from the collision. Press TV, an affiliate of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting network reported that Chinese search and rescue teams had recovered two bodies on Saturday, along with the tankers black box recorder. A body found earlier in the week was believed to be one of the 32 fallen crewmembers that consisted of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. Chinese salvage teams tried to reach the oil tankers living quarters but were kept out due to the fire and back-to-back explosions. An investigation into the collision exploring the reasons that caused the accident are inevitable. Iranian Special Task Force spokesperson Mohammad Rastad said on Saturday there was no hope of finding any surviving crewmembers. "Catastrophic incidents involving tankers and large vessels have been so frequent in the past years that they no longer surprise maritime experts, said the Press TV report and referenced similar incidents in the US and Europe. The report went on to mention that despite advances in navigation technology, human error and the limited maneuverability of cargo ships leave plenty of room for accidents. Even military vessels equipped with anti-collision radar systems more advanced than their commercial peers are not immune to error. Last year, the US Navy was involved in a handful of deadly maritime accidents in the Asia Pacific region ending in the loss of life, a rash of inspections, and subsequent terminations of several high ranking officers. It is not all bad news for the shipping industry as data from insurance firm Allianz suggests that total losses of large ships recorded in 2016 saw a 16 percent decrease involving 85 incidents, with only one lost as a result of collision, said the report. Kolkata: A month after Afrazul Khan, a migrant worker from Bengal's Malda, was killed in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district his family is alleging "a larger conspiracy" behind the murder. The victim's relatives allege that Afrazul, who was slain with an axe and then set on fire on 6 December last year, was killed by right wing group members to observe 'Shaurya Divas' that marked the 25th anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya in 1992. The video of 50-year-old Afrazul's horrific murder, where the victim could be heard screaming for mercy, was recorded and posted on a social network website by a civil contractor Shambhulal Regar. Police later arrested the accused and filed a chargesheet. Speaking to News18 from Sayedpur village in Malda, Afrazul's cousin, Nur Islam, said: "The accused Shambhulal Regar's allegation that he killed Afrazul for love jihad is false and fabricated. He made the love jihad excuse to gain the sympathy of right wing groups." "After Afrazul was killed, we conducted our own inquiry through other migrant labourers from Malda who were in Rajsamand and came to know that it was an attempt to bring notice to the Babri Masjid demolition on 6 December. Regars mother is also a daily wage labourer and it is possible that someone approached him with money for the job. There are reports that a day after the killing there was a transaction in Regars bank account; the amount was a few lakh of rupees. We want to know who had deposited the amount in his account and why?" asked Nur Islam. Asked about the girl from Regar's locality in Rajsamand who fled and married a Malda youth, Nur Islam said, "That is a separate case and has no relation with Afrazul. Regar is sensing that he could be behind jail for life for his crime and is trying to misguide the police with this 'love jihad' angle and is accusing Afrazul of helping the girl to flee home. This is completely false and I was told that even the Rajasthan police mentioned this in their charge-sheet." Afrazul's wife Gulbahar Bibi is yet to recover from the shock and was unable to talk. Speaking about 'love jihad', on an earlier occasion, she had said, "This is a false and fabricated charge. My husband was never involved in any such case. He was working in Rajasthan for the past two decades and he never faced such problems before. This incident is a part of big conspiracy and I suspect influential people are behind this incident." On the day Afrazul was murdered, he called his wife in the morning and asked her to withdraw money which he had deposited in her account in a bank in Malda. He also inquired about his daughters. That was the last time Gulbahar spoke to him. Tafazzul Khan, Afrazul's brother, questioned why Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and Union home minister Rajnath Singh kept mum about Regar's brutal crime. The Bar Council of India chairman Manan Mishra has said that the issues raised by the four dissenting top judges of the Supreme Court have been resolved. We did not want any political party to take advantage of the situation, said Mishra, while addressing a press meet on Monday. There seems to be some headway in the Supreme Court crisis. All the judges of the top court, including the four dissenting judges, met over tea at 10.15am on Monday. Sources said there was a consensus that issues need to be solved institutionally. In an unprecedented press address, four sitting judges of the Supreme Court on Friday held a press conference, saying that the administration of the top court is not in order and many "things less than desirable" have happened in last few months. The judges addressing the media were Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph. Stay tuned as Sanchari Chatterjee brings to you LIVE updates: New Delhi: Things heated up along the Line of Control on Monday after the Indian Army killed seven Pakistani soldiers on the Line of Control in retaliatory action in Kashmirs Poonch District. On December 19, during the winter session of Parliament, the government informed the Lok Sabha that Pakistan had violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) a total of 771 times. This was a 230% spike from 2016. Together with ceasefire violations along the International Border (IB), the total number of ceasefire violations in Jammu and Kashmir stood at 881. Pakistan, too, hit back at India and in December claimed that India had violated the ceasefire agreement more than 1,300 times in 2017. With ceasefire violations along the heavily militarised LoC becoming the norm, rather than the exception, is the 2003 ceasefire agreement effectively dead? Responding to Pakistans allegations of ceasefire violations, Indias Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawat said Indias violations were only aimed at counter-terror ops and it struck Pakistani troops only when they were aiding and abetting terrorism. Despite the grim picture of ceasefire violations in 2017, the Army Chiefs tone and tenor was positive. General Rawat claimed that the pressure on the Pakistani Army was working and the two nations may soon be able to return to more stable times. Our Ceasefire violations are only in count-terror ops. But we saw that terrorists are a disposable commodity for Pakistan. Unless Pakistan Army faces pain, they will not stop infiltration. Even they will respond with violations. But I can assure you that their casualties are higher. If we see a drop in infiltration, we are willing to consider an absolute ceasefire and go back to the 2003 situation. The Army has been told to conduct operations in the manner we deem fit, the Army Chief said on Friday. He said that Pakistan has been reaching out to India to negotiate a return to the 2003 situation. This, he said, was an indication that Indias tactic of putting pressure directly on the Pakistan Army was succeeding. So where does that leave the ceasefire agreement of 2003, agreed upon by the governments of General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee 15 years ago? Is it time to pronounce it dead? According to Lieutenant General (retired) DS Hooda, who was the architect of Indias 2016 surgical strikes against terror launch pads in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), the agreement has been dead for a very long time. Interestingly, however, the agreement was never a formally written, signed one. Prior to 2003, the situation along the LoC and the IB was pretty bad. When the agreement was made in 2003, it was never really put down on paper. As I understand, it was a verbal agreement between the two sides. Pakistan was the one to initiate the ceasefire by asking for it and we agreed to it, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Hooda said. For the first ten years of the agreement, there was relative peace and calm along the LoC. From 2003 to 2012, no major incidents took place along the LoC. We only reported some minor incidents. For examples, one of the provisions of the ceasefire agreement was that no new posts would be constructed within a 500 meters radius of the line. Sometimes, when we would see them strengthening their defences or they would see us doing the same, there would be some warning shots fired. Now, technically, even a single round fired is a ceasefire violation. So they counted as violations. But apart from minor incidents, nothing major happened there for the first ten years, said Hooda. Then came January 8, 2013. India alleged that a Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) had crossed over into India, ambushed an Indian Army patrol and killed two soldiers. One of the two soldiers who died was beheaded, which sparked outrage across India. Pakistan flatly denied the claim. A livid Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid vowed India would respond with a proportionate response. Khurshids comments were followed by a series of border skirmishes between India and Pakistan, three in the month of January alone. That incident, said Hooda, changed the dynamic on the border and the LoC. In 2011, there were just 62 minor incidents of ceasefire violations. The number in 2012 was similar. In 2013, that number spiked to 347. Things were never the same after that. In 2013 alone, several major incidents were reported, including beheadings. Earlier, these violations were limited to warning shots. After 2013, the LoC saw a return of mortar shelling and rockets being launched, Hooda said. But is the Army Chiefs assessment that a return to the 2003 situation is within the realm of likelihood correct? Yes, says Hooda, but with riders. Two things need to happen. Before we go back to that situation, we will need to maintain sustained pressure on the Pakistan Army for some more time. Unless we hit them where it hurts, no strategy will succeed. Secondly, any new ceasefire agreement must be tied to some tangible reduction in infiltration and terrorism emanating from Pakistani soil. If both these things happen, I believe that a fresh ceasefire agreement is both likely and desirable. After all, the Indian Army doesnt want any bloodshed. It is our boys who die at the LoC. Bhopal: Two tigers were found dead in Seoni and Kanha reserves of Madhya Pradesh in the last 24 hours. The carcass of an adult tiger with its paws chopped off was found in Barghat area of Seoni on Saturday. The animal's body appears to be at least four-day old as most of its parts had decomposed. Chief Conservator of Forest Dhirendra Bhargav said the carcass was spotted by a patrolling team on Kanha-Pench corridor. An inquiry has been ordered into the incident and other details would be known only after a post-mortem report, he said. In another case, a tigress was found dead in the Kisli range of the Kanha reserve. The carcass seemed around three days old and it was believed that a male tiger had killed it, an officer from the forest department claimed. Several body organs also reportedly missing from the carcass. However, the forest department did not confirm the mortality till the story was filed. On Jan 3, 2018; a decomposed body of a tiger was found at Balaghat, which was reported to be the first tiger death this year. According to National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), MP has topped the list in terms of tiger mortalities in 2017 with 25 big cat deaths while volunteers put the figure much higher. Bhopal: Hundreds of women from all age groups in Madhya Pradesh are penning down their messages on sanitary napkins to voice their dissent against the 12% GST on essential hygiene item. It all started in Gwalior earlier this month when a group of volunteer activists came together and encouraged women to participate in this unique campaign. The campaign aims to make women aware about menstrual hygiene and also raise voice against Centres move to tax the product. The volunteers believe it should be either subsidized or taxed at nominal prices. One of them, Harimohan Bhasneria, told News18 that menstrual hygiene is a serious issue in Madhya Pradesh as elsewhere in India so they decided to use social media to voice against the high taxes levied on the sanitary napkins. We used social media and personal groups to propagate this campaign. Its now a nationwide campaign with people from different states joining in, he said. The activist said that he is being flooded with calls from physicians who wish to extend support to this campaign. Sanitary pads which earlier attracted 5% VAT have been placed under 12% tax in GST, kicking up furor from across the country. Volunteers from across the nation have agreed to gather at New Delhi on March when we would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hand him a memorandum, said the Gwalior-based volunteer activist working on social issues. The activists want to share all these messages with the Prime Minister which also have the contact numbers of the women concerned if anyone wants to cross check the veracity of the campaign. One of the physicians associated with the campaign, Dr Shweta Sahay, MD (Medicine) from Gwalior told News18 that unhygienic menstrual practices result in a number of diseases in women. Adding another perspective to the health issue, Dr Sahay claimed that women from low income groups and in rural areas end up losing working hours as they are forced to stay at home because they cant afford sanitary napkins. The awareness on the menstrual hygiene is also low, she said. Rolly Shivhare, a prominent woman activist from Bhopal, claimed that Centre, it seems, is driven by the very idea of male dominated society as it exempts bindi and make-up items from GST and taxes sanitary pads heavily which are actually way more important for the hygiene of thousands of women. They want women to look sanskari but dont give a damn about their health and hygiene, she said. With cotton getting costlier, women who cant afford sanitary pads are increasingly going for synthetic fabric leading to more health complications, she claimed demanding availability of these pads at nominal rates at ration shops to promote usages. Shivhare said that because menstruation is a taboo, many women also dont choose to speak about it openly. Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board Chairman Wasim Rizvi said on Sunday that he had received a threat call from a man, claiming to be an aide of fugitive mafia don Dawood Ibrahim, who threatened to blow up him and his family. Following Rizvi's complaint, the Lucknow police has lodged an FIR and initiated a probe. "I received the call last night in which caller took the name of Dawood and threatened to blow me up and my family for my stand on madrassa education and other issues," Rizvi, who has also favoured a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, told reporters here. The caller refused to identify himself but asked me to seek pardon from 'Maulanas' claiming Dawood Ibrahim was annoyed, Rizvi said. The Shia Waqf Board chairman said that he had informed the police and also given the caller's phone number. An FIR was lodged at the Sahadatganj police station in old Lucknow city and the matter is being probed, an official said. Rizvi had last week written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath suggesting that madrassas should be shut down as the Islamic institutions bred terrorists. He alleged that education imparted in these Islamic schools encouraged students to join terrorist ranks and sought that madrassas be replaced by schools affiliated to the CBSE or the ICSE which will offer students the optional subject of Islamic education. He claimed that madrassas were mushrooming in almost every city, town and village and were providing "misplaced and misconceived religious education" and alleged that funds to run the madrassas were also coming from Pakistan and Bangladesh and that even some terror outfits were assisting them. His suggestion, however, did not go down well with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), whose spokesman Khalilur Rehman Sajjad Nomani said madrasas had played a key role in the freedom movement and by raising questions, Rizvi was insulting them. The Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind went a step further when it served a legal notice on Rizvi for making 'defamatory' remarks about madrassas. The notice accused Rizvi of "insinuating" that madrassa education system had not contributed to the progress of young Muslims, but had in fact created a sense of fundamentalism in them without any data backing his comments. It sought for a written and unconditional apology from Rizvi and a payment of Rs 20 crore towards damages. In October, Rizvi had met the Art of Living founder in Bengaluru and apprised him of the Shia Board's stand that a Ram temple should be built at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was that time holding mediation talks on the Ayodhya issue. The Shia Waqf Board is drafting the terms and conditions of a mutual agreement, he had said, adding that the board did not want any mosque to be constructed at Ram's birth place. Rizvi had also said that the number of mosques in Ayodhya were sufficient for the Muslims residing there and there was no need for a new mosque. "Instead it should be constructed elsewhere in a Muslim populated area," he had suggested. Rizvi has also supported the BJP government on the Triple Talaq issue. Sri Lanka's president on Sunday reimposed a four-decade-long ban on women buying liquor, just days after his finance minister had lifted the restriction. Maithripala Sirisena said he had ordered Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to revoke his decision last week to overturn the 1979 law prohibiting the sale of any type of alcohol to women. "From tomorrow (Monday), the minister's order will be rescinded," Sirisena's office said in a statement, which added that the status quo will be restored but offered no explanation. The reversal comes after a finance ministry official told AFP Samaraweera had revoked the 39-year-old law in an effort to strike sexist bills from the statute books. "The idea was to restore gender neutrality," ministry spokesman Ali Hassen said of the decision Wednesday to roll back the ban. But last week's decision to relax laws on alcohol provoked a backlash in some quarters of the majority-Buddhist nation of 21 million people. The National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection had accused the finance minister of encouraging drinking, and had urged Sirisena to intervene and restore the restrictions. Under further new measures passed by Samaraweera, bars and pubs can remain open longer, and a ban on women working in bars, distilleries and breweries was lifted. But Sirisena's office said he was reducing the time period that bars could be open. It was not clear from Sirisena's statement Sunday if the decision to allow women to work in the alcohol industry had also been reversed. The ban on women buying liquor was likely originally imposed in 1979 to appease the conservative Buddhist hierarchy at the time, a finance ministry official told AFP. Liquor vendors in Sri Lanka are also forbidden to sell spirits to police or members of the armed forces in uniform. Samaraweera has said that strict curbs on Sri Lanka's licensed liquor manufacturers only encourage a black market for spirits, and deprive the state of much-needed revenue. Sri Lanka in its November budget unveiled steep tax rises on hard liquor, but greatly reduced tariffs on wine and beer. Sitting by a tent in the vast, sun-bleached Mauritanian desert, 71-year-old Elisabeth Godin smiles, unconcerned about her safety despite warnings from her friends and family. For most of the last decade, the spectacular dunes, barren canyons and oases of the Adrar region have been a no-go zone for European nationals. The danger of terrorist attacks and kidnappings is still real, reflected by Mauritania's decision to join four other countries in fighting jihadism in the Sahel. But after France eased its assessment of the security risk for the Adrar, a tiny number of French visitors are now returning, stirring hopes for the blighted local economy. "I missed the Sahara. The colours of the dunes, the wind on the sand, the starry skies," Godin, a retiree from La Rochelle in western France said. "When I sleep under the stars in the middle of the camp, I feel like I'm in a cocoon," she said, on a rocky plateau surrounded by acacia trees. Centuries ago the ancient Mauritanian towns of Chinguetti, Oualata, Tichitt and Wadan were key hubs for the camel caravan trade, which would snake across the Sahara selling gold and salt. "Ever since I was a kid I was fascinated by the legends of the great caravans," said an awestruck visitor, Guillaume Jordan. - Jihadist blow - Adrar, a region 400 kilometres (250 miles) northeast of the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, once had had a small but thriving excursion business, offering the extremes and the beauty of the desert to European travellers with a taste for adventure. In the 2000s, the region drew up to 14,000 visitors a year, mainly from France -- which, as the former colonial power, has a deep affinity with Mauritania -- but also the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Japan and Britain. But the activity was dealt a crippling blow when four French tourists were shot dead in 2007, an attack claimed by an Al-Qaeda affiliate. The following year, another local money-spinner, the celebrated Paris-Dakar off-road auto rally, was cancelled because of security concerns. The race was later relocated to South America. The tour business staggered on before all but drying up in 2011 after further jihadist attacks. The first seeds of hope were sown last March, when the French foreign ministry gave a cautious downgrade of the region's security risk. It rated the risk as "orange," meaning that travel there is "not advised except for essential reasons." Encouraged by the change, the French tour company Point-Afrique Voyages, relaunched chartered flights between Paris and Atar, the main regional city, at Christmas -- the first to fly this route since 2011. A total of 14 flights -- supported by some 350,000 euros ($422,000) in subsidies by the Mauritanian government -- have been scheduled until March 24. The flights are already half-filled, with more than 1,000 visitors signed up, says Point-Afrique Voyages. "Since the flights to Atar resumed, the figures for people coming by land have also risen," said Mohammed Ba ould Ne, head of Mauritania's National Tourism Office. Kadi Mehdi, director of Mauritanides Voyages, described 2018 as "a test season" for a revival of European visitors. The tourism industry's big challenge is to prove the country is safe, he said. "Dozens of police are constantly patrolling the area. We do not see them, but they are there," said Mehdi. - 'Benefits of tourism' - The flights and growing trickle of visitors provide hope to the many guides, camel owners and hoteliers who have been unemployed, many of whom are the economic victims of terrorism. "We have been at a near standstill for almost a decade. Now that planes are arriving, the city (Chinguetti) is starting to live again," said hostel owner Lemine Bahan. The trickle-down benefits of tourism should not be under-estimated, said Point-Afrique Voyages director, Maurice Freund. Mauritania is part of the so-called G5 Sahel group, which also includes Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger. These countries are setting up a five-nation force to combat extremists. "Mauritania has made enormous efforts to secure its territory," Freund said. But "military force will never solve the problems alone," he said. "Tourism is a tool for peace." After being accused of sexual misconduct in 2017 by a 23-year-old photographer, actor and comedian Aziz Ansari responded to the allegations through a statement. His accuser, a woman identified only as 'Grace', claimed that she felt violated after a date with the creator and star of Netflix's award-winning show Master of None and what was supposed to be an exciting evening ended with her crying in a cab on her way back home. Ansari, who was born in North Carolina to Tamil parents, has been previously lauded for being a voice of empowerment for people of color and other minority groups in the usually monochromatic world of Hollywood. His comedy routines and Netflix show regularly address issues of race, sexuality, religion, and power dynamics, while Ansari himself is often to referred as a "most woke bae". Besides making history by becoming the first Asian-American to win a Golden Globe for Best Actor (comedy or musical series) just last week, Ansari also proudly flaunted his Time's Up pin at the glitzy award ceremony. Since Grace's interview was published in Babe, Ansari has come under fire from various groups and individuals who are calling him out over the incident. Since then, Ansari issued the below statement: In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual. The next day, I got a text from her saying that although it may have seemed okay, upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable. It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned. I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said. I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue. - Aziz Ansari Bengaluru: The third player in Karnataka politics, the Janata Dal (S), has finally joined the raging debate over Hindutva between the ruling Congress and the main opposition BJP ahead of assembly polls due in April or May this year. The JDS founder and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his son, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, broke their long silence on Sankranthi festival day, ending the endless speculations over their stand. Even though Congress and BJP are at each other's throat over who is a better Hindu, the top brass of JDS had maintained radio silence and not taken any sides. On Monday, interacting with the media at his house, Deve Gowda took on the BJP questioning communal polarisation in the name of Hindutva. The former PM said "the fundamental philosophy of Hinduism is tolerance of other faiths. That is real Hinduism. The BJP talks about Hindutva. If you don't tolerate other religions, how can you call it Hinduvta or Hinduism? Innocent people have been killed in coastal Karnataka. Who killed them? For what? Is it Hindutva of BJP?" He said that Adi Shankaracharya had revived Hinduism and he was the real protector of Hindu beliefs and religion. He added that his Hinduism was Adi Shankara's Hinduism. Gowda, who has just completed 'Shatha Chandi Yaaga' (an elaborate 15 days long Havan to appease the Goddess Chandika) at Shringeri, said he had performed it for the welfare of the state and "not the destruction of someone". In an oblique reference to BJP CM face BS Yeddyurappa, he said that someone had performed a 'Shatha Chandi Yaaga' at Kollur to destroy his political rivals. Kumaraswamy also attacked the BJP over its Hindutva ideology and called them the anathema to Karnataka politics. The sudden decision of the Gowdas to join the issue with BJP has led to a lot of speculations in political circles. Some see it as Gowda's attempts to keep all the options open in case of a hung Assembly. Some argue that Gowda has sent out a strong message to the BJP that he may prefer Congress over the saffron party if the elections throw up a fractured mandate. Other political analysts feel that Gowda is trying to woo Muslim and Christian voters who form almost 15% of state's population by attacking the BJP. According to insiders, Gowda family is divided over their post poll strategy. He and his elder son, HD Revanna, favour power sharing with the Congress and Kumaraswamy wants to go with the BJP if no single party manages to get a simple majority. The BJP has already set the tone for the elections by labeling Congress an anti-Hindu party. The BJP president Amit Shah and UP CM Yogi Adityanath have addressed a few public meetings in Karnataka calling Siddaramaiah an anti-Hindu chief minister. Siddaramaiah has hit back at the BJP claiming that he is a better Hindu and the BJP is a fake Hindu party. Photo: Krabi Marine Police Bangkok (People's Daily)- Five Chinese were severely injured in a speedboat explosion accident in Koh Phi Phi Ley of Thailand on Sunday, according to the to the Consulate-General of China in Songkhla. The speedboat King Poseidon carrying some 30 passengers exploded on Sunday afternoon in front of Viking Bay in Koh Phi Phi Ley of Thailand due to a faulty fuel supply line, local media Phuket News said. Photo: chinaqw.com All 27 Chinese on board have been rescued, the Consulate-General said. The injured have been taken to a local hospital. Ma Cuihong, Vice Consul General in Songkhla, paid a visit to the wounded tourists after the incident. She said that the wounded will be taken good care in the hospital, before noting that local police are investigating the accident. The boat left from Thai Morning Sun Pier in Koh Sirae, Phuket at 9:30 am heading to Phi Phi Island before exploding in front of the so-called Viking Cave, according to the Phuket Gazette. Chennai: Even as Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan are working on their respective political plans, S Gurumurthy, Editor of Thuglak magazine, said Kamal's ideology matches with the Dravidian politics, while that of Rajinikanth's is inclined towards the BJP. At Thuglak's 48th annual readers' meet on Sunday, Gurumurthy said: "Kamal Haasan's speech makes one think that his ideology is akin to the Dravidian ideology. He cannot be a change to the corrupt Dravidian parties... If there is a situation where BJP and Rajnikanth can work together, say, there is Narendra Modi photo on one side and Rajinikanth photo on the other then we need not worry about the future of Tamil Nadu." On November 5 last year, at a function of mark the 39th anniversary of his fan and welfare club, Kamal Hassan said he will surely start a party and enter politics. A month later, Rajinikanth, on December 31, announced his entry into politics. In an interview to CNN-News18's Zakka Jacob, Kamal Haasan while identifying himself as a "rationalist" said Rajinikanth is a "suitable ally" of the BJP. "He seems like a more suitable ally for the saffron party because of his religious beliefs, while I am a rationalist," said Haasan. Rajinikanth, while announcing his entry into politics, said he wants to usher in spiritual politics. "We have to create a spiritual politics with no caste and religion barrier. My cornerstones would be honesty, transparency, secularity and spiritual politics. Spiritual politics according to me means fair and just politics," he said announcing his entry into politics. Both the stars are working on the blueprint of the party that they are set to launch. They are reaching out to people through apps and websites, trying to garner support of the voters. With people wondering if it is possible for the two actors to join hands, Kamal, in his weekly column in a regional magazine, said that he won't antagonise friends. "People ask me if I will make my friends as enemies in this (political) journey. I won't make my friends my enemies & do that blame game politics to withstand & get a place in politics. That won't be my way and even people won't like that," he wrote in the magazine. New Delhi: Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on Monday approved the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's 'doorstep delivery' scheme, which aims to ensure home delivery of 40 government services to residents of the national capital. The move had hit a roadblock last month when the L-G had sent a note to the Delhi Government with a list of objections, which had sparked a war of words between the L-G and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. With the L-G's nod on Monday, the scheme looks to move full steam ahead. But what is the 'doorstep delivery' scheme all about? "Hon'ble Lt. Governor, Delhi Sh. Anil Baijal has approved the Cabinet decision pertaining to "Door Step delivery of public services" as Hon'ble Chief Minister assured that the government will simultaneously work to plug the gaps in the digital delivery of services from the 'application' to the 'delivery' stage in the present system of providing services 'on-line' by enabling young entrepreneurs to come up with 'internet kiosks' with adequate safeguards, from where the services can be accessed. Hon'ble CM also assured that a suitable financial model will also be worked out to provide soft loan, if needed, to the educated unemployed to set up these 'kiosks'," a statement from Raj Niwas on Monday read. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a tweet, thanked the L-G for approving the scheme. "Hon'ble .@LtGovDelhi approves Delhi govt's scheme for "Doorstep delivery of services". All citizens of Delhi are grateful to u sir. Thank u," Kejriwal tweeted on Monday. Honble .@LtGovDelhi approves Delhi govts scheme for Doorstep delivery of services. All citizens of Delhi are grateful to u sir. Thank u. Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) January 15, 2018 According to the Delhi government, over 25 lakh transactions take place annually for the 40 services in question. On average, each person has to visit a government office at least four times to get their work done. Delhi government's scheme aims to relieve citizens of this commute by offering them doorstep delivery of such services. Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, in a press conference last month, had said citizens can now call a Delhi government call center, after which a 'Mobile Sahayak' will come to their house. "Under our doorstep delivery system, all people have to do is place a phone call. Someone from Delhi Government will come to your house and help you with all your paperwork. You don't even have to fill a form yourself," Sisodia had said. He added that the 'Mobile Sahayak' would ask the concerned resident for the time best suited to them and schedule his visit accordingly. A nominal fee would be charged and immediately after the visit, the resident will receive a feedback phone call that will confirm whether the Mobile Sahayak has charged them the correct amount or not. Ahmedabad: Vishwa Hindu Parishads international president Pravin Togadia was found at hospital here late on Monday after he was reported untraceable since morning after a Rajasthan police team arrived to arrest him for his involvement in an old murder case. Chandramani Hospital in Ahmedabad said that Togadia was brought to the hospital with low sugar and in a unconscious condition at 9.20 pm. Doctors say his condition is stable now. Earlier, the VHP claimed that the Hindutva leader, who is given Z plus security cover, was detained by the Rajasthan police, but cops denied it and said they had no clue about his whereabouts. Four teams have been formed to trace the Hindutva leader. Neither Rajasthan police nor Gujarat police has arrested Pravin Togadia. A team of Rajasthan police had come to Ahmedabad, but could not find him. A while before the team arrived at his house, he left in an autorickshaw with another person. We have no clue about his whereabouts right now, joint commissioner (Crime), J K Bhatt said on Monday evening. But this was not enough to calm the frayed tempers of angry VHP workers, who vandalized a police station, blocked a highway held and protests in different parts of Ahmedabad and Surat demanding that the "missing" leader be traced soon. Addressing the media, Bhatt clarified that the briefing had been called with the sole aim of conveying the message that Togadia has not been arrested by police of any state. "Hundreds of VHP workers had assembled outside the Sola police station in Ahmedabad believing that the Ahmedabad police had detained Togadia. We have reasoned out with them and also spoke at length with Ranchhod Bharwad, the state VHP president, that Togadia has not been arrested or detained," Bhatt told the media. CCTV footage of places around his house at Ghatlodia and around the VHP headquarters at Paldi is being scanned for clues about his whereabouts. State VHP spokesperson Hemendra Trivedi told News 18 that this case is a decade old murder case registered in Gangapur of Rajasthan. "This case was registered when Ashok Gehlot was the chief minister of Rajasthan. This is clearly and attempt to tarnish the image of Dr Togadia and we will launch a nationwide protest if he is really arrested by the police," Trivedi stated. Meanwhile, political circles were abuzz with rumours that Togadia could have been tipped off about the Rajasthan police team by someone in Gujarat police. Togadia left his home only about half an hour before the team of Rajasthan police could reach his house. Despite enjoying Z category security, he and another unidentified person left in an auto rickshaw without any security guards accompanying him. New Delhi: The BJP today took a dig at Rahul Gandhi after he started his first tour of Uttar Pradesh as Congress president with a temple visit, saying that it was "just for show". BJP general secretary Arun Singh said if Gandhi was serious about visiting temples, he would have gone to one for blessings when he was elevated to the post of party president. "It is our tradition that we go to temples and seek divine blessings after assuming a new responsibility. He did not go to any temple when he became Congress president while he had been visiting temples during the Gujarat polls. It just highlights that his temple visits are just for show," Singh told reporters here. He said Gandhi was in "pitiable" frame of mind as the Congress has been losing one election after another and has been "wiped out" even in the Gandhi family pocket borough of Amethi. Gandhi represents Amethi in the Lok Sabha. The BJP had won a majority of the Assembly seats there in last year's UP polls and fared well in local elections later. The Congress president today began his two-day UP tour with a visit to a Hanuman temple on his way to Amethi from Lucknow. Lucknow: On her 62nd birthday, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Supremo Mayawati wanted to know why was BJP afraid of holding elections through paper ballots. Addressing a press conference in the city, Mayawati said: "If BJP leaders consider themselves honest and believe in their work, why are they afraid of conducting future elections through ballot papers, instead of EVMs?" The debate over the authenticity of EVMs has been on for nearly an year now. Other political parties, including the Congress and Samajwadi Party, too, previously raised the possibility of tampering with EVMs. The Election Commission, however, has rejected the charge. Soon after cutting the birthday cake, Mayawati attacked both BJP and Congress, and accused them of being hand-in-glove. She even released the 13th edition of book "Mere Sangharshmay Jeevan Evam BSP Movement Ka Safarnama" (A Travelogue on My Struggle and BSP Movement). On being asked about the alliance for 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, Mayawati said, "I have answered the questions regarding alliance many times earlier too," and left the dais. In November 2017, during a meet of party workers for civic body polls in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati had said that to stop communal forces from coming in power, BSP is not against any kind of alliance with secular parties, provided BSP gets respectable number of seats. Also, it was revealed how BSP General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra had held meetings with Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad regarding seat sharing during the recently concluded Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections. However nothing substantial came out of it. Mayawati also attacked Congress and asked the party to explain why Baba Saheb had to resign in 1951? Why Congress did not implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission? "Today the BJP is also trying to change the constitution, which is very dangerous. Today the judiciary is also witnessing an infighting and that is a cause for concern," said Mayawati, before adding that BJP might hold Assembly elections of eight states along with the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Iran on Saturday lifted restrictions on the messaging app Telegram, the state news agency IRNA said, after blocking the popular service as security forces sought to contain the most widespread public protests in the country since 2009. "An informed source announced that the filtering of the Telegram messenger has been ended and it is being used by users," IRNA reported. At least 22 people have died and 1,000 people have been arrested in the anti-government protests that began in late December. As the protests ebbed, the government last week lifted restrictions imposed on Instagram, one social media tool used to mobilise protesters. But access to the more widely used messaging app Telegram was still blocked, suggesting authorities remained uneasy about the possibility of further protests. Telegram, with 40 million users in Iran, in late December shut down a channel that Tehran had accused of encouraging violence. But it declined to block other channels, prompting Iranian authorities to block access to the app. Many Iranians access Telegram using virtual private networks (VPNs) and other tools to bypass government filtering of the Internet, residents said. But officials said hundreds of companies using the app for their marketing and sales had been hard-hit by the social media restrictions, and President Hassan Rouhani was quoted as saying about 100,000 people had lost their jobs. Thousands of government supporters have staged rallies in a backlash against the protests, which posed the boldest challenge to the Islamic establishment since widespread unrest in 2009 over alleged election fraud. Iran continues to impose restrictions on the Internet and social media, with Facebook and Twitter still blocked. LG V30+ Review: An Alternate to OnePlus 5T and Samsung Galaxy S8 Several OnePlus buyers have reported fraudulent credit card transactions after they bought something from the official OnePlus website. The issue has been raised in the official OnePlus Forum and the company has said that they are already investigating it. I purchased two phones with two different credit cards, first on 11-26-17 and second on 11-28-17. Yesterday I was notified on one of the credit cards of suspected fraudulent activity, I logged onto credit card site and verified that there were several transactions that I did not make, a buyer said in the forum. Also read: Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) First Impressions Review: Power Packed For Rs 32,999 The company has alerted buyers to be touch with their banks for any suspicious transactions while they investigate these fraud transactions. If you suspect that your credit card info has been compromised, please check your card statement and contact your bank to resolve any suspicious charges. They will help you initiate a chargeback and prevent any financial loss, said a OnePlus staff member named Mingyu. The fraud claims are mostly made by buyers who made credit card payments directly on oneplus.net. So, if you use any third party like PayPal, you should be safe. OnePlus is conducting a complete audit of their website. Here is the official statement from OnePlus regarding the issue. WATCH VIDEO: LG V30+ Review | An Alternate to OnePlus 5T and Samsung Galaxy S8 Ramallah: Palestinian leaders met on Monday to plan a response to what they see as US President Donald Trump's attack on their long bid for statehood, after Mahmud Abbas denounced White House peace efforts as the "slap of the century". The rare meeting of the Palestinian Central Council - a high-ranking arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation - was called after Trump's controversial December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state, and president Abbas has said Trump's stance means the US can no longer be the mediator in peace talks with Israel. The US president has sought to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, with talks stalled since 2014. Speaking late on Sunday at the opening of the council, which brings together Palestinians from multiple political parties, Abbas told delegates: "We said 'no' to Trump, 'we will not accept your project.'" "The deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it," the 82-year-old leader added, referring to Trump's pledge to reach the "ultimate deal". He instead called for an internationally mediated peace process. Israel is unlikely to accept any other mediator than the United States, accusing United Nations bodies of systematic bias against it. The delegates began meeting Monday morning, with talks expected to end in the evening with a joint statement. The last meeting of the PCC in 2015 called for ending security coordination with Israel, but its decisions were non-binding and it was never implemented. The Palestinians' relations with the US leadership have deteriorated rapidly since Trump's election. He came to power promising to lead the most pro-Israel administration in history, but also to pursue a peace deal. His envoys, including senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, had been shuttling between the two sides in search of common ground. But Trump also infuriated the Palestinians by refusing to commit to the idea of an independent Palestinian state, and recently threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid. The Jerusalem announcement prompted the Palestinians to freeze ties with the administration, and Abbas is expected to shun Vice President Mike Pence when he visits the region next week. Last night, Abbas attacked the US ambassadors to Israel and the United Nations, David Friedman and Nikki Haley, calling them a "disgrace". Both Trump appointees have been strong supporters of Israel, with Friedman having backed Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. An indignant Abbas also said that Trump had accused them of refusing to engage in peace negotiations. "May God demolish your house. When did we refuse?" he said, using a common Arabic curse. Israeli media focused heavily on the phrase on Monday, while Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the statement showed Abbas was "losing his wits and giving up negotiations". In a speech during a visit to India today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mention Abbas's comments. Abbas said all options were on the table for responding to Trump's Jerusalem declaration, but did not specifically mention suspending recognition of Israel or ending security coordination with the Jewish state - both policies mooted in the days before the council. He did, however, say the Oslo accords that led to the creation of his Palestinian Authority and envisioned a final resolution to the conflict were in effect finished. "I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo. Israel ended Oslo," he said, referring to persistent Israeli settlement building and other issues seen as eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict. In response to Abbas's comments, the European Union said its position on the conflict remains "based on the Oslo accords". "A negotiated two-state solution which fulfils the aspirations of both sides, Israel and Palestine, is the only realistic way of bringing the lasting peace and security that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve," European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters in Brussels. France, which organised an international conference in support of the two-state solution a year ago, issued a similar reaction, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow "understands" Abbas's anger. "For years they made concessions without receiving anything in return," Lavrov said at an annual press conference in Moscow. "We constantly hear that the US is about to unveil an important deal that would satisfy all sides. We have not seen this kind of document." Washington: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that a program that protects illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children from being deported would "probably" be discontinued. Trump has said he would end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA, and his Twitter comments on Sunday came as lawmakers worked on a bipartisan compromise on immigration policy. Efforts to extend the program are further complicated because it could make a funding bill to avert a government shutdown due Friday more difficult. "DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our military," Trump said on Twitter. But he left a door open that a deal could be reached with Democrats in Congress. A US judge ruled last Tuesday that DACA should remain in effect until legal challenges brought in multiple courts are resolved. The debate over immigration policy became increasingly acrimonious after it was reported on Thursday that the president described immigrants from Haiti and Africa as coming from "shithole countries" in a private meeting with lawmakers. The comments led to harsh recriminations from Democrats and Republicans alike, even as bipartisan talks continued in Congress. It has distracted from the policy discussion of not only DACA but of broader issues like immigration based on merit, which the president says he favours over a policy of family reunification, what he calls "chain immigration." "I hope that we are actually going to work on fixing DACA," said Representative Mia Love on CNN's "State of the Union" program on Sunday. "We cannot let this derail us." Love, whose parents are from Haiti, had criticized Trump for his remarks and called on him to apologize. Trump denied making the remarks Friday, although US Senator Richard Durbin, who was in the White House meeting, said the president had used the term. Lawmakers hope to reach an immigration deal before January 19, when Congress must pass a funding bill or the government will shut down. Some Democrats insist that the DACA question be addressed by then. Lawmakers are trying to combine some form of relief for DACA immigrants along with enhanced border security, including a wall along the Mexican border, sought by Trump. The president's inflammatory comments left lawmakers struggling to find a path forward. "I hope we can move beyond that. What was reported was unacceptable. But what we have to do is not let that define this moment," said Republican Senator Cory Gardner on CBS's "Face the Nation" program. Republican Senator David Perdue, who was at the same White House meeting and had said he did not recall whether Trump made the comment, was more explicit Sunday. He called the new stories a "gross misrepresentation." "I'm telling you, he did not use that word," he said on ABC's "This Week" program. However, Republicans and Democrats have both said they either heard Trump say it or heard directly from colleagues who did. Republican Senator Jeff Flake said Sunday he was told about the remarks by colleagues who attended the meeting before the news reports emerged. "I heard that account before the account even went public," he said on "This Week." One of Trump's top advisers, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, said on "Fox News Sunday" she did not recall if Trump used "that specific phrase." She also appeared to rebut Trump's remarks from earlier in the day, with talks ongoing. "DACA is not dead," she said. Google commemorates Chinese linguist Zhou Youguang with a doodle on his 112th birthday The late father of pinyin Zhou Youguang was honored by Google Doodle with an animated version of its logo on Saturday. Zhou's portrait appeared alongside an animation of GU GE -- Google's name in pinyin -- on the global search engine's homepage. File photo: Zhou Youguang Born in Changzhou in 1906, Zhou showed interest in linguistics at 12 and created the system of romanized Chinese writing in 1958. Zhou died on January 14, 2017 in Beijing, China. At the time, he was the oldest known living person in China and the seventh-oldest known living man. Zhou had continued blogging on Sina Weibo until he was 105. Neither a professional linguist nor a lexicographer, Zhou used to work on Wall Street and taught economics at Fudan University in Shanghai. He authored more than 40 books and translated the Encyclopedia Britannica into Chinese. File photo Without Zhou's contribution, the world would rely on the Wade-Giles system that referred to Beijing as Peking and Chongqing as Chungking. Zhou's replacement was adopted by the International Organization for Standardization in 1982 and by the United Nations in 1986. Pinyin has boosted literacy rates in China and bridged the division between the country and the West over 60 years. Pinyin lately has evolved into the principal vehicle for most Chinese language input on mobile phones and computers. Google's first animated doodle in January 2010 honored Isaac Newton. Doha: A controversial member of Qatar's royal family says he is being detained in the UAE, media reported Sunday, sparking a quick denial by Emirati officials. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani, a little-known royal, emerged as a key figure in the dispute between the Gulf states in the weeks after Riyadh and Abu Dhabi cut ties with Doha in June. He is seen by some as a potential challenger to the Qatari leadership. A video circulating online, also broadcast by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television, shows the sheikh warning that he was "afraid something could happen to me that will be blamed on Qatar". "I am now in Abu Dhabi, where I was a guest of (UAE crown prince) Sheikh Mohammed" bin Zayed al-Nahyan, said Sheikh Abdullah. "That is no longer the case. I am now detained." "I want to make clear that the people of Qatar are innocent," the sheikh said. "Sheikh Mohammed bears full responsibility for anything that happens to me." The UAE denied that Sheikh Abdullah was being held against his will, with state news agency WAM reporting he was in the country "at his own behest". "Sheikh Abdullah has had unrestrained mobility and freedom of movement during his stay in the UAE," WAM cited an unnamed foreign ministry official as saying. "Subsequently Sheikh Abdullah had expressed his desire to leave the UAE following which all measures were taken to honour his desire without any reservation." 'Free to leave' Ali Rashed al-Nuaimi, who heads the UAE's Hedayda counter-extremism centre, meanwhile tweeted that Sheikh Abdullah had asked to stay in the Emirates "for his own safety". "For the record, a trusted source confirmed that Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani is free to leave the United Arab Emirates as he likes and to whatever destination he likes," Nuaimi wrote. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June over allegations that Doha supported Islamist extremists and had close ties to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations. In response to the video, Qatar's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Lulwa al-Khater, said Doha was monitoring the situation. "The state of Qatar observes the situation closely, and due to the total severance of ties with the UAE it is difficult to clearly establish the circumstances surrounding the situation," she said in a statement. "Despite that, the State of Qatar principally stands with the protection of rights for every individual and affirms the entitlement of his family to pursue all legal means for the protection of his rights." In August, Sheikh Abdullah met powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to mediate on reopening a land border to allow Qatari pilgrims to perform the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. It was the first public high-level encounter between the two nations since the diplomatic crisis erupted. Doha was quick to point out that he was in Saudi Arabia in a personal capacity and did not represent the government. Qatari officials also accused Gulf rivals of seeking regime change in Doha and replacing Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani with Sheikh Abdullah -- who belongs to a branch of the Al-Thani family that has seen its power eroded but is still well-connected in the Gulf. Czech President Milos Zeman (File photo) Warsaw (People's Daily)- Russia-friendly Czech President Milos Zeman won the first round of votes for a second term in office, but faces a formidable challenge from runner-up Jiri Drahos. With votes from 98.9 percent of districts counted, Zeman led the race with 38.6 percent from pro-Western academic Drahos with 26.6 percent, according to nearly complete results from Saturday's poll. In office since 2013, Zeman, 73, will face Drahos, 68, in the second round to be held January 26-27. Although the Czech presidency is a largely ceremonial role, the president plays a key role in the formation of new governments. The role also offers a platform from which the incumbent can seek to influence the Czech political discourse. Zeman has forged close ties with Russia while his speeches are known for their nationalist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. President Zeman prompted good relations with China during his last term. He attended Chinas parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory of the anti-fascist war in 2015. The first round result is a heavy blow for Milos Zeman, although he won it formally. It shows he doesnt have much more where to take the votes, political scientist Josef Mlejnek told Reuters. They will try to picture [Drahos] as a friend of migrants, an agent of the EU. Four other candidates who finished between third and sixth and who together tallied 32.5 percent, all endorsed Drahos for the second round. The MDC Alliance has resolved to officially begin campaigning for Morgan Tsvangirai as its presidential candidate, with rallies scheduled for the capital this weekend and the next in Mutare. The resolution was made at the MDC Alliance strategic retreat held last weekend to prepare for the forthcoming elections. The meeting came up with Tsvangirais campaign itinerary. Zimbabweans go to the polls in August to elect a president, lawmakers and local officials. The MDC Alliance spokesperson, Welshman Ncube told the Daily News yesterday that the ailing veteran politician will still represent the opposition MDC Alliance in the presidential election, his fourth time as a presidential candidate. He said Tsvangirai is being represented in the Alliance by one of his deputies, Nelson Chamisa. Saturdays meeting, held at a lodge on the outskirts of Harare, was chaired by Chamisa, who has been assigned to that role by Tsvangirai as chairperson of the MDC Alliance. The rallies will be addressed by MDC Alliance principals to outline the roadmap to elections and definition of election reforms. The MDC Alliance includes Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tendai Biti; Ncubes MDC; Transform Zimbabwe of Jacob Ngarivhume; Zanu Ndonga headed by Denford Masiyarira and the Multi-Racial Christian Democrats led by Mathias Guchutu. Both Biti and Ncube are former secretaries-general of a united MDC. We agreed that we should immediately start the campaigns with a rally in Harares Glen View suburb on Saturday and then Epworth on Sunday. This will be followed up by a star rally in Mutare while the organising team comes up with dates for other venues, Ncube said, adding I cannot divulge everything because some of the information is strategic. The former Industry and Commerce minister also revealed that parties to the Alliance should speedily complete their candidate selection processes. We were given up to the end of February by ... Tsvangirai to complete the processes so we emphasised that it should be done. Negotiating teams, it was also agreed, should also urgently conclude talks on ward allocations to say what party fields a candidate in which ward within the next two weeks, he added. Ncube said further that the MDC Alliance had also activated its taskforce on elections to urgently finalise the document it was preparing, detailing the minimum conditions for a free, fair and credible election and we will avail it to the public soon. Our elections committee team will also engage government as a matter of urgency to push them to appoint a Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson in terms of the processes provided for in the Constitution. The Alliance operates through various national alliance committees which include Communications, Organising and Networks, International Relations, Legal Services and Electoral Reforms, Youth and Women. All the parties organs nationally from the branches to the provinces have also established alliance coordinating committees that are organising joint activities with specific reference to voter education and registration mobilisation at every level. A large cross-section of Zimbabweans believes the opposition stands a good chance of defeating President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF in this years elections if it participates as a single bloc. However, the Alliance has been blighted by divisions as MDC bigwigs jostle for the party presidency after Tsvangirai announced that he is considering retirement owing to ill-health. The situation has not been helped by the fact that some of Tsvangirais lieutenants including VP Thokozani Khupe and other senior leaders from the southern parts of the country have always been against the coalition arguing that the MDC does not need a coalition in the Matabeleland and Midlands regions. Daily News Judge President Justice George Chiweshe has hailed the new political dispensation and the subsequent opening up of the democratic space in the country following the launch of Operation Restore Legacy that was spearheaded by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) in November last year. Operation Restore Legacy saw the ZDF moving in to forestall instability in the country by removing a cabal of corrupt and criminal elements that were abusing their proximity to former President Cde Robert Mugabe. Officially opening the 2018 legal year during a colourful ceremony at the Masvingo High Court yesterday, Justice Chiweshe said the new political dispensation enhanced the rule of law in Zimbabwe. He stressed the importance of recognising that power was peacefully and constitutionally transferred in the wake of the launch of the military intervention. Our overview of the 2017 legal year must of necessity recognise that there is a new political dispensation in the country following what has been dubbed Operation Restore Legacy,he said. The dramatic events, which took place during the period 13 to 21 November 2017, are unprecedented in the region. This unique operation led by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces has opened up the democratic space and enhanced the rule of law in the country. Justice Chiweshe congratulated President Emmerson Mnangagwa on his ascension to the Presidency. More importantly, there has been a peaceful and constitutional transfer of political power. I congratulate his Excellency President ED Mnangagwa on his appointment as Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. I also congratulate his two deputies, Retired General Constantino Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga and Cde Kembo Mohadi. Turning to the justice delivery system, Justice Chiweshe noted that the appointment of eight new judges has boosted the number of High Court judges at the countrys three High Court stations Harare, Bulawayo and Masvingo to 38. Harare now has 31 High Court judges, followed by Bulawayo (five) and Masvingo (two). According to Justice Chiweshe, last year, the High Court managed to reduce the backlog of cases by about 57 percent, as the case load fell from 10 082 cases at the beginning of last year to 4 303 cases by the end of November. The number of pending appeals also dropped by 19 percent from an opening balance of 9 153 cases to a closing balance of 8 001 by December. Justice Chiweshe also applauded the efforts of Masvingo High Court judges Justices Mawadze and Mafusire to expeditiously deal with the cases. Masvingo, he said, had managed to clear most of the civil and criminal cases that were received last year. Of the 274 civil cases that were received last year, 205 were completed while of the 968 criminal cases received during the same year, 778 cases were completed, representing an 80 percent clearance, he said. During the same period, 197 bail applications were cleared out of 200 bail applications that were made. However, Judge Chiweshe singled out Justice Mafusire for praise after he had to contend with managing the work at the Masvingo High Court alone during the last four months of the year after his colleague Justice Mawadze was away following the death of his wife in a road accident in September. Justice Chiweshe said the decentralisation the High Court will be intensified, with the countrys fourth High Court station expected to be opened in the eastern border city of Mutare during the course of this year. More High Court stations, he said, will be opened in other parts of the country, depending on the availability of resources. Justice Chiweshe said Chief Justice Luke Malaba has gazetted a fifth division, the Commercial Court, at the Harare High Court, though it is still to be operationalised. This division will add to the current four divisions at the Harare High Court, namely Criminal, Civil, Family Law and the Appeals Divisions. The Masvingo 2018 High Court legal year was witnessed by Provincial Affairs Minister Cde Josaya Hungwe, Zimbabwe Chiefs Council president Chief Fortune Charumbira, service chiefs and members of the legal fraternity. Herald Addressing Zimbabweans resident here after meeting his Namibian counterpart, President Hage Geingob on the third leg of his regional tour to apprise fellow Sadc leaders on developments in Zimbabwe that culminated in his ascension to the Presidency, Cde Mnangagwa revealed that his call for the return of externalised funds was being heeded and substantial millions had since been returned. The President revealed that he had given all Cabinet ministers targets to meet within their first 100 days in office, and some opposition parties were already claiming that he had stolen their manifestos, saying as long as the ideas fell within the purview of the national interest, he was duty-bound to attend to them. He explained amendments made to the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act as well as the vast opportunities presented by the new dispensation across all sectors. Let me assure you that Zimbabwe is not the same again and will not be the same again, he said. My administration focuses on the following issues, one unity, unity, unity. Love, love, love. Work, work and work. All Zimbabweans we get united under our national flag and national anthem. We accept that we may have different views about how to run the country and that again, we accept it. So, we dont need violence at all whether with the family or the community or the country. If people differ, differ peacefully. It must be an intellectual difference in terms of approach. That should not be developed into violence. We must accept each other as sisters and brothers determined to develop our country. I think we have more than 27 opposition parties in the country but with my focused administration, I hardly see whether they will find ground left behind which I am not taking care of. I said so back home and the response is that, Cde Mnangagwa has taken over our various manifestos. No! My administration addresses the national interests of our country and where the ideas of any opposition party coincides with national interests, that I take on board and it becomes mine and not theirs. Secondly, as a party, which is Zanu-PF, we are determined to walk the talk. President Mnangagwa explained the opportunities available for investment in areas such as mining, agriculture, education, tourism and infrastructure development among others. With regards to mining, the President said Government had removed the 51 percent local shareholding requirement and restricted that to diamonds and platinum only. He said in the agriculture sector, Zimbabwe had managed to restore its breadbasket status after successfully implementing the Command Agriculture programme last year. Said President Mnangagwa: We have to look at our educational institutions. During our time, when we went to school a long time ago, we were educated in order to look for jobs to be a clerk or nurse or a driver but we are saying, our tertiary institutions should have curriculums that talk to the industry so that what industry requires, the institutions must produce products who can work in the industry meeting the requirements of the industry. There should be this inter-marriage between the needs of industry and the institutions producing graduates from our institutions. That time is now over where universities pride themselves for producing many graduates. They must produce graduates who can fit our economic times the technology of today and not all of them should be products who look of employment. They must also be creators of employment. President Mnangagwa said Government had set aside a fund to assist young people keen to start businesses that create employment. On his visit to Namibia, President Mnangagwa was accompanied by Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Lt General (Retired) Sibusiso Moyo and Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba. Meanwhile President Mnangagwa returned back home last night and he was received at the Robert Mugabe International Airport by his two deputies General Constantino Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga (Retired) and Cde Kembo Mohadi among other Government officials. Herald Zimbabwe will never be the same again as Government is addressing all challenges facing the nation with renewed effort and vigour, President Mnangagwa has said.Addressing Zimbabweans resident here after meeting his Namibian counterpart, President Hage Geingob on the third leg of his regional tour to apprise fellow Sadc leaders on developments in Zimbabwe that culminated in his ascension to the Presidency, Cde Mnangagwa revealed that his call for the return of externalised funds was being heeded and substantial millions had since been returned.The President revealed that he had given all Cabinet ministers targets to meet within their first 100 days in office, and some opposition parties were already claiming that he had stolen their manifestos, saying as long as the ideas fell within the purview of the national interest, he was duty-bound to attend to them.He explained amendments made to the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act as well as the vast opportunities presented by the new dispensation across all sectors.Let me assure you that Zimbabwe is not the same again and will not be the same again, he said.My administration focuses on the following issues, one unity, unity, unity. Love, love, love. Work, work and work. All Zimbabweans we get united under our national flag and national anthem. We accept that we may have different views about how to run the country and that again, we accept it. So, we dont need violence at all whether with the family or the community or the country. If people differ, differ peacefully. It must be an intellectual difference in terms of approach.That should not be developed into violence. We must accept each other as sisters and brothers determined to develop our country. I think we have more than 27 opposition parties in the country but with my focused administration, I hardly see whether they will find ground left behind which I am not taking care of. I said so back home and the response is that, Cde Mnangagwa has taken over our various manifestos. No! My administration addresses the national interests of our country and where the ideas of any opposition party coincides with national interests, that I take on board and it becomes mine and not theirs. Secondly, as a party, which is Zanu-PF, we are determined to walk the talk.President Mnangagwa explained the opportunities available for investment in areas such as mining, agriculture, education, tourism and infrastructure development among others.With regards to mining, the President said Government had removed the 51 percent local shareholding requirement and restricted that to diamonds and platinum only.He said in the agriculture sector, Zimbabwe had managed to restore its breadbasket status after successfully implementing the Command Agriculture programme last year.Said President Mnangagwa: We have to look at our educational institutions. During our time, when we went to school a long time ago, we were educated in order to look for jobs to be a clerk or nurse or a driver but we are saying, our tertiary institutions should have curriculums that talk to the industry so that what industry requires, the institutions must produce products who can work in the industry meeting the requirements of the industry. There should be this inter-marriage between the needs of industry and the institutions producing graduates from our institutions. That time is now over where universities pride themselves for producing many graduates. They must produce graduates who can fit our economic times the technology of today and not all of them should be products who look of employment. They must also be creators of employment.President Mnangagwa said Government had set aside a fund to assist young people keen to start businesses that create employment.On his visit to Namibia, President Mnangagwa was accompanied by Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Lt General (Retired) Sibusiso Moyo and Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba.Meanwhile President Mnangagwa returned back home last night and he was received at the Robert Mugabe International Airport by his two deputies General Constantino Guveya Dominic Nyikadzino Chiwenga (Retired) and Cde Kembo Mohadi among other Government officials. Herald President Mnangagwa will visit China in April as his new administration intensifies re-engagement efforts with all countries of the world to rebuild the economy. Addressing Zimbabweans resident in Namibia yesterday, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was ready to re-engage with all countries of the world. In relation to international relations, on that subject, 35 minutes after I was sworn in, I was sent an envoy Mr Rory Steward by Mrs Theresa May (British Prime Minister) and the message was that they would want to have good relations with Zimbabwe. Open up again, re-engage. As an old focus, I said I am very happy that Britain has opened its door because Zimbabwes doors have been open all along, so we will be equal. Secondly, because this a surprise move by the UK which we welcome whole heartedly at the time I didnt have a Cabinet. I was just alone. I told him I needed my Cabinet first, so that we look at priorities and see which areas you can come in and assist. Then the second envoy came from the Peoples Republic of China and the message was the same. I will be going to China in April and working out areas of cooperation in that regard. But besides, we have envoys as well as messages of encouragement and congratulations from like (Angela) Merkel and want Germany to work with us, from (Vladimir) Putin in Russia the same, Brazil the same, India the same and from the Pope. Very few people receive congratulatory messages from the Pope and I received one myself. You can see the goodwill across the board, from Australia, from Canada to mention just a few and there are so many delegations coming to Zimbabwe on various areas of economic activity and cooperation and we are very happy with that. I can also see that our people, with a focused administration, are ready to work. They are ready to move. In his address, President Mnangagwa explained events that led to his elevation as the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. He said he was lampooned in public at nine Presidential youth interface rallies. President Mnangagwa left the gathering in stitches when he said the 10th interface rally was a church gathering held in Harare where instead of preaching the word of God, the gospel was about beating him like a snake. He said the following day he was fired from his position as Vice President. President Mnangagwa said a few individuals who had surrounded former President Cde (Robert) Mugabe were taking advantage of his old age to abuse him. He said that was evident when Cde Mugabe called him asking about his whereabouts when he was fired from the party and Government. President Mnangagwa said Cde Mugabe told him over the phone that he was not aware that he was fired from the party and that he was in South Africa and asked to him to return home and have the issues resolved. Herald People gather in streets to mark the 7th anniversary of the popular uprisings in Tunisia, Tunis, on Jan. 14, 2018. Tunisians commemorate Sunday the 7th anniversary of the popular uprisings which resulted in toppling former President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011. (Xinhua/Adele Ezzine) TUNIS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Tunisians commemorate Sunday the 7th anniversary of the popular uprisings which resulted in toppling former President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011. Different from previous anniversaries, Tunisians have complex feelings this year, a mixture of festive emotions and regrets following wave of violence and protests throughout the country. Thousands of People gathered for a peaceful march on Avenue Habib Bourguiba in downtown Tunis, where the most significant protest of the revolution took place on January 14, 2011. Tunisia, the economy of which is dependent on tourism, had been ruled for 23 years by former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted in January 2011 after massive and peaceful popular protests. Since then, the country has been struggling in an economic crisis. In the peaceful march, Zied Lakhdhar, a high member of the Popular Front, an opposition party, told Xinhua "seven years after the revolution, no real progress has been detected." "We risk returning to the starting point with a government who still unable to find solutions to regional disparity, marginalization and inequality of development opportunities. The unemployment in our country has been over 15 percent, especially among higher-education graduates." Lakhdhar also pointed out "the recent peaceful protests against the new finance law, have coincided with some attempts to make the country in chaos and anarchy." Over 800 people have been arrested since Monday in Tunisia after clashes between protesters and security forces over price hikes which caused by the new finance law. They were arrested over charges of looting, ransacking, blocking roads and vandalism. Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi Saturday convened representatives of political parties, trade union and the employers association to discuss ways to overcome the current problems and stressed people's livelihood issues should be emphasized. Essebsi also accused some foreign media "exaggerating" Tunisia's social unrest, and undermining Tunisia's international image. Haythem Jmai, an opposition activist, said most people are against certain articles in the new finance law, which will only aggravate budget deficit, but undermine people's purchasing power and especially feed a whole platform of corruption. "Seven years since the revolution, we suffer seven years of despair," Ahmed Ltaief, a college student of Literature, told Xinhua during the peaceful march, "The inability of current officials left free path to corruption, slowing down and suffocating our country's economy," he added. "At present, Tunisian national decision depends on International Monetary Fund (IMF), which encourages recruitment reduction and even the acceleration of retirement anticipated for certain sectors in public service," said Ahmed. Lakhdhar said that "under the pretext of recovering financial and economic balances of the country, the government tries to offer false tranquilizers, detriment to the interests of Tunisian people, especially the poorest class." Despite the complain, Haythem Jmai said that January 14, 2011 represented a pivotal date in the history of Tunisia after 23 years of dictatorship and repression. Rafik Abdessalem, the former Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, told Xinhua in an interview that "we should admit there do exist certain benefits of the revolution. Tunisians have done well half of the process with certain political stability." Rafik listed the main priorities of the current government for the year 2018, include promoting foreign investment, improving living conditions of citizens, as well as creating employment opportunities aimed at young people. "But the destruction of public and private goods as well as acts of looting and violence recorded recently can never favor economic revival or resolve the country's socio-economic problems," Rafik insisted. Earlier in the morning on Sunday, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi highlighted people's rights of development, especially of young people, on an inauguration of a youth center in the north-west suburbs of capital Tunis. Essebsi said in his speech that "young people have the right to say nothing has changed because there is no job," adding that his country currently has about 620,000 unemployed which including 250,000 graduates of higher education. "Their wait was longer and longer. This year will be dedicated to our young people," concluded Essebsi. President Emmerson Mnangagwa will today visit Namibia on the third leg of his regional tour to brief his counterparts on the political situation in the country and the forthcoming harmonised elections. He will meet Namibian counterpart, President Hage Geingob. President Mnangagwas first stopover was Pretoria in South Africa where he met President Jacob Zuma and ANC leader Cde Cyril Ramaphosa, and on Friday he was in Luanda, Angola on a similar mission. In Angola, President Mnangagwa met his counterpart, President Joao Lourenco, who also chairs the Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security. In an interview yesterday, Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba confirmed todays visit. He said the President would also use the visit to explain opportunities presented by the new dispensation ushered into power following the resignation of former President Mugabe on 21 November 2017. Firstly, this is a courtesy call and the second objective is to appraise leaders in the region on the very stable situation that is reigning in Zimbabwe and together with that the preparations that are underway towards the 2018 harmonised elections, which must be free, fair and credible, said Mr Charamba. The third objective is to explain policies of the new era and what opportunities are there for joint venture projects, cross-border investment and skills sharing that can take place between our countries to promote value addition in Sadc as well as skills sharing. This is consistent with the resolution made by Sadc during an Extraordinary Summit held in Harare during the chairmanship of former President (Mugabe). Specifically, with reference to Namibia, we have a contingent of Zimbabwean engineering experts and veterinary experts, who were seconded on request by the Namibian Government. Already that relationship has been developed and what we need to do now is to consolidate it. But all of it is predicated on an extraordinary gesture by the Namibians when we saw the sitting President (Hage Geingob) coming in the company of his two predecessors (Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba) to witness the inauguration of President Mnangagwa. Its a turn, which more than deserves reciprocation because essentially what Namibia through that gesture did was to demonstrate the deep affinitive between our peoples and our leaderships. Really, that is something that left a very strong impression on the President as it underlined the unbreakable affinitive that joins our peoples. The same gesture was echoed by the Zambian leadership, which sent its own triumvirate as well founding President (Kenneth Kaunda), the surviving predecessor President (Rupiah Banda) and the sitting President (Edgar Lungu). President Mnangagwa is expected to visit other Sadc countries soon. Herald George Charamba, the man who served former president Robert Mugabe for over 30 years and mediated the veteran rulers resignation under pressure from the military and his party, has lifted the lid on the fallen strongmans final moments in power. Charamba, who has seamlessly traded garments and is now speaking on behalf of the new man in charge, Emmerson Mnangagwa, revealed exclusively to the Daily News on Sunday that during the turbulent two weeks that Mugabe was placed under house arrest as the army took control of the country, the nonagenarian tried frantically to keep his job by attempting to restore Mnangagwas vice presidency. Just before the military intervention, Mnangagwa had been sacked for showing traits of disloyalty, abruptly removing a favourite to succeed him and boosting the likelihood of his wife, Grace, becoming his next deputy and potential successor. Mnangagwa then fled assassins for a safe place. On Friday, Mugabes successor sensationally claimed that he was tipped of the plot to assassinate him by one of the hit men given a mission to eliminate him just after he was given his marching orders. Mnangagwa recounted a scuffle at the Mozambican border where officials attempted to shoot him, but were disarmed by one of his twin sons, and said he skipped the border and walked in-between strings to avoid landmines heading to Beira where he found a small plane that had arrived from South Africa to pick him up and then flew to Johannesburg. He then asked for political asylum, through that countrys Speaker of Parliament, Baleka Mbete. From there, Mnangagwa, who fought alongside Mugabe in a guerrilla war and went on to become a feared security chief, issued a statement saying he had been vilified beyond measure and was being hounded by minnows who have no liberation credentials. I will return to Zimbabwe to lead you, Mnangagwa said in a damning statement. Charamba told the Daily News on Sunday that the under-siege former president placed under house arrest and faced with 60 000 Zimbabweans protesting and demanding that he quits at the Zimbabwe Grounds where he was inaugurated as prime minister in 1980 tried to reconnect with his former deputy to restore his position in the party and government so as to survive the imminent deposal. He narrated how army generals gave him a chilling message that he and other negotiators were to transmit to Mugabe during the dying hours of his 37-year rule. During the negotiations, we were shuttling between Josiah Magamba Tongogara (former KGVI) barracks and the Blue Roof (Mugabes residence). We were summoned to Josiah Magamba Tongogara to meet the command element of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, this was myself, (Catholic priest) Father Mukonori and Aaron Nhepera, who was the deputy director-general of the CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation). And we were given an appraisal of the situation. They gave us the scenarios that were at play, which were that the povo and also students were threatening to go to the Blue Roof and that there was a possibility of harm to the president. The second was the party had instituted impeachment procedures which were going to take him from being a liberation icon to a common criminal, Charamba said. The commanders sent us with a very chilling message, they said please go and get the president to appreciate the gravity of the situation out there. There was the possibility of a Libyan scenario where the president would have been dragged out of the Blue Roof and lynched. It was going to be possible because the soldiers said we cannot turn our guns on civilians who are marching against the president and spill blood. I started visualising an image of Muammar Gaddafi, I literally went argh argh! Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, was captured and killed on October 20, 2011 during the Battle of Sirte. He was found hiding in a culvert west of Sirte and captured by National Transitional Council (NTC) forces. Gaddafi was killed shortly afterwards. The NTC initially claimed he died from injuries sustained in a fire-fight when loyalist forces attempted to free him, although videos of his last moments show rebel fighters beating him and one of them sodomising him with a bayonet before he was shot several times as he begged for his life. The second scenario of impeachment, they said if the impeachment starts, we cannot stop it because that would be to start a coup detat, Charamba told the Daily News on Sunday. The third message was to say we are fast losing control of the process. The process was to have Mugabe restored as substantive leader of this country and then decide on his own to say I am tired I am handing over power. But there were those processes that were taking place and if they would have happened, there was no longer any legacy to restore. As events unfolded, Mugabe and Mnangagwa got to speak over the phone, with Mugabe ordering his return so that they could deal with the issues together. This had followed a letter which Mnangagwa had sent to Mugabe after he had been fired, which, according to Charamba, had made Mugabe regret firing him. Before the intervention, ED writes to the president and I saw it, through structures of government. It read: Comrade President, I thank you for saving my neck when I would have been executed by the Rhodesian government. Thank you for protecting me in jail and encouraging me to read to become a lawyer. Thank you for appointing me a personal assistant. I thank you for giving me positions of trust including security and other portfolios. But today my enemies have triumphed and I accept it, Charamba said. When I was shown that letter, I cried and said to the person who showed me, has the president seen this letter, and he said I sent it to his office. I knew after reading it he will revise his decision on Emmerson. True to my prediction he was moved. What I know is that the president was working around a formula to reconnect and restore his position. And during the last hours, the president and Mnangagwa spoke through father Mukonoris phone and the president said Emmerson where are you?; And he replied, Shefu I am in South Africa. Why are you in South Africa? He replied: I had to leave the country because elements in security close to me told me they wanted to eliminate me. VaMugabe said: To tell the truth, I wasnt aware. And I believed him because a lot was being done behind his back. So, as the conversation continued, he said, Can you come back? After the letter you wrote, I thought we were going to reconnect and I was going to restore your position in the party and in government. ED said: If you want me to come back, I will come back. The president said I want you to come back now, now, now, so we can handle the situation together. Charamba said Mugabe finally decided to resign after having considered the dimensions that had been pointed out by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. But according to the presidential spokesperson, Mugabe wanted to go on his own terms. On the last day, we were joined by Gideon Gono and then Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi. The president said to me Charamba, I dont want the world to say I have resigned because I fear impeachment. I havent committed any crimes. If they want, let them go ahead. I will answer to them, Charamba said. I said shefu, you are concentrating on one dimension; there are others which are there which indicated harm to your well-being. This was about the time the impeachment process was about to begin. Even the first lady was behind Mugabes decision to resign. And he said what would my resigning mean? And he was told if you do it now, the impeachment could stop. The then Justice minister Happyton Bonyongwe, the Attorney-General (AG) Prince Machaya and the chief secretary (to the President and Cabinet) Misheck Sibanda were called in to join our meeting. VaMugabe tried to speak to National Assembly speaker Jacob Mudenda to stop the process and Mudenda refused. He (Mugabe) said you go and draft my letter of resignation. It was me typing, the AG looking at the legality and Sibanda looking at the formatting. We went to HE with it and there was no single correction. The moment was too painful for me. I had not slept from day one, I couldnt even stand. Charamba said there should be a distinction between Operation Restore Legacy and the political process that took place. The operation was launched because there had been abuse of a 93-year-old. We would not have gotten to elections in that situation and something terrible would have happened. There are several things that happened. There was a march at the Zimbabwe Grounds and threats to go to the Blue Roof. There was a party process which had seen him being recalled as the president of the party. There was the impeachment process that had been instituted. Another aspect is that when he called a Cabinet meeting, seven ministers attended and by 10 oclock, only one had been left, which means that loyalty had gone. And when you have a president who can no longer command institutions he is supposed to lead, there is a problem. But what should be noted is that VaMugabe never refused to step down, he wanted to do it in his own way, but there were those issues I have mentioned. Daily News A WOMAN (22) who was allegedly raped, killed and her body dumped in a maize field in Ascot, Gweru on Saturday, may have been brutalised by her injiva husband two days after he had paid bride price for her. The woman, who has been identified as Everjoy Ncube of Coolmoreen Compound in the city, was allegedly murdered by John Mazani (33) following a misunderstanding which arose after she refused to go back with him to Cape Town, South Africa, where he works. Acting Midlands Province police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Ethel Mukwende confirmed the gruesome murder adding that police had since launched a manhunt for Mazani whose whereabouts are unknown. She said the couple had been experiencing a series of domestic disputes which often degenerated into physical fights. Asst Insp Mukwende said the couple had one child and had separated, with Ncube tracing her way back to her parents home in Zimbabwe. She said Mazani returned to Zimbabwe on Thursday last week and reconciled with Ncube. Mazani went on to pay bride price for Ncube before asking her to return to South Africa with him, an offer she vehemently turned down because of his abusive nature. Police have launched a manhunt in connection with a murder case where a 22-year-old female adult was found dead in a maize field in Ascot, Gweru, with several stab wounds all over her body. The incident occurred on January 13 in Old Ascot Suburb, Gweru. On the January 14 at around 6:30AM, a passerby discovered a body in a maize field. She informed the police who attended the scene. The police carried out investigations which led to the positive identification of the body as that of Everjoy Ncube. The body was ferried to Gweru Provincial Hospital awaiting post-mortem, she said. Asst Insp Mukwende said Mazani had visited Ncube at her parents home and asked her to accompany him to Ascot Shopping Centre to buy some groceries. On their way back it is suspected that the two had a misunderstanding which resulted in the accused stabbing her with a sharp object several times all over the body, she said. Asst Insp Mukwende said after committing the crime Mazani fled to his parents house in Coolmoreen Compound where he collected his belongings and disappeared. A relative who spoke on condition of anonymity said prior to the murder, Mazani had informed a relative that he wanted to kill his wife because she had refused to go with him to South Africa. He paid bride price for her and wanted her to go with him back to South Africa of which she refused. That could have driven him into brutally murdering her, said the relative. It is suspected Ncube may have been raped as semen was allegedly found on her undergarments. Chronicle SOUTH African tycoon Mr Robert Matana Gumede arrived in the country last night to cement a $1,2 billion investment deal in key sectors of the economy which include infrastructure development, energy, health services, tourism and financial services. The visit follows a meeting he held with President Mnangagwa on December 21 last year in Pretoria, South Africa. Mr Gumede who is the founder and executive chairman of Guma Group is an award-winning businessman and entrepreneur who is also the current co-chair of the SA-Russia Business Council, and was co-chair of the Brics Business Forum in China in 2011. He is also a member of the African China Trade and Infrastructure Development Forum with global experience in infrastructure development. In an interview on arrival at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport yesterday, Mr Gumede said he was optimistic about investing here under the new political dispensation owing to conducive policies pitched by President Mnangagwa. I am happy to be here in Zimbabwe just to see what one can do in assisting Government in achieving its short-term goals of turning around the economy of the country. As an entrepreneur and businessman who is involved various businesses, I felt it was an opportune time to come into your country and identify some of the opportunities that my company will be able to invest in, he said. He said he was already an investor in the country in the tourism sector. Mr Gumede said he wanted to invest more, especially in infrastructure and ICT. For me Zimbabwe offers a great opportunity and Zimbabwe used to be the basket of Africa. I believe good times are back and I didnt want to wait, especially when I am in South Africa as a neighbour, he said. He said if Zimbabwe and South Africa combined their strengths, they could do so much together and that Africans should help each other. I want to partner with local Zimbabweans in various sectors of the economy where we will work together. What will stop Zimbabweans from investing in South Africa? Nothing! he said. He said Zimbabwe had the most intelligent and hardworking people. Guma Group business development executive Mr Emmanuel Charumbira said they were looking at investing more than $1,2 billion. Guma is not new to Zimbabwe. We have investments in Victoria Falls where we have two lodges and we are also operating helicopters in Victoria Falls. At the moment, looking at the projects we have targeted based on our research, we are looking in the region of $1,2 billion to invest in the country, he said. Local company, Brookes Enterprises director Mr Samson Paul said he initiated the investment deals that saw Mr Gumede coming to Zimbabwe. It is the responsibility of every patriotic Zimbabwean to do whatever they can, in their respective fields to help revive the economy, he said. President Mnangagwa visited South Africa in December where he addressed an oversubscribed business indaba. He told South Africans and the Zimbabwe Diaspora of immense business opportunities in the country, and that Zimbabwe was open for investment. Herald Speaking after the training of certified laboratory technicians and scientists on how to use the Samba 11 machines, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said he was confident that the country would successfully make the desired impact of increasing the number of infants tested and treated of HIV through this innovation. He said Government was also hoping to monitor effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) in HIV positive people with a view to put them on efficacious regimens, which can reduce their viral load to undetectable levels in line with global targets. We have a total of 1,4 million people living with HIV and of those, 1,1 million people are on ARVs and as you know the treatment has cascaded from 1st line, 2nd line and 3rd line treatment. So we should be able to follow up when you are put on ARVs; that are they working on you? The only way to find out is to see the viral load, when its going up it means the medication that you are taking is not working. This is the beauty of the Samba 11 machine, it is really to follow up on our patients to see the efficacy in treatment, improve our patient care, the quality of treatment and the extent of the resistance that we are facing, said Dr Parirenyatwa. He said although the countrys HIV burden was on a decline, the number of new infections were still high, hence the need to continue implementing effective ways of curbing further spread of the virus. The Samba machine is the one that has been selected and Zimbabwe as you know is the first one to use the point of care machines in the world. We are the pioneer in this medical innovation and you (technicians and scientists) will be the trainers of trainers. You will be the experts in using point of care machines, said Dr Parirenyatwa. Government procured 100 point of care machines, which will be distributed to 25 districts across all provinces. Secretary for Health and Child Care Dr Gerald Gwinji, who is also chairperson of the Global Fund to Fight Aids Tuberculosis and Malaria, said this decentralisation was made possible with funding from the Global Fund. Dr Gwinji said introduction of point of care machines was meant to improve access while upholding equity to health services for all Zimbabweans. He said the countrys response to HIV has come a long way from initiating people on ARVs using CD4 count testing to the current innovation of using viral load testing, and all these have contributed to the countrys HIV success story. Zimbabwes HIV history has come a long way from a high of 31 percent prevalence rate to the current 13,6 percent using different response efforts. It is development of such technologies that are able to respond to current trends in management of HIV that we are keen to pursue and implement, said Dr Gwinji. Head of Aids and Tuberculosis Unit in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Owen Mugurungi said Zimbabwe has since become a world case study with its successful HIV programme which has seen its prevalence rate dropping from a high of 31 percent in 1999 to the current 13,6 percent. He said with the coming in of Samba 11 machines, Government will be able to provide a complete package of HIV management on site regardless of where one is seeking treatment from. We will now be having complete treatment and management of HIV happening right from primary care levels. Issues of handling samples, having people travelling from point A to point B, patients going for weeks without getting their results and sometimes losing people to follow up will now be a thing of the past. The people out there do matter the same as the people at the centre of the town, said Dr Mugurungi. Medical laboratory director in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Mr Douglas Mangwanya said his department was committed to support this national initiative. We want to make sure that we shine because the whole world is watching, he said. He said Government will be presenting a report sometime in July to other countries in the world on how it would have fared with the machines. Diagnostics for the Real World (DRW) director and founder Professor Helen Lee said she was confident that Zimbabwe will have another success story to share with the world. DRW in partnership with the University of Cambridge are the developers of this technology. I am truly impressed by the scientific, technical and organisational ability of the health system that I have seen here in Zimbabwe and that gives me great confidence but also I sense a kind of alignment from the technicians all the way to the top leadership in the department of health. So with this kind of background and support I am sure that the Samba 11 machine will make a difference because it is really the innovation that speaks to the needs of the people, said Professor Lee. Herald Zimbabwe is the first country in the world to use the latest medical technology in HIV infant diagnosis and viral load testing, The Herald can reveal.Speaking after the training of certified laboratory technicians and scientists on how to use the Samba 11 machines, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said he was confident that the country would successfully make the desired impact of increasing the number of infants tested and treated of HIV through this innovation.He said Government was also hoping to monitor effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) in HIV positive people with a view to put them on efficacious regimens, which can reduce their viral load to undetectable levels in line with global targets.We have a total of 1,4 million people living with HIV and of those, 1,1 million people are on ARVs and as you know the treatment has cascaded from 1st line, 2nd line and 3rd line treatment. So we should be able to follow up when you are put on ARVs; that are they working on you?The only way to find out is to see the viral load, when its going up it means the medication that you are taking is not working.This is the beauty of the Samba 11 machine, it is really to follow up on our patients to see the efficacy in treatment, improve our patient care, the quality of treatment and the extent of the resistance that we are facing, said Dr Parirenyatwa.He said although the countrys HIV burden was on a decline, the number of new infections were still high, hence the need to continue implementing effective ways of curbing further spread of the virus.The Samba machine is the one that has been selected and Zimbabwe as you know is the first one to use the point of care machines in the world.We are the pioneer in this medical innovation and you (technicians and scientists) will be the trainers of trainers. You will be the experts in using point of care machines, said Dr Parirenyatwa.Government procured 100 point of care machines, which will be distributed to 25 districts across all provinces.Secretary for Health and Child Care Dr Gerald Gwinji, who is also chairperson of the Global Fund to Fight Aids Tuberculosis and Malaria, said this decentralisation was made possible with funding from the Global Fund.Dr Gwinji said introduction of point of care machines was meant to improve access while upholding equity to health services for all Zimbabweans.He said the countrys response to HIV has come a long way from initiating people on ARVs using CD4 count testing to the current innovation of using viral load testing, and all these have contributed to the countrys HIV success story.Zimbabwes HIV history has come a long way from a high of 31 percent prevalence rate to the current 13,6 percent using different response efforts.It is development of such technologies that are able to respond to current trends in management of HIV that we are keen to pursue and implement, said Dr Gwinji.Head of Aids and Tuberculosis Unit in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr Owen Mugurungi said Zimbabwe has since become a world case study with its successful HIV programme which has seen its prevalence rate dropping from a high of 31 percent in 1999 to the current 13,6 percent.He said with the coming in of Samba 11 machines, Government will be able to provide a complete package of HIV management on site regardless of where one is seeking treatment from.We will now be having complete treatment and management of HIV happening right from primary care levels. Issues of handling samples, having people travelling from point A to point B, patients going for weeks without getting their results and sometimes losing people to follow up will now be a thing of the past.The people out there do matter the same as the people at the centre of the town, said Dr Mugurungi.Medical laboratory director in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Mr Douglas Mangwanya said his department was committed to support this national initiative.We want to make sure that we shine because the whole world is watching, he said.He said Government will be presenting a report sometime in July to other countries in the world on how it would have fared with the machines.Diagnostics for the Real World (DRW) director and founder Professor Helen Lee said she was confident that Zimbabwe will have another success story to share with the world.DRW in partnership with the University of Cambridge are the developers of this technology.I am truly impressed by the scientific, technical and organisational ability of the health system that I have seen here in Zimbabwe and that gives me great confidence but also I sense a kind of alignment from the technicians all the way to the top leadership in the department of health.So with this kind of background and support I am sure that the Samba 11 machine will make a difference because it is really the innovation that speaks to the needs of the people, said Professor Lee. Herald (Newser) Can a democratic country outlaw fake news? France is about to find out, after President Emmanuel Macron ordered a law to quash false information disseminated around electoral campaigns. Criticism is pouring in from media advocates, tech expertsand Kremlin-backed broadcaster RT. They say the law smacks of authoritarianism, will be impossible to enforce, and is sure to backfire. Macron's stance "could be just the beginning of actually censoring freedom of speech. We believe it is a very dangerous situation," Xenia Fedorova, director of RT's newly launched French-language channel, told the AP. While democracies usually rely on defamation and libel laws to combat false publications, Macron wants more. story continues below In a New Year's speech to journalists, Macron said he's ordering a new "legal arsenal" that would oblige news sites to reveal who owns them and where their money comes from. It could cap the money allowed for content seen as aimed at swaying an election and allow emergency legal action to block websites. The French broadcast regulator's power would expand to allow it to suspend media seen as trying to destabilize a votenotably those "controlled or influenced by foreign powers." Media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which has decried fake news, is nevertheless wary of Macron's order. "Probably our democracies have to be defended in front of the fake news wave," the group's chief, Christophe Deloire, said, but not "with the ways that despotic countries use." (Read more fake news stories.) (Newser) A member of the Qatari royal family says he's being held prisoner in the United Arab Emirates by Abu Dhabi's crown prince. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani made the claim in a YouTube video released by Emirates news site UAE 71 on Sunday. "I'm currently in Abu Dhabi, being hosted by Sheikh Mohamed. But this is not a hosting status. Rather, it is a 'holding' one. They told me not to move," he said in the video, according to the BBC. Sheikh Abdullah said in the video that he feared his own country would be blamed should anything happen to him. "I'd like to inform you that if something happens to me, Qatar will be innocent of it," he said. Tweets written by a UAE counter-extremism official said Sheikh Abdullah may leave "whenever he wants." story continues below Al Jazeera reports that Lebanese officials alleged in November that Prime Minister Saad Hariri had a similar experience in Saudi Arabia, where he said he was held hostage. That same month, former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik reportedly released a video in which he said he'd been barred from leaving the UAE. Sheikh Abdullah is the son of a former Qatari emir who, after years of living in obscurity, made headlines last year during a diplomatic crisis in which Saudi Arabia barred the Qatari people from entering their country. With his country cut off from travel to the holy city of Mecca, the BBC reports Sheikh Abdullah helped strike the deal that allowed Qatar's citizens to travel across the Saudi border and attend the Hajj. (Read more Abu Dhabi stories.) (Newser) After Saturday morning's missile scare, Hawaii says it's changing procedures so that it's no longer possible for an employee to accidentally terrify the entire state with two clicks of a mouse. Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Vern Miyagi explained Sunday that the inbound missile alert was sent by a member of his team during a routine test that happens at the start of every shift, NBC News reports. Miyagi said he took responsibility for the error and the 38-minute delay in issuing an all-clear. Agency spokesman Richard Rapoza explained that an employee chose the wrong option from a drop-down menu, activating a missile warning instead of a test alert, Reuters reports. The employee then clicked "Yes" when the system asked whether he wanted to proceed, Rapoza said. story continues below Rapoza said the employee responsible has been "temporarily reassigned" to other duties. Miyagi said procedures are being changed and from now on, activation of the test and a real incoming-missile alert will require two people, and a command that can cancel a mistaken activation within seconds will be created, USA Today reports. He said the reason it took so long to cancel Saturday's alert was because no such button was in place. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, whose agency is investigating the incident, said Sunday that it appears "reasonable safeguards" were lacking. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that President Trump praised Hawaiian officials Sunday for taking responsibility. "I think it's terrific," he said. "They took responsibility. They made a mistake." (Read more Hawaii stories.) Biographies of world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and French President Emmanuel Macron, have become best sellers in China, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Jan 15. For example, the Chinese version of Trumps biography The Art of Deal has been reprinted seven times. The book is listed among the top sellers of biographies of famous people on an e-commerce platform, and has received some 5,000 reviews. The president of South Korea selected Chinese as the first foreign language version of his biography Moon Jae-in: The Destiny. Moon wrote in the books preface that authorizing Chinese as the first foreign language version of his biography makes him feel more about the significance of the book and the delightfulness its publication has created. Why do foreign leaders choose to have the Chinese versions of their biographies published around the time when they visit China? Like Revolution by French President Emmanuel Macron, which followed his recent visit to China, Moons book was also released in China less than a month after his China visit. Wang Qijin, deputy director of the Literature Publishing Center of Sichuan People's Publishing House, which is a publisher of Revolution, said the book is worth recommending for its value in foreign affairs and cultural exchanges and the positive energy of the French presidents personal experiences. The sales of the biographies come in line with the foreign leaders influence in China, though not all the biographies are bestsellers, Wang said. In those biographies, the foreign leaders have also expressed their impressions of China. In The Destiny, Moon wrote: I hope this book will help to enhance China-South Korea relations, deepen political mutual trust and promote common prosperity. In Revolution, the French president not only proposed to develop a comprehensive partnership with China, but also mentioned French General Charles de Gaulle, saying that the Chinese leaders have never forgotten that France was the first Western country to recognize the Peoples Republic of China. Biographies have become the most direct way for the public to know about world political leaders. Behind the publication of the books, there are some stories. Zhang Xiaoming, one of the persons in charge of publishing Moons biography, said getting the copyright to publish the book is the result of a very fierce competition with many domestic rivals. Zhang Chunxiao, one of the publishing houses editors of Revolution, said a special procedure was needed to publish this book, one that was unlike any book she has ever edited, as it is about a foreign leader. Usually, the publishers will need three to one year before these books are released into the market. But it took only two weeks of concerted efforts to publish Revolution during the presidents visit to China, Zhang said. To check some details, the translators and editors will contact foreign organizations responsible for editing or publishing the presidents books. For instance, a person in charge of publishing Moons book said they once received a call from the Presidential Residence of Cheong Wa Dae to discuss some details in the book. (Newser) He was a victim of Hurricane Irma, and then allegedly a victim of something much worse. Police say William Reiss, 68, was murdered on Jan. 3 by the FEMA contractor who compiled the damage estimate of his Polk County, Fla., home in September. The New York Daily News describes Reiss as having "befriended" Gerjuan Jackson. The two reportedly discussed Reiss' gun collection, and the 18-year-old Alabama man purchased two handguns from Reiss weeks after they met for $800. The Miami Herald reports Jackson lost possession of those guns during a subsequent marijuana bust and allegedly decided to replace them via Reiss' stash. story continues below Police say he drove to the home with two accomplices who waited in the car. Jackson allegedly shot Reiss and his roommate Kenneth Maier, who initially managed to flag down help from his driveway but died of his injuries Friday, reports WFLA. Police say Jackson took roughly two dozen guns, a TV, and Reiss' truck, which was found burned in Alabama. He has reportedly confessed to the killings, and he and Kenley Campbell and Darril Rankin have all been charged with first-degree murder and other offenses. As for the FEMA connection, the agency says two private-sector companies provide the subcontractors who handle damage assessments, noting, "Questions about individuals employed within those contracted companies, or those companies' hiring practices, must be pursued through their individual contractors." (Read more murder stories.) (Newser) Grace (not her real name) was watching the Golden Globes earlier this month when she spotted Master of None star Aziz Ansari accepting an award. In an interview on Babe.net, the 23-year-old Brooklyn photographer says it was "cringeworthy" to see Ansari wearing a "Time's Up" pin, because she'd had a date with him in September that "turned into the worst night of my life." The two initially hit it off at an Emmys after-party; shortly after, they arranged to meet up in New York City. After dinner out, they went back to his apartment, and Grace says Ansari wouldn't stop trying to get sexual with her. "I said something like, 'Whoa, let's relax for a sec, let's chill," she recalls after he said he was going to get a condom right after they kissed for the first time. story continues below But she says he didn't let up, and throughout the evening he followed her around, sticking his fingers in her mouth, trying to get her to touch him, and asking for sex. Grace concedes they did have oral sex, because she says she felt worn down, and she left in an Uber, feeling "violated." When Aziz texted the next day to say he'd had fun, she told him she hadn't and explained. He replied: "I'm so sad to hear this. Clearly, I misread things in the moment and I'm truly sorry." Per the Hollywood Reporter, Ansari has issued a statement, saying their "sexual activity" was "by all indications ... completely consensual." "Everything did seem OK to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned," he notes, adding: "I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue." (Read more Aziz Ansari stories.) (Newser) Scientists are now saying there may have been "a more colorful Jurassic World than we previously imagined," thanks to the recent discovery of a fossil in China's Hebei province. Reuters reports that a closer look at the "exquisitely preserved," almost completely intact fossil of a crow-like dinosaur that lived about 161 million years ago revealed that Caihong juji had luminous, brilliantly hued feathers that closely resembled those of hummingbirds. The study in the journal Nature Communications documenting the find explains that "Caihong" means "rainbow" in Mandarin. Scientists think the colorful plumage, which appeared to have covered the bony-crested creature's head, neck, and chest areas, may have kept the dinosaur warm, as well as attracted potential mates; National Geographic compares it to peacock feathers. story continues below So how were researchers able to tell what color feathers the creature had from preserved bones? They used high-tech microscopes able to home in on 66 sites on the fossil, detecting tiny cell structures called melanosomes, which underlie pigmentation. Which colors they led to can be found by their shapes, and the melanosomes in Caihong were long and flat like pancakessimilar to those found in hummingbirds, which boast iridescent plumage. Although they can't pick out from the Pantone wheel Caihong's exact colors, researchers say the creature likely sported feathers with a "rainbow glimmer." Study co-author Xing Zu tells National Geographic that Caihong was a predator that spent its days gliding from tree to tree. And "glide" is the operative word, as this dinosaur likely didn't fly: Its feathers were located on its tail, not on its wings like birds, Discover notes. (A study postulated that nearly all dinosaurs had feathers.) (Newser) The wildly gory and popular John Wick franchise will become a Starz series under the name of The Continental, reports Gizmodo, after the hotel in the movies where assassins like to pal around. For those worried that the small screen might dilute any of the dripping violence on display in John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2, Starz's CEO says it ain't so, promising "thunderous fight scenes and intensely staged shootouts," not to mention "some new, darkly compelling characters who inhabit this underground world." Keanu Reeves will likely not reprise his role as the star, notes the Hollywood Reporter, but he has signed on as co-executive producer for the series and "is expected to make an appearance." Reeves will, however, reprise the role for the third movie, which is due out in 2019. (Read more Keanu Reeves stories.) (Newser) The leader of a British political party is in hot water over his girlfriend's texts about Meghan Markle. Ex-girlfriend, actually. In the wake of the controversy, UK Independence Party leader Henry Bolton, 54, has split with his 25-year-old girlfriend, Jo Marney, reports the Guardian. Now the question is whether he'll have to resign as UKIP leader. The trouble began when the Mail on Sunday published texts from Marney to a friend in which she complains that Markle, newly engaged to Prince Harry, will "taint" the royal family. "This is Britain, not Africa," was among the comments she made about Markle, whose mother is African American. When the texts emerged, UKIP essentially gave Bolton an ultimatum, reports the BBC: Quit the party or quit the girl, and he made his choice. story continues below "The romantic element of the relationship is over, Im afraid, as of last night," said Bolton, calling Marneys comments "indefensible." He also insisted that he would not resign as party leader, despite growing calls for that as well. Bolton is married with two kids, but he says he and his wife have been estranged and living separately since July. He'd been in a relationship with Marney for about a month, and the texts were sent before they became a couple. Marney, for her part, says they've been taken out of context. UKIP is pro-Brexit, and the AP notes that the party played a role in drumming up support for the 2016 vote to leave the European Union. However, it has been struggling financially and losing members since the vote. Bolton is its fourth leader since the referendum. (Read more Meghan Markle stories.) (Newser) Gary Lee had zero tweets to his name as of Jan. 12. That changed in a big way on Jan. 13, when he posted this series of tweets about his Korean heritage and suddenly became Twitter famous, reports Yahoo News. Lee once worked as a staffer in the Obama White House, and in one of the tweets, he explains that he visited the Oval Office on his last day in 2011, and Obama greeted him by saying "hello" in Korean. Official photographer Pete Souza captured Lee's delighted reaction, and Lee then recounts how fellow White House staffer (and actor) Kal Penn teared up when Lee told him about the exchange. "Think about what you just said," he recalls Penn saying. "How incredible that is. On your last day of work at the White House, after your years of service, the first African-American president greeted you in your parents native language. I started crying too." story continues below Lee, who was leaving the White House to go study in South Korea, says his parents "could never have fathomed" such an encounter. Both worked multiple jobs and "made incalculable sacrifices" for their son, and he wraps up by declaring "what a beautiful, incredible nation of immigrants we are." His tweets were set off by a report that President Trump pressed a Korean-American woman, a New York native, about where she was from during an intelligence briefing. "That struck a chord with me," Lee writes. Whatever the impetus, Lee's initial Twitter post has been liked more than 150,000 times, and the Washington Post rounds up some of the reaction, which generally boils down to a sentiment expressed in this tweet: "Omg I dont even know you and I love you Gary Lee." (This teacher's viral tweet revealed how deep first-graders are.) (Newser) A female passenger has died hours after a boat shuttling people to a casino boat caught fire off Florida's Gulf Coast, forcing her and about 50 other passengers and crew to jump into the chilly waters to escape. Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point spokesman Kurt Conover said Monday that the woman died late Sunday, shortly after she arrived at the hospital's emergency room at 10pm. He said she had apparently gone home after the fire but became ill. Her name has not been released and a cause of death has not been determined. He said eight other passengers were treated at the hospital and released. Port Richey police said 15 people were injured in the fire and it was originally believed that no injuries were life threatening, reports the AP. story continues below Port Richey Police Chief Gerard DeCanio said the shuttle boat experienced engine problems after leaving the dock at Port Richey, a suburban community about 35 miles northwest of Tampa. But as the vessel turned back, flames kicked up and people began jumping overboard into shallow water, according to witness accounts. One eyewitness tells the Tampa Bay Times that he saw people wandering about confused, wet, and cold, after they reached land. One woman collapsed upon reaching shore and vomited, he said. He said he took about 30 of the passengers into his garage to warm up and recover. "It was so windy and they were soaking wet" on what was an unusually chilly winter day in the Tampa Bay region. (Read more Florida stories.) (Newser) Judges reject legal filings for all kinds of reasons, but one spotted by the Above the Law blog is downright embarrassing. Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida agreed with opposing attorneys that a complaint filed on behalf of a housekeeping employee suing a hospital was just plain incomprehensible. Legalese wasn't the problem, however. The judge cited "nonsensical sentences," sentence fragments, grammatical errors, spelling errors, punctuation errors, etc. story continues below Altonaga gave Jay Romano of the Discrimination Law Center a chance to submit a new complaint, with a unique stipulation. He must "certif[y] the pleading has been reviewed and approved by a teacher of the English languagesuch certification is to be included in the notice of filing the second amended complaint." The judge also warned that she would refer Romano to the Florida Bar if he submitted something like the original again. (Read more judge stories.) (Newser) A US Army dog that attacked a machine-gun nest during World War II was posthumously awarded Britain's highest honor for animal bravery on Monday. Chips, a German shepherd-husky cross, was awarded the Dickin Medal for actions during a 1943 beach landing in Sicily. According to the US soldiers, Chips raced into an Italian machine-gun nest, attacking an enemy soldier by the throat and pulling the gun from its mount. The medal was awarded in a ceremony at the Churchill War Rooms in London and accepted by 76-year-old John Wren of Southold, New York, whose father donated Chips to the war effort in 1942, reports the AP. Chips suffered scalp wounds and powder burns in the battle but survived the war, returning to his owners in Pleasantville, New York. story continues below Lt. Col. Alan Throop, who attended on behalf of the US Army, said that shortly after the battle Chips was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart. The awards were later rescinded because army policy didn't allow animals to receive medals. "It has taken over seven decades, but Chips can now finally take his place in the history books as one of the most heroic dogs to serve with the US Army," the director general of the veterinary charity that awarded the honor said. Since 1943, the Dickin Medal has recognized gallantry by animals serving with the military, police, or rescue services. Recipients include 33 dogs, 32 messenger pigeons, four horses, and a cat. (Read more dog stories.) In expressing condolences for the death of an 89-year-old Japanese war orphan who spent most of her life in Shangluo, Shaanxi province, local authorities and villagers have expressed their wish for peace and better relations between China and Japan. Mszusaki Hideko, a Japanese fishermans daughter who came to northeast China in 1942 at the age of 13, died on January 10, 2018. Many of her peers were sent to the region historically known as Manchuria under a colonial government program for settling the region and were then left behind in China, being sheltered and fostered by Chinese families. There are many elderly who joined the anti-Japanese war in our village. Despite the fact that they abhor Japans cruelty toward Chinese citizens, theyve never picked on my foster mother. Villagers treat her equally and nicely, Li Shuqiang, Hidekos foster son, told China Youth Daily. Over 150 villagers have voluntarily held a funeral for Hideko, with many expressing their condolences and wish for peace. Never having the chance to make any decision for her own life, Hideko told me that if there were no war, shed be happily living in her hometown in Japan. While still alive, she expressed an aversion to the war, said Li. There were three Japanese war orphans living in our region, but Hideko was the last survivor. After her death, this sad chapter of the past war has officially ended, a local official told Beijing Youth Daily. According to Xinhua News Agency, more than 4,000 Japanese children were left behind in China after Japans defeat in 1945, mostly in the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning, as well as Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Jeff Cook celebrates his top Real Men Wear Pink fundraising with Kara Moriarty, director of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association and Jess Gutzwiler, director of community development for the western region of American Cancer Society. Kris Capps/News-Miner. Let us know what you're seeing and hearing around the community. Submit here Beirut: Lebanese authorities have banned Steven Spielberg's latest film, political thriller "The Post", and Australian drama "Jungle" to comply with a boycott of Israel, an official said. "Screening of the film 'The Post' has been banned," the official from Lebanon's General Security authority told AFP Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Spielberg "is blacklisted by the Arab League's boycott office, which Lebanon complies with", the official explained. The pan-Arab body maintains a regional boycott of Israel, and blacklisted Spielberg after he donated USD 1 million to Israel during its 2006 war with Lebanon. The two countries are still technically in a state of war. While Lebanon is generally considered the most liberal of Arab countries, it occasionally bans content considered immoral, inciteful, or supportive of Israel. Lebanon's General Security, in addition to controlling the country's borders, is responsible for censoring films, plays, and books. "The Post" was slated for a January 18, 2018 release date in Lebanese theatres. The acclaimed production tells the behind-the-scenes story of the 1971 publication by The Washington Post of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the lies behind US involvement in the Vietnam War. Also Read: Steven Spielberg's 'The Post' to be screened at White House Starring Hollywood heavyweights Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, the film has been hailed for using star power to highlight the virtues of a free press. The other film that got the censorship axe was "Jungle", a survival drama about Israeli adventurer Yossi Ghinsberg, who got lost in an uncharted part of the Bolivian Amazon in 1981. The production, starring Daniel Radcliffe, had been screening for two weeks in Lebanon but is now being pulled, the same official told AFP. "It received an authorisation to be screened, and it was indeed screening, but several registered complaints prompted us to pull it from theatres to avoid any problems," the official said, without specifying the nature of the protests. Several days ago, the Lebanese branch of the Campaign to Boycott the Supporters of Israel (CBSI) called on Lebanese nationals to boycott "Jungle," citing ties to Israel. "It is about an Israeli backpacker and is based on the book by an Israeli author, Yossi Ghinsberg, who was born in the Zionist entity, grew up in Tel Aviv and served in the Israeli navy," the campaign said. "One of its producers, Dana Lustig, is also Israeli," it added. Restrictions from Lebanese authorities and public pressure from groups including CBSI have swelled recently. Last year, Lebanon banned the screening of Hollywood blockbuster "Wonder Woman" because lead actress Gal Gadot had served in the Israeli military. French-Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri was held for questioning by Lebanese authorities in September over his film "The Attack," which was partially shot in Israel. The 2012 film, banned in Lebanon, follows the story of an Israeli surgeon of Arab origin whose wife is the perpetrator of a suicide attack. And just last week, celebrated Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab was the subject of public scrutiny over a picture he posted on Instagram of Gal Gadot wearing one of his dresses. The photograph was deleted after a barrage of critical comments. The boycott-driven bans have sparked controversy in Lebanon. Some have welcomed them as a bulwark against the "cultural normalisation" of Israel's occupation. Writer and CBSI member Samah Idris said the recall of "Jungle" was "another achievement for supporters of the boycott of the Israeli enemy in Lebanon and the Arab nation, and supporters of Palestine generally." But others have insisted that boycotting should be a choice made by individuals, not imposed by authorities. Film critic Nadim Jarjura called on the government to adopt "clear standards" when restricting films. "When Lebanese authorities decide a particular film is allowed to be screened because it complies with the laws and conditions of the boycott, I don't understand how other authorities can come back and change this decision," he told AFP. Banned films can often be found in bootleg movie shops across the country for as little as a one dollar, and even blacklisted books can sometimes be found in regular bookstores. For all the Latest Entertainment News, Hollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: China sharply criticised Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat over his remarks on shifting military focus from Pakistan to China. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang was commenting on General Rawat's statement that also said that if China was strong, India was not weak either. Kang said that the remarks made by Rawat were "unconstructive" and would hurt peace and tranquillity in the border area. "During the past one year, relations between China and India witnessed some twists and turns," said Kang. he insisted that the bilateral relations between the two countries had reached a consensus and were improving. "Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior officials not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state," said Kang.' Asked what were General Rawats specific comments that China is taking exception to, Lu pointed to the Indian Army chiefs remarks on Dokalam wherein he said it is a disputed territory between Bhutan and China. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Indian Army on Monday killed seven Pakistani soldiers in retaliatory action along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. "Army has carried out retaliation against Pakistani troops across Jaglote area along the LoC in Mendhar sector of Poonch district", PTI quoted a senior Army officer as saying. "In the retaliatory action, there were seven fatal causalities to Pakistani troops and four others injured," he said. The retaliatory action comes after an Indian army soldier was killed by Pakistani firing along LoC in J&Ks Rajouri on Saturday. Also Read | Security forces foil infiltration bid in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri, 6 JeM militants killed However, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan has accepted that only four soldiers were killed in PoK. Pakistani Armys media wing also claimed that three Indian soldiers were also killed in the action. The killing of seven Pakistani soldiers also coincided with Army Chief General Bipin Rawats Army Day speech in which he said, "If we are forced, then we may resort to 'other action' by stepping up military offensive." "We are using our might to teach them a lesson. We will keep effectively retaliating to any provocative action by Pakistan," Rawat said accusing Pakistan of helping terrorists sneak into India. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production, as he held comprehensive talks on strategic issues with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who called him a revolutionary leader. The two countries also inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas such as cyber security and gas and oil after extensive delegation-level talks between their prime ministers. During the talks, the issue of India voting against Israel at the UN on the Jerusalem issue also figured with Indian officials maintaining that both sides put forth their views. However, the officials asserted that the two leaders agreed that the ties are not determined by a single issue. India had last month joined 127 other countries to vote in the UN in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of the US to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital. Terming their talks as wide-ranging and intensive, Modi, at a joint press event with Netanyahu, said they reviewed the progress in the bilateral relations and agreed that the possibilities and the opportunities that beckon the two countries need to be seized. We will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology, and security...In defence, I have invited Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime to make more in India with our companies, Modi said. According to a joint statement, the leaders noted the grave threat that terrorism poses to peace and security including from non-state actors, and reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds. They advocated strong measures against terrorists, terror outfits, those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups, the statement said. At the press event, Netanyahu said, Indians and Israelis know too well the pain of terrorist attacks. We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai. We grit our teeth, we fight back, we never give in. Also Read: India-Israel relationship a marriage made in heaven, one UN vote cant change it: Benjamin Netanyahu The two leaders also noted that the next meeting of the Joint Working Groups on Homeland and Public Security will be held in February 2018, the statement said. They reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space, the statement said. On whether the multi-million Israeli missile Spike deal figured in the talks, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (Economic Relations), did not give a direct answer and said defence and security cooperation was discussed. He did not get into specific details. On defence cooperation, the statement said the two prime ministers consider it important to set the direction for developing more business models and partnerships for joint ventures and joint manufacturing, including transfer of technology as well as joint research and development in defence and security fields. The two leaders asked their respective defence ministries to hold discussions this year with active involvement of the public and private sectors, in order to create the basis for viable, sustainable and long-term cooperation in the defence industry, the statement said. The bonhomie between the two leaders was on full display with Modi starting his press statement welcoming Netanyahu in Hebrew and the visiting leader describing the Indian prime minister as a revolutionary leader. You are a revolutionary leader and you are revolutionising India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into the future. And you have revolutionised the relations between Israel and India, Netanyahu, popularly known as Bibi, said. Dubbing Netanyahus visit as a long-anticipated moment in the journey of friendship between India and Israel, Modi said the visit was also a fitting climax to the commemoration of 25 years of bilateral diplomatic relations and marked a special beginning to the new year calendar. Asserting that their discussions were marked by the desire to do more, Modi said, Prime Minister, I have a reputation of being impatient in getting results. If I may let out an open secret, I know that so are you. Referring to his visit to Israel last year, Modi said they had promised each other and their people to build a strategic partnership as also progress of diverse and cutting-edge cooperation, and of joint endeavours and shared successes. He said last year in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu had expressed the intent to cut down bureaucratic red tape with a machete and forge ahead with speed. Also Read: Israel-India sign 9 pacts in areas of cyber cooperation, tech I am happy to tell you that in India, we are well on our way to doing just that. We have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions, he said, asserting that the results were already visible on the ground. The two leaders also exchanged views on scaling up the centres of excellence that have been a mainstay of agricultural cooperation by bringing in advanced Israeli practices and technology. Modi said the two countries are also venturing into the less explored areas of cooperation, such as oil and gas, cyber security, films, and start-ups. Asserting that they are committed to facilitating the flow of people and ideas between their geographies, Modi said, We are working with Israel to make it easier for our people to work and visit each others countries, including for longer work durations. To bring people closer on both sides, an Indian Cultural Centre will soon open in Israel. He also said that they have decided to start an annual exchange of bilateral visits by 100 young people from science-related educational streams. Modi said that he was looking forward to accompany Netanyahu to his home state, Gujarat. There, we will have another opportunity to see the fulfilment of the promise, which our mutual cooperation holds in diverse areas such as agriculture, technology, and innovation, he added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A 19-year-old boy of was mauled to death during the ongoing bull taming sport, Jalikattu, in Chennais Madurai on Monday. As per sources in the police, the unfortunate incident happened at the end of the bull taming enclosure known as the collection point. From various eye witnesses account, it is learnt that the deceased, Kalimuthu, was a participant in the first round and was killed after the bull hit him at the end of the sport. All safety arrangements, like doctors, veterinarians and ambulances were arranged by the Madurai district administration for the event. Kalimuthu was declared brought dead when he was taken to the nearby hospital after being hit by the bulls horns. As many as 643 bulls and 479 players participated in the sporting event. The three-day bull taming sport takes place every year at the time of Mattu Pongal. Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisami and deputy chief minister O Paneerselvam is expected to attend on Tuesday to mark the final day of the event. Jallikattu remained banned following a Supreme Court order in May 2014 before the state government last year brought an ordinance to facilitate its conduct at the height of a massive protest held at Marina Beach in Chennai and several places across the state. Accordingly, jallikattu was held in some places during the third week of January and in the first week of February elsewhere, including Palamedu, last year. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Overseas students at Shanghai-based Donghua University got a taste of how Chinese people celebrate Spring Festival together with folk artists last Saturday, Chinanews.com reported. Spring Festival, also Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional Chinese festival. It is a time when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. As the festival is approaching, a special face-to-face exchange was held to introduce Chinese culture to overseas students. Folk artists, school teachers, and skilled cooks gathered on Saturday to share with foreign students how to cut papers, write couplets, and make dumplings. Many foreign students in China can speak good Chinese and have started to explore the culture behind the language. Spring Festival is the biggest and most festive festival in China and an important time for family reunion, said an overseas student in China. We hope for more cultural exchanges with foreign students, said Cai Defu, an inheritor of paper cutting. Many foreign students said they plan to share what they learn when they return to their home country. Photo: Overseas students write couplets with brushes, make dumplings, and show their paper cuts/Chinanews.com Kolkata: An armed squad of over 90 CISF personnel today took over the security of the historic Victoria Memorial here with a mandate to guard it against any terror strike and theft. The Union Home Ministry recently approved the deployment of a total of 111 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel for the facility, of whom 92 took charge under the command of a Deputy Commandant-rank officer today. West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi officiated as the chief guest at the induction event held at the lawns of the memorial. The deployment of the central paramilitary at the 1921-established facility was mandated by the Supreme Court in February, 2015 after a PIL urging strengthening of its security was filed before it. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the backdrop of the theft of Rabindranath Tagores Nobel medallion from Visva Bharati and a fifth century Buddha bust from the Indian Museum. Being a monument of a great historical importance and housing a museum inside the main building, the Victoria Memorial is under constant threat from anti-social elements as it is susceptible to theft and damage of artifacts, damage to building, monuments, sculpture among others and terrorist activities. In addition to the access control, the CISF will provide round-the-clock armed security cover to the museum, CISF spokesperson Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Hemendra Singh said in a statement in Delhi. The monument, made of white marble, functions as an autonomous organisation under the Union Culture Ministry. It is an institution of national importance. It is also a museum with a vast collection of rare and extremely valuable artifacts. Thousands of visitors visit the memorial each day, Singh said. A special vehicle-borne quick-reaction teams of commandos will also be stationed at vantage points in case of an attack or sabotage-like activity at the facility. With this induction, the CISF now has a total of 341 units, both in government and non-government domain, under its security cover across the country. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A rocket landed in the Indian Embassy premises in Kabul, causing damage to ITBP barracks, but all the mission staff were safe, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said tonight. Swaraj said the rocket landed in the Chancery compound. The rocket has clipped the top of the three storied ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) barracks. There are no casualties. All Indians and staff are safe, she tweeted. A rocket has landed in our Chancery compound in #Kabul. The rocket has clipped the top of the three storied ITBP barracks. There are no casualties. All Indians and staff are safe: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/DBHyowLnQG ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said there was no fire in the incident. A rocket landed in the premises of our Embassy in Kabul a while ago causing minor damage to a structure at rear side of the Embassy compound, he tweeted. He also said that Indias Charge d Affaires there informed that all the Embassy employees were safe. It was not clear whether the target of the attack was the Indian Embassy, which is located in the high-security diplomatic zone of the Afghan capital. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Four SC judges who had levied serious allegations against the Chief Justice of India via a media briefing on Jan 12 got back to work at the apex court. It was business as usual for the four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, laying rest to the row sparked by their accusations against the Chief Justice of India. Meanwhile, Attorney General described the unprecedented crisis as "a storm in a tea cup".The Bar Council of India said that the differences between the judges and the CJI had been settled. In an unprecedented move, the four judges had on Friday publicly alleged irregularities within the apex court and hit out at CJI Dipak Misra's assignment of cases. While they accepted that the move to hold a press conference was highly unusual, they said they were "left with no choice," after receiving no response to a seven-page letter they had sent the CJI. They raised five grievances, including the distribution of important cases, and selective assignments of important cases based on preference, instead of rationality. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Beijing: China on Monday hit out at Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat for calling Dokalam a disputed territory and said that his unconstructive comments were not helpful for maintaining peace at the borders. In an angry rebuttal to Gen Rawats comments, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said his comments went against the consensus reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit last September to bring ties back on track and preserve peace on the border. The Chinese reaction came following comments by Gen Rawat two days ago that India needs to shift focus from its border with Pakistan to that of China and spoke of pressure being exerted by Beijing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Last year, India-China relations have witnessed some twists and turns, Lu said and referred to Modi-Xi consensus and the high-level talks since December to improve the ties. The dialogue and consultation have shown sound momentum of improvement and development, he said. Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior official (Gen Rawat) not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state but also do not conform to the efforts made by the two sides to improve and develop bilateral relations, Lu said. The remarks cannot help to preserve the tranquillity and peace at the border areas, areas he said. Asked what were Gen Rawats specific comments that China is taking exception to, Lu pointed to the Indian Army chief?s remarks on Dokalam wherein he said it is a disputed territory between Bhutan and China. I have made myself clear, if the senior official according to the report referred to the Donglang - I think you are clear about our position - Donglang belongs to China and has always been in the effective jurisdiction of China, Lu asserted. He reiterated Chinas stand that the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary has been delimited by the 1890 historical convention between the then British government and China, which Beijing claims settled the boundary in that particular section spanning to about 200 kms. China wants India to settle the boundary in that particular section based on the treaty while the two sides negotiated for a settlement for the rest of the LAC which spans about 3,488 kms. So far the two sides have held 20 rounds of border talks to resolve the issue. Donglang is Chinas territory. China will continue to exercise its sovereignty rights in accordance with the historical convention and steadfastly uphold its territorial sovereignty, Lu said. On its part, Bhutan had lodged a diplomatic protest with China when Chinese troops began building a road in the Dokalam area in June. Indian troops had objected to the construction of the road resulting in a 73-day standoff. The standoff was resolved after Chinese troops stopped road building and India withdrew its troops from the area. In an apparent reference to Gen Rawats comment that Dokalam is a disputed territory between Bhutan and China, Lu said, the remarks of the Army chief mentioned by you once again showed that the illegal trespass of the Indian border troops is quite clear-cut in nature. Donglang belong to China. We require the Indian military to learn lessons and abide by the historical convention and earnestly uphold the peace and tranquillity for the border areas and create sound atmosphere for the political development of bilateral relations, he said. On Gen Rawats comments that China is exhorting pressure on India along the LAC, Lu said, if he refers to the situation in whole India-China boundary, I have also said that last September the two heads of state have reached important consensus during the Xiamen (BRICS) summit. Both sides have maintained effective communication since then. The aim is to enhance strategic mutual trust and create enabling atmosphere for strategic communication. Recently, the bilateral relations have shown positive momentum. Lu said, referring to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yis visit to India in December followed by 20th round of border talks between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. On such background, the official mentioned by you made such kind of remarks that go against the consensus of the states and do not conform to the general trend of improvement of bilateral relations. We believe such kinds of remarks are not conducive to maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas, Lu said. He did not directly respond to a question about Gen Rawats earlier remarks about major reduction of Chinese troops from the Dokalam area and reiterated China?s stand that area belonged to China. China and India are important neighbours. They are both at the critical stage of the national development and rejuvenation. The two countries should enhance strategic communication and eliminate strategic doubt and conduct strategic cooperation, he said. We urge the Indian side to follow through on the important consensus of the two leaders to do more things to preserve peace and stability of the border area and refrain from doing things which may complicate the situation, constructively handle the relevant affairs and promote steady development of bilateral relations. This serves the common interest of the whole region and the interest o the Indian side, Lu added. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The cliff village in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwestern Chinas Sichuan province, received an investment of 630 million RMB ($98 million) last Saturday, Chengdu Economic Daily reported. The money will be used to the boost local economy through tourism. The village was made famous by children who were pictured climbing makeshift ladders last year. It is learnt that a tourism company will be jointly established to forge the village into an extraordinary tourism destination. A launching ceremony of the tourism project was held on Jan. 13 in Liangshan. The cliff village, with rich natural resources, is home to a number of unique valleys, caves, springs, and forests. In addition, the culture of Yi ethnic group is also a major selling point of the village. A series of high-end tourism facilities, including a stone house hotel and a tent hotel, will be established there, enriching the tourism experience for the visitors. According to the secretary of the village, tourism has injected new development momentum into the local community, becoming a new path of long-term poverty alleviation for the villagers. The tourism project will be completed in three phases by 2022. We start the week with an in-depth interview with IWCs CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr by Brice Lechevalier. He explains how the brand from Schaffhausen will be celebrating its 150th anniversary, presents the 2018 collection and considers the challenges that lie ahead. Since a number of press embargoes were fixed for 9am this morning, we have delayed our newsletter by two hours to give you access to the very latest news from the SIHH just as the show opens its doors. This allows me to introduce you to terms such as the Baumatic and Triple Split. Other neologisms will no doubt follow over the course of the week as I grapple with concepts such as phase-shift seconds. Keep an eye out on the site this week to see if I can work out what it means! The Baumatic is Baume & Merciers brand-new movement that raises the bar in terms of value for money, given its impressive technical specifications. For just 2,450 Swiss francs it offers a silicon hairspring, magnetic resistance to 1500 Gauss, chronometer-level performance and a power reserve of 120 hours. This would take some beating at Baselworld, never mind the more luxurious halls of Palexpo. Oliver Muller brings you the full story behind this new calibre tomorrow. The Triple Split is the only split-seconds chronograph in the world that can measure additive and comparative times for elapsed times of up to 12 hours. Presented by A. Lange & Sohne, it follows on from the brands Double Split, which is already fourteen years old. Find out more about this technical marvel in my article on Wednesday. Ferdinand Berthouds new FB 1R.6-1 has been christened with a burdensome name and its aesthetics may not be to everyones taste but, with only 20 models available, demand for this new interpretation of Ferdinand Berthouds hugely completed fusee-chain movement will undoubtedly exceed supply. Oliver Muller brings us all the details on Friday. These four articles are just a bite-sized appetiser ahead of what promises to be a veritable smorgasbord of watchmaking news over the coming week. We will be updating the site regularly throughout the day during the SIHH and our new community manager Ali Beretdinov will be leaving no showcase and no microfiber glove unpacked in his quest to bring you the best live wristshots and behind-the-scenes coverage from the show on our social media accounts. Our contributors will be reporting on their favourite watches from the SIHH 2018 every day and we will also be sending out our daily newsletter every evening with a summary of the latest product launches. If you want to know anything about a person, a culture, a family, you go to their home and eat at their dinner table, says Chef Jerome Grant. Herein lies the grounding mission of Sweet Home Cafe, the restaurant he helms in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. The eatery provides much more than sustenance; it is an exhibition space within itself. The food Grant and his team serve is a historical project, an edible archive. Its menu visits all corners of the United States and investigates the indelible influence of the African diaspora on the American palate. Plates chart a challenging trajectory from slave trade to share crop to segregation, the flavors are purposeful and proud. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. and his enduring, if not yet actualized, vision, we visited Sweet Home Cafe's recipe for oyster pan roast. Its featured in Joe Yonan's America the Great Cookbook (Weldon Owen). Grants pan roast recipe is, in many ways, a tribute. Here, he explains the story behind the dish: Making sophisticated food while serving a social purpose is the double-barreled mission of Ratatouille and Company caterers in Westport. Launched last spring, the food business provides employment and training for immigrant women as it dazzles customers with an eclectic international menu that ranges from Thai dishes, like Salt Encrusted Branzino, to Tuscan specialties, such as Spaghetti al Limone with Seared Scallops. The company is a second career for Evelyn Isaia, who was looking for a way to combine her love of food with her commitment to philanthropy after 30 years in wealth management. The fateful moment for Isaia came when she met New York City chef Hong Thaimee at a Shelter Island, N.Y., party. We realized we had a shared passion for helping women and putting on events, Isaia says. With my organizational skills and her cooking skills, I suggested, Lets do something fun. Soon after, the women learned the American Church of Paris needed 80,000 euros for repair work and they set up a fundraising dinner combined with a cooking class. We served 60 black-tie guests and it was a total success, so I thought we might be onto something, Isaia says. Isaias last day at Merrill Lynch was May 1 and Ratatouille just took off right after her so-called retirement. She is the CEO and founding partner of the company. In the months since the launch, Brooklyn, N.Y., chef Cathy Brower joined Ratatouille as president and chef de cuisine. Like her partner, Brower came to the food business after three decades in another career in her case, publishing. Brower has been happily pursuing her passion for food as the pastry chef at Thaimee at the McCarren Hotel in Brooklyn. The extensive Italian offerings on the Ratatouille menu are the result of the chefs studies at the Culinary Institute in Florence. Although the social mission of helping immigrant women learn to cook and serve professionally is integral to the Westport company, Brower says, The first thing we are is a high-end, full-service catering company. Ive only been on board a couple of months, but people seem excited by the mission and the food. Brower finds a lot of culinary freedom in catering rather than working for restaurants. The time and the structure is different, she says. You have the time to make every morsel delicious, to make sure the customers and guests are treated perfectly and to see people enjoy the food. Isaia and Brower have been thrilled by the culinary input of the immigrant women who have come to work for the catering company. We tell the women to bring us something you love, Brower says. Some of these dishes have to be tweaked to make them presentable for a Park Avenue crowd, Isaia says, but there are ways you can make street food elegant and beautiful. Part of preparing the women at Ratatouille for careers in the food business is making them mindful of how important portion control and careful budgeting are for a catering company or a restaurant. Its a very hard business, Brower says of the high failure rate for restaurants. You need to have sales numbers you want to meet, Isaia adds of the goal-setting that has always been a part of her working life. The chef has come to believe food is important to us on many more levels than mere sustenance. To me, its a unifying thing, Brower says of sharing a meal. People sit around and taste all of the food together and they feel connected. It generates conversation and closeness. Isaia has already seen the value in the Ratatouille concept of doing good while serving good food. Our lead Syrian chef has always wanted to do this, but could never put it all together. We try to make everyone feel empowered and to bring in dishes they want to make. ... I want everyone to feel like a colleague and an associate, she says. Nonprofits and big government projects are great, but on the grassroots level you can impact one person at a time, Isaia says. jmeyers@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @joesview DANBURY - Guest speaker Andre Swanston admitted Monday during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration that he had labored to write an inspirational speech. He turned out to be inspirational not because of what he said, but because of what he couldnt say. The Danbury father of two was midway through his speech at New Hope Baptist Church when his emotions overtook him. I remember being on the bus with my mom, who picked me up from day care after a full day of work, and she went to night school because she was working on ... Swanstons voice choked, preventing him from continuing. People in the pews filled the silence with supportive applause. Im sorry, said Swanston, the 36-year-old CEO and co-founder of Stamford-based Tru Optik, holding his hand up to the crowd, and stepping away from the pulpit. Its all right, people said from multiple places in the pews. When he couldnt continue, the crowd applauded with more encouragement. It was one of the emotional highlights of a spirt-filled celebration that featured songs sung by a youth choir, a Duke Ellington number by the Danbury High School Jazz Band and a VIP appearance by Mayor Mark Boughton. It was also an unexpected moment from a polished entrepreneur, who had been introduced as one of only a handful of African-American venture-backed tech startup CEOs in the country. With tissues in his right hand given to him by a woman in the choir, Swanston changed the subject and spoke of his hard-working father, struggling to raise a family in the Bronx. Again he was overcome. People clapped again. When my father told me my responsibility was to do better, and take advantage of my opportunity, it wasnt just talk - I saw the work he put in and I saw his journey, Swanston said, turning the corner on his tears and bringing the speech back to Kings righteous fight for civil rights in the 1960s. Dr. King didnt just preach non-violence in Birmingham; he remained nonviolent when he was hosed with water cannons and beaten with batons and chased down by dogs, Swanston said. He didnt just tell others to march to Selma; he marched in front so that others that were afraid could follow him. Swanston and other speakers on Monday did not refer specifically to the holiday controversy in Washington, D.C., over news reports last week that President Donald Trump questioned why the U.S. should welcome more immigrants from Haiti and shithole countries in Africa rather than places like Norway. But speakers did rally the crowd around the idea that Kings dream of opportunity for all was a better vision for the country. Despite what happens on the national level and the international level, Danbury...is a model of diversity and compassion and caring for each other, Boughton said. That is what I love about this city - we have the best people in America. The churchs pastor agreed. When we listen to the rhetoric we have in the White House, we ought to take this message today that we are better together, and do something about it - not just sit and hate, not just sit and talk about it, said the Rev. Leroy Parker, as the crowd roared with applause. We are going come together and show the White House that we are better together. rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342 Win McNamee / Getty Images NEWTOWN - A Newtown High School student and a Sandy Hook School student were winners of an essay contest honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., according to a release. Kenneth Miller, a student at Sandy Hook School, and Karl Miller, a student at Newtown High School, each won for their essays in Congressional District 5. Kyler Kumi, a student at Rochanmbeau Middle School in Southbury also won, according to the release. The 49th Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) will open 26 January and run until 10 February at the Fair Grounds in Nasr City, with 848 publishers from 27 countries 178 more publishers than last year, yet eight fewer countries. This year's guest of honour is Algeria and CIBF's Person of the Year is Abdel-Rahman El-Charkawi (1921-1987), according to an announcement made by the General Egyptian Book Organisation (GEBO), official organiser of the fair. El-Charkawi was one of Egypt's most renowned writers and poets in the 20th century, authoring many books that have been deemed gems of modern Islamic writing. He also authored a play about the Algerian nationalist Djamila Bouhired and her struggle against French colonisation. Haitham Al-Haj Ali, head of GEBO, said the fair chose El-Charkawi as a great example of "soft power." Last year, CIBF chose Egyptian poet Salah Abdel-Sabour (1931-1981), one of Egypt's most influential contemporary poets, as Person of the Year, while in 2016 it chose late Egyptian novelist Gamal El-Ghitany (1945-2015), to commemorate his memory. CIBF's theme for the year is "Soft Power: How?" Haj Ali said that culture is soft power; that Egyptians need to communicate with the world, and that culture is the way for Egypt to retain its position of leadership in the world. "Soft power is the cultural facade of the country; it is the set of values and traditions and cultural particularities that makes the future of Egypt and its history, and we are ready to put the question of soft power on the table in this year's fair," Haj Aly said. This year will see the participation of 848 publishers from 27 countries: 481 Egyptian, 367 Arab, 10 international, though only two African publishers, down from six African publishers last year. Last year saw the participation of 670 publishers, 451 of them were Egyptian, 200 Arab, 13 international, and six from African countries. Arab publishers have increased by 167 publishing houses this year. While the total number of publishers is up this year, it doesn't break the record number of 2016, which was 850. The two African countries are Sudan and Somaila, which are also Arab countries. Haj Aly said the decrease of number of African countries "goes back to these countries" and is "probably for economic reasons." The fair will have a busy cultural and artistic programme that is yet to be announced. Short link: In this ongoing column, The Digest, Entrepreneur.com News Director Stephen J. Bronner speaks with food entrepreneurs and executives to see what it took to get their products into the mouths of customers. A lover of scents, Jeni Britton Bauer says she always wanted to be a perfumer. Instead, she opened an ice cream business which has created more than 200 flavors, including osmanthus and blackberry crackle and Bangkok peanut. Yet, her original ambitions are evident when she speaks about her passion for frozen treats. "The great thing about ice cream is that it has this perfect melting point just below body temperature, so as soon as it hits your tongue, all of the scents volatilize in your mouth and nose," she says. "It's a combination of what you taste on your tongue -- sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami -- and then what you're experiencing in your nose, which can be hundreds of different scent compounds." Image credit: Jeni's Spendid Ice Creams Using scent as the basis, Bauer in 1996 set out with a lofty goal: setting a new standard for American ice cream. Related: All it Took Was One Taste, and Now This Former Designer Is Living a Booze Industry Dream And it seems she is on her way to accomplishing her mission. Twenty-two years after opening her first ice cream business (which she shuttered only to try again two years after), Bauer's company Jeni's Spendid Ice Creams, has grown from its first shop in Columbus, Ohio's North Market to recently opening up its 32nd location in Washington, D.C. It sold 5.5 million scoops of ice cream in 2016, currently employs about 800 people and raked in $30 million in sales last year. She's also the author of two books, Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Desserts, the former of which won a James Beard Award in 2011. "Our goal in three years is to be a household name in American kitchens," Bauer says. "We have a lot of work to do to help people understand how we make our ice cream and what an awesome, amazing company this is." Bauer hopes to accomplish this by staying focused on creating flavors and expanding its footprint in grocers across the country -- it just secured a deal to be carried in Publix stores starting in March. Image credit: Jeni's Spendid Ice Creams We spoke with Bauer for more insights on her business and, of course, sweet treats. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. You were initially set up in a farmer's market. How did that experience impact your company? Those days are really important to me, because I got to serve people over the counter. For eight to 10 years every single day I got feedback on the ice cream that I was making. The great thing about the market is that the top culinary people in the community, including food critics for the newspapers and now bloggers, shop there. Just watching somebody eat an ice cream, I'd be able to see the reaction to it. A lot of times people won't say anything but maybe they give an expression of delight or disgust. Our quality standards were built on those eight to 10 years. Related: How A&W Got Its Soul Back What sets your product apart from your competitors? We have figured out how to make this incredible ice cream without the use of stabilizers or emulsifiers. The only reason we don't use those is because I don't like the flavor and also because we can use milk protein to do the same job. The other thing that makes us truly different is how we operate our company. We work directly with our makers, growers and producers and use their entire fields of produce, which they grow for us, or entire batches of whisky or whatever. Working directly with these people means that we can really truly make better ice cream. We don't take shortcuts. At what point did it feel like a real business to you? It was always a real business to me. I did everything I could every day to get to this incredible goal: that American ice cream is the best in the world and my company can set the standard for it. Everything that I've done has been toward that goal. Can you tell me something interesting about yourself that you think helped you launch and grow your business? The fact that I studied art history actually helped me a lot as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is very emotional, especially when you're a maker like I am. You're really trying to make something that you love but also to get people to truly love it, and that's just such a wonderful emotion. I feel like art history is all about this emotional, honest and true history from the people who actually lived it and the art they created. Related: 9 Steps to Increase the Value of Your Business How did you land your first big distribution deal? Dean and Deluca in New York found out about us and placed an order. I had to go design a label really quick with my friend so that we can meet that order and after that Foragers Market in Dumbo, Brooklyn, contacted us within a couple of years. And then it kind of snowballed from there. In 2009, I brought in our CEO John Lowe and his first job was literally calling specialty markets directly. What he kept hearing was that it was too expensive. It was $9.99 to $11.99 depending on what part of the country you're in. It was hard, because there were no distribution companies that were going to work with us. Image credit: Jeni's Spendid Ice Creams The other thing we did was we brought in another guy, Ryan Morgan. He wanted to leverage our social-media following. We connected Ryan with grocers, and he started to not only be a salesperson but he would also use all of our social media to drive people to those openings. So there would be people waiting to buy and that made the distribution companies interested. What marketing tactic has been the most effective for your brand? [Social media] and new flavors. We can drop new flavors in stores and through social media spread the word. Every time we do it, people are lining up around the block again. Over time we've been able to learn which flavors people respond to the most, which is what we make available. Were there any particular flavors that were born out of customer feedback that you wouldn't have thought of yourself? Lime cardamom yogurt has been very popular for a long time and that was actually a customer's idea, which I don't do very often. It's one of my favorite flavors actually. I would say that every single flavor that I've made has been tweaked by listening to what people are responding to, even down to the details like how caramelized our caramel is. Related: 10 Marketing Influencers That Every Entrepreneur Can Learn From How do you separate between listening to your gut about something and taking customer feedback? I always go with my gut, and the only way you change my gut is if a lot of people say it. Usually the great thing is that if a lot of people say it, I've already been thinking it, too. It serves to validate that. I would never ask somebody what they think of a flavor before I put it out. If you ask people, they will give you their opinion and it's always negative first. And if you give it to focus groups first, you will get a very different product than what we get at Jeni's. Do you have a particular flavor that's your favorite? It probably is our lemon buttermilk frozen yogurt. I've been making it since 1996 -- my first days in business. I love it. I'm never tired of it. It's so simple. It's fresh squeezed lemon, buttermilk, beautiful yogurt, cream and grass pasteurized milk. Is there anything unusual about the way you run your company? I think a lot of companies sort of separate marketing, creative and R&;D and we're all one. We're really kind of a marketing-communications-branding-R&;D team. We make the ice cream and photograph and write about the ice creams, and we create our digital and social and all of our campaigns. It's like eight people and I feel like we get really beautiful, authentic stuff because of that. What's something that would totally kind of blow people's expectations apart of working in ice cream? I eat ice cream every single day to the point where it's balanced into my life. I often just eat steamed vegetables for dinner, and I feel very fine and great and comfortable with that, because I love ice cream so much. Related: From Perfumer Dreams to Queen of Ice Cream, This Entrepreneur Shares Her Secrets to Sweet Success All it Took Was One Taste, and Now This Former Designer Is Living a Booze Industry Dream Investors Saved This Company by Tapping a Food Industry Veteran to Lead It Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com MILFORD Elizabeth Gregg had her heart broken and bank account drained by a con man 23 years ago, but she hasnt forgotten and shes not letting the rest of the world forget it either. Gregg has created a Facebook page, Conned, but not Conquered, for victims to share, get an encouraging message and draw from her own experience of being conned. Ive accepted the fact this is not going to end until the day he dies or I die, said Gregg, a Milford resident at the time of her ordeal. I just cant brush it under the rug. It was in 1994 after a six-week whirlwind romance that Gregg discovered the man she had fallen in love with was not famous Formula One race car driver Dr. Jonathan Palmer as he told her but actually British citizen Jonathan Kern, who she would later learn traveled the world posing as Palmer, rock stars and other famous people. When she put the pieces together, Gregg pressed charges with Milford police, who have a longstanding warrant for Kerns arrest. She wrote a self-published book about the ordeal, I Fell in Love with a Con Man, and she spread the word about Kern through the internet. She testified against him in a Paris court case involving another woman he had conned, helping lead him to conviction and jail time. Her story of being wined, dined, romanced and conned was even featured on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. To this day, Gregg said she gets emails and phone calls when the episode airs. But Gregg who changed her name from Grzeszczyk because it was so difficult to spell and pronounce is not relenting. She is again putting the case into the spotlight with the Facebook page she hopes others who have been conned can find comfort, share information and it is her hope, keep others from falling victim. Gregg said she feels there is a need for such a forum because the way in which cons are permitted to continue is that people dont tend to speak up about the situation because they feel humiliated or are fearful. They may not feel strong enough or confident enough to speak out but I am, said Gregg, who says she is now in a healthy relationship. Greggs experience with Kern not only broke her heart and killed her confidence, but also drained her bank account of some $15,000, leading to bankruptcy. Kern, reached via email through his company in the United Kingdom, Shellshock Designs Ltd. wrote, I think Ms Grzeszczyk really needs to get a life. Her accusations are exaggerated and fictitious and my family, colleagues and I are fed up to the back teeth of this attention seeker .... Kerns original email was followed by a series of emails insulting the Register reporter and Gregg, including asking the reporter, Havent you heard about fake news? and Donald Trump and EG in one country ... OMG ! Referring to the massive body of news clips on the internet regarding Greggs case and others brought against him through the years, Kern wrote, Really cannot understand how this compulsive hag cons all you professionals in our ex-colony?????? Milford police spokesman Mike DeVito confirmed there is an outstanding warrant from 1994 for Kerns arrest on charges of felony criminal impersonation, second-degree forgery and second-degree larceny. Although Kern was dismissive of Greggs claims in his email to the Register, he posted a video of himself on YouTube which broadly describes his exploits around the globe, pretending to be a famous rock star or racing driver. Kern says in the video that he put it up for the world to see on the advice of a client and friend who read the material on the internet from Gregg and others and thought Kern should tell his side of the story. Although Kern states in the video that what he did all those years was wrong, he appears to write most of it off as youthful indiscretion. But he wasnt so young during his weeks with Gregg he was 40 and turned 64 this month, according to his passport. The world was less complicated then and by pretending to be someone famous, he had access to luxury cars, hotels and designer clothes, Kern says in the video. With those items at his disposal, It didnt take long for beautiful women to come knocking at my door, he says in the video. He never mentions the case involving Gregg. Kern talks about how he was criminally charged and imprisoned in France for obtaining by deception, a Lotus automobile. According to The Guardian newspaper, which interviewed him in jail, he contacted Lotus, claiming to be a magazine publisher and asked them for a car for a feature. The day the car was delivered, he took it to the Belgian Grand Prix and five days later called Lotus to say it had been stolen from the car park, according to The Guardian article. He told the company he was flying to the U.S. and would call again in two days, but they never heard from him again, The Guardian article states. I ended up paying a very heavy price for what had started out as nothing more than a bit of fun, he states in the video, saying Lotus was embarrassed and wanted to make an example of him. He said the case received a lot of publicity he was even visited by a reporter in jail because his story involved fast cars, exotic locations and beautiful women. Gregg said in the Paris case, where she testified against him, he was found guilty in a case similar to hers involving a French woman, and was sentenced to three years in jail, serving 17 months. Kern goes on to say in the video: Some of the stuff on the internet is true, but most of it isnt. For example, Kern states, he was never on the run or in hiding even 20 years ago. He also says in the video that today hes married, good with his family, runs a successful business now and that its possible to wake up one day, decide to change your ways and do just that. . Kern and Gregg met in 1994 while Gregg was on a business trip in Florida for Bayer Pharmaceuticals. She was sitting by herself at an outdoor cafe in South Beach when Kern approached, identifying himself as Palmer. Gregg, knew something about racing through her ex-husband, and asked if her suitor was the Jonathan Palmer. He said, yes, answered a few questions correctly, and the web began spinning, she said. Initially, Gregg questioned why the famous Formula One driver was interested in her a regular woman from Milford when he could date super models. I said, Why me? Im not a jet-setter. He said, Im tired of that. I want to settle down. He said he needed me that pulled my strings, I wanted to help. Gregg has recalled. She said Kern was able to pull it off because he came from a multi-millionaire family and he knew how to act. He was charming and she loved the British accent, Gregg said. After just a few days of romance, the man who said he was Palmer would return home to Milford with Gregg on her 39th birthday, presumably because they were so much in love and he wanted to build a life together. But within six weeks, the whirlwind romance had turned into every womans nightmare. Behind Hugo Boss clothes, fancy hotels, Jaguars and smooth talk was a con man who bilked women, his family, car dealerships, hotels and others through impersonating them, Gregg said. The Jonathan Palmer con was a favorite, but in his younger days, Kern had even roamed his native England as Mick Jagger, Gregg would learn. Although Gregg had an intuition that something wasnt right from the beginning, Kern always had a plausible answer. His stories of wealth tied up in overseas banks seemed plausible, and he even managed through his Palmer scam to have a Mercedes dealership deliver a car to Milford for his use. By the time it all unraveled in mid-November of 1994, Kern had not only broken her heart, but also bilked Gregg out of $15,000 through use of her ATM card and other money he borrowed until his alleged money from England could be transferred. At some point, he reimbursed her $7,000 plus through a check at an Italian bank, but that bounced about a year later, leaving Gregg shattered financially. Gregg declared bankruptcy, lost her job and moved to Massachusetts. Since then, shes lived in other states, including Florida, Maine and California. Gregg said she regained confidence over the years to return to her profession in the field of clinical trials. Gregg said she testified against Kern in 1998 on fraud charges in another case in Paris. Gregg said she wrote the book years ago to keep the story alive for others who might be conned. In writing the book, Gregg recalled many details of her relationship with Kern by pouring through items she had saved, such as airline boarding passes, calendars, notes and old telephone bills, including 20 pages of calls made by Kern from her cell phone. If he ever returns to the United States and is caught, police in Milford would arrest him, but have decided not to extradite him from abroad because of the cost. The main photo on her new Facebook page is one of she and Jonathan Kern picking up a flashy car sent for his use as Jonathan Palmer when he was staying with her in Milford. Kerns name is liberally splashed on the Facebook page and among the posts are encouraging sayings, one specifically about being disrespected, and clips of Greggs appearances on media. One post that features a link to purchase Patty Hearsts book on Amazon reads, Being conned is a form of brainwashing. I found some definite similarities comparing Patty Hearsts story to my own. One of her posts reads, If more of us come forward with our stories, it will also help to educate others in what to watch out for, to learn to trust their gut instinct, and to hopefully prevent others from being conned. Gregg said shes had some amazing feedback through the Facebook page, her book and through the internet from those who have been conned and shes been able to offer emotional support. Gregg said her story, Shows that it doesnt define you. It happened, but you can overcome it. It doesnt have to be the end of your life. Gregg said shes not consumed with the case at all and has a full life. I dont check Facebook every day, she said. I just want it to be out there. Although Gregg had an intuition something wasnt right from the beginning when Kern introduced himself, she didnt follow that sixth sense. The day after their first meeting at the cafe, she was to switch hotels. As she was waiting to check in, Kern appeared, came up to her and kissed her softly on the lips, she recalled. She was waiting for him to say he was checking in too, but instead, he wanted to stay with her. She thought, Wow, heres Jonathan Palmer and he wants to stay with me. I didnt want to be a prude, she said. I thought, is this the way the rich do things? After a dip in a hot tub that night, she was hooked. Everything moved so quickly, I was just off balance, Gregg said. It was Gregg who called off the relationship. When he left she started calling numbers that appeared on her cell phone bill and before long she learned he was a Jonathan he used names other than Palmer as well but not a Jonathan Palmer. In addition to using her ATM to withdraw up to $250 per day, he was also seeing other women during his daily trips to Manhattan. Gregg said she spent the next three days crying on the couch. She eventually contacted Milford police, who learned through federal marshals that Kern had been charged with crimes in other parts of the world, she said. After Greggs story first appeared in the Register in 1996, it received worldwide attention and was told on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. The real Jonathan Palmer was interviewed in that episode and told of how Kern resorted to fraud because he couldnt obtain Versace clothes, expensive cars and women on his own accomplishments. Also in the episode, a luxury hotel owner, David Colby, talks about how Kern posing as Palmer ran up a $3,000 bill for a five-day stay, including for restaurant meals and bottles of Champagne delivered to his room. Colby says in the episode that Kern managed to fool them all and never paid the bill. It is almost 65 years since Gamal Abdel Nasser emerged as a political figure, being a member of the Free Officers Movement that removed King Farouk, Egypts last monarch. It is over 35 years since his death on an early autumn afternoon, and exactly 100 years since his birth in a village in Upper Egypt on 16 January 1918. The 100th anniversary of the birth of Nasser, just like every other anniversary related to this highly admired and criticised leader of Egypt, prompts debate about the legacy of the man who could safely be described as Egypts most legendary modern leader. It is true that there is a debate on Nasser on the 100th anniversary of his birth, but it is also true that today the vast majority of Egyptians dont really relate to the Nasser era, argues political scientist Mustafa Kamel El-Sayyed. He notes that, according to a recent poll conducted by Baseera (the Egyptian Centre for Public Opinion Research), most of those who relate to the Nasser era are those who lived through it or were around during the tail-end. According to the same poll, most young men and women are more attuned to the eras of Anwar Sadat, who ruled from October 1970 to October 1981, and Hosni Mubarak, who ruled from October 1981 to February 2011. According to El-Sayyed, those who have an association with the Nasser era were influenced by its major developments, from June 1956 to September 1970, like the construction of the High Dam, the mega-industrialisation scheme, and agrarian land reform, or the management of foreign policy on the regional and international levels, including the shocking military defeat of 1967 that derailed Nassers grand plan. El-Sayyed adds that in the minds of those who lived the Nasser years, or who were born on the fringes of his rule, Nasser was a leader who was sensitive to the priorities of the vast majority of the population in his choice of economic policies and projects, which were designed to have a positive impact on the lives of Egyptians, something missed after Nasser in many ways. Nasser legacy The socioeconomic and foreign policy outlooks of Nasser were only part of a larger legacy of the leader, who had an unmatched political presence at home and beyond in a way that allowed for Egyptian influence over crucial world developments, such as national-liberation movements in Arab countries, Africa and the Third World, El-Sayyed argues. According to El-Sayyed, the findings of the recent Baseera poll about generational associations with Nasser do not contrast with the fact that during the 18 days of the January 2011 Revolution, some demonstrators carried pictures of Nasser. We cannot say that this was the attitude of most demonstrators. I think it would be fair to argue that those who carried Nassers picture during the days of the January Revolution were either those who fall into the category of association with his era or those who have political affiliation or even affinity to the policies he championed, El-Sayyed suggests. According to El-Sayyed, the true legacy of Nasser relates to his identification with the cause of uplifting the lives of Egyptians and the profile of Egypt as a leading state in the region, standing up to the leading powers of the time. It is unfortunate, El-Sayyed opines, that some today try to reduce the legacy of Nasser to his policies toward political Islam, essentially the Muslim Brotherhood, which was subjected to a crack down early on in Nassers rule. If we examine the dramatic changes in the life of the late Sayyed Qutb, a leading figure in the radicalisation movement of the Muslim Brotherhood, we could see a man who changed from being a leading supporter of the Free Officers, a writer and art critic, into an advocate of a very radical position that rejected society for its poor faith and called for the renovation of this faith by a selected few whose genuine faith was purified, El-Sayyed argues. Muslim Brotherhood 'concept of jihad' Nassers coercion of the Islamists was mainly of the leadership of the group. El-Sayyed also notes, while analysing the radicalisation of the Muslim Brotherhood, We also need to keep in mind a relatively similar coercion to which Egyptian communists were subject and did not prompt an equal reaction of radicalisation. So we have to say that the radicalisation of Islamists that happened during the Nasser era was not just a function of their persecution but also a by-product of the concept of jihad [holy war] fundamental to their creed, El-Sayyed says. This concept is not there in the creed of the communists who, on the one hand, believe in the possible evolution of society through an ideological approach, and on the other, could relate or even convert to the socialist line that Nasser himself was observing, he adds. At the time, El-Sayyed argues, The communists had an issue with one social class, not with the entire society, as was the case with the Islamists. Further to the legacy of Nasser, El-Sayyed is willing to acknowledge what some Coptic movements today say was exaggerated credit given to Nasser for observing equal rights for Copts and Muslims. He agrees that, for the most part, there was a much larger presence of Copts in top government and political positions before 1952 than after. And, of course, needless to say that there was not a single Copt amongst the Free Officers, he says. El-Sayyed agrees that, throughout Nassers rule of close to 15 years, there was always only very humble Coptic representation in the cabinet, as well as some leading state bodies, although this was not necessarily the case with important bodies like the police, judiciary and foreign service. However, he adds that, While it is true that under Nasser we did not see a Copt assuming a leading ministerial post, as was the case prior to 1952, we cannot be certain on the exact picture, because there has not been an accurate study on the matter. The call that Nasser committed himself to, and believed in, was one of true modernisation with solid cornerstones of better access to essential services like education and health. And this was not an environment conducive to the promotion of much deliberate religious discrimination, he suggests. For example, Nassers policies of nationalisation would not exclude either Muslims or Copts. The same goes for the application of agrarian reform measures, he says. Nasser and minorities In general terms, El-Sayyed argues, Nassers era could not be qualified as a tough one for minorities. Even if we talk about the Nubians, whose cultural heritage did suffer upon the construction of the High Dam on the land where they had their villages, we cannot argue that this was an act of ethnic discrimination against a minority, El-Sayyed says. We are rather talking about an unfairness to a cultural heritage, he adds. It is perhaps with the Jews of Egypt that El-Sayyed would qualify the general conclusion of fairness. But he insists on relating the developments of the time to their wider political context. The exodus of Jews from Egypt, El-Sayyed insists, was a development subsequent to the involvement of some in attacks that targeted foreign interests, especially American interests in order to prompt a crisis in relations between Cairo and Washington, as we saw with the Lavon affair of 1954. In a similar context, El-Sayyed says, one should see state apprehension in the 1950s and 1960s against the Bahais of Egypt, whose national loyalty was questioned due to their association with a religious ritual that used to be conducted in Haifa already Israeli-occupied by the 1950s and 1960s. In the analysis of El-Sayyed, while there are certainly things for which Nasser can be blamed, from an objective point of view, not least of which is the devastating defeat of 1967, Nassers entire legacy cannot be labelled a failure, as some Nasser critics would argue. One example of unfair generalised blame, El-Sayyed says, was the public sector. Advocates of the free-market economy and unconditional liberalisation argue that it was always a failed model of ownership, but this is not the case, because it did serve the interests of a large segment of society, even if it had its share of mistakes, which by the way were acknowledged by the state, he says. Nasser himself, El-Sayyed says, talked about the issue in a public speech in which he approached a comparison between successful management of the Suez Canal and unsuccessful management of the public sector. Moreover, El-Sayyed argues, Nasser should not be fully blamed for an exaggerated engagement of the armed forces in otherwise civilian tasks. In some cases, Nasser liked to lean on some of the officers he knew and trusted. But this was not done away from a large pool of experts in all top fields who provided advice to the president; and the president often acted upon this advice, he insists. As for the charge of Nassers failure to allow for democracy, El-Sayyed argues that this was not something Nasser alone could be blamed for. After 1952, in fact, Nasser was among the very few in the Free Officers who was sceptical about dissolving all political parties." El-Sayyed adds that the performance of political parties at the time was not successful not just after 1952, where they were firmly opposed to the cause of social justice, but even before 1952, where their excessive and damaging political haggling seem to be deliberately underestimated by some today. I am not trying to justify the choices that Nasser made there, but again I am trying to preach that we need to put things in context. These were the 1950s and 1960s when the call all across the Third World was one for independence and liberalisation rather than democratisation, and when the examples were not those of the West, but rather those like Yugoslavias Josip Tito, who managed to start a process of modernisation, despite what we saw later of the practices of his rule, El-Sayyed concludes. *The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the interviewee's and do not necessarily reflect the position of Ahram Online. Short link: Donald Trump in 1987 with his father, Fred, son of Friedrich. Photograph: NY Daily News via Getty Images A historian has discovered a royal decree issued to Donald Trumps grandfather ordering him to leave Germany and never come back. Friedrich Trump, a German, was issued with the document in February 1905, and ordered to leave the kingdom of Bavaria within eight weeks as punishment for having failed to do mandatory military service and failing to give authorities notice of his departure to the US when he first emigrated in 1885. Roland Paul, a historian from Rhineland-Palatinate who found the document in local archives, told the tabloid Bild: Friedrich Trump emigrated from Germany to the USA in 1885. However, he failed to de-register from his homeland and had not carried out his military service, which is why the authorities rejected his attempt at repatriation. The decree orders the American citizen and pensioner Friedrich Trump to leave the area at the very latest on 1 May or else expect to be deported. Bild called the archive find an unspectacular piece of paper, that had nevertheless changed world history. Trump was born in Kallstadt, now in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in 1869. He emigrated to the US aged 16 initially to escape poverty, attracted by the gold rush. He quickly turned his attention to catering for the masses of other gold hunters in Alaska, later allegedly running a brothel for them, and there made his fortune. He habitually sent the gold nuggets with which his customers regularly paid for their food to his sisters who had already emigrated to New York and had started trading in property. Returning on a visit to Kallstadt in 1901, Trump fell in love with Elisabeth Christ, whom he married a year later, returning with her to the US. But when she became homesick and wanted to return to Germany, the authorities blocked his attempts to settle there. Royal decree ordered Friedrich Trump to leave Bavaria and never come back after he failed to do military service In an effort to overturn the royal decree dated 27 February 1905, Trump wrote an obsequious letter appealing to Prince Regent Luitpold, addressing him as the much-loved, noble, wise and righteous sovereign and sublime ruler. But the prince rejected the appeal and the Trumps left Germany for New York with their daughter on the Hapag steamship Pennsylvania on 1 July 1905. Elisabeth was three months pregnant with Donald Trumps father, Fred. Residents of Kallstadt, a small wine-growing town of about 1,200 people in south-west Germany, joke that the blame for Trump becoming US president-elect lies with the German authorities who threw his grandfather out. They have so far shown little enthusiasm for claiming the businessman turned politician as their own. *** Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has warned that his administration will no longer tolerate any action of brigandage by the Fulani herdsmen in the state.He said this following killings, rape of wives and daughters of farmers and destruction of several acres of farmlands in Ondo state by the rampaging herdsmen.Akeredolu, who warned that the full weight of the law will be brought to bear on criminal elements, said we will not tolerate any act of brigandage. We will defend the right of our people to engage in farming without let or hindrance of any sort.He said this during the flag off of the National Egg Production Scheme, NEPRO, by the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh at Aaye community in the ljare area of the state.Promising to protect citizens with such fervour as expected of true representatives, the governor said his government will sanction with impassioned severity any acts which seek to tilt the balance of harmonious coexistence in the state towards anarchy.While describing as unfortunate the recurrence of clashes between farmers and herdsmen, Akeredolu said security forces have been fully mobilised to prevent the nefarious activities of nation wreckers in our state.He lamented that our state has had her share of the crisis but not on the horrendous scale whose odious effect continues to reverberate throughout the country.He, however, assured that our administration is taking proactive steps to ensure that this obnoxious phenomenon is nipped in the bud.While we encourage all those with legitimate intentions to visit our space, we intend to clear the doubt of anyone who may wish to perpetrate crime under nebulous guises.We, therefore, enjoin our people to go about their normal businesses and report, promptly, any suspicious movement of undesirable elements in their communities. All of us owe our country a duty to ensure peace while not ignoring issues of justice and equity, he said.Akeredolu said a proposed N42 billion egg powder factory would be set up in Emure area of the state and is billed to kick off on February 22 this year.Earlier, the Agriculture Minister, Audu Ogbeh said the scheme is a public-private partnership initiative designed to create jobs for youths in Nigeria.Ogbeh said: We have neglected agriculture for too long because of oil and gas. Now, our youths are jobless because we have imbibed the culture of doing nothing. Our youths walk into voluntary slavery in Libya, South Africa and other countries in the world because no other sector can provide the jobs agriculture could provide.A cheque of N564 million was presented to 135 farmers during the flag-off ceremony. Gabon striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, was dropped from Borussia Dortmunds match day squad to face Wolfsburg on Sunday, with speculation arising that he is set to move to Arsenal.Dortmund manager, Peter Stoger, confirmed that Aubameyang skipped the briefing on Saturday, before leaving Dortmunds training complex early.This is a relatively important meeting, and he just stayed away, so I guess hes not that important, that hes not that focused.Weve taken consequences. He was a little surprised today, he did not quite feel that way himself, but for us its a straightforward story. If he does not want to be there, then well turn to someone else who is fully focused on playing. He has hinted that he is focused, but we all know thats not the case, Stoger told Sky.Reports in Italy and Spain however said Aubameyang is on his way to the Emirates, with Arsene Wenger seeking to reinforce his squad ahead of the impending departures of Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott this month.Wenger is reportedly ready to pay up to 60million for the 29-year-old, who has scored 21 goals in 23 appearances in all competitions this term. Two significant anniversaries in modern Egyptian history recently coincided. 11 July was the bicentenary of an Ottoman firman appointing Mehmed Ali (more commonly transliterated from Arabic as Muhammad 'Ali) as governor of Egypt thus inaugurating his long tenure as Egypt's ruler and launching an unprecedented period of social, cultural, economic and military reform. 23 July was the 53rd anniversary of the Revolution that brought Gamal Abdel-Nasser to power, a leader who managed through his social and economic policies to change Egyptian society in very significant ways. In spite of the many differences between Mehmed Ali and Gamal Abdel-Nasser, both men are often compared to each other and some even see Nasser as following in Mehmed Ali's footsteps. This article critiques the popular argument that sees both men as belonging to one grand project of national development and presents an alternative reading of Mehmed Ali's career within an Ottoman, rather than a purely Egyptian, context. Mehmed Ali and Nasser are often seen as great reformers who had grand visions for Egypt. It is insisted these visions were set in motion through well thought- out and integrated plans. Education was a central pillar of both Mehmed Ali's and Nasser's social reform policies. Mehmed Ali opened schools throughout the country, sent educational missions to Europe and launched an impressive translation project. Similarly, educational reforms are often singled out as the most significant of the July Revolution's policies. Mass education was a government priority and free education was guaranteed to all up to the university level. Mehmed Ali and Nasser showed remarkable similarity in their economic policies. While both men are depicted as paying attention to agriculture, industry also attracted their attention. Mehmed Ali is famously seen as founding the first industrial establishments in Egypt. State monopolies of agricultural products also tightened its grip over the economy and are seen as a necessary component in a well-integrated economic policy. Similarly, Nasser's socialist decrees of the early 1960s brought the country's industrial establishments under government control and helped the regime adopt an import substitution policy aiming at self sufficiency in everything "from the needle to the rocket." Behind this conviction, it is assumed, was a realisation that the surest and quickest way to "catch up" with the advanced West was for the state to lead the process. Most significantly, both men are viewed as being acutely aware that for their projects to succeed, Egypt had to be firmly integrated into its surroundings, and to be bold enough to assert its right to defend, and even create, its strategic depth -- its lebensraum. Thus Mehmed Ali is described as expanding into the Sudan, Arabia, Crete, Syria and parts of Anatolia. The fact that most of these areas were inhabited by Arabic-speaking subjects of the Ottoman sultan, it is usually argued, was not accidental, as both father and son had a vision of founding their hard-won empire on Arab nationalist grounds, an argument first made famous by George Antonius in his 1939 classic The Arab Awakening. Similarly, Nasser famously propagated the three circles -- the Arab, the African and the Islamic -- in which Egypt moved, and which formed its strategic depth. His rigorous pursuit of Arab unity is seen as an integral part of his domestic policy in addition to being driven by a deep conviction of the shared heritage and destiny of all Arabs. While the popular argument connecting Nasser to Mehmed Ali readily admits that both projects encountered some problems, it insists that these were minor and that the two respective projects would have overcome these problems had it not been for outside intervention. A collusion between an imperious Europe and a defunct and weak Ottoman Empire is blamed for Mehmed Ali's defeat, whereas a parallel collusion first between Israel and the old colonial powers of Britain and France and later between Israel and the new superpower, the US, is blamed for Nasser's defeat. Britain, so the popular narrative goes, was determined to frustrate Mehmed Ali's grand designs because his monopolies policy effectively closed large markets in the orient to British goods. This hostility is seen as personified in Lord Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary who despised Mehmed Ali, and who was determined to defeat him. When Britain failed in doing so in the first round in 1827, after Mehmed Ali had recovered from the sinking of his entire fleet in the Bay of Navarino by a combined British-French-Russian fleet, it was determined that he would not get away next time. In 1840 Palmerston convened a conference in London where all major European powers dictated to Mehmed Ali a series of ultimatums which effectively robbed him of his territorial acquisitions and denied him the results of his military victories. The settlement of 1840-1841 is seen as a way to ensure that Mehmed Ali close down his factories thus bringing the whole experiment to a halt. Similarly, external factors are stressed to explain Nasser's demise. Britain and France, troubled by his anti-imperial agitations in their spheres of influence, conspired with Israel, which was alarmed by the prospect of his uniting all the Arabs against it, and launched a tripartite aggression in 1956. When Nasser came out victorious after this confrontation, "reactionary forces" colluded again with "colonialism" and Egypt was lured into another trap where it suffered a serious "setback" ( naksa ) in 1967. Presented in this way it is difficult not to see the parallels between both men. In this popular view, Egypt's sincere efforts to develop its economy and its society and catch up with modernity were frustrated by a diabolical combination of European/American imperialism and its proxies. Accordingly, both men appear as tragic heroes whose failures were the result of forces over which they had little control. Though seductive, this narrative suffers from serious inconsistencies and misleading comparisons. It is also based on a simplistic and shallow understanding of complex characters and is obsessed with fitting them into a neat progression of events. While collusions and conspiracies abound in Egypt's relationship with the West, to reduce its modern history to a series of conspiracies is dangerously simplistic as it offers a shallow reading of this history, flattening out the "West" and exonerating local players from historical responsibility. Rather than dwelling on how this narrative misreads the Nasser era (which it does), I would like to point out how faulty its reading of Mehmed Ali is. To see him as a precursor to Nasser as an Egyptian or Arab nationalist hero is to impose a modern logic on a period in which nationalism, Egyptian or Arab, was an alien concept. Similarly, to argue that his policies were inspired by a mercantilist logic that necessitated territorial expansion is to misconstrue the logic of his military activities and to fail to characterise the connection between the economy and military expansion. Finally, arguing that Britain's animosity towards Mehmed Ali was motivated by a concern over competition with Egyptian industry is to misread Britain's true interests in the region and to characterise its deep hostility towards Mehmed Ali. Above all, this narrative fails to understand Mehmed Ali's intentions in Egypt and bestows on his actions a logic they lacked. No understanding of Mehmed Ali will be complete without taking seriously the Ottoman context in which he operated. The insistence on this Ottoman context does not stem only from the fact that Mehmed Ali himself spoke Turkish and understood little or no Arabic (hence the preference for the Turkish spelling of his name), or that he saw himself more as an Ottoman pasha than an Egyptian notable (whatever that might mean). Rather, it is primarily because Mehmed Ali came to power through a firman of investiture by Sultan Selim III appointing him as governor of Egypt with the rank of pasha. During the preceding months, it is true, the leading Azhari shaykh s and a number of large merchants chose Mehmed Ali as their leader and evicted one governor after another sent by Istanbul to control the unruly province. Mehmed Ali was not the sultan's first choice, moreover; the sultan tried in vain to remove him from this important province and sent this firman only in recognition of a fait accompli. Nevertheless, that firman was Mehmed Ali's only source of legitimacy and its annual arrival from Istanbul renewing his tenure was received with great pomp and ceremony. As for the Egyptian leaders who had elected him and who could have formed an alternative source of legitimacy, he either exiled or "eliminated" them or confiscated their property and wealth. Mehmed Ali realised that while he controlled things on the ground, his position could only be secure if he received a sultanic firman bestowing legitimacy on him. The 11 July 1805 firman thus translated his hard-won position in this wealthy province to an uncontested legal reality. However, this did not come without its own problems. For one thing, as was the custom with provincial investitures, it was renewed annually. Second, there were powerful men in Istanbul who were suspicious of Mehmed Ali and who conspired to have him removed from Egypt, chief among whom was Husrev Pasha (a.k.a. Khesrow Basha) who had been appointed as governor of Egypt back in 1803 and whom Mehmed Ali and his Albanian troops evicted from Cairo. Third, unlike other previous governors sent from Istanbul for whom the governorship of Egypt was an important step in their bureaucratic advancement, Mehmed Ali came from outside these government circles. Istanbul therefore looked upon him with extreme suspicion and apprehension, and tried to evict him from Egypt many times. Mehmed Ali was aware of these efforts and was always eager to put an end to his ambivalent situation in Egypt. This, and not any phantom project of national rejuvenation or grand modernisation, was his prime goal to which he devoted his inexhaustible energy; namely, to transform his shaky position, a position dependent on the sultan's wish and intrigues in the imperial capital, into a permanent legal reality. This explains his elimination of the Mamluk amir s, his summoning of friends and family members to Egypt and forming of them a loyal elite dependent on him and him alone, his attempts to lobby powerful personalities in Istanbul, and, most importantly, his founding of a modern, standing army based on conscripting Egyptian peasants which could frustrate any attempt to dislodge him from Egypt by force. The longer he stayed in Egypt, it is true, the more difficult it was to dislodge him. Yet in spite of his increased security Mehmed Ali could not cast off the Ottoman garb altogether. Realising that he was, technically and legally, an Ottoman governor, he obeyed his sultan's firman s and continued to refer to himself in his dispatches to Istanbul as a "humble servant of the Sublime State". The turning point in this tense and fraught relationship came exactly mid-way in his long tenure. Soon after founding a modern army, the sultan asked him to lend a helping hand against the Greek rebels. Mehmed Ali reluctantly complied sending 17,000 troops to the Peloponnesus. After initial successes, disaster hit on 20 October 1827 when the combined European fleets sank his fleet in the Bay of Navarino. Rather than seeing it as a sign of a European conspiracy, Mehmed Ali realised that this disaster was the result of his subservience to the sultan and determined to change the nature of that relationship. For three years he set out to repair the damage; in the winter of 1831 he launched a swift land and sea attack on Syria, the province from which any land attack against him might be launched. Leading the campaign was his son, the military genius Ibrahim Pasha, and soon all major Syrian cities fell after Ibrahim had managed to inflict heavy defeats on the Ottoman army. While everyone knew that the sultan's troops were weaker than those of his nominal vassal, Ibrahim's success on the battlefield dazzled all including Mehmed Ali himself. Sending his son to establish a buffer zone between his power base and that of the sultan in Anatolia, he was surprised when Ibrahim crossed the Taurus mountains, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Ottomans in Konia at the heart of Anatolia, and marched further west stopping only at a day's march away from Istanbul. The Ottomans were at a loss as to how to save their empire, and in desperation the sultan swallowed his pride and asked his arch-enemy, the Russian czar, for help. This was the first time in its long history that the Ottoman Empire asked a European power to help with an internal problem. The Russians were only too eager to oblige, and soon the Russian fleet docked in Istanbul. The ensuing negotiations between sultan and rebellious vassal did not result in a permanent settlement; rather, a truce was reached through Russian and French mediation whereby the Sultan granted Mehmed Ali the provinces of Egypt, Hijaz and Crete. The Syrian provinces were given to Ibrahim Pasha. However, and much to Mehmed Ali's disappointment, this settlement had to be renewed annually and was thus open to the whims and intrigues of the courtiers in Istanbul. This "no-peace, no-war" situation continued for six more years until 1839. Once again, Mehmed Ali came out victorious when Ibrahim inflicted another heavy defeat on the Ottomans in the Battle of Nezip in June. Given the scale of the defeat, and the defection of the Ottoman navy to Alexandria, Europe considered Mehmed Ali's military expansions a serious threat to the stability and survival of the Ottoman Empire, and all European powers were eager to avert the chaos and warfare this would entail. Palmerston convened a conference in London in 1840 which sent Mehmed Ali a series of ultimatums the gist of which was that the Sultan, backed by Europe, would be willing to recognise him as governor of Egypt and the Sudan for life and for this governorship to be inherited by his progeny, if he agreed to give up other areas and return the Ottoman fleet to his suzerain. After serious consideration, Mehmed Ali acquiesced, realising that this was what he had been struggling for all his life. The following year Sultan Abdel-Mecid sent a firman laying out the details of the deal. Considering that he had landed in Egypt forty years earlier from a remote corner of the Ottoman empire as a poor, young man, that he had no prior connection to the land, that he had to deal with powerful contenders in Egypt and Istanbul, and that there had been no precedent to a hereditary Ottoman governorship, this was no meager feat. The 1841 settlement was the crowning achievement of Mehmed Ali's career and he spent the remaining years of his life basking in its glory and devoting his still unlimited energy to making Egypt even more profitable for himself and his family. GIVEN THESE MAIN DEVELOPMENTS of Mehmed Ali's long career and his relationship with Istanbul, we can now revisit the comparison between him and Nasser. By placing Mehmed Ali's career within an Ottoman context I can think of ten sharp differences between him and the young general who dethroned his progeny from Egypt a century after his death. For one thing, whereas Nasser was the quintessential nationalist leader, it would be misleading to use nationalism as a tool to understand the Pasha's policies. His was a dynastic struggle through and through; he did not even pretend that what he was striving for in Egypt was for the benefit of the Egyptians. Second, in contrast to 1967 when Nasser was soundly defeated and his dream of Arab unity and Egyptian prosperity was brutally killed, 1841 was Mehmed Ali's moment of glory in which he succeeded in extracting from the Ottoman sultan what no other governor had managed, a hereditary governorship, with unanimous European backing. Third, whereas Suez (1956) represents a textbook conspiracy by old colonial powers against a young Third World leader partly to punish him for his anti-imperialist policies, Navarino (1827) was the unintended result of European powers coming to the assistance of a subject people (the Greeks) who had risen against what they saw as their alien, oppressive rulers. More significantly, while 1956 showed Nasser clearly the ugly face of European colonialism and its gunboat diplomacy, 1827 was a turning point in Mehmed Ali's strategic thinking not about Europe, but about the Ottoman Empire. Fourth, while Britain in the person of Anthony Eden opposed Nasser for his firm stance against old fashioned imperialism, more than a century before and in the person of Palmerston it opposed Mehmed Ali because of his imperialist/dynastic wars of expansion. For Palmerston's intense animosity to the Pasha was not due to any anxiety about the feeble industrialisation attempts but rather it was his monopolies policy that alarmed Britain as it allowed him to siphon off profits from the agricultural and commercial sectors to the military. This enabled him to expand territorially thus bringing the Ottoman Empire close to collapse. In opposing Mehmed Ali Britain was defending its imperial interests against an aggressive, militaristic imperial drive coming from within the Ottoman Empire rather than against a nationalist, popular movement as Nasser's is typically seen. Fifth, whereas Nasser's defeat by Israel could be partly due to his failure to understand the true nature of Zionism and his continued dismissal of Israel as a ploy of "colonialism", Mehmed Ali had a thorough understanding of the Ottoman context in which he operated, of his main rival, Husrev, and of the "men of Istanbul." Sixth, Nasser was a truly charismatic leader who reached the masses and mobilised intellectuals to shape the consciousness of a generation into completely identifying with al-rayyis, the "chief" or "boss" as he was endearingly known. Thus when he abdicated on 9 June 1967 following the catastrophic and humiliating defeat by Israel, millions took to the streets in a state of shock and, as Sherif Younis has recently illustrated in al-Zahf al-Muqaddas ( The Holy March ), paradoxically pleaded with him to stay in power. When he died three years later, four million Egyptians marched in a massive unprecedented funeral. By contrast, Mehmed Ali's policies, while appealing to many Egyptians of later generations, had no appeal to contemporary Egyptians who saw him as a tyrant who had viciously used them to achieve his goals as no previous Ottoman governor had done. His funeral was a pathetic, somber parade in which a handful of European consuls and some bemused onlookers marched while most Egyptians avoided it. Seventh, while it is true that clear problems with Nasser's project could be detected even before 1967 when the second five-year plan could not be launched, and while 1967 could be seen as the true date of Nasser's death, it is difficult to belittle the role played by his successor, Anwar El-Sadat, in sealing the lid on Nasserism's coffin. His so-called "rectification revolution" ( Thawrat al-tasshih ) was effectively a palace coup in which he got rid of Nasser's cronies; his "Open Door" policy ( al-Infitah ) reversed many of Nasser's economic policies; and his trip to Jerusalem in 1977 was his way of saying that this is what Nasser should have done ten years earlier. Abbas, Mehmed Ali's successor, by contrast, was no Judas. He struggled to preserve the main achievement of his grandfather. Only if we insist that Mehmed Ali had a blueprint for national rejuvenation aiming at enlightening the Egyptians would Abbas appear as the maniac oriental prince depicted by British and French contemporary observers, or as a reactionary. It makes more sense to think of Abbas as leading a faction within the ruling family that preferred to slow down the pace of reform (not reverse it) as they realised only too well the price paid by the peasants in the process. If Mehmed Ali's prime goal was to achieve dynastic rule for himself in Egypt, then Abbas can be seen as loyally protecting his grandfather's legacy, firmly resisting the Porte's attempts to extend its prerogatives of executing convicted criminals who had committed their crimes in Egypt. In short, Abbas deeply appreciated Mehmed Ali's efforts to establish dynastic rule in Egypt and strove to protect Egypt's semi-independence within the Ottoman Empire. Eighth, Nasser was a true champion of the Egyptian middle classes, and his policies of free education, land reform, and guaranteed employment in the public sector aimed to benefit the Egyptian bourgeoisie and placate its most politically significant faction, the intelligentsia. By contrast, and as Muhammad Abduh wrote in al-Manar on the occasion of the first centenary anniversary of Mehmed Ali's coming to power, the great Pasha had decimated the Egyptian middle class and killed any possibility of a proud spirit developing among the inhabitants of Egypt. Ninth, based on the above, we can pose the following crucial question: was the outcome of both "experiments" inevitable? With regard to Nasser, I think the most important moment in this respect is 1954 when it was still possible for the military to return to its barracks and to pursue a genuine democratic path. However, given that the officers decided to give up democracy in lieu for some social and economic "gains" that were given as a present to the people, this necessitated holding on to a revolutionary legitimacy at the expense of a constitutional one and adopting haphazard populist policies which prompted the "people" to follow a "holy march" down to the abyss. With regards to Mehmed Ali, the comparable moment is 1805 when it was possible for him to establish a local, indigenous source of legitimacy. But since he decided to get rid of the popular leadership, and to rely instead on the legitimacy represented by the firman arriving from Istanbul, this necessitated inviting friends and relatives to settle in Egypt in order to have a local power base that would be both the means and the goal of establishing a dynastic rule in Egypt. The main difference in this respect is that Nasser could have pursued his project in Egypt even if he had opted for democracy in a manner similar to Ataturk in Turkey. By contrast, Mehmed Ali did not really have many options in this regard as his aim was to establish dynastic rule, which necessitated getting rid of the local popular leadership and to relying instead on his own kinsmen and friends. Tenth and last, given his defeat in 1967 Nasser can be seen as a young tragic hero who tried his best to manage forces beyond his control. For some, he appears a visionary with lofty ideas who inspired millions of people in Egypt and beyond. For others, these lofty ideals do not exonerate his reluctance to allow Egyptians a free say in running their own country, a choice that many see as having been fatal. But irrespective of these important differences about Nasser's legacy, most would admit that he died young with frustrated dreams and unfulfilled visions. Mehmed Ali, by contrast was a shrewd, skillful and, above all, successful statesman. In spite of his humble origins, he seized control of one of the wealthiest provinces in the Ottoman Empire. Nearly half a century after he landed in Egypt as a young, foreign adventurer, he managed to achieve what no governor had ever succeeded in doing before, transforming the temporary post of Ottoman governor into a permanent and hereditary one. There is little doubt that when he died at the age of eighty, he was a content, satisfied man. And, indeed, for a hundred years after his death his progeny ruled Egypt, just as he had hoped. Until, that is, Nasser staged his coup-cum- revolution. The rest, as they say, is history. Or is it? * The writer is associate professor of history at New York University and the author of All the pasha's men: Mehmed Ali, his army and the making of modern Egypt (Cambridge, 1997). *This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, has cleared the air over allegations by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State that ... The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, has cleared the air over allegations by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State that militiamen were camped in Tunga village of Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Idris made this explanation yesterday after an assessment visit to Guma and Logo villages in Benue and Tunga, in Nasarawa states to get firsthand information about the allegations. I am here in Tunga today (yesterday); about three days ago, I was in Benue state and just sitting in the Benue stakeholders meeting, the governor was making allegations that militia men are trained in Tunga, but I am surprised, he said. From what the chairman said now, nothing like that has happened. I have spoken to the Fulani men and Tiv people here and all of them confirmed that there are no militiamen in Tunga. Obviously, as the IGP, sent here by the President, I am happy to hear that. Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with the support of Niger... Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), with the support of Nigerians, will unseat the government of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019. He said this at a Unity Rally organised by the party in Agaie/Lapai Local Government Area of the State. At the event, over 600 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) defected to the PDP. We will resist any form of intimidation put on our way to reclaiming power at all levels of governance in the country,the PDP chieftain said. Babangida disclosed that a committee had been put in place to ensure victory for the PDP in 2019 general election. The former governor warned the party faithful against cross-carpeting after primaries, saying those who remained, despite pains and humiliation, would be applauded and compensated. PDP state chairman, Alhaji Tanko Beji, apologised for past mistakes of the party which foisted the APC on the people of the state. We have learnt our lessons and are ready to correct them. PDP will definitely return to winning ways, he said. Chairmen of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Diaspora have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reorganise the party to guarantee a secure and prosperous future for all Nigerians.The Committee of Diaspora Chairmen of the party made the call after a meeting held on Skype.Mr Lawal Ayoola, Chairman of APC in the Scandinavia, and Secretary of the group told the Newsmen in a telephone interview from Gothenburg, Sweden, that there was a need to re-engineer the APC government.As Nigerians and party members in the Diaspora, we believe that you (Buhari) have the force of personality to ensure the implementation of our partys manifesto.If the various agencies of government are effectively manned, APCs ideology will be embedded in the minds of not just our members, but everybody, for a new Nigeria.According to Ayoola, Diaspora members want a re-engineered APC led government in colour, song, and dance.We and our members in the Diaspora specifically request your urgent intervention to ensure that all operators of this government take it as part of their call to begin to work collaboratively with us and supporters in the Diaspora, he said.Ayoola said that Diaspora members felt marginalised and are not represented in the government.We believe that our members have a lot of positive values to offer aimed at bringing the partys promises to Nigerians.For this to happen, the practice of handpicking from amongst Nigerians in the Diaspora ought to be reviewed party members should be called and encouraged to serve in government, he said.The secretary said that for the party to regain traction and momentum, President Buhari should act fast and remedy the exclusion and neglect of Diaspora members.The members of the Diaspora Committee are, Dr Philip Idaewor, Chairman, APC UK; Mr Lawal Ayoola, Chairman APC Scandinavia; Mr Stephen Adeayo Tella, Chairman, APC Spain; Mr Charles Michelleti, Chairman, APC Ghana and Mr Olalekan Ogunwede, Chairman APC, Germany.Others are, Mr Bola Babarinde, Chairman, APC South Africa; Mr Olarenwaju Balogun, Chairman, APC France; Mr Ahmeed Adefioye, Chairman APC Iceland; Mr David Abraham, Chairman, APC South Korea and Mr Adebola Ajimotokan, Chairman, Board of Trustees, APC Canada. Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, has insisted that the charge filed against it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before a Lagos State High Court, was a trumped up charge.Reacting to a media report of the stay of proceedings in the charge, the company, yesterday, said Our attention has been drawn to the publication in the media on a court staying proceedings in fraud case against Innoson and others.The content of the publication contains quantifiable elements of misrepresentation of facts and inaccurate address of the issues at hand. We know that the intention of the sponsors of the publication is to bring the personality and integrity of Innoson to disrepute. We therefore, shall through this medium, correctly state the true position and put the records straight.The bank we have issues with, stole N560 mllion from Innosons account with it. Innoson as a result sued the bank in Suit No: FHC/AWK/CS/139/2012 at the Federal High Court, Awka Division. In that suit, Innoson got judgment on May 16, 2013 in the sum of N4.7 billion against the bank for stealing N560 million from its account with it.Also, in suit No: FHC/L/CS/603/2006, Innoson got judgment in the sum of N2.4 billiongarnishee order absolute against the bank. Both judgments attract 22 per cent interest until satisfied by the bank. The N2.4bn judgment was subsequently affirmed by the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division in Appeal No: CA/I/258/2011.Satisfaction of the judgment debt which, with their respective interests, stood in excess of N11bn, became a serious problem to the bank. In fact, to this extent the bank had in an affidavit it filed at the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division in Appeal No: CA/E/288/2013 deposed that if it satisfies the judgment debt it will collapse and be out of business.Consequently, in order to force Innoson to negotiate with it or to drop the judgments, the bank got the Police to file a trumped up charge against Innoson in Charge No: FHC/L/565C/2015 at the Federal High Court, Lagos Division in December 2015.However, through an instrument dated February 17, 2016 the Inspector General of Police through U.S. Nwodo, withdrew the charge Charge No: FHC/L/565C/2015. At paragraph 2 of the instrument, which is enclosed, the IGP cum Stanley Nwodo stated thus: I have found it convenient to withdraw the said charge following a new development which borders on further investigation.Characteristically, the bank invited the former DPP of the Federation, Mr. Diri, to take over the withdrawn charge and Mr. Diri using the name of the Attorney General of the Federation purports to have taken over the charge.The question of whether there is a charge Charge No: FHC/L/565C/2015 to be taken over by the DPP of the Federation acting as the Attorney General of the Federation is a subject of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/E/249C/2016 pending at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division and an offshoot of this a motion is a subject of appeal in Appeal No: SC 839/2017 at the Supreme Court of Nigeria. With this, proceedings are yet to commence and none of the defendants in the charge is, as a result, required to attend the proceedings.That charge No: FHC/L/565c/2015 is a trumped up charge, is demonstrated by the fact that as at 2013, even as at 2012, Innoson was not involved in any transaction with the bank their relationship having broken down irretrievably, except the pending law suits in which judgments in the aggregate sum of N11bn inclusive of interests were rendered in favour of Innoson against the bank. Therefore, to say that Innoson committed the offence of falsification of shipping documents as a collateral to the bank to obtain a loan of N2.4bn in October 2013 or in any other month or year is laughable.The charge which EFCC filed against Innoson at the Lagos State High Court in December 2017 is a volta face and portrays EFCC as an institution which engages in double speaking. EFCC had earlier denied that its reason for arresting Innoson was not because the bank induced it to do that but given the huge public outcry against its action on Innoson, it rushed and filed the charge. This charge shows it acted on behalf of the bank.Again, the EFCC charge is a gross abuse of process. First, an earlier charge which the bank induced the EFCC to file against Innoson was struck out. Innoson appealed against the order striking the charge out on the ground that it ought to be a dismissal and not striking out. The appeal, with Appeal No: CA/L/1328CM/2017 is, till date, still pending when EFCC filed or re-filed, in December 2017, the same charge that was struck out.Secondly, the charge is on the same subject matter and the same party as Charge No: FHC/L/565C/2015 that is pending at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, in Appeal No: CA/E/249C/2016. Both charges are smear campaign by the bank and EFCC to destroy Innoson. The federal government has summoned Stuart Symington, United States ambassador to Nigeria, over Donald Trumps usage of a demeaning term to... The federal government has summoned Stuart Symington, United States ambassador to Nigeria, over Donald Trumps usage of a demeaning term to describe African nations. The US president is reported to have questioned why the US would want to have immigrants from shithole countries such as Haiti and African nations. The comment was reportedly made in the Oval Office. Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, is scheduled to meet with the US ambassador Monday. Trumps remark has drawn widespread criticism from several African countries and also the United Nations. The UN branded it racist. Rupert Coleville, spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights, said: If confirmed, these are shocking and shameful comments from the President of the United States. There is no other word you can use but racist. You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as shitholes, whose entire populations who are not white, are therefore not welcome. African Union ambassadors to the UN have demanded a retraction of the statement and an apology from the US leader. The AU mission condemns the statement in the strongest terms and demands a retraction of the comment as well as an apology to not only the Africans but to all people of African descent across the globe, the group of over 50 African nations said in a statement. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has spoken on comments by Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, aka Mama Taraba, in reaction to sp... The All Progressives Congress (APC) has spoken on comments by Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, aka Mama Taraba, in reaction to speculations that she was planning to dump President Buhari following the exit of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar from the party. Acting Chairman of the APC in Taraba, Sani Chul, expressed happiness with the ministers decision to remain in the party. We are really happy with her decision. It is clear that she has seen some changes in the areas she complained about in recent past if there are any. Yes, there were issues in APC like in any other party but clearly we are better, Premium Times quoted him as saying. And most importantly, it is the minister that should be congratulated because by her action, she has extended the lifespan of her political career; she would have a lot to gain in the APC than in PDP. Also speaking, one of the ministers supporters, Naomi Dogo, said it would be a suicidal mission if she joined Atiku in the PDP. Following Atiku to PDP or whatever party would be a suicide mission for her; Atiku had globe-trotted from one party to another, all in a bid to become president and Nigerians would not gamble with their future. Power belongs to God and you cant get it by force; he too should have persevered in the APC to see what God has in stock for him; we earnestly congratulate Mama Taraba for making a tough but wise decision to remain in APC, she said. Mama Taraba had last year stated that she would support Atiku for the 2019 presidential election even if President Buhari decided to run. Atiku is my godfather even before I joined politics, she said in Hausa. And again, Baba Buhari did not tell us that he is going to run in 2019. Let me tell you today that if Baba said he is going to contest in 2019, I swear to Allah, I will go before him and kneel and tell him that Baba I am grateful for the opportunity you gave me to serve your government as a minister. Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau has apologied to his Benue counterpart, Samuel Ortom, for his comments on the latters anti-grazing law. Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau has apologied to his Benue counterpart, Samuel Ortom, for his comments on the latters anti-grazing law. Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, Lalong said his comments were never intended to cause disaffection, adding that they were misconceived. Lalong reportedly told State House correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday that he warned Ortom against implementing the anti-grazing law in Benue. Concerning my comment in respect to the crisis in Benue state, I humbly apologise for my comment because Ive seen that it was really misconceived and misinterpreted, that generated a lot of social media write ups here and there. So I apologise for that, because either argument for or against does not help the matter, because it involves loss of lives. I have great respect for unity of the middle belt, I would not want to say Plateau is fighting Benue state at all, we are all brothers and sisters. Benue was created out of Plateau; Nasarawa was created out of Plateau, we still remain brothers and sisters in Benue state. The governor also prayed that God grants Benue and all Nigerians the fortitude to bear the loss, calling on citizens to team up and ensure unity in the country. Let me use this opportunity to once again extend our condolences to the people of Benue State over this great loss. My prayer is that God will continue to give them and every Nigerian the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has strongly condemned decision by the Federal Government to pay N40 million to former Presidents, descri... The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has strongly condemned decision by the Federal Government to pay N40 million to former Presidents, describing it as heartless, anti-people and capitalist-driven. MURIC noted that the Nigerian system makes the rich-richer and the poor-poorer, adding that its a mark of indecency for the same government to deny thousands of retirees their benefits but presents huge amount of money to former presidents. The group wondered why the federal government would pay a whopping N40 million to an ex-president, who during his stay in office arrogated all the nations resources to himself, but finds it difficult to pay a paltry N18,000 minimum wage to civil servants. Recall that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Boss Mustapha, had on Thursday, 11th January, 2018 revealed that the government paid N40 million to a former president. MURIC, in a statement by its Director, Ishaq Akintola, said, How decent are we as a people if thousands of retirees are denied their benefits for years but we proudly present huge amounts of money to former presidents and ex-heads of state? Where is our humanity if a whopping N40 million is paid to an ex-president who arrogated all the honey and milk in the land to himself while in office but we still pay a paltry N18,000 as minimum wage to workers who grease the machines of our economy? This socio-economic imbalance emboldens criminals, frustrates the youth and diminishes patriotism. Worse still, it slows down the war against corruption because the Federal Government (FG) alone cannot fight corruption. It needs the people to join the fight. But how will an overworked, underpaid, impoverished and oppressed people who are living witnesses to the waste of our common wealth willingly join the fight? The truth is that perhaps no present ex-president or former head of state lives in penury as at today. We can only think of just one probability and we will prefer to keep his identity private for obvious reasons. Our ex-presidents are not in dire need of cars from FG. Majority of them are in palatial mansions on hilltops in choice locations all over the country. This social order is unacceptable to MURIC. Super-rich ex-presidents should be giving to the poor masses, not sucking from our blood again. It adds salt to injury. Islam encourages equitable distribution of wealth. In particular, Quran 59:7 condemns the concentration of resources in the hands of a few wealthy individuals. What FG has done is unIslamic. It is haram to take from the poor or to deny them payment for services rendered only to give more to rich ex-presidents for doing nothing. It is haram to ignore the cries of pensioners while buying new cars for leaders. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has described the N-Power programme... The Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Steel Development and Metallurgy, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has described the N-Power programme of the Buhari government as propaganda. Abaribe, who doubles as Chairman, South-East caucus in the Senate, also declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will return to power in 2019. In a chat with Vanguard, Abaribe said Nigerians should not be excited about the N-Power scheme. Where have they given it? I have not seen any youth. I have sent people from my own senatorial zone for them to show me where they have taken any of them, he said. It is nothing but propaganda that we simply see and bogus claims that we also always see from this government, he added. On 2019 general elections, the lawmaker stressed that the PDP will take over power in 2019. And we have worked out all our strategies and you are going to see it emerge and be fulfilled very soon. On the controversy trailing the $1 billion approval by the National Economic Council, NEC, to tackle insecurity in the North-East, Abaribe assured that the legislature will continue to support and fund the armed forces. He, however, raised some questions about the fund. Where did the governors derive the power to appropriate money? There is nowhere in the constitution where governors have the power to appropriate money. And thats where the problem lies. Where did they get this power from? That it is just an illegal thing. And if the governors claim that the money belongs to the three tiers of government, so, how did the governors now become the people to appropriate for the federal government and Local governments shares? I think what is just going on is simply the same we have always seen in Nigeria where people perpetuate impunity and because they are in the ruling party, people dont want to admit that they have gone the wrong way. I heard the vice president say the other day it is no longer for the northeast alone. But of course, when governor Obaseki was speaking, we heard him very clearly say, it is to fight Boko Haram. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Monday appealed to the Federal Government to promptly pay pensions and entitlements to families of deceased military, para-military and police personnel, who had served meritoriously.The National Public Relations Officer of NANS, Mr Bestman Okereafor, made the appeal in a statement in Enugu on the occasion of the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration.It is, however, disheartening that the government has not really been doing the needful in the aspect of prompt payment of pensions and entitlements to the families of the deceased.This has brought untold hardship on the families and children of the departed heroes.NANS is passionately calling on the Federal Government to ensure the prompt disbursement of entitlements without delay.He said that the leadership of NANS joined the government and good people of Nigeria in remembering the fallen heroes on the occasion of the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration.No doubt the fallen heroes and heroines have given their very best and their lives for the defence and liberation of our beloved country.Okereafor said that NANS also appreciated the military and other security agents for their proactive moves in tackling crimes and insurgents in the country.May God guide and protect them all as they sacrifice on behalf of us all, he said.Meanwhile, NANS has reacted to the sack of some teachers in Kaduna State.The association urged Gov. Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to reverse the dismissal of 22,000 teachers in the state. The final years of ousted former president Hosni Mubaraks rule witnessed a new wave of harsh criticisms of former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser and of the Nasserite era, with many of its policies becoming the target for some older, as well as many newer, detractors working in different media. Many such detractors had a long history of visceral hatred of Nasser and everything that related to his era. And it should not have come as a surprise that some of the private TV channels and newspapers were in the forefront of this new wave, some of their commentators repeating the same slogans that had become familiar in the 1970s with the wave of criticism of Nasser that accompanied president Anwar Sadats de-Nasserisation policies. The neo-liberal economic policies adopted by the ousted Mubarak regime led to the emergence of a new social class with a vested interest in maintaining and further consolidating its sociopolitical domination of state and society. For such new elites, the negation of everything the Nasserite era represented was a priority in order to discredit any alternative to the prevailing neo-liberal economic order. According to French historian Anne-Claire Kerbouef, the newer and older liberal elites have also been allowed to express nostalgia for the monarchy. Remarkable attention has been paid in certain media outlets to deceased members of the former royal family, with interviews highlighting their suffering and reactions to the events that happened during the Nasserite era, particularly the 1967 Naksa, or setback. There has also been a television series about king Farouk and a flood of books about his era. What has made the expression of such nostalgia easier has been the fact that some of the new business tycoons, Egyptians and Arabs, have expanded their activities to include the media, particularly the satellite TV channels. Moreover, as the Anglo-American historian Roger Owen has pointed out, Mubarak himself was pushed during his later years towards a much more monarchial style of presidency. It can be argued that the grooming of Gamal Mubarak as heir apparent was one example of the changing style of the presidency during Mubaraks later years. Beyond the changes in style were changes in the actual performance of the Mubarak regime, which tried to make Nassers ideas look like dissenting ones that had to be seen as part of history. The Israeli historian Meir Hatina wrote at the time that although the official and symbolic linkage to the 1952 Revolution was preserved, state policies in fact represented a continued process of de-Nasserisation. Many of the Mubarak regimes policies, both domestic and foreign, were diametrically opposed to Nassers main policy orientations. The sale of public-sector assets to groups of businessmen, for example, was a typical example of Mubaraks abandonment of Nassers major emphasis in socioeconomic development. Formal dissociation from the Nasserite heritage came in 2007 with the constitutional amendments that deleted or amended articles relating to socialism and the public sector. Perhaps the only constitutional legacy left untouched was that relating to the 50 per cent of farmers and workers that are supposed to sit in all elected assemblies. Ironically, and perhaps for the same electoral reasons, this ratio has continued to be included in the recently promulgated 2012 constitution. However, among the surprises of the 25 January Revolution was the presence of Nasser across the political landscape, both during the events and in their aftermath. Many people at the time identified the cardinal slogans of the revolution, such as social justice and human dignity, as having been ramifications of Nasserite slogans and discourse. Photographs of Nasser were raised by some demonstrators. In other words, the continued presence of Nasser and all that he represented to certain sectors participating in the revolution were quite evident, despite all the formal and informal efforts to tarnish and bury his legacy. That Nasser was linked to social justice is a fact in as much as his record in this domain was his major contribution to the transformation of Egyptian society. The younger generation, Generation Y, which represents over 60 per cent of all Egyptians, has witnessed the slow retreat of the state from the functions it performed during Nassers era, such as centralised planning, the provision of free education and access to healthcare. This generation was deliberately pushed out of public affairs by the systematic efforts of the ousted regime, yet Nasser nevertheless became an integral part of the collective memory of Egyptians and one that was passed from one generation to the next. Evidently, many members of Generation Y have been able to grasp this collective memory while disregarding a great deal of the criticisms made by many of Nassers detractors. What such young Egyptians remember about Nasser are not his own projects, such as the expansion of the public sector, but rather their implications in terms of industrialisation, economic independence, employment opportunities, and a more egalitarian society. This is not to say that this generation has not also criticised Nassers mistakes and failures. Rather, it has been more ambitious than Nasser in that it has also demanded the kind of fully-fledged liberal democracy that Nasser himself did not believe could bring about the real transformation of Egyptian society. Public memory, according to US historian John Bodnar in his pioneering work Remaking America, is a body of beliefs and ideas that help a public or society understand both its past and its present and by implication its future. In other words, collective memory entails some sort of perspective when it comes to future events, actions or decisions. During the revolution and its aftermath, there was serious debate about Nassers legacy and what could be extrapolated from his myriad successes and failures. For a variety of reasons, this debate was drawn into day-to-day politics, ending up in an over-simplistic generalisation about 60 years of military rule. Yet, none of those who made such generalisations, including those in power, offered any new paradigm, whether economic, political or societal, that could be termed as reform let alone as revolution. No wonder, then, that social justice as a solid perspective drawn from Nasserism was totally missing in this debate about a common historiography, even though it was among, if it was not also the most important, objectives of the 25 January Revolution. In a recent anti-Nasser book entitled Nassers Gamble, Israeli historian Jesse Ferris describes Nasser as having had a larger-than-life personality. This was something that was very much true of a genuine leader who has become a solid reference for many current issues as well as for future directions. *This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Following the general mobilisation of Batch B stream II Corp members deployment, members deployed to Benue and Taraba States are informed not to resume camp as the orientation course scheduled to hold in Benue camp has been suspended.The press release by the NYSC reads in part:The NYSC Management wishes to inform all Prospective Corp Members deployed to Benue and Taraba States that the 2017 Batch B Stream ll Orientation Course scheduled to hold in Benue Camp has been suspended. A new date will be communicated to you in due course.The NYSC orientation course is expected to commence in 15 camps nationwide on Tuesday.A statement by the NYSC said the orientation course would hold in Abia, Bauchi, Benue, Delta, Enugu, Sokoto, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Plateau, Lagos, Osun, Oyo, Rivers and the FCT.It was speculated that the postponement might be due to the herders/farmers clash in the area, however, the press release by the NYSC official did not confirm such.Affected prospective corp members have displayed their displeasure at the announcement, especially on social media.Some of the comments by the unsatisfied prospective corpers on Facebook are:@Frank Amodu Y is Nigeria always like this? To get admission problem, to pass out of school problem, now to go service wahala, getting a job another big problem. Employers hope u are seeing what is happing? When is time for employment please dont complain about our age oooo.@Chi Blessing Pliz, the new date shouldnt take long @ NYSC we take God beg una. The whole thing is just annoying We wont camp wit others.instead, they should just redeploy us to the East or Southern part of Nigeria instead if waiting for this crisis to end Pliz NYSC, in the name of God dnt delay us. And I just hope this wont affect our passing out as well@Ezeofor Clara Can u just imagine, this country eeThere are some prospective Corp members reported to have received the suspension news after travelling to Benue.The new date for commencement of orientation course in the camp is yet to be announced. President Muhammadu Buhari will today meet with Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom and other stakeholders from the state in a bid to resol... President Muhammadu Buhari will today meet with Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom and other stakeholders from the state in a bid to resolve the crisis sparked by the herdsmen killings. No fewer than 73 victims of the herdsmens actions were buried at the weekend. Over 60,000 displaced persons are in five camps. Confirming the development on Sunday, Ogbeh said he would join his kinsman in the Villa to proffer the way forward on the killings in the state. Yes, they just called to inform me that the governor and his entourage would be coming to have a meeting with the president on the attacks on farmers in the state, he said. Also speaking ahead of the meeting, the state governor, Ortom, said he had ordered the arrest of those instigating the Tiv-Hausa clash or any form of ethnic crisis. Ortom demanded the arrest of the leaders of Miyyeti Allah Kautal Hore, especially its President Abdullahi Bello Bodejo, and National Secretary Saleh Alhassan. Ortom said: We are meeting on Monday. The stakeholders are going to meet with the President. The stakeholders will see whatever the Federal Government is able to put on the table and if the stakeholders accept, I will abide by it. It is Benue stakeholders. It is at our own instance; we requested that we are going to meet with him. So far, we have over 60,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), but we are still counting. We look forward to these people going back home very soon. Some had to run away out of fear because of the way these people came to attack. They came around 2am, 3am, 5am in the dead of the night. It was more of a guerrilla war against the people. In some cases, they did not even shoot guns so that the next person would not hear. They come to your house, wake you up and slash your throat. We are doing our best but the situation is under control. For the past four days, we had no news of any killings. It was only on Saturday that I heard that one person was killed. I am yet to get full briefing on that. Asked of what will be his response to offers by the Presidency, Ortom replied: I am very open, I am a democratically elected governor; it is what the people want that I go with. So, if you are able to convince my people that we can tinker with the law or do whatever, I am ready to go. I have no hard feelings about it. I will do whatever can bring progress and stop these mindless killings whether they are Fulani or herdsmen, Hausa, Igbo or Tiv, Idoma or Igede; whatever can stop the killings, I am ready for it. The governor said he saw the killings coming and took proactive measures to alert the presidency and security agencies. He said: Yes, I saw it coming. The bill was signed into law on the 22nd of May 2017 and in June, Miyyeti Allah Kautal Hore did a press conference and threatened that they will not accept the law and the law will not be implemented in Benue State. Miyyeti Allah Kautal Hore. This was in the papers, they are on video, they are also on audio, it was an open thing; it wasnt anything hidden. One would have expected that in a normal situation, the security agencies would have picked them because threatening not to obey the law and inciting people should an offence under the constitution of Nigeria. And this was not done. But as a law-abiding citizen, I decided to formally report them to the then Acting President in writing, the NSA, the Inspector-General of Police, the Directorate of State Service (DSS), and called for the arrest of the leaders. This never happened. They continued the threat and I reminded them again. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo will on Tuesday deliver the keynote lecture at the Harvard University, Boston, United States Africa Rising course at Harvard Business School.Osinbajos spokesman, Laolu Akande, in a statement on Monday said in extending its invitation to the Vice President, the university noted that it deeply admired the immense progress that Nigeria had made under the present administration, including the work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council.It would be the highest honour for us were you to accept our invitation as we deeply admire the immense progress that Nigeria has made during your tenure not only as the countrys Vice President, but also as Chairman of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council.By all accounts, this Council has spearheaded crucial initiatives and we very much hope that you will speak to those, as well as to Nigerias rise in world economic rankings and the vast range of business initiatives that are ongoing in your country, Akande quoted the university as saying.He further quoted the university as further describing the lecture as a historic moment as it would be the first time that an Africa-focused course would be offered at Harvard Business School.Akande said, during the lecture, Osinbajo would highlight the progress made by the present administration in improving the countrys economy and investment climate.The Vice President, who is scheduled to leave for Boston on Monday, is expected back in Abuja later on Wednesday. The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) on Sunday stated that it would not be deceived by photos and video of its leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zak... The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) on Sunday stated that it would not be deceived by photos and video of its leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky. It also warned the Buhari government to stop propaganda against the group and its supreme head. El-Zakzaky, in a brief chat with newsmen, at an undisclosed location in Abuja, said he was alive and feeling better. His clearance to come out of the heavily guarded building by the Department of State Services (DSS) followed rumours surrounding his health. Last week, there was tension in some states, particularly Kaduna, after news broke that the Shiites leader was dead. The DSS, however, at the weekend, decided to prove that he is not dead as being speculated. In a statement issued on Sunday in Kaduna, spokesman of the Islamic group, also known as Shiite, Ibrahim Musa, said: We are not placated by Sheikh Zakzakys video clip. Musa said although it was cheering to see the IMN leader speaking live in the short video clip after over two years of illegal detention, it falls very short of expectations of his total and unconditional freedom as ordered by the Federal High Court in Abuja. Credible and dependable sources have it that the arranged interview by the security men was made to appear as impromptu, but our leader, Sheikh Zakzaky, granted a much longer interview and addressed far more issues than was released. What did he say about his continuing detention? What did he say about his similarly incarcerated wife and her own ill- health? What did he say about the legal tussle or even how the whole saga began in the first place? What did he say about the destruction of his properties, the desecration of his mother and childrens graves? What did he have to say about the killing of his elder sister, a nephew, three sons and over a thousand of his disciples? What was his reaction to the mass grave at Mando in Kaduna which the security did their utmost best to conceal? Why did he opt to challenge his supposed protective custody on court when the authorities are telling the world that it was of his own volition? Why did he reject going to Kaduna State constituted Judicial Commission of Inquiry but submitted a memo to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo panel of investigation only to refuse giving testimony in secret? The questions are nearly endless. We challenge the security forces to either release to the public the full unedited interview, or allow an open live free interview with no restrictions. There was mammoth crowd of Osun public school students and pupils on the streets of Osun State on Monday, after they were sent out of their... There was mammoth crowd of Osun public school students and pupils on the streets of Osun State on Monday, after they were sent out of their various schools for failure to pay N7, 710 fees charged for the second term. The second term of the 2017/2018 session commenced on January 8, 2018, after resuming from the Christmas/New year break. Findings by our reporter revealed that over 80 per cent of the pupils and students from Elementary, Middle, and High schools were sent out in the early hours of Monday, making all schools in the state to remain completely scanty. Pupils and students alike were seen roaming the streets, especially the state capital, Osogbo. One of the students from Osogbo Grammar School, Tayo Adeagbo said his parents were unable to pay due to harsh economy and irregular payment of salaries. My parents are civil servants, they always complain that their salaries are not regular. I have appealed to them to pay to no avail. I am even confused now. I dont know what to do. Many of my mates are not even going home. We are not happy at all, he said. Another student at Gbonagan Olufi middle school, Miss Aishat Sulaimon said her parents had complained bitterly about the fees. My parents had complained that the fees is on the high side, considering the fact that it is a public school, and the free education policy government used to campaign. In his reaction, Commissioner for Education in the state, Mr Kola Young denied that students were sent out over inability to pay school fees, but failure on the part of their parents to produce evidence of tax payment. Lagos lawyer and Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, said, yesterday, that leader of Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, agreed to speak to the press under the assumption that his release was imminent.Falanas statement came on a day the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, IMN, said it was not placated by the appearance of its detained leader before select journalists in Abuja on Saturday, adding that anything short of his total freedom, in line with the ruling of the court, was unacceptable to them.El-Zakzaky briefly addressed journalists on Saturday to disprove claims that he was dead, saying he was getting better.According to Falana, the Department of State Services, DSS, told the Shiites leader that the Federal Government was ready to let him go after over two years in custody.The lawyer called on the government to, therefore, release him from incarceration without further delay.He said El-Zakzaky had lost his left eye and that government had ignored specialists advice that he be taken abroad to save the right eye.Falana said the Shiites leaders wife had been subjected to excruciating pain as some of the bullets deposited in her body on December 14, 2015 during the military invasion of their home in Zaria had not been removed.He said: Last week, it was widely rumoured in the social media that Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky had died in the illegal custody of the State Security Service. Although I was compelled to dismiss the dangerous rumour via a public statement, I requested the Federal Government to release the Shiite leader and his wife for urgent medical attention.Instead of acceding to my request, the State Security Service misinformed Sheik El-Zakzaky and his wife of the readiness of the Federal Government to release them after a media parade to assure the Shia community that the Sheik is alive and well. Hence, they agreed to the media parade, which lasted for one minute and 20 seconds in an undisclosed detention custody at Abuja.But contrary to the official claim that the Shiite leader is hale and hearty, he is currently wearing a neck collar support, which was procured for him when he fell sometime last December. Reno Omokri, former presidential aide on Sunday warned Nigerians against asking President Muhammadu Buhari to run for a second term. Reno Omokri, former presidential aide on Sunday warned Nigerians against asking President Muhammadu Buhari to run for a second term. The former Personal Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan said those endorsing Buhari for a second term will answer to God for the betrayal of Christ. Omokri predicated his warning on the believe that the president has been silent over the killing of Christians by radical Muslim Fulani herdsmen. The United States, US-based Pastor issued the warning in a series of tweets via his Twitter handle. He wrote: All Christians who campaign for a 2nd term for Buhari whos done nothing concrete to stop slaughter of Christian communities by his radical Muslim Fulani herdsmen brethren may get a useless post from him but will one day answer before a righteous God for their betrayal of Christ! Omokri also lambasted the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai for calling on Nigerians to support Buhari for a second term. At the time the @elrufai was calling for mass support for Buhari 2nd term in Abuja, Fulani herdsmen were carrying out mass killing of 10 people in Kaduna. I pity Kaduna people. Plumbing giant A.J. Perri has been hit with a $100,000 fine - the largest ever levied by New Jersey's plumbing board - and has agreed to reform its deceitful business practices under a consent order reached with the state Attorney General's Office. The deal, finalized last week, follows a Bamboozled investigation that found the company routinely performed expensive work that wasn't needed, incentivized employees to upsell jobs and used scare tactics on customers, including bogus claims that their equipment could explode at any time. Bamboozled spoke to dozens of customers, along with current and former A.J. Perri employees, who painted a portrait of predatory practices fueled by a commission-based sales structure and pressure to meet sales goals. In the investigation's wake, the state's Board of Master Plumbers opened its own inquiry, ultimately receiving complaints from 30 people, some of whom were profiled in the Bamboozled investigation. According to the consent order between the board and Michael Perri, a minority owner and A.J. Perri's licensed master plumber, the company "repeatedly engaged in use of deception and misrepresentation" in violation of the state's Uniform Enforcement Act. A.J. Perri also failed to maintain video footage of jobs and document their findings, a violation of state plumbing license regulations, the order said. The company, which admits no wrongdoing under the settlement, agreed to pay $75,000 immediately. The remaining $25,000 of the fine will be stayed pending A.J. Perri's compliance with the terms of the agreement. The agreement also spells out specific protections for future customers of the company. Attorney General Christopher Porrino said A.J. Perri technicians "used overly-aggressive and deceitful tactics to coerce consumers, many of them senior citizens, into paying for plumbing repairs and services that were unnecessary or far exceeded what was needed." The full text of Kevin Perri's statement to Bamboozled. "This settlement not only imposes a record civil penalty befitting A.J. Perri's egregious misconduct, it requires the company to make substantive changes in its oversight and management of technicians to ensure that consumers receive transparency and honesty from A.J. Perri, as required by law," Porrino said. Kevin Perri, the president of A.J. Perri, said the company thanks the board for its "thorough investigation." "While we disagree with the Board's findings, and categorically deny that our business in any way promotes, endorses or encourages any behavior against the best interest of our customers, we are pleased that the Board agrees that this matter should be concluded and both of us can put it behind us," Perri said in a written statement to Bamboozled. You can read the full consent order here. HOW IT HAPPENED The case began when Bamboozled was tipped off by an A.J. Perri employee. The employee, who shared internal emails and photos, alleged the company sold an $11,500 sewer line to Karl Baer, 86, when only a spot repair was needed. The story unleashed dozens of consumer complaints to Bamboozled, including one from the family of an 85-year-old man who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. The family said it asked A.J. Perri to stop contacting their father, but calls continued, and the dad agreed to an $8,000 job that his son said was unneeded. Another consumer said her grandparents, in their 90s, were scared into agreeing to an $18,000 job that required ripping up their basement floor and digging two feet down and 35 feet across to replace a supposedly crushed cast iron pipe. Family members questioned why the company replaced the whole pipe rather than only replace a section where a blockage was found. Others reported they were told their heating equipment was giving off hazardous carbon monoxide, which second opinions showed was not true. An internal email about Karl Baer's pipe replacement, provided to Bamboozled by an A.J. Perri employee. Internal emails were also provided to Bamboozled by current and former employees. One showed a contest for "sales leads," while another told employees to pay special attention to routine service calls, the goal of which was "to find as much as possible wrong with the heating or cooling system that the tech gets a heating and cooling salesman in the home to price out a new system," the employee said. "They reward top salesmen with bonuses, trips to Mexico, dinners, etc.," another employee said. "They do not reward non-sales or telling someone everything is okay." The plumbing board opened its review, inviting those consumers and others to testify before the board. The board shared its findings in the agreement, including that several complaints alleged the company misrepresented the condition of the consumer's plumbing "in an effort to upsell a repair." Other complaints said "the company used 'pressure' or 'scare tactics' in order to upsell more expensive or unnecessary repairs." When the board asked company representatives about specific consumer complaints, it learned video of the sewer and water lines of multiple customers had been recorded over and was not available for the state to examine, nor were there photos to substantiate the recommended work. In other cases, work was recommended by commissioned camera technicians who were not licensed master plumbers, and the company had no notes to confirm whether the recommendations or videos were reviewed by a licensed master plumber. Attorney General Porrino said at the Board's behest, prior to the settlement, A.J. Perri provided full or partial restitution to affected consumers. In all, 24 of the customers who complained to the state received full or partial refunds, the consent order said. The others had not given any money to A.J. Perri. "We thank Bamboozled for bringing this situation to light and for encouraging consumers to come forward with their complaints against A.J. Perri," Porrino said. "The information they provided to the Division helped us take appropriate action to put a stop to this kind of deceptive business practice and to protect consumers, especially vulnerable senior citizens, from being victimized like this in the future." IMPORTANT PROTECTIONS Beyond the fine and reprimand, the agreement offers important consumer protections for future A.J. Perri customers. All camera inspections of sewer or water lines will be kept for four years and made available to the state if a complaint comes in. A. J. Perri will have to supply written options for recommended work, rather than only verbal ones, and consumers will have to sign the form. Any work recommended by a Perri employee who is not a licensed master plumber will have to be approved by a licensed master plumber before any work can begin. The licensed master plumber's recommendation must also be in writing. If the state receives future complaints, the company agrees to respond in writing within 30 days to both the consumer and to the state. The consent order spells out in detail how the complaints should be handled, including binding arbitration with the Division of Consumer Affairs if the consumer is unsatisfied with the company's response. Plus, future violations related to senior citizens will result in fines of $10,000 each. Consumers who complained about their experiences welcomed news of the consent order. "I'm glad. I'm very happy that the state got involved and they made new rules and regulations for A.J. Perri to follow," said Baer, the homeowner whose story launched the investigation. "At least people have recourse now." Karl Baer stands on his property, which was dug up by A.J. Perri to replace a sewer line. Baer said it's ironic that he continues to get calls from the company, for example, offering service for his furnace. "I want nothing to do with them," he said. Avital Spiegel, the daughter of the Alzheimer's patient, called it a win but said it's not enough. "To think that someone was willing and able to take advantage of him due to his age is nothing short of a criminal offense," she said. Richard Gomulka, who claimed A.J. Perri told him his boiler was releasing dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, praised the agreement. "I hope that this will deter other companies from doing this to other consumers in the future," he said. "I am only sorry that nobody went to jail for these fraudulent practices." Have you been Bamboozled? Reach Karin Price Mueller at Bamboozled@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KPMueller. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Stay informed and sign up for NJMoneyHelp.com's weekly e-newsletter. Attempts by alumni and local organizers to save a century-old high school in Camden have thus far failed, and officials say a wrecking ball is destined to hit the structure. But some in the community are hoping that a final push, and a new governor, can change the fate of the iconic and beloved "Castle on the Hill." The demolition of Camden High School was announced in September, just months after the last graduating class walked in June. A date for the razing has yet to be set. While the building had fallen into some disrepair, many with close ties to the school say it is worth saving. Around 20 people were there around noon on Monday, which marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day, to send a message to Gov.-elect Phil Murphy: Stand up and save the school. "How many kids get to walk into a castle for school?" Mo'Neke Singleton-Ragsdale, a 1991 graduate of the school who sent her four sons there as well, said Monday afternoon, addressing a group sporting the school's purple and gold colors. "I'm not giving up until a wrecking ball hits the school." Many said they advocate for keeping and repairing the current school not just because of its history and grand appearance, but because they worry the deals and decisions made by an appointed rather than elected school board don't reflect the community's needs and desires. Activists with the group, Friends of Camden High, are working with with members of the Camden County NAACP, South Jersey Women for Progressive Change, South Jersey Progressive Democrats and others to ask Murphy to both restore community voting for school board positions and designate the school as a landmark, pushing for a renovation rather than reconstruction. Currently, the mayor appoints members of the city's school board. An alumna who graduated in 1980, Vida Neil, said she also has concerns that a four-year closure of the school will encourage students to enroll in charters, and eventually cause the school's population to drop, further impacting the city's public schools. She also said she believes the old construction is of a higher quality than what a new contractor will build, and called the decision to build a new structure "blatant racism," explaining that nearby towns have been able to repair and keep its original school building from 1910, and Camden should be able to do the same. "It means everything to me," she said, gazing up at the castle. But supporters of the demolition argue that keeping a building for nostalgia purposes is wasteful, and that a new, streamlined and modern design will both prove more economical and better able to support students in a city that have long struggled with poverty and lower graduation rates. Officials have unveiled a plan for a $133 million campus in the castle's place that would include the current high school population as well as magnet schools, raising the student body capacity from 700 to 1,200. Still, the organizers see the move as a hasty decision that ignores their voices. Both federal and county lawsuits were filed seeking an injunction on the demolition, but judges dismissed both as of December, Matthew Litt, an attorney involved with the case said Monday. So organizers have resulted to grassroots tactics. They passed around petitions Monday, and several said they planned to make calls to Murphy's office on Tuesday, which marks his first day on the job. When the gathering had grown to around 20 people just a few minutes after noon, two Camden County Police Department vehicles pulled up outside of the school. An officer stepped out and said he was responding to a report of a fight. Gary Frazier, an organizer with the Green Party and co-vice president of the party's Camden County chapter, expressed his outrage at the officer, saying that there was a fight taking place -- but that it was a fight to save the school. "This is what we talk about because of the things they use against people of color," he said in an interview later, explaining how difficult it is to gather in communities of color without rousing suspicion. The officers left the scene without issue and the rally continued peacefully. Dan Keashen, a spokesman for the Camden County Police Department, confirmed that police had responded to a formal report of a fight. He also emphasized the city's commitment to protecting peaceful protesters. "We'll always ensure that people's constutional rights of protest are being preserved," he said. "We're there to preserve the citizens rights, their god-given right to do just that." And organizers like Darnell Hardwick, president of the Camden County NAACP, are holding out hopes that their voices will be heard by the new administration -- they're just not sure if that will happen the building is in crumbles. "We hope that with the new governor coming in, we'll have an ear," he said. Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips JERSEY CITY -- A court has reinstated a portion of a lawsuit filed by a former Stevens Tech deputy police chief that claims he was fired under the pretext of not being a citizen so the chief could hire a friend. In 1992, James Collins immigrated to the U.S. after marrying a U.S. citizen and began working as a security guard at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. He had served in the British Army and had law enforcement experience. The next year a position for a campus police officer opened up and Collins said Stevens Police Chief Timothy Griffin encouraged him to apply. His application was accepted and he graduated from the police academy in June 1993, the appellate court ruling says. In his suit, Collins said he noted he was a resident alien and held a "Green Card" and working papers in his application to Stevens and his status was known to both campus and city police, the ruling says. In 1996, Stevens fired Collins purportedly for job performance issues. He sued saying the school had violated anti-discrimination laws. Within two years, there was a settlement and he was back on the job. He said that as part of his reinstatement process, he again noted his immigration status. Collins received two president's citations for excellence, as well as a good conduct award, honorable service award, service commendation, and an excellent service award, the ruling says. But Collins alleges that in 2008, Griffin began hiring retired municipal officers already collecting pensions from the state to fill positions at the campus department. He claims that in 2013, Griffin wanted to hire a friend from the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, but there were no openings. So Griffin began working to undermine Collins, creating a hostile work environment in an effort to terminate him to create that opening, the lawsuit alleges. On April 3, 2014, Stevens suspended Collins on the grounds he was not a U.S. citizen and on May 24, 2014 he was fired, Collins says in the lawsuit. Collins then filed the lawsuit alleging the defendants breached his employment contract, violated public policy, and violated several anti-discrimination laws in firing him, the ruling says. A Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit but earlier this month an appellate court affirmed the dismissal of the public policy allegations, but said the the lawsuit could otherwise move forward. The defendants had relied on a state statute that says an applicant for the position of police officer in New Jersey must be a U.S. citizen, the ruling says. The appellate court acknowledged the statute, but noted that the statute for a law enforcement officer at an educational institution includes no such requirement, the ruling says. The appellate court affirmed "the dismissal of the complaint's count alleging a violation of public policy. We vacate the dismissal order as to the remaining counts and remand the matter," for trial. A spokeswoman for Stevens said this morning that the school does not comment on ongoing litigation. Forty-seven years ago, after Egypt successfully and decisively brought to an end a fratricidal armed confrontation between the Jordanian army and the Palestine Liberation Army by hosting an emergency Arab summit called for by late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, and after Egypt erected, in record time, one of the most advanced air defence systems along the Suez Canal front, to neutralise the air superiority of the Israeli Air Force, TV screens, minutes before 10 oclock in the evening, went black and viewers began listening to verses from the Holy Quran, a sign that sinister news would be announced, soon. At 10, on 28 September 1970, then vice-president Anwar Al-Sadat appeared on our TV sets. Before uttering a single word, Egyptians surmised what he would announce: the earth-shaking news of the death of president Gamal Abdel- Nasser. Minutes later, streets all over Egypt were thronged by millions of Egyptians mourning the historic figure that had led a revolution on 23 July 1952, and had steered Egypt on a path of unprecedented modernisation that encompassed everything from the political to the economic to the social to the cultural, let alone the field of foreign policy. On the streets of Cairo, tens of thousands of ordinary Egyptians flocked to the residence of president Nasser, covering long distances, in disbelief that the historic figure that led Egypt for 18 years departed from the scene, suddenly. They had wanted to lead the war against Israel and liberate Sinai from the Israeli occupation that dated back the June aggression of 1967. From 28 September to 2 October, the date of the official and popular funeral, time stood still. The funeral itself was unprecedented in the history of Egypt, and the nearest one, worldwide, was Mahatma Gandhis funeral in the late 1940s. No one in the country wondered what would be next. Not because the question was of no interest, but rather, they had taken for granted that whoever Nassers successor would be, he would stick to the main policies followed in the years past, domestically, regionally and internationally. And that he would continue the war against Israel till the total liberation of Sinai. They believed that the power structures of the July Revolution would remain untouched. To ensure a smooth transition of power, and assure the political stability of the country preparing itself for a decisive war when the Egyptian military would be ready to storm the Suez Canal, Sadat was chosen to succeed president Nasser. Most Egyptians had not received the decision well. They had a premonition that picking him for the presidential office, particularly after a towering figure like Nasser, was not the right decision. There were others among the Free Officers movement who could have been picked, even after they left their posts, among them Abdel-Latif Al-Bagdhadi, a former vice-president, or Zakariya Mohieddin, a former prime minister. In his acceptance speech before the National Assembly, of which he had been the speaker for some years before his appointment as vice-president in 1969, Sadat vowed to follow the path taken by Nasser. He left no doubt in the minds of all those listening to him, inside and outside of Egypt, that he would respect Nassers legacy. After all, both of them came from the Free Officers movement that had toppled the Egyptian monarchy in 1952. Less than a year after the acceptance speech, president Sadat launched what he called the rectification revolution of 15 May 1971, in which he got rid of all his peers in the Revolutionary Command Council of 1952, and in the Higher Executive Committee of the ruling political organisation. It is said that Nasser inaugurated one-man rule in the country despite the fact that he ruled by consensus through various levers of power. But if there is any one to accuse of introducing one-man rule, it is president Sadat after 1971. From that date onwards, and till his assassination on 6 October 1981 by the very political forces he unleashed after 1971, he remained the sole ruler of the country, even in the presence of political parties he had allowed to emerge in 1976. He once told our former ambassador to Washington, the late Ashraf Ghorbal, that he was the one who introduced democracy into Egypt, and that allowed him to govern unchecked. Sadat once said that his version of democracy had claws, whatever that meant. Concomitantly with the palace coup of May 1971, Sadat faced the progressives, the leftists and all those who defended the July Revolution, particularly on campuses all over Egypt. These represented a force to reckon with and so there should be a way to neutralise them, forever. The only force that could make a difference, and had a chance to be listened to on the streets, was what would be later labelled political Islam, spearheaded by the Muslim Brotherhood whose exiled leaders in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf flocked back to Egypt. In the meantime, he allowed the militant students of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya to grow in numbers and influence in the universities, to fight their colleagues of a different political ideology. The universities became scenes of pitched battles between the two camps, and slowly and gradually, not only the campuses but society as a whole became gripped in this face-off between the forces of progress and the forces of extremism and fundamentalism. Religiously-inspired terrorism goes back to the Sadat era. It has become a scourge that has afflicted Egypt ever since. Sadat chose a counterproductive and destructive way to gain in legitimacy, different from that of Nasser. His choices cost Egypt tremendously. Once the October War was over, Sadats Egypt continued to break with the Nasser era in the field of foreign policy. After the signing of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty of 26 March 1979, Egypt cut loose from its Arab alliances and chose to throw its lot in the American orbit. As a result, new power centres emerged within the Arab world that have been competing ever since. To make matters worse, Israel is still building settlements in the West Bank and is still occupying the Syrian Golan Heights. The promise of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East has remained elusive. According to the personal memoirs of Mahmoud Riad, Egypts former foreign minister during the Israeli aggression of 1967, the United States had approached Egypt in 1968 and offered the restitution of Sinai, totally, to Egypt, in return for Egyptian disengagement from the Arab-Israeli conflict as well as the Palestinian problem. When outlined to President Nasser, he declined, stressing that Sinai would be liberated by force. He added that Egypt could not possibly regain Sinai and leave other Arab territories under Israeli occupation. What was implicit in Nassers position was that Egypt is always stronger with active engagement with Arab powers, and much weaker and less free and independent if it decides to live within its frontiers. During the last 47 years, Egypt has dramatically changed course from that followed under president Nasser. This change of course entailed new political alliances within Egypt and outside that have not delivered. On the contrary, these domestic and foreign alliances have made Egypt weak economically, dependent on American and foreign assistance with mushrooming domestic and foreign debts that have reached the astronomical figure of four trillion Egyptian pounds. Also, the role of Egypt as balancer and the Arab and regional countervailing power against regional behemoths Israel, Turkey and Iran, has been disastrously curtailed to the strategic disadvantage of Egyptian national and vital interests. In commemorating the 47th anniversary of the departure of president Gamal Abdel- Nasser, it behooves us to reflect on the distances covered since, and draw the proper conclusions to steer Egypt on the path of the ideals of good governance that inspired president Nasser. Undoubtedly, president Nasser will remain a source of inspiration for many generations to come, despite fierce and ruthless attacks that have been unleashed to target his person and his heritage. Such attacks, masterminded by the Egyptian right and extreme right (the latter embodied by political Islam), and the two in alliance, aim to keep Egypt in the throes of crony capitalism that has led Egypt nowhere. And before concluding, I would like to emphasise that the popular demonstrations that erupted 10 June 1967 after president Nasser announced on TV that he would step down were not orchestrated by the government, nor by the Socialist Union. At the time, I was a young commanding officer in the Socialist Youth Organisation. We had been mobilised on the streets of Cairo, and everywhere in Egypt, carrying weapons to defend the country against any possible Israeli advance towards the capital. We were taken by surprise by the outpouring of popular support to president Nasser. I write this testimony because a former foreign minister has just published his personal memoirs in which he claimed that these demonstrations were premeditated a claim that runs counter to the facts as I personally witnessed them. Rest in peace, dear president Nasser. You will always be in our hearts. *The writer is former assistant to the foreign minister. *This Article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: A little girl who is fighting the battle of her life celebrated the holiday season like never before -- thanks to a dedicated teacher and the generosity of her hometown. 7-year-old Daniela Aucaquizhpi of North Bergen was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer that typically affects bones in the legs and arms, in March 2016. Born in New Jersey, Daniela was living in Ecuador with her grandparents at the time she was diagnosed. "We decided to bring her back to the United States," said Daniela's dad, Jorge Aucaquizhpi, Daniela's father, a gas station attendant and UBER driver. "She is an American citizen and here she would have better treatment." The cancer took her left leg in August 2016, but Daniela and her parents got great news last January when a CAT scan showed that her cancer was gone. With that, she started school and began her life as a normal kid. But after a few months, she learned her fight was far from over. After a routine CAT scan in August, doctors saw that her cancer had come back and it had spread to her lungs. As part of her immunotherapy, Daniela spends 14 days receiving treatments, with five of those days spent in the hospital. After that, she gets 14 days off before starting to cycle over again. Daniela's courage inspired her first-grade teacher, Carina Moreno, who started a chain reaction of generosity throughout the town. "When I started home instruction with her, I realized how this tragedy was affecting the family not only emotionally, but financially as well," Moreno said. "I knew I didn't have the resources to help this family alone, so I started sharing Daniela's story and the outcome was incredible." The family received donations of food and toiletries during Thanksgiving and Daniela received so much more for Christmas. North Bergen police officers donated tickets to the Radio City Music Spectacular for the family, while the North Bergen police union invited Daniela as a guest of honor at their Christmas party and provided gifts, donations and a certificate for NYC American Girl. Other organizations and companies also contributed to Daniela's Christmas like the North Bergen Fire Department, who decorated her apartment for Christmas and covered the family's internet, cable, phone and Netflix bills for a year. Two people in North Bergen school district, Melisa Ortiz and Diana Englese, also made Daniela's dream come true by organizing a horseback ride around Hudson County Park for Daniela on Dec. 22. "This little girl's story brought a whole room of firemen to tears," North Bergen Fire Chief James Corso said. "The whole community came together to help this little girl. Teachers, cops, firemen, city officials and everyone in between contributed." Now, she has two more treatments, one in January and one in February, before receiving a CAT scan to make sure she is on the right path to beating cancer. "She (Daniela) is happy with everything, and I just want to thank the community for all of their support," her dad said. A 31-year-old New York man accused of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old Union City girl escaped from authorities after being apprehended over the weekend and spent about 24 hours on the run before being arrested, authorities said. It is not clear how Luis Bescome, 31, of Queens, was able to escape from custody after he was initially apprehended on Friday. Union City police spotted him on Saturday at about 11:30 p.m. near 39th Street and arrested him, according to a statement from Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez. Bescome has been charged with second-degree sexual assault, third-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree escape, drug possession and obstruction, authorities said. He is accused of assaulting the girl on the steps of her Union City apartment building on Friday. She was able to flee and alert an adult, who then contacted police, prosecutors said. Bescome was taken into custody the first time after being located "at a nearby shelter," prosecutors said. He was taken to a county prosecutor's office facility in Jersey City, which is where he escaped from "a short time after arriving," prosecutors said. County prosecutors did not have any additional information about the alleged sexual assault or Bescome's Friday escape. Suarez credited the Union City Police Department, the New Jersey State Police, the Maywood Police Department K-9 Unit, the Jersey City Police Department and the Hudson County Sheriff's Office for their assistance. Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. BAYONNE -- The city council is set to introduce an ordinance during a council meeting this week that would require developers of projects exceeding $15 million to hire local labor unions to carry out the work. The ordinance, if approved, would require private developers of residential and commercial projects receiving PILOT abatements to enter into project labor agreements (PLAs) with local labor unions seeking jobs on the project sites. The agreement would apply to private projects that cost more than $15 million, and would mandate that 20 percent of the hired workforce come from local labor unions. "If you look at this and compare it to other PLAs around the state, this includes one of the most aggressive local hiring clauses in the state," Mayor Jimmy Davis told The Jersey Journal. But the ordinance faced immediate criticism from Jason O'Donnell, a mayoral candidate looking to unseat Davis in May's municipal election, who called the timing of the ordinance "completely disingenuous." In a lengthy statement slamming the proposal, O'Donnell called the ordinance a campaign stunt that is an "insult to the intelligence of every working man and woman" in Bayonne and to members of organized labor in the state. "For three and a half years and running, the Davis administration has, through its actions, denied the men and women of organized labor an opportunity to compete for work in the City of Bayonne," O'Donnell said, adding that Davis administration has approved well over 30 tax PILOT abatements with no PLA agreements. "Let's be clear, PILOTs used as development tools should not just be for the benefit of wealthy developers while leaving Bayonne residents without community benefit agreements or good paying jobs," he said. "I would make sure that Bayonne residents benefit from Bayonne projects and that the projects are done responsibly and with quality union labor." O'Donnell has been endorsed by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, as well as the United Steel Workers Union Local 4-406. Davis and his campaign manager, Joe DeMarco, rebuked this claim, telling The Jersey Journal that they have attached labor provisions to several projects on the Military Ocean Terminal, and others in the city, that encourage developers to seek out local union labor. "But now this PLA will require it," DeMarco said. Flooding caused by an ice jam on the Delaware River has closed a portion of Route 29 in Trenton on Monday morning, officials said. Route 29 south is closed at Calhoun Street in Trenton and detours are in place, according to 511nj.com, the state department of transportation's traffic website. An ice jam at Trenton has resulted in a significant rise on the Delaware River in that vicinity. Minor flooding is expected along the Delaware River in the Trenton/Yardley area. #pawx #njwx pic.twitter.com/ZWWi7vKOBW NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) January 15, 2018 While Route 29 would normally be jammed on a Monday morning, most state offices are closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As a result, delays are only 5 to 10 minutes as of 8:15 a.m. Water levels are expected to peak at 20 feet, 6 inches at 7 p.m. Monday, the National Weather Service said. Flood stage is 20 feet. An ice jam is stationary accumulation of fragmented ice that restricts water flow. The Bucks County, Pennsylvania side of the river is also being affected in Yardley. The ice chunks could remain in the river this week as temperatures aren't expected to climb higher than than the mid 30s. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. A Delta flight preparing to take off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sunday night had to be evacuated when the crew reported smoke inside the plane, officials said. No one was hurt and passengers on the San Antonio-bound flight were later put on another plane. The pilot of the Airbus 319 reported a smoke condition, possibly from the cargo hold, Port Authority police said. Firefighters found no evidence of a fire, though. The aircraft was at gate 66 in Terminal 2. Scheduled to depart JFK at 6:20 p.m., flight 2164 ended up taking off at 9:46 p.m, according to Delta. It landed in San Antonio at 12:57 a.m. Monday. "Prior to departure, the crew of Delta flight 2164 observed smoke in the rear of the cabin," Delta said in a statement. "Customers were safely deplaned and maintenance is reviewing the cause. The customers arrived in San Antonio last evening on another plane. The safety of our customers and employees is our top priority." Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. By Christian Estevez New Jersey has some of the best public schools in the country. But our current system is not operating on a level playing field. While wealthy suburban schools continue to provide rich educational experiences for their mostly white student population, too many Latino and African American students attend segregated schools hampered by intense poverty. We allowed segregation to permeate our state education system for too long, institutionalizing a separate but equal doctrine. New Jersey's schools are among the top five most segregated in the country. This decades-long failure continued under both parties. The Latino Action Network is heartened that Governor-Elect Phil Murphy has promised to address our state's historic inequities. As a former national board member of the NAACP, he has demonstrated a commitment to principles of racial justice. That commitment is crucial. Research shows that children who learn in diverse environments perform better academically. Yet despite a provision in the New Jersey Constitution that has prohibited segregation in education since 1881, more than 250,000 Latino and black students attend public schools that are attended by more than 90 percent children of color. Even more troubling, segregation is increasing. Creating environments where New Jersey students of diverse races come together will break down barriers to success for tens of thousands of students throughout New Jersey. My personal experience is a testament to education's power to transform lives and underscores the problems our highly segregated school systems cause struggling families. I attended a school where almost every other student was confronting similar, serious challenges at home. Despite having a good, hardworking teaching staff, the school just didn't have the resources necessary to provide each student with the individualized attention and support needed. Our teachers couldn't teach lessons effectively while also worrying that most of their students hadn't eaten breakfast that morning. Everything changed after my brothers and mother pooled their resources and enabled us to rent a small apartment in Westfield. I had traveled barely 5 miles away from my old school, yet the reality was totally different. The conversation was no longer "if" I would go to college -- it was "where" I would go to college. Those 5 miles could have easily been 500 miles thanks to an irrational system in which schools right next to each other have vastly different resources and demographics. Unlike most of my friends in Plainfield who had dropped out of school, I had a leg up thanks to a resource-rich environment. As such, I was the first person in my family to attend college. Segregated schools are often unable to overcome the challenges of concentrated poverty -- particularly because our state's funding formula has not been properly funded. And as the U.S. Supreme Court highlighted in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, separate is never equal. I saw this after returning to Plainfield as an adult and serving on the school board. We made a number of positive changes during my tenure that improved educational opportunities, attracting students back into our public school system. But no matter how we shuffled the deck, it was impossible to give poor students of color the opportunity to learn in integrated classrooms with the resources they needed. My experience in Plainfield isn't unique. More than 80 percent of black and Latino children attending racially segregated schools come from low-income families. Our segregated education system shortchanges all students, regardless of their race or socioeconomic status. Confronting this persistent inequality is the key civil rights challenge facing our state. It is a challenge that the Latino Action Network, working with our civil rights partners, is fully committed to. We look forward to partnering with Murphy, legislative leaders, parents and advocates to build the type of integrated school system that provides our students with the diverse, well-rounded education they deserve. Together we can break the cycle of entrenched racial segregation within our schools. Christian Estevez is president of the Latino Action Network. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Just north of Newark-Liberty, where hurried travelers along McCarter Highway don't have time to read between the lines, a United Airlines billboard ad states that it is "Proud to support Newark with 13,700 local jobs." To show its obeisance, the labor union responded with a pair of billboards of its own on Rts. 21 and 78 which read, "United Supports Newark with 13,000 poverty jobs." It wasn't long before billboard owner ClearChannel took down SEIU's tribute and refunded its money, the union said. But sometimes the truth stings, and here's the whole truth: A corporation's pride can be an employee's misery, and in this case, the world's third-largest airline is a fair target. There are 10,000 people who work for Newark Airport vendors under contract with United, which last year made record profits and paid its CEO $5.8 million. These non-union employees make $10.20 an hour and receive no benefits or vacation time, because no one compels vendors like PrimeFlight to offer more. PrimeFlight only gets these contracts because it bids low and flouts labor laws. Result: a degraded work environment and employees languishing in poverty - employees like Zakiyy Medina, a 21-year-old baggage handler who supports his grandmother and says the sight of his biweekly check "does something to you mentally." Employees like Yvette Stephens, who suffers from MS but works the frozen tarmac eight hours a day, dragging around a 500-pound airstair. Employees like Christina Watson, a security guard who says, "I can pay a bill, but I can't eat." United, the airline that bribed David Samson, can end this, because it sets rules for vendors. But it does not. The Port Authority also can end this, because it owns the property. But it does not. The PA doesn't even recognize the absurd wage disparity between its properties: LaGuardia and Kennedy workers make the New York State minimum of $13.00 an hour (with 12 weeks of family leave) compared to the pittance earned by their Newark counterparts. So New Jersey has a lot of catch-up to do, especially with the New York minimum rising to $15 next year. There is a bill that has broad support in our Legislature that calls for an $17.98 wage for the 10,000 subcontractors at the airport, Newark Penn, and Hoboken terminal. It also makes employers like PrimeFlight pay for health care and vacations. With one stroke of his pen, Gov. elect Murphy has a chance to take thousands of people out of the Middle Ages. But United and the PA needn't wait for the government's glacial pace to erase their plantation mentality. Remember this: The United Way says a basic survival budget for a family of four in our state is $64,176, and these workers make one-third that amount. Their jobs cannot be outsourced to China. No one says companies can't make a profit. But profit is more than just the metric that lets you hit a number on the quarterly report. Profit must be married to a social compact, where success is shared with the people who make an airline profitable. Until it realizes this, United is just another corporate slob with a retrograde business model that devalues human beings, and billboard fables cannot hide that reality. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. On his final full day in office, Gov. Chris Christie on Monday signed a controversial bill into law that will increase the pensions of former Camden Mayor Dana Redd -- a Democratic ally -- and some other elected New Jersey officials. Christie made no statement on the measure, which was one of 150 he took action on before he's set to leave office Tuesday. His office did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The Democratic-controlled state Legislature fast-tracked the Democratic-sponsored legislation in the final weeks before a new set of lawmakers were sworn in and Christie finished his eight-year tenure. The new law (S3620) allows some politicians to re-enroll in the state's Public Employees' Retirement System after being kicked out because they switched positions. Though lawmakers have not specifically said the bill was written to benefit Redd, the former mayor -- a Democrat who left office after eight years Jan 1. -- is the the most notable beneficiary. Redd is an ally of some of the state's top Democrats, including state Senate President Stephen Sweeney and south Jersey powerbroker George Norcross III. Christie, a Republican, had a longstanding bipartisan alliance with Sweeney and Norcross, and the three often worked with Redd on initiatives to improve Camden. Christie signed the bill just days after Redd was hired as CEO of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors -- a job that pays an annual salary of $275,000. The new law would allow her to triple her pension if she stays in the job for three years, according to a report by Politico New Jersey. Lawmakers also never specified how many other elected officials would benefit from the measure, though they said it would also affect state Assembly members James Beach, D-Camden, and Ralph Caputo, D-Essex. The state Senate passed the bill 23-9 last month and the Assembly voted 41-19 to pass it on the final day of the lame-duck session. The 41 votes is the lowest number it needed to head to Christie's desk. Christie signed the measure even though he has railed against past governors and elected officials for adding debt to New Jersey's ailing public-worker pensions system. The state's pension liability is more than $90 billion -- among the largest in the nation, and Christie made it a big part of his final State of the State address last week. Democratic leaders argue the cost to taxpayers is minor because the law affects a small number of officials in a pension system where more than 80,000 are enrolled. The bill essentially changes a 2007 law that mandated all newly elected officials be placed in a less generous "defined contribution" pension plan similar to a (401)k. Incumbent elected officials at the time were allowed to stay in the traditional pension system, as long as they kept the same office -- with the exception of lawmakers who moved between the state Senate and Assembly. Thus, when Redd -- then a state senator and Camden councilwoman -- was elected mayor in 2010, the pension she had been collecting since 1990 was frozen at a little over $92,000. The new law would grandfather in those who held office continuously since July 1, 2007, allowing them to re-enroll in the system as long as they have served at least 15 years in elected office with no break in time between switching positions. It also would allow them to make their enrollment retroactive to the date they first took elected office. Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. The ruling was puzzling to New Jersey's public labor unions. Despite decades of precedent and explicit contract language to the contrary, a state labor commission declared in 2013 that public safety employees in Atlantic County weren't entitled to step increases -- pay raises when workers reach a certain number of years on the job -- after their contract expired. Then, the influential Public Employment Relations Commission backed that up, ruling step increases after a contract's expiration were no longer eligible for negotiation or arbitration. With these decisions, it became clear what was happening, public-sector labor professionals said. Led by Gov. Chris Christie's appointees, the agency designed to be the impartial referee resolving disputes between management and labor put its finger on the scale and sided with the government over its unionized employees, they claimed. "Think of justice with the scales," said David Jones, the retired state police union leader and a labor member of the commission, "Once she was blindfolded, this group at PERC hit her on the head." Now, union leaders are hopeful for a change. Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, a Democrat who ran a strong pro-labor campaign, made plenty of big promises to the unions, from an ambitious pledge for full pension payments to raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. But if he wants to make an immediate impact on public labor, Murphy can start with fixing PERC, labor leaders said. "I believe the governor-elect is deeply committed to restoring the independence and neutrality of the agency, said Ira Mintz, a labor attorney who worked for the agency for 25 years before he was fired after Christie took office, "which is what most people who function in the labor relations world would like to see." PERC'S PAST Mintz's termination was the Christie administration's opening salvo at PERC, labor leaders said. At the time, the governor's office said the agency was in need of a new approach. P. Kelly Hatfield didn't fit labor leaders' idea of a typical PERC chairperson. She'd worked on Christie's campaign and holds a Ph.D in microbiology but had no background in labor law. Hatfield, who declined to comment for this report, previously said her interest in PERC stemmed from her involvement in negotiations while serving on the Summit town council and school board. Past PERC chairs typically had extensive labor experience and were attorneys, said Patrick Colligan, president of the Police Benevolent Association. Hatfield's appointment stoked fears that PERC had lost its independence. "Under Christie, you know you had somebody extremely hostile to public workers' collective bargaining rights. And he appointed someone who knew nothing, had no capacity to run an agency like this," said Hetty Rosenstein, state director of the Communications Workers of America. "And she came in with the intent of destroying those public bargaining rights as opposed to implementing the law." A spokesman for Christie did not respond to a request for comment. It wasn't just labor leaders who disagreed with PERC's decisions. The controversial rulings involving Atlantic County and Bridgewater Township were appealed to the state Supreme Court. Atlantic County had said, and PERC agreed, that continuing to pay longevity bonuses between contracts no longer reflected economic realities or local governments' modern fiscal constraints. The state Supreme Court reversed PERC, relying on "the basic principles of contract law." "The point of changing the law on increments was to give management greater pressure at the bargaining table," Mintz said, "and that had never been the role of the agency." Added Colligan: "Nothing says you've made a mistake like a unanimous Supreme Court ruling." PERC Commissioner John Bonnani, the Morris County administrator, pushed back against labor leaders' criticism. "The preponderance" of PERC's decisions have been fair and balanced. "Clearly the Atlantic County case was overturned, and I respect that. I might not agree with that. But I respect that," he said. "As far as diminishing bargaining rights ... I think that (PERC's decisions) clarified them and streamlined them more than they diminished them," he added. John Donnadio, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Counties, takes the opposite view from labor of PERC's track record. Prior to the Christie administration, the commission was biased toward public workers, he said. Under Christie, PERC clearly understood the consequences their decisions would bring about for counties, towns and taxpayers. "I think it's now a fairer process," Donnadio said. "Their claims are really unfounded, and if anything, (PERC) leveled the playing field for government, and ultimately, for taxpayers." Rosenstein, however, said unions lost faith they could get a fair shake from PERC, "because they are just looking for any opportunity to undo years and years of precedent." Mintz, who now represents unions, points to plenty of other rulings he said grievously chipped away at longstanding practices. PERC took the position that employers could reduce work hours and compensation without having to negotiate out of "managerial prerogative." Employers that were found to have committed an unfair practice by changing a term and condition of employment without first negotiating didn't have to put things back to the way they were. And employees who didn't return to work after being improperly terminated weren't entitled to back pay," he said. "There's a whole string of little things like that that diminish employees' rights," Mintz said. "I think the Hatfield and Christie philosophy was employees earn too much money. Their benefit package is too generous. And management should be able to make decisions without the interference of unions." THE FUTURE Organized labor was a big spender in the gubernatorial contest between Democrat Phil Murphy and Republican Kim Guadagno. Big and small donations from labor unions poured into the Committee to Build the Economy, which spent more than $6 million on advertising, mailers, data and polling services on Murphy's behalf. Murphy said he's made only one promise to labor: "A stronger and fairer economy in this state. And that includes for organized labor." But in reality, there have been plenty of promises. He'll fully fund pensions, a glaring concern among active and retired workers, some of whose funds are at risk of insolvency in a decade or two. He'll divest from the hedge funds that labor groups complain are sapping pensions of hundreds of millions of dollars a year. He'll raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and put billions of dollars back into public schools. And, maybe less likely to get much public attention, he promised to respect collective bargaining. As governor, Murphy is expected to appoint new PERC leadership and commissioners, which labor leaders say presents an opportunity to return it to a neutral agency free of political meddling. The commission includes three public members, two organized labor members and two management members. All are serving on expired terms, with one vacancy. Labor leaders said they expect balance will be restored. "I am a huge believer in organized labor. Period. Full stop," Murphy said in a recent interview with NJ Advance Media. "And I think if you're a public-sector union, you've been beaten down needlessly, and promises have been broken. If you're in a building trade, you've been largely ignored. You haven't had enforcement, you haven't had your backs covered." A spokesman for Murphy declined to comment. Donnadio, who spent much of 2017 urging the state Legislature to extend a 2 percent cap on the raises police and firefighters can win in arbitration, said there's reason for taxpayers and local government leaders to be concerned about the future of PERC. Murphy, as a candidate and governor-elect, never publicly took a position on the cap, which those government officials said is crucial to keeping local spending under control. If Murphy's unwillingness to go against labor on the arbitration cap is an indication of what's to come, "it's certainly going to be a concern" Donnadio said. "The governor has been very pro-labor. The appointments will come from the governor's office. Certainly, we're mindful of where this might be heading," Donnadio said. No one in organized labor expects the commission reconstituted under Murphy to give away the store, union bosses said. Rosenstein said she'd like an agency committed to enforcing the law and intent on changing it. During Murphy's tenure, such issues as increments need to be clarified legislatively, Mintz said, adding that he'd like to see the state work toward broadening which areas of employment are negotiable. "All I ever expect is a seat at the table, an opportunity to present our case, an opportunity to influence some decisions, too," Colligan said. Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump spoke to incoming New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Sunday, two days before the Democrat will be sworn in to succeed Chris Christie. Though Murphy has been critical of Trump, a Republican, the two men agreed to try to work together and both expressed a desire to improve the nation's public works, White House spokeswoman Lindsey Waters said. She offered no additional details. Murphy spokesman Daniel Bryan said Trump called the governor-elect and congratulated him on taking office. Bryan said Murphy "expressed appreciation for the call." Trump also spoke to the other newly elected Democratic governor, Ralph Northam of Virginia, and they also agreed to work together on issues, including the military, Waters said. The conversation between Murphy and Trump came shortly after most of the New Jersey delegation called on the U.S. Transportation Department to live up to a previous commitment to pay part of the costs of building a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River. The deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, K. Jane Williams, said earlier this month that there was no agreement to help pay for the Gateway Tunnel project, a statement that U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist., called "patently false." Murphy told NJ Advance Media last week that he expected the issue to be resolved. "I think cooler heads will prevail on this one," he said. "It's a national security matter. It's not just a thing for New Jersey or New York. The federal delegations on both sides of the river are all in. I believe we'll get there. When I say get there, I mean specifically the federal government will put the anchor investment down that we need for them." The $30 billion project to build a new train tunnel under the Hudson River and a new Portal Bridge over the Hackensack River is the region's top transportation priority. The new tunnel is needed so the existing tubes can be closed temporarily to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Murphy, Christie and U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, both D-N.J., urged the Trump administration on Sunday to exclude the Jersey shore from its proposed expansion of offshore oil drilling. The four officials sent a letter after Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke dropped the Florida coast from the sites under consideration, citing the impact on tourism. Zinke acted after meeting with outgoing Gov. Rick Scott, a fellow Republican, who is considering challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson this fall. In addition, Murphy has threatened legal action against the Republican tax bill signed by Trump that disproportionately affects New Jersey by gutting the federal deduction for state and local taxes. NJ Advance Media staff writers Brent Johnson contributed to this report. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. The eminent thinker Tharwat Al-Kherbawi is without doubt an excellent authority on the Muslim Brotherhood and both the public and secret sides of their way of thinking, the workings of their policies and the events of their history. With these masonic-like organisations, the part that lies below the surface is much larger than the tip of the iceberg they make visible, and it is this part that presents a constantly lurking peril that threatens destruction and loss of human life. Al-Kherbawi knows quite a bit about the hidden part of the Muslim Brotherhood iceberg. He was once an active member of the quasi-underground organisation. He had risen through its ranks until he attained leadership positions, but when he discovered the organisations real nature he left. He is thus in the unique position of being able to assess matters pertaining to the Muslim Brotherhood with a degree of precision and insight unavailable to others without his first-hand experience. This is why his recently published work on the relationship between president Gamal Abdel-Nasser and the Muslim Brotherhood is so important. Was Nasser a Muslim Brother? published as part of Akhbar Al-Youms Book of the Day series, is a relatively short work (134 paperback size pages). But it is a solid and exhaustive investigative study that probes its subject from all angles and contains previously unpublished documents and testimonies concerning the relationship between Nasser and the Muslim Brotherhood. This question was raised by the Egyptian television series Al-Gamaa written by Wahid Hamid and which, in one episode, portrays Nasser performing the oath of allegiance to the organisation. Al-Kherbawis book establishes incontrovertibly that this never occurred. On the other hand, we should stress that this does not detract from the credit due to Hamid for having chosen a crucial political and social issue in our contemporary history as a subject for a television serial at a time when the overall banality and inanity of our television dramas have sunk to an all-time low. Hamids treatment was refreshing in the respect it showed for the intelligence of television audiences. Moreover, in contrast to the usual run of screenplays about crime, deception and infidelity that are forgotten once the thrill has passed, his series succeeded in sparking the interest of viewers to the extent that some of the subjects broached in his series remained topics of conversation and sustained viewers inquisitiveness for months afterwards. With regard to the contention that Nasser had joined the Muslim Brotherhood at an early phase in his life, many disagreed. But then whenever has there been a rule that says we have to agree with the way writers treat historical subjects through artistic media? Shakespeare had his fictional version of the Ptolemaic queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, kill herself out of love for Anthony whereas Bernhard Shaw cast Cleopatra as a young temptress toying with the elderly Caesar from Rome and Ahmed Shawki, in his famous play about her, portrays her as a patriot determined to defend the honour of her country and who, when faced with defeat, committed suicide rather than allowing the queen of Egypt to be dragged through the streets of Rome bound in chains. Whether we agree or disagree with how a playwright or screenwriter treats his subject, as long as he does not unwarrantedly falsify established facts, then he should be entitled to give rein to his freedom of creativity. This is what Hamid did. He relied on existing sources that testified that Nasser had declared allegiance to the Muslim Brotherhoods supreme guide. While I doubted the veracity of those testimonies, because all of Nassers history belies them, I was still glad that Hamids series brought the subject to public attention and I was glad when Al-Kherbawis study came along to close the file on the matter by furnishing the conclusive proof. I wish we would subject all of our history to that kind of study and scrutiny, because there is a lot that needs to be revisited. Al-Kherbawi, in his work, ignored no source of relevance to Nassers relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, including Nassers own testimony. Nor did he take such testimonies at face value. He inspected them closely, applying a lens available only to him, a lens shaped by his detailed knowledge of the nature, conventions and internal regulations of the Muslim Brotherhood. Some testimonies have failed to stand the test of this type of examination in spite of the importance of the persons who gave them. Al-Kherbawi took pains to unearth and analyse previously unknown sources and testimonies alongside the already existing sources. Taken together, they all establish that Nassers purpose in approaching the Muslim Brotherhood was to forge an alliance that would serve the national cause. Nasser backed out of that alliance the moment he realised that organisations true nature. However, he never had never gone so far as to declare allegiance to the supreme guide or join its ranks. I, personally, see no harm in the fact that Nasser allied with the Muslim Brotherhood at a certain stage of his youth. He was a young patriot dedicated to the cause of liberating his country from colonialism, corruption, ignorance and backwardness. It was only natural for him to look for allies among all the organisations that called for national independence. The Muslim Brotherhood waved the nationalist banner at the time, and so too did the Wafd Party and Misr Al-Fatah (Young Egypt) Party. Nasser approached all three, but ultimately, he was not convinced by any of them. Instead, he opted for a different course that would promote a drive for modernisation, industrialisation, social justice (although not in accordance with the Marxist conception that was prevalent at the time) and national liberation at home, and Arab nationalism and non-alignment abroad. In all events, what is important historically is not whether Nasser joined the Muslim Brotherhood, the Wafd or Misr Al-Fatah, but rather the fact that he left all those organisations and went his own way. The value of this leader, who is unparalleled in the modern history of the Arab nation, resides in the idea he proposed. The Nasserist idea presented an alternative to all those organisations and it ultimately prevailed in this region as well as in the rest of the Third World in the mid-20th century, altering the international map and ushering in a new phase of history. The world after Nasser was unlike the one that had preceded him. A particularly valuable aspect of the study, Was Nasser a Muslim Brother? is the spirit of detached objectivity that enabled its author to free himself of the Islamists blinkered approach to Nasser as the dictator who put them in prison and stood in the way of their irredentist imperial dream. Unhampered by such biases, Al-Kherbawi was able to give us a truer picture of that unique leader whose achievements for the Arab world surpassed those of all other leaders. This scientific spirit lends the book such a degree of credibility that we can say that it is the last word on the question of the relationship between Nasser and the Muslim Brotherhood. *This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: A 36-year-old man was slashed across his face and a dog was stabbed in an attack in his apartment above a bar in Salem County last week, police said. Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of Marcellous E. Willitts, a 30-year-old man from Carneys Point, in the attack. He faces charges of aggravated assault, burglary, cruelty to animals and weapons charges. The resident suffered a stab wound to his forehead that ran the length of his face, police said. The dog was critically injured in the attack and taken to a facility in Delaware for treatment, police said. The man told police he was attacked by two men after they came to his apartment above Scooter's bar on Main Street. He declined to provide a statement to officers and refused medical treatment, police said. Pennsville Police Chief Allen J. Cummings said the man sought medical attention on his own. Officers responded to the apartment on the afternoon of Jan. 8 after someone called 911 and hung up, police said. The second alleged attacker has not been identified by police. The incident remains under investigation. Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Hoboken officials and residents fighting the sale of riverfront property to NJ Transit for use by NY Waterway as a maintence facility won a small victory Monday, when the agency delayed the purchase. Transportation Commissioner Richard Hammer announced the proposed purchase of the Union Drydock Property on the Hudson River from NY Waterway was off the agenda at the start of the meeting. Officials did not give a reason for the postponement. Mayor Ravi Bhalla told 100 residents who came to the meeting to oppose purchase by NJ Transit that this was not the end of the fight. Hoboken officials want to buy the property and use it for parkland along the Hudson River waterfront. "This is not an end, it is a beginning," Bhalla told supports afterward. "We will fight tooth and nail on a united front to make sure we preserve the Union Dry Dock space and all of our water front." NY Waterway recently bought the land from Union Drydock for $11.5 million and NJ Transit has proposed buying the land and leasing it back to the ferry carrier for use as a ferry maintenance facility. The town of Hoboken could not use eminent domain to take the property away from NJ Transit because it is a state agency. The company is losing the Weehawken facility it now leases from a developer in the spring. Hoboken officials and residents charged the purchase and lease is being done at the last minute without consulting with the city. The first step toward the city's plan to buy or condemn the land happened after an appraiser from Hoboken assessed the land's value, Bhalla said. "I will ask the council in the coming weeks for authorization to make an offer to NY Waterway for a friendly acquisition of that property," he said. "The next step will be to enter into negotiations for acquisition for public open space." But NY Waterway officials said this is the only suitable deepwater river site between Nyack and New York City for a repair facility. "Even though your removed the item, you have not made the problem go away," said Armand Pohan, New York Waterway's chairman to NJ Transit officials. "If you don't act soon and Hoboken condemns the land, commuters will suffer irreparable harm." The timing of the vote, on a federal holiday and in the twilight of the Christie administration was questioned by Gov. Elect Phil Murphy. After he is inaugurated Tuesday, Murphy has the power as governor to undo a vote to buy and lease the land to NY Waterway by vetoing the agency's board meeting minutes. Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook. UPDATE: Man struck and killed is 24-year-old from Fanwood A man trespassing on railroad property in Elizabeth was fatally struck by a train Saturday night, a transit official said Sunday. The train -- a 10:53 p.m. departure from New York's Penn Station bound for Trenton on the Northeast Corridor line -- struck the man at approximately 11:20 p.m. near the Elizabeth train station, according to Jim Smith, a spokesperson for NJ Transit. The man's identity was not immediately available Sunday. Smith said the crash is under investigation by transit police. No injuries were reported among the train's crew or the approximately 600 passengers on board. Smith said service on the line was briefly suspended in both directions for approximately 40 minutes but has since resumed. Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips The 74-year-old Union woman who went missing last week has been found at a New York City hospital, authorities said Monday. Mary Ann Clark is in serious but stable condition at Mt. Sinai Hospital on Madison Avenue in Manhattan after suffering a medical episode on a subway Friday morning while on her way to work, Union police said. Clark was on a No. 1 subway approaching the 14th Street station when she fell ill. Two passengers came to her aid and stayed with Clark until paramedics arrived, Union police said. Clark was brought to Mount Sinai Beth Israel and later transferred to the hospital's Madison Avenue location. Police learned of her whereabouts Monday morning after receiving a call from Vincent DiTomasso, one of the people who aided her. Police then confirmed she was still hospitalized after speaking with family members who arrived in New York to see her. "We want to give credit to the caller who aided her," a Union police spokesman said of DiTomasso, a member of an electrical union who was on his way to work Friday morning. "He cared for this total stranger and did right by her." Clark is awake and alert, but not yet able to speak, police said. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. A man who was shot in the head the morning of Jan. 8 as he was leaving his home in New Orleans East's Little Woods neighborhood has died, the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office said. Idrick Brister, 29, was identified on Monday (Jan. 15) by Coroner Dr. Jeffery Rouse's office as the person who New Orleans police said was taken to a hospital after officers found him face-down in the carport of the multi-unit home. A man at the shooting scene said Brister lived at the home with his girlfriend. Brister, who police said last week was on life support to donate his organs, died on Friday, according to the coroner's office. The NOPD made an arrest in the now-fatal shooting of Brister on Thursday, a day before the coroner says Brister died. Christopher Alexander, 27, was arrested in connection with the shooting and faces one count of attempted second-degree murder. It is likely Alexander's charge will now be upgraded to second-degree murder. A warrant for Alexander's arrest, sworn by New Orleans Police Homicide Detective Rayell Johnson, states a witness claimed Alexander "made threats via social media" against the wounded man and another person a day before the shooting. After being advised of his Miranda Rights, including his right to remain silent, the warrant states, Alexander "confessed to shooting" the victim. The Orleans Public Defender's Office was appointed to represent Alexander in court on Friday. Orleans Parish Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell set his bond at $250,000. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The shooting was reported about 6:15 a.m. Jan. 8 outside the home in the 8000 block of Trapier Avenue, near the corner of Trapier and Hayne Boulevard. The 48-year-old man at the shooting scene, who identified himself as the father of Brister's girlfriend, said he believed Brister regularly attended church, and the man wondered aloud why someone would shoot him. "It's just messed up," said the man, who asked not to be named. "I just don't know what's wrong with people today." A person who in an email claimed to be a cousin of Brister said Brister was the youngest of four siblings who was known for "his big heart and how he cared for people." "He was a God-fearing man that put his all into what he believed in. He was a young man just trying to make the world a better place in his own way," Brister's cousin wrote. New Orleans murder map 2018 A woman was found dead early Monday (Jan. 15) in LaPlace, St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff Mike Tregre said. The woman had been shot, the sheriff said. The woman's body was found about 3 a.m. near Louisiana 628 and Cardinal Street. Late Monday morning, deputies were canvassing the area, looking for evidence, the sheriff said. No other information was immediately available. Stay with NOLA.com for developments. Staff writer Littice Bacon-Blood contributed to this report. Prairieville lawyer Aaron Lawler became the third member of the Ascension Parish Council to have a recall petition filed against him in the past two weeks, as some residents revolt over the pace of new developments and their impact on floods and traffic. New Orleans firefighters responded to a fire at a 7th Ward building Sunday afternoon (Jan. 14), which sent plumes of smoke into a clear blue sky near Interstate 10. Flames could be seen from the highway and downtown high-rises before firefighters were able to quell the blaze in the 1800 block of St. Anthony Street. A neighbor said the building had recently been empty, but officials have not yet released details about the fire, such as whether anyone had been inside at the time flames erupted. Firefighters were battling a three-alarm blaze around noon Monday at a residence in Mid-City, the New Orleans Fire Department said. It was not immediately known whether the home that caught fire, in the 3000 block of Banks Street, was occupied. There was no immediate word on whether anyone was injured. The fire was upgraded from a two-alarm to a three-alarm just before noon. Watch WVUE Fox 8's live coverage of the fire below. Stay with NOLA.com for developments. Weather Alert ...FLASH FLOOD WATCH NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CDT THIS EVENING... The Flash Flood Watch is now in effect for * Portions of southeast Louisiana, including the following parishes, Ascension, Assumption, Eastern Orleans, Livingston, Lower Terrebonne, Northwest St. Tammany, Southeast St. Tammany, Southern Tangipahoa, St. Charles, St. James, St. John The Baptist, Upper Jefferson, Upper Lafourche, Upper Plaquemines, Upper St. Bernard, Upper Terrebonne, Washington and Western Orleans. Portions of Mississippi, including the following areas, Hancock, Harrison and Pearl River. * Until 9 PM CDT this evening. * Numerous slow moving showers and thunderstorms will develop across the area today. The heaviest of these showers and storms will be capable of producing 2 to 3 inches of rain in a short period of time. Locally higher amounts are possible. Soil conditions are saturated or nearly saturated and heavy rainfall may quickly lead to flash flooding. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued. && ...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Heat index values between 100 and 105 expected. * WHERE...Portions of southeast and southern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana. * WHEN...From 10 AM this morning to 6 PM CDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses to occur. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. && Although nearly half a century has passed since the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the memory of that great man has remained alive and vivid in the hearts and minds of millions, including todays generation of youth who, while never having experienced the Nasserist era directly, will have read of Nasser and the Nasserist experience. Does this mean that there is a national or pan-Arab consensus over Nassers historical role? Not necessarily. In fact, the assessment of that role has been the subject of a long and still unresolved controversy. While some glorify the Egyptian leader to saint-like proportion, others vilify him and regard him responsible for the current state of deterioration in the Arab region, the seeds for which, they say, were sown in the Nasserist era. While such a sharp polarity has always existed, the close observer of the debate today will have observed that most of those who defend Nasser use their defence as a means to justify the renewed prevalence of the military establishment in political life on the grounds that the army is the sole guarantee of the safety of the state in this tumultuous region that is so vulnerable to foreign designs. Observers will simultaneously have noted that most of the fiercest critics of Nasser use their attacks as a means to justify the political ambitions of Islamist groups, which they claim reflect the will of the people as expressed in the ballot box. When the controversy over Nasser and his historical role assumes such a character, it seems as though the peoples of this region are trapped in a vice-like dilemma. On one side is the army that seeks to impose its hegemony in the name of the state, on the grounds that it is best equipped to protect the state against the conspiracies that seek to dismantle it; on the other are the groups and organisations that seek to impose their hegemony in the name of Islam, on the basis of the claim that they are best qualified to protect the faith and apply divine law. Such a dichotomy is very misleading. It confuses issues, contains gross generalisations, warps historical facts and distorts the actual roles played by major political and military leaders. It therefore seems appropriate, as we commemorate the anniversary of Nassers death, to put an end to the deliberate obfuscation and try to derive the correct lessons from the Nasserist experience. There were two sides to Nasser that have often been deliberately confused. One is the bright side on which we find his role in forging and steering the political project of the July 1952 Revolution. By project here I refer to the totality of domestic and foreign policies that expressed the July Revolutions stances on such questions as national independence, autonomous development, Arab unity and nonalignment. As the general outlooks on such issues underwent radical changes following the death of Nasser we would not be greatly wrong to hold that Nasser, himself, through his ideas and stances, embodied the spirit and values of the political project of the July Revolution. On the other, darker side, we find the political regime that took shape under Nassers rule. As this aspect did not undergo substantial changes between Nassers death in 1970 and the January Revolution in 2011, we can say that that regime was more a manifestation of the political, economic, cultural and historical realities of Egyptian society than it was a reflection of Nassers personal political choices and thinking. Nasser was not a mere aspiring youth who enrolled in the military academy en route to using the army as a means to seize control of power and satisfy his personal ambitions. His biography indicates that he became politically aware at an early age and this led him to become involved in the concerns of his nation. He began to take part in student demonstrations while only 13 years old. He joined political parties and unconventional political groups for short periods of time. He was a voracious reader in various branches of knowledge. When he failed in his first attempt to enrol in the military academy he enrolled in the faculty of law in which he remained for six months until his second application to the military academy succeeded. This brief account of his early life indicates that Nassers political vision had nearly matured before he joined the military academy and that he had concluded from his experiences that the political parties at the time were not commensurate to societys nationalist aspirations and that the army offered hope for realising the desired changes. We can also deduce from his readings in the military sciences and the biographies of historical political and military leaders that he had begun to contemplate preparing himself for a historic role. This helps explain why he became an active member of secret cells in the army until he became the elected chairman of the executive committee of the Free Officers Movement, the group that succeeded in seizing power in Cairo on the evening of 23 July 1952. It is important to draw attention to two significant facts here. Firstly, Nassers command of the Free Officers organisation had never been questioned or disputed by any of his colleagues before or after the revolution. This is testimony to his charismatic power. Secondly, the structure of that organisation reflected the overall ideological and political outlooks that prevailed among the ranks of the Egyptian national movement in all their diversity. The organisation became a natural extension of that movement without becoming officially or organisationally linked with any of its parties or factions. During his period of rule, Nasser was able to fundamentally alter the face of life in Egypt and the Arab region and he played no small part in changing the world as a whole at the time. Although he made some grave mistakes that sometimes had catastrophic consequences, such as the collapse of the unity between Egypt and Syria in 1962 and the military debacle that led to the Israeli occupation of Sinai, the Golan and what remained of Palestine, no one ever questioned the genuineness of his patriotic motives or his personal integrity. This explains why the Egyptian and Arab peoples rallied behind him even during the most painful moments of defeat and despair. Testimony to this is to be found in the Syrian crowds that escorted his car on their backs during his first visit to Damascus after the declaration of unification between Egypt and Syria in 1958, in the outpouring of Egyptian crowds on 9 and 10 June 1967 to urge him to retract his resignation following the defeat in the 1967 war, in the huge and warm popular reception he received in Khartoum in November of that year despite the defeat, and in the massive attendance at his funeral procession in 1970. Nassers huge and almost fanatic popularity in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab region clearly reflected a widespread grassroots support for the political project of the July Revolution, which enabled Nassers bright side to shine. However, the Nasserist experience also produced a system of government characterised by a security apparatus that committed many abuses and by a curious and complex relationship between the head of the executive authority Nasser and the head of the military establishment Field Marshal Abdel-Hakim Amer. This would cast into relief Nassers dark side and exact a heavy toll on the revolutions political project. As the system of government produced by the July Revolution paved the way to power for such individuals as Anwar Al-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak it would not be excessive to say that that revolutions political regime is what caused the decline and defeat of its political project. Since the July Revolution to the present day, the military establishment in Egypt has produced three modes of historic leadership, each of which met a different fate. The first is the revered leader epitomised by Nasser who led the country for 16 years during which Egypt underwent major domestic and foreign battles that brought both great achievements and disastrous defeat. When Nasser died of a sudden heart attack he was still widely loved and respected even though he had been unable to liberate Sinai. The second is the adventurous or risk-taking leader. This was epitomised by Sadat who, during his 11 years in power, led Egypt through a successful war that led to a separate peace treaty that failed to bring peace. Sadat would meet his end by assassination in one of the most horrific incidents of political violence in the history of Egypt. The third type is the civil service leader epitomised by Mubarak, who ruled the country for nearly a third of a century. Egypt experienced no major battles or major accomplishments during that era which was brought to an end by a massive grassroots revolution that overthrew the Mubarak regime while Mubarak himself would ultimately be sentenced to three years in prison. If there is a proper lesson to be learned from the Nasserist experience it is that only democratic government is capable of sustaining any national project and safeguarding the gains it promises the people in the long run. This is the lesson that President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi should learn well. *The writer is professor of political science at Cairo University. *This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's lawmakers approved a limited cabinet reshuffle on Sunday, with four new ministers named for the portolios of local development, culture, tourism and the public business sector. The reshuffle of PM Sherif Ismail's cabinet is the third since it was first appointed in September 2015, with the two previous reshuffles taking place in March 2016 and February 2017. The four new ministers were proposed by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi but required the approval of parliament. Abu Bakr El-Guindy, head of official statistics agency CAPMAS has been appointed as minister of local development. Ines Abdel Dayem, head of the Cairo Opera House, has been appointed as culture minister. Rania Al-Mashat, a Central Bank of Egypt sub governor, has been named tourism minister. Khaled Al-Badawy, CEO of a joint-stock private-equity firm established by the National Bank of Egypt, has been chosen to head the ministry of the public business sector. Two new deputies for the ministries of housing and health were also appointed as part of the reshuffle. According to the Egyptian constitution, the president can reshuffle the cabinet following consultation with the prime minister and with the approval of parliament by an absolute majority of attendees. Below is a brief "who's who" of the newly appointed ministers. Abu Bakr El-Guindy Born in 1949, Abu Bakr El-Guindy has just been appointed Egypt's minister of local development. A 1968 graduate of Egypt's Military Academy and veteran of the 1973 war, El-Guindy graduated with a master's degree in Strategic Resources Management from the US-based National Defense University in 1995. He was appointed as the head of Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) in 2005. El-Guindy replaces Hisham El-Sherif. Ines Abdel-Dayem Abdel-Dayem is the first woman to head the culture ministry in Egypt's history. She replaces Helmi El-Namnam. The 58-year-old Abdel-Dayem graduated from the flute department of the Cairo Conservatory in 1984, and continued her studies in France, where she obtained a PhD from the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris in 1990. In 1982, she won first prizes from the Federation Nationale des Unions des Conservatoires Municipaux and the Concours General de Musique et dArt Dramatique in France in addition top awards in chamber music and solo flute performances. She was appointed as the head of Cairo Opera House in February 2012. The renowned flutist was dismissed from her position as chairwoman of the Opera House during the rule of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi but returned to the position following his ouster. Khaled El-Badawy The new Minister of the Public Business Sector Khaled El-Badawy was born in1971. El-Badawy graduated from the Faculty of Economics and Political Sciences at Cairo University in 1994. El-Badawy began his career in banking in Egypt's CIB before gaining international experience while working for banks in Bahrain and Kuwait. He was appointed as CFO of Egypt-based Qalaa Holdings' subsidiary ARESCO before serving as the managing director of Qalaa Holdings. Later, he was appointed managing director of Al-Ahly Capital, the joint-stock private-equity firm established by the National Bank of Egypt in 2016. Khaled El-Badawy is replacing Ashraf El-Sharkawy. Rania Al-Mashat Rania Al-Mashat is Egypt's new minister of tourism and the first woman to lead the ministry in Egypt's history. Al-Mashat, 42, is a graduate of the American University in Cairo. She earned her MA and PhD in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, in the United States. A well-known economist in local and international circles with wide expertise in economics and monetary policies, she has served as sub-governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, a member of the stock market board and a senior advisor with the International Monetary Fund. Al-Mashat replaces Yahia Rashed in the post. Short link: Egypt's parliament approved in a plenary session on Sunday the appointment of four new ministers and two deputy ministers, including two women to head the ministries of culture and tourism. Inas Abdel-Dayem, who will be culture minister, and Rania El-Mashat, who is the new tourism minister, are the first women to head their respective ministries in Egypt's history. The 58-year-old Abdel-Dayem, who has served as the chairwoman of the Egyptian Opera House since 2012, replaces prominent writer Helmi El-Namnam at the helm of the culture ministry. Abdel-Dayem, who is an accomplished flutist, graduated from the Cairo Conservatory in 1984 and earned a PhD in classical music from France in 1990. Meanwhile, Al-Mashat, 42, a well-known economic expert in local and international circles, replaced Yehia Rashed as tourism minister. Al-Mashat, who is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, holds a PhD in economics from the University of Maryland. She has previously served as sub-governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and head of the bank's Monetary Policy Department, a member of the board of the stock market, and an advisor with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Sunday's list of appointees also includes Abu Bakr El-Guindi as the new minister of local development and Khaled Mohamed Ali Badawi as minister of the public sector. El-Guindi, the former head of the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, replaced Hesham El-Sharif, while Badawi replaced Ashraf El-Sharkawi. Bawadi, born in 1970, holds a PhD from Cairo University's Faculty of Economics and Political Science. Badawi is currently working as the executive director of Al-Ahli Capital group and has a distinguished experience in business administration, said parliamentary speaker Ali Abdel-Aal during the session. Additionally, Assem El-Gazzar and Tarek Mohamed Tawfik Amin were appointed deputy minister of housing and deputy minister of health, respectively. El-Gazzar holds a PhD in urban planning and currently serves as deputy head of the Urban Planning Authority under the ministry of housing. Amin holds a PhD in public health and currently the manager of the National Population Council. At the onset of the session, speaker Abdel-Aal announced that Article 147 of the Egyptian constitution grants the president the power to invoke a limited cabinet reshuffle after consulting with the prime minister and gaining the approval of a majority of attending MPs, with no less than one-third (200 MPs). Abdel-Aal also said Article 129 of parliaments internal bylaws states that once a cabinet reshuffle is submitted by the president, parliament should vote on it during the next session, so that MPs can approve or reject it as a whole without making changes, and that the president will be informed of parliaments decision. Sunday's reshuffle is the fourth in the three-year government of Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, who was appointed in September 2015. A reshuffle in March 2016 resulted in 11 new appointees, followed by another in February 2017 that resulted in four new cabinet ministers. Support among MPs for Sunday's move was not unanimous. Parliaments leftist 25-30 group issued a critical statement, describing the reshuffle as unjustifiable. Nobody knows why some ministers were fired and why others were kept in place, the 14-member group said. "We believe that this is not the right time for a cabinet reshuffle because it comes just three months ahead of the presidential election scheduled for March and April, which will be followed by a comprehensive reshuffle," the statement read. Opponents said the change should be in policies rather than in cabinet ministers. We reject the policies of Sherif Ismails government which is implementing the IMFs orders, in addition to the devaluation of the Egyptian pound which led to a skyrocketing rise in food prices and costs of living conditions for the majority of Egyptians, read the statement. Search Keywords: Short link: Menoufiya governor Hesham Abdel Baset was arrested on Sunday over bribery charges, a source at Egypts Administrative Control Authority said. In statements to Al-Ahram Arabic news website, the source said Abdel Baset was arrested while receiving an EGP 2 million (around 113,000 USD) bribe from a businessman, after the governor had illegally allocated a plot of land to the businessman. The source added that the authority "had voice recordings and pictures that confirm the incident." The ACA is responsible for enforcing laws and regulations within state bodies, including identifying possible cases of corruption and referring them to the prosecution. Since 2016, the ACA has referred several state officials to the prosecution on bribery charges, with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressing the importance of fighting corruption in the country through the states administrative authority. In August 2017, Alexandrias Deputy Governor Saod El-Kholy was arrested on several corruption charges, including bribery, profiteering and squandering public funds. El-Kholy, who was referred with others to a criminal court last November, was accused of receiving over EGP 1 million in bribes from five businessmen. Search Keywords: Short link: The penalty fees are issued to offending motorists and drivers. Over the last 10 years the money has accumulated to Shs 53 billion Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is struggling to collect over Shs 52.6 billion from traffic police, money accrued from express penalty fees over the last 10 years. The money is owed in penalty fees issued to offending drivers and motorists across the country. Section 179 of the Traffic and Road safety Act empowers police through the Directorate of Traffic and Road safety to enforce the express penalty scheme (EPS) which is a revenue generator for police and government. The auditor general, in his 2017 report released recently, indicates that despite the mandate of the police to enforce this scheme, it's impossible for them to demand this outstanding payments from drivers due to lack of a computerised system. Some drivers and motorists once receipted disappear with the receipt and never pay for it. "Tickets are currently issued manually to traffic offenders through out the country. Lack of computers with internet connectivity in almost all stations outside Kampala and issuing tickets to offenders manually makes it difficult for traffic officers to reconcile with URA EPS defaulters," reads the auditor general's report in part. Traffic police has been trying to install a tracking system which can be used to track defaulters. The system is currently functioning at at different regions across the country. Last year police launched the EPS mobile app to track down offending motorists who default on payments. However, the traffic police spokesperson, Charles Ssebambulidde says there is a lot that needs to be done about the system in order for it to effectively track defaulters and compel them to pay. "We need to synchronize it with the URA EPS system but also to introduce electronic billing to the system. We are doing everything possible to ensure that this is done soon," Ssebambulidde told URN. Out of the money collected through the EPS, a small percentage goes to the police for it's expenditure. Aaron Baguma embraced by family members and friends after he was granted bail in September 2016 Former Kampala Central police station boss Aaron Baguma could soon return to active service after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) dropped murder charges against him citing the absence of a police file on the matter. Police spokesperson, Emilian Kayima, says since now Baguma is a free man the force is ready to deploy him. "When the DPP dropped charges against the officer, it set him totally free. When you are set free, you are a free man and so is the officer," Kayima said. Adding that, "he will use that record to write to the IGP notifying him of the same and the process of redeployment will start." Baguma was interdicted in 2016 when he was charged for his alleged involvement in the murder of businesswoman, Donah Katushabe at Pine car bond. However, last week the DPP Mike Chibita dropped the murder charges against Baguma saying the murder file had gone missing. Chibita later reportedly told Katushabe's family that there was no evidence linking Baguma to the murder contrary to his earlier communication. He also told the family that Baguma would be a state witness. Baguma was jointly charged with eight others including Muhammed Ssebuwufu, the proprietor of Pine car bond where Katushabe met her death for allegedly failing to clear a balance of Shs 9 million on the car she had bought from there. Baguma was accused alongside Godfrey Kayiza, Philip Mirambe, Stephen Lwanga, Paul Tasingika, Yoweri Kitayimba, Shaban Otuddu and Damaseni Ssentongo. The prosecution of Baguma drew angry reactions from the Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura who are accused the DPP for witch-hunting the officer. According to the Public Service standing orders, once a government employee is cleared of criminal charges or they are dropped, he is supposed to write to the Public Service Commission and be reinstated. Baguma is also supposed to receive a refund of all his salary that was deducted during his interdiction. "A public officer interdicted shall receive such salary not being less than half of his/her basic salary, subject to a refund of the other half, in case the interdiction is lifted and the charges dropped," reads the standing order in part. Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has hailed the accomplishments of late president Gamal Abdel-Nasser on the occasion of his 100th birthday, saying that he exerted his utmost efforts to ensure Egypt's well-deserved regional and international status. In a televised speech on Monday, El-Sisi said Nasser - who was born on 15 January,1918 - the Egyptian nations ability to carry out independent economic development and to defeat poverty and ignorance. Egypt today celebrates the birth of Gamal Abdel-Nasser whose life-journey embodied the people's hopes for independence and dignity," said El-Sisi "He expressed those hopes with devotion and pride. That's why the Egyptian people have continued to hold him in high regard, even after his death, and his name remains a symbol of the people's hopes for controlling their destiny." El-Sisi added that the late president worked hard during his period in office, operating within the limitations and requirements of his era. Abdel-Nassers influence extended to inspiring the revolutions of national liberation, not only in the Arab region, but globally, because the struggle of the Egyptian people under his leadership was inspirational and motivational to liberation movements in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, El-Sisi said. Egypt became a symbol of principles of national dignity, independence, and non-alignment in political foreign policy, El-Sisi added. The late president believed in the Egyptian peoples ability to accomplish national self-development, said El-Sisi, as well as fighting poverty, ignorance and disease, which were the result of centuries of foreign occupation and the exploitation of the resources and riches of Egypt, and of other nations. He gave special importance to achieving social justice, to provide the vast majority of the nation with opportunities for a decent life, El-Sisi said. Born in Alexandria to a family which hailed from Upper Egypt's Assuit, Nasser remains a symbol of dignity, pan-Arabism, and social justice for millions around the Arab world. Nasser and the Free Officers movement led the 23 July, 1952 revolution that toppled the British-backed monarchy in Egypt. He served as president until his death on 28 September, 1970. In his speech on Monday, El-Sisi said that the Egyptian state continues to devote efforts to accomplishing the countrys higher interests, with the security of the nation and its territories among it's main goals, along with prosperity for a population which grew since Nasser's era from 20 million in 1952 to the current figure of 100 million. Short link: Police truck parked at Kira road police station where they charge Shs 600 for police forms It was on Thursday afternoon when Ibrahim Mugerwa dashed to Kira road police station to secure the release of his brother. Before speaking to his brother who had spent five days in police custody or the investigating officer, Mugerwa stormed the room with a photocopier to make copies of the bond papers. "I want to be ready so I don't have to come back here to photocopy the forms," Mugerwa told URN. About seven other people were in the queue waiting for their chance to photocopy their identity cards and bond papers for their friends or relatives who are about to be released on police bond. For those photocopying the bond papers, Shs 600 is nothing compared to getting out their loved ones out of the police cells. Some are even willing to pay more than Shs 50,000 to secure the bond, which is officially free of charge. Photocopying bond papers is big business for the operators at numerous police stations across the country. A source at Kira road police station told URN, the photocopiers fetches a profit of an average of Shs 40,000 on a daily basis. The source at the station says that on a good day, the photocopier fetches up to Shs 50,000 in profit and on a bad day Shs 30,000. According to police standing orders, all forms and letters are free at police stations are free of charge. No person should be charged to buy or photocopy them. While these forms are budgeted for, procured and distributed to all police stations, it has become a habit for police officers to ask unsuspecting people to buy them or go to a nearby photocopier and photocopy them. They include among others bond papers, medical examination forms and letters for different purpose people secure from police. Police spokesperson, Emilian Kayima, says most of the officers who ask people to buy or photocopy the forms are beneficiaries of the profits arising from the business. Many times youre asked to go and photocopy. They give you an original copy to go and photocopy and bring back the original or you go to the photocopy and buy it. Now that signifies two things, either the photocopy is for the officer or he has personal benefit from it as somebody who brings personal business. That is possible. We have addressed that by asking unit commanders to collect as many forms as possible and some have done that, many have not done that, said Kayima. Every year, police procures stationary worthy more than Shs 500 million. The Directorate of Logistics and Engineering then prints millions of forms that are picked up by police commanders from each region. The forms are then distributed to the district and police divisions depending on their needs. Even though most police stations don't have printers and/or photocopiers, each station is also given reams of plain paper to cater for emergencies. Some unit commanders however, either deliberately keep away the forms or simply never pick them at all from the directorate. Kayima says any money paid for a police service must be banked otherwise, exchange of money between a client and a police officer is illegal. Even then, you pay through the bank. Any amount of money that anybody pays to an individual police officer is wasted money. They have cheated you, they have cheated you and you need to stand up against that. That is one is treated as a bribe and both of you are culpable - the giver and the receiver. Question is, who is going to complain? Kayima added. Most of the photocopier businesses in the police premises and nearby areas, are owned by different people with connections within the force. At some police stations, it is the wives or relatives of police commanders who have been working at the station for a long time but at others especially the most lucrative ones like Kampala Central police station are owned by people connected to the top police management. VP Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi Worried by NRMs diminished voter appeal and the Democratic Partys surge in predominantly Catholic greater Masaka sub-region, senior ruling party members are reportedly lobbying President Museveni to drop his vice president, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, the highest-ranking government official from the area. Sources say Agriculture minister Vincent Ssempijja could be tapped to replace Ssekandi, a man whose quiet approach to the vice presidency seems to have dashed certain expectations. As 2017 wound down, sources say, some church leaders were roped into exploratory meetings. Museveni has traditionally picked a Catholic for vice president but elements on both sides are beginning to question Ssekandis political value, according to knowledgeable sources. What has Masaka as a sub-region benefitted from his vice presidency? Would we be having the worst roads if he really cared about the region? Look at that section of the road that runs through Nyendo to Masaka town and, it is things like that which are working against the party, an MP familiar with the lobbying told The Observer. We need a person who can unpack the oppositions message and that person cant be Ssekandi. Ssempijja could be having his own issues but when it comes to mobilization, he is unmatched, he said. Interviewed by telephone on Tuesday last week for a comment, Ssekandi said, That is nonsense; I dont want to engage in talk that is nonsense. In the 2016 elections, DP swept all parliamentary seats in Masaka except Ssekandis Bukoto Central constituency. The party also dominated local council elections, taking advantage of its own deep Catholic heritage. Today, DP boasts of MPs and local government leaders in Bukomansimbi, Kalungu and Kyotera, areas once thought to be NRM strongholds. NRMs defeat in Kyotera was most shocking because this is a place where we never expected DP to have any roots; it speaks to the level of their organisation and if we dont have a serious mobiliser, we may end up seeing [DP] taking control of the entire greater Masaka sub-region, the MP said. The Observer has learnt that those trying to unseat Ssekandi are courting key religious leaders in Greater Masaka for support. These reportedly include John Baptist Kaggwa, the bishop of Masaka diocese (Catholic), Katumba Tamale of West Buganda diocese (Anglican), and the two rival Masaka district Kadhis Swaib Ndugga (Kibuli) and Bruhan Bagunduse (Old Kampala), as well as Sheikh Anas Ssesimba of Uganda Muslim Supreme Council. Asked to comment on this, Bishop Kaggwa said: I am not part of any lobby groups because I have no role [in] political appointments and that talk, much as it would benefit Masaka. The president has never consulted methe [lobbyists] could be using my name to add weight to their voice. Religion remains central to Ugandas politics more than a century after Christian missionaries reached Buganda in 1877. Masakas Catholic associations can be traced to rivalries between Muslims, Anglicans, Catholics and traditionalists inside Buganda kingdom which led to religious wars. Catholics fled south to Buddu (Masaka), settling at Villa Maria in present-day Kalungu district. [As such], Catholicism is historical to Masaka; that is why we feel that [Museveni] should not take the position away from us. We have told him about these historical factors, when the Catholics took refuge in Masaka during the religious wars in Buganda of the 1880s, the source said. At parliament, the NRM caucus leadership and opposition MPs from Masaka have since been approached. But DP members are opposed. I seconded Ssekandis appointment because he is a transparent and an honest man unlike Ssempijja who [allegedly] sold off all public properties in Masaka, Kalungu West MP Joseph Gonzaga Ssewungu said. Ssewungu added that Ssekandi has done a lot. Besides the Shs 2m he donates to every church that he visits, there are lots of things the Catholic Church has got from the government through Ssekandi, Ssewungu said. Masaka district NRM chairman Peter Ssenkungu also lashed out at Ssempijja. When shall he stop pulling down people? Why does he want to be the only bull in the kraal? I think it is high time he stopped fighting his colleagues. He fights everyone , Ssenkungu said. LOYAL CADRE Asked about his interest in the VP job in a December interview, Ssempijja told The Observer, That is news to me, it is something that I hadnt thought of because right now I am committed to my docket but as a committed and loyal cadre, I always look towards satisfying my master, and generally the people of Uganda. Ssekandi became vice president in May 2011 after another Catholic, Gilbert Bukenya, was sacked. He was speaker of Parliament between 2001 and 2011. sadabkk@observer.ug Fatuma Sendagire Nabiwemba has been missing since December 12 The Police Flying Squad has taken over the search for Fatuma Sendagire Nabiwemba, the deputy head of Department Inspections and Quality assurance in the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP). Nabiwemba has been missing since December 12, 2017. The Flying Squad Unit, which handles violent crimes and kidnaps, retrieved the missing person's file from Kasangati police station where Nabiwemba's family reported her disappearance over the weekend. Before, Kampala metropolitan police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire had indicated that no complaint of missing person had been filed at any of their stations. "We have checked in our records but no such missing person complaint has been filed," Owoyesigyire said over the weekend. Now, Herbert Muhangi, the Flying squad commandant, says they have already met Nabiwemba's family members as well as some of her co-workers in the DPP's office. Police spokesperson, Emilian Kayima, says their fear has been that Nabiwemba could have died but there is evidence showing that she is still alive. "I can't reveal much about the search but there are indicators that she is still alive," Kayima told URN this morning. Preliminary police findings show that Nabiwemba went missing shortly after the death of her newly born baby. She was last seen leaving her home in Wampewo in Kasangati. Initially, Nabiwemba's family suspected that she could have gone to visit one of her relatives or friends. It was not until they contacted her friends and relatives without success, when they started looking for her whereabouts. Attempts to get a comment from Nabiwemba's husband Dr Ibrahim Ssendagire were futile as he was not willing to speak to the media. We all post photos of our loved ones especially adorable children on social media all the time without ever giving any thought to the potential legal consequences, but as this recent case in Italy proves, posting photos of other people online is not as simple as we all think it is. Last year, a 16 year-old Italian boy took his mother to court for constantly posting photos of him on Facebook without his consent. The boy claimed that his mothers actions had such a serious impact on his social life that he was considering transferring to a high-school in the United States so he could start over. One December 23, 2017, Judge Monica Velletti of the first section of the civil court in Rome made a historical decision, ruling in favor of the teen, and ordering the mother to delete all references of him from her social media account by February 1, 2018, or risk a fine of 10,000 ($12,270). Photo: Sensei Marketing Italian media reports that, according to court documents, the 16-year-old and his mother have been in an open conflict since she and his father got divorced. After the separation, the mother allegedly started posting photos and details of her sons personal life almost compulsively, going as far as referring to him as a mental patient and comparing him to a killer. In her 9-page sentence, judge Velletti argues that the massive presence of photos and private details of the 16-year-old on his mothers social media justifies his reluctance to continue studying in a social context in which intimate details of his personal life are widely accessible online. The Italian judge that the teen requests that he be transferred to a school in the US, in order for him to stay away from the current social context, in which all of his fellow high-school students are aware of his personal details, made known by his mother with constant and systematic use of social networks. Lawyer Giuseppe Croari told Euronews that the mother had violated Facebooks terms and conditions by posting her sons pictures and effectively claiming copyright over his data. Italian copyright law clearly states that the subject of the photo owns the copyright, and express permission is required before it can be published on social media. The mother has been order to stop posting updates, photos or videos of her 16 year-old son and to delete all data on him from her social media accounts by February 1, 2018. Failure to comply with the judges ruling will result in a 10,000 euro fine. This unusual case follows that of an 18-year-old, who, two years ago, sued her parents for posting over 500 photos of her on Facebook, without her consent. Such cases have become more frequent all around the world, and legal experts are warning parents not to post photos of their children on social media without first asking for permission. Apart from legal consequences, they also risk exposing the minors to more dangerous threats, like cyber-bullying by their peers. Arjuna Capital today withdrew its shareholder proposal on gender pay equity slated for Citigroup's proxy statement following news that the banking giant is committed to closing the pay gap for women and US minorities. Filed Nov. 13, 2017, Arjuna's resolution called for a report, "omitting proprietary information, above and beyond litigation strategy or legal compliance, and prepared at reasonable cost, on the Companys policies and goals to reduce the gender pay gap." The Boston-based investment firm pulled the resolution following a blog post by Citi's Michael Murray, head of human resources, disclosing results from an internal study of US, Germany and UK operations that found women are paid 99 percent of what men earn and minorities are paid 99 percent of what non-minorities are paid. Murray wrote that as part of the 2018 compensation cycle, Citi will make the appropriate pay hikes to close the gaps for women and US minorities and will continue to review compensation for pay equity. Natasha Lamb, managing partner of Arjuna, sent a letter today to Rohan Weerasinghe, Citi's general counsel and corporate secretary, commending the bank for taking the steps "toward creating an inclusive and diverse culture and workplace." Arjuna views Citi's announcement as a breakthrough announcement on gender pay equity since financial giants BankAmerica, American Express, MasterCard, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo rejected pay gap proposals at their 2017 annual meetings. Hastings Group represents Arjuna. Mark Veverka Abernathy MacGregor has hired Mark Veverka as a senior VP. Most recently, Veverka was head of Sitrick and Co.s San Francisco operations, leading financial, crisis and litigation communications programs for such companies as Toyota, TPG, Jawbone, Yelp, Khosla Ventures and Dolby Laboratories. Before that, he was west coast editor and technology columnist at Barrons. He has been a financial columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and held positions at the Wall Street Journal, Crains Chicago Business, the Orange County Register and other publications. Early in his career, Veverka was an on-air reporter for the NBC affiliate in Tulsa, OK. Greg Schumann Birmingham, AL-based Markstein has brought on Greg Schumann as vice president and Jessica Lumsden Black as director. Schumann most recently served as group president of Time, Inc. Sales & Marketing, where he led seven industry-focused advertising units. Prior to his corporate sales role, Schumann oversaw the Southern Living, Coastal Living and Sunset brands. Black previously was director of integrated marketing for Peach Bowl, Inc. During her seven-year tenure, she served as the brand manager for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Challenge and The Dodd Trophy. Before joining the Peach Bowl, Inc. team, Black served as assistant director of communications and marketing for James Madison University. The addition of Greg and Jessica further distinguishes the high-caliber team that defines this agency, said Markstein managing director Eileen Markstein. Thom Fladung Hennes Communications announced that agency VP Thom Fladung has become a minority owner of the agency and assumed the role of managing partner. Bruce Hennes, who founded the firm in 1989 and is still majority shareholder, is taking the title of CEO. Fladung, who came to Hennes in 2015, worked for more than three decades in newspapers and digital media. He held the position of managing editor at the Plain Dealer, the Detroit Free Press and the Akron Beacon Journal. In addition, he served as editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Fladung is "intimately familiar with the relentless content requirements of the 24/7 news cycle, and he understands how to use Facebook, Twitter and other social media places where reputations can be burnished. Ellen Schneidau Allison+Partners has hired Ellen Schneidau and Rebecca Harbin as senior vice presidents in its corporate practice. Based in Atlanta, they will be responsible for building the agencys B2B communications hub in the southeast. Before coming to Allison+Partners, Schneidau worked at MSL Atlanta, co-leading its corporate practice and establishing a B2B specialty area. She has worked with clients such as Samsung, VF Corporation, Kimberly-Clark Professional, Randstad, Novelis and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Harbin was also a co-lead of the corporate practice at MSL Atlanta, and served as a senior vice president. She led the agencys relationship with UPS, working with the company across six vertical industries. Adding talent like Ellen and Rebecca, who have a wealth of knowledge and expertise in this space, will help Allison+Partners capitalize on this trend and drive continued growth and evolvement of our capabilities, said Matthew Della Croce, president, Europe + Global Corporate. Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat, the former MP and head of the human rights committee in the Egyptian parliament, announced in a press conference on Monday that he will not run in the upcoming presidential elections, which are set for March, citing "indicators of the electoral scene not being reassuring". In a press conference at the Heliopolis headquarters of the Reform and Development Party, of which he is chairman, El-Sadat said he took his decision after "much consideration and examination of reality", adding that the decision to not continue in his presidential bid was "reached regrettably". "I continue to play my part in defending the issues, concerns and problems of citizens and their rights and freedoms. I do that with an undying hope in a better future that we will live one day when there is a different environment and a belief in popular will and the right of people to determine their fate and participate in governance, he said. El-Sadat explained his decision was not an individual one but was based on the desire of "many who had confidence in me and my vision for the future and necessary reform." The nephew of the late president Anwar El-Sadat praised the efforts of his campaign staff, who have been working for several months to collect donations from businessmen and signatures of endorsement from the public to make his nomination official. However, it seems that all of this was not enough and would not be effective without faith and conviction in democracy and the idea of peaceful transition of power and that a president will not stay in power forever, El-Sadat said. He stressed that the general atmosphere was not conducive to a fair competition, especially with what he described as other "state-led campaigns collecting signatures for President El-Sisi ahead of the official start of the nomination process." The National Electoral Authority (NEA), the body which regulates the election process, announced last week that it will receive applications for candidacies from 20 January until 29 January. Candidates must receive endorsements from a minimum of 20 MPs, or 25,000 citizens from at least 15 governorates, with at least 1,000 endorsements from each governorate. So far around 500 members of parliament out of 596 in total have signed recommendations in support of current Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi running for a second term as president. On Sunday, the NEA said that the number of endorsements for different presidential hopefuls had reached around 250,000, as of Sunday afternoon. According to the authority, there were signatures of support for 21 names. El-Sisi has not yet officially announced his intention to run in the spring elections. However, several others have announced their candidacies for president, including prominent rights lawyer Khaled Ali, former army chief-of-staff Sami Anan, and lawyer and Zamalek Sporting Club chairman Mortada Mansour. Ali is currently appealing a 3 month prison sentence he received in 2017 for offending public decency. Ali could lose eligibility for becoming a candidate for president if he loses the appeal. The 2018 elections are the first to be supervised by the recently-established NEA, the independent authority with the sole responsibility for supervising general elections and referendums in Egypt. Short link: A Cairo prosecution office on Monday referred two policemen to criminal court over the death of Mohamed Abdel-Hakim, nicknamed Afroto, while in custody at Cairo's Moqattam district police station earlier this month. The prosecution charged the policemen with beating that resulted in the death of Afroto. The decision came as a result of an investigation during which the prosecution summoned other individuals who were arrested with Afroto, as well as the security forces present at the time of the incident. The prosecution is awaiting Afroto's forensic autopsy and CCTV footage of the investigation unit inside the Moqattam police station. The 22-year old Afroto was arrested on Friday, 5 January on charges of drug dealing and taken to a police station in Cairo's Moqattam district, where he later died. Clashes erupted between protesters and police on Saturday when news of the detainee's death spread. Protesters set fire to tyres and vehicles near the police station and police fired teargas and birdshot. Several unnamed security sources were quoted by local media as saying that Afroto died of a drug overdose. However, a post-mortem report said the death was caused by "severe laceration of the spleen and abdominal bleeding." Egypt's Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar ordered the ministry's department of inspection to launch a probe into the incident. On Monday 8 January, a Cairo prosecution office ordered the detention of the police officer and low-ranking policeman over the death. Prosecutors have also ordered the four-day detention of 43 people arrested on charges of storming the police station during Saturday's clashes. Short link: Many veiled women living in the West may have found great comfort in the heartening call of President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen for all women to wear headscarves in solidarity with Muslims and fight what he described as rampant Islamophobia. For the left-wing former Austrian Green Party leader, the veil is a matter of freedom of expression, which is a fundamental right. It is every womans right to always dress how she wants. That is my opinion on the matter, he told an audience of school pupils last May. But not everybody in the West thinks the same way, especially in the light of the rise of right-wing groups. Many observers say that right-wing politicians in Western societies have been using the Muslim veil as a rallying point, claiming that they are protecting secularism and Western identity from the threat of the Islamisation of Europe, for example. They may use the hijab, or Islamic headscarf, as a trigger to rally racist or anti-Muslim sentiments across Europe and America. Many women may be judged, sometimes even misjudged, for what they choose to wear. Whenever I open the drawer where I keep my scarves, I look at them and say to myself, what a loss, what a loss that I ever took off my hijab. Thus said 33-year-old Ibtisam Al-Zahir with tears in her eyes, as she expressed her regrets at taking off the Islamic headscarf (hijab) or veil in order to be sure to get a job in Spain where she lives. An emotionally charged interview with Al-Zahir was part of a documentary filmed by the UK website guardian.com following a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in March 2017 that allows employers to ban religious symbols in the workplace. The decision is part of a ruling on the issue of women wearing Islamic headscarves at work in the EU, allowing employers to ban religious clothing. Although the ECJ insists that the ruling does not constitute direct discrimination against Muslims, many Muslims and non-Muslims think otherwise. There is almost a consensus among Western Muslims that the decision was part of a wave of Islamophobia that has been sweeping Europe and the West in general. I hope that I can wear them again, Al-Zahir said as she passed her fingers over a set of colourful scarves neatly folded in her bedroom drawer. Al-Zahir may not be the only one feeling pressured by the ECJ decision. As the guardian.com documentary shows, many Muslim women now face a stark choice: lose their hijab or their job. At least for Al-Zahir, losing the hijab was forced upon her after having spent three years looking for a job. As a divorced and single mother of two kids, she desperately needed a job in order to survive, rent a house and feed her kids. I applied to work in a restaurant, Al-Zahir said. It was a cleaning job nothing to do with a hijab. In the end, I said, ok I will take it off, just give me work. But not all veiled women living in Europe were equally unlucky. Ayan Baudouin from London told the documentary that she had never had any issues getting a job in the UK, but that she was quite fortunate because not everybodys experience is like that. Weve had mixed reactions here: some women like myself will never give up the hijab for the sake of Allah, and we are determined to fight for it, 44-year-old Dalia, an Egyptian-British woman, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Some have been deterred and have got scared, so theyve either changed the way they wear their hijab through hats or Spanish-style hijabs and some have taken it off. But only a minority have taken off the veil altogether, as more often than not those wearing classic abayas and khimars [robes] tend to downgrade their veil by wearing normal clothes or adapting them, she said. Dalia does not work at the moment, but says she has definitely heard of jobs being harder to attain for a hijabi, and yes some have had verbal and physical abuse. Dalia said she personally had suffered from abuse in the form of dirty looks mainly by white men in the street. Usually they get a piece of my mind if the persist, she added. Baudouin similarly lamented how many people in Europe may still tend to stereotype a veiled woman as illiterate, uneducated and probably not able to speak their language. Many Muslims living in the West seem to have had this feeling of disrespect if recent research by the US-based Gallup research firm is anything to go by. Specifically, 52 per cent of Americans and 48 per cent of Canadians say the West does not respect Muslim societies, Gallup said. Smaller percentages of Italian, French, German and British respondents agree. THE VEIL AND ISLAMOPHOBIA According to the Gallup studies, researchers and policy groups define Islamophobia in differing detail, but the terms essence is essentially the same, no matter the source: an exaggerated fear, hatred and hostility towards Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination and the marginalisation and exclusion of Muslims from social, political and civic life. Although Islamophobia is manifested in different ways, many observers suggest it is becoming more aggressively directed towards veiled Muslim women because the veil acts as a visible sign of Muslim identity. Recent research reports on Islamophobia in the West suggest increasing levels of hostility directed towards Muslim women who seem to be bearing the brunt of attacks against Muslims, with many suggesting that the veil has been used or abused by right-wing politicians and the architects of what they call the industry of Islamophobia in the West. Those talking to the Weekly referred to the many recent hostile attacks on veiled women in the UK and the US as cases in point. In one case a veiled woman was pushed into the path of an oncoming underground train apparently for no other reason than her wearing the veil. For Muslim women, Britains streets are more hostile than ever was the headline of a story in the UK newspaper the Daily Telegraph last week. In 2017, we continued to worry a lot about what women wear, it wrote. The incident where a veiled Muslim woman seemingly miraculously survived being hit by a London Underground train went viral on social media, showing how she slammed into the train and rebounded onto the platform. The man who pushed her was held on charges of attempted murder, but many insist the attack is only one of many other manifestations of how veiled women have been at the heart of Islamophobic attacks. US author Nathan Lean, author of The Islamophobia Industry, told the Weekly that the veil is simply a visible symbol around which anti-Muslim agitators unite. In Leans view, the veil is not provoking Islamophobia itself, but rather offers people who already hold negative views of Islam an object at which to direct their ire and angst. The Islamophobia industry uses whatever objects and symbols it can to suggest that Muslims are frightening, Lean elaborated via e-mail. It may seem that the veil is the symbol most often referenced today, but there have been instances of prejudice directed at mosques, minarets, and other Islamic cultural signifiers in the West as well. Erik Bleich, a professor of political science at Middlebury College in the US, similarly noted that the hijab is one factor among many that Islamophobes use to identify and stigmatise Muslims. The hijab has always been a controversial issue in both the West and in some Muslim-majority countries, he said. It is largely seen by Muslims as a religious obligation and as such many women choose to don it as an act of piety. Many in the West, however, also tend to see the veil as a political symbol, a manifestation of a different identity, and, perhaps, a refusal to integrate. Politicians designing anti-hijab laws in the West may claim they are doing so in order to emancipate women from the shackles of veil and help them better integrate. The veil is viewed differently in Europe compared to the United States, Bleich elaborated. In many European countries, it has become a symbol for religious fundamentalism and a refusal (or at least a reluctance) to integrate. This is even more true when it comes to niqabs or burqas, he said, referring to the full-face veil. In the United States, according to Bleich, although the veil is of less prominent concern because Americans are generally more open to the public expression of religion, it still functions as a marker of Muslimness, which is increasingly seen in the United States as a threatening identity to many. Lean said that in some cases veiled Muslim women must feel hurt by the way in which a pious symbol of their religious identity has become politicised and subjected to such unnecessary prejudice. Some of those who welcomed the ECJ ruling said the headscarf was a political statement of oppression. I find that deeply offensive, 33-year-old Fayza Hassan, a European Muslim, wrote on the UK newspaper the Guardians blog. To me, its an act of worship, a choice I made, that it has no impact on anyone other than myself. I dont expect others to understand my reasoning, but I find it strange that people who have very little understanding of my faith feel they have a right to tell me how to interpret it or what to do. ANTI-VEIL SENTIMENT IN EUROPE It has been particularly in France where an estimated eight per cent of the population is Muslim that the veil has provoked intense public debate. France has passed two laws on the veil, one in 2004 banning the wearing of the veil in public elementary and secondary schools, and another in 2011 banning the wearing of full-face veils in public places, even though these are worn by only a tiny portion of the population. Many countries followed suite, including Holland, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Austria, where prohibitions on religious symbols and full or partial bans on full-face veils were implemented. The recent ECJ ruling allowing employers in the EU to oblige veiled women to take off their veils at work has been met with wide public acceptance in many European countries, including France where 83 per cent of French people were in favour of the law, according to the UK Independent newspaper. In an article entitled French Muslims Say Veil Bans Gives Cover to Bias, the New York Times said that in France the head coverings of observant Muslim women, from colourful silk scarves to black chadors, have become one of the most potent flash points in the nations tense relations with its vibrant and growing Muslim population, adding that mainstream politicians continue to push for new measures to deny veiled women access to jobs, educational institutions and community life. They often say they are doing so for the benefit of public order or in the name of laicite, the French term for the separation of church and state, the report went on. But critics say these efforts, rather than promoting a sense of secular inclusion, have encouraged rampant discrimination against Muslims in general and veiled women in particular. Lean argues that the ECJ decision also enforces conformity to so-called Western values. But Western values include religious freedom and individual civil liberties, which would mean that religious expressions of this sort should be encouraged, not discouraged, Lean told the Weekly. Critics of the law also wonder why politicians in France focus on the hijab when other issues related to womens rights do not get the same level of public attention. According to a report published in the UK Independent newspaper entitled Why is the Right of Muslim Women to Wear the Veil still so Controversial in France, in France, one woman dies every three days because of domestic violence, a woman is raped every eight minutes, the difference in pay between men and women is still 27 per cent, and some political parties would rather pay a fine than abide by the rule of gender parity in elections. Why then waste all this energy on the hijab, a piece of fabric, a personal choice, that doesnt harm or affect anyone, the report queried. For Bleich, banning the wearing of the veil by women is a risky step because it may increase integration in some instances, but it will increase feelings of isolation in others. Many veiled women living in Europe say that the focus on the hijab and the widening trend of enshrining anti-hijab sentiments into law on the part of politicians has not only affected them economically by denying them jobs, but has also made them targets of abuse by the public, ranging from looks of disdain, to being spat at, to incidents of hijab-pulling and even hate crimes. The 2009 murder of veiled Egyptian pharmacist Marwa Al-Sherbini, who lost her life for no other reason than her religion in Dresden, Germany, at the hands of a Russian-German racist, will always be remembered as one of the most tragic hate crimes directed against veiled women in Europe. But these crimes seem to have increased since then. Following the terrorist atrocity in Paris on 13 November 2015, media outlets reported that the number of hate crimes against perceived Muslims had skyrocketed, particularly in France and Britain, said a report by the United Nations University (UNU), the academic and research arm of the United Nations. According to these media articles, the majority of victims were visible Muslim women, particularly those wearing the veil. Tell Mama, an NGO which documents incidents of Islamophobia across the UK by collecting data independently and in collaboration with 15 police forces, also recorded a 326 per cent increase in anti-Muslim incidents on the streets of Britain in 2015. The organisation received direct reports of verbal and online harassment and abuse from more than 1,100 Muslims in the same year and collected details of a further 1,400 incidents recorded by the police. Tell Mama said the greatest impact of anti-Muslim hatred was being felt by women, making up 61 per cent of all incidents recorded by the organisation. 75 per cent of all female victims had been easily identifiable as Muslims by wearing the hijab or the niqab, it said. THE VEIL IN THE US Although there is no anti-hijab legislation in the US and freedom is deeply enshrined in the US constitution, Abdel-Sattar Ghazali, editor of the Journal America online magazine, says that anti-hijab sentiments are also on the rise in the US. No doubt the veil/hijab is provoking animosity against Muslim women, Ghazali, who is also the author of Islam & Muslims in the Post-9/11 America (2014) and Islam & Muslims in the 21st Century (2017), said. This animosity sometimes becomes violent. During Ramadan last June, veiled 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen of northern Virginia in the US was assaulted and killed as she walked home after prayers at a mosque near Washington. Police have charged 22-year-old Darwin Martinez Torres with her murder, but once again the murder shocked the local Muslim community which was still getting over the Chapel Hill hate crime in 2015 that claimed the lives of 23-year-old American-Syrian Muslim Deah Shaddy and his veiled bride 21-year-old Yusor Mohamed Abu Salha, together with Yusors veiled sister 19-year-old Razan. The three were shot dead in a dispute over parking, but their family has insisted that the murder was a hate crime motivated by the religious identity of the victims. The veil is rarely used by American Muslim women, but simply using the headscarf makes them the target of hate attacks, Ghazali noted. Ghazali further referred to another tragic incident occurring last May when two men were murdered while trying to stop a white supremacist from abusing two young Muslim women, one of them wearing a headscarf, in Portland, Oregon, as a case in point. He also referred to a series of chilling incidents of scarf-snatching across the US in public places and in schools. According to the Pew Research Centre, a US public-opinion survey organisation, rates of physical attacks on Muslims reached post-9/11 levels in 2015 in the US, which it said were spurred at least in part by the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, who called for a ban on Muslim immigrants and tapped into a current of Islamophobia running throughout the country. A 2016 report by the newspaper USA Today revealed how over one week three women in one location in the US had been targeted because they were wearing the veil. To protect themselves, some women are uncovering their hair, the report said. Others are buying pepper spray, applying for concealed carry permits, or taking self-defense classes. WHY ON THE RISE According to the second annual European Islamophobia Report for 2016, a survey across the continent, Muslims are seen as the enemy within. Thus, physical attacks and political restrictions can often be carried out and even defended in an atmosphere of wide distrust and enmity in Europe. Analysts mention the rise of terror attacks carried out by the Islamic State (IS) group in Europe and the US and the recent influx of immigrants from war-torn countries like Syria into Europe following the Arab Spring as reasons behind the rise of anti-Muslim sentiments. Others blame the rise of the right-wing groups in Europe and US President Donald Trumps anti-Muslim rhetoric for boosting anti-Muslim sentiments. Some observers stand in the middle, suggesting that extremism is generally on the rise and is turning bloody. It can be blamed on both some Muslims and some non-Muslims who are turning to the right, and in both cases ignorance serves as the greatest enemy. Whereas non-Muslims may have misconceptions about Islam, some Muslims, mainly jihadists, also misinterpret Islamic teachings in their own way. Religious scholars insist that militant jihad, for instance, has strict conditions in Islam and should take place only on the battlefield or in the case of a country that has been militarily invaded. But jihadists, they say, have violated that strict condition when they have expanded the battlefield to include the streets of Europe and the US. The terrorist attacks committed by the Islamic State (IS) group across Europe, particularly in France, Germany and Turkey, have provided an excuse for right-wing politicians to exacerbate their anti-Muslim rhetoric. The Western media, for its part, has tended to focus on terror attacks in order to portray Muslims as the enemy, ignoring the fact that these terror attacks are carried out by small groups and are rejected by mainstream Muslims. The Western media also often only mentions Islam in the context of negative news. Islamophobia is on the rise because of a variety of factors, but chief among them today is the degree to which politicians in the United States and Europe have intentionally represented Islam and Muslims as an enemy other in the service of advancing their political agendas, Lean said. According to Bleich, Islamophobia rises in times of uncertainty, feelings that core national identities are being challenged, and in the light of political leaders taking advantage of these situations. Politicians like Donald Trump, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, and Marine Le Pen in France (among many others) are tapping into a sense that the world is changing in ways that make some individuals and voters in Europe and North America vulnerable, Bleich elaborated. Organising Islamophobia is a way for those leaders to gain power, and for their followers to feel more powerful, too. Ghazali quotes US journalist Reed Richardson as saying that fuelled by the presidents nativist agenda and a new alliance with the alt-right, the professional anti-Muslim industry has never been stronger or more dangerous in the US. Ghazali agrees with Richardson that like the US military-industrial complex, which wields influence and makes money under the banner of national security, there is now also an anti-Islam industrial complex at work in the US. The Islamophobia industry likewise exhibits interwoven subsidiaries, joint ventures and lobbying groups, which enrich themselves while ostensibly promoting ideals like freedom of expression, womens rights and national security, Ghazali told the Weekly. One recent report by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) has highlighted how big money is channelled to the industry of Islamophobia in the West, which revolves around a fear-mongering demonisation of Arabs and Muslims intended to legitimise both US and Israeli bellicose machinations in a region with highly coveted resources. But the problem of Islamophobia is not a Muslim problem only, Lean said. It is not the responsibility of Muslims to solve it. It requires everyones efforts, and all people who value equality and peace should stand up and reject such bigotry anywhere and everywhere it is present. Muslims can also do their bit to fight bigotry. Muslim communities and individuals can respond effectively by making their case that veiling is an act of piety, not an act of rejection of European values, Bleich suggested. They can certainly organise politically and pursue legal cases where needed. The more Muslims can show they are committed to other values that Europeans (and North Americans) recognise as common values, the less veiling can be used as a symbol that Muslims have diametrically opposed values. Building bridges with other faith communities and with non-faith based organisations will help as well, he said. *This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly Short link: A driver was arrested early Monday after grabbing a deputy, ramming a patrol car and leading deputies on a short chase, authorities say. The Clark County Sheriff's Office said a deputy contacted the driver -- identified as Alexander J. Leach of Lexington, South Carolina -- in a disabled vehicle near the 8700 block of NE 117th Avenue about 1 a.m. The deputy started investigating Leach for driving under the influence of drugs, according to the agency, and the incident escalated. Leach started "reaching for an unknown object" in the car's center console during the investigation, the sheriff's office said in a news release. A deputy tried to detain him, and he grabbed the deputy's arm, the agency said. The deputy freed himself as Leach began driving away. Leach then rammed a patrol car, which was occupied by another deputy, and led deputies on a brief chase, the sheriff's office said. Deputies said they used a Pursuit Immobilization Technique to stop him. Leach, 23, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree assault and attempt to elude, according to the sheriff's office. He may face a charge of driving under the influence, pending blood test results, deputies say. He's being held in the Clark County Jail. No one was injured. -- The Oregonian/OregonLive Portland, following the example of Seattle and other cities, is poised to lower speed limits to 20 mph on residential streets throughout the city. The City Council will weigh the change Wednesday morning. But the city, under the direction of the council, had already lobbied to amend state law allowing the city to set lower speed limits. The state Legislature approved that authority last year. The change would affect side streets in primarily residential areas, most of which currently have speed limits of 25 mph. Speed limits on busier collector and arterial streets wouldn't change. Such streets add up to thousands of miles of roadway, and about 70 percent of the city's transportation network, the city's Transportation Bureau said. The push is part of the city's Vision Zero campaign, an effort adopted in 2015 to eliminate traffic-related deaths. Fatalities have instead climbed -- from 37 in 2015 to 45 in 2017 -- as Portlanders drove more frequently. Much of the effort to date has focused on routes identified as "high-crash corridors," typically busy through streets with few accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists. Those streets accounted for about 70 percent of last year's traffic deaths. But city officials said they believe lower speed limits on residential streets could also help push the city closer to its zero-fatality goal. "Even that 5 mph difference can make a big difference whether somebody survives a crash or not," said Dana Dickman, who manages the Transportation Bureau's traffic safety section. "A pedestrian (hit) at 25 mph is twice as likely to die compared with somebody at 20 mph." That statistic comes from a 2011 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study that found the average person hit by a car traveling 25 mph has a 12 percent chance of death. That drops to a 7 percent risk at 20 mph. Lower speeds also reduce crash rates, so the city could expect fewer people to be hit by cars in the first place. But all of that assumes drivers observe the reduced speed limit. "Broadly, the research would suggest that just changing out a sign isn't going to result in much change," said Chris Monsere, a Portland State University transportation researcher. "If it's combined with some restrictions in width or other traffic-calming devices, perhaps with some advertising and enforcement, it could have an effect." Dickman said the city likely won't shift police deployment from busier areas, including the high-crash corridors, to routinely monitor speeds on quieter residential streets. But police likely will conduct extra patrols on streets where residents frequently complain of speeders, and the Transportation Bureau plans a major marketing push once the new speed limits take effect. That won't happen overnight. If the council approves the ordinance, the speed limit will drop immediately on residential streets that lack speed limit signs. But where 25 mph signs are currently posted, that speed limit will remain in effect until the signs are replaced. Crews are expected to start replacing signs in East Portland, which sees a relatively high number of crashes, and complete the transition citywide by April. Seattle in 2016 lowered speeds on many of its roads, including bringing residential speed limits down to 20 mph. In New York City, 20 mph "slow zones" introduced in 2011 were credited with a 14 percent reduction in crashes resulting in injuries. AFFECTED STREETS The change is expected to affect most residential, non-arterial streets. This map from the Portland Bureau of Transportation shows all non-arterial streets. -- Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com 503-294-5034 @enjus U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley was highly critical of the first year of President Donald Trump's presidency on Sunday, but he said he is optimistic Congress will make progress on key issues affecting immigrants and children. "It's been a horrific year," Merkley said, talking to reporters before a town hall meeting in Portland. "It's a been a year in which he spent his energy trying to destroy health care for millions of Americans and to raid the federal treasury to deliver our community assets to the richest Americans." His comments came before his appearance at Parkrose High School. The meeting was among a flurry of town halls Merkley held over the long weekend, with events from Saturday through Monday in Washington, Marion, Lincoln, Wasco, Hood River, Curry and Josephine counties. Merkley holds community meetings in each of Oregon's 36 counties every year, said spokeswoman Sara Hottman. A Democrat, Merkley said he expects a funding deal to be reached in the Senate to renew funding for the Children's Health Insurance Plan. The program, known as CHIP, covers children from families that make too much money to qualify for the Oregon Health Plan, or Medicaid, but still have trouble paying for health insurance. "It's a popular program, well-supported by both sides of the aisle," Merkley said. But he said it's unclear how long the deal, if struck, will be structured to last. "It's not going to be a few months," Merkley said. "It's going to be a few years or more." Merkley's optimism that both parties can reach agreement on extending children's health insurance echoed that of Oregon's only Republican in Congress, Rep. Greg Walden. Walden said last week he thinks the votes to do so could be lined up as early as this week. Oregon is among 16 states set to run out of CHIP funding by the end of this month. Gov. Kate Brown asked the Oregon Health Authority to spend other money in its budget to keep children's health coverage going until April. Merkley also talked to reporters about the fate of the so-called "Dreamers," undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children under the Obama-era policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The Trump administration announced in September that it would end DACA, as the program is known, by March. But a federal judge in California blocked that move this past week. The Trump administration has started taking renewal applications. At the same time, Trump tweeted Sunday morning that Democrats don't really want the program and that it is "probably dead." That's not the case, Merkley said. "That tweet can be ignored," he said. Merkley said there were "ups and downs last week" on immigration, with a "productive" meeting with lawmakers from both parties and both houses on Tuesday, ending with Trump telling them to get a compromise together that he would sign. But a meeting with Republican and Democratic senators on Thursday did not go well, Merkley said, repeating an assessment many analysts and participants have made. During the meeting, Trump reportedly called African nations "shithole countries" and questioned why the U.S. would want to take in more immigrants from Haiti. That comment provoked criticism from around the world. Trump has denied he used the offensive term, although he admitted to using "tough language." Merkley said that Trump has a history of actions that "reflect prejudice" and that he's positioned himself as the "divider in chief." "He has attacked veterans, he has attacked women, he has attacked African Americans, Latin Americans and of course in this recent case Haitian Americans," Merkley said. He said Trump should pay attention to the Pledge of Allegiance. "We come from all different backgrounds," Merkley said. "We are united in seeking a nation that works for everyone." The senator expressed hope that Congress will pass a spending bill to keep the government funded. The deadline looms Friday. "I am hopeful optimistic might be a little strong," he said, adding that there was "a lack of leadership in driving the process towards completion." As to the political future, Merkley suggested, as others have speculated that he may run for president. "We need a new president in 2020," he said. "I'm keeping the option open but I'm really focused on 2018 and helping my colleagues." -- Lynne Terry The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday has parking meters free downtown on Monday and lighter traffic due to closed schools and government offices. TriMet will run MAX, WES and most bus lines on regular weekday schedules on Monday. Some bus lines will run on Saturday schedules and service will be canceled on a few lines. Portland Streetcar will run on its regular weekday schedule. The tram is not in service. Check service on specific lines at trimet.org/mlk. A water main replacement project closes South Bradley Road in Oregon City from South Holcombe Boulevard to Taylor Terrace Road. The detour is in place beginning Monday 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays through May 15. Details here. *** GATEWAY 8:20 a.m.; Injury crash reported on Northeast Glisan Street at 106th Avenue. *** ALOHA 8:12 a.m.; Crash on Southwest Farmington Road at Tile Flat Road. *** OUTER SOUTHEAST 7:11 a.m.; Crash with a vehicle into a power pole on Southeast 141st Avenue and Powell Boulevard. Expect lanes to be closed there for a while. *** SHERWOOD 6:34 a.m.; Both northbound lanes of OR 99W are closed just north of Sherwood for an injury crash. Update 7:20 a.m.; Cleared. Portland set to reduced speed limits on side streets in primarily residential areas, most of which currently have speed limits of 25 mph. Speed limits on busier collector and arterial streets wouldn't change. Check back throughout the morning for the latest commuting updates and follow us on Twitter: @trafficportland LIMA, Peru -- A powerful earthquake struck off Peru's coast early Sunday, tumbling adobe homes in small, rural towns, killing at least one person and leaving dozens injured, officials said. The U.S. Geological Survey said the early morning quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and was centered 25 miles from Acari in the Arequipa department of southwestern Peru. The quake jolted people awake as far away as capital city of Lima, some 350 miles from Acari, blocked some roads, collapsed adobe homes in several towns and left at least one supermarket a jumble of fallen crackers boxes and soda bottles. Arequipa Gov. Yamila Osorio said a 55-year-old man killed when he was crushed by a fallen rock and the National Civil Defense Institute said at least 57 people were injured -- 23 of them in Chala district, a coastal area dependent on fishing and mining that is popular with tourists. Photographs posted on social media showed evacuated tourists sitting outside one hotel before dawn. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Twitter he was in route to the affected region to "verify the magnitude of the damage and send the needed humanitarian aid." Tsunami Info Stmt: M7.3 near the coast of Peru 0119PST Jan 14: Tsunami NOT expected; CA,OR,WA,BC,and AK #NTWC NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) January 14, 2018 The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned of that hazardous waves could hit Peru and Chile, but later stated there was no longer any tsunami threat from the quake. The quake came four days before Pope Francis was set to arrive in Peru. -- The Associated Press The Giza Plateau archaeological site will be open to visitors one hour earlier in the mornings starting on Tuesday as part of a Ministry of Antiquities' effort to encourage more tourists. Opening hours will now run from 7:00am to 5:00 pm instead of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Ashraf Mohi, director general of the Giza Plateau site, told Ahram Online that the decision was approved by the board of directors of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. "These changes aim to make the site available for more time, especially as the countrys tourism season has just started, Mohi said. He said that earlier this month the board of directors approved the extension of visiting hours at the Edfu and Kom Ombo temples in Aswan Governorate through the winter months. The move was intended to accommodate delays in the arrival of River Nile cruise boats due to the low water levels on the river. Edfu temple will remain open until 5:00 pm every day instead of 4:00 pm, and for Kom Ombo temple will be open until 9:00 pm instead of 8:00pm. Short link: Academic Orientation is a week of academic events to help you settle into university life Academic Orientation runs the week before the start of the first semester. Its a great opportunity to find your way around campus and ensure that by the time classes start, youre ready to get going. Pre Academic Orientation events Due to the Governments announcement on Sunday 14 February that Auckland will move to Alert Level 3 and the rest of New Zealand will move to Alert Level 2 until Wednesday 17 February, the following events have been cancelled: Tuesday 16 February Vice-Chancellor's welcome for Parents and Students Locals (5:30pm to 6:30pm) Wednesday 17 February Vice-Chancellor's welcome for Parents and Students Residential Colleges (2:00pm to 3:00pm) Any events due to take place after Wednesday 17 February are currently scheduled to go ahead as planned. However, we will continue to update our website with the latest information as soon as we have it. Thursday 18 February to Friday 19 February Pacific first-year students' orientation: Growing Pacific scholars 2021 (held over two days) As more townships are faced with medical marijuana issues, the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce brought together five experts Wednesday to discuss the issue at Saginaw Valley State University. Moderated by Saginaw Future President JoAnn Crary, five people shared the stage for the Medical Marihuana Facilities Act Panel Presentation: Colleen Curtis, manager, Legal Section, Bureau of Medical Marihuana, Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA); Jennifer Rigterink, legislative associate, Michigan Municipal League; Jeff Mayes, director of economic development, Consumers Energy; Clyde Robinson, city attorney, City of Kalamazoo; and Bruce McColley, assistant special agent in charge, Detroit Division Office, Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2016, the Michigan Legislature enacted the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act. Also, House Bill 5144 has passed the House and is being discussed in the Senate. The state has established five categories for medical marijuana: Grower -- allows growing in three classes, A, B and C, which may cultivate 500, 1,000, and 1,500 plants respectively, and may sell marijuana only to a processor or provisioning center. Processor -- authorizes purchase of marijuana from a grower and sale of infused-products or marijuana to a provisioning center. Secured Transporter -- authorizes storage and transportation of marijuana and associated money between facilities. Provisioning Center -- may sell marijuana to a qualified patient or registered primary caregiver. Safety Compliance Facility -- authorizes the facility to receive marijuana from, test marijuana for, and return marijuana to only a marijuana facility. Safety Compliance Facility -- authorizes the facility to receive marijuana from, test marijuana for, and return marijuana to only a marijuana facility. State law has automatically opted out of government entities from those five categories. To allow any of the categories to operate within a municipality, an ordinance is required. Entities do not have to choose between all or nothing, but may allow from none to five categories. "It is a very local and complex issue," Rigterink said. "What makes sense for your community?" Since the issue is complex, she did encourage municipalities to check with legal counsel should they have any questions. Mayes also encouraged municipalities to engage utility companies early in the process. Most processing locations will cluster in rural areas, where there may be limited energy capacity. Or, in former factories or empty big box buildings, which may have out of date energy capabilities. "We're seeing that marijuana growers use an excessive amount of energy," Mayes said. "To upgrade electricity takes time, especially if we have to build substations.' Consumers has also found that many of the businesses do not have a license. There have not been any licenses issued for any of the five categories. That should take place in April. "There are some in the pipeline right now," Curtis said. "We have to do background checks and review facility plans." Robinson encouraged municipal officials to check fire codes before proceeding and also to engage the public. He also mentioned that it would be wise to conduct a fiscal analysis of medical marijuana before enacting an ordinance. Before moving to Detroit, McColley worked out of a Miami office. For his presentation, he reached out to his counterparts in Colorado for statistics on marijuana. The state of Colorado voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2000 and began accepting patients in 2001. Voters passed recreational marijuana in November 2012 and retail marijuana businesses were licensed and operational in January 2014. He shared statistics from the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (www.rmhidta.org). In September 2016, the agency reported the following: Marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 48 percent in the three-year average (2013-2015) since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana compared to the three-year average (2010?2012) prior to legalization. During the same time period, all traffic deaths increased 11 percent. Marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 62 percent from 71 to 115 when recreational marijuana was legalized in 2013. Youth past month marijuana use increased 20 percent in the two-year average (2013/2014) since Colorado legalized recreational marijuana compared to the two-year average prior to legalization (2011/2012). Nationally, youth past month marijuana use declined 4 percent during the same timeframe. Colorado youth past month marijuana use for 2013/2014 was 74 percent higher than the national average compared to 39 percent higher in 2011/2012. Children's Hospital Colorado reported one marijuana ingestion among children under 9 years old in 2009 compared to 16 in 2015. Colorado college age past month marijuana use for 2013/2014 was 62 percent higher than the national average compared to 42 percent higher in 2011/2012. Colorado adult past month marijuana use for 2013/2014 was 104 percent higher than the national average compared to 51 percent higher in 2011/2012. From 2014 to 2015: 1. Property crime increased 6.2 percent 2. Violent crime increased 6.7 percent 3. All crime increased 6.2 percent To view the presentation, visit: saginawchamber.org/presentations.html To access the Medical Marihuana Facility Licensing page, visit: http://bit.ly/2g2u3Jc HB 5144 can be found at: http://bit.ly/2D10jpM P.A. 281 of 2016 may be viewed at: http://bit.ly/2EwfmFf Anti-globalisation demonstrators took to the streets of the Swiss capital on Saturday to protest against a planned visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to the World Economic Forum this month. Trump announced last week that he would attend the WEF in Davos, an annual meeting of global business and political leaders. Some have suggested that Trump's polarising persona could resurrect the violent anti-WEF protests seen in the early 2000s. An online petition is circulating telling Trump he is not welcome. On Saturday, around 500 anti-globalisation protesters marched peacefully past the Swiss parliament in Bern. Some were clad in black and carried placards saying "No future for capitalism", "Eat the rich" and "Kill Trump", also setting off flares. Up to 5,000 Swiss soldiers have been drafted in to guard Davos along with 1,000 police, while a no-fly zone will also be put in place to protect delegates. Short link: A haunting rendition of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)" looms throughout the trailer for the new season of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale the ominous anti-war song is a fitting soundtrack for the show's setting, a totalitarian society where women are owned by the state, as well as our own reality as we continue to navigate the patriarchy and discriminatory government policies. The second season's trailer addresses some major plot points; Moira (Samira Wiley) has successfully escaped to Canada while Offred/June (Elisabeth Moss) and the other women remain under Gilead's reign. Images of protest signs and a modern-looking Toronto are interspersed with dark shots of Gilead and its inhabitants. And while the source material (Atwood's novel) ended with the first season, showrunner Bruce Miller told The Hollywood Reporter, "The world can get a lot bigger. The biggest lesson is just don't be afraid to be as bold as Margaret was in the novel." Watch the trailer, below. The second season of The Handmaid's Tale premieres April 25 on Hulu. In light of the mounting allegations of sexual misconduct by male models and assistants against Bruce Weber, some in the industry have taken it upon themselves to defend the famed fashion photographer's character. Back in December, when only two models had come forward about Weber (fifteen spoke to the New York Times for an expose published this weekend), Grace Coddington drew the internet's ire for posting a photo with the photographer alongside a caption defending his character. (She ended up deleting the photo). Now, iconic actress Isabella Rossellini (Ingrid Bergman's daughter) has shared a similar post speaking fondly of her friendship and working relationship with Weber and implying her skepticism of the allegations of abuse: "l worked with Bruce Weber for more than 35 years," she wrote. "I have personally never experienced or heard about any abuses until reading the New York Times this morning. For me, working with Bruce has always been a joy. The atmosphere he cultivates on his sets always felt friendly and fun." She went on to add that Weber has worked with her children, both models, and that the photographer supports the same social causes she does. "Over the course of his career, Bruce's images have contributed to advance many social causes: For example, he gave gay men a "face" that was not of darkness and perversion, but of beauty and appeal. He worked with me when others wouldn't because I was considered "too old." I'm sharing this not to invalidate anyone else's experience, but just to share my own. Bruce is a great artist and my friend, and I want him to know I love him and I am grateful to him." It's certainly a...bold move to defend an accused sexual predator in the current atmosphere of Time's Up and #MeToo, though it certainly hasn't stopped some people from wanting to protect the people they've spent their lives trusting from accusations (or simply playing devil's advocate). Commenters jumped in to tell Rossellini her cognitive dissonance was blinding her from seeing the truth about her friend, with others noting that while fame and wealth may have shielded her and her family from abuse, the same power dynamics that protect some leave the young and lacking in influence that much more vulnerable. Meryl Streep has faced a similar dilemma, as a veteran actress who worked with Harvey Weinstein throughout her career and was deemed influential enough to escape his advances, she now has to examine her own role in his rise to the top. Anna Wintour is also under a microscope for her relationships with Weber and fellow famed photographer Mario Testino, accused by 13 male models and assistants of sexual misconduct in the same Times investigation. Conde Nast released a statement in light of the report that, for the time being, it would no longer work with Testino or Weber. The publisher also announced a new set of guidelines created with the intention of protecting models, including a ban of alcohol from Conde Nast sets. In addition, though, Wintour added this: "Today, allegations have been made against Bruce Weber and Mario Testino, stories that have been hard to hear and heartbreaking to confront. Both are personal friends of mine who have made extraordinary contributions to Vogue and many other titles at Conde Nast over the years, and both have issued objections or denials to what has emerged. I believe strongly in the value of remorse and forgiveness, but I take the allegations very seriously, and we at Conde Nast have decided to put our working relationship with both photographers on hold for the foreseeable future." The questions remain: are friends and acquaintances of abusers ignorant, complicit, or some confusing combination of the two? Many of us have worked, knowingly or not, alongside people who've been abusive to others. As we evaluate the "gray area" of sexual abuse allegations, how far are we willing to go to maintain a sense of innocence about the abuse built into the very fiber of the power structures that gird our culture? Are sexual abusers obtuse willfully, or out of a sincere lack of ability to read verbal and nonverbal cues, as so many have claimed? Which is worse? And when the ultimate outcomes are the same, does it even matter anymore? Image via Instagram It was only about two years ago that Lexie Smith first made art out of bread she'd baked. Invited to a pop-up SoHo show and afforded free rein, she piled sourdough high like a tower. To Smith's surprise, "People didn't look at me like I was totally crazy." A bread sculpture in a Williamsburg gallery came soon after then a spate of interest in her work, from which she's amassed more than 35K Instagram followers and garnered coverage in outlets like The New York Times, Dazed, and Vogue. Writers have been quick to classify her an experimental baker, and at one point, that descriptor wasn't altogether wrong. Smith started baking for income in Marfa, Texas, then went on to a pastry chef position in Austin, and ultimately ended up in pastry program stints at several celebrated NYC restaurants. But that phase of her life working in a restaurant or a bakery is over now. "I just began to consider [bread] in the way that was what felt natural to me, which wasn't something that was able to be replicated 100 times in a bakery setting," she says. "That wasn't why bread was interesting to me. Working in kitchens wasn't intellectually stimulating in a lot of ways." Immaculate, visually striking plating is an important skill set to have, she notes, but she's not good at it. "It's funny because people are like, 'I'm surprised you don't like the plating aspect of making food because you're an artist,'" she says. "I'm like, yeah, but it's just not my kind of art. My head doesn't work that way." What does make sense for Smith, who studied art history and writing in college, is how bread connects people and cultures, and how it relates to society and politics. "But also from a conceptual standpoint and an aesthetic standpoint," she says. "And to me, bread just inherently captures all of those things without me prodding it in any particular way." Related | Beautiful People: 10 Artists, Dancers, and Chefs Who Are Making an Impact Bread on Earth is her ongoing project that fosters discussion; on the website, content sprawls out like winding rabbit holes of knowledge. From a book called Bread and Circuses: Theories of Mass Culture as Social Decay, Smith pinpoints the Roman poet who inspired the title, then delves into the value of bread in Roman culture, then onto a New Yorker piece on grain as a harbinger of civilization. Another book, this one from Parsons students in 1974 on the art of bread-making, is highlighted; there's also an ambient track about five minutes long of kitchen sounds (cooking, eating, drinking) and a post about the Tunisian bread riots of the early '80s. Alongside that effort is an incredibly ambitious end goal: Charting regional bread types globally. Any submission that "even tangentially relates back to bread," she says, is encouraged, and writers and photographers from countries as far-flung as Mexico, Serbia, and South Africa are contributing to a database of bread types that will ultimately manifest as a navigable map online. "I think of it kind of as bread is a river, and there is a delta at the end of the river, and that leads off in hundreds of different directions," she says. "And it just happens to be this thing that we all have a connection to, and it's more compelling than salt or water, you know? People get really emotional about it, and at the same time it allows us to open doors to conversations about gender, and sustainability and politics, and the environment, and colonialism in every place on the planet." Smith continues creating in a gallery capacity, but maintains the same mission of Bread on Earth in that work, too. A recent installation in Berlin of circular Turkish bread simit suspended on branches reflects the sizable presence of that resettled community in Germany. The bread was sourced from a local Turkish-owned bakery; Smith's caption for the post reads, "Branches can't help but feel weighty with symbolism here." To make Bread on Earth possible, Smith works in publishing and archiving, and also develops recipes but you won't find her in restaurant or bakery kitchen. The professional term doesn't feel appropriate anymore: "I don't even allow people to call me a baker." Outside those settings, of course, Smith is baking. On the Bread on Earth Instagram, there's bread "in utero," knotted up and glistening in the light; twisted sourdough, "lively but also looking sleepy," containing rye and a roasted sweet potato; a close-up of land wheat bread that looks like caulking glue. There's "ciabatta in space," too, photographed for an editorial in Domino Mag. For Smith, it's important to note that the food isn't just for show. "I never make something a certain way, so that it will photograph nicely but is inedible," she says. "Having worked in the food industry and also in the art world, seeing the way food is utilized and wasted, it can be really sort of depressing a depressing thing to see." Smith strives to use nourishing ingredients sourced from local, independent farmers, "who are doing what they can to propagate plants that are actually helping to replenish soil and revitalize diversity, which will make land more resilient in the face of climate change." She explains, "It's not enough to be like, 'Well, I did this thing with avocados in New York, and then not acknowledge what it took to get the avocado to New York. So a lot of what comes along with making food that people look at as opposed to eat primarily is about getting people to think about it... to draw attention to a topic and allow for a conversation to form around it." For Smith, bread is a way of looking at the world and all its cultures, and Bread on Earth, what's digitally displayed now, and soon, the perpetually-in-progress map, is how she explains it. Eventually, printed material will be also available. "I think that we live in a world where everybody who's talked to me about this is like, 'Okay, can you give me a date of when it's going to be up?' I'm like, 'Nope.' No, I can't. But I will, hopefully, in the next six months, get up a map that has at least the data that I have so far," she says. "And it'll just be added to for however long people are up for adding to it. That goes for myself as well." Photos Courtesy of Lexie Smith Milan is home to some of the most over-the-top luxury brands in menswear, so it's always a perfect place for fashion-a-holics like us get inspired for the coming season. Here are five of our favorite shows from MFW, which has just ended. Versace Donatella Versace doesn't know the meaning of moderation and thank god for that. The show featured all your favorite Versace tropes animal prints, medusa heads, plaids, velvets but it was all seen through a preppy lens with lots of splashes of Versace Casa (the brand's incredible line of homewares). Moschino Jeremy Scott is famous for bringing whimsical themes to his Moschino collections, but this season he was feeling darker. A mostly black-and-white bondage collection was adult- in both senses of the word- and super chic. There were lots of pinstripes worked in sexy ways, like an off the shoulder top for men as well as patent leather corsets, speedos and full face masks that we're sure will turn up in tons of editorials in the coming months. Prada Miuccia Prada did a bit of a greatest hits show showing looks in her signature black nylon (remember the ubiquitous nylon Prada backpacks of the late '80s and '90s?) and a fun hodgepodge of clashing patterns using some old favorite prints from past Prada collections. Related | Prada's Fulfillment Center is a Fashion Fantasy Missoni Autumnal orange, blue, red and rust were the dominant colors at the Missoni collection. Wild colors are certainly not news at Missoni, but the brand's psychedelic patterns are feeling particularly fresh to us right now. Fendi Logo mania has once again is being embraced by the young hipsters of fashion and few do it better than Fendi. This season the emblazoned double F's on everything from bags, coats and shoes to umbrella hats a veritable smorgasbord of logo-mania. Keep Reading: 5 Designers Proving London's a Global Fashion Capital Photos via Getty/Supplied "Shopping is a passion for both of us, and there is so much coded desire in the process," says Mattie Rivkah Barringer who, under the moniker of Women's History Museum alongside friend/collaborator Amanda McGowan, will open a quasi-boutique-slash-art-exhibition on January 19th inside Gavin Brown's enterprise's Lower East Side gallery space. "We've wanted to sell our clothing for a while, but the New York retail scene is really boring and safe. No one is willing to take a chance on designers that don't work in a traditional capitalist way or make work that isn't easily understood." Though primarily known within New York's art and fashion circuits for their deconstructed, patchwork garments and performative runway shows, Women's History Museum has grown to include clothing design and production, performance, sculpture, photography, and film since its launch in 2014. Using recycled materials, as well as deadstock and historical textiles much of the duo's time is spent searching for and collecting antique fabrics the artists create anachronistic objects and garments that explore how the feminized subject has used fashion for agency and personal narrative throughout time. For their presentation with Gavin Brown, the designer-artists have pulled out much of their archive, as well as domestic items such as furniture and tapestries. And get this: the clothing will be for sale. Viewers will be encouraged to try on, purchase, and take away couture, one-of-a-kind garments from past seasons, as well as ready-to-wear items made for and sold exclusively at the gallery. "I like the element of play that a boutique could encourage in opposition to a usual gallery space," says McGowan. "We're also interested in creating full experiences beyond just making clothing or artwork. It's about creating a world you can enter into." Through the duration of the show, the gallery will showcase a series of programs featuring artists who have collaborated with or contributed to what is today's Women's History Museum. A performance from Drumloop will open the show; next, a makeup tutorial from designer/artist Gogo Graham; and to close the show, a reading from Gabriela Rivera-Morales, who's previously created sculptural shoes for Women's History Museum's runway shows. "While going through the process of creating new work for the show, we were really thinking about all of the wonderful people that have helped, inspired, and collaborated with us along the way," says McGowan. "The title of the show, OTMA's Body, is referring to the acronym/nickname for the four daughters of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and Alexandra Feodorovna Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. It's a nickname we've also taken up in our friend group... The show is definitely dedicated to them." Following the opening of OTMA's Body on January 19th, Women's History Museum will present their next fashion show at New York Performance Space, formerly PS 122. Photo Courtesy of Women's History Museum So the other day I wrote about the brain drain and vaguer ambition drain issue that may be impacting places like El Salvador and Haiti, and I wanted to spend some more time thinking about this issue. Of course, to prevent brains from leaving a given country, Berlin Wall-style (because that is what they built the Berlin Wall for, not merely to imprison the population its my understanding that the elderly were allowed to move to the West, once they were no longer able to productively contribute to the economy), would be a violation of human rights, but that doesnt necessarily mean that a countrys public policy should encourage it, and its public discourse cheerlead it. Who does it help, and who does it hurt, that educated, ambitious people from sh**holes are immigrating to wealthier countries? Obviously it helps the migrants themselves tremendously. And the general consensus is that it benefits the receiving country by providing comparatively cheaper labor for the sorts of jobs they do; its also not hard to find immigration supporters who praise high-skilled immigrants as particularly inclined to entrepreneurship. Theres also a case to be made that the departure of the educated and ambitious benefits the sending country. The relevant video at Marginal Revolution University (yes, generally Im not a fan of videos but this was the best entry point into the issue I could find) proposes the alternate label brain gain and says that the sending country benefits in three ways: The availability of jobs abroad increases incentives for individuals to become educated; once they have become educated, some of those people, even if they had initially planned to leave, will end up marrying, finding a local job, needing to care for parents, or just generally having a change of heart. The fact that skilled workers leave the country means that the labor market for skilled workers will become tighter, increasing wages and, again, providing an incentive to the people of that country to become educated. And, of course, the remittances those workers send home will benefit the local economy, and some of the money will be used to educate relatives. The video instructor, Tyler Cowen, cites the example of India as a case where expatriates from India ultimately used their money, talent, and business connections to build up the local economy. The video also cites two key sources for further reading, Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk? by Michael Clemens, and the results of a google search for gibson mckenzie brain drain, of which the most promising seems to be The Economic Consequences of Brain Drain of the Best and Brightest: Microeconomic Evidence from Five Countries, a 47-page analysis. Which (ugh) feels like Ive just given myself a homework assignment. Reading (OK, skimming) through these two papers reinforces the content of the Marginal Revolution video: Gibson and McKenzie calculate that the externalities of high-skilled emigrants that is, the quantifiable cost to their home countries for their departure amounts to 2% of the income gain that these emigrants have in their new home countries. However, some of the claimed benefits, such as the business development in those home countries due to the emigrants connections, appear to be minor outside of a few prominent cases (India, China, Taiwan). The Clemens paper, as its title suggests, proclaims that emigration of the highly-skilled is basically just free money in terms of the overall increase in world GDP, and scolds those who would try to measure the benefits of emigration by looking at national gains and losses. Besides, he argues, given, for example, the number of Haitians who have escaped poverty by leaving Haiti, the availability of emigration is a spectacular anti-poverty program for Haitians, as an ethnic group, even if not for Haiti, as a nation. And he disputes the idea that a person of Haitian birth has any greater obligation to serve as a doctor in Haiti, and the failure to fulfill that obligation is any greater a cost, than someone born in the United States. But here are some thoughts, while fully acknowledging that I lack expertise or extensive study of the data: In the first place, the idea that having the ability to migrate benefits the sending country, because of an increase in the number of people motivated to get an education, seems like it would require a particular situation in the sending country, that higher education is available to all who seek it, rather than being very difficult to acquire. If the number of university slots is fixed in some manner, then emigrants cannot be replaced by remain-ers in expanded university cohorts. At the same time, the idea that its to a sending countrys benefit to lose some portion of its skilled workers, only makes sense if there is a surplus of those workers, and nothing productive they can do, so that theyd be stuck ragpicking or the like, absent the ability to leave. It also implies that, if unable to leave, there is no way that those workers could contribute to the country through entrepreneurial activities that the country is dependent on foreign capital or foreign expertise to create jobs, and in the meantime can only passively wait for those jobs to be created. And, finally, theres the question of whether the cash in circulation due to those remittances is put to use productively. (I recall reading about the effects of emigration on Italy in the late 19th/early 20th centuryI may be wholly misremembering, but it seems to me that the workers generally sent money home, or returned home with the money theyd earned, but part of the trouble was that everyone was chasing the purchase of land, and just driving up its price.) So the Philippines, for instance, sends out a great many housekeepers to the oil-rich Arab countries, but also sends out nurses to the U.S. and I recall an article in which Switzerland was particularly happy to recruit them. If the Philippines has built up its nursing school infrastructure, basing it of high levels of education in general, so that nurses has become an export industry, and it can educate its nurses efficiently enough that the remittances it gains by sending them abroad more than make up for the cost of their education, this idealized model would work very well. As it happens, they rank 99th in the world in terms of the number of doctors per 1,000, and 155th in terms of hospital beds per capita. (There seemed to be no such ranking for the number of nurses.) But at least one article claims (as of 2011) that there is a very extensively built-up infrastructure of nursing schools, producing numbers of nurses that far exceed local demand. This differs from a 2002 article that worries that theyre arent enough nurses to keep hospitals running, because theyre all being recruited abroad, which suggests that during the 2000s, the Philippines indeed built up its nursing school capacity. Wikipedia reports, however, that, although the increases in nursing schools increased the total number of nurses, it is still the case that the most skilled and experienced nurses leave the country and the Philippines is left with the less skilled and less experienced nurses to staff its hospitals, and still experiences shortages in rural areas. In other words, building out nursing school capacity can only go so far in providing more of the beneficial and fewer of the harmful effects, since the more and the less talented nurses are not leaving in the same proportion. The Wikipedia article (which has a stronger opinion orientation than usual and cites sources dating from the mid- to late-2000s) concludes this section as follows: In summary, the emigration of Filipino nurses has encouraged doctors to switch to nursing, created a shortage of skilled specialized and experienced nurses, affected the education system, and distorted health care delivery and attention to medical issues in rural areas. While remittances, return migration, and the transfer of knowledge support the Philippines, they fail to fully compensate the loss of health workers, which disrupts the Filipino health and education sectors. Dr. Jaime-Galvez Tan, the former Philippine Secretary of Health, warns that if the U.S. passes legislation allowing for freer immigration of nurses the health service of the Philippines could collapse. So does that mean that the emigration of Filipino nurses has been a disaster? No, of course not. Nursing shortages in the Philippines have to be balanced against the possibility that, were nurses unable to leave the country, its unemployment rate would be higher, with large numbers of women who are now nurses abroad, living at home but unable to support their families. So Im not persuaded by my brief look at the data that emigration of high-skill, high-ambition individuals is an unmitigated good. And my concern is more a matter of intangible factors that cant easily be quantified in a mathematical model. If a country is to overcome its sh**holeness, it needs dynamism, it needs young people with energy and ambition, and intelligence and high degrees of education, and I am not persuaded from those articles that the available evidence points to a net gain, as hypothesized, in those characteristics, from an increase in motivated/educated people that exceeds the net number who go abroad, at least in the poorest and most brain-drainy countries. Demographers have coined the term demographic dividend to refer to a country whose fertility is declining reaching that sweet spot with lots of young people, who, in turn, have comparatively fewer children to care for. To take the example of Mexico, now seeing a measurable number of emigrees returning home, from a 2014 article, As families have become smaller, the number of young dependents relative to the number of working adults has declined, producing what is known as a demographic dividend. Typically, when this happens, economic development accelerates; but previously Mexico was not able to leverage this change because so much of its working-age population was migrating north. With waves of people coming home [e.g., due to the ridiculed self-deportation], the equation has changed. The article then describes the positive effects that the return of migrants to the U.S., especially in cases of young adults who bring English fluency, and a few cases of students who choose a (free) Mexican university, but observe that if returnees never learned English or any job skills in the U.S. and return in middle age (e.g., to care for aging parents), theyre no better off. (Side note: it would be a good idea to look at the Asian Tigers, and what role emigration did or didnt play in their economic development, as well as what can be discovered about those European countries which saw high levels of immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries.) Again, I would not say that individual countries should attempt to force their citizens to stay at home; its just a matter of policy and attitudes in receiving countries. But it seems as if these models for brain-drain-type emigration dont leave much room for the economic development of the sending country, leaving them, instead, to be forever the source of brains and workers, a sort of New Hinterland, serving as breeders and educators of the developed worlds supplemental workforce. Theres an opportunity cost to the Best and Brightest leaving the country, if that means that you lose exactly that category of people who would otherwise develop their own economy or who would, as an educated and skilled middle class, demand a well-run government, say, in El Salvador, those who would supply the leadership, and the critical mass of support, to reduce the power of the gangs. Image: https://pixabay.com/en/brain-human-anatomy-anatomy-human-1787622/ I am honored to have been invited to this News Release. Please consider joining us. Public is welcome. News Release Protect LDS Children Sexually Explicit Bishops Interviews When: January 18, 2018 10am What: News conference Where: 50 West Club & Cafe located at 50 W. Broadway in Salt Lake City. Event: Protect LDS Children Current status of the Petition: Protect the ChildrenStop Sexually Explicit Interviews of Mormon Youth. Large collection of survivor stories. Announcement of the March-for-the-Children to deliver the petition to the Church Office Building. Three speakers will be on the podium: Sam Young, concerned father, former Mormon bishop, petition organizer; Joelle Casteix, sex abuse victims advocate, Western Regional Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network; Natasha Helfer Parker, a certified sex therapist and licensed marriage & family therapist. For decades, it has been common place for a significant number of LDS Bishops to pose questions of a sexual nature to children, all alone, behind closed doors. This practice has caused incalculable damage to our children. The consequences range from childhood self-loathing all the way to sexual abuse and suicide. The goal of Protect-LDS-Children is to bring a halt to these dangerous and damaging interviews. The petition has now garnered well over 10,000 signatures. 5,000 of the signers are from Utah. Many of them are active LDS members. To date more than 1,000 survivor stories have been collected. They recount horrifying and heartrending interviews, the accompanying trauma and the lasting damage. All of this has been done to our children behind closed doors of bishops offices. The time has come to bring this practice to an immediate stop. How this will be accomplished will be a central part of the news conference message. For more information contact: Sam Young (713) 306-9216 Sam Young Houston business owner, father of 6 daughters, decades of service to the LDS church including bishop, bishopric counselor, ward mission leader, ward young men president, stake young men president, stake public affairs director, stake activities director, high councilor, high priest group leader, seminary teacher, institute teacher and several special assignments. Served full time mission in Guatemala/El Salvador. Joelle Casteix Sex Abuse Victims Advocate; Western Regional Leader, SNAP, the Survivors Network Named one of Orange Countys 100 Most Influential People, Joelle is the award-winning author of the bestsellers The Well-Armored Child: A Parents Guide to Preventing Child Sexual Abuse (RiverGrove Books) and The Power of Responsibility (based on her wildly successful TEDx talk.) A successful writer and blogger, she is also a leading national in the trenches expert on the prevention and exposure of child sex abuse and cover-up, especially within institutions such as the Catholic Church. A former journalist, educator, and public relations professional, Joelle has taken her own experience as a victim of child sex crimes and devoted her career to exposing abuse, advocating on behalf of survivors, and spreading abuse prevention strategies for parents and communities. Her writing has been featured in The Orange County Register, Parenting.com, and hundreds of other blogs and magazines nationwide. Since 2003, Joelle has been the volunteer Western Regional Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. In that capacity, she has traveled the world exposing abusers, helping victims get healing, justice and accountability, and researching predatory abuse patterns in institutions. Her expertise includes an in-depth understanding and recognition of patterns of abuse, predatory behaviors, grooming, prevention, institutional disregard, and criminal cover-up. She also conducts trainings for families, churches and communities on how to raise empowered children and keep our communities safe from child sexual abuse. Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT, CST She has practiced for over 20 years, primarily working with issues of relational health, faith journeys, and sexuality. She is a Certified Sex Therapist and Marriage & Family Therapist. She writes a blog called The Mormon Therapist, and hosts the podcasts Mormon Mental Health, and Mormon Sex Info. She also runs a sex education program, Sex Talk with Natasha and her private practice, Symmetry Solutions. For more information visit natashaparker.org. To sign petition go to: https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/protect-the-children-stop-mormon-masturbation-interviews.html Natasha Helfer Parker, LCMFT, CST can be reached at natashaparker.org and runs an online practice, Symmetry Solutions, which focuses on helping families and individuals with faith concerns, sexuality and mental health. She hosts the Mormon Mental Health and Mormon Sex Info Podcasts, writes a regular column for Sunstone Magazine, is the current president of the Mormon Mental Health Association and runs a sex education program, Sex Talk with Natasha. She has over 20 years of experience working with primarily an LDS/Mormon clientele. In the holy month of Ramadan, president Joe Biden of the United States offered the Taliban Pashtun Muslims of Afghanistan something they were long fighting for -- an unconditional withdrawal of foreign forces from their land. Patna: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials in Patna on Saturday confiscated foreign-made cigarettes worth Rs. 65 lakh from Northeast Express at Pataliputra Railway Station. Acting on a tip-off, a DRI team carried out a search operation in the SLR bogey on the Delhi-bound Northeast Express coming from Guwahati on Saturday. Seized cigarettes are made in Korea, officials said adding they were smuggled into India via Myanmar Police have identified both the sender and the receiver of the consignment as Ram Kumar Gupta of Guwahati and Ram Kumar of Anand Vihar in Delhi. Raids were being conducted in Guwahati and New Delhi to apprehend the two me, DRI officials said. So far, no arrest has been made. Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and party workers in Patna on Sunday observed the 98th birth anniversary of late Thakur Prasad, Jan Sangh leader and the Industry Minister in the first Janata Party government in Bihar, at a function held at the community hall named after him in Kidwaipuri. The event was also used to honor a number of party workers who were presented with a shawl and a garland. Speaking on the occasion, senior leader and former Union Minister Dr. C P Thakur praised the party workers and operatives saying they were the biggest strength of the BJP. He, however, quickly added that the greatest tribute to Prasad would be making the BJP form government in Bihar on its own strength alone. State Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav describe Prasad as the builder of the modern Bihar. Party legislator Arun Kumar Sinha, Patna Mayor Sita Sahu, Thakur's son Manoj Shankar and grand son Aditya Shankar were among many who were present on the occasion. The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo - Addo on Saturday praised Sunda International, a Chinese company for investing over USD $ 77 million in setting up the Twyford ceramic factory at Shama in the western region of Ghana. The President was speaking shortly after touring the 14.4 million square meter designed production capacity facility to officially commission its operations. I congratulate the chair person, board, management and directors of Sunda International for the decision to establish the factory here in Shama. It will not only reduce our countrys ceramic tiles import bill but will also create employm IMG_8337.JPGent for the young men and women resident here. ''I am also happy to note that 95% of the factorys raw material needs will be sourced locally. The promoters of this project should work towards increasing this figure to a 100%, the President added. President Nana Akuffo Addo announced that Ghana Gas has reduced the price per unit gas supply to Twyford and other factories in furtherance of the governments commitment to improving the business environment. Through the new industrial development tariff authorised by the minister, a new reduced rate for energy has been approved for industry. This government is determined to enhance the competitiveness of Ghanaian industry. The President assured the promoters of the Twyford Ceramics factory that his doors will always be open for them to resolve issues relating to their operations. The experienced minister for trade and industry will work with you to address any challenges that may arise, and if indeed it becomes necessary, which i hope it will not, to go higher up the chain of authority, i want you to know that my doors will always be open. I do on the other hand insist, that on your part, that you play according to the rules and regulations of the sector and the laws of the country as a whole. The factory is expected to employ over 1800 workers. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Rabih Haddad, the 39-year-old Lebanese Businessman accused of raping his 19-year-old domestic help, was on Monday granted bail in the sum of GHc500,000.00 with two sureties by an Accra High Court. Delivering its ruling on bail, pending an appeal application, the trial judge Mr Justice Justine Kofi Dorgu, further ordered that one of the two sureties should be a Ghanaian and he or she must provide a justification. It further ordered that the two sureties must submit their passport pictures to the Courts Registrar. Additionally, the Court further ordered Haddad to submit his passport to the Courts Registrar and he must write to the Court anytime he intends travelling outside the jurisdiction. Speaking to journalists in Accra after the ruling, Mr Ralph Poku Adusei, the Defence Counsel said he was happy and commended the court for exhibiting brevity, adding that, the rule of law was at work. He said he was satisfied with the bail condition saying; we are prepared to meet the bail conditions. We want to prove to the whole world that Haddad is innocent. The court in its ruling quizzed the prosecutor why it had earlier arrested Haddad on November 30, last year and charged him with assault, only to change it after two days to rape. The court further wondered why the victim in the matter failed to report the matter of rape when the issue was fresh on her mind and evidence gathered to that effect but waited until two days after. According to the court, the request for a DNA report shows that the respondent was now going to fish out for information. On the ailment of the applicant, the court noted that, that could not be the basis for granting bail, but explained that bail could be granted if the condition of the applicant was deteriorating. Mr Adusei earlier informed the Court that Haddads wife and two kids had been thrown out of their apartment. According to the Defence Counsel, the wife was expecting the Court to grant her husband bail to enable him to find the family a good sleeping place. Mr Adusei drew the Courts attention to the fact that the matter before it was a human rights crisis, which ought to be heard, adding that, the facts of the matter did not support the charge and his client has a heart related ailment. Counsel who pleaded alibi, contended that his client was also innocent. On December 5, last year, a District Court, in Accra, remanded Haddad into Police custody over a charge of rape. The State has, however filed an affidavit in opposition to the bail application saying that accused had no fixed place of abode and would interfere with witnesses who were workers at his residence. The State further drew the courts attention to the nature of the offence and the severity of punishment if the applicant was found guilty at the end of the trial. The facts, as narrated by the Prosecution at the District Court, were that the victim was a 19-year-old Togolese, who was engaged as a domestic house help at the residence of Haddad. Haddad resides at Airport Hills, Accra. The Prosecution said in November, last year, the, alleged victim was employed by the accused as a house help and she shared the boys quarters of the house with another house help. The Prosecution said ever since the alleged victim moved to the house the accused had persistently harassed her and insisted on having sexual intercourse with her anytime other occupants of the house, including Haddads wife, were out of the premises. The Prosecution said in the afternoon of November 30, last year, Haddad lured the victim into one of the rooms upstairs in the house and had sex with her. It said the victim reported the incident to a co-worker in the house but they both kept the incident to themselves for the fear of losing their jobs. On December 2, between 16:00 hours and 17:00 hours when Haddads wife and kids had gone out, Haddad reportedly requested for coffee from the alleged victim. She then proceeded to the kitchen to prepare the coffee when Haddad then approached her and demanded sex from her. The Prosecution said the victim resisted and this infuriated Haddad, who slapped her on the face and held her neck and dragged her into the master bedroom. According to the Prosecution, Haddad stripped her naked and had sex with her. It said after the act, the accused warned her not to inform anyone and then took his bath and left the house in his car. The Prosecution said the victim, for the second time, reported her ordeal to a co-worker, who in turn passed the information to a Police Officer on duty nearby. The matter was, therefore, reported to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) at the Airport, upon which Haddad was arrested. The Prosecution said the victim was issued with a medical report form to seek treatment while a DNA test was to be conducted to confirm true or otherwise the allegation of rape. Haddad has, however, denied the offence, the Prosecution said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Government under President Akufo-Addo in 2017 chalked a historic feat in the macroeconomic sector by achieving its Fiscal Deficit Target. This is the first since 2006. A visibly elated Dr. Bawumia said the "achievement was historic", expressing gratitude to government appointees for their diligence. The Government created fiscal space by capping of earmarked funds to 25% of government revenue and realigning expenditures to government priorities, the Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, disclosed at the opening of the 2018 New Year School and Conference at the University of Ghana, Legon on Monday, January 15, 2018. No government has been able to do this even though many have expressed the intent to," the Vice President noted in relation to the capping initiative. According to him, the government stayed current and focused on payments to statutory funds such as GETFund, NHIS, DACF, SSNIT, Road Fund in 2017 while paying arrears inherited from the previous Mahama administration. He added that the government also validated arrears inherited for the Statutory Funds, Capex, Compensation, and goods and services at the end of 2016 which amounted to GH3.1 billion. About two-thirds of the total arrears was statutory, adding out of the total, the government has paid GH1.45 billion in 2017. "In fact, in just one year we have paid almost half of the arrears accumulated by the NDC government while staying current on existing obligations, Dr. Bawumia emphasized. He further added, "it was in this regard that I find it amusing that some latter day saints are asking government to pay arrears owed to contractors after recklessly accumulating the arrears in the first place and not paying it themselves." The 69th edition of the New Year School and Conference is under the theme: Job Creation for Accelerated National Development: The Role of the Private Sector and is scheduled to end Friday, January 19, 2018. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia has described as "amusing", calls by some leading activists in the opposition party asking the government to pay arrears to road contractors. Dr Bawumia told the "latter day saints" that the Akufo-Addo government has remitted half of the arrears incurred under the Mahama administration. In July last year, National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Wassa East, Hon Isaac Agyei Mensah, who is also a former Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways in the erstwhile Mahama-led government, said the current administration has no excuse not to pay contractors and also improve road infrastructure in the country. Quite recently at the NDC's 5th Unity Walk, former President John Mahama charged the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to pay debts owed government contractors. During the 2016 campaign, the NPP promised to pay monies owed contractors within its first 100 days after taking office. Till now the contractors have still not been paid, Mr Mahama observed in an address to party supporters at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo region on Saturday, January 6. But delivering an address at the opening of the 2018 New Year School at Legon, Dr. Bawumia noted that in just less than two years of the new government, the current administration has paid off significant arrears to tune of GH1.45 billion. He recounted that the government inherited validated arrears for Statutory Funds, Capex, Compensation and Goods and Services, that were accumulated by the NDC government which amounted to GH3.1 billion. Speaking to the gathering at the 69th Annual New Year School and Conference under the theme: Job Creation for Accelerated National Development: The Role of the Private Sector, the Veep stated that "in fact, in just one year we have paid almost half of the arrears accumulated by the NDC government while staying current on existing obligations". According to him, the government stayed current on payments to statutory funds such as GETFUND, NHIS, DACF SSNIT, ROAD FUND, in 2017 while paying arrears inherited. Taking a swipe at the "latter day Saints" who by inference are critics asking the government to pay arrears to contractors, saying "I find it amusing that some latter day saints are asking government to pay arrears owed to contractors after recklessly accumulating the arrears in the first place and not paying it themselves". Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The whoopie pie had its day at the 2018 Pennsylvania Farm Show. This year, Jim Harper of Pennsylvania Furnace in Centre County, took first place in Pennsylvania's Greatest Whoopie Pie Contest, held Jan. 9. The contest, sponsored by Good Foods Inc. of Honey Brook, was open to Pennsylvania residents. There were about 25 entries. First-place winner Jim Harper of Centre County, right, and second-place winner, Darlene Noll, of Schuylkill County, left, in Pennsylvania's Greatest Whoopie Pie Contest. Harper impressed judges with a peanut butter whoopie pie recipe consisting of chocolate cakes with a peanut butter filling that was inspired by Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. He also won the contest's blue ribbon in 2016. Darlene Noll, of Schuylkill County, won second place in this year's contest with a traditional chocolate, cream-fllled whoopie pie. Here are the top two winning recipes: Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie Ingredients: 3 cups of flour 1 teaspoon of salt 1 1/2 cups of cocoa 1 teaspoon of baking soda 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder 1 cup of butter 2 cups of sugar 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk 1 teaspoon of vanilla Filling Ingredients: 1 cup of butter 1 cup of peanut butter 1 teaspoon of vanilla 2 cups of 10X sugar Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine first five ingredients and set aside. Beat together butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add buttermilk and vanilla, mix well. Add dry ingredients blending until just combined. Grease cooking sheets. Scoop 1 ounce of batter and drop onto pan. Bake 12 minutes. Allow to cool for 3 minutes before removing from pan. To make filling, beat butter until smooth. Blend in sugar until well incorporated. Add vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Assemble whoopie pies by placing heaping spoonful of filling on one side and sandwiching the other side onto it. Chocolate Whoopie Pies Ingredients: 1 cup of butter 2 cups of brown sugar 4 eggs 2 teaspoons of vanilla 3 cups of flour 1 cup of cocoa 2 teaspoons of salt 2 teaspoons of baking soda 1 cup of milk Ingredients: Mix butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk. Drop with cookie scoop. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes. Put icing between two whoopie cookies. Filling Ingredients: 1 egg white 2 teaspoons of vanilla 2 teaspoons of flour 2 teaspoons of milk 2 cups of confectioner's sugar 3/4 cup of Crisco Beat egg white until stiff. Add all other ingredients. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Drop icing with cookie scoop in the middle of cookie and place another cookie on top. A crash on I-283 southbound between Exit 46A, I-83 South (Harrisburg/York) and Exit 2, PA 441, has closed both lanes. Reports say that a tractor-trailer has overturned. The crash happened about 6:45 a.m. Monday. For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources. Get a look at conditions on local roads -- via PennDOT traffic cameras -- anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here. Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com. PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Authorities say a man fatally shot himself after he critically wounded his wife during a dispute at their Philadelphia home. The victims were found around 11:30 p.m. Saturday after officers received reports of shots fired at the residence. The couple's names have not been released and no other injuries were reported. Authorities say the woman was found on the front porch, but further details on her injuries were not disclosed. She remained hospitalized Sunday in critical condition. The man was found dead in the home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Officers initially couldn't enter the residence due to a strong odor of gas. But they were able to safely get inside a short time later after crews turned off the gas. It's not yet known what sparked the shootings. The two operative words for the next round of winter storms moving into the region: light but steady. Snow is expected to begin falling early before sunrise on Tuesday, and although the National Weather Service in State College says the precipitation should be light, it will be steady and continue throughout the day into Wednesday. Snow should begin tapering off midday Wednesday. Parts of the state could see as much as 24 to 30 hours of snow and accumulations between 3 and 5 inches, particularly farther east into the Poconos area. Winds are not expected to be an issue. Tuesday high temperatures will hover in the low 30s. The National Weather Service on Monday morning lifted a flood watch alert that had been issued for Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, Lancaster and York counties. The alert was prompted by the possibility of ice jams on the Susquehanna River. Ice jams lead to localized flooding that can cause a rapid rise in rivers and streams, leading to flooding. Warmer temperatures will move into the region by the end of the week. The Harrisburg area is in store for temperatures in the mid-40s for Saturday, and even 50 by Sunday. By Pamela Gunter-Smith Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has long served as an annual milestone to pause and reflect on the racial climate in our country. This year on the celebration of his birthday, I am forced to wonder what Rev. King would reflect on the legacy of the Civil Rights movement. What would he think of the images of torch bearing white supremacists marching through Charlottesville, Va., and onto the University of Virginia campus? And the subsequent violence fueled by hate? How far have we really come as a nation and as a people? This is the question I have asked. Immediately following the events in Charlottesville, York College of Pennsylvania, where I serve as president, hosted Paul Rucker's art exhibit, REWIND. The exhibit examines racism and social injustice against African Americans from the Middle Passage and slave trade, all the way through the recent shootings of unarmed black men such as Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and others. The work includes life-sized mannequins dressed in KKK robes (made in various fabrics including Kente cloth), lynching postcards, slavery irons, and representations of shootings simulated by firing weapons into targets. The images are intentionally provocative, meant to stimulate thoughts and conversations. The history of race in our country is not pretty and should not be tempered least we risk forgetting from which we've already come. For me personally, as an African American woman growing up in the segregated South, the memories of Jim Crow, Civil Rights sit-ins and marches, and the Black power movements of my youth remain vivid. As do the chants of "here comes Aunt Jemima" as I arrived as the first Black camper at summer camp. The educational value offered by the exhibit was tremendous and served as a catalyst to drive difficult discussions during a period of renewed national racial strife among our campus community. However, as important a tool the exhibit was, I struggled mightily with balancing the educational benefit with the potential for disruption like that seen on other campuses. These images, as terrible as they are, have also become a rallying point for those who would wish to return to these past eras. We are fortunate that incidences of intolerance and racism are rare at our institution. We work to maintain a culture of inclusion. Yet, I am not naive about the possibility of the spoken or unspoken sentiments of some. Last year, a white supremacist group placed recruitment posters on our campus. I was proud when our students took it upon themselves to call for their removal, but it illustrated that this is not a locally isolated issue. It's happening in communities across the country, including my own. As an institution, we have an obligation to teach our students how to discuss difficult and uncomfortable issues. But my first consideration is always for the safety of our students and our campus community. Could the violence that occurred in Charlottesville happen here? Ultimately, we hosted the art exhibit for our campus community, but kept it closed to the public. Before making this decision, I consulted with colleagues and local officials in our community. Despite this, I have taken a great deal of criticism for my decision, as have presidents in similar situations either for not allowing divisive speakers on campus or for the resulting violence when they do. As an African American woman, the decision felt especially heavy. REWIND is not just a lesson in our history, but it is part of my history. I do not profess to know if I made the right decision. Rather, I made the best decision given a holistic view of the climate of our country. One that allowed the College to benefit from the intended educational value of the exhibit while minimizing outside influences that could disrupt our campus. Some may disagree, and I understand their position. It was a decision that in 2017, I wish I didn't still have to make. My hope is that 2018 will yield steps forward, as 2017 appeared to yield leaps in reverse. Pamela Gunter-Smith is president of York College of Pennsylvania. Prescription pills containing oxycodone and acetaminophen are shown in Toronto, Dec. 23, 2017. People who live with chronic pain need options beyond prescription opioids, and it's up to the British Columbia government to provide more services such as physiotherapy, says the head of a group that supports patients and their families. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy Pam Johnson, left, presents Verna Smith with a painting she made after quickly snapping a photo of the Smith in September and finding her through an article in the Penticton Herald. Johnson presented Smith with the painting on Jan. 12 at the Southwood Retirement Resort where she resides. Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains makes an announcement in support of the auto sector in Toronto on Thursday February 16, 2017. The federal government will announce a $49-million grant to help automotive parts maker Linamar Corp. develop its advanced manufacturing technologies. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn FILE- In this Aug. 17, 2017 file photo, released by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, Saudi King Salman, left, walks with Qatari Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani, right, at the monarch's vacation home in Tangiers, Morocco. Exiled Sheikh Abdullah, once promoted by Saudi Arabia amid its ongoing dispute with Doha, appeared in an online video posted Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018, and aired by Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera, claiming he's being held against his will in the United Arab Emirates, an allegation denied by an Abu Dhabi official. (Saudi Press Agency via AP) Im fine with it, we need the revenue and it will encourage cycling/public transit Hate it, its too tough on local business/too confusing I dont like it, but its probably necessary Vote View Results Big play, mistakes cost Pirates in loss A rolling stone gathers moss. That saying could perfectly describe the Perryville Pirates football team on Friday night. One thing after another went wrong for Perryville in the first Park Hills fast start stymies St. Vincent As the St. Vincent Indians quickly found out, Park Hills is as good as advertised. The Rebels who return nine offensive starters and the entire secondary, along with multiple linebackers and Lukoil calls Russia's exit from OPEC output deal if oil holds at $70 By Olesya Astakhova MOSCOW Petroleumworld 01 15 2018 Russia should start exiting a global deal to cut oil output if crude prices remain at $70 per barrel for more than six months, Lukoil chief executive Vagit Alekperov said on Friday as he unveiled a $2-3 billion share buyback programme. Russia and Saudi Arabia are leading the wider OPEC and non-OPEC effort to limit production to prop up prices and Brent crude oil futures have risen by more than 50 percent since mid-2017, hitting $70 a barrel this week for the first time since December 2014. If the price of $70 remains for more than half a year, we should start exiting smoothly, Alekperov, who is also a major shareholder in the Russian oil company, told reporters. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, said that while oil prices at $65 to $70 a barrel were good for oil producers now, there was a risk it would encourage more oversupply from U.S. shale drillers. Alekperov said a price of $60 to $70 a barrel was a comfortable level for Russian oil firms. We should not repeat the mistakes of 2000s when the oil price crossed over $100, he said. BUYBACK Lukoil also said it would establish a share buyback programme as an incremental mechanism to distribute capital to shareholders and planned to cancel around 10 percent out of a total 16 percent of the treasury shares it holds. I think these changes will further support the growth of the company's shareholder value, Alekperov said. The board has supported the management initiative to cancel the major part of Lukoil treasury shares and use the remainder in a new long-term incentive programme for key employees. The company would be cancelling the treasury shares it once planned to use for acquisitions during 2018, while the buy back programme worth $2-3 billion would last for five years, Alekperov told reporters. The stakes held by both Alekperov and his business partner Leonid Fedun would increase following the changes, with Alekperov's holdings rising to 30 percent and Fedun's to just over 10 percent, Alekperov said. Lukoil shares rose by 5 percent to 3,880 roubles, giving the company a market capitalisation of $55 billion, Thomson Reuters data showed. PDVSA's oil production in December with conflicting oil output numbers By Petroleumworld CARACAS Petroleumworld 01 15 2018 Venezuela's oil production has a discrepancy on the number of barrels it produce in December, Venezuela's oil minister and head of state oil firm PDVSA, Manuel Quevedo reported an increased to near 1.9 million barrels per day (bpd) after hitting a historic low last year, bt according to venezuelan analysts is more around 1.7 millions barrels (bpd). Venezuela is facing an economic crisis, with millions suffering food and medicine shortages. Venezuela relies on oil for about 95 percent of export revenue though output has fallen significantly in recent years, according to Reuters. Venezuela told OPEC it produced 1.834 million bpd in November, the lowest figure for the year so far. December's oil production numbers are to be published by OPEC this week. Analysts, however, expect the precipitous decline in output to continue, given the country's economic crisis. The chaos with the social, political and economic crisis in Venezuela has a crumbling oil sector, tight and failing currency and price controls and an authoritarian regime doubling down on a decade and a half of wrong policies and inept management at PDVSA. Nafta real problem is with Canada, not Mexico, Ryan says U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan . What to expect after president Trump reiterates Nafta threat - Watch Video By Anna Edgerton and Josh Wingrove WASHINGTON Petroleumworld 01 15 2018 U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said the biggest problem with the North American Free Trade Agreement comes from the North, with Canadian dairy producers dumping low-cost products on the market to compete with Wisconsin farms. Ryan said Friday that Nafta needs to be updated, but the U.S. should work within the framework of the deal that took effect in 1994, rather than pulling out. Speaking at an event sponsored by WisPolitics, a Wisconsin outlet for political news, Ryan said ending the free trade agreement would risk higher tariffs for cheese that American producers export to Mexico. Trade relations between Canada, Mexico and the U.S. have been rocky since President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign bucked traditional Republican support for free trade and dubbed Nafta the worst trade deal in the history of the world. Congressional Republicans, especially those from border states whose economies depend on trade, have urged the Trump administration to modernize Nafta, rather than risking the economic consequences of ending it. Dairy has long been one of the sticking points in Canada-U.S. trade, especially for Ryan's native Wisconsin . Canada's system of tariffs and quotas, known as supply management, restricts much of its market. The U.S. is proposing in Nafta talks to blow up that system, but the Canadians argue the U.S. still has a leg up. In a letter last year sent to the governors of New York and Wisconsin, the Canadian ambassador to Washington, David MacNaughton, cited data showing dairy trade between the countries benefits the U.S. by a five-to-one margin. Agriculture, including dairy, has been one of the main focuses of several rounds of Nafta negotiations. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Trump was updated Thursday on the status of Nafta talks, and he's very pleased on where things are going. Mnuchin said, we are expecting that will be re-negotiated or we will pull out. Trump also this week repeated his claims that the U.S. has been treated very, very badly under Nafta, citing trade deficits with Canada and Mexico. He said he's willing to be flexible but wants a fair deal, which he described as a Trump deal. "If we don't make the right deal, I will terminate Nafta. OK? Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Now, do I want to? No, I'd rather leave it." U.S. Marines from III-Marine Expeditionary Force from Okinawa, Japan, run on the snow to attend a joint military winter exercise with South Korean marines in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) Read more If you serve in the military, you may have an important decision to make in 2018: whether to stay in the current retirement system the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan or opt into the new Blended Retirement System (BRS). Once you make your choice, you won't be able to go back, even if you change your mind before the Dec. 31, 2018, deadline. The Thrift Savings Plan is the federal government's traditional retirement plan for federal workers and uniformed service members. But starting Jan. 1, 2018, all new members of the uniformed services are enrolled in the updated BRS retirement plan; military service members with fewer than 12 years of service by Dec. 31, 2017, are also eligible to enroll in the new retirement system. What are the benefits of opting in? For the first time, the government will match some of your annual retirement contributions.This could be an especially good deal for young people, who will have their own account and can kick in their own money over time. The drawback? The government portion, the pension, will take a 20 percent hit. Time is of the essence. "As soon as you opt into the new Blended Retirement System, you get the match in the following pay period. If you want to opt in, do it as soon as possible this year to maximize that," said Michael J. Meese, a retired Army brigadier general and chief operating officer of the nonprofit American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association. At 57, Meese isn't eligible for the new system; he's grandfathered into the legacy retirement plan. His son, however, is a 27-year-old captain and is deciding whether to opt in, Meese said. At the Thrift Savings Plan's rather clunky website, TSP.gov, check out the bulletin board for news on the BRS. Or call the Thrift Savings Plan at 1-877-968-3778 and watch the video "Opting Into the Blended Retirement System," found at www.youtube.com/tsp4gov. Other websites offer new plan benefit calculators, such as http://militarypay.defense.gov/BlendedRetirement and USAA.com/brs. IRS investigations The Internal Revenue Service website on Thursday updated tax-withholding tables for 2018 to reflect the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but they may be refined before tax season begins. So check the IRS website for updates (www.irs.gov). Meanwhile, we spoke with John D. "Don" Fort, the new IRS chief of the criminal investigation division, appointed in June 2017. Fort's division investigates crimes such as hacking, ID theft, and criminal violations of the tax code. He told us that IRS criminal investigators will be focusing on employment taxes to detect fraud. "Employment tax is one of the areas where we've increased investigations. We made a concerted effort to do that because that's where 70 percent of all taxes are collected," said Fort, who briefly served as the special agent in charge of the Philadelphia IRS field office. "There's significant areas of noncompliance." His office is using data-mining tools such as Palantir, fraud referrals, and revenue offices to comb through hundreds of millions of tax returns, bank filings, and other databases, including one involving the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The division has the same number of agents as it did 50 years ago, Fort added, so they're leaning heavily on the data mining. Hispanic savings Yet another entrant has joined the fast-paced, growing robo-adviser community: Finhabits.com, which aims to enroll more Hispanic/Latino investors and encourage savings among this community in Philadelphia and other large metropolitan areas. Finhabits uses an automated platform, accessible by computer or phone, to set up a savings account and an investment portfolio tailored to your goals. It charges $1 a month for new accounts under $2,500. For accounts above $2,500, the fee rises to 0.50 percent annually. Finhabits' registered investment adviser invests in Vanguard and Blackrock index funds and exchange-traded funds, according to founder Carlos Armando Garcia, 37, who previously worked at Merrill Lynch Investment Management and a hedge fund, Madison Quant Labs. Finhabits is aiming for grassroots organic growth. "We met recently with Philly small banks and other organizations that deal with small business owners, and we want to create awareness at the community level. More than 15,000 people have come through our pipeline since we launched, and our goal is to make sure that people with no retirement accounts create a long-term habit of saving," Garcia said. Remembers RMDs If you are age 70 or older and forget to take your RMD (required minimum distribution) from your retirement plan, you are generally subject to a 50 percent penalty, said Eric Bronnenkant, Betterment.com's head of tax. And the IRS ain't so forgiving. "The IRS does provide a waiver for this penalty if you can make an argument that the failure was due to reasonable error and you are taking corrective action by withdrawing the missed distribution," he said. "While the IRS does not define reasonable error, 'I forgot' or 'I did not know' will likely not pass muster. 'I was incapacitated in a nursing home' is a potentially more persuasive argument." GoPuff cofounders Rafael Ilishayev (left) and Yakir Gola will expand their company's offerings to Ardmore and Bethlehem later this month. The Philly-based online convenience store delivery service has been expanding rapidly since it started four years ago. Read more GoPuff, the on-demand delivery company, is expanding to two more millennial-rich areas: Ardmore and Bethlehem. The start-up founded by former Drexel students and roommates Yakir Gola and Rafael Ilishayev, both 24, targets university enclaves where it can provide customers with such household mainstays as paper towels, snacks, and even beer in certain markets, from its local warehouses. Ilishayev said Ardmore, with nearby Haverford College, Bryn Mawr College, Rosemont College, and Villanova University, and Bethlehem, home to Lehigh University, tie in perfectly to their strategy of targeting promising markets outside the city limits. "We really go where our core customers are and where it really makes sense to open," Ilishayev said. "Our plans are to double down outside the Philly market. It's sort of manifest destiny to expand from coast to coast and for us to put the pedal to the metal in 2018." Ardmore and Bethlehem are the 25th and 26th markets for the company. Deliveries in both markets will begin Jan. 26 from noon until 4:30 a.m. In July 2016, GoPuff opened a 4,000-square-foot warehouse in Roxborough that also delivered to Manayunk, Bala Cynwyd, and St. Joseph's University. Last May, it doubled its coverage in Northeast Philly. And last year, the company opened a giant warehouse just north of Center City. GoPuff now boasts more than 3,000 products, including pet collars, batteries, toothpaste, and potato chips. Its employee base has grown from 40 full-time employees two years ago to 250 today, plus an army of drivers who work as independent contractors. "GoPuff has grown exponentially in Philadelphia since launching in 2013," Gola said Monday. "We're excited to expand to Ardmore and Lehigh Valley and hope to continue this expansion further in the future." Besides Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, GoPuff currently serves more than 20 other major U.S. markets, both big cities and quintessential college towns, including Pittsburgh; State College; Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Bloomington, Ind., Champaign, Ill., Chicago; Denver; and Newark, Del. "We usually expand in pockets that are geographically close to each other," Ilishayev said. "It's a true regression model based on several factors, including the enrollment base, amount of requests, average snowfall, etc. It's more a science than art of batching the markets together and launching in geographic areas that are close together." Ilishayev said GoPuff made a killing during the final week of December and first week of January. It explains why "average snowfall" and "weather deviation" are among the criteria when picking expansion spots. "We were very, very busy," Ilishayev said. "We are big fans of inclement weather in all cities we deliver in. Business in all of them was off the charts." And GoPuff isn't just adjusting to the changing retail landscape it's disrupting it. "We've created a whole new shopping experience, where you call when you need us most," Ilishayev said. "That was our whole vision, to redefine the way people shop inherently, and it's really focused on the digital world of impulse shopping." Once an order is placed on the GoPuff app, the company charges a flat $1.95 delivery charge, which is waived for orders over $49, with zero surcharges. Average delivery time is 25 minutes. In college towns, it is 15 to 20 minutes. "We're trying to get the consistency in delivery right," Ilishayev said. The goal for 2018 "is get the delivery really tight within a five- to seven-minute deviation every time for customers to rely on us, day in and day out." Another goal is to introduce more local products and create a new category of goods, he said. "Once people order, they get hooked because it's so convenient and so affordable," he said. "Everyone has a busy life and it gets busier and busier. We want to create more time in a person's day, which goes a long way. We want to be a best friend to a person's life." Ajia Johns, front right, makes a knot blanket during the MLK Day of Service at Girard College, in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer Read more After writing a column last week criticizing the Quakertown Community School District for canceling the Martin Luther King holiday, it felt especially good Monday to be in the company of so many others who believe, as I do, that this federal day off is sacred. For me it started around 9:15 a.m., when I arrived at Girard College for the 23rd annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service. Thousands of people, many wearing white King Day of Service T-shirts, were already prepping food for distribution to various pantries. Registration started at 8 and people must have taken it seriously. As looked around, I silently berated myself for not having shown up earlier. The place was jumping with music and activity. "This is a holiday that ought to be a day off where we remember Dr. King, and it's for that purpose," Gov. Wolf told me as he stood in a line of dignitaries putting cups of rice into plastic bags. I watched as a few students from Germantown Friends School cut fresh flowers and carefully arranged them before setting them aside to be distributed by Meals on Wheels volunteers to homebound seniors and others in Roxborough. Volunteers stood behind metal racks and sorted dark suits donated from Men's Wearhouse. School-age drummers practiced their beats on African drums as Peco employees and volunteers wrote positive affirmations and other messages on greeting cards that will accompany donations from the Career Wardrobe. Taking it all in was dizzying. And inspiring. "I can tell you that there are 150,000 people throughout the community who are engaged. Thousands of those are students," said Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen and the founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia King Day of Service. "They realize that Dr. King was a champion of action. What they are doing is embracing that living legacy, and they're in the community doing selfless acts of service on this day. And to really solve those challenges, we have to be engaged every day." That's why I found Quakertown's decision to cancel the King holiday to make up for a snow day so disheartening. It was a missed opportunity for youngsters to discover the joy of giving back. Yes, the students reportedly had instruction about King in their social studies classes, but it could have been so much more. As I wrote last week, I found the timing of the decision especially unfortunate given last October's ugly racial incident at the high school, where black students from Cheltenham High complained of being called the n-word and taunted by cries of "Black lives don't matter." Rocks reportedly were thrown at Cheltenham's buses as they drove off. Quakertown's superintendent apologized profusely in the aftermath and the school board unanimously authorized district-wide cultural sensitivity training for administrators through the Pearl S. Buck Foundation. Since then, I've heard from upset students and readers who thought the district had been unfairly smeared by last October's incident and who also pointed out that if students in the Quakertown district would have had the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday off, they would have just used it as a day of relaxing or playing Xbox or catching up on homework. Big sigh. I get their point. I really, really do. Young people need to be in school every day they can. And we all know that King was a big believer in education as well as in ensuring equal access for all children regardless of their skin color. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't find it off-putting just how little regard some have for this important, hard-won holiday honoring the legacy of the slain civil rights leader. You don't hear those arguments about, say, Presidents' Day, a day that has become largely meaningless.Why the casual disregard for the King holiday? Participating in this annual day of service could be a first step toward getting more deeply involved in community activism. It was for me. Before leaving Girard College on Monday, I volunteered for a walk in September to raise awareness and funds for those in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. I had no intention of doing that before I arrived, but the spirit in that room was infectious. It was as if King's spirit were in those walls repeating his famous quote: "Everybody can be great Because anybody can serve." Stone-cold struggle is everywhere at the Pa. Capitol; so it will be in dealing with sexual harassment. Read more After recent reports the state House paid $248,000 in tax money to settle sexual harassment claims against a 40-year Democratic incumbent, reaction was swift and predictable. Gov. Wolf said he'd make sure tax dollars aren't used for such settlements again. Auditor General Gene DePasquale said, "Taxpayer money should never be used" to settle such cases. And lawmakers quickly proposed prohibiting taxpayer-funded payouts, and banning nondiscloser agreements in sexual harassment cases. Understandable. Why should average folk pay for the sins of elected evildoers? Why should such sins be hidden from the public? Well, because that's the way things work. Unquestioned. Or at least unquestioned before Weinstein, #MeToo, and journalistic follow-up. Now we know some things. We know lawmakers and state workers are covered under an Employee Liability Self-Insurance Program (ELSIP), run by the Department of General Services. The current annual premium for roughly 80,000 people is $5.75 million, according to an agency spokesman. We know about that $248K in 2015 for claims against Rep. Tom Caltagirone (D., Berks); and $30K in 2012 to settle a sexual harassment suit against former Rep. Jewell Williams, now Philadelphia's sheriff. We know of other payouts, including a stunning $900K in 2016 for claims against a mid-level Revenue Department manager; an ugly case with racial elements. But we don't yet know much about the total 339 sexual harassment claims the AP reports were lodged against state employees over a recent five-year span. Said Wolf press secretary J.J. Abbott: "Review of settlements is ongoing and we will be providing more detail on those when that is complete." So, the story is emerging. As is a sense of how dicey the issue is for lawmakers seeking to address it. Carol Tracy, head of the Women's Law Project, is working with legislators. She says, "The most important part of any legislation is to make sure it's victim-centered. It's a very murky issue." For example: Sen. Judy Schwank (D., Berks) proposes ending settlement agreements that don't identify perpetrators. Good idea, right? Get abusers' names out there? But that could be a double-edged sword. If agreements require identifying harassers, it's likely there'll be fewer settlements. That could lead to protecting abusers because, absent a settlement, some victims might be reluctant to pursue a court case that could be costly and take years. Same can apply to wider measures. Rep. Leanne Krueger-Braneky (D., Delaware) is on the sixth draft of legislation to create an independent office to investigate claims against lawmakers, make public the names of those found culpable, end tax-dollar payouts and make lawmakers personally liable for compensation to victims, including, if necessary, with assets from their pensions. Sound good? "It's incredibly complex," Krueger-Braneky tells me, "There's no easy answer." Why? Questions about process, expanding government, and unintended consequences for victims. Can elected officials be separated from state liability coverage? Would a GOP-run legislature fund a new government office? Is ending state payouts unfair to victims? Is it realistic to rely on fair compensation from abusers with, say, limited assets; or victim compensation that could be paid only in dribs and drabs over years or decades? Philadelphia lawyer Deborah Willig, of Willig, Williams & Davidson, has handled lots of harassment cases. She says, "I have very mixed feelings about taxpayer money for settlements. If you take that fund away, you're depriving victims, who often face job loss and psychological issues, of their ability to get damages." So here we are. Amid a national upheaval over sexual harassment. In an election year with calls for action, tough talk, and elbowing for credit. Part of a process to address an issue that should be addressed. And maybe just the threat of public outing or personal liability deters would-be harassers. Maybe all the attention helps create cultural change. I don't know. But I know the path to protecting people from abusers and preventing abuse of tax dollars isn't without complications not so easy to resolve. The Philadelphia Orchestra has settled on a finalist for its coveted principal oboist job, and he has been invited to play tryouts in upcoming concerts. Nathan Hughes, a principal oboist with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra, has not been offered the job, much less signed a contract, but he has emerged as the only finalist after several days of auditions. The hiring process isn't concluded, said orchestra spokeswoman Ashley Berke. In fact, Hughes might not end up in Philadelphia, but in Chicago, where the oboist says he is also expecting to play tryout concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra that have yet to be scheduled. "It's hard to say what will happen. I don't want to get ahead of myself," Hughes said Sunday, a day after his final audition in Philadelphia. "These are amazing orchestras, and the process isn't over until everything is decided. Having us play in the orchestra is a great way to find out what musicians are like. It's different from the audition, where you are hearing them alone, mostly." Principal oboe is one of the most prominent jobs in the orchestra, and since 1977 the spot has been occupied in Philadelphia by the highly regarded Richard Woodhams, who has announced his intention to retire at the end of this season. The clear, penetrating sound of the instrument often makes it a favorite for composers to call upon for solo lines, and it is the oboe that gives the "A" to which the ensemble tunes. Hughes is notable because he was not a Woodhams student and did not train at the Curtis Institute of Music though he did study with John de Lancie, Woodhams' teacher at Curtis, for four summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School. A graduate of the Juilliard School and Cleveland Institute of Music, Hughes teaches at Juilliard and was previously principal oboist of the Seattle Symphony. Local audiences might have heard him play the Dutilleux Oboe Sonata in May at a Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concert or at an earlier PCMS concert of wind players from the Met. When Hughes will try out with the Philadelphia Orchestra isn't set, though presumably it would happen during weeks conducted by music director Yannick Nezet-Seguin, who should already be familiar with the oboist's playing. He is music director-designate of the Metropolitan Opera. Philadelphia isn't exactly a hotbed of New Orleans cuisine. The city does, however, have a full slate of people entering the restaurant business. Sean Nevins, 43, who years ago traded a budding culinary career for business school, will open Acadia, a Creole-Cajun restaurant, at 824 S. Eighth St. in Bella Vista on Saturday. He envisions Acadia, named after the French speakers from Canadian maritime provinces who settled in Louisiana after their expulsion in the mid-18th century, as a neighborhood restaurant. It will have a full bar serving Sazerac as well as beer, wine, and other cocktails, and its family-friendly vibe will include a kids' menu and morning coffee and beignets up front. And he will be the chef. You certainly know that the restaurant industry isn't a slam-dunk. That's right. What's your counter to that? Well, if I came up with everyone every time somebody said, 'You're crazy,' or, 'What are you doing?' or that kind of thing, I would have to say, 'Yeah, you have to be a little bit crazy in the industry.' You have to have a sense that what you're doing is going to matter and resonate to people, that people are going to care about what you're doing almost as much as you do. And I think that if we're making food that has a lot of care and attention put into it, and we're following traditional techniques and using really good ingredients, that people are going to want to come and try us and see what it's all about. Every major metropolitan city has a really good Creole or Cajun restaurant. Philadelphia doesn't. So I think that as we find our sea legs, that people in other parts of the city are probably going to be interested in coming down and checking us out. How did you get here? I grew up in western New York, making food for the tourists that would come down to the ski resort in the town that I lived in. I started off as a salad and appetizer person but quickly moved into saute chef because I had a knack for it. And the thing I did particularly well was roux. So, I can do a roux basically any color, and I can do it consistently. Everything in southern Louisiana starts with a roux. So with the help of some natives and a lot of other people, I developed my recipes and almost went to culinary school until the business school option came alone. Everybody said I'd be crazy if I didn't go to business school, so that's what brought me down there to Philadelphia. With my Wharton degree, I helped large companies start new businesses. I've always been an entrepreneur at heart. I actually did that for a little while, and now when this opportunity presented itself, it was like, well this is too good. It's allowing me to kind of get back to what I love. I think that the neighborhood is something basically when I graduated from school, I moved into the neighborhood and fell in love with it then. Then my daughter came along and, like so many other people, we had a two-story walk-up. With all the baby gear and whatnot, it became a little arduous. We went out to the suburbs and so that's why when I was looking around and saw this in Bella Vista, I was, 'OK. This is where I want to be for opening a neighborhood bar and restaurant.' What do you like about this space? It's been a few restaurants over the years, including Michael's, James, the Mildred, and Coeur. This space, to me, has good bones. I like what's going on with the neighborhood. I like the diversity of the people that walk by. I really feel like this is the Italian Market but with a melting pot of people who are living and walking around here. I spent some time outside. I spent a lot of time just being in the space and thinking about how would the flow be, and what would the atmosphere be, and how could I take something that I was good at in doing southern Louisiana food and make it into a neighborhood bar and restaurant. How do you do that? You do it by cooking authentically good food; by serving it in a fun, lively atmosphere; and you do it in a way where the prices are reasonable where you're getting value for your money. Why don't you think there is a lot of that food in this area? I think that it's very technical to aspects to the cooking. Either when you're making a roux, it's taking you all day to do it, or if you're doing it quickly, which is what I do, there's lots of room for error. I think that it's not something that's typically taught in a culinary school. Most of this type of cooking was passed down. It's home cooking, really. It's people's grandparents who are teaching them how to do it. To be quite honest with you, these are the kind of people who taught me how to do it. Once I realized that the roux could be used for this wonderful cuisine the gumbos, the jambalayas I surrounded myself with people who knew how to do it. They would take the time to show me the things that their grandmothers showed them. How to take the time to do it. What color roux do you want it to be? How do you calm your roux down if it's starting to get out of control on you? These types of things. You've cooked in a restaurant? I have friends who own bars and restaurants in New Orleans. I go down there to go into their kitchens to see what's going on and to take how they're doing it and seeing where their break points are to be able to serve the number of people that they serve on any given night. Then they've also come up here to work with me and my staff. They were just up here last week working with me in my kitchen and some of the staff I've hired. There's a lot of support. A lot of back and forth. I'm teaching our crew how to do everything. A lot of it is preparation. Like, in terms of the gumbo, you get everything together, and then you need everything to sit for a little while, you know? So we've got the time to do it. We're only going to be open for dinner when we're coming out of the gate. We have our eyes on maybe opening for brunch when the weather gets a little bit nicer. But opening for dinner will allow us to get our feet underneath us. We're also going to be starting with a somewhat limited menu. Then we'll see what people like and go from there. Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, led a revitalization of the city that is central to his federal corruption trial beginning Tuesday. Read more ALLENTOWN Mayor Ed Pawlowski took the lectern in a third-floor conference room above the city's symphony hall and pointed to the windows. "Remember what this looked like 12 years ago?" he said. "The building across the street was a boarded-up hunk of junk." The crowd in the room local business owners, the chief of police, and a handful of politicians laughed appreciatively. Across the street now sits a complex that includes a Renaissance Hotel, a slew of restaurants, and a multipurpose arena. They said Allentown could never do it, Pawlowski reminded the room. But this Rust Belt city with the help of developers and state tax dollars is in the midst of revitalization, with its once-downtrodden downtown now a Neighborhood Improvement Zone that won an international award for land use. It's an accomplishment Pawlowski enthusiastically claimed credit for during his campaign last year for a fourth term in office and one that now lies at the heart of his federal corruption trial, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday, two weeks after he was sworn in. The 54-count indictment that federal prosecutors unveiled in July alleges Pawlowski's involvement in a pay-to-play scheme that expanded as Allentown's fortunes rose and public-works contracts multiplied. But his role in the city's revitalization is also likely why, despite the charges against him, the mustachioed 51-year-old was narrowly reelected last year. And his lawyers are planning to cite his contributions to the city in their defense at trial. The son of a Polish restaurant owner from Chicago, Pawlowski moved to Allentown to oversee a housing development corporation in the mid-1990s, and first ran for mayor in 2005. He ran, briefly, for governor (2014) and U.S. senator (2015). In the July indictment, he and two others were accused of conspiracy, bribery, attempted extortion, honest services fraud, lying to the FBI, and other charges. The case is the product of a four-year investigation that has implicated dozens of city employees and contractors in the pay-to-play scheme and elicited guilty pleas from 17 conspirators. As jury selection is set to begin Tuesday in Allentown, prosecutors have intimated that they have more than 50 witnesses and 100 secret recordings that implicate Pawlowski and others in extorting campaign contributions from businesses seeking government work in Pennsylvania's third-largest city between 2012 and 2015. The list of government witnesses and people featured in secret FBI recordings reads like the payroll at Allentown City Hall, filled with government workers from the city's finance, parks and recreation, public works, and IT departments. The day he was charged, Pawlowski denied the allegations and told reporters he was "deeply hurt" that his integrity had been called into question. But since then, he has remained largely silent on the specifics of the case. (U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez has barred lawyers and Pawlowski himself from discussing the matter outside of court.) And so Pawlowski's speech at the symphony hall earlier this month was, necessarily, a buoyant "state of the city" address in which he didn't mention his legal woes once. Instead, he rattled off statistics on how many trees the city had planted in 2017, excitedly discussed plans for Allentown's first dog park, and highlighted significant signs of growth, such as the unemployment rate dropping from 13 percent in 2014 to 6 percent in 2017. But the trial looms. "I'm looking forward to it," he told a reporter in a brief interview just before the speech, adding that he is innocent and confident that a jury will agree with him. Still, he said, the case was "a cloud" hanging over his accomplishments as mayor. "I'll be happy when it's over." The transformation of Allentown that occurred during Pawlowski's three terms as mayor also is central to his defense. His lawyer, Jack McMahon, has maintained that local businesspeople weren't shaken down for campaign contributions with promises of lucrative city contracts. Instead, he argued at a court hearing in Philadelphia this month, they supported Pawlowski because of the renaissance he brought to their city. "If the tapes say, 'I'm giving you money because you have saved Allentown,' not because they are getting a contract, that goes to the primary issue of negating criminal intent," McMahon said. Prosecutors, however, have asked the judge to bar Pawlowski from grandstanding on his record in office. "Whether Mr. Pawlowski was instrumental in having many buildings built in the city of Allentown over the last 20 years is immaterial," Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Wzorek said. "Mr. Pawlowski shouldn't be able to get up there and tout his political experience. It has nothing to do with the case." Still, it's his political experience that has many in Allentown adopting a wait-and-see approach to the trial. Many at the state-of-the-city speech this month, including Allentown's police chief, declined to talk about the trial but were happy to hold forth on the city's revitalization. "The turnaround has been almost unimaginable," said Tony Ianelli, the president of the Greater Lehigh Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the speech. Still, he said, the trial has Allentonians "living in a very unusual universe. It's a very interesting, very volatile time." State Rep. Peter Schweyer, a former City Council member elected to the state House in 2015, called the charges "really frustrating." He said the trial could knock the shine off the economic turnaround Allentown has enjoyed under Pawlowski and added that the city's state grants have been subject to closer scrutiny from Gov. Wolf's administration. The administration hasn't withheld money from the city, Schweyer said. But he said that during the grant-application process, state employees will ask, "Does this grant have anything to do with any of the accusations?" "It's overall trust issues an added level of scrutiny," he said. Candida Affa, the vice president of the Allentown City Council whose members spent much of the summer unsuccessfully trying to force Pawlowski to resign said the trial has cast a pall over a city that, for once, had something to celebrate. "It hurts my heart, because what everyone sees now is the perception of corruption," she said. "It hurts because we were on such an upswing." Still, she's as thrilled as anyone by the improvements Pawlowski spurred in the city, she said. "I'm proud of our city and proud of what the mayor has done," she said. "I wish him luck. This, too, shall pass." File Photo: Looking north along the Delaware River in Trenton at the Route 1 bridge (foreground) and Trenton Makes bridge (background) on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018. Read more The Delaware River is backing up behind an ice jam near Trenton, sending water overflowing it banks on both sides of the river. The National Weather Service said flooding has caused multiple road closures along Route 29 in Trenton. Flooding was also reported on the Bucks County side of the Delaware River between Morrisville and Yardley with portions of River Road closed near the Calhoun Street Bridge, Richard Road, Black Rock Road and Ferry Road. The NWS says flooding could occur in Ewing and White Horse in New Jersey, and Woodside in Bucks County. A flood warning is in effect until 5:30 p.m. north of Trenton. In issuing the flood warning, the NWS said the jam was "causing a significant rise in the level of the Delaware River at Trenton." A flood warning means flooding is imminent or occurring. Trenton residents in the meantime were advised by the state environmental officials to boil their water "due to inadequate treatment."The Trentonian said the city should have issued the advisory, including making robocalls, but did not. The forecast for Monday calls for cloudy skies with a high of about 30, neither of which will assist in melting any ice. There's a chance of snow followed by rain Tuesday. The building is named in honor of Gloria Casarez, an outspoken and accomplished advocate for LGBTQ citizens and all citizens of our city. When Gloria passed away in 2014, Philadelphia lost a powerful leader. Read more Philadelphia recently reached a landmark achievement. On Dec. 6, 2017, Project HOME partnered with the city, state, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and many other supporters and advocates to break ground on the Gloria Casarez Residence at 1315 N. Eighth St. It is the first young-adult, LGBTQ-friendly, permanent supportive housing in the state of Pennsylvania. As many as 40 percent of young adults who are homeless identify as LGBTQ. These young adults are often forced from their homes by familial hostility to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and they tend to spend more time homeless than their non-LGBTQ peers. Identity-specific support is an essential component of any program designed to serve this community, and this new residence provides direct support to those in our community battling poverty, marginalization, and an uncertain path into adulthood. We're grateful to all of the partners that are making the Gloria Casarez Residence a reality. The road to the groundbreaking was not an easy one, and it could not have been accomplished without strong leadership from the powerful voices from the LGBTQ community including Mel Heifetz, Arthur Kaplan and Duane Perry; and John Alchin and Hal Maryatt along with Carrie Jacobs, Executive Director of the Attic, Chris Bartlett the Executive Director of William Way, The Philadelphia Foundation, and the Mazzoni Center. Only through the conviction of that community were we able to accomplish the groundbreaking and provide a level of structure and support for those in our city who need it most. This is the sixth affordable housing and support services development funded by MPOWER, a Project HOME community investment partnership spearheaded by Leigh and John Middleton that's multiplying our impact to end and prevent homelessness. MPOWER has brought new partners, resources, expertise, and leadership to Project HOME's proven housing, employment, health-care, recovery and education programs bringing us closer than ever to being the first major city to end chronic street homelessness. But while we celebrate this progress, it is also tinged with sadness. This building is named in honor of Gloria Casarez, an outspoken and accomplished advocate for LGBTQ citizens and all citizens of our city. When Gloria passed away in 2014, Philadelphia lost a powerful leader. I remember Gloria as a young idealistic undergrad fighting for justice, just as I remember her as a passionate civil servant as the city's first director of the Mayor's Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs. Seeing Gloria's family at the groundbreaking strengthened our resolve to work every day to continue her work and honor her legacy. We need strong voices like Gloria's. During the groundbreaking, we heard powerful, inspiring words from elected officials, community leaders and young adults who have experienced homelessness. The Gloria Casarez Residence represents an important step forward. Yet much remains to be done in even more challenging political times. Throughout our communities and our country, we're facing big decisions about the kind of nation we want to be, and how we will support those among us most in need of an equal opportunity to live stable and productive lives. For far too many, becoming an adult brings more uncertainty, fear, and marginalization. Make no mistake: The policies enacted by our local, state and national elected officials directly impact the lives of all of us, and those at-risk groups most of all. Project HOME remains committed to our belief that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, orientations or upbringing, deserves a chance to develop their potential and contribute their talents and skills to our world. With the Gloria Casarez Residence, we can provide an opportunity for a bright future for young adults and for our city. In the years to come, we can offer hundreds of young people not just a roof over their heads, but a chance at stability, employment, and post-secondary education. This must only be the beginning. Our elected officials must go beyond stirring words and vote to give us the tools to build a promising future for all; to share our belief that none of us are home until all of us are home; to remember Gloria Casarez and work every day to honor her legacy. Sister Mary Scullion is the president and executive director of Project HOME. Camden Mayor Dana Redd speaks at a ceremonial groundbreaking for the for the Rutgers-Rowan Health Sciences building in downtown Camden last October. Read more The political organization that has long dominated life in Camden and beyond is often called a machine although a more apt term might be limousine. A machine suggests back rooms, cheap suits, and ashtrays images that are too retro for the sleek operation that is the Camden County Democratic Party under George E. Norcross III. A limousine, on the other hand, is a far more fitting metaphor: Contemporary, powerful, intimidating. Those invited to ride in it are pleased even grateful to be going somewhere in style. Especially if they end up going farther than they'd ever imagined. The limo came to mind last wee, as the revealing drama about former Camden Mayor Dana Redd's future reached an unsurprising and uninspiring conclusion. The story began in early 2017. After several months of public speculation and personal reflection, Redd announced she would not seek a third term. A loyal Democrat, Redd has been a staunch ally of Republican Gov. Christie, who gave Norcross a shout-out during a valedictory Statehouse speech last week. Redd opted not to run for mayor again with the unstated but obvious expectation that a new public job would soon be made available to her. In other words, she was waiting for the limousine. But first, details of Redd's participation in the state pension system had to be ironed out. Just after Christmas, the Democratic fiefdom/charitable foundation otherwise known as the state legislature completed the protracted process of giving Redd a raise. Supposedly designed to help others as well, the tailor-made-for-Redd measure was signed into law by Christie on Monday and will initially boost the former mayor's annual pension from $32,408 to more than $50,000. And if Redd stays for three years in her new job (see below), her pension will more than triple, Politico reports. Redd, who was paid $102,000 annually as mayor, was named CEO Friday of the Rowan University/Rutgers-Camden Board of Governors, a post that more than doubled her salary and will pay her $275,000 a year. The job was recently vacated by Kris Kolluri, who, like the former mayor, is a talented, respected, and wired South Jersey Democrat. Kolluri, in turn, was chosen as the new CEO of the Cooper's Ferry Partnership, a quasi-public entity that is essentially in charge of redeveloping much of the city. Or perhaps all of it, depending upon the results of newly inaugurated Mayor Frank Moran's proposed "forensic audit" of the Camden Redevelopment Agency. Meanwhile, Kolluri won't say how much he's making in his new job. It seems the partnership that is tasked with redeveloping public land and rebuilding public infrastructure in Camden (who decides this, anyway?) actually is a private enterprise, so Kolluri says the CEO's salary is private. Some had expected Kolluri, a lawyer and former state transportation commissioner, might be offered a job in the incoming gubernatorial administration of North Jersey Democrat Phil Murphy. When it appeared this would not immediately be the case, Cooper's Ferry CEO Anthony Perno was shown the door so Kolluri could take that job and free up a lucrative post for Redd. After all, she'd been waiting quietly for the limousine to show up for a year. The Camden job-arama was made possible by the longtime Democratic strategy of having the city abdicate key functions, sometimes with welcome results. The replacement of city cops with county cops has made Camden safer. An effort largely engineered by Norcross Democrats and the Christie administration is transforming public education in the city into a hybrid menu of choices, including a far smaller but arguably better traditional school district. And the same bipartisan alliance is behind the unprecedented array of ambitious if heavily subsidized development projects in the city's core. Anyone who, like me, has long marveled at how excruciatingly difficult it can be for anything at all to get done in Camden can't help but be impressed. But politics in the city, the county and to some extent the rest of South Jersey has become zero-sum: You're either in the limo, or you're not. Or perhaps you've been thrown out of it and are now on the curb. Aspiring public servants must either pledge allegiance to the Party and its demanding if not dictatorial culture, or migrate to the dwindling handful of towns where Republicans or independents may occasionally manage to win a seat on a local school board. The chances for an independent city candidate to win any elective office or be appointed to any position of power is virtually nil. So it's no wonder the interior of the limousine breeds an intense loyalty with elements one might find in a cult of personality. Mainly, however, the fierce devotion stems from the fact that generations of families in some way owe their livelihoods to this system within a system. In an insular and in some ways elitist political community like this, leaders can suggest, with straight faces, that cutting a special deal for one mayor symbolizes fair play for many, even as the state pension system that ostensibly serves the many is running out of money. This insularity has especially pernicious effects in Camden, where so many have been disenfranchised for so long. There, the ostensible leaders have precious little actual authority. Because they don't own the keys to the limousine. They don't even get a chance to drive it. "This is CNN Tonight, I'm Don Lemon. The president of the United States is racist. A lot of us already knew that." The CNN anchor's ice-cold open to his newscast on Thursday night was stunning and yet 100 percent spot-on and a sign that America has crossed a Rubicon of sorts in our tortured, centuries-long history of how this nation treats race and ethnicity, which is the defining debate in our ever-present schizophrenia over what this nation really stands for. In the Donald Trump era's crack-addled hyperactive news cycle, it was a long time ago a.k.a. Thursday that the 45th president of the United States sat at his desk in the Oval Office and told some 50 lawmakers and aides that he didn't want a flood of immigrants from "shithole countries" in Africa, part of a longer rap in which he denigrated immigration from places where the people are black Haiti, Africa while talking up blond and blue-eyed arrivals from Norway. It's impossible to find the right word to express the inhumanity of Trump's open-for-all-to-see beliefs. Horrific? Morally unconscionable? None seems to express the full outrage. On the weekend when America honors what would have been the 89th birthday of our greatest advocate for human rights, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the nation is now led by a man who clearly judges people not by the content of their character but by the color of their skin. The president of the United States is racist. But as Don Lemon stated with high-def clarity, a lot of us already knew that. When America went to the polls on Nov. 8, 2016, we already knew so much. We knew that the federal government slammed Trump and his dad who'd been arrested in his younger days at a KKK rally for not renting to blacks in the 1970s, that Trump said in the 1980s that he wanted Jews and not blacks counting his money, that he purchased a full-page New York Times ad calling for the death penalty for five young blacks later found to be completely innocent (for which he still won't apologize), that he re-ignited his political fortunes by insisting the first African American president couldn't be a real American, and then ran a campaign centered on a wall to keep out Mexican "rapists," a travel ban based on people's Muslim religion, and punctuated by trafficking in the worst stereotypes about "inner cities." Knowing all that, 62,984,825 Americans scattered in just the wrong combination of states voted for that guy to become our president. And isn't that the bigger problem here? Trump's outrageously racist remark quickly became an international incident, a huge blow to America's image in the world that has already been reeling since the unfortunate events of Nov. 8, 2016, and a rallying cry for the 60 to 65 percent of Americans who already disapproved of what the president is doing. But it also became a rallying cry, of sorts, for a lot of the 36 Percent of Always Trumpers, who heard the phrase "shithole countries" applied to people they also want to keep out of the United States based on their prejudices, and saw a leader who finally spoke for them, doing the dirty work they elected him to do. That is the much bigger problem with Trump's awful words. He's hardly the first racist to occupy the White House in the second half of American history, Woodrow Wilson stands out, with terrible consequences for policy but he's the first racist president to yell his hate speech into our 21st century toxic echo chamber. Within minutes, a network of paid right-wing pundits arrived in our living rooms to say that while they themselves wouldn't have used those exact words, aren't Haiti and most of Africa, in essence, actually s-hole countries? "This is how the forgotten men and women in America talk at the bar," said the Fox News savant Jesse Watters, suggesting that racism is as American as cherry pie and what's so terrible about a president who says that out loud. Maybe that explains why, so far, fewer than a half-dozen GOP members of the House, none of them in leadership, have strongly criticized Trump's words, with their speaker Paul Ryan dismissing them merely as "unhelpful," with the New York Times editorial board adding, "clearly wishing he could return to his daily schedule of enriching the wealthiest Americans." Trump's words only emboldened those on the extreme right. That includes white nationalists like Mike Cernovich "Go move to Haiti. Or Liberia. Oh, you won't? Why is that?" he asked on Twitter as well as former KKK chieftain David Duke and the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer, which said the president's slur "indicates Trump is more or less on the same page as us with regards to race and immigration." Maybe you've heard of "the Overton window" the idea of shifting the window of what ideas or words are acceptable, or even mainstream, in American political discourse and thought. For two years, Trump has been steadily moving the window of language and policies based on racial prejudice, both overtly or implied, to the extreme right, and conservative media and the millions of Americans who watch them are hopping on the bandwagon. That brings real-world consequences that are even worse than a president's poisonous words. When the president can talk about "shithole countries" in the Oval Office and gets away with it, he gives fresh encouragement permission, really to the perpetrators of the so many hate crimes across America, and especially to all the impressionable kids who now delight at chanting "Trump, Trump, Trump" at mostly black or Latino schools, scrawl swastikas in school bathrooms, or yell "go back to your country" to immigrant kids. The grim future of intolerance in America. When the president spews racism from inside "the people's house," he is not just showing off his own ignorance, but driving U.S. policy on immigration issues that are literally life or death issues for hundreds of thousands of people the 800,000 young "Dreamers" who've done everything America could ask of them but now live in fear of deportation to countries they barely know, the 200,000 Salvadorans and 60,000 Haitians who fled both natural disaster and the man-made disasters of murder and drugs, now stamped with "Return to Sender" by an America that no longer is a beacon. When the president uses vulgarity to dismiss entire nationalities that don't look like him or his supporters, it is the embodiment of his first year of policies that are designed to harm black and brown people whether it's expanding the GOP's war on voting rights, deciding to look the other way on segregation in public housing, or bringing back marijuana arrests that disproportionately target African Americans. When the president signals that hate has a home at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., he's also sending a message that it's open season for human rights abuses to all the ICE officers who've decided they can "take the gloves off" in the Trump era and bust into courtrooms and schools in their search for the undocumented, to the Border Patrol agents who detained the 10-year-old girl returning from surgery, and to all the police officers who now know that if they shoot an unarmed black man, Jeff Sessions and his Justice Department will have their back. When the president struts his racism on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, it's a stark reminder that America is led by a man who is taking a crowbar to the arc of the moral universe and twisting it away from justice. That is the dangerous line that we've just crossed. When Trump says something outrageous like he did on Thursday, there's a tendency to proclaim that this is not us, that this is not America. The actual truth is more complicated. The nation that authored a progressive Bill of Rights with freedoms that were radical for their time, that welcomed millions of political and economic refugees and that sacrificed so much to help defeat fascism in the 1940s is also the nation that replaced slavery with Jim Crow and then mass incarceration, that has historically excluded immigrants based on their race and that elected Donald Trump in 2016. The America so repulsed by a president's rant against "shithole countries" is the same America that talks just like Trump at the bar. The question for 2018 and beyond is, which America is going to prevail? Karel Rue holds onto a portrait of his mother, Laciana Tinsley, who is being held in the murder of her second husband. Read more The Willingboro woman accused of beating her husband to death with a fire extinguisher last year had long suffered abuse at his hands and, more than once, sought refuge in a shelter to escape his wrath, her lawyer and family said. Laciana Tinsley, charged in the murder of her husband, Douglas, fled several times to a Burlington County shelter for victims of domestic violence, they said. In January of last year, Tinsley, 43, called 911 and told a police dispatcher through sobs that her 74-year-old husband was not moving and that she had repeatedly hit him with a fire extinguisher because he had tried to smother her with a pillow. She hit him again and again, she said, "because he kept trying to get up and come after me." Tinsley's lawyer, Karen Thek, later told a judge that Tinsley, who has no criminal record, had left her husband several times because of abuse and had once gotten a restraining order against him. "There was a long-standing history of domestic violence," Thek said. "She left the home several times, going into shelters, and would cycle back in and be living with him again." Nicole Morella of the New Jersey Coalition to End Domestic Violence said returning to an abusive relationship was not uncommon. "Unfortunately, it's a common experience for domestic violence victims to return home," she said. "On average, a victim or survivor of abuse will leave seven times before they finally end a relationship." But it's rare for a victim to kill the abuser, said Ruth Glenn, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. "Quite frequently, if you have a situation that escalates to this point, it's usually the perpetrator that has killed the victim," she said. When a victim kills an abuser, Glenn said, it can be difficult to prove self-defense. "Oftentimes, because of the dynamics of domestic violence, the victim might not have killed in that perfect moment when she was in imminent danger. She might have waited and gotten so desperate and suicidal that the fear that 'if I don't kill him, he will kill me' has become very overwhelming and she may feel she has to do this right away," Glenn said. Both Glenn and Morella said they were unfamiliar with the specifics of Tinsley's case and were speaking generally. At Tinsley's bail hearing in February, court records show, Burlington County Court Judge Thomas P. Kelly listened as friends, family and members of Tinsley's church described her as "gentle, "kind" and "sweet." Tinsley's son, Karel Rue, said she had never harmed anyone or done "anything bad" before. The judge seemed skeptical as he denied bail. "It kind of flies in the face of things that this is someone who would never hurt anyone, that the person is gentle, a sweet lady," he said. " We have a dead person, and this probably was done in great anger. She struck him in the head numerous times." Tinsley, the mother of three grown children, remains at the Atlantic County Jail, nearly a year after Kelly issued that ruling. He cited the seriousness of the Jan. 31 crime purposeful murder and the police account of the crime scene and Tinsley's admission that she had repeatedly struck her husband. The bludgeoning occurred shortly after 12 p.m. Thek had urged the judge to place Tinsley on house arrest and presented witnesses who said they didn't consider her dangerous and promised to support her during her release. But Assistant County Prosecutor Danny Ljungberg argued that none of the witnesses was present when the crime occurred and said Tinsley should be held in custody until trial. He acknowledged that Tinsley had suffered past abuse, but as for the crime, he said, "The truth is to be determined." Thek said last week that Tinsley would undergo a pretrial psychological evaluation. She declined further comment, as did prosecutors. No trial date has been set. On Sunday afternoon, a man described as being in his 60s was found unresponsive inside a red Kia Soul car parked on the 800 block of Kelly Drive, according to Philadelphia police. The man was pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m. by medical personnel on the scene, police spokesman Eric McLaurin said. The cause of death was unknown. The man's identity was not released. Burlington County officials are investigating the death of a Burlington City woman who was killed Sunday when the car in which she was riding drove into the icy Delaware River. Burlington City police were called to the river near Wood Street just before 1 p.m. for a report of a car in the water. They discovered that the front end of the car had broken through the ice, and the driver had fled the scene, but the female passenger was still in the front seat, submerged in the water. The Burlington City Fire Department, Burlington Township Fire Department, Endeavor Emergency Squad, and Croydon, Pa., Fire Company went to the scene and removed her from the vehicle. She was taken to Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County in Willingboro, where she was pronounced dead. "A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed along Riverbank Road when his vehicle struck a parked minivan before vaulting over the river wall and into the water," said Joel Bewley, spokesman for the Burlington County prosecutor's office. The driver, a Burlington City man, fled the area and was later picked up by police from Beverly City and Edgewater Park Township. He was also taken to Lourdes for a medical evaluation. The investigation was continuing, and names of the driver and the deceased passenger were being withheld Sunday evening. No charges had been filed. Ferdinand Augello, left, and Paul Pagano, right, wait, via video, for their first court appearance to begin at the Atlantic County Courthouse on January 11, 2018. Both are charged in the case of James Kauffman, who is charged with having his wife murdered in 2012 and running a drug ring out of his office. MICHAEL BRYANT/ Staff Photographer Read more The Pagan's Motorcycle Club was never the biggest outlaw motorcycle club in the nation, but members liked to think that, pound-for-pound, none was tougher. Three Pagans, one former member said, could "do anything," and if there are more, well, that's even better, or worse for whoever is in their way. "You give me six good Pagans and I could take over the country," said James "Jimmy D" DeGregorio, a former high-ranking member of the Pagans in the South Jersey and Philadelphia area. "They are a hard-core gang. Period. Small but mighty." The PMC, founded in Maryland in 1959, was back in the news last week at the Jersey Shore for the usual reasons: accusations of drug dealing, murder plots, and an old, familiar problem that's plagued the group for decades: undercover agents and confidential informants recording them. "It's insane," DeGregorio said. "It always happens. There ain't a cop in the world that didn't bust a case without someone on the inside. The thing that makes a good detective is a good snitch." DeGregorio spent time in prison for shooting a bodyguard for late Philadelphia mob boss Phil "Chicken Man" Testa. He has also testified against PMC members. Now he lives in Florida. The Pagans' latest brush with the law involves an unlikely accomplice, Dr. James Kauffman, an endocrinologist accused of running a vast, prescription-drug ring out of his Egg Harbor Township office with the club's help. Authorities say Kauffman, with the Pagans' aid, arranged the murder of his wife, April, in May 2012, out of fear she would expose the enterprise. Those same Pagans who helped Kauffman, authorities said, plotted to kill him in the Atlantic County jail after he was arrested on weapons charges this past June. The top Pagan implicated in the Kauffman case, Ferdinand "Freddy" Augello, cuts a clean appearance, at least on Facebook, where many Pagans flaunt their affiliations. There are no pictures of motorcycles, or Augello wearing the Pagans' "colors," the patches they wear on denim vests with an image of the Norse god Surtr sewn on. Augello, 61, looks like a guitar-loving grandpop and his band, Who Dat, and graphic-artist business were well-known at the Jersey Shore. Authorities say Augello was the president of the Pagans' Cape May County chapter, however, and in one Facebook post from 2014, he thanks his "PMC Brothers" for coming to a show at the Last Chance Saloon, an infamous biker hangout in Chesilhurst, Camden County. In 2013, a member of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club, another outlaw motorcycle gang from the area, was killed in the parking lot of that bar. Augello made his first appearance, via video monitor, in Atlantic County Superior Court on Thursday, with what appears to be a "1 percent" tattoo visible on his forearm. Augello is charged with murder in connection with the death of April Kauffman and with conspiracy to commit murder in connection with an attempt to kill James Kauffman inside the Atlantic County jail in the last three months, according to court documents and affidavits. Authorities said Augello, of the Petersburg section of Upper Township, tried to find a Pagan to kill April Kauffman and ultimately hired Francis Mullholland to carry out the murder, and paid him $20,000. Mullholland allegedly shot Kauffman twice on May 10, 2012, killing her. Augello's attorney, public defender Scott Sherwood, could not be reached for comment Friday. Mullholland, of Lower Township, died in October 2013 of a drug overdose. An alleged accomplice in the drug enterprise, Paul Pagano, also made a first appearance Thursday. A law enforcement source in Atlantic County familiar with both the Kauffman case and the Pagans said Pagano was a high-ranking member of the club. Though the Pagans have always been known as a Philly club, the group has maintained a strong presence at the Shore for decades 'When I first joined, I had to go there a lot," said David "RC" Winkler, a former ranking Pagan now living in Delaware County. "It's never been a gigantic thing, but that area has always been maintained." In recent years, authorities said, the Pagans numbered in the "hundreds" across the country. DeGregorio said he recently attended the funeral for a longtime Pagan, Walter "Buckets" Jozwiak ,in Delaware and said there were hundreds there. The law enforcement source said many Pagans moved south from Atlantic County to Cape May County, particularly Middle Township, in recent years though an Absecon bar remains a popular hangout. Middle Township police did not return requests for comment. The annual Roar to the Shore biker rally takes place each September in Wildwood, where the Pagans traditionally take over an entire hotel and post guards on every corner. The rally usually passes without incident, though in 2010, thanks to a 21-month investigation and an undercover agent, the feds accused 17 members from New York, New Jersey, and Delaware of plotting during the Roar to the Shore to kill their biggest rivals, the Hells Angels, with grenades. "People shouldn't talk about their crimes," Winkler, 54, said. "When you talk, you get caught." In 2015, there was an incident between the Pagans and members of the Wheels of Soul motorcycle club at the rally. One Wheels of Soul member was arrested for possession of a handgun and brass knuckles. DeGregorio, the former high-ranking member, said he used to live in Cape May County and recruited a lot of Pagans from there. "There's a lot of woods down there. Lots of backwoods clammers and rednecks and pineys," he said. Both DeGregorio and Winkler were surprised the club got involved with a doctor, though a similar scheme played out in Pennsylvania recently, and neither was surprised to hear that Augello wanted James Kauffman dead. "He's a loose end," DeGregorio said. Kauffman, according to the law enforcement source, did not pay the full amount for the alleged hit on his wife, further rankling the Pagans. Kauffman, the source said, had become increasingly paranoid. James Kauffman likely first met Augello and other Pagans, the source said, through his wife, a local radio host who was a supporter of veterans' issues. Kimberly Pack, April Kauffman's daughter, said the only bikers she'd seen at her mother's events were the Legion riders, a group affiliated with the American Legion. A spokeswoman for the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said she had no information about how James Kauffman first met the Pagans. For one old-school biker, a dead, innocent woman seemed too far, even for a Pagan. "It's a sad state of affairs to see people getting jammed up in these type of situations," Winkler said. Staff writer Amy S. Rosenberg contributed to this article. Lisa Witomski at T. Frank McCalls, a 141 year-old family-owned distributor and corner store that she and her younger sister, Marcie, have been running since the 1980s. Read more For more than three decades, Lisa Witomski has watched Chester change. The 61-year-old's vantage point: the front doors of T. Frank McCall's, a family-owned distributor and corner store that she and her younger sister, Marcie, have been running since the 1980s. From its perch at Sixth and Madison Streets, the business itself has witnessed even more of the city's transformation from a rural outpost that needed T. Frank McCall's grain and feed, to a center for manufacturing, to the Chester of today, an impoverished shell of its former self, struggling to quell violence that shows no signs of ceasing. In 2017, the city logged 29 homicides, eclipsing the previous year's total of 26, according to Chester City Police Department data. And Chester's homicide rate per 100,000 was higher than that of any other U.S. city of any size, according to Inquirer and Daily News analysis. Chester Police Chief James Nolan IV said in a recent interview that his goals for 2018 are not only reducing that number but also increasing the rate of closed homicide cases from about 30 percent to at least 50 percent. From behind the counter, where the store still packages grain and feed in the warmer months, Witomski paused for a few moments when asked about how she has seen the city change. The State Correctional Institution-Chester, which was founded in 1998, and Harrah's Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack, which opened in 2006, she said finally. Both brought jobs and helped the city economically. But as far as poverty and violence, Witomski said she hasn't noticed much of a difference. Two blocks away, at the Police Department, Nolan gets frustrated by perceived stagnation. He knows the homicide numbers haven't gone down, and only eight of the 29 cases last year were closed. But it isn't for lack of trying. Officers are up against recurring issues such as a "no snitch" culture, uncooperative witnesses, and even uncooperative victims, Nolan said. Take a stabbing case this month, for instance, Capt. James P. Chubb said. In the early-morning hours of Jan. 8, a man was stabbed and initially discouraged a female companion from calling the police, Chubb said. When police were finally called, the victim would not discuss what had happened. And when he was later treated at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, the man became combative with hospital staff and wanted to leave. The victim did not want to press charges, Chubb said. In about 90 percent of 2017's unsolved homicide cases, police were fairly certain who committed the crime, Chubb said. But they didn't have enough evidence to press charges, in part because of uncooperative witnesses. Many of the homicides were related to turf wars, Nolan said. All but one of the victims were men, between the age of 16 and 57. To work to restore trust, police have been going into the schools more often, trying to connect with residents from a younger age. "We're trying to get the community to understand that the Chester Police Department is not their enemy," Nolan said. "It is obviously the enemy of crime, but not the enemy of individuals. We're there to help." Anthony Morelli, director of off-site programs for Peter's Place, a Radnor-based grief-support agency, said he hears some children he counsels at Chester city schools discuss what they perceive as police injustice. But others, he said, talk about positive feelings toward law enforcement. It all depends on their family's personal experience. However, distrust is not the Police Department's only stress. It is also understaffed. Near the end of 2016, the department lost a large number of officers, who retired in advance of a new collective-bargaining agreement, Nolan said. Including officers in training and in leadership, there are now 91 people employed by the department. It still needs 15 more officers to get to the budgeted allotment. Throughout 2017, state police were periodically paired with Chester police officers for joint patrols, thanks to county funds that former Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan helped set aside. Nolan said that the extra staffing did help but that the effort's future in 2018 was unclear. Chester City officials did not respond to multiple messages requesting comment. In 2017, Chester, a city of about 34,000, recorded 85.2 homicides per 100,000 people, more than Philadelphia's 20.2 and Camden's 29, according to an Inquirer analysis. Nolan said he sees the strides made across the river in Camden, which in 2017 logged its lowest homicide rate in 30 years, and is hoping to implement some of its initiatives, such as installing sound-activated cameras. But he knows the reality, too: that Camden is a different, larger city with more police officers. Chester police would ideally like to have four to five foot patrols, as well, Nolan said, but "manpower has dictated." Right now, the force has one officer assigned to a regular foot beat in the business district, which is now full of empty storefronts. For Lisa Witomski, one of the problems is "if people succeed living in Chester, they want to get out," she said. But the Witomski family's store contradicts that notion. While they don't live in Chester, their business has thrived. And it's still here. In the more than 140 years since the business opened its doors, the store has expanded to become perhaps the Delaware Valley's largest distributor of janitorial, sanitation, paper, and safety products including a snow and ice melter that flies off the shelves in the winter, making for the company's busiest days Lisa's father, Charles Witomski, and his brother Edmund bought the company from the third generation of McCalls in 1957. Charles had run a bar in Essington, she said, but he didn't think that was the kind of environment in which to raise a family. So instead, Lisa and Marcie grew up running around and playing games amid McCall's basement storage. "I really liked playing inside the trash cans," Witomski recalled last week as she walked a reporter and photographer through the store, warehouse, and offices. From basement to attic, every inch of the building both the original section and its more recent additions are put to use, with boxes of products filling shelves that stretch from wall to wall, ceiling to ceiling. Getting into this business wasn't something the Witomski sisters had planned, but "my father gave me an offer I couldn't refuse," Lisa Witomski said. Her father and uncle have since died, so the job of keeping T. Frank McCall's running has become a two-woman show, with Marcie working in purchasing in-house and Lisa out visiting customers every morning. The sisters are aided by their 18 employees hardworking people whom Lisa described as the company's backbone. Some have been there almost as long as the sisters have. Lisa Witomski said her family never seriously thought about relocating, perhaps to somewhere safer and more bustling. "The location is fantastic," Witomski said. "We're at a crossroads," with major highways and the Commodore Barry Bridge nearby. And the community's violence doesn't penetrate the store. She doesn't hear gunshots or fear for her safety when on the job. But she knows, she said, that much of the crime here happens outside of business hours. If she works late, she said, she drives her car into the massive warehouse. There was a time when her father did own property in neighboring Ridley Township. But he couldn't bring himself to abandon the store's Chester roots, she said. At this point, they have had some customers for more than 100 years. "We've been treated well by the community," Witomski said, "and we like to think we treat them well." Mary Walsh, age 82, sits in the living room in the Adult Day Care Center, Active Day of Center City in South Philadelphia. Wednesday, January 3, 2018. Read more At a ribbon-cutting for new offices of an engineering firm in Conshohocken, State Rep. Mary Jo Daley said she was pleased to learn that the company would attract young professionals. "I was joking with some of the young people that we really actually need them to move in," said Daley (D., Montgomery), "because we all expect to retire at some point and we need someone to continue paying the taxes." Her humorous comments at the Thursday event spoke to a harsh and potentially costly reality: Pennsylvanians are getting older, more expensive and less taxable. The state's senior population is growing at a rate 20 times faster than Pennsylvania's overall population. By 2025, more than one in five Pennsylvania residents will be 65 or older, according to population projections from the U.S. Census and the Pennsylvania State Data Center, while the numbers of people below the traditional retirement age decreases. The demographic shift raises the question: Who will pay the bills? The increasing senior population will swell the demand for nursing homes, senior centers, transportation services, and other programs offered by state and county governments. The annual cost of providing senior programs is increasing more than twice as quickly as the revenue sources that fund them, according to the state's Independent Fiscal Office. The increased demand and costs also will come as seniors retire and stop paying state and local income taxes. And raising property taxes nearly a third of which are currently paid by homeowners who are over 65 is often politically unpopular because it affects seniors who live on fixed incomes and don't have children in schools, which consume the bulk of the tax revenue. "It's by no means an easy issue and it is only going to get worse," said Robert Strauss, a professor of economic and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University who has studied the effect of the aging population on state finances. Strauss predicted that between fiscal year 2013 and 2025, state spending on senior service could increase by as much as $3.1 billion. While the numbers of U.S. residents who are 65 or older increased from 12.4 percent of the population in 2000 to 15.2 percent in 2016, according to census data, Pennsylvania is exceptional. The percentage of seniors living in Pennsylvania is higher than it is in New Jersey. Only Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, West Virginia, and Florida have higher median ages; Pennsylvania's is the same as Connecticut's, 40.6. State and local officials are aware of the trends especially those who work to provide services to the elderly. "We really have been trying to be proactive in thinking about this next generation and thinking about the impact that it's going to have on how we deliver our services," said Barbara O'Malley, Montgomery County's director of health and human services. "It really does worry me when I hear about it," said Daley, who serves on appropriations and finance committees and noted that the population is not aging as quickly in Southeastern Pennsylvania. "But I feel a comfort level living in an area where the population is not declining." Still, Daley said, she does worry about the economic well-being of the state as a whole especially as the legislature continues to struggle to pass budgets and agree on revenue sources. The state Department of Aging developed a four-year plan in 2016 to address the aging population and improve senior services. That department funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery and the federal government allocates money annually to local agencies that care for the aging. Many of them are county-run, and rely primarily on state money and grants to determine seniors' eligibility for Medicaid and other services. Many operate nursing homes and senior centers and offer other services. In Montgomery County, O'Malley said officials have an emphasis on managing and preventing health issues in efforts to keep people in their own homes as they age. One recent change at the state level is the introduction of managed-care companies to handle nursing-home eligibility and care plans for seniors who use both Medicare and Medicaid. The program, called Community HealthChoices, will go into effect in the Philadelphia region next year. State officials say the program will help elderly residents receive quality services and could lead to cost savings. But county-run nursing homes have some concerns, said Kelly Andrisano, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Affiliated Healthcare and Living Communities, which represents county-run nursing homes. Counties are worried about sustaining their nursing homes should managed-care companies encounter financial trouble. While costs increase, Pennsylvania faces an eroding tax base. According to a report by the state's Independent Fiscal Office, wage and income taxes will become less important because retirement income is not subject to it, and the sales tax base could erode because elderly people purchase fewer taxable goods. Strauss, the Carnegie Mellon economist, testified before a committee of state lawmakers in November and suggested that a tax on retirement income could solve some of the looming financial obligations to care for the elderly. But lawmakers "get uncomfortable" at the suggestion, he said. "They know that trying to tax retirement income is going to make the elderly p off." More seniors means more seniors at the voting booths. He said he tells lawmakers that they could phase in a partial tax on retirement income, adding that 16 states tax private retirement income, and 19 tax it partially. Strauss said he had a simple message for those skeptical of raising taxes or taxing retirement income: "I told them that I didn't think they had any choice." Avery Mitchell was cruising down Lincoln Drive toward the Schuylkill Expressway on Saturday when his car hit, in his words, "a huge crater." The crater a massive pothole flattened one of his tires, and his Scion xD limped to a nearby friend's place. Mitchell vented on Twitter, and other drivers also finding their tires flattened by destructive holes on the already challenging curvy road that runs along the Wissahickon Creek joined him. "Y'all need to fix that huge pothole on Lincoln Drive," one of them tweeted to Philly311, the city's repository for service requests. Another wrote of a "crater that swallowed up two cones" and said he had seen it damage four vehicles. "And who do I talk to about replacing my now flat tire??" fumed @StanLeBeats. The drama around the potholes, one on Lincoln Drive near Ridge Avenue and another on Lincoln near Johnson Street, reflected the struggle of many drivers across the region one likely to play out well into spring. Wild temperature swings in the last week from the single digits last Sunday to the 60s on Friday, and then back down to this week's predicted lows in the teens and 20s provide prime conditions for potholes. "That compromises any unstable road structure and any concrete that may not be completely stable," said Jana Tidwell, spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "We're going to see these potholes pop up." The auto club responded to 1,916 calls about flat tires in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties between last Sunday and Friday, up about 20 percent from the same period last year, when 1,614 calls for help came in. Out in the suburbs of Montgomery County, "we responded to member calls in King of Prussia, coming off 202 onto East Swedesford Road and another one at the exit for I-76 East in Conshohocken and then I-76 between Exits 338 and 340," said Jim Lardear, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantice. Another member called in a flat tire at Exit 13 on I-476 near the border of Delaware and Chester Counties, he added. In Philadelphia, the Streets Department has filled at least 1,600 potholes since January 2017, according to its website. The department said it filled the potholes on Lincoln Drive near Ridge Avenue and Johnson Street on Saturday. It also plans to repair additional potholes on Lincoln between the Gustine Lake interchange and Gypsy Lane, and Wissahickon Avenue and Gypsy Lane. A broader project to repair deteriorating pavement, traffic signals, and guardrails on Lincoln is expected to start this year. Mitchell, 21, said the repairs to his car will cost $600. He had no warning about the hole he hit no orange traffic cone, or any other item flagging it, Mitchell said. "This is something that could have been avoided," he said. "Fortunately I was able to make it off the drive and wasn't stuck." Lincoln Drive isn't the only pothole peril. KYW Newsradio reported that a massive pothole repair on Sunday morning was taking place on the southbound Roosevelt Boulevard ramp leading to westbound I-76 and creating delays. In the city's Northeast, the Somerton Neighbors Association reported a whopper of a hole in the 10900 block of Bustleton Avenue. Seven cars "lined up in the parking lot at CVS with flat tires and two more in the Wawa parking lot. Horrible to be out changing tires on a night like this," the group posted on its Facebook page. AAA's Lardear said a company study estimated that pothole damage costs U.S. drivers about $3 billion a year. On average, American drivers report paying $300 to repair pothole-related vehicle damage, but depending on the extent of the damage, the make of the vehicle, and the make of the tires, repairs could easily exceed $1,000. Anyone can report a pothole that needs fixing in Philadelphia just download the free app @philly311 on a smartphone and provide the location. Or you can do so at the city of Philadelphia's website: https://beta.phila.gov/. [Read the article: Surviving a crash on Lincoln Drive] New Jersey Gov.-elect Phil Murphy has pledged to fully fund schools, although details are still unclear. Read more As the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Phil Murphy pledged to "fully fund" New Jersey's schools, vowing to end years of failure by the state to abide by its own funding law. To keep that promise, all he'll have to do is find a spare billion or two after he becomes Gov. Murphy on Tuesday. How Murphy plans to accomplish that remains unclear. He hasn't spelled out how he will ramp up state aid; a key tax proposal, which targets the wealthy, has been endangered by the Trump tax plan; and lawmakers aren't racing to legalize marijuana, another potential revenue source. Murphy will be the latest governor to take on what has been a challenge for states all over the country: how to pay for public education adequately and fairly. The issue has continued to vex states as they try to move past band-aid solutions employed during the recession. "School funding is often a queen-size sheet on a king-size bed. If you pull it over to one corner to cover it up, you pull it away from another corner," said Mike Griffith, a school finance consultant with Education Commission of the States. "The way states make these changes palatable is by putting more money into the system." In Pennsylvania, where the state Supreme Court last year reinstated a lawsuit challenging the school funding system, per-pupil spending increased 3.4 percent in 2014-15, according to a report last week by the National Center for Education Statistics. In New Jersey, spending fell slightly. Average per-pupil spending in New Jersey was $18,838 compared with $14,405 in Pennsylvania. Murphy's spokesman did not respond to questions last week about how precisely Murphy would inject more money into the state's schools, which have been repeatedly shorted since New Jersey passed its progressive funding formula in 2008. Grounded in the landmark Abbott v. Burke New Jersey Supreme Court rulings that steered resources into poorer districts, the formula directs added money for students who are poor, have disabilities, or aren't proficient in English. It determines how much in education costs a district can afford to raise locally and how much state money is needed. But the state hasn't spent the required money. Murphy has priced full funding at an additional $800 million to $1 billion although the formula currently caps aid to growing districts. If those caps are removed, districts are short about $2 billion, or close to 6 percent of the $34.7 billion state budget, according to legislative staff. The governor-elect has said previously he would cover new costs in part by raising income taxes on millionaires and other tax changes totaling a projected $1.3 billion in new revenue. But the millionaires tax has lost some support among legislative leaders, given the recent federal tax overhaul limiting deductions for state and local taxes. "Raising taxes should be a last resort," Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), who had previously described the millionaires tax as a top priority, said in an interview Thursday. Marijuana legalization, which Murphy has pointed to as another revenue source, also isn't a guarantee. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D., Middlesex) said last week he wants "thorough and thoughtful" consideration of the ramifications. Sweeney, who met with Murphy on Wednesday but said the two didn't discuss Murphy's school funding plan, said he would continue to push for the reallocation of existing dollars to underfunded districts. Not all New Jersey school districts are underfunded: Some are receiving more state aid than the formula says they should the result of a deal to pass the 2008 funding law that spared districts from any cuts. But while the money was intended to be temporary, phasing it out has been highly controversial, including with the state's largest teachers' union. "We do not believe that the state should be taking needed funding away from some students," said Steve Baker, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, which spent millions trying to defeat Sweeney's recent reelection. Sweeney said districts with shrinking enrollment are "getting funding for children they don't have." If existing money were shifted, "at least then everyone's being underfunded at the same level," he said. Lawmakers and Gov. Christie agreed last year to increase aid to underfunded districts by $130 million and shift $31 million away from other districts; about $600 million more could be moved to help compensate underfunded districts, according to Sweeney's office. Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators, said he expects that redistribution will continue "given the tightness of this budget." Besides funding schools, Murphy has also pledged to put more money into reducing the state's looming pension liability and has called for making community college free, among other proposals. Balancing those priorities "is going to be a very difficult task for him," Bozza said. Some underfunded districts aren't waiting for Murphy to present his budget. On Friday, a group of 10 districts including Chesterfield Township in Burlington County and Kingsway Regional in Gloucester County filed a petition with the state Department of Education, arguing that the state's method of awarding aid is "arbitrary" and violates the funding law, and that inadequate aid has forced them to overtax residents. Chesterfield Township technically received more than "full" funding under the formula last year, with $820,000 in state aid. But take off the formula's growth caps, and the K-6 district, where enrollment has doubled in the last eight years, should be getting $4.2 million. "Every year, the amount we have to cut out gets higher and higher and higher," Scott Heino, superintendent of the Chesterfield district, said of the district's $10 million budget. Although the district was able to save its library and instrumental-music programs last year thanks to an added $401,000 in state aid in the budget deal, Heino doesn't know whether it will get to keep that money in the coming year. If it doesn't, he said, more staff will have to be cut. Chesterfield has repeatedly raised taxes at the state-imposed 2 percent cap although health-care increases next year will eat up the extra $184,000, Heino said. The district raises more than $9 million in school taxes, though its "fair share" under the formula is $7 million. Cherry Hill, while not part of the petition, is also short on state funding. The district raises $168 million in taxes, $34 million more than its fair share of $134 million. While it has increased taxes the last four years, it is planning a referendum for later this year to make health and safety upgrades. "We literally need to go out and ask the community for additional funds because there's work that has to be done," said Superintendent Joe Meloche. Kandi Ligon cheers in the front row at the Philadelphia Women Rally January 21, 2017. Cities around the world hosted marches in support of womens rights the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. Read more Nancy Weston says she's had two "peak" experiences in her life. The first was the birth of her daughter. The second was attending last year's Women's March on Washington. "It was just such an incredible day to see so many people peacefully standing for the things that they believe in," she said. "I came home very committed to doing whatever I could to advance progressive ideals." Weston, 70, of Bethlehem, Pa., came home with a renewed sense of activism after being one of about a half-million people who protested in Washington the day after President Trump's inauguration. She's marching again this year, but this time in Philadelphia. Organizers of this year's Women's March on Philadelphia are anticipating that Saturday's event, barring unforeseen weather conditions, will be even larger than the 2017 protest that attracted an estimated 50,000 marchers. That's because unlike last year, there's not a larger Women's March in Washington last year's place to be on the same day. But even though interest in this year's Women's March on Philadelphia is high (there are 50,000-plus people marked "going" or "interested" on Facebook), organizers say fund-raising is slower this year, and they may not be able to afford video screens that allow the thousands of people on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to see the day's speakers and performers. Beth E. Finn, a colead organizer of the Women's March on Philadelphia, said the total budget for the event is around $50,000, which covers such costs as speaker systems, video screens, portable toilets, and permits. She said organizers have raised about $30,000 and are expecting $16,000 to come in this week, leaving a shortfall of about $4,000. "I would be lying if I said I'm not a little nervous," she said, adding that this year's financial struggles may exist because "people are burned out from giving." Those video screens would come in handy, though, as Philadelphia will this year play host to one of the largest women's marches in the region. Proximity to Washington last year meant marchers who would have come to Philadelphia ended up on Washington-bound buses to protest Trump. But the national Women's March organization is this year taking a different approach. While there is a smaller anniversary march in D.C., the Women's March organization's official event takes place Sunday in Las Vegas. Called "Power to the Polls," the event is starting a yearlong voter-registration campaign. The emphasis on local marches as opposed to a major march in Washington comes after a year of noticeable grassroots activism here. While there were plenty of Trump-related actions in Philadelphia, there also was increased interest in running for local political office, an uptick in donations to progressive groups, and a protracted outcry against Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Emily Cooper Morse, another co-lead organizer of the Women's March on Philadelphia, said organizers this year picked the theme "We resist. We persist. We rise," so participants can reflect on actions they took over the last year and what they intend to do in the future, whether that's contacting local officials, organizing voter-registration campaigns, or running for office. It also allows for marchers to focus on Philadelphia-centric issues such as poverty, gun violence and fair housing, said Nikki Bagby, another organizer. "There's a lot that we need as Philadelphians first, so we have to tell a Philadelphia story first," she said, "and then we have to tell a story for the nation." Deja Lynn Alvarez, a prominent advocate in Philadelphia's transgender community and march organizer, said Trump's election spurred local action like nothing she's seen before. "One positive thing that came out of this is it woke a lot of us up to say, 'Hey, we can't get comfortable here,'" she said. "We're a long way from achieving what this country is supposed to represent." Weston has a similar attitude. She'll be holding a sign that outlines the five stages of grief, but the fifth stage won't be acceptance that'll be crossed out and replaced with the word never. On the flip side, it will read: "I refuse to accept what I can't change. I will change what I can't accept." She's been a progressive for decades, protested against the Vietnam War, and remembers desperately wishing she was there when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched on Washington in 1963. Amy Gunzelman will be in Philadelphia on Saturday, too. She's 53 years younger than Weston but was also in Washington last year protesting the same issues. A high school senior from Spring Grove, Pa., Gunzelman is 17 not old enough to vote. But she's old enough to care and found out Monday that she was selected to be one of the official speakers. "The day that I found out that Trump won, I cried. I was so scared," she said, recalling how she felt last year before the Women's March on Washington. "I was scared for my future. I was scared for other women's futures. I was scared for immigrants. I was scared about so many things, because I had no idea what it would mean." This year's different. "I definitely have a shield up," she said, "ready to battle." If you go What: The Women's March on Philadelphia When: Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Start at Logan Square and proceed to Eakins Oval. Registration: While the event is free to attend, attendees are asked to register for tickets ahead of time. The signature moment in the Vikings-Saints game. They played this one inside, and the Vikings might feel like theyre inside in South Philly on Sunday Read more When the Eagles and Minnesota Vikings meet Sunday, temperatures are going to be just about normal for an April day in Minneapolis. In the meantime, however, they are going to feel like January in Philadelphia, with a dash of snow for atmosphere. A major atmospheric pattern flip is coming, meteorologist say, but before it arrives temperatures are going to be near the normal high of 40 on Tuesday and remain in the 30s the next two days, and 1 to 3 inches of snow could affect the Wednesday morning commute. The Tuesday morning commute could continue to be a problem along the Delaware River near Trenton, as an ice-jam flood warning already in effect will remain in place until 1 p.m. The river was near flood stage 20 feet late Monday, forcing "multiple closures" along Route 29 in Trenton, the National Weather Service said. Pennsylvania towns affected included Yardley and Morrisville. Areas just to the north and west of Trenton experienced 1 to 3 inches of rain on Friday, and all that water found its way into the Delaware, said Valerie Meola at the weather service office in Mount Holly. If the long-range forecasts are correct, the region is about to see the ice harvest diminish, if not disappear, and the weekend might feel like a change of seasons. While a great deal of talk has centered on how the Vikings whose home field is protected from the atmosphere by a billion-dollar dome will fare outdoors, Sunday's conditions aren't looking particularly challenging. The forecast high is 53 that's normal on April 7 in Minneapolis with sunshine, and the field should be dry and unfrozen. The only precipitation in the extended forecast is that light snowfall late Tuesday into Wednesday. A winter-weather advisory is in effect for the outer regions of Bucks, Chester, and Montgomery Counties for up to 3 inches, with 2 expected in Philadelphia. But with the ground and paved surfaces so cold, even a light snow could affect the evening rush Tuesday in some areas and the morning commute on Wednesday. However, it appears that the Vikings are arriving just in time for a substantial winter thaw. Temperatures will struggle to get past freezing Wednesday and Thursday, but could hit 40 on Friday, and reach well into the 40s on Saturday. The longer-term outlooks see no return of Arctic air for the rest of the month as high pressure builds over the East. With the pattern flip, the entire East is forecast to have above-normal temperatures in the two-week period. Halfway through a month in which temperatures have averaged 6.4 degrees below normal in Philadelphia, "I think that will keep people happy," Meola said. Meanwhile, the region continues to run a significant precipitation deficit, even though snowfall is about twice normal. Just over 3 inches of rain and melted snow and sleet have fallen since Dec. 1, almost 2 inches below the long-term averages. Meanwhile, the Vikings might enjoy their weekend in Philly. The forecast out their way calls for a chance of snow and temperatures in the 20s. Visiting your library or recreation center to find ways to volunteer or connecting with the friends group for your local park are all great ways to way to build new relationships, support the work of longtime volunteers, and invest in our communities. Read more Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods. Each with its own personality, rich traditions, and cultures the things that bring people together and create a sense of shared values and responsibilities, a sense of community. For many millennials like us, that sense of community we get from our neighborhood is integral to our experience. Whether we've lived on the same block our whole life or came to the city for a job and chose to stay because of the affordability and lifestyle that Philadelphia offers, more and more of our generation are putting down roots in one of our neighborhoods for the long term. In some communities, we are able to create extended families on our blocks. We welcome neighbors as friends. More often than not, our parks are our backyards. Our recreation centers have the potential to become community gathering places. Our local library branches can become a window to a bigger world for our children, nieces, nephews, and mentees. These public spaces are gems and can be part of what makes living in a neighborhood so attractive; and they have only survived for so long because of the commitment of those few neighbors, many seniors, who are dedicated volunteers, advocates, and members of friends of groups or recreation advisory councils. Now, it is our turn to take up carrying that torch. If we are going to maintain the benefits afforded to us by the generations before us and make our communities stronger, safer, and more vibrant places, we need to ask ourselves what we can do to contribute. How can we give back? There is no better time than now for that question. Mayor Kenney's vision for a Philadelphia with revitalized parks, playgrounds, pools, libraries, and recreation centers that serve the whole community seniors, children, and everyone in between is coming closer to a reality. In 2016, City Council passed the Philadelphia Beverage Tax, which will fund Rebuild, a plan to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in these community spaces. But, even with that investment, our public spaces need more support. Even with rebuilt facilities, community volunteers often help the city make sure that sites remain clean and safe, and provide programs our communities need. Just as generations before us have done, it's important that we also do our part. As current and former members of the advisory council at our own respective recreation centers, we can speak to the value of getting involved and attest to how critical it is that we pick up the torch. Through our work we have built new relationships, worked with longtime volunteers, brought important programs and resources to our community, and discovered other opportunities to serve our neighborhood and city. As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we encourage all our fellow young adults to think about what else you can do to give back to your neighborhood. As the city prepares to make a historic investment in neighborhoods; we have a chance to help make sure that Rebuild's impact lasts for years to come. Reaching out to your local recreation advisory council to find ways to volunteer or connecting with the friends group for your local park or library are all great ways to build new relationships, support the work of longtime volunteers, and invest in our communities. Regardless of how you choose to give back, the more we are all involved in improving our neighborhoods, the more our city will benefit. Evelina Bodon is the founding president of the Towey Playground Recreation Advisory Council in Kensington. Felicia Harris is the chair of the Philadelphia Commission for Women and a former member of the Finley Playground Recreation Advisory Council in Mount Airy. >> How to volunteer on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Philadelphia As a child of the post-civil rights era, for me Martin Luther King Jr. has always been a dead man still speaking, already gone but eerily present. Perhaps this sense of haunting presence is attributable to the fact that my first memory of him involves seeing his picture on a hand fan distributed at church. The location of this fan in the house of worship and its imagery, which included not only a picture of the assassinated Martin King himself but also one of his martyred mother, Alberta Williams King, made him an icon, a symbol of religious significance. As I grew older, I became increasingly aware that the man on the fan had been a preacher and orator, and that what he was saying bore witness to a hope and vision for America that still resonates. This mastery of what it means to make words live intrigues me as a preacher. Every preacher's job is to take the ancient record and apply its teaching to contemporary matters. King was masterly in mining the depths of wisdom from Scripture and, coupled with the founding documents of American national identity, crafting them into testimonies of hope in the promise of Beloved Community that had not yet emerged but nevertheless seemed possible. He saw a world whose justice, though delayed, is still at hand. As such, then, he is a source and touchstone for all who share his conviction that justice is indivisible, that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." His assessment of this nation seems as apt and applicable as ever, his hopes for its reform as necessary now as in his own time. Far from making the contribution of King less relevant, the distance between our moment and his death a half-century ago emphasizes the power of his ideas and vision. Like the biblical prophets he so frequently invoked, King responded to time-bound struggles for human life and thriving in timeless language. In this way he joins the prized tradition of those heroes (and a few heroines) whose words and deeds embody the definition of faith and faithfulness. In speeches and sermons toward the end of his life, King pointed in a direction that resembles our own conversations about intersectionality. Although notably missing a much-needed acknowledgment of the role of patriarchy and misogyny in the construction of oppressive systems, his attention to the triple evils of racism, militarism, and poverty still resonates as a truthful diagnosis of our national ills. In fact, recent months have demonstrated a resurgence of the kinds of old-school racism and xenophobia that would have fit well in King's own time, with the Ku Klux Klan and other white nationalists marching unhooded in the streets, and hate crimes against people of color spiking around the nation. At the same time, endless military engagement saps the financial resources of our nation and diverts us from the material attention that needs to be given to growing poverty, especially for the young. As our thoughts turn from the 89th anniversary of his birth next week to the 50th anniversary of his death in April, there is no better time to review his opposition to the Vietnam War, his commitment to the Poor People's Campaign, and his death in Memphis in support of sanitation workers who were on strike for a living wage. We should take this moment to assess our commitment and progress on matters of justice nationally and internationally. Finally, to remember King, not only in a generic sense as a champion for justice but specifically in the context of his religious commitment, is especially important after a decades-long association between religious activism and the right wing in American politics and religion. Those of us who identify as religious, and especially as Christian, would do well to attend not only to the political King but also to the prophetic pastor. Just as the preacher King wed his exegesis of Scripture with his interpretation of the Founders in the production of sermons and speeches to accompany his activism, religious adherents would do well to couple the writings and activism of the pastor and theologian Martin Luther King with Scripture as we imagine Beloved Community in our time and for the future. The 11th chapter of Hebrews records a litany of ancient exemplars whose lives speak of faith beyond the grave to light a path for those who follow. The first martyr of the biblical story, Abel, is identified there as one who still speaks even though he is dead. That is the legacy of any martyr, to bear witness both by and beyond their death. That too is the still relevant witness of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leslie Callahan is a pastor at St. Paul's Baptist Church. Maya Dena Hairstons father is African-American and her mother is Afghani and Pakistani. Throughout my life, I have been told that I appear more African-American than Middle Eastern, resulting in my self-identification as solely black, she says. This naive perception has haunted me throughout adolescence. Today, embracing my many identities has become my chief goal. Read more "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King Jr. spoke these words at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. King helped influence our nation with his dream of equality and equity for all. Although race relations in America have changed significantly since the 1960s, King's life, legacy, and hope for America still significantly matter. African Americans are held at a disadvantage compared with white Americans. King's aspiration that his children would be judged by their character, instead of their skin color, remains a fantasy. As I was one of the few girls of color at my historically white high school, my personal experience includes constantly having to prove that I'm smart enough. White faculty and peers immediately saw my skin color as a direct indication of unintelligence. For example, when my white peers discuss the differences between "talking white" and "talking black," they stereotypically associate talking black with broken English. My teacher would sometimes hold me and other students back from recess for "extra" help. The one thing those students and I had in common was our skin color. The only representation of black people that I saw in my school's curriculum was through accounts of enslavement and disenfranchisement. This lack of representation led me to have negative associations with being black. It is important to learn about slavery, but children need to be taught the positive aspects of black history, not just the negative. This poor representation continues in the curriculum today, and I think the only way for it to change is for people to use their voice to shed light on it. King's dream for equality significantly applies to the education system and should be taught to children everywhere. Many Americans still ignore the injustices that people of color face and the complex structure of racism. King's dream of achieving racial equality matters now more than ever. He preached about social justice issues, which sparked a conversation around the world. In my opinion, the only solution to improving the racial issue is to engage in conversations surrounding the topic. There are a plethora of reasons why people avoid talking about racism. Many pretend that racism no longer exists, claiming that, because we had a black president, everyone has equal opportunities. Many people avoid the conversation as much as possible, because racism is complex, and the topic makes them uncomfortable. Some people avoid the topic of racism because they think it doesn't affect them. However, it has become increasingly harder to ignore racism, because cellphone videos and social media are forcing Americans to witness injustices against people of color everywhere. America has always been racist, and it still is today. Not all racists are as extreme as the Ku Klux Klan, but because of their lack of exposure to the subject, some Americans don't even realize that they can be racist. Systemic racism is so ingrained in our society that many Americans have developed racial biases they are not even aware of. Despite these reasons, conversation about racism must happen. We need more activists like Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Colin Kaepernick, who spark conversations in Americans everywhere. The act of violence that ended King's life did not halt the revolution for freedom. It marches on today in the form of the Black Lives Matter movement, which campaigns for an end to violence against African Americans. Although such violence is not as prevalent today as in the 1960s, police brutality has become its main, recurring form. A misinterpretation of the meaning of "Black Lives Matter" has influenced the All Lives Matter campaign. In reality, Black Lives Matter highlights black lives because those are the ones in danger. It in no way says that only black lives matter. Many in the Black Lives Matter movement view their efforts for positive change on a continuum that traces back to King. However, the fact that people still have to protest against violence toward black people shows that King's dream still matters today. King was instrumental in moving us forward, but there is still work to be done. I am hopeful for the future, because I believe there is more good than bad in the world. I recognize the immense hatred toward people who don't fit into society's stereotype of normal. I believe that the world can create change if we simply focus on love. And maybe then we can accomplish King's dream of a nation that judges people on the content of their hearts, instead of the color of their skin. Maya Dena Hairston is a senior at the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr,. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers during his I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Read more If there ever were a year that we as a nation should not celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it is this year. And yet, if there ever was a time when we needed to learn from and truly commemorate King, that time is now. It's not that I think Dr. King does not deserve to have this national holiday. It's quite the opposite. It is America that does not deserve to celebrate Dr. King. The "Three Giant Triplets" that he spent so much of his life preaching about and fighting against militarism, materialism, and racism still stand, perhaps taller than ever in this nation. Nuclear threats made via social media; tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations (with no breaks for the poor); hateful, fearful policies against Mexican and Muslim neighbors; ongoing drone warfare; gutting health-care opportunities; racist marches in Charlottesville, Va., and elsewhere our bitterly divided country is veering from the direction King dreamed of and fought for. America should keep King's name out of its mouth. And yet my faith reminds us that one need not be perfect to be a follower of a tradition. My walk following Christ is far from perfect, yet I try. Perhaps it is the same with America and King. At our worst, we are so far from what King dreamed of. Yet, we have no doubt made profound steps toward his vision of the Beloved Community. (I a Black man write this while sitting with my Italian American wife and our three biracial daughters.) Just because we're not yet what King hoped for doesn't mean we don't keep trying. An essential step for us, if we are to celebrate this day with integrity, will be to not only provide community service with our hands, but to also serve with our minds and hearts by reexamining King's words and taking them seriously. It's easy for me to rant about who is worthy and permitted to celebrate King. I feel good when I throw King's words at a cruel and fearful White House or my trollish interlocutors on social media. It's clear to me what King would think of President Trump and the current Republican Party (and many within the Democratic Party, while we're at it). What is more difficult is pausing and allowing myself to be moved by King's words and witness. *** The sermon that weighs on me now even more than "I Have a Dream" or "Mountaintop" is "Loving Your Enemies," from 1957, delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, in the Montgomery, Ala., of George Wallace and Bull Connor. He explains how hating those who hate you adds to the darkness in the universe. Even while we believe we are on the right side of a debate or fight, we can be just as hateful as those on the other side. He articulates how hating those who hate us can warp and distort our souls. He ends by saying that, when we show love to those who hate us (or who are spewing hatred into the world), we might turn their hearts. This was crucial to the nonviolent resistance of the civil rights movement. Demonstrators spoke out against injustice, they marched, they fought, but they did not strike back, and they did not hate. They loved, and it changed many a heart. King presents a beautiful challenge: Don't stop fighting against hatred. Never stop. Yet as we fight, fight with love in our hearts. Love, he and all the great world-changing prophets knew, is the greatest of all weapons. *** I sat recently with a relative with whom I was asked to "never talk politics" for fear that our beliefs would clash and result in family tension. I told him of this request and he said that I should always feel free to speak with him about anything. "Your politics suck," I told him. We debated and my pent-up near-hatred started to come out as I said: "How could you support him? You of all people should know better." We went back and forth until he said something I'll never forget. "Regardless of what we believe and who we vote for, don't you know that I would die for you? You are family to me, and I love you. You are far more important to me than politics." He pulled me back from the cliff. His politics are still terrible, but amidst our difference, he helped to build the Beloved Community. I'll still fight many of the things he and his candidates of choice are working for, but I want to do so without hating. *** Every day, I pray for the president. I pray for my enemies, whoever they may be. It can be psychically painful to pray for those who are oppressing you. But this is just what King and thousands of civil rights demonstrators did. Their love was a love that burned with a righteous anger at injustice and burned with a tireless desire for change. Thus my prayer posture has become the same as my protest posture: arms raised with one hand forming a fist and the other forming an open palm of blessing. This is how I believe King would stand today. I pray we may join him and celebrate his legacy this King Day properly: fighting with love. The Rev. Charles L. Howard, Ph.D. is the university chaplain at the University of Pennsylvania. His most recent book, "Pond River Ocean Rain," is a collection of essays about going deeper with God. Students can agree with President Trump about immigration, if theyd like. But they cant talk like him, at least not in school. Read more Let's suppose you're teaching a current-events lesson at an American public school. The talk turns to President Trump's comments last Thursday at a discussion with members of Congress, where Trump questioned whether the United States should accept immigrants from "shithole countries"particularly those from Haiti and Africa rather than from places like Norway. A student in the class defends the president's remarks. "Norwegians are wealthier and better educated," the student says. "We need more people like that." What should you do? Here's what you shouldn't do: dismiss the student's statement as racist. The question of who should become an American is one of the most hotly contested issues in the United States, across our history and into the present. Decent and reasonable people can differ on whether we should favor more more skilled and educated immigrants, which is what Canada and many other democracies do. But decent and reasonable people do not call poor countries "shitholes," ever. Although students should be free to make up their own minds about controversial public questions, they should not be allowed to malign entire peoples or nations. They can agree with President Trump about immigration if they'd like. But they can't talk like him, at least not in school. That's the key distinction that we all need to keep in mind amid the ongoing controversy over Trump's comments. In a democracy, by definition, we must debate differences of policy. But we also need to uphold shared norms of civility, or our democracyand the debates that define itwill fall apart. The threat is real. When the president of the United States denigrates whole groups of human beings, he sends a clear message that this kind of behavior is OK. And if you think it's not influencing our kids, well, you just haven't been listening. According to a recent survey of American teachers by researchers at UCLA, over one-quarter of the teachers reported an increase during the past year in students' making racist and sexist comments in school. And nearly half said that student anxieties were affecting classroom learning. Many students were reluctant to discuss controversial issues, the teachers reported, for fear of drawing attention to themselves. That isn't all Trump's fault, of course. Well before he ascended to the White House, American political culture was fracturing into bitterly polarized camps. On cable television and the internet especially, citizens have been degrading each other for many years in a 24/7 slugfest of snark and invective. But surely Trump has accelerated those trends, particularly via his own intemperate use of social media. And that's all the more reason that our schools need to teach young people a more kind, measured, and respectful brand of behavior than the president has displayed. That means prohibiting any kind of slur against a group of people, particularly if the president uses one. In no uncertain terms, our teachers must emphasize that Trump's remarks about Haiti and Africa were offensive and inappropriate. But they also need to explain why. The president's language wasn't simply "tough," as he later claimed. His words echoed a long history of racial slurs against people of African descent, dating to the dawn of slavery. Meanwhile, Trump's brazen claim that he hadn't used the word shitholein the face of enormous evidence that he had done sofueled the cynicism that mars so much of contemporary political life. So did denials by GOP Sen. David Perdue (Ga.) and other Republican apologists. As Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously quipped, all are entitled to their own opinions but not to their own facts. Trump did call other countries "shitholes," of course; the only question is whether that's OK. There's only one answer: no. That's why Republicans are rallying to deny Trump's remark, which is quite simply indefensible. And our kids need to hear that, too. Regardless of what they think of President Trump's policies, teachers must make it clear that his language violated basic norms of democratic dialogue. It's perfectly OK to argue for laws that favor more highly educated immigrants, if that's what you believe. But when you do that using racist idioms, like the president did, you shut down discussion before it begins. You can't hold a debate on humane and equal terms, if the very terms of the debate undermine human equality. So in this week following Martin Luther King Day, let's re-dedicate our schools to the democratic values that King proclaimed. That means conducting full and robust debates about immigration and everything else. But it also means teaching decency and civility, which our own president has done so much to erode. That's a lesson everybody needs to learn, over and over again, until we know it by heart. Jonathan Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author (with Emily Robertson) of "The Case for Contention: Teaching Controversial Issues in American Schools" (University of Chicago Press). The Department of Defense should act quickly to make this pharmacy pilot a reality, and make the lives of Pennsylvanias heroes and their families a little bit easier. Read more For most Americans, refilling a regular prescription is simple picking up their medicine at their local pharmacy on the way home from work or while doing weekly grocery shopping. But for more than 160,000 Pennsylvania veterans and beneficiaries of our active duty military currently insured through Tricare, the Department of Defense (DoD) health insurance program, obtaining some common maintenance prescriptions can be much more complicated. Current DoD policy requires patients to obtain maintenance medications either by mail or often inconveniently by driving to one of just two military treatment facilities in Pennsylvania, which has one of the highest populations of Tricare beneficiaries in the country. Our veterans and the families of our active duty military deserve easier access to health care services. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in two American adults lives with a chronic health condition. Additionally, one in five households have a child with a chronic ailment. For the millions of adults and children insured through Tricare who depend on maintenance medications to manage any one of a hundred common chronic health conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, asthma, and epilepsy, for example, access to maintenance medications should be as simple as it is for the rest of us. In addition to more convenient access to maintenance medications, Tricare patients should also have the benefit of consulting directly with a pharmacist they know and trust about their medications rather than having to call an 800 number. As a licensed health-care professional, their local pharmacist can discuss treatment and monitor for potentially harmful drug interactions, resulting in better, more consistent quality of care. Change is possible. In 2016, Congress authorized the DoD to create a pilot pharmacy program that would allow Tricare patients to conveniently fill maintenance medications at any pharmacy and to consult directly with their local pharmacist. Unfortunately, the pharmacy pilot was never launched, and millions of Tricare patients continue to face limited local access to maintenance medications, direct consultation, and consistency of care. In addition to the Tricare authorization, Congress has taken other steps to increase access for veterans to healthcare facilities and treatments. For example, Sens. John McCain and Jerry Moran recently proposed a bill that would make it easier for veterans to access tele-health services. Here in Pennsylvania, a former Army officer is hoping to drive change from the private sector in partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs by creating an app called GetVetsHelp, which aims to help veterans find immediate resources for substance abuse, suicide prevention and other critical care. And while increased access to doctor's visits and other health services is important, these proposals will have little benefit for Tricare members if they can't easily access the maintenance medications that their doctors prescribe. Recently, retired Adm. Anthony Kurta, presidential nominee for undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, expressed his willingness to establish a pharmacy pilot program that will give Tricare patients easier access to maintenance medications. With the ball in its court, the Department of Defense should act quickly to make this pharmacy pilot a reality, and make the lives of Pennsylvania's heroes and their families a little bit easier. Gary Profit is a retired brigadier general of the Army and now serves as senior director of military programs for Walmart. Ronnie Lucas Wilson is accused of shooting a Knoxville, TN, officer at a traffic stop. He was captured Saturday. (Photo: TBI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says a man who allegedly shot a police officer was captured Saturday in Blount County. TBI says 31-year-old Ronnie Lucas Wilson, who is listed in a database as an Aryan Nations gang member, was added to its "10 Most Wanted" list on Friday. Hours later, early on Saturday morning, police received information that Wilson was in a vacant home in Maryville. He was caught while trying to flee out a window. Wilson was wanted by the Knoxville Police Department on a charge of attempted first-degree murder of a police officer. On Thursday, police say a Knoxville officer initiated a traffic stop on Wilson's vehicle. Wilson exited and began shooting at the officer, striking the officer once. He was taken into custody Saturday by deputies with the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Knoxville Police and U.S. Marshals, CBS News reports. By David Shepardson (Reuters) Hawaii apparently did not have adequate safeguards in place to prevent a false emergency alert about a missile attack that panicked residents for more than a half-hour before it was withdrawn, a federal official said on Sunday. Speaking after Saturdays errant ballistic missile warning to Hawaii residents, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said government officials must work to prevent future incidents. The FCC will focus on what steps need to be taken to prevent a similar incident from happening again, he said. Officials at all government levels need to work together to identify any vulnerabilities to false alerts and do whats necessary to fix them. The alert, sent to mobile phones and broadcast on television and radio shortly after 8 a.m. local time, was issued amid raised tensions over North Koreas development of nuclear weapons and missiles. The message, which was not corrected for 38 minutes, stated: EMERGENCY ALERT BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. The false emergency alert sent yesterday in Hawaii was absolutely unacceptable, Pai said. It caused a wave of panic across the state Moreover, false alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies. Corrections should be issued immediately in the event that a false alert does go out, Pai said. The FCC probe so far suggests Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place. The FCC has jurisdiction over the wireless alerts and has proposed technical upgrades to precisely target them to communities. It plans to vote on revisions to the alert system later this month. Hawaii Governor David Ige said on Saturday he was angry and disappointed over the incident, apologized for it and said the state would take steps to ensure it never happens again. Ige said the alert was sent during an employee shift change at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and that the state had no automated process to get out the word that it was a false alarm. An employee pushed the wrong button, Ige said. Senator Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, spoke to Pai on Saturday and praised him for working with us on developing best practices on the communications side for states and municipalities to make sure this never happens again. This system failed miserably, and we need to start over. A 2013 government audit found the Federal Emergency Management Agency has improved a federal alerting system known as the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, but barriers remain to fully implementing an integrated system. The system can receive and authenticate internet-based alerts from state and local government agencies and disseminate them to the public. Some states were reluctant to fully implement a system and that decreases the capability for an integrated, interoperable, and nationwide alerting system, the report said. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Detroit; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) 581 SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Rep. John Lewis says Trump wouldnt have won in 2016 if Martin Luther King was still alive. Video: Rep. Lewis (D-GA) said, If Martin Luther King had been alive, no, Dr. King would have been able to lead us to a different place. Our country would be different. And the world community would be different. You have to be hopeful. You have to be optimistic. Im very hopeful and optimistic. I got arrested 40 times during the 60s. Five times in Congress and Im probably going to get arrested again for something. One of the outcomes of the Russian interference in the 2016 was that it muddied the media coverage and allowed a lot of what Trump stood for to be hidden and denied the proper attention that it should have gotten from the mainstream press. Outlets such as this one were publishing a steady stream of stories beginning with Trump launching his campaign by calling Mexicans rapists, which we called an insane racist rambling rant calling attention to the threat. Most of the media fell for the Trump/Russia smokescreen of bogus scandals and hacked emails. Many attributed Trumps racism to some brilliant political strategy. We now know that Trump is incapable of strategy, sticking to a plan, or doing anything that requires discipline. The 2016 election cried out for a leader like Dr. King who would have protested, marched, and called attention to who Donald Trump really is. Trump won the election by less than 90,000 votes in three states. Rep. Lewis was right. Dr. King could more than 90,000 additional votes against Trump in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. If Martin Luther King was still alive, Donald Trump most likely wouldnt be president today. Paul has already taken note of the Maryland Senate candidacy of Chelsea Manning, but I think we have overlooked the comic possibilities of the identity politics train wreck this might offer. To wit, from Glenn Greenwald today: . . . Mannings opponent in the Democratic Party primary is one of the most standard, banal, typical, privileged and mediocre politicians in the U.S. Congress: Benjamin Cardin, a 74-year-old white, straight man who is seeking his third six-year Senate term. Cardins decades-long career as a politician from the start has been steeped in unearned privilege: he first won elective office back in 1966, when his uncle, Maurice Cardin, gave up his seat in order to bequeath it to his nephew Benjamin. With this dynastic privilege as his base, he has spent the last 50 years climbing the political ladder in Maryland. . . Establishment Democrats wasted no time in mocking and denouncing Mannings bid to become the first ever trans woman in the Senate, instead quickly lining up in support behind the straight white male who has wielded power for decades. To demean Manning, many of these establishment Democrats invoked the primary tactic they now reflexively use against anyone they view as a political adversary: they depicted her as a tool of the Kremlin, whose candidacy is really just a disguised plot engineered by Moscow. Leading the way in spreading this obviously deranged but acceptable-in-DC conspiracy theory was Neera Tanden, the president of the largest Democratic Party think tank in Washington. Last night, Tanden spread a viral tweet that strongly implied without even pretending to have a shred of evidence that the Kremlin had engineered Mannings candidacy as punishment for Cardins hard-line position on Russia Canyon, that is. Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission ratified the plan to shut down Californias last nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, even though, as one of the last nuclear power plants built, it could easily be re-licensed for another 20 years. As reported here previously, right now Diablo Canyon produces twice a much electricity as all of Californias solar panels, and PG & E is closing Diablo Canyon largely because of the state political mandate that electric utilities source 50 percent of their power from renewable sources by the year 2030, and nuclear power doesnt count. (Neither do hydroelectric dams, either. California has essentially mandated that its future electricity needs will be met by wind and solar power and unicorn batteries.) If you care about rising greenhouse gas emissions, this is completely stupid. In the real world, the gap left by the shutdown of Diablo Canyon will almost certainly be filled more by natural gas and electricity imports from out of state, and California greenhouse gas emissions may actually rise again, as they have in Germany lately. And amazingly, some environmentalists actually grasp this at long last. Get a load of this story from Grist, which is otherwise a deep greenie site: Its time to go nuclear in the fight against climate change By Eric Holthaus After holding steady for the past three years, global carbon emissions rose in 2017 by an estimated 2 percent. That increase comes amid the largest renewable energy boom in world history. That irony points to what I see as an inescapable conclusion: The world probably cant solve climate change without nuclear power. Well, better late than never, but one reason the nuclear industry is essentially dead is the complete hysteria of environmentalists a generation agothe legacy of which lives on at most environmental advocacy groups today. Today, Chuck Schumer tweeted this about his comrade-in-arms, Dick Durbin: To impugn @SenatorDurbins integrity is disgraceful. Whether you agree with him on the issues or not, he is one of the most honorable members of the Senate. Actually, Durbin is one of the slimiest members of the Senate. And that covers lots of territory. In light of the current controversy over what President Trump may or may not have said in Durbins presence, its worth recalling the time Durbins version of what occurred during a meeting between congressional leaders and President Obama failed to withstand scrutiny. Durbin alleged that a Republican leader told President Obama to his face in a meeting during the shutdown: I cannot even stand to look at you. Even Durbins White House friends contradicted this story. White House press secretary Jay Carney said: I looked into this, and spoke to somebody who was in that meeting, and it did not happen. Following Carneys comments, John Boehner released a statement calling for a retraction and apology from Durbin. In addition to making stuff up, Durbin is willing, if not eager, to impugn the integrity of those who deserve better. During the Bush administration, he compared American soldiers to Nazis, Soviets, and Pol Pot. He also slandered Diane Sykes, President Bushs nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Arguing against Judge Sykes confirmation, Durbin contended that (1) Sykes didnt believe in innocent until proven guilty; (2) Sykes improperly evaded questioning by hiding behind the Wisconsin code of judicial ethics; and (3) Sykes misled the Committee on an abortion protester case. The first contention was baseless, and Durbin knew it. He predicated his claim on the fact that Sykes was a tough sentencer. Tough sentences for those found guilty are in no way inconsistent with the presumption of innocence. The second contention was baseless, too. Senators Kohl and Feingold, both Wisconsin Democrats, rejected it. Kohl said: [Sykes] would not have received the support of our bipartisan nominating commission without answering their questions. Further, she would not have received my endorsement had she not answered the questions we asked of her during our interview with Justice Sykes in a forthright and direct manner. The third contention was rebutted by Sen. Hatch during the floor debate. Recently, Durbin questioned another Seventh Circuit nominee, Amy Barrett, about her religion, implying that because she is an orthodox Catholic, she cannot judge certain cases fairly. The indecency of this line of inquiry and the constitutional concerns it raised were noted across the political spectrum. Theres much more to be said against Schumers paean to his second-in-command. Some of it can be found in our archive of Durbin posts. See, for example, Dick Durbin: Worse Than Stupid, Part 2. When Martin Luther King, Jr., brought his nonviolent campaign against segregation to Bull Connors Birmingham, he laid siege to the bastion of Jim Crow. In Birmingham between 1957 and 1962, black homes and churches had been subjected to a series of horrific bombings intended to terrorize the community. In April 1963 King answered the call to bring his campaign to Birmingham. When King landed in jail on Good Friday for violating an injunction prohibiting demonstrations, he took the opportunity to meditate on the counsel of prudence with which Birminghams white ministers had greeted his campaign. Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail was the result. Reading the Letter fifty years later is a humbling experience. Perhaps most striking is Kings seething anger over the indignities of segregation: I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, Wait. But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cant go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five-year-old son asking in agonizing pathos: Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?; when you take a cross-country drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading white and colored; when your first name becomes nigger, your middle name becomes boy (however old you are) and your last name becomes John, and your wife and mother are never given the respected title Mrs.; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tip-toe stance never quite knowing what to expect next, and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of nobodiness; then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into an abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. In addition to Kings witness, Kings prophetic call permeates the Letter. Why did King presume to come from Atlanta to Birmingham? King writes: I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth century prophets left their little villages and carried their thus saith the Lord far beyond the boundaries of their home towns; and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world, I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my particular home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Kings prophetic call must have been both a source of strength and of concern. His strength was manifest; he rarely let his concern show. Perfection is not a condition of the prophets call, and King was both imperfect and aware of his imperfections. His unbending strength is all the more remarkable. It is difficult to comprehend that King was only 39 years old at the time of his assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968, or that the prospect of his death weighed so heavily on his mind. He seems too young to have accomplished so much, or to have maintained his judgment under such trying circumstances. The magnitude of his own trials must have had a deep impact on him. In the speech he gave in Memphis the day before his assassination, he movingly recalled his first confrontation with death: You know, several years ago, I was in New York City autographing the first book that I had written. And while sitting there autographing books, a demented black woman came up. The only question I heard from her was, Are you Martin Luther King? And I was looking down writing, and I said yes. And the next minute I felt something beating on my chest. Before I knew it I had been stabbed by this demented woman. I was rushed to Harlem Hospital. It was a dark Saturday afternoon. And that blade had gone through, and the X-rays revealed that the tip of the blade was on the edge of my aorta, the main artery. And once thats punctured, you drown in your own blood thats the end of you. It came out in the New York Times the next morning, that if I had sneezed, I would have died. Well, about four days later, they allowed me, after the operation, after my chest had been opened, and the blade had been taken out, to move around in the wheel chair in the hospital. They allowed me to read some of the mail that came in, and from all over the states, and the world, kind letters came in. I read a few, but one of them I will never forget. I had received one from the President and the Vice-President. Ive forgotten what those telegrams said. Id received a visit and a letter from the Governor of New York, but Ive forgotten what the letter said. But there was another letter that came from a little girl, a young girl who was a student at the White Plains High School. And I looked at that letter, and Ill never forget it. It said simply, Dear Dr. King: I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School. She said, While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I am a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And Im simply writing you to say that Im so happy that you didnt sneeze. Here he paused to look back on what he had achieved with the time he had been granted: And I want to say tonight, I want to say that I am happy that I didnt sneeze. Because if I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been around here in 1960, when students all over the South started sitting-in at lunch counters. And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream. And taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been around in 1962, when Negroes in Albany, Georgia, decided to straighten their backs up. And whenever men and women straighten their backs up, they are going somewhere, because a man cant ride your back unless it is bent. If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been here in 1963, when the black people of Birmingham, Alabama, aroused the conscience of this nation, and brought into being the Civil Rights Bill. If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have had a chance later that year, in August, to try to tell America about a dream that I had had. If I had sneezed, I wouldnt have been down in Selma, Alabama, been in Memphis to see the community rally around those brothers and sisters who are suffering. Im so happy that I didnt sneeze. Looking beyond his accomplishments, he likened himself to Moses, the prophet par excellence, and testified to the source of the prophets voice: Well, I dont know what will happen now. Weve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesnt matter with me now. Because Ive been to the mountaintop. And I dont mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But Im not concerned about that now. I just want to do Gods will. And Hes allowed me to go up to the mountain. And Ive looked over. And Ive seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And Im happy, tonight. Im not worried about anything. Im not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. (First posted on Martin Luther King Day 2005.) UPDATE 2011: Dr. Art Fougner writes from Forest Hills to note: Recently, our Medical Society of the County of Queens honored Dr. John W. Cordice with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Cordice was a young surgeon on duty at Harlem Hospital when Dr. King was brought in with his near fatal injury and was one of the team that saved his life. Thought youd appreciate the circles being completed. Dr. Fougner is past president of the society. ( Read 10804 Times) Source : S. K. De Hyder Kazmi, the renowned actor-producer, has produced a heart touching & soul-stirring movie named JIHAD and ironically at a time when every Indian citizen simply hates even the word Jihad itself. JIHAD is not just a film but a passionate pursuit close to the heart of Hyder Kazmi, since he really wanted to make an out of the box film which would pull the audiences heartstrings. Not only this, his desire to make such a film like JIHAD would not only prove to be a message oriented movie for todays youth but would also serve as a yardstick and lighthouse for the youngsters to choose a path for protecting our motherland India and not against it. Hyder Kazmi had visited the birthplace of Lord Rama, Ayodhya and he launched the poster of his movie in Ayodhya on 6th December 2017.The purpose of launching it in Ayodhya was to give a message to the nation that Humanity rules supreme and the Hindus and Muslims should live in harmony just like they do in Ayodhya.The Babri Masjid demolition completed 25 years on 6th December 2017 and on this occasion, Hyder Kazmi had said, " The Ram Temple can be made in Ayodhya as it is Lord Shri Rams birth place and the Masjid can be made in Lucknow or somewhere else near Ayodhya." Being a Muslim, Hyder has given an amicable solution to the Ayodhya dispute and believes that Hindus and Muslims in India living harmoniously have already set a benchmark for so many generations. This visionary message by Hyder at the promotion of Jihad movie in Ayodhya speaks volumes about this noble soul and the underlying message he wants to communicate through the medium of Jihad. He has made JIHAD based on such an interesting & topical theme that whenever & wherever JIHAD has been screened in the Global Film Festival circuit, the festivals official Jury Members have not hesitated even for an iota of a second in bestowing JIHAD with the "Best Film Of The Year" award.In fact, JIHAD has bagged awards & accolades galore. So it will not be out of place to make a mention of a few well-deserved nuggets at this juncture. JIHAD has bagged the following Winner awards: Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival(Best Actor), DadaSahebPhalke Film Foundation Award(Best Actor),Malta International Film Festival (Best Actress), Maverick Movie Award, Los Angeles Film Festival, Cinema London (Best Actress), DadaSaheb Phalke Golden Camera Award(Best Film), Calcutta International Cult Film Festival (Best Actor, Best Film), NRI Achievers Award (Best Debutant Actress), National Human Rights & Social Justice Commission (Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress) Film Festivals. Entering as Finalists in Los Angeles Independent , Los Angeles Cinefest (Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress), Global Revolution Film Festival,New York, Malta International Film Festival, Kuala Lumpur Independent (Best Film), Out of the Can Film Festival(Winner Best Film, Best Actor Finalist). Officially Selected at Creation International film Festival,Canada, The CK Long Island NewYork, Pembroke Taparelli Arts Los Angeles, Royal Starr Michigan, HongKong National, Boston Galactic Stars, San Francisco, Aab International Punjab, KaPow Intergalactic Los Angeles etc.Last but not the least Hyder Kazmi seems ecstatic about JIHAD as his long-cherished dream seems to have reached its ultimate pinnacle of fulfillment .Meanwhile for these Hyder Kazmi gives the entire credit to the legendary actors, our very own "Bharat" of Hindi films, Shri Manoj Kumar, Tragedy King Shri Dilip Kumar. A point to be noted here is that it was Manoj Kumar who was entirely responsible for bringing Hyder Kazmi to Mumbai then Bombay and gave him a break in his small screen serial. In fact, Hyder Kazmi had one more dream and that was to act in a film with Dilip Kumar. However, Hyder Kazmi had succeeded in getting the negative cutting of his released film Bobby, not to be confused with the Late Raj Kapoors film Bobby, at the hands of Dilip Kumar.In the last one decade Hyder Kazmi has produced & acted in scores of films but the creative satisfaction which Hyder Kazmi experienced in producing & acting in JIHAAD is unbelievable, unthinkable & even unparalleled. In fact, Hyder Kazmi is really at a loss for words to describe his phenomenal feelings. Bollywood will definitely get a serious & accomplished actor in the form of Hyder Kazmi after witnessing his effortless albeit flawless act in JIHAD a la Naseeruddin Shah,Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Manoj Bajpai et al.The most ardent desire of Hyder Kazmi is that the members of the 4th estate should view JIHAD very carefully albeit very interestingly & very sensitively too. As without the proper & the adequate support of the media nothing is possible. Hence Hyder Kazmi wants the media should see the film first and express their unbiased verdict for JIHAD which is all set to release in 2018. JIHAD has been directed by Rakesh Parmar, and it stars the bold & the beautiful Alfeeya. New, deeper use-cases advance cloud-based solutions toward end-to-end online image management, finds Frost & Sullivan SANTA CLARA, California, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Latest analysis of the medical imaging informatics field by Frost & Sullivan finds that the waste and inefficiency inherent with the conventional siloed on-premises IT models will soon vanish. In the era of big data and healthcare integration it is unsustainable for each facility or enterprise to buy, operate and maintain its own IT solutions. The adoption of cloud-based medical imaging informatics will accelerate as IT managers search for more cost-effective and flexible solutions to help manage their stakeholders' growing enterprise imaging needs. Frost & Sullivan's research, Growth Opportunities in the Global Cloud-based Medical Imaging Informatics Market, sheds light on imaging informatics technology in the cloud, assesses critical business strategic considerations that are aiding and hampering market adoption, and evaluates areas that present opportunities for growth. For further information on this analysis, please visit: http://frost.ly/243 "After years of skepticism, the future of medical imaging informatics is firmly tied to the cloud," said Nadim Daher, Medical Imaging & Imaging Informatics Industry Principal. "As we have moved past the innovator stage and well into the early adopter phase, amidst an industry-wide imperative for greater data usability and interoperability in healthcare, the vendor community has taken notice and is preparing for a major realignment around cloud-based models. Today, only a few mid-sized and many small-sized vendors have fully embraced the cloud, so the market opportunity is really still in its infancy, with only the long-term image archiving use case being relatively mature." The total revenue of the global cloud-based medical imaging informatics market is expected to remain on a very strong growth trajectory over the next few years, growing from $285.4 Million in 2016 to $830.5 Million in 2021, at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 23.8%. This will dramatically grow the contribution of cloud-based solutions to the overall imaging informatics market, which today stands at a mere 3.8%. Cloud-based platforms, deployed through various software-as-a-service (SaaS), subscription or hybrid cloud models, open up new market access for imaging application developers, expand the prospective user base, and break down many adoption barriers for imaging providers. Yet the shift does pose challenges for vendors and customers alike, as shifting imaging informatics from capital-intensive to operational expenditure (OpEx), and from on-premises to hosted models, dramatically alters operational, security and financial risk profiles. Over the next few years, the cloud's synergistic convergence with advanced imaging analytics, machine learning, imaging research, interoperability standards and healthcare blockchains, will open new applications and opportunities for adoption by a wide range of stakeholders across the medical imaging value chain. Growth Opportunities in the Global Cloud-based Medical Imaging Informatics Market is part of Frost & Sullivan's Transformational Health Digital Health Growth Partnership Service program. About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion Growth Opportunities in the Global Cloud-based Medical Imaging Informatics Market K135_48 Contact: Mariana Fernandez Corporate Communications North America P: +1 (210) 348 1012 E: [email protected] http://ww2.frost.com Twitter: @FS_Healthcare LinkedIn: Transform Health Related Links http://www.frost.com SOURCE Frost & Sullivan (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 68 market data Tables and 45 Figures spread through 131 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Dynamic Application Security Testing Market" https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/dynamic-application-security-testing-market-203254824.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Major driving factors for the market include increasing degree of business risks due to application vulnerabilities; stringent government mandates and regulations, such as the OWASP Foundation, Common Weakness Enumeration/SysAdmin, Audit, Network, and Security (SANS) Institute, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act (HIPAA)/HITECH Compliance, and Security, and Trust And Assurance Registry (STAR); increasing sophistication level of cyber-attacks; and growing adoption of third-party applications and cloud computing. However, budget constraints may restrain the market growth. Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) vertical is expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period The BFSI vertical is expected to hold the largest market share in the global Dynamic Application Security Testing Market by vertical during the forecast period. The BFSI vertical is rapidly implementing digital technologies in its ecosystem for enhancing the customer experience. This move helps it with its marketing and promotional activities as well. The technological advancements in the vertical attract cybercriminals and cyber-attacks. SMEs segment is expected to grow at a higher rate during the forecast period The SMEs segment is expected to grow at a higher rate during the forecast period. The adoption of Dynamic Application Security Testing solutions is expected to be rapidly increasing among SMEs, as they are becoming proactive in terms of securing their IT infrastructure. Make an enquiry @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=203254824 North America is expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period In the Dynamic Application Security Testing Market by region, North America is expected to hold the largest market share, due to the presence of top Dynamic Application Security Testing service providers and the high adoption rate of security solutions. Strict government regulations, such as PCI DSS, GLBA, and HIPAA, mandate organizations to implement best IT security practices for safeguarding organizations' data. North America's developed economies, the US and Canada, are significantly advanced in adopting technologies. The major vendors covered in the Dynamic Application Security Testing Market include Accenture (Republic of Ireland), IBM (US), Micro Focus (UK), Veracode (US), Synopsys (US), Pradeo (France), Rapid7 (US), Tieto (Finland), Trustwave (US), and WhiteHat Security (US). Browse Related Reports:- Application Security Market by Component (Solutions, Services), Solution (Web Application Security, Mobile Application Security), Testing Type (SAST, DAST, IAST), Deployment Mode, Organization Size, Industry Vertical, Region - Global Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/application-security-market-110170194.html Security Testing Market by Type (Network, Application, and Device), Tool (Penetration Testing, Web Testing, Automated Testing, and Code Review), Deployment Mode (Cloud and On-Premises), Organization Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/security-testing-market-150407261.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their pain points around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 Micro Quadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Rohan MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA : +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit our Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/telecom-it Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets TOKYO, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- HH Global, the world's fastest-growing and most innovative marketing execution partner, has formed a partnership with Densan System Co., Ltd., (a Google Cloud Premier Partner). This partnership has been created to help transform the customer experience in Japanese retailers through maximizing the use of Google Chrome's self-service customer-facing technologies. The digital kiosk solution is now fully introduced to the market, and is powered by Chrome OS and Chrome Enterprise. The solution brings together technology at the point of sale with an enhanced in-store communication capability, and can provide personalised marketing messaging, sales kiosk functionality and store employee support. Content from a cloud-based server can be used to add value to the customer's shopping experience by providing easy access to interactive content and up to date information. For employees, the solution provides on-demand access to training, detailed product information, current inventory levels and operational processes. "As a leader in the marketing execution industry, we understand that we must constantly evolve and create innovations to accommodate the ever-changing market environment. In the past, retailers relied on expensive displays, rigid content tools, or unreliable devices to distribute content. With cloud technology and Chrome OS, that is all about to change," Paul Jones, Japan's Country Manager of HH Global commented. "We saw a steep drop in display prices, flexible and affordable cloud-based content, and sophisticated management tools, all available on a Chrome OS device platform. We are excited to drive this innovation through Google tools and bring new, exciting business opportunities to our clients," said Andrew Price, HH Global's APAC CEO. HH Global this time partners with Densan. Densan has been providing Chrome OS products to the market with a current proof of concept alongside customers like TOEI Transportation and Metro Ad Agency. Retailers demand technology to help them better facilitate and deliver a unique experience to customers. This solution partnership will help bring Google technology closer to their Japanese customers, and will be a major milestone in HH Global's remarkable growth story. About HH Global HH Global Ltd., founded in 1991, is a leading, independent marketing execution partner to prominent brands in over 40 countries. The company offers innovative and tailored solutions for the outsourced procurement of all types of printed marketing materials, packaging, and creative production services, that drive down cost, speed time to market, improve quality, and increase sustainability. Every HH Global solution utilises HHub, a best-in-class marketing execution application, an expansive list of suppliers, proprietary processes, and the deep expertise of over 850 employees. The company also operates HH Labs, the centre of its innovation program that brings fresh, new ideas to clients. With more than $500M in spend under management, HH Global maintains a razor-sharp focus on cost and quality, combined with an industry-leading sustainability program, offering improvements that provide both fiscal and environmental value. For more information, visit www.hhglobal.com. Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/471140/hh_global_Logo.jpg Related Links http://www.hhglobal.com SOURCE HH Global (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 114 market data Tables and 56 Figures spread through 160 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Polymer Concrete Market" https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/polymer-concrete-market-81924599.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The market is witnessing growth due to growing awareness regarding the use of polymers in concrete due to their high performance and superior properties. Increase in spending on repair & maintenance and growth in infrastructural activities in emerging economies are some of the factors driving the market for polymer concrete. Get PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=81924599 Polymer modified concrete: The largest class of polymer concrete Polymer modified concrete was the largest segment of the Polymer Concrete Market, by class in 2016. Increasing use of polymer modified concrete in applications such as repair works, anti-corrosion and protection of old concrete, and treatment of cracks and joints in concrete surfaces is responsible for its large share in the Polymer Concrete Market. Epoxy: The largest type segment of the Polymer Concrete Market Epoxy was the largest segment of the Polymer Concrete Market, by type in 2016. Superior properties such as greater flexibility, higher heat resistance, and reduced chalking tendency in outdoor exposure have led to its increased demand in several applications. This is also expected to drive its market in the near future, making it the largest used type of polymer concrete globally. Containments: The largest application of polymer concrete Containments was the largest segment of the Polymer Concrete Market, by application in 2016. Use of containments for storage and disposal of liquid industrial waste is driving the consumption of polymer concrete in the containments application. Infrastructure: The largest end-use industry of the Polymer Concrete Market Infrastructure was the largest segment of the global Polymer Concrete Market, by end-use industry, in 2016. Government initiatives to modernize the economy have led to the growing investment in infrastructure remodeling in developed countries, which has led to a rise in the demand for polymer concrete. This is expected to drive the consumption of polymer concrete in the infrastructural sector. Asia Pacific: The largest Polymer Concrete Market, by region The Asia Pacific region was the largest market for polymer concrete, in terms of value and volume, in 2016. The large market size of the Asia Pacific region is due to the manufacturing facilities being shifted by large players from mature markets such as Europe and North America to Asia Pacific. Growing consumption of polymer concrete in residential, non-residential, and infrastructural projects to accommodate the escalating urban class population in Asia Pacific is expected to drive its demand in future. Polymer concrete resin providers and polymer concrete fabricators, such as BASF (Germany), Sika (Switzerland), Mapei (Italy), Fosroc (UK), Dow Chemical (US), SAUEREISEN (US), Kwik Bond Polymers (US), Dudick (US), ErgonArmor (US), and Crown Polymers (US) are covered in the report. Inquiry before Buying @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=81924599 Browse Related Reports Polymer Modified Cementitious Coatings Market by Polymer Type (Acrylic Polymer and SBR Latex), Application (Non-Residential Buildings, Residential Buildings, and Public Infrastructures), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/polymer-modified-cementitious-coating-market-251464560.html Cast Polymers Market by Type (Solid Surface, Engineered Stone, Cultured Marble), Material (Alumina Trihydrate, Calcium Carbonate, Resins, and Natural Stone/Quartz), End User (Non-Residential, and Residential) and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cast-polymers-market-127257947.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Rohan MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/chemical Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 88 market data Tables and 40 Figures spread through 168 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Power Plant Control System Market" https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/power-plant-control-system-market-30726243.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. This growth is primarily due to the increasing emphasis on alternative energy production, increase in the buoyant power sector and augmented power generation capacities worldwide, and government initiatives toward the adoption of industrial automation. The turbine and auxiliaries control segment is expected to hold the largest share of the Power Plant Control System Market, by application, during the forecast period The turbine and auxiliaries segment led the Power Plant Control System Market in 2016 and is projected to dominate the market during the forecast period. The turbine and auxiliaries control segment comprises control systems for turbine governing systems, vacuum systems, condensate systems, feedwater systems, cooling water systems, and lubrication oil systems. Control systems for turbines and auxiliaries are specifically used in coal-based thermal power plants, nuclear power plants, oil-fired steam turbine power plants, gas-fired steam turbine power plants, wind power plants, and concentrated solar power plants. In a power plant, the cost component for the turbine and auxiliaries control segment holds the largest share of the entire power plant control system. The increase in the capacity addition of the wind power plant across the globe along with large investments in the capacity addition of thermal power plants in Asia Pacific acts as a major driver for the growth of the turbine and auxiliaries control segment. Download PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=30726243 The SCADA solution is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the Power Plant Control System Market during the forecast period With regard to the solution segment, SCADA solutions are expected to constitute the fastest growing market from 2017 to 2022. The market is primarily driven by increasing investments in large-scale renewable power projects where SCADA is implemented excessively. A SCADA system collects real-time data from remote locations to control the equipment or device. SCADA uses computers, communication systems, and graphical user interface for monitoring the process. SCADA systems are used to ease the automation process in remote areas where manual controlling is not possible in power plants. The components of SCADA are generally grouped into control devices and remote site devices that are used for the plant control network. They provide various facilities such as controlling and monitoring, as well as triggering alarms in the plant during hazardous events. Such a system adds tangible cost benefits by eliminating redundant and obsolete processes such as scanning or searching and streamlining the processes. Asia Pacific: The leading market for power plant control systems Asia Pacific is expected to account for the largest market share in the global Power Plant Control System Market in 2017. The increasing consumption of energy followed by the increase in investments in renewable energy is expected to boost the power generation plants, thereby, enhancing the Power Plant Control System Market in the region. According to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, China was observed to be the highest investor in renewable energy and the associated low-emissions-energy sectors by investing USD 103 billion in 2015, recording a 17% growth year on year (YoY). Make an Inquiry @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=30726243 To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of some of the top players in the Power Plant Control System Market. These players include ABB (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), Schneider Electric (France), Emerson (US), and GE (US). The leading players are trying to make inroads in the markets in the developed economies and are adopting various strategies to increase their market shares. Browse Related Reports: Distributed Control Systems Market by Industry (Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Power Generation, Metals and Mining, Pharmaceutical, Paper and Pulp, Food and Beverage), Component (Hardware, Software, Services), Application, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/distributed-control-system-market-239430160.html Utility Asset Management Market by Application (Transformer, Sub-Station, Transmission & Distribution Lines), Component (Hardware, Software), Utility Type (Public Utility, Private Utility), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/utility-asset-management-market-218324969.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Rohan MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/energy-and-power SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Upstream is developing a diagnostic platform using signal peptides. This lead indication will reduce hospital patient admissions of chest pain by up to 40 percent. The Christchurch based company's test can rule out the risk of imminent heart attack for the significant number of people presenting at hospitals with chest pain. The test identifies patients who are suffering from unstable angina, as opposed to chest pain from other causes. Patients with unstable angina are at high risk of a heart attack and must receive immediate treatment to avoid a heart attack and subsequent heart muscle damage. "Our technology has far reaching potential across the global health system," said Upstream CEO, Dr Ruth Appleby. "By providing greater certainty to medical staff about whether presenting patients are at risk of imminent heart attack, we can help the health system save billions of dollars a year. A quick test as opposed to unnecessary days in hospital is a real game changer," she said. "For example, in the US, eight million people arrive at emergency departments each year with chest pain but only one in eight have a life-threatening actual or imminent heart attack. This poses a real challenge for doctors to diagnose, resulting in time consuming repeat tests and unnecessary admissions." Dr Appleby said the Series A raise would fund a trial of 1,000 patients at multiple international clinics. The clinical trial is designed to secure regulatory approvals for the technology in USA and Europe. Innovator Capital chairman, Mungo Park, said "the global potential of Upstream's first in class blood test, provides an opportunity for investors to participate in a novel diagnostic platform with potential for near term and long term growth as well as patient and infrastructure impact. We are encouraged by the scalability of the technology and the opportunity for global health markets." Innovator Capital, www.innovator-capital.com Photo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/620135/Upstream_CEO.jpg Related Links http://www.innovator-capital.com SOURCE Upstream Medical Technologies All-new episodes of We Bare Bears airs every day at 4:30pm on Cartoon Network #WeBareBears If you're walking down the street and happen to see a polar bear on wheels headed your way, don't worry - it's just Cartoon Network's latest furry creation to celebrate the return of their pop culture gem We Bare Bears, airing every day at 4:30pm this month. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628675/We_Bare_Bears.jpg ) The polar bear-shaped mobile, more notably known as "Ice Bear" will be handing out free hot drinks across the UK this January, including coffees and hot chocolates to kids and their families. We Bare Bears follows the internet savvy, latte-sipping, selfie-taking hipster bear brothers - Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear - three lovable outsiders just trying to find their way into human society and who dream of one day becoming "Internet Famous". The pop-up will be launched in London by one of the UK's 2018 Latte Art Champions and leading 'Bearista', Ben Lewis, who will also be offering caffeine free drinks for kids - as Ice Bear "can't handle caffeine" - such as a Grizzlychoc hot chocolate or BabybearChino. Visitors to each location will be able to get free coffee for the whole family and also take a bear hug selfie with the stars of the show Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear. Catch the 'Bearista' at the following venues: Saturday 20th Jan - Glasgow (Buchanan Street) - 10am-4pm Sunday 21st Jan - Manchester (Intu Trafford Centre) - 11am-5pm Catch all-new episodes of We Bare Bears every day 4:30pm on Cartoon Network #WeBareBears Cartoon Network UK social channels: #WeBareBears #CartoonNetworkUK Twitter: @CNUKTweets Facebook: CN UK Facebook YouTube: CN UK YouTube Instagram: CN UK Instagram SOURCE Cartoon Network (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160906/404194LOGO ) (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/624990/Denave_Malaysia_MSC_Accreditation.jpg ) With this newly acquired status, Denave Malaysia is taking an optimistic sense of the market and with its wide array of services which comprises - Omnichannel Contact Centre, Intelligent DB Management, Sales Analytics, Telesales, Digital Marketing, etc., it is all set to expand its customer base through its end-to-end sales enablement services. Commenting on this achievement, Mr. Snehashish Bhattacharjee, Global CEO, Denave said, "It is a happy moment for all of us at Denave. Malaysia is an important, strategic delivery location within the APAC region and we are happy to be playing a part in this market. Denave is committed to making necessary investments in the Malaysia market to build a long term and stable organization while creating career opportunities for the local talent. I'd like to extend a big congratulation to our entire Denave Malaysia team on this accomplishment." Basking in this success, Dharma Gunaseelan, Country Director, Denave Malaysia added, "Getting the MSC Malaysia status is an incredible validation for us. We are certain to expand our horizon further and leverage this accreditation to serve multiple new customers while touching upon many new industry segments." He further notes, "Denave Malaysia is all set to be the Centre of Excellence for high value BPO and KPO services. This status further adds to our operational agility and allows us to aim even higher than before. We have a clearly chartered growth plan for ourselves and getting the MSC Malaysia status completely falls in line with that vision." The process of qualifying for the MSC status included compliance with strict standards set by MDEC. Denave Malaysia cleared all the parameters while displaying exceptional organizational capabilities and an ambitious vision to spearhead splendid global growth while contributing to Malaysia's Digital Economy agenda. "We congratulate Denave for the MSC status. We are always keen on working with new technologically innovative companies like Denave, especially those looking to expand their footprint and operations into this region from Malaysia. As MDEC moves to grow the digital economy, having companies like Denave that have plans to ramp up investments in digital innovation, expand relevant ecosystems, and nurturing new skill-sets for talents are necessary and true must-haves. We look forward to the new innovations that Denave will introduce," said Hew Wee Choong, VP Investment & Industry Development, MDEC. For more information, please contact: ST Kalithasan Business Development Manager Denave Malaysia +603-21681913 SOURCE Denave Gresham, the leading software and services company that specialises in providing real-time transaction control and enterprise data integrity solutions, announces a senior leadership appointment. Paul White joins as CMO with responsibility for marketing strategy, brand management, communications and international programs. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/530491/Gresham.jpg ) The new appointment follows a record year of profitable growth in 2017 and builds on the fast-growing reputation of the company's Clareti platform within the financial technology industry. Ian Manocha, CEO, Gresham says, "We're delighted to welcome Paul White to the team. Paul brings a wealth of expertise in banking and payments, and in technology marketing, and his deep experience in scale-up and international growth business comes at an exciting time for the Group." Prior to joining Gresham, Paul led marketing at Sword Group, Kana, and Cyber adAPT successfully growing businesses in risk, compliance, security and data analytics. During his early career Paul also amassed 10 years of leadership experience directly within the financial services sector with Capital One, Zurich and Travelex. Paul White, CMO, Gresham says, "Gresham is taking a fresh approach to solving complex problems for some of the biggest names in financial services around the world. The Clareti technology platform is already well proven as a next generation offering, and there is a clear opportunity to establish it as the de-facto standard solution for businesses that have data integrity and control at the top of their board agendas." "I am delighted to join the management team at this exciting stage of the company's growth." About Gresham Gresham's award-winning Clareti software platform has been designed to provide financial institutions with complete certainty in their data processing. Clareti is a highly flexible and fully scalable platform for assuring enterprise data integrity and is designed to address today's most challenging financial control, internal risk management, data governance and regulatory compliance problems. Gresham's portfolio of applications based on the Clareti platform, including Clareti Transaction Control (CTC), Clareti Accounts Receivable Management (Clareti ARM), Clareti Loan Control (CLC) and Clareti 24 Integration Objects (C24 IO), provide innovative industry specific solutions for real-time data management. Gresham Technologies plc is a leading software and services company that specialises in providing real-time transaction control and enterprise data integrity solutions. Listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (GHT. L) and headquartered in the City of London, customers include some of the world's largest financial institutions, all of whom are served locally from offices located in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. Further information can be found at http://www.greshamtech.com/ or on Twitter @GreshamTech SOURCE Gresham Tech (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628394/Dr_Mariya_Moosajee.jpg ) Dr Mariya Moosajee, MBBS BSc PhD FRCOphth, is a Consultant Ophthalmologist from Moorfields Eye Hospital London and an eminent researcher specialising in Genetic Eye Disease, and a Visiting Consultant to Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai. The Dubai team is working closely with Moorfields, London, UK, where the blood samples from UAE patients undergo genetic testing, to ensure patients here have access to the same quality of bioinformatics and clinical expertise for identifying the disease gene and mutation, as patients treated in London. Dr. Mariya's first UAE patients for genetic services are two siblings (9-year old Mohammed and 11-year old Eryam), who both have an early onset severe retinal dystrophy. The retina is the light-sensing layer of the eye that converts light to chemical signals that pass to the brain via the optic nerve to help us see. The siblings hereditary eye disease is caused by a harmful change in a gene that affects the retina, this leads to reduction of the calibre of the blood vessels supplying the retina, a pale optic nerve, widespread pigment deposition in the retina and thinning of the area of central vision called the macula. The siblings were consulted by Dr. Mariya to look at the option of genetic testing to determine the causative gene and to qualify for potential research and treatment trials. The family has decided to go forward with Moorfields for a clinically accredited genetic test called the Oculome, a next generation sequencing exome gene panel that screens over 450 known eye disease causing genes, including 240 which are specifically related to retinal-disease. She can provide a molecular diagnosis for a range of genetic eye conditions including retinal, corneal, optic nerve diseases, birth eye defects, albinism and nystagmus, complex strabismus, childhood glaucoma and cataracts. The results will take 4-6 months to produce and then once Dr. Mariya can confirm the genetic cause, she will be able to discuss the latest research into understanding the disease and treatment trial options available. It can also help with family planning for the future. Father of the two children, Samir Al Kabbani - who is originally from Syria and a resident in Abu Dhabi - said: "We are very happy with the care and professional attitude of Moorfields in helping my family. After all the doctors we have seen before, Dr. Mariya was the first to take the time to explain to us the condition of my children in detail and in a simple way. We are very thankful to the Moorfields team and Dr. Mariya - she's an amazing doctor." Dr. Mariya Moosajee said: "It is my hope that, in the future, we will be able to provide genetic therapies to our patients in the UAE and this new service is the first important step towards achieving this. Our first experience in consulting with prospective patients has been very positive and confirmed that there is certainly a need and a demand from the region for genetic services. We have also with met people here who have travelled the world looking for help and some of these have been disappointed by incorrect diagnoses and treatment possibilities which are potentially unsafe and unregulated." According to Dr. Mariya, ophthalmology has now entered an era in which treatments are a possibility for patients suffering from blinding genetic eye disease. Gene therapy involves surgery to the eye and an injection under the retina with a virus that is used to package and deliver a gene to the diseased tissue. There are many gene therapy and drug treatment clinical trials currently under investigation for a range of genes. So, it is very important for patients to identify the genetic cause of their eye condition. With this knowledge, consultants will be able to offer patients personalised medicine, which is based on their own genetic mutation. "My laboratory at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London both focus on understanding the genetic mutations that cause eye disease and developing new treatments for patients," added Dr. Mariya. "I use stem cell technology to reprogram skin cells from a patient into stem cells and then can grow early eye cups with retinal cells. This allows me to understand the mechanisms of disease and test new drugs or forms of gene therapy. We are delighted to launch this new genetic service at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai." Dr. Mariya Moosajee will visit Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai on January 21st, 2018 to undertake further genetic testing and counseling for families. She will also present at the ADORE Retina and Uveitis conference in Abu Dhabi on 18-20 January 2018, along with four other fellow Moorfields London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi based Consultants: Professor Sue Lightman, Professor Michel Michaelides, Dr. Avinash Gurbaxani and Dr. Igor Kozak. Notes to editors: About Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai (MEHD) is the first overseas branch of Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the oldest and one of the largest centres for ophthalmic treatment, teaching and research in the world. Located at the Al Razi Medical Complex in Dubai Health Care City, the facility provides day case surgery and outpatient diagnostic and treatment services, for a variety of surgical and non-surgical eye conditions. MEHD will also raise standards for research and teaching in the region. MEHD is owned and managed by the NHS Foundation Trust, and maintains close links with London, to ensure that patients in the GCC receive the best eye care treatment in the world. SOURCE Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628589/Sedus_Highdesk_Highchair.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628588/Sedus_Works.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628587/Sedus_se_works.jpg ) (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/628586/Sedus_se_works_VR.jpg ) Yet the underlying challenge is perfectly easy to understand. The competitiveness of organisations depends on harnessing the ideas and potential of employees. It springs from the minds of people and only then can it be channelled by digital processes. Ultimately, competitive advantage stems from the application of creativity, communication, speed and efficiency. So, people and their knowledge and ideas are the most precious commodities at the company's disposal. The historic shift from manual to knowledge work and the transformation of the workplace it created is one of the most important challenges facing people and organisations today. The core challenge is how to retain and attract the best people, to allow people of different generations to work together, to combine analogue and digital sources of knowledge and to create collaborative, learning environments that unleash creative potential. The aim here is to create ergonomically ideal workspace, to encourage people to work while sitting or standing, and to introduce space concepts that have a positive impact on wellbeing and collaboration. These kinds of workplace have traditionally been associated with the creative industries, but they are now mainstream across all sectors. In the war for talent, one of the most important weapons at our disposal is not just brand, but an attractive workplace. As a pioneer in both technology and workplace design, Sedus is fully engaged with the office of the future, thanks to its extensive experience and research, especially in the fields of knowledge work and learning environments. Holger Jahnke, Marketing and Sales Director said: "We work closely with trend researchers, who also draw insights from related disciplines such as teaching, neuroscience, psychology, experimental research, communications, architecture and design. To this end, we analyse numerous studies, which are carried out regionally, nationally and globally. We publish the results in a bundled and comprehensible form in our freely accessible publication Sedus INSIGHTS." Sedus products are developed in the company's own research and development centre, which attracts experts from the fields of workplace design, ergonomics and wellbeing to create its most innovative solutions. Holger Jahnke: "For a workplace to be future proof, it should be responsive to changing needs and activities, and must offer users the freedom to choose where and how to work. Our flexible and intelligent workplaces address this issue directly, offering the perfect environment for private work, communication, collaboration and relaxation. The modular design of Sedus tables, workstations and storage systems allows them to adapt quickly to changing requirements. Together with our intuitive, user-friendly task seating, it is possible to create ergonomic, productive solutions that are ideally suited to fast moving environments." Sedus Future Proof provides guidance and support for decision makers Holger Jahnke: "Sedus is today one of the leading international providers in the office furniture industry. The Sedus brand is synonymous with innovation, technology and aesthetics, and enriches the living world of the office with new product ideas and contemporary ideas. Anyone who works with Sedus products enjoys the sort of high quality furniture associated with 'Made in Germany'. Sedus is an international brand, active in more than 50 countries worldwide. We understand market developments and help companies make future-proof investments. "This is based on an analysis of work styles and methods, as well as an understanding of the identity and goals of each individual organisation. This is supported by tailored workplace solutions which include a full package of benefits including after-sale service and product guarantees. "We call this the 'Sedus Future Proof' package, which means a combination of consulting services and durable, adaptable products which offers organisations not only a solution for today but also one that allows them to face the future with confidence." Sedus press office Bruckenstrae 15, 79761 Waldshut, Tel. +49 (0)775-184-320, E-Mail: presse@sedus.de Sedus press agency Joachim Sparenberg, Dr.-Schworer-Str. 20, 79761 Waldshut Tel. +49 (0)774-183-55-003, Email: sparenberg-pr@web.de SOURCE Sedus Stoll AG Whats cooking in the IPO kitchen? AIM Cradle Archolding company of a group of companies focused on the exploration and development of precious and base metals projects in Africa. Offer raising 2.4m with market cap of 20.13m. Expected late Jan 2018 Volex VLX.LThe global provider of cable assemblies is proposing to move from the main market to AIM on 19 January. 75m market cap. FYMar18E rev 241.5m and 7.19m PBT. OnTheMarketIntention to float on AIM to raise c.50m which will be used to fund the growth of the portal, already the third biggest UK residential property portal provider. Expected valuation 200m to 250m. Main Market Specialist Fund Segment Sure Ventures Raising up to 50m at 1. Focus on FinTech, IoT and Augmented/Virtual Reality. Postponed to 22 Jan. Main Market Premium Listing Press speculation that iconic luxury car builder of James Bond fame, Aston Martin is considering a London IPO with a valuation of up to 5bn GEMS Educationreport by Reuters that the private schools group is seeking a $4.5bn to $5bn London float in 2018. FYAug17 rev $926.2m and adjusted EBITDA $261.6m. Vivo EnergyThe Africa-focused company, which operates around 1,800 Shell forecourts across 16 countries reported by City A.M. to be preparing for a London float next year Breakfast buffet (LON:MYN.) 0.75p 8.75m Update on the Asphalt Ridge Project a heavy oil sands deposit being developed by TSX listed Petroteq Energy Inc. Deloro Energy LLC in which Mayan has a 17.6% interest, has completed the first US$2.5m tranche of its $10m acquisition of a 49% interest in Asphalt Ridge. All building and construction permits associated with the 1,000-barrel oil per day ("bopd") oil extraction process facility at Asphalt Ridge have been granted . sphalt Ridge has 87 Million Stock Tank Barrels contingent resource in place and a defined development plan to produce 5,000+ bopd by 2019. General increases in oil prices now imply Netbacks (oil sales net of royalties, production and transportation expenses) of $35+ per barrel- compared with $15-20 reported in November 2016 e-Therapeutics ( ) 9.4p 25.2m The Company pioneering the use of Network-Driven Drug Discovery (NDD) to create new and better drugs, announced agreements with Intellegens and Biorelate. Both companies have artificial intelligence (AI) tools which, after pilot studies, have been proven to enhance ETX's existing computational NDD technology. No financial details were disclosed. Intellegens is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge that has developed a unique AI method for training neural networks from incomplete data. The collaboration will allow e-Therapeutics to apply Intellegens' technology to the predication and error correction of large-scale biological and chemical data. Manchester-based Biorelate provides biomedical knowledge by using AI to create curated databases from the analysis of published literature. FYJan19E pre-tax loss of 7.39m. And no revenue. TP Group ( ) 6.65p 50.44m FYDec17 trading update form the specialist services and engineering group. Trading has remained positive and in line with market expectations. The Company demonstrated ongoing progress with substantial growth in revenues, EBITDA, and order intake during the period. These successes have been achieved through a combination of contract wins in the UK and internationally, earnings accretive acquisitions and continual improvement in operational efficiencies. During 2017, the Company completed a number of strategically important acquisitions, namely: ALS Technologies Ltd and FSS Software Solutions Ltd in February, and Polaris Consulting in December. FYDec18E rev 35.9m and PBT of 1.9m. ( ) 11.95p 17.39m The renewable fuels company, announced that it intends to raise approximately 18.4m by way of a firm placing and placing and open offer. Fund raising of approximately 18.4m Approximately 14m by way of a firm placing of at a placing price of 10p per share. 4.4m by way of an open offer made to Eligible Shareholders of 44,057,946 New Ordinary Shares at the Placing Price. Use of proceeds includes funding initial development costs in respect of the Company's Mississippi biorefinery while the Company pursues strategic investment for development costs and the project capex, and to progress the Company's UK waste-to-renewable jet fuel project; Current forecasts suggest no material revenue until FYDec19. The shares have fallen 56% at the time of pricing today, reflecting the deep discount of the offer. Greatland Gold (LON:GGP.) 201p 410.75m Ernest Giles project update. Newmont not to proceed with the project at this time. Newmont's DSG survey has been successful in defining a new large gold anomaly, covering an area of approximately 5km by 1.5km and untested by previous drilling. Greatland Gold continues to hold 100% of the project and is well financed to proceed with its alternative plans to progress with an exploration programme. "The collaboration between Newmont and Greatland has successfully defined several additional gold anomalies, and we would like to thank Newmont for their efforts. The results of their survey have enhanced our understanding of the project and identified multiple new targets for further exploration work, reinforcing our view that the Ernest Giles project has the potential to host several multi-million-ounce gold deposits. We are well financed to actively progress exploration at Ernest Giles and look forward to reporting progress through the year." SafeCharge International ( ) 308.5p 453m The specialist in advanced payment technologies, today announces that its wholly owned UK subsidiary, SafeCharge Financial Services Limited, has been authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as a Payment Institution. This in in addition to SafeCharge Limited's existing authorisation as a European Electronic Money Institution. The authorisation will allow SafeCharge Financial Services Limited to provide payments services in the UK in accordance with the Payment Services Regulations. It will enable SafeCharge to continue expanding its services portfolio to its existing client base and to new clients, as well as future proofing the business post Brexit and potential changes to the passporting rules. FYDec18E rev $93.96m and PBT of $25.92m. Div c.4%. Tax Systems ( ) 79.5p 60.4m FYDec17 update from supplier of corporation tax software and services. As reported at the time of the Company's interim results in September, the trading performance of the business has continued to be strong and as such the Board expects to report results for the year ended 31 December 2017 in line with market expectations. Good order intake and cash conversion in the second half of the year saw a continued reduction in net debt1 which decreased from 23.6m as at 30 June 2017 to c.20.5m as at 31 December 2017. A significant amount of activity and progress during the year has led to a solid platform having been put in place to support the Company's growth strategy and day to day operations. The future market opportunity remains substantial, arising from the continued move towards digitising the tax system as well as the drive to improve efficiency and reduce risk within corporate tax departments. FYDec18E rev 15.8m and PBT 5.7m. Spectra Systems ( ) 95p 43.14m The specialist in machine-readable high-speed banknote authentication and brand protection technologies, is delighted to announce that it executed on Friday an exclusive, worldwide, licensing agreement for one of its existing products which is in use by 18 central banks through an existing licensee, a major supplier of banknotes worldwide. The licensing agreement will extend the rights to the underlying technology, which has been in use since 2003, in perpetuity and generate $11.2m in royalty payments over the next five years. The payments will be settled in eleven equally spaced payments. Also anticipates supply of materials to generate up to $2m over the same period. Spectra now expects that both its revenue and particularly its PBT for FyDec18will significantly exceed market expectations. We could see no forecasts. ( ) 142.5p 26.8m The provider of outsourced point-of-service software, announces that its Riposte solution has gone live in Permanent TSB's branch in Dundrum, Dublin. 2018 will see the roll out of Riposte to Permanent TSB's entire branch network in 77 locations across Ireland. Building strong customer relationships is a key goal for Permanent TSB and the deployment of Escher's Riposte solution will help the bank achieve this as part of its modernisation programme of the branch network and by facilitating future digital banking initiatives. FYDec18E rev $15.6m and PBT $1.52m. FTSE 100 Index called to open flat at 7775, tracking back towards rising lows support at 7765 following a bullish test of 7800 overnight that extends the January rising channel. Bulls need a break above 7790 to further extends the channel, bears need a breach of 7760 to foster a breakdown. Watch levels: Bullish 7790, Bearish 7760 Calls for a flat start come despite another Wall St rally into a US long weekend (Martin Luther King holiday today) which Asian bourses latched onto overnight to make for a positive start the week. UK sentiment checked by being forced into liquidation, with political ramifications as one of the biggest UK contractors, having being given new business even after a run of profits warnings. A weak USD continues to help Energy via Oil, and thus commodities, more than it is hindering via GBP and EUR strength. This is countering the potential hindrance from FX strength derived from soft Brexit hopes and German coalition talks progress. In UK corporate news this morning: major UK contractor Carillion enters compulsory liquidation after unsuccessful weekend talks with creditors and UK government about options to reduce debt and bolster balance sheet. Government to fund existing public services contracts. Ferguson sees 3pt tax rate benefit from US tax reform in 2018, no material one-off charges or credits. Industries starting shareholder meetings to discuss proposal. William Hill expects FY adjusted operating profit ahead of expectations; strategic review of Australian business. Q417 gold production slightly ahead of expectations, although -30% vs Q416. Bodycote expects FY profits at upper end of consensus; expects significant non-cash tax credit from US tax reform. recovers 910-carat diamond at Letseng mine. US equity markets finished the week with another record breaking session buoyed by results from banks JP Morgan and Wells Fargo and Energy names were supported by oil prices continuing to push higher. A weaker USD helped even after supportive macro data, perhaps fuelled by President Trump threatening the Iranian nuclear deal and NAFTA. Crude Oil benchmarks remain strong, Brent holding above $70, supported by USD weakness and rising belief in both global growth and coordinated supply curbs, getting some investors looking to potential to see $100 again. Gold continues to benefit from USD weakness getting above mid-September resistance of $1335, opening the door to September highs of $1357. In focus today - a quiet one for macro-economic data on account of the US Martin Luther King Day holiday - will be Eurozone Trade Balance (10am) for November, forecast to show a rise in the surplus, regaining half of the October drop from what was a 6-month high. The lone speaker of the day is the s newly arrived Tenreyo (6.15pm), delivering her maiden speech as external member of the Monetary Policy Committee, speaking in London about The Fall in Productivity Growth: Causes and Implications. Harvest Minerals is now completing tests on KPfertil and should secure full certification by the end of the year Shares in Harvest Minerals Limited (LON:HMI) have enjoyed something of a fillip lately, following a brief flurry of news that looks like the start of what could be a busy period. Key at this stage is the ongoing success of agronomic testwork on Harvests Brazilian fertiliser product, KPfertil. Looked at one way, this is a pretty simple matter. The tests literally just involve putting the product on plants, says Harvests executive chairman Brian McMaster But looked at from another point of view, its likely to mark the moment that Harvest really comes of age. All the capital thats likely to be needed for production from Harvests Arapua project has now been spent. The mine is ready to go. Harvests own independent tests on coffee, potatoes and carrots have come up trumps. All thats needed is the certification from Brazils Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, also known as MAPA, and this is based on a test on rice, which has also gone well. The application is now anticipated to be processed early this quarter (JanMar 2018), having been delayed by an extended Chirstmas break in Brazil. After that, production is just a short hop away, and given the huge resource at Arapua, its really then just a matter of judging the demand. Weve pitched the ball down the fairway at 450,000 tonnes per year, says McMaster, but if our sales team come back and say its actually 250,000 tonnes or a million tonnes, thats fine. Harvest will be able to adjust output accordingly. For us the market is as big as the sales team can make it, says McMaster. But because the company is aiming to sell directly into the surrounding agricultural communities in Brazil, a little bit of local knowledge is called for. To that end Harvest has just appointed Lino Furia as sales manager, a man who has worked with several major fertiliser companies, including Mosaic (NYSE:MOS), and local Brazilian champion VALE (NYSE:VALE). In the announcement that accompanied Furias appointment, McMaster also drew attention to Brazils stated intention to becoming fertiliser self-sufficient by 2020, just two-and-a half years away. Whether Brazil as a country will hit that target remains to be seen, but Harvest at least looks well on track to pass its own milestones. The fundamentals of why people invested in this company is that they wanted to see Arapua come on stream and start creating cash, says McMaster. Thats now about to happen and recent news on agronomics and sales strategy is a continuation of the thing weve been saying we were going to do. So all the pieces in that cashflow jigsaw are now falling into place. Indeed, it wont be long before investors start to look to the upside that lies elsewhere in the company. There are three other projects inside Harvest, says McMaster. One of them is similar to Arapua, and two are traditional potash projects. In addition weve publicly said the company is actively pursuing opportunities to grow. So watch this space. At 15p, Harvest is valued at a shade under 18mln. Caledonia retains operational control of Blanket and ownership of 49% of the mine in Zimbabwe New tramming loop has been installed at Blanket Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC's (LON:CMCL, TSE:CAL) Blanket gold mine has been in operation for many years and managed to ride out the complexities of the Zimbabwean political situation relatively unscathed. To a large extent, thats due to the indigenisation deal that Caledonia struck some years ago with local businessmen, with its own workers, and with other community groups. Under the terms of that deal, Caledonia retains operational control of Blanket and ownership of 49%. The terms of sale of the 51% stake stipulated that the company would be paid back out of cash flow from the mine itself, and on very commercial terms. Accordingly, as with all the best deals, all parties felt that they came out of it well, and the companys ability to operate in Zimbabwe has never been seriously in jeopardy. Digging deeper In recent years, the concerns have been more about how to operate Blanket to maximum efficiency. To that end, the company is in the middle of a heavy investment programme, the benefits of which are just beginning to show through. Thus, a new tramming loop has been installed at the 750-metre level, allowing for the more efficient distribution of ore around the underground network of tunnels before it is brought to the surface for processing. In addition, the company is also working on new shafts to increase the amount of ore it can haul to the surface at any one time. All told, the plan is to boost output in the longer term to more than 80,000 ounces per year by 2021. The AIM-listed gold miner produced 25,582 ounces of gold in the first half of 2018, marginally ahead of the 25,316 ounces produced a year earlier For the second quarter, the company said around 12,657 ounces had been produced, a 1.1% increase on the second quarter of 2017 but 2% below production in the first quarter of 2018. Gross profit amounted to US$5.14mln, up from US$5.03mln, and net profit attributable shareholder rose by 275% to US$2.6mln from US$694mln. Earnings per share improved substantially too, up 86% to 35.2 cents, from 18.9 cents. Caledonia added that production remained in line with expectations and maintained its full-year production guidance at between 55,000-59,000 ounces and the miner is on track for its 2021 target. Dividend payer Caledonia has been a consistent dividend payer in recent years and has already said it intends to maintain the payment of US$27.5c (21.5p) in its current financial year. At the current share price of 690p, that's a yield of 3.1%. --Adds details from second quarter results-- KPfertil was soft launched last year while Harvest waits for remineraliser certification Production of KPfertil will reach 320,000 tonnes with the expnasion Harvest Minerals Limited ( ) is stepping up operations at its Arapua fertiliser project in Brazil with the addition of a new plant and expansion of the sales and marketing team. KPfertil was soft launched last year while Harvest waits for the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Supply to certify the product as a remineraliser. The application is now anticipated to be processed early this quarter, having been.delayed by an extended Christmas break in Brazil. Four additional knife mills will be added to boost annual production capacity to over 320,000 tonnes and create a single production line. Brian McMaster, Harvests chairman, said: The fully funded plant expansion, which should be commissioned in the coming few months, will allow us to meet expected demand for KPfertil. The tie-ups are with University of Cambridge spin-out Intellegens and Manchester-based Biorelate No financial details of the agreements were disclosed Computer-based drug developer e-Therapeutics PLC ( ) has signed collaboration deals which will enhance and extend its artificial intelligence (AI) technology capabilities. Both Intellegens and Biorelate have AI tools which, after pilot studies, have been shown to complement ETXs existing computational network-driven drug discovery (NDD) technology. Intellegens is a spin-out from the University of Cambridge that has developed a unique AI method for training neural networks from incomplete data. The tie-up will allow ETX to apply Intellegens' technology to the predication and error correction of large-scale biological and chemical data and will enhance ETXs existing proprietary databases. The tech will also be used to develop a novel computationally guided approach to medicinal chemistry. As for Manchester-based Biorelate, it uses AI to create databases by analysing published literature around a certain topic digging out the most important and relevant pieces of information from masses of research journals and papers. The aim of the collaboration is to directly feed this knowledge into e-Therapeutics' NDD engine which should help in the pursuit of novel disease mechanisms. We already utilize machine learning heavily in our discovery platform to augment empirical biological and chemical data, said ETX's head of discovery informatics Jonny Wray. These partnerships will enhance and extend our internal capabilities via collaborations with companies at the cutting edge of AI research and application. The growing mining company announced the US$75mln deal last month. Limited (LON:BSE, ASX:BSE) on Monday confirmed that it is has been cleared to acquire the Toliara Sands project, with the proposed transaction becoming unconditional. The deal to acquire an 85% stake in Mauritian subsidiaries of World Titane Holdings, which own the Toliara Sands project, is now expected to be completed next week. Toliara has a large, high grade resource of 857mln tonnes at 6.2% heavy minerals, with 612mln tonnes in the measured and indicated categories at 6.7% heavy minerals. The plan is to put Toliara Sands into production in mid-2021. Crucially, key permits are in place, including mining lease and environmental approval. An established legislated land acquisition process is underway and scheduled for completion in mid-2018. Base launched the transaction in mid-December and it will pay US$75 mln for an 85% interest, acquiring the final 15% on the completion of certain milestones. Diamond is fifth largest ever found and might be worth more than US$40mln says brokers Here is a photo of the new sparkler PLC ( ) has pulled out its biggest diamond yet from the Letseng mine in Lesotho. The 910 carat sparkler is thought to be the fifth largest diamond of gem quality ever recovered. Gem said it was an 'exceptional' D Colour Type IIa stone that highlighted the quality of Letseng as a source of super diamonds. Upgrade Broker Liberum upgraded its view on Gem on the back of the discovery and also the potential for more massive diamonds to be unearthed in Letseng. The pricing of diamonds is hugely variable and driven by a multitude of factors, but assuming that there are no large inclusions running through the diamond, we initially estimate a sale of US$40mln," said the broker. The 1,109 carat Lesedi la found in 2015 by Lucara at its Karowe mine sold for US$53mln eventually, implying a pricing of c.$48,000/carat. This would imply a $43m price tag for the Letseng diamond, but we place large caveats on this estimation, given that the pricing is rarely linear. Clifford Elphick, chief executive. said: "Since acquired Letseng in 2006, the mine has produced some of the world's most remarkable diamonds, including the 603 carat Lesotho Promise, however, this exceptional top quality diamond is the largest to be mined to date and highlights the unsurpassed quality of the Letseng mine. "This is a landmark recovery for all of ' stakeholders. Shares in rose 8% to 87p compared to Liberums new price target of 115p. It is anticipated that binding contracts will be exchanged in the coming weeks ( ) said the exchange of contracts on its acquisition of the Leigh Creek copper mine has been delayed. The company said the delay was occasioned by the need to satisfy a number of conditions associated with the purchase being of an existing company, inclusive of mineral rights. These are primarily administrative in nature. It was not possible to get these sorted before the Christmas break, but the minerals company reckons that binding contracts should be exchanged in the coming weeks and settlement will occur once all conditions precedents are met. The transaction will still need to be cleared by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board. "We have no concerns about completing the transaction but want to ensure that all procedures are completed properly to reduce risk to the company," said John Peters, the managing director of Strategic Minerals. The shares fell to 2.11p on the news, down from 2.35p overnight. Jubilee will acquire a 29.01% holding in the enlarged issued share capital of BMR for 500,000 in cash and 2.3mln worth of shares The deal will raise Jubilee's effective interest in the Kabwe project to over 57%. PLC ( ) is to buy a stake in PLC ( ), its joint venture partner in the Kabwe project Zambia. The company will acquire a 29.01% holding in the enlarged issued share capital of BMR for 500,000 in cash and 63,166,969 Jubilee shares worth 2.3mln based on closing price of 3.65p each on 11 January. The deal will raise Jubilee's effective interest in Kabwe to 57.41%, subject to its election to execute the project. "This strategic acquisition is consistent with our stated mission to take our brand into low risk surface projects in other commodities and other countries, said chief executive Leon Coetzer. The acquisition secures Jubilee the right to a significantly increased effective interest in the Kabwe project which is dependent only on our decision to progress the Kabwe project, which remains subject to the completion of our due diligence. The company expects to come to a decision on whether to proceed with the Kabwe project by 28 February. Jubilee entered into a joint venture with BMR in October last year to target the recovery of lead, zinc and vanadium at Kabwe. Coetzer said ongoing due diligence of the Kabwe project has confirmed Jubilees understanding of the significant size and quality of the various surface assets. I was particularly encouraged by our metal recovery trials which included the leachability of the zinc, lead and the vanadium, he said. These results confirmed the recoverability of the targeted metals. Due diligence is now focused on working with BMR to establish the optimal recovery route for extracting the metals from a commercial standpoint in an environmentally responsible manner, he said. Galliford, Balfour and Carillion were working together on a new road in Aberdeen, while the latter two have a couple of other ongoing projects as well Galliford expects Carillions collapse to cost it up to 40mln in additional costs, while Balfour expects to take up to a 45mln hit ( ) reckons the collapse of fellow construction company PLC ( ) will hit profits by as much as 40mln this year. FTSE 250-listed Galliford is working with Carillion and ( ) to build the 550mln Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route road. Project dogged by delays The decision to award the contract to the consortium was widely welcomed by the Scottish government back in December 2014. Things havent gone smoothly though: a project which, on the surface, should have been relatively simple has been dogged by delays, pushing up costs and hampering already-thin margins. With Carillion now going into liquidation, it is up to Galliford and Balfour to foot the remainder of the bill and complete the project. Galliford reckons Carillions share of the remaining costs at the project will be between 60-80mln, which itself and Balfour will split. Broker cuts EPS estimate That means each firm will have to take a one-off hit of up to 40mln this year, perhaps more if those estimates are a little askew. Galliford said: The companies will discuss the position urgently with the Official Receiver of Carillion and Transport Scotland, to minimise any impact on the project. As a result of the expected cash outflow, City broker Liberum has cut the firms earnings per share estimates for this financial year by 1%, while it expects net debt in June to be 98mln up from 63mln Balfour expects additional costs from other Carillion JVs Balfour is likely to take a bigger hit as a result of Carillions failure to fulfil its obligations due at its various joint venture projects. As well as the 36-mile road in Aberdeen, the two companies were also working together on the A14 in Cambridgeshire and the M60 Junction 8 to M62 Junction 20 scheme. As a result, Balfour has warned investors that it expects profits to be dented by up to 45mln in 2018. Balfour Beatty shares are down 2.9% to 298.7p late on Monday, although Galliford tops the FTSE 250 losers down 6.3% to 11.97. Process improvements are resulting in average daily rate increases. The Lance Projects are in a premier uranium extraction jurisdiction ( ) has achieved its third successive quarter of increased uranium production from the Lance Projects in the U.S. There were circa 38,800 pounds of uranium produced in the December quarter, 4,300 pounds more than the previous quarter. The average daily production rate improved to 430 pounds during the quarter and this has continued into January with a rate of 500 pounds. Wayne Heili, managing director and CEO, said: We are pleased to be producing at the high end of our 30,000 to 40,000 pounds quarterly forecast range. This comes as we prepare to transition the project to what we anticipate will be a substantially more robust and sustainable commercial operation utilising a lower pH mining solution. Lance Projects in Wyoming The Lance ISR uranium operation is in the state of Wyoming, which is a premier uranium extraction jurisdiction, hosting multiple ISR operations. Process improvement initiatives implemented in 2017 have been largely responsible for ensuring wellfield flow rates remained stable during extreme cold weather in December and early January. Production from the companys nine commissioned header houses using alkaline lixiviant will form the basis of ongoing operations over the near-term. Changing to low pH operation This will enable Peninsula to progress the various activities and permitting required for the change to a low pH ISR uranium operation. The company is also constructing the surface facilities associated with the tenth header house to increase operating capacity by mid-2018 or as needed. Uranium purchases Peninsula is purchasing uranium from other producers to meet sales commitments. Peninsula has contracted to purchase 900,000 pounds of uranium over the next 3 years at an average cost of US$25 per pound and its costs are well below sales prices. The company has up to 7.6 million pounds of uranium remaining under contract for delivery to major utilities in the U.S. and Europe through to 2030 at a weighted average delivery price of US$54.50 per pound. Projected revenue remaining under these existing long-term contracts is up to US$415 million. These contracts provide a substantial earnings stream to Peninsula while allowing it to retain significant quantities of planned uranium production for contracting in the future. Shares in the company have more than doubled in 2018. King River Copper ( ) has received firm commitments to raise $1.2 million through the placement of 40 million shares at $0.03 to professional and sophisticated investors. The company is now fully funded to complete the current metallurgical test work and complete the concept and scoping study on the Speewah Vanadium-Titanium-Iron Project in Western Australia. The metallurgical test work is expected late January or early February 2018, which is to be followed by the study results expected in late March 2018. Fully funded for Mt Remarkable drill program King River is now also fully funded to conduct extensive reverse circulation drilling that will follow up the shallow high-grade results from the Mt Remarkable Gold Project in Western Australia. Drilling is expected to include some diamond drilling and will be subject to access but is anticipated for April/May 2018. The halt will remain in place until Wednesday 17th January 2018. The company's shares are in pre-open ( ) recently wrapped up the first modern drilling program targeting high-grade base metal surface mineralisation at the Braeside Project, located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. There is the potential for porphyry related (including VMS) polymetallic mineralisation. Rumble was this morning granted a trading halt, pending exploration results from the project. The halt will remain in place until the opening of trade on Wednesday 17th January 2018, or earlier if an announcement is made to the market. Drilling is also underway at the Sadisdorf Lithium Project in Germany. The aim is to establish a processing hub in Europe to support battery production ( ) (FRA:3MW) has been granted a 133 square kilometre exploration licence in Saxony, Germany. The prospective exploration ground is located in a region where lithium mineralisation is often associated with tin and tungsten mineralisation. Notable deposits featuring the minerals in the region include Cinovec, Zinnwald and Sadisdorf. At Sadisdorf, Lithium Australia is farming into an historic tin mine with a pervasive lithium greisen halo. Can earn up to 50% of Sadisdorf Lithium Australia can earn up to 50% from Tin International AG of the Sadisdorf Lithium Project in Germany. The company plans to use its 100%-owned SiLeach process to recover lithium from Sadisdorf. The project may have sufficient resources to sustain 10 years of lithium carbonate production at a rate of 25,000 tonnes per annum. Central European lithium processing hub The objective is to establish a central processing hub in Europe to support battery production for the rapidly expanding electric vehicle industry. Sadisdorf already has the potential to supply lithium to the German auto industry and the company is also looking to areas never before explored systematically. In this regard, central Europe offers many opportunities. Drilling underway at Sadisdorf Drilling at Sadisdorf has now resumed, with initial results expected in February of this year. The drilling program is scheduled for completion at the end of March, with final results expected in May 2018. Drilling follows a maiden resource estimate Adrian Griffin, managing director, said: The drill program at Sadisdorf which follows its maiden mineral resource estimate of 25 million tonnes at 0.45% lithium oxide aims to confirm historical data, as well as provide additional data to expand the known resource. We are looking forward to receiving the first results in support of that historical data and to confirm our interpretation of mineralisation and geology at that project. We are also pleased to announce the acquisition of another land package in Saxony that has, since 2015, been known to host lithium minerals. We feel that this relatively recent identification, and the acquisition itself, further strengthen Lithium Australia's position in central Europe and support its aspiration to become a prime supplier to Europe's burgeoning battery industry. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Mumbai, Jan 10 : The "Race 3" team has started shooting for the first song from the upcoming film. Producer Ramesh Taurani on Tuesday shared a photograph of him along with the film's director Remo D'Souza holding a clapboard. "Shooting our first song on 'Race 3' with my director and the best choreographer in the country. Remo D'souza, Salman Khan, Jacqueline, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Saleem," he captioned the image. Co-produced by Salman Khan Films and Taurani under the banner of Tips Films, "Race 3" will hit theatres on Eid 2018. It is the sequel to the 2013 film "Race 2" and the third instalment of the "Race" film series. The earlier instalment featured Saif Ali Khan, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Ameesha Patel, Aditya Pancholi and Katrina Kaif. Washington, Jan 11 : The US State Department has warned Americans to exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism and to avoid going to Jammu and Kashmir except the Buddhist-dominated region of Ladakh. The State Department on Wednesday launched improvements on sharing information with US travellers to provide clear, timely and reliable safety and security information. "Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism. Some areas have increased risk," the advisory said. It asked Americans not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir (except Ladakh region and its capital Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest. It also warned of potential for armed conflict within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border in the state. "Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations," it said. "Terrorist or armed groups are active in East Central India, primarily in rural areas," the advisory said, referring to Maoists. "Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets and shopping malls and local government facilities. "The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in rural areas from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal as US government employees must obtain special authorization to travel to these areas." The advisory said that Americans deciding to visit India must not travel alone, particularly if they were women. "US citizens who travel abroad should always have a contingency plan for emergency situations. "Due to the fluid nature of the threat, all US government travellers to states with Naxalite activity must receive special authorization from the US consulate responsible for the area to be visited. "US officials travelling only to the capital cities in these states do not need prior authorization," it added. Agartala, Jan 12 : The Election Commission proposes to deploy a record 30,000 Central Para-Military Force (CPMF) personnel for next month's assembly elections in Tripura, a top police officer said here on Friday. "The Election Commission has asked the Union Home Ministry to deploy around 30,000 (300 companies) CPMF personnel in Tripura for conduct of the assembly elections in the state next month. Therefore, the MHA has decided to deploy them well ahead of the polling day," said the officer who wished not to be identified. He said: "The CPMF would comprise Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The CPMF troopers, led by senior officers, have started arriving from Friday. They would reach the state in a phased manner and would fan out across the state." The state already has over 35,000 security force personnel comprising state and CPMF, including BSF, CRPF and Tripura State Rifles. During the last assembly elections in February 2013, around 20,000 CPMF personnel were deployed in the mountainous bordering state. Meanwhile, an official of the state Election Department said the Election Commission is likely to declare the schedule of assembly elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland within a week or so. The three northeastern states would go to polls simultaneously in February. Several delegations of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had met the poll panel in New Delhi and urged it to hold the assembly elections in a free and fair manner. Communist Party of India-Marxist state Secretary Bijan Dhar told the media on Friday: "The BJP is trying to defer the assembly polls in Tripura to get undue political mileage. "The party has been conspiring against the Left Front government in the state, but their every effort would be foiled by the conscious people of the state." The BJP, however, denied the allegations. Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy on Wednesday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi and discussed various issues. A Raj Bhavan official said the Governor talked about the prevailing law and order situation in the poll-bound state. Although the official did not disclose what exactly transpired between the two leaders, the meeting assumes importance in view of the BJP's allegation of deteriorating law and order situation in the Left-ruled state. The final electoral rolls of Tripura were published on January 5. According to the final rolls, on the basis of which the elections would be held, in all 2,569,216 voters, including 1,265,785 females, have been enrolled in the electoral rolls -- increasing by 2.52 per cent voters from last year's voter list. "We are getting ready on all fronts to hold the assembly elections smoothly. The Election Commission is in close touch with the state officials about the preparations of the elections," Tripura Chief Electoral Officer Sriram Taranikanti said. The poll panel has already announced that Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machines attached to the Electronic Voting Machines would be used in all the polling stations of the three states. Even before the announcement of the election schedule, all the political parties, including the ruling CPI-M -led Left Front and opposition BJP and the Congress, have started hectic political activities and campaigning to woo the voters. New Delhi, Jan 12 : Army chief Bipin Rawat said that the army is working on evolving a better system for providing aid being to children of martyrs and those disabled in action, after government put a Rs 10,000 cap on the monthly fund. He said that the system that came in place after the 1971 war was aimed at helping the family of martyrs, but was however also misused. "Somehow, some people started misusing it. "When government put a cap, we said we will review the policy and ensure only genuine people get benefit," he said. Gen. Rawat said the army was working on a plan to open two schools, and once they are operational, instead of granting financial aid, children of martyrs and physically disabled soldiers who are eligible for the help will be given admission in these schools. He said one of the schools was likely to be set up in Pathankot in Punjab, and the second one will be opened in central or southern part of the country. "It will take three to four years to get these facility running... I am confident this will soon be overcome," he said. Asked about the higher education of these children, as the provision is to provide aid till the student is a graduate, he said Army ran a number of institutions of higher studies as well. An order dated September 13 by the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare of the defence ministry said the fee for tuition and hostel expenses for children of martyrs would be capped at Rs 10,000 per month, as per the recommendations by the 7th Pay Commission. The order came in effect from July 1. The scheme for government bearing the cost of education of martyrs' children was announced in Lok Sabha on December 18, 1971 -- two days after Pakistani forces surrendered at Dhaka in the India- Pakistan war which led to liberation of Bangladesh. According to the government, around 250 students have been reported to be affected during current financial year. Islamabad, Jan 13 : The US won't conduct unilateral anti-terror operations in Pakistan depsite President Donald Trump suspending American military aid and criticising Islamabad for "lies and deceit", a top American military commander has assured the Army Chief, Gen Qamar Bajwa. Pakistan Army's public affairs division Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has released the details of Gen Bajwa's recent contacts with the US leaders, Dawn newspaper reported on Saturday. The army chief was contacted by Centcom Commander Gen Joseph Votel last week and an unnamed Senator to defuse tensions after Trump's New Year Day hostile tweet accusing Pakistan of lying and being deceitful towards the US. The calls, according to the ISPR, were for discussing "Pak-US security cooperation post President Trump tweet". Dawn said that the Centcom chief conveyed "three key messages" to the Army Chief. These included that "the problems in ties were temporary, there would be no unilateral action against Pakistan and that the US did not want a disruption in ties rather it wanted cooperation from Islamabad on areas of its concern". Possibility of a unilateral action by the US was key concern in Islamabad, especially after a Pentagon report on Afghanistan last month mentioned "unilateral steps in areas of divergence". The broader contours of Gen Bajwa's response shared with the US, as per the ISPR, included a commitment to continuing its operations against terrorism and an acknowledgment of the US concerns about the presence of Afghan militants. "Pakistan is fully aware of US concerns on activities of Afghan nationals in Pakistan and we are already undertaking multiple actions through Operation Raddul Fasaad to deny any residual capacity to terrorists of all hue and colour for which return of Afghan refugees is an essential prerequisite," Gen Bajwa was quoted as having told Gen Votel. He also told the American general that that the "entire Pakistani nation felt betrayed" over the US statements, but insisted Pakistan would continue to support peace efforts in the region despite being made a "scapegoat". New Delhi, Jan 13 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a former Director of Andhra Bank in its ongoing money laundering probe in the alleged Rs 5,000 crore bank fraud case involving Gujarat-based pharmaceutical company Sterling Biotech, an official said on Saturday. Anup Prakash Garg was arrested after day-long questioning on Friday under charges of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the official said. Both the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had named Garg in their criminal cases as an accused. The ED initiated a money laundering probe in the case taking cognisance of CBI FIR in the case. The ED said it found during probe that "certain entries" in a diary seized by the Income Tax Department in 2011 showed various cash payments amounting to Rs 1.52 crore made to one "Garg, Director, Andhra Bank" between 2008-2009 by the Sandesara brothers. "Various cash payments were made to Garg, as reflected in the said entries, on the instructions of Sandesara brothers, by withdrawing cash from the bank accounts of several benami companies of the Sandesara brothers," it said. The financial probe agency alleged Garg of infusing several crores of rupees of his unaccounted cash in various companies through many Kolkata-based bogus shell companies with the help of cash or cheque entry operators in Kolkata to launder the proceeds of crime obtained by him from the Sandesaras. In November last year, the ED arrested a Delhi-based businessman Gagan Dhawan in connection with the case. The CBI had booked Sterling Biotech, its directors Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Sandesara, Rajbhushan Omprakash Dixit, Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara and Vilas Joshi, chartered accountant Hemant Hathi, Garg and some unidentified persons in connection with the alleged bank fraud case. Sterling Biotech had taken loans of over Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium of banks led by Andhra Bank which had turned into non-performing assets. A total pending dues of the group companies were Rs 5,383 crore as on December 31, 2016, alleged the CBI FIR. New Delhi, Jan 14 : A seven-member delegation of the Bar Council Of India (BCI) on Sunday met Justice J. Chelameswar, one of the four senior judges of the Supreme Court who went public with their differences with Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and two other justices. The delegation met Justice Chelameswar at his residence and discussed the issue for around 45 minutes. Early in the morning, the delegation met Justice R.K. Agrawal and thereafter Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, two days after the four judges went public with their differences with the Chief Justice. Later, the delegation met Justice Arun Mishra. The BCI had on Saturday decided to send a delegation to meet a majority of the Supreme Court Judges on Sunday so that the crisis can be resolved at the earliest. "The council is of the unanimous view that it is an internal matter of the Supreme Court. The council has hope and trust that the judges of the Supreme Court will realise the seriousness of the issue and in future may avoid any such situation that politicians or political parties could take undue advantage of and or which could cause harm to our judiciary," the BCI said in a statement on Saturday. The council has requested political parties and politicians not to criticise the judiciary or make it an issue as it would weaken the independence of judiciary, which is the protector of democracy. BCI President Manan Mishra has said it was "most unfortunate" that the four judges held a press conference, sending out a message that all was not well with the Supreme Court and that the issue should have been "sorted out internally". Manan Mishra has also dubbed it a "family dispute" that should be resolved within the judiciary. But he felt the judges should not have gone to the media with their complaints. The four judges -- Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- on Friday took on the Chief Justice over allocation of cases, saying the administration of the top court was "not in order". Maidan Shahr (Afghanistan) : Maidan Shahr (Afghanistan) Jan 14 (IANS) Two Taliban senior commanders were among 10 militants killed in Wardak province of central east Afghanistan on Sunday, spokesman for the provincial government Abdul Rahman Mangal said. "Acting on a tip-off, the security forces stormed a Taliban hideout in Sayed Abad district today (Sunday) morning, killing 10 rebels, including notorious commanders Qari Najibullah alias Rahbar and Mawlawi Waris alias Abas, on the spot," Mangal told Xinhua news agency. Meanwhile, four Taliban insurgents were killed and one other arrested in an operation in the country's southern province of Helmand overnight, said the Special Forces command on Sunday. Upon arrival of the security force, a gunfight took place and no member of security force was hurt during the raid, an Operational Coordination Group Afghanistan (MoD-OCGA) statement said. Xinhua reported that the security force also destroyed a vehicle and three motorcycles at the scene. The province, notorious for poppy growing, is also a known Taliban stronghold. The Afghan Special Forces killed over 6,100 militants, injured about 3,200 and detained 443 others in 2017. They also destroyed 15 militants' command and control posts and 352 bunkers in different places over the period, according to AOCG. The Taliban militant group was yet to make comment on both reports. Mumbai, Jan 14 : Dismissing any "suspicions" over the death of CBI Special Judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, his family members on Sunday appealed to the media, lawyers, NGOs and others "not to harass" them in the matter. Addressing a hurriedly convened press conference, Anuj Loya and other relatives said that for the family, Judge Loya's passing in December 2014 was "a sad and private matter". "The family has been traumatised since his demise. We are pained by the chain of events in the past few days. We don't want any probe in his death. There's no suspicion in the matter (of his passing)," Anuj said, with other members of the Loya flanking him. The family's lawyer Ameet Naik said the family, including Anuj are "very disturbed" about the entire issue and urged the media not to politicize the incident. Many people are trying to harass the family members and create panic among them, though there is "no suspicion in the minds of the family members" (over Judge Loya's death), he said. "Though tragic, there is no controversy. No need to politicize it. Let it remain non-controversial. We don't want to be victims of politicization," Naik said on behalf of the Loyas. The family, which has appeared for the first time in public since the controversy over Judge Loya's death surfaced in November 2017, urged the media to convey to the lawyers and NGOs not to constantly keep "harassing" them on this matter. The Loya family media appearance came just two days after at least four top Supreme Court judges raised questions on Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra's certain actions, which they said, had adversely affected the judiciary. At the time of his death in Nagpur, Judge Loya was handling the politically sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged staged shooting case of Gujarat, in which now Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah was an accused at one point in time - though later discharged. This and other aspects are the subject matter of several petitions filed in Bombay High Court and also in the Supreme Court in recent weeks, while several lawyers, former judges, social personalities and others have sought a commission of enquiry to probe Judge Loya's death. In a related development, prominent citizens, NGOs, secular organisations, intellectuals, social and political activists, civil society groups, students and commoners have announced a 2 km long march from Oval Maidan to Gateway of India on Republic Day. The march will seek to highlight various current issues, including threats to independence of judiciary and secular fabric of the country, said Nationalist Congress Party legislator Jitendra Awhad said here. New Delhi, Jan 14 : All 25 Supreme Court judges are expected to meet soon to resolve the crisis in the country's apex court after four senior-most judges complained against Chief Justice Dipak Misra over allocation of cases. Informed sources told IANS that a Full Court meeting of the Supreme Court judges will take place at the earliest to take a call on the issue and deliberate over the complaints highlighted in public by the four judges -- Justices J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- who are the senior-most after Justice Misra in that order. The rebel judges criticised the Chief Justice over allocation of cases, saying the administration of the top court was "not in order". As there was no solution in sight, Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh met Justice Misra and gave him a copy of the resolution the Bar passed on Saturday. The resolution also suggested a Full Court meeting to resolve the matter. Two days after the crisis began, a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council of India (BCI) on Sunday also met the Chief Justice to convey its concern over the issue. The BCI also met three of the four rebel judges. "We hope that the issue will be sorted out amicably and no one from outside should interfere," BCI President Manan Kumar Mishra told reporters. "During the meetings with Justice Misra, Justice Chelameswar, Justice Lokur, Justice Joseph and other judges, each one of them assured us that the issues will be resolved. The meetings with the judges took place in a very cordial atmosphere." Justices Sharad Arvind Bobde and L. Nageswara Rao also met Justice Chelameswar at his residence. As the crisis lingered, four retired judges wrote to Justice Misra on Sunday, throwing their weight behind the four rebel judges who "have brought to light a serious issue regarding the manner of allocation of cases, particularly sensitive cases, to various benches of the Supreme Court". The retired judges are Justice P.B. Sawant, a former Supreme Court judge, Justice A.P. Shah, former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice K. Chandru, a former judge of the Madras High Court, and Justice H. Suresh, a former judge of the Bombay High Court. They appreciated the "grave concern" raised by the four Supreme Court judges that cases were not being allocated in a proper manner and "arbitrarily" allocated to "particular designated benches, often headed by junior judges". "This is having a very deleterious effect on the administration of justice and the rule of law," read the letter by the four former judges. They said they agreed with the view of the rebel judges that the Chief Justice despite being the master of roster cannot assign cases "in an arbitrary manner such that, sensitive and important cases are sent to hand-picked benches of junior judges by the Chief Justice". "This issue needs to be resolved... for allocation of benches and distribution of cases, which are rational, fair and transparent. Only such measures would assure the people that the Supreme Court is functioning in a fair and transparent manner and that the power of the Chief Justice as master of roster is not being misused to achieve a particular result in important and sensitive cases. We, therefore, urge you to take immediate steps in this regard." Meanwhile, the Co-ordination Committee of All District Bar Associations of Delhi on Sunday condemned the four senior Supreme Court judges for going public over their differences with Justice Misra. Jammu, Jan 14 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday said she hoped India and Pakistan will soon move away from acrimony and mistrust to a discourse of peace, harmony and friendship. Addressing a passing-out parade of 911 recruits of Jammu and Kashmir Police at the Subsidiary Training Centre at Talwara in Reasi district, the Chief Minister said the state's people had suffered a lot due to acrimony, bitterness and hostilities between the two countries. She said she hoped that better sense prevailed and both countries went back to the days of friendship, amity and reconciliation, as was witnessed when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. Mehbooba Mufti said the state's people had also suffered due to violence in the past 30 years. "When we should be providing them with good schools, hospitals and other amenities of modern life, the demand from border areas comes for the construction of bunkers. This situation has to change. The pain and agony of Jammu and Kashmir's people should be heard," she said. Asking police to play an active role in furthering reconciliation process in the state, the Chief Minister asked the officers and jawans of the police to be more humane while enforcing the law. She advised them to assume parenting role more than policing while dealing with law and order situations. Mehbooba Mufti also asked the police to tackle problems like drug menace and crimes against women. She said she will advise setting up of drug de-addiction centres in every district of the state, given the enormity of the problem. The Chief Minister said her government was sensitive to problems and difficulties of Jammu and Kashmir Police and had already taken many major steps like Kashmir Police Service (KPS) cadre review, enhancement of ex gratia, and increase in promotion quota for constabulary. New Delhi, Jan 14 : A man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor girl in his neighbourhood in west Delhi, police said on Sunday. Police said the accused kidnapped the five-year-old while she was playing outside her house in Narela area. Praveen was caught on Friday night by locals and severely thrashed when he was planning to dump the girl at an isolated place after assaulting her, police said. He was then handed over to police. Praveen sexually assaulted the minor in his flat and locked her inside after she lost unconsciousness. No one suspected him as he too had joined her parents and area residents in the search for the minor. "At night, Praveen was planning to dump her at an isolated place but was caught by locals after they heard the minor's cries from his flat," a police officer said. The minor was admitted to a private hospital in critical condition. New Delhi, Jan 15 : President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted the Army personnel on the 70th Army Day. "Greetings to the valiant men and women of the Indian Army, to veterans and to families of those who have worn the uniform. You are our nation's pride, the sentinels of our liberty. Citizens sleep securely knowing you are ever awake and ever vigilant," the President tweeted. The Prime Minister also took to twitter and hailed the soldiers for putting the nation first and said the country had unwavering trust and pride in the Army. "Our Army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes," Modi said. "On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents," he said. The celebrations mark the day when Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa took charge as the first Indian Army chief in 1949, succeeding General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India. New Delhi : The visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India (January 14-19) commemorates the 25th anniversary of the opening of an Indian embassy in Tel Aviv in 1992 and will further consolidate an important and strategically distinctive bilateral relationship for both nations. It has had a chequered past since the post-World War II birth of both countries but is poised for a pragmatic future trajectory based on shared interests. With a population below nine million and a GDP of $350 billion, Israel is relatively small compared to the Indian behemoth with a population of 1.25 billion and a GDP of $2.5 trillion. Yet Israel occupies a very special niche in India's security framework and has been a supplier of critical military technology. This was illustrated during the 1999 Kargil War, when precision-guided ordnance was obtained from Tel Aviv. That India is among the world's largest importers of military inventory and that Israel is a major arms exporter also provides a natural complementarity to the bilateral relationship. Over the last two decades, the quantum of military-related imports from Israel has steadily increased. It is estimated that India, which buys almost $1 billion worth annually, accounts for over 40 percent of Israeli defence exports. The Netanyahu visit reciprocates that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2017, the first by an Indian Prime Minister to Israel. The Modi-Netanyahu personal chemistry was on display during that visit which was reciprocated as Modi personally received the Israeli leader at the airport when he arrived Sunday afternoon. The two leaders share many characteristics, including a visible political resolve in relation to Islamic radicalism and terrorism. Netanyahu will also get the Gujarat-special status, a detour to Ahmedabad, which Modi accords to certain leaders. During the July visit, Modi said, "Israel and India live in complex geographies. We are aware of strategic threats to regional peace and stability. Prime Minister Netanyahu and I agreed to do much more together to protect our strategic interests." The joint statement also added: "There can be no justification of acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever." While the bilateral with Israel has been described as a "strategic partnership", India's relations with Israel cannot be divorced from the larger West Asian geopolitical canvas where Palestine is a major factor. The Jewish quest for a permanent homeland goes back a long way. Mahatma Gandhi had opined in 1931: "I can understand the longing of a Jew to return to Palestine, and he can do so if he can without the help of bayonets, whether his own or those of Britain... in perfect friendliness with the Arabs." This sentiment shapes the Indian approach to the complex and tangled Palestine issue. India has traditionally supported the Palestine cause on the international stage and has sought to maintain a fine balance regarding its bilateral with Israel in the competing regional politics of West Asia. It appeared that the Modi dispensation government had taken a bold decision to remove the hyphenation between Israel and Palestine, but it would be misleading to infer that the government has uncritically cast its weight totally with Israel and the US. The recent vote at the UN over the Trump declaration about Jerusalem saw Delhi voting with the larger global consensus that censured the US over its announcement. Netanyahu, on the eve of his India visit, said this vote would not materially affect the bilateral. India and Israel are keen to expand the current bandwidth of the trade and economic relations to move beyond military sales and include energy, cyber security and innovation in desert/arid land agriculture, among other sectors. The last leg of the Netanyahu visit will take him to Mumbai. The enormity of the November 2008 terror attack that targeted Chabad House will be recalled, though justice for the innocent victims -- Indian, Israeli and other nationalities, remains elusive. (C. Uday Bhaskar is Director, Society for Policy Studies, New Delhi. The article is in special arrangement with South Asia Monitor. He can be contacted at cudayb@gmail.com) Islamabad, Jan 15 : The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has for the first time claimed responsibility for the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in a new book in written by Taliban leader Abu Mansoor Asim Mufti Noor Wali. Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi shortly after she addressed an election rally on December 27, 2007 and members of the then military regime of General Pervez Musharraf had blamed the TTP for it. The outfit has so far maintained its silence over the assassination. No group had claimed responsibility for Bhutto's murder until the claim in "Inqilab Mehsood South Waziristan - From British Raj to American Imperialism." The book says suicide bombers Bilal, who was also known as Saeed and Ikramullah were tasked to carry out the attack on Bhutto on December 27. "Bomber Bilal first fired at Benazir Bhutto from his pistol and the bullet hit her neck. Then he detonated his explosive jacket and blew himself up among the participants of the procession," Daily Times on Monday quoted the book as saying. After Bhutto's assassination, the Musharraf regime had released an audio conversation purpotedly between the two Taliban men talking about Bhutto's death. The book also claims that the Taliban was behind another attack on Bhutto, carried out by two suicide bombers in October 2007 in Karachi, in which nearly 140 people died. "Despite attacks on Benazir Bhutto's procession in Karachi, the government had not taken appropriate security measures that made it possible for the attackers to have easy access to Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi," claims the book. The book states that Baitullah Mehsud, the then head of the TTP, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2009, had approved the attack on Bhutto's procession in October 2007, when she returned to Pakistan to lead campaign for the 2008 parliamentary elections. "The return of Benazir Bhutto was planned on the behest of the Americans as they had given her a plan against the Mujahideed-e-Islam. Baitullah had received information of the plan. "So when Benazir Bhutto arrived in Karachi, two suicide bombers Mohsin Mehsood and Rehmatullah Mehsod carried out attacks on her procession at Karsaz area of Karachi," the book claims. Musharraf had been formally charged in the case by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi in August 2017. The ATC also declared Musharraf an absconder in the case. Musharraf has denied any involvement in Bhutto's assassination on a number of occasions. The book also mentions that the investigating bodies had held the outfit responsible for Bhutto's killing but they had denied their involvement until 27 December 2017, on her 10th death anniversary. It presents no reason why the TTP changed its stance. The book, according to Daily Times, covers the TTP's history, its attacks, military operations in the tribal regions, TTP's activities in Afghanistan, tribal system, Mehsood tribe role in the TTP, TTP operations in Karachi and its campaign against polio vaccination. Lucknow, Jan 15 : BSP chief Mayawati on Monday accused the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "deliberately and systematically" keeping the Dalits out of the national mainstream. The four-time Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister also told the media here that the two parties had joined hands to destroy the movement left behind by Bhim Rao Ambedkar. Calling the Congress and the BJP "chor-chor mausere bhai", the Dalit leader said efforts were on to politically harm her and destroy her party. "I want to ask the Congress why did Baba Saheb resign as Minister in 1951," she said, likening it to her resignation from the Rajya Sabha in July 2017. The Bahujan Samaj Party leader accused the Congress of deliberately holding back the recommendations of the Mandal Commission from implementation for several years. She took on the BJP and said the "drama by the BJP and company" of putting up portraits of Ambedkar in government offices was an attempt to divert the attention of people. "These two parties have kept the Dalits backward, unemployed and ineffective for so long and atrocities and exploitation of these people continues." She alleged that the BJP was now conspiring against her "to make us politically redundant" and accused it of manipulating the EVMs in the 2014 general election and in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls last year. She demanded that all further elections be held with ballot paper. She said a party which coined the slogan "Har Har Modi, Ghar char Modi" was almost made "beghar" (homeless) by the people of Gujarat in the Assembly elections last month. Mayawati added that people were coming back to her party as was evident in the recently held urban body polls in Uttar Pradesh. "People are now seeing through their game plan and very soon these casteist and communal forces will be thrown out by the people." She claimed that the BJP might advance the 2019 Lok Sabha election and hold them along with state assembly polls of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan slated for this year. "We are prepared for this." New Delhi, Jan 15 : "Selfish and self-centred" US President Donald Trump will only continue to damage many groups until he is out of office, says Texas-based transgender chef Chris Trapani. Born in 1977, Trapani was around 20 when he got a chance to work with a catering company. "They catered to events, also attended by Trump. He spoke down to people and was always rude to them, especially the workers. His whole attitude towards the service class annoys me," Trapani told IANS during his visit to Delhi last week. Trump, who won the US presidential election on November 8, 2016, had proposed a transgender military ban last year. Trump also rolled back laws protecting transgender children's right to choice of bathroom. Asked about the struggles of being a transgender, especially under the Trump administration, he said: "I am constantly upset about the thing Trump says and does. He is selfish and self-centred, and I can't wait until he is gone. "He will only continue to damage many groups until he is out of office. Nothing he has done so far has affected me, but he is surely hurting people." On the chef's move from New York to Texas, he said: "It was fairly easy for me in Texas to get ID documents changed, go through the surgery, even though it is expensive, and be treated fairly. "In my opinion, states like Alabama and Mississippi are terrible with people who are transitioning. I have met more friendly and caring people in Texas than in any other state." The former participant of the "Chopped" show would like to share his story with Indians now. "We need to push the message that all humans are equal and have many things in common," said the chef, who specialises in Tex-Mex food, and is on a multi-city tour in India. For his visit here, Trapani, along with The Lalit Food Truck Company chefs, conducted a skill development workshop for the members of the transgender community. "It is an honour to be a part of this event that promotes equality and also team it with my passion for food," Trapani said about the initiative led by Keshav Suri, Executive Director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group. The chef got his first job in kitchen when he was 16. Now, he owns a food truck. "We started with serving lunch at offices, breweries and parks. Now we are usually always booked for private events," he said. "Last year, we opened a restaurant for a few months. People loved it. Unfortunately, we got a bad deal with the landlord and had to vacate. "I hope to try opening a restaurant someday soon. Currently, we are working on an event venue on our land in Texas," he added. (Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in) Beijing : Beijing Jan 15 (IANS) China on Monday expressed anger over Indian Army chief Bipin Rawat's remarks, saying such "unconstructive" comments would hurt peace and tranquility in the border area. Gen Rawat last week said India needed to shift its military focus from its western border with Pakistan to its northern border with China. He also said that if China was strong, India was not weak either. "During the past one year, relations between China and India witnessed some twists and turns," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said. Lu pointed out that in September, the leaders of India and China reached some important consensus on properly handling the differences and promote China-India relations. "Recently, two sides enhanced dialogue on consultation and bilateral relations have shown sound momentum of improvement and development. "Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior officials not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state but not conform to the efforts made by the two sides to improve and develop bilateral relations. "It cannot help to preserve tranquillity and peace at the border areas." : New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Bilateral Meeting at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on Jan 15, 2018. (Photo: IANS/PIB). Image Source: IANS Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issue Press Statement in New Delhi on Jan 15, 2018. Image Source: IANS New Delhi, Jan 15 : India and Israel on Monday signed nine agreements, including in the areas of cyber security and oil and gas, following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu here. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cyber security was signed. A second MoU was signed between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Israel's Ministry of Energy in oil and gas sector. A protocol between India and Israel on amendments to the air transport agreement was also signed. Another agreement was on film-co-production between India and Israel. A third MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Centre of Israel, related to cooperation in the field of research in homeopathic medicine. Another MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field of space was signed. A memorandum of intent was on Invest India and Invest in Israel. Indian Oil and Israel's Phinergy Ltd signed a letter of intent for cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries. Another letter of intent between Indian Oil and Israel's Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd was signed for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. New Delhi, Jan 15 : Aiming to promote trilateral business opportunities among the US, India, and Israel for advance projects and enterprising ideas, Israel-India Technology Group on Monday has launched a trilateral fund of $50 million. "We are launching a trilateral investment partnership, a platform which is primarily for the needs and aspirations of the trilateral opportunities," Dennis Mehta, a member of the Israel-India Technology Group said at the Tech Triangle Summit organised by Nasscom and Indiaspora. "Our model uses Israel as the supplier of technology, India as a mass market opportunity and the US -- which is the third important part of the equation -- brings in capital," he added. The summit held by Indian IT industry's apex body Nasscom in partnership with US-based not-for-profit organisation Indiaspora was aimed at building on the strong economic and intellectual engagement between India and Israel, as well as setting another example of the growing convergence, collaboration and cooperation between the US and India. "While the relationships and collaboration between India, Israel and the US, ranging from economic to socio-cultural exchanges have nurtured mutual ties over several decades, today the three nations are natural allies more than ever before, as they share commonalities as well as complementarities," said R. Chandrashekhar, President, Nasscom. "By streamlining intellectual and economic exchange, as well as forging new alliances that foster collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship, we can create an osmosis of ideas within this tech triangle unlocking the joint potential of the three allies," he added. On the same occasion, Nasscom signed an agreement with Israel-based start-up accelerator organisation MassChallenge, along with the Deshpande Foundation, to support a scholarship of $5,000 each for up to 10 Indian startups to help them access MassChallenge Israel's industry-leading resources and focus on growing their businesses. "Selected Indian startups will join the other MassChallenge Israel 2018 Finalists for the four-month equity-free accelerator in Jerusalem gaining access to MassChallenge Israel's award winning accelerator in Jerusalem," said Israel Y. Ganot, Managing Director, MassChallenge. During the summit, global management and strategy consulting firm Zinnov and Indiaspora jointly unveiled a report titled "USA-India-Israel -- An Ocean of Opportunities" outlining the promising troika of technology, investment and entrepreneurial opportunities across the three markets. The report illustrated how rapid growth of start-up ecosystems has emerged as a driving force of mutual engagement between the nations and stressed on need to intensify trilateral collaboration to unlock full potential. New Delhi, Jan 15 : With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on an official visit here, India on Monday assured Israeli companies of resolving their concerns on doing business in the country, saying it would further ease the process in this regard. Referring to some issues raised by Israeli firms, such as those relating to import duties, taxes and licensing processes, in his address at the India-Israel Business Innovation Forum organised by industry chamber CII, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said these had already been taken up with the ministries concerned for resolving. "I assure you to resolve all problems and make things easier and better for Israeli companies to do business in India," Abhishek said. "We have been able to do a few things in the last few months and many are in progress," he added. The Israeli Prime Minister arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India to step up growing trade as well as military and strategic ties between the two countries. Addressing the forum, Israel's Trade Commissioner Ohad Cohen expressed hope that the Netanyahu visit would pave the way for the proposed Israel-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA). At the event, eight memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed to increase economic cooperation between the two sides. Among these were MoUs signed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) separately with the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce and the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. Besides, the DIPP-sponsored Invest India entity exchanged an MoU with Israel's Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation. Tata Projects also signed an MoU with Israeli company Water-Gen. This is the first visit to India by an Israeli Prime Minister since Ariel Sharon came in 2003. Netanyahu's entourage includes the largest-ever delegation of Israeli business consisting of 130 members representing over 100 companies. The bilateral trade between the countries was worth over $5 billion in 2016-17. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Netanyahu are slated to address the business forum later on Monday. Mumbai, Jan 15 : Celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Nimrat Kaur and Riteish Deshmukh wished the soldiers of the Indian Army on the occasion of Army Day on Monday. Celebrities praised the courage, valour and sacrifices of Indian soldiers for the country. Here's what they tweeted: Amitabh Bachchan: Indian Army Day. Jai Hind. Nimrat Kaur: On this glorious 70th Army Day of our motherland, let's all spare a moment to remember all the unsung, selfless, incredibly brave soldiers who gave up their lives so we could live ours in peace and order. We are because they were. Proud army daughter. Salute. Hrithik Roshan: Today is Army Day. Can never forget the mental and physical training I received during my IMA boot camp for "Lakshya". I still follow it today. I salute the tenacity, discipline and courage of those who serve this great nation. Jai Hind! Neeraj Pandey: We salute the gallant soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country and its citizens and also the ones who work unflinchingly towards protecting us. Happy Army Day. Arjun Rampal: Today is a special day. It's Indian Army Day. Salute our soldiers. We the 'Paltan'. Respect. Happy Indian Army Day. Riteish Deshmukh: Let's salute our country's biggest strength, our brothers, our army: Army Day. Jai Hind. Ekta Kapoor: Here's to the Indian Army, who've been valiantly guarding the nation with utmost honesty. I salute the brave hearts. Randeep Hooda: Of the many great things to celebrate on Army Day, about the Indian Army, the greatest by far is its outlook of equality to all religions, casts and creed among its personnel. Sarv Dharmasthal is there in all units and festivals are celebrated by all. Rahul Dev: They make the Indian flag flutter with each breath. Keepers to the nation, putting the nation before self. A massive salute to our soldiers, this Army Day. Salim Merchant: On Army Day, I salute our jawaans who lay their lives for our country, they protect us, unite us and give us hope to be a better nation. On this day we dedicate our song 'Mera desh hi dharam' in honour of them. New Delhi, Jan 15 : Continuing its opposition to the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, the Resident Doctors Association of AIIMS on Monday invited Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda for an open debate on the issue. Contending that the NMC bill is serious enough to distort the future of medical education in the country, the Association called for discussion on the bill before it is approved by parliament. "Doctors' fraternity is frightened from the day you (Nadda) introduced the NMC bill in parliament... This bill is anti-people, anti-poor and puts medical education into the hands of the rich and powerful," said RDA President Harjit Singh in a letter to Nadda. The letter further read: "Issues like nomination of majority of members of NMC by bureaucrats and politicians, full control of corporate sector to decide fees of more than 60 per cent of seats, National Licentiate Exam(NLE), no provision of grievances redressal for students, fate of NBE, bridge course, registration, among others -- the issues are serious enough to destroy the future of medical education in this country. "So RDA AIIMS invites you for an open debate on these issues with doctors at AIIMS, New Delhi." The association, in the letter dated January 15, also sought an appointment with the minister for the debate. Ever since the NMC bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha in late December, there have been protests in the medical fraternity, including the Indian Medical Association (IMA). IMA had also called for a 12-hour shut down of private hospitals across the country to protest the NMC Bill. Following the protest, the bill was referred to a Parliamentary committee. The bill also has provision for granting permission to doctors under Indian systems of medicine, including Ayurveda, to be allowed to practice allopathy after clearing a bridge course. New Delhi, Jan 15 : All the judges of the Supreme Court met here informally on Monday, leading Attorney General K.K. Venugopal to claim that the crisis in the country's top court "has been settled". "There was an informal meeting in the morning (before the commencement of the court). Now everything has been settled," Venugopal told the media, describing the developments in the top court since January 12 as "a storm in a tea cup". An unprecedented crisis engulfed the Supreme Court after four senior most judges went public questioning the functioning of the top court including the allocation of cases, in a direct attack on Chief Justice Dipak Misra. "The full court met (today morning). It seems that everything is settled. Everything is hunky dory," the Attorney General said. Every day before the commencement of court work at 10.30 a.m., all the judges have tea together. On Monday, when the judges came for the customary tea, the top court staff attending to judges in the lounge were asked to leave. Thereafter in an informal chat, the issues raised by the four judges in their press conference last Friday were informally talked over and "resolved". As a consequence of this meeting, the top court began its work ten minutes later. The benches in Court Number two, three, four and five headed by the rebel judges, Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph, respectively attended to their business as usual. Later, a lawyer R.P. Luthra in a mentioning before Court Number One headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that there is "a conspiracy to destroy the institution" and urged the Chief Justice to take action. However, the Chief Justice smiled and remained silent. New Delhi, Jan 15 : A semblance of normalcy marked the functioning of the Supreme Court on Monday after the Chief Justice and all other judges, including those who revolted against him on Friday, had an informal meeting and discussed issues raised by the four rebel judges. No details of what was discussed at the closed-door meeting were available as all judges, including the four, attended to their work after that. There was no word on whether an agreement was reached on the issues raised by the judges led by Justice J. Chelameswar on allocation of work before various benches of the court and more. Attorney General K.K. Venugopal and the Bar Council President, however, claimed that the crisis in the country's top court "has been settled". "The full court met. It seems that everything is settled. Everything is hunky-dory," the Attorney General told the media. "It was an informal meeting in the morning (before the commencement of the court). Now everything has been settled," Venugopal said, describing the development since January 12 as "a storm in a tea cup". Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said the issues raised by four dissenting top judges of the Supreme Court had been resolved and that the judiciary did not want any political party to take advantage of the situation. "As you can see, the matter has been laid to rest and all court rooms in the Supreme Court are functioning normally," Mishra said. An unprecedented crisis engulfed the Supreme Court after the four judges -- Justices Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- on Friday took on the Chief Justice over allocation of cases, saying the administration of the court was not in order. Every day before the commencement of court work at 10.30 a.m., all the judges have tea together. On Monday, when judges came for the customary tea, the top court staff attending to judges in the lounge were asked to leave. Thereafter, in an informal chat, the issues raised by the four judges at a press conference were talked over and "resolved", a source said. As a consequence of this meeting, the commencement of top court working on Monday was delayed by 10 minutes. The benches in court number two, three, four and five headed by Justice Chelameswar, Justice Gogoi, Justice Lokur and Justice Joseph respectively attended to their business as usual. Significantly, lawyer R.P. Luthra, in a mention before the court number one headed by Justice Misra, said there was a conspiracy to destroy the institution and urged the Chief Justice to take action against the four judges. The Chief Justice smiled and remained silent. The BCI President said a Bar delegation met senior judges on Sunday and requested them to sort out the differences among themselves. "Now it appears this morning they all met and resolved it. Now it (the Supreme Court) is functioning smoothly." However, he declined to comment on the issues related to Justice B.H. Loya's death and other issues raised by the four senior most judges in their Friday conference. "It is for the Supreme Court to decide the Judge Loya matter, not for the BCI to comment on it. Our sole concern was to ensure independence of the judiciary," he said. Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP, on Monday said the nation must back the four judges who have spoken up boldly in favour of justice and national interest. In an editorial in the party mouthpieces Saamana and Dopahar Ka Saamana, the Sena said with the four judges coming out in the open, the secrets of the apex court had been exposed and now "everybody can breathe freely". The Sena said it feared that the four judges may now be at the receiving end for highlighting the truth before the country. "People who once accused Indira Gandhi of interfering with the judiciary are in power now and their actions vis-a-vis Constitutional posts seem to suggest that Indira Gandhi was an 'extremely humane and democratic' leader," the Sena pointed out. Sombor (Serbia), Jan 15 : Indias youth women pugilists continued their dominating run on the world stage as they clinched three gold and a bronze medal at the 7th Nations Cup here. Jony (60kg) breezed past Hungary's Viktoria Matesz in the final while Lalita (64kg) outclassed a valiant Karina Kuzheleva of Russia to punch her way to gold. The third gold came India's way through Nandini who beat Alesandra Jonca of Poland in a pulsating contest in the 81kg final. However, Rajbala had to settle for the bronze after losing out to another Polish pugilist Kaluza Beata in the 54kg semi-finals. Islamabad, Jan 15 : Four Pakistani soldiers were killed in shelling from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-administered Kashmir's Kotli sector on Monday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, adding that in the exchange of fire three Indian soldiers had also been killed. "Four Pakistan Army soldiers embraced shahadat along LOC in Jandrot, Kotli sector. Troops were busy in Line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round. Exchange of fire killed 3 Indian soldiers while few injured," the ISPR said in a statement. The development comes as Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Monday said that India will scale up "action" if Islamabad continues supporting terror and infiltration of militants. The latest incident of cross-border firing also comes days after the Indian Army Chief threatened to call Pakistan's "nuclear bluff", which the Pakistani leadership has criticised as reckless and irresponsible. Panaji, Jan 15 : The BJP is in turmoil following the press conference by the Supreme Court's four senior judges last week and its measure can be gauged by Prime Minister's chief aide's hurried visit to the Chief Justice of India's residence, a Congress leader said on Monday. "To what extent the BJP is responsible for turmoil in judiciary, has come to light by the fact that the Principal Secretary in PM's office Nripendra Misra rushed to the CJI's residence. What business does he have to do that? This needs investigation," party's Goa leader Shantaram Naik said at a press conference at the state party Congress headquarters here. In an impromptu press conference, four senior judges of the apex court had alleged administrative malpractices in the Supreme Court allegedly at the behest of the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, soon after which Mishra had met the CJI. Mumbai, Jan 15 : Amish Tripathi, a master of mythological fiction titles, has vouched for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's forthcoming controversial movie "Padmaavat", saying it celebrates Rajput bravery and projects India's culture in a positive way. Tripathi watched the movie in a pre-release screening here on Monday. "It is a film which celebrates Rajput bravery. It honours Rani Padmavati. And it says positive things about our culture. I think it is one of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's finest films," he tweeted. The Bhansali Productions and Viacom18 Motion Pictures movie is slated to release on January 25. It features Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in a story based on "Padmavat", an epic "revered work of fiction" by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi. Shobha Sant, CEO, Bhansali Productions, thanked Tripathi for his "honest opinion". New Delhi/Agartala, Jan 15 : The CPI-M on Monday, citing media reports, said it was "shocking" that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval attended a meeting at Home Minister Rajnath Singh's house to discuss the election strategy in Tripura. "It has been reported in sections of the media that a meeting was held at the residence of Rajnath Singh attended by BJP and RSS leaders to discuss the forthcoming elections in Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland," a CPI-M statement said. "Some of the media have also reported that Doval also attended the meeting. If correct, this is a shocking violation of norms and serious misconduct," the Communist Party of India-Marxist said. "How can a senior government functionary like the NSA be present in a meeting to discuss the BJP's election campaign? The Home Minister must immediately clarify." In Agartala, CPI-M state Secretary Bijan Dhar said Rajnath Singh on Sunday held the meeting with Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Ram Madhav and senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Krishna Gopal, among others. In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner A.K. Joti, he said Doval was also present in the meeting. Dhar, also a CPI-M Central Committee member, said the presence of any person holding a very important position like that of NSA is not only undesirable and objectionable, it is a glaring instance of blatant misuse of administration by the ruling BJP. Moscow, Jan 15 : Fourteen school children and a teacher were wounded in a knife fight in a school in Russia on Monday. The attack took place in a secondary school in Ural mountains city of Perm, Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the regional Health Ministry. "The teacher and two students aged 15 and 16 are in grave condition, and are undergoing surgery," a Ministry statement said, adding that other wounded have been provided with medical care. Two pupils started the knife fight, the regional division of the Investigative Committee said in a separate statement. Educational activity in the school has been suspended with all pupils and teachers evacuated, it said, adding that suspects have been detained and will be interrogated. The Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case on the grounds of attempted murder of two and more persons. Lucknow, Jan 15 : Congress and BJP supporters on Monday clashed as Congress chief Rahul Gandhi arrived in his parliamentary constituency of Amethi -- his first visit after taking over the party reins. Both sides fought a pitched battle at the Sagra tri-section as district officials and local police had a tough time in handling the situation. Legislative Council member Deepak Singh had a verbal tiff with Additional Superintendent of Police Shashi Shekhar after he accused police of siding with and patronising lumpen elements belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Thereafter, overzealous Congress workers chased away BJP supporters and allegedly hit them with sticks even as Rahul Gandhi looked on. An angry Dal Bahadur Kori, BJP's legislator from Salon, threatened to petition the Chief Minister against the police after the attack on BJP workers. Rahul Gandhi later met party workers and addressed them at Salon in Rae Bareli, where he targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of rendering lip service to eradication of poverty and said the governments in both Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre were working for the welfare of rich industrialists. He blamed the Prime Minister for the incomplete projects and instigating people on religious and caste lines. The Congress leader said they will ensure that the food park sanctioned during the earlier United Progressive Alliance government will be established in Amethi, despite resistance from the BJP. The Gandhi family scion also performed 'khichdi puja' at Salon Nagar Panchayat office even as local traders raised slogans against him outside. Amid the melee, the Congress President left for Amethi. He was greeted with flowers at many places on the way with many party workers trying to touch him and raising slogans in his favour. He will stay at Munshiganj guesthouse at night and meet party workers again on Tuesday, a local Congress leader said. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi received a warm welcome in Rae Bareli while on way to Amethi. The Congress had tweeted pictures of Rahul Gandhi's welcome and interaction with people over tea at a 'dhaba'. He was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Congress President Raj Babbar. New Delhi, Jan 15 : India and Israel on Monday pledged to fight terror as the two countries sought to broadbase their relationship on the silver jubilee of establishment of their diplomatic ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inviting Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime in defence sector and to make more in India. The two countries also underlined the the need for working towards Free Trade and Bilateral Investment treaties. On the second day of his six-day visit to India, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, both one-on-one and delegation level, after which the two sides reached agreements in various fields including a Memorandum of Understanding on Cyber Security Cooperation. Netanyahu showered praise on Modi saying he is a "revolutionary" leader who has catapulted India into the future. A joint statement issued later said the two Prime Ministers agreed that renewed efforts were required to realise the full potential for bilateral trade and investment and noted that the next round of bilateral discussions will be held next month in Israel. The Prime Ministers urged the private sector to actively explore investment opportunities in both countries, including through India's flagship programmes such as Make in India, Start-Up India and Digital India. Both sides noted the readiness of Israeli companies to enter into joint ventures with Indian companies in the defence sector under the Make in India initiative. They consider it important to set the direction for developing more business models and partnerships for joint ventures and joint manufacturing including transfer of technology as well as research and development in defence security fields. Recognising the grave threat terrorism poses to peace and security including from non-state actors, Modi and Netanyahu reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever and advocated strong measures against terrorists, terror organisations, those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups. They also noted with satisfaction that the next meeting of the joint working groups on homeland and public security will he held next month. They reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space and welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Cyber Security between India and Israel. At a media briefing later, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, said both countries shared similarities in their approach to tackling terrorism. "The two countries have said we will not tolerate terrorism in any manner," he said. In reply to a question on not naming Pakistan in the document, he said it was not necessary to name countries each time. There was no divergence of views on the issue, he added. To a question on cancellation by India of a deal with Israel for the purchase of 8,000 Spike anti-tank guided missiles, he said defence cooperation was discussed between the two leaders but he was not in a position to comment beyond that. On bilateral investment treaty, Gokhale said there was need to negotiate on the issue for a second round of discussions. At the interaction with the media, Modi said there were three ways of scaling up bilateral partnership. First, he said, it can be done by strengthening the existing pillars of cooperation in agriculture, science and technology and security. He said the second way of enhancing bilateral cooperation is by "venturing into less explored areas of cooperation, such as oil and gas, cyber security, films, and start-ups". "Several of these areas are indicative of our desire to diversify and broad-base engagement," he said. The third way, Modi said, to boost ties would be by "facilitating the flow of people and ideas between our geographies". "We are working with Israel to make it easier for our people to work and visit each other's countries, including for longer work durations. To bring people closer on both sides, an Indian Cultural Center will soon open in Israel." The Indian Prime Minister also said that both sides have decided to start an annual exchange of bilateral visits by 100 young people from science-related educational streams. India and Israel signed nine agreements following the talks, including two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on cooperation in the areas of oil and gas and cyber security, and two letters of intent between Indian Oil and two Israeli entities on metal-air batteries and solar thermal technologies. On bilateral economic relations, Modi said that "thriving two-way trade and investment is an integral part of our vision for a strong partnership". Modi expressed hope and optimism about India-Israel ties, and said: "In Prime Minister Netanyahu, I have a counterpart who is equally committed to taking the India-Israel relationship to soaring new heights." Netanyahu said Modi's historic visit to Israel last July, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, "excited all Israelis and of course many Israelis of Indian descent and origin". "Jews in India have never witnessed anti-Semitism like in some other countries," he stated. "This is a tribute to India's great civilisation, tolerance and democracy." "We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai (2008 terror attacks), we will never give in and will fight back," Netanyahu said. The two sides also discussed the situation in West Asia and UN Security Council reforms but Iran's nuclear programme did not figure. The personal chemistry Modi and Netanyahu share was again evident in the address to the media when the two leaders warmly hugged each other. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. Bhopal, Jan 15 : The Madhya Pradesh school teachers, including women, who got their heads shaved as part of their protest demanding equal wage for all, had to pay up Rs 1.4 lakh as the rent of the protest ground. The teachers had staged the protest under the banner of Azad Adhyapak Sangh on Saturday in Jamboorie Ground here, which is owned by the Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), and both men and women protestors had their heads shaved. The government drew flak as the issue came to light after the pictures of receipts of rent paid by the Sangh went viral in the social media on Monday. "There is a fixed charge which one has to pay for holding any programme in the Jamboorie Ground. The Adhyapak Sangh also paid that much only," Public Relations Officer Vinodanand Jha told IANS on Monday. Condemning the collection of fee from teachers, secretary of the state Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Badal Saroj said it was the right of teachers to lodge their protest, and charging fee from them was "strangulation of democracy". "On the orders of the state government, the Bhopal district administration did not provide any place to the teachers for their protest. The teachers were later told to go to the Jamboorie Ground. Now they have charged for this," he said. Saroj said the government had failed on all fronts and now it was trying to restrict even protest marches and strikes, he added. "This type of dictatorship should be stopped. The money collected from the teachers should be returned to them," said the CPI-M leader. New Delhi, Jan 15 : In a shining example of India-Israel cooperation in agriculture, olive tea was served to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he called on President Ram Nath Kovind here on Monday. "The olive tea that was served to the Israeli Prime Minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan was produced in Bikaner by Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Ltd, a joint venture between the government of Rajasthan and Israeli partners," the President's Secretariat said in a statement. According to the statement, Kovind told Netanyahu that his visit to India is a culmination of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. "Our warm and friendly ties are growing stronger. In a little over two years, the two countries have exchanged Presidential and Prime Ministerial visits," he said. Stating that bilateral cooperation has expanded manifold, Kovind said that political understanding, security cooperation and technology partnerships are key pillars of strategic engagement between India and Israel. He emphasised that collaboration in newer areas such as space, cybersecurity and innovation will add depth to our partnership. The President said opportunities lay before the two countries in the fields of investment, manufacturing, services, start-ups and technology. He appreciated the presence of Israeli companies in India, especially in the water, defence, technology and pharmaceutical sectors. He urged them to partner India in its programmes such as Make in India, Clean India, Smart Cities and Digital India. The President said the India-Israel security cooperation is defined by "our common fight against terrorism". "This challenge is eating into the vitals of our society," Kovind said. "Our counter-terrorism cooperation is progressing well but we need to do more. We need to work together to develop a strong global response to defeat terrorism in all its manifestations." The President said India appreciates Israel's cooperation in the field of agriculture. "Israel has taught India to do more with less," Kovind said. "Israel's support has served our farmers exceedingly well, especially in water-deficient areas. As we work to make our farming choices more sustainable, we will seek more Israeli support." Earlier on Monday, India and Israel signed nine agreements across multiple sectors after delegation-level talks headed by Netanyahu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. Ankara, Jan 15 : Washington's plans to create a 30,000-strong border guard unit in Syria that would include Kurdish militants was met with ire by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, who threatened of further military action in the region. Hardliner Erdogan made the remarks during a strongly-worded speech in the capital Ankara, in which he said the Turkish armed forces were poised to use military might to sink the US-backed proposals before they could materialise, Efe news agency reported. "The US now admits it is creating a terrorist army along our border. What we must do is drown this army before it is born," Erdogan said, vowing to clean Turkey's 900-km frontier with Syria of "terrorists". US military plans to form a border guard force predominantly composed of Kurdish YPG fighters -- Washington's closest ally in the regional fight against the Islamic State terror group -- has also been denounced by Russia and the Syrian government, who both warned that it jeopardised Syria's territorial unity. The US-led coalition in Syria announced the blueprints on Sunday. Erdogan said the Turkish military was ready to strike the Kurdish-held Syrian regions of Manbij and Afrin at any moment. Turkish officials regard the Syrian YPG group to be a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist guerrilla group that has conducted a low-scale civil war in eastern Turkey for decades. They have consistently rejected the notion of a Kurdish autonomous region across its southern border. Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces -- an ethnically mixed umbrella group whose largest fighting force is the YPG -- told Efe via telephone on Monday that the creation of the border guard force was slated to get underway this year. The force would stretch from Syria's northern borders with Turkey and Iraq down to the front lines held by units and allies of the Syrian regimes further south. The government of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, however, has pledged to recover all territory lost in the civil war, including the Kurdish-controlled countryside in the north. The SDF played a pivotal role in the military campaigns that recovered the city of Raqqa and northern areas of Der Ezzor from the IS in 2017. But a Turkish military intervention in northern Syria in August 2016 thwarted the establishment of a Kurdish-controlled corridor of land along the entirety of the border. The US' continued support for the YPG dealt a hammer blow to its relations with Turkey, a NATO ally. Mumbai, Jan 15 : A month after anchor Arpita Tiwari's 'mystery death' after a fall from a suburban skyscraper, the Mumbai Police arrested one person and charged him with murder here on Monday. The police nabbed Amit Kumar Hazra, a friend of Arpita's boyfriend Pankaj Jadhav and in whose (Hazra's) rented home a party was on at the time of the incident on December 11. In what was earlier suspected to be a suicide case, Arpita fell from the 15th floor flat when both Hazra and Jadhav, besides a male domestic help, were present on the premises. Hazra was produced before a Mumbai court and remanded to police custody till January 20, said Senior Police Inspector Deepak S. Phatangre. According to Phatangre, the investigators were alerted after a polygraphy (lie detector) test of Hazra when he made several statements contradicting his earlier version. He was arrested based on circumstantial evidence. However, he added that the police probe was still on and Jadhav (Arpita's boyfriend) had not been given a clean chit yet. Hazra, who had rented the flat in the posh residential tower, regularly invited his friends for partying. On December 10, the night before the tragedy, both Arpita and Jadhav visited his home. Arpita was a known anchor, hostess, model and glamour personality and her family had insisted from day one that they suspected foul play in her death. According to Hazra's statements with the police, Arpita had allegedly locked herself inside the bathroom. When she didn't come out for long, Jadhav unlocked the door, found the bathroom window open and her body in the duct area on the second floor below. The autopsy concluded that injuries to her body were consistent with a fall from a great height but it was unclear whether she jumped, fell accidentally or was pushed. Phatangre did not rule out further arrests in the case. New : New Jan 15 (IANS) Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be flown in the Indian Air Force's frontline aircraft, the indigenously-built version of Su-30 MKI fighter jet on Wednesday, official sources said. The minister will fly a sortie in the formidable fighter, which has nuclear strike capability and capability to penetrate deep in enemy territory, at the Air Force Station in Jodhpur. After her recent stay on board INS Vikramaditya at sea and whirlwind tours to forward areas and different installations of the three forces, this sortie will be a part of the Defence Minister's continued effort to gauge and review the operational preparedness and combat capabilities of the armed forces, the sources said. The Sukhoi-30 MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter. In November 2017, India had successfully flight-tested the air variant of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the fighter jet New Delhi, Jan 15 : The informal meeting Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had with the judges of the Supreme Court on Monday morning had some emotional moments. Justice Arun Mishra is said to have broken down for being "unfairly" targeted by the four judges raising questions about his "competence" and "integrity". He said that though his name was not mentioned by the four judges, inferences have been drawn from the cases referred to by the four judges including that of late CBI special court judge B.H. Loya. Justice Mishra said that he has been working hard and was overburdened. He said that even earlier the former Chief Justices T.S. Thakur and J.S. Khehar had assigned him tough cases. At this point, the Chief Justice took Justice Mishra to his chamber while Justice J. Chelameswar put his arm around his shoulder and told him that they were trying to raise issues and were not against him. The benches in Courts Number two, three, four and five headed by the rebel judges -- Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph, respectively -- attended to their business as usual. Later, a lawyer R.P. Luthra in a mentioning before Court Number One headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said that there is "a conspiracy to destroy the institution" and urged the Chief Justice to take action against the four judges. However, the Chief Justice smiled and remained silent. TRIPOLI, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Libya's eastern-based army spokesman on Sunday slammed Turkey as the sponsor of terrorism in Libya. "Turkey is the sponsor of terrorism in our country even before the start of the military war against terrorism more than three years ago," said spokesman Ahmad Al-Mismari at a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi on Sunday. "The House of Representatives has not yet charged a commission of inquiry on the ship carrying explosives coming from Turkey. This ship was heading to the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaida, not to Misurata," Mismari added. "We will punish Turkey and all its companies. Its contracts in Libya are invalid now," said Mismari, pointing out that there is an intelligence network between Turkey and Sudan following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visits to Sudan and Tunisia. "After the army welcomed the upcoming elections, the Muslim Brotherhood was certain that they would lose the elections. Therefore, they resorted to the arms and explosives to create chaos," Mismari said. He also said that the explosives on the Libyan ship seized by Greece a few days ago "threatens not only Libya, but the entire region." Greek Coast Guards announced on Wednesday that they seized a ship with the flag of Tanzania carrying materials used to make explosives while sailing to Libya. The ship's cargo record indicates that the cargo was loaded at the Turkish ports of Mersin and Iskenderun before heading to Djibouti and Oman. However, Greek Coast Guards said preliminary investigation showed that the ship's captain had received orders from the ship's owner to sail to the Libyan city of Misurata, some 250 km east the capital Tripoli, to unload the entire cargo. Libyan Foreign Ministry on Friday demanded Greece to provide the latest investigation information about the seized ship. UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame pledged earlier on Sunday to reveal details of the seized ship. Shillong, Jan 15 : The BJP is still negotiating with four-to-five sitting Meghalaya legislators to contest the ensuing assembly elections on its party ticket, BJP leader Alexander Hek said on Monday. "We are still in talks with four-to-five legislators who are part of the ruling and opposition. I would not like to spell out their names since we are in a negotiating stage," Hek said. "We are hopeful that they would join the BJP and contest the assembly elections on BJP ticket." Hek, a former Congress legislator, along with other three legislators -- Sanbor Shullai of the Nationalist Congress Party, besides two Independents legislators Justine Dkhar and Robinus Syngkon -- resigned as members of the assembly and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on January 4. Voicing confidence that the Lotus would bloom in Meghalaya, Hek, who now heads the BJP's election campaign committee, said: "The next government to form in Meghalaya after the assembly elections will be led by the BJP. "We are confident because our party 'karyakarta' (cadre) have been working on the ground." He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who launched his political rally last month in Meghalaya, will also address at least three elections rallies in different parts of the state. "BJP president Amit Shah, BJP Chief Ministers from northeastern states, Union Ministers and a host of senior party leaders will also be campaigning in the state," Hek said. The ninth Meghalaya Assembly, comprising 60 members, was constituted on March 1, 2013, and its term expires on March 6. Kolkata, Jan 15 : The West Bengal government on Monday said its Food Processing Industries and Horticulture Department has signed an MoU with Devyani International Ltd for setting up more KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in the state. "This is an expansion plan of Devyani International to open four-to-five KFC restaurants and two-to-three Pizza hut restaurants every year at various locations in the state for the next five years. The total investment by the group is Rs 100 crore," a government statement said. Devyani International Ltd, the Indian franchisee of Yum Restaurants India, represents the KFC, Pizza Hut chains in the country. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky in the US, Yum! Brands, Inc. is one of the world's largest restaurant chains with 44,000 restaurants globally in 135 countries. It owns the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains. Initially, the locations of Kolkata, Asansol, Durgapur and Siliguri have been chosen by the group to set up restaurants and about 1,400 direct and indirect employments are expected. The state department will assist the unit for obtaining necessary permissions and licences, the release said. The group has been sourcing raw materials from the state. According to an official, the government is of the view that other raw produce, including vegetables, that the chain of restaurants may require may be sourced from within the state. New Delhi, Jan 15 : Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will on Tuesday inaugurate this year's Raisina Dialogue, India's flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, here. Organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation think tank, the theme of the Dialogue this year is 'Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions & Idioms'. According to a statement issued by ORF on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and ORF Chairman Sunjoy Joshi will also be part of the inaugural session. Sushma Swaraj will deliver the Plenary Address on January 17 while Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs, M.J. Akbar and V.K. Singh, will also address the delegates during the three-day event. The other ministers taking part in the Dialogue include Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, Textiles and Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri. The chiefs of Army and Navy, General Bipin Rawat and Admiral Sunil Lanba, will also address the Dialogue, along with Admiral Harry Harris, Commander of the US Pacific Command, General Chris Deverell, Joint Forces Commander of Britain, Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, Chief of Staf of the Joint Staff of Japan, and Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, Chief of Australian Navy. Ministerial delegations from countries like Australia, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Poland are also attending this year's conference. Former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harder and former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt, are among more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates from around 90 countries who are participating in the Dialogue. In the statement, ORF Chairman Joshi said the Raisina Dialogue was born two years ago, in 2016, in the belief that the Asian century that the world was talking about was not about any exclusive geographical region. It was rather about the engagement of global actors with Asia and of Asia with the world. Stressing the diplomatic importance of the conference, Mr Joshi said: "When the world is drifting to globalisation, protectionism, restrictive borders and predatory economics, Raisina 2018 once again seeks to find strength in our common future". The curator of the Raisina Dialogue and the Vice President of ORF Samir Saran said the Raisina Dialogue is India's attempt to reclaim its role as the hub of knowledge and ideas, as during the times of Nalanda, in the 21st century. New Delhi, Jan 15 : Denying that it is politicising the issue of Judge B.H. Loya's death, the Congress on Monday demanded a court-monitored inquiry into it, saying the matter relates to a vital organ of the Indian democracy. "Nobody is suggesting that Congress party will be appointing a commission of inquiry. The whole argument that the party is politicising the matter is false. "We as a responsible stakeholder of Indian democracy, as a party are asking for an inquiry. The country wants a court-monitored independent inquiry," said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. "My comments have nothing to do with the so-called Supreme Court imbroglio. I think every citizen in this country and every political party is independently entitled to ask for a fair and comprehensive inquiry into his death." Singhvi also said: "If a matter impinges on a vital organ of Indian democracy, then the demand for an inquiry is a demand by responsible stakeholders, and is not dependent on whether a family member wants it or not." This comes a day after Judge Loya's son Anuj Loya said his family had no suspicions now regarding the death. He also said they were being "harassed" and "victimised". Singhvi said: "I have read the letter of Anuj Loya, son of Judge Loya, written in February 2015. The letter is very specific...requiring an inquiry in writing... There is then a clear doubt and suspicion of a grave kind expressed by one sister of Judge Loya, Anuradha Biyani. "I have also quoted the shorter but clear suspicion expressed by the other sister of Judge Loya, Sarita Mandhane. She also contemporaneously has expressed grave doubt." Singhvi maintained that even Judge Loya's father and an one of his uncles also expressed their doubts about the his death, adding that as a citizen, member of the family, and as an individual he would be very much for an inquiry. Judge Loya died of heart attack on December 1, 2014 while on a visit to Nagpur, where he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. At that time, he was handling the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh case in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah was one of the accused (but later discharged), besides top Gujarat Police officers. Singhvi said: "A matter of public and national interest is not dependent for an inquiry on whether anyone asks for it or deny and oppose it." New Delhi, Jan 15 : The HRD Ministry om Monday released the National Achievement Survey report conducted in November last to assess the level of learning of students of Classes 3, 5 and 8. The survey was conducted on 2.2 million students from 110,000 schools across India. Speaking at the report launch, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said the survey results will be used to devise educational plans for school students at all levels. "The inferences will be used to design classroom interventions meant for all schools in various districts. The findings will help understand the efficiency of the education system. "The survey results will help guide the education policy, in planning and implementation at the national, state, district and classroom levels for improving learning in children and bringing about qualitative improvements," Javadekar said. Emphasising the role of technology in education, he said the government will try to install digital blackboards in all schools in the next five years. The survey data can be accessed on the MHRD website. Islamabad, Jan 15 : Pakistan on Monday summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh to protest "unprovoked ceasefire violations" along the LoC by Indian forces, which it said killed four Pakistani soldiers. A Foreign Office statement said that Director General (SA & SAARC), Mohammad Faisal, summoned Singh to protest the ceasefire violations in Jandrot sub sector of Kotli that also injured five Pakistani soldiers. It said that "despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. It accused Indian forces of carrying out more than 100 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary in just 15 days since the beginning of the year. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1900 ceasefire violations, it said. It deplored the "deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas and troops carrying out maintenance activities" and said the ceasefire violations by India "are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation". Faisal urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 Ceasefire arrangement; investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations; instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary, the statement said. New Delhi, Jan 15 : Senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising on Monday demanded "independent and impartial" probe into the alleged mysterious death of CBI judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya and asked why the Chief Justice of India did not initiate a suo moto inquiry into the issue. At a public meeting organised by the All India People's Forum (AIPF), Jaising also called for support of the four Supreme Court judges who had come out and addressed the public last week. "When judge Loya died, the Chief Justice of India should have initiated suo moto inquiry. Why was it not done? "These four judges have done us a big favour by coming out and addressing the press. By showing that there can be transparency in the judiciary. By showing that people like you and me have a right to know," she said. Jaising also queried if the executive was interfering with the functioning of the judiciary in the case of death of judge Loya. She said lawyers and bar associations can protect independency of judiciary, adding that all governments want "loyal judiciary" and we (lawyers) can prevent this from happening. Journalist Niranjan Takle, who had written an article on the death of judge Loya, raised questions on who convinced the judge Loya's family members that the death was due to natural causes. Judge Loya's son, Anuj on Sunday in a press conference said that his family has no suspicions now regarding the death, and that they don't want to be victims of any political issue. Retired Bombay High Court judge Justice B.G. Kolse Patil, who also attended the public meeting, sought independent probe into judge Loya's death case and said the "credibility of judiciary was at stake" after his death. He also said that it was the golden day in the history of judiciary when four Supreme Court judge came out before media. Tripoli, Jan 15 : A group on Monday attacked Libya's Tripoli International Airport with heavy weapons, killing three people and injuring several others. "The criminal militia known as Bashir al-Baqarah and all the criminals wanted by the Deterrent Force attacked the International Airport after escaping (jail) and joining the militia," the Special Deterrent Force in charge of securing the airport said in a statement on its Facebook page. The force noted that the attackers were being dealt with "until they are defeated and expelled from the M'etiga airport and the prison, where more than 2,500 inmates are detained on various charges", Xinhua news agency reported. The force posted images of tanks deployed around the airport. The head of the field hospital of Tripoli confirmed that three people were killed and several others were injured in the clashes. The head of the Civil Aviation Authority Nasr-Addin Shayeb al-Ain said the airport has been temporarily closed for security reasons. "The closure of the airport was because of the ongoing clashes. We are waiting for the clashes to stop and for the airport to be secure again to resume air traffic," al-Ain told Xinhua, pointing out that flights have been temporarily transferred to the airport of Misurata city, some 250 km east Tripoli. The M'eiga International Airport of Tripoli witnessed frequent clashes and armed attacks, most recently in October 2017. However, Monday's attack is the most violent one the airport has witnessed so far, as gunmen attacked the air hub and the prison inside it, where hundreds of terrorists have been detained over the past few years. Jaipur, Jan 15 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited Pachpadra in Barmer district on Monday to monitor the preparations going before Prime Minister Modi's visit on Tuesday to inaugurate the refinery. The two, accompanied by other ministers, state BJP leaders and officials, visited the venue and took stock of the preparations. Expressing satisfaction, they also asked officials to ensure that security arrangements are intact in and around Barmer. The Chief Minister asked her ministers and senior officials camping in the town to remain updated about the preparations being made. Before reaching the venue, the Chief Minister offered her prayers at Jain Shwetamber Nakoda Pashwarnath temple, Bhatiyani Mata and Brahmaji temple in Barmer. State Bharatiya Janata Party chief Ashok Parnami, who also accompanied Raje and Pradhan. said that the refinery, the biggest in itself in the state, will bring in lot of property and business to Rajasthan. It will come up as a hub, attracting lot many industries and logistics units. The residents are quite excited with booming opportunities which are sure to generate lot many employment opportunities for them, he said, adding Barmer will definitely become logistics and industries hub in the future. Latest updates on Howdy Modi Houston Berlin, Jan 15 : Borussia Dortmund have signed Manuel Akanji from Basel with immediate effect, both sides confirmed in an official statement on Monday. The "BVB" have reinforced their defence with the signing of the Swiss, who has put pen to paper on a deal until June 2022, reports Xinhua news agency. "Manuel has been courted by several European top clubs. We are therefore delighted that he opted for us. He has already proven in the national team and in the Champions League that he can play at the highest level," Dortmund's sporting director Michael Zorc said. The 22-year-old new arrival played the last two-and-a-half years at Swiss outfit Basel where he made 42 appearances and provided five goals. His performances earned him a place in Switzerland's national team in June 2017. He made ever since four caps. "I felt very well during the talks with the Dortmund officials. It was a heart decision. I always liked Dortmund's style of play," Akanji, who received jersey no. 16, told the club's official homepage. Dortmund sit currently on the fourth place of the Bundesliga standings. They encounter with 11th positioned Hertha Berlin at the 19th round on Friday. BEIJING, Jan. 10 (ChinaMil) -- In today's world, joint training exercises have become an increasingly popular style of international military cooperation. On the one hand, the complicated security situation and cross-border threats in the world require international cooperation and co-ordination. On the other hand, major powers in the world or groups of countries always show their strength and military power, expand their influence and enhance their own safety through joint exercises. Let's take a look at those major joint training exercises between Chinese and foreign militaries in 2017. "Joint Rescue -2017" multinational peacekeeping force counter-terrorism rescue exercise Keywords: Multi-national militaries, MINUSMA On Jan 23, 2017, Chinese peacekeeping medical detachment to Mali participated in "Joint Rescue -2017" multinational peacekeeping force counter-terrorism rescue exercise at Gao of Mail. The exercise commenced at the training ground of United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). This was the first joint military exercise conducted by Chinese and foreign armed forces in Mali. It was also the first time for the Chinese troops to organize a joint counter-terrorist rescue exercise at the MINUSMA. In the context of the recent terrorist attacks in various areas of Mali, the peacekeeping forces of China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Senegal jointly set up a joint commanding center to dispatch medical service teams to areas struck by the terrorist attacks. The joint forces conducted joint command, defense coordination, first aid on the site, batch treatment, air medical transfer of critical patients and other subjects. Through this exercise, peacekeeping units from around the world enhanced technical exchanges, strengthened coordination awareness, and effectively promoted multi-country and multi-level joint rescue capabilities. "Golden Cobra -2017"military exercise Keywords: Largest multilateral joint military exercise in Asia Pacific The "Golden Cobra -2017"military exercise is an annual mechanism of multilateral joint military exercise hosted by the US and Thailand. It is also the largest multilateral joint military exercise in the Asia-Pacific region. The exercise includes commanding post exercise, field operations and humanitarian rescue operations, aiming to cope with regional and global security challenges, deepen international cooperation and safeguard the stability in the Asia Pacific. China dispatched 17 military members to participate in the exercise at the invitation of the organizers. This was also the first time for China to send a fieldwork vehicle and some goldsmith tools to the exercise held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The exercise started on Feb 14, 2017 and nearly 10,000 troops from 29 countries including Thailand, United States, China, South Korea and Indonesia participated in the joint exercise. The Chinese side focused on MOOTW subjects including the work of the command center, indoor deduction, construction aid drill and military medical seminar. Hong Kong, Jan 15 : As a key growth driver, China should review its trade and investment restrictions for improving the global economy, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Monday. "China should be open to look at its own restrictions on trade and investment, which have generated criticism from some trading partners," IMF's First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton said at the Asian Financial Forum. According to IMF, China alone contributes to a third of the global growth. As a trading partner to over 100 countries across the world that represent 80 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the ChineseAsuccess story is linked to the world's growth, Lipton said. "China plays an increasingly important role in development aid and infrastructure finance, as epitomised by the Belt and Road Initiative. "In terms of its global role, China has been a voice of reason in the debate over trade and economic integration," he said. The Belt and Road Initiative, unveiled by the Chinese government in 2013, plans to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. With an important role in globalisation, the country should look at its own "shortcomings" with respect to trade policies, remarked Lipton. "It means protecting intellectual property rights, reducing distortions of industrial policy, overcapacity and policies that favour state enterprises," he said. Better globalisation is in China's own interest, he said, adding that the Chinese government and its lenders, considering the benefits of debt resolution, would ensure that the developing world does not face a new debt crisis. "China needs to be alert to the discontent with globalisation as it is currently configured and support a global economic order for the future that will be widely embraced," he said. With growing Foreign Direct Investments in China, the country should ensure the investments are commercially viable, Lipton said. "China also needs to take account of the impact from investments on governance, capacity building, sustainable development and environmental protection." (Bhavana Akella is in Hong Kong at the invitation of Hong Kong Trade Development Council. She can be contacted at bhavana.a@ians.in) Moscow, Jan 15 : Russia is ready to facilitate bilateral dialogue between the US and North Korea within the framework of the six-party talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. "We propose to all to calm down and freeze all confrontational actions, first of all, actions related to military operations including launching missiles, testing nuclear weapons and organizing large-scale manoeuvres, which the US, South Korea and Japan are conducting in this region," he said at a press conference, reported Xinhua news agency. Lavrov said that Russia actively supports "direct contacts between the most interested parties" when the confrontation is terminated. "If we talk about the nuclear issue, it is primarily between Pyongyang and Washington, but we will also be ready to contribute to this bilateral dialogue within the framework of the six-party process," he said. The six-party talks to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, which involved South Korea, North Korea, China, the US, Russia and Japan, have been suspended since late 2008. In particular, Lavrov highlighted that Russia and China are actively interacting to achieve this goal within the framework of their joint initiative on the transition to a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula, which calls for the end of the military confrontation. He noted that the work is going slowly as Washington seems to prefer a military solution despite catastrophic consequences. "When conditions for a transition to dialogue were developed, in most cases we witnessed provocative actions in the form of larger-scale military activities around Pyongyang, which provoked a new round of tension," he said. Meanwhile, Lavrov denied that Russia was invited to join in the upcoming ministerial meeting in Canada on the Korean Peninsula. The Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Security and Stability on Korean Peninsula, co-hosted by Canada and the US, will be convened in Vancouver on Tuesday. "With all due respect to those who initiated this meeting, I do not expect anything productive. I only hope nothing counter-productive happens," Lavrov said. Kabul, Jan 15 : At least 32 militants were killed in two separate airstrikes in Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said on Monday. In one raid conducted by Afghan National Army (ANA) Air Force on Sunday against a Taliban's position in Khaki Safed district of western Farah province, 28 insurgents were killed and 10 others injured, the ministry said in a statement. Those among the killed militants' were Sardar Ashkon Bakwahi, Taliban's deputy shadow governor of Farah, and two Taliban 'divisional commanders' Abdul Shokor and Hawaz Gulistani, according to the statement. Also on Sunday, four Taliban militants were killed following an airstrike in Nahri Saraj district of southern Helmand province. Three vehicles and six motorcycles together with amount of ammunition and weapons were also destroyed after the air operations, the statement noted. Afghan security forces and the NATO-led coalition troops have beefed up security operations and airstrikes as militants are attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions during the winter in the mountainous country. The Taliban militant group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than 16 years, has yet to comment on the report. New Delhi, Jan 15 : Declaring that the current $5 billion annual India-Israel trade required to be boosted, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday invited Israeli companies to invest in India to help boost its development. Addressing an India-Israel Business Summit here in the presence of visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi said that increaisng bilateral trade with a hi-tech economy like Israel was not only diplomatic but also economic necessity for both the countries. "India's developmental agenda is huge. It presents a vast economic opportunity for Israeli companies. I invite more and more Israeli people, businesses and companies to come and work in India," Modi said. "Given the scale of the Indian economy and the relevance of cutting-edge Israeli technologies for us, even sky is not the limit for what we may achieve together," he said. Noting some of the major reforms undertaken by the government in recent times like the Goods and Services Tax and liberalisation of foreign investment rules, the Indian Prime Minister promised all support to Israeli investors, saying India wants to do more for improved ease of doing business in the country. "It is your combined efforts that will add real value to our interaction and produce concrete successes," he said. We are on the cusp of new India-Israel relations. Given India's market and Israel's technology we will go far together," Modi added. Before addressing the business forum, both the Prime Ministers held a meeting with the CEOs from companies in India and Israel, which was the second such meeting after the one in Tel Aviv last year during Modi's visit there. Netanyahu's entourage includes the largest-ever delegation of Israeli business, consisting of 130 members representing over 100 companies. In his address, Netanyahu noted how the world is now being reshaped by the "confluence of big data, connectivity and artificial intelligence" and suggested some important areas of Israel-India cooperation such as rail and cyberspace, automobiles and digital medicine, precision agriculture and water management. "I believe in India because I know your heritage, your culture, your creativity, your humanity. I came here to say Prime Minister, Mr Modi, thank you for believing in Israel the way we believe in India," he said. "There are brilliant people in India and also in Israel, and together we can shape the world," he added. On the occasion, the two leaders gave a call for proposals for joint research and development (R&D) projects under the "India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund - I4F". India and Israel will make an annual contribution of $4 million each for five years. The India-Israel Innovation Bridge was also launched earlier which will act as a link between the start-ups of both countries. The Israeli Prime Minister arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India to step up growing trade as well as military and strategic ties between the two countries. At the India-Israel Business Innovation Forum here earlier on Monday, seven memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed to increase economic cooperation between the two sides. Among these were MoUs signed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) separately with the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce and the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute. Besides, the DIPP-sponsored Invest India entity exchanged an MoU with Israel's Foreign Investments and Industrial Cooperation. Tata Projects also signed an MoU with Israeli company Water-Gen. This is the first visit to India by an Israeli Prime Minister since Ariel Sharon came in 2003. United Nations, Jan 16 : The Security Council has concluded a secret fact-finding mission to Afghanistan in a show of support for the war-torn nation where it denounced the activities of terrorists there, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) announced Monday. UNAMA said that the Council members "expressed concerns about the security environment in Afghanistan, including the presence of Al Qaeda, Taliban and ISIL (Islamic State)-Khorasan Province-affiliated fighters, as well as about the nexus of terrorism and organized crime." "All parties reiterated the need for greater international and regional security cooperation," it added. The three-day visit that began Saturday was lead by Council President Kairat Umarov, who is also the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan. All the 15 members of the Council participated in the mission. They included US Permanent Representative Nikki Haley and the Netherlands Permanent Representative Karel van Oosterom, who is the Council member responsible for Afghanistan. Umarov announced last Tuesday that a mission was forthcoming, but when it took place the visit was kept a secret because of the security situation in Afghanistan and was disclosed only after it ended. During meetings with the Council members, Afghan officials expressed satisfaction with the development by India of the Chabahar port in Iran, which provides a sea link for Afghanistan, UNAMA said. It also has the potential to give other Central Asian countries a link to the warm waters. India has already sent the first consignment of 1.1 million tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan using the port and roads it has built to connect it to the country. The officials also said they hoped projects like the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline (TAPI) for transporting gas would be implemented rapidly. Council members met Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, other officials, NGOs, representatives of political parties and the leaders of the US-let NATO mission there. This was the first visit of Security Council to Afghanistan in about seven years. The last visit was in June 2010. The latest visit came ahead of a high-level Council meeting on Afghanistan on Friday to be presided over by Kazakhstan's Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov. Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani and ministers of other countries are also expected at the meeting. Members of the Independent Election Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission briefed the delegation on the preparations for the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections in 2018, UNAMA said. Council members emphasised the need for electoral reforms and the importance of increasing the participation of women in elections, it added. "Both Security Council members and Afghan officials called for improved cooperation and coordination in the region, underscoring the need for the international community, particularly neighbouring countries, to support and cooperate with Afghanistan, especially in countering terrorism," UNAMA said. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in) Ahmedabad, Jan 16 : The Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Monday said it had constituted a special team to look for Acting President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad Pravin Toghadia who suddenly went missing amid allegations that the Rajasthan Police took away the Hindu leader. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the umbrella body of all saffron outfits, in a one-line statement late on Monday expressed concern over the "goings-on around Toghadia" and hoped the state government and the police would initiate immediate action. The Ahmedabad and Rajasthan police both later denied that the VHP leader, once known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had been arrested, while the former said it would search for Toghadia if he had gone missing. It all began on Monday morning, 10 days after the Hindu leader had alleged that a "higher up in the BJP" was trying to implicate him in a murder case, when the VHP activists stormed the Sola police station in Ahmedabad alleging that Toghadia was missing and that he had been taken away by Rajasthan Police. Around 50 Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers created ruckus at the police station, alleging that the police, in connivance with their Rajasthan counterparts, had taken Togadia into custody in connection with a 10-year-old murder case. They claimed that the Sola police helped the Rajasthan Police arrest the VHP's President from Paldi area in Ahmedabad, the workers demanded to know his whereabouts. "We are pretty sure the Rajasthan Police has arrested our leader. They were in the state searching for Togadia in connection with the murder in Rajasthan that took place 10 years ago. "We ask the Gujarat Police to tell us where he is if he has not been arrested," said Raju Patel, the Ahmedabad city VHP General Secretary. "We fear that Toghadia might be killed by the police in a fake encounter." The VHP workers tried to block traffic on the busy Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway in western Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad and the Rajasthan police admitted that police indeed arrived here from the neighbouring state but maintained that they left the city without making any arrest. Superintendent of Police from Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan Maman Singh told the media that the police from his state were in Ahmedabad to look for Toghadia in case relating to violation of Section 144 under 188 of the Indian Penal Code of 2001 in Gangapur city but returned empty-handed. Ahmedabad Crime Branch's Joint Commissioner of Police J.K. Bhatt said that "it is a not major case. The Sola Police accompanied their counterparts from Ganganagar who had come with an arrest warrant from a local court to Bhagwat Bungalows. But he was not there at his home and the police returned." Bhatt said despite this a special team had been constituted to search for Toghadia. "The CCTV footage around his (Toghadia's) and office were being checked and he would be traced soon," Bhatt said. Asked how could the powerful Hindu leader go missing despite being provided with a Z-plus security cover, the police officer replied, "He (Toghadia) had asked the guards to let him rest since it was late night then and come back the next afternoon." Bhatt said a police constable Vikram Singh had claimed to have been the VHP leader around 11 a.m. going out with someone in autorickshaw. He added that all aspects were being investigated. On January 5, Toghadia alleged a conspiracy had been hatched against him by a "higher up in the BJP" to implicate and jail him in a 1996 murder case by ensuring he did not get the summons issued against him. The Metropolitan Court on Friday cancelled a non-bailable warrant issued against Toghadia, once a powerful figure in the Hindutva camp. Doha, Jan 16 : Qatar on Monday denied that its fighter jets had intercepted a passenger plane from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "The state of Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft (are) completely false," Qatari Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Lulwa Al Khater said on her Twitter Monday. Qatari military jets on Monday intercepted a UAE passenger plane which was on the way to land at Al Bahrain International Airport in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, the official Emirati news agency WAM reported. The UAE's civil aviation authority has informed its Qatari counterpart that a second Emirati commercial airliner was intercepted by Qatari fighter jets while it was on a "regular scheduled and well-known journey." The UAE authority added that it regards this incident "as a serious and renewed breach of international conventions and the safety of civil aircraft traffic." Earlier in the day, the UAE reported another Emirates passenger plane was intercepted by Qatari military jets, calling the move as a "flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation." The incidents came after Qatar filed two complaints on Friday and Sunday to the United Nations about the violation of its airspace in December and January by a UAE fighter jet. On Sunday evening, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Thani, one of the Qatari royal family members, accused the UAE of holding him against his will. But the UAE denied the allegation. A standoff has continued in the Gulf since early June, when the Saudi Arabia-led Arab quartet, which also includes the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, severed diplomatic, trade and transport links with Qatar. The quartet has accused Qatar of destabilizing the region by supporting terrorism and interfering in their domestic affairs. Qatar has denied all the charges. No breakthrough has been achieved in the international efforts to resolve the crisis, despite the mediation by Kuwait, the US, Turkey and European countries. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate is pleased to announce that Shelby Spinneweber has recently joined the team of professionals at the Brunswick office location. Spinneweber has practiced real estate in the Northeast Florida region since 2005 and is excited to transition her business to the Southeast Georgia market. She has a wealth of real estate knowledge and proven track record of success. With a simple and straight forward approach to her business, Spinneweber delivers profitable results to her clients. She is an active member of the Southeast Georgia community and in her leisure time, enjoys many hobbies that the area affords: horseback riding, scuba diving, boating, and hiking, just to name a few. Shelby has a solid commitment to real estate and to her clients, said Pat Cooper, President and Broker of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate. We are thrilled to have her as part of our work family and look forward to seeing her grow her business with us. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate, which is independently owned and operated, became a member of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brokerage network, operated by HSF Affiliates LLC, in 2017. Since that time, it has earned a host of honors and welcomed several new professionals to the highly successful real estate team. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Hodnett Cooper Real Estate Hodnett Cooper Real Estate is a family-owned and operated company with three offices throughout the Golden Isles offering a full range of real estate services including real estate sales, residential rentals, property management and commercial sales. The brokerage is the premier real estate company in southeast coastal Georgia with a professional and diverse team of agents. Visit http://www.BHHSHodnettCooper.com. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, based in Irvine, CA, is a brand-new real estate brokerage network built for a new era in residential real estate. The network, among the few organizations entrusted to use the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway name, brings to the real estate market a definitive mark of trust, integrity, stability and longevity. About HSF Affiliates LLC Irvine, CA-based HSF Affiliates LLC operates Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Prudential Real Estate and Real Living Real Estate franchise networks. The company is a joint venture of which HomeServices of America, Inc., the nations second-largest, full-service residential brokerage firm, is a majority owner. HomeServices of America is an affiliate of world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway Inc. One of our companys core tenets is to act with purpose, which means following through on all commitments. Each year, Texas Mutual Workers Compensation Insurance Texas largest provider of workers' compensation recognizes policyholders with a demonstrated commitment to employee safety through its Work Safe, Texas Program. Just one-third of one percent of policyholders receive this prestigious recognition and on Sept. 25, Houston-based metal building manufacturer Whirlwind Steel was awarded the 2017 Platinum Safety Partner Award. Of the 68,000 eligible Texas Mutual policyholders, Whirlwind was one of only 200 companies to receive this years honor. According to Eric Bourquin, Texas Mutual Vice President of Safety Services, Whirlwind provides the resources necessary to protect employees from workplace hazards, as reflected by the companys outstanding safety record. Whirlwind President Ty Sturdivant says the award is evidence of Whirlwinds refusal to cut corners: One of our companys core tenets is to act with purpose, which means following through on all commitments including our commitment to safety. We believe in doing things the right way, and this honor is proof of that. Were grateful to Texas Mutual for the recognition and look forward to building on our excellent safety record in the years to come. About Whirlwind Steel: Founded in 1955, Whirlwind Steel is an industry-leading manufacturer of residential, government, industrial, commercial, and institutional metal buildings, metal building components and metal roofing and wall systems. Headquartered in Houston, the company has IAS-certified manufacturing plants in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma and Minnesota. Products in the Components and Private Manufacturing Services division include metal roofing for residential, agricultural and business uses; self-storage units; boat docks; airplane hangars and steel municipal buildings. For more information about Whirlwind Steel, please call (800) 324-9992 or visit https://www.whirlwindsteel.com. Robyn Lee Boettcher, an interior design instructor from Tucson, Arizona, created the winning pattern chosen from dozens submitted to the Acrovyn by Design Patterns Contest. The national contest was sponsored by Construction Specialties (CS), a leading manufacturer of specialty building products, and judged by professionals from leading design firms including HOK and ESA. Boettchers pattern will be included in the 2018 Acrovyn by Design patterns collection. The collection gives design professionals refined possibilities for healthcare, commercial and educational settings. The wall protection is comprised of a .040 inch-thick rigid sheet made from sustainable, durable Acrovyn. Acrovyn by Design is manufactured by embedding high-resolution digital imagery behind impact-resistant, PVC-free, rigid Acrovyn sheet. As we enhance our collection, we involve designers in the creative process, said Bill Kadi, Senior General Manager at Construction Specialties. This contest was a celebration of designers and of our commitment to great design that lasts. Our 2018 pattern collection will feature Robyns work within a portfolio created for and by designers. Boettcher, who was awarded a $5,000 cash prize for her winning design, teaches design at Southwest University of Visual Arts in Tucson, Arizona. Her timeless design was inspired by her new career as a university professor. Boettchers concept was to ignite imagination while demonstrating the importance of participating in design competitions to her students. While I am extremely honored to be included in the Acrovyn by Design 2018 collection, the most exciting aspect for me as an artist, educator, and shaper of interior space will be collaborating with the CS team to bring my vision to life, said Boettcher. I envision an imaginative and expressive commercial wall covering that inspires an unexpected response from the viewer. I intend to thoroughly absorb every detail of this process and integrate it into my classroom and ASID Student Chapter competitions. About Construction Specialties Founded in 1948, Construction Specialties, Inc. (CS) is a family-owned building products company. CS provides solutions to complex problems that architects, designers, building owners, facility managers and contractors face every day. Since inventing the first extruded louver, CS has become a global leader in interior wall protection, impact-resistant doors and frames, entrance flooring, expansion joint covers, architectural louvers and grilles, sun controls, specialty venting and cubicle curtains and tracks. CS draws upon extensive expertise to design custom, high-quality productsmany of which are a part of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program. CS products have been used within some of the worlds most significant architecture, including One World Trade Center in New York City, The Shard in London and Burj Khalifa in Dubai. For more information about CS products and solutions, please visit http://www.c-sgroup.com. KABUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 32 militants were killed in two separate airstrikes in Afghanistan, the country's defense ministry said Monday. In one raid conducted by Afghan National Army (ANA) Air Force on Sunday against a Taliban's position in Khaki Safed district of western Farah province, 28 insurgents lost their lives and 10 others injured, the ministry said in a statement. Those among the killed militants' were Sardar Ashkon Bakwahi, Taliban's deputy shadow governor of Farah, and two Taliban divisional commanders Abdul Shokor and Hawaz Gulistani, according to the statement. Also on Sunday, four Taliban militants were killed following an airstrike in Nahri Saraj district of southern Helmand province. Three vehicles and six motorcycles together with amount of ammunition and weapons were also destroyed after the air operations, the statement noted. Afghan security forces and the NATO-led coalition troops have beefed up security operations and airstrikes as militants are attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions during the winter in the mountainous country. The Taliban militant group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than 16 years, has yet to make comments on the report. Blair MacPherson, co-owner of RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos, is pleased to announce that one of his newest listings, a luxurious ground level condo at The Atrium Resort, is now being featured on Viviun.com, an international real estate website. Blair MacPherson, co-owner of RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos, is pleased to announce that one of his newest listings, a luxurious ground level condo at The Atrium Resort, is now being featured on Viviun.com, an international real estate website. The condo is available for USD $395,000. The Atrium Resort, where this condo is located, is a highly-respected residential resort located within the gated community of Leeward, currently the top neighborhood for investment in the Turks and Caicos Islands, notes MacPherson, who is a real estate broker and a member of the Turks and Caicos Real Estate Association (TCREA). This 1,187 square-foot condo was built in 2008 and has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a patio. It is fully-furnished, and well-appointed with modern Caribbean furniture. The condo comes with a dedicated parking space in the resorts underground parking structure, where there is room for a car as well storage of bikes, beach chairs and other recreational equipment. The Atrium Resort offers a long list of amenities, including low monthly strata fees, the largest pool on the island, beautiful landscaping, 24 hour on-site security, a full-service reception, poolside hot tub and spa, convenience store, fitness center, family game room, and professional in-house cleaning service. The resort is only a seven-minute walk to what many consider to be the worlds top-rated beach, Grace Bay Beach. "With the condo being fully-furnished, it is ready to enjoy either personally, or as an income-producing vacation rental, or both, MacPherson says. Dollar-for-dollar, this boutique-style resort is one of the best values in Turks and Caicos. At $395,000 youll invest only $332 per square foot, representing not just an outstanding lifestyle investment, but a real opportunity for appreciation. For more information about the Atrium Resort condo or to schedule a showing, contact Blair MacPherson by phone at 1-800-941-0465 or 1-649-432-5677, or by email at blair(at)blairmacpherson(dot)com. About RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos Islands: The RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos offers unique, luxury real estate opportunities on the islands that are home to Grace Bay Beach, which has been named one of the world's best beaches numerous times. With breathtaking views, world-class spas, resorts, fine dining, local culture, and the awe-inspiring coral reefs Turks and Caicos Islands offer unique investment opportunities in that they are located in a tax-free jurisdiction. For more information, please visit http://www.remax-realestategroup-tci.com. Quotall Insurance Systems Today, Markerstudy announce a multi-year partnership agreement with Quotall to use their cloud-based, e-trade platform. Initially, Markerstudy will use Quotalls system to launch a new broker portal providing access to a wide range of commercial insurance products. The new portal will deliver enhanced products and trading facilities for 700 Zenith Marque broker partners nationwide. The agreement allows for a phased rollout of other lines of business and accommodates usage of the software by Markerstudys retail brands. The contract is the culmination of almost two years research into insurance industry software providers by Markerstudy. A proof of concept exercise that ran for over 6 months during 2017 saw Quotall emerge as the clear partner of choice, offering modern software and multichannel distribution capabilities in a cost-effective package. Commenting on the deal, Markerstudy Group Underwriting Director, Gary Humphreys, said: Our strategy as a business has been to develop non-standard, flexible, multi-trade products. These differentiators have set us apart and ensured strong demand from our broker partners, but their complexity gave rise to a further challenge; ease of distribution. As a business, we recognised the need to make it far easier for brokers to transact with us digitally. Reviewing the insurance market software options, we realised we needed to take a fresh approach. In Quotall, we have found, for the first time, a software partner with a portal capable of distributing the highly complex products we know brokers want. Simon Ball, CEO at Quotall, said: We are excited to be working with Markerstudy, who share our innovative approach to insurance distribution. They recognised that there are now many systems and portals available for brokers to use and acknowledged that our market leading software, service and support will significantly enhance the Markerstudy proposition whilst delivering measurable cost efficiencies. -ends- About Quotall Established in 2010, the company provides Insurtech, consultancy and marketing services to insurance distributors. The Quotall system is a modern, cloud-based, multichannel and comparative e-trading solution, delivering the standard of services that todays consumer expects. The product of significant research and financial investment, the system allows Insurance Companies, Brokers, MGAs, Affinities Partners and their clients to e-trade seamlessly through multiple channels anywhere in the world. The SMB Help Desk, LLC., an IT Managed Services and consulting company specializing in Cloud-based solutions, announced that the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois has presented The SMB Help Desk, LLC. the LGBT Small Business Entrepreneur Award for 2017. The LGBT Small Business/Entrepreneur of the Year award recognizes the achievements of LGBT-owned businesses within the community. "This Certified LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE) is one of the top rated cloud services companies in the country, recently having been named #843 of Inc 5000 fastest growing companies. They are incredibly focused on giving back to the community. SMBHD was recognized not only for the community contributions, but also for their rapid success. They began as two people working out of the Chamber offices six years ago, and have grown into an incredible success story that we are honored to spotlight. I was personally honored to present the award to The SMB Help Desk. They are an amazing company with very strong community ties, an excellent growth strategy, and a very robust business model. They serve as an example of what all small businesses should strive to be. We are fortunate to have them as a member of the Chamber and the Chicago business community." - Billy Stevenson, Board Chair of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois We are surprised and honored to receive this recognition by the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois. The culture of community is part of our DNA through both LGBT organizations and other community groups. We are committed to giving back to the community at a minimum of 1% of our product, 1% of our time and 1% of our profit to the community and charity organizations each year. It's important that our success can help others as well. While the recognition wasn't expected, it is nice when you receive it. Marvin Korves, President, The SMB Help Desk, LLC. To learn more about The SMB Help Desk, LLC., visit https://thesmbhelpdesk.com. For additional details about the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois, visit: http://lgbtcc.com/aboutus/ About The SMB Help Desk, LLC. The SMB Help Desk, LLC. is an award-winning IT consulting organization specializing in delivering innovative cloud-based technology solutions to small and medium sized businesses. The SMB Help Desk, LLC. provides consulting services on Salesforce solutions, Microsoft solutions including Office 365 and Azure, Infrastructure support, and a full service managed IT services offering. Headquartered in Chicago, IL, with a second office in Austin, TX, The SMB Help Desk, LLC. has been named to the Nations Best & Brightest Companies to Work For from 2014 to 2017. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and a Salesforce silver consulting partner, The SMB Help Desk, LLC. provides unparalleled experience to customers both locally and nationwide. About the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois The mission of this organization is to promote economic opportunities for the LGBT community by being an advocate and resource for all member businesses that encourage equality. Matthias Stiefel, President of Interpeace's Governing Council, Roberto Balzaretti, Ambassador of Switzerland & Scott Weber, Director-General of Interpeace This status will allow us to increase our impact wherever we operate Interpeace has been officially recognized as an international entity by the Federal Council. Gathered today in Bern, both parties signed an agreement based on the Host State Act. This acknowledgement reaffirms the important role played by the organization in peace processes. Headquartered in Geneva, Interpeace has been facilitating formal and informal peace processes for nearly 25 years. Active in over 20 countries, the organization brings together actors of the international community, the government, civil society and local communities in order to find unified solutions to the deepest causes of conflict. We place a particular emphasis on the important role local actors must play in making peace sustainable, explained Scott Weber, Director-General of the organization. Interpeace and Switzerland already work closely together. Thanks to its partnership with the Human Security Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland and Interpeace work towards putting in place joint strategies that will enable the stability of fragile states or regions. "In an increasingly polarized world, our combined efforts to promote dialogue and peaceful conflict resolutions are more necessary than ever, commented the Director-General of Interpeace. During the signing of the agreement, Scott Weber announced a new step for the future of the organization: This recognition given by the signed agreement today will allow us to start a new chapter in the history of Interpeace. This status will allow us to increase our impact wherever we operate. About Interpeace Interpeace was initially founded in 1994 by the United Nations in Geneva. Its mission is to promote lasting peace among countries affected by latent and recurring crises. Since the year 2000, it operates as an independent organization, and has become a reference organization for the international community, with regards to supporting peace processes. The headquarters of Interpeace are located in Geneva, and its regional offices in Abidjan, Cote dIvoire; Brussels, Belgium; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Nairobi, Kenya; New-York, United States and Stockholm, Sweden. Interpeace is active in over 20 fragile states. The organization played a key role, particularly building up Somalia after a long civil conflict. It also gave support towards the implementation of the peace agreement in Guatemala and is currently helping to implement a peace agreement in Colombia. Finally, in West Africa, Interpeace and its partners organize dialogues to enable local populations to better respond to their security challenges. To find out more: http://www.interpeace.org Digital Park Thailand brings everything our country has to offer tech innovators and digital leaders and consolidates it in one place. The Thai Government recently launched Digital Park Thailand, the countrys premier destination for digital business leaders, innovators, disruptors, and nomads. Digital Park Thailand is expected to serve as a showcase and incubator for digital businesses in the ASEAN region. Strategically located in Thailands Eastern Economic Corridor, Digital Park Thailand is a new digital hub for tech titans and business innovators looking to expand operations to Thailand and the ASEAN region and enjoy the exceptional quality of life the country offers. Digital Park Thailand will comprise of four key elements to ensure success for digital businesses in the Southeast Asia region. Firstly, a Regional IoT Institute will serve as an IoT Design Center and Innovation Testbed as well as a playground and living lab in the park. Secondly, a Digital Service Hub will complement the digital fulfillment streamline process facilities and physical logistics capacities of the park via rail and roadways that connect the region with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Thirdly, the Fiber One Belt One Road is an open regional internet gateway for digital business and built on submarine cables connected to a terrestrial network, which will make it a true data hub for the region. Finally, the establishment of a University 4.0 and Digital Academy, Smart Living Space and Innovation Workplace make Digital Park Thailand a destination for international digital talent to live, work, learn and play. Thailands strong internet connectivity, digital capabilities and sound infrastructure, as well as our superb quality of life, make it an excellent location for business leaders looking to relocate their digital businesses within ASEAN, said Ms. Ajarin Pattanapanchai, Permanent Secretary of the Digital Economy and Society Ministry. Digital Park Thailand brings everything our country has to offer tech innovators and digital leaders and consolidates it in one place. The digital sector is one of 10 incentivized industry sectors in Thailands 4.0 economic model, and as such, residents of Digital Park Thailand have access to the special economic zones distinct advantages. In terms of location, residents have access to key infrastructural and logistical resources such as Laem Chabang and Map Ta Phut deep seaports, U-Tapao, Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi Airports, and the Bang Na Expressway. A double track railway from Map Ta Phut deep sea port, a high-speed train from Bangkok to Rayong, and an extended motorway to Map Ta Phut are also all currently under construction, which will add to the logistical connectivity features that Digital Park Thailand offers its residents. Further enticing companies to establish operations in Thailand are recently announced expanded incentives within the countrys Eastern Economic Corridor. On top of the traditional incentives the EEC offers, the Thai government is also offering additional two years of corporate tax exemption (up to a total 10 years of exemption), as well as a 50% reduction for an additional two years. Digital Park Thailand also offers non-monetary incentives including the opportunity to co-partner with local companies and global players to catalyze innovation, cross border privileges for digital specialists, and the ability for startups to connect with existing industry sectors in the EEC. Thailand was recently ranked #26 on the World Banks Ease of Doing Business 2018 report, up almost 20 spots, and is successfully attracting key global digital players due to the countrys status as one of the worlds leading digital nomad destinations. Global players such as Switch International, a data center company, established Supernap Thailand in 2017 also within the EEC, the same designated economic zone where Digital Park Thailand is located. Supernap Thailand is expected to be one of the most secure, stable and connected data centers in the world . About BOI The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) is the investment promotion agency for Thailand that facilitates foreign direct investment. BOIs services are free of charge and customized to help business succeed in Thailand. For more information, please visit http://www.boi.go.th and http://www.thinkasiainvestthailand.com. Hill Country Dermatology We are excited to welcome these outstanding practices to our team, said Geoff Wayne, CEO of U.S. Dermatology Partners. Both practices have established outstanding reputations for quality and patient care in their markets, and we are thrilled they chose to partner with USDP. U.S. Dermatology Partners (USDP) is pleased to announce that it has added two new practices in the state of Texas by partnering with Bay Area Dermatology Associates (BADA) and Hill Country Dermatology (HCD). This builds on U.S. Dermatology Partners leading position in the state of Texas and further reinforces its presence in the key markets of Houston and central Texas. Bay Area Dermatology: BADA was founded by Dr. Terry Williams in 1976 and he was joined by Dr. Janice Chang in 1998. The practice has served the Texas gulf coast for more than 40 years, focusing on medical and surgical dermatology but also providing select cosmetic dermatology services. BADA has two board-certified physicians and one physician assistant on staff, and together they serve four locations in Webster, Texas City, Clear Lake and Baytown, Texas. Terry E. Williams, M.D. obtained both his undergraduate and medical degrees from Ohio State University. He completed his Internal Medicine Internship at Ohio State before beginning an Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Florida. Dr. Williams served as a medical officer (Lt. Commander) in the United States Navy for two years before moving to Texas to complete a three-year dermatology residency program at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Upon completion, he went into private practice in the Clear Lake area and has practiced there for 40 years. Dr. Williams is an active member of the Houston Dermatological Society, the Texas Dermatological Society, and the American Academy of Dermatology. He serves on the Baylor College of Medicine faculty and is Regional Director for the Hansen's Disease (Leprosy) Clinic. Dr. Williams has received the Houston Mayor's Award for Outstanding Community Service by a Health Professional and for years has enjoyed assisting on the annual community skin cancer screening. Janice R. Chang, M.D. grew up in the neighboring state of Arkansas and moved to Houston to pursue her undergraduate studies, graduating with a B.A. in Biology from Rice University. She began her medical training in Arkansas and then transferred to the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston where she graduated with high honors and was elected into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Dr. Chang completed both her internship and residency training at the Baylor College of Medicine and is an active member of the Houston Dermatological Society, Texas Dermatological Society and the American Academy of Dermatology. During medical school and residency, Dr. Chang served eight years as a medical officer in the Texas Army National Guard. She spent most drill weekends at the armory in La Marque, Texas familiarizing her with the bay area. Kendra E. McCarty, PA-C is a native Houstonian, and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a bachelor's degree in Biology and Allied Health Professions. She received her Masters of Clinical Medical Sciences in Physician Assistant Studies from Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida. She was inducted into Pi Alpha Honor Society, the National Honor Society for Physician Assistants, and is an active member of the Society of Dermatology for Physician Assistants. Kendra is board-certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physicians Assistants and is licensed as a Physician Assistant by the Texas Medical Board. As a Physician Assistant with several years of dermatology experience, Kendra treats patients with medical, surgical, and cosmetic dermatology concerns. She welcomes both adult and pediatric patients. We are excited to have Bay Area Dermatology Associates as our newest partners serving the Gulf Coast Region, said Dr. Aaron Joseph, Gulf Coast Regional Medical Director. Drs. Williams and Chang have decades of experience and a reputation for outstanding patient care. We look forward to expanding our practice to serve the entire Galveston Bay area. Hill Country Dermatology: HCD was founded in 1993 by Dr. Michael Braden and the practice has since grown to include three board-certified physicians working across two locations in Fredericksburg and Kerrville, Texas. HCDs physicians offer a full suite of general dermatology, surgical and cosmetic dermatology services and together they have more than 75 years of combined dermatology experience. Michael W. Braden, M.D. was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and obtained both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Texas at San Antonio. After graduating from medical school in 1985, Dr. Braden joined the United States Air Force where he served as a flight surgeon for two years. He would go on to complete a three-year dermatology residency at Wilford Hall USAF hospital in 1991 and served two more years in the Air Force before establishing a private dermatology practice in the Texas Hill Country. Dr. Braden focuses on general and surgical dermatology and has over 25 years of experience in the dermatology specialty. He is on the medical staff at Hill Country Memorial Hospital and is a member of both the Hill Country Medical Society and Texas Medical Association. Cynthia O. Clegg, M.D. was born and raised in Fredericksburg, Texas, and obtained her undergraduate degree from Texas Tech University. After graduating, Dr. Clegg worked as a research assistant at UT Southwestern where she focused on Microbiology and Immunology. She earned her medical degree from UT Southwestern, and completed an internship at the Baylor Hospital of Dallas, followed by her dermatology residency at UT Southwestern. After completing her residency, she worked in Dallas at North Dallas Dermatology Associates before coming back to her home town of Fredericksburg in 2009. Dr. Clegg is a member of the Hill Country Medical Society, Texas Medical Society and the Dermatology Foundation Leadership Society. John J. Ghidoni III, M.D. joined Hill Country Dermatology in April 2016 after relocating from Austin, TX where he had practiced for 28 years. He attended Rice University before graduating from the Texas Tech College of Medicine in 1983. Dr. Ghidoni then did his residency in dermatology at the University of Tennessee where he served as chief resident his third year. He would go on to complete a fellowship in Mohs Micrographic Surgery with Dr. Rex Amonette in Memphis, TN, and has been a fellow of the American College of Mohs Surgery since 1990. Dr. Ghidoni performs Mohs surgery at both the Fredericksburg and Kerrville locations. We are very excited to have Drs. Braden, Clegg and Ghidoni join USDP as we continue to unite dermatologists who share the goal of providing the highest quality of patient-centered care, said Dr. Chad Hartmann, Central Texas Regional Medical Director. Hill Country Dermatology is a well-established and highly-respected practice that further strengthens the broad network of USDP physicians providing care in the central Texas area. We are excited to welcome these outstanding practices to our team, said Geoff Wayne, CEO of U.S. Dermatology Partners. Both practices have established outstanding reputations for quality and patient care in their markets, and we are thrilled they chose to partner with USDP. Our model will further enable these providers to focus their time on patient care, while enjoying the benefits of USDPs unparalleled business support . If you would like more information about U.S. Dermatology Partners, or if you have any questions regarding the partnership with Bay Area Dermatology Associates or Hill Country Dermatology, please contact one of the team members listed below: U.S. Dermatology Partners Geoff Wayne Chief Executive Officer Geoff@usdermpartners.com Scott Wells Chief Development Officer SWells@usdermpartners.com Brent Ohlsen Director of Corporate Development BOhlsen@usdermpartners.com About U.S. Dermatology Partners Headquartered in Dallas, TX, U.S. Dermatology Partners provides comprehensive practice management services to over 145 board-certified dermatologists and 50 midlevel providers across ~75 locations in Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, and Virginia. U.S. Dermatology Partners provides comprehensive management services allowing providers to focus exclusively on delivering high-quality care to patients. As one of the largest physician-owned dermatology practices in the country, patients of U.S. Dermatology Partners not only have access to general medical, surgical, and cosmetic skin treatment through its coordinated care network, but also benefit from the organizations strong dermatology thought leaders and medical advisory board. The physicians of U.S. Dermatology Partners are fervently focused on providing the highest level of patient-first care, and its team therefore includes recognized national leaders in areas such as clinical research, psoriasis and Mohs Surgery. To learn more, visit usdermatologypartners.com London Kaye Lion Brand Yarn Company is excited to announce an exclusive collaboration with London Kaye, crochet artist, fashion designer and reality TV star, as they showcase her brand of crocheting outside the lines at fine specialty and mass retailers and e-tailers nationwide. The program will be a compilation of open stock yarns, theme packs, and Londons own unique iteration of crochet hooks intended to provide the consumer with a unique crafting experience. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Junior Achievement USA. Crocheting outside the lines is a re-imagination of how to use yarn, as Londons technique utilizes a simple crochet stitch and a ball of yarn to transform everyday environments into visual wonderlands. Londons designs are easy to make and can be attached to anything: bags, sneakers, and yes, trees! London Kaye sums up her art by saying, My message is that joy, beauty, and happiness can be found anywhere were willing to look. Her passion and creativity exceed no bounds and we are thrilled to be working with such a talent, says David Blumenthal, President & CEO of Lion Brand. Londons work reflects Lion Brands mission of creating a more colorful, connected, and giving world, and with her help can bring the love of crochet to a new generation of new consumers. Her work has already captured the imagination of corporate America and mainstream media. London has created a capsule collection for major brands including Gap, Starbucks, and Valentino, as well as a Miller Lite billboard in Times Square. Her work has also been featured in The New York Times, Elle, and most recently CBS This Morning. An article in Conde Nast Traveler called London Kaye the one to watch. Founded in New York City, Lion Brand Yarn Company is a fifth generation family-owned and operated business devoted to inspiring and educating knitters and crocheters with yarns, patterns, how-tos, and ideas that elevate their yarn crafting experience. Year after year Lion Brand drives innovation in the yarn business and pursues excellence in the quality of their products. Accel at Golden Ridge is a premier skilled nursing care, rehabilitative facility and wound care treatment center serving the Colorado senior care marketplace. We are especially pleased to add the Humana contract to our patients insurance options, as this will increase access to our industry-leading wound care facility and other services. In a move that increases health care insurance options and manages cost for consumers, StoneGate Senior Living, LLC, an award-winning full spectrum senior care and housing facility, announces a new in-network insurance provider agreement with Humana for Accel at Golden Ridge, effective February 1, 2018. Accel at Golden Ridge is a premier skilled nursing care, rehabilitative facility and wound care treatment center serving the Colorado senior care marketplace. We provide our Accel at Golden Ridge patients with access to industry-leading care, housing and rehabilitation, and expanding access to in-network insurance providers is a critical part of this effort, says Aaron Aguilera, StoneGate Senior Living Director of External Relations, Accel at Golden Ridge. We are especially pleased to add the Humana contract to our patients insurance options, as this will increase access to our industry-leading wound care facility and other services. The new in-network insurance provider agreements with Humana for Accel at Golden Ridge will allow admittance for short-term, inpatient therapies and skilled nursing with lower, in-network copays, deductibles, & annual out-of-pocket expenses. The Humana agreement will take effect February 1, 2018. For more information, visit: http://accelgolden.com/. About Accel at Golden Ridge Accel at Golden Ridge opened in July 2017 in Golden, Colorado to serve Jefferson County. The new facility offers in-patient transitional care, outpatient rehabilitation services and a state-of-the-art wound care facility with trained personnel. The 60,000-square-foot facility offers two rehabilitation gyms, modern equipment, technologies and programs that are designed to help patients recover as quickly as possible and return to their prior lifestyle. Accel provides pulmonary, cardiac, wound recovery, infectious disease, physiatry and orthopedic care. http://accelgolden.com/ About StoneGate Senior Living: StoneGate Senior Living is an award-winning full-spectrum senior care and housing company with 44 properties across Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado. Recently ranked as the nations 31st largest transitional and long-term care company by Provider magazine, StoneGate is a fully-integrated post-acute health care company, with service-lines and business units that offer transitional care, long-term care, assisted living, memory care, rehabilitation, wellness, pharmacy, care navigation and post-acute analytical services. Learn more at http://www.stonegatesl.com/. As new estimates predict cybercrime costs will exceed $2 trillion by 2019, many consumers are wary of letting companies handle their personal data. Lack of diligence in the business world has dominated headlines, leading to serious mistrust on the part of consumers. Currently, 68% of consumers dont trust companies to handle their personal data securely and keep it protected from hackers. (1) Companies need consumer data for invoicing and other legitimate business purposes. This means that methods must be developed for effectively securing data to prevent personal information from falling into the wrong hands. Cybercriminals quickly devise strategies to overcome older security measures, and its a sure bet that theyll continue to exploit any possible vulnerabilities in new security patches, etc. However, there are some basic practices one can implement which can help protect most consumer data. Its also important to keep customers in the loop regarding how the company handles and protects personal consumer information. Spohn Security Solutions has a few suggestions in this regard:(1) 1) Use multiple authentication layers, and follow this up by letting customers know who will have use of customer data and how its secured from unauthorized use. 2) Make sure your company is focused on security not compliance. This means following a list of best practices to ensure that your customers information stays safe. PCI, HIPAA, SOC compliance cover the MINIMUM acceptable level for many aspects of data security: Employee procedures to data encryption. Compliance will come with security. Compliance is great to advertise on your website and in many cases, require by law, but a secure network lets you sleep at night. 3) Make your consumers privacy a competitive advantage for your company. Destroy customer data once its no longer needed or required to be kept by law. Let customers know that you wont keep any credit information or personally identifiable information on file longer than legally required. Communicate your assured cloud destruction and data retention agreements; explain this is why they must enter their data repeatedly on your site. Most will appreciate your attention to maintaining their privacy, even if it is inconvenient. (2) However, even with these and other measures in place, employees sometimes forget to implement them, or new employees who havent yet been fully trained on current security practices can commit errors. Spohn Security Solutions has been in the cyber security business for 20 years and has observed that not all companies maintain an appropriate level of vigilance regarding employee security training. Its vital that companies continue to provide security training for their employees. When they train but then forget to regularly update and check on their employees practices, its as if they were never trained at all, said Timothy Crosby, senior security consultant for Spohn Security Solutions. When these gaps occur and new threats hit, serious risks can be propagated throughout the system, leaving vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit. One example was the WannaCry ransomware attack in May, 2017. That attack, termed next-gen ransomware, was the largest computer virus /ransomware infection in history. As opposed to regular ransomware, which encrypts only the local machine it lands on, this type spreads throughout the organizations network from within, without having users open emails or malicious attachments (which is why its called a ransomworm).(3) Crosby says, A big risk is companies becoming complacent with their security watchfulness. Windows had released an updated security patch prior to the WannaCry attack, but not everyone updated their system. Theres a risk of companies providing employee training and information but then forgetting to provide continuity. About Spohn Consulting, Inc. Spohn Consulting, Inc., an Austin, Texas-based, privately-held company established in 1998 by Darren L. Spohn, is an authority in navigating Fortune 500 companies and medium to small businesses through the security business challenges of the 21st century. Spohn Consulting works with organizations to assess their information security posture (the security status of an enterprises networks, information, and systems based on identification and authorization resources, e.g., the people, hardware, software, policies and capabilities in place to manage the defense of the enterprise and to react as the situation changes), offer customized instructor-led training, and sell telecom services. Utilizing varied scopes of engagement, they deliver recommendations which can be measured against best practice or compliance standards. Sources: 1 Gerber, Scott. 9 Ways to Protect Your Customers Data and Keep Them in the Loop. The Next Web, 2 June 2017. 2 Sep 30, 2011 | Updated Oct 3, 2017. Customer Privacy Is An Important Part Of Business Strategy. ReputationDefender, 3 Oct. 2017. 3 Zeichick, Alan. Self-Propagating Ransomware: What the WannaCry Ransomworm Means for You. Network World, Network World, 16 May 2017, Kyrah Coker, new Controller for NRP. Kyrah is key to supporting our financial technology solutions while working in tandem with our large commercial roofing contractor network. National Roofing Partners (NRP), the leading network of commercial roofing contractors in North America, is proud to announce the addition of Kyrah Coker to the NRP team. Coker has more than 20 years of progressively responsible finance experience directing companies financially from start-up through growth modes. Coker has spent the last 12 years as a director of finance and operations with a private, woman-owned and operated construction business (WBE) in Dallas. She helped grow the company exponentially, securing and maintaining bonded municipal contracts with the City of Dallas, and other surrounding cities. Prior to transitioning into construction accounting, Coker spent over a decade as a branch manager in a publicly held Telecom company headquartered in Atlanta, GA. During this time, she developed strong accounting experience and became an Intuit Pro Advisor. Kyrah has the background and focus that NRP needs. Her financial knowledge and talent is not only important in day-to-day operations but is also critical as we continue our aggressive growth and use of technology through all parts of our business, stated Dale Tyler, president of NRP. NRP is fully committed to utilizing technology in communications and processes, providing the best experience for national accounts and facility managers. Kyrah is key to supporting our financial technology solutions while working in tandem with our large commercial roofing contractor network. Coker holds a B.A. and M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas where she held active leadership/board roles in SPEAK (Students for Political Education and Knowledge) and Phi Theta Kappa Iota Honor Society. She has served as roll call liaison with local police departments for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is an active member in Women in Film Dallas, in support of her adult son in acting, and a volunteer with Food on the Moves Summer Program. About National Roofing Partners National Roofing Partners (NRP) was founded with the mission of continually improving the facility management capabilities of its customers by analyzing existing roof conditions, recommending and providing high quality single-source roofing replacements and services with dedicated support and technology. Building on the strong expertise of tier one commercial roofing contractors with over 120+ service locations and 8,000 employees nationwide, the network provides exceptional roofing and building envelope service, technology and maintenance for customers. For more information, visit http://www.nationalroofingpartners.com. LUSAKA, Jan. 15 (ChinaMil) -- The Ministry of Defense of Zambia awarded the International Cooperation Medal to the 11 members of the 20th Chinese military medical team to aid Zambia last Friday. The medal-awarding ceremony was held at the Zambian Army Headquarters in recognition of the outstanding contributions made by these Chinese military medical experts. Senior officers from the Zambian Ministry of Defense, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Yang Youming and Chinese military attache Sun Ming attended the medal-awarding ceremony. Permanent Secretary of the Zambia's Defense Ministry Sturdy Mwale addressed the ceremony. On behalf of the Zambian Government, Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces, Mwale expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the Chinese side for providing constant and enormous medical assistance to Zambia. He spoke highly of the all-weather high-quality medical service provided by the 20th Chinese military medical team. Yang Youming said in his speech that China's Defense Ministry has sent 21 military medical teams to Zambia since 1984 and a total of 266 Chinese military doctors have performed medical aid missions at the General Hospital of the Zambian Defense Force located in Lusaka. Yang spoke highly of the outstanding contributions made by the 20th Chinese military medical team to enhancing the friendship between the two countries and the two militaries. He congratulated the 11 team members on winning the medal. The 11 Chinese military doctors are from departments of otolaryngology, radiology, ophthalmology, stomatology, cardiology, orthopedics, surgery, blood purification, gastroenterology, medical engineering and so on. They arrived in Zambia on Jan. 22, 2017 for the one-year aid mission. The 21st Chinese military medical team departed from Shanghai for Zambia on Jan. 10, 2018. As a physician who has lost patients to misplaced NG tubes, it has become my lifetime mission to ensure these tubes are placed safety, every time. says Dr. Paul Gilbert, I invented the RightSpot pH to address this issue and am thrilled that safe tube placement is now a global focus and that our t The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (https://patientsafetymovement.org) Board of Directors has selected RightBio Metrics technology as a finalist for the Patient Safety Innovation Awards. The third annual Patient Safety Innovation Awards have drawn in a plethora of innovative products and processes designed to significantly improve patient safety and help reach the foundations goal of ZERO preventable patient deaths by 2020. These submissions from across the globe represent some of the most innovative products and process improvements the Patient Safety Movement Foundation has seen in the last three years. There were more than 50 submissions and RightBio Metrics was selected as one of three finalists. Award recipients will be announced at the 6th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit on February 23-25 in London, England. The 2018 Summit will bring global leaders, government representatives, Healthcare and Hospital CEOs, medical experts and patient advocates together for the first time in London, England to share the latest advances and confront preventable patient deaths in hospitals across the world. The Foundation has selected Nasogastric Feeding and Drainage Tube Placement and Verification as one of five challenges the organization focuses on in 2018. The recommended protocol to assist with safe placement will include the use of pH. RightBio Metrics makes the only FDA cleared, CLIA waived product for confirming gastric acidity of tubes intended to end in the stomach. As a physician who has lost patients to misplaced NG tubes, it has become my lifetime mission to ensure these tubes are placed safety, every time. says Dr. Paul Gilbert, I invented the RightSpot pH to address this issue and am thrilled that safe tube placement is now a global focus and that our technology is being recognized as an innovation in that area. More about RightBio Metrics: RightBio Metrics is a Phoenix, AZ-based, privately held medical device company whose mission is to eliminate any harm caused by misplaced tubes. The company makes the only FDA Cleared/CLIA waived product for confirming gastric acidity for tubes intended to end in the stomach. For more information, please visit http://www.rightbiometrics.com About The Patient Safety Movement Foundation More than 200,000 people die every year in U.S. hospitals and 3 million worldwide in ways that could have been prevented. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation was established through the support of the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare to reduce that number of preventable deaths to 0 by 2020 (0X2020). Improving patient safety will require a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers, and private payers. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation works with all stakeholders to address the problems with actionable solutions for patient safety. The Foundation also convenes the World Patient Safety, Science and Technology Summit. The Summit brings together some of the worlds best minds for thoughtprovoking discussions and new ideas to challenge the status quo. By presenting specific, highimpact solutions to meet patient safety challenges, called Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, encouraging medical technology companies to share the data their products are purchased for, and asking hospitals to make commitments to implement Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation is working toward zero preventable deaths by 2020. Visit https://patientsafetymovement.org/. Contact: Renae Moomjian (520) 275-9329 Kats Murakami, President and CEO of Brierley+Partners Brierley+Partners, the global loyalty and CRM leader, is proud to announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Kats (Katsutoshi) Murakami as President and CEO of the company, effective on January 1, 2018. Jim Sturm, the companys previous President and CEO, will assume the role of Executive Chairman. This leadership change will further advance Brierleys global strength and rapid growth into new industries and verticals worldwide. I am extremely honored to have been chosen as Brierleys next President and CEO, said Murakami. It is such a privilege to be able to lead this organization that has such a tremendous reputation for delivering innovative and profitable results to some of the most successful and recognizable brands across the globe. I am committed to leading and expanding this company to new heights and successes. Prior to being named Brierleys President and CEO, Murakami has held several executive positions at Brierley, including a current member of the Board of Directors. He served as the Chief Operating Officer since April 2017 and was previously the President of Brierley+Partners Japan. He joined the company in 2015 as Executive Vice President, Global Business Development with the Nomura Research Institute acquisition of Brierley+Partners. With over 20 years of experience as a management consultant, he has advised and supported more than 100 companies worldwide in a variety of industries. He graduated from Keio University with a Bachelor of Law degree and received an MBA from University of Michigan, Ross School of Business. Jim Sturm served as the President and CEO of Brierley+Partners from 2007 to 2017. He will transition into the role of Executive Chairman. In this role, Jim will provide advisory services to the leadership team and will remain highly engaged with prospects and customers. Jim has done an extraordinary job of leading this company. During his tenure, he established Brierley as the leader in the global loyalty and CRM market, he expanded the company's service offerings most notably, the award-winning Brierley LoyaltyOnDemand suite of technology solutions. Jims focus and dedication of the importance of relationships in everything that we do will remain the driving force of the company, Murakami said. About Brierley+Partners Brierley+Partners are global loyalty and CRM innovators. Brierley brings industry-leading thought leadership, incomparable experience and advanced technologies to help brands build lifetime loyalty with their customers. Brierley runs some of the best loyalty and customer relationship programs for clients across the globe. Brierley offers a complete suite of loyalty services: program design, loyalty/CRM technology, marketing strategy, research, analytics, omnichannel communications, account management, interactive/print production and fulfillment. The industry-leading Brierley LoyaltyonDemand technology platform is uniquely robust, modular, flexible and quick-to-market. All services and technology focus on a single mission: making clients' customer relationships dramatically more profitable. Brierley is U.S.-based and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nomura Research Institute, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. To learn more about Brierley+Partners, visit http://www.brierley.com Hedy Joyce Haute Residence welcomes prominent real estate agent, Hedy Joyce to its prestigious network of top brokers. As a Haute Residence partner, Joyce exclusively represents the high-end real estate market on Mercer Island, Washington. Whilst Joyces primary area of concentration is Mercer Island, her expertise extends to both Seattle and the Eastside markets. Her clients as well as peers cherish her vitality, integrity, dedication and the sense of humor she brings to the profession. As an honest and skilled negotiator and communicator, Joyce finds strategic plays to arrive at the best situations for her clients sellers, buyers, and investors. Some 15 years of in-depth knowledge of the local market and her unique "out-of-the-box" approach to locating, negotiating and facilitating transactions have enabled her to stand out amongst her peers. Joyce's marketing acumen, together with her home staging expertise, ensures superb representation for sellers. Her personal experience of having moved internationally positions her as an excellent resource for home buyers relocating to this area. Joyce's skill set comes from a veritable mix of past professional work: sales manager for an international company, associate professor of Speech and Theatre at New York University; including a couple of years with a Microsoft marketing team promoting new platforms. In 2015, Joyce ranked the 17th broker within Coldwell Banker Bain, Washington and, for 11 consecutive years, has been awarded the Best in Customer Satisfaction by Seattle Magazine. Having arrived in Mercer Island with her family from Europe via Connecticut, Joyce instantly fell in love with Mercer Island. The Island has shifted its character from weekend getaway for the Seattleites to residential neighborhood due to its unique location between Seattle and the Eastside. Joyces passion for "all things real estate" radiates to all who come in contact with her. About Haute Residence: Designed as a partnership-driven luxury real estate portal, Haute Residence connects its affluent readers with top real estate professionals, while offering the latest in real estate news, showcasing the worlds most extraordinary residences on the market and sharing expert advice from its knowledgeable and experienced real estate partners. The invitation-only luxury real estate network, which partners with just one agent in every market, unites a distinguished collective of leading real estate agents and brokers and highlights the most extravagant properties in leading markets around the globe for affluent buyers, sellers, and real estate enthusiasts. HauteResidence.com has grown to be the number one news source for million-dollar listings, high-end residential developments, celebrity real estate, and more. Access all of this information and more by visiting: http://www.hauteresidence.com Chinese Consul General Ma Zhanwu in Kolkata lays flowers in front of the tombs in the cemetery of the Chinese Expeditionary Force martyrs in Ramgarh of Jharkhand, India, Jan. 12, 2018. (photo by kolkata.china-consulate.org) KOLKATA, India, Jan. 15 (ChinaMil) -- Mr. Ma Zhanwu, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Kolkata, visited the cemetery of 667 deceased soldiers of Chinese Expeditionary Force in WWII in Ramgarh of Jharkhand on Jan. 12. These Chinese soldiers sacrificed their lives protecting India from the aggression of Japan. Ma's entourage included working staff of the Chinese Consulate General in Kolkata and China-funded enterprises. Ma said in an interview with Indian media including Hindustan Times that his visit to the cemetery is to remember the martyrs that devoted to justice and peace and demonstrate that the Chinese government and people will always remember their sacrifices and contributions. He also hoped that the India media could convey his gratitude to the Indian people for their assistance in maintaining the cemetery. Times of India quoted Consul Ma as saying in a report on the 14th that this cemetery is the witness of the World War II and the friendship between the people of China and India, he expected the cemetery will be known to more Chinese tourists. According to the website of the Chinese Consulate in Kolkata, from 1942 to 1945, approximately 100,000 troops of the Chinese Expeditionary Force ever trained and made combat preparation in Ramgarh, they made gallant and meritorious service in fighting against Japanese invaders. There are 667 brave Chinese Expeditionary Force soldiers were buried in the cemetery in Ramgarh. Most of them are unknown martyrs and only names of 40 fallen soldiers can be seen on the tombstones. The locality of the cemetery is now managed by the Indian Defense Ministry, overseas Chinese in India have sponsored the renovation and maintenance of the cemetery in recent years. According to the latest Wealth Report by Stanbic Bank in collaboration with International Consultancy Group, Knight Frank there are about 2900 dollar millionaires in Ghana. READ ALSO: 5 ways the rich in Ghana waste their money Below, we've highlighted some interesting facts about rich in Ghana that may surprise you. They're not all filthy rich. In fact, 0% have a net worth of $1 billion. There are 23 billionaires in African and neither of them lives in Ghana or from Ghana(Forbes) READ ALSO: 39 sweet things to tell your girlfriend in 2018 Just one woman make the list of the top 10 richest people in Ghana.(Goodman AMC) READ ALSO: 5 things Ghana brought to the world Quite a chunk of them are without a degree READ ALSO: The richest people in Ghana who have no university degree Very few own private jets. Less than 1% of millionaires own a private plane READ ALSO: The 10 universities that have produced the most millionaires According to the agency, pregnant women dominated the list of new carriers of the virus due to exposure to poor medical procedure and unsafe sexual practices. Also, the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions topped the chart of HIV/AIDS prevalence in the country. Mrs Amokowa Adu-Gyamfi, the Director-General of AIDS Commission, appealed to people living with the virus to adhere to the use of the anti-retroviral drugs. She also reiterated that there is currently no herbal cure for the disease. We are not condemning them (herbalist), we are just saying that there is no herbal cure as yet for HIV. If you want to take them its up to you. But then take your anti-retroviral medication, she said. Causes of high prevalence of HIV/AIDS infections in Ghana Poor attitude of people towards engaging in voluntary test for the virus accounts for widespread of HIV/AIDS among the people, especially the youths. The Ghana AIDS agency also alleged that increase in homosexual activities can also be blamed for the sharp rise in HIV infection. Behavioural factors such as sex for commercial purpose, no HIV screening, poor awareness of non-sexual route of HIV transmission and no condom use also played major role in the spread of the virus. How has Africa fair about HIV/AIDS? Africa has been the worst-hit region by the epidemic since its discovery in the 1980s. The disease is a major public health concern and has caused death of people in many parts of the region. Across the globe, 78 million people were estimated to have been infected with the virus and more than two-thirds of them (35 million people) are living in Africa. In the 2:43 minutes freestyle, Sarkodie goes hard at fellow rappers (as usual), claiming to be the King of Ghana rap music and then going after American president, Donald Trump. His reaction comes after Donald Trump described African countries as 'shithole' during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration last week. Even though majority of Ghanaians have been blunt on the issue and condemned Trump for his unsavory comment, Sarkodie was sensitive with his choice of words in "Donald Trump se y3n man no y3 shithole....but wo nni talent...y3 ka a, wo nni talent," Sarkodie called him out. She captioned the photo on Facebook, "Home wreckers wa buru found hiki kibitch kwa NYUMBA yangu kwa kitanda yangu"" which Tuko.co.ke translated as (Buru buru home wrecker, found this woman in my house, on my bed) However, the poor woman must have been disappointed by now as most of the backlash are rather directed at her, though some few people supported her action. Below are some of the social media reactions to the development: According to Tuko.co.ke, one Tina Joy wrote, "Did u have to post your family issues??? U don't qualify to be called a woman. There are ladies out there going through hell yet they don't post on social media, they make sound decision...sort out the issue with that idiot u call husband n let the lady be." Wanjiru Maina also thought, "This is defeatist Very shallow minded of you and remember the Internet doesn't forget. Hope you don't mind your kids viewing this." READ ALSO: Police hunt for owner of box containing cremated corpse donated to Goodwill store Cecilia Muli asked her to "Put a full photo of your husband and shame him, he's the culprit here, he doesn't respect you. Shaming the other woman won't make your man Faithful to you, it won't stop him from cheating." The lady apparently must have been dating her fiance for a long time, but the gentleman was dragging his feet in proposing to her, hence her unconventional move. The incident reportedly occurred in Nigeria's Ikeja City Mall. Other reports indicated that the young man was already married. Here are some interesting views of social media user Yabaleftonline.ng sampled regarding the development: God will punish that guy, If you try that with me, Ill bring out a gun from my bag, and shoot you in your manhood straight. Precious Chukwudi: This should serve as lesson to girls. U think cos we are in 21st century u can now become a man and do his job babe ur job is to work urself, build and empower yourself Make urself a meaningful woman Men will find u come u dont have to look for them because your grace as woman is noticeable God bless all the ladies waiting patiently and not taking laws into their hands. Angel Kelechi: No matter what the society has turned to i still insist this is a mans job. Leave it for them. Chydo Lawrence: Babe I love your courage but in as much as were in a more civilized society, please its a guys job to propose to a lady! Well girls have been rejecting marriage proposals too. So this doesnt make a difference, youd have hired some guys that will be shouting say yes, say yes, in the background. He felt embarrassed and shy. Real men dont like to be put through in that feminine situation. Larry Okezie: I love her courage sha. Buh she should have done it in private at least to avoid any sort of embarrassment. I STAND WITH HER Anonymous: Proposing is not a women thing in this part of the world but for her to express herself to a guy it means she loves you and shes not ashamed about it. That guy is immature,just consider it a gift or would you have walked out if this was a surprise birthday party or if she surprised you with your favorite things? As a gentle man He should have accepted,tell her to get up give her a hug and whisper in her ear in public even if you dont want or it came as a surprise you can return it back or scold her privately dont disgrace her like that in public its wrong! value and respect your women. She loved you more than anyone to take that bold step. Victor E J Marshall: The truth is, He is not ready for her.. He does not value her. If he was in love with her he wouldnt have left her hanging.. It would have been fun for him if he was in love with her n had her in mind. Receive her proposal n reciprocate it in your on way n time, its just wisdom. Too bad Ricky Chidi: Lets stop copying everything westerners do. Why would you propose to a man, not even in secret but in a public place like this. Hmmm wake up girl , this is Africa not America, stop copy copy and embrace your culture. A man is supposed to make the bold step not the other way round. Even if you want to, you should know the kind of man youre doing that to. How can u shock a Nigerian man like this in shop rite Ah ah hanty Mcquin Handsum Marquis: Well I dont blame her I like her courage but how could a guy just disgrace hes gf and himself publicly if the guy love her he should have accepted the ring.. it doesnt mean u re automatically married.. and when he get home he can tell her he doesnt want her .. de girl must have trust him enough for her to do that well I just felt pity for the girl just saying my mind sha. my own proposal would be inside my bedroom I cant fit shout oo Olu Michael: Lol Did it pain you girls?? When a girl will turn down a guys proposal.. You will say shes not ready and should not be forced into marriagethe Guy was not ready for marriage as well Na.. Shey Una Don see how en dey pain now abi Betty Derby: We must be careful with the people we are rolling with and claiming to be out boyfriends and girlfriends. Most of them aint real It really hurts knowing your spouse is ur all but they got other people they planning future with, it really hurts wen not loved back but its never the end tho hmmmnn speaking from experience. Anozie Jessica: Too bad but what if he accepted, who will pay her bride price ?because I guess any guy that proposes to a lady is ready for marriage and has the Money for dowry.. So my sister hope u hv the money to pay? Nwobu Chukwuemeka Samuel: What a man can do, a woman can do even better The guy isnt really sure he wants to settle with her.. I will gladly accept if my current girlfriend proposes to me.. The EOCO officials went with some police personnel to get Georgina Opoku Amankwah out of the office in compliance with EOCOs directive. However, she insisted she would only leave the office at 5 PM which is her closing time. Mrs Amankwah came to the office on Monday, (January 15, 2017) after she has been home for the past seven months. Apart from Mrs Opoku Amankwah, two other EC officials also being investigated in connection with the GHS480,000 are Finance Director Dr Joseph Kwaku Asamoah and Chief Accountant Kwaku Owusu Agyei-Larbi. The money in question was allegedly withdrawn from the Endowment Fund of the EC between 2012 and 2013 by the three officials during the tenure of Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan as EC Chair and used for official business pertaining to the commission. READ ALSO: Chief Justice begins impeachment process against EC bosses EOCO subsequently directed her to and the others involved in the case to proceed on leave. Members of the North Korean girl band Moranbong canceled a series of concerts in Beijing just hours before they were due on stage because Chinese President Xi Jinping decided not to attend, a senior government official here claimed Thursday. The official said Xi and other top Chinese government officials had been scheduled to attend the first overseas concert by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's favorite band. The concert was to be part of efforts to mend frayed relations. The hunter identified as Nana Bediako believed to be in his late 50's was found dead apparently after he mistook the farmer for a game and shot him in a nearby bush. READ MORE: Three persons shot as Gonjas and Tampulmas clash According to reports, a resident who gave his name as Jacob said the hunter went to the bush to hunt for a game and in the process shot the farmer. Jacob said "The hunter after noticing the movement in the bush thought it was a game and without getting closer to identify what it really was shot inside the bush. They then heard the noise of a human being screaming and when they got closer, it was the farmer. READ ALSO: Army officer shot 8 times by gunmen in Tema "The hunter afraid of the unfortunate incident then sent his son to go and inform some nearby residents to come to his aid. When the son and the people got there, the hunter had shot himself to death." A joint military and police task force has been deployed to help drive out Fulani nomads who have invaded the Asante Akyem North and Sekyere Afram Plains Districts in the Ashanti region. Last week three soldier men and a policeman were shot at Agogo while on duty as part of a security contingent sent on operation to stop nomadic herdsmen and their cattle. As a result, a 200-member joint military and police task force has been dispatched to evacuate the Fulani nomads from the town. Addressing the task force before their departure, Superintendent Ohene-Baodi charged them to shoot any Fulani herdsman who is found to be holding arms. According to him, the police must defend themselves or risk being killed by the Fulani herdsmen. I believe in safetyfirst. Ifyouseeanybodyholdingarmsandwantstoattack, pleasedont waste time. Nobody should die in thebush; norisktaking, he said. They are not people we have to toil with, they are dangerous, if you joke with them, they will take your life. The people of Agogo have been complaining bitterly about the presence of Fulani herdsman in the town. According to them, these Fulanis have destroyed their farmlands with their cattle, while also killing farmers who try to stop them. Haddad was granted bail of GH500,000 with two sureties to be justified. READ MORE:Suspected Lebanese rapist on oxygen support at Ridge hospital He has been charged to deposit his passport at the registry of the court and report to the district court where the substantive case will continue. Delivering his ruling, Justice Kofi Doku of the High court said, enough time had been to given the prosecution to search for evidence and could not continue to keep the accused person in custody due to their failure to gather the evidence they require. Haddad Rabih, was arrested in December 2017 after he was said to have forcibly had sex with the 19 year old victim in the absence of his wife and other occupants of his household. According to the victim, the day of the incident was the fourth time the accused person had raped her. She said the accused person threw her out of the room after raping her twice on Saturday and bled profusely. In an interview with Accra-based Citi FM, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ministry Robert Cudjoe confirmed the news. He explained that this was in the interest of the public. READ ALSO: Government accused of hiding full list of presidential staffers The Ministry is taking over, just like it is mandated to ensure the health of the populace for national development. All health-related facilities in Ghana, both public and private all fall under the purview of the Ministry of Health, so it was strange for anybody to say that a particular hospital shouldnt have the ministry of health coming close. It is the Ministry of Health that trains all the various health professionals and posts them to the various facilities. This is the wisdom by which cabinet has decided that it should be managed or come under the Ministry of Health. His response follows the denial by the Ministry that National security officers who went to the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS) were there to take over the facility. The Ministry explained that the about 15 National security officers were there on the orders of the Health Minister in what seemed to be an attempt to take over the facility but the Ministry said the presence of the National security operatives was to reinforce security and protect equipment at the facility. The Company that won the bid and also constructed the facility has made it clear to the Ministry that they have completed all that they needed to do and for that matter, they are demobilizing and are leaving the site. But if they are leaving the site, there are so many tools, items that are there at the moment. We have Legon security personnel patrolling and also taking care of the facility. There are cases of pilfering going on from time to time so it became necessary for the Ministry to engage the National Security to go to the facility, analyze the situation and recommend appropriately, the number of additional security personnel who will be needed for them to check pilfering until the time that the facility will officially be opened to use by the public. They were not there to takeover because this is not a Military style or kind of thing, he added. However, a letter sighted by Accra-based Citi FM indicated that the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu indicated that the interim management had been directed to hand over the facility to the Health Ministry and National Security. Many villages in the North Gonja district are reported to have been caught up in the violence, with three persons sustaining gun wounds. The Gonjas and Tampulmas have chequered history when it comes to ethic disputes and the two tribe were once again at it on Sunday. The conflict between the two ethnic groups reportedly erupted after some armed Gonja men, stormed the Tampulma territories to take royalties from a group of Fulani herdsmen around that area. However, reports say some of the Tampulmas refused to pay the royalties and succeeded in arresting the Gonja force that were sent. However, despite late releasing the Gonja men, tensions erupted with six persons getting injured whiles many other properties were destroyed. The violence continued till Sunday dawn, until an intervention by military soldiers brought some bit of calm to the area. The Dissah village in the North Gonja district was reportedly set ablaze, whiles other neighbouring villages like Saligu, Lingbinsi and Mankarigu were also caught up in the disputes. The Gonjas are the majority ethnic group, however, the Tampulmas believe they deserve to have a chief of the own, rather than continue to serve as a subordinate village to the people of Gonja. The Acting CEO of the UG Medical Centre Professor Aaron Lawson told Accra-based Starr FM that the Vice Chancellor of the University has indicated that it is impossible. The University is not accepting any such thing and the Vice Chancellor has made it clear to the National security that it is not acceptable. It takes time to recruit people, we advertised in May and received over 26,000 applicants out of which we shortlisted 13,000 and weve been interviewing them since then. We have requested the government to provide a 48 million dollar loan facility to complete the entire project. READ ALSO: Three persons shot as Gonjas and Tampulmas clash Over the weekend, about 15 national security operatives went to the UG Medical Centre with orders from the Health Minister to take over the facility. However, the officials were forced to retreat after the Vice Chancellor and other members of the Universitys management opposed the idea. There is a turf war between the University and the Health Ministry over the management of the facility since it was commissioned a year ago. The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ministry Robert Cudjoe explained that the takeover was in the interest of the public. The Ministry is taking over, just like it is mandated to ensure the health of the populace for national development. All health-related facilities in Ghana, both public and private all fall under the purview of the Ministry of Health, so it was strange for anybody to say that a particular hospital shouldnt have the ministry of health coming close. It is the Ministry of Health that trains all the various health professionals and posts them to the various facilities. This is the wisdom by which cabinet has decided that it should be managed or come under the Ministry of Health. A letter sighted by Accra-based Citi FM indicated that the Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman Manu indicated that the interim management had been directed to hand over the facility to the Health Ministry and National Security. The bishops made the appeal during an episcopal conference in the capital Bangui on Sunday. "In the name of God, we ask the armed groups to unconditionally lay down their arms," and "stop all sorts of crimes (including) looting natural resources and causing the dysfunction of the state", they said during mass. The closing ceremony of the conference was attended by President Faustin-Archange Touadera. The bishops also condemned the delay in disarming fighters from varied groups and "the slow response and inaction by some contingents of MINUSCA", the UN peacekeeping force in the country. Thousands of people have been killed in the fighting. According to the UN, more than a million people have fled their homes and 2.4 million people -- more than half of the Central African population -- are in need of humanitarian aid. The country has seen an upsurge in violence since France shut down its Sangaris mission there last year, but the UN Security Council agreed in November to extend its MINUSCA peacekeeping mission for a year and beef it up with 900 extra troops. The bishops called for the speedy deployment of government troops although they noted that the soldiers, like the various rebel groups, turned to extortion to supplement their income. "This will allow for faster delivery of relief items for Yemeni families in the grips of the world's biggest hunger crisis," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Coalition planes destroyed the cranes at Hodeida in a 2015 attack and Saudi Arabia has for months held up the delivery of the new cranes, which had been kept at a Dubai storage depot. After a Huthi missile attack targeted Riyadh airport in November, the coalition shut down access to all airports and sea ports, including Hodeida. UN officials say access for humanitarian deliveries remains a concern even if the blockade has been lifted. US Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement that aid should be delivered to Yemen "without interference." "No one should ever have to live the way the people of Yemen are living," she said. With an offloading capacity of 66 tons (60 metric tons), the cranes will "significantly boost the discharge of humanitarian cargo," said Dujarric. About 70 percent of Yemen's imports transit through Hodeida, which is also a key hub for aid deliveries. The coalition accuses rebels of using Hodeida to smuggle in weapons. The United Nations has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with 17 million people in need of food, seven million of whom are at risk of famine. A severe outbreak of cholera has left 2,000 dead and one million infected, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to push back the Iran-backed Huthi rebels who control the capital Sanaa, and restore the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to power. Trump came back on the issue in a pair of early morning tweets three days after reportedly referring to African and Haitian immigrants as coming from "shithole countries," triggering global condemnation. "DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it," Trump tweeted, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program at the heart of the immigration impasse. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the country illegally as children -- so-called "dreamers" -- face deportation unless a compromise can be reached that would grant them rights to stay. A bipartisan deal to resolve the dreamers problem in return for changes demanded by Republicans in the way visas are allocated collapsed in acrimony Thursday with Trump's remarks, which were widely denounced as racist. "I think this man, this president, is taking us back to another place,"John Lewis, a Georgia congressman who was on the front lines of the 1960s civil rights movement, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "I think he is a racist." 'Defend the indefensible' Senator David Purdue, a Republican from Georgia, called charges that Trump is racist "ridiculous" and his reported remarks a "gross misrepresentation" of the White House meeting on immigration. But other Republicans, pained by the turn of events, spoke out against the president as debate over the slur spilled into Sunday television talk shows. "I can't defend the indefensible," said Mia Love, a Haitian-American congresswoman from Utah who campaigned on Trump's behalf in the country's Haitian community. "I still think that he should apologize," she said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I think that there are people that are looking for an apology. And I think that that would show real leadership." Trump's "shithole countries" remarks were confirmed by Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat who attended the White House meeting, after it was reported by the Washington Post and other media. But Trump has stuck with a vague denial that he used such language, and so far has made no move to apologize, hurting prospects for a deal on DACA and making life uncomfortable for Republicans as they look ahead to mid-term elections this year. The president sought to shift from the defensive by portraying Democrats as not truly interested in an immigration deal. "They just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military," he tweeted. "I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST," he said. 'A deal to be had' Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican who has been critical of Trump, said Democrats were serious about a bipartisan deal on immigration. He said the compromise presented to the White House Thursday would end a visa lottery system and so-called chain migration under which legal immigrants can bring in family members. The dreamers would be allowed to stay but not become US citizens, according to Flake. The senator from Arizona said Trump's remarks came in reaction to an element of the deal that would reallocate the visas given out in a lottery to immigrants who are currently in a protected status, like Haitians and the dreamers. "I believe there is a deal to be had," he said. Trump announced in September he was scrapping the DACA program but delayed enforcement to give Congress six months -- until March -- to craft a lasting solution. On Tuesday, however, a federal judge ordered the government to keep DACA going pending resolution of court challenges to the president's decision. "East and West talk far too little about the way things were and the way they are now," he added, referring to the nation's decades of division between the Soviet-dominated German Democratic Republic and the westward-looking Federal Republic of Germany. Holter, from the small former eastern state of Thuringia, made the remarks as he takes over chairmanship of a committee of culture ministers from all modern Germany's 16 states. "East German experiences have to be brought into the West and vice versa" as part of a programme to defend democracy, he said. Talk of the country's internal divisions has grown recently as far-right populists Alternative for Germany mine deep seams of resentment in the economically weaker East, helping fracture a once stable political landscape. But not everyone agrees Holter's proposal would help bring the nation together. "Rather than East-West exchanges, we need a frank view of German history and an active culture of remembrance for the victims of war, injustice and tyranny in the last century in our country," culture minister in populous North Rhine-Westphalia state Yvonne Gebauer told news agency DPA. "Almost 30 years after reunification, dialogue has become a matter of course, at school and at work, in private life and at the most official events," the Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper commented. Officials continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Saturday incident in which residents of the western-most U.S. state, in the Central Pacific, were erroneously sent emergency alerts on television, radio, e-mail and mobile devices that warned: "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." U.S. Homeland Security Chief Kirstjen Nielsen said Sunday it was "unfortunate" there was a false emergency alarm about an incoming missile in Hawaii, but said authorities are "all working to make sure it doesn't happen again." Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard told CNN, "The fact that these processes failed so epically that caused this trauma, caused this terror all across the state of Hawaii, must be fixed immediately, and those responsible for this happening need to be held accountable." Gabbard said it "was unacceptable that this happened, but it really highlights the stark reality the people of Hawaii are facing" in being the U.S. state closest to North Korea at a time when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump have traded months of insults over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development program and its frequent test missile launches. Hawaii Gov. David Ige said the false missile alert that panicked islanders Saturday morning was "totally unacceptable" and told reporters he is "angry and disappointed" by the situation. "Today is a day that most of us will never forget -- a day when many in our community thought that our worst nightmares might actually be happening," he said. Questioned repeatedly by reporters about how such a mistake could happen, the governor said his administration is doing everything possible to make sure it does not happen again. Vern Miyagi, administrator of Hawaii's Emergency Management Administration, told reporters that the person responsible for the erroneous message "feels terrible" about it. Told by reporters that emergency sirens had actually gone off in some communities, Miyagi said he would have to look into the matter. The 81-year-old Argentine pontiff will find a very different Chile than the one he first encountered as a student priest in the 1960s. Socialist President Michelle Bachelet has presided over major change in the once deeply-conservative country, decriminalizing abortion, recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples and introducing a bill to legalize gay marriage. The Catholic Church has been buffeted by the same winds of change, with numbers dropping to 67 percent, while the number of atheists has risen to 22 percent. Up to 90 percent of the population of neighboring Peru is Catholic. Preparations for the visit have been overshadowed by a recent report that almost 80 members of the Chilean clergy have been accused of the sexual abuse of minors since 2000, more than half of them convicted by a Vatican court. The Chile Bishops' Conference acknowledged Friday that Francis had recommended in a 2015 letter removing three bishops linked to Fernando Karadima, an influential priest who the Vatican convicted of abusing children in 2011, but the bid ultimately failed. "The Church has problems and is in the throes of trying to reaffirm itself, pointing to the need to strengthen the family and the rejection of abortion and homosexual marriage, but at the same time riven by internal problems, including priests who have been involved in sexual abuse," said University of Santiago sociologist Cristian Parker. Protests planned During the three days he will remain in Chile, Francis will meet with victims of the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, though there are no formal plans to meet victims of pedophile priests. Bachelet, who will meet Francis on Tuesday, has called on Chileans to welcome the pope, though a positive reception may not be universal. On Friday, three Catholic Churches in the capital were firebombed by what police said was an anarchist group. Demonstrations are planned by feminist and gay rights groups. The highlight of the three-day visit will be an open air mass in a Santiago city park on Tuesday. Another is due at the airport in Temuco, the capital of the impoverished southern Araucania region on Wednesday. He is to expected to draw attention to state persecution of the indigenous Mapuche people and also meet members of the community. Mapuche natives -- some seven percent of the Chilean population -- inhabited a vast territory before the arrival of Spanish colonists in 1541, and have long protested the loss of ancestral lands. During his visit to Chile, the pope will also meet representative of the poor and young people, as well as visit a women's prison. jpegMpeg4-1280x720The authorities expect an influx of nearly a million Argentines, Bolivians and Peruvians in Chile to see the pope. Around 18,000 police and security forces have been mobilized for the pope, who almost five years into his papacy has yet to visit his native Argentina. On Thursday, the pope will travel to Iquique in the north of the country, where he will preside over another open air mass, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, before traveling on to Peru's capital Lima. "From tomorrow (Monday), the minister's order will be rescinded," Sirisena's office said in a statement, which added that the status quo will be restored but offered no explanation. The reversal comes after a finance ministry official told AFP Samaraweera had revoked the 39-year-old law in an effort to strike sexist bills from the statute books. "The idea was to restore gender neutrality," ministry spokesman Ali Hassen said of the decision Wednesday to roll back the ban. But last week's decision to relax laws on alcohol provoked a backlash in some quarters of the majority-Buddhist nation of 21 million people. The National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection had accused the finance minister of encouraging drinking, and had urged Sirisena to intervene and restore the restrictions. Under further new measures passed by Samaraweera, bars and pubs can remain open longer, and a ban on women working in bars, distilleries and breweries was lifted. But Sirisena's office said he was reducing the time period that bars could be open. It was not clear from Sirisena's statement Sunday if the decision to allow women to work in the alcohol industry had also been reversed. The ban on women buying liquor was likely originally imposed in 1979 to appease the conservative Buddhist hierarchy at the time, a finance ministry official told AFP. Liquor vendors in Sri Lanka are also forbidden to sell spirits to police or members of the armed forces in uniform. Samaraweera has said that strict curbs on Sri Lanka's licensed liquor manufacturers only encourage a black market for spirits, and deprive the state of much-needed revenue. About a dozen people were treated for exposure, anxiety and other minor injuries, said Chief Gerard DeCanio of the Port Richey Police Department. DeCanio said quick thinking by the shuttle boats captain helped avoid a disaster. Shortly after the vessel left the dock, the captain spotted smoke spewing from the engine room and decided to turn around. But the fire rapidly grew, so the captain steered the boat toward the shore, allowing passengers to jump off into shallow water, DeCanio said. Another quarter-mile out, this would have been a tragedy, he said. The Sun Cruz shuttle boat makes several trips daily from Port Richey to a casino boat about 3 1/2 miles offshore, in international waters where gambling is legal. Photos and videos posted on social media showed big flames coming off the vessel and passengers swimming in the water. DeCanio said the captain almost ran the boat aground as he tried to get close to the shore. They actually walked to the shore, he said. They were lucky no one was seriously hurt. The crash, which happened at about 5:25 a.m. Pacific time, rattled guests in a motel next door, but the dental practice was closed at the time. The Los Angeles County Fire Department used a specialized forklift and wrecker to remove the car, the police said. One of the two people inside the vehicle was able to exit on his own, but emergency workers had to remove the other person, a police spokesman said. The driver told officers he had used drugs before the crash and was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, the police said. The spokesman said authorities had filed a charge of driving under the influence but the driver had not yet been arraigned because he was in the hospital. The passenger also suffered minor injuries. On Sunday afternoon, the car was gone from the building but a giant hole remained on the second floor of the dental office. The owner of the practice could not be reached for comment. A woman who works at the motel next door said it was fortunate the motel was unscathed. Inside, its a major loss, the woman, who declined to provide her name, said. Its a big hole. These conditions are compensation for its members; immediate disarmament of militants; and justice for those who died in clashes. These conditions were issued by the Secretary-General of MACBAN, Baba Usman, during a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, January 14, 2018. The association also said it is not against laws that can engender peace but cannot oblige any draconian laws by some state governments to chase away herdsmen. The current situation in our opinion is fuelled by the draconian laws put in place by some state governments with the singular aim of chasing our people out of the states simply for ethnic hatred. The anti-open grazing law which started in Ekiti State before it was replicated in Benue, Taraba and other states, is nothing more than a symbol of intolerance. And do not in any way intend to solve the farmers/herders conflict as the livestock breeders interest is neither captured in the law nor in its implementation mechanism," he said. While, as a body, we are not against any law that can engender peace, create societal harmony and stability, we cannot oblige any self-centred regulation with primordial sentiments based on injustice, intolerance and infringement of peoples rights." Benue, Taraba and states in the middle belt region have witnessed deadly clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in recent time. On the New Years day, 73 people were killed in Benue and 55 people lost their lives in Taraba state to attacks from suspected herdsmen. On conditions for lasting peace between farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria The MACBAN's scribe said the association is only battling with misguided and criminally motivated elements in these states. As a result, he said for lasting to be achieved, the government must fulfil three conditions. Pay compensation to the victims of all crises to reduce their level of suffering. Also, there should be, immediate disarmament of all illegally armed militias across the country in the interest of peace, security and stability. We condemn in totality any attempt of branding herdsmen as terrorists as is being clamoured for in certain quarters. We view this as the continuation of the hate agenda on our people and a very dangerous trend for the country. Lastly, If the government accepts that, it is left for them to establish a committee that will go and access the level of damage. In a press conference shortly after North and South Korea held their first official talks in more than two years, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Trump "did a lot" to help the talks. Moon said he wanted to "convey his thanks" to Trump, and acknowledged that US-led sanctions against North Korea may have helped advance the talks. Roger McNamee, an early Facebook investor and ex-mentor to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has spent a week attacking his former protege and his company for harming users and for spreading fake news. McNamee has written articles published by The Washington Monthly, The Washington Post, and The Guardian in the past week, accusing Facebook of ignoring "bad actors" who manipulate its platform. McNamee said Zuckerberg should appear before Congress to justify Facebook's "refusal to accept responsibility" for harming users. He wrote in The Washington Monthly that he flagged misinformation around the US presidential elections to Facebook in early 2017 and that the firm didn't take his concerns seriously. "The platform was being exploited by a range of bad actors, including supporters of extremism, yet management claimed the company was not responsible," he wrote. "Facebooks users, I warned, might not always agree. The brand was at risk of becoming toxic." In The Post, McNamee argued that Facebook was "tailor-made for abuse by bad actors" and that users should expect more fake news and manipulation of elections. He wrote, "The same tools that make Facebook so addictive for users and so effective for advertisers are dangerous in the hands of bad actors. "And thanks to automation, Facebook cannot currently prevent harm. It will happen again and again until Facebook takes aggressive action. The problem cannot be fixed by hiring contractors to review problematic posts. The company needs to change the priorities of its algorithms and retool its business model." Facebook has faced criticism for working as a platform for alleged Russian interference in the US election. Evidence has shown that accounts linked to Russia sought to exploit racial divisions in the US and used Facebook's targeted advertising tool as well as events on the site to reach voters. Zuckerberg said in a live video on September 21: "I care deeply about the democratic process and protecting its integrity. I don't want anyone to use our tools to undermine democracy." And Facebook recently announced that it would tweak its news feed algorithm to prioritize posts from friends rather than content from businesses and media companies. "We feel a responsibility to make sure our services aren't just fun to use, but also good for people's well-being," Zuckerberg said. According to McNamee's version of events, he received a call in 2006 from Facebook's then chief privacy officer, Chris Ziegler. Ziegler was hoping McNamee, as an experienced investor and disinterested party, could advise a young Mark Zuckerberg about whether to sell Facebook. McNamee said he met with Zuckerberg and advised him not to sell the company. "I was convinced that Mark had created a game-changing platform that would eventually be bigger than Google was at the time," McNamee wrote. What followed, he said, "was the most painful silence of my professional career." As it happened, Yahoo had just offered $1 billion (then about 509 million) for Facebook. Though everyone was advising the opposite, Zuckerberg took McNamee's advice and turned the offer down. Twenty people have died as a result of the disaster in the wealthy enclave of Montecito, a community about 90 miles up the coast from Los Angeles. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office says finding anyone alive in the muck at this point would be a "miracle," even as rescue workers continue searching for survivors this weekend. The eighteenth victim, an 87-year-old man, was found dead in his home on Friday, the Associated Press reported, and 25-year-old Morgan Christine Corey's body was unearthed Saturday in the mud. Hours later, rescue workers found body number 20: 30 year-old Rescue workers are using search and rescue dogs to help wade through the mud and rocks which is sometimes thigh-deep or higher to search homes and cars. The damage from torrential rains was made worse by recent wildfires in the area that charred the earth and scrubbed the land of vegetation, making the ground slicker and the slides more dramatic. Take a look at what rescue crews are dealing with as they survey the deadly damage: Cal Fire search and rescue crews used their hands to get free as they trudged through the mud, looking for survivors. Most people who have evacuated are being told to stay away from their homes for at least two weeks, the Associated Press reported. Crews are using search-and-rescue dogs to hunt for victims. But time is running out, as authorities plead for the public's help locating four people who are still missing. The 20 victims ranged in age from 3 years old to 89, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's office. Rescue efforts continue this weekend, but officials say finding anyone alive now would be a "miracle." More than 100 homes were destroyed, and hundreds more damaged, as mud and water raced down the hillsides. "Everybody was so prepared for the fire. Nobody anticipated this," Montecito resident Jennifer Markham told the Associated Press. The area is home to some wealthy celebrities like Rob Lowe and Bella Hadid. Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres also share a fence line there. "The neighbors out back, their houses are gone, just gone," Winfrey told DeGeneres on Face Time, according to HuffPost. "It is as devastating as it can be." The mud oozed over 30 square miles of land. In some spots, the mud reached the roofline. Lawmakers who represented the area sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Friday, pleading for more federal aid. In the letter, representatives Salud Carbajal and Julia Brownley said residents need more help with housing, disaster unemployment and "crisis counseling." Here is what we want to see in Nigerian churches in 2018. More Transparency In 2017, tithing was a major issue for Nigerian Churches. Granted, it was started by Daddy Freeze but anyone could tell that it was born out of frustration. Frustration that the church and pastors were not being transparent with how the money gotten from members was spent. This is why we want more transparency in 2018 so people can trust their leaders and end this particular controversy. Zero Scandals In 2018, it would be really cool to have drama and scandal- free churches. A transformative church It is one thing for someone to attend the church and a whole other thing for the church to have an effect on them. This year, let's remove the focus from having crowded churches to having ones filled with people who live the gospel. People who see the church not as a place of escape but one of transformation, where lives are changed as people get to experience Gods love, forgiveness, joy through one another. Let's strive to have churches that genuinely care about their community, helping the less privileged amongst them, standing up for the oppressed, and going out to look for the lost. Let's aim to have a replica of the early church as we do the things Jesus Christ did. More devotion to Gods truth These days, more churches appear to be cutting down the gospel in order to highlight other fun parts. We have the lights, drama, everything but the message all in an attempt to attract more people to church. The truth remains that a church simply can not succeed without the Bible, which contains the Word of God. This is why a healthy church should never sacrifice the integrity of the Bible. We need more Bible study, hungry hearts that seek God and leaders who place a high priority on the things of God. Psalm 119:912 says, How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. Psalm 138:14 adds: I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the gods I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD when they hear the words of your mouth. U.S. President Donald Trump contended Sunday that a U.S. program to protect young immigrants from deportation is "probably dead," saying that opposition Democrats "don't really want it," but just want to be able to talk about the issue. The fate of the program protecting nearly 800,000 immigrants from deportation who were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents years ago when they were children is at the forefront of the Washington political debate this week. It is part of discussions between the White House and Congress over new funding for the government to avert a partial government shutdown when U.S. agencies run out of money at midnight Friday. Trump last week rejected a bipartisan proposal offered him by three Republican and three Democratic senators to extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to protect the young immigrants from deportation. The lawmakers also called for other immigration policy changes, including increased funding for security along the southern U.S. border with Mexico, where Trump is demanding that a wall be built to thwart more illegal immigration. But in the course of the White House meeting, Trump sparked an international uproar by reportedly describing Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as "s --- hole countries," questioning why more immigrants from those countries should be allowed into the United States. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois who was at the Oval Office meeting claimed the president made the derogatory term. Trump admtted to using "tough" language but has denied making the statement. Trump's denial was supported in separate appearances on Sunday news programs by Republican senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia. In an appearance on the CBS news program "Face the Nation" Cotton said, "I didn't hear it, and I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin was." Cotton added that people shouldn't be surprised by Durbin's comments because the Illinois senator "has a history of "misrepresenting what happens in White House meetings." On ABC's "This Week" Republican Senator Perdue flatly denied Trump made the comment. LASU represented by Faith Uzuegbu and Ademola Ibrahim defeated participants from the University of Ibadan, Nnamdi Azikiwe University and the University of Abuja on Saturday, January 13 in an inter-varsity debate tagged the Clash of the Sages. Apart from emerging as the best institution in the debate competition, the school representatives, Faith Uzuegbu and Ademola Ibrahim also went home with the best speakers awards. Recall that in December 2017, Faith and Ibrahim were among the Lagos State University delegates that won 12 awards at the Nigerian International Tertiary Institutions Model United Nations (NITIMUN) Conference. LASU VC has transformed the institution Meanwhile, Lagos State University members of staff and students on Thursday, January 11, commended the Vice Chancellor, Prof Olanrewaju Fagboun for transforming the institution. Ebuka Obi-Uchendu was in Benin-city on July 14, to a banker father and a nurse mother. He is the third of his parent's four children. Ebuka had his primary education in Benin city and later finished his secondary school education at Christ The King College in Abuja. He studied law at the University of Abuja where he graduated in 2005 before attending Washington College ofLaw of the American University Washington DC in 2010 where he had his masters degree. Ebuka's rise to stardom began in 2006 when he became a contestant on the median reality show, Big Brother Naija. He, however, didn't win but became a successful media personality after that. From hosting events to becoming the co-host of "Men's Corner" on EbonyLife T.V. to becoming the host of the second edition of Big Brother Naija. The awarding winning media guy is presently the host of 'Rubbin Minds' on Channels T.V. where he has been able to interview a number of important personalities in the country. Why Okoroji is Protesting Okoroji said that his action has become necessary to draw the attention of the world to a new and dangerous attempt to destroy the Nigerian judicial system by the blackmail of a Nigerian judge to force him not to deliver a judgment written by him. He says he's asking all lawyers and judges in the Nigerian legal system to insist that the case file in Suit No FHC/L/CS/1259/2017 which he said was taken away in bizarre circumstances from Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos, just as he was about to deliver judgment in the suit, be returned to the judge so that he can deliver his judgment and any of the parties dissatisfied with the judgment can proceed to the Court of Appeal. According to Chief Okoroji, the key question Justice Buba was scheduled to answer in his judgment is this: Under Nigerian law, is the syndicate known as Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) truly an approved collecting society and authorized to collect money on behalf of innocent Nigerian musicians? Okoroji was insistent that some people desperately do not want that question answered hence the muscling of Justice Ibrahim Buba and the failed machinations to remove Okoroji himself as Chairman of COSON. She expressed in a chat with Punch News that the Islamist sect felt aggrieved about the killing of their members, a reason why they have taken up arms which created an ongoing war between them and the Nigerian military. According to Wakil, a fervent devotion to prayer can bring about an end to the unrest in the north east which has recorded deaths of innocent people particularly children and their mothers. Kidnapping is also not exempted from the atrocities that has characterized Boko Haram who abducted 276 schoolgirls from a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State. "My understanding of the group is that they are young people who claimed that they were provoked. They said nobody listened to them and that they had to transfer their anger and vent it on innocent people. That is the only thing I can say about them. They were angry. "When I heard the rumour about their intention to revolt, I called Mohammed Yusuf. He told me that they were betrayed. Up till now, I do not know what the betrayal was all about. He said they were angry because somebody made them angry and they wanted an apology. "They said the trouble started when security operatives shot their members because they did not wear crash helmets. As if that was not enough, they said some security personnel shot at them during the funeral procession of one of their members killed by police bullets." "I believe in God and I pray a lot. I believe in prayers. If we pray, these kids are not more powerful than God. I do encourage people to also pray about it. "There is one adage in Igbo that says if you drag a stick and the stick drags you, you leave the stick and run for your life. They (Federal Government) keep telling me that they have dragged the stick (Boko Haram insurgents) and that the stick has dragged them and it is now for them to leave the stick. But I keep telling them that this is not a stick but human beings and we have to continue to drag them. "These are Nigerians, our children, our brothers and sons. We cannot just leave them like that, because leaving them like that would create more problems. I believe it (the insurgency) will end; they (the insurgents) wanted it to end. Anytime I talk to them, they always ask me when the war would end and would also seek to know how it would end," Mama Boko Haram told Punch News in an interview. She submitted that the warfare will have no positive effect on the issue. ALSO READ: Fearless Nigerian soldier killed by own grenade According to the peace seeker, the ongoing battle has chiefly affected the children, a reason why it must end. The battle to conquer the Boko Haram insurgents has seen a number of exceptional soldiers who have displayed a dedication to their jobs revealed. The incident occurred at a hospitality home, Triple Zero Guest House located in Namatala, Mbale. The philanderer and his company were captured entwined as onlookers gathered around them. Images showed some observers making efforts to detach the unidentified man from the lady. They were also pictured at the backseat of a vehicle, suggesting that attempts initially made on ground to remove him from the woman was abortive. A bunch of weird occurrences have been recorded in Uganda and they often seem to be related to sex. Harriet Nambi, a 24-year-old woman reportedly stabbed her husband, Musa Batera, aged 25 to death, for denying her sex. The murder suspect who is also a school teacher has been apprehended by the police according to Tuko News. It was reported that Nambi delivered a baby through caesarean section two months prior to the event. Reports also revealed that the horny teacher had consulted a neighbour identified as Hasifa Babirye, concerning her challenge. ALSO READ: Promiscuous housewife invites chain of deaths involving lovers The latter had advised her to be patient with her husband who has two other wives but her counseling failed to yield a positive outcome. The image of the lifelike doll was posted early on Monday, January 15, 2018 on Twitter. The curvaceous doll trended soon enough and had many Nigerians talking about it. Some of the tweets are just way too hilarious. You can read some of them below; How Nigerians are reacting to the new innovation Price and features The doll itself costs $2,2,89 which is over N800,000. The statistics of the doll are height: 5ft 4 inch, Full Bust: 37.8 inch, Waist: 26.4, Hips: 43.3 inch and Weight: 48.5kg. Sex robot In related news, The creator of controversial sex robot popularly called Harmony, has introduced an improved version named Solana equipped with a removable face and changeable mood. Designer Matt McMullen made the announcement on the evening of Thursday, January 11, 2018, in Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show. According to the Mirror UK News, the new appeal "comes with a new face and personality." A noticeable feature in the sex robot is perhaps a capability which allows users to change her mood and personality with a mobile app. The face is actually modular, the same way that within the app you can change the personality settings and create a separate profile and separate avatar, youre able to remove and attach a different face to the same robot very easily. And anyone can do that, says McMullen while describing some of the new features observable in the product. Users are also able to determine the personality of Solana which allows them to explore the Artificially Intelligence (AI) machine, which was created in the year 2017, by Abyss Creations, LLC located in San Marcos, California, to its maximum potential. The latter is considering taking the creativity to improving on the tactile capabilities of Solana who will be able to respond to touches as part of an anticipated improvement. ALSO READ: You can lose your husband to a sex doll in this country This will be done through a development of new, heated bodies equipped with sensors the Mirror UK reported. Im pretty gung-ho now about getting movement, working on the neck down. Ive built a torso that moves and gyrates. Im working on the arms as we speak, Mullen spoke excitedly concerning plans to make this a reality. The appreciation for Solana by customers has encouraged its creator to reveal an intent to work on a male robot which is expected to provide satisfaction to its users just like female contemporaries. While dealing with skepticism concerning if the futuristic robot can possess a bionic penis, Mullen made clear that it will possess sexual organs. But yes, obviously the male robot would have the capability of having sexual parts attached to him," The one time president of Nigeria has spoken up against the decriminalization of marijuana in the country believe it or not. The Global Commission on Drug Policy, a group of eminent world leaders, has called for a rethink on drugs policy. BizAfricaDaily reports that the group released a new report shunning the stigmatization of drugs is hindering effective policy-making, arguing that governments should be talking about harm reduction rather than criminalisation. Decriminalization of weed While speaking with BBC Newsday, Obasanjo, who is the chairman of the West Africa Drugs Commission and a signatory to the report said: It is essentially a call for what we call decriminalization. If a young man tries to experiment with a wrap of marijuana for instance & because of that we put him in jail" he said. I was in prison as a political prisoner & I interacted with these people, some of them just for being caught with a wrap of Marijuana, theyre put in jail. They came out of jail more hardened, more hardened criminals than when they went in. Whereas, if they have been treated as they should be treated & if they need attention, theyll be given attention. They will be looked after, given a clean needle like its been done in some parts of Africa already. Harm reduction & safe places where they can listen to people, they can get attention, they can get counsel. This is the sort of thing we are talking about." further said Obasanjo. Legalization of marijuana in Lesotho Lesotho recently became the first African country to grant a marijuana license it announced in September 2017. This move makes sense for Lesotho which has a population of just 2 million people. It is landlocked and surrounded by its more famous neighbour South Africa. Cannabis is the main cash crop of Lesotho. It's climate and vegetation create the perfect conditions for the growth of cannabis. As a matter of fact, most of the marijuana in South Africa is gotten from Lesotho. This move by Lesotho signals the growth of marijuana in Africa. A decade ago, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report on "Cannabis In Africa". In the report, 38 million Africans within the ages of 18-64 use marijuana. This number would have surely increased by 2017. Marijuana culture in Nigeria Marijuana culture is big in Nigeria with youths indulging in the herb. It is now very much of youth culture unlike what prevailed in the 70s, 80s and 90s. In January 2017, the UNODC suggested that 14.3% of Nigeria's population smokes cannabis making it the third highest consumption rate in the world. Iceland and the United States of America were ranked first and second respectively. Titi Belo's showcase at LFDW 2017 was a stand out show for a variety of reasons. The main one being, the designer did what no designer had done before and paid homage to her alma mater Queen's College. Inspiration Titi was inspired by the school's colours and uniform which she used as a palette for the collection. Models stormed the runway in slogan t-shirts and school-girl minis with all the confidence of a girl gang you wish you could be a part of. According to the designer, the Titi Belo label began long before their clothes began to grace runways and get noticed by the who's who of the fashion industry. The brand began in the heart of Queen's College, Lagos and the school's corridors were Titi's very first runway. Posting a picture of her posing in an all white ensemble accessorised with monochrome boxer boots and a diamante slogan belt, Titi laughs at her style choice but nevertheless credits the outfit for the birth of her collection. An innovative and nostalgic collection The main colours for this collection were blue and white which Titi explains were the school colours she remembers. The silhouettes are a more sophisticated version of a school uniform that can be worn by the modern, fashionable woman who still wants to look chic and stylish with a hint of playfulness. These new culture trips will take you above and beyond uncharted territory. 1. Japan One of the most difficult parts of any visit to Japan is you might get overwhelmed particularly if you still want to pack in all the sights and experiences. This year stay in a traditional ryokan (inns with hot springs), cycle Kyoto, trek the foot of Mount Fuji and go spy the snow monkeys of Yudanaka. ALSO READ: 5 Nigeria travel destinations for millennials Bed down in a temple run by monks, see the sights then meet the locals. Explore Japan. 2. See fine art and history in Iran Take a chance to explore the rich Islamic art and architecture of North-Western Iran. Wander the bazaar of Tabriz once a key stop along the fabled Silk Road stop by the ancient ruins of Hasanlu Tepe and Takht-e Soleyman, and spy intricate rock carvings at Taq-e Bostan. ALSO READ: 5 ways to make an adventurous travel bucket list Also visit the National and Islamic museums, Tehran. These places boast impressive archaeology and artefacts that help to put your travels in focus. 3. Explore India India is a vast South Asian country with diverse terrain from Himalayan peaks to Indian Ocean coastline and history reaching back 5 millennia. A land of diverse spirituality, India is the birthplace of 4 major world religions, namely Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. Around the country are innumerable sacred sites, including ancient carved-stone temples. Its spicy cuisine is as varied as the country itself, and its many wildlife sanctuaries shelter tigers, elephants and monkeys. ALSO READ: How to travel the world without quitting your day job In the north, Mughal Empire landmarks include Delhis Red Fort complex and massive Jama Masjid mosque, plus Agras iconic Taj Mahal mausoleum. Shock proposal The unnamed woman and her boyfriend appeared to be leaving the mall after a date on Sunday, January 14, 2018 when she dropped on a bent knee, extending her heart, hopes and wedding ring to a man in black, thought to be her boyfriend. Passersby on the ground floor of ICM, the scene of the unusual proposal, quickly created an opening, hoping to bear witness to the beginning of some magical wedding story but they'd ultimately be disappointed. [No available link text]ICM engagement gone wrong What was meant to be a romantic proposal and stirring fairytale quickly took an embarrassing turn when the boyfriend stalled for a moment and later asked the kneeling babe to get up. The lady apparently couldn't bring herself to do so, and continued holding on to the engagement ring, the symbol of her extended love to the man who looked like he wanted none of that. The guy would later come to raise her from the ground after several moments of wagging his finger in disagreement. Korea has demanded compensation from the U.S. for what it says are unfair customs duties on Korean washing machines. Seoul on Friday asked the World Trade Organization to impose trade sanctions on U.S. goods sold to Korea worth at least US$711 million. The move came after the U.S. failed to comply with a WTO ruling against anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of up to 82 percent it imposed on Korean washers. Seoul's request will be discussed at a meeting later this month, but with the U.S. likely to appeal, the ruling is expected to take several months. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! In attacks allegedly orchestrated by Fulani herdsmen between December 31, 2017, and January 7, 2018, in Benue and Taraba, over 100 people were killed. The killings in Benue have gotten more attention because of the gory images of the slaughtered men, women and children that have found their way onto the internet. Since the crisis broke out on January 2, the one man that has gotten the most flak for it has been President Buhari, for a lot of reasons. The most damaging allegation against the president has been that his reaction to the killings has been significantly atrocious especially since they were carried out by people of his Fulani extraction. By implication of his 'body language', many have accused the president of indirectly condoning the killings, and in more extreme accusations, even sponsoring them. These accusations forced Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to urge the Nigerian public to not politicise the killings and make it about the president. This has done nothing to stem the multitude of fingers that have wagged in the president's direction and accused him of even more sectarianism at the detriment of Nigerian lives. It's important to assess just what exactly the president has done that has warranted this finger-pointing and if he truly deserves it. History of herdsmen menace In a bid to quell the pressure of politicising the recent killings, President Buhari's Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, noted that 756 people were killed by Fulani herdsmen between 2013 and May 2015, under a different president with no (possible) kinship with the perpetrators. As misguided as the announcement of that observation was, especially after Osinbajo's warning about politicising the crisis, that statement was indicative of a more complex problem than had been painted. What it simply meant was that the problem of killer Fulani herdsmen is one that predates a sitting Fulani president. According to the 2015 Global Terrorism Index report, "Fulani militants" were responsible for the death of 1,229 people in 2014, making them the fourth most deadly terrorist group in the world before Buhari's ascension. To avoid misunderstanding here, this is not an attempt to acquit the president of failing in his responsibility to ensure safety for countless Nigerian lives like he promised during his campaign. However, for years, the nomadic herdsmen have been in conflict with local farmers, especially in the Middle Belt, over the access and control of lands on which their cattle carelessly graze. Tensions between both parties have long ago resulted in the armed conflicts that have been coloured by tribal and religious factors that have escalated the problem. While Benue has borne the brunt of the conflicts, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara have also been greatly affected by the marauding band of murderous militants. Even though the crisis chiefly started as out-of-control clashes between farmers and herdsmen, it has devolved into isolated, well-orchestrated attacks that are targeted at vulnerable communities. The result of this is the Agatu killings of 2016 when herdsmen massacred hundreds as vengeance for the killing of a Fulani man in 2013; the coordinated killings of hundreds of Fulanis in Taraba in June 2017; another orchestrated killing of at least 45 women and children in Fulani communities in Numan, Adamawa by a Bachama militia group in November 2017, and a lot more that barely got any coverage. Boiling down the recent crisis to just Buhari's seat at the head of the table is a reductive exercise that doesn't do the situation adequate justice. Buhari's reaction to Benue In a press statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on January 3, President Buhari commiserated with Benue governor, Samuel Ortom, over the killings. Describing the attacks as "wicked and callous", the president assured the governor that relevant security agencies have been directed to do everything possible to arrest those behind the regrettable incidents that resulted in the deaths of "even innocent children". Earlier that day, the Benue State Police Command announced that it had arrested eight suspects in connection with the attacks, and six of them have already been arraigned at a Magistrate Court. Two days after another attack by herdsmen led to the death of at least 11 people in another community in Benue, the president ordered the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to relocate to the state with more police units and end the crisis. With public pressure mounting on the president to do more, the Nigerian Army deployed Special Forces to Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa to appease the growing anger in the country. So why does Buhari keep getting accused of condoning the attacks by his kinsmen if he appears to have done everything reasonably possible, albeit at a snail's pace, to quell a very unfortunate situation? In Buhari's defence A major trigger for why the president has been accused of pandering to his kinfolk in light of the Benue crisis has been his distant reaction to it. Even though many Nigerians expected him to speak directly on the issue and name and shame the perpetrators as the terrorists they are, he only issued a tame statement through a spokesperson, went ahead to commission projects in Kaduna two days later, and neglected to pay a visit to Benue. While these are expectations that are valid and should be expected of any duty-bound leader to execute without being prodded by the public, it is fair to question when Buhari has ever cared about the tender side of a crisis. It wasn't during the Agatu killings, or more recently, the flood crisis that displaced thousands in Benue in August 2017; the president has always been comfortable engaging troubling crises in the country through media proxies without the helm of his own garment in touching distance. The administrative reticence of his government has been played out one too many times: he commiserates through a drone; he barks orders to whoever should handle what; and he withdraws into the inner sanctuary of the Presidential Villa; but he never engages in the affectionate way Nigerians demand. So if this is already the standard the president has set over the course of his tenure, what is the fuss about this time? The truth is there's always a fuss about the president's body language because his apparently unfeeling method of leadership is a disappointment that many thought would disappear with the last administration. However, it's an undeniable fact that the most notable reason this particular crisis has taken on a tribal dimension (other than previous allegations of the president's ethnic bias, of course) is that this one involves the president's 'people'. It's noteworthy to point out that while the Benue crisis brewed, 22 people were also killed in on January 1 by a local cult group in Omoku, and the president has reacted in a near-identical way to both crises. However, no one has linked his reaction to that unfortunate incident with his ethnic roots; it's simply President Buhari being the President Buhari that we have come to know. While the thought cannot be completely dismissed, it's really difficult to rule for sure that the president's sentiment is critically at play with the criminals the country is dealing with in Benue; but there's more compelling evidence suggesting that it's the case of him falling short of the expectations of Nigerians, yet again. So while Nigerians blame the president for something as sinister as putting tribe over country, maybe there's a simpler explanation. Mr Sotonye Anga, the spokesperson for the association, said this on Monday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. The latest development has been interesting because just last week, we got Nigerias final export position from Vietnam, which was quite revealing. Out of the 220,000 tonnes of exported raw cashew nuts, Vietnam accounted for 181,753 tonnes, while 38,247 tonnes went to India, China and other countries in the last 11 months. Cashew production in Nigeria for 2015 was 160,000 tonnes, which fetched the country 152 million U.S. dollars (about N57.6 billion) revenue. In 2016, we exported 185,000 tonnes of cashew nuts and earned 259 million dollars (aboutN93.2 billion), he said. Anga stressed that cashhew was a consistent foreign exchange earner and an international crop with huge economic value. These figures have shown the potential of the cashew and with increased crop growing; we have seen a reverse trend of urban to rural migration. President Buhari inspected a military parade before proceeding to lay a wreath in honour of the fallen heroes. A minute's silence was also observed for the fallen members of the armed forces before the customary 21-gun salute, followed by the release of pigeons to signify peace and the signing of the anniversary register by the President. Also present at the National Arcade are the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin; Chief of Army Staff ; Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral IbikEke Ibns; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar. Similar ceremonies are being held in all the state capitals with many governors participating in church ceremonies in honour of the armed forces on Sunday, January 14. IBB calls for support for the armed forces In respect of the occasion, former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, called on Nigerians to demonstrate appreciation of the courage of the gallant fallen heroes by appreciating their contribution and providing support for their welfare and the upkeep of their families, especially their widows and children. While speaking on Sunday, January 14, he said, "We should cooperate and support our security with relevant information and intelligence to help in tackling the problems. As people we should inculcate our cultural values that promote good conduct, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. "We should eschew hate speeches, discrimination and other vices that trigger senseless violence and bloodshed. We have witnessed so much bloodshed through communal clashes and conflicts that need urgent actions to stop them now." The meeting is scheduled to hold at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. According to Punch, which cited a top government source, the state delegation is expected to be led by Governor Samuel Ortom. Federal, state lawmakers and security chiefs would also be on the team. The source said Buhari called for the meeting in reaction to series of violent attacks on Benue communities by the herdsmen. "The urgent meeting is inevitable because of the frequency and scale of such violence and the reactions that have trailed the incidents", the source was quoted as saying. "The Presidency has been embarrassed by the large scale loss of lives caused by such repeated violence against innocent people." It was also reported that Ortom might be questioned on his alleged role in arming some militias in the state. "Discussions at the meeting will address the issue of the Fulani herdsmen, which is at issue but may go beyond their menace to include the issue of the arming, training and financing of militia groups by some state governments," the source said. Soldiers in the state had arrested some armed militia members in the state, and the suspects reportedly confessed that they were armed by the Benue State Government. "It should not surprise anyone if the Presidency seeks an explanation about this from the governor with a view to getting to the root of the states security challenges," he added. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the meeting with the Benue leaders is on the President's schedule for Monday. According to a report by Vanguard, Fayemi, an ex-governor of the state was barred from public office alongside his Finance Commissioner, Dapo Kolawole. The Ekiti State Executive Council declared the duo as unfit to hold any public office in Ekiti State and Nigeria for 10 years. The decision followed the acceptance of the report of the white paper on the Judicial Panel of Inquiry by the Ekiti State Executive Council. Their disrespect to the constituted authority and the undignified roles they played in the whole contracts saga were obviously against the interest of the state they were supposed to protect. They are banned from holding public office in Ekiti and any part of Nigeria, the state executive council declared. ALSO READ: Ekiti panel ends proceedings, set to submit report soon on minister The Ban According to the Commissioner for Information, Lanre Ogunsuyi, who made this known after the State Executive Council deliberated on the white paper. It was reported that the ban was predicated on the refusal of the duo to appear before the commission even after the determination of the case challenging the inauguration of the commission of Inquiry before the Ekiti State High Court. The white paper revealed that the government mandated Fayemi and his Finance Commissioner to refund N2.7 billion which was allegedly allocated for the execution of the contract for ultra-modern market but never executed. The government further direct the Ministry of Justice to institute appropriate legal actions to this effect. Ogunsuyi said: Government view accountability and probity as hallmark of good governance. Therefore, the government decided to set up the Judicial Panel of Inquiry in line with its law enacted in 2012. The government viewed seriously the report and it intend to carry out all the recommendations in the report. His Excellency, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Dapo Kolawole should be made to account for the difference of N340 million from the N1.5 billion earmarked from the bond proceeds for the upgrade of infrastructure at Ikogosi warm spring which could not be accounted for. Fayose defends the State Executive Council's decision Governor Ayodele Fayose has defended the SEC's decision on the white paper, saying that the government has done what is right. Fayose made this known while receiving the report of the White Paper Committee set up to consider the report of the judicial panel of inquiry into the financial transactions of the last administration between year 2010 and 2014. He said, We are doing what is right within the ambit of the Law by appointing competent people for the assignment. We must be seen to be doing the right thing and it is not wrong to ask how the finances of the state have been appropriated within a given time and we are following due process. The APC government says they are looking into this and that. Even if you say the panel is biased, what can anyone do? I am not part of the panel that sat for the inquiry. They submitted the report to me and I presented it to the tappropriate organ and I will do the same with this document. This is not personal in any way, we are only doing the right thing and following due process. ALSO READ: Fayemi says Fayose's probe panel is a kangaroo one "The Presidency appointed Ibrahim Magu, and Professor Mamoud and these people are doing their work. The Federal Government also appointed jugdes, does this mean that these appointees would not do the right things?, he said. Fayemi says the inquiry panel is a kangaroo one Dr Kayode Fayemi has described the panel of inquiry inaugurated by Governor Ayo Fayose's probe panel as a kangaroo one. This is a fulfillment of the partnership between both parties for the manufacturing of locally-made military equipment and vehicles for the army. The Nigerian Army announced on Monday, January 15, 2018, that the vehicles have been deployed to troops of Operation Lafiya Dole fighting Boko Haram in the northeast. The statement read, "To make good its promise, the Nigerian Army has started taking delivery of some of the vehicles it has ordered from Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company which it further configured fit for deployment into Operation LAFIYA DOLE theatre of operations." 40 vehicles already delivered The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, announced earlier in January that the army would partner with Innoson in the modification and production of other military equipment, including armoured fighting vehicles. He noted that the army had already acquired 40 vehicles from the company after it donated three vehicles to the Theatre Command of Operation Lafiya Dole. Mr Edward Onoja, the Chief of Staff (COS) to Gov. Yahaya Bello, made the call when he led other top government officials to a meeting with the executive of the state branch of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA). Dr Godwin Tijani, the State chairman of the association, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Lokoja that Onoja met with the NMA officials on Saturday Jan. 13. NAN recalls that the association had directed its members to embark on the strike on Jan. 8. Tijani said that the meeting, which took place at the Government House, Lokoja, lasted two hours with the Special Adviser to the governor on Health Matters, Dr Ahmed Attah, in attendance. According to the chairman, he led an expanded NMA SEC comprising members of the SOC, SEC, NAGGMDP Chairman and Secretary, ARD KSSH President and Secretary, MDCAN and ARD FMC Lokoja Secretaries, a past state NMA chairman and ex-ARD state KSSH Presidents. In the meeting, we presented our demands as clearly stated in the communique issued after the last Executive Council Meeting (ECM) with the input from other members. The issues of alleged harassment of some of our members who made depositions on the floor of the last ECM as seen in the alleged video clip delivered to top government officials was also raised during the meeting. In his remarks, the CoS said the governor is not pleased with the ongoing strike especially at this time of the year, that the NMA could have achieved a lot through dialogue, advocacy and lobby instead of embarking on strike. The CoS noted that the payment of 60 per cent salaries and arrears is not peculiar to doctors alone, but to all civil servants in the state due to the dwindling allocation from the federation account, Tijani said. He added that the chief of staff said that a special case could be made for doctors for the balance of 40 per cent, but it has to be through top level advocacy and not strike action. The chief of staff said that all issues of underpayment for old and new doctors could be resolved easily if NMA could collate all those affected including the financial implications and lobby the governor. The CoS added that the NMA could achieve more from government by looking beyond salary; for instance, car loan and mortgages which could be facilitated through lobbying and advocacy. On the issues of harassment of some of our members who played critical roles in the last ECM, the government promised to call officials involved to order as their actions will only create more enemies for the government, said the chairman. The chairman however told NAN that he promised the government to communicate the outcome of the meeting to the NMA Congress which has the final say on the matter. Saraki and Dogaras messages were contained in separate statements issued by their spokesmen on Monday, January 15, 2018 after laying sheaths at the National Arcade to commemorate the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day. Both leaders of the National Assembly lauded the national attention being accorded the nation's armed forces through the annual celebration of the day, while adding that the presents an opportunity for the Federal Government and military authorities to prioritize the welfare of both their serving and retired personnel, in view of the enormous sacrifices they render to sustain the peace and security of the country. "I must commend the Federal Government for its commitment to ensure that the nation's armed forces are fully catered for in terms of operational logistics and welfare packages, Saraki said in a statement by his special adviser on media and publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu. But there is room for more when you consider that these are men who have given their all and continue to give their all for the security, stability and prosperity of the country. "While serving members of the armed forces must be made to feel that their effort at protecting the territorial integrity of the country and assisting in the maintenance of law and order internally - often at the risk of their very lives - is not in vain, the welfare of the immediate families of all our fallen heroes must be given due consideration," the Senate President added. Similarly, Speaker Dogara extolled the courage and sacrifice of men of the Nigerian Armed Forces, saying their effort at maintaining the territorial integrity of Nigeria and security of lives and property will never go unrecognized. He assured officers of the Force that the House of Representatives would partner with the executive to ensure that their welfare is not compromised by ensuring that their full entitlement are always paid without delay. "As we mark the 2018 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, let us remember to always show genuine appreciation to gallant men and women who deprived themselves of so much so that we may have this nation, Nigeria. Even in death, their sacrifice will never be in vain, Dogara said in a statement by his special adviser on media and public affairs, Turaki Hassan. "We haven't forgotten their efforts and acts of courage in the war against Boko Haram in the North East. Our experience, at the peak of this insurgency only emphasises how our country would have been if we didn't have dedicated men and women constantly on guard to protect the sovereignty of Nigeria. "The House of Representatives will continue to partner with the executive to ensure that the Armed Forces are properly funded to be able to discharge their duties effectively. "We forever remain indebted to them, and want to use this occasion to say thank you for your sacrifice for all Nigerians," the Speaker added. President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo attended at the ceremony. According to a report by Channels TV, the entire Taraba State has been thrown into mourning state following the death Ibi. The late lawmaker, who represented Takum II Constituency at the Taraba State House of Assembly while alive, was reportedly found dead two weeks after he was abducted by gunmen on December 30, 2017. Police confirms Honourable Ibi's death The Taraba State Police command has confirmed the death of the late lawmaker, Honourable Ibi. Channels TV reports that the Police Public Relations Officer, David Misal, confirmed Ibi's death on Monday, January 15, 2018 in Jalingo. ALSO READ: Police call for calm following abduction of Taraba lawmaker Misal also said the corpse was found in Takum Local Government Area of the state, noting that the lawmaker must have died about three days before his body was discovered. Kidnappers demanded N75m ransom The abductors of the late Honourable Hosea Ibi, allegedly demanded N75 million for his release in the first week of January 2018. ALSO READ: Kidnappers of Taraba lawmaker demand N75m ransom Two North Korean women drowned last Friday on the arduous trek across Asia to South Korea when their boat capsized in the Mekong River on the border of Laos and Thailand. One of them had been traveling in search of cancer treatment. A spokesman for an activist group said 12 North Korean women were crossing the Mekong River from Laos to Thailand around 3 p.m. Friday when their boat capsized. Ten were rescued, but a woman in her 50s and another in her 20s died. The younger woman's body was found, but the older remains missing. A source said the small boat had a capacity of only about five passengers but the traffickers allowed all 12 of them on to save money. The women left the Chinese province of Shandong early this month and crossed the border from Yunnan into Laos. The China-Laos-Thailand trek is an established escape route for North Korean defectors, who can avoid the risk of being sent back to the North only once they reach Thailand. The two women had traveled 3,000 km and were just meters away from safety on the tranquil river. According to the sources, the older woman came from Chongjin in North Hamgyong Province and had been sold to a Chinese man after fleeing the North two years ago. She had decided to escape to South Korea in search of a cure for her breast cancer. She had already once been arrested by Chinese police and sent back to the North. The dead women had no family in South Korea. The number of defectors peaked at about 2,900 in 2009 but has been on the decrease due to tightening border controls and worsening relations between Pyongyang and Beijing since Kim Jong-un took power in 2012. Nevertheless, more than 1,000 defectors are arriving in South Korea annually, 1,127 last year. The total number of defectors here stood at 31,339 as of late December last year. "Ongoing investigations have opened up useful lines of enquiry leading to the arrest thus far of 22 people, all of Senegalese nationality," a police statement said. A rebel movement in the area has blamed the massacre on a feud in the illegal teak logging industry, ending a period of relative calm in Casamance. Around 20 men were collecting wood in the protected forest of Bayottes, close to the regional capital of Ziguinchor when a 15- to 20-strong armed group attacked them. The government says 10 were shot dead, two were stabbed to death and one was burned. Half a dozen more were wounded. Days later a 14th body was found. Four of the victims of the killings in the village of Toubacouta were members of a local forestry surveillance committee, the APS news agency reported, quoting a witness. The victims were looking for firewood, according to friends who escaped and their families. However, several sources told AFP they were potentially involved in the illegal logging trade in a region with plentiful rosewood and teak, both highly prized in China. One resident told AFP Sunday he and 15 others, including a woman, had been detained by troops in the early hours in Toubacouta. "They combed the village," said the man, who would not give his name. A local youth association head, Abdou Sane, was quoted by APS as saying that "19 young men and a woman were arrested this morning by police. They are being held at Ziguinchor police station." Army chief of staff General Cheikh Gueye meanwhile said his troops had "yet to finger anyone", but added: "We are in no hurry." "The Elysee (French presidential palace) has refused accreditation to our journalists twice in one week," RT editor Margarita Simonian said in a statement on the channel's website. A journalist from RT France, launched in December, was turned away from a spokesman's briefing at the Elysee palace in Paris on Monday, the statement said. "When I said I worked for RT, I was told that I was not a journalist and only journalists were allowed in," said an RT reporter, adding that he had presented his press card. The broadcaster said it was also rebuffed in Rome on January 10, when the "French president's team did not authorise RT to attend a summit" of southern European Union leaders. "The request for accreditation was accepted, but when our team arrived in Italy, the Elysee press service stopped responding to calls from our journalists," according to RT. "I advise President Macron to carefully re-read the French constitution," Simonian said. Also on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised Macron's proposed fake news legislation. She was on holiday on January 7, 2015, when jihadists broke into the Paris offices of the magazine, massacring 12 people in an attack that shook France and the world. The assault sparked mass protests and a wave of solidarity, with people across the world adopting the slogan "Je suis Charlie" (I am Charlie). "The more of us speak out, defend our freedom and refuse to give up on our liberties, the less the danger will be ... focused on certain people," El Rhazoui told AFP on the sidelines of a conference hosted by the Danish parliament on Saturday. Her commitment to her beliefs has not come without a cost; everywhere she goes, she is accompanied by security guards. Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, who in 2007 sparked controversy with his drawings of Muslim Prophet Mohammad, said nothing would change if he stopped working. "If you stop, the things going on will not stop," Vilks said. He has also been the target of several attempted assaults, the latest in Copenhagen in February 2015, during a conference dubbed "Art, blasphemy and freedom". 'That was it' Like El Razhoui, Vilks leads a complicated life. Under constant surveillance, he must coordinate with his security guards in order to plan his day. "If I have forgotten to buy some milk, I cannot actually go out and buy the milk, and I cannot in practice call the bodyguards and say 'I want to buy some milk'," he said. "As a film ... you have to plan your days in a certain way," the 71-year-old added. But after surviving an attack, some people choose to move away from activism. Patrick Piscot was just 18 years old when he survived the July 2011 bomb and gun massacre by Norwegian neo-Nazi Anders Behring Breivik that left 77 people dead. Breivik was sentenced in 2012 to 21 years behind bars. "If you survive something I believe that it is your responsibility to get over it in your own way, you have the key to how you want to change your life," said Piscot, who decided to ended his political activism soon after the attack. "I don't see the president of the republic as an ally in the fight against corruption," prosecutor Thelma Aldana told reporters. Her comment came a day after Morales, in a new year's address to the nation, stressed that transparency was one of his priorities in office. "It seems to me that his speech went beyond the reality," Aldana said. She recalled protests and political turbulence triggered by Morales in September last year when he tried to kick out the Colombian head of a UN-backed anti-corruption body working in Guatemala, after it started scrutinizing the suspected illicit funding of his 2015 election campaign. After a backlash by the judiciary, Morales was forced to back off the move. Protests have since taken place demanding he step down because of the accusations against him. Morales, a 48-year-old former TV comic, took office in January 2016 -- vowing to clean up Guatemala's notoriously shady politics. He succeeded Otto Perez, who had to step down when a corruption scandal implicating him exploded into street protests and ended with him in jail pending a trial. Congress has held two votes on whether to withdraw Morales' immunity to allow the investigation against him to go ahead -- but each time the motion has failed to gather the 105 votes necessary. Germany's constitutional court ruled in late December that the former SS man must serve out his four-year sentence as an accessory to the murders of 300,000 people at the death camp, rejecting defenders' argument that imprisonment at such an advanced age would violate his "right to life". Prosecutors will rule "in the coming days" on Groening's application for mercy -- a peculiarity of German law that can exceptionally allow sentences to be commuted or cancelled altogether -- broadcaster NDR reported. There will be "no delaying effect" on the start of the convict's jail term in the meantime, the justice ministry spokesman said. Former guard Groening became known as the "bookkeeper of Auschwitz" for his role as an accountant, sorting and counting money collected from people killed or used as slave labour. He confessed his "moral guilt" in court ahead of his 2015 conviction and repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions. More than a million European Jews were killed at the camp in Nazi-occupied Poland before it was liberated by Soviet forces. Fewer than 50 of its 6,500 SS personnel who survived the war were ever convicted. "Local communities are sometimes afraid that the newly arrived will disturb the established order, will 'steal' something they have long laboured to build up," Francis said. While such fears are not a sin, said the spiritual leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics, "the sin is to refuse to encounter the other, the different, the neighbour." "The sin is to allow these fears to determine our responses, to limit our choices, to compromise respect and generosity, to feed hostility and rejection," Francis said, adding: "We often refuse to encounter the other and raise barriers to defend ourselves." The 81-year-old pontiff, himself the son of immigrants to Italy from Argentina, has championed the cause of migrants and asylum seekers since his election in 2013. His first official trip outside Rome was to the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa, which was at the time the first point of arrival in Europe for thousands of migrants. In April 2016, Francis visited the Greek island of Lesbos, a main entry point to Greece for migrants travelling from the Turkish coast, and returned home with three families of Syrian refugees aboard the papal plane. "Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age," Francis said Sunday. Their push for further investigation, including a parliamentary demand for an inquiry into the prison deaths, suggests that while the protests have largely subsided, the fallout in Iran may be just beginning. This news of so-called suicides is making people angry; they demand answers, said Farshad Ghorbanpour, an analyst close to the government of President Hassan Rouhani. It is unclear whether the anger signals a potent new complication for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who as Irans supreme leader was a target of some of the protests, which began over economic grievances and quickly broadened. But the willingness by members of mainstream Iranian society to publicly repudiate the narrative of the top judicial authorities is unusual in this country of 80 million, where such behavior can be risky and invite retribution. Irans judicial authorities, in an update Sunday about the aftermath of the protests and government response, said 25 people had died and nearly 4,000 had been arrested. They also said that hundreds had been released, including 500 in Tehran. The national prosecutor, Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, told a news conference in Tehran that none of the bullets found in those killed had matched types used by Irans law enforcement officers and military. Those who died in detention, he said, had committed suicide. Rouhani, who has defended the right of peaceful protest, on Sunday appeared to lend support to the doubters of such claims. He extended his rebukes of hard-liners over the protests after an influential Friday prayer leader called the protesters garbage. The prayer leader, Kazem Sadighi, later retracted his words. Rouhani called upon the establishment to listen to the protesters, not demean them. We cannot call everybody who takes to the streets dirt and dust, cow, sheep or trash, he said in a speech broadcast on state television. What manner of talking is this? Why do we insult? Why do we treat our society impolitely? While acknowledging that some people exploited protester anger to stoke mayhem, Rouhani said, it happens everywhere. (BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM.) On Saturday authorities lifted a ban on the popular phone messaging app Telegram, which is used by more than 40 million Iranians. Its use had been suppressed by Irans National Security Council to stop the spreading of news about the protests. Rouhani, who as president officially heads the council, said Sunday that blocking is not a solution. Telegram users quickly began to share skepticism about the judiciary accounts of the prison deaths. (END OPTIONAL TRIM.) One of the dead, Vahid Heidari, a street peddler, had been trying to make a living in Arak, a city in central Iran. He was arrested on New Years Eve during the protests. The judicial authorities insist that he was seized for possession of drugs. A lawyer for his family, Mohammad Najafi, denies this. The local prosecutor for the city, Abbas Qassemi, told the Mizan news agency, which is affiliated with the judiciary, that video footage showed Heidari stabbing himself with a knife. But the video was never released and Qassemi did not explain how Heidari had possessed a knife in his cell. In Tehrans Evin Prison, Sina Ghanbari, 23, a student, hanged himself in a bathroom on Jan. 6, the judicial authorities say. He had been held with other protesters, but it has not been made clear whether he had also protested. A group of lawmakers on Sunday called for an investigation into the deaths of both men, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported. The members of Parliament say an inquiry is needed because relatives and eyewitnesses have questioned the official claims that the two killed themselves. Why is a young student, who goes for the first time to the streets to raise his voice, placed in an overcrowded prison cell? Isa Saharkhiz, a political activist who has spent several stints in Evin Prison, said, referring to Ghanbari. He said panic and threats could make any inmate scared, but he was suspicious over the suicide claim. There is so much traffic in those latrines, it almost seems impossible for any detainee to go inside the latrines and hang himself, Saharkhiz said. This must be investigated. During the last major nationwide protests, in 2009, the deaths of three men in a makeshift detention camp led to an official investigation, ordered by Khamenei. Twelve officers and guards were convicted of having played a role, but it has never been clear whether they all served prison time. Skepticism about the official version of fatalities in the more recent protests was fueled further on Sunday when an Iranian celebrity actress, Bahare Rahnama, who stars in films and shows on state television, posted a series of messages on Twitter. A former restaurant delivery boy she knew well, who had turned up dead in the city of Sanandaj, was described by the judicial authorities as a terrorist. He was neither an outlaw, nor dangerous, nor rebellious, he didnt deserve this, I have no doubt, Rahnama wrote in Persian. The man, Saru Ghahremani, 24, an Iranian-Kurd, was arrested Jan. 1 after he had gone out to protest, activists said. A group of activists known as the Committee Investigating the 96 Protests (in Irans calendar, the year is 1396), said in a Twitter message by a member that Ghahremanis body had been delivered to his parents 11 days later. The parents of this martyr were taken by the ambulance containing his corpse to the Mahmoudieh graveyard, where he was buried with no other family members present, the message read. The 96 Protests Committee also said via Twitter that Ghahremani had once been arrested at age 18, over unspecified political and security accusations, and had spent 18 months in prison. The governor of Sanandaj, Mohammad Ebrahim Zarei, said Ghahremani had been associated with a terror group and had been killed in a clash with law enforcement agents, the official Islamic Republic News Agency has reported. (STORY CAN END HERE. OPTIONAL MATERIAL FOLLOWS.) Rahnama, whose Twitter messages contradicted the Sanandaj governor, deleted some of them after she had received thousands of likes and retweets. The actress, who could not be reached for comment, later tweeted that she been asked by the Sanandaj governors office not to spread false rumors. One of the messages she kept up included a portrait of her and Ghahremani. She also insisted that it was unimaginable that Ghahremani had done anything wrong. This kid was neither political nor a protester, nor a rebel, nor an outlaw, he had simple but big wishes for himself: like making his mother happy! she wrote. Why should he be killed? El Presidente Tweets the Journal Our columnist Mary O'Grady scored a direct hit on Monday when no less than Panama's President Ricardo Martinelli tweeted a personal response to her column on his designs to skirt the law and hold power for another five-year term (" Panama's King Moves the Queen ").That's called getting results, though we wish the president would get his facts straight.Mr. Martinelli's term ends July 1 and Panama's constitution says he can't run again. Ms. O'Grady exposed and criticized his plan to evade that restriction by putting his wife up as a vice-presidential candidate for the May 4 election. That's unconstitutional. A sitting president also isn't supposed to be involved in the current campaign, but Mr. Martinelli has been promoting presidential candidate Jose Domingo Arias, who is running with Mrs. Martinelli on his Democratic Change party ticket. El presidente has also attacked the independent electoral tribunal.Like many a politician, Mr. Martinelli responded by attacking Ms. O'Grady's motives. "This WSJ journalist once interviewed me because she was a close friend of Jimmy Papadimitriu, who now advises Varela," Mr. Martinelli wrote on Twitter TWTR +2.05% Allow us to correct the record.He is referring to Juan Carlos Varela, who is Mr. Martinelli's vice president and former foreign minister. Mr. Varela broke with Mr. Martinelli and is now running to succeed him as the presidential nominee of a competing party. We don't know if Mr. Papadimitriu advises Mr. Varela, but we can say that Ms. O'Grady is not and has never been a friend of Mr. Papadimitriu. She did interview Mr. Martinelliin 2010 when Mr. Papadimitriu was his chief of staff.No doubt Mr. Martinelli was upset that Ms. O'Grady called out his electoral power play. Panamanians remember, and not fondly, military dictator Manuel Noriega, who was removed by U.S. troops in 1989. If Mr. Martinelli has designs on becoming one morecaudillo, he ought to man-up and tell the voters rather than hide behind his wife's illegal candidacy. The leader of North Korea's Moranbong troupe has been included in the country's delegation to cross-border talks scheduled for Monday. This suggests that the entertainers will be dispatched to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Hyon Song-wol is rumored to be North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ex-girlfriend and is believed to be in her 40s. Last year, her name was included among candidates for the powerful Central Committee of North Korea's Workers Party, which suggests she still enjoys Kim's trust. In December 2015, she abruptly canceled a performance in Beijing just four hours before it was to start and flew back to North Korea. Chinese officials apparently demanded a change to the repertoire and objected to plans to project a North Korean missile launch on the backdrop. Instead of complying, Hyon ordered her charges to pack up and leave. Hupac has launched a thrice-weekly direct container service between Hannover and Novara. This is an 'evolution' of its Hamburg/Hannover Busto shuttle, which continues to run as a Hamburg Busto service. Hupac said the expansion of its 4 m cleared network was in response to the growing market requirements ... Ex-head of Russian Border Agency appeals sentence in embezzlement case RIA Novosti, Yevgeny Biyatov 10:56 15/01/2018 MOSCOW, January 15 (RAPSI) Former head of the Federal Border Development Agency Dmitry Bezdelov, found guilty of large-scale embezzlement, had appealed his prison sentence, lawyer Boris Kozhemyakin told RAPSI on Monday. The lawyer characterized the sentence as scandalous and said that Bezdelovs defense insists on acquittal. According to the press-service of the Meschansky District Court in Moscow, nearly all defendants of the case had filed appeals against their sentences. On December 29, Bezdelov was sentenced to nine years in prison and fined him 1 million rubles ($17,400) for embezzling about 500 million rubles ($8.7 million). His accomplices were also found guilty, and received prison terms ranging from 2 to 8 years in prison. Investigators claim that in 2009, Bezdelov, then head of the Federal Border Development Agency, conspired with a number of other people to embezzle public funds allocated for the construction of checkpoints on the state border. From September 2009 to May 2013, they allegedly stole and laundered over 490 million rubles. Bezdelov resigned from his post in October 2013 after a probe had revealed inappropriate use of budget funds by the agency. He was arrested in Rome in October 2014 after he had been put on the international wanted list. Italy's court of appeals upheld the decision to extradite Bezdelov to Russia in October 2015. The Supreme Court left the judgment intact. Investigators complete probe into theater director embezzlement case RIA Novosti, Ramil Sitdikov 12:59 15/01/2018 MOSCOW, January 15 (RAPSI, Nikolay Merkulov) Investigation into a criminal case against the Gogol Center theater director Kirill Serebrennikov and other defendants charged with embezzling budget funds allocated for arts promotion has been completed, lawyer Irina Poverinova has told RAPSI. On Monday, the Basmanny District Court will hear a motion by investigators for extension of house arrest for former chief accountant of Seventh Studio stage company Nina Maslyayeva. On Tuesday, the court will consider motions for extension of restrictive measures for former head of the company Yury Itin, ex- general producer Alexey Malobrodsky, Poverinova added. Serebrennikov was arrested in late August and then placed under house arrest. In early November, Moscows Basmanny District Court seized assets belonging to Serebrennikov including apartment, car, and money in the amount of more than 360,000 rubles ($6,000), over 60,000, and $4,000. Investigators believe that he was an organizer of the budget money embezzlement. The defendant denied wrongdoing. He allegedly created Seventh Studio stage company to actualize the Platforma project for promotion of art and invited Itin, Malobrodsky, and Maslyayeva, among others, into the organization. Investigators believe that Itin, Malobrodsky, and Maslyayeva were falsifying data for the Platforma projects plans in 2011-2014 on request of the theater director. This data was provided to the Ministry of Culture as the rationale for financing from the state budget. Earlier, Maslyayeva has testified against Serebrennikov. She said that Serebrennikov, Malobrodsky and Itin organized embezzlement of money allocated for a cultural event. Serebrennikov and Malobrodsky cashed the money with the assistance of Maslyayeva. The woman also said that she entered falsified data in financial reports. Former official of Russias Culture Ministry and current director of the Russian Academic Youth Theater Sophia Apfelbaum has been also arrested and put under house arrest on embezzlement charges. According to investigators, from 2011 to 2014, Apfelbaum signed contracts on state grants in the amount of more than 214 million rubles ($3.7 million) with Serebrennikovs Seventh Studio stage company on behalf of the Russian Culture Ministry, and provided further agreement of received reporting documents, which contained overstated information on quantity and cost of the held events. Thus, she has abetted the embezzlement of about 68 million rubles ($1.2 million) by Serebrennikov and his alleged accomplices, investigators claim. Apfelbaum admitted that she controlled the movement of cash but pleaded not guilty to embezzlement. One more defendant, producer Yekaterina Voronova, has been arrested in absentia and put on the international wanted list. Moscow court initiates monitoring procedure as part of Honda dealers case flickr.com/Yonkers Honda 13:48 15/01/2018 MOSCOW, January 15 (RAPSI) The Moscow Commercial Court has initiated a monitoring procedure as part of a bankruptcy case against Aoyama Motors, Honda dealership in Russia, RAPSI learnt in the court on Monday. In September 2017, the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals resumed hearing of the bankruptcy case against the dealer. The court granted an appeal against suspension of proceedings filed by the Russian company Nevada. Earlier, the Moscow Commercial Court has suspended the proceedings until a ruling in another dispute over an agreement between two companies becomes final. Nevada seeks to recover 30.9 million rubles (about $500,000 at the current exchange rate) from Aoyama Motors. This situation is indicative of a growing number of bankruptcies among auto dealers in Russia. 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Police took the body to the capital La Paz and an autopsy was conducted in the presence of a Korean Embassy staffer. Police said there were signs of rape and her body appears to have been mutilated. A Foreign Ministry official said, "We've asked Bolivian police for a thorough investigation and a speedy apprehension of the criminal." Bolivia is a popular tourist destination but plagued by poverty and civil unrest, which prompted the ministry to issue a travel warning. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. In a country where the onslaught of automation is stealing jobs from traditional high-growth sectors, velocitors, or young companies with the ability to break away from the pack, will spur entrepreneurship and job creation, says Ganesh Natarajan. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com Industry 4.0 is evolving with manufacturing and logistics firms embracing the opportunity for cyber-physical transformation, design thinking is enabling large firms to shape the creation of new holistic ecosystems for customers and supply and demand chain partners with firms, and digital technologies and platforms are touching and transforming every touch point with every stakeholder of a business enterprise. The digital economy, too, is coming of age with the governments determination to connect all the 250,000 gram panchayats and set up common service centres and smart cities to capitalise on the power of connectivity holding out the promise of a Digital India where no citizen will be left behind. The India Stack could well lay claim to being the Time Personality of the Year if such an award were to be given in India, and the speed of adoption of digital interactions in the country augurs well for a transformed nation in the not-so-distant future. In all this hype and hoopla surrounding big company and government adoption of digital, one must not forget the capabilities of tens of thousands of start-ups and young companies which have embraced the opportunity to identify discontinuities and start companies that can solve critical business problems and also address national issues like skills and healthcare for all. In a recent national initiative to identify velocitors, or young companies which have the ability to break away from the pack and provide innovative digital solutions across an array of technologies and business processes, it has been heartening to note the capabilities that many of them have already demonstrated to be the digital stars of the future. In a country where the onslaught of automation is stealing jobs from traditional high-growth sectors such as automotive manufacturing, banking, applications support and testing in the IT sector and other repetitive areas, it is these velocitors which will provide the acceleration needed to new entrepreneurship and job creation and solve the one dilemma that persists even as the economy resumes its upward march. Broadly, there are 12 categories where velocitors can dwell and succeed with sharp focus on product quality, customer focus and marketing and communications excellence. It all starts with design thinking, with the focus moving from product design to a new way of thinking which leverages the opportunities available through customer access and supply chain visibility to create new engagement and service models. This area is being mastered by all large consulting houses and technology firms today. The next four are the SMAC stack of social media, mobility, analytics and cloud, which has been embraced at least at a basic level by most progressive organisations and definitely by the Government of India today and also exploited well enough by the large incumbent vendors, hence closing the doors on new entrepreneurs. Where opportunities for innovation and new champions lie is clearly the next seven areas - advanced analytics using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, robotics and robotic process automation, blockchain, Internet of Things, user experience, digital platforms and cybersecurity. The market leaders in these areas in any country, from the US to Israel to UK to Singapore to India, are very different from the traditional names one is used to and although the incumbent technology vendors offer solutions, it is a real window of opportunity for smaller firms to show their wares in these areas and get acceptance with key customers. Cases in point are e-Zest, which has built a quiver of arrows in the form of a chief digital officers tool kit to substantially improve time to market, quality of deliverables and digital service delivery costs; Skills Alpha which is transforming the process of employee engagement, career management, skills acquisition, reskilling and community engagement; and Systech which has built an enviable array of use cases in master data management, business intelligence, big data, AI and machine learning for some of the worlds best companies in retail, consumer goods, manufacturing, health care and insurance. What many of the champions in each of the 12 categories share is the unwillingness to let size deter their propositions to large companies, an attribute which can be developed and enhanced through mentoring and participation in supportive collaborative ecosystems. Getting start-ups to scale and participate and succeed in the digital economy will need three willing stakeholders -- the government which should relax criteria of revenue and past record to enable young companies to deliver their products and services to large national digital initiatives, organisations which will open their applications to niche technology providers and provide the use cases needed for success, and the companies themselves who need to ensure that they get off a pure technology high horse and reach out to build better solutions for real customers. The government through Digital India and some recent announcements made at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit seems ready and willing though the test will lie in the policy fine print when new tenders and requests for proposal are floated. Visionary companies like Bajaj Finserv have already made systematic moves to engage start-ups in India and worldwide and some of the young companies like the ones mentioned here have already set themselves on a path to success. If Digital India meets Start-Up India halfway, the results can be spectacular. Lets work to make it happen! 'Even as the netizens keep up the saffron brotherhood's morale with their acidic diatribes, the BJP cannot be unaware that it is facing a scarier situation than when it nearly lost the Gujarat election,' says Amulya Ganguli. IMAGE: From left, Supreme Court Justices Kurien Joseph, Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi and Madan B Lokur at their press conference in New Delhi, January 12, 2018. Photograph: PTI Photo. The speed with which BJP trolls jumped into the fray over the judges' 'revolt' against the Chief Justice of India indicates the party's anxiety about the unexpected turn of events. It is unclear whether the party directs the cyber warriors or they act mostly on their own. But their line of thinking must be the same; otherwise, there would have been official disclaimers from BJP bigwigs. In any event, the Hindutva netizens are far more vituperative in their outbursts than a party can afford to be. While one netizen gave a call for impeaching the four judges, a saffron warrior hit out at the Collegium which selects the judges, alleging it is a creation of the Left-Liberal-Congress 'ecosystem' over seven decades which the Narendra D Modi government wanted to dispense with to allow the people's representatives to have a say in the appointment of judges, but was derailed by the judiciary and the Congress. The reason for their venom is obvious. It is the fear that any further inquiries into Justice B H Loya's death can open a Pandora's box involving BJP leaders, including party chief Amit A Shah. Justice Loya died of a heart attack at a time when he was presiding over the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case in which Amit A Shah was originally an accused. The BJP chief was acquitted by Justice Loya's successor in the CBI court. Dissatisfaction over the allocation of this case to a junior Supreme Court judge was apparently one of the reasons behind Friday's press conference by the four senior judges who felt Chief Justice Dipak Misra was being selective in the distribution of various cases, including those with 'far-reaching consequences' for the country. For the BJP, the possibility that murky details of the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case would become public knowledge again a decade after the incident and on the eve of this year's assembly elections must be extremely disconcerting. Any revelations have the potential of damaging the BJP's electoral prospects and undermine the standing of the country's second most powerful man. For a start, the BJP is aware that it is not very well placed in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh where it is burdened by the anti-incumbency factor. It goes without saying that the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case along with Justice Loya's death at the relatively early age of 48 will provide enough ammunition to the BJP's opponents to cause it considerable discomfort if only because it will not be easy for the party to resort to its usual tactic of depicting its detractors as anti-nationals. The same difficulty has compelled the party to remain largely silent over the judges' 'revolt' with only BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav, who is on lien to the BJP from the RSS, urging everyone from school children to Supreme Court judges to observe 'discipline'. It is advice which is unlikely to be heeded by the trolls who are bound to continue to spew their venom in the foreseeable future. Even as the netizens keep up the saffron brotherhood's morale with their acidic diatribes, the BJP cannot be unaware that it is facing a scarier situation than when it nearly lost the Gujarat election. Any weakening of Amit A Shah's organisational clout will be disastrous for the party as it faces challenging elections not only this year, but the most crucial one of its life next year. Amulya Ganguli is a writer on current affairs. 'Interestingly, Gadkari, the sole outstanding minister in the government, handles the Iran portfolio where performance is quantifiable and challenging, while Modi personally scripts the soap opera with Israel that makes media headlines and photo-ops,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu and his wife Sara at Rashtrapati Bhavan, January 15, 2018. Photograph: MEA/Flickr Quietly, unobtrusively, on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India, India made an assertive move in its West Asia policies that should not go unnoticed. This has been the decision to schedule talks with Iran's Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi in Delhi against the backdrop of the US-Israeli campaign against Iran. The two visits -- Iranian and Israeli -- are back-to-back events, literally (and symbolically), with Akhoundi leaving Delhi on January 12 and Bibi landing on January 14. Of course, Akhoundi didn't get a hug from PM Modi at the tarmac of Delhi airport, but the substantive outcome of his visit may even exceed the Israeli PM's. Netanyahu's visit will be colourful given the Israeli embassy's excellent media management techniques, but its concrete outcome will be closely scrutinised. The jury is out on how far India's national interests will be served in the emerging world order by feting a controversial personality like Netanyahu. Reports say India will place an order worth $500 million for the Spike anti-tank missiles from the Israeli arms manufacturer Rafael. It signifies a dramatic U-turn from the government's earlier decision to cancel the deal and instead meet the needs of the armed forces under the Make in India banner, following up on a prototype being developed by DRDO. Once again, what emerges is that arms deals breed interest groups and fatcats. Whether this qualifies as a 'scam' or remains yet another excessive political gesture by Modi to friend Bibi remains to be seen, but it is a sad thing that a Make in India project gets shunted out to the dog-house so unceremoniously due to a personal friendship. Modi probably feels like a Badshah by making such impromptu gestures. His $1 billion economic aid package for Mongolia stands out as the high noon in personalised diplomacy historically by any Indian PM. IMAGE: Prime Minister Modi, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, reviews a guard of honour at a welcome ceremony in Tehran. Photograph: President.ir/Reuters At any rate, what matters at the end of the day is that the Modi-Bibi bromance has not prevented Delhi from working on the India-Iran relationship on a parallel track. In an interview with IRNA -- the Iranian news agency -- at the end of his visit to New Delhi on January 12, Akhoundi disclosed that Iran and India have agreed to sign railway deals worth $2 billion. The first project to be taken up will be the railway line connecting Chabahar port in eastern Iran with Zahedan on Iran's Afghan border at a cost of $1 billion. The second project concerns the manufacture of 200 locomotives for cargo trains, which will be a significant deal. India has announced its readiness to finance the $600 million project, which involves manufacturing the locomotives both in India and Iran. A third project concerns the joint manufacture of railway tracks in the two countries for use in the Iranian railway system. Significantly, in the discussions with Akhoundi, Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari stressed the development of Chabahar as a 'win-win' enterprise for the two countries. Gadkari later told the media that his discussions with the Iranian minister were 'very fruitful' and stressed that Chabahar port would be a growth engine for India as it opened up an alternate route for exports to Afghanistan and Russia as well as presented business opportunities for investors of both India and Iran. India and Iran, Gadkari said, have sorted out 'all issues' pertaining to the Chabahar port in their discussions. The Gadkari-Akhoundi talks took place alongside an Indo-Iranian joint business seminar attended by officials and nearly a hundred delegates from the public and private sector and various trade bodies from both countries, focusing on Chabahar port, opportunities in the free zone and transit corridors. So, is it lucrative business with Iran versus syrupy romance with Israel? Interestingly, Gadkari, the sole outstanding minister in the government, handles the Iran portfolio where performance is quantifiable and challenging, while Modi personally scripts the soap opera with Israel that makes media headlines and photo-ops. Politically and ideologically, there is manifest empathy between the Hindutva ideology and Zionism. 'Islamophobia' is the life-blood of both. Thus, Israel, albeit a tiny country, remains a closet relationship felt in the Hindu fundamentalists' inner world and felt along their beating hearts. It is a sentimental journey from the past, evoking passions that have ancient roots. Whereas Iran is a 'win-win' relationship of almost seamless possibilities in the 21st century which inspires India's quest to be an emerging power. It is contemporaneous and forward-looking. Arguably, this intriguing dichotomy is a mirror image of the present elite's Jekyll-and-Hyde personality -- Gau Rakshaks cohabitating with Make in India. 'Air India has real estate assets in its name like that of a maharaja.' 'Once you reduce the airline's debt by selling off its land, it may even become a profitable company.' Last week, the Narendra D Modi government permitted 100% FDI under the automatic route for single brand retail and do away with the mandatory 30% procurement from within India. The government also allowed foreign investment up to 49% in Air India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated Swadeshi Jaagran Manch believes these decisions are not in India's interests. "We want the government to find out why Air India failed. Who is responsible for the situation which the airline is in?" Dr Ashwani Mahajan, co-convenor, Swadeshi Jaagran Manch, tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier. Why is the Swadeshi Jaagran Manch against the government's decision to have 49% FDI in Air India? Why do you think it is not in the interest of the country? Air India has been incurring losses for many years and the government had pumped Rs 30,000 crores (Rs 300 billion) to bail it out. But it did not work, that is why the government has permitted 49% FDI in the airline... Yes, attempts to bail it (Air India) out have not worked. First, we want the government to find out why Air India failed. Who is responsible for the situation which the airline is in? Why was there no enquiry on its failure? Air India has real estate assets in its name like that of a maharaja. Our objection to the government's 49% FDI in Air India decision is because these idle assets with Air India should be monetised before selling the company. You can reduce the debt of the airline once you monetise the assets. Once you reduce the airline's debt by selling off its land, it may even become a profitable company. If you divest then, you are selling a profitable company. Why not sell its shares in the market then? It is a good move on the government's part to sell equity, but how do you value Air India is the question. Everybody would say it is incurring losses and so is a loss-making company. That's why we want the government to reduce its losses by selling the large real estate the airline has first. During NDA1 (then prime minister Atal Bhari Vajpayee's government also, our objection was to the lack of transparency in deals. It is likely to happen again if we go for 49% foreign investment. So far this government has followed the equity route and therefore, there was no objection. When Lalu Prasad Yadav was railway minister, prime land that belonged to the Indian Railways was sold to reduce debt, but the financial situation of the railways has not changed even now. So, is selling real estate the solution to rescue Air India? I am not saying it is the solution. I am not asking Air India to sell the land and run the business. The government has pumped in money earlier to run it and the loan has to be repaid with interest. It is not that we are against bailing out (Air India). We are not against divestment of Air India whichever the government initiates the process. However, they have to follow a procedure to divest. The 49% FDI is not in tune with the established norms of divestment. First of all, various governments allowed Air India to get into debt. We have to know who was responsible. Why should the government be running an airline? We are not saying governments should run airlines. We will never say that the government should run the airline business, and keep incurring losses. The assets were created by public money. Now, you are selling the entity without fixing the responsibility of running it at a loss. That is our objection. Are you against 100% FDI in retail only because the government decided to do away with the mandatory 30% procurement from within India? 100% FDI in retail was already there, but what they have done now is they have made the 51% also through the automatic route. This will set the stage for anybody coming to India to sell their brands. So, while facilitating foreigners, you are letting them eating into the business of our small businessmen. For what benefit are you doing this? Nobody knows. On one hand, you are talking about making Make in India a success. On the other hand, you are doing away with the 30% mandatory procurement from Indian firms. What is the logic behind this? When you do away with this 30% clause, these companies will be selling everything procured from outside India. This will affect our manufacturing sector and also the investment in the manufacturing sector. Why do you think the government wants to do away with the 30% mandatory procurement clause? It seems some people in the government are obsessed with the idea of ease of doing business. When you are making ease of doing business easy for foreigners, you are making ease of doing business difficult for Indians. The government should make it mandatory that any single brand foreign company that does business in India should procure 30% items within India for five years. After that, it should be 50% and this should keep going up. By then, these entities would have been established and the vendors would also be familiar with them. We are also cautioning the government against any decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail in any format, as this may fraught with severe implications of people's opposition and also would be considered a big U-turn for the present regime. Is it not ironical that on these issues the Swadeshi Jaagran Manch and the Communist parties are on the same side? We can be on the same side on various issues. Many people may walk on the same side of the road, but the destination can be different! In a stern message to Pakistan, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat asserted on Monday that the army will not allow anti-India activities to succeed in Jammu and Kashmir and it was ready to escalate military offensive to combat cross-border terrorism if Islamabad forces it to do so. Addressing army personnel on the occasion of Army Day, Rawat also said that disputes along the Line of Actual Control with China were continuing and the army was trying to stop the Chinese transgressions. "Ensuring security along the Line of Actual Control (with China) is our main duty," he said without elaborating further. Talking about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along the Line of Control in J&K. "We will not let these anti-national elements to succeed at any cost. If we are forced, then we may escalate our military action and carry out (the) 'other action'," he said. The army has been adopting a 'tit-for-tat' approach in dealing with ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops as well as foiling infiltration bids by terrorists. "The army is using its might to teach them a lesson," the army chief said, adding that, "terrorists and their handlers are creating various challenges within the country by adopting new tactics." Rawat said the army will continue to give a befitting reply to Pakistani action along the border. "Targeting of Amarnath pilgrims, attacking policemen and Army personnel from Jammu and Kashmir, including murder of Lt Ummer Fayaz, were attempts to attack national unity and divide the society," Rawat said. Young Army officer Fayaz, from Kulgam district, was killed in May last year when he had gone to Shopian to attend the marriage of one of his relatives. Talking about Pakistan's proxy war and evolving security challenges facing the region, Gen Rawat asked the forces to remain ready to face any eventuality. "We will have to keep high-level of readiness" to deal with any eventuality, he said. On defence spending, Rawat said it acts as an engine of economic growth. The armed forces are expecting higher allocation in the budget for 2018-19. "Size of our defence budget is sixth globally. 30 per cent of the defence budget is spent on procurement of weapons. A portion of it is spent on the country's development and providing jobs. The defence budget should be looked as engine of development," he said. Referring to the security situation in several states of the northeastern region, he said the army's intelligence based operations have contained militancy to a large extent. He also cautioned that success is never permanent and the troops will have to continue their hard work to deal with any security challenge. Rawat said there has been sustained efforts to enhance capability of the army and that contracts worth Rs 30,000 crore have been finalised in 2017-18. Talking about modernisation of the infantry, he said the focus was on futuristic weapon systems. The army's aviation wing is being bolstered by inducting new helicopters. He said the missile system in the army's air defence is also being strengthened. He said cadre review of JCOs (junior commissioned officers) and other ranks have been approved which has resulted in the creation of 479 additional posts of Subedar major, 7,769 posts of Subedar, 13,466 naib subedars, 58,493 havaldars and 64,930 naiks. The army chief also said that an Aadhar-based mobile application is being developed through which army personnel will be able to post their grievances online. The aim is to resolve their grivances as soon as possible, he said. The army chief also awarded the sena medal to a number of army personnel. Image: Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat inspects the guard of honour during the Army Day Parade in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo A teenaged spectator was gored to death by a bull while 11 competitors were injured during the bull taming sport of jallikattu held at Palamedu in Madurai, police said. Nineteen-year old Kalimuthu, who was seated in a front row of the viewers' gallery, suffered fatal stomach injury when the bull running in the playing arena suddenly strayed and attacked him. After first aid at the medical camp at the venue, the boy was rushed to the Rajaji Government Hospital, but died on the way, police said. Kalimuthu's friends said he did not expect the bull to attack him and could not react. Barring the tragedy, the event was marked by traditional gaiety and valour with a participation of a total of 1,080 bulls and 1,188 sportsmen, officials said. Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister R B Udhayakumar inaugurated the grand event. A large number of spectators also thronged Palamedu, one of the famous venues for jallikattu in the district along with Alanganallur and Avaniapuram, and cheered the competitors. Attractive prizes, including gold coins, were given away to the winners who tamed the bulls. One Mani bagged the first prize for taming seven bulls. Similarly, seven bulls which ducked the sportsmen and remained unconquered were also honoured with their owners getting prizes. Tight security arrangements had been made with deployment of around 1,200 police personnel, police said. The sport was held in the presence of the members from the Animal Welfare Board of India and other officials. The 11 injured sportsmen were immediately treated at the medical camp put up at the venue and sent home. The sport synonymous with Pongal festivities in this region returned in its full traditional gaiety during the festive period after a gap of three seasons. Jallikattu remained banned following a Supreme Court order in May 2014 before the state government last year brought an ordinance to facilitate its conduct at the height of a massive protest held at Marina Beach in Chennai and several places across the state. Accordingly, jallikattu was held in some places during the third week of January and in the first week of February elsewhere, including Palamedu, last year. Photograph: PTI Photo The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, saying it killed her as she allegedly planned to collaborate with the United States against the 'mujahideen' if she returned to power, says a book by the banned terror group. "The return of Benazir Bhutto was planned at the behest of the Americans as they had given her a plan against the 'Mujahideed-e-Islam'. Baitullah had received information of the plan," the book claimed, in a reference to slain Pakistani Taliban founder Baitullah Mehsud. The Daily Times reported that no group had claimed responsibility for Bhutto's murder until the claim in the Taliban's Urdu-language book titled 'Inqilab Mehsood South Waziristan - From British Raj to American Imperialism'. Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bhutto, 54, was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi shortly after she had addressed an election rally on December 27, 2007. Former president Pervez Musharraf had blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan for the attack but the outfit had denied it. The book says suicide bombers Bilal, also known as Saeed, and Ikramullah were tasked to carry out the attack on Bhutto. "Bomber Bilal first fired at Benazir Bhutto from his pistol and the bullet hit her neck. Then he detonated his explosive jacket and blew himself up among the participants of the procession," the book claimed. TTP leader Abu Mansoor Asim Mufti Noor Wali has written the book and published it on November 30, 2017, at "Maseed Computer Centre in Barmal, in Afghanistan's Paktika province," according to details in the book. The 588-page book, which contains many photographs of Taliban leaders, was posted online. Military sources say most of the TTP fighters, belonging to the Mehsud tribe, had crossed into Afghanistan's Paktika and Paktia provinces after the military launched a major offensive in 2009. The book says the TTP was also involved in a suicide bombing two months earlier at Bhutto's procession in Karachi in October 2007, which had killed nearly 140 people though Bhutto had escaped unhurt. It revealed that Baitullah Mehsud had approved the Karachi attack on Bhutto's procession when she returned to Pakistan to lead her party campaign for the 2008 parliamentary elections. "Despite attacks on Benazir Bhutto's procession in Karachi, the government had not taken appropriate security measures that made it possible for the attackers to have easy access to Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi," the book says. It says Ikramullah, a resident of Makeen town in South Waziristan, escaped from the blast site and is still alive. It does not say if it is the same Ikramullah, who was declared an absconder by an anti-terrorism court along with five others, including TTP chief Mehsud who was killed in a US drone strike in South Waziristan in 2009. Musharraf had been formally charged in the case by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi in August, 2017. The ATC also declared Musharraf an absconder in the case. The court had named Musharraf in the case in February 2011. The former army chief had on a number of occasions denied any involvement in the murder and dismissed the charges as politically-motivated. Bhutto's son and PPP co-chairman Bilawal had again blamed Musharraf for his mother's killing in his speech to supporters on her 10th death anniversary on December 27 last year. The five TTP suspects in Bhutto's murder case -- Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid -- were cleared of all charges in the murder trial last August. The ATC had, however, convicted two police officials Saud Aziz, who was police chief of Rawalpindi when Bhutto was assassinated and Khurram Shahzad, a former Superintendent of Police at Rawal Town. Both were sentenced to 17 years in jail. In October, 2017, both were granted bail by the Lahore high court. The book says investigators had blamed the TTP for the killing of Bhutto but Baitullah Mehsud had initially denied involvement, insisting that her killers were the same people behind the assassinations of her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and two brothers -- Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto. It said the TTP leadership had denied any involvement in the murder until Bhutto's 10th death anniversary. India on Monday celebrated 70th Army Day with fervour and pride. Army Day is celebrated on January 15 very year in recognition of Lieutenant General (later Field Marshal) KM Cariappa taking over as the first Commander-in Chief of Indian Army from Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander this day in 1948. President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the officers and troops of the Indian Army. Here are some of the glimpses of the celebration. All Photographs: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat inspects the guard of honour during the Army Day Parade in New Delhi. Army tanks and helicopters display combat skills during the parade. Army soldiers display their war skill during the parade. Army daredevils display their skills on motorcycles. Army mounted horse cavalry soldiers during the parade. Army's mechanised columns on display during the Army Day parade. Army soldiers display their war skill. The daredevils display exemplary skills. Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat salutes the widow of an army martyr after honouring her, during the parade. Four premature babies who died within 81 minutes of each other at Ewha Womans University Medical Center in Mok-dong, Seoul last month were killed by blood poisoning from contaminated injections, the autopsy has found. The National Forensic Service last Friday said all four babies died after being infected with Citrobacter freundii bacteria from nutritional lipid solution injections. "It seems that the infections occurred because the solutions were already contaminated or were contaminated in the preparation process." Police booked three nurses involved in preparing or administering the injections and two doctors on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. The four babies, all of whom were born prematurely, died on Dec. 16 last year in incubators in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. Citrobacter bacteria of the same gene were detected in the blood of all four of them. The NFS said the blood poisoning was the direct cause of their death. The question is how the injections became contaminated. The NFS and police raised two possibilities. Either the lipid solution itself was contaminated in the process of manufacturing or storing it, or they became contaminated in the process of administering the injections. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is investigating whether the equipment was properly sterilized. Police also want to find out whether medical staff scrubbed their hands or handled the solutions properly. Smoflipid, the solution that was given to the newborns, should be stored at room temperature until it is opened and can only be kept in cold storage at 2 to 8 degrees Celsiu for 24 hours after opening. After having an eventful first day in India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started his second day with visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke protocol and received his friend Netanyahu at the airport following which they made their way to Teen Murti Chowk, which was officially renamed Teen Murti Haifa Chowk. The day ended with a private dinner between the two world leaders. Heres what Netanyahu was up to on his second day. PLEASE SEE: Hugs and handshakes from Modi as Netanyahu begins India visit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his wife Sara, were granted a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan ahead of his delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photograph: MEA/Flickr Prime Minister Netanyahu said that this is a dawn of a new era in friendship between India and Israel. "It began with PM Modi's historic visit to Israel that created tremendous enthusiasm, it continues with my visit here which I must say is deeply moving for me, my wife and the people of Israel. Heralds a flourishing partnership to bring prosperity, peace and progress for our people," he added. Photograph: MEA/Flickr Netanyahu calls on President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Photograph: Rashtrapati Bhavan Following the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Netanyahus made their way to Rajghat and paid a floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Photograph: MEA/Flickr Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dubbed the India-Israel relationship as a marriage made in heaven, saying that even though the Jewish state was disappointed by Indias vote at the United Nations against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. Photograph: MEA/Flickr The Netanyahus being presented a bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. Photograph: MEA/Flickr The two prime ministers, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest. Photograph: MEA/Flickr The two leaders inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cyber security. Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, Modi said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. While the visiting Israeli prime minister called Modi a "revolutionary leader" and used an endearment like "my friend Narendra", Modi responded with great warmth, welcoming the guest in Hebrew. Netanyahu said he was willing to participate in a "yoga class" with his "friend Narendra". Photograph: MEA/Flickr The bonhomie between two 'good friends' was on full display on Monday when the leaders hugged and shook hands a number of times during their joint press event. Here both the leaders attend India Israel Business Summit in New Delhi. Modi, at the summit, promised more economic reforms to further improve the ease of doing business in India as he invited Israeli companies to invest here. Photograph: PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore Rahul Gandhi arrived in Congress bastion, Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh on a two-day visit, his first after taking over as party chief, and attacked the Modi government for "lying" and not honouring promises made to people. Bharatiya Janata Party supporters staged protests against the Congress leader, who began his visit to Rae Bareli and Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituencies represented by his mother and himself, after offering prayers at a Hanuman temple. After offering prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on Lucknow-Rae Bareli road, he proceeded towards Amethi, and addressed a public meeting on way at Salon, where some Congress supporters clashed with protesters, who the party claimed, were sponsored by the BJP. "People belonging to the BJP are continuously telling lies, one after the other. Whether it is a lie about Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of every citizen or giving remunerative prices to farmers for their produce or construction of roads," he told the meeting. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked of giving employment to two crore youth. Is there even a single young person here who has got employment? We are in competition with China. I would like to tell you, the government of China gives employment to 50,000 youngsters every 24 hours...I had raised this point in the Lok Sabha," Gandhi, fresh from his party's remarkable show in the Gujarat poll, said. He asked Congress workers to "expose the lies" being spread by the BJP. Gandhi, who flagged demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax during his aggressive Gujarat campaign, once again attacked the government on these. He also accused the government of working only for a handful of industrialists. He claimed there were 30 lakh unemployed youth in Gujarat demanding employment, but the prime minister was silent. "I had said that wherever we go, we find made in China mark on mobile phones, shirts, shoes and other accessories. You had promised Make in India... This is a matter of shame...the work done by the Chinese government in two days, the same work takes a year for Narendra Modi government to do ...This is the truth," he said. The Congress president raked up the issue of cancellation of the food park project in Amethi, and said it would be built once the Congress returned to power. "I want to say one thing. Come what may, food park will be set up here (in Amethi), and I will prove this... Listen to me, as soon as our government is formed, whether it is the sugarcane farmer, potato farmer or a farmer who grows other crops, your produce will be sold here, and you will get a handsome price," he said. As the Congress president's convoy was leaving for the next the venue, Parshderpur, some alleged BJP workers raised slogans against him. There were heated exchanges between Congress workers and protesters. A Congress MLC from Rae Bareli -- Deepak Singh -- and Additional SP Shekhar Singh were seen talking to each other angrily. The protesters were later chased away from the scene. In Amethi also, Rahul Gandhi had to face angry protesters at Rajiv Gandhi Chowk because of which he could not garland the statue of his father. Supporters of the BJP and the Congress fought a pitched battle, giving the local police and Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel a trying time containing them. There were no immediate reports of injury to anyone. A local BJP leader and trader Rajesh 'Masala' said it was the protesters' way to "welcome" their "missing" MP. The Congress leader's visit to the Hanuman temple was much talked about. Gandhi spent some 10 minutes at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old leader, attired in white kurta-pyjama, came out sporting a bright vermilion 'tilak' on his forehead. His frequent visits to Hindu shrines are being seen as an attempt to blunt the BJP's charge of Muslim appeasement against the Congress. The BJP had also accused Gandhi, a self-proclaimed 'Shiv Bhakt', of going temple-hopping in Gujarat for votes, and his visit to Hanuman temple on Monday could effectively quell such perception. Rahul had visited around 20 temples across Gujarat during the assembly poll campaign and it seemed to have worked well for the party. "We expect that his temple visits in Uttar Pradesh too will pay dividends in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019 and the assembly polls in 2022," Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said. As Gandhi embarked on his first visit to the Congress strongholds of Rae Bareli and Amethi after assuming the reins of the party, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath advised him to shun "negative politics" and focus on development. "The Congress president should give up doing negative politics," Adityanath told reporters in Gorakhpur. Asked as to how he viewed his first visit to the state after donning the mantle of the Congress president, the chief minister said, "My advise to Rahul is that he should focus more on politics of development." Adityanath said had the Congress laid more emphasis on development, Amethi would not have languished. "See the plight of his Lok Sabha constituency -- Amethi -- nursed by four generations of Nehru-Gandhi family," Adityanath told porters on the sidelines of an event at Gorakhnath temple, of which he is the head priest. Sarakkalvilai in Kanyakumari basks in the glory of its most famous son. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar reports. IMAGE: Sweets being distributed at the government-run elementary school in Sarakkalvilai village to celebrate alumnus Dr K Sivan's appointment as chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation. Photograph: PTI Photo A humble son of a farmer who studied in local government run schools, in Tamil medium, is the new head of India's premier space agency. Dr K Sivan was born in Sarakkalvilai in Kanyakumari district in 1957. His father was a farmer, and Dr Sivan is the first graduate in the family. By all accounts, his is an unusual story. A young Sivan studied in government schools in his native village till the 5th standard, and completed his schooling in neighbouring Valankumaravilai, all in Tamil medium. Later, he graduated from the S T Hindu College in Nagercoil. He then graduated from the Madras Institute of Technology in aeronautical engineering in 1980 and completed his master's in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in 1982. That year he joined ISRO on its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle project, towards which he contributed in mission planning, design, integration and analysis. He has held various responsibilities during his stint in ISRO, finally going on to head India's space agency. At ISRO, he completed his PhD in aerospace engineering from IIT-Bombay, in 2006. Dr Sivan, who takes over from Dr A S Kiran Kumar on Monday, January 15, for a three-year term, is only the second rocket scientist after G Madhavan Nair to head ISRO. IMAGE: Dr Sivan's family home in Sarakkalvilai village. He comes here regularly to attend family functions and for the Bhadrakali Amman puja. Photograph: A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com Sarakkalvilai falls on the outskirts of Nagercoil, which is the headquarters of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. All of a sudden this small village has become the centre of attraction for people near and far, thanks to its famous son. "Take the next right and it is at the end of the road," says a villager, and as you reach the house you realise it is as unpretentious as the man who grew up there. Dr Sivan's sister-in-law Saraswathi lives in the family house with her daughter. "My eldest daughter got married five months ago and Sivan had come for the function," she says, her eyes glowing with happiness. Since the announcement about his appointment, people have been coming in droves to congratulate her, and her face beams with pride. "I was married 30 years ago into this family and at that time he was already working for ISRO in Thiruvananthapuram. He used to live in a lodge then. He comes home for festivals and family functions," says Saraswathi. The conversation is interrupted when former Tamil Nadu Congress president Kumari Ananthan lands up with a dozen supporters to congratulate her. One of the men who comes along with Ananthan hands her a book with the message, "Please give it to him when he comes next." Another hands her a monthly magazine. IMAGE: Dr Sivan's sister-in-law, Saraswathi, lives in the family house. Photograph: A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com "He comes here every year for the Badrakali Amman puja which takes place in April-May," adds his sister-in-law. "He comes with his family, offers prayers and leaves the same day. He always comes for all family functions. When he is with the family he is always smiling and joking. He never calls, but his wife calls regularly and keeps in touch with us," Sarawathi says. "He was a class topper from school to college," says Dr Sivan's uncle who lives in the house opposite. "He was a brilliant student and never went for tuitions or private classes. His father used to pluck mangoes and young Sivan used to go to the market to sell it. He was a helpful child," the uncle adds. The school Dr Sivan studied at is also opposite the family house. The retired PT master there recalls him clearly. "He was five years my junior in school, I remember him as a very quiet boy." IMAGE: The elementary school at Sarakkalvilai village opposite Dr Sivan's family home. Photograph: A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com "I too was five years his junior," another villager pipes in. "You know the final exams used to come during harvest time. His father used to be in the field while Sivan sat on the lower branch of a tree with his books, studying, keeping one eye on the harvest, and run if his father called. He was always studying." "When Sivan and I were in school we had a very good headmaster," the villager adds. "That headmaster planted many trees in the school compound and made every class in charge of a few trees. In the morning, when we came to school, the first thing we did was to water the trees and only after that did we attend school." "Kanyakumari is basically an agricultural district," an elderly villager points out. "Apart from coir, there was no industry here. We all survived on farming. It's rich fertile soil and there is plenty of water. Paddy, bananas, coconuts, mangoes, rubber is grown here." "Sivan was exceptional," the elderly gent adds, "while he helped his father in the field he continued studying every free moment." "As there was only a primary school here we went to nearby Valankumaravilai for our SSC (Class 10). Those days there was no 12th standard. As there was no bus facility we walked." A colleague from ISRO, who retired a decade ago and did not want to be named for this feature, recalls, "He (Sivan) would go home only to sleep. He is extremely hard-working and totally focused on his work. He was not only the first graduate from his family, he was also the first graduate from his village." IMAGE: Dr K Sivan. Photograph: PTI Photo "He is a disciplined taskmaster," says D Karthikesan, former director of the ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahindragiri, Tamil Nadu. "He likes to keep everything on schedule and works with a deadline," adds Karthikesan. "If he thinks there is a problem somewhere he will go and talk to the people actually working on the project, and never limit himself to seniors in the organisation." "Though he is a hard taskmaster," the former ISRO scientist points out, "he is also extremely generous and always looks after the welfare of the people working under him. So people work hard for him." "He is a bold decision-maker," says Karthikesan. "Where others may hesitate wondering if it would work or not, he will say it will work and will do it." "Though he followed the schedule strictly," adds Karthikesan, "he also made sure that all parameters are met at every stage. Whether it is quality or safety, he made sure every parameter was up to the mark before proceeding, and yet kept a tight schedule." Dr Sivan has two sons. The elder one has finished his BTech, the younger son is in college. The school Dr Sivan studied in was built over 60 years ago. "We need to pull it down and build another," says a villager. A government-run school, the land was given free by Dr Sivan's uncle. The village still does not have a bus service, a fact the villagers highlighted to Kumari Ananthan, the Congress politician. Nor does it have a middle, high or higher secondary school. K Sivan's ascent bears an uncanny resemblance to another ISRO scientist who was born in a fishing village in Ramanathapuram, also in Tamil Nadu. That scientist, of course, went on to become the most beloved President this Republic has had. Trade between China and North Korea dropped by more than half last month compared to the same period of 2016. The White House on Friday praised the development, which it said "supports the United States-led global effort to apply maximum pressure until the North Korean regime ends its illicit programs, changes its behavior, and moves toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." According to Chinese customs, trade volume with North Korea fell 51 percent in December. China's exports to North Korea dropped 23 percent on-year to US$54.3 million, while its imports from North Korea plummeted a whopping 81.6 percent to $260 million. That was the lowest figure since January 2014 and appears to reflect the impact of sanctions. Total trade volume last year between the two countries shrank 10.5 percent to US$5 billion. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Bui Hieu Vo (Hieu Bui) Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Bui Hieu Vo (Hieu Bui), 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9427a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freelance | Imprisoned in Vietnam | March 17, 2017 Job: Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Vo, known as "Hieu Bui" on his Facebook page, was arrested on March 17, 2017, in the Go Vap district of Ho Chi Minh City, the commercial capital, reports said. The statement claimed Vo had "fabricated [and] distorted... information" against the government, including incitement to violence against leaders of the ruling Communist Party, the state, and police. Many dissident bloggers in Vietnam, where all traditional media is owned by the state, use Facebook as a platform to circumvent state censorship. The government statement also claimed Vo was affiliated with the pro-democracy Viet Tan, an outlawed political party the government considers a terrorist group. He was charged with "propagandizing against the state," an anti-state offense outlined under Article 88 of the penal code punishable by up to 20 years in prison, according to Civil Rights Defenders, a human rights group. As of late 2017, CPJ was not able to determine where Vo was being held. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Braulio Jatar Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Braulio Jatar, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9429a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Reporte Confidencial | Imprisoned in Venezuela | September 03, 2016 Job: Editor, Internet Reporter, Publisher/Owner Medium: Internet, Radio Beats Covered: Business, Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Foreign Freelance: No Charge: Retaliatory Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: Yes Officers of Venezuela's national intelligence agency, Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional (SEBIN), detained Jatar, who manages the website Reporte Confidencial, a day after he reported on an anti-government protest, according to news reports and to his wife, with whom CPJ spoke. Jatar, who is also a prominent opposition supporter, was detained as he went to a local radio station in Porlamar, the largest city on the Venezuelan Caribbean island of Isla Margarita, on September 3, 2016, his sister told Reuters. According to news reports, authorities claimed he was in possession of US$25,000 in cash, which they claimed was to be used to fund a planned terror attack during the September 13, 2016, summit of the Non-Aligned Movement on the island. The arrest came a day after Jatar published text and video account on his news website and on social media of residents of the Porlamar neighborhood of Villa Rossa welcoming Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro with jeers and by banging pots and pans. Maduro abruptly cancelled plans for a televised event inaugurating renovated apartment buildings in the neighborhood, according to news reports, and the incident made international news headlines. Pedro Arevalo, a lawyer for the Venezuelan legal rights group Foro Penal, claimed that authorities planted the money on Jatar, and that the journalist was detained in reprisal for publishing the protest video on his website. "All he did was to publish some videos," Arevalo told the Caracas daily El Nacional. Silvia Martinez Jatar, the journalist's wife, told CPJ that her husband was first taken to the SEBIN judicial police station on Isla Margarita. She said he was worried because he has chronic high blood pressure and he feared the government planned to jail him on false charges. Jatar had his first court hearing on September 5, 2016, where he was told he faces charges of money laundering, his wife told CPJ. If convicted, Jatar could face up to 15 years in prison. "There was no crime, and they did not present any evidence," Jatar's defense attorney, Diomedes Potentini, told reporters. On September 10, 2016, Jatar was transferred to the July 26 Prison in San Juan de los Morros, in Guarico State. Prison authorities prevented Jatar from calling family as part of a 30-day "adaptation" period, his wife told CPJ. During that period, he suffered from anxiety attacks and high blood pressure, and spent six days in the prison clinic. He first saw his lawyer, Diomedes Potentini, on September 20, 2016, 17 days after he was detained. On September 26, 2016, Jatar was moved to a prison in Cumana, a city near Margarita Island, where his period of "adaptation" started again, meaning he was prevented from contacting his family and was denied access to mobile phones and the internet. At the time, Jatar's wife said she pled with prison authorities to let him have access to a cardiologist of his choosing to monitor his blood pressure and heart problems. In December 2016, the journalist's family and his lawyers announced that Jatar has skin cancer. His sister told the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, which tracks press freedom, that authorities kept Jatar in solitary confinement and denied him access to sunlight. The journalist regularly withstood temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, she said. In April 2017, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which was investigating Jatar's case, concluded that the detention was arbitrary and instructed the Venezuelan government to release him. On May 24, 2017, authorities placed the journalist under house arrest because of health problems, according to news reports and a statement that that his family released on Twitter. Under the terms of the house arrest, Jatar is under 24-hour surveillance by security forces, is barred from making public statements about his case, and can leave the house only for medical reasons and with a judge's authorization, according to news reports. As of late 2017, no trial date had been set. Jatar, 59, is also a lawyer and a political activist. In the 1990s he worked as a legal adviser to the Venezuelan Congress. He faced charges of extortion in 1991 and fled to Miami, according to news reports, but was later >exonerated In 2007 Jatar founded the news website Reporte Confidencial on Isla Margarita, where he lives. He also worked closely with the opposition mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma. Jatar is a dual Venezuelan-Chilean citizen. The Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz said his government was "very concerned" about the case, according to news reports. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Bobomurod Abdullaev Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Bobomurod Abdullaev, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c942ba.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Fergana, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | Imprisoned in Uzbekistan | September 27, 2017 Job: Broadcast Reporter, Internet Reporter Medium: Internet, Radio Beats Covered: Corruption, Culture, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Bobomurod Abdullaev, a freelance journalist who contributed to the independent regional news website Fergana and other media outlets, went missing on September 27, 2017, and secretly appeared before a judge on October 1, 2017 in a criminal court in Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, according to Fergana. Authorities charged Abdullaev with "attacking the constitutional order" of Uzbekistan for writing critical articles on various platforms, including social media, under the pseudonym Usman Khaknazarov, according to an article from October 5, 2017 by the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Uzbek service, which is known locally as Ozodlik. In late 2017 he was in custody of Uzbekistan's national security service (SNB), according to Fergana, which said he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Abdullaev had for years worked as a freelancer for Ozodlik, the London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting, as well as Fergana. He also founded an independent news website, Ozod Ovoz (Free Voice), which Uzbek authorities shut down following the May 2005 crackdown on antigovernment protesters in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan. Abdullaev was one of the few independent journalists who did not flee Uzbekistan following the May 2005 Andijan events, and he continued to openly criticize the Uzbek government in YouTube videos, his interviews with Ozodlik, and other media outlets. On September 29, 2017, his wife, Katya Balkhiboyeva, told media that her husband at noon on September 27 left their house in Tashkent to take his car to a local repair shop and never returned. Balkhiboyeva filed a missing person report with local police on September 29. A few hours after she filed the report, police raided the journalist's apartment, Abdullaev's wife told the BBC Uzbek service. During the BBC interview, which took place as police were raiding the apartment, Balkhiboyeva said police refused to inform her about her husband's whereabouts or any charges against him. Nadezhda Atayeva, who heads the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia from exile in France, wrote on her Facebook page that Abdullaev complained about being followed before his September 27 disappearance. Abdullayev's mother, Gavkharjon, told CPJ on October 30, 2017, that her son had been held incommunicado since his detention. She said that neither the journalist's family nor his state-appointed attorney were able to get a permission from the authorities to see him. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ben Byarabaha Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ben Byarabaha, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c942d4.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Red Pepper | Imprisoned in Uganda | November 21, 2017 Job: Editor, Print Reporter Medium: Print Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state, Defamation Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Ugandan police arrested Ben Byarabaha, managing editor of the privately owned Red Pepper newspaper, on November 21, 2017 alongside seven of his colleagues. Three editors including Byarabaha, and five co-owners of Pepper Publications, the newspaper's parent company, were on November 27 charged with three counts of libel, three counts of offensive communication and one count of publishing information that is prejudicial to security, according to a charge sheet seen by CPJ and media reports. Prosecutors said the charges relate to an article published on November 20 in Red Pepper stating that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was planning to overthrow Rwandan President Paul Kagame. According to Reuters, the article cited unnamed sources. Uganda's foreign ministry accused the newspaper of reproducing a "malicious" article that had originally been published by a Rwandan outlet. According to Reuters, newspapers in Uganda have recently reported on tensions between Uganda and Rwanda. Prosecutors claimed that the story discussed military operations and strategies in a manner "likely to disrupt public order and security" in violation of section 37 of the penal code. This offense carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. Prosecutors also said that Red Pepper intended to defame Museveni, his brother, defense adviser General Salim Saleh, and Security Minister Lieutenant Henry Tumukunde. Under Ugandan law this charge carries a prison sentence of up to two years. In the charge of offensive communication, prosecutors contend that the eight Red Pepper employees repeatedly used computers to disturb the "peace, quiet and right to privacy" of Museveni, Saleh and Tumukunde. This offense carries a sentence of up to two years and/or a fine of up to 480,000 Ugandan shillings (US$132). Authorities charged Byarabaha alongside Red Pepper editor Richard Kintu and Bwino editor Francis Tumusiime as well as directors of Pepper Publications Richard Tusiime, Patrick Mugumya, James Mujuni, Johnson Musinguzi Byarabaha and Arinaitwe Rugyendo. Their arrests came after police raided the Red Pepper offices in Kampala on November 21, Pepper Publications lawyer Dickens Byamukama told CPJ. Following the arrests, the group was held at Nalufenya Detention Center in Jinja, a town in eastern Uganda, for six days without charge. At the arraignment on November 27, the accused denied the charges and applied to be released on bail, according to the Kampala-based press rights organization Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-U). Byamukama told CPJ that the court adjourned the decision on the bail application until December 5 to allow the prosecutor time to scrutinize documents of sureties submitted to the court. The accused were remanded to Luzira prison in Kampala to await the new court date. During their raid of Red Pepper's Kampala office, authorities confiscated phones, laptops, and all hard drives of the company's computers, according to Byamukama. HRNJ-U reported that the newspaper premises were under "siege" by the police for days. Byamukama told CPJ that Red Pepper ceased printing and as of November 30, 2017, had not resumed publication. Red Pepper has previously drawn the ire of Ugandan authorities. In June, police interrogated editor Ben Byarabaha on allegations of offensive communications, and in October police questioned editors from the paper on similar charges. In January 2016, Byarabaha was held by authorities for 24 hours after he refused to reveal the source of a photograph published in the newspaper, according to CPJ research. In 2013, Red Pepper was one of four media outlets temporarily shut down following the publication of a story on an alleged plot for Museveni's son to succeed him. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Bayram Kaya Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Bayram Kaya, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c942f4.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Yeni Hayat | Imprisoned in Turkey | July 26, 2016 Job: Internet Reporter, Print reporter Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Corruption, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Police in Istanbul detained Bayram Kaya, a former reporter for the daily newspaper Zaman and later Yeni Hayat, on July 26, 2016, as part of a sweeping purge of journalists and others suspected of following exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, according to press reports . The government accuses of Gulen maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" (or FETO/PDY, as the government calls it) within Turkey that it blames for orchestrating a failed military coup on July 15, 2016. Istanbul's Fifth Court of Penal Peace on June 30, 2016, arraigned Kaya and 16 other journalists, ordering them jailed pending trial on charges of "being members of an armed terrorist organization," according to the media monitoring group P24. The daily newspaper Hurriyet reported that the 17 journalists were questioned by prosecutors on accusations of "being members of an armed terrorist organization," "founding or leading an armed terrorist organization," "knowingly and willingly helping [a terrorist] organization without being involved in the organization's hierarchical structure," and "committing crimes in the name of a [terrorist] organization without being a member." A court in March 2016 ordered Zaman's parent company, the Feza Media Group, put under trustees selected by the government, saying the company and the newspaper had ties to the Gulenist network. After the government-appointed trustees took control of Zaman and the newspaper's editorial line changed accordingly, a group of Zaman journalists founded the newspaper Yeni Hayat. That newspaper stopped publishing after the failed July 2016 coup attempt. CPJ research shows that authorities have targeted dozens of former Zaman journalists with arrest and prosecution on terrorism charges since the failed July 2016 coup. In the original indictment, all but one of 17 c-accused in Kaya's case were charged with "being a member of an armed [terrorist] organization," which carries up to 10 years in prison, according to reports. The indictment accused the defendants of manipulating public perception of FETO to turn people against the government, which, prosecutors argued, made them members of the group. CPJ found the indictment to be similar to those presented at trials of other journalists in Turkey. Prosecutors cited as evidence journalistic activity or acts of free speech and communication, or cited circumstantial evidence such as being employed by a certain media outlet or having an account at a bank allegedly linked to Gulenists. In Kaya's case, prosecutors cited as evidence the journalist's three books on journalism and his social media activity as evidence of his alleged membership in the group. One of the books, Babam Sagolsun Bakanlar ve Ogullar (Thank You Father The Ministers and Their Sons), is about alleged government corruption; one book claims that the government secretly profiles citizens; and the third is on the 2007 assassination of journalist Hrant Dink. When the trial started in March 2017, an Istanbul court ordered Kaya and several of the other journalists to be released while the case was heard, according to news reports. Prosecutors successfully appealed the decision, and authorities ordered an investigation into the judges who had ordered the release and they were relieved of duty, according to the reports. Kaya was being detained in Silivri Prison, Istanbul. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Baba Alpha Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Baba Alpha, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c94314.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Bonferey news agency | Imprisoned in Niger | March 30, 2017 Job: Broadcast Reporter Medium: Internet, Television Beats Covered: Business, Corruption, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, Sports, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Retaliatory Length of Sentence: 1 year to <5 years Reported Health Problems: No Police arrested Baba Alpha, a journalist with the privately owned radio and television news agency Bonferey, on March 30, 2017, and charged him on April 3, 2017, with the use of false documents asserting his Nigerien nationality, according to Bonferey's editor-in-chief, Abdourahamane Younoussa, and media reports. A Niger court sentenced both Alpha and his father Mahamane Alpha, 70, to two years in prison, and prohibited both from public employment and accessing other benefits of a Nigerien citizenship for 10 years, according to Younoussa and media reports. According to reports from Radio France Internationale (RFI) and Voice of America, the journalist was also instructed to pay 300,000 Central African Francs (US$540). Alpha was being held in Naimy central prison, Younoussa and Ali Soumana, journalist with Le Courier newspaper and friend of Alpha, told CPJ. Younoussa said Bonferey reported on the realities in Niger, and, as one of the agency's reporters, "Baba was considered a straightforward journalist who did not fear the government and was not afraid to speak about sensitive subjects." Amadou Boubacar Mossi, Alpha's lawyer, multiple Nigerien journalists, and rights organizations maintain Alpha's arrest was in retaliation for his journalism. "[Alpha] is nevertheless a journalist that everyone knows who, with his pen, never caressed the power in the direction of their hair," Mossi said in French on April 4, 2017, according to RFI. "It looks as if they planned it, as if he was targeted," Younoussa told CPJ, echoing Soumana's belief that Alpha was jailed for his public and unfiltered reporting on the Nigerien government. "We don't credit the official reasons for his arrest with any degree of confidence," Muheeb Saeed, a program officer with Media Freedom for West Africa, a Ghana-based press freedom organization, told CPJ. According to Soumana, Niger authorities have claimed that Alpha used his father's allegedly false documents, obtained from a family friend Omar Sidi, to acquire Nigerien citizenship. Sidi, who was arrested with Alpha and his father, has subsequently been released, according to media reports and Soumana. The journalist has filed an appeal but a court date had not been fixed as of late 2017, according to his brother, Mohamed Alpha. CPJ's repeated calls to the director of the judicial police, known as Rabiou, went unanswered. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. South Africa is the latest country to call in an American diplomat to explain U.S. President Donald Trump's reported vulgar remarks about African and Haitian immigrants to the U.S. Trump stunned lawmakers in a recent White House meeting on immigration when, according to multiple reports, he asked, "Why are we having all these people from s---hole countries come here?" Trump reportedly said the U.S. should allow in more people from places such as Norway. Norway's population is predominantly white. The populations of the African countries and Haiti are mostly black. Statements from international and domestic organizations are expressing concern that the U.S. and its president are going down a racist path. Trump has denied he is a racist and insists he didn't make the reported vulgar remarks. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aziz Orujov Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aziz Orujov, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9432a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Kanal 13 | Imprisoned in Azerbaijan | May 02, 2017 Job: Internet Reporter, Producer, Publisher/Owner Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Retaliatory Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: Yes Aziz Orujov, who has managed the Baku-based online television channel Kanal 13 since 2008, was arrested on his way to work on May 2, 2017, according to media reports. The same day, a district court in Baku found him guilty of committing an administrative offense, disobedience to a lawful order by police officer, and sentenced him to 30 days in jail, media reported. Two hours before his expected release on June 1, 2017, Azerbaijani authorities took Orujov to the general prosecutor's serious crimes department, and charged the journalist with conducting illegal entrepreneurial activity and abuse of official power, according to regional news website Kavkazsky Uzel. The judge ordered the journalist to remain in pretrial detention for four months. The trial started on September 26, 2017, and was ongoing late in the year. If found guilty, Orujoy could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison, according to Kavkazsky Uzel. Orujov has denied all charges. On June 4, law enforcement officials searched Orujov's apartment and Kanal 13 office, and confiscated computers, disc drives, and documents, Kavkazsky Uzel reported. In the report, Orujov's wife, Lamiya Orujova, was quoted as saying that after the equipment seizure, the bureau was unable to continue its work. Kanal 13 produced programs on social and economic issues, frequently featuring independent experts and opposition politicians. Orujova told Kavkazsky Uzel she was concerned about her husband's health because he suffers from chronic illnesses. She did not specify the ailments. Orujov was being held in a Baku pretrial detention center. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Azimjon Askarov Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Azimjon Askarov, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c943411.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freelance | Imprisoned in Kyrgyzstan | June 15, 2010 Job: Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Human rights Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Retaliatory Length of Sentence: Life Reported Health Problems: Yes Seven years after sentencing Azimjon Askarov to life in prison, Kyrgyzstan continues to resist international calls for his immediate release. After the U.N. Human Rights Committee called on Kyrgyzstan to release Askarov because of his unjust detention, Kyrgyzstan's Supreme Court in July 2016 ordered a retrial, but it ended in early 2017 with his sentence upheld. Askarov, a contributor to independent news websites, including Voice of Freedom and director of the local human rights group Vozdukh (Air), was convicted in September 2010 on charges that included incitement to ethnic hatred and complicity in the murder of a police officer. The charges were filed amid ethnic violence that swept southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010. Askarov, an ethnic Uzbek, was documenting human rights violations in his hometown of Bazar-Korgon during the unrest. A June 2012 CPJ special report based on interviews with Askarov, his lawyers, and defense witnesses, as well as a review of court documents, found that authorities had retaliated against Askarov for his reporting on corrupt and abusive practices among regional police and prosecutors. Askarov told CPJ that authorities had long threatened to retaliate against him. Askarov had exposed fabricated criminal cases, arbitrary detentions, and the rape and abusive treatment of detainees in his native Jalal-Abad region. Authorities accused Askarov of inciting a crowd to kill a Kyrgyz police officer, a case built on the testimony of other officers who claimed the journalist had made provocative remarks. No witness testified to having observed the murder or having seen Askarov participate in any act of violence. During the trial, Askarov and his lawyer were assaulted, and people who could have provided exculpatory testimony, including his wife and neighbors, were ignored by authorities or too frightened to testify, according to news reports. CPJ found other procedural violations in his case. Authorities accused Askarov of urging another crowd to take a mayor hostage and claimed to have found 10 bullets when they searched Askarov's home. The journalist denies that any hostage was taken. The defense disputed the legitimacy of the evidence, noting that investigators had failed to produce witnesses to the search, a step required under Kyrgyz law. A physician hired by the defense team examined Askarov in jail in December 2011 and concluded that he suffered severe and lasting effects from brutality. Askarov told CPJ that he was beaten with a gun, a baton, and a plastic bottle filled with water, once so badly that he lost consciousness. Askarov's imprisonment has been challenged by the Kyrgyz government's human rights ombudsman and members of the U.N. In December 2012, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev publicly pledged to review the case if new evidence emerged, but prosecutors failed to pursue leads provided by Askarov's lawyers and CPJ. In November 2012, CPJ honored Askarov in absentia with its International Press Freedom Award. In July 2015, Kyrgyz authorities publicly lashed out at the U.S. Department of State's decision to give its Human Rights Defenders' Award to Askarov, and terminated a 1993 cooperation agreement with the U.S. In September 2015, Kyrgyz authorities barred Karim Lahidji, head of the International Federation for Human Rights, and other members of the Paris-based organization from visiting Askarov in jail, news reports said. CPJ submitted a report on Kyrgyzstan's press freedom record, which included Askarov's case, to the U.N. Human Rights Committee in March 2014. In a July 2014 meeting in Washington, CPJ asked Kyrgyz Prosecutor-General Aida Salyanova to reopen Askarov's case based on the statements made by defense witnesses. Salyanova told CPJ that prosecutors had declared the statements unfounded and that no corruption had been found in Askarov's case. In September 2014, a judge denied attempts by Askarov's lawyer to have the case reopened, regional press said. The U.N. Human Rights Committee found in April 2016 that Askarov had been unjustly arrested, convicted, and imprisoned, and that Askarov had been held in inhumane conditions. The committee, which considered a complaint brought by Askarov against Kyrgyzstan, called for his conviction to be quashed. Subsequently, the journalist was retried from October 4, 2016 to late January 2017 in the Chui regional criminal court. During the process, the judges denied Askarov's request to be released for the duration of the trial to receive medical treatment, CPJ reported at the time. On January 24, 2017, the court upheld a life sentence for Askarov. The journalist was being held at a prison colony outside Bishkek, his son Sherzod Askarov told CPJ on September 12, 2017. He said Azimjon Askarov finished writing a book about his ordeal while in prison. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ayhan Demir Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ayhan Demir, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9436a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Caldran Haber Ajans | Imprisoned in Turkey | March 20, 2017 Job: Publisher/Owner Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Business, Corruption, Crime, Culture, Human Rights, Politics, Sports, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No A court in Turkey's eastern province of Van on March 24, 2017, ordered Ayhan Demir, owner of the local news website Caldran Haber Ajans, jailed pending trial on terrorism charges, the news website Dihaber reported. Police arrested Demir on March 20 from his home in the Caldran district of Van. According to the indictment, prosecutors charged the journalist with "being member of a [terrorist] organization" and "making propaganda of a [terrorist] organization." Demir's website covers local news and politics, with a pro-Kurdish angle. The indictment said a legal investigation into Demir began with testimony by secret witnesses that he was a member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK/KCK). Evidence presented against the journalist included his social media posts; a letter and a note written in Kurdish that police allegedly found in his home, behind a photograph; his presence at a roadblock during a dispute between the security forces and local residents; and secret witness testimony that alleged Demir was a press representative of the PKK/KCK in charge of propaganda and delivering published material to field militia. Demir pleaded not guilty, according to the indictment. He said that the Facebook posts cited were reports from his news website; that the secret witness testimonies were lies; that he was at the roadblock to report on a dispute between the security forces and locals, and that he is not a member of the outlawed organization. Demir's lawyer Cihat Kaya told CPJ in September 2017 that the journalist is in good health and that his main complaint is that the trial had not started yet. The journalist was being held in Van Prison, according to reports. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aysenur Parldak Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aysenur Parldak, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c943840a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Zaman | Imprisoned in Turkey | August 01, 2016 Job: Internet Reporter, Print reporter Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Crime Gender: Female Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: 5 years to <10 years Reported Health Problems: No A court in Ankara on August 11, 2016, ordered Aysenur Parldak, a former court reporter based in the city for the shuttered daily Zaman, jailed pending trial, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA). In December 2016, prosecutors asked a court to indict Parldak on the charge of "being a member of a [terrorist] organization." News reports differed as to the date police detained the journalist. The pro-government news website En Son Haber reported that police detained Parldak on August 6, 2016. The pro-opposition daily Cumhuriyet reported the date as August 3. Parldak's lawyer told CPJ he would email copies of the court documents from the journalist's case, but as of late 2017, CPJ had not received them. An Ankara court on November 22 sentenced Parldak to seven years and six months in prison for "being a member of an armed terrorist organization," the online newspaper Diken reported. "My only crime is having worked at the Zaman newspaper. I wish I hadn't," she said during the hearing. The journalist has appealed the verdict, according to reports. In a letter that Parldak sent to Cumhuriyet from prison, which the newspaper published on October 4, 2016, Parldak said that police questioned her about her employment at Zaman, and about her activity on Twitter. Parldak said she had been unemployed since government-appointed trustees took control of Zaman. She added that police told her that an informant warned them that she planned to escape the country A March 2016 court order placed the Feza Media Group, which owned Zaman and several other media outlets, under the trusteeship of figures appointed by the government on the grounds that it was linked to followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen. The government accuses Gulen of maintaining a terrorist organization and parallel state structure within Turkey that it blames for orchestrating a failed military coup attempt on July 15, 2016. The government used emergency powers it assumed after that coup attempt to order Zaman closed by government decree, and CPJ research shows that police have charged other Zaman journalists with terrorism-related offenses because of their work for the newspaper, which the government considered a mouthpiece for the Gulenist network. In her letter to Cumhuriyet, Parldak alleged that jailors beat and sexually harassed her and other female inmates. "I was questioned for eight days, day and night. [The police] were drunk as they were questioning me, and they were not afraid to say so openly," she wrote. Parldak said she had spent 20 days sharing a cell with other prisoners, before being moved to a smaller cell. "It means solitary confinement," she wrote. "I fear I will be forgotten here." According to an October 6, 2016, En Son Haber report, the Justice Ministry denied the journalist's claims. The ministry told En Son Haber that the journalist was in a cell with two other inmates, and that she had not been beaten or harassed. A court on May 2, 2016 ordered Parldak to be released during the trial but the order was overturned when prosecutors presented more evidence to the court based on the journalist's phone records, according to reports. At a hearing on October 10, 2017, Parldak said that one of the phone lines cited in the evidence was a business phone provided to her by Zaman. The court sent memos to the police, the telecommunications department and the Ankara Prosecutor's Office after the hearing, demanding more data on her mobile phone use and her alleged use of the Bylock app, according to news reports. Authorities claim that members of the Gulen network used the app in an attempt to communicate securely. Parldak denied that she had the Bylock app or that she wrote some of the tweets cited in her case, according to news reports. En Son Haber reported that Parldak was at Ankara Women's Prison. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aung Naing Soe Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aung Naing Soe, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c943ca.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. TRT World | Imprisoned in Myanmar | October 27, 2017 Job: Photographer Medium: Print, Radio, Television Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-State Length of Sentence: <1 year Reported Health Problems: No Aung Naing Soe, a Myanmar freelance journalist, was arrested on October 27 while attempting to fly a drone near Myanmar's parliament building in the capital, Naypyidaw. He was serving as an interpreter while on assignment for TRT World, the English language subsidiary of the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. He was detained along with Mok Choy Lin, a TRT World broadcast reporter, Lau Hon Meng, a TRT World camera operator, and Hla Tin, a local driver. Authorities initially charged the group with violating Section 8 of Myanmar's Import Export Law, which does not specifically refer to drones, and carries a penalty of up to three years in jail, according to news reports. On November 10, the Zabuthiri Township Court in Naypyidaw introduced a new charge under the 1934 Burman Aircraft Act and sentenced each of the group to two months in prison in a one-day trial for filming with a drone without official permission. The journalists pleaded guilty to the lesser charge in hopes of more lenient treatment, their defense lawyer Khin Maung Zaw told reporters. On the day of the group's detention, Myanmar authorities raided the home of Aung Naing Soe, who is also a local news photographer, where they searched documents and confiscated his computer memory sticks, reports said. Aung Naing Soe was being held at a prison in Pyinmana town near the capital Naypyidaw along with driver Hla Tin, according to a Democratic Voice of Burma report. Reports quoting his mother, Daw Thandar, said Aung Naing Soe was not allowed family prison visits. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Asl Ceren Aslan Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Asl Ceren Aslan, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c94405.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Ozgur Gelecek | Imprisoned in Turkey | February 09, 2017 Job: Editor, Internet Reporter, Photographer, Print reporter Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Politics, War Gender: Female Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Police in the southeastern Turkish province of Sanlurfa on February 9, 2017, arrested Asl Ceren Aslan, news editor for the pro-Kurdish biweekly newspaper Ozgur Gelecek, her employer reported. The newspaper said that Aslan was reporting on developments along the Syrian border, particularly in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Rojava. Security forces strip-searched Aslan twice and beat her, according to a report in the journalist's paper, which cited her lawyer. As of December 4, 2017, the Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C. did not respond to CPJ's emailed request for comment on claims that jailed journalists are mistreated. A Sanlurfa court on February 13 ordered Aslan to be held pending trial on charges of attempting to cross the border illegally, "propagandizing for a [terrorist] organization" on social media, and "being a member of a [terrorist] organization." The journalist denied the charges, the report said. Istanbul's 14th Court for Serious Crimes sentenced Aslan to two years and six months in prison on charges of "making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization," according to court records reviewed by CPJ. According to court records, prosecutors alleged that specific articles in her paper spread propaganda for the PKK. Aslan was at Urfa Prison, according to news reports. As of late 2017, Aslan's lawyers had not returned CPJ's calls requesting comment. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aset Matayev Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aset Matayev, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c94427.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. KazTag | Imprisoned in Kazakhstan | March 28, 2016 Job: Editor Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Corruption, Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Retaliatory Length of Sentence: 5 years to <10 years Reported Health Problems: No A Kazakh court on October 3, 2016, sentenced Aset Matayev, the director of independent news agency KazTag, and his father, Seytkazy Matayev, the head of the Kazakh Journalists' Union and chairman of the National Press Club, to five and six years in prison respectively in a joint trial, according to press reports. Kazakh authorities detained the pair in Almaty in February 2016 on charges of tax fraud and embezzlement of state funds. The country's anticorruption bureau initially accused Seytkazy Matayev of embezzling 380 million Kazakh tenge (US$1 million) through the Kazakh Information Committee and state monopoly KazakhTelecom to the National Press Club and KazTag under a contract to promote national policies, local and international media reported. Authorities also accused Seytkazy Matayev of failing to pay 327 million tenge in taxes related to an unnamed, allegedly illegal enterprise. The same charges were brought against Aset Matayev. Aset Matayev was released after his initial arrest in February number of days in detention, but re-arrested in March. Aset Matayev told CPJ in February 2016 that the charges were in retaliation for the pair's journalistic work. "We always reported the truth. [We] depicted the facts about developments in Kazakhstan as they really were. Someone in power did not like it," he said. On the day of the Matayevs' initial arrest, the pair had planned to hold a press conference in Almaty accusing the government of politically motivated harassment. Seytkazy Matayev is a veteran journalist who worked as President Nursultan Nazarbayev's spokesperson in 1991-93. In recent years, he headed the National Press Club in Almaty, where he hosted media events, debates, and press briefings by politicians, opposition members, and activists as well as businessmen and journalists. The club provided a rare platform of discussion in a country where freedom of speech has been under attack. It shared information on its website and on Twitter, and posted videos of its events on YouTube. The site also published investigative pieces, including commentary on the president's agricultural reforms, and a report on a gas station allegedly built illegally in Almaty. Seytkazy Matayev often said that he provides a platform for anybody who has anything interesting to say, and he denied being in opposition to the government. During a hearing on September 27, 2016, Seytkazy Matayev said the reasons behind the prosecution were to "limit our professional activity, oppose the defense of the freedom of expression, and civil activism of journalists in Kazakhstan." In addition to sentencing the Matayevs to prison, the court confiscated property, including the premises of the National Press Club. Seytkazy and Aset Matayev will be barred for life from holding managerial positions, according to media reports. Their attorneys have filed an appeal, which is due to be heard December 5, 2016. The trial was held in the Kazakh capital Astana, where both defendants were transferred following the indictment. In Astana, they were kept under house arrest in a rental apartment during the trial, barred from using the internet or other means of communication, and allowed only visits from close family members, local media reported. Seytkazy Matayev, who spoke to journalists at the airport while being transferred to Astana and at his trial hearings, told reporters that while under house arrest his health had deteriorated, and on at least one occasion guards denied him access to a doctor. He suffers from hypertension and heart palpitations, according to media reports. The first hearing in the trial, on August 23, 2016, was postponed after he was taken to a hospital to be treated for high blood pressure, according to press reports. Daniil Kislov, chief editor of the Moscow-based independent regional news website, Ferghana News, told CPJ in September 2016 that the National Press Club and KazTag agency were "the last platforms for expressing free and independent voices in Kazakhstan." He said that, in his opinion, "The authorities are behind the prosecution. They want to turn KazTag, the country's largest news agency, into a propaganda machine." The European Parliament, in a March 2016 resolution on freedom of expression in Kazakhstan, expressed concern about the pressure on independent media outlets and called on the Kazakh authorities to end the judicial targeting of Seytkazy and Aset Matayev. Tamara Kaleyyeva, who heads a local press freedom group, Adil Soz, told CPJ on September 8, 2017, that both Matayevs were being held in a prison colony near Almaty. She said that Aset Matayev had no health problems. On November 16, 2017, media reported that a court granted Seytkazy Matayev an early release because of his health problems. The decision was to come into force in 15 days. Matayev will be banned from heading any business entities for 10 years after his release. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Arinaitwe Rugyendo Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Arinaitwe Rugyendo, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9444a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Red Pepper | Imprisoned in Uganda | November 21, 2017 Job: Columnist/Commentator, Publisher/Owner Medium: Print Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state, Defamation Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Ugandan police arrested Arinaitwe Rugyendo, a co-owner and director of the media company Pepper Publications, on November 21, 2017, along with seven of his colleagues. Rugyendo also serves as the company's chief marketing officer. Five directors, including Rugyendo, who are also the company's co-owners, and three editors for the company's Red Pepper and Bwino newspapers were on November 27 charged with three counts of libel, three counts of offensive communication, and one count of publishing information that is prejudicial to security, according to a charge sheet seen by CPJ and media reports. Prosecutors said the charges relate to an article published on November 20 in Red Pepper stating that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni was planning to overthrow Rwandan President Paul Kagame. According to Reuters, the article cited unnamed sources. Uganda's foreign ministry accused the newspaper of reproducing a "malicious" article that had originally been published by a Rwandan outlet. According to Reuters, newspapers in Uganda have recently reported on tensions between Uganda and Rwanda. Prosecutors claimed that the story discussed military operations and strategies in a manner "likely to disrupt public order and security" in violation of section 37 of the penal code. This offense carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. Prosecutors also said that Red Pepper intended to defame Museveni, his brother, defense adviser General Salim Saleh, and Security Minister Lieutenant Henry Tumukunde. Under Ugandan law this charge carries a prison sentence of up to two years. In the charge of offensive communication, prosecutors contend that the eight Red Pepper employees repeatedly used computers to disturb the "peace, quiet and right to privacy" of Museveni, Saleh and Tumukunde. This offense carries a sentence of up to two years and/or a fine of up to 480,000 Ugandan shillings (US$132). Authorities charged Rugyendo alongside the other Pepper Publications directors Richard Tusiime, Patrick Mugumya, James Mujuni, and Johnson Musinguzi Byarabaha; as well as Red Pepper editors Ben Byarabaha and Richard Kintu, and Bwino editor Francis Tumusiime. Their arrests came after police raided the Red Pepper offices in Kampala on November 21, Pepper Publications lawyer Dickens Byamukama told CPJ. Following the arrests, the group was held at Nalufenya Detention Center in Jinja, a town in eastern Uganda, for six days without charge. At the arraignment on November 27, the accused denied the charges and applied to be released on bail, according to the Kampala-based press rights organization Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda (HRNJ-U). Byamukama told CPJ that the court adjourned the decision on the bail application until December 5 to allow the prosecutor time to scrutinize documents of sureties submitted to the court. The accused were remanded to Luzira prison in Kampala to await the new court date. During their raid of Red Pepper's Kampala office, authorities confiscated phones, laptops, and all hard drives of the company's computers, according to Byamukama. HRNJ-U reported that the newspaper premises were under "siege" by the police for days. Byamukama told CPJ that Red Pepper ceased printing and as of November 30, 2017, had not resumed publication. Red Pepper has previously drawn the ire of Ugandan authorities. In June, police interrogated editor Ben Byarabaha on allegations of offensive communications, and in October police questioned editors from the paper on similar charges. In January 2016, Byarabaha was held by authorities for 24 hours after he refused to reveal the source of a photograph published in the newspaper, according to CPJ research. In 2013, Red Pepper was one of four media outlets temporarily shut down following the publication of a story on an alleged plot for Museveni's son to succeed him. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Araz Guliyev Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Araz Guliyev, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9446a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Xeber 44 | Imprisoned in Azerbaijan | September 08, 2012 Job: Editor Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Culture, Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state, Ethnic or religious insult, Retaliatory Length of Sentence: 5 years to <10 years Reported Health Problems: Yes Police arrested Guliyev, chief editor of the now-defunct religious news website Xeber 44, on September 8, 2012, while he was reporting on a protest against scantily clad dancers at a festival in the southeastern city of Masally, news reports said. On September 10, Azerbaijani authorities then charged the journalist with hooliganism, according to the regional news site Kavkazsky Uzel. While he was in pretrial detention, authorities expanded Guliyev's charges to include "illegal possession, storage, and transportation of firearms," "participation in activities that disrupt public order," "inciting ethnic and religious hatred," "resisting authority," and "offensive action against the flag and emblem of Azerbaijan," according to media reports. Guliyev's brother, Azer, told the independent regional news website Kavkazsky Uzel that the journalist's imprisonment could be related to his coverage of protests against an official ban on headscarves and veils in public schools. Xeber 44 covered news about religious life in Azerbaijan, and events across the Islamic world. The journalist's lawyer, Fariz Namazli, told Kavkazsky Uzel that investigators said they found a grenade while searching Guliyev's home, but, in fact, the investigators had planted it there. In April 2013, the Lankaran Court on Grave Crimes convicted Guliyev of all charges and sentenced him to eight years in prison. Namazli told the local press freedom organization Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety that the charges against Guliyev were not substantiated in court, and witnesses' testimonies conflicted. The lawyer said authorities beat Guliyev after his arrest, and did not immediately grant the journalist access to a lawyer. News reports said Guliyev filed an appeal, which regional courts then denied. In July 2014, Azerbaijan's Supreme Court upheld the journalist's sentence. In Azerbaijan, defendants cannot appeal a case once the Supreme Court has ruled. Guliyev was initially placed in Prison No. 14, outside Baku, according to Kavkazsky Uzel. In December 2014, inmates started a protest against the alleged torture and subsequent death of a fellow inmate, Elshad Babayev. Guliyev, also a protester, was placed in a solitary confinement and tortured, according to an August 2017 report on political prisoners held in Azerbaijan, which was compiled by a group of lawyers, human rights activists, and non-governmental organizations. The report states that, in March 2015, the reporter was transferred to a Gobustan closed prison to serve the rest of his term. In late 2017, Guliyev's lawyers told CPJ that the journalist had health problems, but they did not specify the ailments. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Anisur Rahman Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Anisur Rahman, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9448a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Daily Sangbad | Imprisoned in Bangladesh | October 31, 2017 Job: Print reporter Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Corruption Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Defamation Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Anisur Rahman, the Raomari Upazila correspondent for the Daily Sangbad newspaper, was arrested on October 31, 2017, under Section 57 of Bangladesh's Information and Communication Technology Act, which covers online defamation. Rahman was arrested for allegedly displaying a fake photo of the president and prime minister of Bangladesh on his cell phone, according to the Daily Star newspaper. Rahman allegedly took a screenshot of a Facebook post displaying the photo and showed it to a group of men at the Kattimari Bazar on September 8, according to the Daily Star, which reported that Shah Kamal Sarkar, a local politician who was among that group of men, filed the complaint against Rahman and the author of the Facebook post. Police have been unable to locate the author of the post, according to the Daily Star. Julfikar Ali Manik, a freelance journalist investigating Rahman's case, told CPJ that Rahman had reported on land grabs implicating some members of the ruling Awami League party, including Sarkar, and that Sarkar was using this case as an opportunity to harass the journalist. Rahman was also party to one of the land disputes on which he reported, Manik said. According to the Daily Star, while he was being taken to court Rahman claimed he had been implicated in the case because some of his reporting had been critical of local members of the Awami League. Rahman was denied bail on November 9 and November 22. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Amanuel Asrat Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Amanuel Asrat, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c944a6.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Zemen | Imprisoned in Eritrea | September 01, 2001 Job: Editor, Print Reporter, Publisher/Owner Medium: Print Beats Covered: Culture Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: No charge Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Amanuel Asrat is one of several journalists arrested after the government summarily banned the privately owned press on September 18, 2001, in response to growing criticism of President Isaias Afewerki. At the time of his arrest, Amanuel was editor-in-chief of Zemen, according to free speech organization PEN Eritrea in Exile. He was an art critic and a renowned poet in Eritrea, credited with establishing clubs for writers in the country. His poetry's subject included the ugly side of conflict. Eritrean authorities have never accounted for the whereabouts, health, or legal status of Amanuel and the others. At least one of the journalists died in secret detention. CPJ has been unable to confirm reports that others also perished in custody. CPJ continues to list those journalists on the prison census as a means of holding the government accountable for their fates. Amanuel's paper was one of several that reported on divisions between reformers and conservatives within the ruling Party for Democracy and Justice and advocated for full implementation of the country's democratic constitution. A dozen top reformist officials, whose pro-democracy statements had been relayed by the independent newspapers, were also arrested. Authorities initially detained the journalists at a police station in the capital, Asmara, where they began a hunger strike on March 31, 2002, and smuggled a message out of jail demanding due process. The government responded by transferring them to secret locations without bringing them before a court or publicly registering charges. Several CPJ sources said the journalists were confined at the Eiraeiro prison camp or at a military prison, Adi Abeito, based in Asmara. Over the years, Eritrean officials have offered vague and inconsistent explanations for the arrests accusing the journalists of involvement in anti-state conspiracies in connection with foreign intelligence, of skirting military service, and of violating press regulations. Officials, at times, even denied that the journalists existed. Meanwhile, shreds of often unverifiable, second- or third-hand information smuggled out of the country by people fleeing into exile have suggested the deaths of as many as five journalists in custody. When asked in a June 2016 interview with Radio France International about the status of journalists and politicians arrested in 2001, Eritrean Foreign Affairs Minister Osman Saleh said "all of them are alive" and they "are in good hands." Asked if they would face trial, Osman said they would, "when the government decides" since members of the group are "political prisoners." A February 2016 decision by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights "strongly urged" Eritrea to release or provide a "speedy and fair trial" to Dawit Isaac and the other journalists that have been detained since 2001. The Commission also asked the government to lift the ban on the press; grant detained journalists access to their families and lawyers; and pay the detainees compensation. In October 2017, CPJ wrote the Eritrean information ministry to ask about the conditions of all imprisoned journalists as well as the implementation of the Commission's decision. Paulos Netabay, director of the state-owed Eritrean News Agency, responded on behalf of the ministry. He said that he was not aware of the Commission's decision and that the body's rulings would not be valid until endorsed by the African Union Summit. A November 2017 statement from Reporters without Border's Swedish Section, which is a petitioner in the case, said that the Eritrean government had yet to respond to letters inquiring into the progress of implementing the Commission's decision. Paulos declined to comment on the specific case of Amanuel. He wrote that the journalists arrested in 2001 had been part of "acts of sedition and treason of some former politicians" and that their cases had been submitted at the time to the National Assembly. Paulos refused to comment on the health or location of specific journalists saying some of these details were "matters that concern the police or prison authorities." He did not answer additional emails from CPJ requesting referral to the appropriate authorities to respond to these questions. CPJ's attempts to reach these authorities independently were unsuccessful. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ali Unal Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ali Unal, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c94544.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Zaman | Imprisoned in Turkey | August 14, 2016 Job: Columnist/Commentator Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Police detained Ali Unal, a former columnist and lead writer for the shuttered daily newspaper Zaman, at his house in the western province of Usak on August 14, 2016, as part of a sweeping purge of suspected followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, according to press reports. The government accuses Gulen of maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" (or FETO/PDY, as the government calls it) within Turkey that it blames for orchestrating a failed military coup on July 15, 2016. Authorities transferred Unal to a detention facility in Istanbul on August 15, 2016, CNN Turk reported, and a court in Istanbul arraigned the journalist the following day on accusations of "being a member of an armed terrorist organization," "aiding a [terrorist] organization," and "making propaganda for a [terrorist] organization," according to press reports, which did not identify the name of the detention center where he was held. A court in March 2016 ordered the government to appoint trustees to manage Feza Media Group, which formerly published Zaman, saying the company had links to FETO/PDY. The government then used emergency powers it assumed after the failed July 2016 coup attempt to order the newspaper closed by decree. Police have arrested dozens of former Zaman journalists on terrorism charges, citing their former employment at the newspaper as evidence. In July 2017, the state-run Anadolu News Agency reported that said prosecutors presented a 228-page indictment against Unal to the 2nd Usak Court of Serious Crimes. The indictment did not specify the exact charges but said that authorities recognized Unal as a leader of FETO. If convicted, the journalist could be sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole plus a further 29 and a half years. Anadolu reported that the indictment described Unal, as head writer for Zaman, and claimed he was "managing the media operations of FETO" to manipulate the public. Anadolu reported that the indictment claimed that Unal was allegedly close to and in direct contact with Gulen; had traveled abroad 46 times and met with Gulen on most trips; and translated some of Gulen's books. It did not specify the timeframe for the alleged travel and meetings. The indictment added that Unal had an app called Kakoa Talk, which is similar to Bylock, the encrypted communication app that authorities claim is evidence of FETO membership. Unal also had an account at Bank Asya, which the government also claims is evidence of FETO membership. In late 2017, CPJ was unable to find contact details for a legal representative for Unal. CPJ could not determine in which prison Unal was held. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ali Mearaj Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ali Mearaj, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9456b.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freelance | Imprisoned in Bahrain | June 05, 2016 Job: Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Life Reported Health Problems: No Bahraini security forces arrested Mearaj on June 5, 2016, at the Manama airport, only two months after he was released from prison where he had been serving a sentence on separate charges also related to his journalism, his brother Mohammed told CPJ. On June 28, 2016, Mearaj's trial began with 17 other defendants, including Al-Wasat journalist Mahmoud al-Jaziri, on the charge of belonging to an Iranian- and Hezbollah-backed terror cell formed by the banned al-Wafaa political party. On October 30, 2017, a Bahraini court convicted Mearaj, sentenced the journalist to life in prison, and revoked his citizenship, according to reports. A journalist who has spoken with the family and who asked to remain anonymous for reasons of security told CPJ that authorities did not provide written copies of the verdicts, which explain the court's decision on sentencing, to Mearaj's lawyer. The journalist added that Mearaj will appeal. Six months before Mearaj was added to the case, the Bahraini Interior Ministry named al-Jaziri, a reporter for the independent daily Al-Wasat, as among those arrested for allegedly plotting terrorist attacks funded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, according to a January 1, 2016, report by the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA). On January 4 of that year al-Jaziri was referred to a special prosecutor for terrorist crimes, who charged him with supporting terrorism, inciting hatred of the regime, contacting a foreign country and giving it information, and seeking to overthrow the regime by joining Al-Wafaa and the February 14 Youth Movement, which has organized protests since the 2011 uprising, according to news reports. During this time, Mearaj was in prison in relation to a different case, and his name was not mentioned in any of the public announcements concerning the terror case. According to his brother Mohammed, Mearaj was not questioned after his new arrest or informed of charges against him before the June 28, 2016 hearing. Before the new charge, Mearaj had just completed a jail term on charges of "insulting the king" and "misusing communication devices" in relation to posts he was accused of writing on the opposition website Lulu Awal, according to news reports. The journalist who has spoken with the family told CPJ that according to the journalist's brother, when the family visited in October 2017, Mearaj's health was ok. As of late 2017, Mearaj was detained in Jaw Prison. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ali Mahmoud Othman Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ali Mahmoud Othman, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c94584.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freelance | Imprisoned in Syria | March 28, 2012 Job: Camera Operator, Photographer Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Human Rights, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: No charge Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Othman, who ran a makeshift media center in the besieged Baba Amr district of Homs, was initially held by a military intelligence unit in Aleppo and then transferred to Damascus, Paul Conroy, a photographer for The Sunday Times, said in an interview with the U.K.'s Channel 4. Conroy, who was injured in the government attack on the Baba Amr media center that killed journalists Marie Colvin and Remi Ochlik, said Othman was instrumental in getting journalists in and out of the embattled district. He said Othman, originally a vegetable vendor, was one of the first Syrians to use video to document the unrest in Homs. Citizen journalists such as Othman filled the information void as the Syrian regime barred international journalists from entering the country to cover the civil war, CPJ research shows. Othman appeared on Syrian state television in May 2012 for what the station described as an interview. The questioning was aimed at asserting a theory of an international media conspiracy against the Syrian regime. International reporters and diplomats, including the U.K.'s then Foreign Secretary William Hague, said they were concerned that Othman has been tortured while in custody, according to news reports. The reports did not specify details of what allegedly happened to him. As of late 2017, the Syrian mission to the United Nations Authorities had not responded to CPJ's email requesting information on Othman's health, whereabouts, or legal status. Thousands of Syrians have disappeared into Syrian custody since the start of the uprising in 2011. According to a 2015 Human Rights Watch report, families are often forced to pay large bribes to learn any information about their relatives, and other families never approach the security branches for fear of being arrested themselves. Of 27 families of deceased prisoners interviewed by Human Rights Watch for the report, only two received formal death certificates. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ali Bulac Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ali Bulac, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c945a3.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Zaman | Imprisoned in Turkey | July 27, 2016 Job: Columnist/Commentator Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Corruption, Crime, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state, False News Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: Yes Ali Bulac, a former columnist for the shuttered daily newspaper Zaman, turned himself in to police on July 27, 2016, when he learned from the press that there was a warrant for his arrest, he told Istanbul's Fourth Court of Penal Peace at his July 30, 2016, arraignment hearing. The court arraigned him and codefendants and fellow former Zaman journalists Sahin Alpay, Ahmet Turan Alkan, and Mustafa Unal on charges of being members of a terrorist organization. They were accused of following exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government accuses of maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" (FETO/PDY, by its Turkish acronym) and masterminding a failed military coup on July 15, 2016. According to records of the arraignment hearing, which CPJ has reviewed, the state alleged that Bulac, Alpay, Alkan, and Unal wrote articles in Zaman praising FETO/PDY and that the newspaper was the group's media organ. The state further alleged that because Bulac and the other Zaman columnists continued writing for the newspaper after its editor-in-chief, Ekrem Dumanl, was charged in absentia of being "a member of an armed terrorist organization," they remained involved even though they knew the group included armed elements, according to court records. According to the court records, the state also alleged that Bulac, Alpay, Alkan, and Unal praised Gulenists on social media, despite what the state described as "strong discourse and public information" that an armed uprising would take place. An Istanbul court in March 2016 ordered the Feza Media Group, which owned Zaman and several other media outlets, placed under trustees appointed by the government. The government used emergency powers arrogated after the failed July 15 military coup to order the newspaper closed by decree on July 27, 2016. The court judged Bulac, Alpay, Alkan, and Unal to be flight risks and ordered them jailed pending trial. Many people have fled in the wake of the government crackdown on suspected Gulenists. The court did not specify the accusations against the individual journalists but judged their cases collectively, court documents show. Bulac is on trial alongside 30 journalists and media workers, and an academic. All are charged with "attempting, through violence and force, to disrupt and replace the order as recognized by Turkey's Constitution," "attempting through violence and force to eliminate or prevent Parliament from carrying out its duties," and "being a member of an armed terrorist organization." Not all of the defendants are in custody. The trial's first hearing began in Istanbul on September 18, 2017, according to local reports. In the indictment, reviewed by CPJ, the prosecution said that the defendants' journalism including opinion pieces or their employment by pro-Gulen outlets such as the daily Zaman and Cihan News Agency is evidence that the journalists were part of the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETO/PDY). The indictment accused the journalists which it referred to as "the media force of the terrorist organization" of producing false news to weaken the government, insult or humiliate the authorities, attempt to disrupt the peace, and to create an environment suitable for a coup. Bulac denies the charges, according to the indictment. If convicted, he faces multiple life sentences without parole. The next court date is scheduled for December 8, 2017, according to press reports. Bulac, who was 66 at the time of his arrest, told the court that he had had heart bypass surgery and suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes, and enlarged thyroid, the court records indicate. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aleksandr Sokolov Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Aleksandr Sokolov, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c945ba.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. RBC | Imprisoned in Russia | July 29, 2015 Job: Internet Reporter, Print Reporter Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Corruption, Politics, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-State Length of Sentence: 1 year to <5 years Reported Health Problems: No A Moscow court on August 10, 2017, sentenced Aleksandr Sokolov to 3.5 years in a prison colony on extremism charges for violating Russia's law against organizing an extremist organization, according to the journalist's employer, the Russian media holding RBC. Russian authorities arrested Sokolov on July 29, 2015, two weeks after he published an investigative report about the alleged embezzlement of government funds during the construction of Vostochny Cosmodrome, a space launch facility in Russia's far east, according to RBC. Sokolov had covered politics and corruption for RBC since 2013, and published an investigative piece in September 2014 about Russians enlisting to fight alongside Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's Donbass. Russian prosecutors said an organization in which Sokolov and his three co-defendants participated, For Responsible Government, was a front for another organization, the Army of People's Will, which the Russian authorities banned as extremist in 2010, according to news reports. Sokolov and the co-defendants denied these charges and appealed the case, according to the Russian news site Vedomosti. RBC also refuted the prosecutors' claims, and said charges were motivated by Sokolov's work as a journalist. In December 2015, the outlet asked President Vladimir Putin during a press conference to help its jailed correspondent. Putin said he had never heard about Sokolov but promised to help. The Kremlin has not publicly taken action in the matter. According to Pavel Nikulin, co-chair of the Russian Journalists Professional Union, Sokolov uploaded several texts to the For Responsible Government organization's website before he joined RBC, because he shared their views of government accountability. Nikulin said Sokolov had not been in touch with the other defendants after joining RBC as its correspondent in the autumn 2013. CPJ did not include Sokolov in its 2015 or 2016 prison census because it was unaware of a link between Sokolov's journalism and his arrest. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Alaa Abdelfattah Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Alaa Abdelfattah, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c945da.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freelance | Imprisoned in Egypt | October 27, 2014 Job: Internet Reporter, Print reporter Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-state, Defamation, Retaliatory Length of Sentence: 5 years to <10 years Reported Health Problems: No Abdelfattah, a prominent blogger and activist who has written about politics and human rights violations for numerous outlets, including the independent al-Shorouk newspaper and the progressive Mada Masr news website, is serving a five-year prison sentence for organizing an illegal protest and assaulting a police officer. Abdelfattah denies the charges. In late 2017, the blogger was standing trial in a separate case on charges of "insulting the judiciary" on the internet and in media appearances, for which he could face a three-year prison sentence, according to news reports and a statement from the blogger's family. The blogger's writing and social media posts were part of the evidence presented by the prosecution, his family and lawyers told CPJ. Co-defendants in this case include former Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi and a number of journalists and politicians. Abdelfattah's current sentence is based on charges that he organized a protest against the trial of civilians in military courts on November 26, 2013, and assaulted a police officer. The following day, an arrest warrant was issued for him and armed agents raided Abdelfattah's Cairo home and took him away for questioning, his family said. Abdelfattah's family, lawyers, and several human rights organizations told CPJ they believe the blogger was charged at least partly in retaliation for his writing about alleged human rights abuses by the police and security forces. Abdelfattah was held in pretrial detention as the trial began on December 4, 2013. He was granted bail in March 2014, according to news reports. On June 11, 2014, Abdelfattah was barred from entering the courtroom when a judge sentenced him in absentia to 15 years in jail, according to reports. The blogger was then taken into custody from outside the courtroom, according to his family and news reports. Under Egyptian law, cases that conclude with a sentence issued in absentia are referred automatically to retrial. In September 2014, Abdelfattah was released pending retrial. When the retrial began in October 2014, he was taken back into custody, according to news reports. Abdelfattah's sister Mona Seif was among several witnesses who testified in court that the journalist was not among the organizers of the protest. Seif said that she and other members of the No Military Trials group had claimed responsibility for organizing the protest, according to news reports. Defense lawyers submitted cell phone records proving Abdelfattah was not at the site of the protest at the same time as the police officer he was accused of assaulting, the family told CPJ. The prosecution submitted as evidence tweets and quotes from Abdelfattah's writing in which he was critical of the judiciary and security forces, his family and lawyers told CPJ. State media broadcast tweets and excerpts of Abdelfattah's articles and Facebook posts, branding them proof of his anti-state beliefs, according to news reports. The court sentenced him to five years in prison on February 23, 2015. On November 8, 2017, a Cairo Cassation Court rejected the journalist's appeal and upheld the sentence against him, according to news reports. Abdelfattah was detained previously for his writing, according to news reports. In October 2011, the blogger was arrested after writing about the Maspero massacre, in which 26 protesters, mostly Coptic Christians, died when the military ran over demonstrators with tanks. Abdelfattah is held in Cairo's Tora prison where he is periodically denied access to books, pens, and paper, according to his family. Close relatives are able to visit him, according to the family. The journalist has written a series of articles from prison, including a March 2017 article on the changing roles of bloggers and activists, and how governments jail activists like himself to create a chilling effect among those who are free. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Akram Raslan Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Akram Raslan, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c945f11.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Al-Fedaa | Imprisoned in Syria | October 02, 2012 Job: Columnist/Commentator Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Raslan, a cartoonist who worked for the Hama-based newspaper Al-Fedaa and contributed to several other news websites, was arrested by intelligence officials at his workplace in Hama, according to news reports. Raslan's cartoons, which criticized the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, had been published on his blog and a number of websites, including that of Al-Jazeera. Conflicting reports emerged about Raslan's status. Cartoon Rights Network International (CRNI), which has closely tracked Raslan's case, reported that he might have been executed by the Syrian regime after being sentenced to life imprisonment on July 26, 2013. But after reports emerged in October 2013 that Raslan was still alive and his family said it could not confirm his death, CRNI amended its statement and said it was working to verify those claims. In June 2014, CRNI reported that the Syrian permanent mission to the United Nations admitted that Raslan had been arrested for publishing cartoons that "offended the state's prestige" and that he was under investigation. But in September 2015, the Syrian news outlet Souriatna Press reported Raslan had died in custody a few months after his arrest, citing an unnamed detainee who was recently released from prison. According to the detainee, Raslan died in a hospital where he had been transferred for treatment after his health deteriorated in connection with torture. The report prompted a wide outpouring of support for Raslan from Syrian journalists, cartoonists, and activists. The Syrian government had not publicly confirmed or denied the Souriatna Press report. CPJ was unable to independently verify reports of his death. As of late 2017, the Syrian Mission to the U.N. had not responded to CPJ's emailed request for comment. Thousands of Syrians have disappeared into Syrian custody since the start of the uprising in 2011. According to a 2015 Human Rights Watch report, families are often forced to pay large bribes to learn any information about their relatives, and other families never approach the security branches for fear of being arrested themselves. Of 27 families of deceased prisoners interviewed by Human Rights Watch for the report, only two received formal death certificates. CPJ continues to list Raslan on the prison census as a means of holding the government accountable for his fate. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Akbar Imin Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Akbar Imin, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9461a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Uighurbiz | Imprisoned in China | January 01, 2014 Job: Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Culture, Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: 5 years to <10 years Reported Health Problems: No Akbar Imin is one of seven students connected to the imprisoned Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti, who were charged with being involved with Uighurbiz during a secret trial held in November 2014, according to Tohti's lawyer Li Fangping. Tohti, a writer and blogger, was taken from his home by police on January 15, 2014, and the Uighurbiz website he founded, also known as UighurOnline, was closed. The site, which Tohti started in 2006, was published in Chinese and Uighur, and focused on social issues. Tohti was charged with separatism by Urumqi police on February 20, 2014. He was accused of using his position as a lecturer at Minzu University of China to spread separatist ideas through Uighurbiz. On September 23, 2014, at the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court, Tohti was sentenced to life imprisonment. He denied the charges. Several foreign governments and human rights organizations protested the sentence. The European Union released a statement condemning the life sentence as unjustified. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. was concerned by the sentencing and called on Chinese authorities to release him, along with seven of his students. Tohti's appeal request was rejected at a hearing in a Xinjiang detention center on November 21, 2014, that was scheduled at such short notice that his lawyer was unable to attend. Tohti's wife told Radio Free Asia in February 2016 that authorities allow family members to visit Tohti for only 30 minutes every three months. Akbar Imin was charged alongside the students Perhat Halmurat, Shohret Nijat, Luo Yuwei, Mutellip Imin, Atikem Rozi, and Abduqeyum Ablimit with being involved with Uighurbiz during a secret trial held in November 2014, according to Tohti's lawyer Li Fangping. Many were administrators for the site, according to state media. According to the political prisoner database of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, an organization set up by the U.S. Congress to monitor human rights and laws in China, Rozi and Mutellip Imin wrote for the site. Mutellip Imin, who is from Xinjiang and enrolled at Istanbul University in Turkey, also has a blog. He was arrested when he tried to leave China. According to The New York Times, three of the students made televised confessions on the state-run China Central Television in September, saying they worked for the site. Halmurat claimed to have written an article, Nijat claimed to have taken part in editorial policy decisions, and Luo, from the Yi minority, claimed to have done design work. The seven students were sentenced to three to eight years in prison, according to the Global Times, a government-affiliated website. The length of sentence for each student was unclear and details of where they are being held were not disclosed. CPJ could not determine the names or contact details of the lawyers representing the students. Tohti's lawyers Li and Liu Xiaoyuan told CPJ that they did not have information on the students' cases as of late 2017. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Akn Atalay Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Akn Atalay, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9463a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Cumhuriyet | Imprisoned in Turkey | November 11, 2016 Job: Publisher/Owner Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Business, Corruption, Crime, Culture, Human Rights, Politics, Sports, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Police detained Akn Atalay, chief executive officer of the pro-opposition daily Cumhuriyet, as he disembarked from a flight from Berlin at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport on November 11, 2016, according to press reports. He was among the editors, staff, and board members whose arrest police sought in an October 31, 2016, raid on Cumhuriyet's headquarters in Istanbul, but was abroad at the time of the raid. Istanbul's Ninth Court of Penal Peace on November 12, 2016, ordered Atalay jailed pending trial on terrorism charges, according to Cumhuriyet. The Chief Prosecutor's Office of Istanbul released an official statement soon after the October 31, 2016, raid, saying the journalists were detained on suspicion of producing propaganda for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and what the government calls the Fethullah Gulen Terror Organization (FETO), two rival groups the Turkish government classes as terrorist organizations. The statement said investigators were looking into alleged irregularities in the last elections of the board of directors of the foundation that owns Cumhuriyet, and that the newspaper published pro-coup propaganda in advance of a July 2016 failed coup attempt. Atalay faces accusations of "acting on behalf of an armed terrorist organization while not being a member." Because an October 30, 2016, court order made the investigation into the newspaper, its staff, and employees secret, defense lawyers and the public have limited access to the state's evidence. According to Cumhuriyet reports, the court's order to jail Atalay and the other Cumhuriyet journalists and directors cited news stories and headlines that authorities claimed were propaganda for FETO and the PKK. According to court records, interrogators asked the detained Cumhuriyet directors and journalists about the newspaper's coverage. Among the reports that interrogators raised was a 2015 article alleging that Turkey's intelligence service was smuggling weapons to Islamist groups in Syria under cover of humanitarian aid, according to Cumhuriyet. Can Dundar who resigned as the newspaper's editor in August 2016 and announced he would not return to Turkey until the state of emergency imposed after the July 2016 failed coup attempt was lifted and former Ankara correspondent Erdem Gul face a separate trial in connection with that report. CPJ in November 2016 honored Dundar with its International Press Freedom Award. Cumhuriyet also reported, citing the court document, that authorities accused the newspaper of being sympathetic to the Gulenist network because the newspaper referred to the group as the "Hizmet movement," as its adherents do, rather than using the government's name, FETO. Authorities argued that Cumhuriyet, Turkey's oldest newspaper, had changed its editorial policy, and that it was being manipulated by FETO and the PKK, Cumhuriyet reported. The Cumhuriyet trial began on July 24, 2017. According to the indictment, prosecutors alleged that the newspaper's journalism was evidence of its affiliation with the outlawed organizations. The hearings centered on the contents of the paper's news reports and columns and its selection of stories for the front page. Prosecutors alleged that the ruling board of the foundation that publishes the newspaper was altered with intent to remove members who would object to the alleged editorial policy supportive of terror groups. Atalay is charged with "aiding an armed terrorist organization without being a member" and "malpractice through service," according to the indictment. In the course of the trial, the court has ordered all but three of the defendants to be released on probation pending the outcome, according to news reports. The next hearing was scheduled for December 25, 2017. Atalay was jailed in Istanbul's Silivri Prison, pending trial, according to press reports. Tora Pekin, a lawyer for Atalay, told CPJ in late 2017 that he is not allowed to send or receive letters or receive visits from anyone except immediate relatives. That means that he cannot see his long-term partner. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Turan Alkan Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Turan Alkan, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9465a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Zaman | Imprisoned in Turkey | July 27, 2016 Job: Columnist/Commentator Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Corruption, Crime, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state, False News Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: Yes Police detained Alkan, a former columnist for the shuttered newspaper Zaman, on July 27, 2016, CPJ reported at the time. The court on July 30, 2016 arraigned Alkan alongside former Zaman journalists Ali Bulac, Sahin Alpay, and Mustafa Unal on charges of being members of a terrorist organization. They were accused of following exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government accuses of maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" (FETO/PDY, by its Turkish acronym) and masterminding a failed military coup in July 2016. According to records of the arraignment, which CPJ has reviewed, the state alleged that Bulac, Alpay, Alkan, and Unal wrote articles in Zaman praising FETO/PDY and that the newspaper was the group's media organ. The state further alleged that because Bulac and the other Zaman columnists continued writing for the newspaper after its editor-in-chief, Ekrem Dumanl, was charged in absentia of being "a member of an armed terrorist organization," they remained involved even though they knew the group included armed elements, according to court records. According to the court records, the state also alleged that Bulac, Alpay, Alkan, and Unal praised Gulenists on social media, despite what the state described as "strong discourse and public information" that an armed uprising would take place. The court judged Bulac, Alpay, Alkan, and Unal to be flight risks and ordered them jailed pending trial. Many people have fled in the wake of the government crackdown on suspected Gulenists. Alkan, who was 62 at the time of his arrest, told the court that he suffers from high blood pressure and needs to take medicine for the condition three times a day. Hurriyet columnist Ertugrul Ozkok, citing Alkan's family, wrote on November 11, 2016, that the journalist has vertigo and an infection of the middle ear, but was denied medical assistance for 15 days. An Istanbul court in March 2016 ordered the Feza Media Group, which owned Zaman and several other media outlets, placed under trustees appointed by the government. The government used emergency powers arrogated after the failed July 15 military coup to order the newspaper closed by decree on July 27, 2016. The court did not specify the accusations against the individual journalists but judged their cases collectively as part of a wider case, court documents show. Alkan is on trial alongside 30 journalists and media workers and an academic. All are charged with "attempting, through violence and force, to disrupt and replace the order as recognized by Turkey's Constitution," "attempting through violence and force to eliminate or prevent Parliament from carrying out its duties," and "being a member of an armed terrorist organization." Not all of the defendants are in custody. The trial's first hearing began in Istanbul on September 18, 2017, according to local reports. In the indictment, reviewed by CPJ, the prosecution said that the defendants' journalism including opinion pieces or their employment by pro-Gulen outlets such as the daily Zaman and Cihan News Agency is evidence that the journalists were part of the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization/Parallel State Structure (FETO/PDY). The indictment accused the journalists which it referred to as "the media force of the terrorist organization" of producing false news to weaken the government, insult or humiliate the authorities, attempt to disrupt the peace, and to create an environment suitable for a coup. Alkan denies the charges, according to the indictment. If convicted, he faces multiple life sentences without parole. The next court date was scheduled for December 8, 2017, according to press reports. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Sagrl Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Sagrl, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9467a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Turkiye | Imprisoned in Turkey | August 10, 2017 Job: Columnist/Commentator Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Istanbul police on August 10, 2017, detained Ahmet Sagrl, who was a columnist for the pro-government daily Turkiye until he was fired a week before his arrest, according to news reports. CPJ was unable to determine the reason for the journalist's dismissal. Sagrl was one of 35 journalists and media workers whose arrest a Turkish court mandated the week before as part of a sweeping purge of suspected followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, according to reports. The Turkish government accuses Gulen of maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" (FETO/PDY, as the government calls it) within Turkey and alleges that it masterminded a failed July 2016 military coup. Sagrl's arrest is part of an investigation into journalists and others who allegedly used the Bylock app, according to press reports. Authorities allege that use of the encrypted messaging app is proof of FETO/PDY membership. Turkey issued arrest warrants for 35 journalists and media workers. Of those, nine were ordered to be jailed pending trial and as of late 2017, two were released under house arrest, including Sagrl, according to news reports. As of late 2017, no court date had been scheduled. CPJ was unable to find details of a lawyer who could provide further information on the case, or to review a copy of the indictment. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Memis Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Memis, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9469a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Haberdar, Rotahaber | Imprisoned in Turkey | July 24, 2016 Job: Editor Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Business, Corruption, Crime, Culture, Human Rights, Politics, Sports, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Police detained Ahmet Memis, news coordinator of internet news portal Haberdar, on July 24, 2016. Memis, then 42, turned himself in to police in Istanbul when he learned that they went to his home to detain him in his absence, according to press reports. According to court documents CPJ reviewed, the judge who ordered the journalist's detention pending trial on suspicion of being a member of a terrorist organization asked him about his work for Haberdar and for the news website Rotahaber, where Memis worked as an editor from 2010 to 2015. Both websites stopped operating soon after a failed military coup on July 15, 2016, amid a sweeping crackdown on suspected followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government accuses Gulen of maintaining a terrorist organization and parallel state structure, which it calls FETO/PDY and which it alleges was behind the attempted coup. The judge also asked Memis if he had any involvement with a Twitter account named Fuat Avni (@fuatavni), which claims to be the work of someone from within Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's inner circle. Memis denied any connection to the account. Memis was asked about news reports on Fuat Avni's tweets in Rotahaber and whether he was in any way responsible for publishing opinion columns in Haberdar. Memis's wife, Pnar Memis, told CPJ that her husband decided to prepare his own defense for the trial because they could not afford legal fees. The Turkish legal system allows defendants to ask for a public defender if they cannot afford a lawyer. "He was not a member of a [terrorist organization], he did not aide them financially. He was just a journalist," Pnar Memis said. Memis is on trial with several other journalists. In the original indictment, all but one were charged with "being a member of an armed [terrorist] organization," which carries up to 10 years in prison, according to reports. The indictment accused the defendants of manipulating public perception of FETO to turn people against the government, which, prosecutors argued, made them members of the group. CPJ found the indictment to be similar to those presented at trials of other journalists in Turkey. Prosecutors cited as evidence journalistic activity or acts of free speech and communication, or cited circumstantial evidence such as being employed by a certain media outlet or having an account at a bank allegedly linked to Gulenists. In Memis's case, prosecutors cited as evidence his employment at Haberdar and Rotahaber and alleged that he published content from, and reports about, the Fuat Avni Twitter account. When the trial started in March 2017, an Istanbul court ordered Memis and several of the other journalists to be released while the case was heard, according to news reports. Prosecutors successfully appealed the decision, and authorities ordered an investigation into the judges who had ordered the release and they were relieved of duty, according to the reports. Memis was being detained in Silivri Prison, Istanbul. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Husrev Altan Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Husrev Altan, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c946b4.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Taraf | Imprisoned in Turkey | September 10, 2016 Job: Columnist/Commentator, Editor Medium: Internet, Print, Television Beats Covered: Corruption, Crime, Human Rights, Politics, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Police first arrested Altan, a well-known novelist and journalist, alongside his brother, economics professor and columnist Mehmet Altan, on September 10, 2016, on suspicion they were followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government accuses Gulen of maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" within Turkey FETO/PDY, as the government calls it and of staging a failed military coup on July 15, 2016. Early on September 22, 2016, Istanbul's 10th Court of Penal Peace ordered Ahmet Altan released on probation and banned him from international travel. The same court ordered his brother Mehmet jailed, pending trial. Prosecutors successfully appealed Ahmet Altan's release to the court that originally ordered his arrest, Istanbul's First Court of Penal Peace, which promptly issued a second arrest warrant. On September 22, after a few hours of freedom, Ahmet turned himself in to the prosecutor's office. According to the arrest order, a copy of which was published by news website T24, prosecutors considered his duty as the founding editor of the daily newspaper Taraf as evidence he was part of the Gulenist network. Altan left his post at Taraf in 2012. The government used emergency powers it gave itself after the coup attempt to shut down Taraf by decree on July 27, 2016. Prosecutors accused Altan of being in contact with alleged FETO members and of acting with them for the same aim under the group's purported hierarchy. Prosecutors also asserted that Taraf was established to fulfill the organization's aims, and that the stories printed in the newspaper were "in line with orders and instructions from the group." They cited his reporting on alleged conspiracies that saw dozens of soldiers tried for plotting against the government as evidence that he participated in the takeover of the military by Gulen's group. "Taraf took an active role in the crime of attempting to topple the government... and made efforts to influence public opinion," prosecutors alleged, according to the order to jail Altan. They cited the government's decree shuttering Taraf as evidence that the newspaper was tied to FETO. Altan is also accused of criticizing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Can Erzincan TV, based on instructions from FETO, and of trying to influence public opinion to conform to the group's aims. The government used emergency powers shut down Can Erzincan by decree on July 27. Prosecutors said they believed Altan knew about the attempted coup in advance because of his July 14 comments on Can Erzincan TV where he appeared with his brother and journalist Nazl Ilcak and two of Altan's columns. The state quoted a May 2016 column headlined "Absolute Fear," in which Altan wrote, "I assume we are watching the final act of a bad play. The cost is a little heavy... but it is good to know that it will end." Prosecutors also cited a June 2016 column headlined, "Walking All Over," in which the journalist wrote, "When the walls of the palace are demolished by shells, people with guns will kill themselves in the corridors, and he will understand what civil war is, but he will be too late." Ahmet Altan is on trial in Istanbul alongside Mehmet Altan, Nazl Ilcak, a former columnist for Ozgur Dusunce and a former TV host for the shuttered broadcaster Can Erzincan TV; Fevzi Yazc, the former layout editor for the shuttered newspaper Zaman; Yakup Simsek, the newspaper's former advertising director; and Sukru Tugrul Ozsengul, a former police academy instructor and TV commentator, according to reports. The trial began on July 19, 2017, according to reports. The defendants are all charged with: "attempting to eliminate the Constitutional order," "attempting to eliminate the government of Turkey or to prevent it from its duties partially or totally through violence and force," "attempting to eliminate the parliament of Turkey or to prevent it from its duties partially or totally through violence and force," and "aiding an armed terrorist organization without being a member," according to the indictment. Ahmet Altan described his indictment as "judicial pornography." Mehmet Altan denied that he sent "subliminal messages" on TV favoring the coup before the attempted takeover took place. The media monitoring group P24 published the brothers' full statements in their defense, translated into English. The next hearing was scheduled for December 11, 2017. In October 2017, the journalists' lawyer, Tobias Garnett, told CPJ via email that the European Court of Human Rights had accepted an application for the court to review the Altan brothers' case. The Turkish government was due to present its defense to the court by December 5, 2017, according to reports. The journalist is detained in Silivri Prison, Istanbul. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Sk Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmet Sk, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c946d4.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Cumhuriyet | Imprisoned in Turkey | December 29, 2016 Job: Print reporter Medium: Print Beats Covered: Corruption, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Police on December 29, 2016, detained Sk, an investigative journalist and a reporter for the opposition daily Cumhuriyet, on allegations of spreading terrorist propaganda on Twitter. Prosecutors questioned Sk about his tweets, three articles in Cumhuriyet, a public statement, and an interview, according to news reports. A court ruled that his case would be heard as part of the wider Cumhuriyet trial, which started in July 2017. According to an indictment released in April 2017, which lists the accusations in the Cumhuriyet case, Sk is charged with "helping an armed terrorist organization without being a member." The indictment said that Cumhuriyet changed its editorial policies, eliminated those who resisted the change, and created propaganda for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization (FETO), and the outlawed socialist group the Revolutionary People's Salvation Front/Party (DHKP/C). Evidence against some of the defendants includes meetings or phone calls with people allegedly affiliated with FETO, which the government accuses of orchestrating a failed coup attempt in July 2016. The indictment, viewed by CPJ, listed as evidence several reports in Cumhuriyet on domestic and foreign issues. As alleged proof of the charges, the indictment provided little other than the defendants' journalism. Sk was previously imprisoned in relation to his 2011 book, Imamn Ordusu (The Imam's Army), which was critical of the Fethullah Gulen organization. Sk was acquitted in that case of aiding an allegedly nationalist plot to overthrow the government, known as the Ergenekon conspiracy in April 2017. In 2015, he published a second book, Paralel Yuruduk Biz Bu Yollarda (We Have Walked These Roads in Parallel), about the past partnership between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Gulenists. Sk denied the new charges. In his court statement during the Cumhuriyet trial in July 2017, Sk blamed Gulenist police and members of the judiciary for his imprisonment in 2011. He pointed out that in 2011, when the Gulenists were aligned with the government, he was called a "terrorist" for his journalism, and now the Gulenists are accused of being terrorists, alongside him. Sk was imprisoned at Silivri Prison in Istanbul. He was initially kept in isolation and in poor conditions, according to his lawyer. Lawyers for Sk petitioned the European Court of Human Rights in May 2017 to secure his release on the grounds that his imprisonment violated his right to freedom of speech, Cumhuriyet reported. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmed Humaidan Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmed Humaidan, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c946f4.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freelance | Imprisoned in Bahrain | December 29, 2012 Job: Photographer Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: 10+ years Reported Health Problems: Yes Humaidan, a freelance photojournalist, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on March 26, 2014, in a trial of more than 30 individuals charged with participating in a 2012 attack on a police station on the island of Sitra, according to news reports. The reports said three defendants were acquitted, and the rest were given three to 10 years in prison. Humaidan was at the station to document the attack as part of his coverage of unrest in the country after anti-government protests erupted in February 2011, according to news reports. His photographs were published by local opposition sites, including the online newsmagazine Alhadath and the news website Alrasid. Adel Marzouk, head of the Bahrain Press Association, an independent media freedom organization based in London, told CPJ that Humaidan's photographs had exposed police attacks on protesters during demonstrations. Humaidan's family said authorities had sought his arrest for months and had raided their home five times to try to arrest him, news reports said. The High Court of Appeals upheld Humaidan's sentence on August 31, 2014, despite calls by CPJ and other human rights organizations to throw out the conviction. In 2014, the U.S. National Press Club honored Humaidan with its John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award. Humaidan is being held in Jaw Central Prison. Authorities limited family visits to the prison after an attempted jail break by some of the inmates in January 2017, a journalist familiar with the situation, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, told CPJ. For seven months, all visits were banned. Since September, Humaidan's relatives have been allowed to visit, but he is denied physical contact with his wife and four-year-old son, the journalist who spoke with CPJ said. In October 2017, Humaidan had a severe eye infection that the prison clinic was not equipped to effectively treat, the journalist said. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmed Farouk Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmed Farouk, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9470a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freelance | Imprisoned in Egypt | October 31, 2016 Job: Camera Operator, Producer Medium: Documentary Film, Internet, Television Beats Covered: Business, Corruption, Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: No charge Length of Sentence: Not sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Ahmed Farouk was arrested at Cairo International Airport on October 31, 2016, when he tried to board a flight to Guangzhou, China, according to his sister, Sara Sawan, and the non-governmental organization Swiss Organization for the Protection of Human Rights. Farouk was traveling to the Canton Fair, a trade event that he was invited to cover, his brother told Al-Sharq TV on March 28, 2017. Farouk's sister said that although police initially questioned the journalist about his work on unrelated topics and payments he received from foreign news outlets, the journalist was eventually jailed pending trial on suspicion that he played a role in the broadcast of tapes purportedly featuring Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in conversation with military leaders when he was minister of defense under former President Mohamed Morsi, whom he wrested from power in 2013. Farouk has not been charged in the case, known publicly as the "Mekameleen Leaks," in reference to the Arabic-language, Turkey-based pro-Muslim Brotherhood satellite television station that broadcast the tapes, his sister told CPJ. Farouk denies any connection to the leaks, according to the journalist's family and the Swiss Organization for the Protection of Human Rights. All other suspects in the Mekameleen Leaks case were released in July 2015, more than a year before Farouk's arrest, according to his sister and the Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression, an Egyptian human rights group. Farouk was not named in the case prior to his 2016 arrest. Over the first half of 2015, Mekameleen aired a series of audio recordings that the channel claims to have obtained from sources in el-Sisi's office. The leaks, which were purportedly recorded in 2013, allegedly feature el-Sisi and military leaders discussing monetary aid from Gulf countries, Egyptian cooperation with the United Arab Emirates in sending arms to eastern Libyan strongman Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, and journalists who worked closely with el-Sisi. The government dismissed the leaks as fake, according to news reports, but forensic analysis published by international news outlets suggested they were authentic. In February 2015, a few months before his arrest, Farouk produced a video report for the London-based channel Al-Araby TV alleging that an Egyptian food company violated hygiene standards. In December 2015, he also produced a 30-minute documentary featuring interviews with female activists sent to trial in a case publicly known as the "7 a.m. movement." The activists, whose ages were between 15 and 22 at the time, were arrested for protesting the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, according to a statement by Amnesty international and news reports. In a blog post published by Al-Jazeera in September 2016, Farouk wrote about his experience of becoming a journalist in Egypt. After Morsi's 2013 ouster, his belief in the importance of journalism made him shut down his biomedical business to become a video journalist, at a time when "only God knows" how difficult it is to be one, he wrote. The journalist is being held in Cairo's Tora prison. No trial date was set by late 2017, according to his family. Farouk was not included in CPJ's 2016 census because CPJ was not aware of his case at the time. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmed al-Sakhawy Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmed al-Sakhawy, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9474a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freelance | Imprisoned in Egypt | September 25, 2017 Job: Camera Operator, Photographer Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-state, False news Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: Yes Police arrested freelancer Ahmed al-Sakhawy at his home in downtown Cairo on September 25, 2017, local media reported and his fiancee, Sheruet Amgad, confirmed to CPJ. The journalist's family did not know his whereabouts until he was arraigned on October 23, 2017, according to news reports and his fiancee. Homeland prosecutors, who handle national security cases, charged al-Sakhawy with "disseminating false news" and "belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood," according to news reports and his fiancee. The Egyptian government declared the Muslim Brotherhood to be a terrorist organization in 2013. CPJ was unable to determine if the prosecutors cited specific reports as evidence. Al-Sakhawy, a photojournalist and camera operator who previously covered politics for opposition newspapers including al-Masreyoun el-Dyar, denied the accusations, Amgad said. He stopped working for the outlets about three weeks before his arrest so that he could look for more permanent employment, and also continued to work as a freelancer Amgad said. Al-Sakhawy's lawyer Mokhtar Mounir told CPJ in late November that in court, the journalist said that police tortured him to force him to confess that he worked for TV channels owned by the Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Sakhawy also managed to pass a note to his family that said he was being tortured and denied medication, Amgad said. As of December 1, 2017, Egypt's Ministry of Interior, which has oversight of the police and prison system, did not respond to CPJ's emailed request for comment. Amgad told CPJ that al-Sakhawy, who is 22, is weak and has lost weight in custody. When the family saw him after a hearing on November 21, the journalist's arms were bandaged where he had attempted to take his life, according to news reports. The journalist is being held in Cairo's Scorpion maximum security prison, according to news reports and his fiancee. Scorpion prison is usually reserved for those convicted of a serious crime. His family is barred from visiting him, and they see al-Sakhawy only when police transfer him for court hearings, Amgad said. Prosecutors have repeatedly renewed his pre-trial detention for increments of 15 days, according to news reports and his fiancee. As of late 2017 no trial date was set. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmed Abba Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Ahmed Abba, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9476a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Radio France Internationale | Imprisoned in Cameroon | July 30, 2015 Job: Broadcast Reporter Medium: Radio Beats Covered: Human Rights, War Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: 10+ years Reported Health Problems: No Two police officers on July 30, 2015 arrested Ahmed Abba, a correspondent for Radio France Internationale's (RFI) Hausa service, as the journalist left a press briefing at the office of a local governor in Maroua, the capital of Cameroon's far north region, according to RFI and CPJ research. He was taken to the capital, Yaounde. The journalist was denied access to his lawyer until October 15, 2015. Officials did not take a statement from Abba until November 13, more than three months after his arrest, in violation of Cameroonian law, according to news reports that cited his lawyers. RFI reported that Abba mostly covered refugee issues, but also covered attacks carried out by Boko Haram. In a June 2016 statement, RFI called for Abba's immediate release. RFI cited one of the journalist's lawyers, Charles Tchoungang, as saying Abba was interrogated in relation to the activities of the extremist sect Boko Haram, which is known for mass kidnappings and targeted attacks on civilians. Abba pleaded not guilty at a hearing on August 3, 2016, reports said. Abba's trial began on February 29, 2016, according to reports that cited Tchoungang and a second lawyer, Nakong Clement. A military tribunal charged the journalist with complicity in acts of terrorism and failure to denounce acts of terrorism under the country's 2014 anti-terrorism law, news reports said. He faced a maximum sentence of the death penalty. According to details shared with CPJ about Abba's March 24 testimony before the military tribunal and people familiar with his case who spoke with CPJ on condition of anonymity, members of the intelligence agency beat Abba with machetes and sticks and walked on his back in their boots. The journalist's lawyer, Charles Tchoungang told the military court that Abba, who CPJ honored with its 2017 International Press Freedom Award, was beaten by guards who tried to force him to reveal his sources. In his March 2017 testimony at the tribunal in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, Abba recounted how he was kept handcuffed and at times naked. The journalist said his legs were shackled and he was muzzled while being transported via plane to the capital. After several delays, a military tribunal on April 20, 2017, acquitted Abba of "apologizing for acts of terrorism," but convicted him on charges of "non-denunciation of terrorism" and "laundering of the proceeds of terrorist acts." On April 24, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 55 million Central African francs (US$91,133), Clement Nakong, another of Abba's lawyers, told CPJ. Abba is currently being held in the Prison Principale de Kondengui in Yaounde. In a statement released in April, RFI director Cecile Megie said the French government-funded station had provided "irrefutable evidence" that Abba did not condone terrorism in his reporting. Cameroon's communication minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary responded in a radio interview with the state broadcaster, CRTV, in April, according to reports. "It was on the ground of the practice of his journalism that [Abba] was found guilty and tried. I take this opportunity to say that this man, in view of the evidence at the disposal of the Military Court, this journalist or pseudo-journalist is nothing more than an outgrowth of Boko Haram hiding behind the respectable facade of RFI to perpetrate his crime," he was quoted as saying. Abba's appeal hearings before a military tribunal were postponed in August, September, and October of 2017, RFI reported. Abba was permitted to speak in his defense during an appeal court appearance on November 16, 2017, according to Nakong and media reports. Nakong told CPJ that the prosecution did not present any new witnesses or evidence. The next court date, during which the verdict on the appeal was expected, was scheduled for December 21, 2017, according to Nakong. In January 2017, CPJ wrote a letter to Cameroonian president Paul Biya urging him to instruct military prosecutors to drop all charges against Abba and release him. Cameroonian authorities have not responded to the letter. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Afgan Sadygov Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Afgan Sadygov, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9478a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Azel | Imprisoned in Azerbaijan | November 22, 2016 Job: Editor, Publisher/Owner Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Corruption Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Retaliatory Length of Sentence: 1 year to <5 years Reported Health Problems: Yes Sadygov, the founder and chief editor of regional news website Azel, was arrested outside the eastern city of Jalilabad on November 22, 2016, on charges of aggravated assault. On January 12, 2017, a court in Jalilabad sentenced the journalist to 2.5 years in prison. A court of appeals upheld the verdict on May 25, 2017. Sadygov reported on corruption allegations in the local administration for Azel, and managed the Facebook page "Our Jalilabad" on which he often criticized local authorities. The charge relates to an incident on August 9, 2016, when the head of the city's executive branch, Aziz Azizov, summoned the journalist to the city administration, according to local and international media reports. Azizov allegedly asked the journalist to remove his critical reports and allegedly offered him money to cease reporting, his lawyer Elchin Sadygov (no relation) told the independent regional news website Kavkazsky Uzel. Afghan Sadygov refused the offer and left the office. In the hallway of the building, he was attacked and punched by a woman who then filed a complaint against him, according to news reports citing his lawyer and family. The journalist was charged with assault, according to the Azerbaijani service of the U.S.-government funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Sadygov's mother, Ulnisa, told Kavkazsky Uzel that the accusations against her son were related to his journalism. "My son has managed this website for many years practically alone. He covered issues related to lawlessness, injustice. He was warned and requested to stop criticizing local authorities in his reports. They wanted him to write only praising articles but my son refused," she said. Ulnisa Sadygova told Kavkazsky Uzel that police tortured the journalist but did not specify what had allegedly happened to him. She said that her requests to visit the journalist were denied. Sadygov is being held at Prison No. 17 in Baku. The lawyer told CPJ in late 2017 that Sadygov has health issues, but did not specify the ailments. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Afgan Mukhtarli Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Afgan Mukhtarli, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c947aa.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Meydan TV, Institute of War and Peace Reporting | Imprisoned in Azerbaijan | May 29, 2017 Job: Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Corruption Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Retaliatory Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: Yes Exiled journalist Afgan Mukhtarli, whose wife initially reported him missing from their home in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 29, 2017, surfaced the following day in a detention center in Baku, Azerbaijan, regional and local media reported. Mukhtarli, who has contributed to the Berlin-based independent news outlet Meydan TV and the London-based Institute of War and Peace Reporting, fled to Georgia from Azerbaijan in 2014. Prior to his departure, Mukhtarli had received threats in relation to his investigative reporting on alleged corruption in the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. Before his detention, Mukhtarli was investigating the assets of the first family of Azerbaijan in Georgia, according to a Facebook post by his colleague and independent investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova. Mukhtarli's wife, Leyla Mustafayeva, told journalists during a May 30 press conference in Tbilisi that her husband called her around 7 p.m. the night before to say he was on his way home from meeting a friend, but never returned. Mustafayeva said she reported her husband as missing to the Georgian police early the next morning. The independent Azerbaijani news agency Turan later reported that the Azerbaijani border service detained Mukhtarli. The journalist's lawyer, Elchin Sadygov, told CPJ that Mukhtarli was abducted from Tbilisi and forcefully brought to Azerbaijan. "He was beaten, has a broken nose, bruises all over his head and right eye, his rib may be broken," said Sadygov, who visited Mukhtarli in the detention center on May 30, 2017. Azerbaijani authorities charged the journalist with illegally crossing the border and bringing contraband with him, according to Sadygov, who said that Mukhtarli told him that the police planted 10,000 euros ($11,200) in his pocket while he was unconscious. Mukhtarli denies all the charges, the lawyer said. Mukhtarli's wife said at the May 30 press conference that the journalist was under surveillance in the weeks preceding his alleged abduction, but did not specify who she suspected was surveilling him. In a May 18, 2017 interview with the independent online news outlet JAMnews, Mukhtarli said both he and his wife, who is a journalist and an activist, were under surveillance. "They openly follow us, and then leave the photos of what [we] were doing during the day at [our] doorstep," he said. An Azerbaijani pro-government news site, Haqqin, criticized Mukhtarli and Mustafayeva, along with several other exiled Azerbaijani activists, in a May 4, 2017 article, which portrayed Tbilisi as a nest of anti-Azerbaijani subversives. As of September 27, 2017, Georgia's chief prosecutor's office was investigating the Mukhtarli case, according to the regional news website Kavkazsky Uzel. Mustafayeva on October 11, 2017 told Kavkazsky Uzel that she fled Georgia out of fear for her safety. She did not disclose her current location. The European Parliament adopted a resolution on June 15, 2017, calling for Mukhtarli's immediate release. The European Court of Human Rights is reviewing Mukhtarli's complaint as a priority, according to Azerbaijiani freedom of expression group Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety, which cited Sadygov. On November 20, 2017, Mukhtarli was transferred to the Sheki detention center some 320 kilometers (approximately 200 miles) from Baku, according to regional media. Sadygov on September 1, 2017, told the regional news website Kavkazsky Uzel that the journalist suffers from diabetes, hypertension, and heart palpitations. On August 31, 2017, a Baku court of appeals denied Mukhtarli's request to be transferred to house arrest so he could receive proper medical treatment, Kavkazsky Uzel reported. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Afarin Chitsaz Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Afarin Chitsaz, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c947ca.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Iran | Imprisoned in Iran | February 11, 2015 Job: Columnist/Commentator Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Female Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-State Length of Sentence: 1 year to <5 years Reported Health Problems: Yes Intelligence officers of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps arrested Chitsaz, a columnist for Iran, a popular state newspaper affiliated with IRNA, Iran's official news agency, on November 2, 2015, according to local news reports. The next day, local media outlets with close ties to the Revolutionary Guards reported that five local journalists had been arrested for being part of an "infiltration network" with links to Western countries. Saham News, a news website with close ties to detained opposition leader Mehdi Karoubi, reported that Chitsaz was one of the five journalists. Chitsaz is a former actress and costume designer. She began working as a journalist a few years before her arrest and mostly covered foreign policy stories. Saham News reported that she was closely associated with high-profile officials in President Hassan Rouhani's government, but did not elaborate. On March 26, 2016, Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court convicted Chitsaz of "assembly and collusion with the intent to disrupt national security" and "collaboration with a foreign government" and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. On April 29, the journalist's mother told BBC Persian that her daughter had been held in solitary confinement in Evin prison for six months that and her interrogators had subjected her to physical abuse. In September 2016, Branch 36 of Tehran's Appellate Court reduced the journalist's sentence to two years in prison. On July 5, 2016, Chitsaz was granted a three-day furlough on bail of 10 billion riyals (roughly US$320,000), according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran. She returned to prison. According to Center for Human Rights in Iran, on July 21 she was transferred to a hospital to undergo surgery for her right knee. On September 10, she returned to Evin prison. On September 28, 2016 the reformist news website Kalameh reported that Chitsaz had fainted from knee pain while climbing stairs in Evin prison, and that she had been denied family visits. A family member, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, told CPJ that the journalist had not had knee problems prior to her incarceration, but that now Chitsaz needs surgery for both her knees, including the one doctors had already treated. In September 2017, Chitsaz's lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, said in an interview with the Center for Human Rights in Iran that the journalist had been due to be released that month. However, authorities refused to include the period that Chitsaz spent in a hospital being treated for her knee injury as time served, which added three more months to her sentence, the lawyer said. Radio Farda reported that Afarin started a hunger strike on September 3, to protest the judiciary's decision. In October 2017, the pro-opposition website Saham News reported that after more than two weeks without food, Afarin broke her hunger strike after receiving assurances from senior Evin Prison officials that her sentence would include time spent in the hospital. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abduqeyum Ablimit Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abduqeyum Ablimit, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c947e6.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Uighurbiz | Imprisoned in China | January 01, 2014 Job: Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Culture, Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: 5 years to <10 years Reported Health Problems: No Ablimit is one of seven students connected to the imprisoned Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti who were charged with being involved with Uighurbiz during a secret trial held in November 2014, according to Tohti's lawyer Li Fangping. Tohti, a writer and blogger, was taken from his home by police on January 15, 2014, and the Uighurbiz website he founded, also known as UighurOnline, was closed. The site, which Tohti started in 2006, was published in Chinese and Uighur, and focused on social issues. Tohti was charged with separatism by Urumqi police on February 20, 2014. He was accused of using his position as a lecturer at Minzu University of China to spread separatist ideas through Uighurbiz. On September 23, 2014, at the Urumqi Intermediate People's Court, Tohti was sentenced to life imprisonment. He denied the charges. Several foreign governments and human rights organizations protested the sentence. The European Union released a statement condemning the life sentence as unjustified. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. was concerned by the sentencing and called on Chinese authorities to release him, along with seven of his students. Tohti's appeal request was rejected at a hearing in a Xinjiang detention center on November 21, 2014, that was scheduled at such short notice that his lawyer was unable to attend. Tohti's wife told Radio Free Asia in February 2016 that authorities allow family members to visit Tohti for only 30 minutes every three months. Ablimit was charged alongside the students Perhat Halmurat, Shohret Nijat, Luo Yuwei, Mutellip Imin, Atikem Rozi, and Akbar Imin with being involved with Uighurbiz during a secret trial held in November 2014, according to Tohti's lawyer Li Fangping. Many were administrators for the site, according to state media. According to the political prisoner database of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, an organization set up by the U.S. Congress to monitor human rights and laws in China, Rozi and Mutellip Imin wrote for the site. Imin, who is from Xinjiang and enrolled at Istanbul University in Turkey, also has a blog. He was arrested when he tried to leave China. According to The New York Times, three of the students made televised confessions on the state-run China Central Television in September, saying they worked for the site. Halmurat claimed to have written an article, Nijat claimed to have taken part in editorial policy decisions, and Luo, from the Yi minority, claimed to have done design work. The seven students were sentenced to three to eight years in prison, according to the Global Times, a government-affiliated website. The length of sentence for each student was unclear and details of where they are being held were not disclosed. CPJ could not determine the names or contact details of the lawyers representing the students. Tohti's lawyers Li and Liu Xiaoyuan told CPJ that they did not have information on the students' cases as of late 2017. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdullah Shousha Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdullah Shousha, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c948011.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Amgad TV | Imprisoned in Egypt | September 22, 2013 Job: Broadcast Reporter, Camera Operator, Photographer Medium: Internet, Television Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-state, Retaliatory Length of Sentence: 1 year to <5 years Reported Health Problems: No Abdullah Shousha was arrested on September 22, 2013, while covering protests in Ismailiya, according to news reports and local press freedom organizations. Shousha is a correspondent and cameraman for Amgad TV, a privately owned Islamist channel. He also provided photos and footage to the opposition news outlet, Rassd, according to his Facebook page. A month before his arrest, Shousha filmed an unarmed protester being shot by Egyptian armed forces in Ismailiya. The footage was aired by numerous television channels and by late 2017, had been viewed over 620,000 times on Shousha's YouTube page. Prosecutors charged Shousha with "incitement to violence," "participating in an illegal protest," and "incitement against the ruling government" and ordered him held in pre-trial detention, according to local press freedom groups. On April 17, 2016, a criminal court found the journalist guilty of all charges and sentenced him to two years in prison. The court also convicted him of raising what is known as the "Raba'a Sign," a four-finger salute meant to commemorate the deaths of hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters during the violent dispersal of a sit-in at Raba'a al-Adawiya square in August 2013. Authorities banned the symbol in late 2013. Shousha's defense was preparing to appeal the sentence in late 2017, according to reports. Shousha is facing a separate trial, known as the "Cell Cluster," in which he and 88 other defendants are accused of belonging to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, setting fire to vehicles belonging to members of the police force and the judiciary in Ismailiya and belonging to armed groups. Shousha was covering the unrest for Amgad TV, according to Journalists Against Torture Observatory. The trial was ongoing in late 2017, his sister told CPJ. The journalist is being held in Port Said prison, in a small cell that he shares with seven other people, his sister, Rahma Shousha, told CPJ. The journalist, who was 23 at the time of his arrest, is pursuing a bachelor's degree in sociology at the University of Suez from prison, his sister told CPJ. Shousha was not included in CPJ's 2013, 2014, or 2015 prison censuses because CPJ was not aware of his case. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdullah Klc Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdullah Klc, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c94834.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Meydan | Imprisoned in Turkey | July 25, 2016 Job: Columnist/Commentator Medium: Internet, Print Beats Covered: Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Police in Istanbul detained Abdullah Klc, a former columnist for the shuttered daily newspaper Meydan, on July 25, 2016, as part of a purge of suspected followers of exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government accuses Gulen of maintaining a terrorist organization and "parallel state structure" (FETO/PDY, as the government calls it) within Turkey and alleges that it masterminded a failed July 2016 military coup. Istanbul's First Court of Penal Peace ordered the journalist jailed pending trial on terrorism charges. According to records of the columnist's interrogation and the order jailing him, which CPJ reviewed, prosecutors interrogated Klc on the suspicion that he was a member of FETO/PDY's "media arm," based on his work for Zaman and other newspapers the government accuses of manipulating the public to support the organization and the attempted coup. The government took over Zaman and affiliated publications in March 2016 and shut them down by decree in July that year, alleging links to the Gulenist network. Prosecutors questioned Klc on suspicion of "committing crimes in the name of a [terrorist] organization without being a member," "knowingly and willingly helping a [terrorist] organization without being involved in the organization's hierarchical structure," "founding or leading an armed terrorist organization," and "being member of an armed terrorist organization," according to the documents. Klc denied the charges, court documents show. He said that although he worked at Zaman until February 2011, he subsequently worked at other newspapers and television stations and had reported critically on the Gulenist network. Klc also said he had criticized previous attempted coups in documentaries, columns, and on social media. Klc said he left Meydan in April 2015, after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech warned, "For the last time: those who stay within this [Gulenist] structure will pay the price and suffer consequences," and that he had worked in the flower business since. Meydan and more than 100 other media outlets were closed by decree along with Zaman on July 27. In its order to jail Klc pending trial, the court noted an apparent discrepancy in the charges against the former columnist: Prosecutors accused him of both being a member of a banned organization and of aiding a banned organization without being a member. The order does not make clear on which of the two charges Klc was jailed pending trial. Klc is on trial with several other journalists. When the trial began in March 2017, an Istanbul court ordered Klc and several of the other journalists to be released while the case was heard. However, authorities brought fresh charges and the journalists were ordered to remain in custody, according to news reports. Authorities ordered an investigation into the judges who had ordered the release and they were relieved of duty, according to reports. In the original indictment, all but one co-accused were charged with "being a member of an armed [terrorist] organization," which carries up to 10 years in prison. The second indictment listed the charges as "attempting, through violence and force, to disrupt and replace the order as recognized by Turkey's Constitution" and "attempting through violence and force to eliminate or prevent Parliament from carrying out its duties." Both charges carry a maximum life sentence without parole. CPJ found both indictments to be similar to those presented at trials of other journalists in Turkey. Prosecutors cited as evidence in these cases journalistic activity or acts of free speech and communication, or cited circumstantial evidence such as being employed by a certain media outlet or having an account at a bank allegedly linked to Gulenists. The first indictment accused the defendants of manipulating the public perception of FETO to turn citizens against the government, which prosecutors argued, made the journalists members of the group that Turkey alleges is behind the attempted coup. The second indictment, which was presented as an addition to the original case, argued that the journalists should be held responsible for more than alleged membership to the group. In Klc's case, prosecutors cited as evidence in the first indictment his columns at Meydan and his tweets. Witness testimony from former colleagues alleged that Klc was pro-Gulen, and the prosecutors alleged that he had an account at Bank Asya, which the government alleged was a Gulenist institution. The second indictment included as evidence Klc's mobile phone activity and communication records with people who were wanted or on trial for alleged Gulenist activity. Some of these people had the Bylock App on their phones, according to authorities, who claim that the app is evidence of being a FETO member. Klc did not have the app installed on his phone, according to the indictment. Klc was being held in Silivri Prison, Istanbul. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdullah al-Fakharany Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdullah al-Fakharany, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c94856.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Rassd | Imprisoned in Egypt | August 25, 2013 Job: Editor, Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Corruption, Crime, Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: 5 years to <10 years Reported Health Problems: Yes Rassd Executive Director Abdullah al-Fakharany was arrested on August 25, 2013, in the home of the son of a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Rassd co-founder Samhi Mustafa and Amgad TV presenter Mohamed al-Adly were arrested with him. In February 2014, the three were charged with "spreading chaos" and "forming an operations room to direct the Muslim Brotherhood to defy the government" during the dispersal of the sit-in at Raba'a Al-Adawiya in Cairo, where Egyptians had gathered to protest the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi. The dispersal left hundreds dead, according to news reports. The Egyptian government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood to be a terrorist organization. The prosecutor-general accused the Muslim Brotherhood of using several media outlets, including Rassd and Amgad TV, to support its plot to take over the government and spread lies about the military and the government. Ahmed Helmy, Mustafa's lawyer, denied all of the charges against the journalists. A Cairo criminal court sentenced all three journalists to life in prison on April 11, 2015. They were tried along with dozens of other defendants, including prominent leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood. Life sentences in Egypt are 25 years long, according to news reports. The Egyptian Court of Cassation accepted the request for an appeal on December 3, 2015, on the basis that there was insufficient evidence for the conviction, according to news reports. On May 8, 2017, a Giza criminal court reduced the sentence to five years on appeal, the journalist's brother, Mohamed al-Fakharany told CPJ. The same month, a Cairo criminal court listed al-Fakharany, Mustafa, and al-Adly on the country's "terrorism list," according to reports. Under Egypt's counterterrorism law, approved by President el-Sisi in August 2015, individuals convicted of or facing terror charges can be listed on the "terrorism list." Those listed are banned, for five years from travelling, renewing passports, and working in the public sector. They are also subject to an asset freeze. In August 2017, the Free Abdullah al-Fakharany campaign published a statement from the journalist in which he said that because authorities added him to the terror list he has nothing to look forward to on his release. Al-Fakharany said that his plans to apply for a fellowship abroad and his career ambitions were now "a mirage." In a letter from prison that was publicized on May 3, 2015, World Press Freedom Day, al-Fakharany described being beaten and abused in custody. Al-Fakharany is being held in an intensive security prison in Tora prison complex, southeast of Cairo. He has swelling in his Achilles tendon, preventing him from squatting to use the prison bathroom, according to the Free Abdullah al-Fakharany campaign. The journalist has dental problems that he refuses to have treated in the prison clinic because it is "decorated by sewage water," according to a campaign Facebook post citing al-Fakharany. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abduljalil Alsingace Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abduljalil Alsingace, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c94875.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Al-Faseela | Imprisoned in Bahrain | March 11, 2011 Job: Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Human Rights Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: Yes Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Life Reported Health Problems: Yes Alsingace, a blogger and human rights defender, was among a number of high-profile government critics arrested as the government renewed its crackdown on dissent after pro-reform protests in February 2011. In June 2011, a military court sentenced Alsingace to life imprisonment for "plotting to topple the monarchy." In all, 21 bloggers, human rights activists, and members of the political opposition were found guilty on similar charges and handed lengthy sentences. On his blog, Al-Faseela (Sapling), Alsingace wrote critically about human rights violations, sectarian discrimination, and repression of the political opposition. He also monitored human rights for the Shia-dominated opposition Haq Movement for Civil Liberties and Democracy. He was first arrested on anti-state conspiracy charges in August 2010 as part of widespread reprisals against political dissidents, but was released in February 2011 as part of a government effort to appease a then-nascent protest movement. In September 2012, the High Court of Appeal upheld Alsingace's conviction and life sentence, along with those of his co-defendants. Four months later, on January 7, 2013, the Court of Cassation, the highest court in the country, also upheld the sentences. In 2015, Alsingace began refusing all solid food to protest the conditions at Jaw Central Prison, where he is being held. He ended his protest on January 28, 2016 after refusing solid food for 313 days, according to Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain. In November 2015, Alsingace was temporarily released to allow him to attend his mother's funeral. A family member, who asked for anonymity for fear of retribution, told CPJ in October 2016 that Alsingace was not receiving adequate medical care, including for injuries suffered during torture. According to findings by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, Alsingace was "sexually molested with a finger thrust into his anus" and repeatedly beaten with fists and batons. One officer placed a pistol in his mouth and said, "I wish I could empty it in your head." Security forces threatened to rape his daughter, the inquiry found. The commission was established by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in June 2011 to investigate the 2011 protest movement and subsequent crackdown, including allegations of abuse of prisoners, including Alsingace. Its findings and recommendations, based on interviews with inmates, officials, witnesses, and human rights defenders, were officially endorsed by King Hamad in November 2011. In March 2017, Alsingace was treated for severe dehydration at a military hospital, according to Pen International and the Gulf Center for Human Rights. The rights groups added that authorities prevented Alsingace from attending a medical appointment that month after he refused to go to the examination while in a prison uniform and handcuffs. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdelkabir al-Hor Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdelkabir al-Hor, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c9489a.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Rassd Maroc | Imprisoned in Morocco | August 06, 2017 Job: Internet Reporter, Publisher/Owner Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state Length of Sentence: Not Sentenced Reported Health Problems: No Policemen arrested Abdelkabir al-Hor, a blogger and the founding director of the news website Rassd Maroc, on August 6, 2017 at his home in the city of Marrakesh, his brother Adam al-Hor told CPJ and local media reported. Police transferred al-Hor to their headquarters in Casablanca, where they held the journalist for five days, his brother hold CPJ. On August 11, 2017, a Rabat investigative judge arraigned the blogger and charged him with "promoting terrorism" and "inciting dissidence" on the Rassd Maroc's Facebook page, according to Adam al-Hor and news reports. The judge did not cite specific posts; the investigation centered around al-Hor's coverage of protests in Morocco's northern Rif area. The journalist denies the charges, his brother said. Rassd Maroc has often been critical in its coverage of the Moroccan government, and the blogger's brother said that the charges stem from the journalist's coverage of the anti-corruption movement, al-Hirak al-Shaaby (The Popular Movement). The movement, which has led protests in the Rif area since October 2016, began after a garbage truck crushed a fishmonger to death while he was trying to recover fish that police had confiscated from him, according to news reports. Moroccan authorities have arrested several local journalists and deported at least four international journalists for their coverage of the protests in the Rif area, CPJ has documented. The blogger is being held in a solitary confinement in Sale Prison, 12km (7.5 miles) from the capital Rabat, pending trial, according to Adam al-Hor and news reports. No trial date was set in late 2017, according to the blogger's brother. The blogger requested to enroll in Sale College while in detention but the college dean rejected his request in November 2017, his brother wrote on Facebook. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdel Rahman Shaheen Publisher Committee to Protect Journalists Publication Date 31 December 2017 Cite as Committee to Protect Journalists, Journalists Imprisoned in 2017 - Abdel Rahman Shaheen, 31 December 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a5c948da.html [accessed 6 September 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Freedom and Justice Gate | Imprisoned in Egypt | April 09, 2014 Job: Internet Reporter Medium: Internet Beats Covered: Human Rights, Politics Gender: Male Local or Foreign: Local Freelance: No Charge: Anti-state, False News, Retaliatory Length of Sentence: 5 years to <10 years Reported Health Problems: No In February 2015, a Suez court sentenced Shaheen to three years on charges of aiding terrorism and broadcasting false news, according to the Journalists Against Torture Observatory. The correspondent for Freedom and Justice Gate was already in prison serving a three-year sentence on charges of inciting and committing violence during protests. Shaheen was initially arrested on the street in Suez City, according to news reports. His outlet, Freedom and Justice Gate, is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which the Egyptian government has declared a terrorist organization. In June 2014, a Suez court hearing the first case against Shaheen sentenced the journalist to three years in prison and 10,000 Egyptian pounds (US$1,400) on charges of inciting and committing violence during protests. Freedom and Justice Gate denied the allegations against Shaheen in a statement issued shortly after the journalist's arrest. Shaheen's wife said the court did not allow his defense lawyer to present his case and did not inform them of the verdict, news reports said. Two appeals were denied, according to his employer and the local press freedom group Journalists Against Torture Observatory. The journalist completed his sentence in the first case in mid-2017. In June 2016, a court hearing the second case against Shaheen agreed to the journalist's request to appeal his conviction of aiding terrorism and broadcasting false news, Shaheen's wife told Journalists Against Torture Observatory. As of late 2017, no hearing had been scheduled, according to the Journalists Against Torture Observatory. On December 28, 2016, a military court hearing an appeal in a third case against Shaheen, in which the journalist was sentenced to life in prison on multiple charges of murder, overturned the conviction on appeal, according to press freedom groups. The charges relate to an August 14, 2013, violent dispersal by security forces of a sit-in of supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi at the Raba'a Al-Adawiya mosque in Cairo. Hundreds died in the dispersal, triggering violence and unrest throughout the country, in which dozens more people were killed. In a letter written by Shaheen in prison and published by his outlet in August 2015, the journalist denied all charges against him and said he believed he was targeted due to his former affiliation with the international broadcaster Al-Jazeera, which Egypt banned on the accusation that it uses its reporting to serve the interests of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Al-Jazeera confirmed to CPJ in October 2015 that Shaheen had been working for the network up until his arrest, but that he and his family requested that the outlet not campaign for his release for fear that it could harm his chances of release. Shaheen is being held in Suez' Ataqa Prison, according to local press freedom groups that cited his wife. Prison guards have denied Shaheen's wife her visiting rights on more than one occasion, she said. Copyright notice: Committee to Protect Journalists. All rights reserved. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from CPJ. Pasadena, Calif. Do the intersecting lives of a fashion designer and the serial killer who murdered him add up to a political saga? Absolutely, says Ryan Murphy, the powerhouse executive producer of "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story," season two of the FX showcase that debuted with 2016's Emmy-winning "The People v. O.J. Simpson." "It was a political murder," Murphy said, defending the striking use of "assassination" in the title of the 10-episode series that begins airing at 10 p.m. on Wednesday. The 1997 shooting by Andrew Cunanan of the groundbreaking Italian designer is enveloped in social issues that resonate today, Murphy and series stars Edgar Ramirez and Ricky Martin said. Cunanan ("Glee" star Darren Criss) was a "person who targeted people specifically to shame them and to out them, and to have a form of payback for a life that he felt he could not live," Murphy said during a Q&A with reporters. Ramirez, who plays the adult Versace, and Martin, who portrays his longtime partner, Antonio D'Amico, concurred in separate interviews with Murphy's assessment. Versace, who was 50 and reaching new heights of success when he was gunned down in front of his lavish Miami Beach estate, died because of prejudice, said Ramirez (who, with weight added and hair dyed and thinned for "Versace," is unrecognizable as the actor who appeared in "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Carlos"). Although Cunanan was on the FBI's most-wanted list and circulated openly in Miami Beach before Versace became his final victim in a cross-country rampage, he wasn't stopped because of his gay connections, Ramirez said. Cunanan, 27, fatally shot himself about a week after Versace's murder. "The underlying subject is homophobia and how homophobia killed him," Ramirez said. "That's something that comes up over and over when we look into the investigation. ... Cunanan was on the news every night, on the most-wanted list, and for some reason all the law-enforcement authorities couldn't get him." The California-born Cunanan, portrayed as a deeply disturbed con man, had cultivated relationships with wealthy older men and reportedly had been lovers or friends with two of the five men whose deaths are blamed on him. The other victims included a wealthy Chicago developer and a New Jersey cemetery caretaker. Illuminating anti-gay bias is important because the LGBTQ community still must fight it, Martin said. As a member of the community, the pop star-actor said, he feels compelled to use his fame to combat hate and discrimination. "If I don't use the power that that music gives or, in this case, a character like this gives me, I'd be allowing the crime to happen," Martin said. His friendships with Ramirez and Penelope Cruz, who plays Donatella Versace, were other inducements to join the series, as was its depiction of the Versace-D'Amico relationship. Their attachment was illuminated in a conversation Martin had with D'Amico, who in the show's opening scene is shown discovering Versace's body immediately after the shooting. "Ricky, my love for Gianni, our love, was open,'" Martin quoted D'Amico as saying. "And I've lost him and I've never been the same." The series unfolds back in time from the murder, finally detailing the journeys of Versace and Cunanan from humble roots to, respectively, fame and infamy. In a pivotal scene, Donatella confronts her brother about his intention to come out in the late 1980s. She argues the nearly unprecedented move could wreck their business empire, one built on Versace's talent for combining the glamour of couture with the sexiness and excitement of celebrity. Versace stands his ground, backed by D'Amico. Based on the book "Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History" by journalist Maureen Orth, the drama has drawn fire from Versace's family. In a statement, it was dismissed as "a work of fiction" because family members didn't authorize the book or participate in the screenplay. The series' producers and the publisher of the 1999 book defended it. Orth's book is "a carefully reported and extensively sourced work of investigative journalism," Random House said in a statement, and FX Networks and Fox 21 Television Studios said they stand by Orth's "meticulous" reporting. While details of private conversations were unavailable for the dramatization, as with the O.J. Simpson series, the "Versace" screenplays by Tom Rob Smith are "very emotional and accurate at the same time," Murphy said. A scene with one victim, who is portrayed as begging for his life before Cunanan kills him, is based on the body's injuries, Smith said. "What was that conversation like? So you have these tiny points of truth, and you then try to connect the tissue between it. But I would never use the word 'embellishing' or 'making up.' It's trying to join those pinpoints," Smith said. SALISBURY Noble Horizons welcomes United States District Court Judge William F. Kuntz and former 17-year ACLU president, author and law professor Nadine Strossen for a discussion of Strossens new book, Hate: Why We Should Resist It with Free Speech, Not Censorship. The program will be held Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. Strossen was the first woman to lead the American Civil Liberties Union, the nations largest and oldest civil liberties organization, which she served as President from 1991-2008. When she stepped down as ACLU President, three Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Antonin Scalia, and David Souter participated in her farewell and tribute luncheon. She remains a member of the ACLUs National Advisory Council and is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Eagan, MN -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/15/2018 --Wisdom tooth removal is one of the most common forms of surgery in the U.S, and it is something many adults in their 20s are condemned to go through. While the very idea of surgery might seem a little scary, the experts at Dakota Valley Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery P.A can successfully perform wisdom teeth removal in Apple Valley and Savage, Minnesota, without causing too much pain. The surgeons are experts at handling this procedure to prevent tooth growth and infection. At Dakota Valley Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery P.A, the dentists can perform any dental complications using advanced equipment. Spending years in the dental care, they are committed to treating their patients with the highest quality of oral and Maxillofacial care with utmost professional precision. They are also experts in anesthesia which is extremely necessary for successful surgery. Advantageously located in Eagan, Lakeville, Owatonna, they are ready to provide excellent care with maximum patient comfort and safety in the office setting. At first, an x-ray of the patient's mouth is taken to understand the nature of the damage and determine who should attend to the procedure. The patients are given a local anesthetic to numb the tooth and surrounding areas before having the tooth removed for good. To relieve the patients and reduce their anxiety, the dentist or surgeon at times offers them a sedative to help them relax. It is usually pushed through an injection. Often, general anesthetic is not recommended. However, in some instances, the removal process can be carried out in the hospital. The patient may go home without needing an overnight hospital bed. This is where Dakota Valley Oral & Maxillofacial is different from others. For more information on dental surgery in Apple Valley and Burnsville, kindly visit http://www.dakotavalley-oms.com/. About Dakota Valley Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery P.A Dakota Valley Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery P.A specializes in oral and Maxillofacial surgery with an aim to keep their patient's teeth and gums healthy. They perform dental extraction, wisdom teeth removal, and oral Maxillofacial surgery. New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/15/2018 --It is difficult to deny the range of benefits of a water cooler within the office. While a bottled water cooler may not be as healthy as it is thought to be, finding pure water solutions is the best option to enjoy a fresh and healthy drink. Employees benefit from such solution, for it helps maintain focus, keeping them energized throughout the day. With such system installed in the office, employees will not have to leave the office for a refreshing drink. For some employees, a cooler provides a pace for a mini-meeting where they can enjoy small talk and know about new employees. Document Solutions offers convenient solutions for fresh drinking water by providing a range of water coolers of different sizes and shapes in New York and New Jersey. Some coolers are pretty large having a separate dispenser for warm or hot water. The hot water is ideal for making tea or hot chocolate. Smaller water coolers can contain almost 5-liter water and can comfortably fit on the table or countertop. The biggest advantage of drinking from these coolers is that one can enjoy fresh water free from airborne contamination. Besides, they also eliminate the hassle of running out of drinking water at the workplace. As far as safety and security are concerned, pure water technology significantly eliminates the risk of injury from lifting 40-pound bottles, reducing the risk of potential workers compensation claim. It also removes the bottle deliveries by unknown individuals who might be a threat to the business. The ergonomic design of the water cooler delivers an optimum dispense height and spacious dispense area for large containers which remarkably reduces germ contamination of the dispense nozzle. For more information on office equipment in New York and New Jersey, feel free to call at: 877-937-6977, or visit: http://www.dsbls.com. About Document Solutions Document Solutions will do everything they can to provide their clients with the right technology for their needs and keep copier system running smoothly, every day, all day. They keep track of innovations and upgrades to your products and processes that could save the clients time and cut costs. New York, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/15/2018 --For the unbeaten run of the business, every business requires essential office equipment to enable smooth and better functioning of the office. 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About Document Solutions Document Solutions will do everything they can to provide their clients with the right technology for their needs and keep copier system running smoothly, every day, all day. They keep track of innovations and upgrades to your products and processes that could save the clients time and cut costs. MPs and campaigners protesting outside Parliament MP Sarah Champion has backed the introduction of the a new planning law aimed to protect music venues. The Planning (Agent of Change) Bill presented by John Spellar MP to the House of Commons would mean that developers would have to take account of the impact of any new scheme on pre-existing businesses like music venues before going with their plans. There has been a 35 per cent decline in grassroots music venues in the UK over the last decad and industry body UK Music has warned that existing planning laws are often a key factor struggling music venues must contend with. Ms Champion MP said: I welcome the introduction of the Bill as a vital means of protecting the future of our best-loved grassroots music venues. All too often planning laws have placed unreasonable demands on small venues, threatening the development of our world class music industry. I am pleased that this Bill recognises the challenges that music venues face. I call on the Government to secure its speedy passage into law. A 24-YEAR-old passenger died when the car he was in hit a concrete barrier on the Tinsley viaduct. Police said a silver Seat Leon was travelling northbound on the lower deck, near the Meadowhall roundabout junction. The man was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened at 8.20pm on Friday. The driver, a 24-year-old man, and a 23-year-old male passenger, were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. A third passenger, a 27-year-old man, suffered minor injuries. A police spokesman said: An investigation is currently ongoing and officers are appealing for anyone who may have seen the collision, or the manner of driving prior to the collision, to please report it. Anyone with information is asked to call 101 quoting incident 974 of January 12. Pramod Kumar Agarwal has been elected as the Chairman and Shri Colin Shah has been elected as the Vice Chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) for the period of 2018 to 2020. Thanking the industry and GJEPC members for electing him, the new GJEPC Chairman, Pramod Kumar Agarwal said, It is my proud privilege to be nominated and elected as Chairman of the very dynamic GJEPC. I am committed to bring in a favorable environment for the Indian gem & jewellery trade and business in the next 2 years tenure. My special emphasis would be on facilitating a definitive and stable taxation for Diamonds through Presumptive Taxation. Others would include reduction in GST Rates for cut and polished diamonds and withdrawal of GST on supply of Gold & Silver for export purposes. I would also work towards exploring New Resources for Rough Diamond and Coloured Gemstones while streamlining the existing supply. I strongly believe that Generic Diamond and Diamond Jewellery Promotion is a must for the Industry to attain growth. It would be my sincere effort to work closely with the industry and the Govt. to bring in reforms that would provide Indian G & J industry a competitive edge in the world market. Currently, the industry is at a critical juncture, where it needs to be more organized and transparent in terms of doing business which would help it to achieve a more dynamic role in our economy. MSME sector of this industry has contributed immensely for the success of this industry, and it would be our responsibility to facilitate better infrastructure and affordable access to latest technology and enhance production in terms of quality and quantity at that level, he added. Vice Chairman Colin Shah said, First of all I would like to thank our industry members for giving me this opportunity to serve you. I believe that to achieve the next level of growth and to be competitive in the world market, the Indian gem and jewellery industry needs a complete transformation. For example, improved infrastructure by setting up Jewellery Parks across the country, modernize GJEPC education institutes by setting up Jewellery University. Also, we should improve industrys image with banks and the Govt. I will work towards bringing in policy reforms that are conducive for the trade and business. Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished India plans 50% increase in oxygen production before third COVID-19 wave The target implies a 50% jump from the maximum output of almost 10,000 tonnes reached earlier this year during the peak of the second COVID-19 wave, when hospitals ran short of the gas and relatives of patients had to search out oxygen cylinders. An Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea has left a huge oil spill of 120 sq km that could pose a serious threat to marine life. The Sanchi oil tanker sank on Sunday and all its crew members are also presumed dead. The tanker was carrying 136,000 tonnes of ultra-light crude oil from Iran to South Korea when it collided with the Hong Kong-registered CF Crystal freighter in the East China Sea on January 7. Chinese authorities had launched a search-and-rescue operation for the 30 Iranian and two Bangladeshi crew aboard the Sanchi. However, they were not able to get close to the tanker because of the heat. Rescue officials were able to save 21 Chinese sailors from the CF-Crystal. However, Sanchi's crew members were presumed dead, according to Iranian state media. Since its initial collision on January 7, the tanker had been on fire and drifting in the waters between Shanghai and southern Japan. Sanchi's fuel and its cargo of ultra-light crude oil could cause a huge damage to marine life. According to Greenpeace, the oil spill has occurred in an important spawning ground for several species of fish and on a migratory pathway of many marine mammals, including three species of whale. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News (Agencia CMA Latam) - A 6.8-magnitude earthquake shook cities in southern Peru, killing at least one person and leaving 104 people injured. Due to the magnitude of the quake, the Peruvian government declared a 60-day state of emergency in the province of Caraveli, in Arequipa area. The quake occurred at 4:18 a.m local time with an epicenter located 56 kilometers south of the district of Lomas, in Caraveli. The shock caused damages in the districts of Caraveli, Arequipa, Lucanas, Parinacochas, and Nasca, according to the El Peruano official newspaper. General Jorge Chavez, head of the Civil Defense Institute (Indeci), confirmed that in the province of Caraveli aid had been transferred to 24 homes and a state of emergency declared for 60 days. He added that, so far, authorities can confirm that more than 200 buildings collapsed - 168 houses, 37 schools, 15 facilities and four police stations. Chavez stressed that electricity had been fully restored in the affected province, while water supply service is 50% restored. Also, Peruvian authorities are monitoring the aftershocks. by Agencia CMA Latam For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Report: 2 Yemeni civilians injured in 19 Saudi aggression airstrikes, attacks on Yemen during one day [15/January/2018] SANAA, Jan 15 (Saba) - Two civilians (a child and a woman) were critically injured in 19 US-baked Saudi aggression airstrikes, ground attacks on Yemeni provinces over the last 24 hours, according to reports combined by Saba on Monday. In the northern province of Saada, a woman was seriously injured when the enemy missile force hit Manbah district. A girl was injured in Al-Azqoul district of Suhar by a cluster bomb from the remnants of the air raids. "Many of the areas of Saada province were bombarded with cluster bombs, many of which did not explode unless touched what constitutes a threat to the lives of citizens" reporter said. Meanwhile, the aggression coalition warplane waged a strike on Akwan area in al- Safraa district and four airstrikes on Maran area in Haidan district. The enemy combat aircrafts also launched two airstrikes on residents' homes at Ned-Thami area in Manbah district. Also in Kutaf district of Saada, another air raid hit the house of a citizen, four air strikes on al-Boqa area and two more others on Sawh area. Meanwhile, missile and artillery shelling fired several areas in border district of Razeh. In southwestern province of Taiz, the warplane waged a strike on Jahmaliah area. In central province of Marib, two air strikes hit Serwah district. In Amran province, about 50 km from the capital Sanaa, the Saudi aggression warplanes waged two airstrikes on Aswad mountain in Harf-Sofian. Writing by Sameera Al-Mahdi, Editing by Zak Saba Report: Army, committees killed, injured dozens of Saudi soldiers, mercenaries in attacks over Sunday [15/January/2018] SANAA, Jan 15 (Saba) Army and popular forces have launched military operations, including artillery, missiles and snipping attacks, causing huge casualties the destruction of sites , gatherings, and military vehicles of the US-backed Saudi aggression coalition enemy and its mercenaries during the past 24 hours, military officials told Saba. In border province of Najran, the artillery shelling targeted fortifications of the Saudi army in Sudais censorship and Eshah triangle. In Jizan border province, artillery shelled Saudi army gatherings in Abadiya and Hamda-alShamali area. In Jizan border province, many shelling fired at enemy and its mercenaries' gatherings in Maseal valley. In central province of Marib, the army and committees carried out an offensive in mercenaries' sites in Sawda top hill in Serwah district, causing huge casualties, and mercenary commander Fouad Jafar was injured in Helan. Also in Serwah district, a military vehicle loaded with mercenaries was also burned in Rabia valley, while eight mercenaries were killed in different areas. In southwestern province of Taiz, the artillery bombardment targeted mercenaries ' gathering in Jahmaliah, causing heavy casualties. Also in Taiz, two mercenaries' armored vehicles were burned, another destroyed with a guided missile in Herzain top hill, and military vehicle was burned in Kulabah , killing all those on board. Meanwhile, the army and the committees destroyed two military vehicles north of Yakhtel, and carried out an attack on mercenaries' sites in -Qadra of Hamli area, causing huge casualties in their ranks. They also waged an offensive operation on enemy around Shabaka and Erfan bridge, killing and injuring many of the enemy. In Nehm district, sniper unit of the army and popular committees shot dead a Saudi-paid mercenary in Manara area. In Bayda province, the mercenary commander Colonel Fawzi al-Saadi was injured by fire of the army and committees in the front of Nateh, Writing by Sameera Al-Mahdi, Editing by Zak Saba Five militants from Jaish-e-Mohammed's suicide squad were killed on Monday near the Line of Control (LoC) in a joint operation by Jammu and Kashmir Police, army and paramilitary forces, officials said. Defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said a group of militants was spotted infiltrating from Pakistan into India near Dulanja area of border town Uri - some 120 km from here. The infiltrating militants opened fire at the forces, ensuing into a fierce gun battle that left five militants dead, Col Kalia said. Director General of Police S.P. Vaid tweeted about the operation and said four "suicidal JeM terrorists were killed in Dulanja while infiltrating, in a joint operation by (Jammu and Kashmir) Police, army and (central armed police forces) CAPF". The fourth terrorist has also been neutralised. Keep up the good work! https://t.co/B2gqRr6Fgj Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) January 15, 2018 Three suicidal JeM terrorists killed in Dulanja Uri while infiltrating in a joint operation by @JmuKmrPolice / Army / CAPF. Search for the fourth terrorist is still on. Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) January 15, 2018 "Keep up the good work," he lauded the forces. Police sources here said all the slain militant were Pakistan nationals. President Ram Nath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi (file photo) President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday greeted the Army personnel on the 70th Army Day. "Greetings to the valiant men and women of the Indian Army, to veterans and to families of those who have worn the uniform. You are our nation's pride, the sentinels of our liberty. Citizens sleep securely knowing you are ever awake and ever vigilant," the President tweeted. The Prime Minister also took to twitter and hailed the soldiers for putting the nation first and said the country had unwavering trust and pride in the Army. "Our Army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes," Modi said. "On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents," he said. The celebrations mark the day when Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa took charge as the first Indian Army chief in 1949, succeeding General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British Commander-in-Chief of India. Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra on Monday said the issues raised by four dissenting top judges of the Supreme Court have been resolved, and that the judiciary did not want any political party to take advantage of the situation. "As you can see the matter has been laid to rest and all court rooms in the Supreme Court are functioning normally," Mishra told reporters here. A seven-member delegation of the BCI on Sunday met 15 Supreme Court judges, including Chief Justice Dipak Misra, and three of the four rebel judges who went public with their differences with the Chief Justice. The four judges -- Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph -- on Friday took on the Chief Justice over allocation of cases, saying the administration of the top court was "not in order". "Our one point agenda in meeting these senior judges was to request them to sort out the differences among themselves. Now it appears this morning they all met and resolved it," the BCI chairman said. He said the BCI was only concerned about the functioning of the institution. "Now it is functioning smoothly and all courts are discharging their duties." However, he declined to comment on the issues related to Justice Loya's death and other issues raised by the four senior most judges in their Friday conference. "It is for the Supreme Court to decide the Judge Loya matter, not for BCI to comment on it. "Our sole concern was to ensure independence of the judiciary," he said. Mishra said there is transparency in the judiciary and did not comment on the press conference. He said some people tried to take advantage of the unfortunate situation but "they have failed". India and Israel on Monday signed nine agreements, including in the areas of cyber security and oil and gas, following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu in Delhi. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cyber security was signed. A second MoU was signed between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Israel's Ministry of Energy in oil and gas sector. A protocol between India and Israel on amendments to the air transport agreement was also signed. Another agreement was on film-co-production between India and Israel. A third MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Centre of Israel, related to cooperation in the field of research in homeopathic medicine. Another MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field of space was signed. A memorandum of intent was on Invest India and Invest in Israel. Indian Oil and Israel's Phinergy Ltd signed a letter of intent for cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries. Another letter of intent between Indian Oil and Israel's Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd was signed for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) is providing specific details regarding a Talofa Airways incident at Pago Pago International Airport after Senator Magalei Logovii voiced concerns about the slow emergency response from the Airports rescue crew. Responding to Samoa News inquiries, F.A.A. spokesman Ian Gregor explained that the Talofa Airways plane landed without incident around 8:30 a.m. on Friday on Runway 5. While the plane was taxiing, the landing gear collapsed, Gregor said from Los Angeles. He said there were eight passengers on board and nobody was injured. Gregor also said that the Airline reported the incident to the F.A.A. Magalei, who was among the passengers on the flight, told Samoa News on Thursday afternoon that he was very concerned with the slow emergency response from the Airport rescue crew, who didnt show up until later. A committee hearing has been called for Thursday, Jan. 18, and Port Administration director Taimalelagi Dr. Claire Poumele, will be among witnesses asked to testify. In the meantime, Magalei was among the passengers on the Talofa Airways flight from Fagalii Airport. He explained in a Samoa News phone interview that when the plane landed, a section of one of the tyre areas broke, as the plane turned. He credited the pilot for being calm and quickly shutting down the aircraft to prevent any serious matters. We waited inside the plane for 10 minutes, he said, and during that time, Magalei said he used his cellular phone to contact emergency services, including Airport management, but he didn't get any satisfactory replies. He said a vehicle stopped by on the runway, to check on the plane, and the passengers were able to get off the runway. Magalei said he was told by airport personnel that the director, Taimalelagi Dr. Claire Poumele, was at a Fono hearing. Magalei said it was later, when the passengers were already off the runway, that fire trucks from the Airport Rescue crew showed up and sprayed foam on the runway spot where the plane was sitting. My point is, if the plane had broken down and burned, where was the rescue crew? No one showed up right away when this incident occurred, he told Samoa News, adding that he was very upset with the sluggish emergency response time. Magalei said he plans to call a committee hearing for next week, to summon Taimalelagi and other airport officials to answer questions. The senator also questioned as to whether the airport has filed a report of the incident with the Federal Aviation Administration. Responding to Samoa News inquiries, Taimalelagi said the airport is required to file a report to F.A.A. within 24 hours, adding that the airport manager, Tavita Fuimaono will share a copy of the report once a thorough research with facts has been compiled. The low income levels for the majority of workers in Samoa today is one of the biggest problems there is. Solomona Kolio, 38, from the village of Sogi and Fasitoo-tai says life in Samoa is really that tough, even regular salaries cant address the expensive cost of living. We have two people in our family who work and support our family financially, the father of four told the Village Voice team. I am here with my wife at her familys place, and its just me and her other brother who work. Mr. Kolio says his family always struggle in terms of finance. Only two of us work, thats one of the issues. I also support my four young children who will start school this year. Another struggle is when we have to support our familys obligations and village affairs because that costs money. Mr. Kolio says its good that they have a plantation to turn to. We have always been grateful of the plantation because of the help it provides in times of need. We dont sell the crops that are on our plantation we just work on it to provide food for us and thats about it. I am on my way there to prepare food for us for our Toonai and that saves me money from going to the market and buying it from there. Mr. Kolio mentioned his salary only lasts his family three days. I dont earn that much from my work and usually it would take me three days to use it because everything is expensive today. Life is really hard now in Samoa and if we dont have a plantation to help us in terms of food, we would be in a hard situation. Mr. Kolio adds lets not just focus on our regular jobs for income. I know some of us, the moment we have regular jobs around town, then we tend to forget to work on our plantation. Little do we know that you can also find food and money in your plantation, not just doing office jobs. Life in Samoa these days requires hard work and sacrifice. Ask LJ Leota, 29, from the village of Lepuiai i Manono-uta and thats what he will say. Life here in Samoa today is not that simple anymore because the cost of living is rising and we have to work to cope with it, Mr. Leota told the Village Voice team while on his way back from the plantation. We go to work to help our families in terms of finance and we also have to work our plantation as well to help us with food. I am supporting my small family; I have two young children as well as my extended family as well. I am currently working with other two members of our family and we support our family together with our jobs and our plantation. Me. Leota said it was his day off, and he was preparing food for his family. He said the only thing that he needed help with was equipment for his plantation. All is well here with my family, but for me I really need help for few equipment that can help me work my plantation with. The road leading to our plantation is not good and it makes me want to seek help for a wheelbarrow to carry my things on from the plantation. Mr. Leota adds in order for Samoa not giving up is the key to cope with the high cost of living. We need to keep working and make sure our families are being supported through our work. There is nothing more rewarding than working to provide for our families in this hard time. Some great things have been said about this country over recent weeks. If youve been following the Dear Tourist pages of your newspaper, you would have been proud. Indeed visitors from all over the world - including many Samoans coming back for the holidays - have been impressed so much by the changes they have seen that they have been doing nothing but singing praises of how wonderful this place is. Elsewhere, holidaymakers have thoroughly enjoyed Samoas environment of peace and political stability, the friendliness of our people and just the wonderful natural surrounding. Many of them have vowed to return home and tell their families and friends about it so they too can come get a slice of our paradise. Which is fantastic, isnt it? But thats the kind of thing we should expect more often, dont you think? There is no doubt that Samoa has come a long way. And there is a lot to be proud of. But there is also a lot to be sad and worry about. Last Saturday, a couple of horrific and bizarre stories which unfolded in different parts of the country is sending out a shockwave to the rest of the world with the idea that something is definitely amiss in the make up of Samoan society today. The first incident happened in the middle of Apia last Friday where a young woman was stabbed by her angry husband in view of members of the public. An eyewitness said the man came out of nowhere and started stabbing her multiple times. The victim was walking when out of nowhere the accused jumped in front of her and started stabbing her, an eye witness recalled. He stabbed her eight times to the chest, on her side and her back. She then fell on the ground and the accused ran away. The eyewitness said there was a lot of blood everywhere. It was a very sad scene because she just laid there in a pile of blood. The security tried to chase him (accused). He ran away while the victim was lying in a pile of blood. Later the man was found after he had attempted to kill himself. The good news is that both the man and woman are recovering at the Motootua Hospital. But the same thing cant be said about the second incident on the other side of Upolu. This time, the head of a 15-year-old boy was savagely bashed in a murder allegedly connected to drug dealing at Satapuala. On Wednesday 19th January 2017 police received a request for assistance regarding a 15 year old male, Uili Uili of Satapuala who was reported missing by his family since Tuesday 9th January 2018, a statement from the Police said. The concerned family indicated to police that he is suspected to have been a victim of a drug related incident. Faleolo outpost responded to the request and as a result police confirmed the existence of marijuana plantations and possible high-powered weapons. The information received during the preliminary investigation led to the execution of a search Warrant at Satapuala Thursday evening. As a result of the police search, close to 200 plants and loose marijuana were seized. The concerning amount is estimated to earn approximately at a street value of over $100,000 tala. Police also seized an illegal weapon and ammunitions associated with the cultivation of marijuana plants. Earlier on Friday morning police reconvened its search and were able to locate the body of the victim. More marijuana plants and possible high power military ammunitions were seized. A number of booby traps installed in the area were also removed by police. These are clearly some of the most shocking incidents to have emerged in this country for quite some time. Indeed, what could possibly drive a man to ruthlessly attack his wife in public? He could have easily killed her. At Satapuala, why would someone be so heartless as to bash a 15-year-old boy so that his face becomes unrecognizable in the process of killing him? In Samoa today, let us be warned. We live in a country that looks beautiful from afar but when you scratch beneath the surface, you will find that its actually becoming rotten at its core. The point is that these incidents should concern us all. There is definitely a lot of work for all the leaders of this country to do to avoid a repeat. What do you think? Have a safe Tuesday Samoa, God bless! In an advance toward an effective HIV vaccine, San Diego researchers have shown how cells vital to stopping the virus can be made to multiply. The study will help guide upcoming vaccine trials. While HIV is treatable by many drugs, millions in impoverished countries cant afford them, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. So public health officials say a vaccine to block transmission is the best hope for control, and possibly eradication of HIV and AIDS. But after decades of effort, no truly effective HIV vaccine has been developed. So researchers have been studying the virus and the immune system to understand why. The new study focuses on how to train the immune system to make more of certain antibody-making cells, called B cells. Arising from a naive state, these cells go through repeated stages of growth and mutation to learn how to make effective antibodies. Advertisement But only about one in a million precursor B cells are capable of maturing into cells that make effective antibodies against HIV. It had been unclear if that minute amount was enough, or whether the immune systems of most people are simply incapable of mounting an effective response. The new study indicates promoting this effective response is possible under the right conditions. It was published Dec. 26 in the journal Immunity, and is available at j.mp/hivbnab. Using a mouse model, the researchers found its possible to coax these rare precursor cells to mature and proliferate into producers of antibodies that neutralize a broad range of HIV strains. Specifically, these cells can mature into cells that make a particularly promising class of antibodies called VRC01. In a Darwinian process, the cells must outcompete the far more numerous precursor B cells that can mature into those making ineffective antibodies. This initial or priming process must be followed by additional steps to allow the developing B cells to home in onto the precise antibody response to neutralize HIV. Understanding what takes place will help researchers determine how well new HIV vaccines are guiding the immune response, said vaccine researcher Shane Crotty of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, a lead author of the study. The study gives a stronger scientific basis for developing neutralizing antibody vaccines, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases. Its really an excellent study and its taking us another step closer to understanding how we might ultimately elicit very elusive broadly neutralizing antibodies, Fauci said. In the mice, the population of potentially useful precursor B cells was expanded, a necessary step but not sufficient to develop an effective antibody response. Turning naive B cells into those capable of making broadly neutralizing antibodies takes multiple steps. So a vaccine would require multiple immunizations, each step nudging these B cells toward final maturation into those that make the broadly neutralizing antibodies. Advertisement This convoluted process is necessary because HIV is covered with decoy structures that arent found in other viruses. By the time the immune system has latched onto these decoy sites, the virus has mutated away. By contrast, the parts of the virus vulnerable to broadly neutralizing antibodies are well hidden. Infected people can eventually make these broadly neutralizing antibodies, after years of trial and error. By then, the virus is too well established to eradiate. So the main problem is how to design an HIV vaccine to compress this years-long immune learning process into just a few months. And that requires understanding what is going on in the immune system at a molecular level after HIV exposure and how it can be changed. Right now, the focus in neutralizing antibody vaccines is on the proper molecules to stimulate an immune response, or immunogen, Fauci said. Advertisement And the reason this paper is so important is its telling you that you have to develop an immunogen that specifically targets these germline B cell precursors to get them going, and then by subsequent immunizations coax them along on the pathway to a broadly neutralizing antibody, Fauci said. So its exceedingly important to the field of immunogen design. Germline B precursor cells are the original immune cells the body starts out with. One of those vaccine approaches is led by William Schief of The Scripps Research Institute. His strategy involves unshielding the vulnerable viral site so its visible to the B cells. Our data are consistent with the idea that his vaccine idea really may work because it looks like people really do have these B cells, Crotty said. Advertisement Research funding included grants from NIAID, CHAVI-ID, the international AIDS Vaccine Initiative with support from United States Agency for International Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Related reading TSRI gets $27 million for HIV center New clues to making an effective HIV vaccine found by Scripps Research scientists Advertisement In struggle against HIV, scientists get help from cows HIV vaccine trial set for next year Most powerful HIV- attacking antibody yet has been constructed Scientists inching ever closer to HIV vaccine Advertisement Science Playlist On Now In a first, scientists rid human embryos of a potentially fatal gene mutation by editing their DNA On Now Space station flyovers visible from San Diego this week 0:55 On Now UCSD's 'ghost drivers' begin testing people's reaction seemingly empty cars 1:29 On Now 10 interesting facts about Mars On Now Kids can add years to your life On Now LA 90: SpaceX launches recycled rocket On Now Big passions, big giving: Malin Burnham 2:30 On Now Big passions, big giving: Darlene Shiley 2:40 On Now Big passions, big giving: Joan and Irwin Jacobs 2:45 On Now Ocean temperatures warming at rapid rate, study finds Advertisement bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1020 Accused by Belgian investigators of murdering his wife more than two years ago, Navy Lt. Craig Becker was freed from house arrest last week and turned over to American military authorities, who have not charged him with a crime. Its the latest twist in a strange case thats already seen the Oct. 8, 2015, death of Johanna Hanna Elizabeth Hove-Becker ruled a suicide before Belgian detectives decided it was a homicide. The 36-year-old explosive ordnance disposal expert has complained that military leaders abandoned him to a foreign criminal justice system. Arrested by Belgian authorities and charged with homicide, Becker was suspected of drugging his 32-year-old wife and tossing her out of the seventh-floor window of their apartment in the French-speaking city of Mons. He maintained his innocence and petitioned American military officials to assert jurisdiction under Article VII of the NATO Status of Forces Treaty. With Belgian officials telling Beckers defense team that he likely would not receive a trial until 2020, his attorneys argued that the lieutenant deserved to be tried by an American military court-martial, where he could get a speedy hearing before a jury of his peers. Advertisement On Jan. 2, Defense Secretary James Mattis issued a memorandum that overturned a late 2015 decision by U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa that ceded jurisdiction to Belgium authorities. This memorandum should not be read as expressing any opinions as to what actions, if any, should be taken within the U.S. military justice system, Mattis wrote. Naval Criminal Investigative Services had been conducting a concurrent probe with the Belgians and will take over Beckers case, according to two high-ranking Navy officials. NCIS has taken over as the lead investigating agency and is coordinating with Belgian law enforcement authorities, Navy spokesman Lt. Peter Pagano said by email. Although hes assigned to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe or SHAPE in Mons, Becker also reports to Naval Support Activity Naples, the Italian base that also houses U.S. Naval Forces Europe and the U.S. Sixth Fleet, and has ties to Coronado-based Naval Special Warfare. On Nov. 6, the sailors American attorneys San Diegos Jeremiah J. Sullivan, III and David Patrick Sheldon in Washington, D.C. sued Defense Secretary James Mattis, Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer and the Navys top attorney, Vice Adm. James Crawford, in Washington, D.C., federal court. The NATO treaty grants concurrent jurisdiction to Brussels and the United States because the womans death occurred on Belgian soil, but Sullivan said he cant find any case in Europe or in Japan in which American officials surrendered jurisdiction when the alleged victims also were citizens of the United States. Were still not sure what freed Lt. Becker but justice prevailed, Sullivan said by telephone. Lt. Becker shouldnt be forced to litigate against his own country to exercise the constitutional rights that are afforded to him. Advertisement A former Navy prosecutor, Sullivan blamed the Navys Judge Advocate General, Crawford, for trying to game the system to deny someone his Constitutional rights by forcing Becker into a foreign courtroom instead of putting him in front of an American judge. Citing the ongoing criminal investigation, Navy officials declined comment. So did the deceased womans parents, John and Yvonne Hove of Jacksonville, Florida. Their daughter was born in Sweden, raised in Florida and became a psychologist. She moved with her husband to Mons in 2013. Beckers family in Massachusetts has custody of their daughter while the case continues in Belgium. Advertisement In explaining why they deferred to Belgian prosecutors, Sixth Fleet leaders in Naples previously told lawmakers that they believed Becker would receive a fair trial in Mons and were concerned that some evidence uncovered by detectives there would be barred in American court-martial proceedings, handicapping a potential military case, according to military records obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune. Becker has reported to work at SHAPE. Permission to return to the United States for a vacation was denied, Sullivan said. Sullivan said that Beckers unique background as an explosives expert who worked in classified Joint Special Operations Command programs might have contributed to the decision by United States diplomats and military leaders to bring him back under American jurisdiction. In a Dec. 17 letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Sullivan emphasized that Becker had a deep understanding about nuclear weapons systems; possesses the militarys highest security clearances and likely would encounter foreign terror suspects if incarcerated inside a Belgian prison, putting the Pentagons secrets at risk. Advertisement The November 2015 wave of Paris terror attacks was plotted from Belgium. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for multiple bombings and stabbings inside Belgium in 2016. Advertisement Military Videos On Now D-Day paratrooper from Coronado jumps again in France at age 96 On Now Remembering war's fallen, one name at a time On Now In Ramona, an airplane and an aviator provide living lessons on World War II 1:43 On Now Video: Navy's newest vessel sails into San Diego and a new future in surface warfare On Now Video: U.S. Navy files homicide charges over warship collisions On Now Stopping Marine hazing On Now Video: U.S. Navy Air Crew Grounded After Creating Vulgar Sky Drawing On Now Navy says Asia Pacific ship collisions were avoidable On Now Hundreds of recruits get sick at Marine boot camp On Now Cutler Dawson Talks Navy Federal cprine@sduniontribune.com A curious thing happened to Seth Mallios when he tried to collect artifacts from Martin Luther King Jr.s 1964 visit to San Diego. Liberals told him King could not have been here because if he had, they would have attended. And they didnt. Conservatives told him King could not have come here because they never would have allowed it. To Mallios, an anthropology professor at San Diego State University, those reactions are revealing for what they say about the citys balky relationship with the civil rights movement and its most important leader. Advertisement There are people who insist he never came, Mallios said. Its a surprising chapter in our public history. Surprising because these days, more than 50 years later, King is revered, the kind of larger-than-life figure who has a federal holiday named after him, whose life-story gets told in schools, whose presence in a particular time and place should have generated memorabilia. Who wouldnt want to rub elbows with greatness and then keep a souvenir? Yet very little is known to exist, Mallios said, that documents Kings day-long visit on May 29, 1964, when he spoke at both San Diego State and at California Western University (now Point Loma Nazarene) to combined crowds of about 9,000 people. A few photographs. Some grainy reproductions of newspaper articles. A TV interview at the airport. The receipt for a rented podium. His visit mostly lives in the memories of those who were there, like Bishop George Dallas McKinney, the senior pastor at St. Stephens Cathedral Church of God in Christ in Valencia Park. Now 85, McKinney recalls hearing King at Cal Western use the short-story Rip Van Winkle to make a point. In the story, written by Washington Irving and published around 1820, the title character falls asleep for 20 years and awakens to a new world order. King George IIIs portrait has been replaced by one of George Washington. One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people find themselves amid great periods of social change and yet they fail to achieve the new mental outlook, and the new attitudes, that the new situation demands, King told the audience. All too many people find themselves sleeping through a revolution. And I am convinced that there is nothing more tragic than to sleep through a revolution. Advertisement Kings revolution was to push for the end of segregation in America. His appearance in San Diego came just weeks before landmark civil-rights legislation was signed into law. I think he was a prophet, McKinney said. I think he was used by God to be a change agent in America. He was a battering ram to break down the walls. Mississippi of the West King had been to San Diego before, although people disagree about when he was here, and how many times. Some say his first appearance came in 1955, for a talk at Bethel Baptist Church. Others insist it was in 1960, when he spoke at Calvary Baptist. Union-Tribune archives report a 1957 talk at San Diego Highs Russ Auditorium that was attended by 850 people. Advertisement McKinney was part of an alliance of pastors who weighed whether it was a good idea to invite King to San Diego. At the time, the city was known among African-Americans as the Mississippi of the West because of discriminatory housing, banking and employment practices, according to an article Mallios and Breana Campbell wrote for the San Diego History Center. Some pastors considered King a troublemaker because of the way he mixed social-justice politics with religion. But ultimately the majority thought he could be an inspiration for change in the city. There was some controversy, but the committee had solidarity and we were willing to take the risk, McKinney said. We felt that King was on the right side of history and we joined him. Kings 1964 visit was his most significant here. Hed given his I Have a Dream speech the previous summer in Washington, D.C. Time magazine had named him Man of the Year in December 1963. He was seven months away from becoming the youngest person, at 35, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Advertisement Moments after stepping off the plane at Lindbergh Field, he was asked by a reporter about a fresh incident in St. Augustine, Fla., where shots had been fired into a cottage King and others were using while participating in anti-discrimination protests. There are still recalcitrant forces alive in the South that will do anything to prevent integration, King said. At both San Diego State and Cal Western, leaflets attributed to a group called the San Diego Patriotic Forum portrayed King as a communist. He was used to the allegation, and he knew he would never win over everyone. The law cant force you to love me, he told the crowd at San Diego States Greek Bowl. But it can restrain you from lynching me. Advertisement A dearth of material Kings 1964 visit was part of a California tour to campaign against Proposition 14, which sought to overturn fair-housing legislation passed a year earlier and known as the Rumford Act. Similar rollbacks, pushed by business, construction and real-estate interests, were underway in other states. Returning to the days when it was OK to discriminate in housing would not only be a setback for California, but a setback for the nation, for democracy, and one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th Century, the San Diego Union quoted King as saying in San Diego. The measure passed anyway, by a nearly two-thirds majority. Two years later, the state Supreme Court voided the proposition as unconstitutional, a decision eventually upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Mallios said he was surprised to find so few artifacts, especially at SDSU, documenting Kings time in the city. In their History Center paper, he and Campbell call the dearth of material especially troubling when compared to the extensive collection of items that remain from President John F. Kennedys visit to town in 1963. Advertisement It is suggested here, they write, that the lack of memorabilia collection, preservation, and celebration was a continuation of San Diegos spotty record on civil rights. Both colleges now have markers memorializing Kings 1964 visit. At Point Loma, there is a kiosk that allows visitors to hear portions of his speech, view photographs of his appearance, and read a timeline of his accomplishments. At San Diego State, there is a plaque the largest on campus, Mallios noted that includes some of the words King said that day: We must learn to live together as brothers or we will perish as fools. Advertisement john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com A majority of Americans believe marijuana use should be made legal, and that federal laws criminalizing the drug should not be enforced in states that have legalized its medical or recreational use, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. The poll comes just one week after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions unraveled Obama-era guidelines instructing federal agencies to defer to states policies on marijuana. Sessions, an avowed opponent of legal pot, authorized federal prosecutors to crack down on marijuana as they see fit, including in states that have legalized the drug. By federal law, marijuana is a Schedule I drug, the most dangerous designation. In Thursdays poll, 58 percent of Americans said they believe marijuana use in general should be made legal, down slightly from 61 percent approval last August when Quinnipiac last polled the question. Seventy percent of Democrats supported legalization, compared to 33 percent of Republicans. Seventy percent of Americans said they would oppose efforts to enforce federal laws criminalizing marijuana in states that have decriminalized its use. While an overwhelming number of Democrats opposed the approach championed by Sessions, the question cleaved Republicans. Forty-two percent said they supported a federal crackdown, and 47 percent said they opposed it. Advertisement ( / ) In Connecticut, lawmakers have yet to legalize marijuanas recreational use. A Sacred Heart University poll last October found 70 percent of Connecticut residents either strongly or somewhat support legalizing the drug for adults and taxing it. Because Connecticut does not have a mechanism to legalize marijuana with a ballot question, any resolution would have to pass through the legislature. Vin Candelora, a Republican from North Branford, pointed out that states that have successfully legalized recreational marijuana Alaska, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Maine and Massachusetts did so with ballots. Most attempts by state legislatures to decriminalize marijuana have bogged down in questions of how to enforce the drugs use, Candelora said. When you start looking at the drugs ill effects, and how you would regulate it in the workforce and how you would enforce DUIs, it gets a lot more complicated, he said. I understand a lot of people might support it in general, but the devils really in the details. Vermonts legislature, however, approved a bill legalizing the recreational marijuana Wednesday, the first lawmaking body in the country to do so. Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, is expected to sign the bill into law. On the West Coast, New Years Day marked the first time Californians could legally buy pot without a prescription. Marijuana will go on sale in Massachusetts July 1, and the states Cannabis Control Commission has said it will allow marijuana clubs cafes where patrons can purchase the drug and smoke it on the premises. Dan Hess, a production and extraction specialist shows a jar of tincture distilled from marijuana plants grown at Advanced Grow Labs. (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant ) Sessions rescinding of the Obama administrations hands-off approach, though, has stirred unease in Massachusetts entrepreneurs gearing up for the July kickoff of reefer madness. U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling, the top prosector in Massachusetts and a Trump nominee, said he cannot provide assurances that certain categories of participants in the state-level marijuana trade will be immune from federal prosecution. Advertisement This is a straightforward rule of law issue, Lelling said in a statement. Congress has unambiguously made it a federal crime to cultivate, distribute and/or possess marijuana. Though Lelling said it is his sworn responsibility to uphold federal law, he admitted he does so on a case-by-case basis, assessing each matter according to those principles and deciding whether to use limited federal resources to pursue it. The Boston Globe reported a number of Massachusetts medical marijuana dispensaries went cash-only after a payment processing company cut ties with cannabis merchants, citing the Sessions announcement and Lellings subsequent comments. Were the legislature to legalize the drug and its retail sale in Connecticut, Sessions hawkish stance on pot could dissuade some from entering the marijuana market. Will it make people hesitant? Yeah, absolutely, said Josh Elliott, a Democratic state representative from Hamden who supports legalization. It will make it harder to work with banks and lenders and larger institutions who might not want to cross the federal government. Advertisement But the people who are willing to test the waters are the ones who will show us the benefits of legalization, he added. California marijuana merchants, he noted, are full steam ahead. Jeffrey Iassogna with Advanced Grow Labs in West Haven, Ct., harvests marijuana plants that will be used in the production of medicine. (Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant ) Connecticut legalized medical marijuana in 2014, and today there are 22,348 people allowed to use the drug and 807 physicians allowed to prescribe it, according to the Department of Consumer Protection. Hartfords city council approved last month a resolution in favor of legalizing and taxing marijuana. The resolution, however, is toothless without action from the state legislature. Some towns have pushed back on the drugs legal sale within their lines. New Canaan officials are seeking a two-year ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, and Candelora said his hometown is weighing a similar measure. Advertisement I understand theres a medical value to marijuana, he said. But I think the science needs to catch up to the usage. Elliott said he, too, supports more study of the drug. But Hamden believes legalizing the drug will open it up to research, rather than forcing it underground with criminal penalties for possession. Decriminalization, he said, will open up the gates for some robust testing and research. If it turns out that it really is harmful though from everything Ive read its among the most innocuous of substances you can put in your body Im comfortable with holding it up to that level of scrutiny. A 55-year-old Florida elementary-school teacher was charged with possessing and selling marijuana after undercover officers purchased large amounts of the drug from her, the Citrus County Sheriffs Office said Wednesday. Kimberly Hellenburg of Inverness is a teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary School. During the execution of a search warrant, detectives located over 2 pounds of marijuana in the home, distribution equipment, and at least pound of marijuana in Hellenburgs bedroom, the sheriffs office said. The Citrus County School District told ABC Action News that Hellenburg was employed with the district for the past 29 years and worked as a physical education teacher. A school district spokesperson told the TV station that the superintendent would likely recommend suspending Hellenburg without pay during the investigation. Advertisement Hellenburgs son, Brendan Brown, 19, was arrested at the same home on December 28, deputies said. @tiffinit on Twitter or email ttheisen@orlandosentinel.com El Cajon police officers arrested about a dozen people for feeding the homeless at a city park Sunday afternoon. The event was organized by a group called Break the Ban, which formed after the El Cajon City Council unanimously passed an emergency ordinance in October prohibiting the distribution of food on any city-owned property. City officials said the ordinance was a way to protect the public from hepatitis A, but critics have called it a punitive measure to dehumanize and criminalize the homeless. Mark Lane, one of the events organizers, said about 12 to 15 people were passing out food and toiletries to the homeless at Wells Park on East Madison Avenue when police arrived. Advertisement About 40 more people, including several lawyers, also were there, but not actively passing out food. Some of those carried signs that had slogans like Feeding the hungry is not a crime. While the event was intended to feed members of the homeless, it was also part of the groups plan to legally contest the ordinance. It was absolutely necessary to break this law until they were willing to enforce it, and, now that they have, we will continue this fight in court, said another organizer, Shane Parmely. Its a familiar legal strategy that played a critical role during the civil rights movement and other social justice movements, Parmely said. The arrests began about 3:40 p.m. According to a video Parmely shared on Facebook, a police officer explained to the crowd that the city council had banned food sharing on public property. This park is part of city property so you arent allowed to food share, the officer in the video said. ...If you guys continue to food share, then you guys are subject to arrest, all right? Everyone who was handing out food, including a 14-year-old child, was arrested, given a misdemeanor citation with a date to appear in court and released. No one was taken away in handcuffs. Advertisement In the video, one officer can be heard explaining the citation was for failing to comply with a municipal ordinance as well as an emergency order recently passed by the city. An El Cajon police lieutenant was unable to comment on the arrests, saying the city would handle all inquiries. Lane said Break the Ban will continue to organize events to feed the citys homeless. Sundays event was the second hosted by the group. They have partnered with a second group called Food Not Bombs that has also hosted two food-sharing events. Another is planned for Jan. 27 at Wells Park. Advertisement Our goal it to get the ban overturned and sit down and figure out how to humanely deal with something thats not going away, Lane said. Advertisement Twitter: @LAWinkley (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com ALSO Advertisement Commentary: Restricting food distribution not a solution to El Cajons homeless problem Commentary: El Cajons ban on feeding the homeless is about safety UPDATES: This article was originally published at 7:20 p.m. A homeless man was arrested early Sunday on suspicion of murdering a man near a Poway convenience store, a sheriffs official said. Someone called 911 about 1:30 a.m. to report a stabbing had occurred near a 7-Eleven store on Pomerado Road, sheriffs Lt. Rich Williams said. Deputies found the unidentified victim suffering from traumatic injuries in his car, which was parked close by. He was rushed to a hospital, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Williams said the Medical Examiners Office will determine the victims cause of death. Advertisement At least one witness was able to describe the assailant, and deputies soon located a homeless man who matched the description. He was identified as 30-year-old Kevin Talbott, and was booked into jail on suspicion of murder. Investigators asked anyone with information about the incident to call the homicide unit at (858) 974-2321 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at (888) 580-8477. Twitter: @LAWinkley Advertisement (619) 293-1546 lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com A 33-year-old escapee from a state prison in Chino was arrested in Encinitas on Monday evening, less than 24 hours after he was discovered missing. Michael Martin Garrett was found just after 6 p.m. at a Vons grocery store on Santa Fe Drive just west of Interstate 5, according to a news release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Agents with the departments Special Service Unit and Fugitive Apprehension Team tracked Garrett to the store by following investigative leads, corrections officials said in the statement. San Diego County Sheriffs deputies headed to the store and saw Garrett standing in front of the building. He was arrested without incident. Advertisement Authorities discovered Garrett missing from the California Institution for Men about 9:15 p.m. Sunday during an evening inmate count, according to a news release issued Monday morning. He was sent to state prison from San Diego County last fall to serve a four-year, eight-month sentence for first-degree burglary, vehicle theft, and attempting to evade a peace officer while driving recklessly, according to corrections officials. Garrett was admitted to the Chino prison which houses about 3,400 minimum- and maximum-security inmates in October 2017. He was eligible for parole in October 2019, state records show. State officials say 99 percent of all offenders who have left an adult institution, camp or community-based program without permission since 1997 have been apprehended. Data Watch Videos On Now Data Point: Media Mergers 2:58 On Now Jaywalking infractions in San Diego 1:24 On Now Video: Finding the recipe for the perfect burrito 2:09 On Now Video: Where marijuana is legal in the United States 0:53 On Now Report: Correctional system fails women 1:22 On Now San Diego students have larger classes On Now Hierarchy of cuisine prices On Now Pay phones: Is that still a thing? On Now 2016 border apprehensions On Now STD trends, San Diego County Advertisement Contact Lauryn Schroeder via Twitter or Email. UPDATES: 7:50 p.m.: This story was updated with information that the escaped inmate was found and arrested in Encinitas. It was originally posted at 11 a.m. For the 38th year, San Diegans celebrated the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. in a parade attended by thousands downtown. Organizers said the Sunday parade along Harbor Drive is always a time to reflect on the state of the nation through the lens of Kings vision of equality. This year was no exception. Some attendees said they found significance in the event because they are frustrated with President Donald Trump and what they see as political divisiveness throughout the nation. I was more inspired to come because of our president, No. 45, said Martha Parham, 70, of Escondido, who has been at the parade several times. He has put such an urgency in my heart. It creates such a negative impact the way he has a non-understanding of people of color. Advertisement On Friday, the president issued a statement honoring Martin Luther King Jr. while signing a proclamation commemorating the federal holiday. He called King a great American hero. The parade is organized by the Zeta Sigma Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the oldest African American fraternity in the United States. It features floats, high school bands, churches, peace groups and sororities. Organizers say it is one of the biggest celebrations of King in the nation. Eleventh grader Teora Edwards, center, and the Morse High School Majorettes dance during the 38th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade along Harbor Drive in San Diego on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2018. (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune ) Coordinator Donald Long said there was more interest in the lead up to the parade this year from people looking to volunteer. . There also were 116 entries in the parade this year, compared to 96 in 2017. Alicia and Ben Padillo, of Rancho San Diego, said they hoped parades like the one in San Diego could have an impact in other places as well. Every year is important. But this year is more important, Alicia Padillo said. Especially because of certain messages sent out lately by our president that just dont seem to be very uniting. Jamal Felton, 39, of Rancho Penasquitos, said his generation did not live through the civil rights movement and sometimes needs to be reminded of what came before. We tend to think social conflict and strife is new, he said. Its not that new. This is a good reminder because it also provides us a road map. Advertisement One of the youngest parade attendees, 7-year-old Dahrini Luthra, held a sign that said, my hero is Martin Luther. She was there with her father, Amit Luthra, 39, originally from India. He said he has always looked up to King, especially because of his own displeasure at inequality in the Indian caste system. Dahrini said she was inspired by King while learning of him through her father. She has aspirations to become a politician, and famous horse rider. The parade included appearances by Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) and Assemblyman Todd Gloria (D-San Diego), the Gadsen Elementary School District marching band and a San Diego State University float that featured a painting of King. Advertisement Some participants in the parade mark a major change from when King was alive, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations San Diego division that marched in suits and business clothes. The FBI has a well-documented history with King that has been far from friendly. At a news conference in 1964, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover called King the most notorious liar in the country. The Washington Post in December reported on a recently discovered letter in which Hoover said he hoped King would get his just deserts, a misspelling of just desserts. On Monday, the WorldBeat Cultural Center in Balboa Park is planning a King celebration from noon to 8 p.m. with dance, Native American ceremonies, hip hop performances and vegetarian food. Also, there will be a celebration breakfast hosted by the African American Ministerial Action Council at the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation. Advertisement Business phillip.molnar@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1891 Twitter: @phillipmolnar Advertisement ALSO San Diego home price increases among highest in nation Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., plans to give a speech in the coming days that compares President Donald Trumps public criticism of the news media to similar comments once made by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. A spokesman said that Flake, who will retire after this year amid intense political pressure sparked by his criticism of the president, plans to deliver the speech Wednesday before Trump announces the winners of his self-described fake news awards. Trump announced via Twitter that he would be handing out awards Wednesday to news outlets he thought unfairly covered him. Flake continues to be one of Trumps most frequent critics, often speaking out to warn that the presidents words and actions could be detrimental to the future of the Republican Party and the nations standing worldwide. Advertisement In recent days, he was among the lawmakers who denounced Trump for describing certain African nations and Haiti as shithole countries during an Oval Office meeting on immigration policy. Flake has been negotiating a bipartisan deal on immigration with Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. In an interview with The Washington Post on Friday, Flake said that he was not at the meeting, but heard about Trumps comment before it went public. And what Ive heard reported is consistent about what I heard about the meeting. Im not surprised at the sentiment expressed - its consistent with what hes said - but that he would do that knowing the fury it would cause, Flake added. Flake plans to use his upcoming speech to denounce Trump for calling the news media the enemy of the American people last year. In excerpts provided by his office, he is poised to blast Trumps unrelenting daily assault on the constitutionally-protected free press that he will call as unprecedented as it is unwarranted. It is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words infamously spoken by Josef Stalin to describe his enemies, Flake will say, according to the excerpts. It bears noting that so fraught with malice was the phrase enemy of the people, that even Nikita Khrushchev forbade its use, telling the Soviet Communist Party that the phrase had been introduced by Stalin for the purpose of annihilating such individuals who disagreed with the supreme leader. Flake will add that Trump has it precisely backward - despotism is the enemy of the people. The free press is the despots enemy, which makes the free press the guardian of democracy. When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesnt suit him fake news, it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press. On MSNBC Sunday night, Flake said that in addition to Stalin, Mao Zedong, the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party, also referred to the media as enemy of the people. And he repeated his point that Khrushchev later forbade the use of the term. I dont think that we should be using a phrase thats been rejected as too loaded by a Soviet dictator, Flake said on Kasie DC. Advertisement Flake was elected to the Senate in 2012 and announced last year that he would not seek a second term this November. The Republican contest to succeed him now includes former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio, Rep. Martha McSally and former state senator Kelli Ward. The winner is expected to face Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema in the general election. Flake has declined to endorse a potential successor. President Donald Trump is defending himself anew against accusations that he is racist, this time after recent disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations. No, No. Im not a racist, Trump said Sunday, after reporters asked him to respond to those who think he is. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you. Trump also denied making the statements attributed to him, but avoided the details of what he did or did not say. Did you see what various senators in the room said about my comments? he asked, referring to lawmakers who were meeting with him in the Oval Office on Thursday when Trump is said to have made the comments. They werent made. Advertisement Trump stands accused of using shithole to describe African countries during an immigration meeting with a bipartisan group of six senators. The president, in the meeting, also questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the U.S., according to people who were briefed on the conversation but were not authorized to describe the meeting publicly. Trump said in the meeting that he would prefer immigrants from countries like Norway instead. The White House has not denied that Trump said shithole though Trump has already pushed back on some depictions of the meeting. A confidant of Trumps told The Associated Press that the president spent Thursday evening calling friends and outside advisers to judge their reaction to his remarks. Trump wasnt apologetic and denied he was racist, instead blaming the media for distorting his meaning, said the confidant, who wasnt authorized to disclose a private conversation and spoke on condition of anonymity. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the only Democrat at Thursdays meeting, said Trump had indeed said what he was reported to have said. Durbin said the remarks were vile, hate-filled and clearly racial in their content. He said Trump used the most vulgar term more than once. Trump commented as Durbin was presenting details of a compromise immigration plan that included providing $1.6 billion for a first installment of the presidents long-sought border wall. Trump took particular issue with the idea that people whod fled to the U.S. after disasters hit their homes in places such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti would be allowed to stay as part of the deal, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to publicly describe the discussion. When it came to talk of extending protections for Haitians, Durbin said Trump replied, We dont need more Haitians. Advertisement He said, Put me down for wanting more Europeans to come to this country. Why dont we get more people from Norway? Durbin said. Republican Sens. David Perdue of Georgia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who also attended the meeting, initially said in a statement Friday that they do not recall the president saying these comments specifically. On Sunday, they backtracked and challenged other senators descriptions of the remarks. Perdue described as a gross misrepresentation reports that Trump used the vulgarity. He said Durbin and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina were mistaken in indicating that was the case. Graham also attended the meeting. I am telling you that he did not use that word. And Im telling you its a gross misrepresentation, Perdue said on ABCs This Week. Advertisement Cotton told CBS Face the Nation that he didnt hear the word used and I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin was. Trump insisted in a tweet on Friday that he never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said take them out. Made up by Dems. Trump wrote, I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust! Trump has defended himself against accusations of being a racist on numerous occasions, including during his insistence that President Barack Obama was not American-born and after he opened his presidential campaign in 2015 by describing Mexicans as rapists and drug peddlers. Word of Trumps comments threatened to upend delicate negotiations over resolving the status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children. Trump announced last year that he will end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, unless lawmakers come up with a solution by March. The program shielded these immigrants, often referred to as Dreamers, from deportation and granted them permits to work. Advertisement Trump tweeted earlier Sunday that the program is probably dead and blamed Democrats. He elaborated on the way to dinner Sunday night with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., saying Democrats dont want to help the DACA people. Some Democrats have threatened to vote against legislation to extend government funding, which expires on Friday, unless protections for the Dreamers are included. Honestly I dont think the Democrats want to make a deal, Trump said. I think they talk about DACA, but they dont want to help the DACA people. Trump said Democrats arent for securing the border or stopping the flow of drugs, but are for taking money away from the military. Advertisement We have a lot of sticking points but theyre all Democrat sticking points, he said. We are ready, willing and able to make a deal, but they dont want to. Associated Press writer Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report. Gerrymandering isnt just for politicians. School districts across the nation have attendance boundaries that make segregation worse than in the neighborhoods they serve, according to new research, and two of them are in San Diego County. Vista Unified School District and Carlsbad Unified School District have elementary zones set up in a way that exaggerate segregation in surrounding neighborhoods, according to a study by Tomas Monarrez, a doctoral candidate in economics at University of California Berkeley. Rick Grove, assistant superintendent of personnel services at Carlsbad Unified, said six out of nine elementary schools are open to transfer students from another school zone. The remaining three are unable to accept outside students due to a lack of physical space at the school. According to data from the California Department of Education, about 1.2 percent of Carlsbads enrollment is African American, 28 percent are Hispanic or Latino, and 56 percent are white. Vista Unified superintendent Linda Kimble said the study analyzed boundaries reported in 2013 and the district has since revised school zones with a goal of addressing disproportionate populations and creating more choice. The boundaries are set by examining many factors, including pedestrian safety, campus size and instructional program access, Kimble said, and they are never set to isolate. Currently, about 33 percent of families with children in Vista elementary schools participate in school choice. Our overarching goal is to create and provide a wide range of educational options across our 29 school sites and make these options available to all families, Kimble said. State education data show Vista Unifieds enrollment is 3 percent African American, 64 percent Hispanic or Latino and 24 percent are white. Monarrezs research, which analyzed U.S. Census Bureau demographics with boundary data for about 1,500 districts nationwide, found that most districts keep underlying segregation the same. Seven districts, including Poway Unified, Lemon Grove and Lakeside Union, actually lessen segregation when they set attendance boundaries. The map below shows how school zones are drawn now, and how they would look if every child went to the nearest school. You can switch back and forth between the two options to see how the demographics would change in your school. Click on the map to see neighborhood demographics inside each school zone: If the map is not displaying on your device, click here. To reach his conclusions, Monarrez first determined the percentage of black and Hispanic residents for each school attendance zone and compared that to the percentage of black and Hispanic residents in the underlying neighborhoods. If the school boundaries tended to contain a population more diverse than the neighborhood, that was seen as lessening segregation. Research shows its common for a child to attend their neighborhood school but that often recreates in schools the segregation seen in neighborhoods across the country much of which is a result of previous housing discrimination practices. The United States Supreme Court struck down in 1954 the doctrine of "separate but equal" in public education with its Brown v. Board of Education ruling, but actual desegregation efforts did not begin until subsequent court decisions forced school districts to act. In 1967, 13 years after Brown v. Board of Education, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class-action lawsuit against San Diego Unified School District claiming its schools were segregated. At the time, 78 percent of the district's students were white. The largest minority group was black at 11 percent, with Latinos accounting for 9 percent of schoolchildren. The case, Carlin v. Board of Education, became another landmark ruling by forcing San Diego Unified to desegregate its schools. Its efforts were supervised by the courts annually until 1998, when a Superior Court judge lifted the order and allowed desegregation efforts to continue without judicial oversight. The spirit of the Carlin case is definitely still present in the district, said Marceline Marques, director of San Diego Unified School Districts neighborhood schools and enrollment options office. It was the driving force behind many of the programs we still have today. According to Marques, the majority of San Diego Unified students attend neighborhood schools. This means school populations are more likely to resemble surrounding communities. About 10 percent of the district, which services more than 100,000 students, apply for choice enrollment programs, resulting in about 10,000 applications annually. Each one is reviewed by hand. We do see certain populations settling into certain neighborhoods, Marques said. That makes sense for many families, but at the same time, we want to promote integration. Thats our legal and ethical responsibility. Choice programs help the district integrate students, create a more diverse population in schools and give all students the opportunity to receive their desired type of education, Marques said. For example, applications to magnet schools are weighted, giving students that represent an underrepresented population priority over other children. Magnet schools are typically filled to mirror the demographic breakdown of the student population district-wide. San Diego Unified isnt able to place every applicant. About 25 percent must return to their neighborhood school or pursue other options such as charters or private schools. Theres a finite number of non-resident seats at every school, Marques said. Some schools get the perfect number of applicants, and some get way more applicants than they can take. According to Monarrezs study, San Diego Unified recreates the segregation of underlying neighborhoods.Twenty-one school districts in San Diego County are not included in the analysis. Zoning data came from the School Attendance Boundary Survey (SABS), administered by the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES). Only districts that participated in the survey and administered at least five elementary schools were included. Search the racial demographics of your school below: Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. Search the achievement metrics of your school below: Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. Methodology Race data come from the California Department of Education and represent each school during the 2016-2017 school year. All races listed, excluding Hispanic or Latino, are considered non-Hispanic. Percentages on the initial report may not equal 100. A further breakdown of all races can be seen by clicking Details. Blanks in the database indicate there was no data to report or the school has yet to provide the information. Testing and college readiness data come from the California Department of Educations school dashboard, which shows how districts and schools are performing on test scores, graduation rates and other measures of student success. Data used in the analysis represents each school in the Fall of 2017. The statewide assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics are only administered to third, eighth and 11th-grade students, so only schools with those grades have testing data to report. The main indicator is based on Smarter Balanced Assessment scale scores and is calculated using the average distance each student is from a level three score. For example, if one student is 20 points below the lowest possible scale score that receives a level three, and a second student is 30 points above the lowest possible scale scores that receives a level three, the average distance from level three would be a +5 points. If one student is 30 points below, and another is 20 points above, the average distance would be reported as -5 in data. Test scores range from one to three. A level three means the student showed understanding of core concepts in either English language arts or mathematics. A level one means the student showed limited understanding of core concepts. All races listed, excluding Hispanic or Latino, are considered non-hispanic. Percentages on the initial report may not equal 100. A further breakdown of all races can be seen by clicking Details. Contact Lauryn Schroeder via Twitter or Email. What would Martin Luther King Jr. say about Trump's vulgar remarks? We asked 7 religious leaders. President Donald Trump (left), Martin Luther King Jr. (right). San Diego Union-Tribune As people throughout San Diego and the nation prepare to honor the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. this weekend, many Americans are digesting the recent comments of President Donald Trump, who reportedly said he doesnt want people from s***hole countries coming to the U.S. The president denied using the language attributed to him in a report in The Washington Post as a national conversation on race, racism and immigration exploded. The Union-Tribune asked several local pastors and clergy members about the focus of their sermons this weekend; if they would mention Trump and our divided times; what they think King would say about the U.S. in 2018; and what they think of Trumps reported vulgarity. Here are some of their answers: Jared Moten, Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church I think Martin Luther King would be appalled (with Trump). He had a working relationship with John F. Kennedy and so he understands what presidentiality looks like. He was dealing with President Kennedy when African-Americans didnt have the rights or the voice that we have today. And hed be very disappointed because here we are some 50 years later after Rev. King died and we are worse or equal to the situation that we were in then. We thought wed made some strides and some progress, but we have not. As an African-American citizen, Im not pleased with the way that America is going. I think (Trump) is a racist. I have no problem with saying that. Terrell Fletcher, City of Hope International Church Dr. King was about justice and social justice. Im going to talk about the good people who will not relent in the fight for justice for all people, not focus on the evil or bigoted person. Good actions can override the bad actions as long as we act. Good people can no longer just root for the champion. We cant just leave it to a select few, we all have to act. Shane Harris, National Action Network San Diego People need to understand that the comments that were made by the president were not only wrong and racially charged but they were statements that were immoral, not just as a country but our beliefs as Christians. And these are the same countries that we do missions in. A lot of our churches have done missions in Africa and missions in Haiti. Im going to expect a lot of the white evangelical pastors on Sunday to be addressing that no, these are not (s***holes). These are beautiful places. John Auther, Our Lady of Guadalupe Church I think Dr. King would see some very positives signs of growth in the attitudes of most of the people in the country, but I think he would recognize some of the entrenched kind of racist attitudes in others. (Trumps comments) just underscore that hes a racist. We cant expect too many policies that favor people of color and thats most of our congregation. Were probably 98 percent Hispanic. Its a reality. We have a racist president, so this is going to make things more difficult. It has made it more difficult, and it will make it more difficult. Gabi Arad, Jewish Collaborative of San Diego Every great leader knows that there is an ebb and flow to society and the evolution of mankind. The pendulum is constantly swinging. We have had the best of times and we have had the worst of times. MLK Jr. knew that the work that he did and the movement that he led was just one link on the infinite chain of human evolution. Hed give us words of inspiration, hed rally behind all of us. Hed encourage us to go back to our core values, and be a nation where every human life is valued and taken care of. J. Lee Hill, Jr., Christian Fellowship Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) The most recent emotional outburst (of Trumps) further establishes the need for better presidential leadership; leadership that truly represents America in all of its rich and beautiful diversity. And in light of his inability to respond to a clarion cry of compassion, within his own party from Rep. Mia Love, to apologize and walk back that vulgar statement, and coupled with his long tenured history of insensitive, vulgar and vile language it reveals on a very basic level this presidents heartfelt feelings for immigrants, women, people of color and the poor. Rob Novak, Resurrection SD The loud fight over what will happen to Americas Dreamers isnt what it seems. For both sides, its a fig leaf used to mask their true intentions. In his first term, Barack Obama admitted that he had no constitutional authority (Im president, Im not king) to grant amnesties. Yet during his campaign for reelection in 2012 he created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which conferred a temporary reprieve from deportation to young people brought to this country as minors. Now Democrats are demanding the preservation and institutionalization of the DACA program. One day soon, they will likely demand its expansion. They do not control either house of Congress or the presidency. They do not enjoy a majority of state legislatures and governorships. To get their way, they are counting on either favorable public opinion or threats to shut down the government. Democrats are so focused on the 800,000 Dreamers less than 10% of the undocumented population because theyre politically photogenic and for now seen as the easiest group to exempt from efforts to control illegal immigration. In blanket fashion, the media consistently report that they are model youth, fulfilling their proverbial dreams of finishing college and achieving upward mobility. Advertisement An irate public has had it with open borders. That narrative lacks subtlety, if its not outright deceptive. The average age of DACA participants is now 24. Few after entering adulthood sought to address their known illegal status. Surveys suggest that most are not in school; fewer than 5% have graduated from college. Those employed earn a median hourly wage of $15.34, which means they are forced to compete on the lower end of the wage ladder. Only about a tenth of 1% of DACA youth serve in the U.S. military fewer than 900 total. Setting aside the reality of the Dreamer pool, the Democrats method of fighting for DACA suggests that they are broadly in favor of letting immigration dysfunction continue apace. Why else would they refuse to give President Trump any significant concessions in the DACA negotiations no wall, no end to chain migration, no cessation of visa lotteries? They know that if this generation of Dreamers gets a pass without broader reform, it will be followed by another and another, all expecting the same eventual exemptions. Democrats once used to talk about ending outright illegal immigration. They worried that it put downward pressure on wages. They thought it eroded union efforts and sapped political support among Democrats blue-collar base, while overtaxing finite social services to the detriment of the American underclass. In the current age of identity politics, a new generation of progressive Democrats has recalibrated mass illegal immigration as a godsend. Over the last 20 years, it has vastly expanded the Latino vote as well as empowered ethnic tribunes. Immigration has galvanized minority registration in general and encouraged bloc voting. One tangible result is that the American Southwest is slowly turning blue, or at least purple. Many pre-Trump Republicans favored illegal immigration too, although for different reasons: They worried more about obtaining workers rather than future constituents and voters. The Chamber of Commerce/Wall Street wing of the GOP thus ignored the issue for the last half-century. Inexpensive industrious workers were welcomed by the construction, landscaping, agriculture, hotel and restaurant industries. The social costs of providing parity for these workers and their dependents from the poorest regions of Mexico and Latin America arriving for the most part without legality, English, or high school diplomas were always passed on to the taxpayer. Advertisement Now, however, a newly ascendant conservative base objects to illegal immigration for many of the same reasons Democrats did historically. One exception, of sorts, is that even most hard-liners do not wish suddenly to deport all 10 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally, at least those who have not committed crimes, are not on public assistance, are fully employed and are willing to pay fines and to learn English to obtain green cards. The Dreamer debate is therefore an easy one for the many Beltway Republicans not truly committed to fixing our immigration system. Theyre all too happy to extend de facto amnesties and wont face much backlash for doing so; they just have to appease their constituents by championing, say, some kind of border security in exchange. The result will be a reprieve for Dreamers, a few security agreements and no real answer for how to deal with the more than 10 million immigrants living illegally in the United States, or for how to prevent millions more from following in their footsteps. On these larger issues of immigration, mythologies continue to dominate the conversation. The United States is hardly a xenophobic country. Much less is it anti-Latino. As of 2015, 46.6 million people living in the United States were not born here. That is the highest number in American history about four times greater than the number of immigrants living in any other nation on Earth. One of four California residents was not born in the United States. Advertisement Immigration is not especially diverse. About one in four immigrants in the United States arrived from one country: Mexico. Identity politics largely governs relative immigration enforcement. Yet the current liberal idea of a sanctuary city or state in which federal immigration authorities cannot easily deport convicted alien felons is hardly progressive. The concept of defying federal laws harkens back to the antebellum nullification efforts of defiant state governments that seceded to form the Confederacy. Certainly, California or New Mexico would resent bitterly any other state that likewise nullified the authority of federal laws. California Gov. Jerry Brown would grow irate if Utah or Alabama followed suit in defiance of Washington, declaring elements of national environmental legislation, gun registration statutes or safety standards null and void in their local and state jurisdictions. Advertisement Forgotten also are historic truths about immigration. In the past, immigration has proven a great boon to a host country if it was legal, measured, meritocratic and diverse. That way, assimilation, integration and mastery of native languages and customs were enhanced by immigrants who in turn enriched their adopted country. The opposite holds true of massive, illegal and nondiverse influxes of foreign nationals. The results are too often tribalism, political manipulation and factionalism, as the current multicultural and multiethnic turmoil in the Balkans, Middle East, Africa and now Europe attest. Illegal immigration flourished because Democrats wanted future constituents, and Republicans sought inexpensive labor. But an irate public has had it with open borders and both parties are scrambling to hide their past and present agendas for now by focusing on the idealized Dreamers. Victor Davis Hanson is a senior fellow at Stanford Universitys Hoover Institution. He is author of the Second World Wars. Advertisement Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook Citations issued to about 12 people who were passing out food to homeless people in El Cajon over the weekend are bringing renewed attention to the citys ban on food distribution from people in the San Diego region as well as across the country and around world. El Cajons City Council unanimously passed an emergency ordinance in October to prohibit food distribution on any city-owned property, a decision that it said was made in an effort to protect the public from the countys deadly hepatitis A outbreak. The temporary ordinance is set to be in place until San Diego Countys state of emergency is lifted. Food distribution, previously done by churches and other groups, has continued, however, by activists who say the legislation is an effort to dehumanize and criminalize the homeless. About 40 people including some lawyers showed up at the park on Sunday to protest the ban and pass out food before the dozen or so were given misdemeanor citations. Those who heard about the news from local and even international outlets reacted on social media with disgust and concern. It also led to a discussion of the regions issues with hepatitis A and homelessness and possible solutions. In a December op-ed for The San Diego Union-Tibrune, El Cajon City Councilman Steve Goble called the measure an appropriate, responsible and caring action based on expert information from the countys health department. Yet two city pastors also wrote an op-ed on the citys decision describing the need for food distribution, saying in El Cajon there are not nearly enough resources available for the people who need them. RELATED: Do you have thoughts to share about El Cajons food distribution ban or the recent citations? Send a tweet to @sdutideas or an email to letters@sduniontribune.com and we may publish your opinion. Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com Twitter: @abbyhamblin ALSO El Cajon takes emergency stance on food distribution in parks About a dozen people arrested for feeding the homeless in El Cajon park Citations for people feeding the homeless in El Cajon put spotlight on food distribution ban Read this dramatic first-person account of a surprise attack by two V.C. battalions 800 to 900 fighters in all that nearly overran a small encampment deep in the jungle. Weekly Newsletter The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox! Join This article and other features about America in Vietnam can be found in the Posts Special Collectors Edition, The Heroes of Vietnam. This edition can be ordered here. Everything was quiet in Camp Nam ong as I finished my round of the inner perimeter that night. I went up to the mess hall to check the guard roster. My watch said 2:26 a.m. At that moment the roof erupted in a blinding brilliance. The roaring concussion knocked me back through the door. I scrambled into the command post next door. Master Sgt. Gabriel Ralph Alamo, my team sergeant, was already on the phone to Staff Sgt. Keith Daniels in the communications room, calling for a flare plane. Now more mortar rounds rocked the camp. Grenades burst in volleys, their sound lighter than the mortars thunderclaps. Small arms and automatic weapons rattled from all sides. The mess hall was blazing. When the blast of the first mortar round jolted Daniels out of bed, he flicked on the radio. Bare to the waist, Dan strapped on his holster but kept the gun in his hand, cocked, and watched the door, waiting to get a tone on the radio transmitter. The minute he did, he sent his message: Hello, a Nang Nam ong calling I have an operation-immediate message. Roger. Roger. Go ahead, Nam ong. Request flare ship and an air strike We are under heavy mortar fire. The crashing, rending blasts of the mortar shells walked closer. A direct hit exploded on the supply room next door. Dan reckoned the communications room was next. Holstering his .45, he picked up his rifle, grabbed a belt of ammunition, and raced out the door. When a mortar burst tossed him high in the air, he calmly felt himself all over for blood or broken bones; finding none, he continued on his way. Behind him, the communications room blew up. Already the whole long house was burning, flames crackling in the dry thatch of the roof and along the rattan walls. We had known that the Viet Cong might attack at almost any time. But that weekend, the threat of attack seemed to have become much greater. Close to the borders of both Laos and North Vietnam, Camp Nam ong had been set up to give some protection from the communists to the 5,000 inhabitants of the nine villages in our valley. To provide this protection, the camp commander, ai-uy (Captain) Lich, had a force of 311 Vietnamese. The Special Forces detachment I commanded had been assigned as advisors to the camp commander to give some protection and, even more important, to aid the villagers. Recently, for example, our medics, easygoing Sgt. Thomas L. Gregg and husky young Sgt. Terrance D. Terrin, had successfully handled an epidemic of encephalitis sleeping sickness. Besides the 12 of us in Team A-726, there were only two other Westerners in the camp: Kevin Conway, an Australian warrant officer, and Dr. Gerald C. Hickey, an American expert on the Vietnamese mountain tribes. On Saturday night, Sgt. Michael Disser, patrolling the villages farthest up the valley with a squad of night fighters, had radioed: The villagers are scared, but they wont tell me or my interpreters why. Terry Terrin reported that his men had found the bodies of two murdered village chiefs. And tempers in the camp had flared in a quarrel fomented by communist agents, I felt sure between the South Vietnamese strike forces and our contingent of 60 Nungs, the tough mercenaries, ethnically Chinese. I think that all of us in the team had a sense of foreboding that night Staff Sgt. Merwin Woody Woods, I later discovered, wrote his wife: All hell is going to break loose here before the night is over. At the blast of the first enemy mortar shell, Gregg rolled out of his bed in the dispensary, picked up his shotgun, and stepped outside. The burning mess hall cast an eerie, dancing light over the camp, spectacular now with swirling smoke and the flashes of exploding shells. The V.C. mortars were zeroed in on us. In the glare of the fire, Gregg saw crouched figures moving forward, not more than 20 yards away. He raised his shotgun and fired. The blasts caught six V.C. almost point blank. Gregg took a quick look around, then rushed back to the burning dispensary to save as much equipment as he could. Racing to man his 81 mm mortar position near the dispensary, Sgt. 1st Class Thurman R. Brown pulled up short when he suddenly saw grenades arcing toward him from the direction of his own mortar pit. There, at the top of the concrete bunker at the rear of the pit, were at least two V.C. grenadiers. A 57 mm shell slammed into the wall a few feet away, blowing the wall apart and hurling Brown through the air. He ran to the C.P. to get some hand grenades. By then the C.P. was burning. Alamo and I were trying to save what we could of the ammunition, arms, radios, and other equipment we had stored there. Brown grabbed a supply of grenades and headed back toward his position. A few yards ahead of him, one of the Vietnamese interpreters, George Tuan, was hit. Brown ran to Tuan, who was struggling to sit up. Both legs were off just below the knees. In 30 seconds he was dead. Brown doubled back and ran through the burning buildings. A mortar shell landed right behind him, and he went flying through the air again. Stunned, he shook his head clear and glanced toward his mortar pit. Nobody in sight. He dashed over and jumped in. But when he looked up, he found himself staring down the barrel of a submachine gun held by one of two V.C. lying on top of his ammunition bunker. He raised his rifle, but the men rolled out of sight. Brown leaped to the edge of the pit and shot them both. Back in the pit, he peered inside the bunker. Two Nungs were there. They couldnt get out, and the V.C. couldnt get in. The men Brown had killed had been about to blow up the bunker. Illumination rounds! Brown ordered. The flares, floating overhead, would light up the area until the flare ship flew over. As Brown started across the few feet between the bunker and his mortar, another burst hit. He tumbled through the bunker door. When he tried to get up, he found he couldnt move. His right leg felt dead. Oh, Lord, he mumbled. Ive lost a leg. Then he discovered he was sitting on it. In 30 seconds he was up and firing the mortar. As fast as he could move, he fired for illumination, bathing the scene in light so we could see the attackers. Brown had awakened, seen a man die, helped fight a fire, survived four brushes with death, killed two men, and given us a fighting chance with his illuminating shells. All in five minutes. Pop Alamo and I were still hauling stuff out of the burning C.P. when I saw Sgt. 1st Class Vernon Beeson running toward us. Mortar shells and grenades exploded within 25 feet of him, but nothing touched him. He took off through the burning buildings to his 81 mm mortar position. His Nungs were already there, breaking out ammunition. Bee knew that what we wanted was light. Gimme illumination! he cried, and started firing as fast as he could drop the shells into the big tube. Only 10 minutes had passed since the first V.C. shell landed. From his quarters, Woody had seen that first shell explode a ball of burning white phosphorus with 14,000 different-colored flames shooting out of it. Rolling off his bunk, he thumped to the floor, grabbing his .38 Smith & Wesson Special. Bullets were buzzing through the room. Woods reached up to his gun peg and took down his AR-15. Wearing only his GI drawers and pistol belt, he started crawling out the door to his mortar pit. The rocks outside were too rough on his knees, so he stood up and ran barefoot through the enemy fire to his position overlooking the helicopter pad. The mortar on the other side of the gate was Mike Dissers. Mike and Staff Sgt. Raymond Whit Whitsell, the teams engineers, had elected not to waste time unlocking the door of the supply room where they slept. They left by the window, only moments before the room took a direct hit. Whit scurried down the concrete steps into his 60 mm mortar pit. In easy reach, where he had laid them out as a precaution, were 18 rounds of illuminating shells. He plunked them in as fast as he could move. The situation in Mike Dissers pit was quite different. When he reached it, he found that six Nungs had preceded him, and that they were firing their carbines in the direction of the camps main ammunition bunkers. Then he peered over the rim of his pit. By the light of his flare, he saw what he has since called the most frightening sight of his life. Hundreds of men were moving in on the camp. They were the main assault force of the two reinforced V.C. battalions 800 to 900 guerrillas that had ringed Camp Nam ong in the night. The first wave had overrun Strike Force Company 122 and was now less than 30 yards away. Kneeling by his mortar and firing into the attackers as fast as he could, Mike glanced over his shoulder and saw Australian Warrant Officer Kevin Conway suddenly pitch headlong down the steps. He rolled over and Mike saw the wound. It was neat and round, smaller than a dime, almost exactly between the eyes. Conway was unconscious but alive. He moaned with each shallow breath. By this time, Team Sgt. Alamo, painfully burned from the collapsing C.P., had dashed to Mikes mortar pit through a hail of fire. When Conway fell, Alamo was at the front of the pit, picking off V.C. a few yards away with his AR-15. A few minutes later, a one-man army in the person of my executive officer, Lt. Jay Olejniczak (always called Lieutenant O, naturally), joined them. Conway was sprawled in the dirt near the steps on the right of the pit when Jay got there. Alamo was in front of him, firing at figures flitting among the three ammunition bunkers 33 yards away. Disser, with his AR-15 cradled in his arms, was uncasing illuminating rounds and launching them in a steady, unfrenzied rhythm. Jay took off his jacket and pillowed it under Conways head. A half-hour after he was hit, Conway quietly died. Jay joined Alamo at the parapet. With his M-79 launcher pointed almost straight up, he arched grenades among the ammunition bunkers. Doc Hickey had decided to make for the dispensary, at the rear of the camp. When a mortar burst tossed him high in the air, he calmly felt himself all over for blood or broken bones; finding none, he continued on his way. In the brief time of battle so far, I had been fully occupied with the need to save equipment we would need to fight with. Now I had to locate my men and organize the camps defenses. In the flickering light from the fire, I saw movement at the gate, 20 yards away. Mike! I yelled. Illuminate the main gate. He popped one over there and I saw three V.C. already within the inner perimeter. I squeezed off a half-dozen rounds. Two of the V.C. slumped. The third started crawling into the grass. I threw a grenade and he stopped. Somewhere along the line I had been hit. My left forearm was bleeding, and there was a shrapnel wound about the size of a quarter in my stomach. It was belt-high, on the left side, and it was bleeding. But nothing hurt too much, and my legs were okay. Nearby, Brown and his two Nungs were operating with precision. As quick as they handed him the 81 mm projectiles, he pulled off all the increment charges from the tail assembly no need for boosters at that point-blank range removed the safety clip, set the timing, and popped the shell into the muzzle of his mortar. Somewhere along the line I had been hit. My left forearm was bleeding, and there was a shrapnel wound about the size of a quarter in my stomach. Cover me, Brown said to Dan. Theyre coming over the fence. A dead V.C. hung on the barbed wire of the inner-perimeter fence about 10 feet away. Brown had shot him only minutes before. Muzzle flashes and shouts indicated a cluster of V.C., perhaps 30 yards away. They seemed to be grouping for a charge. An illuminating round lit up the scene. At least a hundred men were out there. One group of 10 or 15 made for the fence in a line of skirmishers. Dan fired fast with his AR-15. A couple of Nungs entered the pit and joined him at the rim. To his left, Dan heard the roar of a shotgun. He gave a quick look and saw, with relief, that Gregg had come into the pit too, and was booming away at anything that moved. Together they knocked down the first wave. But another came on, and another, and another. The Nung alongside Dan let out a yell, wheeled and fired three quick carbine bursts at the top of the bunker in the rear of the pit. Dan turned in time to see a V.C. there, crumpling backward, a dynamite grenade in his hand. Working my way to the rear of camp, I yelled for a medic and was rewarded with a shout from Gregg in Browns pit. I jumped in. Smiley, carrying the hand radio, followed. Did you call a Nang? I asked Dan. He said he had. I couldnt understand where the reaction forces were. We had been fighting for almost an hour. It was only 32 miles to a Nang. Where was the flare ship? Where was the air strike? Smiley and I headed back to Dissers position to see how things were going at the front gate. As we passed by the supply room, the ammunition blew apart with a tremendous explosion. For the third time, I was knocked down hard, and for the first time I felt real pain. My left leg hurt where it was torn by shrapnel. I pulled myself up and made it to Dissers pit, the faithful Smiley right behind me. It was a hellhole. The V.C. had breached the outer perimeter and completely overrun Strike Force Company 122. They were at the inner perimeter barbed wire. Our mortar and automatic-weapons fire made them keep their heads down and move with caution. But they were within easy grenade-throwing distance. They bombarded us with grenades in volleys five, six, seven at a time. Jay heard a thud behind him and looked back. A fragmentation grenade rolled around by his feet. Inches away, it hit like a sledgehammer blow against the soles of his boots. He knew that the bones were broken. He carefully tightened his boot laces and tied them securely around his bare ankle, hoping to stop the bleeding and keep the bones together. More grenades went off in the pit. Disser, crouched alongside his mortar, was wounded in the knees, the arms, and the legs. He kept on firing. A grenade bounced into the bunker and landed in an ammunition box alongside Disser. Jay and Alamo dove to the right, Mike to the left. The blast tore into Mikes foot and lower leg. He crawled back to his mortar and started firing it again. Alamo slumped on the steps, bleeding from the shoulder and from a fresh hole just below the eye. Jay, sitting in the bunker doorway and passing ammunition to Disser, was a mass of wounds. He was hit in both legs, the left hand and elbow, the shoulders, and the back. The grenade barrages had jarred him loose from his weapons, and he looked about for something, anything. He resolved to leap upon the first V.C. to enter the pit and fight him with his bare hands. Knocked down by an exploding grenade, trying to shake off the bewilderment, I fired into the darkness. Mike was trying to keep his mortar going, with two Nungs now helping him and Jay passing them ammunition. This is for Pop! Jay yelled, passing Mike a round. Mike grabbed it, shouted, and launched it. This ones for Conway! Jay yelled, passing another round. They worked that way, yelling and firing, talking it up in a frenzied rhythm, performing in their own private hell. But the bedlam of bursting grenades was too much. In desperation we were picking up grenades and throwing them out of the pit before they could go off. Lets get the hell out of here! Mike yelled. Right! I yelled back. As if for emphasis, a concussion grenade exploded, knocking Mike and me down. Mikes whole side was numb and he moved like a drunken man. Get out! I cried. Mike and Smiley evacuated the pit first. Jay and the Nungs followed them. Jay, as chopped up as he was, went out the same way he came in, loaded with weapons. I fired cover for their withdrawal to an 18-inch-deep ditch we had dug for burying communications wire. Pop Alamo was sitting on the steps, bleeding from the face, the shoulder, and the stomach. I yelled to Mike and Jay to cover me, got one of Pops arms around my neck, and started to straighten up. I was in about a half-standing position when a tremendous blast went off in my face. It must have been a mortar hit at the top of the stairs. I could hear myself screaming as I flew through space. I had the sensation of falling backward off a cliff. I am going to die, I thought. I came to with my head and shoulders inside the ammunition bunker, the rest of me outside. My left shoulder was all bloody, and intense pain shot from there down to my fingertips. My head, which had been aching since the first explosion, was bloody, too, and pulsed with pain. My stomach wound was bleeding. But I was alive. Alamo was sprawled in the pit. He was dead. I picked up the 60 mm mortar and moved out. Thirty yards away, I ducked behind a pile of cinder blocks. Four wounded Nungs were there. One of them had half his scalp torn away. I took off my jacket and my T-shirt and tore the T-shirt into bandages and patched up the men. I had a little piece left over, and I stuffed this into my stomach wound to try to stop the bleeding. I used one of my raggedy socks as a tourniquet on one of the men. Come on, you fellows are going to be all right, I said to the Nungs. You can still fight. Heres your weapons. Cover me. I propped them up along the cinder blocks, their carbines in their hands. I shoved the mortar behind them and started to run back. But I couldnt straighten up for the pain. I had to stay bent over, walking. I went back to Woodys pit, yelled out who I was so the Nungs wouldnt shoot, and lay down on the rim, too exhausted to climb down inside. Woodys feet were cut and bleeding. I asked him how he was. Hell, Im all right, Woody said. But I think my right eardrums busted. I felt some liquid running out of it. Hows everybody else? I hesitated. We used to argue in training about whether it was wiser to lie to your men when they were taking heavy casualties. There are two schools of thought. I decided that with these men, the bitter truth would make them fight harder. I was right. Alamos dead, Houstons dead, Conways dead, I told him. Lieutenant O and Disser are wounded. Browns wounded. Terrys wounded. I dont know about Beeson. I cant get to him. Woody took the news without a word of comment. But I know now that he thought it was the death sentence for all of us. Isolated as he was, all he knew of his certain knowledge was that three men of our 12-man team were yet alive; he and I and Whitsell, out of contact but obviously firing furiously. Where were our planes? A few minutes later, when I ran into Gregg, he insisted on checking me over. Youre all shot up, Gregg said. Hold still and Ill fix you up. No, I said. There are a lot of them worse off than me. Take care of them and catch me later. I left for the main gate. I had an idea there would be a determined assault in that area. Perhaps I could get the Nungs to move the 60 mm mortar back into Dissers pit. We would need it as a strong point. I saw no end to the pressure. We had been fighting for more than an hour and a half, without even a five-minute breather. Did anybody know? And then I heard it. The distant hum of an airplane engine. It grew louder and louder. The skies lit up. The flare ship had arrived. It was 4:04 a.m. The plane brought a lot more than light. It brought hope to us in the camp, and it must have discouraged the V.C., for little by little their firing tapered off. A flare ship is usually followed by an air strike, and they knew it. Within minutes they began to withdraw. But they were far from through with us. In the flare-lit gloom of the broken terrain in front of Browns mortar pit, a loudspeaker suddenly cut on. A mans voice began speaking excited, high-pitched Vietnamese. It shocked both sides into silence. Dan grabbed Tet, the interpreter, and demanded, Whats he saying? He say lay down weapons. V.C. going take camp and we all be killed. Dan, Gregg, and Brown exchanged hard looks of anger. Over my dead body, Dan said. Well lay down our weapons when were too dead to pick em up, Gregg said. But the silence held. Nobody in that sector was firing at all. The silence was unnerving. And then it was broken by the voice from the loudspeaker again, this time in English. We are going to annihilate your camp; you will all be killed! Brown was already adjusting the elevation on his mortar. Where do you think it is? Over here, Dan said, pointing. Brown fired about 10 rounds of high explosive and white phosphorus as fast as he could. The bursts broke the spell. The Nung machine gun on the right began chopping again. Small-arms fire resumed all around the pit. Incoming fire answered back. There was another new sound; 60 mm mortar shells were walking toward the pit from within the camp. That mortars close, Brown said. They could hear the thunk of the shell sliding down the tube, the small explosion of its launching, and the roaring impact of its landing in back of them. Off to the left, the loudspeaker came on again. Brown wheeled his mortar to the left and smothered the place where the sound was coming from with high explosive and white-phosphorus rounds. That was the last we heard of it. Daylight was coming on by the time I finally got to Beeson. Gregg was in the pit, treating a wounded Nung, when I arrived. It was five, going on six, and the spaces between the V.C. mortar volleys seemed to be getting longer. I could hear myself screaming as I flew through space. I am going to die, I thought. Sit down, Captain, Beeson said gently. Naw, Im all right, I said automatically. Sit down, sir, Beeson said, still gently, or Im going to have to knock you down. He sat me on an ammunition box and started looking at my wounds. I felt the strength draining out of me. Beeson put a bandage on my shoulder, but I wouldnt let him work on the stomach wound. I had to go make the rounds again to brace for a possible new attack. I walked out of Beesons pit without bothering to duck. After all those hours of twisting, crouching, and crawling, I was sick of it all. To hell with it, I thought. A hand grenade went off and knocked me down. I got up and walked to the makeshift C.P. that had developed behind the cinder blocks near Whits and Woodys positions at the main gate. About 50 yards in front of Woodys, I saw four or five V.C. behind some tree stumps. Can you drop an 81 on them that close, Woody? I called out. I never did it before, but I could damn well try, Woody said. Without using the sights, he put the tube almost straight up. The tree stumps blew sky high, and with them the last of the V.C. Except for sporadic small-arms fire, the battle for Nam ong was over. A lot has happened since then. While I was in the hospital, Team A-726 was reactivated and saw more action Brown, Beeson, Dan, Gregg, and Whit forming the nucleus until last November when those five and I flew home together. Pop Alamo and John Houston God rest their souls were posthumously awarded the nations second-highest military decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross. They were the only members missing when we assembled at the White House last December 5 as one of the most decorated units in Army history Silver Stars to Olejniczak, Brown, Disser, and Terrin; and Bronze Stars with V for Valor to Beeson, Daniels, Gregg, Whitsell, and Woods; as well as nine Purple Hearts among us (all but Bee, Dan, and Gregg were wounded). The Medal of Honor which President Johnson awarded me belongs equally to all of us. I solemnly pledge that whatever good flows from it for me will be passed on, intact, to the valiant men of my team, Detachment A-726 of the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). The Battle for Nam ong, October 23, 1965 Excerpt from Outpost of Freedom by Capt. Roger H.C. Donlon, as told to Warren Rogers. 1965 McGraw-Hill Education. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Weekly Newsletter The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox! Join We all have bad days at work: you lose your biggest client, your program is buggy, your boss raked you over the coals. Regardless of how bad your day was, its likely it didnt result in an entire state living in terror for 40 minutes. This was the fate of one luckless emergency management employee in Hawaii who clicked on the wrong item on a dropdown menu. That led to a false alert of an incoming ballistic missile being sent out to everyone in the state. The employee has since been reassigned pending an investigation. If anyone can empathize with high price of such mistakes, its the military personnel responsible for monitoring incoming nuclear threats. At the height of the cold war, the Post profiled the work of such men in the June 11, 1955, article They Guard the Ramparts by Don Murray. He points out the predicament of such work: that its vitally importantand deadly monotonous. Subscribe and get unlimited access to our online magazine archive. Subscribe Today The men who worked for the Air Forces Aircraft Warning and Control were responsible for staring for hours at a radar screen, waiting to catch an unexpected blip. Their secret locations were tucked into remote spots in the Rockies, atop a Tennessee mountain, and even a Midwest millionaires resort anywhere a first nuclear strike was unlikely to hit. Despite every attempt to make these isolated locations homey with cheerful curtains, excellent food, and pinball machines, the work was dreary and tedious: almost no one re-enlisted. The Air Force faced the problem of needing thoughtful, imaginative, intelligent workers to do work that was deadly dull 99% of the time. And they realized the gravity of such a dilemma: The men on the ground bear a heavy load of responsibility. A minute asleep could mean a city destroyed; a decision delayed could mean a battle lost. The Sea Transport Industry Transformation Map (ITM) was launched on Friday by Singapores Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health Lam Pin Min and was developed by the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) in partnership with the industry, trade unions and other government agencies. The MPA said the industry transformation map sets out specific initiatives related to innovation, driving productivity improvements and enhance the skills of the maritime workforce. The maritime industries are a key component of the Singapore economy contributing some 7% of GDP and employing over 170,000 people. The ITM will also complement our strategies to grow our port and international centre and help us achieve our vision for Singapore as a Global Maritime Hub for Connectivity, Innovation and Talent, said Minister Lam. With the launch of the ITM Singapore set ambitious targets of growing the maritime sectors value-add by SGD4.5bn and creating 5,000 new jobs by 2025. Launched at the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) New Year cocktail reception, Andreas Sohmen-Pao chairman of SMF commented: You may have noticed the key words in the ITM are connectivity, innovation and talent. This new emphasis which includes non-physical flows like data and technology will require new forms of collaboration. On the connectivity front Singapore will continue to strengthen its international maritime centre building up the connectivity of maritime clusters and the port which connects to 600 other ports worldwide. The country is also investing in new port capabilities with Tuas New Port, which aims to be an intelligent port. At PSAs existing Pasir Panjang Terminal a fleet of 30 automated guided vehicles (AGVs) have been deployed in a trial with automated yard and quay cranes. In the area of innovation the MPA Living Lab will offer technology developers a rich maritime data platform and a real operating environment to develop and pilot solutions. To underpin the aims of the transformation plan five Memorandums of Understand (MoUs) were signed between the MPA and various parties at the launch. The MPA and NUS Enterprise signed a MoU on the maritime technology acceleration programme to encourage start-ups in the maritime tech field. We are excited to help bridge start-ups with this flagship industry to generate entrepreneurial interest and accelerate start-up development; as well as provide a platform for corporates in the industry to engage with start-ups, said Lily Chan, ceo of NUS Enterprise. MPA also signed an MoU with Singapore Customs and the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) to joint look into the digitisation of trade and maritime documentation including an electronic Bill of Lading. The shipping industry is currently very paper-intensive involving many sets of documents to be delivered to various agencies for approvals and clearance. The electronic bill of lading (e-BL) will be a boon to the shipping industry as it significantly reduces the amount of physical copies, said Esben Poulsson, president of SSA. In the third MoU MPA, SSA and Glee Trees signed an agreement on a proof-of-concept for development of a tool for ship agencies using robotic process automation. With the skills of the future maritime workforce set to change at present and MoU was signed between MPA, Jurong Port and the National Transport Workers Union to equip employees at Jurong Port with future-ready skills. Also in the area of skills development a fifth MoU was signed between MPA, PSA, the Singapore Port Workers Union and Port Officers Union on development of human capital for the next generation container port. The survey by the shipping association of the ceo panel comprising 26 senior executives revealed that the majority 69% - had been the had experienced cyber attacks last year. Some 42% of those surveyed said they were very worried or extremely worried that their company would be attacked or data stolen in the next 12 months. As a result cyber security has become more important on Danish shipowners agendas with 69% increasing their IT budgets this year. "It is worrying that a majority of shipping companies have been subject to attacks against their IT systems and unfortunately this is a threat that is not expected to diminish in future, said Maria Skipper Schwenn, executive director of Danish Shipping. While nightmare scenarios of ships being taken control of by criminals is a favourite fear played up by cyber security providers, the real threat to shipping comes to their back office systems. At the same time, it is important to emphasize that the attacks experienced by the shipping companies are attacks that any company is at risk of being exposed to. Therefore, it is not the ships and the safety of the crew that is of the greatest concern but attacks on land-based systems and the consequences of these, she said. Sen. Bam on the resignation of CHED chairperson Patricia Licuanan Higher education has lost a dependable ally with the resignation of CHED Chairperson Patricia Licuanan. As former chairman of the Committee on Education, we can attest to her dedication to improve access to quality education as we worked closely to pass the free college law. We thank Chairperson Licuanan for her immeasurable service to Filipino students and for all her help in crafting the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. At the same time, we call on Malacanang to appoint an immediate replacement with the ability and the will to effectively implement this critical reform. We look forward to working with yet another staunch advocate for quality education in the Philippines. Press Release January 15, 2018 GORDON WANTS ALL MINERAL ORE EXPORTATIONS SCREENED FOR CONTENTS FIRST To ensure that the country would not be shortchanged in the exportation of its mineral ores, Senator Richard J. Gordon wants to amend the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 to require all mineral ore exportations to undergo screening for its contents first before they are shipped out of the country. Gordon filed Senate Bill No. 1634, or An Act Providing for the Mandatory Domestic Processing of All Mineral Ores Before Exportation and a Certification Showing Presence or Lack of Rare Earth Elements, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act No. 7942 Otherwise Known as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and for Other Purposes. "Rare earth metals - some more expensive than gold - are present in the mineral raw materials we export without our knowledge. Before minerals, ores, and others are exported to other countries, there must first be a required inspection by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to determine whether more valuable and more expensive elements are present, i.e., vanadium, cobalt, scandium and /or other rare earth elements," the senator noted. "We must know what we are selling to avoid being shortchanged. The principle of Caveat Venditor (Let the seller beware) must be emphasized, Hence this bill provides for the mandatory domestic processing of all mineral ores," he explained. The proposed legislation was filed in line with one of the recommendations made by the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers & Investigations (Blue Ribbon), which Gordon chairs, in the committee report it submitted after conducting an inquiry into the reported destructive mining operations or illegal excavations in Zambales. In the proposed legislation, the following sections of RA No. 7942 have been amended to read as follows: Section 3(y). Mineral processing means the milling, beneficiation or upgrading of ores or minerals and rocks or by similar means to convert the same into marketable products, AND/OR THE PROCESS OF SEPARATING COMMERCIALLY VALUABLE MINERALS FROM THEIR MINERAL ORES; Section 53. Ore Transport Permit. A permit specifying the origin AND DESTINATION and quantity of non-processed mineral ores or minerals shall be required for their transport. Transport permits shall be issued by the mines regional director who has jurisdiction over the area where the ores were extracted. In the case of mineral ores or minerals being transported from the small-scale mining areas to the custom mills or processing plants, the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) concerned shall formulate their own policies to govern such transport of ores produced by small-scale miners. The absence of a permit shall be considered as prima facie evidence of illegal mining and shall be sufficient cause for the Government to confiscate the ores or minerals being transported, the tools and equipment utilized, and the vehicle containing the same. Ore samples not exceeding two metric tons (2 m.t.) to be used exclusively for assay or pilot test purposes shall be exempted from such requirement; and Section 55. Minerals Processing and Minerals Processing Permit ANY MINERAL ORES EXTRACTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT SHALL BE PROCESSED WITHIN THE COUNTRY. NO PERSON GRANTED WITH PERMIT FOR PURPOSES OF MINING OPERATION SHALL BE ALLOWED TO EXPORT THE UNPROCESSED MINERAL ORES TO OTHER COUNTRY FOR PURPOSES OF TRADING MINERAL PRODUCTS WITHOUT A CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE SHOWING PRESENCE OR LACK OF RARE EARTH ELEMENTS OR OTHER VALUABLE MINERALS. ANY PERSON EXPORTING THE UNPROCESSED MINERAL ORES WITHOUT THE AFOREMENTIONED CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE SHALL, UPON CONVICTION, BE IMPRISONED FROM SIX (6) YEARS AND ONE (1) DAY TO TWELVE (12) YEARS AND PAY THE FINE AMOUNTING TO TWICE THE VALUE OF THE SEIZED MINERAL ORES. IN ADDITION, THE CARGO CONTAINING THE UNPROCESSED MINERAL ORES SHALL BE CONFISCATED IN FAVOR OF THE STATE. IN THE CASE OF ASSOCIATIONS, PARTNERSHIPS, OR CORPORATIONS, THE PRESIDENT AND EACH OF THE DIRECTORS IN SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTS COMMITTED BY SUCH ASSOCIATION, PARTNERSHIP, OR CORPORATION. No person shall engage in the processing of minerals without first securing a minerals processing permit from the Secretary. Minerals processing permit shall be for a period of five (5) years renewable for like periods but not to exceed a total term of twenty-five (25) years. In the case of mineral ores or minerals produced by the small-scale miners, the processing thereof as well as the licensing of their custom mills or processing plants shall continue to be governed by the provisions of Republic Act No. 7076. Press Release January 15, 2018 STATEMENT OF SENATOR RICHARD J. GORDON ON THE SEC'S RESOLUTION REVOKING RAPPLER'S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION I would like to commend the Securities and Exchange Commission for enforcing the constitutional clause on media ownership in our country. It shows that no one is exempt and has special privilege in our justice system. However, the SEC should be ready to present convincing and factual evidence to back its ruling on Rappler because the Freedom of the Press is sacrosanct in every democracy. The Freedom of the Press is our insurance that we have a clear and transparent society. If the media outlet is guilty of the alleged foreign ownership percentage claim, it should be done with due process and give Rappler a chance to prove the accusation as incorrect. The legal actions should proceed with fairness, otherwise it may be construed as an affront to the guaranteed right of freedom of the press. Furthermore, it can trigger a "chilling effect" to all media practitioners to fear government reprisals when criticized. I also want to take this opportunity to appeal to our media friends to be as objective as possible in their reporting to remove doubts that there are biases and opinionated views in their midst. Stay vigilant in checking government's wrongdoings but we should adhere to the ethical standards of true journalism that we always cherish. The SEC should also explain why they came up with the decision only now since Rappler's registration was approved on Jan. 1 2012. On the other hand, Rappler should also explain and reveal on record the paper trail of its investors along those years. Press Release January 15, 2018 Legarda: 2018 Budget Funds Improvement of DSWD Centers for Underprivileged Filipinos Senator Loren Legarda today said that the 2018 national budget takes care of the needs of underprivileged Filipinos who need refuge through the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) centers and institutions. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said that under the 2018 General Appropriations Act (GAA), additional Php2.080 Billion was allocated under the DSWD budget for the repair, reconstruction or construction of its facilities such as activity centers for street children, residential facilities for the elderly, centers for children in conflict with the law, and temporary shelter for the abused, vagrants, mendicants, and physically, socially and mentally disabled persons. The Senator explained that despite having limited capacity, it has been the policy of DSWD not to refuse anyone from entering their centers, which results in congested buildings and dilapidated facilities and amenities. "Our social welfare and activity centers serve as temporary homes for underprivileged men, women, children, and elderly to support them until such time that they could get back on their feet. By rehabilitating existing facilities and establishing new centers, we reinforce the DSWD's capability to accommodate and serve more families," she said. "Our government should be investing in a country where everyone, including the poor, is treated with dignity and respect, our elderly are able to retire comfortably, and our delinquent youth be able to reform properly. Through this additional funding for social services, we signify our commitment to providing for what is right and just for every Filipino," Legarda concluded. Pool/Getty Images A group of demonstrators pitched tents and camped Saturday night on the front lawn of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaafs home to protest what organizers called her empty promises on helping the citys homeless. A group called the Anti Police-Terror Project organized the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend demonstration, calling for Schaaf to redirect half of the Police Departments funding to pay for permanent funding for the homeless and to take her own advice and open her own home to help a homeless person. Before Heang Ki Paiks mother died in 1991 in South Korea, she told him she had a final wish: that he return a family ring and other possessions to her family in North Korea, whom she hadnt seen in more than 40 years. Paik had been in South Korea since he was a year old, when his mother fled the battle-torn North for the South in 1950 during the Korean War. I always saw my mother desperately missing her home, and it hurt for me to see her in such pain, Paik said through a interpreter. He resolved to find his family. The separation of North Korean families like his has been a long and painful chapter on the tensely divided Korean Peninsula, and some of those families now span two continents, after a long wave of Korean immigration to the United States. Paik relocated to the Bay Area and finally reunited with his late mothers family in North Korea in 2010 after decades of trying but his success was a rare exception. That sense of helplessness for thousands of separated Korean families may soon be changing, however at least in some small way. The North Korean mission to the United Nations presented Paik with a letter in October after he had been in contact with diplomats for 15 years, saying the organization will aid in the reunification of families. And Paik intends to run hard with that authorization, thin though it is, in hopes of reconnecting as many people as he can while he has the chance. The Overseas Korean Aid Commission has entrusted us with providing reliable support to the San Francisco (Northern California) Council of Korean Americans, that you may be successful in your efforts to have divided families and relatives meet, the letter reads, according to a translator. It has also informed us that it will thoroughly guarantee courteous guidance and physical safety for applicants for family reunions during the time they are visiting the fatherland. A man at the North Korean mission who identified himself as a counselor but declined to provide his full name confirmed that the mission had sent the letter. The mission consists of the only North Korean diplomats in the United States, and they have been used as a diplomatic back channel for years. Theyre notoriously hard to reach and reluctant to divulge information. Paik is seeking applications from anyone in the United States who has been separated from family in North Korea, and he promises to work with the mission to begin finding their relatives, free of charge. So far, he has received one inquiry, but at a recent news conference in Millbrae announcing his initiative, he said he expects that to change fast. I am advertising in Korean-language papers, Paik said. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle There are an estimated 1.8 million Korean Americans in the United States, according to the U.S. census, though its unknown how many have origins in what is now North Korea. Paik is on the board of the Northern California Council of Korean Americans from North Korea, a small Bay Area cultural group. His improbable relationship with North Korean diplomats began with tae kwon do, he said. He is a certified grand master with a studio in Millbrae, and in 2007 he hosted a North Korean delegation of athletes who came to the Bay Area. He befriended a member of the Olympic Committee and gave him his mothers address in the hopes that he might be able to find her family. Three months later, Paik said, the North Korean mission to the United Nations contacted him and said they had found his mothers younger sister and younger brother. He began sending them letters. Response time was slow it could take about three months between sending a letter and receiving one. Then, in October 2010, one of the diplomats contacted him and asked whether hed like to visit his North Korean relatives. He went almost immediately. I am unable to express how moved and happy I was to meet my family, Paik said at the news conference. Of seeing his aunt, who was more than 80 years old when he visited, Paik said, I saw her approaching and she looked just like my mother. The way she walked, the way her fingers were short, the way she looked, I knew it was her and I began to cry. After his visit, Paik stayed in touch with the North Korean mission, and he has been hoping to facilitate reunions for other families who are continentally divided. Its been a difficult process because so many people were displaced during the war. He joked: You kind of have to find people by bicycle. Location is only one of many obstacles to these reunions. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. While some Korean families have been able to reunite, as Paik did with his, escalating tensions between the two countries resulted in a six-month travel ban that took effect Sept. 1. There are exceptions for humanitarian issues, Paik said. Still, he said that even if hes only able to connect families via mail, it would be an accomplishment. The day before Paiks announcement, there was encouraging news for long-strained North-South relations North Korea agreed to send athletes to the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea and to reopen a military communications channel that had been closed. We support improved inter-Korean relations, a State Department official, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive international relations, wrote in an email. We refer you to the (South Korean) government for more information on the family reunions. Eun-Joung Lee, 44, an Oakland resident, said at Paiks news conference that when her father was able to reunite with his older brother in North Korea around the year 2000 after at least 50 years apart, it was highly emotional. She said that allowing families like hers to reunite would be incredibly humane. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle There will be only so many years left, and then that generation will pass, she said, referring to those who fled during the Korean War. So if theres even a fleeting chance of uniting them with family members, then we should grab every opportunity to do so. Sophie Haigney is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sophie.haigney@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophieHaigney When it comes to prominent candidates, San Franciscos mayoral race can boast of having an African American woman, a Korean American woman, an Italian American woman and a gay man. What it does not have is a major Chinese American candidate. Its shocking, to be honest, said David Ho, a political consultant and protege of the late Chinese Chamber of Commerce head Rose Pak, who helped Ed Lee become the citys first Chinese American mayor. When Lee won his first election in 2011, he was one of four Chinese American candidates. This time out, the timing and suddenness of the election left some potential candidates on the sidelines. For David Chiu, a supervisor when he ran in 2011, entering the June mayoral race would have forced him to give up his state Assembly seat. Add in that he is starting a family, and he decided to stay put. City Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu is popular in the Chinese American community, but she isnt that widely known to other voters, and there isnt much time before the June election to spread the word. Plus shes a moderate, and Breed has a big head start on that front. Assemblyman Phil Ting ran in 2011, but had no interest this time. Former state Sen. Leland Yee also ran in 2011, but his felony conviction for racketeering and taking bribes took care of his career. Even without a Chinese American candidate, the June electorate is expected to be as much as 20 percent Chinese American. Many live in the western and southern parts of the city, and they tend to be moderates, homeowners and interested in such issues as education, public safety and the citys business climate. So keep an eye on how the candidates court them. Out of the gate, Breed proposed renaming Portsmouth Square in honor of Lee, with a me too from Kim. (Kim also has the backing of the Chinatown Community Development Centers retired founder, Gordon Chin.) Angela Alioto proposed renaming Kearny Street after the late mayor. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Tom Hsieh Jr., a political consultant who has worked on the last three mayoral campaigns, said the candidates have good reason to work the Chinese American vote. They are likely to be the deciders in this election, he said. Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross Ronn Owens has had three presidents and local, national and international celebrities sitting across the desk from him, and taken listeners calls for 42 years as the top talk show host on KGO-AM radio. As of Monday, The Ronn Owens Show has ended, making way for the debut of The Ronn Owens Report the next day. Owens delivered the news himself Friday at the end of his last show, prompting a steady stream of shocked colleagues, many in tears, as he left the Ronn Owens Studio after his engineer played Earth, Wind & Fires Thats the Way of the World. The new, 10-minute show, premiering Tuesday, will air weekdays at 12:50 p.m. and cover whatever topics Owens finds interesting that day. A test version included commentary on President Trumps vulgar reference to Haiti and African nations, as well as whether a work requirement should be imposed on able-bodied food stamp recipients. While Trump is a reliable source of commentary, Owens said he will work a broader playing field. My goal is to be a 2018 version of Paul Harvey and Andy Rooney, he said in an interview in his KGO office after his final show. The decision to end the talk show was made by KGOs financially strapped owner, Cumulus Media, the nations second-largest radio operator. Although the company filed for bankruptcy in November, the decision on Owens future had to do with the fact that his most recent contract ended in December and he didnt expect it to be renewed at the same salary level. He declined to reveal his salary, but said, Fortunately, Im at a point in my life where I do know where my next meals coming from. As of this week, Ethan Bearman will move to the 10 a.m. slot vacated by Owens. Owens said the decision is a win-win for him and the station. They get the credibility of still having me, and it helps me because Ronn Owens KGO Radio gets me a better table than just Ronn Owens. In a more serious tone, Owens said hes pleased with the decision because he isnt retiring. I cannot stand the word, he said. I dont want to hear the word. What this is for me, its a perfect transition to retirement. Owens worked radio gigs elsewhere before landing at KGO in 1975. Over the years, the station has had a variety of owners, including ABC, Capital Cities, Disney and then Citadel, which Cumulus bought in 2011. In addition to KGO, the company owns KSAN, KSFO, KNBR, KFOG, KCTC and KFFG in the Bay Area. Asked to name his most memorable guests, Owens was at a loss for a few minutes, joking that I cant remember who I had on today. (It was Rep. Eric Swalwell.) But the show many listeners recall the most is when he interviewed Burt Reynolds, who was on a publicity tour for his memoir, My Life, which was published the same year he and actress Loni Anderson divorced. It was hot news, so of course, Owens quizzed him on the divorce. He was uncomfortable, but he answered, Owens recalled. After a third question about the divorce, Reynolds blew up and ask why Owens is focusing on the divorce. Because its in your book, Owens fired back. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. He went nuts on me, and I went nuts on him, Owens laughed, adding that the actor immediately canceled the rest of his national book tour. This isnt the first time Owens has faced a major career transition. In 1997, Owens agreed to broadcast from KABC in Los Angeles. At the time, Disney owned both KABC and KGO. Although hed signed a contract for five years, the experiment didnt work. He candidly admits the L.A. audience hated me, and he headed back to San Francisco. Two years ago, Cumulus announced it would move Owens to KSFO, at the same time it laid off more than 20 staffers at KGO and KFOG. Cumulus changed its mind a month later. Owens, 72, has not only survived multiple bosses, and the diminished profile of AM radio, but major health issues as well. In 2014, he revealed first to The Chronicle and then to his listeners that he had been battling Parkinsons since 2001. He had looked on it at first as a death sentence, but learned to manage the disease with medication. In 2015, he underwent a procedure called deep brain stimulation, which even further reduced the movement restrictions caused by the disease. Owens, inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2015, holds two Marconi Awards from the National Association of Broadcasters as major market personality of the year. He is married to former news anchor and talk show host Jan Black and is the father of two adult daughters. Hell be at the station a few hours a day to work on the new show, but Owens said his biggest concern is what to do with his free time. I love what I do. I have always loved what I do, he said. David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV Cleanup crews are rolling into four fire-scorched Northern California counties again after the state approved a new agreement for debris removal, sidestepping a dispute that had property owners worried about how quickly they could begin rebuilding. Debris removal was halted last week in Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties when AshBritt Inc., a Florida company that unsuccessfully bid for the work, filed a challenge against two contractors hired for the job. AshBritt argued to the federal Government Accountability Office that the firms might not be able to meet deadlines laid out in the contracts for clearing residential and commercial properties that were destroyed in the October fires. But state officials authorized a new agreement that will allow the work to go forward while the protests against those companies ECC International Constructors of Burlingame and Ceres Environmental Services of Minnesota are sorted out. Officials say the state will be reimbursed for the work done under the new contract with just ECC. Originally, ECC won a $174 million deal from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear lots in Sonoma County, and Ceres was awarded $26 million to do the same in the three other counties. California is focused on removing the hazardous fire debris from these counties to expedite the recovery process for survivors and their communities, Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governors Office of Emergency Services, said Monday. More than 1 million tons of debris already have been removed from counties affected by Octobers wildfires. But there is still much to be done: In some neighborhoods, like Santa Rosas Coffey Park, numerous chimneys tower above rubble-covered lots. More than 8,000 homes were destroyed in Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties during the fires. Officials hope to have their lots cleared by the beginning of March, when construction season typically begins. This was the largest cleanup in history, certainly in California and maybe the nation, said Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt. Its a massive undertaking, and one that needs to continue moving forward. Our goal is to get in and out before springtime, so people can get on with their lives. The sooner that happens, the better. AshBritt representatives did not immediately respond to calls seeking comment. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Nancy Allen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which awarded the cleanup contracts, said the states decision cleared the way for work to resume. Already, ECC International Constructors has crews in the field. People are anxious to get their properties clean and get on with rebuilding, said company Vice President August Ochabauer. People just want to rebuild their community. Allison Spitzer, who lives in Coffey Park, said a short delay wasnt a bother. All that matters to her is getting her lot cleared by spring so she can start rebuilding the home where she and her family lived. I tease my husband that well be the last one to be cleared at this rate, said Spitzer, 41, who works as a commercial lender at a bank. As long as I keep pushing forward and they have cleaned my lot by the time Im ready to build, you wont see frustration from me. We will see what the spring brings. Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn The company that wants to transport coal by rail to the Port of Oakland for overseas shipment says the citys ban on coal-handling violates the Constitution, federal law and common sense. The city says it agreed to let the company build a $250 million shipping terminal after the firms officials stated the site would not be used for coal storage and shipments an assertion that turned out to be false. The two sides also disagree on greenhouse gases and pollution controls. But the trial that begins Tuesday in federal court in San Francisco will most likely come down to a single question: whether Oakland, when it outlawed coal-handling and storage within its borders in July 2016, had reasons to conclude that the substance was a health hazard. The City Council has to have substantial evidence that theres a substantial danger, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, who will conduct the nonjury trial, said at a pretrial hearing last week. Oakland doesnt need airtight proof, just enough evidence of potential health risks to support its ban, Chhabria told a lawyer for Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, the shipping company known as OBOT and controlled by developer Phil Tagami. But the judge also told the citys lawyer, You have to show a substantial danger. The city says the primary danger comes from coal-dust emissions in a low-income neighborhood already suffering from air pollution and high rates of illnesses such as asthma. The company says it can minimize emissions with rail-car covers and other safety measures, and also contests the citys warnings of potentially disastrous explosions and fires. Tagami is a longtime friend of Gov. Jerry Brown and owns the seven-story building near Oakland City Hall where Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, were married in 2005. As mayor of Oakland, Brown appointed Tagami to positions on the Oakland Port Commission and, as governor, appointed him to the state medical board. But the governor has also praised the citys 2016 ordinance and said California should eliminate the shipment of coal through its ports. Tagamis project would move coal from Utah by rail to the terminal his company would build on city-owned land in West Oakland, at the site of a former Army base, and from there to ships for export. In a court filing, city lawyers said Tagami had secretly discussed coal with potential partners on the project since 2011, but told city officials in 2013, shortly after signing the terminal contract, that his company had no interest or involvement in the pursuit of coal-related operations. As late as September 2015, the city said, the companys formal design plan said the facility would handle Commodity A, which later turned out to be coal. But the company says it was Oakland that acted deceptively in passing the 2016 ordinance. The City Council showed its hand in June 2014 by unanimously adopting a resolution opposing coal shipments through Oakland, lawyers for OBOT said in court filings. As council members posted No Coal in Oakland signs on social media, and Mayor Libby Schaaf told Tagami in a May 2015 letter that we will not have coal shipped through our city, the council commissioned dubious studies to support its preordained decision to ban the shipments, the lawyers said. The city ignored evidence of safe handling of coal at terminals in Long Beach and Pittsburg, and brushed off recommendations by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to prevent coal-dust emissions by putting protective covers on rail cars, OBOT lawyers said. If the covers dont work, we get shut down and wont object, company lawyer Robert Feldman told Chhabria at the pretrial hearing, arguing that the districts clean-air standards would protect the public without the need for a ban. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. But city lawyers said Oakland cant rely on OBOTs safety promises or assume that the air districts rules will protect a West Oakland population that the air quality district itself has described as most vulnerable to air pollutions health impacts. The district has also acknowledged that residents in nearby Richmond have been harmed by emissions from a coal terminal in that city, despite clean-air rules, the citys lawyers said. Oaklands residents cant afford to allow 4 to 5 million tons of coal to be stored and handled based on mere assertions by the developer that they will be protected, Kevin Siegel, a lawyer for the city, told Chhabria. The city also says the coal shipments, and their later use as fuel, would emit planet-warming greenhouse gases that, over the long term, pose numerous substantial dangers to Oakland, including heat and flooding. The company counters that any emissions from its shipments would have no measurable effect in Oakland. On another issue, OBOT contends the Oakland ordinance is an attempt to regulate rail transportation, which is under the sole authority of the federal government. The city says it is regulating only coal handling and storage. OBOT additionally contends that the coal ban unconstitutionally interferes with interstate commerce by saddling out-of-state coal producers with unjustified costs and obstacles to exports. Chhabria said Friday he would rule on that issue, if necessary, after the trial. The trial will focus on OBOTs claim that Oakland breached its contract with the company by banning coal. The 2013 contract said it would be governed by the laws that were then in effect, with one key exception the city could enforce new laws, like the 2016 coal-ban ordinance, if it determined, after public hearings, that they were needed to protect public health and safety. Chhabria said each side would have up to six hours in the trial to call witnesses and argue its case, with further proceedings tentatively scheduled for Wednesday and Friday. The Sierra Club and Baykeeper have intervened on the citys side in the case and may participate in the trial. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko The clearing of scorched lots in four counties hit by the Wine Country wildfires has ground to a halt because of challenges filed against two contractors, leaving residents wondering when theyll be able to move forward with rebuilding. Officials had hoped to have the destroyed lots more than 8,000 of them in Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties cleared by the end of February. But the charred chimneys, husks of former houses, and piles of rubble left behind by the wildfires could take much longer to clear because of protests by a Florida company that bid unsuccessfully for the clearing contracts. The complaints, filed with the Government Accountability Office by AshBritt Inc., question whether two companies that won the federal contracts will be able to meet their deadlines. The companies are ECC International Constructors of Burlingame, which secured a $174 million deal from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear lots in Sonoma County, and Ceres Environmental Services in Minnesota, which was awarded a $26 million contract for work in the other three counties. The work was expected to be done by the beginning of March, but thats not likely to happen. Ironically, the challenges themselves have created delays, as cleanup crews pull out of destroyed neighborhoods. Process is getting in the way of progress, said Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Chairman James Gore. This is not just an issue of trying to clean up some garbage. These are peoples homes and sacred sites. Its disheartening when you have government contracting rules getting in the way of people moving on with their lives. About 43 percent of the lots across the four counties have been cleared. That leaves homeowners like Allison Spitzer in limbo. With the remains of her home in Santa Rosas Coffey Park neighborhood still not swept away, she and her husband are living in a rental with their two children, ages 7 years and 21 months. They made a promise early, the county and the city, saying they would get it done as quickly as possible, Spitzer said. Now theyre caught up in politicking. Its ironic. At the end of a street, theres a house going up. I just want the visual scar of what happened to go away. Jeff Okrepkie, whose Coffey Park property also awaits clearing, said, If you are the one with the ruined lot left, its like being picked last in gym class. Why me? Why am I the one being affected by this? Its been emotionally brutal. Officials for the Army Corps of Engineers said they didnt know when the dispute would be resolved. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. We realize how urgent this is, said Nancy Allen, a spokeswoman for the agency. We are working and doing everything within our power to resolve these protests. We remain committed to this mission. In the complaint, AshBritt questions whether the contractors can meet their deadlines, and asks that the Government Accountability Office order the deals to be rebid if it concludes they cant. AshBritt officials did not respond to phone calls seeking comment. ECC International Constructors was set to begin the bulk of its work in Sonoma County on Friday. The delay is frustrating for everyone, said company Vice President August Ochabauer. We really were working diligently to gear up and get out there. We were hoping to have it resolved quickly, but that might not happen. Editor s note: Here are three Bay Area startups worth watching this week. HoloBuilder turns traditional 2-D floor plans into 3-D models. CEO and founder Mostafa Mo Akbari compares his technology to Google Street View, which provides 360-degree panoramas of locations around the world. But instead of focusing on streets and landmarks like Googles map feature does, this San Francisco company looks at construction sites. Normally floor plans and sheets are not very correct, and the info gets very tricky, Akbari said. But with imagery data processed through HoloBuilders cameras, Akbari said architectural teams can capture a realistic and more accurate view of how a project is progressing. The company has $2.9 million in funding and 30 employees. It is likely trending on startup database Crunchbase this week because of its plans to expand internationally this year, Akbari said. Akbari said HoloBuilders technology is being used in about 4,000 active projects, including San Francisco International Airports Terminal 1 redevelopment project. Also trending: Health2047 What it does: Creates companies that address common problems in the health care space, such as data sharing and chronic care, according to CEO Doug Given. Its health and tech industry partners are affiliated with the American Medical Association. What happened: Health2047 recently spun out a company called SwitchCo, now known as Akiri, which facilitates the sharing of data between patients and physicians. Why it matters: With its partnership with the American Medical Association, Given said, Health2047 focuses on the central issues that need to be addressed in health care. Headquarters: Menlo Park Funding: $90 million, according to Given Employees: 25 Grove Collaborative What it does: Sells natural and sustainable household items directly to consumers. In addition to its own line of products, it also sells some from other other retailers. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes What happened: CEO and co-founder Stuart Landesberg said overall traffic on its website is has gone up significantly in the past month. Landesberg said the company is also planning a major announcement in the near future, though he declined to comment further. Why it matters: In the age of Amazon, Grove Collaborative is one of many direct-to-consumer retailers looking to set itself apart. Each customer gets an individual Grove guide, who acts like a personal shopper and helps facilitate orders. Headquarters: San Francisco Funding: $27 million, according to the company Employees: 270 Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani How we pick the companies Every week, The Chronicle and Crunchbase, a San Francisco firm that tracks key businesses in technology, analyze private Bay Area companies based on their financial backing, employees and activity on Crunchbase. We feature three that are moving up in the ranks. For more information on the companies: www.crunchbase.com April 4, 1968, was a Thursday, and Martin Luther King Jr. was shot to death just after 6 p.m. in Memphis, 4 p.m. Pacific time. People here are more likely to remember the moment they heard the civil rights leader had been murdered, at age 39, as opposed to when Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, 42, was shot two months later in Los Angeles after midnight. In advance of Martin Luther King Day, Monday, and the upcoming 50th anniversary of his assassination, we talked to a half-dozen cultural figures in the Bay Area black community about the life, death and legacy of King. The Rev. Amos Brown, San Francisco, pastor at Third Baptist Church. When I was only 15 years, old I drove with Medgar Evers from Jackson, Miss., to San Francisco to the national convention of the NAACP. On Youth Night, Dr. King spoke, and from that night on I followed him all the way. I went to Morehouse College in Atlanta because Dr. King had gone there. He taught only one class in his lifetime and that was at Morehouse in 1962. It was a seminar in social philosophy, and I was a junior. There were eight of us in the class. We met once a week for an hour and a half or two hours. I learned who he was. Even though he was catapulted into office as a great leader, he was very humble and approachable. When Dr. King died, I had just delivered a eulogy at St. Pauls Baptist Church in West Chester, Pa. We were about to recess out of the church, one of my choir members leaned over and told me that she had just gotten the word that Dr. King had been shot down in Memphis. I announced it to the church that night. I was involved in the movement for civil rights before he died, and I still am. His death didnt stop me at all. It compelled me to continue the struggle as he would want me to. Michael M. Santiago/Special to The Chronicle Mildred Howard, West Oakland. Artist and social activist. I remember it as if it were yesterday. I was working at UC Berkeley at the Center for Research and Development in Higher Education. I was in the office, and someone said Martin Luther King is dead. I got up and I left work. I was living a mile and a half away, in West Berkeley. I can remember walking home down University Avenue feeling so terribly sad. I called my mother and talked about it. Everyone was crying. I was crying, and I was angry at the same time. I never met Martin Luther King, but I saw him speak in Oakland. He was such a great orator, and he was able to impact the world. When you hear his talks today and some of his quotes, it brings me to tears with how relevant it is. Im more sad and disgusted now. Look what has happened in the last year in this country. It is as if all of the work done in this country over the last 50 years has been erased. The United States has deep issues of racism woven in the fabric of that flag. Im just trying to find hope amidst the craziness. Because without hope there is nothing. Now Playing: Marching with Martin Luther King Jr. Video: SFChronicle The Rev. Cecil Williams, 88, San Francisco. Founder and minister of liberation at Glide. I met him here in San Francisco. He had come to Richmond when he was in his embryonic stage. It was before 1963. I didnt know who he was. I went over there and found out. I was invited by the minister. He was very cool and calm and collected. He knew what he was trying to do, and he came across as a sensitive and courageous person. He had a flair about him. You could tell he was a Baptist preacher. We predicted that he would go far because he had that swagger about him. You could tell he had confidence. On the day he was shot, I was right here at Glide. Somebody came in and told me King was shot. I got in my car and drove to Bayview-Hunters Point. When I got out of my car there was a policeman. He said, Theyre going to turn our city upside down. I thought about what could I do and said, Lets get these kids together and see about what theyre going to do. There were about 15 of them, and they were getting ready to throw rocks and everything else. We went and talked to them. We were trying to avoid violence. We got some food and brought it out to the Bayview that same day, and we ate and talked and ate and talked and finally it began to ease off. I saw some of the fellas that were in that episode just the other day. A month after King died, his widow, Coretta, came out to Glide. She became very close to us. Mike Kepka/The Chronicle Jerry Varnado, 73, East Oakland. Business consultant and co-founder of the nations first Black Student Union at San Francisco State College. I saw Dr. King speak in 1961 at the Masonic auditorium in Jackson, Miss., where I grew up. I was 15 or 16. I couldnt tell my parents or brothers and sisters I was going to listen to Martin Luther King. My mother and father could have lost their jobs. There was a state-sponsored group called the Sovereignty Commission that was like the Nazi secret police. I told my parents I was going to a movie and walked by myself to the speech. I had $16 in savings that I brought with me, and after I heard his speech I put all of my money in the collection plate. Thats the sort of impact he had. I came to California and enrolled at San Francisco State. I was sitting in the Black Student Union office with other people when someone came in and said that Martin Luther King had been killed. Everybody stood up in shock. We really had to absorb what had happened. We felt so bad because he had been humanized. We knew of his wife and his children. We probably stayed in that office for seven or eight hours just talking about it. The Black Student Union was the best place to be. In 1994, I went to Memphis to see the Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. You could just walk right up the stairs to the room where he was shot. The room was in the exact same condition as when he stepped out on the balcony and was shot. I cant put into words what it felt like going into that room. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle David Johnson, 91, Greenbrae. Photographer and subject of A Dream Begun So Long Ago: The Story of David Johnson, Ansel Adams First African American Student. Dr. King visited San Francisco when I was a student of photography at the California School of Fine Arts. He was speaking on Fillmore Street and I went. It was very important for me to be there to get a chance to take a photo, but I was shy about going up front and taking a picture of him so I missed that. On the day of the March on Washington (Aug. 28, 1963) I went as a delegate from the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP. I photographed the march but never photographed Dr. King. I never got close enough. For 10 or 15 years, I photographed the Civil Rights Movement. On the day he was assassinated, I was working at the University of California medical center in the personnel office. There was a large community of black people who worked there. It was word of mouth throughout the entire community of UCSF. Dr. Kings been assassinated. What are we going to do now? I thought about that picture I missed. He made the sacrifice. He gave his life for the struggle. Dustin James, 30, San Francisco. Dancer, Smuin Ballet. I first learned about Martin Luther King in elementary school in Houston when I was 6 or 7. I began my training with the Houston Ballet Academy and later got hired by a company called Dance Theatre of Harlem. It was created by Arthur Mitchell after Martin Luther King was assassinated. At the time African Americans were not accepted as ballet dancers. They were considered not to have the appropriate body type or the mental ability to focus on ballet as a technique. It was a stereotype held against African Americans. Without Martin Luther King, I dont know if I would be dancing. There might not have been a Dance Theatre of Harlem, which gave me an example so that I could also follow my dreams. Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle Erica Deeman, 40, San Francisco. Photographer of the African diaspora. Martin Luther Kings name was not in my history lessons in Nottingham, England, where I grew up. There was no bank holiday named after him, roads or institutions which would have led to a natural discussion of who he was and the ideals he represented. I heard of him in the early 1990s, when I was around 13 or 14 and there was a renewed focus on 1960s America and the assassinations of JFK, Malcolm X and Dr. King by the British media driven by films that were released around that time. Coming to the United States has given me a deeper understanding of Dr. King and the importance of the Civil Rights Movement. His drive for equality, respect and understanding resonates within me and in the message of my photography. His message should connect us all. Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @sfchronicle_art A recently completed review of last years Oroville Dam crisis does not inspire confidence in Californias vast water infrastructure or those managing it. The experts who conducted the postmortem detail a near-tragedy of errors, starting more than a half-century ago with flaws in the dams design, continuing through potentially counterproductive repairs, and culminating with the mismanaged emergency that forced the evacuation of nearly 200,000 downstream residents. The independent forensic teams criticism falls most heavily on the state agency responsible for the nations tallest dam, the Department of Water Resources, described at different points as complacent, overconfident, balkanized, insular, and misguided. That got the attention of Gov. Jerry Browns administration, which announced the appointment of the departments fourth director in just over a year and created a new high-level position responsible for dam safety. The outgoing director, Grant Davis, said in a statement that that the agency was already making Oroville and other dams safer and was taking the report very seriously. But he had also asked federal regulators to relicense the dam for another 50 years two weeks before the report was finished. Lawmakers representing the Sacramento Valley communities at ground zero, including Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County), state Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber (Tehama County), and Assemblyman Jim Gallagher, R-Nicolaus (Sutter County), had urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to take the time to analyze the report as well as the states response before it issues another license. With a catastrophe of this nature, LaMalfa wrote FERC in July, it doesnt make sense to continue with the licensing process until all the facts are known, identified and fixed. The report, requested by federal officials, certainly deserves their careful consideration. It traces the weaknesses of the spillway at the center of the emergency partly to a faulty design by an inexperienced engineer. Cracks in the spillway were noted within the first year of operations, but officials soon redefined such problems as routine, addressing them over the decades with a series of patches that the reviewers deem ineffective and possibly detrimental. When the spillway began to disintegrate under the force of releases after last winters extraordinary rains, even though it was a small fraction of the volume the concrete chute supposedly could handle, officials went against the advice of technical staff and allowed releases over an untested emergency spillway, the forensic team found. That compounded the risk to the dam and necessitated the evacuation. The reviewers blame the long, complex series of miscues behind the crisis partly on procedural, regulatory and cultural shortcomings that afflict dam operations nationwide. But they also find much wrong with the Department of Water Resources in particular, including undue confidence in the unassailability of its infrastructure and expertise, bureaucratic infighting and isolation, and misplaced priorities that sometimes allowed safety concerns to take a backseat to delivering water to farmers and cities, generating power and controlling costs. Department officials have argued that last years emergency should be kept separate from the dams license to generate hydroelectric power, which has been under consideration for more than a decade. But given the reviewers determination that the near-disaster was rooted in a long-term systemic failure of the department and its regulators, no long-term license should be issued without a close examination of the report and assurances that the states response will be equal to its conclusions. This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters. For California Democrats, the flood of candidates looking to unseat GOP members of Congress could be too much of a good thing. There already are 43 Democrats, many of them with plenty of campaign cash, lined up to challenge Republicans in the top seven districts targeted by their party. And with more than seven weeks to go before the March 9 filing deadline, that number could grow. For Democratic leaders, its the more the merrier, especially in a state where President Trump and Republicans in general are increasingly unpopular. I think its a good thing, said Drew Godinich, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. As (New Mexico Rep.) Ben Ray Lujan said, No party ever lost an election due to too much energy and momentum. The last thing Democratic leaders want is to hear discouraging words from California, which is key to their efforts to flip 24 GOP congressional seats and win back control of the House in November. The seven seats on the top of the partys priority list two in the Central Valley, one in Los Angeles County and four all or partially in Orange County make up a big chunk of that wish list. The campaign committee, invading the GOP stronghold of Orange County, has even moved its western headquarters to Irvine in an effort to show just how serious it is. In January 2016, the leader of the Orange County party was begging Democrats to get on board and run for Congress, Godinich added. Now we have multiple viable Democrats there who could compete and win. But that new enthusiasm comes with its own problems, said Tony Quinn, a former GOP consultant who is now an editor of the nonpartisan California Target Book, which looks at political races across the state. In almost every one of those (targeted) seats theres a multitude of Democratic candidates, and many of them have money, he said. And those people arent looking to spend hundreds of thousands to finish third in a primary where only the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to the November election. For example, in the 45th Congressional District, which Irvine GOP Rep. Mimi Walters first won in 2014, five of the seven Democrats running against her already have raised more than $250,000 each for their campaigns. Thats serious money that probably signals serious campaigns. Expect the candidates to stake out an ideological stance and then go on the attack against their opponents, Democrats as well as Republicans, said Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego. The Democratic primary campaigns may be reruns of Bernie (Sanders) versus Hillary (Clinton), the 2016 primary fight that split Democrats across the country, Kousser said. Almost the only way Democrats can screw this up is with bruising primary battles that create wounds that cant be healed, he said. Its a concern, said Doug Linney, an Oakland consultant who is running Flip the 14, a group that looks to improve Democratic performance in all 14 of the states Republican-held congressional districts. The group already is thinking about telling candidates that if they want help in the fall, they cant attack fellow Democrats in the primary, he said. Democrats have to stay focused on the prize, Linney added. They need to prove they can bring about the change they want in the district. ... There is no need to attack fellow Democrats. But even with the prospect of a primary free-for-all, a crowded primary field is still a good thing for the party, Linney added, because each candidate brings out Democratic and independent supporters, voters who otherwise might skip a typically low-turnout midterm election. A voter who is engaged in June is likely to stay engaged in November, he said. It would be nice to have one guy who can start his general election campaign in the primary, but democracy is messy, Linney said. Were going to support whoever emerges from the process, which is what he expects the losing Democrats will do. That doesnt mean Democratic leaders wont have a say in the primary races. The DCCC (Democratic County Central Committee) reserves the right to get involved in the primaries if necessary, Godinich said, which could mean endorsements and other backing for favored candidates. It will be on a case-by-case basis. Democrats are still smarting from a 2012 San Bernardino County congressional race in which a large field split the Democratic primary vote and allowed two Republicans to finish on top and face each other in November. Party leaders are convinced that direct support for then-Redlands Mayor Pete Aguilar would have given him the congressional seat he won two years later. This year, however, Democratic leaders, not to mention voters, might have a tough time deciding whom to support in many of the congressional races. Virtually none of the Democratic candidates has ever served in office, even on a city council or school board. None of these people are able to say I did this or I fixed this bridge or anything like it, said Quinn of the California Target Book. People are going to have to choose, but they dont have anything to compare. Take the campaign to unseat Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa (Orange County), who was first elected to Congress in 1988. The leading Democrats in the race are Harley Rouda, an attorney who is in his familys real estate business; Hans Keirstead, a doctor and CEO of a biomedical company; Omar Siddiqui, a trial lawyer and engineer; Michael Kotick, a business executive; and Laura Oatman, an architect. But the prospect of facing a full field of Democratic challengers, politically experienced or not, already has persuaded two veteran GOP incumbents, Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista (San Diego County) and Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton (Orange County), to hastily retire and avoid what pundits suggest could be a blue wave in California elections. Molly Riley/Associated Press If Republicans think that being a career politician is going to help a candidate these days, they havent been paying attention, said Godinich, the DCCC spokesman. In the age of Trump, who ran successfully against political business as usual, being an outsider or even one of a pack of Democratic outsiders is probably a strength, not a weakness. We know we need to concentrate our fire on Republicans, not on each other, Godinich added. The election is really about making the case that a Democrat is the best person for Congress. John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth Classic Superman comic books: not many black characters, if any. Classic Batman: Name a black figure. Spidey: Youre getting the idea. The upshot? Black comix a growing movement of artists and writers creating black-themed comic books and graphic novels filled with black heroes and heroines and the three-day Black Comix Arts Festival, which runs through Monday in San Francisco. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it moves from the San Francisco Main Library to the fourth floor of the Metreon, in the heart of holiday events downtown. I like comic books especially black comics, said Sophia, a 19-year-old studying computer science and film at Stanford who declined to give her last name. Although Sophia has been reading comics for only a few months, she quickly turned off from Wonder Woman, Batman and the Justice League. I realized theres a lot more to comics than big, powerful white men, she said. My favorite superhero right now is Riri Williams. Riris superpower, it turns out, is her brain. Shes just a genius, Sophia said. Shes a young black superhero from the south side of Chicago. She built an Iron Man suit from scratch. Riri, a 15-year-old engineering student at MIT, is not too different from Sophia herself. Another power of comic characters created in ways more people can relate to turns out to be the ability to lure bright young students like Sophia from Palo Alto to San Francisco on a Sunday afternoon to check out the show and hear artists and writers discuss their work. One of them was Tony Medina, creator of I Am Alfonso Jones, the story of another talented 15-year-old who invites his crush, Danetta Jimenez, to accompany him out of their Harlem neighborhood to buy his first suit. Jones dad is leaving prison after being exonerated by DNA evidence. But while hes trying on the suit, a security guard accidentally shoots him, and he ends up on a subterranean ghost train where he meets the ancestors of real-life victims of police brutality, said Medina, who teaches creative writing at Howard University in Washington, D.C. They include Eleanor Bumpurs, Amadou Diallo and Michael Stewart. As an artist, I have to draw black trauma in a way that makes the audience feel something for the character. How do I make this pain convincing? said Stacey Robinson, who, as he penciled the characters Medina created, felt his own range of emotions: From joy and happiness, to me being in tears as Im drawing it, said Robinson, who teaches graphic design at the University of Illinois. John Jennings, who inked the Alfonso Jones graphic novel, co-founded the Black Comix Arts Festival four years ago in San Francisco, a spinoff from the show he co-founded in Harlem in 2010. Theres a dearth of black representation in comics and creators in the mainstream, said Jennings, a professor of media and cultural studies at UC Riverside who blamed much of the problem on a comic-book distribution industry that is set in its ways and has failed to reach out to independent artists and writers of color. Theyre not diverse. And so, he said, comics featuring black artists have bloomed on their own since the mid-1990s. Theres Mattys Rocket, Brother Man, Kid Code and more. Still, comics arent for everyone. On Sunday, 13-year-old Xion Abiodun of Oakland visited the comics fair with her dad, journalist J.R. Valrey, but found herself drawn to a table of books by black authors including Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor, about a girl trying to figure out how to control her powers, and Kindred, by the late science-fiction writer Octavia E. Butler, both of which Xion had read. Theres not a lot of well-known African American authors, Xion said, adding that even though her most important criterion when choosing a book is that it be a good one, I do try to find more African American authors. I know a lot of my people are in poverty. I try to give my money to black people to see them prosper. Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov Bay Area residents can look forward to a warm and cloudless day for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday before a series of tepid storms sweep the region the rest of the week, forecasters said. Temperatures will remain in the 60s for most of the Bay Area on Monday, paving the way for people to partake in the various activities planned in honor of King, from the MLK Celebration Train and march in San Francisco at 11 a.m. to free admittance to national parks. A light storm is expected to make landfall late Monday in the North Bay, said Will Pi, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The highest peaks could receive up to half an inch of rain. Its going to start pretty late after most people are in bed, Pi said. Suzanne Sims, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said there are no concerns of mudslides or flash flooding being triggered from the storm. Not with a half inch, she said. If it all fell within five minutes, that would be a problem, but thats not going to be the case. San Francisco and other cities, including Oakland, will likely get a quarter of an inch of rain, Pi said, adding that a lot of moisture isnt anticipated. The storm will dissipate by Tuesday morning before another storm hits the Bay Area on Thursday morning. It should start in the morning right when everyone is getting up and going to work, Pi said. Temperatures should drop by at least five degrees throughout the region, he added. The North Bay should get the most rainfall, with up to an inch in the mountains, but forecasters arent concerned of any dangerous conditions. Generally, the rainfall amounts that are predicted dont seem to be too bad if its spread out over a number of days, Sims said. The rest of the Bay Area could receive up to three-quarters of an inch, she said. Temperatures throughout the Bay Area should be in the 50s on Friday. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani HONOLULU A blunder that caused more than a million people in Hawaii to fear that they were about to be struck by a nuclear missile fed skepticism Sunday about the governments ability to keep them informed in a real emergency. Residents and tourists alike remained rattled a day after the mistaken alert was blasted out to cell phones across the islands with a warning to seek immediate shelter and the ominous statement: This is not a drill. My confidence in our so-called leaders ability to disseminate this vital information has certainly been tarnished, said Patrick Day, who sprang from bed when the alert was issued Saturday morning. I would have to think twice before acting on any future advisory. Authorities said the warning was sent during a shift change at the states Emergency Management Agency when someone doing a routine test hit the live alert button. State officials tried to assure residents there would be no repeat false alarms. The agency changed protocols to require that two people send an alert and made it easier to cancel a false alarm a process that took nearly 40 minutes. The error sparked a doomsday panic across the islands. Parents clutched their children, huddled in bathtubs and said prayers. Drivers abandoned cars on a highway and took shelter in a tunnel. Others resigned themselves to a fate they could not control and simply waited for the attack. An investigation into what went wrong was under way Sunday at the Federal Communications Commission. The Hawaiian government did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place to prevent the transmission of a false alert, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement, calling the mistake absolutely unacceptable. False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies, he said. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urged Americans not to lose faith in their government. I would hate for anybody not to abide by alerts and warnings coming from government systems, Nielsen said on Fox News Sunday. They can trust government systems. We test them every day. Lisa Foxen, a mother of two young children in Honolulu, said she expects Hawaii officials to make necessary changes and restore trust in the system. The best thing to come out of the scare, she said, was that it pushed her family to come up with a plan if there is a real threat. I kind of was just almost like a deer in headlights, she said. I knew what to do in a hurricane. I knew what to do in an earthquake. But the missile thing is new to me. Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Brian Melley are Associated Press writers. 1 Prison escape: Authorities searched Monday for an inmate who escaped from a Southern California prison. Michael Garrett was unaccounted for during a Sunday night count at the California Institution for Men in Chino (San Bernardino County). Garrett was serving a four- year, eight-month sentence for first-degree burglary and vehicle theft. He was scheduled for parole in October 2019. The prison, which opened in 1941, houses approximately 3,400 minimum- and medium-security inmates. 2 Animal abuse: Authorities seized about 100 dogs from an Ohio home and charged a 76-year-old woman with misdemeanor animal cruelty, alleging she kept animals in unsanitary conditions. A dog warden removed the animals last week from a home in the village of Coolville, about 80 miles southeast of Columbus. Athens County officials say they received complaints about the property but hadnt realized how many dogs were there. A not-guilty plea was entered for Bernice Robertson. LOS ANGELES With 27 engines generating 5.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, the Falcon Heavy rocket is one of SpaceXs most ambitious projects yet. And now, with questions swirling about the reported loss of the classified Zuma satellite that lifted off Jan. 7 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the highly anticipated Falcon Heavy demonstration launch later this month may have taken on even more importance for the companys military and intelligence prospects. The new rocket gives the Hawthorne space company heavy-lift capability, meaning SpaceX could hoist massive satellites for commercial customers or lucrative national security missions. As SpaceX looks to increase its share of defense business, those customers are very much interested in reliability, said Carissa Christensen, chief executive of consulting firm Bryce Space and Technology. For good reason: Zuma, for instance, reportedly cost more than $1 billion. Now is not a good time for questions about SpaceXs ability to deliver what that community wants, which is reliable performance, she said. That community will be paying attention. Christensen noted that SpaceX has been unambiguous in defending its role in Zumas launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. As reports began to surface that the satellite may have plunged back toward Earth, the company issued a statement: We do not comment on missions of this nature; but, as of right now, reviews of the data indicate Falcon 9 performed nominally. Last Tuesday, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell released an even stronger statement and pushed back against reports that a second-stage malfunction may have been to blame, saying that after review of all data to date, Falcon 9 did everything correctly. If we or others find otherwise based on further review, we will report it immediately, she said. Information published that is contrary to this statement is categorically false. SpaceX has continued on with preparations for the Falcon Heavy and an upcoming Falcon 9 launch for satellite operator SES and the Luxembourg government. Analysts say that further indicates the company did not see a problem with its rockets. An SES spokesman said the company was in constant contact with SpaceX and is totally confident for its launch date at the end of the month. Little is known about the Zuma satellite not even the name of the U.S. government agency that owns it. The payload was intended to be launched into low-Earth orbit. Defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. built Zuma and procured the launch service from SpaceX. Samantha Masunaga is a Los Angeles Times writer. TAMPA, Fla. A casino company said Monday it never had a problem with the shuttle boat that burst into flames off Floridas Gulf Coast, leading to the death of a female passenger. Tropical Breeze Casino spokeswoman Beth Fifer said the company does not know what caused Sundays blaze, which gutted the 12-year-old shuttle boat and forced about 50 passengers to jump into chilly waters off Port Richey. We are deeply saddened for the loss of our passenger, the 14 injured and anyone else who was affected by this tragedy, Fifer said. Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point spokesman Kurt Conover said Monday that the passenger arrived at the hospitals emergency room at 10 p.m. Sunday and died shortly afterward. He said she had apparently gone home after the fire but became ill. Pasco County Sheriffs Office spokesman Kevin Doll said the victim was 42. Her name has not been released and a cause of death has not been determined. Conover said eight other passengers were treated at the hospital and released. Authorities originally said no injuries were life-threatening. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Michael De Nyse said investigators will determine the cause of the fire and examine the history of the boat and Tropical Breeze Casino. Helicopter video taken by WTSP-TV early Monday shows the boat was burned down to its hull, with only an American flag on its bow uncharred. The shuttle boat regularly carried people back and forth from the Tropical Breezes offshore casino, about a 45-minute ride into international waters. There, passengers would play games such as blackjack, which is illegal at non-Indian casinos in Florida, and roulette, which is illegal statewide. The shuttle boat caught fire about 4 p.m. Sunday, quickly engulfing the boat close to shore near residential neighborhoods. Officials said the boat was headed out to the casino ship at the time. Port Richey Police Chief Gerard DeCanio said the shuttle boat experienced engine problems after leaving the dock at Port Richey, a suburban community about 35 miles northwest of Tampa. But as the vessel turned back, flames kicked up and people began jumping overboard into shallow water, according to witness accounts. Larry Santangelo, 57, said he had just driven into his neighborhood when he saw smoke and fire and thought a house possibly his own was ablaze. But then he realized it was the boat just about 100 yards offshore. He told the Tampa Bay Times that he then saw people wandering about confused, wet and cold, after they reached land. One woman collapsed upon reaching shore and vomited, he said. Santangelo said he took about 30 of the passengers into his garage to warm up and recover. It was so windy and they were soaking wet, said Santangelo. He worried that some might suffer from hypothermia. It wasnt immediately clear what caused the fire, which sent a huge plume of dark black smoke wafting over sunny skies on an unusually chilly winter day in the Tampa Bay region. The boat was identified in newspaper reports as the Island Lady, a 72-foot wooden-hulled vessel, which Fifer said had been inspected by the Coast Guard. If you're willing to trade free samples of pork belly and a bazaar-like Sunday afternoon for a delivery service, Boxed might have you covered. The grocery delivery website, which describes itself as the "Costco for Millennials," launched in 2013 as an alternative to bulk shopping. They deliver non-perishable grocery items such as pet treats, toilet paper, and party-size bags of Fritos for free on orders totaling $49 or more. MONTECITO, Santa Barbara County Parishioners prayed Sunday for those killed and for families still searching for missing relatives in the Southern California community ravaged by mudslides. Authorities announced another body had been found, increasing the death toll to 20, while the list of missing has shrunk to four. The body of Pinit Sutthithepa, 30, was discovered Saturday. His 2-year-old daughter, Lydia, remained missing. His 6-year-old son, Peerawat, and his 79-year-old father-in-law, Richard Loring Taylor, also were killed in the mudslides. Because most churches in Montecito are in an evacuation area, many worshipers attended services in nearby communities. At a church in Santa Barbara, they carried flowers, lit candles and prayed for the families that have lost loved ones. Our whole community is devastated, Hannah Miller said at Trinity Episcopal Church. There isnt anyone who doesnt know someone who has been affected by this disaster. It is truly awful. We can just pray they find those poor missing people. In the disaster area, firefighters went door to door to check the structural stability of the houses damaged by a powerful rainstorm that preceded the mudslides and scoured whats left of toppled homes and mangled cars as they searched for the missing. Search and rescue operations ended Sunday, and authorities transitioned to a search and recovery phase, Sheriff Bill Brown announced. The move allows officials to release resources that are no longer needed and allow search operations to slow to a safer pace, he said. The storm sent flash floods cascading through mountain slopes that were burned bare by a huge wildfire in December. Crews have made it a priority to clear out debris basins and creek canals before another rainstorm. Long-range forecasts gave the crews about a week before the next chance of rain and potential new mudslides although the precipitation is expected to be light. If we dont get those debris basins cleaned out, then were not going to be prepared for the storm and we dont know what that storm is going to look like, said Robert Lewin, Santa Barbara Countys emergency management director. Tuesdays mudslides ravaged the tony community, destroying at least 65 homes and damaging more than 460 others, officials said. The rest of the communitys infrastructure also was damaged. Some streets were cracked in half, and authorities closed bridges and overpasses because they were unstable. The U.S. 101 freeway and many roads remain closed indefinitely. Much of the community of about 9,000 residents remained under mandatory evacuation orders as crews removed debris and worked to restore water and power service. There is no timeline for allowing residents to return, Assemblywoman Monique Limon said. Michael Balsamo is an Associated Press writer. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) BART police cited a man Saturday in San Francisco for battery on a BART station agent, police said Sunday Officers responded at 9:54 p.m. to the Powell Street BART station where the man had slapped the agent. Officers found the man on Market Street and the agent identified him as the suspect. Police said the man was in need of a psychiatric evaluation and was taken to a hospital. The station agent was not injured. Police said they issued the suspect an order that prohibits him from riding BART for a period of time. SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Officers handed out 54 speeding citations during a one-day crackdown on speeding drivers in South San Francisco Saturday, police said. Officers targeted roadways where neighbors have complained of vehicles speeding, as well as streets with a history of crashes with injuries or fatalities where speed was the primary cause. One driver was arrested for an outstanding hit and run misdemeanor arrest warrant, police said. Each saturation patrol consists of trained officers using lidar devices to check drivers' speeds. Lidar is a laser device that measures distances down to inches and exact speed of vehicles, police said. The drivers who got speeding citations were traveling an average of 15 mph or higher over the posted speed limit, according to police. Police said the goal of the operation is to remind motorists to drive with caution, obey the speed limit and drive safely. Funding for the operation was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) Parents will rally this morning outside San Francisco City Hall to demand elected officials, candidates and political groups refuse money from any tobacco company seeking to repeal the city's ban on the sale of flavored tobacco, organizers said Sunday. Parents and their children will rally at 10 a.m. on Polk Street to declare that health is a civil right. Organizers said they are holding the rally as tobacco companies campaign to overturn a flavored tobacco ban passed by the Board of Supervisors in June of last year. A group known as Let's Be Real San Francisco, which is at least partly funded by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, submitted 34,000 signatures from San Francisco voters to put the issue on the ballot in June of this year. "Let's be real!" the group's website says. "Bans and prohibitions just don't work." Legislation for the ban was introduced by Supervisor Malia Cohen because flavored tobacco is typically marketed to vulnerable populations such as children, young adults, blacks and LGBTQ people. Direct health care expenses and lost productivity in San Francisco due to tobacco has been estimated at about $380 million a year. Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Research Control & Education at the University of California at San Francisco, reported in July that R.J. Reynolds had spent $723,769 to support the Let's Be Real campaign in San Francisco. At that time, the campaign had paid $150,000 to a consulting firm in Sacramento and $2,000 to Rojas Communications Group in Tarzana for campaign consulting. It had $448,000 in cash. Organizer's for Let's Be Real said the ban will push sales underground and that people willing to sell flavored tobacco from the back of a car won't hesitate to sell to children. Nor will it stop people from going to Daly City or other cities to buy flavored tobacco and it will hurt small businesses, according to Let's Be Real organizers. Cohen said in June that she would be interested in providing city assistance to stores looking for ways to change what they sell. ANTIOCH (BCN) Antioch police are seeking the public's help in locating a woman who went missing last week. On Friday at about 3 a.m., 63-year-old Ruby Ormond walked away from her home in Antioch and has not had any contact with her family since then, police said. She was last seen wearing a shirt, blue pants and tan shoes. Ormond's family told police that she could be suffering from the early stages of dementia. According to police, Ormond used to live in San Jose before moving to Antioch and she is known to return to the San Jose area. Anyone with information about Ormond's whereabouts is asked to contact Antioch police at (925) 778-2441 or send a text to 274637 using the keyword ANTIOCH. Southbound Interstate Highway 280 is closed at Alemany Boulevard in San Francisco this morning due to police activity, according to California Highway Patrol officials. The closure was first reported at 3:23 a.m. and a Sig-alert has been issued due to the closure. SEBASTOPOL (BCN) Police are investigating separate burglary and robbery cases that occurred early this morning at stores in Sebastopol. At 12:55 a.m., police were dispatched to the Lucky store at 776 Gravenstein Highway N. on a report of vandalism. At the scene, they found the store's sliding glass entrance door was broken, police said. Police investigated and determined that after the store had closed, a male suspect remained inside. He then tried to access the store's cash register and smashed the door window in order to exit the building, police said. The suspect was described as a tall male wearing an orange hat, dark gray or black jeans, a black jacket and a black backpack. His face was covered with a white mask or cloth and goggles, police said. Anyone with information about the case can call Officer Schott at (707) 829-4400. At 1:34 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 7-Eleven store at 167 Pleasant Hill Ave. N. on a report of an armed robbery that had just occurred. According to police, the clerk said that a male suspect entered the store, brandished a handgun wrapped in a white cloth, then demanded cash from the register. The suspect took cash and merchandise from the store, then fled on foot. Officers searched the area but were unable to locate the suspect. The male suspect was wearing a dark green hooded sweatshirt with a pattern similar to camouflage or a tree-type pattern. He wore gray sweatpants, gray shoes, black gloves and a black full-face mask and sunglasses, police said. Anyone with information about the case can call Officer Bauer at (707) 829-4400. BERKELEY (BCN) A 70-year-old woman who died in a collision with a Berkeley city vehicle on Friday afternoon was identified today by the Alameda County coroner's bureau as Shelley Rideout. The collision was reported to the California Highway Patrol at 1:21 p.m. at Channing Way and Fulton Street near the University of California at Berkeley campus, CHP Officer Matthew Hamer said. A city employee was driving a sedan, which struck Rideout who was crossing the street in a crosswalk. Rideout was pronounced dead at 1:31 p.m. According to Hamer, witnesses told investigators that the vehicle was going at about 15 mph. The driver of the vehicle is cooperating with investigators. Hamer said neither drugs nor alcohol played a part in the collision. Rideout was a volunteer at the Berkeley Historical Society, according to a Facebook post Saturday by the group. "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the accidental death yesterday of Shelley Rideout, the longtime and invaluable Berkeley Historical Society volunteer who coordinated the current exhibit, 'Soundtrack to the 60s.'" The historical society is accepting donations in her memory. "Excuse me, sir. Is it possible for me to sneak in and just see the gift shop?" Visiting Washington, D.C., for business in late 2016, I was drawn to the brand-new National Museum of African American History & Culture. At the time (shortly after its gala opening) the waiting list for tickets was eight months long to get in, but it was a warm, sunny day so I walked there from my hotel just to see what it looked like. "No sir, you have to have a ticket for that," I was told. "Well, OK, just thought I'd try. I'll come back next time I'm in town." The ticket-taker paused, looked me up and down and gave me a conspiratorial smile. "Hold on." He reached into his coat pocket and produced a ticket, then he winked conspiratorially and told me to go on inside and enjoy myself. It was as though Shirley was looking out for me...again. Chris McGinnis Shirley Louise Walker came into my life in 1968 when I was 8 years old. She was employed by my family as a "maid," as we said in those days, at our home by the Chattahoochee River in the northwestern suburbs of Atlanta. I was the second of four children born to my father, a surgeon, and my mother, a part-time nurse and stay-at-home mom. Shirley worked at our house three days a week Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and would occasionally spend the night with us when my parents went out of town. She had six sons of her own, the first she had when she was 14, and a grandmother who looked after them while Shirley worked. At one time she had a husband, but he was out of the picture. She was an attractive woman with many friends and a busy social life. I know that because I would listen intently to the racy phone conversations she had while ironing in the den when my mother was out of earshot. Chris McGinnis Growing up gay in the Bible Belt in the '70s, the outside world did not feel like a very fun or friendly place to me. So I'd spend hours with Shirley, laughing and talking while she smoked Kool Filter King cigarettes, ironed and drank iced tea. We'd talk about school, her boys, our friends. You may think that she was a maternal figure to me, like something out of "The Help," but she wasn't. Shirley was like my sassy, protective, fun and kind of dirty older sister. We'd cuss and discuss sex, food, Al Green, Marvin, Aretha, Gladys, what was playing on WAOK-AM radio, Coretta Scott King, the latest scandal in the National Enquirer, riding the bus, her wig, the other maids on our street or Shirley Chisholm's run for president. We'd spend a few dollars each week to play the "numbers game," which was an illegal lottery popular on the south side of Atlanta. We each won $46 once because we played a number that I dreamed about. She knew that was a sign! When she stayed weekends, one of the highlights was watching "Soul Train" together when it came on television Saturday afternoons. I'd try to match the moves of some of the show's famous line dancers, and Shirley would look at me and say, "You got soul baby, I can tell. You black on the inside." Then she'd clap her hands and break into a few funky moves of her own. Around this time in the 1970s, racial labeling was making the shift from "negro" to "black," causing consternation on both sides of the issue. I still laugh to myself remembering one of our conversations about that. "I don't know why I'm supposed to be calling myself black. I ain't black, I'm ebony," she said. "And you ain't white. You pink!" In 1974, when I was away at summer sailing camp in North Carolina being bullied and bashed by older boys, it was Shirley who I called on rainy days when camp counselors would take us into Morehead City for a movie. Although I never told her what was going on, she knew I was distressed and we'd talk and talk as I shoved quarters into the pay phone. I never even saw or cared much about the movies. Chris McGinnis We never talked much about what was going on in my head as I entered adolescence, but Shirley had an inkling. "Chris, is you a sissy?" she asked me one day when I was 14. I'll never forget those words. I was dumbstruck. I did not know what to say and was horrified that someone anyone might somehow figure me out, even if it was Shirley. I did not talk to her for about a month after that. (At that time, "gay" was not widely used; "sissy" was a term used primarily in the black community.) She knew she'd hit a nerve, but she did not say anything to me or anyone else. She wouldn't press the issue. But I could tell she was upset about being frozen out by the way she'd give me long, sad looks. Eventually, I could not resist getting back on the fun ship with her, so as the shock of that question wore off, we resumed our good times and fell back into our routines, like watching "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" on TV at 11 p.m. she from her house, me from mine then calling each other afterward to review it and laugh again at all the funny parts. I still have Shirley's telephone number memorized. I think of all the numbers I've forgotten over the years, but that one sticks. By the time I turned 15 and had my learner's permit, my mom started allowing me to drive Shirley to the MARTA bus stop at the end of the day. On the days that she worked, I could hardly wait to get home from school for a chance to take her to the bus all by myself in Mom's Chevrolet Caprice station wagon. Once we got in the car, she'd reach into her enormous pocketbook and extract two pieces of Doublemint gum one for her and another for me. Then she'd pull out a full-size bottle of Jergens lotion, squeeze a dab out and then slowly rub it in all over her hands and arms up to her elbows. (My mom used to say "Shirley has the most beautiful skin of any woman I know.") She'd also pull out her 15-cent bus fare and the latest issue of Jet magazine to read on the way home. To this day, the smell of Jergens, Doublemint and Niagara spray starch reminds me of Shirley I can smell it as I type this. Chris McGinnis Our friendship was super strong but also kind of a secret. I did not talk much about it to my family, and they did not talk to me much about it, but everyone knew that Chris and Shirley were two peas in a pod. If my parents only knew some of the things we talked about, they would have separated us! Time went on, and I grew up, turning into a pimply-faced, awkward teenager. I was a band geek and a closet case, but Shirley was always there as my friend and protector. I knew I could count on her, especially when I was living in fear that somehow, someway, someone would figure out what was going on in my head. Shirley would understand in a quiet way she knew and I knew what was going on, but we never talked about it. That was the way most Southerners dealt with homosexuality at that time. Some still do. In April 1978, I took a four-day bus trip with the band to Walt Disney World in Orlando. When I returned, my mother broke the horrible news to me: Shirley had died in her sleep over the weekend, apparently due to complications from a hiatal hernia. Boom. I was a mess. The clothes she'd washed and folded were still in my drawers. I owed her a phone call. It was like losing a mother, sibling and best friend at the same time. She was only 33 years old. On the inside the tears poured and my heart pounded for weeks, but I didn't feel like I could let anyone know that the death of our housekeeper hurt me so much. I didn't know who would understand that? At high school I always liked going to Miss Jenkins' math class because she was not only a good teacher, but she reminded me of Shirley. A few days after Shirley's funeral, I recall having a panic attack in class and asking Miss Jenkins' permission to leave and go to the school clinic. "My stomach hurts," I said, when it was really my heart that was broken. Over the next few months I kept my emotions bottled up and did not talk about it. I cried only in my bed at night or in the car when I drove home from my summer job as a cook at Six Flags Over Georgia. Chris McGinnis It took a year or so for me to shake that loss. I continued on with my life, attending high school proms, applying to colleges, going through fraternity rush at UGA in Athens, and then expanding my horizons beyond Georgia by transferring to the University of Colorado. But I never forgot Shirley, and her spirit never left my side. I felt like she became my guardian angel who protected me from too much pain during the coming out years of my early 20s. She kept me out of harm's way when I was backpacking or working on oil rigs and ski resorts in the Rockies. Sometimes I reached out and heard from her in private seances. I believe it was Shirley who kept AIDS at bay when I blossomed into a handsome young gay man living in New York City, Puerto Rico and Australia, and watched the horrible, untimely deaths of many friends. Whenever anything mysteriously good comes my way, like Barkley, my partner and spouse of 12 years, or getting this essay published, I feel like Shirley's up there pulling strings and making it happen. So when I mysteriously got that ticket to enter the National Museum of African American History & Culture that day, I proudly walked in, one of about 50 white folks among the thousands of African-Americans there to witness a defining moment in their fight for equality the opening of a spectacular museum on Washington's National Mall that tells the story of the struggles and highlights of black history in America. I could hear Shirley squealing with delight as I walked by booths and exhibitions and images of afro picks and pomade, Chuck Berry's shiny red Cadillac Eldorado, mock prison cells, Al Green and Marvin Gaye music, videos about having light or dark skin, iron skillet cooking, freedom marches and black entrepreneurs. Shirley was there! She got me in the door. Chris McGinnis As I stood there admiring Berry's spectacular car, I noticed an elderly woman visiting alone who was attempting to take a selfie in front of it. I offered to help take her picture, and we had a moment talking about how we both wished we could drive around D.C. on a sunny day with that ragtop down. She had a big purse and a mouthful of Doublemint gum with that unforgettable scent. I realized that if Shirley were still alive, she'd be about the same age. And I swelled up with warm memories, internal tears and black pride as I walked through the rest of that museum with my head held high knowing that Chris and Shirley were doing this together. It was her magic that got me in that door that day, and continues to keep me happy and safe, I hope, for the rest of my life. Chris McGinnis Chris McGinnis is a travel writer and consultant living in San Francisco with his spouse and a succession of black Labrador retrievers named Shirley, Louise and Walker. Email him here 2017 Christopher J. McGinnis This item first appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Get TravelSkills via email! Daily or weekly updates. Sign up here Chris McGinnis is the founder of of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis. BAGHDAD Twin suicide bombings rocked Baghdad on Monday, killing 38 people in the deadliest attack since Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State group last month, and raising fears ahead of national elections planned for May. The bombers targeted the bustling Tayran Square, in the heart of the capital, setting off their explosive vests among laborers and street vendors during the morning rush hour. More than 100 people were wounded, according to police and hospital officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. No one has claimed the attacks, but they bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State. Iraqi forces have driven the militants from all the territory they once held, but the group has proven resilient in the past and is likely to continue carrying out insurgent-style attacks. That could undermine Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who hopes to extend the countrys newfound sense of pride and unity in order to lead a diverse coalition to power in May. Ambulances rushed to the scene as security forces sealed off the area. Slippers could be seen scattered about on the blood-stained pavement as cleaners hurried to clear the debris. I felt the ground shaking under my feet, said Munthir Falah, a clothing vendor whose chest and right leg were pierced by shrapnel. He said he lost consciousness before later waking up in a hospital. Falah said government forces had failed to secure the capital. Al-Abadi met security officials in charge of Baghdad, ordering them to root out militant sleeper cells, according to a statement issued by his office. A deterioration in security could undermine his claim to have vanquished Islamic State and create an opening for his main rival, former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, to return to power. The government has proposed holding elections on May 12, but parliament must approve the date. Sunni leaders have called for the vote to be delayed until the 3 million people still displaced from the fighting can return to their homes. Sinan Salaheddin and Murtada Faraj are Associated Press writers. CAIRO Egypts president on Monday sought to defuse tensions with Ethiopia and Sudan, reassuring them that his country was not meddling in their internal affairs or planning to go to war against them. Egypt has expressed mounting alarm over a soon-to-be-completed upstream dam in Ethiopia that Cairo fears could cut into its share of the Nile River, which provides nearly all its fresh water. It has accused Sudan of siding with Ethiopia, and of reviving a long-standing border dispute. But in televised comments, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said Egypts strategic choice was peace, not war. Egypt neither conspires nor meddles in in anyones internal affairs. We are determined to have good relations (with Sudan and Ethiopia). Our region has seen enough the past few years, he said. We are not prepared to go to war against our brethren or anyone else for that matter. I am saying this as a clear message to our brothers in Sudan and Ethiopia. The Egyptian leader also called on his countrys media to cease attacks on Sudan, saying it should follow the example of his administration which, he said, refrained from insulting its neighbors even in the face of intentional slights. Egypt says Ethiopia is not doing enough to ease its concerns about the effects of filling the reservoir behind the dam, which is expected to begin soon and could cut into Egypts share of the Nile. Ethiopia says the $5 billion dam is essential for its economic development and argues that the vast majority of its 95 million people lack electricity, which the dams hydroelectric plant will generate. Ethiopia also accuses Eritrea, a regional ally of Egypt, of training rebels to carry out sabotage attacks on the dam. Egypt, with a population roughly equal to Ethiopias, has traditionally received the lions share of the Niles waters under agreements reached in 1929 and 1959. Other Nile basin nations view those agreements as unfair, saying they ignore the needs of their own large and growing populations. Sudan, meanwhile, has revived a longtime border dispute with Egypt, which has refused to negotiate over the issue or submit the conflict to international arbitration. Egypt in turn accuses Sudan of conspiring with Qatar and Turkey against it. Sudan last week recalled its ambassador in Cairo for consultations. Hamza Hendawi is an Associated Press writer. BEIRUT Turkeys president on Monday denounced U.S. plans to form a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border security force in Syria, vowing to drown this army of terror before it is born, as Russia and Syria also rejected the idea. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also warned U.S. troops against coming between Turkish soldiers and Kurdish forces, which Ankara views as an extension of Turkeys own Kurdish insurgency. Turkey has been threatening to launch a new military operation against the main Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the Peoples Defense Units, or YPG, in the Kurdish-held Afrin enclave in northern Syria. The YPG is the backbone of a Syrian force that drove the Islamic State group from much of northern and eastern Syria with the help of U.S.-led air strikes. Russia also has warned that the nascent U.S. force threatens to fuel tensions around Afrin. The United States has admitted that it has created a terrorist force along our countrys border. Our duty is to drown this army of terror before it is born, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara. The coalition said the new force, expected to reach 30,000 in the next several years, is a key element of its strategy in Syria to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State group in Syria. A strong border security force will prohibit (IS) freedom of movement and deny the transportation of illicit materials, the coalition said in a statement to the Associated Press. This will enable the Syrian people to establish effective local, representative governance and reclaim their land. Turkey sent troops into Syria in 2016 to prevent Syrian Kurdish fighters from forming a contiguous entity along its border. It has also supported rival Syrian rebels. Suzan Fraser and Sarah El Deeb are Associated Press writers. New Zealand firms turned pessimistic about the country's economic fortunes in the December quarter for the first time in more than two years, with the formation of a Labour-led government and its policy plans spooking businesses. A seasonally adjusted net 11 percent of firms surveyed in the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research's quarterly survey of business opinion expect economic conditions to deteriorate in the first half of this year, turning negative for the first time since September 2015, and falling from a positive reading of 5 percent in the prior period. The headline confidence reading is more pessimistic than firms' own trading with a net 10 percent experiencing increased activity in the December quarter and a net 18 percent anticipating more demand in the first three months of 2018. The decline in trading activity indicated slower economic growth although NZIER principal economist Christina Leung said it was more a moderation and she expects annual expansion of 3 percent. "Business confidence had fallen in the previous quarter ahead of the general election, and it appears uncertainty over the new government policies have made businesses even more downbeat," Leung said in a statement. "Business may be worried about the outlook for the New Zealand economy under the new Labour-led government, but for now that is not reflected in demand in their own business." The NZIER survey is a key metric of business sentiment watched by the Reserve Bank and typically tracks closely with the ANZ Business Outlook, which was at an eight-year low last month. Firms have become gloomier since the formation of the Labour-led government, with questions hanging over what impact its policies will have on industrial relations and how effective it will be reconfiguring the property market. Leung said previous surveys show business confidence tends to drop when Labour takes office and increase when National is in charge, but that sentiment has a muted impact on actual trading activity. The QSBO showed profitability continued to weaken in the December quarter, with a net 7 percent reporting lower earnings and a net 6 percent anticipating reduced profits in the coming quarter. That compares to a net 6 percent experiencing lower profits but a net 13 percent expecting increased earnings in the September survey. Leung said the decline in expectations was a "worrying development" with fewer firms predicting conditions will recover in coming months. That increased uncertainty showed firms were more cautious about investment, she said. The QSBO showed a net 2 percent of firms plan to invest in compared to 18 percent in September, while a net 10 percent plan to lift investment in plant and machinery, down from 17 percent, while hiring intentions declined to 12 percent from 19 percent. Firms are still finding it hard to find labour, with a net 49 percent saying skilled labour was hard to find, deteriorating from 46 percent in September, and a net 31 percent finding it hard to attract unskilled labour, compared to a net 27 percent in the prior period. Companies still expect to face cost pressures, with a net 38 percent anticipating an increase in costs compared to 24 percent in September, while experienced costs were largely unchanged with a net 29 percent reporting higher costs compared to 30 percent in the prior period. Pricing intentions increased with a net 31 percent expecting to lift prices in the coming quarter, up from 24 percent in September, while a net 18 percent raised prices in December, compared to 17 percent in the prior period. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Now is the time to reassess your investments Fonterra looking to lift China's importance in new strategy A2, Synlait shares climb as takeover bid revives optimism about Chinese appetite for milk Service sector activity eases in August but still expanding Lumpy imports drive bigger July trade deficit than expected Nimbys, carparks and the status quo under threat as govt tells big cities: grow up and out Dairy manufacturers got better prices in June quarter Orr defends RBNZ rate cut, says monetary policy looks ahead, not behind RBNZ's Orr says investors need to put their money to work Auckland building consents hit record in year to June Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board, or PSP Investments, got a green light to buy a medium-sized dairy farm and a neighbouring dairy support block in Canterbury for $17.7 million just ahead of tougher requirements on land sales to foreign buyers. Ramsay Dairy Farm, which is indirectly owned by PSP Investments, was granted consent to buy 335.2 hectares of land and 77.2 hectares of land in Hororata, Canterbury by the Overseas Investment Office. According to the OIO, the properties will be amalgamated to create a larger dairy farm. "The applicant proposes to convert some of the dairy support land to create a larger milking platform, and to support increasing the total number of cows by approximately 400 cows," it said in a summary of the decision. The move got in ahead of tougher requirements for foreign buyers to provide additional benefits to the New Zealand economy and also slashed the size of farms covered by OIO applications to any land purchase over five hectares, other than forestry. In late November, Associate Finance Minister David Parker said the then-existing directive to the OIO was "too loose", applying only to "very large farms more than 10 times the average farm size". He underscored sales restrictions generally applied to sheep and beef farms over 7,146 hectares or dairy farms bigger than 1,987ha. The "new directive tightens how we assess overseas investment in New Zealand to ensure authorised purchases provide genuine benefits," he said at the time. The new rules applied from Dec. 15. The PSP Investment approval was granted on Nov. 30. The OIO said Canadian the pension fund met the test of generating a benefit to New Zealand with the creation of additional jobs, an increased volume of milk being processed domestically, higher export receipts and capital investment to convert dairy support land to dairying. The government agency also noted PSP Investments has previously made beneficial investments in New Zealand, creating jobs and introducing extra investment for development purposes. PSP Investments is one of Canadas largest pension investment managers, with C$139.2 billion of net assets under management as at Sept. 30, 2017, according to its website. Funds are invested for the pension plans of the federal public service, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. In New Zealand, the Canadian pension fund owns dairy farms, a stake in Kaingaroa Timberlands and a portfolio of properties. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Comvita Limited (NZX: CVT) Announces New North America Joint Venture 6th September 2021 Morning Report General Capital Limited (NZX: GEN) Annual Meeting Presentations 3rd September 2021 Morning Report IVD medical expert joins Pictor leadership team MinterEllisonRuddWatts advises on Allegro Funds' acquisition of Toll Global Express Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Completes A$15.0 Million Institutional Placement 2nd September 2021 Morning Report Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Undertakes Cap Raising to Fund Acquisition of TASK 1st September 2021 Morning Report ASX-listed Experience Co was cleared to resume skydiving operations in Queenstown yesterday after a voluntary suspension last week following an incident left an American man missing, presumed drowned. The Civil Aviation Authority approved NZONE Skydive's resumption of business, and the Australian adventure tourism operator said it's still cooperating with ongoing investigations. A recovery operation for the missing man in Lake Wakatipu is still underway. The ASX-listed shares rose 3.3 percent to 78.5 Australian cents. Experience Co chief executive Anthony Ritter again paid his condolences to the man's family and acknowledged the support of Queenstown's skydiving community. "Queenstown is the adventure tourism capital of the Southern Hemisphere and we know how important skydiving is to the vibrancy of this unique city," Ritter said in a statement to the ASX. "In that regard, we're pleased to say that after taking advice from the regulators, staff, crew and the local community, we have resumed operations." Wollongong-based Experience Co, formerly known as Skydive the Beach Group, bought Queenstown's NZONE Skydive in 2015 for $17 million to tap into New Zealand's booming tourism sector. NZONE, set up in 1990, employs 65 staff and has taken more than 300,000 passengers tandem skydiving. The Australian company expanded its New Zealand footprint with the $10.4 million purchase of Skydive Wanaka in 2016. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Comvita Limited (NZX: CVT) Announces New North America Joint Venture 6th September 2021 Morning Report General Capital Limited (NZX: GEN) Annual Meeting Presentations 3rd September 2021 Morning Report IVD medical expert joins Pictor leadership team MinterEllisonRuddWatts advises on Allegro Funds' acquisition of Toll Global Express Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Completes A$15.0 Million Institutional Placement 2nd September 2021 Morning Report Plexure Group Limited (NZX: PX1) Undertakes Cap Raising to Fund Acquisition of TASK 1st September 2021 Morning Report : As India celebrates its 70th Army Day, reports coming say that the Indian Army has carried out "retaliatory action" against Pakistan killing 7 soldiers and injuring 4 others in forward areas along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. Details awaited on this story. Just this morning, security forces foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing five Jaish-e-Mohammad militants. A defence spokesman said that five militants were killed.Earlier, Director General of Police S P Vaid said four JeM militants were killed at Dulanja in Uri sector in a joint operation by the Army, police and other security forces. Army chief General Bipin Rawat said today that the Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along the LoC in J&K. "We are using our might to teach them a lesson. We will keep effectively retaliating to any provocative action by Pakistan. If we are forced, then we may resort to 'other action' by stepping up military offensive. We will not let anti-India activities succeed at any cost," General Rawat said. He also called out China saying disputes along the Line of Actual Control in the northern border (China) are continuing and transgressions are taking place. "We are working to stop them," he said. Netanyahu said he hoped that his visit to India will strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas like technology, agriculture and other spheres that are changing the world. : Dubbing India-Israel relationship as a "marriage made in heaven", Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that even though the Jewish state was "disappointed" by India's vote at the UN against the Jerusalem issue, one negative vote will not affect the ties. "Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward," Netanyahu said when asked to comment on India's vote at UN against the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits," he told 'India Today' in an interview. Last month, India joined 127 other countries to vote in the United Nations General Assembly in favour of a resolution opposing the recent decision of US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The resolution was approved with 127-9 at the UN General Assembly. "First of all, there is a special relationship between the two countries, between their people and then between the leaders. The partnership between India and Israel is a marriage made in heaven but consecrated on earth," Netanyahu said. Hailing Narendra Modi "as a great leader", Netanyahu said the Prime Minister was "impatient to bring future to his people". Asked about his agreement with Modi on counterterrorism, Netanyahu said the doctrine of counter-terrorism included having intelligence to prevent it. "You fight terrorism by fighting it," Netanyahu said. "Our defence relationship is quite significant and comprises many things. I think the key word here is defence. We want to defend ourselves, we are not aggressive nations. We are very committed to making sure that none can commit an aggression against the either one of us," he said. Commenting on the ways to strengthen ties, Netanyahu said Israel was developing rapidly and is creating industries "out of thin air". He said given India's importance in being a major auto dealer, it would be important for India and Israel to have a good tie-up between car manufacturers. Netanyahu arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit with a delegation of senior Israeli officials and high-level businesses. The two leaders are now expected to issue a joint statement. : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held delegation-level talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu during which they discussed a range of key issues including defence, trade and terrorism. During his stay, the Israeli prime minister will also visit Gujarat and Mumbai. Earlier today, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on six-day visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those present during the ceremony. "It began with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Israel, which created tremendous enthusiasm that continues with my visit here, which, I must say, is deeply moving for me and my wife and the entire people of Israel," Netanyahu said after the ceremony. "And, I think, it helps us flourishing our partnership to bring prosperity, peace and progress for both our people." The Israeli PM, along with his wife Sara, paid tributes at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at the Raj Ghat. PM Modi and Netanyahu will then be present for the signing of various agreements between India and Israel in the areas of cyber, space, film production and energy. The two leaders will take part in the 2nd India-Israel CEOs Forum and the India-Israel Business Summit in the evening. The first edition of the summit had been held last year, during PM Modi's visit to Israel. The Congress president offered prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli road hours after landing in the state capital where enthusiastic party workers greeted him with garlands. : Rahul Gandhi on Monday began his two-day tour of Uttar Pradesh, the first after becoming the Congress President, with a visit to a Hanuman temple en route Amethi from Lucknow. According to a local party worker Ram Kumar, the Congress leader regularly visits Amethi - his Lok Sabha constituency - and this is perhaps for the first time that he has offered prayers at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi, donning a spotless white kurta-pyjama, came out sporting a bright vermilion 'tilak' on his forehead. Today is Makar Sankranti, and the auspicious day has been chosen by Rahul Gandhi to visit Rae Bareli -- his mother's parliamentary constituency, and adjoining Amethi, which party insiders view as an attempt to play a soft Hindutva card to counter the hardline image of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Congress leader spent some ten minutes at the temple. The last time he offered prayers at a Hanuman temple was at the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya on September 9, 2016, becoming the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to visit Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Hanuman Garhi is about a kilometre from the Ram temple at the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. Before darshan at Hanuman Garhi temple, Rahul Gandhi had met Mahant Gyan Das. His visit to temples is seen in the political circles as an attempt to dump the BJP's criticism that he went temple-hopping during the Gujarat campaign only to garner votes. Rahul Gandhi had visited around 20 temples across Gujarat during the Assembly poll campaign as part of a conscious approach to counter the ruling BJP. After the results were out, the Congress president prayed at the Somnath Temple. Describing himself as a Shiv-bhakt, Rahul had explained that he was praying for the well-being of Gujarat during these visits to the temples. The strategy paid off as the Congress tally in the state Assembly jumped from 57 in 2012 to 77 and its vote share rose by 2.5 per cent from 39 per cent in 2012 to 41.5 per cent. "We expect that his temple visits in Uttar Pradesh too will pay dividends in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls in 2022," UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said. The new service will be rolled out starting July 1, the UIDAI said in a statement on Monday. : The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has introduced a new feature of Aadhaar authentication for those facing issues in authenticating their biometrics through the existent process of fingerprint and iris scans. As per the UIDAI, the new feature will provide an additional avenue for residents facing difficulties with their fingerprint or iris authentication. However, this new feature will only be available along with one or more authentication factor. Face authentication provides an additional option for AUAs (Authentication User Agencies) to ensure that inclusive authentication is offered to all residents, a UIDAI circular dated January 15 read. The UIDAI believes that since face photos of residents are already available in its database, there will be no further need to capture any further reference data. Moreover, with cameras available on most laptops and phones, the process will not require any additional hardware for the authenticating agencies. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The average SAT score for Staten Island public high schools was 1028 out of 1600 last school year, the first year students participated in a redesigned exam, according to school data. Combined math and reading scores among specific high schools ranged from a high of 1369 to a low of 903, according to each school's Department of Education Quality Report. The scores reflect SAT exams Island students students took during the 2015-2016 school year, the first time students took the new exam. Changes made to the exam are considered to be the most significant to hit the SAT in several decades. The content, scoring, length, approach, and even the calculator policy, was changed. The scoring scale reverted from a 2400-point scale to its pre-2005 1600-point scale; calculator use was restricted, and the 1/4 point wrong answer penalty eliminated. The test now has only four answer choices instead of five; sections are longer, with fewer breaks. The essay portion was also made optional. Students at Staten Island Technical High School, New Dorp, reported the top average score of 1369. Tech is one of nine special admission high schools in the city; students are admitted based on their score on the Specialized High School Admissions Test given each fall. The school ranked 28th among the top 100 schools in the country, and 4th among the top 10 schools in New York State in the prestigious U.S. News & World Report 2016 high school rankings. Students at CSI High School for International Studies had an average score of 1072. The New Springville school enrolls about 500 students from across the borough who are admitted through a selective process. Among the borough's five neighborhood "zoned" high schools, Susan Wagner High School had an average SAT score of 1044, followed by Tottenville High School with 1038. Tottenville, the borough's largest school, has an enrollment of 3,900, while Susan Wagner has an enrollment of about 3,300. Both schools offer specific programs in math, science and the humanities. At New Dorp High School the average SAT score was 961, followed by Curtis High School at 945, and Port Richmond High School at 940. At McKee High School, one of the city's career and technical schools, which draws students from around the Island, the average SAT score was 903 out of 1600, the lowest score among the borough's public high schools. Students at the Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning School in New Springville had an average SAT score of 987 out of 1600. The school, which accepts students from across the borough, has an enrollment of about 450 students. At the Petrides School in Sunnyside, which serves students from Kindergarten through high school, where admission is by lottery, high school students scored an average 1010 on the SAT exam. SAT scores were not recorded for Concord High School nor South Richmond High School, Pleasant Plains. South Richmond is a District 75 school serving students with special needs, while Concord, one of the city's alternative high schools, is a transfer school that provides programs for students "who are over-age and/or under-credited." On Wednesday, high school juniors in city public schools participated in the first-ever citywide SAT School Day. The SAT, a requisite for applying to college, was administered free of charge to all students during their regular school day. The "SAT School Day" program, as it's called, is a key part of "College Access for All", Mayor Bill de Blasio's citywide initiative to provide college access and planning opportunities for all students. Want to discuss this report? Click the comment link near this story's headline to join in the conversation. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- A New York City firefighter accused of distributing fentanyl will receive several weeks of treatment for opioid addiction before his next appearance in front of a federal judge. Anthony Murino, 45, of Annadale, was arraigned Sunday at Brooklyn Federal Court, where attorneys on both sides agreed to a $100,000 bond, on the condition Murino spends the next several weeks in a drug rehabilitation center in Scranton, PA. "He's got to go (to treatment), and he's got to stay there," said Judge Steven M. Gold, who later shifted his attention directly to Murino. "If there's fentanyl in your life, it's a killer," he said. "There's people dying from it everyday. You're a young man. This could be the day that saves your life," he added. The arrest Friday capped an investigation that stretched from October 2017 to January 2018, in which 26 packages of suspected fentanyl were tracked from Shanghai, China to an address on Staten Island where Murino resided, according to the court documents. As part of an investigation led by United States Postal Inspector, a controlled delivery was arranged at about 3:30 p.m. on Friday at Murino's residence. An arrest followed with the help of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the NYPD, officials said. Following the arrest Murina told investigators he had purchased the powdery substance believed to be fentanyl and other controlled substances from the dark web using a digital form of currency known as bitcoin, then, sold those substances to other people, according to the criminal complaint. Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that is 50 to 100 times stronger than the heroin it's often mixed with, and has contributed to a substantial number of opioid related deaths across New York City. Murino's brother posted the bond; he told the judge he earns $125,000 per year as a financial advisor in Manhattan. His attorney, Robert Gallo, told the judge his client would only stop on the way to the facility for necessities, such as food or to use the bathroom. Murino has been with the FDNY with Ladder Co. 11 in Manhattan for almost four years, according to multiple reports. His parents and other family members also were in attendance, a few of them visibly upset and in tears by the end of the court appearance. They declined to comment. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The next stop is an upstate prison for a Stapleton man, who, along with a buddy, attacked an MTA bus driver at the St. George Ferry Terminal seven months ago. Quamel (Ronnie) Titus, 27, was sentenced on Thursday to 42 months in prison and three years' post-release supervision for his role in the June 19 incident. The events unfolded after midnight when the bus, an S62, and a Jeep SUV sideswiped each other at Victory Boulevard and Jersey Street in New Brighton, according to police. The bus pulled over, and Titus, along with Jamal Omaro and Taquan Grady, both 28, allegedly stepped out of the SUV and began acting in a hostile manner. The trio allegedly rocked the bus and broke some glass on the back door as they tried to enter the MTA vehicle. The bus drove off and the SUV followed it to the ferry terminal, where the suspects pulled the driver from the bus and "dragged" him to the ground at around 12:38 a.m., police said. Omaro, of Mariners Harbor, and Titus, a Stapleton resident, then "repeatedly kicked and punched" the operator on his body, the complaint said. The driver suffered cuts to his knees, elbows and face, bruising to his elbows, right hand and face, and pain in his neck and body, according to the complaint. The culprits also broke a rear-door window on the bus during their rampage, the complaint said. In November, Titus and Omaro each pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree burglary, the top charge against them. Omaro was sentenced last month to 42 months in prison and three years' post-release supervision. Grady's case is pending in Criminal Court. Titus was garbed in a black hoodie at Thursday's proceeding. "I would like to apologize for everything," he told Justice William E. Garnett in a low voice. Defense lawyer Kevin McKernan told the court Titus had expressed his regret to him over the incident. "His temper got the better of him," said McKernan. Assistant District Attorney Arda Ozdinc prosecuted the case. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Diego Corzo -- an immigrant and "dreamer" from Houston Texas -- came to America from Peru when he was 9-years-old with his family in pursuit of a new life away from unemployment, crime, and the government, he said. "When I turned 16, I couldn't wait to drive, but once I got to the DMV they asked for my documents, which [I didn't have]," said Corzo. "Despite being undocumented, I graduated third in my high school class and attended Florida State University. But, I had to pay out of pocket; I wasn't granted scholarships or financial aid." Corzo was one of more than 100 people gathered at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Huguenot on Sunday to speak out against President Donald Trump's stance on Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The event was part of an annual meeting and dinner of the Staten Island Immigrants' Council, which visited Congress in Washington D.C. on Thursday. WAITING FOR PAPERS Since he couldn't obtain a job, Corzo decided to spend his time volunteering for many nonprofit organizations, which eventually led to a job with the group, he said. Corzo finished college in less than three years and graduated in the top of his class, he said. He created a company with his friend around the same time former President Barack Obama announced the DACA program. "I started applying to companies like General Motors (GM) and actually got hired in Houston, but had to wait until my DACA papers went through," Corzo said. "I took a leap of faith and moved out there, in the meantime, and eventually got my DACA." He worked with GM for two years before deciding to go for his real estate license and pursue that full-time. "As a dreamer, I just hired another dreamer not too long ago, and that makes the biggest difference in the world," Corzo said. "Be grateful for being a dreamer. Be thankful for the sacrifices our parents, grandparents, and so forth made for coming to this country." HOPE FOR A SOLUTION Jose Mejia, a member of Friends Committee on National Legislation and a dreamer said he hopes Congress will find a permanent solution for DACA. Mejia, of Port Richmond, immigrated to America when he was two years old. He went to school and paid his way through the College of Staten Island (CSI), where he studied political science, and hopes to acquire a job in the legal field. "If it (DACA) expires, I lose everything," Mejia said. "I lose my healthcare, my job, my schooling, and I'm not protected if I get deported. I pay taxes and work as a nursing assistant at Eggers; I take care of American senior citizens, I contribute just as much as any other American." Another dreamer, Eden N'Guessan, a CSI student from West Africa, came to America at the age of eight. "When I came to America, I couldn't really go to school. I didn't apply for financial aid, my father was paying out of his pocket," N'Guessan said. "I got DACA in 2012 so I could go to school and work; it has opened many opportunities for me in this country that I call home." N'Guessan was a part of the council who spoke in front of Congress, and described it as very "nerve-wracking to be sitting in the same room as people determining my future." "If there's no permanent solution, I lose everything -- I have to drop out and basically can't work. I want to do social work and help the homeless, that's my passion," she said. "If I lose it, I go back into the shadows again. I could face going back to my native country, where it's not home to me. America is home; this is where I was raised, this is my country," he said. Irma Cruz, who was formerly protected by DACA until she received her green card in 2016. "I went to school for Spanish education on DACA and started my teaching position on it," Cruz said, who decided to change her path in life and enlist in the United States Airforce. "Before I could enlist, I became a citizen because I wanted to serve for my country." SPEECH FROM WASHINGTON The following is part of the Staten Island Immigrant's Council's statement in Washington: "We -- the member organizations of the Staten Island Immigrants' Council -- stand in solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters from Haiti and all countries on the continent of Africa who have made America their home. We stand against inhuman words that demean our histories, our cultures, our countries and our very person. We stand against racism in all forms: thoughts, intentions, words, attitudes and actions. We believe prioritizing nations because of their color or demeaning nations and their inhabitants because other color indeed reflect a racist ideology that abhor. "We affirm the sacredness of all human life and the human potential to learn and to contribute positively as immigrants in these United States." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Here's what's open and closed on Staten Island in observance of the holiday. Staten Island Advance -- Will publish Banks -- Most closed Financial Markets -- Closed Government Offices City -- Closed State -- Closed Federal -- Closed Courts Federal -- Closed State -- Closed U.S. Post Offices -- Closed Sanitation -- There will be garbage, recycling and organics collection. City Parking Violations Bureau -- Closed, parking meters in effect State Department of Motor Vehicles -- Closed Mass transit Ferry -- Will operate on a holiday schedule. Service will be provided every 30 minutes throughout the day. Regular schedule will resume at midnight. There will be no lower-level boarding in St. George. SI Railway -- Weekday schedule Buses -- New York City Buses will operate on a weekday schedule with minor timing changes except for Staten Island and Queens, where Limited Stop routes S81, S84, S86, S90, S91, S92, S94, S96, S98 Q4, Q6, Q25 and Q65 will not run. Weekday local service will operate along these routes. In addition, all Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens "X" express routes will operate on a special schedule with minor adjustments in departure times. Schools Public -- Closed Parochial -- Closed Colleges St. John's -- Closed CSI -- Closed Wagner -- Closed Staten Islanders make signs for 2018 Women's March 15 Gallery: Staten Islanders make signs for 2018 Women's March STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Nearly 100 Staten Islanders planning to join the 2018 Women's March gathered for a sign making workshop on Sunday at Staten Island Maker Space, St. George. In preparation for the 2018 march on Jan. 20 in Manhattan, residents decorated posters with markers, paint, glitter and photos to represent why they are marching and the causes for which they are fighting. It was hosted by Move Forward Staten Island -- a group of Staten Islanders who are committed to working in a collaborative way to address social justice issues -- and co-sponsored by Staten Island Women Who March. "Last year, our first action together was to go to the Women's March in New York City and we're excited to be organizing again this year for the 2018 Women's March in New York City," said Julienne Verdi, a St. George-based attorney and founder of Move Forward Staten Island. "And this year, we think it's going to be even bigger than last year. All of the organizations on Staten Island planning to march have been organizing so that we can all go together as one large group," she added. Said Judi Jorgensen of Annadale: "I went to Washington, D.C. last year and I was in awe and overwhelmed at the amazing show of bravery, courage and compassion." Sydney, a Clifton resident who only wanted to be referred to by her first name, said she was going to the march in Manhattan this year because she felt it was important for her voice to be heard. "To fight for or speak up for immigration, women's rights, Black Lives Matter, climate change," Sydney said about why she is marching. "This country is founded on the idea that all people are created equal and that's important to me. It's very important." Move Forward Staten Island, Staten Island Women Who March and the Pride Center of Staten Island are planning to meet together at the St. George Ferry Terminal on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 8 a.m. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Health officials are warning travelers who made their way through Newark Liberty International Airport earlier this month that they may have been exposed to measles. On Jan. 2, an international traveler with a confirmed case of measles arrived in Terminal C at the airport and departed for Indianapolis from a domestic terminal. The person, who was infectious on that day, may have traveled to other areas of the airport. If you were at the airport between 6:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., you may have been exposed to the highly contagious disease. If infected, symptoms could develop as late as Jan. 23. If you have been exposed, you are at risk if you have not been vaccinated or have not had measles. If you develop symptoms of measles, the New Jersey Department of Health recommends that you call a health care provider before going to a medical office or emergency room. Special arrangements can be made for evaluation while also protecting other patients and medical staff from possible infection. The Department has issued a public health alert for potential measles exposure at Newark Liberty International Airport. Contact a health care provider if you suspect exposure. https://t.co/4BX9MnSsUd #HealthyNJ NJDOH (@NJDeptofHealth) January 12, 2018 Measles is easily spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes. People can also get sick when they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person. Measles symptoms include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and red, watery eyes. It can cause serious complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis, which is swelling of the brain. Measles infection in a pregnant woman can lead to miscarriage, premature birth or low-birth-weight baby. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Robert Bold Eagle moved a lot through many states after he left South Miami Beach, where he was born, and before he settled down, in his mid-30s, on Staten Island. His selection Staten Island to be his home came to him in a dream which predicted that, if he moved here, he would do good things for the community, meet the person he would marry and with whom he would have a family. And he is happy to say, "It all came true." He has enriched the lives of many Staten Islanders by introducing them to Native American music and dance while helping to keep Native American traditions alive and assisting its people in becoming more familiar and accepted. Tell us about your wife and family. I met Marge in 2000 and married her at a pow wow in a Native American wedding ceremony on Memorial Day in 2002 and then at a civic wedding on Sept. 9 of the same year. We have a 15- year-old son, Atori. What exactly is a pow wow? It is similar to a reunion where families and friends can get together. In addition, it is a celebration of our culture and where parents can bring their marriage-age children to meet each other. Many families travel far to be at one. What is your primary occupation? I am a senior associate in logistics for Harbor Freight. Do you participate in any other kind of work? I participate in Native American shows, dancing and drumming, but I don't consider that "work." How did you learn the dances and drumming? Did you have lessons? No, I didn't need lessons. I grew up with music and dance. It was all around me. Has Marge ever performed with you? No, but she does have a significant role in the event, especially when we are performing before young children. She has a collection of Native American artifacts that were found on Staten Island and upstate. At the beginning of the program, she explains them and displays them for the audience to look at closely. Why did your company take the name "Red Storm"? When you hear us play, it sounds like thunder and it feels like something stimulating will come along. Where do your performances take place? Where have you performed on the Island? Anywhere from pre-K to Yale University. [On Staten Island, we've performed at] The Staten Island Children's Museum, the Staten Island Museum, St. John's University, the College of Staten Island, Wagner College, the Staten Island Zoo, the Canvas and other places. You have done many performances for charities. What is one that stands out? We did a free seminar for students at Wagner College on how to keep the attention of children at a performance. All the students graduated and we took them to Montana to the Crow Nation where we delivered 500,000 pounds of food. Then we performed a show on the reservation and another one for the Cheyenne population and for Lame Deer H.S. In what way do you think your performances can have an effect on Staten Island? I hope that the people who live here would recognize the beautiful Native American culture that we have right here on this Island. Are any other members of your troupe from the Island? Yes, there are three others who live here with their families. You once expressed the fact that you did not live by Native American culture when you were a young man. What took you away and what brought you back? I left because, as many teenagers do, I rebelled. I came back when someone showed me I was walking down the wrong path and helped me get on the right one. Is there anything else you would like to see on Staten Island to honor our first residents? I hope to see the Parks Department give permission for the erection of the statue of a Native American in Fort Wadsworth Who is the person you have admired the most? Why do you admire that person? Sitting Bull. Because between all the tyranny and heartbreak he had in his life he still worried about his people. Did he influence your life? How? Yes. With a significant message; do things for others. GET TO KNOW ROBERT His and his wife's heritages: "My heritage is Cherokee, Mayan, Tienamo and Natchez. Marge is half Irish, half Lenape, the tribe to which the first inhabitants of Staten Island belonged." He has some serious building skills: He has all the necessary skills to build a house from basement to attic with all the features and fixtures a house should have. What he does in his free time: Willowbrook Park is close to where he lives and he enjoys going there to shoot bow and arrows and, in warm weather, he swims. Why his company has so much significance to him: "[The dance company] helps send a message that the Native Americans are still a proud people, not a vanishing race." Page Content We Shall Overcome Ladies and Gentlemen, Good evening and welcome to this new years reception. To begin this NEW YEAR, Marie-Louise and I, are pleased to extend warm greetings and best wishes to you and to the people of Sint Maarten. May our coming together from various sections of our community this evening, serve to help reignite the progress our country needs in the days, months and years ahead. For what better way to reignite our shared aspirations for a brighter tomorrow than through our coming together to bond. Ladies and Gentlemen Tonight we gather at a pivotal moment in our nations history. At one of the most difficult periods in the lives of our people. Hurricane Irma and her aftermath have set our country back in no small way. In doing so it left you and I, all of us, with a most daunting and urgent challenge; the challenge to rebuild many years of development. As such we stand at the start of 2018, having lived through the strongest hurricane on record looking for answers. As we face that challenge I encourage you to tap into the immense power and promise of one of my favorite gospel songs: we shall overcome. I encourage you to do so because I am confident that we, like generation of Sint Maarteners before us, will find answers in the promise of the words: we shall overcome. Looking back there can be no doubt that we have made great strides in responding to the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma to our island. As a result our daily life throughout the island has in large part been restored. And each day we see signs of improvement and promise. This thanks to the hard work and dedication of many persons and organizations some present and represented here tonight. Persons who, having suffered damage to their property themselves, came out and continue to come out under difficult circumstances to make progress possible. Persons, such as, the members of the disaster management team and their support staff, medical professionals, law enforcement officers, firefigthers, technicians, volunteers of NGOs, business-owners and their employees, and military and police officers from our Kingdom partners, The Netherlands, Aruba and Curacao. To all who contributed and continue to do so I say thank you for your invaluable service to the people of Sint Maarten. Having closed off 2017 we are all aware, however, that we face an uphill climb as we move ahead. For many of our people the traditional merry and happy Christmas and new year holidays have been everything but that. Instead we see our family, friends and neighbours who have been displaced, who live in damaged homes, and/or who have lost or face losing their jobs. This while the cost of living has increased. Meanwhile many businesses as well as government have seen their revenues and liquidity dwindle. Recovering the lost ground, ladies and gentlemen, is therefore an urgent matter. The question therefore is how do we plan to meet this challenge? The answer will vary from person to person, from family to family and from organisation to organisation. There will be differences in views and approaches between and within the public and private sectors. There will be those who believe that their plans or approaches are the only way and there will be those who believe that there is no role, place or opportunity for them. There are those who will on a daily basis continue to give their all in pursuit of rebuilding our island, while there are and will be those among us who have lost confidence and as a result are losing hope. Whatever your answer or plan, I hereby remind you that we are in this together. Together with a shared responsibility and a common purpose: the rebuilding of Sint Maarten. This ladies and gentlemen dictates that we need each other now more than ever to chart our path and pursue our shared aspirations. Let us therefore, anchored in our common purpose to rebuild Sint Maarten, resolve to not breakdown but to build each other and thus build our country up. And in so doing reach out to each other to work with each other. For unity ladies and gentlemen is the key to tapping into the promise that we shall overcome. Guided by our common purpose let us as a people of St. Maarten rally to convert our shared challenges into shared opportunities. At this pivotal period in our history I encourage you, as individuals, corporations, public organizations and government, to stand up for the broader societal objectives of our people. Let us therefore: a. act to create more and better jobs to sustain our people; b. move to construct stronger, more resilient homes and structures to protect us from harm; and c. invest in cleaning up our environment to protect our health and viability as a nation. To do this we must stand together in mutual respect honoring each others rights and sustaining each other in our individual and collective obligations. We must conduct social and political discourse with civility, with decorum and with respect for the rule of law. For that will foster the harmony necessary for the development and implementation of concrete national programs to realize our broader societal objectives. Reflecting on the last few months I trust that we will learn from our good and not so good experiences; and that we will continue to build and improve on the progress we have made thus far. In doing so it will be imperative that we apply best practices in the governance of our recovery through an innovative national social economic program. A program grounded in effective fiscal, responsible business, balanced social, and sustainable environmental policies all aimed at rebuilding our economic base and restoring Sint Maartens position as a premier tourist destination and regional commercial center. To achieve that our policies must support a number of national priorities. In that regard I wish to, among others, empahsize : a. that we must stand hand in hand to rebuild our airport and primary gateway to recovery; b. that we must stand hand in hand to secure the reinvestments needed for the reopening and upgrading of our hotel properties, large and small; c. that we must stand hand in hand to restore, renew and revitalize Philipsburg, our nations capital and commercial center; and d. that we must walk hand in hand with and in support of our brothers on the northern side to secure the overall recovery of our shared island. To achieve this we will need everyone to join in to rebuild our nations infrastructure one day at a time. Today, tomorrow and each day thereafter we must, and I trust that we will, continue to take steps to secure the full recovery of our island. As we face this challenge we can do so with the knowledge and resolve that we have been down difficult paths before and we overcame. I therefore believe in the promise that: we shall overcome stronger together again. This by walking hand in hand at home and by constructive cooperation with Kingdom and international partners. And for that I am, as always, counting on my trust in the boundless strength and resilience of We the People of Sint Maarten. Ladies and Gentlemen, In closing, as the New Year 2018 begins, let us thank God for bringing us thus far and ask him for his continued guidance. And at the same time let us individually and collectively recommit to do our part to realize our common purpose and rebuild Sint Maarten. This is your duty, my duty, our shared obligation. In my role as your Governor I hereby reaffirm my pledge to continue to work with government and other stakeholders to serve the people of St. Maarten, so that we will overcome. With that pledge, I hereby on behalf of Marie-Louise and myself, wish the people of our beloved island a year of health, happiness and growth. Thank you, God bless you, and May God bless Sint Maarten and protect its coast. Page Content Let me commence by sharing a few of the lyrics of a song called Not alone for mighty empire. Written by William P. Merrill, in 1911. Not alone for mighty empire, Stretching far over land and sea, Not alone for bounteous harvests, Lift we up our hearts to Thee. Standing in the living present, Memory and hope between, Lord, we would with deep thanksgiving, Praise Thee more for things unseen. God of justice, save the people From the clash of race and creed, From the strife of class and faction, Make our nation free indeed; Keep her faith in simple manhood Strong as when her life began, Till it find its full fruition In the brotherhood of man! I want to give thanks for this opportunity presented to me to represent St Maarten as the second female Prime Minister of this young nation. I am truly humbled and honored by all of the congratulatory and outpouring of well wishes that I have received from both near and far. The journey is challenging, but GOD gives the toughest battles to his strongest soldiers. Today I pledge to you that with all my strength, determination, and perseverance, together, we will ensure that this country will return to its prominent status within this region. September 6, 2017, a day that will forever be etched in our minds, a day that changed this island that we love, Sint Maarten. I stand here today, and can proudly state that in its darkest moment, this nation has shown an unyielding determination that revealed a perfect truth, that we, as a people are resilient and unconquerable. A nation without fortitude and will to survive is one with hollow bearings, and will eventually confront the inevitable, and fall. Though we have shown our determination to survive after Hurricane Irma, it does not stop there. This nation has to rebuild, but cannot be rebuilt overnight. Sint Maarten, we are essentially still in the recovery stage and in order to thrive and evolve into prosperity, a paradigm shift must occur. As a people, we must collectively change our outlook, as it is no longer business as usual. During this stage of recovery, it is important for us to unite, learn from past experience and restructure, rebuild, reform, simply because we are a progressive nation and can and will do better. I am cognizant to the reality that the road ahead will be long, there are tough times ahead. But with the focus on setting the right priorities for recovery, within due time we will achieve our goals. This government is committed to the principles of integrity, transparency and good governance. We are committed to the recovery and reconstruction of Sint Maarten. This includes (1) establishing a clear and actionable economic plan developed in cooperation with the community entities such as the Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Unions, SHTA, SER, just to name of few, (2) managing the labor market and establishing skilled development programs to ensure maximum employment for the people of Sint Maarten, (3) Working together to ensure stability, tranquility and hope through fast track and sustainable economic development, (4) finalizing the plan for the reconstruction, (5) giving preference to the establishment of a safety plan to strengthen the overall safety of Sint Maarten, (6) implementing bilateral agreement between Sint Maarten and the Netherlands regarding border control, (7) implementing the Integrity Chamber Law in accordance with the agreement between Sint Maarten and the Netherlands, and (8) re-establishing cooperation with French Saint Martin. In the upcoming press briefing each Minister will give an overview of their priorities per ministry. Getting the aforementioned and how soon this government does such will be determined and influenced by many internal and external factors. Setbacks are inevitable, many will not agree with every decision or policy, we expect the criticism and welcome such, as this gives each ministry the opportunity to self-reflect. As Baltasar Gracian stated Self Reflection is the school of wisdom. As Prime Minister expect that I will always be honest with you about the realistic and factual challenges we face. If the last Hurricane season taught us anything, it is that we cannot have a thriving nation without internal and external cooperation, without revisiting and reflecting on decisions taken, questioning how effective we were and how we can improve and better prepare for the next disaster. It is of utmost importance that during these difficult times we communicate, prioritize and make good use of the scarce resources available. Let me re-emphasize on the scarce resources, as we cannot spend what we do not have, and we cannot squander the little we do have. To the Council of Ministers, I sincerely pray that we learn from the words of Ezekiel 22:30, "I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one." We, this council, this government are to be those who stand in the gap, who lifts up this island with all it challenges, faults, triumphs, before the throne of God, and fervently pray that He continues to work in our midst and guide us through this journey. May we keep this nation and each other in prayer without ceasing? On behalf of the Romeo-Marlin Cabinet, I would like to thank you for your audience. We look forward to working for the people of Sint Maarten bearing in mind the quote of MLK The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. May GOD Bless each of you, May he bless us all and Bless this nation we love, Sint Maarten. Photo caption Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin Page Content Chairperson of Parliament, Members of Parliament Prime-Minister, Ministers, Prefete deleguee of Saint Martin and St. Barths President of the Collectivity of Saint Martin Distinguished Guests, Good Morning, On November 2, 2017, a shift in the majority in Parliament took place creating the basis for the transfer of governing responsibility to a new team of Ministers. Today, almost two and half months later we have before us a council of ministers supported by the new majority in Parliament. During the formation period for this interim cabinet, I consulted with various persons and named Mr. Franklin Meyers and subsequently Mrs. Sarah Wescot-Williams as formateur to form an interim government. You have, as a result, just witnessed the transfer of executive responsibility for the governance of our country to a new team of Ministers. The path to this transfer was not without challenges. To all who gave their input to the transition and formation process I hereby express my gratitude, also on behalf of the people of Sint Maarten. And in particular, I wish to thank Mr. Franklin Meyers for starting and Mrs. Sarah Wescot-Williams for completing the formation assignment as formateurs. Having concluded the formation process it is important to emphasize that we are - as I stated in my New Years address - living at a pivotal moment in our nations history. Hurricane Irma and her aftermath have set our country back in no small way. And while we have made great strides to date we have quite some work to do. Quite some work to meet the urgent challenge of rebuilding Sint Maarten. As we face this challenge together I advise that we hold on to the fundamental principles that underpins our constitution. Looking ahead it is therefore important that we are reminded of the principles outlined in the preamble of our constitution, which slightly reworded, states: We, The people of Sint Maarten, are determined to work with each other; We believe in the principle of democracy, We believe in the rule of law; We believe in the entitlement of all individuals to the fundamental rights and freedoms; We wish to create a constitutional order based on an open and approachable government; And to record our objectives and convictions, We therefore agree that the provisions of the constitution shall have the force of law. As such it provides an anchor and blueprint for individuals, households, corporations, public organizations and government, to work together to rebuild Sint Maarten and improve the lives of our people. Prime Minister, Ministers, Today, two and a half months since the previous team of Ministers made their positions available you come before the people of Sint Maarten as a new team of ministers. A new team faced with the responsibility of, among others, furthering the recovery process in cooperation with the Netherlands, revisiting the budget for 2018, executing the agreement with the Netherlands on border control, implementing the law on the integrity chamber and executing the February 26th elections. With respect to the furthering and planning of the recovery I encourage you to take steps to meet the urgent needs of our people in terms of, among others, employment and housing. As you assume your mandate to govern this beautiful country, I trust that you, in keeping with your oath, will work to fortify our constitutional principles aimed at improving the wellbeing of our people. Accepting the position of Minister through the taking of the oath today, is a solemn expression of your commitment to perform your duties with integrity. It is your pledge of allegiance to the King and the Kingdom Charter, it is your individual declaration to always uphold the Constitution of Sint Maarten and it is your solemn affirmation to always dedicate yourself to foster the wellbeing of the People of Sint Maarten. Through your oath, you have accepted the obligation to serve all the people of Sint Maarten. The fulfillment of this obligation must be based on the principles of democracy, on the rule of law, on respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of all persons and anchored in our determination as a people to work together. In that regard, there rests on you, individually as Ministers, and jointly as Council of Ministers a great responsibility. Your decisions will have lasting influences on the lives of the people of Sint Maarten. Thus, as you deliberate on taking action on the matters before you during your governing period, I wish you wisdom, individually and jointly, in the conduct of your responsibilities as you seek to meet your constitutional responsibility to the people of Sint Maarten. With that in mind, I hereby congratulate the people of Sint Maarten with the installation of this new government and similarly congratulate each of you and your families with your appointments as Prime-Minister, Ministers and deputy Minister Plenipotentiary. Thank you, God bless you and May God Bless Sint Maarten and protect its coast. By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! A Banks man pleaded not guilty on Monday to gun and drugs charges after police searched his home late last year. General duties police officers had been called to Ryan Erntner's home following an incident on October 6. Cash seized at the Banks home. Credit:ACT Policing Documents tendered on Mr Erntner's last appearance in court suggest that when police arrived, they found cannabis scattered across the floor. There was also allegedly a spent cartridge case on the floor and a hole in the bedroom window "consistent with a cartridge being fired". China is escalating its clampdown on cryptocurrency trading, targeting online platforms and mobile apps that offer exchange-like services, according to people familiar with the matter. While authorities banned cryptocurrency exchanges last year, they've recently noted an uptick in activity on alternative venues. The government plans to block domestic access to homegrown and offshore platforms that enable centralised trading, the people said, without being more specific about how policy makers define such platforms. Authorities will also target individuals and companies that provide market-making, settlement and clearing services for centralised trading, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is private. Small peer-to-peer transactions aren't being targeted, they said. China's central bank didn't immediately respond to a faxed request for comment. Bitcoin fell 1.2 per cent to $US13,580.50 at 11:36 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg composite pricing. Jeremy Gardner at the Crypto Castle in San Francisco, where he lives. Credit:Jaosn Henry/ The New York Times The king of the Crypto Castle Whether it's all built on sand or not, the crypto castle has risen. There's an actual house called the Crypto Castle, and the king is Jeremy Gardner, 25, a rakish investor with a hedge fund who has become the de facto tour guide for crypto newcomers. Early one afternoon, he opened a bottle of rose while he charged half a dozen external batteries so he wouldn't have to ever plug in his phone in Ibiza, Spain, the next week. At the annual San Francisco Bitcoin Meetup Party, many wore bitcoin- and Ethereum-themed clothes from Hodlmoon, which sells unisex cryptocurrency sweaters. Credit:Jason Henry/The New York Times "I do ICOs. It's my thing," he said. He wore a pink button-front and pink pants. "It's me, a couple VCs and a lot of charlatans." An initial coin offering is a way to raise money: A company creates its own cryptocurrency and investors buy into the new coin, without actually buying a stake in the company. Gardner led an ICO for his startup Augur, creating an "Augur token" that he then sold to raise real-world money. These tokens sold fast, and it is one of the forces that kicked off this boom. For a time, the value of Augur, a market-forecasting startup with few customers, exceeded $US1 billion. Cryptocurrency investor Joe Buttram is a former mixed martial arts fighter. Credit:Jason Henry/The New York Times My neurons are fried from all the volatility. I don't even care at this point. I'm numb to it. I'll lose a million dollars in a day and I'm like, OK. Grant Hummer, co-founder of $US100m hedge fund, Chromatic Capital About eight people live in the Crypto Castle on any given night, and some of Gardner's tenants brought out snacks (Cheez-Its and a jar of Nutella). One of the bedrooms has a stripper pole. Gardner leaned back into the sofa and rested his feet on the table. He recently did an ICO for a startup after-party. "You can ICO anything," he said. He runs Distributed, a 180-page magazine about cryptocurrency that comes out about once a year. He is now raising $US75 million for his hedge fund, Ausum (pronounced "awesome") Ventures. He said his closest friends are moving to Puerto Rico to get around paying taxes. Grant Hummer outside his room at the Crypto Crackhouse in San Francisco. Credit:Jason Henry/The New York Times "They're going to build a modern-day Atlantis out there," he said. "But for me, it's too early in my career to check out." A few weeks after we first met, as the bitcoin price exploded in December, Gardner seemed shaken. People had begun making pilgrimages to the Crypto Castle, knocking on the door, hoping Gardner could help them invest. "Nothing feels real. It doesn't feel real," he said. "I'm ready for crypto assets to go down 90 per cent. I'll feel better then, I think. This has been too insane." Nearby is a building residents call the Crypto Crackhouse. 'You make one mistake and it's all gone' Grant Hummer, who runs the San Francisco Ethereum Meetup, lives there. Long hallways called Bitcoin Boulevard and Ethereum Alley lead to communal bathrooms. Hummer and his co-founder committed $US40 million of their own crypto-made money to their new $US100 million hedge fund, Chromatic Capital. "My neurons are fried from all the volatility," Hummer said. "I don't even care at this point. I'm numb to it. I'll lose a million dollars in a day and I'm like, OK." His room is simple: a bed, a futon, a TV on a mostly empty media console, three keyboard cleaning sprays and a half-dozen canisters of Lysol wipes. His T-shirt read, 'The Lizard of Wall Street,' with a picture of a lizard in a suit, dollar-sign necklaces around its neck. He carries with him a coin that reads, "memento mori," to remind himself he can die any day. He sees the boom as part of a global apocalypse. "The worse regular civilisation does and the less you trust, the better crypto does," Hummer said. "It's almost like the ultimate short trade." Hummer went out to meet Joe Buttram, 27, for drinks. As a mixed martial arts fighter, Buttram said he would fight for a couple hundred bucks, sometimes a few thousand, and worked security at a startup, but his main hobbies were reading 4chan and buying vintage pornography, passions that exposed him to cryptocurrency. He said his holdings are into double-digit millions but wouldn't give specifics other than to say he'd quit his job and is starting a hedge fund. There's a common paranoia among the crypto-wealthy that they'll be targeted and robbed since there's no bank securing the money, so many are obsessively secretive. Many say even their parents don't know how much they've made. This also allows people to pretend to be wealthier than they are, of course. "It's unforgiving," Buttram said. "You make one mistake and it's all gone." They talk about buying Lamborghinis, the single acceptable way to spend money in the Ethereum cryptocurrency community. The currency's founder frequently appears in fan art as Jesus with a Lamborghini. Buttram says he's renting an orange Lambo for the weekend. And he wears a solid gold bitcoin "B" necklace encrusted with diamonds that he had made. Otherwise, HODL. This is one of the core beliefs in this community: HODL, "hold" typed very fast, as if in a panic. HODL even if you feel FUD fear, uncertainty and doubt. If you show wealth, it means you don't really believe in the cryptocurrency revolution, a full remake of the financial system, governments and our world order that will send the price of Ether up astronomically. "HODL when everyone has FUD," Hummer said quietly, to explain why he still lives in a dorm room. "This will change civilization. This can 100 x or more from here." He knows this is strange. "When I meet people in the normal world now, I get bored," Hummer said. "It's just a different level of consciousness." The tone turns somber. "Sometimes I think about what would happen to the future if a bomb went off at one of our meetings," Buttram said. Hummer said, "A bomb would set back civilisation for years." A few days later, Hummer was working from his co-founder's apartment. 'It's the entire world reorganising itself' James Fickel, 26, lives in a high-rise with a Russian blue cat called Mr. Bigglesworth. Fickel is known in the community for "going full YOLO" and investing $US400,000 when Ethereum was at 80 cents. Now, with a fortune that he says is in the hundreds of millions, his parents have retired and sent his younger sister to live with him. "I'm taking over her education," Fickel said, sitting on a white leather sofa, Mr. Bigglesworth asleep in his impossibly skinny arms. Today, Fickel is outlining the endgame for cryptocurrency true believers. "It's the entire world reorganising itself," Fickel said. "We could get rid of our armies because for the first time you'll have people saying, 'I want to vote for a global order.' It's the internet waking up it's the internet grabbing its pitchfork. That's the blockchain." Hummer is skeptical. "All I know is the price of Ether is going to go up," Hummer said. At a jazz bar a few days later, I run into Fickel's personal trainer, Alan Chen, who is now running in this crypto circle. Fickel had convinced Chen to put his savings into Ethereum. "I'm retired, man," Chen said. "I'm moving to LA next week. I got a penthouse on Marina del Rey." "Don't say I'm retired," he added. "I'm going into business now. I'm going to use blockchain to help personal trainers." Nearby was Chante Eliaszadeh, 22, a law student at the University of California, Berkeley, who started the Berkeley Law Blockchain group. "Obviously the bubble's going to burst and everyone's going to need a lawyer," she said. At the annual San Francisco Bitcoin Meetup Party, hundreds gathered at a co-working space, and there was a line out the door. The waiting list had to be told not to show up. Many wore bitcoin- and Ethereum-themed clothes from Hodlmoon, which sells unisex cryptocurrency sweaters. Those closest to the technology are the most cautious. Pieter Wuille, 33, a bitcoin core developer, kept his backpack on as he wandered the party. He's part of the team working to develop the bitcoin technology. "The technology still needs time to evolve," Wuille said. "This infusion of interest is bringing the wrong kind of attention. Some people believe bitcoin can't fail or this technology solves many more problems than it does. It can. And it does not." He said everyone is asking him whether to buy bitcoin. "I tell them I have no idea," he said. "I don't know!" CoinDaddy and co "There's so many people rushing into the space, if it's a bit of speculation, I'm OK with that," said the Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, whose company has become the de facto portal for casual investors. "But we can't guarantee the website's going to be up exactly when you need it. Everyone needs to take a deep breath." As the holiday party filled up, a cryptocurrency rapper called CoinDaddy Arya Bahmanyar, 28 was getting ready to perform. Formerly a commercial real estate agent, Bahmanyar works full time at CoinDaddy after becoming a self-described crypto-millionaire ("you think I would dress up like this if I wasn't?"). "Right now all our entertainers come from outside crypto culture not inside crypto, and we've got to change that," he said. He pointed to his outfit a long white fake mink coat, gold-heeled shoes and said, "It's gold, right? It's gold. It's a niche, and I'm going to fill it." He says he is going to shoot a music video soon for a song called "Lambo Party" and another called "Cryptomom," about "all these moms are pumping in their children's savings accounts." Maria Lomeli, 56, came to the party to find the people she had put a lot of trust in. A housekeeper from Pacifica, California, she said she had invested $US12,000 in cryptocurrencies over the past few weeks after reading about it in the news. She wore running shoes and a zip-up jacket that said, "Cinemark, the best seats in town." She worked there cleaning out theaters. Now she cleans houses. Banks, she said, were designed to steal. Taxes left her supporting a government that she felt didn't support her. "Charges for sending money to my daughter, interest on our loans," she said. "And then the money we pay in taxes goes to wars and whatever else they want." She found a bitcoin event in the city and asked people there how to buy bitcoin on her phone. She invested $US1,000. It went up. So she put in $US10,000 more, she said, along with $US1,000 in a currency called Litecoin. Both her children have discouraged this. "And maybe I'm going to lose it," she said. "Maybe I'm going to keep cleaning houses. But something is telling me I can trust this generation. My instinct is telling me this is the future." Alinta Energy wants at least one in five of its customers powered entirely by renewable energy by 2020. The company says it plans to bring a gigawatt of new renewable energy online following its acquisition of Victorias Loy Yang B brown coal-fired power station late last year. It finalised the $1 billion acquisition of Loy Yang B on Monday, ensuring that the plant which supplies nearly a fifth of Victorias energy continues to operate, and is now targeting a rapid expansion of its renewable energy assets by 2020. Were targeting in excess of 1000 megawatts of renewable energy in the next three to four years, Alinta Energy chief executive Jeff Dimery told Fairfax Media. This is the same level of generation as the Loy Yang B power plant. Radic was also supported by editors like Michael Davie the man who gave Philippa Hawker a cadetship because he said he could see she would make a first-rate arts journalist, and who used to delight in the story of the London critic who dismissed the idea he should have reported a fire in a theatre with: "I'm your theatre critic, not your newshound." Radic was also the theatre critic of The Age at a time when the arts were revered and its coverage not endangered. He travelled extensively quite apart from the couple of years he spent in London. He would say with pride that he had seen Paul Scofield, the greatest King Lear of his generation, in that role; that he had seen Vanessa Redgrave as Rosalind in As You Like It, which has a comparable reputation in the comic repertoire. He would also talk about the glories of Anthony Hopkins as a media tycoon in Hare's Pravda; the achievement of Ray Lawler with The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll and the later plays that formed the Doll trilogy; and would mention that both Joan Collins and Maggie Smith were a bit long in the tooth when they respectively did Noel Coward's Private Lives. There was something very Australian about Radic's sense of the world elsewhere, listing his exotic travels in theatre from Hamlet on the battlements of a castle in Dubrovnik to the path he trod to the Kabuki-za in Tokyo. "I've sat in the open under a full moon," he said, "and watched the Ramayana in the forecourt of the great temple of Prambanan in Java." For all his personal modesty, Radic could be tough about standards. The man who had seen the great Shylock of Laurence Olivier said once that Australians were often not very good in Shakespeare: they either did too much or too little. Night Street/Interscope RecordsK.Flay is known for mixing different kinds of music, jumping from hip-hop to Nine Inch Nails-style industrial rock, often within the same song. With the newly released deluxe edition of her new album Every Where Is Some Where, she adds another genre to her inventory: classical. The updated version of the album, available now on digital outlets, includes five songs from K.Flay's "Seattle Sessions," during which she recorded orchestral versions of five of her songs, including the hit single "Blood in the Cut." "The 'Seattle Sessions' are a reimagining of some of my favorite songs from the record, using live string, horn & choir sections," K.Flay says in a statement. "I worked with Budo, an old friend and an incredible producer, to bring the vision to life and I'm really excited for you guys to hear it." The original version of "Blood in the Cut" is nominated for Best Rock Song at the 2018 Grammys, where it'll compete against Metallica's "Atlas, Rise!", Foo Fighters' "Run," Nothing More's "Go to War" and Avenged Sevenfold's "The Stage." Additionally, Every Where Is Some Where is nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non Classical. The 2018 Grammys will be held January 28 in New York City. K.Flay is currently touring the U.S. in support of Every Where Is Some Where. Here is the Every Where Is Some Where deluxe edition track list: "Dreamers" "Giver" "Blood in the Cut" "Champagne" "High Enough" "Black Wave" "Mean It" "Hollywood Forever" "The President Has a Sex Tape" "It's Just a Lot" "You Felt Right" "Slow March" "Giver (Seattle Sessions)" "Blood in the Cut (Seattle Sessions)" "High Enough (Seattle Sessions)" "Black Wave (Seattle Sessions)" "Mean It (Seattle Sessions)" Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Australia has avoided recession but new research by a progressive thinktank suggests low wage growth and unequal spending on the "infrastructure of opportunity" threaten to entrench wealth inequality. The Labor-aligned McKell Institute's report, Mapping Opportunity: a national index on wages and income, found the income gap is widening and that the opportunity to earn differs markedly across the country's 150 federal electorates. Treasurer Scott Morrison has rejected Labor claims that inequality has reached a 75-year high. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen And it found that along with the traditional drivers of social mobility, such as education and training, and locality, access to the internet has emerged as a "key determinant" of socio-economic opportunity. Last year, Treasurer Scott Morrison rejected repeated Labor claims that inequality in Australia had reached a 75-year high. Donald Trump's head of Homeland Security has suggested that anyone who brands the US President a racist based on his immigration views must also say the same for Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Amid the ongoing furore over Mr Trump's widely reported complaints about taking migrants from "shithole" countries, US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said the merit-based immigration system favoured by the President was similar to Australia's and Canada's. "I take a little bit of offence to the comments and suggestions that the president is racist," Ms Nielsen told Fox News on Sunday. "I'm sure that we are not, any of us, suggesting that Canada and Australia and their leaders are racists." A woman once described as "the next Pauline Hanson" could snatch another Senate seat for One Nation restoring Senator Hanson's bloc of four if the High Court heeds the party's call to disqualify Jacqui Lambie's replacement. One Nation anti-Muslim campaigner Kate McCulloch could be the big winner from the section 44 fiasco that eliminated Ms Lambie and now threatens the No.2 on her Tasmanian Senate ticket, Steve Martin. Kate McCulloch has been described as "the next Pauline Hanson" - and could soon seize a Senate seat. Credit:Ben Rushton Despite winning only 141 first preference votes at the 2016 election, Ms McCulloch is considered the frontrunner to replace Ms Lambie if the court agrees that Mr Martin has an "office of profit under the crown" because he serves as a councillor and mayor in Devonport. As One Nation defector Fraser Anning officially confirmed he was leaving the party to sit as an independent, lawyers for Ms McCulloch were fighting to win back a spot for One Nation. In a glass conference room in midtown Manhattan, a few dozen employees from Beacon Health Inc.are taking turns asking each other an incredibly awkward question: "Are you having thoughts of suicide?" There's a right way to ask and a wrong way, and they're here to learn the difference. The exercise is just one component of an eight-hour course in "mental first aid," a relatively new kind of training that, like first aid or CPR, is designed to give ordinary people tools to help someone in need. And as with first aid and CPR, companies have begun to see the value in having employees who have the skills to say something, if they see something. "The course covers the signs and symptoms of anxiety, depression and other common mental health disorders that people might observe among their coworkers." Credit:Stocksy About 40 employers have trained more than 1,300 people over the last two years, according to the National Council for Behavioral Health, which first imported the program from here Australia in 2008 and adapted it for Americans. This year, it plans to train 6,000 workers through company-sponsored courses. Aetna Inc., George Washington University, real estate developer Lendlease Group and the health-care technology companies Cerner Corp. and Netsmart Technologies have all sponsored workshops for their employees. Hamed bin Haydara. An appeal against the death sentence has been lodged, but the procedures are unclear. The court also ordered that Mr Haydara's assets be confiscated and elected Bahai councils that look after the spiritual and material needs of the community be dissolved. Mr Haydara has been tortured while in detention, his wife, who has visited him in jail, has said. This claim has been backed up by sources inside Yemen, combined with reports from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Although accurate statistics are not available, it is believed that only a few thousand Bahais live in Yemen. The Shiite Houthis, backed by Iran, seized control of Sanaa in 2015. They have since been at war with a Saudi-led coalition that is seeking to restore the previous government. Natalie Mobini, director of the Office of External Affairs for the Australian Bahai Community, said the charges against Mr Haydara were baseless. "The charge of spying relates solely to the location of the Bahai World Centre, which has been located in the Holy Land since the 19th century, long before the creation of Israel. "Furthermore, Bahai teachings forbid proselytising. An individual's decision about whether to become a Bahai is entirely up to them. "Mr Haydara has not committed any crime, let alone one that warrants the death penalty." Dr Mobini called on the international community to speak out. "It would be a travesty to publicly execute an innocent man for contacting senior administrators of his religion, a law-abiding group known for abstaining from political activity," she said. "Bahais in all parts of the world are in contact with their world centre in Israel," she said. "This is entirely natural and does not imply any political agenda or interference in the affairs of government. "The judge himself pointed out to the prosecutor that there was no substantive evidence presented during the court proceedings, so the judgment to publicly execute Mr Haydara was unexpected as well as being completely unjustified. "The action taken against such an upstanding citizen, together with the persecution of the Yemeni Bahais as a whole, have the clear fingerprints of the Iranian authorities all over them. "This attack on a community admired by a wide range of senior Yemeni officials and many ordinary citizens is shameful and deserves international exposure and condemnation. "We now fear that the six other Bahais who have been imprisoned and the Bahai community as a whole are in imminent danger. "Australian Bahais call upon the Houthi authorities to uphold justice and to overturn this unjust ruling. "They must immediately release Mr Haydara and all other Bahai prisoners. We also ask the international community to continue to speak up on the issue." Former federal immigration minister, Philip Ruddock, now the mayor of Hornsby in Sydney's north has added his voice to the condemnation. Mr Ruddock issued a statement on Friday saying he was "horrified to learn of the recent decision in Sanaa Yemen to sentence to death Mr Hamed bin Haydara". "My understanding is that he is of the Bahai faith and has been imprisoned already for some four years because of his religious beliefs. "On 2 January 2018 Mr Hamed bin Haydara was sentenced to be publicly executed. "This is a matter of very real and substantial concern given the universal commitment to religious freedom and the importance of ensuring that people are free to practise their faith. "This is a strongly held view in Hornsby Shire, which is proud of its own Bahai community that contributes so positively." Human rights group Amnesty International has also spoken out. "The Houthi authorities must immediately quash the death sentence against Hamed Haydara," Amnesty said. "He is a prisoner of conscience who has been tried on account of his conscientiously held beliefs and peaceful activities as a member of the Bahai community." Amnesty said it had written to Sanaa-based officials in March last year about "the deeply flawed legal proceedings in his case, including prolonged pre-trial detention, undue delays in [the] trial, allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, lack of access to adequate medical treatment and lack of access to legal counsel during his interrogations". However, it had received no response. The other six Bahai prisoners in Yemen have been identified as Kaiwan Ghaderi (detained on August 10, 2016), Walid Ayyash (April 20, 2017), Mahmud Hameed (April 20, 2017), Wael Al-Arieghie (May 23, 2017), Badiullah Sana'i (May 25, 2017, for a second time), Akkram Ayyash (October 22, 2017). Australian Bahais have also called for the release of a number of Bahai leaders imprisoned in Iran for almost 10 years. At least five of them have close relatives living in Australia. Three of the leaders, Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi and Behrouz Tavakkoli have been freed. The others still in detention are Afif Naeimi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Saeid Rezaie and Vahid Tizfahm. A man arriving from overseas was arrested at Sydney Airport on Monday and charged with the assault of another man in Bondi. Just after 6pm on Friday, December 22, police were told a 28-year-old man was hit over the head with a metal bar stool during a fight with an unknown man at a licensed premises at Bondi Beach. A 36-year-old man was arrested at Sydney Airport on Monday morning and charged over the December assault of another man. Credit:NSW Police The victim was allegedly knocked out by the blow, and hit again with a metal pole while he was on the ground. The alleged attacker then fled. Two gunmen are on the run after an armed hold-up sent a tavern in Brisbane's south into lockdown. Police were investigating a spate of armed robberies across a four-hour stretch, which also included the theft of an Audi during a test drive and a 24-year-old trying to fight off a gunman with a frying pan. Police are investigating the armed robbery of the Runcorn Tavern. Credit:Jess Millward - Nine News. The incidents were not thought to be linked at this stage. Police were hunting three men, two armed with guns, believed to be a handgun and a rifle, who sent the Runcorn Tavern, at Sunnybank Hills, into lockdown when they stole money about 1.45am. The woman, who had been working at a gift shop within the precinct, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition from the NightQuarter markets in Helensvale about 4pm. Paramedics were called to the NightQuarter at Helensvale, where a woman had a heart attack. Credit:NightQuarter. It was initially thought the 45-year-old woman had suffered heatstroke, which then led to her going into cardiac arrest, but the market director said the extreme heat had nothing to do with it. However, NightQuarter director Michelle Christoe said in a statement that the woman had died in hospital with family by her side on Monday afternoon. "We have been informed by the family that it was a pre-existing medical condition which led to the heart attack; not from heat stress as previously reported," the statement said. "We would like to thank our senior first aid staff, Queensland Ambulance Service and the medical team at Gold Coast Hospital who did all they could to try and save her. "We will be raising money for the family next Saturday night at NightQuarter as a gesture to assist the family at this time. A barrel will be at the front entry to collect donations. Our thoughts and love are with the family at this time." Two other visitors to the area, a woman in her mid-30s and another person in their mid-60s, suffered heat-like symptoms were also taken to hospital, according to paramedics. Anti-Islam activist Neil Erikson has admitted breaching court orders by failing to return a uniform to former employer Toll and publishing online footage and photographs of high-profile confrontations in which his associates are wearing the logistics company's uniforms. Erikson mistakenly picked up the Koran as he prepared to give sworn evidence in the witness stand in the Federal Circuit Court on Monday, until the court's associate pointed him to the Bible, and later submitted to the court he was "just a simple forklift driver" in a "David versus Goliath" legal stoush against Toll. Right-wing activist Neil Erikson (right) outside court on Monday. Credit:Jason South But in between those moments, the court heard Erikson lied to Toll about his criminal past when hired, told Toll he had passed Year 11 when he left school in Year 8 ("Who doesn't lie on their resumes?" he said) and was shown footage of him criticising the company in a video filmed outside the court and uploaded to Facebook on Monday morning. In a hearing to determine whether a penalty is imposed for contempt of court, Erikson said he failed to return to Toll his uniform after he was sacked last year, that he published video footage of a confrontation with then senator Sam Dastyari in a Melbourne pub, and that he tweeted a news photograph of a friend wearing a Toll shirt during a scuffle outside a speaking event featuring controversial commentator Milo Yiannopoulos. "The first couple of months was the hardest for me because I wasn't really getting any time out of cell and was lucky if I got an hour out of cell a day." The boy said he was seeking legal help, and that his stay at Banksia had been the hardest thing in his life. "I strongly think that ISU has changed me in a bad way," he said. "I'm more institutionalised ... and just feel very cold hearted. "The reason I am writing this letter is because I really do feel like this is the last straw for me. "I need help and I need it fast or I will end up doing something stupid." Another boy said he had been threatened by a guard and told he had two options left; one was a coffin, the other was being "bent over" in an adult prison. The boy claimed to have been "locked in isolation" and said the pain of self-harming was better than the pain of ISU. The Department said detainees in ISU were not isolated, but a spokesperson for Amnesty International said "several sources" claimed the boys had been held in solitary confinement for "at least two weeks at a time between May and August last year". Amnesty's Indigenous Rights Manager, Tammy Solonec, said she had been deeply disturbed by the detainees' version of events, which included being held for "weeks on end" in a cell as small as a car parking space, with as little as 10 minutes out of the cell each day. "It is critical that the West Australian government instigate a full and thorough investigation into the situation for these two boys, and into the operations of the Intensive Support Unit," Ms Solonec said. "Pending that it must be closed immediately. "Amnesty International is aware that plans now exist for integration for both these detainees, however the fact remains that it is not appropriate for children to be held in facilities that do not meet international standards." Ms Solonec referred to the boys' allegations of severe mistreatment as the latest in an "avalanche of horrors" spilling out from Banksia Hill in the past six months. RELATED: WA government refuses to close juvenile jail despite damning report Corrective Services Minister Fran Logan acknowledged he had received correspondence from Amnesty International regarding a detainee at Banksia Hill, and while he could not comment on an individual's case, he said the centre had undergone a "significant transformation". "The issues raised by the Inspector of Custodial Services about the operation of Banksia Hill under the previous Liberal-National government in 2016 are being addressed," he told WAtoday. "The facility has stabilised considerably compared to where it was." Mr Logan said previous rehabilitation and education programs had been affected by instability caused by a poorly implemented management model, but a new model of care was being finalised and programs were now "running as they should". A Department of Justice spokesperson said operations at Banksia Hill Detention Centre were subject to ongoing oversight by the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services and the Independent Visitor Service. A good old fashioned beer war has erupted between two popular Perth bars, and the low prices have drawn thousands of punters to both of their Subiaco locations. When the Village Bar initially made the move to drop their price for a pint of their "beer of the month" from $10 to $4 for the entire month of January, it seemed this was going to be the lowest Perth beer prices had dropped since the 1980s. Both venues have been battling it out for Perth's cheapest beer price. But then their neighbours, less than 1km up the road, did them one better. The Vic Hotel dropped their pint prices for both Rogers and Swan Draught - to just $3.50 a glass, and owner Bevan Marwick said the response from Perth punters craving a cheap drink was immediate. Brussels: The European Union's trade tsar has no idea what Donald Trump will tell his audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, but she is clear what the EU's message to the US President will be. America is shooting itself in the foot by withdrawing from global leadership on trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, the 49-year-old Swede who has served as Europe's trade commissioner for the past three years, said. Under Malmstrom's direction, the EU has juggled a dizzying array of trade talks over the past year. In July it clinched a preliminary deal with Japan. And early this year it hopes to seal agreements with Mexico and the Latin American Mercosur bloc. The retreat of the United States under Trump has played a big role in this push, Malmstrom says. Countries around the world are desperate for new trading partners, and the EU, confident again after years of economic crisis and Britain's vote in 2016 to leave the bloc, has eagerly filled the gap. Beirut: Viewed from some angles, the yellow house appears a restatement of Ottoman elegance, its high arches and elevated terraces overlooking a district of tower blocks. From others, it is an eyesore, its crumbling sandstone walls riddled with bullets and saved from collapse by gray steel girders. It is supposed to be a symbol of remembrance and reconciliation. "If the architects think that thing is meant to represent me, then they're wrong," said Saad Youssef, looking up at the building this week. "It's ugly. They should tear it down." His friend Mustafa Khattib disagreed. "It has to stay. The Lebanese need to see this every day, because they need to remember what they did." Rome: The illegitimate son of a Dutch prince looks likely to finally be accepted as a member of the Netherlands royal family after a long legal battle to overturn an informal deal struck at his birth. Hugo Klynstra, 21, is the son of Prince Carlos - the cousin of the Dutch King Willem-Alexander - and Brigitte Klynstra, a childhood friend of Carlos with whom he had a relationship. Prince Carlos de Bourbon-Parme and his mother Princess Irene at a Dutch royal wedding in 2012. Credit:dpa picture alliance archive / Alamy Stock Photo Prince Carlos had insisted that when Klynstra became pregnant, the couple made an agreement that the child would receive no royal title or other rights. The prince has always insisted that his former lover made "an independent decision" to have the child. However, on reaching 18 Hugo Klynstra decided to challenge that arrangement and has fought a series of legal battles to be granted royal status. Israel says it would welcome the US as a mediator but a US bid to revive negotiations, led by Trump's adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has so far shown no progress. Talks have been frozen since 2014. The Palestinians are seething at US President Donald Trump's recognition last month of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and Abbas told a meeting of senior Palestinian officials in a speech that the move had disqualified the US as a peacemaker. Ramallah : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday he would only accept a broad, internationally-backed panel to broker any peace talks with Israel, but did not rule out a US role in such a panel. Trump has said that achieving an agreement would be the "deal of the century" but Abbas was scathing on Sunday, saying: "The deal of the century is actually the slap of the century, and we will return it." "We do not accept the United States as a mediator between us and Israel," Abbas said. "Let it be an international committee formed at an international conference comprising four or five (countries or parties). But the United States alone? No." Abbas's comments were made at the start of a two-day meeting in Ramallah of the Palestinian Central Council, the Palestinians' highest decision-making body, where 95 delegates will debate future strategy. "We will not accept anything the United States may try to impose on us and we will not accept its mediation following that crime," said Abbas, referring to Trump's Jerusalem decision. Palestinian officials have said they will not meet US Vice-President Mike Pence when he visits Egypt, Jordan and Israel this month. Kabul: Senior Afghan officials have said meetings were underway in Turkey between their government and representatives of the Taliban, although the insurgents denied that any talks were taking place. Video footage of the meeting was posted online on Sunday by Tolo Television, one of Afghanistan's leading private networks. An Afghan policeman stands guard near to the site of a suicide bomber, who struck at a NATO convoy in Kandahar southern of Kabul last year. Credit:STR No formal talks with the Taliban have ever been held, and various indirect efforts have repeatedly failed, most recently in June, in the wake of a truck bombing in Kabul that killed hundreds at the entrance to the Green Zone, the diplomatic and government quarter. In 2011, the Taliban assassinated the head of the Afghan High Peace Council, Barhanuddin Rabbani, by sending a supposed peace envoy who had a bomb hidden in his turban. London: When sitting in a quiet theatre or a packed train, stifling a sneeze by holding the nose and closing the mouth may seem like the courteous option. However, doctors have warned against the polite practice, after a man ruptured the back of his throat while trying to contain the convulsive explosion of air. The 34-year-old was admitted to hospital barely able to swallow or speak after pinching his nose and clamping shut his mouth to stop a sneeze. When doctors examined him they also heard strange popping and crackling sounds, which extended from his neck all the way down to his rib cage. A scan confirmed that air from his lungs had bubbled its way into the deep tissue and muscles of the chest. Tunis: Tunisian authorities are moving to defuse the anger that has driven protesters to the streets over the past week and led to hundreds of arrests. As still more people gathered Sunday to mark the seventh anniversary of the Tunisian revolution, a wave that set off the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, the government said it was taking steps to ease the plight of the poor and the jobless. Among the measures: government aid to needy families will be increased to $US86 a month ($130) from $61, with about 120,000 families getting extra help, they said. Government officials also said they would review the retirement disbursements for some people Loading who are being underpaid because their employers did not declare their real salary. And they said they would extend health care to all Tunisians. Solar Novus Today Has Been Integrated With Novus Light Technologies Today Visit Novus Light Technologies Today to see all the cutting-edge stories and products that you have come to enjoy on Solar Novus Today. In addition, you will find more information on related light-based technologies. Get the latest solar and renewable energy news delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for the Green Technologies newsletter CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR GREEN TECHNOLOGIES NEWSLETTER Chestnut Hill MA (SPX) Jan 11, 2018 Visiting a colleague in Germany in 2012, Boston College Research Professor Paul K. Strother was examining soil samples for pollen, spores, pieces of plants and insect legs - organic debris that migh ... more Beijing, China (SPX) Jan 11, 2018 Not all aerosols are made equally. Sea salt and some types of wild fire smoke can take flight to create clouds and, eventually, rain, while other aerosols, such as mineral dust, do not work as well. ... more Seoul, South Korea (SPX) Jan 11, 2018 A KAIST research team has discovered a method to flip between superconducting and non-superconducting states within an iron-based superconductor using a type of electron microscopy. The team applied ... more Moscow, Russia (SPX) Jan 10, 2018 With the help of electronic microcopy, scientists have managed to track defects in the surface of two-dimensional photonic crystals, but there was a problem with bulk photonic crystals. There was no ... more Matsumoto, Japan (SPX) Jan 11, 2018 Scientists are one step closer to artificial muscles. Orthotics have come a long way since their initial wood and strap designs, yet innovation lapsed when it came to compensating for muscle power-- ... more Paris, France (SPX) Jan 11, 2018 PicSat will be launched into Earth orbit on 12 January 2018 to study the star Beta Pictoris, its exoplanet and its famous debris disk, thanks to a small telescope 5 cm in diameter. The nanosatellite ... more Washington DC (SPX) Jan 10, 2018 The Secretary of States vision for a fairer agricultural system that, supported with public money, delivers more public benefit is to be welcomed, said Russell Smith, Chair of the Scottish Crofting Federation. His paper, spoken to at the Oxford Farming Conference and at the larger Oxford Real Farming Conference, has brought a great deal of comment. Mr Smith went on. This is not surprising given that it marks the potential end of a very unfair regime that, as Mr Gove says, gives the most from the public purse to those who have the most private wealth. We may at last see a real shift from the perverse outcomes to the presumption that we should only support clear public goods the market will not, left to itself, provide. Mr Smith continued, SCF welcomes proposals to continue support payments until 2022 and the suggestion that in a subsequent transition period England would see the capping of maximum payments. This could quickly and easily get rid of the major iniquities of the current system and has been voiced by SCF in our proposals for a future Scottish scheme. The modern sow is capable of producing large litter sizes of 13 or 14 piglets, he says. Thanks to advancing genetics, litter size has increased across Europe by an average of 1.5 piglets every five years. Ten years ago, the average litter size in high performing herds was closer to 10 piglets. However, the sows ability to produce milk to feed these larger litters hasnt improved at the same rate. But, according to Mr Hardy, producers are recognising this deficient and they are using a system of supplementing the sows milk in situ with impressive results. Farmers are acknowledging the new standards that are required in these high production herds, says David. The modern genotype produces more piglets, but the sow doesnt give more milk certainly not enough to fully satisfy the appetite of big litters with 13 or 14 piglets. Dutch Research work suggests the sow produces 360 litres of milk on average in a four-week span, whether she has 10 piglets or 14. As a benchmark, its estimated that she can provide for 90kg to 100kg of pigs at four weeks old on milk, dry feed and with no added supplementation. But if the litter size is 14 and the piglets are 8kg at weaning at four weeks old, thats 112kg of piglet weight, he adds. The sow needs help to support her larger litter. David has seen very encouraging results in herds where piglets are supplemented through the Neopigg RescueCare system. Results are convincing and consistent with Cargill trial work. The RescueCup can meet the deficiency in sow milk production required by larger litters and more, he adds. Weve seen a weaned weight of pig of 150kg at four weeks old where the Neopigg RescueCare system is operating and this is phenomenal. Supplementing the sows milk in this way is bringing fantastic results that can easily justify its use. The Neopigg RescueCare system works by having a RescueCup in each farrowing pen, accessible by all piglets. Ad-lib RescueMilk is fed through the cups from day three and this is followed with a Rescue pre-starter feed after five days and fed up to weaning. It avoids relying on foster sows which puts extra pressure on farrowing room management. I grew up eating Chinese. Like most people of my generation, this was a cultural ritual that called for no knowledge of the differences of the cuisine of Asian provinces, or any knowledge of what was authentic or Chinese-American. My generation (for the most part) had never heard of Hunan or Szechuan. All we needed to know was what dish from column A or column B we wanted. We knew it would come with an egg roll, a bowl of egg drop soup and pork fried rice. We would get two fortune cookies at the end of the meal. We read the fortunes to each other. It was heaven. To millennials this must seem like the height of ridiculousness. How could we be so limited? What about Thai or Vietnamese? What about Asian fusion, Pacific Rim and other cutting-edge Eastern cuisines? Sometimes minimalism is bliss, and eating Chinese was a perfect example. You cant miss what you dont know. More Information Yangtze Riverside 1074 E. Putnam Ave., Greenwich 203-698-0800 See More Collapse It wasnt too long ago when I became nostalgic for the quasi-Cantonese food of my youth. Where was chicken chow mein, shrimp in lobster sauce and/or even chop suey? What happened to the bowl of crisp, fried noodles that came with sweet orange duck sauce before the meal? What was out there for those of us who still cant say pho or bahn mi properly? I would like to say that I went on a long, extensive hunt for such a place, but there was no need. For years I have stopped at the blandest storefront on the rather swanky road that leads to the town of Greenwich. To be honest, I dont think I ever knew the name of the place. Alone or with friends Id simply say, Lets stop for Chinese. So far, the politically correct police have not arrested me. I would like to comment on the decor of Yangtze Riverside, but there isnt any. There are a few knickknacks in the front window under the big neon sign. Inside, there is a soda machine, an improvised wooden bench to sit on while your food is being cooked (it is takeout only) and a couple of Oriental statuettes, along with a small stack of almond cookies. Believe me, no one was hired to stage this place. But in its stark, unpretentious beauty it is a mother lode of great traditional Chinese-American food. Everything you have missed is still on the menu and is really good. The tastes are exactly as you recall. I wanted to order everything, and with such low prices I probably could have afforded it. Classicist that I am, I stuck to the basics: chicken chow mein; wonton soup; shrimp with lobster sauce; egg drop soup; fried rice and egg rolls (with a few packets of duck sauce). My heart soared as I read the familiar words sub gum, moo shu and Pu Pu Platter on the menu. Once home I decanted the food from the take-out containers. Everything was accounted for: packets of soy sauce, the cellophane-wrapped fortune cookies, the egg rolls tucked away in their wax-paper envelopes. It is said that smell is the most significant of the five senses, having the power to transport you back in time. The steam wafting off the chicken chow mein was like entering a time capsule; it looked just as I remembered: nice hunks of white meat chicken on top of limp and tender bean sprouts, studded with micro bits of cabbage and carrot. The bed of white rice is Asian comfort food. The shrimp in lobster sauce was delicious and also a bit surprising. When the price for a shrimp dish is low, I suspect I am going to get subpar shrimp. Not here. Again the recipe followed the classic old-school standards, and the shrimp were big, bright beauties. As a restaurant critic, I dont think I have ever shied away from describing food, but in this case I will. Regarding the egg drop soup, the wonton soup, the egg rolls, the fried rice, the crispy noodles, all I need to say is they taste exactly as you remember them tasting from the good old days. If you are under 30, please go there at least as an anthropology project to see what the culinary world was like pre-Asian fusion. One of the best things about Yangtze Riverside are the people who work there. You can peek through the order window and see the chef intensely cooking at his huge blackened wok. All the people you deal with behind the counter are polite, gracious and eager to please. Isnt it funny how in this least-fancy, inexpensive, plainest-looking place on the Gold Coast, the food and service exceed much of what I have eaten in Greenwich for a small fortune. Jane Stern, a Ridgefield resident, coauthored the popular Roadfood guidebook series with Michael Stern. Join her each week as she travels Fairfield County finding a great meal in unexpected places for $20 or less. Some flu protection is better than no flu protection. Thats the mantra of Dr. Zane Saul, Bridgeport Hospitals chief of infectious disease. He said any time people hear the flu shot isnt a perfect match for circulating viruses, theyre reluctant to get vaccinated. So his teeth were set on edge by a recent study showing the effectiveness of this years flu shot could be as low as 10 percent. The flu shot phobic people will hear that and say Of course! It doesnt work! Saul said. Despite that report published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine Saul and other experts said its still unclear how effective this years flu vaccine is, and that, in most cases, getting the vaccine is better than not getting protected against the infectious respiratory illness even when the vaccine isnt an ideal match for circulating viruses. Meanwhile, flu activity in Connecticut is climbing steadily. As of Nov. 25, a total of 142 people tested positive for the flu, up from 96 the week before, according tto the state Department of Public Health. The state also reports that 54 people were hospitalized, which rose from 39 the week before. There werent any deaths. The New England Journal of Medicine study is based largely on reports from Australia, in the Southern Hemisphere, which gets the flu season before this side of the world. Australia had not only record high numbers of flu cases, hospitalizations and deaths, but also a flu shot that doesnt seem to be a good match for the predominant strains. The report states that influenza A (H3N2) viruses are predominant in the Southern Hemisphere, and a preliminary estimate showed the vaccine as only 10 percent effective against that strain. The report said its unclear how the will affect the Northern Hemispheres flu season which typically starts in October and can run as late as May but this seasons vaccine has the same composition as the one being used in the Southern Hemisphere. Yet an expert from the state DPH said its a bit early to push the panic button and declare this seasons vaccine ineffective. It is important to remember that the flu season in the U.S. is just starting to ramp up and no studies on vaccine effectiveness for the Northern Hemisphere have been completed so far, said Mick Bolduc, DPHs vaccine coordinator for the Connecticut Immunization Program. Although the flu numbers from Australia are concerning and bear watching, the implications for the U.S. are not known at this point. Even in seasons when the vaccine is not a great match to the circulating flu strains, a flu shot is still the best protection an individual can get to protect not only against influenza disease but also from severe illness, hospitalization and death from flu-related complications. Locally, doctors agreed that its still too early to know whether the Northern Hemispheres flu season will mirror whats going on in Australia. The Australia data is interesting, but we dont know yet how well it applies to us, said Dr. Michael Parry, director of infectious diseases at Stamford Hospital. The virus changes from month to month. It can change for the worse or the better. Saul added that, even if the shot is a poor match for influenza A (H3N2), it will likely work well against other strains. Also, those who get the shot and contract influenza A (H3N2) will likely recover faster than those who dont get vaccinated. More Information Flu facts Here are some key numbers about flu activity in Connecticut, from the state Department of Public Health. As of Nov. 25: 142 people had tested positive for the flu 54 people were hospitalized related to flu There were no flu deaths Fairfield County has had the highest number of cases so far, at 49. Hartford County had 43, New Haven County had 26, New London County had 13, Tolland County had five and Litchfield, Windham and Middlesex counties all had two. See More Collapse This (report) is not a reason to not get a flu shot, Saul said. In Connecticut, influenza A viruses are dominating in the state, as they are nationwide. The state DPH reports that 106 of the positive flu cases were type A, with an unspecified subtype and 17 were type A (H3N2). The bulk of cases were in Fairfield County, which had 49 people test positive for the flu. Hartford County was close behind, with 43 cases, and New Haven County was a distant third with 26. Flu activity in the state is classified as regional, meaning that there have been outbreaks of influenza or increases in flu-like illnesses and recent lab-confirmed influenza in at least two, but less than half the regions of the state. The regional classification is one step down from widespread, which represents the highest level of flu activity. So far, flu is widespread in four states Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma. In Stamford, Parry said hes only seeing a couple of cases a week. Its very sporadic nothing dramatic yet, he said. Saul said hes seen only a few flu cases at Bridgeport Hospital so far this season, but expects it to pick up soon. Were planning on this being a fairly robust flu season, he said. Andrew McDonald was running for state Senate for the first time in 2002 when a telephone poll raised the issue of whether voters would support a gay candidate. Republicans denied paying for the poll; some accused Democrats of orchestrating it. Democrats predicted an attempt to launch a whisper campaign about their candidate would backfire. To whatever coward pulled those strings, heres a news flash: kaboom! Last week 16 years after the poll Newsweek blared the headline that Andrew McDonald Could Become First Openly Gay Leader of a State Supreme Court. Back in 2002, we had spirited discussions in the newsroom about whether a story about the poll required us to add a certain clause behind McDonalds name for the first time: who is gay. McDonalds opponent, future lieutenant governor Michael Fedele, responded that he didnt want sexual identity to become a campaign issue. It never seemed to be one for voters, who elected McDonald to five terms before Gov. Dannel P. Malloy recruited his old friend as his legal counsel and subsequently appointed him to the state Supreme Court. The targeted candidate summoned the right words at the time. I am not a gay candidate for the state Senate, McDonald responded. I am, however, a dedicated, hard-working, honest and caring candidate who happens also to be gay. The same is true today. That clause may have mushroomed into an emboldened adjective in the national media, but the bottom line is that the Judiciary Committee will decide if McDonald is qualified to be the states next chief justice based on his record. Just two years after the poll, McDonald had to endure an equally surreal accusation. We were doing a story about whether his opponent, Rick Giordano, resided in the 27th district, which covers Stamford and Darien. Giordano, who had been living in Norwalk for 27 years, declined to meet a reporter at his Stamford apartment. Instead, he suggested McDonald be questioned about where he lays his head. Our diligent reporter showed up unannounced at McDonalds Glenbrook home. The then-senator was delighted that she found him and his partner drinking wine and listening to Ethel Merman. McDonalds bigger public challenge to winning legislative approval may be shaking off accusations that the appointment is a political favor from Malloy. The many other identifiers next to McDonalds name illustrate the depth of his experience: lawyer; former member of Stamfords Board of Finance and Board of Representatives; corporation counsel for Stamford; co-chair of the state Judiciary Committee. And, oh yeah, Supreme Court judge for five years. McDonald has used a different description of himself: political junkie. Hes been in politics since he was 8 years old, his mother, Anne McDonald, once said of Andrew, who listened to Board of Representatives meetings on the radio as a kid. That part of his resume reaches deeper than his childhood, into his DNA. Alex and Anne McDonald printed NAACP pamphlets in their Stamford home during Martin Luther King, Jr.s heyday, before Andrew was born 51 years ago. The toughness McDonald has needed to endure homophobic hokum can be traced to his mom, a state representative who once dragged her oxygen tank onto the House floor after a two-week brawl with pneumonia. Anne McDonald, who died in 2007, would have made one helluva flinty judge. She suffered no fools, armed for battle with unrivaled research, and distinguished herself by a passion for truth and an unyielding demand for justice. She once wrote an op-ed shaming Stamford officials for having the distinction of spending a lower percentage of the city budget on education than any other Connecticut municipality. She fueled bonus descriptives that belong behind Andrew McDonalds name. I would add another: wiseguy. A few years ago, I was entering a restaurant to meet my wife and mother-in-law. I spotted them through the glass from the sidewalk, along with McDonald, who was at the table behind them. He kept mining humor from this, pretending to be a waiter and delivering fries and the like to our table. Weve continued to encounter one another at random places. In September, my son was anxious to show off a toy while navigating the crowd at the Bedford Street crafts show. He engaged a stranger. I kept apologizing, only to look up at McDonald. My son had apparently recognized him from the many early mornings we saw him trying to run laps at Cove Island Park. McDonald reliably pauses to say hello. Theres always a mutual awareness of the collision between his appetite for gossip and his learned wariness around journalists. Do you ever complete a lap without someone stopping you? is my go-to interview question. I sometimes have to just put my head down, he has confessed. There are many laps to go. But no one should dismiss the miles McDonald has already logged. John Breunig is editorial page editor of The Advocate and Greenwich Time. Jbreunig@scni.com; 203-964-2281; twitter.com/johnbreunig. A more recent publication of this set of statistics is available. Latest publication: Index of turnover in industry 2021, July Published: 15 January 2018 Turnover in manufacturing grew by 6.5 per cent in August to October According to Statistics Finland, turnover in manufacturing in the August to October period was 6.5 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of the year before. Domestic sales grew by 5.0 per cent and export turnover by 7.7 per cent from one year ago. Three months' year-on-year change in turnover in manufacturing (C) sub-industries (TOL 2008) Turnover went up from the corresponding period of the previous year in all manufacturing (C) sub-industries . The growth was strongest in the metal industry, by 8.3 per cent, in the electrical and electronics industry, by 7.0 per cent, and in the forest industry, by 6.7 per cent. Turnover grew slowest in the food industry, by 2.9 per cent. Three months' year-on-year change in turnover in main industrial categories (TOL 2008) The turnover of all other main categories of manufacturing industries also increased year-on-year. Turnover grew strongest in the industry of mining and quarrying, by 20.5 per cent. Turnover in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities increased by 6.2 per cent, and in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply by 5.4 per cent compared with the previous year. The index of turnover in industry describes enterprises whose main industry is manufacturing. The calculation of the indices is based on the Tax Administrations self-assessed tax data which are supplemented with data obtained with Statistics Finlands sales inquiry. The monthly turnovers of manufacturing enterprises can vary considerably, especially in the metal industries. The variation is mainly due to invoicing practices. The final invoice for major machinery deliveries and projects may be recorded in the sales of one month, even if the delivery had required the work of several months or years. Index of turnover in industry will adopt base year 2015=100 from the January 2018 data. Data using the new base year will be published for the first time in April 2018. Industries of enterprises have been revised in the data released in January Starting from this statistical release the latest industries defined by the Business Register have been taken into use in the turnover and wage and salary indices. The industry corrections are visible as revised data in some of the published industries for the years 2016-2017. The effects of the changes are taken into consideration in statistics production so that no breaks occur in the time series of the published index series. The interpretation of the statistics also remains unchanged in the renewal. Revisions to annual changes in industries are presented under Revisions in these statistics. Source: Index of turnover in industry 2017, October, Statistics Finland Inquiries: Maija Sappinen 029 551 3348, Kirsi-Maaria Manninen 029 551 2681, myynti.teollisuus@stat.fi Director in charge: Sami Saarikivi Publication in pdf-format (370.7 kB) Updated 15.1.2018 Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Index of turnover in industry [e-publication]. ISSN=1798-596X. October 2017. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 6.9.2021]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tlv/2017/10/tlv_2017_10_2018-01-15_tie_001_en.html Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. La Aurora was founded on October 3rd, 1903 by Eduardo Leon Jimenes, a hard worker who was son and grandson of tobacco growers [who] decided to go a step further with the creation of a cigar brand, reads the La Aurora website. The founder was then 18 years old, inherited some tareas of land and, with a reduced roster of six employees, a great enthusiasm, and much effort, began to build his dream. La Aurora honored Eduardo Leon Jimenes and his brother, Herminio Leon Jimenes (the man who kept alive the family legacy and tradition when Eduardo died in 1937) with a cigar brand called Leon Jimenes. While the line has been around for decades, you could be forgiven if its unfamiliar to you. The Connecticut-wrapped blend has enjoyed much better sales in the international market, where smokers, generally speaking, tend to prefer milder smokes. Leon Jimenes Prestige was introduced as an offshoot in 2011 with intentions of revitalizing the Leon Jimenes brand in the U.S. It includes a recipe thats supposed to be spicier and fuller-bodied than its predecessor (though is by no means built to be a powerhouse): an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper surrounds a Dominican binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Three sizes available in the U.S.: Robusto (5 x 50, $7.20), Corona (5 x 38, $6.20), and Churchill (7 x 47, $8). There are other sizes listed on La Auroras website, but these are only for outside the U.S. All are made at the E. Leon Jimenes Tabacalera factory in the Dominican Republic. This cigars modern-looking band of black, gold, and red makes no mention of the name Prestige, though it is easily distinguishable from the original Leon Jimenes and the Doble Maduro, both of which have red bands. I smoked several Churchills for this review. This size has a pale, moderately oily wrapper. Thin veins are fairly common at the surface, and dont be surprised if theres a thicker vein protruding from the binder. The feel is moderately firm and the cold draw is smooth. At the foot, there are sweet, delicate pre-light notes of hay and grass. After setting an even light with two wooden matches, a toasty, bready profile emerges with notes of oak, roasted nuts, coffee bean, and vanilla. Theres a fair amount of spice on the finish courtesy of white pepper and cinnamon. Towards the midway point, flavors of cashew, butter, and cream become more prominent. Things ramp up a bit in the final third, but the strength never crosses the mild- to medium-bodied end of the spectrum. The physical properties are in line with what Ive come to expect from La Aurora. The burn line is straight with no need for any touch-ups along the way. The draw is clear. The ash holds firm off the foot. And the smoke production is above average. Put plainly, the Leon Jimenes Prestige Churchill is an enjoyable, well-made, laid-back cigar with some spice, good balance, and smooth, enjoyable flavors of cream and roasted nuts. For that, it earns three and a half stogies out of five. [To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.] Patrick A photo credit: Stogie Guys Keeping a unique thanksgiving alive With Hindus celebrating Thai Pongal today, Randima Attygalle talks to historian and Chancellor of the Jaffna University, Prof. S. Pathmanathan View(s): View(s): It is once more the time for kolam designs on the floor and modakam to feast on. While homes have been decluttered and colour-washed, today devotees will throng the kovils for poojas in reverence of the Sun God for a bountiful harvest. Thai Pongal in a broad sense which denotes festivity or celebration is an important festival for Hindus across the world and of national significance here at home. The four-day festival according to the Tamil almanac is usually celebrated from January14 to 17. The astronomical basis of Thai Pongal as historian and Chancellor of the Jaffna University, Prof. S. Pathmanathan tells the Sunday Times, is that it marks the beginning of a new season. While Thai refers to the January-February season in the Tamil calendar, pongal means abundance or overflow. It marks the Makara Sankranti or the first day of the suns transit into the Makara (Capricorn), as it moves from the winter solstice to the summer solstice, marking the beginning of longer days of uninterrupted sunlight. From a traditional, cultural perspective, the festival is a celebration by the agricultural community, showing gratitude to the Surya or the Sun God for his benevolence. In a modern context however, the festival has moved beyond the farmer community to be embraced by the entire Hindu populace, observes Prof. Pathmanathan. The festival is also significant as it falls a few days after Tiruppavai and Tiruvempavai, the most sacred temple festivals of Vaishnavism and Shaivism, the two major traditions of Hinduism, he adds. While houses are cleaned and embellished with banana and mango leaves, the womenfolk are busy creating kolam made out of dry rice flour. Special poojas and rituals are associated with Thai Pongal. The ablutions prior to all rituals associated with the festival mirror the sanctity it entails. The special milk rice or paalsooru is cooked with fresh milk in a new earthenpot usually in the porch or the courtyard of the home in sunlight. The special pongalsooru, as Prof. Pathmanthan explains, is often flavoured with cane sugar jaggery, cardamom, cashew and plums and served on a banana leaf accompanied by an assortment of sweetmeats. The offerings are first made to the Sun God along with seasonal fruits such as banana, lemon, orange and pomegranate. At homes, incense is burnt. The festival also enables family reunions when all get together and worship the Sun God and recite sacred hymns. The sacred rituals are often followed by the partaking of the festive morning meal and the exchange of gifts, explains the Prof. The regional influence of India on this harvest festival is also notable, opines Prof. Pathmanathan. Although the festival is most robust in Southern India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, the traditions have been influenced by the other regional flavours as well. In terms of the Sri Lankan setting too, there is variation between the Jaffna tradition and the Batticaloa tradition of celebrations. The festival although traditionally spreads over four days, marked by Bhogi, Thai Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kaanum Pongal, is largely confined to two days here at home, he says. In a mark of respect to the cattle that play a pivotal role in agricultural pursuits, Mattu Pongal which follows Thai Pongal is dedicated to the cows. Once they are bathed and cleansed with vermilion, cows are adorned with garlands, bells and sheaves of corn. The special pongal delicacies are also offered to the cattle and they are relieved of the days work, says Prof. Pathmanathan. Recollecting his Thai Pongal memories of Jaffna before the war, he adds that the rituals are getting distant from the younger generation, especially those associated with the agrarian setting. Society has been transformed completely and once a person is removed from the ancestral habitation, rituals become challenging to observe, maintains Prof. Pathmanthan who goes on to note that the war had led to a total dislocation of society. Terror and displacement too contributed to the abandonment of traditional customs. Although some of these have been revived with the displaced returning to their ancestral settings, the toll the conflict had on culture is unprecedented, he notes. Reconciliation is all about understanding and respecting each others cultures and Thai Pongal being a national festival of the country is ideal to reflect on this, says the scholar who urges all Lankans to join hands with their Hindu brethren and experience this unique thanksgiving festival. Canterbury We are looking for an experienced class 5 driver for an immediate start!You will be working in and around the Christchurch... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz The Wheels for Cure Kids show at Fraser Cove is gaining international attention, says organiser Luke Price. Drawn by likes of stars from the NITRO CIRCUS including FMX redbull Xfighters Champion, Levi Sherwood, star of the BMX Quadruple Back flip BMX Worlds record holder Jed Mildon, and Franklin Farm riders Nick Franklin, Mitch McHardy, Paul Langland, the crowd comes to see top riders doing jumps and stunts off the ramps. Now some international riders are inquiring about joining in. There was a German BMX rider last year and this year Japanese MX rider Taka Higashino expressed interest, says Luke. Weve pretty much locked in the second week of January, it works pretty well with the athletes. There seems to be not many other events on in Tauranga or around the Bay," Luke says about the annual event at Fraser Cove. I dont know why that is but thats just good for the athletes because a lot of them dont have big events on. It just works well for everybody. The events gathering momentum and interest. Shes a pretty cool event, pretty special event. Talking to SunLive on Monday, Luke says hes unsure how high the riders were jumping above the Fraser Cove carpark, near the Worlds End Bar and Restaurant. You would clear powerlines easy. While the BMX and freestyle motocross riders took to the ramps, they had a guy called Nick riding freestyle stunts on a street bike. Hes on the ground, low speed wheelies and skids, very talented, says Luke. Every year, I think it gets bigger every year. At this stage we have raised $14,000. We will get a wee bit more yet. We are pretty bloody rapt with it, its only six hours. We had a lot of the ambassador kids that Cure Kids have helped out. The ambassadors were really fizzing to meet Levi and Jed and all the big names. That makes it well worth going. It was a tough gig for Luke this year because he wasnt able to ride with the rest of the Franklin Farm crew. Ive got a real bad neck at the moment, Ive had major surgery. So it was hard for me to see it and not ride. Check out photos of Saturday afternoons action below. Click the image above to watch the video In todays weather forecast we are expecting a mostly cloudy day, with a few showers. There should be afternoon fine breaks and a north easterly breeze picking up. Its a one-clothing layer day today with a high of 23 and overnight low of 19 degrees. Humidity is 75 per cent. Low tide is at 1.30pm and high tide is at 7.20pm. Sea temperature is 21 degrees. Theres an average sea swell of .4m. Sunset tonight is at 8.35pm. If youre going fishing today the best fish bite times are between 11.30am and 1.30pm. This day in NZ history in 1941 the Womens Auxiliary Air Force was founded. The Womens Auxiliary Air Force WAAF - was formed to enable the Royal New Zealand Air Force RNZAF - to release more men for overseas service during the Second World War. This day in world history in 1909 one of Ernest Shackletons polar exploration teams reached the Magnetic South Pole. In 1930 Amelia Earhart set an aviation record for women at 171 mph in a Lockheed Vega. In 1991 the Persian Gulf War began. The massive U.S.-led offensive against Iraq Operation Desert Storm ended on February 28, 1991 when President George H. W. Bush declared a cease-fire and Iraq pledged to honour future coalition and U.N. peace terms. In 2001 Wikipedia went on line. A quote from poet John Keats who once wrote "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." To get involved in activities and events across the Bay, please check out our Whats on page on the SunLive website. Have a great day! The new chair was unveiled at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars dealership in Mayfair alongside the iconic automakers latest Phantom model, with a window display from DavidHugh showcasing Elysium-R to the public. The revolutionary new chair is on display at the showroom until 19 January, with DavidHugh creating a window display to give Mayfair passers-by the chance to see the worlds most technologically advanced chair in all its glory. Elysium is billed as neutralising gravity, implementing floatation theory and taking comfort to a whole new level by recalibrating the senses. It incorporates brand new armrests that sweep back to offer more support and are sculpted using 3D CAD/CAM to follow the contours of both the arms and motion of the chair. Engineers have developed a new technique to fill the armrest with a grade of gel that mimics the quality of human skin. This second skin is covered with the same grade of leather as the body of the chair, giving an unbelievable look and feel. The Elysium-R is presented in a near-black pure aniline leather from Swedish cattle together with a black chrome base and almond gold frame, giving it a darker, more luxurious appearance. The contrast achieved by the black chrome, black aluminium and gold elements highlight the sophistication in engineering, where parts appear to intersect and join in impossible ways. David Wickett, co-founder of DavidHugh, said: Its a true honour to have Rolls-Royce Motor Cars London hosting the launch of Elysium-R a product were incredibly excited about. This is without question the most elegant version of Elysium we have made, but with the same unprecedented and remarkable levels of comfort as standard model. Rubbing shoulders with such luxurious cars particularly the stunning new Phantom is where Elysium-R is truly at home, and were delighted to see it in the showroom lining up next to some of the most beautiful cars ever made. The Elysium-R will be limited to only 18 models worldwide to coincide with the chairs launch date of January 2018. A body found on Sunday morning on El Oasis beach in Marbella is believed to be Rebecca Muldoon, the 35-year-old British woman missing since the beginning of the year. Police sources have confirmed that the body belongs to a woman aged between 35 and 40 and that the physical features and clothing coincide with those of the missing mother-of-two. Muldoon was reported missing on 2 January when a neighbour told police that the woman's children, eight and eleven, were alone at their Marbella home. Rebecca's disappearance came after she had reported her partner for domestic violence but then failed to attend court to confirm her allegations. Her partner was in police custody when she disappeared. Local police, fire and Proteccion Civil officers were involved in last week's search operation which found no clues to the woman's whereabouts. The Royal Navy warship HMS Duncan docked in Malaga port on Monday morning after its return to the Mediterranean to take over as Flagship to NATOs Standing Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2). The Type 45 destroyer left Portsmouth Naval Base on 8 January to resume the role after a three-month stint in charge last year. The ship will remain in Malaga for the rest of the week and can be visited on Malaga's Levante quay on Tuesday. The visit also includes a reception for authorities and meetings with civilian and military representatives to strengthen defence cooperation between Spain and the UK. The HMS Duncan is the Royal Navy's most modern warship and the sixth and final Type 45 destroyer, launched in October 2010. Commanding Officer of HMS Duncan Commander Eleanor Stack said last week: After a busy maintenance period, and a lot of hard work from my ships company, it was a fantastic feeling to sail on Monday morning and resume our tasking as the Flagship to SNMG2." Also on board is Commodore Michael Utley OBE, head of SNMG2. "I'm delighted to be bringing the flagship to the SNMG2 to Malaga," he said. This is the second time that the destroyer has visited Spain, docking in Palma de Mallorca last year. Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 is a multinational, integrated maritime force - made up of vessels from various allied nations, training and operating together as a single team - that is permanently available to NATO to perform a wide range of tasks, from participating in exercises to crisis response and real world operational missions. HMS Duncan has a crew of 190 sailors. FORT DRUM, NY - When Brittany Kennedy showed up at the hospital in labor last Monday night, she was told she wasn't dilated enough to have her baby and was sent back home to the Fort Drum Army base. Less than an hour later, her husband - U.S. Army Sgt. Preston Kennedy - delivered their baby girl in the couple's car at a Fort Drum entrance gate. The couple's other four children remained in the back seat of their Dodge Durango - one of them fast asleep during the whole event. "I still can hardly believe it,' Brittany Kennedy, 29, said this weekend. "I had a baby inside a car! And I'm so proud of my husband - the first time we had a child he nearly passed out in the delivery room." Brittany Kennedy wasn't due to have her baby until Jan. 25, but her labor pains started Monday, Jan 8. By late afternoon, the couple decided to go to the hospital. They got their other four children into the car, and made the 25-minute drive to Watertown. At the hospital, Brittany Kennedy said she was examined, but sent home because her labor hadn't progressed enough. She said she questioned the decision, but decided the experts knew best. She said she had had four children already, and felt like she knew her body. "As we started to drive back, I had a feeling we weren't going to make it home before the baby came,'' she said. "But Preston assured me I was probably just nervous and disappointed." The couple, who are from Texas originally, stopped at a Taco Bell drive-thru in Watertown to get their other four children some food. As they got back on the highway, Brittany Kennedy remembers the pain intensifying. She pushed her seat back, and her young son placed his small hand on her forehead to comfort her. As they drove, she told her husband she felt the urge to push. "I told her no - don't push, just breathe - until we can at least get home,'' said Preston Kennedy, 29. "I was driving, and then all of a sudden I heard a pop and her water broke. We made it to the Fort Drum gates, and I pulled over and stopped the car." He called out to the soldier at the gate to call an ambulance. Then he got in the front seat and propped one of his wife's legs on the dashboard radio and the other on the car door. "I'm thinking 'oh my God, not right now,' '' Preston Kennedy said. "I was really nervous, but I knew I had to stay calm. I could see the baby's head crowning, and then it was coming out in my palm. And then she was out - and crying!" Looking back, he said he acted instinctively. "I've been in the delivery room for our four other children," he said. "And when you are in the military, you learn to handle stressful situations calmly and with poise. So that really helped me." At some point during the whirlwind delivery, Preston Kennedy called his platoon sergeant Justin Foster. When he told him he was at the gate delivering his baby, Foster at first didn't believe him, but he quickly realized it was true. "I could hear his wife screaming in pain," Foster recalled, and just a few seconds later he heard the baby start to cry. He told Preston to wrap the baby up in something warm, and turn up the heat while waiting for the ambulance. (The high that day was only 36 degrees.) Preston Kennedy said another solider who had come by during the delivery offered his coat to wrap the baby in. Within a few minutes, the Fort Drum ambulance and fire department were there. Brittany Kennedy returned to the hospital and this time was admitted. She stayed until Wednesday morning. Bella was six pounds, 13 ounces and 18 inches long. She joins Preston Jr., 2; Paytin, 6; Kianna, 8 and Ananda, 10, at home. Preston, who is a field artillery tactical database systems specialist with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, is now at home helping his wife. When the 1st Brigade posted his successful delivery on their Facebook page, congratulatory messages came in from everywhere. "The whole thing just happened so fast,'' Preston Kennedy told Syracuse.com. "It's still hard for me to believe I actually delivered my own baby - and in my car!" To the Editor: A news article from the BBC reported on the underground library below the streets of Damascus, Syria. The article shed light on hope and survival for the Syrian people throughout the ongoing war. One of the Syrian citizens said, "In a sense the library gave me back my life." Here in Central New York we have the luxury of a library system, a quintessential symbol of democracy, that is free and accessible to all. On behalf of the Onondaga County Public Library, we are writing to declare the need to support our library system, and all the libraries in New York state. Our libraries are for everyone; not just providing an outlet for inquiry in all fields (history, science, math, literature and more) but also a safe and welcoming space for all, regardless of race or ethnicity, religion, country of origin, income or education level. Federal funding reductions and policies are undermining New York's tax structure, and the result leaves funding for local education services like public libraries under attack. Where we, through our elected officials, choose to spend our collective resources serves as a testament to what we value. As our elected representatives come together in Albany to craft this year's New York state budget, we seek a budget document that creates policies that will benefit every New Yorker. Libraries offer free and equal access to educational opportunities, and are the primary source of internet access for many in Onondaga County. Residents of all ages, experiences and needs turn to their local library for early literacy programs; classes in adult education and financial literacy; health groups and fitness workshops; technology assistance; civil service exam prep; English and other language classes; and many other programs and services. An educated workforce is critical to our economic development efforts. New York state's failure to fully fund library services for more than a decade has undermined local education opportunities and pushed costs onto local taxpayers. It also goes directly against our area's rich history of developing, nurturing and supporting libraries. In the 1850's Syracuse started in the public library business, a few short years after Boston Public Library (1848). Since 1905, when the Syracuse Public Library opened in the Carnegie Building, our libraries have been a beacon for all. We have helped to educate and enable citizens throughout the area by providing access to a vast collection of educational and historical materials, books, computers, databases and so much more. New York has been a leader in education among the states. When New York fails to fund library services, we lose our leadership position as a state and we end up with diminished opportunities and failed equity. Please join us in using the online advocacy system offered by the New York Library Association to write to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature: nyla.org/advocacy. Edward Kochian President Onondaga County Public Library Board of Trustees Janet Park Interim Executive Director Onondaga County Public Library RICHMOND, Va. - The peaceful transfer of power in Virginia would not be complete without a prank pulled by the outgoing governor on his successor. So it was that as newly inaugurated Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam hit the sack Saturday night after his inauguration, he found something special on his pillowcase - and it was not one of those fancy hotel good-night chocolates. An image of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe was plastered on his pillowcase, emblazoned with one of the go-go-go ex-governor's favorite sayings: "Sleep when you're dead." And yes, Virginia's 73rd governor - and his wife, first lady Pam Northam - spent their first night in the mansion with their heads resting on the 72nd's governor's grinning mug. "Let me show you the picture," Northam said, pulling out his cell phone after a brunch hosted by the first lady Sunday at Richmond's Jefferson Hotel. The pillowcases are not the only reminders McAuliffe left behind. "There are pictures of the governor all over the mansion that he left for me," Northam said. "Also, at 3 o'clock this morning, an alarm clock went off, which I have yet to find. I texted him and thanked him, and he said there was more to come." The alarm clock trick is not a new one, but certain pranks are bound to get recycled in the only U.S. state where the governorship changes hands every four years. Departing Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell set one to go off at 4 a.m. four years ago, giving McAuliffe a jolt on his first weekend in the Executive Mansion. Another surprise awaited the newly sworn-in McAuliffe when he got to his office: a huge stuffed bear in the private bathroom. It was no teddy bear. It was the real, taxidermied thing, poached from the office of McDonnell's natural resources secretary Doug Domenech. On his way out of the governorship, in 2010, now-Sen. Tim Kaine hid cell phones in the mansion elevator shaft and periodically called them as a trick on McDonnell. It took a few days for McDonnell's team to locate them. And before that, now-Sen. Mark Warner left a life-sized cut-out of himself in the governor's mansion shower for Kaine. Tama County Ag Outlook, Sept. 3 August rain grows the grain. Throughout the last half of August, northeast and central Iowa has been blessed with timely rains just as the ... A Chinese court ruled in favor of Huawei against Samsung, saying that Samsung had infringed on patents held by Huawei. The two patents involve fourth-generation phone technology. This ruling restricts Samsung from selling any products using the patent it violated. As a result of the ruling, Samsung will also have to pay a small court fee. The court also dismissed Huawei's other claims, and Samsung will be able to appeal the decision. Both companies have been filing lawsuits against each other in both the United States and China. Huawei also filed a lawsuit against Samsung in the United States for violating patents on cellular technology and software. Huawei and Samsung have a long history of litigation against each other. Huawei initially sued Samsung, seeking a cross-licensing deal instead of requesting damages. Samsung responded with a countersuit. In April of last year, another Chinese court in Quanzhou ruled against Samsung and was ordered to pay $11.6 million. Samsung said that it would review the decision to determine the appropriate response to the outcome of the lawsuit. The decision came from a court in Shenzhen, where Huawei is headquartered. In September, Huawei surpassed Apple to become the second largest smartphone maker in the world but still sits behind Samsung. Rivalry Huawei has been trying to grow in recent years. Its recent attempt to enter the U.S. market stalled when AT&T reneged at its deal to be the first American carrier of Huawei's flagship Mate 10. The company is still going to be selling the Mate 10 in the United States despite its deal with AT&T falling through at the last second. Huawei kicked off a marketing campaign before the Consumer Electronics Show, where it hoped to announce its deal with AT&T. Gal Gadot was hired as its new Chief Experience Officer. Gadot was the highest grossing actress last year. During Huawei's keynote at CES this week, chief executive Richard Yu went off script to slam U.S. phone carriers for backing out of the deal, calling it a "big loss." "We win the trust of the Chinese carriers, we win the trust of the emerging markets ... and also, we win the trust of the global carriers, all the European and Japanese carriers," said Yu. "We are serving over 70 million people worldwide. We've proven our quality. We've proven our privacy and security protection." 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The United Launch Alliance successfully launched one of its Delta 4 rocket into space on Jan. 12 from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The launch is carrying a classified spy satellite called NROL-47. The NROL-47 Spy Satellite The classified spy satellite is owned by the National Reconnaissance Office or NRO, which is one of the most secretive government departments in the United States. The NRO runs a fleet of satellites that are being used for surveillance and intelligence gathering. The Delta 4 rocket, along with the spy satellite, lifted off from the Space Launch Complex 6 at 2:11 p.m. PST or 5:11 p.m. EST. The recent launch is considered to be the 36th launch and the first of this year for ULA. It is also the 27th launch for the NRO. It was initially scheduled to launch on Jan. 10 and later Jan. 11, but was delayed twice due to weather conditions and technical issues. As the Delta 4 rocket was nearing orbit, the United Launch Alliance ended its coverage and the rest of the flight was carried out under the radar. "The successful launch of a payload in support of our national security and that of allied forces demands the best propulsion systems available," stated Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. "Aerojet Rocketdyne employees across the country work hard to ensure 100 percent mission success, and our role in yet another launch for the National Reconnaissance Office demonstrates the trust and confidence in our propulsion." On A Secret Mission Because of the secretive nature of the mission, not much is known about the NROL-47 payload. However, it is speculated that the spy satellite could be used as an image or radar reconnaissance that would be able to spot objects located anywhere around the globe. The NRO, on the other hand, said that the launch was one of two launches planned by the agency for 2018. But no other information was provided. According to Ted Molczan, an independent satellite analyst, the secretive payload could be the latest Future Imagery Architecture radar satellite that is capable of observing the ground through the veils of clouds and even at night. Recent Classified Satellite Launch Failure The recent launch of the Delta 4 rocket into orbit came days after SpaceX's launch of another secretive satellite codenamed Zuma. The aerospace company's Falcon 9 rocket was due to enter orbit on Jan. 9 but suffered a mission-ending failure shortly after liftoff. According to one source, the Falcon 9 rocket, along with Zuma, fell back to Earth over the Indian Ocean. Its fate, as of this time, still remains unclear. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. LG appears to be one track with its updates as reports confirmed that the LG V30 Android Oreo update rolls out in South Korea. Last month, some users in the Asian country participated in an early beta test for the latest firmware update. The company offered the Oreo testing program for only 500 individuals. It seems great for all V30 users to quickly receive the final and stable operating system update shortly after a controlled beta with limited participants. Update Heading Stateside Together with the standard features introduced only with the new OS, LG has reportedly added some improvements of their own. Now that the V30 has officially joined other flagship models with Google's latest offering, it is likely that owners in the United States might be prompted to update their units soon. Usually, owners of factory unlocked units bought directly from online or physical retail stores will receive the updates first. Carrier-issued units are usually delayed due to the configurations and bloatware included with their update. What Up With Oreo With Android Oreo onboard the LG V30, users can expect to experience like the new picture-in-picture mode. Wireless audio quality also received a bump up with support for LDAC Bluetooth codecs. Sources also report that software update improves battery life and makes boot up even faster. However, Google's Project Treble, which is supposedly designed to make operating system software update easier and quicker, is unfortunately not included. Perhaps LG could include it in the future as a welcome upgrade. LG V30 owners in South Korea can grab the update over-the-air after they received the software update notification (if their software setting is set to automatic). Otherwise, users can manually scan for new software versions or the LG PC Suite to upgrade their units via the computer. Samsung, LG's closest competitor, is yet to release Android Oreo updates for its flagship models, the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, and the Galaxy Note 8. A Shade For 2018 A week ago, LG unveiled a new color for its LG V30 smartphone called Raspberry Rose. The new variant made its debut during CES 2018 where attendees got a closer look at the fashionable shade. The manufacturer describes its new offering as an "intense saturated version of red." Just like the Android Oreo update, it will be available for South Korea first then other Asian markets right after. Unfortunately, LG did not confirm when or if the new model will hit retailers and carriers in the United States or Canada. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. #stocks Seoul stocks inch up after weak U.S. jobs data South Korean stocks edged up after choppy trading Monday as investors seek to digest weaker-than-expected August jobs data in the United States. The Korean won rose against the U.S... #KARA Ex-KARA member Hur Young-ji tests positive for coronavirus Hur Young-ji, a former member of now-disbanded K-pop girl group KARA, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, her management agency said Monday. "She used a self-test kit f... Ahead of the Monster Hunter: World release, a new TV promo has been revealed. This latest trailer shown in Japan has confirmed the return of another iconic character, Kirin. This latest look for the Capcom title comes courtesy of YouTuber Sute Aka. The Unicorn-esque Elder Dragon comes after the revelation that Elder Dragons were going to have a huge presence in the upcoming title. The video shows off the monster's abilities and its impressive toughness. It also gives some hope to players looking to take on the dragon. This is also the second video shown in a week's time that highlights the Coral Highlands map. Check out the video below: Who Is Kirin? Kirin is one of the oldest monsters in the franchise, dating back to the original game in 2004. The Elder Dragon Kirin is an important monster in the franchise and is unique based on its classification and armor. The Elder Dragon is in the same realm of power as Fatalis, Kushala Daora, Jhen Mohran, and more. The monster is capable of moving at incredible speeds and can even use a variety of lightning-based attacks, making it quite a powerful monster to battle. When Will Monster Hunter Arrive? Monster Hunter: World will launch worldwide Jan. 26 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There is a PC release that will come in fall 2018. This new Monster Hunter game is open-world, and like previous installments, players take on the role of a hunter. As a hunter, they will be tasked with hunting down monsters for the Research Commission to study the large creatures outside the communities' central base. The player's character does not have any intrinsic attributes, but instead, these are determined the character's equipment. Meanwhile, in other Monster Hunter: World news, Capcom has revealed that continuous post-launch updates will arrive to players, bringing more weapons and monsters. The gaming company said that the regular updates will start in spring 2018 and further gave details on the first update. In spring 2018, gamers will see the return of another fan-favorite monster, Deviljho. According to the company, the Deviljho must feed constantly and will devour anything in its path, even other larger monsters. Furthermore, the full version of Monster Hunter: World will give PS4 players a chance to use an exclusive skin. Horizon: Zero Dawn protagonist Aloy will come as a playable character for users with the PlayStation console. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Ford unleashed the 2019 Mustang Bullitt at the Detroit Auto Show, right in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1968 classic action movie Bullitt starting Steve McQueen. This is the third special edition model that Ford will release to commemorate the iconic vehicle of the film. However, the 2019 Mustang Bullitt is the most powerful so far, even beating Ford's 2018 Mustang GT. Ford 2019 Mustang Bullitt: Here's What It Can Do The Ford Mustang that Steve McQueen drove in the memorable San Francisco car chase scene of Bullitt returns with the limited edition 2019 Mustang Bullitt. The 2019 Mustang Bullitt, which will also be available in Dark Highland Green and Shadow Black color options, will pack a 5.0-liter V8 engine with 475 horsepower and a maximum speed of 163 miles per hour. This makes the limited edition vehicle even more powerful than the 2018 Mustang GT, which is only capable of 460 horsepower and a maximum speed of 155 miles per hour. The power of the 2019 Mustang Bullitt is amazing, but its aesthetics also serves as great homage to McQueen's Bullitt car. Similar to the Mustang in the movie, the limited edition vehicle has no badges, spoilers, or stripes. It also comes with chrome accents surrounding the front windows and the black front grille, leather-trimmed interior with green accents, and a white cue ball shift knob for the 2019 Mustang Bullitt's six-speed manual transmission. "This new Bullitt is, as Steve McQueen was, effortlessly cool," said Mustang chief designer Darrell Behmer in a press release by Ford. "It doesn't need to scream about anything it's just cool." The 2019 Mustang Bullitt will be available this summer, though a specific release date and price has not yet been announced. It is already apparently well-received, though, with the first one to be auctioned off for charity. Ford At The Detroit Auto Show The 2019 Mustang Bullitt may be turning heads, but it is not the only vehicle by Ford that will be on display at the annual Detroit Auto Show. Also at the event is the 2019 Ford Edge ST performance SUV, presented as the first Ford crossover to feature several major performance boosts. The vehicle comes with a 2.7-liter twin turbo V6 engine, with 335 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque that is 20 horsepower and 30 pound-feet of torque more than the 2018 Edge Sport. It also features eight-speed automatic transmission and a Sport mode that provides optimal engine performance and transmission. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Chrome OS will be getting a lot more useful in the future, if a recent rumor proves to be accurate. It has to do with sideloading apps, which many Android users are probably already familiar with. Sideloading apps involves installing apps from third-party App Stores or anywhere other than the Google Play Store. To do this on Android smartphones, users just need to tweak a bit of their settings to enable installation of apps from unknown source, but the process is not as simple on Chrome OS, the operating system powering Google's Chromebooks. How To Sideload Android Apps On Chromebooks If Chromebook users want to sideload Android apps, they have to go through several hoops before Chrome OS finally lets them do as they wish, including enabling Developer Mode, which is not as easy as it sounds. To toggle Developer Mode on, users must first disable boot verification and other security features. Then on certain Chromebook models, they also must input a special code as the device boots up so the mode can be enabled. It appears Google might make this cumbersome process easier for Chromebook users. New Chrome OS Code Commit Found, Suggests Sideloading At Enterprise Level A new code commit discovered recently suggests that Google might allow users to manually sideload Android apps without toggling Developer Mode on. The commit, found by Chrome Story, talks about adding an enterprise policy so that administrators can decide if devices in their network can sideload Android apps or not. This suggests, however, that sideloading will only be available at the enterprise level at least initially. It's possible Google can enable this feature for all Chromebook users, even those who aren't enterprise users or aren't part of a company or organization with administrators managing their computers. When these features become live, administrators of Chrome OS, say, at schools or businesses where they primarily use Chromebooks, will be able to much more easily enable or disable sideloading. It will allow them to distribute certain apps needed for installation without having to deploy them via Google Play. Keep in mind, however, that sideloading is disabled by default because that's one way of keeping Chrome OS secure, as it's obvious that installing apps from third-party sources come with security risks. Users should know that when they enable sideloading, they open their system to vulnerabilities that otherwise wouldn't have gotten it had sideloading been disabled. It's a useful feature, sure, but it comes with certain tradeoffs some users probably wouldn't want to sacrifice. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Ford Ranger returns soon to the United States. Unveiled at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show, the 2019 Ford Ranger will hit the road starting next year. Ford said mass production of the midsize truck will commence later this year and Ford dealerships across the country will start getting deliveries in the first quarter of 2019. The iconic vehicle is set to hit the road in two build configurations dubbed as SuperCab and SuperCrew, and both will boast Trail Control and Emergency Brakes as headlining features. "The all-new Ranger is designed for today's midsize truck buyer, delivering even more utility, capability and technology for those who blend city living with more off-the-grid adventures on weekends," the U.S. carmaker said in a statement. The Ranger's imminent homecoming is in response to what Ford termed as "continued growth in midsize pickups," adding "Ranger has always held a special place in the hearts of truck fans." When the Ford Ranger starts selling again, buyers can pick from the entry-level XL, mid-level XLT, and high-level Lariat trim series. The latter variant, according to Ford, will be available in Chrome and Sport finishes with option for FX Off-Road packages. Focus On Souped Up Features It's worth noting that Ford only discontinued the Ranger in the United States a few years back. Elsewhere, the truck remains a Ford bestseller and most of the features and functionalities packed with the 2019 flavor have been tried and tested from across the globe. But one Ford Ranger feature that is totally new is called "Trail Control," described by the carmaker as akin to having cruise control while on off-road mode. When in use, Trail Control makes for an easy driving as the feature assumes full control of acceleration and braking on all wheels while on slow motoring from one to 20 miles per hour over a rough road. As expected, Ford beefed up on the safety features that will roll with the 2019 Ranger. The truck will have an automatic emergency braking system and a rearview camera plus adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring with trailer coverage, lane-keep assist, and lane-departure warning. All these offerings have been designed for optimal safe driving experience. Confirmed so far to power up the 2019 Ranger is a 2.3-liter four-cylinder twin-turbo EcoBoost engine that will work in tandem with a 10-speed automatic transmission. And to better compete with rival vehicles that now enjoy modern features, the returning Ford Ranger has most of the trappings of advanced technology such as Sync 3 with links to Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa, and the in-house FordPass Connect Wi-Fi hotspot. While the 2019 Ford Ranger, being the homegrown bet, is certain to strike a sentimental chord on U.S. buyers, it remains to be seen how the truck will fare with current segment leaders like the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Travelers who visited the O'Hare International Airport on Wednesday and has not been vaccinated for measles are advised to undergo testing by state health officials. An infected passenger arrived at the airport's Terminal 5 on Wednesday morning and departed aboard a domestic flight from Terminal 1. However, it is entirely possible that the passenger also traveled to other areas of the facility. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, anyone who was at the airport on that day from 6:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. could have been exposed to the contagious disease. Although a majority of the public get routine shots in their childhood, the department is most concerned about those who have not been vaccinated as they are at high risk of infection. Individuals who suspect that they have been exposed are encouraged by the IDPH to consult with their healthcare provider immediately. As of the moment, local health agencies are reaching out to Illinois residents identified to have been potentially exposed to the measles virus at the airport. Measles Symptoms: Signs Of Exposure To Rubeola Virus Travelers should look out for common symptoms of measles. These include a rash that starts growing on the face or neck, then spreads to other parts of the body, a high fever, runny nose, coughs, and red or watery eyes. The IDPH states that fever should be anticipated within seven to 18 days, while rashes normally appear two weeks following exposure. This means a contaminated traveler could start exhibiting symptoms as late as Jan. 31. For early detection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests looking for Koplik spots. Unlike rashes, these spots are white in color and appear only inside the mouth two or three days after the onset of symptoms. Deadly Complications Of Measles Measles is known to cause serious complications in all age groups but they are more severe in children aged below 5, and adults older than 20. Ear infections and diarrhea are the most common complications of measles. Ear infections happen to one out of every ten children with the contagious disease, often resulting in permanent loss of hearing. The contagious disease could also cause pneumonia and encephalitis or swelling of the brain. Hospitalization is needed for both cases. According to the CDC's statistics, one out of every 20 children infected with rubeola virus develop pneumonia, which happens to also be the most common cause of pediatric deaths from measles. Moreover, one child out of every 1,000 cases of measles contract encephalitis that could lead to convulsions causing deafness and intellectual disability. All in all, for every 1,000 children who are exposed to the virus, one or two will die from measles. To prevent contracting measles, IDPH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jennifer Layden recommends two doses of vaccine for 97 percent protection. She also encourages all family members to update their measles/mumps/rubella vaccination. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Children below 2 years of age can now be protected against typhoid fever as the World Health Organization has prequalified Bharat Biotech's Typbar-TCV, the world's first conjugate vaccine for the deadly disease. Unlike regular shots, typhoid conjugate vaccines can be given to infants older than 6 months. They provide longer-lasting immunity and therefore, require only a few doses. Being prequalified by WHO means the vaccine has met the organization's standards in terms of quality, safety, and efficacy. Such status allows the product to be available for procurement by agencies under the United Nations such as the United Nations Children's Fund and the GAVI Alliance. TCVs will soon be for distribution in low-income countries, which WHO describes to be the places with the most exposure to Salmonella Typhi, the strain of bacteria causing typhoid fever. A funding of $85 million has already been approved by the GAVI Board to acquire Bharat Biotech's vaccine. Its distribution will commence by 2019 and include countries that are not supported by the alliance. Typhoid Vaccine Testing In India And Oxford The pharmaceutical company began working on the TCV in 2001, says its founder and managing director Dr. Krishna Ella. His team wanted to create a product out of scratch that would protect a person from ages 6 months to 65 years, a feat that cannot be achieved by older vaccines. Ella explains that previous vaccines are based on polysaccharides or sugar, which an infant's body cannot recognize as foreign. Hence, it does not produce antibodies that would build immunity against the disease. TCVs, on the other hand, links sugar with protein to successfully trigger an infant's body by creating antibodies that would provide long-term immunity. Bharat Biotech first tested its vaccine on 10,000 babies in India. However, the experiment rendered unsuccessful because of the difficulty in measuring progress among its participants. Subsequently, the company took the Typbar-TCV to Oxford where it studied volunteers who were made to drink water with a high concentration of Salmonella Typhi. A part of the group was given the new vaccine while others were shot with older vaccines and placebo. The Oxford experiment, which was financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was conducted for Ella to prove his vaccine is effective as Indian companies are often deemed as untrustworthy. A journal report states that in the human challenge, the company's TCV was 87 percent effective compared with polysaccharide vaccines with an efficacy of only 65 percent. Symptoms And Complications Of Typhoid Fever Typhoid fever is commonly spread through contaminated food and beverages, such as water. Its symptoms include high-temperature fevers that last for long periods, stomach pains, headaches, and loss of appetite. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that some individuals may experience constipation or rashes. In rare cases, the disease may even bring on internal bleeding and death. Salmonella Typhi is common in many parts of the world, with the exception of highly industrialized countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan. Those traveling to Asia, Africa, and Latin America are recommended by the agency to take extra measures for protection. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Switzerland is the latest country to ban the boiling of live lobsters for cooking. As a result, cooks and chefs in the country are now obliged to stun the animal before placing them in boiling water. Now the question that most people are probably asking is whether or not lobsters can actually feel pain the same way humans and other animals do. Here's what scientists have to say about it. Switzerland Bans Boiling Lobsters Alive Switzerland has now joined the company of New Zealand and Reggio Emilia, a small city in northern Italy, where the boiling of live lobsters was also banned and considered to be an inhumane act. As of March 1, chefs and restaurateurs in Switzerland are required by law to knock lobsters unconscious, either by electric shock or "mechanical destruction" of the brain, before they can place them in boiling water. The recent ban came about amid growing scientific evidence that points to the fact that invertebrates such as lobsters, crabs, and crayfish are capable of experiencing pain. Do Lobsters Feel Pain? The question of whether or not lobsters can feel pain is a matter of scientific debate. Many researchers and scientists in the past are in agreement that lobsters cannot experience pain. Back in 2013, however, a study published in the journal of Experimental Biology, had tried to challenge this conventional idea. This study found that shore crabs, as a crustacean like the lobster, do have some level of ability to experience pain because of the "shock avoidance" response they exhibit. The Experience Of Pain In order to determine whether a being can feel pain or not, there are two questions that need to be answered, according to scientists. The first question is whether that being responds to pain by moving its entire body or the affected part of its body away from the harmful stimulus. The second is whether the same being feels pain or not, which is also known as suffering. Nociception The first question is related to the idea of "nociception," which is a reflex action and the sensory nervous system's response to certain painful or potentially painful stimuli. An example of the idea of nociception is seen in humans when they rapidly withdraw their hands as they touch something hot. The act of withdrawing the hands from something that is hot happens before any sensation of pain is actually felt. In the 2013 study, researchers managed to observe this kind of response from shore crabs. When the crabs were exposed to electric shocks, they responded to the harmful stimulus by moving away from it. Whether or not the crabs were experiencing any pain, on the other hand, was found too difficult for the researchers to determine. This is due to the fact that every being manifests their experiences or feelings in different ways from one another. Finally, scientists who believe that lobsters cannot feel pain argue that the animal's primitive nervous system is very similar to that of an insect like the grasshopper. They say that lobsters are capable of responding or reacting to a sudden stimulus, but they do not have complex brains that would enable them to process pain like humans and other animals. In other words, they do not have a cerebral cortex, which is the area in the human brain that is reponsible for the experience of pain. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. For the first time, scientists have published details of the largest deep ocean eruption to ever happen in world history, which occurred in 2012 along the Kermadec Arc. Five years ago, satellites detected a gigantic pumice raft at the northern coast of New Zealand. It later grew larger in size to about 400 square kilometers or the size of Philadelphia, signaling an unusually large submarine eruption. Such unusual sighting was produced by the Havre Volcano, an underwater volcano lying 1,600 meters below the Pacific Ocean with a caldera measuring 4.5 kilometers across. The eruption consisted of lava expelled from 14 vent sites located between 900 and 1220 meters under the surface of the sea. Details of the event were not revealed immediately, however. Scientists had to gather information through complicated methods such as mapping 50 square kilometers of seafloor with the AUV Sentry. The underwater vehicle was used for a total of 11 dives. Moreover, a report states that another 12 dives totaling to 250 hours were conducted using the ROV Jason. These dives were aimed toward collecting samples of erupted material and capturing detailed images of the underwater volcano's crater. Submarine Eruptions Produce Lava Flows And Domes In a study published last Jan. 3, an international team of scientists from University of Tasmania, University of California Berkeley, the University of Otago in New Zealand, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution report that the eruption history of the Havre Volcano is more complex than previously thought. Underwater eruptions were believed to produce mainly pumice but the 2012 event was found to have also expelled ash, with 75 percent of the erupted material floating to the surface and drifting away due to winds and currents. New formations were also created by the eruption, such as lava flows and domes. "When we looked at the detailed maps from the AUV, we saw all these bumps on the seafloor and I thought the vehicle's sonar was acting up. It turned out that each bump was a giant block of pumice, some of them the size of a van. I had never seen anything like it on the seafloor," says Adam Soule, associate scientist at WHOI. Samples collected by ROV Jason showed the diversity of materials produced by the eruption. It brought dense evidence of lava, ash, and pumice, including a piece measuring 5 feet in diameter. Such sample is the first of its to ever be collected from the surface of the ocean and is currently displayed at Tokyo's National Museum of Science and Nature. The team first studied the Havre Volcano in 2002 and then in 2012 right after its eruption. They returned in 2015 to retrieve samples exhibiting how volcanic materials can change over time. What Are Deep Ocean Volcanoes? A deep ocean or submarine volcano is a formation found thousands of feet underwater and is, therefore, hard to find. Because of this, documenting their activity have always presented a challenge to scientists. Aside from the eruption of Havre Volcano, a separate team was able to capture the deepest submarine eruption. It occurred when the West Mata Volcano erupted nearly 4,000 feet below the surface. Located between Samoa, Fiji and Tonga, the volcano produced a variety of molten rocks when it erupted in May 2009, including Boninite lavas that are thought to be among the hottest on Earth. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The "Aussie flu," or H3N2, is an influenza A virus that appears to cause more severe infection in the elderly and young children. In the United States, the year's flu season is projected to be worse than last year's because of the dominance of this strain. Vulnerable Group For Australian Flu Health experts revealed one risk factor for this deadly strain: age. People who were born before the year 1968 are at higher risk of getting sick from the virus. In Ireland, the rate of hospitalized flu patients between 55 and 64 years old is so far 8.4 per 100,000. The rate for patients between 35 and 44 years old is only 6.5 per 100,000. A similar trend is observed in Australia and the United States. "The Australian experience showed that older people were more susceptible to the A(H3N2) strain of virus," said Jillian Johnston of England's Public Health Agency. Why Age Matters Experts explained that a person's odds of getting ill from a flu strain are partly influenced by the first type of virus they were exposed to as a child. Medical virologist Cillian De Gascun, head of National Virus Reference Laboratory at the University College Dublin, explained that a person's best immune response will be to viral infections that they contracted first. "People born before 1968 would have been exposed to influenza A (H1N1) or A (H2N2) in their childhood," Gascun said. "As such, in simple terms their immunological memory response is probably suboptimal for A (H3N2)." Older people also tend to produce less effective immune response compared with younger people. "It has been recognized for many years that people 65 years and older are at greater risk of serious complications from the flu compared with young, healthy adults because human immune defenses become weaker with age," the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Symptoms Of Australian Flu H3N2 have similar symptoms associated with most flu but it can be more severe and infectious. It isn't exactly clear why H3N2 is more virulent than other flu strains but one possible reason is that it mutates faster than other viruses. An aching body, sudden fever with a body temperature of 38C or above, feeling of tiredness and exhaustion, dry cough, sore throat, headache, diarrhea, and difficulty sleeping could be symptoms of flu. Experts recommend vaccination for people 65 years and older because of their increased risk for complications from flu. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement Alzheimer's Q&A: How is respite care beneficial for those with Alzheimer's and their caregivers? Send your questions to Ask The Advocate, 10705 Rieger Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70809; or fax to Ask The Advocate, (225) 388-0371; or email asktheadvocate@theadvocate.com. A cold front returns to south Louisiana on Tuesday, along with a small chance of light wintry precipitation, according to the National Weather Service. House Republicans spurned tradition and elected one of their own, New Iberia Republican Taylor Barras, shown here at center, as speaker after Gov. John Bel Edwards won election. The House GOP caucus has promised to push for fiscal and tax reform, but leaders have been hesitant to put out their own comprehensive blueprint, drawing criticism from Edwards. Barras is flanked here by Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria, who chairs the House Republican Caucus, and Rep. Polly Thomas, R-Metairie. Our Views: Martin Luther King Jrs message of civic resolve is more timely than ever The Northshore Harbor Center's board begins 2018 with $1.3 million less than in the past to operate and maintain the convention and events center near Slidell. It also has no clear plan for how to replace the revenue generated by the expired property tax that voters twice refused to renew. But despite the gaping hole left by the lost millage and the need to begin drawing on the center's $3 million in reserves, commissioners are pushing forward with plans for the future like luring more concerts by improving acoustics at the 45,000-square-foot facility. The board also decided at its January meeting to conduct focus groups and town hall meetings in the Slidell area to find out what the public wants from the 12-year-old events center and to try to build support for it. One thing the board isn't contemplating, however, is asking voters a third time to renew the millage. That's in contrast to St. Tammany Parish government, which also has seen tax renewals for large public facilities the jail and courthouse rebuffed twice by voters. The parish is opting to put the two one-fifth-cent sales taxes back on the ballot March 24 despite the two defeats, the most recent in April. Harbor Center board members are leery of taking that approach, not least because they had considered for months when to make their second try. After settling on the Dec. 10, 2016, runoff ballot, they actively campaigned for the renewal. But while the margin of defeat was smaller, the result carried a wallop. In May 2015, the voters rejected multiple initiatives, but only the Harbor Center tax failed in 2016. The commission likely will look at finding more than one revenue source to replace it, Chairman Mark Myers said. Just what form that might take is unclear. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up One potential solution is creating an economic development district and levying a tax for the center, which has economic development as its stated mission. But contention over sales taxes in economic development districts created by the parish government has made that option less appealing. The parish drew up its districts specifically to exclude voters, enabling the 1-cent sales tax increase to go into effect last January without a vote. But the move proved to be controversial, and late last year, parish leaders decided to rescind the hike, citing opposition from the business community and concern that the situation could hurt the chances of renewing the jail and courthouse taxes. For now, the Harbor Center board is looking for ways to get more business into the facility, specifically concerts. Venue Solutions Group, a Baton Rouge consulting firm the board hired after the second tax failure, recommended pursuing concerts. "With the proximity to the interstate and excellent loading docks, shows that are traveling elsewhere could stop over and quickly add a show in Slidell," the firm's report said, suggesting that acts heading toward performance dates in casinos might consider doing so. The Harbor Center also surveyed people who came to a Family Fun Day in May to see what events they wanted to see at the facility. Concerts were consistently in the top five, Executive Director Kathy Lowrey said. But to attract that business, the Harbor Center will need to spend money addressing problems with its acoustics. One of the reasons the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra chose Our Lady of Lourdes Church over the Harbor Center as its venue for Slidell concerts was problems with sound in the hall, Lowrey said. The board also has been exploring the idea of hosting classes at the center like those offered by various recreation districts in order to create more community engagement with it. However, the facility's enabling legislation specifies that its purpose is economic development, and the board's attorney has advised it that it can't offer space for such activities without charging for it. Creating deeper ties with the community was another of the recommendations made by Venue Solutions Group. Even without the prospect of an election looming, the board is still focusing on public opinion. At its January meeting, it voted to accept a $21,400 proposal from the Communications Institute of Baton Rouge to conduct five focus groups to understand why the community has not wanted to financially support the center. Board members said they also want the consultant to conduct town hall meetings to help educate the public about the center. In early June, after months of heavy rain, water inside the levees around the Bayou Corne sinkhole sat 7 inches from overtopping an overflow weir built into an earthen berm. The levee was constructed in the first year after the sinkhole appeared in early August 2012 to prevent the holes most harmful contents, including briny water and, at the time, oily hydrocarbons, from spilling into and harming surrounding swamp and bayous. On June 3, two days after the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season began, Texas Brine Co. sent the state Department of Environmental Quality an urgent request for an administrative order to discharge sinkhole water into the Bayou Corne waterway and possibly nearby Grand Bayou, as well. There was a time when the sinkhole would suck down water into an underlying aquifer but as the sinkhole has settled, the path has sealed off, the company said, and water was now building up inside the berm. The company argued the slow discharge of cleaner, fresher water found at the top of the sinkhole would avoid a catastrophic failure that could allow far saltier water deeper in the sinkhole to escape into the freshwater cypress swamp. Texas Brine wanted the water to be released without any treatment due to the water quality but the water would be monitored. Unless some affirmative action is taken soon, TBC believes that an uncontrolled discharge of the water within the sinkhole containment area appears to be not only likely but also imminent, Bruce Martin, Texas Brine vice president of operations, warned. A little more than three months later, after a summer dry period dropped water levels in the sinkhole by about 9 inches, DEQ has not yet decided on Texas Brines request but is still mulling it over. DEQ officials went before the Assumption Parish Police Jury on Wednesday for members thoughts and got a respectful but firm answer: Find another way. Tom Killeen, DEQ Inspection Division administrator, described the implications of a catastrophic levee failure: As much as 150 million gallons of sinkhole water possibly mixed with saltier water from the sinkholes depths would rush into the swamp if a breach allowed up to 3 feet of water to flow out. The primary bowl of the sinkhole is about 31 acres, but the series of containment levees cut through the swamps south of La. 70 contain a total of 117 acres, Texas Brine has said. Killeen said DEQ officials believed a slower, controlled release of fresher water at the surface of sinkhole as an emergency contingency only would be a better option than a major failure. Repeated testing showed water quality at the top of the sinkhole was as good as water outside the levees and low in salinity. Modeling showed Texas Brine could discharge 1 million gallons per day into Grand Bayou without exceeding water quality limits, Killeen said. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up Police Juror Booster Breaux pointedly noted that Texas Brine spent a lot of money to build the levee in the first place. They want to spend x number of dollars to put a pump and cross it just over the levee and disperse into the natural waterway. To me, thats ludicrous, Breaux said. Jurors cast about Wednesday for other methods of disposing of the sinkhole water, such as injection wells or reusing the water in Texas Brines mining operations. But state officials were concerned about injecting water in the vicinity of the fractured geology near the sinkhole. Shipping the water to existing injection wells could require heavy trucking, Texas Brine has noted. In the June 3 letter to DEQ, Martin, the Texas Brine vice president, raised reusing sinkhole water for salt dome mining but wrote then the company was talking with an unnamed customer about the waters suitability. John Boudreaux, director of the Assumption Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told jurors Wednesday that he spoke with officials at Occidental Chemical Corp., one of Texas Brines primary brine customers. Oxy officials told him the water contains bacteria known to corrode piping and other metal equipment. So theyre very concerned with using that water and destroying their systems, Boudreaux said. Whats that going to do to the sac-a-lait in the bayou? Bob Deaton, an avid fisherman who lives in Bayou Corne, jumped in. Police Jury President Martin Marty Triche told Killeen jurors favored Texas Brine finding another method of disposing of the water, such as through a pipeline to injection wells, instead of discharging into the bayous with monitoring but no treatment. Given all thats happened, were just very distrustful and concerned about that, Triche said. Ultimately, its your decision, but the parish is on record, I think, pretty much saying we would not favor that. Wed like to see some other alternatives explored. It might be a little more expensive for them, but thats a problem they have to bear. Killeen said he will report back to his superiors with the jurors sentiments. After the meeting, Killeen said DEQ has not decided whether to continue to pursue an administrative order or the full water discharge permit process. The Canberra Raiders Club and the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission will enter mediation as the club contests the largest fine ever handed down by the commission. The parties went before the ACT Civil and Administration Tribunal on Monday after the club filed an appeal against its $120,000 fine for breaching the ACT's poker machine laws. Problem gambler Laurie Brown and her partner John Formby. Credit:Karleen Minney The fine came after nearly a year-long investigation sparked by a complaint from problem gambler Laurie Brown, who fed more than $200,000 through gaming machines at Raiders clubs in Canberra. Professor Brown said she put her name on the self-exclusion list, but alleged she was allowed back into the Raiders' Belconnen club in 2015 when she relapsed. Alice in Wonderland. Adapted by Jason Pizarello from the book by Lewis Carroll. Directed by Jordan Best. Original music by Peter Best. Ickle Pickle Productions. Belconnen Theatre. Until January 20. canberraticketing.com.au or 6275 2700. Ickle Pickle Productions has come up with an intelligent, absorbing and lively look at Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. Under Jordan Best's assured direction a large and mostly youthful cast recreates Carroll's world with style and understanding on the small Belconnen Theatre stage. William Best (left) as the Dormouse, Jim Adamik as the Mad Hatter, and Oliver Johnstone as the March Hare in Ickle Pickle's Alice in Wonderland. And what an eccentric, topsy-turvy world it is. Through the Looking Glass is raided for a few bits and there are a few omissions from the original Wonderland but Carroll's universe is all of a piece and this version will serve as a good introduction. It's an economical show too, with a cleverly basic black and white set (Steven Galinec, from an original design concept by Wayne Shepherd) that may echo the original Tenniel illustrations. The rabbit hole has seldom been so simply done. Authorities are warning that "super nests" of up to 10,000 European wasps each could emerge in Canberra this season, with a big jump in the number of nests reported to date. During December and the first few weeks in January, 120 nests have been reported, a substantial increase from last year's 15 European wasp nests reported for the same period last year, pest and weed officer at CoreEnviro Solutions Jim Bariesheff said. ACT pest control specialist Jim Beriesheff with wasp nests he has removed. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos Mr Bariesheff was called to a home in Palmerston, Gungahlin, on Monday, where the homeowner noticed a nest inside the wall beside her front door. "The majority of nests have been reported on residential land in wall cavities and in four cases the [European wasps] gnawed through the gyprock and entered homes", Mr Bariesheff said. Jack Waterford pursued an old theme in "The great remote rip-off" (Forum, January 13, p1). He wrote that the Yothu Yindi Foundation used Grants Commission data to show the NT government is diverting about "$10,000 per Aboriginal resident of the territory" to other purposes. He discounted expenditures on bureaucrats and health services in Darwin and Alice Springs as unnecessary or insignificant. He mentioned the commission's objective, "to provide the same quality and standard of state and municipal services everywhere". He wrote that any tinkering with the commission's methodology "with weasel words about a 'reasonable' rather than 'equal' access to services is a step backwards". These Aboriginal tribes refuse to move. They seek to substantiate their claim of exclusive sovereignty, to the exclusion of all others, over hundreds, even thousands of square kilometres of land, yet demand support from those whose sovereignty they deny. Whether or not Aboriginal funding has been redirected, or the sovereignty claim by Michael Anderson from the Tent Embassy is valid, entitlement to an equal standard of living by remote communities is insupportable. Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor Cheap Labour Party In Doug Dingwall's article in "$350m in wage rises unpaid" (January 9, p1) one aspect is overlooked. In Australia, only two parties can form a government: the Labor Party and the Cheap Labour Party. The Cheap Labour Party is also known as the Coalition, which, in reality, is a conservative party. The conservative party (lead by Malcolm Turnbull) has but one purpose: To crush workers, crush unions and crush wages and conditions. Worker pain is meaningless to bosses. Only their pain counts. The best cure for public servants' pain is to walk off the job. And don't come back until real (not fake) negotiations begin. If public servants don't belong to a labour union join one. Labour unions ensure workers' rights. A non-union worker is as powerless as a kitten. Graham Macafee, Latham Early regal troubles Neil James (January 6) is not quite correct in stating that no Australian governor-general has ever declined to sign a bill into law. In fact, all the first four governors-general saw themselves as agents of the British government, there to influence and even control the Australian government to the degree necessary to ensure that our government did what the UK wanted and all clashed with the Australian government as a result. The first governor-general, Hopetoun, declined to sign into law the Immigration Restriction Bill 1901 until it was substantially amended to suit the Colonial Office. Then Lord Northcote declined to sign into law a bill restricting appeals from the High Court to the Privy Council in 1907 and ended up resigning as a result. Governor-generals from No.5 on all accepted that they were merely vice regal representatives and these issues never arose again. Stan Marks, Hawker Collection concerns Being a greenie at heart, when we moved into a new home four years ago we made enquiries about private trash-packs collections. Imagine my dismay when we were told that there were no restrictions on what we could throw into the packs because it was all sent to landfill. Why should Canberran households pay for a collector rather than use our household bins if it ends up in the same place anyway? Why should collectors be compensated for a business model which profits from poor environment practice, and an activity not permitted by private individuals? Hopefully there are collectors which do offer genuine green waste diversion from landfill, although we didn't find one. I urge all current users of collection services to find out where your green waste goes and make the switch to green waste disposal that is diverted from landfill. Needless to say we've been eagerly awaiting the ACT government program to be rolled out more widely. Elizabeth Paul, Gungahlin Lobbyists commended I congratulate the student activists and PETA for lobbying the University of Canberra. This resulted in a business decision of a consumer to end the engagement of a service provider, nothing more. It hardly constitutes the "majority of people in Canberra being denied their rights". (Letters, January 13). Chris Doyle, Gordon Punishment in the air Somebody has plagiarised "Love is in the Air?" Talk about scraping the bottom of the musical barrel. Wouldn't singing it be punishment enough? G. Flitcroft, Gungahlin Breaching boundaries There's an isolated, Mr Fluffy, two-storeyed, side-by-side, maximised-site-coverage, living-rooms-upstairs, dual-occupancy redevelopment under way in Chapman in the RZ1 (typical suburban) zone, on a large, wide single block, sloping steeply down from the street. The lower floors appear to have been built above the levels shown on the approved plans, and a long, high, rear retaining wall installed. While the apparently much taller buildings could remain just within the Mr Fluffy Territory-Plan-permitted overall height "envelopes", the original approvals were sensibly within it. The apparent height increase seizes even better views for the new buildings. However, they will be uncharacteristically bulky and intrusive in the RZ1 context, and appear likely to overlook neighbours' treasured private open spaces, and windows. The RZ1 Mr Fluffy redevelopment scheme itself is outside normal planning protocols; the government is a commercial participant; and its original enabling planning controls were quite sympathetic to the RZ1 environment, but were apparently relaxed with regard to height and bulk etc after "industry" representation. For the maintenance of good planning and design, approval process integrity, unwanted "me-too" effects, and neighbours' rights and expectations, any built structures that do not comply with the approved plans should not be retro-approved, but demolished. Then the original plans should be followed. Jack Kershaw, Kambah Abuses of power I must dispute Anne-Elisabeth Moutet's article (Forum, January 13, p12), supporting the letter signed by 100 French women that champions the male right to "bother". The original letter states: "As women, we don't recognise ourselves in this feminism that, beyond the denunciation of abuses of power, takes the face of a hatred of men and sexuality. We believe that the freedom to say 'no' to a sexual proposition cannot exist without the freedom to bother." They exhort us to understand "the difference between an awkward attempt to pick someone up and what constitutes a sexual assault". Some random bothering I have experienced includes arse-grabbing and slapping by male bosses, public catcalling and abuse, breast grabbing while waiting on tables, breast grabbing in trains and breast grabbing in railway subways. I await the 100 French women's advice on how best to deal with these "awkward" approaches to the female body. They assure us that their daughters will be brought up to deal with it, charmingly and laughingly, no doubt. Will they bring up their sons to "bother"? Denunciation of abuses of power is the essential rationale of the #metoo phenomenon. #metoo has nothing to do with sexual attraction, mutual flirtation, dinner dates, sexual liberation, sexual enjoyment, personal attractiveness or Victorian puritanism. It is the result of men exercising an unjustified sense of entitlement to women's bodies. Sheridan Roberts, Bemboka, NSW Cars also key to toll cut Colin Smeal (Letters, January 13) notes that the death toll on Australia's roads has decreased "dramatically" since the period 1964 to 1984. He hails the "long-term improvement of safety on our roads", especially in the last 10 years. Some of this improvement may be due to improved driver attitudes and behaviour, but certainly not all. A very significant factor driving down the incidence of road casualties is the cars themselves. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, for example, cars were not subjected to rigorous safety assessments like those employed today. Cars were not fitted with air bags; nor were front-impact and roll-over protection anywhere near as effective as they are now, if they were enhanced at all. It was also relatively common for cars to have brakes that were far inferior to today's ubiquitous disc brakes. It's still "the nut behind the wheel" that is the main culprit in the awful and any deaths are awful road toll such as during the recent holiday period. Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin Thank you everyone On January 2 in the Charnwood shopping centre I had the misfortune to have my car's fuel line separate from the filter with the result the engine stalled and could not be restarted. Almost immediately two gentleman in Woolworths shirts materialised and pushed my car from the traffic lane. Then one of the gentlemen spent many minutes attempting to get NRMA to respond to my emergency. My wife was with me and, as we were expecting visitors, wondered how she could get home, whereupon the second gentleman said he would drive my wife home as he lived a couple of streets away. A Fire and Rescue team arrived and cable-tied the line to the filter, sufficient for me to drive home. An NRMA patrolman eventually came, inspected the repair and followed me home to make sure there were no further problems. I did not have the chance to thank, especially, the two gentlemen from Woolworths, but hope to do so via this letter thank you to all who helped. Ken McPhan, Spence Domestic violence Another program on domestic violence which didn't get to grips with its essential cause! (Ray Martin, SBS, January 10). What is the essential cause? It is politically incorrect because it relates to a lack of nurturing by mothers of violent people; it is also in Freudian denial and hard to discover; admit to, and deal with. The existence of an existential reservoir of anger within (in Freudian denial) going back to childhood is generally not admitted to in psychology because there is as yet no "scientific" explanation of how this energy is stored. It can be literally overwhelming; hence violent and out of control behaviour. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) does not properly deal with it. It does paper over the cracks though. Only when these truths are accepted will society begin to effectively deal with this issue. David Collier, Narrabundah Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message eld, not as an attached le. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610. Interestingly from a senior minister of the Coalition, it is also a position that is anything but conservative or liberal. Our democracy rests on the foundation of three arms of government the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. True conservatives understand that the system only works when there is a delicate balance between those arms of government a system that has served us well since federation. Civil libertarians, in the liberal tradition, are sceptical of the consolidation of power because of the impact this often has on the rights of the individual. It is also a cheap shot: judges and magistrates largely honour the convention not to respond to such barbs, and so Dutton has picked a fight with a target that he knows has one arm tied behind its back. This forms part of a regular pattern of attacks by "conservative" politicians and commentators on the judiciary. Such attacks threaten the rule of law and the independence of judicial officers they undermine, and are calculated to undermine, public confidence in the courts. In the midst of last week's tabloid-driven frenzy on so called "African gangs", Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton decided to attack judicial officers on talkback radio. This included a pot shot at another of Dutton's favourite targets, civil libertarians, including those who had been appointed to the bench. According to Dutton such appointments have somehow contributed to a law and order crisis in Victoria. What many critics such as Dutton fail to understand is that a robust judiciary has a vital role in protecting parliamentary supremacy. If an executive decision-maker acts outside the law set by parliament, and there is no independent judicial officer to review that exercise of power, then that undermines the legislature. That is the path to tyranny. In Victoria, many barristers practise for both the prosecution and the defence in criminal matters. That includes people who regard themselves as civil libertarians. When a barrister takes a case, she or he has a duty to the client and a paramount duty to the court. Barristers take those duties seriously, irrespective of their personal political beliefs. Many former leaders and members of Liberty Victoria have, once on the bench, passed sentences that have been regarded as stern, or indeed reduced on appeal because they were found to be too high, have allowed appeals from the Director of Public Prosecutions, and have been involved in important judgments that have increased sentences across a broad range of offences. But of course there are no votes in alerting the public to those facts, no sense of panic, no feeding the flames of tabloid indignation. Despite all the fear-mongering, over the past few years in Victoria we have seen an explosion of legislation that makes it harder to get bail and that ties the hands of judges when sentencing offenders. Organisations like Liberty Victoria, the Law Institute of Victoria and the Law Council of Australia oppose such laws because they weaken the ability of judicial officers to do justice in the individual case. Many people do not understand the unfairness of this until they, or a friend or family member, are on the receiving end of a mandatory sentence, or are told that despite the presumption of innocence they will not get bail pending trial. Liberty Victoria has opposed many of the Labor government's reforms in this space. However, it is ludicrous for Dutton to suggest that the Victorian government has been involved in appointing "soft touches" to the bench which in turn is responsible for some kind of law and order crisis. It is cheap political point scoring of the highest order, which appears to be founded in his antagonism to the judiciary as the independent umpire. So why does this matter? Minister Dutton is now at the helm of a super ministry as Minister for Home Affairs. As noted in Liberty Victoria's Rights Advocacy Project's report "Playing God: The Immigration Minister's Unrestrained Power", he holds unparalleled discretionary powers over the lives of the most vulnerable, often beyond the reach of the courts. Some are even suggesting that one day he may be prime minister. If that be so, then we should all worry that his attacks on the judiciary show him not to understand the conservative and liberal traditions he purports to represent. His willingness to attack the judiciary demonstrates that he does not understand, nor does not care, about protecting the rule of law. James Ricketson, Australian documentary maker, has been languishing in a rat- and mosquito-infested jail outside the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, for seven months. Authorities are holding the 68-year-old on suspicion of so-called "espionage", but have so far provided no details of the charges against him, nor told him what the specific allegations are. On the day he was arrested, Mr Ricketson had been seen flying a drone over a rally held by supporters of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party. Most of the leaders of the CNRP have recently fled, been silenced or detained as Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party cracks down on critics ahead of this year's election. James Ricketson's case would appear worthy of high-level Australian government intervention. Credit:Fresh News Cambodia Those working for Cambodia's largest pro-democracy non-government organisations say they have been followed by government agents, and their homes placed under surveillance. In August, the government shut down the Cambodian office of the National Democratic Institute and imposed a crippling tax bill on Cambodia Daily, one of the country's few independent news outlets. On the evidence of these and other recent developments, the remaining vestiges of Western political liberalism in Cambodia are being snuffed out. This is the troubling backdrop to Mr Ricketson's arrest and detention. The operation of the drone if that was indeed the reason he was picked up appears to be a pretext. Mr Ricketson's main offence appears to be political. A frequent visit to Cambodia over the past three decades, Mr Ricketson had maintained regular contact with the Opposition, including leader, Sam Rainsy, who is living in exile in France. Over the years he often was filmed at Opposition party rallies and press conferences. No doubt that has been a matter of discomfort or embarrassment for the ruling party, but it provides no excuse for the prolonged detention, without formal charge, of an Australian with a long record of humanitarian work inside Cambodia. One of the few consolations about the past year is that the actions of the Trump administration have been more conventional than its words. It reminds one of the public-service adage: pay attention to what governments do rather than what they say. Donald Trump demonstrates the point. Notwithstanding his divisive and dangerous rhetoric, Trump's presidency has been marked by more orthodox policies than his opponents feared and his supporters expected. That is how his unedifying remarks about Haiti, El Salvador and Africa last week should be seen: the utterly unacceptable comments drew global condemnation, but will they really scuttle bipartisan reform on young undocumented immigrants? The record shows that the US is not quite a prisoner of its President's rhetoric. True, Trump withdrew the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Paris climate accords. But most Democrats also oppose the former while the latter is not even binding, verifiable and enforceable. Trucking giant Toll Group has called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to overhaul the industry with national safety rules to stop road deaths. The company has outlined a six-point plan in a letter to Mr Turnbull, sent the same week the Australian Trucking Association argued for a new safety commission. "Australia has a dire road safety problem," Toll managing director Michael Byrne wrote. "It is time for a genuinely national approach to heavy vehicle regulation." More than 1100 people died in crashes involving trucks in a five-year period up to last September. The number of deaths involving articulated trucks in NSW soared 86 per cent last year, offsetting falls in most other states and territories to produce an 11 per cent rise across the country. It took government contractor BAE Systems almost a year from the loss of a 1000-page security manual to update documentation on its reporting responsibilities to the department of parliamentary services, it has been revealed. The security manual was lost in November 2016, and investigated in February 2017, but the loss and the investigation were only made public at Senate estimates in October. The lost security manual covered changes to parliament house security. Credit:Andrew Meares A new timeline of events released through questions on notice shows the BAE Systems employee realised the manual was missing on November 11, 2016, but waited 11 days to formally report the loss on November 22. It was almost three months before the company alerted the Department of Parliamentary Services on February 7, just after 8pm. The department's acting assistant secretary for security alerted the Australian Federal Police on February 9, and it was discussed with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation on February 21. Then-attorney-general George Brandis, then-justice minister Michael Keenan and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull were not alerted by the department to the loss. Friends and family are mourning two Queensland brothers found dead in a molasses tank. The bodies of truck drivers Frank and George Vella, 52 and 48, were found in the tank on Saturday night. George Vella (pictured) and his brother Frank died in a workplace accident on Friday. Credit:Vella Haulage. Police believed the men, working for Vella Haulage Sarina, had been affected by fumes. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is investigating the incident at Sarina, about 35 kilometres south of Mackay. A replacement for the Melbourne city councillor who resigned after alleging she was sexually harassed by lord mayor Robert Doyle has been announced. Beverley Pinder-Mortimer, a public relations consultant and a former councillor, will replace Tessa Sullivan after winning the position in a countback on Monday morning. Team Doyle lining up outside the Town Hall in 2016. From left: Sue Stanley, Kevin Louey, Beverley Pinder-Mortimer, Hope Wei, Susan Riley, Arron Wood, Nicholas Reece and Tessa Sullivan. A spokesman for the Victorian Electoral Commission confirmed Ms Pinder-Mortimer won the countback of votes and indicated she would accept the role. She served on the council between 2012 and 2016 and ran as the fifth candidate for "Team Doyle" at the 2016 election, behind Ms Sullivan and others, but was unsuccessful. WA Police have been left red-faced after a thief stole nearly 100 cannabis plants from under their noses in Perth's southern suburbs. Police attended a semi-rural home in Anketell after they were tipped off about an alleged cannabis cultivation project on the property. It's understood hundreds of cannabis plants were found at the Perth home. Credit:MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ An initial search of the house found a large number of cannabis plants being hydroponically grown inside building structures at the home. Officers arrested a 61-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman at the property, and charged them with growing the plants. Raleigh, North Carolina: New evidence points to someone aboard the pirate Blackbeard's flagship harbouring books among the booty. In an unusual find, researchers have discovered shreds of paper bearing legible printing that somehow survived three centuries underwater on the sunken vessel. And after more than a year of research that ranged as far as Scotland, they managed to identify them as fragments of a book about nautical voyages published in the early 1700s. A piece of paper from books found on board Blackbeard's ship the Queen Anne's Revenge. Credit:AP Conservators for Blackbeard's ship the Queen Anne's Revenge found the 16 fragments of paper wedged inside the chamber for a breech-loading cannon, with the largest piece being the size of a quarter. They determined that the words "south" and "fathom" were in the text, suggesting a maritime or navigational book. As for the word "Hilo" in the fragment, Johanna Green, a specialist in the history of printed text at the University of Glasgow, pointed to the Spanish settlement of Ilo or Hilo on the coast of Peru. The fragments eventually were determined to be from a 1712 first edition of a book by Capt. Edward Cooke titled "A Voyage to the South Seas, and Round the World, Peform'd in the years 1708, 1709, 1710 and 1711." Brussels: An explosion injured up to 20 people when it tore through three adjacent residential buildings in the Belgian city of Antwerp on Monday evening, local time, police said. Antwerp police said most of the injuries were slight. Authorities rescued seven people from under the rubble. At least one building collapsed in what state broadcaster RTBF said was a gas explosion. The building used to house a pizza restaurant on the ground and residential apartments above. Antwerp police spokesman Wouter Bruyns told VRT network: "There are about 10, a maximum 20 casualties, fortunately including many slightly injured." In the past year, health advocacy in the U.S. was a real stressor. President Donald Trump (along with the GOP-led houses of Congress) came into office fully focused on dismantling the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and reforming taxes to benefit the wealthy. This move could have taken us back to the days of AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) waiting lists, people with HIV being denied coverage, and people being refused coverage for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). A lot was at stake, the community sprung into action, and it was at least successful in stopping the outright repeal of the ACA. But advocates working in Washington, D.C., haven't rested on their laurels. They're continuing to plan for what Congress and the administration have in store for the upcoming year. Health Care and the Tax Bill Threatening the Individual Mandate The Republican leadership made it clear that they intended to repeal the ACA and most of its components, including cutting Medicaid spending. GOP leaders such as Paul Ryan have longed to end the Medicaid entitlement and turn into a block-grant system, which would designate a fixed amount of money to each state to run its own Medicaid program. This idea is not new or strictly Republican. President Bill Clinton proposed a similar reform in 1997. Advocates for block grants claim that they would save money and give states flexibility, but medical costs are already very high, and if a state exceeded its allocated amount, it would have to dig in its own pockets to make up the difference. Even worse, a block-grant system would allow states to outright cut programs and use Medicaid money to fill other budget holes, leaving fewer people with health coverage. Further damaging the ACA, the individual mandate is about to be eliminated via the tax bill President Trump signed into law just before the 2017 holidays. Withdrawing the mandate could result in as many as 13 million people without health insurance, leaving fewer incentives for insurers to stay in the ACA marketplace and making it even more difficult for people who need or want to be insured to obtain private insurance coverage. It's hard to retain people living with HIV in care when they don't have health insurance. "With the passing of the tax bill, [Congress] is gonna have to start chipping away at non-defense discretionary funding to pay for [the tax cuts]," said Kathie Hiers, chief executive officer of AIDS Alabama: That includes all of our programs: Ryan White, housing subsidies, CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] funding for HIV prevention, [and] testing and screening funds. I'm extremely worried about all of those portfolios. We are at a very unique time in the epidemic cause we're actually seeing stats go down. All of these states are working on plans to end the epidemic. Right now is not a good time to pull out of funding it. Related: Looking Back on 2017 in HIV/AIDS, and What's in Store for 2018 ADAP Waiting List Return? Will the lack of Medicaid expansion lead to less funding for AIDS drugs? It's certainly something to watch in 2018. With the ACA being chipped away and without Medicaid expansion, we could possibly see the resurgence of ADAP waiting lists. It's a scenario that could literally be a matter if life and death. Brandon Macsata, chief executive officer of ADAP Advocacy Association says that troubled ACA waters could be disastrous for ADAP: There is an ongoing assault by the Trump administration on the social fabric that holds our nation's public health system together, which links people to the needed care and treatment. We're holding on by a thread, and the thread is about to break. This administration's attempt to undermine the ACA marketplace is causing many people living with HIV/AIDS to lose their coverage, and we're likely looking at a tsunami hitting the state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. Midterm Elections in Congress U.S. congressional elections will occur on Nov. 6, 2018. Thirty-three of the 100 Senate seats will be up for regular election. The Republican Party holds the majority in this chamber, and the Democrats will have to defend 25 seats. Among those Democratic seats, ten are in states that chose Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, including Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. However, recent Democratic wins in places such as Alabama and Virginia show that even Republican incumbents in conservative states may face difficult re-elections due to an energized Democratic electorate. In the House of Representatives, all 435 seats are up for election this year. Republicans currently control the House, but that could change depending on voters' actions at the polls. Many of the candidates are vying for seats in states where HIV is stigma interrupts progress. Bob Poe, in Florida, could be the first openly HIV-positive person elected to Congress. There are four open seats in the House from the state of Texas, where funding for HIV was moved to abstinence education and where the HIV prevention services provided by Planned Parenthood's Houston affiliate, whose contract was terminated a year ago, [[have yet to be fully replaced. The South has been a concern for AIDS activists for quite some time now, as 45% of all Americans with HIV reside in southern states, most of which haven't expanded Medicaid. The recent upset in the Senate election in Alabama placed long-shot candidate Democrat Doug Jones in the seat. It offered a glimmer of hope, particularly for Hiers, who met with Jones. She noted: "He is very open minded and a smart individual. He's been around Alabama for a long time. He has an openly gay son. He's quite familiar with a lot of our issues. So, I feel pretty darn sure that we're going to be able to work with him." Hiers isn't the only one seeing some bright spots in such a difficult time. Jeffrey Crowley, former director of the Office of National AIDS Policy and program director for Infectious Disease Initiatives at Georgetown's O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law in Washington, D.C., acknowledges the struggle but remains optimistic about what's to come: Print this page Greater priority must be given to the outsourcing sector in the Caribbean Press Release January 15, 2018 10:19 A.M Audley Shaw Jamaica's finance minister Bridgetown, Barbados (TDN) - Given the existing contribution of the outsourcing sector to job creation in the Caribbean region, coupled with its potential for expansion, calls are being made for greater levels of priority to be given to the outsourcing sector. Executive Director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency Pamela Coke-Hamilton said more needs to be done by regional governments in seeking to position the Caribbean for the trending opportunities in the business outsourcing industry. Ms. Coke-Hamilton made the plea as she addressed the opening session of the inaugural staging of the Outsource to the Caribbean Conference (OCC) sponsored by itelbpo, under the theme Leveraging the Nearshore Caribbean for Outsourcing Services, on December 6, 2017. The conference was held at the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where representatives from over 26 countries gathered to discuss how best to attract more business from international companies to the Caribbean in areas such as call centre operations, website and animation design and legal and accounting services. Pointing to the outsourcing sectors existing contribution to job creation in the region and its potential for expansion, Ms. Coke-Hamilton highlighted that an average of 5,000 workers were being added to the BPO sector annually. In 2010, the sector provided employment for 47,000 workers and by 2015, this number had increased to 74,000... BPO and other professional services generated over US$2 billion in revenue in 2014. Calculations show that companies in the region generate close to US$25 million in revenue for every 1,000 agents, said Ms. Coke Hamilton. According to the Caribbean Export Development Agencys Executive Director, outsourcing investors are working overtime to expand their services in the Caribbean, despite the region being late comers to the business of outsourcing. The Caribbean is a late comer to this industry but besides our educated, multi-lingual, customer focused talent pool - we have several other qualities needed to make this sector a resounding success story for the region, contended Ms Coke-Hamilton. Drawing reference to an outsourcing sector investor perception survey recently conducted by her organization, Ms. Coke-Hamilton pointed out that investors perceived the Caribbean as a strategic or ideal location for outsourcing, as we provide time zone proximity and low operating costs to investors, as a nearshore destination, we are within a similar time zone as New York, with daily flights from key markets from Miami, we are 45 minutes to our nearest destination and up to 3 hours to our furthest, she told the investors. The survey also highlighted that 45% of investors indicated that their future business plans entails expanding within the Caribbean in the next 12-24 months. This is amazing news for the region and it means that those outsourcing firms who are here are experiencing success and want more. In making their investment decisions our respondents have noted that this forms part of a regional strategy. This is a significant motivation for us at Caribbean Export to support the promotion of the Caribbean for investments given that investors are looking regionally. They are not thinking of setting up only in one territory but several, said Ms Coke-Hamilton. Another interesting find of the survey is that 100% of investors have indicated that they will be employing additional talent in the next 12-24 months, and they will be looking to the Caribbean for this labour, given the human capital assets of communication skills, ability to learn quickly and the professional nature of the Caribbeans talent pool. According to Ms. Coke-Hamilton the survey also highlighted developmental issues for the Caribbean including the need to be more creative in its incentive packaging, additional training for its people and the need to provide more data or market research on the sector. Also speaking at the opening session was Jamaicas Finance Minister Audley Shaw who indicated that some 26,000 persons are currently employed in the industry across the island with some 60 companies of varying sizes operating from its shores. He stated that one aspect of his governments response to the requirements of the BPO industry is to ensure that its people are trained and equipped with the necessary skill sets to meet the demands of investors. There is now the drive to diversify the local industry and move Jamaica up the value chain by delving deeper into new areas such as Shared Services, Legal Process Outsourcing, Computer Aided Design and Medical Process Outsourcing. These areas will present new challenges including the language barrier. We must equip our workers and position ourselves to leverage all the investment we can, said Minister Shaw. He further added that the geographical spread of investors within the BPO industry is an area the government has taken note of. He pointed out that the Factories Corporation of Jamaica has been tasked with providing real estate solutions for a variety of industries, including the BPO sector. He said some 365,000 square feet of the Morant Bay Urban Centre and 750,000 square feet of the Naggo Head Technology Park will see spaces developed for the BPO sector. Other notable speakers at this first ever Outsourcing conference in the Caribbean was Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, The Honourable Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson. She implored upon investors that if customer retention was their goal, then the Caribbean is the place to do business. In the Outsourcing Sector retaining talent is often a challenge, in the Caribbean, BPOs service providers can boost attrition rates as low as 3% in Suriname and 5% in Haiti, which further supports the Caribbeans case compare to other major outsourcing markets like India at 40% or Mexico at 25%. NORWALK After a major fire in early December, portions of StoneWood Condominium will have to be gutted and rebuilt before residents may return. Thats according to Norwalks chief building official and a report submitted to his department. Theyre going to have to demo a portion of it, said Norwalk Chief Building Official Bill Ireland. Theyre going to gut the whole building remove Sheetrock. They have to ascertain what was there behind the walls, throughout the whole building, because of the water (damage). Ireland doesnt foresee residents returning until late this year or 2019 at the earliest. On Dec. 11, a fire ripped through the upper floors of the north end of the 54-unit condominium complex at 100 Richards Ave., displacing residents but still leaving them with bills to pay. Fire marshals concluded the blaze was an accident spared by smoking materials carelessly discarded on the balcony on a third-floor unit in the building, and the fire was the first to be declared a state disaster. The extent of the damages has come into clearer focus with the completion of a report by Cianci Engineering, LLC, on behalf of Imagineers, LLC, the Hartford-based company that manages the building. The investigation of damages began Dec. 15 with a site visit by a site by Ciancis staff engineer. Based on our observations, it is our opinion that the recent fire event has significantly damaged a portion of the existing structure, reads the engineering report dated Dec. 29 and submitted to the city. We recommend that the structurally damaged portion of the existing building be removed a new structural framing installed. Some areas of the building will require complete demolition and replacement, while others may be shored and repaired (if determined to be more cost efficient,) reads the report. The report includes photographs of the damaged condominium complex and a schematic drawing detailing seven units where most damage was the most extensive and portions of the roof and floor framing will have to be removed and replaced. Other units may be accessed by tenants to remove their belongings; however, those tenants should use care and caution during their limited access to the units, according to the report. Any unforeseen or hidden conditions (if any are exposed) should be immediately brought to our attention for further investigation, the report reads. Residents were unsurprised by Irelands estimate that they would not be able to move back in until 2019. An email sent out by the property managers Dec. 13, two days after the fire, warned, Early indications are that the restoration could take between 12 and 18 months to complete. The email also made it clear that residents will continue to be required to pay their condo fees during that time period. Certain fixed costs such as maintenance, insurance and property management will continue to be incurred and unit owner fees are necessary to ensure an efficient reconstruction effort, it read. For David Fieber, who lost his dog in the fire, the continued fee grates. He pointed out that while the building is uninhabitable, residents will not use some of the services, such as trash or upkeep of common common spaces, that condo fees usually cover. I think its wrong that we still have to pay the full amount of the HOAs while were put out, he said. Commentators on both the left and right portray Roy Moore as a reactionary fanatic, a homophobic theocrat, a backwards hick who somehow managed to earn a law degree, and now even a pedophile and sex offender. But the Roy Moore of media depiction is not the Roy Moore I know I first met Roy Moore in 2012. He had just been elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, a seat he held nearly a decade earlier. He was interviewing me for the position of Staff Attorney in his new administration. Id interviewed months earlier with members of his campaign. Now here I was, in the Old Central Bank building in downtown Montgomery, looking over Court Square Fountain where 200 years ago there might have been slave auctions taking place below. Its the historic part of town with cobblestone streets and commemorative markers at the bottom of a long hill leading up to the Alabama State Capitol. I could see why he chose this spot for the Foundation for Moral Law, where he was wrapping up his tenure as president and awaiting his investiture. I sat in a comfortable Victorian chair in a stately office with interior brick walls. Decorated with Bible verses, paintings, books, and statues, the room looked like a museum for the American Founding. The Chief, as I was instructed to call him, sat behind his desk, relaxed and informal. He wore a gray dinner jacket with a bright red tie. I had expected an intense interrogation and prepared myself to be tested on theological matters, legal principles, and American history. But we didnt discuss those things. We talked about speeding tickets, my family in Alabama, and an essay I had written about Russell Kirk. He asked if I were a Christian and seemed satisfied with my affirmative response. That was it. I was hired and began working for him two months later. The man I feared had been casual and easygoing. I knew he would be a good boss. I worked for him for more than three years, until 2016, and learned more about the law in that period than I did in private practice. He trained his staff to trace all legal doctrines back to discernible origins and to consult Sir William Blackstones Commentaries whenever possible. He opened every meeting with prayer; everyone who worked for him began each morning with Bible study or devotionals. When hed call you into his office to discuss a case, hed have a toothpick in his mouth, using his tongue to flip it up and down and side to side as he spoke. I always worried hed swallow it and choke. Hed take his staff out for lunch and never forgot a birthday. Sometimes while driving to the restaurant, hed hold the steering wheel and a firearm with the same hand. He rarely paid attention to speed limits, moving too fast or too slow and drifting from lane to lane as he concentrated more on conversation than the road. I recall asking him on several occasions to explain his arguments in pending cases. If he responded by reciting speeches by George Washington, Bible verses, or poetry, I knew I was overanalyzing a narrow point from which he wanted me to extrapolate some greater principle. He would scrutinize facts and the controlling law in every case to ensure they squared with what he considered to be biblical and moral truths. He could be stubborn and would argue his points vehemently, but if you proved him wrong, he relented and thanked you for the debate. He raises cattle and rides horses and likes to work with his hands. During one lunch, his wife, Kayla, held up her iPhone to show us a video in which Chief, shirtless and wielding a chainsaw, leaned over the edge of a cliff to clear trees and brush. He purchased a mobile home during law school that he later moved to a plot of land he bought from a deputy sheriff. Over the years, he expanded and renovated the mobile home by himself because he couldnt afford an architect or builder. Using picks, wheelbarrows, sledgehammers, and shovels, he labored in his spare time, clearing land, laying a foundation, digging a sewer line, and piling concrete rocks until a house began to take shape. He was in no rush. As he earned money practicing law, hed buy materials and, bit by bit, undertake new projects. Today there sits a handsome house of brick and rock with a swimming pool and natural-stone decking in a backyard surrounded by acres of farmland. You wouldnt know from looking at it that the hallway in the middle of the home was once a trailer. In December 2017, Judge Moore lost the race for the open U.S. Senate seat in Alabama to Doug Jones, who became the first Democratic Senator from Alabama in twenty-five years. Judge Moores campaign was mired by allegations of sexual misconduct with multiple women. One woman, Wendy Miller, claimed Judge Moore had sexually assaulted her when she was only fourteen. I do not know, and have never met, any of these women. I do not know whether their claims bear any truth. I was not even alive when the alleged incidents of misconduct occurred. I have, however, prayed with Judge Moore, read my Bible with him, and discussed my faith with him. I know he understands the importance of repentance and the gravity of unrepentance. I find it improbable that he would continue denying the accusations against him if they were true. Yet I understand why others who do not know him as I do would remain cautiously skeptical. Judge Moore first rose to national prominence in the early 1990s, when, as a circuit-court judge, he installed on the wall of his courtroom a plaque of the Ten Commandments carved himself from redwood tablets. The plaque, he later wrote, would be perfect behind my chair to reflect my belief in the Supreme Lawgiver of the universe. Predictably, the ACLU sued him in federal court. Jeff Sessions, then the Alabama attorney general, filed a declaratory-judgment action in state court on behalf of the governor, Fob James, who supported and agreed with Judge Moore. Governor James wanted Attorney General Sessions to push back against legal actions initiated by out-of-state interests and agitators. The federal lawsuit was dismissed on a technicality. The ACLU tried but failed to remove the Governors lawsuit from state to federal court. Meanwhile, Judge Moore crossclaimed the ACLU, going on the offensive. Bill Pryor, who succeeded Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, later becoming a federal judge on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, was then an Assistant Attorney General in Mr. Sessions office. He argued the States position supporting Judge Moore. At first the judge ruled Judge Moores prayers unconstitutional under the state and federal constitution. But prayer wasnt the issue. The lawsuit was about the display of a plaque. The ACLU, therefore, moved the judge to reconsider his ruling to require Judge Moore to remove the plaque. The judge did just that, ordering the plaque to be removed unless it were surrounded by secular historical displays. Governor James announced he would call in the National Guard to prevent such removal. Before tensions escalated further, the Alabama Supreme Court, which had stayed the trial judges order, dismissed the case on procedural grounds. Judge Moore had won. More than once. Media across the country reported on his victories. He began appearing on radio and television and speaking widely about the First Amendment and the importance of honoring God in public life. Pundits assigned him the moniker The Ten Commandments Judge. This sudden rise to stardom empowered him successfully to run for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Before he was sworn in, hed already begun plans to install a massive monument of the Ten Commandments in the Alabama Supreme Court. That 2.5-ton edifice arrived on July 31, 2001, and was situated, in the middle of the night, in the rotunda of the courthouse and covered in a red veil. It wasnt long before Judge Moore was sued again, this time by plaintiffs represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama, and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Judge Moore contended that the monument did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment because it did not amount to a state endorsement of religion. Myron Thompson, the federal district court judge for the Middle District of Alabama, held otherwise, ruling, among other things, that the monument did not have a secular purpose. Judge Thompson ordered Judge Moore to remove the monument within thirty days. Judge Moore appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which affirmed Judge Thompsons ruling. The monument had been left undisturbed in the rotunda pending the outcome of the appeal; now Judge Thompson fixed a deadline for removal with a penalty of $5,000 for each day the monument remained. The standoff proved too much for Alabamas legal community. The Judicial Inquiry Commission promptly suspended Judge Moore, filing with the Judicial Inquiry Commission a complaint in the Alabama Court of the Judiciary that accused Judge Moore of disobeying a federal court order. Meanwhile, Judge Moore attempted to appeal the Eleventh Circuit holding to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case. Judge Pryor, who once sided with Judge Moore, undertook Judge Moores prosecution before the Alabama Court of the Judiciary, which removed Judge Moore from office on November 13, 2003. Although hed lost his job and a lawsuit, Judge Moore established himself as a man who was willing to take the fall for what he believed in. When Judge Thompson ordered me to remove the Ten Commandments monument, he later wrote, he not only issued an unlawful order; he also ordered me to do something that violated my conscience and my oath to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of Alabama. Commentators on both the left and right portray Judge Moore as a reactionary fanatic, a homophobic theocrat, or a backwards hick who somehow managed to earn a law degree. Add to these the latest tags of pedophile and sex offender. Actually, hes a regular guy in most respects, despite having graduated from West Point, served in Vietnam, worked as a cattle rancher in the Australian Outback, recorded country-music songs, married a beauty queen, and fought as a professional kickboxer. Hes a practical joker. A staff attorney once walked into a storage closet to look for supplies. Chief held his index finger to his lips, signaling for us to hush as he tip-toed to the closet door and locked it. We stood there suppressing laughter as the soft jiggle of the door handle turned into frantic pounding on the door. I toiled over one case and was pleased with the results of my work when I gave it to Chief for his review. Hours later he called me into his office, pretending to be angry as he held my memorandum and began reading sentences aloud. What is this? he yelled. Go back and do it over again. I stood to leave. As I reached the door, he said, Hold on. I turned around. He was laughing. This was excellent, he said. Dont change a thing. For his birthday one year, as was custom, our office bought him a present. He tore through an envelope and removed a Barack Obama birthday card that sang Happy Birthday in Former President Obamas voice. I cant recall what Chief did with the card, but he wasnt amused. Chief complimented my watch one afternoon. I told him it was a gift from my grandmother. It wasnt worth anything, I said; its value was purely sentimental. He asked how I knew how much the watch was worth. I explained that I found out online. Can you find out how much mine is worth? he asked, holding out his wrist to show me the make and model of his watch. I retrieved my iPhone, quickly researching the answer. About five to ten dollars, I said. Chiefs expression was a blend of surprise and embarrassment. Well, he said, its a good watch. He would leave food in the fridge for weeks. He once took a chance with pasta that had been in there for months. Advised against this decision, he simply said, If I die, I die. I never knew how serious he was about Indian mud, or Black Salve. He swore by that mysterious substance and even ingested it in pill form to, he claimed, prevent cancer and other unspecified ailments. Chief hired the first black marshal of the Alabama Supreme Court. Hed allow preachers in the building to conduct Bible studies every Tuesday. He dissented in nearly every case involving the termination of parental rights, believing the State lacked the authority to prohibit mothers and fathers from making decisions about their childrens lives. God, not the state, he wrote in one dissent, ordained the institution of the family. Therefore, he reasoned, government could not take your children from you and then deprive you of your duty to raise or even see them, especially when you have never physically harmed them. Drug problems did not justify stripping a parents rights to the child he or she loved and otherwise adequately cared for. On January 23, 2015, Judge Callie Granade of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama declared Alabamas marriage laws to be unconstitutional. Her decision could not have applied to Alabama probate judges because they were not defendants in the case. Therefore, on February 3, 2015, the Chief sent a letter and an accompanying memorandum to Alabamas probate judges to explain why Judge Granades order did not govern them. Her order, he pointed out, had not instructed probate judges to do anything. Rule 65(d)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states that every order granting an injunction binds only the parties; the parties officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys; and other persons who are in active concert with those individuals. In light of this rule, the Chief issued an administrative order on February 8, 2015, in his capacity as the administrative officer of the Alabama court system, declaring that Alabama probate judges were not subject to Judge Granades order. A motion was later filed in Judge Granades court to hold one probate judge in contempt for not issuing a same-sex marriage license. Judge Granade responded by echoing the Chiefs position in his order of February 8, stating that the probate judge was not a party to the case and had never been ordered by her to do anything. She and Judge Moore apparently agreed. Meanwhile, in a case filed by the conservative Alabama Policy Institute (API), the Alabama Supreme Court upheld Alabamas marriage laws and extended its order to all probate judges in the state except the one before Judge Granade in the contempt proceeding. Two days later, however, the Alabama Supreme Court revised its order to include that judge as well. Judge Moore did not participate in that decision; nor did he recuse himself from the case. The Alabama Supreme Court also correctly held that opinions of a federal district court and a federal appellate court on matters of federal law did not bind the Alabama Supreme Court. State and federal courts, the opinion explained, are equals when they interpret federal law; therefore, Alabama probate judges had a ministerial duty to continue to issue marriage licenses in accord with Alabama law, not with the opinion of a federal district judge. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court released Obergefell v. Hodges, which, by a five-four vote, held unconstitutional the marriage laws of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee and proclaimed that same-sex couples possessed the right to marry. As a result, the Alabama Supreme Court invited the parties in the API case to submit motions or briefs addressing the effect of Obergefell on the orders in the API case. The deadline for those submissions was July 6, 2015. Two months passed. On September 2, 2015, Judge Moore sent a memorandum to his colleagues on the Court, imploring them to reach a decision. [A]ny decision, he wrote, is better than no decision at all. On October 7, 2015, after the Court was criticized in the media for not acting, Judge Moore sent his colleagues another memorandum urging them to rule. Three more months went by. On January 6, 2016, six months after the July 6, 2015, deadline the Court had imposed on the parties, Judge Moore issued an administrative order updating Alabama probate judges on the status of the pending API case. The timing was not coincidental: Canon 3A(5) of the Alabama Canons of Judicial Ethics requires all judges to file a report on cases that have been pending for six months or more. Judge Moores January 6 order stated that he was not at liberty to provide any guidance to Alabama probate judges on the effect of Obergefell on the existing orders of the Alabama Supreme Court because that issue was before the Alabama Supreme Court in the API case. It also stated that the Alabama Supreme Courts order to the probate judges remained in full force and effect despite Obergefell because, as the United States Supreme Court has held, existing orders must be obeyed by the parties until proper and orderly proceedings have reversed them. On February 18, 2016, several Alabama citizens filed ethics complaints with the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission against all the Alabama Supreme Court justices, alleging that the Court had failed to rule expeditiously in the API case. These complaints forced the justices to move. On March 4, 2016, they released a one-sentence order: It is ordered that all pending motions and petitions are dismissed. The Court then issued its certificate of judgment, formally bringing the API case to a close. Although Judge Granade had written that the Alabama Supreme Courts ruling in the API case remained operative during the months preceding the March 4 judgmenteffectively validating Judge Moores positionthe Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission suspended Judge Moore from office in May 2016. In September 2016, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary found Judge Moore guilty of the charges brought by the Judicial Inquiry Commission and suspended him, without pay, for the remainder of his term. Judge Moore had once again been ousted for standing up for what he believed in. What will Judge Moore do now that hes lost the hyped Senate race? He never effectively refuted the allegations of sexual misconduct that tarnished his credibility and character. Hes now almost seventy-one years old and, thus, statutorily ineligible to run for judgeships. The Alabama gubernatorial race already has a crowded field of candidates, and Judge Moore has failed twice in previous gubernatorial races. Senator Joness term runs through January 2021, but its unimaginable Judge Moore could build support to mount a rematch. It appears that politics isnt in Judge Moores future. Thats a good thing. Its time for him to repair his reputation, living out his remaining years on his beautiful farm, riding and raising horses, collecting his papers and opinions, working studiously and prayerfully on his memoirs, and serving God in areas less contaminated than politics. He receives an annual pension of $135,845 as a retired judge, which is plenty to live on while he devotes himself to study and contemplation. The Roy Moore of media depiction is not the Roy Moore I know. The Roy Moore I know is humble and reflective, a man who searches history for wisdom and guidance. By submitting his reputation to the corrupt mechanisms of a deceitful political system, with the media distortion that entails, he has risked his good name and allowed others to define who he is. To regain his standing, he must now thoroughly and honestly address each allegation of misconduct against him, assuring not only his supporters but future researchers and writers that his conduct and character are above reproach. If his past includes moral failings, he should own up to them and repent, publicly if possible, lest he jeopardizes the ideas and principles he has advanced for decades. Judge Moores ability to effectuate change through politics has been neutralized. The time for quiet examination and earnest teaching has come. Let future generations pass judgment on his actions; he must finish strong and well. The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politicswe approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now. The Maryville Board approved the final development plan for a new medical building to be built in the village. Village trustees approved the final plans for the construction of the HSHS Medical Building, 2401 South Center St., at the last regular meeting of the full board. Maryville Building and Zoning Administrator Kevin Flaugher said the Planning Commission had received all of the paperwork and fees from the developer and approved the final development plan. The developer was granted one variance pertaining to landscaping. Construction on the 8,200 square-foot building will begin this month and HSHJS Medical Group is anticipating opening the building during the upcoming summer. Amanda Mack, HSHS Medical Group marketing specialist, said the new building will replace the building in Collinsville that the medical group currently operates. The new building will be home to providers and staff currently caring for patients at HSHS Medical Family & Internal Medicine located at 1950 Vandalia St. in Collinsville, She said. All 10 colleagues at this location will transfer to the new practice. Mack said in addition to doctor Paul Malcharek and his staff, an additional family medicine physician will join the practice when it opens. The clinic will offer primary care for patients of all ages. It will offer on-site lab services and will expand to include x-ray services. HSHS Medical Group is a physician organization of Hospital Sisters Health System. HSHS Medical Group comprises over 1,000 colleagues in locations throughout central and southern Illinois. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 15, 2018 09:00 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c11e9a0 1 Editorial tax-allowance,Sri-Mulyani-Indrawati Free Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has decided to review tax holiday and tax allowance facilities for direct investments and will study more thoroughly what kind of incentives investors really need most in their respective sectors of operation. Not a single investor in Indonesia applied for those fiscal incentives last year, noted Sri Mulyani at a gathering with business leaders here last week. Many countries have revoked such fiscal incentives because they have not been effective in stimulating investment, while the costs of tax incentives are much bigger than the direct benefits to the host economy as a whole. Studies by multilateral development agencies have concluded that apart from revenue losses, tax holidays and tax allowances distort the economy as a result of preferential treatment of investment ventures. The administrative costs of running and preventing misuse of those incentives are also high, not to mention the social costs of rent-seeking behavior, especially in Indonesia, notorious for its inefficient and corrupt bureaucratic system. The two fiscal incentives were offered through a special regulation around 10 years ago on the recommendation of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) without prior comprehensive studies on their impact on investment in the various sectors of the economy. The recommendation seemed to have been prompted only by the need to maintain a competitive tax system in an increasingly globalized economy to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Later developments showed that incentives were not always the determining factor in the selection of a host country as the destination of FDI. Foreign investors have their own determinant motives and criteria which are not necessarily similar are and even often contradictory to those of the host state for where to invest. In fact, from the findings of the World Banks annual survey of the ease of doing business in Indonesia, we conclude that what investors want the most and urgently in so far as tax affairs are concerned is a better, more efficient and competent tax administration, not tax incentives. Most investors do not mind paying income tax as long as their rates are not punitively high because taxes are paid out of profits anyway. But profits lie at the end of the investment cycle, which usually starts with the processing of licenses, construction of plants and production operations. But as far as Indonesia is concerned, the biggest barriers to investment lie at the latter stages of the process. In fact, as Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution revealed last week, 190 foreign and domestic investment projects, which were licensed in 2010 to 2017 with a combined investment commitment of US$316 billion, had not been realized due to various barriers unrelated to tax incentives. We consider such factors as the market size, level of real income, basic skill level (knowledge), availability of infrastructure and natural resources, socio-political stability, strong law enforcement and investment policy to be the economic fundamentals that are mostly needed by investors. Unfortunately, it is the acute lack of several of these fundamentals, not tax incentives, that has caused the long delay in the implementation of those licensed investment projects as cited by Darmin. The rise of modern coffee shops in Indonesias major cities has not caused legendary coffee shops to shut down operations. Here are five coffee shops around Indonesia that have survived the test of time as reported by Kompas Travel. Tak Kie Iced Coffee Shop, Jakarta A post shared by Rafi (@rafiaddict) on Oct 14, 2017 at 6:12pm PDT Established in 1927, Tak Kie Iced Coffee Shop is very popular among coffee lovers. Its milk coffee uses Robusta and Arabica coffee from Lampung, Toraja and Sidikalang. Located in the famed Gang Gloria in Glodok, Jakarta, Tak Kie boasts its signature iced coffee at very affordable prices starting from Rp 15,000.- (US$1). Aside from coffee, patrons are able to enjoy full meals such as kwetiau (flat rice noodles), noodles and bihun. Solong Coffee House, Aceh A post shared by Fajroel Hayat S (@fajroel_hayat_s) on Dec 8, 2016 at 7:58am PST The Solong Coffee House located at Jl. T. Iskandar Muda 13-14, Ulee Kareng, Banda Aceh, was established in 1974. Among the menu items offered are coffee with milk, sareng coffee and black coffee. For Arabica Gayo coffee lovers, this place is a must-visit when youre in Aceh. Read also: Damn fine coffee! 6 places in Jakarta to get your caffeine fix Ake Coffee House, Belitung A post shared by tycheonsa (@tycheonsa) on Dec 2, 2017 at 4:57pm PST Ake Coffee House is known as the oldest coffee houses in Tanjung Pandan, as it was established in 1922. Drinks offered in this coffee house are very affordably priced, starting from Rp 6,000.- (4 US cents) to Rp 10,000.-. The common snack to accompany your coffee in Ake Coffee House is its soft-boiled egg. Purnama Coffee House, Bandung A post shared by Michelle Gloria P (@michellegloriap) on Jan 24, 2018 at 5:16am PST Purnama Coffee House was established in 1930 on Jl Alkateri Bandung. Formerly known as Chang Chong Se Coffee House, which means Please Try, this coffee house is managed by the family members of founders Yong A Thong and Yong Kie Lian. Aside from its famed variety of coffee, the coffee shop also serves snacks and breakfast foods. One of its most recommended snacks is roti selai srikaya (srikaya jam bread) and roti dadar worst (bread with egg and sausage). Kong Djie Coffee House, Belitung A post shared by cindy amalia (@cindy_cindot) on Dec 30, 2017 at 1:34am PST Brewing since 1943, Kong Djie Coffee House is one of the most famous coffee houses in Belitung. Offering a variety of coffee, you can find Kong Djie coffee at several places in Belitung. To accompany the delicious coffee, you can enjoy a variety of snacks offered such as fritters, donuts and nasi gemuk (spiced rice). (asw) Autonomous driving is generating talk at this year's Detroit Auto Show after being a star at last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The technology has generated plenty of excitement, but still faces myriad questions before it can be widely adopted. Where does the technology stand? Hundreds of fully autonomous cars have been built and put on roads in various countries around the world, but these vehicles are not for sale to the general public. Rather, carmakers and other companies developing the technology are testing these vehicles at low speeds in restricted areas. Do today's cars employ any autonomous technology? Some carmakers, especially higher-end brands including Audi, Mercedes, Tesla and Volvo, have installed autonomous features in a limited way to cars now on the market. Some cars can park themselves or permit the driver to take his or her hands off the steering wheel under certain, narrowly-defined conditions, such as during a traffic jam or riding on the highway. Models have installed autonomous braking systems and computer programs to maintain a safe distance from other cars, as well as to change lanes and pass other cars. Read also: BlackBerry, Baidu announce autonomous vehicle partnership How does autonomous driving function? Autonomous cars take readings from three different types of sensors: cameras, radar and a scanner. This triple data set provides "great certainty" as to dangers from pedestrians or nearby objects, said Guillaume Devauchelle, director of innovation at French auto equipment company Valeo. "There must be less than one in a billion chance of a mistake," he added. But technologists face numerous complexities on roads -- especially in urban settings, where there is a constant and unpredictable throng of pedestrians, bicycles and other vehicles. Snow and other bad weather can also pose difficulties for sensors. The industry is still far from a solving all the riddles that would allow people "to legally watch a movie" in a fully autonomous car, said Rebecca Lindland, senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. "I think we're just a long way off from really having that in any widespread application," she said. Where do regulators stand on autonomous cars? The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, an international treaty, requires the driver to always maintain control of his vehicle. But the agreement has been amended to permit testing of autonomous vehicles. For now, autonomous shuttles and taxis testing the technology on the public roads must have an operator who can immediately take control of the vehicle. But regulators are expected to permit more exemptions in the near-future, especially for "clearly defined tests over a carefully-prescribed geographic area," Devauchelle said. General Motors unveiled Friday an autonomous car model with no steering wheel or pedals and said it was seeking approval from US regulators to test the vehicle as part of its strategy to introduce the cars to US roads in 2019. Read also: Apple sees autonomous cars as 'core' technology How fast will it grow? Autonomous features in cars sold at retail are limited at this point only to some luxury vehicles, but are expected to gradually become more widely adopted. Shuttles and robotic taxis are also still very niche, but will grow strongly in 2018, analysts said. Much more wide adoption by taxis or ride-sharing companies like Uber or Lyft could become a big market in major cities such as Paris, New York City or mega-cities in Asia and is not seen as being that far off. Autonomous technology could also be adopted for postal deliveries and in public transport. The auto industry is preparing for autonomous driving to become a significant puzzle piece in the 2020s. How will insurers treat autonomous vehicles? In some ways, the insurance of autonomous vehicles is fairly straightforward, said Francois Nedey, a member of the executive committee at Allianz France. In the case of a claim against a shuttle, the operator is responsible, although he could also take action against a manufacturer if the vehicle is defective. With cars, the driver is considered responsible, but an insurer could go after the manufacturer if an autonomous vehicle is dysfunctional. As autonomous cars become more widespread, "we will need to modify the rules" so that the "vehicle is considered responsible by default," Nedey said. People living alone will make up nearly 40 percent of all households in Japan in 2040, a national research institute predicted Friday, as more people are delaying or shunning marriage while the number of divorces is rising. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research also projected that households headed by persons aged 65 or older will account for 44.2 percent that year, jumping from 36.0 percent in 2015. Single-person households, already the largest group among Japanese households at 34.5% in 2015, are expected to further grow to 39.3% in 2040. Meanwhile, households of married couples and children, which used to account for more than 40 percent of the country's households, are projected to decline to 23.3% from 26.9%. Read also: More people are choosing to eat alone As the projections cast a light on the country's aging population and the rising trend of living alone, Japan needs to develop an improved social security structure in support of elderly people living on their own, social security experts said. According to the institute, the number of all households in Japan, 53.33 million in 2015, is expected to peak in 2023 at 54.19 million before decreasing to 50.76 million in 2040. The number of single-person households, 18.42 million in 2015, is also forecast to peak at 20.25 million in 2030 and fall to 19.94 million in 2040. As the country's entire population is predicted to decline as well, the ratio of one-person households is projected to rise to 39.3 percent, up about 5 percentage points from 34.5% in 2015, the institute said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Benjamin Katz (Bloomberg) London, United Kingdom Mon, January 15, 2018 21:15 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c139262 2 Business aviation,Airbus,manufacturer Free Airbus publicly questioned the future of the A380, saying its flagship aircraft program risks being shut down if the manufacturer fails to win a crucial order from the planes main backer, Emirates of Dubai. Emirates is the only airline with enough capacity to take enough planes to keep the program alive, Airbus sales chief John Leahy said Monday in an online presentation. Discussions are ongoing, he said. I believe we can find a solution with Emirates in hopefully the not too distant future, Leahy said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. But we do need a strong base that only a big operator like Emirates can provide. Airbus has struggled to rack up sales of the superjumbo, which it argues will be needed to help increase passenger traffic at the worlds busiest airports. The company was forced to slash production rates in July to try and stretch out the order book. Emirates, by far the biggest operator of the plane, scuttled a deal to buy 36 of the planes in November, leaving Airbus hanging and raising doubts about the future of the program. Airbus wants Emirates to order enough planes to sustain production at six a year over the next 10 years, giving the planemaker scope to sell two or three of the superjumbos on top of that to eke out a profit on the program, Leahy said. The company produced 15 in 2017, will hand over 12 this year and just eight in 2019. Airbus can produce as few as 6 of the planes a year with reasonable efficiency, commercial aircraft chief Fabrice Bregier said, adding that a formal decision to drop to that level hasnt yet been made. The planes future has been in doubt for several years. As far back as 2014, Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm said the program could be killed if demand didnt pick up. The final 2017 order tally for all aircraft, announced Monday, highlights the challenges facing Airbus as the company prepares for a wholesale overhaul of its leadership team. The planemaker, run from Toulouse, France, outsold rival Boeing Co., widening its lead in orders. While Airbus has had success selling smaller planes, demand for widebodies has waned -- especially hitting the biggest plane in its commercial lineup. The four-engine A380, introduced in 2005, is so big that some airports had to expand runway facilities in order to accommodate the 550-seat plane. While its used in the worlds biggest airports including Londons Heathrow and New Yorks JFK, the industry as a whole has moved toward smaller planes going point-to-point, reducing airlines dependence on bigger hubs. More business from Emirates is key to attracting other buyers of the A380 and ensuring jets sold now would hold their resale value. With a list price of $446 million, the plane is one of the most expensive and least flexible for airlines to deploy in their fleets. Without new orders, it becomes impossible for Airbus and its suppliers, which include Rolls-Royce, GKN and the General Electric -United Technologies venture Engine Alliance, to make a profit Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fachrul Sidiq (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 15, 2018 22:04 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c13a659 1 City IDX,building,collapse,YLKI Free The Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) has called on authorities to investigate the management of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) building in South Jakarta for their alleged negligence that led to the collapse of a mezzanine in the building and injuries to at least 77 people. YLKI chairman Tulus Abadi said the police needed to take firm action because the incident had endangered the lives of many people. "We urge the police to question parties from the building management to find out whether any laws pertaining to buildings have been violated. It may indicate the party responsible has failed to properly maintain the building," Tulus said in a written statement. He added that he urged the party to be responsible for the victims, not only by covering for their medical costs, but also by providing compensation. "We urge the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry to conduct a thorough inspection of all public buildings in the capital, such as shopping malls, hotels and offices, to ensure they have followed proper safety standards. The incident may have created fears among the public," he said. At least 77 people were injured following the incident. Several of them suffered fractures and were admitted to hospitals to undergo medical treatment. Authorities have yet to identify the cause of the collapse. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 15 2018 The Tangerang Police have released 33 people who were allegedly held captive in a rented house in Sepatan, Tangerang regency. Tangerang Police criminal unit head Adj. Sr. Comr. Deddy Supriyadi said the people were released following a report from a family member of one of the alleged victims. We followed up on a residents report that one of their family members had been held captive since Jan. 8 in Cadas village, Sepatan, Deddy said Friday as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com. After visiting three locations, the police found 33 people inside a rented house used as a shelter. Of the 33 people, 10 are women and two are children. Their ages range between 17 and 20 years old. The alleged victims told the police they were there for job training. They come from Banjar, Ciamis and Cianjur, all in West Java. The family member who filed the... Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 15, 2018 11:26 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c120a84 1 Business rice-production,peak-rice-harvest,February Free Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman has said a peak rice harvest would occur in February, hoping that the country would see a substantial increase in rice stocks next month. The government has just announced that it would import 500,000 tons of premium-grade rice from Thailand and Vietnam late this month to ease the increasing price of the commodity. October to December last year was the planting season, so we will see a peak harvest next month, said Amran after visiting the Economic Coordinating Ministry over the weekend. Previously, the minister said Indonesia produced 3 million tons of rice last December, while the local demand of the commodity was only 2.6 million tons. Speaking about the increasing rice prices, an official previously said many farmers were reluctant to sell their unhusked rice at regular prices, particularly for those who produced high-quality rice that could be made into premium-quality rice. Amran added that the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) had only absorbed 58 percent of the total local production last year, which is far from the ministers initial target of 90 percent. He hoped that Bulog would absorb the local farmers rice production in order to boost food security in the country. Meanwhile, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukito said after the meeting that the imported rice was classified as premium-grade rice with a broken rice rate of 5 percent. (fny/bbn) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) On Board The Papal Plane Mon, January 15, 2018 20:19 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c138615 2 World PopeFrancis,nuclear-disaster,Chile Free Pope Francis said Monday that the world stood on the "edge" of nuclear war and admitted the situation terrified him. The Argentine was speaking aboard the papal plane on his way to Chile and Peru, the day after a false missile alert sparked panic in the US state of Hawaii, already on edge over fears of a North Korean attack. Asked about the threat of nuclear war in the wake of a flurry of nuclear and missile tests since last year in North Korea, the pope said: "I think we are at the very edge. "I am really afraid of this. One accident is enough to precipitate things," he told journalists. The 81-year old, who has often spoken of the dangers of nuclear weapons, presented the press pack aboard his plane with a harrowing photograph taken in 1945 that shows a young Japanese boy carrying his dead brother. The child, carried on the boy's back, was killed when the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on Nagasaki. Francis had written on the back of the image just four words: "The fruit of war". "I wanted to reprint and distribute it because an image like this can be more moving than a thousand words. That is why I wanted to share it with you," he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 15, 2018 21:36 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c139f63 1 City IDX,collapsed-building,road-closure Free The Jakarta Police have temporarily closed Jl. Tulodong Atas 2 in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Monday following the collapse of the mezzanine at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) building. "We closed the road to ease the evacuation process. We will open it by tomorrow morning at the earliest," South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Mardiaz Kusin Dwinanto told tribunnews.com on Monday. The incident, which occurred during lunch time, injured at least 77 people who were admitted to the four nearest hospitals. Several of the victims suffered fractures and had to undergo surgery. Some of them have been discharged from the hospitals. Most of the injured were students from Bina Dharma University in Palembang, South Sumatra, who were visiting the IDX as part of a study tour. Ambulance and fire trucks are at the site to help the evacuation process. (fac) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, January 15, 2018 20:00 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c1380d5 1 City South-Tangerang,jakarta,cooperation Free South Tangerang Mayor Airin Rachmi Diany visited Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno at the latter's office on Monday to discuss a possible cooperation between the two neighboring cities. Sandiaga said at the meeting they discussed several infrastructure developments that directly connect the capital with its neighbor, such as the extension of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) service and the construction of Ciater Artificial lake in Serpong, South Tangerang, which used donation funds from the Jakarta administration. "We hope we can finish the MRT feasibility study so we can start the project in 2019," Sandiaga said as reported by beritajakarta.id. The MRT service to the city in the southern part of Banten province is expected to reduce traffic congestion in Jakarta, given the large number of cars that travel from South Tangerang to the capital on a daily basis. State-owned toll operator PT Jasa Marga recorded that over 65,000 cars traveled from South Tangerang to Jakarta daily. Airin said she hoped the plan to extend the MRT service from Lebak Bulus station in South Jakarta could be extended to the Ciputat area, where there was a lot of clustered housing. "Hopefully we can immediately carry out the plan to have another mass public transportation system connecting South Tangerang and Jakarta," she said. Currently, a commuter train service connects the two cities. (fac) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) jakarta Mon, January 15, 2018 18:25 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c13595a 1 City robbery,taxi,South-Tangerang,teenagers Free A group of teenagers have been arrested for reportedly trying to rob a taxi driver named Muhammad Syaiful in the early hours of Jan. 12 in Pondok Aren, South Tangerang. The five suspects pretended to be taxi passengers. The five suspects - three men and two women - stopped Syaifuls taxi and asked to be transported to Jombang Station in Ciputat, South Tangerang, said South Tangerang Police chief Adj. Comr. Ahmad Alexander Yurikho in a press release on Sunday. Yurikho said the two women passengers got out of the taxi at Jombang Station while the three men stayed and asked Syaiful to continue the journey. They ordered the taxi to stop on Jl. Graha Raya in Pondok Aren and hit the driver with stones on the way. Fortunately, Brig. Yamin of the Pondok Aren Police was driving through the location and immediately arrested one of the men, but the other two suspects managed to run away. They could not take the car because none of them can drive, said Yurikho. The police said one of the suspects planned the robbery to pay for his upcoming wedding. The police seized evidence including the victims medical examination result, a piece of stone, a Toyota Vios car, the victims blood-stained clothes and the suspects' clothes. The other four suspects were arrested later. (gis) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Cecil MORELLA (AFP) Manila Mon, January 15, 2018 23:30 1330 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c13b285 2 SE Asia Philippines,Rappler,News-Feed,Rodrigo-Duterte Free The Philippine government has revoked the operating license of leading news website Rappler, officials said Monday in a ruling denounced by President Rodrigo Duterte's critics as the latest blow to press freedom. Rappler, set up in 2012, is among a clutch of Philippine news organizations that have sparred with Duterte over their critical coverage of his brutal drugs war. But the government rejected allegations that the ruling was an attack on press freedom, with Duterte's spokesman saying Rappler and Rappler Holdings Corp had violated a provision in the country's constitution restricting media ownership to Filipinos. At his state of the nation address to Congress last year Duterte vowed to expose Rappler's "American ownership". "The issue at hand is the compliance of 100 percent Filipino ownership and management of mass media. It is not about infringement on the freedom of the press," Duterte spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement Monday. "No one is above the law. Rappler has to comply," Roque added. Rappler's acting managing editor Chay Hofilena told AFP the company would file a court appeal against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruling, which is due to take effect in 15 days. "This is pure and simple harassment, the seeming coup de grace to the relentless and malicious attacks against us since 2016," the website said in a statement. "We will continue bringing you the news, holding the powerful to account for their actions and decisions, calling attention to government lapses that further disempower the disadvantaged," it said. The case concerns Rappler Holdings' decision to issue Philippine depositary receipts for shares of Rappler Inc. that the government said were sold to foreign companies. "(They are) existing for no other purpose than to effect a deceptive scheme to circumvent the constitution," the SEC said in a January 11 ruling to revoke Rappler's certificates of incorporation that were posted on the commission's website Monday. - 'Unite and resist' - The ruling followed setbacks suffered by other Philippine news organizations which have criticised Duterte's war on drugs that has killed nearly 4,000 suspects. In March last year, Duterte described top newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer and leading television broadcaster ABS-CBN as "sons of whores" and warned them of karmic repercussions over their criticism of his drug war. "I'm not threatening them but someday their karma will catch up with them," Duterte said. "They're shameless, those sons of whore journalists," he added. Four months later, the Inquirer announced its owners were in talks to sell the publication. A business tycoon who backed Duterte's 2016 election bid later disclosed he was planning to buy the Inquirer. Duterte in 2017 also threatened to block ABS-CBN's application to renew its operating franchise, a permit that requires congressional approval. Rights group Amnesty International denounced the Rappler ruling, calling it "an alarming attempt to silence independent journalism". "This is a politically motivated decision, pure and simple, and just the latest attempt to go after anyone who dares to criticise the government," said James Gomez, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The mass media watchdog group National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also slammed the government's decision. "We call on all Filipino journalists to unite and resist every and all attempts to silence us," the union said. Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said the ruling was a case of "pure harassment and a clear attack on press freedom". Bali welcomed more French tourists in 2017, according to the Visit Indonesia Tourism Office (VITO). VITO in France stated that 162,288 tourists from the country visited the "Island of the Gods" last year, an increase of 10 percent compared to the year before. "This success is due to the availability of direct flights from Paris to Bali," said the office's representative, Eka Moncare, as quoted by kompas.com on Monday. Other factors contributing to the result are the rise of Bali's popularity, the friendliness of the locals and the many accommodation options on the island at competitive prices, added Eka. Read also: Bali: Five must-visit places in Karangasem VITO in France reportedly offered presentations and training about Indonesia to French tour operators, as well as provided information to French citizens seeking to prepare for their trips to archipelago, including through regular newsletters, e-mails and social media. In the future, the office plans to add more business-to-customer events, familiarization trips for the media and promotion of the archipelago through gastronomy and spa massage events. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said France was a potential market, and perhaps even the biggest in Europe, for Indonesia. The expenditure of French tourists reportedly averaged US$110 per day with duration of stay of around 15 days. Most of them preferred cultural destinations when choosing a holiday spot. "Up to 40 percent of French tourists chose Bali as a holiday destination, followed by Jakarta with 30 percent and Riau Islands with 20 percent," added Arief. (kes) Born on 21st January 1905, the legendary Christian Dior would this year have been 113 if he was still alive. Dior founded the house of Christian Dior on December 16, 1946, at 30 Avenue Montaigne Paris, where the original store still stands today with Maria Grazia Chiuri at its helm . His first collection was showcased in 1947, where it's fair to say he changed the world of womens fashion forever. Greatly inspired by architecture, his debut designs were focused on the female body which he famously worked to emphasise, rather than disguise. A post shared by Dior Official (@dior) on Oct 10, 2017 at 9:10am PDT Dior hadn't always wanted to be a fashion designer, he spent most of his life working in and owning art galleries, and it was this creative flare which led him to start drawing dresses. Dior paid tribute to the artists whose work he used to exhibit in his galleries by designing garments inspired by their work. His first collection was a response to the post-war fabric restrictions, for which he received much criticism for his 'excessive' use of fabric. His luxurious designs were of huge contrast to the war-torn clothing earlier on in the 1940's. King George V reportedly banned princesses Margaret and Elizabeth from wearing the designer's clothes as he thought it sent a bad message whilst rationing was still in force in the United Kingdom. A post shared by Mateo C. Cardenas (@ironmattt) on Dec 29, 2017 at 6:18am PST Dior was a huge hit with the starlets of the time and counted Rita Hayworth as one of his most famous clients. The fashion house is still a celebrity favourite in 2018 with everyone from Oscar winners to royalty wearing Dior garments. The Lady Dior bag was named in honour of Princess Diana who was an also a big fan of the brand, and since it's launch in 1994 the bag has remained one of Dior's best selling items. A post shared by Princess Diana and Kate (@princessdianaandkate) on Dec 14, 2017 at 11:32pm PST In 1955, a 19-year-old Yves Saint Laurent became Christian Dior's design assistant at the House of Christian Dior. When Dior passed away two years later in 1957, Saint Laurent was appointed the creative director and stayed in that position until 1960 when he was conscripted into the French Army. Despite only being the creative director at Dior for three years, Saint Laurent had a huge impact on both the brand and fashion in general after he designed the now iconic 'trapeze' dress and has been credited from saving the brand from financial ruin after Dior's death. Modern-day Dior is run by Maria Grazia Chiuri who became the creative director in July 21016. She is the first woman to lead Dior in its history, and her first collection made a political statement when she sent models down the catwalk wearing garments bearing the slogan 'WE SHOULD ALL BE FEMINISTS'. This modern spin on such a classic brand faced criticism from the fashion world at first but after celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Chiara Ferragni were spotted wearing the shirts, people began to get on board with the new era of Dior. A post shared by Dior Official (@dior) on Aug 4, 2017 at 7:02pm PDT Despite a new era, the classic designs from Christian Dior are still present in today's collections and his focus on women's bodies and creating beautiful garments inspired by flowers and art which Dior himself always insured were present in his collections. "Above all, it was Christian Dior who was my master and who was the first to reveal the mysteries and secrets of haute couture" - Yves Saint Laurent. Save Save The journalist and commentator Toby Young resigned from the board of the university regulator Office for Students (OfS) after he came under fire for a series of offensive comments. Some of his past statements about working-class students, disabled people, women or inclusivity were perceived by many to be exceedingly inflammatory, making him unfit for public office. A string of misogynistic remarks he made on Twitter was particularly controversial. Apparently, Young deleted the majority of his tweets once his appointment to the OfS was confirmed, but the damage had already been done. This is not the first time a candidate for public office has stumbled over insensitive or offensive tweets. In 2016 several officials created Twitterstorms which at times effectively ended their careers. Among these was Labour MP Jared O Mara, who was suspended by his party after it was discovered he had posted abusive messages online. US senator Bill Kintner stepped down after retweeting a message mocking a Womens March. Even seemingly innocuous photographs can be cause for concern. The Canadian ambassador to Indonesia was reprimanded for tweeting pictures of the Burmese coastline, with captions that praised the beaches as perfect for snorkelling. This contrasted starkly with the images of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Burma. Controversial remarks on social media clearly have the potential to derail careers. It does not matter whether they were made carelessly or not, in public or to a small circle of friends. And nor does it matter when they were made. OMara posted his comments in 2004, and many of Youngs stirring statements on Twitter were made several years ago. Young has published tens of thousands of tweets and perhaps has no recollection of some of his older tweets. The pitfalls of social media, however, are not limited to highly visible individuals applying for high-profile jobs in the public or private sector. They can also have a strong impact on the career prospects of ordinary job applicants. Companies screen social media profiles of job applicants and habitually reject candidates based on the outcomes of these checks. And its not just checks on job-related social media websites such as LinkedIn Twitter, Instagram or Facebook are also scrutinised. Compromising pictures, offensive messages, membership of particular groups or biographical information which does not match with information provided by the candidate can all be a source of rejection. Even the number of a candidates social media profiles can be a problem. For instance, some companies regard applicants with a certain number of profiles as job hoppers and exclude them from their pool of suitable candidates. Social media screening has become so prevalent that many companies employ staff solely dedicated to this task. In theory, social media screening should be bound by a number of ethical and legal constraints, but in practice few restrictions apply. Tracking applicant information on social media has never been more straightforward. It does not require particular skills anybody can perform a Google search on a candidate. But some companies also employ increasingly sophisticated algorithms to screen social media profiles and filter applications. Commercial providers sell social media information to third parties and with the help of online tools such as the Wayback Machine, it is possible to retrieve information which has long been deleted. Many candidates, unaware of the impact of their social media activities, see their job applications rejected without ever knowing the actual reasons why. Think before you share So what are the implications? First, one should think very carefully about what to share on social media and with whom. Sensitive information does not only extend to ones own social media profiles, but also to content posted by others. Also, take a moment to reflect on the potential implications of social media activities not only for the present, but especially for the future. What is innocuous or amusing now might be perceived as offensive and inappropriate later, or in a different context. Once the send button is clicked, content is virtually available forever, even if deleted within seconds. Always assume that everything which is shared on social media becomes public knowledge. Being successful in todays labour market requires a strong awareness of the implications of social media activities for career prospects. Even though the consequences of controversial social media activity may affect anybody, candidates for public office are subject to particular scrutiny from the media, political rivals or the public in general. Higher standards of moral integrity apply to those in public office and any compromising tweet or picture from the past will inevitably be unearthed. For aspiring office holders, these challenges can be difficult to reconcile with the need to be a public persona and to share as much information with the public as possible. It is in their own interest to keep digital tracks as clean as possible. Otherwise, as demonstrated by the case of Toby Young, ones tenure in public office might be over before it has properly begun. As COVID-19 cases increase, hospitals handle the patient load The vast majority of patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 have not been vaccinated. As cases increase, so area hospitalizations. A Northern Ireland woman has finally found her "soul mate" - an 18th century Haitian pirate ghost. Amanda Teague is a Jack Sparrow impersonator, and says her ghost husband, Jack, looks just like Johnny Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean character. While Ms Teague had five children with her living ex-husband, she says she has a much deeper connection with Jack. "We became really close - the more I learnt about him, the more I liked him. One day, he said to me 'We can actually be together you know', but I had never heard of an intimate relationship between a spirit and a human before." After some research, Ms Teague realised she wasn't the only one with a supernatural lover. "I found out that it is a real thing and there are lots of people in spiritual relationships, but not many people like to talk about it." But she wanted to take things to the next level. "I told him I wasn't really cool with having casual sex with a spirit and I wanted us to make a proper commitment to each other. "I wanted the big traditional wedding with the white dress, it was very important to me." The 45-year-old was over the moon, when her ghost boyfriend proposed. Twelve guests boarded a boat and sailed into international waters for the wedding ceremony, where Jack was represented by a Jolly Roger skull and crossbones flag. Among the guests was a medium, who allowed Jack to communicate his vows. Ms Teague was even set on consummating the marriage, telling local media the only difference between sex with a living human or a ghost was that the touch of a spirit "goes a lot deeper". "You can literally feel the physical act of what the spirit is doing to you and the spirit can feel it too." She says her family are completely supportive of her relationship with the 300-year-old ghost. Source: Newshub. A Melbourne supermarket staff member has been hospitalised after a fight erupted over cherries. Thanh Thien Springvale Fresh Market Supermarket owner Tung Nguyen said the argument began when two men approached the staff member requesting to buy cherries by the bag. When the staff member told them they had to pay by kilo instead, a brawl broke out. Video of the fight shows the three men, one shirtless, trying to hit each other with makeshift weapons in the fresh produce aisle. Customers and supermarket staff can be seen desperately trying to hold the men back from each other. The two customers have been charged over the incident, with the staff member ending up in hospital with a head wound. Newshub. Applicantsclaiming a U.S. Veterans preference must submit written documentationconfirming eligibility (e.g., Member Copy 4 of Form DD-214, Letter from theVeterans Administration, or certification documenting eligibility under theVOW Act with an expected discharge no later than 120 days after thecertification is submitted) by the closing date of the vacancy announcement. Ifthe written documentation confirming eligibility is not received in the HRoffice by the closing date of the vacancy announcement, the U.S. Veteranspreference will not be considered in the application process. Specific criteriafor receiving a U.S. Veterans preference may be found in HR/OEs Family MemberEmployment Policy (FMEP). A hotel in Uruguay has canceled a booking for travelers after finding out that they were Israeli and had served in the IDF. Amit Bradush, 22, and his unnamed partner claimed to receive a personal message from the hotel manager via the website which they used to make the reservation, Booking.com. The message explained that the reservation had been canceled due to the political views of the manager, who said that his own politics were very contrary to the policies of your country. This was reported by the El Pais website and consequently by the JTA. I had not seen that they were from Israel. I strongly oppose the policies of their country, they are not welcome in my house, Buena Vista ecological resorts owner Mauricio Pinero wrote. For his part, Pinero reimbursed the two Israeli tourists their prepayment. Pinero added that it has also been his experience that young Israeli guests who are on their post-army trek are particularly difficult guests. I am neither a discriminator nor an antisemite. The kids who come after finishing military service in Israel have a profile of celebration, arrogance and things that are not good. We work with a different type of audience. It is not a problem with anyone in particular, he added. The incident drew an incredible amount of social media attention in Uruguay, a country of some 12,000 Jews. Both Israeli and Jewish leaders in the country have decried the incident. We repudiate what happened with two young Jews who were not admitted to a hostel in Barra de Valizas because they came from Israel, read a statement released by the Comite Central Israelita, Uruguays umbrella Jewish organization. Our society is pluralistic and diverse. Let us not allow isolated facts to distill malice, spreading prejudice and bad intention. Booking.com announced on Monday it was removing the Buena Vista hostel from its website, after confirming that the Israeli couple had been the victims of discrimination. As soon as we were made aware of this case, we immediately reached out to the customer, offered to cover the costs they incurred in finding an alternate place to stay, and have removed this property from our site, a representative from Booking.com said, in response to a complaint against the hostel lodged by an international Jewish advocacy group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC.) Uruguays Minister of Tourism Liliam Kechichian said the incident is totally inadmissible and will be investigated. In Uruguay, it is not acceptable to discriminate on the grounds of religion. We hope that Israeli tourists will continue to visit Uruguay and enjoy the beauty of the country, she said. Israeli ambassador Nina Ben Ami said of the incident: It is an unpleasant case of discrimination against Israeli citizens, based solely on their identity. It was not based on the political opinion of the tourists, the owner of the hostel did not even know the couple, it seems a case of blind prejudice and I hope it is an isolated case. El Pais also reported that the hostels Facebook page added another argument to the hotel managers position and that he plans to maintain this policy in the future of not accepting (Israeli) young people who have just left the military service. About two or three years ago, a kid just out of Israeli military service stayed here. One night, as part of a talk on international politics, as I did not agree with his perspective, he told me that he was trained to kill me in 15 seconds, he wrote. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Advertisement It's been 50 years since Detective Frank Bullitt chased mob hitmen through the streets of San Francisco in his Highland Green Ford Mustang - and now you can re-enact the pursuit yourself in this anniversary edition remake. Ford unveiled the surprise limited-run Bullitt Mustang at the Detroit Motor Show this week to rapturous approval, though refused to say how many people will get to own the sought-after new model. It's a modern take on the same car driven by Steve McQueen in one of the most iconic chase scenes to ever hit the silver screen in 1968, including a like-for-like paint scheme, black alloy wheels and upgraded suspension - just in case you wanted to get airborne through the streets of San Fran too. An icon reborn: This is the new 2018 Ford Mustang Bullitt - a modern take on the car driven by Steve McQueen in 1968 blockbuster film Bullitt The new model was introduced by Molly McQueen, granddaughter of the late Steve McQueen, at the North American International Auto Show on Sunday evening. The car will go on sale in the summer, though there has been no reference to how many will be made, the number coming to the UK and the fee you'll need to cough-up to get your hands on one. Under that familiar green hue is a tuned version of the Ford Mustang GT 5.0-litre engine that it claims will develop at least 475bhp - around 60bhp more than the 36,000 standard car available in showrooms today. Fire the thunderous engine into life by thumbing the start button and the screen fires a Bullitt welcome message across the digital display. US actress Molly McQueen, granddaughter of actor Steve McQueen, was on hand to introduce the Ford Mustang Bullitt in Detroit Molly McQueen unveiled the car ahead of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Sunday evening Ford has yet to confirm how many 50th anniversary Mustang Bullitts it will produce and at what cost for customers Owners will be then get to channel their inner Steve McQueen by working their way through a six-speed manual gearbox using a white cue-ball gearknob, just as Detective Bullitt did during the frantic chase some 50 years ago. However, the lucky owners would be able to catch the pursued hired guns in their Dodge Charger in a fraction of the time it took McQueen back then. With a top speed of 163mph - an increase of 8mph over the standard Mustang - the new model is around 40mph faster than the Mustang featured in the blockbuster flick. The Bullitt Mustang is arguably Ford's most iconic film car, remembered for the high-speed pursuit through the streets of San Francisco Inside, Ford has fitted the car with chrome accents to replicate the original, including the spokes in the steering wheel. For full-on authenticity, the gearknob is also a white cue-ball Detective Frank Bullitt - played by Steve McQueen - spins the tyres on his Mustang after taking a wrong turn during the chase Other additions also include a performance exhaust system and the same open air induction system and intake manifold taken from the high-performance Shelby GT350 version for that authentic '60s V8 growl. And like the highly-celebrated cinema car, it gets black wheels - this time unique 19-inch rims. Buyers will also have a choice of two paint options between Shadow Black and the authentic Dark Highland Green - we imagine most will be ordered in the latter. The film is fondly remembered for the car chase in which Detective Frank McQueen turns the tables on hitmen sent to hill him and chases them out of San Francisco The hitmen, attempting to escape in their Dodge Charger, meet their fiery death after Detective Bullit forces them off the road and into a petrol station The new car harks back to the original with black leather seats with green stitching. The 19-inch black alloy wheels are a like-for-like replication of the 1968 Mustang, too In attempts to replicate the '68 'Stang as closely as possible, Ford has also fitted some chrome accents around the grille and front windows and green stitching on the black leather in the cabin. And just in case you were contemplating re-enacting the famous high-speed pursuit, there are optional Recaro racing seats and an uprated suspension with adapted dampers that are ideal for getting airborne on the hilly streets of Russian Hill. That said, we highly recommend you don't attempt to force any other drivers off the road resulting in a meteroic explosion when their car careers into a petrol station, as the historic scene culminates in the 1968 film. Ford says performance has been increased for the Mustang Bullitt, taking the total power output to at least 475bhp - that's compared to 416bhp for the standard model The top speed of the Bullitt anniversary model is 8mph faster than the standard Ford Mustang GT. It will be capable of 163mph The 5.0-litre V8 Mustang GT currently costs from just over 36,000 in the UK - expect the Mustang Bullitt to be quite a bit pricier Speaking during the unveiling at the US motor show, Darrell Behmer, Mustang chief designer said: 'This new Bullitt is, as Steve McQueen was, effortlessly cool. 'As a designer, its my favorite Mustang devoid of stripes, spoilers and badges. It doesnt need to scream about anything its just cool.' Carl Widmann, chief engineer for the car, added: 'When making a Bullitt, there are certain things it absolutely must have. It has to have the right attitude, it has to be unique in some way from a Mustang GT, and more than anything, it has to be bad ass.' Carl Widmann, chief engineer for the car, said that more than anything a Bullitt Mustang needs to be 'bad ass' Bullitt is one of Steve McQueen's most memorable films. The Indiana-born actor died of cancer at the age of 50 in 1980 The standard Mustang features a 'GT' badge on the boot lid of the car - that has been replaced by a target and Bullitt logo for this limited edition creation This isn't the first time Ford has redeemed the Bullitt name on a newer Mustang. There were contemporary takes on the cinema car in 2001 and 2008, both of which were limited edition models. Ford wheeled this latest model out alongside one of the two original film cars used during the filming of the 1968 hit. This isn't the first time Ford has made limited-run Bullitt edition Mustangs. It also had a remake in 2001 (left) and 2008 Ford unveiled the car along with one of the two original film vehicles used in the 1968 blockbuster The original car - a hero vehicle that's not been seen since filming ended - was shown to the public for the first time in years That can on show was the hero vehicle used in the close-up scenes and was bought by a private buyer in 1974 who kept it out of the limelight until now. Sean Kiernan, owner of the 'lost' hero car after inherited it in 2014 from his late father, Robert, said: 'You know, it was never our intention to keep this car a secret from everybody. It just kind of happened with life. 'Im just completely buzzing to join with Ford and the new Bullitt and show this car to the world on one of the biggest stages there is.' This isn't the car used in the jump stunts. Instead, it is the one featuring in the close-up shots during the filming The original Bullitt Mustang (left) is said to be worth around 3.5million. We are still to find out how much the new model (right) will cost The current owner of the authentic film car, Sean Kiernan, said it wasn't the families intention to keep the vehicle from the public for so many years Experts estimate that it would be worth around 3.5 million if it were to be sold at auction today. The second vehicle - used in many of the jumps during the famous pursuit - resurfaced in Baja, California last year after it being sent to a salvage yard once filming had endued in 1968. We'll bring you more updates when Ford confirms pricing and availability of the 2018 Bullitt Mustang later this year. Premier Foods, the company behind Bisto gravy and Mr Kipling cakes, played down rumours it is looking to sell its Batchelors brand to Japan's Nissin Foods. The group, which also owns Ambrosia custard and Asian food brand Sharwood's, said talks have not gone beyond an exploratory stage. But it also said it was continuing to consider different options that 'could add value for shareholders'. 'No change of strategy': Premier Foods played down talks of a possible sale of Batchelors As a matter of normal good governance, the Board continues to keep under review any options which could potentially add value for shareholders and other stakeholders, and accelerate the delivery of the Board's strategic objectives, particularly with respect to reducing gearing, it added in a statement. It comes following reports at the weekend suggesting it was gearing up for a 200million sale of Batchelors, its Cup a Soup brand, to Nissin, its biggest shareholder with a 20 per cent stake. Shares in Premier Foods rose 3.3 per cent to 42.70p in morning trading. The company, which also makes Oxo stock cubes, said it had not changed a strategy it first outlined in May, which includes reducing its debts ratio to earnings to below three times. The group posted a half-year pre-tax loss of 1.2million for the six months ending in September, a narrowing of the 8.7million loss recorded for the same period last year. Shares in GKN hit a high last night as investors bet a bidding war will break out for the embattled engineer. The company, which dates back to the 18th century and makes parts for fighter jets, Black Hawk helicopters and Audi and BMW cars, rejected a 7billion approach from predator Melrose last week. Both companies yesterday embarked on charm offensives in a bid to convince shareholders that their plans were best for the future of GKN. US fund manager Vulcan Value Partners, one of GKNs biggest investors, urged the company to enter talks with Melrose, but added that the current offer was too low. Target: GKN, which dates back to the 18th century and makes parts for fighter jets, Black Hawk helicopters (pictured) and cars, rejected a 7bn approach from predator Melrose last week Analysts said Melrose will need to raise its offer for GKN from the 405p a share proposed last week and could face a string of rival bids from private equity. American buyout giant Carlyle is said to be weighing up a bid and others such as Blackstone and KKR could also join the fray. Jonathan Hurn at Deutsche Bank said: We believe Melrose could return with an improved proposal. Also with GKN now in play, other potential acquirers may enter the process. While GKN has not disclosed what it sees as an acceptable offer level per share, we are of the view that 450p would be more acceptable to management. Shares in GKN, which jumped 26 per cent to 420p on Friday after the Melrose proposal was made public, rose another 4.1 per cent, or 17.4p, to 437.4p yesterday. The latest share price rise came as GKNs new chief executive Anne Stevens, a former high-flyer at Ford who officially took over just days before the company rebuffed Melroses approach, met investors to persuade them that the management team is best placed to turn the business around. GKN, which employs 53,000 around the world including 6,000 in the UK, is planning to split its aerospace arm from its cars division as it seeks to bolster its defences against Melrose and other suitors. The company could even sell its aerospace business. GKN IN TURMOIL Sep 14 Kevin Cummings, aerospace boss, will succeed Nigel Stein as GKN chief, it is announced Oct 13 GKN warns profits will be lower following crisis at aerospace arm Nov 16 Cummings out as company says it needs alternative leadership Jan 1 Anne Stevens takes over as interim chief Jan 12 GKN rejects 7billion takeover offer from Melrose and makes Stevens permanent boss Shares rise 26 per cent Jan 15 Shares rise 4.1 per cent as bidding war expected to break out A spokesman said: Melroses opportunistic offer to shareholders fundamentally undervalues our company and its prospects and would deprive our shareholders of the full benefits of the value that GKN intends to deliver. But Melrose bosses launched their own charm offensive, appealing directly to the City to back their 7billion takeover plan in a series of meetings of GKN shareholders. In a presentation to investors, Melrose described GKN as an overly complex and under-managed organisation without focus which needs a fundamental change of culture and leadership. Warning against GKNs own plans, the company added: Melrose intends to significantly improve GKNs businesses as opposed to a hasty break up. Andrew Gollan, an analyst at Berenberg, said: We expect Melrose to return with a higher offer for GKN and for it to be accepted. 'The rejected 405p bid undervalues GKN, in our view, but we believe Melrose has scope to significantly increase its offer by the February 9 deadline. Softbank is pondering a listing of its mobile arm on the London Stock Exchange Softban is pondering a listing of its mobile arm on the London Stock Exchange in a bid to raise 13.1billion. The float would happen at the same time as the Japanese tech giant makes its public debut in Tokyo. Softbank is planning to sell 30 per cent of shares to investors, keeping a 70 per cent stake. The firm is said to be aiming for an autumn listing in Tokyo. If it does pursue a London listing, it would mean the return of British tech star ARM Holdings to the citys trading floor. Cambridge-based ARM, which designs microchips used in most smartphones, was bought by Softbank in 2016 for 24.3billion. Softbanks telecoms arm, known as Softbank Corp, is one of Japans three main mobile companies. Plastics maker Carclo saw 31.7million knocked of its value after issuing a double profit warning and announcing its chairman and finance boss would be stepping down. Shares in the company took a hammering after it was hit by a string of contract delays in its two key businesses. It plunged as much as 50 per cent in early trading before finishing down 34.7 per cent, or 43.3p, to 81.6p. Carclo said it had experienced an unexpected delay in the awarding of two large tooling and automation contracts in its plastics division. It said the arm was further hit after a key customer which showed an interest in its moulded plastics business failed to increase its orders. Plastics maker Carclo saw 31.7m knocked of its value after issuing a double profit warning and announcing its chairman and finance boss would be stepping down Its LED car lighting business didn't fare better either. Carclo said delays in the award of three new contracts would also reduce the division's profit for the current year. As a result, the firm said profits for the year ending March 2018 would be 'significantly below expectations' and reduced its profit expectations for the 2018-19 financial year. Following the shock update, Carclo also said its group finance director, Robert Brooksbank, would be leaving the firm after 14 years to pursue other career and business opportunities. Investors were also dealt another blow after it revealed its chairman Michael Derbyshire will also retire from the board after nearly six years at the helm. The FTSE 100 fell 0.12 per cent, or 9.50 points, to 7769.14 while the FTSE 250 finished down 0.13 per cent, or 26.58 points, at 20,832.77. STOCK WATCH - E-THERAPEUTICS Biotech company E-Therapeutics jumped higher after announcing a partnership with artificial intelligent firms. Tie-ups with Intellegens, a spin-out from the University of Cambridge, and Manchester-based Biorelate, were unveiled. Biorelate uses artificial intelligence to scan through vast amounts of medical research and identify areas to look out for whilst Intellegens uses artificial intelligence to bridge gaps in data. Shares rose 3.7 per cent, or 0.35p, to 9.75p following the news. The discovery of a 910-carat colourless diamond sent shares in Gem Diamonds rocketing 15.6 per cent, or 12.6p, to 93.2p. The miner said the diamond was the largest found at the Letseng mine in the southern African kingdom of Lesotho. Heat treatment supplier Bodycote soared after lifting its full year guidance and announcing it expects to benefit from President Trump's tax reform. Bodycote said trading in the final quarter of 2017 was better than anticipated and it now expects its full year profits for 2017 to fall in the upper range of its 117million 126m estimates. The FTSE 250 company added that while it is still examining the full effects of recent US tax legislation on future results, it expects a significant non-cash tax credit for 2017. Shares leapt 3.4 per cent, or 32p, to 983.5p as a result. News that its boss of 15 years would be exiting the business sent shares in construction company Watkin Jones plunging. The firm dropped 10.2 per cent, or 23p, to 203p after chief executive Mark Watkin Jones said he would be stepping down due to personal reasons. The company is on the hunt for a successor and Watkin Jones will step down once a replacement is appointed. His departure will mark the first time a non-family member will run the company, which has been run by Watkin Jones' family for more than 227 years. Watkin Jones and his family have a combined 30 per cent shareholding in the firm, worth around 168million. His departure comes after the student-housing builder more than tripled its profits for the year to September 30 to 43.3million from 13.3million. Sales jumped 13.1 per cent to 301.9million. The company also announced it would be proposing a final dividend of 4p per share, compared to 2.67p last year with its total dividend for the year up 10 per cent to 6.6p. Payment tech firm Safecharge rose 0.8 per cent, or 2.5p, to 311p after its subsidiary Safecharge Financial Services was granted a license by the Financial Conduct Authority as a payment institution. New demand: Apple's tax bill has climbed by 81m Apples tax bill has climbed by 81million after investigators probed another of its companies bringing the total demanded by HM Revenue and Customs to almost 220million. The hike in payments means one of its sales and marketing arms, Apple UK Ltd, has seen its total bill soar by 260 per cent. Tax officials at HMRC combed through the companys accounts for 2011 to 2015. Investigators are understood to have disputed how much commission Apple UK gets for providing business services to other firms owned by the iPhone maker. For the five years to September 2015, it reported total sales of 500.5million and profits of 289.5million but it paid just 22.6million in tax. Apple said the hike in its bill by 81.4million was due to an extensive audit by HMRC. The fresh tax hit takes the total amount of back-dated payments made by Apple to 218m. Tax officials also swooped on another of its UK arms, Apple Europe Ltd. It was forced to hand over an extra 137million, accounts revealed last week. The company was criticised last year after its UK retail arm, Apple Retail UK, posted 1billion of sales at its British stores but paid just 8million in tax. Apple has defended its tax affairs and insists it pays everything it owes in the countries it operates in. A spokesman said: As a multinational business and the largest taxpayer in the world, Apple is regularly audited by tax authorities. An HMRC spokesman said yesterday it did not comment on specific companies but stressed that large businesses were subjected to an exceptional level of scrutiny. Multinational companies must pay all taxes due and we dont settle for less, he said. For the 18 months to April 2017, the new accounts showed Apple UK paid a further 35.7million in tax. The business reported sales of 313.1million and profit of 291.7million over the period. Mr Kipling and Bisto owner Premier Foods could be on the verge of selling its Super Noodles and Cup a Soup brand Batchelors, worth an estimated 200million. The group has been in talks with its biggest shareholder, Japanese noodle maker Nissin Foods, amid mounting pressures for the group to reduce its debt burden. Premier has racked up 500million of debt and was forced to issue a profit warning last year. Premier Foods has been in talks with its biggest shareholder, Japanese noodle maker Nissin Foods, about a possible dale of its Super Noodles brand It served up losses of 1.2million for the six months to the end of September, a marked improvement on the 8.7million loss recorded for the same period last year. Premier rejected a 537million takeover bid from US food manufacturer McCormick in 2016, opting instead for a tie up with Nissin, which owns 20 per cent of the group. But Premier, which also owns the Ambrosia and Oxo brands, played down reports of the Batchelors sale. A spokesman said: There is no current situation where discussions have gone beyond an exploratory stage. Shares were up after the statement, rising 3.4 per cent, or 1.4p, 42.75p. BREXIT BREAK Medium-sized firms are upbeat about Brexit and want a clean break with the European Union, according to accountant RSM. A survey of 315 firms found that 41 per cent believe leaving the bloc will be good for the economy over the next five years, versus 40 per cent who think it will be damaging. Only 22 per cent of the companies said they wanted to remain in Brussels single market, with the rest favouring looser ties. BACKING BRITAIN French lender BNP Paribas has launched a hiring spree in London to try to break into the top rank of City banks. It follows Deutsche Bank boss John Cryan saying that reports his firm could move 4,000 jobs out of the UK after Brexit are wrong because the figure is much too high. POACHING BOSSES Japans Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group is plotting to poach senior City bankers from rivals in a loud and clear commitment to London, according to senior executive Holly Villiers. BIO BUDDIES AIM-listed biotech firms Avacta Group and Glythera Limited have agreed to work together to make specialised drugs that use anti-bodies to fight disease. The tie-up could led to treatments that allow drugs to work longer in the blood and penetrate tumours more deeply. FRAUD SHOCK Major frauds cost British business 2.1billion in 2017, a study by accountant BDO shows the highest level for 15 years. ON BOARD Advertising agency M&C Saatchi has appointed Lorna Tilbian, 60, one of the founders of broker Numis, to its board from January 30. LATE PAYERS British businesses have been hit by a surge in late payments from Continental companies, research by payments company Marketinvoice shows. The study showed European Union firms coughed up 73 per cent of bills after deadline last year, up from 40 per cent in 2016. SLOW SALES Primark owner Associated British Foods is expected to report sluggish Christmas sales this week. Analysts at Credit Suisse have forecast a 1 per cent dip in like-for-like sales, with business propped up by its UK arm. FLYING HIGH Aircraft manufacturer Airbus enjoyed a record year for deliveries in 2017, with 718 aircraft delivered to 85 companies, up 4 per cent a year earlier. Ex-CEO Richard Howson (pictured in a file photo) will continue receiving a 660,000 salary until October, despite stepping down from the role in July 2017. He stayed with the company as an adviser before leaving for good in autumn last year An official investigation has been launched into top bosses at Carillion who changed the rules so they could keep their bonuses as the firm collapsed and put 23,000 jobs at risk. The watering down of so-called 'clawback conditions', which would have allowed investors to demand the return of bonuses in the event of company failure, came in 2016 when the firm was already showing signs of financial stress. The bonus changes, as well as bumper pay packets for senior staff, were today branded 'highly inappropriate' by leading business lobby group the Institute of Directors. Richard Howson, who headed the company from 2012 until July 2017, pocketed 1.5 million in 2016 - including a 122,612 cash bonus and 231,000 in pension contributions. As part of his departure deal, Carillion agreed to continue paying him a 660,000 salary and 28,000 in benefits until October - even though he left the company for good last autumn after a brief spell as an adviser. Former finance chief Zafar Khan, who left Carillion in September, will receive 425,000 in base salary for 12 months. And Interim chief executive Keith Cochrane will be paid his 750,000 salary until July, despite leaving the company in February. He was not at the company when the rules governing bonuses were relaxed. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has come out swinging in the wake of the firm's collapse saying that the former chief executive 'still being paid his salary, plus perks and bonuses' is a 'reward for failure that has to be looked into'. Pictured: Protests outside the firm today Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has come out swinging in the wake of the firm's collapse saying that the former chief executive 'still being paid his salary, plus perks and bonuses' is a 'reward for failure that has to be looked into'. Unite the union said: 'This is a classic case of rewards for failure. The people at the top of Carillion were apparently lining their pockets while much of their workforce weren't receiving meaningful pay increases.' Commenting on Mr Howson's pay packet, the PM's spokesman said: 'I think that decision was obviously one for Carillion and a decision that Carillion will have to explain to the public and its shareholders. 'While this is obviously not a decision for us, we would not expect to be seeing people benefitting from this failure.' Asked whether it had been a mistake to continue awarding contracts to Carillion, the spokesman said: 'Since July, we have kept a very close eye on this, but of course if there are lessons which can be learned, they will be. 'The receiver will carry out a full investigation and we will look at the findings.' Carillion workers line up outside a staff office to check on the status of their jobs in London this morning Labour MPs, meanwhile, have called for the Government to cease wage payments of 600,000 to the firm's former chief executive and review the UK's corporate governance laws. Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington told MPs he understood the concern over pay and bonuses and said the Official Receiver could recover payments if 'there is evidence of misconduct'. Labour's Rachel Reeves, speaking after a ministerial statement on the firm's collapse, said: 'When Carillion collapsed at the weekend they had debts of 900 million and a pension deficit of 600 million. 'Yet, year after year after year Carillion paid dividends out to their shareholders and after the chief executive was jettisoned after the profits warning last July, he's still being paid a salary in excess of 600,000 a year until this coming October. 'Will the Government confirm that those payments to the former chief executive will stop as of today?' Fellow Labour MP Emma Reynolds said: 'It seems that the senior management of Carillion have changed the rules so that they can keep hold of their exorbitant bonuses, does he think that this fair?' Mr Lidington said he could 'completely understand' the 'sense of unfairness' expressed by MPs over executive pay. He added that the Official Receiver 'may seek to impose penalties' and recover payments made to executives if 'there is evidence of misconduct'. More than 20,000 jobs in the UK are at risk after the firm ran out of time to find a way to restructure its 1.5bn debt burden. Pictured: A staff member outside an office in London The collapse of Carillion today threw 450 construction projects across the public sector into chaos, from the running of prisons to the building of HS2. Jobs in the UK and overseas are at risk after the firm ran out of time to find a way to restructure its 1.5bn debt burden following failed talks over the weekend. The Government insisted contingency plans were in place and told the firm's employees to turn up for work as normal but company drivers found themselves paying for fuel out of their own pockets as corporate payment cards bounced and confusion reigned. Several building sites visited by MailOnline today - including the 335m Royal Liverpool Hospital and the 350m Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick - were both nearly deserted. REVEALED: 'Highly inappropriate' steps Carillion fat cats took to make sure they kept their bonuses Carillion introduced tougher rules that protect bonuses paid to bosses when the firm was already under financial strain. The company changed the wording of its pay policy to make it harder for investors to claw back bonuses paid to executives in the event it ran into financial difficulty. In recent days Carillion has been under pressure from investors to recoup some of the millions of pounds in bonuses paid to former chief executive Richard Howson and ex-finance chief Richard Adam when they were in charge. A probe by the Mail has found that previously bosses could have been forced to hand back their annual bonus and share awards in 'circumstances of corporate failure'. But in the group's 2016 annual report this wording was tightened. It says deferred bonuses may be reduced in circumstances of corporate failure but goes on to say the so-called 'malus' and 'clawback' provisions can be applied in two circumstances: if results have been misstated or the participant is guilty of gross misconduct. At this time hedge funds had already realised there were problems at Carillion, with one London firm borrowing more and more of Carillion's stock to take out bets against its fortunes. A Carillion manager, who requested anonymity, told City AM the hedge fund interest was a product of leaks from senior meetings. Roger Barker, Head of Corporate Governance at the Institute of Directors, said: 'The relaxation of clawback conditions for executive bonuses in 2016 appears in retrospect to be highly inappropriate. 'It does no good to the reputation of UK business when top managers appear to benefit in spite of the collapse of the organisations that they are responsible for.' Advertisement As the row continued, the Prime Minister moved to dampen speculation on the future of public contracts under Carillion's control, stating that most of these were joint ventures so the other companies should step in to ensure they are completed. But calls had mounted for a public inquiry into why 1.6billion in government contracts were handed out to the troubled firm as it plunged deeper into the red. Carillion is one of the UK's largest construction companies - employing around 43,000 staff globally including 20,000 in Britain - and is known for having worked on the Royal Opera House, the Channel Tunnel, Tate Modern, and the famous doughnut building of the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham. Current projects Carillion is working on include the Aberdeen Bypass and the Angel Gardens in Manchester, which Carillion were offered 745m and 75m to build respectively. The Wolverhampton-based company also offers many outsourcing services for the public sector, with contracts to provide school dinners, maintain and operate buildings and estates, security and housekeeping, as well as cleaning and catering at NHS hospitals. Carillion saw its shares price plunge more than 70 per cent in the past six months after making a string of profit warnings and breaching its financial covenants. It was also struggling under a pension deficit of around 600m. Chairman Philip Green said: 'This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years. 'Over recent months huge efforts have been made to restructure Carillion to deliver its sustainable future and the board is very grateful for the huge efforts made by Keith Cochrane, our executive team and many others who have worked tirelessly over this period. 'In recent days however we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision. 'We understand that HM Government will be providing the necessary funding required by the Official Receiver to maintain the public services carried on by Carillion staff, subcontractors and suppliers.' The company is understood to have been employed on public sector or public/private partnership contracts worth 1.7 billion. These include providing school dinners, cleaning and catering at NHS hospitals, construction work on rail projects such as HS2 and maintaining 50,000 army base homes for the Ministry of Defence. Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, making a statement in the Commons, said: 'It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders and I am disappointed that the company has become insolvent as a result. 'It is however the failure of a private sector company and it is the company's shareholders and its lenders who will bear the brunt of the losses: taxpayers should not and will not bail out a private sector company for private sector losses or allow rewards for failure.' Shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett said of Mr Lidington's statement: 'The House will conclude it was recklessly complacent in seeking to avoid responsibility for the Government and placing the whole responsibility on the company. 'After all Carillion provides 450 separate taxpayer funded contracts to the public.' Ministers are facing questions about why millions of pounds worth of government contracts were handed to Carillion for vital projects even after the company's financial troubles became known. What went wrong: The risky contacts that backfired as Carillion crashed Carillion is dependent on large contracts, some of which have significantly underperformed. In 2017, the value of its contracts were reduced by 845m, leading to debts soaring to 900m. In December, the firm struck an agreement with its lenders to defer a crucial financial covenant test, but failed this past week to secure 300m from banks Carillion is believed to have asked the Government to provide funds of 20m to help it secure more money from the banks and avoid going into liquidation, but ministers were unwilling to offer financial support. Lee Causer, Partner and construction industry specialist at Moore Stephens, told MailOnline: 'The key driver in the collapse has been huge losses on contracts. 'That is quite common for construction as a sector, where the biggest cause of failure tends to be pricing contracts incorrectly which then end up making huge losses. 'There is no real rhyme or reason as to why that happens, except for the fact that this it is an extremely competitive market with a very low margin for error.' Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said: 'This was a case of bad management and pitching for contracts at any price, but the Government and banks could, or maybe should, have done more.' While the Cabinet Office has declined to comment, there are questions as to whether this was an issue of perception, as funding would look like the Government was bailing out yet another private firm. It is a particularly sensitive topic in the wake of the financial crisis when the UK bailed out major lenders including Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds. The Government most recently came under fire after prematurely ending a contract with Stagecoach and Virgin, who had agreed to pay 3.3 billion to run the East Coast rail franchise until 2023, amid concerns that the two companies were considering pulling out due to financial losses on the deal. Advertisement Carillion issued a profit warning in July, yet in the same month the firm won a slice of an HS2 deal worth 1.34 billion as well as a MoD catering package priced at 158 million. The HS2 contract involved designing and building a 50-mile section of the high speed railway roughly between Aylesbury and Royal Leamington Spa. Carillion and the two other firms in the joint venture - Eiffage and Kier - were forced to give assurances that they could step in to deliver on the work if one of the partners collapsed. A HS2 spokesman said the firms are still in the design phase of the deal, with detailed proposals due to be submitted by the end of the year. The government had faced calls to bail out the troubled firm in light of its vital role in building public infrastructure. Rejecting the criticism, Theresa May's spokesman said it would be wrong to intervene in such a way with a private sector company. 'It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders,' he told a lobby briefing. But taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out a private sector company. 'Since profit warnings were first issued in July government has been closely monitoring the situation and has been in constructive discussion with Carillion while it ought to refinance its business.' The spokesman said some services may have to be taken in house following Carillion's collapse, but said he did not have a figure for how much this would cost. Fallout from the liquidation was felt across the construction industry, with Carillion's contract partners explaining their contingency plans and unions demanding answers on the future of staff. Galliford Try said Carillion's collapse has left a 60 million to 80 million hole in the funding of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route road project in Scotland. Galliford and remaining joint venture partner Balfour Beatty will now complete the 550 million contract and pick up the shortfall. Balfour Beatty, meanwhile, is predicting a 35 million to 45 million cash hit from the saga, linked to three joint ventures: the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, the A14 in Cambridgeshire and the M60 Junction 8 to M62 Junction 20 scheme. However, it pledged to work customers to meet its contractual commitments. Who's who? Key personalities at the collapsed firm Richard Howson,(left, in an undated social media image) who stepped down as CEO in July but stayed in an advisory role until the autumn. Philip Green,(right, file photo) who became chairman of Carillion in May 2014 Keith Cochrane(left, file photo) became interim CEO in July. He will net a 750,000 salary until July despite leaving the firm next month. Andrew Davies(right, file) will become CEO on Jan 22 Former financial officer Zafar Khan stepped down in September, yet will continue receiving a 425,000 base salary a year after leaving Advertisement Rival Kier Group said it has contingency plans in place for its joint ventures with Carillion, adding that it does not expect to take a financial hit. Kier currently operates joint ventures involving Carillion on HS2 and the Highways England smart motorways programme. Construction firm Morgan Sindall, which is working on a number of projects and joint ventures with Carillion, is 'committed to completing these projects as planned'. The group added the impact is 'not expected to be material'. Chairman who oversaw the collapse of Carillion was No10 corporate responsibility adviser Philip Green, who became chairman of Carillion in May 2014, advised David Cameron on corporate responsibility under the Coalition Government. He was appointed in 2011 - the same year he joined the board at Carillion - but axed by Theresa May when she carried out a review of Mr Cameron's appointments in December 2016. The businessman, who should not be confused with the Philip Green who owned BHS, was educated at the University of Swansea before completing an MBA at the London Business School. He was CEO of United Utilities Group plc from 2006 to 2011. His earlier corporate experience includes serving as CEO of Royal P&O Nedlloyd, a Director and Chief Operating Officer at Reuters Group PLC and Chief Operating Officer at DHL for Europe and Africa. Mr Green is also a Non-Executive Chairman of Logicor, a European logistics real estate business owned by a New York-based investment management firm. Advertisement The liquidation of the company will affect thousands of employees on the company's supply chain and could cause smaller firms to go bust, according to Simon Underwood, business recovery partner at accountancy firm, Menzies LLP. 'Given that the company has now gone into liquidation, sub-contractors and suppliers could experience financial difficulties as a direct result of Carillion's demise; potentially leading to knock-on insolvencies,' he said. 'If affected in this way, suppliers and subcontractors should seek professional advice immediately.' The 335m Royal Liverpool Hospital site, where Carillion were in the early stages of construction, was left abandoned this morning following the firm's collapse. A company sign had 'a busted flush' scrawled across it in blue ink apparently in response to the news that one of the UK's largest construction companies had gone bust. Stunned workers were allegedly told to leave the site on Monday with one sub-contractor claiming he didn't know anything more about the company's collapse or workers' jobs. The worker, who didn't wish to be named, told MailOnline: 'I'm a subbie, I don't know anything, I was just told I had to leave.' The new hospital was originally set to open in March 2017 but was plagued by delays. Unions are calling for urgent reassurances over the jobs, pay and pensions of thousands of workers following the 'disastrous' news. Staff gathered outside Carillion's Wolverhampton headquarters today,(pictured this morning) but were told not to speak to the media Officials from several unions representing workers on the railways, construction sites, prisons, hospitals and schools are seeking information from the company and ministers. Rail, Maritime and Transport union General Secretary Mick Cash said: 'This is disastrous news for the workforce and disastrous news for transport and public services in Britain. 'We have been warning since Thursday night that we thought the collapse of the company was imminent. The infrastructure and support works must be immediately taken in house with the workforce protected.' Jim Kennedy, Unite national officer for local government, said a public inquiry was now needed. 'Public services, vast amounts of public money, thousands of jobs - including in a lengthy supply chain of insecure agency workers who are also at risk - and workers' hard-saved pensions are all in danger of being dragged under by yet another bout of reckless corporate irresponsibility. 'There are also serious questions that need to be asked and answered about Carillion's conduct. 'Did directors move to protect their bonuses before the financial stability of the company? 'Has the company mushroomed because it built its business on unrealistic undercutting and blacklisting? 'Why did the Government continue to hand over public money to a company that had issued repeated profits warnings?' Rehana Azam, national officer of the GMB union, said: 'The fact such a massive government contractor like Carillion has been allowed to go into administration shows the complete failure of a system that has put our public services in the grip of shady profit-making contractors. 'The priority now for the Government and administrators is making sure kids in schools still get fed to day - and our members still have jobs and pensions. 'There is no place for private companies who answer to shareholders, not patients, parents and service users in our public services. 'What's happening with Carillion yet again shows the perils of allowing privatisation to run rampant in our schools, our hospitals and our prisons.' And Manuel Cortes, leader of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association said the Public Accounts Committee should now investigate new approaches to essential public infrastructure projects and services. 'Companies like Carillon have been allowed to mushroom too quickly on the back of public investment without proper public accountable audit trails. 'This morning 20,000 skilled infrastructure workers are left worrying about their futures, but worse still, the continued building of hospitals, the management of schools, and vital rail infrastructure projects are left hanging in the balance. Protester Andy Summers said the Carillion workers were 'innocent victims' in the collapse and more should be done to protect them 'It is essential that the administrators do not now preside over the asset stripping of public sector projects and instead they must be handed back to public sector bodies as soon as possible. The government must ensure this happens without further delay.' There was a protest outside Carillion's Wolverhampton headquarters today, organised by the Black Country People's Assembly. Andy Summers, 64, told MailOnline: 'We have been arguing that there clear evidence of failings by the government to protect innocent victims, in this case the workers at Carillion. 'People are now terrified of the impact this will have on places such as Sandwell hospital, and other places maintained by the company. 'Workers will be feeling angry and concerned about their pensions. 'It will be a vicious spiral of collapse for people in this area and hopefully the government will take back public ownership.' This infographic shows how Carillion's share price stayed broadly stable from 2013 to 2016 before dipping up to the start of 2017 and then plunging after that Carillion had met with lenders HSBC, Barclays, Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland on Wednesday to discuss options for reducing debts, recapitalise or restructure the group's balance sheet. 'A very sad day': How the news was revealed Here is how construction giant Carillion announced it had gone bust: Further to the announcement made on 12 January 2018, Carillion continued to engage with its key financial and other stakeholders, including Her Majesty's Government ('HMG'), over the course of the weekend regarding options to reduce debt and strengthen the group's balance sheet. As part of this engagement, Carillion also asked those stakeholders for limited short term financial support, to enable it to continue to trade whilst longer term engagement continued. Despite considerable efforts, those discussions have not been successful, and the board of Carillion has therefore concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect. An application was made to the High Court for a compulsory liquidation of Carillion before opening of business today and an order has been granted to appoint the Official Receiver as the liquidator of Carillion. We anticipate that the Official Receiver will make an application to the High Court for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to be appointed as Special Managers, to act on behalf of the Official Receiver, and we further anticipate that an order will be granted to that effect. Philip Green, Chairman of Carillion, said: 'This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years. 'Over recent months huge efforts have been made to restructure Carillion to deliver its sustainable future and the Board is very grateful for the huge efforts made by (chief executive) Keith Cochrane, our executive team and many others who have worked tirelessly over this period. 'In recent days however we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision. 'We understand that HM Government will be providing the necessary funding required by the Official Receiver to maintain the public services carried on by Carillion staff, subcontractors and suppliers.' Advertisement It was followed by a meeting on Friday between the Government, pension authorities and stakeholders in an attempt to thrash out a rescue package for the firm. A petition launched over the weekend calling for Carillion to be nationalised had attracted more than 1,200 signatures. Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said there were 'extreme concerns' about the Government's handling of the situation and said Whitehall should take Carillion contracts back in-house. 'We expect the Government to step up now, take these contracts - the public sector contracts - back into public control, to give certainty to those workers and those in the supply chain and those who rely on the pension funds going forward,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today. There should be a 'full and transparent investigation' into the company and how the Government awarded it contracts despite concerns about its financial health, she added. Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said: 'The Government must now take responsibility for the big contracts run by Carillion, or re-tender them, to keep the supply chain going and protect thousands of jobs. 'Ministers must minimise the damage to the capacity of the construction industry. 'We also urgently need a parliamentary inquiry into some of the very questionable decisions made in the past few months, not least the award of public contracts to a company that was clearly in danger of collapse. 'The issue of the former chief executive still being paid his salary, plus perks and bonus, is also a reward for failure that has to be looked into.' Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the influential Public Accounts Committee, said: 'Carillion's collapse raises grave concerns about jobs, the delivery of public services and the way Government conducts its business. 'The Public Accounts Committee has previously warned of the risks when contractors, paid from the public purse, become too big to fail. 'Government now faces a stark choice: bail Carillion out or let public services and projects suffer. Either way, taxpayers will get a raw deal. 'Government has serious questions to answer about its role in allowing taxpayers' exposure to escalate to this point.' A Carillion sign at Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick where construction work is being carried out by the firm today, but workers are unsure about their future Despite its large pension deficit, the liquidation of Carillion will not threaten the pensions 'lifeboat', the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), according to Steve Webb, Director of Policy at Royal London. Will anyone lose their job? The Government is set to 'provide the necessary funding' to maintain public services and told workers to turn up as usual, assuring them they will be paid. 'For clarity - all employees should keep coming to work, you will continue to get paid. Staff that are engaged on public sector contracts still have important work to do,' Mr Lidington said. While Carillion is set to continue operating 'until further notice', its pending liquidation puts an unclear number of its 20,000 UK jobs as well as international staff at risk. Those worried about their job have been told that JobCentre Plus 'stands ready' to support any affected employees through its rapid response service. Staff working directly for liquidated companies will be entitled to redundancy payments. Advertisement He said: 'Carillion workers will understandably be devastated by the announcement of the liquidation of their firm, but they, and retired Carillion workers, can be assured that the pensions 'lifeboat', the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF), will help to protect their pensions. 'Although there is a big shortfall across the Carillion pension schemes, the PPF is financially strong and will be able to pay out pensions in line with its normal rules. The deficit in the Carillion schemes will not sink the pensions lifeboat.' However, the CEO of one of the world's largest independent financial advisory organisations warned the collapse should trigger 'alarm bells'. Nigel Green, founder of deVere Group, said: 'The UK woke up to the news this morning of Carillion being forced into compulsory liquidation. 'This should trigger alarm bells for pension savers across the UK as it puts a huge question mark over the fate of yet another major pension fund. 'The government's pensions lifeboat, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), is now to take over payment of pensions for the company's retirement scheme members. 'It can be reasonably expected that those members who are not yet drawing their Carillion pension could now experience a drop of at least 10 per cent to their retirement income. Whilst the PPF is an important and valuable support, UK final-salary pension schemes have an enormous deficit black hole, which raises the inevitable question, how many more big hits can the PPF take?' In November last year Carillion announced it had been awarded two contracts on Network Rail's Midland Mainline improvement programme, including one to upgrade the existing track and infrastructure from London to Corby. The company had been the constructor for the new Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick, in the West Midlands, where work was expected to be completed in 2019 and is pictured today under construction Network Rail said in a statement: 'Network Rail is activating its contingency plans as a result of this unfortunate news. How Britain reacted to the collapse today 'This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers' Philip Green, Carillion chairman 'This is disastrous news for the workforce and disastrous news for transport and public services in Britain' Mick Cash, Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary 'Why did the Government continue to hand over public money to a company that had issued repeated profits warnings?' Jim Kennedy, Unite's national officer for local government 'The priority now for the Government and administrators is making sure kids in schools still get fed to day - and our members still have jobs and pensions' Rehana Azam, national officer of the GMB union 'It is vital that shareholders and creditors are not allowed to walk away with the rewards from profitable contracts while the taxpayer bails out loss-making parts of the business' Jon Trickett, Cabinet Office shadow minister 'Network Rail is activating its contingency plans as a result of this unfortunate news' Network Rail spokesman Advertisement 'Passengers can be reassured that their services will be running as normal today as Carillion's work for Network Rail does not involve the day-to-day running of the railway. 'We will be working closely with the administrators and Carillion's management team to ensure projects that they are working on continue and that the supply chain is maintained for this important work. 'Our aim is to ensure, as far as possible, that this news has as little impact as possible on our projects to grow and expand the railway network.' A spokesman from the Pension Protection Fund said: 'We can confirm that we have been notified that some of the Carillion group's companies have gone into liquidation and we know this news will raise serious concerns for their employees. 'We want to reassure members of Carillion's defined benefit pension schemes that their benefits continue to be protected by the PPF and will continue to be protected if or when their scheme enters the PPF assessment period.' A statement from the chairmen of the Carillion pension schemes said: 'This is obviously very disappointing news. 'The trustees have been very closely involved in all discussions with stakeholders over the last few months, working to protect members' interests. 'We will now work with PwC and the Pension Protection Fund to deliver detailed information to members about how their benefits will be affected, and provide them with all the support that we can. 'We are in the process of issuing an initial communication to all members, and we will make further information available as soon as possible, including by establishing a dedicated web page.' Not a bad place to weather the storm... Ex-CEO's 1.2m farmhouse Richard Howson enjoys a luxurious lifestyle - living in a 1.2m farmhouse. The grand five-bedroom property sits proudly above neighbouring houses nestled in the Yorkshire Dales countryside. The farmhouse, which has been extended to almost double its original size, has three reception rooms and three bathrooms. Mr Howson lives at a 1.2million estate near Skipton, seen here in a photograph taken today. The grand five-bedroom property sits proudly above neighbouring houses nestled in the Yorkshire Dales countryside Within the grounds of the imposing stone-built property is an annexe with separate living accommodation. A black Range Rover was parked in the driveway of the house, which is gated. Sheep graze in the fields below. Howson lives at the farmhouse, in Skipton, North Yorkshire, with his wife and two boys. Along the single-lane road, where the impressive property is located, a ramshackle barn is being restored. Mr Howson's grand house is just five minutes' drive from the market town's centre. And just a few minutes' walk away is a posh farm shop, selling local fruit, vegetables and meats. The car park is packed with high-end cars and four by fours. Within the grounds of the imposing stone-built property is an annexe with separate living accommodation. It is pictured from the air in this Google Maps image Advertisement Ministers face calls for a public inquiry into Carillion as it emerges they left the troubled firm unsupervised for three months and 2bn of public sector contracts were given to it even after profits warning By Kate Ferguson, Political Correspondent for MailOnline Ministers are facing fresh fury over the Carillion debacle today after it emerged the official tasked with monitoring the company's contracts was 'rotated off' the task three months ago. Ex Rolls Royce chief Julie Scattergood was working as Carillion's crown representative to keep an eye on the taxpayer-funded contracts. But chief executive of the civil service, John Manzoni, revealed she was taken off the job over the summer - just as the company's shares tumbled and questions were raised about the firm's future. The revelation comes as the Government faces calls for a public inquiry into how around 2billion of public sector contracts were doled to the troubled firm after it issues its profits warning last July. Theresa May (pictured heading to church with her husband Philip in Maidenhead yesterday) and her ministers are facing a major backlash after it emerged they handed Carillion a 1.4bn project to help build HS2 in July last year - just a week after the firm's shares nosedived following a profit warning He told the Public Administration Committee that as a result the 'horsepower' around the Carillion was provided by the strategic partnership management team. He insisted that team put in a 'blinding' performance. But MPs on the committee responded questioned whether that meant they had their 'eyes closed'. Meanwhile Cabinet ministers are today holding an emergency Cobra meeting in the firm's collapse to check contingency plans are working across the UK. David Lidington - Theresa May's de facto deputy - will oversee the meeting as the Government scrambles to address fears jobs will be lost and services harmed by the firm's bankruptcy. Chancellor Philip Hammond, schools minister Nick Gibb and junior ministers from the defence and communities ministries were among those pictured attending the Cobra meeting. Afterwards David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, told BBC News: 'The message today was that day one had gone pretty well, people were turning up to work, we had not had reports of any serious disruption to service delivery. 'But we also had a report from PwC, who are working as the special managers for the Official Receiver, that took us through the advice they are providing to concerned employees and contractors on their website and through their helpline. 'And it was an opportunity for ministers just to test what is going on, what sort of concerns are being expressed and to decide how we should best address those and provide the reassurance people want.' HOW THE COLLAPSE OF CARILLION UNFOLDED July 10, 2017 Carillion chief executive Richard Howson quits as Carillion issues profit warning and pulls out of three construction markets in the Middle East July 11, 2017 Carillion tumble by 30% as questions were raised about the future of the company July 17, 2017 Carillion wins a 1.4 billion contract to help build Britain's High Speed 2 railway as part of a consortium July 18, 2017 A Carillion joint venture wins two Ministry of Defence contracts worth 158m for catering and leisure services Sept 11, 2017 Carillion's finance chief Zafar Khan leaves as the firm announces major shake-up of its top team Sept 29, 2017 Carillion issues a second profit warning sparking fresh fears over its future Nov 6, 2017 State-owned Network Rail gave Carillion a contract worth around 320m to upgrade track on the London to Corby line Nov 17, 2017 Shares fall another 34% after Carillion issues its third profit warning Jan 3, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority said it is investigating Carillion's statements to the market in the 7 months before it issued its first profit warning Jan 15 2018: Carillion announces it has gone into liquidation sparking concerns over the 450 public sector contracts it has and the 20,000 people it employs Advertisement The construction giant collapsed this morning sparking questions about the future of the 450 public sector contracts its has and the 20,000 people it employs. Firefighters in Oxfordshire have been put on standby to deliver school dinners in the county amid fears the firm's collapse will disrupt canteens at 90 schools. Meanwhile, it emerged Carillion won eight public sector contacts worth nearly 2bn even as their shares tumbled and questions over its future were raised. Just a week after Carillion issued its first profit warning last July it was handed a 1.4bn project to help build HS2 in July last year. While the same week the Ministry of Defence also gave the now-failed construction giant two contracts for leisure and catering services worth 158million. State-owned Network Rail gave Carillion a contract worth around 320m to upgrade track on the London to Corby line in November last year. Leeds City Council handed Carillion a 14m 'advanced works' deal for the first stage of the East Leeds Orbital Road to improve the existing highway a week ago. Critics accused the Government of presiding over a 'shambles' and said ministers should 'hang their heads in shame' over the collapse. Mr Lidington, Cabinet Office minster, will be joined by representatives from across Government including the transport department at the meeting , which is due to kick off at 6.30pm tonight. Under the MoD contracts, Carillion was to provide catering, retail and leisure services at more than 230 military sites across the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Theresa May is facing calls to sack Chris Grayling as Transport Secretary over Carillion's collapse. Labour peer Lord Adonis, who recently quit as the Government's infrastructure Tsar, said the buck must stop with the ministers. He told BBC Radio 4's World At One Programme: 'They continued to give contracts to Carillion and, to be blunt, closed their eyes to the big risks. 'Huge sums of taxpayer's money is at stake. 'You had a company that was clearly failing, it had issued three profit warnings, this wasn't exactly an opaque situation. 'But what happened was that the Government, and in particular Grayling's department of transport, decided to put huge amounts of work their way.' He added: 'Why did the Government prop up this company after it issued profit warnings?' Labour's shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey demanded a 'full and transparent investigation'into the company and the government. She said there are 'extreme concerns' about the government's handling of the situation adding: 'We expect the Government to step up now, take these contracts - the public sector contracts - back into public control.' Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable added: 'We urgently need a parliamentary inquiry into some of the very questionable decisions made in the past few months - not least the award of public contracts to a company that was clearly in danger of collapse. 'The issue of the former chief executive still being paid his salary, plus perks and bonus, is also a reward for failure that has to be looked into.' Last November he accused the Government of 'feeding' contracts to Carillion to keep them going. And it has emerged that the crown representative - a person who represents all of the Government's business interests with Carillion, was missing from the post for at least two months. This meant there was no single point of contact for the Government even as the firm was plunged into crisis. While the GMB trade union called for an urgent review into the all the contracts awarded to private companies. Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary said: 'Despite months of profit warnings, ministers have failed to prepare for the collapse of Carillion, which has plunged workers into crisis today. 'The Government has continued to spoon-feed the company taxpayers' money by awarding them yet more contracts. Ministers should be hanging their heads in shame today - it's a complete shambles. 'Carillion is the tip of the iceberg. Continued privatisations have mortgaged our future and services that we all rely on to profiteering companies. 'The minute jobs and services are secure, the Prime Minister must conduct a full and transparent inquiry into the provision of public services by private sector contractors with a view to taking them back under public control. 'What is unfolding at Carillion must never be allowed to happen again.' The Prime Minister's official spokesman insisted the Government has been keeping a close eye on the firm since its shares fell last July. He was unable to say exactly how many contracts had been awarded to the firm after July, when its future was first thrown into doubt. He said: 'It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders. 'But taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out a private sector company. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling (pictured left outside No10 last week) is facing fierce criticism over why his department gave a 1.6bn contract for HS2 to Carillion after the firms issues a profit warning. While the Ministry of Defence (now headed by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson, pictured right) also awarded the firm two lucrative contracts as their shares were tumbling 'Since profit warnings were first issued in July government has been closely monitoring the situation and has been in constructive discussion with Carillion while its ought to refinance its business. 'We remained hopeful that a solution could be found while putting robust contingency plans in place to prepare for every eventuality. 'Our primary responsibility has always been to keep our essential public services running safely.' He added: 'If there are lessons to be learnt from this they will be.' He said the HS2 contract was awarded as a joint venture which means that the other partners in - Eiffage and Kier -will now step in to cover the costs. Asked directly why the Government would take the risk of entering into a contract with Carillion after the profit warning, the PM's spokesman said: 'This is the point of a joint venture contact checks were carried out and undertakings were given but the whole point of a joint venture contract is it provides that legal certainty that services will be delivered'. Carillion saw its shares price plunge more than 70 per cent in the past six months after making a string of profit warnings and breaching its financial covenants. It also has a pension deficit of around 600m. But it has emerged its former chief executive Richard Howson, who left the company after a profits warning last summer, will continue to draw his 700,000 pay packet until October despite its collapse. Unions accused the firm of offering 'rewards for failure' after news the bumper salary will still be doled out surfaced. Unite the union said: 'This is a classic case of rewards for failure. 'The people at the top of Carillion were apparently lining their pockets while much of their workforce weren't receiving meaningful pay increases. 'Taxpayers' money appears to be siphoned off into private boardrooms.' Meanwhile, local authorities across the country have scrambled to put in contingency plans to ensure public services are not disrupted. While workers on Carillion contracts have been told to carry on turning up to work as usual and reassured they will get paid. How Carillion is behind the Royal Opera House and the GCHQ doughnut... and even feeds our school children In 1999 the Tarmac Group demerged into a building materials company: Tarmac, and a service provider: Carillion. After 1999 it went on to acquire further well-known companies including Mowlem in 2006, Alfred McAlpine in 2008, Vanbots in 2008, and Eaga in 2011. The company employs around 43,000 globally - around 20,000 in Britain - and has its base in Wolverhampton. The firm is understood to have public sector or public/private partnership contracts worth 1.7 billion, including providing school dinners, cleaning and catering at NHS hospitals, construction work on rail projects such as HS2 and maintaining 50,000 army base homes for the Ministry of Defence. The 745 million Aberdeen Bypass, which is currently under construction by Carillion and is pictured here as a building site One of Carillion's projects in Britain was the famous doughnut building of the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. File pic In the UK some of its projects have included the Royal Opera House, the Channel Tunnel, Tate Modern, the Library of Birmingham and the famous doughnut building of the UK's Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Internationally it has been responsible for Oman's parliament - the Majlis, Alvito Dam in Portugal and the Yas Marina Hotel in Abu Dhabi. As recently as January 2, Carillion celebrated the completion of what it described as 'another successful project' at Edinburgh Waverley Station. The Prime Minister's official spokesman insisted the Government has been keeping a close eye on the firm since its shares fell last July. The Manchester Angel Gardens, which costs 75m and was also under construction by Carillion. It is pictured here in a computer generated architect's image The 335 million Royal Liverpool Hospital is another one of the 450 projects the UK government has commission Carillion to build. It is pictured here in a computer generated image and is currently under construction He was unable to say exactly how many contracts had been awarded to the firm after July, when its future was first thrown into doubt. He said: 'It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders. 'But taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out a private sector company. 'Since profit warnings were first issued in July government has been closely monitoring the situation and has been in constructive discussion with Carillion while its ought to refinance its business. 'We remained hopeful that a solution could be found while putting robust contingency plans in place to prepare for every eventuality. 'Our primary responsibility has always been to keep our essential public services running safely.' The collapse could affect our children's school meals Services at hundreds of schools could face uncertainty after the collapse of Carillion. The firm provides meals as well as cleaning contracts and maintenance services to many schools across the country. Headteachers said that schools should not encounter problems as the Government has announced it will deliver public sector services, but added that they will be 'monitoring the situation closely'. According to the firm's website, it delivers more than 32,000 school meals every day to UK primary and secondary schools. It also says it cleans over 468,000 square metres of property across 245 schools, provides mechanical, electrical and fabric maintenance services to 683 schools and facilities management to 875 schools. In the wake of the announcement that Carillion has entered liquidation, one local authority - Oxfordshire County Council - said it had taken over services provided by the company, including school meals, and has put the fire service on standby. It said around 18,000 students at 90 schools in the area are supplied with dinners by Carillion. Alexandra Bailey, Oxfordshire's director for property, assets and investment, said: 'We expect school staff will be in work as normal today but if this doesn't happen we will provide school lunches to schools needing support, and the fire service are on standby to deliver them. We are confident no child will go hungry at school.' Advertisement Ministers are facing fresh fury over the Carillion debacle today after it emerged the official tasked with monitoring the companys contracts was rotated off the task three months ago. Ex Rolls Royce chief Julie Scattergood was working as Carillion's crown representative to keep an eye on the taxpayer-funded contracts. But chief executive of the civil service, John Manzoni, revealed she was taken off the job over the summer - just as the company's shares tumbled and questions were raised about the firm's future. The revelation comes as the Government is facing calls for a public inquiry into how around 2billion of public sector contracts were doled to the troubled firm after it issues its profits warning last July. The construction giant Carillion collapsed this morning sparking questions about the future of the 450 public sector contracts its has and the 20,000 people it employs Theresa May (pictured heading to church with her husband Philip in Maidenhead yesterday) and her ministers are facing a major backlash after it emerged they handed Carillion a 1.4bn project to help build HS2 in July last year - just a week after the firm's shares nosedived following a profit warning He told the Public Administration Committee that as a result the horsepower around the Carillion was provided by the strategic partnership management team. He insisted that team put in a blinding performance. But MPs on the committee responded questioned whether that meant they had their eyes closed. Meanwhile Cabinet ministers will today hold an emergency Cobra meeting in the firm's collapse to check contingency plans are working across the UK. HOW THE COLLAPSE OF CARILLION UNFOLDED July 10, 2017 Carillion chief executive Richard Howson quits as Carillion issues profit warning and pulls out of construction markets in the Middle East July 11, 2017 Carillion shares tumble by 30% as questions are raised about the future of the company July 17, 2017 Carillion wins a 1.4 billion contract to help build Britain's High Speed 2 railway as part of a consortium July 18, 2017 A Carillion joint venture wins two Ministry of Defence contracts worth 158m for catering services Sept 11, 2017 Carillion's finance chief Zafar Khan leaves as the firm announces major shake-up of its top team Sept 29, 2017 Carillion issues a second profit warning sparking fresh fears Nov 6, 2017 State-owned Network Rail gave Carillion a contract worth around 320m to upgrade track on the London to Corby line Nov 17, 2017 Shares fall another 34% after Carillion issues its third profit warning Jan 3, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority said it is investigating Carillion's statements to the market in the 7 months before it issued its first profit warning Jan 15 2018: Carillion announces it has gone into liquidation sparking concerns over the 450 public sector contracts it has and the 20,000 people it employs Advertisement David Lidington - Theresa May's de facto deputy - will oversee today's Cobra meeting as the Government scrambles to address fears jobs will be lost and services harmed by the firm's bankruptcy. The construction giant collapsed this morning sparking questions about the future of the 450 public sector contracts its has and the 20,000 people it employs. Firefighters in Oxfordshire have been put on standby to deliver school dinners in the county amid fears the firm's collapse will disrupt canteens at 90 schools. Meanwhile, it emerged Carillion won eight public sector contacts worth nearly 2bn even as their shares tumbled and questions over its future were raised. Just a week after Carillion issued its first profit warning last July it was handed a 1.4bn project to help build HS2 in July last year. While the same week the Ministry of Defence also gave the now-failed construction giant two contracts for leisure and catering services worth 158million. State-owned Network Rail gave Carillion a contract worth around 320m to upgrade track on the London to Corby line in November last year. Leeds City Council handed Carillion a 14m 'advanced works' deal for the first stage of the East Leeds Orbital Road to improve the existing highway a week ago. Critics accused the Government of presiding over a 'shambles' and said ministers should 'hang their heads in shame' over the collapse. Mr Lidington, Cabinet Office minster, will be joined by representatives from across Government including the transport department at the meeting , which is due to kick off at 6.30pm tonight. Under the MoD contracts, Carillion was to provide catering, retail and leisure services at more than 230 military sites across the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Theresa May is facing calls to sack Chris Grayling as Transport Secretary over Carillion's collapse. Labour peer Lord Adonis, who recently quit as the Government's infrastructure Tsar, said the buck must stop with the ministers. He told BBC Radio 4's World At One Programme: 'They continued to give contracts to Carillion and, to be blunt, closed their eyes to the big risks. 'Huge sums of taxpayer's money is at stake. 'You had a company that was clearly failing, it had issued three profit warnings, this wasn't exactly an opaque situation. 'But what happened was that the Government, and in particular Grayling's department of transport, decided to put huge amounts of work their way.' PUBLIC SECTOR CONTRACTS FIRM GIVEN AFTER PROFITS WARNING July 2017: A 1.4billion project to help build HS2, awarded last July. July 2017: Two Ministry of Defence contracts worth 158million to provide leisure and catering services. Nov 2017: State-owned Network Rail gave Carillion a contract worth around 320m to upgrade track on the London to Corby line Jan 2018: Leeds City Council handed Carillion a 14m for the first stage of the East Leeds Orbital Road Advertisement He added: 'Why did the Government prop up this company after it issued profit warnings?' Labour's shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey demanded a 'full and transparent investigation'into the company and the government. She said there are 'extreme concerns' about the government's handling of the situation adding: 'We expect the Government to step up now, take these contracts - the public sector contracts - back into public control.' Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable added: 'We urgently need a parliamentary inquiry into some of the very questionable decisions made in the past few months - not least the award of public contracts to a company that was clearly in danger of collapse. 'The issue of the former chief executive still being paid his salary, plus perks and bonus, is also a reward for failure that has to be looked into.' Last November he accused the Government of 'feeding' contracts to Carillion to keep them going. And it has emerged that the crown representative - a person who represents all of the Government's business interests with Carillion, was missing from the post for at least two months. This meant there was no single point of contact for the Government even as the firm was plunged into crisis. While the GMB trade union called for an urgent review into the all the contracts awarded to private companies. Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary said: 'Despite months of profit warnings, ministers have failed to prepare for the collapse of Carillion, which has plunged workers into crisis today. Richard Howson (file pic) who ran the company from 2012 to July following a shock profit warning, will continue receiving a pay packet that includes 28,000 in benefits until October despite overseeing the company's slide into collapse The 335 million Royal Liverpool Hospital is another one of the 450 projects the UK government has commission Carillion to build. It is pictured here in a computer generated image and is currently under construction 'The Government has continued to spoon-feed the company taxpayers' money by awarding them yet more contracts. Ministers should be hanging their heads in shame today - it's a complete shambles. WHO ARE CARILLION? What does Carillion do? It is one of the UK's largest construction companies - employing around 20,000 staff in Britain. It has worked on the Royal Opera House and the Channel Tunnel and offers outsourcing services - serving up school dinners, security and cleaning and catering in hospitals. Why is Carillion in so much debt? It has reported half-year losses of 1.15bn, has 900m of debt and last year reported a 587m pension deficit. It issued a string of profit warnings in 2017 and had to write off 845m as their contracts were revalued. Why is it not getting a bail-out? Carillion is believed to have asked the ministers for 20m but the Government refused amid fears the public would be furious taxpayer's money is being used to bail out yet another private firm. Advertisement 'Carillion is the tip of the iceberg. Continued privatisations have mortgaged our future and services that we all rely on to profiteering companies. 'The minute jobs and services are secure, the Prime Minister must conduct a full and transparent inquiry into the provision of public services by private sector contractors with a view to taking them back under public control. 'What is unfolding at Carillion must never be allowed to happen again.' The Prime Minister's official spokesman insisted the Government has been keeping a close eye on the firm since its shares fell last July. He was unable to say exactly how many contracts had been awarded to the firm after July, when its future was first thrown into doubt. He said: 'It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders. 'But taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out a private sector company. 'Since profit warnings were first issued in July government has been closely monitoring the situation and has been in constructive discussion with Carillion while its ought to refinance its business. Row as former CEO Richard Howson draws a 660,000 salary despite stepping down Richard Howson(seen in an undated social media photo) will continue receiving a pay packet that includes 28,000 in benefits until October Carillion has been accused of offering 'rewards for failure' as it emerged the former CEO still draws a 660,000 salary despite stepping down last summer after presiding over the company's slide to collapse. Richard Howson, who ran the company from 2012 to July following a shock profit warning, will continue receiving a pay packet that includes 28,000 in benefits until October. Former financial officer Zafar Khan stepped down in September but will continue receiving a 425,000 salary. And Keith Cochrane, who became interim CEO in July will receive a 750,000 salary until July despite leaving the firm next month, The Times reported. Unite said: 'This is a classic case of rewards for failure. 'The people at the top of Carillion were apparently lining their pockets while much of their workforce weren't receiving meaningful pay increases. 'Taxpayers' money appears to be siphoned off into private boardrooms.' The PM's spokesman said: 'While this is obviously not a decision for us, we would not expect to be seeing people benefiting from this failure.' Advertisement 'We remained hopeful that a solution could be found while putting robust contingency plans in place to prepare for every eventuality. 'Our primary responsibility has always been to keep our essential public services running safely.' He added: 'If there are lessons to be learnt from this they will be.' He said the HS2 contract was awarded as a joint venture which means that the other partners in - Eiffage and Kier -will now step in to cover the costs. Asked directly why the Government would take the risk of entering into a contract with Carillion after the profit warning, the PM's spokesman said: 'This is the point of a joint venture contact checks were carried out and undertakings were given but the whole point of a joint venture contract is it provides that legal certainty that services will be delivered'. Carillion saw its shares price plunge more than 70 per cent in the past six months after making a string of profit warnings and breaching its financial covenants. It also has a pension deficit of around 600m. But it has emerged its former chief executive Richard Howson, who left the company after a profits warning last summer, will continue to draw his 700,000 pay packet until October despite its collapse. Unions accused the firm of offering 'rewards for failure' after news the bumper salary will still be doled out surfaced. Unite the union said: 'This is a classic case of rewards for failure. 'The people at the top of Carillion were apparently lining their pockets while much of their workforce weren't receiving meaningful pay increases. 'Taxpayers' money appears to be siphoned off into private boardrooms.' Meanwhile, local authorities across the country have scrambled to put in contingency plans to ensure public services are not disrupted. While workers on Carillion contracts have been told to carry on turning up to work as usual and reassured they will get paid. MBABANE The next time you go to a shop to buy mealie meal, the chance of buying genetically modified mealie meal will no longer be close to zero. This will be more so because one of Swazilands largest mealie meal producers, Premier Swazi, intends to import genetically modified maize into the country for commercial milling purposes. The company, which already has a licence issued by the National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBoard) to import agricultural produce into the kingdom, is currently under environmental assessment by the Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA). In a correspondence received from Premier Swazi Site Manager David Nel, it was disclosed that the company wishes to import genetically modified white maize for the purpose of commercial milling. In the document forwarded to the Business Desk by Nel, it was explained that an application for import for food, feed, processing and placing on the market had already been submitted to SEA. It was mentioned that the importation had been earmarked to start with effect from December 2017. In the application which has been sourced from the SEA Bio Registrars office, the covering letter signed by Nel states that a sellers invoice and copy of the Namboard had been attached to assist in processing the permit. We would hereby request a SEA permit so as to apply for Phyto Certificate in South Africa, reads the letter which was stamped by the authority on November 29, 2017. In the form attached to the application, it was explained that the GMO maize would be imported from South Africa. In terms quantity, it was stated that 1 500 metric tons of the genetically modified organism would be imported into the country. The scientific name of the maize to be imported was explained to be Zea Mays. In the space where a summary risk assessment report ought to have been included, it was only mentioned that there would be no perceived risk as full quantity would be milled. The supplier of the maize was reported to be AFGRI SA with an address that states that they are based in Centurion, Gauteng in South Africa. Under methods and plans for safe handling, storage, transport and use, including packaging, labelling, documentation, disposal and contingency procedures, it was explained that products would be transported in bulk directly to Premier Swazi site and discharged into premiers bulk silos. EZULWINI January proved to be a myth this year and thanks to the standing ovation Omunye Phezukomunye viral song. The new Distruction Boyz crew from Durban in South Africa proved their worth by packing up Timbali Lodge on the first month of the year, which is always publicly proclaimed as a month of financial crisis. Distruction Boyz, who now call themselves Kings of Gqom, rose to fame with their famous Omunye track which set many hot spots on fire this past festive season. Over 800 jovial fun lovers attended the show which was courtesy of Timbali Lodge. The show was aimed at celebrating the inaugural visit of Distruction Boyz in the country. Fun lovers enjoyed every minute of the show. Setting the pace during the show were the locally celebrated DJs, Twins Of A Kind, who performed just after 9.30pm and they set the tone for the night by dishing out Gqom sounds, which were the theme of the night, as per the main acts of the nights. They performed to a mature crowd which filled the general and VIP areas. These areas were constantly at peace as each section knew where they geographically belonged through the night, enhancing the light and jovial mood of the night. Also, Mr Las Vegas himself, DJ MBO, increased the music expectations of the night by the flawless set that he rendered. He mainly played commercial house and the now popular Gqom music and he kept the crowd dancing and expecting the main performance to be on the same level as their popular song. He started performing at 12:15am until 12:45am. He left the crowd yearning for more as he played Malume by DJ Tira, while handing over the decks to DJ Calinda. DJ Calinda rendered commercial house tracks to revellers and they received his set well. After a highly anticipated wait, the South African duo entered on stage at 2:15am and they were received with screams and hysteric dances by their Swazi fans, as they were performing for the very first time in the country. As the duo entered on stage, it was nothing but marvellous Gqom sounds that were being dished out. Revellers danced throughout their performance. MBABANE The news of emerging first prize winner in the TV Licence Pay and Win Competition has left Victor Mabaso with a bitter sweet feeling. Mabaso, who is 71 years old won a two-night stay at The George Hotel and a cash prize of E1 000. He is not sure whom he will go with to the hotel because his wife is bedridden. This is the first draw of the competition which was conducted at the Times of Swaziland boardroom yesterday. When asked how he felt about winning the prize, the elderly man said; I am excited about winning and could jump through the roof. He said the prize was a challenge for him as a matured citizen who was nursing his bedridden wife. Mabaso said it would be very difficult for him to sleep out two nights as he had the responsibility of looking after his wife who could not come along with him due to her condition. Meanwhile, Thulisile Sibiya (63), who won the 3rd prize, said she was surprised by winning in the competition. Sibiya said she was thrilled by her winning as she desperately needed cash to pay her childrens school fees. She said she was a first time winner and had never won any other competition. To qualify for the competition, you have to own a television set and should have paid up in full your TV licence for the periods of 2017 and 2018. TV Licence Project Manager Modicai Donga said they were impressed by the entries. Donga said they were yet to verify if the participants complied with the competition requirements. The first prize winner gets to spend two nights at The George Hotel and E1 000 cash, second prize is cash amounting to E1 500 and third prize is E1 000 cash. According to Donga, consolation prize winners will get E500 cash. He said they had noted during the first draw of the competition was that some of the participants did not attach the receipts which led to a number of entries being disqualified. Meanwhile, Times of Swaziland News Editor Cassandra Shaw said there were people who were interested in taking part in the competition in the regions and the good news was that they could drop off their entries at any Times of Swaziland offices around the country. We would like to further advise that the competition runs for a period of three months and has already started this January and will end in March. In each month we will be conducting two draws, said Donga. MPOLONJENI There is confusion over the eligibility of Lowveld farmers for the subsidised farm inputs programme by the Ministry of Agriculture. All along, farmers in the Lowveld have been made to believe that they were not eligible to benefit from the programme because of the unfavourable weather conditions in their region. However, government now says all farmers are eligible for the subsidised farm inputs programme, including those in the Lowveld though none of them have actually benefited from the programme. When the subsidised farm input programme was launched some years ago, only farmers in the Highveld, Middleveld and the Lubombo plateau were eligible to apply for subsidised farm inputs. This was because of the conducive climate conditions in these regions, which made it possible for farmers to get a good yield. As such, some farmers in the Lowveld never bothered to apply for subsidised inputs from their local agricultural depots. Instead, they continuously complained of being sidelined and excluded from the subsidised farm input programme which has benefited many farmers. Over the years, we have only made use of the tractor service programme where we hire government tractors to cultivate our fields, said a farmer from Mpolonjeni near Siteki. He said each time he enquired about the other subsidised farm inputs like fertilisers and maize seeds, he was told that only farmers in the other climatic regions (and not the Lowveld) were considered for subsidised farm inputs. Stanford Mziyako, a farmer from Ngcina area near Mpolonjeni, said ever since he started growing sorghum many years ago, he has never received subsidised farm inputs from the Ministry of Agriculture. He hasnt bothered to apply for thefarm inputs because he cultivates his crops in the Lowveld. I save money for buying the seeds and the fertilisers. Sometimes when we harvest, we keep some of it so that we can use the seeds to grow new crops in the next farming season, he said. Thandi Mziyako, who grows groundnuts, said she was not aware that farmers in the Lowveld were now eligible for subsidised farm inputs. In the past couple of years, we began growing black-eyed beans which can withstand drought conditions. We buy the seeds and the fertilisers on our own and there has been no assistance from anyone, she said. The two farmers appealed to government for assistance in the form of subsidised farm inputs. They also want to be assisted in finding markets for their products. We do not have any market for our products, we sell in the black market, said Stanford in jest. SITEKI Form III failures in most Lubombo schools are caught between a rock and a hard place after they were told to either find a new school or return to Form II. It is even worse in some schools, where Form III failures have been told that they would not be enrolled unless they upgrade the failed subjects somewhere else so they can qualify to apply for places in Form IV. This has left both parents and pupils frustrated and despondent as schools are scheduled to open for the 2018 academic year in a weeks time. When they were reached for comment, some of the school administrators said it was their policy not to allow Form III failures to repeat. Others said they would have allowed the failures to repeat if it was not for space constraints and the large number of pupils who passed Form II and have to proceed to the next class. Siteki Nazarene Head teacher Phindile Makhanya said it was the policy of the school not to allow Form III failures to repeat. The school recorded a total of seven failures in the Junior Certificate (JC) examination results, which were released last week. We have not had a situation where theyve shown interest to repeat. Usually, they do not come back; they simply disappear, said Makhanya. Lubombo Central High Head teacher Pilate Vilane said Form III failures at the school were usually sent back to Form II or find another school to repeat or upgrade the failed subject. However, he said this year, he would meet with his deputy and the heads of departments to decide the fate of the seven pupils who failed Form III . They have indicated that they would be remarking. So we will wait until the 17th (Wednesday), where they will receive the outcome of their remarking, said Vilane. At Langa High School, the policy of the school is that Form III failures should return to Form III or they should enrol at another school. We recommend that they return to Form II so that they can start afresh and prepare for the examination because in Form III , there are only two terms before the exam, said Head teacher Celani Mahlalela. He added the school administration was still to meet and decided about the 15 pupils who failed Form III. At Good Shepherd High School, the fate of the seven pupils who failed Form III is still to be decided when the school administration meets later this week. MBABANE If any of the Swaziland Television Authority staff was thinking of celebrating following the introduction of Vusigama Khumalo as the acting chief executive officer, they should keep the meat and drinks on ice. This comes as Bongani Austin Dlamini, popularly known as Sgcoko, threw a spanner in the works as he said he hadnt bid anyone goodbye as yet. Khumalo, who is also the Senior Communication Engineer at the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology (ICT), replaces out of contract Bongani Austin Sgcoko Dlamini. Dlaminis contract is said to have expired last month. The appointment was confirmed by the stations Board Chairperson Nozizwe Mulela. Asked about the duration of the acting period, Mulela said: Until the recruitment process has been finalised and in line with the PEU requirements. MBABANE An accident waiting to happen! Walking across the Eteni, Matsapha overhead bridge - one of the busiest and most used pedestrian crossings in the country, was one of the most harrowing 23 metres I have ever had to undertake. All this took place while cars sped unchecked beneath me. The steel panels that I was walking on shook and shivered under my feet, making the most agonising noise as if complaining that I was too heavy. A section of the bridge is dislodged, if one pauses and gazes down, you can actually see the traffic literally passing under you. Parts of the railing on the two sides of the bridge have loosened and have actually dislocated, leaving gaps in between. I am not the only one hurrying across the steel structure. About 20 000 other pedestrians rushing to different destinations literally speed across the bridge with the only intent of reaching the other side and their jobs. Loose panels shift as members of the public hurry across, oblivious of the imminent danger that the bridge exposes them to. It was an experiment for me. Now imagine the thousands of Matsapha residents who cross the busy MR3 Public Road each morning and afternoon using the dented overhead bridge. The MR3 Public Road is also known as the Matsapha-Mbabane-Ngwenya road. It is one of the countrys roads that have a lot of traffic. Against this backdrop, pedestrians living at Eteni and surrounding areas in Matsapha make their way across the overhead bridge that was damaged by a truck that was hauling an abnormal cargo a couple of years ago which has not been attended to. According to earlier reports, the truck was transporting a concrete mixer to an unknown building site. MBABANE The biblical Psalms 35 is now his sanctuary as the institution he leads witnesses its first and prolonged strike action. That is none other than Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA) Commissioner General Dumisani Masilela, who told the Times SUNDAY that in everything he did nowadays, Psalms 35 was his point of reference. Masilela said this chapter of the bible was what kept him going and he was holding onto it each and every day. Please read Psalms 35, it will tell you the situation I am in. It is what keeps me going after I had wondered what was really happening, the SRA boss stated. As interpreted by Gordon Churchyard in Easy English Bible, Psalms 35 is a God Help Me cry from King David. In the psalm David asks God to fight for him. He (David) asks God to take Saul) or Absalom) away from the earth, says Churchyard. Saul was king of Israel before David. Absalom was Davids son, who wanted to be king in Davids place. Churchyard points out that the most important thing to learn from Psalm 35 is that David did not try to kill his enemies himself. He wanted God to do it in Gods way. When we have enemies we must ask God to do something. We must not try to hurt them ourselves, writes Churchyard. The interpreter states that while war is when countries fight each other, David sees God as a soldier, fighting for him with shields and spears He says this is what is called a human picture of God. We believe that God sends people or angels to do his work for him. In the psalm, the angel is probably one that the Jews called Michael. MBABANE I didnt realise Swaziland had become a dangerous place. This was one of the reactions of the many people who were left shocked on social media after the violent shooting and killing of businessman Victor Gamedze. Social media sites, particularly Facebook and Twitter, where filled with posts of people wondering how such a violent incident could have taken place in Swaziland. Many were convinced that whoever assassinated Gamedze was not a Swazi, as no local citizen was capable of doing such, especially in public. Others agreed that such a callous killing by shooting of a human being by another was giving the country a bad name. They simply described it as sad. However, others believed that Swaziland had always been a dangerous place. People are very angry but have no way of voicing it out except through violence on each other, said one user. The manner of the killing was on everyones lips as some users stated that although Gamedzes death was shocking, it was the manner in which it had happened that gave them goosebumps. I think that is what shocked me the most. When did we get there? Swaziland has always been my quiet, safe sanctuary, said the user. The posts lamented that for some time nothing would happen in the country and then suddenly something so major happens. Im so shook (sic), these things dont happen in our country, read another post. Others stated that Swaziland was slowly becoming like some of the neighbouring countries where crime was high and safety was not guaranteed. Were not safe yeboNkhosi, was the comment. There was a great deal of gossip in San Francisco when Mrs. Jane Stanford suddenly left her Nob Hill mansion for Hawaii on February 15, 1905. Ill health was one theory. Low spirits another. But, most shocking of all, the persistent rumor that, one month prior, someone had tried to murder the co-founder of Stanford University. A few days after her departure for Honolulu, San Francisco newspapers began reporting that Mrs. Stanford, then 76 years old, had been the subject of a nefarious murder attempt. Since the death of her husband Leland 12 years before, Mrs. Stanford had lived alone in their palatial home with just a few trusted servants. January 14 was an ordinary evening at the Stanford residence; Mrs. Stanford had gone up to her bedroom after dinner and the servants, including maid Elizabeth Richmond, were relaxing in the living room. Around 9, San Francisco newspapers reported, Mrs. Stanford began frantically calling for Richmond. "Come and see what is the matter with the Poland water!" she said. "I drank some, and it nearly choked me. It burned me so that I ran my fingers down my throat and threw it all up." Richmond took a sip from the bottle of mineral water and immediately spit it out, choked by the intense bitterness. Mrs. Stanfords private secretary Bertha Berner was fetched to corroborate their suspicions. She, too, noted the waters taste. In the morning, Richmond and Berner took the remainder to Wakelees drug store in the Financial District. There, a chemist who tested the bottles contents came back with a grim diagnosis: The water had been poisoned with enough strychnine to kill an elephant. Deeply shaken, Mrs. Stanford quickly planned a trip to Hawaii to leave the city and the assassination attempt behind her. When news of the poisoning broke, shed been at sea for four days. In her stead, Stanford president Dr. David Starr Jordan gave an emphatic statement to reporters. The fact is that Mrs. Stanford was threatened with pneumonia and her physician advised a warmer climate than San Francisco, he said. It was for this reason alone that she started on her trip. She did, however, tell me a month ago that she had been served with a bottle of mineral water which had a peculiar taste, but she did not drink it. She did not think for a minute that any attempt was being made to poison her, and I do not believe there was. Mrs. Stanford was not quoted in the story, nor was she ever reached for her thoughts on the poisoning. The next San Francisco heard, she was dead. --- Public Domain Jane Lathrop was born in Albany, New York in 1828, the daughter of a local shopkeeper and his wife. When Jane was 22, she married fellow New Yorker Leland Stanford, a lawyer from a well-to-do farming family. The couple moved to Sacramento in 1856, where Stanford built up a lucrative mercantile business. With the profits, he invested in the newly formed Central Pacific Railroad, and within the decade hed become one of the richest men in the country. But personal happiness eluded the Stanfords, who longed for a child. For nearly 18 years, the Stanfords were barren. Then, the miracle theyd prayed for happened: Jane, at 39 years of age, was pregnant. Their son, Leland Stanford Jr., was born in 1868 and, for a time, it seemed the Stanfords happiness was complete. As he approached his 16th birthday, Jane and Leland planned a Grand Tour of Europe to celebrate. Not long into the trip, though, young Leland fell ill. While in Athens, he was diagnosed with typhoid. He was sent to Italy for treatment, but doctors could do nothing to aid him. He died, two months shy of his 16th birthday, on March 13, 1884. The Stanfords brought their sons body back to California and tried to plan for a future without him. Although their dream of raising a family had died with him, there was one thing they could do. The children of California shall be our children, Stanford told his wife. And, with that, they planted the seeds of what would become Stanford University. The school opened in 1891, the pride of the Stanfords and the state, with Father Leland and Mother Jane at the helm. Two years later, Leland Stanford died, joining his son in the family mausoleum on the university campus. Jane was left alone to run the school and the family estate. Although tremendously popular with the students, Mrs. Stanford was rumored to sometimes clash with the universitys board of trustees. There were even murmurs that some members of the board would prefer to run the university without her influence, a wish they were granted in 1903 when she transferred all rights as a co-founder to the board. --- By all accounts, Honolulu was just what Mrs. Stanford needed. She seemed to be shaking off her earlier melancholy and had enjoyed a charming picnic on the afternoon of Feb. 28. Held on the grounds of the Moana Hotel, Mrs. Stanford partook in the hotels packed lunch of cucumber sandwiches and gingerbread. She ate so heartily that, come dinnertime, she still wasnt hungry. She asked her secretary Bertha Berner to bring her a laxative and bicarbonate of soda at 8:15 p.m., and retired to bed soon after. Buyenlarge/Getty Images What happened next was analyzed for months by detectives, the curious public and an official coroners inquest. According to Berner, she was sound asleep when she was awoken by the moans of her employer around 11 p.m. Berner looked up to see the outline of Mrs. Stanford clinging to the door frame. I have got no control of my body, she said. I think I have been poisoned again. Berner helped Mrs. Stanford back to her room, by which time she was undergoing full-body spasms. A doctor also staying in the hotel was called. Bertha, Mrs. Stanford gestured to her secretary. Tell the doctor what happened. Berner took her to mean the earlier poisoning attempt, and she informed the doctor of it. He had a stomach pump fetched, but it was too late. Mrs. Stanfords body twisted with back-breaking convulsions for three straight minutes. During a brief break in the suffering, she groaned, What a horrible death to die! At 11:30, Jane Stanford shuddered once more and died. --- As the rest of the hotel guests slept on, police descended on the crime scene. In Mrs. Stanfords room, they found a bottle of cascara capsules a laxative and the glass of bicarbonate of soda, a common treatment for indigestion. Police speculated one or both were poisoned with strychnine and had them bagged up to be analyzed by a chemist. An autopsy was also ordered. ALSO: 12 unsolved Bay Area mysteries you've never heard of The [Honolulu] officers are satisfied Mrs. Stanford was poisoned, the Press-Democrat reported, but whether it is murder or suicide they are unable to solve. As was customary, Hawaiian officials called an inquest. Dr. C.B. Wood testified before a coroners jury that the symptoms he found at the autopsy were typical of strychnine: extreme rigidity of the limbs, a locked jaw and purple discoloration of the corpse. Tests done to Mrs. Stanfords organs revealed the presence of strychnine, and an analysis of the laxative pills also showed the poison. When asked for an official cause of death, Wood confidently stated it was strychnine poisoning. SFC Bertha Berner was also called to testify, although she was less enthusiastic about the murder theory a reaction no doubt influenced by the fact she was the only person present at both poisonings. If she had been schooled for the stand she could not have done better, and there can be no question that she has schooled herself carefully during the time that has elapsed since the death of her patroness, the Call reported. Miss Berner had not left her own room until today since the tragedy occurred. Berner confirmed details of the earlier San Francisco poisoning and admitted the prescription for the cascara capsules was hers; shed filled it in San Francisco for years, often for her own personal use as well as Mrs. Stanfords. At the end of the inquest, the jury didnt take long to come back with its verdict: Mrs. Stanford, they concluded, had been murdered. She died from strychnine poisoning, the signed verdict read, said strychnine having been introduced into a bottle of bicarbonate of soda with felonious intent by some person or persons to this jury unknown. --- Back home in the Bay Area, Stanford officials and San Francisco police were already feverishly disputing the police findings. When reporters asked President Jordan about the inquest, he dismissively said he knew all about them and their work. Mrs. Stanford had died of natural causes, Jordan assured the public. Despite exhibiting no known symptoms of a heart condition, his analysis of the autopsy report led him to conclude that the layer of fat around her heart exacerbated by the full meal of picnic sandwiches and treats earlier that day had killed her. I do not care what the people think nor what the constables say, Jordan told the Chronicle. I am firm in my opinion. Detective Reynolds of the SFPD, who had been sent to Honolulu to investigate Mrs. Stanfords death, was in agreement. I believe the examination will show that Mrs. Stanford died from natural causes, Reynolds told the Chronicle, rejecting entirely the autopsy done by Hawaiian officials. He explained her twisted, tortured corpse as a side effect of the existing deformity in her limbs and maintained, like Dr. Jordan, that she died of a heart condition. But after so completely dismissing their findings, he hedged himself. Im not a doctor, Reynolds admitted to a reporter. I dont know. On March 21, Mrs. Stanfords remains arrived in San Francisco. The flags of every vessel in the bay were at half-mast. As her hearse traveled down the waterfront, thousands lined the sidewalks to pay their respects. At Stanford, the halls and classrooms were quiet. All activities were canceled for a week. She was buried in the family mausoleum, reunited with her beloved son at last. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. --- For the next century, Dr. Jordans opinion became the official story. Talk of her poisoning quieted, people forgot, and all accepted the universitys stance that Mrs. Stanford had died of heart failure while on vacation in Hawaii. Her murder only re-entered the public consciousness in 2003 when retired Stanford neurologist Robert Cutler published The Mysterious Death of Jane Stanford. In it, Cutler lays out the case for her murder and the subsequent cover-up by Stanford officials. Los Angeles Herald From clinical grounds alone there can be little doubt that Mrs. Stanford died in the suffocating grip of a tetanic spasm characteristic of strychnine poisoning Cutler writes. The conclusion that Mrs. Stanford was murdered is difficult to avoid... It seems remarkable today that the considered opinions of the attending and autopsy physicians, the toxicologists, the Honolulu police department, and the coroner's jury could be so easily dismissed on the basis of a brief declaration by President Jordan. Although the book makes a compelling case for her murder, it leaves the greatest mystery of all unresolved: Who killed her and why? Without a thorough police investigation and with all the participants long dead the unsatisfying truth is that its impossible to know for sure. Although theres no doubt he orchestrated the cover-up, it seems unlikely Dr. Jordan had a hand in the actual murder. Rather, he was hoping to keep the young university from descending into scandal. Theyd recently endured several highly publicized spats with faculty members and losing their founder to a grisly murder was hardly the press they needed. By whitewashing her gruesome end, maybe Jordan also hoped to preserve the memory of the schools beloved founder, free of sorrow and controversy. The most obvious suspect really, the only one is Bertha Berner, Mrs. Stanfords longtime personal secretary and the only person present at both poisonings. ALSO: The tale of the 'Demon of the Belfry,' San Francisco's forgotten Jack the Ripper Berner was born in Wisconsin in 1861 to German immigrant parents and moved to California in her late 20s. She was hired by Mrs. Stanford in the 1880s to a position that would take her around the world and ensure her lifelong financial stability. As Mrs. Stanfords secretary, Berner accompanied her on business and pleasure trips, helped run the household and maintained a close personal friendship with the solitary widow. Unmarried and childless, Berners world revolved around Mrs. Stanford. After Mrs. Stanfords death, the papers announced she had left $15,000 to Berner in her will almost $400,000 in todays money. I give and bequeath to Miss Bertha Berner, secretary and devoted friend to me through nineteen years of trial and sorrow, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, the will stipulated. With the money, Berner built herself a lovely two-story home in Menlo Park; she lived there until her death in 1945. Over the years, Berner's story changed multiple times, both in interviews with Hawaiian and San Francisco police and in public statements. Her final written account of Mrs. Stanford's last day included the claim Mrs. Stanford ate four Swiss cheese sandwiches, two tongue sandwiches, two lettuce sandwiches, two or three large pieces of gingerbread, two cups of cold coffee, and 12 or 14 pieces of French candy at lunch, a dubious-sounding justification of the "heart-failure-by-overeating" theory. There is no question Berner had the means and ability to commit the murder. She filled Mrs. Stanfords prescriptions, had unrestricted access to her food and drink, and could come and go in her private quarters without suspicion. Her motive is more mysterious. Berner was already living comfortably with Mrs. Stanford. Perhaps, in a moment of weakness, Berner grew impatient for the payoff she knew was coming. Poison does, after all, have the reputation as a womans weapon. --- A decade before her death, Berner published a biography of Jane Stanford. It was not particularly well-received. A review in the San Francisco Chronicle criticized its lack of detail, especially when dealing with the circumstances around Mrs. Stanford's final weeks. "That over 200 closely packed pages of incidents, dates and names could go almost completely without blessing of comment or observation is a credit to the author's reputation as a secretary," the Chronicle wrote, "but unfortunately not as a biographer." Berner concluded in the work that Mrs. Stanford died of heart failure, brought on by overeating at the afternoon picnic. Of her own role in the mystery, she had nothing more to say. "It seems a tragic waste of such a wealth of memories," wrote the Chronicle. "... Incident after incident simply cries out for elaboration while the readers is left with curiosity aroused and unrelieved." It seems only fitting, in the end, that Bertha Berner's last tribute to the woman leaves us all eternally wanting. Katie Dowd is the SFGATE managing editor. Email her: katie.dowd@sfgate.com | Twitter: @katiedowd Josiah Stanford was born and raised in the area of Watervliet that is within the boundaries of the town of Colonie. He was a tavern keeper on the Schenectady road (portions of Washington and Central avenues today) that connected the frontier trading posts of Albany and Schenectady, originally a dirt path through the woods. As travelers and commerce increased along the road that linked the two cities, the Stanford fortune also rose and Josiah eventually became the proprietor of the Elm Grove Hotel in Roessleville, in the vicinity of Colonie Center today. Josiah married Elizabeth Phillips and they had eight children, including six sons. They raised their family in Watervliet. The siblings gained renown and fortune in business and politics, but none achieved the prominence and immense wealth of the middle child, Leland, a lawyer who moved up the ranks of the Republican Party and became governor of California in 1861. That same year he became president of the Central Pacific Railroad and he exploited the nexus of business and politics. In 1862, his father died. Leland built his parents a magnificent mausoleum in Section 18, Lot 105, not far from the spectacular monument he purchased for his wife's parents, the Lathrops, in Section 11. The Stanford crypt is built into a hillside on the lowlands, halfway up South Ridge Road, near a ravine overlooking the Moordanaers Kill, in the vicinity of the Volkert Petrus Douw crypt. The Stanford mausoleum includes the remains of Leland's parents, three siblings and other relatives. It is an architectural gem with a formal staircase and gracefully curved wing walls of stone blocks, with a central arched portico topped by two carved urns. The mausoleum's substantial door is a cast-iron behemoth with filigree and detail work, dominated by capital letters spelling out the family name: STANFORD. Read more in These Exalted Acres: Unlocking the Secrets of Albany Rural Cemetery. But by the year 2000, the mausoleum had fallen into disrepair and Eleanor Alter, a Stanford University alumna, was alarmed during a visit to the cemetery to see the family's crypt surrounded by yellow caution tape because the wall was so unstable it was in danger of collapse. Alter enlisted the assistance of Stanford historian Norman Tutorow and both appealed to Stanford President Gerhard Casper. An anonymous $100,000 donation to the university paid for the yearlong restoration, supervised by the Stanford Planning Office and completed in 2005. The stones of the walls were removed and reset and the cast-iron was sandblasted and painted black. More than a century earlier, Leland Stanford was elected president of the Southern Pacific Railroad and built the western portion of the first transcontinental railroad. Stanford famously drove the "golden spike" that connected the eastern and western portions in Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. The titan of industry was powerless to assuage the grief he and his wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, of Albany, felt over the 1884 death of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., born when Leland was 44 years old. The boy died at 15 of typhoid fever in Florence, Italy, during the family's grand tour of Europe. The grief-stricken father wanted to erect an epic monument and mausoleum far larger than what he purchased for his father-in-law, Dyer Lathrop, or his parents and he began negotiations with the trustees of Albany Rural Cemetery. But he wanted 350 acres, which was more than three-quarters of the cemetery's 467 acres and that much land was not available. Neither could Stanford's millions put together a parcel that large around his family's homestead in Watervliet (present-day Colonie). Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. As a result, the Capital Region missed out on its opportunity to become the home of Stanford University. Stanford turned his attention to the open spaces out west and acquired property in Palo Alto, Calif., where he built his memorial to his dead son and christened it Leland Stanford Junior University in 1885. The couple endowed the school with $40 million (more than $1 billion today), which was three-quarters of the couple's estate. One of the first students was Herbert Hoover. Leland Stanford died of heart disease June 21, 1893, at home in Palo Alto. After his death, his wife ran the university almost single-handedly, and her autocratic style angered trustees and created a cabal of conspirators who wanted her out. She died Feb. 28, 1905, in Honolulu. She was 76. Her death was long attributed to heart failure. The couple's remains were interred alongside their son in a spectacular mausoleum and chapel on the campus of Stanford University. But the death of Jane Lathrop Stanford was actually a murder, and it was covered up in a conspiracy of university leaders, rarely mentioned and never fully examined until publication of a 2003 book by Stanford University Press, "The Mysterious Death of Jane Stanford," written by a Stanford physician, Dr. Robert W.P. Cutler. Cutler provided detailed medical evidence that proved that Jane Stanford was twice poisoned with strychnine. The first attempted murder failed on Jan. 14, 1905, at the Stanford mansion in the Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, when she recovered from the poison. She died after a second poisoning in her room at the Moana Hotel in Honolulu. The only person present at both poisonings was her personal secretary, Bertha Berner, who took Jane a glass of water on both occasions. Berner was never prosecuted. In her will, Jane Stanford bequeathed a home and the equivalent of $100,000 in today's money to Berner. Montecito, Calif. Parishioners prayed Sunday for those killed and for families still searching for missing relatives in a Southern California community ravaged by mudslides, and authorities announced another body had been found, increasing the death toll to 20. The body of 30-year-old Pinit Sutthithepa was discovered Saturday afternoon. His 2-year-old daughter, Lydia, remained missing. His 6-year-old son, Peerawat, nicknamed Pasta, and his 79-year-old father-in-law, Richard Loring Taylor, also were killed in the mudslides. "This family is one of several that lost multiple family members," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said. "And we know that the suffering of those who knew and loved all of the victims is immense." The list of those still missing in the mudslides has shrunk to four. Because most churches in Montecito are in an evacuation area, many worshippers attended services in nearby towns. At a church in Santa Barbara, they carried flowers, lit candles and prayed for the families who have lost loved ones. The victims were their friends and neighbors, they said. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. "Our whole community is devastated," Hannah Miller said at the Trinity Episcopal Church. "There isn't anyone who doesn't know someone who has been affected by this disaster. It is truly awful. We can just pray they find those poor missing people." Search and rescue operations ended Sunday and authorities transitioned to a search and recovery phase, Brown announced. ROTTERDAM The man killed Friday evening on Hamburg Street was walking through a construction zone that eventually would have provided safe walking space for pedestrians. Rotterdam police said Dramone Houston, 46, was killed on impact when he was struck at about 11:15 p.m. near Fifth Street. On Sunday police charged Megan M. Alexandre, 30, of Schenectady with leaving the scene of a fatal accident. COLONIE - An early morning traffic stop on Saturday lead to three men facing felony weapons charges. Police pulled over a 2009 Hyundai for traffic violations at about 3 a.m. on Saturday on Loudon Road near Pine Street. Police said the three men in the car admitted to smoking marijuana. When police searched the vehicle they found a Ruger 9mm handgun with 15 rounds in it beneath the drivers seat, along with a small amount of marijuana. Police discovered the gun had been stolen in 2013 in North Carolina. The three men, I-Shonn P. Maynor, 19, Damir T. Parson, 18, both of Schenectady and Brandon A. Delavallade, 33, of Amsterdam, were all charged with two counts each of criminal possession of a weapon. Maynor was also charged with several traffic violations. Delavallade had a warrant for receiving stolen property in Indiana and was charged with being a fugitive from justice. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. All three were sent to Albany County jail pending future court dates. Note: On Monday morning, the family changed the funeral home for Dramone Houston. Cannon Funeral Home will make the arrangements. ROTTERDAM When Yvette Houston arrived home Saturday at 8 a.m. from her overnight job as a home health aide, she expected her husband Dramone Houston to be there with their children. But outside her home, Rotterdam Police were waiting. They told her that her 46-year-old husband was a victim of a hit-and-run just blocks away from their Jerry Avenue home. Rotterdam police Sunday arrested Megan M. Alexandre of 2528 Curry Road and charged her with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, a felony. She was arraigned Sunday night about 6:30 p.m. before Judge James Bradshaw and remanded to the custody of the Schenectady County Sheriff's Office in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 bond. The final outcome might have been different if Alexandre called police, Rotterdam police said Sunday night. But on that Saturday morning, when Houston was told her husband had died, she had trouble with a simple act of getting her key in the door. A female detective helped her go in and assisted when she told the children. "It was so hard to tell them," she said. "The kids, they are all breaking down. It was such a shock. He was such an amazing man, such a good father." He was hit on Friday night at about 11:15 p.m. on Hamburg Street as he walked home from the bus stop, coming from his job at Walmart in Glenville. But he wasn't found, detectives told Yvette Houston, until 4 a.m. "What really hurts and bothers me is that he was lying there for hours in the sleet and freezing rain," Yvette Houston said Sunday. "It just breaks my heart. I can't get it out of my head." Yvette Houston said that Dramone was not suppose to work that late on Friday, but he offered to close the store and take the last bus home. He knew he would only have to put up with the bus for a few more days. "He was buying a car next week," Yvette said. "He had the down payment, his loan was approved. He was so excited." He was also days away from being eligible for life insurance at Walmart. Now, his wife said, they are scrambling to pay for a funeral. "It's going to cost us $4,500 to $5,000 for a funeral," she said. "We are putting together a GoFundMe page because we don't have the money." Dramone lived in Albany for a time where he drove a school bus for Durham School Services. He also worked at Lowe's Home Improvement. Go Fund Me Click here to support the Go Fund Me account for Dramone Houston. See More Collapse Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Dramone Houston was born on Dec. 9, 1971 in Newark, N.J. On Sunday, his two brothers and a nephew from New Jersey filled up the small Rotterdam home, trying to find ways to comfort Yvette and the three girls, ages 6, 8, 11, and his two step-sons, ages 12 and 16. Dramone Houston was also father of two other children, ages 25 and 27, who live in North Carolina. "It's terrible," said his nephew Hyron Smith. "It's beyond terrible. It's a terrible way to go out. Someone hit him and left him. Dramone was a good person, a loving, funny dude who lived for his kids. It's just horrible." Rotterdam police held a press conference following the arraignment and said surveillance video indicted Alexandre didn't stop when she hit Houston. Both were heading south on Hamburg Street. Houston's body was found off the road. Her passenger side vehicle had damage consistent with hitting someone. "Barring any unforeseen circumstances if she (Alexandre) called it in, we certainly would have had a different outcome," said Lt. William Male of the Rotterdam Police Department. Alexandre gave a statement to police, Male said. Additional charges are pending. Alexandre is due back in court Thursday. Meanwhile, Yvette Houston is planning her husband's funeral with Cannon Funeral Home. As of Monday morning, she did not know what day a service will take place. "He wanted to be cremated," his wife said. "That's what we will do." [January 15, 2018] 500+ Students and Educators to Celebrate School Choice in Charleston Hundreds of students, teachers, and school leaders will celebrate education and opportunity with a trip to the South Carolina Aquarium and a program of student performances from charter and private schools. The event, planned for January 22 at 10:00 a.m., will focus on kids and educators. Students, teachers, and school leaders from a variety of school types will enjoy the aquarium and celebrate their education at this fun- and learning-filled event. More than 500 people are expected to attend the event at the South Carolina Aquarium. The goal of the event is to spotlight educational options for South Carolina students and tell student success stories. The celebration is timed to coincide with National School Choice Week (January 21-27, 2018), hich will feature more than 32,000 events across the country. "We are excited to host a great event celebrating School Choice Week in Charleston," said Shaunette Parker, executive director of My SC Education. "This event will feature an array of speakers including educators, parents, and students. Our goal is to shine a spotlight on the need for effective education options for every child in the Palmetto State!" Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, My SC Education, and the Palmetto Promise Institute are the lead organizers of the event along with many schools. Held every January, National School Choice Week is an independent public awareness effort designed to shine a positive spotlight on effective education options for every child. Through more than 32,000 independently planned events across the country, National School Choice Week raises public awareness of all types of educational choices available to children. These options include traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, online learning, private schools, and homeschooling. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180115005045/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 14, 2018] Trianz Acquires CBIG Consulting and Strengthens Analytics Practice SYDNEY, MELBOURNE, Australia and BRISBANE, Australia, January 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Trianz, a global digital transformation consulting and technology services firm today announced its acquisition of CBIG Consulting (CBIG), a leading Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics consulting firm based out of Chicago. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/626944/Trianz_Logo.jpg ) In 2013, Trianz made a commitment to focus exclusively in the areas of Cloud, Analytics, Digital, Infrastructure and Security -related services to help clients transition to digital enterprises. Trianz has grown steadily for the past 5 years, developing capabilities research, strategy, process and technology consulting and managed services capabilities. The addition is part of Trianz' ongoing strategy to scale its digital transformation services portfolio comprising of Cloud, Analytics, Digitalization, Infrastructure and Security services. Trianz has also built strong technology partnerships in these areas, emerging as a Managed Services Partner of both AWS & Microsoft Azure. Trianz is rated #1 by clients for business impact, quality of services and commitment - for 2 years in a row. Founded in 2002, CBIG is headquartered in Chicago and is present in several locations across the U.S. CBIG offers a full array of analytics and information management services - from strategy and planning to full stack technology implementations for leading enterprises that help them make intelligent business decisions. CBIG's project teams comprise of leading strategic business consultants, data scientists and analysts, data engineers and architects. The collective knowledge of these teams in over 500 engagements has helped CBIG increase enterprises' value and competitive edge. In 2017, CBIG was named as one of 'America's Best Management Consulting Firms.' Speaking on this occasion, Sri Manchala, President and CEO at Trianz, said, "Trianz has established itself as a strong player in the digital evolution space enabling business and IT leaders drive transitions to a digital enterprise. Our goal is to continue to scale our portfolio and capabilities in Cloud, Analytics, Digitalization, Infrastructure and Security to emerge as a leading firm by 2020. CBIG brings experience in multiple industries, depth in analytics and carries strong client centricity and a commitment to their success. Trianz and CBIG clients now have access to a large practice with end-to-end capabilities from strategy to implementation and managed services. We look forward to continued client success as one team going forward." Todd Nash, a founding Principal of CBIG expressed his views, "The hallmark of our success was built on quality teams, value delivery, client satisfaction and lasting partnerships. Being part of Trianz will help us amplify this success to our clients by offering a wider breadth of services, global scale and technology depth. We are excited about joining forces with Trianz and look forward to the opportunity ahead." About CBIG Consulting CBIG Consulting is a leader in Business Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Data Warehousing, and Cloud-based Analytics platforms. Named a top BI and Big Data consulting firm by independent research organizations and publications, CBIG's management consultants, business analysts, data scientists, architects and engineers are seasoned professionals dedicated to the analytics space. CBIG works with global enterprises, mid-size businesses, and non-profit organizations in solving mission-critical reporting and analytical needs. CBIG is headquartered in the Chicago area and has additional offices in San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Austin, Raleigh, Irvine and Seattle. http://www.cbigconsulting.com About Trianz Trianz simplifies digital evolutions through effective strategies and excellence in execution. Collaborating with business and technology leaders, we help formulate and execute operational strategies to achieve intended business outcomes by bringing the best of consulting, technology experiences and execution models. Powered by knowledge, research, and perspectives, we enable clients to transition to a digital enterprise by leveraging Infrastructure, Cloud, Analytics, Digital and Security paradigms. With offices in Silicon Valley, Washington DC Metro, Jersey City, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Chennai, we serve Fortune 1000 and emerging organizations across industries globally. http://www.trianz.com Media Contact: Prashant Bhavaraju Vice President - Marketing reach@trianz.com +1-408-387-5800 http://www.trianz.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 14, 2018] Irish 'FinTech Company of the Year' Officially Launches New Hong Kong Office CORK, Ireland, January 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Irish award-winning 'Deloitte FinTech Company of the Year' Global Shares - leading global provider of equity compensation software solutions - today announced the official opening of its new Hong Kong office by Mr. Michael D'Arcy T.D. - Ireland's Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services. The new Hong Kong office is the company's first base in Asia, bringing to 10 the total number of Global Shares' offices around the world including New York, Dublin, Cork, London, Edinburgh, Lisbon & Munich. Today's announcement follows the rapid growth in Global Shares employee numbers rising from 68 staff in 2015, to 150 staff currently, and targeting a total of 228 staff members within 18 months. Global Shares new Asia-based team of three staff members will grow to ten staff within the next six months. The expansion comes on the back of significant growth in Global Shares' client base since the launch of its software platform in 2015, increasing from 150 to 250 clients from 25 countries with participants in over 100 countries worldwide. During this time Global Shares has signed contracts with 8 FTSE 100 companies and its client listing includes GSK, Skanska, Sage, UniCredit, Generali, Cargill, Noble Group, Giosis PTE Ltd and others. Speaking at the announcement in Hong Kong today, Irish Minister of State for Financial Services Michael D'Arcy TD, said: "I am delighted to be here today to officially launch Global Shares in Hong Kong. I would like to commend Global Shares for its ambitious and unwavering commitment to drive its international growth by opening this new Asian base to expand its reach directly into the market. Over the last three years Global Shares has achieved phenomenal global sales success , illustrating the potential of Ireland's financial services sector to create highly innovative market-leading FinTech products as well as create high value, sustainable employment. Global Shares is a great example of Enterprise Ireland's policy of strategic investment, and today's announcement illustrates how an Irish company can compete and succeed on the global stage. It is wonderful to see the continuedprogress Global Shares is making and I look forward to watching closely as its exciting story unfolds," he concluded. Dara Murphy, General Manager Global Shares Hong Kong said: "I am delighted to lead Global Shares' expansion in Asia with the opening of this new office in the heart of Hong Kong's business district. With our new team in place we can now provide comprehensive on-site support to customers in their local language and timezone and look forward to forging new and deeper business links here. Global Shares offers the most modern, cloud-based, equity plan management software in the world, with an exceptional online experience, unrivalled functionality and a fully customisable solution, setting a new benchmark for the global share plan administration industry. Over the past two years we have experienced stellar growth across every aspect of our business and additionally become MiFID & FINRA/SEC regulated. We can now offer clients a complete one-stop solution to manage every aspect of their employee share plan, from Administration and Share-Dealing, to Global Custody, Financial Reporting and more. Global Shares recently won the prestigious 'Deloitte FinTech Company of the Year' Award at the Technology Fast 50 Awards in Ireland', which is a tremendous endorsement of what we have achieved. I would like to acknowledge the welcome and support we have received since establishing here, from Government Agencies and Trade Associations, our partners YFF and the wider business community. We couldn't be more excited about this new venture for Global Shares!" About Global Shares: Global Shares is a leading provider of equity compensation management solutions, providing Share Plan Administration, Global Custody, Share-Dealing, Financial Reporting and expert support services to companies, making it easy to deliver shares to their employees, wherever they are in the world. We develop highly specialised cloud-based software, share-dealing and service solutions for private and public companies of all sizes to manage their employee equity plans. Our technology platform is developed and managed 100% in-house, whilst our highly skilled team of equity professionals deliver the highest levels of service with a personal touch. Our client listing includes some of the largest and best-known companies in the world who use equity compensation to attract and retain a top-class employee base. Our Software has set a new benchmark for the global share plan administration industry. For more information please visit http://www.globalshares.com For more information: http://www.globalshares.com (Available in English, Mandarin & other languages) Press & Media: Aisling Riordan, Marketing & PR Manager | E: Aisling Riordan, Marketing & PR Manager | E: ariordan@globalshares.com | T: +353(0)23-8833-062 Global Shares Hong Kong: Dara Murphy, General Manager Global Shares Hong Hong, 10/F Mass Mutual Tower, 33 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong | E: dmurphy@globalshares.com| T: +852-6422-1067 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 14, 2018] WuXi Biologics Appoints Dr. Chiang Syin, a Former FDA Officer as Chief Quality Officer WUXI, China, Jan. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi Biologics (WuXi Bio, 02269.HK), a leading global open-access biologics technology platform company, offering end-to-end solutions for biologics discovery, development and manufacturing, is pleased to announce that Dr. Chiang Syin has joined WuXi Bio as Chief Quality Officer, responsible for quality assurance, quality control laboratories and regulatory affairs. "We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Syin to WuXi Bio where his leadership can bring our quality and regulatory organization to a new level," said Dr. Chris Chen, Chief Executive Officer of WuXi Biologics, "Dr. Syin's nearly 30 years of experience at US FDA and CFDA (China Food and Drug Administration) biologics quality and compliance will accelerate our path to build a world-class quality organization for biologics commercial manufacturing." "I am very pleased to join this fast-growing organization that is accelerating and transforming how biologics are discovered, developed and manufactured globally. I look forward to working with the team to continue to improve our quality system and build a premier quality organization to serve the global partners and benefit global patients," commented Dr. Syin. Dr. Chiang Syin has nearly 30 years of experience in FDA regulatory review and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) compliance of biological and biotech products Prior to joining WuXi Biologics, he was a Gates Project International Expert for the Center for Food and Drug Inspection of CFDA (CFDI). From 2012 to February 2017, he served as the FDA Associate Country Director managing the Office's drug and device inspection program in China. Prior to joining the China Office, he served as a Branch Chief in the Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER). In this position, he provided leadership and program guidance to the staff engaged in Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control (CMC) reviews and GMP inspections for premarketing license applications and post marketing changes of the biological products. He was briefly transferred to the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) with biotech products in 2003 to help setting up the biotech inspection team in CDER. He joined CBER in 1988 after his postdoctoral training in NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases), NIH (National Institutes of Health) and performed regulatory reviews of IND (Investigational New Drug) and BLA (Biologics License Application) in addition to malaria research. From 1988 to 2012, he worked in the Offices of Vaccines, Blood and Compliance in CBER. Dr. Syin has been actively involved in FDA drug/biologics regulatory policy and guidance development that includes drafting Vaccines CMC and Phase I GMP guidance documents as well as the 2011 Process Validation guidance revision. About WuXi Biologics WuXi Biologics, a Hong Kong-listed company, is the only open-access biologics technology platform in the world offering end-to-end solutions to empower organizations to discover, develop and manufacture biologics from concept to commercial manufacturing. Our company history and achievements demonstrate our commitment to providing a truly ONE-stop service offering and value proposition to our global clients. For more information on WuXi Biologics, please visit www.wuxibiologics.com. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wuxi-biologics-appoints-dr-chiang-syin-a-former-fda-officer-as-chief-quality-officer-300582386.html SOURCE WuXi Biologics [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 14, 2018] Leading the New 3C Trend, KDX Initiates the Global SR Alliance LAS VEGAS, Jan. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On the afternoon of January 10, 2018, the second day of CES, KDX, a global 3D perception and interaction technology leader, launches SR technology, and together with over 40 global noted 3D ecology firms holds the launch ceremony of SR Alliance, aiming at establishing the SR Alliance (SRA) and promoting innovation in the global consumer electronics industry. Mr. Zhong Yu, Chairman of KDX Group, Ms. Xu Shu, CEO of KDX Group, Mr. Zhang Biao, President of KDX 3D Business Group, and Mr. Ren Zhongwei, President of KDXC, jointly with copartner leaders, media and enterprise representatives, attend the SRA Launch Ceremony. The representatives of KDX's copartners and industry bodies, like global 3D display technology originator Phillips, global 3D sound effect leader AURO TECHNOLOGY, ultrasonic touch sensitivity leader Ultrahaptics, global online retailer leader JD, famous information and wireless communication firm Arima, Shenzhen Electronics Industry Association, world-leading AR product and service provider Hiscene, present and make speeches at the ceremony. The representatives of firms and units including Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo, TCL, ZTE, Haier, Hisense, Acer, BOE, Qualcomm, Konka, Skyworth, China Resources, China Telecom, AOC, Acer, Asus, Bullitt, Audix, Clevo, Cube, Huajie Chuangshi, Leyard, Newtree, Positivo, CyberTech, Simcom, Smartisan, China-Webnet, Sprocomm, TINNO, Tecno, Vestel, Yota and ZSpace witness the establishment of SR Alliance. As the global 3D perception and interaction technology leader, KDX acts as a SR technology initiator and strives to be a pusher of the SR industry. Having a disruptive influence, SR spans multiple links like technology, product, application and content, so it needs integration of the global top resources and joint development of leading firms. In this respect, KDX, jointly with its global copartners builds the SR Alliance and establishes the industry platform for SR development and application. The establishment of SR Alliance drives global top terminal manufacturers, software providers, solution providers, distributors, content providers and other firms to cooperate with a view to making top strategic planning and design, co-building the SR innovation platform for resources integration and information sharing in the 3D+ strategy, accelerating SR industrialization, and extending trillion-scale market. Zhang Biao, President of 3D Business Group, KDX , presides the launch conference, and jointly with Maarten Tobias, CEO of Dimenco, shares the information, like "what is SR?", "what value lies in SR?" and outlooks the five future development stages of SR technology. Zhang points out that Simulated Reality (SR) is interfusion of multiple technologies like glasses-free 3D display technology, perception technology, man-machine interaction and artificial intelligence, presents the "materialized" experience featured in virtuality-reality combination, spans virtuality and reality, and makes medium-free interfusion between virtual digital world and real physical world. SR s orientated to experience sharing rather than information sharing. It is interaction with a vivid environment created. Speaking of the evolution route of SR, Zhang highlights: SR would evolve in the five stages of immersed display, virtual windows, artificial intelligence, go-beyond display and fully simulated reality, and create a brilliant vision of virtuality-reality combination. "3D technology has been developed and upgraded generation by generation by famous firms like Phillips, Sony and 3M for over 100 years. Now glasses-free 3D technology becomes matured and comes to commercialization. Black technologies like VR, AR and MR promotes the 3D presentation of images and videos. Urge demands in work and life rise with respect to actual and free 3D experience. Originating from KDX's "3D+" strategy, the SR technology launched now integrates frontier technologies like deep perception, sense organ perception and space interaction and creates bran-new medium-free 3D MR experience. Oriented at the base point, i.e. deep development of game, video and other visual content with 3D glasses / helmet, KDX will cooperate with copartners in technology, content, terminal and market fields to jointly promote SR development and 3D industry rise. We hope more partners joint SR Alliance to create better future," says Ms. Xu Shu, KDX Group CEO. At the Launch Ceremony, KDX SR technology has achieved high evaluation and strong support from global technical partners and front-line manufacturers, who consistently hold consistent favorable expectation upon KDX's SR technology, sufficiently affirm the status of KDX as a global SR innovation leader, consider this will bring the global consumer electronics industry overwhelming innovation and in succession express that they will actively conduct technological cooperation with KDX in the field of SR to jointly promote the development of SR industry. Alexander, General Manager of IP Department of Philips, holds that KDX and Philips enjoy high correspondence in concept and direction, and expresses, "At this year's CES, I have witnessed many VR and AR products, but KDX products not only enable users to feel 3D effect, but also provide the experience of true interaction and feeling of being personally on the scene. Philips considers that this is the most important experience and holds favorable expectation upon this direction. Currently, in Philips, we also promote combination of real and virtual, free interactive experience. We are happy to be able to be a member of SR Alliance led by KDX." Wilfred, the Chairman of AURO TECHNOLOGY, a global 3D sound leader, also offers sufficient affirmation upon KDX SR technology and expresses strong will for operation, hoping 3D sound to be able to promote the rapid development of SR, "Several months ago, during my visit to Dutch R&D Center of KDX, I witnessed SR technology, and hoped that our world-leading audio technology will be able to be combined with SR to be a part of SR technology. In future, we will conduct close cooperation with KDX to jointly promote SR development." At present, ultrasonic touch system has been applied in some scenarios. According to Robin Alter, the Vice President of Strategic Relationship Department of Ultrahaptics, an ultrasonic touch sensitivity technology leader, SR technology will form a greater stage for ultrasonic touch, virtual touch is just the more natural man-machine interaction experience mode; in future, we will make joint efforts with KDX to promote the development of SR hand in hand. Su Xianglong, General Manager of 3C Innovation Business Department of JD, a Chinese E-commerce giant, holds a quite favorable expectation upon the development prospect of SR: "On May 18 last year, JD has signed a global strategic cooperation agreement with KDX: in future, we will promote this technology together, as well as bring more black technology and more direct and wonderful product service to the consumers." Zhuang Dongru, the Deputy General Manager of Arima, holds that SR technology gets rid of the restrictions such as helmet and glasses, extremely facilitating the development of 3D, and expresses, "I have always been imagining how the future human beings will look at our current technology? We need wear helmets or glasses to do something? This obviously does not work, so the SR technology of KDX is just the future direction." Long Hong, the Standing Deputy President of Shenzhen Electronic Industry Association, attends CES for the 8th time, and expresses that KDX's SR technology shines in my eyes this time, "KDX is a globally noted enterprise and our German partner has told me to visit KDX. This time the SR technology launched by KDX brings brand-new stereoscopic sensory organ experiences and in future will undoubtedly enjoy extensive development space. " Liao Chunyuan, Chairman of Hiscene, a leader in AR content holds that SR represents future development trend and both parties enjoy huge potential for cooperation, and expresses, "The technology and content of Hiscene enjoys quite favorable junction point with KDX's SR technology as well as huge development space, so in future we will enlarge cooperation and develop mutually." At the end of Launch Ceremony, all the alliance enterprise and manufacturer representatives jointly cheer to celebrate the establishment of SR Alliance, which will exert the technological advantages of KDX in such fields as 3D ecology and technological industry platform, optics, software, gesture recognition, 3D modeling, space interaction and deep perception, construct SR open innovative platform of resource integration and information sharing under its 3D+ strategy, and forge full-terminal and full-scene abundant application to strive for the ultimate goal. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leading-the-new-3c-trend-kdx-initiates-the-global-sr-alliance-300582391.html SOURCE KDX [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 15, 2018] Vanilla + "WAmazing" Mobile Travel Agency announce the first collaborative campaign starting January 17 for Taiwanese and Hong Kong visitors to Japan - Register for the "Vanilla Air Point" Program and receive double SIM data from WAmazing TOKYO, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanilla Air Inc. (Katsuya Goto, president; based in Narita, Chiba Prefecture; referred to below as "Vanilla Air") and mobile travel agency WAmazing Inc. (Fumiko Kato, CEO; based in Minato Ward, Tokyo; referred to below as WAmazing) will launch a campaign on Wednesday, January 17 directed at Taiwanese and Hong Kong visitors to Japan and aiming to promote registration with and usage of the "Vanilla Air Point" Program and the "WAmazing" app. Vanilla Air is a low-cost carrier (LCC) in the ANA Group. With seven international routes serving five cities and seven domestic routes serving six cities, the airline operates seven flights every day from Taiwan and two flights every day from Hong Kong and is seeing yearly increases in the number of passengers visiting Japan from overseas. WAmazing offers free SIM card pickup services for foreigners at Japanese airports that have regular flights from overseas, enabling them to use their smartphones as soon as they enter the country and promoting demand among visiting foreigners with app-based sightseeing, lodging and other services. The two companies now celebrate their first collaborative campaign offering services to foreign visitors to Japan with the following details. [Campaign Overview] Period: Wednesday, January 17 to Saturday, March 31, 2018 to Target: Customers of foreign nationality traveling to Japan from either Taiwan or Hong Kong on Vanilla Airlines during the campaign period who are either newly registering or are already registered for the "Vanilla Air Point" Program from either or on Vanilla Airlines during the campaign period who are either newly registering or are already registered for the "Vanilla Air Point" Program Details: Customers may input their "Vanilla Air Point" Program member ID into the WAmazing app to receive a freeSIM with up to 1 GB of data. (Can be used for up to 15 days.) Airports where users of this campaign may pick up SIM cards: Narita International Airport, Terminal 3 Note: Pickup is also available at Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Kansai International Airport, Terminal 1 International Airport, Terminal 3 Note: Pickup is also available at Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. International Airport, Terminal 1 SIM card storage: New "WAmazing" users: Normal 500 MB + 500 MB (bonus for this campaign) = 1 GB Existing "WAmazing" users: 500MB (bonus for this campaign) New "WAmazing" users: Normal 500 MB + 500 MB (bonus for this campaign) = 1 GB Existing "WAmazing" users: 500MB (bonus for this campaign) Campaign website: https://campaign.wamazing.com/vanilla-air/ About the "Vanilla Air Point" Program This is the first-ever independent program offered by a Japanese LCC in which passengers earn points with each trip. The convenient point program allows registered customers to accumulate points depending on the prices of tickets they purchase and use the points they have saved up to purchase tickets. Customers may register at the following websites: (Taiwan) https://www.vanilla-air.com/tw/service/membership (Hong Kong) https://www.vanilla-air.com/hk/service/membership About "WAmazing" A startup founded in July 2016 by a former member of Recruit Group. Utilizing experience in the travel and leisure field, the company builds systems to promote easy and convenient smartphone-based tourism services for foreigners and encourage consumption of related services. Service details: "Free SIM card rental" offers free internet connectivity ideal for travelers to Japan * * "Travel agent functionality" offers content reservation, arrangement and service support while users are traveling in Japan *Currently offered at seven airports ( Narita , Chubu, Kansai , Aomori, Sendai, Shizuoka and Hiroshima ) as of January 17, 2018 . *Currently offered at seven airports ( , Chubu, , Aomori, Sendai, Shizuoka and ) as of . Target users: Visitors to Japan who reside in Taiwan and Hong Kong who reside in and Supported systems: iOS (iPhone), Android App download page: https://goo.gl/Kt9wpM Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180112/2031330-1-a Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180112/2031330-1-b Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180112/2031330-1-c SOURCE WAmazing Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 15, 2018] Gaining Momentum: WANdisco Announces New Position and Hire of a VP of Research SAN RAMON, California, January 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WANdisco (LSE: WAND), the Live Data company, announced today the addition of Ramki Thurimella Ph.D as VP of Research in the company's Silicon Valley headquarters. Ramki joins the company with extensive experience in algorithm design and information security. Prior to joining WANdisco he was Director of Cybersecurity and the Chair of Computer Science at the University Denver where he conducted sponsored research for the National Science Foundation in algorithms and cybersecurity. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539470/WANdisco_Logo.jpg ) Ramki will be working with Chief Scientist, Inventor and Co-Founder, Dr Yeturu Aahlad Ph.D, in Fusion Kernel, WANdisco's technology incubator, which looks at new use cases for the Company's patented Distributed Coordination Engine (DCnE) and their transformation into successful commercial products. David Richards, CEO and Co-Founder of WANdisco said: "I am delighted Ramki has joined WANdisco to explore new applications for our unique replication technology. With the growth of distributed ledger technologies such as Blockchain, I have no doubt that Ramki's background in encryption will be invaluable as we look to address challenges prevalent in new distributed computing applications." Ramki Thurimella, VP of Research said: "I'm joining WANdisco at a true industry inflection point where the potential of its patented Distributed Coordination Engine technology is only just beginning to be realized. I believe there are many other innovative products we can bring to market to complement the company's existing Source Code Management and Big Data and Cloud portfolios." About WANdisco WANdisco is shaping the future of data infrastructure with its groundbreaking Live Data platform, enabling companies to put all their data to work for the business - all the time, at any scale. WANdisco makes data always available, always accurate, and always protected, delivering hyperscale economics to support exponential data growth with the same IT budget. With significant OEM relationships with IBM and Dell EMC and go-to-market partnerships with Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle and other industry titans - as well as hundreds of customers among the Global 2000 - WANdisco is igniting a Live Data movement worldwide. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 15, 2018] CITE2018 Presented "China Night" in Las Vegas LAS VEGAS, Jan.15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As CES 2018 was gathering leading Chinese technology enterprises in Las Vegas with an aim of exploring the overseas market, China Information Technology Expo (CITE) joined hands with China's Consulate General in San Francisco and held the "China Night" in Bellagio Las Vegas Hotel on January 8 to increase CITE's brand awareness and promote the exhibitors' technologies and applications. This year's CES was, jokingly, said to be short for "China Electronics Show", for around 1/3 of its exhibitors were from China. However, the real China electronics show would be CITE, which is expected to gather approximately 2,000 Chinese innovative enterprises in Shenzhen in April. Concurrently with "China Night", the CITE North America Press Conference was attended by Hu Yan, CITE representative & Inspector of China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology; Gao Yuyue, Deputy Secretary General of Shenzhen Municipal City; Ren Faqiang, Deputy Consul-General of China's Consulate General in San Francisco; government officials from Nevada and Las Vegas, and part of CITE's prime exhibitors. Industry leaders from Qualcomm, Microsoft, Huawei, IFLYTEK, TCL, Cheetah Mobile, Suning, JD.com, BYD gathered to discuss cutting-edge consumer electronics technologies, highlighting trending topics of AI, driverless cars, smart home, robotics and IoT. Nearly one hundred journalists from Reuters, NY Times, ABC News, Yahoo, CNET, PC Magazine, The Verge, and Digital Trends, attended the press conference, which was facilitated by IFLYTEK's instant voice translation system to eliminte any language barriers. Hu Yan remarked in her speech on China's IT status, "China cannot do without the world and the world also needs China. China's booming IT market welcomes talents from all over the world." Gao Yuyue, Deputy Secretary General of Shenzhen, introduced IT development of Shenzhen - the Chinese Silicon Valley. Chen Wenhai, Secretary General of CITE2018 and Deputy GM of CEC Information Services, shared the preparation for CITE2018 which will focus on AI, IoT, smart home, new displays, and automobile electronics. He also extended his warm welcome to global IT professionals to join in CITE2018 in April to witness the fast-growing Chinese market and seek business opportunities. Shao Yang, Chief Strategy Officer of Huawei Consumer Business, delivered a keynote speech titled "Open 3 Doors in a Fully Connected Era". He stated that connection is the theme of this generation. In an information explosion era when human connection increases by 4 times, object connection by 100 times and information connection by 10,000 times, there are 3 doors: HMI, IoT and 5G. To open the doors, Huawei has prepared 3 keys: Mate 10 series, HiLink and 5G global commercial network. As the world is entering the AI era, people think that AI will be able to do everything except for literature. Yet Chen Shi, Vice president of Microsoft, showed Microsoft's another virtual assistant XiaoIce which defeated 2 human writers in a poem competition. This raises the question that when robots can write literary works, will AI expand into new territories? Keith B. Strier from Ernst & Young mediated the dialogue session, where Matthew Grob, Executive Vice President of Qualcomm; Hu Yu, Executive President of IFLYTEK; Zhao Feng, CTO of Haier; Xiang Jiangxu, Executive Vice President of Suning Commerce; Chen Lei, CEO of Xunlei had a lively discussion on human-machine interaction revolution and its impact on the future consumer electronics industry. At the end of the conference, Chen Wenhai was interviewed by Het Financieele Dagblad and China Daily, and shared CITE's status and global strategy as well as his insights on Chinese enterprises' overseas development and cooperation with their European and American counterparts. On January 10, the CITE delegation visited Dolby Global Headquarters in Los Angeles. Kevin Yeaman, President of Dolby Laboratories, introduced Dolby's history and its business in China, and highly evaluated many innovative Chinese chip partners including HiSilicon, Unisplendour Chip, Rockchip, Montage Technology, Sanechips, and Goke Micro and extended his gratitude for their support. Dolby is looking forward to further cooperating with CITE and benefiting from CITE's wide connection with a large number TV and mobile phone manufacturers that may become Dolby's potential partners and form an ecology of video and audio devices. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cite2018-presented-china-night-in-las-vegas-300582438.html SOURCE CITE (China Information Technology Expo) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 15, 2018] Flexport Hires Education Industry Veteran Gayle Allen to Expand People Operations SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexport, a leading technology-enabled freight forwarder and customs broker, today announced that Gayle Allen will join the company as vice president of people operations, to further build out employee learning, growth, and development programs. Flexport's core offerings include consultative expertise in the outdated freight forwarding industry, driving the investment in workplace learning starting on the first day of work. Gayle Allen is the founder of The Innovator's Circle, an organization that partners with company leaders to improve organizational performance. Prior to that, she served as chief learning officer at BrightBytes, an educational technology startup. Allen also served as an adjunct professor at Columbia University and New York University. She is the author of the book "The New Pillars of Modern Teaching" and also hosts a podcast called "Curious Minds." Allen earned an M.B.A. in global innovation and leadership from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University. Flexport has more than doubled its headcount in the last year and expanded its footprint globally, with offices in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, andShenzhen. Allen will be based in the company's San Francisco headquarters. Allen will be partnering with Flexport management to lift its culture of learning to new heights by creating a corporate university to encourage learning across the employee lifecycle. This global initiative will enhance existing programs within the company, such as Flexport Academy, an intensive new hire training program for global employees designed to bring industry newcomers up to speed in the complex world of freight logistics. Allen's role will also involve creating new learning tracks such as leadership courses for managers, and skill-building classes for employees of all levels. "Flexport's mission is to fix global trade and our employees are fiercely passionate about how they contribute to our mission. Gayle's passion and experience for workplace learning make her a natural fit as we continue to hire and grow the very best talent around the world," said Sanne Manders, chief operating officer at Flexport. "Top performers in any organization consider themselves lifelong students, and we're pleased to offer our employees a way to accelerate their careers while making an impact on the outdated supply chain industry." "Corporate learning can serve as a remarkable competitive advantage, and it was clear to me that Flexport is committed to learning and performance improvement," said Gayle Allen, vice president of people operations. I'm excited to help Flexport employees around the world to grow the knowledge and skills they need to drive the company's remarkable growth, as well as their careers. My prior roles have taught me that the best teams work hard on how they collaborate, plan, and communicate, and that data holds the key to measuring significant outcomes." About Flexport Flexport is a technology-enabled freight forwarder and customs broker that provides companies with real-time data on the locations of their goods and unparalleled visibility into their supply chains. Flexport offers an online dashboard for businesses to easily understand, purchase, manage, and track services required by global trade. Founded in 2013, Flexport is backed by leading investors including DST Global, Founders Fund and Felicis Ventures. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, and Shenzhen. To learn more, visit flexport.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flexport-hires-education-industry-veteran-gayle-allen-to-expand-people-operations-300582266.html SOURCE Flexport [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 15, 2018] Suntech Showcases Signature Solar Modules at the 2018 World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi ABU DHABI, The United Arab Emirates, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd. ("Suntech") annouces today that it is participating as a main exhibitor at the 2018 World Future Energy Summit (WFES 2018) held in Abu Dhabi. Opened on January 15, WFES is North East and North Africa(NENA)premier business-to-business event which is for all professionals in the solar energy and other related fields. More than 30,000 solar energy industry professionals from 175 countries attended the exhibition, with over 600 leading manufacturers, service providers and suppliers' participation. During the show, Suntech has brought with them four signature solar modules: [January 15, 2018] LiveEdu ICO Starts Jan. 15 - Michael Terpin From CoinAgenda Joins the Professional Development Ecosystem SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CoinAgenda producer Michael Terpin, CEO of Transform Group and co-founder of BitAngels, is the newest addition to the top-notch field of advisors for the LiveEdu ICO, which is slated to start on Jan. 15, 2018. Michael's Transform Group, with over 50 ICOs done and counting, is the world leader in blockchain and ICO public relations and advisory services. He also co-founded in 2013 two of the now most influential brands surrounding cryptocurrency: CoinAgenda and BitAngels. CoinAgenda was the first-ever conference for Bitcoin investors and is now the one place where the world's best and most knowledgeable cryptocurrency investors and the top established and upcoming investment opportunities meet and exchange information. BitAngels was the first angel group for cryptocurrency investments. This was followed in early 2014 by the BitAngels Dapps Fund with David Johnston, which was the first digital currency fund ($6 million wholly raised in cryptocurrency). Additionally, Terpin, along with Gil Penchina and Nick Sullivan, co-founded the Bitcoin syndicate as part of Flight VC. In the true vein of a serial entrepreneur, he co-founded an e-commerce Bitcoin company incubator, bCommerce Labs, in 2015. In 2017, he joined Alphabit Fund, a $300 million digital currency fund, as special advisor, CMO and hea of their ICO investment committee. Michael Terpin is a pioneering investor and adviser to a multitude of blockchain, media and technology companies, including ShapeShift, Bancor, Purse.io, and GoCoin. Joining the LiveEdu ICO is a logical evolution from his investing experience in the Bitcoin/blockchain sector since early 2013 and we are pleased to have such an innovator as our friend and advisor. The LiveEdu public sale starts from Jan. 15-Feb. 10, 2018. Education (EDU) tokenscan be purchased directly using ether (ETH), Bitcoins (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies (via Shapeshift). Bonus starts from 20 percent. About LiveEdu LiveEdu is a decentralized professional development platform that teaches people how to build complete products in future technological fields. They are building the YouTube for online education; simply put, it is the next-generation Lynda.com. Unlike existing online education platforms, LiveEdu is not focused on beginners but mainly intermediates to experts. Website and Social Media Website:https://tokensale.liveedu.tv/ Whitepaper: https://tokensale.liveedu.tv/static/docs/LiveEdu-white-paper.pdf Telegram: https://t.me/liveeduico Media Contact: Dr. Michael J. Garbade Phone: N/A Email: tokensale@liveedu.tv Related Images image1.png Michael Terpin image2.jpg LiveEdu ICO Related Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zVpof-zgDo View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/liveedu-ico-starts-jan-15---michael-terpin-from-coinagenda-joins-the-professional-development-ecosystem-300582508.html SOURCE LiveEdu [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 15, 2018] OmniByte joins IFS Partner Network to Resell and Implement Field Service Management Software LINKOPING, Sweden, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IFS, the global enterprise applications company, announces that field service management implementation expert, OmniByte Technology of Fargo, N.D. USA has joined the IFS Partner Network. OmniByte will act as a channel partner to sell and implement IFS Field Service Management and IFS Planning and Scheduling Optimization (IFS's dynamic scheduling engine) to the broader specialty contractor vertical. IFS and OmniByte are already actively engaged in joint go-to-market and customer implementation activities. "In the market OmniByte serves, we see a lack of good, ERP-agnostic field service management applications," OmniByte Chief Marketing Officer Mike Neuser said. "Some solutions are under-developed and very constrained in their functional scope, lack a highly configurable and scalable work force mobile solution and aren't keeping pace with emerging technologies. Others are nearing the end of their lifecycle and are becoming burning platforms. We see IFS Field Service Management as the strongest offering on the market today, with complete and powerful industry functionality, including a dynamic scheduling engine, a strong mobile solution, an IoT business connector, a considerable investment in R&D, and a history of successful integrations with a broad spectrum of ERP systems. Many customers don't need a new ERP system. They just need a game changing and compelling field service management solution." IFS Director of Partner Alliances for North America Parker Zanios added, "The team at OmniByte exemplifies what we look for in a partner organization. They bring documented domain-specific knowledge and are well-respected in the markets they serve. They are trained in our solutions and implementation methodology, but we expect to learn quite a bit from them as well. We have confidence in their abilities and commitment to growing the family of companies running IFS Field Service Management." More information about IFS Field Service Management can be found here: http://www.ifsworld.com/us/solutions/service-management/field-service-management/. About The OmniByte Technology OmniByte Technology is a North American based organization providing solutions and services in field service industries to provide greatest value to clients. OmniByte has deep expertise within Field Service Management, Mobility, ERP, Implementation, Automation and Migration Services. OmniByte develops and provides mobile applications for Field Service Organizations to address specific business needs and processes not met by Field Service Management solutions. OmniByte is headquartered in Fargo, ND. www.omnibyte.com Media Contact: Annett Obermeyer, Manager Marketing & Public Relations for IFS in Germany. Telephone: +49-9131-77-34-105, press@ifsworld.com Kathleen Hahn, PR-COM for IFS. Telephone: +49-89-599-97-763, kathleen.hahn@pr-com.de This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com The following files are available for download: http://mb.cision.com/Public/855/2430264/a15fef55200fea3f_org.jpg iStock-489211146 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/omnibyte-joins-ifs-partner-network-to-resell-and-implement-field-service-management-software-300582518.html SOURCE IFS [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 15, 2018] Mobius Institute Launches ODS & Modal Analysis Course for Vibration Analysts Mobius Institute, the premier provider of vibration analysis, reliability improvement and precision maintenance courses and training products, today introduced its latest training opportunity for vibration analysts; Operating Deflection Shape (ODS) and Modal Analysis course. This course teaches vibration analysts how to visualize the response of machine and its foundation to internally generated forces and externally applied forces, thereby providing valuable insight into potential problems not otherwise obvious through traditional vibration spectrum analysis. The ODS & Modal Analysis course will be presented by Mr. Tony Dematteo, who holds an expert ISO 18436-1 Category IV certification in vibration analysis and having extensive experience in industrial machinery, machine diagnostics and vibration analyst training since 1977. "At Mobius Institute, we strive to deliver everything that the beginner to the most advanced vibration analyst needs to become the best in their field," says Jason Tranter, founder and CEO, Mobius Institute. "Our ODS and Modal Analysis course is more understandable, thanks to our Crystal Clear training methodology that has proven to help Mobius students learn more and become more successful." The first Mobius ODS & Modal Analysis course will be held in Chicago, Illinois on June 5, 2018. Prospective students can learn more about the course content by visiting the Mobius Insttute website at www.mobiusinstitute.com/ods. To learn more about Mobius Institute, visit www.mobiusinstitute.com. About Mobius Institute Mobius Institute is a worldwide provider of reliability improvement, condition monitoring and precision maintenance education to industrial plant managers, reliability engineers and condition monitoring specialists, allowing plants to be successful in implementing reliability improvement programs. Mobius delivers training via public, in-plant and online education programs. Mobius' key advantage is its unique training style that uses innovative 3D animations and software simulations, making complex topics easier to understand. More than 24,000 vibration analysts from 173 countries have been classroom-trained since 2005, and thousands more through its e-Learning products. Mobius Institute Board of Certification is ISO 9001 certified and is an ISO/ IEC (News - Alert) 17024 and ISO 18436-1 accredited certification body that provides globally recognized certification to Category I-IV vibration analysts in accordance with ISO 18436-1 and 18436-2. Mobius Institute has offices in Australia, Belgium and the United States, and authorized training centers in 50 countries. For more information, call (615) 216-4811 (GMT -5), or email learn@mobiusinstitute.com or visit www.mobiusinstitute.com. Copyright 2018 - Mobius Institute - All rights reserved. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180115005017/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [January 15, 2018] Australian Building Construction Going Beyond Aesthetics Through Advanced Facade Design and Engineering SYDNEY, January 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Zak Exhibitions & Conferences to host Zak World of Facades.Australia's construction industry is poised to be a highly lucrative market with a host of opportunities and an apt amount of industrial and the government support through an array of infrastructure investment strategies. The government's new infrastructure development has about $70 Billion investment plan while $5.3 Billion has been committed for National Housing Infrastructure in the region. Increased digitization in the construction segment has also witnessed investments amounting to $98 million further cementing the technological innovations as an integral part of the construction economy. Cloud, 3D and digital technology for design, modular and pre-fabrication construction, green buildings, dynamic facades, etc. are further enabling the innovation in construction trends in Australia. A consistent set of standards around technology adoption and use will help Australia's construction inustry deliver world class commercial projects and also make housing more affordable. Owing to the construction industry growth in the region, Zak is launching the world's leading conference series on facade design and engineering, Zak World of Facades in Australia. This conference with take place at the state-of-the-art International Convention Center in Sydney on 8th February 2018 . It will provide a dedicated platform to the construction industry to celebrate their strength, identify and mitigate the probable challenges, ascertain the way forward with a sole motive of raising the bar of facade construction in the region. High-octane discussions on topics, including future trends for facades, energy-efficient facades, digital impact on facades, fire safety features with insights on new AS5113 code, new-age cladding materials, design consideration for high-rise facades and glass procurement challenges amongst others will happen during the course of one day proceedings. Industry influencers from firms such as Arup, Grimshaw, Hassell, Inhabit, Architectus, Fender Katsalidis, Aurecon, FJMT Studio, 3XN, Cundall, Arcadis, PTW, Plus Architecture, AECOM, etc. shall be partaking in the discussions while sharing their expertise on these subjects. Dekton by Cosentino is the presenting partner of the event. Dekton is a new age facade cladding material made by sophisticated raw materials used in the production of glass, porcelanic and quartz surfaces. It is a material with unique characteristics and infinite application possibilities as ventilated facades, bonded facades and curtain wall spandrel panels. Visit http://www.facades.sydney for the complete event agenda. Further information about the event contact Shveta Sethi at info@zakgroup.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A Los Angeles man accused of making a hoax phone call that led to the death of an innocent man in Wichita, Kansas, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. 25-year-old Tyler Barriss was arrested in Los Angeles late last month, and authorities there extradited him to Kansas. And so tonight, we're featuring this quickie debate moment of tension between two elected officials on the issue at hand. In this clip, Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker offers a "stop sign analogy" which Exec Frank White contradicts with a legal opinion. For the most part, Kansas City MSM has done a horrible job at explaining the debate over control of the Jackson County COMBAT anti-crime program to the public.Again,Ultimately, the argument wasn't settled, was handed back to the Legislature and is now on it's way to anlegal decision.You decide . . . OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Overland Park police are investigating after a hoax call sent them to a home on West 131st Street Monday morning. Police initially called it a barricaded subject situation. Overland Park police said someone called them and said they had shot a relative and would shoot police if they showed up. A suspect is in custody after reportedly firing shots at Kansas City Police officers Saturday night. Officers were in the area of Blue Parkway and Elmwood around 11:13 Saturday night when an individual fired shots at their patrol car. Officers were able to conduct a car check just west of the intersection, and one suspect was taken into custody. Mr. Glynn's campaign noted that he was "honored to be recognized by the SCLC Greater Kansas City Chapter today for his part in helping the SCLC campaign to raise the minimum wage in Kansas City. "As a small business owner, Phil pays each of his employees at least $15 an hour. Workers deserve a living wage and Phil will continue the fight for all Kansas Citians." Will this gambit and/or commitment to social justice work to put this attorney in the Mayor's office??? More than any other local contender for the top Kansas City political job at City Hall . . .pushes his campaign with today's festivites in honor of a slain civil rights leader.He started early . . .Today, some of his supporters are out in full force at local MLK tribute events pushing the interests of a lawyer advocate with close connections to the Kansas City Civil Rights community.You decide . . . Governor Eric Greitens has embroiled Missouri voters in a cringe-worthy public discussion over sexual politics, alleged revenge porn and cuckholding. He understood that his actions throughout his career were subject to public discussion before he ran for office but still chose to engage in a skeptical campaign where his "family values" were touted over those of his opposition. If the Governor Eric Greitens wants to move past this controversy then he needs to apologize to voters for this nasty distraction that threatens to ruin his career as an elected official. Continuing to hide behind his military record, family, wife and cronies has failed the Governor. An open, honest apology TO VOTERS and not just his GOP lawmaker colleagues for a deceptive campaign and public disgrace would offer a new starting point wherein the people of Missouri could focus on policy over personality. Instead, it seems that pride holds the Governor back from a real commitment to public service. STL Post-Dispatch: Greitens finds himself on a deserted island surrounded by snakes Columbia Tribune: Allegations against Greitens follows pattern of deceptive behavior Fox2 Now: The future for Missouri Governor Eric Greitens More than anything, Governor Eric Greitens has shown Missouri voters that he's inept, unconvincing and ultimately cowardly when confronted with a political crisis.When the topic of admitted adultery and alleged revenge porn blackmail first confronted the Governor he quickly downplayed the story, hid behind his wife and family and refused to talk with the public except through terse social media statements authored with the help of his lawyer.Later, he blamed Democratic Party operatives for his personal failings and reiterated the importance of his own family while refusing to acknowledge the havoc he helped to admittedly helped to create in another marriage.And now he's laying low after all of the bluster and braggadocio of his campaign has been revealed as nothing but a marketing ploy.Still, the people of Missouri are basically good folks and still support lower taxes and a great deal of the policies touted by the Sancho Guv.Nevertheless . . .Sadly, what's more likely is that the nasty topic of infidelity and alleged revenge porn cuckoldry will continue to plague the Governor who refuses to man up for mistakes now made public and instead transforms into the very kind of career politician that he once, hypocritically, rebuked.Check the latest links:You decide . . . Toni Anderson went missing after a traffic stop last January. She got gas at a QuickTrip, and was never seen alive again. "What really happened that night on January 15th? Just accepting that she just drove all the way here, and just drove down the boat ramp, and couldn't get out of her car -- I just can't buy that," her friend said. She wants to know, and says at this point research is the only option. "Looking over the case file, looking over all the articles that used to be posted about her, and kind of just comparing all the discrepancies, and everything, and then trying to push the new Chief of Police of the Kansas City department to show him - look at all these discrepancies that were reported numerous times . . ." She was a Kansas City party girl who worked at a strip club and there are continued questions surrounding the circumstances of her tragic demise.Here's a bit of follow-up worth a peek:Deets:Cocaine and other drugs were found in her system during an autopsy.The death was ruled accidental.Her stripper friends quickly clammed up when police attempted to ask them specific questions about Toni Anderson's lifestyle and associations.The only thing is clear is that very few people accept a fantastical explanation that the a drunk broad navigated a complex park maze, riverside dock and wound up dead with her seat belt still on despite making it past a police stop only moments earlier. Meanwhile, the death of the young woman - What manybelieve to be an unsolved homicide - preceded one of the most bloody years Kansas City has seen in decades.Now, only tragic park bench memorializes her demise.You decide . . . WHY CAN'T KANSAS CITY DEAL WITH DANGEROUS AND ICE PACKED NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS??? Once again a cold weather Kansas City neighborhood complaint emerges from residents throughout this town . . .To be fair, the main roads are passable and city workers have done a valiant job to keep traffic moving.But most of the side streets are simply garbage.Local residents might remember that it didn't always used to be this way . . . Neighborhoods regularly witnessed KCMO trucks working to keep their neighborhood streets passable.Alas, this practice is no more as, yet again, City Hall seems focused on taking care of residents inside the loop first and foremost.You decide . . . Political stability and entrepreneurship support in Greece are very important for the recovery of the crisis stricken economy as well as the strengthening of the tourist industry Greek main opposition New Democracy (ND) party continued to field a double-digit percentage point lead over ruling SYRIZA in the latest opinion poll results published on Sunday, although the latter appears to have rebounded from its approval ratings "free fall" over the past few months. According to findings of the opinion poll, conducted by the firm Marc and published in the weekly "Proto Thema", center-right ND is given 29 percent of respondents' preference to leftist SYRIZA's 18.9 percent. "Proto Thema" is Greece's best-selling weekly newspaper and a sharp media critic of the ruling leftist-rightist Tsipras coalition government. In terms of other parties, a new political formation mostly led by socialist PASOK, called "Kinima Allagis" (Movement for Change), polled 9.1 percent, leaving ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avgi) in fourth place with 6.7 percent. The Communist Party (KKE), at 6.4 percent, is the only other party given above 3 percent in the opinion poll. A 3-percent total of the overall valid vote in a general election is the necessary threshold to enter Parliament under the country's election law. In another timely question, 81 percent of respondents answered they do not believe that the memorandum era will end in August 2018, when the current and third consecutive bailout officially concludes. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Source: naftemporiki.gr The Arabian Business Community (ABC) Bahrain, the kingdoms rapidly growing business information database, has launched a classified marketplace providing visitors with the chance to browse for Cars, Real Estate, Jobs and Products and Services. The ABC Marketplace will provide premium members of the ABC Bahrain Community with free classified advertising throughout the year. Speaking about this latest addition to the database, Ronnie Middleton, Managing Director of Al Hilal Group, said: The introduction of the ABC Marketplace on the Bahrain edition of ABC adds another very attractive section to Bahrains most successful business community portal. Leading search engine evaluators place ABC Bahrain as the No 1 business database directory and portal in Bahrain. The figures speak for themselves - apart from generating over 1.5 million business referrals to Bahrain based companies, ABC now allows our Premium Partners to pro-actively advertise and sell their products and services to over 365,000 unique visitors each year at no additional cost, he said. The ABC Marketplace mobile and web versions can be accessed directly at abcmarketplace.net. or through the community website. The Marketplace is built around five verticals concentrating on Cars, Properties, Services, Jobs and a For Sales / Notices section. The site is also linked to the Gulf Daily News (GDN) classified section providing GDN advertisers with an ever wider readership for their classified advertisements. The tie-up between the GDN Classifieds and ABC Marketplace provides one of the most effective digital advertising platform available to advertisers in Bahrain. The combination makes for unbeatable value-added online advertising experience for visitors to both the GDN and ABC sites, concluded Middleton. - TradeArabia News Service Careem, a leading ride-hailing service in Mena, Turkey and Pakistan, has announced the expansion of its services into Iraq. Using Careems mobile application-based service, residents of Baghdad can now order rides 24/7 via the app and, through GPS technology, can be picked up and dropped off at the exact locations of their choosing. Through flexible payment options including cash, credit card, or Careem credit the company helps make getting around more convenient. Furthermore, by employing local Captains and creating new job opportunities for Iraqi citizens, Careem is moving closer toward its goal of creating one million jobs across the Mena region by 2018. Today marks a key milestone for Careem. Iraq is a country with rich heritage and strategic importance for the region. We are determined to overcome local challenges so that we can simplify mobility for Iraqis and create income-generating opportunities for them and their families. Through our presence on the ground, we hope to contribute to the rebuilding of Iraq to its former status as one of the leading nations in the Middle East, said Mudassir Sheikha, co-founder & CEO of Careem. Ibrahim Manna, managing director of Emerging Markets at Careem said: We at Careem are honoured to be able to launch our services in Baghdad, as this marks a significant milestone in our efforts to improve the lives of individuals and communities across the region. In addition to providing safe, innovative transportation for residents, we are also delighted to recruit Iraqi citizens to serve as Captains, providing these individuals with the opportunity to better support themselves and their families. We also hope that, by introducing new technologies and services to the country, Careem can be a powerful force for inspiring and propelling further innovation. Along with its ride-hailing operations in over 13 countries across the greater Mena region, Careem has established research and development departments and call centres in Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Germany. Careem will officially commence its operations in Baghdad on January 15, with plans to expand in more cities across Iraq in the near future. Established in 2012, Careem now operates in more than 90 cities across more than 13 countries, and features over 15 million users and 500,000 Captains (drivers) in the broader Middle East, Turkey and Pakistan region. TradeArabia News Service Nissan has announced key management changes to its leadership in the Middle East region. Juergen Schmitz has been appointed as managing director of Nissan Middle East and Markus Leithe has been named as the managing director of Infiniti Middle East. Schmitz brings more than 25 years experience in the automotive industry to the role. He joins Nissan from Infiniti Middle East, where he led the Nissan subsidiary since 2011 first as general manager and then as managing director. He joined Nissan in 2007 as regional director for Infiniti Central Europe, where he was responsible for sales and marketing, as well as the development of a dealer network covering 10 markets. Schmitz had previously gained wide experience with European manufacturers, including Saab and Mercedes Benz. He will report to Kalyana Sivagnanam, president of Nissan Middle East and regional vice president of marketing and sales for Africa, the Middle East and India. Sivagnanam commented: I am pleased to welcome Juergen to lead our Middle East operations. He brings to Nissan a deep knowledge of the automotive industry with a strong track record of success. As the region continues to become increasingly important to Nissan, we are focusing on offering vehicles that are tailored to the needs of our customers in these markets and Im confident that his experience will ensure that we continue to be an important player in the growth of the regions automotive industry. Leithe's expertise as a managing director in the automotive industry has been built on 20 years of international experience across Europe and the Middle East with roles in sales, marketing, product planning and business planning at headquarters and with national sales companies and importers. Leithe takes the reins at Infiniti Middle East following his role as the managing director of commercial operations for General Motors. - TradeArabia News Service Local nonprofit agency representatives clarify goals within the framework of collaboration at the 2017 United Way Request for Proposal meeting. United Way of Transyl-vania County (UWTC) will host its annual Requests for Proposal (RFP) informational meeting for nonprofit agencies from 3 until 5 p.m., Friday, Jan 19, in the Carlson Conference Room at Tran-sylvania Regional Hospital, located at 260 Hospital Drive, Brevard. The meeting will include a question and answer segment. Attendance at the RFP informational meeting is required for any nonprofit agency to be eligible for funding during UWTC's upcoming July 1 to June 30 grant cycle. Topics covered at the meeting will include eligibility guidelines, an overview of the RFP process, a review of required documents and application deadlines. Successful applicants will present programs that produce measurable results that align with the goals listed in "UWTC Focus Issue: Empowering Thro-ugh the Next Generation," which may be viewed on the United Way of Transyl-vania County website, under the Resources tab. Eligibility All applicants must: Be a 501(c)(3) or public tax-exempt health and human services organization. Serve Transylvania County Residents. Have a program/project with impacts on one or more education, health or financial stability community level program results found in "UWTC Focus Issue: Empowering Through the Next Gener-ation." Meet United Way's contractual obligations found under Resources: RFP General Guidelines on its website. Collaboratives "Collaboratives" are defined as any program proposals involving two or more agencies working together to improve and sustain measurable community level outcomes. Data from the past three years shows that collaborative efforts have been 120 percent more effective. In each case, the results have exceeded the projected outcomes. Accordingly, the Alloc-ations and Agency Relat-ions Committee has been charged to consider all applications, with preference given to early childhood education and collaborative initiatives. Letters Of Intent Only Letters of Intent for collaboratives will be accepted. This letter must be approved before proceeding with a full application. Teams of volunteers from the community in each focus area will evaluate grant applications and make allocation recommendations to the board of directors. Application Requirements And Timeframe Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline for new programs only: noon, Wednesday, Jan. 31. Request for Proposal (RFP) application deadline: noon, Friday, March 16. Funding notification and training date: 3-5 p.m., Friday, June 1. Volunteers Needed United Way is also looking for community members to join its grant review team. These volunteers will review requests for proposals and visit applicant agencies before providing input to the board for allocations decisions. Interested agencies and volunteers can obtain more detailed information about UWTC's mission, vision and areas of focus from UWTC's webpage (www.unitedway transylvania.org). The "Res-ources" tab offers a drop-down list including "RFP General Guidelines." For specific questions, call (828) 883-8822. To volunteer or financially support the United Way of Transylvania County, call (828) 883-8822, visit the office at 101 W. Jordan St., #4 below PNC Bank in downtown Brevard, send mail to P.O. Box 53, Brevard, NC, 28712, or visit http://www.unitedwaytransylvania.org. Pisgah Forest Elementary fourth-graders using Google Goggles travel virtually to the North Pole, including a "Santa run." IT facilitators help teachers like Claire Gasperson create an immersive experience of Arctic glaciers, polar bears and Arctic ecosystems, along with survival skills and how explorers would prepare for travel to such remote places. Teachers guide the experience and even track where students are looking throughout the lesson. (Photo by Cathy Zandecki, IT facilitator) There's a saying in education: You don't prepare students for your past; you prepare them for their future. It's a daunting goal, one that Transylvania County Schools superintendent Jeff McDaris takes very seriously. Since McDaris became superintendent in 2009, he's been committed to this challenge, one that involves overseeing a digital learning initiative that has been instrumental in his recognition as one of seven innovative rural superintendents by the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University. Awards like this are not earned in isolation, McDaris freely admits. "We have a large pool of talent here in Transylvania County," he said. "We work together to think of stuff we never thought of before, that we'd never think of alone. We always ask, 'How do you do that? What's the educational reason for it? We're always exploring the 'Why.'" Chris Whitlock, Transylvania County Schools (TCS) technology director, remembers a classic example of this thinking. "One day Jeff just sits down in my office and says, 'I wonder...We've got all these computers going home with kids; we're missing all this school because of weather; why can't students be productive at home? Do you think we could find a way to continue school in spite of the weather?'" Whitlock recalled. Thus was born TCS Virtual Days, up to three days every weather event in which students go to school virtually, with their teachers working with them online, safe and hopefully warm at home. But initiatives such as this take careful planning and up-front professional development - lots of it - 2 1/2 years of it! McDaris is quick to give credit for this and other well-developed, forward-thinking projects to his staff. "All this stuff without people is just stuff; ideas without people, and planning, are just ideas," McDaris said. He readily acknowledges that the school system stands out because of its investment in personnel. "We'll never replace a good teacher in the classroom," he said. "Education is first about relationships. But you also have to learn how to teach with technology." Teachers need the support of robust, reliable equipment and infrastructure. Most of all, they need the support of other teachers whose primary purpose in that school is to make them successful. The community also has to know and appreciate all the good things that the schools are doing. McDaris has advocated for a strong social media presence in addition to the more traditional ways of communicating. Led by TCS Community Relations person, Kevin Smith, TCS is a leader in the state in its use of social media. The system and the individual schools are heavy users of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the protected platform for parents, Peachjar. The system has garnered several awards from both the N.C. Press Association and state educational organizations for its public relations push. Students are at the forefront of the conversation with McDaris. "I want them to have a future. Sure, it would be nice if every graduate stayed or eventually returned here, but regardless of where they go, I want them to be successful - to feel good about themselves." Besides the obvious benefit of every 6th-12th grader in the district having a Chromebook 24/7, an initiative that prepares students for college and careers, there are other stand-alone initiatives like Cyber Patriot housed at Brevard High School (BHS) and open to students at both high schools, robotics at both middle schools, and the T.C. Henderson STEM Elementary School (TCH), which creates an environment that prompts students to think about their futures. Cyber Patriot is a ROTC club at BHS led by Lt. Col. Charles Megown that introduces cadets to cybersecurity careers through team competition with other high school ROTC programs in the state. McDaris' vision is that TCS will field one or more cadet teams and a civilian team over the next few years, but, more importantly, students will be introduced to skills that could provide opportunities for future technology jobs. Robotics courses grew from an initial robotics club at Brevard Middle School (BMS) to a segment of the middle school exploratory curriculum at both county middle schools. The TCS STEM School is an initiative to open doors to science, technology and engineering ideas and goals for an entire elementary school of children who might never have considered these careers. Of course, all these innovative initiatives are predicated on every student having his or her own device in grades 6-12, a priority that began in 2010 with Rosman High School. It involved not only providing devices to all students at RHS, but began with a major effort to upgrade the infrastructure across the district to support this increased connectivity need. The district grew this vision by providing devices to students at BHS the next year. A financial breakthrough came in 2012 with the award of a Golden LEAF Grant to provide devices to both middle schools. McDaris credits this grant with stimulating other district ideas like Virtual Days, classroom carts for the T.C.H. STEM School, and the additional classroom carts to every grade K-5 by the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year. It's the personnel, however, that assures that these computers aren't just play things; they are tools for learning. TCS has employed five Instructional Technology Facilitators (ITF) who cover the nine schools in the county. This year they were forward-thinking and fortunate enough to add a sixth ITF who allows for the increased support for the T.C.H. STEM School without compromising the other schools' programs. Courtesy photo Technology Director Chris Whitlock and Superintendent Dr. Jeff McDaris discuss innovative practices for using Chromebooks and virtual reality systems to enhance classroom learning. Connecting students with the world outside their community and inside microscopic spaces is a key component to investing in technology that expands educational access and equity for all students. (Photo by Transylvania County Schools) Such innovation is impossible to implement effectively and efficiently without a lot of research, listening and willing staff who also do the same. "I beg, borrow and steal from my colleagues," McDaris confesses, a strategy for success that others across the state freely admit, too. Constant exploration, communication and "pushing the envelope" encourages teachers and staff, school board and community to do the same. Trust and buy-in from a school board unafraid to question and support creativity and problem-solving cannot be underestimated. This vibrant combination, under the innovative and steady leadership of Dr. Jeff McDaris and his dedicated staff, allows the Transylvania County Schools to continue to thrive. (Frances Bryant Bradburn is the 1:1 Teaching and Learning Consultant as part of a Golden LEAF Foundation grant to the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at North Carolina State University.) Piloting a plane over North Vietnam well above 70,000 feet was a surreal experience for U.S. Air Force Captain Richard "Duke" Woodhull. Woodhull spent two 60-day tours in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969, piloting high-altitude reconnaissance missions in the Lockheed U-2 aircraft out of Bien Hoa ("ben wah"), a Vietnamese air force installation 40 miles north of Saigon. His was a war of sharp contrasts: the unearthly experience of high altitude surveillance vs. the reality of daily life on a rough military base in a war zone. Flying High Selection to the U-2 program was the realization of a dream f... Today we commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There will be marches, speeches, dinners and other events to honor King, a man who pursued the dream first espoused by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal King is honored not solely for his peaceful advocacy for the rights of black Americans, but also for his efforts to guarantee the rights and expand the opportunities of all people, regardless of their race or nationality. As he said, I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they... editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 15 The move of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) to ensure that students are allocated examination centres other than the schools where they study has evoked a mixed reaction. The teaching staff from rural areas have expressed apprehensions about it. The PSEB has done so on the lines of the CBSE. Some of the teachers and students have hailed this move as it would curb the menace of copying. However, others say that allocation of examination centres to girls far off will emerge as a security constraint for them. Transport is another factor that is set to bother students, especially those hailing from economically-weak families. Aman Sharma, a government teacher at a rural school, said, This move is not at all practical. It will cause trouble to poor students as their parents might not send them to faraway centres because of the transportation costs. Raising concern over the security of female students, Mangal Singh Tanda, leader of the Government Teachers Union, said, I am deeply concerned over the security of the female students. Any untoward incident can take place. If the authorities are coming up with such a move, they should take all necessary steps in strengthening security arrangements. Principal Hailing the move, PBN Senior Secondary School Principal Rajeev Kumaria said, It is a very good move. It will curb the menace of copying. I fully support it and advise students to prepare well for the exams. The district education authorities were unavailable for comments. Jayshree Sengupta Jayshree Sengupta IN an unprecedented move, PM Modi has invited not just one but 10 important global leaders all from our neighbourhood for the Republic Day parade. On the eve of Republic Day, the India-ASEAN commemorative summit marking 25 years of bilateral relations will be held in New Delhi. The idea is to give weight to Indias Act East policy and emphasise solving regional problems like terrorism. But underlying this celebration is Modis big effort to consolidate Indias position as an investment destination vis-a-vis China which is undoubtedly the biggest player in the ASEAN region. With the rise in Chinas labour costs over the years, it is increasingly outsourcing its production to ASEAN members like Cambodia, Laos and neighbouring Vietnam which are its hot favourites. India has to compete with ASEAN countries in the global markets and even the bilateral trade between India and ASEAN, despite the Free Trade Treaty of nine years, is not in Indias favour. India had a trade deficit of $9.56 billion with ASEAN in 2016-17. We are clearly not exporting enough to the region and importing much more. In FDI inflows, however, ASEAN countries have been investing more in India at $6.97 billion than Indias investment in ASEAN which was only $1.2 billion in 2015. Many reasons stand in the way of better trade and investment flows, and lack of good connectivity is one of them. In the New Delhi summit, India is likely to press forward the need for cooperation in building infrastructure to overcome this lacuna. Various non- tariff barriers in ASEAN are also to be blamed. Modi wants to showcase Indias achievements at this forthcoming summit and point to the rosy prospects that India presents as a high growth, vibrant economy. The leaders will, for sure, return home impressed and may take the much-needed action on the trade and investment fronts for enhancing ties. ASEAN comprises of an assorted group of countries (Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei) with whom India has had trade and cultural relations from ancient times. Most importantly, it is this cultural link that the BJP government is seeking to enrich and exploit further. Otherwise why should Ramayana be such an important part of this event? It is true that Indias link with the South East Asian region has been deep and in many of the members of ASEAN like Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and Burma, there are many symbolic remnants of Indias influence on their art and culture. Through the centuries, India has been a source of inspiration for art and architecture in the ASEAN region. In the temples of Angkor Wat, Pagan, Borobudur and Prambanan, Indian art and architectural forms are evident. Surprisingly, some of these monuments surpass the grandeur of Indian temples from the same period in Indian history because of their huge scale and extensive stone bas relief carvings. Also, due to the contact with Indian civilisation, the region created many literary works based on the Ramayana, but each culture in Southeast Asia added something of its own. Almost every country accepted the Ramayana because it is easy to retell and understand its stories. But the recipient countries also modified Ramayana to apply to their contemporary culture. Similarly, the epic Mahabharata was often edited and retold to big audiences, gaining immense popularity. The artistes who popularised these were called dalangs and they successfully adapted the original epics by contextualising and localising them. This was the beginning of the formation of new texts like Seri Rama (Malaysian adaptation of Ramayana) and Ramker (Ramayana Khmer) in Cambodia. These are regarded as some of the highest literary works of Southeast Asia. Trade between India and Southeast Asia flourished and followed two routes, one through land via Bengal, Assam, Manipur to Burma to reach other parts of the region, and the other was the maritime route from Coromandel coast via the Malacca Strait to reach the Malay Peninsula and beyond. Merchants were accompanied by Brahmin priests and spread Hindu civilisation to different parts of Southeast Asia. Buddhism also came from India in the 3rd century BCE when Buddhist monks were sent by king Ashok. Many Indian artisans helped in building great temples and monuments during Indonesias Srivijaya maritime empire from the 7th to the 13th centuries. Many of the motifs on the walls of Borobudur and Angkor Wat resemble carvings of Konarak and other medieval temples of eastern India. The kings of the region wore Indian silk brocades and donned Indian jewels and the common folks craved for printed as well as woven textiles from India. Sanskrit scripts were the first known form of writing that ever reached South East Asia. Alphabet were adopted for local languages from it and the Burmese Thai, Laos Cambodian scripts were originally derived from the Indian prototype. Sanskrit terminology was used in all legal proceedings in courts and only factual aspects were described in vernacular. Codes of law and public administration, especially the concept of god king was adopted by many kings in Southeast Asia. This was modified with the advent of Buddhism. The decline of Indias influence began around the 13th century when conversions to Islam took place in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, but within Indonesia, much of Bali still practices Hinduism. Even after several centuries, the impact of Indias culture can be felt today in customs, culture and architectural designs of the region. For example, Muslim wedding ceremonies in Malaysia are based on Hindu rituals and attire and Indonesian Airlines is called Garuda, a vehicle of Hindu God Vishnu. A Mahabharata monument depicting Krishna and Arjun riding a chariot pulled by 11 horses can be seen in a park in central Jakarta today, despite the presence of radical Islam. Thus Mr Modis overtures are based on efforts to link the ASEAN with Indias cultural ties of the past in a unique way. He is going to emphasise the linkages through Buddhism also. If the ties are firmed up, India and ASEAN will become closer and therein lies the potential for increasing tourism, people-to-people contact, trade and investment, which will make PM Modis endeavour unprecedented. The government will also carry forward its cultural and economic agendas simultaneously! Vivek Katju Vivek Katju Former Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs IT is only natural that the nation has turned to those learned in the law to understand the implications of the serious charges levelled against the Chief Justice of India by four of his seniormost colleagues on the Bench. The accusations do not impact on the Supreme Court alone; they affect the health of the Republic itself. For, if the apex institution of the judicial branch gets gravely contaminated, then can the Republic itself avoid the infection spreading through its entire body, enfeebling it; and, consequently, leaving it open to unknown depredations? At such times, democracy demands of all citizens to ponder deeply on the developments taking place and communicate their thoughts, for the future of the Republic ultimately lies in the good sense of an alert and active citizenry. It is in that spirit that this writer who spent his professional life in diplomacy, including focussing on Pakistan, offers some thoughts. There is another reason which springs from the neighbouring country's experience. Democracy failed in that country not only when its politicians let it down but also when its superior judiciary failed its people and accepted the jack-boot of the military. It propounded the noxious doctrine of necessity and sanctified military coups. There is simply no way that can happen in India, but there are other ways in which the judicial organ can let the people down. Many eminent lawyers and some public figures have lamented, indeed have been severely critical of the four judges for going public with their accusations against the CJI. They have stressed that such matters should get resolved within the judicial family; that dirty linen should not be washed in public. Clearly, the thought behind such argument is that if these issues are made widely known, the people would lose faith in the courts and that would do irreparable and lasting damage to the nation. The people's faith in an organ of state or an institution cannot rest or be preserved on the basis of ignorance. Besides, in the absence of authentic information, rumours, innuendoes, and downright falsehoods begin to spread. It is impossible to keep differences as in this matter behind a veil of secrecy for long. Hence, it is always prudent to rely on the good sense of the people to take a view on the basis of facts. There are of course matters which concern the security of the state and popular well-being which require to be kept secret. Their revelation imperils the national interest. In the case of the courts, judgments till they are delivered would naturally fall in that category. The process of the constitution of Benches to adjudicate matters has to be transparent and based on norms even as chief justices have to control that process. A prime minister and chief ministers can have full discretion in the allotment of portfolios to their ministerial colleagues for these are essentially political acts. The constitution of Benches is an administrative act and the people have the right to know the basis on which it is done. This will add to their trust in the courts and cannot be considered as an abridgement of a chief justice's administrative control or a lack of trust in him. As grave charges have been made regarding the basis on which Benches have been constituted, it is necessary, that the rationale on which the Chief Justice did so are made known. Clearly, the four judges feel that ulterior motives have been at play. The people have the right to make up their minds after knowing the Chief Justice's thought process. A question mark cannot be left hanging. That would do damage. The government has left the matter to be resolved by the judiciary itself. This may be wise and it is to be hoped that it would find the wisdom to do so. However, it would simply not be enough for this issue to be resolved behind closed doors and then the public be sought to be assured that all is well and matters can return to status quo ante. Masonic lodges and secret societies can work in the dark, not organs of state. This is especially so of the judiciary which can only inspire popular confidence through demonstrably transparent and norm-based functioning. The issues raised by the action of the four judges has a direct bearing on the superior judiciary's assertion that its independence can only be guaranteed if it has an almost exclusive, certainly the final say, in the appointment of judges. To achieve this objective, it has resorted to innovative interpretations of the Constitution and has rejected the will of Parliament to change the system of judicial appointments. Indeed, the collegium system has been entirely a device of its making and it has refused to give it up. For more than two decades, all appointments have been made under this system. It is therefore supremely ironic that all the members of the collegium are today accusing its chief of precisely what it was meant to avoid. The fact is that making appointments are exercises of 'political' power. And such exercises unless circumscribed by strict rules and norms inevitably lead to politicking. There is little doubt that that has happened and that too without the checks that can be provided through another organ of state. It is true that in the 1970s and the 1980s, the executive began to trample on the constitutional scheme regarding appointments in the superior judiciary. The Supreme Court responded through almost completely abridging the executive's power in this area. Was this wise? The events of last week indicate a negative answer. In this context, it would be appropriate to recall what Chief Justice Hidayatullah records in his autobiography of the time he headed the Madhya Pradesh High Court. He notes that he faced difficulties with Chief Minister Ravi Shankar Shukla who recommended unworthy lawyers to become high court judges but, When Dr Katju became Chief Minister, the whole thing changed. His remark to me was: Chief Justice, these are your courts and you know best. If I know or hear anything about a candidate recommended by you, I shall caution you. Otherwise, your choice will be my choice also. No collegiums or Memorandums of Procedure were needed to appoint deserving persons as judges. Ultimately, it is people who manage systems and lead institutions and organs of state. In their integrity and commitment lie the welfare of the Republic. If they are found wanting, it is necessary that they be exposed. Management of issues behind closed doors cannot achieve that objective. (The writer belongs to a family of lawyers and judges. He has breathed law since infancy and is not unfamiliar with the nous and and nuance of judicial system) editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 15 The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) today expressed concern at the rising incidents of rape and murder of young girls in the state and demanded resignation of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for his failure to check the rising crime graph. Leader of the Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala said that recently a number of cases of rape and murder had come to light and in some incidents the mutilated bodies of women had been found. He said that in 2012 the infamous gang-rape and murder of Nirbhay in Delhi had caused collective outcry across the country. It is unfortunate that since then such cases have become a routine in Haryana and yet the BJP government has not been able to maintain law and order and provide security to its citizens, he added. Abhay said that any government that fails in providing security to its citizens has no right to remain in power. Besides the lax law and order machinery, the inability of the government to effectively tackle the employment problem in the state after making tall poll promises, too has aggravated the situation. The youth was not only direction less but also in a state of despair and hopelessness. This had led many of them onto the path of crime, he added. He said that it was ironical that while the government takes pride in spending crores of rupees on celebrating the Gita Jayanti and claims to be spreading the message of Gita for inculcating higher moral values, the morality standards in the state had weakened during the BJP rule. Even the noble goal of strengthening morality through the spread of Gitas message has been hijacked, he said. Abhay added that the Chief Minister would be doing the state a favour if he owns his failure and resigns. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Faridabad, January 15 The police have intensified efforts to nab the culprits who reportedly gang-raped a 23-year-old woman in a moving vehicle on Saturday night. The police were clueless so far regarding the identity of the accused and the vehicle used in the crime. According to the report lodged with the police, the victim, employed with a private concern in Sector 16 here, was waiting for an auto-rickshaw at the Old Faridabad chowk to go home in Sector 4 here around 6 pm. A vehicle stopped in front of her and she was pulled inside by some unidentified youths. The vehicle was driven towards Palwal. It was reported that three youths took turns to rape her while the vehicle was being driven around for around two hours. The victim was later dropped near a petrol pump on National Highway-2 near Seekri village, about 15 km from here, around 9.15 pm. The police, which got the victim medically examined, registered a case of abduction and rape against the accused, who absconded after the crime. The victim was traced by her kin after she made a call to her cousin from the petrol pump. Though the victim told the police that a Scorpio was used in the crime, she could not note down its registration number. We are working on arresting the culprits as soon as possible, said Commissioner of Police Hanif Qureshi. He said an SIT headed by ACP Pooja Dabla had begun its probe and several teams of the crime branch cell had been pressed into service to locate the accused, who were yet to be identified. He said four youths were involved, with one of them driving the vehicle during the crime. Teams had been sent to several possible hideouts in the district and neighbouring areas of Palwal and Mewat, he said. An appeal had been issued for help from residents, he added. Besides getting CCTV footage from various spots, the police had been collecting details of vehicles sold recently from various showrooms as the SUV was white and had a temporary registration number, said police sources. gspannu7@gmail.com Vishal Joshi Tribune News Service Kurukshetra, January 15 Haryana Police have expedited efforts to ascertain the whereabouts of a Balmiki youth, a student of Class 12, for questioning in the rape and murder case of a 15-year-old Dalit girl at a village in Jind. The boy went missing from Jhansa village under mysterious circumstances on January 9. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Parents of the 15-year-old Dalit girl, whose brutalised body was recovered more than 100 km away from the village on Friday night, had lodged a police complaint on January 9. However, no one has approached the police so far about the missing youth. Family sources said the victim and the boy knew each other and they used to go for tuition together. However, they did not reach the tuition classes last Tuesday evening. However, police sources said the family members of boys family left the village a few days ago for reasons unknown to the villagers. Investigating teams are searching the location of the family, said a police source. SP Abhishek Garg said efforts were on to trace the youth for vital information in the sensitive case. He confirmed no arrest was made but several persons had been rounded up for questioning. Meanwhile, member of Haryana Women Commission Namrata Gaur, who met the aggrieved family members at Jhansa, told reporters there was an apprehension that the girl and another youth were abducted by unknown persons and subjected to abuse. She said the victim and the youth had an affair and both families tried to counsel them a few days ago. But last Tuesday, they left home without informing the families, said Gaur. The commission is closely monitoring the case and we have assured the aggrieved family of assistance in the case. Both left their homes together and it is a matter of police investigation how the brutally mutilated body of the girl was found whereas the boy is still untraced, she said. Meanwhile, a spokesperson of Jind police, where the body was recovered, stated that sections of rape and POCSO had been invoked after due investigations. editorial@tribune.com Naveen S Garewal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 15 Haryana is shocked over reports of rape and murder of young girls across the state, belying all claims by the government of making Haryana safe for women. The last two days have seen four rapes, wherein criminals not only exploited the victims, but in two cases, murdered them after the heinous crime. A Dalit girl in Jind, whos semi-naked body was found a day after the crime, was subjected to inhuman brutalities, similar to Nirbhaya, whose case had shocked the nation, forcing the Union government to amend rape laws. Right across from the National Capital, a young woman returning from work was abducted and raped in a moving car on Saturday. The BJP government had been patting its back, claiming to have made the state safer by starting women police stations across Haryana. What is most shocking is that even after the young woman was kidnapped and forced into a SUV, the beasts took turns and continued to rape the woman while the entire episode went unnoticed even as the state claimed to have raised security on account of Republic Day celebrations. While Panipat was celebrating the number one slot in boosting sex ratio, the district was rocked by the news of murder of an 11-year-old Dalit girl, who was molested. When she raised an alarm, she was strangulated with her own shawl. As she lay dead, two drunk men forced themselves on the body and had sex with her corpse. One of the two culprits, Pardeep Kumar, himself had a daughter of almost the same age as his victim. He had since been arrested along with other accused Sagar and sent to two-day police remand. Close to the state capital, a 10-year-old girl was sexually abused by her neighbour. Despite her shrieks and shouts, he subjected her to unnatural sex to avenge a personal dispute with her parents. Though, the accused had been arrested and sent to two-day police remand after being booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, people in the area were still terrified at the barbaric act by this 50-year-old on a girl who could be the age of his granddaughter. Haryana ranked among the top in the country for gang rapes and crimes against women. According to the National Crime Record Bureau report for 2015, there were 204 gang rapes in the state, which came to 1.6 gang rapes per lakh women. The same year, Rajasthan was in second spot with 1.2 gang rapes per lakh population. Delhi was at the third spot with 1 gang rape per lakh population. During 2016, Haryana reported 1,090 murders, 1,189 rapes, 191 gang rapes and 4,019 kidnappings and abductions, which came to about three murders, three rapes and 11 kidnappings and abductions per day, on an average. Haryana was the third highest in the country in terms of crime incidents. During 2016, it was the highest in cases of gang rape. The data for 2017 was still being tabulated. The state government again tried to assuage public feelings by transferring some police officials in Faridabad, where the abductors moved around freely for two hours, raping the young woman in a moving vehicle. In the other places, the government was content with the arrest of the alleged accused. In Pinjore, the police had arrested Tuki Ram (50). In Panipat, they had arrested Pardeep Kumar (27) and Sagar (22). In Faridabad, the police were clueless regarding the identity of the perpetrators or the vehicle used even 48 hours after the crime. In the Jind case, the police were yet to arrest anyone. They suspected a student of Class XII, who went missing under mysterious circumstances from Jhansa village on January 9, to be behind the crime. To suggest that the government was serious, the Chief Minister today summoned the state police chief to take stock of the situation. It had been learnt that the government was contemplating a legislation to start fast-track courts in Haryana to expedite cases of crimes against women. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Shimla, January 15 Joining the chorus against malfunctioning of EVM machines used in the election process, the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) today demanded use of ballot papers in the election process. In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Election Commissioner through state Chief Electoral Officer here today, HPCC president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said that danger looms large over the oldest democracy India as some vested interests could go to any limit to grab power. Complaints of tampering with EVMs are a serious issue and to keep the democratic traditions alive, it is necessary that the upcoming elections in the states are conducted using ballot papers. Citing examples of countries like North America, the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany, he said that these countries had stopped EVM usage due to lack of transparency while France and England never used it. Earlier, the HPCC office bearers, executive members and Congress district presidents held a held a meeting in the party office here. Addressing the members Sukhu talked about policies to take the party ahead, tampering during state Assembly elections and framing of charges against BJP MP from Shimla Virender Kashyap in cash on camera case. Discussions were also held on the party workers and leaders who were found involved in anti-party activities during the Assembly elections. Sukhu said the state BJP should clear its stand on corruption as framing of charges against sitting BJP MP by the Vigilance Department and registration of case against BJP MLA from Jhandutta J R Katwal are serious issues. rchopra@tribunemail.com Jammu, January 15 Seven Pakistani Army men, including a major, were on Monday killed and four others injured as the Army retaliated to a ceasefire violation in Mendhar sector and destroyed a Pakistani post along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire along the LoC and resorted to shelling on forward posts in Jaglote belt in Mendhar sector early on Monday, a senior Army officer told PTI. Indian troops guarding the LoC took positions and targeted the Pakistani post involved in the ceasefire violation in Kotli by retaliatory action of heavy shelling, he said. Read: Pak summons Indian envoy to protest soldiers deaths in firing Cross-border travel suspended as tension grips LoC Army foils infiltration bid, six Jaish militants killed in Kashmir's Uri Army Chief warns of stronger action against Pak-backed terror In the retaliation, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed and four other soldiers injured, the officer said, adding the dead included a major. The retaliation also comes after an Army soldier was killed in Pakistan firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri district on Saturday. The action comes on a day when security forces foiled an infiltration bid near the Line of Control in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, killing five Jaish-e-Mohammad militants. In a stern message to Pakistan, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat on Monday said the Army was ready to escalate military offensive against terror groups if the neighbouring country forced it do so and asserted that no anti-India activities would be allowed to succeed in the state. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, January 15 The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror outfit suffered a major blow on Monday when the Army killed five of its members after they were intercepted near the banks of the Jhelum in the Uri sector. The terrorists wearing fatigues, who crossed the river in a boat, had come with a plan to carry out a fidayeen attack. It is for the first time in the nearly three decades of insurgency in Kashmir that militants infiltrated by crossing the Jhelum, which serves as a natural barrier between India and Pakistan at Dulanja village. This tactic by the infiltrators has come as a surprise to the Army manning the Line of Control in the region. Brigadier YS Ahlawat, Brigade Commander at Uri, whose troops were engaged in foiling the first major infiltration bid of the year in Dulanja, over 100 km from Srinagar, said a major tragedy was averted on Army Day. The infiltration bid by a fierce fidayeen group was made on January 14-15 night along the Jhelum river. Their movement was picked up by alert troops. We tracked their movement as they were crossing the Jhelum in a boat towards our side. As the terrorists were moving along the banks of the Jhelum, they were challenged and in the ensuing fire fight the Indian Army neutralised the five terrorists, Brigadier Ahlawat told mediapersons at Uri after the operation. He said four bodies of militants had been recovered so far. We cant recover the body of the fifth terrorist as it is lying on the banks near the boat which they had used to cross the river, Brigadier Ahlawat said. The militants, it appears, used a rope to keep the boat in line as the river terrain in the Uri region is rough compared to its journey in the hinterland Kashmir. A senior defence officer said the militants crossed over to this side in a small inflatable kind of boat, taking advantage of the low water level in the Jhelum, which flows into Pakistan via Uri. The boat was taken back by one of the terrorists to the other side, the officer said, adding that it is for the first time that the militants tried to infiltrate by crossing the river in the Uri sector. There have been instances in the past when militants have used boats to cross the Kishanganga river in the Gurez sector in Bandipore district to infiltrate into Kashmir. Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla, Imtiyaz Hussain Mir said the Jaish militants had come with a plan of carrying out a fidayeen attack. harinder@tribunemail.com Amir Karim Tantray Tribune News Service Jammu, January 15 The Army struck hard as it killed seven Pakistani soldiers and injured four others in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district today. The action is being seen as revenge for the death of Lance Naik Yogesh Bhadane, who was killed in a ceasefire violation in the Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district on January 13. Sources said Indian soldiers crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and killed seven Pakistani soldiers. Four other Pakistani soldiers were injured in the action with no injuries reported on the Indian side, said a source. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Our operation was in retaliation to Pakistani provocation of January 13 in which Lance Naik Yogesh Bhadane was killed, he added. Pakistan has confirmed the death of its four soldiers and issued a statement reading: The troops were busy in line communication maintenance along the LoC in Jandrot-Kotli sector when they were fired upon and hit with heavy mortars by Indian forces. This is the first major strike by the Indian Army this year against the Pakistani troops along the LoC. In the past also, the Army has been retaliating strongly whenever Pakistan violates the ceasefire agreement and kills Indian soldiers. Todays action came a day after the Army Chief called for ramping up the heat on Pakistan to cut the flow of cross-border terror activities. Pakistans Inter-Service Public Relations had claimed that three Indian soldiers were killed and a few injured in an exchange of fire, but the claim was rejected by the Army here. We havent lost any soldier in the action, said an Army officer. The action was undertaken on a day when the Indian Army is celebrating Army Day across the country. Meanwhile, Pakistan today summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner JP Singh to protest the deaths of its soldiers. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Jammu, January 15 The National Conference today tore into the Budget presented by Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu for the next financial year. The NC accused the coalition of compromising and eroding the states financial autonomy by extending the goods and services tax (GST) to J&K. The NC also took a dig at the Finance Minister for failing to implement the commitments made by him in the previous three Budgets. You have said this Budget is from your conscience and heart, but where was your heart and conscience when the GST was extended to the state? You mortgaged and sold your conscience when you imposed the GST in the state, Devender Singh Rana, Nagrota MLA, said while launching a scathing attack on the Finance Minister in the Assembly. Rana said: You (Drabu) have tried to create a feel-good factor to hide your failure and incompetence but let me tell you that this Budget has nothing for the poor, unemployed youth and marginalised sections of society as this is the Budget for the rich, influential and famous. Rana said his party wanted the state government to bring its own GST law to protect the states fiscal autonomy but he (Drabu) had acted against the wishes of the people of the state. In yet another blistering attack, senior NC legislator Ali Mohammad Sagar castigated the PDP-BJP government over its failure to implement its previous commitments with the people of the state during the last three years. This Rs 80,000-crore Budget is theoretical and far from reality. You have given a deceptive look to the Budget. An impression has been given that this is Drabus Budget and not the Budget of the coalition government, Sagar said. editorial@tribune.com Tribune News Service Jammu, January 15 After use of force by the police against protesting National Health Mission (NHM) employees on January 9, the police today arrested the provincial president of the All J&K NHM Employees Association, Jammu division, Rohit Seth and other protesters. The association president was arrested by the police along with other members from Dogra Chowk today. They were released from police custody after an hour and joined us again. Some of our members will join the all-India-level protest of the NHM employees at Gurugram on January 21. The national body has assured us that it would take up our regularisation issue during the protest, said Faizan Tramboo, spokesperson for the Jammu division employees association. Today is the 27th day of our protest but the government has not made any announcment. The government statements are confined only to Facebook and Twitter and the General Administration Department has issued no order, Tramboo said. The ongoing strike of the protesting employees was today joined by Punjab State Unit president Inderjeet today and two office-bearers Chanchla Devi and Arjun. The protesting NHM employees which also include staff of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme and the J&K State AIDS Control Society are demanding regularisation of their services. The spokesperson for the NHM employees association said: There governments stand on regularisation is not clear. The authorities give contrasting statements to the media and the protesting employees. We understand that the regularisation process will not be completed overnight but the government should at least initiate something concrete. A protesting employee, Dr Shazia Shakeel, said: The brutal lathi charge by the police on January 9 has further strengthened our resolve to continue the fight for the regularisation of our services. The association has accused Health Minister Bali Bhagat of failing to address their genuine demands. The meeting with the Health Minister didnt yield any result. We demanded a written assurance but he refused. The oral assurances from the authorities from time to time have proved a hoax. We want a written assurance, a statement read. ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Amarjot Kaur Otherwise grey, the brutalist architecture of the meticulously planned Chandigarh offers little respite to those looking to explore its colourful side. The citys tryst with graffiti may have begun with shoddy doodling of womens genital organs in public toilets, but, of late, it has taken the more suitable content to its walls for the public to see. Graffiti has finally found its place in the city, as an expression of popular culture. Presently, Chandigarhs walls host some six graffiti artworks; two of which are in clear view at places like Sector 35-Cs wall (adjoining Dominos Pizza) and the boundary wall of a house in Sector 19-D, abutting Sarovar Path. The graffiti at the inner markets and buildings of Sector 10, 11, 22, 36, and 37, however, offer an interesting account of citys pop culture influences, especially the one made on the rear market of Sector 11 and the other in Sector 22-B. Another brick in the wall About a year ago, Sachita Aditi Sharma had painted Pink Floyds eighth album, Dark Side of the Moons cover art, on a wall right next to Lahoris tea stall in Sector 11. I wanted to paint this wall because Chandigarhs educated middle-class hangs out for chai and sutta at Lahoris. The artwork spells their influences in music. I tried to take permission from the UT administration, but they are either inaccessible or not very keen on this issue. Also, that area needed to be cleaned, so we did that and beautified it too, says the 25-year-old artist who is now based in Hyderabad. Sachita shares that she had invited a few friends to sponsor her graffiti equipment. A friend, who now lives in New Zealand, was generous enough to spare Rs 3,000 for this project, and the amount that we were falling short of was made up for by the visitors at the tea stall. They shelled out Rs 100 each, she adds. Earlier, Sachita had intended to paint the walls behind Sector 35-Cs market to keep the lets take a leak on the wall brigade at bay. She withdrew her decision due to lack of support by the administration and hoteliers at the venue. Instead, she painted a wall at an orphanage in Sector 44-A and now runs a commercial art initiative called The Adroit Factory in Hyderabad. Chandigarhs Chaplin In 10 years, city-based artist Sawan Madman, a pass-out from the Government College of Arts, Sector 10, has made over 15 graffiti artworks in tricity. Last year, he made one at a house in Sector 22-B. The graffiti draws inspiration from The Kid, a silent comedy-drama film starring Charlie Chaplin who also directed and produced it in 1921. Graffiti is an expression of protest and is regarded as an act of vandalism, but I paint in residential areas after seeking the owners permission. To my surprise, Chandigarh folks are keen on making their city look more colourful, he says. The owner of the house, Rhythm Aggarwal, agrees with Sawan as he adds, I think Chandigarh could do with a little more splash of colours. Many people have complimented the art on this wall. Sawan shares that he wanted to make a satirical artwork, showing Charlie Chaplin hiding with the kid, to question the law of vandalism associated with graffiti. This artwork is slightly sarcastic; but, then, thats how graffiti is. Look at Banksys graffiti, for instance, he adds. Commercially, Sawan has been painting at restaurants, bars, cafes, and schools, but graffiti is his personal, creative expression. I get paid for commercial art, but not for graffiti. However, the Aggarwals at Sector 22 were generous enough to help me with paints for the Chaplin and the Kid graffiti. For the love of Corbusier In Sector 36, Alliance Francaises building hosts two mural-cum-graffiti artworks. While one juxtaposes the architectural elements of India and France, the other denotes Open Hand as a symbolic metaphor for giving and receiving. Meher Vadhera, a 23-year-old student at MCM DAV College for Women, Sector 36, is a part of city-based artist collective called Musawar. They had made a mural-cum-graffiti for the French institute, last year, after seeking its directors permission. He wanted something that resonated with Indian and French culture. We called it The Confluence Project and with mirror image, we balanced out four architectural buildings in India with four of those in France, while keeping Le Corbusier as a combining force, shares Meher. It took Musawars eight artists some 13 days to complete the graffiti, using mix media on Flex. You can also spot glimpses of Vincent van Goghs Starry Night in the artwork. Image of crows along with the Open Hand makes for the content of the other graffiti at Alliance Francaise. The cultural coordinator of the institute, Shilpi, informs, Marco 93, a well-known French graffiti artist, made this one. On what made Marco paint crows, we stand informed that Le Corbusier was nicknamed crow by his friends. Well, our city is getting a facelift of sorts; some are calling it vandalism, others say it is art, and then there are those complaining of vulgar sketches in public toilets. Where do you stand? amarjot@tribunemail.com ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM Ludhiana: A four-member delegation of Agriculture Extension Officers from Chhukha, Bhutan, is on a seven-day visit to Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to acquire training in mushroom cultivation. The delegation, comprising members Sonam Choki, Kinzang Wangchuk, Thinley Gyetts Hen and Damber Singh Mongar, interacted with the senior officials, heads of the departments and faculty of PAU today. Sonam Choki said, Bhutan is a mountainous country where farm mechanisation is poor and agriculture is labour intensive. The country has 70 per cent forest area and 8 per cent arable lands. Wheat and rice are the major crops. The production of mushrooms is very low in Bhutan, she said while adding that these were produced only for human consumption. Our visit to the PAU aims at gaining knowledge about the cultivation of white button mushrooms, which we wish to introduce in Bhutan, she said. Welcoming the delegates, Dr Ashok Kumar, Director of Extension Education, highlighted the role of the PAU in transfer of agricultural technologies to the farmers. The trainings at the PAU will give a lot of benefit to you in terms of increasing production of mushrooms in Bhutan, he said to the delegates. Dr Jagdish Kaur, Additional Director Communication, informed about the farm publications being brought out by the PAU for enhancing and updating the knowledge of the farmers. Dr TS Riar, Professor of Extension Education and Coordinator of the training programme, explained the role of PAUs Directorate of Extension Education in agriculture development of Punjab. The Technical Coordinators, Dr Shammi Kapoor, Head, Department of Microbiology, and Dr HS Sodhi, a mushroom expert, also interacted with the visiting delegation and explained them about the technical aspects of mushroom growing. During the training, the delegates will visit Krishi Vigyan Kendras at Noormahal (Jalandhar), Amritsar and Samrala (Ludhiana) for practical experience. In addition, they will also visit mushroom and beekeeping units, new orchards, vegetable farm, Museum of Rural Life of Punjab at the PAU and progressive farmers field at Amritsar. Three new fruit varieties released Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has developed and released three new varieties namely, Punjab Safeda and Punjab Kiran of guava and Early Gold of sweet orange for general cultivation in Punjab. Besides, it has recommended a rootstock Carrizo for kinnow for the submontane and central zone of Punjab. The varieties were approved during the meeting of State Variety Approval Committee, held under the Chairmanship of Dr PS Aulakh, Director of Horticulture, Punjab. Dr Navtej Bains, Director of Research, and Dr Ashok Kumar, Director of Extension Education, PAU, said the salient features of these varieties and rootstock were discussed in detail by the committee. The guava hybridPunjab Safeda is white fleshed having very large fruit size. It gives an average yield of 28 kg/plant in the third year. TNS pardeepdhull@gmail.com New Delhi, January 15 In a stern message to Pakistan, Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat said on Monday that the Army was ready to escalate its offensive against terror groups if forced by the neighbouring country and asserted that no anti-India activities will be allowed to succeed in Jammu and Kashmir. Addressing Army personnel on the occasion of Army Day, Gen Rawat also said that disputes along the Line of Actual Control with China were continuing and the Army was trying to stop the Chinese transgressions. The Army chief said the Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along Line of Control (LoC) in J&K. We will not let these anti-national elements to succeed at any cost. If we are forced, then we may escalate our military action and carry out (the) other action, he said. The Army is using its might to teach them a lesson, he said. Terrorists and their handlers are creating various challenges within the country by adopting new tactics. Targeting of Amarnath pilgrims, attacking policemen and Army personnel from Jammu and Kashmir, including murder of Lt Ummer Fayaz, were attempts to attack national unity and divide the society, Rawat said. He said the Army was working closely with other security forces to maintain pressure on terrorists. The Army is ready to tackle any threat facing the nation, he said. Since the beginning of last year, the Army has pursued an aggressive anti-terror policy in Jammu and Kashmir and, at the same time, forcefully responded to all ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control with a tit-for-tat approach. PTI pardeepdhull@gmail.com Ahmedabad, January 15 VHP international working president Pravin Togadia was found in an unconscious state at a park in Ahmedabad after allegedly going missing since this morning when a contingent of Rajasthan Police came to arrest him in an old case, officials said. According to a statement of the VHP, Togadia, who suffered from low blood sugar levels, was found lying in an unconscious state at a park in Shahibaug and was taken to Chandramani Hospital. City police had formed four teams to locate the Hindutva leader, who holds Z plus security cover. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Earlier, the VHP claimed Togadia (62) was detained by the Rajasthan Police in connection with the case, but the latter denied this. The mystery over Togadias disappearance deepened, with a senior police officer maintaining that neither the local Sola police nor the Rajasthan Police have arrested him. Sola police station officials said a team of Rajasthan Police visited them today to execute an arrest warrant against Togadia under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC, but could not find him at his residence. According to a senior Crime Branch officer, Togadia, a resident of Thaltej area in the city, boarded an auto rickshaw from the VHP headquarters in Paldi area this morning and has been untraceable since. Addressing a press conference this evening, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) J K Bhatt said neither the Sola police nor the Gangapur police in Rajasthan have arrested Togadia. The Rajasthan Police went to Togadias residence in Thaltej area with the Sola police to execute an arrest warrant (at around 10:45 am) this morning. But, Togadia was not found there. However, VHP workers thought that he was arrested, which is not true, Bhatt told reporters. Citing the investigation by the crime branch so far, the officer said Togadia was present at the VHP state headquarters in Paldi area of the city since last night. He left the office in an autorickshaw with a bearded man at around 10:45 am today, said Bhatt. A SRP (State Reserve Police) jawan, who was deployed outside the VHP office, told us that Togadia and a bearded man called an autorickshaw and left the office at around 10:45 am. Before leaving, Togadia told the security staff the he will be back within 30 minutes. We have formed four teams to trace him, the JCP said. VHP workers held protests in different parts of Ahmedabad and Surat demanding that the missing leader be traced soon. The VHP claimed that Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police. The Sola police said they were not aware of the whereabouts of the saffron leader. VHP workers gheraoed the Sola police station, shouted slogans, and blocked traffic on main Sarkehj-Gandhinagar highway, demanding that the police immediately locate Togadia. Our international working president Pravin Togadia is missing since 10 am today. The responsibility of his whereabouts and security lies with the administration, the VHPs Gujarat unit general secretary Ranchod Bharwad told reporters. He said it was not yet confirmed weather Togadia was arrested or not. VHP spokesperson Jay Shah, however, claimed that Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police in an old case. Our leader Pravin Togadia has been detained in an old case and was taken away by the Rajasthan Police from the VHP state headquarters in Paldi area of the city, he said. However, the Rajasthan Police denied having detained or arrested Togadia. Togadia was not at all arrested by our team. As per my information, the police team of Gangapur (in Rajasthan) is returning without executing the arrest warrant, as he (Togadia) was not found in Ahmedabad. It is a rumour that Togadia is in our custody which is not true at all, said Inspector General of Police, Bharatpur range, Alok Kumar Vashishtha. Gangapur town is in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan and falls under the jurisdiction of Bharatpur range of the state police. At around 4 pm, a group of 40 workers of the VHP laid a siege to Sola police station and shouted slogans for the release of their working president. Later, another group of VHP workers blocked the busy Sarkhej-Gandhinagar highway, but police broke up the protest. Similar protests were held in Paldi area here and in Surat city during evening. In Paldi, VHP workers blocked roads and damaged some buses. The situation was brought under control after police rushed to the spot. PTI editorial@tribune.com Shahira Naim Tribune News Service Lucknow, January 15 Clashes between BJP and Congress supporters marked the beginning of Congress president Rahul Gandhis first visit to his parliamentary constituency Amethi after assuming the top post. The scuffle broke out at Salon in Rae Bareli near the venue of Rahuls public meeting after protesting BJP supporters raised slogans against him. Accusing PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath of making hollow promises about giving employment, Rahul said: Is there even one person who has been given employment by Modi? We are competing with China. Their government gives 50,000 people employment within 24 hours. In India, a total of 450 people get employment in 24 hours. He said for the past three and half years Modi had been speaking of the Gujarat model of development but people of Gujarat had questioned that very model which snatched the land and water from farmers and reduced their profit margin. People gave them (BJP) a major jolt in Gujarat, Rahul said. On the plight of potato farmers of Uttar Pradesh who recently dumped their produce on Lucknow streets, Rahul said the UPA government had proposed to bring a food park in Amethi. We would have helped farmers who are growing potatoes and sugarcane, he claimed. Creating controversy ahead of the Congress presidents 2-day visit, posters portraying him as Lord Rama and PM Modi as Ravana appeared in Amethi. In the posters, Rahul can be seen carrying a bow and an arrow pointing towards Modi. The caption on the poster reads: Rahul ke roop mein Bhagwan Ram ka avatar, 2019 mein aayega Rahul Raj. The poster is said to been put up by a local, Abhay Shukla, who claims to have no Congress connection. Talking to reporters, Shukla said Modi had failed to deliver on his promise of bringing back black money stashed abroad. All the promises made by him were lies. We believe that in 2019 Rahul Gandhi will become the Prime Minister and fulfil all promises, he said. The Amethi district unit of the Congress has distanced itself from the controversial poster. Before proceeding to Amethi, Rahul offered prayers at Churwa Hanuman temple in Rae Bareli. Posters show rahul as Ram, Modi Ravan rchopra@tribunemail.com Beijing, January 15 China on Monday hit out at Army Chief General Bipin Rawat for calling Dokalam a disputed territory and said that his unconstructive comments were not helpful for maintaining peace at the borders. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) In an angry rebuttal to Gen Rawats comments, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said his comments went against the consensus reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at the BRICS summit last September to bring ties back on track and preserve peace on the border. The Chinese reaction came following comments by Gen Rawat two days ago that India needs to shift focus from its border with Pakistan to that of China and spoke of pressure being exerted by Beijing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Last year, India-China relations have witnessed some twists and turns, Lu said and referred to Modi-Xi consensus and the high-level talks since December to improve the ties. The dialogue and consultation have shown sound momentum of improvement and development, he said. Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior official (Gen Rawat) not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state but also do not conform to the efforts made by the two sides to improve and develop bilateral relations, Lu said. The remarks cannot help to preserve the tranquillity and peace in the border areas, areas he said. Asked what were Gen Rawats specific comments that China is taking exception to, Lu pointed to the Indian Army Chiefs remarks on Dokalam wherein he said it is a disputed territory between Bhutan and China. I have made myself clear, if the senior official according to the report referred to the Donglang I think you are clear about our position Donglang belongs to China and has always been in the effective jurisdiction of China, Lu asserted. He reiterated Chinas stand that the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary has been delimited by the 1890 historical convention between the then British government and China, which Beijing claims settled the boundary in that particular section spanning to about 200 km. China wants India to settle the boundary in that particular section based on the treaty while the two sides negotiated for a settlement for the rest of the LAC which spans about 3,488 km. So far the two sides have held 20 rounds of border talks to resolve the issue. Donglang is Chinas territory. China will continue to exercise its sovereignty rights in accordance with the historical convention and steadfastly uphold its territorial sovereignty, Lu said. On its part, Bhutan had lodged a diplomatic protest with China when Chinese troops began building a road in the Dokalam area in June. Indian troops had objected to the construction of the road resulting in a 73-day standoff. The standoff was resolved after Chinese troops stopped road building and India withdrew its troops from the area. In an apparent reference to Gen Rawats comment that Dokalam is a disputed territory between Bhutan and China, Lu said, the remarks of the Army Chief mentioned by you once again showed that the illegal trespass of the Indian border troops is quite clear-cut in nature. Donglang belong to China. We require the Indian military to learn lessons and abide by the historical convention and earnestly uphold the peace and tranquillity for the border areas and create sound atmosphere for the political development of bilateral relations, he said. On Gen Rawats comments that China is exhorting pressure on India along the LAC, Lu said, If he refers to the situation in the whole India-China boundary, I have also said that last September the two heads of state have reached important consensus during the Xiamen (BRICS) summit. Both sides have maintained effective communication since then. The aim is to enhance strategic mutual trust and create enabling atmosphere for strategic communication. Recently, the bilateral relations have shown positive momentum. Lu said, referring to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yis visit to India in December followed by 20th round of border talks between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. On such background, the official mentioned by you made such kind of remarks that go against the consensus of the states and do not conform to the general trend of improvement of bilateral relations. We believe such kinds of remarks are not conducive to maintaining peace and tranquillity in border areas, Lu said. He did not directly respond to a question about Gen Rawats earlier remarks about major reduction of Chinese troops from the Dokalam area and reiterated Chinas stand that area belonged to China. China and India are important neighbours. They are both at the critical stage of the national development and rejuvenation. The two countries should enhance strategic communication and eliminate strategic doubt and conduct strategic cooperation, he said. We urge the Indian side to follow through on the important consensus of the two leaders to do more things to preserve peace and stability of the border area and refrain from doing things which may complicate the situation, constructively handle the relevant affairs and promote steady development of bilateral relations. This serves the common interest of the whole region and the interest o the Indian side, Lu added. PTI monicakchauhan@gmail.com Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 15 India and Israel on Monday inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cyber security, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu held extensive talks to strengthen ties in the strategic areas of defence and counter-terrorism. Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, Modi said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. On his part, Netanyahu described Modi as a revolutionary leader. You are revolutionising India and also relations between India and Israel, Netanyahu said, addressing Modi. The two prime ministers, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest. Apart from a pact on cyber security, the agreements included cooperation in the oil and gas sector, film-co- production as well as amendments to an air transport pact. Netanyahu, who arrived here yesterday, will also visit Ahmedabad and Mumbai during his six-day stay in India. With PTI uttara@tribuneindia.com Islamabad, January 15 Pakistan Army claimed on Monday it lost four of its soldiers in a cross-border firing by India across the Line of Control (LoC). The army also claimed to have killed three Indian troops. They were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar rounds while carrying out "line communication maintenance" along the LoC in Kotli sector's Jandrot area, the army's media wing Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. Four Pakistani soldiers were killed in the exchange of fire. Three Indian soldiers were also killed, the statement said. Indian Army however claims it had killed seven from Pakistans armyan officer among themin what it called "retaliatory action" against Pakistani troops in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The action comes after an Indian solider was killed in Pakistani firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday. Both sides accuse each other of LoC violence. Pakistan's Foreign Office last week said that in 2018, Indian forces carried out more than 70 ceasefire violations along the LoC and the Working Boundary in 12 days, resulting in the killing of one civilian and injuries to five others. PTI harinder@tribunemail.com Satya Prakash Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 15 It was lull after the storm in the Supreme Court on Monday as judges resumed work, albeit 10 minutes late, amid speculations over the next move of the four rebel judges and possible action by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, who has maintained studied silence on the allegations levelled against him. Edit: A hatchet is buried Much before 10.30 am when judges commence hearings, a large number of journalists, lawyers and litigants waited in anticipation outside courtroom no. 1 where the CJI holds court, and the adjoining four courtrooms occupied by Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph the four judges who accused the CJI of arbitrarily allocating work to colleagues. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Before coming to their courtrooms, the judges reportedly met over tea to sort out their differences, sources said. As the judges resumed their normal work, Attorney General KK Venugopal said the differences had been resolved. Now everything has been settled. The courts are functioning. It was a storm in a tea cup, Venugopal told a TV channel. The Bar Council of India (BCI), which on Sunday sent a seven-member delegation to meet the judges in an attempt to mediate between the two factions, said the crisis had blown over. The story is now over, said BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra. Terming the issues raised by the four seniormost judges as internal issues of the family, Mishra said everything had been resolved internally. He, however, advised political leaders against politicising the issue. The petition for an independent probe into the death of judge BH Loya who was trying the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case in which BJP chief Amit Shah was named that was cited as one of the reasons by the four judges for their revolt, is listed before a Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra on Tuesday. Asked if an investigation should be ordered into allegations levelled by the seniormost judges, the BCI chairman said there was no question of any probe. He also opined against any action against the four judges for criticising the CJI. There is no need of any action... they are all honest and men of integrity. Meanwhile, a Bench headed by CJI Misra turned down a plea by advocate RP Luthra for stern action on the issue of a press conference held on Friday by the four SC judges. Luthras petition on the Memorandum of Procedure to appoint judges had found a mention in the letter written by the four judges to the CJI. No, no, said the CJI after Luthra referred to the press conference. The temple of justice cannot be destroyed by a group of people. Please proceed, whether it is contempt. No one should be allowed to destroy the top institution. We will not allow the institution to be destroyed by anti-national people, Luthra, who had earlier challenged the appointments made to the higher judiciary in the absence of MoP, said. editorial@tribune.com Kathmandu, January 15 With the arrest of six persons, the Nepal police today claimed to have busted a gang of fraudsters who duped over 60 people by promising them job in Indias external intelligence agency RAW. The six people were collecting anywhere between 3 lakh and 5 lakh Nepalese rupees from unsuspecting individuals over false promise of securing them jobs at the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), according to a police statement. Those arrested have been identified as Ramananda Nauniya, Santosh Karki, Binod Karki, Padam Bahadur Shrestha, Chitra Bahadur Shrestha and Geeta Maharjan, it said. Nauniya, the mastermind of the gang, with the help of other accused, had been using fake letterhead of the Indian Embassy to prepare counterfeit job contracts. PTI amansharma@tribunemail.com Mumbai, January 14 The son of special CBI judge B H Loya said on Sunday that although he and his family had earlier been suspicious about his father's sudden death three years ago, they no longer harboured doubts. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Anuj Loya, 21, while stating that his family was "pained" by the things happening over his father's death, also said NGOs and politicians should stop "harassing" his family members over the issue. "I had an emotional turmoil, hence I had suspicions about his death. But now we don't have any doubts about the way he died," the son of the late judge told reporters here. "Earlier, my grandfather and aunt had some doubts about his death, which they shared. But now neither of them has any doubts," he said. The deceased judge's father and Anuj's aunt had alleged foul play in his death. #WATCH: Anuj Loya, Justice Loya's son says, 'we are convinced that his was a natural death. We do not have any suspicion about it.' pic.twitter.com/WqghpxvXGx ANI (@ANI) January 14, 2018 Judge Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh "fake encounter" case, had allegedly died of a cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. BJP chief Amit Shah, an accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, had been discharged. With tears in his eyes, Anuj said, "We faced some pressure from politicians and NGOs. We don't want to name anyone, but please excuse my family from continuously asking about my father's death." Anuj is a second-year student of Law in a Pune-based college. "By going through some media reports and everything, (my) family is facing lots of troubles...because of all the things happening. We don't have any allegations against anyone. We are really pained to...like...we are already trying to get out of these things." "...I request you people, please don't try to harass us or trouble us. I want to convey to you all," he said. K B Katake, a retired district judge and family friend of Loya, who was also present at the conference, said, "The 85-year-old father of B H Loya is being harassed by some people, who are asking some questions in respect of death of his only son. And that creates panic in the family." "There was no suspicion in the minds of any family member in respect of death of justice Loya. However, the people are harassing and making family members panic," he alleged. "His (Anuj's) mother is ill. Every day she is required to take medical treatment. On behalf of Loya's family, I request you all media people to convey to those NGOs, lawyers and politicians not to go to his family, not to meet them and harass them like this, in respect of death of Mr Loya," the former district judge said. Anuj's press conference comes two days after four seniormost judges of the Supreme Court mounted a virtual revolt against the Chief Justice of India, raising questions on "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders. One of the four senior-most judges, who held an unprecedented press conference on Friday, had said the matter involving judge Loya's death was one of the issues underpinning their differences with Chief Justice Dipak Misra. PTI rchopra@tribunemail.com Gorakhpur, January 15 As Rahul Gandhi arrived in UP on Monday on his first visit to the state after becoming Congress president, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath advised him to shun negative politics and instead focus on development. The Congress leader arrived in the state on a two-day visit to galvanise party workers for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and breathe life in the party which saw its worst-ever performance in the 2017 Assembly elections getting only seven seats in the 403-member House. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The Congress president should give up doing negative politics, Adityanath told reporters here even as Gandhi arrived in Lucknow en route Raebareli and Amethi--the party bastions. Asked as to how he viewed Rahuls first visit to the state after donning the mantle of party head, the chief minister said, My advice to Rahul is that he should focus more on politics of development. Adityanath said that had the Congress laid more emphasis on development, Amethi would not have languished. See the plight of his Lok Sabha constituency--Amethi--nursed by four generations of the Nehru-Gandhi family, the chief minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event at Gorakhnath temple, of which he is the head priest, on the occasion of Makarsankranti. Adityanath also attacked former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying he should ask his supporters to behave. They (SP workers) killed innocent villagers in Azamgarh with spurious liquor and were also caught in Hardoi for making spurious liquor. They tried to disturb the environment in Lucknow which is not good, he alleged. In Lucknow, two persons, including a Samajwadi Party worker, were arrested last week for allegedly hurling potatoes near the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and some other places in the VVIP zone to highlight the plight of farmers. Meanwhile, Adityanath greeted BSP supremo Mayawati on her birthday on Monday. PTI gspannu7@gmail.com Rae Bareli, January 15 Rahul Gandhi arrived in this Congress bastion in Uttar Pradesh on a two-day visit, his first after taking over as party chief, and attacked the Modi government for lying and not honouring promises made to people. BJP supporters staged protests against the Congress leader, who began his visit to Rae Bareli and Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituencies represented by his mother and himself, after offering prayers at a Hanuman temple. After offering prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on Lucknow-Rae Bareli road, he proceeded towards Amethi, and addressed a public meeting on way at Salon, where some Congress supporters clashed with protesters, who the party claimed, were sponsored by the BJP. People belonging to the BJP are continuously telling lies, one after the other. Whether it is a lie about Rs 15 lakh in the bank accounts of every citizen or giving remunerative prices to farmers for their produce or construction of roads, he told the meeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked of giving employment to two crore youth. Is there even a single young person here who has got employment? We are in competition with China. I would like to tell you, the government of China gives employment to 50,000 youngsters every 24 hours...I had raised this point in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi, fresh from his partys remarkable show in the Gujarat poll, said. He asked Congress workers to expose the lies being spread by the BJP. Gandhi, who flagged demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax during his aggressive Gujarat campaign, once again attacked the government on these. He also accused the government of working only for a handful of industrialists. He claimed there were 30 lakh unemployed youth in Gujarat demanding employment, but the prime minister was silent. I had said that wherever we go, we find made in China mark on mobile phones, shirts, shoes and other accessories. You had promised Make in India... This is a matter of shame ...the work done by the Chinese government in two days, the same work takes a year for Narendra Modi government to do ...This is the truth, he said. The Congress president raked up the issue of cancellation of the food park project in Amethi, and said it would be built once the Congress returned to power. I want to say one thing. Come what may, food park will be set up here (in Amethi), and I will prove this... Listen to me, as soon as our government is formed, whether it is the sugarcane farmer, potato farmer or a farmer who grows other crops, your produce will be sold here, and you will get a handsome price, he said. As the Congress presidents convoy was leaving for the next the venue, Parshderpur, some alleged BJP workers raised slogans against him. There were heated exchanges between Congress workers and protesters. A Congress MLC from Rae BareliDeepak Singhand Additional SP Shekhar Singh were seen talking to each other angrily. The protesters were later chased away from the scene. In Amethi also, Rahul Gandhi had to face angry protesters at Rajiv Gandhi Chowk because of which he could not garland the statue of his father. Supporters of the BJP and the Congress fought a pitched battle, giving the local police and Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel a trying time containing them. There were no immediate reports of injury to anyone. A local BJP leader and trader Rajesh Masala said it was the protesters way to welcome their missing MP. The Congress leaders visit to the Hanuman temple was much talked about. Gandhi spent some 10 minutes at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old leader, attired in white kurta-pyjama, came out sporting a bright vermilion tilak on his forehead. His frequent visits to Hindu shrines are being seen as an attempt to blunt the BJPs charge of Muslim appeasement against the Congress. The BJP had also accused Gandhi, a self-proclaimed Shiv Bhakt, of going temple-hopping in Gujarat for votes, and his visit to Hanuman temple today could effectively quell such perception. PTI harinder@tribunemail.com Pavneet Singh Chadha Tribune News Service Mohali, January 15 A special court today sentenced former Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) Chairman Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu, alias Ravi Sidhu, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment in a disproportionate assets case. Sidhu was held guilty under Sections 13 (1) (e) (disproportionate assets) and 13 (2) (criminal misconduct) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 75 lakh. In case he defaults, Sidhu will have to serve another year of rigorous imprisonment. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) After the verdict, Sidhu bowed his head and stared at the courtroom floor. On January 10, Sidhu was convicted of corruption in a case filed by the Vigilance Bureau in Mohali on March 25, 2002, against Sidhu and others. The court had acquitted five others Randhir Singh Gill, Prem Sagar, Gurdip Singh, Surinder Kaur and Paramjit Singh for lack of evidence. It was alleged that during his tenure as PPSC Chairman, Sidhu and his colleagues accepted bribes to appoint inspectors in the Excise and Taxation Department. Singh was accused of having sent Rs 1.36 crore through hawala out of the country, besides forging a will and having bank lockers under false names. The Vigilance Bureau had seized Rs 8.30 crore from several lockers after the registration of a case against him. In 2015, a Patiala court had sentenced Sidhu to seven-year rigorous imprisonment in connection with the 2002 cash-for-job scam. uttara@tribuneindia.com Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 18 A Mohali court sentenced former Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) chairman Ravinderpal Singh to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 75 lakh in a corruption case on Monday. The court found Singh, who also goes by the name Ravi Sidhu, guilty of having accepted bribes for appointing inspectors in the Excise and Taxation Department on January 11, but acquitted five other people who were also accused in the case. Singh was accused of having sent Rs 1.36 crore through 'hawala' channels out of the country, forging a will, and having bank lockers under false names. Punjab Vigilance Bureau booked Sidhu under 467, 468, 471 and 120-B sections of the Indian Penal Code as well as various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act on March 25, 2002. editorial@tribune.com Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, January 15 Now razed, the Hussainiwala railway station, which once served as the Gateway to Lahore, comes to life for two days in a year. The rail track along the station, which saw the first train chugging between Ferozepur and Kasur (now in Pakistan) on its way to Peshawar in 1885, is used on Shaheedi Diwas and Baisakhi, when the Northern Railway run a special diesel multiple unit (DMU) to ferry people to the Samadhi Sthal. The now-defunct Ferozepur-Hussainiwala rail track was once a hub of trade and military activities. Hundreds of people from towns like Kasur, Lahore and Ferozepur used to disembark here to work in the mechanical engineering workshop of the drainage department which was situated just across this station. This track also saw the first run of the Punjab Mail that still links Ferozepur with Mumbai. Most British troops and businessmen would arrive in Mumbai and make their way to their destinations by rail. This rail line was created for their convenience so they could travel directly to Kasur, Lahore, Ferozepur and Peshawar. Sources in the Railways said this rail track crossed the Sutlej over 13 round pillars all of them intact even today and a double-decker bridge called Empress Bridge. All that remains of this bridge today are the two towers on each side of the Sutlej. The place witnessed several pitched battles between India and Pakistan. It is unfortunate that due to the vagaries of time and in the absence of care, the historic station has lost its existence, said Resham Singh of Hussainiwala village, who has been witness to the era when this station used to be abuzz with life. Resham demanded that the railway authorities should redevelop this heritage station. laxmi@tribune.com Neena Sharma Tribune News Service Dehradun, January 15 In a major boost to the efforts of Uttarakhand government, the issue of handing over the Alaknanda resort located at Haridwar has been amicably resolved. It is a big achievement for us, as the Uttar Pradesh government submitted an agreement affidavit regarding the settlement of Alaknanda resort located at Haridwar in the Supreme Court today. We have now got the resort, said Chief Minister TS Rawat. After the Supreme Court stepped in, the Uttar Pradesh government was forced to agree to the state governments plea that it would provide land in lieu of the resort. It was a major money churner for the UP government all these years. According to the affidavit that was presented in the court, the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Board agreed to develop a hotel in two years on a piece of land measuring 2964 meters provided by the Uttarakhand government. The site is near the Alaknanda Hotel and Ganga Nahar. The site that we have chosen will be used for developing a hotel by the UP Tourism Department in two years during which the Uttarakhand government will cooperate in providing clearances and other formalities for setting up the new hotel, after which the deed and management of the Alaknanda Hotel will be transferred to the Uttarakhand Tourism Board, said Dilip Jawalakar, Secretary, Department of Tourism. Further, the Uttar Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation will independently run the new hotel. Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh government had transferred 1,19,000 sq feet under the control of the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department to Uttarakhand. The 17-year-long dispute neared resolution after the Supreme Court, while hearing a writ petition urged both the states to sort out the matter. rajivbhatia82@gmail.com Islamabad, January 15 A Chinese woman was shot dead in Pakistan by three robbers who stormed a residence in Islamabad on Friday. The 35 year old woman, died from gunshot wounds after being shot by 3 robbers who stormed a residence rented by a group of Chinese nationals in Islamabad last Friday, the People's Daily reported citing Chinese embassy in Pakistan. Last month, the Embassy of China in Islamabad had warned Chinese citizens and organisations in Pakistan to be on alert for possible terror attacks on them. According to an estimate, there are nearly 400,000 Chinese people living in Pakistan, with a large number of professionals involved in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). ANI. uttara@tribuneindia.com London, January 15 The man who mowed down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before killing a police officer outside Britain's parliament last year had taken steroids beforehand, a London court heard on Monday. Last March Khalid Masood, 52, killed four people on the bridge before, armed with two carving knives, he stabbed to death an unarmed police officer in the grounds of parliament. He was shot dead at the scene. It was the first of five attacks on Britain last year that police blamed on terrorism. A submission to a pre-inquest hearing into the fatalities at London's Old Bailey Court said there was evidence that Masood had taken anabolic steroids in the hours or days before his death. "A more specialist pharmaceutical toxicologist ... has been instructed to prepare a report addressing how steroid use may have affected Khalid Masood," the submission by the inquiry's lawyer Jonathan Hough said. The hearing also heard from Gareth Patterson, a lawyer representing relatives of four of the victims, who lambasted tech firms over their stance on encryption and failing to remove radicalising material from websites. Patterson said families wanted answers about how Masood, who was known to the UK security service MI5, was radicalised and why shortly before his attack, he was able to share an extremist document via WhatsApp. He said victims' relatives could not understand "why it is that radicalising material continues to be freely available on the internet". "We do not understand why it's necessary for WhatsApp, Telegram and these sort of media applications to have end-to-end encryption," he told the hearing at London's Old Bailey court. Patterson told Reuters following the hearing that he was "fed up" of prosecuting terrorism cases that featured encryption and particularly the WhatsApp messaging service. "How many times do we have to have this?" he said. The British government has been pressurising companies to do more to remove extremist content and rein in encryption, which they say allows terrorists and criminals to communicate without being monitored by police and spies, while also making it hard for the authorities to track them down. However, it has met quiet resistance from tech leaders like Facebook, Google and Twitter and critics say ending encryption will weaken security for legitimate actions and open a back door for government snooping. Samantha Leek, the British government's lawyer, said the issues over encryption and radicalisation were a matter of public policy and too wide for an inquest to consider. Police say Masood had planned and carried out his attack alone, despite claims of responsibility from Islamic State, although a report in December confirmed he was known to MI5 for associating with extremists, particularly between 2010 and 2012, but not considered a threat. Coroner Mark Lucraft said the inquest, which will begin in September, would seek to answer "obvious and understandable questions" the families might have. Reuters Roussel, who is from Syria and has found refuge in Switzerland, loves to dance. UNHCR/Humans of Amsterdam and Fetching_Tigerss with some edits using a photo by Image Source Trading Ltd/Shutterstockcom LAUSANNE, Switzerland At first, 10-year-old Roussel did not believe her friends and cousins when they told her that her home in Syria had been destroyed. When she saw a photograph, she knew it was true. I felt very sad and disappointed, she recalls. However, even a devastating war at home and the desperate search for safety on another continent have not stopped Roussel from growing and dreaming. Four years after she and her family fled home and found refuge in Switzerland, Roussel is busy dancing, singing, making friends, speaking French and learning to ski. She is so well-liked that she may soon become the new class president at school. I want to become a top model." I am not sure what a class president does but a lot of kids voted for me, she says in a new photography series called the Dream Diaries. That makes me really proud. The Dream Diaries features 12 refugee and asylum-seeking children in Europe who reveal their hopes and dreams from the safety of their new homes. The series was produced by photographer Debra Barraud, her colleague Benjamin Heertje, online graphic artist Annegien Schilling, film-maker Kris Pouw and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Amid war and upheaval, Roussel often took refuge in her imagination. Switzerland, in offering her real safety, may help to make her dreams a reality. I want to become a top model, says Roussel. I also really like to create things, to let my imagination work. I am very happy to have my family with me." More than half of the worlds refugees are children and many will spend their entire childhoods away from home. However, children are resilient and with help they can find ways to cope and look forward to the future. When children flee their home countries they leave everything behind, except their hopes and dreams, says Barraud, whose Humans of Amsterdam photography project has more than 400,000 Facebook followers. Through the project, we saw the strength of these children and how, with the right support, they can achieve anything. Audiences are being encouraged to stand #WithRefugees by signing UNHCRs global petition, which asks decision-makers to grant refugees safety, education and opportunities turning their dreams into reality. You can follow the Dream Diaries series via Humans of Amsterdam, Fetching Tigerss and UNHCRs social media accounts. Right now, the most important thing for Roussel is that her family are together. I am very happy to have my family with me, she says. I am very grateful for their support, for the fact that they are here close to me when I'm sad. I really love them and thank them for that. See more stories from The Dream Diaries Hilary Parle, a retired family doctor, and her husband Jim, a professor of family medicine, are hosting 72-year-old Yonasskindis*, a refugee from Eritrea. UNHCR/Aubrey Wade BIRMINGHAM, England Birmingham couple Hilary and Jim Parle decided to offer to host refugees after hearing the tragic story of three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on a beach in Turkey in 2015. We saw the picture of the toddler lying face down on the beach and that was it, Hilary said. We had to do something to help. Retired family doctor Hilary, 63, and 62-year-old Jim, a professor of medicine at Birmingham University, had room in their four-bedroom house after their three adult children had moved away. Via the Internet, Hilary found the Birch Network, which arranges support and accommodation for refugees, and the couple was soon taking in guests. After hosting four people, in January this year they welcomed Yonasskindis*, a 72-year-old Eritrean who fled his home country after receiving death threats. A former bar owner and accountant, Yonasskindis supported the countrys main independence movement and has been in the United Kingdom for eight years. They are like my brother and sister. They are very good people." His asylum application was rejected, but he is appealing and is allowed to stay in the UK pending a decision. He says he cannot go back to Eritrea receiving threats. UK: An Eritrean gentleman finds refuge with Birmingham couple (Tiger Nest Films) When his asylum application was rejected, Yonasskindis was evicted from the accommodation he had been given and was on the verge of homelessness had it not been for Hilary and Jim. They are like my brother and sister, he said. They are very good people. I am diabetic with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I have to take five tablets each day. If it wasnt for them I would be on the street. Hilary and Yonasskindis spend a lot of time together, making sculptures, shopping, cooking together and sharing meals. "We both just sit together, drink tea and read. Its been remarkably straightforward, Jim said. Im surprised at how easy its been. When people tell us its so great what we are doing, we say it really isnt, its quite easy. Like me, he is a voracious reader, we both just sit together, drink tea and read. Yonasskindis is deaf but the Parles say that hasnt been a problem. He loves history and is quite knowledgeable, Hilary said. His English is super, but he is deaf, you just have to speak loudly. I tell people he is like Jim but 10 years older, they both sit there and read the paper together. Its like having a friend with us. Hes also very keen to help out. Jim added: People can have views about immigration in general but its different when it comes to an individual. This story is part of a series entitled No Stranger Place, which was developed and photographed by Aubrey Wade in partnership with UNHCR, profiling refugees and their hosts across Europe. More than a year after the drowning of three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, thousands of people have come together to bridge cultural divides and language barriers, embracing compassion, hope and humanity even as some European governments continue to build obstacles. Their generosity is an example to the world. *Name changed for protection reasons Simon Goldhill, a professor at Cambridge University, his wife Shoshana, a lawyer, and their student daughter Sarah are hosting Syrian refugee Faraj. UNHCR/Aubrey Wade CAMBRIDGE, England The Goldhills have always kept an open home, welcoming students and friends to stay. However, for the first time, the devout Jewish family is now hosting a refugee, a conservative young Muslim from Syria. He comes from a very orthodox Islamic background and then he comes to a very Jewish family, said Simon Goldhill, 60, a professor of Greek literature at Kings College, Cambridge University. He prays five times a day and then comes to synagogue with us and helps the rabbi. This is a testament to who Faraj is. He sees our differences, but never as an issue. Faraj, 21, fled war-torn Aleppo in 2012 with his family. They went first to Egypt and, a few months later, Faraj travelled alone to Turkey, where he had friends and where he was able to work in a factory in Ankara for two years. I am not a stranger here. I am finally free." Barely making ends meet, he and a cousin left for Europe reached the United Kingdom in August 2015. He was granted refugee status three months later and started volunteering and cooking at a nearby church, where he made new friends. One friend introduced him to an organization called Refugees At Home, which matches refugees with hosts, and in September 2016 he was welcomed by the Goldhills. Nervous at first, Faraj said his worries evaporated when he met Simon's wife, Shoshana. This is my home, he said. I am not a stranger here. I am finally free. Here, I am the Faraj that I have always wanted to be." UK: Jewish family open doors to Syrian refugee (Tiger Nest Films) He enjoys cooking and is always bringing back new spices to experiment with. He is close to Shoshana and her daughter Sarah, 27, a medical student, who says she is thrilled to finally have a younger brother. I am very protective of him, she said. We hang out a lot and he just fits in so easily with all my friends. Its impossible not to adore him. He completely lifts me up out of my mundane day and grumpiness. He always sees the positive side of things. Not to mention I now probably eat three times my body weight each day of hummus. His gentleness is a hard-earned gentleness." Simon and Shoshana both speak of how open-minded and positive Faraj is despite his experiences. Not too many people walk around Europe as a refugee and, I mean, he has every reason to feel the world has treated him badly, but is still so positive, open, gentle and optimistic, said Simon. His gentleness is a hard-earned gentleness. Shoshana said he quickly became part of the family. On the one hand, I know he has a really tough core given what he has been through and how hes been on his own since he was 17, but there is a real innocence about him, she said. I worry when he goes out. The Goldhills have told Faraj he can stay as long as he wants. He and the family are hoping he will continue his English-language education and go on to university. Faraj says he would like to become a psychologist. This story is part of a series entitled No Stranger Place, which was developed and photographed by Aubrey Wade in partnership with UNHCR, profiling refugees and their hosts across Europe. More than a year after the drowning of three-year-old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, thousands of people have come together to bridge cultural divides and language barriers, embracing compassion, hope and humanity even as some European governments continue to build obstacles. Their generosity is an example to the world. UK: An Eritrean gentleman finds refuge with Birmingham couple Seventy-two-year-old Eritrean "Yonasskindis" was on the verge of homelessness after his original asylum request was rejected by UK authorities. But a British couple stepped up to take in the deaf, elderly man. Birmingham couple Hilary and Jim Parle were retirees with a room to spare and a desire to help refugees, and their new household has given rise to an unlikely friendship. Social worker Emily Reynolds and her boyfriend Gijs Van Amelsvoort are hosting Areej from Sudan. The three spend time together watching movies and sharing meals. UNHCR/Aubrey Wade LONDON Opening ones home and life to someone who has been forced to flee their own country is not a decision to be taken lightly. But, as a new photographic exhibition on refugee-hosting in Britain demonstrates, it can bring real benefits to both parties. Offering a room to a refugee can help them find their feet and better integrate in their new country, a process that can prove alienating and confusing. And for those wanting to do their part for the refugee crisis, it is a tangible, meaningful and potentially life-changing gesture. Often, bonds are forged that stand the test of time. The most lovely, surprising thing that happened is that we became friends, Emily Reynolds, 28, said of her experience in London hosting sassy Areej, a refugee who fled Sudan needing international protection. This and other personal stories are captured in Great British Welcome, the British chapter of No Stranger Place, an exhibition of photographs and stories portraying refugees and their hosts at home across Europe. The series was developed by the photographer Aubrey Wade in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. "The lives of both the hosts and the refugees are positively enriched by the experience of living with each other. Wade went to meet and photograph some of the British hosts, whose generosity of spirit is helping to transform the lives of those who have forced to flee, giving them the chance to start a new life in the UK. The enduring impression this project has left on me is the way in which the lives of both the hosts and the refugees are positively enriched by the experience of living with each other, Wade said. It really is win-win. The show will run for two months, from January 16 to March 16, in the Courtyard of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the parish church of Britains royal family and prime minister, located by Trafalgar Square, London. The exhibition offers visitors a personal insight into hosts and refugees lives together. One family, the Goldhills, have welcomed Faraj, 21, into their Cambridge home. He fled war-torn Aleppo in 2012. He comes from a very orthodox Islamic background and then he comes to a very Jewish family, said Simon Goldhill, a professor of Greek literature at Kings College, Cambridge University. He prays five times a day and then comes to synagogue with us and helps the rabbi. This is a testament to who Faraj is. He sees our differences, but never as an issue. Simons daughter Sarah, 27, said Faraj completely lifts me up out of my mundane day and grumpiness. The collection helps show that even as the numbers displaced by war and persecution have surged, Europeans have shown compassion, hope and humanity by opening their homes to refugees, helping to bridge cultural divides and break down language barriers. The exhibition includes portraits from Germany, Sweden, France and Austria. "Sometimes I think too much, get sad, and cant sleep. But generally I am happy now." In Britain, the project received invaluable support from Refugees at Home, a charity connecting those with a spare room in their home with asylum-seekers and refugees who badly need accommodation. There is a real sense of civic-mindedness and support for refugees at the grass roots level in Britain, said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCRs UK Representative. Refugees at Home, and the hosts it links to refugees, are testament to that. The exhibition also helps show that refugees are normal people with everyday issues. One host, Catharine Elliott, has been hosting Hussein, 20, from Ethiopia, since October 2016, since her boys left home. The difference between London-born and Ethiopia-born teenage boys is minimal. Teenage boys the world over are the same. They dont realize sheets need changing and that laundry doesnt walk away on its own, she said. You just have to train them in the nicest way. Husseins journey to the UK was extremely difficult, but he has found a measure of stability. I often wake up scared because when I escaped through Libya they were shooting people in front of me, he said. It was too much. Sometimes I think too much, get sad, and cant sleep. But generally I am happy now. January 15 2018 Michael Laird Architects have tabled an eleventh hour amendment to a speculative Edinburgh office build , already under construction, to allow an extra floor to be added to accommodate surging commercial demand in the city. 2 Semple Street is being pushed by GSS Developments with the aim of permitting the addition of a seventh floor providing an additional 520sq/m of lettable floorspace. Mirroring a sixth-floor setback this would avoid any changes to the project as it currently stands, in terms of materials and finish.As part of their application MLA submitted a visual impact study depicting the potential impact of a height extension upon the wider Exchange financial district.In a statement the architects wrote: This study would tend to give confidence that the proposed massing and architectural features of the additional floor of 2 Semple Street brings the development more into the main stream of architectural precedent which has been set by the surrounding developments since the development was approved in 2014. As such, the additional storey would not have an adverse impact on the citys skyline.By increasing floorspace GSS aim to appeal to a broader range of prospective tenants who may require larger premises. (Jan. 15, 2018, Updated 3:30pm) -- UTSA President Taylor Eighmy, acting on the recommendation of his leadership team and with input from various university departments, announced that all three UTSA campuses - Main, Downtown and Hemisfair - will be closed on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, due to sub-freezing temperatures and the potential for ice on roads in Bexar County and the surrounding areas. All classes, programs and events scheduled are canceled or postponed until midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 16. The John Peace Library will close at 6pm, Monday, Jan. 15 as planned, for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Students should contact their professors and instructors directly to discuss any questions they have about class attendance and assignments. During the universitys closure, employees assigned to critical functions within police, facilities and other emergency support roles will remain on duty. To accommodate on-campus residents, the Roadrunner Cafe on the UTSA Main Campus will continue to operate with a limited menu while the university is closed. During the closure, and while severe weather remains in the San Antonio area, UTSA will provide updates to the campus community at: UTSA leaders will continue to monitor and evaluate conditions to determine if the weather warrants an extension of the closings. 12,000 people have left their homes after scientists warned that the perfect cone of Mayon could erupt in the coming hours or days AFP/Simvale SAYAT Volcanic earthquakes and rockfalls have shaken the summit of Mayon over the last 24 hours, after a number of steam-driven eruptions, scientists said. More than 12,000 people have been ordered to leave a seven-kilometre evacuation zone, and there are warnings of destructive mudflows and toxic clouds. "It is dangerous for families to stay in that radius and inhale ash," Claudio Yucot, head of the region's office of civil defence, told AFP. "Because of continuous rains in past weeks, debris deposited in the slopes of Mayon could lead to lahar flows. If rain does not stop it could be hazardous." Lahar is the technical term for volcanic mudflows. The volcano, a near-perfect cone, sits around 330km southwest of Manila. Steam-driven eruptions and rockfalls began over the weekend, and the crater began glowing on Sunday evening, in what the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said was a sign of the growth of a new lava dome. Lava last flowed out of Mayon in 2014 when 63,000 people fled from their homes. "We think the lava now is more fluid than in 2014. This means the flow can reach further down (the slopes) at a faster rate," Phivolcs head Renato Solidum told AFP. "We see similarity with eruptions where the first phase of the activity started with lava flow and culminated in an explosive or hazardous part. That's what we are trying to monitor and help people avoid." The 2,460-metre Mayon, has a long history of deadly eruptions. Four foreign tourists and their local tour guide were killed when Mayon last erupted, in May 2013. In 1814 more than 1,200 people were killed when lava flows buried the town of Cagsawa. An explosion in August 2006 did not directly kill anyone, but four months later a typhoon unleashed an avalanche of volcanic mud from Mayon's slopes that claimed 1,000 lives. The Ministry of Public Security has just issued an arrest warrant for defendant Nguyen Huynh Dang (47), former head of the business division at the headquarters of Dong A Bank. The ministry informed that anybody able to arrest Nguyen Huynh Dang should hand him over to the investigation agency at 47 Pham Van Dong Street, Bac Tu Liem district, Hanoi (telephone number: 069.2322621). Wanted: Nguyen Huynh Dang Nguyen Huynh Dang is a suspect of proceedings related to abusing trust to appropriate property, intentionally violating state regulations on economic management and causing serious consequences, and violating regulations on credit institutions lending activities at Dong A Bank. In 2017, MoPS arrested a series of high-level leaders of this bank, including Tran Phuong Binh (former vice chairman of the board of management and former general director), Nguyen Thi Kim Xuyen (59) (former deputy general director), Nguyen Duc Tai (49) (branch manager), Nguyen Van Thuan (58) (deputy branch manager), and Tran The Hung (56) (former fund manager of branch). Additionally, the court has imposed criminal liability on more than 20 people and recovered property from more than VND2 trillion ($88 million) in value. The case of DAB was highlighted for investigation by the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption. MoPS is investigating and recovering properties the defendants acquired through violations. SBV fires Dong A Bank general director, deputy The State Bank of Viet Nam sacked Dong A Bank general director Tran Phuong Binh and deputy general director Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van on Thursday for a slew of legal violations by the HCM City-based bank on their watch a few years ago. Despite the pertaining issues in BSR's feasibility, investors registered to buy 2.7 times the share volume on offer Notably, 3,958 domestic individuals registered to buy 248 million shares, and 48 foreign organisations and 67 foreign investors registered 65 million and 338.6 million shares, respectively. According to the plan, on January 17, BSR will conduct its initial public offering (IPO) to sell 242 million shares, equalling 7.79 per cent of its charter capital, at the initial price of VND14,600 ($0.64) apiece. With this initial price, BSR expects to acquire at least VND3.5 trillion ($154.1 million) in proceeds. After the IPO, Vietnamese oil and gas group PetroVietnam will retain 43 per cent of BSRs charter capital, while a maximum of 49 per cent will be sold to strategic investors within three months after the IPO. About 0.21 per cent of the shares will be offered to the companys employees. The equitisation of BSR is considered an attractive deal in foreign investors eyes because BSR has numerous opportunities to develop sectors that have high potential but have yet to be exploited, including the petrochemical sector. On the other hand, investors may face numerous issueswhen they invest in BSR. Notably, there is expected to be large competition between BSR and Nghi Son Refinery, which is expected to meet 40 per cent of the petroleum demand of the Vietnamese market once it comes into operation. Besides, according to BSRs previous plans, the company will invest $1.8 billion to upgrade and expand Dung Quat Refinery's capacity from the current 6.5 million tonnes to 8.5 million tonnes per year by 2022, a plan investors need to consider before deciding to buy BSRs shares. Another issue is the exchange rate difference. Notably, the buying price of crude oil, which is the input material, and the selling prices of output products are valued based on the USD, while the business results of BSR are calculated based on the Vietnamese dong. Furthermore, investors need to take into account BSRs previous ineffective investment projects, one of which is Central Biofuels JSC. BSR poured VND742 billion ($32.6 million) into the company but it is operating in a loss. The decree will make sure less buyers get their fingers burnt Among the big projects to be launched is An Khanh New City Developments sale of its first phase this quarter. The mega $2 billion project is developed by South Koreas Posco E&C and Vietnams Vinaconex, located in Hanois Hoai Duc district, along the Thang Long Boulevard. Scheduled for completion in 2013, the city is expected to supply 6,440 apartments, equivalent to 392,319 square metres of accommodation, enough for 30,000 people. Even though Hoa Phat Group, the investor in a more than 1,000 apartment Mandarin Garden in Cau Giay districts Tran Duy Hung road, refused to release its launching time, real estate experts predicted the project would be soon launched. At the beginning of this month the CT7D, located in Le Van Luong street and invested by Nam Cuong Group and the FLC Landmark Tower of FLC Group will also be launched, with a total of 200 units and prices ranging from VND23 million ($1,200) to VND28 million ($1,470) per square metre. In Gia Lam district, over the Red River, the second lot of Rung Co Residentials belonging to the Eco Park is also being launched, with around 1,500 apartment units. In addition, Victoria Van Phu, Star City, Diamond Tower and Song Da City View will also add apartments to the mix. Real estate consultant CBRE Vietnam expected that there would be 3,000 units in Hanoi launched this quarter, compared to 1,950 units in the third quarter. There were more than 4,600 units launched in the second quarter. This decline, according to CBRE Vietnam, could be due to the Decree 71, effective on August 8, 2010 providing guidance on the Housing Law, which caps the proportion of units sold via capital contribution contracts at 20 per cent with the remaining 80 per cent sold on transaction floors. This decree, CBRE Vietnam said, had put a pressure on developers with low financial capabilities and enhanced market transparency. However, CBRE Vietnam executive director Richard Leech said new project launches would continue trending towards more affordable options. With the opening and improvement of major infrastructure routes, the capitals western and southern districts are attracting new residents with easier access for commuting into the core urban districts, Leech said. He said that the Decree 71 was expected to benefit the market by enhancing transparency, placing pressures on developers with low financial capabilities, lessening the threat of price bubbles and limiting speculative forces. Tran Nhu Trung, Savills Vietnam associate director, said the Decree 71 had showed off its advantages to clearly regulate five types of mobilising capital investment. However, Trung said the procedures to implement Decree 71 were still complicated and wasted customers time and energy. The more simple it [decree] regulates, the more it is practical in the real life, Trung said. In early January, BNP Paribas, a strategic partner of Orient Commercial Bank (OTC: OCB), was reported to withdraw its entire investment capital from the Vietnam-based bank. To date, there has been no further details of the over 74 million shares the French banking group divested. Andy Ho, managing director and CEO of VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Limited, asserted, The low foreign ownership limit at 20 per cent seemingly discouraged the majority of foreign investors from continuing to inject capital into Vietnam-based commercial banks due to limited ownership and the little say in the banks decision making process. As a result, increasing the foreign ownership limit in Vietnam-based commercial banks would be of great importance. In October 2017, Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank ( Techcombank ) announced a zero per cent foreign ownership followed by London-based HSBCs capital divestment in July, as well as the request of the banks stakeholders to freeze foreign ownership at a temporary zero per cent in late August. Earlier, in mid-August, the British banking and financial firm was reported to divest a total of 172 million shares from Techcombank, according to newswire Vietnam News. The low percentage of ownership leaves foreign investors no significant role in the decision making process at Vietnam-based banks Le Anh Tuan, deputy CIO and head of research at Dragon Capital, highlighted, Foreign shareholding limited at 20-30 per cent, requiring hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign investors, were one of the causes that drove foreign investors away from the countrys financial institutions. As long as this cap remains shy of 50 per cent, foreign investors will not be able to sway the decision making process or the banks boards of directors and they will not be capable of gaining any substantial investment benefits from a strategic partnership. In early 2015, Singapores Fullerton Financial Holding (FFH), a former strategic partner of Mekong Development Bank (OTC: MDB), sold all of its shares in the bank, equalling 20 per cent of its charter capital, before the merger with Maritime Bank (MSB) on March 31. It was reported that the limited ownership as well as the partnership with a commercial bank vastly contributed to the firms decision of quitting the investment deal. To date, the Singapore-headquartered investment firm has not returned to Vietnamese banks. On November 22, 2013, Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), a former strategic partner of Vietnam Prosperity Bank (VPBank), was reported to sell its entire stake at the Hanoi-based bank. Specifically, the Singapore-based banking firm sold a total of 85.83 million VPBank shares to Vietnamese investors. To add, the share transaction representing 14.88 per cent of VPBanks shareholding left zero foreign ownership in the bank. Hua Thi Phan and 27 will be tried on multiple counts of violations On January 12, 2018, the investigation agency proposed to prosecute Hua Thi Phan and 27 suspects for "intentionally violating state regulations on economic management and causing serious consequences," "abusing trust to appropriate property," and "violating regulations on credit institutions' lending activities" at Trust Bank (now Vietnam Construction BankVNCB). Specifically, the agency proposed to prosecute Ngo Kim Hue (former deputy general director of Trust Bank and director of Phu My Co., Ltd.), Bui Thi Kim Loan (accountant of Phu My Co., Ltd.) for "abusing trust to appropriate property" and "intentionally violating state regulations." Lam Kim Dung, former director of Lam Giang Co., Ltd. is proposed to be prosecuted for "abusing trust to appropriate property. The 24 other suspects are proposed to be prosecuted for "intentionally violating state regulations." According to the investigation conclusion, in June 2010, Hua Thi Phan and Phu My Investment and Development JSC and 14 other people bought over 254 million shares of Trust Bank for over VND2.5 trillion ($110 million). Phan abused her holding of nearly 85 per cent of the bank's charter capital to take over the management of all Trust Bank activities, taking over the entire board of management, executive board, and staff. She took over all investment, credit activities, as well as abused trust to appropriate and misuse more than VND12 trillion (nearly $530 million). Phan increased the value of the house at 5 Pham Ngoc Thach Street (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City) to sell to Trust Bank to cause financial damage of over VND1.1 trillion ($48.5 million). Bui Thi Kim Loan helped Phan to account and embezzle a total amount of VND5,256 billion ($231.6 million). Through 29 loans of Phu My, Phan embezzled over VND3.581 trillion ($158 million). She also asked Trust Bank to illegally invest into four other real estate projects to embezzle over VND1.037 trillion ($$45.7 million) and raised the value of other 25 properties sold to Trust Bank to embezzle over VND1 trillion ($44 million). The agency has concluded that the violations of Hua Thi Phan and others caused serious financial damage to Trust Bank, totaling at VND6.362 trillion ($280.3 million), excluding the VND5.643 trillion in damages in three other violations which will be investigated in the second phase of the case. Trial of Tram Be case started On January 8, 2018, the trial of intentionally violating state regulations on economic management and causing serious consequences at Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB), Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank), Tien Phong Bank (TPBank), and Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) started. OceanBank trials end in death sentence OceanBanks former executives have been given the stiffest punishments in Vietnamese law. Lactalis has recalled over 12 million packages of baby formula in 83 countries over salmonella fears. (Photo: AFP/Fred Dufour) Emmanuel Besnier, giving his first interview in nearly 20 years as head of the family-controlled company, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the recall involved more than 12 million packages of Picot, Milumel, Celia and other brands of powdered baby milk. "We are going to draw the lessons from this crisis and set out an even stricter hygiene framework, in collaboration with the authorities," he said. Asked why he had not publicly addressed earlier parents' concerns as worries about the outbreak intensified, Besnier said: "It's true, by nature I'm not very forthcoming." "In a crisis like this, we act first, and perhaps I didn't take the necessary time to explain things." A total of 37 babies have fallen ill in France as a result of the contamination, health authorities said late Friday, along with a case in Spain and a suspected case in Greece. But Besnier said no new cases had been reported since December 8, a week after the recall was announced. The French government welcomed the pledge to reimburse victims, but said investigations would continue to determine why the contamination went undetected. Officials will also investigate why in some cases the affected milk continued to be distributed in supermarkets, pharmacies and even some hospitals after the recall was announced. "When you have a case of milk on the market which has clearly caused complicated health problems for children, it means at some point there was negligence," government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told BFM television Sunday. Besnier's explanations "have not been sufficient," he added, vowing that the investigations "will not spare anyone", including the French state. 'NOT HIDING THINGS' Besnier's interview with the newspaper included two of the first public photographs of the secretive leader in years, at the Lactalis headquarters in Laval, western France. Created in 1933 by Besnier's grandfather, Lactalis has become an industry behemoth with annual sales of some 17 billion (US$20.6 billion), making it the world's third-largest dairy group, behind Danone and Nestle. The interview came after French finance minister Bruno Le Maire summoned Besnier to a meeting over the crisis on Friday, in which the chief executive agreed to pull from store and pharmacy shelves all products from the Craon factory where the outbreak was found. But Besnier did not appear with Le Maire at a press conference after the meeting, despite calls by several government officials for him to face the public. Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against the group by families who say their children got salmonella poisoning after drinking powdered milk made by the company. Richard Ferrand, leader of President Emmanuel Macron's LREM lawmakers in parliament, said all efforts would be made to find the causes of the crisis, and did not rule out the creation of a parliamentary inquiry, sought by opposition groups. But Besnier, 47, denied claims by an association of victims' families that Lactalis had lied about the dates and number of stocks affected by the salmonella outbreak. "At no point was there any intention of hiding things," he said. 'BUY OUR SILENCE' But the company's promise of compensation did not impress Quentin Guillemain, president of the Lactalis victim's association. "They are trying to buy our silence," he told AFP. "We want the truth," he added, berating Lactalis for failing to provide apologies or explanations. "Mr Besnier speaks of 83 countries affected ... Where are these figures from? Have all the authorities been informed? We are waiting for answers," said Guillemain. Besnier meanwhile also defended the decision not to inform the authorities that internal tests had discovered salmonella on a broom and on the tiles of a dehydration tower at the company's Craon factory in August and November last year. "For us, these 'environment' tests are an alert to make sure we keep the bacteria far from the product," he said, adding that authorities would have been alerted only if bacteria were found in the powdered milk. The salmonella scare has cast a harsh spotlight on an executive and a company little known to the public, despite employing 15,000 people in France, where milk and cheese are proudly considered part of the country's heritage. Analysts say the crisis could dent the company's reputation among anxious parents worldwide. Michael Kerry speaking at the Amcham Hanoi ceremony Kelly said that he looks forward to working with AmCham members to further foster and deepen economic, social, and business ties between Vietnam and the US. He added, It is with great humility that I take on this position to strengthen AmCham as the voice of American business in Vietnam in order to create a competitive and sustainable business climate for US companies and investors here. I look forward to working with my AmCham colleagues to ensure the organisations on-going success. Kelly is the executive chairman, CEO, and general director of ACDL and the Ho Tram Project Company, which owns and operates The Grand Ho Tram Stripthe largest foreign-invested tourism project in Vietnam. Kelly has approximately 30 years of experience in the hospitality/casino industry in both the private and public sectors and has served as the CEO, COO, and/or CFO of some of the largest hospitality companies in the US. Prior to relocating fulltime to Vietnam in 2015, he owned and operated two integrated resorts in North America. At the meeting of the AmCham Board of Governors, the board also selected Natasha Ansell (Citibank) as vice chair, Gaurav Sharma (BIDV-MetLife) as vice chair, Peter Ryder (Indochina Capital) as secretary, and Virginia Foote (Bay Global Strategies) as treasurer. Kelly will also serve as national chair for AmCham Vietnam this year and looks forward to working closely with colleagues in the Ho Chi Minh City chapter. Founded in 1994, AmCham Hanoi is a non-profit organisation whose primary mission is to increase trade and investment between the US and Vietnam. AmCham supports the success of its members by promoting a healthy business environment in Vietnam, strengthening commercial ties, and providing high-quality business information and resources. In 2018, AmCham will continue to play a helpful and constructive role, and to be a strong advocate for a better business environment in Vietnam. AmCham believes in Vietnams strategic goal to industrialise, modernise, and globalise, and its members are committed to working with partners in the government to create a more attractive, transparent, and stable business environment. Dynamically growing Ho Tram Strip in the grand plan for Vietnam's economic development On June 15, Ho Tram Project Company (HTP) announced the development of the third phase of its Ho Tram Strip project, a residential tower, condotel, and villa development, marking another milestone for the project as well as the company. Michael Kelly, HTPs executive chairman, talked with VIRs Hong Anh about HTPs grand plan for Ho Tram Strip and the companys work to turn the development into a major attraction in the south of Vietnam that also contributes to the economic growth of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, where the project is located, and the country in general. ACDLs Michael Kelly elected vice chairman of Amcham Vietnam Executive chairman and CEO Michael Kelly of Asian Coast Development Ltd. (ACDL), the developer of premier integrated resort The Grand Ho Tram Strip, has been elected as vice chairman of the AmCham Vietnam board by his fellow governors. Iranian oil tanker Sanchi is seen engulfed in fire in the East China Sea, in this January 13, 2018 picture provided by Shanghai Maritime Search and Rescue Centre and released by China Daily. photo source REUTERS Earlier, a Tehran official said there was no hope of saving some 30 missing crewmen before the ship sank, amid concern over an oil spill as Chinese officials played down fears of a major environmental disaster. The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, had been burning since colliding with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, on Jan 6. At around midday Sunday the ship "suddenly ignited", with the entire vessel burning fiercely and a pall of smoke between 800 and 1,000 metres (2,625 and 3,280 feet) high, China's transport ministry said, releasing dramatic pictures of the entire vessel obscured by thick black smoke. The ship later sank, the official news agency Xinhua cited the State Oceanic Administration as saying. "There is no hope of finding survivors among the members of the crew," Mohammad Rastad, spokesman for the Iranian rescue team dispatched to Shanghai, told Iran's state broadcaster in Tehran before the tanker went down. Rastad said information from members of the Crystal crew suggested all the personnel on the Sanchi died in the first hour of the accident "due to the explosion and the release of gas". "Despite our efforts, it has not been possible to extinguish the fire and recover the bodies due to repeated explosions and gas leaks," he said. The Sanchi, which had been headed to South Korea to deliver its cargo, had a crew of 32 - 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. Only three bodies have been recovered. Scenes of anger and grief erupted in Tehran as news of the deaths reached dozens of family, friends and colleagues of the crew, who were waiting desperately for information about their loved ones at the National Iranian Tanker Company headquarters. Labour Minister Ali Rabiei was shown crying on state television as he tried to comfort the wife of one crewman, telling her to "hold your child close and be strong". 'MINIMAL HUMAN IMPACT' Chinese rescuers had on Saturday recovered the tanker's "black box", the transport ministry said, without specifying exactly what had been retrieved. A reporter with China's state television CCTV aboard a plane from the State Oceanic Administration reported seeing wreckage from the Sanchi, oil on fire, and spilled fuel covering a 10-square-kilometre (3.9-square-mile) area. "The oil spill situation is very serious," CCTV quoted the reporter as saying on social media. But the television channel earlier also cited Zhang Yong, a senior engineer with the State Oceanic Administration, as playing down fears of a spill. "Because this is a light crude oil spill, relatively speaking it has a much smaller impact than other oil spills, because this kind of oil is especially volatile - most of it has entered the atmosphere, so it's had less impact on the ocean", Zhang was quoted as saying. "This area should be considered the open sea, very far from places where people live, so the human impact should be minimal." Rescue efforts had been particularly difficult because at 89 degrees Celsius, the vessel's compartments were too hot for workers to withstand for long, CCTV quoted He Wang, an expert from Chinese oil company Huade Petrochemical, as saying. Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant, where PetroVietnam arbitrarily appointed PVC Choosing a qualified contractor At the court session on January 15, 2018, Dinh La Thang declared that the bidding appointment of the project was based on PetroVietnams development strategy by 2025, the promotion of Vietnamese goods among Vietnamese enterprises and people, and the planned development of the oil and gas sector by 2025. However, Conclusion No.41 of the Politburo did not choose PVC as Thang claimed. On the question of whether PetroVietnam implemented the bid in line with the directions of the government, the prosecutor said: Responding to the PetroVietnams document signed by Dinh La Thang on appointing PVC as the project contractor, the prime minister assigned PetroVietnam to hold a bidding for the company meeting all requirements and regulations, but PVC was not named in particular. As for PVCs capacity, the representative of the procuracy emphasised that the evaluation of a companys general capacity goes beyond the profit and expenditure figures. Based on the financial and debt reports of PVC and PetroVietnam, he demonstrated that PVC faced many difficulties at the time and cannot deploy the project. At the court session, Dinh La Thang and Trinh Xuan Thanh said that PVCs capacity was not as good as Lilama at the moment, leading to double the time it took to implement the project and additional costs of over VND155 billion per year ($6.83 million). Group benefits The representative of the procuracy said that Trinh Xuan Thanh and Vu Duc Thuan were appointed to high positions in PVC by Dinh La Thang. Then, based on their personal relationship, Thang appointed PVC by circumventing legal regulations and ordered the advance payment of over $6.6 million and VND1.3 trillion ($57.3 million). This showed group benefits very clearly, concluded the prosecutor. At the court session, Thang said he did not know about EPC Contract No.33 and that any violation of state regulations were unintentional. However, the procuracy said that as PetroVietnam is a state-owned group, all assets of the group which were assigned for Thang to manage belong to the state. Thang violated state regulations and damaged state assets by taking advantage of his role to appoint PVC as contractor. Earlier, Vu Duc Thuan, former PVC general director and other people had clearly indicated that PVC does not have the requisite experience to execute the project and should not be picked. Defendants in notorious PVC trial are proposed sentences of long-term imprisonment The Peoples Procuracy of Hanoi yesterday proposed sentences of imprisonment to Dinh La Thang and other defendants. PVC misused trillion-dong advance payment Almost all of the $6.6 million and VND1.3 trillion ($59 million) that PetroVietnam paid to PVC as advance payment to implement the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the $1.7-billion Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant was used to pay for PVCs loans in banks. PVC embezzlement trial starts today This morning, the Hanoi Peoples Court opened the first instance hearing of Dinh La Thang, Trinh Xuan Thanh, and 20 other related defendants charged with intentionally violating state regulations on economic management and causing serious consequences and asset embezzlement. Fourteen tourists and two crew members were injured in the explosion. (Photo source: AP) Fourteen tourists and two crew members were injured, Reuters cited local police as saying. Five Chinese are in serious condition, Xinhua news agency said, citing the Consulate-General of China in Songkhla. Krabi Prevention and Mitigation Disaster Department head, Paisarn Khunsri said the speedboat, King Poseidon 959, was making its way to Phi-Phi Island when the 12.30pm (local time) incident occurred. "Initial reports stated that three of the victims sustained serious injuries, another three with moderate injuries while an undetermined number sustained minor injuries," he said on Sunday. The injured were sent to several nearby hospitals including Phi-Phi Hospital, Krabi Hospital and Phuket Hospital to receive immediate treatment. The local authorities, according to Paisarn, would carry out an investigation to determine the cause of the incident. The Bangkok Post said there was a fuel leak on the boat and the driver had asked an attendant to take over the steering and went to check the boat's engines. However, an explosion occurred just as he was opening the cover of one of the three engines, the Bangkok Post reported. Everyone aboard then jumped off the boat and were rescued by nearby tourist boats, the Bangkok Post added. The Nation cited Manassanan Mahima, a representative of Apple Tours, which chartered the boat, as saying that they will take care of the victims. Mahima said each injured victim would be eligible for up to Bt500,000 (US$15,800) in compensation from insurance. In events of deaths, the compensation is Bt1 million, The Nation quoted her as saying. Xinhua reported on Sunday that China's tourism authority has initiated an emergency plan to help the Chinese injured in the explosion. The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) has urged local hospitals to spare no efforts to treat the injured and Thai police to find out the cause of the accident as soon as possible, Xinhua reported CNTA head Li Jinzao as saying. Time for a break: Textile workers at Protrade Garment JSC, located in Thuan An Town in the southern province of Binh Duong. - VNA/VNS Photo Hai AU Deputy Labour Minister Doan Mau Diep said that except for areas affected by natural disasters, this years bonus would not be lower than last year, since 2017 was a prosperous year for businesses. However, there are exceptions. Unable to afford transport fees to go home for Tet (Lunar New Year), Tran inh Nhat and his wife Nguyen Thi Lien, workers at a private textile company based in Binh Duong Province, have decided to stay in the province for the holiday. We were able to save only a few million ong each month, so we have decided not to go home to save costs, Lien told Ha Noi moi (New Ha Noi) newspaper. To help out, their company has offered to help them with some financial support. In addition, for his outstanding performance in the past year, Nhat received a 32-inch TV from the company. Several enterprises in Viet Nam have offered promising year-end bonuses and benefit packages to retain employees after the Tet holiday. The Huong Long Ltd Company in Bac Thang Long Industrial Park, offers junior employees (those with one to three years experience) bonuses based on their salary coefficients, 1.2 times higher for middle-level employees (with three to five years experience) and twice as much for seniors (from five years experience), said Nguyen Van Canh, chairman of the companys labour union. The company will also provide cars to take employees back home for Tet and pick them up after the holidays, he said. Labour unions in different provinces and cities are also determined to ensure a good Tet for workers. Kieu Ngoc Vu, vice chairman of the HCM City Labour Federation, said that it would organise new-year gatherings for low-income workers who remained in the city for the holiday. We will provide 37,000 train and bus tickets for those who wish to go home, and give VN500,000 (US$22) to each worker who has lost their job in the past year, he said. The labour union in the southern province of ong Nai said it expected to hand out 2,000 subsidised packages (VN500,000 each) and 500 bus tickets. The Binh Duong labour union said it would give free tickets to 3,800 workers, as well as tracking down enterprises having debts or going bankrupt to ensure their employees got paid before the holiday. Year-end bonuses and benefits are the make-or-break factors that determine employees loyalty, a recently published survey has shown. The survey, conducted by the human resources Navigos Group, reviewed the 2017 year-end bonuses and benefits for 1,800 employees and 400 human resources specialists. In one of its questions, the survey proposed a hypothetical scenario of receiving no bonus this year and asked for reactions from the employees. About 25 per cent said they would leave their jobs and seek other companies with better benefits, 40 other said they would raise concerns and request bonuses. About 13.7 per cent said they would be disappointed, but would not react due to the difficulties of finding new jobs. Only 6.9 per cent responded that they did not care about year-end bonuses because their incomes were enough for the holiday. Employers, when asked if they would offer employees bonuses if their companies had an unprofitable year, 80 per cent said they would. This shows that employers are aware of how labour shortages after Tet could affect production, a Navigos Group representative told Thoi bao Kinh doanh (Business Times) newspaper. No one was hurt when the Pegasus Airlines flight skidded off the runway. (Photo: AFP/Stringer) The Pegasus Airlines flight had taken off smoothly from the capital Ankara bound for Trabzon, where the accident occurred as the plane was landing late Saturday. Dramatic images from CNN Turk broadcaster showed the plane lying on the cliffside, its nose just metres (feet) from the waters of the Black Sea and its wheels stuck in mud. "There was panic, people shouting, screaming," one of the passengers, Fatma Gordu, told state-run Anadolu news agency. "When they told us to leave from the rear exit, everyone tried to push ahead of everyone else. It was a terrible situation." She said they could smell fuel and feared that a fire would break out. "That is why we were scared," she said, adding that there were pregnant women and children on board. Passenger Yuksel Gordu said it was a "miracle" they were saved. "We could have burned, it could have exploded, we could have fallen into the sea ... Every time I think about it, I feel I might go crazy," she said. Images from the Dogan news agency showed smoke emanating from the trapped plane and an engine that appeared to have fallen into the water. According to the agency, the plane was 25 metres (80 feet) away from the sea. Pegasus Airlines confirmed in a statement on Sunday there were no injuries among the 162 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants. The cause of the incident was unknown but an investigation is under way, the Trabzon governor's office said. A crisis centre for the incident was set up at the airport. "The plane will be removed while all measures have been taken for other work and procedures. These will be carried out step-by-step," Trabzon governor Yucel Yavuz told Anadolu. He added that a small number of people asked to go to hospital but did not give further detail. The Trabzon public prosecutor has launched a separate criminal probe. Dogan agency said the prosecutor would seek statements from the six crew onboard. The airport was temporarily shut before reopening early on Sunday, while an operation to remove the plane continued. Professor Atakan Aksoy from Karadeniz Technical University's civil engineering department said that the construction of a second runway needed to be "accelerated". "These kinds of accidents can happen due to the narrow ground surface in the northern part of the airport and because it is near a cliff," he told Dogan agency. National carrier Vietnam Airlines plans to launch the first direct route between Viet Nam and the United States (US) this year, with the destination being either San Francisco or Los Angeles in California.- Photo courtesy of Vietnam Airlines According to Deputy Director of Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV) Vo Huy Cuong, the opening of this route is facing many challenges, especially fierce competition among airlines in the US market. The US airline market is being exploited by many firms, who operate routes from the US to Viet Nam through transit points. There are many options for passengers, as they can fly from the US to Viet Nam via Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China or Malaysia. For example, consider the transit points in Japan and South Korea; each point has two major Japanese and South Korean airlines directly flying to the US, which can connect flights to Viet Nam seamlessly. Meanwhile, passengers who want to fly to Viet Nam from the USs eastern region can also transit in European countries, such as United Kingdom, France and Germany, before connecting with flights to Viet Nam. "The competition is very fierce; so the Vietnamese airlines planning to fly directly to the US must analyse and evaluate the situation carefully," said Cuong. In addition to economic licences permitted under the Air Transport agreement signed between the US and Viet Nam, the Vietnamese airlines also need a licence granted by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is mandatory for all international airlines that want to fly into the US, said Cuong. To obtain the licence from the FAA, he said the CAAV would have to reach CAT1 or FAA-standard safety supervision requirements, a prerequisite for Vietnamese airlines to start direct flights to the US. "In October last year, a FAA delegation visited Viet Nam for technical assessment. We will likely invite FAA to visit the country for more evaluation to gain the CAT1 rating," he added. After making assessment on the CAAVs safety supervision capacity, FAA will evaluate the Vietnamese airlines, which have proposed to fly directly to the US, such as Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air, on their repairing, maintenance and exploitation of aircraft capacity. National carrier Vietnam Airlines has reached the international 4-star standard after long years of good preparation on their structure, and the capacity of aircraft operation and maintenance. In terms of service quality, Vietnam Airlines has achieved good results. Though Vietnam Airlines has not started a direct flight to the US, it has earned a huge market, since 2006, through code sharing with other airlines (seven flights a week to 25 cities in the US). As for technical capability, there must be a rating from the FAA. Once the qualification is met, then it will fly, said Cuong. When we are licensed by the FAA, we will have the opportunity to sell more tickets because passengers will feel assured that the Vietnamese airlines have achieved international standards on safety and aviation security. In addition to these, as this is a market with fierce competition, the airlines participating in this route will have to improve the quality of services regularly, said Cuong. Currently, passengers travelling from Viet Nam to the US have to make at least one stop in another Asian city, such as Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Beijing, with the total time taken to travel being up to 24 hours. The US is the fourth largest source of foreign visitors to Viet Nam, with more than 614,000 people coming in 2017, up 11 per cent from 2016, according to the General Statistics Office. Viet Nam welcomed nearly 13 million foreign visitors and raked in nearly VND515 trillion (US$22.67 billion) from tourism in 2017. It hopes the new air routes will increase the number of visitors up to 20 million in the next two years, when tourism revenues will contribute 10 to 12 per cent to the countrys GDP, compared with the current 7 per cent. Young actors from the drama troupe The Gioi Tre will stage free performances to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday. - VNS Photo Thuy Binh The shows will mark the troupes eighth anniversary this year. The featured play is Bao Gio Me Lay Chong (When Does Mom Get Married?), a production by young director Ngoc Hung, with actors Diem Phuong, Anh Tu and Quang Tuan, graduates of the HCM City University of Theatre and Cinematography. Director Hung uses both Eastern and Western styles to feature the plays theme about urban women and social problems. I wanted to direct plays on a stage filled with light and sound and visual effects, he said. Hung, a reporter, theatre writer and director, knows how to dazzle the audience during and after performances. A stage is a channel for dreams. A director should be a mason building his own house, he said before the premiere of Bao Gio Me Lay Chong yesterday. I dreamed of owning a theatre even as a student at university, he said, referring to his migration to the stage in 2009 when he and his partner, a businessman, formed the troupe. Hung has written and directed more than 20 plays on different topics. Most of his works, which are stories about urban youth, have helped young actors like Thu Trang, Hoang Phi and Tien Luat become popular among theatre lovers. One of his highlighted plays, Chuyen Tinh Bangkok (Love Story in Bangkok), has been performed 200 times since its initial show in 2014. Though the play was about a well-worn topic, love, it brought new messages and included new concepts for the theatre. Thanks to his contribution, The Gioi Tre Troupe is one of the citys leading private drama troupes, and is also a place for young actors to improve their skills. The theatre has offered quality plays and has been able to earn a profit. The Gioi Tre Troupe offers quality shows at only VN30-50,000 (US$0.7) per ticket to attract young audiences. I believe in their future, said Tran Thuy Giao, a fan of Hung. Giao and her friends say they enjoy serious plays about conflicts in life and love such as Dream Boys and Trai Yeu (Men in Love). The comedy Bao Gio Me Lay Chong and other new plays will be staged every Saturday and Sunday in January and February at 125 Cong Quynh Street in District 1. The troupe will offer free performances for the poor in rural districts during the Tet holiday, which begins on February 14. Gary McKechnie, co-owner of the Coconut Cottage Bed & Breakfast in Mount Dora, takes down Christmas lights Friday. The B&B is up for sale as short-term vacation rentals cut into customer base of the citys B&Bs. Frederick Jahner died on Thursday, September 2, 2021 at Alomere Health in Alexandria, MN at the age of 78. A Funeral Service will be held at 2:00 PM on Monday, September 6, 2021, at St. Marys Catholic Church in Alexandria. Visitation will be held from 5-7 PM on Sunday, September 5, 2021, at Man Arrested on Violence Offences A 35 year old Spanish national of Moroccan descent resident in Gibraltar, Sanhayi Daabouzi Nasser, was arrested by Police yesterday at Flat Bastion Road for violence related offences. Following a report from a member of the public, who alleged to have been threatened with a knife and assaulted in his residence, a Police operation involving shift uniformed personnel, a K9 (Dog unit) and Firearms officers was implemented. The RGP have said that officers had to force their way into the residence and a police dog had to be deployed to restrain the assailant who was behaving aggressive towards the officers. Once restrained by the officers, the individual was arrested and taken to St Bernards Hospital to be treated for dog bite injuries, which he had sustained whilst resisting arrest. On his return to RGP Headquarters at New Mole House, Nasser was interviewed by the investigating officers and later charged with Threats to Kill, Assault, Criminal Damage, Assault on Police and Resisting Arrest. He was refused bail and was detained in Police Custody pending his appearance in court later today. Further Awareness Training on Understanding Learning Difficulties and Autism The Ministry of Equality will again be offering an awareness training session on Introduction to Learning Disabilities and Autism on Saturday 20th January 2018. This training will be delivered to voluntary groups, charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who work with, or would like to work with people with learning disabilities. This will be a repeat of the training session delivered to NGOs in November 2017. The purpose is to ensure that as many volunteers as possible are trained, so it will offer the opportunity to those who were unable to attend the last time that this training was offered. On the last occasion the training was attended by Special Olympics Gibraltar, Gibraltar Girl Guides Association, The Scout Association (Gibraltar) and Duke of Edinburghs International Award Gibraltar. The training will be held on Saturday morning and volunteers expressed this as the most convenient time to them due to work commitments. The seminar will focus on 5 key points: 1. Understanding learning disabilities, autism and mental health. 2. Causes associated with these diagnoses. 3. Understanding links between certain conditions. 4. Understanding behaviour within these conditions. 5. Positive approaches to working with people with learning disabilities. This upcoming seminar will once again be delivered by Mr Colin Smith, who works very closely with the Ministry for Equality on various matters relating to people with disabilities. Colin Smith, RMNH, DipMHS, BSc (Hons) is an Independent Consultant within Learning Disabilities, Autism, Mental Health and Positive Behaviour. Colin is the Managing Director, Trainer and Speaker at Care and Support (UK). Any volunteer wishing to attend the training should register in advance with the Ministry for Equality on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on 200 70112 The Minister for Equality, The Hon Samantha Sacramento MP, said: I was very encouraged by the positive feedback received from the last training. Many of those who attended said that they had enjoyed the presentation and in particular the group interaction and the sharing of experiences. We know that a number of volunteers were unable to attend the last session; it is for this reason that this seminar is being repeated and we hope that those who were unable to attend the last time will take advantage of this opportunity to learn a bit more about working with people with disabilities. These organisations provide an important service to the community, this includes helping children to develop key skills and attributes, which will no doubt help them in the future as adults. This training can only improve the excellent service that each NGO provides to the local community and will make them more inclusive of people with disabilities." The Rowing Marines World First Atlantic Ocean Solo Row is Postponed Lee Spencer, The Rowing Marine, has postponed his attempt to become the worlds first physically disabled person to row solo from Europe to South America. Unfortunately Lees mother has been taken seriously ill and Lee will be returning to the UK to be with her. Lee commented: I would like to thank everyone in Gibraltar and all of my sponsors for their understanding and support. Naturally I am disappointed, but the key word here is postponement. I have a small window to leave this year, if not I will return next year - everything is in place and ready to go. My priority right now is my family. The revised launch date will be announced in due course. Speaking anonymously with the website Babe, a New Yorkbased photographer accused comedian Aziz Ansari of sexual misconduct during a date last year. I think I just felt really pressured, she said of the incident. It was literally the most unexpected thing I thought would happen at that moment because I told him I was uncomfortable. Now, in response, the Master of None star has issued a statement claiming he understood the sexual encounter to be consensual at the time, and was surprised and concerned when the woman texted him the next day to express her dismay that he had allegedly ignored clear non-verbal cues and kept going, pressuring her for sex. You can read his statement, issued Sunday night, in full below. In September of last year, I met a woman at a party. We exchanged numbers. We texted back and forth and eventually went on a date. We went out to dinner, and afterwards we ended up engaging in sexual activity, which by all indications was completely consensual. The next day, I got a text from her saying that although it may have seemed okay, upon further reflection, she felt uncomfortable. It was true that everything did seem okay to me, so when I heard that it was not the case for her, I was surprised and concerned. I took her words to heart and responded privately after taking the time to process what she had said. I continue to support the movement that is happening in our culture. It is necessary and long overdue. Conan OBrien. Photo: John Sciulli/Getty Images for Turner The nation has been collectively riffing on President Trumps shithole comment since Thursday, but so far, only one late-night host has responded to the presidents denigration of Haiti, El Salvador, and countries in Africa by booking himself a flight. Headed to Haiti later this week to explore and make some new friends. Stay tuned for my report. #ConanWithoutBorders, Conan OBrien tweeted on Sunday. OBrien, whose self-titled TBS show has set itself apart from the herd with specials shot abroad in countries like Mexico, Cuba, and Israel, predicted his fondness for the Caribbean island nation based solely on Trumps extremely low opinion of it. Joked Conan, Still reeling from @realDonaldTrumps very negative Yelp review of Haiti, which means Ill love it. The Chi Alee Season 1 Episode 2 Editors Rating 2 stars * * Previous Next Photo: Matt Dinerstein/SHOWTIME The Chi is attempting a kind of episodic vivisection of black masculinity, from its turgid constraints and limitations to its progressions and stagnations as one traverses boyhood and manhood. But this weeks episode is a bit scattershot, sagging beneath the weight of its myriad characters. The cast has quickly become more overwhelming than kaleidoscopic, so I decided to examine Alee with a focus on its four principals, who could each be understood as representative of certain black male stereotypes: the hypersexed (Emmett), the burnt-out (Ronnie), the unlikely success (Brandon), and the boy (Kevin) whos young enough to fall into any of the aforementioned. Kevin The pilot was enlivened by the presence of Kevin and company, with the familiar, refreshingly inane antics of middle schoolers suffusing much needed buoyancy into an otherwise dour episode. Alee finds much of that jejune charm extinguished with the introduction of Maisha (Genesis Denise Hale), a chubby girl-bully whos the cousin of Kevins crush, Andrea. Maishas arc progressing from archetypal, largely harmless antagonizer to underage sexual harasser is the most perplexing and off-putting element of the episode. The boys are idling in the school halls, attempting to quell Kevins anxieties regarding witnessing Coogies murder at the hands of Ronnie, when Maisha enters, shoving and threatening them. Later, with the diminutive Kevin hemmed up against a locker, Maisha reveals that she and Andrea are Jehovahs Witnesses, and threatens to do him harm if he attempts to sully the virtues of her cousin. On his way home from school, Kevin is pursued by Ronnie, who hilariously holds his ever-present chewing stick in his mouth even as he chases the younger boy. After narrowly evading Ronnie, Kevin is once again accosted by Maisha, who tackles and straddles him. Sitting atop him, her voice gone soft, she reveals her own crush. Kevins face puckers, initially in terror, then repulsion. You like my hair? she asks, fingering a spiraled tendril. Kevin stutters a yes and Maisha, still straddling him, licks his face before departing. Its possible that Kevins reaction, his face pinched as he emits a shudder, is akin to anyones natural response at having their face involuntarily licked. But I couldnt shake the feeling that the scene, and Maishas bullish presence in general, was animated by the collective understanding that of course the boys would find her unattractive and repellant. Of course shes a sexual deviant, though she is all of 12 years old. You like my hair? is a perfect summation of the angst that many young black girls have felt regarding their appearances in general, their hair especially. What girl hasnt desired for a boy to find her hair pretty, to find her pretty? What black girl hasnt been forced to realize that so often, itll be boys who look like you who frequently will not? Emmett Alee begins with a party, which is interrupted when Emmetts girlfriend Keisha confronts a female partygoer for eyeing him. A party scene or gathering in a TV series presents an opportunity for the show makers to really delve into the characters and their settings: The music they choose, how they move to it, and the decor and layout of an apartment have the possibility to be deeply revelatory and engaging. That this opportunity was squandered for the sake of a cringeworthy, neck-rolling confrontation between two black women is a little disappointing and it represents a continuation of what I felt about the pilots refusal (or inability) to render black women as realistic, multidimensional characters. After calming Keisha, Emmett attempts to seduce her, but their tryst is interrupted by his crying son. So far, Emmetts trials as a new father are the primary subject for his character. Hes forced to take his kid to work with him when his mom stands firm in her decision to not babysit, and inside of his workplace, a debonair stranger named Quentin (Steven Williams), emitting no good vibes, offers up a $100 bill and the suggestion that Emmett take his child to a local day care. Emmett, of course, takes the money. We know, as Emmett apparently does not, that the debt will be recouped. I didnt quite buy such wide-eyed naivete when he took this mans money. Emmett just feels like the type of character who should have known better. I foresee Quentin demanding a drug or gun run out of Emmett as repayment for the hundred. After the day-care provider refuses to take his son, Emmett retreats to a playground, where the babys incessant crying nearly drives him to child abandonment. This was the first moment where I felt a semblance of empathy for him. Who hasnt encountered a parent, struggling with a fussy toddler in a public setting and thought of the shortness of their own temper? The moment is a perfect display of Emmetts fundamental unpreparedness for parenthood. I felt for him in that moment, but his presence in general is kind of befuddling to me. Is he school-aged, as his girlfriend apparently is? If so, why isnt he enrolled in school? (Also, as an ostensibly underaged girl, Keishas frequent nudity is more than a little unsettling.) Still, I enjoyed his last scene with his mother, where he collapses into her lap, exhausted from his first day as a new parent. Brandon Are you aware that black men cry? If you were not, Brandon, leaking tears in almost every one of his appearances, is proof of that fact. Alee finds Brandon grappling with the death of his younger brother Coogie and still toying with the prospect of avenging his death. A co-worker reveals that he has access to a gun, which is especially tempting to Brandon after he realizes that Detective Cruz is no closer to apprehending Coogies killer. Meanwhile, hes still flirting with his boss, a story line that I honestly find wholly distracting and unnecessary. His cheating would be especially devastating to his Good, Supportive Girlfriend, who makes him promise that he wont do some stupid hood shit. Brandon also revisits Kevin, whose voice drops to a mobsters tenor as he asks, You gonna smoke this nigga or what? For the second week in a row, Brandon balks at the use of the N-word. I feel like the show is attempting a South Side boy done good example with Brandon, but hes a bit too narrowly respectable to be interesting. I think that by next episode, Brandon will have to definitively make a choice about pursuing Coogies murderer. For the sake of a plotline, I suspect he will. Ronnie Ronnie is attempting a reconciliation with Tracy, as they both continue grieving Jasons death. I enjoyed his interactions with his friends in this episode and wish the series had whittled down the cast of characters, so that they could have more screen time. Ronnie also visits his grandmother Ethel (LaDonna Tittle), an octogenarian who reminds him of his joblessness and general uselessness. Again, its black women who most frequently pummel the shows male characters, both emotionally and physically. But in a nice exemplification of the smallness of black Chicago, Ethels caretaker is Emmetts mom. Its only a matter of time until the two mens paths will intersect. Meanwhile, eager to hide his tracks, Ronnie sells the gun he used to murder Coogie to a seemingly mad gun enthusiast. (Again, for the sake of plot, we know that this decision will come back to bite him.) Hes also accosted and searched, once again, by Detective Cruz, who informs him that Coogie did not murder Jason, as he suspected when he confronted the boy. The episode ends with a stumbling Ronnie, wavering beneath the weight of this new information as a train screeches by. This was one of the best utilizations of director David Rodriguezs numerous shots of the passing train, with the screeching hydraulics and metal serving as an audible accompaniment to Ronnies emotional discord. Detective Cruz The cop subplot is extraneous and quite frequently intrusive. Detective Cruz and his partner are still flummoxed by the murders of Jason and Coogie, with Cruzs ever-present squint remaining the moral opposite of his aggressively, almost unbelievably obstinate partner. Cruzs perfectly competent, bland altruism is nigh heroic when juxtaposed against a character who says things like, I got 8-year-olds shooting each other over cans of grape pop, and makes a derogatory gay comment when Cruz asks how Coogie and Jasons deaths were correlated. Also, while it may strike some as a small detail, I balked at the inclusion of blue-and-white police sedans, with no representations of the widely used SUV-style cruisers. Including the larger vehicles would have hinted at the excessive, militarized police presence that is such an integral part of black neighborhoods in Chicago. For now, were instead left with Cruz and his headstrong counterpart, a pair of characters that push The Chi and its ensemble cast from ambitious to unwieldy. A Republican senator said President Donald Trump did not use the word "s---hole" in reference to immigrants from Haiti and Africa in a meeting at the White House last week. Sen. David Perdue of Georgia, a close ally of the president, told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" Sunday that reports have misrepresented the president's comments during a meeting on immigration on Thursday. Im telling you he did not use that word, George, said Perdue, who was among the senators at the meeting with Trump. And Im telling you its a gross misrepresentation. Stephanopoulos pressed Perdue, saying that multiple sources have confirmed the presidents language, of whom the most outspoken has been Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois. Multiple sources? There were six of us in the room, Perdue responded to Stephanopoulos. I havent heard any of those six sources other than Senator Durbin talk about what was said. In a statement Friday, Sens. Purdue and Tom Cotton had said, In regards to Senator Durbins accusation, we do not recall the President saying these comments specifically On "This Week" on Sunday, Perdue also seemed to question Sen. Durbins intentions, saying it is not the first time that the Illinois senator has accused someone of inflammatory language. In 2013, Senator Durbin also made the same accusation against a Republican leader in a meeting with President Obama, and said that ... he chewed out the president, it was so disrespectful to President Obama, we couldnt even have the meeting, Perdue said. Thats what [Durbin] said in 2013. Later that day, the presidents own press secretary came out and said, and I quote, 'It did not happen,'" Purdue added. "This is about a gross misrepresentation. Its not the first time. Perdue seems to be referring to a Facebook post Durbin made in response to a 2013 meeting between GOP leaders and then-President Obama. According to Politico, Durbin wrote in the post, In a negotiation meeting with the president, one GOP House Leader told the president: I cannot even stand to look at you. Durbin was not present at the 2013 meeting in question and did not make clear in his post the context of the comment he reported, how the president responded, or which leader allegedly made the remark. Both the White House and the House speakers office denied Durbins account at the time, with then-White House press secretary Jay Carney saying at a briefing, I looked into this and spoke with somebody who was in that meeting and it did not happen. But according to The Associated Press, Carney later clarified that White House officials had provided an inaccurate summary of the meeting to Senate Democrats, including Durbin, who removed his Facebook post after the clarification. "There was a miscommunication when the White House read out that meeting to Senate Democrats, and we regret the misunderstanding," Carney said at the time, adding that the quote was not accurate. On Sunday morning, Durbin's communications director tweeted a response to Perdue's apparent questioning of the credibility of the Illinois senator's account of what Trump said at Thursday's Oval Office meeting. "Credibility is something thats built ... over time," Durbin spokesperson Ben Marter tweeted. "Senator Durbin has it. Senator Perdue does not. Ask anyone whos dealt with both." Perdue maintained on "This Week" that the focus on what Trump allegedly said in the White House meeting was being used to prevent any deals on immigration. These people have been trying for 35 years to solve this immigration problem without success, for one reason, and that is I dont believe theyre serious about trying to solve that right now, Perdue said. In Ardmore, a Subway restaurant robbery failed to go as planned for the robber. Admore police tell WAAY 31, at 10:20 Sunday morning, a woman wearing a hoodie, sunglasses and gloves walked into the Subway on the Tennessee side of the state line. Police Chief James Kennedy tells WAAY 31 the robber claimed she had a gun and demanded money. Subway employees handed over cash. On her way out, the robber warned her victims not to call police for ten minutes. The folks inside Subway ignored that last demand. They called directly in to the police department on the Alabama side of the line. Chief Kennedy tells WAAY 31 the dispatcher sent a description of the getaway car. Immediately, an Ardmore police officer spotted the vehicle as he met it headed south on Ardmore Avenue. The officer pulled over the vehicle driven by 28-year-old Leslie Brooke Wallace of Pine Dale, Alabama. Thats just south Ardmore. Police crossed the state line and went back to the Subway. They reviewed video surveillance footage. Chief Kennedy says they were able to positively identify Wallace as the robber. The suspect denied she committed the crime. Later, however, Chief Kennedy tells WAAY 31 Wallace made a full confession. Police took Wallace to the Giles County Tennessee jail. Shes charge in Tennessee with Aggravated Robbery. More precisely, they pose the question: "In general, would you say life in [your country] today is better, worse, or about the same as it was fifty years ago for people like you?" Think about it. What would you say? I think most people have an instinctive response, but let's run through the potential pros and cons. Let's start with the cons. Today, the leader of the free world is a tangerine-tinted bloated bloviate. North Korea has its finger on the button. Terrorism is a scourge in our most treasured global cities. Global leaders have failed to find an effective solution to the climate-changing effects of the pollutants we've been belching and continue to belch into our atmosphere. An increasingly interconnected world means the risk of global pandemics has increased, while overuse of medicines, including antibiotics, risks rendering them becoming newly ineffective as a response. Rapid technological changes have displaced many workers, while shackling most of us, herd-like, to the glowing screens of our smartphones, which seem to act as lightning rods for an emerging culture of outrage and offence. OK. What about the pros? Rising life expectancy must surely top the list, fuelled by advances in medical technology and greater understanding of how to cure our major maladies. In Australia, we're better educated than ever before, and living standards have risen appreciably. We're richer, the past quarter-century having marked a period of continuous growth, unscathed by the pockmarks of large rises in unemployment. It's never been easier, or cheaper, to enjoy world travel, while advances in communication technologies, such as the internet, mean it has never been easier to connect with loved ones and strangers alike. The same iPhones that so vex us, also offer up a hitherto unimaginable cornucopia of knowledge and connection. As a woman, it's hard not to want to considerably extend this list with no-fault divorce, career opportunities and safe and legal abortions. So, do you have your answer. Let's see how it compares. When researchers put the question to Australians, exactly half of us declared life "better" than 50 years ago putting us slightly ahead of the global average of 43 per cent. But fully a third of us 33 per cent answered "worse", which was, granted, lower than the global average of 38 per cent. A further 12 per cent of us thought life was "about the same" and 5 per cent didn't know or didn't say. Clearly, not everyone is feeling better off. Globally, people with lower levels of education were less likely to feel life had improved, presumably reflecting the changing job market towards knowledge-intense jobs. Older people were also more likely to be nostalgic for the past. In Australia, 63 per cent of people aged 18 to 29 rated life as better now, as did 55 per cent of people aged 30 to 49. Only 41 per cent of people aged over 50 thought the same. This dispersion between the answers of old and young was among the widest in the global survey. Whether you believe life is getting better seems very much to depend on who you are. For women, minorities and sexually diverse people, it's hard to deny the progress that's been made. As a woman, I find it hard to deliver any other verdict than a resounding "better". Sure, women today juggle a lot of competing pressures of work and family life. But better to have the choice. I first spotted Ruslan Kogan at McCarran International Airport, surrounded by what appeared to be nerdy groupies, before the craziness that was the week-long CES tech show in Las Vegas. The outspoken CEO, always dressed in a t-shirt emblazoned with some kind of geeky slogan, is easy to spot in a crowd. Ruslan Kogan took in the sights at CES. Credit:Peter Wells Kogan has expanded his online retail store to sell over 50,000 products everything from rugs to televisions to blood pressure monitors not bad for an outfit that started selling just two models of televisions back in 2006. Kogan has recently moved into services as well with Kogan Mobile and Kogan Insurance. In the next few months, the company plans to launch an NBN service. Kogan's not worried by delays in the NBN rollout, and thinks the company will launch "at just the right time" to take advantage of the growing market. Of course, 2018 should bring with it massive competition once Amazon ramps up its online presence in Australia. Again, Kogan doesn't seem worried. Instead, he thinks the Amazon tide will lift all online boats. A Perth family is pleading for the safe return of their pet miniature pig who was reportedly stolen from outside their Canning Vale home on Sunday evening. Tania Swan says two-year-old Humphrey had been out of his pen when she opened the family's front gate about 6pm. Humphrey the pig. Credit:Hannah Barry "Normally whenever he's out of his pen we keep the gate shut," she said. "I didn't know he was out, and I opened the gate to drive to IGA. I was gone for about 20 minutes, and he snuck out in that time." An arrow, also apparently projected on the building, points to the arched doorway. Video footage posted on Twitter shows the word "SHITHOLE" and poop emojis projected on the wall of the hotel on Saturday. Washington: The expletive US President Donald Trump allegedly used in a discussion about immigration last week and other slogans have been projected onto an outer wall of the Trump Hotel in downtown Washington. The pictures appear on the Twitter feed of Robin Bell, who has previously projected wording critical of the President onto the hotel. He has become known as a kind of projectionist provocateur and something of a "hit-and-run editorial writer", as David Montgomery described him in The Washington Post last year. Last week, a judge blocked Trump's administration from ending a program, called DACA, that shielded from deportation children brought to the US illegally by their parents. Trump, in the discussion in the Oval Office on immigration policy, allegedly used "shithole" to refer to certain countries from which large-scale immigration was undesirable. "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" Trump is reported to have said, referring to African countries and Haiti. Fulton Man Faces Marijuana, Endangerment Charges By West Kentucky Star Staff MAYFIELD, KY - A Fulton man was arrested in Mayfield over the weekend on marijuana and other charges. According to the Mayfield Police Department, officers responded Friday night to a call of someone shooting a gun outside the Plaza Apartments. The suspect had allegedly pointed the gun at residents and had threatened them with it. While officers were conducting their investigation, 48-year-old Rodney Nance, of Fulton, ran out the back door of his residence. Nance was detained after police observed him push his way into someone else's residence without their will. According to police, Nance was found in possession of marijuana. He was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, wanton endangerment and terroristic threatening. Police searched Nance's residence but did not find a gun. Two Charged in String of Recent Thefts By West Kentucky Star Staff MURRAY, KY - Two men have been arrested in connection with a string of recent thefts in western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee.The Calloway County Sheriff's Department says deputies on Saturday saw two men walking at South 4th Street and River Road near a disabled vehicle. After talking to the men, deputies arrested 32-year-old Jonathan Blanton of Paris, TN on active warrants out of Calloway County. Deputies also arrested the other man, 43-year-old Steven Capps, also of Paris after he dropped a small baggie of a white crystal substance and attempted to hide it in the snow.Murray Police officers tracked footsteps in the snow and learned one of the men had removed a vehicle jack from the parking lot of Ron's Muffler to use to fix their disabled vehicle. Deputies tracked more footsteps in the snow and found that Hill Electric on South 4th Street had been entered, and vehicles and toolboxes had been opened outside the business. Further investigation revealed that Blanton and Capps had taken an ATV from Blalock, Coleman, and York Funeral Home, and had tried to get into other vehicles in the parking lot. Police said the suspects also got into a van at Greater Hope Baptist Church and attempted to remove the ignition from the vehicle. They also reportedly went to CDM Construction on River Road and tried to steal other items.A truck was reported stolen later from a business on Main Street in Hazel. Deputies watched surveillance video from the business and saw Blanton and Capps take the truck earlier in the morning. Further investigation revealed that the men were involved in three utility trailer thefts and theft of wheels and tires from vehicles in Calloway County. Police were able to recover the stolen vehicle and three utility trailers. They also found several other stolen items during a search of the vehicle the vehicle the men were in.Blanton is charged with third degree burglary and failure to appear in court. Capps is charged with possession of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, burglary and theft.Deputies said the arrest of Blanton and Capps has led to solving about 10 open theft cases in Calloway County and Henry County, TN. Waters: Will Pension Funding Engulf Entire Budget? By Jim Waters LEXINGTON, KY - Your humble correspondent warned for years the day would come when public-pension funding crowded out government services Kentuckians on both sides of the political aisle care about. I've also warned repeatedly that dumping more money into the systems without stopping the bleeding will create additional pressures on an already-strained budget while failing to fix our pension woes. Despite fervently hoping such prophecies were wrong, they now find fulfillment in Gov. Matt Bevin's proposed two-year budget. Bevin recommends cutting 70 programs, including health services providing screenings for various cancers, which especially benefit low-income, disabled and poor Kentuckians, while at the same time dumping more than $3 billion into the deepening public-pension hole and nearly 15 percent of the commonwealth's entire General Fund budget. Even after more than $2 billion was included in the 2016 budget including an additional $1.2 billion for the Teachers' Retirement System the pension plans' funding levels have continued declining. That's because you can't keep digging the hole and simultaneously expect to move closer to climbing out of it. Many states face similar pension pressures, yet none have made significant progress by spending, taxing or borrowing their way out of holes, most of which aren't nearly as deep as Kentucky's. The governor deserves credit for taking a stand in his speech against borrowing our way out, making it clear such an alternative is off the table. Doing so, he rightly states, would be like a family using the Mastercard to make payments on an American Express balance. However, instead of going ahead and doing what that same family would if it wants to climb out of its financial hole reducing spending - he proposes increasing it for public-retirement plans at the expense of just about everything else. "Never once in the history of Kentucky has the (actuarially required contribution) been fully funded for all our pension systems not one time, which is why we now find ourselves in the situation where they are all so severely underfunded," Bevin said, sounding like many of his predecessors who found it easier to blame pension problems on funding deficiencies rather than on offering benefits at unaffordable and unsustainable levels. "This year they will be funded in their entirety," he boasted. As if I should stand up and clap vigorously like I did when the governor announced something must be done about school systems' central-office administrators making six-figure salaries while demonstrating little positive impact on student achievement in the classroom. Bevin's boast isn't really that helpful, considering the ARC isn't "fully funded" because it's been arbitrarily decided rather than actuarially established. The ARC is simply the cost of current benefits plus debt payments from the past. Instead of awarding only benefits that were properly prefunded as defined-benefit systems are supposed to do Kentucky's retirement plans have colluded with the politicians for years to increase benefits retroactively, thus disrupting the funding levels. Of course, these unfunded benefit enhancements created a bigger "ARC." However, to blame Kentucky's pension woes on inadequate funding by the legislature is like a couple with a $45,000 income getting evicted after purchasing a $1 million home and being unable to make the payments, then blaming their eviction on the fact they couldn't make the payments rather than on the reality they purchased a home they couldn't afford. It's unfair for politicians and these systems' administrators to make promises to beneficiaries they can't afford to keep. It's also patently unfair to leave taxpayers working in the private sector to support their families who often don't enjoy nearly the same level of retirement benefits holding the ARC bag into which they must dump their hard-earned dollars to pay the principal and interest on those promises. As protests continue to erupt in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the world in outrage against the horrific shooting of Jacob Bla Read more In the 16th century, an epidemic known as "cocoliztli" that caused bleeding and vomiting swept through large areas of Guatemala, Mexico and even reached Peru. It wiped out 80% of the population, killing millions of people. Ancient DNA and a new technique have been used to determine the likely cause of this mysterious epidemic that contributed to a "cataclysmic" population decline. A new technique allows ancient DNA to be studied with specific results "Pestilence" cemetery contained salmonella bacteria, which likely caused typhoid fever Salmonella genomes, which cause typhoid fever, were recovered from DNA within the teeth of 10 skeletons buried in an undisturbed "cocoliztli" or "pestilence" cemetery in Oaxaca, Mexico. This would be the first known occurrence of salmonella in the Americas, according to a new study published in the journal Nature on Monday. Typhoid fever has long been suspected due to the recorded symptoms, but this is the first identification of bacteria at the site. The researchers also believe that the arrival of Europeans to what was then known as Mesoamerica caused the devastating epidemic. Europeans were susceptible to enteric fever, also known as typhoid fever, and it is very likely that they were carriers for the disease when they arrived to conquer Mesoamerica. "The cocoliztli is a mysterious historical epidemic, and over the years many have speculated on its cause," said Kirsten Bos in an email, study author and group leader of molecular palaeopathology at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany. "This is the first time that ancient DNA has been successful in identifying a candidate pathogen for it." The Teposcolula-Yucundaa's Grand Plaza cemetery is the only one known to be linked to this specific outbreak. The epidemic was so devastating that the city was relocated to a nearby valley, which allowed the cemetery to remain untouched for centuries. This, along with the thick, protective floor of the Grand Plaza, created the perfect conditions for testing and research. While the culprit diseases behind later epidemics, like smallpox, measles, mumps and influenza, have been well documented, earlier epidemics in the "New World" aren't as well-characterized, creating debate among researchers. Infectious disease pathogens don't leave telltale marks on skeletons, either, according to the researchers. This is largely due to the fact that they are fast-acting and take their toll very quickly before the skeleton can be deformed in any way. So when researchers look at skeletons like those in the pestilence cemetery, they have to search for possible causes based on what they know from historical accounts. But diseases and symptoms can change over the years, or the symptoms can be so broad and similar that it could be one of many causes. But a new screening technique called the Metagenome analyzer Alignment Tool, or MALT, allowed the researchers to search for all bacterial DNA present, rather than testing for each specific possibility -- which can be tedious and disappointing. It's the classic "needle in a haystack" scenario. Other factors can also play a role. When archaeological tissues sit in the ground for centuries, DNA from environmental sources can leach in, Bos said. "One limitation that we, and everyone else, face is that we can only look for pathogenic organisms that we already know exist and that have been genetically characterized today," said -shild V-gene in an email, study author and doctoral student in the department of archaeogenetics at Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. "If the individuals that we studied from Oaxaca, Mexico, were infected by something that does not exist today or that has yet to be characterized, then we would not be able to detect it with out current method." MALT revealed Salmonella enterica Paratyphi C, the bacterial cause of enteric/typhoid fever, which has been the suspected cause of the epidemic for years. Identifying the bacteria supports the typhoid hypothesis. Symptoms of typhoid fever include high fevers, red spots dehydration, bleeding, vomiting and gastro-intestinal issues. "After we identified traces of Salmonella enterica DNA using our new computational technique, we conducted further experiments and computational analyses that allowed us to study the whole genomes of the Salmonella enterica bacteria identified in the teeth of individuals included in our study," V-gene said. But the case may not be closed. "We cannot say that it definitively caused the epidemic," Bos said. "It was the only pathogen that surfaced from our extensive analysis, and an enteric fever is consistent with the recorded symptoms of the epidemic. But it may not have been the only disease circulating in the population at this time. Others could have been present that were not detectable by us through the techniques we used." The MALT technique is opening up new research possibilities for diagnosing diseases of the past, and solving centuries-old medical mysteries. "The screening technique used here will be transformative for future work on archaeological disease -- it's no longer necessary to have a candidate pathogen in mind for molecular detection," Bos said. "The flexibility offered by our approach is what's needed to tackle many questions related to disease history and ecology, where you often don't know what disease you're looking for until you've found it. "We intend to apply similar techniques to search for diseases in other archaeological samples from different time periods and locations. This technique opens so many doors for us to learn about disease in the past." "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The words spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. still resonate with those who attended today's luncheon hosted by the Mohawk Valley Frontiers in honor of MLK Day. The reception was held at the Radisson Hotel on Genesee Street in Utica. The president of the Mohawk Valley Frontiers says the goal for this yearly event is to continue on the message of Dr. King, and to remind the youth of the Mohawk Valley that even nearly 50 years since his passing, Kings words of civility, truth and acceptance still live on. We try to continue his legacy in understanding that we are all here to serve each other, and the purpose of this is to remind people that we still have hope, that we still have a strong belief in character and values that all make us brothers and sisters, said Jawaad Rasheed, president of the Mohawk Valley Frontiers. Several Junior Frontiers were also given awards for their academic excellence at todays luncheon. Sylvan Beach, N.Y. - Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente was back out in western Oneida County on Sunday, looking closer at Fish Creek. That creek overflowed its banks early Saturday morning due to ice jams and caused major flooding to homes in both Sylvan Beach and Vienna. Picente, along with Kevin Revere, Director of Oneida Countys Department of Emergency Services, set up a command post at the Vienna Fire Department on Route 49, just a couple of miles from where more those more than 70 homes were flooded on Saturday in both Vienna and Sylvan Beach. Besides the county officials, there are also representatives from the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, as well as officials with the local municipalities and fire departments stationed at the command post at the Vienna Fire Department. Picente says fire department officials were going door to door on Sunday to make sure no one in the mandatory evacuation area was still in their homes since all power had been cut off and temperatures dipped well below zero Saturday night and only into the low teens on Sunday. The entourage of officials toured the ice jam at the end of Fish Creek in Sylvan Beach where it intersects with the Barge Canal, before dumping into Oneida Lake. Picente says there is concern that there could be more flooding if we get another really quick warm up in temperatures like we saw this past week, Flooding has occurred in that area, on that side of Sylvan Beach before, but not to that magnitude. The ice buildup, which is still out there, is still a concern as we move forward, especially with the weather temperatures and where they go in the next week. If it just gradually warms up well be ok. Picente also had a drone over Fish Creek to get a better picture of where any remaining ice jams are, besides the one officials toured at the end of the creek. He says the drone showed the only other build up was near the bridge upstream. Picente also declared a State of Emergency in the county following the flooding in both Whitesboro on Friday and Sylvan Beach and Vienna on Saturday. He is hoping the Governor will also declare a State of Emergency in Oneida County. Picente says that could help pave the way to possibly get some federal aid for those affected. The Oneida County District Attorneys Office has added testimony from the Kaitlyn Conley murder retrial to its website. In November, 24-year-old Conley of Sauquoit was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the 2015 poisoning death of her chiropractor boss, Dr. Mary Yoder. Conley worked as a receptionist and office manager for the Yoder familys chiropractic office, and she dated her bosss son, Adam Yoder, on and off. On Thursday, Jan. 11, Conley was sentenced to 23 years in state prison with five years of post-release supervision. Conley was initially charged with second-degree murder, and her first murder trial ended with a hung jury in May 2017. As the second murder trial wrapped up, the prosecution added on the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter for the jury to consider, and the jury found her guilty on that charge. Last December, Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said that his office would put evidence from the trial on his offices website. He said the reasoning for this was so that the public could trust in the criminal justice system, and because he has a responsibility to the people who elected him. He said he wants the local community to understand what the prosecution based its case on, and why she was ultimately convicted. So far, the only document thats been added to the website under the Noteworthy cases section is a 385-page court document of the full transcription from Anthony Martinos testimony in the second trial. Martino is the director of the Northeast Cybersecurity and Forensics Center at Utica College, and he testified about the cyber forensics evidence found on several devices that Conley used. To view the full document, click here. Other noteworthy cases featured on the DA Offices website include the Word of Life church beatings case and the Bernard Hatch murder case, or as he came to be known as, the Potato Hill Killer. ______________________________ RELATED COVERAGE: Conley gets 23 years for manslaughter WATCH: Full sentencing for Kaitlyn Conley LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) Volunteers prepared 53,000 meals for hungry people, locally and outside of the country. Pack Away Hunger is a Martin Luther King Jr. Day tradition at Christ United Methodist Church in Lafayette. Half of the 53,000 meals will go to Food Finders Food Bank. The other half of the meals will go to a town in Guatemala. About 275 volunteers, including fraternities and sororities from Purdue University, prepared and packaged the meals. Pastor Scott Mann said in the seven years they have been donating meals to Guatemala, the children have had healthier lives. "Children are growing to normal levels versus malnourished levels. It's been pretty inspiring to participate in. It's one way to help at least a little bit," said Mann. The meals contain sources of soy protein, rice, vitamins and seasonings. Pastor Scott Mann said helping the hungry offers many lessons to the volunteers. "Giving results in receiving and we couldn't be more blessed by this opportunity to give and to receive from folks that have a lot to teach us," said Mann. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page St. James Deacon and scholarship committee co-chair Thomas E. Gray, master of ceremonies for the evening, speaks to how the scholarship fund is named for St. James founder, the Rev. J.W. Hinson, and provides scholarships to church members as well as a graduating senior from Woonsocket High School. Lift nuclear ban, MCA tells Australian government 15 January 2018 Share The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has repeated its call for the Australian government to lift a ban on the development of nuclear power. Australia must reform its taxation, industrial relations, environmental and energy policies to shield the nation from future economic downturn and deliver stronger economic growth, the council said in its pre-Budget submission to the federal government. The 42-page submission sees the MCA, which represents Australia's exploration, mining and minerals processing industry, call for action on taxation and sets out structural reform priorities, including legislation to streamline the process for project approvals and environmental regulation. It also calls for the government to remove Australia's ban on nuclear power, and the removal of uranium mining, milling, decommissioning and rehabilitation from the definition of nuclear action - the so-called 'nuclear trigger' - in the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act). "Existing state assessment and approval processes are comprehensive and can effectively address any significant environmental risks," it noted. Uranium mining legislation and regulation, including rules governing the transport and export of uranium, should be standardised across the country, the submission said. Federally legislated bans on nuclear industries in the EPBC Act and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 are anti-uranium and undermine foreign investor confidence in uranium mining in Australia, it said. Removing such bans would encourage innovation and investment in nuclear research and technologies while still ensuring that any proposed nuclear developments were required to meet all relevant federal and state environmental, safety and other regulatory approval processes, it notes. The goal of Australia's energy and climate policy framework should be to deliver reliable energy at least cost while meeting the nation's emissions reduction objectives. This means applying a technology-neutral approach to all energy sources, while avoiding subsidies, quotas or other non-market-oriented interventions, the MCA said. It identified nuclear and low emissions coal as critical sources of baseload power. "Nuclear power has the advantage of being able to generate baseload electricity with very low CO2 emissions over its lifecycle," the MCA said. "Modern small modular reactors could offer long-term stable electricity supply to underpin household and industrial use in mining and other remote towns. The ban on nuclear power in Australia is hampering an open debate about future energy and climate change management and stands at odds with Australia's export uranium mining industry." Australia has 34% of the world's uranium resources and is the world's third-largest uranium producing country, and is home to the 20 MWt Opal research reactor. The MCA's budget submission follows its publication in September 2017 of Removing the Prohibition on Nuclear Power, in which it said the country's self-imposed nuclear power ban has also meant it has been unable to develop a "high value, high tech" nuclear industry. The Australian Treasury in September called for submissions from individuals, businesses and community groups seeking their views regarding priorities for the 2018-19 budget. The pre-budget submission process formally closed on 15 December, but late submissions are still being accepted until 31 January 2018. The finalised budget is usually presented on the second Tuesday in May. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics NEA reports on an 'all-hazards approach' 15 January 2018 Share The OECD-Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has produced a new report that highlights the value of an "all-hazards approach" to emergency preparedness and response (EPR). The report incorporates the lessons learned from non-nuclear events. The report notes that the International Atomic Energy Agency's General Safety Requirements (GSR No.7), Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency (IAEA, 2015), "encourage, to the extent practicable" the inclusion of the emergency management system in an all-hazards framework. The OECD Council "similarly supports" the integration of a nuclear emergency management system into a comprehensive, all-hazards and transboundary approach to country risk governance as a foundation for enhancing national resilience and responsiveness. it adds. Noting that NEA member countries have developed effective EPR arrangements for nuclear facilities and off-site response organisations, the report says these arrangements have usually been tested through exercises involving the facility and off-site response organisations. "EPR arrangements have thus been enhanced as necessary to include lessons learnt from nuclear emergency exercises, nuclear power plant accidents such as the accident at Fukushima Daiichi and changes to international guidance. While nuclear power plant accidents are very rare, industrial non-nuclear events and natural disasters occur more frequently and can have a potentially large impact on populations and on widespread geographical areas," the report says. "As a result of these events, populations may be required to take part in protective actions such as sheltering, evacuation and the restriction of food supplies. Research on these types of non-nuclear events and natural disasters has been extensive and has led to an understanding of factors that have supported the effectiveness of response activities, as well as those factors that may have degraded the response. This type of information can be used to enhance existing preparedness efforts for nuclear power plants, for other industrial facilities and for natural disasters in an 'all-hazards' framework," it adds. The report covers: OECD activities on chemical accident prevention, preparedness and response; lessons learned from major accidents relating to emergency response; lessons learned from crises; emergency planning and response for natural hazard-triggered technological accident (Natech) accidents; public health lessons learned from other disasters involving exposure to toxic substances; the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review of emergency planning and responses to non-nuclear events within the USA; and integrating lessons learnt from nuclear and non-nuclear events in national emergency plans in Japan's experience. A common issue shared by both the nuclear and non-nuclear industries, for example, is that of identifying a wide range of accident scenarios, from design-basis to beyond-design-basis accidents. "Consideration of such a broad range of accident scenarios would ensure that planning efforts are robust and would provide for adequate protection of public health and safety," the report says. The report concludes that EPR for nuclear power plants (NPPs) in OECD countries is "well-defined and well-practised", adding that a comparison between nuclear power plant EPR and the events described in the report "reveals no gaps" in planning. Reviewing the responses to accidents in other hazardous industries and events, such as weather-related natural disasters, "enables planners to learn from those responses and enhance their own programmes where appropriate", it says. "While there are unique aspects to radiological/nuclear EPR, most of the aspects of planning are very similar to planning in an all-hazards framework. For example, protective actions need to be taken for NPP accidents as well as chemical accidents and natural disasters. These can be the same types of protective actions (i.e. evacuation). Review of evacuations in many non-nuclear events can reveal lessons learnt that can enhance the effectiveness of similar protective actions around NPPs," the report says. The need for "rapid and accurate" information is similar for both nuclear and non-nuclear events, it adds. Analysis of communication strategies employed during non-nuclear events enables NPP EPR planners to employ up-to-date communications strategies that can result in "more effective messaging" to the public or between response organisations, it says. "This report shows the similarity in EPR planning across all sectors, and identifies lessons learned and good practices. Incorporation of these lessons learnt and good practices into the nuclear field builds strong emergency preparedness and response, as well as national resiliency. The IAEA and the OECD recognise the importance of a strong and unified response and urge the inclusion of radiological emergency preparedness to the event possible in greater comprehensive all-hazards emergency planning," it says. Lessons from a multidisciplinary perspective in fields other than nuclear energy can be used by countries, as appropriate, to enhance their already robust nuclear EPR systems, it says. The report can also be a "valuable tool" for OECD countries in implementing the OECD Council Recommendation on the Governance of Critical Risk that members establish and promote a comprehensive, all-hazards and transboundary approach to country risk governance to serve as the foundation for enhancing national resilience and responsiveness, it adds. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics A man was jailed for photoshopping the face of his 13-year-old stepdaughter on bodies of adult porn stars and then used the images for his own sexual gratification. He also created an image that showed the teen engaged in bestiality with a dog. The businessman in Australia was arrested at an airport when porn images were found in a hard drive on his computer. According to prosecutors, the 51-year-old was caught with about 100 child porn images on a hard drive in his suitcase as he returned home to Brisbane after a trip to South Africa. The Brisbane District Court was told that the stepfather had a sexual obsession with the girl. Just 4 months before his arrest, the stepfather was given a suspended sentence for touching the girls genitals while she slept. In court, the mans attorney, Colin Reid, told the judge about his clients unusual beliefs about promiscuity after the man claimed that he was morally outraged about her blossoming sexuality. He also referred to the photos as artwork and said there was no sexual motivation behind them. However, Judge Leanne Clare dismissed the claims, saying that he did not act out of parental concern for the girl whom he raised since she was 2-years-old. Perhaps you were jealous of her interest in other people, the judge said. The man pleaded guilty to charges including possessing or producing child pornography and importing and exporting objectionable goods. He was sentenced to two years in prison and he is eligible for release after 12 months on good behavior. A United States Postal Service (USPS) employee who was too lazy to work decided to burn tubs of mail instead of delivering them to residents, according to police in Louisiana. United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that the former U.S. Postal employee from Pitkin pleaded guilty on Thursday to burning U.S. mail. Mark Wayne Thompson, 50, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell to one count of use of delay or destruction of mail by a postal employee. According to the police investigation, Thompson took mail from his rural postal route in Elmer to his residence over a five-month period. He then burned the mail. He estimated that he burned at least 20 tubs of mail. Thompson faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced in the three months. In October, a postal worker in Decatur, Georgia, was seen dumping multiple bins of mail in the woods by throwing them over a fence. The mail included bank statements and other important documents. USPS sent workers to collects the dumped mail and they promised to deliver them as soon as possible. Kellie Campbell said that she witnessed the incident, and watched as the postal worker dumped multiple bins of mail in the woods for more than five minutes. So far, no charges have been filed even though investigators found more than 12 bins of dumped mail. People in the area complained that they havenat received their mail. Supported housing scheme proposed for Llay This article is old - Published: Monday, Jan 15th, 2018 Plans have been put forward to build a new supported housing scheme in Llay. In an application submitted to Wrexham Council it has been proposed that the scheme, which would provide accommodation for four residents, is built on land at Eleventh Avenue in Llay. Background about the proposals are provided within the applications design and access statement, which explains that Ainsley Gommon Architects have been appointed by First Choice Housing Association to develop proposals for a new build supported housing at the site. It is also noted that the scheme has been developed in partnership with Wrexham County Borough Council following the identification of housing need for four no. residents with high support needs within the Llay area. The development would be based across two floors, with the ground floor providing two one-bedroom apartments for residents with high support needs. Each apartment is described as having an open plan kitchen, living and dining areas, bedroom and assisted bathroom. A staff base would also be located between the two apartments, with the application stating that two jobs will be created if the development is given the go ahead. The application explains that the staff based would have its own front door, with links through to the shared communal staircase, providing access to two further apartments on the first floor and a staff sleep-in room. Two parking spaces and four disabled parking spaces will also be provided on the site. The application will be considered for approval at a later date. *Picture Google Maps North and South Korea yesterday held official talks, the first in two years, at Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that divides the two states. The lengthy discussions resulted in an agreement for Pyongyang to send a sporting team to next months Winter Olympics in South Korea and for military-to-military talks to seek to lower the risks of miscalculation or accident leading to conflict. The US State Department welcomed the meeting and indicated that Washington would be interested in joining future talks. Clearly this is a positive development, spokesman Steve Goldstein declared. We would like nuclear talks to occur; we want denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. This is a good first step in that process. North Korea, however, said it has no intention of abandoning its nuclear arsenal, which it regards as the only means for preventing US aggression. Chief North Korean negotiator Ri Son Gwon declared: All our weapons, including atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs and ballistic missiles are only aimed at the United States, not our brethren [in South Korea], nor China and Russia. Ri chided his South Korean counterparts for raising the issue of denuclearisation, warning: This is not a matter between North and South Korea, and to bring up this issue would cause negative consequences and risks turning all of todays good achievement into nothing. The Pyongyang regime, which confronts crippling UN and American sanctions and the growing threat of US military attack, is clearly seeking to drive a wedge between Washington and South Korea. To enable yesterdays meeting to proceed, South Korean President Moon Jae-in secured an agreement from President Donald Trump to delay major joint military exercises until after the Winter Olympics. Moon, however, has publicly vowed to take a hard line in any negotiations, telling leaders of the conservative Korean Senior Citizens Association last week he would not be weak-kneed or just focus on dialogue and would boost South Koreas military. South Korea remains heavily dependent on the US military alliance, and its armed forces are deeply integrated with those of the United States, which maintains 28,500 troops, and key military bases, in the country. Nevertheless, Moon was concerned to ease sharp tensions on the Korean Peninsula before the Winter Olympics, which start on February 9 at Pyeongchang, just 80 kilometres south of the DMZ. South Korean officials suggested that the two Olympic teams march together in the opening ceremony, which, if agreed, would be the first time since the 2007 Asian Winter Games in China. South Korea is seeking to bill the event as the Peace Olympics. It agreed to pay the expenses of the North Korean team, which will include athletes, officials, a cheer squad, art performers, journalists and spectators. It also indicated a readiness to lift some of its unilateral sanctions on the North to allow the latters participation. Any easing of sanctions, however, will be minimal as Washington is insisting there be no breach in its campaign of maximum pressure on North Korea. US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert welcomed yesterdays talks, but pointedly added that South Korean officials will ensure North Korean participation in the Winter Olympics does not violate the sanctions imposed by the UN and US. During the 11 hours of talks, South Korean officials called for the renewal of family reunions to coincide with the Lunar New Year in February, but no agreement was reached. More than 60,000 families were split apart following the post-World War II division of Korea and the 195053 Korean War. Far from ending the dangerous standoff on the Korean Peninsula, the talks have, at most, created a short pause that can quickly and easily break down. US Defence Secretary James Mattis last week played down the significance of delaying the US-South Korean military exercises, saying they would start after the March 918 Paralympics. Trump has repeatedly declared that he will not tolerate North Korea having a nuclear missile able to hit the US and, if necessary, will use military force to prevent it. Over the weekend he bragged that his aggressive stance had led to the talks, just days after threatening North Korea with nuclear annihilation. Trump had tweeted that his nuclear button was far bigger than that of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Trumps reckless and erratic statements underscore sharp divisions within the American political establishment, including the White House, and security apparatus over a war with North Korea that could potentially drag in nuclear-armed powers such as China and Russia. Nevertheless, detailed military plans to attack North Korea have been prepared, and, over the past year, have been rehearsed in large-scale joint exercises, not only with South Korea, but also Japan and other allies. In its article on the talks, the New York Times reported: The Pentagon has drawn up extensive plans, including a punch-in-the-nose strategy against the North that would involve taking out a missile, and a much broader attack on the missile and nuclear sites. But both Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson have argued internally that it would be nearly impossible to contain any retaliation, officials have said. A particularly chilling comment published on the Foreign Policy web site argued, as its title indicated, Its time to bomb North Korea. The author, Edward Luttwak, wrote off yesterdays talks and called for an immediate, unprovoked US attack to destroy North Koreas nuclear arsenal. Luttwak dismissed the danger of a retaliatory North Korean attack on the US as an exaggeration. He declared, with callous indifference for the lives of millions of people living in Seoul close to the DMZ, that South Korea had only itself to blame for failing to build bomb shelters. Given South Koreas deliberate inaction over many years, any damage ultimately done to Seoul cannot be allowed to paralyse the United States in the face of immense danger to its own national interests, he wrote. Luttwak, a prominent analyst with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is articulating the views of war-mongering sections of the US military and intelligence apparatus. Trump himself, as reported by right-wing Senator Lindsay Graham in August, has expressed similar sentiments. If theres going to be a war to stop [Kim Jong-un], it will be over there, Graham told NBC. If thousands die, theyre going to die over there. They are not going to die over hereand hes told me that to my face. The senator said this was inevitable unless North Korea capitulated completely to US demands to denuclearise. [Trump] has told me that and I believe him, he said. Some 1,000 files on loan from the National Archives to various government departments have disappeared. Officially, they are said to have been misplaced while on loan to a government department. According to the Guardian, the government has admitted the loss, but neither the Foreign Office nor the Home Office are able to explain why files of serious historical importance have been taken, nor if copies of the missing documents they contain had been made. The missing files are thought to include thousands of government papers dealing with critical chapters of recent history that can prove to be a major political embarrassment, such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland. During the 30 years between 1968 and 1998, British troops occupied the province and were responsible for such atrocities as the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre, which cost the lives of 14 innocent civilians in the Bogside area of Derry. The importance of the records held by the National Archive in providing evidence of government wrongdoing was highlighted in 2014, when Irish Broadcaster RTEs Investigation Unit uncovered a letter dated 1977 from then-Labour Home Secretary Merlyn Rees to Prime Minister Jim Callaghan which makes clear that ministersincluding Lord Carrington, then secretary of state for defencehad tacitly agreed the use of torture. If at any time methods of torture are used in Northern Ireland contrary to the view of the government of the day I would agree that individual policemen or soldiers should be prosecuted or disciplined; but in the particular circumstances of 1971-1972 a political decision was taken, Rees stated. Also said to have gone missing are papers relating to the 1982 Falklands (Malvinas) war, in which the British government ordered the sinking of an Argentine ship, the General Belgrano, leading to the loss of 323 lives among the crew of the light cruiser. In 1985, a Whitehall whistle-blower revealed that the ship had been sailing away from the British-imposed exclusion zone around the South Atlantic islands at the time it was sunk. The historical reach of the naked censorship is underscored by the disappearance of an entire file relating to the Zinoviev Letter. Published by the Daily Mail four days before the 1924 general election, the letter was supposedly sent by the then head of the Communist International to the Communist Party of Great Britain instructing it to carry out seditious activities. The letter has been long-recognized as a forgery, generally attributed to Russian monarchist elements. The intention was to whip up fear of social revolution to ensure the defeat of the minority Labour government of Ramsaythe first time the party had won office. Maya Foa, director of human rights organisation Reprieve, said the loss of such government files was deeply troubling and unfortunately follows a pattern we have seen before. In 2014, ministers blamed water damage for destroying critical files showing the complicity of the UK in Washingtons rendition and torture programme following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and subsequent invasion of Afghanistan. Right now, they are forcing legal cases seeking to expose the truth about UK involvement in George Bushs war on terror into secret courts where the public and press are denied access, Foa said, adding, With a new US president openly supporting torture and other human rights abuses, the tendency of the British government to conceal and cover up creates a serious risk that abuses carried out in our name in future will be hidden from the public until its too late. In 2012, thousands of files previously declared lost were uncovered in a secret government storage facility in Buckinghamshire. These documents provide clear evidence of the brutal colonial regimes established by Britain throughout its empire. What remains, however, is just a fraction of the trove of colonial papers, with the most sensitive documents having been culled and incinerated to cover up the worst of the atrocities and criminal actions carried out by the British government and its local henchmen in the colonies. The National Archives house more than 11 million documents going back over 1,000 years. The archives include the Domesday Book from 1086, and centuries of government papers and other public records. Now, government papers that could shed important light on Britains relations with the European Union (EU) in the early 1990s are being withheld from release into the National Archive. The Cabinet Office has retained 13 out of 45 files covering sensitive issues such as the creation of the euro and the Maastricht Treaty negotiations, which led to the European Single Market. Labours Shadow Cabinet Office minister said there was a pattern of obfuscation from this government, with vital information that could be key to our understanding of the current political situation being concealed. People were entitled to ask why the government was refusing to release significant dossiers from our recent history, some of which are of critical importance in connection with the EU, he said. Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said the Conservativeswho were in coalition with Cables party as recently as three years agohave form on unnecessarily holding back documents related to Europe so that they avoid public scrutiny, adding, it looked suspiciously like they are trying to hide information that could be embarrassing during the Brexit negotiations. The comments from Labour and the Liberals come from parties who have substantial factions opposed to the dominant hard-Brexit wing of the Tories and who are supportive of remaining in the EUs Single Market and Customs Union. The Liberal Democrats are formally committed to holding a second referendum on EU membership. This is the primary reason for their newly minted commitment to open government. Defending the withholding of documents from the National Archives, a Cabinet Office spokesman said this was because we have to ensure all files are properly reviewed and prepared before they are transferred, so that they do not harm national security or our relations with other countries. A subsequent letter from the Cabinet Office claimed that the numbers of withheld documents was diminishing, but still amounted to around 10 percent in 2017. But this stands in contrast with reports that of 490 files from the Prime Ministers office due to be transferred to the National Archive, 100 have been retained, equivalent to more than 20 percent. Other retained files that should have been released into the National Archives at the end of 2017 are thought to contain information on the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, which was blamed on a single individual, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi; the 1992 Scott Inquiry, which whitewashed the clandestine sale of arms to Iraq; the basing of US cruise missiles in the UK and the 1981 marriage of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. The hiding and even destruction of documentary records shows that, behind the face of parliamentary democracy, the ruling elite zealously guards its dirty secrets to leave itself free to carry out further crimes. The number of recorded cold-related deaths in Wisconsin spiked amidst the onset of extreme freezing temperatures beginning Tuesday, December 26. Since New Years Eve, three people in Milwaukee County, the states most populous and poorest area, have died as a result of exposure to freezing temperatures, with six additional cold-related deaths throughout the state of Wisconsin. Reports obtained from the Milwaukee Medical Examiners office and local media coverage expose the broader social problems which contributed to these unnecessary deaths among the most vulnerable layers of American society, including lack of access to adequate and affordable healthcare, housing, and basic social supports. Mark Henderson, 34, an unemployed African American man, was found dead and frozen solid, lying between a shed and wooden fence on December 31. Henderson was found by his girlfriend and the homeowner whose shed his body was found lying near. Henderson had been involved in a car accident the previous evening and fled the scene to hide in a nearby residential area, attempting to evade law enforcement. Henderson had been on parole for involvement in a fatal 2012 car accident and likely made a desperate attempt to hide from the police, fearing additional prison time. Statements from his family members revealed that Henderson did not have a home of his own and would stay with different family members and relatives. Henderson also had asthma and did not have a primary medical doctor, resorting to getting his inhalers from other people and through emergency room visits. Dolores Marrari, 88, was found dead in her garage on January 3 improperly dressed in freezing weather. When she was found by family members after not answering her phone she was wearing only a nightgown and an adult diaper and did not have any shoes on. Marriari was widowed and lived alone, and was reliant on Meals-on-Wheels and a visiting nurse for basic living support. John Boehm, a 51-year-old construction worker from Milwaukee, was found dead in the back of a van parked in an alleyway the same day. Boehms body was found partially nude, suggesting paradoxical undressing by victims of hypothermia shortly before death. Boehms partner told police that Boehm had been intoxicated and had left their apartment the previous night after an argument over his drinking to smoke a cigarette and did not return inside. His partner assumed that he had left to stay with a friend after he didnt return inside. Approximately two hours north of Milwaukee in Green Bay, a 60-year-old woman died the evening of January 2. She was found outside of her home after returning in a cab from a night out drinking. Investigators suspected that she had fallen while trying to retrieve her house keys and hit her head and died from the cold overnight. In Fond Du Lac, 27-year-old Lindsey Klima, a CNA nurse, was found dead outside near the lakeshore of Lake Winnebago, 15 hours after going missing from a New Years Eve party at an ice shanty. She had been last seen alive stepping out of the shanty to smoke a cigarette while only wearing jeans and a light jacket. Deaths were also clustered in and around Madison, the states capital and second-largest city. Alice McGaw, 84, was found dead in a suburb of Madison on the morning of December 29 outside the Memory Care assisted living facility she resided at, with the Sun Prairie medical examiners office citing hypothermia as a likely factor in her death. The assisted living facility she lived at and died outside has been previously cited by the Wisconsin Department of Health Service for 10 violations since 2016. A Madison man, 60-year-old Jeffrey Bracey, was found outside on the morning of December 29 with extremely low body temperatures and wearing clothing unsuitable for the freezing temperatures. He lost pulse in the ambulance transporting him and was declared dead at the hospital. Vance Perry, a 57-year-old veteran, was found dead in the State Capitol parking ramp by an employee on December 31. The previous day, Perry had left William S. Middleton Memorial Hospital, where he received routine treatment for paranoid schizophrenia. After going to the hospital for his regular appointment, he was admitted for mental instability. When he voluntarily discharged himself, Perry was allowed to leave the hospital without an arranged ride home and was wearing clothes inappropriate for the freezing temperatures outside. Perrys daughter told local news station WMTV that on account of her fathers mental illness he was known by his family and his health care providers to have a history of wandering outside during cold weather. A community relations spokesman for the hospital stated that the hospital had no grounds to prevent Perry from discharging himself or making sure that he left with transportation back to his home and weather-appropriate clothes despite the freezing temperatures and history of mental illness. Prior to going missing, Joseph Moen, 49 of Barron County in the states rural Northwoods had been last seen December 24 when he was dropped off at the side of the road with no jacket or weather-appropriate clothing. He was reported missing three days after he missed required daily sobriety tests at the Chetek Police Department. On January 3, Moen was found dead from hypothermia in a wooded area in a makeshift shelter of branches and leaves and underdressed. At least one cold-related death could be directly attributed to the cruel decision to close homeless shelters and cut back social services. Darryl Joe Peddicord, 49, was found dead in a used car lot in late November in Kenosha, apparently attempting to seek shelter during cold temperatures at night. Kenosha Countys only low-barrier non-restricted shelter, which Peddicord and other homeless in the city had relied on, closed in May 2017. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to cold temperatures due to the prevalence of inadequate indoor heating, exacerbating health conditions, and inadequate access to social assistance and healthcare. The ability for the body to regulate internal temperature often decreases in older age. It can also be affected by health conditions such as heart disease and the prevalence of physical overexertion due to additional work required during winter weather. Those suffering from dementia without proper care and assistance are also at particular risk of wandering outside curing the cold and exposing themselves to deadly environmental conditions. Among the working class, impoverished, and the homeless, those who struggle with alcoholism are particularly at risk of cold-related deaths, as alcohol consumption increases the sensation of bodily warmth, while the actual loss of heat to the bodys vital organs occurs as a result of lowered ability to regulate internal temperature. This results in impairment to the body being able to shiver to generate heat, lowers awareness of environmental conditions, and increases the risk of falls. Holiday and New Years parties involving heavy drinking during freezing temperatures outside can inadvertently produce dangerous and life-threatening situations. Above all, the cold-related deaths reported in Wisconsin and those yet to come this winter in the Midwest and across the United States are socially produced killings. They are the unnecessary outcome of an economic and political system in which millions of the most vulnerable sections of society including the elderly, the homeless, the physically and mentally disabled, and those struggling with substance abuse are left to die in isolation and without access to shelter, healthcare, emergency assistance and other basic social rights. Facebook has blocked users from sharing a social media video promoting the January 16 online meeting Organizing resistance to Internet censorship, featuring World Socialist Web Site International Editorial Board Chairman David North and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges. The initial post of the video, uploaded Friday, cannot be shared by any user. Those who attempt to do so receive an error message that seems to imply a technical failure. Users reported, however, that upon clicking If you think youre seeing this message by mistake, please let us know, they were presented with a notice that clearly indicates the content had been blocked in the name of keeping Facebook safe. A repost of the video, submitted on Sunday, is shareable, underscoring the arbitrariness of Facebooks censorship measures. The blocking of the video took place one day after Facebook blocked another WSWS video from being shared, indicating what is likely an acceleration of its politically motivated censorship. In another incident Saturday, Facebook blocked an attempt by the WSWS to purchase an advertisement to promote the Perspective column Facebook announces major plan to censor news content. The reason given by Facebook for denying the ad was: We dont allow ads that use images of Mark Zuckerberg when promoting a product or service. These actions come just days after Facebook announced a new Newsfeed protocol that will deprioritize public posts and articles by organizations, while promoting personal moments. Under the new regime, the purchase of advertisements will be the only way that news and political organizations can gain substantial exposure for their content. This means that any public content critical of the actions of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be effectively banned from distribution on Facebook. It is clear that the Facebook censorship experienced by the WSWS is part of the companys accelerating moves to censor political speech on the Internet. Under these conditions, Tuesdays online meeting Organizing Resistance to Internet Censorship, which will be held at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time at endcensorship.org, is of critical importance. Homelessness levels have risen so sharply in Toronto, Canadas largest city, that city officials have announced the creation of 400 new beds in shelters this winter. This move, which is entirely inadequate to deal with the spiraling crisis, came after Toronto reported a sharp increase in homeless deaths in the first nine months of 2017. On any given night, 35,000 Canadians are homeless, including some 5,000 in Toronto and 4,000 in Vancouver. An activist with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty told CTV News last month that meeting the demand for beds in Toronto would require making a thousand more available immediately. At least 70 homeless people died in Toronto in the first nine months of 2017, an average of approximately 2 per week. The citys medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, reported that 57 were men, or 81 per cent, while 13 were women. The median age of those who died was 48. Cathy Crowe, a street nurse, educator and activist who has worked in the area of homelessness since 1988, said the data doesnt tell the whole story. A man decapitated by a train, another beaten to death in a bus shelter, others burned to death in a makeshift shelter or dead due to a drug overdose, women burned to death in a ravine or murdered on the streets--this is how Torontos homeless have died. These deaths are violent. They are never natural, Crowe told reporters. The average house price in Toronto was $1.2 million in March 2017. There has not been a subsidized affordable housing program in Ontario since the New Democratic Party (NDP) provincial government stopped approving rent geared to income (RGI) units in the 1990s. The federal Liberal Chretien government ended Canadas subsidized affordable housing program in 1993. With 176,000 people on the subsidized housing waiting-list in Toronto, anyone currently homeless in Toronto will continue to be so and that means their chances of living out their natural life-span could be reduced by as much as 40 percent, according to a study by Dr. Stephen Hwang, director of the Centre for Urban Health Solutions at Torontos St. Michaels Hospital. Based on the most recent available data, at least seventy homeless people died in British Columbia in 2015, a 56 percent increase over 2014, reports Megaphone Magazine, a non-profit group that advocates for homeless and low-income people. That is the highest number on record going back to 2006 and compares with 45 homeless deaths in 2014 and 27 in 2013. These deaths pre-date the full-scale eruption of BCs deadly opioid crisis and the figures, from the BC Coroners Service, are likely underestimates. Even so, this equates to over one death a week. The Coroners Service deemed more than half of the homeless deaths were accidental or preventable, as compared to just 16.5 percent of those it reviewed among the general population. The Coroners Service found the number one cause of homeless deaths in 2015 was poisoning by alcohol or drugs, for a total of 34, up from 13 in 2014, and the number two cause was natural disease. In BC, the homeless die on average between 40 and 49 years of age, compared with the average person who can expect to live 76.4 years. The findings also show a 114 percent increase in homeless deaths in the Fraser Valley region, up from 14 people in 2014 to 30 in 2015. The Coroners Service statistics includes deaths of those who were considered street homeless and sheltered homeless, but not those who were staying in temporary accommodations such as a hotel, a correctional institution or a residential treatment facility with no permanent home to which to return. Deaths that must be reported to the coroner include all non-natural deaths and sudden and unexpected deaths of those not under the care of a physician; homeless deaths that did not meet this criteria were not included. The average house in Vancouver now costs $1.6 million, forcing people to seek shelter in the outer suburbs and beyond. If you were to go to the Wal-Mart parking lot in Abbotsford at 2 AM, you would see about 20 vehicles there and every single one would have one or two people sleeping inside, said Jesse Wegenast, minister at Abbotsford Street Church. Weve definitely seen a demographic shift away from the stereotypical, street-entrenched homeless and were seeing more and more single-parent families. Were seeing more people coming out here from Metro Vancouver, coming out here thinking theyll find something more affordable. The Metro Vancouver Homeless Count happens every three years and on March 8, 2017, volunteers counted 3,605 living rough over a 24-hour period. Based on this count, it was estimated that the homeless population had increased by 44 percent to over 4,000 people, with more youth, those under 18, and seniors, those 55 and older, living on the streets or in shelters than ever before. In Surrey, a young girl who aged out of foster care recently died in a tent. Just 51 seniors were identified in the 2002 count, and 371 in 2014 out of an estimated homeless population of 2,777. In 2017 the count found 556 homeless seniors out of just fewer than 4,000. The number of homeless who identified as First Nations people rose to 746 from 582, although they make up just 6 percent of BCs population and just 3 percent of Vancouvers. The report said five people become homeless within Metro Vancouver every week and 80 percent of homeless people in the region have a chronic health issue, 49 percent have an addiction and 34 percent suffer from mental illness. The report said the need for systemic improvements to effectively manage the crisis is urgent and requires action from all levels of government, though it specifically called on the province to do more. It said the regions homeless population has steadily increased over the past 15 years and 60,000 households are vulnerable to homelessness because they spend more than half their income on shelter. More than 70 homeless camps operate in BCs Lower Mainland. Advocates point to a lack of affordable housing, as well as limited provision of harm reduction and shelter services in asserting that people experiencing homelessness in the Fraser region experience marginalization that makes them increasingly vulnerable, the report states. When David Eby was the Opposition BC NDPs housing critic, the NDP tabled private members legislation calling for a poverty reduction plan six times. Before the 2017 election he said in an interview, I think youre going to see this election contested on who has the best housing plan as one of the key issues for Metro Vancouver. The NDP has been in power in BC since July, yet no new plans were made to shelter the homeless this winter. Instead, the new government has focused on boasting that its spending commitments will comply with the austerity financial framework laid down by the big business Liberals, who slashed public spending to the bone and handed out tax breaks to the super rich during their 16 years in power. The death rate among the homeless population also underscores how thoroughly cynical and insincere the federal Liberals national housing strategy is. Rolled out amid much media fanfare in late November, the plan pledged to cut the homeless population in half over the next decade. Most of the funds included in the much-touted $40 billion strategy will come from existing programs or must be contributed from the provinces, whose financial resources are already stretched to breaking point due to austerity measures pursued by successive federal governments, including cuts to transfers for health care, education and welfare. The housing strategy will also provide billions to private companies to build affordable housing, which is considered to be housing available at 80 percent of the local median rent price. With typical rent prices in Vancouver for an apartment standing at $2,000 per month, that means an affordable apartment would cost $1,600, well out of reach for many working class people. Despite their expressions of shock and outrage over Trumps racist remarks during White House negotiations on immigration last week, the Democrats continue to plead for a reactionary compromise on immigration reform. On Thursday, in the midst of a closed-door meeting with Republican and Democratic lawmakers, Trump ranted against immigrants coming to the US from shithole countries such as Haiti and African nations, as opposed to countries like Norway. The remarks, leaked to the US press, sparked a wave of condemnation around the world. The following day the White House, clearly fearing mass demonstrations against the president, announced that Trump would not attend the opening of the new US embassy in London next month. The protests by Democratic politicians over Trumps racist remarks are utterly hypocritical, given the Democratic Partys efforts to collaborate with the White House and Republican lawmakers in fashioning an overhaul in US immigration policy that will further militarize the border with Mexico, effectively end the program that grants protected status for hundreds of thousands immigrants from poor countries devastated by natural disasters or war, and impose curbs on legal immigration demanded by Trump. The concern of the Democrats and major sections of the ruling class as a whole is that Trumps blunt expression of racist views is making it impossible for American imperialism to continue using rhetoric about democracy and human rights as a facade for its policies of war and plunder around the world. Democratic Senate Whip Dick Durbin, who has been leading a group of Democratic senators in talks with Republicans on a bipartisan plan, was at the White House meeting where Trump made his racist remarks. He said nothing until Friday, when Trump denied making the disparaging statements about Haitians and Africans. Appearing on the ABC News program This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, Democratic Representative John Lewis of Georgia denounced Trump as a racist and said that in response to the presidents remarks he would not attend his State of the Union address later this month. However, the only concrete measure he proposed was a vote of censure in the House of Representatives, which will, if initiated, almost certainly fail, given the lopsided majority of Republicans in the chamber. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trumps challenger in the 2016 elections, took to Twitter to denounce his ignorant, racist views. Former Vice President Joe Biden also tweeted that Trumps remarks were not what a president should believe. Of course, the Democrats have long been well aware of Trumps fascistic views. That has not prevented them from seeking to reach reactionary deals on health care, taxes, immigration and a so-called infrastructure program. Many leading Democrats, including the nominally independent Bernie Sanders, have aligned themselves with Trumps economic nationalist and trade war policies. Trump has made many similar statements in the past, including defending white supremacists as very fine people following a neo-Nazi rampage in August in Charlottesville, North Carolina that involved the murder of one anti-fascist protestor. He was previously cited for saying all Haitians have AIDS and talking about Nigerians going back to their mud huts. He also spearheaded the racist birther campaign against Barack Obama, claiming that the former president was born outside the United States and therefore barred by the US Constitution from serving as president. Lewis indicated in his interview that he would support the passage of a federal spending bill by the end of the week and avoid a federal shutdown if a deal could be cut with the president over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA), the Obama-era program that provides a temporary reprieve for some 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children. Trump terminated the program last year, setting a March 6 date for the termination to take effect. The Democrats have sought to use the defense of DACA as a fig leaf for their own anti-immigrant policies and their eagerness to negotiate further anti-immigrant measures with Trump. The Democratic position was best summed up Sunday morning on NBC News Meet the Press by Colorado Senator Michael Bennet, the brother of New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet, who feigned outrage over learning the president is a racist while stressing his readiness to cut a compromise deal with Trump and the Republicans. This is a trying time in the country, he said. But having said that, we need to work for the benefit of this country, its place in the world for the next generation of Americans. And this immigration compromise is a very good example of that. Trump has responded to the Democrats mixture of servility and phony outrage by doubling down on his right-wing demands. DACA is probably dead because the Democrats dont really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military, Trump tweeted Sunday morning. This was followed a short time later with a subtler reiteration of his racist remarks on Thursday. I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST, Trump declared. The plan presented to Trump on Thursday, agreed to between the Democrats and Republicans such as South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham and Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, includes $2.5 billion for border security, i.e., more border agents and cops, more drones, more fencing and walls, leading to more dead workers trying to flee poverty, drug wars and repression caused primarily by US interventions into their countries. The deal, which Trump rejected, would give him most of what he has demanded. It would abolish the priority visa lottery, which allows a small number of people from poor nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America into the country. It would do away with family preferences, so-called chain migration, for DACA recipients, as well as the ability of all new US citizens to legally bring family members into the country. It would also cut off federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities, those municipalities that refuse to allow local police to serve as auxiliaries in Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests and roundups of immigrants. The plan would not reinstate the Temporary Protected Status program for Haitians, Salvadorans and others, but would add a certain number of slots for tens of thousands affected by Trumps termination of the program. The discussion of this provision was apparently what set off Trumps racist tirade. Mahathir Mohamad, the 92-year-old former Malaysian prime minister, was chosen on January 7 by the opposition coalition, Pakatan Harapan (PH), as its top candidate in this years national elections. If PH wins, Mahathir will become prime minister, a post he occupied from 1981 to 2003. Prime Minister Najib Razak must call an election by August 24, but it is widely expected earlier. Najib heads the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the dominant party in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) government. The oppositions endorsement of Mahathir as its lead candidate is an extraordinary about-face that underscores its utterly opportunist politics. From 1993 to 1998, PH de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim was Mahathirs deputy in UMNO, also deputy prime minister and finance minister. In 1998, amid the political turmoil following the Asian economic crisis of 1997, Anwar fell out with Mahathir over the direction of economy policy. Mahathir expelled Anwar and his supporters from the government and UMNO. When Anwar launched a nationwide campaign of protest rallies over government corruption, Mahathir had his former deputy arrested under the countrys draconian Internal Security Act. Held incommunicado, Anwar was bashed so severely that he sustained lifelong injuries. He was then charged, tried and jailed on trumped-up charges of corruption and sodomy. Yet the PH delegates at its convention, held in the Selangor state capital of Shah Alam, voted unanimously on January 7 for Mahathir to head the coalition. If PH wins the election, Mahathir has agreed to seek a pardon for Anwar and step aside if that takes place. Anwar is due to be released from prison in June, but without a pardon will be barred from any political involvement. The four PH parties consist of Mahathirs United Malaysian Indigenous Party (PPBM), formed in 2016 after he split from Najib and UMNO; Anwars Peoples Justice Party (PKR); the ethnic Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP); and Parti Amanah Negara, a breakaway from the Islamist Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS). PAS was formerly allied with the opposition coalition, but broke away in 2015. The integration of Mahathir and PPBM into PH was formalised last June after days of tense wrangling. The key issue was what position Mahathir would have. Some delegates had pushed for him to be a special adviser, but Mahathir insisted on a leadership post. Mahathir argued the four parties needed to unite to remove Najib. He emphasised Najibs involvement in the 1Malaysia Development Fund (1MDB) scandal, in which up to $US6 billion went missing, including hundreds of millions that international investigators claim went into Najibs personal accounts. Mahathir declared that PPBM could deliver ethnic Malay votes from UMNO and PAS. UMNO has ruled over Malaysia since formal independence from Britain in 1957. It has pursued an aggressive policy of discriminating in favour of the countrys Malay majority in jobs, business and education at the expense of ethnic Chinese and Indians. Mahathir remains a vehement proponent of this racialist New Economic Policy and speaks for layers of Malay crony capitalists that have benefitted from it. He ousted Anwar in 1998 precisely because Anwar was advocating the opening up the Malaysian economy to foreign investment that could have bankrupted such Malay businesses. Nevertheless, during an opposition convention last June, Anwar intervened in the debate with a message from prison arguing that PH should benefit from the position and role of Mahathir. Anwar insisted that, in amassing all the strengths in a team to go up against UMNOs BN coalition, it was fair to ensure the participation of all leaders effectively. In the end, Anwar was elected PH ketu umum or de facto leader, Mahathir was elected chairman and Anwars wife and PH parliamentary leader Wan Azizah became coalition president. At this months opposition convention, Anwar sent another message, read by his daughter Nuril Izzah, emphasising his support for the decision to nominate Mahathir as the oppositions prime ministerial candidate. In part, this message sought to quell resentment and opposition within the opposition ranks. The alliance with Mahathir is based on the crude electoral calculation that he can deliver a sizeable vote from disaffected Malays. DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, whose party had for decades been the target of Mahathirs anti-Chinese chauvinism, heralded the formation of his PPBM as a game changer. One DAP leader has calculated that at least 40 of UMNOs ruling BN coalitions peninsular seats are vulnerable. The convention on January 7 agreed to allocate the largest number of peninsula seats, 52, to Mahathirs party, with Anwars PKR receiving 51; DAP 35 and Parti Amanah Negara 27. At the last national election in 2013, the opposition coalition won the popular vote but failed to gain enough seats to form government due to widespread fraud and blatant gerrymander. Najib and UMNO were clearly shaken by the result and have used every dirty trick in the book to undermine the opposition. Najib, following Mahathirs example, had Anwar re-arrested in 2008 on bogus charges of sodomy. Anwar was tried and, after a lengthy legal battle, finally jailed in 2014. Najib helped engineer the breakaway of PAS from the opposition, and undermined the oppositions control of several state governments. At the same time, however, Najib adapted to the oppositions policies, easing restrictions of foreign investment, and softening the discrimination against non-Malays. He also sought to undercut international support for the opposition by cautiously endorsing President Barack Obamas pivot to Asia against China, including the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership. When Obama visited Malaysia in 2015, he ignored the imprisoned Anwar. Washingtons ties with Najib have continued under Trump, who welcomed Najib to Washington last year and made no mention of the 1MDB scandal that wracked Najibs government. It was Najibs economic concessions to the US that primarily lay behind Mahathirs break with UMNO. Mahathir and his party remain deeply opposed to any policies that undermine the dominant economic and political position of the Malay ruling elites. Thus, they are hostile to the political program for which Anwar and his opposition coalition have campaigned. As a result, the opposition alliance is inherently unstable. There is no doubt bitter resentment toward Mahathir in the oppositions ranks. Significantly, after he was installed as prime ministerial candidate, the Selangor branch of Anwars PKR refused to sign a formal declaration that stressed our unwavering support towards all declarations made during the convention. Selangor is Malaysias most economically important state, producing 22.6 percent of the gross domestic product, and a centre of corporate support for Anwars advocacy of pro-market reforms. US President Trump has flatly denied remarks he made in an interview last Thursday in the Wall Street Journal that he had a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The presidents broadside against the newspaper has dampened speculation that the United States could be preparing to negotiate with Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile programs. Trump and White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders both lashed out at the Wall Street Journal, branding its article as fake news. Trump claimed in his bellicose tweets that he had said, Id probably have a good relationship... not I probably have... and Sanders released an audio file claiming to prove the point. The newspaper stood by its story and released its own audio of the interview. The latest fracas underscores the erratic character of the Trump administrations stance toward North Korea that veers wildly from reckless military threats to suggestions that a negotiated solution is possible. Regardless of Trumps actual words, the White House left the impression in the media for days that talks with the North Korean leader could be imminent. Asked in the interview whether he had spoken to Kim, Trump refused to confirm or deny that a conversation had taken place. I dont want to comment on it, he declared. Im not saying I have or I havent. In his tirade against the Wall Street Journal, he did not retract those remarks. The interview took place following talks last week between North and South Korea for the first time in more than two years, at which Pyongyang agreed to send a team to the Winter Olympics, due to take place in South Korea next month. Further discussions between the two Koreas are scheduled today to work out the details of North Koreas involvement in the Olympics. However, the scope of the talks remains circumscribed. South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared last week there would be no easing of the sanctions on North Korea as a result of its participation in the Olympics. For its part, North Korea bluntly rejected South Koreas attempt to raise the issue of denuclearisation during the meeting and has repeatedly declared that it will not give up its nuclear arsenal. While the Trump administration suggested last week that the US could join talks under the right circumstances, it has insisted that North Korea agree to denuclearise and take steps in that direction before any discussion. Moreover, Trumps ultimatum last week to the European powers to join the US in rewriting the nuclear deal struck in 2015 with Iran only serves to confirm to North Korea that it can have no confidence in any agreement struck with Washington. The United States is proceeding to further tighten crippling sanctions on North Korea, in what the White House has described as a campaign of maximum pressure. The US and Canada are jointly sponsoring a meeting of foreign ministers of around 20 nations in Vancouver on Tuesday to further tighten the economic and diplomatic noose around North Korea. US State Department policy director Brian Hook told reporters in Washington on Thursday that the US wanted an increased focus on blocking ships from supplying oil and other goods to North Korea. Maritime interdiction helps us to disrupt resources and the financial side helps us to disrupt the financing of its nuclear and ballistic-missile program, he said. South Korea has already seized two ships that entered one of its ports, alleging they were involved in transferring goods on the high seas to North Korean vesselswhich is banned under UN sanctions. The latest UN resolution on North Korea passed in December allowed the impounding of ships in port, but did not include their seizure on the high seas. According to the Globe and Mail, the United States and Canada will push for tough measures, including naval interdiction. The article suggested that a naval presence could be established off North Korea to impose what would amount to a blockade of the small, impoverished country. Such measures would be an act of war. Both China and Russia have refused to participate in the Vancouver meeting, which consists primarily of those countries that joined the US-led war against North Korea from 1950 to 1953. Holding this kind of meeting that doesnt include important parties to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue cannot help in advancing an appropriate resolution to the issue, Lu Kang, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said. China has previously agreed to US demands for ever-tougher UN sanctions on North Korea in a bid to avert a disastrous war on the Korean Peninsula. The White House even issued a statement last Friday welcoming Chinas sharply reduced trade with Pyongyang. However, Trump is pressing for a full economic blockade of North Koreasomething that Beijing has resisted, fearing an economic and political collapse that Washington could exploit to install a sympathetic regime in Pyongyang. The danger of war remains and tensions could rapidly escalate after the Olympics. The Pentagon has already indicated that massive joint military exercises with South Korea, currently delayed, will proceed in March. Pyongyang has always condemned such drills, which are thinly disguised rehearsals for war with North Korea, and staged its own demonstrations of military power. 38North, a US website that monitors North Korea closely, has reported signs that Pyongyang may be preparing for another nuclear test. While talking about the possibility of talks, the Trump administration has affirmed again and again, in the most bellicose language, its determination to prevent, by military means if necessary, North Korea acquiring a nuclear arsenal. One of South Koreas top former generals, Chun In-bum, last week warned that war against North Korea was not going to be like going into Iraq or Afghanistan but would be a protracted war. North Korea is very militarised, far [beyond] any imagination, he said, pointing out that it had a fighting force of a million, and chemical and biological, as well as nuclear, weapons. The risk of war erupting over a mistake or miscalculation was highlighted on Saturday when a false alarm about an incoming missile created panic in Hawaii. The danger is that what reportedly resulted from one person pushing a wrong button could, in an already extremely tense standoff, trigger a response by the US military and the eruption of conflict. On December 12, New Zealands government-appointed Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Cheryl Gwyn released a report on the Security Intelligence Service (SIS), revealing that for almost 20 years the internal spy agency illegally accessed personal information held by the Customs and Immigration departments. This is the latest in a series of revelations of illegal activity by the intelligence agencies. In 2013 and 2014, whistle-blower Edward Snowden exposed that the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB)NZs external spy agencycarried out mass surveillance of New Zealanders. The agency also spied on the Pacific islands, China and other countries, as part of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence alliance. According to Gwyns report, between 1997 and 2016, under successive Labour Party and National Party governments, the SIS used a Customs computer terminal to routinely gather information on the movements of people entering and leaving the country. The number of people whose privacy was violated by this tracking has not been revealed. Gwyn states that at the time there was no lawful basis under the Customs legislation, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service Act, or any other legislation for this type of monitoring. The Labour Party-led government welcomed the report and used it to argue that there were now good checks and balances on the intelligence agencies. Andrew Little, the Minister responsible for the GCSB and SIS, told Radio NZ on December 14: Ive made it clear to both the directors general of both the services, and the agency, that I expect them to be fully compliant with the law at all times. They are now, and the reason we have the Inspector-General is to make sure there is a good check and balance on those services complying with the law. Asked whether anyone would be held accountable for decades of law-breaking, Little brushed the question aside, repeating that the spy agencies were now acting lawfully with good, strong oversight. These sentiments were echoed by the corporate media. An editorial in the Dominion Post declared: Democratic society owes Gwyn a debt of gratitude. It described her as the publics only real watchdog over the spies. The New Zealand Heralds David Fisher wrote that the discovery of the illegal SIS conduct was a signal of the extraordinary change our agencies have undergone in the past five years. The newspapers liberal columnist Bryce Edwards gushed that Gwyn was the brightest note in the spy sector [in 2017]. The notion that New Zealands spy agencies are behaving more democratically than in the past is ludicrous. In 2013, in response to revelations of illegal spying by the GCSB, the National Party government changed the law to greatly broaden the agencys powers, making mass surveillance of New Zealand citizens legal. The move provoked large protests throughout the country. In 2017, the National Party government, supported by the Labour Party, passed legislation that widened the powers of the SIS and the GCSB and allowed the two agencies to work more closely together. In response to Gwyns report, director-general of the SIS Rebecca Kitteridge stated that the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 explicitly confirmed NZSISs authority to access the [Customs and Immigration] databases. In other words, the SIS is now acting lawfully only because the law was changed, with bipartisan support, to legalise anti-democratic surveillance methods that were previously illegal. Far from being an independent watchdog, as the media and political establishment portrays her, Gwyn was appointed to her role in 2014 by the then-National Party government. Having spent some years in an anti-Marxist Pabloite group in the 1980s, Gwyn later pursued a career in the state apparatus, working as Deputy Solicitor-General during the 19992008 Labour government (see: The curious career of Cheryl Gwyn). Members of the Labour Party and its coalition partners the Greens and the right-wing populist New Zealand First attended rallies in 2013 and 2014, fraudulently presenting themselves as opponents of the National governments moves to broaden the GCSBs powers. Following the change of government in September 2017, however, the 2013 and 2017 legislation remains in place. The Labour government has stressed its commitment to the Five Eyes alliance with the US, and its readiness to support a US war against North Korea. It has given NZ First, a xenophobic anti-Asian party, the positions of Foreign Minister and Defence Minister. New Zealand troops remain posted in both Iraq and Afghanistan. A witch-hunt against Chinese influence is underway, driven by NZ First, the intelligence agencies and the media. NZ First leader and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has demanded an investigation into Chinese-born National Party MP Jian Yang, based on unsubstantiated claims that he is a Chinese Communist Party agent. The NATO-funded academic Anne-Marie Brady, widely promoted in the NZ media, has called for the SIS to be empowered to investigate anyone in business, politics and universities with links to China. The Wall Street Journal and the UK-based Financial Times reported last month that the GCSB and SIS had raised concerns about the supposed threat posed by China. The anti-China campaign, which parallels similar moves by the intelligence agencies in Australia, is aimed at aligning New Zealand with the already far-advanced war preparations by Washington against China and North Korea. At the same time, the strengthening of the GCSB and SIS, together with the recruitment of more police and military personnel, is aimed at establishing the framework of a police state. New Zealand is experiencing immense social inequality, poverty and homelessness; the Labour government is preparing to confront and suppress the opposition to war and austerity that will inevitably emerge in the working class. The author also recommends: Cross-party support for sweeping spy powers in New Zealand [26 August 2016] Snowden documents reveal New Zealands spying on China [14 March 2015] Ahead of election, Snowden reveals mass spying on New Zealanders [16 September 2014] A false report of an impending ballistic missile attack on Hawaii on Saturday sent more than one million people fleeing to shelter, with many believing they only had minutes to live before nuclear incineration. People sought refuge in highway tunnels, underground parking garages and basements, and even lowered their children into sewer manholes. There were harrowing conversations, as people made what they thought could be their final phone calls to loved ones. The alert, issued by the state of Hawaiis Emergency Management Agency, delivered a stark message to most cell phones throughout the island chain: Emergency Alert: BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. The alert was immediately rebroadcast by local television and radio stations under longstanding arrangements that place the media at the service of the military in the event of war. According to state officials, the alert was the result of an emergency worker pressing the wrong button during an exercise carried out regularly at every eight-hour shift change around the clock. The Trump administration downplayed the event as a state exercise that did not involve national military forces and the American media dismissed it as an accident. The supposed accident is under investigation and it is highly unlikely that the actual details will ever be made public. But what is known already raises critical political issues. If an emergency management technician pressed the wrong button, it is likely that he was dealing with new and unfamiliar equipment: the drill itself was put into practice only a few weeks ago. There have been feverish preparations by state officials for a possible nuclear missile strike on Hawaii as tensions have mounted between the Trump administration and North Korea. The state legislature last April called for the refurbishing of Cold War-era fallout shelters, and Hawaiis air raid sirens were tested last month for the first time in 70-plus years. Under other circumstances, the alert, which did not trigger emergency sirens, might have been immediately recognized as a mistake and shrugged off by the population. But not under todays conditions, following repeated threats by President Trump of fire and fury against North Korea and warnings that US territory, particularly the state of Hawaii, could be subjected to a North Korean nuclear attack. Only last week, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Admiral Michael Mullen, told a national television audience that the world was closer, in my view, to a nuclear war with North Korea and in that region than we have ever been. Trump himself taunted North Korean leader Kim Jong-un about the size of his nuclear button, boasting it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works! When they received the state alert, residents of Hawaii assumed that the war threatened by Trump had actually begun. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Hawaii event is the 38 minutes that passed between the initial alert, at 8:07 a.m. local time, and the official text message rescinding it. According to the chronology of the event released by state officials, the US Pacific Command, which is headquartered at Pearl Harbor, notified the state emergency service at 8:10 a.m., only three minutes after the alert was issued, that there was no missile launch. The emergency agency passed on that reassurance immediately to the Honolulu Police Department. The agency canceled the alert at 8:13 a.m. and posted a notice to that effect on its public Facebook and Twitter accounts at 8:20 a.m. But no text message was sent out until 8:45 a.m. to the more than one million people who received the initial alert. State officials have as yet given no reason for the delay. But one press account is suggestive. The Los Angeles Times, citing state emergency agency spokesman Richard Rapoza, wrote that it took 38 minutes to cancel the alert becausethe agency had to seek authorization from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to send out the all-clear and to use the civil alert system to send out the message that there had been a false alarm. This suggests that the federal government may have deliberately slowed down the rescinding of the alert, perhaps to use the occasion as a test of the public response to the potential disaster. Not examined in any of the press coverage is the global impact of the Hawaii alert. What was the response in Russia, China and North Korea to the announcementbroadcast around the worldthat a ballistic missile alert had been declared in an American state? Were there contacts between Washington, Beijing and Moscow? Were orders given to prepare for the anticipated American nuclear reprisal against Pyongyang? Were the nuclear forces of these countries readied for immediate action? There are other questions. If such a mistake had taken place in the military command, rather than in the civilian emergency management agency, how long before US missiles would have been fired at North Korea in retaliation for the supposed attack on American soil? If a similar incident took place in Russia or North Korea, what would the US response be to such an alert? The events in Hawaii show what the opening minutes of a nuclear war would look like. Despite all the bluster of the White House, the Pentagon and the media, the news that missiles were on the way would lead immediately to panic and a general breakdown of society. A country whose infrastructure cannot handle a snowstorm would hardly be able to cope with a nuclear attack. Above all, the 38 minutes of terror in Hawaii prove that the danger of nuclear war is real and increasing. This danger is not merely the byproduct of the personal recklessness and chauvinistic militarism of President Trump. If Hillary Clinton had been elected in 2016, the location of the military crisis might be differentSyria or Ukraine perhaps, rather than North Koreabut the drive by US imperialism to offset its long-term economic and strategic decline by resort to military force would remain. It was President Obama who approved the ongoing $1.3 trillion refurbishing of the US nuclear weapons arsenal, the most fearsome in the world. And the Democratic Party, focusing all its efforts on the anti-Russian campaign, is working to create the political climate for a US military clash with Moscow that would put a nuclear war immediately on the agenda. January 13 in Hawaii is a major turning point. Whatever the assurances issued by the White House, or the media propaganda, people all over the world will see the question of war in a very different way. The urgent necessity is the building of a mass antiwar movement of the international working class, based on the understanding that the driving force of the war danger is the global crisis of capitalism. Only the abolition of the profit system and the establishment of a socialist society on a world scale can prevent a nuclear catastrophe. On Sunday, thousands marched in Tunis to mark the anniversary of the toppling of President Zine El Abedine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011. That event began the so-called Arab spring, as only 11 days later a revolutionary movement of the working class erupted in Egypt and toppled another imperialist-backed dictator, Hosni Mubarak. Seven years later, the Arab bourgeoisie has proven incapable of resolving any of the issues that drove workers to rise up in Tunisia and in Egypt. The Middle Eastern bourgeoisie and its imperialist backers are still consumed by fear of social revolution. Yesterdays march came after worker protests in Iran and a week of insurrectionary clashes of working-class youth with police, beginning in the old mining belt of southern Tunisia, where the 2011 uprising began. The new wave of protests was prompted by anger over mass unemployment, corruption and the 2018 finance law. The Tunisian regime responded by sending in the army and jailing 800 people in an effort to crush the movement and ensure that yesterdays anniversary not lead to a new insurrection. The official march took place under conditions of a police lockdown. It included the pro-government General Union of Tunisian Labor (UGTT) trade union, a key ally of the ruling Nidaa Tounes party, the new name of Ben Alis Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD). Only a few thousand people attended the marchfar fewer than the numbers of youth who have clashed with police in southern Tunisia and in Tunis since the beginning of the year. Nonetheless, as France24 reported, even the high security of an event heavily monitored by police could not hide the rising social anger in Tunisia since the beginning of the year. The report continued: Seven years after the departure of Ben Ali, who now lives in Saudi Arabia, many Tunisians say they have won liberties but lost living standards. Among the marchers, more radical slogans rapidly emerged: Government, resign, The people want to bury the finance law, and The country is rising up while the government celebrates the revolution The revolutionary uprising in Tunisia in 2011 vindicated the Trotskyist revolutionary perspective advanced by the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). Followed quickly by the even larger uprising in Egypt, it made clear that the Stalinist bureaucracys restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union had not ended the era of world socialist revolution inaugurated by the October 1917 revolution. Through an international wave of strikes and insurrectionary struggles, the working class showed that it remains the main revolutionary force in capitalist society. The 2011 struggle in Tunisia began amid outrage over unemployment and official corruption when Mohamed Bouazizi, a graduate forced to work as a vegetable vendor, burned himself to death after an official confiscated his vegetable cart. The movement was fueled by the emergence of WikiLeaks and its publication of leaked State Department dispatches, including on Tunisia. These showed that US diplomats who in public praised Ben Ali privately dismissed his regime as totally corrupt. Despite relentless and predictable efforts by Nidaa Tounes and its supporters to present the revolution as a dead end, based on their own record of economic stagnation and repression since 2011, there is rising opposition. Even in the media, the question is being raised of whether a new 2011 could take place. Mohamed Ali, a worker at a tire factory that was privatized for a token price, told reporters at the Tunis protest yesterday: My problem is not the revolution, it is the government. Feres, a high school student in the working class Ettadhamen district of Tunis known as the heart of the revolution, described his anger over trying to speak to President Beji Caid Essebsi, a longtime member of Ben Alis party, when Essebsi visited Ettadhamen. He said, We tried to talk to him and the policemen insulted us. Tunisia is our country, but this is not our government. We lie here in poverty and they despise us. What is being prepared, in Tunisia and internationally, is a new upsurge of the working class directed against not an individual dictator like Ben Ali or Mubarak, but the capitalist system as a whole. As the International Crisis Groups Michael Ayari told Middle East Eye, The popular proverb saying Ben Ali left but the forty thieves stayed is true If before, the mafia was clearly identified in peoples minds with the Trabelsi clan [i.e., Ben Alis family], now it is the state in its entirety that is considered a criminal entity. The political crisis in Tunisia raises with particular sharpness the fundamental problem facing the working class internationally: the building of a revolutionary leadership. The seven years since the 2011 uprising have conclusively demonstrated the bankruptcy of not only the ruling class, but also the organizations that dominated what passed for the left in Tunisia. They are on the other side of the barricades from the working class. Promoting a national perspective, rooted in affluent sections of the middle class and Tunisias pro-government trade union bureaucracy, they blocked any attempt by the workers to seize power in 2011. They tied workers to the perspective of waiting for deals negotiated between the Tunisian state, the international banks and the imperialist powers as they waged war in Libya, Syria and Mali. They adapted to the return to power in 2014 of Ben Alis cronies in Nidaa Tounes, which since 2015 has ruled in coalition with the Islamist Nahda party. In short, they drove the working class and the revolution into a dead end. Now, amid a new upsurge, they do not want a revolution and the taking of power by the working class. They want, at most, to tinker with the existing regimes policies. Addressing the official march in Tunis, Hamma Hammami, the leader of the petty-bourgeois Popular Front coalition, said: We will keep putting pressure on the government until it revises the new finance law that makes the poor poorer and the rich richer. As for the UGTT, which denounced workers fighting Essebsis police as dubious and raiders of state property, it made very clear yesterday to Le Monde, the most prominent press organ of France, the former colonial power in Tunisia, that it supports Essebsis budget talks with the International Monetary Fund. Le Monde rejoiced that the Tunisian government has been able to rely until now on the support of the UGTT, with which it has established a fruitful working relationship. This fruitful working relationship has consisted of talks carried out behind closed doors with the personnel of the international banks and the old Ben Ali regime. An unidentified UGTT official told Le Monde that Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed has enjoyed our tacit support. He continued, Chaheds opponents are trying to destabilize the government. But we are very attached to the current political stability. The UGTT official cited to Le Monde the lowering of the number of strikes before the latest outbreak of struggles in Tunisia as proof of the UGTTs good will, i.e., the unions resolve to strangle working-class opposition to the Essebsi regime. Le Monde wrote that the UGTT might call some strikes, but only to keep working-class opposition from escaping its control: The UGTT will probably take up arms in the coming days on the social front, but only so as to better oversee it. As often in the history of contemporary Tunisia, the UGTTs zigzags can prove to be decisive ... Such comments reflect hopes in ruling circles that Essebsis crackdown and promises Saturday to boost social spending will be enough to end last weeks protests. Social Affairs Minister Mohamed Trabelsi announced a hike to the welfare budget of 100 millions dinars ($40.2 million), with aid to poor families rising from 150 dinars (50 euros) to 180-210 dinars (60-70 euros) per month. With the monthly minimum wage of 326 dinars (111 euros) covering just two weeks shopping for a family of four, however, the proposed 30-to-60-dinar increase is a pittance that will solve nothing. As all the other avenues are exhausted, the working class, in Tunisia and internationally, is being left with no choice other than to build a revolutionary leadership and mount a direct struggle for power. As the ICFI explained in its statement in 2011 on the outbreak of the Tunisian events, The only viable program for the working class and oppressed masses of Tunisia and the entire Maghreb and Middle East is the program advanced by the International Committee of the Fourth International of socialist revolution We call on all those who seek to put an end to dictatorship and exploitation in Tunisia and the entire region to take up the fight to build sections of the International Committee of the Fourth International. The authors also recommend: The mass uprising in Tunisia and the perspective of permanent revolution [17 January 2011] Journalist Nick Turse, who has reported extensively on US military operations in Africa, was recently told that he has been deemed not a legitimate journalist by AFRICOM, the US military command which oversees operations across the continent. The move is of a piece with the US governments drive to silence critical reporting by alternative news outlets and comes amid the global effort to censor oppositional and alternative viewpoints on the Internet. Turse explained in an article published by the Intercept on Saturday that AFRICOM officials began stonewalling his queries after he authored an article in July which documented torture by US-trained Cameroonian forces at a US base in Salak, Cameroon. For several years, the Pentagon has been perturbed by Turses reporting, which has exposed the vast spectrum of United States military operations across Africa, most of which it wishes to keep shrouded in secrecy. Turse related a telephone conversation in October with Lt. Commander Anthony Falvo, the head of AFRICOMs public relations office, in which Falvo told him, Nick, were not going to respond to any of your questions ... We just dont feel that we need to. When asked by Turse if Falvo believed AFRICOM did not need to address questions from the press in general, or just Turse himself, Falvo stated abruptly, No, just you. We dont consider you a legitimate journalist, really. Falvo then hung up on Turse. Turse noted several attempts by AFRICOM to stonewall his queries into US military operations on the continent in the weeks following his phone call with Falvo. During the course of his investigation into torture by US-trained Cameroonian forces, he stated that AFRICOM essentially ignored his emails and telephone calls. Around 10 days before his call with Falvo and after several fruitless phone calls to AFRICOM by Turse to verify details in his July article published by the Intercept, Cameroonian troops tortured and killed prisoners at base used for US drone surveillance, his call was finally taken by AFRICOM spokesperson Robyn Mack, who told Turse to proceed with his questions. Bizarrely, Turse says that while in the middle of giving her his list of queries, Mack interrupted, Hello, hello, Nick are you there? Hello? as if the two had a faulty connection. Turse replied several times that he was still on the line, but after several moments, Mack hung up. After several attempts to call back went unanswered, finally someone picked up the line. When Turse asked to speak to Mack, he was told that she went out for lunch, along with everyone in the office. On November 15, several days after the first phone call, Robyn Mack answered, but when Turse identified himself, Mack again hung up. Turses exposures have shed light on the Pentagons vast array of secret military bases and its operations across the African continent. In the course of several year of reporting Turse has sought to exhaustively document the extent of Washingtons criminal drive to re-colonize Africa. Since October, when four Green Berets were killed in an ambush in Niger, exposing the extent and scale of the US military offensive in West Africa, AFRICOM and its offensive operations across the continent have come under greater scrutiny. With the blacklisting of a journalist who has exposed its criminal operations, the United States military is attempting to control the flow of information to those media outlets who toe the official line, such as the New York Times, Washington Post, and other such officially approved media organs which make up the corporate press on which the ruling class can depend. The antidemocratic attempt by the US government to establish genuine journalism coincides with Washingtons drive to censor the Internet in coordination with the big tech companies, including Google, Facebook and Twitter. The attempt to smear Turse as an illegitimate journalist comes after Googles introduction last April of a new search engine algorithm which resulted in a decline in search results leading to sites with political views which are critical of the right-wing reaction coming out of Washington. Various left-leaning and anti-war websites have seen a drastic decline in incoming traffic from Google, with the World Socialist Web Site suffering the most with a 75 percent decline in incoming searches. The Intercept has also experienced a noticeable decline in traffic generated by Google searches. The attack on the democratic right of the American population to freedom of the press and access to information online should be taken within the broader context of the campaigns conducted against former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and journalist Julian Assange of Wikileaks, who have been condemned and pursued as criminals by Washington for exposing the crimes of US imperialism. 25 Years Ago | 50 Years Ago | 75 Years Ago | 100 Years Ago 25 years ago: Bill Clinton sworn in as 42nd US president On January 20, 1993, Democrat Bill Clinton was sworn in as the 42nd American president, following his victory in November 1992 over incumbent Republican George H. W. Bush and Reform Party candidate H. Ross Perot, a Texas technology billionaire. Clinton ran on campaign slogans of Its Time to Change America and putting people first, and, indeed, the 37.5 percent of the vote won by Bushthe lowest percentage of the vote by a sitting president since William Howard Taft in 1912represented a massive popular repudiation of the 12 years of class warfare spearheaded by the Reagan-Bush administrations. But Clinton had no intention of returning to the reform policies of Roosevelts New Deal or Johnsons Great Society. A founding figure of the right-wing Democratic Leadership Council, Clintons aim was to adapt the Democratic Party to the policies of austerity and war put forth by the Republicans. No sooner had he won the general election, than Clinton and those pegged for top cabinet positions, including Lloyd Bentsen (Treasury Secretary) and Leon Panetta (Budget Director) began to speak of sacrifice and tough choices involving cuts to welfare, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. In his inaugural speech, Clinton warned that working class Americans could no longer expect something for nothing. A former Vietnam War protester, Clinton solidarized himself with the genocidal sanctions regime and bombing campaign against Iraq, where the US-engineered Gulf War of 1990-1991 had already killed tens of thousands of Iraqis. The day before Clintons inauguration, Bush ordered some 45 Tomahawk cruise missile strikes on the largely defenseless country, allegedly targeting weapons of mass destruction, but in fact crippling Iraqs remaining industrial production at the Zaafaraniya complex near Baghdad. In interviews before his inauguration Clinton said he stood with such attacks on Iraq four square and warned that US military action against Yugoslavia was imminent. [top] 50 years ago: Britain to withdraw from east of Suez On January 16, 1968, Britain announced plans to withdraw all its military forces stationed east of the Suez Canal by the end of 1972. The proposal to drastically scale back British imperialisms international role was made by Labour Party Prime Minister Harold Wilson in a speech before the House of Commons. Wilson called for an end to the British military presence in the Persian Gulf and the closing of its bases in Singapore. Only a small garrison would be retained for the policing of Hong Kong. In a further effort to reduce military spending, Wilson called for the cancellation of a $1 billion contract to purchase 50 F-111 fighters from the United States. British imperialisms withdrawal from its former colonial outposts was a desperate move to reduce the budget deficit and shore up its crisis-wracked economy. Our purpose is to make devaluation work, Wilson told parliament. In November, Wilson had been forced to devalue the pound after a run on the British currency in the world market. In a statement endorsing the pullback, Wilsons finance minister termed the state of the economy very serious. The financial crisis was the driving force for new attacks on the British working class. The military cuts were part of a package containing the imposition of fees on prescription drugs and a delay in plans to extend compulsory school attendance. One member of Wilson's cabinet resigned in protest over the domestic cuts. Conservative Party leader Edward Heath denounced the troop pullback as dishonorable. Responding to those who favored maintaining Britains colonial role, Wilson declared, Because of our history this is a most difficult fact for Britain to accept about itself ... but there is no greater recipe for disaster than a persistent refusal to face unwelcome facts. [top] 75 years ago: Soviets establish land corridor to the besieged city of Leningrad On January 18, 1943, as part of an offensive against the German military, the Red Armys 372nd Rifle Division and 123rd Rifle Brigade established a land corridor that would provide some relief to the starving population of Leningrad. Coming just two weeks before the Red Armys final victory at Stalingrad, which signified the beginning of the end of the Nazi Reich, the establishment of the land corridor marked a first major breakthrough in the fight against the Nazi siege of Leningrad. However, it would take one more year for the Soviet forces to finally end the longest siege of a major city in modern history. The German Wehrmacht had encircled Leningrad since the fall of 1941. Adolf Hitler viewed the city of the 1917 working class revolution with particular hatred and had ordered it razed to the ground after capture. As part of the Nazi plan to murder some 30 million Soviet citizens, the Leningrad population was subjected to systematic starvation. By early 1943, more than 400,000 people had already succumbed to starvation. Bombing raids on civilian and industrial targets claimed additional thousands of lives. Utilities, water, energy and food supplies were severely disrupted. When Leningrad was finally liberated on January 27, 1944, after 872 days of siege, a third of its pre-war population of 3 million had been killed, and one million Red Army soldiers had fallen defending the city. [top] 100 years ago: Bolsheviks dissolve Constituent Assembly in Russia On January 19, the Russian Constituent Assembly, elected the previous November 25, convened in Petrograd. It was dissolved the same day by order of the Bolshevik-dominated Soviet Central Executive Committee. In the period leading up to the October Revolution, the popular demand for the convocation of a Constituent Assembly was raised in opposition to the Kerensky government, including by the Bolshevik Party. However, after the October Revolution, leading Bolsheviks regarded this demand as moot or worse, a step backwards from Soviet power, which expressed the democratic will of the oppressed masses for a dictatorship of the proletariat under conditions of civil war. Owing to electoral lists drawn up before the October Revolution and prior to the split between Right and Left SRs, the conservatives, nationalists, and reactionaries enjoyed an exaggerated weight in the Constituent Assembly. Meanwhile, the Kadets, right-wing Socialist Revolutionaries, and other anti-Bolshevik forces rallied around the demand for all national power to vest in the Constituent Assembly, a demand the Bolshevik leaders rightly interpreted as a direct challenge to Soviet power. It is obvious that under such circumstances the remaining part of the Constituent Assembly could only serve as a screen for the struggle of the counter-revolutionaries to overthrow Soviet power, Lenin wrote in a decree drafted on January 19 and published in Pravda on January 20. Accordingly, the Central Executive Committee resolves that the Constituent Assembly is hereby dissolved. Soviet troops permitted the Constituent Assembly to convene in Petrograd for one daylong enough for the deputies to elect Right SR Victor Chernov as Chairmanand then locked the doors to the building after the deputies left. The outraged deputies called for an insurrection against Soviet authority, but no mass uprising materialized. Trotsky later commented: [The deputies] brought candles with them in case the Bolsheviks cut off the electric light and a vast number of sandwiches in case their food be taken from them. Thus democracy entered upon the struggle with dictatorship heavily armed with sandwiches and candles. The people did not give a thought to supporting those who considered themselves their elect and who in reality were only shadows of a period of the revolution that was already passed. [top] With a 101 billion ($US 137 billion) budget in the National Health Service (NHS) in England alone, private companies have found a gold mine to plunder with the blessings of the Tory government. A recent report by the campaign group NHS Support Federation brings to light the aggressive involvement of the private companies in winning contracts previously run by in-house NHS providers. Private, for-profit companies won more than 3.1 billion worth of contracts in the last financial year, 2016-2017, with Virgin Carerun by billionaire business mogul Richard Bransonbecoming the main beneficiary. Over the last four years, the Federation has compiled and analysed publicly available data on how the contracts were awarded. The Federation states, Virgin Care is now the dominant private provider in the NHS marketwinning a third of the total value of contracts won by non-NHS providers over the last year. The number of services the company provides to the NHS has risen from 230 to 400 over last 12 months, according to its website. Virgin Care is a subsidiary of Virgin Group holdings Ltd, which is based in the British Virgin Islands tax haven. The company is aggressively fighting to establish a foothold in NHS-run services, although it claims it has made losses over the last several years and paid no tax in the UK. Care UK reaped the second-largest share of the contracts last year, worth 596.3 million. Private companies are exploiting the favourable conditions created for this plunder under the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, brought in by their political flunkeys in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government. This Act made it mandatory for Clinical Commissioners to put services out to competitive tender if they could potentially be provided by organisations other than the NHS. The Department of Health and its think tanks are downplaying the private sectors involvement in the NHS, in an attempt to conceal the fact that the profit motives of these companies undermine patient care and safety. But facts stand against their worthless platitudes. Since the act came into force, around 25 billion NHS contracts have been awarded through market tendering. While private companies are making severe inroads into the publicly run services, the NHS is losing ground and being deliberately placed in an unfavourable shape to compete for contracts. The NHS has had the lowest ever funding increases over the last seven years and the Tory-led governments have cut tens of billions of pounds worth of efficiency savings at the expense of NHS workers and patient safety. Debt-ridden NHS trusts are losing services previously provided by them to private companies and then losing government funds as a result. The Federation points out, The number of high value clinical contracts that have been advertised, worth over 100 million pounds each, has almost doubled in the last year, rising from 11 to 20, of which eight were won by the private sector. Over the last year, 7.1 billion worth of NHS clinical contracts were awarded through the market tendering process and the NHS has only been able to win slightly over a third of these. For-profit companies have won the lions share with 43 percent, while not-for-profit private companiesincluding charitieshave won 21 percent. This means private firms have scooped up two-thirds of clinical contracts that were opened up for tender in England during 2016-17. Profit-motivated companies have been able to increase their share of awarded contracts from 34 percent in 2015/2016 to 43 percent in 2016/2017. The Federation warns that if this competition framework remains in place, the private sector would win a further 10 billion of NHS clinical contracts over the next three years. By running down community-based NHS services across the country, the Tories have opened up new avenues for private companies to cherry pick lucrative areas. The report notes that companies are turning their attention to new opportunities offered by the intention to treat more patients in the community and less in hospital, an NHS wide policy. Government and their media apologists hailed this policy as a game changer in providing care under financial pressures and demand intensified by an increasingly aging population. They proclaim that the aim of this policy is to provide care closer to home. This became the key phrase in many Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) drawn up by Clinical Commissioning Groups across the country. To achieve it, however, many STPs proposed shutting down community hospitals and downsizing or closing maternity units, childrens units and functioning Accident and Emergency units. Over the last three years, the Federation notes the types of services being tendered has shifted almost entirely towards those that are delivered in community settings, outside of hospitals. Hospital-based care contracts accounted for 40 percent of the value of those clinical services put up for tender three years ago. Services delivered in hospital now account for less than 10 percent of the value of tenders, with the vast majority being contracts delivered in the community. Those community contractsincluding out of hours GP care, community nursing, public health and childrens health serviceall are up for grabs. The Federation draws evidence from a catalogue of failures in the NHS market during 2012 to 2017. It provides a clear picture of how private companies abandoned their obligations to provide care and walked away from their contracts without any accountability as soon as they found the contract were not profitable. The NHS then had to step in to pick up the pieces. This was the case with Hinchingbrooke Hospital, which became the first hospital to be run under private company, Circle. In 2012 Circle ended its 10-year contract after two years amidst damning reports from the Care Quality Commission, but mainly because it did not make enough profit. However, the same company which failed to provide care in Hinchingbrooke is now investing in intermediate care and intending to offer care beds outside hospital to look after NHS patients that hospitals want to discharge. The NHS Support Federation uses its report to appeal to the government to end the NHS market experiment, as if the profit motives of the capitalist class are amenable to such pleas. Its director, Paul Evans urges the government to repeal its competition legislation and focus on building an adequate level of publicly-provided NHS services. Any fight to defend the NHS today can only be taken forward through a socialist programme. The right to free, high quality and universal health care can only be achieved through a socialist strategy which places the interests of patients and health workers before the insatiable profit drive of the financial and corporate elite. The Socialist Equality Party and the NHS Fightback campaign are fighting for such a strategy. For further information visit NHS FightBack and the NHS FightBack Facebook page. Kodak launched its own cryptocurrency -- KODAKCoin -- and saw its stock pop up 125%. We're seriously thinking about developing a 5ThingsCoin. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get "5 Things You Need to Know Today" delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.) 1. Immigration DACA is alive -- for now. A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects from deportation about 700,000 young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. President Trump had said he would end the program in March unless Congress came up with a fix. So, how will this affect the negotiations going on in Washington about DACA and immigration? Trump's televised and nearly hour-long meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the subject, while fascinating, didn't exactly produce any clarity on the issue, partially because the President kept contradicting himself. This much we know: Democrats would rather only deal with DACA, but Republicans want some concessions on border security first. Having a hard time keeping track of all this? (Go ahead and raise your hand, because that's all of us.) Here are five immigration-related storylines you should be paying attention to. 2. Gerrymandering North Carolina must redraw its congressional map in just three weeks, because federal judges say the map is unconstitutionally partisan. This is important because it's the first time a federal court has ruled on partisan gerrymandering. Republicans control the General Assembly in the state, thus they can draw the map, but Democrats said the map was tilted too far in the GOP's favor. The three-week timeline is in place so that a new map can be OK'd in time for the 2018 midterm elections. Republicans plan to appeal. 3. Russia investigation Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, hit both Fusion GPS, which produced the Russia dossier, and Buzzfeed, which released it, with lawsuits, saying its allegations about him are wrong. Cohen, who is named in the dossier, said BuzzFeed defamed him when it published the 35-page document and an article. He says Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson, its founder, defamed him after it hired an ex-British spy to compile the document as part of its opposition research against the Trump campaign. Meanwhile, Simpson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the author of the dossier was acting on his own when he went to the FBI because he was concerned that a presidential candidate was being blackmailed, according to the 312-page transcript of his testimony. 4. California mudslides At least 13 people are dead after rivers of mud and debris tore through parts of Southern California. Many of the places hit are still struggling to recover from recent wildfires. A lot of the deaths were in the coastal community of Montecito. Mudslides destroyed homes there and closed a major freeway for hours. The area -- littered with mud, rocks, downed power lines, trees and wrecked cars -- "looked like a World War I battlefield," said Santa Barbara County's sheriff. Authorities rescued at least 50 people in Montecito alone, and at least two dozen people are missing. 5. Caribbean earthquake A strong earthquake rocked the Caribbean Sea, and now, the region is bracing for tsunamis. The magnitude-7.6 quake struck 27 miles off the coast of Honduras. Tsunami waves are possible for the coasts of Belize, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. "Check on your family members that live close to the sea," a man says in a social media video filmed near the shore in Belize City. QUOTES OF THE DAY "I finally had the courage to lock my door at night and sit by it. All damn night." Actress Bella Thorne, revealing on Instagram she was a victim of sexual abuse as a child. Her post was met with an outpouring of love and support from her fans. "Everyone seems stunned." A Breitbart employee, talking about Steve Bannon stepping down from the far-right website. BREAKFAST BROWSE People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. That's a lot of deliveries Talk about bragging rights. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $105.1 billion, is the richest person -- in history. Numbers game Hulu crowed about its growing subscriber base, now up to 17 million. Netflix, with 85 million subscribers, smiled and said that's real cute. Lost in space Remember Zuma, the supersecret spacecraft that SpaceX launched? Well, it failed to reach a stable orbit and is feared lost. Welcome to Westeros Send a raven. A "Game of Thrones" ice hotel just opened up in Finland. Saharan snow It snowed in one of the hottest places on Earth -- the Sahara desert -- and it was straight-up awesome. AND FINALLY ... 'Hey, let's scare the crap out of Dad' Two mischevious boys leave a special surprise for dear old dad in the leaf pile. (Click to view.) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani mocked Donald Trump for failing to kill off the Iran nuclear deal despite the US leader's 2016 election promise to do so. Trump signed off on a waiver Friday to keep several sanctions on Iran suspended, essentially keeping the nuclear deal in effect. The US President must sign such waivers every few months under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement brokered in 2015 that obliges Iran to restrict its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions. Despite keeping the deal intact, Trump stirred ire in Tehran on Friday by announcing fresh separate sanctions on 14 Iranian individuals and entities at the same time. Among them was the head of Iran's judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani. "It's been one year since Trump has been trying to kill JCPOA and hasn't been successful. This means victory of law over dictatorship," Rouhani said Sunday, slamming the US for what he said were its attempts at "self-aggrandizing." State news agency IRNA reported him saying that Iran had proved it was right "and our enemies were wrong." "I am very happy to see that the White House has failed to disrupt international obligations, break loyalty and stand against the resolution of the United Nations Security Council which was the outcome of an agreement among seven countries," he said. Rouhani's remarks were the latest in a tit-for-tat exchange between Trump and Iranian officials over the deal, as well as anti-government protests that took place across the country recently. Trump openly supported the protesters, who staged the biggest challenge to the Iranian regime since 2009. The US State Department also openly encouraged Iranians to protest. Many of the new US sanctions on Iran were in response to the government's crackdown on the largely peaceful protests. Others were linked to support for the country's ballistic missile program, which falls outside the scope of the nuclear deal. In a bizarre kicker in the waiver announcement, the US indicated it hoped to rewrite much of the nuclear agreement and to get its European allies, who wholly back the deal as it is, to do the bargaining for it. European foreign ministers on Thursday urged Trump to sign the waiver and support the deal. The 2015 agreement was brokered by the Obama administration, along with the UK, Russia, France, Germany and China. Trump under pressure Iran on Saturday warned of a "severe" response to the new sanctions. Iran's Foreign Ministry said the Trump administration's "hostile and illegal act" in targeting Larijani "has gone way beyond all internationally accepted behavior red lines." Trump -- who during the election campaign described the Iran pact as "the worst deal ever" -- is under pressure to make good on more of his pre-election promises. But he is also under immense pressure by European powers who helped brokered the deal to preserve it. According to US officials who spoke to CNN, Trump's own senior security advisers also urged the President to sign off on the waivers and not to kill off the agreement. The new US sanctions on Iran are a way for Trump to keep pressure on Iran without jeopardizing the nuclear deal. They are also the first concrete international response to the Iranian government's treatment of protesters. Roughly 3,700 people were arrested during the rallies, one of the country's lawmakers said Tuesday. Other Iranian authorities had previously said 450 people were detained. A 22-year-old protester, Sina Ghanbari, died in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison in police custody, state-controlled Aftab News reported last week. Under increased scrutiny, Tehran on Saturday lifted restrictions on Telegram, acknowledging that the social networking app had been "filtered" during the protests, state media reported. A member of Qatar's royal family said Sunday he is being held against his will in the United Arab Emirates, a claim disputed by the UAE government, which said he is free to move as he pleases. Qatari Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani, the brother of Qatar's former ruler, said in a video on Twitter that he is "in a state of captivity" in Abu Dhabi. "They told me do not leave. I am worried that I am to be accused of something. I just want to inform you that if anything happened to me, Qatar is innocent and I am under the hospitality of Sheikh Mohammed and if anything were to happen to me, then it's on him," Al Thani said, referring to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. Al Thani did not say where in Abu Dhabi he is. The state-run UAE news agency WAM quoted a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying Al Thani has had "unrestrained mobility and freedom of movement" during his stay. "Subsequently Sheikh Abdullah had expressed his desire to leave the UAE, following which all measures were taken to honor his desire without any reservations," the news agency reported. Qatar's government is observing the situation closely, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Lulwa al-Khater told the state-run Qatar News Agency. The UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, cut diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar last year. They accused Qatar of funding terrorism, a charge it denies. Gulf neighbors have also criticized Qatar for an increasingly close relationship with Iran. The source who spoke to the WAM news agency called Al Thani's statement a "fabrication of facts, which is symptomatic of the general trend in which the state of Qatar continues to fabricate lies and half-truths." Al Thani is seen by Gulf countries as having supported the Saudi and UAE positions toward Qatar. In October, Al Thani tweeted that Qatari authorities had frozen his assets and funds. He also wrote that he hoped Qatar would "expel opportunists and friends of interests and return to the Gulf embrace." Also in October, Saudi state media reported Al Thani visited Saudi Arabia and met with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and that he called on Qatari officials to meet to discuss the rift. An advocacy group seeking to raise the smoking age from 18 to 21 is back at the Statehouse this year. Tobacco 21 introduced legislation last year, but the bill failed to make it out of committee. "We know that 95 percent of adult smokers start smoking before age 21," Corey Surber, St. Alphonsus Director of Advocacy, said. "We're spending about $508 million a year in tobacco-related illness costs, and that comes down to about $640 for every household in Idaho. It's a significant cost in terms of lives and financially to the state." The advocates say much of the pushback they receive is from tobacco and e-cigarette retailers. "We didn't hear from legislators concern about decrease in tobacco tax revenue... it's more around the freedom issues or whether the government should intervene in telling people what to do," Surber said. "We think the proper role of government is to protect the health and safety of Idahoans." As for e-cigarettes and vapes, Dr. Jennifer Shalz says allowing teens and young people access to these products doesn't keep them from smoking in the future. "Research has not supported that it's that effective to get people to stop smoking and, as it turns out, the only people who are just using e-cigarettes are the adolescents," Shalz said. Shalz says it comes down to nicotine dependence. "They'll start vaping first and they'll move on to cigarettes," Shalz said. "That's the hope of the tobacco companies. They are they replacement smokers. They are replacing the people who are smokers who died." Five states, including Oregon, have passed legislation raising the smoking age to 21. Sen. Fred Martin, R-Boise, will introduce the legislation in the Senate State Affairs Committee this session. South Africa will issue a diplomatic protest to the United States Monday over US President Donald Trump's "shithole countries" comments, according to its foreign ministry. During an Oval Office meeting on immigration Thursday, Trump expressed frustration with people coming to the United States from countries in Africa and elsewhere, sources told CNN. Trump on Friday denied describing certain nations in such vulgar terms, tweeting: "The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used." He also defended himself Sunday night, telling reporters he is "not a racist." South Africa's government will formally protest to the US Embassy in Pretoria on Monday, the Department of International Relations announced in a statement released to media on Sunday. "The Department will provide an opportunity to the Charges de Affaires to explain the statement that African countries, alongside Haiti and El Salvador, constitute 'shitholes' from where migrants into the United States are undesirable," it said. The statement goes on to say that the government noted President Trump's denial that this exact language was used but said it "has noted further that President Trump's denial was not categorical, referring only to Haiti and not addressing the entirety of the statement attributed to him." "South Africa aligns itself with the statements issued by the African Union and the Africa group of Ambassadors to the United Nations in New York. Africa is united in its affirmation of the dignity of the people of Africa and the African diaspora. "Relations between South Africa and the United States, and between the rest of Africa and the United States, must be based on mutual respect and understanding," the statement concluded. 'Infuriation, disappointment and outrage' The African Union, a group representing the continent's countries, and African ambassadors to the United Nations, Friday sharply denounced Trump's reference to African nations as "shitholes" and called on him to retract his statement and apologize. "The African Union Mission wishes to express its infuriation, disappointment and outrage over the unfortunate comment made by Mr. Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, which remarks dishonor the celebrated American creed and respect for diversity and human dignity," the African Union mission to the United States said in a blistering statement. Condemning the comments "in the strongest terms," the AU demanded "a retraction of the comment as well as an apology, not only to the Africans, but to all people of African descent around the globe." African UN envoys issued a statement saying their group is "extremely appalled at, and strongly condemns the outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks attributed to the President of the United States of America." The envoys released a joint statement Friday after an emergency meeting was held to address the issue. The group "is concerned at the continuing and growing trend from the US administration towards Africa and people of African descent to denigrate the continent and people of color," it said. 'Sounds like fake news' Other governments in Africa have also responded angrily. The government of Botswana said it had summoned the US ambassador to the southern African nation to "express its displeasure" over Trump's reported comments, which it views as "highly irresponsible, reprehensible and racist." The government said it had also asked the United States to "clarify if Botswana is regarded as a 'shithole' country." "I am shocked by the words of President Trump on Haiti and Africa," Senegalese President Macky Sall said in an official tweet. "I reject them and condemn vigorously. Africa and the black race deserve the respect and consideration of all." A senior official from Somalia, also on the US list of TPS nations, told CNN that Trump's comments were unworthy of a response. "It sounds like fake news to me," Somali Information Minister Abdirahman Omar Osman said by phone from Mogadishu. "If it's real, it doesn't need a response. Those comments do not deserve a response." Newsmakers and ordinary citizens have also reacted on social media. South Africa's best known morning-news anchor Leanne Manas tweeted Friday "Good morning from the greatest most beautiful 'shithole country' in the world!!!" Troops allied with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad are determined to "end the presence of the US" in the country, Syria's state-run news agency, SANA, said Monday, citing an official at the regime's Foreign Ministry. The official told SANA that the Assad-aligned Syrian Arab Army would thwart the "conspiracy, end the presence of the US, its agents and tools in Syria, establish full control over the entire Syrian territory and preserve the country's sovereignty." The US maintains some 2,000 troops in Syria The statement comes after the US-led coalition fighting ISIS announced plans to boost border security in the region The US maintains some 2,000 troops in Syria and has said its forces will continue to back local anti-ISIS forces there until the extremist group is defeated and the area is stabilized. The Syrian statement comes after the US-led coalition fighting ISIS announced plans Sunday to boost border security in the region, a move that Syrian and Turkish officials have said would destabilize the region. "The Coalition is working jointly with the Syrian Democratic Forces to establish and train the new Syrian Border Security Force (BSF). Currently, there are approximately 230 individuals training in the BSF's inaugural class, with the goal of a final force size of approximately 30,000," a spokesman for the US-led coalition, US Army Col. Ryan Dillon, told CNN in a statement. The over 50,000-strong Syrian Democratic Forces are a mix of Kurdish and Arab fighters and have been the primary US-backed force fighting ISIS in Syria. The Syrian official said the US decision "came within the framework of its destructive policies which aim at fragmenting the region, fueling tensions and conflicts and hindering solutions to its crises." "The Ministry considered any Syrian citizen who takes part in the US-backed militia as a traitor to the Syrian state and people and will be treated as one, adding that these militias will hinder reaching a political solution to the situation in Syria," SANA reported. Also on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States of "building an army of terror" on Turkey's border with Syria, state-run Anadolu reported. Both Damascus and Ankara oppose the coalition's proposed border force because they view such trappings of statehood as helping to solidify the Syrian Democratic Forces' hold on the vast tracts of territory it has captured from ISIS east of the Euphrates river. The coalition has stressed that the border force training is focused solely on security and not on other border activities like customs or immigration. "This force is designed to establish security that supports the lasting defeat of ISIS, prevent the conditions under which it can re-emerge and restrict the flow of foreign terrorist fighters into Iraq, Turkey and Europe," Dillon told CNN on Monday. The US has clashed with regime troops in the past, carrying out airstrikes against forces that were seen to pose a threat to a US base and shooting down a Syrian jet in June after it bombed Syrian Democratic Forces. It is unlikely that the regime in Damascus possesses the capability to carry out its threat as a significant portion of its forces are fighting militants in the country's western province of Idlib. "The Coalition remains focused on our support to the Syrian Democratic Forces in defeating remaining ISIS pockets in eastern Syria," Dillon said. "Coalition members are always prepared and have the inherent right to protect themselves against ISIS or any other threat." PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - President Donald Trump is disputing a quote attributed to him during a newspaper interview about relations with North Korea's leader. The Wall Street Journal on Thursday quoted Trump as saying: "I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un." Trump tweeted Sunday: "The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them 'I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un' (of N. Korea). Obviously I didn't say that. I said 'I'd have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un,' a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS!" White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the newspaper have released separate audio clips. The Wall Street Journal says it stands by its reporting. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) People throughout the Wabash Valley are waking up to a blanket of snow. The second round of snow is in full force Monday morning. These conditions are impacting travel times. Indiana State Police tell News 10 there have been several slide-offs and a few crashes on Interstate 70. One crash happened near mile marker 47 on the eastbound lanes. Two slide-offs occurred near mile marker 25 east and mile marker 55 west. There are no closures on I-70. Police in Putnam County are urging all drivers to stay inside today. Police say roads are worse than they were on Friday, with a thin layer of ice underneath the incoming snow. Officials are urging all drivers to slow down today and use extreme caution. Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst who spent several years in prison for leaking classified information, has filed to run as a Democratic candidate for Senate in Maryland. Manning's filing was received January 11, according to Federal Election Commission records. Manning did not immediately return CNN's request for comment Saturday. Manning is one of four Democratic candidates who have filed to run for Senate in Maryland. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, 74, has not yet announced he would seek a third term in the Senate. His campaign committee has nearly $2 million in cash on hand, according to the FEC. Manning was convicted in 2013 of stealing 750,000 pages of sensitive government documents and videos and leaking them to WikiLeaks and received a sentence of 35 years in prison on 20 counts, including violating the Espionage Act. After the sentencing, Manning, who was then known as Bradley, identified as transgender and changed her first name to Chelsea. President Barack Obama commuted Manning's sentence in January 2017 and Manning was released from prison in May 2017. President Donald Trump's new US ambassador to Netherlands has walked back his controversial 2015 comments about Muslims and violence in the northern European country. Three years ago, Peter Hoekstra blamed the"Islamist movement" for "chaos" in the country, claimed there were no-go zones and asserted that cars and politicians were being burned. "Looking back, I'm dismayed that I said it. There are of course situations in European countries that resemble that, but that has never been the case in the Netherlands. It was an incorrect statement. It was just wrong," Hoekstra said in an interview Friday with the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. Hoekstra said he "mixed up" countries, though he didn't specify which ones. He had previously denied making the comments, which are on camera, in an interview with a Dutch journalist on Capitol Hill in December, calling it fake news. Referring to that exchange, Hoekstra told the De Telegraaf: "It was not the case that I was shown at that moment that clip from 2015. I do not know what I was referring to when I was talking about fake news." Hoekstra called his denial in that interview of having spoken about "chaos" in the Netherlands a "miscommunication." "That politicians are being burned, that was an inaccurate statement," he said. "And the no-go zones, that could have been an exaggeration of what is taking place here." A no-go zone is a reference to Muslim-controlled neighborhoods in Europe where sovereign nations allegedly cede authority to Muslim immigrants. Asked by the newspaper if it was normal to be so "frivolous" with facts, Hoekstra said: "I formulated it incorrectly. If someone came to me the next day and indicated my mistake, then I would have said: You are right, thank you." Hoekstra denied he put his ambassadorship in jeopardy with his comments. The envoy is a former 18-year Republican congressman from Michigan who served for several years as chair of the House Intelligence Committee. DEKALB COUNTY, GA (WSB/CNN) Police are searching for an armed robber who grabbed a McDonalds cashier through the drive-thru window before he climbed inside and took the cash register. Surveillance video shows a man dressed in black running past cars in line at the fast food restaurant in DeKalb County, GA, on Jan. 2 around 11:30 p.m. The man, who has his face covered, then sticks a silver handgun into the open drive-thru window and points it at the female cashier while grabbing onto her coat. When the woman escapes his grasp, the robber climbs inside. "This subject decided this was a better way to do it. He was small enough to get through that window at the time," DeKalb Police Lt. Lonzy Robertson said. Police say other employees heard the struggle and ran. Some of them were hurt trying to get to safety. Video shows one witness in the drive-thru drive away when they realized what was happening. He could have attempted to rob the people in vehicles who were in the drive-thru, Robertson said. Meanwhile, the robber got away with the cash register, climbing back out through the drive-thru window with it in hand. Police say they need help finding the robber, hoping his voice in the surveillance footage will lead to someone identifying the man. "I hope they get him. They need to get him. There could have been kids in there that night or in the cars. Anybody could have gotten shot, customer Ju Washington said. Copyright 2018 WSB, McDonalds via CNN. All rights reserved. MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates. MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. (AP) - A Florida festival says it has baked the world's largest key lime pie aiming to shatter a record. A key lime company created on Saturday a pie using a custom pan that measures more than 12 feet (4 meters) in diameter. The recipe asks for 480 cups of graham cracker crust and more than 12,800 ounces (379 liters) of key lime pie filling. The pie was created to weigh more than 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms), with a volume of about 7 mid-size refrigerators. Besides the giant pastry, the 7th Annual Florida Key Lime Pie Festival in Merritt Island celebrated the state's favorite desert with pie eating contests and normal-sized pie tossing. MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates. LOWNDES COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) - Troopers with the Georgia State Patrol were dispatched to a single-vehicle crash on Bemiss Knights Academy Road near Hoye Lane in Lowndes County about 3:40 a.m. Saturday. A 1997 Harley Davidson motorcycle, driven by 25-year-old Stephen Hunter Hancock of Camilla was traveling south on Bemiss Knights Academy Road. Troopers say Hancock was traveling too fast around a curve when the motorcycle traveled off the east shoulder of the roadway. The motorcycle then overturned and slid on its side about 40 feet before striking a concrete culvert. Hancock sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. Hancock was properly wearing a DOT approved helmet. Troopers suspect speed was a contributing factor in this crash. Troopers also suspect alcohol and drugs were also a contributing factor in this crash but will be pending a toxicology report. No charges will be filed in this collision. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee man who was shot by police after hitting an officer with a car in November 2017 has been charged with attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. Deshone Elesquail Donald, 30, was booked into the Leon County Detention Center on Saturday on the latest charge, attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. He was already in jail for the same Nov. 30, 2017, incident and remained there Monday with an additional $50,000 bond. Two of his previous charges each has bonds of $5,000: aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and felony fleeing or attempting to elude an officer. In November, Tallahassee Police Department officers patrolling in the Bond Community tried to stop Donald when they noted he was driving a car that had fled from a traffic stop earlier that day. At that time, Donald was out on bond for a domestic battery by strangulation charge. As Donald fled officers a second time, a Leon County Sheriff's Office helicopter tracked his car to a parking spot within a complex on Moon Lane. Trying to escape, officers say, Donald drove his car into several cars and hit an officer. Officers opened fire and hit him. The officer struck by Donald's car was treated at a hospital for his injuries and released. On Dec. 4, 2017, Donald was released from Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, where he received treatment for his injuries, and was booked into the Leon County jail. MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Celebrate Arbor Day this Saturday by planting trees at Apalachee Regional Park. The event will begin Jan. 20, 2018, Saturday, at 7550 Apalachee Parkway. It starts at 9 a.m. "This is a fun opportunity for volunteers to reconnect with the earth while helping increase the beauty of the area," said a news release from the Leon County Government and the City of Tallahassee. This year, planting includes a diverse mix of more than 165 native trees, including large shade trees such as Live Oak, Nuttall Oak and Black Tupelo. Volunteers are asked to bring gloves, shovels, rakes and friends. At last year's event, hundreds of trees and shrubs were planted by friends and families at Lake Henrietta Park. For more information, contact Dean Richards, Leon County Public Works, at (850) 606-1400 or RichardsD@LeonCountyFL.gov or Mathieu Cavell, Leon County Community and Media Relations, at (850) 606-5300 or cmr@LeonCountyFL.gov. MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL First Alert Weather app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for additional local news and hourly updates. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 01:07:06|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on Sunday criticized the governments of east China's Jiangsu Province and northeastern Liaoning Province for failing to supervise land reclamation and control pollution along its coast. An SOA inspection team exposed a number of flaws concerning land reclamation in Jiangsu after an investigation in the province from August to September, said a SOA press release. The province made slow progress in restoring environment along its coast, the statement said, adding that it only finished restoring the environment along half of the 300-km targeted coastline required by the State Council. The provincial government was also found to have violated state regulations by delegating the power of granting administrative approval for small land reclamation projects to the city government of Nantong, the statement said. A total of 14 projects, involving 81.29 hectares of reclaimed land, have been wrongly approved since 2012. A large amount of reclaimed land remain deserted, the statement said. From 2012 to 2017, about 2,328 hectares of sea waters were transformed into land but only 21.28 percent of them were actually developed. Developers of 184 land reclamation projects had not obtained government approval before they started building their projects. The province was also found failing to effectively protect nature reserves. Fish farming has still been operated in about 9,955 hectares of sea waters around a national wetland reserve in Jiangsu, where such commercial operations should have been banned, according to SOA. The land contributed to more than 85 percent of pollutants in offshore waters along the Jiangsu coast, and the provincial government did not have a complete list of polluters. The provincial government was told to submit a plan for rectification within 30 work days and report the progress within six months. The SOA also demanded Liaoning Province rectify its problems concerning land reclamation. Liaoning was also found poorly implementing laws and state policies and failing to effectively supervise land reclamation projects and control pollutants from being discharged into the sea. Although the provincial government fined polluters and violators of reclamation regulations, more than half of the fines have not been collected nevertheless, according to the SOA statement. Among 211 waste water drains into the sea registered by the provincial environment authorities, 68 were not approved through legal procedure and some of the drains have not been carefully monitored. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 03:17:25|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close LISBON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited a village community center on Sunday after a fire ripped through the building and killed eight on Saturday night. The fire broke out shortly before 9 p.m. local time at the two-story building of the Cultural, Recreational and Humanitarian Association center in Vila Nova da Rainha, a village in northern Portugal. Rebelo de Sousa thank and praised the quick response of the local authorities and emergency services. "In such a short space of time, and in a very difficult situation, they were all exceptional," he told local reporters. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within the hour while medics treated the wounded on the ground. Some of the injured were taken by helicopter to hospitals in Lisbon and Porto. At least 38 people were injured and 29 remain in hospital, with 4 said to be in critical condition. Four of the dead have been identified as village residents, aged 56 and above, according to the Portuguese Lusa News Agency. The exact cause of the fire is still not known. Local media reports initially suggested a boiler had exploded, but this is now thought not to be the case. Witnesses told reporters that the chimney on a wood-burning stove had been overheating. There is speculation that this caused the false ceiling to come ablaze, but the authorities have yet to provide an official explanation. Vila Nova da Rainha is located in the center-north of the country, in the municipality of Tondela, in the district of Viseu, some 250 km north of Lisbaon. It is a region still reeling from devastating forest fires that broke out in October, killing 45 and destroying 50,000 hectares. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 07:35:40|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Participants take part in the 2018 Annual Toronto Polar Bear Dip event at the Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada, Jan. 14, 2018. The event was held indoor due to weather condition. (Xinhua/Zou Zheng) Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 08:08:01|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close BANJUL, Jan. 14 (Xinhua)-- The Gambia's Foreign Affairs ministry has denounced the remarks made by U.S. President Donald Trump, describing African nations as "shithole countries," an official statement said on Sunday. "The Government of the Republic of The Gambia is appalled by the remarks and finds it inconceivable that a President of a country regarded by many as one of the most tolerant and democratic countries in the world would utter such racial remarks," the statement stated. According to the statement, such disparaging remarks compromise the core values of tolerance and democracy in America. "The Government of The Gambia, therefore, calls on President Trump to withdraw his remarks and give a fitting apology to the African continent and Haiti," it concluded. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 08:18:02|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close BERLIN, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Leipzig's central midfielder Naby Keita will not join Liverpool in the winter transfer period, the Bundesliga club announced in an official statement on Sunday. The "Bulls" have put an end to speculations about Keita's Liverpool move ahead of schedule as sporting director Ralf Rangnick dismissed a transfer in January. According to the club's statement Keita "will stay, as planned, until June 2018 with Leipzig before he joins the Premier League outfit in July 2018." "We will not allow Naby Keita an early move even though Liverpool underlined their interest to sign him during the current transfer window," Rangnick told the club's official homepage. "We are not a sales club. A transfer would only have been possible if we had reached an amicable solution in the sense of an exorbitant additional transfer fee. This is not the case so we have decided to end this topic. Naby and his agent also accepted this decision." The 22-year-old midfielder joined Leipzig from Austrian side Salzburg in the summer 2016. Keita made his breakthrough as a key player and provided eleven goals in 45 appearances since his arrival. Leipzig sit currently on the 2nd place of the Bundesliga standings. They encounter Freiburg at the 19th round on January 20. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 09:03:08|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close SYDNEY, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) has signed an unprecedented tripartite deal, involving Australian-Chinese solar company Maoneng Australia and Sydney-based energy supplier Origin Energy, to become fully solar powered, the educational institution announced on Monday. The 15-year arrangement, touted as the first of its kind that brings together a "retailer, developer and corporate", allows UNSW "to go fully energy carbon neutral" with all of its energy needs supplied by solar power, according to the university's media office. "This landmark initiative is an exciting step toward realizing UNSW's goal of carbon neutrality on energy use by 2020 and reflects our commitment to making a positive global impact," UNSW President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Jacobs was quoted as saying. Under the deal, the university will buy up to 124,000 MWh of renewable energy a year -- meeting its annual energy needs from 2019 -- from Maoneng's Sunraysia Solar Farm in the southwestern part of New South Wales state. The farm itself is expected to generate about 530,000 MWh of electricity a year, to be transmitted throughout New South Wales and Victoria states, making it the largest facility of its kind in the country, according to the company. The agreement is "not only great for the environment but will deliver jobs and investment" in the region, the state's Energy Minister Don Harwin was quoted as saying. Maoneng's collaboration with the university and the energy supplier through an "open dialogue" creates a solar corporate power purchase agreement template that "not only works for UNSW, but can be replicated and tailored to fulfil the specific needs of each customer", the company's project finance director Kevin Chen was quoted as saying. Construction of the Sunraysia Solar Farm is set to begin later this year, with solar energy generation expected to roll out in the second quarter of next year. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 11:58:42|Editor: Jiaxin Video Player Close SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Working-level talks between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) were underway Monday over the DPRK's dispatch of art troupe to the South Korea-hosted Winter Olympics, Seoul's unification ministry said. Unification Ministry spokesman Baek Tae-hyun told a press briefing that the working-level dialogue was underway at Tongilgak, a building controlled by the DPRK in the truce village of Panmunjom, which straddles the inter-Korean land border. The dialogue kicked off at about 10:11 a.m. local time (0111 GMT) to discuss the DPRK's dispatch of its art troupe to the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games slated to run from February to March at South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang. On the dialogue agenda would be schedule, venue and formation of the performance the DPRK art group will do in PyeongChang. Meanwhile, Seoul offered last week to Pyongyang holding vice ministerial-level talks to discuss the DPRK's dispatch of all other delegations to PyeongChang, including athletes and cheering squads. Baek said the DPRK is expected to respond to the dialogue overture within this week, noting that the two Koreas exchanged positions with each other over the weekend via the restored hotline of direct dialogue in Panmunjom. South Korea and the DPRK held the first high-level talks early last week in about two years, agreeing that the DPRK will send its delegation to the Winter Olympics. The two sides also agreed to hold a separate dialogue on military affairs to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 13:08:57|Editor: Xiang Bo Video Player Close HANGZHOU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A TV series about a police investigation and manhunt following a crime wave on a Beijing-Moscow train has become a hit in China. The 31-episode TV drama, Operation Moscow, aired on a local Chinese television station and several online video platforms on Jan. 8. It quickly went viral, scoring 8 out of 10 points on Douban, a popular Chinese movie rating platform. The first 10 episodes were viewed online more than 130 million times. Operation Moscow is based on an actual case in 1993. Chinese police launched a cross-border manhunt after criminals from several gangs conspired and committed rape and robbery on a Moscow-bound train from Beijing. According to the series writer Xu Yang, the writing team talked with the police, train staff and victims when they created the story, hoping to provide insight into the actual history and characters. "Many gang members have died, so we have to study the documents to reconstruct their roles," Xu added. Director Zhang Rui said the TV drama depicts the courage and fearlessness of the Chinese police. The drama was shot in China and Russia and stars actors from both countries. "It's rare to see such a good domestically produced TV drama. The shooting style and narrative rhythm make you feel that you are watching an American drama," wrote a Douban user with the screen name "bkn." Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 13:14:00|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and 24 others wounded Monday in twin bomb explosions, one by a suicide bomber, in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, an Interior ministry source said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 13:19:02|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close HANOI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam will next month start releasing mosquitos laced with Wolbachia - a common kind bacteria capable of preventing Aedes aegypti mosquitoes from becoming infected with dengue virus, meaning that the mosquitoes cannot transmit the virus to humans. Wolbachia-laced mosquitos will be released in Vinh Luong commune, Nha Trang city, central Khanh Hoa province in 12-18 weeks starting in March, according to Vietnam's Health Ministry on Monday. Earlier, a research group from Vietnam's National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Australian scientists bred Aedes aegypti mosquitos laced with Wolbachia and then released them on a trial basis on Tri Nguyen island in Khanh Hoa in 2013 and 2014. Since 2014, no dengue fever outbreaks have been detected on the island, while Nha Trang and Khanh Hoa have reported big outbreaks of the disease. When male and female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with Wolbachia are released over a number of weeks, they then breed with the wild mosquito population, passing the bacteria from generation to generation. Over time, the percentage of mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia grows until it remains high without the need for further releases. Mosquitoes with Wolbachia are less able to transmit diseases to people, so the risk of outbreaks in these areas is reduced. Vietnam spotted 175,800 dengue fever patients, including 38 fatalities, and 39 Zika sufferers last year, said the ministry's Preventive Medicine Department. Zika is a virus spread to humans by Aedes mosquitoes - the same mosquitoes that spread dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 13:19:04|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close Members of the Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe perform diabolo act during the 12th Budapest International Circus Festival in Budapest, Hungary, on Jan. 14, 2018. The Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe and the Mongolian Nomuna Troupe won the first prize at the 12th Budapest International Circus Festival Sunday. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi) BUDAPEST, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe and the Mongolian Nomuna Troupe placed first at the 12th Budapest International Circus Festival Sunday at the Capital Circus of Budapest. Besides the two gold prizes, three silvers went to Andrejs Fjodorvs from Latvia, the Russian duo Funcoholics and the Russian trio Without Socks. Spectators watched a special lotus bloom during the performance of the Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe. Unlike traditional umbrella jugglers, new juggling skills were offered through the pulsating movement of elegant human lotus that originated in the Chinese culture. The umbrellas shone as the petals of the bloom of a magnificent human composition, and demonstrated the amazing beauty of the Chinese temperament. The Chinese troupe also wowed spectators by presenting an amazing diabolo act. By contrast, the Nomuna Troupe from Mongolia presented a dynamic, reckless world through their performance and offered two acts -- one springboard and one hand voltage production -- in the competition. The troupe of 12 members, founded by Erdene Nergui, the head of the Mongolian State Circus in 2013, has acquired extraordinary knowledge in rhythm and precision. Meanwhile, Fjodorvs from Latvia brought some real magic on stage with his dog and pigeon act and displayed the harmonious relations between animals and humankind. Youthful energy characterized the Russian clown trio Without Socks, who put on a fresh and humorous performance based on the tradition of clown art. The Russian duo Funcoholics is composed of a married couple. The husband, Konstantin Gvozdetskiy, had performed at the festival in 2002, and was awarded a silver medal back then. His wife Victoria has been his partner in the duo since 2012. The first Budapest Circus Festival was held in 1996. The 12th Budapest International Circus Festival, held on Jan. 8-14, also celebrated the 250th jubilee of the first modern circus, which opened on Jan. 9 in 1768. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 13:29:05|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close LONDON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- A leader of a British right-wing political party, Henry Bolton, is urged by senior figures from his party to choose between his leadership or girlfriend after the latter was reported by British media Sunday to have made racist remarks. Model Jo Marney, 25, is the girlfriend of Bolton, who last September was elected leader of a Euroskeptic and right-wing populist political party, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). According to British conservative newspaper the Mail on Sunday, Marney had sent a series of messages to a friend, in which she made offensive comments about Prince Harry's bride-to-be Meghan Markle and black people, saying that Markle will "taint" the Royal Family with "her seed" and pave the way for a "black king." Marney later issued a statement to the newspaper and said she apologized "unreservedly" for the "shocking language" used in the messages. UKIP chairman Paul Oakden, 54, said he decided to suspend Marney's party membership immediately upon learning about the messages. Oakden told the Mail on Sunday "UKIP does not, has not and never will condone racism." Peter Whittle, the leader of the UKIP delegation in the London assembly, called for Marney to be "expelled altogether" for the "disgraceful remarks." Meanwhile, British media reported former UKIP leadership candidate Ben Walker called for Bolton to resign, accusing him of having deeply flawed judgment. Bill Etheridge, who sits in the European Parliament as a UKIP MEP, also called for Bolton's resignation on Twitter. Prince Harry and Markle are to marry in May, after which Markle will officially become a princess and a working member of the British Royal Family. Their engagement has been fully supported by Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry's grandmother. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 13:49:12|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and 24 others wounded Monday in twin bomb explosions, one by a suicide bomber, in the Iraqi capital here, an interior ministry source said. The attack took place in the morning when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a crowded site near al-Tayaran Square where many construction workers were gathered, a local source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Another blast followed when a roadside bomb went off at the scene, the source said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 13:49:13|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Latin America is a "natural extension" of the Belt and Road Initiative and should get involved in the ambitious global development initiative proposed by China, Argentine political observer Patricio Giusto said. Latin American governments are eager to participate in the plan, attracted by its concept of spurring free trade through infrastructure building, financial integration and greater interconnectivity to drive economic growth, Giusto said in a recent interview with Xinhua. Latin American countries are also keen to take part in any development initiatives proposed by China, which they recognize as a growing world power and important trade partner. In May, Beijing hosted the first ever Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, and Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet were among more than 200 world leaders and envoys to attend. "President Xi Jinping was very clear ... Latin America is the natural extension of the Belt and Road Initiative, and it's not a question of saying it. If you look at a map, you can clearly see that to the degree that the flow of maritime trade expands through southeast Asia, the natural extension is Latin America," said Giusto. "Failing to take advantage of this opportunity would be absurd on the part of the region," said Giusto, an expert from the consulting firm Diagnostico Politico (Political Diagnosis). He noted Chile is studying how it can complement the Belt and Road Initiative, which does not only represent an opportunity solely for countries bordering the Pacific Ocean, but also for countries like Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in Latin America, which face the Atlantic. Countries like Argentina and Brazil have "a chance ... to establish and take advantage of new trade flows, depending on infrastructure, social development and other areas that we need to improve in our region," said the consultant. According to statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce, trade volume between China and Latin America reached 166.78 billion U.S. dollars in the first eight months of 2017, representing a year-on-year increase of 18 percent. Today China is Latin America's main trade partner, and the world's second-largest source of foreign direct investment. Latin America stands to benefit from trade and investment involving China. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 13:54:14|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) offered Monday to South Korea holding vice ministerial-level talks on Jan. 17 at the truce village of Panmunjom to discuss the DPRK's participation in South Korea-hosted Winter Olympics, multiple local media reported citing Seoul's unification ministry. The DPRK proposed holding the working-level dialogue at the Peace House in Panmunjom from 10 a.m. local time Wednesday to discuss details on the dispatch of its delegation to the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games scheduled to run from February to March in South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang. Seoul offered last week to hold the vice ministerial-level talks Monday, but Pyongyang made the counterproposal, offering to hold talks first about the dispatch of its art troupe to PyeongChang, which were currently underway. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 14:14:22|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close LIMA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Peru's southern coast was jolted by a powerful offshore earthquake on Sunday, which left at least one dead and dozens of others injured. The Peru government said it will declare a state of emergency in the affected areas. Peru's Geophysics Institute (IGP) said on Sunday that the 6.8-magnitude quake hit off the coast of the Arequipa department at 4:18 a.m. local time (0918 GMT), and at a depth of 48 km. "The 6.8-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter in Arequipa was also felt in (the capital) Lima, Ica, Ayacucho and other cities," national news agency Andina said. While the quake sparked waves of up to 7 meters high along the Arequipa coastline, officials said there was no threat of a tsunami. The government confirmed one person died as a result of the quake and 42 others were injured as dozens of homes collapsed.h The fatal victim was crushed to death after loose rocks fell on his adobe home in the district of Yauca, Peru's National Emergency Operations Center said. Several primary roads, including the Panamericana Sur, or South Pan-American Highway, sustained damage, temporarily blocking or restricting the flow of vehicles, and electricity was disrupted in a few communities. The U.S. Geological Service said the quake measured 7.1 on the Richter Scale and the epicenter was 40 km away from Acari in the Arequipa department of southwestern Peru. "We are preparing a decree to declare a state of emergency, to take immediate steps to facilitate the immediate reconstruction of homes and efforts to recover roadways," President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski's chief of staff, Mercedes Araoz, said in the first official report following the quake. Kuczynski traveled to the disaster site earlier Sunday, accompanied by Health Minister Abel Salinas and other cabinet members. Two minor aftershocks, measuring 3.8 and 3.7, followed some four hours after the first quake. Salinas said that an informal mine east of the coastal city of Chala collapsed following the quake, and 17 people there went missing. Rescue teams had brought tents and mattresses to some places in quake-hit areas, officials said. The last major earthquake to hit southern Peru, including Arequipa and its surroundings, was a destructive 8.4 that hit June 23, 2001, killing some 150 people and injuring nearly 3,000. As many as 22,000 people were left homeless. The Nazca and South American plates meet below this part of Peru, causing seismic activity. The quake was also felt in northern Chile. Chile's National Emergency Office said there were no reports of injuries, damage to infrastructure, or interruption of basic services. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 14:34:26|Editor: pengying Video Player Close A policeman checks a vehicle at a security checkpoint in Ghazni Province, east Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2018. At least 32 militants were killed in two separate airstrikes in Afghanistan, the country's Defense Ministry said on Monday. (Xinhua/Sayed Mominzadah) KABUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 32 militants were killed in two separate airstrikes in Afghanistan, the country's defense ministry said Monday. In one raid conducted by Afghan National Army (ANA) Air Force on Sunday against a Taliban's position in Khaki Safed district of western Farah province, 28 insurgents lost their lives and 10 others injured, the ministry said in a statement. Those among the killed militants' were Sardar Ashkon Bakwahi, Taliban's deputy shadow governor of Farah, and two Taliban divisional commanders Abdul Shokor and Hawaz Gulistani, according to the statement. Also on Sunday, four Taliban militants were killed following an airstrike in Nahri Saraj district of southern Helmand province. Three vehicles and six motorcycles together with amount of ammunition and weapons were also destroyed after the air operations, the statement noted. Afghan security forces and the NATO-led coalition troops have beefed up security operations and airstrikes as militants are attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions during the winter in the mountainous country. The Taliban militant group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than 16 years, has yet to make comments on the report. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 14:44:28|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close JAKARTA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Part of the first floor in Indonesia's stock exchange building collapsed on Monday, injuring several people. Local TV footage showed debris around a coffee shop in the premises of the multi-story building. Police said further investigation was being carried out. Dozens of those injured from the accident, mostly women, have been evacuated to the nearest hospitals. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 14:59:31|Editor: pengying Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A Sino-British joint venture will soon begin outbound tourism business for Chinese tourists in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (SFTZ). Registered in the FTZ in 2015 by Thomas Cook Group and Fosun International, Thomas Cook China is one of the beneficiaries of fine-tuning to some laws and regulations in China's FTZs to further opening-up and reform. Eleven regulations including those on ship registration, urban rail transit and foreign investment are to be temporarily adjusted, according to a State Council decision. One regulation specifically deals with foreign investment in tourism. Joint ventures registered in the zones are now allowed directly into outbound tourism for Chinese residents. Previous regulations meant joint ventures had to work with local travel agencies on outbound tourism, but could apply for a their own license after two years. Xu Bingbin, vice president of Fosun Tourism and Culture Group, said Thomas Cook China has various products for Chinese tourists, and since the change to regulations, revenue is expected to increase tenfold this year. "The alteration of these laws and regulations will further the opening up of China's free trade zones," said Ren Yibiao, general manager of the National Base for International Culture Trade (Shanghai). The changes are also good for FTZ businesses involved in shipping, agriculture, aerospace and urban rail transit. As of October 2017, nearly 18,000 firms were registered in the SFTZ, double the number in the four previous bonded zones when they merged in September 2013. In the first three quarters 2017, foreign trade in the zone rose 16.2 percent year on year to 150 billion U.S. dollars. The SFTZ was launched to trial streamlined business registration. Companies can register and be operational in the zone in three working days, considerably less than the previous 40. In 2014, three more FTZs opened in Tianjin Municipality, and the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. A third batch of seven more went online in August 2016. As structural reform breeds innovation-driven growth, these zones have become attractive to investors and contributed to policy innovation and opening up in industry, finance and other sectors. In January 2017, the central government announced more measures to attract foreign investment through easier access and a better business environment. Foreign firms already face fewer restrictions in the manufacturing, mining and services sectors. "The trials in the FTZs set an example for economic reform and opening up nationwide," said Ren. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 14:59:33|Editor: Chengcheng Video Player Close MEXICO CITY, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Mexican police discovered nine dismembered bodies in a pickup truck in Xalapa, capital of the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, a state governor said at a news conference on Sunday. Veracruz Governor Miguel Yunes said the bodies were discovered on Saturday in a residential neighborhood and described the murder as a result of a clash between rival gangs. Yunes also said a man was gunned down on a main thoroughfare in the city, but he did not mention connection between the two crimes. On Friday, state police found four human heads placed on the hood of a car in the municipality of Sayula de Aleman, also in Veracruz. As one of the most violent states in Mexico, Veracruz, where one of the country's busiest ports is located, has been gripped by crimes of drug trafficking and kidnapping. In the wake of the grisly killings, Yunes said he was launching new federal anti-crime efforts to reinforce security in the state capital. According to officials, major drug cartels, including the Gulf, the Zetas and the Jalisco New Generation cartels, have been battling each other for control of drug trade and smuggling routes, leading to more bloodshed in Mexico last year than before. Data released by the Mexican Interior Ministry showed the year 2017 turned out to be the deadliest year with 23,101 murders taking place from January to November, a new high since records began in 1997. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 15:09:36|Editor: pengying Video Player Close JAKARTA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Part of the first floor of Indonesia's stock exchange building collapsed on Monday, injuring several people. Local TV reports footages showed debris and mangled metals around a coffee shop. Police said further investigation was being carried out at present related to the collapse. Dozens of those injured, mostly women, have been sent to nearest hospitals. Many ambulances come and go evacuating those injured in various degree of severity. The collapse took place shortly after the conclusion of morning stock trading at 12:10 p.m. local time. A witness said the collapsed floor was in the tower 2. The collapse happened during lunch break time where many people were below the collapsed floor. "It was very crowded here as there was a student visit program going on when the collapse took place," the witness said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 15:14:36|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistani army said on Monday that four soldiers were killed in Indian forces' firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in the disputed Kashmir region. An army statement said that three Indian soldiers were also killed when Pakistani troops retaliated. "Four Pakistan Army soldiers embraced shahadat (martyrdom) along LoC in Jandrot, Kotli sector," a statement from the army's Inter-Services Public Relations said. "Troops were busy in Line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round," the statement further said, adding exchange of fire "killed three Indian soldiers while few injured." Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire along the LoC and the Working Boundary in 2003. Both, however, routinely accuse each other of violating the ceasefire. There has been escalation along the LoC and Working Boundary since the militants attacked an army base in the Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing 19 soldiers on Sept. 18, 2016. The Indian military had blamed the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad group for the attack and also pointed fingers at Pakistan. However, Islamabad rejected the charges and suggested an independent investigation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 15:44:42|Editor: pengying Video Player Close Kairat Umarov (L), the permanent representative of Kazakhstan to the UN, shakes hands with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 14, 2017. A United Nations Security Council delegation has wrapped up a three-day visit to Afghanistan, the UN mission in the country said Monday. (Xinhua/UNAMA Handout) KABUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations Security Council delegation has wrapped up a three-day visit to Afghanistan, the UN mission in the country said Monday. "The UN Security Council undertook a visit to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from the 13th to 15th of January 2018 ... the visit was an opportunity to reiterate the Security Council's support for the government and the people of Afghanistan and their efforts to restore peace, stability and progress to the country," UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in a statement. Kairat Umarov, the permanent representative of Kazakhstan to the UN, was leading the delegation. "Council members aimed to get a first-hand account of progress made by the Afghan National Unity Government, with the assistance of the international community, in addressing a wide range of interconnected challenges and to learn how the Security Council could further assist efforts on the ground," the statement said. The delegation held meetings with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and other senior Afghan officials, including chairman of the High Peace Council Mohammad Karim Khalili, and several Afghan ministers, among others. They also met with members of the parliament, women's NGOs, civil society organizations, representatives of political parties and the electoral management bodies, as well as the leadership of the UNAMA and NATO's Resolute Support Mission or NATO-led coalition. "Discussions focused on the political, security, socio-economic and human rights situation in the country ... all parties underlined the importance of an inclusive Afghan-led and -owned peace process for long-term stability and prosperity in Afghanistan and council members renewed their commitment to support efforts that aim at bringing peace and reconciliation," the statement read. The council members reiterated their support for the government's reform initiatives, in particular to counter corruption and accelerate regional cooperation. They have expressed concerns about the security environment in Afghanistan, including the presence of al-Qaida, Taliban and Islamic State (IS) fighters, as well as about the nexus of terrorism and organized crime. Afghan election officials, during a meeting, briefed the delegation on the preparations for the upcoming parliamentary and district council elections in 2018, including the development of an improved voter registry. "Council members underscored the importance of continued progress on electoral reforms and towards the holding of free and fair, as well as timely, credible and inclusive parliamentary and presidential elections in 2018 and 2019, respectively. They reiterated the need to increase women's participation in the election," the statement said. "Both Security Council members and Afghan officials called for improved cooperation and coordination in the region, underscoring the need for the international community, particularly neighboring countries, to support and cooperate with Afghanistan, especially in countering terrorism." the statement noted. Foreign dignitaries usually pay unannounced visit to militancy-hit Afghanistan and return secretly due to security concerns. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 15:49:44|Editor: pengying Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) has beefed up efforts in strict self-governance, presenting a model to the world, international experts have praised. Ivona Ladjevac, the head of the Institute of International Politics and Economics (IIPE) in Belgrade, Serbia, said she has been impressed by the CPC's anti-corruption campaign, which has been attracting the attention of the Serbian people. "The Party leadership has been insisting on this strict governance, which is applied in multi-layers, not only those high-ranking party members but also those at lower levels," Ladjevac said. Xi Jinping, China's president and general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, on Thursday called for more anti-corruption efforts to "fundamentally improve the political ecosystem of the Party" at the second plenary session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CPC held in Beijing. The CPC's fight against both "flies" and "tigers" sends a good message to ordinary people that no one is protected because of his wealth or high-ranking position, according to Ladjevac. "Parties, regardless of their orientations, should learn from the CPC's organization, their devotion to social and economic development, and their efforts to build a better image for China in the world," she added. Alexey Maslov, a professor from the Oriental Studies Department at the Russian Higher School of Economics Research University in Russia, told Xinhua that a party should build up its team with stricter discipline and higher standards, when asked to comment on Xi's remarks at the disciplinary session. The anti-corruption campaign by the CPC shows full determination and no hesitation, he said, adding that under its influence, many cadres have realized it is pivotal to stay loyal to the Party and country "instead of their own wallets." Maslov noted that China's anti-corruption campaign serves as a reference to Russia, as it is a long-term mission with clear plans and mechanisms, which can be carried out through all local party branches. Without such a mechanism, the Russian government punishes corrupted individuals and cannot eliminate the problem completely, he said. Efforts by the CPC to strengthen party building, enforce discipline and improve governance are key to China's development and future plans, said a Cuban scholar, echoing Ladjevac and Maslov's opinions. Jose Luis Robaina, a China expert at Cuba's International Policy Research Center, said in an interview with Xinhua on Friday that the systematic policy of the CPC to strengthen discipline within the ranks of the organization has set an example for political parties in the world. "This policy has led China to reach levels of development and governance that, we could say, no other country in the world has," Robaina said. He said the Party has adopted what he called an "intelligent strategy" to consolidate its leadership role in reaching the country's development goals. "Enforcing stricter discipline and better governance within the ranks of the Party will help further unite the country and allow China to achieve its social and economic development objectives, including eliminating poverty in rural areas," he said, adding that these efforts are closely linked to other policies the Party and the government have set for the coming years. Speaking at the plenary session, Xi emphasized that all-round efforts should be made to enhance the Party's political building, strengthen its theory, consolidate its organizations, improve its conduct, and enforce its discipline. "Only with discipline within the ranks of the CPC, good governance at all levels and an organization without the scourge of corruption can these goals be achieved," Robaina said, referring to the Party's resolve to get rid of the country's rural poverty by 2020, build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, as well as protect the environment while maintaining economic development. "The CPC and Xi Jinping are giving an example to the world showing how to build a society in the 21st century without resorting to the exploitation of men and (how to build) a social system that seeks the best for all its citizens," said Robaina. (Xinhua reporters Wang Huijuan in Belgrade, Raimundo Urrechaga in Havana and Wang Chendi in Moscow contributed to the story.) Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 16:04:47|Editor: pengying Video Player Close PYONGYANG, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday urged some South Korean media to stop "messing up" the on-going inter-Korean talks, as the two sides are holding the second round of talks at the truce village of Panmunjom. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted an official of the Central Committee of the Journalists Union of Korea as saying that the conservative media in South Korea are misleading public opinion to "chill" the atmosphere for improved north-south ties. The KCNA quoted Kim Cho Guk, department director of the DPRK journalists' union, as saying that southern conservative media have descried the DPRK's proposal to the north-south dialogue as "double-dealing tactics" and have asked Seoul to be vigilant against Pyongyang's attempt to drive a wedge in its ties with Washington. He also accused these media of calling the DPRK's planned dispatch of cheerleaders and artists to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics as "using the event as promotional ground" to "evade sanctions." These acts could turn "peace Olympics" into "confrontation Olympics" if these media "get on the nerves of the dialogue partner (DPRK)" and "write brush at will," he warned. The DPRK and South Korea are holding their second meeting within one week on Monday in Panmunjom, discussing the dispatch of artists to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to be held next month. One week ago, the two sides held their first high-level talks in two years, reaching a number of agreements including cooperation in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and taking measures to ease military tension on the Korean Peninsula. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 16:09:49|Editor: pengying Video Player Close BAGHDAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi Monday issued orders for the security forces to track the extremist terrorists and bring them to justice, hours after massive twin bomb explosions in downtown Baghdad. A statement by his office said that Abadi, who is also Commander-in-chief of Iraqi forces, held a meeting with commanders of the security forces and the intelligence service of Baghdad and gave his directions "to chase the sleeper cells of terrorists and bring them to justice in order to ensure the security of the citizens." Abadi's comments came hours after twin bomb explosions, one of them by a suicide bomber, ripped through a crowded site near al-Tayaran Square where many construction workers usually gather waiting for potential employers, leaving at least 16 people killed and some 67 others wounded, according official reports from the Iraqi Interior Ministry. The car bombing is the second this year in Baghdad city, which has been witnessing tangible improvement in security as the Iraqi security forces managed during the past few months to regain control of strongholds of the extremist IS militant group across the country. Two days ago, a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive-laden motorcycle at the crowded Adan Square at the entrance of the holy Shiite neighborhood of Kadhmiyah, leaving two people killed and 24 injured, along with destroying 11 cars. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 16:14:51|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) Executive Director Rod Alberts receives an exclusive interview with Xinhua in Detroit, the United States, Jan. 14, 2018. NAIAS is "a gateway" to the consumers in the United States, and "a gateway" to manufacturers that want to partner, Rod Alberts told Xinhua Sunday as the 2018 NAIAS started. (Xinhua/Wang Ping) DETROIT, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) is "a gateway" to the consumers in the United States, and "a gateway" to manufacturers that want to partner, NAIAS Executive Director Rod Alberts told Xinhua Sunday as the 2018 NAIAS started. "It's like Hollywood for actors if you're in the auto industry," said Alberts, adding that when it comes to automotive mobility, the auto show is just the place to be. According to Alberts, while the U.S. market continues to welcome international car companies, Chinese vehicles are making a larger impact on the auto show than ever before. Chinese car companies like Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. (GAC Group) are entering the U.S. market. He further explained that Chinese companies first entered the U.S. market about eight or 10 years ago. And more Chinese companies eye and will enter the car market here in the next two years. The executive director said that he was inspired by some auto shows in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou and he is ready to bring these great and beautiful designs to the U.S. market. Alberts told Xinhua that he is expecting a big surge in the Chinese auto market as well as in the next round of Chinese companies coming to the United States during the next five to 10 years. He believed that China is a big area for the growth in electric vehicles, alternative fuels, mobility and technology. "We just want to be as helpful as we can to the Chinese market and be the intro for Chinese companies to the U.S. market," said Alberts. He noted that he would love to invite all the Chinese companies to reach out to them to be a part of the show. The 2018 NAIAS began just two days after the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Though focusing on different areas, NAIAS without any doubt feels the pressure from CES, thus adding something new. NAIAS first launched Automobili-D that centered on electric vehicles, alternative fuels, and driverless technology in 2017; and then in this year, it let in about 75 companies that may possibly have their products in the consumer's cars in the future. Alberts believed that NAIAS is the perfect place to create opportunity for meetings and the development of auto industries. He further explained that another two features of the 2018 Detroit Auto Show are the existence of more trucks on display and a gallery of 35 different brands of ultra-luxury cars such as Bugatti, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati. The 2018 NAIAS exhibits 40 automobile companies introducing over 20 new cars. Two Chinese automakers, GAC and Jiangxi Shangrao Changyue Automobile Co. Ltd., attend this year's Detroit auto show. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 16:35:00|Editor: pengying Video Player Close BANGKOK, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 rosewood logs, illegally felled in Thailand, were seized Monday by a navy unit on the Thai side of Mekong River, said a navy officer. A total of 102 rosewood logs, allegedly felled in northeastern Thailand by illegal lumberjacks, were being unloaded from a pickup truck on the bank of the international river in Khemarat district of Ubon Ratchathani, about 600 km northeast of Bangkok, according to Capt. Phornphirom Yodboon, commander of the navy's Mekong Riverine Unit based in the northeastern province. The rosewood logs were being smuggled across Mekong River to Laos and would have been delivered to an unreported destination, if not stopped by the Mekong Riverine Unit, the navy captain said. He said that five smuggling suspects managed to escape, leaving behind the timber and truck, a few minutes ahead of the raid by the navy unit. Those rosewood logs would have been sold for nearly 1 million U.S. dollars in a black market. Such high prices of the rosewood had considerably tempted lumberjacks and smugglers though many had been earlier arrested by Thai authorities. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 17:00:05|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Climate change is real, and the Antarctica is feeling it. Here comes a good news: A proposed vast reserve could better protect penguins, whales, leopard seals and other species. A global campaign is being launched to ban fishing in a 1.8 million square km area of the Weddell Sea and around the Antarctic Peninsula, in order to protect wildlife amid worsening climate change, the Guardian reported. The idea was first put forward by the European Union, and has gained the support of Greenpeace, which is set to launch a new campaign Monday. Greenpeace is a global nongovernmental organization aimed at changing attitudes and behavior to protect and conserve the environment. The proposal will be presented at a conference of the Antarctic nations in Australia in October. The EU and more than 20 countries are members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which will decide on the sanctuary proposal. In 2016, a smaller marine reserve was created around the Ross Sea in the Antarctic to protect wildlife including Emperor penguins. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 17:05:07|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed deep sorrow for the death of crew members on an Iranian oil tanker, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday. "I extend my sincere condolences to the mourning families and survivors of the Sanchi oil tanker's crew, who passed away during the heartbreaking incident of the burning and sinking tanker," Khamenei said in a statement. "These beloved ones lost their lives while on duty, serving their country; and this is a great honor that may reduce the weight of grief and soothe the agonizing hearts of their surviving kin," he was quoted as saying. The crew members, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, went missing after a Panama-registered oil tanker and a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter collided on Jan. 6 in waters about 300 kilometers east of the Yangtze River's estuary. Three bodies have been recovered after Chinese rescuing efforts, with the rest of the crew members still unaccounted for. The tanker, carrying 136,000 tons of gas condensates and other oils, caught fire after the collision. It sank on Sunday after burning for eight days. On Sunday, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani also extended his condolences to the families of the dead sailors. Describing the incident as "tragic" and "heart-breaking," Rouhani said the deaths of the crew have deeply saddened the nation of Iran. Iran's cabinet has declared Monday, Jan. 15, as a nationwide day of public mourning. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 17:05:08|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry on Monday slammed the U.S. bid to form an armed militia in northern Syria as a flagrant violation to Syria's sovereignty, according to state news agency SANA. The U.S. declaration of forming an armed militia in northeastern Syria constitutes a flagrant aggression on the unity and sovereignty of Syria and a violation of the international law, the ministry said. A day earlier, reports cited the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition as saying that the United States is working to form an armed group of 30,000 fighters, which will be under the command of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians supported by the U.S. in northern Syria. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 17:30:15|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Indian troops Monday celebrated the 70th Army Day, officials said. Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Indian naval staff Sunil Lanba and Indian air chief marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa visited Amar Jawan Jyoti (war memorial) in capital city New Delhi to pay tributes to the martyred soldiers. Parde Ground in New Delhi cantonment and presented 15 medals to soldiers including five of them posthumously. "Army will never allow anti-national forces to succeed at any cost," Rawat said while addressing soldiers during the ceremony. Rawat also cautioned to remain alert against the misuse of social media by the "enemies". "Social media is being used against us, we have to be careful in its use," he said. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted all soldiers, veterans and their families on the occasion. "On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen of India has unwavering trust and pride in our army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents," Modi wrote on twitter. "Our army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes." Army Day is celebrated every year on Jan 15 to commemorate the day when Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa's (then a Lieutenant General) took over the command of army from General Sir Francis Butcher, the last British commander-in-chief of India, on Jan. 15, 1949. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 17:35:21|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close KAMPALA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's health ministry on Monday confirmed an outbreak of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in the central district of Nakaseke. Sarah Opendi, state minister for health, told Xinhua that the laboratory results of the samples taken from a 9-year-old suspected case who has been under isolation at Kiwoko Hospital, Nakaseke tested positive of the fever. She said a National Rapid Response team from the Ministry of Health and that of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has been dispatched to Nakaseke and Luweero districts to handle the outbreak. "Results from Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe tested positive for the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever and negative for other viral Hemorrhagic Fevers like Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley Fever and Sosuga," said Opendi. The confirmation of the CCHF comes barely two weeks after the ministry of health denied the outbreak. On Jan. 5, Opendi told reporters that the samples taken from the suspected 9-year-old boy tested negative of CCHF, contrary to the claims from Nakaseke districts authorities on the outbreak. The minister on Monday dismissed reports that an 8-year-old girl from Kagugo village, Luweero district succumbed to the fever. "The laboratory results from the deceased's blood samples tested negative for CCHF and other viral Hemorrhagic fevers. The Ministry of Health is continuing to investigate the possible cause of the death of this young girl in collaboration with partners," said Opendi. Crimean-Congo is a tick-borne illness transmitted to humans through tick bites. It is also be transmitted through contact with the blood of infected animals especially during slaughter. It can also be transmitted through direct contact with the blood, secretions and the organs of infected people. Nosocomial transmission can occur through contaminated medical equipment or body fluid from infected persons. A CCHF outbreak constitutes a threat to public health, according to the World Health Organization. According to the global health body, the fever is associated with high case fatality ratio of about 10-40 percent, which is endemic in Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 17:40:22|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close TOKYO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two of Japan's opposition parties on Monday exchanged a document on consensus on their basic policies as they agreed to form an alliance in parliament. While an official merger has not yet been confirmed, Motohisa Furukawa, secretary general of the Party of Hope and Teruhiko Mashiko, who serves the same position in the Democratic Party, vowed to create an alliance that could challenge the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). If the merger comes to fruition, the alliance would create the largest opposition group in both chambers of Japan's parliament, overtaking the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ). Launched by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike just prior to the Oct. 22 last year lower house election, the Party of Hope absorbed a number of conservatives from the Democratic Party to run on its ticket, while many liberals from the then moribund Democratic Party joined the CDPJ ahead of the election. The two parties may officially confirm the alliance later this week, with Mashiko quoted as saying a merger could happen if momentum increased within the parties. If the move were to happen, the number of members of the two parties in the more powerful lower house of parliament would stand at 65, compared to 54 of the CDPJ. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 17:55:25|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close WELLINGTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters left for Canada on Monday for an international meeting on the Korean Peninsula to be held in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday. Twenty-one nations have been invited to the meeting which is co-chaired by Canada and the United States. "I look forward to discussions which will seek to find diplomatic solutions," Peters said in a statement. The Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Security and Stability on Korean Peninsula is an opportunity for the international community to demonstrate solidarity in opposition to the nuclear tests and missile launches conducted by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Peters said. Last week New Zealand joined 17 countries in a Joint Statement pledging to enforce United Nations sanctions on the DPRK. These countries belong to the Proliferation Security Initiative, a global grouping that seeks to block shipments of materials used to make nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 18:00:27|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close KAMPALA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Sunday met with the East African Community (EAC) military chiefs to review strategies to defeat the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). In a military statement issued here on Monday, Museveni, the current chairman of the EAC, met with Chiefs of Defense Forces (CDFs) and Military Intelligence (CMIs) of the six EAC partner states armed forces at State House, Entebbe, about 40 kilometers, south of the capital, Kampala. The EAC brings together Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi. The meeting was also attended by the CDFs and CMIs of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Africa on the invitation of their Ugandan counterpart, Gen. David Muhoozi. The statement said that ADF currently causing havoc in eastern DRC is now reported to be in alliance with elements of the Somali militants, Al-Shabaab as well as the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Museveni in his New Year message called for a joint regional effort to defeat the ADF operating in eastern DRC. "The meeting which took place at State House Entebbe reviewed the security situation in the region with special focus on ADF terrorists," said the statement. "The meeting agreed that the ADF is now a threat to the region and therefore requires a coordinated regional approach to tackle it," it said. The Defense Chiefs commended current efforts by the Congolese Armed Forces supported by the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and Uganda People Defense Forces to wipe out the terrorists in eastern DRC. "The ongoing offensive was therefore fully supported and should be sustained," said the statement. The meeting further urged the countries that have not deployed their officers to the Joint Follow-up Mechanism Center in Kasese under International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to do so without further delay. The center, Joint Regional Military Center of the ICGLR, was established in 2016 to monitor and gather intelligence on rebel activities and share it with member states. ICGLR, a regional intergovernmental body, comprises 12 countries -- Uganda, Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, DRC, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia. Angolan President Joao Lourenco (R) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Luanda Jan. 13, 2018. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei) LUANDA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday rebuked a false claim that China's financing has increased the debt burden of African countries. Wang, on a visit to Angola, made the comment while holding a joint press conference with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto. Such a claim, which is made with ulterior motives, is an outright false accusation, said Wang, when asked for a response to the claim that Chinese financing to African countries, including Angola, has increased their debt burden and is stringed with political considerations. Wang noted that with deepening Sino-African cooperation in recent years, China has indeed increased its financing support for African countries. In the process, however, China has always adhered to the following fundamental principles, Wang stressed. First, Wang said, China's financing is in response to Africa's demands for self-development. A country would have a huge need for capital in its primary stage of economic take-off and industrialization and Africa is no exception, he said. China has provided financing to the best of its ability in response to the demands of African countries, which has served as a timely help for their socio-economic development and is highly valued and welcomed by them, he said. Second, China has never attached political conditions, he said. Like African countries, China also had memories of a bitter past when, with its economic lifeline controlled by foreigners, it was unfairly treated and even exploited and oppressed, Wang said. Therefore, when providing aid to and engaging in cooperation with Africa, China will not repeat what Western countries did and will never impose its own views on others, he said. Third, China has always followed the principle of mutual benefit and win-win results, he said. Sino-African cooperation is in essence part of South-South cooperation, and a key characteristic of the latter is that sustained and long-lasting common development can only be achieved through treating each other on an equal footing and ensuring mutual benefit, he said. To this end, China's financing support for Africa has always gone through a strenuous process of feasibility study with a market-driven approach so that due economic and social effects could be achieved after fulfilling each one of the cooperative projects, he said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) attends a joint press conference with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto after their meeting in Luanda, Angola, on Jan. 14, 2018. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday called for the transformation and upgrade of cooperation with Angola. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei) Wang pointed out that the current debt status in some African countries is the accumulative result after a long period of time. China is a staunch supporter of African countries' efforts to remedy the problem through sustainable development and economic diversification, he said. China will continue to do its part in helping Africa enhance its self-development capacity and realize sound economic and social growth, he said. Wang expressed optimism about Africa's economic growth, saying that China is pleased to see that the African economy had bottomed out last year and that African countries have come to realize the importance of sustainable development. Citing a Chinese saying that goes: only the feet know if the shoes fit, Wang said that African countries are the best qualified to speak about their cooperation with China. There is another Chinese saying that goes: people have a sense of natural justice, said Wang, stressing that the African people are in the best position to decide who is Africa's true friend and most reliable partner. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 18:25:34|Editor: Liangyu Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Liu He, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs, will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting from Jan. 22 to 25 in Davos, Switzerland, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday. Liu will attend at the invitation of WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab, spokesperson Lu Kang said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 18:30:37|Editor: pengying Video Player Close An injured woman lays inside an ambulance outside the stock exchange building in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, Jan. 15, 2018. Part of the building's first floor collapsed on Monday, injuring several people. (Xinhua/Sudiro) JAKARTA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian police have undertaken investigation after a floor at the country's stock market building collapsed that injured dozens of people, a police officer said on Monday. National police spokesman Inspector General Setyo Wasisto disclosed that police investigators would investigate blueprint of the building after the incident. "Every building has its own blueprint, so there must be information stipulating how long a building will remain strong," he said at the police headquarters. The spokesman ensured that the cause of the incident is not an explosion. The country's financial services authority also supported the investigation, said head of international division of the authority Anto Prabowo. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 18:30:38|Editor: pengying Video Player Close DOHA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Qatar announced it is monitoring the situation of a Qatari royal family member who claimed to be held against his will in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported Monday. Spokesperson of Qatar's Foreign Ministry Lulwah al Khater said that Qatar is currently monitoring the situation, as a video released by Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al Thani on Sunday said he is not free to leave Abu Dhabi, the UAE. There are difficulties in establishing the circumstances surrounding the situation due to the severance of ties with the UAE, Al Khater added. Al Khater also stressed that Qatar has committed to protecting the rights of its citizens and affirms the entitlement of his family to pursue all legal means for the protection of his rights. In the video, Sheikh Abdullah said "I am currently in Abu Dhabi. I was a guest of Sheikh Mohammed. I am no longer a guest; I am a prisoner." Sheikh Abdullah is one of the most prominent figures to speak out against the government in the ongoing crisis involving Qatar. On June 5, the Arab quartet including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut all the diplomatic and economic ties with gas-rich Qatar, accusing it of having links with extremist groups, followed by issuing a list of demands. Qatar has vehemently denied the allegations and demands. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali is the second son of the late Emir Ali bin Abdallah al-Thani who ruled from 1949 to 1960. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 18:30:39|Editor: pengying Video Player Close TOKYO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two of Japan's opposition parties on Monday exchanged a document on consensus on their basic policies as they agreed to form an alliance in parliament. While an official merger has not yet been confirmed, Motohisa Furukawa, secretary general of the Party of Hope and Teruhiko Mashiko, who serves the same position in the Democratic Party, vowed to create an alliance that could challenge the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). If the merger comes to fruition, the alliance would create the largest opposition group in both chambers of Japan's parliament, overtaking the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ). Launched by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike just prior to the Oct. 22 lower house election, the Party of Hope absorbed a number of conservatives from the Democratic Party to run on its ticket, while many liberals from the then moribund Democratic Party joined the CDPJ ahead of the election. The two parties have been at odds, however, over contentious security legislation that was forced into law in 2016 despite mass public and political opposition, with the Democratic Party maintaining that part of the legislation is unconstitutional. The legislation led to a reinterpretation of a key pacifist clause in Japan's constitution, allowing Japan's Self-Defense Forces to exercise collective self-defense. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also the leader of the LDP, has proposed amending Article 9 of the Constitution for the first time since World War II to achieve his controversial career goal of normalizing Japan's military force and broadening its international footprint. Abe's aims to further loosen the constraints on Japan's military by way of amending Japan's Supreme Law requires two-thirds majority support in both chambers of parliament and a majority in a public referendum. The contentious notion is opposed by the majority of Japanese citizens according to the latest media polls and has raised concerns in the regional and international community. This is owing to Japan's past wartime atrocities and propensity to whitewash them and continued increases to its military spending and planned acquisition of next-generation offensive military hardware under Abe. Such acquisitions run contrary to Japan's anti-war, defense-only Constitution, legal scholars and military analysts have attested, and could further unsettle regional peace and stability and escalate a potential arms race. According to one section of the document exchanged on Monday between the two parties' secretary generals the parties will "conduct necessary reviews, including parts which are pointed out as unconstitutional." The two parties may officially confirm the alliance later this week, with Mashiko quoted as saying a merger could happen if momentum increased within the parties. If the move were to happen, the number of members of the two parties in the more powerful lower house of parliament would stand at 65, compared to 54 of the CDPJ. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 18:35:44|Editor: pengying Video Player Close PARUN, Afghanistan, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- At least three militants loyal to the hardliner Islamic State (IS) group were killed as an unmanned plane targeted their hideout in the eastern Nuristan province Sunday night, provincial government spokesman Sayed Momand said Monday. Acting upon intelligence report, the security forces conducted drone attacks against IS group in Want Waigal district killing three insurgents on the spot. The killed insurgents, according to the official, were attempting to encourage people to support IS activities in the mountainous province. IS group has yet to make comment. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 18:40:44|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The People's Daily, the Communist Party of China (CPC) flagship newspaper, published an article Monday calling for efforts to grasp the historic opportunity facing China. The article under the byline of Xuan Yan said China was facing a period in which the timeframes of the two centenary goals converged, and both dreams and hard work were needed to achieve the country's goals of creating a moderately prosperous society, modernization and building China into a "great modern socialist country." The article said socialism with Chinese characteristics had blazed the trail for China's prosperity and the people's happiness, which had allowed scientific socialism to prosper. Noting the problems facing the world, such as a "democratic deficit," "governance deficit," "development trap," wealth gap, terrorism and climate change, the article said "the drawbacks of capitalism-led political and economic systems are emerging; the global governance system is experiencing profound changes and a new international order is taking shape." "The world needs China, as all humans are living in a community with a shared future," the article said. "That creates broad strategic room for our efforts to uphold peace and development and gain an advantage." The article said China was at a historic period for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics to leap forward, for the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics to mature and for the world pattern to reshape. "It is also a key period for the realizing of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and for the CPC and the Chinese people to carve out their career," it said. "The historic opportunity is an all-round one, which refers to not only economic development but also the speeding up of science, technology and industrial revolution, the growing influence of Chinese culture and the increasing acknowledgement to the Chinese wisdom and Chinese approach," it said. "We are more confident, and more competent, than any time in history to grasp this opportunity." The article noted that the banner of new thought had provided China a guide to take the opportunity, as the 19th CPC National Congress has enshrined Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as a guide for action. It went on and said that China was contributing to the world on economic growth, trade, poverty alleviation, green development as well as development and governance. "China has become an important source and stabilizer for world economic growth, as well as an important protector and advocate of world peace and development and human civilization progress," it said. "The development of China is rarely seen in the world and the explorations of the CPC are unprecedented." It called for "down-to-earth efforts with no hesitation and improved competence to take the opportunity firmly." The article said that now "everyone can live a wonderful life at stage of the times." "We are fully aware of our responsibilities. We should resolutely support the core, faithfully follow the leader, use our courage and morale...and make strides toward a brighter future," it said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 18:50:46|Editor: pengying Video Player Close DHAKA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government has been closely monitoring the withdrawal of French-made Lactalis infant milk products from market shelves in the country that have been found contaminated with bacteria. A senior official of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) said JS International, local importer and distributor of the France brand in Bangladesh, has already started withdrawing the products from Bangladesh super market shelves. The aim of such an intense monitoring in the withdrawal process is to ensure that not a single product is left in the market shelves, said the official who did not like to be named. The withdrawal move came after a salmonella scandal at French company Lactalis affected scores countries across the world. Lactalis baby milk formula, Baby Care 3, Baby Care MF, Milumel, Picot and Celia Brand, have reportedly been found with salmonella. The French dairy giant has already announced to withdraw 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk from the supermarket shelves of 83 countries including Bangladesh. The French company has long been blamed for hiding the salmonella outbreak at a plant making the product. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 19:05:53|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close NANCHANG, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- On an ordinary winter's day, hundreds of workers packed tonnes of navel oranges into boxes, taped them up and loaded them onto trucks in southern Jiangxi Province. It was their busiest time of year after the fruit ripened in November. "Yesterday I sent a batch to Urumqi, and soon I will send two batches to Heilongjiang Province more than 3,000 kilometers away," said Li Feng, a worker in an e-commerce park in Anyuan County in southern Jiangxi. "We have a maximum order of 7,000 batches a day. When orders flood in on e-commerce promotion days, we have to rush to the farmers' home to buy more oranges," said Jia Longfei, another worker of the park. "It was only in the last two years that the remote county has been transformed into a busy logistics base for the oranges," said Qiu Hongbin, director of the county poverty-relief office. Since 2016, the county government, which deemed roads-building as essential to the development of the county, has spent 391 million yuan (about 46 million dollars) to renovate and build over 330 kilometers of rural roads. "After the rural roads were upgraded, the average logistics costs have been cut by about a third. Lowered costs helped the fruits sell well," Qiu said. Located in east China, Jiangxi is mainly an agricultural province. Half of its population of 45 million live in rural areas. In the last five years, the provincial government has spent 41 billion yuan (about 6.2 billion U.S. dollars) on rural roads. Authorities said better rural roads had reduced travel time, facilitated trade and allowed more movement of people and goods. In the next three years, the province aims to upgrade and build 12,000 kilometers of rural roads. Nationwide, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for more efforts on the construction, maintenance and operation of rural roads as part of the country's battle against poverty. China aims to lift all people from poverty by 2020 to create a "moderately prosperous society." "Efforts should be made to build good roads in rural areas and maintain them to ensure a better quality of life for farmers and accelerate agricultural modernization," Xi said in December. In the past five years, China has seen 1.28 million km of rural roads built or renovated, with 99.24 percent of townships and 98.34 percent of villages connected by asphalt or cement roads. Xi's call has created fresh action on rural roads and mobilized action from ministerial and local authorities. Last Friday, China's Ministry of Transport convened a meeting on rural roads. Minister Li Xiaopeng demanded ministry staff to make plans on rural roads development for the next three years, and focus on building roads for regions with entrenched poverty. Li also demanded the ministry to pressure local authorities to meet targets and to provide technical guidance. Experts said rural roads would help eliminate physical isolation and help people escape the poverty trap. They will also boost social and economic integration, and bring isolated members closer to local decision-making. For years, poor infrastructure has impeded development in several mountainous areas in Yunnan province, whose main population are ethnic groups perennially troubled by poverty. Resident He Lepao, 33, blamed the muddy roads as the reason he dropped out of school at third grade. Living in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, He had to travel for hours from his home to the seat of the village committee about eight kilometers away. Road conditions were bad for the village of only 221 people. "It was even impossible for an SUV to drive to my home during the rain season. I had to use tire chains for my motorcycle," He said. Government funds came and cement was applied on the muddy eight kilometers in December. "Finally I don't have to use the tire chains any more," He said. "All-season roads bring more exchanges with the outside world for people living in remote areas. They also bring health, education and information services to them," said Zeng Kaijun, an official with the Yunnan provincial department of transport. In building the roads, attention has been called to maintenance and operation. Provincial governments such as Jiangxi have earmarked government funds for maintenance of the road and contracted companies to provide a stable work force for the job. "It is not enough to simply build rural roads. Maintenance of the roads requires double the efforts of building. It is a long-term task requiring consistent efforts," said Wang Bingqin, deputy director of Wuyuan County in Jiangxi. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 19:05:54|Editor: pengying Video Player Close HARARE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa is due to travel to Namibia Monday on the third leg of a diplomatic blitz that has seen him visiting South Africa and Angola. Analysts say that Mnangagwa, who came to power last November following military intervention, must boost his legitimacy among his peers in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) given that some leaders had perceived the military action as a coup. His first port of call last December was South Africa, whose President Jacob Zuma is the chairperson of SADC. While in Angola last week, he briefed President Joao Lourenco about the transition in Zimbabwe and assured him that the government would take care of former President Robert Mugabe, who resigned after the military action was bolstered by public demonstrations and parliamentary proceedings to impeach him. Lourenco is the chairperson of the SADC organ on politics, defense and security. Political analyst Jacob Rukweza said recently that Mnangagwa was going on a diplomatic campaign to gain acceptance from the region following the nature of his ascension to power. "What is clear is that President Mnangagwa has launched a diplomatic offensive in the region where he is meeting heads of state with a view to fostering acceptance and cordial relations with fellow heads of state and government following his rise to power with the assistance of the military. "Mnangagwa is eager to be accepted by his peers in SADC and the African Union as this will go a long way in giving currency to his legitimacy as a head of state. It is in this regard that he is paying courtesy calls to regional heads of state beginning with his all weather friends from former liberation movements in South Africa, Angola and then Zambia," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 19:10:55|Editor: pengying Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- India and Israel on Monday signed as many as nine agreements in areas such as cyber security, science and technology, air transport, film production, oil and natural gas, solar thermal technologies, space technology and homeopathic medicine. The agreements were inked in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in Delhi. This is Netanyahu's first state visit to India, after Modi visited Israel last year. Both sides also held delegation-level talks in the Indian capital city Monday morning. Earlier, Netanyahu and his wife Sara paid a visit to India's Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi's memorial "Rajghat" where the couple paid tributes. Landing in Delhi on Sunday, Netanyahu and his delegation are slated to stay in India for six days. During their stay, they are scheduled to visit several places, including the Taj Mahal in northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and Ahmedabad in Modi's home state of Gujarat. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 19:26:00|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ABU DHABI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Monday the interception of an Emirates passenger flight by Qatari military jets was a "flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation," UAE state news agency WAM reported. The UAE General Authority of Civil Aviation (GCAA) also said that the interception was "a clear violation of international laws and conventions." The flight operated by Emirates was a regular scheduled service which took off Monday morning from its home airport Dubai to Manama, the capital of Bahrain, according to Sky News Arabia in Abu Dhabi. GCCA stressed that "the UAE rejects this threat to the safety of air traffic and will take all necessary legal measures to ensure the safety and security of civil aviation." Emirates is the Dubai government controlled, international carrier of the UAE. The incident happened days after Qatar complaint to the United Nations about a UAE military jet's alleged violation of its airspace last December. The complaint is refused by the UAE as "incorrect and confusing," and it added that UAE authorities were working to respond to it officially with evidence. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing Doha of supporting "extremism and terrorism." They also blamed Qatar, a major natural gas supplier, of aligning with non-Arab Gulf state Iran against Arab interests. The Arab quartet also imposed transport and trade sanctions by air, land and sea. Qatar has denied the charges and upgraded trade with Iran and Turkey since then to mitigate the impact of the sanctions. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 19:41:06|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close Chen Xi, president of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, attends a graduation ceremony of the school in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 15, 2018. Chen presented certificates to 857 graduates from the 2017 autumn semester on Monday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Communist Party of China (CPC) official Chen Xi attended the graduation ceremony of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee Monday. Chen, president of the school and a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, presented certificates to 857 graduates from the 2017 autumn semester. Seven graduate representatives made speeches at the ceremony, saying the school had deepened their understanding of "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress." He Yiting, executive vice president of the school, chaired the event. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 19:46:07|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani officials say U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells arrived here Monday on a scheduled visit. "Her third visit since last August, it is part of the regular engagement between the two countries to find common ground on shared objectives of peace and stability in the region," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Muhammad Faisal said on Twitter. Alice Wells met Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua at the foreign ministry and discussed bilateral matters, he said. This is the first visit by a senior U.S. diplomat after the Jan. 1 tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump in which he had leveled serious charges against Pakistan including the allegation that the country supports the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network. Days after the controversial tweet, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced that Washington would withhold 255 million U.S. dollars in assistance to Pakistan from the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) fund, which is used to provide military equipment and training to friendly countries. In an apparent tit-for-tat reaction, Pakistani Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan announced last week that Pakistan has suspended defense and intelligence cooperation with the United States amid growing tensions over the U.S. suspension of military aid to Pakistan. Alice Wells is likely to explore ways in meetings in Islamabad to reduce the tension. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 19:51:09|Editor: Mengjie Video Player Close Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov holds the annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 15, 2018. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang) MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia is ready to facilitate bilateral dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang within the framework of the six-party talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. "We propose to all to calm down and freeze all confrontational actions, first of all, actions related to military operations including launching missiles, testing nuclear weapons and organizing large-scale maneuvers, which the United States, South Korea and Japan are conducting in this region," Lavrov said at a press conference. He said that Russia actively supports "direct contacts between the most interested parties" when the confrontation is terminated. "If we talk about the nuclear issue, it is primarily between Pyongyang and Washington, but we will also be ready to contribute to this bilateral dialogue within the framework of the six-party process," he said. The six-party talks to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, which involved South Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been suspended since late 2008. In particular, Lavrov highlighted that Russia and China are actively interacting to achieve this goal within the framework of their joint initiative on the transition to a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula, which calls for the end of the military confrontation. He noted that the work is going slowly as Washington seems to prefer a military solution despite catastrophic consequences. "When conditions for a transition to dialogue were developed, in most cases we witnessed provocative actions in the form of larger-scale military activities around Pyongyang, which provoked a new round of tension," Lavrov said. Meanwhile, Lavrov denied that Russia was invited to join in the upcoming ministerial meeting in Canada on the Korean Peninsula. The Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Security and Stability on Korean Peninsula, co-hosted by Canada and the United States, will be convened in Vancouver on Tuesday. "With all due respect to those who initiated this meeting, I do not expect anything productive. I only hope nothing counter-productive happens," Lavrov said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 19:56:12|Editor: pengying Video Player Close MANILA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur said on Monday that it will refund to the Philippines 1.4 billion pesos (27.8 million U.S. dollars) for the unused anti-dengue vaccine. "Sanofi Pasteur has responded positively to the Philippine Department of Health's (DOH) request that we provide reimbursement for the doses of Dengvaxia that were not used by the government in the public vaccination program," Sanofi Pasteur said in a statement. Sanofi Pasteur stressed that their decision is "not related to any safety or quality issue with Dengvaxia." "Our decision to reimburse for unused doses is not related to any safety or quality issue with Dengvaxia. Rather Sanofi Pasteur hopes that this decision will allow us to be able to work more openly and constructively with the DOH to address the negative tone towards the dengue vaccine in the Philippines today," it said. The Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque sent last week a demand letter to Sanofi Pasteur to refund the 27.8 million U.S. dollars for the unused Dengvaxia vaccine. Duque bared in December the government's plan to demand that Sanofi Pasteur refund the millions of dollars the Philippine paid to buy the controversial vaccine Dengvaxia. The Philippines Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a regulatory agency under the DOH, ordered Sanofi Pasteur to pull out its Dengvaxia vaccine from the market. The FDA issued the statement after the Department of Justice of the Philippines ordered an investigation into the purchase of the vaccine that cost the government 3.5 billion pesos (69.1 million U.S. dollars). The Philippine government's move came after new findings that the Dengvaxia vaccine may cause a severe case of dengue if administered to a person who had not been previously infected with the mosquito-borne disease. The Philippines immediately suspended its dengue immunization program using Dengvaxia in the wake of the controversy. The Philippines became the first country in Asia to approve the use of the vaccine. Over 700,000 school children have been vaccinated using Dengvaxia. But concerns were raised after Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of the vaccine, issued an advisory warning of the risks posed by the vaccine to those without prior infection, prompting the government to launch an investigation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 20:21:19|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close Huang Kunming (C), member of the Political Bureau of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, presides over a workshop on Xi Jinping Thought in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 15, 2018. Huang stressed that studying and implementing "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" is a high priority for the theoretical work of the CPC. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo) BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A senior official Monday stressed that studying and implementing "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" was high priority for the theoretical work of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks at a workshop on Xi thought in Beijing. Huang asked officials to grasp the political, historical, theoretical and practical significance of Xi thought and strengthen the consciousness of studying, publicizing and implementing Xi thought. We should continue to deepen the studying and illustrating of Xi thought and turn the result into abilities to understand, study and resolve problems, Huang said. He said that Xi thought reflected the "political will, stance and doctrine of the CPC in a centralized manner and made China's original contributions to the development of Marxism." "It is also a powerful weapon to guide the CPC to advance social revolutions and self-renewal," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 20:31:25|Editor: pengying Video Player Close MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Fourteen schoolchildren and a teacher were wounded in a knife fight in a secondary school in Russia's Ural mountains city of Perm, the regional Health Ministry said Monday. "A teacher and two students aged 15 and 16 are in grave condition, and are undergoing surgery," a ministry statement said, adding that other wounded have been provided with medical care. Two pupils started a knife fight, which teachers and other schoolchildren tried to prevent yet stabbed, the regional division of the Investigative Committee said in a separate statement. Educational activity in the school has been suspended with all pupils and teachers evacuated, it said, adding that suspects have been detained and will be interrogated shortly. The Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case on the grounds of attempted murder of two and more persons. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 20:36:26|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The price of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in China saw sharp decline at the beginning of January. In the first ten days of January, the price of LNG stood at 5,613.6 yuan (about 869 U.S. dollars) per tonne, a slump of 22.6-percent compared with the end of December, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday. The decline followed months of rising LNG prices, driven by demand in northern China as millions of households shift from burning coal to using gas for heating in winter. The growing appetite for gas pushed domestic LNG prices to a record high of 9,000 yuan a tonne on Dec. 1 in some regions, according to an industry report. To secure the gas supply, China's state-owned oil firms, including China National Petroleum Corporation and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, are maximizing production at domestic gas fields, and the National Development and Reform Commission has urged companies to be self-disciplined in pricing. The rising demand has prompted state oil companies to look overseas for new gas sources. Sinopec will take the lead in exploration of liquified natural gas (LNG) in Alaska, according to a deal signed during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China last year. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 20:41:27|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ANKARA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has strongly slammed the United States decision to establish a new border army with the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in order to secure Turkish and Iraqi borders with Syria. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said on Monday the U.S. support for YPG in Syria on the ground to fight Islamic State (IS) is not compatible with the strategic partnership. "The U.S. is playing with fire with its new army plan in Syria," Bozdag wrote on his Twitter account. The U.S.-led coalition against IS had issued a written statement to some media outlets earlier on Sunday, and confirmed it will set up a 30,000-strong new border security force with the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The coalition named the new army the Syrian Border Security Force. About 15,000 of the fighters will be SDF veterans as the fight against IS came to a close. Another 15,000 will be recruited and trained in the near future. Currently, 230 individuals are being trained in the inaugural class, according to the coalition statement. Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said on Sunday that Turkey reserves its right to intervene against terror threat "in any way, time and place." Turkey will continue to take necessary measures to ensure its security in line with national interests, Kalin said. Turkey sees YPG as the Syrian affiliates of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). However, the U.S. has supported the YPG as its ally on the ground in combating IS in Syria. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 20:41:27|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Airbus has seen a new company record of 718 commercial aircraft deliveries to 85 customers worldwide in 2017, according to Airbus China Monday. The European aviation giant has seen its global deliveries more than 4 percent higher than its previous record of 688 in 2016. Its 2017 deliveries include 558 single aisle A320 Family, 67 A330s, 78 A350 XWBs and 15 A380s. Airbus has gained 1,109 net orders from 44 customers worldwide in 2017. By the end of 2017, Airbus' overall backlog stood at 7,265 aircraft,valued at 1.059 trillion U.S. dollars at list prices. Airbus has seen 15 consecutive years of production increase, and has four A320 Family plants in Hamburg, Tianjin, Mobile, and Toulouse. The company is on track to achieve a rate of 60 single-aisle aircraft per month by mid-2019. It has not yet disclosed its deliveries in China in 2017, but announced that it will keep expanding its partnership with China. By the end of 2017, the Airbus fleet in China's civil aviation market reached 1,546, covering about half of the country's total civil fleet. "China is more and more important to Airbus. We have delivered more than 100 new Airbus aircraft for consecutive years," said Francois Mery, chief operating officer of Airbus Commercial Aircraft China. In 2017, Airbus reached multiple milestones in its cooperation with China, such as its first aircraft delivery to an Asian customer from the final assembly line in Tianjin, the inauguration of the new A330 CDC and the setting-up of its second innovation center in Shenzhen. Airbus and its Chinese partners also signed a framework agreement on ramping up its A320 production rate at its Final Assembly Line in Tianjin to six aircraft per month. The target is five aircraft per month by early 2019 and six per month by early 2020. The current production rate in Tianjin is four per month. "Airbus has set a target of realizing no less than 1 billion U.S dollars of investment in the industrial cooperation with China," Mery said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 20:46:28|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ALGIERS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Algerian army troops late on Sunday killed three terrorists in Boumerdes province, said a statement of Defense Ministry on Monday. The source said these three terrorists were killed following efficient exploitation of accurate intelligence, as an ambush was set by counterterrorism troops in the dense woods of Ben Choud locality, in upper Boumerdes. Two Kalashnikov machine guns, six magazines, and a quantity of ammunition were retrieved during this operation, "which comes in the context of the efforts made by the Algerian army in the fight against terrorism all over the country." Located in a region plagued by unprecedented security and political instability, Algeria faces ongoing terrorist threats, as tens of thousands of troops are deployed on eastern and southern border to thwart potential intrusion of militants and arms, amid instability in Mali and civil war hitting Libya. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov holds an annual press conference in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 15, 2018. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang) MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia is ready to facilitate bilateral dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang within the framework of the six-party talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. "We propose to all to calm down and freeze all confrontational actions, first of all, actions related to military operations including launching missiles, testing nuclear weapons and organizing large-scale maneuvers, which the United States, South Korea and Japan are conducting in this region," Lavrov said at his annual press conference. He said that Russia actively supports "direct contacts between the most interested parties" when the confrontation is terminated. "If we talk about the nuclear issue, it is primarily between Pyongyang and Washington, but we will also be ready to contribute to this bilateral dialogue within the framework of the six-party process," he said. The six-party talks to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, which involved South Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been suspended since late 2008. In particular, Lavrov highlighted that Russia and China are actively interacting to achieve this goal within the framework of their joint initiative on the transition to a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula, which calls for the end of the military confrontation. He noted that the work is going slowly as Washington seems to prefer a military solution despite catastrophic consequences. "When conditions for a transition to dialogue were developed, in most cases we witnessed provocative actions in the form of larger-scale military activities around Pyongyang, which provoked a new round of tension," Lavrov said. Meanwhile, Lavrov denied that Russia was invited to join in the upcoming ministerial meeting in Canada on the Korean Peninsula. The Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Security and Stability on Korean Peninsula, co-hosted by Canada and the United States, will be convened in Vancouver on Tuesday. "With all due respect to those who initiated this meeting, I do not expect anything productive. I only hope nothing counter-productive happens," Lavrov said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 20:51:31|Editor: pengying Video Player Close by Keren Setton JERUSALEM, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- As the dust of 2017 settles, 2018 will likely produce a combination of results -- more of the same with shifts on certain issues. For Israelis and Palestinians, the ramifications of U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital late last year have not yet fully emerged. In the region, changes in Iran's position as a power-broker and the demise of the Islamic State will also shape how the coming year will look. Although changes in both the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships may occur in 2018, chances of a full-blown conflict between the two-sides are slim to none, with Gaza being a possible spoiler. Mahmoud Abbas is the 82-year-old leader of the Palestinian Authority who may or may not end his term in 2018. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under corruption investigations which may force him to step down. For now, though, their seats are secure. The Trump declaration resulted in a spike in violence between the two sides with clashes and demonstrations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. 12 Palestinians have been killed since the U.S. announcement and tens of others wounded. One Israeli has been killed and several others injured in violent incidents. The end of last year also saw a spike in rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into Israel, with fire continuing at the beginning of 2018. The tit-for-tat rocket fire and subsequent Israeli retaliation can easily spiral out of control. "In Gaza, it can suddenly happen without planning or anticipation on both sides," said Nimrod Goren, head of the Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, "Events create a cycle with its own dynamic." The impoverished and isolated territory, the home of nearly 2 million Palestinians, has been ruled by the militant Hamas organization since 2007. Since then, a strict blockade has been imposed by both Israel and Egypt. Israel and Hamas have fought several bloody rounds, the latest in 2014. Gaza is still recuperating from the last war. Hamas, which has been severely weakened by the blockade and changes in Egypt's government, has turned to reconciliation efforts with the rivaling Fatah party in the hopes of gaining strength. Yet, Hamas continues to prepare for the next conflict with Israel, making Gaza the wild card in the region. Just on Jan. 14, the Israeli army announced it has demolished a tunnel constructed by Hamas and situated under the Kerem Shalom crossing where goods from Israel enter the Gaza Strip. According to the military, Hamas intended to use the tunnel in order to carry out attacks against Israeli targets, including gas and fuel pipelines which run close by. A successful attack could have thrown the region into a full-blown conflict. Being the third such tunnel that Israel has demolished in recent weeks, it appears the country now possesses the means to neutralize the potentially crippling threat. The discovery of such a cross border tunnel was the catalyst to the 2014 battle between the two sides. "The conflict moves from one threat to another, to a new invention. Like a cat and mouse, one side invents something new," Goren said. Unilateralism which characterized 2017 will most likely continue throughout this year. The Likud party in Israel, led by Netanyahu, adopted a resolution that encourages party parliament members to promote legislation annexing the West Bank territories, which Palestinians and many in the international community see as an integral part of their future state. Israel is continuing to build new homes in these areas. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, rang in the new year by adopting the "United Jerusalem" amendment that requires a super majority to any territorial changes made to the city in case of a political agreement. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state while the majority of Israelis object to the division of the city. Although Trump backed Israel's position, the majority of the international community still believes Jerusalem should be divided as was demonstrated by the most recent UN General Assembly vote denouncing the American move with an overwhelming majority. "From the view of the Palestinians, they are excluded. It's as if their future is being decided in foreign capitals ... they aren't being consulted ... Both the United States and Israel seem like they are happy to try to plan the future of Palestinians without talking to them," said Chelsea Mueller, a research fellow at the Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and East African Studies at the Tel Aviv University. Palestinian President Abbas is also expected to continue his bid for recognition of Palestine in numerous international organizations. Both sides are busy creating facts on the ground with no negotiations in sight. "The Palestinian Authority (PA) will put effort this year mostly in the international community ... and the Israeli government will continue to take all kinds of steps on the ground that will make the two-state solution seem less relevant," Goren told Xinhua. While Israelis and Palestinians battle it out, Israel's northern borders are also bubbling with change. Iran, Israel's arch-rival, is heavily entrenched in both Syria and Lebanon. For the small Jewish state, it is a cause for concern. War torn Syria is fertile ground for foreign involvement. "Israel sees a war (Syrian civil war) and the ability of Iran to become more influential there and the lack of activity of the United States to counter the presence of Iran ... that seems to (cause) concern and also, the strengthening of Hezbollah," said Goren. In recent months, Israel has reportedly conducted several airstrikes against targets of the Hezbollah militant organization. Reports say the Israeli military struck at weapons deliveries and key players in the organization. Similar to Gaza, Israel's northern borders have the similar tendency to suddenly spiral into a full-blown crisis. "Iran situated right at the border would be a game changer," Mueller said. In its annual strategic survey, the Institute for National Security Studies called Israel's northern arena its "principal security challenge." The survey was handed to Israel's President Reuven Rivlin at the beginning of the year. The fate of the Iranian nuclear deal is also unclear. While U.S. President Trump has threatened to back out of it, he has yet to take concrete steps in that direction. Netanyahu has been a leading opponent of the deal. Will he take unilateral steps if he feels Iran is crossing the nuclear threshold? "I think both sides are quite cautious with what they do because there really is a danger of it going places that the countries do not want," Goren said. Israeli intelligence officials have been quoted by the media as saying the deal has been proven effective for the country by keeping Iranian nuclear aspirations under international supervision. "Netanyahu is obligated to continue to oppose the deal, mainly because he has already convinced his constituency that it's not in Israel's interest so he gives it lip service, but I don't think he is energetically pursuing this possibility that the United States should break the deal," Mueller said. The chances of resumption of negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians are non-existent. The U.S. backed Netanyahu government has no motivation to make moves towards the negotiating table and a desperate Abbas does not plan on sitting down at one either. While Gaza may continue to play the role of the regional time-bomb, at the moment neither Hamas nor Israel seem interested in an escalation. They both have had plenty of excuses to begin a new round but have chosen not to. On its northern border, Israel has less control of the other side, leaving it to be the true wild card of the area. With many players involved, events could play out very differently than any side intended. Changes in leadership, however, may result in a change in course. For this, we will have to wait and see. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 21:06:33|Editor: pengying Video Player Close SOFIA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and his visiting Montenegrin counterpart Filip Vujanovic here on Monday called for strengthening economic ties between their countries. He and Vujanovic were not satisfied with the levels of bilateral trade and tourism exchange, Radev said at a joint press conference."They can be much larger," he said,"That is why we will work for the greater transport, energy, digital connectivity of the region." It was extremely important for citizens to travel more comfortably and more often, Radev said. Thanks to this, all contacts concerning investment, business, education and culture would also be strengthened, Radev noted. For his part, Vujanovic said that the close relations between Bulgaria and Montenegro could serve as a good example for the region. This proximity and relationships had to be transferred to the economic sphere, Vujanovic said. According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, the bilateral trade amounted to only 15.9 million euros (19.3 million U.S. dollars) in 2016, and to 12.5 million euros in the first nine months of 2017. (1 euro = 1.23 U.S. dollars) Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 21:11:35|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close Zhao Leji (C), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, speaks at a seminar on "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 13, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's anti-graft chief has called on fellow members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to resolutely defend the core status of General Secretary Xi Jinping in the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party. To achieve that, CCDI should tighten up the accountability for overseeing discipline compliance, said Zhao Leji, secretary of the CCDI, while addressing a seminar which concluded on Monday. The three-day seminar, which focused on "Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress, was held for CCDI members after the second plenary session of the 19th CCDI. Zhao, also member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said that priority should be given on political building to identify and expel those who are disloyal and dishonest to the Party, who comply in public but oppose in private. Work was needed to address corruption that occurs on people's doorsteps, said Zhao. In addition, Zhao highlighted the prospect of an ongoing reform of supervisory systems. His fellow members were also reminded that serving on the CCDI means responsibilities and they must lead by example in observing the Party disciplines and improving work style. Yang Xiaodu, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy secretary of the CCDI, attended the seminar. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 21:11:35|Editor: pengying Video Player Close LONDON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- International students should be removed from Britain's immigration figures, a report by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee said Monday. The all-party committee of politicians called for a major overall of Britain's immigration policy making to help build a greater consensus and trust among the British public about immigration. Currently official figures give regular figures for net immigration, which is compiled by counting the number of people entering the country and subtracting the numbers leaving in the same period. It takes into account people arriving from European Union member states, non-EU countries and students arriving to study in Britain. The call for a change in the way the figures are compiled follows a parliament-backed National Conversation on Immigration, involving citizens' panels across the country " "The government's net migration target of the 'tens of thousands' is not working to build confidence and does not reflect the public's view that different kinds of immigration should be treated differently," the committee concluded. It called for the net migration target to be replaced by an evidence-based framework for different types of migration taking into account Britain's needs and humanitarian obligations. There should be no national target to restrict the numbers of students coming to Britain, and at a minimum the government should immediately remove students from the current net migration target. Targets and controls on immigration should be set out in a newly established Annual Migration Report debated in parliament. The annual report would also detail the previous year's migration flows, the economic contribution from migration to Britain, and consideration of the requirements for different regions of the country. Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs the committee, said: "We need a much more open and honest debate, with sensible reforms to address people's concerns. We are proposing an Annual Migration Report like the Budget each year with proper public consultation and independent advice." Cooper added that most people think immigration is important for Britain, but they want to know that the system is under control, that people are contributing to this country and that communities and public services are benefiting rather than facing pressures. "Immigration has always been an important part of our history, economy and culture and will continue to be a crucial policy area for our future. We cannot stress enough how important it is to prevent escalating divisions, polarisation, anger or misinformation on an issue like immigration. To fail to respond risks doing long term damage to the social fabric, economy and politics of our country," added Cooper. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 21:21:38|Editor: pengying Video Player Close LONDON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two Royal Air Force (RAF) warplanes were scrambled in Scotland on Monday to monitor two Russian aircraft approaching Britain, but the incident ended when it was clear the Russian bombers had not entered British air space. The alert was raised on Monday morning with the RAF jets engaged off the Scottish coastline. An RAF spokesman said: "We can confirm that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled to monitor two Blackjack bombers approaching the UK." "The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea. At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign UK airspace." The spokesman told Xinhua the two RAF jets returned to their base. The comments of the Russian side is not available now. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 21:36:42|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ABU DHABI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Qatari military jets on Monday intercepted a civil passenger aircraft from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which was on the way to land at Al Bahrain International Airport in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, the official Emirati news agency WAM reported. The UAE's civil aviation authority GCCA has informed its Qatari counterpart entity that a second Emirati commercial airliner was intercepted by Qatari fighter jets while the aircraft was on a "regular scheduled and well-known journey." The UAE authority added that it regards this incident "as a serious and renewed breach of international conventions and the safety of civil aircraft traffic." Earlier in day, a first Emirates passenger flight was intercepted by Qatari military jets, said the UAE, which called the action a "flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation," according to WAM. The flight operated by Emirates was a regular scheduled service which took off Monday morning from its home airport Dubai to Manama, the capital of Bahrain, according to Sky News Arabia in Abu Dhabi. GCCA stressed that "the UAE rejects this threat to the safety of air traffic and will take all necessary legal measures to ensure the safety and security of civil aviation." Emirates is the Dubai government controlled, international carrier of the UAE. The incident happened days after Qatar filed complaint to the United Nations about a UAE military jet's alleged violation of its airspace last December. The complaint is refused by the UAE as "incorrect and confusing," and it added that UAE authorities were working to respond to it officially with evidence. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing Doha of supporting "extremism and terrorism." They also blamed Qatar, a major natural gas supplier, of aligning with non-Arab Gulf state Iran against Arab interests. The Arab quartet also imposed transport and trade sanctions by air, land and sea. Qatar has denied the charges and upgraded trade with Iran and Turkey since then to mitigate the impact of the sanctions. As a result of these events, Gulf Arab stocks markets plummeted on Monday, while the price of oil (Brent) remained stable below 70 dollars per barrel. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 21:51:45|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close KATHMANDU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Nepal is soon introducing aeronautics and astronautics engineering program at the universities for the first time in cooperation with a Chinese university, officials said on Monday. Participating in the three-day joint academic workshop jointly organized by Nepal's Tribhuvan University (TU) and China's Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Kathmandu, academicians said this will enable the Nepali students to study aeronautics and astronautics engineering in the country. The agreement of partnership to this effect will be signed between Nepali and Chinese academic institutions within a couple of days, according to officials "We are very happy to introduce this important engineering program, which will be completely new to Nepali students. We believe such international collaboration can produce the capable human resources," Prof. Tirtha Raj Khaniya, vice chancellor of the country's oldest university TU, told Xinhua. He expressed hope that the cooperation can also be the first academic work to be introduced within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, which was signed by Nepal in May last year. Tribhuvan University has signed Memorandum of Understanding with 18 Chinese universities covering different fields, like civil engineering, medicine, business and economics, among others. TU's Institute of Engineering, which produces around 4,000 engineers annually, will commence the course on aeronautics and astronautics in bachelors level in the first phase, officials said. Prof. Tri Ratna Bajracharya, dean at the Institute of Engineering, told Xinhua, "Since Nepal is a mountainous country where aviation is the most sought transport, this program will be very suitable for Nepali students." Bajracharya further said that through this program Nepal can fulfill the gap of manpower and can produce globally competitive and capable professionals. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 21:51:45|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 15, 2018. Turkish military will soon start a new operation in a besieged border area of Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. (Xinhua/Qin Yanyang) ANKARA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkish military will soon start a new operation in a besieged border area of Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday. "We have finished our preparations and an operation could start at any moment," Erdogan said in Ankara. The Turkish Armed Forces will resolve the Afrin and Manbij issue as soon as possible, he said. The Turkish president also strongly slammed the United States over its plans to form a 30,000-strong border forces based on the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), dominated by the People's Protection Units (YPG). "It is our duty to kill this terrorist army before it is born," he vowed. The U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS) had issued a written statement to some media outlets earlier on Sunday, confirming it will set up a 30,000-strong new border security forces with the YPG-led SDF. The coalition named the new army the Syrian Border Security Force. About 15,000 of the fighters will be SDF veterans as the fight against IS comes to a close. The remaining 15,000 will be recruited and trained in the near future. Currently, 230 individuals are training in the inaugural class, according to the coalition statement. Turkey sees YPG as the Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group Ankara considers as terrorist. However, the United States has supported the YPG as its ally on the ground in combating IS in Syria. File photo shows an insurgent stands guard as the Al-Shabaab launches a mine-sweeping operation in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on Jan. 19, 2009. (Xinhua/Abdurrahman Warsameh) LAMU, Kenya, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- About 100 Somali Al-Shabaab militants on Sunday stormed a village in Kenya's coastal Lamu region where they "lectured" frightened villagers. The militants flushed out Ishakani villagers from their houses and preached to them radical teachings at the border village between Kenya and Somalia. According to witnesses living in Ishakani, the militants joined other Muslim faithful for prayers in the mosque in which they lectured them before escaping into Somalia. Lamu County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo confirmed the incident on Sunday evening, saying that they got information and sent officers to pursue the militants. Kitiyo confirmed that a group of between 60 to 100 suspected Al-Shabaab militants invaded Ishakani village on Sunday. "However, within 30 minutes, we had already sent out a special team of KDF (Kenya Defence Forces) to pursue the terrorists. Our officers are pursuing the criminals who suspected that our security team must be following them," Kitiyo said. The government official reiterated that the national government is aware of the militants' threats and are working towards weeding out the Al-Shabaab group from Boni forest which he said continues to be their base of operations. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:06:49|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Monday reiterated the authority and unified, centralized leadership of the CPC Central Committee. The Standing Committee heard reports from leading Party members' groups of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) as well as a report from the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. For the whole Party, it should be "a primary political principle and essential political rule" to safeguard the authority of CPC Central Committee and its unified and centralized leadership, said a statement issued after the meeting. The committee urged all Party members to strengthen their consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core and keep in alignment. "The committee has heard reports from these organs for three years, which is a necessary and significant mechanism and should be carried on," the statement said. Acknowledging the performance of and progress made by leading Party members' groups of the Standing Committee of the NPC, the State Council, the National Committee of the CPPCC, the SPC and SPP, the committee urged them to keep in line with the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core. They should maintain a "correct political stance, direction, principle and path" and ensure smooth and effective implementation of policies," the statement said. They are encouraged to steadily push forward their work, carefully investigate and improve efficiency and accuracy when making decisions and carrying them out. They are urged to set an example to follow Party regulations against undesirable work styles, tighten up political disciplines and improve internal management. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:12:57|Editor: Yamei Video Player Close Bulls fight during the Maghesakranti Festival celebration at a village in Nuwakot District near Kathmandu, Nepal, Jan. 15, 2018. The Maghesakranti festival commemorates the start of the holy month of Magh and ushers in the coming of warmer weather and longer days. With the help of Nepal Tourism Board, the villagers organized the bull fight to celebrate the festival. (Xinhua/Pratap Thapa) Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:16:51|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia will release 528 individuals as part of an amnesty program to create national consensus and help build a responsible citizenry, an Ethiopian official said on Monday. Speaking in a press conference, Getachew Ambaye, Ethiopia Attorney General, said the individuals will be released starting from Wednesday as the government has decided to drop charges against them. Among those, 115 individuals were detained at the federal level while the rest were arrested on suspicion of taking part in violence that occurred in the Segen people's zone and Gedeo zone of southern regional state, according to him. The decision comes two weeks after Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn announced Ethiopia will release opposition figures to speed up democratization and create national consensus. The statements by the PM and Attorney didn't give details on the identity of those who will be released. However, state affiliated media outlet Radio Fana reported on Monday prominent opposition figure Merera Gudina will be among those that will be released. Gudina, Chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC), has been in prison since December 2016, accused of conspiring with an outlawed group to destabilize the Ethiopian government. Ethiopia faced in 2016 unrest that killed hundreds, dubbed by analysts the gravest challenge to the ruling coalition Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front in 25 years. The unrest involving parts of the three most populous regions Amhara, Oromia and Southern regional states led to an imposition of martial law in October 2016 which was only lifted in August 2017. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:16:52|Editor: Zhou Xin Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday expressed condolences to the families of the crew of sunken oil tanker Sanchi, saying it will help Iran deal with the aftermath of the accident. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Chinese rescuers approached the tanker many times at the risk of their lives to search and fight the fire at close range. China also coordinated rescue teams from Japan and the Republic of Korea. The Panama-registered oil tanker Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, about 300 kilometers east of the Yangtze River estuary on Jan. 6. Thirty-two crew members of the tanker, 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, were lost. The entire ship sunk Sunday afternoon, leaving a large amount of spilled oil burning on the surface. Lu said according to Iranian media reports, it is believed that all crew members were dead within an hour of the collision. "I would like to express my respect and appreciation to all rescuers for the bravery and professionalism they showed during the process," Lu said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:21:52|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ZAGREB, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Croatia's tourism industry achieved a historical growth in 2017, Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli announced here on Monday. For the first time, Croatia had more than 100 million overnight stays in a year. There were 102 million overnight stays in 2017, an increase of 12 percent compared to 2016. The 100-million record was expected to be broken in 2020, according to Croatian tourism strategy. From January to the end of December 2017, there were 18.6 million arrivals, 13 percent more than that of 2016. 16.6 million of them were foreign tourists, whose arrival counts increased by 14 percent than previous year. Domestic tourists made 12 million overnight stays, which is 14 percent more than 2016. The minister said in a televised press conference that Croatia could accommodate even more tourists during pre-season and post-season. He expected a further five to seven percent rise of tourism traffic in 2018, noting that an increase from far-off markets can be expected. The top destination in Croatia is Dubrovnik, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the region. It is followed by Rovinj, Porec, Medulin and Umag, all parts of Istria, the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. According to Croatian National Bank, the central bank of Croatia, in the first nine months of 2017, tourism revenues amounted to 9.8 billion U.S. dollars, which was ten percent more than the same period in 2016 and accounted for 24 percent of the southeastern European country's GDP. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:21:52|Editor: pengying Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will visit Egypt this week to discuss bilateral issues, an Ethiopian official said on Monday. Speaking to Xinhua, Meles Alem, Spokesperson of Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said the PM is expected to attend the sixth Ethio-Egyptian Joint Commission which will start on Thursday. Desalegn is expected to discuss political, economic and diplomatic ties between Egypt and Ethiopia as well as a host of regional and international issues. "The upcoming joint commission will discuss cooperation in the fields of education, health, agriculture and fisheries," he said. "A ministerial level meeting of the two countries will be held which will see agreements signed on mining and industrial sectors development," Alem added. He also said discussions on a contentious 6,450 Mega Watts (MW) hydro dam Ethiopia is building on Blue Nile river could also be discussed on the sidelines of the sixth joint commission. Ethiopia insists the mega hydro dam is part of its desire to equitably use Nile water to help power its economic growth. Egypt, a largely desert nation of around 95 million people, is highly dependent on the Nile's water for its economy. Egypt fears that the hydroelectric dam will cut into its water supply, potentially crippling its agricultural sector which is already facing strains from water shortages. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:21:53|Editor: pengying Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned on Monday the deadly suicide attacks in Iraqi capital Baghdad, Iran Daily reported. The Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi sympathized with Iraqi government and people over the deadly accident, saying that Iran will support Iraq's ongoing fight against terrorism. Twin suicide bomb explosions on Monday struck busy area in downtown Baghdad, leaving 27 people killed and 92 others wounded. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:36:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Beijing's Internet watchdog has ordered Huajiao, a live streaming platform in China, to address an error in which Taiwan and Hong Kong were listed as countries. In a live-streaming quiz game operated by Huajiao Saturday, Taiwan and Hong Kong were listed as options under a question that asked participants "which country" a celebrity currently resides, the Beijing cyberspace administration said in a message on its WeChat account Sunday. After interviewing the representatives of Huajiao, the administration ordered the live streaming provider to address the error, accusing it of violating China's regulations on cyberspace. The administration also asked Huajiao to conduct a thorough inspection on its content and respond to public concerns in a timely fashion. The administration will take further steps accordingly. On its official account on Weibo, a microblogging service, Huajiao said it assumed full responsibility for the error and would prevent such mistakes from happening again. The incident came days after Chinese authorities investigated Marriott International after the U.S.-based hotel corporation categorized Chinese territories as countries in a mail questionnaire, angering its Chinese members. Marriott has apologized for the mistake and promised to take measures to prevent such incidents. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:36:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan lodged a formal protest with Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh on Monday over the recent "unprovoked ceasefire violations" in the disputed Kashmir region by the Indian forces, which killed four Pakistani soldiers. A Foreign Ministry statement said the Indian forces "used heavy mortars" on Jan. 15 along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jandrot sub sector of Kotli Sector in Kashmir, resulting in the killing of four Pakistani soldiers, while injuring five others. The Pakistan army said earlier that three Indian soldiers were also killed when Pakistani forces returned fire. The Director General at the South Asian Desk of the Foreign Ministry Mohammad Faisal, who summoned the Indian deputy high commissioner, condemned the "unprovoked ceasefire violations." "Despite calls for restraint, India continues to indulge in ceasefire violations. In 2018, the Indian forces have carried out more than 100 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary in just 15 days," the Foreign Ministry said in the statement. "This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from the year 2017 when the Indian forces committed more than 1,900 ceasefire violations," it further said. The statement said the "deliberate targeting of civilian populated areas and troops carrying out maintenance activities is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity, international human rights and humanitarian laws." Pakistan urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement, investigate this and other incidents of ceasefire violations, instruct the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire and maintain peace on the LoC and the Working Boundary. Pakistan and India had declared ceasefire along the LoC in the disputed Kashmir region in 2003. However, both sides occasionally exchange fire. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:36:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close LUSAKA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Police in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, on Monday blocked some street vendors who were marching to State House where they wanted to meet President Edgar Lungu to express their displeasure over trading places in the city. The street vendors, mostly women, wanted to meet the Zambian leader and complain over lack of trading place at City Market where they have been temporarily accommodated after being removed from the streets. On Sunday, the government announced that people removed from trading along the streets of the central business district as part of efforts to contain a cholera outbreak, will be moved to City Market on a temporary basis this week. But the traders told local media that the space at the trading place was inadequate as all the space had been filled up and that they had nowhere to trade from. The traders, who were marching from the central business district along Independence Avenue which leads to State House, were stopped by police officers who ordered them to return. Pictures on various social media news sites showed the vendors running away as the police fired teargas to disperse them. Zambia Police Spokesperson Esther Mwaata-Katongo confirmed that some vendors were blocked as they attempted to seek audience with the Zambian leader. She said the vendors first regrouped in the morning with a view to go to State House but were blocked but later regrouped in the afternoon, a move that forced officers to fire teargas in order to disperse them. Last Friday, the police arrested 55 street vendors after riots which rocked some parts of the city over delays in opening trading places. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:41:57|Editor: yan Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Monday called on all Ethiopians to support the establishment of Ethiopia's pan African center, which will tribute black people's achievement. Desalegn made the call during a nationwide conference that envisaged to support the establishment of Ethiopia's Adwa Pan Africa University, which will signify the contribution of black people. The Adwa Pan Africa University is named after the battle of Adwa held in 1896, in which Ethiopian forces scored victory against the colonial Italian force, marking the first black victory against a colonizer force in the African continent. The Ethiopian government has allocated some 150 hectares of land for the construction of the Adwa Pan African University, which was previously recognized by the pan-African block, African Union (AU) in its cause. Desalegn, speaking at the event on Monday in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, said that the Adwa Pan Africa University "will be a museum to show the glorious history of black people." He also stressed his government's special emphasis on the establishment of the university as it portrays a national and global reconciliation. Desalegn also disclosed that the Ethiopian government has allocated 200 million Ethiopian birr (close to 7.5 million U.S. dollars) for the construction the university for this year. The university, whose construction is scheduled to start within the coming two months period, will be constructed in Ethiopia's Tigray regional state in the town of Adwa. The university is expected to be a center of excellence for black people, it was noted. The Ethiopian government also expects a global support for the construction of the pan African university as it signifies alliance among Africans. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 22:52:00|Editor: yan Video Player Close WINDHOEK, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa said his administration is taking care of the former President Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa who paid a courtesy call on Namibia's President Hage Geingob in Windhoek Monday said Mugabe is fine. "Don't worry comrade president, the change of power was peaceful and we are taking care of comrade Robert Mugabe. He is fine," Mnangagwa said. Mnangagwa also revealed that Geingob was one of the three leaders who contacted him when he fled to South Africa last year. "He comforted me. But that period is now over. We can all go back to develop our countries," Mnangagwa said. Mnangagwa fled to South Africa on Nov. 8, 2017, a day after former President Robert Mugabe had dismissed him as the vice president. The military intervened on Nov. 14, 2017, and Mugabe was forced to resign on Nov. 21 after the ruling party Zanu-PF pushed for impeachment. Mnangagwa was inaugurated on Nov. 24 as the state president and the first secretary of Zanu-PF. Namibia's former presidents Sam Nujoma and Hifikepunye Pohamba attended Mnangagwa's inauguration in Harare. Mnangagwa also said that his one-day courtesy call was to brief President Geingob on the new Zimbabwean administration. Geingob who received a sculpture of a bull said he was happy that Mnangagwa had visited him. "I am also happy that the transition of power in Zimbabwe was handled by Africans. You did not see Washington there or any other Western countries. It shows that we have matured as Africans," Geingob said. Addressing the currency issue, Mnangagwa said Zimbabwe was not adopting the rand. "I don't know where those rumours are coming from, but they are unfounded. We will work towards getting our Zimbabwean currency in the future," he said. Mnangagwa also said he had no advice to give to the Namibian government on how to deal with the issue of land. "There is no simple equation to solve the land issue, but it must be done through a lot of dialogue, and correct procedures must be followed," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 23:17:06|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Monday that his country is not conspiring against Sudan or Ethiopia. "Egypt does not interfere into the affairs of other countries, nor will it waste time in disagreement," said Sisi. He stressed that Egypt is keen to build positive relations with all countries, stressing that the peoples of Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt need investment not wars. The Egyptian president pointed out that Egypt is modernizing and building its army to protect peace, not to attack other countries. Last Thursday, Sudan officially announced that there were potential security threats from Egypt and Eritrea following reported military moves in Eritrea's Sawa area near the border with Sudan's state of Kassala. This coincided with Sudan's closure of all its border crossings with Eritrea and sending of military reinforcements to the country's eastern border. On Jan. 4, Sudan said it decided to recall its ambassador to Egypt for consultations. Relations between Egypt and Sudan have been tense over the past years on various issues, including their difference over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam which Ethiopia is building on the main sources of the Nile River. The two countries also have a territorial dispute over the border region of Halayeb and Shalateen, which are currently under Egypt's control. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 23:22:07|Editor: yan Video Player Close MONROVIA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The spokesman of Liberia's outgoing president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Monday made a scanty remark on her alleged expulsion from the governing Unity Party, saying it was aimed at making her lose focus on the remaining days of her stay in office. Sirleaf's main spokesman Jerolinmik Piah said her purported expulsion was "illegal and not in conformity with party's rules and regulations." "The pronounced action by the Unity Party does not deserve or require a reaction," Piah told reporters in the capital city of Monrovia. The Unity Party said on Sunday it had expelled Sirleaf from its fold since Saturday, accusing her of anti-party activities. The party accused the 79-year-old Sirleaf of violating the political group's constitution by working against her vice president, Joseph Boakai, who ran for president on its platform last year. Boakai was defeated by opposition candidate George Weah in the presidential run-off election held on Dec. 26 in the country. Boakai, who has served as vice president of the country for 12 years, supported Sirleaf's expulsion from the party. Two other strong members of the party known to be very loyal to the Liberian leader were also expelled from the political group. Piah said the outgoing Liberian leader was paying no attention to the development because "she is focused on concluding her transition." He said Sirleaf still considers herself a member of the political party. "The party rules are clear as to how such action should be taken. Expulsion does not come from thin air. There are things that an individual should do that result in expulsion," the spokesman said, adding "when she leaves the presidency, the party matter will be handled the party way." Sirleaf, Africa's first female elected president, will leave office on Jan. 22 after completing her two-term tenure in office. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 23:47:17|Editor: yan Video Player Close TOKYO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The city of Zushi, located in Japan's eastern Kanagawa prefecture, was ordered by a local court on Monday to pay 1.1 million yen (9,900 U.S. dollars) in compensation for providing the address of a woman who was later tracked down and killed by a stalker in 2012. A private detective hired by the woman's ex-boyfriend got her home address in a telephone call to the municipal government by pretending to be her husband. The ex-boyfriend, who had been arrested before for stalking and threatening to kill the woman, murdered her and then committed suicide the next day after getting her address from the detective. The woman's husband filed a lawsuit with the Yokosuka branch of the Yokohama District Court, arguing that the city is liable for negligence for providing citizens' private information without confirming with the people concerned. The city, meanwhile, tried to defend itself by saying that it could not have foreseen the murder case when providing the information. The court, while denying direct causal connection between the murder case and the city's provision of the information, said the city's act violated the obligation of confidentiality under a law on local public service. The victim's husband said that the ruling would warn people against information leakage. The manager of the detective agency was found guilty for fraudulent obstruction of business by a district court in 2015. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 23:47:17|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close BEIJING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Monday reiterated the authority and unified, centralized leadership of the CPC Central Committee. The Standing Committee heard reports from leading Party members' groups of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), the State Council, the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) as well as a report from the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. For the whole Party, it should be "a primary political principle and essential political rule" to safeguard the authority of CPC Central Committee and its unified and centralized leadership, said a statement issued after the meeting. The committee urged all Party members to strengthen their consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core and keep in alignment. "The committee has heard reports from these organs for three years, which is a necessary and significant mechanism and should be carried on," the statement said. Acknowledging the performance of and progress made by leading Party members' groups of the Standing Committee of the NPC, the State Council, the National Committee of the CPPCC, the SPC and SPP, the committee urged them to keep in line with the CPC Central Committee with Xi at the core. They should maintain a "correct political stance, direction, principle and path" and ensure smooth and effective implementation of policies," the statement said. They are encouraged to steadily push forward their work, carefully investigate and improve efficiency and accuracy when making decisions and carrying them out. They are urged to set an example to follow Party regulations against undesirable work styles, tighten up political disciplines and improve internal management. The statement also noted that, during the past year, the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee has implemented policy decisions made by the CPC Central Committee, promoted full and strict governance over the Party, guided mass organizations over their work, improved Party regulations, and helped organize many important meetings. The Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee should improve the consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in terms of the big picture, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment, said the statement. It should also work under the guidance of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and its standing committee. The Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee should also safeguard Xi's position as the core of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party, and focus on the study, promotion and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 23:52:19|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A medical source confirmed Monday that the casualties of an earlier attack in the International Airport of the Libyan capital Tripoli increased to 16 deaths and 48 injuries, including civilians. "The victims include civilians. The injured have been transferred to several hospitals and clinics in Tripoli," Abduddayem Al-Rabri, director of Tripoli field hospital, told Xinhua. Rabri called on all Libyan doctors and medical assistants to help treat the injured people, stressing that many doctors are providing assistance. The Special Deterrent Force in charge of securing the airport said an armed group on Monday morning attacked Tripoli International Airport with heavy weapons. "The criminal militia known as Bashir al-Baqarah and all the criminals wanted by the Deterrent Force attacked the International Airport after escaping (from jail) and joining the militia," said the Special Deterrent Force. The Force confirmed that the situation is now under full control. Head of the Civil Aviation Authority Nasr-Addin Shayeb al-Ain said the airport had been temporarily closed for security reasons. "The closure of the airport was because of the ongoing clashes. We are waiting for the clashes to stop and for the airport to be secure again to resume air traffic," al-Ain told Xinhua, pointing out that flights have been temporarily transferred to the airport of Misurata city, some 250 km east Tripoli. The UN-backed government issued a statement condemning the attack, "which threatened the lives of travelers, nearby residents and the safety of air traffic." "This attack aimed at freeing IS, al-Qaida and other terrorists from the detention center supervised by the Interior Ministry's Special Deterrence Force," said the statement. "Those acts not only attempted to free terrorists, but also attempted to hinder the peaceful political transition in the country, and also obstruct local and international efforts to achieve stability in our country. These acts will not go away unpunished," the statement added. The International Airport of Tripoli witnessed frequent clashes and armed attacks, most recently in October 2017. However, Monday's attack is the most violent one the airport has witnessed so far, as gunmen attacked the air hub and the prison inside it, where hundreds of terrorists have been detained over the past few years. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 23:57:22|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close DHAKA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh has discovered a new gas reserve in the southern part of the country with the possibility of a significant amount of fossil fuel in the new structure. The gas structure in Bhola district has been discovered by the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (BAPEX), Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters on Monday. He said some 600 billion cubic feet of gas (bcf) has been found in the country's 27th gas reserve. The official could not tell immediately the amount of recoverable gas reserves in the structure. But he expressed the hope that this would be one of the largest reserves discovered in recent years. Over the last years, BAPEX discovered 11 small- to medium-sized fields. The biggest field so far is in Bhola, an offshore island covering an area of 3,403.48 sq km and about 205 km south of the capital Dhaka, which boasts hundreds of billions of cubic feet reserves. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-15 23:57:22|Editor: yan Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 chip concept companies listed on the Chinese stock market were affected Monday by critical Intel chip flaws. Intel's Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities disclosed earlier in January by Google's Project Zero, a team that focused on discovering security issues, have affected almost the whole industry globally. China's leading companies such as Unigroup Guoxin went limit down during the day, and the growth enterprise index decreased nearly 3 percent. Before the crisis, chip industry was believed to be one of the most promising sectors on the Chinese stock market, but the Intel flaws have left many investors re-estimating their perspective. Pan Jiang, a Shanghai mutual fund manager, told Xinhua that the effect on the Chinese industry remains to be seen and his team will be cautious until they have a clear picture. However, Pan said it would not affect government support for the industry. Pan added that the new generation of information technology is one of the ten most supported industries in the "Made in China 2025" plan. In 2016, the total output value of the integrated circuit industry in China exceeded 100 billion yuan (about 15.6 billion U.S. dollars). By 2025, China's chip self-sufficiency rate is expected to reach 50 percent, according to the plan. Police work on the site of a knife attack in the center of Surgut, Russia, on Aug. 19, 2017. (Xinhua/Sputnik) MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Fourteen schoolchildren and a teacher were wounded in a knife fight in a secondary school in Russia's Ural mountains city of Perm, the regional Health Ministry said Monday. "A teacher and two students aged 15 and 16 are in grave condition, and are undergoing surgery," a ministry statement said, adding that other wounded have been provided with medical care. Two pupils started a knife fight, which teachers and other schoolchildren tried to prevent yet stabbed, the regional division of the Investigative Committee said in a separate statement. Educational activity in the school has been suspended with all pupils and teachers evacuated, it said, adding that suspects have been detained and will be interrogated shortly. The Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case on the grounds of attempted murder of two and more persons. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:02:23|Editor: yan Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Shanghai Consumer Council said Monday it has sent an inquiry letter to Apple over the slow-down of older iPhones after an iOS update, demanding a reply before Friday. The council demanded the cause of the performance and remedy measures as well as complete information regarding the interests of consumers. The council said it received 2,615 complaints on Apple products and services in 2017, compared with 964 complaints in 2015. In late December, Apple apologized for the slow-down of the of old iPhones with older batteries amid lawsuits and consumer outrage. It said the company will cut the price of out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements from late January 2018 to December. 16 people were killed in an airport attack in Libyan capital Tripoli on Monday. (AFP Photo) TRIPOLI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A medical source confirmed Monday that the casualties of an earlier attack in the International Airport of the Libyan capital Tripoli increased to 16 deaths and 48 injuries, including civilians. "The victims include civilians. The injured have been transferred to several hospitals and clinics in Tripoli," Abduddayem Al-Rabri, director of Tripoli field hospital, told Xinhua. Rabri called on all Libyan doctors and medical assistants to help treat the injured people, stressing that many doctors are providing assistance. The Special Deterrent Force in charge of securing the airport said an armed group on Monday morning attacked Tripoli International Airport with heavy weapons. "The criminal militia known as Bashir al-Baqarah and all the criminals wanted by the Deterrent Force attacked the International Airport after escaping (from jail) and joining the militia," said the Special Deterrent Force. The Force confirmed that the situation is now under full control. Head of the Civil Aviation Authority Nasr-Addin Shayeb al-Ain said the airport had been temporarily closed for security reasons. "The closure of the airport was because of the ongoing clashes. We are waiting for the clashes to stop and for the airport to be secure again to resume air traffic," al-Ain told Xinhua, pointing out that flights have been temporarily transferred to the airport of Misurata city, some 250 km east Tripoli. The UN-backed government issued a statement condemning the attack, "which threatened the lives of travelers, nearby residents and the safety of air traffic." "This attack aimed at freeing IS, al-Qaida and other terrorists from the detention center supervised by the Interior Ministry's Special Deterrence Force," said the statement. "Those acts not only attempted to free terrorists, but also attempted to hinder the peaceful political transition in the country, and also obstruct local and international efforts to achieve stability in our country. These acts will not go away unpunished," the statement added. The International Airport of Tripoli witnessed frequent clashes and armed attacks, most recently in October 2017. However, Monday's attack is the most violent one the airport has witnessed so far, as gunmen attacked the air hub and the prison inside it, where hundreds of terrorists have been detained over the past few years. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:12:27|Editor: yan Video Player Close RIGA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Latvian government's talks with the potential investors of ailing steel firm KVV Liepajas Metalurgs has failed because it has now been decided to split the company's assets and auction them off. KVV Liepajas Metalurgs is a firm based in the southwestern Latvian port city of Liepaja. Guntars Koris, the troubled steel company's insolvency administrator, announced the decision to the media on Monday, saying that none of the potential buyers had provided the necessary guarantees to prove their ability to acquire the steelworks in one piece and bring the plant back to life. Millionaire Igor Shamis, who has been holding negotiations with the Latvian government on the acquisition of KVV Liepajas Metalurgs, also spoke to reporters on Monday. He said he still had not lost hopes to buy the troubled company and relaunch its operations. Although Shamis called the insolvency administrator's decision to sell KVV Liepajas Metalurgs at auctions "unexpected" and a "big mistake", he said he still hoped to reach a deal with the Latvian authorities. "We still have hopes. Our offer remains on the table and is being considered. It's all very simple. What we are saying is that we are ready to start rolling right away. To do that, we are ready to buy materials for making rebars with our own money," Shamis told reporters. The potential investor has offered 42 million euros for KVV Liepajas Metalurgs. "Nobody has offered more," he said, adding that he would pay the first installment of 7.5 million right after the acquisition deal is made. Ukraine's KVV Group acquired Liepajas Metalurgs in 2014, promising to pay 107 million euros in several installments for the insolvent metallurgy company. After struggling with financial troubles for months, KVV Liepajas Metalurgs halted production in March 2016 and laid off some 300 workers. About 100 workers remained to keep the steel plant on "standby mode". The Ukrainian investor never paid the full price for the acquisition and the company ended up in the Latvian government's control again. In September 2016, a district court ruled Liepajas Metalurgs insolvent. (1 euro = 1.23 U.S. dollars) Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:12:28|Editor: yan Video Player Close XINING, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Tashi Tso has to change into three different pairs of shoes a day: high heels before entering the office, canvas shoes at work and white rubber soles in the manufacturing room. She works at the pharmaceutical department of Qinghai provincial hospital of Tibetan medicine in northwest China, and the shoe changing is necessary to meet national hygiene standards. "I love my job and am thrilled to be in an industry that was once under male dominance," she said. [ For thousands of years, knowledge of and treatment with Tibetan medicine were passed down in monasteries, and the best doctors were often monks. Women rarely had the chance to learn medicine, and their roles were restricted to household chores and raising children. As one of China's most influential medical subjects, Tibetan medicine has been used to cure aches and ailments for over 3,800 years. It draws on traditional Chinese, Indian and Arab medicine and uses herbs, minerals and sometimes insects and animal parts. China has intensified measures to support the development of Tibetan medicine. An innovation platform of Tibetan medicine jointly built by Beijing, Tibet, Gansu and Qinghai was recently launched. In Qinghai, a program supporting the development of Tibetan medicine was launched in December. Fifteen therapies and practices of Tibetan medicine have been listed as national intangible cultural heritage, and the output of such medicine reached 2,300 tonnes, worth 1.5 billion yuan (around 234 million U.S. dollars) in 2016. Due to government support and the fast development of Tibetan medicine, females are gradually breaking male dominance. Women make up half of the physicians at the Tibetan Hospital in Lhasa, capital of Tibet. Of the graduates of Qinghai University's School of Tibetan Medicine each year, half are female, according to Tencho with Qinghai University. Now, both men and women can learn Tibetan medicine in colleges in Qinghai, Tibet, Gansu and Sichuan, according to Dorje with Qinghai Provincial Hospital of Tibetan Medicine. "Women are more patient and careful in manufacturing process such as making pills, pulverizing and quality control," said Tashi Tso. "Of the 51 medical staff at my department, 26 are female." Tashi Tso was among the first batch of students enrolled in the Tibetan medicine school of Qinghai University in 2011. "Not only did we learn the basic theories of Tibetan medicine and distinguish medical materials in the mountains with our teachers, but we also received lessons on Western medicine, including anatomy," she said. Tibetan medicine pharmaceuticals have introduced a lot of modern equipment now, and Tibetan medicine has developed to be interdisciplinary, she added. "It is meritorious that the medicine can help more people in the future," said a female doctor at the same hospital as Tashi Tso. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:12:29|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close Protesters clash with police officers during a protest in Athens, capital of Greece, on Jan. 15, 2018. Greeks hit the streets here again on Monday to protest austerity as Members of Parliament (MPs) were due to vote on the latest omnibus bill legislating on dozens of prior actions required by the country's international creditors to conclude the third program review. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos) ATHENS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Greeks hit the streets here again on Monday to protest austerity as Members of Parliament (MPs) were due to vote on the latest omnibus bill legislating on dozens of prior actions required by the country's international creditors to conclude the third program review. The umbrella labor union of civil servants, ADEDY, which had called for a three-hour stoppage across the public sector services at noon, opened the new round of demonstrations at the parliament. A 24-hour strike was called for public transport, while dozens of flights were affected by the air traffic controllers' work stoppage. "We say no to policies harming peoples' interests. We resist, we demand," read banners waved by demonstrators. Later on Monday, the union representing private sector employees GSEE, the communist party affiliated union PAME, and other labor unions were to stage more protests outside the Greek parliament. The bill the plenary is debating foresees new cuts to family benefits, restrictions regarding the declaration of strikes, and the introduction of e-auctions for foreclosed properties. The government aims to have the bill approved and all presidential decrees signed ahead of the next euro group meeting on Jan. 22, which could open the way for the disbursement of the next loan installment. Cabinet ministers have admitted lately that Greeks will continue facing tightening measures after the end of the current bailout this summer, the third since 2010. Protesters on Monday vowed to continue fighting austerity. "They are tying a noose once again around the neck of working people," Michalis Yannakos, the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Employees in Public Hospitals told Xinhua. "I wonder whether I will be able to support my child in his efforts in the future...Families do not want benefits to survive," Dimitra Aggeli, general secretary of the Athens Association of Families with Many Children, and mother of six children. Yannis Paidas, member of ADEDY's executive committee, commented on the auctions of foreclosed homes, and the new rules introduced regarding strikes. "We are absolutely opposed to the 50 percent plus one quorum. It abolishes the right to protest," he said. Under the bill, first-level labor unions will need an absolute majority of at least 50 percent of active members who pay dues before declaring a strike in the future. Currently, the percentage stands at only one third of union members. The quorum allowed unions to stage dozens of strikes during the past eight years of the debt crisis. Employer's unions have supported the new strike rules, arguing that strikes have harmed the already ailing economy which is struggling to recover. Under the bill, as of Feb. 21 auctions of foreclosed properties will be conducted only electronically. The measure is widely regarded as an attempt to avoid the protests. Under bailout conditions, Greek banks need to reduce non-performing loans in their portfolios. But Paidas explained that it was not as if the people who took out loans were not avoiding paying off their debts, rather they couldn't afford to. "People took loans 10 years ago on different terms and after suffering wage cuts of 30 to 40 percent they can no longer pay their loans under the same conditions...We are asking for measures so that they will not lose their primary homes," he told Xinhua. Nearly one in 10 public servants are struggling to pay their mortgages and risk losing their properties, he said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:17:31|Editor: yan Video Player Close KABUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Casualties were feared after two rockets were fired into a diplomatic district in central Kabul Monday night, a witness said. "The attack occurred at around 8:10 p.m. (local time), and the rockets struck areas in Shash Darak localities," witness Mohammad Jawad told Xinhua. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) attends a joint press conference with his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto after their meeting in Luanda, Angola, on Jan. 14, 2018. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Sunday called for the transformation and upgrade of cooperation with Angola. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei) LUANDA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Angola's Foreign Minister Manuel Domingos Augusto on Sunday reaffirmed his country's commitment to the one-China policy. In a meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Augusto said Angola remains committed to the one-China policy and supports China's legitimate rights and interests on issues concerning its core interests, including the South China Sea. Angola highly values its relations with China, said Augusto, stressing that such a relationship is based on mutual respect and dialogue on an equal footing. The Angolan foreign minister pledged efforts to enhance bilateral exchanges and cooperation in areas such as politics, diplomacy, economy and trade, and culture. He said that Angola is willing to cooperate with China to ensure the success of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit, which will be hosted by China this year. For his part, Wang said 35 years after China and Angola established diplomatic ties, China is now Angola's key strategic partner and largest trading partner. The two countries' fruitful cooperation in a wide range of fields has served as a fine example of the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Africa, said Wang. He called for continued efforts on both sides to strengthen political mutual trust and support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests. Wang said China will keep in contact with Angola and make joint efforts to ensure that the FOCAC summit in Beijing contributes to the solidarity of China and Africa and their mutually beneficial relations. The Chinese foreign minister is in Africa for his first new year trip that has taken him to Rwanda and Angola. He will visit Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe afterwards. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:22:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close ABUJA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian emergency and firefighting officials on Monday said an investigation has been launched to ascertain the cause of a morning gas explosion which killed two and injured seven others in the main city of Lagos. The fire incident in Magodo area of Lagos was brought under control by firefighters after three hours. It gutted the Second Coming Gas Company, a private firm, which handles the supply of gas to people in the Lagos metropolis. Head of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency Shina Tiamiyu confirmed to reporters that the charred remains of two persons who died in the fire and seven others, who had different degrees of burns, had been deposited at a local hospital. Lagos police chief Edgal Imohimi told Xinhua a preliminary investigation showed that the explosion was caused by a car exhaust which ignited the gas pipe and spread. The location of the gas facility was not good for the safety of residents of the neighborhood, Imohimi said. "I have asked them to evacuate all the tanks so as to avoid a second explosion," he added. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Da Nang, Vietnam, Nov. 10, 2017. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia and China are working closely together on a string of important international and regional issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. "We can try to enumerate for a long time the joint initiatives that Russia and China are promoting in the international arena," Lavrov said at his annual press conference. The two countries are working actively on their joint initiative on the transition from military confrontation to a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula, one of the most serious topics on the international agenda, he said. "If we talk about the nuclear issue, it is primarily Pyongyang and Washington, but we will also be ready to contribute to this bilateral dialogue within the framework of the so-called six-party process involving Russia, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea," he added. The six-party talks to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, which involved South Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been suspended since late 2008. With regard to the Syrian settlement, Russia and China share the same stance in appealing for "an exclusively political settlement based on the decisions of the United Nations Security Council that presupposes a political dialogue," Lavrov said. The minister also highlighted cooperation in the field of international security, specifying that the two countries jointly drafted important documents concerning the non-deployment of weapons in outer space and the prevention of acts of chemical and biological terrorism. A close process of consolidation of efforts on the Eurasian integration was also observed, Lavrov said, adding that the two countries have agreed to promote the integration of their Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Belt and Road initiatives. "Members of the EAEU are preparing an agreement on trade and economic cooperation with China. In parallel, there are contacts between the EAEU and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization...In general, this is what President Putin called the Greater Eurasian Project," he said. Putin announced the idea of a greater Eurasian partnership in December 2015, which is based on the EAEU officially established in January 2015. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:27:37|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells on Monday conveyed the U.S. desire to work with Pakistan in furthering the shared objectives of stabilizing Afghanistan, Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Wells held talks with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad at a time when relationship between Pakistan and the U.S. is strained over the Jan. 1 tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump in which he had leveled serious charges against Pakistan including the allegation that the country supports the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network. The visit of Wells is the first visit by a senior U.S. diplomat amid the heightened tension. Wells noted that as an important country of the region, Pakistan's support was critical to the success of the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan, the statement said. To this end, Wells underlined the need for strengthening intelligence cooperation between the two sides to improve coordination in counter-terrorism efforts. The two sides agreed that all initiatives owned and led by the Afghans for seeking a peaceful solution should be supported by the regional countries. Pakistan's positive role in several peace initiatives was appreciated, the Foreign Ministry said. The visit was part of regular engagement between the two countries on bilateral and regional cooperation. The Pakistani foreign secretary underscored that the relationship with the United States needs to move forward under an environment of mutual trust and respect, the statement said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:27:37|Editor: yan Video Player Close LISBON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Schools in the Portuguese town of Arraiolos were evacuated on Monday after an earthquake registering 4.9 on the Richter scale struck the area. No injuries or major structural damage have been registered, though local media reported a sense of shock and some communities have lost electricity. Teachers and students were being sent home merely as a precautionary measure, a schools spokesperson told the Portuguese Lusa News Agency. The earthquake occurred at 11:51 a.m.local time (1151 GMT). Its epicenter lay 6 kilometers north of Arrailoas, which is 130 kilometers to the east of Lisbon. Six smaller tremors followed, registering between 1.3 and 2.5 on the Richter scale, according to the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). A 4.9-magnitude earthquake is classified as "light", while 5.0 would have been "moderate". In 1755, an 8 to 9-magnitude earthquake all but destroyed Lisbon. Experts say the region remains vulnerable to seismic activity. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:32:38|Editor: yan Video Player Close OTTAWA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) - Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada Julie Payette will visit Ukraine and Latvia from January 17 to 19, according to a news release by the Office of the Secretary of the Canadian Governor General Monday. This visit will allow the Canadian governor general to show her support to Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members serving on Operation UNIFIER in Ukraine and on Operation REASSURANCE in Latvia, said the news release. Chief of the Canadian Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance will accompany the governor general to the two counties. This will be Payette's first overseas visit as Commander-in-Chief to meet with Canadian troops since she was sworn in last year. She will be the first Canadian governor general to visit Latvia. Operation UNIFIER is the Canadian Armed Forces training mission in Ukraine through which Canada provides military training and capacity-building assistance to Ukrainian military forces. Now, Canada leads NATO's multinational enhanced Forward Presence Battle group in Latvia, and has 450 troops to the deployment as part of Operation REASSURANCE. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:32:38|Editor: yan Video Player Close TIRANA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian economy performed better than expected in 2017, Albanian Finance Minister Arben Ahmetaj told a press conference Monday. He noted that the country's growth of 3.9 percent in 2017 exceeded the rate projected by Bank of Albania and international financial institutions. At the end of Q3 2017, FDIs in Albania were estimated at 676.6 million euros (821.1 million U.S. dollars), contributing significantly to the economy. Ahmetaj said: "This year we will see strategic investments such as construction of Vlora airport, or others projects in tourism, which on legal and procedural terms will mature in the first half and start investments at the end of 2018 or at the beginning of 2019." There are 1,100 foreign companies that contribute to the growth of foreign investment and the overall economy, he added. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:52:46|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOGADISHU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Somalia said on Monday that it signed a raft of trade agreements with Turkey aimed at boosting an already thriving economic cooperation between the two countries. Somali Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Ahmed Gulaid said he signed a cooperation protocol during the inaugural meeting of a Joint Economic Commission (JEC), noting that Mogadishu was open to foreign investment and ready to boost trade cooperation with all friendly countries. "The agreements will also open Somali exports to Central Asian markets through the Turkish gateway as well as to contribute to the country's economic recovery and to generate employment for the Somali youth," Gulaid said in a statement issued in Mogadishu. He said the objective of the JEC is to translate the number of memorandums of understanding signed between the two countries into reality with immediate priority being to open Turkish markets for Somali products such as dry lemon, sesame and banana. The deputy prime minister stressed that revitalizing the Horn of Africa country's economy was one of the top priorities of the Somali government. The two countries had previously signed trade agreements in areas such as energy, mines, electricity, higher education, agriculture, and fisheries. Gulaid said Turkey's investment in Somalia is more than 100 million U.S. dollars, predicting that the bilateral trade volume could rise to 200 million dollars from about 120 million dollars in 2016. The two countries resolved to convene regular meetings to follow up on the implementation of the agreements and to bolster the strategic cooperation in the years to come. "Apart from the historical relations between our countries, Turkey has become a very important ally for the Somali people and we are committed to consolidate these relations for the mutual benefit of our two countries," Gulaid said. He said trade ties will also open the gates for the Somali business community to have business-to-business deals with their Turkish counterparts and to participate in Turkish trade fairs. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:57:46|Editor: yan Video Player Close BRUSSELS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two Belgian F-16s took off from Florennes airbase late Monday morning for an emergency intervention in the Benelux region, Belgian defense authorities announced on social media. The intervention took place after two Belgian pilots identified Russian planes located in a NATO-controlled airspace over the North Sea. "Due to a supersonic flight, the Belgian F-16s were able to accomplish their mission by guaranteeing your security," the Belgian Air Force said on Twitter. The interceptions of long-range Russian bombers by NATO's air raids have increased in recent years, with a resurgence of these flights. With regard to NATO, the press briefing advises people to contact the national authorities for more information. Since January 2017, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands conduct joint air policing of their territories. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 00:57:47|Editor: yan Video Player Close WINDHOEK, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday said that he is hopeful about the opportunities that have been availed to his country singling out the Chinese chicken market as a prospective area for export. He was speaking at a business forum meeting for Zimbabweans in Namibian capital Windhoek where he is on a one-day working visit. Mnangagwa who came to power last November following military intervention said that the two countries were working towards brokering an agreement that would see small poultry producing businesses in Zimbabwe exporting their chicken to China. He urged Zimbabweans living in Namibia to consider relocating back home to utilize these opportunities and help build the country that was once known as the bread basket of Africa. "There has been goodwill from across the world, so many delegates coming to Zimbabwe with various proposals. Our people are ready to move and rebuild," he said. China was one of the first few countries that reached out to the president right after his inauguration to offer support. Mnangagwa is expected to visit China in April this year to work out more areas of cooperation. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:07:49|Editor: yan Video Player Close KABUL, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A rocket was fired into a diplomatic district in central Kabul Monday night, leaving no casualties, an Interior Ministry official said. The attack occurred at around 8:10 p.m. (local time), and the rocket struck street 14 of Wazir Akbar Khan, Police District 10 of the city, but caused no casualties, spokesman of the ministry Najib Danish tweeted shortly after the blast. No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The embassies of the United States, Japan and Canada and NATO-led Resolute Support or coalition headquarters are located in the area. The city has been hit by a series of terrorist attacks recently. On Jan. 4, 13 police were killed and 18 people were injured when a suicide bomber of Islamic State extremist group struck a protest along a road in nearby neighborhood. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:12:51|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close UlAN BATOR, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Mongolia and South Korea on Monday agreed to make more efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, the Mongolian government press office said. Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Hurelsukh and South Korean President Moon Jae-in reached the consensus during their talks at the South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. During the talks, the two sides also agreed to make joint efforts to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula and establish peace there. Hurelsukh is on an official visit to South Korea from Jan. 15 to 17 at an invitation of his South Korean counterpart Lee Nak-yeon. This is Khurelsukh's first overseas trip since he took office in last October. Relations between Mongolia and South Korea have steadily progressed since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1990. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:12:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Burak Akinci ANKARA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkey deployed tanks and armored vehicles on the Syrian border after warning of an imminent offensive against a Kurdish stronghold in northwestern Syria, an assault which could be however of limited scope, said experts. "Turkey is ready, our preparations are ready. An operation may start at any moment now," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during an opening ceremony in Ankara. He expressed firmly his country's determination to fight against Kurdish militia backed by the United States. "Russia could give a green light for a limited Turkish military operation. But whatever happens there the most important process will be after the conclusion of such an offensive," Dr. Kerim Has, lecturer at Moscow State University, told Xinhua. This expert on Russia and international affairs explained that "Russia would want to hold Turkey as close as possible in order to orchestrate the postwar scenario and thus ambitions to have reliable relations with both Ankara and the YPG", the People's Protection Unit, a mainly-Kurdish militia controlling large territories in northwest Syria. "A comprehensive military operation could prove to be a strategical security trap for Turkey," said Has, reminding that the Russian army presence in Syria is the reason why President Bashar al-Assad is still in power. Turkey regards the YPG forces who control Afrin province as a terrorist group with links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the militant group that has long battled for autonomy in Turkey's southeast. The Kurdish fighters' role in a new U.S.-backed force in Syria has deepened Ankara's fear that the Kurds will create a mini-state bordering Turkey, and over the weekend, President Erdogan began warning of a military campaign against them. Turkish army units fired shells toward YPG positions in and around Afrin on Sunday. The army also beefed up troops in the area with armored personnel carriers and tanks over the weekend, according to state-run Anadolu Agency. Erdogan has repeatedly accused the YPG of attempting to link Afrin with a large Kurdish-controlled area to the east. Turkey launched an offensive in northern Syria in 2016 to push back Islamic State (IS) from its border and also block the convergence of the Kurdish-run regions. Turkey and its western allies, including the United States consider the PKK a terrorist organisation. But the US has supported the YPG to help defeat IS in Syria, which is angering its NATO ally and straining at maximum already tense US-Turkish relations. The Turkish president said that "despite it all" he wanted to work with the US in the region and hoped it would not side with the YPG during the Afrin operation. "We expect (the US) to support Turkey in its legitimate efforts" to combat terror, Erdogan said. On Monday Erdogan once again threatened during of an imminent attack but his time citing not only Afrin region but also Manbij, an Arab-populated city, located up east, which remains under the control of the YPG. "We will not stay still against a bunch of idiots over there (YPG). As you know we are shelling their positions and we will continue to do so," he angrily lashed at the Kurdish militia, adding that "Turkey will protect herself from any national security threat." Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish Presidential spokesperson, said the U.S. was taking steps to legitimize and solidify the YPG. "It's absolutely not possible to accept this," he said, stressing that Turkey would defend itself. Syria and Russia also denounced American-led plan to form such an border army in the next several years. The Turkey-PKK conflict has killed an estimated 40,000 people since 1984, including more than 3,300 state security forces, militants and civilians since the resumption of hostilities in July 2015. U.S. backing for the Kurdish forces in the war against IS strained relations with Turkey. Ankara is adamantly opposed to the new force the U.S. is establishing to seal the border with Turkey, in which the Kurds will figure prominently. "Turkey will not permit that the U.S helps to form a border security force constituted of terrorists. What we have to do is to crush in the nest this army of terrorists," pledged Erdogan on Monday. Erdogan called on Washington to cease its cooperation with the YPG. Otherwise, he warned "we will not be responsible of consequences" that could also harm American soldiers deployed in northern Syria. "To organize a military offensive in northern Syria, which should be a limited one, Turkey needs air support and has to get the approval of Russia," said Oytun Orhan, prominent Syria researcher at Ankara based think thank ORSAM. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:17:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close TIRANA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Albania is planning to revitalize old naval bases by opening them up to tourists, Albania's Defense Minister Olta Xhacka said Monday. She said authorities here are planning to open up more military units, some of which were secret military bases, in a bid to attract more tourists and diversify the tourism potential that Albania offers. "Naval bases such as Shengjin or the Cape of Pal (northwest Albania) are very important and they serve the Armed Forces. But at the same time they can have a direct impact on the country's economic development," Xhacka noted. In April 2017, the Albanian government decided to turn the southern Sazan Island into a tourist destination during summer seasons. Sazan Island is the largest island in Albania with a surface area of 5.7 sq km. It is a military facility with no civil population. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:27:54|Editor: yan Video Player Close KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Monday condemned suicide attacks in Baghdad, the Kuwait New Agency (KUNA) reported. In condolences sent to the Iraqi President Fuad Masoum and Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi over twin suicide attacks in Baghdad, the emir voiced sharp condemnation of this terrorist cowardly act that targeted innocents and disrupted security and stability in Iraq. He reiterated Kuwait's principled stance that decries all manifestations and forms of terrorism, and stands side by side with this sisterly country in all security measures taken to fight such criminal acts. He also wished mercy to the deceased and swift recovery to the injured. Twin suicide bomb explosions on Monday struck busy area in downtown Baghdad, leaving about 30 people killed and 92 others wounded. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (not seen) at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 10, 2018. (Xinhua/Ting Shen) ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Vulgar comments attributed to U.S. President Donald Trump has caused ourage across Africa. Trump reportedly used the word "shithole" to describe African countries, Haiti and El Salvador while discussing immigration issues with U.S. lawmakers on Thursday. Speaking to Xinhua, Abebe Ayente, senior researcher at Ethiopian Foreign Relations Strategic Studies (EFRSS), a local think thank, said the comments will further reduce the influence of U.S. at global stage. Trump issued a statement on Friday denying the vulgar words attributed to him, though he admitted to using strong language in the Thursday discussion. Trump's alleged remarks have caused outrage across the world with officials in African, European, Latin American countries and UN expressing condemnation and summoning U.S. diplomats in protest. Ayene said the undiplomatic word used by the U.S. President that shocked the diplomatic community across the globe will likely have a long-lasting impact. The African Union (AU) issued a statement on Friday evening calling Trump's reported remarks outrageous and hurtful. "While expressing shock, dismay and outrage, the African Union strongly believes there's a huge misunderstanding of the African continent and its people by the current administration. There is a serious need for dialogue between the U.S. Administration and the African countries," said the AU statement. It further called for the U.S. President to issue an apology for the hurtful remarks not only to Africans but people of African descent across the globe. "The African Union condemns the comments in the strongest terms and demands a retraction of the comment as well as an apology to not only Africans but to all people of African descent around the globe," further read the AU statement. Nevertheless, aware the U.S. is still a powerful military and economic power, the AU statement called for continued strategic partnership with the U.S.. But it emphasized that such a partnership should be based on mutual respect and accepted international principles of respect of basic human dignity. AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo pointed out the U.S. role in the Atlantic slave trade, as an example of how African countries Trump described in contemptuous terms were exploited in a shameful manner. She added the purported statement was particularly unfortunate coming from a leader of country that describes itself as a global example of a successful migrant nation. Botswana's government on Friday condemned Trump's reported disparaging remarks about developing countries, calling on the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union and all other progressive nations across the world to strongly condemn the remarks. In South Africa, a senior official of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) said Trump was "extremely offensive" when he used the term "shithole countries" to describe developing countries. Developing countries do have difficulties, but they are not "shithole countries," said ANC Deputy General Secretary Jessie Duarte, calling Trump's remarks as "unfortunate." "Ours is not a shithole country, neither is Haiti or any other country in distress," said Duarte. The United States itself has its own problems such as unemployment among millions of people, inequality and non-access to healthcare for many poor people, Duarte said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:42:57|Editor: yan Video Player Close AMMAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Monday condemned the deadly terrorist attack in Baghdad, voicing support to the neighboring country in confronting terrorism, state-run Petra news agency reported. Jordan's Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani reiterated Jordan's support to Iraq in fighting terrorism that targets Iraq and its stability. He also condemned the attacks that targeted a commercial center in Baghdad. Such attacks demonstrate the cruel ideology of the terrorist groups, he added. The minister called for intensified efforts to face terrorism at the international level and to uproot such groups. Also Monday, King Abdullah II of Jordan sent a message to Iraqi President Fouad Masoum, in which he condemned the attacks and voiced solidarity with Iraq. The death toll from the twin bomb explosions in downtown Baghdad Monday rose to 27, with 92 others wounded, a medical source said. Two suicide bombers carried out the two massive blasts during the morning rush hours at a crowded site near al-Tayaran Square where many construction workers usually gather waiting for potential employers, according to the source. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:47:58|Editor: yan Video Player Close ACCRA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo on Monday announced an average of 14 percent reduction in electricity tariffs for non-residential users beginning this month. The decision is to boost private sector business in Ghana, as the government has succeeded in normalizing the power situation in the country. The president said this while opening the 8th Salon Academy of the National Association of Beauticians and Hairdressers in Accra. "An average bill last year was 562 Ghana cedis (119.5 U.S. dollars) a month. With this reduction from January, it is coming down to 473 cedis a month, which means 88 cedis (18.7 dollars) has been taken from the electricity tariff that you pay. We want to encourage private business, and make business stand on its feet," he said. A downward review of power tariff marks a fulfillment of yet another 2016 electioneering campaign promise of the ruling New Patriotic Party which had criticized the last administration of billing Ghanaians too much for electricity. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:52:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close ABU DHABI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) unveiled Monday the world's largest reserve of desalinated water. The system was secured in a network of 315 recovery wells lying up to 80 meters below the UAE's Liwa Desert. The wells of the reserve are fed by one of UAE's longest water pipeline networks which deliver the water from Shuweihat desalination plant at a rate of 32,000 cubic meters per day over 27 months, said Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and the Environment Agency (EAD). The project was undertaken as a collaborative venture between EAD, ADWEA and its subsidiary About Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company (TRANSCO). Saif Saleh Al-Seairi, acting director general of ADWEA, said in a statement that the reserve is a safe network to provide water and is now regarded as one of the most advanced models in the region. The entire project results from collaboration between multiple stakeholders. It is an exemplary case study of inter-governmental cooperation based on the principles of eco-friendly and sustainable development, said Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, secretary general of EAD. The project aims at promoting Abu Dhabi's water security and resilience through the recharge of ground water aquifers with high-quality desalinated water, which cannot be stored above ground due to contamination. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:58:00|Editor: yan Video Player Close STOCKHOLM, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Housing prices in Sweden dropped by 7 percent in the past three months compared to the same period last year, with the capital city, Stockholm, experiencing the sharpest drop, according to new figures from Svensk Maklarstatistik, which compiles data from the Swedish real estate agents. Data released on Monday showed, while apartment prices across Sweden have dropped by an average 7 percent, the prices of villas have gone down by 3 percent on average. This represents the most dramatic drop since 2011. "In the Stockholm region, the decline in apartment prices has been going on for a few months and now Malmo and Gothenburg have followed. In the villa market, too, prices are dropping," Per-Arne Sandgren of Svensk Maklarstatistik told Swedish Television on Monday. While there is usually an upshot in apartment sales during spring, Sandgren said there are few signs of a rise in prices ahead. However, he said, the prices will surely level out eventually. Fresh figures from the Valueguard Index also show a drop in the value of apartments and villas, with prices for both dropping by an average 2 percent, according to those figures. In Stockholm, however, apartment prices have dropped by 10 percent in the past three months. "Today, it is harder than ever for those who are about to change residences on the housing market to get an idea of how prices will change in the future," said Claudia Wormann at state-owned SBAB, which offers loans and savings products to private individuals, tenant-owner associations and property companies in Sweden. "Different theories of where the market is heading can be interpreted in different ways," said Wormann. "Some see this as a temporary glitch in the curve, others see it as the start of a long, downward trend." Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:58:01|Editor: yan Video Player Close LONDON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- One of Britain's biggest construction and facilities management companies, Carillion, went into liquidation on Monday, threatening tens of thousands of jobs. Company chairman Philip Green described the development as a "very sad day" for the company's staff, suppliers and customers. The debt-ridden company, which employs around 43,000 people, almost half of them in Britain, announced it was going into liquidation after talks with its bankers and the British government failed to reach a deal to save the business. Government departments issued statements after the announcement, saying they would provide funding to maintain public services, such as running prisons and 900 schools previously carried out by Carillion. Media reports cited Carillion's biggest problems as cost overruns on three big public sector construction projects in Britain. These included the Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Birmingham, delayed due to construction problems, the completion date of the new Royal Liverpool Hospital repeatedly pushed back amid reports of cracks in the building, and the delay in the Aberdeen bypass. The three projects were worth almost two billion U.S. dollars. Cabinet Office Minister, MP David Lidington, said: "It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders, but taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out a private sector company. We remained hopeful that a solution could be found while putting robust contingency plans in place to prepare for every eventuality." Labour's shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey called for a full investigation into the government's dealings with Carillion. "This company issued three profit warnings in the last six months, yet despite those profit warnings the government continued to grant contracts to this company," she said. Mick Cash, general secretary of the rail workers' trade union RMT, said: "This is disastrous news for the workforce and disastrous news for transport and public services in Britain." Carillion absorbed well-known British construction companies such as Mowlem, Wimpey and Alfred McAlpine, becoming the country's second biggest construction and services business. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 01:58:02|Editor: yan Video Player Close JUBA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's main rebel group Sudan People's Liberation Army-in opposition (SPLA-IO) on Monday said the international peace partners under Troika and regional leaders were "complicit" in the continued violation of the recently agreed Cessation of Hostilities (CoH). A reliable source within Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the east African trade bloc, that IGAD permitted Taban Deng Gai as South Sudan's First Vice President with the knowledge of Troika to travel to greater Jonglei where he is currently causing more destruction and displacement to the civilians in areas under the control of the SPLA-IO, Lam Paul Gabriel, the deputy spokesman of the rebels said in a statement. He added that this was absolutely unacceptable and requires explanation from the IGAD and Troika which includes Britain, United States and Norway whom he accused of contributing to the bloodshed in the youngest country. The Troika and IGAD in July 2017 convened the High-Level Revitalization Forum seen as the last chance to salvage a weakened peace deal agreed upon in 2015 by the warring factions, but has been violated due to continued violence, despite stern warning by regional and international partners. Gabriel also lauded the Cease-fire transitional Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM) for trying their best to monitor violations happening after the two warring parties violated the CoH after they agreed on Dec. 21 to enforce. He further urged them to be transparent and avoid giving intelligence reports to government on SPLA-IO positions. "Secondly, the SPLA-IO calls upon CTSAMM to travel into our areas of control to get a clear report on violations instead of depending on press releases and phone calls," Gabriel said. South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel chief Riek Machar led to split within the SPLA, leaving soldiers to fight alongside ethnic lines. The 2015 peace agreement to end the conflict was weakened after outbreak of renewed fighting in July 2016 caused the SPLA-in opposition rebel leader Machar to flee the capital. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 02:08:04|Editor: yan Video Player Close BUCHAREST, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Romanian carmaker Dacia set a new sales record in 2017, with over 655,000 units delivered at global level, a growth by 12.2 percent compared with the previous year, the company announced Monday. Dacia remained the market leader in Romania with a share of nearly 29 percent and 43,262 vehicles sold last year, up 11.3 percent compared to 2016. The Logan sedan remained Dacia's highest in demand model in local market. Dacia sales on the foreign markets rose by 12 percent in 2017, reaching a record of 611,973 units. European countries are the automaker's major markets with more than 460,000 vehicles sold in 2017. With nearly 120,000 units sold in 2017, France is not only Dacia's first export destination, but also the largest market in the world. Dacia ranks 5th, after Volkswagen, in the general rankings of the best-selling brands in France. In the rest of Europe, Germany is the carmaker's second most important outlet market with 65,000 units sold, Italy ranks third with more than 63,000 units, followed by Spain, where more than 56,000 Dacia vehicles have been sold last year. The success of the company depends on its attractive product range with the best price/performance ratio. Carmaker Dacia was founded in 1966, taking its name from the historic region that constitutes much of present-day Romania. The manufacturer has been a subsidiary of the French Renault since 1999. It is Romania's top company by revenue and the largest exporter. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 02:23:07|Editor: yan Video Player Close SKOPJE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Macedonian parliament on Monday adopted an amnesty law under which some 670 people sentenced to at least six month in prison will be fully exempted from serving time. Convicts in prison for more serious crimes such as murder, rape and pedophilia, will be excluded from the amnesty. The amnesty will not cover convicts who have committed crimes after Sept. 20, 2017, said a parliament press release. There are also 3,097 convicts who, under the amnesty, will have their prison sentenced cut down by 30 percent. The Ministry of Justice said the institution took the decision in light of the current conditions of correctional facilities across Macedonia. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 02:43:10|Editor: yan Video Player Close ABU DHABI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and President of the UN General Assembly talked on enhancing cooperation between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Nations (UN) in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, met President of the 72nd session of the United nations (UN) General Assembly, Miroslav Lajack, who is currently visiting the Gulf Arab state to attend the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) meeting, UAE state news agency WAM reported. The two sides discussed on ways to enhance cooperation between the UAE and the UN, particularly in humanitarian and developmental fields, "through different partnership tools," said the report. Sheikh Abdullah affirmed the UAE's keenness "to build and sustain partnerships with the organizations concerned with comprehensive development for the nations of the world," according to WAM. Lajack expressed the international organization's appreciation of the role played by the UAE in humanitarian and development fields. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 02:53:12|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Egypt on Monday strongly condemned the two terrorist suicide attacks that killed dozens of people in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry voiced support for Iraq in its war against terrorism. The statement also expressed Egypt's commitment to exerting more efforts to draw up a comprehensive international strategy to combat all forms of terrorism and extremism. Twin suicide bombings struck a bustling area in downtown Baghdad earlier Monday, leaving 27 people killed and 92 others wounded. Baghdad has recently been suffering from a new wave of violence months ahead of Iraq's general elections. Two days ago, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden motorcycle on the crowded Adan Square at the entrance of the holy Shiite neighborhood of Kadhmiyah, killing two people and wounding 24 others. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 02:53:13|Editor: yan Video Player Close by Julia Pierrepont III LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Set in colorful, mid-1800's New York City, Hugh Jackman's hit musical "The Greatest Showman" is hitting all the high notes, pulling in 94.5 million U.S. dollars in North America and more than 100 million dollars internationally, through Sunday. "The Greatest Showman" is inspired by the story of P. T. Barnum's creation of the Barnum & Bailey Circus and the lives of its star attractions. Directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, the film stars Hugh Jackman as P. T. Barnum, an ambitious American showman and entrepreneur. 5.5 out of every 10 critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a positive rating, while 9 out of 10 audience members gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up. Hugh Jackman told Xinhua, "I'm so proud of it! When you tell an actor like me that his song from the movie is also topping the music charts, I can't help bragging about that!" First time film director Michael Gracey delivered a colorful, creatively staged and emotionally resonant crowd-pleaser, with high-caliber help from 2-time Oscar nominated cinematographer Seamus McGarvy, 3-time Oscar nominated production designer Nathan Crowley, and visionary talent Hugh Jackman himself. The songs and score, by Academy Award-winning composing team, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul of "La La Land" fame, and talented choreographer Ashley Wallen, popped out a series of rhythmic, toe-tapping show-stoppers worthy of Oscar norms, which Urban Cinefile called, "a sizzling explosion of colour, music and joie de vivre..." As a creative team, they brought the house down, creating a magical, uplifting musical extravaganza that's a cinematic feast for the eyes, ears and hearts. Variety reported that, "it takes the life of P.T. Barnum, the anything-goes circus impresario of the 1800s, played with irresistible effervescence by Hugh Jackman, and turns him into a saintly huckster-maestro who invented the spirit of modern showbiz by daring to follow his dream... It's a biopic that forges its own uplifting mythology, and if you think back on it when it's over and feel, maybe just a little bit, like you've been had - well, that's part of its sleight-of-hand charm." Jackman told Xinhua, "this was my passion project. I knew in my gut it was a story I wanted to tell and, though it took years to get off the ground, it was all worth it in the end." While keeping the tone light, the film manages to convey a powerful message about diversity and acceptance, including the inspiring, tear-jerker theme song. "This is Me", destined to become an anthem for anyone anywhere who's ever felt on the outside looking in. The film revolves around Barnum's early days when he created what we think of as the modern circus. But it took homegrown Barnum to conceive of combining equestrian acts, trained animals, menageries, goofy clowns, human feats of strength and agility with human oddities and curios all under one show-stopping, jaw-dropping Big-Top Circus. Barnum rose to wealth and fame with his unparalleled gift for what the Irish affectionately call "blarney," elevating showmanship to an art form, and making him the most famous American in the world. Jennifer Tucker, Associate Professor at Wesleyan University, wrote in the Hartford Courant that "Barnum deliberately created controversy: by producing a fake mermaid, for example - and then leaving it up to the public to judge the facts." There is some controversy that the film, in typical Hollywood revisionist fashion, unabashedly celebrates Barnum as a courageous humanist and hero for daring to embrace society's human "oddities" and misfits. But as LA Times film critic Justin Chang puts it, "curiously absent from the movie's relentless feel-good offensive are any references to, say, ... Joice Heth, a slave whom Barnum paraded before his customers, falsely claiming that she was George Washington's 161-year-old former 'mammy'." Yet others contend that Barnum's lapses were offset by his vigorous, pre-Civil War anti-slavery stance and his frequent staging of abolitionist performances, such as Harriet Beecher Stowe's iconic "Uncle Tom's Cabin," in which Barnum gave the story a revised happy ending, freeing Tom and other slaves. Also, when an elected member of the Connecticut legislature with strong religious convictions, Barnum went out on a limb to eloquently support the ratification of the US 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery). Variety's critic Owen Gleiberman said, "the crowd will have a chance to behold the humanity of his freaks - and that's true... 'The Greatest Showman' turns Barnum, for all his carny capitalism, into the multiculti Mother Teresa of oddball showmanship. He really believes he's doing it for their own good, and so does the movie." In many ways, "The Greatest Showman" is an apt allegory and necessary patent medicine for a time when racism is openly espoused in the United States, and some ethnicities are currently under fire. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 02:58:15|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOGADISHU, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire on Monday appealed to the international partners to support his government to steer the country's security sector reform process. Khaire, who co-chaired the government's security sector reforms cluster meeting in Mogadishu said the Horn of African nation still needs the African Union peacekeeping mission (AMISOM) to stabilize the country. "We still need AMISOM and we don't want to see their work going back," the PM told the key stakeholders in the security reform process including representatives from the United Nations and the European Union. The pan African body's mission has promised to continue supporting the transition through the priority tasks including securing main supply routes, securing key population centers, to mentor and assist Somali security forces, both military and police, in close collaboration with UN Mission in Somalia and in line with the National Security Architecture. AMISOM has also committed to further degrading Al-Shabaab and implementing the transition process by continuing joint AMISOM-Somalia National Army efforts in executing these tasks. During the meeting, Khaire highlighted the strong cooperation between the federal government and federal member states in the delivery of the National Security Architecture. The country's National Security Architecture plan is central to achieving sustainable security reform and a transition of primary responsibility of security from AMISOM to Somali security forces. Deputy Head of AMISOM Simon Mulongo emphasized the need for a well-planned and articulated transition in order to avoid setbacks. "This transition should be one which goes hand in hand with stabilization, mediation and reconciliation efforts and delivery of basic social services," Mulongo said. The Monday meeting was a follow-up to the High-Level Security Conference held in Mogadishu in December last year in which a conditions-based transfer of security responsibilities from AMISOM to Somali forces was discussed. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 03:03:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close SKOPJE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia's parliament adopted at Monday session the draft law on ratification of the Agreement on Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation between Macedonia and Bulgaria. The ratification was approved only with 61 votes of majority lawmakers as the opposition MPs continued the parliamentary boycott. While noting the difficulties encountered during the process of reaching an agreement between the two countries, Macedonian foreign minister Nikola Dimitrov said that the treaty covered Macedonia's interests in Bulgaria as well. "Today marks a nice symbolism because on this day Bulgaria had recognized the independence of Macedonia, being the first nation that had done so. It is pivotal that before the agreement's ratification in practice we are seeing a substantial shift in our relations," Dimitrov said in his address to the parliament. Macedonia and Bulgaria's premiers, Zoran Zaev and Boyko Borisov respectively, signed the friendship treaty on Aug. 1, 2017. Both officials declared upon signing of treaty that it aimed at strengthening the countries' friendly relations, advancing good neighborly ties, establishing versatile mutual relations in compliance with the international law. Following the adoption of draft law on ratification of this treaty, Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, posted a message on social media where he welcomed Macedonia's parliament act. "The decision of Macedonia's Parliament to ratify the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria is an important step into the right direction towards the country's European Union path," Hahn wrote Monday. He noted that the treaty was also a milestone for good neighborly relations in the entire Western Balkans region. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 03:23:20|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned the two suicide bombings in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad that killed 27 people. "This cowardly act comes after the grand and important victory, when our brother Iraq defeated the terrorist group of Daesh (Islamic State)," the ministry said in a statement. But the terrorists have proved that they are still present on Iraqi soil by continuing to spill the blood of the innocent people, it said. The statement reiterated the importance of continuing to fight terrorism until "the last radical thinker" is defeated. It also reaffirmed Lebanon's support for and unity with Iraq and its people. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a busy street market in central Baghdad earlier Monday, killing 27 people and wounding 92 others. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 03:38:25|Editor: Lifang Video Player Close GENEVA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Fewer people migrated to Switzerland last year than at any point in the past ten years and the number of arrivals from the European Union plunged last year, the Swiss media reported Monday. The number of European Union workers arriving in Switzerland halved last year from a peak in 2013 and net immigration from EU states stood at 30,799 in 2017, Swissinfo said, quoting the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper. That number of EU arrivals was down from 60,957 fours years earlier. The main reason cited for the decline in numbers is the improving economic situation in many EU countries, according to the State Secretariat for Migration. Nevertheless, the conservative right Swiss People's Party says it will press on with plans to promote a new initiative to curb immigration. People's Party chief Albert Rosti told the newspaper that a long-term average of 80,000 net immigrants from all countries is too high. Last year, net immigration from all countries stood at 53,200. In 2014, Swiss voters backed a referendum by a wafer thin majority to curb immigrants, but the People's Party is unhappy with the compromise version of the vote that has actually been put into place. Rather than place limits on immigrants, Swiss companies have been told to favor Swiss workers when filling positions. The latest Swiss figures show that at the end of 2016, there were 2.03 million legally resident foreigners in Switzerland out of a total population of 8.37 million people. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 03:38:26|Editor: yan Video Player Close PARIS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A radical islamist who attacked three guards in a jail in northern France last week was presented to an anti-terrorism judge on Monday on charges of assassination attempts in links with terrorist group, news channel BFMTV said. Christian Ganczarski, a German national of Polish origin converted to Islam, attacked three guards with a pair of scissors and a razor blade at the Vendin-le-Vieil prison. He is serving an 18-year jail term for his role in an al-Qaida-claimed assault on a synagogue in Tunisia in 2002, which left 21 people killed. Paris prosecutor office had opened an inquiry for "assassination attempts on persons holding public authority in relation to a terrorist company", according to the report. Earlier on Monday, hundreds of guards blocked entrance to scores of prisons across France to ask better and secure working conditions. "Yes, we want security," Jean-Francois Forget, general secretary of the Ufap-Unsa prison union told newschannel BFMTV. "Radicalized detainees are polluting the entire criminal administration. And those who are there for acts of terrorism or banditry take advantage of this opportunity to further weaken the security of our institutions," he said. Penitenciary staff suffered between 4,000 and 5,000 000 physical assaults per year, according to Forget. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 03:53:29|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday called for privatization of information and technology sectors. The government must "take its hands off this sector and let the private sector take over," Hariri said during a Q&A session with businessmen and women held at the Beirut Chamber of Commerce. The prime minister noted that "no one in the world still has this sector centralized." "As a government, we are working to develop information and technology industries, which are ignored in Lebanon," Hariri said. Hariri said that, during the presidential vacuum Lebanon experienced in recent years, there had been enough fiber optic cabling installed in the country to serve Lebanon, Syria and Iraq together, but poor administration had hampered efforts to capitalize on the existing infrastructure. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 03:53:30|Editor: Lu Hui Video Player Close U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg (not seen) at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Jan. 10, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Washington could "conceivably" re-enter into the global Paris climate agreement, from which he announced the withdrawal last year. (Xinhua/Ting Shen) By Bruce Westbrook HOUSTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- President Donald Trump's move for the largest expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling in U.S. continental waters in decades is met with resistance by coastal states officials and a mix of skepticism and hope by energy industry analysts. The proposal, announced earlier this month, would open nearly all U.S. coastal waters from the Atlantic to the Arctic oceans to energy development. For several decades, such waters have had federal protections due to environmental concerns. The Trump administration asserted that such renewed offshore drilling will help achieve "energy independence." But some said that's unlikely even if renewed offshore drilling transpires, given the facts that oil is less than 70 U.S. dollars per barrel and shale oil reserves are abundant. KEY TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE? Trump's offshore drilling plan would open up 90 percent of U.S. offshore reserves to development by private companies, with 47 drilling leases proposed. Among them, 19 sales would be off the Alaska coast, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico, nine in the Atlantic and seven in the Pacific, all but one of them off California's coast. Sean Hennigan, managing director of Houston-based Hercules Offshore West Africa, which provides drilling services to oil and gas producers, saw the proposal as a positive step for energy independence, "which is a long-term game." Since the lead time for offshore drilling "is significant, there will be no immediate impact" from Trump's proposal, he said. "But we're going to need oil for multi-generations to come, and it's better to get that domestically than internationally from an energy independence standpoint." He added that "people have more incentive to produce oil and gas from shale formations than offshore drilling. Shale oil and gas is abundant and generally less expensive to produce, and it's quicker to get your payback, while an offshore well may take a decade or longer to produce." That's why he considered the Trump proposal's impact on America's energy independence to be "more of a medium-term" thing. Trump's opening up coastal waterways might take 10 to 20 years to make an impact on the oil and gas industry. But at the same time, Hennigan said though the industry can meet demands now via shale production, "if there was a drop in production in the Middle East or South America, there would be sorrow in the future if you don't do it now (launch domestic offshore drilling). You won't know you need it till you need it, and you wouldn't be able to respond quickly enough then." That's why he saw "increasing our access to domestic resources" via renewed offshore drilling as a "safety net if something goes wrong internationally." DOMASTICALLY POLITICAL ISSUE? Dubbed the Draft Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, the offshore drilling plan is not final. Jon Taylor, professor of political science and director for Master of Public Policy and Administration Program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, America's energy capital, saw the proposal as more a matter of domestic politics than energy independence. He said there is "no guarantee that any actual offshore drilling will take place" during the proposal's five-year period of 2019-2024. "I think this will have less of an impact than Trump thinks." With shale reserves available and oil prices low, "oil companies are going to be reticent to sink massive investments into offshore drilling," he said. And even if there is strong interest, "the impact of expanding domestic offshore drilling and oil production would likely be several years from now rather than immediate." Trump's government also claimed that allowing offshore drilling would provide billions of dollars to fund conservation of coastlines, public lands and parks -- the same areas which environmentalists say would be most vulnerable to an oil spill accident when offshore drilling goes badly. While energy industry groups have embraced the proposal, Democratic governors of Virginia, North Carolina, Delaware, New York, California, Oregon and Washington oppose offshore drilling in waters along their coasts, as do Republican governors of Maryland, New Jersey and Florida. Several of those states benefit from multi-billion-dollar beach tourism industries along what are now environmentally protected waters. In addition, a coalition of over 60 environmental groups is against the proposal, which it claims would cause severe harm to public health, the environment and marine life. In a statement signed by leaders of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, the League of Conservation Voters and other environmental groups, the coalition railed against U.S. coastal waters being "sold off to multinational oil companies." The coalition called Trump's offshore drilling proposal a "shameful giveaway" to the gas and oil industries. Trump's offshore drilling plan isn't his only recent move toward a more aggressive energy posture. The administration also recently vowed to rewrite or eliminate many restrictions on offshore oil and gas drilling which had been instituted after a far worse oil spill: the notorious Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig explosion, fire and spill which occurred in 2010. That disaster off the coast of Louisiana, or 400 km southeast of Houston, killed 11 oil rig workers and spilled 215 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, fouling beaches all the way to Florida. It was the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Potential environmental disasters are a chief concern of several Republican and Democratic governors of coastal states along U.S. continental-shelf waters. They note that the Deepwater Horizon accident continues to have harmful effects on Gulf of Mexico coastal areas, which are still in a recovery mode more than seven years after the accident. A far narrower plan for U.S. offshore drilling had been considered previously by the administration of former President Barack Obama. But it was abandoned in 2016 due to concerns of Virginia and Georgia, where drilling had been considered, as well as concerns of the U.S. Navy, which holds military exercises in those areas. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 03:58:31|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has welcomed the arrival of four cranes in the Yemeni Red Sea port of Hudaydah so that the offloading capacity for humanitarian and commercial cargo can be boosted. "It is obviously a very important development and we've been waiting -- more importantly the people of Yemen have been waiting -- for these cranes for some time," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. "The problem that we had had is that the facilities in the port did not enable us to offload and absorb a great capacity of ships." Four mobile cranes purchased by the World Food Programme and funded by the United States have arrived at Hudaydah, said Dujarric. The cranes, which will be operational immediately, are urgently needed to boost the capacity of Hudaydah Port, which handles around 70 percent of Yemen's imports, including critically needed food and humanitarian supplies. With each of the mobile cranes able to handle up to 60 tons, they will significantly boost the discharge of humanitarian cargo and other relief items, said Dujarric. A total of 22 million people in Yemen are in need of humanitarian assistance. Over 70 percent of them live in proximity to the Red Sea ports of Hudaydah and Saleef. The Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting Houthi rebels in Yemen, sealed off land, sea and air access to Yemen in November 2017 after Houthi rebels launched a missile at the Saudi capital of Riyadh. The missile was intercepted. The blockade was partially lifted later, but shipment of humanitarian supplies kept being affected. Yemen has been in civil war since 2015, pitting Houthi forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed last month, and forces loyal to the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 04:08:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani on Monday vowed "proportional reaction" to the new U.S. sanctions on Iranian entities and individuals. Larijani, who is also among the individuals sanctioned, said that the sanctions against the judiciary chief of a country is "crossing all international red lines," the Tasnim news agency reported. Larijani said that Iran would not remain silent on such measures. But he did not disclose what Iran's response will be. "The U.S. should know that every hostile action will draw proportional reaction from Iran," he said, adding that he does not care about the U.S. sanctions against him. On Friday, while U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to extend the waivers for sanctions on Iran, the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed new sanctions on 14 Iranian individuals and entities over Iran's alleged human rights abuses and ballistic missile program. Larijani said that the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), could by no means be changed or linked to other issues. Under the nuclear deal, signed by Iran with six major powers including Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S., Iran agreed to halt its nuclear weapons development program in exchange for the lifting of the nuclear-related sanctions. The U.S. president has to decide whether to continue the waivers for the sanctions on Iran every 120 days. Trump on Friday said he decided to extend sanctions waivers on Iran for the last time, threatening to withdraw from the pact unless U.S. Congress and European allies can fix the alleged "disastrous flaws." Calling it "a last chance," Trump said the U.S. "will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal." Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 04:08:37|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Iran's military destroyer Damavand crashed into wave breakers at a port in the Caspian Sea and two of its crew members are missing, Tasnim news agency reported on Monday. A search operation is underway to find the two servicemen missing in the accident that happened on January 10, the report quoted army spokesperson General Shahin Taqikhani as saying. Strong winds and a sea storm led to the crash, said Taqikhani. Contrary to the initial reports about minor damages to the destroyer, the assessment teams have found out that the vessel has suffered serious damages and needs a complete overhaul, he said. On Wednesday, Damavand destroyer crashed into wave breakers when it was docking at port in Iran's northern province of Gilan in stormy weather. The 100-meter-long destroyer that weighs more than 1,300 tons officially joined the Navy's northern fleet in the Caspian Sea in March 2015. English Thai SINGAPORE, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NTT Security, the specialized security company of NTT Group, has announced expansion into Thailand as part of its strategic growth plan. It will provide Managed Security Services (MSS) and specialized Professional Security Services based on its strength in Global Threat Intelligence and Cyber Threat Advanced Analytics accumulated through global operations. This will enable more effective and sophisticated cybersecurity solutions for Thailand enterprises and governments as well as global companies which have business operations in the region. The services will be taken to market through the NTT Group companies of Dimension Data, NTT Communications and NTT DATA, forming part of its suite of integrated services to enable successful digital transformation initiatives for its clients. Our Managed Security Services with expert security analysts and proprietary analytics platform powered by Global Threat Intelligence have been providing strong Threat Detection and Hunting capabilities to NTT customers worldwide. We are delighted to be expanding the availability of our advanced security services. NTT Security together with NTT Group companies will provide cyber resilience to secure digital transformation of organizations in Thailand, said Jun Sawada, CEO of NTT Security. Martin Schlatter, CIO and Regional CEO for NTT Security in APAC adds, Thailands economy has great potential, occupying the 2nd largest GDP following Indonesia in the high growth economy of ASEAN, with its annual GDP set to grow to 3.329% in 2018 (and 3.357% in 2019). It has developed a global reputation for growth within the manufacturing and exporting of goods and services within the automotive and electronics sectors. Thailand is now working on shifting to high value-added manufacturing and growing the service industry. However, with this growth, comes an increase in targeted cyber attacks, particularly those aimed at manufacturers for their intellectual property. This, in turn, creates demand for cybersecurity services from specialised security companies such as NTT Security. NTT Securitys Global Threat Intelligence Report (GTIR) reveals manufacturing as one of the top three industries to be heavily targeted in five of the six geographic regions. In Asia alone, manufacturing is the second most targeted industry (32%), trailing closely behind finance. The region is therefore feeling the impact of having significant manufacturing capabilities and, like its Asian counterparts, companies in Thailand are not immune from attacks and face a variety of threats. According to NTT Securitys Global Threat Intelligence Center (GTIC), Thailand ranked 19th in hosting command and control servers used to remotely send commands to a botnet, with over 9% of all botnets attempting to talk back to servers in Thailand. In fact, Asia was a major contributor to the Mirai botnet used to conduct one of the largest Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks. Schlatter adds, Asian businesses are failing on a large scale to adequately secure their endpoints, and there is no question that cyber criminals are looking to capitalize on this. Its therefore increasingly important to embed security solutions and processes into the very fabric of the business. If compromised, corporate devices participating in such attacks may be blacklisted, damaging the organizations reputation and ability to function effectively online. As a centre of excellence, NTT Security is committed to continued investment in the creation of innovative security services, and continues to expand its reach together with NTT Group companies, while improving its strength in Global Threat Intelligence and Advanced Analytics by collaboration with NTT R&D and alliances with technology partners. Notes for editors: About NTT Security NTT Security is the specialized security company and the center of excellence in security for NTT Group. With embedded security we enable NTT Group companies (Dimension Data, NTT Communications and NTT DATA) to deliver resilient business solutions for clients digital transformation needs. NTT Security has multiple SOCs, seven R&D centers, over 1,500 security experts and handles hundreds of thousands of security incidents annually across six continents. NTT Security ensures that resources are used effectively by delivering the right mix of Managed Security Services, Security Consulting Services and Security Technology for NTT Group companies making best use of local resources and leveraging our global capabilities. NTT Security is part of the NTT Group (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation), one of the largest ICT companies in the world. Visit nttsecurity.com to learn more about NTT Security or visit www.ntt.co.jp/index_e.html to learn more about NTT Group. For sales enquiries, please visit dimensiondata.com, www.ntt.com/en/index.html, www.nttdata.com/global/en/ or speak to your NTT account representative for more information. For more information, please contact: Origin Communications t. +44 (0)20 3814 2940 e. nttsecurity@origincomms.com NTT Security Yixuan Lin e. yixuan.lin@nttsecurity.com Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 04:33:45|Editor: yan Video Player Close DOHA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Qatar on Monday denied that its fighter jets had intercepted a passenger plane from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). "The state of Qatar announces that the claims of Qatari fighter planes intercepting a UAE civil aircraft (are) completely false," Qatari Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Lulwa Al Khater said on her Twitter Monday. Qatari military jets on Monday intercepted a UAE passenger plane which was on the way to land at Al Bahrain International Airport in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, the official Emirati news agency WAM reported. The UAE's civil aviation authority has informed its Qatari counterpart that a second Emirati commercial airliner was intercepted by Qatari fighter jets while it was on a "regular scheduled and well-known journey." The UAE authority added that it regards this incident "as a serious and renewed breach of international conventions and the safety of civil aircraft traffic." Earlier in the day, the UAE reported another Emirates passenger plane was intercepted by Qatari military jets, calling the move as a "flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation." The incidents came after Qatar filed two complaints on Friday and Sunday to the United Nations about the violation of its airspace in December and January by a UAE fighter jet. On Sunday evening, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Thani, one of the Qatari royal family members, accused the UAE of holding him against his will. But the UAE denied the allegation. A standoff has continued in the Gulf since early June, when the Saudi Arabia-led Arab quartet, which also includes the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, severed diplomatic, trade and transport links with Qatar. The quartet has accused Qatar of destabilizing the region by supporting terrorism and interfering in their domestic affairs. Qatar has denied all the charges. No breakthrough has been achieved in the international efforts to resolve the crisis, despite the mediation by Kuwait, the U.S., Turkey and European countries. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 04:33:46|Editor: yan Video Player Close ALGIERS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Algerian Defense Ministry on Monday said counterterrorism troops seized a batch of war weapons on the border with Mali. The troops seized ten S-5KO rockets in the southernmost town of Bordj Badji Mokhtar along the borderline with Mali on Monday, the ministry said. In the eastern Skikda province, army troops also destroyed a home-made bomb and discovered 7 kilograms of chemicals used in making explosives. Algeria faces ongoing terrorist threats as it is located in a region plagued by unprecedented security and political instability. Tens of thousands of the country's troops are deployed on eastern and southern border to thwart potential intrusion of militants and arms, amid instability reigning in Mali and civil war hitting Libya. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 04:53:52|Editor: yan Video Player Close AMMAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Monday announced to end the bread subsidies, while promising to provide cash support to its citizens instead. Each family whose yearly income is less than 12,000 Jordanian dinars (around 16,000 U.S. dollars) will get cash support, Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Mulki said Monday. Each individual will get 27 dinars every year after the increase in the bread prices, Mulki said. Prices of bread will be increased from the beginning of February, he said. The prime minister added that the government has allocated 171 million dinars to provide cash support to citizens after deciding to end the bread subsidies. The government decided to end the bread subsidies, citing that more than 50 percent of the subsidized bread is consumed by noncitizens who place pressure on the state budget. On Monday, Jordan endorsed the 2018 state budget with a deficit of more than 500 million dinars due to a drop in foreign grants. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 04:58:53|Editor: yan Video Player Close RABAT, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two Moroccan women died Monday in a stampede on the border between Morocco and Spain, local authorities said. The two women carrying goods between the northern Moroccan town of Fnideq and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta were killed in the stampede at a crossing for pedestrians. The accident is the latest in a series of stampede accidents that happened at the border crossing as many poor Moroccan women make a living lugging back-breaking goods between Morocco and Spain. Last August, at least four Moroccan female porters were killed in a stampede at the same border crossing. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 05:08:55|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Libya's state-owned Afriqiyah Airways on Monday suspended all flights after heavy clashes damaged a number of its airplanes. "As a result of the clashes at M'etiga international airport, we regret to inform you that our aircraft fleet (five airplanes, including a cargo plane) has suffered great damage. This damage, unfortunately, prevents the fleet from flying again." Afriqiyah Airways said in a press release. The company said that flights from Misurata and M'etiga airports are suspended until further notice, including regular scheduled flights. Security services closed Tripoli's M'etiga international airport on Monday morning, following a heavy attack by an armed group that killed 16 people and injured 48 others, including civilians. The UN-backed government issued a statement condemning the attack, saying it "threatened the lives of travelers, nearby residents and the safety of air traffic." The airport witnessed frequent clashes and armed attacks, most recently in October 2017. However, Monday's attack is the most violent one the airport has witnessed so far, as gunmen attacked the air hub and the prison inside it, where hundreds of terrorists have been detained over the past few years. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 05:23:59|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government is concerned that the latest U.S. move to form a new army in northern Syria aims to fragment the country. On Sunday, reports cited the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition as saying that the U.S. is working to form a 30,000-strong border security force, which will be under the command of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurds, Arabs, and Assyrians supported by the U.S. in northern Syria. The force will be deployed in northeastern Syria along the border with both Turkey and Iraq, a move that came after the SDF captured the northern city of Raqqa from the Islamic State (IS). Raqqa was the de facto capital of the terror group. The SDF also captured other areas from IS in the northern countryside of Deir al-Zour late last year to consolidate its positions near the Iraqi border. The situation in northern Syria and the growing influence of the Kurdish militias have raised the ire of the Syrian government, which has for long accused Washington of playing a destructive role in Syria. The Syrian Foreign Ministry slammed the decision on Monday, saying the U.S. bid to form an armed militia in northern Syria is "a flagrant violation of Syria's sovereignty." The U.S. declaration "constitutes a flagrant aggression on the unity and sovereignty of Syria and a violation of the international law," the ministry said, vowing Syrian government's resolve to end the U.S. presence in the war-torn country. "The U.S. action comes in the framework of its destructive policy in the region to fragment the countries and spur tensions to hinder any solution to the crisis," the ministry charged. Meanwhile, the ministry warned that it will regard any Syrian citizen taking part in this U.S.-backed militia as a "traitor" and will be dealt with accordingly. The ministry denounced the new U.S. move as a "renewed conspiracy" that will be defeated by the Syrian army, which will end any form of the presence of the U.S. and its tools in Syria. Meanwhile, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad told the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV that his country is determined to preserve Syria's unity, while slamming the U.S. tactics for damaging global stability. Russia, Syrian government's main international ally, also expressed fears that the U.S. is "pursuing a policy to cut Syria into several pieces." Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that the U.S. does not intend to preserve Syria's sovereignty, accusing Washington of seeking to create a Kurdish-controlled entity along the Turkish and Iraqi border zones. "The U.S. actions that we have been observing indicate that the U.S. does not want to keep Syria as a state in its current borders ... The U.S. wants to help the Syrian Democratic Forces to set up some border security zones," Lavrov said. For its part, Turkey, the main backer of the opposition group and staunch opposer to the Kurdish forces in Syria, also slammed the U.S. decision as Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the U.S. of forming a "terror army." "Our mission is to strangle it before it's even born," Erdogan said of the border force. Erdogan's government has for long opposed the growing influence of the Kurdish forces along its border in northern Syria, fearing that any separatist move could inspire Turkey's 14 million Kurds. Now, the U.S.-backed fighters, the Russia-backed Syrian forces, and the Turkey-backed rebels are racing to achieve territorial gains in northeastern Syria following the near defeat of IS. The SDF fights IS in the northern countryside of Deir al-Zour, while the Syrian army is fighting the Turkey-backed rebels in the northern province of Idlib. The Turkey-backed rebels are trying to foil the advance of the Syrian army while bracing to fight against the Kurdish groups as well. So the U.S. decision further flames the situation in northern Syria rather than helping to resolve the conflict. Also Monday, Kurdish activists said the U.S. has provided the SDF in the Afreen region in northern Syria with anti-aircraft missiles. A report by the War Media, the media wing of the Syrian army, said the U.S. has stipulated that Kurds should only use these weapons in case of an attack on Afreen area, which is regarded as target of an imminent Turkish military campaign. The U.S. has been carrying out military operations in Syria since 2014, under the name of fighting against the IS militants. The SDF captured Raqqa late last year, and the Syrian army captured the eastern city of Deir al-Zour, another IS bastion almost in the same time. However, the Syrian government said Raqqa is still occupied by the U.S. and its fighters on the ground, refusing to acknowledge its liberation from IS. Mekdad charged in a recent interview that the Kurdish groups in Syria were the new form of IS, in another escalation between both sides. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 05:39:01|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close LIBREVILLE, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba on Monday said he hoped that China will continue to support his country's development while meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the capital Libreville. Expressing his gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese people for his warm reception during his visit to China in 2016, Ali Bongo said that his visit has strengthened his determination and confidence in deepening Sino-Gabonese ties. He said that Gabon has rich resources and huge economic potentials and the country has ratified the strategy of economic diversification, and hoped that China, as Gabon's reliable cooperative partner, will continue to support the country's development, and carry out cooperation with Gabon in areas such as mining, fisheries and agro-processing. The Gabonese president also appreciated the Chinese foreign policy that features friendly cooperation and mutual respect, adding that Gabon also welcomes the important role that China plays in African affairs. He said that Gabon will firmly stick to the one-China policy and support China's unity as well as its efforts to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests in the South China Sea. He added that Gabon is ready to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China, and contribute to the success of the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be held in Beijing later this year. For his part, the Chinese Foreign Minister recalled that the two Heads of States raised the bilateral relations to the comprehensive cooperative partnership in 2016 when Ali Bongo visited China, which shows the importance that China attaches to developing bilateral ties. Wang said that China supports Gabon's efforts in transforming its resources into economic benefits and playing a more active role in regional affairs in Africa. "China will work closely with Gabon on the success of the FOCAC Beijing summit, and open up new frontiers for China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership through bilateral cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative." Wang said. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 05:39:04|Editor: yan Video Player Close BUCHAREST, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose announced his resignation late Monday, after the leadership of the ruling Social Democratic Party had voted to withdraw the political support for him. "I am leaving with my head held high," Tudose said, mentioning that he will not be assuming the role of caretaker prime minister. He said his schedule on Tuesday will be taken over by Deputy Prime Minister Paul Stanescu. "The party decided another government is needed, with a different kind of approach... There is always room for better. I didn't want to break up the party," Tudose said when asked how he lost so fast the party's support. The conflict between the prime minister and the ruling party chairman Liviu Dragnea has been well known recently, and Tudose's request for the resignation of the interior minister resulted in a showdown between the two. Interior Minister Carmen Dan, considered a close ally of Dragnea, refused to resign after being accused of lying by the prime minister. Tudose, who took office in June 2017, is the second head of government of the Social Democrats which won the parliamentary elections at the end of 2016. His predecessor Sorin Grindeanu lost power in a no-confidence vote brought by his own ruling party due to a conflict with the party leader. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 05:54:07|Editor: yan Video Player Close DETROIT, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Automakers from around the world shared plans at ongoing North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) to produce autonomous vehicles for the U.S. market within the next five years. The first autonomous vehicle to the market is expected to come from General Motors (GM), which is ready to mass-produce a self-driving car in 2019. The Cruise AV will have no steering wheel, gas or brake pedals, or manual driving controls of any kind. A petition GM filed with the Department of Transportation states the Cruise AV "will comply with federal safety laws" and requests a waiver for laws that cannot be met because they are "human-driver-based-requirements." Although the Cruise AV has no interior driving controls, customers will still be able to end the ride in case of emergency by making a stop request, allowing the vehicle to pull off to the side of the road at the first safe opportunity, GM says. BMW plans to release a Level 3 self-driving car in 2021 as well as a Level 5 self-driving car. Level 3 means the vehicle can handle basic driving tasks but will still require driver intervention, while Level 5 means complete vehicle autonomy, with no driver required. Partnering with BMW to progress driverless technology is Fiat Chrysler (FCA), contributing engineering and expertise to the alliance. "In order to advance autonomous driving technology, it is vital to form partnerships among automakers, technology providers and suppliers," FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a press release. Also with plans for autonomous vehicles in 2021 is Ford Motor Company, which plans to use autonomous vehicles for ridesharing and delivery. Ford Smart Mobility plans to lead in autonomy, connectivity, mobility, customer experience, and analytics. The vehicle will have no steering wheel and no gas or brake pedals. Committing to expand research in advanced algorithms, 3D mapping, radar technology, and camera sensors, Ford's vehicle will be a Level 4 capable-vehicle, a high-automation level that can drive without any human intervention. Ford has an autonomous vehicle created in partnership with Dominoes, a pizza delivery company. The vehicle began testing last summer in the Michigan city of Ann Arbor. "We've been working on autonomous vehicles since 2005, 2006 for the DARPA challenges," Wayne Williams, an autonomous vehicle engineer at Ford told Xinhua. "That was Ford's first foray into AVs. The testing for delivery is brand new. That started last summer." Autonomous cars are the latest competition within the automobile industry, with wide commercial and consumer interest. The 2018 NAIAS showcases a variety of self-driving technology from a number of technology companies and automakers. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 06:04:09|Editor: yan Video Player Close TEHRAN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A rally racing competition for women of Muslim countries will be held this year in the city of Tabriz, northwestern Iran, Tehran Times daily reported on Monday. Iran has been chosen as the host country for the event, scheduled to be held in September, Mahmoud Seydanlou, the head of Iran's Motorcycle and Automobile Federation, said. Iran has negotiated with International Automobile Federation-FIA over the program and Tabriz has been selected to host the competition due to its status as the Islamic Tourism Capital in 2018, Seydanlou was quoted as saying. Seydanlou said Iran will also hold a round of motocross competitions approved by the Asian Automobile Federation. "Iran and a number of neighboring and Asian countries cannot take part in Formula One and Formula Two car racing, therefore the Asian Automobile Federation has provided the chance that each of these countries, including Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey, hosts a round of these competitions on the regional level," he added. English French PRESS RELEASE Nexans to accelerate sustainable mobility with investment in IES, global expert of EV fast-charging solutions Investment in fast-charging specialist will enable Nexans to extend its range of solutions and services for electric vehicle infrastructure to provide a comprehensive global offer for DC and AC applications. Paris La Defense, January 15, 2018 - Nexans has announced a capital investment in IES, leader in the production of charging solutions for electric vehicles. Nexans' investment comes as part of a new fund-raising round for the company, including further investment by Eurazeo, IES's majority shareholder. The funds raised will allow IES to develop its commercial potential, expand its product range, and strengthen its international presence. The passenger electric vehicle (EV) market is continuing to show strong growth, with worldwide sales expected to exceed 1.1 million of vehicles in 2017 - an increase of close to 50 percent on 2016.1 For sustainable mobility to truly become mainstream, the world needs extensive infrastructure to support EVs in the form of smart, fast-charging stations that will make them as convenient and easy to use as conventional petrol or diesel-fueled vehicles. Nexans has taken the next step in meeting this challenge by announcing a capital investment in IES, the specialist manufacturer of fast-charging direct current (DC) solutions. IES, an industry leader with over 25 years of know-how in charging solutions With its innovative fast-charging solutions, based on unique high frequency power switching technology, IES has become a global market leader serving automotive OEMs, as well as industrial EV OEMs and EV charging infrastructure providers. IES has 25 years of know-how in charging solutions and specializes in the design and manufacture of onboard and external vehicle charging systems rated at up to 100 kilowatts. The company is headquartered in France, with affiliates in the US, China and Germany. "IES has established an excellent reputation as a specialist supplier of EV charging systems offering the highest levels of quality, reliability and performance. This has enabled us to achieve 25 percent average year-on-year growth in sales for the past three years," said Jean-Michel Cornille, President of IES. "The presence at our side of an international leading industrial actor, on top of our historic partner, Eurazeo, will create excellent synergies to accelerate our development. By leveraging Nexans' international sales force, extending our product & service solutions, and adding major investment to further accelerate our new product development, we look forward to taking our business to the next level and reinforcing our leading position on the dynamic and fast-growing e-mobility market." A strategic partnership aligned with Nexans' 'Paced for Growth 2018-2022' plan The cooperation with IES builds on Nexans' existing investments in EV charging solutions, including alternating current (AC) charging stations. These strategic partnerships enable Nexans to offer a comprehensive portfolio of charging hardware, software and services for all applications, both DC and AC. Christopher Guerin, Nexans Senior EVP, Europe and Telecom/Datacom, Power Accessories Business Groups, said: "IES is a valuable addition to our sustainable mobility portfolio, both for its advanced fast-charging technology and the strong relationships it has already established with major players in the industrial EV, automotive OEM and charging infrastructure sectors. This investment is a perfect illustration of our recently announced strategy for 2018-22 to extend Nexans' offer in our Building & Territories segment beyond cables to provide complete solutions for EV charging stations." Currently, Eurazeo is the main shareholder of IES. Following this investment Nexans will own a 27.8 percent stake in IES, with Eurazeo and the management holding the remainder of the capital. Yann du Rusquec, Managing Director and Head of Eurazeo Growth, added: "Since our investment in 2013, IES has significantly progressed thanks to the extension of its high quality product range and its promising international development. Today, in light of the strong market potential combined with IES's growth, we are renewing our commitment by investing once again in the company. Having Nexans at our side will allow IES to capture significant and positive new development opportunities over the coming years." 1 EV-Volumes, Global Plug-in Vehicle Sales for 2017 H1 + July, August Update About IES IES (Intelligent Electronic Systems) is a leading company recognized for advanced electric vehicle battery charging solutions. Founded more than 25 years ago, IES has created a high expertise for designing and manufacturing high frequency battery chargers at the edge of the technology. First engaged on the industrial vehicle market, where reliability and compacity were key, IES has developed a complete range of on-board chargers recognized by top leading industrial actors in the world. IES has also actively participated to the emergence of the electric passenger vehicle market, becoming for instance the exclusive on-board charger supplier for one vehicle from a top French manufacturer. Working closely with a leading German car maker, IES has also elaborated in 2010 one of the first CCS Combo DC fast chargers. Combining compacity, performances and reliability, the IES technology is used today by many leading car OEMs in the world to help developing their new electric vehicles. Thanks to the support of Eurazeo, who acquired a majority of the company shares in 2013, IES has built a strong international presence for fast charging infrastructures. The KEYWATT technology has been selected as the core solution of many charging infrastructure actors in Europe, North America, and more recently in China through its joint venture created with WANMA in 2015. At end of 2017, more than 4,000 KEYWATT chargers have been deployed in the world, making IES as one of the leading companies for the transition to electric mobility. For more information, please consult: www.ies-synergy.com IES contact: Jean-Benoit Moreau Marketing Director Tel: +33 (0) 4 30 05 00 28 jean-benoit.moreau@ies-synergy.com About Nexans Nexans brings energy to life through an extensive range of cables and cabling solutions that deliver increased performance for our customers worldwide. Nexans' teams are committed to a partnership approach that supports customers in four main business areas: Power transmission and distribution (submarine and land), Energy resources (Oil & Gas, Mining and Renewables), Transportation (Road, Rail, Air, Sea) and Building (Commercial, Residential and Data Centers). Nexans' strategy is founded on continuous innovation in products, solutions and services, employee development, customer training and the introduction of safe, low-environmental-impact industrial processes. In 2013, Nexans became the first cable player to create a Foundation to introduce sustained initiatives for access to energy for disadvantaged communities worldwide. Nexans is an active member of Europacable, the European Association of Wire & Cable Manufacturers, and a signatory of the Europacable Industry Charter. The Charter expresses its members' commitment to the principles and objectives of developing ethical, sustainable and high-quality cables. Nexans, acting for the energy transition, has an industrial presence in 40 countries, commercial activities worldwide, is employing close to 26,000 people and generating sales in 2016 of 5.8 billion euros. Nexans is listed on Euronext Paris, compartment A. For more information, please consult: www.nexans.com & follow us on: Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube | Facebook Nexans contacts: Press Angeline Afanoukoe Tel: +33 (0)1 78 15 04 67 angeline.afanoukoe@nexans.com Investor relations Michel Gedeon Tel: +33 (0)1 78 15 05 41 michel.gedeon@nexans.com About Eurazeo With a diversified portfolio of approximately 8 billion in assets under management, Eurazeo is a leading global investment company with offices in Paris and Luxembourg, New York, Shanghai and Sao Paolo. Its purpose and mission is to identify, accelerate and enhance the transformation potential of the companies in which it invests. The firm covers most private equity segments through its five business divisions - Eurazeo Capital, Eurazeo Croissance, Eurazeo PME, Eurazeo Patrimoine and Eurazeo Brands. Its solid institutional and family shareholder base, robust financial structure free of structural debt, and flexible investment horizon enable Eurazeo to support its companies over the long term. As a global long-term shareholder, the firm offers deep sector expertise, a gateway to global markets, and a stable foothold for transformational growth to the companies it supports. Eurazeo is listed on Euronext Paris. ISIN: FR0000121121 - Bloomberg: RF FP - Reuters: EURA.PA Eurazeo contacts: Caroline Cohen Sandra Cadiou Head of Investor Relations Communication Director E-mail: ccohen@eurazeo.com E-mail: scadiou@eurazeo.com Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 16 76 Tel: +33 (0)1 44 15 80 26 Eurazeo Press Contact Havas Worldwide Paris Geoffroy Daignes E-mail : geoffroy.daignes@havas.com Tel: +33 (0)6 50 39 13 72 Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 06:14:11|Editor: yan Video Player Close COPENHAGEN, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 Danish young people are being sentenced by the police for allegedly sharing sex videos on the social media, local media reported Monday. According to Danish news agency Ritzau, two videos and an image containing sexual materials involving a primary school girl and several boys were being shared among young people back in 2015 on Messenger of Facebook. Many young people were fined for sharing the materials in 2016, but that did not stop the spreading of the videos. "I can confirm that it is the same material we have seen before," North Zealand Police Commissioner Henrik Gunst was quoted by Ritzau as saying. After the cases were settled two years ago, Facebook has registered several divisions of the same videos until the autumn of 2017, according to Ritzau. The information has since been submitted to the Europol by the US authorities. The Danish law prohibits the possession and sharing of photos and videos of persons under the age of 18 if there are sexual contents. "We have taken the case very seriously as it has had serious consequences for those involved because of how the material has been spread. And it must be stopped," Lau Thygesen, a police inspector with North Zealand Police, was quoted by the newspaper Copenhagen Post as saying. Those found guilty will face conditional sentences of around 20 days in prison, while the conviction will go on their criminal record for at least two years, according to the paper. They will also spend at least 10 years on the child offence registry, which would bar them from working in certain jobs relating to children. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 06:14:12|Editor: yan Video Player Close BUCHAREST, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) decided to finance some 300 million euros (368 million U.S. dollars) for a metro line in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, Transport Minister Felix Stroe told a press conference on Monday. "Today, the EBRD representatives gave us a very good piece of news. The final decision was made in London, at EBRD, for the allocation of approximately 300 million euros for the completion of the financial arrangement to the M6 metro line," Stroe said. Late 2017, the Romanian government announced that it recently approved and sent to the European Commission the funding request of the shortage of 300 million euros for the M6 metro line that will link Bucharest to its Henri Coanda International Airport, with a total project value of almost 1.39 billion euros. The new metro line will have a length of 14.2 km and 12 metro stations. The M6 is currently in design phase and the environmental agreement was issued in October 2017. Transport authorities have also announced that the tender for the execution of the works could take place in early 2018. The EBRD is a leading investor in Romania and to date has invested 7.5 billion euros in some 400 projects in the eastern European country. In 2017, the Bank has signed more than 20 projects worth a total of over 400 million euros. Established in 1991 and headquartered in London, the EBRD is one of the world's most important financial institutions for development. It invests and operates in more than 30 countries and regions. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 06:19:15|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned "in the strongest terms" Monday's twin terrorist attacks in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Guterres expressed his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery to those injured, said the spokesman. "The secretary-general reiterates that the United Nations will continue to stand by the government and people of Iraq in their efforts to fight terrorism and rebuild their country." Two suicide bombings within minutes rocked an open-air market in Baghdad, killing more than two dozen people early Monday morning. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 06:34:18|Editor: yan Video Player Close VALLETTA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Air Malta has reached an agreement over working conditions after late-night negotiations between the airline, the government and the pilots' union, ALPA. The agreement was announced by Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a tweet. "Air Malta and ALPA have reached a mutually satisfactory agreement enabling the company to move ahead and become the airline of the Mediterranean. Pilots now need to formally endorse in new vote," Muscat tweeted on Monday evening. The union had been locked in talks with the government for months, and was the only one of the airline's unions refusing to sign a collective agreement. The government had insisted that all agreements needed to be finalized by the end of last year if the airline was to stand a chance of implementing its new business plan, which it said will turn Air Malta into the airline of the Mediterranean. On Sunday, Muscat said the government would not be blackmailed by Air Malta's pilots and was prepared for the eventuality that an agreement remained elusive. Malta's Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi said with the new business plan, the airline was expected to make a profit by March 2019. Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-16 06:44:21|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BEIRUT, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A UN refugee official said on Monday that Syria is not safe enough for the Syrian refugees living in Lebanon to return to their homes. Scott Craig, an official with the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), told Xinhua that the UNHCR determined that the conditions in Syria are not safe enough despite a small number of Syrian refugees had returned to Syria last year. "We still have fighting and violence that are taking place in parts of the country and we still have displacement taking place," Craig said. He said that despite their evaluation of the situation in Syria, the UNHCR is still expanding its operations in the war-torn country to meet the needs of the refugees who want to return. But Craig pointed that the international community and the UNHCR are concerned if they could meet the needs of the Syrian refugees. Lebanon's Minister of State for the Refugees Affairs Moin Merheby confirmed at the end of 2017 that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon dropped to below 1 million for the first time since the civil war broke out in Syria in March 2011. MERCER SNO-GOERS president Andy Smith poses for a pictured with Lynsey Burzinski, the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs 2017-18 Miss Snowflake, Saturday during the snowmobile club's annual Winter Blast fundraiser. By RICHARD JENKINS [email protected] MERCER, Wis. The Mercer Area Sno-goers grooming barn was more crowded than usual Saturday as the snowmobile club held its annual Winter Blast Festival. The event is the clubs largest fundraiser of the year, according to club president Andy Smith, who said the money raised will go to towards maintaining the 220 miles of trails in southern Iron County the group is responsible for. Due in large part to the members efforts, Smith said all the trails the club maintains are open and generally in fair to good condition. The groomers have been out night and day, trying to make the best trails better thats our motto, Smith joked. Saturdays festivities started with a pancake breakfast at 8 a.m., and continued throughout the day with a pig roast, live music, raffles, other food and drinks and crafts for the kids. Lynsey Burzinski, the Association of Wisconsin Snowmobile Clubs 2017-18 Miss Snowflake, even stopped by to chat with members and pose for pictures. Burzinski, who is from Beloit and attends UW-Oshkosh, said as Miss Snowflake she travels around the state to events such as the Winter Blast the various clubs hold. She said she won the title at the associations annual meeting in fall. Smith was pleased with how the day had gone, saying there was a steady flow of people starting at the pancake breakfast and continuing on. Its been going really good, Smith said. He said with snowmobilers from around the Midwest flocking to the area due the conditions, it is often hard to keep the trails perfect with all the traffic on them. Along with the hard work by the clubs members, Smith credited the good relationship with the neighboring clubs in Vilas County and the White Thunder Riders in northern Iron County for making it possible for users to enjoy the trails. When you have that much traffic, its really hard to keep up, Smith said. He also noted the incredible amount of work that goes into maintaining Iron County trails; saying that while Vilas County had around 11 snowmobile clubs last year, the Sno-goers and White Thunder Riders are the only two clubs in Iron County. For more information on trail conditions around Mercer; visit the clubs Facebook page, Mercersnogoers.com or contact the Mercer Chamber of Commerce. Lithuanian English Siauliai, Lithuania, 2018-01-15 08:34 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Siauliu bankas AB has received the notification of the person, closely associated with the manager, on transactions in securities issued by the bank (attached). By JAN TUCKER [email protected] Ontonagon Marlene Broemer has returned to the Ontonagon area from travels around the country and world. Broemer was born in Ontonagon and grew up in White Pine, graduating from the White Pine High School and Michigan State University. She received her Masters Degree from San Francisco State and doctorate from Helsinki University where she also taught. Broemer returned to the area and is presently teaching at Finlandia University in Hancock. Club president Jan Wolfe said the O-WP Rotary is pleased to receive Broemer as a new member and noted her extensive work as an editor, instructor and writer will be a great asset to the Ontonagon group. Marilyn Anderson, chairman of the Bell Ringing project of the Salvation Army, reported the project this year collected $1,933. Of that amount, the Ontonagon St. Nicolas Project will receive $1,740. She thanked the individual volunteers, and school groups who assisted in Ringing the Bell. We are a small group and without the volunteers we would not be able to do this, Anderson said. The Rotary Club also made official its commitment to plant a tree for each member. The trees will be planted at the Ontonagon Aspirus Long Term Care grounds and at the Ontonagon Township Hall. Never has India's judiciary been under the kind of strain we witnessed last week when four Supreme Court judges effectively came out against the Chief Justice of India, ostensibly on procedural issues. There is no clear evidence of wilful impropriety on either side but a weekend on social media is enough to see the sad fact that the independent judiciary is being measured through political prisms. Not since the resignation of three SC judges during the Emergency, when they were superseded to the post of the Chief Justice of India during Mrs Indira Gandhi's reign as prime minister, has the judiciary witnessed such tumult. The whole thing is so complex, that it reminded me of the tales of King Vikramaditya and his ghostly companion of dubious virtue, Vetal (Betaal). These were tales of wisdom for rulers, focusing often on tricky situations and moral dilemmas. So I decided to write a tale inspired by the Supreme Court crisis. Be informed it is only fiction and the characters are fictional. And draw your own perspectives. Like an abstract, modern art painting, this is for you to figure out. * * * Vikram grabbed the corpse-like Betaal from the tree and started his silent march to attain occult power, when Betaal giggled as usual and said: "Today I want to tell you not a tale from the past but one from the future, when judges of a country challenged their own chief, in a time when it is not the king but independent judges pronounce verdicts and hold their society together as nobles and merchants join ordinary subjects in choosing their rulers." And so the tale began. * * * The Chief Justice of India, due to retire in two weeks, is about to deliver a verdict on a man accused of aiding a terrorist attack when he receives an anonymous call, threatening harm to his wife if his verdict confirmed a death sentence given by the lower courts. The CJI is in a dilemma. He does not know who issued the threat and whether it is real but he fears for his wife's safety. After all, she is the one who stood by him as he delivered a series of perfect judgements in the public interest, never worrying about what others said. On the other hand, if his verdict was influenced by the threat, he would be failing in his duty. Strangely, he had already written a verdict acquitting the accused because the evidence against him was more circumstantial conjecture than real and under the principles of democratic jurisprudence, he could not give the benefit of the doubt to the prosecution. However, he thought, if the threat had come from comrades of the accused, he would be setting a bad precedent of allowing blackmailers to influence the judiciary. Now, one of his junior judges had gone to the same boarding school as one of the influential cabinet ministers, and this had already complicated perceptions in the coffee houses of the country. The CJI thought hard about all the judges serving in his council and looked at his own responsibilities as defined by guidelines. He decided then to change the duty roster of various judges. To a judge who was a media favourite for ruling in favour of woman victims and corruption in sport, he allocated a nondescript case on cooperative banking. To a judge who was said to be close to the cabinet minister, he allocated a case that involved allegations of impropriety in loans given to the minister's family company. To the judge who was due to succeed him, he allocated a political case that would embarrass the ruling party if the verdict went against it. To a fourth judge, who was known for labour cases, he allotted a patent case that was out of his normal specialisation. The CJI went off on a weekend holiday to a mountain resort where cellphone signals were not easy to catch and switched off his phone. Now, the judges in question were outraged and met over some filter coffee at the residence of one, and in the best traditions of the judiciary, decided to act on the hard fact that one of the judges had gone to the same school as an accused minister. The entire business of roster changes seemed uncomfortable for them. They called a press conference and protested against the CJI's arbitrary ways, underlining the "first among equals" principle at the highest level of the judiciary. The CJI returned from his vacation to find that his roster change had snowballed into a political controversy. He immediately sent his resignation to the President of India, saying his integrity was being questioned and public perceptions were important. The President, a wise old man, sent back the resignation for reconsideration, saying it was equally important for him, the President, to not accept a resignation while he was bound by cabinet advice, as that would be seen as the executive interfering in the independent judiciary. Meanwhile, bar councils across India and the Supreme Court Bar Association rose up to underline the independence of the judiciary and demanded that issues be discussed at a full meeting of all sitting Supreme Court judges. The CJI readily complied and said it was for the council in its wisdom to decide what to do next. But he posed some questions: "What, gentlemen and ladies, is the meaning of the word "first" when put alongside equals? What added privilege or responsibility does it entail? Will I be failing in my duty if I did not take the words seriously? And what evidence do we have to suggest that a judge should not examine a case involving his schoolmate when there were hundreds in his time who were his schoolmates?" The judges, in the best traditions of the judiciary, in their collective wisdom, agreed that innuendos do not amount to evidence, though there were murmurs all around. Under pressure from the bar associations, they also decided it was not proper to invite any executive interference. They told the CJI that rosters must be made in line with procedures and conventions. Now, the CJI said: "If conventions alone mattered, we would be riding horses and not motor cars. If there was no special meaning attached to the word "first" or "chief" there would be no need to have the title such as I do. I would be failing in my duty towards the letter and spirit of the law as I see it, and hence I resign." The President of India was now forced to accept the resignation. After all, only one more week was left for the end of the CJI's term and everything was now a technicality. What would happen to pending verdicts? The CJI opined that both the roster and the collective wisdom of the judiciary mattered and hence left it to his successor and the judges' council. Now, his successor was known to be a hardliner on national security issues. The judges' council in its collective wisdom decided that serious cases must be considered by larger benches. The terrorism case was opened again to a large bench, while a panel of senior judges was appointed to revisit procedures and conventions on why and how cases must be allocated so that neither individual biases nor individual specialisation was ignored in allocation of cases. The CJI retired a happy man. *** Now, Betaal asked King Vikram: Was the CJI right? Or were the judges right? Was justice done and delivered? Replied King Vikram: "The CJI did the right thing because judges have their duties in their personal lives and as common citizens as well. By making things vague, he left the matter to the God above and the wise men below. He also made sure whoever issued the threat did not have his way." "The President did well to insulate himself from the judiciary because that would damage the image of the party he came from. "The judges only adhered to established conventions and were rightly concerned about propriety. Bound by the chatter of the bar associations and the CJI, they were rightly talked into contemplating on issues going beyond conventions so that a higher sense of justice would prevail. "Those who issued the threats would never find out what really happened because whatever the CJI did was seen as part of his wider duties and not influenced by threats. "The terrorism case rightfully deserved a larger bench and it was better for the judges' council to set the conditions for this than a diktat from above because the media had become shrill and stupid. "Above all, the CJI retired in peace because he had done all his duties well as much as an individual could, and the institution of the judiciary was only maturing through his actions." On hearing Vikram's response, Betaal replied: "Your comprehensive sense of justice is remarkable but you have shattered the peace of this place. So I have to leave you." Betaal then laughed out loud, rose up and looked for a tree but realised it had travelled in time to tell its tale better. It found itself near Pragati Maidan from where it could get a good view of the Supreme Court of India. Not finding a tree easily in the concrete jungle, it swooped down only to see a dark night over the venue where the World Book Fair was on. It picked up a book at random and sat atop a skyscraper before heading to its familiar tree in the past. The book was one by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (Madhavan Narayanan is a senior journalist who has covered politics, diplomacy, business, technology and other subjects in a long career that has spanned organisations including Reuters, Business Standard and Hindustan Times. He is currently an independent columnist, editor and commentator. He is listed among the top 200 Indian influencers on Twitter. He tweets as @madversity.) (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.) New Delhi: Staff Selection Commission (SSC) on Monday declared the results of non-technical Multi Tasking Staff (MTS) recruitment examination which was held in a computer-based mode in September and October 2017. Candidates can check the official website - ssc.nic.in - for the results. Eligible candidates can then have to appear for the descriptive paper which will comprise of short essay/letter in English or any language which is part of the eight schedule of the Constitution. It will be of 50 marks and 30 minutes will be given for it. The Staff Selection Commission is an attached office of the Department of Personnel and Training and comprises of chairman, two members and a secretary-cum-controller of examinations who are appointed on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Central government from time to time. As per the official website, among other things, the function of SSC is to "make recruitment to (i) all group B posts in the various ministries/departments of the government and their attached and subordinate offices which are in the pay scales the maximum of which is Rs 10,500 or below and (ii) all non-technical Group C posts in the various ministries/departments of the government and their attached and subordinate offices, except those posts which are specifically exempt from the purview of the Staff Selection Commission. Its function is also to "conduct examinations and/or interviews, whenever required for recruitment to the posts within its purview. The examinations would be held as far as possible at different centres and successful candidates posted, to the extent possible, to their home state/region." NEW DELHI: Days after four senior-most Supreme Court judges raised the issue of assignment of cases in a press conference, the Bar Council of India and Attorney General KK Venugopal said that the issue has been resolved. Terming these developments as "a storm in a tea cup", the Attorney General said that the four judges - Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph - took up their respective business on the first working day after the January 12 press conference. Attorney General said the issue has been settled. "Now everything has been settled. The courts are functioning. It was a storm in a tea cup," Venugopal was quoted as saying. Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Mishra also said that it was an internal issue and has now been resolved. "As you can see that the matter has been laid to rest and all courts rooms in the Supreme Court are functioning normally," Mishra said. The four judges had in a press conference stated that there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court and even raised the issue of how cases are assigned in the apex court. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had on Sunday met a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council of India and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh and had assured them that the crisis would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. NEW DELHI: Hitting out at Pakistan for repeatedly trying to sneak terrorists into India, Army chief General Bipin Rawat said the forces will keep effectively retaliating to any provocative action by the neighbouring country. "Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along LoC in J&K. We are using our might to teach them a lesson," the Army chief said. Keeping a firm stance, he added that the Indian Army will take even stronger steps against 'enemies' if it is compelled to do so. "If we are forced, then we may resort to 'other action' by stepping up military offensive. We will not let anti-India activities succeed at any cost," he said. General Rawat also said that disputes along the Line of Actual Control in the northern border (China) were continuing and transgressions were taking place, adding that they are working "to stop them". He was speaking at the 70th Army Day celebrations at the Cariappa Parade Ground in New Delhi. He reviewed the parade and also presented gallantry and other awards to his personnel. Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year to commemorate the day when Lieutenant General Cariappa took over from Lt Gen Roy Butcher to become the first Indian the commander-in-chief of the Indian Army in 1949. Beijing: China on Sunday hit out at Army Chief General Bipin Rawat for calling Doklam a disputed territory and said that his 'unconstructive' comments were not helpful for maintaining peace at the borders. "During the past one year, relations between China and India witnessed some twists and turns," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said. "Recently, two sides enhanced dialogue on consultations, and bilateral relations have shown sound momentum of improvement and development. Under such background, the unconstructive remarks by the Indian senior officials not only go against the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and do not conform to the efforts made by the two sides to improve and develop bilateral relations. It cannot help to preserve tranquillity and peace in the border areas," he added. Asked what were Gen Rawat's specific comments that China is taking exception to, Lu pointed to the Army chief's remarks on Doklam wherein he said it is a disputed territory between Bhutan and China. He reiterated China's stand that the Sikkim section of the India-China boundary has been delimited by the 1890 'historical convention' between the then British government and China, which Beijing claims settled the boundary in that particular section spanning to about 200 kms. China wants India to settle the boundary in that particular section based on the treaty while the two sides negotiated for a settlement for the rest of the LAC which spans about 3,488 kms. So far the two sides have held 20 rounds of border talks to resolve the issue. On its part, Bhutan had lodged a diplomatic protest with China when Chinese troops began building a road in the Doklam area in June. Indian troops had objected to the construction of the road resulting in a 73-day standoff. The standoff was resolved after Chinese troops stopped road building and India withdrew its troops from the area. On Gen Rawat's comments that China is exhorting pressure on India along the LAC, Lu said, "if he refers to the situation in whole India-China boundary, I have also said that last September the two heads of state have reached important consensus during the Xiamen (BRICS) summit". "Both sides have maintained effective communication since then. The aim is to enhance strategic mutual trust and create enabling atmosphere for strategic communication. Recently, the bilateral relations have shown positive momentum." Lu said, referring to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to India in December followed by 20th round of border talks between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. The Chinese reaction came following comments by Gen Rawat two days ago that India needs to shift focus from its border with Pakistan to that of China and spoke of pressure being exerted by Beijing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). On January 12, 2018, Gen Rawat had also cautioned that the country cannot allow its neighbours to drift towards China, virtually asking the government to effectively implement its 'neighbourhood first' policy. Admitting that Chinese troops have been ramping up pressure along the LAC, he had asserted that China may be a powerful country but India too was not a weak nation. Gen Rawat had further said that countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have to be kept on board as part of a broader strategy to deal with China and India must make "wholehearted" efforts to continue extending support to them. Underlining the need for shifting attention from the western border with Pakistan to the northern frontier with China, he had said, "For too long, we have kept our focus on the western front. I think time has come for us to focus on the northern border. Therefore, our infrastructure development on the northern border has to be speeded up." (With PTI inputs) NEW DELHI: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday declared his visit to New Delhi as the "dawn of a new era in friendship between India and Israel." "It began with PM Narendra Modi's historic visit to Israel that created tremendous enthusiasm. It continues with my visit here which I must say is deeply moving for me, my wife and people of Israel," he said. He added that the flourishing partnership can bring prosperity, peace and progress for the people. Netanyahu, who is on six-day visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among those present during the ceremony. Netanyahu and Modi are expected to discuss a variety of subjects related to bilateral relations and the global situation. The Israeli premier is accompanied by his wife Sara and a 130-member delegation from various sectors, including cyber, agriculture and defence. This is the first visit to India by an Israeli Prime Minister since Ariel Sharon came in 2003. On Sunday, PM Modi had broken protocol to personally receive his Israeli counterpart at the Delhi airport. He welcomed Netanyahu with a hug upon his arrival. Tweeting on the surprise welcome, Netanyahu had said: "Thank you to my good friend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who surprised me with a personal welcome at the airport upon my arrival in India. Together we will bring the relations between our countries to new heights." PM Modi and his Israeli counterpart attended a ceremony on Sunday to mark the formal renaming of iconic Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk. The two premiers, who signed the visitor's book at the chowk, were received by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. They laid the wreath and paid tribute at the Chowk. Netanyahu will be going to Delhi, Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai and will be accompanied by Modi on extensive portions of his visit. New Delhi: India and Israel on Monday pledged to fight terror as the two countries sought to broad base their relationship on the silver jubilee of the establishment of their diplomatic ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inviting Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime in the defence sector and the two countries also underlined the need for working towards Free Trade and Bilateral Investment treaties. On the second day of his six-day visit to India, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with PM Modi, both one-on-one and delegation level, after which the two sides reached agreements in various fields including a Memorandum of Understanding on Cyber Security Cooperation. Following are the top developments: - Netanyahu showered praise on PM Modi saying he is a "revolutionary" leader who has catapulted India into the future. - A joint statement issued later said the two Prime Ministers agreed that renewed efforts were required to realise the full potential for bilateral trade and investment and noted that the next round of bilateral discussions will be held next month in Israel. - The Prime Ministers urged the private sector to actively explore investment opportunities in both countries, including through India's flagship programmes such as Make in India, Start-Up India and Digital India. - Both sides noted the readiness of Israeli companies to enter into joint ventures with Indian companies in the defence sector under the Make in India initiative. - Recognising the grave threat terrorism poses to peace and security including from non-state actors, PM Modi and Netanyahu reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever and advocated strong measures against terrorists, terror organisations, those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups. - They also noted with satisfaction that the next meeting of the joint working groups on homeland and public security will be held next month. - They reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space and welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Cyber Security between India and Israel. - At a media briefing later, Vijay Gokhale, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry, said both countries shared similarities in their approach to tackling terrorism. "The two countries have said we will not tolerate terrorism in any manner," he said. - In reply to a question on not naming Pakistan in the document, he said it was not necessary to name countries each time. There was no divergence of views on the issue, he added. - India and Israel signed nine agreements following the talks, including two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on cooperation in the areas of oil and gas and cybersecurity, and two letters of intent between Indian Oil and two Israeli entities on metal-air batteries and solar thermal technologies. - The two sides also discussed the situation in West Asia and UN Security Council reforms but Iran's nuclear programme did not figure. - Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived in India on Sunday on a six-day visit. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. (With IANS inputs) BOSTON, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GSX Solutions [www.gsx.com], the leading provider of monitoring solutions for messaging, collaboration, and mobility applications, today announced a new webinar offering a technical deep dive into boosting the performance of Skype for Business Online performance. Whether considering migrating from Skype for Business on-premises to Skype for Business Online, or just wanting to deploy this new service, assessing the satisfaction of end-users is key. The webinar also addresses how to assess remote location readiness for Skype for Business Online, how to interpret the data you collect and the impact of the protocol you choose (UDP, TCP) on the user experience. During this 30-minute webinar, our experts will show you how to automate the assessment of your network and remote locations. Benchmarks compare the performance delivered through multiple protocols and explain how to easily improve your infrastructure. This will limit the number of tickets you will generate when switching to Skype for Business Online. Tweet: Join @GSX_Solutions for a #freewebinar about #SkypeforBusiness https://hubs.ly/H09DgjY0 #Office365 #Skype #S4B Where: Please sign up today at https://hubs.ly/H09DgjY0 A link to the webinar recording will be automatically sent to everyone who signed up. Who: Administrators who deal with Skype for Business and Office 365 What: This technical webinar is designed to help Office 365 admins understand the performance metrics that are behind support tickets and complaints for Skype for Business Online When: February 15 th , 2018 , 2018 Time: 11am - Eastern time zone (US & Canada) / 17:00 - Central Europe time zone. About GSX Solutions GSX Solutions is the leading provider of monitoring and management solutions for messaging, collaboration, and mobility applications. At the core of GSX's mission is the end-user experience, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted service delivery. GSX Monitoring provides exceptional user satisfaction within complex on-premises, hybrid, and cloud scenarios by providing IT teams with deep insights into the user experience. GSX Management for Office 365 includes powerful usage reporting, security auditing, and enterprise-class administration. GSX is a Microsoft Systems Center Alliance Partner and a Microsoft Gold Partner. For more product information and partner opportunities, please visit www.gsx.com. GSX company contact: marketing@gsx.com. New Delhi: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be flown in the Indian Air Force`s frontline aircraft, the indigenously-built version of Su-30 MKI fighter jet on Wednesday, official sources said. The minister will fly a sortie in the formidable fighter, which has nuclear strike capability and capability to penetrate deep into enemy territory, at the Air Force Station in Jodhpur. After her recent stay on board INS Vikramaditya at sea and whirlwind tours to forward areas and different installations of the three forces, this sortie will be a part of the Defence Minister`s continued effort to gauge and review the operational preparedness and combat capabilities of the armed forces, the sources said. The Sukhoi-30 MKI is a twinjet multirole air superiority fighter developed by Russia`s Sukhoi and built under licence by India`s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A variant of the Sukhoi Su-30, it is a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter. In November 2017, India had successfully flight-tested the air variant of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the fighter jet. New Delhi: Four senior-most Supreme Court judges, who had held an unprecedented press conference and raised issue of assignment of cases, today attended court and took up routine work. The four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- have taken up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after the January 12 press conference. In the presser, these judges had flagged some problems, including the assigning of cases in the apex court, and said there were certain issues afflicting the country's highest court. Yesterday, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had met a seven-member delegation of the Bar Council of India and Supreme Court Bar Association President Vikas Singh and had assured them that the crisis would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail. New Delhi: Praising the brilliant people in India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that both the countries can shape the future together. Addressing the India-Israel Business Summit in the national capital, he said, "There is not going to be anymore distinction between high tech and low tech because at the end everything is going to be technology. In the last 5-10 years, we have car industries. We have 500 startup companies that receive $500 bn investment every year." Netanyahu added, "You have brilliant people in India. We have brilliant people in Israel. What we can do, is shape the future together. I believe in India. I came here to say today thank you, PM Modi, for believing in Israel, we believe in India." He also thanked the Prime Minister for the warm welcome. "PM Modi, dear friend, a friend of Israel, thank you for your magnificent hospitality and friendship." On his part, PM Modi said, "The role of business and industry is crucial in the transformation of our time. I have always had a deep regard for Israel and its people. I visited Israel in 2006 as CM of Gujarat. Last year in July, I visited Israel, the first such visit from India. I experienced the remarkable spirit of innovation, enterprise and perseverance that drives Israel." He added, "There are new energy and purpose that has invigorated our ties over the last few years. It will help take our cooperation to greater heights. We stand on the cusp of a new chapter in India-Israel relations driven by our people and mutual opportunities for the betterment of lives. The India-Israel innovation bridge will act as a link between the start-ups of the two sides. I have been saying that Indian industries, start-ups and the academic institutions must collaborate with their Israeli counterparts to access the huge reservoir of knowledge." PM Modi further said, "In India, we have been taking steady steps over three years at both macro as well as micro-level, to make a difference. Our motto is - Reform, Perform and Transform. Today we have emerged as the 6th largest manufacturing nation but we are not done yet: We have worked sincerely on ease of doing businesses in India. The results are there for everyone to see." "We want to do more and do better. To enable entry of capital and technology, most of the sectors including defence, have been opened for FDI. More than 90 percent of the FDI approvals have been put on the automatic route. We are now among the most open economies. Indias development agenda is huge. It presents a vast economic opportunity for Israeli companies. I invite more and more Israeli people, businesses and companies to come and work in India. Along with government and people, the business community of India too is keen to join hands," he said. Earlier on Monday, India and Israel inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cybersecurity and energy. The agreements were signed after extensive talks between PM Modi and Netanyahu for bolstering bilateral ties in strategic areas. The two PMs, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interests. Netanyahu's visit to India is only the second one by an Israeli PM and comes after a gap of 15 years. Former PM Ariel Sharon visited India in 2003. (With Agency inputs) New Delhi: India and Israel on Monday inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cybersecurity after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu held extensive talks to strengthen ties in the strategic areas of defence and counter-terrorism. PM Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, he said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. Following is the full text of India-Israel joint statement (courtesy - MEA): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus visit to India from 14 to 19 January 2018 closes a momentous twenty-fifth anniversary year of India-Israel relationship and its growing partnership. The summit level meetings between the Republic of India and the State of Israel that commenced with Prime Minister Narendra Modis historic visit to Israel from 4 to 6 July 2017, have further strengthened the bonds between the two governments and peoples and have consolidated the foundation for their Strategic Partnership. The two Prime Ministers share a common vision for the relationship. They believe that in the next twenty-five years the two respective countries should strive to raise bilateral cooperation in diverse sectors to a qualitatively new level in consonance with our Strategic Partnership. Both sides are working together on a Five Year Joint Work Plan for strategic cooperation in Agriculture and Water. Both sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in innovation, business and trade, space, homeland security and cyber, higher education and research, science and technology, tourism and culture. The two prime ministers noted with satisfaction the commencement and implementation of India-Israel development cooperation - three-year work programme in Agriculture (2018-2020) under the stewardship of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MASHAV) and the Ministry of Agriculture of India aimed at increasing farmers productivity and optimization of water use efficiency. The two Prime Ministers were apprised of the state of progress on the twenty-eight centres of excellence that are being jointly established in different states of India and noted with satisfaction that seven more Centres of Excellence have become operational in the last six months since the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Israel. The two Prime Ministers will be visiting Centre of Excellence in Vadrad, Gujarat and will inaugurate the Centre of Excellence in Bhuj, Gujarat, during this visit. The Prime Ministers welcomed the completion of all formalities for the launch of the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) that was announced during Prime Minister Modis visit to Israel. During this visit, both the Prime Ministers will launch the first Call for Proposals under the fund to encourage enterprises from both countries to utilize this significant platform for undertaking joint R&D projects in innovative and futuristic technologies and products for the benefit of the two peoples. They underscored the role of youth in enhancing future collaboration in innovation, and have decided to commence an annual exchange of visits of one hundred youth from the science streams. The two Prime Ministers commended the decision of the respective Ministries of Science and Technology to commence nine joint R&D projects in the areas of big data analytics in healthcare and security in cyberspace, in pursuance of their decision in July 2017 to upgrade scientific and technological collaboration. Further, in order to build a strong network between the next generation of the best women scientists and technologists of the two countries, an India-Israel Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Symposium will be organized in October, 2018 in India. The two Prime Ministers also noted with satisfaction that the Heads of the Indian Space Research Organization and the Israel Space Agency have met in November 2017 to discuss the implementation of the two MoUs and one Plan of Cooperation signed between the two space agencies. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the initiation of cooperation between India and Israel in the energy sector with the signing of a MoU on Cooperation in the Oil and Gas sector that will promote, inter alia, collaboration in the upstream sectors, research and development in future technologies and start-ups in oil and gas. They also noted the intention of Indian public sector companies and Israeli companies to begin collaboration in the areas of metal-air batteries for stationary energy storage systems and in solar thermal technologies and urge industry on both sides to explore business collaboration in new energy technologies. Welcoming the initiative taken by India to establish the International Solar Alliance to promote renewable energy for sustainable development in the context of climate change, Israel declared its willingness to become a Partner Country. The two Prime Ministers urge research institutions and industry to collaborate, including in third countries, to promote greater use of solar technologies through the International Solar Alliance. The two Prime Ministers agreed that renewed efforts are required to realize the full potential for bilateral trade and investment, and took note of the next round of discussions between the two sides to be held in February 2018 in Israel. Underlining the role of the private sector in trade and investment, both Prime Ministers urged the private sector to actively explore investment opportunities in both countries, including through India's flagship programmes such as Make in India, Start-Up India and Digital India. They also expressed their satisfaction that the India-Israel CEO Forum, established in July 2017 during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Israel, held its second meeting in India during this visit. In this context both Prime Ministers also recalled the importance of facilitating the movement of business persons through simplification of visa regulations, fast-tracking of visa applications, issuing of multiple entry visas, especially for the information technology and new technology sectors. Recognizing the important contribution made by Indian caregivers in Israel, the two Prime Ministers agreed to embark upon negotiations in 2018 in order to move forward as speedily as possible and to the satisfaction of both sides towards an early bilateral agreement. In this respect, a delegation from India will be invited to Israel in the first half of 2018. Noting that doing trade and business also requires better connectivity, the two Prime Ministers have decided to expedite the conclusion of an Agreement on Maritime Transport that will encourage greater business between the shipping organizations of India and Israel, and create new opportunities in maritime services and training. They hope that this Agreement will also encourage wider cooperation in the development of maritime business and Israels participation in the Sagarmala Project. The two Prime Ministers are convinced that enhanced people-to-people contacts will forge the strongest bonds of friendship between India and Israel in the future. They deemed it essential to enhance connectivity between the two countries through the signing of a Protocol Amending Air Transport Agreement to expand the scope of cooperation in the civil aviation sector. An Indian Cultural Centre will open in Israel in 2018 in pursuance of the Prime Minister of Indias desire to promote greater cultural understanding. Both sides have signed a MoU in Film Co-Production in recognition of the role that films play in promoting people-to-people contact. Both Prime Ministers agreed to holding festivals of India and Israel in their respective countries in the Year 2019 as a further step to solidify friendship between the peoples of both countries. Both Prime Ministers noted the readiness of Israeli companies to enter into joint ventures with Indian companies in the defence sector under the Make in India initiative. They consider it important to set the direction for developing more business models and partnerships for the joint ventures and joint manufacturing, including transfer of technology as well as joint research and development in defence and security fields. They call on the Defence Ministries to hold discussions in 2018 with active involvement of the public and private sectors, in order to create the basis for viable, sustainable and long-term cooperation in the defence industry. Recognizing the grave threat that terrorism poses to peace and security including from non-state actors, both Prime Ministers reiterated that there can be no justification for acts of terror on any grounds whatsoever and advocated strong measures against terrorists, terror organizations, those who sponsor, encourage or finance terrorism or provide sanctuary to terrorists and terror groups. They also noted with satisfaction that the next meeting of the Joint Working Groups on Homeland and Public Security will be held in February 2018. They reiterated the importance of building comprehensive cooperation in counter-terrorism, including cyber-space, and welcome the signing of the MoU on Cooperation in Cyber Security between India and Israel. The two Prime Ministers understand the significance of sharing their respective development experiences with other countries. They agreed to explore ways to develop joint programmes of assistance for third countries in the areas of training, capacity building, and the development of small projects in the agriculture, water, health-care and education sectors. They asked their respective Foreign Ministries to commence discussions in this regard in 2018. The two Prime Ministers discussed the developments pertaining to the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process. They reaffirmed their support for an early resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians for arriving at a comprehensive negotiated solution on all outstanding issues, based on mutual recognition and effective security arrangements, for establishing a just and durable peace in the region. The two Prime Ministers believe that durable and multifaceted cooperation is beneficial for the welfare of the people of both countries, and consider the next twenty-five years as an opportune time to strengthen bonds between the peoples of India and Israel through activities that enhance understanding and create opportunities for mutual progress. They agree to continue high-level exchanges and to maintain dialogue in all areas and to work in practical ways for the benefit of their peoples. Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked Prime Minister Modi, the people of India and Government of India for their gracious welcome and hospitality. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's visit was a long-anticipated moment in the history of India-Israel relations. He also said that both the countries were creating a robust partnership - of hope, trust, extensive and cutting-edge cooperation, joint endeavours and shared successes. "India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our people," PM Modi added. PMs @netanyahus visit is a long anticipated moment in the history of India-Israel relations. Had fruitful talks with him and discussed ways to boost cooperation between India and Israel. https://t.co/4HZWXQwcPH pic.twitter.com/OVQdXefpD0 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2018 India and Israel are creating a a robust partnership- of hope, trust, extensive and cutting edge cooperation, joint endeavours and shared successes. My talks with PM @netanyahu will accelerate this engagement, paving way for positive outcomes. pic.twitter.com/rgNyuYyiUx Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2018 India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our people. We shall also venture into less explored areas of cooperation. pic.twitter.com/kc8EsMdZTf Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2018 India and Israel on Monday inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cybersecurity after PM Modi and Netanyahu held extensive talks to strengthen ties in the strategic areas of defence and counter-terrorism. PM Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, he said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. On his part, Netanyahu described PM Modi as a "revolutionary" leader. "You are revolutionising India and also relations between India and Israel," Netanyahu said, addressing him. The two PMs, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest. Earlier, Israeli PM Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, was granted a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He said that this was a dawn of a new era in the friendship between India and Israel. The Israeli premier is accompanied by his wife Sara and a 130-member delegation from various sectors, including cyber, agriculture and defence. On January 14, 2018, PM Modi and his Israeli counterpart attended a ceremony to mark the formal renaming of iconic Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk. The two premiers, who signed the visitor`s book at the chowk, were received by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. They laid a wreath and paid tribute at the chowk. PM Modi broke protocol to receive his Israeli counterpart at the airport upon his arrival in the national capital. (With PTI inputs) New Delhi: India and Israel would like new technology to be applied more effectively in science, technology and agriculture sectors, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday. "The Prime Ministers of India and Israel spoke on the use of technology in agriculture. Our Prime Minister stressed on the use of technology in the agricultural sector. The PM of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, spoke about the technology used in agriculture such as - how it reaches the farmers, how it improves productivity and yield of the fields through water and fertilisers. Both the countries are working on this proposal," MEA secretary (economic relations) and foreign secretary-designate Vijay K Gokhale said. "We want to modernise our science and technology sectors with the help of technology, through Israel`s expertise. The fund that was announced by both the Prime Ministers at Tel Aviv, at the time of PM Narendra Modi`s visit, has now been operationalised. The two countries have proposed 20 US million dollars. We have sent calls for proposals", he added. "In the industrial sector, water can be treated effectively with the help of technology, when industries discharge waste in the water bodies. We would also like to implement the same here", Gokhale further said. "As far as the issue of Palestine is concerned, it was discussed. Our side made its stand clear on the issues of Palestine and Jerusalem but our relations are much larger than single issues," he said, as per ANI. As far as the issue of Palestine is concerned, it was discussed. Our side made its stand clear on the issues of Palestine & Jerusalem but our relations are much larger than single issues: Vijay Gokhale, MEA Secretary (economic relations) pic.twitter.com/r14QBMUalT ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 India and Israel on Monday inked nine pacts to boost cooperation in key areas, including cybersecurity after PM Modi and Netanyahu held extensive talks to strengthen ties in the strategic areas of defence and counter-terrorism. India and Israel signed and exchanged agreements in areas of amendment in air transport, cooperation in oil & gas, cyber-security, film co-production and many more. Full list available at https://t.co/SRd3oSnX8d #ShalomNamaste pic.twitter.com/SQGedMbOdY Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 15, 2018 PM Modi also invited Israeli defence companies to India for co-production in the sector. India and Israel will strengthen the existing pillars of cooperation in areas such as agriculture, technology and security, he said at a joint media event with Netanyahu. PMs @netanyahus visit is a long anticipated moment in the history of India-Israel relations. Had fruitful talks with him and discussed ways to boost cooperation between India and Israel. https://t.co/4HZWXQwcPH pic.twitter.com/OVQdXefpD0 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2018 On his part, Netanyahu described PM Modi as a "revolutionary" leader. "You are revolutionising India and also relations between India and Israel," Netanyahu said, addressing him. The two PMs, accompanied by their respective senior Cabinet colleagues, held delegation-level talks during which they also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest, as per PTI. PM @narendramodi and @IsraeliPM Benjamin Netanyahu led delegation level talks between India and Israel where leaders discussed ever-growing cooperation in all aspects of our bilateral relationship. #ShalomNamaste pic.twitter.com/20lBMaN4k4 Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 15, 2018 Earlier, Israeli PM Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, was granted a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He said that this was a dawn of a new era in the friendship between India and Israel. Valued guest @ rashtrapatibhawan. A ceremonial welcome accorded to @IsraeliPM Benjamin Netanyahu #ShalomNamaste pic.twitter.com/V38FXhkulg Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 15, 2018 The Israeli premier is accompanied by his wife Sara and a 130-member delegation from various sectors, including cyber, agriculture and defence. On January 14, 2018, PM Modi and his Israeli counterpart attended a ceremony to mark the formal renaming of iconic Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti Haifa Chowk. The two premiers, who signed the visitor`s book at the chowk, were received by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. They laid a wreath and paid tribute at the chowk. (With Agency inputs) New Delhi: India and Israel on Monday signed nine agreements, including in the areas of cyber security and oil and gas, following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Benjamin Netanyahu here. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cyber security was signed. A second MoU was signed between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Israel`s Ministry of Energy in oil and gas sector. A protocol between India and Israel on amendments to the air transport agreement was also signed. Another agreement was on film-co-production between India and Israel. A third MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Centre of Israel, related to cooperation in the field of research in homeopathic medicine. Another MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field of space was signed. A memorandum of intent was on Invest India and Invest in Israel. Indian Oil and Israel`s Phinergy Ltd signed a letter of intent for cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries. Another letter of intent between Indian Oil and Israel`s Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd was signed for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. Jammu: The Indian Army on Monday carried out "retaliatory action" against Pakistan, killing seven soldiers and injuring four others in forward areas along LoC in J-K's Poonch district on Monday. Pakistan government, however said that four, and not seven, soldiers were killed. Four soldiers of #Pakistan Army have embraced martyrdom in unprovoked #Indian firing along the Line of Control in Jandrot-Kotli Sector. The troops were busy in line communication maintenance when they were fired upon and hit by heavy mortar round by Indian forces. pic.twitter.com/wHLtFdr4nR Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) January 15, 2018 Earlier today, Indian security forces killed five Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists in Dulanja village, Uri, in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district. Speaking at the 70th Army Day celebrations in New Delhi, Army chief General Bipin Rawat lashed out at Pakistan for repeatedly trying to sneak terrorists into India, adding that forces will keep retaliating to any provocative action by the neighbouring country. "If we are forced, then we may resort to 'other action' by stepping up military offensive. We will not let anti-India activities succeed at any cost," said General Rawat. NEW DELHI: The Indian Army celebrates the 70th Army Day, with parades and shows at its major locations across the country. The celebration marks the day Field Marshal KM Cariappa took over as the first Indian chief of the nation's Army in 1949. The showcase event of the Army Day is the annual parade at the Cariappa Parade Ground in New Delhi. The parade was reviewed by Army chief General Bipin Rawat. He also presented gallantry and other awards to his personnel. The headquarter locations of the Indian Army's various commands and other wings also featured celebrations and parades. Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year. This was the day in 1949 that the then Lieutenant General Cariappa took over from Lt Gen Roy Butcher to become the first Indian the commander-in-chief of the Indian Army. Top government and military figures greeted the Army on its day. "On Army Day, greetings to the valiant men and women of the Indian Army, to veterans and to families of those who have worn the uniform. You are our nation's pride, the sentinels of our liberty. Citizens sleep securely knowing you are ever awake and ever vigilant," tweeted President Ram Nath Kovind, the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. On Army Day, greetings to the valiant men and women of the Indian Army, to veterans and to families of those who have worn the uniform. You are our nation's pride, the sentinels of our liberty. Citizens sleep securely knowing you are ever awake and ever vigilant #PresidentKovind President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 15, 2018 "On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen of India has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents," tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Army Day, I convey greetings to the soldiers, veterans and their families. Every citizen of India has unwavering trust and pride in our Army, which protects the nation and is also at the forefront of humanitarian efforts during times of natural disasters and other accidents. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2018 Our Army always puts the nation first. I salute all those great individuals who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation. India will never forget our valiant heroes. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 15, 2018 "All ranks of Indian Navy join me in wishing our Brothers-in-Arms in Olive Greens and their families a Very Happy Army Day," read a message from Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba. #ArmyDay All ranks of Indian Navy join me in wishing our Brothers-in-Arms in Olive Greens and their families a Very Happy Army Day - Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff pic.twitter.com/D05IdN1kde SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) January 15, 2018 "We salute our soldiers, whose courage and sacrifice allows all Indians to realize their potential," read a tweet from the official handle of the Congress Party. New Delhi: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will on Tuesday inaugurate this year`s Raisina Dialogue, India`s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics. Organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation think tank, the theme of the Dialogue this year is `Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms`. According to a statement issued by ORF on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and ORF chairman Sunjoy Joshi will also be part of the inaugural session. Sushma Swaraj will deliver the Plenary Address on January 17 while Ministers of State for Foreign Affairs, MJ Akbar and V.K. Singh, will also address the delegates during the three-day event. The other ministers taking part in the Dialogue include Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu, Textiles and Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri. The chiefs of Army and Navy, General Bipin Rawat and Admiral Sunil Lanba, will also address the Dialogue, along with Admiral Harry Harris, Commander of the US Pacific Command, General Chris Deverell, Joint Forces Commander of Britain, Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, Chief of Staf of the Joint Staff of Japan, and Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, Chief of Australian Navy. Ministerial delegations from countries like Australia, Russia, Singapore, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Poland are also attending this year`s conference. Former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, former Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harder and former Prime Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt, are among more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates from around 90 countries who are participating in the Dialogue. Meanwhile, India and Israel on Monday pledged to fight terror as the two countries sought to broad base their relationship on the silver jubilee of the establishment of their diplomatic ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inviting Israeli companies to take advantage of the liberalised FDI regime in the defence sector and to make more in India. The two countries also underlined the need for working towards Free Trade and Bilateral Investment treaties. On the second day of his six-day visit to India, Netanyahu held talks with PM Modi, both one-on-one and delegation level, after which the two sides reached agreements in various fields including a Memorandum of Understanding on Cyber Security Cooperation. Netanyahu showered praise on PM Modi saying he is a "revolutionary" leader who has catapulted India into the future. A joint statement issued later said the two Prime Ministers agreed that renewed efforts were required to realise the full potential for bilateral trade and investment and noted that the next round of bilateral discussions will be held next month in Israel. The Prime Ministers urged the private sector to actively explore investment opportunities in both countries, including through India's flagship programmes such as Make in India, Start-Up India and Digital India. (With IANS inputs) NOVA Chemicals Corporation, 1000 Seventh Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 5L5 www.novachemicals.com | 403.750.3600 tel | 403.269.7410 fax Calgary, Alberta (January 15, 2018) - NOVA Chemicals Corporation (NOVA Chemicals) today announced that Chris Bezaire, senior vice president, Polyethylene business will retire effective April 1, 2018. John Thayer, currently vice president polyethylene marketing, will assume the role of senior vice president, Polyethylene business. Bezaire joined DuPont Canada's Polyethylene business in 1988 as a process engineer before coming to NOVA Chemicals in 1994. There he progressed through a variety of roles in operations, sales, marketing, investor relations, and corporate strategy, including expatriate assignments in Europe and Asia. In addition, he has held executive positions including vice president of investor relations; vice president, finance and controller; vice president, Advanced SCLAIRTECH(TM) business; and vice president, corporate planning. Bezaire was appointed to the NOVA Chemicals Management Board in 2011. "I've been extremely fortunate with NOVA Chemicals to have enjoyed many different roles with great people in different functions and locations." said Bezaire. "I look forward to the next phase of my life, knowing that at NOVA Chemicals we've built a solid foundation for significant growth ahead." "I would like to personally thank Chris for his contributions over the years and wish him well in retirement. He has been a steady hand in helping to guide the organization throughout a period of significant transformation. His vision and leadership has allowed us to have a clear focus and commitment to our customers - furthering our mission to develop great plastic products that make everyday life healthier, easier and safer," said Todd Karran, chief executive officer, NOVA Chemicals. "Furthermore, I'm excited to welcome John Thayer to the NOVA Chemicals Management Board. John brings with him a strong background in developing people, leading organizations through change and creating an exceptional customer experience. His experience and insight will be a tremendous asset as we continue to progress our growth journey." Thayer started his career with NOVA Chemicals' Expandable Styrenics business in 1997 after working at Weyerhaeuser Company. During his time with the Expandable Styrenics business, Thayer held various leadership roles, including human resources leader, site leader and global business director before serving as general manager of the business. In 2015, Thayer transitioned to the polyethylene business, overseeing the business services function, where he was responsible for optimizing the polyethylene sales planning, contract management, pricing, customer service, analytics, and sales execution efforts. Currently he is vice president polyethylene marketing and has responsibility for driving the execution of NOVA Chemicals' market leadership strategy, which helps to meet the current and future needs of the company's customers and brand owners. "It's a privilege to take on this leadership role and continue the great work Chris and the team started," said Thayer. "I'm excited to work more closely with our customers and help shape a world where products vital to our health and happiness are even better tomorrow than they are today." Chris Bezaire - Download headshot John Thayer - Download headshot About NOVA Chemicals Corporation NOVA Chemicals develops and manufactures chemicals and plastic resins that make everyday life healthier, easier and safer. Our employees work to ensure health, safety, security and environmental stewardship through our commitment to sustainability and Responsible Care. NOVA Chemicals, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is wholly-owned ultimately by Mubadala Investment Company of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Visit NOVA Chemicals on the Internet at www.novachemicals.com. # # # Media inquiries, please contact: Mark Horner Director, Communications E-mail: mark.horner@novachem.com Investor Inquiries, please contact: Patty Masry Leader, External Financial Reporting E-mail: patty.masry@novachem.com NOVA Chemicals' logo is a registered trademark of NOVA Brands Ltd.; authorized use. Advanced SCLAIRTECH(TM) is a trademark of NOVA Chemicals. Responsible Care is a registered trademark of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said India and Israel are ready to take their relationship to greater heights through mutual opportunities. PM Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu also took a pledge to fight the global menace of terrorism together and defeat the extremist forces. Addressing the India-Israel Business Summit here, Prime Minister Modi said, "I have always had a deep regard for Israel and its people. There is a new energy and purpose that has invigorated our ties over the last few years. It will help take our cooperation to greater heights. We stand on the cusp of a new chapter in India-Israel relations driven by our people and mutual opportunities for the betterment of lives". I have always had a deep regard for Israel and its people. I visited Israel in 2006 as CM of Gujarat. Last year in July, I visited Israel, 1st such visit from India. I experienced the remarkable spirit of innovation, enterprise and perseverance that drives Israel: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/fc2s9mlGjw ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 He added that he had first visited Israel in 2006 as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. "Last year in July, I visited Israel, the first such visit from India. I experienced the remarkable spirit of innovation, enterprise and perseverance that drives Israel. In India, we have been taking steady steps over three years at both macro as well as micro-level, to make a difference. Our motto is: Reform, Perform and Transform", he asserted. In India, we have been taking steady steps over three years at both macro as well as micro-level, to make a difference. Our motto is - Reform, Perform and Transform: PM Narendra Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/op1fmVFJoh ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 Prime Minister Modi further said the India-Israel Innovation Bridge will act as a link between the start-ups of the two sides. India-Israel Innovation Bridge will act as link between Start-ups of the two sides. I have been saying that Indian Industries, start-ups & academic institutions must collaborate with their Israeli counterparts to access the huge reservoir of knowledge: PM Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/FiWNa131Ge ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 "I have been saying that Indian industries, start-ups and the academic institutions must collaborate with their Israeli counterparts to access the huge reservoir of knowledge. We want to do more and do better. To enable entry of capital and technology, most of the sectors including defence have been opened for the foreign direct investment (FDI). More than 90 percent of the FDI approvals has been put on the automatic route. We are now among the most open economies", he stated. We want to do more & better. To enable entry of capital & technology, most of the sectors including defence, have been opened for FDI. More than 90 percent of the FDI approvals have been put on automatic route. We are now among the most open economies: PM Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/oPFB7EPUc6 ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 The Prime Minister added that along with the government and people, the business community of India is also keen to join hands. Several Isreali companies have joined hands with Indian companies for making in India: PM Narendra Modi #NetanyahuInIndia pic.twitter.com/I0kVHSeznp ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 "India's development agenda is huge. It presents a vast economic opportunity for Israeli companies. I invite more and more Israeli people, businesses and companies to come and work in India", he concluded. Indias development agenda is huge. It presents a vast economic opportunity for Israeli companies. I invite more & more Israeli people, businesses & companies to come & work in India. Along with Govt & people, the business community of India too is keen to join hands: PM Modi pic.twitter.com/gScHdXMHN4 ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 He added that India has moved in three short years (2014 to 2017) to 42 places in the business-friendly index where Israel has not reached yet. On his turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that both the countries can shape the future together. #WATCH: Presentation of concluding report of India-Israel CEOs Forum in Delhi https://t.co/5szzdNmkQZ ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 Addressing the India-Israel Business Summit in the national capital, he said, "There is not going to be anymore distinction between high tech and low tech because at the end everything is going to be technology. In the last 5-10 years, we have car industries. We have 500 startup companies that receive $500 bn investment every year." Netanyahu added, "You have brilliant people in India. We have brilliant people in Israel. What we can do is shape the future together. I believe in India. I came here to say today thank you, PM Modi, for believing in Israel, we believe in India." Earlier in the day, the two countries signed nine Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in various sectors, including cybersecurity, energy and medicine. Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India also received a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cybersecurity was signed. A second MoU was signed between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Israel`s Ministry of Energy in oil and gas sector. A protocol between India and Israel on amendments to the air transport agreement was also signed. Another agreement was on film-co-production between India and Israel. A third MoU between the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and the Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Centre of Israel, related to cooperation in the field of research in homeopathic medicine. Another MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and the Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in the field of space was signed. A memorandum of intent was on Invest India and Invest in Israel. Indian Oil and Israel`s Phinergy Ltd signed a letter of intent for cooperation in the area of metal-air batteries. Another letter of intent between Indian Oil and Israel`s Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd was signed for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies. Earlier on Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member business delegation, arrived here on Sunday on a six-day visit to India that will also see him going to Agra, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from Israel to India in 15 years after that of Ariel Sharon in 2003. Netanyahu will also be visiting Agra, Gujarat and Mumbai, and he will be accompanied by the Indian Prime Minister on extensive portions of his visit. (With Agency inputs) Here's a quick look at the top headlines on Monday morning: 'Rahul as Ram, PM Modi as Ravana': Amethi gears up for 2019 Lok Sabha elections Aimed at the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the message on the poster reads: "Rahul roop mein bhagwan Ram ka avatar, 2019 mein ayega Rahul Raj". Read more Will solution to Supreme Court crisis come today? Here are 10 developments so far With the BCI scheduled to hold a presser on Monday afternoon, here's a quick look at the top developments so far. Read more Another Nirbhaya: Minor found dead, mutilated in Haryana A body of a minor girl with injury marks was found in Jind in Haryana on Sunday. The marks reveal that she was sexually assaulted before her death. Read more PM Modi, Netanyahu to sign key agreements in cyber security, space Visiting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set for the full-scale Indian diplomatic experience today. After a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Netanyahu is set to hold a summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is expected to be topped off by a joint statement. Read more Indian Army to celebrate 70th Army Day; Gen Bipin Rawat to review parade in New Delhi This was the day the Indian Army got its first Indian commander-in-chief. Read more Bigg Boss 11: Grand Finale - In pics Shilpa Shinde beat Hina Khan to win the coveted trophy. Here are some exclusive pics. Read more NEW DELHI: Visiting Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set for the full-scale Indian diplomatic experience today. After a ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Netanyahu is set to hold a summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is expected to be topped off by a joint statement. Netanyahu's six-day visit to India is heavy with undercurrents of global political alignments. He is only the second Israeli PM to visit India, after Ariel Sharon's visit in 2003. His visit comes as a reciprocation for PM Modi's trip to Israel in July last year, the first ever for an Indian PM. Netanyahu will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan around 10:30 am. After this, he is scheduled to pay his respects at MK Gandhi's memorial at Raj Ghat. Netanyahu will then meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House, the official banquet hall of the Government of India for visiting foreign dignitaries. The two leaders, who identify each other as friends, will take part in delegation-level talks. PM Modi and Netanyahu will then be present for the signing of various agreements between India and Israel in the areas of cyber, space, film production and energy. They are expected to address a joint news conference around 1 pm. Modi and Netanyahu together will take part in the 2nd India-Israel CEOs Forum and the India-Israel Business Summit in the evening. The first edition of the summit had been held last year, during PM Modi's visit to Israel. Netanyahu was received at the airport by PM Modi himself, in a departure from protocol, much as he had been received on the tarmac by the Israeli PM on his visit to the country. Netanyahu too has gone out of his way to set up favourable optics for this visit, calling India a global power. New Delhi: The crisis that rocked the Supreme Court seems to have abated on Monday with the Attorney General and the Bar Council of India saying it has been "settled" and resolved "internally". "The story is now over, said the BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, three days after the four dissenting judges - Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph - launched a public attack against the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra at a news conference. Mishra, who led a seven-member delegation and held hectic parleys with 15 judges including the Chief Justice on Saturday, told a press conference that all the four top judges have resolved the differences and were attending the court. He said the vexed issues flagged by the four revolting judges on Friday were "internal issues of the family" which have been resolved internally, PTI reported. On the other hand, Attorney General KK Venugopal also said, "There was an informal meeting in the morning (before the commencement of the court). Now everything has been settled," Venugopal told the media, describing the developments in the top court since January 12, 2018, as "a storm in a teacup". "The full court met (on Monday morning). It seems that everything is settled. Everything is hunky dory," he added, as per IANS. Meanwhile, the benches in Court Number two, three, four and five headed by the rebel judges, Justice Chelameswar, Justice Gogoi, Justice Lokur and Justice Joseph, respectively attended to their business as usual. Here's what happened: The four judges of the apex court had on Friday raised questions on 'selective' case allocation and certain judicial orders. Justice Chelameswar, the second senior judge after Chief Justice Dipak Misra, himself had described as an "extraordinary event" in the annals of the Indian judiciary when the judges addressed a joint news conference during which he had said "sometimes administration of the Supreme Court is not in order and many things which are less than desirable have happened in the last few months." The judge had accused Justice Misra of not taking any "remedial measures" on some of the issues which affected the functioning of the apex court that they had raised. Justice Misra became the CJI on August 28, 2017, and he is due to retire from on October 2 this year. Unless this institution is preserved, "democracy will not survive" in this country, Justice Chelameswar had said at the unscheduled press conference. The presser was held at his residence. Justice Chelameswar had also said that all the four judges "failed to persuade CJI that certain things are not in order and therefore you should take remedial measures. Unfortunately, our efforts failed." Asked what these issues were, he had said they included the "allocation of cases by CJI", and had added, "we owe a responsibility to the institution and the nation. Our efforts have failed in convincing CJI to take steps to protect the institution." However, no details were immediately available as to how issues like the "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders by Justice Misra raised by the four dissenters at their press conference on Friday last were sorted out. There was also no official word from the CJI office yet. (With Agency inputs) New Delhi/Gandhinagar: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) cadres on Monday created ruckus after the right-wing outfit's International Acting president Praveen Togadia reportedly went "missing" from the party office in Ahmedabad. The issue forced the VHP leadership to appeal to its workers and sympathisers to remain calm after reports of Togadia being untraceable surfaced. "All the office-bearers and workers of VHP are worried about the disappearance of Praveenbhai Togadia. We got to know through media reports that both Rajasthan and Gujarat Police have denied arresting him. Then this matter becomes more critical," VHP general secretary Champat Rai said in a statement in New Delhi. "We request all party workers and well-wishers to stay calm and not believe any rumours and should not react in a way to make the situation more tense," he added. Earlier in the day, VHP activists alleged that Togadia was missing and that he had been taken away by Rajasthan Police. Notably, Togadia enjoys Z-Plus security. Around 50 Vishwa Hindu Parishad workers created a ruckus at a police station in Ahmedabad, alleging that the police, in connivance with their Rajasthan counterparts, had taken Togadia into custody in connection with a 10-year-old murder case. Alleging that the Sola police helped the Rajasthan Police arrest the VHP's International Acting president from Paldi area in Ahmedabad, the workers wanted to know his whereabouts. However, it later emerged that Togadia has been admitted to Ahmedabads Chandramani Hospital with low blood sugar. His condition is said to stable. (With IANS inputs) NEW DELHI: When will the crisis within the Supreme Court be resolved? Even though the Bar Council of India assured things will be fine soon, Chief Justice Dipak Misra is yet to reach out to the four rebel SC judges. With the Bar Council scheduled to address a press conference on Monday afternoon, here's a quick look at the top developments in the CJI vs SC judges case: 1. A seven-member BCI delegation met with Chief Justice Misra on Sunday evening. "We met CJI in a congenial atmosphere, everything will be sorted out. Everyone we talked to, has assured that matter will be sorted out," BCI chairman Manan Mishra told mediapersons after the 50-minute long meeting. 2. The BCI delegation also met three out of the four rebel judges on Sunday, to discuss the issues raised by them. 3. In an unprecedented event, four senior-most SC judges Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph accused the CJI of assigning cases importance to selective benches on Friday. The four justices said that India's democracy is at risk unless the wrongs in the top court are set right. 4. The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Vikas Singh also met Chief Justice Misra for nearly 15 minutes on Sunday. Handing over a resolution on behalf of the association, Singh asked for a full court discussion to defuse the present crisis. 5. Political parties have accused the BJP-led centre of interfering in judiciary. While the Congress claimed that the charges against CJI is a threat to Indian democracy, Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the government's interference is a real danger to our democracy." 6. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has demanded a thorough investigation into the entire matter at the highest level. Observing that the statements made by the four Justices are disturbing and have far-reaching consequences, he said, All citizens who love the idea of justice are looking at this issue, needs to be addressed. Congress also questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent his Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra to CJI Misra`s residence on Saturday. 7. The legal fraternity is divided over the issues, with some supporting the rebel justices and others calling the incident 'unfortunate'. 8.Four retired judges, including a former SC judge, also wrote an open letter to the CJI, agreeing with the issues raised by the four rebel SC judges. The letter adds that crisis needs to be resolved "within the judiciary". 9. Criticising the public commentary against CJI by the four justices, former judge RS Sodhi said that the credibility of the top court has been ruined. Credibility of Supreme Court has been ruined, to what extent I don't need to say, we all know. This faith needs to reinvented, all judges are of very high integrity but saying only we should get all cases and not others is wrong, said Sodhi on Sunday. 10. The Delhi District Court Bar Associations meanwhile threatened to take to streets if the crisis was not resolved within 10 days. KOLKATA: In West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, several Rohingya refugees sit in makeshift tin structures, awaiting basic facilities. "Mamata government has promised to help," says a Rohingya Muslim man, who's been living in India for a while now. Most of these refugees reached the state after crossing India-Bangladesh border illegally, paying massive sums to escape atrocities bellowed out to the stateless community. In an effort to expose the large network operating around the India-Bangladesh border that helps Rohingyas cross over into India, Zee News team reached a certain refugee camp in South 24 Parganas district. The Rohingya refugees explained how cattle smugglers are acting as agents to help cross over to Malda district, in exchange for few thousands of rupees. The smugglers, who have been active for decades now, have a well-oiled network with agents on both sides of the border. The network even has fixed rates for operations. Rates fixed for Rohingyas crossing over into India Male/Female: Rs 20,000 - 25,000 Child below 10 years: Rs.2,000-5,000 (Fare depends on age) Family of five: Rs 75,000 - 80,000 The smugglers, often give a discount if a family of five want to crossover. Instead of a Rs 1 lakh, the family is charged Rs 75,000 - 80,000. Most Rohingya refugees have no valid visas or passports. Cattle smugglers hire labours who accompany Rohingya refugees while crossing the border. These labours charge Rs 10,000 - 12,000 for each individual from smugglers, nearly half of what smugglers charge from Rohingyas. Escaping "ethnic cleansing" in Myanmar's northwest state of Rakhine, thousands of Rohingyas have sought shelter in India and Bangladesh. The influx of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis through the porous Indo-Bangla border has been a major concern for India. The Centre has claimed that Rohingyas have links to terrorist outfits. Last month, the centre asked five eastern states sharing boundaries with Bangladesh - West Bengal, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura - to be extra vigilant against the influx of refugees. Hong Knog: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has picked Citic Securities, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as joint sponsors for its proposed IPO, IFR reported. The initial public offering could be the worlds biggest tech float this year - valuing the company at up to $100 billion - and is expected to come in the second half of the year, the Thomson Reuters publication reported. A spokesman for Xiaomi declined to comment. The smartphone maker last month told bankers that it would beat its 2017 sales targets by up to 18 percent as it continues to benefit from a business overhaul that followed over-expansion and fierce competition from domestic rivals including Oppo and Vivo. Bankers expect Xiaomis profits to rise sharply in 2018 as its rebound continues, and have told the company valued at $46 billion in a 2014 funding round before its slump - that a $100 billion valuation at IPO is possible. The smartphone maker will add more banks to its IPO later in the process, according to IFR, which reported Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and two Chinese banks were expected to get the nod for roles as joint global coordinators. A float by Xiaomi most likely in Hong Kong, according to IFR would headline a series of hotly-anticipated Chinese tech floats in the city this year. Other expected listings include Lufax, the wealth management platform backed by insurance group Ping An. Lufax, China`s largest online wealth management platform, is expected to sell $6 billion to $9 billion of shares in its IPO, and is seeking a valuation of $60 billion, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday. In all, bankers anticipate tech companies worth up to $500 billion could seek IPOs in Hong Kong or New York over the next two years, encouraged by investor enthusiasm for recent tech floats and buoyant stock markets. Bengaluru: E-commerce site Amazon has once again announced the Great Indian Sale offering discounts on over 160 million products across hundreds of categories. The sale will kick off from January 21 and go on till 24, 2018. Amazon Prime members can get 12 hours early access starting 12 noon on January 20. Customers shopping during the Great Indian Sale can look forward to big savings on some of the biggest brands such as Apple, OnePlus, Samsung, 10.or, UCB, Puma, Adidas, Wrangler, Titan, Marks & Spencer, American Tourister, Vero Moda, BPL, Micromax, TCL, Lenovo, HP, IFB, Bosch, DDecor, Philips, Lakme, Pampers, LG, Whirlpool, Bajaj, Prestige, Usha, McAfee and Kaspersky among others, the company siad. Special discounts will be offered on the Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Paperwhite Starter Pack, Fire TV Stick, eBooks and more. Prime members can look forward to exclusive deals on marquee brands over all four days of the sale. Customers shopping with Amazon Pay balance will get extra 10 percent cashback up to Rs 200, on all purchases above Rs 250. HDFC Bank is offering customers with an additional cashback of 10 percent when they pay with Debit & Credit Card and on EMI. JAMMU: In another controversial statement, former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah on Sunday claimed that both India and Pakistan are equally involved in each other's tragedies. Raking up the past, Abdullah said that India did not divide Pakistan by taking Bangladesh. Our neighbour has its own hates. They think we have divided Pakistan by taking Bangladesh. We were not dividers. The tragedy was in the country itself. It was not our creation. That is the tragedy we still face, said Abdullah. He went on to say, "And dont say we are not involved in their tragedy. As much as they are involved in our tragedy, we are also involved in their tragedies. Its not one-sided." Last week, the National Conference leader had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the courage to hold talks with Pakistan. "I congratulate Jammu and Kashmir CM for realizing that till we have talks with Pakistan, militancy will not end. I feel Modi ji has the courage to initiate this and take it to the logical end," he had said. In November 2017, Abdullah had stirred a controversy by saying that the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) belongs to Pakistan. The (PoK) part which is with Pakistan belongs to the neighbouring country and this side to India. If the Indian government wants peace it will have to talk to Pakistan and conclude that an autonomy be given to us as well as them, the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said. San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is asking for a small business located within the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to provide transportation services between the San Juan Convention Center and a Joint Field Office. The companies that bid on this contract using Fedbid.com should be prepared to transport up to 1500 people daily. One contract will be awarded and it is reserved for a small business. The deadline to submit a bid is January 18, 2018. The solicitation notes that most of the movement will be in the morning between the hours of 6:00am and 7:30am. The company will be required to provide transportation throughout the afternoon for stragglers. The work could start in as little as three days from the awarding of the contract and will last for three months. Offerors should take into consideration that there is also the possibility for extra trips to be needed to different areas throughout Puerto Rico. The price for this line on the contract has a quantity of twenty-four one-way tips. The contract will be awarded to the company that provides the lowest price technically acceptable. Bids will be accepted on the third-party website Fedbid.com. The minimum bid decrement is set at $1000. There are also non-pricing factors to be considered by any company submitting an offer to the government. The non-pricing factors should total no more than five pages and be attached to the pricing offer. They include a statement of capability, documentation of vehicles with capacity listed, past performance history on similar federal or commercial contracts and three references. Offerors must also be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). US Federal Contractor Registration (USFCR), the worlds largest third-party government registration firm, assists companies who would like to submit bids to the government. USFCRs expert case managers register companies in SAM. USFCR also pioneered the Advanced Procurement Portal (APP) which not only provides active and historical federal business opportunity information, but also a list of active federal buyers and vendors. APP includes a built-in Learning Center so newcomers to the federal sector can learn how to maximize opportunities. Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir's main opposition party National Conference (NC) on Monday expressed grave concerns over Army's ongoing Operation 'All Out' to flush out Pakistan-back terrorists as the security forces foiled a major infiltration bid in Uri. ''We are concerned with the Operation 'All out' which is going on especially in Srinagar, yesterday searches have happened after 17 years, '' Ali Mohd Sagar, National Conference MLA said. ''On one hand, we are giving amnesty, on the other we are doing this, how will the situation improve? Centre needs Govt needs a policy,'' he added. We are concerned with the Operation 'All out' which is going on especially in Srinagar, yesterday searches have happened after 17 years. On one hand we are giving amnesty, then on other hand we are doing this, how will situation improve? Govt needs a policy: Ali Mohd Sagar,NC MLA pic.twitter.com/rqF6IRjIlU ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 The reactions from the National Conference (NC) lawmaker came shortly five militants from Jaish-e-Mohammad's suicide squad were killed near the Line of Control (LoC) in a joint operation by Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army and paramilitary forces. Defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said a group of terrorists was spotted infiltrating from Pakistan into India near Dulanja area of border town Uri - some 120 km from here. The infiltrating militants opened fire at the forces, ensuing into a fierce gunbattle that left five terrorists dead, Col Kalia said. Five bodies of the terrorists have been recovered from the encounter site, while a search is on to find the sixth one. Security has also been beefed up in the state ahead of Republic Day Celebrations on January 26. Director General of Police SP Vaid tweeted about the operation and said four "suicidal JeM terrorists were killed in Dulanja while infiltrating, in a joint operation by (Jammu and Kashmir) Police, army and (central armed police forces) CAPF". "Keep up the good work," he lauded the forces. Later, while addressing a press conference, Brigadier YS Ahlawat said, ''Major infiltration bid was foiled along LoC in Uri sector, a major mishap has been avoided on the Army Day.'' ''This is the first infiltration bid of 2018. The army is committed to continue with this and stop the nefarious designs of Pakistan,'' Brigadier YS Ahlawat said. A large cache of arms and ammunition have also been recovered from the slain terrorists, he added. Large cache of arms and ammunition have been recovered and 5 terrorists have been eliminated: Brigadier YS Ahlawat #Uri anti-infiltration operation #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/us7kyGzHpF ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 J&K: Ammunition and other material seized by security forces from the 5 terrorists killed in Uri anti-infiltration operation pic.twitter.com/q9RFq0DeBm ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 Police sources said all the slain terrorists were Pakistani nationals. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today congratulated the security forces for eliminating six Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists in an anti-infiltration operation in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector. "I congratulate our security forces," Singh told reporters. Separately, the Army carried out "retaliatory action" against Pakistan, killing seven soldiers and injuring four others in forward areas along LoC in J&K's Poonch district. Pakistan government, however, said that four, and not seven, soldiers were killed. (With Agency inputs) Lucknow: Questioning the credibility of electronic voting machines, BSP chief Mayawati on Monday asked why the BJP was afraid of holding elections through paper ballots. She said the chief election commissioner must think about it in wake of doubts being raised from several quarters. "If BJP leaders consider themselves honest, why are they afraid of conducting future elections through ballot papers," she told a press conference on her 62nd birthday, alleging that the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand because of alleged faults in the functioning of the EVMs. The debate over the authenticity of EVMs has been on for nearly an year now. Other political parties, including the Congress, too, previously raised the possibility of tampering with EVMs. The Election Commission has rejected the charge. Following the Gujarat Assembly polls in December, the EC did a random vote count on EVMs and paper trail slips in 182 polling stations in the state for greater transparency. An official of the election machinery in the state had then said there was a "100 per cent match" in the vote count. Mayawati, whose birthday is being celebrated as 'Jan Kalyankari Diwas' by her party, also expressed the possibility that the Lok Sabha polls, due in 2019, may be held this year along with various state Assembly elections. She released the 13th edition of a book based on her life - A Travelogue of my Struggle-Ridden Life and BSP Movement-13. "The BSP was the first party in the country to raise the issue of EVM anomalies soon after the results of the UP Assembly elections were out, and approached the Supreme Court. Later, whatever improvements were made in the EVMs, it was due to the efforts made by the BSP," she claimed. The BJP won the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls - held in February-March last year - after a gap of 15 years during which regional parties like the SP and the BSP had held sway. Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mayawati said: "'Har-Har Modi, Ghar-Ghar Modi' had a narrow escape of being thrown out from Gujarat this time. Had the voteshare of Dalits in Gujarat been 18 to 20 per cent, he would not had been able to escape." The slogan she referred to was a campaign highlight of the BJP during the general elections in 2014. Levelling allegation at the Centre, she said: "The BJP government wants to change the Constitution and laws. A minister in their government is talking about changing the Constitution, but no action has been taken against him." The BSP chief alleged that the Congress and the BJP have damaged every section of the society after Independence. "Today there is an atmosphere of communalism and casteism in every state. Capitalistic-minded political parties do not like our party. The BJP is trying to finish our party. Both, the Congress and the BJP are chor-chor mausere bhaai (hand in glove with each other). These parties do not want to see Ambedkar-inspired party (the BSP) to move ahead. First, it was the Congress and company, which tried to finish us, and now it is the BJP and company which is trying to do so," she said. Mayawati said as she was not allowed to speak in the Rajya Sabha, she resigned. "In the same manner, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar was also harassed, and subsequently he resigned from the post of the Union law minister," she said. The BSP chief said: "I want to know from the Congress why Babasaheb was not honoured with Bharat Ratna. Why the recommendations of Mandal Commission were not implemented. The BJP government is virtually deactivating the reservation system, thereby rendering people jobless." She said people who had to face trouble due to demonetisation would be given help by her party. Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner will submit the inquiry report in the Mumbai's Kamala Mills Compound fire tragedy to the Maharashtra government by January 19. According to ANI, the civic body on Monday told the Bombay High Court that it would submit the report in the case after four days. The BMC officials made the submission during the hearing of a PIL filed by former police officer Julio Ribeiro seeking a judicial probe into the devastating fire mishap. A massive fire had broken out at Kamla Mills Compound in the Lower Parel locality of Mumbai on December 29 killing 14 people and injuring 30. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis then directed the BMC Commissioner to conduct an in-depth inquiry into the tragedy. Mumbai Fire Brigade Department said in its report that flying embers from illegal hookah being served at Mojo's Bistro was the probable cause of the massive fire at the Kamala Mills Compound. In its preliminary investigation report, the department said that the fire probably started at Mojo's and spread to the adjacent rooftop pub "1 Above". The Inquiry Committee report, which was submitted to the Municipal Commissioner, concluded that fire started from the pub 'Mojo's Bistro' and not from '1Above' as believed earlier. Most of the victims were trapped in the toilet of the pub and died of suffocation, the Mumbai Police had said earlier. "It was revealed from most of the eyewitnesses that hookah was served at Mojo's restaurant at the time of fire... There is every possibility that during removal of lighted charcoal from the segree (stove) and or transferring it into Hookah or during the fanning of the charcoal the flying burning embers came in contact with the combustible curtains/ decorative material nearby and started the fire," the report stated. The report clarified that none of the two restaurants - Mojo's and 1 Above - had permissions to serve liquor and hookah but still they served them. Although there was an emergency exit, the pub staff seemed to be unaware of it, it said. Beer kegs near the exit path also blocked the escape and the kegs eventually exploded and escalated the fire, the report said. Use of bamboo and cloth to make the roof led to the quick spreading of the fire, while wind velocity and direction were the major contributors too, it said. The owners of '1 Above' and Mojo's Bistro were later arrested by the Mumbai Police in connection with the devastating fire at the Kamala Mills Compound. They had gone underground after they were charged with culpable homicide in connection with the Kamala Mills Compound fire mishap that left 14 people dead and several injured. New Delhi: One of the most controversial yet entertaining reality shows on Indian television, Bigg Boss season 11 witnessed a magical grand finale on January 14, 2018, where 'Bhabhiji' Shilpa Shinde lifted the trophy and won many hearts. Shilpa and another popular telly actress Hina Khan were the top two contestants and the former beat TV's famous 'bahu' to win the title. In an interview with India Forums, Shilpa revealed how difficult the journey of Bigg Boss 11 has been for her. She said, It's very difficult to manage inside the house and there are different kinds of people coming with their own mindset and game plan. It is not an easy task to live inside the Bigg Boss 11 house. When asked about whether she would also be a part of a vacation which Hina and other inmates plan to take, Shilpa quipped, No ways. I am not going to go on a vacation with them after just coming out from the Bigg Boss house. She was asked if there is any contestant she would not like to meet ever outside. And guess what? Shilpa said, Hina Khan. I think I would not like to meet her again. Both Shilpa and Hina never really hit it off inside the house and were often pitted against each other. Although they tried hard to remain cordial, looks like now that the show is over, Shilpa is in no mood to extend an olive branch and turn friends with Hina. All said and done, both have had an amazing journey inside the controversial reality show with several ups and downs. Shilpa Shinde, finally 'sahi pakde hai'! SALON: Clashes erupted in Salon in Uttar Pradesh on Monday when Congress President Rahul Gandhi was in town to attend an event. There were heated arguments between the police officials and Amethi MLC Deepak Singh during the clashes. BJP MLA Dal Bahadur Kori claimed that they were attacked by Congress workers. Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi began his two-day tour of Uttar Pradesh, with a visit to a Hanuman temple en route Amethi from Lucknow. The Congress president offered prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli road hours after landing in the state capital where enthusiastic party workers greeted him with garlands. According to a local party worker Ram Kumar, the Congress leader regularly visits Amethi - his Lok Sabha constituency - and this is perhaps for the first time that he has offered prayers at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi, donning a spotless white kurta-pyjama, came out porting a bright vermilion 'tilak' on his forehead. The Congress leader spent some ten minutes at the temple. The last time he offered prayers at a Hanuman temple was at the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya on September 9, 2016, becoming the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to visit Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Hanuman Garhi is about a kilometre from the Ram temple at the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. Before darshan at Hanuman Garhi temple, Rahul Gandhi had met Mahant Gyan Das. His visit to temples is seen in the political circles as an attempt to dump the BJP's criticism that he went temple-hopping during the Gujarat campaign only to garner votes. Rahul Gandhi had visited around 20 temples across Gujarat during the Assembly poll campaign as part of a conscious approach to counter the ruling BJP. (With agency inputs) Kolkata: Claiming that China had "apologised" for breaching Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh's Tuting area during road construction, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, Lt Gen Abhay Krishna on Monday said the Chinese would not try such misadventures again as the footprint of the Indian Army is everywhere. "We marked the ground and told them that they cannot go beyond this, as it is Indian territory. They understood and apologised. They said it might have been a mistake by the people on the ground and that it won't happen again," Krishna said during the Army Day celebration here. "Every area cannot be so well prepared. Arunachal is a huge state. But we have our foot prints everywhere. I am sure that they would not attempt such misadventures in the future," he claimed. Krishna said India has shown a lot of maturity by returning the road building equipment to China. "I have to say that we are a very matured nation. So we returned the equipment after a few days when they came back and negotiated," he said. The officer said infrastructure in all the places cannot be perfect as Arunachal is a big state but that does not stop the army personnel from monitoring those places. "We do not need roads to reach everywhere. We are trained in that way to pass through the jungles and mountains. So all these areas are under our surveillance," Krishna said. "Some areas are under surveillance regularly. some are under surveillance periodically depending on what we visualise or anticipate," he said. He also said the army conducts several joint patrols with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police along border areas. "As far as safeguarding the territorial integrity is concerned, there is no set pattern that emerges every day. Every day is a new challenge for us. But it is difficult to quantify if there is an increase or decrease in patrolling," he added. Kabul: At least 32 militants were killed in two separate airstrikes in Afghanistan, the Defence Ministry said on Monday. In one raid conducted by Afghan National Army (ANA) Air Force on Sunday against a Taliban's position in Khaki Safed district of western Farah province, 28 insurgents were killed and 10 others injured, the ministry said in a statement. Those among the killed militants' were Sardar Ashkon Bakwahi, Taliban's deputy shadow governor of Farah, and two Taliban 'divisional commanders' Abdul Shokor and Hawaz Gulistani, according to the statement. Also on Sunday, four Taliban militants were killed following an airstrike in Nahri Saraj district of southern Helmand province. Three vehicles and six motorcycles together with amount of ammunition and weapons were also destroyed after the air operations, the statement noted. Afghan security forces and the NATO-led coalition troops have beefed up security operations and airstrikes as militants are attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions during the winter in the mountainous country. The Taliban militant group, which has been waging an insurgency of more than 16 years, has yet to comment on the report. Kabul: A rocket landed in the premises of the Indian Embassy in Kabul a while ago causing minor damage to a structure at the rear side of the building's compound on Monday. The rocket, fired from an undisclosed location, landed in the 14th Street of Wazir Akbar Khan close to Canadian Embassy in Kabul's PD10, said earlier reports. Rocket lands in 14th Street of Wazir Akbar Khan close to Canadian Embassy in Kabul's PD10. No Casualties reported, reports #Afghanistan's TOLO News, quoting Interior Ministry spokesperson. ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 No major damage or casualties were reported. ''Our Charge d' Affaires has informed that all Embassy employees are safe,'' the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. ''No casualties were reported,'' Afghanistan's TOLO News said, quoting Interior Ministry spokesperson. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also confirmed the incident and said all Indian employees were completely safe. A rocket has landed in our Chancery compound in #Kabul. The rocket has clipped the top of the three storied ITBP barracks. There are no casualties. All Indians and staff are safe: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (File Pic) pic.twitter.com/DBHyowLnQG ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 "A rocket has landed in our Chancery compound in Kabul," Sushma Swaraj told reporters this evening. "The rocket clipped the top of the three-storeyed ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) barracks," she said. "There are no casualties. All Indians and staff are safe." Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called on Washington to "recognise reality" on the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump demanded tough new measures to keep the agreement alive. "We will continue to work with the aim of the United States recognising reality," Lavrov said at at an annual press conference in Moscow on Monday. He added that US statements to end the deal "do not add optimism or stability." On Friday, Trump said Washington will not reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran for the moment, but would withdraw later this year unless the terms of the deal are changed. Trump called on European partners to work with the US to "fix the deal`s disastrous flaws." Lavrov said it was "hard to say" what position European countries will have. "They are starting to somehow, I believe, call on looking for compromises. This will be a slippery slope in a very dangerous direction," he said. Russia`s chief diplomat went on to warn that a withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal will have a negative effect on the North Korea crisis. "If Kim Jong-Un is required to stop (North Korea`s) nuclear military programme and, in exchange, is promised sanctions will be lifted then this is precisely the essence of the agreements between the world community and Iran," Lavrov said. "If this arrangement is taken away and Iran is told: you remain within the framework of your obligations and we will reimpose sanctions - then put yourself in North Korea`s place," he added. Under the hard-won 2015 deal with Russia, the US, China, France, Britain, Germany and the EU, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting a raft of international sanctions. America`s allies see the accord as the best way to thwart Iran`s nuclear ambitions and as a victory for diplomacy. Iran on Saturday rejected any modification of the deal after Trump`s comments. RAMALLAH: Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas denounced US President Donald Trump`s peace efforts as the "slap of the century", at a key meeting Sunday on the White House`s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel`s capital. In a wide-ranging two-hour speech, Abbas reiterated he would not accept the Trump administration as a mediator in peace talks with Israel and called for an internationally-led process. He also accused Israel through its actions of ending the 1994 Oslo peace accords that form the basis of Palestinian ties with the Jewish state, saying the Palestinians would study all strategies for responding to it. Beyond that, Abbas attacked the US ambassadors to Israel and the United Nations, David Friedman and Nikki Haley, calling them a "disgrace". Both Trump appointees have been strong supporters of Israel, with Friedman having backed Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. "We said `no` to Trump, `we will not accept your project`," the Palestinian president said. "The deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it," he added, referring to Trump`s pledge to reach the "ultimate deal" -- Israeli-Palestinian peace. The meeting in Ramallah of the Palestinian Central Council -- a high-ranking arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation -- was called in the wake of Trump`s December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel`s capital. The move has infuriated the Palestinians, who want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state. Prior to the declaration, Trump and his envoys, including senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner, had spent months seeking to negotiate how to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinians, stalled since 2014. But since Trump`s Jerusalem announcement, the Palestinians have refused to meet with the US administration, and Abbas is expected to shun Vice President Mike Pence when he visits the region next week. In the buildup to the Central Council meeting on Sunday and Monday, Palestinian officials had stressed that all options were on the table for responding to Trump, including suspending the PLO`s recognition of Israel. Abbas did not mention recognition but said the Oslo accords that led to the creation of his Palestinian Authority and envisioned a final resolution to the conflict were in effect finished. "I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo. Israel ended Oslo," he said, referring to persistent Israeli settlement building and other issues seen as eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict. The 121-member council will meet Monday to discuss strategy for responding to Trump`s announcement, but Abbas offered few concrete policy proposals. Hugh Lovatt, Israel and Palestine Project Coordinator at the European Council for Foreign Relations, said while the speech was full of rhetoric, there was little noticeable policy. "It is safe to say that president Abbas has done little to improve US-Palestinian relations which have now reached their nadir," he told AFP. "Abbas`s rambling speech was also noteworthy for what was not there -- namely, any real vision for moving beyond the failed US-led Oslo paradigm. "Those hoping for a glimpse of a new Palestinian strategy to end the occupation or a shift towards a one-state solution will have been left disappointed." While Palestinian leaders have been outraged by Trump`s moves, they also face difficult choices in how to respond as they seek to salvage remaining hopes of a two-state solution to the conflict. Earlier this month, Palestinian leaders said they will not be "blackmailed" after Trump threatened to cut aid worth more than $300 million annually to force them to negotiate. Trump says "we refused negotiations. May God demolish your house. When did we refuse?" asked an indignant Abbas. Brussels: The top US military officer, Marine General Joseph Dunford, said on Monday he was committed to the US-Pakistan relationship, which has been strained in recent weeks as Washington piles pressure on Islamabad to crack down on militants. "Do we agree on everything right now? No we don`t. But are we committed to a more effective relationship with Pakistan? We are. And I`m not giving up on that," Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a small group of reporters during a trip to Brussels. The United States has long blamed militant safe-havens in Pakistan for prolonging the war in neighbouring Afghanistan, giving insurgents, including from the Haqqani network, a place to plot attacks and rebuild their forces. Still, Pakistan is a crucial gateway for US military supplies destined for US and other troops fighting a 16-year-old war in Afghanistan. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump`s administration, frustrated over Pakistan`s failure to do more to combat militants, announced a plan to suspend up to roughly $2 billion in US security assistance. That triggered outcry in Islamabad. Pakistan`s military said its army chief told U.S. General Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. military`s Central Command, that Pakistan "felt betrayed" by US criticism. In a possible sign of efforts to improve relations, Alice Wells, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, met with Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua in Pakistan on Monday. A statement from Pakistan`s Foreign Ministry said Wells "acknowledged Pakistan`s efforts in eradicating terrorism" and "underlined the need for strengthening intelligence cooperation" to fight terrorism. Dunford was careful in his public remarks but made clear that Votel would continue to lead the military-to-military discussions. Dunford said he and U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis would also contribute to that dialogue. "I`m not going to talk about the relationship in public because I`m committed to try to improve the relationship and I do believe that the military-to-military dialogue led by General Votel, with occasional reinforcement from Secretary Mattis, myself and others, is the right approach," Dunford said. A high-profile case of Ukrtelecom shares' recovery, the biggest Ukrainian fixed line telecoms operator, makes a new and quite unexpected turn. In the light of litigation between the Rinat Akhmetovs company and the Raga Establishment, which is unofficially tied to Dmytro Firtash, the states attempts to place Ukrtelecom back on its balance sheet tinge a kind of strange color. Under current conditions, the return of Ukrtelecom to Ukraine is a favorable situation to Akhmetov himself. Apparently, everything is happening upon his own consent. At the same time, Ukrainian taxpayers shall pay for this salvation at their own expense like they did in PrivatBank's case. The debts of Ukrtelecom estimated at millions of dollars, and the owners are not going to pay them now Open source In May 2017 it emerged that the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU) had initiated the return of Ukraines largest landline operator, Ukrtelecom from the hands of Rinat Akhmetov to state ownership. The Fund won the primary court on October 11, 2017, as well as the appeal on October 19. The court confirmed the decision to terminate the sale and purchase agreement No.KPP-582 concluded on March 11, 2011. The agreement between the SPFU and ESU Ltd. concerned 17,376,189,488 ordinary registered shares in Ukrtelecom JSC, which accounted for 92.791% of the corporations registered capital. At the end of December, the Fund turned to the Bailiffs Service of the Kyiv court of appeals requesting the court ruling to be enforced by returning the stock of shares in Ukrtelecom to state property. However, the process is temporarily stalled, as ESU used its last procedural chance to file a cassation appeal. The SPFU explained that its request to the Bailiffs Service will not be dealt with until the case is heard. While talking to 112.ua off the record, officials of the SPFU expressed they were acting without apparent enthusiasm but were rather enforcing the order from the top. Even the cause for initiating the litigation appeared rather far-fetched a commission investigating the fulfillment of investment obligations argued that while transferring the special communication line (which had been built fulfilling the investment obligations) to the state, Ukrtelecoms owner, ESU did not transfer all of the equipment. It was impossible to transfer it, as the equipment was located in Ukrtelecom's buildings, which ESU obviously did not want to give away. Nevertheless, some experts say that the story becomes more logical if one assumes that the transfer of the government stock in Ukrtelecom is happening in agreement with Akhmetov himself and with his consent. I think, SCM would benefit from giving the stock to the state by court order and then buy it back at an attractive price through a different affiliated company. Obviously, if SCM is still interested in this asset, a lawyer and partner at Berylstone Denys Fetysov told 112.ua. An expert on the Ukrainian telecommunications market, Roman Khimich suggests that when looking at the situation surrounding Ukrtelecom, one needs to remember that as soon as any assets owned or controlled by Rinat Akhmetov or his affiliates are in question, any possible miracle becomes possible. I really dont think it makes any sense to look at the situation around Ukrtelecom from a strictly legal point of view, - Khimich concluded. Privatised and sold to Akhmetov From the very beginning, a tender for the sale of Ukrtelecom in 2011, was surrounded by controversy. For the benefit of ESU (which was owned by another company EPIC), the terms of the tender cut off absolutely every investor who was willing to participate. Peter and Brigit Goldscheider, Franz Lansschutzer, Gustav and Marina Wurmbrock, all Austrian nationals, were claimed beneficiaries of EPIC. The media suggested that the real owners of EPIC were the highly influential at the time Head of the Presidential Administration Serhiy Lyovochkin (current MP from the Opposition Block) and the oligarch Dmytro Firtash. The asset attracted a lot of interest at the time, including that of western and Russian corporations. All of them were cut off. This is why the tender as such did not happen in the end. The state-owned corporation was sold at a price slightly exceeding its initial auction price, - Khimich said. The SPFU sold 92.79% of Ukrtelecoms shares for $1.3 billion. Notably, in May 2017 the Prosecutor Generals office claimed that it was in the middle of prejudicial inquiry as part of a criminal investigation into the underpriced privatization of the government stock in Ukrtelecom. The Prosecutor Generals press secretary Larysa Sargan announced that the investigation discovered an undervaluation of the stock in Ukrtelecom in the amount of $56.6 million. Also, the investigation found an unlawful allocation of $7.68 million from the state budget. As a result, notices of suspicion were issued to Viktor Yanukovych, Mykola Azarov, Yuriy Kolobov, Serhiy Arbuzov and other individuals. At the time of the investigation, 100% of the corporate rights of TriMob Ltd. and 92.79% of shares in Ukrtelecom were arrested. Nowadays, the company is owned by entities affiliated with Rinat Akhmetov. Representatives of SCM emphasize that the company did not directly or indirectly participate in the privatization of Ukrtelecom in 2011, hence, was not responsible for price setting during the tender. A company belonging to the SCM group purchased shares in Ukrtelecom indirectly from Raga Establishments Limited (known as EPIC Telecom Investment Limited at the time) in 2013, two years after the enterprise was sold. However, the governments enthusiasm regarding Ukrtelecom, as well as the litigations initiated by the companys original owners in foreign courts, form a very interesting puzzle, where the state picks a side in a conflict between oligarchs, which is hardly in line with the public interest. The enterprise is a squeezed orange Note that the whole story about Ukrtelecom's sale from the beginning to the end was a manipulation. Practically Ukrtelecom was never bought for money from the state the loan for the acquisition of the shares originates by Ukreximbank and Oshchadbank, Roman Khimich says. Indeed, in May 2013 the state banks Oshchadbank and Ukreximbank redeemed ESU bonds for 70 and 78 mln dollars (according to the January 2018 currency rate). The bond debt to Oshchadbank and Ukreximbank is still unpaid and the amount is 161.2 million dollars. Ukrtelecom doesnt comment on that. The banks are still in litigation with the company. Note that Kyiv Economic Court has partially satisfied the claim by Oshchadbank against ESU and ordered to recover 29.8 million dollars of the bond debt against the defendant, postponing the execution of an order for one year. In case the shares of Ukrtelecom are returned to the state, Oshchadbank and Ukreximbank (both owned by the state, - ed.) most probably will have to write off the bonds from the balance and the state shall increase their capital on this amount, according to Denis Fetisov. But no one really knows how this will happen in actual practice. There are lots of choices for the development of the situation, he says. Also, the expert reminds that Ukrtelecom has loan obligations to the Ukrainian subsidiaries of the Sberbank of Russia. According to the Finbalance, who cited the materials of the pre-trial investigation by the General Prosecutors Office, the debt of Ukrtelecom to the bank amounts to 49 million dollars. The liquid assets on pledge of the financial institution for the loan made 250 mln dollars. This debt also became the subject of a court proceedings between the company and the bank. Apart from that, theres a loan for 50 mln dollars at China Development Bank. And it is still unclear how the situation will change (the situation with the uncovered loans in the banks with privately owned capital, - 112.international), Fetisov said. New shareholders didnt invest into Ukrtelecom and milked the company best to their ability. "Instead of investing their own funds as they promised to, they got new million dollar loans at the expense of Ukrtelecom. One can say they put the company through the wringer," an employer, who had worked at Ukrtelecom many years, told 112.ua off the record. Therefore, he claims, on the surface, the company meets all of the contemporary requirements: great marketing, sales, advertising, branding. But in a truly powerful corporation, all of this is based on the real interaction with customers, on the high technical quality of services. Great marketing efforts at the time when 10% of the customer base is not working and does not renew this may be called a cargo-cult. External characteristics are seemingly in place, but nothing is functioning, - the source told 112.ua. He also told that Ukrtelecoms new management (appointed by the owners) has restructured the company, has fired a lot of employees, especially from the cable line departments and from customer support: Now there are no employees, one out of ten telephones works (from the half of customer base that still remains) and notably the Internet service subscriber base has started to shrink too. Moreover, a significant contribution to the active sale of the property is also worth pointing out. At the time of the sale, the company was in decent condition. The Internet service subscriber base was growing, the fraction of not functioning telephone lines was less than 0.1%, repairs were carried out within 1-2 days in the overwhelming majority of cases. The loans taken for the construction of the network were paid back on time. All this despite the fact that in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, the companys situation was rather difficult, especially regarding the repayment of loans in foreign currency. Also, cut-off and damaged cables were reinstalled and repaired day and night, even though the issue of cut-off cables was not easier than it is nowadays, - the source told 112.ua. Indeed, experts agreed that the issue of cut-off cables was a way to go for Ukrtelecom. The thing is Ukrtelecom still uses copper cables, which are always very lucrative for looters. The state has distanced itself from this problem and it has grown into a disaster. This problem is essential not only because it requires constant capital investment in the repair of the stolen infrastructure. Each instance of theft leaves subscribers temporarily without communication. When it happens again and again, it hurts the subscribers loyalty, encouraging them to give up on Ukrtelecoms services and seek a different provider, - Roman Khimich said. Experts explain that provision of landline services is impossible without cables, while the idea of installing fiber optic in individual apartments is very expensive. Furthermore, Ukrtelecom finds itself in a position where subscribers in Ukraine and globally are gradually moving away from landline to mobile communication. And despite the negative impact of all these factors, the company can still be attractive to potential investors and buyers, particularly for domestic mobile service providers in Ukraine. To this day, Ukrtelecom remains Ukraines largest landline service provider. Having acquired the asset, local mobile service providers would be able to provide integrated services including plans that combine mobile, landline and Internet services. This allows the company to implement cross sales, as well as to introduce loyalty programs for customers: price reduction on certain kinds of services in exchange for the acquisition of other services, - Khimich told 112.ua. When the Oligarchs Squabble Ukrtelecoms litigation with Raga Establishment shed an entirely new light on the procedure of returning Ukrtelecoms shares to state ownership. Raga Establishment is a company owned by Denys Gorbunenko, the ex-chairman of the Board at Rodovid Bank (although various media outlets are suggesting the company has informal ties to Dmytro Firtash). The source close to Raga told 112.ua that Firtash is not a shareholder of Raga, however, he did lend $300 million to the company or its shareholders. Earlier, the media reported quoting Gorbunenko that the money was lent for the privatization of Ukrtelecom. Also, an unnamed source close to Raga claimed that Gorbunenko has managed a number of Firtashs assets in the past. Therefore, the company that Firtash lent $300 million to, filed a lawsuit against Rinat Akhmetov and his holding, demanding him to pay $760 million. Raga claims the company sold shares in Ukrtelecom to Akhmetov for $860 million at the time. Lawyers familiar with the litigation explained that according to the terms of the agreement on the acquisition of Ukrtelecom, Akhmetov-controlled companies agreed to pay for the shares in Ukrtelecom in three stages. The first transaction amounted to $100 million, which SCM transferred and acquired the stock in the corporation. The second and the third transactions were supposed to constitute $100 million and $660 million respectively. However, those transactions have not been executed to this day. In order to get the remaining $760 million, in June 2016 Raga filed a lawsuit in London court seeking to prohibit the operation of property belonging to SCM Financial Overseas Limited (SCM FO). SCM FO is the company through which Akhmetov acquired Ukrtelecom (UA Telecominvest, Cyprus). Considering the notion that the corporation might hide its assets, the court ruled a freezing order in regards to its property,- the source explained. He also pointed out that Raga began the litigation after its failed attempts to obtain the debt owed by SCM, which had been restructured. The source told 112.international that according to the agreement, the second and the third transactions ($100 million and $660 million respectively) were supposed to occur in March and October of 2015. The source claims that between 2013 and 2017 all of SCM FOs assets were stripped out. The company that owned assets worth several billion was bankrupt by the time the court proceedings began. According to the source, SCM FO was emptied out in three stages SCM Capitals 44% were sold to SCM Holding in 2013. The shares valued at around $1 billion were actually sold for $21 thousand. During the second transaction, shares belonging to the First Investment Bank were stripped out. Lastly, in 2017 companies Pluscom (provides a wide range of construction and management services of modern multiservice communications systems and distributed telecommunications systems) and BVI Company were moved. It should be noted that asset undervaluation is considered a serious violation of British jurisdiction. Hence, the court considered Ragas claims that the transactions regarding the sale of SCM FOs assets should have been at least $167 million. In reality, however, those assets were sold for a mere $200,000. Consequently, the $167 were supposed to be returned to SCM FO by 31 December 2017. But that did not happen, the money was not transferred. Raga initiated another important court proceeding in London. The company turned to LCIA, the London International Arbitrary Court, suing SCM FO and asking the court to confirm the debts that this company owes to Raga. The final hearings in this lawsuit began in May 2016, and the interim decision was made in June 2017. The court confirmed the number of debts, USD 760 million. According to the ultimate decision, which the court made in September 2017, the amount of added reimbursements made 60 million U.S. dollars. Thus, Raga demands that SCM FO return USD 820 million. Within this case, Raga also initiated three proceedings on Cyprus. The first one concerns the bankruptcy of SCM FO, which currently is an insolvent blank check company without any assets in support; the related companies still have not paid 167 million dollars. The goal of this proceeding is to recognize the company bankrupt and assign the liquidator of the failed company that enjoys the right to initiate returning of the stripped assets. This is legally possible if it appeared that the assets had been stripped due to the default of the creditor, Nick Marsh said. Another Ragas proceeding on Cyprus aims to recognize the decision of the London Arbitrary Court. Third proceeding is the most interesting as in this case, the prosecution asked the court to recognize frauds committed by ten defendants, which participated in stripping assets off SCM FO which eventually led to the insolvency of this company. Among the defendants are SCMs owner Rinat Akhmetov, director for profit participation rights and foreign assets management Roman Bugayev, another two directors and some of the people involved in selling off SCM Holding and SCM Capital. On December 27, 2017, the court ruled that the ten defendants are involved in stripping the assets off SCM FO. As 112.ua reported earlier, these companies own Akhmetovs basic assets including those in Ukraine. Among those are shares of PUMB bank, 100 percent of capital stock of Shakhtar stadium, 100 percent of capital stock of ESPV Limited company (owns the profit participation rights of Esta Group, SCMs branch holding in the real estate sector); UMBH (Ukrainian Machine Building Holding), which owns over 50 percent of shares of Donetskgormash JSC; 100 percent of shares of Parallel Nafta, which owns the profit participation rights of Parallel fuel group; 100 percent of shares of DTEK holding and other assets. Among those assets, there is also 100 percent of the capital stock of UA Telecominvest company (Cyprus), part of Ukrtelecom holding. This is the company bought by SCM FO. The appeal, in this case, is slated for February 27. On January 5, the Dutch court froze the assets of SCM Management B.V, DTEK Management B.V., DTEK B.V., DTEK Grids B.V., Metinvest B.V., Premium Household B.V. Save non-private oligarch Against this backdrop of Rinat Akhmetovs debacle abroad, Ukrainian authorities decide to nationalize Ukrtelecom. Our talk partners from the market admit that these processes in interconnected. It may happen that Raga will find nothing to obtain from Rinat Akhmetov, in case of nationalization of the company and bankruptcy of SCM FO. A source close to Raga told 112.international that within court proceedings SCM twice applied to stop the proceedings referring to the court proceedings in Ukraine (on surrender of shares into the state property) and investigative actions (in terms of the pre-trial investigation held by the General Prosecutors Office). Interestingly, that the state began to move with Ukrtelecom only last spring when the proceedings in LCAI were already on. At the same time supposing that Ukrtelecom will be nationalized, Ukraine will witness the PrivatBank history repeating, though to a lesser extent. As it is known, the state bought the bank from Ihor Kolomoisky and his partners for $1 because of 4.1 bln capital deficit. The hole was plugged with the funds from the state budget. PrivatBank was saved by taxpayers. Vitaly Vavryschuk, Director of the Department of financial stability at the National Bank of Ukraine, reported in his column on Economic Pravda that every Ukrainian shall pay over $100 for the nationalization of PrivatBank. Ukrainian government will have to write off the debts of Ukrtelecam and increase the capital state banks by this sum. The sum means billions of hryvnias which were practically stolen from the state in prior years and the taxpayers shall cover it at their own expense. The claims of private creditors shall apparently get stuck in litigations with legal structures they are registered at. Thus a beautiful story about rescuing a strategic state enterprise is turning into a rescue operation of a Ukrainian oligarch. Facebook ATO press center Since the beginning of the day in the Donbas conflict zone one shelling was registered - the militants fired on the Armed Forces positions from grenade launchers and from machine guns near Kamyanka in the Donetsk region. This is reported on the page of Donbas conflict press center in Facebook. "Since the beginning of the day, there have been one firing of the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy from grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns and small arms fired at the defenders of Kamyanka. Ukrainian soldiers did not respond to the provocations of the enemy and did not open fire in response," message. In other areas of our defense, there were no violations of the silence regime. Related: Plotnitsky is now in Russia, - Security Service Open source Ex-leader of the so-called "LNR" Igor Plotnitsky is currently on the territory of Russian Federation. This was stated by the Security Service chief of staff Ihor Guskov on air of Hromadske Radio. "According to our materials, Plotnitsky is on the territory of the Russian Federation. That's all can I say for now, because it's better to show specific materials," he said. As it was reported earlier, an open confrontation began between two militant groups in Luhansk in November. One was headed by Plotnitsky and the other one - by the "head of the Interior Ministry of the LNR" Igor Cornet. There were people in military uniform, as well as armored vehicles in the center of the occupied city. Later, on November 24, Igor Plotnitsky filed for "resignation" "due to bad health." And the so-called "State Security Minister" Leonid Pasechnik became the leader of "LNR". SCM FO, a member of Rinat Akhmetov's SCM Group , intends to seek the termination of the contract of Ukrtelecom company sale. About this said the press service of SCM. SCM FO notes that the company intends to obtain from Raga Establishment Limited the termination of the contract of sale of Ukrtelecom, as the latter allegedly violated the investment obligations and did not pay $ 450 million in Ukrtelecom. "During the arbitration proceedings in the LCIA (International Court of Arbitration of London), SCM FO filed a counterclaim against Raga on the termination of the sale and purchase agreement concluded on June 3, 2013 with respect to shares of Ukrtelecom, as a result of which the shares of Ukrtelecom should return to the ownership of Raga, and Raga should return to SCM FO an advance payment of $ 100 million, listed in 2013. Indeed, after closing the deal with EPIC / Raga, SCM FO as a buyer found out that EPIC / Raga did not enforce a number of key investment obligations that the EPIC / Raga took on to the State Property Fund of Ukraine under the privatization contract of 2011. An average tourist spends about $92 per day during a 4.4-day visit to the city. Open source Lviv City Councils tourism office has reported that some 2.6 million tourists visited the city in Western Ukraine in 2017, spending over $754 million during their stay, UNIAN reports. Ukraine, Poland and Belarus were the main countries of origin of Lvivs 2017 tourists. The list of the countries whose residents traveled to Lviv most includes Turkey, Germany, the United States, Lithuania, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Canada. We use three sources for tourism market research: a face-to-face survey of visitors, data provided by tourist information centers and statistics of the Lviv Tourist Barometer online system, which collects information from tourist accommodation facilities, head of Lviv City Councils Tourism office Halyna Malets said. An average tourist spends around $92 per day during a 4.4-day visit to Lviv. Only a quarter of visitors travel by themselves, others come with friends, family members or as part of tourist groups. The citys most popular destinations for tourists include the Lviv National Opera, the Lviv Town Hall and the Lviv High Castle. Visits to cafes and restaurants, cultural institutions, and long walks around the city are believed to be the best ways of spending time in Lviv. Malets also pointed out that around 250,000 people have visited Lviv within the first two weeks of 2018. We havent carried out a comprehensive analysis, but the data we received from hotels and tourist information centers around the city shows that approximately a quarter of a million people have already visited Lviv [since the beginning of 2018], she said. Earlier, it was reported that the Lviv international airport handled more than 1 million passengers in 2017 and became Ukraine's fourth airport to achieve this. Such high number of passengers travelling to and from the Western Ukrainian city was recorded for the first time since 1991. The changes in the German legislation furthered the increase of the number of the late repatriates Heinrich Hornschemeyer, the Director of Late Repatriates Camp from the former Soviet States claimed that more than 7100 ethnic German settlers from the countries of the former Soviet Union in 2017. The returnees from Ukraine occupy the third place among the late repatriates to Germany as DW reported. The significant growth of the number of the late repatriates is observed in Germany during the last five years. Only in 2017, 7 134 repatriates were registered, he said. According to Hornschemeyer, the number of the late repatriates from the countries of the former Soviet Union spotted in 2017 is about 500 people. The majority of the returnees to German are young families with the relatives in Germany. The repatriates from Kazakhstan and Russia take the leading places among the returnees, while Ukraine occupied the third place. Mostly, the new-comers are educated. Earlier it was reported that the maximal number of the ethnic German late repatriates arrived in Germany in 1990 and there were 400 000 people. The minimal number was spotted in 2012 (1800 returnees). The number of the late repatriates only increased since 2012. The changes to the legislation, particularly, the simplifying of the entering to the country for those who aim for the reunion of the family was made. Lutkovska also offered to her Russian colleague to continue the practice of the joint monitoring visits Open source Valeria Lutkovska, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights asks Tatiana Moskalkova, her Russian colleague to check the situation with the violation of the rights of the Ukrainian border guards detained in Lefortovo detention facility and expresses the desire to visit them. It is stated at the official website of the ombudswoman. Such appeal took place after the meeting of Ihor Dzyubak and Bogdan Martsonia, the border guards of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine detained in Lefortovo with their relatives. The relatives of the border guards reported that the prosecutor of the criminal proceeding of the Ukrainians refused to provide them the permit for the meeting. The meeting of the consular official of Ukraine with the detained took place only in the presence of the worker of the Lefortovo detention facility who refused them to talk in the native language and used to interrupt the talk, the message said. Moreover, the mother of Dzyubak reported on the deterioration of the health of her son and he needs the additional medical examination and treatment due to this. Taking into account all mentioned, I ask toy to check this information and in the case of its confirmation to assume all necessary measures within your competence to observe the rights of Ihor Dzyubak and Bogdan Martsonia, the citizens of Ukraine, particularly to provide the meeting with their relatives and communication with the consul in the native language. I also ask you to further the holding of the qualified medical examination of Ihor Dzyubak and provision of the necessary medical treatments, Lutkovska noted. She also offered to her Russian colleague to continue the practice of the joint monitoring visits. I inform you that Askar Kulub and Vladimir Kusnetsov, two military of the border service of the Russian FSB are detained in Ukraine. Due to this, I offer you to perform the joint monitoring visit to Kherson detention facility to monitor the observance of the rights of the mentioned citizens of Russia. I would like to ask you to further the organization of my meeting with Ihor Dzyubak and Bogdan Martsonia, detained in Lefortovo detention facility, the message said. As it was reported earlier two employees of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine disappeared on Tuesday in Sumy region near the border with Russia, reported the press service of the department. Russia officially confirmed the detention of two officers of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine that earlier disappeared near the border with Russia. Lefortovo district court of Moscow left in the pretrial detention center the abducted Ukrainian border guards Bohdan Martsonia and Ihor Dziubak on November 30, 2017. Open source Fighters of the U.S. National Guard arrived for participation in the international drills in Estonia. Twelve F-16 Fighting Falcon planes took off from Toledo airfield in the U.S. and landed at Emari airbase, ERR wrote, quoting the General Staff of the Estonian Defense Forces. According to Rijvo Valge, the acting commander of Estonian Air Force, the drills aim to improve skills in the large-scale operations. The exercise is also to involve experienced air observers from Belgium. The drills will be running until mid-March. He claims that Russia did not violate the Budapest Memorandum by annexation of Crimea Russia respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine excluding annexed Crimea. Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Ministry of Russia claimed this at the press conference on January 15 as TASS reported. Lavrov claims that Russia did not violate its commitments on the Budapest Memorandum when it annexed Crimea. Moreover, he claimed that Ukraine began to exist within other state borders and Moscow is ready to respect them. We continue to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine within the borders that occurred after the referendum in Crimea and reunion of Crimea with Russia. I remind that we did not apply and threaten Ukraine with the nuclear weaponry and there was no violation of the memorandum. Also, Ukraine claimed to take the responsibility not to encourage the racist and neo-Nazi attitudes in the separate statement on the sidelines of the memorandum, he claimed. He noted that the issue of Crimean belonging is over for Russia and it cannot be discussed within the Minks Talks on Donbas. According to Lavrov, Russian intends to stay the adherer of the document. Ukraine signed the Minsk Agreements that do not concern the issue of Crimea. These agreements should be fulfilled, he stated. As we reported the State Duma of Russia proposed to denounce the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Partnership between Russia and Ukraine in the part where the countries recognize the territorial boundaries of each other. Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014. The Crimea was declared a temporarily occupied territory. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared February 20, 2014 the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia. October 7, 2015, President Petro Poroshenko signed the relevant law. International organizations recognized the occupation and annexation of the Crimea as illegal and condemned the actions of the Russian Federation. Western countries have introduced a number of economic sanctions. Russia denies the occupation of the peninsula and calls it "the restoration of historical justice." Open source Since mid-November last year, the Security Service of Ukraine as processed 50 requests for tours of Russian artists in Ukraine, refusing only one of them. This is reported by the Ukrainian News. As the Security Service responded to the request of news agency, in 49 cases, the special services had legitimate reasons to let Russian artists enter Ukraine. "Since the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine" On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Touring Activities in Ukraine" (November 16, 2017, - Ed.), The Security Service received about 50 requests from the organizers of these tours, "the report said. The Security Service also clarified that they do not intend to disclose the name of the artist who was banned of entry to Ukraine. "At the moment, there are legitimate grounds for preventing 1 citizen of the aggressor country in the tour activities in Ukraine, and informed the organizer of the event," the department added. We recall, in November 2017 the law on tours with the participation of artists from Russia came into force. According to it, in Ukraine it is possible to hold events with artists from Russia, but the organizer must contact the Security Service in order to obtain permission to participate. And the SBU, for its part, should give an answer within 10 days whether there are grounds to prevent the Russian artist from entering the territory of Ukraine. If the Security Service gives permit, the organizer can sign contract with the artist. But even in this case, the circumstances may change, and as a result, they will not be allowed to enter Ukraine. Related: Ukraine lost over $50 billion because of Donbas occupation PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) The port finalized a $217 million contract in November 2016 for Konecranes to build and deliver 86 rail-mounted gantry cranes, and the initial six are scheduled to arrive at the end of this month. The Port of Virginia on Friday signaled the start of a two-year cycle thats expected to see the delivery of 86 new cranes, which are the centerpieces of the expansion taking place at the port. On that date, the heavy-load vessel Happy Buccaneer left Poland, bound for Virginia laden with six new rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs). The inaugural delivery is headed for Virginia International Gateway (VIG), and once the vessel is at berth, the units are expected to be off-loaded, mounted on rails, taken through some minor assembly, tested and then put into service by the end of April, when the first of 13 new container stacks at VIG will be ready for use. We are closing in on a critical milestone, which is the delivery of this first group of cranes, Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director John F. Reinhart said in a statement. From this point forward, we will be receiving regular deliveries of these RMGs to VIG, and then it will transition across the river to Norfolk International Terminals (NIT). This is also the starting point where we can begin the process of recouping the investment being made at VIG, Reinhart explained. As the stacks go online, we will begin capitalizing on the new capacity and efficiency were creating. In November 2016, the port finalized a $217 million contract for Finnish company Konecranes to build and deliver 86 RMGs. Roanoke-based TMEIC Corp. is supplying the technology for the operation systems that control the cranes functions. The contract, according to the port authority, is the largest one-time order for automated stacking cranes in industry history. Following the first delivery of RMGs, which is scheduled for the end of January, subsequent deliveries are planned, and the new container stacks will go into service at intervals through November. In total, 26 new RMGs will be delivered to VIG and the remaining 60 will go to NIT. The expansion at VIG is anticipated to be complete by spring 2019. Construction on the $320 million VIG expansion began in February 2017. The work includes adding 13 new container stacks to the container stack yard supported by 26 new RMGs lengthening the berth, installing four new ship-to-shore container cranes, doubling the size of the rail operation and adding new lanes to the truck gate. Ultimately, the work is expected to increase the annual throughput capacity of the terminal to 1.2 million containers. Our planning and focus on building a modern port capable of handling the biggest ships in the Atlantic trade for years to come is coming to fruition, Reinhart said. The end result is a port that will be sustainable and have the capacity to grow for decades. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump defended himself Sunday night after several days of controversy over his remarks about African countries, telling reporters, "I am not a racist, CNN reports. In remarks to reporters at a dinner photo opportunity with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said when asked if he is a racist, "No, I'm not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed." The President has drawn sharp criticism since he was reported to have called African countries "shitholes" while discussing immigration with lawmakers Thursday. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The 4-day sitting of the Armenian Parliament began with 98 lawmakers in attendance. The agenda was approved during the January 12 Parliament Council session. Lawmakers will debate 26 issues, including the bill on condemning the genocide against Yazidis by terrorist groups in Iraq in 2014. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. There is a positive progress in the health condition of Armenian citizen Artur Sukiasyan assaulted in the Georgian city of Ozurgeti, the Armenian Embassy in Georgia told Armenpress. Artur Sukiasyan feels good and is under the doctors constant control. Masked men have assaulted and robbed 31 year old Artur Sukiasyan in Ozurgeti, Georgia on January 13. He owns several stores in Guria region. The businessman was assaulted near his home in the morning of January 13. Two masked men knocked him down with a blow to his head and took nearly 11,7 thousand dollars from his possession. The Armenian businessman was on his way to a market in Tbilisi for procurements for his stores. The assailants are at large. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. On January 16, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh, the OSCE Mission will conduct a planned monitoring of the ceasefire regime on the border of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, on the Akna-Hindarkh road section, the Artsakh foreign ministry told Armenpress. From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring will be conducted by Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO) Mihail Olaru (Moldova) and staff member of the Office of the CiO Personal Representative Martin Schuster (Germany). The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have expressed their readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and to ensure the security of the OSCE Mission members. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenias parliamentary majority and government will soon present a package of global changes in the law on Income Tax, RPA faction head Vahram Baghdasaryan said during the discussion of the project presented by Tsarukyan faction on making changes in the Tax Code, reports Armenpress. Under the draft on making changes in the Tax Code, the Tsarukyan faction proposes to reduce the income tax for people with up to 150.000 dram salary from 23% to 21%, and that for people with 150-300.000 dram salary from 28% to 26%. RPA faction head Vahram Baghdasaryan said the government and the parliamentary majority are one team and they make decisions based on the discussions. We will soon have a package on the income tax where we will organize a comprehensive discussion and will make global changes. We oppose cosmetic changes which cannot give solutions, he said, adding that the ruling party will abstain from voting the Tsarukyan factions initiative. The parliament rejected the issue of including the Tsarukyan factions initiative into the agenda of plenary sessions. 33 voted in favor of the issue, 54 abstained. Vice Speaker of the Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov announced that the decision was not adopted. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) will begin discussions over a future candidate for president during this week, parliamentary faction leader of the HHK Vahram Baghdasaryan said. Currently you cant know the names of candidates since we didnt have discussions over this issue. When we will begin the discussions during this week and will have a decision, you will know about it, he said. He stressed that the time period for electing a president is February 28 March 10, adding that most probably the election will be held March 2 in the parliament. Asked whether or not there is clarity regarding a candidate for PM, Baghdasaryan said before presenting a candidate they must first present a presidential candidate, after which they will discuss the PM post. Incumbent President Serzh Sargsyans term in office will end April 9, 2018. Until then, in accordance to the Constitution, the Parliament will elect a new president, and the government will submit its resignation after Sargsyans term is completed. Then, the parliament will elect a Prime Minister, who will form a new government. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. At least 12 students and a teacher have received serious stab wounds as a result of a bloody knife fight between two teenage boys at a school in Perm, Russia, investigators say, RT reports. The incident occurred at school number 127 at 10:19am local time (8:19am Moscow time) when students returned to school after the Christmas holidays. At least 13 people have been injured in the incident, including the teacher and those two students between whom the knife fight occurred, Sergey Sarapultsev, deputy head of the Investigation Department for Perm Region, told reporters. Earlier reports said the school was attacked by masked assailants. The teacher and one schoolboy are in serious condition at a hospital and are currently undergoing surgery, the regional Health Ministry said. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament began debates over the bill on adopting the statement condemning and recognizing the genocide against Yazidis in Iraq committed by terrorist organizations. Main rapporteur, ruling party MP Rustam Makhmudyan stressed that the bill aims at condemning the genocide against the Yazidis on the parliamentary level, and by doing so to highlight the issue of punishing the perpetrators and preventing similar occurrences. Taking into account that tens of thousands of Yazidis were killed as result of atrocities committed by terrorist groups in 2014, particularly ISIS, with tens of thousands being taken hostage, and more than 2000 Yazidis became refugees, by highlighting the obligations of states stipulated by international rights of respecting the rights of national and religious minorities, stressing the commitment of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people of fighting against genocides and other crimes against humanity at the initiative of Members of Parliament Vahram Baghdasaryan, Rustam Makhmudyan and Armen Ashotyan, a bill was initiated in the Armenian parliament by which the parliament will recognize and strictly condemn the genocide against Yazidis, Makhmudyan said, stressing that by this the parliament will at the same time condemn all terrorist manifestations, as well as the targeted actions against the Yazidis motivated by national, political or religious factors. These terrifying actions were very similar in nature with the genocide committed against the Armenian people in 1915-1923. Not only does the bill recognize and strictly condemn the genocide against the Yazidis, but also calls on the international community to investigate the crimes through international procedures and to hold accountable the people who have committed international crimes, as well as to spare no effort to prevent human rights violations in the future, he said. By stressing the role of Iraqs sovereignty in the bill, the Armenian parliament also expressed its solidarity to the Iraqi state and people. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is on the hands of the sides, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said during an annual press conference, stating that positive signals are expected from the sides regarding the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, reports Armenpress. Russia cannot have concrete plans over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement since the conflicting sides should settle the issue. As OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, Russia together with the US and France does everything to create necessary conditions for the settlement, the Russian FM said. He stated that in the recent years intensive efforts were made by summing up all positions of the conflicting sides and trying to identify from them the coinciding approaches over this or that aspect of the NK conflict settlement. The Russian minister stated that at the same time they tried to hint the mutual concessions which can lead the sides to a common agreement on issues over which there are still disagreements. This work has been carried out intensively. All proposals of the Co-Chairs made last year, the Co-Chairs have common approaches on this matter, are at the sides. The sides know what the Co-Chairs think, but they should make a decision. Of course, we expect positive signals from both sides, he said. FM Lavrov expressed satisfaction over the fact that meetings of the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents, as well as foreign ministers were held during 2017. He recalled that the representatives of the Co-Chair countries also participated in these processes. I think now it is important to take additional steps so that it will be calmer in the line of contact. This will help to pass to a political settlement. This conflict cannot be solved once in one document. A step-by-step approach is needed which will reflect an agreement on what is possible now and will clarify the activity directions on issues that need further discussions for the final settlement which will include the issue of the status of Nagorno Karabakh, the Russian FM said. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. The bill on condemning the genocide committed against Yazidis in Iraq by terrorists has been initiated through a political consensus in the Armenian parliament, which was joined by all political forces, chairman of the foreign relations committee of the Armenian parliament Armen Ashotyan said during debates of the bill. I am sure, similar documents must be adopted like this, because the issues which are put in this statement are first of all humanitarian and universal, Ashotyan said. According to him, from this perspective it is necessary to both separate and unite three important platforms at the same time. First is that the Armenian people themselves are victims of genocide. As people who survived genocide, we know this sorrow and we ourselves mitigate our scars. Second is that tens of thousands of national minorities live in Armenia as full citizens, including Yazidis, the political, military and historic injustice and crime against whom must receive a clear assessment. However I believe that the fact that Armenia itself is giving an assessment to such occurrences as a state is not least important. This isnt the assessment of the Armenian people for the crime against the Yazidi people, this is the assessment of a state which has assumed the role of an international flagman or locomotive of genocide prevention, condemnation and recognition, Ashotyan said. Ashotyan also mentioned that this year Yerevan will host the third Against the Crime of Genocide global forum. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Washington does not want to keep Syrias territorial integrity, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference, dedicated to the results of the Russian diplomacys work in the past year, TASS reports. The actions, we can see now, demonstrate that the United States does not want to keep territorially integrated Syria, the minister said. It was only yesterday that we heard a new initiative that the US wants to help the so called forces of democratic Syria to organize some border security zones. In fact, that means separation of a huge territory along the borders with Turkey and Iraq. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. 46 poisoning cases was registered in Armenia during the period from January 1 to 15, Mikayel Gabrielyan chief toxicologist of the ministry of healthcare, told a press conference in Armenpress. He said this figure increased compared to the same period of 2017. 36 poisoning cases were registered in Armenia from January 1 to 15 of 2017. The alcohol poisoning cases comprise majority among the cases registered this year. Moreover, this figure increased compared to the same period of 2017. I want to state that the main reason is the alcohol abuse, rather than the bad quality of drinks. I think this figure is very high for 15 days, he said, adding that, fortunately, no death cases have been registered. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Turkish deputy PM Bekir Bozdag has accused the US in displaying conduct which isnt appropriate for a partner, Anadolu reports. Bozdags comments come after the US has said that they are planning to create defense forces with Kurdish forces in Syria which will fight against the Islamic State. The deputy PM said that the US intention of supplying weapons to the PKKs Syria branch under the pretext of fighting ISIS doesnt fit into the friendly and collegial cooperation circle. Turkey wont avoid taking necessary actions if anything were to threaten the security of the country and region. Like the president said One night we can suddenly appear, Bozdag said, repeating the Turkish nationalist slogan which president Erdogan is recently using quite often. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that they will destroy the terrorist army in Syria which the US had earlier said is planning to create, Hurriyet reports. The US insist they will create a terrorist army on our borders. Our task will be to destroy it before it gets established. As of this moment they [the US] have sent 4800 trucks will weapons there. Send whatever you want, but that army of 30,000 which you want to create, cannot represent you in that area and dont be upset but you will be embarrassed before your strategic partner, Erdogan said. He stressed that despite their discontent, the US are determined to create a terrorist army along the Turkish border. Can an army along the Turkish border have another goal rather than Turkey? The US should already refuse word play and openly announce its intention, Erdogan said. Turkeys President Erdogan also said their military is ready to take action in Syrias Afrin and Manjib. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Within the frames of the loan agreement signed between Armenia and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on November 23, 2012, the Iranian Ariana Tunnel Dam Co. (Iran) will implement the construction of new bridge on the Debed river in the Sadakhlo-Bagratashen border checkpoint between Armenia and Georgia, the Armenian ministry of transport, communication and IT told Armenpress. The signing of the agreement for designing and constructing the new bridge within the frames of the EBRD-funded North Corridor Modernization Program was held in the Armenian ministry of transport, communication and IT on January 15. From the Armenian side the agreement was ratified by minister of transport, communication and IT Vahan Martirosyan, and from the Iranian side it was ratified by president of the Ariana Tunnel Dam Co. Ali Mousavi. Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Seyed Kazem Sadjadi also attended the signing ceremony. The Armenian minister welcomed the entry of the Iranian construction company to Armenia and attached importance to the works to be carried out on high-quality and time. Lets consider the victory of this tender as a first step and hope that Iranian companies will later participate in the projects in Armenia, the investment programs, in particular, in the construction of upcoming tunnels in the southern part of North-South corridor investment program, minister Martirosyan said. The Iranian construction company representatives assured the minister that they will conduct the works on the best quality. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Arthur Davtyan, the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Armenia, had a working meeting with the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan during which he presented the activities of the structure for the year 2017, reforms initiated in the sphere and the outcomes. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office, Davtyan also presented the works done in the directions underlined by President Sargsyan during the solemn session at the Prosecutor's Office's on July 3, 2017. The President highlighted the continuation of works aimed at ensuring fair trial, right to liberty during criminal procedures. The President also underlined the issue of ensuring the normal process of bringing the prosecution institution in line with the constitutional changes and the new law on the Prosecutors Office. YEREVAN, 15 JANUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 15 January, USD exchange rate is down by 0.30 drams to 483.21 drams. EUR exchange rate is up by 6.21 drams to 592.37 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate is up by 0.02 drams to 8.57 drams. GBP exchange rate is up by 7.95 drams to 666.01 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price is up by 45.50 drams to 20612.58 drams. Silver price is up by 1.55 drams to 265.97 drams. Platinum price is up by 145.89 drams to 15395.74 drams. YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, ARMENPRESS. Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov assesses the rumors that he has spared no efforts to become the ruling partys candidate for the post of the National Assembly President after April as complete stupidity. The publication about that issue is a complete stupidity, Sharmazanov told ARMENPRESS. Earlier, there were a number of publications that allegedly Vice President of the National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov spares no efforts to become the candidate of the Republican Party of Armenia for the post of the president of the parliament. Friday, January 12, 2018, General Dynamics European Land Systems signed a contract to deliver up to 227 PIRANHA 5 8x8 wheeled armored vehicles in six different configurations to the Romanian Armed Forces. The contract has a total value exceeding $1 billion. It is part of the Romanian Armys plan to modernize its legacy wheeled armored vehicle fleet. Piranha 5 8x8 wheeled armoured vehicle personnel carrier (Picture source General Dynamics Land Systems) Prime Minister Mihai Tudose and Deputy Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu attended the signing ceremony held at the National Defense Ministry headquarters. The modern PIRANHA 5 vehicles will be produced in Romania under a strategic cooperation and transfer of technology project between General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag and the Romanian company Uzina Mecanica Bucuresti (UMB). Since 2006, the Romanian Armored Forces has fielded variants of PIRANHA vehicles which have been deployed in various missions in-country and abroad, demonstrating its reliability and performance. The Romanian Army is one of the most important PIRANHA users in Europe. We are very honored by this contract award as it reflects the high confidence and satisfaction the Romanian Army has in our vehicles, said Oliver Durr, Vice President Wheeled Vehicles and Managing Director of General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag. With this step, we have established a sustainable collaboration with a trusted partner which has a significant industrial footprint in Romania, said Thomas Kauffmann, General Dynamics European Land Systems Vice President International Business & Services. The transfer of technology and the local production of these vehicles present an enormous opportunity to the Romanian industry. With more than 11,000 systems fielded, the PIRANHA is one of the most successful 8x8 wheeled armored vehicles in the world. Samworth Brothers is planning to create a Savoury Pastry Centre of Excellence with the merger of two bakery operations in Callington, Cornwall. Staff from the Tamar and Lynher bakeries, which between them employ 915 people, were told late last year of plans to merge the businesses, putting 17 managerial and administrative roles at risk. The Ginsters owner said the move would create a stronger and sustainable business going forward, with a larger-scale bakery. We are committed to do everything we can to support those affected and, where possible, working to identify alternative roles across the group, said Joanne Milroy, group communications for Samworth Brother. New Samworth Brothers chief executive Flor Healy last week began his role at the business ten months after Alex Knight stepped down from his post. The State Board of Education received the 2016-17 State of the Teaching Profession in North Carolina report last week. The report summarizes the attrition and mobility of public school teachers between March 2016 and March 2017. One of the exciting features of the report (for me at least) is that it also includes teacher vacancy data for the current school year.Of the nearly 95,000 teachers employed in 2016, approximately 8,200 are no longer working in a North Carolina public school. Last year's 8.7 percent attrition rate is an improvement compared to the previous year, which exceeded 9.0 percent. Another 4.8 percent of teachers moved to another public school in the state.According to the report, much of the state's teacher attrition is due to personal reasons or is beyond the control of the school district or state. Retirement was the top reason why people left their teaching position last year. Nearly one in five teachers who resigned last year did so to retire with full benefits. Family relocation, unknown reasons, career change, and teaching in another state round out the top five. Dismissals, compelled resignations, and reductions in force appear to be rare.While some may find teacher attrition to be worrisome, N.C. Department of Public Instruction researchers found that teachers who leave are less effective than those who remain. They write,On average, teachers who leave employment with the state have lower teaching effectiveness (as measured by EVAAS index scores) than their counterparts who remain employed in NC public schools. This relationship holds true when departing teaches are compared with remaining teachers in terms of years of teaching experience.Simply put, not all attrition is bad. We should want bad teachers to leave and better teachers to remain. It is worth questioning, however, if we are doing enough to retain our best. I think the state and school districts need to do more for them.The statewide vacancy rate on the 40th instructional day for 107 school districts was 1.5 percent. (A few districts submitted data with inconsistencies, so they were omitted.) Anson, Hyde, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank, Martin, and Craven counties had the highest vacancy rates, and 12 districts reported zero teaching vacancies. Core elementary teachers, special education teachers in elementary schools, and high school math teachers had the highest number of vacancies.The state defines a vacancy as "an instructional position (or a portion thereof) for which there is not an appropriately licensed teacher who is eligible for permanent employment." They count long-term substitutes, retired teachers, and provisionally licensed teachers as vacancies. One should not assume that a temporary teacher is necessarily worse than an "appropriately licensed teacher," particularly if the district hires a retired teacher to address a vacancy. That said, research suggests that long-term substitutes and provisionally licensed teachers often struggle in the classroom.So, does North Carolina have a teacher recruitment and retention crisis? The statewide figures and trends are not cause for concern, but the answer, as usual, depends on the school district. For example, some rural districts continue to struggle to recruit and retain outstanding educators, while others have single-digit turnover. North Carolina's wealthiest districts have attrition and vacancy rates that are comparable to low-income districts. As usual, socioeconomic factors are a necessary but not sufficient explanation for teacher attrition, mobility, or vacancy rates.The absence of simple explanations for why teachers choose to leave the teaching profession complicates the process of developing a public policy response. Additional pay for hard-to-staff subjects and schools may be one place to start. It is less dependent on test scores than labor market conditions, and I find that most teachers are receptive to the idea. Indeed, it is much harder to recruit a math teacher to teach in Bertie County than hire a social studies teacher to teach in Wake County, and that difference should inform an incentive pay system. The Iranian regime is the world's leading state sponsor of terror. It enables Hezbollah, Hamas, and many other terrorists to sow chaos and kill innocent people. It has funded, armed, and trained more than 100,000 militants to spread destruction across the Middle East. It props up the murderous regime of Bashar al Assad, and has helped him slaughter his own people. The regime's destructive missiles threaten neighboring countries and international shipping. Within Iran, the Supreme Leader and his Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps use mass arrests and torture to oppress and silence Iran's people. Iran's ruling elite has let their citizens go hungry while enriching themselves by stealing Iran's national wealth.Last October, I outlined to the American people-and to the world-my strategy for confronting these and other destructive activities. We are countering Iranian proxy wars in Yemen and Syria. We are cutting off the regime's money flows to terrorists. We have sanctioned nearly 100 individuals and entities involved with the Iranian regime's ballistic missile program and its other illicit activities. Today, I am adding 14 more to the sanctions list. We are also supporting the brave Iranian citizens who are demanding change from a corrupt regime that wastes the Iranian people's money on weapons systems at home and terrorism abroad. And crucially, we are calling on all nations to lend similar support to the Iranian people, who are suffering under a regime that is stifling basic freedoms and denying its citizens the opportunity to build better lives for their families-an opportunity that is every human being's God-given right.All this stands in stark contrast to the policy and actions of the previous administration. President Obama failed to act as the Iranian people took to the streets in 2009. He turned a blind eye as Iran built and tested dangerous missiles and exported terror. He curried favor with the Iranian regime in order to push through the disastrously flawed Iran nuclear deal.I have been very clear about my opinion of that deal. It gave Iran far too much in exchange for far too little. The enormous financial windfall the Iranian regime received because of the deal-access to more than $100 billion, including $1.8 billion in cash-has not been used to better the lives of the Iranian people. Instead, it has served as a slush fund for weapons, terror, and oppression, and to further line the pockets of corrupt regime leaders. The Iranian people know this, which is one reason why so many have taken to the streets to express their outrage.Despite my strong inclination, I have not yet withdrawn the United States from the Iran nuclear deal. Instead, I have outlined two possible paths forward: either fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw.I am open to working with Congress on bipartisan legislation regarding Iran. But any bill I sign must include four critical components.First, it must demand that Iran allow immediate inspections at all sites requested by international inspectors.Second, it must ensure that Iran never even comes close to possessing a nuclear weapon.Third, unlike the nuclear deal, these provisions must have no expiration date. My policy is to deny Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon-not just for ten years, but forever.If Iran does not comply with any of these provisions, American nuclear sanctions would automatically resume.Fourth, the legislation must explicitly state in United States law-for the first time-that long-range missile and nuclear weapons programs are inseparable, and that Iran's development and testing of missiles should be subject to severe sanctions.In 2015, the Obama Administration foolishly traded away strong multilateral sanctions to get its weak nuclear deal. By contrast, my Administration has engaged with key European allies in seeking to secure a new supplemental agreement that would impose new multilateral sanctions if Iran develops or tests long-range missiles, thwarts inspections, or makes progress toward a nuclear weapon-requirements that should have been in the nuclear deal in the first place. And, like the bill I expect from Congress, these provisions of a supplemental agreement must never expire.I also call on all our allies to take stronger steps with us to confront Iran's other malign activities. Among other actions, our allies should cut off funding to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, its militant proxies, and anyone else who contributes to Iran's support for terrorism. They should designate Hezbollah-in its entirety-as a terrorist organization. They should join us in constraining Iran's missile development and stopping its proliferation of missiles, especially to Yemen. They should join us in countering Iran's cyber threats. They should help us deter Iran's aggression against international shipping. They should pressure the Iranian regime to stop violating its citizens' rights. And they should not do business with groups that enrich Iran's dictatorship or fund the Revolutionary Guard and its terrorist proxies.Today, I am waiving the application of certain nuclear sanctions, but only in order to secure our European allies' agreement to fix the terrible flaws of the Iran nuclear deal. This is a last chance. In the absence of such an agreement, the United States will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal. And if at any time I judge that such an agreement is not within reach, I will withdraw from the deal immediately.No one should doubt my word. I said I would not certify the nuclear deal-and I did not. I will also follow through on this pledge. I hereby call on key European countries to join with the United States in fixing significant flaws in the deal, countering Iranian aggression, and supporting the Iranian people. If other nations fail to act during this time, I will terminate our deal with Iran. Those who, for whatever reason, choose not to work with us will be siding with the Iranian regime's nuclear ambitions, and against the people of Iran and the peaceful nations of the world.White House Legislators returned to Raleigh last week for the beginning of a special session. Education was at the top of the agenda, with the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee meeting Tuesday to discuss various changes to North Carolina's K-12 programs.That's as it should be. Here in North Carolina, education makes up roughly 40 percent of total state spending. The appropriation for the UNC system alone is nearly $3 billion. With such a large stake in the outcome, legislators are right to focus on efficiency, oversight, and new policies that can improve education for everyone. Here are a few higher education initiatives I hope they take up this year.As I wrote earlier this month, students saw a significant positive change for due process rights on campus in 2017. The Department of Education, under Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, repealed the now-infamous Obama-era "Dear Colleague" letter that required universities to employ a "preponderance of the evidence" standard when judging cases of sexual misconduct. A new guidance letter now allows-but does not require-colleges to use the "clear and convincing evidence" standard. Many university administrators have announced their intention to continue using the lower standard, which means that students across the country will continue to be penalized, suspended, or expelled if campus courts determine that it is "more likely than not" that sexual harassment or violence occurred. UNC-Chapel Hill, for example, still uses the lower standard Now, the North Carolina General Assembly has the authority and opportunity to protect students' rights by requiring public colleges and universities to use the stricter "clear and convincing evidence" standard. Lawmakers in at least nine states have already begun the process.A North Carolina bill that stalled in committee last year provides a blueprint for change. If enacted, the bill would require universities to give accused studentsIt would also permit both parties in a case to question and cross-examine witnesses. And it states that the "standard of proof of responsibility for proving sexual misconduct shall not be less than clear and convincing evidence." Enacting such protections should be a priority in 2018.Most of North Carolina's 16 public universities, and many of its community colleges, have set up private non-profit foundations to act as the fundraising, investment, and publicity arm of the school. UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State's foundations, which manage the universities' endowments, both handle more than $1 billion in assets.And despite considerable entanglement between the public entities and the private foundations-which often share space and employees-there is little to no oversight or accountability. The public doesn't know where such foundations get their money or how it's spent.More transparency is essential to ensure that university foundations are operating lawfully and with their public purpose in mind. Across the country, there have been too examples of waste and fraud in university foundations to continue allowing them to operate in the dark.In order to shed light on foundations' activities, the North Carolina General Assembly should change state law to subject all foundations that operate to benefit a public university or college to open records laws. The foundations are exempt under current law due to their official status as private non-profit organizations.A few states have taken action and could be models for reform in North Carolina. Two states mandate that foundations' donor information be made public. Three states stipulate that foundations are subject to the same open records laws as public agencies.The Martin Center has made the case for such changes here and here The legislature should also revisit two significant actions for higher education finance.In 2015, an important measure for financial transparency passed as part of the North Carolina budget. It requires every state agency to provide its budget data, and for counties, cities, and local education agencies to post local budget and spending data on a new website. Soon after the provision was passed, NC Open Budget, a project of the Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM), went live. It includes some information that's useful for understanding university spending. But the legislature wasn't satisfied. In 2017, legislators reiterated their call for transparency. This year, they should demand action from universities (and other state agencies) to finally provide the information they requested.The legislature should also closely follow the work of the University of North Carolina Funding Model Task Force. The UNC Board of Governors and UNC System President Margaret Spellings established the Task Force to evaluate and improve the existing UNC funding formula, which emphasizes enrollment instead of performance. Members of the Task Force include various UNC Chancellors, members of the UNC Board of Governors, and members of the public. They first met in May of 2017 and are expected to make recommendations to the Board in April 2018.The Martin Center has long recommended that the Board or the General Assembly change the funding model to better align public spending with student success. And the legislature has already made great strides to improve the process, including the elimination of incentives to overestimate enrollment. The work of the University of North Carolina Funding Model Task Force will point to other avenues for reform. And although they officially report to the UNC Board of Governors, it is the General Assembly that ultimately determines the amount and method of funding North Carolina's public universities. Legislators should listen carefully to the Task Force's ideas.Over the past half-decade, the North Carolina General Assembly has worked to enact positive reforms in the UNC System. I expect 2018 will be another great year for UNC students, parents, and citizens. Bakersfield Police Department(BAKERSFIELD, Calif.) -- One beloved dog who served with a California police force's SWAT team retired in grand fashion thanks to the K-9's fellow police officers. Bronx, a 9-year-old, Belgian malinois served alongside his handler, Senior Officer Chris Dalton, for eight years at the Bakersfield Police Department in California. He took his last walk down the department's hallways on Jan. 5, and was met with applause and greetings. "He is one of the longest-serving K-9s our agency has ever had," a statement on the police department's Facebook page read. "Bronx has done numerous demos for schools and tour groups at our department, and has been awarded many awards throughout the years for his dedication, skills, and work." "Thank you for being a loyal K-9 all these years, Bronx!" the statement concluded. Now Bronx will enjoy retired life in the comfort of Officer Dalton's home. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. An unnamed, paralyzed prisoner in one of Corizon Correctional Healthcare's for-profit prisons in Arizona chewed part of his left hand off because Corizon refused to give him the correct medication for his pain. In 2015, a group of prisoners successfully sued the state of Arizona and Corizon for their human rights abuses, and reached a settlement; but last October, federal judge David Duncan held that the state and Corizon have had "pervasive and intractable failures to comply" with its terms, asking Arizona prison health director Richard Pratt how he could sleep at night, knowing that the cancer patients he was responsible for were being denied care. Pratt blamed Corizon. As the Prison Law Project files court documents detailing the state and Corizon's failure to comply with their settlement, new and horrifying abuses continue to come to light, including women with masses in their breasts being denied mammograms and being given Aleve for what turned out to be cancer pain; and a prisoner named Walter Jordan who died of untreated cancer. A spokesman for the Arizona Department of Corrections declined to comment on ongoing litigation last month, but told Newsweek in an email the department expects Corizon to provide all inmates with the "constitutionally-mandated health care" to which they're entitled. The man who gnawed off his own fingers told the lawyer from the Prison Law Project who interviewed him in December that he tries to keep the pain inside him, but "the tears fall inside." In a letter to the state, the lawyer wrote, "He keeps a photograph of his daughter posted above his bed to remind him that he needs to get out of prison for her." Inmate Chews Own Fingers Off After Private Prison Health Care Left Him in Unbearable Pain, Court Papers Say [John Saul/Newsweek] (via Naked Capitalism) Marriott has fired one of its social media managers because the employee "wrongfully liked" a tweet from Friends of Tibet, a group that supports Tibetan independence from China. The sacking started when Marriott contracted with an outside company to perform a customer satisfaction survey, on which a multiple choice question about which countries guests had used the chain's hotels in listed "Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan" as separate countries. Describing these territories as independent countries is an offense under Chinese law. Chinese patriotic trolls made a cause celebre out of the questionnaire, called for a boycott of Marriott Hotels, and went digging for dirt, discovering that the Twitter account associated with Marriott's loyalty program had liked the Friends of Tibet tweet during the controversy. President and managing director of Asia-Pacific for Marriott International Craig Smith publicly announced that he had fired the employee responsible for "willfully liking" the tweet, As for the Marriott employee who "liked" the Twitter post by Friends of Tibet, Smith said disciplinary proceedings had been started. "Due to the mistake of an individual employee, our official [Twitter] account wrongly 'liked' the tweet supporting Tibet independence and misled the public. [We] have now suspended this employee and dismissal proceedings are under way," he was quoted as saying. Marriott sacks employee who 'liked' Twitter post from Tibet independence group [Teddy Ng/South China Morning Post] (via Super Punch) (Image: Marriott; Christopher Michel, CC-BY) Business / Economy by Staff reporter MOST companies are returning from annual shutdown this week amid high prospects that the new political dispensation will reinvigorate investor confidence and enable the manufacturing sector to secure the much-needed working capital.The thrust of the new politcial dispensation that assumed power last November, is among other things to improve Zimbabwe's relations with the international community in order to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).The country needs FDI to complement local efforts to rebuild the economy and more than $8 billion is required for working capital and retooling.In an interview last week, the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) president Mr Sifelani Jabangwe said due to lack of FDI support and unavailability of working capital, most companies in the manufacturing sector were using obsolete equipment.He said CZI was optimistic that through improved relations with the international community, the companies in the manufacturing sector will find the circumstances having changed as they resume production this week after the annual shutdown."Most companies in the manufacturing sector resume production this coming week after the annual shutdown. The companies are therefore looking forward to changed circumstances regarding working capital and attraction of FDI", said Mr Jabangwe.He said many companies expect to enter into joint ventures with investors in the Diaspora given moves by the new political administration to improve relations with the international community.Since the adoption of a multi-currency system in February 2009, the manufacturing sector has been struggling to stimulate production due to shortage of working capital and stiff competition from imported products.Government in a bid to assist the local industries, has come up with various measures to protect the industries.Last year, capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector stood at 45.1 percent down from 47.4 percent in 2016.In the 2017 manufacturing sector survey report, CZI pointed out that, efforts to improve capacity utilisation to competitive levels was being derailed by a number of constraints which include shortage of raw materials.Of late, the manufacturing sector has expressed concern over the depletion of nostro account balances resulting in firms facing delays in paying for imported raw materials.Last year 64 percent of the raw materials were sourced locally down from 84 percent in 2016.The bulk of the critical raw materials required by the manufacturing sector were imported from South Africa.The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya has said importing raw materials is putting pressure on the central bank which has limited sources of foreign currency. News / National by Staff reporter Government is in the process of reviewing current legislation and the processes around doing business in the country as it seeks to create mutually respectful relations with international trading partners, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Rtd Lt-General Sibusiso Moyo has said.Minister Moyo said Government is intent on opening a new page for the country's diplomacy by normalising relations with those countries we differed with in the past.Said Minister Moyo: "We want to focus on achievements and correct past mistakes and this includes clearing of arrears with multilateral lenders."The new policy is heavily biased on economic statecraft particularly the need to attract foreign direct investment given that the country has missed out on investments targeting emerging economies in the past two decades, Minister Moyo said in our sister publication The Business Weekly."For different reasons, for almost two decades, some countries have maintained economic impediments such as trade restrictions, financial sanctions, investment restrictions and monetary sanctions.Our task now is to convince progressive sections of the international community that our country is experiencing a new dawn that should propel it forward. We are moving on and we don't want to be tied down by the past," Minister Moyo said."We acknowledge the country's external debt to international financial institutions such as the IMF, WB, Paris Club and the European Investment Bank and the AfDB. Some of these institutions have expressed a desire to dialogue with on how to ameliorate our circumstances.I should say so far there is goodwill to dialogue. After re-establishing working relations and credit worthiness with these important international institutions, we expect to attract FDI that stimulates the economy."The steps should also address the country's key economic challenges which include liquidity," Minister Moyo said."As enunciated so eloquently by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Government will promote and protect democratization and the rule of law will be a linchpin on which to build the confidence our society desires in the new government."Our thrust as a country is on the well-being of our people and the improvement of their livelihoods. Our new foreign policy thrust can only be successful through the diversification of domestic economy and value addition."We need both technology and capital investments from our trading partners in order to achieve these milestones in the possible time-frame," the minister said.The Minister said each economic sector has low hanging fruits which can be attained within the 100-day period. These fruits are in the tourism, mining, agriculture sectors and to an extent the manufacturing sector."However the quickest pick is in the creation of an environment which is conducive to investors. We will focus on facilitating a global competitive enabling environment for trade and foreign investment."This entails the reviewing of current legislation and the processes around doing business in the country which is already underway. There are other challenges such as the liquidity crunch and this can be solved by accessing new lines of credit and cutting down central government expenditure. This would redirect finances to the capital expenditure," the minister added.Minister Moyo said Government will revisit all our policies and seek to correct some of the mistakes that occurred during the implementation of these policies particularly with regard to the land reform and Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPAs)."Although the land reform programme is irreversible, our government will put in place measures to correct some of the mistakes associated with its implementation. The issue of BIPPAs will be reviewed as we carry out an audit on the land reform programme," Minister Moyo said.He also said Zimbabwe will prioritise value addition to its natural resources as a way of growing and diversifying the economy. News / National by Staff reporter SOUTH African tycoon Mr Robert Matana Gumede arrived in the country last night to cement a $1,2 billion investment deal in key sectors of the economy which include infrastructure development, energy, health services, tourism and financial services.His visit follows a meeting he held with President Emmerson Mnangagwa on December 21 last year in Pretoria, South Africa.Mr Gumede, who is the founder and executive chairman of Guma Group, is an award winning businessman and entrepreneur who is also the co-chair of the SA-Russia Business Council and was co-chair of the Brics Business Forum held in China in 2011.He is also a member of the African China Trade and Infrastructure Development Forum with global experience in infrastructure development.In an interview on arrival at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport yesterday, Mr Gumede said he was optimistic about investing in the country under the new political dispensation owing to the conducive policies pitched by President Mnangagwa."I am happy to be here in Zimbabwe just to see what one can do in assisting the Government in achieving its short-term goals of turning around the economy. As an entrepreneur and businessman who is involved in various businesses, I felt it was an opportune time to come into your country and identify some of the opportunities that my company will be able to invest in," he said.Mr Gumede who said he was already an investor in the country in the tourism sector, said he wanted to invest more, especially in infrastructure and ICT."For me Zimbabwe offers a great opportunity and Zimbabwe used to be the bread basket of Africa. I believe good times are back and I didn't want to wait, especially when I am in South Africa as a neighbour," said Mr Gumede.He said if Zimbabwe and South Africa combined their strengths, they could do so much together and that Africans should help each other."I want to partner with local Zimbabweans in various sectors of the economy where we will work together. What will stop Zimbabweans from investing in South Africa? Nothing!" he said.He said Zimbabwe had the most intelligent and hardworking people.Guma Group business development executive Mr Emmanuel Charumbira said they were looking at investing more than $1,2 billion in the country."Guma is not new to Zimbabwe. We have investments in Victoria Falls where we have two lodges and we are also operating helicopters in Victoria Falls."At the moment, looking at the projects we have targeted based on our research, we are looking in the region of $1,2 billion to invest in the country," he said.Local company, Brookes Enterprises chairman Mr Samson Paul said he initiated the investment deals that saw Mr Gumede coming to Zimbabwe."It is the responsibility of every patriotic Zimbabwean to do whatever they can in their respective fields to help revive the economy," he said.President Mnangagwa visited South Africa in December where he addressed an oversubscribed business indaba.He assured South Africans and the Zimbabwe diaspora of immense business opportunities in the country and that Zimbabwe was open for investment. News / National by Staff reporter ZANU-PF should get rid of the culture of creating godfathers in the country's provinces as this causes disharmony, a Zanu-PF MP has told Parliament.In her congratulatory message on the inauguration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Parliament last week, Zanu-PF Mutasa South legislator Irene Zindi said the new Government must be wary of creating demi-gods.She said the President must ensure that political bullies have no space in the ruling party and Government."No to godfathers and godmothers in the political provinces whose behaviour is characteristic of dictatorial and autocratic leadership styles."Such leaders favour their own preferred party structures at every level of the party and this creates factions and causes disharmony in the party," said Zindi.She said Government should also consider avoiding multiple positions for individuals as such appointments compromise performance and affect development in the country."I would like to suggest that we do away with one person holding multiple positions both in the party and Government as was the old order," said the MP.She said there should be a clear distinction between the party and Government, with those appointed as Politburo members not being Government Ministers as well.Zindi commended the new Government for coming up with a lean Cabinet and downsizing Government structures, saying it will go a long way in lessening the financial burden on Treasury.She said Parliamentarians were inspired by President Mnangagwa's inaugural address to the nation in November last year."It's common knowledge that Government expenditure takes up to 90 percent of the National Budget and President Mnangagwa has hit the ground running to curb that expenditure so that Government employs more financial resources into development and service delivery, with the ultimate result to cut down on Government expenditure."We welcome the school of thought to retire those who have reached their retirement age so that they open a gap for the young unemployed youths in the civil service."This is inspiring particularly when it is coming from the Head of State, setting the right direction to take as a Government and we are in full support as Parliament," said Zindi.She said China which has more than 1,3 billion people has a lean cabinet."China's highest decision making body, the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) comprises of only seven members with each member having a specific portfolio and it is descriptive of collective leadership and 25 Politburo members in the larger Politburo."Thus, China has no supreme leader since the death of Deng Xiaoping in 1997 in comparison to our situation where we had more than 30 Cabinet Ministers with a population of only 14 million while China has 1,35 billion." News / National by Staff reporter George Charamba, the man who served former president Robert Mugabe for over 30 years and mediated the veteran ruler's resignation under pressure from the military and his party, has lifted the lid on the fallen strongman's final moments in power.Charamba, who has seamlessly traded garments and is now speaking on behalf of the new man in charge, Emmerson Mnangagwa, revealed exclusively to the Daily News on Sunday that during the turbulent two weeks that Mugabe was placed under house arrest as the army took control of the country, the nonagenarian tried frantically to keep his job by attempting to restore Mnangagwa's vice presidency.Just before the military intervention, Mnangagwa had been sacked for showing "traits of disloyalty", abruptly removing a favourite to succeed him and boosting the likelihood of his wife, Grace, becoming his next deputy and potential successor.Mnangagwa then fled "assassins" for "a safe place."On Friday, Mugabe's successor sensationally claimed that he was tipped of the plot to assassinate him by one of the hit men given a mission to eliminate him just after he was given his marching orders.Mnangagwa recounted a scuffle at the Mozambican border where officials attempted to shoot him, but were disarmed by one of his twin sons, and said he skipped the border and walked in-between strings to avoid landmines heading to Beira where he found a small plane that had arrived from South Africa to pick him up and then flew to Johannesburg.He then asked for political asylum, through that country's Speaker of Parliament, Baleka Mbete.From there, Mnangagwa, who fought alongside Mugabe in a guerrilla war and went on to become a feared security chief, issued a statement saying he had been "vilified beyond measure" and was being "hounded by minnows who have no liberation credentials.""I will return to Zimbabwe to lead you," Mnangagwa said in a damning statement.Charamba told the Daily News on Sunday that the under-siege former president - placed under house arrest and faced with 60 000 Zimbabweans protesting and demanding that he quits at the Zimbabwe Grounds where he was inaugurated as prime minister in 1980 - tried to reconnect with his former deputy to restore his position in the party and government so as to survive the imminent deposal.He narrated how army generals gave him a "chilling message" that he and other negotiators were to transmit to Mugabe during the dying hours of his 37-year rule."During the negotiations, we were shuttling between Josiah Magamba Tongogara (former KGVI) barracks and the Blue Roof (Mugabe's residence). We were summoned to Josiah Magamba Tongogara to meet the command element of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, this was myself, (Catholic priest) Father Mukonori and Aaron Nhepera, who was the deputy director-general of the CIO (Central Intelligence Organisation). And we were given an appraisal of the situation."They gave us the scenarios that were at play, which were that the povo and also students were threatening to go to the Blue Roof and that there was a possibility of harm to the president. The second was the party had instituted impeachment procedures which were going to take him from being a liberation icon to a common criminal," Charamba said."The commanders sent us with a very chilling message, they said please go and get the president to appreciate the gravity of the situation out there.' There was the possibility of a Libyan scenario where the president would have been dragged out of the Blue Roof and lynched. It was going to be possible because the soldiers said we cannot turn our guns on civilians who are marching against the president and spill blood.' I started visualising an image of Muammar Gaddafi, I literally went argh argh!"Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, was captured and killed on October 20, 2011 during the Battle of Sirte.He was found hiding in a culvert west of Sirte and captured by National Transitional Council (NTC) forces.Gaddafi was killed shortly afterwards.The NTC initially claimed he died from injuries sustained in a fire-fight when loyalist forces attempted to free him, although videos of his last moments show rebel fighters beating him and one of them sodomising him with a bayonet before he was shot several times as he begged for his life."The second scenario of impeachment, they said if the impeachment starts, we cannot stop it because that would be to start a coup d'etat'," Charamba told the Daily News on Sunday."The third message was to say we are fast losing control of the process.' The process was to have Mugabe restored as substantive leader of this country and then decide on his own to say I am tired I am handing over power. But there were those processes that were taking place and if they would have happened, there was no longer any legacy to restore."As events unfolded, Mugabe and Mnangagwa got to speak over the phone, with Mugabe ordering his return so that they could deal with the issues together.This had followed a letter which Mnangagwa had sent to Mugabe after he had been fired, which, according to Charamba, had made Mugabe regret firing him."Before the intervention, ED writes to the president and I saw it, through structures of government. It read: Comrade President, I thank you for saving my neck when I would have been executed by the Rhodesian government. Thank you for protecting me in jail and encouraging me to read to become a lawyer. Thank you for appointing me a personal assistant. I thank you for giving me positions of trust including security and other portfolios. But today my enemies have triumphed and I accept it'," Charamba said."When I was shown that letter, I cried and said to the person who showed me, has the president seen this letter, and he said I sent it to his office. I knew after reading it he will revise his decision on Emmerson."True to my prediction he was moved. What I know is that the president was working around a formula to reconnect and restore his position."And during the last hours, the president and Mnangagwa spoke through father Mukonori's phone and the president said Emmerson where are you?; And he replied, Shefu I am in South Africa.' Why are you in South Africa? He replied: I had to leave the country because elements in security close to me told me they wanted to eliminate me.'"VaMugabe said: To tell the truth, I wasn't aware.' And I believed him because a lot was being done behind his back."So, as the conversation continued, he said, Can you come back? After the letter you wrote, I thought we were going to reconnect and I was going to restore your position in the party and in government. ED said: If you want me to come back, I will come back.' The president said I want you to come back now, now, now, so we can handle the situation together'."Charamba said Mugabe finally decided to resign after having considered the dimensions that had been pointed out by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.But according to the presidential spokesperson, Mugabe wanted to go on his own terms."On the last day, we were joined by Gideon Gono and then Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi. The president said to me Charamba, I don't want the world to say I have resigned because I fear impeachment.' I haven't committed any crimes. If they want, let them go ahead. I will answer to them," Charamba said."I said shefu, you are concentrating on one dimension; there are others which are there which indicated harm to your well-being. This was about the time the impeachment process was about to begin."Even the first lady was behind Mugabe's decision to resign. And he said what would my resigning mean? And he was told if you do it now, the impeachment could stop."The then Justice minister Happyton Bonyongwe, the Attorney-General (AG) Prince Machaya and the chief secretary (to the President and Cabinet) Misheck Sibanda were called in to join our meeting. VaMugabe tried to speak to National Assembly speaker Jacob Mudenda to stop the process and Mudenda refused."He (Mugabe) said you go and draft my letter of resignation. It was me typing, the AG looking at the legality and Sibanda looking at the formatting. We went to HE with it and there was no single correction."The moment was too painful for me. I had not slept from day one, I couldn't even stand."Charamba said there should be a distinction between Operation Restore Legacy and the political process that took place."The operation was launched because there had been abuse of a 93-year-old. We would not have gotten to elections in that situation and something terrible would have happened."There are several things that happened. There was a march at the Zimbabwe Grounds and threats to go to the Blue Roof. There was a party process which had seen him being recalled as the president of the party."There was the impeachment process that had been instituted. Another aspect is that when he called a Cabinet meeting, seven ministers attended and by 10 o'clock, only one had been left, which means that loyalty had gone."And when you have a president who can no longer command institutions he is supposed to lead, there is a problem. But what should be noted is that VaMugabe never refused to step down, he wanted to do it in his own way, but there were those issues I have mentioned." News / National by Staff reporter The MDC is headed for turbulent times amid reports that its longest serving deputy Thokozani Khupe is contemplating stepping down should Morgan Tsvangirai attempt to hand over power to any of her juniors.Tsvangirai who is battling cancer of the colon hinted last week that he was considering quitting and handing over the reins of power to "the younger generation''.The announcement made in a new year's message just before he flew out of the country for his routine medical check-up in South Africa, triggered intense jostling for his post among party bigwigs.Nelson Chamisa and Elias Mudzuri - Tsvangirai's two other deputies - subsequently declared that they were gunning for the former prime minister's position should he be incapacitated to run for president in elections scheduled for later this year.While it is widely believed that Tsvangirai has all but anointed Chamisa as his preferred successor, Khupe's allies hinted yesterday that the former deputy prime minister will not take it lying down.A close ally of Khupe, Abednico Bhebhe, told the Daily News on Sunday yesterday that the Member of Parliament for Makokoba will have little choice but to quit should Tsvangirai insist on handing over power to either Chamisa or Mudzuri while sidelining his longest serving deputy."She (Khupe) is a democrat who believes in constitutionalism and the only way out is for the party to follow the constitution or Khupe will have little option but to step down. She either will insist on following the constitution or she quits rather than being forced to be an accomplice in mutilating the party constitution," Bhebhe said.He warned that such a development could lead to another split saying "while that is not desirable, it could be inevitable because at the moment anything is possible".The MDC's national organising secretary said Khupe, who could not be contacted for comment by the time of going to print, was more qualified to take over as president."The MDC constitution is very clear that if the president is incapacitated the vice president who, in this case, is Khupe takes over for not more than a year while she prepares for an extraordinary congress," Bhebhe said.He said while he was not Khupe's spokesperson, they both share the same views "because being an academic doctor, she is a democrat who believes in constitutionalism as well".Bhebhe argued that Khupe was the only one of the three MDC deputies who was a product of congress since Chamisa and Mudzuri were directly appointed by Tsvangirai.This is notwithstanding the fact that their appointment was sanctioned by the party's national council - the MDC's highest decision-making body outside congress - as provided for in the party constitution.Bhebhe also accused Chamisa and Mudzuri of seeking to stampede Tsvangirai out of power using illegal means."In my Ndebele culture, it is wrong for a king's two sons to discuss succession when the Lordship is still there. When the king feels he cannot continue leading the kingdom, he calls all his sons to discuss the issue with them and suggest who he thinks should take over and a debate ensues from there until a consensus candidate is found," he said.Meanwhile, Bhebhe also blamed Tsvangirai for appointing Chamisa and Mudzuri without satisfactory justification.Khupe, Bhebhe and the MDC's national chairperson Lovemore Moyo are at the centre of resisting Tsvangirai's spirited attempts to ensure that the country's fragmented opposition parties face Zanu-PF at the elections as a united force.Last year, Khupe and her allies were assaulted by some MDC youths who accused them of disrespecting the MDC leader after they boycotted the launch of the MDC Alliance in Harare.They were reportedly meeting party structures from the southern region to articulate their position on why they missed the launch on August 5, 2017.Allegations were also made that Tsvangirai had hired the thugs who attacked the three MDC officials at the party's headquarters in Bulawayo.The quartet is unhappy with Tsvangirai's alleged dictatorial tendencies after he unilaterally formed the MDC Alliance without consulting the MDC leadership. News / National by Staff reporter ACTING MDC-T president Elias Mudzuri was yesterday optimistic that party leader Morgan Tsvangirai will fully recover and come back to represent a strong opposition coalition in the forthcoming elections, while ruling out the possibility of a power vacuum in the party.In an interview with journalists soon after touring banks and industries in Southerton, Mudzuri said in the "unlikely" event of Tsvangirai leaving his post, any one of the leaders in the opposition party, including himself, were capable of taking over."In the unlikely event that he (Tsvangirai) fails (to fully recover), I think you can see that we have able-bodied people in the MDC. It's an organisation and one of us must be able to take over. One of us must be able to take over and I am one of them," he said in response to a question.Mudzuri said as acting president, he was doing exactly what Tsvangirai would have been doing now as the country prepares for elections.He also dispelled rumours of rifts over Tsvangirai's succession, describing them as a mere fabrication."By being asked to act in the capacity of acting president, I felt in his absence we should do exactly what he would have done, that is keeping people encouraged," Mudzuri said.The MDC-T is currently mired in succession wars with one faction reportedly supporting Mudzuri while another one was pushing for Nelson Chamisa and Thokozani Khupe to take over from Tsvangirai, who has hinted at quitting in order to recover from cancer of the colon.Mudzuri blasted the President Emmerson Mnangagwa-led government for failing to inspire confidence and lacking ideas to deal with the ever-mounting economic woes.Mudzuri expressed concern at the dire state of the financial sector and the worsening economic crisis that has forced many industries to close shop.According to the MDC-T, Mudzuri's tour showed that the country remained mired in serious economic challenges with a few months before the next elections, despite the new administration's promise that it was making the economy its main priority and was tackling the problems facing the people."Since the new government came into place, prices have gone up, the liquidity crisis continues to deepen and now that schools have opened, parents are struggling to send their children to school," Mudzuri said."We expected Mnangagwa's government to hit the ground running and we are still holding him to account on delivery of the economy."The former Energy minister said his party had strategies to revive the economy.He expressed confidence that his party would romp to victory in this year's elections ahead of their long-term rival, Zanu-PF, which he accused of trying to sow intimidation through its commissariat department.The former Harare mayor accused Zanu-PF of being heavily disorganised and seeking to use the military to organise it."MDC is still alive and we will make sure that we will execute the expectations of the people in terms of delivering the economy and the expectations of the social safety networks," Mudzuri said."The MDC is the best party in the country and it has all its structures intact and it has got an acting president and a president who has a vison, who knows exactly how to sort out this economy and he has inculcated that into all his top hierarchy and we are ready. There is no any other party better than the MDC-T if you want to assess."Mudzuri also implored the government to quickly facilitate the appointment of a substantive Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson to replace Justice Rita Makarau, who unexpectedly quit last month.During the tour, Mudzuri talked to vendors selling different wares and heard first-hand information on their plight. In turn, the vendors pinned hope on the MDC-T to help in turning around the economy.Mudzuri, who was accompanied by deputy national chairman Morgen Komichi and youth assembly secretary-general Lovemore Chinoputsa, urged the people to register to vote in the next elections as it was only their vote that could bring positive change in their lives.Tsvangirai is currently in South Africa for a medical check-up. News / National by Staff reporter Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa says not more than 50 disgruntled former Zipra guerrillas took up arms against former president Robert Mugabe's government and that did not warrant Mugabe to activate the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade who descended on the region committing Gukurahundi massacres in the 1980s.An estimated 20 000 people were killed during the military crackdown against the so-called dissidents.Speaking at a policy dialogue forum organised by the Southern African Political Economy Series (Sapes Trust) in conjunction with the Women in Leadership Development (Wild) in Bulawayo on Friday, Dabengwa said the so-called dissidents were frustrated by Mugabe's harassment of Zapu members.He said the (about 50) dissidents rebelled against Mugabe when he fired from Cabinet then Zapu leader and former vice-president Joshua Nkomo, who was Home Affairs minister as well as most of his colleagues."Nkomo was then being hunted down. He had to escape and go to Britain. We remained in prison, went for trial which went for several weeks, if not months and [were] acquitted by the High Court, but we were still kept in detention. I spent four years 10 months in jail after having been acquitted," Dabengwa said."During this period, there were some Zipra guys who got frustrated and decided to take up arms and go back to the bush and the number was not even a 100. It was very much less. I think somewhere in the region of 50, and these were the dissidents who justified the Fifth Brigade. These are the people that they created the Fifth Brigade for; to deal with about 50 Zipra guys who had gone to the bush. That is what happened. This was an excuse for a one-party state. They did not want any opposition."He said Nkomo turned down an offer to become the country's president in a coalition government after the 1980 elections.Dabengwa said the late Father Zimbabwe as Nkomo was affectionately known instead chose a ministerial post, only to be fired by then prime minister Mugabe two years later in 1982 on charges of plotting to overthrow his government.Nkomo was later forced to flee the country for his safety.Mugabe claimed huge quantities of arms of war had been discovered on farms owned by Zapu and Zipra the party's military wing meant to be used to overthrow his government.Dabengwa said the arms had been deliberately planted by Mugabe's government.He said Mugabe's intention to create a one-party state was evident as early as 1979 when he wanted to outsmart-PF Zapu to contest the 1980 elections as Zanu-PF without the latter's knowledge."At Lancaster, we agreed that we would contest the elections as a united front, as the Patriotic Front but in the nominations for the elections, Mugabe deliberately got to the offices and said Zanu was going to stand as Zanu-PF and there were only a few hours left before nominations closed."I think it was someone in the British governors' office who then asked Nkomo if he had decided we were going to contest the elections as Zanu-PF. Nkomo was furious. He summoned Msika and said this is what has happened, go and verify and if it is true, go and register and tell them we will be participating in the elections as-PF Zapu'," Dabengwa said."Msika did that and found it was true. Mugabe had registered to contest the elections as Zanu-PF. After the election, after the victory, Mugabe then enticed Nkomo to come into a coalition government. He said we fought the struggle together and we can't leave you out, come in.'"First, Nkomo was supposed to be president, and Nkomo said I don't want to be a president'. He preferred one of the ministerial posts and he was given Home Affairs."But Nkomo was then fired by Mugabe alongside the late Josiah Chinamano and Joseph Msika, transport and natural resources ministers respectively, on charges of plotting to overthrow his government, culminating in the Gukurahundi massacres, Dabengwa said. News / National by Stephen Jakes A violent taxi driver in Bulawayo has been taken to court for assaulting his client over a vomiting friend.Bothwell Mashoko (44) of Cowdray Park in Bulawayo pleaded not guilty to assault before Bulawayo magistrate Sharon Rosemani.The court was told that on January 1 this year Stephen Dzamara (21) and his friend got into Mashoko's vehicle in the city. Dzamara's friend started vomiting and Mashoko ordered Dzamara to go out of the taxi with his vomiting friend but he refused.Mashoko produced a sjambok and seriously flogged Dzamara forcing him out of the vehicle before removing his friend.Dzamara reported to the police leading to Mashoko's arrest. News / National by Stephen Jakes The Zimbabwe Peace Project has expressed some worries over the nature of incidents recorded in December although the number of cases were in a downward trend, 124 from 190 recorded in November in which Zanu PF factions were seemingly settling scores against each other following the change of leadership.Robert Mugabe resigned last year after pressure from the military, Zanu PF and the citizens and Emmerson Mnangagwa took over as President.Following Mnangagwa's take over, several Zanu PF leaders were arrested for crimes of corruption among others.ZPP said it seems while the tension between Lacoste and G40 factions in Zanu PF might have been at bay in most communities in December they left a significant mark as some of those who felt abused by those who had more influence before November 15 were settling scores openly."While cases of intra-party conflict slipped a little from 13 in November to 10 in December it is the tension in communities that is a worrying indicator. As elections draw closer and primary elections take centre stage these ructions will not die down rather they are expected to be the rationale likely to be used for those who will get the mandate to represent the party. Surprisingly many cases were recorded in Midlands and Masvingo where the triumphant faction had the most influence. Two cases were recorded in Mashonaland Central where former Zanu PF Political Commissar Saviour Kasukuwere and the former First Lady Grace Mugabe had influence," said ZPP."Cases recorded by ZPP where there were factional overtones in Zanu PF food distribution, land distribution and allocation and in the ongoing Biometric Voter Registration (BVR). The fact that intra party conflict was only recorded in Zanu PF in December does by any means mean that it has been eradicated in other political parties. Speaking of the BVR exercise cases of citizens being forced to hand over continue to be recorded. While the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has confirmed that the noting down of the serial numbers of registrants has no effect when it comes to people's choices ZPP is still concerned that those who are doing this are being given a free reign resulting in citizens being instilled with fear."The ZPP said it is sad that in some communities traditional leaders continue to use this fear instilling strategy. In the cases that ZPP shared with ZEC we have been told they were handed to the police for investigations."Harassment and intimidation cases took a nose dive to 74 from 120. There was a sharp increase in assault with 21 violations, and a decrease in discriminations with 12 and then theft/looting with 7. Manicaland had the highest recorded violations for December with 38, followed by Mashonaland Central with 29, and Harare with 15. The violations in December as noted here are nothing out of the ordinary in previous years. After the Zanu PF annual conference or congress violations tend to go down as most Zimbabweans get into the festive season and 2017 was no different regardless of the new order," said ZPP."Food violations have not been that many considering a good last season and some had already started enjoying fruits from their fields if they planted early. Complaints against the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) continued to rise. Most of the cases happened before the withdrawal of the military as Commander Valerio Sibanda announced the end of Operation Restore Legacy' on 18 December 2017. The ZNA made up almost thirty seven percent (36, 3%) of the violations and the Zimbabwe Republic Police was responsible for twenty five percent (24, 6%) of the cases. The military was more active in the areas that G-40 had more influence such as Mashonaland Central,Harare and Manicaland particularly Chimanimani where Manicaland former Chairperson Samuel Undenge hails from. There was a sharp decrease in violations perpetrated by Zanu PF activists." News / National by Stephen Jakes Zanu PF Harare political commissar Douglas Mahiya and Harare provincial chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa recently reportedly ran for their lives after they were attacked by Zanu PF youths suspected to be G40 activists in Harare South, Ushewokunze ward 1.This was revealed by the Zimbabwe Peace Project in its latest monthly report."It is alleged that on 23 December, what started as a Zanu PF rally to sensitize people on the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise, ills of corruption and land barons turned violent when one military officer identified only as Tarwirei mobilized party youths to block Masimirembwa from introducing Mahiya as a parliamentary candidate for Harare South (Ushewokunze) in the upcoming 2018 elections," said the ZPP."Mahiya and Masimirembwa narrowly escaped as the youths allegedly tried to manhandle them. In a telephone interview Mahiya reported that the incident signified the continued presence of G40 loyalists within the ruling party." News / National by Staff Reporter A journalist Mziwandile Ndlovu has described the former Higher, Tertiary Science and Technology Minister Jonathan Moyo who is on self imposed exile as the second most delusional and humiliated person to the ousted Robert Mugabe.He said after Robert Mugabe, Jonathan Moyo is the second most delusional and humiliated man after the coup."No one is fooled by his carefully chosen suit and clean shirt probably borrowed to mask his current sorry circumstances. His BBC performance was as woeful as Robert Mugabe's 'Asante Sana' presser; sloppy, incoherent and full of hot air. At his best, Prof Moyo is a narcissistic and spiteful man who thrives on mocking his adversaries. There was none of that this morning. He was the embodiment of defeat, delusion, humiliation, shock and confusion," Ndlovu said."Even in the throes of defeat, it has not sunk in his head that the world was so desperate to see Robert Mugabe's back and is prepared to look past constitutional and legal arguments. He knows that no-one will buy the ridiculous belief that "Zimbabweans" want to know what happened to Robert Mugabe. He is only sorry that he chose the wrong basket. If he had remained with the Lacoste faction, we all know he would be at the forefront of legitimizing the coup with all sorts of legal arguments and having the time of his life."He said the G40 has been scattered and annihilated.Ndlovu said there is no solidarity left. It is each man for himself."Some are facing criminal charges on their own, some have gone to beg for mercy on their knees, the proud have left and are quietly starting to rebuild their lives. For all his overrated political scheming, their campaign backfired spectacularly. They pushed too hard too fast and rocked the boat. They were impatient, fanatic and suicidally fronted their campaign with a crude, uncouth and unpolished mad woman. Most perilously, they underestimated their opponents and their preparedness to play their strongest card. The fact that he has not spoken to either Grace and Robert since the coup is telling. Jonathan and Patrick are the last men standing but they will soon tire of their barking," he said."Speaking of barking, when the dogs started barking in the background, Jonathan became so unsettled and stammered badly. The embarrassment was apparent on his face. He knew we would all wonder where the hell he is that he has to field a BBC interview in a venue where dogs bark freely. Jonathan will soon be broke and unable to fend for himself and his family. As George Charamba says, one wonders whether he can even afford bananas where he is hiding."Hesaid he has bounced back from formidable odds in the past."He fled law enforcement in Kenya after defrauding the Ford Foundation and eventually wormed his way into ZANU PF. When the system ejected him, he staged yet another dramatic comeback to the core of the system. It is hard to imagine any comeback from his predicament. It could be the end for the nutty Professor, the tragic end. He will most probably fizzle into oblivion and live out the rest of his life a bitter and humiliated man. I hope for his sake, he soon manages to find a way to earn a living and fend for his family," Ndlovu said. News / National by Staff Reporter The MDC-T Youth Assembly has warned President Emmerson Mnangagwa that he can not fool them by pretending to be open for democracy yet there is clear selective application of the law in the country."We note with shock, the selective application of the law by President Mnangagwa's military regime as he continues to consolidate his grip on power. We take the arrest of G40 gangs for a variety of trivial economic crimes as nothing serious but diversion. Arresting people for possession of beans, wheelchairs, maize and other trivial things can never be the reason why the military had to intervene and remove Mugabe. Recovery of beans, wheelchairs and maize can not in any way restore the legacy of Zimbabwe and it's good history," said the youth."We are not going to rest until justice for the wounded is afforded and all that was stolen from the people is returned. We have a revolutionary mandate to do so. We are not going to accept any cosmetic reform and the attempt to mislead the world by arresting small thieves and sparing the most deadly ones including Mnangagwa, blamed for massive plunder of minerals at home and in the DRC as well as the externation of foreign currency in foreign accounts. Recently Kudzai Chipanga, a ZANU PF youth leader revealed that US15 billion went missing, implicating Mnangagwa and the military bosses around him but no arrests has been made."They said insteady the whistle blower was arrested, tortured and made to withdraw his statement under military command."Recently Obert Mpofu, a strong Mnangagwa loyalist was implicated in a 10 million bribe on Kurotwi' s case, that he owns the half of Bulawayo CBD and three quaters of Victoria Falls CBD, that he has acquired vast properties and he has also lost count of them, and he used money looted from the ministries he has been running, yet he is made to be in charge of investigations and policing is worrisome," said the youth."Another Mnangagwa loyalist and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Magudya, stand blamed for a variety of corrupt activities that back dates to Willovale scandal and recently he is said to have attained a fake degree at some US fake college but again, he was spared. The list is endless but what is clear is that the current regime has no agenda what so ever to bring meaningful economic revival and legitimacy but to persecute and eventually silence opponents.""We therefore demand the prosecution of all perpetrators of human rights abuse and economic mismanagement in ZANU PF, and not the current settling of scores between Lacoste and G40. We demand a free, fair and credible election. We demand legitimacy, respect of human rights. We demand an end to corruption, malpractices and violence in Zimbabwe." News / National by Simbarashe Sithole Murder suspect Taurai Muchera (27) Subscribe to Simbarashe Sithole WhatsApp News updates on 0733819355 for $2 per month. Residents of Bazzar in Mhangura stormed Mhangura police station baying for the blood of the suspected murderer Taurai Muchera (27) who was arrested in Mazowe on Saturday following the robbery and death of a taxi driver.Muchera was arrested unaware while practising illegal gold mining in Mazowe at the same time using Milton Madzongwe's taxi after reportedly killing him and burying him on a mountain.People who spoke to Bulawayo24.com at the police station were demanding to police clearance to give instant justice on the culprit."We want the police the give us time to discipline this thug, he killed and robbed an innocent soul that was rendering a favour on Christmas Eve, (haaaaa ndikuda kumubvarura in,)" fumed Matigimu.Meanwhile, Muchera will have his day in court on Tuesday after compilation of his docket by the police. Opinion / Columnist Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo writes in his personal capacity as the Head of Southern Institute of Policy Analysis and Research SIPAR TRUST, which is responsible for policy analysis and research. He is also an academic and researcher. He holds a BA, MA from Solusi University, and he also holds a Masters of Development Studies from University of Lusaka, Zambia. He is currently enrolled at University of KwaZulu Natal University in South Africa (PHD in Development Studies). He is also an adviser to many financial and political institutions within and outside Zimbabwe. He can be contacted at southerninstitutepar@gmail.com We have more than 6 million people walloping in poverty and such a huge decision to buy vehicles worthy 14 million was misplaced and misguided with no genuine background checks. ED is a good person, to me personally I think the guy has already reformed, and I would say rather he is genuine but it looks like there are vultures and hawks around him who could be putting pressure to make improper economic decisions that can come back and haunt us as a nation.I'm one of the policy makers and academics that are ready to meet the President one on one so that I can make good propositions that can really benefit the nation. My worry is productivity, levels have really gone down and it's pathetic. To start with I don't know who exactly is advising the president for now, but it looks like the graph the President had when he was sworn, is going down drastically, there are so many blunders that the President has made and in deed personally I'm very worried as a policy maker I would suggest that some of the implementations be done with proper consultations. I was following news today when they said those cars for chiefs were bought during Mugabe's reign; honestly this is not a genuine reason.To start with any deal can be cancelled, given the timing and the period we are going through I would not suggest for an ailing economy like this, we would make such huge expenditure. I've no problem for chiefs to get cars from the Government, they are traditional leaders and we respect them for the role they play in our society particularly rural areas, but for us to say a chief will simply walk away with a car worthy 80 000.00 could this be genuine? Do we afford this as an economy? Is that sustainable? Over the weekend I was watching so many civilians sleeping in pavements for the sake of $30 a day whilst the country can afford to buy such luxurious vehicles?If you listened to Chinamasa's speech very well at Highfields stadium you could easily tell that this was a Zanu PF thing which had nothing to do with people. To make matters worse, this could be a huge debt and I don't think this money came from local funds, and this could be an external debt ballooning on our treasury. Our coffers are dry and we don't have money to pay civil servants and you find someone buying vehicles worthy 14 000 000.00. One thing for sure you should know is that investors are watching and there is a clear sign out there, they are fast losing confidence in the system. The bill for those cars is not really worthy to talk about, and it's still huge. A chief can get an affordable car worthy 15 000 USD. It can still remain decent for a chief.Eat What We KillZanu PF Government must be financially disciplined. We must eat what we call. I've a clue that something is not adding up and I think our debt level has ballooned as a nation. I've no problem with us as a nation or Government buying even more cars, but my worry the debts and expenditure are not sustainable. What are we producing as n nation for us to have huge expenditures like that? I thought the President would outline his vision first then launch it and then we know as a nation we are moving forward. To tell you the truth this is shocking. He has set a target of 100 days and we are almost clocking and no significant signs of improvement of the economy. The economy is in a mess and I suggest we have to tighten the purse and implement the "Eat what we kill" principle. Something is not adding up. The President must walk the talk. If he begins his journey this way he is likely to have a bad ending. Those people around him are giving him wrong information and by the time he realizes it he will be in big trouble with citizens. We don't want a situation where history will repeat itself. We want a calm nation, with principles and ideologies that can build the nation.Prorities of Our CountryWe have more than 200 districts without electricity, clean water and ambulances. As we speak most people are dying in rural areas because they don't have proper healthy facilities and children are learning under trees. Basically we have many areas which need attention. For us to be seen spending 14 million on cars whilst the First Lady of our country Amai Auxilia Mnagngagwa has first-hand information that we have dilapidated situation in our hospitals is misplaced. We have universities where students have gone for years without grants. We have vendors on Harare streets, we have people sleeping in pavements because of shortage of cash, we have Harare city problem, we don't have clean water and we purchase such expensive vehicles. I thought the President when he made his opening remarks on his inauguration day he emphasized the need for prioritizing important things. So where is that spirit? What has happened today Mr. President? My President your brand is fast losing relevance and something should be done quickly to save the situation.The Atmosphere on the Ground Is Not PleasingIf you check around you can easily tell people are not happy. I thought the President should quickly move in and resolve the economic impasse people are facing. Zimbabweans are very clever and intellectual and they are watching, it is prudent to listen to people's voice and concerns. I was of the suggestion that the President can have a round table with policy makers, business community, academics, politicians and opposition and discuss the way forward so that we can achieve our economic prospects. People are sleeping in pavements and withdrawals have been limited to $30 from $50 and honestly this is an independent opinion, Zanu PF Government should sit down and something. There is a lot of jittery on the ground. Focusing on elections is not ideal for now, but the focus should be on development and economic growth. The results of economic growth once achieved they will speak for themselves.My Advice to the President1. Round table with policy makers2. Address students and academics3. Business community4. Rope in competitive advisors5. Engage citizens6. Arrange an investment conference7. Assessments of global markets8. Court diasporas and urge them to make investments back home9. Increase productivity levels10. Cutting expenditure11. Redirection of expenditure12. Foreign missions should be cut Opinion / Columnist Since the November 2017 coup that saw the removal of Robert Mugabe from the presidency the nation has been bombarded by the G40 members and supporters trying to give their own spin on the event."Furthermore, the MDC-T Youth Assembly has correctly set itself the noble, progressive and revolutionary objective of restoring legitimacy. This recognition that the regime in power and control of government in Zimbabwe is illegitimate puts to shame several senior people who have been shamefully reticent about boldly declaring that the coup perpetrated in Zimbabwe is illegal. Hava svodi zvachose; they ought to be ashamed of themselves," wrote Patrick Zhuwao, former Minister in his uncle Robert Mugabe's cabinet and one of the few G40 leaders in hiding.Patrick Zhuwao, Jonathan Moyo and the rest of the G40 supporters can witter all they like about the November coup being a bad thing; the people of Zimbabwe and many in the international community view it as a good thing given Zimbabwe's situation at the time.The G40 empty heads are telling us, the coup was unconstitutional and therefore the Mnangagwa regime is illegitimate; we know all that. We also know that Zanu PF has rigged elections and, in 2008, it even staged a coup to stop MDC getting into power. After 37 years of being stuck with a corrupt, vote rigging, power-hungry megalomania and murderous tyrant and with a real prospect of the tyrant promoting his foolish shrew wife as his successor; the nation breathed a huge sigh of relief when Mugabe was forced at gun-point to resign and his demonic plans come to naught.The November coup was illegal but will go down in history as an evil to end a greater evil!It is a great pity that the coup was carried out by thugs, the same thugs who have behind all the vote rigging, coup and all that jazz, and was therefore never going to deliver any democratic change. The challenge for the nation is to build on the fact that the dog-eat-dog fighting in Zanu PF which has left the party weaker than it has ever been in the last four decades and force through the democratic reforms the nation needs so desperately.Most of the G40 members have been silenced and are out licking their wounds. Mnangagwa has ruthlessly driven home Lacoste's advantage by labelling G40 supporters "criminals" and arrest and charge of historic crimes Lacoste members would be guilty of if the shoe was in the other foot! G40 would constitute the greatest threat to Mnangagwa's hold on power and he, like Mugabe before him, is just using very dirty trick in the book to eliminate the opposition and thus maintain the de facto one-party dictatorship.There few G40 members who have got away Patrick Zhuwao and Jonathan Moyo will vent their frustration at having lost power, looted wealth; they can make Lacoste people uncomfortable in their ivory tower but they will not unseat them. Meanwhile it is the G40 members who are living in fear of dear life like a mouse whose world is a mine-field of deadly snakes!"The MDC-T Youth Assembly has provided very important lessons this week over and above the principled stand they have taken on the issue of Kudzai Chipanga. They have refused to be fooled by the coup conspirators and terrorist junta and called for a restoration of legitimacy," wrote Patrick Zhuwao from his new rat hole hiding."I hope that my sekuru Chitova Nelson Chamisa will also refuse to be fooled and call for the restoration of legitimacy by not being part of the subterfuge of postponing elections as we all contribute within our various spaces toward #2018Resistance ."Poor Zhuwao, he is still labouring under the delusions the people of Zimbabwe loved his uncle Bob an incompetent, corrupt, vote rigging and murderous tyrant. Patrick had tasted absolute power and so too had his aunt Grace; it was her insane determination to be president that gave rise to the G40 faction. As First Lady, Grace Mugabe, had enjoyed a life of leisure and luxury far beyond the means of an increasingly impoverished nation.At a time, the nation was failing to pay civil servants their merge wages, there was no money to keep even the most basic services such as clean running water, etc.; the Mugabes continued to hold lavish weddings and birth day parties, make as many as five overseas trips a month @ costing US$3 million or more. They live in the US$ 4 billion Blue Roof mansion, have 14 farms and countless other properties and asset.For the last four years Zimbabweans have been forced to spend must feel like a life time queuing for cash. Grace Mugabe and her family did not feel the cash shortage because they have continued to spend, spend, spend. People read stories of she and her son Russell buying limos worth $500 000 @ one week, the next she is in SA buying a house for her other two sons worth R54 million, next she is buying a US$1.2 million diamond ring, etc.Of course, Grace Mugabe knew that she and her family would not continue to enjoy their lives of leisure and luxury once Mugabe seized to be President. She could not even bear to think about it and hence the reason she was absolutely determined that she must be President. And whilst she cleared the field of all others who wanted to succeed her husband as President, she vowed he was to remain in office. She would ferry him around in a wheel barrow if he was too frail to walk because of old age or ill health.It was bad enough to be stuck with her incompetent and corrupt husband for nearly four decades it was the prospect of having this shopaholic and scatter brain Grace as president that really freaked the nation. Grace Mugabe and her G40 supporters gambled on her becoming president and they lost not just the presidency but for some of them like Ignatius Chombo, all their looted wealth and freedom. Zhuwao, Kasukuwere and Jonathan Moyo have too lost all their mansions and looted wealth and only escape with whatever loot they could fit in a suitcase to live the life of a fugitive!"Asante Sana. Mina lawe silom'sebenzi. Iwe neni tine basa," signed off Patrick Zhuwao.The task before Zimbabwe is implement the democratic reforms and thus remove the remaining Lacoste faction from power so the nation can start on the important task of rebuilding this great nation from the ruins Robert Mugabe's corrupt and tyrannical rule bequeathed the nation. As for you Patrick and other escaped G40 members, we hope you will face justice and give back what you looted from the nation. Opinion / Columnist Contacts Facebook - Leonard Koni Twitter- @leokoni Whatsapp- +27747402042 Email-konileonard606@gmail.com Taking a walk into the world of our imaginations and picturing how our geo-political environment has taken us so far. I have always desired to see a real change in the global political dichotomy and environment. I have been sequencing the events which have been all pointing to the greatest political blunders made by one of the greatest leaders of this world. African continent the mother of all mankind is all that we can call a 'Shithole'. The bigotry and racist Donald Trump said.We relish them and savour their dollars or " foreign currency "as they come to enjoy the shithole as tourists in Africa.The "remarks dishonour the celebrated American creed and respect for diversity and human dignity".While expressing our shock, dismay and outrage on such crude language used by the US President. The African Union does not take this kind of incorrigible behaviour so lightly and it strongly believes that there is a huge misunderstanding of the African continent and its people by the current US Administration.We have witnessed several shootings on blacks in America and the perpetrators escaping justice with some cases being swept under the carpet. More than 250 unarmed black people were killed in United States of America by police in 2016. Why do US police keep killing unarmed black people than whites? More unarmed black continue to lose their lives.Such kind of treatment is unacceptable. This world has become a global society where people regardless of their colour, religion, skin pigmentation should embrace and co-habitat without spewing any hatred.That slur is actually racist and must be condemned with the strongest terms it deserves.Yes indeed the African continent has its own share of challenges emanating from colonialism. There is need to for African head of states and US Administrators for a serious dialogue where they must forge an alliance to accept Eurocentric and Pan Africanism views.Migration has been a global issues which need to be adressed amicably than being reactive to his ignorant racist views.President Donald Trump just showed his shallow comprehension of African history. We need to set up a very vibrant school of Pan Africanism so that we propagate our own true African story, as it has been hugely mirrored and misinterpreted by our colonial masters.Africans are to blame because no one talks about colonialism and its effects on Africa development. No one talks about the looted timber and rubber in Africa. No one talks about the slave trade. No one talks about the sponsoring of civil wars by these people so that they can sell weapons of mass destruction and make money out of it.Such utterances are abhorrent and cannit be expected from a leader, a commander in chief who commands the most powerful army on earth. A leader of the most powerful economy. Donald Trump must have a clear cut policy of implementing his plans rather than uttering such racial words which can easily ignite wars amd civil unrest.The phrase is deragotory from a country which has more cordial relations with many African states. President Donald Trump owes an apology to the African continent.The reportage on the African continent should also be spruced up and and get the opportunity to tell the true African story.African continent and its intellectuals are rising and its narrative is evolving rapidly. The days of reporting the continent through a lens of suffering, famine, war and catastrophe are receding or at least, significantly dropping.Let the people beat the drums in the jungles of Africa. The wonders of Africa will live forever and will not die. Long live Africa, the hub of human kind and the sleeping giant. Proudly African. Opinion / Columnist Investment Conference Policy Document Property Rights Debt Clearence Plan Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo writes in his personal capacity as the Head of Southern Institute of Policy Analysis and Research SIPAR TRUST, which is responsible for policy analysis and research. He is also an academic and researcher. He holds a BA, MA from Solusi University, and he also holds a Masters of Development Studies from University of Lusaka, Zambia. He is currently enrolled at University of KwaZulu Natal University in South Africa (PHD in Development Studies). He is also an adviser to many financial and political institutions within and outside Zimbabwe. He can be contacted at southerninstitutepar@gmail.com The economic outlook is not good for now and we must pray for our country. We can never make cheap political gains and mileage over an ailing economy. My desire is to see Zimbabwe getting back to its wheels once again. The road has so many patches; it calls upon all like-minded progressive Zimbabweans to participate in the national building process to achieve our economic objectives. What exactly do we need for our country to achieve economic objectives? Are we in the right direction or we have to go an extra mile, in terms of policy reformation? There are times we as citizens we are supposed to make collective decisions together with the entire central governance system. You don't need to wait for the Government, you can simply forward your suggestions and they can make an impact on our economy. The problem of our country, we have politics of the belly, as long as you are not part of the system, you can't participate, and it will never concern you. Who knows maybe your input can be a priority in the next cabinet meeting. Myself I don't think it's a good idea to restrict ideas to Government officials only or Government advisors, ideas should be inclusive and accommodative.I suggest the Government should put an agenda to have a investment conference for Zimbabwe. We must have an indaba to debate policy issues. As we speak we don't know exactly where we are going. There is need for our country to set an indaba over policy and investment matters. This can involve potential investors, mining sector, agriculture sector, business community, diplomats, academics, stakeholders and other key people who can help to shape our economy. Government must not rely on their source; there is need for ideas to come from policy makers who can make independent decisions. It will be ideal for the Government to make use of the investment conference to market and re-brand our country and offer sustainable solutions. What is happening currently has nothing to do with the economy. We can borrow funds, or allow those to return funds that were externalized but that is not the solution, we have a political question that remain unanswered. So in order for investors to settle for us we have to move in and clear ourselves on policy and property rights.There is need for a draft which caters for all critical sectors of our economy e.g. mining, agriculture, infrastructure development and tourism. We have a potential to grow our economy by 11.5% if we put proper policies that can shape the economy. We have people like Dangotte who promised to come back to invest in Zimbabwe, but we haven't heard of him. Dangotte has economic interests in mining, agriculture and tourism in other neighboring countries. In Zambia alone he invested in a cement plant, employing more than 20 000 people and he has promised to open other avenues of the economy. All investors want is policy clarity and consistency and once you do that then you can speak from the same script and you can use the same language. We have been duped with dubious investors who pretended as if they were real investors and because of our desperation as a country, we had to fall for this, which is why we failed to recover our diamond and mining proceeds. I would suggest the President should come up with a second national development plan, and launch the programme and this will open waves for foreign investors. Alone we can't do it and we need foreign investors to build and provide sustainable development through creation of employment, food security, climate change, infrastructure development and clear nation future plan.Property rights are an important question. Investors want to make sure that their properties are very safe. In the previous Governments people like Kasukuwere were involved in dubious deals and most investors were duped and that is why they are reluctant to come forward until the new Admin puts their house in order. Simple mathematics, transparency + honest = integrity divide by Foreign Direct Investment = success. Our constitution should be clear regarding investors and their properties. Look at white farmers, some are already losing farms under new administration and this is a risky behavior and this may motivate investors to be reluctant to invest in our dying economy.How much do we owe as nation? Whom do we owe as a nation? How much do we intend to borrow for the resuscitation of our ailing economy? To me something is not adding up, given that in the past, we were used to so many stories and propaganda from the state media without informing the whole nation the reality of what exactly is on the ground. We have arrears and we have so many creditors, won't it be prudent for the minister of finance and the respective Governor of Zimbabwe to inform the nation how much we owe the international banks and other critical financial institutions. It is important to promote transparency. I suspect the money to buy cars for Government chiefs was sourced somewhere and in our nostrils accounts I doubt if we have any cash or reserves, so how then we grow as an economy if we go about borrowing. There is need for the President and minister of finance to inform the nation on the state of our debts. Opinion / Religion Muranda wa Mwari, Tendai Tagarira murandawamwari@icloud.com The following coin (also depicted in my book Esoteric Coin, A Numismatic Study) shows Roman Emperor Hadrian's face and on the reverse is depicted the Cult statue(idol and image) of Artemis (also known as Diana of Ephesus) which was at the centre of the riot in Ephesus as recorded in Acts 19:23-29.Such Secret Society Cults have always been used by the enemy satan to lure, seduce, infiltrate and attack the children of God. Some of the cults date back to ancient days and are still in operation today. In the new testament, Paul encountered one such cult in the city of Ephesus. The cult members were so infuriated with Paul and began to riot. This incident is clearly recorded in Acts 19:23-29.The Riot in Ephesus:"23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: "You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together."The Acts 19 incident reveals the following1. There was a temple of the cult of Artemis in Ephesus2. There was a venerated cult statue of the so called goddess Artemis in the Ephesus temple3. Silversmiths like Demetrius made lots of money selling silver shrines of Artemis4. The idol of Artemis was worshipped in throughout the Roman province of Asia and the world.5. The temple of Artemis would have made blood sacrifices in her temple which was customary for idol worshiping temples6. The temple of Artemis would likely have hosted the cult prostitutes to service the worshipers7. Divinations and wicked incarnations would have taken place at the temple8. Many people would have travelled from afar to go to worship there9. The temple of Artemis would have had priests, priestesses and temple servants10. The temple of Artemis would have been wealthy and influentialHistory records that even Roman Emperor Hadrian visited the cult temple of Artemis and worshipped the idol with pomp and prestige. He would have made blood sacrifice there and sought divinations from the oracle temple priests and priestesses. Emperor Hadrian was bisexual and would have slept with the temple prostitutes as this was customary.The bible clearly says in 2 Corinthians 6: 16, "What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?.."Therefore those who worship such idols are worshiping satan, for it is written in1 Corinthians 10:20, "On the contrary, the things which the Gentiles (pagans) sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons [in effect], and not to God; and I do not want you to become partners with demons [by eating at feasts in pagan temples."So the demon worshiping secret society cults like that of Diana are still in operation today and their goal is to lure, seduce, infiltrate and attack the children of God. Many servants of Jesus have already been lured and initiated into these secret cults and that is why they have changed the original gospel of the blood of Jesus and are now preaching what tickles the flesh.The bible clearly warns in 1 Timothy 4:1 that, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons."Many so called pastors, prophets, prophetesses today are essentially secret members of such cults and have received demonic spirits of divination which they prophesy through and they are earning lots of money and have multitudes of followers. They are no different from the girl with the spirit of divination who was irritating the Paul and the apostles.Acts 16:16-20, "16 It happened that as we were on our way to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave-girl who had a spirit of divination [that is, a demonic spirit claiming to foretell the future and discover hidden knowledge], and she brought her owners a good profit by fortune-telling. 17 She followed after Paul and us and kept screaming and shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God! They are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!" 18 She continued doing this for several days. Then Paul, being greatly annoyed and worn out, turned and said to the spirit [inside her], "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ [as His representative] to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment.19 But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities in the market place [where trials were held], 20 and when they had brought them before the chief magistrates, they said, "These men, who are Jews, are throwing our city into confusion and causing trouble."Today such slave girls (who are slaves to sin) have infiltrated the church and are become high ranking prophetesses and church congregants ! The church seems to have no authority to command the spirit of demons to come out! But now, if the christian is willing to REPENT and turn away from all sin, THE LORD JESUS will restore the authority to cast out demons!Those who want to disconnect from the seductions, infiltration's and attacks of the demonic occult, let us REPENT and RETURN TO JESUS right away!Say,Dear JESUS, MIGHTY GOD, I am a sinner. I have been infiltrated by demons. I have been infiltrated by secret cults. Disconnect me JESUS from the kingdom of satan. Expose the enemies of your Kingdom who are hidden as christians. Disconnect me and my family from occult influences. Fill me with your HOLY SPIRIT and give us the authority to cast out the demons in your name. Today, In the name of JESUS, I repent of heeding demonic teachings and occult philosophies. I am born again today in Jesus name and I repent of sexual sin, perversion, idolatry and all wickedness. Amen.Blessing.LORD JESUS bless all who have repented here. Bless them with your HOLY SPIRIT. Separate them from the wicked one. Use them to do battle against the enemy. Protect and watch over them JESUS. Lead them not into temptation but deliver them from all wickedness. Write and Keep their names in the BOOK OF LIFE and REMEMBER them when you establish your KINGDOM. SO BE IT. AMEN. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram Washington, D.C., January 15, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned an order by the Philippines Securities and Exchange Commission to revoke the certificate of incorporation of the critical news website Rappler, which effectively required it to close down. The order to close Rappler amounts to a direct assault on freedom of the press in the Philippines, said Steven Butler, CPJ Asia program coordinator. We urge Philippine authorities to back off from this effort to close an independent news outlet, and to respect the guarantee of press freedom enshrined in the Philippines constitutions Bill of Rights. The SEC order, according to Rappler and other news reports, was based on a finding that Rappler had used a deceptive scheme to circumvent a legal requirement that media properties be locally owned and operated. Rappler argued that foreign funding it has received does not constitute ownership. The website, which has been critical of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, said it would continue operating while it fights the order in court. India and Israel have signed nine agreements to boost cooperation in the areas of space, cyber security and oil and gas between both countries. The agreements were signed following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu in New Delhi. Netanyahu is first Israeli Prime Minister to visit India in span of last 15 years and second one overall. Ariel Sharon was first and only Israeli Prime Minister to visit India in 2003. List of agreement signed Agreement on Film-co-production. Protocol on Amendments to Air Transport Agreement MoU on Cyber Security Cooperation between India and Israel Memorandum of Intent (MoI) between Invest India and Invest in Israel Medical Centre on Cooperation in field of Research in Homeopathic Medicine Letter of Intent (LoU) between IOCL and Phinergy Ltd. For cooperation in area of metal-air batteries MoU between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Ministry of Energy on Cooperation inOil and Gas Sector LoI between IOCL and Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd for cooperation in the area of concentrated solar thermal technologies MoU between Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH and Centre for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek MoU between Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and Technion- Israel Institute of Technology for cooperation in field of space. A reformist Iranian lawmaker claims that some 3700 protesters were arrested during the wide-spread anti-government demonstrations that began in late December the largest such demonstrations in Iran since the Green Movement protests of 2009. Now human rights monitors are concerned that those recently arrested are in danger of suffering the same ill-treatment endured by many of the 2009 demonstrators after their mass arrest, including torture, rape, and murder. Those concerns have increased at the news that one detainee, Sina Ghanbari, died while in custody at Evin prison. Authorities claim the 22 year old committed suicide on January 6. Distinguished Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh reportedly told the Guardian newspaper by phone from Tehran that at least two other protesters who had not yet been identified also died while in detention. Some 22 people were killed during the country-wide demonstrations which started on December 28, and spread from economic to political protests. While some protesters who were detained have been released, hundreds reportedly remain behind bars. Noting the history of violence in Irans prisons, Amnesty International has demanded that the Iranian government protect those who remain from torture and other abuse. When U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley spoke at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council during the protests, she made clear that the United States supports the legitimate aspirations of the Iranian people who demand change from a corrupt and oppressive government: I call on all my colleagues to join me in amplifying the message of the Iranian people, said Ambassador Haley. Because in the end the Iranian people will determine their own destiny. And let there be no doubt whatsoever: the United States stands unapologetically with those in Iran who seek freedom for themselves, prosperity for their families, and dignity for their nation. Ambassador Haley told the Iranian regime that it is now on notice. The world will be watching what you do. In the wake of the arrests of thousands of brave Iranians who raised their voices in support of freedom and human rights, the world is still watching to see if the regime continues its horrific pattern ofabuse in the prisons it has filled. More than 40 members of the Iranian Parliament have voiced support for human rights activists and organizations calling for an independent investigation into the deaths of detained protesters, says Tehran MP Mahmoud Sadeghi. In a letter to parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani, the MPs asked him to form an independent group to investigate the deaths of prisoners who had allegedly participated in recent widespread street rallies against the ruling regime. Sadeghi published a copy of the letter on his Twitter account without referring to the names of the signatories. According to the letter, while the concerned authorities officially say detainees Sina Ghanbari and Vahid Heydari committed suicide behind bars, it has also been reported that several of their relatives believe otherwise. A resident of Dezful, southwestern Iran, Mohsen Adeli is another prisoner who reportedly lost his life at a detention center. Deputy parliamentary speaker Ali Motahari said on January 12 that three persons had died in prison and the parliament is following up on their cases. Motahari also confirmed that the cause of death was officially listed as suicide. Nevertheless, many human rights activists and international organizations, including New York-based Human Rights Campaign for Iran (CHRI), dismissed the official reports as baseless and false. On January 9, CHRI announced the names of two detainees who died in provinces while in custody: Heydari in the central city of Arak and Adeli in Dezful. Ghanbari, 23, died in custody in Tehran under unknown circumstances on January 7. The authorities claimed he killed himself in a toilet at Evin Prison and that there is footage documenting the suicide. The alleged footage has not yet been made public despite calls from human rights monitors, including UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran Asma Jahangir, for its validation. Heydari, 22, died in detention at the 12th Police Station in Arak at some point around the turn of the new year, CHRI reported. His lawyer told CHRI that the authorities are trying to cover up the real cause of death by claiming he committed suicide. Furthermore, according to CHRI, evidence of a severe blow to Heydaris skull was detected before his body was buried. Heydaris family has been pressured to avoid speaking to the media. The MP's letter comes at the same time that a request by two parliament members to visit Tehran's notorious Evin prison was rejected. Tehran MP and the head of parliaments Security Committee Mostafa Kavakebian, had previously stated that a visit was scheduled for January 13. It is not yet officially clear who has rejected the request or why. The Iranian Constitution stipulates that MPs have the right to investigate all state affairs except for those under direct supervision of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran MP Fatemeh Saeidi had earlier said that the request to visit Evin had been delivered to the judiciary. However, it is not clear if the judiciary is responsible for rejecting MPs request. Now, if an independent parliamentary group is formed as a "truth commission" it can pave the way for visits to prisons, according to the outspoken Deputy Speaker of parliament, Ali Motahari. In the MPs letter to Larijani, signatories pointed out that the number of those who died in custody is more than what is officially reported, Sadeghi tweeted. The letter was sent to Larijani after it was reported that the body of a young man from the mainly Kurdish-populated city of Sanandaj in western Iran had been handed over to his family. Saro Ghahremani, 24, went missing during the nationwide protests that broke out on December 28. According to the reports, his parents were allowed to accompany their sons body in the hearse that took them to a rushed funeral where security prevented anyone else from attending. Ghahremani had reportedly been detained for 11 days before his death. Judiciary spokesman Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei said on January 13 that Ghahremanis detention was unrelated to the recent protests. Sanandaj city authorities stated on January 14 that Ghahremani had been affiliated with hostile terrorist groups and killed in a shootout with security forces. Ghahremanis relatives, however, took issue with that story of events, saying there was no trace of a bullet wound on the body. They also claimed that the medical examiner was not allowed to file an autopsy report. (Reuters) - Free Syrian Army envoys have urged U.S. officials at talks in Washington to resume a suspended CIA program of military aid if it is serious about challenging growing Iranian influence in Syria, according to Syrian opposition figures. Mustafa Sejari, a senior official in Syria's mainstream rebel group, said the envoys described to U.S. officials the damaging impact of President Donald Trump's decision last year to stop equipping and training certain rebel groups. Trump's move was driven by a wish to focus on fighting Islamic State militants and to improve relations with Russia, as well as a lack of results from the CIA's support of the FSA, U.S. officials suggested. "We endorse President Trump's statements about the need to confront Iranian hegemony in the region. It is time to turn words into action. Until now on the ground it's the Iranian militias that are expanding without serious resistance," Sejari told Reuters by telephone from Washington. "With every U.S. statement about the need to confront Iran's influence, Iran has been expanding in Syria while moderate forces that are backed by Washington see aid being dried up and are weakened," Sejari said. "We asked for the resumption of aid and explained the dangers of leaving moderate FSA forces without support." Sejari said the delegation's meetings had included members of the U.S. Congress and officials from the White House, and they hoped for sessions with Defense Department and State Department officials as well. IRANIAN PRESENCE IN FOCUS The White House and Defense Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FSA delegation, Sejari said, included recipients of the CIA-led program, which began in 2013 and funnelled, via Jordan and Turkey, weapons, cash and trainers to vetted FSA groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al Assad. Sejari said his delegation had briefed U.S. officials on Iran's "destructive" role in Syria, where Shi'ite Muslim militias led by Lebanon's Hezbollah have, along with Russian air power, have turned the tide of the conflict in Assad's favor. The FSA also says that Iranian Shi'ite militia fighting in Syria have stoked wider sectarian conflict in which mainly Sunni Muslims have been driven out of former opposition strongholds. "In all our talks with U.S. officials there was common ground, and on top of the matters discussed was the war on terrorism, (and) expelling Hezbollah and Iranian militias from Syria," Sejari said. Another delegation member who requested anonymity told Reuters they told officials U.S. inaction in Syria would only allow Iran and its regional allies to recreate a land corridor linking Tehran, Baghdad, Damascus and Beirut - often termed the "Shi'ite crescent" by Iran's regional enemies. The Syrian opposition said the previous U.S. administration of President Barack Obama had given "Iran a free ride" in Syria. FSA rebels have long complained that U.S. support has fallen well short of what they needed to make a decisive difference in the war against Assad's army and the Iran-backed militias helping it, including Lebanon's Hezbollah. While cutting support to Syrian rebel groups that have fought Assad, the United States has deepened ties with a Kurdish-led militia alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces, with which it partnered against Islamic State. The SDF is spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG militia, and has mostly avoided conflict with the Syrian government while seeking to entrench Kurdish autonomy over regions of northern Syria. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: The OSCE is expected to monitor the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on Jan. 16, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said in a message on Jan. 15. The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative along the line of contact near Sarijali village in Azerbaijans Aghdam district, according to the message. On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be held by Ghenadie Petrica and Simon Tiller, who are field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative. On the Azerbaijani territories occupied and controlled by Armenian armed forces, the monitoring will be held by Mikhail Olaru and Martin Schuster, who are field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Details added (first version posted on 12:23) Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be settled only by the conflict parties, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference Jan. 15. Regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts settlement, Russia cannot have concrete plans to resolve this problem, because the issue can only be resolved by the parties of the conflict, he said. Russia - together with the US and France as the three co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group - is doing everything to create conditions for such a resolution. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has extended condolences to President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Hassan Rouhani. I was deeply saddened by the news of the death of crew members as a result of a crash of an Iranian tanker, said President Aliyev in his letter. On the occasion of this tragedy, on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my deepest condolences to you, families and loved ones of those who died and the whole people of Iran, noted the president. May Allah rest the souls of the dead in peace! Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: Azerbaijans First Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel General Najmaddin Sadikhov will take part in the 178th Military Committee in Chiefs of Defense Session of NATO within the Resolute Support and Projecting Stability formats in Brussels, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a message Jan. 15. The meeting will be held at NATO headquarters on Jan. 16. Details added (first version posted on 12:28) Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Leman Zeynalova - Trend: Russia is satisfied with the level of strategic partnership with Azerbaijan, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference on Jan. 15. He noted that relations between Russia and Azerbaijan are based on an intensive dialogue at the level of presidents and ministers. Lavrov reminded that mutual visits of the two countries foreign ministers took place in 2017. Trade turnover and the volume of mutual investments between Russia and Azerbaijan are growing, measures are taken in the humanitarian sphere, and all the work is conducted as usual, said the foreign minister. Lavrov thinks that there is no need for signing a new document on cooperation. According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover with Russia amounted to $2.14 billion in January-December 2017, some $1.5 billion of which accounted for the import of Russian goods. The two countries trade turnover rose by 4.3 percent in the period as compared to 2016. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a one-on-one meeting with Bulgarias Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who is on a working visit in the country on Jan. 15. The head of state welcomed the Bulgarian prime minister. Following, a joint photo was taken. It was noted during the meeting that bilateral relations in political, economic and other spheres have been developing successfully. The importance of Bulgarian prime ministers visit to Azerbaijan in terms of strengthening relations was emphasized. The two sides also discussed bilateral relations and other issues of mutual interest. Details added (first version posted on 17:12) Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.15 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Bulgarias Prime Minister Boyko Borissov has arrived in Baku on a working visit, said a message on the official Facebook page of the prime minister. During the two-day visit, Borissov will attend the opening of a direct flight between Baku and Sofia. The delegation headed by Bulgarias prime minister includes Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova, Economy Minister Emil Karanikolov, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry Rumen Porodzanov, Transport, Information Technology and Communications Minister Ivaylo Moskovski. Azerbaijan and Bulgaria have great potential for developing energy cooperation. Azerbaijani gas can be delivered to Bulgaria via the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB). IGB will allow Bulgaria receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) which will deliver the Shah Deniz gas to the European markets. Initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas. The projects cost is estimated at around 240 million euros. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: Azerbaijan and Bulgaria have very close and friendly relations, said Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev. He made the remarks at an expanded meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Baku on Jan. 15. "Azerbaijan and Bulgaria have established very close and friendly relations, which are also strengthened by our efforts. Today we have already discussed many important issues of bilateral interaction in the political and energy spheres. I congratulated the prime minister on the chairmanship of Bulgaria at the European Union. This is a great success of your country, a great responsibility. I am confident that you will cope with this important task with honor," said Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev. The president further stressed that today the delegations will discuss important issues in politics, economy and energy. "We have very much in common; the main thing that unites us is friendly relations between our peoples and friendly relations between the leaders of our countries. I am very glad that 2018 begins with the visit of our friend," the head of state said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will pay a working visit to France on January 17-18, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a message Jan. 15. According to the message, during the visit, Mammadyarov will have meetings with his French counterpart and other officials, as well as with the UNESCO leadership. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: The Southern Gas Corridor project will be a next contribution to the energy security of Europe, said Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, while making press statements with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Baku on Jan. 15. "Today we broadly discussed various aspects of our relations. We have reiterated that Bulgaria and Azerbaijan, as two friendly countries, will continue to cooperate successfully. In the economic sphere, we must try to increase the trade turnover between our countries. Presently, it is not at the proper level," Ilham Aliyev said. He said that corresponding instructions are given so that concrete steps are taken in a short period of time to increase the turnover between the two countries. "I believe that there are good opportunities for mutual investment and we will also work in this direction," said President Aliyev. He stressed that the main topic of the talks was related to energy. "As you know, we are partners in this sphere. Azerbaijan and Bulgaria together with other countries ensure the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor. Azerbaijan has rich gas reserves. " "Currently, Azerbaijani oil provides energy security of many European countries. In the near future, Azerbaijani gas will have the same function. The Southern Gas Corridor is being successfully implemented, and the Shah Deniz-2 project has been realized by 99 percent. Shah Deniz-2 is the main resource base for the Southern Gas Corridor. Furthermore, the TANAP project is scheduled to complete this year. This project has been implemented by 90 percent. Thus all the works run in accordance with the schedule. This grandiose project is being successfully implemented. After the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, the issues of European energy security will be built on a stronger basis. We are glad that Azerbaijan is contributing to this matter," President Aliyev said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: The Southern Gas Corridor project will be a next contribution to the energy security of Europe, said Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, while making press statements with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Baku on Jan. 15. "Today we broadly discussed various aspects of our relations. We have reiterated that Bulgaria and Azerbaijan, as two friendly countries, will continue to cooperate successfully. In the economic sphere, we must try to increase the trade turnover between our countries. Presently, it is not at the proper level," Ilham Aliyev said. He said that corresponding instructions are given so that concrete steps are taken in a short period of time to increase the turnover between the two countries. "I believe that there are good opportunities for mutual investment and we will also work in this direction," said President Aliyev. He stressed that the main topic of the talks was related to energy. "As you know, we are partners in this sphere. Azerbaijan and Bulgaria together with other countries ensure the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor. Azerbaijan has rich gas reserves." "Currently, Azerbaijani oil provides energy security of many European countries. In the near future, Azerbaijani gas will have the same function. The Southern Gas Corridor is being successfully implemented, and the Shah Deniz-2 project has been realized by 99 percent. Shah Deniz-2 is the main resource base for the Southern Gas Corridor. Furthermore, the TANAP project is scheduled to complete this year. This project has been implemented by 90 percent. Thus all the works run in accordance with the schedule. This grandiose project is being successfully implemented. After the implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project, the issues of European energy security will be built on a stronger basis. We are glad that Azerbaijan is contributing to this matter," President Aliyev said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Samir Ali Trend: The location of 76 internationally wanted persons and 39 persons wanted by member countries of Interpol was established in Azerbaijan in 2017 with the assistance of the organizations National Central Bureau, Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov said. He made the remarks at an expanded meeting of the Interior Ministry on Jan. 15, dedicated to the results of fighting crime, protecting public order and ensuring public safety in 2017 and upcoming tasks. Usubov said that, in general, the indicator of the search activity was 71.4 percent. The minister noted that the fight against organized crime was conducted purposefully in 2017, and 1,028 criminal groups which committed 2,698 crimes were neutralized. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.17 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is interested in supporting Azerbaijan in developing its renewable energy potential, Trend learned from EBRD. In September 2017, the EBRD signed a Letter of Intent with the Ministry of Energy of Azerbaijan to cooperate on developing energy sector regulation in the country as well as supporting the development of renewable energy potential, said a source in the bank. The source noted that EBRD sees strong potential for the development of renewable energy in Azerbaijan under a supportive regulatory framework. The EBRD launched the Green Economy Transition (GET) approach in 2015 to put investments that bring environmental benefits at the heart of our mandate. The EBRD is a key financier of renewable energy across the region and has substantial experience in financing renewable energy projects across its countries of operation, and is interested in supporting Azerbaijan in developing its renewable energy potential, added the source. Azerbaijan has been cooperating with the EBRD since 1997. Since the start of its operations in the country, the bank has invested over $2.8 billion in 163 projects in the financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors, with 58 percent of those investments in the private sector. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Subscribers of Trend News Agency can read this and other exclusive materials before they are published in open access. More information on Trends news products can be found here. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: The availability of direct transport link between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria will promote tourism development, said Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, while making press statements with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in Baku on Jan. 15. The Prime Minister said that Bulgaria is exporting to Azerbaijan goods in the fields of agriculture and economy. "We hope that we can expand these opportunities. If Azerbaijani gas is supplied to Bulgaria, then we can balance this commodity exchange. All these investments, availability of direct transport - given that we can arrive in Baku in three hours will allow us to develop the economy and tourism, and enable Azerbaijani tourists to come to Bulgaria's mountain and sea resorts. Bulgarian tourists are keenly interested in your ancient land. This is useful for both countries, said Borissov. Of course, during a conversation with our colleagues in Brussels, there was a tendency to boycott the holding of the European Games in a Muslim country. Someone tried to disrupt this event. We know that. Of course, we had another position on that. I would not say that this is a separate policy. Simplification of the visa regime may also contribute to the expansion of our relations. Taking on a responsibility, I have discussed with my EU counterparts the visa facilitation with Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. I think we can work in this direction comfortably. I can try to do that. But it also depends on my main colleagues in the European Union, the PM stressed. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Nigar Guliyeva Trend: Uzbekistan abandoned the outdated practice of developing annual investment programs without careful planning, as well as application of a single concept for the formation of long-term ideas and investment objectives, Deputy Prime Minister Sukhrob Kholmuradov said. Kholmuradov told media that now Uzbekistan will develop state development programs for a period of 10-15 years. He recalled that the Fund for Financing State Development Programs under the Cabinet of Ministers has recently been established. The Fund will accumulate funds from various sources, including foreign investments and loans and monitor the targeted use of funds within the implementation of projects. He added that in 2017 Uzbekistan mastered foreign investment $ 2.4 billion, while the share of foreign investment in the total investment amounted to 20.4 percent. Kholmurodov noted that now the main task is to develop sectoral long-term goals and industrial development programs. He added that the projects under the state programs will be implemented with the involvement of public funds and private investments. "The future of Uzbekistan is impossible without foreign investment, and we now understand all this well," he said. "If we do not make an investment climate that foreign investors will believe, then all this is useless." He stressed that Uzbekistan decided to repatriate profits with the liberalization of the foreign exchange market. He noted that Uzbekistan will improve its investment climate, including legislation, stressing that laws will be adopted to protect investors' assets in Uzbekistan. Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Jan. 15 By Mamed Dashdemirov Trend: As part of the production localization program, Uzbekistan produced goods worth 9.9 trillion soums in 2017, or 1.6 times more than in 2016, the Economy Ministry told Trend. The export of products of enterprises localized in Uzbekistan increased by 20.4 percent in the period and reached a value of $512.4 million. In total, under the program of localization of production of finished goods, components and materials, 799 projects were implemented in the country in 2017, as compared to 695 projects in 2016, which allowed creating more than 3,000 jobs. A major part (73.3 percent) of the export of localized products accounted for enterprises in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, 15.1 percent accounted for Tashkent, and 8.9 percent accounted for the Andijan Region. The program for localization of production was adopted in Uzbekistan in 2000. More than 2,600 projects worth over $5.5 billion have been implemented in the country since then. (1 USD = 8,139 UZS on Jan. 15) Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: The project length of the Istanbul Canal, a waterway that will link the Black and Marmara seas, has been extended by another two kilometers, and will total 45 kilometers, Turkish Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan said Jan. 15, Turkish media reported. Technical research for construction of the Istanbul Canal has been fully completed, he said. The minister noted that the construction of the waterway in Istanbul will start this year. The cost of construction is estimated at 60 billion liras. The construction project received an environmental safety certificate. As many as 6,000 people will be involved in the construction. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed the intention to implement the Istanbul Canal project in 2011. The depth and width of the Istanbul Canal will be 25 meters and 400 meters, respectively. (3.7690 liras = $1 on Jan. 15) --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Azad Hasanli Trend: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will study the possibility of rendering technical assistance to Azerbaijan within implementation of strategic road maps, the Ministry of Economy said Jan. 15. This issue was discussed Jan. 15 at a meeting of representatives of the ministry with the leadership of the banks Baku office. Representatives of ADB were given information on the events envisaged in the road maps. At the meeting, it was decided that the bank will conduct repeated studies on selected areas for rendering technical assistance, and then will inform the Ministry of Economy. Strategic road maps, which cover 11 main directions, were approved in December 2016. These documents are considered a new strategy of Azerbaijans economic development until 2025 and in the subsequent period. They are designed to ensure competitiveness of the economy and increase of social welfare based on sustainable economic development in Azerbaijan. ADB was founded in 1966 and 67 states are its members. The banks headquarters is located in Manila, Philippines. Azerbaijan became an ADB member in 1999. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: The launching of Baku-Sofia direct flight will contribute to the development of tourism and business relations between Azerbaijan and Bulgaria, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said. Borisov made the remarks at an expanded meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku Jan. 15. "An encouraging fact is that up till now we have resolved all the issues that we have agreed on," he said, adding that the sides are currently facing new tasks. Borisov stressed that Azerbaijani and Bulgarian people respect each other. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Maksim Tsurkov Trend: Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC really has an intention to buy the Maxim Gorky motor ship from the Moscow River Shipping Company, the Azerbaijani company told Trend Jan. 15. There is such an intention. However, a decision has not been made, said the company. The details of the talks are not specified, and it is known only that the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC is one of the contenders for the acquisition of the motor ship. Earlier, the Kommersant newspaper reported citing sources in the market and Director General of the Moscow River Shipping Company Konstantin Anisimov that the motor ship has been used only as a restaurant since 2014 due to the high cost of its operation, and the Russian company intends to sell it for about 20 million rubles. Anisimov said that along with the Azerbaijani company, Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Administration also intends to buy the motor ship. According to him, Maxim Gorky is a landmark ship for the city because it was built at local shipyards, and the 150th birth anniversary of the Russian writer, Maxim Gorky, is marked in 2018. The interest of Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping CJSC may be related to the fact that the company celebrates its own 160th anniversary in 2018, and a museum can be created on the ship, explained Anisimov. The motor ship was built in 1934 for the government of the USSR. The motor ship is called Stalins yacht as Soviet officials and party leaders - Lavrentiy Beria, Lazar Kaganovich, Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Vyacheslav Molotov, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev - had vacations on it in different years. The ship's length is 69 meters and its width is 13 meters. In 2003, its engines, navigation equipment and mechanisms were replaced, the hull was repaired and the restoration of internal premises was carried out. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Ali Mustafayev Trend: President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and President of the USA Donald Trump will meet on January 16 in the White House, amid Nazarbayevs visit to the United States. Being the first visit by a Central Asian president to the White House during President Donald Trumps presidency, Nazarbayevs meeting allows him to position Kazakhstan as a, if not the key player in the region in Mr. Trumps mind, political analyst, senior fellow at Singapores Nanyang Technological University James M. Dorsey told Trend. With strains between the United States and Pakistan heightened, Central Asias potential as a US logistics hub for Afghanistan increases, he said. He added that Central Asia is also significant in terms of Indian-Chinese rivalry and the USs increasingly close relationship with India. Touching upon the reaction of Kazakhstans closest partner Russia, which currently remains in difficult relations with the USA, Dorsey added that this is a visit that Russia will no doubt monitor closely. The two presidents are expected to discuss ways to strengthen and enhance strategic partnership on regional security issues and economic cooperation, as well as touch upon Kazakhstan's leadership on several international challenges during its presidency of the UN Security Council. The press service of the President of Kazakhstan announced that Nursultan Nazarbayev will pay a three-day official visit to the U.S. on January 16-18. Apart from meeting his American colleague, President Nazarbayev will also participate in the UN Security Council session. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Jan. 15 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Turkmenistans Foreign Ministry hosted a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea Chin Ki Hoon. The ministry said in a message that the parties exchanged views on intensifying the interstate cooperation and expressed commitment to interaction within international organizations. The two sides spoke about the great prospects for trade and economic cooperation, and also discussed the possibility of establishing close ties between the business structures of the two countries. Seoul counts on partnership with Turkmenistan in such areas as the development of gas fields, the creation of petrochemical and gas infrastructures, and the modernization of industry. South Korean LG and Hyundai with Japanese TOYO are building a polyethylene and polypropylene production complex in the village of Kiyanly, near the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea. The total cost of the project is more than $3.4 billion. The facility is scheduled for commissioning in September 2018. Its capacity is estimated at 5 billion cubic meters of gas a year, 386,000 tons of polyethylene and 81,000 tons of polypropylene. Meanwhile, Ashgabat and Seoul pay special attention to the transport sector in the context of development of transit and logistics infrastructure along the East-West and North-South routes, giving access to European and Middle Eastern markets. According to the Turkmen side, the total trade between Turkmenistan and South Korea in recent years has grown from $200 million to almost $2 billion. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Jan. 15 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Magtymguly Bayramdurdiev has been appointed as deputy minister of agriculture and water resources of Turkmenistan, according to a decree by the countrys president. The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Turkmenistan was established to reform the countrys agro-industrial complex, and further enhance its effectiveness. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Farhad Daneshvar Trend: A senior Iranian transportation official has expressed hope that the country would acquire a US-made aircraft over the current year. Iran's Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan has said that the country would receive the Boeing aircraft in the last quarter of 2018, Khabaronline news website reported. In case Iran manages to receive the aircraft it be will the countrys first American plane since Tehran concluded the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA/nuclear deal) in January 2016, Iran inked deals to acquire 100 planes from Airbus, 80 from Boeing and 20 from ATR. The Islamic Republic has already received 11 aircraft, including three Airbus and eight ATR. Back in December, the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing told Trend that the company would continue following the US governments lead with regards to deals with Iran. Boeing made the comments after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would require the Treasury Department to notify Congress about the activities of the Iranian company that purchases the planes, as well as the financing used for the deal and certify that they would not aid Iran's effort to distribute weapons. The US lawmakers, however, emphasized that the legislation would not bar any aircraft sales to Iran. Tehran, Iran, Jan. 15 By Kamyar Eghbal Trend: Air pollution, fears over earthquake and New Year holidays have contributed to a dramatic fall in the number of admissions in hotels in Iran's capital Tehran over the last month. About 80 percent of the capacity of hotels in Tehran was empty in December, Mohammad Ali Farrokh-Mehr, the head of hotels and hotel apartments union in Tehran Province, told Trend. An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 struck a town near the Iranian capital Tehran on Dec. 21. Heavy air pollution shrouded capital Tehrans sky over the last month, shutting down schools at the megacity for a couple of days. The air quality index of Tehran in this period hit 178, far beyond the acceptable threshold of 50. Ali Farrokh-Mehr described the drop in the number of admissions as catastrophic, adding that hotels do not have a good financial situation due to the downturn in the hotel industry in recent months. He further called on the government to provide the hotel sector with financial aid. The official also touched upon the quality of service in Iranian hotels, saying that the industry needs to improve the training of its staff. The hotels of Iran, in comparison to hotels in many countries of the world, have good qualities and they are in good condition in terms of space and area. Their main problem is shortage of professional and trained personnel. Back in December 2017, the Cultural Heritage, Handicraft and Tourism Department said that about 160 hotels were being built in Iran. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Farhad Daneshvar Trend: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected to arrive in Baku in the last week of March, an informed source told Trend. The visit is due to take place after the Nowruz celebrations. Iran and Azerbaijan, alongside with several regional countries, mark the beginning of spring in Nowruz on March 21, which also is the first day of the first month in the Iranian calendar. The two neighbor countries have seen a surge in bilateral ties over the past several years. Azerbaijans trade turnover with Iran amounted to almost $229 million in January-November 2017, of which more than $213 million accounted for import of the Iranian products, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 Trend: During the parliamentary session, the members of Armenias Yelk opposition faction called on people to take to the streets, protest against the rise in prices and force the authorities to amend the Tax Code, the Armenian media reported Jan. 15. The MPs accused the ruling party of actions that led to the current situation in the country. Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ara Babloyan announced that parliamentary hearings on the price hike will be held on January 23. MP Edmon Marukyan said that the hearings do not make sense, it is necessary to rapidly amend the Tax Code. "We urge people to take to the streets because the parliamentary platform has already exhausted itself," Marukyan added. We are doing everything to have the Georgian national flag raised in NATO and the European Union, Georgian Parliamentary Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze said at yesterdays reception dedicated to the National Flag Day, Agenda reports. Congratulating everyone with this special day, Kobakhidze said Georgia should return to its historic European family. I want to thank everyone who has introduced Georgia and its main national symbol to the rest of the world I wish we would have more and more opportunities to raise the Georgian flag with pride," Kobakhidze said, stressing that the Georgian flag is known and respected around the world. Explaining that the Georgian flag is one of the most ancient in the world, Kobakhidze said a lot of time and effort was put in restoring the current national flag on January 14, 2004. Today Georgia marks National Flag Day that is also known as the Five Cross Flag of Georgia. The Georgian national flag has been festively raised in different regions of Georgia. Citizens were also encouraged to raise symbolic flags out of their windows to join the national celebration. The European Union (EU) and the Georgia Association Council meeting will be held in Brussels, Belgium on February 5 chaired by the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Agenda reports. Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili will lead the Georgian delegation comprised of the members of the Cabinet. Kvirikashvili will address the council, while the members of the delegation engaged in the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement will provide updates. Georgia's Ambassador to the EU Natalia Sabanadze told the Georgian Public Broadcasters First Channel that the issues related to the EU-Georgia Association Agreement will be covered during the meeting, including security and conflicts. The Council is the highest formal body established under the EU-Georgia Association Agreement to supervise Georgia's implementation of the deal and to discuss issues of mutual interest. The United Arab Emirates said on Monday that Qatari fighter jets intercepted an Emirati civilian aircraft during a routine flight to Bahrain, which Qatar denied, Reuters reports. The UAE Civil Aviation authority condemned the alleged incident and said it would take all necessary legal measures to ensure the safety and security of civil air traffic. Sheikh Saif Bin Ahmed al-Thani, the director of Qatars government communications office, said on his official Twitter account that the charge was completely untrue. The UAE is one of four Arab countries, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, that imposed travel, diplomatic and trade sanctions on Qatar in June 2017, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. Qatar has denied the charges. On Friday, Qatar filed a complaint with the United Nations about an alleged violation of its airspace in December by an Emirati military aircraft. Qatari authorities said the violation on Dec. 21, which the UAE denied, lasted one minute. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkey will continue bombing positions of Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) terrorists, the Turkish media quoted the countrys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying Jan. 15. Erdogan said that Turkey will continue fighting against PYD and YPG and all the terrorist organizations in the region. He also noted that the US position on PYD and YPG is wrong. Earlier, the Turkish Armed Forces hit the positions of PYD and YPG in the Syrian city of Afrin. Earlier, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said Turkey doesnt rule out a new military operation in Afrin. He noted that Ankara will not allow creation of a new state in northern Syria, near the southern borders of Turkey. On Oct. 25, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a new military operation may be held in Afrin. Turkey has been moving military equipment to its border with Syria since June 21. Military equipment is being deployed in Turkeys south-central province of Kilis, which borders Syrian territories controlled by YPG and PYD. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkey condemns the terrorist attack in Baghdad, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a message Jan. 15. "Turkey is in solidarity with Iraq in the fight against terrorism," the message said. Meanwhile, around 100 people were injured as a result of a double suicide attack in the center of Baghdad Jan. 15. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu An El Al flight from New York to Tel Aviv was forced to make an emergency landing on a Canadian air force base Sunday due to a technical fault in the planes cockpit, Times of Israel reported. Flight LY008 was forced to land in the nearest airport, which was Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Hundreds of passengers had to remain on the plane for several hours while a replacement aircraft was sent from New York to take them on to Israel. With temperatures outside reportedly at -22 degrees Fahrenheit (-30 degrees Celsius), passengers huddled under blankets to stay warm. Weve been here about six and a half hours, Chen Harel, one of the passengers told Hadashot news. Every minute that passes is harder and harder for us, and we hope it will end quickly there are adults and children here. Moscow considers the Vancouver ministerial meeting on North Korea to be destructive and refutes false reports about its support for the event, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at his annual news conference on Monday, TASS reports. He pointed to a statement made by the US Department of State, which claimed that consultations on preparations for the meeting had been held with Moscow and Beijing who allegedly supported those efforts. "It is outright lies. We said clearly that we consider these efforts and this meeting to be destructive," the Russian top diplomat stressed. On January 16, Canadas Vancouver will host a meeting on North Korea, which is expected to involve foreign ministers from 16 countries, particularly those who fought against North Korea during the Korean War of 1950-1953. Canada and the United States will chair the meeting. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday Moscow is ready to support direct talks between parties involved in the North Korea missile crisis, Reuters reports. North Korea and South Korea held talks last week after a prolonged period of tension over the Norths missile and nuclear programs. Mount Mayon, the most active volcano in The Philippines, lurched back into action on Monday as lava slowly rose to the lip of the crater, prompting officials to order the evacuation of thousands, Sputnik reported. Located in the Albay province in the northeastern region of the island archipelago, a "hazardous eruption" warning has been issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology due to overnight movements of the volcano, indicating the possibility of a violent eruption within days or even hours, according to reports. According to local news, three steam-explosions have been recorded since Saturday, spewing ash onto villages clustered around the 8,070-foot volcano. The explosions are expected to have breached a solidified lava cap, indicating the potential for dangerous pyroclastic lava flows down the mountain side. "Lava has flowed out of the volcano's crater already but it's just starting," stated volcanology institute head Renato Solidum, cited by Abcnews.go.com. "It's a non-explosive eruption," Solidum detailed, adding, " "We have to verify tomorrow if it will flow continuously," cited by The Associated Press. An estimated 1,000 families have been evacuated to emergency facilities by Filipino disaster-response teams after the volcano began spewing steam and ash on Saturday, according to reports. Popular with tourists due to its near-perfect cone, Mount Mayon about 210 miles southeast of capital city Manila has erupted some 50 times over the last half millennia, often with extreme violence. More recently, the volcano erupted without warning in May 2013, and three German hikers were among five tourists killed by hot ash and other ejecta. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkey's police detained a pedophile engaged in downloading and distribution of child pornography, the Turkish media reported Jan. 15. The Istanbul police earlier identified the IP address of a computer on which child pornography was downloaded from one of the servers in the US during five months. Reportedly, the detainee is a citizen of Armenia. The name of the detainee is not disclosed. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Ismail Kahraman, speaker of the Turkish parliament, will visit Iran, the Turkish parliament said in a message Jan. 15. Kahraman will participate in the 13th meeting of speakers of the parliaments of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to be held in Tehran. The situation in Syria will also be discussed during the visit. Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed more than 500,000 lives. Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The "Islamic State" (IS), the YPG (Kurdish People's Protection Units) and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) are the most active terrorist groups in Syria. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Turkish Armed Forces may begin military operations in the Syrian city of Afrin before the end of January, Turkish media reported Jan. 15. The Turkish Armed Forces have been put on full alert to begin a military operation in Afrin against the YPG (Kurdish People's Protection Units) and the PYD (Kurdish Democratic Union Party) terrorist groups. The units of the Turkish Armed Forces located in Syria, in particular in the city of Al-Bab, are also ready for the military operation. Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the country doesnt rule out a new military operation against YPG and PYD in Afrin. In October 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that a new military operation may be held in Afrin. Turkey has been moving military equipment to its border with Syria since June 21, 2017. Military equipment is being deployed in Turkeys south-central province of Kilis, which borders Syrian territories controlled by the YPG and the PYD. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will pay a one-day visit to Turkey, Turkish media reported Jan. 15. Reportedly, the visit will take place today at the invitation of Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two sides are expected to discuss regional issues, as well as the strengthening of bilateral relations. According to the results of eight months of 2017, 121 companies from Qatar with a total capital of five billion Turkish liras were operating in Turkey. Currently, Qatar ranks 19th among the countries which make direct investments in the Turkish economy. The two countries trade turnover amounted to $634 million in eight months of 2017. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: The US is creating an army of terrorists from the YPG (Kurdish People's Protection Units) and the PYD (Kurdish Democratic Union Party) groups on the border with Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Turkish media reported Jan. 15. Erdogan said that the aim of this terrorist army, of course, is Turkey. However, even before the US manages to create an army of terrorists, Turkey will destroy it, Erdogan said. The president noted that by supporting the PYD and the YPG, the US disgraced itself. Instead of cooperating with Turkey in the fight against terror, the US makes friends with terrorists, Erdogan said. Earlier, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said that the US is openly supporting the YPG and the PYD terrorist groups in Syria. He said that the actions of the US dont correspond to the spirit of the allied relations between Washington and Turkey. He noted that Turkey will take all necessary steps against provocative actions of the US. On Jan. 14, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that cooperation of the US with PYD and YPG contradicts Washingtons commitments and statements made earlier, and threatens the national security of Turkey. We condemn this erroneous decision and we would like to remind once again that Turkey reserves the right to eliminate any kind of threats, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 15 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Police of the Diyarbakir province in eastern Turkey have confiscated over one ton of drugs as a result of a special operation, the provincial police said in a message Jan. 15. There are also detainees within the operation, according to the message. Earlier, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said that a total of 20,000 tons of heroin were confiscated in Turkey in 2017. This shows that Turkey is facing a great risk and must tighten the fight against drug addiction, he noted. Soylu added that during 2016, 520 people died from drug overdose in Turkey, and in 2017, the death toll reached 1,020 people. The death toll from drug overdose is growing every year, Soylu said. On Jan. 9, 2018, a police drug bust resulted in confiscation of some 500 kilograms of drugs. Heroin accounted for 150 kilograms of the total confiscated drugs. The minimum age of Turkish citizens who started using drugs is 13 years old, the average age 36 years old, the maximum age - 65 years old. Thus, 2.9 percent of the country's population account for drug addicts aged 15-24, 2.8 percent - those aged 25-44, 2.3 percent - drug addicts aged 45-64. Some 18 percent of the total number of people arrested in the country in 2016 accounted for drug dealers. More than 300,000 people have been detained in Istanbul for using and selling drugs over the past four years. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu KYODO NEWS - Jan 14, 2018 - 20:55 | All, World Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday visited a memorial for late Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who is credited with helping some 6,000 Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution during World War II. Visiting Sugihara House in Kaunus, Abe told reporters, "Mr. Sugihara's courageous, humanitarian deeds have been highly praised around the globe. I feel honored as a Japanese person." The memorial for Sugihara was established by renovating part of an office that was formerly the Japanese consulate. During his visit, the prime minister was shown a picture panel with images of Sugihara signing transit visas for Jewish refugees, among other items. Ahead of the trip to Kaunus, Abe and his counterparts from Latvia and Lithuania agreed Saturday to strengthen economic ties while seeking cooperation on the security front to rein in North Korea's nuclear and missile ambitions. Abe, the first Japanese premier to visit the Baltic states, discussed with Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis cooperation in such areas as tourism, technology and medical services. Japan is Lithuania's top export destination, according to the Japanese government. "Japan wants to cooperate closely with Lithuania on international issues including the North Korean situation," Abe was quoted by a Japanese official as telling Skvernelis in their meeting in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The Japanese premier, on a six-nation European tour, met his Latvian counterpart Maris Kucinskis earlier Saturday and conveyed his desire to strengthen diplomatic as well as economic relations with the country which serves as a logistics center in the region. The logo of Airbus Group is seen at the Airbus Helicopters Paris-Le Bourget plant dedicated to the production and the renovation of helicopters blades, in Dugny, near Paris, France, December 1, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier By Tim Hepher and Cyril Altmeyer PARIS (Reuters) - Frenetic selling in the closing weeks of 2017 saw Airbus overhaul Boeing's recent lead in the global jet market to win their annual order contest for a fifth year in a row, though doubts remain over the future of its flagship A380. The European planemaker said net orders after cancellations rose 52 percent to 1,109 jets in 2017, vaulting past Boeing's 912. Without the cancellations adjustment, Airbus gross orders were 1,229 compared with Boeing's 1,053 After peaking in 2014, Airbus says jet demand is growing faster than expected, reflecting busier traffic as global economies kick into a higher gear. "The market is just stronger everywhere," Airbus sales chief John Leahy told reporters. Airbus confirmed it had met its core 2017 target of more than 700 deliveries by releasing 718 jets to customers in 2017, up 4 percent from the previous year. Boeing remained the world's largest jetmaker for the sixth year running, however, with a record total of 763 deliveries. December's surge in commercial and industrial performance allowed Airbus to meet or exceed targets that had seemed elusive a few months ago and caps a turbulent year for the company after rows over corruption investigations and management tensions. Analysts described it as a robust farewell performance by two of the company's dominant figures: record-holding salesman Leahy, who retires this month after more than 20 years at the helm, and chief operating officer Fabrice Bregier, who steps down in February after losing a corporate succession battle. "We beat Boeing one last time ... we just went for it," Leahy told Reuters. Both bequeathed challenging targets to their successors as Leahy predicted that orders would exceed deliveries in 2018 for the ninth year in a row, while Bregier predicted "close to 800" deliveries this year as output accelerates after engine delays. That figure includes 30 aircraft already built and waiting for engines from United Technologies' Pratt & Whitney, but Bregier said he was confident the U.S. business had turned the corner after delays on new engines. Story continues The underlying production target is therefore closer to 770, implying 7 percent growth, which is closer to recent trends. Oddo Securities analyst Yan Derocles said the more confident tone regarding engines for the A320neo gave more credibility to the target of 800 jets. TARGETING TOP DELIVERY SPOT Bregier also predicted a record order pipeline of more than 7,000 jets would allow Airbus to lift deliveries beyond those of Boeing in 2020. Both are neck-and-neck in planned production. Boeing has questioned whether all of the aircraft sold by its rival will be delivered. December's sales breakthrough focused mainly on the bread and butter of the Airbus portfolio - the medium-haul A320 family, which competes with Boeing's best-selling 737. Some in the industry have been left wondering how far Airbus was forced to cut prices to grab deals such as the 430 jets sold to four budget carriers via U.S. investor Indigo Partners. Leahy, however, said the Indigo deal and other year-end activity reflected fundamental demand. "It is a very serious deal with some very serious airlines," he told Reuters. But in the wide-body, long-haul segment, Airbus lost about half its market share last year, with no new orders and two cancellations for the A380 superjumbo, though Boeing also suffered cancellations for its competing 747. Airbus is locked in make-or-break talks with main A380 customer Emirates about buying 36 more superjumbos. Leahy confirmed a Reuters report that the future of the A380 lies with Emirates, even though other airlines are interested in smaller numbers of the 544-seat jets. If the deal falls through, Airbus would have "no choice" but to close production, he said. Reuters reported in December that Airbus had drawn up plans to phase out A380 production if those talks collapsed, without waiting for other potential buyers. "There is some hope. Whether it means we soon conclude an agreement with Emirates? I hope so. There is a joint interest in achieving that, but we are not there yet," Bregier told Reuters. Airbus confirmed it plans as part of any possible Emirates deal to reduce A380 output to six aircraft a year from 15 last year. (Reporting by Tim Hepher and Cyril Altmeyer; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and David Goodman) Despite some recent concerns over security flaws in its chips, AMD (AMD) is poised for another solid year. The Austin, Texas-based chipmaker announced half a dozen new desktop and laptop processors sporting major performance upgrades over the past year, priced at a fraction of Intels (INTC) chips. Our goal is to make sure that we provide step-function improvements for our customers, AMD CEO Lisa Su told Yahoo Finance during a wide-ranging conversation at CES 2018 last week. If you look at our Ryzen product line, for example, at every price point we offer more threads, more multithreaded performance. At CES 2018 last week, AMD claimed one of its Ryzen products, which puts computer processing and graphics on one chip, offers comparable data-crunching performance to an Intel Core i5-8400 with Nvidia GT 1030 graphics card, but for $120 less, translating to significant savings for shoppers who want to save a few bucks without compromising computer performance. AMD CEO Lisa Su The idea that you can game in your mainstream notebook was really important to us with our new mobile processor, said Su. Were absolutely focused on bringing a new level of performance for the end user. Indeed, AMDs consistent aggressive pricing, performance improvements and renewed focus on computer processors and graphics chips explain why the companys stock has climbed nearly 14% over the past 12 months and a staggering 415% since Su took the reins in June 2015. AMD also managed a huge coup on the console gaming front, as its chips are used exclusively in Sonys (SNE) PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro, as well as Microsofts (MSFT) XBox One and Xbox One X home consoles. For Su, its less about sheer chip performance and more about the experiences those chips provide, from gaming to virtual reality and augmented reality. And while AMDs chief executive remains extremely bullish on both virtual reality and augmented reality, she concedes VR still has room for improvement. Story continues What has held [VR] back a little bit or kept it from whats called more mainstream is just how do we get the experience good enough the good enough experience inferring that youre getting the full immersive experience without any side effects, Su explains, referring to side effects some VR users may still experience, such as dizziness and disorientation. Also, lets face it: many VR headsets still look clunky and unwieldy. Once we get wireless headsets out there, I do believe VR not just AR can be a driver for us over the next few years, Su added. Will technology eliminate jobs? Chips from AMD, Intel and Nvidia (NVDA) are also powering newer technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine-learning and automation. And while society is poised to benefit from such technologies, there are also concerns those very same technologies will displace millions of jobs. According to Forrester Research, 16% of U.S. jobs will be replaced by 2025, while the equivalent of 9% new jobs will be created a net loss of 7% of U.S. jobs by 2025. What machine learning is doing, its just helping us become more efficient and effective, and thats a good thing, adds Su. Its a good thing for us to be able to process a lot more data. It will make it easier for us to make decisions based on that data and I still believe you you need really smart people to make those decisions. I think jobs may change, and theres a skill set issue and a training issue that we just might go through. But fundamentally, technology is making us better. JP Mangalindan is the Chief Tech Correspondent for Yahoo Finance covering the intersection of tech and business. Email story tips and musings to jpm@oath.com. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook. More from JP: Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn By Alastair Macdonald and Tsvetelia Tsolova SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria stepped up its campaign to adopt the euro on Thursday, challenging member states to let it into the single currency's "waiting room" in the coming months -- or spell out why it cannot join. Speaking to Brussels-based reporters as EU commissioners visited Sofia at the start of Bulgaria's six-month presidency of EU ministerial councils, the finance minister said he was ready to apply to join the ERM-2 exchange rate mechanism this year even if he had no assurance that the request would be accepted. Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and finance chief Vladislav Goranov said the European Union's poorest nation had long met all formal criteria for joining the euro zone and was frustrated that fellow EU states were reluctant to let it in. "We have done our homework for the euro zone," Borissov said, noting the lev's 20-year-old fixed rate against the euro, a non-existent budget deficit and one of the lowest public debt levels in the EU. "Any moment they invite us, we can enter it." Bulgaria has been reluctant to repeat the experience of flat rejection of its request to join the Schengen passport-free area and has been in discussions on joining the ERM-2 with the European Commission and the European Central Bank, hoping for an informal green light before lodging its formal application. However, Goranov said, patience was wearing thin with a lack of clarity from states on why they object. Euro zone officials say that lead economy Germany sees the gulf between Bulgarian incomes with the EU average and concerns over graft and organised crime as reasons to keep it at arm's length. Goranov said he now expected to lodge an application by the middle of this year after a biennial EU report on performance on economic convergence, which the EU executive said it plans to publish in May. "We are ready to file a formal application even if we are not convinced that the reply will be 'yes'," Goranov said. Story continues "This is not a threat," he said, noting pressure on the government from Bulgarian businesses to join. "A 'no' will also show us what to do in order to get there." As an example, he cited the fact that Bulgaria's GDP per capita is about half that of the EU average and said that if euro zone states wanted to set it a target of 70 percent of the average he could accept that. There is no such formal criterion at the moment and some euro zone countries are below that level. NO RUSH TO EURO Goranov stressed that Bulgaria would be in no rush to move from the ERM-2, in which it participates as an observer in some euro zone institutions, to full membership of the currency area. The rules stipulate two years in the ERM-2 before adopting the euro, but Goranov said: "We are prepared to wait there until we are fully ready to go on ... As many years as we need." ERM-2 membership would bolster investor confidence and help the central bank manage its reserves, he said. Ratings agencies have already cited ERM-2 as grounds for a possible upgrade. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who was leading his EU executive's visit to Sofia, supports Bulgaria's case for moving towards euro membership as part of a broader strategy to bolster confidence in the project following the sovereign debt crises of the past decade. It could also ease divisions between the rich west and ex-communist east of the bloc in the wake of Britain's decision to quit the EU next year. A Commission spokesman noted that euro membership was an obligation in the long run for most EU states, saying: "Member states that want to join the euro must be able to do so." Goranov acknowledged reservations at the ECB and among richer euro zone states but added: "I don't think that things are so bad that we need to be treated as second class." (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald, additinal reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova; Editing by Gareth Jones) Tesla isnt even present at this years Detroit showtypical for a company that shuns the traditions of the hidebound auto industry. But its a topic of conversation nonetheless, as industry insiders speculate over whether the company can iron out manufacturing snafus that have marred the launch of its first mainstream vehicle, the Model 3 sedan. Tesla desperately needs the cash flow from vigorous Model 3 sales, yet production has stalled due to problems with the big batteries that power all Tesla electrics. As somebody said about health care, production is complicated, Rebecca Lindland of Cox Automotive said during a presentation for journalists at the Detroit show. Tesla has got to get Model 3 production figured out. Gorgeous, but troubled: Teslas Model 3 sedan. Source: ABC News In its 12 years of operation, Tesla has never turned an annual profit. Analysts surveyed by S&P Capital IQ expect the company to post a loss of nearly $1.5 billion for 2017, which would be its biggest ever. The cash crunch could become acute in 2018 if Tesla continues to miss production targets for the Model 3. Bloomberg recently warned that Tesla could run out of money by August if the Model 3 production woes continue. And even if Model 3 production recovers, Teslawith US market share of just half a percentage point, or solacks the scale that lets competitors spread costs among millions of vehicles sold every year. Investors dont care, for now. The stock, at around $336, is close to record highs, which has pushed the companys market value to $57 billionmore than Fords (F). But the shares could plummet if Tesla hits real financial trouble and it becomes clear the Model 3 wont save the company. Its hard to imagine another company making a bid for Tesla at its current valuation. But if the stock tumbles and Tesla becomes cheaper, it could become a juicy target. Musk himself might even broker a deal, especially if if bankruptcy begins to seem plausible. Potential suitors? So who might be interested in buying Tesla? Musk reportedly tried to sell his company to Google in 2013, at a time when the startup was nearly out of cash. But Tesla scraped by and the deal fell through. Since then, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) has established a dedicated unit, called Waymo, thats developing self-driving technology and other software it wants to sell to automakers. Waymo doesnt build cars, so it might be interested in bringing Tesla into the family. Story continues High-flier: Teslas stock price But its not a given that a high-margin Silicon Valley tech company would buy into the low-margin auto manufacturing business. The same goes for Apple (AAPL), which is supposedly developing its own automotive technology and is an oft-rumored Tesla suitor. The match-up of Silicon Valley hardware and software might sound intriguing, but from the perspective of the software manufacturer, it might be far better to supply high-tech components to traditional automakers, and let them worry about bending the metal. Mercedes-Benz and Toyota have both partnered with Tesla in the past, and Mercedes even bought, then sold, a stake in the company. Toyota tends to develop new brands and technology in-house and making a bid for Tesla would be out of its corporate character. Not so Mercedes, whose parent Daimler-Benz bought Chrysler in 1998. That deal ultimately failed, but Tesla, in theory, would be a smaller, more targeted acquisition that wouldnt require much realignment at Daimlers Stuttgart headquarters the way the Chrysler deal did. Many other automakers covet Telsas electric technology, along with its sterling reputation among car buyers. Even at a discount, however, Tesla could be expensive. General Motors (GM) might have the wallet to buy Telsaand the narrative of such a deal would be compelling. GM has its own electric technology, of course, and by some measures its ahead of Tesla. GM sold more than 23,000 all-electric Chevy Bolts in 2017, and it just applied for federal permission to operate a driverless car, Cruise AV, without pedals or a steering wheel. Since emerging from its own bankruptcy in 2009, GM has become firmly profitable, with an estimated $9.4 billion profit in 2017, according to S&P Capital IQ. Tesla loyalists might revolt if GM went after Tesla, since GM is the enemy, in a wayits exactly the sort of dinosaur Tesla is supposed to bury. But GM has been spending heavily on the technologies of the future, and if it operated Tesla as a standalone division, with its own identity and perhaps even Musks ongoing involvement, Teslanauts might settle down. Tesla might still go it alone for the foreseeable future, but that could make the luxury known as profitability as elusive as ever. Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com. Encrypted communication available. Read more: Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn "What if a Chinese enterprise listed Alaska or Hawaii as an independent country rather than a state of the United States ?" a Beijing-owned newspaper asked Sunday amid a political ruckus spurred by foreign companies. Just as those territories are part of the U.S., the recent China Daily editorial argued, Hong Kong , Macau , Taiwan and Tibet are "all parts of China." So Beijing's ire was justified, the opinion piece suggested, when it cracked down on several international firms for listing those locations as separate countries on internet platforms. Last week, a Chinese regulator suspended Marriott International's (NASDAQ: MAR) Chinese website for a week after it listed those places as separate countries in a questionnaire for members of its rewards program. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) also came under fire for listing Taiwan and Tibet as countries on its website. Medical device-maker Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) and Inditex-owned fashion brand Zara faced similar issues. The four companies have all apologized."These foreign companies should be aware that Chinese people are particularly sensitive to the status of Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, which are all parts of China," said China Daily, which called the characterization of the regions a "terrible mistake.""There is not the least reason for Marriott and the other foreign companies to list these regions as independent countries on any occasion. They should have known that they would provoke a strong reaction from Chinese people," the English language piece added.It is also a breach of China's Cyber Security Law and the Advertising Law, which prohibit any individual or company from activity that "undermines the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said.Hong Kong and Macau are former European territories that are now managed as special administration regions of China. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province. China annexed Tibet in 1950, although Beijing has claimed the Himalayan region has been an indivisible part of China throughout history.The current furor reflects Beijing's increasing assertiveness internationally and the sensitivity of territorial rights for the mainland Chinese public. The Chinese foreign ministry said Friday afternoon that Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Tibet are all "parts of China." "This is the objective fact as well as the consensus of the international community," said the ministry's spokesman, Lu Kang, at a scheduled press conference.Foreign companies operating in China "should respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by China's laws and respect Chinese people's national feelings," Lu said."This is the minimum requirement for any enterprise to invest, operate and conduct cooperation in another country," he added.As to what would happen to a Chinese company listing Alaska or Hawaii as independent countries, the China Daily theorized:"It would definitely be considered as having infringed on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States. Of course, none of them would be stupid enough to make such a mistake as they well know that they should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a country when doing business there."Reuters contributed to this report. "What if a Chinese enterprise listed Alaska or Hawaii as an independent country rather than a state of the United States ?" a Beijing-owned newspaper asked Sunday amid a political ruckus spurred by foreign companies. Just as those territories are part of the U.S., the recent China Daily editorial argued, Hong Kong , Macau , Taiwan and Tibet are "all parts of China." So Beijing's ire was justified, the opinion piece suggested, when it cracked down on several international firms for listing those locations as separate countries on internet platforms. Last week, a Chinese regulator suspended Marriott International's (NASDAQ: MAR) Chinese website for a week after it listed those places as separate countries in a questionnaire for members of its rewards program. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) also came under fire for listing Taiwan and Tibet as countries on its website. Medical device-maker Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) and Inditex-owned fashion brand Zara faced similar issues. The four companies have all apologized. "These foreign companies should be aware that Chinese people are particularly sensitive to the status of Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, which are all parts of China," said China Daily, which called the characterization of the regions a "terrible mistake." "There is not the least reason for Marriott and the other foreign companies to list these regions as independent countries on any occasion. They should have known that they would provoke a strong reaction from Chinese people," the English language piece added. It is also a breach of China's Cyber Security Law and the Advertising Law, which prohibit any individual or company from activity that "undermines the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said. Hong Kong and Macau are former European territories that are now managed as special administration regions of China. Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province. China annexed Tibet in 1950, although Beijing has claimed the Himalayan region has been an indivisible part of China throughout history. The current furor reflects Beijing's increasing assertiveness internationally and the sensitivity of territorial rights for the mainland Chinese public. The Chinese foreign ministry said Friday afternoon that Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Tibet are all "parts of China." "This is the objective fact as well as the consensus of the international community," said the ministry's spokesman, Lu Kang, at a scheduled press conference. Foreign companies operating in China "should respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by China's laws and respect Chinese people's national feelings," Lu said. "This is the minimum requirement for any enterprise to invest, operate and conduct cooperation in another country," he added. As to what would happen to a Chinese company listing Alaska or Hawaii as independent countries, the China Daily theorized: "It would definitely be considered as having infringed on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States. Of course, none of them would be stupid enough to make such a mistake as they well know that they should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a country when doing business there." Reuters contributed to this report. More From CNBC People look for victims after a floor collapsed at Indonesia's stock exchange in Jakarta People look for victims after a floor collapsed at Indonesia's stock exchange in Jakarta (AFP Photo/AMAILIA PUTRI HASNIAWATI) Jakarta (AFP) - At least 75 people were injured Monday when a mezzanine floor at Indonesia's stock exchange building collapsed into the lobby, police said, with victims carried out of the debris-filled building on stretchers. Dramatic CCTV footage showed a group of some 40 visiting students on a balcony section plunge as the floor gave way with a cascade of glass, metal and other material crashing onto the ground floor where several others were walking. A Jakarta police spokesman said the collapse was an accident and not the result of an explosion. National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto told AFP 75 people had been injured. There were no reports of deaths so far. Television images showed chaotic scenes as victims were taken to hospital or lay on the ground outside the tower complex in the centre of the sprawling city's business district. "I saw many people bleeding," student Rizki Noviandi, who was taking part in a competition at the exchange building, told Metro TV. "So many people were carried out of the building and were left on the grass outside... until the ambulances arrived." The lobby was filled with debris and toppled-over plants near a Starbucks coffee outlet, as hundreds of building employees were evacuated from the complex which was bombed by Islamist militants in 2000. At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured by a car bomb in that attack. "Our search and rescue teams, the police, doctors, the firefighters are all still working," Wasisto said. "They are cleaning the debris and also searching for other possible injuries," he added. Those hurt mostly sustained injuries to their legs and arms, including broken bones, a spokesman for one local hospital said. Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono added: "The accident happened at the first floor... It's a floor where many employees are passing by." - 'Panicking' - The collapse took place in one of two towers in the complex. Story continues "There was a sound, like something had fallen off a building structure, for about 20 seconds. Everyone was panicking and people were immediately being evacuated," Amailia Putri Hasniawati, a journalist based at the exchange, told AFP. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident at the tower in Sudirman district, which was built in 1995. "Material degradation could be the cause," construction expert Iswandi Imran told local TV. "It could be corrosion or anything which slowly degrades the strength of the structure so it cannot take the weight any longer. But all that has to be investigated." Despite the chaos Monday, trading continued as usual in the afternoon session with the main index closing 0.2 percent higher. The accident happened shortly after noon local time (0500 GMT) while the market was on its lunchtime break. "There was a loud banging so people who were inside immediately ran outside of the building," said Metro TV journalist Marlia Zein. The local office of the World Bank is housed on the 12th floor of the complex, according to its website. Reports at the time of the 2000 bombing said one of the men responsible was a member of the Free Aceh Movement, a separatist group which had been fighting for a free Islamic state in Aceh province since the mid-seventies. Some 200 cars were also damaged in the blast in an underground parking lot. The 2019 Ford Ranger is unveiled during the press preview at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 14, 2018. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook By Joseph White DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) on Sunday will officially take the wraps off its long-awaited Ranger midsize pickup truck, a year ahead of its arrival in showrooms, as rivals consolidate positions in a segment Detroit automakers once gave up for dead. Ford executives did not disclose prices or fuel efficiency ratings for the new Ranger during a briefing for the media ahead of the official unveiling at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. More than two years ago Ford telegraphed its decision to re-launch the Ranger midsize truck in North America after killing the model in 2011. At the time, Ford executives said they could satisfy pickup truck demand - and make more money - by widening the price range and engine options of its larger F-150 pickup model line. Detroit rivals General Motors Co(GM.N) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV(FCHA.MI) abandoned the segment around the same time. However, in late 2014, GM launched new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Sierra pickups, and Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co reinvigorated their midsize pickup trucks, aiming at customers who wanted to haul bikes, surfboards and other bulky recreational gear, not sheets of plywood. As gasoline prices stabilized, more customers turned to the new, smaller pickups. GM in 2017 sold more than 145,000 Colorado and Canyon trucks. Toyota, the segment leader, sold more than 198,000 Tacoma trucks in 2017, up 3.4 percent from a year earlier and 27 percent ahead of 2014, according to figures compiled by Autodata. Sales in the U.S. compact pickup segment as a whole grew in 2017 to more than 417,000 vehicles, up more than 70 percent from 2014, according to Autodata. "We see more of an opportunity that didn't exist five years ago," Ford truck marketing manager Todd Eckert said. Ford executives said the North American Ranger will share engineering and some design elements with a work-oriented pickup the company builds and sells in Southeast Asia and other markets. The exterior and interior styling of the North American Ranger will be aimed at a more affluent, recreational use buyer. The new Ranger will start arriving in North American dealerships in early 2019 and be assembled at its Wayne, Michigan, factory in suburban Detroit. Ford's decision to invest $850 million in the Wayne plant to build the Ranger and a new Bronco SUV won praise last year from U.S. President Donald Trump. (Reporting By Joe White; Editing by Bill Trott) The widespread, record-breaking cold weather led to a record-high net withdrawal of 359 Bcf from underground natural gas storage facilities for the week ending Jan 5. The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a record decrease in natural gas supplies. The massive, 359 billion cubic feet (Bcf) withdrawal was blamed on strong demand due to freezing temperatures over bulk of the country. The bullish report boosted the heating fuels price, which added around 15% for the week. About the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report brought out by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) every Thursday since 2002 includes updates on natural gas market prices, the latest storage level estimates, recent weather data and other market activities or events. The report provides an overview of the level of reserves and their movements, thereby helping investors understand the demand/supply dynamics of natural gas. It is an indicator of current gas prices and volatility that affect businesses of natural gas-weighted companies and related support plays. Analysis of the Data: Biggest Ever Draw Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states fell by Bcf for the week ended Jan 5, the largest on record and comfortably above the guidance (of 337 Bcf decline) as per the analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts, a leading independent commodities and energy data provider. Considerably colder-than-normal weather across vast swaths of the United States heavily populated regions led to soaring demand and was responsible for the huge pull from storage. Moreover, the decrease was more than twice the last years drop of 136 Bcf and the five-year (2013-2017) average net shrinkage of 169 Bcf for the reported week. Following past weeks massive decline eighth withdrawal of the 2017-2018 winter heating season the current storage level now stands at 2.767 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), 382 Bcf (12.1%) under the five-year average and 415 Bcf (5.3%) below the year-ago figure. In fact, stockpiles are now at their lowest level for the concerned week since 2008. Story continues Following EIAs latest commentary, natural gas prices jumped around 15% last week to settle at $3.20 per MMBtu on Friday -- the highest since the first half of November. Apart from the higher-than-anticipated draw, investors were also betting on the continuation of the frigid cold snap going into the end of January, leading to the heating fuels healthy demand. Positive Long-Term Thesis Despite occasional hiccups, the fundamentals of natural gas continue to be favorable in the long run, considering the secular shift to the cleaner burning fuel for power generation globally and in the Asia-Pacific region in particular. The EIA predicts global demand for the commodity to grow from 340 Bcf per day in 2015 to 485 Bcf per day by 2040. Countries in Asia and in the Middle East led by Chinas transition away from coal will account for most of this increase. And it will be the worlds largest gas producer U.S., which will step up to meet this soaring demand. With domestic prices struggling to break the $3 per million Btu threshold, U.S. natural gas companies see a big opportunity in selling cheap U.S. production at higher prices to rest of the world. In fact, more than 50% of the domestic volume growth in the near future will be used for export in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). As per Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), the United States will vie with Australia and Qatar as the top LNG exporter by 2022. Apart from the growing use of LNG and booming exports, the replacement of coal-fired power plants and higher consumption from industrial projects will likely ensure strong natural gas demand with price eventually settling well above $3. The perceived price strength augurs well for natural gas-heavy upstream companies like Rex Energy Corporation REXX, Chesapeake Energy Corporation CHK, Southwestern Energy Company SWN, WPX Energy WPX, Antero Resources Corporation AR and EQT Corporation EQT. Want to Own a Natural Gas Stock Now? If you are looking for a near term natural gas play, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation COG may be a good selection. This company actually has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Headquartered in Houston, TX, Cabot Oil & Gas is an energy exploration company with producing properties mainly in the continental U.S. Cabot focuses on high-impact natural gas-focused drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. The upstream operators expected EPS growth rate for three to five years currently stands at 30%, comparing favorably with the industry's growth rate of 20.1%. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Southwestern Energy Company (SWN) : Free Stock Analysis Report EQT Corporation (EQT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (COG) : Free Stock Analysis Report WPX Energy, Inc. (WPX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Rex Energy Corporation (REXX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Antero Resources Corporation (AR) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran on Saturday lifted restrictions on the messaging app Telegram, the state news agency IRNA said, after blocking the popular service as security forces sought to contain the most widespread public protests in the country since 2009. "An informed source announced that the filtering of the Telegram messenger has been ended and it is being used by users," IRNA reported. At least 22 people have died and 1,000 people have been arrested in the anti-government protests that began in late December. As the protests ebbed, the government last week lifted restrictions imposed on Instagram, one social media tool used to mobilise protesters. But access to the more widely used messaging app Telegram was still blocked, suggesting authorities remained uneasy about the possibility of further protests. Telegram, with 40 million users in Iran, in late December shut down a channel that Tehran had accused of encouraging violence. But it declined to block other channels, prompting Iranian authorities to block access to the app. Many Iranians access Telegram using virtual private networks (VPNs) and other tools to bypass government filtering of the Internet, residents said. But officials said hundreds of companies using the app for their marketing and sales had been hard-hit by the social media restrictions, and President Hassan Rouhani was quoted as saying about 100,000 people had lost their jobs. Thousands of government supporters have staged rallies in a backlash against the protests, which posed the boldest challenge to the Islamic establishment since widespread unrest in 2009 over alleged election fraud. Iran continues to impose restrictions on the Internet and social media, with Facebook and Twitter still blocked. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by London editing desk) (Adds U.S. focus on marine sanctions, comment from Canadian ambassador, U.S. expert) By David Ljunggren VANCOUVER, Jan 15 (Reuters) - A summit on curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions will focus in part on how to ensure countries fully implement all the sanctions imposed on the reclusive state, a Canadian government source said on Monday. Senior officials from 20 nations will gather in Vancouver on Tuesday for the full-day meeting, which is designed to increase diplomatic and financial pressure on Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear programs. Canada and the United States are co-hosts. The United Nations Security Council, which has already imposed a wide range of sanctions, last month approved new punitive measures seeking to limit Pyongyang's access to refined petroleum products and crude oil and its earnings from workers abroad. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shows little sign of bowing to the pressure. The Canadian government source said some nations had less experience than others when it came to sanctions. "It is not insignificant to talk about how we can ensure an even application of those sanctions everywhere, not just by some of the larger or more developed countries," said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. U.S. officials say the meeting will probe how to boost maritime security around North Korea to intercept ships trying to defy sanctions. Eric Walsh, Canada's ambassador to South Korea, said the uneven way punitive measures were being applied meant "there are a lot of gaps." Walsh told a panel at the University of British Columbia on Monday that "one of the things we want to do is look at how we can improve enforcement." Although immediate fears of war have eased after the first round of intra-Korean talks in more than two years last week, tensions over Kim's missile tests remain high. A Japanese government source said the world needed to "force North Korea to change its policy by maximizing pressure through all available means, including through full implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and autonomous sanctions." Story continues Scott Snyder, director of the U.S.-Korea policy program at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, said if Pyongyang felt the tougher sanctions constituted a blockade, it might interpret them as an act of war. "If sanctions are going to be effective in achieving the objective of bringing about diplomacy, (they) have to be used not as a hammer but actually as a nutcracker or a scalpel," he told the university panel. China, North Korea's main ally and principal trading partner, is not at the conference, which diplomats say will limit what can be achieved. Last month U.S. President Donald Trump accused China of allowing oil into North Korea. Beijing denied the charge. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who will be in Vancouver, on Monday said the international community had to stand united. "Sanctions are biting but we need to maintain diplomatic pressure on Kim Jong Un's regime," he said in a statement. (Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in Tokyo and Elizabeth Piper in London; Editing by Matthew Lewis) Oil holds near 3-year highs Investing.com - Crude prices were largely unchanged near recent highs in early dealings on Monday, as the market weighed rising U.S. drilling activity against ongoing efforts by major producers to cut output to reduce a global glut. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures tacked on 8 cents to $64.38 a barrel by 3:35AM ET (0835GMT). It rose to its highest since Dec. 2014 at $64.77 last Thursday. There will be no floor trading on the Nymex on Monday because of the Martin Luther King Day holiday in the U.S. All electronic transactions will be booked with Tuesday's trades for settlement. Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., were at $69.79 a barrel, down 8 cents from their last close. The contract broke above $70 last Thursday for the first time since Dec. 2014. Oil prices notched a fourth week of gains in a row last week amid ongoing optimism that OPEC-led output cuts would continue to drain the market of excess supplies. Futures have added around 13% since early December, benefiting from production cut efforts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia. The producers agreed in December to extend current oil output cuts until the end of 2018. The deal to cut oil output by 1.8 million barrels a day (bpd) was adopted last winter by OPEC, Russia and nine other global producers. The agreement was due to end in March 2018, having already been extended once. However, analysts and traders have warned that the recent rally could encourage U.S. shale oil producers to ramp up production as they look to take advantage of higher prices. The number of oil drilling rigs climbed by 10 to 752 in the week to Jan. 5, data from General Electric (NYSE:GE)'s Baker Hughes energy services unit showed, the first increase to drilling numbers in five weeks. In the week ahead, market participants will eye fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products on Wednesday and Thursday to further weigh what the impact of recent storm activity was on supply and demand. Story continues The reports come out one day later than usual due to the Martin Luther King Day holiday on Monday. Oil traders will also focus on monthly reports from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Counties and the International Energy Agency to assess global oil supply and demand levels. The data will give traders a better picture of whether a global rebalancing is taking place in the oil market. In other energy trading, gasoline futures held steady at $1.847 a gallon, while heating oil was little changed at $2.084 a gallon. Natural gas futures declined 4.6 cents, or 1.5%, to $3.154 per million British thermal units. It soared nearly 15% last week, after data showed the largest withdrawal on record in U.S. supplies in storage. Related Articles Gold Prices Climb to 4-Month High as Dollar Continues Lower Brent crude oil rises to $70 on output cuts, ignores North America rig gains Gold Prices Gain in Asia As Inflation Views Debated, US Holiday Ahead FILE PHOTO - U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao testifies before a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 7, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein By David Shepardson DETROIT (Reuters) - The Trump administration plans to unveil revised self-driving car guidelines this summer as the government sets out to rewrite regulations that pose legal barriers to robot vehicles, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said on Sunday. Chao told a Detroit auto show forum that the revised voluntary guidelines would address not only self-driving automobiles but "barriers to the safe integration of autonomous technology for motor carriers, transit, trucks, infrastructure and other modes." Chao said in a Reuters interview the department was preparing for autonomous technology coming rapidly to all transportation modes. "The technology is there, the question is how do we regulate it, how do we continue to promote innovation but also safeguard safety." Chao said. General Motors Co, Alphabet Inc, Toyota Motor Corp and many other companies are aggressively pursuing self-driving car technologies and want Congress and regulators to remove barriers to the vehicles. Bills in Congress to speed the introduction of self-driving cars do not include commercial trucks. In September, Chao announced the first set of revisions to the guidelines that were unveiled by the Obama administration and now plans a revised version by summer. Chao said her goal was to eliminate "unnecessary obstacles to the development and integration of new technology. Our approach will be tech-neutral and flexible not top-down, or command and control." She added the government would "not be in the business of picking winners or losers, or favoring one form of technology over another." In October, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, said it was looking for input on how to remove regulatory roadblocks to self-driving cars. NHTSA said in a report that it wanted to find any "unnecessary regulatory barriers" to self-driving cars "particularly those that are not equipped with controls for a human driver." Story continues 'SIGNIFICANT' HURDLES The agency also wants comments on what research it needs to conduct before deciding whether to eliminate or rewrite regulations. But it could take the agency years to complete the research and finalize rule changes. Automakers must meet nearly 75 auto safety standards, many written with the assumption that a licensed driver will be in control of the vehicle. The agency said in 2016 that current regulations posed "significant" regulatory hurdles to vehicles without human controls. Earlier this month, the Transportation Department published notices requesting comments to identify barriers to innovation including one from NHTSA, two from the Federal Transit Administration to address autonomous bus technology and barriers and one from the Federal Highway Administration to address autonomous infrastructure technology. Chao said more were planned. Last week, GM filed a petition with NHTSA requesting an exemption to have a small number of autonomous vehicles operate in a ride-share program without steering wheels or human drivers. Chao said the "department will review this petition, and give it responsible and careful consideration." Chao, who was meeting with automakers privately in Detroit at the show, has made self-driving cars a top priority. She held meetings on the subject in Silicon Valley last year, including with Google co-founder Sergey Brin. On Sunday, she urged automakers and tech companies to do more to reassure skeptical Americans about the technology. "They need to be brought along," she said of the public. "Consumer acceptance will be a constraint to growth in this industry." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Peter Cooney) The Williams Companies, Inc.s WMB Constitution Pipeline project recently suffered a major setback when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) refused to rescind New Yorks denial of a water permit to the project. The ruling has come as a blow to pipeline developers endeavors to transport additional natural gas to New England, which relies heavily on pipeline imports from Canada and overseas. Williams Companies applied for the water permit in August 2013. However, the company withdrew and resubmitted the application twice, which led to the resetting of the one-year deadline by New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). In 2016, the DEC announced its decision not to grant the water permit to Williams Companies. Interestingly, the project had received FERCs approval in early 2016. However, the DEC denied issuing a water quality permit to the pipeline claiming that the owners of the project and the FERC did not analyze the environmental impacts of the project adequately and the pipeline will possibly impact over 250 streams adversely. The pipeline company filed a petition in October 2017 requesting the FERC to repeal DECs decision. The company claimed that New York DEC failed to act on the application within the stipulated time frame. The petition filed by the company stated, The Clean Water Act specifies that if a state agency fails or refuses to act on a request for certification under Section 401 within a reasonable period of time, which shall not exceed one year, after receipt of such request, the certification requirements shall be waived. However, the FERC maintained that DEC acted within the necessary time frame, given the constant withdrawal of applications by the company which had deferred the decision. Notably, FERC had revoked New York Department of Environmental Conservations (DEC) denial of water quality certification to Millennium Pipeline in September 2017. Williams Companies had been hoping for a similar outcome for Constitution Pipeline, however FERCs latest verdict crushed the hopes of the company to make its pipeline come online by 2019. Nevertheless, the company is planning to seek a rehearing. Story continues Notably, the project has also drawn severe censure from various activists and environmental groups as they are of the opinion that the project will have implications on public health and environment. Constitution Pipeline project is jointly owned by William Companies, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation COG , WGL Holdings, Inc. WGL and Piedmont Natural Gas Company which was acquired by Duke Energy Corporation DUK last year. The $750-million project runs from Pennsylvania to Schoharie County and has the capacity to transport 650,000 dekatherms of gas each day. Oklahoma-based Williams Companies presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1(Strong Buy) Rank stocks here. Over a year, Williams Companies stock has outperformed the industry it belongs to. During the aforesaid period, Williams Companies shares have rallied more than 16.2% against the 1.5% gain of the broader industry. Wall Streets Next Amazon Zacks EVP Kevin Matras believes this familiar stock has only just begun its climb to become one of the greatest investments of all time. Its a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in pure genius. Click for details >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) : Free Stock Analysis Report WGL Holdings Inc (WGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Williams Companies, Inc. (The) (WMB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (COG) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun Etienne Oliveau/Getty Chinese phone maker Xiaomi has begun picking banks to underwrite its public offering, which might value the firm at up to $100 billion, according to Bloomberg. The firm may go public in the second half of this year. Xiaomi was once the biggest smartphone maker in China, earning it plaudits as "the Apple of China." The firm has sunk to fourth place in China behind Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo, but has made strong progress in India where it's one of the top three manufacturers. Xiaomi, one of the biggest smartphone brands in China, is picking banks ahead of an IPO at a possible valuation of $100 billion (72.3 billion). According to Bloomberg, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and Deutsche Bank are all working on the flotation, though Xiaomi may still pick additional Chinese underwriters. An IPO could come in the second half of 2018. Xiaomi is the fourth biggest smartphone maker in China, behind Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo. The firm was nicknamed the "Apple of China" around 2014, when it was the most popular smartphone brand in its home market, with copycat iPhone-like devices which ran Android such as the Mi4. But Xiaomi didn't maintain that lead position for long against competition from Huawei. Huawei took the top spot in China in 2015, helped by its role in the Google Nexus 6P. In a note to employees at the beginning of 2017, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun admitted that the firm had grown too quickly, dogged by supply chain issues and competition from cheap local rivals. The firm holds around 14% of its home market, making it still bigger than Apple, but far behind Huawei on 19%. In his note, Lei Jun said the firm was aiming for 100 billion Chinese Yuan ($15.5 billion, 11.3 billion) in revenue for 2017 which the company hit within 10 months. Despite its slowing performance in China, Xiaomi has pushed ahead in India, where it is one of the top three smartphone makers. Story continues According to Bloomberg, Xiaomi is thinking of entering the US market though it may be put off by what's happened to its peer Huawei. Huawei's big push into the US last week was scuppered by US carriers pulling back on distribution deals on security fears. NOW WATCH: Check out these unique bikes if you're looking for an upgrade See Also: SEE ALSO: Apple's delayed iPhone X gave Samsung a massive boost in the UK In what appears to be yet another false start for peace talks, the Afghan government and the Taliban have denied they are engaged in peace negotiations in Turkey. In an apparent attempt to quash the hopes raised by a widely reported meeting participated by members of the Afghan Taliban and government advisers, Kabul downplayed the participation of officials. Shah Hussain Murtazawi, a spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, said presidential advisers Homayoun Jarir and Abass Basir were acting in a personal capacity in Istanbul. Individuals talking to a number of Taliban members in Turkey do not represent the Afghan government, he wrote on Facebook on January 15. Zabihullah Mujahid, a purported spokesman for the Taliban, also denied Taliban representatives were involved in any peace talks. Reports about delegation of IEA (eds: Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan -- formal name of the Taliban) participating at talks in Turkey are baseless, Mujahid wrote on Twitter. We have neither sent any delegation nor can any participant represent the Islamic Emirate. Afghan and international media reports said Mullah Abdul Rauf Akhund, Rahmatullah Wardak, and Mullah Abdul Haleem Akhund participated in three-day discussions that ended January 15. Aminullah Muzzaffari, a spokesman for the Afghan High Peace Council, however, said the meeting might prompt the insurgents to join formal peace talks. It is important to note that this was an unofficial meeting, but it was participated by members of all sides, he told Radio Free Afghanistan on January 15. We hope this meeting will open the door to future talks. Kabul has been trying to talk to the Taliban since 2008, but formal peace talks still appear elusive after numerous false starts and major setbacks. In July 2015, some senior members of the Taliban met with senior Afghan officials in the first meeting of its kind brokered by Pakistan. While the meeting in Murree, a resort town near the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, was observed by diplomats from China and the United States, the Taliban were swift in expressing their disapproval. "When the dust settles, the much-hailed talks between Taliban officials and [Afghan President Ashraf] Ghani-administration officials in Islamabad will be revealed as nothing more than Pakistan delivering a few individuals from the Islamic Emirate to speak in their personal capacity," read a hard-hitting English-language commentary published on the Taliban's website. The piece, titled A Pakistani Roulette: Pakistani-Brokered Peace Talks, was quickly removed from the insurgents website. A Taliban contact office was opened in Qatar in 2013. But it only achieved the release of five insurgent prisoners from the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay in exchange for securing the release of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl from Taliban captivity in 2014. In 2011, the Taliban assassinated Burhannuddin Rabbani. The former Afghan president was heading the peace council formed by President Hamid Karzai in 2010 to negotiate with the insurgents. He was assassinated by a suicide bomber who posed as a peace emissary. A year earlier, it emerged that an imposter pocketed substantial sums of money after posing as Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansur for months and meeting with senior Afghan and NATO officials. During a visit to India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to catch up with Pakistani militants who killed a Jewish couple who were among the dead in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. "Ultimately we will catch up with the killers but the objective is also to prevent future killers," Netanyahu said about the attack by members of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e Taiba. Netanyahu made the remarks in New Delhi on January 15, a day after arriving in India for a six-day visit aimed at bolstering relations between the two countries. India has accused agencies in Pakistan, its regional rival, of backing the Mumbai attackers. Pakistan denies the charge, but also has angered India by releasing the alleged ringleader behind the attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, from jail in 2015 on bail of $1,900. Netanyahu on January 15 said he was disappointed by Indias refusal to support the United States in its recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital, but would not let the issue spoil his visit. India in December joined more than 100 countries at the United Nations who condemned the U.S. move. Ahead of Netanyahus visit, India also cancelled a $500 million deal to purchase Israeli Spike anti-tank missiles. Netanyahu said he hopes to reach an equitable solution on the missile deal during his visit. In addition to delegates from Israeli businesses, Netanyahu is accompanied by Moshe Holtzberg, an 11-year-old boy whose parents were among 166 people killed in the Mumbai attacks. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and Press India rs/sg WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev on January 16 to discuss regional security, economic issues, and bilateral relations, the White House says. The White House said the two leaders will discuss "several international challenges," including Afghanistan, that are expected to affect Kazakhstan's term as president of the United Nations Security Council. Kazakh state news agency Kazinform said Trump and Nazarbaev will also discuss relations with Russia and the war in Syria, along with trade issues, during their talks. The U.S. is a major trade and investment partner of Kazakhstan, said Sanat Kushkumbaev, the deputy director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, which advises the Kazakh president. From a political perspective, we cooperate on solutions and promotion of regional and global security. The meeting will focus on the situation in Afghanistan, the Syrian conflict, and relations with Russia, Kazinform quoted Kushkumbaev as saying. Afghanistan is likely to be high on the agenda during Kazakhstans Security Council presidency. Kazakh Ambassador Kairat Umarov, who took over the rotating one-month presidency of the council on New Years Day, said on January 11 that council members are considering a visit to Afghanistan to get a better understanding of the war-torn country's prospects and needs. "We think it's important for Security Council members to get the update of the situation from the ground," Umarov said. He did not give any date for the visit, which he said would be the first to Afghanistan by the full council in seven years. After a January 9 meeting with U.S. Ambassador George Krol in Astana, the Kazakh president said he was seeking to build on the "amicable relationship" the two countries have established in the past 26 years. He said he hoped to further cooperate with Washington in the fight against terrorism and in strengthening nuclear nonproliferation and expanding trade and investment, news agencies reported. "About 500 companies with U.S. participation are working in Kazakhstan, and more than 140 of them are joint ventures. They are manufacturing goods and exporting their products to other countries," he said ahead of his three-day trip to the United States. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Interfax On January 16, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh Republic), the OSCE Mission will conduct a planned monitoring of the ceasefire regime on the border of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, on the Akna-Hindarkh road section. From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring will be conducted by Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO) Mihail Olaru (Moldova) and staff member of the Office of the CiO Personal Representative Martin Schuster (Germany). The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have expressed their readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and to ensure the security of the OSCE Mission members. A top Pakistani official says the country will attempt to privatize its national airline before parliamentary elections are held later this year. Privatization Minister Daniyal Aziz told the Reuters news agency in an interview published on January 14 that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party wants to restart sales of loss-making, state-run businesses as soon as possible. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been losing money in the face of well-capitalized regional Gulf rivals such as Etihad and Emirates. PIA was one of 68 state-owned entities set for privatization in 2013 as part of a deal in which the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would provide some $6.7 billion to help Islamabad avoid a default. The privatization of PIA stalled in 2016 after staff protests, and the government then moved to block the sale. But Aziz said his Privatization Commission has drawn up new plans for the sale of PIA and that the proposals would be taken to the cabinet committee on privatization. "Next step would be going to the cabinet committee...and that's imminent, maybe even next week," Aziz said. He added that the new plan would see the core airline business being separated from other holdings, such as catering, hotels, and maintenance. The core airline would then be sold, he said, although he did not provide an estimated value for the unit. Emirates and Etihad showed interest in acquiring PIA before the government blocked the sell-off and are still looking into a deal, The Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing an unnamed official. The Privatization Commission found potential strategic buyers for two top loss-making, state-owned entities -- PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills, the official told the newspaper. Emirates and Etihad Airways were showing great interest in PIA, he said. Aziz said there had been huge interest in Pakistan Steel Mills, now shut down but once a major industrial operation. He added that because of time restraints ahead of the elections, the Privatization Commission will attempt to arrange deals for one state company per sector. But the real challenge is to bring to fruition the two big animals: one is PIA and the other one is Steel Mills," Aziz said. Many analysts say it remains to be seen whether the government will want to take any measures that would be opposed by the powerful labor unions in the run-up the national elections, likely to take place this summer on a date to be determined. With reporting by Reuters and The Express Tribune English Swedish Malmo, Sweden, January 15, 2018 - Hoylu, a leading enterprise collaboration company, announced today that it has entered into a reseller and distribution partnership agreement with Mevis.tv, a leading professional media technology solutions provider located in Stuttgart, Germany. With a large organization and expertise in creating innovative, highly collaborative systems in the field of media technology, videoconferencing, Unified -Communications and broadcast. Mevis.tv has already closed business in Q4 selling Hoylu products and services in the financial space, and are expected to continue to expand Hoylu's ability to reach the German market. Hoylu's solutions and software offer new and exciting ways to learn and collaborate smarter, faster and more efficiently. Based on years of research, the Hoylu Software Suite is designed from the ground up to offer the best possible user experience for individual and multiple users working with ideation, creative collaboration and presentations. For more information, please contact: Stein Revelsby, CEO at Hoylu +1 213 440 2499 Email: sr@hoylu.com Karl Wiersholm, CFO at Hoylu +1 425 829 2316 Email: kw@hoylu.com Hoylu AB Hoylu delivers solutions for presentation, ideation and collaboration that focus on enhancing the user experience. The company's main area of interest is software for Creative Collaboration, combined with intuitive input and display technologies. This includes technologies for remote collaboration, Internet of Things and for connecting workspaces in different locations together, with the objective of simplifying work processes while improving productivity and creativity. For more information: www.hoylu.com or visit www.introduce.se/foretag/hoylu Ticker symbol: Hoylu Marketplace: Nasdaq First North Stockholm Certified Adviser: Remium Nordic AB +46(0)84543200 Mevis.tv GmbH With more than 70 employees, is e one of the largest and most successful companies in the industry. The company implements demanding projects in the field of professional multimedia technology for many well-known global market leading companies in Germany. The business areas include conference and media technology, videoconferencing, Unified Communications, IP streaming, broadcast, professional audio and event technology . For more information: www.mevis.tv Publication This information is information that Hoylu AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at (8:30) CEST on January 15, 2018. TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rupert Resources Ltd (TSX-V:RUP) (FSE:R05) (Rupert or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding letter of intent dated effective January 15, 2018 (LOI) with Northern Aspect Resources Ltd. (NARL) to complete a business combination, whereby the Company has agreed, subject to certain conditions, to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of NARL (the Transaction). James Withall, Chief Executive Officer of Rupert Resources, said, The transaction augments Ruperts asset portfolio in Finland at a very competitive acquisition cost. Rupert will have a presence in two of the most prospective regions for gold in Finland with a primary focus on the Pahtavaara Project in the high profile Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. NARL is a privately owned, British Columbia incorporated company with a 100% beneficial interest in the Hirsikangas and Osikonmaki properties in Central Finland. The Hirsikangas property consists of six (6) claims, plus two (2) reservations, all of which are valid. The Osikonmaki property consists of seven (7) claims, plus one (1) reservation, that are valid, and two (2) claims that are in application for renewal. Using a 0.5 g/t cut off grade, Hirsikangas has Indicated mineral resources of 3.002 Mt at a grade of 1.23 g/t Au (119koz) and Inferred mineral resources of 2.673 Mt at a grade of 1.27 g/t Au (106koz) (collectively, the Hirsikangas Resources). Using a 0.5 g/t cut off grade, Osikonmaki has Indicated mineral resources of 1.296 Mt at a grade of 1.70 g/t Au (68koz) and Inferred mineral resource of 3.542 Mt at a grade of 2.09 g/t Au (244koz) (collectively, the Osikonmaki Resources). The Transaction The LOI is to be superseded by a definitive agreement (Definitive Agreement) to be signed on or before February 28, 2018 (or such other date as is agreed by the parties). Rupert proposes to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of NARL pursuant to the terms of the Definitive Agreement, in exchange for 4,913,466 common shares of the Company. Given that the last closing price of the common shares of the Company prior to the issuance of this press release was $0.85 per share, aggregate consideration payable pursuant to the Transaction is deemed to be approximately $4.18 million. The Transaction is conditional upon, among other things: (i) the parties and all shareholders of NARL entering into a Definitive Agreement in respect to the Transaction and any collateral issues or matters on or before February 28, 2018; and (ii) the parties receiving all requisite regulatory approval, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, and any third party approvals and authorizations. Mr. James Withall, a director and CEO of the Company, is the CEO of NARL, and therefore the Transaction constitutes a related party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI61-101 based on a determination that the securities of the Company are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and that neither the fair market value of the subject matter of, nor the fair market value of the consideration for, the Transaction, in so far as it involves interested parties, exceeds 25% of the market capitalization of the Company. NI 43-101 Reports in Respect of NARL Properties A National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) technical report titled Hirsikangas Gold Deposit, Central Ostrobothnia, Finland and dated November 30, 2009 (the Hirsikangas Report) was prepared for Belvedere Resources Ltd. (Belvedere) by Thomas Lindholm, M.Sc, MAusIMM, Senior Mining Engineer of GeoVista AB, and sets forth the Hirsikangas Resources. The Hirsikangas Report was filed by Belvedere under its profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on November 30, 2009. To the best of the Companys knowledge, information and belief, there is no new material scientific or technical information that would make the disclosure of the Hirsikangas Resources in the Hirsikangas Report inaccurate or misleading. Since the Hirsikangas Report, Belvedere Resources Ltd. completed a 16 hole, 1106 metre drill campaign at Hirsikangas. The results of this drilling program were filed on SEDAR by Belvedere on July 3, 2012. This drilling was outside the area of defined mineralisation and whilst promising is not expected to materially change the existing resource. As such, the Company considers the Hirsikangas Report to be current, pending further investigation/work by the Company. Michael Sutton, P. Geo., a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, has reviewed the Hirsikangas Report on behalf of the Company. A NI 43-101 report will be completed within 180 days to support the Hirsikangas Resources estimate. A NI 43-101 technical report titled Mineral Resource Estimate of the Rantasalmi Gold Deposit in Finland and dated October 10, 2011 (the Osikonmaki Report) was prepared for Belvedere by Alexandra Akyurek, M.Sc, CSci MIMMM, Project Manager and Reviewer and of Golder Associates (UK) Ltd., and sets forth the Osikonmaki Resources. The Osikonmaki Report was filed by Belvedere under its profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on October 19, 2011. To the best of the Companys knowledge, information and belief, there is no new material scientific or technical information that would make the disclosure of the Osikonmaki Resources in the Osikonmaki Report inaccurate or misleading. Since the Osikonmaki Report was written, 22 holes totalling 2,227m were drilled on the periphery of the resource pursuant to an option agreement and Belvedere filed the results thereof in a news release on SEDAR on April 23, 2012. Although encouraging the results are not expected to materially change the 2011 resource. As such, the Company considers the Osikonmaki Report to be current, pending further investigation/work by the Company. Michael Sutton, P. Geo., a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, has reviewed the Osikonmaki Report on behalf of the Company. A NI 43-101 report will be completed within 180 days to support the Osikonmaki Resources estimate. Both the Hirsikangas Report and the Osikonmaki Report were prepared by authors that are independent of the Company. For the parameters/methods used in estimating the mineral resource estimates set forth in those reports, please refer to each of the reports themselves (as referenced above, the Hirsikangas Report and the Osikonmaki Report were filed by Belvedere under its profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Qualified Persons In compliance with NI 43-101, Mr. Mike Sutton, P.Geo. is the Qualified Person for Rupert who supervised the preparation the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release. About Rupert Rupert is a Canadian based gold exploration and development company that is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol RUP. The Company owns the Pahtavaara gold mine, mill, and exploration permits and concessions located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in Northern Finland (see the Companys November 9, 2016 press release). The Company also holds a 100% interest in the Gold Centre property, which consists of mineral claims located in the Balmer Township, Red Lake Mining Division of Ontario. For further information, please contact: James Withall Chief Executive Officer jwithall@rupertmining.com Thomas Credland Head of Corporate Development & Investor Relations tcredland@rupertmining.com Rupert Resources Ltd 82 Richmond Street East, Suite 203, Toronto, Ontario M5C 1P1 Tel: +1 416-304-9004 Web: http://rupertresources.com/ Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements This press release contains statements which constitute forward-looking statements, including the completion of the proposed Transaction, deadlines, regulatory approvals, business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words may, would, could, will, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the general risks of the mining industry, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the Company's annual Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended February 28, 2017 available at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law. Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources Information concerning the properties and operations discussed in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian standards under applicable Canadian securities laws, and may not be comparable to similar information for United States companies. The terms mineral resource, Indicated mineral resource and Inferred mineral resource used in this news release are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with NI 43-101 under guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves adopted by the CIM Council on May 10, 2014. While the terms mineral resource, Indicated mineral resource and Inferred mineral resource are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, they are not defined terms under standards of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Under United States standards, mineralization may not be classified as a reserve unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve calculation is made. As such, certain information contained in this news release concerning descriptions of mineralization and resources under Canadian standards is not comparable to similar information made public by United States companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. An Inferred mineral resource has a great amount of uncertainty as to its existence and as to its economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. Readers are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. Readers are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an Inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. In addition, the definitions of Proven Mineral Reserves and Probable Mineral Reserves under CIM standards differ in certain respects from the standards of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Hoersholm, Denmark, January 15, 2018 - Medical Prognosis Institute A/S (MPI.ST) spinout Oncology Venture AB (OV:ST) announces: As previously announced to the market on December 14, 2017, Oncology Venture hereby disclose the initial conclusion from a study of the DRP of a phase 3 TKI product from Big Pharma: in the study of data from renal cancer patients' biopsies - where the DRP score was compared with the outcome of clinical trial results - a consistent result was found. Based on this, the Company's goal is to develop the drug and it's DRP to commercial success. Several parameters were evaluated in this blinded study and though some were not statistically significant, others were, and a consistent signal was seen of the TKI DRPs ability to foresee clinical benefit in the phase 3 TKI trial in renal cancer patients. Oncology Venture has decided to execute the TKI license which has already been negotiated. No further details have been disclosed on the financial content of the deal. "The TKI product will be the strongest and most advanced in Oncology Ventures pipeline with clear efficacy in several cancers. I am confident that Oncology Venture can develop the TKI to commercialisation and once the full data package is in-house MPI can further develop the DRP to a useful tool for clinical guidance to foresee patients' benefit of the drug ", says Peter Buhl Jensen, MD, PhD and CEO of Oncology MPI. In addition to 2X Oncology, of which Oncology Venture currently owns 92%, Oncology Venture has spun out Danish OV-SPV 2, which will test and potentially develop an in-licensed, oral phase 2 Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor. For further information, please contact: CEO, Peter Buhl Jensen, MD, Ph.D. Ulla Hald Buhl, IR & Communication E-mail: pbj@medical-prognosis.com E-mail: uhb@medical-prognosis.com Telephone: +45 21 60 89 22 Telephone +45 21 70 10 49 About MPI Medical Prognosis Institute is a publicly traded international company specialized in improving cancer patients' lives by developing Personalized Medicine using its unique DRP technology. MPI's exceptional opportunity to personalize cancer treatment begins with Breast Cancer moving on to Multiple Myeloma and Prostate Cancer as the first steps. MPI's DRP tool has shown its ability to separate patients who benefit and who do not benefit from a specific cancer treatment. This has been shown in as many as 29 out of 37 trials, and covers more than 80 anti-cancer treatments in a wide range of cancer indications. MPI has built a significant large database with over 1,400 screened breast cancer patients and is building up a database in Multiple Myeloma to be followed by Prostate cancer in collaboration with oncologists and hematologists throughout Denmark. MPI has ownership of Oncology Venture (Publ) a spinout with three anti-cancer drugs in pipeline entered and of the privately hold Special Purpose Vehicles, 2X Oncology Inc. and OV-SPV2 Aps with four products in pipeline. About the Drug Response Predictor (DRP) Companion Diagnostic Oncology Venture uses the Medical Prognosis Institute (MPI) multi gene DRP technology to select those patients that, by the genetic signature in their cancer, is found to have a high likelihood of response to a given drug. The goal is to develop the drug for the right patients by screening patients before treatment, whereby the response rate can be significantly increased. The DRP method builds on the comparison of sensitive vs. resistant human cancer cell lines including genomic information from cell lines combined with clinical tumor biology and clinical correlates in a systems biology network. The DRP is based on messenger RNA from the patients' biopsies. The DRP platform (i.e. the DRP and the PRP(TM) biomarkers) can be used in all cancer types, and is patented for more than 70 anti-cancer drugs in the US. The PRP(TM) is commercialized by MPI for Personalized Medicine. The DRP is commercialized by Oncology Venture for drug development. About Oncology Venture Sweden AB Oncology Venture Sweden AB is engaged in the research and development of anti-cancer drugs via its wholly owned Danish subsidiary Oncology Venture ApS. Oncology Venture has an exclusive license to use the Drug Response Predictor (DRP) technology in order to significantly increase the probability of success in clinical trials. DRP has proven its ability to provide a statistically significant prediction of clinical outcomes from drug treatment in cancer patients in 29 of the 37 clinical studies that were examined. The Company uses a model that alters the odds in comparison with traditional pharmaceutical development. Instead of treating all patients with a particular type of cancer, patients' tumors' genes are screened first with DRP and only those who are most likely to respond to the treatment will be treated. Via a more well-defined patient group, the risk and costs are reduced while the development process becomes more efficient. The current product portfolio: LiPlaCis for Breast Cancer in collaboration with Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Irofulven developed from a fungus for prostate cancer and APO010 - an immuno-oncology product for Multiple Myeloma. Oncology Venture has spun out two companies in Special Purpose Vehicles: 2X Oncology Inc. a US based company focusing on Precision medicine for women's cancers with a pipeline of three promising phase 2 product candidates and Danish OV-SPV 2 will test and potentially develop the Novartis small molecule kinase inhibitor. This information is information that Medical Prognosis Institute A/S is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on January 15, 2018. Certified Adviser: Sedermera Fondkommission, Norra Vallgatan 64, 211 22, Malmo, Sweden gmt1 wrote: Administrative executive : Clearly, censorship exists if we, as citizens, are not allowed to communicate what we are ready to communicate at our own expense or if other citizens are not permitted access to our communications at their own expense. Public unwillingness to provide funds for certain kinds of scientific, scholarly, or artistic activities cannot, therefore, be described as censorship. The flawed reasoning in the admin executive's argument is most parallel to that in which one of the following? (A) All actions that cause unnecessary harm to others are unjust: so if a just action causes harm to others, that action must be necessary. (B) Since there is more to good manners than simply using polite forms of address, it is not possible to say on first meeting a person whether or not that person has good manners. (C) Acrophobia, usually defined as a morbid fear of heights, can also mean a morbid fear of sharp objects. Since both fears have the same origin. (D) There is no doubt that a deed is heroic if the doer risks his or her own life to benefit another person. Thus an action is not heroic if only thing it endangers is the reputation of the doer. (E) Perception of beauty in an object is determined by past and present influences on the mind of the beholder. Thus on object can be called beautiful, since not everyone will see beauty in it. Source : LSAT PrepTest 10 - February 1994 - LSAT OFFICIAL EXPLANATION FROM POWERSCORE Citizens Allowed to Communicate Citizens Permitted Access "Be challenged at EVERY MOMENT." Strength doesnt come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldnt. "Each stage of the journey is crucial to attaining new heights of knowledge." | Please DO NOT post short answer in your post! Advanced Search : https://gmatclub.com/forum/advanced-search/ Rules for posting in verbal forum | Please DO NOT post short answer in your post! Signature Read More Complete Question ExplanationParallel Flaw. The correct answer choice is (D)The stimulus contains flawed reasoning in the form of a mistaken negation...... OR ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... CensorshipTherefore,Citizens Allowed to Communicate..... AND ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... CensorshipCitizens Permitted Access(if the public itself is unwilling to provide funds)Since we are seeking an answer which parallels this reasoning, we should look for the choice that contains a mistaken negation.Answer choice (A): This is not the correct answer since it is a proper contrapositive:Actions that cause Unnecessary Harm ..... ..... Just ActionTherefore,Just Action ..... ..... Actions that cause Unnecessary HarmIf a just action causes harm, then, it must be necessary since just actions never cause unnecessary harm. This is a valid reasoning, and is not the correct answer.Answer choice (B): This answer choice does not contain a mistaken negation. The conclusion also does not match that of the stimulus.Answer choice (C): This choice does not contain a mistaken negation. The conclusion also does not match that of the stimulus.Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. It is a mistaken negation which parallels that found in the stimulus.Doer Risks Life to Benefit Another ..... ..... HeroicTherefore,Doer Risks Life to Benefit Another (if the only thing the doer risks is his reputation) ..... ..... HeroicIt contains a mistaken negation just as the stimulus does.Answer choice (E): This answer choice doe not reflect a mistaken negation._________________ A company co-owned by Avetis Berberyan, an assistant to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, plans to build a brewery and restaurant in the resort community of Arzni, in Kotayk Province. Shares in Beter River Ltd. are registered in the name of Berberyans mother Yeghisabet Shmavonyan. Its a somewhat common practice in Armenia for government officials to register their assets and businesses under the name of close friends and family members, thus avoiding conflict of interest and other issues Mrs. Shmavonyan failed to mention that shes a company shareholder in her 2015 and 2016 financial disclosures. (Shes required to file as a close family member of a government official) Avetis Berberyan was appointed a presidential assistant in January 2011. For the year, he disclosed AMD 1 billion (US$2.070 million) in revenue. Berberyan doesnt appear to be living solely on his official wages as presidential assistant. Since his appointment, Berberyan has purchased and sold five luxury automobiles ranging from a $35K Toyota FJ-Cruiser to a $120K Lexus LX 570. Berberyan has yet to file a financial disclosure for 2017. P.S. Berberyan is also said to own the Dargett Craft Brewery in Yerevan Now, Irans deputy energy minister announced that the current Iranian calendar year, from March 21, 2017 to March 21, 2018, has been the driest in the last 50 years. As well, the agency in charge of forests and pastures has also stated that out of 600 agricultural and grazing plains, 355 have tuned arid. An official of the agency admitted that water resources have been abused. In fact, 6 billion cubic meters of underground water a year are being extracted illegally. Another official of the energy ministry, Rahim Meydani, warned of a drastic reduction in precipitation in the current year, as irrigation dams have received 30 percent less water compared to previous Iranian year. Even regions adjacent to the Persian Gulf received 67 percent less rain, and in several other provinces, where forecasts were good, there has been 40-75 percent less precipitation. Tehrans governor recently voiced concern about a serious shortage in drinking water for the capital, saying that the region has had the least amount of precipitation in the last 50 years. For years, experts, scientists, and government officials have warned of a water crisis, yet local media reports that the government does not have the necessary financial resources to take steps to improve water management. Although the budget proposal was presented quietly this year, people began examining it. They found information on Irans religious institutes, on the budget of certain parts of the Revolutionary Guards, and other information that showed where the government was spending money. They also learned that they would be forced to pay more for fuel. They read that the monthly cash handouts of Iran, $12 a person, would be canceled for 30 million Iranians. This information made people angry. A social media movement called Change the budget in favor of the people has been demanding a reduction of appropriations for the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps, and religious institutions. Clearly, this money would be better spent to manage Irans dwindling water reserves. But the as the Iranian people in their nationwide protests in past weeks announced, the one and only solution to all these problems is nothing but regime change, otherwise a country over an ocean of oil and enormous natural resources all over the country, with one of the youngest population of the world, could easily overcome its environmental problems. Consequently, instead of taking significant action or offering such clarification, the Iranian regime instead issued further vague threats, this time in response to the Trump administrations latest punitive measures against Irans non-nuclear activities. Coinciding with the decision that preserves the JCPOA over the short term, the White House announced new sanctions for 14 individuals and entities, including Sadeq Larijani, the head of the Iranian judiciary. As Reuters reported on Saturday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry specifically responded to the action against Larijani, saying that it crossed all red lines of conduct in the international community and is a violation of international law and will surely be answered by a serious reaction of the Islamic Republic. But the Iranian judiciary itself has also been variously accused of violating international law, as in the case of its usage of the death penalty in cases of non-violent crimes and against defendants who were under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged crimes. Human rights abuses by the judiciary and other hardline Iranian institutions had been given renewed focus over the previous two weeks as tens of thousands of Iranians carried out demonstrations in at least 80 cities, leading to predictable crackdowns and threats of execution for leading participants in the uprising. One Iranian lawmaker stated that 3,700 people had been detained as of Friday, and the intelligence network of the National Council of Resistance of Iran determined the number of arrests to be more than twice that number. In addition, at least 22 people, and possibly more than 50, were killed either while in detention or in clashes with security forces. Most media are now reporting that these protests are fading from view, but many also believe that they will have far-reaching consequences including the potential for resurgent unrest at some point in the near future. This has provided an unexpected backdrop for commentary on the Trump administrations recent decisions, both with regard to the nuclear deal and with regard to broader sanctions policy. In the first place, the crackdown on those protests helps to justify punitive actions against Larijani and others. But at the same time, the protests may complicate discussions about the possible return of American sanctions. Fox News published an article on Sunday by former State Department official YJ Fischer, in which she criticized Trumps threats against the JCPOA, specifically in context of the potential for domestically-driven regime change in the Islamic Republic. Fischer argued that re-imposing sanctions could undermine that prospect by giving rise to a surge of nationalism, and that they would be ineffective at accomplishing broader policy goals in any event. Fischer went on to suggest that Congress revoke the requirements for the presidents period approval of the JCPOA, with an eye toward focusing the White Houses attention on alternative measures for responding to the protests. These include further sanctions against human rights violators, like those imposed on Larijani, as well as measures aimed at improving the flow of communication within the heavily censored Islamic Republic, so as to improve the organizational capabilities of anti-government activists. As with many other critics of Trumps stance on the nuclear deal, Fischers argument highlights the lack of existing support for that stance among American allies and the other signatories of the JCPOA. It bears mentioning, however, that that situation could change in the time between now and the next waiver deadline. Indeed, the Associated Press reported on Monday that the German government has expressed interest in sitting down with American counterparts in order to acquire a better understanding of what the White House is demanding of its European partners as a condition for the preservation of the agreement. European leaders have generally been steadfast in their support of the JCPOA, but have also expressed a belief in the need to better rein in Iranian behavior. This latter trend seems to have accelerated in recent months, presumably as a result of the White Houses ongoing outreach to those figures over issues such as Irans ballistic missile activities and interference into the affairs of nearby Middle Eastern nations. Even in absence of such communications from the Trump administration, some European governments might have nevertheless strengthened their positions on the Islamic Republic due to its own activities. Last week, Reuters reported that Germany had summoned the Iranian ambassador over the issue of Iranian operatives spying on Germany soil. A Pakistani man was convicted last year for operating in such a capacity. The individual also reportedly gathered information on an individual in France. The specific targets of this spying were persons with ties to the state of Israel, a fact that was highlighted in the Germany foreign ministrys statement on the matter. This in turn speaks to the cooperative relationship between the German and Israeli governments, which could provide support for the Trump administrations project of swaying German policy in favor of measures to strengthen the nuclear deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among the most vocal critics of the JCPOA during its negotiation, warning that it would not bar Irans progress toward a nuclear weapon but would instead pave the way. Accordingly, the Israeli leadership has been eagerly supportive of the Trump administrations efforts to compel the renegotiation or supplementation of that agreement. On Monday, Bloomberg reported upon Netanyahus specific backing of Trumps ultimatum to European leaders regarding the future of the nuclear deal. I think its the last chance for the Western world to fix the deal, Netanyahu was quoted as saying. They need to make changes that will prevent Iran from advancing unperturbed to nuclear weapons. That is what this deal allows. But Trumps ultimatum was directed not only at European partners but also at the US Congress. In fact, in expressing its willingness to hear Trumps demands, the German foreign ministry noted that it understood the American president to have been targeting lawmakers in his own country first and foremost when he made his latest statement on nuclear sanctions. The Washington Examiner also used the word ultimatum on Monday in its own take on Trumps statement, which it said had significantly increased presume on congressional negotiations over a bill that would revise the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act and address Trumps demands. Although European leaders may be waiting for additional clarification of their own expected role, the White House has made rather clear its demands for congressional lawmakers. The Examiner quoted Trump as saying, Any bill I sign must include four critical components, namely the removal of sunset provisions that allow restrictions on Iranian nuclear activity to expire after 15 years, immediate access to all sites targeted by international inspectors, the imposition of new sanctions on nuclear-capable ballistic missiles that were not mentioned in the text of the JCPOA, and provisions for the automatic resumption of nuclear-related sanctions if Iran violates the deal in any way. Prior to Trumps issuance of this ultimatum, it was suggested that his decision on the sanctions waivers might be determined in large part by the perceived progress of congressional negotiations on this matter. By most accounts there has been little to no progress since the prospective bill was first outlined. The presidents ultimatum has supposedly imposed a firm deadline on those deadlines while also giving the White House about four months to obtain buy-in from the other negotiating parties. Progress may have already been made on this latter front as it relates to Germany, France, and Britain. But the Trump administration may have a more difficult time with China and especially Russia. Reuters reported on Monday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had definitively rejected the notion of Russian support for Trumps proposed changes to the existing agreement. Those changes, he said, would be absolutely unacceptable for Iran and could also have implications for efforts to negotiate with other countries such as North Korea over their nuclear activities. But Moscows defense of the Iranian position is almost certainly related to the established alliance between those two countries. Yet the durability of that alliance has often been presented as an open question. Although it has been strengthened by their mutual participation in the defense of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad during that countrys seven-year civil war, many analysts have suggested that Russian and Iranian interests could diverge in Syria. The White House may have a clearer picture of prospects for that divergence at the end of the month, when representatives of Iran, Russia, and Turkey are expected to gather in the town of Sochi for the latest round of talks on a political resolution to the Syrian Civil War. Notably, this comes after Al Jazeera reported that Turkey had summoned its Russian and Iranian ambassadors to protest reported violations of the de-escalation zones that they had established in Syria. According to Agence France Presse, 95 percent of these violations have been by pro-regime forces. Additionally, previous reports have attributed the overwhelming majority of these violations to Iranian forces or their local proxies, while Russia has been credited with serious efforts to enforce ceasefires and pursue a political solution that Iran might regard as an unfavorable compromise. Larijani is already on the sanctions list in the European Union. The EU previously imposed sanctions on him when was accused of playing a key role in serious human rights violations. It has been reported that Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, his predecessor as judiciary chief, may also be added to the EU sanctions list. While Shahroudi was in Germany for medical treatment, German authorities announced that he was under investigation for crimes against humanity. By January 12 he had returned to Tehran. Morteza Razavi, president of Malaysia-based Green Wave Telecommunication and commercial director of Fanamoj, is now on the US list. October 2017 saw the company first appear on the US sanctions list. Active in telecommunications and satellite technology, Fanamoj has been accused of providing the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) with parts for its missile program. Also on the US list is Gholamreza Ziaei, who is the director of Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj near Tehran. Journalist Saeed Razavi Faghih talked an interview about the conditions in the prison, including poor nutrition, unsanitary environment, lack of medical facilities and the ill-treatment of prisoners by the medical staff, unreasonable disciplinary measures, easy availability of illegal drugs, fights among prisoners that sometimes lead to serious injuries and even the deaths, and sexual abuse of some prisoners. The US government has cited the same issues. Rajaei Shahr Prison has denied prisoners adequate medical care and access to legal representation, says the US Treasury press release. Many Iranians who recently protested against their government are imprisoned at Rajaei Shahr, a facility where prisoners participating in hunger strikes are denied medical care; where there are reported incidents of sexual abuse and unlawful executions; and where at least one prisoner had his eye gouged out by prison officials. Hassan Akharian, head of Rajaei Shahrs Ward 1, is already on the EUs sanctions list. The Supreme Council of Cyberspace is on the new list of US sanctions, as well. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei ordered its creation in 2012, to centralize and oversee the governments policymaking and regulation of the internet. The council plays a facilitating role in blocking social networks and web content. When recent protests began, it was this body that ordered Telegram to be blocked. Members of this council include the president of the Islamic Republic, the speaker of parliament, the judiciary chief, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, the commander of the national police, the president of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), and seven members of the cabinet: the ministers for science, intelligence, education, defense, communications and technology, the Ministry for Islamic Culture and Guidance, and the Vice President for Science and Technology. President Rouhani is not on the sanctions list, but as head of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace his activities fall under the new US sanctions. The National Cyberspace Center is also new to the US list. It is controlled by the Supreme Council of Cyberspace. Abolhasan Firoozabadi, the councils secretary, is both the director of this center and the Deputy Labor Minister. The center has the task of drawing up a five-year plan for developing cyberspace, cyber surveillance and anticipating cyber attacks and defending vital infrastructure against such attacks. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Electronic Warfare and Cyber Defense Organization has been added to the US list. Although its listed as a separate entity, the Revolutionary Guards various cyber units appear to be intertwined and it is not entirely clear which entities are exactly targeted by the new sanctions. The US research firm Defense Tech reported in 2008 that the IRGC cyber army consisted of 2,400 full-time employees, and could leverage another 1,200 private hackers. Recent reports say that the IRGC is now using companies and individuals outside Iran to launch cyber attacks. State-owned Iran Aircraft Industries (SAHA) has also been placed on the US sanctions list. The company was founded 51 years ago, but it was taken over by the Iranian Defense Ministry after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. SAHA provides key maintenance and overhaul services for Irans military helicopters and aircraft. The Helicopter Support and Renewal Company (PANHA) is also on the US list. PANHA is a leading Iranian helicopter maintenance and manufacturer, and has built and overhauled helicopters, including models manufactured in the United States, for the Iranian military and the IRGC, according to the US Treasury. Pardazan System Namad Arman (PASNA), known as PASNA Electronic, has, according to the US government, sought to procure various types of lead zirconium tritanate (PZT) items valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars from China-based Bochuang Ceramic, Inc. on behalf of Irans ECI [Electronic Components Industries]. PZT items can transmit and receive electrical signals, and are used for anti-submarine warfare, torpedoes, mines, mine countermeasures, aircraft and ocean surveillance purposes. This privately held company has been added to the US list. Maya is a plump, smiling child less than two years old. Her parents are dead and she might never learn about them. Maya is not her real name. Her mother and father were suicide bombers for the Islamic State group. Her four siblings were among their victims. Maya now lives at an orphanage in the Iraqi city of Mosul. "She was skin and bones when we got her," says Sukaina Mohammed, director of the Department of Women and Children in the Nineveh province. Mohammed points to another child. "That baby had six broken ribs when she arrived," she says. As Iraqi officials deal with the children IS left behind orphans, children of sex slaves and children of foreign fighters aid workers say they want to protect the youngest ones from their painful beginnings. None of the small children born of or raised by IS supporters are considered a threat to society. However, officials say many people will denounce them anyway. Sukaina Mohammed says Maya's best chance for happiness is if she and those who might adopt her know nothing about her parents. "I don't tell people which babies' parents were IS militants," Mohammed explains, "because if someone wants revenge on IS, they might hate the children." The less lucky ones The Haj Ali refugee camp in northern Iraq is home to many of the wives and children of IS fighters who are now dead or in jail. Dalal Tariq is an aid worker with the International Organization for Migration. She says the children were terrified when they arrived at the camp. "They were afraid of the soldiers," she explains. "IS militants told them the soldiers would beat them up." Other children had watched their fathers die in battle and, in Tariqs words, "they come here nearly destroyed." The IS war is now officially over in Iraq, and families living in the camp are not accused of any crimes. However, they cannot leave, says Hoda, the mother of three children. Her husband was an IS fighter before he was killed in an airstrike. In her village, the children of IS are considered suspect, and local leaders ordered her not to return. "Even if my family comes here to visit me, they could be in danger." Before they were found At the orphanage in Mosul, many children wait for the chance to be adopted. "All the children we found were in a terrible state," explains Mohammed. "I remember one time, we found a baby who was so thirsty, she died in the hospital after only a few days. She had no energy left to live." Some babies were rescued from the streets after being left in the sun as bait to bring Iraqi soldiers into the line of fire. Others were found in destroyed homes after their parents died fighting for IS. There are also the children of rescued sex slaves, whose families will not accept them. Many children were just found alone in the wreckage left by airstrikes and battles in Mosul. One boy survived for seven days alone under a collapsed house. "Some we don't know about exactly," Mohammed later says, pointing to a girl about six years old. "She speaks only Turkish. We think she was kidnapped by Turkish militants in 2014." Foreign children Some countries are trying to get back the orphans of foreign IS fighters in Iraq and Syria. Last month, three children were sent to live temporarily with a family in France. Their mother and youngest sibling remain among the foreign wives and children of IS fighters held in Iraq. The non-profit group Human Rights Watch says there are 1,400 such detainees. Officials from Germany, Russia and other countries have requested the return of the children of their nationals. The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) says children are increasingly targets of fighting around the world. It says the young are also used as human shields, and forced to fight in battles. "Children are being targeted and exposed to attacks and brutal violence in their homes, schools and playgrounds," noted Manuel Fontaine, UNICEFs director of emergency programs. Such brutality cannot be the new normal." Im Caty Weaver. VOAs Heather Murdock wrote this story. Caty Weaver adapted her story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story plump adj. having a full, rounded shape sibling n. a brother or sister crib n. a small bed with high sides for a baby revenge n. the act of doing something to hurt someone because that person did something that hurt you grenade n. a small bomb that is designed to be thrown by someone or shot from a rifle adopt v. to take a child of other parents legally as your own child thirsty adj. having an uncomfortable feeling because you need something to drink : feeling thirst bait n. something (such as a piece of food) that is used to attract fish or animals so they can be caught expose v. to cause (someone) to experience something or to be influenced or affected by something brutal adj. extremely cruel or harsh Chinas plan for a modern Silk Road linking Asia and Europe hit a pothole recently in Pakistan. Pakistan and China have good relations; some Pakistani officials even call China their Iron Brother. China has played an even bigger role in the country since U.S. President Donald Trump decided last week to suspend security assistance to Pakistan. Yet, plans for the countries to build a $14-billion dam on the Indus River were put in doubt, after Pakistans water authority announced China wanted to own part of the project. China has denied making the demand. However, the water authority rejected Chinas reported demand as against Pakistani interests, and withdrew Pakistan from the dam project. Belt and Road Initiative From Pakistan to Hungary to Tanzania, projects under Chinese President Xi Jinpings Belt and Road Initiative are being canceled, renegotiated or delayed. Host countries have disputed costs and benefits that they would receive. The Belt and Road Initiative is a plan to build projects across 65 countries, from the South Pacific through Asia to Africa and Europe. Such projects include oil drilling in Siberia, new ports in Southeast Asia, railways in Eastern Europe and power plants in the Middle East. The United States, Russia and India view the Belt and Road initiative as a way for China to expand its influence. Many countries have welcomed plans to build infrastructure that would keep their economies growing. Nations such as Japan have given or lent billions of dollars for development through the Asian Development Bank. China, however, remains the largest or only source of money for many projects. Many projects cancelled or delayed In November, Nepal canceled plans for Chinese companies to build a $2.5-billion dam. Officials said building contracts for the Budhi Gandaki Hydro Electric Project violated rules that require offers from numerous bidders. The European Union is also looking into whether Hungary awarded contracts to Chinese builders for a high-speed railway to Serbia without competing bids. In Myanmar, plans for a Chinese oil company to build a $3-billion refinery were canceled in November because of financing problems. In Thailand, work on a $15-billion high-speed railway was delayed in 2016 following complaints that not enough business went to Thai companies. In Tanzania, the government has reopened negotiations with China and the gulf state of Oman over ownership of a planned $11-billion port in the city of Bagamoyo. Tanzania wants to make sure its people get more than just taxes collected from the port. Even Pakistan, one of Chinas friendliest neighbors, has failed to agree on key projects. Among them are a $10-billion railway in Karachi and a $260-million airport for Gwadar. Limited success There is no official list of all Belt and Road projects. However, BMI Research has created a list of $1.8 trillion worth infrastructure investments across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Christian Zhang is with BMI Research. He said, its probably too early to say at this point how much of the overall initiative will actually be implemented. Kerry Brown is a Chinese politics professor at Kings College London. He said China has faced and may continue to face a lot of disagreements and misunderstandings. Brown added, Its hard to think of a big, successful project the Belt and Road Initiative has led to at the moment. Despite the setbacks, Chinese officials say most Belt and Road projects are moving ahead with few problems. The state-run China Development Bank announced in 2015 it had set aside $890 billion for more than 900 projects across 60 countries in gas, minerals, power, telecommunications, infrastructure and farming. The Export-Import Bank of China said it would support 1,000 projects in 49 countries. And last November, deputy commerce minister Li Chenggang said that work on pipelines to deliver oil and gas from Russia and Central Asia is making steady progress. I'm Ashley Thompson. And I'm Caty Weaver. Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on an Associated Press report. Ashley Thompson was the editor. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story hit a pothole - idiom. to face unexpected challenge (pothole: a deep, round hole in a road or some other surface (such as the bottom of a river) initiative - n. a plan or program host - n. a person who entertain guests or country that receive visitors bidder - n. a person who offer to pay a certain price refinery - n. a place where something like oil is refined implement - v. to begin to work on a plan despite - preposition, used to say that something happens or is true steady - adj. lasting or continuing A new study shows that patients in African hospitals are two times as likely to die after doctors operate as the average death rate worldwide. More than 30 African researchers worked on the study. They examined records for all operations performed during a one-week period at 247 hospitals in 25 African countries. The researchers noted that while African patients were usually younger and at lower risk than average, 1 percent died of problems after elective surgery. The death rate worldwide is 0.5 percent. Bruce Biccard of the University of Cape Town was the lead writer of the study. He said, "It's really concerning when you see how high the mortality is, considering that the patients are generally fit and they're having a lot more minor surgeries." Biccard and the other researchers wrote that workforce and resource shortages across Africa are likely to affect patient deaths. Their findings were published in the journal The Lancet. The study found a severe shortage of African surgeons, obstetricians and anesthesiologists. Earlier research showed that fewer patients die after surgery when there are 20 to 40 specialists per 100,000 people. The new study found that Africa has an average of less than one specialist per 100,000 people. In addition to the high death rate, the report said, "the most alarming finding was how few people actually received surgery." Experts have estimated that 5 percent of the population needs surgery in a year. African hospitals on average performed less than one-twentieth of that number. The report noted that patients were receiving surgery later in the course of their diseases. Nearly 60 percent of the operations were urgent or emergency treatments. In industrial countries, the rate is about 25 percent. Most of the patients who died did so in the days after their surgery, not during the operation. Biccard said, "We're actually failing to recognize patients who are having complications in the post-op period. So a minor complication becomes a major complication." Biccard noted that increasing the number of doctors is an unlikely short-term solution. His group is working on a method "that will tell us before surgery which patients we think are going to get into trouble." The group is planning another study in 2019. Im Jonathan Evans. Steve Baragona reported this story for VOANews.com. Jonathan Evans adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. _________________________________________________________________ Words in this Story anesthesiologist n. a doctor who specializes in administering drugs that cause a person to lose feeling and to feel no pain in part or all of the body complication n. disease or condition that happens in addition to another disease or condition; a problem that makes a disease or condition more dangerous or harder to treat obstetrician n. a doctor who specializes in a branch of medicine that deals with the birth of children and with the care of women before, during, and after they give birth to children urgent adj. very important and needing immediate attention surgery n. a medical operation performed by a doctor or team of doctors mortality n. the number of deaths in a given time or place fit adj. being physically or mentally able resource n. a supply of something; the ability to meet and deal with something course n. movement from one point to another; an orderly series of actions The United Nations is calling for urgent action to protect a whistled language used in a mountainous area of Turkey. The UNs Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, has identified the bird language as an endangered cultural heritage. UNESCO noted that technological developments, as well as social and economic changes, have led to a drop in the number of people who communicate in this way. It also noted a drop in the number of areas where the language is spoken. The UN agency placed much of the blame on the use of mobile phones. A whistled language is a highly-developed method of communication. People use whistling sounds in place of words. The language was created as a way to communicate across great distances in difficult mountain conditions. Most whistling sounds are created by blowing air through the lips and teeth. Sometimes fingers and the tongue are also used to make different or louder sounds. To communicate, people use whistling to simulate, or create, the sound of some words. They also use sound patterns, repeating certain sounds, to represent other common words and expressions. New words and terms can be added to keep up with changes in spoken language and cultural life. UNESCO estimates the whistled language is spoken or understood by about 10,000 people in the Eastern Black Sea area of northern Turkey. However, only a small number of villagers still use the language. Currently, officials estimate it is mostly only spoken in a small community in Giresun province. UN officials say members of the community consider the practice a major part of their cultural identity. They believe using the language helps strengthen interpersonal communication and solidarity. UNESCO called whistled language an environmentally friendly form of communication. It added the language can make life easier and reinforce social bonds for the people living in the region. With the new generations lack of interest in whistled language, there is the risk it will eventually be torn from its natural environment, becoming an artificial practice, UNESCO said. In Turkey, at least one group has been formed to find ways to keep the whistled language strong. The group is working to create a plan for passing the language on to future generations. It will also seek to raise international recognition of the issue. In addition, UNESCO said scientific research will be carried out to support efforts to continue the whistled language. Other areas also have used whistled languages. In 2009, UNESCO expressed concerns about one such language disappearing from Spains Canary Islands. The language, called Silbo Gomero, was based on Castilian Spanish. It was handed down from one generation to the next over many centuries. UNESCO said it was the only whistled language in the world to be fully developed and practiced in a community of more than 22,000 people. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Would you be willing to learn a whistled language? Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story whistle v. to make a high sound by blowing air through your lips or teeth heritage n. the traditions, achievements, beliefs, etc., that are part of the history of a group or nation pattern n. a repeated form; something that happens in a repeated way practice n. something that is done often; a custom or tradition solidarity n. feeling of unity between people who have the same interests, goals, etc. bond n. something shared between people or groups that forms a connection between them artificial adj. not natural, but instead made by people 33 minutes ago | September 6th | 2021 2:47 PM The Latest: More U.S. first responders are dying of COVID-19 UNDATED -- The resurgence of COVID-19 this summer and the national debate over vaccine requirements have created a fraught situation for the nations first responders, who are dying in larger numbers but pushing back against mandates. Its a stark contrast from the beginning of the vaccine rollout when first responders were prioritized Ormat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. 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The Other segment includes corporate costs that are not allocated to the Company's operating segments, eliminations of inter-segment transactions, fair value adjustments and associated income and deductions related to the acquisitions that have not been allocated to the operating segments for evaluation of performance and allocation of resource purposes. The company was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Camden, NJ. Read More Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Sweden ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares MSCI Sweden ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. 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Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. Nevsun Resources Ltd. engages in the mining and development of mineral properties in Europe, Africa, and North America. It explores for gold, copper, zinc, and silver deposits. The company's principal assets include Timok project, a copper-gold development project in Serbia; and Bisha copper- zinc mine in Eritrea. It also holds exploration licenses and permits in Serbia and Macedonia, as well as in the Bisha mining district. The company was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. As of January 7, 2019, Nevsun Resources Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited. Read More Schlumberger NV engages in the provision of technology for reservoir characterization, drilling, production and processing to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following business segments: Digital and Integration; Reservoir Performance; Well Construction; and Production Systems. The Digital and Integration segment combines the company's software and seismic businesses with its integrated offering of asset performance solutions. The Reservoir Performance segment consists of reservoir-centric technologies and services that are critical to optimizing reservoir productivity and performance. The Well Construction segment includes the full portfolio of products and services to optimize well placement and performance, maximize drilling efficiency, and improve wellbore assurance. The Production Systems segment develops technologies and provides expertise that enhances production and recovery from subsurface reservoirs to the surface, into pipelines, and to refineries. The company was founded by Conrad Schlumberger and Marcel Schlumberger in 1926 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More HTCs latest smartphone has a 6 inch display, a 3,930 mAh battery, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. It also has dual front-facing cameras and a 12MP UltraPixel camera on the back, which is the same highly rated camera found in the HTC U11. But the the HTC U11 Eyes (which presumably gets its name from the two cameras on the front) has a mid-range processor, a lower-resolution display, and a few other cut corners that make it clear this is more of an upper mid-range device than a new flagship. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor and features a 2160 x 1080 pixel display. While there are dual front cameras, each is only a 5MP camera. But you can use them fro portrait-style photos in bokeh mode, among other things. The phone also support face unlock capabilities, although theres also a fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone for more secure logins. The HTC U11 Eyees features 80211ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC, and a USB 2.0 Type-C port. It supports 4G LTE download speeds up to 300 Mbps. The phone has an IP67 water resistance rating and like other phones in the HTC U series, it supports Edge Sense, which lets you squeeze the sides of the phone to perform certain actions such as launching a voice assistant, snapping a photo, or bringing up the Edge Launcher for quick access to your favorite apps, contacts, and settings. HTC plans to launch the phone initially in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Its unclear if or when youll be able to pick one up in other regions. via Engadget Share this article: Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit Pocket Tumblr Pinterest LinkedIn Email A Chinese university has sacked a prestigious scholar following accusations of sexual misconduct against him by multiple women, the result of a campaign heralded by his chief accuser as the start of a Chinese chapter of the #MeToo movement. Beihang University in Beijing said in a message on its official microblog late Thursday that an investigation found that Chen Xiaowus behavior had violated professional ethics and created an odious influence on society. It said Chen has been relieved of his duties, including as professor and deputy head of graduate students. Morality and ability are paired; actions and talent are one. This is the demand of Beihangs values and the school has zero tolerance for violations of professorial ethics, Beihang said in its statement, pledging also to upgrade mechanisms and increase its attention to such issues. The official China News Service said the move followed accusations of sexual misconduct against Chen by Luo Xixi, a Chinese academic now based in the U.S., and at least five other women. The allegations date from as far back as a dozen years ago. Chen could not immediately be contacted Friday, although he was quoted by the official newspaper Beijing Youth Daily earlier this month as saying that he had done nothing that was illegal or violated school discipline. Chen said he would await the result of the schools investigation. Calls to Chens office at Beihang rang unanswered Friday and a graduate school receptionist said she had not seen him. Luo hailed the schools decision on her Weibo microblog as a victory in the initial stage and said she and the other women involved would continue to monitor Beihangs handling of the matter. Women who have awoken to themselves are even more powerful! Luo wrote, while congratulating Chens other accusers who had chosen to remain anonymous. Kindness and bravery are our most beautiful expressions, she wrote. Chen is among a select few named by the Education Ministry to the Cheung Kong Scholars Program, considered one of the countrys highest academic honors. The program funded by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing is also known as the Changjiang Scholars and the Yangtze River Scholars. According to reports, he holds a doctorate and multiple honors in computer engineering. His personal profile was removed from Beihangs website on Friday. According to a Dec. 31 post on her official Weibo microblog using the #MeToo hashtag, Luo said she was inspired by the movement originating in the U.S. to expose sexual predators. Luo said she was a graduate student under Chens advisement in 2004, when he drove her to his sisters home, ostensibly to water the flowers. After he attempted to force himself on her, Luo resisted and Chen backed off, driving her home and telling her to keep quiet about the matter. Luo said she suffered from depression after the incident and subsequently moved to the U.S. to continue her studies. I know there is a risk in standing up. My familys privacy is my biggest concern, Luo wrote. I know my status as being overseas might expose me to nasty attacks, so it is a double- edged sword, she wrote. Little research has been done on the issue of sexual misconduct in China, where men overwhelmingly dominate leadership positions in politics and the economy. However, Luos going public with her accusations will likely stir women to come out with their own stories, said Fang Gang, director of the Institute of Sexualities and Gender at Beijing Forestry University. This will definitely influence more females who have experienced sexual harassment to step out, Fang said. Christopher Bodeen, Beijing, AP Enumerators of the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) have started wearing new uniforms, as of January 8. The new uniform, designed to be worn all year round, has a dark blue collared vest with a DSEC logo printed on the left chest, with the Chinese and Portuguese names for DSEC printed on the back. DSEC states that the new uniform will help the public to easily identify DSECs enumerators and allow them to view the work of the DSEC team. In addition to the uniform, all enumerators on duty are required to carry a valid identification badge and a backpack or satchel bearing the DSEC logo. In a statement issued yesterday, DSEC called on the public to support data collection for statistical analyses to facilitate the provision of timely and accurate official statistics to the community. PRD produces over 200 yachts annually The latest data from the Guangdong Yacht Industry Association shows that the annual production of yachts in the Pearl River Delta exceeded 200 units, according to a report by Wen Wei Po. Annual sales were over RMB1 billion. Zhuhais Pingsha yacht industrial zone has already become the biggest and most productive industrial yacht zone in China. In 2017, the number of Chinese yacht related companies reached nearly 1,000; this figure represents a large leap as there were approximately 100 in 2009. According to Wu Tian, president of the association, Chinas yacht industry is upholding a yearly increase of 30 percent. Tam says Tses illness is not affecting IC The Office of the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam, wished the new president of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), Cecilia Tse, a speedy recovery in an official statement. In the same statement, Tam acknowledged that Tses absence from work for the last two weeks has been due to a medical condition, noting that she has already received treatment and is now recovering. Tam said that the IC has not been affected and that its activities are proceeding as usual. These include the 17th Fringe Festival that kicked off last Friday, as well as preparations for an upcoming public consultation concerning the preservation and management of Macaus historical center. Exhibition features paintings made of tissue paper Local artist Denis Murrell is holding an exhibition titled Twenty Hours An Exhibition of Abstract Painting by Denis Murrell and his Students at the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) Cafe. IFT said in a statement that the exhibition features 22 abstract paintings made of absorbent tissue paper by the artist and his students, showcasing the unique and creative techniques taught during the course. The exhibition will run until March 2. Local bus companies have been instructed to reduce the number of bus accidents by 10 percent, Transport Bureau (DSAT) director Lam Hin Sam said after a meeting and press conference last Friday. The meeting was called in response to a serious bus accident last week in Macaus central district. The driver reportedly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes, killing one woman and injuring at least four others. Lam reaffirmed that the industrys first priority is safety, followed by bus schedules and services. In 2016, 1,709 accidents involved buses and in 2017, the number was 1,495, corresponding to a reduction, Lam said. In 2016, there were 848 car accidents concluded to be the responsibility of bus companies. In 2017, that number was 778, down about eight percent. In 2017, Transmac, TCM, and New Era recorded decreases in the number of accidents by 12.5 percent, 9.5 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. According to Lam, the overall average reduction exceeded 10 percent, which was one of the requirements of DSAT for 2017. Lam said DSAT also suspended around 30 part-time bus drivers for safety reasons because the resting time of non-permanent drivers cannot be ensured, and the associated risks are higher than full-time drivers. Currently, Macau has a total of approximately 1,200 full-time bus drivers, he continued. Around 30 non-permanent bus drivers are being targeted by the suspension: nine from Transmac, four from TCM, and 17 from New Era. On a daily basis, about 10,000 bus trips cover the territory, with only close to 100 [impacted by] this suspension. The DSAT director clarified that the suspended drivers comprise those who have a job [besides bus driver], those who drive a bus following a day of rest [concerning their first job], and those who only work one or two days but several hours each time. This group does not include part-time drivers who operate buses every day for fewer than eight hours. According to Lam, 60 bus routes resumed operations on Friday once some of the suspended drivers had returned to their posts. DSAT does not exclude the possibility of the other drivers resuming work after their companies properly assess their experience, training and rest schedules. DSAT added that it has instructed the affected companies to operate services as usual by reassigning buses in order to minimize the impact on passengers. It also called on the bus companies to ensure that the remaining full-time drivers are not overworked and that labor laws are respected, so as to give drivers sufficient rest and avoid situations of extreme fatigue while driving. DSAT also announced that it is conducting a comprehensive review of training and management with the three bus companies, in order to find a solution for the suspended drivers schedules. Macaus bus fleet transports around 580,000 passengers daily, a number that has been growing along with the distance travelled by the buses due to the expansion of the territory and the need for workers to travel to more remote areas. Two days before last weeks accident, Lam and the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosario, were called to the Legislative Assembly to answer lawmakers questions on the public bus sector, namely regarding the expected increase of fares. Lam also raised issues such as the lack of local bus drivers the bus companies are not permitted to hire non-local drivers and government protections for those drivers. JZ Part-time bus driver is casino employee DSAT director Lam Hin Sam said the bureau is not attempting to dodge responsibility for last weeks deadly accident. The deputy general manager of the bus company New Era, Kwok Tong Cheong, revealed that the driver involved in Wednesdays accident is a casino employee who obtained his license in April 2017 and began working for New Era in September that same year. In 2018, the driver had worked only five days for approximately four hours each time. Kwok admitted that there are gaps in New Eras safety management and said the company had sacked 20 bus drivers last year for failing safety requirements. He went on to say that New Era recruits all its drivers based on the same criteria. New Eras general manager, Daniel Fang Li Qun, said the company will eliminate potential flaws in its safety management and has called for all staff to prioritize safety. Maoyan Weying, Chinas biggest online movie ticketing platform, is planning a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise about USD1 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said. The company, which also helped fund the latest Transformers movie, has held initial discussions with potential advisers about the share sale, according to one of the people. It is targeting a listing later this year, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Maoyan Weying, whose backers include Shenzhen-listed film producer Beijing Enlight Media Co., was formed in September through the merger of two rival ticketing platforms. Its other investors include Tencent Holdings Ltd., the biggest Chinese internet company, as well as Meituan Dianping, the countrys largest group- buying and restaurant reviews service. Chinas box-office receipts rose 15 percent last year to 52 billion yuan (USD8 billion), making it the worlds second largest movie market after the U.S. Almost 80 percent of movie tickets in the country are sold through mobile apps, and Maoyan Weying is the largest ticketing provider with a 52.5 percent market share as of the third quarter 2017, according to researcher Analysys. Maoyan Weying raised 1 billion yuan from Tencent in a November funding round that valued the company at 20 billion yuan. In addition to its ticketing platform, the company has also distributed and marketed movies in China including Transformers: The Last Knight. Hong Kong is forecast to see a revival in new listings this year, after fundraising from first-time share sales fell to a five-year low of $16.5 billion, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The city is expected to host 150 IPOs in 2018, headlined by some significant technology offerings, Benson Wong, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said in a Bloomberg TV interview last week. Raising funds in Hong Kong could help Tencent- backed Maoyan Weying expand as it ratchets up competition with the rival TaoPiaoPiao service, which is backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.s film affiliate. The market share gap between Maoyan Weying and its smaller rival could increase further, Chen Liteng, a researcher at the China E-Commerce Research Center in Hangzhou, said Friday. Chinas private market has pushed tech-related companies to lofty valuations. Five of the worlds 10 biggest venture capital deals were in China-based companies last year, while the U.S. accounted for two, according to researcher Preqin. The largest globally was the $5.5 billion fundraising for Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing. Bloomberg The Consumer Council announced in a weekend statement that it had handled 5,067 cases in 2017; approximately one-third of which were customer complaints, 23 were suggestions and the remainder were inquiries. With regard to complaints, the top five areas of dissatisfaction involved public transportation (147 cases), telecommunication services (137 cases), telecommunication equipment (121 cases), food and beverage (103 cases) and personal care products and services (94 cases). Some 63 of the public transportation cases were related to taxi infractions, while 44 cases involved air passenger services. The main issues were business practices and disputes over prices. Tourists accounted for about 1,000 cases handled by the Consumer Council last year about 20 percent of the total of which 574 were complaints and 421 were inquiries. The number of jewelry-related cases increased by 57 percent, mostly lodged by tourists regarding the value of K-gold and the disputes over some shops alleged failure to explain the precious metals fineness. The Council issued the relevant information on the consumer goods sector to mainland shoppers, in order to increase their confidence when shopping in Macau. Shops have been reminded to explain the nature of gold products to consumers and are required by law to state the gold fineness on the invoice or the receipt. The number of cases related to telecommunication services complaints dropped slightly compared to the previous year, while those concerning telecommunication equipment decreased by 40 percent. Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has taken direct control of Libya four months after a bloodless coup that brought an end to the monarchy under King Idris. Since the military coup of 1 September led by Gaddafis Free Unionist Officers, the country has been run by civilian ministers. But they were obliged to refer to the so-called Revolutionary Command Council on matters of state and twice threatened to resign. Now the 28-year-old colonel has taken the title of prime minister and appointed four members of his council to his new 12-member Cabinet. Last month Col Gaddafi thwarted an attempted coup by his Defence and Interior Ministers and took charge of the main ministries single-handedly. Now he can delegate to ministers he feel he can trust. An outspoken Arab nationalist, Col Gaddafi set about freeing Libya from what he regards as colonialism by ordering Britain to abandon its military bases in the country. But in an exclusive interview with the Times newspaper, he denied that defence contracts with the West would be terminated and said Libya was still interested in buying nearly 200 British Chieftain tanks. However he would not be drawn on whether they would be sent to the Egyptian border along with 50 Mirage aircraft already ordered to be used against Israel. Until now there has not been any decision that war is to be the only solution to the Middle East conflict, he said. Therefore since this question has not arisen yet, there is no need to answer it. Egypts President Abdel Nasser has been a great influence on the new leader and he has already strengthened ties with his Arab neighbour. He and his young followers have expressed his hope for a future where all Arab nations would be united under Islam. Soon after the coup, he began a process of Libyanisation of commerce and industry. Non-Libyans were forced out of influential positions and even Latin characters were removed from street signs in the capital, Tripoli, and in Benghazi. This has had a damaging effect on the economy with skilled expatriates forced to leave the country to look for work elsewhere. However Libyas oil industry continues to thrive and she remains the fourth largest oil producer in the world. Courtesy BBC News In context Col Gaddafi made a name for himself as one of the worlds most unpredictable and autocratic heads of state. His vision of a socialist Islamic Libya led to the nationalisation of all businesses and expulsion of foreigners in his one-party state. For decades Col Gaddafi tried to portray himself as leader of the Arab world, but after attempts to join forces with Egypt, Tunisia and Syria failed he took up a mission of uniting Africa. He has supported various militant groups including the IRA and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Alleged Libyan involvement in attacks in Europe in 1986 led to US military strikes against Tripoli. In 1988 Libya was isolated by much of the international community after the bombing of a Pan Am plane above the Scottish town of Lockerbie. But it formally accepted blame for the incident in August 2003. The move, part of a deal to compensate families of the 270 victims, paved the way for the lifting of UN sanctions. In December 2003, Libya announced it would abandon its attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction. The US restored full diplomatic relations with Libya in May 2006. The Israeli military said yesterday it destroyed an attack tunnel built by the Hamas militant group that stretched from the Gaza Strip, though Israel and into Egypt, and that ran past Israeli military posts as well as gas and fuel pipelines. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said the 1.5-kilometer long tunnel ran underneath the Kerem Shalom border crossing, Gazas main point of entry for humanitarian aid. He said Israeli jets struck part of the tunnel and a new set of sophisticated tools destroyed the rest. Conricus said forces had been monitoring its construction for some time and an imminent attack on Israelis was possible. The crossing has been closed till further notice. Israel has made neutralizing the tunnel threat a top priority since its 2014 war, when Hamas militants on several occasions made their way into Israel. Although they did not manage to reach civilian areas, the infiltrations caught Israel off guard, killing five soldiers in one attack, and terrified the local population. Sundays operation marked the third such tunnel Israel has destroyed over the past two months. But Conricus said this did not mark more of the same since it involved the most advanced technological means Israel has deployed. [We] now hold a method, an organized system to destroy terror tunnels dug into Israel, he said in an early morning briefing to reporters. This is a key mission for us and our intention is to allow quiet and to deter Hamas so we can continue to build the obstacle. Hamas initially said a typical smuggling tunnel was destroyed, but had no immediate response to the Israeli announcement. There were no casualties in the Israeli airstrike. Upon departing to India on a diplomatic mission, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the significance of the operation. We are responding to aggression against the state of Israel and are taking vigorous and systematic action against hostile infrastructures, he said. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the tunnels construction was a clear violation of Israeli sovereignty and destroying it delivered a stinging blow to one of Hamas most significant assets. The message to Gazas leadership and residents is clear invest in the sanctity of life and not these burial tunnels, he said. Conricus, the military spokesman, noted that the tunnels route stretched underneath the Kerem Shalom crossing, where 15 million tons of food, clothing, construction material and other essential goods had been transferred into Gaza since the 2014 war. Israel and Egypt have maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza since Hamas seized power in 2007. Conricus said the crossing itself was a potential target, as well as the gas and fuel pipelines. The tunnel could have also been used to transfer militants and arms for attacks in Israel or Egypts Sinai Peninsula, he said. It was a terror tunnel designed to strike strategic Israel assets, he said. He didnt specify which tools were used, but in the past Israel has said its new system involves combat units, military intelligence, logistics and research to destroy the tunnels. The military released photos and video of a wide tunnel with concrete paneled walls. AP Japans plans to develop its renewable energy industry are lagging much of the world, as the nation has prioritized keeping the status quo for fear of change, Foreign Minister Taro Kono said. Japan wants renewable energy to account for 22 percent to 24 percent of its overall energy mix by 2030, while the global average today is already 24 percent, Kono said Sunday at an International Renewable Energy Agency meeting in Abu Dhabi. As Japanese foreign minister, I consider these circumstances lamentable. Japan held its first-ever solar power auction last November, with the aim of reducing costs in one of the most expensive countries to generate electricity from the sun. But the results showed underwhelming demand, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Government incentives have been decreasing since their introduction in 2012 following the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster. The support, known as feed-in-tariff, cost the Japanese public up to USD24 billion last year, and costs are expected to increase, Kono said. We need bold investments and institutional reforms to enhance the transmission network and electric power exchange between regional utilities for the larger deployment of renewables, he said. There is some progress. Japan is leading research and development in a new type of printable photovoltaic solar cell that may lead to further cost reductions in the PV market, he said. A Japanese university has also developed an all-solid-state battery for the auto industry, he said. For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japan plans to transport, store and use hydrogen produced by renewables and provide hydrogen to fuel passenger vehicles and buses for the event. Mahmoud Habboush, Bloomberg The organizers of the 7th edition of The Script Road Macau Literary Festival have confirmed that Peter Hessler and Leslie T Chang from the US, Rosa Montero from Spain, and Han Dong and A Yi from China will be attending the festival. The literary festival is scheduled to take place in Macau during March. Portuguese-speaking authors Julian Fuks (Brazil) winner of the latest Jose Saramago Award and Ana Margarida de Carvalho (Portugal) twice a winner of the Portuguese Writers Association Award will also be on the list of names visiting the region for the event, as well as the Asia news editor of the Financial Times, Victor Mallet. The highlight of this years event goes to Hessler and Chang, a couple who lived in China for over a decade, where they have been correspondents for The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal respectively; they have also been contributing co-written pieces to the National Geographic. While living in Fuling, a small city in China affected by the Three Gorges Dam, Chang has achieved a career highlight with her book Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China, which traces the lives of two young women from the countryside, who work in a factory city in South China. The book has been translated into 10 languages and contributed to Chang being awarded the PEN USA Literary Award, the Asian American Literary Award, and the Tiziano Terzani International Literary Prize. According to the organizers, the complete guest list and program of the Festival will be released early next month. Myanmars civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called the militarys investigation into the deaths of Rohingya Muslims found in a mass grave a positive indication, state media reported Saturday. The military, which has been accused of indiscriminate killings, rape and burning of Rohingya villages, acknowledged that security forces and villagers were responsible for the deaths of 10 people found in a mass grave in December. It said the 10 were Bengali terrorists who had threatened villagers, but that the military would take action against those who broke the rules of engagement. The government of Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not acknowledge Royingya as a minority group even though they have lived in the country for generations. It says theyre immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh. Since August, military operations have driven more than 650,000 Rohingya into refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh. It is a positive indication that we are taking the steps to be responsible, Suu Kyi said, according to a report in the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper. However, some may worry. But I believe that our investigation will prevent such things from happening again. Suu Kyi made the comments Friday during a joint news conference with Japans foreign minister. Suu Kyi is Myanmars foreign minister as well as the governments civilian leader though the military has a final say in security matters. Neither the military nor Suu Kyi has said what action will be taken against those responsible for the deaths linked to the mass grave in Rakhine state, where most of the Rohingya live. AP A British butcher who got locked in a freezer says he was saved by a frozen sausage that he used as a battering ram. Chris McCabe says he became trapped in the walk-in freezer at his shop in Totnes, southwest England, last month when wind blew the door shut. The safety button to open the door had frozen in the -20 C chill. McCabe said he tried unsuccessfully to kick the button free before picking up a 1.5 kilogram black pudding, a form of blood sausage. McCabe told website Devon Live that he used the meaty tube like a battering ram and managed to unstick the button after several blows. The grateful butcher told the Daily Mirror: Black pudding saved my life, without a doubt. China is stepping up its policing of international companies such as Inditex SA-owned Zara and Delta Air Lines Inc. and demanding they respect the governments position on long-standing territorial disputes from Taiwan to Tibet. The Cyber Administration Office in Shanghai on Friday said Zara listed Taiwan, an island that China claims as its own, as a separate country on its website. On the same day, Chinas Civil Aviation Administration summoned executives of Delta as the carrier on its website listed Taiwan and Tibet, located in western China, as nations. The companies were asked to change the illegal contents. China, emboldened by its growing economic and geopolitical influence, is showing less tolerance of what it sees as violations of its political bottom line by foreign companies. The warnings signal that the country may deploy more sticks against foreign companies that cant risk losing business in the worlds second-biggest economy. The general political atmosphere these days is that you dont stand on the wrong side of sovereignty issues in the Xi Jinping era, said Ether Yin, partner at research firm Trivium China in Beijing. The government responded very quickly. International companies operating in China should respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, state broadcaster CCTV said, citing Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kangs comments at a regular briefing. Delta recognizes the seriousness of this issue and we took immediate steps to resolve it, according to a statement from the airlines corporate office. It was an inadvertent error with no business or political intention, and we apologize deeply for the mistake. As one of our most important markets, we are fully committed to China and to our Chinese customers. Inditex didnt have an immediate comment. Earlier this week, Shanghai government agencies summoned Marriott Internationals executives in China, after the companys Chinese-language website listed Tibet and Taiwan under nation and spurred intense online criticism. The company apologized on Chinese social media platforms. Regulators have started an investigation into Marriott for violating local laws on Internet security and advertising. The new cybersecurity law also said that you cant do anything on the Internet to harm the sovereignty of the country, said Yin. This case represents a good opportunity to show they can use this law. Beijing has been trying to squeeze Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who refused to accept that both sides belong to One China, its precondition for ties. Since her inauguration, Chinese visits to Taiwan have fallen significantly and more nations have severed diplomatic ties with the government in Taipei, in favor of Beijing. China issued curbs on South Korea retail and tourism companies, with some of the countrys consumers boycotting Korean goods. Ctrip.com International Ltd., Chinas largest travel website, said in October the number of tourists using the week-long national holiday to visit South Korea plunged 70 percent this year. Relations between China and South Korea soured after the government in Seoul agreed in 2016 to let its ally, the U.S., install a missile-defense system to guard against rockets fired by North Korea. China views the so-called Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system as a threat that will upset the strategic equilibrium in the region. In recent months there have been signs of improving ties. Last month President Xi Jinping held a summit with his Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in. South Korea announced Friday that two countries in February will hold the first high-level economic talks since May 2016. Bloomberg Porsche SEs board was ordered by a German court to answer critical shareholder questions about what management at Volkswagen AG and the carmakers majority investor knew about the diesel scandal and whether any evidence was destroyed. The holding companys board must answer five questions originally asked at its 2016 annual shareholders meeting, a Stuttgart court said in two rulings issued shortly before Christmas. The judges also sharply criticized the two companies handling of the crisis, saying that VW failed to stop employees from dumping documents that might have helped the U.S. investigation into the manufacturers diesel- emissions test manipulation. Porsche and Volkswagen are both facing investors lawsuits seeking billions of euros in damages that hinge on what top managers knew when about the diesel-engine rigging. They have both avoided answering these types of questions, citing ongoing investigations, including one by law firm Jones Day on behalf of Wolfsburg, Germany-based VW. Citing the investigation by Jones Day is no valid argument to deny the information, because hiring an external law firm normally doesnt oblige the client to confidentiality, the judges wrote. The right of shareholders to information may not be foiled by citing external investigations. Porsche SE, the investment vehicle for the Porsche and Piech families that controls 52 percent of VWs voting stock, is effectively run by the same group of people as the carmaker, with several managers holding dual roles. Porsche officials had declined to tell the shareholders when management learned about the cheating, citing confidentiality agreements with authorities and describing the matter as a topic that primarily affects VW and doesnt involve Stuttgart- based Porsche directly. While Porsche has said it will appeal the ruling on the shareholder meetings, the court didnt give it permission to appeal the judgment ordering it to answer questions. Porsche spokesman Albrecht Bamler declined to comment beyond reiterating that the investment vehicle will appeal. Martin Weimann, the lawyer for a shareholder that brought the lawsuits against Porsche, said he will wait to see whether the holding company actually files an appeal before taking further steps to force it to turn over the answers. The court rejected requests to answer a further 49 queries from the shareholder. VW faces a barrage of investigations and lawsuits since U.S. authorities disclosed in September 2015 that the carmaker had rigged engines on 11 diesel models to cheat on emissions tests. The company has already paid out more than 25 billion euros (USD30 billion) in fines, settlements and other costs since the scandal came to light. The German courts decisions come at a delicate time for VW, the worlds largest automaker, which is being supervised by U.S. monitor Larry Thompson to ensure the effectiveness of compliance systems that were stepped up in the wake of the scandal. Any evidence showing the top brass knew about the emissions rigging or learned about it earlier than September 2015 could inflate financial risks for both companies. In addition to the diesel woes, VW faces probes by German prosecutors into potentially excessive remuneration of labor officials, and an importer of its Skoda brand in Egypt is embroiled in a lawsuit over alleged bribery. The Stuttgart court took VWs crisis management in 2015 to task saying it failed to prevent employees from destroying evidence, which hindered U.S. authorities investigations, according to the rulings. Porsches boards also committed a grave violation by not setting up their own investigations into how VW managed the crisis, the court said. The automaker has claimed the engine rigging was done by a small group of engineers. U.S. court records show some 40 people destroyed thousands of documents when the cheating that stretched over almost a decade was about to come to light.Christoph Rauwald, Karin Matussek, Bloomberg Vong Hin Fai, one of the lawmakers behind a resolution that would bar political acts from being scrutinized by judicial authorities, said over the weekend that the proposal would not seek to encroach on the citys judicial independence. The statement was quickly countered by lawmaker Sulu Sou, who accused the Legislative Assembly (AL) of trying to violate well-established legal principles and said the body cannot rule on disputes to which it is a party. Last week, Sou filed an appeal to the Court of Second Instance for the annulment of his December 4 suspension from the AL on the basis that the actions of the Assembly violated the rules of procedure and fundamental rights of the appellant. Sous defense accused the AL of having overstepped a series of procedures, disregarding the Basic Law, the general law and the House Rules over the course of five decisions and deliberations. But a proposal, authored by Vong and fellow lawmaker Kou Hoi In, argues that, as a political act, the suspension of Sulu Sou does not fall under the jurisdiction of Macau courts and cannot be ruled improper as Sous defense claims. The positions taken by Vong and Sou had deepened into a public quarrel by Friday evening, with several other lawmakers, lawyers and political analysts chiding in. In a message posted on Sulu Sous Facebook page on Friday, the young democrat stressed that the bill is a direct reaction to court action that I have filed [] seeking the annulment of deliberation that suspended my mandate. [] The decision is due to be discussed on the very day that I will undergo trial. Sou went on to highlight a conflict of interests in that the AL, as a party to the dispute, ought not to be allowed to rule on it. Were one of the parties authorized to interfere with the decision of the courts, the sacred principle of equality before the courts of the weak and the strong, the rich and the poor would be watered down, he advanced. The AL would be setting itself to resolve a dispute in which the AL is itself a party, in disrespect for the role of the courts, their autonomy and their authority as adjudicators of disputes. The AL should not seek to behave as both a player and a referee. According to several media reports, lawmaker Vong admitted that the proposal was a response to Sous appeal. He added that it was necessary to introduce it precisely because of the involvement of the AL in the dispute. The proposal, which is expected to be discussed by the legislature tomorrow, states in the first of its just two articles that deliberations of the Legislative Assembly that lead to the suspension or loss of a lawmakers mandate are acts of a political nature that are excluded from administrative, fiscal or customs appeal. The second article establishes that the measure would have retroactive effects dating back to December 1999, when the MSAR was created. Daniel Beitler Katchi: a futile proposal THE RESOLUTION presented by lawmakers Vong Hin Fai and Kou Hoi In is futile, because it states something that is perfectly clear from a legal point of view, Antonio Katchi told the Times. The Legislative Assembly is a political body, not an administrative one. It has a political function [] and political acts are excluded from the administrative litigation. According to the legal expert, who is a lecturer at the Macau Polytechnic Institute, it is possible to appeal from administrative acts practiced inside the AL by its president or administrative services and related to the assemblys staff. Still according to Katchi, this issue shows that in Macau there is lack of a constitutional court that could assess the constitutionality and legality of a certain type of political acts, inclusively the laws. Something that could only be solved by reviewing the Basic Law. The government house where children are allowed to visit the prime ministers office has become the highlight of Thailands annual childrens festival on Saturday. Thai government offices opened their doors to children on the second Saturday of every January for more than 10 years to celebrate the National Childrens Day. The potential future leaders of the country got a chance to top the seat of the prime minister at the government house. For this year, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has given a motto for children to follow: Think, Analyze, Promote Creative Technology which he intended to encourage children and youth to always seek out new knowledge for themselves while being aware of how to use technology in a creative manner. Exhibitions on science and technology were held in the conference hall of the government house. Jirapat, 11, once represented Thailand in the international robotics competition and won the champion, brought to the festival the robots he designed. I hope the exhibition will arouse more childrens interest on robots and become their access to the world of science, said the teen designer. Activities, such as air shows, games and concerts were in full swing across the country. The atmosphere was lively especially in barracks where sophisticated tank VT-4 was on display along with helicopters and artillery pieces. Children flocked there and were seen riding in tanks, helicopters and armored cars. MDT/Xinhua A speedboat carrying 27 Chinese tourists and several Thai crews exploded on southern Thailands Andaman Sea near Phi-Phi Islands yesterday. A Thai citizen was killed and 16 others have been found injured, according to local media. The speedboat was on its way to Phi-Phi Islands and caught fire near the Viking Cave in the sea at about 1 p.m. local time yesterday. Five Chinese were seriously injured, according to the Consulate-General of China in Songkhla. The consulate said all the Chinese tourists have been helped ashore while the rescue team is still searching for the others. All the injured were hospitalized. Local media said there was a fuel leak. The captain went to check the engine and it suddenly exploded. The fire quickly spread, prompting all the passengers to scramble for swimming vests and jump into the sea. Local media said there were five Thai passengers and 27 Chinese tourists, including three children on board. A seriously injured Thai crew was later pronounced dead from burns. The explosion is under investigation. MDT/Xinhua A South Korean man who is suspected of the killing of two family members at a luxury Hong Kong hotel, was arrested in the HKSAR yesterda. The victims were the suspects wife and six-year-old son, reports the South China Morning Post. Authorities were notified of the incident following an alert from staff at the Ritz-Carlton hotel. The suspect called a friend in South Korea, about 7 a.m. yesterday morning, to say that he and his family members were about to commit suicide at the hotel. The friend then called the hotel, which in turn alerted police authorities. Police arrived at the hotel room to find that bodies of the victims and the suspect in a semi-conscious state. They also found a 13-centimeter ceramic knife at the scene, as well as alcohol. A senior police officer told the SCMP that investigators had discovered multiple cuts on the womens neck, while the child sustained a cut to his throat. The man had minor cuts to his fingers and face. However, based on an analysis of the hotel room, there did not appear to be signs of a struggle. The suspect, who is understood to be in his early 40s, was arrested and taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment. MYANMARs civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called the militarys investigation into the deaths of Rohingya Muslims found in a mass grave a positive indication. PHILIPPINES President Rodrigo Duterte has rejected calls from his allies to extend his six-year term and to cancel elections next year while supporting moves to shift to a federal system of government. INDONESIA Muslim hard-liners marched in Indonesias capital on Friday to protest Facebooks blocking of accounts belonging to their group. About 200 protesters marched after Friday prayers from a mosque to the Facebook Indonesia office, which was guarded by hundreds of police. NEPAL has opened an optical fiber link across the Himalayan mountains to China, ending years of dependency on India for internet access. JORDAN-GERMANY Germanys defense minister says her country is delivering millions of dollars worth of equipment to Jordans military to improve the kingdoms border surveillance. ISRAEL-PALESTINE The Israeli military said yesterday it destroyed an attack tunnel built by the Hamas militant group that stretched from the Gaza Strip, through Israel and into Egypt, and that ran past Israeli military posts as well as gas and fuel pipelines. TUNISIA Authorities announced plans to boost aid to the needy in a bid to placate protesters whose demonstrations over price hikes degenerated into days of unrest across the North African nation, which is marking seven years on Sunday since its long-time autocratic ruler was driven into exile. HUNGARY-ROMANIA Hungarys government has condemned provocative comments by Romanias prime minister about the autonomy efforts by Szeklers, a group of ethnic Hungarians in Romania. COLOMBIAs chief government negotiator in peace talks with the nations last remaining rebel group said officials are still committed to reaching a new cease-fire agreement despite fresh guerrilla attacks that put a pause on the dialogue. PERU A giant Christ statue in Perus capital that was donated by a construction company at the center of Latin Americas largest corruption scandal was damaged Saturday in a fire, days before Pope Francis is set to arrive in the South American nation. For more than 100 years, the Middle East has been defined by oil exploration, production and its boundaries. Now the region is getting repurposed by its aspiration to grow beyond fossil fuel. The shake-up in Saudi Arabias royal family was as much about becoming a 21st-century economy as it was about rooting out corruption. None of the regions petrostates has moved further from its oilfield roots than Dubai, which has been diversifying its economy since the 1970s. The result is a thriving gateway to globalization with a superior economic outlook. The largest of the seven United Arab Emirates and home to more than 200 nationalities, Dubai is growing faster than its neighbors as the No. 3 regional tourist destination behind Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Situated within eight flying hours of two-thirds of the worlds population, Dubai has the regions busiest international airport measured in total passengers and fourth-largest airline based on revenue per passenger kilometer. The citys 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa is the worlds tallest building, rising above Jebel Ali, the ninth-largest port. The relentless commitment to infrastructure development turned Dubai into the Mideast hub for finance, information technology, real estate, shipping and even flowers. Oil production, which once accounted for 50pct of Dubais gross domestic product, contributes less than 1pct to GDP today. The transformation of the economy accelerated as oil surged to a record USD147 a barrel in 2008 and continued in the aftermath of the financial crisis when oil plummeted to a low of $26 in 2016, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The building boom persisted even as Dubai World, the government- owned holding company, sought a standstill on debt repayments while it restructured $25 billion of debt in November 2009 and some borrowers fled the emirate as a result. The credit crunch and ensuing slowdown made Dubai even more determined to overcome the Mideast oil legacy. Energy officials in 2016 said renewable energy will account for 25pct of the emirates needs in 12 years. Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, a year ago said that the renewable percentage will rise to 44pct by 2050. Thats when Dubai aims to produce 75pct of its energy requirements from clean sources. The strategy for making the emirate a green economy included a policy of expanding infrastructure. Even as oil prices declined 50pct in 2014, construction continued unabated for Expo 2020, which aims to showcase opportunity, mobility and sustainability with a specific focus on education, financial capital, logistics, natural ecosystems and biodiversity, among other themes. All of which is reflected in the stock market, where Dubai is unique in the Persian Gulf. Historically, equity prices of Middle Eastern companies rise and fall with the price of crude. Not in Dubai. Since 2003, when oil began its five-year march to all-time highs, the correlation between share prices of its real estate companies and the oil price declined to 0.3 from 0.7, a transition statisticians characterize as moving in a similar direction to no relation, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Between 2009 and 2012, when oil doubled its value, the Dubai stock market appreciated 14pct and its real estate companies gained 48pct. With oil down 37pct since 2013, the Dubai stock market is up 155pct and real estate firms are 135 percent more valuable. Corporate Dubai is represented by the Dubai Financial Market General Index, consisting of 36 companies. Since 2003, the seven companies that make up the real estate and construction sector of the index produced a 789pct total return, beating the benchmarks 417pct as well as the 250pct return for the 242-member Bloomberg World Real Estate Index. No other market in the Persian Gulf comes close to replicating the performance of Dubai real estate. Dubai now is poised to be the growth leader among the six countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, with GDP expanding 3pct or more this year and in 2019. Saudi Arabia, which outperformed Dubai in growth in five out of the six years before 2016, remains the laggard. Matthew Winkler, Bloomberg The UK will be hit with a raft of food shortages over the Christmas holiday period if the Government doesnt step up and address the continued staff shortages across the food and drink supply chain, according to Heck founder and managing director Andrew... Credit: CC0 Public Domain To help address the opioid overdose epidemic, Canada should develop a regulated program to distribute opioids and prevent deaths, argues a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "The public health response to any poisoning epidemic should be to provide safer alternatives for people at risk," writes Dr. Mark Tyndall, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC. "In the case of the overdose crisis, this would mean providing a regulated supply of pharmaceutical-grade opioids to people at highest risk of overdose." In 2016, it is estimated that there were 2458 deaths from opioid overdoses, and more than 1000 overdose deaths reported in British Columbia, "ground zero" for the crisis in Canada, in the first 8 months of 2017. A drug supply contaminated with the synthetic opioids fentanyl and carfentanil is fuelling the crisis. Although it is recognized that widespread opioid prescribing has also contributed, efforts to reduce opioid prescribing are forcing people to turn to illegal and potentially deadly sources of pain relief. "We are now faced with the very real possibility of a protracted epidemic of overdose deaths that encompasses an ever-widening swath of the Canadian population, many of whom fall outside our usual targets for harm reduction programs," writes Dr. Tyndall. "We cannot simply give up on the current group of chronic opioid users who are playing a form of 'Russian roulette' with every injection or inhalation." Solutions include medically supervised dispensing of opioids, dispensing of slow-release oral morphine or large-scale dispensing of hydromorphone pills, which are inexpensive and available. More information: Mark Tyndall. An emergency response to the opioid overdose crisis in Canada: a regulated opioid distribution program, Canadian Medical Association Journal (2018). Journal information: Canadian Medical Association Journal Mark Tyndall. An emergency response to the opioid overdose crisis in Canada: a regulated opioid distribution program,(2018). DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.171060 Visualization of extracellular DNA in cell culture medium after treatment of CLL B cells with CpG-C. Credit: Reproduced with permission from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Researchers at Linkoping University in Sweden have discovered a previously unknown warning system that contributes to the body's immune system. Mitochondria in the white blood cells secrete a web of DNA fibres that raises the alarm. The results have been published in the scientific journal PNAS, and may lead to increased knowledge about autoinflammatory diseases and cancer. White blood cells are major components of the body's immune defence, and the research group has shown that several types of these cells react against small DNA fragments that are similar to the DNA from bacteria and viruses. The white blood cells spray out a web consisting of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) strands. Mitochondria are present in all cells and normally produce the energy needed by the cell, by burning sugar and fat to form water and carbon dioxide. The web that the mitochondria release sends signals to the surrounding cells that the body is under attack, and cause other white blood cells to release a signal substance known as interferon type 1. This substance helps the immune system to combat the infection. Previous studies have shown that the level of mtDNA in the blood can be elevated after certain inflammatory diseases and after some surgical traumas. "We show that the white blood cells in the immune system can release mtDNA outside the cells in an active process in response to infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses. The discovery raises the possibility of further studies in which we will try to reduce the release of mtDNA, and in this way reduce the inflammation that it causes," explains Bjorn Ingelsson, researcher and associate lecturer at the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at Linkoping University. He has conducted the research together with Professor Emeritus Anders Rosen and other co-workers. Other types of web formed by white blood cells in the immune system (neutrophils) were previously known. These cells release meshes coated with antibacterial proteins. However, the formation of the newly discovered mtDNA webs differs fundamentally from that of the other types of web. The researchers have shown that the mtDNA webs are activated within a couple of minutes, which is faster than the neutrophil-based meshes. The latter also lack the signal function that the mtDNA webs have. Further, the mtDNA webs survive in the blood longer before being dissolved. Is this a positive process in which the immune defence works to remove the intruding bacteria or viruses? "Well, of course it's positive that the defence mechanisms are activated. But remember that you can have too much of a good thing. If an unintentional secretion of mtDNA occurs, or if the secreted mtDNA is not removed from the blood, undesired inflammation may occur, and it is this side-effect we want to prevent," says Bjorn Ingelsson. High levels of interferon type 1, the signal substance activated by the mtDNA webs, occur in several autoimmune diseases and several types of cancer. The researchers believe that it may be possible to quantify the secreted mtDNA molecules and interpret the warning signals, and in this way understand these diseases better. Explore further First DNA sequence from a single mitochondria More information: Bjorn Ingelsson et al, Lymphocytes eject interferogenic mitochondrial DNA webs in response to CpG and non-CpG oligodeoxynucleotides of class C, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Bjorn Ingelsson et al, Lymphocytes eject interferogenic mitochondrial DNA webs in response to CpG and non-CpG oligodeoxynucleotides of class C,(2018). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1711950115 Obstruction of the lumen of a bronchiole by mucoid exudate, goblet cell metaplasia, and epithelial basement membrane thickening in a person with asthma. Credit: Yale Rosen/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 2.0 A team at The University of Manchester have found that in a minority of patients they studied, a standard treatment for asthmaoral steroidswas associated with increased levels of the treatable mould Aspergillus in the lung. The findings could be of valuable help to asthmatics who endure severe and difficult to treat symptoms, by giving doctors the information they need to plan their care more effectively. The team stress there is no danger to asthmatics from steroid therapy and that patients should continue taking their steroid inhalers or tablets as prescribed. About 40 percent of people with severe asthma have allergies to Aspergillus in their lungs. The research showed that severe asthmatics with allergies were ten times more likely to carry higher levels of mould when on corticosteroid treatment. Individuals in the study receiving antifungal therapy had lower quantities of the mould in the lung; the fungal load was much higher if the therapy had been stopped. "Aspergillus infection is usually treatable, but might be able to explain why some asthmatic patients are having persistent symptoms on steroids," said Dr. Paul Bowyer, senior author on the study from The University of Manchester. "We stress there is no danger to any individuals taking steroids to alleviate their asthma. "But nevertheless this data is important because it may help doctors to consider additional treatments to individuals with allergies to this mould associated with steroids, so they may be helped more effectively." Dr. Bowyer and Dr. Livingstone Chisimba, also from The University of Manchester and colleagues from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust examined the airways of 48 people with mild to severe asthma, and 10 volunteers with no symptoms. Dr. Chisimba said: "With higher Aspergillus loads seen in those on oral steroids, we believe these data combined with genetic or other biological markers of asthma will uncover a fundamental understanding of the role of the fungal infections in asthma. "This is a telling finding." Though different fungi were found with variation between individuals, the most common was Aspergillus. Multiple different isolated spores of the mould were detected in the same lung, possibly, say the team, because excess mucusa characteristic feature of asthmaacts as an efficient spore trap. That, they explain, allows the spores from inhaled air to accumulate . Excess mucus is able to protect Aspergillus from the body's normal defences, they say. The research is published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Explore further Time of day affects test results for asthma, researchers find More information: Marcin G. Fraczek et al. Corticosteroid treatment is associated with increased filamentous fungal burden in allergic fungal disease, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.09.039 Journal information: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Marcin G. Fraczek et al. Corticosteroid treatment is associated with increased filamentous fungal burden in allergic fungal disease,(2017). DOI: The colors in this cell culture show action taken by pancreas cancer when it recruits harmful cells to the tumor that suppress the bodys natural immune system. Credit: University of Rochester Medical Center One of the many difficult things about pancreatic cancer is that tumors are resistant to most treatments because of their unique density and cell composition. However, in a new Wilmot Cancer Institute study, scientists discovered that a three-drug combination can simultaneously target the cancer cells as well as the other harmful, inflammatory cells within the tumor, to improve survival. The research builds on previous scientific data from the lab of David C. Linehan, M.D., and may define a more personalized approach to treating pancreatic cancer. Ultimately, physicians will use information from the pancreas tumor biopsy about volume and predominance of cancer cells and non-cancerous inflammatory cells that impact the immune system, and then plan the best treatment. "People with pancreatic cancer don't have 10 years to wait for the next new drug," said Linehan, a surgical oncologist, director of clinical operations at Wilmot, and the Seymour I. Schwartz Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "Our approach is based on evidence that this disease has particular characteristics involving both the tumor and the immune response," he said, "and we believe that treatment must address all sides of the problem." In fact, more than 80 percent of a pancreatic tumor is comprised of cells that are not malignant cancer cells. But many of these non-cancer cells, called tumor-associated macrophages (or TAMs) still play a vital role in promoting cancer by preventing the immune system from attacking the cancer. In addition to TAMs, pancreatic tumors are also comprised of and surrounded by tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) that further block the immune system when pancreas cancer is present. (The cancer recruits these detrimental "helper" cells, TAMs and TANs, from the bone marrow.) Patients who have a high number of TAMs and TANs in their biopsy samples have a poorer prognosis. In general, survival odds for pancreatic cancer are dismal and the incidence is rising, fueling an urgent need for improvements in treatment through research. The objective of the study, which was published in the British medical journal Gut, was to target TAM and TAN with a combination of experimental drugs that would reduce their numbers and allow the body's own immune defenses to act appropriately and fight the cancer, and to boost the effectiveness of standard chemotherapy. The study was conducted in mice but researchers also performed correlative analyses on human pancreatic tumor samples. Results showed that targeting TAM and TANas well as the cancer cellsimproved antitumor immunity and chemotherapy response better than using any single therapy. The Gut journal also published an accompanying editorial by a German physician and research leader in pancreatic cancer, who said the Wilmot study provides a strong rationale for using combinations of drugs to overcome immune evasion in pancreatic cancer and other solid tumors. More information: Timothy M Nywening et al. Targeting both tumour-associated CXCR2+neutrophils and CCR2+macrophages disrupts myeloid recruitment and improves chemotherapeutic responses in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, Gut (2017). Timothy M Nywening et al. Targeting both tumour-associated CXCR2+neutrophils and CCR2+macrophages disrupts myeloid recruitment and improves chemotherapeutic responses in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,(2017). DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-313738 Patrick Michl et al. Overcoming immune evasion in pancreatic cancer: the combination matters, Gut (2017). DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-315443 Journal information: Gut Credit: Shutterstock A new method developed by UNSW Sydney medical researchers offers a way to predict whether patients with the blood condition myelodysplastic syndrome will respond to treatment. Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is characterised by impaired peripheral blood cell production and abnormal bone marrow, and more than 1400 people in Australia are diagnosed with the disease each year. MDS is much more common in older individuals and, if left untreated, the prognosis can be very poor. Bone marrow transplantation could cure MDS. But this is an invasive procedure that is often not tolerated by older people. The best alternative is the drug azacitidine (AZA), which can improve blood production and decrease the likelihood of MDS progressing into leukemia. "About half of MDS patients will not respond to AZA, with few alternatives for those who fail treatment," says UNSW Research Fellow Dr. Ashwin Unnikrishnan. "Also, it takes about four to six months before we can tell if someone is responding to AZA treatment, at which point months of futile treatment has been given to those who are resistant to it." To address this issue, UNSW Medicine researchers led by Dr. Unnikrishnan and Professor John Pimanda set out to develop a new quantitative method to measure AZA in patients receiving the treatment, to predict their response. This method builds on their recent discovery that increased cell cycle quiescence of blood cells is a characteristic of patients who fail to respond to AZA treatment. "The new method, called AZA-MS, utilises a cutting-edge technique known as mass spectrometry to measures the different forms of AZA inside blood cells of patients such as the AZA molecules that are incorporated into the DNA or RNA," says Dr. Unnikrishnan. Professor Pimanda and Dr Unnikrishnan. Credit: University of New South Wales "This development was very much an interdisciplinary effort involving researchers in the stem cell laboratory at the Lowy Cancer Research Centre and mass spectrometry experts at the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre," he says. The team's discoveries using AZA-MS are published in the journal Leukemia and reveal that MDS patients who do not respond to AZA treatment incorporate less AZA molecules in their DNA, compared to people who do respond. These findings are consistent with the team's hypothesis that increased cell cycle quiescence of blood cells is a key driver of resistance to AZA treatment. "These findings are really exciting, because AZA-MS now allows us to identify early on which patients will not respond to AZA," says Dr. Unnikrishnan. In early 2018, the AZA-MS method, along with another related test, will be used in a UNSW clinical trial led by Professor Pimanda, together with the pharmaceutical company Celgene and multiple hospitals in New South Wales. "One of the benefits of using the test in this trial is that it will help determine if people respond to AZA tablets, compared to the currently used injectable form," says Professor Pimanda. Dr. Unnikrishnan says: "The hope is that the AZA tablets will be effective for people who would otherwise not respond to AZA, and that the overall response to AZA improves. "The clinical trial will also allow us to collect samples that will enable us to answer long-term questions aimed at improving treatment in MDS. "Altogether, we are hoping to fundamentally improve treatment for MDS patients, with the test as a big step towards personalised therapy," he says. Even this years not-so-great vaccine will let most flu sufferers escape with only a fever, cough and a lousy feeling. Credit: University of California, Los Angeles H3N2: If you've had it, you know how bad it can be. If you don't, you've heard about it and are afraid. Very afraid. We're talking about the flu, specifically this flu season's dominant strain. Others are taking about the flu as well. Physicians at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica, have been featured in the media, and sought by patients and the public for advice on flu care and preventionand for good reason. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that flu activity is widespread across the country. The California Department of Public Health has announced that flu activity in California is at levels that are usually only seen at the peak of flu season. And the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has reported 36 confirmed flu deaths this year in the county alone; last year at this time, the toll was 13. Amid the alarming reports, dire headlines and, of course, sneezes and coughs, one refrain is emerging: This year's flu vaccine isn't very effective. While that's true, it's the wrong take-home message, says Dr. Deborah Lehman, an infectious diseases specialist and a professor of clinical pediatrics in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "When people hear the vaccine isn't that effective, they assume there's no point in getting itand that's very frustrating," she says. "The vaccine may not completely prevent the flu. But it does help the body launch an immune response." That's no small thingand science backs her up. "Studies have shown that vaccines prevent against serious illness and death. That's really important," Lehman says. "Even if it doesn't provide full protection, the vaccine may provide some partial protection." Lehman bluntly acknowledges that this vaccine may not be as effective against the H3N2 strain as against other strains, as many people can attest. That's why when this strain surges, doctors' offices and emergency rooms fill up, even as schools and workplaces begin to empty. But Lehman also suggests that the public's expectations may be too high, fueled as they are by the knowledge that other vaccines are so effective. The pediatric vaccine against measles, for example, is almost 100 percent effective after two doses. "True, the current flu vaccine is not a great vaccine," Lehman says. "But it's a good vaccineand it's better than no vaccine." When to seek help ... Even the not-so-great vaccine will let most flu sufferers escape with only a fever, cough and a lousy feeling for several days or more. But people who provide care for children, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems need to pay special attention to the flu's impact, Lehman says. Dehydration is the primary concern, because it can exacerbate or launch a cascade of negative health effects and make it harder for a body to defend itself. If children, the elderly and immunocompromised people don't get enough fluidsor if they can't keep food and drink downthey need more help than a parent or other caregiver can provide. Respiratory difficulties, such as difficulty breathing or breathing very fast, are also clues additional medical attention is needed. For children, mental status is another key indicator of a potentially serious problem. If a child is increasingly irritable or unusually sleepy, they need immediate medical care, Lehman says. If you're not sick yet... Those who haven't succumbed to the flu don't need to abandon hope. Dr. Joseph Ladapo, an associate professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been spreading the word about flu prevention. In media interviews, such as a recent one with the consumer review website Consumer Affairs, he has offered practical advice that everyone can manage. Get enough sleep. Eat a balanced diet. Exercise regularly. Give zinc a try, but don't overdo it. Stay away from sick people. Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands. And ... wait for it ... get the vaccine. "[F]or some patients, the flu vaccine actually can decrease their risk of death," Ladapo told the site. "We have seen randomized trials of patients with heart disease, which show that getting the flu vaccine reduces their risk of having a heart attack or other cardiac event. Amazingly, the flu vaccine in these patients can be almost as effective for preventing cardiac events as taking a statin." Still not convinced? Check out the CDC's weekly flu activity map. As of mid-January, every staterepeat: every statereports widespread flu activity. If you're going to get the fluand you may stillit's better to reduce your risk of serious illness and death if at all possible. Explore further Severe flu season slams all but one state: CDC The recent release by PhishMe, the leading provider of human phishing defence solutions, of its South Africa Phishing Response Trends Report shows some startling findings in terms of security incidents stemming from deceptive e-mails. According to the report, some 90 percent of respondents have dealt with security incidents originating from deceptive e-mails, and yet more than half of the respondents do not possess the right tools and processes to effectively mitigate such threats. PhishMes South Africa Phishing Response Trends Report looked at the phishing response strategies of IT security decision-makers across a variety of industries in the South African region. The report highlights that despite technology investments, local organisations are being flooded with suspicious e-mails targeting employees, noting that 80 percent of respondents had confirmed using anti-malware solutions, with 70 percent of respondents using computer based training to protect against phishing attacks. Nonetheless, with scattered technology, processes and limited resources, the majority of respondents still feel ill prepared to adequately respond to such threats. Additionally, according to the Ponemon Institute, South African organisations are more exposed to data breach incidents than their counterparts across the globe, having scored the highest probability of experiencing a data breach in the next 24 months[1]. In line with phishing response trends emerging from the US and the UK markets, South African businesses claimed to be more unprepared to combat phishing attacks despite having dealt with more e-mail-related incidents. The report notes that in 2016, cybercriminals launched a digital offensive in South Africa, with attacks employing phishing and spear phishing tactics. According to Trend Micro, more than 6,000 local PCs were infected with banking malware. Key findings from the survey include: 90 percent have dealt with security incidents originating with a deceptive e-mail. have dealt with security incidents originating with a deceptive e-mail. More than 60 percent have faced an e-mail threat more than once. have faced an e-mail threat more than once. Nearly 20 percent of respondents see more than 500 suspicious e-mails weekly. Nearly all respondents already have one security layer in place, with many respondents having more than four security layers in place. already have one security layer in place, with many respondents having more than four security layers in place. E-mail-related threats are South Africas biggest security concern. Over 50 percent of respondents highlighted that technology alone isnt the answer to phishing. of respondents highlighted that technology alone isnt the answer to phishing. 95 percent of surveyed IT professionals plan to upgrade their phishing response and prevention. With the average cost of a data breach surpassing the two and a half million US dollar mark, it has become mandatory for South African organisations to rethink the way e-mail-based threats are handled internally, said Rohyt Belani, CEO and co-founder at PhishMe. As we have seen in other parts of the world, relying on technology alone is insufficient to defend against todays top threats, calling for a different approach based on automated phishing incident response powered by human intelligence. Anton Jacobsz, managing director at value-added distributor Networks Unlimited, which distributes PhishMe solutions throughout Africa, concludes, The best form of defence against phishing is the education of your employees as the final protection layer in a holistic defence strategy, acknowledging that technology exists for, and is used by, people, who must therefore be included in the defence chain. This strategy underscores the need today for a completely holistic approach to cybersecurity, which works across a number of different platforms and does not rely only on IT support and technology applications. The full report is available for download here: http://www.nu.co.za/phishing-response-trends-south-africa-welcome-to-the-jumble To learn more about PhishMes phishing incident solutions, please visit: www.phishme.com Survey Methodology This study was commissioned by PhishMe and delivered by Censuswide, an international market survey consultant. Censuswide surveyed one hundred select IT professionals, largely senior decision-makers, on phishing response strategies. The sample represented firms belonging to a variety of industries including business services, high tech, manufacturing, healthcare, financial, retail and wholesale trades, transportation, consumer services and telecommunications. All participants joined voluntarily and no telemarketing techniques were implemented. [1] Source: Ponemon Institutes 2017 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Overview (https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?htmlfid=SEL03130WWEN) Work on the detailed design for the future Project 23560 Leader-class destroyer is planned to begin in Russia after 2020, a source in Russias defense industry told TASS. Work on the detailed design for the future Project 23560 Leader-class destroyer is planned to begin in Russia after 2020, a source in Russias defense industry told TASS. Scale model showing the Project 23560E "Shkval-class" Destroyer (export variant of Leader-class) at Army 2016 exhibition. Twelve ships of the 10,000t "Leader class" are planned to enter service from 2023-25, split between the Northern and Pacific Fleets. They will all be nuclear powered. They will be fitted with the ABM-capable S-500 SAM and Kalibr (SS-N-27) cruise missile. The ship will be built by the Northern Shipyard in St. Petersburg in northwest Russia, the source added. "Work on the detailed design for the Leader-class destroy with a nuclear power plant will begin after 2020. The construction of the lead ship is expected to start in 2025," the source said. According to the source, Project 23560 destroyers will be built by the Northern Shipyard. As the source said, the shipyard is planned to build two landing helicopter docks and then launch the construction of the destroyers. TASS does not have any official confirmation of this information. Scale model showing the Project 23560E "Shkval-class" Destroyer (export variant of Leader-class) at Army 2016 exhibition. Twelve ships of the 10,000t "Leader class" are planned to enter service from 2023-25, split between the Northern and Pacific Fleets. They will all be nuclear powered. They will be fitted with the ABM-capable S-500 SAM and Kalibr (SS-N-27) cruise missile. President of Russias United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov said during a visit to the Northern Shipyard on November 29, 2017 that the shipyard would be able to build destroyers and landing helicopter docks for the Russian Navy after 2020. Rakhmanov also said that the shipyard was building a new 75-meter high slipway. It will allow organizing the production of various maritime constructions and warships of 250x70 meters in size at the biggest construction site. The future Project 23560 Leader-class destroyer is expected to replace the Project 956 and Project 1155 ships that make up the mainstay of the Navys general-purpose ocean-operating forces. The Project 23560 destroyer will have a nuclear power plant. It will be armed with Kalibr (NATO reporting name: SS-N-27 Sizzler) and Oniks (SS-N-26 Strobile) missile systems or their versions and a shipborne version of the S-500 air defense missile system able to ensure ballistic missile defense. Copyright 2018 TASS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini reported last week that the Greek government is set to enter talks with France regarding the procurement of two FREMM frigates. Contacts between Greece and France will begin initially at a military level, starting in February the newspaper explains, citing well informed sources. Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini reported last week that the Greek government is set to enter talks with France regarding the procurement of two FREMM frigates. Contacts between Greece and France will begin initially at a military level, starting in February the newspaper explains, citing well informed sources. FREMM Frigate. French Navy picture. According to Kathimerini, this move comes after a verbal agreement between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and French President Emmanuel Makron during his last visit to Athens last September. If an agreement can not be reached on the frigates because of their cost, the discussion will likely veer to the Gowind corvette. According to its designer and builder, Naval Group, the FREMM Frigate can counter all current and naval and air threats thanks to the exceptional platform characteristics and powerful SETIS combat system. FREMM directly inherits its capabilities from the world-renowned La Fayette class stealth frigates, decades of experience in CMS including the development of the combat-proven CMS equipping the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and from Naval Group expertise in acoustic signature reduction, acquired particular with the construction of nuclear submarines. Overview of the FREMM series by Naval Group: Aquitaine, first in the series, delivered in 2012 Mohammed VI, delivered to the Royal Moroccan Navy in 2014 Provence delivered in June 2015 Tahya Misr, delivered to the Egyptian Navy in June 2015 Languedoc delivered on 16 March 2016 Auvergne, delivered today Bretagne and Normandie, to be delivered in 2018 and 2019 Alsace and Lorraine with strengthened anti-aircraft capacities to be delivered in 2021 and 2022 According to Naval Group, the Gowind 2500 corvette is packed with the very latest technological advances, developed and implemented by Naval Group for naval defence. It integrates SETIS, the latest generation of combat systems developed by Naval Group, the "Panoramic Sensors and Intelligence Module (PSIM)" an assembly that combines the integrated mast with its different sensors and the Control Room and associated technical rooms and the high level of integration and automation of Naval Group user-friendly systems. The Gowind series is already a success for Naval Group. Four units have been ordered by the Egyptian Navy (the first one, ENS El Fateh, was recently delivered) and six more units have been ordered by the Royal Malaysian Navy (the first one, KD Maharaja Lela was built in Malaysia and launched this summer). At the end of 2017, it was announced that the UAE Navy was procuring two Gowind corvettes as well. Armenia FM holds phone talks with Wendy Morton Armenia finance minister receives World Bank delegation Karabakh President spokesperson: Issues of security and status of Artsakh remain unsolved Armenia Deputy PM receives EBRD Regional Director for Caucasus Karabakh President spokesperson: Stepanakert views Azerbaijani-Turkish military exercises as new challenge Tony Blair calls Islamism a top priority threat to Western countries Armenia MOD receives outgoing commander of Russian peacekeeping forces in Karabakh Armenia PM, Eurasian Development Bank Management Board chairman discuss development of cooperation Karabakh President meets with Russian Co-Chair of OSCE Minsk Group Igor Khovaev Karabakh emergency situations service: Remains of another Armenian serviceman found in Hadrut Brazilian president suspected of wanting to stage an early military coup Armenia FM receives China Ambassador Azerbaijani media report launch of Turkish-Azeri joint military exercises in Lachin region Toyota collides with paramedic truck in Yerevan, 5 people transferred to Erebuni Medical Center Armenia Deputy PM, World Bank delegation discuss current joint programs Digest: Armenian ex-presidents lawyer files lawsuit, Yerevan resident brutally kills his wife Armenia PM receives new Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Jean-Paul Belmondo passes away aged 88 Guinean government officials ban from leaving country Armenia ex-MP: August 25 fights in parliament were show of force by current authorities Ex-deputy defense minister: Yerevan should discuss with Moscow legal mechanisms for peacekeepers presence in Artsakh Families of another 76 heroic Armenian servicemen receive compensation Armenian ex-MP: Armenia's role in South Caucasus being reduced to a minimum Taliban execute pregnant Afghan police officer in front of her family Podguzov: EDB interested in considerably increasing Armenia's portfolio in next 5 years Viticulturists of Armenia's Ujan shut down Yerevan-Ashtarak highway, half of factories not purveying grapes Merkel gives consent to talks with the Taliban Lavrov: Russia would be glad to participate in ceremony for announcing new Afghan government Armenia PM sacks deputy emergency situations minister Revenue committee sums up results of 23rd measure to neutralize Armenia economic consequences of coronavirus Dollar drops in Armenia Health ministry: 303,325 people so far vaccinated in Armenia against coronavirus Armenia Constitutional Court to examine opposition's application challenging parliamentary speaker's election Armenia FM to OSCE Minsk Group's new Russian Co-Chair: Speedy, unconditional repatriation of POWs necessary Health minister: As of October 1 Armenia employees must be vaccinated against coronavirus Armenia ruling party interested in expanding cooperation with Russia ruling party, says parliament vice-speaker Armenia opposition MP: That matter should be on each sessions agenda until parliament commission chair is elected Murder in Yerevan, police release video Political bloc formed in Gyumri, it will run in local elections Karabakh President visits Berdashen, Ashan villages of Martuni region Oil prices are down 1% Resistance forces deny Taliban takeover of Panjshir and intend to continue fighting Netherlands ready to assist Armenia in implementing judicial reforms OSCE Minsk Group new Russian Co-Chair meets with Armenia FM One dead, 5 injured after car accident on Meghri-Yerevan motorway 4th Armenian festival opens in Paris (PHOTOS) Opposition MP: Attempt being made to gradually take Armenia out of Artsakh-related processes Unibank to celebrate 20th anniversary organizing festival of intellectual games Russia peacekeepers in Artsakh secure safe grape harvesting Lawyer on Armenia ex-president Sargsyan v. MP Sukiasyan lawsuit: We will go after all lies 239 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia 2 Yerevan neighborhood residents on hunger strike for 12th day Armenia Armed Forces General Staff chief attends International Army Games closing ceremony Brutal murder in Yerevan Taliban announce capture of Afghanistans Panjshir province Bitcoin exceeds $51K for first time since May Robot patrol service launched in Singapore Brazil snake venom helps fight coronavirus? US 60% of respondents disapprove of Biden's decision on Afghanistan Merkel welcomes resumption of Kabul airport Armenian Defense Minister: We must learn to defend our country if necessary Russian pianists Miroslav Kultishev and Viktor Maslov are winners of 2nd Classic Piano International Piano Competition Taliban ban shooting into the air throughout Afghanistan Boeing 787 Dreamliner deliveries to not resume until late October Man dies in shark attack in Australia Death toll in ISIS militants attack in Iraq rises to 12 Alexey Shor: The Armenian State Symphony Orchestra led by Sergey Smbatyan has become a world-class orchestra Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis burned section of road from Norabak village to Azat Armenia confirms 423 COVID-19 new cases in a day Saudi air defense forces destroy three mined Houthi drones 3 people killed in Washington shooting Political analyst: It is decided in Moscow who will or will not visit Artsakh Another fallen Armenian soldiers remains found during Artsakh search operations President confers Hero of Artsakh title Le Drian: France will continue assisting Armenia in overcoming consequences of Karabakh conflict More than 5,000 people evacuated in China after damage to dam Over 70 people killed or wounded in Afghanistan aerial gunshots Deputy chief of North Macedonia mission to OSCE detained at Armenia's request Taliban say they have taken control of 4 districts in Afghanistans Panjshir province EU assists Armenia enterprises engaged in dried-fruit production, export (PHOTOS) Grape growers reopen road in Armenias Ararat 17 people killed after indiscriminate shots fired in Kabul 4 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh Blinken to Mirzoyan: US Embassy in Yerevan ready to assist you, your government 7 injured in New Zealand supermarket knife attack Artsakh presidential adviser dismissed Grape growers block road in Armenias Ararat Province Female passenger dies on the spot after car hits horse in Armenias Syunik Province 621 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Dead body of man, 45, with gunshot wounds found on Yerevan street Armenia army General Staff chief heads for Moscow Google locks Afghanistan government accounts City to be built in US desert for millions of people Denmark to build giant 'energy island' at sea Newspaper: 'Soros' NGOs to bring 2 large-scale education programs to Armenia Newspaper: Satellite footage of 44-day Artsakh war could make scandalous revelations Some 6,000 Islamic extremists surrender to Nigeria authorities Aram Khachaturian's Violin Concerto to be performed in Dubai Digest: Trial on Armenian soldiers death to begin, footballer who played in Armenia commits suicide Mongolia exploring possibility of signing free trade agreement with EEU The Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Azerbaijan has dismissed the reports by the countrys mass media, which had hastened to attribute an Azerbaijani soldiers death to the operations by the adversary. Azerbaijani media had informed that army serviceman Sanan Mammadov was supposedly killed as a result of shooting from the Armenian side. The Azerbaijan MOD, however, issued a statement saying that Private Mammadov had died because of gross violation of the rules of combat duty. Two unidentified people who attacked students and teachers of Perms school, were detained, the regional ministry of territorial security reported. Two attackers were detained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers, the ministry said. According to the source, there were 743 people in the school, now all are evacuated. As a result of the incident, eight children and one teacher were injured. According to the media, the teachers began to evacuate students after the fire alarm. Peru President Pedro Kuchinsky is ready to declare the state of emergency in the areas hit by a major earthquake, Peruvian head of the Council of Ministers, Mercedes Araoz said on Sunday, RIA Novosti reported. According to Ministry of Defense, one person was killed as a result of tremors, 61 were injured and 736 peoples property were damaged. Thirty three schools were affected and one destroyed in the regions of Arequipa, Ica and Ayacucho. A strong magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Caraveli Province in the Arequipa Region. The hypocenter of this tremor was 10km beneath the surface. The United States is not actually contributing to the settlement in Syria, but trying to help those who are determined to change the regime in Damascus. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, RIA Novosti reports. During a press conference, the Russian foreign minister claimed that there is probably no radical difference between the administrations of Obama and Trump. According to him, in either case, we see a desire not to help in finding the speediest solution to the conflict, but to help those who would like to launch practical steps to change the regime in the Syrian Arab Republic. Armed conflict continues in Syria since March 2011. Negotiations on the settlement are held at the venues of Geneva and Astana. Earlier the special envoy of the Russian President Alexander Lavrentiev said that the special envoy of the UN Secretary General Staffan de Mistura is planning to hold the ninth round of talks in Geneva around 21 January. Western countries insist on the resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russia has repeatedly stated that the fate of the current head of state should be decided only by the Syrian people. YEREVAN. The presidential elections will probably be held on March 2, and the negotiations on choosing candidates will start already this week at the Republican Partys Supreme Body session, head of the Republican Party of Armenia faction Vahram Baghdasaryan told reporters. The candidate should be a person enjoying authority and having an influence in the Diaspora, someone with no party affiliation. We should keep these standards. Concerning the question whether we have such people in Armenia, I can only answer that we indeed have such people in our country, whose names cant be told at the moment, stated Baghdasaryan. Asked whether its possible for the candidate of the Republican Party president to be from the Diaspora, Baghdasaryan answered that the candidate should be acceptable for the Diaspora, for the external world. When asked whether there are such characters that Baghdasaryan could name, the head of faction answered that for him there may be some characters whose names he is only going to announce during the session. YEREVAN. As a result of the rise in gasoline and diesel fuel prices, public transport and taxi fares will inevitably increase in Armenia. Tigran Hovhannisyan, Chairman of the Drivers Defense League NGO, expressed such a view speaking to Armenian News-NEWS.am. In his words, if these prices do not go down, the situation can get out of control in the country. Along with the increase in energy resources, passenger transportation fares remain the same every time, said Hovhannisyan, which leads to the drivers fair dissatisfaction. As of January 1, the gasoline, diesel fuel, and compressed gas prices have risen in Armenia. According to the State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition, this is due to the new Tax Codes entering into force in the country. The second line of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline will be built only after receiving firm guarantees from the European Commission, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters. According to Lavrov, the first line is being built for consumers in Turkey, while the second will be built only after receiving firm guarantees from the European Commission that they will not do the same thing as it happened with South Stream to Bulgaria, RIA Novosti reported. We will be ready for any option, but an option that will be 100% guaranteed by the European Commission, as one that will not be derailed, the minister added. A step-by-step approach on Karabakh mentioned by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov suggests a package settlement, spokesperson for Armenian Foreign Ministry believes. The matter is a package settlement with a step-by-step implementation which was repeatedly stated by the co-chairs, Tigran Balayan told Armenian News-NEWS.am. We welcome this statement. This is the essence of the proposals to create a mechanism to investigate incidents and increase the capacity of the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, he added, commenting on Lavrov's statement. Speaking during a press conference on Monday, Russian foreign minister said the conflict cannot be solved in one document, adding that this issue needs a step-by-step approach that will determine ways to work on the matters that require additional discussion to achieve a final settlement, including the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. At least 14 students and a teacher were injured in a knife rampage at a school in the Russian city of Perm. The teenagers who started the assault may have been inspired by the Columbine High School massacre, according to reports. It all started Monday morning when a knife fight broke out between an 11th grader and a former student on the grounds of personal enmity. The brawl then spilled into a classroom of fourth grade students. The teacher and children tried to separate the two, sustaining injuries as a result. The suspects were named as Lev Bidzhakov, 17, and Alexander Buslidze. They entered a classroom and went directly to the teacher to stab her before attacking other children in the classroom. Argishti Abroyan, the father of the 10-year-old boy, who was injured during the slaughter at school, came to the regional children's hospital where his son (Menua Abroyan) and his classmates are now. "My son said, that two guys flew rushed into classroom at about 9.45. One ran to the teacher and stabbed, and then immediately approached my son and hit him; my son has cuts on his scalp," Argishti noted that Menua quickly jumped up and ran into the corridor, and reached hospital himself. She dumped him? Reply Thread Link Nope.i hate her and her music.but let me check Reply Parent Thread Link He never would have dropped that meal ticket. Reply Parent Thread Link I really want to see this movie, but it's coming out on the same day as Black Panther in the states and, welp Reply Thread Link for real? lol RIP "Early Man." I guess they're going for counterprogramming to snatch up the oldsters and the racists. Reply Parent Thread Link Easy solution: double feature. Reply Parent Thread Link you can't watch it later? Reply Parent Thread Link Whoo boy, that hairline has been pushed back more than the Kingdom Hearts 3 release date Also the James Flint facial hair. You tried it and we denied it, Hiddleston Reply Thread Link "that hairline has been pushed back more than the Kingdom Hearts 3 release date" AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Reply Parent Thread Link Lmao. It's been 13 years.... Reply Parent Thread Link MY SINUSES Edited at 2018-01-14 11:14 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link PFFFFFFFF HA HA Reply Parent Thread Link lmao this whole comment. i love you Reply Parent Thread Link Lmao Reply Parent Thread Link omggggg lmao Reply Parent Thread Link OH MY GOD Reply Parent Thread Link L M A O Reply Parent Thread Link lmfaooo Reply Parent Thread Link lmao omg Reply Parent Thread Link lmaooooo Reply Parent Thread Link why you gotta bring up that hurt tho Reply Parent Thread Link lol I'm telling you if they don't give me KH3 this year I'm gonna burn something down Reply Parent Thread Expand Link *Half Life 2 Episode 3 released date Reply Parent Thread Expand Link LMAO! I'm really glad I wasn't drinking something or else I'd have done a spit take Reply Parent Thread Link SCREAMING Reply Parent Thread Link LOL sso true Jfcccc Reply Parent Thread Link lmaoo Reply Parent Thread Link LMAO! And I just realized Kingdom Hearts reminds me of Taylor's song King of My Heart. I'm sure she changed the lyrics around to make it sound like it's about Joe lol. Reply Parent Thread Link this entire comment!!!! jfc i'm laughing so hard Reply Parent Thread Link OMG lmaoooo Reply Parent Thread Link Omg ilu Reply Parent Thread Link Looool Reply Parent Thread Link omgggg Reply Parent Thread Link nnnn all this struggle british dna on display Reply Thread Link cackling rn Reply Parent Thread Link Stawwwwp lmao Reply Parent Thread Link crying Reply Parent Thread Link omgg you guys are killing meh Reply Parent Thread Link Ontd ugly post fr tho lol Reply Parent Thread Link lmao omg Reply Parent Thread Link i was gonna say! Reply Parent Thread Link I think he was too into her?? Idk, she has that Getaway Car song that people swear is awesome but... yknow... Taste is subjective. Reply Thread Link He was just drivin the getaway car Reply Thread Link I can't. Swiddleston ruined everything. Reply Thread Link It really did. Like, I didn't feel one way or another about this guy beforehand, and now every time I see him, I think of that nonsense. Reply Parent Thread Link It showed his desperation. Any image of him as a suave nerd fell back like his hairline. Reply Parent Thread Link lmaooo Reply Parent Thread Link lmao this truth Reply Parent Thread Link i used to feel sorry for him, now i know he's a bitch who got played. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Hiddleswift seems like something that happened in an alternate universe. Reply Thread Link he looks like crap Reply Thread Link so wrong sorry Reply Parent Thread Link Tom and Eddie are the same age, let that sink in a bit (and Eddie doesn't even look young for 36 lol) Sometimes I just want to send all the men of Great Britain a big tub of moisturizer. Reply Thread Link omg wut Reply Parent Thread Link yeah Hiddleston always looks 15+years older than he is but then Redmayne always looks like a mix between a baby and an 80 year old with too many chemical skin peels to me Reply Parent Thread Link Eddie only looks youthful from afar, because of his demeanor. Any time the camera pushes in for a close-up, you can see a lot of wrinkles around his eyes. Reply Parent Thread Link oh IA, but ain't no camera distance or soft lighting that can help Tom out at this point lmao Reply Parent Thread Link Lol and sunscreen Reply Parent Thread Link Are you kidding me?? Eddie looks like a baby compared to him LOL Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Whaaat I assumed Tom was in his 40s. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I feel like I keep learning this and forgetting and having my mind blown every time. Reply Parent Thread Link Tom is also the same age as Ben Barnes. And they could play uncle and nephew Edited at 2018-01-15 12:16 am (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I know his fans swear he's the sweetest thing ever, and I don't follow him at all, but I always think he fancies himself way too much. Reply Thread Link I don't know how anyone could deny this. Everything he does comes across so self-conscious and affected. Reply Parent Thread Link He's a horny creep, to hear tell of it. Didn't he go to ETON or whatever? ::masturbatory gesture:: Reply Parent Thread Link What?? Details please Reply Parent Thread Link yeah, come back and spill! Reply Parent Thread Link spill the deets Reply Parent Thread Expand Link 95% of people who go into showbiz as a career fancy themselves way too much tbh Reply Parent Thread Link It's a pre-rec that you are a sociopath to be given access into the industry. Reply Parent Thread Link He reminds me of a greasy car dealer tbh Reply Parent Thread Link I remember hearing he's sleazy but people brush that off for being "charming." Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Why did Swifty dump him? there can only be one try-hard in a relationship Reply Thread Link Seriously, England, you gotta keep your fuggos within your borders. They're a danger equal to, if not greater, than the drug trade. Hiddleston looks ok in glasses, at least. They, along with the beard, cover his face, so that's good. I still only find him attractive as First Thor Loki before his Machiavellian machinations aged him twenty years. Arya is adorable; the fuggos I am referring to are male. Eddie Redmayne looks like a trout as usual. Reply Thread Link Dont destroy my travel dreams sis. Reply Parent Thread Link his fangirls don't give a hot buttery fuck, either. Reply Parent Thread Link Hot buttery fuck Haha I like it ha Reply Parent Thread Link Bloop Reply Parent Thread Link he has woody's letter framed on his wall lmao. fucking loser Edited at 2018-01-14 11:43 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link Waiting for this feminist to speak! Reply Parent Thread Link He got that signed letter in his house Reply Parent Thread Link This sure is a collection of interesting faces. Reply Thread Link It reminds me of the 3d renderings they do to give us an idea of what 3,000 year old corpses looked like in their heyday Reply Parent Thread Expand Link STOP Reply Parent Thread Link omg nnnnnnn Reply Parent Thread Link Lol lordt Reply Parent Thread Link IAEA Seeks Abstracts for Meeting on Radiation Detection Instruments IAEA has organized a series of technical meetings so Member States can share their experiences with the use of radiation detection equipment for nuclear security, either for regulatory control or public safety; the first technical meeting took place in April 2016. IAEA says interested participants have until Jan. 26 to submit abstracts for oral or poster presentations at its upcoming Second Technical Meeting on Radiation Detection Instruments for Nuclear Security. The meeting will be held in Vienna, Austria, during April 16-20, 2018. In paragraph 19 of the Nuclear Security Plan 2018-2021, member States have encouraged IAEA to keep pace with evolving challenges and threats to nuclear security using scientific and technological innovations. To address the request, IAEA has organized a series of technical meetings so Member States can share their experiences with the use of radiation detection equipment for nuclear security, either for regulatory control or public safety; the first technical meeting took place in April 2016 with 98 participants from 53 Member States and the EU and more than 30 radiation detection equipment vendors. The Second Technical Meeting is being held to build on the progress of the first meeting. "This meeting provides an excellent opportunity to bring together the users of radiation detection instruments with the manufacturers of those instruments in order to discuss the challenges and solutions to using the instruments for nuclear security applications," said Charles Massey, Scientific Secretary for the Technical Meeting. The meeting will cover topics such as detection systems for mail and air cargo, active neutron interrogation and detection systems, challenges stemming from calibration maintenance, cross-border compatibility for detection systems, technical and functional specifications, and R&D opportunities. Massey said IAEA welcomes abstracts on all meeting topics. Mani Sarathy researches alternative fuels and collaborates with atmospheric scientists to understand the fate of exhaust emissions in the air. Credit: KAUST 2017 Fuel combustion chemist Mani Sarathy began his research career as an environmental engineer studying the environmental impact of pollution. But before long, Sarathy realized that the most effective way to mitigate environmental damage was to stop pollution at its source. Sarathy tells us, "I got into combustion research to look at how we could maximize engine efficiency and minimize exhaust emissions to improve the environment." In the five years since joining the Clean Combustion Research Center at KAUST, the Associate Professor has tackled combustion science from a diverse range of angles. As well as studying the fundamental chemistry and physics of fuel combustion and feeding that knowledge into improved engine design, Sarathy researches alternative fuels and collaborates with atmospheric scientists to understand the fate of exhaust emissions in the air. He, together with colleagues, is even beginning to harness artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve combustion processes. Sarathy acknowledges that burning fossil fuels depletes resources and generates emissions that impact the climate and environment. "But the fact is, society is heavily invested and reliant on this technology. Transitions to renewable energy sources are needed, but we need more time for these technologies to develop," explained Sarathy. In the automotive sector alone, it is predicted it will take another 25 years to fully phase out gasoline-powered vehicles. Sarathy then points out, "And that still leaves trucks, heavy-duty machinery, ships and aircraft." All of which provide plenty of motivation to pursue clean combustion research. When Sarathy joined KAUST in 2012, part of the appeal was that most of the key players in the energy industry are right on the doorstep: from fuel and petrochemical companies to vehicle-engine manufacturers, gas-turbine manufactures and aerospace companies. "The opportunity was there to work with industry on real problems," Sarathy says. It's an opportunity he embraced. "In most universities, you do your research and hope it may one day have some impact. Here, in just five years, you can see your fundamental research translated into something that immediately impacts society." But for Sarathy, joining KAUST in its formative years was an equally big drawcard. Previously, Sarathy worked at the world-renowned Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, United States. "It was a well-established institution, but that meant it was harder to start anything new because you were working in an existing system and meeting requirements for existing long-term government programs," he says. "But then the opportunity came up in KAUST and here you have a blank slate. What you write on that blank slate is up to you." Today, Sarathy maintains a core research focus on combustion chemistry but also claims a diverse portfolio of clean combustion research projects. "If you have a vision, and the science to back it up, KAUST will support you," he explains. "We can use our funding to develop new collaborations with people around the world to start new areas of research." The latest example is the collaboration he established with atmospheric scientists Mikael Ehn and Matti Rissanen from the University of Helsinki in Finland. Sarathy tells us, "We can use our understanding of how hydrocarbons are oxidized in the engine to help atmospheric chemists understand how organic compounds are oxidized in the atmosphere. Until now, there has been almost no collaboration between combustion scientists and the environmental scientists who monitor the impact of emissions on the environment. "If we can bring the two groups together, maybe we can develop new technological solutions to improve air quality and limit climate change." Over the years, Sarathy and his colleagues have gathered reams of data on the fundamental physics and chemistry of combustion and they're still gathering. They've put that data, along with cloud-based simulation tools, on to a web portal called CloudFlame, which has over 1500 users from over 80 different countries. "We built the website to democratize combustion science and provide everyone with access to the same tools and data that leading companies and universities have," he says. His next aim is to bring machine-learning scientists into the combustion research field. "If you have good algorithms and a lot of data, you let the computers learn on their own, and they might discover entirely new ways to solve a problem," he says. "And thanks to KAUST's growing reputation, when you contact the best people, they're keen to collaborate." Explore further Synchrotron study reveals oxygen's influence on the chemistry of atmospheric pollution More information: Bo Zhang et al. Lifecycle optimized ethanol-gasoline blends for turbocharged engines, Applied Energy (2016). Bo Zhang et al. Lifecycle optimized ethanol-gasoline blends for turbocharged engines,(2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.08.052 A new study reveals financial barriers to citizenship for low-income immigrants. Credit: Immigration Policy Lab, Stanford University Taking the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony is an emotional moment for many immigrants, and for good reason: it is the culmination of an often arduous process and many years of striving. Citizenship also opens a new chapter marked by possibility, from better job prospects to full participation in civic life. Yet for many immigrants who aspire to become U.S. citizens, that moment never arrives. Since the 1970s, naturalization rates in the United States have lagged behind those of other major host countries. It's a striking disparity given that the vast majority of immigrants in the United States express interest in citizenship. And since gaining citizenship often boosts immigrants' social mobility and integration, the fact that so many are left behind points to a troubling loss of solidarity for their host communities. What holds them back? Why are some immigrants more likely than others to complete the naturalization process? New research from Stanford University's Immigration Policy Lab, in collaboration with researchers at George Mason University and the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, provides the first concrete evidence of a major barrier to citizenship for low-income immigrants. The findings help explain why citizenship-promotion efforts face significant challenges, and they provide a blueprint for solutions to ensure that all immigrants have equal access to citizenship and its benefits. A Life-Changing Program In seeking to understand disparities in naturalization patterns, previous studies have focused on the immigrants themselvesindividual characteristics like language skills, resources, or country of origin. Here, the researchers considered an external factor out of immigrants' control: the high costs of the citizenship application process. For many low-income immigrants, the price tag is daunting: $725 just to file the application, plus hundreds or even thousands more if you need English classes or consultations with immigration lawyers. Charitable organizations have stepped up to provide free language training, legal advice, and help navigating the paperwork. But the application fee has only become more burdensome, rising by 800 percent in real terms since 1985, when it was $35 (or $80.25 in today's dollars). The federal government offers a fee waiver for the poorest immigrantsthose with incomes below 150% of the poverty linebut for many others who aren't destitute but struggle to make ends meet, that fee alone can put citizenship out of reach. To address this potentially pivotal financial obstacle, IPL teamed up with the New York State Office for New Americans (ONA) and two funders dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable New Yorkers, Robin Hood, and New York Community Trust. Together they developed an innovative, public-private program called NaturalizeNY, which offers low-income immigrants an opportunity to win a voucher covering the naturalization application fee. Veyom Bahl, a managing director at Robin Hood, said, "Robin Hood is proud to partner with the world-class researchers at the Stanford Immigration Policy Lab. Like us, they are committed to helping immigrant families build a strong footing for a new life in the United States. This research will help foundations, community-based organizations, and policymakers alike re-think how we invest in our communities for maximum impact." NaturalizeNY also connects registrants with application assistance from ONA's network of nonprofit service providers. New York's leading immigrant service organizations, including CUNY Citizenship Now!, Hispanic Federation, and Catholic Charities, were also integral in promoting and implementing the program. "This was a truly first-of-a-kind program, where a state agency, philanthropies, academics, and nonprofits created a way to provide direct financial support to help low-income immigrants apply for citizenship. The Immigration Policy Lab was excited to partner in its design and evaluation so everyone involved could understand its impact on immigrants and the New York community," said Michael Hotard, an IPL program manager. New York is home to the nation's second-largest immigrant population, and its metro area has about 160,000 low-income immigrants eligible for citizenship. With a registration website in seven languages, NaturalizeNY focused on relatively poor New Yorkers who, by virtue of income or lack of eligibility for government benefits like food stamps or cash assistance, did not qualify for the existing federal fee waiver program. NaturalizeNY used a lottery to award the 336 available vouchers, leaving 527 registrants without one. By following the two groups to see how many completed the citizenship application, researchers could measure the power of financial assistance, and in turn determine how much the costs may discourage others from naturalizing. Credit: CC0 Public Domain The results were unequivocal: the vouchers roughly doubled the application rate, from 37 percent among those without a voucher to 78 percent among recipients. The vouchers proved particularly effective for those who registered in Spanish; their application rate rose by 51 percent compared to a 36 percent rise among English speakers. "Because NaturalizeNY uses a lottery system to equitably distribute vouchers to eligible registrants, for the first time we have clear causal evidence as to the effect of application fee vouchers on citizenship decisions. The magnitude of the effect suggests that it's a critical lever to improve low-income immigrants' access to citizenship", said Jens Hainmueller, a professor of political science at Stanford and IPL co-director. The Deeper Challenges of Poverty For the poorest immigrants, however, even eliminating the application cost isn't necessarily enough to pave the way toward citizenship. They may not know that they're eligible for a fee waiver, or they may find the process too difficult if they're working several jobs, caring for children or elderly relatives, or unable to get assistance with the application. Do these kinds of disadvantages keep these immigrants from becoming citizens? To find out, researchers identified 1,760 immigrants who registered for NaturalizeNY but weren't entered into the lottery because they likely qualified for the federal fee waiver. While the voucher group's average annual household income was $19,000 per person, this group's average was just $7,500. Everyone in this group received a message during registration informing them that, based on their responses, they likely could apply for citizenship without cost and that assistance was available. 1,124 then received various "nudges" encouraging them to apply and to visit a local service provider for help navigating the process. These nudges mimicked the real-world interventions many groups rely on to reach immigrants in need: emails, phone calls, text messages, an official letter by regular mail, and a $10 MetroCard intended to allay the cost of commuting to a service provider. Yet none of these encouragements made a significant difference in application rates beyond the 44 percent for those who received no additional encouragements. In follow-up surveys, many participants said they had been too busy to apply. But when researchers returned to the data, they found that busyness couldn't be the whole answer: the nudges were just as ineffective for single people as for members of large households, and for those of working age and retirement age. "That so many ended up not applying indicates that challenges to naturalization run deeper than financial constraints," said Duncan Lawrence, IPL executive director. "It's clear that we have more to learn about what sorts of cost-effective nudges may or may not work. Raising awareness of the fee waiver itself may be an important piece of the puzzle, and we are actively working to understand how learning about the fee waiver affects application rates." Citizenship and Social Mobility For policymakers looking to address social inequality and give low-income immigrants a potential pathway to the middle class, the voucher results speak volumes. The current naturalization system imposes prohibitive costs on exactly those immigrants who might stand to benefit the most from the opportunities citizenship brings. NaturalizeNY could inspire other cities and states to create similar public-private partnerships. ONA director Laura Gonzalez-Murphy emphasized the project's actionable insights, saying, "The New York State Office for New Americans Opportunity Centers are leaders on the ground, establishing strong relationships and trust with immigrants and refugees from across the world. We are always eager to eliminate barriers for these individuals and help them on their path to citizenship. Thanks to our partners, including Stanford, George Mason, and SUNY Albany, we now have a unique project to paint a real picture of the current immigration system and see where opportunities for positive change may arise." At the federal level, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently lowered the fee for applicants between 150 and 200 percent of the poverty level. As this research illustrates, however, the financial barrier remains decisive for low-income immigrants above that range. Expanding this tiered system, with wealthier applicants paying more, would allow USCIS to cover its administrative costs while keeping citizenship affordable for all. These are relatively simple projects to fund and administer, and they have a potentially big long-term payoff: if becoming an American citizen makes immigrants more likely to pursue higher education, start a business, or enter a profession, then boosting naturalization rates would make for better integrated, more prosperous communities. Explore further Naturalized immigrants more politically integrated citizens, research shows More information: Jens Hainmueller el al., "A randomized controlled design reveals barriers to citizenship for low-income immigrants," PNAS (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jens Hainmueller el al., "A randomized controlled design reveals barriers to citizenship for low-income immigrants,"(2018). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1714254115 Credit: University of Dundee A re-examination of the medical evidence which led to the execution of William Bury, the last man hanged in Dundee 129 years ago, will be staged at a public mock trial next month, organised by the University of Dundee. Bury was found guilty of the murder of his wife Ellen, and hanged on April 24, 1889. In his initial confession he made a claim to be Jack the Ripper. His conviction rested largely on medical evidence which drew some uncertainty from the jury at the time. Now students from the Mooting Societies at the Universities of Dundee and Aberdeen will take part in a re-consideration of the information that was available at the time and will present evidence by today's forensic science standards. The mock trial will be overseen by The Hon Lord Matthews, a Judge of Scotland's Supreme Courts. The prosecution case will be led by the Dundee University Mooting Society, who will be mentored by Alex Prentice QC and Dr. Stuart Hamilton will be called as their expert witness. Defence of William Bury will be led by Aberdeen University's Mooting Society, who will be mentored by Dorothy Bain QC and they will call Professor Richard Shepherd as their forensic witness. The jury who will decide on the verdict will be drawn from the local public, with an appeal for 15 people to take part. The event will be held in Dundee Sheriff Court on Saturday February 3 and is being staged as part of the celebrations to mark the 130th anniversary of the establishment of the Cox Chair of Anatomy at the University of Dundee. Unfortunately, due to limited space there is no access for the public to the court on the day. The event is being filmed for a planned documentary by HistoryHit TVDan Snow's new online History Channel, and there will be social media updates throughout the day, with a verdict expected by 5pm on February 3. "The William Bury trial and his subsequent execution is a fascinating story in so many respects, from the reaction of the Dundee public, who were very much against the death sentence at the time, to the claims linking him to the Jack the Ripper case, and the circumstances of the death of his wife," said Professor Dame Sue Black, Director of the Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification at the University of Dundee. "We have excellent records of the original case, through documents held in the National Records of Scotland and press reports of the time. William Bury's body was transported to the University for anatomisation and the bones from his neck remain in my office. He had been hanged and his neck snapped at his second cervical vertebra the classical hangman's fracture. "When the jury returned the first time they found Bury guilty but asked for mercy as they found the medical evidence to be conflicting. However they could only return with one of three verdicts guilty, not guilty or not proven. On the second return to the courtroom they found him guilty and he was sentenced to death by hanging. We will now look at this evidence again in the light of modern thinking and see what the jury decides will he still be found guilty? We will find out on February 3." In the original trial the Crown alleged that Mr Bury strangled his wife Ellen with a piece of rope he had bought, then cut her abdomen open, disembowelling her, possibly whilst she was still alive or very shortly thereafter. He then crammed her mutilated body into a wooden trunk, breaking both the bones in her leg in the process. The defence alleged that it was suicide and that she 'self-strangulated' and that the cuts to her body were made after her death. William Bury the story William Henry Bury was born in Hill Street, Stourbridge, Worcestershire, on 25 May 1859. Little is known of his early life, except that his mother, Mary, had become insane after suffering from depression, and after a nervous breakdown was confined to Worcester County and City lunatic asylum in May 1860, where she remained until her death at the relatively young age of 33, on 30 March 1864. William's father, Henry, was a hardworking fishmonger, who died in August 1859 when William was only three months old. He was the youngest of three children, having an older brother and sister, and was raised not by his uncle as some reports have claimed, but a close family friend. She took pity upon the children and provided them with a solid education, and at the age of 16, helped William to find work as a factors clerk in a local warehouse. In the 1881 census he is listed under the surname Berry, co-incidentally the surname of the man who would later hang him for murder. There is no record in the census of his brother and sister, and their whereabouts at that time are unknown. Bury, prior to moving to London, went to live with his uncle in Wolverhampton, and made a precarious living hawking, selling items such as lead pencils and toy rings. He arrived in London at the age of 28 in October/November 1887, and found work as a sawdust collector for James Martin, who was described as a general dealer. Martin ran, what to all intent and purposes was a brothel, at 80 Quickett Street, Arnold Road, Bromley-by-Bow. Bury moved in with the Martins, and it was here that he met Ellen Elliot, a 32-year-old barmaid and prostitute and the daughter of a London publican, George Elliot. Ellen was well known and respected among family and friends as a quiet inoffensive woman, who had seemed very happy until she married Bury. She was described as a neatly dressed woman, fair haired, slim and of genteel appearance. She had been left a legacy of bank and railway shares from an aunt, to the value of 300. Ellen invested the money wisely, purchasing shares in the Union Bank of London. After a brief courtship of only one month the couple were married, at Bromley Parrish Church on Easter Monday 2 April 1888. The newlyweds settled in Bow, and took up lodgings with Elizabeth Haynes at 3 Swaton Road. On 7 April, only five days after they were married, Haynes, hearing Ellen screaming, rushed to her aid to find Bury kneeling on her attempting to cut her throat with a table knife which he was holding in his left hand. Around this time Ellen confided to the Martins that her husband often stayed out until the early hours, sometimes disappearing for a couple of days, before reappearing, worse the wear for drink, where upon he would proceed to take his temper out on her. Exactly where he went and what he got up to she did not know. James Martin, on at least two occasions, witnessed William Bury assault his wife in public, and Ellen would often be seen displaying the facial marks resulting from a beating. Ellen also told the Martins that her husband slept with a pen-knife under his pillow, and that he had infected her with a venereal disease. She also believed, prophetically, her husband would kill her. It was around this time that Bury stole money from James Martin, and was sacked. With the help of Ellen's money, he bought a pony and cart, and became self employed as a sawdust merchant. He would purchase sawdust from various mills and sell it onto pubs in the East End and restaurants in the City. This however is how it was meant to work in theory. In practice, he would arrive at a pub with the intention to sell sawdust, have a beer, and stay there drinking all day. In August, the couple left Swaton Road, and moved to 11 Blackthorme Street, Bow. Their stay there, however, was brief. In December, they took up lodgings with William Smith, a builder/bricklayer, at 3 Spanby Road, Bow. Bury stabled his pony and cart, at this address. The next we hear of their movements is 19 January 1889, when Bury told Ellen's sister he had found manufacturing work for himself in Dundee at 2 per week, and Ellen at 1 per week, if she wanted it. He told his landlord, William Smith, a different tale, that they were emigrating to Brisbane, Australia. When asked by Smith which dock they were sailing from, Bury replied, 'Ah, that's what you want to know, like a lot more'. Bury asked Smith to build him a strong trunk to transport his belongings, and was very particular about the measurements of the box he wanted. Smith was surprised he wanted such a large trunk, as the only possessions he noticed the couple had were clothing, though he did notice Bury always appeared to have plenty of money and jewellery about his person. Smith later told the police that Bury had been lately, 'Rather strange in his manner'. On 19 January 1889, the Burys travelled to Dundee on the London packet steamer 'Cambria', which was lying at London dock. The couple occupied a second-class cabin and stayed on board overnight. During the crossing, the other passengers noticed the couple appeared to be on good terms with one another, although were hesitant in revealing details about their past. During the trip, it was noticed Bury seemed most anxious about a large heavy whitewashed case he had taken on board. On first arriving in Dundee, the couple found accommodation with Mrs Robinson, at 43 Union Street, which was a little more expensive than other lodgings in the area. They left after one week, claiming the rent was too high. It has been suggested that the real reason for their sudden departure was that Mrs Robinson, the elderly landlady, had feared Bury, and thought him rather odd. Bury, it was said, had a tendency to walk rather quietly and often frightened people with his silent approach. They then moved into a two-roomed basement house at 113 Princes Street, the basement being at the bottom of a four-storey house. The building was squalid in appearance and the apartment dirty and cold with several broken window panes, though was described as in a quite area. It was at this address, seven days later, that Bury murdered his wife. Neighbours at Princes Street rarely saw the couple, though on the occasions when they did, they noted were often the worse for drink. Ellen was only spotted sporadically at night, whenever she would venture out to draw water from the communal pump. William Bury ran all other errands, such as replenishing candles, firewood and bread. On 4 February, Bury went to Janet Martin's provisions store, and asked if she had a length of rope, for what purpose she did not ask. A short while later Ellen Bury disappeared, and was not seen again. Her husband, however, was spotted on two or three occasions, always in a drunken state. At approximately 7.00 p.m. Sunday 10 February 1889, William Henry Bury walked into Bell Street police station and announced to Lieutenant Parr, 'I'm Jack the Ripper, and I want to give myself up'. Parr, not sure if he was dealing with a drunk or a madman, then asked the man why he called himself Jack the Ripper. 'I'm him all right', Bury replied, 'And if you go along to my house in Princes Street, you'll find the body of a woman packed up in a box and cut up'. He gave officers the key to the property, telling them, 'You will know it at once, because there are red curtains on the front window'. He gave no further information, other than the number of his house, his name and occupation. Police officers visited Princes Street and began a search by candlelight. The apartment was bare of possessions, the only items in the two rooms were a small bed piled high with clothing, and a large white-washed packing case. Opening the box, by raising two loose boards on the lid and pulling back a piece of sheeting, they revealed the leg and foot of a female. Proceeding no further, they summoned Doctors Templeman and Stalker, who proceeded to examine the contents of the 3ft 3in long, by 2ft 4in across, and 2ft 1in deep trunk. They discovered the naked and mutilated body of Ellen Bury, she had been strangled and her abdomen had been ripped open by a wound beginning 1 inches from the pubis and extending upwards for 4 inches, a wound so severe that 12 inches of intestines were protruding through her stomach. Apart from the wound to the abdomen there were a total of nine other knife wounds to the body. The box, which was clearly too small to accommodate the body, had also been packed tightly with books and clothing. Ellen's head had been forced to one side of the shoulder, the left leg was broken and twisted to such a degree that the foot rested on the left shoulder, the right leg had been smashed in order to fit it into the box, the body was lying on its back on a petticoat and a piece of cloth. A long-bladed knife, which had been used to commit the crime, lay nearby, along with a rope, complete with strands of hair still attached. It later transpired that Bury had lived with the box, and its contents, for several days, and along with some male friends had used it as a table to play cards upon. It also became clear while in court that, prior to his confession, he had gone to visit a friend and drinking partner, David Walker, where the subject of Jack the Ripper had arisen on at least several occasions during their conversation. In the days following the murder, he had tried unsuccessfully to borrow a chopper from his neighbour, Marjory Smith, who joked to him, 'You're not Jack the Ripper are you?' to which he replied, 'I do not know so much about that'. Police officers also discovered at Princes Street two chalk written messages, one behind a tenement door, stating, 'Jack Ripper is at the back of the door', and one on a stairwell wall leading down to the flat, 'Jack Ripper is in this seller'. The newspapers attributed the handwriting to a small boy, though did not offer an explanation why they considered this to be the case. Presumably it was due to the poor grammar displayed. The writing, however, was said to be old, and predated the tragedy. Bury was detained on suspicion of having taken the life of his wife, by either strangulation or stabbing, this information, it was noted, he received calmly. A search of his person revealed his wife's bankbook, showing several pounds in credit, a watch and some jewellery. Bury, while awaiting trial, told the police that on Monday 4 February 1889, he and his wife had been out having a good time, so good a time, that they could not remember going to bed. The following morning Bury awoke to find his wife dead on the floor, having been strangled with a cord. Having no recollection of whether he had committed the crime or not, and frightened and fearing he would be apprehended as Jack the Ripper, he was suddenly seized with a mad impulse, and he picked up a large sharp and finely ground knife, which happened to be lying conveniently nearby, and plunged it into her abdomen. He then decided to conceal the body in the trunk. The post mortem revealed that Ellen Bury had been dead for several days. Dr. Templeman's opinion was that she had been murdered, strangled and her body cut possibly whilst still alive. Bury, despite his initial confession, pleaded not guilty to his wife's murder and genuinely believed he had a chance of a reprieve. His solicitor asked for a second post mortem. Dr. David Lennox, an experienced Dundee surgeon, carried out the second post mortem, assisted by Dr. William Kinnear, and presented a comprehensive 14 page report. His conclusion was that Ellen Bury had committed suicide and that the cuts to her abdomen were made after death. This was a huge blow to the police, who now called in Dr. Henry Littlejohn to perform a third post mortem. His findings were that Ellen had in fact been murdered, though he was unable to ascertain if the mutilations had taken place after death. Bury's trial commenced on 28 March, the judge was Lord Young, Dill Kechnie led the prosecution case, William Hay appearing for the defence. The trial lasted about thirteen hours. A neighbour at Princes Street, David Duncan, on the night of the murder, heard three loud screams come from the direction of Bury's flat. Little was said in Bury's defence throughout the trial, though the defence attempted to question the morals of Ellen Bury. Under the rules of evidence, Bury was not permitted to speak in his own defence. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, saying, 'We strongly recommend him to mercy'. Lord Young seemed to be surprised by their recommendation, 'May I ask', he inquired, 'On what grounds you recommend the prisoner to mercy'. It was explained to the court that the jury viewed the medical evidence as conflicting. Lord Young refused to accept such a verdict and instructed the jury to retire once more to consider if they had doubt. They returned some 5 minutes later, with a unanimous verdict of guilty, with no recommendation for mercy. Bury, throughout his trial, was said to have remained calm and slept soundly each night. The Dundee Advertiser 29 March 1889, described him as, 'Brainless and heartless'. He was hanged on 24 April 1889 at 8.00 a.m. and was the last man to be hanged for murder in the City of Dundee. 5000 people waited outside for the hoisting of the black flag, and the body was buried within the precincts of the prison after he had been anatomised. Just before his execution, the hangman, James Berry, tried to obtain a confession for the Whitechapel murders. Bury turned to the hangman and said, 'I suppose you think you are cleaver to hang me', with the emphasis firmly placed on the word, 'Me', before continuing, 'I suppose you think you are cleaver because you are going to hang me, but because you are going to hang me you are not going to get anything out of me'. Although Bury never actually confessed to the Ripper crimes, the hangman James Berry, always remained convinced that he was Jack the Ripper. According to Berry the detectives sent from London to investigate Bury's movements asked Berry for his opinion, he replied, 'I think it is him right enough', 'And we agree with you', replied one of the detectives, 'We know all about his movements in the past, and we are quite satisfied that you have hanged Jack the Ripper, there will be no more Whitechapel crimes' and indeed there were not. Explore further Jack the Ripper and the commodification of sexual violence A new AI machine creates new music from songs its fed, mimicking their style. Credit: FlowMachines The first full-length mainstream music album co-written with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) was released on 12 January and experts believe that the science behind it could lead to a whole new style of music composition. Popular music has always been fertile ground for technological innovation. From the electric guitar to the studio desk, laptops and the wah-wah pedal, music has the ability to absorb new inventions with ease. Now, the release of Hello World, the first entire studio album co-created by artists and AI could mark a watershed in music composition. Stemming from the FlowMachines project, funded by the EU's European Research Council, the album is the fruits of the labour of 15 artists, music producer Benoit Carre, aka Skygge, and creative software designed by computer scientist and AI expert Francois Pachet. Already Belgian pop sensation Stromae and chart-topping Canadian chanteuse Kiesza have been making waves with the single Hello Shadow. The software works by using neural networks artificial intelligence systems that learn from experience by forming connections over time, thereby mimicking the biological networks of people's brains. Pachet describes its basic job as 'to infer the style of a corpus (of music) and generate new things'. A musician firstly provides 'inspiration' to the software by exposing it to a collection of songs. Once the system understands the style required it outputs a new composition. 'The system ... analyses the music in terms of beats, melody and harmony,' said Pachet, 'And then outputs an original piece of music based on that style.' The single Hello Shadow, featuring Stromae and Kiesza, is taken from the AI-co-written album, Hello World. Credit: SKYGGE MUSIC Creative workflow The design challenge with this software was to make it adapt to the creative workflow of musicians without becoming a nuisance. 'The core (problem) was how to do that so that (it) takes into account user constraints. Why? Because if you compose music, actually you never do something from scratch from A to Z,' said Pachet. He outlines a typical scenario where the AI software generates something and only parts of it are useful but the musician wants to keep it in, drop the rest and generate new sounds using the previous partial output. It's a complex requirement, in other words. 'Basically, the main contribution of the project was to find ways to do that, to do that well and to do that fast,' said Pachet. 'It was really an algorithmic problem.' As creative workers driven by intuition, musicians need direct results to maintain their momentum. A clunky tool with ambivalent results would not last long in a creative workflow. Pachet is satisfied that his technical goal is completed and that the AI will generate music 'quickly and under user constraints'. After years of development and refinement, the AI music tool now fits on a laptop, such as to be found in any recording studio, anywhere. In the hands of music producer Carre, the application became the creative tool that built Hello World. Computer scientist and AI expert Francois Pachet created a system that co-writes music. Credit: Kevin Casey/ Horizon Collaboration As a record producer, Carre collaborated closely with the artists in the studio to write and produce songs. So, as the resident musical expert, can Carre say if this is a new form of music? 'It's not a new form of music,' he said, 'It's a new way to create music.' Carre said he believes the software could lead to a new era in composition. 'Every time there is a new tool there is a new kind of compositional style. For this project we can see that there is a new kind of melody that was created.' He describes this as 'earworm melodies with strange aspects'. He also says that the process is a real collaboration between human and machine. The system creates original compositions that are then layered into songs in various forms, whether as a beat, a melody or an orchestration. During the process, artists such as Stromae are actively involved in making decisions about what and how to include the muscial fragments the AI provides. 'You can recognise all the artists because they have made choices that are their identity, I think,' said Carre. Pachet concurs. 'You know in English you say every Lennon needs a McCartney so that's the kind of stuff we are aiming at. We are not aiming at autonomous creation. I don't believe that's interesting, I don't believe it's possible actually, because we have no clue how to give a computer a sense of agency, a sense that something is going somewhere, (that) it has some meaning, a soul, if you want.' The album's title Hello World reflects the expression commonly used the very first time someone runs a new computer program or starts a website as proof that is working. Carre believes that Hello World is just the first step and the software signals the start of a whole new way of composing. 'Maybe not next year, but in five years there will be a new set of tools that helps creators to make music,' said Carre. Explore further Facebook signs deal with music label Universal Music The rosette sampler is used to collect the bacterial samples from the briny pool in the Red Sea. Credit: Andre Antunes, Edge Hill University, UK. Mysterious microbes that thrive in hot and super-salty brine lakes at the bottom of the Red Sea could yield a treasure trove of new enzymes for industrial applicationsif only scientists had access to their biological bounty. A new study led by KAUST scientists now spells out a way to exploit this vast untapped resource. Current methods rely on growing microbes in the lab to study their characteristics. However, most microbes cannot be cultured and thus evade scientific scrutiny. Instead, researchers from KAUST and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) in Germany resurrected and tested specific proteins from so-called single-amplified genomes (SAGs)whole genomes extracted from a single captured microbial cell. "This is the first time that SAGs have been used to produce proteins," says first author, Stefan Grotzinger, a doctoral student working at both KAUST and TUM. "The proof that proteins of desired functions can be obtained from SAGs could change the way we search for new enzymes." Grotzinger and his colleaguesled by KAUST structural biologist Stefan Arold with Jorg Eppinger, a chemist formerly at KAUST, and TUM scientists Dirk Weuster-Botz and Michael Grollstarted with a microbial cell plumbed from a brine pool located 80km off the coast of Jeddah and 2,000m below the Red Sea surface. From its SAG, they computationally identified a gene encoding one of the microbe's alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs), an enzyme commonly used in food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. The researchers first tried to express this enzyme in Escherichia coli, a common bacterial platform for protein production, but this approach didn't produce useful proteins. They then turned to a different microbe that lives in a highly saline environment and that can also be cultured in the lab. In this microbe, they managed to obtain enough of the ADH protein that they could infer its three-dimensional structure through X-ray crystallography and perform a full biochemical characterization, including its enzymatic capacities. Their analyses revealed characteristics that presumably arose as adaptations to life in the hot and salty sea. For example, the protein works under extremely high concentrations of organic solvent, tolerates high temperatures and can be freeze-driedall features that make the enzyme attractive for commercial industrial applications, Grotzinger says. But more generally, he adds, the study provides a roadmap for how to mine the molecular riches of organisms found in extreme environments. Plus, it provides an exemplar of international and local collaboration, uniting scientists in Germany and Saudi Arabia, with cooperation from three units of KAUST: the Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering Division, the Computational Bioscience Research Center and the Catalysis Center. Explore further Scientists identify key factors that help microbes thrive in harsh environments More information: Stefan W. Grotzinger et al. Identification and Experimental Characterization of an Extremophilic Brine Pool Alcohol Dehydrogenase from Single Amplified Genomes, ACS Chemical Biology (2017). Journal information: ACS Chemical Biology Stefan W. Grotzinger et al. Identification and Experimental Characterization of an Extremophilic Brine Pool Alcohol Dehydrogenase from Single Amplified Genomes,(2017). DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.7b00792 Credit: Jakub Grygier/Shutterstock.com Eugenics has been science's toxic brand since the end of World War II. The point was driven home yet again recently when Toby Young, appointee to the UK's newly established Office of Students, was denounced in the House of Commons for having written favourably of "progressive eugenics". Young resigned from the post the following day amid complaints about a series of other tweets and comments made in the past. In one sense, the toxicity of eugenics is of course well deserved. One thinks especially of the Nazi Holocaust, but also of the many, often racially motivated forced sterilisations of people in multiple countries, flying under a range of political banners. In addition, we live in a time when it is politically difficult, at least in avowed democracies, to appear to support any form of "inequality". However, this is not the most useful way to think about eugenics, either in terms of its history or its lessons. Historically, eugenics was primarily embraced as part of a "progressive" political agenda across the world not only in regions under Western imperial rule. As the excellent Oxford Handbook of the History of Eugenics demonstrates, Mexico, Iran and China have been among the most enthusiastic eugenically oriented nations without any trace of white supremacist ideology. I believe that we should understand eugenics in the context of what the original "progressive eugenicists" were trying to achieve, in spite of their ill-chosen means, because it is not so clear that our own political and, increasingly, personal ambitions are so different from theirs. Human welfare Eugenics was originally about forging a certain kind of relationship between science and the state. When Francis Galton coined the term in the 1880s, he wanted to turn science into a vehicle to consolidate the state's emerging role as not merely keeper of the peace but promoter of human welfare. He meant this in good liberal capitalist fashion as by the state enabling people to show their true potential by relieving any hereditarily transmitted social arrangements that might otherwise block their performance. Our notions of "equal opportunity" derive from this way of seeing things. Recall that "inheritance" already meant something long before "biology" and "genetics" became the names of sciences. It was a term in the law for the establishment of entitlements, such as property ownership or a seat in the UK House of Lords, a pet peeve of Galton's. In this spirit, "eugenics" in its original sense aimed to extend the political economy of animal and plant husbandry into the human realm. On this view, traditional societies were seen as "wild", which certainly fuelled imperialist ambitions of "domestication". Nevertheless, we still trade on those ideas when uttering such agriculturally inspired phrases as "raising children" and "cultivating human capital". For all its flaws, Galton's eugenics vision married a statistical imagination with sharp observation and diligent reporting on an unprecedented scale. It arguably remains the foundation of much social research today. Of course, the judgements and conclusions drawn by Galton and his followers have been contested and by standards that the eugenicists themselves introduced. That eugenics has been hoist by its own petard over the years suggests that the field is better seen as a scientific research programme blighted by many false theories than a "pseudoscience" in the philosopher of science Karl Popper's original sense of an unfalsifiable belief. The welfare state The most important idea that we continue to honour from eugenics is that of the "welfare state" itself. Its original economic argument was that as the state scientifically determined who is good for which social roles, a national health and education service would be able to deliver the appropriate support, resulting in a maximally productive society. Galton's coinage of the nature/nurture distinction specifically targeted cases in which native intelligence had been unjustly either retarded or promoted by its environment. The state then must decide whether to change the person's environment or the person herself. The strongest everyday remnant of eugenics is the resonant phrase, "cradle to grave", which social reformer and eugenics sympathiser William Beveridge used to establish the UK welfare state. It effectively imported the comprehensive way that eugenics thought about social policy into the structures of government. Thus, the state would be involved in the conception of life, the improvement of existing life including its reproductive capacity, as well as the conclusion of life. The relevant political question here is not whether to accept eugenics in a sense, those who live in welfare states already do but the terms of its acceptance. Compared with Galton's day, the relevant scientific knowledge has increased while the authority of the state has diminished. This combination of factors has resulted in what I have called "bioliberalism", namely the tendency to devolve matters of life and death to individual discretion. It may or may not be welcomed as the latest phase of "progressive eugenics", but this is where the policy discussion should begin. Into modernity? Contrary to those who regard progressive eugenics as a dark idea, we long ago accepted its central premise that to make people better we may need to make better people, a point that the centre-left UK think-tank Demos made around ten years ago. The question is whether the state or the individual will take the crucial decisions. To be sure, the sort of eugenic mentality promoted by Galton and Beveridge is far from today's world of "designer babies" and "gene editing". The old style eugenicists had relatively little knowledge of genetics but a lot of faith in training, once the genetics was sorted. This helps to explain their strange attraction to both sterilisation policies and educational innovation. Yet, the very people who today quickly decry old style public hygiene sterilisation policies might well accept voluntary antenatal screening and gene therapy. At the same time, faith in the enhancing powers of formal education at various levels has become less secure than ever. People may prefer instead to pop pills and have their brains rewired. The bottom line is not that eugenics has become defunct but that people want to be more personally involved in its application. This still leaves open many of the great moral questions that have dogged the field, not least what counts as "progressive" and "regressive". It also adds new questions, not least to the amount of risk that individuals should be allowed to bear, given the overall social impact of their decisions. But make no mistake, we are still very much within the general world-view that Galton first charted a century and a half ago. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Credit: CC0 Public Domain New research out of Notre Dame is digging into why social media isn't always good for us, especially if you're young and female. Working as an educator, Carmen Papaluca observed a worrying trend with her students. "I was noticing how big of an impact social media was having on my students across their whole lives," she told me. In particular, social media was having a significant negative impact on her students' mental health. For anyone who is a regular user of social media (which is most of us these days), this won't come as a surprise. With everyone sharing their 'highlight reels', Carmen observed, young women find it particularly hard to see their own lives or even their own bodies as good enough. And this included Carmen herself. She was alarmed that "even me, as an educated person" would be susceptible. Carmen also worked alongside counsellors in the student services department to provide support. "I literally had a line out the door of students who were having issues with social media." Doctor of social media Wanting to understand more about the issue and what could be done, Carmen began a Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame. The focus of her research is Instagram use among young women aged 18 to 25. One of the key findings of her work so far is that younger female Instagram users in her study (late teens and early 20s) found that images on the app made them feel most badly about their bodies. However, women who were slightly older (mid-20s) felt the inadequacy around their work and lifestyle. In comparison to the images of the apparently fabulous social lives and careers of others on Instagram, they felt that their own lives "lacked meaning". Technology or culture? Often, the blame of the perceived problems with new technologies gets put entirely on those new technologies. But if we want to find a real solution to these problems, we need to dig a bit deeper. "There has always been a medium transmitting these pressures," Carmen told me. "The thing that is scary about social media is that it's accessible all day, every day, and from anywhere for as long as you like." In other words, it's not just Instagram that is the problem. It's the social pressures put on young women that have been part of our culture for many years that are now becoming amplified by social media. It's not just beauty magazines, now it's all your friends. And, Carmen added, "Things like popularity used to be abstract [thanks to social media,] now there's a tangible measurement." How many friends do you have? How many likes did your most recent photo get? Towards a solution "Often, parents and educators will take the stance that the solution is to simply not use it," Carmen told me. This is like telling someone not to use the phone. And, she added, "If it's not Instagram, it will be something else." The real solution, Carmen argues, lies in building resilience and self-esteem. "At least if they are feeling good about themselves, they won't compare so much and take it so personally." The other piece lies in gratitude. Often, we forget how good our lives actually are. As Carmen's research suggests, social media certainly doesn't help this either. Happily, the science does seem to indicate that gratitude is actually a key factor in happiness. So here's a new year's resolution for you: start a gratitude jar (for yourself or with a young person in your life). It might make you feel a whole lot better the next time you open Facebook or Instagram. Explore further Keeping score of 'friends' on Facebook and Instagram may be harmful to your health This article first appeared on Particle, a science news website based at Scitech, Perth, Australia. Read the original article. Credit: National Research Nuclear University Scientists at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Russia) have explained the stability of nitrogen-doped fullerenes, which makes their industrial production and application easier. The article was published in Physica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures. Carbon is one of the most common chemical elements on Earth. It is part of all organic and many inorganic compounds. Before the end of the 20th century, only two of its allotropic forms, diamond and graphite, were known. To date, scientists have discovered plenty of other forms that are already used in electronics, pharmacology and energy. One of the most promising among these forms are fullerenes hollow spheres that contain from 20 to several hundred carbon atoms. Their discovery won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996. It was found that each fullerene can act as a complete nanoelectronic device, such as a diode or a transistor. Thanks to their small dimensions, fullerene devices are very efficient and extremely fast. Chemically modified fullerenes are the next stage in the development of fullerene technology. Substituting doping, which includes substituting one or several carbon atoms with atoms of a different element, is a common modification method. Fullerene's overall structure remains the same, but its electronic composition and chemical activity change. Therefore, substituting doping increases the variability of fullerenes' characteristics and hence expands the scope of their application. Carbon's closest elements in the Periodic Table, boron or nitrogen, are usually used as substitutes. They have an atomic mass and size close to that of carbon. Boron- and nitrogen-doped fullerenes are good adsorbents of medical substances and nerve agents. They also successfully adsorb additives. However, scientists discovered that synthesized nitrogen-doped fullerenes have a high share of defective isomers that differ from the others in structure and characteristics. The high temperatures required for synthesis caused the so-called Stone-Wales defect that destabilized fullerene cages. It is important to note that boron-doped fullerenes were heat-resistant. Professors Konstantin Katin and Mikhail Maslov sought to explain this characteristic. For their research, they chose the smallest fullerene, consisting of only 20 atoms. Due to its small size, it is less stable than other fullerenes. Therefore, the causes of defects should be most apparent. Interaction of fullerene atoms and distribution of electrons within its cage were described using special mathematical models based on the laws of quantum mechanics. The physicists used both specialized software packages and their own original programs. The most complicated task was to establish the geometry of the saddle point, a fullerene's configuration when normal thermal excitation becomes irreversible and by all means leads to the defect. MEPhI's results provided a complete explanation of the stability of doped fullerenes. Based on quantum mechanics equations, the researchers proved that, unlike boron, even one atom of nitrogen can destabilize a fullerene cage because of the nitrogen's atom having one additional electron. "We found that it takes 4.93 eV to destroy the original 20 fullerene while it takes only 2.98 eV to destroy a C19N doped fullerene. Clusters with more nitrogen are even less stable. Based on these data, we can conclude that nitrogen-doped fullerenes are highly susceptible to temperature. Lowering the temperature in a reactor by only ~20C will significantly reduce the share of defective fullerenes," Konstantin Katin explained. The publication provoked great international interest among scientists researching production and application of doped fullerenes. Within the next few years, a technology may be developed for synthesizing nitrogen-doped fullerenes at lower temperatures. The technology could solve the problem of defective isomers and ensure that the characteristics of the resulting cluster can be reproduced. Explore further Graphene encapsulation provides unprecedented view of the diffusion and rotation of fullerene molecu More information: Konstantin P. Katin et al. Stone-Wales defects in nitrogen-doped C 20 fullerenes: Insight from ab initio calculations, Physica E: Low-dimensional Systems and Nanostructures (2017). Konstantin P. Katin et al. Stone-Wales defects in nitrogen-doped C 20 fullerenes: Insight from ab initio calculations,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.physe.2017.09.021 Indonesian peatland researchers recently gathered in Bogor, Indonesia, to examine the effectiveness of the latest government regulation on peatlands. We found some shortcomings, one being that the regulation isn't well supported by scientific evidence. The Indonesian government declared that the area of peatlands burnt in 2017 declined significantly compared to previous years. After a disastrous fire two years ago, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry urged plantations to block canals and to build water retention basins and wells in peatlands. Additionally, the government attempted to restore degraded peatlands by issuing Government Regulation (PP) No. 57/2016, which amended a 2014 regulation on the conservation and management of peat ecosystems. One of the articles in the 2016 regulation states that a managed peat ecosystem is considered to be degraded if its water table is deeper than 40 centimetres from the surface of the peatland at a managed location. This regulation was meant to keep the peat moist to protect it from fire during the dry season. This also means that the water table in managed peatlands should be maintained at 40cm all year round. This 40cm criterion was arbitrarily chosen. The regulation was set without involving or consulting academics and is not supported by adequate research and strong scientific evidence. The implementation of this regulation should also consider the socio-economic balance between the communities and the environment surrounding peatlands. Responding to this new regulation, academics and peatland practitioners organised a focus group discussion in Bogor on December 14, 2017, to discuss the best way to manage peat responsibly. Peatlands are one of the largest carbon sinks in the Earth's land ecosystem. And Indonesia has one of the largest peatlands in the tropics, with a recent estimate of 13.2 million hectares. Before the 1990s, peatlands were considered marginal lands and exploited without environmental concerns. In 1995, the late President Soeharto directed the Mega Rice Project, which developed 1 million hectares of peatlands in Central Kalimantan for rice cultivation. The project failed. Rice did not grow and the heavily drained peats were degraded, fuelling fires during extended dry seasons. Scientific gap With increasing awareness of climate change issues especially greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural sectors and land and forest fires peat management has become a controversial issue in Indonesia. Peat has two main functions: environmental services (water storage, carbon storage and biodiversity preservation) and agricultural production that supports the livelihood of farmers. Science and research may be able to drive responsible management of our peatlands. While there has been much research on peatlands in Indonesia, most international research focused heavily on deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and peat fires. We need research on effective peatland management that addresses the environmental issues and regulations. Balanced research should also focus on good peat management practices that minimise its environmental impacts, and on effective water management that reduces the risk of fire. From the discussion in Bogor, we identified scientific gaps in peat management: 1. Peatland mapping Peatlands in Indonesia have been mapped at a rough scale of 1:250,000, indicating an area of about 13.2 million hectares. This map cannot be used for management and the implementation of PP 57. For operational purposes, a scale of 1:50,000 or finer is needed. This fine-scale map needs to be generated using an accurate, cost-effective and rapid method. In Indonesia, many were convinced that Lidar, aerial laser surveying that is used commercially, was the best method for mapping the extent and thickness of peat. However, lidar operation throughout the country is costly. Furthermore, Lidar only measures the surface elevation of the ground and cannot detect directly the extent and thickness of peats. Research from the University of Sydney and IPB has developed an Open Digital Mapping methodology, which combines field measurements and freely available satellite images. Peat extent and thickness can be mapped using machine-learning algorithms. This methodology, recently published in an international journal, is cost-effective as it uses open data in an open-source computing environment. This method has been successfully evaluated and potentially can be up-scaled to map peatlands for the whole of Indonesia. 2. Leading commodities and land degradation There have been many studies on strategic commodities in peatlands, especially food and cash crops, specifically oil palm. With the new regulation restricting oil palm plantation development, integrated cross-disciplinary studies need to be developed to seek new commodities that can support small-scale farmers. For example, paludiculture (farming in swamps) with market access needs to be developed. The environmental impacts of land use change have to be assessed holistically. Agricultural land use in peatlands is often thought to be linked with the draining of peats, which led to peat degradation and vulnerability to fire. As a result, the use of peatlands is associated with increasing carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Peatland degradation is a long process and is not entirely caused by the current land use. Land degradation has happened at least since the transmigration program during the Dutch colonial period and continued since the 1970s with the expansion of forest concession areas. 3. Greenhouse gas emissions and groundwater level Land use on peatlands is often blamed for increased greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sectors. No doubt agricultural activities contribute to oxidation of organic matter. But the CO 2 emission rates need to be fully examined, especially as a result of: Peat subsidence, which is often interpreted as peat loss contributing to CO 2 emissions. The subsidence process depends on the peat compaction and water level. Subsidence is not linear with time. In other words, subsidence occurred rapidly at the beginning of land conversion and its rate will decrease with time. A study in Central Kalimantan demonstrated that compaction is the main cause of the peat dome collapse. emissions. The subsidence process depends on the peat compaction and water level. Subsidence is not linear with time. In other words, subsidence occurred rapidly at the beginning of land conversion and its rate will decrease with time. A study in Central Kalimantan demonstrated that compaction is the main cause of the peat dome collapse. The net greenhouse gas emission is a balance between sequestration (storage) and decomposition (breakdown) of organic matter. Emission rates fluctuate from morning to day and night, and from day to day. Most studies only measure the emission rates at a given time once a month. To account for all these variations, we need a fully integrated system that can monitor these fluxes over a long time. The groundwater level set by Regulation No. 57/2016 is thought to lack a strong scientific evidence base. Groundwater level fluctuates seasonally with rainfall and drainage. It doesn't necessarily reflect the peat's moisture condition. In addition, the impact of a relatively high water table on plant growth needs to be further established. The water content of the surface peat may be more indicative of the moisture status of peat. There is a critical water content at which peat becomes hydrophobic (difficult to rewet), and this point needs to be well researched and established. Most studies only consider climate-driven prolonged drought as the driver for wildfires in the humid tropics. Our study shows that a simple Drought Index which can be calculated from rainfall data, groundwater height level and groundwater condition can serve as a better indicator of forest fire risk. Another study shows the importance of hydrology in predicting wildfires in Kalimantan, which can be used as a tool to improve planning and strategies to adapt to climate change. The bottom-up approach The current peat restoration process is a top-down approach by issuing new regulations. PP 57 is difficult to implement and has had negative reactions from the agriculture community. For a process to be fully adopted and well received by landholders and academics, it needs to be bottom-up and supported by well-grounded research. The ideal approach includes: Water management that optimises the water supply to maintain peat's moisture condition and support plant growth, particularly in the dry season. Maintaining groundwater levels not deeper than 80cm, measured from the peat surface. Peat should be always maintained in a moist condition so it wets up easily. Hydrology models to monitor drought and susceptibility can help predict the risk of fire. Managing peatland responsibly with best management practices that support plant growth and livelihoods without causing land degradation and fires. These practices involve good water management, monitoring and maintaining moist peat condition, proper fertilisation, establishing cover crops, using adapted plant varieties, etc. From all that, we need a more comprehensive research program that includes technology adaptation, community development and co-operation between communities, farmers, business owners and the government. The outcomes can then be used to formulate a responsible peatland development program in Indonesia. Explore further Open digital mapping for assessing carbon storage in tropical peatlands This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. A diver conducts a survey of fish at Cabo Pulmo National Park. Credit: Octavio Aburto, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego were part of an international team that for the first time used hydroacoustics as a method for comparing the abundance of fishes within and outside marine protected areas (MPAs). They found that the abundance of fishes was four times greater in Mexico's protected Cabo Pulmo National Park than in areas outside the park. Study authors said that hydroacoustics points the way toward a new, more cost-effective method of assessing fish populations. "Managers and authorities in many countries spend a lot of financial resources assessing marine protected areas," said study co-author Octavio Aburto, a marine ecologist at Scripps. "The results of this paper demonstrate that it is possible to use acoustic technologies to generate information about marine resources inside MPAs in a faster and less expensive way, reducing the costs for governments in ocean conservation." The study, "Hydroacoustics as a tool to examine the effects of Marine Protected Areas and habitat type on marine fish communities," appears Jan. 15 in the journal Scientific Reports. The National Science Foundation, the Baja Coastal Institute, the International Community Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and The Helmsley Charitable Trust funded the research. Fish swimming along the reef at Cabo Pulmo National Park Credit: Octavio Aburto, Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego Cabo Pulmo has been the site of several studies by Scripps researchers since 2002. In 1995, local fishermen led the creation of a 71-square-kilometer (27-square-mile) undersea park to protect the waters they fished. The current MPA has been identified as the most successful in the world in terms of maintaining a sustainable fishery in which fleets operate just beyond the boundaries of the MPA. There, as in other parts of the world, surveys of coastal marine life are often performed through underwater visual censuses taken by scuba divers. Researchers surveyed the waters of the MPA using sound waves produced by hydroacoustic equipment mounted on boats to image schools of fish and other marine life. They performed transects, scanning the water column in rows. They similarly surveyed waters outside the MPA. Fish density, total biomass, and the size of individuals were significantly greater inside the MPA. In comparison with waters outside the MPA, animal abundance in reefs was as much as 50 times higher, "highlighting the importance of both habitat complexity and protection from fishing for fish populations." "Both hydroacoustics and marine protected areas are well-established but it is novel to use the former to assess the latter," said study lead author Jack Egerton, now a researcher at the University of Texas who performed the work while at Bangor University in Wales, UK. "Through this, we have been able to see how important the Cabo Pulmo National Park is for fish populations in the area." Although acoustic surveys can be done much faster than underwater visual censuses, the researchers acknowledge that fish sizes can only be approximated and the method doesn't provide species-specific information. However, they concluded that the hydroacoustic method could still be useful in gauging the benefit of MPAs, as conventional survey methods are often prohibitively expensive and can be limited by issues such as diver depth limits and water clarity. Explore further Great Barrier Reef protected zones help fish in even lightly exploited areas In this Jan. 8, 2018 photo, Wendy Hapgood, left, and John Steward, directors of the Wild Tomorrow Fund, measure an elephant tusk at a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation warehouse in Albany, N.Y. The tusk was part of a $4.5 million seizure of illegal ivory from a New York City antiques shop. To help support anti-poaching efforts, scientists will use carbon dating to determine when the elephant was killed and DNA analysis to pinpoint where it came from in Africa. (AP Photo/Mary Esch) Scientists are using information gleaned from both illegal ivory art and elephant dung to provide clues that could help save the lives of pachyderms that are being slaughtered for their tusks in Africa. The wildlife detective work involves cutting up seized artifacts including bangle bracelets and statues of Chinese deities and subjecting them to carbon dating to determine when the elephants were killed. DNA from the ivory art is then compared to a DNA database derived from elephant dung to pinpoint where they lived. What scientists learn may not put a particular poacher in jail, but will tell the story of where and when an elephant died on an African savannah so its tusk could be carved in Asia to make a goddess statue priced at $72,000 in a Manhattan antique shop. "It's going to be really helpful not only for scientific purposes, but also to be able to tell people about the individual lives of elephants that ended up as artwork on our streets," said Wendy Hapgood, director of the Wild Tomorrow Fund, which supports African wildlife preserves, anti-poaching enforcement and efforts to shut down the ivory trade. The group cut chips from 21 statues, bracelets and mounted tusks that were among $4.5 million in illegal ivory artifacts seized from a Manhattan antiques shop and dramatically destroyed in a rock crusher in Central Park last August. The chips will be analyzed by scientists at Columbia University and the University of Washington. In this Jan 8, 2018 photo, John Steward, executive director of the Wild Tomorrow Fund, holds an elephant tusk steady while Lt. Jesse Paluch of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation saws off a sample at a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation warehouse in Albany, N.Y. To help support anti-poaching efforts, scientists will use carbon dating to determine when the elephant was killed and DNA analysis to pinpoint where it came from in Africa. (AP Photo/Mary Esch) Previous work by the researchers has provided valuable information to focus poaching law enforcement in Africa and prosecute ivory traffickers elsewhere. Once numbered at more than a million, the population of African elephants fell 30 percent between 2007 and 2014, to about 350,000, according to the Great Elephant Census funded by wildlife organizations. The decline, at a rate of 8 percent per year, is attributed mainly to poaching for ivory. The sale of ivory across international boundaries has been banned since 1990. Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service instituted a near-total ban on the domestic commercial ivory trade and barred sales across state lines. Hapgood and colleague John Steward were in Albany recently to saw samples from two massive tusks that were spared the Central Park crusher and locked in a state Department of Environmental Conservation warehouse. The chips will be sent to Columbia University geochemist Kevin Uno, whose radioisotope analysis measures carbon-14 deposited by atomic bomb tests to date the ivory and determine when the elephant died. In this Jan. 8, 2018 photo, John Steward, left, and Wendy Hapgood, right, directors of the Wild Tomorrow Fund, pose with Lt. Jesse Paluch of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation pose with a pair of elephant tusks at a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation warehouse in Albany, N.Y. The tusks were part of a $4.5 million illegal ivory seizure from a New York City shop. (AP Photo/Mary Esch) Samples were also sent to biologist Sam Wasser, of the University of Washington, who extracted DNA from elephant dung all over Africa in the 1990s to map elephant genetics across the continent. Now he compares DNA from seized ivory to the map to determine where it came from. Uno and colleagues published a study in 2016 looking at 230 elephant tusks from 15 seizures of shipping containers being illegally transmitted out of Africa. The goal was to determine whether the ivory was from older stockpiles held by African national governments or from elephants recently poached. "We found 90 percent of the ivory was coming from elephants that died within three years of the seizure date," Uno said. In a study published in 2015, Wasser's DNA studies on large seizures of ivory found shipments tended to come from a few poaching hotspots. Identification of areas of Tanzania and Zambia as hotspots helped persuade a United Nations agency to deny requests from those countries to sell their ivory stockpiles. In this Jan. 8, 2018 photo, an elephant tusk that was part of a $4.5 million illegal ivory seizure from a New York City antiques shop lay on a table at a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation warehouse in Albany, N.Y. To help support anti-poaching efforts, scientists will use carbon dating to determine when the elephant was killed and DNA analysis to pinpoint where it came from in Africa. (AP Photo/Mary Esch) The DNA and radioisotope analysis can also help prosecute traffickers. In 2013, Wasser's lab helped convict an ivory trafficking kingpin in Togo by providing evidence that his ivory came from Cameroon and Gabon, two of the hardest hit countries in the elephant slaughter. Radioisotope analysis by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California showed the ivory came from elephants killed as recently as 2010, not before the 1989 ban as the trafficker claimed. "The big study we did was on shipments leaving Africa," Uno said. "Now we're coming at it from the retail side, so if they seize pieces from a shop, how much of it is recent and how much is old." This Jan. 8, 2018 photo shows a sample of ivory cut from an elephant tusk in a New York Department of Environmental Conservation warehouse in Albany, N.Y. The ivory sample was part of a $4.5 million illegal ivory seizure from a New York City antiques shop. It will be tested with carbon dating to determine when the elephant was killed and DNA analysis to pinpoint where it came from in Africa. (AP Photo/Mary Esch) The ultimate goals are to help law enforcement and policy-makers shut down the ivory market and raise public awareness of the plight of pachyderms. "The extension of that is to slow the killing of elephants and prevent their extinction," Uno said. In this Aug. 1, 2017 photo, a carved ivory goddess statue is clamped to a work table in preparation for a sample to be cut from it for scientific analysis at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in Palisades, N.Y. The statue was among the $4.5 million in artifacts seized from a Manhattan antiques shop and crushed in Central Park in August 2017. Scientists will test it to determine where and when the elephant was slaughtered. (Wild Tomorrow Fund via AP) Explore further Thailand seizes large elephant tusks worth over $450,000 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Milky Way star map by Bill Yidumduma Harney, Senior Wardaman Edler. Credit: Bill Yidumduma Harney, CC BY Four stars in the night sky have been formally recognised by their Australian Aboriginal names. The names include three from the Wardaman people of the Northern Territory and one from the Boorong people of western Victoria. The Wardaman star names are Larawag, Wurren and Ginan in the Western constellations Scorpius, Phoenix and Crux (the Southern Cross). The Boorong star name is Unurgunite in Canis Majoris (the Great Dog). They are among 86 new star names drawn from Chinese, Coptic, Hindu, Mayan, Polynesian, South African and Aboriginal Australian cultures. These names represent a step forward by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) the global network of the world's roughly 12,000 professional astronomers in recognising the importance of traditional language and Indigenous starlore. What's that star called? Many cultures around the world have their own names for the stars scattered across the night sky. But until 2016, the IAU never officially recognised any popular name for any star. Instead, each star is assigned a Bayer Designation, thanks to a book published in 1603 by German astronomer Johann Bayer. He systematically assigned visible stars a designation: a combination of a Greek letter and the Latin name of the constellation in which it is found. Alpha Crucis is the bottom star on the Southern Cross constellation on the right of this image, photographed from the Northern Territory over a two minute exposure. Credit: Flickr/Eddie Yip, CC BY-SA He gave the brightest star in a constellation the letter Alpha, then the next brightest star Beta, and so on down the list. For example, the brightest star in the Southern Cross is Alpha Crucis. The IAU recognised that the lack of official star names was a problem. So the Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) was formed in 2016 to officially assign popular names to the hundreds of stars visible in the night sky. That year the working group officiated 313 star names, derived mainly from the most commonly used Arabic, Roman and Greek names in astronomy. But the list contained few Indigenous or non-Western names. That changed last year when the WGSN formally approved the 86 new star names drawn from other cultures. Aboriginal Australian cultures stretch back at least 65,000 years, representing the most ancient star names on the list. The WGSN is looking to identify even more star names from Australia and other Indigenous cultures around the world. As Indigenous cultures have a rich collection of names for even the faintest stars, many new star names could gain IAU recognition. So what do we know about these four stars and the origin of their names? Epsilon Scorpii in the constellation Scorpius. Scorpius is not to be confused with the Wardaman scorpion constellation, Mundarla, in the Western constellation Serpens. Credit: International Astronomical Union, CC BY Wardaman star names The Wardaman people live 145km southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory. Wardaman star names come from Senior Elder Bill Yidumduma Harney, a well known artist, author and musician. He worked with Dr. Hugh Cairns to publish some of his traditional star knowledge in the books Dark Sparklers (2003) and Four Circles (2015). These books remain the most detailed records of the astronomical knowledge of any Aboriginal group in Australia. Larawag (Epsilon Scorpii) The stars of the Western constellation Scorpius feature prominently in Wardaman traditions, which inform the procedures of initiation ceremonies. Merrerrebena is the wife of the Sky Boss, Nardi. She mandates ceremonial law, which is embodied in the red star Antares (Alpha Scorpii). Each star in the body of Scorpius represents a different person involved in the ceremony. Larawag is the signal watcher, noting when only legitimate participants are present and in view of the ceremony. He gives the "All clear" signal, allowing the secret part of the ceremony to continue. Zeta Phoenicis in the constellation Phoenix. Credit: International Astronomical Union, CC BY Epsilon Scorpii is an orange giant star, lying 63.7 light years away. Wurren (Zeta Phoenicis) Wurren means "child" in Wardaman. In this context it refers to the "Little Fish", a child of Dungdung the life-creating Frog Lady. Wurren gives water to Gawalyan, the echidna (the star Achernar), which they direct Earthly initiates to carry in small bowls. The water came from a great waterfall used to cool the people during ceremony. Just as the water at the base of the waterfall keeps people cool and rises to the sky as mist, the water in the initiates' bowls keeps them cool and symbolically transforms into clouds that bring the wet rains of the monsoon season. These ceremonies occur in late December when the weather is hot and these stars are high in the evening sky, signalling the start of the monsoon. Zeta Phoenicis comprises two blue stars orbiting each other, 300 light years away. From our perspective, these two stars eclipse each other, changing in brightness from magnitude 3.9 to 4.4 every 1.7 days. Ginan (Epsilon Crucis) Ginan is the fifth-brightest star in the Southern Cross. It represents a red dilly-bag filled with special songs of knowledge. Epsilon Crucis in the constellation Crux (the Southern Cross). Credit: International Astronomical Union, CC BY Ginan was found by Mulugurnden (the crayfish), who brought the red flying foxes from the underworld to the sky. The bats flew up the track of the Milky Way and traded the spiritual song to Guyaru, the Night Owl (the star Sirius). The bats fly through the constellation Scorpius on their way to the Southern Cross, trading songs as they go. The song informs the people about initiation, which is managed by the stars in Scorpius and related to Larawag (who ensures the appropriate personnel are present for the final stages of the ceremony). The brownish-red colour of the dilly bag is represented by the colour of Epsilon Crucis, which is an orange giant that lies 228 light years away. Boorong star name Unurgunite (Sigma Canis Majoris) The Boorong people of the Wergaia language group near Lake Tyrell in northwestern Victoria pride themselves on their detailed astronomical knowledge. In the 1840s, they imparted more than 40 star and planet names and their associated stories to the Englishman William Stanbridge, which he published in 1857. In Boorong astronomy, Unurgunite is an ancestral figure with two wives. The Moon is called Mityan, the quoll. Mityan fell in love with one of the wives of Unurgunite and tried to lure her away. Sigma Canis Majoris in the constellation Canis Major. Credit: International Astronomical Union, CC BY Unurgunite discovered Mityan's trickery and attacked him, leading to a great fight in which Mityan was defeated. The Moon has been wandering the heavens ever since, the scars of the battle still visible on his face. Unurgunite can be seen as the star Sigma Canis Majoris (the Great Dog), with the two brighter stars on either side representing his wives. One of the wives (Delta Canis Majoris) lies further away from Unurgunite and is closer to the Moon than the other wife (Epsilon Canis Majoris). This is the wife Mityan tried to lure away. On rare occasions, the Moon passes directly over the wife of his desires, symbolising his attempts to draw her away. He also passes over Unurgunite, representing their battle in the sky. But Mityan, and Moon, never passes over the other wife (with the Arabic name Adhara). Delta Canis Majoris is an orange-red supergiant that lies 1,120 light years away. Explore further IAU approves 86 new star names from around the world This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Caihong juji is a newly described, bird-like dinosaur with an iridescent, rainbow crest. It lived in China about 161 million years ago, and may have used its impressive feathers to attract mates. Illustration by Velizar Simeonovski, The Field Museum, for UT Austin Jackson School of Geosciences. Credit: University of Texas at Austin Ancient dinosaurs were adorned in some amazing ways, from the horns of the triceratops to the plates and spikes of the stegosaurus. A newly discovered, bird-like dinosaur fossil from China contains evidence that could add a new accessory to the list: a shaggy ruff of rainbow feathers. A team of researchers, including scientists from The University of Texas at Austin, are the first to conduct an in-depth study of the dinosaur and describe it. They dubbed it Caihong jujia name that means "rainbow with the big crest" in Mandarinand think the dino used its flashy neck feathers and a bony crest on its snout to attract mates. "Iridescent coloration is well known to be linked to sexual selection and signaling, and we report its earliest evidence in dinosaurs," said Julia Clarke, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences who helped describe the new species. "The dinosaur may have a cute nickname in English, Rainbow, but it has serious scientific implications." A description of the exquisitely preserved, chicken-sized dinosaur was published on Jan. 15 in the journal Nature Communications. Dongyu Hu, a professor in the College of Paleontology at the Shenyang Normal University led the study. Aside from making Jurassic ecosystems of 161 million years ago more colorful, the dinosaur is interesting because it has features that are both ancient and modern, said co-author Xing Xu, a professor at the Chines Academy of Sciences. The bony crest is a feature usually seen in dinosaurs from earlier eras, while its neck feathers show evidence of microscopic wide, flat, pigment-containing packages, or melanosomes, that may represent the first known occurrence of iridescence similar to that found in a variety of hummingbird species living today. "There are crests associated with sexual selection previously known only in earlier dinosaurs, and yet there is also a bird mechanism of signaling or display appearing for the first time," said Clarke, who helped lead the study with Hu and Xu. Caihong is also the earliest known dinosaur with asymmetrical feathers, the feather type found on the wingtips of modern birds that helps control flight. But unlike birds today, Caihong's asymmetrical feathers were on its tail, not its wingsa finding that suggests that early birds may have had a different steering or flight style. The long and narrow dinosaur skull is similar to a Velociraptors, a shape that is unique among other bird-like dinosaurs. The scale bar is 1 centimeter long. Credit: Hu, et al., 2018 "The tail feathers are asymmetrical but wing feathers are not, a bizarre feature previously unknown among dinosaurs including birds," said Xu. "This suggests that controlling [flight] might have first evolved with tail feathers during some kind of aerial locomotion." The slab of rock from China's Hebei Province where the dinosaur was discovered by a farmer in 2014 contained a nearly complete skeleton surrounded by impressions made by feathers. The impressions preserved the shape of the melanosomes. Researchers compared the melanosome impressions to melanosomes found in living birds and found that they most closely resembled those in the iridescent, rainbow feathers of hummingbirds. Caihong is part of a group of small, bird-like dinosaurs that lived in China during the Jurassic, Xu said, but it stands out even among its closest relatives. While the other dinosaurs have bird-like, triangular skulls and long forearm bones in comparison to birds today, Caihong had a long and narrow skull, and unlike many of these other dinosaurs, its short forelimbs show proportions more akin to modern birds. "This combination of traits is unusual," Clarke said. "It has a rather velociraptor-looking low and long skull with this fully feathered, shaggy kind of plumage and a big fan tail. It is really cool or maybe creepy looking depending on your perspective." Holotype fossil of Caihong juji, including line drawing of fossil skeleton. Credit: Yu et al., 2018 The next step is figuring out what factors influenced Caihong to evolve such a distinctive look, rainbow feathers and all, said co-author Chad Eliason, a postdoctoral associate at the Field Museum of Natural History. He helped analyze the microstructural fossil evidence for color in the new specimen while he was a postdoctoral researcher at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. This combination of old and new traits, said Eliason, is evidence of mosaic evolution, the concept of different traits evolving independently from each other. "This discovery gives us insight into the tempo of how fast these features were evolving," he added. Quanguo Li, a professor at the China University of Geosciences in Beijing and Matthew D. Shawkey, an associate professor at the University of Ghent in Belgium also participated in the study. The research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the National Science Foundation of China. More information: Dongyu Hu et al, A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution, Nature Communications (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02515-y , Journal information: Nature Communications Dongyu Hu et al, A bony-crested Jurassic dinosaur with evidence of iridescent plumage highlights complexity in early paravian evolution,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02515-y , dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02515-y View of the reactor hall with beam tube C front left and beam tube D rear left. Credit: Thomas Hartmann, JGU Some 10 years ago, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) entered a new field of research by starting to generate ultracold neutrons (UCN) for use in fundamental research in physics. The participating physicists and chemists now report another major breakthrough. They have been able to increase the UCN yield of their source by a factor of 3.5. This means that the prerequisites are now in place to begin the more sensitive measurements required to determine the lifetime of the free neutron. Neutrons do not normally exist in a free state, but are instead bound as neutral particles within the atomic nucleus. Free neutrons are unstable and decay with a lifetime of approximately 15 minutes. The TRIGA Mainz research reactor can generate thermal neutrons, which, once brought into contact with solid deuterium at roughly minus 270 degrees Celsius, are slowed down so that they travel at approximately five meters per second. At this velocity, free neutrons can be stored and used in experiments. Scientists involved in fundamental research are particularly interested in determining the properties of these free neutrons, especially their lifetime and electric dipole moment, by means of highly accurate measurements. These have recently been supplemented by experiments to determine the electric charge of the neutron. "The limiting factor in all these experiments and measurements is dictated by the density of ultracold neutrons we can achieve," explained Professor Werner Heil, one of the scientists at the UCN facility of Mainz University. Scientists all around the world are currently developing new UCN sources. The Mainz TRIGA reactor can generate neutrons in pulse mode operation, which means that the reactor is pulsed every five minutes and thereby delivers a high neutron flux. After decelerating these neutrons using a block of solid deuterium, they are passed through a neutron guide, similar to a fiber-optic cable, for use in experiments outside the biological shield of the reactor. Besides the source upgrade, the infrastructure has also been further improved. The installation of a helium liquefier directly on site provides for more effective cooling of the deuterium crystal and creates excellent conditions for experiments to be run over long time periods. The neutrons from the reactor are transported to the site of experiments via electropolished stainless-steel tubes with an extremely smooth internal surface that prevents neutron losses. These tube inner walls have now received a new coating of a nickel-58-molybdenum alloy to further enhance their performance. Standardized stainless-steel cylinder, which is used as a storage vessel and for measurements . Credit: Christopher Geppert, JGU Institute of Nuclear Chemistry The scientists have succeeded in storing 8.5 UCN per cubic centimeter. "Compared to our previous results, we were able to increase the UCN yield by a factor of 3.5," said Professor Norbert Trautmann of the JGU Institute of Nuclear Chemistry. The storage vessel employed was a standardized stainless-steel cylinder, specially supplied by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland for normed measurements. This vessel used for a comparative study of ultracold neutron sources in operation has a volume of 32 liters, which corresponds to typical storage vessels for UCN experiments. This setup is generally regarded as the most reliable way of undertaking the corresponding measurements. A density of 8.5 UCN per cubic centimeter puts Mainz in the premier league in this respect. "We are now fully competitive with the world's leading institutes in the field," stated Heil. "The increased UCN density is particularly important for lifetime experiments, which should start soon," said Professor Tobias Reich, head of the JGU Institute of Nuclear Chemistry, which accommodates the TRIGA reactor. Thanks to the improved performance, the scientists are confident of achieving an enhanced experiment quality in a much shorter time. Exactly determining the lifetime of the free neutron is of major interest, because the two commonly used methods, i.e., storing UCN in material vessels and the neutron beam method used to detect decay products (protons) in flight, yield different results. This may be due to either unrecognized systematic errors or to possible exotic decay channels, an indicator for physics beyond the Standard Model. The UCN measurements were carried out using beam tube D of TRIGA Mainz. This source is mainly operated in pulse mode and is also available to external users. "For future experiments, such as lifetime measurements, we will be able to utilize the source in double-shift operation for three weeks from 8 a.m. to midnight," added Dr. Christopher Geppert, manager of the TRIGA Mainz. Explore further Solving the mysteries of astrophysics: Ultracold neutrons More information: J. Kahlenberg et al. Upgrade of the ultracold neutron source at the pulsed reactor TRIGA Mainz, The European Physical Journal A (2017). J. Kahlenberg et al. Upgrade of the ultracold neutron source at the pulsed reactor TRIGA Mainz,(2017). DOI: 10.1140/epja/i2017-12428-9 The session will focus on connected planning in retail, providing actionable tips for retailers who are confronting the challenge of connecting supply and demand in an increasingly unpredictable environment. Pivar, Majors, and Pincha will explain how companies benefit from a technology-centered integration between merchandising, supply chain, and finance data. The panel will review real-world case studies on how Carters and Deloitte clients use the Anaplan platform to increase profits and improve effectiveness. With a connected planning approach, enterprises can handle the challenges of a constantly changing market more effectively, reducing risk, lowering costs, and continuously improving efficiency for a competitive edge, said Ron Dimon, Managing Director, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and Anaplan Alliance Leader. Anaplan is flexible and scalable, which makes it a great fit for a complex organization like Carters that manages thousands of product SKUs, said Ben Pivar, Vice President, Retail IT, Carters. We were able to quickly improve inventory flow using Anaplan, removing several days of inventory from our retail supply chain and improving our inventory performance. With sophisticated modeling and collaborative planning capabilities housed on a single platform, Anaplans connected planning approach can help retail enterprises balance customer demand with supply volumes, optimize stock levels, and increase inventory visibility across product categories and locations. Top retailers worldwide, including Carters, the largest branded marketer in North America of apparel exclusively for babies and young children, use Anaplan to connect people with data and improve business decision-making. Were looking forward to meeting with retail leaders and sharing ideas about how connecting data, people, and plans across enterprises can drive faster, more effective planning processes, said Vivek Soneja, Global Head, Supply Chain Line of Business, Anaplan. In the fast-changing, unpredictable retail environment, companies with a connected planning approach can operate with greater agility, and Anaplan can help retailers make this objective a reality. To find out more about the NRF 2018 event, please visit nrfbigshow.nrf.com. To learn more about Anaplan, stop by booth #1041 at the conference or visit anaplan.com. About Anaplan Anaplan is driving a new age of connected planning. Large and fast-growing organizations use Anaplans cloud platform in every business function to make better-informed plans and decisions and drive faster, more effective planning processes. Anaplan also provides support, training, and planning transformation advisory services. Anaplan is a privately held company based in San Francisco with 18 offices and over 150 expert partners worldwide. To learn more, visit anaplan.com. Other Point of Sale News Displaydata to Showcase Augmented Reality Navigation Demo with Aisle411 at NRF 2018 Jan. 14, 2018 Bracknell, UK Displaydata, the leader in the design and supply of fully graphic electronic shelf labels (ESLs), today announced it has partnered with Aisle411. Aisle411 is a location services platform, that allows retailers to develop searchable store maps to help consumers better navigate through stores. Displaydata will demonstrate a mobile app at NRF that utilizes item search and more personalized augmented reality (AR) navigation features from Aisle411. Displaydata also announced the launch of its Chroma 12.5 ESL, designed to give retailers more real estate for promotional offers and product information in-store. The augmented reality mobile app and new Chroma ESL will be on display in Displaydata booth #1411 at the 2018 NRF Big Show, January 14-16 at the Jacob Javits Center. Bringing Personalized Augmented Reality to the Shelf Edge via a Mobile App The AR demo allows users to search for a product by general term, specific brand name, product or UPC. Once a user finds the desired product on the app, they can tap on the item to begin navigation via a top-down view of the store and a navigation arrow shows the users precise location and orientation to the product. Once navigation begins, the user can search in AR mode to find all the items in their shopping list by following the navigation to that item. Once the customer arrives in front of a product, the Displaydata ESL can deliver real-time promotional or product information. Additional features of the AR demo mobile app include: Discover promotional or product information strategically placed throughout the store, based on a customers shopping habits or preferences Provide special offers or information unique to the shopper View highlights of the products shelf location with AR callouts Add searched products to a shopping list Map the locations of all items on a shopping list New 12.5 ESL Display Engages Shoppers with Promo Details, Product Information, Ratings and Reviews, and More Displaydata will also feature its new Chroma 12.5 ESL. A larger ESL that allows retailers to include larger font sizes to better highlight promotional details, product comparisons, ratings and reviews, product information, and internal information such as product codes or replenishment details. The new label is designed to more easily compare a family of products such as two televisions of the same brand that have different technical specifications. Retailers may also use the ESL to display promotional offers from brands and suppliers, such as cash-back offers, via a brands website. Through our partnership with Aisle411, we will demonstrate the power of using ESLs with augmented reality and how the two technologies can engage todays on-the-go and demanding retail shopper with more personalized shopping experiences, said Andrew Dark, CEO, Displaydata. We are also pleased to showcase our latest ESL, a larger display that was specifically designed to help retailers enhance promotional and product information in the store, ultimately providing a better shopping experience for shoppers and improving customer loyalty. About Displaydata Displaydata is the leader in the design and supply of fully graphic electronic shelf labels (ESLs). We were first to market with three-color ESLs and continue to lead this category, having shipped millions of labels. We work in close partnership with many of the worlds largest retail brands and have operations in the U.S., Europe, LATAM, and Asia. We help retailers optimize revenues and margins by improving the customer experience at the shelf-edge, where most purchasing decisions are made. Displaydatas ESLs, with the option of integrated Bluetooth Low Energy beacons and NFC, enable retailers to control and drive in-store pricing and promotions with speed, agility, and consistency. Fully graphic and available in three colors, the ESLs can display product, price, promotion, stock levels, social reviews, currency details, and much more. Displaydatas ESLs are part of an architecture designed in partnership with retailers to be enterprise ready. The trusted platform is simple to install and needs the least amount of in-store hardware of any vendor. The wireless network is secure and the robust software enables the centralized management of any number of ESLs, across any number of stores. Other Point of Sale News Press Here! Visa Begins Pilots of New Biometric Payment Card NEW YORK(BUSINESS WIRE)NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION BIG SHOW Visa (NYSE: V) today announced it has initiated pilots with Mountain America Credit Union and Bank of Cyprus of a new EMV dual-interface (chip- and contactless-enabled) payment card, making these the first commercial pilots to test an on-card biometric for contactless payments. As a payments industry leader, Visa is committed to ensuring secure, fast and convenient payments at the point of sale. Core to delivering on this commitment is continually evolving the market towards dynamic authentication methods such as EMV chip, and in the case of these pilots, investing in emerging capabilities that leverage biometrics. With biometric authentication gaining momentum and the EMV migration well underway, the biometric payment card pilots will test the use of fingerprint recognition as alternatives to PIN or signature to authenticate the cardholder. Both pilots are being managed through the Visa Ready for Biometrics program, a new vertical supporting the growing demand for biometric authentication solutions. The world is quickly moving toward a future that will be free of passwords, as consumers realize how biometric technologies can make their lives easier, said Jack Forestell, head of global merchant solutions, Visa Inc. As electronic payments expand dramatically around the world, Visa is committed to developing and investing in emerging capabilities that deliver a better, more secure payment experience. How It Works: When a cardholder places their finger on the sensor, a comparison is performed between the fingerprint and the previously enrolled fingerprint template securely stored in the card in order to authenticate the transaction. Green and red lights are integrated into the card to indicate a successful or unsuccessful match. Additional benefits of the biometric payment card include: Strong Security: The biometric data is stored and matched locally in the card to ensure that a cardholders data and privacy is protected. Since biometric data is unique to each person, its substantially harder for criminals to commit fraud. The biometric data is stored and matched locally in the card to ensure that a cardholders data and privacy is protected. Since biometric data is unique to each person, its substantially harder for criminals to commit fraud. Speed and Convenience: The pilot cards are EMV contactless-enabled, allowing cardholders to tap to pay quickly and easily at contactless-enabled terminals. The pilot cards are EMV contactless-enabled, allowing cardholders to tap to pay quickly and easily at contactless-enabled terminals. Alternative to PIN or Signature: A simple authentication using a fingerprint can be performed directly on the card, offering an alternative to PIN or signature. A simple authentication using a fingerprint can be performed directly on the card, offering an alternative to PIN or signature. Hardware Upgrades Unnecessary: The biometric card is immediately compatible with existing payment terminals that accept contactless- or chip-based payments around the world. In a recent survey of 1,000 Americans about perceptions of biometric authentication, Visa found that consumers continue to have a strong interest in new biometric technologies. Highlights from the survey include: 86 percent of consumers are interested in using biometrics to verify identity or to make payments, and more than 65 percent of consumers are already familiar with biometrics. Consumers were most familiar with fingerprint recognition, with 30 percent having used it once or twice and another 35 percent using it regularly. Of all the biometric authentication techniques queried, fingerprint recognition ranked the highest (50 percent) in terms of desired payment authentication method for in-store usage. Mountain America Credit Union is proud to be an early partner with Visa and other industry leaders on this innovative biometric card solution, said Matt Farrow, assistant vice president of payment and card services, Mountain America. We are excited to explore the enhanced security benefits that biometrics can provide to credit and debit card transactions, while preserving focus on convenience for consumers. Pilot Timing & Support The Bank of Cyprus and Mountain America Credit Union pilots will begin in early 2018 to assess the cardholder experience and the technology of the biometric cards in different retail environments. The Bank of Cyprus pilot utilizes technology from Gemalto, and the Mountain America Credit Union pilot is being supported by technology from Fingerprint Cards and Kona-I. About Visa Ready For any merchants, partners or issuers interested in integrating biometrics into payment environments, the Visa Ready for Biometrics program can provide guidance and certify solutions as Visa Ready. The Visa Ready program can accelerate the process for introducing devices, software, and solutions that can initiate or accept Visa payments. In addition to Biometrics, Visa offers Visa Ready programs for mobile point-of-sale (mPoS), Business Solutions, Internet of Things (IoT), Tokenization and Transit providers. More information is available at visaready.visa.com. About Visa Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the worlds leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The companys relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/aboutvisa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews. About Mountain America Credit Union With more than 720,000 members and $7 billion in assets, Mountain America Credit Union assists members on the right path to help them identify and achieve their financial dreams. Mountain America provides consumers and businesses with a variety of convenient, flexible products and services, as well as sound, timely advice. Members enjoy access to secure, cutting-edge mobile banking technology, 89 branches across five states, thousands of shared-branching locations nationwide and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Mountain Americasafely guiding you forward along your financial journey. Other Point of Sale News Visa Brings Sensory Branding to Merchants, Terminal Manufacturers and Developers NEW YORK(BUSINESS WIRE)NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION BIG SHOW Visa (NYSE: V) today announced that its suite of sensory branding is now available as a pilot program for merchants, terminal manufacturers and developers. In a world increasingly filled with voice-commands, networked appliances and payment-enabled wearables, Visas unique sound, animation and haptic (vibration) cues signify completed, secure transactions in digital and physical retail environments when consumers pay using Visa. Our research has shown that Visas sensory cues signal speed, trust and convenience among consumers, said Jack Forestell, head of global merchant solutions, Visa Inc. As new payment experiences proliferate, we are helping our partners assure their customers that their transaction has been quickly and securely completed, no matter how they prefer to pay. Covering approximately 60 percent of the U.S. merchant point-of-sale terminal market1, manufacturers Equinox Payments, Ingenico Group, Poynt, and Verifone are working with Visa to pilot sensory branding with merchant partners in the coming year. According to a recent consumer study conducted in eight countries, 81 percent 2 of participants said they would have a more positive perception of merchants who used either the sound or animation cues. Additionally, less than a second in length2, the sound of Visa was found to signal speed and convenience. We are pleased that Visa will be first to take advantage of new Verifone capabilities that enable distinctive experiences for cardholders, said Vin DAgostino, executive vice president at Verifone. We believe merchants and consumers benefit from a more personalized and relevant experience at check out and offer a powerful and open platform to allow innovators like Visa to create those experiences at the last inch of commerce. Equinox is thrilled to be part of Visas innovative sensory branding initiative, said Rob Hayhow, vice president, Equinox Payments. Our Luxe family of devices has been designed to take full advantage of this technology by putting the customer experience at the forefront of every transaction. Visas sensory branding is scheduled to be available as a software development kit (SDK) for iOS, Android, and Web solutions on the Visa Developer Platform on January 31st. Developers can visit https://developer.visa.com/ to learn more about integrating the features into their solutions. As a presenting sponsor of NRF 2018s Innovation Lab, Visas sensory branding will be showcased at NRF 2018: Retails Big Show in New York, where attendees can test the technology through an immersive, interactive demonstration. To explore how industry leaders like Visa are forging new frontiers in digital transactions, Visa CEO Al Kelly will discuss the future of commerce and payments at the conference alongside Karen Katz, president and CEO, The Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. and Jon Fortt, co-anchor of CNBCs Squawk Alley on Tuesday, January 16 from 10:30-11:15 am ET. Additionally, Matt Smith, vice president of Visas Platform Strategy will be hosting a panel of retailers directly after the keynote on the Innovation Lab Stage with Chris Plunkett (CMT Group) at 11:30 a.m. ET. About Visa Inc. Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the worlds leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The companys relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. Other Point of Sale News Global warming has been an alarming concern in the recent years but hardly anyone seems to be concerned. Now, the harsh effects of global warming have started impacting the green turtles of Great Barrier Reef present in the Australian continent. These green turtles are declining in number pertaining to the decreasing number of male turtles. When you take a look at the survey conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in association with the Australian scientists of the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, the recent decades have shown a staggering decline of the male gender of the green turtles. As per the observations, the colder portions of the Reef showed a well-balanced percentage of both male and female green turtles which ranged around 65 to 69 percent for the female gender. But, a study of the warmer areas of the northern edge belonging to the Great Barrier Reef showed a significant increase in the female population which was around 87-99.8 percent of the total population of the green turtles. Now, the reason for this imbalance arises from the fact that turtles produce a higher number of female eggs when compared to that of the male. This imbalance in the population is due to the unchecked increase of temperature caused by the global warming. A biological marine based researcher, Camryn Allen, at the NOAA stated that the ideal temperature maintains a balance between the production of male and female is somewhere close to 29 degrees. Anything more than this automatically causes a decline in the male gender while the eggs turn out female upon hatching which further declines the population of their male counterpart. In the last two decades, the temperature close to the reef has increased so much that the population of male green turtles has reached close to extinction followed by the death of female gender with no scope of a future generation. Not only the turtles, but many other species around the Great Barrier Reef are being affected by the negative effects of global warming. The coral reefs are declining in number as a result of coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is a result of high ocean temperatures. The corals lack any time to recover from the damage which leads to the extinction of the species depending on the coral reefs for survival. Global warming has been affecting all the parts of our blue planet. From oceans to forests, every section of the planet is being exposed to the harsh rising temperatures with rising sea level and dangerous weather conditions. Only a major change can put halt to the declining condition of the planet. Film maker Zoe Fayaud has just launched a Kickstarter campaign for her planned documentary on the good work done by SkatePAL and SkateQilya in Palestine. Check the short video and bit of text below for a more in depth sense of what she will be trying to achieve, then head over to her Kickstarter and lend a hand if you can! Cover photo by Sam Dearden more at: www.samdearden.com After a summer spent in Ramallah volunteering as an English teacher, skateboarder Charlie Davis realised that skating was relatively unknown to the region. He founded the charity SkatePal in 2013, consistantly returning to Palestine with a shifting team of volunteers to build ramps, skate parks and to provide skate lessons to young people across the West Bank. In a region which is divided by a wall and whose population is under constant oppression, skateboarding has become an essential tool for rebellion and non-violent resistance. It is unexpectedly popular amongst both boys and girls of all ages. Skate parks and ramps have sprung up in the towns of Ramallah, Asira Al-Shamaliya and Jayyous and more constructions are planned for the upcoming years. Children grow up quickly in Palestine. Their daily life is subject to a brutal occupation. Everyone knows somebody who is in prison or who has been killed by the Israeli army. During the second Intifada, the Palestinian territories suffered from long curfews and periodical invasions by the Israeli military. Clashes occurred on a daily basis. Although the intensity of violence has decreased over the past few years, invasions and arbitrary arrests still occur to this day. Throwing rocks is the only form of resistance young Palestinians know of. When this energy is channeled onto a skateboard, these kids turn out to be extremely tenacious riders, confronting the ramps with fearlessness. The other side has guns and tanks. For a long time, all we had was rocks, says Mai Alem, a girl skater who lives in Ramallah. Now we have skateboarding, but also music and art. Parkour, breakdancing and hip hop are also very popular with the younger generation. Aram Sabbah and Adham Tamimi were amongst the first local skateboarders of Ramallah. They were about 14 years old when they met Charlie and quickly became involved with SkatePal. They both fell in love with skateboarding and have witnessed the huge influence it has had on local youth, including themselves. Skateboarding has made me feel like Im free, like theres nothing at all that can stop me, says Aram. Being involved with SkatePal just augmented all of that and I got to meet a lot of different people, its been such a great human experience. Aram was shot while participating in a protest at Qalandia checkpoint in 2014, and he was distraught thinking he might not be able to skate again. The wound took months to heal and Aram was gradually able to get back on the board. Arams enthusiasm is shared by his best friend Adham For us its a really powerful tool and method to empower the young community rather than have them focus on wars and political agendas that have nothing to do with them. Instead it provides them with a mind-set to help them go through life without the fear of failing and with the ambition to try to make it big in this world! Palestine is too often only mentioned in mainstream media when clashes between Palestinians and Israelis occur. We have seen it recently with Donald Trumps incendiary declaration. Journalists only flock to the West Bank when such words are ushered and when violence is expected to break out regionally. Cameras and mics are only brought in to witness what is expected, and what is sensational. The idea of this film is to witness another side of Palestine, one that is devoid of any stereotype or pre-conception. We seek to hear the voices of those who are rarely heard but who are present, who are active, creative and valid. We want to hear the youth of Palestine, their stories, hopes and aspirations, and their opinions; all of it through the unexpected prism of skateboarding. For more information, visit SkatePals website http://www.skatepal.co.uk 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #2 Posted on 14 January 2018 by John Hartz Story of the Week... Opinion of the Week... El Nino/La Nina Update... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Graphic of the Week... SkS Spotlights... Video of the Week... Report of Note... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus... Story of the Week... Exxon Ramps Up Free Speech Argument in Fighting Climate Fraud Investigations The oil giant wants a court to block state investigations into whether it misled investors on climate change, while it continues to promote a degree of uncertainty. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced in 2015 that his office was investigating whether Exxon misled investors about climate change-related risks. Credit: Joel Sagget/Getty Images ExxonMobil turned the volume back up this week in its ongoing fight to block two states' investigations into what it told investors about climate change risk, asserting once again that its First Amendment rights are being violated by politically motivated efforts to muzzle it. In a 45-page document filed in federal court in New York, the oil giant continued to denounce New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey for what it called illegal investigations. "Attorneys General, acting individually and as members of an unlawful conspiracy, determined that certain speech about climate change presented a barrier to their policy objectives, identified ExxonMobil as one source of that speech, launched investigations based on the thinnest of pretexts to impose costs and burdens on ExxonMobil for having spoken, and hoped their official actions would shift public discourse about climate policy," Exxon's lawyers wrote. Healey and Schneiderman are challenging Exxon's demand for a halt to their investigations into how much of what Exxon knew about climate change was disclosed to shareholders and consumers. The two attorneys general have consistently maintained they are not trying to impose their will on Exxon in regard to climate change, but rather are exercising their power to protect their constituents from fraud. They have until Jan. 19 to respond to Exxon's latest filing. Exxon Ramps Up Free Speech Argument in Fighting Climate Fraud Investigations by David Hasmyer, InsideClimate News, Jan 13, 2018 Opinion of the Week... Climate Change in My Backyard On Tuesday morning, half an inch of water fell in nearby Montecito half an inch in five minutes. Even in the best of conditions, this pace could cause flooding. But it wasnt the best of conditions. Last month, we endured the largest wildfire in California history. For two and a half weeks straight, the fire burned closer every day. Air quality turned unhealthy and forced schools to close. Businesses had to shut their doors during the peak holiday season. The local economy was decimated. I moved out of my home for weeks, as did many others. But at least I had a home to return to. Hundreds of others lost theirs. Thousands more lost their livelihoods. As a climate policy researcher, I was seeing the consequences of climate inaction in my own backyard. Life was just beginning to get back to normal when the rains came this week, hard and fast. The scorched land could not absorb the water, and so the mudslides began. Climate Change in My Backyard, Opinion by Leah C Stokes, New York Times, Jan 11, 2018 Leah C. Stokes is an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. El Nino/La Nina Update January 2018 La Nina update: summiting the peak Now that we are smack dab in the middle of winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the time of year when ENSO tends to have its more reliable impacts in the United States, its go-time for paying attention to whats going on in the Pacific. And the latest CPC/IRI ENSO forecast says[drum roll please]La Nina is here to stay for this winter with a 85-95% probability before transitioning to ENSO-Neutral conditions during the spring. Sidenote: Also, who is this person writing this post who is definitely not Emily? Im Tom and Im filling in for Emily this month (see footnote for Emilys whereabouts). And just like a normal substitute teacher, dont be surprised if I end this article early and just make you watch a video. So buckle up! December 2017 sea surface temperature departure from the 1981-2010 average. Graphic by climate.gov; data from NOAAs Environmental Visualization Lab . January 2018 La Nina update: summiting the peak by Tom Di Liberto, ENSO Blog, NOAA's Climate.gov, Jan 11, 2018 Also see the Video of the Week section of this document. Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... If people demand iron-clad proof that humans are changing the climate, then we cant react,Gutzler* said. But from my perspective, there has been such a mountain of evidence to toss all that out because there are uncertainties would be choosing stupidity. UNM meteorologist says Southwest on front lines of climate change by Rebecca Moss, The New Mexican, Jan 6, 2018 *David Gutzler, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at University of New Mexico Graphic of the Week... These Climate Change Emojis Are Peak 2018 When Marina Zurkow, an environmental artist and professor at New York University, embarked on designing a set of climate change-themed emojis, every little detail was intentional. She didnt hold back one bit. Released in October, the current Climoji sticker set, available for Apple and Android users, paints a pretty grim picture of what climate change looks like. The set includes emojis of dying, starved animals, pollution, extreme weather, and even drowning peoplenot exactly a hopeful outlook, but that was kind of the point, said Zurkow. We felt like one of the big problems is people dont call climate change what it is, Zurkow told Earther. People dont connect to the outcomes of a lot of anthropogenic destruction that we all participate in a really everyday way.? These Climate Change Emojis Are Peak 2018 by Yessenia Funes, Justice, Earther, Jan 11, 2018 SkS Spotlights... Thanks for stopping by Earther, a destination for fearless news and analysis about our changing planet and the people who live on it. Earthers mission is to write impactful stories about how humanity is affecting life on Earth, and what that means for our future. We love geeking out over the weather, sharing the latest conservation success stories, and reminding you that climate change is very real. We strive to make Earther a friendly, inclusive site for everyone interested in the future of life on the Blue Marble, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. For more on our editorial ethos and values, check out Gizmodo Medias Editorial Code. We want your tips and your scoops! Please send them to: tips@ Video of the Week... The above video is embedded in: January 2018 La Nina update: summiting the peak by Tom Di Liberto, ENSO Blog, NOAA's Climate.gov, Jan 11, 2018 Reports of Note... Assessment of the Potential Health Impacts of Climate Change in Alaska Coming Soon on SkS... Global warming is driving a migration crisis (John Abraham) (John Abraham) Flaws of Ludecke & Weiss (Ari Jokimaki) (Ari Jokimaki) Scott Pruitt asked what's Earth's ideal temperature - scientists answer (Dana) (Dana) Analysis: How developing nations are driving record growth in solar power (Zeke ) (Zeke New research this week (Ari Jokimaki) (Ari Jokimaki) 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #3 (John Hartz) (John Hartz) 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #3 (John Hartz) Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus... James McCarthy's bio page Quote derived from: "[A]ll the professional societies of climatologists, meteorologists, oceanographers that have ever looked at this problem have made very consistent statements that climate is changing, it's changing in unusual ways, and the only way that change can be explained is as a result of human activities. Most people have no idea that something between 95 and 100 % of climate scientists completely agree with that statement." High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide) Better Life Lab is a partnership of Slate and New America. When she was 19, Cherisse Scott lost her baby. The pregnancy was unplanned, but there was no doubt in her mind that she would have the baby. She laid awake at night worrying about raising a child alone, keeping up at work, and hopefully finishing college someday. The anxiety and stress compounded with uncertainty about whether she would be able to afford the next months rent and food. Nonetheless, Scott celebrated her pregnancy. Scott planned to sacrifice as much as she could to raise a healthy child. She prepared to leave school and move into the house of her then-boyfriends mother, although her partner was slowly growing distant and unsupportive. With a job that didnt offer health care or workplace flexibility, and unaware of any campus services that might have been available to support her, Scotts emotional, physical, and mental stress began to grow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the bleeding started, it was terrifying and painful. After losing her pregnancy, Scott left the emergency room with no tangible medical reason for the loss of her child and an incredibly large medical bill that she would spend the next seven years paying off. Later, fueled by her personal experience, Scott founded Sister Reach, a member of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, one of the dozens of local organizations taking on the infant mortality and maternal health crisis in American cities. Black women are 23 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. The infant mortality rate for non-Hispanic black mothers is roughly twice that of non-Hispanic white mothers, 11.11 to 5.06 respectively. Infant mortality rates in the U.S. are higher than comparable high-income countries, and black infant mortality rates in particular rival the infant mortality rates of some war-torn countries, such as Libya and Bahrain. The stressful steady battle to defend their right to motherhood and family, and make enough to survive, yields poor outcomes for black mothers and the children they might have had. Advertisement Although politicians often tie these poor outcomes to drug use or poverty in black communities, a study done by the American Public Health Association showed that those traditional risk factors do not predict the racial differences in low birth weight, a health factor often linked to infant mortality. In other words, black mothers are not to blame for the loss of their own children, as politicians and local media outlets might claim. So what is? Advertisement An article published last year in the Nation posits racial discrimination as a possible explanation, because studies of infant mortality across socio-economic status and education have found that black infant mortality rates were still higher than white infant mortality rates when other factors were held equal. How does racial discrimination produce these effects? One underexamined factor is how the deteriorating conditions of work, and the benefits workplaces should be offering but arent, create excess stress for black mothers. Advertisement Advertisement In her book How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics, author Laura Briggs points to the rigorous demands of the American workplace as a cause of this racial inequality, saying, The more the workplace demands of everyone, the more it specifically demands of African Americans to prove that they are not imposters, not slackers, not thugs, or entitled incompetents. Toxic work culture demands black women survive and succeed through stressful conditions and high expectations with little to no support in the workplace. Here are just a few aspects of the American workplace that particularly burden black women and might be linked to these maternal and infant health outcomes: Access to health care that is tied to the vastly unequal workplaces in the U.S. The U.S. remains a place where the vast majority of workers obtain their health insurance through their employer, but not all employers offer this benefit. In addition, because of privatized or employer-based health care, white professional women often have access to reproductive technology meant to support fertility, while low-income black women with Medicaid can only access contraceptives. Advertisement Advertisement On top of this unequal access to health insurance, even black women with higher levels of educational attainment, a marker of more access to and knowledge of health care, still experience a disproportionate amount of stress, some of which is caused by the experience of seeking health care itself. Medical professionals often treat black women differently, for example by diagnosing breast cancer later or assuming they are able to manage incredible amounts of pain. Briggs suggests that Two people can go to the same prenatal care provider and have very different experiences. Part of the story is physician and health provider racism. Lack of workplace benefits Black mothers are disproportionately the sole provider and caretaker of their households. Since the U.S. offers minimal social support programs compared to most industrialized countries, Americans rely on their jobs for basic wellness programs. Black women are more likely to occupy minimum wage jobs, and low-wage work is connected to high-stress environments. Briggs argues, We can put those pieces together and say that Black womens jobs are almost certainly contributing to the high rates of Black infant mortality in Black communities. Low wages, it goes without saying, also come with inadequate access to food, safe housing, and a host of other necessary resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Black mothers often have jobs without benefits like flexibility, sick days, and paid family medical leave. The inability of these mothers to take time off to care for themselves and their infants only exacerbates the health and wellness gaps black mothers experience. Lack of workplace protections Along with the absence of a workplace safety net, federal protections like the Pregnancy Discrimination Act have proven ineffective at protecting mothers safety on the job. In a recent case, Young v. UPS, two lower courts failed to protect a pregnant mother seeking simple workplace accommodations that were routinely given to men with back pain, forcing the plaintiff to petition her case through to the Supreme Court. Another workplace protection, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or Title VII, does not reliably investigate or fine employers of black women who say they were fired from their jobs because of pregnancy-related discrimination. And black Americans (as well as Hispanic Americans) are disproportionately subject to injury and death on the job. All these kinds of insecurity and danger will inevitably manifest themselves during pregnancy. Advertisement Unequal treatment and outright discrimination Racial discrimination also manifests itself in the workplace through physical and emotional unequal treatment. Even when black women have good jobs, health insurance, and benefits, they often are expected to do more than white colleagues, constantly facing assumptions that they are unqualified, a phenomena documented by black university professors and demonstrated across every education level. Black women endure the highest levels of harassment through compounded effects of sexual and racial harassment in the workplace. As a result, black women experience a disproportionate amount of stress in the workplace, regardless of socio-economic standing. Advertisement Advertisement According to Scott, Black women are always juggling stress in work and life. American culture, where people are driven by the accumulation of wealth and success, is a toxic culture for motherhood. Scott continued, America has never been a safe place for a Black woman to raise a child. It seems even more dangerous now for a Black woman to even consider having a child, yet Black women continue showing up and doing more to help everyone despite being treated as though our lives, our health and wellness is not important. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Briggs, If what corporations call work-life balance and sociologists call the crisis of care work was unsolvable for [white professional women], it certainly wasnt solvable for women with less power and fewer resources. Advertisement The ramifications of work-life imbalance are stressful for women with resources and power, but for black women and their children, it can be deadly. Many policies that benefit black momscomprehensive and universal health care, fair wages, predictable work hoursbenefit everyone else too. Scott, and many black advocates, have been saying it for years: Its old news. Lets be real about the economic condition Black women have now and have had for years. We had to figure out how to survive for our kids. We need help, we need equal pay, treatment, and benefits to have an equal experience. Donald Trumps shithole countries remark continues to reverberate across Africa, one of areas included in his broad, derogatory characterization of countries spanning multiple continents that the president believes to be undesirable places for the U.S. to receive immigrants from. In Africa, a clear target of Trumps remarks, the condemnations were immediate and the outrage clear. The government of Botswana issued a statement labelling the American presidents words reprehensible and racist. Senegals president replied that Africa and the black race merit the respect and consideration of all. A spokesman for the African Union, an assemblage of 55 member states on the continent, said [g]iven the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, this statement flies in the face of all accepted behavior and practice. South Africas government, however, indicated over the weekend that it will go one step farther in registering its anger by lodging a formal protest with the American Embassy in Pretoria Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [South Africa] will provide an opportunity to the Charges de Affaires to explain the statement that African countries, alongside Haiti and El Salvador, constitute shitholes from where migrants into the United States are undesirable, the government said in a statement. South Africa aligns itself with the statements issued by the African Union and the Africa group of Ambassadors to the United Nations in New York. Africa is united in its affirmation of the dignity of the people of Africa and the African diaspora. The State Department said diplomats in South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, and Senegal had been summoned by their host governments to explain Trumps remarks; the diplomatic wing of the Trump administration expects more diplomats to be summoned this week. In response, CNN reports, State Department officials said diplomats have been advised not to try to interpret or soften the Presidents remarks but rather to listen and acknowledge the countries concerns. President Donald Trump went after the Wall Street Journal this weekend, shortly after the paper reported that a porn star received the equivalent of hush money to not talk about details of a sexual encounter with Trump. The fight is really over one contraction: d. In a tweet Sunday morning, Trump said the Journal of purposefully misrepresenting his words in an interview. He accused the paper of peddling fake news when it claimed the president had proudly said during the interview: I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un. I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised. Advertisement Trump insisted he actually started that sentence with Id and not I, meaning he was predicting that he could have a good relationship with the totalitarian leader of North Korea. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters, he wrote. He claimed the reporters of knowing exactly what I said and meant but they wanted a story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un (of N. Korea). Obviously I didnt say that. I said Id have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 Advertisement ...and they knew exactly what I said and meant. They just wanted a story. FAKE NEWS! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 Advertisement The New York Times points out that it is unclear what Mr. Trump meant by saying that the White House records conversations with reporters. It is standard for White House communications staff members to make audio recordings of interviews with the president, though they do not publicly release a transcript of the interview. Advertisement Trumps tweets came hours after the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, posted the official audio showing WSJ misquoting @POTUS. She also published an image with the words FAKE NEWS across the top: THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. FAKE NEWS IS AT IT AGAIN. FALSELY QUOTING PRESIDENT TRUMP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here is the official audio showing WSJ misquoting @POTUS pic.twitter.com/wVwoafYkHg Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 14, 2018 The Wall Street Journal is standing by its initial report, noting that the ground rules for the interview included an agreement not to disseminate the audio recordings that would be used only for transcribing purposes. After the White House challenged the Journals transcription and accuracy of the quote in a story, The Journal decided to release the relevant portion of the audio. The White House then released its audio version of the contested segment, the newspaper wrote. Advertisement We have reviewed the audio from our interview with President Trump, as well as the transcript provided by an external service, and stand by what we reported. Here is audio of the portion the White House disputes. https://t.co/eWcmiHrXJg pic.twitter.com/bx9fGFWaPw The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 14, 2018 Most news outlets agree that from the two recordings it is difficult to tell whether Trump said I or Id. Dozens injured after mezzanine floor collapses at Jakarta stock exchange buildinghttps://t.co/WENKwWTwjI pic.twitter.com/G0DDPsLhER BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 15, 2018 It was a scary scene Monday inside the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta when a suspended walkway collapsed sending dozens of people crashing down into a lobby area below. A Jakarta police official told CNN at least 77 people were taken to the hospital to treat mostly minor injuries from incident. A large number of Indonesian university students were on the balcony-like walkway when it collapsed in the Tower Two lobby. BREAKING: Scene at Jakarta stock exchange now. Floor collapse. Many casualties pic.twitter.com/n21IclcgWq Adam Harvey (@adharves) January 15, 2018 Valentina Simon, head of Institutional Relations at the exchange, told CNN the collapse happened at around 12:30 p.m. local time. She described the lobby as an open space where tourists would gather, and buy drinks and snacks from a coffee shop on the ground floor, CNN reported. The lobby was crowded at the time of the collapse, just after people had finished lunch. Indonesian officials have not announced what caused the collapse. Decentralisation is coming to energy The latest trends in the sector include smart systems, local source and renewable energy. Just like other economic sectors, the modern energy sector requires science, research and innovation. New technologies reduce costs and increase competitiveness, allowing states to meet international targets. Decentralised production, efficient storage and renewable energy sources (RES) now complement or replace traditional large, centralised energy production. While in the past the sector belonged exclusively to large, strictly-targeted enterprises, today small firms and municipalities can engage in the production, storage and efficient consumption of energy, according to Economy Minister Peter Ziga. This leads to the interconnection of formerly separate industries such as electro-energetics, transportation and information technologies, said Ziga at the Modern Trends in the European Energy Sector conference held in Bratislava on November 22, 2017. Read also: Read also: Efficiency leads to savings and safety Read more The application of the trends results from not only the individual decision-making of countries, but also from the global, long-term strategy under the Paris Agreement of 2015. The agreement aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide a significant share of RES in the gross final energy consumption and increase energy efficiency. The targets, hand in hand with the interconnection of the power system, shift the EU from the role of global energy consumer to the global example for ideal management of the energy portfolio, its stocks and supplies, said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at the conference. Within the EUs 2020 climate-energy package, Slovakia committed to increasing its RES share to 14 percent. Based on the latest Eurostat data from 2015, the country fulfils the target at 12.9 percent. Production in small The latest trend in the European energy sector is decentralisation, or the consumption of energy close to the production site without the need to produce it in large plants and send it through the national grid. This offers innovations such as aggregation and the formation of active customer and local energy communities that enable active end users to participate in the market, said Ziga. Thanks to the decentralisation wave, Slovak distributors are changing their orientation from pure energy supply to a wider portfolio of services. As of March 2017, Zapadoslovenska Energetika (ZSE) is providing households smart solutions under the ZEON brand, including motion sensors, active appliances, temperature, humidity, air pressure, overvoltage protection and monitoring apps. 15. Jan 2018 at 6:30 | Peter Adamovsky Brussels has banned waterproof jackets, Slovakia stops gas supplies to Ukraine Two recent examples of hoaxes show how alternative media manipulate and chase likes on old and distorted stories. Is this the end of waterproof clothing? The EU decided that it harms people, and bang! Here comes the ban. The story with this bizarre headline was published recently on Facebook by five disinformation media sites simultaneously Kanaly AC24.cz, Stop Medialni Manipulaci (Stop the Media Manipulation), Svet Kolem Nas (The World around Us) and Cesi a Slovaci Podporuju Rusky Krym (Czechs and Slovak Support Russian Crimea). The next day, the Facebook site Sloveni followed suit. The text comes from the Lajkit.cz server, which took the story from the Eurozpravy.cz disinformation website. The story is noteworthy for two reasons: it is grossly distorted and it is a wonderful example of how alternative media collect likes on Facebook. We will not get wet No, waterproof clothes will not come to an end. The European Commission only banned the use of a group of chemicals i.e. perfluorinated compounds (PFC). These substances are used today to create the textile known under the brand name Gore-Tex. Several bigger clothing companies use these substances in their products and will soon have to find a replacement for this compound. However, it will take several years for this ban to take full effect. The Eurozpravy.cz website admits this fact but published this information along with the absurd and speculative headline that waterproof clothes will come to an end. The EU ban on waterproof clothes is a hoax, too. (Source: Facebook) Claiming that the EU decided that perfluorinated compounds are detrimental to health is troublesome, too: the harmfulness of a chemical does not depend on the decision of any European body. 15. Jan 2018 at 9:15 | Compiled by Spectator staff The Sme daily celebrates 25th anniversary The newspaper, which was established as a protest against autocratic power, has been published for 25 years. The first issue of Sme in own printing house; publisher Alexej Fulmek (C) with chief editor Karol Jezik (R). (Source: Courtesy of Sme) The Sme daily has spirit and there is a strong story behind it that is unique and unrepeatable, publisher Alexej Fulmek said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. It holds a similar position to the Gazeta Wyborcza paper in Poland. These media forms have become symbols of independent thinking, Fulmek stressed The US MLDF foundation included the Smes story among the ten most important media stories occurring between the break of the 20th and 21st century. In those 25 years, the media world developed into a mature form, and I almost feel like an observer who remembers the whole past, the publisher, CEO of the Petit Press publishing house, said. We face new challenges in the digital world, but I believe that the Sme daily can sail through 25 more years of existence. Originally, the French media concern Hersant (Le Figaro) daily was supposed to take over the post-communist daily Smena, with the participation of the editorial staff. After the HZDS party and its chairman, Vladimir Meciar, won the election, they started to take control of media. Smena was meant to be published by a state company, Dennik Semna, which would leave the door open for government interventions in the contents of the paper, Sme wrote. The Dennik Smena company was registered on January 1, 1993 but still, on January 4, the news board could not find proof of an entry in the Trade Register. In January 1993, part of the editorial staff walked out, led by chief editor Karol Jezik, editor Alexej Fulmek (who became publisher) and Jozef Weiss, to establish an independent newspaper. Their financing partner was the group of business people involved with Peter Vajda. On January 15, 1993, the first issue of the Sme daily was published. In the following years, Sme called on citizens to vote against Meciar but he won the election and attempted to stop the publishing of the newspaper in all possible ways: by limiting advertising revenues (in which the US foundation International Media Fund Helped), and by refusing to print the paper in the state-owned printing house Concorida and the second Bratislava-based printing house, Danubiaprint. For some time, the paper was printed in the town of Komarno, and then, after receiving a foreign loan, it was published with the help of a printing machine in the Goss Community, and later in its own printing house. Sme goes online In November 1994, Sme appeared on the internet thanks to the Logos project of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. In 1996, it moved to its own internet domain, Sme.sk. Then, Sme took over the influential weekly Domino Efekt/Domino Forum whose editor, Martin Milan Simecka, became the chief editor of Sme in 1999, after Jezik died in December 1998 due to a head injury. The next year, a German media holding bought a share in the publishing house, and a new Slovak-German company Petit Press, which also publishes a network of regional newspapers, was established. In 2002, Petit Press acquired the Praca daily and merged it with the Sme daily. In 2003, Petit Press was the second biggest publisher in Slovakia, with a one-third share in the market. In 2009, the German company Rheinische Post bought a 50-percent share of Petit Press. In 2006, Martin M. Simecka left for a longer unpaid holiday, later deciding to not come back. Then-head of the foreign department, Matus Kostolny, became chief editor. More recent twists and turns Six years later, the Piano system was founded which allowed visitors to pay for the online newspaper content. Gradually, 12 Slovak websites charged for content with a single joint fee. In 2014, the Penta financial group announced a contract with Rheinsiche Post on a 50-percent share takeover. This caused the leading editors, chief editor Matus Kostolny, as well as many editors and staffers to leave. Ultimately, Penta received a 45-percent share, and Beata Balogova, then-chief editor of The Slovak Spectator, became the editor-in-chief. During 2015, the Sme team was stabilised, and in 2017, the Prva Slovenska Investicna Spolocnost (PSIS, the original Slovak group of owners) bought back from Penta five percent more of shares in Petit Press (who have a 60-percent share), in exchange for the sale of Hungarian-language papers Uj Szo and Vasarnap. Last October, CEO of Proxy Finance and investor and co-founder of Sme, Peter Vajda, died at age 70. His son and successor, Martin Vajda, declared his desire to continue the legacy of his father and support independent journalism. Disclaimer: Penta financial group has a 40-percent share in Petit Press, the co-owner of The Slovak Spectator. 15. Jan 2018 at 13:18 | Compiled by Spectator staff Opera Ball opens 2018 season The popular Opera Ball continues its mission to help disabled children. The charity Opera Ball opened the Slovak ball season on January 13, in the historical building of the Slovak National Theatre. For nine years, its primary mission has been helping disabled children, the TASR newswire wrote. 300 pairs of guests were in attendance and supported the charity character of the event that aims to create better conditions for children with disabilities and provide them with quality education. Each year is unique for us, Pavol Lancaris, CEO of Orange Slovakia and the representative for the Opera Ball host, told TASR. The support and presence of our precious guests shows us every year how deeply people care for this charity event. This year was even more extraordinary as the Opera Ball was held under the auspices of Slovak President Andrej Kiska, which is an enormous honour for us. Guests of the ball included dozens of well-known celebrities of science, economics, politics, education, sport and culture. The balls season lasts until Ash Wednesday, which falls on February 14 this year. Afterwards, the period of Lent will end all official meetings and posh events as believers must fast before Easter. 15. Jan 2018 at 13:24 | Compiled by Spectator staff Slovak police recorded 66,215 crimes last year; they cleared almost 59 percent of them Among the biggest successes was solving the murder of prominent lawyer Ernest Valko. A total of 66,215 crimes were committed in Slovakia in 2017, while the polices success rate in resolving individual crimes increased to almost 58.7 percent, Interior Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer) and Police Corps president Tibor Gaspar informed at a press conference on Monday, January 15, concurring that the figures represent Slovakias new best since the country's independence in 1993. This is the smallest number of crimes and the highest number of resolved cases, said Kalinak as cited by the TASR newswire. From my point of view, not only is it important that criminal activity is falling, but also that we are successful in seizing perpetrators. In 2016, as many as 69,635 crimes were registered in Slovakia, with the police identifying the offenders in almost 57 percent of cases. Solving the murder of prominent lawyer Ernest Valko is one of the biggest successes for the police last year. Read also: Read also: Police solve the murder of prominent lawyer Read more Gaspar added that the long-term drop in the number of crimes can be partly attributed to various preventive measures and activities carried out by the police. We calculated the number of crimes per 1,000 inhabitants within the districts in Slovakia, with Banovce nad Bebravou [Trencin Region] and Dolny Kubin [Zilina Region] districts being the safest, said Gaspar. Conversely, the most dangerous districts were Bratislava I, II and III, which is logical, as there is the highest number of people who do not live in Bratislava in terms of permanent residence. Based on the calculations, there is on average around one crime per 1,000 inhabitants. As for violent crimes, a total of 6,132 cases were recorded in 2017, while the police managed to resolve 76.2 percent of them. There were 57 murders, of which 39 were resolved. Regarding property crimes, such as thefts, there were 25,154 of such cases in 2017, while the success rate in resolving them reached 41.6 percent. The polices ambition is to continue reducing the crime rate in Slovakia in 2018. According to Gaspar, the police could manage to successfully resolve 60 percent of individual crimes. 15. Jan 2018 at 20:07 | Compiled by Spectator staff Surcharges for night, weekend and holiday work will go up in two phases Social partners agree upon a compromise solution. Font size: A - | A + Surcharges for night, weekend and holiday work will gradually increase in two phases. Representatives of employers, employees and parliamentary deputies for the ruling Smer party agreed upon compromise increases on January 15. We led todays negotiations with respect to possible compromise solutions, said Labour Minister Jan Richter after the session, as cited by the TASR newswire. We have submitted a compromise proposal that coalition partners okayed too and thus it should be passable in parliament. Employers remain dissatisfied. What we, as employers want, is that the competitiveness of our industry is not harmed and that this [hike in surcharges] does not have a fundamental impact on work places, said Roman Karlubik, first vice-president of the Federation of Employers Associations (AZZZ), after the negotiations. In any case, we have to say that we as employers are not satisfied even with this proposal. We take it only as a kind of compromise. Read also: Read also: Firms reject higher surcharges Read more The surcharges will increase as of May 1, 2018 and then again as of May 1, 2019. In terms of night surcharges, it will depend whether workers are conducting ordinary or risky work. In the case of surcharges for ordinary night work, they will increase from the current 20 percent of the minimum wage to 30 percent as of May 1, 2018 and to 40 percent as of May 1, 2019. Night surcharges for risky work will increase to 35 percent and then to 50 percent, respectively. Employers will be able to employ a so-called derogation exemption. This means that they will be able to agree upon an increase of night work surcharges within a collective agreement, but the surcharge will have to increase to 25 percent at least as of May 1, 2018 and to 35 percent at least as of May 1, 2019. The social partners also agreed upon the introduction of a surcharge for weekend work. Originally the Smer deputies proposed it at 100 percent of the minimum wage. Based on the compromise proposal, the surcharge will account for 25 percent and for 50 percent, respectively, for work on Saturdays. On Sundays, the surcharge will be higher - 50 percent and 100 percent, respectively. Employers will again be able to agree upon exemptions, but this time the surcharges will be not divided into ordinary and risky work. The proposal for the increase of the surcharges for work during holidays remains unchanged. It should increase from the current 50 percent of the average wage of the worker to 100 percent. The draft revision to the Labour Code increasing the surcharges is already in parliament, in the second reading. The new rates of the surcharges should become effective as of May 1. 15. Jan 2018 at 20:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, and Refining and Marketing segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen in northeast Alberta. Its bitumen assets include Foster Creek, Christina Lake, and Narrows Lake, as well as other projects in the early stages of development. The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, and Clearwater operating areas of British Columbia and Alberta, as well as various interests in natural gas processing facilities. The Refining and Marketing segment transports and sells crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs. This segment owns a 50% ownership in Wood River and Borger refineries located in the United States; and owns and operates a crude-by-rail terminal in Alberta. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Read More Anadarko Petroleum Corporation engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of oil and gas properties. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production, WES Midstream, and Other Midstream. The company explores for and produces oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It is also involved in gathering, processing, treating, and transporting oil, natural-gas, and NGLs production, as well as the gathering and disposal of produced water. The company's oil and natural gas properties are located in the United States onshore and deepwater Gulf of Mexico; and Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Colombia, Peru, and other countries. As of December 31, 2018, it had approximately 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. Read More Wall Street analysts have given iShares Latin America 40 ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares Latin America 40 ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. Vigilance and foresight are two key qualities in the cybersecurity field. 2017 brought many serious challenges, but what lies ahead in 2018 that needs our intention and strategic thinking? Lets look ahead at three factors on the horizon that will impact the network, possibly for years to come. Ready or Not, Here Comes GDPR First and foremost is a known quantity, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which will take effect in May 2018. This regulation will have a major impact on the European Union and on international companies with access to European citizens sensitive data. The GDPR is considered comparable to the U.S. Security Breach Legislation enacted in 48 states, but on steroids. Organizations must account for all sensitive data and the access granted to it. At the same time, it expands the definition of sensitive data to include online identifiers, such as an IP address or cookies. This regulation isnt just for huge, multinational enterprises. The GDPR applies to any organization with more than 250 employees that has the personal data of EU citizens whether that organization has a location in the EU or targets EU citizens or not. This marks the first time U.S. companies have had to abide by an EU regulation (as opposed to a Directive), and the fines for non-compliance are steep: up to 20 million or four percent of annual global turnover, whichever is greater. These fines are intentionally severe because maintaining data privacy is so important to the EU, and this gives them the teeth to police compliance. GDPR compliance language will begin to appear on business websites as companies seek to assure customers that their data will be safe. But the bigger shift for businesses will be the need to dig deep into their processes to comply with this regulation. They will need to have full visibility into who has access to sensitive data and as we will see below, that is rare. The Need to Secure the Core Organizations worldwide will continue to face cyber threats and struggle to maintain a solid and continuous compliance and security posture as nation-state-sponsored cyber-attacks, cybercriminals and hacktivists proliferate and innovate. That may seem obvious, but what is less obvious is that in a world without network perimeters, companies must spend money down to the infrastructure core of the business to secure their data. While technology is changing at rapid speeds, many processes remain stuck in the past. Static security measures like passwords and vaults dont move with the speed of todays business and simply arent enough anymore. Malicious actors love to target static security because they are so vulnerable. Ideally, significant investment would be made to secure a companys technology core as the company is being built. However, its not too late for existing companies to go beneath the OS and build security at the foundational level with elements like certificates, SSH keys and PAM. A New Way to Manage Access CIOs, CISOs, IT security and IT architects across the globe struggle to maintain privileged access to protected data. Its a board/business topic. SSH user key-based access, referred to as the dark side of compliance, continues to bubble up on the high-risk radar as uncontrolled and unmanaged elevated access into production. Organizations must consider SSH access when assessing security because they provide the highest level of access yet are rarely, if ever, monitored. Proof of this shortcoming can be found in a recent report from the Cyber Security Research Institute, which revealed that 61 percent of respondents do not limit or monitor the number of administrators who manage SSH. Further, 90 percent of respondents do not have a complete, accurate inventory of all SSH keys. This means that there is no way to tell whether keys have been stolen or misused or should be trusted. With the migration to the cloud, poor key management is simply untenable. Cloud applications are elastic, scalable and dynamic. Traditional PAM was designed for static physical servers in much smaller environments. But, as with passwords and other static security measures, static PAM cant get the job done anymore either. Traditional PAM just doesnt provide the agility one needs in the cloud and doesnt handle elastic services well at all. In fact, it doesn't handle traditional legacy infrastructure very well. Projects become complex and expensive. All is not lost, though, as a new kid on the block offers a just-in-time solution to these issues: next-generation PAM (NXPAM). This NXPAM works without any permanent access credentials on servers, using only short-term temporary credentials that are created on demand. There are no passwords to rotate, no vaults needing to store them and no software that needs to be installed and patched on individual servers. This makes for a very fast and straightforward deployment project with unlimited scalability. Address Risks Now With the impending implementation of the GDPR and cyber threats that can gain access to core network areas, organizations need to take a hard and close look at what security and compliance measures are in place. Are policies consistently being carried out? Are they effective? The need to protect the network and all it contains has never been under greater threat. However, it is easy to identify a common theme having to do with governance for your trusted access to protected data. Going into 2018, it is crucial to start addressing these risks early. Organizations must have complete accountability of their protected data: who has access to my data? Where is my data? What laws and regulations impact my compliance program? Particularly if you are operating on legacy systems, an effective defense strategy requires embedding security at the infrastructure level. Its here that the greatest amount of harm can be done if breached, so controlling access is essential. Keep the above three factors in mind as you move into the new year and put security measures in place to create a firm foundation for your organization and its customers. Edited by Mandi Nowitz Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is close to a move to Arsenal following recent fall-out with the German outfits hierarchy, according to the Independent. Aubameyang was left out of Dortmunds match against Wolfsburg yesterday due to disciplinary reasons and it is thought Arsenal will be looking to capitalise on the situation in bid to replace Alexis Sanchez who is set for Manchester United. Aubameyang was supposed to attend a mandatory team meeting at the Dortmund training grounds on Saturday, but did not show up. This is the third time he has been sanctioned by the German club in the last year. It was a relatively important session that he stayed away from, which showed me that he is not focused. Dortmund boss Peter Stoger. He was surprised, did not quite notice it for himself. But for us it was a clear case. The session was clearly announced in WhatsApp groups that are today on tablets. If he is not there, someone else is playing, who is totally focused. It is believed the Gunners are willing to offer up to 55 million for the Gabonese goal-scorer. Should this move happen, Abaumeyang would only be part of the solution of replacing two star players, with Mesut Ozil also thought to be on the move. With Ozil, Sanchez and reportedly Theo Walcott nearing Emirates exits, Arsene Wenger is short of options up front and he will need at least three offensive players before the end of January to keep the status quo. Bordeauxs winger Malcom and PSGs Juliuan Draxler have been mentioned as possible new arrivals in the media this morning. Aubameyang has scored 21 goals in 23 matches this season and brags a total of 98 goals in 143 games for Borussia Dortmund since his arrival from Saint-Etienne in 2013. He has 23 goals in 56 games for the Gabon national side. His current contract with the Die Borussen runs out in 2021. Grab Vietnam has back-pedaled on a plan to claim nearly a quarter of GrabBike driver revenue after angered drivers went on strike in Ho Chi Minh City. One GrabBike driver said the app operator had silently re-applied the 20 percent commission by early Saturday, having previously increased it to 23.6 percent, before issuing a press release later the same day. The move was made after hundreds of GrabBike drivers flocked to Grab Vietnams Ho Chi Minh City head office in District 10 to stage a protest at the unreasonably high commission on Wednesday of last week. GrabBike is the motorbike taxi service, locally known xe om, which is owned and operated by Grab, which also offers GrabCar and a shipping service called GrabExpress. Much like other ride-hailing apps, Grab splits the revenue earned from each ride with its drivers, who it refers to as partners. The commission is charged based on the online wallet the app gives each driver. The split was suddenly hiked from 20 percent to 23.6 percent on January 1, with Grab Vietnam explaining that the additional 3.6 percent was a personal income tax deduction made on drivers behalf. Drivers are expected to pay taxes on 80 percent of the revenue they receive from each ride, with a tax rate of 4.5 percent applied, which translates to 3.6 percent of each total fare. Grab Vietnam backflipped in its Saturday announcement, saying it would temporarily stop the tax deduction until the end of March, pending a suitable solution from tax authorities. The ride-hailing service added that it would start refunding drivers the tax deduction made between January 1 and January 13 from January 17. Grab began operating in Vietnam in 2014, launching in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Since then the Malaysian company has adjusted its registered capital five times, totaling VND20 billion (US$888,000) as of March 2017, according to Vietnams finance ministry. In 2014, Grab Vietnam logged losses of VND51.6 billion ($2.27 million) and has followed that up with further deficits of VND441.8 billion ($19.46 million) and VND444.7 billion ($19.59 million) in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The finance ministry attributed the losses to massive marketing expenses and service prices set deliberately low to undercut conventional taxi operators. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnams cashew industry has invested in 500,000 hectares of plantations in Cambodia with the vision of turning its southwestern neighbor into a major supplier. The Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas) has pledged to provide technical support to Cambodian farm owners to reach a yearly yield of one million metric tons of raw cashew nuts by the end of 2028. According to Vinacas, as of 2017 Vietnam was the worlds No.1 processor and exporter of cashew nuts, a position it has held for the last 12 consecutive years. Last year, the country exported over US$3.5 billion worth of cashew, a 20-percent surge on 2016. However, local cashew nut processors rely heavily on raw materials imported from African countries, which have demanded a high price. Ho Ngoc Cam, director of a Ho Chi Minh City-based agricultural exporter, said the price of imported raw cashew nuts from Africa had risen from $1,000 per ton to $2,200-2,300 per ton over the past three or four years. Some Vietnamese businesses have remained in operation only to provide job security for their workers, as they make little to no profit based on the current price of raw imported cashews, Cam said. Shipments from Africa can also take up to 40 days to reach Vietnam, at a cost of $70-80 per ton, further increasing costs of local cashew processors. Shipments from Cambodia will cost a little more than $10 per ton, according to Vietnamese businesses. Workers sort raw cashew nuts at a processing facility in Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre Vinacas president Nguyen Duc Thanh forecasts Vietnams cashew processing capacity to reach two million tons per year, with domestic production accounting for less than a fifth of that demand, at 300,000-350,000 tons a year. Vietnam is currently ranked fourth globally in terms of cashew production, behind India, Ivory Coast and Brazil. Cooperation with Cambodian producers to supply raw materials to Vietnamese processing companies is a profitable business model for both sides, Thanh asserted. Vietnams long-term goal would be to turn Cambodia into its top supplier of the nut rather than Africa, he added. At a meeting with Vinacas last December, Hean Vann Horn, head of Cambodias General Department of Agriculture, expressed his confidence that the country was more than capable of growing over 500,000 hectares of cashew. Prior to 2014, only 30 percent of Cambodias raw cashew nuts were exported to Vietnam, the Cambodian official said, but that figure had grown to 98 percent as of today. Thanh dismissed the idea that Cambodia could one day surpass Vietnam as a major cashew exporter, citing the Vietnamese businesses' use of modern technology to produce top-quality products. Our competitors are China and India. Cambodia and African countries are our partners, he asserted. In 2017, Vietnamese businesses spent over $2.5 billion importing more than 1.3 million tons of raw cashew nuts for processing. To realize the goal of developing 500,000 hectares of cashew plantations in Cambodia, Vinacas has provided their Cambodian partners with monetary support of VND1.5 billion ($66,000) to grow one million cashew trees from now until 2022. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Every time I step outside Vietnam, Im amazed at how quiet the world seems. I often get comments from well-meaning expats about my visa runs. Why dont you go to the border and come back, its much cheaper! frequently confronts me. The money involved has never been a big consideration for me. Usually Im weighing up the time cost of being away from work or the need for a short break from the pins and needles of living in a foreign culture. Im now in Phnom Penh tapping out this article in the lovely warmth and blue skies on the three-floor bar and Jacuzzi area of a small hotel while consuming one dollar beers and I cant hear a single horn blasting away anywhere. Not bad for fifteen dollars a night. Traffic is organized, no one makes problems and no sudden lane changes forcing people to brake hard. Lovely! Why Phnom Penh for the visa run? The embassy is the most efficient of the seven Vietnamese visa offices Ive visited. Again, its not about the money, its the lack of fuss, fewer awkward queues and no bad English that Im looking for. Also, my ears truly needed a break from horns, karaoke, hammers, sirens and loudspeakers. My brain needed a sabbatical from a difficult landlord, a lovely but demented housekeeper (she puts black things with black things and so on) and Vietnamese bureaucracy. And my heart yearned for some time away from cold weather, unreliable friends and disappointments. Vietnam, I love you but you are a tough girlfriend! Although heading out from sleepy Hoi An to the big smoke of Ho Chi Minh city generally puts my teeth on edge, its wonderful to catch up with friends and find out what they are up to. I love listening to my Vietnamese pals talking about their big plans with such enthusiasm, friends from other countries are a little bit more laid back and casual about their goals but thats the Vietnamese; full-on, just like their traffic, all energy and going somewhere in a hurry. One thing though, Saigon is still, after ten years of living here, an unwalkable city. Each time I come down, I witness the exhausted tourists staggering around an obstacle course of parked motorbikes, broken pavements, sunglass sellers refusing to move out of the way and more. Of the twenty odd major cities Ive experienced, Ho Chi Minh City is still the hardest for simply getting around. No wonder tourists dont want to stay more than a few days in the southern metropolis. While the international airport terminal is marginally better than the cramped, rock-concert sound level and facilities quality for the domestic terminal if I could land anywhere else conveniently in Vietnam, Id do it and avoid it like the plague. One good thing however was the taxi mayhem, especially at the airport, seems slightly under more control than on pervious journeys. The contrasts continue. In Cambodia Ive never encountered problems with service at a hotel or cafe. Staff seem to get it and remember what to do. The English is often not much better than in Vietnam, strange pronunciations and some cultural differences yet I dont have to ask for little petty things and I dont have to explain so much to tuk-tuk drivers compared to the mushroom-brained taxi drivers of Hoi An. Some things are still the same. The tuk-tuk drivers hassle me as much as the half-sleeping xe om riders of Ho Chi Minh City and try to ask the same outrageous prices still taxi drivers are aggressive in a lot of countries so thats no big deal. But change is comingthe Chinese influence is spreading across Cambodia. In Phnom Penh, Ive noticed a massive increase in high end, expensive Chinese vehicles, eateries and dozens of Chinese channels on the hotel TV feed. Local Cambodian staff I chatted to are not sure if it was a good or bad thing they havent yet seen a large increase in Chinese tourists nor employment opportunities except construction jobs. Some were worried that they would have to learn Chinese to get jobs or that there would be fewer English schools. So thats my postcard for this week! Im here for a few days so a few more comments to come later. Next up shopping, getting the visa and pigging out! Are you jealous yet? Haha Trumbull,CT January 15, 2018 TMC today announced, Steven Nerayoff the ICO Architect of Ethereum will speak at The Blockchain Event being held February 15-16, 2018 at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/ Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This event is focused on how blockchain, one of the most important information technology inventions of our time, can lead to a mass transformation across industries. Through keynotes, breakout sessions, case studies and networking opportunities attendees will learn how to use blockchain technology to their strategic advantage. The two-day conference program was developed for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, enthusiasts, executives, product managers and developers of both established enterprises and innovative startups. We are thrilled to welcome a pioneer like Steven Nerayoff to The Blockchain Event. As a prolific serial entrepreneur, attorney, inventor of 20 international patents and ICO Architect of Ethereum, his insight into how blockchain, cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will revolutionize the world will prove to be invaluable, said Rich Tehrani, TMC CEO and conference chairman Speakers and sessions are updated daily. Check back here for frequent updates. Registration for the Blockchain Event is now open. For more information, contact events@tmcnet.com . For media registration, contact Jessica Seabrook. Companies interested in exhibiting, sponsorship or advertising packages should contact Dave Rodriguez at 203-852-6800 x146. For the latest Blockchain Event news, updates and information, follow the event on Twitter at @BlockchainEvent. About TMC Global buyers rely on TMCs content-driven marketplaces to make purchase decisions and navigate markets. This presents branding, thought leadership and lead generation opportunities for vendors/sellers. TMCs Marketplaces: Unique, turnkey Online Communities boost search results, establish market validation, elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking. Custom Lead Programs uncover sales opportunities and build databases. In-Person and Online Events boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads. Publications, Display Advertising and Newsletters bolster brand reputations. Custom Content provides expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts. Comprehensive Event and Road Show Management Services help companies meet potential clients and generate leads face-to-face. For more information about TMC and to learn how we can help you reach your marketing goals, please visit www.tmcnet.com. Media and Analyst Contact: Jessica Seabrook Marketing Director 203.852.6800 ext.170 jseabrook@tmcnet.com Share this Page Edited by Mandi Nowitz A great number of enthusiasts flocked to the General Science Library of Ho Chi Minh City on the weekend in order to relish a first-time virtual tour through Son Doong Cave, the worlds largest known underground passage. More than 1,800 people in Ho Chi Minh City had registered via Facebook for this adventure, which lasted 30-35 minutes. This virtual reality tour, taking place in a 100m room of the building, was organized on Saturday and Sunday by Save Son Dong, a group formed by young Vietnamese people in an effort to protest against the proposed construction of a cable car system through the cave. The virtual trip was aimed at raising public awareness of the value of Son Doong and alerting people to a glimpse of the nightmare scenario of tourists overrunning this place, according to Le Nguyen Thien Huong, 31, the groups founder. Visitors travel on a virtual journey through Son Doong Cave at the General Science Library of Ho Chi Minh City on January 13, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Son Doong, located in Quang Binh Province in north-central Vietnam, was found by a group of explorers from the British Cave Research Association in 2009, according to National Geographic News. They confirmed it as the worlds largest known cavern. Before handing tour gadgets to visitors, Huong played a panoramic video of the natural wonder, its ongoing stalagmite formation and fragile, light-sensitive ecology. The film was shot by the Swedish journalist and photographer Martin Edstrom, who won the first prize in International Photography Award 2015 for the #SonDoong360 Project. After wearing the virtual reality headsets and headphones, the visitors found themselves standing in close proximity to the murmuring stream at Son Doong Caves entrance, accompanied by a tour guide introducing the spot. Arrows within the visual sight of the headset took the participants inside, giving them the awe of a majestic cavernous interior with sparkling stalagmites. Out of the blue, they realized they were on a colossal stone named Watch Out for Dinosaurs, the caves symbol, from which they could take a look in multiple directions. Photos of the cave are scattered around a room of the General Science Library of Ho Chi Minh City on January 13, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre After several scenes, the visitors were entranced by the imposing array of ancient lime rock pieces, a mesmerizing view of the sky from the depths of the cave, and the sound of water splattering on rock; in such a way that they failed to know they were still in the city. At some time during the trip, engulfed in the inky darkness penetrated by faint light from the entrance, they hastily fetched a flashlight, only to be amazed by a stalagmite wall of breathtaking beauty or somebodys footprints on the bottom stone. This tour followed the same event held by Save Son Doong in Da Nang City, which drew more than 1,500 visitors. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Eighty people have been caught using drugs at a club in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai. Officers from the local Department of Police raided the H5 Club on Vo Thi Sau Street in the provincial capital city of Bien Hoa on Sunday. The venue is managed by the Bien Hoa-based Hoang Nam Trading Company. Two hundred and eighteen customers and employees were inside the venue at the time of the raid, many of whom displayed symptoms of being under the influence of drugs. Following an on-the-spot examination, officers confiscated two and a half pills worth of ecstasy, another packet of synthetic drugs, one bag of marijuana, and two switchblades, which had been thrown on the floor. Everyone inside the club was then brought to the local police station for testing, with results showing that 80 people - 69 men and 11 women - were positive for drugs. Four employees of the club were among those who tested positive. People inside the venue at the time of the raid. Photo: Tuoi Tre Eighteen of the drug users were transferred to the local community center for a mandatory rehab program as they were of no fixed address. The others were fined. Officers raided the same club on New Year's Eve and discovered that 132 people, including 27 women, were under the influence of stimulants, and were each slapped with administrative fines. Club guests are escorted to the police station for testing. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Vietnam are hunting the driver of a pickup truck who fled after fatally striking two young girls. The incident occurred at around 4:00 pm on Sunday in Dai Ha Commune, Kien Thuy District, Hai Phong City, according to Bui Duc Thao, chairman of the Peoples Committee in Kien Thuy. N.T.T.D. and C.T.N.Q., both 15 year-old ninth-grade students at a local middle school, were walking down Provincial Highway 603 when a pickup truck, whose license plate number is 15C - 263.52, struck them from behind. Both victims were thrown to the side of the road and seriously injured, later succumbing to their wounds in hospital. The damaged taxi that was struck by the pickup truck in Hai Phong on January 14, 2018.Photo: Tuoi Tre After striking the two schoolgirls, the pickup truck continued traveling toward Thuy Huong Commune, hitting a truck and a taxi before coming to a stop. The driver quickly exited the vehicle and fled the scene on foot. Severe damage was caused to the front end of the truck, to the taxi, as well as to the pickup itself. An investigation is underway by police in Hai Phong to determine the cause and a manhunt has been launched to capture the driver. Local authorities have extended their condolences and offered support to the families of the deceased. One of the schoolgirls is seen lying on the side of the road after being hit in Hai Phong on January 14, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Seven News copped a social media tirade yesterday after it screened a report on a right-wing activists meeting in Melbourne. The report by Jodi Lee claimed exclusive access to a meeting of around 50 people from the True Blue Crew in response to African gang violence. It included a pre-recorded interview with United Patriots leader Blair Cottrell, who criticised the Andrews government and Victoria Police. Another man, Kane Miller, said it was time for community involvement, which Lee indicated would comprise a type of neighbourhood watch to send protection when an incident occurs. But the report neglected to detail Cottrell has previously spent time in prison for property damage and last year became one of the first Victorians to be convicted under the states new racial vilification laws. Cottrell was convicted in 2012 and 2013 of offences including arson, burglary and damaging property, and has expressed pro-Nazi views. He has previously appeared on ABCs Hack Live. The report also did not observe that the African community is being targeted by far-right groups. Dr Dvir Abramovich from the Bnai Brith Anti-Defamation Commission told Fairfax Media that Seven had crossed a line. This is somebody who should never be given a platform, he said. They are legitimising and normalising his agenda. White-supremacists and neo-Nazis are feeling emboldened and energised, and are searching for every opportunity to insert themselves into the public square. On that front, Channel Seven has failed us all. Victoria police executive director of media and corporate communications, Merita Tabain, recently wrote a confidential email to the editors of Melbournes main media outlets, including Seven, Nine, TEN, ABC and SBS, expressing concern that aggressive behaviour by journalists might exacerbate the current tensions. It followed reports a Daily Mail photographer provoked a group of teenagers who were innocently socialising at a shopping centre in Tarneit. Seven News director Simon Pristel said, Seven News has reported on many meetings in the past couple of weeks held to discuss the African gang violence crisis, including governments, community leaders and police, he said. Sundays meeting was newsworthy so it was reported. Jodi Lee has since deleted a tweet with the offending report. 7 News reporter @jodilee_7 has been granted exclusive access to a secret meeting organised by right wing activists in response to Melbourne's African youth crime crisis. #7News pic.twitter.com/TBzIOSXody 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) January 14, 2018 The same bulletin featured a second story on steps to address crime in Melbournes west. While right-wing groups are plotting their response to the youth crime problem, police in the gang hotspots have rolled out a more hands on approach. @georgiamain7 #7News pic.twitter.com/V2NgWE0kqA 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) January 14, 2018 Source: Fairfax, Guardian, Pedestrian UK & Ireland Sunday Briefing: panda713 Wins the Sunday Million January 15 2018 Matthew Pitt panda713 of the United Kingdom is a recreational poker player who until this weekend had approximately $15,000 in cashes at PokerStars. This morning, however, panda713 has a six-figure bankroll after he won the Sunday Million for almost $109,000. Place Player Country Prize 1 panda713 United Kingdom $108,935* 2 Ferran789999 Russia $99,717* 3 @rtemur Russia $93,683* 4 Ewokwat Canada $100,200* 5 nic81411 Germany $38,443 6 Regadeitor Mexico $26,978 7 grbalazs Hungary $18,932 8 unrealzz Russia $13,286 9 jojojojacky Germany $9,324 *reflects a four-handed deal A field of 5,870 entrants created a $1,174,000 prize pool and was was set to be a $158,511 first-place prize. It was $337 for a min-cash and $9,324 for a final table appearance. The latter is the sum jojojojacky of Germany walked away with for his ninth-place finish. One by one the final table lost its players until there were only four players remaining. All four players had stacks worth between 35 and 50 big blinds and the foursome requested the tournament to be paused so they discuss a deal for the remaining prize pool. Those discussions were successful and meant the least anyone would take home was $93,683; there was $20,000 left for the eventual champion. Fourth-place went to Canadas Ewokwat whose pocket tens could not come from behind to beat panda713s black kings and panda713 then found aces to smash the jacks of "@rtemur" to send the Sunday Million to the heads-up stage. The final hand saw a short-stacked Ferran789999 move all-in with ace-jack and panda713 call with a pair of sixes. The medium-sized pair held, Ferran789999 bust, and panda713 was crowned this weeks Sunday Million champion, an accolade that came with a $108,935 cash injection. Some of the other notable results at PokerStars on Jan. 14 included: ApostulD - fourth-place in the $109 Sunday Starter for $2,557 deivid29 - second-place in the $109 Sunday Kickoff for $12,354 K3RRY - fifth-place in the $109 Sunday Kickoff for $4,592 Afonso jafonso1991 Ribeiro - third-place in the Hotter $162 for $4,427 oAguiG88o - winner of the Hotter $109 for $19,220 Andy andyh26 Holman - seventh-place in the Bigger $215 for $3,115 woodyJ101 - winner of the $215 Triple Threat $12,801 including bounties Dan NukeTheFish! Wilson - winner of the Hotter $215 for $19,180 Squa1l - sixth-place in the $215 Bounty Builder for $7,697 including bounties Biggest Results From 888poker BigPIDG was quids in this weekend thanks to finishing as the runner-up in the $100,000 Sunday Mega Deep at 888poker. The British player turned his $215 investment into $14,616 Another British player reaching an 888poker final table on Jan. 14 was plomaha who finished fourth in the $10,000 Tornado for $1,263. Rich R1chking King bust in seventh-place earlier in the tournament for a $565 score. There was also a Union Jack at the final table of the $50,000 Sunday Challenge. James BL1NDRAZOR Walsh finished sixth for $2,121 in the $109 buy-in event. Lastly for 888poker, a mention of the two players at the final table of the $40,000 Sunday GREAT 8. Abbey2007 fell in eighth-place for $897 while BadModafoka1 was the runner-up for a $6,283 bankroll boost. Five-Figure Score for Dara OKearney at partypoker Irelands Dara okearney OKearney helped himself to a five-figure score this weekend by finishing third in the $250,000 Gtd Title Fight at partypoker. OKearneys $215 investment turned into $20,025. While OKearney was falling agonisingly short of the victory, Jon TheNappyFund Spinks was busy getting the job done in the $150,000 Gtd Main Event. Spinks topped a field of 1,465 entrants to walk away with $25,395; hell be able to buy plenty of nappies with his new found fortune! This weeks $150,000 Super High Roller, a $2,600 buy-in tournament, saw Roberto WelshWizard Romanello finish in ninth-place for $4,852 and Conor ADRIEN_BRODY Beresford finish eighth for the same amount, while in the $50,000 Gtd Main EVent Kick-Off, Thomas Airdraken Clack finished in sixth-place to net $1,790. Want a mention in this article? First you'll need an account at these online poker rooms. Get the best deposit bonuses here. The Stars Group owns a majority shareholding in iBus Media AIM-listed mineral exploration and development firm Greatland Gold was informed by the potential operator of its Ernest Giles project in Western Australia that it would not be going ahead with the project, an announcement that sent the group's shares into freefall early on Monday. Newmont Exploration advised Greatland that its "current corporate priorities" were "largely focussed in other districts" and that consequently, it would not be pursuing the project "at this time". However, a deep sensing geochemistry survey conducted by Newmont was successful in defining a new large gold anomaly untested by previous drilling that covered an area of approximately 5km by 1.5km. Newmont's survey was also successful in identifying overall basement lithological trends and recognised a belt parallel alteration signature commonly associated with large-scale mineralised systems. Greatland, which held a 100% stake in the project, said it was "well-financed to proceed with its alternative plans" for progressing with an exploration programme at the asset. Gervaise Heddle, Greatland's chief executive officer, said, "The collaboration between Newmont and Greatland has successfully defined several additional gold anomalies, and we would like to thank Newmont for their efforts. The results of their survey have enhanced our understanding of the project and identified multiple new targets for further exploration work, reinforcing our view that the Ernest Giles project has the potential to host several multi-million-ounce gold deposits." "We are well financed to actively progress exploration at Ernest Giles and look forward to reporting progress through the year," he concluded. As of 0850 GMT, shares had crashed 62.96% to 0.800p. AIM-listed Watkin Jones said on Monday that chief executive officer Mark Watkin Jones plans to step down from the role once a suitable successor has been appointed and following an orderly handover. The company said it was in the group's best interests to recruit a successor as Watkin Jones is not able to undertake a full time executive role over the longer term for personal reasons. The board will launch a formal search process to identify a new CEO and a succession timetable will be announced once this process has been concluded. The company said its keen to retain the benefit of Jones' valuable knowledge and experience and look at how this might be achieved, including the option of him becoming a non-executive director. "Under Mark's leadership, Watkin Jones has gone through a transformational period, a key part of which has been the establishment and development of a strong senior management team capable of supporting the group's long-term growth aspirations. The board will be seeking a successor to Mark who can build on this platform and maintain the group's track record of profitable, cash generative growth." Mark Watkin Jones said: "After careful consideration I have decided that it is necessary for me to step back from my position as chief executive officer. The group has reported record results today and with excellent earnings visibility, Watkin Jones is in a strong position to achieve continued success in both student accommodation and build to rent. Solid foundations are in place for my successor to work with, including an excellent management team that has supported me over the years in successfully growing the business and who will continue to drive Watkin Jones forward for the long-term benefit of our shareholders." At 1230 GMT, the shares were down 5.5% to 213.50p. Ford will invest $11bn to have 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles by 2022, more than doubling its originally planned investment of $4.5bn. Speaking at the Detroit auto show on Sunday, company chairman Bill Ford also said that the investment would cover the costs of developing dedicated electric vehicle architectures. President of Global Markets and Ford vice president, Jim Farley said that this electrification plan meant making "intelligent vehicles for an intelligent world" and that "people want high quality electric vehicles". Ford said that the plan was to make conventional vehicles electric because "if we want to be successful with electrification we need to do it with cars that are already popular." One of those, a hybrid version of the F-150 pick-up, was expected to roll-off assembly lines by 2020. Ford CEO, Jim Hackett told Bloomberg TV that the new capital outlays were part of a "fitness" program for the company that would see it transform its business. This shift of strategy started when Hackett replaced former CEO Mark Fields in May. "The hybrids that Ford can build are on a basis of technology thats very unique," said Hackett. Investment would be financed from internal earnings "and still yield shareholders gains on invested capital", he said. In October of 2017, Hackett had already told investors the company would cut costs by $14bn over the next five years, funnneling the resulting savings towards capital investments and developing hybrid and electric cars. Of the 40 vehicles being worked on, 16 were to be fully battery-electric while the rest would be plug-in hybrids, executives said. Some of the electric cars would also be developed in China, the company said, and aimed at that market. Many countries, including the UK, had already announced plans to phase-out fossil fuel-powered vehicles between 2030 and 2040. Ford's competitors had also joined the race to develop environmentally-sustainable vehicles, with Volkswagen expected to invest $40bn on electric cars and autonomous driving by 2022 and Toyota in a push to commercialise a breakthrough in battery technology. Stocks are trading on a mixed note, but off their worst levels, even as the single currency continues to gain altitude at a brisk clip. As of 1350 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was slipping 0.09% or 0.34 points lower to 398.15, alongside a dip of 0.22% on the Dax to 13,215.30 and of 0.04% in the Cac-40 to 5,514.75. Meanwhile, euro/dollar was 0.58% ahead at 1.2270, a more than three-year high. The situation was better out on the periphery, with the Ibex 35 adding 0.17% to 10,480.10 and the FTSE Mibtel rising 0.39% to 23,552.31. To take note of, US markets would remain closed on Monday, in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which might result in lower than normal trading volumes on bourses. Last Friday, the euro topped its 2017 high against the US dollar, at 1.2095, and moved past a key level of so-called technical resistance at 1.2170 on the back of optimism around the ability of Germany's main political parties to craft a grand coalition. In parallel, the US dollar spot index fell to a fresh 52-week low. Commenting on the interplay between moves in the euro and othe asset classes, analysts at Deutsche Bank said they expected euro area Purchasing Managers Indices to 'fade' as a result of the lagged impact of euro strength and as the inventory cycle turned less favourable. That, they explained, would be consistent with a "reversal" in recent moves by European stocks, banks and bond yields over coming weeks. On the other hand, should that "fade" not materialise then that would imply upside for the Stoxx 600 to around 420 towards the start of the second quarter and an increase in bund yields to 80 basis points by the end of the first quarter. Elsewhere on the economic front, Eurostat reported that the Eurozone's foreign trade surplus recovered from the 19.0bn seen in October to 22.5bn for November (consensus: 23.0bn) on the back of a sharp jump in German exports. No economic data was due to be published in the US on Monday. On the corporate front, according to Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Airbus was in talks with German prosecutors to close a probe into the sale of Eurofighter jets to Austria. In a related sector, at the weekend Air France denied it had bid for failed carrier Alitalia. The final three months of the year saw 148,477 ounces unearthed from its three mines in Tanzania and sold 147,636 ounces of gold dore. The quarter was completed at a preliminary all-in sustaining cost of $779 per ounce sold, 18% lower than the same quarter in 2016. The preliminary cash costs of $581 per ounce sold, was 14% lower year on year. The FTSE 250 miner had been hit by a dispute with the government of Tanzania over exports of gold and copper concentrate, which among other things, led it to switch its Bulyanhulu mine from concentrate to gold dore bars, which are not affected by an export ban put in place in March. For the year as a whole, Acacia produced 767,883 ounces of gold, down 7% on 2016, mainly due to Bulyanhulu, but ahead of revised guidance of 750,000 ounces, with 27% drop to 592,861 ounces sold. The preliminary 2017 AISC of $875 per ounce sold, was 9% cheaper than 2016 and below guidance. The average grade processed for the quarter was 2.8 grams per tonne which was 3% lower than the prior year period, mainly due to no underground material being processed at Bulyanhulu, a lower head grade at North Mara driven by lower mined grades, partly offset by higher head grades at Buzwagi due to higher mined grades. The FTSE 250 group had 81m of cash in the bank at the year end, down by $15m during the third quarter, with a net cash position of $10m from a $71m debt facility. Acacia said the agreed sale of a non-core royalty in December for $45m will boost cash balances when proceeds are received later this month. Interim chief executive Peter Geleta, who was promoted from 'head of organisational effectiveness' to the interim role at the start of this month, said: "Our focus remains on delivering optimal performance in the current operating environment and delivering value for all of our stakeholders." "We are also continuing to support efforts towards achieving a negotiated resolution with the Tanzanian government. We look forward to providing guidance for the year in our preliminary results in February. Former CEO Brad Gordon and chief financial officer Andrew Wray both jumped ship in November after the miner's 64% owner Barrick Gold shook hands on an agreement where the Tanzanian government will take a 16% stake in the London-listed company's three mines in the country and share revenues. Analysts in London felt the deal was rather unfair on Acacia' minority shareholders and called for the company to proceed with international arbitration. Barrick, said Jonathan Guy at Numis, bears "a substantial portion of the burden of responsibility for the poor state of relations with the government, having operated the mines previously and put in place many of the agreements with the Tanzanian government". Construction group Carillion will be put into liquidation after crisis talks with the government and creditors collapsed early on Monday. The Official Receiver has been appointed to take over the administration of the company, which is a key government supplier on the HS2 rail project and dozens of construction contracts including on education, health and roads. Carillion employs around 43,000 staff around the world, of which roughly 20,000 are in the UK. While the government will provide funding to maintain public services run by Carillion, neither it, nor its main creditors Barclays, HSBC and Santander, would offer the level of support the company needed to stay solvent. Cabinet Office minister David Lidlington said the government and taxpayers could not be expected to bail out a private sector company, especially when Carillion's problems had not arisen directly from its public sector work. He urged workers to continue to come in to work as "the government will pay your wages, via the Official Receiver". He told BBC radio that the government will take on some contracts and others will be re-tendered to other contractors. As part of the last-ditch talks over the weekend, Carillion had also asked its creditors and the government for "limited short term financial support", to enable it to continue to trade whilst longer term discussions continued. The London-listed company, where debt averaged between 875m and 925m last year, had reportedly asked the government to stump up some of the capital it owed to its lenders and for some of its troublesome contracts to be taken back into public control, including three public private partnership contracts. COMPULSORY LIQUIDATION But after no deal was reached by Monday morning, Carillion said it had "concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect". Chairman Philip Green said: "This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years." He added: "We understand that HM Government will be providing the necessary funding required by the official receiver to maintain the public services carried on by Carillion staff, subcontractors and suppliers." Carillion has a pensions scheme deficit of 580m. But pensions experts pointed out that the Pension Protection Fund will be able to absorb this from its current funds. Assuming the company goes into administration and the pension scheme is taken over by the PPF, retired members will continue to receive their pensions in full, whilst those yet to reach retirement will see cuts of typically between 10% and 20%, said Tom McPhail of Hargreaves Lansdown. Carillion had begun talks with its lenders in November as it warned that debt terms could be breached as full-year profits were heading materially lower than forecast. Last week these talks stepped up a level, with the company's pensions trustees joining the Cabinet Office, Pensions Regulator and PPF in an "emergency summit" on Thursday, while the government confirmed it had drawn up contingency plans for the event of a collapse. On Monday an application was made to the High Court for a compulsory liquidation of Carillion before opening of business and an order was granted to appoint the Official Receiver as the liquidator, with PricewaterhouseCoopers expected to be appointed to act on behalf. The Financial Conduct Authority confirmed on Monday that it had suspended shares from the London Stock Exchange official list effective from 7:45 GMT following the company's announcement. CONCERNS FOR STAFF, SUBCONTACTORS AND SUPPLIERS There was widespread concerns for the impact of Carillion's collapse on the wider supply chain. "Many of these small firms are the lifeblood of their community but their exposure to Carillion's debt puts them at serious risk," said Jim Kennedy, of trade union Unite. Unite also called for a government inquiry into "how a company that loaded itself with debt, which undercut competitors with unsustainable bids, which hoovered up vats of public money, and that had repeatedly alerted the government to its own financial shortcomings got its hands on so much of the public sector and taxpayers' cash". The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee later in the day confirmed it was launching an new inquiry called Sourcing public services: lessons to be learned from the collapse of Carillion. Elsewhere, the Financial Reporting Council said it was had been "actively monitoring" the situation and reminded that it has "powers to investigate the circumstances relating to the audit of Carillion as well as the actions of the relevant accounting professionals". A number of Carillion's joint venture partners on government contracts rushed to put out statements on Monday. Kier Group, a partner on two portions of the HS2 rail line assured that it had put contingency plans in place for HS2 and the pair's joint venture on the Highways England smart motorways programme. Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try also notified of the impact of the collapse for their joint projects, which include the Aberdeen Western highway contract. HICL Infrastructure Company, an investor in public private partnerships, had outsourced facilities management services to Carillion for 10 projects and said it expected to secure replacement service providers as soon as possible, while International Public Partnerships said similar, advising that the effect from FM services provided by Carillion on its portfolio was nearer 3%. INVESTORS 'IN THE LURCH' Expectations that Carillion's contracts will be re-tendered sent shares in outsourcing rivals Serco and G4S up 0.8%, Capita down almost 1%, with construction groups Balfour Beatty down 0.5%, Kier up 0.1%. Investors in Carillion, which first notified the market of its troubles last July and is under investigation by the FCA over the timing of this announcement after a series of sanguine reports that preceded it, have seen the group's market value crash around 90% from more than 1bn to close to 60m over the past year. "Investors holding out for a turnaround are left in the lurch," said analyst Neil Wilson at ETX Capital. "This was a case of bad management and pitching for contracts at any price, but the government and banks could, or may be should, have done more. "Given the government was already up to its neck in this, shareholders have every right to be disappointed. The FCA is looking at the timing of profits warnings but you could also argue that the number and value of government contracts being awarded following those warnings also misled investors by painting a false picture of health. They may also question why banks that were bailed out by taxpayers were among those who forced the company to the brink. A terrible mess and one that will take a long time to clean up." IG's Joshua Mahoney added: "The decision by the UK government to award a whole host of notable contracts to a firm which had issued three back-to-back profit warnings is clearly coming back to haunt them, adding another headache for beleaguered Prime Minister Theresa May. The taxpayers are ultimately set to foot the bill for covering any costs arising from the firms inability to continue delivering on those contracts." Royal Dutch Shell has given the go-ahead for its first new manned oil and gas rig in the northern North Sea in almost 30 years, as it redevelops the Penguins oil and gas field. Shell, as operator, has kicked off the process of constructing a floating production, storage and offloading vessel as it sees an "attractive opportunity" from the project of a break-even price below $40 per barrel, with the vessel expected to have a peak production of around 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Redevelopment, which is required as the current Brent Charlie platform ceases production, will see eight new wells drilled, which will be tied back to the new FPSO vessel, with natural gas exported via existing subsea facilities and some new pipeline infrastructure. The Penguins field, where ExxonMobil is a 50% partner, is located 150 miles north east of the Shetland Islands where the water 165 metres of water, which would classify this as a deep water project. "Having reshaped our portfolio over the last twelve months, we now plan to grow our North Sea production through our core production assets," said Steve Phimister, Shell's vice president for upstream in the UK and Ireland. "In doing so, we will continue to work with the UK government, our partners and the regulator to maximise the economic recovery in one of Shells heartlands. A Sevan 400 vessel will be owned by the joint venture with Exxon and operated by Shell. Oil will be transported via tanker to refineries and gas will be transported via the FLAGS pipeline to the St Fergus gas terminal in north-east Scotland. Ministers are facing questions about why hundreds of millions of pounds of work was awarded to a public contractor even after it issued a string of profit warnings. Last night the fate of the company, an employer of almost 20,000 people in the UK, lay in government hands after lenders indicated they would not rescue it without ministerial help. - The Times Retailers suffered in the run-up to Christmas as shoppers steered clear of the high street and margins were squeezed by higher costs, Black Friday discounts and online shopping. Total footfall dropped 3.5pc in December compared with last year, the biggest fall since March 2013, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium and retail analysts Springboard, with high streets and shopping centres the hardest hit. - Telegraph GKN is exploring the option of selling its aerospace business to fend off more potential approaches after an unsolicited 7 billion offer for the engineering group last week. A number of US private equity firms and industrial rivals are thought to be running the rule over the aircraft and car parts maker now it is in play. Melrose Industries, a listed specialist at turning around troubled engineers, made a cash and shares offer that GKN rejected as entirely opportunistic on Friday. - The Times Thousands of jobs in the UK car industry are under threat as diesel vehicle sales slump due to tax increases and negative publicity, experts have warned. According to sources, executives are preparing for redundancies, with the rush to embrace electric vehicles adding to the pressure on diesel. Last year, sales of diesel-powered vehicles in the UK plummeted by 17.1% to just over 1 million. - Guardian The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) is set to accelerate the race to ensure Britains roads are ready for a driverless car revolution by the end of the decade. The Government hopes to begin testing autonomous vehicles on British roads by 2019, before they operate freely from 2021, as part of a multibillion pound plan to build an economy fit for the future. - Telegraph Barclays has admitted that people wanting to object to its ringfencing plans have been stymied by a glitch on the High Courts computer system and the banks own failure to provide enough information. Like most big banks, Barclays has to restructure as part of government plans to strengthen the financial system in the wake of the 2008 crisis and to reduce the risk of taxpayers having to bail out banks. - The Times The average price of a property coming on to the market in January is up by nearly 2,000 compared with December, but sales are down by 5.5% on the same period a year ago. Rightmove, which tracks 90% of the UK property market, said there had been a busy start to 2018, with more than 4m visits a day to its site, up nearly a tenth on last year. The average price was up 0.7% to 297,587. - Guardian Businesses owe the taxman 4.4 billion in overdue corporation tax and VAT, the latest sign that some are struggling to cope with rising operating costs and customers paying late. Corporation tax arrears were 1.9 billion last year, a record high, while 2.5 billion of VAT payments were overdue. - The Times Greece is set to adopt more austerity measures today, clearing the last significant hurdle to receiving 5 billion in aid from its eurozone partners. Athens has relied on three multibillion-euro lifelines since 2010, when its economy crashed. It wants to end its bailout programme in August. - The Times The Conservative Partys favourite advertising agency M&C Saatchi has bolstered its board with the appointment of experienced media banker Lorna Tilbian as a non-executive. Ms Tilbian, who was part of the senior team that founded the mid market stock broker Numis, is expected to join M&C as soon as today. - Telegraph One of the countrys biggest litigation finance firms is considering an initial public offering, which would give investors a chance to share in the spoils of corporate and class action lawsuits. Richard Hextall, the newly appointed head of Vannin Capital, one of the worlds largest and longest-established players in the legal finance market, said that a listing on the London stock exchange was under consideration as the firm expands. - The Times BHS may be gone from the UK high street but its renaissance online appears to be going well with sales soaring in the final quarter of the year. The start-up online retailer BHS.com said total sales had jumped by 43 per cent in the last three months of last year. - The Times Ford Motor Co will significantly increase its planned investments in electric vehicles to $11bn by 2022 and have 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles in its model line-up, the companys chairman, Bill Ford, said at the Detroit auto show. The investment figure is sharply higher than a previously announced target of $4.5bn by 2020, Ford executives said, and includes the costs of developing dedicated electric vehicle architectures. - Guardian The rising demand for smart and fashionable homes for the over-65s who are looking to downsize has led to the creation of one of the biggest retirement developers in the country. Pegasus Life, which specialises in delivering stylish retirement homes in areas from Hampstead in London to Cotswolds villages and Devon beachfronts, has acquired Renaissance Retirement, a smaller competitor, as it attempts to boost its output. - The Times If 2017 was the year of bitcoin, 2018 could be the year of a joke digital currency created in honour of an excitable dog. Or maybe investors will pour their money into Trumpcoins and Putincoins instead. There are more than 1,400 digital currencies in circulation with a combined value of $704 billion, figures from Coinmarketcap suggest. Bitcoin, which is valued at $230 billion, is the most highly sought-after, followed by ether, which is worth $130 billion, and XRP, or ripple, which is valued at $73 billion. - The Times The career move from butcher to blockchain entrepreneur might sound an unlikely one, but Kieran Kellys experience in both fields is proving extremely valuable in his current business. Arc-net uses the technology that powers bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to build a trustworthy record of an animals life all the way from farm to supermarket shelf. - The Times The fallout from the Carillion debacle showered the FTSE indices with casualties on Monday. On the 250 Galliford Try and Balfour Beatty , both partnered up in projects with the collapsed government contractor, saw their share prices fall as a result. Galliford and Balfour, which are in a joint venture with Carillion on the 550m Aberdeen Western highway contract, noted that they are obliged to complete the contract, as per the terms of the contract. Galliford estimated the additional cash contribution outstanding from Carillion to complete the project is 60-80m, of which any shortfall will be funded equally between the joint venture members. Balfour Beatty, which is also partner with the doomed company on the A14 in Cambridgeshire and the M60 Junction 8 to M62 Junction 20 scheme, said its cash impact would be an outflow of 35-45m in 2018 as it continue to work to meet its contractual commitments. Carillion's partner on its 'C2' and 'C3' portions of the HS2 rail line, Kier Group, put out a statement assuring investors and suppliers that it had put contingency plans in place. Kier currently also operates joint ventures involving Carillion on the Highways England smart motorways programme. The shares rose on the news. "We have put in place contingency plans for each of these projects and are working closely with clients so as to achieve continuity of service," Kier said, adding that, "after a short period of transition for these contracts, we do not expect there to be an adverse financial impact on the group arising from these joint venture contracts". HICL Infrastructure Company shares were lower after it noted that Carillion provides facilities management services for 10 public private partnership (PPP) project companies in which it is invested, representing approximately 14% of its portfolio value, expected to reduce to circa 8% as a result of Carillions sale of its healthcare business to Serco. Serco shares rose on news of the acquisition. HICL said on Monday that it was carrying out its contingency plans, "with a number of potential replacement service providers", to ensure services would continue to be provides and that management were confident that permanent replacement providers will be secured "as soon as practicable". Heat treatment supplier Bodycote surged after saying it now expects full year 2017 headline operating profit to be towards the upper end of market expectations as it announced that US tax changes should have a positive one-off impact. William Hill rose after saying it is undertaking a review of its Australian business, as it said 2017 adjusted profits were 11% than in the previous year, surpassing forecasts of 290m, while Acacia Mining shone after the release of its fourth-quarter production figures. Vedanta Resources shares were up after announcing plans for $8bn in capital expenditure over the next three years to substantially lift its production capacity, especially in the oil and gas sector. The Bangkok Post cited an interview with Asia Focus, in which founder and chairman Anil Agarwal said $3.5bn out of the total would be allocated to oil and gas. The rest would go to zinc, copper and iron ore. The aim is to increase Vedanta's production capacity in all these sectors by 50%, if not double in the case of oil and gas. This, Agarwal says, would ultimately help add $10bn in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Market Movers FTSE 100 (UKX) 7,771.81 -0.09% FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,863.47 0.02% techMARK (TASX) 3,542.58 -0.07% FTSE 250 - Risers Serco Group (SRP) 104.39p 6.36% Vedanta Resources (VED) 953.60p 4.70% Vesuvius (VSVS) 624.00p 4.26% Bodycote (BOY) 988.50p 3.89% Vectura Group (VEC) 120.80p 3.87% Dignity (DTY) 1,859.70p 3.49% Provident Financial (PFG) 923.00p 3.17% Kier Group (KIE) 1,116.00p 3.14% Rathbone Brothers (RAT) 2,616.00p 2.27% Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 293.80p 2.23% FTSE 250 - Fallers Galliford Try (GFRD) 1,212.00p -5.16% Wood Group (John) (WG.) 672.60p -2.80% Balfour Beatty (BBY) 299.80p -2.54% Marshalls (MSLH) 446.40p -2.36% Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) 346.20p -2.34% CLS Holdings (CLI) 227.06p -2.13% Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 5,760.00p -2.04% IP Group (IPO) 136.00p -1.88% Big Yellow Group (BYG) 817.00p -1.86% Shaftesbury (SHB) 998.00p -1.67% The following companies are subsidiares of Dover: ALMATEC Maschinenbau GmbH, Accelerated Production Systems, Advansor A/S, Advansor Dover International (Poland) sp. z o.o, Alfred Fueling Systems Holdco Ltd., Alfred Fueling Systems Inc., Alfred Fueling Systems Intermediate Holdco Ltd., All-Flo Pump Company Limited business, Anman LLC, Anthony Equity Holdings Inc., Anthony Holdings Inc., Anthony Inc., Anthony International Foreign Sales Corp., Anthony International Holding Company, Anthony Mexico Holdings LLC, Anthony North Holdco Inc., Anthony Specialty Glass LLC, Anthony TemperBent GP LLC, Automatik Grundstucksverwaltung GmbH & Co. KG, Automatik Plastics Machinery (Taiwan) Ltd., Automatik Plastics Machinery Sdn. Bhd., BSC Filters Limited, Background2 Limited, Belanger Inc., Belvac Middle East FZE, Belvac Production Machinery Inc., BlitzRotary GmbH, Butler Engineering and Marketing S.P.A., CEP Liquidation LLC, CP Formation LLC, CPC, CPC Europe Inc., CPI Products Inc., Caldera, Caldera Inc., Canada Organization & Development LLC, Chief Automotive Technologies (Shanghai) Trading Company Ltd., Chippewa Square Captive Insurance Company, Colder Products Company GmbH, Colder Products Company LTD, Cook Compression BV, Cook Compression LLC, Cook Compression Limited, Cook-MFS Inc., DD1 Inc., DDI Properties Inc., DE-STA-CO Benelux B.V., DE-STA-CO FRANCE, DE-STA-CO Shanghai Co. Ltd., DFH Corporation, DSR BZ Holdings LLC, De Sta Co (Asia) Company Limited, De-Sta-Co Cylinders Inc., DeStaCo Europe GmbH, Delaware Capital Formation Inc., Delaware Capital Holdings Inc., Destaco Ema Industria e Comercio Ltda., Dover (China) Investment Co. Ltd. , Dover (Schweiz) Holding GmbH, Dover (Shanghai) Industrial Co. Ltd., Dover (Shenzhen) Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Dover (Suzhou) Industrial Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Dover Asia Trading Private Ltd., Dover Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Dover Business Services EMEA Limited, Dover Business Services LLC, Dover Business Services Philippines Corporation, Dover CLP Formation Limited Partnership, Dover CR spol s r.o., Dover Canada Finance LP, Dover Canada Holdings ULC, Dover Canada Operations ULC, Dover Corporation Regional Headquarters, Dover DEI Services Inc., Dover Denmark Holdings ApS, Dover EMEA FZCO, Dover Energy, Dover Energy UK Ltd, Dover Engineered Systems Inc., Dover Engineered Systems UK Ltd, Dover Europe Inc., Dover Europe Sarl, Dover Fluids Inc., Dover Fluids UK Ltd, Dover France Holdings S.A.S., Dover France Participations SAS, Dover France Technologies, Dover Fueling Solutions UK Limited, Dover Germany GmbH, Dover Global Holdings LLC, Dover Global Trading Pte. Ltd., Dover Holdings de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Dover India Pvt. Ltd., Dover Intercompany Services UK Limited, Dover International B.V., Dover International Operations Inc., Dover International Ventures Inc., Dover International Ventures Tunisia S.a.r.l., Dover International ithalat ihracat ve Pazarlama Limited Sirketi, Dover Italy Holdings S.r.l., Dover Luxembourg Finance Sarl, Dover Luxembourg Participations Sarl, Dover Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Dover Luxembourg Services Sarl, Dover Operations South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Dover Overseas Ventures Inc., Dover Refrigeration & Food Equipment Inc., Dover Refrigeration & Food Equipment UK Ltd, Dover Resources International de Mexico S. de R.L. C.V., Dover Solutions Colombia SAS, Dover Southeast Asia (Thailand) Ltd., Dover Spain Holdings S.L., Dover UK Pensions Limited, Dover WSCR Holding LLC, Dover WSCR LLC, Dover do Brasil Ltda., Dow-Key Microwave Corporation, Dressor Wayne Data Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Dressor Wayne Fuel Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, EOA Systems Inc., Ebs-Ray Holdings Pty Ltd, Ebs-Ray Industries Pty. Ltd., Ebs-Ray Pumps Pty. Ltd., Em-tec GmbH, Ettlinger Kunststoffmaschinen GmbH, Ettlinger Management Inc., Ettlinger North America LP, Ettlinger Vertrieb und Service GmbH & Co. KG, Ettlinger Verwaltungs-GmbH, Fairbanks Environmental Limited, Ferguson CO. S.A., Fibrelite Composites Limited, Fibresec Holdings Limited, Fibresec Limited, Finder, Finder Oriental (Beijing) Trading Co. Ltd, Finder Pompe S.R.L., Finder United Saudi Arabia Company, GAL LLC, GIIER LLC, Gala Industries Asia Limited, Gala Industries Incorporated, Gala Kunststoff-und Kautschukmaschinen GmbH, Guangdong Tokheim LIYUAN Oil Industry Technology Limited Company, Highland Park Insurance Company, Hill PHOENIX Inc., Hill PHOENIX WIC LLC, Hill Phoenix Costa Rica Sociedad De Responsabilidad Limitada, Hill Phoenix El Salvador Limitada de Capital Variable, Hill Phoenix Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Hill Phoenix Honduras Sociedad Anonima, Hill Phoenix Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, Hill Phoenix de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hiltap Fittings Ltd., Hydro Systems, Hydro Systems Europe Ltd., Hydronova Australia-NZ Pty Ltd, Industrial Motion Control LLC, Inpro/Seal LLC, International Trade and Equipment B.V., JK Group SPA, JK Group USA Inc., K&L Microwave DR Inc., K&L Microwave Inc., K. S. Boca Inc., KPS (Beijing) Petroleum Equipment Trading Co Ltd., KPS Asia Sdn. Bhd., KPS Fueling Solutions Sdn. Bhd., KPS Hong Kong Holding Limited, KPS UK Limited, KS Formation Inc., KS Liquidation Inc., KSLP Liquidation L.P., Kiian Digital (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Knappco LLC, Lianyngang Jump Petroleum and Chemical Machinery Co. Ltd., Liquip, Liquip International Pty Limited, MARKEM FZ SA, MARKEM Holdings Inc., MARKEM International Inc., MARKEM S.A. de C.V., MARKEM Tag Inc., MARKEM UK Holdings 1 Unlimited, MARKEM UK Holdings 2 Limited, MIP Holdings Inc., MS Printing Solutions S.R.L., Maag Automatik GmbH, Maag Automatik Inc., Maag Automatik Plastics Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Maag Automatik Srl, Maag Pump Systems (US) Inc., Maag Pump Systems AG, Maag Pump Systems SAS, Marathon Equipment Company (Delaware), Markem Imaje Center of Competencies Spain S.L.U., Markem-Imaje, Markem-Imaje (China) Co. Limited, Markem-Imaje A/S, Markem-Imaje AB, Markem-Imaje AG, Markem-Imaje AS, Markem-Imaje Application Innovation Center Sarl, Markem-Imaje B.V., Markem-Imaje CSAT GmbH, Markem-Imaje Co. Ltd., Markem-Imaje GmbH, Markem-Imaje Holding, Markem-Imaje Identificacao de Produtos Ltda., Markem-Imaje Inc., Markem-Imaje India Private Limited, Markem-Imaje Industries, Markem-Imaje Industries Limited, Markem-Imaje KK, Markem-Imaje LLC, Markem-Imaje Limited, Markem-Imaje Ltd., Markem-Imaje N.V., Markem-Imaje Oy, Markem-Imaje Pty Ltd, Markem-Imaje S.A., Markem-Imaje S.A. de C.V., Markem-Imaje S.r.l. a socio unico, Markem-Imaje SAS, Markem-Imaje Sdn Bhd, Markem-Imaje Software Development Centre Pvt. Ltd., Markem-Imaje Spain S.A.U, Markem-Imaje Unipessoal Lda (Portugal), Markpoint Holding AB, Midland Manufacturing LLC, Mouvex, Neptune Chemical Pump Company, Northern Lights (Nevada) Inc., Northern Lights Funding LP, Northern Lights Investments LLC, Nova Controls Inc., OK International (UK) Ltd., OK International Holdings Inc., OK International Inc., OPW Engineered Systems Inc., OPW Fluid Transfer Group Europe B.V., OPW Fluids Group Inc., OPW France, OPW Fuel Management Systems Inc., OPW Fueling Components (SuZhou) Co. Ltd., OPW Fueling Components LLC, OPW Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OPW Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., OPW Slovakia s.r.o., OPW Sweden AB, Officine Meccaniche Sirio S.R.L., PDQ Manufacturing Inc., PISCES by OPW Inc., PSG (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, PSG (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., PSG Worldwide Inc., Petro Vend Sp. z o.o., Pike Machine Products Inc., Piston OPW Inc., Pole/Zero Acquisition Inc., Precision Brasil Equipamentos E Servicos Para Postos De Combustiveis Ltda., Precision Service - Servicos De Manutencao E Instalacao De Postos De Abastecimento De Combustivel Ltda., Pump Management Services Co. LLC, RAV Equipment U.S.A. Inc., RAV Equipos Espana S.L., RAV France, Rav Equipment UK Limited, Ravaglioli Deutschland GmbH, Ravaglioli S.P.A., Reduction Engineering GmbH, Revod Corporation, Revod Finance Ireland Limited, Revod Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Revod SAS, Revod Sweden AB, Robohand Inc., Rosario Handel B.V., Rotary Lift Consolidated (Haimen) Co. Ltd, SE Liquidation LLC, SWEP A.G., SWEP Germany GmbH, SWEP Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., SWEP North America Inc., SWEP Slovakia s.r.o., SWEP Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Scheer Pelletizing Systems & Machinery (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Scheer Taiwan Machinery Co. Ltd., Seabiscuit Motorsports Inc., Simmons Sirvey Corporation, So. Cal. Soft-Pak Incorporated, Solaris Laser S.A., Space S.R.L., Start Italiana Petrol Cihazlari Sanayi Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Start Italiana S.R.L., Swep Energy Oy, Swep International A.B., Swep Japan K.K., Sys-Tech Solutions Inc., TQC Quantium Quality S.A. de C.V., TTSI III Inc., TWG Canada Consolidated Inc., TXHI LLC, Tartan Textile Services Inc., The Curotto-Can LLC, The Heil Co., Tokheim Belgium, Tokheim China Company Limited, Tokheim GmbH, Tokheim Group, Tokheim Guardian Venture Sdn. Bhd, Tokheim Hengshan Technologies (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Tokheim Holding, Tokheim Holding B.V., Tokheim India Private Limited, Tokheim Netherlands B.V., Tokheim Sofitam Applications, Trans - Logistic Group S.R.L., Tulsa Winch Inc., Unified Brands Inc., Val TemperBent Glass L.P., Vectron Frequency Devices (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vehicle Service Group LLC, Vos Food Store Equipment Ltd., Warn Automotive LLC, Waukesha Bearings, Waukesha Bearings Limited, Waukesha Bearings Russia LLC, Wayne Fuel Management UK Ltd., Wayne Fueling Systems (Rus) Limited Liability Company, Wayne Fueling Systems Australia Pty Ltd, Wayne Fueling Systems Canada ULC, Wayne Fueling Systems Deutschland GmbH, Wayne Fueling Systems Italia S.R.L., Wayne Fueling Systems LLC, Wayne Fueling Systems Ltd., Wayne Fueling Systems Pte. Ltd., Wayne Fueling Systems Sweden AB, Wayne Fueling Systems UK Holdco Ltd., Wayne Industria e Comercio Ltda., Wei Li Pump Shanghai Co. LTD., WellMark, and Wilden Pump and Engineering LLC. The following companies are subsidiares of Exxon Mobil: AKG Marketing Company Limited, Aera Energy LLC, Al-Jubail Petrochemical Company, Ampolex (Cepu) Pte Ltd, Ancon Insurance Company Inc., Barnett Gathering LLC, Barzan Gas Company Limited, Caspian Pipeline Consortium, Celtic Exploration Ltd., Coral FLNG S.A., Cross Timbers Energy LLC, Ellora Energy Inc., Esmeroon Oil Transporta Imperial Oil Limited, Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd, Esso Deutschland GmbH, Esso Erdgas Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 15) Limited, Esso Exploration Angola (Block 17) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Angola (Overseas) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc., Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Offshore East) Limited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited, Esso Global Investments Ltd., Esso Italiana S.r.l., Esso Nederland B.V., Esso Norge AS, Esso Petroleum Company Limited, Esso Raffinage, Esso Societe Anonyme Francaise, Exxo Holdings Inc., Exxon Azerbaijan Limited, Exxon Chemical Arabia Inc., Exxon International Finance Company, Exxon Luxembourg Holdings LLC, Exxon Mobile Bay Limited Partnership, Exxon Neftegas Limited, Exxon Overseas Corporation, Exxon Overseas Investment Corporation, ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil (Taicang) Petroleum Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil Abu Dhabi Offshore Petroleum Company Limited, ExxonMobil Alaska Production Inc., ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd, ExxonMobil B Resources Company, ExxonMobil Capital Finance Company, ExxonMobil Capital Netherlands B.V., ExxonMobil Central Europe Holding GmbH, ExxonMobil Cepu Limited, ExxonMobil Chemical France, ExxonMobil Chemical Gulf Coast Investments LLC, ExxonMobil Chemical Holland B.V., ExxonMobil Chemical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ExxonMobil China Petroleum & Petrochemical Company Limited, ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V., ExxonMobil Development Company, ExxonMobil Egypt (S.A.E.), ExxonMobil Exploracao Brasil Ltda., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc., ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Norway AS, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania Limited, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Tanzania Limited, ExxonMobil Finance Company Limited, ExxonMobil Financial Investment Company Limited, ExxonMobil France Holding SAS, ExxonMobil Gas Marketing Europe Limited, ExxonMobil General Finance Company, ExxonMobil Global Services Company, ExxonMobil Golden Pass Surety LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Company Holland LLC, ExxonMobil Holding Norway AS, ExxonMobil Hong Kong Limited, ExxonMobil International Services SARL, ExxonMobil Iraq Limited, ExxonMobil Italiana Gas S.r.l., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Inc., ExxonMobil Kazakhstan Ventures Inc., ExxonMobil LNG Services B.V., ExxonMobil Lubricants Trading Company, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, ExxonMobil PNG Limited, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical BVBA, ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical Holdings Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, ExxonMobil Production Deutschland GmbH, ExxonMobil Production Norway Inc., ExxonMobil Qatargas (II) Limited, ExxonMobil Qatargas Inc., ExxonMobil Ras Laffan (III) Limited, ExxonMobil Rasgas Inc., ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company, ExxonMobil Russia Kara Sea Holdings B.V., ExxonMobil Sales and Supply LLC, ExxonMobil Technology Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Finance Company, ExxonMobil Ventures Funding Ltd., Fujian Refining & Petrochemical Co. Ltd., Golden Pass LNG Terminal Investments LLC, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures LLC, Imperial Oil Limited, Imperial Oil Resources Limited, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited, Imperial Oil/Petroliere Imperiale, Infineum Italia s.r.I., Infineum Singapore Pte. Ltd., InterOil Corporation, Jurong Aromatics Corporation Pte Ltd, MPM Lubricants, Marine Well Containment Company LLC, Mobil Australia Resources Company Pty Limited, Mobil California Exploration & Producing Asset Company, Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company, Mobil Chemical Products International Inc., Mobil Corporation, Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc., Mobil Erdgas Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Mobil Exploration & Producing Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil International Petroleum Corporation, Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd, Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast Inc., Mobil Oil New Zealand Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico Inc., Mobil SerLimited, Mobil Venezolana De Petroleos Inc., Mobil Yanbu Petrochemical Company Inc., Mobil Yanbu Refining Company Inc., Mountain Gathering LLC, Mozambique Rovuma Venture S.p.A., Palmetto Transoceanic LLC, Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas Global Company LDC, Permian Express Partners LLC, Phillips Exploration LLC, Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited (II), SPI Limited, Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company Ltd., Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Co., SeaRiver Maritime Inc., South Hook LNG Terminal Company Limited, Tengizchevroil LLP, Terminale GNL Adriatico S.r.l, Trend Gathering & Treating LLC, Wolverine Pipe Line Company, XH LLC, XTO Delaware Basin LLC, XTO Energy Canada, XTO Energy Inc., and XTO Holdings LLC. SANTA FE State agencies in New Mexico would have 30 days to disclose to the public any taxpayer-funded settlements stemming from sexual harassment or discrimination under a proposal backed by Sen. Sander Rue, R-Albuquerque. He is also pushing for an audit examining whether the state is posting records to the Sunshine Portal as required by law and proposing extra scrutiny of the governors contingency fund. The taxpayers should have a right to see this information, Rue said Friday in a meeting with reporters. Rue, sponsor of the states Sunshine Portal Transparency Act, passed in 2010, pre-filed the bills ahead of Tuesdays opening of the legislative session. The filing comes after a Journal report outlining out-of-date information on the portal. The front page of the portal, for example, lists the contact information for an employee who left the state nine months ago, and it misspells the name of another contact. Rue said some information was missing for years until he pointed it out. This is very troubling, Rue said. Weve wasted seven years, because I feel there hasnt been a real sense of commitment on the part of this executive to build that portal and expand it. Gov. Susana Martinezs administration contends that no legally required information is missing from the site and that information-technology employees are doing the best they can with limited resources. The missing information was the result of a contractors error, the administration said. It isnt clear whether the proposals can be taken up this year. The 30-day session is generally dedicated to spending and revenue measures, in addition to topics authorized by the governor. A spokesman didnt respond to a message seeking comment on Rues proposals, but Martinez has said she supports adding more information to the portal. Rue said he hopes to win a determination that the bills are germane and can be considered. Heres a look at the proposals: Senate Bill 88 would requiring state agencies to publish on the Sunshine Portal the amounts of taxpayer-funded settlement agreements to resolve claims under the state Human Rights Act or the federal law barring racial and other discrimination. The agency would have to post a summary of the facts leading to the settlement, without the names involved; the amount of public money paid for damages; and attorney fees. The information would have to be posted within 30 days. Under the current system, Rue said, settlements are available after six months, if a request is filed under the state Inspection of Public Records Act. Senate Bill 83 would appropriate $50,000 to hire an independent company to review compliance with the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act. Senate Bill 52 would require annual audits of the governors contingency fund, an off-the-books account that pays for social events. Map by Pilar Martinez Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal For the third year in a row, the city has seen a significant increase in the number of killings, ending 2017 with a preliminary total of 75 the highest number of homicides in recent history. Thats an increase of 150 percent since 2014, when there were 30. Criminal justice experts say that while the number of homicides has increased across the country in recent years, the fact that it has spiked so dramatically in Albuquerque is concerning. If youve had three years of increases, thats obviously a problem, said Christopher Herrmann, an assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. You have a growing problem or that might be the new norm. The increase in homicides comes amidst dramatic spikes in both violent crimes and property crimes in recent years. Although numbers for 2017 are not yet available, in 2016 the Albuquerque Police Department reported a 180 percent increase in auto thefts since a low point in 2012. The city also had the highest rate of auto theft in the country. Herrmann said its common to see an increase in homicides at the same time other crimes increase. Violence is a continuum, he said. It might start off with very small stuff misdemeanor assaults or verbal threats and the end of that continuum is killing somebody. Its not uncommon to see increases in assault, increases in robbery, increases in sexual assault, increases in domestic violence, and increases in homicide. Guns, knives, vehicles At least 40 of the homicides this year were committed with guns, at least 12 people were stabbed to death and police say three people were intentionally struck by a vehicle, according to records kept by the Journal. Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the 75 total is a preliminary number and official data will not be available until the beginning of February. When the department reports the number of homicides to the FBI for its annual Uniform Crime Reporting statistics, he said it wont include four cases in which the defendant is charged with depraved mind murder. That type of death occurred when a suspect fleeing from police crashed into another vehicle, killing someone. The most high-profile of this type of case occurred in mid-January 2017, when police say a stolen work van driven by Elexus Groves and Paul Garcia crashed into a car being driven by a woman who was taking her two children to school. The daughter, Shaylee Boling, 14, died on the scene and her mother, Shaunna Arredondo-Boling, 39, died two weeks later in the hospital. Groves and Garcia have both been charged with two counts of felony murder. The department is also including a case from 2015 in this years tally. The body of Patricia Platero, 49, was found buried and badly decomposed near Bluewater and Coors in July 2015. It took the Office of the Medical Investigator more than a year to determine that she had been killed by blunt force trauma. The Journal had received a copy of Plateros autopsy report, which listed her death as a homicide, in November 2016, but Gallegos said detectives did not report the case to the APD record department until 2017. Not included in the tally are homicides that were determined to be justifiable, of which there were six last year. It also does not include shootings by police officers, which led to three fatalities. Before the end of November, homicides committed in 2017 had already surpassed the record of 70 set in 1996. But in 1996, there were 100,000 fewer people living in Albuquerque, so the death rate then was 16.64 per 100,000 people. In 2017, the rate was 13.4 per 100,000. High homicide rate, but not the highest Herrmann said in comparison to other similar-sized cities, Albuquerques homicide rate is high but not the highest. Oklahoma City, which has about 100,000 more residents than Albuquerque, reported 92 homicides in 2017, for a rate of 14.41 per 100,000. Baltimore, a city with about 55,000 more residents than Albuquerque, had 343 homicides last year, making for a staggering homicide rate of 55.8 per 100,000. In contrast, El Paso had a homicide rate of 2.78 per 100,000, Tucson had a rate of 6.03 and Colorado Springs had a rate of 8.17. In the county, the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office reported five slayings and one justifiable homicide in 2017. Sgt. John Allen said this total is pretty consistent for the county, which usually sees between five and nine homicides each year. He said that four of the murders have been cleared and that detectives are still investigating the most recent case involving a 46-year-old man who was found shot to death in the yard of his spacious South Valley home in early December. Its been unpredictable, he said in an interview last week. Theres no pattern. Allen said that, if detectives could isolate one sector of the county that was experiencing higher rates of violence, or zero in on a specific trend in motive, they could try to prevent homicides. Need for more officers Crime emerged as the top issue in the 2017 mayoral election, and newly elected Mayor Tim Keller has said he is committed to making changes in the police department to tackle the growing problem. In late November, he tapped former Rio Rancho Police Chief Michael Geier as APDs interim police chief. A spokeswoman for the mayor did not respond to emailed requests for an interview. And Gallegos said both Geier and the acting homicide sergeant were too busy for an interview about last years homicides and how they plan to address the problem in the future. In response to questions, Gallegos released a statement listing the departments priorities. Beyond hiring more detectives to solve homicides, the department is fighting crime from all sides and targeting the citys most prolific property and violent crime offenders, he wrote in an email. The reality is we need more officers on the streets to stop offenders before their behavior escalates to homicide. Gallegos said the department will do proactive work regarding domestic violence, intervene with property crime offenders, develop crime initiatives to remove the most dangerous offenders and prosecute firearm violations federally. He also said it plans to work with experts and advocates to reach out to the homeless who are vulnerable to crime and often hesitant to report it. Sgt. Elizabeth Thomson, who led the homicide unit for the past five years, retired at the end of December. One of the units detectives was appointed acting sergeant in her absence. Gallegos said the department is conducting interviews this week to find a new sergeant for the homicide unit, which is comprised of a sergeant and seven detectives. We are also in the process of opening up two more positions, which would create a total of nine detectives and a sergeant, he said. Gallegos did not respond to questions about how many of the homicides have been solved. In November, however, Thomson told the Journal that 37 of the 63 homicides had been cleared for a rate of 59 percent. Records kept by the Journal show that three of the 10 homicides that occurred in November and December resulted in an arrest. BULLETIN BOARD Albuquerque SCORE presents the workshop, Will Your Business Pay for Your Retirement? by Michael Podolny, founder and president of The Podolny Group Inc., from 9-11 a.m. on Tuesday in the classroom at the Kaplan Real Estate School, 8205 Spain NE. The workshop will provide the owners of smaller- and middle-sized businesses with a means of realistically assessing the value of their business; determining the marketability of their business; quantifying their post-ownership earning power; and developing strategies to improve their final outcome. The workshop will be divided into two parts. The first part will focus on analysis. During this part of the workshop members will be actually doing an analysis of their own business that will allow them to estimate the value of their business; quantify their current post-ownership situation; and determine issues associated with the marketability of their business. The second part will focus on strategies an owner can use to either leverage a good situation to maximum benefit or improve a situation that is less than ideal. The focus will be on the small number of critical strategies that are time tested to help owners get the results they desire. The workshop fee is $19.95. For advance registration or additional information, call 505-248-8232; email peter.mikelson@scorevolunteer.org; or visit www.albuquerque.score.org. The American Indian Chamber of Commerce of New Mexicos Monthly Luncheon Mixer will be held from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Tuesday in the Turquoise and Silver Room at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th NW. Admission is $25 for members and $30 for others. To register or for additional information, contact Tashina Silversmith by calling 505-766-9545 or email tsilversmith@aiccnm.com. The Member Luncheon of the American Subcontractors Association New Mexico will be held from 11:30 a.m.-1:15 p.m. on Thursday at the Courtyard Marriot Journal Center, 5151 Journal Center NE. The featured presentation is Increase Workplace Morale & Productivity Through Managing Difficult Employees Part II Guidebooks by Jill Avey, owner of Southwest HR Consulting. The registration fee is $32 for members and $45 for others. Advance registration is recommended. To register, email memberservices@asa-nm.org or call 505-220-7024. For additional information, visit www.asa-nm.org. PROMOTIONS Jamie Dickerman has been promoted by Griffin & Associates to vice president for public relations. Dickerman joined the firm in 2014 as an account executive and previously worked as a communications director and press secretary for New Mexico political candidates. She has a bachelors degree in communications from Eastern New Mexico University. WELCOME Asleigh Olguin has joined the Albuquerque Community Foundation as executive associate. Olguin has eight years experience in the nonprofit sector. Jeffrey D. Myers, a registered patent attorney, has joined the Wilcox Law Firm, P.C., as a partner. The law firm will now be known as Wilcox & Myers, P.C. Myers previously worked for Peacock Myers, P.C., and has 25 years experience in the legal field. His practice will focus primarily on all areas of intellectual property including U.S. and international patent protection of inventions, federal, state and international protection of trademarks, and U.S. and international copyright protection. Myers will continue to represent large institutions, small businesses, and individual inventors, with intellectual property portfolios, large and small. Lovelace Medical Group has hired two new medical providers. They are: Laura Bellew, ACNP, as an acute care nurse practitioner with the groups hospitalist team. Bellew has 29 years experience in the nursing field. She has a masters degree in nursing from Gannon University; and a post-masters degree in acute care nurse practitioner from the University of New Mexico. William Mansfield, M.D., MPH, FACC, as a critical care cardiologist in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Heart Hospital of New Mexico at the Lovelace Medical Center. Mansfield previously worked as a cardiologist at the New Mexico Heart Institute in Santa Fe and concurrently served as the executive medical director for the Cardiovascular Service Line for Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Santa Fe and as a member of the Peer Review Committee and the Medical Advisory Council for Cardiovascular Disease. Presbyterian Medical Group has hired four new providers. They are: Christopher Hawthorn, M.D., emergency department physician at Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital. Hawthorn has a medical degree from UNM; and completed an emergency medicine resident at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Naomi Bancroft, M.D., emergency room physician at Presbyterian Hospital. Bancroft has a medical degree and completed an emergency medicine residency, both at UNM. Jamie Santistevan, M.D., emergency department physician at Presbyterian Hospital. Santistevan has a medical degree from UNM; and completed an emergency medicine residency and fellowship in emergency department administration and quality at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. Alisha Lowden, board-certified nurse practitioner for the gastroenterology clinic located on the Presbyterian Hospital campus. Lowden has a bachelors degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh; and a masters degree in nursing from Georgetown University. APPLAUSE Family Friendly New Mexico, a nonprofit program that recognizes New Mexico businesses with family-friendly policies, has announced its list of companies that earned recognition for having policies that help workers balance work and family. The distinction means the recognized employers have four or more policies in the areas of paid leave, health support, work schedules and economic support. The organizations recognized as 2018 Gold and Silver Level awardees are: Abrazos Family Support Services, gold award; Access Innovations Inc., gold award; Affordable Solar, gold award; Atkinson & Kelsey, P.A., gold award; city of Albuquerque, gold award; Esparza Advertising, gold award; Farmington Tire of Four States, gold award; Four States Tire & Service, gold award; General Mailing and Shipping Systems Inc., gold award; Homeowners Financial Group, gold award; Lovelace Health System, gold award; New Mexico Gas Co., gold award; Rehabilitation Partners LLC, gold award; San Juan County, gold award; WESST, gold award; Animas Environmental Services LLC, silver award; Bryans Photography LLC, silver award; Giddens, Gatton & Jacobus, P.C., silver award; Southwest Abatement Inc., silver award; and Surgite, a sacred dance company, silver award. Any New Mexico business is eligible to apply for the New Mexico Family Friendly Business award. For a full list of family friendly policies and to learn more about the New Mexico Family Friendly initiative and see if your company qualifies, visit www.nmfamilyfriendlybusiness.com. ETC. The Associated Builders and Contractors of New Mexico has elected officers and board members for its 2018 board of directors. New board officers are Adam Harrington HB Construction, chair; Chris Downey Downy & Co., incoming chair; Joe Strobbe Flintco, past chair; Vivian Sisneros Jr. ISHC, vice chair; Wryan Capps Axion CPAs and Business Advisors, treasurer; and Wayne Bingham Bingham, Hurst & Apodaca, P.C., chapter attorney. New board members elected are David Dallago, Jr., Dallago Corp.; and Stanley Mount, Mount Corp. Board members continuing to serve are Dale Armstrong, TLC Plumbing & Heating; Sam Baca, AUI Inc.; Kevin Garcia, Del Rio Enterprises Inc.; Bobbi Hayes, Carr, Riggs & Ingram LLC; Danny Jarrett, Jackson Lewis; Dan Lyons, Bradbury Stamm Construction; and Chris Teague, Garvin Construction. The number $18 billion seems to roll off the tongue. This is the amount that President Donald Trump recently announced he wants Congress to budget for his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. The figure certainly has a ring to it, and to realize how much money this represents, I started researching major infrastructure projects in the U.S. and doing some rudimentary calculations to see how far $18 billion would stretch. I think that this is especially relevant given Trumps push for infrastructure funding in other areas. In terms of constructing new roads or resurfacing old roads, construction costs can vary greatly by state and region of the country. According to the American Road & Transportation Systems Association, constructing a two-lane, undivided road in a rural location will cost approximately $2 to $3 million per mile. In urban areas, this figure can climb to $3 to $5 million. The cost of a four-lane road in rural and suburban areas will run between $4 and $6 million, with this figure rising to $8 to $10 million in urban areas. To resurface a four-lane highway will run approximately $1.25 million per mile. Given these approximate costs, some interesting figures can be generated. If Trump wanted to bring prosperity to disaffected, rural locations by building more roads at an average cost of $2.5 million per mile for a two-lane project, $18 billion dollars could be used to construct 7,200 miles of new roads. If Trump chose to focus on urban road projects, he could build, at an average of $9 million per mile, 2,000 miles of new roads. For $18 billion, 14,400 miles of the nations aging interstate highways could be refurbished and repaved, using a cost of $1.25 million per mile. A 14,400-mile refurbished road would stretch from the West Coast to the East Coast 4.8 times. While researching infrastructure costs, I came across Bankrate, which is a consumer financial services company based in New York City. On its website, it lists the 10 most expensive infrastructure projects currently in the U.S., which when summed have a total price tag of $132 billion. If placed on this list, Trumps border wall would rank third, only behind the California high-speed rail project to carry passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles ($68 billion), and the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, which would create two massive tunnels 150 feet below ground to transport water from Northern to Southern California ($25 billion). The next most-expensive project on the list is the Texas Central Railway, which is a passenger line connecting Dallas and Houston ($10 billion). If the $18 billion were spread across the list, it would fund six of the 10 projects: deepen the Port of New Orleans ($1.2 billion); Gordie Howe International Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario ($2.1 billion); Puget Sound Gateway Project between Seattle and Tacoma ($2.8 billion); the 144-mile I-70 Corridor through Colorados mountains ($3.5 billion); and Jasper Ocean Terminal in Savannah, Ga. ($4.5 billion). These six projects have a total price tag of $14.1 billion. If we add the seventh project on the list, which is the Gateway Program to expand passenger rail between Newark, N.J.,and New York City ($7.5 billion), the total would be $21.6 billion, or $3.6 billion above the $18 billion Trump is asking for to build the border wall. The $64,000 question (pardon my use of game show numbers) is whether funding $18 billion for the border wall is worth it, given the massive infrastructure needs the nation is facing. The expense has to be weighed against the opportunity cost of utilizing the money in other areas. The utility of a borderlong wall and its effectiveness in preventing movement of contraband and undocumented crossers also needs to be factored into the equation. There has been no single incident of a terrorist crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to cause havoc in the U.S., and illegal crossings have been decreasing the past few years. Ironically, if Congress grants Trump the $18 billion to spend on the wall, both branches of government would be diverting funds away from areas of the country that could sorely use a shot of government infrastructure funding to put unemployed people back to work and to reinvigorate blighted communities. In many cases, the very people that supported Trumps presidential bid would be the people losing out on this funding. There is a huge difference between political rhetoric on the campaign trail to attract and fire up supporters and actually getting projects funded. It is much more difficult to convince the legislative branch of government to take money from other worthy projects in order to finance a campaign promise. This is especially true as Trump promised that Mexico, not the U.S., would be financing the construction of the border wall a claim that Mexico has in no uncertain terms repudiated. And there is no hard data or studies that conclusively show how an $18 billion wall would serve the purpose of better protecting the southern border of the U.S. Even if Americans hope that it would, they need to balance this hope with the reality of its cost. Jerry Pacheco is the executive director of the International Business Accelerator, a nonprofit trade counseling program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network. He can be reached at 575-589-2200 or at jerry@nmiba.com. It was early 1968. Since the previous spring Martin Luther King Jr. had been pursuing a course that for many was unthinkable. He had deliberately connected the dots between the movement for civil rights and the struggle to end the war in Vietnam and had paid the price. He was roundly criticized by the Johnson administration and the media, as well as people in his own movement. From the right he was attacked for having the gall to question U.S. foreign policy. From the left he was lambasted for losing focus and not keeping his eyes on the prize. He even got it from a childhood friend who stopped by the house one afternoon to vent. Why are you speaking out against the Vietnam War? he carped. King put aside his customary oratory. When I speak about nonviolence, he patiently explained, I mean nonviolent all the way. As David Garrows classic biography of King, Bearing the Cross, reports, he went on to say, Never could I advocate nonviolence in this country and not advocate nonviolence for the whole world. Thats my philosophy. I dont believe in death and killing on any side, no matter whos heading it up whether it be America or any other country. Nonviolence is my stand, and Ill die for that stand. A few months later, King was dead, but not before making one last, indelible declaration of the existential importance of nonviolence. Standing before the jammed crowd at the Mason Temple in Memphis the night before his death, King linked his life wisdom with a pithy and resounding appraisal of our global predicament: The choice before us is no longer violence or nonviolence, he said. Its nonviolence or nonexistence. This April marks the 50th anniversary of Kings assassination and of Kings clear warning. This is a moment not simply for remembering a great leader cut down in his prime but also for seriously contemplating the acute clarity of his assessment and what it means for us today. Sadly, in the same way that warnings of climate change have mostly been dismissed for decades, Dr. Kings stark framing of the pivotal choice before us nonviolence or nonexistence was steadfastly ignored over the past half-century as the United States lurched from another seven years of the Vietnam War to decades of war in Central America, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other places, even as the violence of racial injustice, economic inequality, environmental destruction, nuclear proliferation, gun deaths, armed drones, and many other forms of violence spiraled out of control. Indeed, over these decades we have consistently opted for violence even as we have shunned the word nonviolence, as if it were the most dangerous word in the English language. Now, 50 years on, Kings words take on more weight with each passing hour. Fifty years after the watershed year of 1968, we are at another watershed, and Dr. King has put the fundamental choice before us. This is the Year of Nonviolence or Nonexistence. Like his childhood friend, all of us must learn his wisdom of active nonviolence and rise to the occasion as Dr. King did and choose active nonviolence if we are to not to go over the brink. Kingian nonviolence calls for active, universal love toward all human beings, all creatures, and all creation, that refuses to kill or be silent in the face of killing. It is a way of life, a spiritual path, and a political methodology toward peaceful conflict resolution and global justice. It means striving to be nonviolent to ourselves and to those around us, trying to be nonviolent toward all the creatures and the environment, and doing our part to build up the global grassroots movements of active nonviolence for a new culture of justice, equality and peace. A culture of nonviolence is not an impossible dream, Pope Francis said recently, following up on his 2017 World Day of Peace message,aNonviolence A New Style of Politics, the first statement on nonviolence in the history of the Catholic Church. But our culture of violence begs to differ. No, Pope Francis, it says, a culture of nonviolence is an impossible dream. No, Dr. King, there is no choice; nonexistence is inevitable. Deep down, thats what we think, isnt it? Thats what the culture of violence, the voice of despair, tells us. If we give in to such despair, then our fate is sealed. But this need not be how things turn out. The ironic good news is that never before have so many nonviolent movements existed in this country and around the globe. The world is on the march for the nonviolent option, and we, too, can opt for active, creative and powerful nonviolence and not for the trajectory of nonexistence by joining them in this critical year. Its our most important choice ever. I hope we New Mexicans can choose nonviolence, reject the warmaking blindness and greed of our leaders, envision a new nonviolent New Mexico and work for the day when everyone in New Mexico is nonviolent. In 2018, may we, like Martin Luther King Jr., mean nonviolent all the way. Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 89 years old today. Assassinated at age 39 on April 4, 1968, he forever changed America in his much-too-short life. Among the landmarks of his activism are the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, ending segregation in public transportation; leading the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech; the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act; and marching with sanitation workers in Memphis, where he declared in his last speech, delivered on the eve of his death, Ive been to the mountaintop. Often overlooked are the increasingly radical policy positions King took in his last years, from speaking out against the Vietnam War to forging a multiracial Poor Peoples Campaign that sought, as King said, a radical redistribution of economic and political power. Now, 50 years later, a coalition has formed anew to organize poor people in the United States into what King called a new and unsettling force to fight poverty and forge meaningful change. This renewal, called The Poor Peoples Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, has an audacious agenda: to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nations distorted morality. At the forefront is the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II. Born just two days after the famous March on Washington, Barber grew up in the civil-rights movement. For over 10 years he served as president of the North Carolina NAACP, stepping down to lead this new campaign. Back in 1968, King described the need for the Poor Peoples Campaign, saying: Millions of young people grow up in the sunlight of opportunity. But there is another America. And this other America has a daily ugliness about it that transforms ebulliency of hope into the fatigue of despair. Speaking this week on the Democracy Now! news hour, Rev. Barber reflected on how little has truly changed since Kings time: Fifty years later, we have nearly 100 million poor and working poor people in this country, 14 million poor children. Fifty years later, we have less voting rights protection than we had on Aug. 6, 1965, he said. (Republicans) have filibustered fixing the Voting Rights Act now for over four years, over 1,700 days. Every state where theres high voter suppression, Barber continued, also has high poverty, denial of health care, denial of living wages, denial of labor union rights, attacks on immigrants, attacks on women. Barber says the answer is fusion politics: We have black, we have white, we have brown, young, old, gay, straight, Jewish, Muslim, Christians, people of faith, people not of faith, who are coming together, creating what he calls the Third Reconstruction. Part of this fusion includes reaching out to traditionally conservative Christians, like Minister Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. From a devout, white evangelical family, as a teen he served as a congressional page under South Carolina Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond, one of the fiercest segregationists of the modern era. Wilson-Hartgrove heard William Barber preach, and has been a follower and a colleague ever since. The renewed Poor Peoples Campaign is responding to poor, white evangelicals, Wilson-Hartgrove says: These people who say, Vote for me because Im a good Christian leader are not serving your interests. You dont have health care, you dont have a living wage, because the same people who say theyre standing up for God and righteousness are, when theyre voting, voting against the interests of poor people, whether youre black, white, brown or whatever. Barber sees transformation of the Deep South on the near horizon, but doesnt claim it will be easy. Recent court victories against both racial and political gerrymandering in North Carolina will further empower African-Americans and other traditionally marginalized groups. But the real work will be done not in the courts, but in the streets. Barber and Wilson-Hartgrove, along with the Rev. Liz Theoharis, co-director of the New York City-based Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice and co-chair of the modern-day Poor Peoples Campaign, traveled to 15 states around the country in recent months, recruiting, organizing and training over 1,000 people. Barber said: Our first action will be on the Monday after Mothers Day. Were going after 25,000 people engaging in civil disobedience over six weeks to launch a movement. Their target: the U.S. Capitol and statehouses across the country. Martin Luther King Jr. was robbed of life by a snipers bullet 50 years ago. But on this anniversary of his birth, this national holiday that people fought decades for, his vital work to empower the poor, lives on. Amy Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 1,400 stations. She is the co-author, with Denis Moynihan and David Goodman, of Democracy Now!: 20 Years Covering the Movements Changing America. Distributed by King Features Syndicate. President Donald J. Trump on occasion will surprise people by doing something downright presidential. Then, just as suddenly, he will revert to the uncouth, juvenile and obnoxious character who offends just about everybody and actually makes us feel embarrassed that hes the president. Both those traits were on display last week. First, Trump invited the press to stay for a discussion of immigration in which he and leaders of both parties of the House and Senate were present. He made a persuasive case that we need Congress to find a fix for the so-called Dreamers, people who were brought here as children illegally by their parents, and encouraged those present to work for major compromise on key immigration reforms. Trump said he would take the heat for a reasonable deal that included taking care of the Dreamers, enhanced border security, limiting the nations chain migration policy and ending the visa lottery program, in which winners from a few countries get a ticket to America. Then he undid all of that in what was supposedly a private meeting by disparaging El Salvador and Haiti and referring to some African nations as shithole countries, according to some of those in the meeting. This was in regard to people who either live or have lived legally in the U.S. under what is known as Temporary Protected Status as a result of natural disasters at home. Trump also noted that it would be nice to have more people come here from countries like Norway. Two Republican senators who were in the meeting Tom Cotton and David Perdue on Sunday claimed Sen. Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, distorted what the president said and insisted Trump did not use the vulgar term. While acknowledging he used tough language, Trump has denied using the language as depicted. And all of this heading into the Martin Luther King birthday weekend, no less. While controversy now surrounds exactly what he said, expect Trumps tough language to make it tougher to get a deal on immigration reform because Democrats will be loath to deal with him. But chain migration and the visa lottery need to be addressed. They give a preference to certain countries, and tend to bring low-skilled people who will continue to keep wages low. Adding those topics to the DACA fix is a reasonable way to get something resembling comprehensive reform. As for the wall, the Trump administration acknowledges it is a physical barrier only where its needed and other kinds of enhanced security. Its really just an update of the Secure Fence Act of 2006 that Democrats have said they support. And for the residents here under the TPS program, the administration announced it will end that status for about 200,000 people from El Salvador who now have roughly that many children who are U.S. citizens because they were born here. It is a classic illustration of how dysfunctional our system is. The Salvadorans were allowed to come here under TPS after volcanic eruptions in 2001. The U.S. government is required by law to recertify periodically that their home country has not sufficiently recovered to return. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen plans to end the program in September 2019. How, critics ask, can we uproot these people who have been here so long that this is home to them? But under the law, they will always be temporary and allowed to stay only as long as the physical conditions from the disasters make it impossible for them to return. Perhaps, as part of the reform, they could be allowed to apply for permanent residency. But as with DACA, at some point the law confronts us. Trumps predecessors have been content to look the other way and kick the can. Trump, unfortunately, seems content to kick the less fortunate while inserting his foot in his mouth. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. Copyright 2018 Albuquerque Journal Two city contractors who worked on the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project say they are eager to resolve problems outlined by Mayor Tim Keller during a news conference last Tuesday. Meanwhile, the citys new chief operating officer, Lawrence Rael, traveled to Fort Worth last week to try to persuade a federal agency to speed up the $75 million federal grant the city has been banking on for ART. Whether much progress was made during that meeting with Federal Transit Administration officials is unclear. City spokesman Rick DeReyes would say only that, The meeting went very well and the city looks forward to continuing the discussion. The city worked with several firms on the project. Local company Bradbury Stamm served as general contractor. The lead engineer was HDR, and Dekker/Perich/Sabatini also did design work on the project. Both firms are also local. Weve been here for 95 years. Were going to work with everybody, said Cynthia Schultz, chief executive officer of Bradbury Stamm. We want this project to be as good as it can be. Dekker/Perich/Sabatini echoed that sentiment. We take the utmost pride in our work and will continue to be diligent in our design of the ART stations, Natalie Sommer, a spokeswoman for the firm, said in a written statement. We want to assure the community that we are committed to working with the city, construction contractor Bradbury Stamm, and transportation planning firm HDR to resolve any and all concerns so the ART project lives up to its promise to move Albuquerque forward as a community. The remarks were in response to Kellers bombshell last week, when he publicly called ART a bit of a lemon and said he wouldnt even guess on when it might be operational. HDR did not respond to a request for comment on Friday. The company providing the electric buses for ART, California-based BYD America, has previously said it is working overtime to address issues with the buses. In addition to a host of bus problems Keller and Rael identified during the news conference, they pointed out several design and construction flaws with the project. They expressed concern about two stations because of the distance between cross-street intersections and passenger loading platforms. At Washington and Central, for example, the platform is so close to the intersection that a bus coming from the east side going west cant make the approach without taking up the entire intersection. The city is now weighing whether to reconfigure the intersection. They reported finding inconsistencies in the height of the platforms as well as in the distance between platforms and where buses stop, both of which could create problems for wheelchair access. And at the Atrisco station platform, they found that buses sit at an angle to the platform because the road is sloped, which could also create problems for wheelchair users. Bradbury Stamm officials said the angle problem at the Atrisco station was discovered when one of the buses was brought in. Tyler Nunn, the senior project manager overseeing the project for Bradbury Stamm, said the company was working with the design team on the issue and would fix it once the city signs off on a remedy. Nunn said the Washington and Central platform was built where construction plans called for it to be built. As for the concern that some platforms arent lining up with bus floors, Nunn and Schultz said that problem could be in the heights of the bus floors. I think the important thing to understand is were substantially complete with the project, but theres always punch list items at the end, Schultz said. She later added that the project included new sidewalks, lighting and other upgrades along the corridor. A lot of improvements were made along Central Avenue, she said. People should go out and see. ART was former mayor Richard Berrys signature project. He called it the largest public works project in the citys history. The project will transform Central into a rapid transit corridor with a nine-mile stretch of bus-only lanes and bus stations. The project and associated utility and road work cost $135.5 million. Bradbury Stamm received an $82.6 million contract to build the project. The contract guaranteed a maximum price for the work. Money was also spent on such things as engineering, design, modifying some of the intersections in the corridor and installing fiber optic lines. Rael told the Journal early last week that the city covered the upfront costs through the general fund and other city funds, and its hoping the federal government will reimburse those funds with the $75 million grant. Keller and his team have been scrutinizing the project since taking office on Dec. 1. They will meet with bus company officials this week. There have also been changes in the city staff overseeing ART. The mayor put new leadership in place for the ART project and is working with us to find solutions to make ART work for everyone, DeReyes told the Journal in an email last week. Under Berry, the project was overseen by Michael Riordan, who had been chief operating officer, and Dayna Crawford, the deputy transit director under Berry. DeReyes said the project is now being overseen by Rael and Annette Paez, the city transit departments acting director. But he said Riordan and Crawford continue to provide information to the Keller administration as requested. KEY EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ART They wrote their letters to the judge by hand, each explaining to him what they hoped he would decide about their future, and soon. Theres a lot of things I would like to happen for the outcome of this whole situation and by the looks of it, no one seems to care, wrote one of the twin sisters, who turns 16 next month. Who would, though? Its just another case of a family with unsolvable conflicts, right? She continued. If theres one thing Ive learned about a lot of people in this world during my 15 years of living is that people only care about themselves and the money they earn. Ive just come to realize that almost everyone involved in this case is only here for the money. No one seems to be doing anything except to be carrying on the issue and avoiding to resolve it. She had reason to say that. She and her sisters family exploded in September 2014 when their mother, Judy Holcomb, was seriously injured after tumbling or being tossed depending on whose version you believe down three flights of stairs in the familys Magdalena home. Initially, Albuquerque Family Court Judge Gerard Lavelle granted temporary custody of the six minor children, then ages 11 to 17, to Holcombs now-ex-husband Jim Stuteville and allowed him to remain in the Magdalena home while Holcomb recovered. But in October 2016, court-appointed guardian ad litem Laura Cass issued an emergency recommendation urging the judge to remove the children from Stutevilles custody, arguing that Stuteville had tried to murder their mother for financial gain, coerced the children to cover up and even assist in the incident and was using them to help find a new woman. But Cass also recommended that the children not be returned to Holcomb over allegations that she had been so abusive to the children five from Vietnam whom Holcomb adopted with her late husband, and two to whom Stuteville has a legal tie, either by biology or adoption that they had formed a suicide pact to be enacted should they be forced to return to her. Lavelle agreed, splitting up the kids and sending them to live with third-party local families in the Magdalena area. The children were not allowed contact with either Holcomb or Stuteville or each other, including Holcombs two adult children who are not party to the case. Since then, three of the younger children have turned 18 and are no longer under the courts rule. Two of them have reunited with Holcomb, denied any suicide pact or abuse and disclosed to law enforcement what they know about Stutevilles actions the day Holcomb was injured, though no charges have ever been brought against him as a result. The whereabouts of the third grown child are undisclosed. That leaves the youngest child a boy, 12 in one home and the twin girls in another. There has yet to be any movement toward reunification or, at a minimum, visitation nearly 3 years later. Thats a long time in kid years. You met this family in a column published on Dec. 18, and youre welcome to refresh your recollection of the bizarre details there. (www.abqjournal.com/1108002) Clearly, though, many of you came away from that column with little sympathy for either adult. Yeah, the man is a cad, one reader wrote. That does not mean the woman is a victim. But lets at least agree that the most concerning victims are the children, whose hopes and desires too easily get lost in the heat of a contentious custody battle. GALs and court-appointed experts are paid at a hefty cost to the warring parties to be the voice of these children. But sometimes its unclear whose voices these experts are paying heed to. During a hearing Friday, Lavelle declared that the Holcomb-Stuteville case should be considered the most important one by all parties, then refused to hear anything more than a few matters only tangentially dealing with the children. That, even though GAL Cass broke down in tears and announced she was immediately resigning from what she termed the most difficult case she has ever had, asking the court to order that the parties pay her the $14,379.53 still owed her and alerting the judge that the family caring for the 12-year-old boy wanted out of the case in the next few days. Outside the courtroom sat the woman in whose home the twin girls are residing. She was there, she said, because neither she nor the girls felt like the judge was receiving enough information through the GAL and that the girls were hurting and frustrated that no one seemed to be listening to them. They wanted, she said, to return home to their mother and to visit Stuteville, though both said they believed he had tried to harm their mother. She wanted to give the judge the letters the girls had written. They had asked for that much. Im not asking for anyones pity or attention, wrote one of them. Im simply asking for a life I can move on with. A life I dont have to be ashamed to tell anyone. I want to be able to move on and continue to live it. Im simply asking you to actually read what I have to say and take it into consideration of your decision. After 1 hours, the hearing concluded. The letters were never accepted. UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Thirty-three students from more than a dozen high schools from around New Mexico have been chosen to receive $1,000 scholarships as part of this years Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Multicultural Celebration today from 1-3 p.m. at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana Blvd. in Albuquerque. Judges selected the winners from hundreds of submitted 500-word essays on civil rights, diversity and community pride. The scholarship program is an ideal way for the recipients to continue to learn, understand and promote Dr. Kings legacy on an ongoing basis, said Joycelyn Jackson, the councils spokeswoman and president. Excerpts from some of the submitted essays follow. Dr. King taught me to fight for the right thing, even if no one believes in you. He showed me that giving up is not an option, even when I really want to. He shows there will always be challenges and obstacles in my way, but I will overcome them. To do anything meaningful, I need to believe in myself. My confidence must come from a place of authenticity and love. Dr. Kings quote means that, if I feel hatred towards myself, I can never diminish the hatred around me. Dr. King made me question the present day world, because he fought with such elegance and showed that vengeance and rage was never the solution. We should not be afraid or ashamed to be who we are. We may be different, but we all have something so special to share, and to contribute to this world. Dr. King has shown me that change is not something that comes right away, but that one must push change and make sacrifices to achieve ones goal. Dr. King reminds us that our schools must serve all students equally so that our community may prosper as a whole. Likewise, the diversity of our student body should be celebrated, not vilified. Dr. King used the one thing he had, his voice. Activism is not about a single persons capabilities, but what a person already has. We live in a time where racial tensions are peaking and division sits in America like a welcomed guest. But with every night, there is a dawn, and a morning reckoning. To change a culture you must be patient, for years of hatred are not easily reversed. Prev 1 of 25 Next Prev 1 of 8 Next This years scholarship sponsors include: Diane Gibson, Albuquerque City Councilor; Bank of America; Bernalillo County; Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc.; Modrall Sperling Roehl Harris & Sisk P.A.; Second Presbyterian Church; Smiths Food and Drug Stores; University of New Mexico, Division for Equity and Inclusion; Wayne A. Johnson, Commissioner, Bernalillo County; Wells Fargo; In Memory of Christopher M. Torres, In Memory of Milton S. Hall, Sponsors Stephen and Renetta Torres; In memory of Tony Pakinkis, Sponsored by Congregation Albert; Mitchell, Olsen and Richardson Memorial Scholarships; Silvio G. DellAngela Scholarship; the Rio Rancho Community Foundation; and PNM. We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com. ST. LOUIS Jessica-Rose Clark ended a difficult week with a unanimous decision over Paige VanZant on Sunday in the UFC Fight Night card. The 30-year-old Australian improved to 9-4, receiving winning scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 from the judges. Clarks Las Vegas home was broken into Thursday while she was in St. Louis for the flyweight battle. Thieves stole $30,000 worth of jewelry and video games. Her 1-year-old cat, Dwight, was kicked repeatedly, suffered broken ribs and had to be euthanized. I had a stressful week and I did let the stress get to me a bit, Clark said. I just want to get home and I will figure out the rest later. VanZant, a former Dancing With The Stars runner-up, fell to 7-4. The 23-year-old VanZant held a 68-67 advantage in strikes, but Clark was the aggressor. She successfully took the fight to the ground where she held control for 5 minutes and 5 seconds of the three-round 15-minute affair. I knew coming in that I was the better fighter and I worked hard to show that, Clark said. The fight was the co-feature on an 11-bout card, Jeremy Stephens beat Dooho Choi at featherweight n the other featured fight. Stephens, from Des Moines, Iowa, knocked out Choi at 2:36 of the second round with a right hand to the head. He immediately pounced on Choi and pummeled him with short punches. Stephens improved to 27-14. There is no way I was coming to the Midwest and losing, Stephens said. Choi, from South Korea, is 14-3. BELFORT TO TRY AGAIN Vitor Belfort was supposed to conclude his 21-year career in a 185-pound bout against Uriah Hall as the co-feature on Sundays card. But Hall failed to make weight on Saturday morning and the fight was cancelled. Im devastated, Belfort said. Belfort, who hails from Brazil, has a record of 26-13. He trained hard for the fight and was hoping to go out on top. Belfort indicated that he will fight at least one more time. Vitor was offered a (different) fight tonight, he chose not to take it, UFC President Dana White said. But well get him another one down the road. HONOLULU When Jonathan Scheuer got an alert on his phone of a ballistic missile headed for Hawaii, he and his family didnt know what to do. They went to their guest bedroom, then decided it would be safer on the ground floor of their Honolulu home. What do we do? he wondered. Where do we go? People should immediately seek shelter in a building or other substantial structure, once an attack-warning siren sounds, according to guidance the state distributed previously. The state recommends having 14-day survival kit of food and water. Residents and tourists alike remained rattled after the mistaken alert was blasted out to cellphones across the islands with a warning to seek immediate shelter and the ominous statement: This is not a drill. Clearly there is a massive gap between letting people know somethings coming and having something for them to do, Scheuer said Sunday. Nobody knew what to do. Lisa Foxen, a social worker and mother of two young children in east Honolulu, said the best thing to come out of the scare was that it pushed her family to come up with a plan if there is a real threat. I kind of was just almost like a deer in headlights, she said. I knew what to do in a hurricane. I knew what to do in an earthquake. But the missile thing is new to me. The blunder that caused more than a million people in Hawaii to fear that they were about to be struck by a nuclear missile fed skepticism about the governments ability to keep them informed in a real emergency. My confidence in our so-called leaders ability to disseminate this vital information has certainly been tarnished, said Patrick Day, who sprang from bed when the alert was issued Saturday morning. I would have to think twice before acting on any future advisory. The erroneous warning was sent during a shift change at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency when someone doing a routine test hit the live alert button, state officials said. That employee has been reassigned to a job without access to the warning system amid an internal investigation, agency spokesman Richard Rapoza said Monday. No other personnel changes have been made, he said. Officials tried to assure residents there would be no repeat false alarms. The agency changed protocols to require that two people send an alert and made it easier to cancel a false alarm a process that took nearly 40 minutes. The error sparked a doomsday panic across the islands known as a laid-back paradise. Parents clutched their children, huddled in bathtubs and said prayers. Students bolted across the University of Hawaii campus to take cover in buildings. Drivers abandoned cars on a highway and took shelter in a tunnel. Others resigned themselves to a fate they could not control and simply waited for the attack. The 911 system for the island of Oahu was overwhelmed with more than 5,000 calls. There were no major emergencies during the false alarm, Mayor Kirk Caldwell said. President Donald Trump said Sunday the federal government will get involved, but didnt release details. An investigation into what went wrong was underway at the Federal Communications Commission, which sets rules for wireless emergency alerts sent by local, state or federal officials to warn of the threat of hurricanes, wildfires, flash flooding and to announce searches for missing children. The state of Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place to prevent the transmission of a false alert, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement, calling the mistake absolutely unacceptable. False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies, he said. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen urged Americans not to lose faith in their government. I would hate for anybody not to abide by alerts and warnings coming from government systems, Nielsen said on Fox News Sunday. They can trust government systems. We test them every day. This is a very unfortunate mistake, but these alerts are vital. Seconds and minutes can save lives. With mobile phones ubiquitous, wireless alerts can quickly disseminate information to a wide number of users, but there have been concerns about creating a panic if they are sent too broadly. Authorities were criticized for not sending an alert to mobile phones when fires ripped through Northern California in October, killing 40 people. Officials had decided not to use the system because they couldnt target them precisely enough and feared a wider broadcast would lead to mass evacuations, including people not in danger, snarling traffic that would hamper firefighting and rescues efforts. Saturdays mistake was not the first for the states warning system. During a test last month, 12 of the states 386 sirens played an ambulance siren. In the tourist hub of Waikiki, the sirens were barely audible, prompting officials to add more sirens and reposition ones already in place. People need to step back from questioning who pushed the button and why and focus on military de-escalation, Scheuer said. The false alarm triggered a broader discussion about national security at a time when North Korea has been flexing its muscles by launching test missiles and bragging about its nuclear capability. Its leader, Kim Jong Un, has also exchanged insults on Twitter with President Donald Trump about their arsenals. The standoff has whipped up nuclear fears on Hawaii and led the islands to revive Cold War-era siren tests that drew international attention. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii Democrat, said officials should be held accountable for the epic failure of leadership behind the warning. She said the nuclear threat underscored the need for Trump to meet with Kim to work out differences without preconditions. The people of Hawaii are paying the price now for decades of failed leadership in this country by setting unrealistic preconditions, she said. The leaders of this country need to experience that same visceral understanding of how lives are at stake. ___ Melley reported from Los Angeles. Tom Strong in Washington contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Tulsi Gabbards name was misspelled Tusi. DETROIT Automotive journalists crowned the Honda Accord the North American Car of the Year on Monday, a first for the longtime model thats twice flirted for the top honor as a finalist. The 10th-generation Accord edged out the Kia Stinger and Toyota Camry for the award, which was announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The award program, now in its 24th year, has twice gone to the Honda Civic. Henio Arcangeli Jr., senior vice president for Hondas auto sales division, said the award represents not resting on past achievements. The Accord, which went on sale last fall, is among many revamped car models hoping to snare buyers as sales fall and SUVs rise. Arcangeli calls the Accord new from the ground up, with more coupe-like styling and its first-ever turbocharged engines. Honda sold 322,655 Accords in the U.S. in 2017, a 6.5 percent decline over the previous year. The Volvo XC60 took the top prize in the utility category and the Lincoln Navigator for trucks. Other utility finalists were the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Honda Odyssey, and Navigator beat the Chevrolet Colorado and Ford Expedition. Kumar Galhotra, head of the Lincoln brand, said the award should give the Navigator a boost as it tries to gain traction in the competitive full-size truck-based luxury SUV market. It is a very competitive segment, and in the past we have had much better share in this segment, he said. It was time to create a new Navigator and take that rightful place in the segment for Lincoln. The brand sold only 10,523 Navigators last year, far behind competitors in the segment such as the Cadillac Escalade. The General Motors luxury brand sold 14,700 Escalades last year. Last years winners were the Chevrolet Bolt, Honda Ridgeline and Chrysler Pacifica minivan. Sixty U.S. and Canadian automotive journalists serve as judges for the awards program, which patterned itself after the European Car of the Year. Eligible vehicles, chosen from dozens, must be new or substantially changed. The choices represent an aim to recognize the vehicles overall quality: The judges evaluate finalists on value, innovation, design, performance, safety, technology and driver satisfaction. Organizers accept no advertising, though automakers try to capitalize on the marketing value of the awards. ___ Associated Press auto writer Tom Krisher contributed to this story. ___ Follow Jeff Karoub on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffkaroub . Find more of his work at https://apnews.com/search/jeff%20karoub . TAMPA, Fla. A casino company said Monday it never had a problem with the shuttle boat that burst into flames off Floridas Gulf Coast, leading to the death of a female passenger. Tropical Breeze Casino spokeswoman Beth Fifer said the company does not know what caused Sundays huge blaze, which gutted the 12-year-old shuttle boat and forced about 50 passengers to jump into chilly waters off Port Richey. We are deeply saddened for the loss of our passenger, the 14 injured and anyone else who was affected by this tragedy, Fifer said. Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point spokesman Kurt Conover said Monday that the passenger arrived at the hospitals emergency room at 10 p.m. Sunday and died shortly afterward. He said she had apparently gone home after the fire but became ill. The Tampa Bay Times reports that the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiners Office identified the woman as Carrie Dempsey, 42, of Lutz, Florida. Her cause of death has not been released. Conover said eight other passengers were treated at the hospital and released. Authorities originally said no injuries were life-threatening. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Michael De Nyse said investigators will determine the cause of the fire and examine the history of the boat and Tropical Breeze Casino. Helicopter video taken by WTSP-TV early Monday shows the boat was burned down to its hull, with only an American flag on its bow uncharred. The shuttle boat regularly carried people back and forth from the Tropical Breezes offshore casino, about a 45-minute ride into international waters. There, passengers would play games such as black jack, which is illegal at non-Indian casinos in Florida, and roulette, which is illegal statewide. The shuttle boat caught fire about 4 p.m. Sunday, quickly engulfing the boat close to shore near residential neighborhoods. Officials said the boat was headed out to the casino ship at the time. Port Richey Police Chief Gerard DeCanio said the shuttle boat experienced engine problems after leaving the dock at Port Richey, a suburban community about 35 miles (55 kilometers) northwest of Tampa. But as the vessel turned back, flames kicked up and people began jumping overboard into shallow water, according to witness accounts. Larry Santangelo, 57, said he had just driven into his neighborhood when he saw smoke and fire and thought a house possibly his own was ablaze. But then he realized it was the boat just about 100 yards (90 meters) offshore. He told the Tampa Bay Times that he then saw people wandering about confused, wet and cold, after they reached land. One woman collapsed upon reaching shore and vomited, he said. Santangelo said he took about 30 of the passengers into his garage to warm up and recover. It was so windy and they were soaking wet, said Santangelo. He worried that some might suffer from hypothermia. It wasnt immediately clear what caused the fire, which sent a huge plume of dark black smoke wafting over sunny skies on an unusually chilly winter day in the Tampa Bay region. It looked pretty dramatic because the shuttle boat burned really fast, DeCanio told The Associated Press on Sunday. Another witness told the Tampa Bay Times the shuttle boat passes regularly by his familys home, carrying patrons to and from a casino ship offshore. But he knew something was wrong when he saw smoke and heard shouts and screams. They didnt have much time to decide whether or not to jump, said Bakr Jandali, 19, who was with his home nearby. The fire was moving fast. It was a hard jump. Jandali said passengers had to jump about 12 feet (3 meters) from the boat and wade through waist-deep water to shore. There, residents gave them aid. All of us, my family and the neighbors, brought them towels and water, Jandali said. They were so cold. News footage at the site showed bedraggled survivors cloaked in blankets trying to warm themselves afterward. The boat was identified in newspaper reports as the Island Lady, a 72-foot wooden-hulled vessel which Fifer said had been inspected by the Coast Guard. If we had any type of idea that there was a problem, we wouldnt have left the dock, the cruise spokeswoman told the Tampa Bay Times. There was no inkling that there were any problems with that vessel whatsoever. SANTA FE Hiring more officers and deploying them to crime hot spots is a promising strategy for deterring criminal behavior, nonpartisan analysts told legislators on Monday. Ratcheting up the severity of penalties, meanwhile, isnt as effective a deterrent, they said. Program evaluators working for the Legislative Finance Committee shared their findings Monday on the eve of a 30-day session during which lawmakers will consider dozens of bills aimed at attacking New Mexicos high crime rate. The analysts are examining criminal justice in the Albuquerque area where crime has been climbing since 2010, even as crime has fallen across the country. Their report hasnt been completed. But Jon Courtney, program evaluation manager for the LFC, said national research shows that the certainty and swiftness of being caught are an effective way to deter crime. In Albuquerque, the size of the police force has fallen 24 percent since 2010. We know that adding a police officer generally leads to a positive return on investment, Courtney said, especially if combined with hot spot strategies in which officers target high-crime areas. The severity of the punishment whether someone spends a few extra years in prison does little to deter crime, based on national research, Courtney said. Travis McIntyre, a program evaluator for LFC, said the committees research also suggests targeting repeat offenders. People with three or more arrests account for 62 percent of the arrests overall in Bernalillo County, according to Mondays presentation. Focus on those few people, and you can disproportionately affect the crime rate, McIntyre said. Lawmakers also heard that Albuquerque isnt the only problem. Belen, Taos, Gallup and Espanola each have higher crime rates per capita, according to FBI data. In rural communities, theres just as big an issue, said Rep. Patricia Lundstrom, a Gallup Democrat and chairwoman of the LFC. The presentation comes as Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, a former prosecutor, makes crime legislation a priority for her last regular session. Her proposals include making it easier to keep defendants in jail as they await trial; allowing retired officers to return to work without giving up their pensions; and imposing stiffer penalties for criminal offenses, including a reinstatement of the death penalty. Democratic and Republican lawmakers are also proposing financial help to allow cities and counties to hire more officers and sheriffs deputies. New Mexico had the highest property crime rate in the nation and the second-highest violent crime rate, after Alaska, in 2016, the latest year for which FBI data are available. Its a crisis weve got to deal with, said Sen. Carlos Cisneros, D-Questa. DETROIT Ford plans to increase its investment in electrification to $11 billion by 2022, Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said Sunday at the Detroit auto show. The company previously announced it would spend $4.5 billion by 2020. Were going to electrify even our most iconic vehicles, he said at Cobo Center. The only question is, will the customer be there with us? During the first big media event at the North American International Auto Show, Ford officials discussed a Ford F-150 hybrid and a Mach 1 fully electric performance vehicle for 2020. While the Mach 1 has been a featured muscle car in action films, the Ford team indicated a new Mach 1 could be released as an SUV. Raj Nair, president of Ford North America, explained that the manufacturing team is working to develop 16 fully battery electric vehicles by 2022 and 24 hybrid and plug-in vehicles for a total of 40 electrified vehicles. It now has one fully electric offering, a version of the Focus. Ford officials spoke after the companys big product launches of the Edge SUV, Ford Ranger midsize pickup and special edition 2019 Mustang Bullitt. Bill Ford said the company sees an opportunity to build on its legacy and provide leadership in the rapidly changing mobility industry. Electrification is where the company is headed, he said. Unlike other companies, Ford wants to build on customer loyalty for established best sellers rather than try to market new brands that happen to be electric because it will speed up customer acceptance, Ford said. Jim Farley, executive vice president and president of Ford global markets, said the issue of electrification is about social responsibility and defining whats possible. For us, its not just compliance. We want to make a statement about the company. He asked the capacity crowd at the end of the Ford presentation: Can a battery electric vehicle stir the soul? Not only are Ford officials trying to develop strategies for introducing electrification vehicles in North America, but theyre working to harness the largest and most rapidly growing car market in the world China. Were in heavy investment mode, Farley noted. Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmonds, indicated the industry will be watching closely to see how Ford moves forward with its plan to produce a hybrid variant of its popular F-150. Ford is making it clear it intends to be the leader in fuel-efficient trucks. However, the real question is if truck shoppers are willing to trade the utility they need just to be a little bit more green. Truck buyers are a demanding group, and its probably a good thing that Ford has until 2020 to find a way to give them the best of both worlds. 2018 Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at www.freep.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. - PHOTO (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): _____ SHATI REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip Mahmoud al-Qouqa cant imagine life without the three sacks of flour, cooking oil and other staples he receives from the United Nations every three months. Living with 25 relatives in a crowded home in this teeming Gaza Strip slum, the meager rations provided by UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugee families, are the last thing keeping his family afloat in the territory hard hit by years of poverty and conflict. But that could be in danger as the U.S., UNRWAs biggest donor, threatens to curtail funding. It will be like a disaster and no one can predict what the reaction will be, al-Qouqa said. Across the Middle East, millions of people who depend on UNRWA are bracing for the worst. The expected cut could also add instability to struggling host countries already coping with spillover from other regional crises. UNRWA was established in the wake of the 1948 Mideast war surrounding Israels creation. An estimated 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the fighting. In the absence of a solution for these refugees, the U.N. General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWAs mandate, the original refugee camps have turned into concrete slums and more than 5 million refugees and their descendants now rely on the agency for services including education, health care and food. The largest populations are in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon. Seen by the Palestinians and most of the international community as providing a valuable safety net, UNRWA is viewed far differently by Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses the agency of perpetuating the conflict by helping promote an unrealistic dream that these people have the right of return to long-lost properties in what is now Israel. UNRWA is part of the problem, not part of the solution, he told foreign journalists last week. Noting that the Palestinians are the only group served by a specific refugee agency, he said UNRWA should be abolished and its responsibilities taken over by the main U.N. refugee agency. Some in Israel have even tougher criticism, accusing UNRWA of teaching hatred of Israel in its classrooms and tolerating or assisting Hamas militants in Gaza. Blaming the Palestinians for lack of progress in Mideast peace efforts, President Donald Trump has threatened to cut American assistance to the Palestinians. UNRWA would be the first to be affected. The U.S. provides about $355 million a year to UNRWA, roughly one-third of its budget. U.S. officials in Washington said this week the administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the years first contribution, cutting a planned $125 million installment by half or perhaps entirely. The decision could come as early as Tuesday. Matthias Schmale, UNRWAs director in Gaza, said Washington has not informed the agency of any changes. However, we are worried because of the statements in the media and the fact that the money hasnt arrived yet, he said. Schmale dismissed the Israeli criticisms, saying that individuals who spread incitement or aid militants are isolated cases and promptly punished. And he said Netanyahus criticism should be directed at the U.N. General Assembly, which sets UNRWAs mandate, not the agency itself. Any cut in U.S. aid could ripple across the region with potentially unintended consequences. Gaza may be the most challenging of all of UNRWAs operating areas. Two-thirds of Gazas 2 million people qualify for services, and its role is amplified given the poor state of the economy, which has been hit hard by three wars with Israel and a Israeli-Egyptian blockade since the Hamas militant group seized power over a decade ago. Unemployment is 43 percent and the poverty rate is 38 percent, according to the official Palestinian statistics office. Nowhere else are we the biggest service provider for the population of the entire territory, Schmale said. He said UNRWA provides food assistance to 1 million Gazans, calling it an expression of collective shame for the international community. With more than 12,500 teachers, nurses and other staff, UNRWA is Gazas largest non-governmental employer. It is also involved in postwar reconstruction projects. The dire situation in Gaza is evident inside al-Qouqas home, which is so cramped the family has made sleeping spaces with wood boards and fabric. Two male family members are unemployed. Two others are Hamas civil servants and get paid only intermittently by the cash-strapped movement. At 72, al-Qouqa is worried about his grandchildren. If UNRWA provides them with bread, they can remain patient. But if it was cut, what will they become? They will become thieves, criminals and a burden on society, he said. Many believe Hamas, which administers schools and social services in Gaza, will step in to fill the void. Jordan, a crucial ally in the U.S.-led battle against Islamic militants, is home to the largest number of Palestinian refugees and their descendants with nearly 2.2 million people eligible for UNRWA services. This has turned the U.N. agency into a major contributor to social welfare services in the country, which also hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrians displaced by war. U.S. aid cuts could heighten the threat of instability in Jordan, which is grappling with a worsening economy hurt by the spillover from conflict in neighboring Syria and Iraq. More than one-third of Jordans young people are without jobs, turning them into potential targets for recruitment by extremists. Most of the Palestinians eligible for UNRWA services in Jordan hold Jordanian citizenship, and some argue that this has ended their refugee status. But most maintain that UNRWA services are vital to propping up an important ally. UNRWAs services are also vital in Lebanon, where Palestinians are prohibited from working in skilled professions and owning property. Lebanon is the least-welcoming Arab country to Palestinian refugees, because it does not want Palestinians to settle and because it does not want the refugees to upset the countrys delicate sectarian balance. Camps in several cities are ringed by concrete barriers and Lebanese security forces use checkpoints to control who enters and leaves. A recent census found 175,000 Palestinian refugees or their descendants living in the country. The civil war in Syria has made many Palestinians refugees twice over. Some 32,000 Palestinians who were living in Syria fled to Lebanon, according to UNRWA. In Syria, Palestinians enjoyed the right to own property and to work in all professions. They are not entitled to the same in Lebanon. Balkees Hameed, 33, arrived in 2013 with her husband, two children and in-laws from Damascus, where their apartment was damaged by rocket fire. The family depends on UNRWA assistance to rent a one-bedroom apartment in a ramshackle building in Bourj al-Barajneh, a Beirut camp. Her husband wipes tables at a restaurant outside the camp. Hameed, like all Palestinians, was painfully aware of the rumors coming out of Washington. We are already defeated and now they want to oppress us some more? she asked. While more than 5 million Syrian refugees worldwide are entitled to assistance from the U.N.s general refugee relief agency, Palestinians are barred from it under the logic that UNRWA serves them. But UNRWA in Lebanon is chronically underfunded, and the wave of Palestinians arriving from Syria has strained its finances even further. What UNRWA provides is not even a quarter of what a Palestinian refugee needs, said Ramy Mansour, 34, who fled to Lebanon from the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus in 2013. Take everything and return us to our homes. We dont want any assistance or anything, just return us to our country. ___ Associated Press writers Karin Laub in Amman and Philip Issa in Beirut contributed reporting. Facebook has decided to drastically change their newsfeed algorithm. The move is aimed at reducing the Facebook ads and post from various publishers and marketers and stay true to what it was created for connecting friends and families from anywhere across the world, over the virtual network. The news has created quite a flutter in the business world, which has been utilising the platform for social media engagement and brand promotions. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg in a public post wrote that users would see a lot less posts from business pages and more content from their friends and family, which is what Facebook was created for. The reason behind this shift is the constant public reaction towards the posts from brands that hindered the user interaction space on the platform, leading to a dip in the user base from 36 billion per month to 31 billion per month, according to Similar Worldwide Data. As per a comScore report, the unique users came down from 131 million to 124 million users in the February-November 2017 period a number staggering enough for Facebook to rethink its strategy. According to Arnab Mitra, Managing Director, Liqvd Asia, the algorithmic changes are aimed at bringing a change in the users Facebook wall and what they see more frequently. However, businesses would be affected on the implementation of the plan as watch time would decrease. While organic sharing has been considered inactive for a while now for most brands, Mitra felt that this move could also a recipe for disaster for Facebook. Zuckerberg in his post affirmed that Facebooks objective was not only to surface relevant content for its 2 billion users, but also to prioritise meaningful social interactions that benefit them. He added, We built Facebook to help people stay connected and bring us closer together with the people that matter to us. But recently weve gotten feedback from our community that public content posts from businesses, brands and media are crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other. Zuckerbergs goals for 2018 include ensuring that time spent on Facebook is time well spent, it will be a serious year of self-improvement for Facebook, where the core objective will be about learning from working to fix our issues together. The primary objective to bring in these elementary algorithmic changes is to effectively connect the content that sparks a conversation rather than focussing on the number of people who react to, comment on, or share posts on various business driven posts. According to Zuckerberg, the changes are focussed at increasing meaningful interactions and reduce passive consumption of low-quality content, even if it decreases some of the engagement metrics in the short term. As Indian companies also foresee a tectonic shift in their ongoing social media engagement and digital marketing strategies, there is a wave of mixed reactions amongst various Indian media players, brands and agencies. Arnab Mitra feels that while more businesses will continue to fight to be seen in the newsfeed, publishers should expect the cost of advertising on the platform to drastically increase. Poorly performing ad sets, a result of bad creative, poor copy or irrelevant targeting will also lead to a bigger hole in their advertising budgets, he added. Click-bait and the effort to spread paranoia isn't going to work as Facebook is going to prioritise personally "meaningful" interactions, and not the volume of interactions. The planned change will affect the content that gets people to interact and comment more, which will increase, but engagement-bait might even be penalised. This is a clear indication for marketers, who will now have to chalk out a different strategy to get people to take interest in what they have to say, without giving away freebies or asking people to enter a contest. Providing a different point of view, Abdullah Basha, Co-founder, Social Frontier, believes that, This is a long overdue algorithm update. We had already advised our clients/users that a Facebook algorithm update is on the cards, we were just waiting to get the specifics from the social media giant. If the latest Facebook algorithm update actually works the way the company claims, that is, giving more weightage to people-to-people interactions, this could very well be the best thing that has happened to Facebook, the audience and even marketers. This is because now marketers will have to get smarter in designing and developing content that foster real interactions as opposed to those created for a passive Like or an Emoji. We believe this will help brands/publishers reach out to an audience that really matters to them working very similar to the line of word-of-mouth marketing, but on a digital platform. He further observed, Once the update rolls out, we might see a reduction in the reach of posts, but the quality of posts and the audience that these posts bring in through interactions (for the brand/publisher) will definitely improve. While some brands or publishers that relied heavily on creating Facebook content purely for virality might get affected, we believe this algorithm update is a good evolution thatll help Facebook, the general audience and marketers in the long run. While taking into consideration the point of the brand utilising Facebook, Anand Bhaskaran, Manager, Digital Marketing, bigbasket, commented, The implication is that the rate of growth of ad inventory on Facebook will decrease. Assuming that demand for ads grows faster than inventory supply, we can expect CPMs (cost per 1,000 impressions) to increase. What is not clear is the extent to which ad inventory will decrease and, therefore, the expected increase in CPMs. We'll just have to wait and watch in order to understand this. He added, Another key point in Facebooks press release is that they will promote posts that generate genuine (as opposed to what they call "engagement-bait") conversation among people. Therefore, I would expect that over time, marketers will emphasise on conversation-worthy rather than just thumb-stopping creatives. From a pragmatic, day-to-day perspective, marketers will just have to try different creatives/posts to figure out what conversation-worthy means in practice. Over time, Facebooks ads team will gain a better understanding of what types of creatives work better under the new newsfeed algorithm and will share new creative best practices. Until then, the best thing to do is experiment and figure out what type of creatives work. What this means for news publishers Sharing his point of view, Hemant Jain, Senior Executive VP, Lokmat Media, said, The algorithm changes will almost certainly affect ad-supported media companies, who extensively depend on Facebook for user traffic and have built a strong bond with readers and viewers through other means. Emphasis will be on creating content that encourages community connection. Focus on the core, quality and credibility of news to initiate some of the most meaningful interactions between people both online and offline. Live videos often lead to discussion among viewers on Facebook and on average get six times as many interactions as regular videos. In future, news publishers will need to necessarily have an FB Live Plan as part of their Facebook content and marketing strategy. During the recent times, in India, Facebook has initiated aggressive programs to encourage media publishers to create and distribute video on Facebook, which in my view will need to be re-thought basis how these changes impact the overall outcome. The engagement-bait approach practised by many publishers to goad people into commenting on posts will no longer be winners. The shift is definitely back to a Value play from what was emerging as a volume play. In the New Order, the ownership is on us - Lets stay true, lets make news (content) an experience, credible & relevant to users, that they find it worthy to Share' with friends, and discuss with others through comments and messages and in the process get picked up by the Facebook algorithm worthy for a wider reach, Jain added. Presenting a contrarian view, Manish Kumar, CEO and Co-Founder of Digi Osmosis, commented, Firstly, I disagree that FB is showing less of publisher posts because it has started showing more of friends and family posts. Publisher posts have fallen because more and more of sponsored and advertiser posts are being shown to users. Also, preferences are being given to publishers who are publishing FBs native Insta article as they are faster to access and more convenient for FB users. FB is a commercial platform listed in the stock exchange and they heavily focus on their users and profits. They first attracted brands to start their fan pages as the audience/ prospective consumers were on FB, then made the same brands and publishers spend money to garner the fan base and now making them spend to reach their own fans whom they acquired at a huge advertising cost. However, its still one of the most targeted paid media available with accurate targeting and least wastage. Smart publishers flourished and grew before FB and will do so even today. Too much dependency on any platform is dangerous, but time and planning gives solutions. Editorial innovation, faster and more optimised websites, better SEO, better usage of other digital platforms for promotions and distribution, collaboration between publishers, syndication, etc. will help. As for now, a lot of them are badly affected," he added. Harshil Karia, Managing Director, Schbang, opined, I think this is Facebook going back to the basics. It's always been about connecting with your friends. So, the move comes as no surprise. Its also in line with Facebook announcing earlier that they'd be de-prioritising brand posts. Publisher posts have anyway seen a fall in reach over the last few months. With respect to brands, most brands have anyway started moving away from using Facebook as a 'daily conversation' medium and focussing on it as a reach medium backed by spends. So, I dont see then fretting or being impacted too much. What I do expect is that content with general virality that has true shareability will be more visible within consumer feeds. Obviously it is a very big of news for brands and publishers,who have been using Facebook extensively, and now this move of Facebook will make it harder for brands and publishers to get their required visibility on the news feed, remarked Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO, Mirum India. He added, This is a big shift for them from an advertising point of view. Though advertising will still be there, but with lesser visibility now, besides the cost per reach will be more with the changing cost dynamics of Facebook. Also, what finally works here is good content and good engagement and not just posting ads that people dont connect with. Brands will be forced to think in terms of good content and making it more relevant. This means more hard work for agencies and brands and not sticking to just rampant carpet bombing that brands often end up doing. At the same time he felt that it was not really about going back to basics, but an evolution of the medium. Facebook obviously needs to think of it as if it allows the trend of brands clustering messages left right and centre to continue. It will make the platform less popular amongst the users as the younger population is already getting drawn away to Snapchat and other mediums. Facebook does not want to alienate its very loyal user base and so should ensure that the platform remains popular with the user base and that is why these evolutionary steps are being taken. On the other hand, from the brands point of view, they would have to put in hard work in terms of being more strategic about their brand campaigns and communication. This will open opportunities for other platforms also for the brands to try them. Google can benefit from this, but there is also a huge element of very accurate targeting through programmatic media as Facebooks strength is that it was able to offer user based targeting. Facebooks loss would be programmatic medias gain as well, Mehta pointed out. Gozoop, an Indian digital media agency, recommends that brands need to be very selective about their daily posts and their frequency. The suggestive list also includes smartly using paid media for the content to reach its audience, publish more live videos as they generate discussion amongst users, smartly convince community to select See First preference for the page, craft posts that make people interact with each other in the comments, not schedule posts from their blog, and refrain from using engagement-bait as Facebook will penalise it. Prasad Shejale, Co Founder & CEO, Logicserve Digital, noted, Facebook has long displayed concern over the decline in organic sharing and the platform is getting dominated by publishers, brands, and the worst culprits are those who want to promote fake news and also manipulate peoples vulnerability to provoke outrage. The Facebook platform has been heavily criticised for misleading news and influencing the US elections and also for negatively influencing people regarding their social lives and well-being. Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to devote 2018 to fixing Facebook, and the current algorithm update involving News Feed is definitely a step towards Facebooks mission to bring people closer together and build relationships. The changes to the platform will enhance user experience and make it more useful. If the platform remains relevant for people to connect, interact and share within their social circles, then those who use the platform passively will turn into more active users on Facebook. This will help build and nurture social interactions and relationships with positivity. I personally feel that the move is good for individuals and thus, eventually good for genuine brands who provide relevant, share-worthy content. This will enhance their brand value and loyalty further, Shejale remarked. He further added, The change has ramifications for publishers who heavily depend on Facebook for content dissemination. In countries where the explore feed experiment took place, some journalists reported readership halving overnight as a result of them disappearing from most social media feeds. But, as I mentioned earlier, now only good, relevant and genuine content will be shared and discussed by the larger active audience. Echoing similar sentiments, most of the industry observers, players and brands see this algorithmic shift as an evolutionary step for the platform users. However, this also means that brands and agencies need to develop a different course of action, a different algorithm for themselves for branding and brand promotions on Facebook while also adopting newer popular platforms to build consumer connect. For more stories from Facebook visit: https://www.adgully.com/facebook-year-in-review-2017-baahubali-jallikattu-top-buzz-in-india-75290.html https://www.adgully.com/facebook-and-hero-isl-give-fans-a-unique-opportunity-to-support-their-favorite-club-75226.html https://www.adgully.com/facebook-unveils-accelerator-programs-to-boost-tech-innovation-in-india-75127.html https://www.adgully.com/bloomberg-quint-collaborates-with-facebook-for-live-streaming-bq-live-74824.html https://www.adgully.com/facebook-brings-marketers-together-to-explore-growth-in-a-mobile-first-era-74781.html https://www.adgully.com/search/?keyword=FACEBOOK LG SIGNATURE product lineup, which brings together the companys best technology and best designs under a single name was unveiled today in Mumbai. The vision of LG SIGNATURE is to stay pure and sophisticated, true to each products essence. The initial offerings in the LG SIGNATURE lineup include a more advanced TWIN Wash washing machine, a cutting-edge Door-in-Door refrigerator, a futuristic hybrid air purifier. Our driving principle is to ensure that the essence of our products is preserved from idea generation through to the end-user experience, LGSIGNATURE is the embodiment of everything that is important to LG and we hope to convey that philosophy to customers who appreciate great products from strong brands. I am confident that Indian consumers will like LG SIGNATURE series. said Youngnam Roh - Director Home Appliances, LGElectronics India. LG SIGNATURE series was well received by global consumers; to reach out to Indian consumers, we will create experiential zones so that maximum people can experience this amazing product range. At the beginning of this year SIGNATURE is first launch from house of LG and I am sure this will be appreciated by consumers as same is developed on a foundation of meaningful innovation and timeless aesthetics. he added. Commenting at the occasion Mr. Nimesh Shah- Regional Business Head Mumbai LG Electronics India said, LG SIGNATURE SERIES is the brands latest offering for premium requirement of our consumers. This range has a wide array of products that will make any home look and feel rejuvenated. This range is a mix of the best technologies, thereby giving consumers an overall uphaul to a more sophisticated home. This category of premium products boasts of innovation which is completely a big leap ahead of the others. Refrigerator that Unveils the Freshness Within The LG SIGNATURE refrigerator represents the visualization of essence with a fresh take that is both intuitive and evolutionary. As a nod to its innovative spirit, LG has taken its award-winning Door-in-Door design one step further by adding a Knock-on Door-in-Door feature that makes the opaqueDoor-in-Doorcompartment transparent with a simple knock. The transparent surface allows customers to peer inside the refrigerator without having to open the door, offering significant energy savings by limiting cold air loss. Even more innovative is the new Auto Door Open feature which automatically opens the door when an individual approach the refrigerator, allowing for quick and easy access even if your arms are full of groceries. The LG SIGNATURE refrigerator is powered by LGs Inverter Linear Compressor which automatically adjusts its cooling capacity based on load conditions, generates less internal friction due to its unique design and is backed by a 10-year warranty. Washing Machine Like No Other The unique-looking LG SIGNATURE washing machine is an advanced version of the LG TWIN Wash. The LG SIGNATURE front load washing machine is more durable, more convenient and more sophisticated than ever and features the unique pedestal MINI Wash under the main unit. The minimalistic design of the LG SIGNATURE washing machine is highlighted by the beautiful Quick Circle User Interface which is touch-enabled and embedded in the glass door that makes it easy to use when standing. The Push Open washing machine door can be opened even when your hands are full by simply pushing lightly and the enamel coating which gives the washing machine a sophisticated and sleek look also repels fingerprints and corrosion. The LG SIGNATURE washing machine comes equipped with LGs proprietary Centum System which improves the washing machines durability and energy efficiency with an advanced suspension system. Noise emitted while the washing machine is in operation is greatly decreased because theCentum System minimizes the tubs vibrations during a wash cycle. Air Purifier that Cleans Air Before Your Very Eyes LG believes that nothing is more important than clean air. The exquisitely designed LG SIGNATURE air purifier allows the air cleaning process to be a visual experience with its innovative transparent panel. Equipped with an advanced Aqua-Cyclone feature, this air purifier harnesses the power of water to filter out harmful chemicals and contaminants while quickly bringing the room to comfortable humidity levels. The unit is equipped with LGsSemi-Permanent Filter System, allowing consumers to remove, wash and reuse the filters for up to 10 years, saving both time and money. While fine dust particles are typically invisible to the naked eye, customers can see the air quality of their indoor environment by simply glancing at LGs Smart PM1.0 Indicator. Positioned around the control display, the indicator uses four different colors of light to signify the concentration of super-fine dust particles. Products are available for experience at Festival Square - Palladium, High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel till 26th January. Read more Marketing related stories: https://www.adgully.com/category/Marketing WATConsult, the digital and social media agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has today launched PlayAgency, an innovative board-game, as part of their 11th Anniversary celebrations. To break the monotony of regular anniversary campaigns, the agency came up with something unique which caters to all advertising industry individuals. The idea behind launching PlayAgency is that every agency in India, be it digital, creative, OOH or BTL is somewhere connected. They might be different in nature, but deep down they all are the same; every agency has diverse strengths, but one common aim. The approaches may differ at times, but the challenges connect them; they might be divided by experiences, but their spirit remains the same! Taking this thought forward, the board-game has been made, which allows players to run an ad agency and experience all the highs and lows of it. Players will have to take tough decisions, win clients, acquire companies, manage pay-cheques, chart a vision for the company along with other similar tasks. Along with this, WATConsult ran a digital campaign called #EveryAgencyEver, which highlighted the daily challenges and joys which takes place in every agency, in terms of client approvals, campaign ideas, pitches, follow ups amongst others. The agency even launched their own Facebook party filter for everyone to join in the celebrations. Speaking on the same Rajiv Dingra, Founder and CEO, WATConsult said, On the occasion of our 11th anniversary, I would take this opportunity to thank every single person who has been a part of the WAT journey. Our team, former teams, clients and our network; it wouldnt have been the same without you. He further added, We have launched an interesting board-game called PlayAgency which will allow people to experience the thrill of running their own agency. We hope everyone enjoys playing it. Sharing his views Ashish Bhasin, Chairman & CEO - South Asia, Dentsu Aegis Network Dentsu Aegis Network said, I would like to congratulate WATConsult on their 11th anniversary and wish them many more successful years ahead. I had a great time playing PlayAgency with Rajiv. Its interesting to actually play a game of something we all agency individuals live by every day. Watch the WATConsult Anniversary video here: Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. CAIRO Some Syrian students living in Egypt attend special classes to help them meet the particular challenges they face as refugees in Egyptian schools. The first school for Syrians was inaugurated at the end of 2015 in 6th of October City, a suburb of Cairo where Syrians abound. These schools do not entirely replace Egyptian schools, but operate in parallel, teaching the same curriculum to Syrian students in the Syrian dialect of Arabic and tailor lessons to remedial needs. These institutions, some called schools and others are known as learning centers, serve all levels from kindergarten to high school. Some of them charge a nominal fee while others are free of charge. There are no statistics available on their number in Egypt, but according to some estimates, there are 12 such schools in 6th of October City alone. These schools employ many Syrians as instructors and other staff. Director of the Syrian al-Mehwar School in 6th of October City Samer Tohme told Al-Monitor, The large number of students in Egyptian schools and the crowded classes have made it difficult for Syrian pupils to understand the educational material. Some Syrian students also find it hard to blend in with their Egyptian peers due to the different culture and traditions. He added, Syrian students enroll normally in Egyptian schools, but they also attend classes at the Syrian schools. At the end of the school term, they take exams at the Egyptian school where they enrolled to get their certificate. According to Tohme, in addition to attending these schools, Syrian students often attend a few courses at Egyptian schools to meet minimum attendance requirements, which are lenient for refugees. Tohme said that 800 students at his school pay a nominal fee of $170 per year. Some Syrian schools offer their services to Syrian students for free. The Al-Amal Center in Giza governorate's al-Haram area, established in 2016, was the first facility to offer free educational services to Syrians. Sahib al-Aswad, the media coordinator for Al-Amal, told Al-Monitor, Many Syrian students without much in the way of financial resources wanted private tutoring, as learning can be difficult in crowded Egyptian schools, where they also found it difficult to blend in. This is how the idea of the center was born. They enroll at the center to be taught the Egyptian curricula in the dialect they understand. Aswad noted that the institutions seek funding from civil society organizations in addition to personal funding from Syrians in Egypt as well as Egyptians. Aswad added, Some Syrian schools in Egypt are not legally registered, especially those that offer free services. Therefore, they risk being shut down. Some schools are legally registered as charities, and Egyptian private tutors fight to get them closed because Syrian students prefer them. Finding sufficient funding is another constant challenge. Since 2012, Syrian students in Egypt have the right to the same free and public services provided to Egyptians, including elementary education. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education estimates that there around 40,000 Syrian students in Egypt. The Egyptian government is cooperating with nongovernmental organizations to work toward integrating Syrian students in Egyptian schools by creating an environment in which all students can thrive and offering psychological and social support to foster integration between Syrians and Egyptians. Medhat Massaad, the former undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, told Al-Monitor, The Egyptian government has been offering support, including educational services, to Syrians since they came to Egypt. Still, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education should conduct a thorough study to examine the obstacles and difficulties facing Syrian students and limit the expansion of Syrian schools. He added, It is normal for Syrian students to take time to adapt to the differences in accent and customs and blend in with their peers. Massaad noted, The ministry rejects any educational activities outside the scope of accredited schools. The increasing popularity of Syrian schools might turn into a form of financial exploitation of Syrian students. Ghatfan Khair, a Syrian teacher living in Egypt and the father of a student at a Syrian school in 6th of October City, told Al-Monitor, Syrian schools in Egypt are a safety net for our students because they offer the Egyptian curricula in a form that is in line with their culture and promotes their education. He added, Some schools take a fee, but it is symbolic relative to the important educational services it offers Syrian students. CAIRO A few hundred books, a large social media network and a wooden sign that reads "Take a book and leave another" have created one of the most successful initiatives of 2017 in Egypt. On Nov. 4 Nader Riad, an Egyptian-German businessman, and his team placed three wooden stands with a few dozen novels, poetry and nonfiction books in the busy streets of Cairo. The rules are simple: You can take a free book if you bring another one. The simplicity of the book exchange contrasts with extravagant plans by the state in the past. For example, as part of the Reading for All initiative, which ran between 1991 and 2010 under the former president's wife, Suzanne Mubarak, huge sums of money were spent on TV advertisements to encourage people to read. The street library, as the Egyptian media and social media users call it, was chosen by several Egyptian newspapers as the best initiative in 2017. It was widely promoted online and welcomed by many young people and bookworms, some of whom visited the stands and shared pictures on social media. But the popular initiative also suffered setbacks. On the morning of Dec. 10, Cairo residents woke up to find that one of the book stands at al-Falaky Street was almost empty, rankling fans who expressed their disappointment online and feared the end of the street library. However, Riad's team said in a press release, "The disappearance of some books from the librarys shelves does not mean the end or failure of the initiative. It only means that people need some time to embrace and get used to the idea of borrowing books." It continued, We ought to focus on the bright side. We had expected that some of the books might disappear, but we are currently getting new ones and will check stands every four days and add more books when necessary." There was little need. On the morning of Dec. 11, several young people rushed to the stand and filled it with dozens of books. Ahmed al-Alfi, an engineering student and one of the people who donated books, told Al-Monitor, Social media has made it a lot easier for people to respond to such an initiative. Peoples enthusiasm and support for the idea will protect it against those who do not appreciate the value of a book. Alfi also called upon the Ministry of Culture to spread the initiative in other areas. The no-cost aspect promises to promote reading, given the high cost of living in general and books in particular. I believe this initiative will also play a major role in promoting social engagement, integration and solidarity among Egyptians, Alfi said. Commenting on whether the Ministry of Culture will lend its support, an official who preferred to remain anonymous told Al-Monitor, This would be a great idea, although it faces obstacles given the complicated procedures in the ministry. A nonprofit organization must be established first to set up stands, in addition to prior approval by every neighborhood and the waiting time for the necessary official approvals. Writer Mohammed al-Gizawi told Al-Monitor, I do not expect the ministry to adopt such an initiative as it would rather deal with it from a security perspective. The Ministry of Interior closed both al-Balad and al-Karama bookstores in Cairo, not to mention that the Alef Bookstore was taken over by the government on charges that it was affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Many other known and licensed bookstores have been under the governments supervision for security reasons let alone a street library. Project manager Nagib Samir told Al-Monitor, Given the positive response of the Egyptian youth, we are currently working on placing five more stands in different governorates after getting the permits from the local authorities, as we did for downtown. We are also considering expanding the initiative to reach other governorates, but we have yet to explore the option of getting support from the Ministry of Culture. He added, The initiative is completely dependent on volunteer efforts by a small team responsible for checking the stands for book availability and making sure that there is no inappropriate content, especially because the stands are accessible to children." Iran's air pollution crisis, which claimed more than 4,800 lives in 2016, has become yet another area for scoring political points for both the Reformists and the Principlists, much like almost everything else in Iran. Ever since the Reformists took over the presidency and the capital city, they no longer criticize the administration or the municipality for not resolving the air pollution crisis. The matter has been forgotten and replaced by partisan attacks aimed at various Iranian political groups. For the past decade, air pollution has been an increasingly common feature of Tehran during the months of December and January. On certain days, Tehrans weather is a hazard to all age groups. Under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he and then-Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf took turns accusing each other of neglecting their responsibility to address the air pollution crisis. Ever since Hassan Rouhani was elected president in 2013, the Reformist media outlets have focused their criticism on the municipality's administration and Ghalibaf, who was still mayor last year. The issue came up during the televised presidential debates. In June 2013, Ghalibaf and Reformist candidate Mohammad Reza Aref accused each other of being responsible for the air pollution crisis. However, Rouhanis administration has gotten no closer to solving Tehrans air pollution problem. During the presidential debates leading up to the May 2017 elections, Ghalibaf criticized the administration and held it responsible for the air pollution problem. Currently, both the municipality and the administration are under the control of the Reformists. The Reformist takeover has not only failed to solve the air pollution crisis in Tehran, it has further complicated matters. On Dec. 11, Tehrans air quality index reached 122, a level hazardous to vulnerable groups, and it stayed there in the days that followed. On Dec. 19, it reached 151, which is unhealthy for all groups, and it hit 172 on Dec. 21. When the administration does take action, the solutions are usually extemporaneous and limited to closing down schools or alternating permission to drive between cars with even and odd license plate numbers. The resulting criticism by the Principlists and their media outlets is vitriolic, despite the pleading of Isa Kalantari, one of Rouhanis vice presidents and chief of the Department of Environment. According to Kalantari, There is no practical solution to Tehrans air pollution crisis. Our problem is the gasoline, [which is] 10 times more polluting than standard gasoline. The administration has no choice, for if we ground vehicles for polluting the air, the citys transportation will stop. The gasoline is substandard and we are forced to choose between bad and worse. We have to pray for the wind to come and carry away the pollution. But why does Tehran have a continuous air pollution problem? The head of the health commission of Tehrans City Council, Zahra Sadr-Azam Noori, has stated, Less than 3% [of Tehran's hazardous airborne particulates] are caused by automobiles and the other 97% is caused by trucks, buses, minivans and motorcycles. She added, According to the [current] Five-Year Plan, Tehrans municipality is required to equip 8,400 diesel-powered vehicles with filters. So far, four years into the second plan, only 50 buses have been equipped with soot filters. On Dec. 23, a rumor started circulating in the Iranian media claiming that Tehran Mayor Mohammad Ali Najafi has a heart problem and left the capital for a weeklong vacation on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, to much criticism from the Principlists. Although Najafi denied the rumor the next day, Tehran's' new mayor cannot claim he has done anything to solve the citys air pollution crisis. Of course, the criticism regarding the air pollution crisis has been for the most part limited to Principlist media outlets, as the Reformist ones preferred to stay silent. TUNIS, Tunisia The Tunisian capital as well as other governorates have been rocked by widespread protests since Jan. 3, which descended into acts of vandalism and looting, over the governments austerity measures that came as part of the finance law of 2018, which became effective at the beginning of January. Under the law, there has been an increase in price of consumer goods that included fuel, medicine, electricity and food (but not bread); additional taxes also were imposed. Pro-opposition parties warned against new bread riots against the government measures. The bread riots swept Tunisia at the end of December 1983 and culminated on Jan. 3, 1984, when dozens of demonstrators were shot dead by security forces. On Jan. 13, the government announced a $70 million reform package to increase aid to citizens in need and access to health care. Clashes erupted in several Tunisian cities between protesters and security forces, which led to the death Jan. 8 of a young man from Tebourba, west of the capital, Tunis, as a result of gas suffocation when the police tried to disperse a group of protesters using tear gas, according to a statement by the Tunisian Interior Ministry. Meanwhile, over 800 people have been arrested and 50 policemen injured, amid the deployment of the Tunisian army to protect governmental institutions and headquarters Jan. 10. The protests broke out Jan. 3 following calls on social media networks and the emergence of an online young people's movement dubbed What Are We Waiting For? in tandem with the anniversary of the bread riots. In late 1983 and early 1984, Tunisians flocked to the streets in the southern part of the country after the government under late President Habib Bourguiba announced an increase in price of basic items such as flour and bread. The protests culminated in the deaths of dozens of demonstrators who were shot by the security forces in several cities. This pushed Bourguiba to cancel all austerity measures under a presidential decree. The Tunisian pro-opposition party Beni Watani, in a Jan. 3 statement, warned the Tunisian government of repercussions from the increased prices of consumer goods, which could lead to a revolt similar to that of the 1980s. The party called on the government to read and learn from the history of the country, especially given the similar reasons behind the 1984 crisis and the current anger wave." Anis al-Harathi, an activist and leader in the What Are We Waiting For? group, told Al-Monitor that the protests were intentionally launched Jan. 3 to remind the people of what happened on that date in 1984, stressing that the same dark political climate and the deteriorating economic situation that characterized that black period of the history of Tunisia are unfolding now but are even harsher on the pockets of Tunisians. He said the movement will continue to encourage peaceful protests until the finance law, with all its measures allowing price and tax increases, is rescinded. Ammar Amrousieh, an activist and a leader in the Popular Front a left-wing party bloc and one of the most prominent supporters of What Are We Waiting For? said his party will continue protesting and galvanizing public mobilization in the street to pressure the government to reverse its measures. In an interview with Al-Monitor, Amrousieh blamed what he called failed government policies for the deteriorating economic and social situation, stressing that his party had warned the government of the repercussions of the finance law when it was discussed in parliament. The law is a barrel of gunpowder that exploded in the face of the government, he said. All protests will cease when Prime Minister Youssef Chahed follows in the footsteps of Bourguiba and annuls the new prices, Amrousieh said. Many political parties have called upon Chahed to annul the finance law, including parties from the ruling coalition that voted for the law in parliament such as the Ennahda movement. Maniya Ibrahim, a leader in Ennahda, called on Chahed via Jawhara FM radio on Jan. 10 to review the measures in the new budget. Chahed had accused the Popular Front of stirring up the social situation, inciting violence and serving certain political agendas by voting for the law and then protesting against it. In a statement to Tunisian Mosaic Radio on Jan. 10, he said that his government respected the right to protest and understands the peoples demands and grievances about the high cost of living, but that he considered the austerity measures as difficult economic reforms necessary to improve the economic situation. Rida al-Saidi, an economic adviser to the prime minister, told Al-Monitor that the austerity measures in the finance law are necessary given the pressures and constraints at home and abroad, stressing that there is no way to go back on them. Saidi said that the debt is 70% of gross domestic product and that the state budget deficit reached a record 6.1% of GDP in 2017. He said Tunisia has made pledges to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other foreign financiers to reduce public expenditures in a package of comprehensive financial reforms in order to obtain several international loans to revive its treasury. These include a $320 million third installment of an IMF loan and a $500 million World Bank loan. On Jan. 14, Tunis commemorated the seventh anniversary of the outbreak of the Dignity Revolution, which led to the ouster of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. This commemoration came amid fears that the economic crisis that has been plaguing the country will further deepen and that social conditions could explode out of control. Turkeys uneasy ties with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham The Astana process is on the verge of collapse, as Turkey and Russia are lining up on opposite sides in Idlib, which may prove to be the decisive battle in the Syria war. Syrias military operations in Idlib are making Turkey so tense that it summoned the ambassadors of Iran and Russia and warned them that the Syrian army's moves violate the accord reached in Astana, Kazakhstan, which provides for de-escalation zones guaranteed by Iran, Russia and Turkey, writes Fehim Tastekin. Moscow has intimated that drones that targeted Russian facilities in Khmeimim and Tartus on Jan. 6 originated from areas controlled by Turkish-backed "moderate" opposition groups. Ankara has denied the charge, arguing that the attacks were the result of terrorist forces gaining a foothold in the region as a result of the Syrian offensive. Turkey is the main backer of the "moderate" Free Syrian Army (FSA). Power in Idlib also rests with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadi group that is linked with al-Qaeda and includes fellow travelers from Ahrar al-Sham, which lost out in the power struggle with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Both groups see the future of Syria as based on Islamic law, and their rule in Idlib has been characterized by tyranny and torture, as documented by Amnesty International and reported in this column. In Ankaras score, the Syrian offensive in Idlib is a violation of the cease-fire agreement and a threat to fragile peace negotiations. Turkeys sharp reaction to the uptick in fighting suggests that the agreement struck in Astana, at least as it relates to Idlib, is unraveling," writes Amberin Zaman. The immediate trigger appears to be the series of mysterious drone attacks on Russian military bases in Syrias Latakia province since the start of the year. Moscow apparently believes Turkey did not stick to its side of the bargain either, amid accusations that Turkish forces chose to coexist rather than curb when they moved into Idlib last October as peace monitors. As Syrian forces advance, and come into conflict with the FSA and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Turkey finds itself in an uneasy alignment with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, putting it at odds with both Russia and Iran. The struggle at Idlib is considered by many to be the last act of the war against a jihadi group that is basically controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham under the leadership of al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, writes Tastekin. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham labels the Astana and Geneva peace processes as treason, so the cease-fire Russia formulated excludes Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as well as the Islamic State (IS). From the outset, Russia said the cease-fire covers only moderate opposition groups; operations against Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and IS will not cease. Turkey, on the other hand despite its approval of the Astana process decided to place Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in a different category. Ankara first tried to reshape that organization as it had earlier with Ahrar al-Sham. When that didnt work, Turkey tried to split Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. When that didnt work as well, Ankara accepted the facts of life and decided to cooperate. The top priority for Turkey is breaking the power of the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) militia, which it considers a terrorist organization, linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey. If the terrorists in Afrin dont surrender we will tear them down, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Jan. 13. According to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham sources, Tastekin reports, there were three conditions to allow Turkey's army to enter the area without encountering any opposition. One was that the target would be Afrin, where the Kurds have declared autonomy. A second would be that there would be no operation against groups controlling Idlib. The third was that local groups affiliated with Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield would not enter the area. Turkeys deployment approved and escorted by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was not compatible with Iran's and Russias definition of the de-escalation zone. Turkey was indirectly providing a shield for the organizations already dominating Idlib. In addition to divisions among the Astana parties, Turkeys fractures with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham sparked divisions within the jihadi group itself. In such a risky atmosphere, Ankara is hoping to hold on to Idlib and the triangle of al-Bab, Jarablus and Azaz that Turkey had secured in Operation Euphrates Shield, to use them as a card against Damascus in a settlement process, Tastekin concludes. Such a card would have serious ramifications for the fate of the Syrian president and the future of the Kurds as they seek to build their autonomy in the north. Until he gets the concessions he seeks for these two key issues, Erdogan doesnt want the Syrian army to approach the Turkish border and face Turkish troops. Al-Monitor detailed financial roots of Iranian demonstrations in June The Wall Street Journal this week provided an in-depth report on the role of Irans unregulated financial and credit institutions in the current demonstrations. The article reminded us of the outstanding and prescient analysis by Al-Monitor columnist Bijan Khajehpour, who in June 2017 warned of the risks if the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) did not license Irans unregulated credit and financial institutions. Khajehpour wrote that a sizable segment of the Iranian financial sector has become dominated by mostly unlicensed CFIs [credit and financial institutions]. These are usually affiliated with religious foundations, which claim the financial institutions are an extension of the religious responsibility of their umbrella organizations to extend interest-free loans to applicants. For a long time, the CBI was unable to challenge these entities as they claimed they were not engaging in mainstream banking and financial activities. Khajehpour wrote, One apparent reason why there is a market for such institutions is that licensed public or private banks are not fully equipped to satisfy the demand for personal and business loans in the market, hence pushing many loan applicants to enter into a contract with CFIs. In other words, CFIs have filled a gap that has existed in the countrys money market in the absence of a more developed financial sector. At the same time, the mushrooming of unregulated CFIs and various cooperative funds across the country has led to unhealthy disruptions in the money market. He concluded, Beyond the planned mergers and a potentially more stringent supervision by the CBI over CFIs and banks, the remaining core problem is a culture of corrupt dealings that needs to be addressed. In particular, entities closely affiliated with religious and political power centers have engaged in embezzlement schemes that have undermined the economic and social well-being of the country and further delegitimized the Islamic Republic as a political regime that can manage the complexities of a modern economy. AUB dedicates Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center The American University of Beirut (AUB) this week dedicated the Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center, made possible through a generous gift from the Levant Foundation. The center is named in honor of the parents of Jamal Daniel, the founder and chairman of Al-Monitor and founder and principal benefactor of the Levant Foundation. AUB President Fadlo Khuri said, "The inauguration of the Aida and Halim Daniel ACC allows us to elevate our clinical care to a genuinely world-class level, and to launch clinical trials of the highest caliber. This is truly transformative change for the university, and we are grateful to the Daniel family for making this possible." Jamal Daniel said, We are delighted that the Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center will touch the lives of future generations by providing both world-class education and the very best medical care for Lebanon and the Region, with the benefit of this first-class building and facility. The AUB institution is part of our collective history, and we need altogether in the Levant Region to go on reclaiming that history, because only when we see the world as it really is, can we begin to imagine what it could be. BETHLEHEM, West Bank To the southwest of the town of al-Khader, 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the city of Bethlehem, lies Shoshahla village located at the foot of a mountain surrounded by five Israeli settlements: Sidi Bouaz, Eliezer, Efrat, Neve Daniel and Kfar Etzion. Only three people a man, his wife and their daughter live in Shoshahla and continue to cling to a land they inherited from their ancestors. This small family, which was forced to migrate decades ago under Israeli threats, chose to return to Shoshahla in the early 1990s and is refusing to leave again despite the primitive life they lead. The village of Shoshahla faces continuous attacks from settlers who destroy homes, write racist slogans on walls, deprive inhabitants of the basic necessities of life and force them to use primitive means when traveling to neighboring cities and villages. Settlers are seeking to maintain a tight grip on the only remaining family and prompt them to leave their home and land. Several attacks have been launched on the village, the most recent of which was when an Israeli military force stormed the village on July 29, 2017, forcing residents to leave their homes at gunpoint. Muhannad Salah, 37, is the only Palestinian left with his family in the village. He told Al-Monitor, The village of Shoshahla was built in 1878 during the Ottoman rule over Palestine. It stretches over an area of 1,200 acres. Up until 1976, 30 Palestinian families lived in the village but they migrated to the nearby al-Khader village as a result of the Israeli wars that were raging at the time. These families feared that the residents of neighboring settlements would attack and kill them. Only 50 meters [164 feet] separate the village from the closest settlement. Salah said, In 1992, I went back to the village after I had left a couple of years before, and I repaired my family's house despite the lack of water and electricity. My family and I live a very primitive life in a house made of rock and clay, and we use an old kerosene lamp for lighting. We get water from an old well that I repaired. I use wood for cooking and heating during the winter. I also rely on breeding sheep and birds, and I sell various agricultural crops to the Bethlehem market so I can cover a small part of my familys needs." He noted, The village is home to an ancient Islamic cemetery and an old and damaged historic mosque named after the village. I am currently trying to revive the village by inviting its original inhabitants who live in the nearby town of al-Khader to return and reclaim the land they abandoned years ago and block any Israeli attempts to steal the village lands." I am the only Palestinian who still has the name of the village Shoshahla on his ID card. My family and I have been harassed and assaulted by the settlers. I was repeatedly arrested by the Israeli army and forced to leave the village. When a group of settlers from the settlement of Kfar Etzion burned my house in 2016, I went to file a complaint with the Israeli authorities. I was arrested and only released when I paid a fine. But I will preserve this land that I inherited from my ancestors and will defy the Israelis, Salah added. Muhannad Salah sits with his wife in the West Bank village of Shoshahla (photo by Muhannad Salah). While settlements surround the village from all directions and shelter more than 120,000 settlers, my family and I still lead a normal life despite the Israeli harassment. My wife and only daughter help me persevere despite the lack of the most basic amenities, he said. The village of Shoshahla is located in Area C, which is under Israeli control and which accounts for 60% of the West Bank. Israel has maintained almost complete control over the area following the signing in 1995 of the Interim Agreement, known as Oslo II, between Israel and the PLO. The agreement divides the West Bank into three areas: Area A, Area B and Area C. Hasan Bureijeh, the representative of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) in Bethlehem, told Al-Monitor, Shoshahla is an ancient and historical village where signs of Ottoman seals can be found on the walls of houses. Its lands are the property of Palestinian citizens. He said, The CWRC supports Salahs family resistance in the face of the Israeli Judaization plan. Bureijeh added, The CWRC has reclaimed several agricultural lands in the village and restored more than four houses to lure families back, but Israel is forbidding Palestinians from returning. A structural plan has been prepared with the help of government agencies to provide the village with electricity using solar cells in the coming period. Such a plan aims to breathe new life into the village and help preserve the Palestinian cultural and historical heritage." We mobilize Palestinian and foreign delegations from around the world and invite them to visit the confiscated or threatened Palestinian lands by planting dozens of olive trees in these areas to defend the right of the Palestinians to their land and have them witness the Israeli violations on the ground. These delegations are also invited so that they convey the ongoing Israeli violations to their people, Bureijeh noted. Iman al-Titi, the director of the archaeology department at the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Bethlehem, told Al-Monitor, Shoshahla is an important historical and archaeological landmark. The village is home to ancient grape presses, water wells and heritage palaces such as the Hanbal Palace. We are working on an integrated plan to restore the village and protect its cultural and heritage sites. The village is part of our Palestinian identity. Titi said, The next stage will witness the launch of a tourist route to the village of Shoshahla in order for people to get acquainted with its archaeological and heritage landmarks. Despite the obstacles that this route may face for being located in the Israeli-controlled Area C, it will include Masar Ibrahim al-Khalil, which is a long-distance cultural walking route stretching from the north of Jenin to the south of Hebron. According to B'Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, the number of Israeli settlements amounted to more than 200 between 1967 and the end of 2016 and were inhabited by around 600,000 Israeli settlers. It seems like the LG G7 may arrive later than expected, as the companys vice chairman and CEO of LG Electronics, Jo Seong-jin, ordered a revision of the device, at least according to a report by Korea Herald. The source also claims that the phones launch will be delayed to April because of this, even though it was expected to arrive in February or March. If this info is accurate, the LG G7 will not launch during this years Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, where the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will get announced, as per recent confirmation. Korea Herald actually bases its article on the info provided by a company official who asked for anonymity. LGs employees who are developing the LG G7 were basically told to stop developing the phone, and to review the device altogether, from scratch. This move by Jo Seong-jin could have something to do with the companys money-losing smartphone department, as he said during a press conference at this years Consumer Electronics Show, that LG will unveil smartphones when it is needed, and that the company will not launch new phones just because their competitors did. Jo Seong-jin also said that hes considering changing the smartphones brand name during his speech at CES last week, which is rather interesting. Now, it is somewhat unlikely that LG will change the LG G7s design significantly at this stage of its development, but anything is possible following Jo Seong-jins recent order. It seems like the company is ready to do whatever it takes to make its smartphone business profitable, and Jo Seong-jin is probably only trying to make sure that the LG G7 is a phone worthy of announcing. Having said that, the LG G7 will likely resemble the LG V30, it will ship with really thin bezels, even thinner than the LG V30, probably, and it will be made out of metal and glass. The phone is expected to sport a dual camera setup on its back, while it is still unknown whether it will sport a rear-facing fingerprint scanner, or will LG perhaps manage to include an in-display fingerprint scanner instead. The phone will, almost certainly, be fueled by the Snapdragon 845 64-bit octa-core processor which was announced recently, and you can expect to see 6GB of RAM on the inside of this phone. The LG G7 will include a rather large QHD+ P-OLED display, most probably, and Android 8.0 Oreo will come pre-installed on the device, along with LGs custom UI. OnePlus doubled its revenue last year and saw it surpass $1.4 billion, founder and Chief Executive Officer Pete Lau told The Telegraph. The entrepreneur didnt attach a specific figure to the companys bottom line but did say OnePlus recorded healthy profits over the same period. The Shenzhen, Guangdong-based phone maker disclosed its revenue only once until now, having revealed it had a $300 million turnover in its founding year of 2014, though the newly unveiled information also suggests it recorded $700 million in proceeds over 2016. Its performance increase is largely in line with the companys statements about the popularity of its previously released devices; the firm said all of its Android flagships after the 2014 OnePlus One were its fastest-selling products following their release, implying its business is consistently growing and continues to do so to this date. Mr. Lau claims he opted to disclose the OEMs revenue so as to assure potential customers OnePlus is in a healthy state and good position to continue supporting its devices going forward, adding that consumers will think twice about committing to any product if theyre skeptical about the prospects of the business behind it. As part of the same interview, the executive also reiterated OnePlus is presently in the early stages of discussing potential retail partnerships with a number of wireless carriers in the United States, saying that the company intends to earn their trust with its products but without providing any details on the matter. Being carried by any of the four national mobile service providers in the U.S. would provide OnePlus with a major entry point into the worlds largest market for flagships, the companys main product category in which its trying to undercut its competition. Such a feat is still far from certain, with even the much larger Huawei being unable to score a carrier deal despite recently coming close to signing one with AT&T following reported pressure from certain intelligence committees concerned about the OEMs ties to the Chinese government. The latest offering from OnePlus was released in November, having debuted in the form of its first relatively bezel-free device marketed as the OnePlus 5T. Mr. Lau said the firm is planning to continue with its annual product roadmap going forward and release two new high-end smartphones this year, with the OnePlus 6 being set for a Q2 launch, whereas the OnePlus 6T is likely to debut in late 2018. OnePlus is investigating numerous reports of credit card fraud from its customers, the Chinese phone maker said Monday. Nearly a hundred people who used the companys online store in the last four months said they had issues with fraudulent charges after their purchase, with 89 of them saying they provided the firm with their credit card numbers and CCVs within the last two months, according to a thread including a survey on the matter hosted on OnePluss official forums. The BBK Electronics-owned company didnt confirm it was compromised but only said its conducting individual probes into every report, noting that no similar issues were reported by customers who paid for OnePlus-made devices or accessories using a third-party service such as PayPal. Cybersecurity firm Fidus Information Security recently outlined a number of problems with OnePluss online store and the manner in which it was set up. First, despite claiming credit card processing isnt conducted by its website, OnePlus is handling the payment information entry phase on-site and only sends it to a secure service provider after the customer submitted it, allowing for a brief period for the data to be intercepted by an attacker in its plain form, before the companys third-party payment platform of choice is able to intercept it. Secondly, the phone makers website doesnt mention PCI, an information security standard required by major credit card companies on a global level, Fidus wrote. OnePlus didnt directly refute that claim, having only said its online payments partner is PCI-DSS-compliant but without reflecting on its own website which relays sensitive information even though it doesnt store it. The cybersecurity firm also said the Chinese OEM is relying on the Magento e-commerce platform prone to being hacked but OnePlus today claimed its been in the process of transitioning away from that system since 2014 and never used it for handling credit card payments in the first place. The Shenzhen-based manufacturer promised to keep its customers updated on the matter and advised them to contact their banks should they suspect fraudulent credit card activity. A company spokesperson also said OnePlus considers digital security to be among its top priorities, emphasizing the fact that no credit card info is ever stored on its website. The extent of the possible hack is still unclear and OnePlus didnt clarify when its customers can expect more news on the matter. The timeframes of fraudulent charges cited by OnePlus customers who reported them suggests the majority of the victims purchased the companys latest Android flagship the OnePlus 5T. A Samsung Electronics-made mobile device presumed to be the Galaxy S9 was certified by Brazils National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) earlier this month, with its listing suggesting that the smartphone will ship with a 3,000mAh battery. The newly uncovered information is in line with previous reports about Samsungs upcoming Android flagship which described it as an incremental upgrade over its predecessor with whom it will share a lot of hardware characteristics, battery capacity included. The cell powering the Galaxy S9 is expected to be of the non-removable variety and feature support for Samsungs fast charging technology, as well as Qi and PMA wireless charging standards. The upcoming device is also expected to retain the 5.8-inch Super AMOLED panel with a QHD+ resolution and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio but ship with a more energy-efficient chip Qualcomms Snapdragon 845 or Samsungs own Exynos 9810, depending on the market that should provide it with better battery life compared to the tech giants flagship offering from 2017. With both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus boasting advanced batteries that were highly resilient to capacity degradation troubling most contemporary mobile devices, their successors are likely to be similar in that regard, even though the chances of them making yet another major step forward on the sustainability front are slim. The battery aspect of the Galaxy S9 lineup is hence expected to be in line with Samsungs general vision for the product family thats reportedly meant to provide a refined take of the Galaxy S8 concept in the form of the companys second-generation bezel-free devices. The 6.2-inch Galaxy S9 Plus is rumored to have a number of exclusive improvements that will circumvent the smaller Galaxy S9, with the biggest such difference between the two supposedly being a dual-camera setup planned to reside on the back of the more expensive phablet. The device may also ship with 6GB of RAM as opposed to 4GB of the Galaxy S9 and may be offered in a configuration with as much as 512GB of storage space, with Samsung recently starting the mass production of such flash memory chips, though the bases of both models are expected to remain at 64GB. The South Korean tech giant already confirmed its next pair of high-end Android devices will be unveiled late next month at MWC 2018, suggesting the duo will start retailing in March. This year, Samsung is reportedly planning on expanding its presence in the online retail space in India and release a new smartphone series which will be retailed exclusively online in order to compete more closely with Chinese OEMs and Xiaomi in particular. Nearly half of all smartphones distributed in India through online-only channels come from Chinese manufacturers and Xiaomi is enjoying a lot of success in this field, with the top three handsets sold in the third quarter of 2017 reportedly bearing the companys badge. According to a recent report from The Economic Times citing three unnamed senior industry executives, Samsung is developing a new smartphone series this year, which will be retailed in India exclusively online. This new series will apparently adopt high-end hardware components but will be priced at somewhere between Rs. 5,000 ($78) and Rs. 15,000 ($236) because its main purpose will be to compete directly with Xiaomis smartphones offered in India through e-commerce channels. Samsung has previously launched smartphones in India exclusively online, with the most successful example of that practice being the Galaxy On series, so it remains to be seen exactly how this new strategy will be different from the OEMs previous approach, should it be altered at all. According to the report, the online-only series will not be released at the cost of the companys offline retail business and Samsung will not neglect its already successful brick-and-mortar stores in the country. In the offline retail space, Xiaomi cant yet compete with the Korean tech giant and Samsung intends this to be the case moving forward, regardless of its future e-commerce efforts. Xiaomi is enjoying a lot of success in India, where the company managed to secure 23.5 percent of the market over the third quarter of 2017, according to previous research from IDC. Meanwhile, Xiaomi India Managing Director told The Economic Times that the company accounted for almost 50 percent of all online smartphone sales in the country last month. In closing, its also worth reminding that a lot of times Xiaomi runs various discounts and promotions for its smartphones distributed online, so perhaps Samsung may need to do more than launch a new smartphone series and consider similar strategies in order to establish itself as a strong online handset retailer in India. Verizon has reportedly reiterated that it is still working on new over-the-top (OTT) services which had previously been expected to launch in Spring of this year. For those who may not be aware, OTT typically refers to services or products offered in addition to, or over the top of, what is generally made available by the company. In this case, Verizon has been expected to launch a new video service since early last year. That would be delivered either over Verizons own network or others and is expected to be made available on either mobile connections or over broadband connections. More directly, the services to be offered by Verizon would likely compete with others that are already on the market, such as Amazons Prime Video or Netflix. As alluded to above, the majority of the speculation surrounding any kind of OTT product or service from the mobile carrier has centered around streaming media services of some kind. That makes sense since the company is currently only serving as a conduit to those other providers. It makes even more sense with consideration for the amount of money the company has spent on licensing content already reportedly around $4 to $5 billion. Thats a substantial amount of money and, if thats really how much it has spent, the company already has plenty of incentive for wanting to get its own streaming services up and running sooner rather than later. However, its OTT services could extend beyond basic media, too. In fact, according to the source, Verizon has also invested its efforts into work on connected home products and services, which could ultimately be tied in with a streaming service either directly or otherwise. Unfortunately, while its possible to speculate, Verizon has still not made any official announcements about what it plans to offer. Moreover, there is a chance that no such announcement will be made until just before the service or services launch likely in order to keep any distinct ideas or technologies for streaming services from being used elsewhere before the company has a chance to bring them to market. The company hasnt provided any additional information with regard to any time frame at all or for what the costs will be. Xiaomi picked a number of banks meant to assist the company in its efforts to go public later this year, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing a source close to the Chinese tech giant. Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley will be part of the team responsible for whats widely expected to be the largest initial public offering in the tech segment, with Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse Group also being on the list of the firms new banking partners. More financial institutions are understood to be involved in the IPO plan but their names are yet to revealed, officially or otherwise. The original equipment manufacturer has yet to pick a single partner from its home country of China and hasnt made a final decision in regards to the location and timing of its IPO, according to the same insider, with previous reports suggesting Hong Kong is by far the most likely destination for Xiaomi. The Beijing-based OEMs pick of banks isnt indicative of the location of its IPO, with all of its supposed partners having a major presence in most parts of the world. The role of banks is important in the traditional process of listing a company on the public markets as such partners serve as underwriters that commit significant resources to accurately estimating the value of any given IPO and thus provide some assurances to investors in exchange for a fee incorporated into the initial price of their clients shares. Every conventional IPO has a lead underwriter that dictates the process but its currently unclear who will play that role in Xiaomis act of going public. The companys last funding round was conducted in 2014 and saw it valued at $46 billion, with that figure having the possibility to more than double should Xiaomi maintain its performance until the IPO, according to previous reports. Even though the firm struggled to continue its international expansion while still fighting off domestic rivals like Huawei and OPPO in both 2015 and 2016, last year saw its resurgence of sorts, primarily driven by strong growth in India, the worlds second largest smartphone market. The newly reported state of Xiaomis plan to go public suggests its roadshow may start in mid-2018. ZTE is looking to evolve the Axon M concept into a truly foldable Android smartphone, the companys Marketing VP Jeff Yee told Engadget during the 2018 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show. Mr. Yee suggested the process of turning the dual-screen design of ZTEs Axon M into something more in line with what consumers expect when they think of a bendable phone will take a while longer and entail multiple device iterations. The executive didnt provide a specific roadmap for the firms ambitions in the segment, with his comments only implying that another handset similar to the Axon M may be commercialized later this year, offering a more refined take on the original concept that connects two displays with a hinge and allows them to fold outward. Initially announced in October before being released a month later, the Axon M received a lukewarm reception from both critics and consumers alike. While the Chinese companys willingness to attempt a redesign of the traditional candy bar aesthetic was generally seen as a positive thing, the end result of that effort was criticized for being less convenient to use than its more conventional alternatives while simultaneously not providing a lot of new functionalities that take advantage of its two screens. As the addition of a second display increased the manufacturing costs of the Axon M compared to traditional smartphones, the handset ended up shipping with a price tag of approximately $700 in the United States, thus being part of the flagship territory while lacking the majority of hardware specifications of premium smartphones released over the course of this year and generally being perceived as not offering enough value for money. ZTE is also pursuing handset innovation in terms of connectivity, having recently announced plans to release a 5G-ready Android smartphone by early 2019 and possibly end up being the first original equipment manufacturer to do so, at least in the context of the U.S. market. A device thats much closer to the general expectations associated with the concept of a foldable phone is currently being developed by Samsung and should be commercialized early next year, according to recent reports. Why Do Some Women Like To Call Men Daddy In Bed? Trending News: Why Do Some Women Call Men 'Daddy' In Bed? Long Story Short Searches for 'daddy' on adult sites appear to indicate that plenty of women are turned on by the term but it doesn't have anything to do with 'daddy issues.' Long Story 'Daddy' is hot right now (yep, I said it). Two popular XXX websites, XHamster and Pornhub, both indicate in year-end reports that searches for 'daddy' are high among women (via Maxim). So what's up with that? Are women suddenly fantasizing about their fathers or older men? Sexologist Dr. Nikki Goldstein from the podcast Sex & Life doesn't think so. She told the New York Post searches for daddy have nothing to do with 'daddy issues.' Rather, they tend to be an "exciting fantasy." [Daddy porn's] got the key elements. Being taboo and having an authority figure in charge are very normalized triggers," Goldstein said. "So youve got a taboo fantasy play that turns people on, plus youve also got the submission. Also, as the content is morally wrong and extreme, it feels naughty. Even if it is acting; so for some, it becomes sexy. XHamster is known particularly as a hardcore site, so it's no surprise that people visiting it are looking for taboos or fetishes. A popular fetish that ties into the word 'daddy' is known as Daddy Dom / little girl (DDlg) and it involves men taking care of their 'littles' while the littles just act innocent, according to Broadly. But what about outside of porn land and in real life? Has a woman ever called you 'daddy' and you thought - 'who!?' Sex therapist Vanessa Marin told Broadly, "Yes, 'daddy' can mean 'father,' but we also use the word to indicate when someone is the boss, in charge, a protector, or doing a good job. That's usually the meaning women are going for in the bedroom. It's a bit of a 70s porn cliche. I've never run across a woman who called her partner 'daddy' because she genuinely liked fantasizing that he was her father." Another sex therapist, Jacqueline Hellyer, told Whimn that ladies who like to use the word 'daddy' might be role playing and acting in a way that's different from the way she tends to act outside the bedroom. Role plays - and in particular, power exchange role plays - are a very safe way for people with strong personalities to let go," Hellyer said. "You often find that women who like to be submissive in relationships - like the kind of women whod call their partner daddy in bed - are actually pretty high-powered in their day-to-day lives. Engaging in this roleplay is their way of letting go and giving in to vulnerability. So, no, calling you daddy doesn't mean she's thinking about her father or that she thinks you're her sugar daddy. If she says it, just go with it and when things cool down, talk it out. She might even be turned on when you say 'who's your daddy?' Or maybe not. Talk about it first; communication is never a bad call. Own The Conversation Ask The Big Question The XHamster report indicated a 2.4% increase in women watching porn. Will women ever spend as much time on XXX videos as men do? Drop This Fact A recent report found that men who date younger women live longer. Available in Shadow Black and Dark Highland Green, the 2019 Ford Mustang Bullitt took center stage at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. It was presented by none other than the iconic actors granddaughter, Molly.Coming to Ford dealerships in the summer of 2018, the Bullitt Mustang is beautified by exclusive badging, subtle chrome accents, and green accent stitching for the optional Recaro black leather-trimmed seats. Standard features include the 12-inch LCD instrument cluster and lots of ponies.Ford tells that the Coyote V8 develops at least 475 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, topping out at 163 miles per hour on full song. The 5.0-liter engine benefits from an open-air induction system and 87-mm throttle bodies, and the intake manifold from the Shelby GT350 Mustang.The burbling V8 sings the song of its people through an active exhaust system, which is complemented by black-painted exhaust tips. Being a tribute to the GT 390 from the movie, the newcomer boasts 19-inch torque thrust aluminum wheels and a set of red-painted Brembo brake calipers.In addition to the body-hugging Recaro seats, customers of the 2019 Bullitt Mustang can choose two more options from the list. The first is MagneRide semi-active suspension, and the second is baptized Bullitt Electronic Package. Despite the pompous name, what you get are Cross-Traffic Alert, Blind Spot Information System, better audio, memory function for the drivers seat, and satellite navigation for the SYNC 3 infotainment.When making a Bullitt, there are certain things it absolutely must have, declared Carl Widmann, Mustang chief engineer. It has to have the right attitude, it has to be unique in some way from a Mustang GT, and more than anything, it has to be badass. The Bob Hoover Academy, an aviation-themed nonprofit youth outreach program based in Austin, Texas, has partnered with Redbird Flight Simulations to add a full-motion flight simulator to the curriculum. As with any program, time in our aircraft and with our instructor is limited, said BHA chairman and founder Sean Tucker. Simulation helps our students make the most of that time. The program is designed to engage local at-risk teens in science, technology, engineering and math, and offers a full ground and flight school, with a single instructor and one airplane. The program uses aviation as a means to engage students and provide a positive outlet for their energy, with the goal of helping them to succeed in school and in life, whatever field they choose to pursue. Each student must first excel in ground school before moving on to flight training. Ultimately, they develop the skills and confidence to launch themselves out of their current orbit towards a course as a dynamic and contributing member of society, according to the programs website. Redbird President Charlie Gregoire said his company is proud to support the academys mission. Sean and his team have created an incredible program worth replicating throughout the country, he said. We believe that our partnership will make growing that mission a reality. An Aeromexico Boeing 737 lined up for the wrong runway at San Francisco International Airport last week in the third landing miscue at SFO in six months. The crew accepted a clearance for Runway 28R but set up for 28L instead. There was a Virgin America flight on 28L waiting to take off. Controllers saw the error when the Aeromexico flight was a mile out and ordered a go-around, which the crew performed before landing safely on the correct runway. Last July 7, an Air Canada A320 came close to landing on a taxiway parallel to runway 28R and complied with an abort order at about 100 feet AGL. There were four aircraft on the taxiway waiting for the runway. In October, another Air Canada A320 continued a landing despite repeated orders from the tower to go around. The pilot flying told FAA investigators the radio was on the wrong frequency. Russia believes that Armenia and Azerbaijan themselves must resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and will therefore not seek to impose any peace deal on them, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday. Russia cannot have concrete plans on resolving the Karabakh conflict because only the parties themselves can resolve the problem, Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow. Together with the United States and France, as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia is doing everything to create conditions for such a settlement. The parties know what the co-chairs think but its up to them to decide, he said. Of course we expect some positive signals to come from both countries. We are glad that there were meetings of the [Armenian and Azerbaijani] presidents and foreign ministers last year. So the onus is on the parties. Presidents Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham pledged to intensify the Karabakh peace process and bolster the ceasefire regime in the conflict zone when they met in Geneva on October 16. Their foreign ministers, Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, held follow-up negotiations in Vienna on December 7. They both described the talks as positive. Nalbandian and Mammadyarov are due to meet again this month. In a joint statement issued in Vienna on December 7, Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson hailed the high-level Armenian-Azerbaijani talks. They also urged both sides to take specific measures to prevent ceasefire violations and avoid further delays in negotiating a compromise peace deal. Lavrov stressed on Friday the importance of strengthening the ceasefire regime along the line of contact around Karabakh and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. That will make the search for a mutually acceptable solution easier, he said. This problem cannot be resolved once and for all with a single document, Lavrov went on. There needs to be a phased approach that will reflect an agreement on what is possible now and will map out ways of working on issues that require further discussion in the interests of achieving a final settlement, including [a deal on] the status of Karabakh. Lavrov said in March 2017 that the conflicting sides are still far apart on two or three elements of a framework peace accord that has been advanced by the U.S., Russian and French mediators for the past decade. Still, he said they broadly agree on the peace formula envisaging Armenian withdrawal from districts around Karabakh and a decision on Karabakhs status which would take into account the opinion of the people living there. By Rashid Shirinov The Armenian authorities can try as much as they want to deceive the countrys population about the countrys successes and achievements, but the real statistics shows the real state of affairs. The declining economic indicators, high unemployment and poverty rates, huge state debt, as well as dozens of other problems are the realities of todays Armenia. Therefore, it is no wonder that the outflow of people from the country is increasing year by year. The Passport and Visa Department of the Armenian Police has recently told News.am that the number of people who renounced Armenian citizenship has increased dramatically in recent years. The data from the department shows that as many as 3,823 citizens of the country filed applications for renunciation of Armenian citizenship in 2017. Only 968 applications were made in 2012, while their number was 1,461 in 2013, 2,407 in 2014, 2,487 in 2015, and 3,863 in 2016. That is, since the elections in 2012, when the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) came to power, and until today, more than 15,000 Armenian citizens renounced their citizenship. MP from the RPA, former Chief of Armenian Police Alik Sargsyan believes that this is a serious indicator and that the government should recognize this as the number one problem for the country. He also does not exclude that a significant part of Armenians refused citizenship in order to avoid military service. This is a very large figure for our country. Everyone has their own reason to leave the country, said the former head of police, adding that most likely, people do this because of social reasons, since they hope to find a well-paid job abroad, which will allow them to achieve some kind of success. Of course, this is one of the major reasons why people leave Armenia. Unemployment, with the rate of more than 18 percent, is among the most serious problems of the country, but the authorities turn a blind eye to it. Moreover, the data from the National Statistical Service of Armenia shows that the prices of products are regularly increasing in the country, and this further aggravates the situation of poor people, who account for a third of Armenias population. Last year, prices for vegetables increased by an average of 8.2 percent. In addition, the prices of dairy products, cheese and eggs rose by 7 percent, while the price of meat products went up by 11 percent and of fish by 24.8 percent. Furthermore, the prices for gasoline, gas and diesel fuel in Armenia also rose starting from the first days of 2018. In a nutshell, the Armenian government, seeing that thousands of their compatriots leave the country every year, not only does not try to stop this exodus, but, on the contrary, adds fuel to the fire by deteriorating the social situation in Armenia. If it continues at this pace, the country may turn into a complete "desert" in the foreseeable future. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 122 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on January 13. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Azharul Islam Khan By now, cholera should be history. For decades, health officials have understood how to prevent the disease, doctors have known how to treat it, and development experts have recognized that with clean water and sanitation, outbreaks rarely become epidemics. Unfortunately, the world is not so simple and neat, and the nightmare of cholera persists. In many parts of the world, cholera has in fact been tamed. Waterborne illnesses are virtually nonexistent in advanced economies. And even in resource-starved countries and regions where cholera remains a problem, the availability of oral rehydration therapy, or ORT, has helped prevent countless deaths. And yet cholera continues to flare up during times of crisis, killing the most vulnerable among us. One of the worst epidemics today is ravaging Yemen, where armed conflict has led to the collapse of health, water, and sanitation systems precisely the conditions under which cholera thrives. The first cholera cases were reported in October 2016; within a year, the number of cases had soared to more than 600,000. International organizations like the United Nations and the World Health Organization, in cooperation with Yemeni health-care officials, have mounted an impressive response. Their efforts have kept the fatality rate to roughly 0.33% of infections (some 2,000 deaths), mitigating the tragedy. But Yemenis are working in impossible conditions, and need resources and training. My country is leading the effort to ensure that they receive both. In October, a team of Yemeni nurses and doctors arrived at the International Centre of Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), where I have worked for much of my professional life. Our institute is the birthplace of ORT, and medical professionals from around the world come to Dhaka to be trained to administer this simple solution of sugar, salt, other elements, and water. Over the course of a week, Yemens health professionals received training on outbreak management, surveillance methods, and sanitation. They observed the treatment of cholera patients in our hospital, an experience that provided hands-on training for case management and assessing dehydration status. This is just one example of how icddr,b has helped alleviate human suffering in times of crisis. As a founding member of the WHOs Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), icddr,b has deployed expert teams to Zimbabwe, Sudan, South Sudan, Mozambique, Syria, Somalia, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, and Iraq. By sharing the knowledge and expertise that we have developed over decades of diarrheal disease management and research, we are playing a leading role in global efforts to tackle outbreaks. Bangladesh knows wartime cholera all too well. In 1971, fighting broke out when Bangladesh, then known as East Pakistan, declared independence from Pakistan. In the ensuing conflict, refugees poured across the border into neighboring India into crowded camps, creating conditions that inevitably gave rise to cholera outbreaks. The standard of care at the time was poor, and a dearth of intravenous drips meant that rehydration solutions could not be administered widely. As many people lay dying, a pioneering doctor named Dilip Mahalanabis took a chance in a desperate situation. American researchers in Bangladesh had shown that ORT could reverse fatal dehydration in cholera patients, but its effectiveness outside hospitals had not yet been proven. Lacking proper equipment and medical facilities, Mahalanabis administered ORT in camps, and in the process, saved thousands of lives. As a result, ORT became the new standard of care for diarrheal disease treatment; it has since saved more than 80 million people around the world. Now, new wartime cholera crises have emerged, and Bangladeshi expertise is again being called into service. Yemen is only one example. Since August, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have crossed the border into Bangladesh from Myanmar, the highest weekly outflow of refugees anywhere in the world since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. These desperate and vulnerable people are crowded into refugee camps, and there is a high risk that conditions may lead to a deadly cholera epidemic. In response to this threat, icddr,b is collaborating with UNICEF, the WHO, and other important stakeholders on multiple cholera-prevention initiatives. Efforts are being made to improve access to clean water and sanitation, and ORT sachets are being stockpiled. We have also worked with the WHO to secure some 900,000 doses of oral cholera vaccine (OCV), an internationally accepted tool to prevent and control outbreaks. Like ORT, the development of OCV has roots in Bangladesh, and at icddr,b in particular. The vaccines first successful field trials were conducted at icddr,b in the 1980s, and today, our scientists are drawing on decades of institutional knowledge to execute the second-largest OCV campaign ever conducted. It might be hard to imagine that a developing country like Bangladesh could play a pioneering role in managing a disease of such magnitude. But time and again, researchers and health workers in Bangladesh have demonstrated their expertise at containing cholera outbreaks and saving lives. As the world looks for new ways to curb opportunistic epidemics, it must not overlook the science that developing countries already possess. Cholera is back in the Global South. But, as our work in Bangladesh demonstrates, the Global South has the skills to beat it. Copyright: Project Syndicate: A Bangladeshi prescription for cholera --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Aygul Salmanova Azerbaijan plans to gradually replace foreign imports with domestic production and increase a competitiveness of local production. This year the export of onions from Azerbaijan increased more than 10 times, while imports dropped dramatically. The deputy Minister of Economy Sahil Babayev told Azernews that annual increase of global competitiveness on the onion as other agricultural products produced in Azerbaijan has enabled it to successfully export to foreign markets. In the 11 months of 2017, onion exports increased by 16.4 times compared to the same period of the previous year and amounted to $14.9 million. During this period, the onions were exported mainly from our country to Russia, Iraq, Turkmenistan and Georgia, he noted. Russia is the main shareholder on onion exports - 61 percent. Next places are taken by Turkmenistan and Iraq. In the context of the current world market volume and prices, onion exports to Azerbaijan are very promising. Currently, a ton of bulb onion on the local market is offered at a wholesale market of about $160. Its average export price is $310 / ton. There are potential markets and an opportunity to access these markets for exporting Azerbaijani onions. For example, Georgia ($431/ton), Saudi Arabia ($420/ton), Russia ($408/ton), Kuwait ($365/ton), Bahrain ($313/ton) and other countries. Available prices in the potential markets indicate that the onion has a broad perspective and is profitable product in terms of exports. Onion sowing has been widely spread in Azerbaijan. In 2013, 158,000 tons of onions were delivered, while production in 2016 reached 178,000 tons. The productivity was 15 tons per hectare. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Aygul Salmanova The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will study the possibility of rendering technical assistance to Azerbaijan within implementation of strategic road maps, the Ministry of Economy said on January 15. This issue was discussed at a meeting of representatives of the ministry with the leadership of the banks Baku office. Representatives of ADB were given information on the events envisaged in the road maps. At the meeting, it was decided that the bank will conduct repeated studies on selected areas for rendering technical assistance, and then will inform the Ministry of Economy. President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree in late 2016 endorsing Strategic Road Maps for the National Economy and Main Economic Sectors, which outlined the short-, medium- and long-term goals for the development of the economy and eleven key sectors. The document comprises consolidated measures aimed at minimization of negative impacts of the global economic slowdown. It will allow to create a new development model basing on short-term (until 2020), medium-term (until 2025) and long-term measures (post 2025) to be implemented in different spheres of economy. The short-term (2016-2020) objectives of the road map for heavy industry include creation of a competitive sector, provision of financial resources for its development. The implementation of these measures will allow to increase GDP by almost 560 million manats ($306.8 million). The strategic road maps up to 2025 and beyond cover almost all sectors of the economy, including, development of the oil and gas industry, the manufacture and processing of agricultural products, the manufacture of small and medium entrepreneurship-level consumer goods, development of heavy industry and machinery, tourism, logistics and trade, vocational education and training, financial services, communication and information technologies and utilities. The Strategic Road Maps require some 27 billion manats ($15.8 billion) to be implemented, while the sum will be provided through the state and private sources. ADB was founded in 1966 and 67 states are its members. The banks headquarters is located in Manila, Philippines. Azerbaijan became an ADB member in 1999. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Aygul Salmanova The art of carpet weaving, passed on from generation to generation, is an integral part of Azerbaijani culture and history. For centuries, carpet weaving was one of the most massive and traditional kinds of applied art in Azerbaijan. The countrys best masters invested understanding of the beauty of the world and the philosophical perception of life in carpets. Azerbaijani carpet, however, is more than just an item of beauty or a property for trade. The carpet weaving sector annually creates a range of employment opportunities, brings currency to the budget and also spreads the traditional Azerbaijani art and culture in the world. Touching upon the carpet weaving art in Azerbaijan the chairman of the state-run Azerkhalcha Company Vidadi Muradov told Azernews that it has deep roots in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is a carpet weaving country, and Azerbaijani carpet is a passport of the country, he said. Today, we say that there are Azerbaijani carpets in world museums; there is almost no museum in the world that does not have our carpet. This shows that in past there were many carpets in Azerbaijan, he said. Muradov noted that the Azerkhalcha Manufacturing Association operated for 70 years during the Soviet era. During the early independence years the carpet weaving industry enfeebled. Therefore, customers in foreign markets could not see the Azerbaijani carpet for a while, and our carpets were forgotten. After being independent, however, we have further investigated carpet weaving, have found our roots, have investigated the carpet weaving tribes, where we have carpets and where we do not. Muradov noted that the Azharkhalsha Open Joint-Stock Company was established under the presidential decree On May 5, 2016. The companys aim was to export Azerbaijani carpets abroad, open new representative offices in foreign countries, create carpet shops in various parts of Azerbaijan, he said. He also said that almost all carpet weavers were women, great number of which were away from this job for about 20 years. He went on saying that organized training courses are held for these people where professional artists and masters taught them those and who passed the course received special certificates. The first branch of Azerkhalcha was opened on November 12, 2016 where about 80 women work. We attract young people so they can learn and be professional. Our plan is to increase the number of employees there to 150. Furthermore, there are 7 branches in the region the opening ceremonies of which have not been held yet, however, they are already operating, the chairman of the company noted. Muradov said that President Ilham Aliyev touched upon the creation of a new carpet weaving branches. These branches were planned to be established in the regions such as Lankaran, Shabran, Bilasuvar, Jabrayil refugees, Tartar, Goranboy, Kurdamir, Gobustan, Barda, Absheron and Nakhchivan, he noted. Touching upon the spinning mill plant been constructed in Sumgait, Muradov noted that the plant would receive wool collected from regional wool stations of 5 regions, which would reduce the countrys dependence on imports. The chairman of the company noted that there was a need to create these enterprises in order to preserve this art and pass it to future generations. He also noted that the as the company was recently established it would start exporting Azerbaijani countries to foreign countries starting from the next year. We have already participated in a carpet exhibition in Germany last year. Additionally, at present we organize a carpet exhibition in Germany. We have been to many countries including America. Muradov noted that Azerbaijani carpets were in line with the countrys traditions and recreate the ancient carpets weaved by our ancestors. Earlier President Aliyev expressed confidence that 2018 would be a remarkable year for industrial development. "It is planned to open ten new carpet factories, so the number of carpet factories should reach 20 by the end of this year. This means thousands of jobs. Particularly, women are working in these factories. They are nice jobs created for women, where they can show their knowledge and talent, and create good financial opportunities for themselves and for our country, he said. He also noted that their products created wonderful opportunities for the countrys export potential and promotion of the Azerbaijani carpet in the world. The state-run Azerkhalcha Company was established under the presidential decree in May 2016 to achieve these goals and also organize export of valuable Azerbaijani carpets to the world markets. Overall, the company plans to open up 10 plants throughout the country in 2017 and 20 more until 2019. Over 5,000 people will be permanently employed at the plants and absolute majority of them will be women. Carpets occupy a preeminent place among all the examples of Azerbaijani craftsmanship. In 2010, the Azerbaijani carpet was proclaimed a Masterpiece of Intangible Heritage by UNESCO. Ancient Azerbaijani carpets are stored at the White House, the U.S. State Department, and many other museums across the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Museum of Art in Philadelphia, as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Hermitage in St. Petersburg. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmad will hold a meeting-lecture with fans of his art on January 17. The event is timed to artist's exhibition in German-Azerbaijan Cultural Society "Kapellhaus", Day. Az reported. The head of the Goethe-Zentrum Baku Alfons Hug and the curator of the exhibition Asli Samadova will take part in the event. The meeting will discuss art and sources of inspiration. Faig Ahmad will talk about his installation "10(-35)", presented in German-Azerbaijan Cultural Society "Kapellhaus" as part Silk Road Music Festival on December 13, 2017. The large-scale carpet installation of Faig Ahmad "10 (-35)" is one of the most massive artworks by the artist and the largest shown to public in Baku. Stretching for more than 15 meters, it refers to the theme of the origin of carpet weaving. Usually seen only as fringes in carpet and otherwise covered with knots, the warps become the central part of Ahmads work. Distribution of tension in this artwork is as important as in traditional carpet making process: if made unequally this will cause irrevocable deformation of a carpet once it is cut off the loom. In installation the tension allows the whole construction to stay stable. The weavers transcribed Faig Ahmads subconscious creation inspired by his reading about Planck length (the smallest possible length that equals to 1.616229(38)1035 meters calculated using three fundamental constants) into geometric patters of a carpet. The artist said that installation concentrates human power and energy of everyone involved in its formation. A meeting with Faig Ahmad, is the first of a series of "Dialogues" with artists whose exhibitions and projects are supported by Goethe-Zentrum Baku, a branch of the Goethe Institute. The organization's activities are aimed at popularizing the German language abroad and expanding international cooperation in the field of culture. The exhibition will last until January 31 and is open for visits from 15:00 to 20:00 every day, except on Sundays and public holidays. Azerbaijan's famous artist Faig Ahmad conceptualized carpets, expanding traditional carpet weaving with new meaning. However, despite innovative forms and artistic solutions, his work creation process is quite traditional: for centuries, little has changed in the creation of hand-made carpets. A sculptor by education Faig Ahmad refers to carpets as two-dimensional (2D) sculptures. Artist who made use of digital technology distorts and rearranges the traditional eastern carpet patterns and creates contemporary art pieces. He also experiments with complex multidimensional fluid forms, challenging the weaving technologies and the imagination of spectators. He has exhibited at prestigious fairs and museums, including the Venice Biennale and the National Center of Contemporary Art in Moscow. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova The photo exhibition of Romanian sculptor's works has opened in Baku. The exhibition of Constantin Brancusi "Arch Over Time is timed to the Romania Culture Day. Every year, Romanians celebrate the National Culture Day on January 15. The National Culture Day celebrations reflect the openness of Romanian culture toward the world, its contributions to the development of new trends and currents, providing a valuable platform for strengthening the cultural ties with countries and peoples worldwide. Ambassador of Romania to Azerbaijan, Mr. Dan Iancu addressed the event. "Honored to be today at the Azerbaijani State Academy of Fine Arts. Grateful to Prof. Omer Eldarov, Rector of the Academy and one of the most respected cultural personalities in Azerbaijan, for providing this magnificent venue for the event. Romanian Culture Day - celebrated every year on 15 January. We have chosen to pay on this special day a humble homage to one of the titans of our culture the Romanian (and universal) artist Constantin Brancusi," said Dan Iancu. "Culture is about openness and exchanges, about the same universal aspirations and the same inner struggle and search for the ultimate, ideal artistic expression. It is about what unites us despite everything else in our lives that pushes us in different directions. The life and the works of Constantin Brancusi are all about that about us all being part of the same, single, universal community: born into a peasant, traditional family in countryside Romania, he come to be known as "the patriarch of the modern sculpture, he made his first artistic steps in Romania, but became famous once he stepped out abroad to learn from and work with the masters of his time, his style is a blend of tradition/old and modernity/new, both in terms of materials (wood and stone vs metal) and motifs (simplicity of Romanian traditional patters vs elegance of modern lines)," said the ambassador. "For the students of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts take this exhibition as a modest but honest invitation to further discover his works in the greatest museums in the world but also in my home country Romania, an invitation to fruitful exchanges with Romania a Cooperation Agreement has recently been concluded between the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts and the National University of Arts in Bucharest," he added. The opening ceremony was attended by H.E. Mr Gheorghe Leuca, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Azerbaijan, who held also a speech, as well as Ambassadors of Argentina, Belgium, Netherlands, Lithuania, Greece, Director of International Red Cross in Azerbaijan and Director of Center of Council of Europe in Azerbaijan. The exhibition will run until January 31 at the Museum of Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts. The exhibition is organized with the support of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts. It portrays a selection of some of the most well-known works of the artist, exhibited today by some of the greatest art museums of the world, such as The Museum of Modern Art, New York (MOMA), Musee National dArt Moderne in Paris, Guggenheim Museum in New York, as well as the Romanian National Art Museum in Bucharest. One of the founders of abstract sculpture style, Constantin Brancusi was one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century. He sought inspiration in non-European cultures as a source of primitive exoticism, as did Paul Gauguin, Pablo Picasso, Andre Derain and others. Sculptor's other influences emerge from Romanian folk art traceable through Byzantine and Dionysian traditions. His famous works include "The Kiss", "Sleeping Muse I", "Endless Column", "The Sorceress", "Bird in Space" and other sculptures. Brancusi died on March 16, 1957, aged 81. He was buried in the Cimetiere du Montparnasse in Paris. This cemetery also displays statues that Brancusi carved for deceased artists. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The OSCE is expected to monitor the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on Jan. 16, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said in a message on January 15. The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative along the line of contact near Sarijali village in Azerbaijans Aghdam district, according to the message. On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be held by Ghenadie Petrica and Simon Tiller, who are field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative. On the Azerbaijani territories occupied and controlled by Armenian armed forces, the monitoring will be held by Mikhail Olaru and Martin Schuster, who are field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Aygul Salmanova In recent years, more attention has been paid to the development of traditional grassland farming in the southern region of Azerbaijan, including the Lankaran region. Last year, with the participation of the head of state, a rice plant was opened in Lankaran. This enterprise, which is one of the major projects in the region, is now fully functioning, making it easier for the producers to work. The plant has a daily processing capacity of 10 tons and drying capacity of 20 tons. The enterprise benefits from the advanced technology and experience of countries specializing in rice production. There is a great need for environmentally sound rice in both domestic and foreign markets, according to the director of the plant Emin Jabizade. There is a great demand for the rice produced in Lankaran. We are negotiating to export our products to foreign markets under the Made in Azerbaijan brand, he said. Construction of the rice plant in Lankaran started on November of the year 2016 and was completed on August of 2017. The plant occupies a total area of 225 hectares. The rice paddies occupy an area of 35 hectares, which will be expanded by 27.5 hectares in the following years. Rice farming is being developed in Girdani, Veravul, Urga, Siyavar, Hirkan, Kholmili, Shikhakaran, Mamusta, Separadi and other villages of Lankaran. The monthly processing capacity of the plant is 300 tons while the drying capacity reaches 900 tons. In recent years, rice growing in Azerbaijan is developing at a rapid pace. If a few years ago rice growing was considered a labor-intensive industry, the villagers had great difficulties in sowing and harvesting, today it is fully mechanized. New technologies used in rice growing make this industry attractive and profitable. A large number of harvesting and sowing equipment are brought to the regions where rice growing is reviving. Rice is a moisture-loving plant. Consequently, there should not be a deficit in water in the areas where it is grown. In the regions of Azerbaijan there are many wetlands that can be used for the development of this industry, especially the southern regions such as Lankaran and Astara. This industry has always been a traditional economic sphere for southern regions of Azerbaijan. Rice varieties "Hashemi", "Hasani", "Anbarba", "Girmizy Anbarbaru", "Champo", "Sadri" and others, cultivated in Lankaran in the 1960s, differed in original taste, quality and were sent to various cities of the former Soviet Union. However, later this industry was completely forgotten. People, inspired by state support to the agricultural sector, have again begun to engage in this profitable industry. Currently, as a result of application of advanced technologies, the area of rice cultivation was brought up to 526.5 hectares. Due to the fact that the rice produced in Lankaran is of high quality, it has many consumers and there enough markets for sale. In the future, after meeting domestic demand, the remaining surplus products are to be supplied to foreign markets. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected to arrive in Baku in the last week of March, an informed source told Trend. The visit is due to take place after the Nowruz celebrations. Iran and Azerbaijan, alongside with several regional countries, mark the beginning of spring in Nowruz on March 21, which also is the first day of the first month in the Iranian calendar. The two neighbor countries have seen a surge in bilateral ties over the past several years. Azerbaijans trade turnover with Iran amounted to almost $229 million in January-November 2017, of which more than $213 million accounted for import of the Iranian products, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijans First Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel General Najmaddin Sadikhov will take part in the 178th Military Committee in Chiefs of Defense Session of NATO within the Resolute Support and Projecting Stability formats in Brussels, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a message on January 15. The meeting will be held at NATO headquarters on January 16. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a one-on-one meeting with Bulgarias Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who is on a working visit in the country on January 15. The head of state welcomed the Bulgarian prime minister. Following, a joint photo was taken. It was noted during the meeting that bilateral relations in political, economic and other spheres have been developing successfully. The importance of Bulgarian prime ministers visit to Azerbaijan in terms of strengthening relations was emphasized. The two sides also discussed bilateral relations and other issues of mutual interest. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Sara Israfilbayova OPECs success is dependent on what happens in the United States, i.e., whether U.S. shale oil producers are able to increase production nullifying OPECs efforts at curbing production in order to support prices and reduce inventories, UK based energy analyst Alessandro Bacci told Azernews. The expert believes that OPECs game is absolutely not an easy game, because Saudi Arabia and the other oil-producing countries need first to find and then to maintain an oil price that satisfies, at least partially, their budget requirements, that cuts commercial oil inventories down to the five-year average to rebalance the oil market, and that does not guarantee excessive profitability to the U.S. shale oil producers. "The next six months will tell us a lot more about how the U.S. shale oil industry will respond to these new higher prices. Its evident that if shale oil output begins to increase faster than it was expected, OPEC and non-OPEC oil producing countries will be forced to halt production cuts earlier than they have thought," the expert noted. Further, Bacci stressed that its difficult to know whether the decision of prolonging by nine months the production cuts (in total 1.8 million barrels per day out of the market) until the end of 2018, taken by the OPEC+ at the end of November 2017, will be effective until December 2018. However, what is sure is that when the decision was taken, the production cuts were conceived as a component that might help to at least partially stabilize the oil pricesOPEC countries and the non-OPEC countries included in the agreement represent almost 60 percent of global oil production, according to the expert. He believes that it was a right move to extend the cuts to fight the global supply glut and to keep oil prices at about $60 per barrel. In addition, it was a good result the inclusion of Nigeria and Libya, two OPEC members that because of internal problems (attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria and an ongoing civil war in Libya) had previously been exempted from the initial cuts. If the deal goes through the whole 2018, the 24 countries that are now party to the agreement must stuck to their commitments, the expert explained. He pointed out that the extension deal will be reassessed in June 2018 at OPECs next scheduled meeting, adding that this point is quite important to Russian oil companies, which wanted only a six-month extension and not a nine-month extension. In fact, Russian companies consistently fear that the already higher oil prices might permit the U.S. shale industry to gain market share at their expense, Bacci underlined. Speaking of the oil prices for 2018, the expert emphasized that in these initial days of 2018, Brent prices are close to $70 per barrel, the highest value since 2014. He said that there are several factors that keep prices high: The extension cuts, declining inventories in the U.S. (partially linked to cold weather conditions as well); unrest in Iran and other areas; strong global economic growth; and oil future purchases by hedge funds and financial institutions (long positions). In specific, with reference to economic growth, recently the U.S. Energy Information Administration (E.I.A.) raised its 2018 world oil demand growth by 100,000 bbl/d from its previous estimate. If oil prices continue to be about $60 to $65 a barrel, its more than probable that U.S. oil production might well be on the rise again, Bacci stated. He stressed that over the course of the past months, Saudi Arabia and Russia have discussed consistently about a target price floor that could permit them to support oil prices, reduce the oil glut, and avoid losing market share to the benefit of the U.S. shale oil producers. The idea was that the best floor price was about $60 per Brent barrel. In addition, in the United States, 2017 was the year of an important mindset change across shale oil producers. In practice, from a growth-at-any-cost approach, shale oil producers realigned themselves with the basic concepts of return on capital and cash flow generation. However, if West Texas Intermediate (W.T.I.) rises and stays above $60, it will be quite difficult not to experience an increase in the U.S. shale oil production because, at that value, companies could consistently expand their profitability margins, the expert highlighted. In November 2016, the OPEC summit was held in Vienna, where OPEC members reached an agreement on reducing oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day. In December 2016 was a meeting of oil producers outside the OPEC. The meeting ended with signing an agreement to reduce oil production by a total of 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 2017. OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Turkey on Sunday slammed media reports that the U.S.-led international coalition against Daesh would establish a 30,000-strong new border security force with the SDF -- the U.S.-backed group that is largely controlled and manned by the PKK/PYD terrorist organization in Syria, Anadolu reported. The Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Turkey had reiterated on numerous occasions that it was "wrong and objectionable" to cooperate with the PKK/PYD terrorist organization on the ground in Syria in order to fight Daesh and stabilize the areas liberated from it. "On the other hand, the establishment of the so-called 'Syria Border Protection Force' was not consulted with Turkey, which is a member of the coalition," the statement said. The Ministry added that it was also not known which coalition members approved this decision. "To attribute such a unilateral step to the whole coalition is an extremely wrong move that could harm the fight against Daesh, it said. "Such initiatives, through cooperation with the PYD/YPG in contradiction with the U.S commitments and statements, endanger Turkey's national security and the territorial integrity of Syria, and are totally unacceptable," it said. "We condemn insistence on this wrong approach and remind once again that Turkey is determined to and capable of eliminating any threats against the country," it added. The coalition had issued a written statement to some media outlets earlier on Sunday, wherein it said that the coalition was working with the SDF to set up and train a Syria Border Protection Force. Turkey has long protested U.S. support for the PKK/PYD, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist organisation, and its military wing PYG, while Washington sees it as a "reliable ally" in its fight against Daesh in Syria. Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, the PKK has waged a terror campaign against Turkey for more than 30 years, leading to the deaths of more than 40,000 security forces and civilians -- including more than 1,200 since July 2015 alone, when it resumed its armed campaign against the Turkish state following a fragile cease-fire. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The Iranian Cabinet in a statement on Sunday declared Jan 15 (Monday) as a day of public mourning for the victims of the oil tanker inferno, IRNA reported. Iranian government also condoled with the bereaved families of the victims of the deadly incident. An Iranian tanker carrying gas condensates collided with a Chinese freight ship in East China coast on January 6, and all the 32 members of its crew members went missing. Three bodies were later found during a rescue operation. The 30 Iranians and the two Bangladeshi sailors, who were members of the crew, had unfortunately been killed due to toxic gas and the huge size of the fire which embraced the tanker since the outset of the tragic incident, Head of Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Rastad told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Sunday morning. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva Kazakhstan and China agreed to increase Kazakh gas exports to China. Kazakh National Company KazMunayGas and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) held bilateral negotiations within the framework of the agreement signed earlier by the heads of the two states, according to the press service of KazMunayGas, Kazinform reported. Following the meeting, the sides agreed on the further increase in the supplies of Kazakh gas to China up to 10 billion cubic meters per annum. The parties stressed the need for further development of the gas pipeline infrastructure, as well as modernization and capacity expansion of the existing pipelines. During the meeting, they also decided to gradually increase the capacity of A and B legs of Kazakhstan-China Pipeline by the end of 2019. It is planned to increase the capacity of the Beineu-Bozoy-Shymkent pipeline by building new compressor stations and upgrading the existing ones. Vice President of KazMunayGas Kairat Sharipbayev underlined the strategic significance of supplying the Kazakh gas to China and assured of the readiness of Kazakhstan's gas pipeline system to expand transportation and exports. Kazakh gas exports to China is possible due to the agreements reached by the heads of states and two similar government programs of Kazakhstan and China Nurly Zhol and One Belt, One Road, which contribute to the development and implementation of joint projects, he said. In 2017, China received 38.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas via the Central Asia-China gas pipeline, which is 13.37 percent more than last year. The total gas supplies to China amounted to 203.2 billion cubic meters. Currently, there are three lines of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline - A, B and C. The combined capacity of these pipelines is 55 billion cubic meters per year. China and Turkmenistan agreed on a framework to provide China with a long-term supply of gas in 2006, after several rounds of negotiations and feasibility studies. The first of these pipelines was completed in 2009 the second followed a year later. The third pipeline became operational in 2014, after taking two years to build. This gas pipeline runs through the territory of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and crosses the Kazakh-Chinese border through Khorgos (Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region, North-West China). Construction of a fourth pipeline, Line D, is currently underway. It will connect Beyneu on the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea to the central facility of Shymkent. From Shymkent the gas will be directed to Turpan in Xinjiang, China. Line D will provide China with an additional 15 billion cubic metres on top of the 55 billion it already imports from Turkmenistan. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva The volume of industrial production in Kazakhstan in January-December 2017 increased by 7.1 percent compared to 2016, the Committee on Statistics of the Kazakh National Economy Ministry reported. In the reporting period, mining and quarrying indicators increased by 9.3 percent, manufacturing - by 5.1 percent, electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning - by 4.9 percent. In the water supply, sewage system, control over the collection and distribution of waste, the indicator fell by 0.2 percent. In 2017, crude oil, natural gas, metal ore and coal production increased. The production of food products, oil refining, products of pharmaceutical, metallurgical industry and machine building also increased. At the same time, the production of tobacco products, rubber and plastic products, computers, electronic and optical products showed a decrease. In particular, the volume of oil production, including gas condensate, amounted to 86.2 million tons (an increase of 10.5 percent compared to the same period last year), copper ore - 95.3 million tons (21.5 percent). The volume of gasoline output stood at the level of 3.1 million tons (+ 4.2 percent), gasoil - 4.4 million tons (-5.2 percent). The volume of flat steel production reached 3 million tons (-0.1 percent), refined copper - 0.4 million tons (+ 4.2 percent), Portland cement - 9.4 million tons (+ 2.5 percent), electricity - 103.1 billion kWh (+ 9 percent) and flour - 4.1 million tons (+ 3.7 percent). The increase in production of industrial products was observed in 14 regions of the republic. In the East Kazakhstan region, the volume of production stood at the level of the previous year. Currently, Kazakhstan's manufacturing products are exported to 110 countries and new markets are being opened. As a result of the implementation of the Industrialization Program, the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the development of the economy (GDP) increased from 10.1 percent in 2015 to 11.9 percent in the first half of 2017, in industry from 31.8 percent in 2010 to 40.7 percent for the nine months of 2017, in exports - from 27.9 percent in 2010 to 32.7 percent for eight months in 2017. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva The volume of exports of fruits and vegetables in 2017 amounted to $708.8 million, which is almost 15 percent more than in 2016. This follows from the preliminary review by the State Statistics Committee on Foreign Trade for January-December 2017. Of the total volume of fruit and vegetable and products of their processing, the share of fruits and berries amounted to 35.9 percent (increase of 17 percent compared to the same period 2016), vegetables - 30.7 percent (+18.6 percent), grapes - 22, 5 percent (+12.2 percent), as well as processed fruits and vegetables - 4.1 percent (+49.9 percent). The main foreign trade partners last year were Kazakhstan, Russia, Afghanistan, China, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Iraq. The foreign trade turnover of the republic for the past year amounted to about $27 billion. Of this amount, exports exceed imports by $ 945.5 million and make about $14 billion. Agreements on the supply of fruit and vegetable products for 2018 and 2019 were previously signed with South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Indonesia, Germany and other countries. Uzbekzokovaktholding earlier announced its plans to expand the geography of exports to the countries of Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and North and Latin America. The plans for 2018 also include creation of a network of logistics centers for further export, where the preparation, labeling and packaging of products will be carried out, introduction of advanced technologies in production and processing, and creation of a unified system for exporters of agricultural products. --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Turkey's police detained a pedophile engaged in downloading and distribution of child pornography, the Turkish media reported on January 15. The Istanbul police earlier identified the IP address of a computer on which child pornography was downloaded from one of the servers in the US during five months. Reportedly, the detainee is a citizen of Armenia. The name of the detainee is not disclosed. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Kamila Aliyeva Oil production at Tengiz field will be increased by 12 million tons (260,000 barrels per day). The Kazakh-American Future Growth project with an estimated cost of more than 3 trillion tenge was launched at Tengiz field, Kazakh media outlets reported. This project will allow increasing volumes of extraction of raw materials on Tengiz field by 12 million tons per year that is from 27 to 39 million tons. The new plant will consist of individual modules weighing 53,000 tons. It is expected that the works will be completed by 2022. Over 500 contracts with Kazakh companies were concluded and 1,900 companies will be involved in the manufacture of modules and other equipment. Not only in Atyrau, but also in Aktau, Almaty, Aktobe and other cities of the country, Chevron's Deputy General Manager Haymish Paulse said. Chevron Corporation became the first foreign company which signed agreement with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1993. For 25 years, production at Tengiz has grown from 4 up to 27 million tons per year. Chevron is a shareholder of the projects for developing the largest oil fields - Tengiz and Karachaganak - in Kazakhstan. It has a share in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and owns a plant for manufacturing polyethylene pipes in Kazakhstan's Atyrau city. Transit routes for the expected large volumes of oil - Tengiz and Kashagan have already been prepared. The expansion of the CPC pipeline, which connected Tengiz with the sea port of Novorossiysk, was completed. This was also done with the involvement of investments of American companies. Currently, more than 500 American companies operate in Kazakhstan. The implementation of the project to expand Tengiz started against the backdrop of the OPEC+ contract on limiting oil production. At the beginning of the year, Kazakhstan was accused of exceeding its production volumes. Tengiz is one of the biggest oil field in Kazakhstan. Its oil reserves are estimated at 3.2 billion metric tons (25.5 billion barrels). Tengizchevroil reached the record level of oil production of 27.16 million tons in 2015. In 1H 2016 oil production hit 14.4 million metric tons. The shareholders of Tengizchevroil are KazMunaiGas national oil and gas company of Kazakhstan (20 percent), Chevron Overseas (50 percent), ExxonMobil (25 percent) and LukArco (5 percent). --- Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Almost one million personal and business customers logged into Bank of Ireland's digital channels on December 21 in a new online record for the pillar bank Almost one million personal and business customers logged into Bank of Ireland's digital channels on December 21 in a new online record for the pillar bank. The dominant channel for logins, including 365 Online and Business Online, was the mobile app, which accounted for more than half of all logins. December 21 - the last working day before Christmas - also saw a new record for Bank of Ireland point of sale (POS), with 1.25 million transactions conducted, surpassing activity on Black Friday. Even Christmas Day saw a significant level of digital activity, with close to 200,000 logins and almost 500 customer requests online. Garvan Callan, director of strategy, digital and innovation at Bank of Ireland, said three in four of the banks' customers are now digitally active. He said 65% of new product sales are through direct and digital channels. Castlehill Developments wants to build the housing scheme at land close to Castlehill, near Castlereagh (stock photo) A 130-house development in east Belfast looks set to be given the green light. Castlehill Developments wants to build the housing scheme at land close to Castlehill, near Castlereagh. It's set to feature 104 semi-detached properties, along with 23 detached homes and three townhouses. Now, Belfast City Council planners have recommended the development gets the go-ahead. It's due to be decided on during tomorrow night's planning committee meeting. Planners said that "having had regard to relevant planning policies and other material considerations, it is recommended that the proposal should be approved subject to conditions". It received 12 objections from residents living close to the proposed site, including concerns over the visual impact to existing houses, and traffic. Footfall in Northern Ireland is on the decline as new figures show a drop of 3.1% in December compared to 2.4% in November 2017, according to the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC). This decrease means that footfall in shops across Northern Ireland has been spiralling downwards for seven months, nearing the UK average drop of 3.5%. NIRC director Aodhan Connolly said high streets and retail parks experienced a 3.1% decline while shopping centres suffered a 3.2% drop. He cited a change in consumer shopping habits, Brexit and disposable income squeezes as the main causes. "For the UK as a whole the decline in shopper footfall is at its fastest pace in almost five years and in part reflects the profound structural challenges facing the retail industry as shopping habits continue to evolve," he said. "While Northern Ireland did not fare as poorly as other parts of the UK, this further drop in footfall here means we have now witnessed seven months of consecutive decline which has been felt across high streets, retail parks and shopping centres. "These figures are indicative of how challenging and uncertain 2017 has been for both the retail industry and consumers. "Political instability, the enormity of Brexit unfolding, disposable incomes being squeezed, and ongoing profound changes in the way people shop have all added to the uncertainty." Mr Connolly said that a restoration of a devolved government would provide a "confidence boost" for retailers. Meanwhile, Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director of data company Springboard, said the figures reflect the volatility in footfall. "Retailers need to focus on maximising conversion via the core deliverable of best product and customer service with an improved in-store experience, whilst holding their nerve and resisting discounting too early," the director said. Construction giant Carillion had multi-million pound contracts spanning the education, health and transport industries. Here is a list of some of the largest recent public sector deals Carillion has signed. :: In July 2017, Carillion announced that it was part of a partnership which had won two HS2 deals worth 1.4 billion. The CEK joint venture made up of Carillion, Eiffage and Kier was commissioned to design and build a 50-mile section of the high speed railway roughly between Aylesbury and Royal Leamington Spa. Expand Close HS2 project Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp HS2 project :: Carillion was selected by the Education and Skills Funding Agency in November 2017 to be part of its school building framework. The framework allows education providers to access pre-selected contractors who can build new facilities. At the time, Carillion wrote on its website: These (the lots the company were selected for) are anticipated to be worth around 2.64 billion in total over the period to 2021, with the Group one of nine contractors selected on the framework. :: Last November, the construction company announced that it had signed a contract with Network Rail to upgrade the existing track and infrastructure on the London to Corby route. Expand Close Network Rail commercial properties sale PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Network Rail commercial properties sale Carillion said the contract was expected to generate 62 million of revenue for them over the succeeding two-and-a-half years. :: In 2014, Carillion said that it had agreed a joint venture with Sunderland City Council to redevelop key sites across the city. The company said the contract is potentially worth up to 800 million to Carillion over the 20-year life of the regeneration programme. :: Carillion was selected to build the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in 2013. Carillion's situation is deeply disturbing. It must be resolved urgently. The new Royal Liverpool Hospital must not face any further delays. Its medical and research facilities are vital for the city. Louise Ellman (@LouiseEllman) January 14, 2018 At the time of being awarded the contract, the company said the new building would be the largest all single-bed hospital in the country with 646 beds, including a 40-bed critical care unit, and 18 operating theatres. A statement from Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust said the news of Carillions liquidation was worrying, but added that the hospital would be built, and that contingency plans were being implemented. Cat Deeley has revealed she is over the moon to be expecting her second baby. The TV host, 41, who had first child Milo in January 2016 with husband Patrick Kielty, 46, is expecting a new baby in the spring. She told her fans on Twitter: Over-the-moon to share that Milo is going to be a big brother! Cant wait to be a family of four in the spring. Were all so excited. Over the moon to share that Milo is going to be a big brother! Canat wait to be a family of four in the spring. Weare all so excited. ai Cat Deeley (@catdeeley) January 14, 2018 Last year, Deeley told how she wanted more children and that the pressure was on because of her age. I would love some more. But I have got to get on with it if I do, she told the Daily Mirror. Expand Close Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley (Ian West/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Patrick Kielty and Cat Deeley (Ian West/PA) When you go for your check-ups they call you a geriatric mum. That is the terminology they use, I swear. They say, Maam, you are triple high risk, the So You Think You Can Dance? presenter, who had Milo when she was 39, said. Former CD:UK host Deeley and comedian Kielty married in a secret ceremony in Rome in 2012, having been long-time friends. Kielty, from Northern Ireland, previously joked about having children with Brummie Deeley, saying: I hope any child we might have has Cats looks and my accent. With our two strong accents, we basically needed subtitles or a UN translator. Michelle Williams has celebrated Mark Wahlbergs decision to donate his 1.5 million dollar (1.1 million) pay cheque for reshoots of All The Money In The World to Times Up in the face of criticism. Wahlberg was met with outrage when it was revealed he earned the fortune to re-film portions of the film to erase disgraced actor Kevin Spacey while Williams reportedly received less than 1,000 dollars (728). Williams praised the move by Wahlberg and the talent agency William Morris Endeavours (WME), which said it would donate an additional 500,000 dollars (364,000) to the initiative set up to help fund accusers of sexual harassment and abuse. Expand Close Mark Wahlberg (Isabel Infantes/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mark Wahlberg (Isabel Infantes/PA) She also paid tribute to actor Anthony Rapp, who opened the floodgates for accusers to come forward when he alleged he was 14 when Spacey sexually harassed him. In a statement on Saturday, Williams said: Today isnt about me. My fellow actresses stood by me and stood up for me, my activist friends taught me to use my voice and the most powerful men in charge, they listened and they acted. If we truly envision an equal world, it takes equal effort and sacrifice. Today is one of the most indelible days of my life because of Mark Wahlberg, WME and a community of women and men who share in this accomplishment. Anthony Rapp, for all the shoulders you stood on, now we stand on yours. Sir Ridley replaced Spacey in the lead role of J Paul Getty with Christopher Plummer less than two months before the films world premiere. Spacey had become embroiled in the sexual harassment scandal engulfing Hollywood in the wake of Harvey Weinsteins downfall. An avalanche of claims followed Rapps and the Old Vic Theatre, where the Oscar-winning actor was artistic director between 2004 and 2015, found 20 people accused Spacey of inappropriate behaviour. Scotland Yard is also investigating Spacey over two allegations of sexual assault said to have taken place in Lambeth, south London, in 2005 and 2008. I heard for the reshoot she got $80 a day compared to his MILLIONS. Would anyone like to clarify? I really hope that with everything coming to light, she was paid fairly. She's a brilliant actress and is wonderful in the film. https://t.co/VzGA2ucAjV Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) January 9, 2018 Actresses Jessica Chastain and Judd Apatow were among those to express outrage over the pay disparity between Wahlberg and Williams. But on Saturday Wahlberg announced he would make the donation, adding: I 100% support the fight for fair pay. A young Filipina girl who arrived in Northern Ireland with almost no English is hoping to rub shoulders with Hollywood stars on a prestigious film placement in Los Angeles. Krizzah Policarpio was just 10 when she emigrated with her family. Initially bamboozled by the Ulster accent and unable to utter more than a few words, Krizzah enrolled in the Into Film Club at Ashfield Girls High School in order to improve her English and make friends. Fast-forward seven years and Krizzah, now 17, has won a string of student film awards and has been chosen to act as a Northern Ireland ambassador for charity Cinemagic at its Los Angeles Festival. In March the budding filmmaker, who dreams of becoming a producer, will participate in a range of activities with leading studios such as 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. "We came over to Northern Ireland for a better life," said Krizzah, who lives with her family in east Belfast. "My mum is a health care worker and she came over first with my sister, then the rest of the family followed. "We were living in Kalibo in the Philippines and we were lucky that we could go to school and eat when we wanted to. "For many people, putting food on the table and going to school is a struggle, and there is no free health care system like the NHS." With only a basic grasp of English, Krizzah said that the accent here initially proved difficult to comprehend. "I could understand basic English, but I couldn't understand what people here were saying," she laughed. "It was very hard, but I picked it up quickly. "Then when I went to Ashfield Girls High School I went along to the Into Film Club with a friend, and watching films and writing reviews really helped my language skills and helped to make friends. My favourite films are the older Star Wars movies and I really like Harrison Ford." With her confidence increasing in leaps and bounds, Krizzah's literacy skills improved to such an extent that she won a number of UK-wide movie review writing awards organised by Into Film, a charity that supports movie clubs. In 2015 the Ashfield Girls group was named Into Film Club of the Year. "The school has really supported me, and it was through Cinemagic workshops held at the school that I became interested in post-production or being a producer," she said. Last year Krizzah clinched the Eastside Award for Young Person of the Year for her work with her school's film and lunch clubs. The judges said her personal development had been "outstanding". The teenager, who hopes to go on to study film and TV production at university, was also invited to apply to take part in Cinemagic's festival programme in Los Angeles. Over the past eight years the scheme has enabled thousands of young people to participate in film screenings, workshops and master-classes with top studios. Tourism NI has teamed up with the tourism organisations of England, Scotland and Wales to create a hub of videos that reflect 24 hours in the UK. In collaboration with a number of top travel influencers, the resulting clips are "proof you dont have to visit far-flung destinations for mood-boosting experiences to banish those post-Christmas blues". The group of international Instagrammers and bloggers travelled the length and breadth of the UK to enjoy a variety of unique experiences at every hour of the day. They notched up 120 different activites ranging from enjoying a gin tour in Belfast to walking the King's Road at the Dark Hedges in Armoy. On Monday the videos will be released every hour on VisitBritains Facebook page, with followers encouraged to vote for their favourite bucket list moments from the 24 hour trips. Mood-boosting experiences across the UK: Take a gin jaunt in Belfast, Northern Ireland Fans of Mothers Ruin will enjoy this tour of Belfasts vibrant pubs and bars, sampling locally produced gin and learning all about the history of the UKs favourite tipple, as well as the chance to meet some of the distillers. The company offers a range of other award-winning food and drink tours for foodies, beer and whiskey lovers. The Gin Jaunt tour lasts approx. 3 hours. Tickets from 60 p/p. Brave the waves, coasteering in Scarborough, England Prepare yourself for an exhilarating adventure as you swim along Scarboroughs sea cliffs, exploring gullies, caves and different rock formations created by the sea before leaping from the rock face into the waves below. Whether youre new to the sport or a seasoned pro, Scarborough Surf School offers a range of courses for various abilities including more basic routes for families, to more demanding routes that will test the nerves with higher jumps and adrenaline inducing climbs. Sessions start from 40 p/p. Take a sea-fari in Oban, Scotland Discover the breath-taking beauty of Obans stunning coastline aboard Seafari Adventures. Visit the worlds third largest whirlpool, the Gulf of Corryvreckan, and spot the areas wildlife including porpoise, dolphins, whales, eagles, seals and otter. Seafari Adventures offers a range of excursions. Tours start from 42 per adult and from 32 per child. Visit www.seafari.co.uk/oban Ride the longest tunnel slide in the world, London, England At 178m long, ArcelorMittal Orbit is the longest and highest tunnel slide in the world. The 40 second trip takes visitors on a circular ride around the UKs tallest public artwork designed by Carsten Holler through the famous loops and curves of the iconic structure, including a tight corkscrew, ending with a 50 metre straight run back down to earth. Tickets 16.50 per adult, 10.50 per child. Visit www.arcelormittalorbit.com/whats-on/the-slide Visit a theatre with a difference, Cornwall, England Perched on the cliffs high above the Atlantic Ocean, the Minack is one of the worlds most famous outdoor theatres. From March to October, the theatre plays host to a full programme of drama, musicals and opera, together with music, comedy and story-telling. The Mincack is open all year round for visitors to explore and discover the story of how the theatre came to be. Ticket information can be found on the website www.minack.com Ride Europes largest zip line, Snowdonia, Wales The largest zip zone in Europe Zip World Titan is a series of three zip wires set up in a disused quarry. Swoop at 70 mph above sheep-dotted moorland with striking windswept views of Snowdonia mountain range, lakes and streams. Tickets from 30 p/p. Visit www.zipworld.co.uk Explore beautiful Barra, Outer Hebrides, Scotland Barra is the most southerly of the inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides. Long famed for its beauty boasting beaches, hills and moor all in a small island - Barra is a special place to visit, especially if you arrive by plane. The airport is one of the most unusual in the world, with flights landing on the beach at Cockle Strand in between tides. Tangasdale lies on the Atlantic, facing the west side of Barra. The beach here is considered to be one of the best in the Hebrides. Each July, Tangasdale plays host to the Barra Live traditional music festival. The Isle of Barra Beach Hotel overlooks the beach and its restaurant serves a variety of dishes from the bistro and bar menu. A Sinn Fein MP who caused outrage by posing with a Kingsmill-branded loaf on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre has resigned. Abstentionst West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff, who had already been suspended by his party for three months, said staying in the job would have impeded efforts to forge reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Mr McElduff reiterated his insistence that he had not meant the video as a reference to the sectarian murders of 10 protestant workmen by republican paramilitaries near the south Armagh village of Kingsmill in 1976. "It is with great sadness that, after more than 30 years as an active Sinn Fein member and public representative I am tendering my resignation as MP for West Tyrone," he said "The reason I am doing so is because of the consequences of the Twitter video which has caused such controversy over the last week." He said his greatest regret was the "deep and unnecessary hurt" his video had caused the Kingsmill families. "I again offer my profound apology to those families and to the wider victims community," he added. The sole survivor of the attack, Alan Black, welcomed the resignation. Mr Black told the Press Association: "This past week has been truly awful for me. I am just hanging by a thread. "But I am glad he has done the right thing." Mr Black said the fall-out from the Twitter video forced him to re-live the trauma of the attack in which he was shot 18 times. "I am going to have to take time now to heal," he said. "I only got involved because of the hurt and disrespect shown to my friends who died at Kingsmill but this whole thing has taken a heavy toll." Sinn Fein has faced intense criticism on both sides of the Irish border over the video furore. The episode further disrupted efforts to restore the powersharing institutions at Stormont. West Tyrone is a very safe Sinn Fein seat and the party will likely hold on to it in a future by-election. In the short video, Mr McElduff, who is known for his light-hearted social media contributions, was filmed walking around a shop with a Kingsmill loaf on his head, asking where the store kept the bread. It was posted on the 42nd anniversary of the Kingsmill outrage on January 5. Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill said Mr McElduff had resigned because of the "unintended hurt" he had caused. "Barry recognises that this controversy and his continuing role in public office is compounding the distress to the victims of Kingsmill, and again offers his profound apology to those families and to the wider victims community," said Mrs O'Neill. "He has said that he does not want to be a barrier to reconciliation and I respect that decision." The extent of Mr McElduff's original punishment by Sinn Fein - a three-month suspension while still being paid - was widely criticised by unionists. He resigned hours after Mr Black gave a powerful interview on RTE radio in which he accused the MP of celebrating the Kingsmill deaths. The politician said he realised many people did not believe his explanation for the video. "Had I been conscious of the connection to the terrible atrocity at Kingsmill I would certainly not have posted that tweet," said Mr McElduff. "I genuinely did not make that connection, not for a second did I make that connection in my mind. "Kingsmill was wrong, unjustifiable and sectarian. It should never have happened. "There was no intended reference to Kingsmill in my tweet. "But I do accept that there are many people who do not believe this to be the case. I accept also that this view of what happened is deeply damaging to the reconciliation process that is so important to consolidating the peace process and to healing the pain and hurt of the past. "I cannot undo the pain caused but I know that my continuing role as MP for West Tyrone will compound that sense of hurt and impede any reconciliation process." He added: "I do not wish to be a barrier to reconciliation and healing and in that spirit I again offer my sincere apologies to the survivors and families of those murdered at Kingsmill." Sinn Fein's former Stormont finance minister, Mairtin O Muilleoir, also apologised last week for retweeting the video. Unionists have criticised Sinn Fein for not taking disciplinary action against Mr O Muilleoir. Sinn Fein has said it accepted the South Belfast MLA's explanation for the retweet. The video precipitated a week of rancorous political exchanges in Northern Ireland. The situation was exacerbated on Wednesday when a number of unionist politicians retweeted a graphic satirical cartoon that portrayed the controversy over Mr McElduff by depicting the aftermath of the Kingsmill outrage, with blood running from a bullet-riddled van. However, a week of animosity appeared to end on a more optimistic note when two senior Democratic Unionist and Sinn Fein members engaged in more conciliatory exchanges on BBC NI's The View on Thursday night. In a forthright condemnation of the Kingsmill outrage, Sinn Fein's John O'Dowd, who lost three family members at the hands of loyalist paramilitaries the day before Kingsmill, said he was "ashamed" by the sectarian attack. The DUP's Edwin Poots welcomed the remarks and said his party was determined to see devolution returned. It remains unclear what impact that exchange, and Mr McElduff's subsequent resignation, will have on efforts to restore powersharing. It is a year since the region had a properly functioning devolved administration. The institutions imploded in a row over a botched green energy scheme, but the rift subsequently widened to take in more long-standing cultural and legacy disputes between the DUP and Sinn Fein. Mrs O'Neill later defended her handling of the affair and rejected the suggestion the initial punishment had been weak. "I believe the action I took last week was proportionate," she said outside Sinn Fein's offices on the Falls Road in west Belfast. "Barry did cause hurt, he didn't intend to do so. "I accepted last Monday and I still accept today, as does Barry, that his tweet was ill advised, it was ill judged but he did not intend to cause hurt. "And in recognition of the controversy that it has sparked over the last week Barry has now decided to resign so he is not barrier toward reconciliation and I accept that as the best way forward." She said Mr McElduff had taken time to reflect on the reaction to the video, particularly from victims. "I think that sends out a strong message that Sinn Fein listen to the needs of victims," she added. Mrs O'Neill said there was a need to heal all the wounds of the past in order to move society on. "Kingsmill was wrong, it was unjustified and it was sectarian," she said. Mrs O'Neill said she had warned Mr O'Muilleoir to be "more responsible" on social media but indicated no further action would be taken against him by the party. "That is the matter dealt with," she said. TUV leader Jim Allister said it was right for Barry McElduff to resign but asked what now of fellow Sinn Fein representative Mairtin O Muilleoir who retweeted the controversial Kingsmill video. Mr McElduff resigned after a week of controversy which saw the West Tyrone MP post a video on social media of him with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head. He posted the video on the anniversary of the 1976 Kingsmill massacre. Read More He said he had not realised the significance of the date and apologised. His party suspended him on full pay which led to a further outcry with some describing it as too lenient. Unionist politicians have now questioned what will happen to MLA Mairtin O Muilleoir who retweeted the offending video. The South Belfast MLA later apologised and retracted the retweet. The party has said he has been spoked to about his use of social media and the matter resolved. "I acknowledge he has done the right thing, although it took a while but he got there," Jim Allister told the BBC Stephen Nolan show. "This does raise an interesting question about Mairtin O Muilleoir. Because if it was right for McElduff to resign and it is, what of Mr O Muilleoir who thought it appropriate to retweet the very thing that has caused McElduff to go? "I think we need to hear more from Mr O Muilleoir and we need to hear if he is considering his position." Whether or not there was also ever choreography with the attempt to resuscitate political talks who knows? Jim Allister He added: "Whether or not McElduff was pushed or jumped, it is hard to know but what is obvious is that Sinn Fein were on the back foot on this and will welcome the relief this brings them. "The fact is this should never have happened." Mr Allister said the three-month suspension from the party on full pay imposed on Mr McElduff was a "joke". "They thought they could get away with it," he added, "It was clear it was not dying down and it has been damaging to Sinn Fein's reputation as they have been pretending to have an interest in the rights for others and themselves and this was clearly a gross contradiction of that. "They have sought to sanitise their own position. "Whether or not there was also ever choreography with the attempt to resuscitate political talks who knows? One thing is clear Mr McElduff acted in an outrageous fashion, he should never have done what he did, and he should have faced up to it at the time and now he has it is better late than never." Mr O Muilleoir retracted his retweet and apologised at the time, which Sinn Fein acknowledged at the time. He has again been asked for a comment. Asked about it at a press conference, Michelle O'Neill said the MLA had been spoken to and told to consider his social media use, "and that's the matter dealt with," she said. Serious questions remain for the Sinn Fein leadership. Why did they not sack Barry immediately and why have no sanctions been brought by the party against Martin OaMuilleior MLA and Colm Gildernew MLA who endorsed and supported his heinous actions. https://t.co/XYlPounXjB Sammy Wilson MP (@eastantrimmp) January 15, 2018 DUP leader Arlene Foster said the time was right for Mr McElduff to go. "He was not fit for public office and should have resigned in the immediate aftermath of posting the disgraceful video mocking and insulting the horrific terrorist events at Kingsmill," she said. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Families of murdered workmen attend an evening service in 1976 as six coffins of IRA victims are brought to church in Bessbrook the night before the funerals of those killed in the Provisional IRA's infamous sectarian Whitecross (Kingsmill) Massacre. The IRA lined up the occupants of a workers minibus carrying 11 protestants and one catholic, before releasing the catholic man and mowing down the 10 protestant workmen, leaving the critically injured Mr Alan Black for dead. Alan Lewis Photopress The victims of the Kingsmill massacre (clockwise from top left): Robert Chambers; John Bryans; Joseph Lemmon; James McWhirter; Robert Freeburn; Robert Walker; Reginald Chapman; Kenneth Worton; John McConville and Walter Chapman Kimgsmill massacre aftermath Walter Chapman John McConville Kenneth Worton Reginald Chapman Robert Walker Robert Freeburn James McWhirter Joseph Lemmon John Bryans Robert Chambers The funeral service for five victims of the Kingsmills massacre at the Presbyterian church grounds in Bessbrook Alan Black was shot 18 times but survived the Kingsmills massacre Alan Black in hospital after the IRA shot him and killed 10 of his colleagues at Kingsmills Photopress Belfast Alan Black:Survivor of the Kingsmill, Armagh, Massacre/Shooting, when he was shot with his 10 workmates in an ambushon their way home from work by gunmen. Pictured at the Kingsmill Memorial monument. 4/1/1981 A man lays a wreath at the Kingsmill memorial in South Armagh (PA) PA Wire/PA Images People attend a roadside service marking the 42nd anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre (Brian Lawless/PA) Karen Armstrong holds a photograph of her brother John McConville, who was killed in the Kingsmill attack Sisters Cathy Michale, Colleen McKenna and Eileen Reavey unveil the monument to commemorate their brothers in Whitecross, Armagh Newraypics.com The crowd assembled at the service of remembrance for the victims held at the Town Hall in Bessbrook yesterday to mark the 40th anniversary of the atrocity Kevin Scott / Presseye / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Families of murdered workmen attend an evening service in 1976 as six coffins of IRA victims are brought to church in Bessbrook the night before the funerals of those killed in the Provisional IRA's infamous sectarian Whitecross (Kingsmill) Massacre. The IRA lined up the occupants of a workers minibus carrying 11 protestants and one catholic, before releasing the catholic man and mowing down the 10 protestant workmen, leaving the critically injured Mr Alan Black for dead. Alan Lewis Photopress "Over the course of the last ten days Sinn Fein has failed to deal with the McElduff situation. By merely suspending him and continuing to pay him they compounded his disgraceful actions and demonstrated a lack of respect and compassion for the victims of Kingmill and indeed victims more widely. Sinn Fein got this badly wrong. "Now is the time for Sinn Fein to learn the lessons from these dark events and to deal with the fact that it, and many of its individual members, continue to publicly glorify the murderous deeds of the past. This needs to end if we are to build a future based on integrity and respect. Sinn Fein has much work to do to demonstrate they have truly learned from these events. Resignation long overdue. Robin Swann Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann MLA said the resignation was "long over due". "It should have happened last week," he said. "This is a day when a Sinn Fein Member of Parliament has done the right thing. His position was absolutely untenable given the hurt and pain inflicted on the Kingsmill victims` families and the sole survivor Alan Black. This has been a horrendous experience for them. It is right that the people of West Tyrone are now given the opportunity to elect a Member of Parliament who will take their seat in the House of Commons and be a voice for everyone. Given the hurt that has been caused to victims by Mr McElduffs actions I think it is important that any by-election provides them with a voice. I am therefore calling for a non-partisan candidate who will be a voice for victims to contest this seat against Sinn Fein. The condemnation of Barry McElduff`s deeply offensive actions has come from across the community. If a candidate emerges that allows cross-community support to coalesce around, it would send a strong message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. Sinn Fein leadership cannot escape the fact that their failures have undermined the task of reconciliation. Colum Eastwood SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood also welcomed the the MP's quitting. "His actions caused huge offence and immense hurt," he said. Over the weekend we heard from Alan Black about his pain and that of the families of the victims of Kingsmill. It is deeply regrettable that it has taken over a week for Mr McElduff to do the right thing. Many will welcome Mr McElduffs resignation but will also question the failure of the Sinn Fein leadership to deal decisively with this issue." He continued: "As I said before, the provisional republican movement has never expressed full remorse for the specific murders it was involved in, including those at Kingsmill. That is a reality the Sinn Fein leadership fail to face up to. If we are to deliver a truly reconciled society, the Sinn Fein leadership needs to accept that they have never gained trust amongst the unionist community. The Sinn Fein leadership cannot escape the fact that their failures have undermined the task of reconciliation that can only be put right by finally apologising for the Kingsmill Massacre. While Barry McElduff has finally done the right thing, it is now Michelle ONeills turn. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland also welcomed the resignation. A spokesperson for the church said: In resigning Barry McElduff has done the right thing and bowed to the inevitable. We welcome his resignation and hope that this deeply offensive episode, that hurt so many, will be a salient lesson for all in public leadership. Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff will have to officially be appointed to a 'paid position of the Crown' in order to properly relinquish his seat in the House of Commons. The MP announced his resignation on Monday following the controversy surrounding his tweet on the anniversary of the Kingsmill anniversary. In a ruling dating back to 1624, an MP can only vacate their seat during the lifetime of a parliament through death; expulsion by resolution of the House; or disqualification, either by the voiding of the Members election or through accepting one of a number of offices which are incompatible with membership of the House of Commons. Read More Like his colleagues Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness before him, Mr McElduff will be appointed to a 'paid position of the Crown' to disqualify him from Parliament. That will either be the Crown Steward & Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds or the Crown Steward & Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead. Each position is issued on an alternate basis and the position is no longer salaried and has no actual responsibilities. A House of Commons spokesman explained: "As an MP cannot directly 'resign' their seat, they have to be appointed to a paid office of the Crown, which automatically disqualifies the Member from holding a seat in the House of Commons. Read More "Mr McElduff would therefore be appointed to the position of Crown Steward & Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, as happened with Gerry Adams in 2011 and Martin McGuinness in 2013. Although they were both appointed to the other position, Crown Steward & Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead)." "This appointment will be announced in due course by Mr Speaker, although as yet we cannot confirm when this will take place. "In previous instances of a Sinn Fein MP resigning, the writ for a new by-election was moved by the Leader of the House. Again, as yet, we cannot say when this will take place." Read More Ordinarily it would be for the party's chief whip to issue a writ for the by-election to replace the outgoing MP, but as Sinn Fein members don't take their seats, there would be no-one to make the necessary arrangements. Barry McElduff in the 2017 General Election was voted into office with over 22,000, over half those that voted. His nearest rival was the DUP's Thomas Buchanan who polled 11,718 votes. Almost 68% of the electorate turned out for the vote. He was forced to resign after posing with a loaf of bread and posting a video on Twitter of it on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre. Mr McElduff said his intention was never to cause hurt to anyone and he insisted he drew no link to the date and the sectarian killing of 10 workmen in an ambush by the IRA. The court heard the woman had fallen in with a bad crowd. A "brilliant mother" who stole more than 1,000 worth of curtains and clothes from stores in the greater Belfast area has been handed a seven-month suspended jail sentence. Amanda Harvey, 29, carried out separate raids on branches of Harry Corry, Next and Home Bargains, the city's Magistrates court heard on Monday. She has also been ordered to pay nearly 1,300 in compensation for the goods taken. Harvey, of Battenberg Street in Belfast, was convicted of three thefts committed between January and May 2017. The court was told she took curtains valued at 613 from a Harry Corry store, and 600 in clothing from the Next store at the Abbeycentre. A further offence involved stealing household items worth 80.64 belonging to Home Bargains. Harvey's lawyer said she had fallen in with a bad crowd. "It was under their influence... that she committed all of the thefts." District Judge Fiona Bagnall was also told the defendant has been assessed as a first-rate parent to her children. "The opinion is that she is a brilliant mother," her lawyer added. Imposing a total sentence of seven months imprisonment, Mrs Bagnall suspended the term for two years. She also gave Harvey 26 weeks to pay the compensation to the retailers. The property in Klondyke Street, where the bodies were discovered Northern Ireland Drug dealers have "blood on their hands" after a mum-of-three and her best friend died in Belfast at the weekend, it has been claimed. It is understood drugs were a factor in the deaths of Kelly Watters (43) and Stuart Robinson (31). Their bodies were found in a house on Klondyke Street in the Shankill on Saturday night. Police are investigating the deaths, which are not being treated as suspicious at this time, and post-mortems will take place. Last night a shocked neighbour who had known Mr Robinson since childhood said that he and Kelly had been "best friends" and were "inseparable". "This has been absolutely devastating," she said. "Stuart was a lovely person - he was quiet and he was getting over the death of his dad Frankie, who passed away of a lung condition a few months ago. "He didn't seem himself after his dad passed away, although he was a bubbly person and quite set in his ways. "He has two brothers and two sisters and he grew up in this area. "I have known him since he was at primary school, and he went on to study at Belfast Boys' Model School. "I couldn't believe it when I heard he had passed away. "The first thing I knew about it was when I saw his cousin and Kelly's cousin crying outside the house, and they said they had died. "I saw one of Kelly's sons at the house after it happened - it will be very hard for all three of them now. "If it had been a party house you might have expected something like that, but it wasn't like that at all. "I have heard that drugs might have been involved in the deaths, and if so that's really scary. There are a lot of young kids around here." Another resident, who has lived on the street for nearly a decade, said she would "never have dreamed" that such an incident could have happened in the quiet neighbourhood. "When I saw the police officers and the forensic officers coming out in white suits I knew that there had been deaths, and I couldn't believe it," she said. "It's very sad for Stuart's mummy to have lost her son. She will take this very hard... and for Kelly's children to lose their mummy." She added: "They only buried Stuart's dad about six months ago, and he was in his 50s." A third neighbour said he had witnessed police rushing to the scene on Saturday evening. "I saw two peelers get out of a car and run past, then they went into the house," he said. "The Robinsons are a nice family and they didn't deserve this, especially so soon after Stuart's dad died." Pastor Jack McKee of New Life City Church expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the two. Posting on social media, he urged the local community to "rise up" in order to "end this death trade in our midst". He stated: "Heartbreaking time at New Life City Church this morning as we shared the news of the sudden death of Kelly Watters, daughter of our very own Stevie Watters, and also of the death of her friend Stuart Robinson. "We prayed for Stevie and for both families. We prayed for everyone in our community who is being seduced and destroyed by drugs. "We prayed also for drug dealers that the Spirit of God will give them a glimpse of eternity in Hell, in the hope it would turn them away from their death trade. "May we not only show compassion towards families that have lost loved ones in this manner, but may we also have the boldness to rise up as a united community to end this death trade in our midst. "We at New Life City Church are bold enough to believe we can help make this happen, and will do what we can to end this scourge." Steven Pollock (38), a co-ordinator for Greater Shankill Action for Community Transformation (ACT), slammed the influx of drugs into the area. He claimed that residents hooked on drugs were having illegal prescription and synthetic drugs delivered to their doors in "discreet packages". "It's a bad situation on the Shankill with the drugs," he said. "People are dicing with death, it is a real cocktail of death that they are taking. "They don't even have to go outside their doors; it's posted to them, making it easier for addicts to access. "You have synthetic substances shipped from manufacturers across Europe and China. "A lot of prescription drugs are also bought online. "It makes me despair as a community worker, and it angers you." He claimed that the "dogs on the street" were aware of the identities of drug dealers in the area, but said that there had been a "lack of action" and "urgency" by the police. "I would urge people to report drug dealing to the police, or to speak to us and we will report it on their behalf. But a lot of people have said that they did report it and the police didn't take action," he said. "There doesn't seem to be an urgency on the police's part. "The dogs in the street know who the dealers are. "The drug dealers have blood on their hands - they know what they are doing and they don't care. They are just after the pound signs." He said that it had become "nearly normal for people to go out and have a few drinks and a couple of lines of cocaine". "Even harder drugs like cocaine seem to be viewed more as recreational drugs these days," he added. Mr Pollock accused the Department for Communities of standing in the way of ACT's plans to use the former Forum for Action on Substance Abuse (FASA) building in the Shankill for its drugs prevention work, claiming that "lives could have been saved" if it had been granted permission sooner. He said that the FASA building was sold at auction to a private buyer in November 2016, and that his group has an agreement with the new owner to host three anti-drugs groups there. However, he claimed that the Department for Communities had prevented its efforts, citing "legal reasons". He continued: "We have secured funding to move into the FASA building and turn it into a community hub. "We are looking to tackle substance abuse and drugs rehabilitation and to bring in three different substance abuse support groups. "These deaths again highlight the demand which exists in the Shankill area for these services. "How many lives could have been saved if this had been in place? "People are screaming for help." The Department for Communities said that it had provided grant funding to FASA to purchase the building in the Shankill on the condition that a covenant be applied restricting its use to services addressing drug and alcohol misuse. "The purpose of this covenant was to protect the public funding invested in the project," the department said. "The new owner of the property purchased it with this covenant in place. "The owner has proposed uses for the property that impact on the terms of the covenant and the department is currently seeking legal advice which will inform our response to the plans for the use of the building. "We expect that the department will be in a position to make a response in the near future and we will contact all the interested parties and advise them accordingly." Chief Inspector Stephen Burns said that police in Belfast were "fully committed to dealing with the issue of drugs across the district". He added: "The efforts of local police, supported by colleagues in Serious and Organised Crime Branch, are all contributing towards keeping the community in the area safe and drugs being taken off the street. "Police will continue to disrupt and arrest drugs dealers involved in the sale and supply of drugs, bring individuals before the courts and work with communities and partner agencies to reduce the threat of harmful and illegal activity. "I would ask everyone for their support and co-operation in tackling this problem through the criminal justice system. "If you see or know of anyone who is dealing drugs in your local area, contact your local police on 101, or call 999 in an emergency. "Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime. "Our advice is very simple - do not take illegal drugs; do not take prescription medication that has not been prescribed for you and do not mix either with alcohol. "The consequences of ignoring this advice can be life-threatening. "If you know of anyone who is dealing in illegal drugs, please contact police immediately. "I do not want officers calling with families of loved ones to deliver the heartbreaking news that someone is seriously ill, or has died, as a result of drug or substance abuse. "Drugs bring misery to individuals, families and communities. "The consumption and mixing of illegal drugs can be a lottery of death." The funeral has taken place for the mother of hunger striker Bobby Sands. Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams announced the death of Rosaleen Sands on Friday, paying tribute to her as a "strong, inspirational woman". Mourners gathered for Requiem Mass at St Oliver Plunkett's Church, Blackrock, Co Louth on Monday before a private family burial in Belfast at the City Cemetery. In his tribute Mr Adams said: I was extremely saddened to learn of Rosaleens death and, on behalf of Sinn Fein, I extend condolences to the entire Sands clan. Roasaleen was a strong, inspirational woman who, like all families of the hunger strikers, bore immense pain but stood by her son Bobby during the darkest of times. The dignity and strength she displayed was a testament to her character and her belief in standing up for what was right and just, even if that meant great suffering for herself, Bobbys father John and their family. In many ways she epitomised what all the mothers of the hunger strikers endured and her sacrifice will never be forgotten." On May 5, 1981 IRA prisoner Bobby Sands became the first of 10 republicans to die on hunger strike at the Maze Prison. The hunger strike followed the dirty protest in a long running campaign for political status within the jail. Sands had been voted in as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone at a by election just a month before his death. A man in his 60s has died after falling into a river in Gweedore, Co Donegal. A spokesman for the Irish Health and Safety Authority said the man had been carrying out maintenance work at the time of his fall. RTE is reporting the man was originally from Ederny in Fermanagh. He fell from a bridge over the River Clady, with the Malin Head Coast Guard receiving a call from a member of the public shortly after 11am. This triggered a multi-agency response, involving members of the Coast Guard, gardai, the Fire Service, members of mountain rescue, and local divers. The man's body was recovered by Coast Guard divers at around 2.30pm. A spokeswoman for An Garda Siochana confirmed a man in his mid-60s had died. The body of the male was pronounced dead at the scene. A handcuffed Billy Stevenson attends the funeral of his father on Saturday A man who raped and murdered a pensioner was released from prison at the weekend - to attend his father's funeral in south Belfast. Billy Stevenson (53) - who killed frail Lily Smyth (66) - was seen in handcuffs walking behind the coffin of his father James as it left the family home in Finaghy. The killer is serving a 25-year minimum sentence for the vicious murder of the pensioner, who was his neighbour on the 11th floor of Moveen House in Finaghy. Lily Smith was murdered in 1988. It was not until almost 20 years later that police were able to gather strong enough evidence to cage the killer. In 1988, DNA analysis was in its infancy. But by 2007, DNA analysis had advanced to a level at which blood samples found in the victim's flat were able to be connected to Stevenson. Scientist Steve Green, whose analysis trapped the killer, said: "Initial tests came back with Lily's blood, but then we had a breakthrough when part of the clothes came back with Stevenson's blood. "We also found his blood on a hand towel and other items of clothing, including his jacket. "I've no doubt in my mind that Lily Smyth was a very, very brave woman. "I really do believe that had Stevenson not cut himself when Lily was defending herself, then this case may have remained unsolved." In 2008 Stevenson - who had by then built a new life for himself in the village of Ballygally, near Larne - was tried at Belfast Crown Court. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 25 years. The jury of six women and five men rejected Stevenson's claims that he "never, ever killed that lady", and that he "didn't commit no murder". Stevenson, who sat in the dock shaking his head, saying "no" as the guilty verdict was read out, was told by Mr Justice McLaughlin that he must be aware "the sentence for murder is life imprisonment." The judge added that while it had "taken 20 years to bring you to this point... justice has been done in my opinion and in the opinion of the jury. "Those who prey upon and harm the elderly, particularly those at home and alone, must face severe punishment. "Not content with killing Lily Smyth, you defiled her body." The judge added: "There was no remorse then, and there is no remorse now." Film star Liam Neeson has revealed he keeps some of his money under his bed. The star of the Taken films made the surprise admission in an interview with The Big Issue magazine ahead of the release of his latest film, The Commuter. A sub-theme of the thriller is the 2007-2008 banking crisis. Neeson plays an immigrant, coming to America as a youth with the debts run up by his reckless father weighing him down, instilling in him a sense of financial caution in his own life. Neeson grew up in Ballymena in Northern Ireland. When asked if we could all have learned from the local farmers who have a reputation for guarding their money well, and not being keen to spend it, he said: "Well, I keep my money under the bed. And I have done since 2009." Neeson, who also starred in Steven Spielberg's highly acclaimed Schindler's List and played Aslan in the Narnia films, spoke about the message behind his latest release. He said: "We are trying to make a thriller film. It's set on a train. People that you see every day of your working life are doing that commute. "Then a stressful situation happens and it gets built upon. One of the things that I loved about the original script was the fact that this little community of people actually stand up for each other." "It is kind of an everyman situation. "Leaving the Taken movies aside, because it's a guy with a certain set of skills, in this instance, this guy is an insurance salesman. He has been for 10 years and he used to be a cop, but he is an average Joe. I think audiences like that. And I think that is a great premise to start any action film with. An audience can see the hero or heroine and think, 'Oh, I kind of know that person.'" The Big Issue, which supports homeless people, is on sale from Monday. A controversial 20mph speed limit in central Belfast has not resulted in a single fine - two years after it was introduced. Since early 2016 a reduced speed limit has been in place on more than 70 streets across the city centre. But the PSNI has said it has no record of anyone being fined for breaking this restriction - nor has it deployed camera vans to monitor compliance. Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers, who had opposed the speed limit's introduction, said it was clear that it wasn't being enforced. "A lot of people have suspected it wasn't being monitored and this would seem to confirm it," he said. However, the PSNI said there has been "broad compliance" with the lower speed limit. The 20mph zone applies to 76 streets in central Belfast and has been in operation since January 2016. The area covered is the main pedestrian zone, Cathedral Quarter and the roads at the front and back of City Hall. It is aimed at reducing the number and severity of collisions in the area. However, questions have been raised about how effectively the speed limit is being monitored. The Belfast Telegraph used the Freedom of Information Act to ask the PSNI how many people had been fined for breaking the 20mph speed limit. The PSNI responded that: "Police have no record of any fixed penalties having been issued in this time period. "Speed monitoring by police during business hours has demonstrated broad compliance with the speed limit, at least in part due to the volume of traffic in the city centre." Asked how many times speed cameras had been used in the 20mph zone, the PSNI said that because the area did not have a history of collisions, it did not meet the criteria for camera deployment. Mr Rodgers, a Belfast City councillor, said: "I never thought the 20mph speed limit was a good idea - I was quite happy with a 30mph limit - although I do understand how important road safety is. "I have seen a lot of the signs up but you don't see cameras. "If you look at the likes of May Street, you would sometimes see cars at 30mph, maybe 35mph. "I have always felt this was more about making people believe it is a 20mph zone. "It's a psychological thing. For people not as familiar with Belfast, the 20mph signs are going to make you slow down. "Those who use the city regularly are becoming more aware that there is little or no enforcement of the speed limit." Joshua Harris from road safety charity Brake said: "The introduction of the 20mph zone in central Belfast was a positive step in improving road safety in Northern Ireland - stopping distances at 20mph are half those at 30mph. "However, these figures show that safer speed limits need to go hand-in-hand with enforcement as, without the threat of being caught, drivers will continue to break the law and endanger lives." PSNI Chief Inspector Diane Pennington from Road Policing said: "While the NI Road Safety Partnership Safety Camera vans are deployed to locations where there is a history of collisions and excess speed is confirmed as a problem, the collision history in the Belfast 20mph zone doesn't meet the criteria for camera van deployment, nor have there been any requests for enforcement under the 'Community Concern' provisions. "However, speed monitoring by police during business hours have demonstrated broad compliance with the speed limit, at least in part due to the volume of traffic in the city centre. "As with all roads, police will continue to monitor traffic speed and carry out enforce where necessary. All right thinking and law-abiding motorists will recognise that all speed restrictions are not there to inconvenience them but to make our roads safer for everyone. An amateur rowing team from Northern Ireland consisting of a restaurateur, a civil servant, a restaurant manager and a fitness instructor have completed a gruelling 3,000-mile challenge. The team - Home To Portrush - held its own in the Herculean task of rowing in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge 2017, which is known as the premier event in ocean rowing. The challenge takes the rowers more than 3,000 miles west from San Sebastian in the Canary Islands to Nelson's Dockyard English Harbour in Antigua and Barbuda. The only team from Northern Ireland in the field of 27 boats was crewed by four locals - George McAlpin, Gareth Barton, Luke Baker and Ally Cooper - who are linked by their love of the north coast and of the sea. The men left the Canaries on December 14 and have been rowing 24 hours a day, seven days a week ever since. The men finished their voyage at around 8pm yesterday and have so far raised more than 14,000 for the RNLI. Former BBC broadcaster Alan Simpson, a friend of the men, was in Antigua to meet them at the finish line. Speaking shortly before they arrived, he said: "I have spoken to some of the other crews that have finished the race over the last couple of days, some of these guys you would nearly call professional rowers, and they have been blown away by how well Home To Portrush has done. "Exceeding expectations is putting it mildly. They have blown everyone else out of the water. It has been an absolutely phenomenal performance, it is beyond words. "Everyone in Portrush is behind them and supporting them. Everyone in Portrush knows them. What has impressed me as well is the people from Antigua, they have taken to them as well. They have been saying: 'These guys are from Northern Ireland, it doesn't make sense, how could they possibly do such a thing?' "The Portrush Lifeboat does not exist without voluntary contributions, that's it. It costs more than 6,000 every time a lifeboat goes out and it is a busy station. They are the real heroes, they are the volunteers that have to go out in all weather. They are the heart of the community." Judy Nelson of Portrush RNLI, said: "We are all just so proud of them, they are all local boys. We are delighted and all of us are watching the race on the internet, we have been following it all the way. "The lifeboat station here is so thankful to them and we are really looking forward to getting them home and helping them celebrate their achievement. "I am sure they have lost a lot of weight because of the rations they have been on and they are looking forward to a good feed when they get back." More than 600 nurses are to be recruited from the Philippines in an attempt to plug Northern Ireland's chronic nursing shortage Current shortage of nurses in the health service in Northern Ireland More than 600 nurses are to be recruited from the Philippines in an attempt to plug Northern Ireland's chronic nursing shortage. The region has a dearth of 1,500 nurses - 10% below capacity - with health chiefs warning of a difficult year ahead. A lack of qualified nurses across the EU and concerns over Brexit have meant that bosses must now look overseas for staff to fill vacancies until enough local nurses can be trained up. This is one of a number of measure being taken by the Department of Health to address the staffing shortage. Chief nursing officer Charlotte McArdle said the problem arose because the supply from undergraduate recruitment had not kept up with demand and an ageing workforce. She added that the recruitment initiative was only intended as an interim measure "to get through the difficult years". "The answer for us is to grow our own workforce," said Professor McArdle. "We can't be reliant on other places to do that for us. The overseas programme is an interim step to help balance things while we get to the other side." There has been greater investment in nurse student places over the past two years with the Department of Health increasing pre-registration nursing student places by 38%, from 650 to 900 - an increase of 38%, she added. There are between eight and 10 applicants for every undergraduate place. However, the first band of new nurses will not complete their university qualifications until 2019. One option to help balance out the workforce was to recruit from other EU countries. But Prof McArdle said Europe was in a similar position to the UK and Ireland in terms of nursing. She said there was an assumption that many EU nurses were becoming worried about the impact of Brexit. "The facts are there aren't many (nurses) there (across the EU)," she said. "We are aware that the number of nurses on the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council) register has declined quite significantly in the last year. "They are telling us that the number of EU nurses are dropping off the register very quickly. "I don't think anyone has the answer (as to why), but I think there are a lot of assumptions around nurses becoming worried in light of Brexit. Certainly we would have to consider it." She said this was the reason a decision was taken to launch an overseas recruitment programme. "Through that programme we are hoping to recruit 622 nurses, mainly from the Philippines, with some from India, by 2020," she said. "We have a history with the Philippines, and to a lesser extent India, from the last shortage around 2000." She warned that a difficult year lay ahead. But she insisted there was "light at the end of the tunnel." "We are running with just under 10% vacancy levels. In the context of Northern Ireland we have probably in the region of between 15,000 and 17,000 posts and about 1,500 vacancies. That is in context of a workforce of 15,000," she said. "That is significant, but in the context of what is happening around us, it certainly isn't as bad as what would be happening in England or the Republic of Ireland, and it is probably on a par with Scotland and Wales. "This year is going to be difficult in terms of nurse recruitment but hopefully from then on we'll start to see light at the end of the tunnel. "We just need to get through this difficult stage. "I fully recognise that staffing levels are a source of great concern to nurses." She added: I want to assure them - and the public - that the issue is being actively addressed on a number of important levels." Four friends have become the fastest Northern Irishmen in history to row across the Atlantic, despite being plagued by 40ft waves, bizarre hallucinations and dental trouble at sea. The quartet, George McAlpin, 57, Alistair Cooper, 41, Luke Baker, 37, and Gareth Barton, 31, completed the 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in just 31 days. The overall winners, British team the Four Oarsmen, came in two days ahead of them. The Northern Irish team landed in the Caribbean island of Antigua to a heroes' welcome, having spent just over four weeks battling fatigue and the worst weather mother nature could hurl at their 26ft fibreglass vessel. The team, named Home To Portrush in honour of the coastal town where they are based, sported deep, all-over tans as they took their first steps on land since leaving La Gomera harbour in the Canary Islands on December 14. Mr McAlpin said: "It was nothing like we expected, we knew there would be big waves and strong winds but nothing like we could have imagined. "There were some scary moments out in the Atlantic, but being able to speak to our families back home, especially, for me, my daughter, really motivated us to keep going. "We had some odd hallucinations as a result of sleep deprivation, where Gareth had an entire conversation with a life jacket, and I struggled with some dental issues, but we pulled together as a team to overcome all struggles and everything the Atlantic could throw at us." The team took on the challenge, dubbed the world's toughest rowing race, to raise money for the Portrush Lifeboat. Lisa Everingham, global Talisker marketing manager, said: "We are delighted for Home To Portrush and their epic row across the Atlantic. "To be able to support them in this life changing adventure and to be part of their journey has been a real privilege." :: For more information, visit taliskerwhiskyatlanticchallenge.com The scene of the rescue at the River Moyola near Draperstown Two people examine the scene of the rescue at the River Moyola near Draperstown Firefighters rescued two men from the roof of a car after they were caught in rising water in Co Londonderry. The Fire Service said the dramatic rescue happened on the Mulnavoo Road in Draperstown at 5pm on Saturday. The driver had been following a satnav and the route took him along a minor road requiring the crossing of a ford. But the water levels were higher than expected and the car was swept away and carried by a fast-flowing current for approximately 20 metres. The men were able to get out of the vehicle and climb on to the roof. Rescue crews from Maghera and Magherafelt used lines to secure the vehicle and a ladder from the adjacent footbridge to rescue the two men and lead them to safety. "There is no doubt that the prompt actions of the crews prevented a much more serious incident," the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said. "This is a stark reminder that crossing a ford is very dangerous and drivers should take particular care by avoiding water more than 10cm (4 inches) deep. Remember that a foot of flowing water is enough to move the average family car, and six inches can knock you off your feet." Video of the incident can be seen at belfasttelegraph.co.uk The PSNI, HM Revenue & Customs and the National Crime Agency established the Paramilitary Crime Task Force to tackle criminality linked to paramilitarism. Police in Northern Ireland have obtained a freezing order over a property in Newtownabbey - in the first use of such powers by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. The PSNI, HM Revenue & Customs and the National Crime Agency established the Paramilitary Crime Task Force to tackle criminality linked to paramilitarism as part of the Executive's action plan on tackling paramilitary activity, criminality, and organised crime. NCA Branch Commander Billy Beattie said: Civil recovery investigations will play an integral role in the work of the PCTF. These powers are a strong tool in preventing those engaged in criminal activity from benefiting financially or materially from it. The PSNIs Head of Organised Crime, Detective Superintendent Bobby Singleton, added: This shows the strength of the three agencies working together, and is the first of many such actions. On January 11 2018 the High Court in Belfast granted an application for a Property Freezing Order (PFO) under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA), made by lawyers for the Paramilitary Crime Task Force (PCTF). The property frozen is subject to a civil recovery investigation and the Order prohibits anyone from dealing with or dissipating the value of the property while the investigation continues. The PFO was granted at an ex parte hearing and anyone affected by the Order can seek to apply for its discharge or variation. Sinn Fein has responded in a "predictable and disappointing" manner to Arlene Foster holding the hand of friendship out to the Republic during Brexit negotiations, the DUP has said. Simon Hamilton said while Mrs Foster's weekend speech in Co Kerry had been welcomed by Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and the SDLP, it was "regrettable" Sinn Fein hadn't received it positively. Speaking at an economic conference in Killarney on Saturday, the DUP leader said Brexit was not about pulling up a drawbridge and cutting off Northern Ireland from its nearest neighbour. Striking a conciliatory tone, she said there was much uniting Northern Ireland and the Republic in phase two of the EU negotiations. She suggested an expanded role for the British-Irish Council to enhance Anglo-Irish relations. Sinn Fein Northern Ireland leader Michelle O'Neill said it was a change of tone, not policy, from Mrs Foster and added "there is no good Brexit". But Mr Coveney tweeted: "Welcome comments by DUP leader. Brexit remains a challenge for all political leaders on this island to work together on, to protect communities North and South." Mr Hamilton said: "Arlene's words were significant and will help heal relations between Belfast and Dublin that had become fraught over Brexit. "While the speech has been welcomed by the Irish Foreign Minister and the SDLP, Sinn Fein's response has been predictable and regrettable. Unfortunately, the party hasn't accepted it in the spirit in which it was made nor have they responded in kind." The former economy minister said he hoped there would be an end to megaphone diplomacy between Dublin and Belfast. "Everybody has learned lessons from the tensions obvious near the conclusion of phase one Brexit talks, and how they were handled," he said. "In phase two negotiations, it is critical we get it right. We must treat the negotiations and each other with respect. There is far more that unites than divides us." UUP MLA Steve Aiken said Mrs Foster was now adopting UUP proposals on Brexit. "It's a pity it has taken the DUP so long to catch on and I hope their leader is speaking not just for one half of her party but for her Westminster MPs as well," he said. "Building a strong relationship across these islands by beefing up the British-Irish Council and using existing structures is exactly what the UUP has been proposing since Brexit." But TUV leader Jim Allister said Mrs Foster should have argued in favour of an Irish EU exit at the conference. "While it is entirely a matter for the Irish Republic as to whether they remain in the EU, I'm disappointed Arlene Foster didn't advise her audience that if they followed our example and left, many of the issues that concern them most about Brexit would be resolved," he added. Sinn Fein welcomed Mrs Foster's acknowledgement that "our economy, community, and future, North and South, are interlinked and interdependent". But Mrs O'Neill added: "This cannot distract from the fact that Brexit will be disastrous for all of Ireland. There is no good Brexit. Today was a difference in tone, but not in policy. "The DUP leader has said she is opposed to a hard border and open to novel solutions. What is required is for the cross-community vote in the North to be respected and for the North to have designated special status within the EU." SDLP leader Colum Eastwood described Mrs Foster's speech as "a signal in the right direction" and said she was effectively arguing for single market and customs union access. "While much of the content of the speech the SDLP could not agree with, the willingness of Mrs Foster to accept that her party will have to work on an all-island basis with our partners in the South to deal with the challenges of Brexit is a welcome step," he said. Fianna Fail Foreign Affairs spokesman Darragh O'Brien welcomed the speech but added: "What we really need to see is those words backed up by actual action - the best way to do that is to get the Assembly back up and running, to have an executive in the North of Ireland." Moving tributes have been paid to Omagh YouTube video star Oisin Chesters, who died suddenly at the age of 12. The Sacred Heart College pupil - whose YouTube channel had more than 1,200 subscribers and 170 videos - was buried last week. On his YouTube Channel, Oisin's dad Colm thanked his son's online fans for their heartfelt messages of condolence over Oisin's death. "Myself and his mum are so proud of all the messages views, likes and subscriptions. "He will be the happiest YouTube star in heaven, thanks. "As Oisin would say, PEACE OUT." Speaking at Oisin's funeral last week, Father Dermot McGirr spoke of his love of Marvel comic book superheroes. "Oisin was as brave and honest as Captain America, as eager a young lad as Spider-Man, as piercing and straight as Hawkeye, and able to see beyond himself as Dr Strange," the curate said. "Oisin was always a hero, a marvellous young person and an undeniable fan of the Marvel universe. "May the loving God look after his sincere and good soul and may he be with his saintly heroes in Heaven." In a message posted on Sacred Heart College's Facebook page, the governors, staff and pupils of the school described Oisin as "a little superhero" and sent their condolences to his grieving family. "We are heartbroken at his passing, and we hope his devoted parents, brother, sisters, sister-in-law, grandad as well as his aunts, uncles and cousins will find the strength to get through these dark times," the school said. "We have had the pleasure of having this little superhero as part of the college. "He was courageous, confident and loving. "Rest in peace, Oisin." College principal Sinead McAllister told the Ulster Herald that Oisin was "a very intelligent young man". "He was highly skilled in the use of technology, and thoroughly enjoyed recording the highlights of every day," she said. "Even though God took him at the young age of 12, he managed to pack the experiences of a lifetime into those years. "Oisin's smile was infectious, and he drew a crowd wherever he went on the school's site." Liverpool Hope GAA also offered their thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences to the family of Oisin as they mourned his loss. Oisin is survived by his parents Colm and Caroline, sisters Kyra and Danielle, and brother Shane. Despite being asked to calm down she had to be detained after the verbal abuse continued. A 60-year-old woman who spat on a police officer arresting her for disorderly behaviour in west Belfast has been jailed for three months. Mary O'Neill also slapped a civilian member of staff after being taken into custody last Friday, prosecutors said. Sending her to prison, a judge described it as a "desperately sad" case of offending which has started relatively late in life. Belfast Magistrates' Court heard O'Neill, of no fixed abode, had been causing disturbances in the Falls Road area. She was shouting aggressively with a crowd round her when police arrived on the scene. Despite being asked to calm down she had to be detained after the verbal abuse continued. At that stage she spat on a PSNI constable who carried out the arrest, the court heard. In custody O'Neill then slapped a police designated person on the face. She pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly behaviour and two counts of assault. Her lawyer confirmed the offences were committed just days after she had previously been released from custody. "This is a 60-year-old lady who finds herself before the court for anti-social behaviour," he said. District Judge Fiona Bagnall warned O'Neill she was in danger of increasing prison terms. Imposing a three-month sentence, she added: "Unless there's a significant intervention in some way we are just going to keep seeing this patten reoccur." When Sinn Feins chairman said Barry McElduffs behaviour was indefensible, it was clear the West Tyrone MP was under serious pressure. He faced a mounting chorus of criticism from relatives of the 10 Kingsmill dead, other victims groups, unionists and nationalists. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney attacked his really, really stupid and insensitive actions. Last week, John ODowd, a former Sinn Fein minister at Stormont, said the mass killing by republicans in 1976 was shameful and purely sectarian. Further, I apologise for any hurt or offence caused. Never my intention to offend anyone who has suffered grievously. Barry McElduff (@BarryMcElduff) January 6, 2018 The party may have hoped that suspending Mr McElduff for three months would defuse the row. But the pressure mounted as he faced official complaints to Parliament. He clung on for a few more days before announcing his resignation on Monday. The married father-of-three, 51, fell foul of what his own party said was inexcusable behaviour after tweeting a video posing with a Kingsmill loaf on the 42nd anniversary of the massacre of the same name. Ten innocent Protestant workmen were killed in the sectarian shooting by republicans on a rural road in South Armagh. Mr McElduff apologised and said he did not realise there could be a possible link between the bread brand and the anniversary. The condemnation of Barry McElduff`s deeply offensive actions has come from across the community. If a candidate emerges that allows cross-community support to coalesce around, it would send a strong message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. pic.twitter.com/nzDqjnHKrB Ulster Unionist (@uuponline) January 15, 2018 He once said there should be no hierarchy of victims of the Northern Ireland conflict. As a schoolboy he took days off to attend the 1981 funerals of IRA hunger strikers. Sinn Feins West Tyrone MP has defended the right of republicans to remember their own victims of violence or patriot dead, including two IRA men killed by their own bomb in his native Co Tyrone. He added previously: We all should have the opportunity to remember our dead. Mr McElduff, who lives in the village of Carrickmore in Co Tyrone, has been steeped in republicanism from a young age and told of his pride at taking the day off school to attend the funeral of IRA hunger striker Raymond McCreesh. He said: The level of his commitment and sacrifice is difficult to comprehend. After a local council controversially named a play park after McCreesh, Mr McElduff said he was a hero. He said: There are Irish people in possession of Nobel Prizes for their various contributions. As far as I am concerned, Raymond McCreesh would be more deserving of international recognition than many of the past recipients. Pro-European MPs have shared their concerns about Brexit talks and the potential final UK-EU deal with Brussels chief negotiator Michel Barnier. Tory Brexit rebel Anna Soubry said the delegation held very interesting and very positive discussions with Mr Barnier in which they made clear that MPs have a role to play in the withdrawal process. The former minister said the group, including fellow rebel Dominic Grieve, and pro-EU Labour MPs Chuka Umunna, Stephen Doughty and Chris Leslie, also learned about where negotiations are heading, with trade talks expected to begin in spring. Good opportunity to convey cross-party views from the UK Parliament with @EU_Commissionas @MichelBarnier this afternoon #Brexit pic.twitter.com/HVnC1SsmF2 Chris Leslie (@ChrisLeslieUK) January 15, 2018 The two Tories headed a backbench revolt which saw the House of Commons insist on a meaningful vote on the final EU withdrawal deal. Ms Soubry refused to go into details about the private meeting, but told the Press Association: One of the reasons that we came over was to make it very clear that as parliamentarians we are not bystanders in the process of our leaving the European Union. And obviously we gave him our views and our concerns about the negotiations and the final deal. He and his team listened and he shared his views with us about matters, and those are, like some of our comments, private, but it was a very interesting and I would go so far to say, a very positive meeting, and I think I can also say that we learnt a great deal. Expand Close Tory former minister Anna Soubry has been a leading pro-EU voice on the backbenches. (PA/Yui Mok) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tory former minister Anna Soubry has been a leading pro-EU voice on the backbenches. (PA/Yui Mok) Ms Soubry rejected suggestions the MPs may be working with Mr Barnier to ensure a softer Brexit. I dont really think Monsieur Barnier is going to be stitching anything up with five Members of Parliament, she said. I think people need to take a reality pill on these things. And Monsieur Barnier made it very clear, his door is open to everyone and thats why he met some members of the Leave campaign and others last week. Mr Doughty told the Press Association: Its clear from meetings today that key partners in the EU increasingly understand the dynamic nature of the public and political debate in the UK and that Parliament will not simply stand by and act as a rubber stamp for whatever the Government serves up however imperfect or damaging its consequences. As the gravity of the situation before us becomes clearer not least as many of the decisions before us as a country will have serious economic consequences it is more important than ever we distinguish reality from fantasy and recognise that as on everything the public and Parliament can change their mind on the way forward. This is where the rubber hits the road. Wombats arent usually spotted walking down the pavement in Australia, and when this one was seen, it wasnt keen on the attention. Twitter user Jolene Laverty filmed the marsupials stroll through suburban Canberra, but allowed the creature to go its own way after it made its feelings clear. But why did it make its way into the area in the first place? I called Wildlife Rescue, and a few other people had also called, so they knew the path it was on, and that it had travelled some distance, said Laverty. They advised to just let it do its thing. It was determined to get wherever it was going, and wasnt bothered by me much (except to growl when I got too close). Definitely growling Jo Laverty (@jo_laverty) January 13, 2018 Laverty mentioned that someone who had lived in Canberra for 23 years told her theyd never seen a wombat roaming around like that before, while others said she was lucky to get away without being attacked by the animal. It looked really healthy and strong, just a little lost, she said. A few people have contacted me to say theyd seen a wombat in the same area, so perhaps it has a burrow somewhere. Wombats really arent a common sighting in Canberra, at least not alive. Theyre nocturnal bush dwellers and quite shy. Theyre also really fierce when provoked. listen to that little grumble! "I'm walkin' here!" Stephanie (@stephbacca) January 13, 2018 As for why this particular wombat was roaming around, some people expressed concern that it might have been mange-infected, while Laverty wondered whether its habitat might have been affected by weather. Some people were tweeting me worried that this one might have been infected, because it was out during the day, she said. Apparently, if theyre sick theyre more likely to be up and about during the day to try to eat more for the energy required to tackle the mange. This one looked pretty healthy to me though. There had been a big storm in Canberra the night before this happened, so I wondered if perhaps its burrow got damaged. Whatever the reason for this wombats day out, it doesnt look like its after a walking buddy. The Palestinian president hit out at President Donald Trump in a fiery, two-hour-long speech on Sunday, saying "shame on you" for his treatment of the Palestinians. He also warned he would have no problem rejecting what he suggested would be an unacceptable peace plan. The speech by Mahmoud Abbas ratcheted up what has been more than a month of harsh rhetoric toward Mr Trump since the president's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Relations between Washington and the Palestinians have sunk to a new low, boding poorly for a peace plan the White House has promised to present. Speaking to the Palestinian Central Council, a decision-making body, Mr Abbas repeated the Palestinians' opposition to Mr Trump's Jerusalem recognition and censured Mr Trump for accusing the Palestinians of refusing to negotiate. "He (Trump) said in a tweet: 'We won't give money to the Palestinians because they rejected the negotiations'," Mr Abbas said. "Shame on you. When did we reject the talks? Where is the negotiation that we rejected?" Mr Trump infuriated Palestinians and Muslims around the world when he announced late last year that the US would recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move its embassy there, upending decades of US policy and countering an international consensus that the fate of Jerusalem should be decided in negotiations between the sides. Mr Abbas has said that by siding with the Israelis on a sensitive issue, the announcement had destroyed Mr Trump's credibility as a Mideast peace broker. "We can say no to anyone if things are related to our fate and our people, and now we have said no to Mr Trump," he said. "We told him the deal of the century was the slap of the century. But we will slap back." Mr Abbas also said that the Palestinians have rejected a US request to halt payments to roughly 35,000 families of Palestinians killed and wounded in the conflict with Israel, including suicide bombers and other militants. Israel argues that the practice encourages violence. Hoping to secure what he has called the "ultimate" deal, Mr Trump has for nearly a year dispatched his Mideast team, led by his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, to the region to try to breathe life into moribund peace talks, which collapsed in 2014. But the Jerusalem pivot threw a wrench into Mr Trump's peacemaking attempts. Since then, the Palestinians have butted heads with the US at the United Nations, winning a global rebuke against Mr Trump's move. Mr Trump has responded by threatening to cut aid and to reduce US payments to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency. The US is the largest donor to the agency. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has welcomed Mr Trump's tough line toward the Palestinians, while also pushing forward with more settlement construction on lands sought by the Palestinians. Palestinian officials say that while they have not received a formal proposal from the US, they have heard from Saudi interlocutors that the US is exploring the possibility of offering the Palestinians a statelet in the parts of the West Bank they already control, with Israel controlling the borders, and the Gaza Strip. US officials have not confirmed the claims. But if true, the proposal would fall far short of Palestinian claims to the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza for an independent state. Mr Abbas said the Palestinians will not accept the US as a sole broker, and believe a deal can only be reached if there are multiple parties, such as with the international nuclear deal between six global powers and Iran. AP Relations between the DUP and Dublin plummeted to a recent low during the last round of Brexit negotiations. Arlene Foster's short fuse and often blunt choice of language when speaking spontaneously is well-known. But it was an outburst by her predecessor that highlighted how badly cross-border relations had deteriorated. In a Facebook post six weeks ago, Peter Robinson told the Republic to "wind its neck in" over Brexit. Eleven years earlier, it was Mr Robinson who had made a high-profile visit to address businessmen in Dublin in the DUP's first major effort to improve its relationship with the Republic. The 'Clontibret Cowboy', as he was branded following the loyalist invasion of Co Monaghan in 1986, had recognised the importance of building bridges with former enemies. But Brexit had clearly raised the temperature on both sides of the border. Mrs Foster made her own attempt to reach across the divide by her address in Co Kerry on Saturday. She could have chosen to deliver that speech in Northern Ireland. Instead, after attending a DUP event in Upper Bann on Friday, she made the 500-mile round trip to attend the event in Killarney and challenge the claim that the DUP doesn't care about North-South relations. Party colleague Simon Hamilton, who accompanied her to the event, said she was nervous about how she would be received following recent exchanges with Dublin. She was the only pro-Brexit speaker on the panel. Mrs Foster had no reason to fear because while the other speakers and audience strongly disagreed with her position on the EU, the DUP leader was received with respect and warmth as the queue for selfies with her showed. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney welcomed Mrs Foster's words about building better cross-border relations during the Brexit talks, but Sinn Fein said it was a change of "tone not policy" from the DUP. Yet recent history shows how important tone is here. Britain desperately needs Dublin's support in phase two of the Brexit negotiations and London may well have played a part in encouraging the DUP to soften its language. Yet the war of words isn't necessarily over, as defending the Republic's economic interests remains Leo Varadkar's most pressing concern and could make further clashes inevitable. Mrs Foster's Killarney speech, combined with John O'Dowd's outright condemnation of Kingsmill last week, has improved the mood music in Northern Ireland. But whether it's enough to breathe fresh life into any new talks to restore power-sharing is another matter entirely. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, what say you, Biden voters? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Police conduct door-to-door searches, check mobile phones of youthSRINAGAR: Much to the annoyance of residents of Downtown Srinagar, government forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in HabbaKadal and its adjoining areas on Sunday.The CASO, according to a source, lasted for more than two hours. A group of residents from HabbaKadal and its adjoining areas including Push Mohalla, ChinkralMohalla and Shalyar said that they saw a heavy contingent of forces including J&K police arriving in their areas. Fear gripped the residents as forces personnel carried out door-to-door searches and also checked mobile phones of youth, said Nazir Ahmed, a resident. He said that it was a sight last witnessed in HabbaKadal in 2000. I remember there was a crackdown in HabbaKadal and ChinkralMohalla areas in November 2000 and we were asked to assemble in main chowkHabbaKadal, he said. A local youth, who wished not to be quoted by name, said that despite massive protests in the area during the 2010 and 2016 uprisings, there were no door-to-door searches conducted in the area. A masked trooper checked my mobile today and asked me whether I was having any photographs of militants in the gallery. Isnt this a breach of privacy, he questioned. An elderly man, who lives in Push Mohalla, said that the forces personnel searched his entire house and later checked the phones of his two sons. It was after a long time that we had such a situation in our area. These things had vanished. We used to see crackdowns till mid 90s and it seems that things have gone from bad to worse as door-to-door searches have returned again, he said, wishing not to be named. A group of women said that fear gripped them when forces personnel barged into our homes. They searched the cupboards, trunks, almirahs and everything that came their way. They also sought details of family members and nature of their jobs, they said. Source:GK SRINAGAR:The family of Bilal Ahmad Kawa on Monday staged a protest in Srinagar to seek intervention of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for immediate release of their son.Thanking the Jammu and Kashmir Police for their help, they said that Mehbooba should also push for Kawas release. My son is my sole hope. Since the day of his arrest, I am completely shaken. I request Mehbooba ji to facilitate my sons release, appealed Fatima, mother of Kawa. Jammu and Kashmir Police has already cleared that there have been no charges against Kawa ever.There is no case against him here. We have talked to Delhi police in this regard. They are saying that there was warrant number 50012 against him, said additional Director General of Police, Kashmir, Muneer Ahmad Khan, adding that they their CID cell is coordinating with Delhi Police in this regard. Kawa was arrested by Delhi police and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad on charges of his alleged involvement in Red Fort attack in 2000, on January 12 from Delhis IGI airport. Kawa, who according to his family deals in pelts, owns an accommodation in New Delhi and on the day of his arrest had gone for medical checkup to Delhi, as he was suffering from high cholesterol and other ailments. The family also produced his passport and questioned how he was issued the document if he was ever involved in anti national activities. The passport bearing number B2687031 stands registered with Kawas name mentioning date of issue as 15 January, 2001. How they issued passport, if according to them he was involved in any subversive activity, asked Fatima. Kawas family said that they are unable to understand how come authorities and security agencies did not get a whiff about him all these 17 years, if he had done anything wrong. Our house at Aali Kadal in Srinagars downtown is located adjacent to a big paramilitary installation. If he was involved in anything or as they say in terror activities why did not they arrest him all these years? asked Fatima. She termed her sons (Kawas) detention as a tactic to harass Kashmiris. If he would have been a mujahid (militant), I would have never demanded his release. But, when there is nothing like that, which law permits them to arrest my innocent son, said Fatima, while breaking down. When seven-year-old Kashaf Zahra was born with a rare birth defect, relatives and neighbours in Multan, Pakistan, said thats what happens when couples marry outside their religious sect. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/1/2018 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us When seven-year-old Kashaf Zahra was born with a rare birth defect, relatives and neighbours in Multan, Pakistan, said thats what happens when couples marry outside their religious sect. Her Sunni mom and Shia dad had been shunned and harassed and, from the time she was born, Kashaf was doomed, said her father, Zahid Abbas. As a girl who is considered "illegitimate" by society and has a birth defect and physical challenges, Kashaf would face a life of physical and emotional pain growing up in the male-dominated society of Pakistan if shes not killed by sectarian violence first, he said. "The community is threatening us, saying Were going to finish your breed and generation, " Abbas said Friday during an interview inside the familys tiny, one-bedroom apartment in downtown Winnipeg. "The conditions are very backward." Last year, she caught a break. The Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa, Fla., brought Kashaf to the United States for treatment of Poland syndrome, a rare condition in which the chest muscle on one side of the body is missing and there is webbing of the fingers of the hand on the same side. Her family of four was allowed only two U.S. visitors visas. Her mother and little sister went to the city of Islamabad for their safety, while Kashaf and her father went to Tampa for surgery on the webbed fingers of her right hand. There, doctors said Kashaf would need more treatment over the years as she grows. In Florida, an immigration lawyer advised them making an asylum claim in the U.S. is a costly and hopeless proposition for people from Pakistan these days. Taking his daughter back to further persecution in Pakistan seemed even more hopeless, Abbas said. Their only hope, he was told, was to seek asylum in Canada. "As a father, what can I do?" They flew to Bemidji, Minn., then paid US$200 for a ride close to the Manitoba border at Emerson. On Aug. 22, Kashaf and her dad walked over the border and asked for refugee protection in Canada. Up until now, she felt safe going to Sister MacNamara School in downtown Winnipeg, where she loves her teachers and classmates and dreams of being a doctor. On Thursday, that sense of security and hope was shaken the Grade 2 student and her dad learned their application for refugee protection in Canada was rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Kashaf, 7, shows her malformed right hand. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press) "I couldnt sleep last night," Abbas, 33, said Friday. "If I go back, they will kill me. Theres no life for her." The former police constable had also hoped of bringing his wife and youngest daughter to Canada, where their children would be secure and have a chance to thrive. A notice of appeal has been filed with the refugee board, giving Kashaf and Abbas a stay of deportation, said their lawyer, Bashir Khan. If theyre sent back to Pakistan, Kashaf faces persecution as a female and a person with a physical challenge, said Khan. She wont get the treatment that she needs for Poland syndrome as she grows, he said. The medical evidence and examples of how disabled people and women are treated in Pakistan wasnt made clear to the immigration and refugee board, said Khan, who has lived in Pakistan and speaks Urdu. Abbas said he is desperate to find an orthopedic surgeon who can assess Kashaf for their refugee appeal. In his written decision, Immigration and Refugee Board member Ron Yamauchi said Pakistan has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He acknowledged evidence of how such people are treated in the country is limited. The Vancouver-based adjudicator said the evidence presented at the teleconference hearing regarding Kashafs treatment was limited, and she looked healthy and functional and "clearly has the backing of her parents." He said he didnt find that she or her father face a reasonable chance of persecution or serious harm from society in general in Pakistan. He said he didnt believe their family faces persecution because of Kashafs parents Sunni-Shia marriage or that being picked on because of how she looks means Kashafs rights are being violated. "While it is possible that children and other immature people will be rude to her, it is not a basic human right to be popular... and free from insults about ones appearance." carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca A set of siblings from Brandon have put out a call for help after their mother and father were involved in a tragic vehicle rollover in their native country of Colombia. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/1/2018 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A set of siblings from Brandon have put out a call for help after their mother and father were involved in a tragic vehicle rollover in their native country of Colombia. Hollman Florez Gamez said his mother, Rosa Gamez, and father, Hector Jaime, had been travelling through Colombia since Dec. 14, 2017, visiting family as part of a Christmas gift given to them from Hollman and his three sisters. SUBMITTED Hector Jaime and Rosa Gamez are shown in a photo taken last summer. Their four children have started a GoFundMe campaign after the couple was taken to hospital following a vehicle accident in Colombia last week. On Jan. 7, the couple left the city of Manizales, approximately 300 kilometres west of the capital city of Bogota, with seven others and were driving through the rural community of Aranzazu, when their vehicle malfunctioned and rolled down a hill, breaking through a fence and falling even further down. Gamez said the accident left one person dead and several others injured, including his father, who suffered bruising, cuts to his forehead, eyebrow and lip, two broken teeth and 17 stitches. His mother was taken to hospital in Manizales, where she had surgery on her index finger and intestines. The accident happened in the morning, and the siblings were given the news later that afternoon. "You never think something like this is going to happen to you until it happens," Hollman said. His youngest sister, Reina Florez Gamez, said her parents were set to return to Canada this week in time for her 18th birthday. When she heard about what had happened to them, Reina said she thought she had lost them, adding every corner of the house has something to remember her mother. "So this just broke us completely." Hollman said his mother has gone through a number of blood transfusions, but her oxygen levels are low. She is currently in an induced coma and will need time to heal before doctors can perform surgery on her fractured pelvis. But with their parents out of the country, the siblings are left to fend for themselves. Although Hollman, a 19-year-old student at Brandon University, and his sister, a student at Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School, have jobs both work in customer service at Canadian Tire, while Reina also works as a hairstylist at Bladeworx their financial situation has reached a critical point, Hollman said. On Thursday, the siblings set up a crowd funding campaign on the website GoFundMe to help them keep up with all of the bills, mortgage payments, groceries and any medical expenses they might have to pay. By Sunday morning, the family had raised more than $4,200. "Its not only the donations but the prayers, the moral support that theyre giving us," Hollman said. The siblings are hoping to find a way to bring their mother to Canada for her next surgery. But if all else fails, they intend on using the money theyve raised to travel to Colombia themselves. The siblings did receive a bit of hope over the weekend when they heard their mother opened her eyes for a few seconds and teared up at the sight of her husband, who has been at her side in recent days despite his own injuries. "They brought us here from a different country and they brought us to a better future, so we pretty much need to give back whatever they gave us," Reina said. "We need to be there for support and help them as much as we can. We cant let down our guards right now. Weve been strong before and we can do this." mlee@brandonsun.com Twitter: @mtaylorlee ISLAMABAD:The Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Freedom League and former Convener All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Muhammad Farooq Rehmani has strongly condemned a provocative statement by Indias Army Chief General Bipin Rawat in which he says, the force was ready to call Pakistans nuclear bluff and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the New Delhi government. Muhammad Farooq Rehmani termed it Indias frustration as the general was speaking like a war lord not a responsible general. India , he said had failed and frustrated during brutal 27 years of aggressive military adventurism and state terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and now it was trying to find its refugee in such audacious and poisonous remarks. Instead of acting as war- lord, he should acknowledge gravity of situation in Kashmir and tell his government to hold plebiscite under the UN auspices in Jammu and Kashmir. Muhammad Farooq Rehmani equally denounced India Israel nexus to deprive the Palestinians and Kashmiris of their right to self-determination and freedom. India- Israel collaboration in defense, war agreements and modern military maters amid Israeli PMs Delhi visit was a glaring example of their unholy alliance to grab both the territories of Kashmir and Palestine. But the peoples national movements of freedom in these territories will certainly frustrate India-Israel vicious designs. Update 8.05pm: Ukip leader Henry Bolton is facing calls to resign as his girlfriend was suspended from the party for allegedly making racist remarks about Meghan Markle. Mr Bolton's 25-year-old partner Jo Marney has apologised for "shocking" language in a series of messages to a friend in which she made highly offensive comments about Prince Harry's fiancee and black people. The 54-year-old party leader, whose relationship with Ms Marney is under investigation by Ukip, said on Sunday that she had been suspended "immediately upon us receiving this information". The Mail On Sunday printed texts it said had been sent by Ms Marney, including use of the word "Negro" and a message reading "This is Britain, not Africa" during a discussion about the royal engagement. UKIP leader's girlfriend Jo Marney revealed to be an out and out racist in string of texts to former friend. Marney has now been expelled from her boyfriend's partyhttps://t.co/AR3dZua8ae pic.twitter.com/9f10Qr7ZOH Otto English (@Otto_English) January 13, 2018 Mr Bolton, whose controversial private life is already being probed by senior party officials, is now facing calls to step down. Ukip West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge, addressing the party leader via an online video, said: "Go now. Go quietly and leave us to deal with what's left." In the Facebook message Mr Etheridge said: "It appears that we are now seeing Ukip resources, which are at best scant, being used to defend Henry's private life." He said he would step down as a Ukip spokesman if Mr Bolton, who was elected leader last September, "insists on prolonging this agony". Fellow former Ukip leadership candidate Ben Walker also called for Mr Bolton to resign, accusing him of having "deeply flawed judgment". Asked by the Press Association whether Mr Bolton should resign former Ukip leader Nigel Farage declined to comment. Former leadership candidate Suzanne Evans told BBC News: "It's just another scandal on top of scandal after scandal with Mr Bolton. I understand he is considering his position today. "We will have to see what the next few hours bring." Party chairman Paul Oakden said Mr Bolton now finds himself with a "difficult" decision to make and is expected to decide on Sunday what to do to "help remedy the situation". He told BBC's Sunday Politics: "I think it is very clear that Henry is increasingly in a position where he's got some difficult decisions to make." Mr Oakden, who declined to give his own views on Mr Bolton's current situation, said the party needs to be "behind our leader 100% in taking that battle (for Brexit) forward". He said: "Whether or not the party decides it is willing to give that support to Henry is for the party to decide." The party's National Executive Committee will meet next Sunday. In a statement to the paper Ms Marney, who describes herself on her Twitter profile as a model, actor and journalist, as well as a Brexiteer, apologised. She said: "The opinions I expressed were deliberately exaggerated in order to make a point and have, to an extent, been taken out of context. Yet I fully recognise the offence they have caused." Mr Bolton told a young party member online, who urged that Ms Marney should have her membership removed: "Jo was suspended immediately upon us receiving this information." Peter Whittle, leader of Ukip's delegation in the London Assembly, called for Ms Marney to be "expelled altogether" for the "disgraceful remarks". Mr Bolton left wife Tatiana, 42, who gave birth to their second daughter at London's St Pancras station in 2016 after going into labour on a train, prior to his relationship with Ms Marney becoming public in early January. The Ukip leader confirmed that he had a "change in my relationship status" in recent weeks, although he denied reports that it had involved "a clandestine affair with a young lady who happens also to be a member of Ukip". Earlier: Girlfriend of Ukip leader suspended after 'racist' Meghan Markle remarks The girlfriend of Ukip leader Henry Bolton has been suspended from the party after reportedly making racist remarks about Meghan Markle. Jo Marney, 25, sent a series of messages to a friend in which she made highly offensive comments about Prince Harry's fiancee and black people, according the Mail on Sunday. In a statement to the paper, Ms Marney said she apologised "unreservedly" for the "shocking language" used in the messages, but said they had been "taken out of context". Mr Bolton, 54, whose relationship with Ms Marney is under investigation by the party, said on Sunday that she had been suspended "immediately upon us receiving this information". The Ukip leader sent the message in reply to a young party member who urged him to publicly call for Ms Marney to have her membership removed. "She has to go or he and @UKIP are doomed if we let this behaviour happen in the party," the teenage activist said. Peter Whittle, leader of Ukip's delegation in the London Assembly, also called for Ms Marney to be "expelled altogether" for the "disgraceful remarks". Meanwhile former Ukip leadership candidate Ben Walker called for Mr Bolton to resign, accusing him of having "deeply flawed judgement". Party chairman Paul Oakden said he decided to suspend Ms Marney's party membership immediately after he was made aware of the messages. "Ukip does not, has not and never will condone racism," he told the Mail on Sunday. The report of Ms Marney's use of highly offensive language about people from different ethnic backgrounds comes as Mr Bolton faces an investigation into his controversial private life by senior party officials. Mr Bolton left wife Tatiana, 42, who gave birth to their second daughter at London's St Pancras station in 2016 after going into labour on a train, prior to his relationship with Ms Marney becoming public in early January. The Ukip leader confirmed that he had a "change in my relationship status" in recent weeks, although denied reports that is had involved "a clandestine affair with a young lady who happens also to be a member of Ukip". He said he had already made clear on social media that he had recently been spending time "with somebody who has become increasingly important to me". On Sunday he was accused on Twitter of being in Ms Marney's company when he appeared on television in mid-October. He tweeted: "Utterly false! Photo taken by Gawain Towler (Ukip communications official). The woman just in shot is a BBC staffer." In a letter to members, Mr Oakden said the National Executive Committee ruling body agreed to discuss the leader's private life at a special meeting in January. On Sunday a teenage activist called on Mr Bolton to back calls for Ms Marney to be expelled from Ukip. "If @_HenryBolton truly cares about @UKIP he will publicly call for Jo Marney removal from the party her words were blatantly racist and there should be no room for that in UKIP," the young party member said. "Also it would be hypocritical to allow her to stay... because he said in the leadership election he was the candidate against racism and nazis so she has to go or he and @UKIP are doomed if we let this behaviour happen in the party." "Jo was suspended immediately upon us receiving this information," Mr Bolton tweeted in reply. "The opinions I expressed were deliberately exaggerated in order to make a point and have, to an extent, been taken out of context. Yet I fully recognise the offence they have caused," Ms Marney said in a statement. On her Twitter profile Ms Marney describes herself as a model, actor and journalist, as well as a Brexiteer. Mr Bolton was elected Ukip leader last September. The forecast for Tuesday looks fairly mild. It is going to be sunny with a high of 27 degrees and southeasterly winds easing in the evening. Top of the morning to you Canberra! Canberrans are being urged to keep an eye out for "super nests" of European wasps this summer. The number of nests reported throughout January and December has shot-up to 120 so far, a significant increase on the 15 nests found over the same period last year. Lachlan Roberts has more on what to do, and what not to do, if you are unlucky enough to stumble across one of these nests. Pain killer restrictions will pressure GPs, advocates say New restrictions on pain killers will put more pressure on Canberra GPs amid waits of up to one year to access the hospital's specialised unit, advocates warn. The president of Pain Support ACT, Margaret McCulloch, supports the move to restricting codeine-based pain-killers, such as Nurofen-plus and Panadeine, to prescription only from February 1. The move will force people to make a doctors' appointment for the pain pills. Pharmacist Magna Sadkowsky says the codeine changes will allow selected products as perscription only, with others products being discontinued. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos But Ms McCulloch said while Canberra Hospital had a good dedicated pain management unit for people with chronic pain, it was under-resourced, and people had to wait nine months to a year to get in. "If you're in significant pain, that is a shocking thing to discover. It has improved over the last few years but it is completely unacceptable for patients in Canberra," she said. Muzaffarabad is not only beautiful but its developed as well Syedah Mariha: After entering Pakistan via Wagha border, I felt no difference between the two countries (India and Pakistan). The two countries have same air, people, and land however the gate separates them. While in Pakistan, I along with my father stayed at Lahore Gymkhana Club. It was an elegant pace. I went to historical place like Mall Road. After that I saw the most important place of Lahore like the Assembly of Lahore, Lahore High Court, Punjab University (old and new campus), Azadi interchange, Lahore City Heritage, Qaid-i-Azam Library, and Dinga Singh building which was built in 1927 etc. I also went to see the historical market of Lahore namely Anarkali. Every place I visited in Lahore filled my heart with joy. The city of Lahore and Old Delhi resemble a lot with each other in terms of culture, language, tradition etc. The Lahore city is so clean, beautiful, and filled with greenery though Old part is as jumbled as in Delhi. Lahore is a developed city and most importantly the people are nice to everyone which touched my heart. When we planned the trip to Pakistan, the first thoughts that came to my mind was that Pakistan would be a place that is underdeveloped, dirty, and filled with terrorism; but when I saw the city it cherished my heart. Though I didnt get a chance to visit rural Pakistan. After Lahore, we travelled to Islamabad on motorway. The motorways are also well maintained. Enroute we stopped at Gujarat and Gujranwalla to have tea. Everywhere we told people we are from this Kashmir, their faces would change and the warmth was visible. At many places we were offered tea. The city of Islamabad is extra-ordinarily beautiful and a clean city. Islamabad being the capital city of Pakistan, there are many interesting things to see. We then saw Prime Minister House Pakistan, President House Pakistan Supreme Court of Pakistan, Parliament, Secretariat of Pakistan, Constitutional Avenue, President House of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Prime Minister House of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Embassy Road, and Imran Khans residence, Kashmir Chowk etc. The city of Islamabad and Chandigarh (India) have striking similarities. Islamabad was designed byGreek firm of Constantinos A. Doxiadis. The Srinagar City is only 300 kilometres away from Islamabad. The best part was to spent some time at Manol restaurant at Margalla hills that gives an overlooking feel of the city. Saidpora is like a heritage village in the capital city and a temple and gurdawara was very much maintained there. Serenity in that area is something that keeps you tied to the place. An of course our warm hosts made it extraordinary. Our third destination in Pakistan was Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Muzaffarabad is surrounded by mountains and two rivers Jhelum and Neelam. These two rivers flow to Muzaffarabad via our Kashmir. Muzaffarabad is not only beautiful but its developed and the macdamised roads and power supply is a reality even to a hilltop. In Muzaffarabad, we went to see the historical fort which was built by the Chak rulers in 1559. I was told that Mughal Emperor Akbar stayed here for a week after he annexed Kashmir in 1586 to his vast empire. There is also a historical hut namely Qaid-i-Azam memorial hut enrouteMuzaffarabad from Islamabad and that is located after Kohala where the territory of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir starts. Mohammad Ali Jinnah stayed in the same hut when he visited Muzaffarabad in 1944. The distance between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar is only 179 kilometres. However, barriers again come in between the two. Here again, much is common between the people but the barrier dont not allow the reunion between the two. Our fourth destination in Pakistan was Mirpur. The story of Mirpur dates back to 1960s. As the British started to make Mangla Damn in 1964-65, the people of old Mirpur had to leave their homes. By moving out of Mirpur, the people Mirpur got an opportunity to live in United Kingdom and get jobs there. However, Britishers not only built the Mangla Dam but developed the Mirpur city as well. By the time, work of Manlga Dam was completed in 1968, many people got settled in many parts of West and the rest lived in the new Mirpur. Because of the heavy influence of West in Mirpur, the city is known as Part of West. The Pakistan-administered Kashmir and our Kashmir are very relatable as they are the same state but separated by barriers. The only thing left in my mind was that, will this issue (Kashmir issue) will ever be resolved and will the divided families be able to meet. However, at the same time I thought that day-by-day this issue is getting more impossible to solve. The impression I had first when I crossed the Wagha border was that Pakistan was not a safe place to visit but I had a thing in my mind I should visit Pakistan myself to get first-hand account of the country and not to listen to others what they say. My trip to Pakistan has changed my perception about the country. All should visit Pakistan so see the country. The trip was a memorable one and I would like to thank my father for taking me to Pakistan. Above all it was possible to have this wonderful trip only because of gracious and warm hosts from Lahore to Islamabad, Muzaffarabad and Mirpur thanks to all. Author is student of 9th class and can be mailed at bukharimariha@gmail.com First published in Rising Kashmir ABC TV has revealed its new 2018 line-up for its flagship 7pm Queensland news bulletin. Award-winning journalist Matt Wordsworth will present from the anchor desk Monday to Thursday, while Jessica van Vonderen will present on Friday and weekends. Journalist Matt Wordsworth will present the ABC's 7pm news bulletin from Monday to Thursday. Credit:ABC Born and raised in Queensland, Wordsworth is a political and investigative reporter at the ABC and former presenter of 7.30 Queensland. He has more than 20 years' experience in journalism, has presented Lateline and metropolitan news bulletins and covered the London Olympics and several state elections as a reporter. A farmer has been forced to ride his motorbike holding his head upright by his hair after falling and breaking his neck on a property at West Gippsland. The 73-year-old was reportedly checking his farm for grasshoppers early December when he hit a small hollow and "went sailing over his handlebars," landing on his head and breaking his neck. A friend of the man told radio station 3AW the farmer rode 500 metres to his house to get help after "realising he was still alive". A farmer has been forced to ride his motorbike holding his head upright by his hair after falling and breaking his neck. Credit:Justin McManus The beef farmer, identified only as Jim, told 3AW he cracked his head, but wasn't knocked out by the fall. Sailor Michael Spies told Channel Seven that the boat struck a sunfish a species that can grow to more than three metres in length. The yacht, called Hollywood Boulevard, was heading back to NSW, having placed ninth in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, when the accident happened about 11am on Sunday. The six sailors on board were winched to safety by helicopter amid high winds and swells as the 16-metre racing yacht sank in freezing waters, 150km east of Flinders Island. Two Air Ambulance helicopters were dispatched to the scene. The yacht began taking on water. An emergency beacon was activated and the call went out to abandon ship. Mr Spies said the water was "exceptionally cold". Two Air Ambulance helicopters were dispatched to the scene, but had to stop at Flinders Island first to refuel before Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance flight paramedics worked to winch the yacht passengers to safety. Three of the rescued crew were flown to the Latrobe Valley and three to Essendon. Paramedic Andrew Allan told Seven it was one of the toughest rescues he'd seen. "The winds and swells were causing the boat and life raft to drift around, in some odd angles, which posed some challenge for us," he said. Greeting the crew members at Essendon, the yacht's owner Ray Roberts praised the rescuers "for a marvellous effort" and was relieved the yacht's crew were safe. "The primary element of anything is the safety of human lives. It's great to see them," he said. Police have charged a 46-year-old Cloverdale man who allegedly threatened a speed camera operator with a large rock after being clocked for speeding on Sunday night. The operator was parked along Gabriel Street Kewdale about 8.20pm doing his job when the camera detected a vehicle travelling at 65km/hr in the 50km/hr zone. Police said the vehicle returned soon afterwards and the accused allegedly got out and approached the operator, threatening him and demanding he delete the image. By the time police arrived the man had left. "About 20-25 minutes later the same man returned to the scene. It will be alleged he was armed with a large rock, and held it in a threatening manner while demanding the [operator] exit the vehicle," a police spokesman said. "The Speed Camera Operator remained in his police vehicle and requested urgent assistance. Belmont Police attended the scene and the man attempted to flee the area on foot; however, he was arrested nearby." Baghdad: A pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up in central Baghdad on Monday, killing 27 people and injuring scores more in the first major attack in the capital since Iraq declared victory over Islamic State (IS) in December. The attack also breached one of Baghdad's most secure areas, underscoring the urgency of what Iraqi and American officials have said is a crucial transition from combat to traditional counterterrorism. Iraqi security forces working at the scene of a suicide bombing in Baghdad. Credit:AP There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came just as electoral coalitions began taking shape this week ahead of expected national elections in May. Previous elections have been marred by terrorism and Monday's violence raised concerns that despite the military victory over IS, this campaign season would be no different. Iraq's Interior Ministry said the first bomber targeted the capital's Tayaran Square at about 7am local time, with the second explosion coming less than 10 minutes later. The square is a thoroughfare for commuters and a popular spot for day labourers to gather in the hopes of picking up work. Jakarta: A mezzanine floor inside the Indonesia Stock Exchange tower has collapsed, injuring more than 70 people and forcing a chaotic evacuation. A video posted on Twitter by ABC Indonesia Correspondent Adam Harvey showed what he said was a group of school students on the floor as it gave way. Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono said hundreds of students were visiting the stock exchange at the time of the collapse. The incident happened at noon when workers were on a lunch break. London: UK Independence Party leader Henry Bolton has signalled he won't stand down after it emerged his girlfriend reportedly made racist remarks about Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle. Bolton became UKIP's fourth leader in a year last September and has been facing calls to stand down over the controversy. Calls to stand down: UKIP leader Henry Bolton. Credit:Ben Birchall MailOnline has released footage showing Bolton responding with "No" when asked if he would be standing down as leader of Britain's eurosceptic party. The Mail on Sunday published a series of messages sent by his girlfriend, Jo Marney, to a friend in which she made offensive comments about Markle and black people. London: The man who mowed down pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before killing a police officer outside Britain's Parliament last year had taken steroids beforehand, a London court heard on Monday. Khalid Masood, 52, killed four people on the bridge before, armed with two carving knives, stabbing to death an unarmed police officer in the grounds of Parliament. He was shot dead at the scene of the March attack. Emergency services help a victim of the Westminster Bridge attack. Credit:Matt Dunham It was the first of five attacks on Britain last year which police blamed on terrorism. A submission to a pre-inquest hearing into the fatalities at London's Old Bailey Court said there was evidence that Masood had taken anabolic steroids in the hours or days before his death. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC Its Brooklyn Bridge Park 2.0! Gov. Cuomos call to develop Red Hook by kicking out a shipping terminal and bringing a new subway stop could double the size of Brooklyns Front Yard, engineers pushing a similar plan for the nabe told The Brooklyn Paper. California-based AECOMs proposal would transform the Port Authority-owned piers currently occupied by the Red Hook Container and Brooklyn Cruise terminals a massive port that runs from Atlantic Avenue to Clinton Wharf into a sprawling grassy meadow called the Fields at Columbia Piers that would connect to Brooklyn Bridge Park, an executive at the company said. You would basically bring the whole topology of Piers 1 to 6 and recreate that same kind of park atmosphere down from Piers 7 to 12, said Chris Ward, who previously served as an executive director at the state-run Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. And really have that waterfront park expanded with luxury housing built on top of the raised platform. AECOM execs, who recently opened a Sunset Park office, initially pitched their idea to extend the 1 train from Manhattan to Red Hook and build massive high-rises in the superstorm-Sandy ravaged nabe in 2016. And the proposals viability is gaining steam in the wake of Cuomos Jan. 3 State of the State speech, in which he asked honchos at the Port Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to look into building an underwater Red Hook-to-Manhattan subway tunnel and shipping the nabes maritime operation down to Sunset Park to free its piers for potential development. Ward envisions three stops for Red Hooks new subway: one on the current container-terminal site, another near the Red Hook Houses public-housing complex, and a third adjacent to the F- and G-train station at Fourth Avenue and Ninth Street. He estimated that expanding the infrastructure would cost about $4 billion, and said revenue generated from developing the waterfront would foot the bill. But Wards vision for a Red Hook with new subway stations and an expanded Brooklyn Bridge Park is currently little more than a pipe dream, he said, as it would take years for any work to begin and would first require a rezoning. This is just the beginning. Theres a tremendous amount of work that would need to be done, plus cooperation between state and city, Ward said. The political complexity between city and state exceeds my capacity, all Im saying is that someones going to have deal with it and I think the governor, to his credit, recognizes that at least. And a rezoning isnt in the cards for the neighborhood, according to Mayor DeBlasio, who told concerned residents at a December town hall that he didnt anticipate such a change happening in the near future. Theres no vision of rezoning that would allow for more zoning than could happen right now in this community, Hizzoner said. But development in Brooklyn Bridge Park which is jointly run by the city and the semi-private Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation is mandated by the parks independent General Project Plan, which trumps local zoning laws and permits construction in the green space only to generate revenue needed by it. Development in the current park is at capacity, however, and a green-space spokeswoman said she cant speculate on what would happen in a possible expansion. Brooklyn Bridge Park is currently 90 percent complete or under construction. We are focused on completing the park as designed, and maintaining and operating a world-class park that stretches 85 acres from John Street in Dumbo to Pier 6, said Sarah Krauss. We understand there are various ideas about the future of the Brooklyn waterfront, and cannot speculate on conceptual plans or what they might mean for the area at this time. AECOMs Brooklyn outpost joins its five already-open offices on the distant isle of Manhattan, and comes amid the engineering firms work on other local infrastructure projects, including a possible expansion of the Brooklyn Bridges pedestrian promenade and the reconstruction of the BrooklynQueens Expressways triple cantilever in Brooklyn Heights. The firm also worked with the city on a controversial environmental study of a toxic site officials plan to build a Coney Island homeless shelter on, which activists blasted as inaccurate, and assisted in the construction of Manhattans Second Avenue subway line. Reach reporter Julianne Cuba at (718) 2604577 or by e-mail at jcuba @cngl ocal.com . Follow her on Twitter @julcuba. Allow hospital operations to continue: Patan High Court The Patan High Court on Sunday issued an interim order against the agitating staff of KIST Medical College, directing their trade union to furnish a clarification regarding its protest and allow the hospital to continue operations. Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC A Brooklyn councilman was among more than a dozen arrested last week during a protest in Manhattan against the detention of a prominent immigrants rights activist. Councilman Jumaane Williams (DMidwood) was participating in a rally on Jan. 11 in support of Brooklyn immigrants rights activist Ravi Ragbir, who was detained by federal immigration authorities earlier that day at the Manhattan office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ragbir, an immigrant from Trinidad who lives in Brooklyn, is the executive direction of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York, an organization he co-founded to support families of immigrants who are fighting detention and deportation. Ragbir was detained during his routine annual check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As a high-profile activist at risk of deportation, his check-ins often draw hundreds of supporters, so there was already a large crowd outside the office when Williams and others converged for a protest following news of Ragbirs detainment. Police arrested Williams and 17 other protesters after they allegedly blocked an ambulance carrying a patient. They repeatedly blocked an FDNY ambulance transporting a sick patient that had its lights and sirens on, said a police spokesman. They refused to follow lawful orders. But Williams said they were blocking the ambulance because it was taking away Ragbir. Ravi Ragbir was taken away in an ambulance, by ICE, the councilman said in a statement. This is a tragic injustice for him, his family, and the community that he has served and led for over two decades in this country. Williams communications director Kevin Fagan confirmed that they were blocking the ambulance, and Williams later shared a tweet from Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan), who was also arrested, showing Ragbir in an ambulance. Ragbir fainted after learning he was being detained, which prompted authorities to put him in the ambulance, according to a spokesman from the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York. He wasnt feeling terribly well up to that moment cause of the stress. He passed out and regained consciousness, said spokesman Kirk Cheyfitz from the Coalition. They not improperly wanted him to go to the hospital. Ragbir is now facing deportation, according to Williams. If ICE continues along its current track in this case, he will be deported, he said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement now lists Ragbir as in custody in its database. Ragbir has faced deportation since being convicted of wire fraud in 2006, but has stayed in Brooklyn while appealing the conviction and subsequent deportation order he received, according to the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York. Williams was charged with obstructing an emergency medical service vehicle, reckless endangerment, and two counts of disorderly conduct. He was released after receiving a Desk Appearance Ticket, requiring him to appear in court for an arraignment. Reach reporter Adam Lucente at aluce nte@c ngloc al.com or by calling (718) 2602511. Follow her on Twitter @Adam_Lucente. It was announced today that Tallaght Hospital have officially launched a new patient and visitor app the first Irish public hospital to do so. The app was launched at a special event at the hospital attended by Tallaght Hospital CEO, David Slevin, Group Director of Nursing & Midwifery of the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, Eileen Whelan, hospital clinicians and wider staff, representatives of the Meath Foundation and the hospitals Patient Community Advisory Council. The app provides users with access to information on many of the services available at the hospital including hospital facilities, wards and site map, visitor information, contact details for a particular clinic or consultant, videos featuring medical experts in areas such as rheumatoid arthritis or Intensive Care, and news and updates on the hospital and its work. The app is the first of its kind within Irelands public hospitals. While Tallaght is taking the lead in Ireland, the hospital was motivated by the success of similar apps in other healthcare systems such as the UK and US, where such apps are increasingly the norm. In addition to the work undertaken by Tallaght Hospital and its development partner Captive Health in developing this app, the project was also supported by both the Meath Foundation, the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group and HSE. In recent years, the hospital has introduced several new initiatives which have utilised technology to improve the patient experience and their outcomes. These have included Lucy a remote-controlled robot which connects patients and doctors remotely, the TRASNA telemedicine system which also connects stroke patients and their families remotely with senior stroke physicians or PillCam, a minimally invasive video recording technology, swallowed as a pill by patient, to investigate potential disorders of the small intestine. Commenting on the launch of the app, Director of ICT at Tallaght Hospital, David Wall said, "Health services in Ireland and across the world are only beginning to scratch the surface in terms of the full potential for mobile healthcare to help treat patients more effectively into the future. Todays launch is a modest but important first step on this journey. We are eager to build on the apps capability into the future and are already exploring how we do this." He added, "As this journey evolves, this app offers the potential to develop capabilities such as tracking patients conditions and overall health from their home or utilising location based services when they are within our hospital to ensure greater patient flow, particularly for those accessing outpatient care." The app is free to use, available on both iOS and Android, and can be downloaded from the App store or Play store respectively. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Weve all been there, havent we? Trying to navigate a horrific website? Wading through menu after menu, being taken back and forth, up and down, when all you really want to do is make a simple purchase. It can be infuriating, and the problem is that a lot of companies now seem to be a bit complacent when it comes to ecommerce. Online retail and ecommerce of any kind is so obviously the future now, so inexorably the way things are going, that a great many businesses seem to be under the impression that all they need to do is create a website, any old website, and the business will just pour in. Well it doesnt work like that because no matter how clear the transition in consumer habits might be it doesnt mean that were going to tolerate awful websites that you cant move about on. We wouldnt do this any more than wed tolerate a cluttered shop floor that you cant get through for all the stock piled up and in the way! Thankfully there are some great examples of good sites out there. If you wanted to make a really big purchase, say something like a bed, you could go and browse away merrily with a site like this one. Its got the nice clear banner at the top which is properly branded so you know where you are the whole time. Then just beneath the banner its got a simple, clearly-arranged menu with all the different options available, from bed frames to mattresses and so on. This might be at the side of the screen depending on your format and works equally well there, which leads to another point. All too often websites dont work well on different formats. Many businesses seem to underestimate the number of different formats that we all use now. There are some shoppers who still use a classic PC set-up with a proper monitor on a desk and still want to be able to browse using a mouse. Then there are laptop users and those who shop using a tablet. Finally of course there are a huge number of shoppers who use their smart phone whilst on the train or on the loo or wherever! So a site that cant work equally well on all these screen sizes with all these different navigation tools- a mouse, a touchpad, a finger, simply wont cut it. Another crucial point of course is the security factor when making online purchases. This seems to be less of an issue than it was, presumably because acts of fraud speak louder to businesses than the relatively soft point about the poor user experience on a site. If money is being lost then you know about it. Now of course most businesses of repute will have a secure website, denoted by the green padlock icon in the address bar of the browser. This is undoubtedly reassuring and a very necessary component for any satisfactory online shopping experience. Oil prices held closely below December 2014 highs on Monday, supported by production cuts by OPEC and Russia, although the market was capped by a rise in U.S. and Canadian drilling activity that points to higher future output in North America. Brent crude oil futures rose to $70 a barrel on Monday, supported by cuts led by OPEC and Russia, although they dipped back to $69.80 a barrel by 0739 GMT, down 6 cents from their last close as the rise in North American drilling weighed. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $64.35 a barrel, up 5 cents from their last settlement. Both benchmarks last week reached levels not seen since December 2014, with Brent touching $70.05 a barrel and WTI reaching as high as $64.77. Oil markets have been well supported by production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia which are aimed at propping up prices by reducing available global crude inventories. "With our marginal cost estimate in the low $60s per barrel, 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of spare capacity, and 98 million bpd of demand, current oil prices...make sense," Bernstein Energy said in a note on Monday. "We continue to expect further inventory draws in 2018 which will support oil prices." The supply cuts started in January last year and are set to last through 2018, and they have coincided with healthy demand growth, pushing up crude prices by more than 13 percent since early December. But other factors, including political risk, have also supported crude. Attracted by tighter supplies and strong consumption, financial investors have raised their net long U.S. crude futures positions, which would profit from higher prices, to a new record, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday. Some analysts, though, have been warning of a downward correction after the sharp price gains since December. U.S. energy companies added 10 oil rigs in the week to Jan. 12, taking the number to 752, energy service firm Baker Hughes said on Friday. That was the biggest increase since June 2017. ANZ bank said the jump came "as shale producers quickly reacted to the strong rise in prices in 2018." The picture was similar in Canada, where energy firms almost doubled the number of rigs drilling for oil last week to 185, the highest level in 10 months. The high prices for crude, which is the most important feedstock in the petroleum industry, have also crimped profit margins for oil refiners, resulting in a decline in new crude orders. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie Britain's government is under pressure to explain why ministers awarded construction company Carillion 1.3 billion pounds of new contracts after it was known to be in financial difficulty. Carillion collapsed on Monday in one of Britain's biggest corporate failures, throwing hundreds of large projects into doubt and forcing the government to step in to guarantee vital public services. Britain's opposition Labour and Liberal Democrat parties called for an investigation into the government's dealings with Carillion before the company collapsed. Tussell, which runs a database of government contracts in Britain, estimates that Carillion was awarded government contracts worth 1.3 billion pounds after the company issued its first profit warning in July. Jon Trickett, Labour's Cabinet Office spokesman, questioned why the government awarded three contracts to the group last year despite it being government policy to designate a company as "high risk" if it had issued a profit warning. "Alarm bells have been ringing for over six months about the state of Carillion's finances, so the government must come forward and answer questions on exactly what due diligence measures were undertaken before awarding contracts to Carillion worth billions of taxpayers' money," Trickett said. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vince Cable, called for a public inquiry to examine what he described as "very questionable decisions made in the past few months". Carillion's collapse heaps more pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May's shoulders as she grapples with the tortuous negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union and a deeply divided Conservative Party. One of many private companies to run public services in Britain, Carillion had been fighting to survive after contract delays and a downturn in new business prompted profit warnings. The company's contract to help to build the new HS2 rail line in the north of England was awarded on July 17, a week after it issuing a profit warning in which it noted a deterioration in cash flows. The following day, Carillion won part of a 158 million pound Ministry of Defence contract to provide catering, hotel and mess services at 233 military facilities. Carillion issued a second profit warning at the end of September and about five weeks later was awarded a 62 million pound rail contract. Cabinet Office minister David Lidington defended the government's handling of the company. He told the BBC that the government continued to give contracts to Carillion because there were "rules on the type of information that you can take into account when taking those decisions". The government had been monitoring Carillion closely after the first profit warning and in most cases awarded joint venture contracts so the other company could take over the work if there were problems, said a spokesman for Prime Minister May. "If there are lessons that can be learned, they will be," the spokesman said. (Reuters) Sourcce: www.businessworld.ie The Sanchi was shrouded in thick smoke following an explosion Sunday afternoon before it sank off China's east coast. Photo: Ministry of Transport A Panama-flagged oil tanker, burning for more than a week after a collision off Chinas east coast, sank Sunday, raising serious concerns over coastal pollution. Some experts said the authorities should have bombed or torpedoed the vessel so that it would explode and its fuel would burn out, instead of letting it slowly seep into the ocean floor, thereby minimizing the environmental impact. The Sanchi, en route from Iran to South Korea, rammed into Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship CF Crystal on Jan. 6 about 160 nautical miles (184 miles) east of the Yangtze River estuary. The burning ship sank around 3 p.m. local time Sunday, about 151 nautical miles southeast of where the accident occurred, according to Chinas State Oceanic Administration. The tanker tilted further to its right after an explosion around midday Sunday and flames as tall as 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) could be seen rising toward the sky at the time, according to Chinas Ministry of Transport. The smoke was so thick that the Sanchi was not visible by about 1:45 p.m., the Ministry said. The sinking of the Sanchi has brought relief to the authorities, who were worried that the tanker, which had been drifting southeastward, could threaten an oil rig operated by state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation off Chinas east coast. Photo: Ministry of Transport The tanker was loaded with 136,000 metric tons (149,914 tons) of ultra-light oil known as condensate, according to ministry. But condensate would quickly burn or evaporate and was less likely to leave a thick oil slick, but the 2,000 metric tons of fuel used to power the vessel would cause more pollution, according to Yu Zhirong, a former deputy of the East China Sea unit of China Marine Surveillance. I proposed bombing or torpedoing the vessel instead of letting it sink the same way the Japanese coast guard handled a vessel (named Yuyo Maru No.10) with liquefied natural gas off the Tokyo Bay which burnt out of control in November 1974, Yu said. Bombing the vessel so that it explodes completely, allowing all the fuel to burn out is better than allowing it to sink with its fuel tanks full, because the former option would limit pollution, he said. Marine ecologist Chen Shang, with the China Society of Fisheries, said allowing the Sanchi to sink on its own was the worst-case scenario, because the ships fuel will slowly leak out at the bottom of the ocean, threatening marine life. It is also difficult to conduct clean-up operations after the ship has sunk, because the waters in which the Sanchi went down are about 100 meters deep, he said. The Zhoushan Islands off Chinas east coast, close to where the accident occurred, are home to many commercial fish farms. The islands are also the winter habitat for species such as the ribbon fish, which would be among the most affected, according to Li Jiansheng from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences. A four-member salvage team was able to board the Sanchi Saturday to retrieve its Voyage Data Recorder. Thirty Iranians and two Bangladeshis were on board the tanker. Only three bodies have been found so far, the ministry said. Four rescuers in protective gear were able to get on the Sanchi Saturday morning. They recovered two bodies, bringing the total number of bodies recovered to three, out of the 32 crewmembers that were on board. Photo: Shanghai Maritime Search & Resuce Center The damaged Hong Kong cargo ship is anchored at the Zhoushan Islands. All of its 21 crewmembers were rescued and transferred to a fishing vessel. The sinking of the Sanchi has brought relief to the authorities, who were worried that the tanker, which had been drifting southeastward, could threaten an oil rig operated by state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation off Chinas east coast. Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com) Modified On Jan 15, 2018 04:00 PM By Raunak for Datsun GO Cross The Datsun Cross will most likely feature Nissans X-Tronic Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) Last week, we brought to you spy shots and a teaser photo of the upcoming Datsun Cross, revealing quite a bit of the car's exterior. And now, Datsun has confirmed that the newest member in its lineup will be equipped with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The Datsun Cross will be launched on January 18, 2018, in Jakarta, Indonesia and is expected to arrive in India in 2018. Since it is based on the GO+, the Cross is likely to be powered by the same 1.2-litre 3-cylinder petrol engine. Besides the CVT, the Cross is also expected to get the standard 5-speed manual. The CVT is expected to be the same 5-speed X-Tronic unit that comes as standard with the Micra petrol in India as suggested by the press release. The GO and GO+ are not available with an automatic transmission as of now. The 1.2-litre petrol motor of the GO and GO+ is also borrowed from the Micra. The Datsuns get a slightly lower state of tune (68PS/104Nm) compared to the Micra (77PS/104Nm). However, it remains to be seen whether the Cross, which is a premium product compared to the GO and GO+, will get the more powerful tune or not. The Micra petrol CVT returns an ARAI-certified fuel efficiency of 19.34kmpl whereas the GO+ (petrol 5-speed manual) returns 19.44kmpl. So expect the Cross CVT to return a similar figure. Stay tuned to CD as we inch closer to the complete reveal of the Datsun Cross on January 18, 2018. Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Cabinet paves way for Oriental Co-op takeover The Cabinet has approved the Ministry of Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviations proposal to set up a committee to take over the troubled Oriental Cooperative and compensate its depositors. Pacific Cement Ltd completes upgrades to mill 15 January 2018 Fiji's longest-running cement manufacturer, Pacific Cement Ltd, has completed major upgrades to its cement mill, according the Fiji Sun. The renovation of the mill means that it can now produce 25tph, an increase compared to the 20-22tph rate seen previously. Sowani Tuidrola, chief executive officer, Pacific Cement Limited, has said that he is confident that the company will be able to meet all local demand. The demand for cement in Fiji has started to increase after the conclusion of the festive season and the company currently holds a total stock of 10,000t of cement. Published under Arabian Cement plans expansion into Africa and Asia ICR Newsroom By 15 January 2018 Arabian Cement is planning to expand into regional markets in Africa and Asia to boost its profitability amid strong competition in the Egyptian market, according to reports in the Daily News Egypt. To date the company, which has a output of around 5Mta, has exported to Libya, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia and Yemen. Arabian Cement is a joint venture between Spain-based Grupo Cementos La Union and a group of Egyptian investors. The company recently reached an agreement with the National Bank of Egypt to reschedule a US$31m loan to be paid in 15 quarterly instalments of US$2m each, with a debt rate on foreign currencies of five per cent above the LIBOR margin. The instalments will be fully paid off by 1 July 2021. Published under Vallemi cement distributors concerned about shortages ICR Newsroom By 15 January 2018 The association of cement distributors in Vallemi, Paraguay, has expressed its concern over the limited output at Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC)s plant in Vallemi. Despite an US$67m the plant is reported to be unable to guarantee clinker production and Portland cement deliveries. Operation of the kiln has been intermittent and the company is waiting for foreign specialists to carry out the repairs. INC has said that parts are expected on 12 January with ABB employees to start work immediately. Published under Did Russia help elect Donald Trump? Thats the question thats been asked over and over ever since the surprise upset in the 2016 presidential election. Almost no one even Trump himself expected that hed best Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. But he did, and in the chaotic aftermath, all anyone could wonder was, How? Suspicious tweets from Russia More than one news source pointed to Russia and some questionable events which occurred in the weeks leading up to the election. Curiously, social media took center stage as it was discovered that several Kremlin-based Twitter accounts were created for the sole purpose of downplaying any Trump embarrassments and instead highlighting Clintons email scandal. But it turns out that this isnt the first time that Russias been suspected of helping to edge out one presidential candidate in favor of another. Trumps fire and fury The investigation into how much Russia influenced Trumps win has been ongoing since the start. In a recent book release, author Michael Wolff revealed that chief strategist Steve Bannon called a 2016 meeting between Trump associates and Russians treasonous. This allegation spurred an intense reaction from the president, especially after Trump was promised by his legal team that 2018 would be the end of the seemingly endless Russia investigation. Russia also played a role in the 1960 election Many U.S. citizens remember that this isnt the first time that an elected president was accused of winning with Russias help. During the 1960 election, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev openly favored presidential candidate John F. Kennedy over the incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon. The VP and Russian leader apparently clashed over issues such as the benefits of socialism versus capitalism. In a book based on the cold war, Khrushchev was said to believe that, any candidate would be better than Richard Nixon. Top officials kept a close eye on the 1960 election proceedings Never before had Khrushchev followed a U.S. presidential campaign so closely, writes Zubok and Pleshakov, authors of the book Inside the Kremlins Cold War: From Stalin to Khrushchev. A former Soviet intelligence officer admitted that Russian operatives attempted to make contact with Kennedy campaign officials, though they were ultimately denied. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev took credit for Kennedys win While he didnt get any help from the Kennedy campaign with rigging the outcome, Khrushchev claimed credit for Kennedys triumph over Nixon. Thats because he staged an event which probably affected the results of the incredibly close race in 1960. 2 American pilots were held captive In July of 1960, Captains Bruce Olmstead and John McKones plane was shot down over Russia. Nixon tried to negotiate for their release prior to the election, but his attempts were unsuccessful. Khrushchev knew this reflected badly on Nixon, and the whole event may have been a catalyst for his ultimate loss. The American airmen were released in 1961 shortly after Kennedys inauguration. In fact, the young president was able to announce the happy news during his very first news conference. Outright treason is difficult to prove Theres a good reason that Trump hasnt been impeached yet despite strong suspicions of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. While those close to Trump, including his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr. and other top campaign officials may be linked to secret meetings with Russian operatives, so far theres no smoking gun that directly implicates the president himself. Proving that he knew about those meetings and supported them gets a little bit tricky. As with Kennedy, even if Russia did help Trump win the election, its unclear whether that fact will ultimately make a difference in whether hell be able to finish his term. Read more: These Are the Ways Donald Trumps Presidency Could End in 2018 Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! There were and are a few key takeaways from the 2016 election in the United States. First, we now know that anyone really, anyone can become president. Second, the nation is incredibly divided politically and ideologically, and the divide appears to be growing. And third, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, can and will do anything possible to gum up the works of its geopolitical rivals. That includes getting involved in elections. There are a lot of reasons why Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, and you have to include Russian interference on the list. Putins meddling may not have been the primary reason Trump won, but by all accounts, Russia did attempt to interfere. And in an election that was won by around 70,000 votes out of more than 120 million, it may have been enough to tip the election. But Americas 2016 race is far from the only instance of Putin and Russia meddling in foreign elections. Putin and Russia: Meddling hard since 2004 According to a report from USA Today, Russia has interfered in dozens of elections since 2004. The total adds up to 27 countries over the course of 12 years, but it appears that none have been more consequential than last years presidential race. Again, though 2016 looks like it was just the tip of the iceberg. Since November 2016, Russia has been hard at it in other countries, too. Here are a handful of those countries where Putin and Russia are and have been working to undermine elections. 1. Ukraine Ukrainian interference had a big payoff for Putin. The world took notice when, in 2014, Ukraines presidential election experienced cyber attacks linked to Russia. You might remember some very serious and destructive protests breaking out in Kiev, as the election was of great importance to Putin. Basically, Ukraine was looking at joining NATO, which was the last thing Putin wanted. So, he interfered and ultimately got what he wanted Ukraines president turned his back on NATO and warmed up to Russia post-election. Next: Russia backed Marine Le Pen in this European election. 2. France Russian assets supported far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. In 2017, Russia followed up its American interference with a bout of meddling in the French presidential election. Right before the election, a batch of private emails from frontrunner (and eventual winner) Emmanuel Macron was released, and many suspected the Russians. Later, the NSA confirmed it, making it yet another example of high-profile cyber espionage coming straight from the Kremlin in recent years. Their attempts fell short, however, as Macron was still elected. Next: Putins North American efforts werent relegated to the U.S. 3. Mexico U.S. officials say Russia was involved in Mexicos election but some Mexican officials disagree. Recently, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said that Russia was meddling in Mexican elections. Those elections are set for July, but McMaster said that American intelligence is already seeing evidence of interference. Interestingly, those claims have been countered by Mexican officials who say there is no such evidence. This, incredibly, comes from Russian news agencies. Could this be an example of meddling in and of itself? We wont know, in all likelihood, until after the election is over. But the world will be watching. Next: Another European nation. 4. Austria Russias efforts have focused largely on Europe and Austria is no exception. Austrias far-right party nearly won in the countrys last round of elections, held in late 2017. Austria had been identified by American intelligence agencies as one of the countries Putin was looking to target, and lo and behold, the far-right Freedom Party gained a foothold after the election along with its Russia-friendly stances. A day after the election, agreements were made between Putins government and the far-right members of Austrias government. Next: One of Russias biggest geopolitical rivals. 5. Germany One of Putins chief adversaries? German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Same tactics, different country. The Germans held elections in 2017, and many of the same strategies employed in the U.S. were on display in Germany. Specifically, a number of fake news stories were widely circulated, but there are some key differences between the American electorate and Germanys that may have blunted the effect. In fact, experts think that Russia held back considerably, given the strength of the German election system and its shortcomings in France. Next: Another former ally turned rival. 6. The U.K. The U.S.? Check. Germany? Check. The U.K.? The United Kingdom wasnt immune from Russian influence during its 2017 election cycle. Putins attempts were, however, unsuccessful. But just like in other major European powers like France and Germany, Russias fingerprints are everywhere. And it wasnt just in the most recent round theres clear evidence that Russia was involved in the U.K.s 2015 elections, too. Finally: Russias biggest and most consequential win. 7. The United States We all know the story. And we havent done anything to blunt the next attack. Despite the presidents insistence that Russia had little to do with his 2016 election win, our intelligence agencies and foreign intelligence agencies say otherwise. Its a problem and a problem that our government has yet to take seriously, let alone try and safeguard for 2018 and 2020. The 2016 election handed Putin a huge win, as Trumps team has taken on a suspiciously Russia-friendly platform before and after the election. Case in point? Trump signed a bill placing sanctions on Russia for its meddling and protested the whole time. The kicker is that hes yet to actually follow through. Weird, no? Follow The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! The next time youre thinking about traveling, consider the most (and least) expensive airports to fly out of in the country. If possible, fly out of one of the least expensive airports to save money. If thats not an option, consider cost-saving tips for flying and these additional tips for making air travel as stress-free as possible. One thing is for sure, air travel is not what it used to be. The rating system, explained RewardExpert judges airports on four categories No. 1) Getting to/from the airport, No. 2) Ticket prices, No. 3) Amenities, and No. 4) Food to determine if theyre cheap or expensive. Each airport is ranked on a weighted scale of 0 to 100, 100 being the most favorable travel conditions. For an in-depth scoring explanation, read the methodology. Well start with the least expensive airports and work our way up to the most expensive. Hint: This Florida party town has cheap flights. Least expensive: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, FLL The least expensive airport to fly out of in the country is the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Average flight prices are low, one ticket costing $241.80 in 2016. The amenities offered by the airport are unique increasing its score. Luggage storage is a service the airport still offers, according to RewardExpert. Hint: This iconic party town has the most affordable airfare. Least expensive: McCarran International Airport, LAS Coming in second place among the least expensive airports to fly out of is the McCarran International Airport. However, this Las Vegas airport takes first place for least expensive plane fare. The average ticket cost is $227.50, a full $14.30 less than the average flight at Fort Lauderdales airport. Transportation costs are low here too. A bus costs $2, a taxi $20, and parking $10 for the day, RewardExpert says. Hint: A frequent destination for family vacations has free Wi-Fi and affordable tickets at their airport. Least expensive: Orlando International Airport, MCO Taking home bronze is the Orlando International Airport. This Florida citys airport ranks third among the least expensive airports to fly out of in America. Free Wi-Fi and an average flight cost of $253.90 makes Orlando one of the most affordable airports to fly out of in America. For $40, travelers can shower in the airport lounges facilities. Hint: Parking will cost you $7 for the day at this Southwestern airport. Least expensive: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, PHX Travel out of Phoenix if you live in Arizona. The Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ranks fourth for their affordable food and transportation. Daily parking costs $7, a bus ride costs $2, and a taxi is approximately $20 from downtown Phoenix, according to RewardExpert. Because daily parking is so expensive, theres no need to use Uber, Lyft, or a taxi service to get to the airport if you have a car. Hint: This Florida city offers affordable transportation. Least expensive: Tampa International Airport, TPA Tampa airport is clean and relatively small compared to other airports. In my personal opinion, its easy to navigate. Domestic flights cost $312.20 leaving from Tampa. Again, transportation is a big contributing factor to affordability. Taxis are $25 from downtown and bus fare is $2. Hint: California natives, pick this airport to save money. Least expensive: San Jose International Airport, SJC Save money by flying out of San Jose if youre in central California. The average domestic fare will cost $322.70. A taxi from downtown will run you an additional $15, cheaper than Tampa and Phoenix. For those parking their cars, a daily pass is $15. Hint: This airport has the best tasting and best priced food in the country. Least expensive: Denver International Airport, DEN Low cost and delicious, is how RewardExpert describes this airports food. Restaurants include national chains and restaurants unique to Colorado. Food is affordable and yummy. Denver gets top scores on the sites Airport Dining Scorecard too. Not only does Denver offer travelers inexpensive food, the average cost of a domestic flight is relatively affordable too. In 2016, the average flight cost $312. Hint: For those in California, fly out of this airport if you can. Least expensive: Oakland International Airport, OAK Another option for California natives, is flying out of the Oakland International Airport. Fare costs $303, $100 less than in nearby San Francisco. Other airports worth mentioning are the Portland International Airport, PDX and the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, MSY. Both are affordable airports to take off from. Hint: Avoid flying out of this airport if you want to save money. Most expensive: Newark Liberty International Airport, EWR The most expensive airport to fly out of in the country is the Newark Liberty International Airport. On average, one ticket costs $429.80. Not only are tickets expensive, Newark has the most expensive food out of any airport on this list. To make matters worse, Wi-Fi isnt free. Hint: Flights are expensive and Wi-Fis not free at this airport. Most expensive: John F. Kennedy International Airport, JFK Coming in second place among the most expensive airports to fly out of is the John F. Kennedy International Airport. Average domestic fare will set you back $396.10.Wi-Fi comes at an additional cost as does public transportation. The airport offers few low-cost food items. Hint: Flying out of our nations capitol is seriously expensive. Most expensive: Washington Dulles International Airport, IAD Flying out of Washington, D.C. is the third most expensive airport to fly out of in America. The average plane fare is $443.40. This is the most expensive average cost in the country, RewardExpert says. A taxi from the airport to downtown will cost a whopping $70. Hint: Living in the modern era will cost extra here. Most expensive: MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport, MSP Flying out of this Midwestern state will cost you a pretty penny. Average domestic fare will run you $386.40. Food options are expensive in the airport, with very few low-cost eateries. Another factor to consider if you fly out of this airport, Wi-Fi. Its not free. Hint: Celebrities and common folk alike pay through the nose at this airport. Most expensive: Los Angeles International Airport, LAX Taking the No. 5 spot among the most expensive airports to fly out of is the Los Angeles International Airport, more commonly known as LAX. Wi-Fi costs $9.95, the most expensive of any American airport. On top of expensive Wi-Fi, ticket prices are costly. The average domestic fare costs $355.90. Hint: Living down south comes a cost for those who like to travel. Most expensive: Charlotte Douglas International Airport, CLT Expensive food and pricey plane tickets lands Charlotte at No. 6 on the list of most expensive airports to fly out of in America. The average plane ticket costs $415.90, putting Charlotte close to Newark for plane fare. Food is also expensive at the airport. The airports saving grace is that Wi-Fi is free. Hint: No free Wi-Fi and expensive flights are a mainstay at this midwestern airport. Most expensive: St. Louis Lambert International Airport, STL Unlimited Wi-Fi comes at a cost in St. Louis Lambert International Airport. 70% [percent] of the countrys biggest airports offer free and unlimited Wi-Fi, RewardExpert says. Clearly, its time for the other 30 percent to offer free Wi-Fi to travelers. The average plane ticket will set you back $362.70. Hint: Flying out of this Texas city will cost you nearly $500. And thats for a domestic flight! Most expensive: George Bush Intercontinental Airport, IAH Flying out of Houston is very costly. The average cost of a domestic flight is $431.40. The cost puts the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in second place for highest domestic fares in the country. Transportation to and from the airport is costly too, unless you take the bus. Taking the No. 9 and No. 10 spots are the AustinBergstrom International Airport, AUS and LaGuardia Airport, LGA. Steer clear of these airports if at all possible. Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Read more: These Are the Worst Days You Can Choose to Fly Home for the Holidays State Fair Fiesta Day celebrates Hispanic culture in Pueblo Fiesta Day took over the streets of Bessemer once more to celebrate Colorado's rich Hispanic heritage and advocate for Hispanic identity. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment If this were a typical Monday morning, I would have begun this Daily Article by commenting on the false ballistic missile warning in Hawaii over the weekend. I would probably have linked the story to the earthquake in Peru and the airplane that skidded off a runwayin Turkey and plunged down a steep slope, nearly landing in the Black Sea.I might even have found a way to comment on yesterday's amazing playoff win by Jacksonville, followed by Minnesota's astounding last-second victory. But this is not a typical Monday. Today we mark the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 15, 1929. His extraordinary importance to America and the world calls us to set aside all other news as we remember his historic life and legacy. "God shows no partiality" Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, Dr. King was a writer, speaker, and leader of singular gifts and transformative significance. As an ordained Baptist minister, he knew well that God's word consistently condemns racism in all its forms: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). God "made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26). "God shows no partiality" (Acts 10:34). "If you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors" (James 2:9). Nonetheless, as an African American, he faced racism in all its ugly forms and consistently called God's people to embrace God's love for all of God's children. The example that stands above all others is Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." He wrote this letter after he was arrested in April 1963 for participating in nonviolent protests. While in Birmingham's city jail, he learned of a statement made by eight white Alabama clergymen criticizing him and his methods. Dr. King's response is a masterpiece of American literature. It is as relevant and prophetic today as when he wrote it nearly fifty-five years ago. Befitting his brilliant intellect and remarkable scholarship, he quoted Reinhold Niebuhr, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Martin Buber, Paul Tillich, and T. S. Eliot. I urge you to take time on this special day to read his letter in full. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" For our purposes today, rather than speak for Dr. King, I would like him to speak for himself. As I read his "Letter," I listed some of his statements that most impressed me: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." "We have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure. Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals." "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God." "Right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant." "We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands." Those who engaged in nonviolent protests "were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence." Dr. King closed his letter: "Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty." How will you join God in lifting "the dark clouds of racial prejudice" today? First published at the Denison Forum. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A new effort to undermine and oppose pro-life pregnancy centers offering women a chance to choose life over abortion is now underway, and this time, it's a former Planned Parenthood vice president calling the shots. Launched in the beginning of January, "Equity Forward" identifies itself on its online "About Us" page as, a project aiming, "to ensure transparency and accountability among anti-reproductive health groups and individuals who are actively working to deny women access to services." Later in its "About Us" page, the group says it "exists to create a window into what opponents of reproductive health care are doing, operationally and tactically, in order to expose malfeasance, fraud, unethical practices, and false information to hold them accountable." Led by Mary Alice Carter, a former interim VP for communications at Planned Parenthood, Equity Forward was approvingly profiled by TheHill.com Friday. The group has already kicked off its initial investigation meant to smear the nation's 2,700 locally funded pregnancy centers that offer peer counseling, ultrasounds, material aid and post-abortive help offered at no cost. "Rather than going on a wild goose chase against pro-life pregnancy help, abortion activists would do far better to investigate their own industry," Jor-El Godsey, president of Heartbeat Internationalwhich serves over 2,400 pregnancy help organizations around the worldsaid. "Pregnancy centers are good for women and their children. It is abortion businessesnot pregnancy centersthat routinely physically harm their patients, profit off a woman's desperation and break the law to maximize their bottom line. "No woman has ever died or been harmed in a pregnancy center, and sadly, we can't say the same about abortion businesses." Chasing the Wild Goose Monday evening, a licensed private investigator named Jane Ebert called and left a message on the personal cell phone of a former pregnancy center employee who now works full-time with a national pro-life group. In her message, obtained by Pregnancy Help News, Ebert said she was working on an investigation on behalf of Equity Forward. The message caught the former pregnancy center staffer off-guard, so she did a little digging into Equity Forward. She also reached out to her former colleagues at the pregnancy center and confirmed that Ebert hadn't contacted any of them. As of Friday, Ebert had not returned a call or email from Pregnancy Help News. While it's likely the first time a pro-abortion group has enlisted the services of a private investigator, it's nothing new for the abortion industry to probe into the pro-life nonprofits that serve well over a million women each year in the U.S. alone. In stark contrast to their pro-life counterparts who have exposed deep corruption in the abortion industry, pro-abortion "investigators"some who pose as fake clientshave uniformly failed to back up their oft-repeated charges. Almost a year ago to the date, Jan. 24, 2017, undercover investigators with the City of Los Angelesafter a month of investigatingannounced their inquiry had found no evidence that anything was amiss at the city's seven pro-life pregnancy centers. That investigation was launched at the behest of abortion activists in the state, bent on enforcing a 2015 California law that forces state-licensed pregnancy centers to advertise taxpayer-funded abortions in their lobbies and websites in violation of their First Amendment rights to free speech, including government-coerced speech. The so-called "Reproductive FACT Act" is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to hear oral arguments this spring. The law itself is based upon a phony "investigation" by pro-abortion activists, including NARAL Pro-Choice California. Despite two decades' worth of nonstop mudslinging, NARAL has packaged as "reports" and "investigations" at both the national and state levels, none of the abortion lobby's constant attacks have held water. The most recent example of the failure of Big Abortion's attacks came Jan. 5 in a court decision dealing a deathblow to a 2010 ordinance in the City of Baltimore. The ordinance, which would have forced pregnancy centers to post signage saying they do not perform or refer for abortions, was based on identical accusations to California's 2015 law. In his ruling Jan. 5, however, 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Justice J. Harvie Wilkinson III noted that pro-abortion groups and lawmakersafter seven years' worth of tryinghad turned up absolutely no evidence to support their allegations against pregnancy centers. "After seven years of litigation and a 1,295-page record before us, the City does not identify a single example of a woman who entered the Greater Baltimore Center's waiting room under the misimpression that she could obtain an abortion there," Wilkinson wrote. Ginger acreage shrinks with prices in free fall With ginger prices in free fall for the last two years, farmers in the district have been complaining that they are not even breaking even. They said they would have a hard time recouping their investment this year. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment During the 1930s, the Federal Writers' Project sponsored remarkable interviews with former slaves. The project was based on the premise that no one could better describe the institution of slavery in America than someone who had experienced it. These experiences were recorded for posterity, and today the Library of Congress contains more than 2,000 incredible slave narratives. Recently, I came across a book edited by Belinda Hurmence titled, My Folks Don't Want Me to Talk about Slavery. Hurmence reviewed and compiled 21 first person collections of the more than 170 interviews by the Federal Writers' Project that were of former slaves from my home state, North Carolina. Here's an excerpt from that book. The person speaking is former slave, Jacob Manson. At the time of the interview, Mr. Manson was 86 years old and lived on North Haywood Street in Raleigh. "I belonged to Colonel Bun Eden. His plantation was in Warren County, and he owned about fifty slaves or more... "Our cabins was built of poles and had stick and dirt chimneys, one door, and one little window at the back end of the cabin. Some of the houses had dirt floors. Our clothing was poor and homemade. "Many of the slaves went bareheaded and barefooted. Some wore rags around their heads, and some wore bonnets. We had poor food, and the young slaves was fed out of troughs. The food was put in a trough, and the little n@#*@#* gathered around and et. The chillun was looked after by the old slave women who were unable to work in the fields, while the mothers of the babies worked. The women plowed and done other work as the men did. No books or learning of any kind was allowed. No prayer meetings was allowed, but we sometimes went to the white folks' church. "When bad storms come, they let us rest, but they kept us in the fields so long sometimes that the storm caught us before we could get to the cabins... "Marster lived in the great house. He didn't do any work...went dressed up all the time, and had n@#*@#* to wash his feet and comb his hair... "Marster would not have any white overseers. He had n@#*@# foreman...He liked some of the n@#*@# womens too good to have any other white man playing around them. He had his sweethearts among his slave women. I ain't no man for telling false stories. I tells the truth, and that is the truth. At that time, it was a hard job to find a marster that didn't have women among his slaves. That was a general thing among the slave owners. One of the slave girls on a plantation near us went to her missus and told her about her marster forcing her to let him have nothing to do with her, and her missus told her, 'Well, go on, you belong to him.' "We worked all day and some of the night, and a slave who made a week, even after doing that, was lucky if he got off without getting a beating. We got mighty bad treatment, and I just want to tell you, a n@#*@# didn't stand as much show there as a dog did. They whipped for most any little trifle. They whipped me, so they said, just to help me get a quicker gait. "I think slavery was a mighty bad thing, though it's been no bed of roses since, but then no one could whip me no more." Reading such words today, it's hard to believe there ever was a time in our country when the racist subjugation of one group of people was not considered a grave injustice. What's even harder to believe is that members of Christendom in partnership with Muslims in North Africa initiated the slave trade to the New World. Gilbert M. James in Baker's Dictionary of Christian Ethics notes: "When voices were raised against this inhuman traffic, particularly by influential men and representatives of powerful organizations, the slaveholding interests were driven to find moral justification for enslaving human beings. As a result, a vast body of literature developed on the Scriptural justification of slavery, to which large segments of the church in the South gave support. The churches' defense of slavery became so wide-spread that: 'the American Anti-Slavery Society observed in their 'Resolutions' of May 7, 1844, that no institution is more hostile to the anti-slavery movement than the professedly Christian church in this country.'" Throughout the annals of history, one may find professing Christians who led in the way of folly and wickedness. Yet in every case, such evil was never because of Christianity but in spite of it. It was never because of what Christianity actually taught but a perversion of its actual position. This same error today, I believe, is being made with respect to abortion. Although it is evangelical Christians and Catholics who are largely making the case against this wanton and gruesome destruction of the innocent unborn up to more than 60 million, there are still a number of pro-choice Catholic groups. Christian Protestant denominations that have official and long-standing pro-choice positions include the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Christ." Let's not forget that, despite the stain of much of the churches' support for slavery in the past, it was also Christianity which produced a William Wilberforce and the Clapham Saints who had a profound influence in abolishing the slave trade. And it was Christian abolitionists that were the driving force behind ending slavery in America. The fight against racism and the struggle to end abortion are both highlighted and emphasized in the month of January. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated on Monday, January 15th, and Sanctity of Human Life Day is observed on Monday, January 22nd. Both issues, racism and the sanctity of human life, are addressed by God's creative purpose "in the beginning" to make man after his own image. Every person carries the divine image. Therefore, we should never unjustly disaffect, degrade, or destroy the life of any fellow human being at any stage or station. Here's a final thought: May God hasten the day when our nation might record and listen with awe to the first-person testimonies of those who were targeted for abortion, and for one blessed reason or another survived, during the sad days when it was still legal. Rev. Mark H. Creech is executive director of the Raleigh-based Christian Action League of North Carolina Inc. 'Alaskan Bush People' news: Future of Discovery Channel's reality-documentary series still unknown Fans of the reality-documentary series "Alaskan Bush People" are still waiting for Discovery Channel to release new information about the future of the show. A lot transpired after season 7 ended in August 2017 with Ami Brown done with her second round of chemotherapy and radiation to battle lung cancer. Details about the show's future are minimal, but many supporters are convinced that season 8 is coming. Season 7's ending was bittersweet with the family planning to start a new adventure in Colorado and Ami being diagnosed with lung cancer. There were reports earlier in December 2017 indicating Ami is done with chemotherapy. However, there were no confirmation if the mother of seven is cancer-free. The Brown family were devastated to find out Ami's sickness, and that her chance for survival is very low. The mother of the household, however, remains brave in facing the struggle, and fans were happy to see Ami happy on the show's Christmas special. "Alaskan Bush People's" Christmas special released on Dec. 15, 2017 was well received by fans who are waiting for new episodes. People got to see Ami in her current condition, and she was still all smiles despite her ordeal. Viewers of "Alaskan Bush People" are expecting a whole new world with the family moving out from Alaska and starting their adventure in Colorado. According to Radar Online, the family also purchased a $2.7 million mansion in Beverly Hills California. "Alaskan Bush People" received pretty fair score ratings from critics. The documentary series got a 6.4 out of 10 score from IMDb and 3 out of 5 score from Common Sense Media. The Brown family are applauded for their love for and relationship with each other, making "Alaskan Bush People" one of Discovery Channel's most inspiring series. The show and its content are also recognized for promoting nature and resourcefulness. Another Coptic Christian murdered in suspected ISIS attack Another Coptic Christian has been shot dead in Egypt's troubled North Sinai region, according to Egyptian security officials. Bassem Attallah, 35, was identified as the victim and the attack was carried out by three masked gunmen. The murder took place on Saturday and bears the hallmarks of an Islamic State killing, though so far no group has claimed responsibility. It is the latest in a series of attacks which has seen more than 100 Christians killed in bombings and shootings in just over a year. Nine people died last month when a gunman opened fire outside a church in Cairo. Egypt's President Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi has taken steps to improve security for Christians and has been outspoken in his commitment to inter-religious harmony. However, in rural and isolated parts of the country Christians are very vulnerable and the militants are able to operate with impunity. The Coptic Orthodox Church, part of the Oriental Orthodox family of churches, is by far the largest Christian presence in Egypt with up to 15 million adherents. The Church recently consecrated a new cathedral in the new administrative capital being built near Cairo in a service attended by Al Sisi and representatives of Egypt's Islamic institutions. As Palestinian leader says Trump's Jerusalem move is 'slap of the century', could Jerusalem still be a shared capital? The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has said that Donald Trump's announcement in December that the US was unilaterally recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is the 'slap of the century' at Palestinians. In a speech in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas implied that it was also a major threat to the concept of the two-state solution. 'I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo. Israel ended Oslo,' he said, referring to the accords, signed in the 1990s, that set the terms for the dormant 'peace process' negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. While Israel and seemingly now Trump, backed by US evangelicals considers Jerusalem its 'eternal, undivided capital', the Palestinians regard the east of the city occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War to be the capital of any future Palestinian state. Critics argue that Trump's plan effectively rules out a two-state solution to which the agreed division of Jerusalem would be key. However, the prominent evangelical spokseman Johnnie Moore, who is credited with coordinating between evangelicals and the White House on the issue, has begged to differ. Moore told the BBC: 'The Palestinians have referred to East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian state. Which implies that at least West Jerusalem is going to be the capital of the Israeli state.' This, in turn, implies that Jerusalem can, ideally, one day be the shared capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state (as the UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said last week). And this is of course in theory true. But if Trump had actually said that in his speech at the White House last month which he (presumably deliberately) didn't, it would have caused much less adverse reaction, one that has already resulted in tens of Palestinian deaths in demonstrations and a deterioration in the security situation in the region. It would not have been so bad if Trump stressed he was specifying West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, which would have left open the possibility that East Jerusalem might still in future be that of the Palestinians. But nor did he specify, as all governments in the past including his own have assumed, that West Jerusalem would be the site of a future of an Israel capital. In other words, it is hard to escape the conclusion that Trump's administration is indeed open to Jerusalem as an 'undivided' capital. And Moore, while laughing off the idea that evangelicals back the move for theological reasons, has repeatedly said that this was a 'strategic' and 'geo-political' decision. Trump's logic appears to have been that because not recognising Jerusalem as the capital or moving the US embassy there had not produced peace so far, doing both things might. Yet he put the Palestinians in a seemingly impossible position, demanding that they re-engage with the peace process under the new humiliating terms or face consequences, including the possible funding cuts he announced on Twitter over Christmas. Nonetheless, Moore has a point, on paper at least. The unspecific terms in which Trump made his announcement does not rule out East Jerusalem as a Palestinian capital. It's just that Trump dangerously failed to rule in such a scenario. Bomb threats, sex scandals and protests: Pope Francis faces trouble in South America Pope Francis heads to South America today for a visit that is supposed to be about peace, supporting indigenous people and protecting the environment. But instead he is facing bomb threats, protests and anger about clerical sex abuse. The 81-year-old pontiff's last foreign trip, to Myanmar, was billed as his most controversial and diplomatically difficult. But from a Catholic Church perspective this week-long South America tour, involving two countries and six cities with 22 speaking engagements, contains just as many potential pitfalls. Francis heads to Chile today where already five churches in Santiago have been attacked ahead of the visit with one attacker leaving the message: 'Pope Francis, the next bombs will be on your cassock.' No one was hurt in the attacks but no one has been arrested and the bombings have forced the security plan for Pope Francis' trip to be re-evaluated and reinforced, the country's interior sub secretary, Mahmud Aleuy,has said. Behind much of the anger is a scandal over clerical sex abuse. The residents of the southern city of Osorno strongly oppose Francis' decision to appoint Juan Barros as their bishop in 2015 regardless of him being accused of covering up abuse. Barros has denied any knowledge of the abuse. Francis can also expect protests when he visit Peru in the second half of the week with the Vatican recently taking over the conservative Catholic society, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae (SCV), after allegations that its members abused youth sexually, physically and psychologically. Families of the victims have demanded to speak to Pope Francis and the Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said he did not rule out a meeting, although one was not scheduled. As well as tensions in both countries, Pope Francis also has to tread delicately around why he is not visiting his home country of Argentina, despite never having set foot there since his election as pontiff in 2013. The contrast with Pope John Paul II, who visited his native Poland in 1979, a year after he came Pope, and with his successor Pope Benedict XVI, who visited his homeland Germany on his first foreign trip in 2005, is stark. It is not that he is avoiding the continent. He travelled to Brazil in 2013, Bolivia, Paraguay and Ecuador in 2015, Colombia last year and now Chile and Peru. In fact all Argentina's neighbouring countries, with the exception of Uruguay, will have received a papal visit by the end of this week. So instead tens of thousands of Argentinians will travel by bus across the Andes in the hope of seeing their former archbishop of Buenos Aires. When asked why Francis wouldn't stop off in Argentina, Burke said it was down to 'personal reasons' and analysts suggest it is because of his reluctance to get involved in Argentina's politics. But even without the complexities of Argentinian politics, Francis is flying into trouble in South America and will need all his diplomatic skills to emerge next Monday unscathed. Elon Musk and Amber Heard news: Pair spotted together in night club, sparks rumors of possible reunion Although Elon Musk and Amber Heard already parted ways, the couple was recently spotted having a good time together. The on-and-off lovers were even seen kissing in Los Angeles. The two had a lunch date at a restaurant in Los Feliz, Los Angeles where they were seen locking lips before Christmas. According to reports, despite their denial, this may confirm that they are back together. Aside from this, they were also recently seen going to a nightclub together. The 46-year-old Tesla/SpaceX CEO was seen with the 31-year-old actress going to The Abbey in West Hollywood at around 1 in the morning on Saturday. The pair danced with their friends and had some drinks. Two videos showing the pair having a good time quickly circulated online. Before New Year's Eve, the pair were seen sitting side by side at El Taringa restaurant in Santiago, Chile. They were having a vacation to celebrate the birthday of Kimbal, Elon's brother. The Instagram account of El Taringa shared a picture of the group saying they are inspired to have Kimbal and his family at their place. Musk and Heard have been dating since 2016, but recently separated last August. After their breakup, Musk admitted that he was hurt because he loves Heard. He even said that it was Heard who actually broke up with him. Both are divorced from their previous partners, Musk from both Justine Musk and Talulah Riley, while Heard from Johnny Depp. The multi-billionaire also admitted that he does not like being alone. He said that he will never be happy without having someone to sleep beside him. He said that sleeping alone kills him. "It's not like I don't know what that feels like: Being in a big empty house, and the footsteps echoing through the hallway, no one there -- and no one on the pillow next to you. How do you make yourself happy in a situation like that?" the father-of-five added in an interview with Rolling Stone. English Catholic bishop blasts churches for staying closed for most of the day An English bishop has criticised Catholic churches that remain locked for most of the day and called on them to stay open like their Anglican counterparts. Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth tweeted about a trip he made outside of his diocese during which he failed to find a single Catholic church that was open. Although he did not name the churches or the area he was visiting, he also ridiculed the 'utter hypocrisy' of one church which had a sign saying 'From Maintenance to Mission'. The bishop wrote: 'Why oh why?! Just spent a few days outside the Diocese but every Catholic church I tried to visit was locked. One even had the utter hypocrisy to display a poster "From Maintenance to Mission"! Why is this, when every Anglican Church is welcomely open?' Pope Francis has said that the doors of Catholic churches around the world must remain open despite security fears. In November 2015, following the Paris terror attacks, the Pope said: 'Please, no armoured doors in the Church, everything open. There are places in the world where doors should not be locked with a key. There are still some but there are also many where armoured doors have become the norm. 'We must not surrender to the idea that we must apply this way of thinking to every aspect of our lives. To do so to the Church would be terrible.' Pope Francis is currently visiting Chile, where three churches were bombed ahead of his trip last week. Inner voices: How you can learn to hear the ones worth listening to 'Your heart, my heart, everyone's heart, is a noisy room full of voices. These voices can come deep from childhood, or from our culture, or from habits embraced in adulthood. These voices run our lives. They can even ruin them. But if we face them, they can also save us' (Ronald Boyd MacMillan, The Heart is a Noisy Room). What is a voice? Where might it come from? Why is it so powerful? How might we say it actually has the power to run our lives? When I first started teaching on this, this was my first pass on the subject. I defined a voice this way: 'A voice is a persistent, powerful message, from yourself to yourself, that prevents and keeps you from embracing your true self.' The idea here was to show these things through the elements of this definition: Persistent, that is, it's part of your identity. It feels familiar. Even if it is never named, it is a companion over time. Powerful. We tend to believe it. We rarely question its truth, and we have an emotion every time the voice goes off. Message. It's a declaration or assertion, emerging from the subconscious in most cases. It's asking us to take a point of view I am rubbish, or, I am invincible. From yourself to yourself. The voice is within, internal, rarely spoken out, but you often find yourself in dialogue with it. Prevents and keeps. These voices are trying to prevent you from getting what you really need more deeply. They are substitutes of lesser identities for who you really are. True self. Our deepest identity is to love, know and serve God, right? Every Christian affirms that, at least theoretically... Most voices probably do come from ourselves, but since we are people who believe in the sacred, there are two other sources of the voices that are quite external to us God and the pit. Whether you take the devil metaphorically or not, evil does seem to have been allotted the power to suggest, and to take those suggestions into our very hearts. Jesus famously duels with the devil in the wilderness, and although we are not told what form the devil's voices took, the least we can infer is that they entered Jesus' consciousness, whether or not the devil was sitting on a rock with a tail, antlers and red from sunburn. But there was another problem with my first definition. It didn't really describe what a voice was like. So here's my second pass: 'If you have (A) streams of sentences in your head, (B) that recur frequently, (C) which seem to have a distinct perspective, (D) and that carry an emotional feeling with them, you've got voices.' Yep, that's a more technical definition of what a voice actually is. It's important to see what a voice is not. It does not have to be: audible loud overwhelming sacred-sounding Nor does it have to come using a particular pronoun, like 'You' or 'I'. Nor does the voice have to be experienced as a particular mini-person, and indeed some good research shows that the voice can form without extensive sentence streams, as our brains can use shorthand to convey the perspective. Martin Laird, in his beautiful book A Sunlit Absence, has a chapter called 'Our Collection of Videos', and he defines them as: '...inner chatter...something like a video that constantly plays in the mind only to be rewound and played again and again and again. For some it might be a predominantly visual sequence of distractions, for others predominantly aural, or a combination of both. The insidious thing about these videos is that they have a way of cultivating a psychological identification with them. What he's calling our videos I suppose I am calling our voices. But put in these ways, most of us have them. In fact, we'd be a bit weird if we didn't. So much for the technical, I hear you yawn. It's the actual power I want to talk about, and this is my view, that these voices are trying to shape our identities, and the less attention we pay to them, the more our personality is shaped wrongly. If we pay attention to them correctly, we have a chance of being the person God wants us to be. They are trying to label us. It feels like a person is inside us that isn't us. These labels matter. 'You are a waste of space,' 'Shut up, you've nothing to offer,' 'You will always be defective.' ...I remember the day when I won a spelling competition in primary school. Quite an achievement I may say, even though I don't think we had any Einsteins at the primary school I was attending. I ran all the way home in great excitement and showed it to my mother. She smiled, but added, 'Dinna go get'n a big heid.' That's broad Scots for 'Don't go getting a big head.' A little crestfallen at this muted reaction, I ventured to point out what a singular, world-beating honour this was. She was moved to add, 'Who do think you are? Just suffer the word of exhortation.' Stern rebukes always came in the language of the King James Version. Now, my mother wasn't being ungracious. She loved me, but she was Scottish of a certain generation, wary of all notions of pride, where all celebration was premature celebration. She just wanted to keep me from getting above my station. But when that notion gets glued on to a church theology where no one deserves grace, and everyone is falling short, you end up with an embedded 'undeserving voice' that intrudes even on your very intimate times with God. Say you are reading Isaiah 49:16: where God is saying, 'See, I have written your name on the palm of my hands' and you just begin to take that in when Undeserving Voice pops up to say, 'Hey, that's God speaking to Israel, not you. Don't get ahead of yourself.' Or you are reading the annunciation passage, and the angel Gabriel says to Mary, 'Greetings, favoured woman.' In The Message paraphrase the sense of it is caught really well: 'Good morning, you're beautiful with God's beauty. Beautiful inside and out! God be with you.' Ah, what a message. So you start to think, 'Wow, I'm as beautiful as Mary in the sight of God. We're all equally valuable in God's sight.' And just as you set yourself to receive that compliment from God, Undeserving Voice pops up and says, 'Wait a minute. You're no Mary. She was pure. You've got a few things on your conscience, haven't you?' And that compliment from God to you, that 'you are favoured, you are beautiful!' gets snatched away. Undeserving Voice won't let you receive it. And that's just the way one single voice snatches our joy, or hurts a culture, or rips the heart out of the gospel in a church experiencing the world's largest revival in the history of Christendom. The church of 1001 commandments. Voices. They matter. They matter an awful lot. Extracted with permission from 'The Heart is a Noisy Room'by Dr Ronald Boyd-MacMillan, published by Hodder and Stoughton. Ronald Boyd-MacMillan is director of strategic research for Open Doors International, the world's largest organisation assisting persecuted Christians worldwide, and a Professor of Practical Theology in Pakistan. 'The Heart is a Noisy Room' is his third book. Seven people operating a charity collection business in the North East have been arrested in dawn raids as part of an investigation into modern slavery. Northumbria Police suspect that the men, all from Lithuania, worked as charity bag collectors through a third party, collecting donations of clothes across Newcastle. According to the police, the business buys in thousands of charity bags from abroad, which its workers hand out to the public. It says the clothing from the collected bags is then sold abroad and the company take a cut of the money. The charities involved would be completely unaware that many of the employees are potentially slavery victims. Police have rescued 12 of the organisations workers who it believes were being housed in shared accommodation with their wages and benefits controlled by their employers. HMRC investigation HMRC are also running a separate investigation to establish whether any of the proceeds from the business are going to the charities in question. Northumbria Police said it believes the suspects in this case run a legitimate business that is used as a front for criminal activity that is being committed. A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: They may be giving an agreed portion to a charity, they may be keeping it for themselves, they may have even set up a fake charity and collected bags on the behalf. We dont know until we look at the evidence we have seized. The main point of these raids, and the criminal aspect of the operation, is the fact that those working as charity bag collectors are suspected to be victims of trafficking and slavery. A Charity Commission spokeswoman said: "The Commission will support the Northumbria Police, HMRC and the Fundraising Regulator in the investigation and engage with any charities involved. "Charities who operate in these areas should ensure they have monitoring processes in place with third party collectors to help identify any links to criminal activity and to protect public trust in charities and charitable funds generated from charity bag/clothing collections. The Fundraising Regulator said in a statement: Todays incident in Newcastle is of course very concerning. This is a matter for Northumbria police, and we are supportive of their efforts to crack down on this illegal and unethical practice. We are concerned that the charities and organisations that they employ on their behalf to collect clothing to raise funds for good causes should not be harmed by the alleged illegal, criminal activities of those arrested by the police. Modern slavery investigation Police launched the modern slavery investigation last year after received intelligence about a suspected Lithuanian organised crime group understood to be operating in the city. Enquiries led officers to believe that a factory had been set up in the North Shields and men were being trafficked from Eastern Europe to work across the region. Officers have been working closely with partners at Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, HMRC, the National Crime Agency and a number of charities to gather intelligence on the group and their activities. Superintendent Steve Barron, who is leading the operation, said: Often individuals don't realise that they are victims and the small wage they earn in this country often exceeds anything they would earn in their home country. They are brought into the country on the promise of work, housed in sub-standard accommodation and their benefits and finances are all controlled by their employer. By executing warrants such as those carried out today, we can help to provide potentially vulnerable victims with the support they need while also disrupting suspected criminal activity. We do not believe that any of the charities involved would know that those collecting their bags were potentially victims of modern day slavery and human trafficking. Northumbria Police said it would not give names of the charities involved. Modern Slavery Act The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires all organisaitons, including charities, with an income of more than 36m and carrying out a buisness. This must include a statement saying whether steps have been taken to ensure human trafficking and slavery is not taking place in supply chains. NCVO recently published guidance on complying with the act. The Financial Conduct Authority is now responsible for the regulation of the digital fundraising sector, after a revised piece of European legislation became UK law over the weekend. As of 13 January, professional digital fundraising and crowdfunding platforms will now need to register with and be regulated by the FCA, after the revised Payment Services Direct (PSD2) came into effect. Civil Society News understands that this development will have no bearing on the Fundraising Regulator's continued efforts to bring digital fundraising platforms within its regulatory scope. The revised directive is the EU legislation which sets regulatory requirements for firms that provide payment services. PSD2 removes certain exemptions enjoyed under the previous 2009 iteration of the legislation by digital fundraising platforms, as it now draws a distinction between professional organisations and those who raise funds non-professionally and as part of a not-for-profit or charitable activity, or as volunteers. In its Guidance on the scope of the Payment Services Regulations 2017, the FCA says that e-commerce platforms will be subject to regulation under PSD2 if they are providing payments services as a regular occupation or business activity and does not benefit from an exclusion or exemption. In response to a question in the handbook from an online fundraising platform which collects donations in the form of electronic payments, the FCA said that such organisations do not fall within the exclusion, unless they themselves are carrying this out both non-professionally and as part of a not-for-profit or charitable activity. A list of exemptions and exempted organisations can found in the Payment Services Regulations 2017, which made provisions for a limited number of exempt bodies, notably credit unions and municipal banks for which the regulations did not apply. Civil Society News understands that digital giving platforms which have had a turnover of over 30m for three years will be subject to the new regulations. They will pay an annual 5,000 registration fee to the FCA to register with and be regulated by it. The FCA has a wide range of enforcement powers criminal, civil and regulatory which include: withdrawing a firms authorisation, issuing fines against firms and individuals who breach our rules and applying to courts for injunctions, restitution orders, winding-up and other insolvency orders. Fundraising Regulator to work closely with FCA to avoid double regulation The Fundraising Regulator has told Civil Society News that it will continue to work closely with the FCA to ensure there is no doubling up of regulation, as it continues its own push to get digital giving platforms to register with it. The Fundraising Regulator spent much of 2017 wrestling with its regulatory remit regarding digital fundraising platforms. Last April, the regulator said it was assessing is remit regarding commercial crowdfunding and digital giving platforms, in response to concerns raised about a possibly fraudulent JustGiving page set up in the memory of one of the victims of the Westminster attack. The regulator subsequently held a joint digital giving summit with the Charity Commission in September before making moves to update and expand certain elements of the Code of Fundraising Practice to better cover the activities of commercial digital fundraising platforms in October. A spokesman for the Fundraising Regulator said: PSD 2 affects any organisation that is involved in transferring payments from A to B and the FCA has a statutory responsibility to regulate, by registering organisations that do this and where required, authorising them to trade. This includes on-line fundraising platforms because, for example, they transfer funds raised by individuals to charities. We are working with the platforms and the FCA to make sure that the platforms are registered and authorised before PSD 2 comes into effect on 13 January. With the Charity Commission we are continuing to discuss other aspects of regulation with the platforms, including advice and support to the public, fees and charges, anti-fraud measures and support for the Code of Fundraising Practice before inviting the platforms to join our regulation later in 2018. We will continue to work closely with the FCA to make sure there is no double regulation. JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving respond Jo Barnett, executive director of Virgin Money Giving, said: We welcome the regulation by the FCA of digital giving and fundraising platforms. We will continue to charge the same low donation fee to all our charities, charge no monthly fee and reclaim Gift Aid on their behalf at no extra cost. Neil Bannister, managing director of JustGiving, said: JustGiving is proud to be the first online giving platform to achieve the status of an Authorised Payment Institution by our new regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. We have always worked hard to be as transparent as possible with the millions of fundraisers and donors who give via our platform every year, and we hope this will build on the already high levels of trust that our customers have in us and allow us grow the world of giving even further. Govt makes a pitch for low-risk bio-pesticides The government has started promoting production of bio-pesticides, considered to be relatively safer to humans, in a bid to reduce massive consumption of harmful pesticides in the country. The attorney general has approved the Charity Commissions request to refer an ongoing issue with the governance of the Royal Albert Hall to the Charity Tribunal. Last autumn the Commission sought the permission of the attorney general, Jeremy Wright QC, to refer a number of issues to the Charity Tribunal. The Commission has been engaging with the Royal Albert Hall over a number of years about concerns about 19 of 25 its ruling council being seatholders at the hall. This means they can sell tickets privately at inflated prices, under the halls Royal Charter which dates back to the 1860s. This has led to questions about whether trustees are perceived to benefit financially from their role. The issue was initially brought up with the Commission in 2009 and an implementation plan was drawn up. In 2012 a Times investigation accused two trustees of pocketing more than 100,000 a year by selling tickets at inflated prices. The Commission has previously accused the charity of being unwilling to address the issue. It also said that the decision to refer the case to the Tribunal was unprecedented. Powers enabling the Commission to refer cases to the Tribunal were introduced in the Charities Act 2006. A spokeswoman for the Commission said: We are pleased that the attorney general has agreed that these matters can be heard by the Tribunal and has given consent for the Commission to bring reference proceedings. This is a long running issue which we hope the Tribunal will be able to assist in resolving. We will now work to prepare the appropriate application to be submitted to the Charity Tribunal. Royal Albert Hall 'disappointed' The Royal Albert Hall said it was disappointed and accused the Comission of refusing to meet it, but said it will co-operate with the process. A spokesman for the Royal Albert Hall said: "The Royal Albert Hall was disappointed to hear that the Charity Commission has taken this route. Over many years, the Hall has engaged in a meaningful way to resolve what is a complex set of issues, however the Commission has chosen to refuse to meet us, whilst pursuing what will be a costly and drawn out route. The Hall has a full programme of events and has just seen the most successful opening of a Cirque du Soleil show, Ovo, which runs until March 2018. "Whilst we will, of course, co-operate with this process, our focus will remain on entertaining audiences and enhancing our considerable charitable activities. Our unique structure and self-funding operating model, which requires no regular government subsidy, enables us to evolve our Grade I listed building and continue our charitable outreach work that benefits and touches many hundreds of thousands of people in our communities every year." Sarah Greene is the new patron of Target Ovarian Cancer Our weekly summary of the latest movers in the charity sector. Chief executive London-based homelessness charity Caritas Anchor House has announced the appointment of Amanda Dubarry as its new chief executive. Dubarry joins the organisation from young peoples organisation Step by Step, where she is currently chief executive. Dubarry has worked at the charity for 22 years. She will take up her new role on March 2018. Dubarry also sits on the board of Homeless Link and is a trustee of Rushmoor Healthy Living. Fundraising and communications Alan Gosschalk has joined Comic Relief as its interim director of partnerships and fundraising, replacing Anne-Cecile Berthier who left the organisation in September 2017. Gosschalks last full-time fundraising role was with the British Asian Trust, where he was director of fundraising and communications for over a year. He was also previously the director of fundraising for Scope, Shelter and Action on Hearing Loss. He has also sat on numerous charity trustee boards, including Hope and Homes for Children, the Impact Coalition, the Understanding Charities Group and was previously the interim chair of the Institute of Fundraising. Finance and strategy The National Trust has appointed Tiger de Souza as its new director of volunteering, participation and inclusion. The role will see de Souza take responsibility for increasing engagement with the charity thorough volunteering and participation as well as diversifying the Trusts supporter base. A former charity consultant, de Souza was most recently head of involvement with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. He was also head of volunteering at NSPCC for three years between 2011 and 2014. Non executive Marie Curie has appointed Vindi Banga as the new chair of its board of trustees. Banga is currently a partner at private equity firm Clayton Dubilier and Rice, senior independent director at Glaxo Smith Kline and Marks and Spencers and is also the chair of German sausage casing manufacturer Kalle GMBH. Banga worked for Unilever for over 30 years and rose to the rank of president of its Global Foods, Home and Personal Care Division. He is currently chair of the Karta Initiative, an organisation which supports improving access to higher education for students in developing countries and co-founded a charity the Kamini and Vindi Banga Foundation with his wife in 2017. The Scottish Council for Voluntary has appointed Andrew Burns as the new convener for the organisations board of trustees. Burns has been appointed on a six-year term, and will guide the organisations board of trustees. He was previously leader of the Edinburgh City Council and was a local councillor. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He was previously chair of Fairshare, the Electoral Reform Society and of the Scottish Cities Alliance. Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families, has appointed five new trustees to its board. The new trustees have been named as: Dr Wanda Wyporska, executive director of the Equality Trust; Sir Martin Donnelly, previous private secretary to the Financial Secretary; George Coleman, founder of communications agency Creation; Joyce Materego, director of finance and resources at Child Poverty Action Group and Lily Caprani, deputy executive director at Unicef UK. The appointments have been made on an initial three-year basis and brings the total number of trustees at the organisation to 15. Television host Sarah Greene has been appointed as the new patron of Target Ovarian Cancer. Greene has worked with the charity since the loss of her mother to the disease in 2010. She has been a television presenter and host since the 1980s with Blue Peter, Going Live and most recently with This Morning on ITV. Greene joins Professor Sir Kenneth Calman and Dame Janet Gaymer as patrons of Target Ovarian Cancer. To tell us about your latest charity appointments email [email protected] Police bust gang that duped scores with RAW job offers Police arrested six persons on fraud charges after they duped more than 60 persons claiming to secure a job at the Indian Embassy in Nepal. California's burgeoning cannabis industry, already heavily reliant on cash and detached from banks, could face even more barriers to the mainstream after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama era guidelines, known as the Cole memo, which eased federal regulation of marijuana. Sessions' decision has left California's state government and the legal pot industry scrambling for ways to handle all the cash that will come flowing in. Moving to a more regulated market should, in theory, encourage financial institutions to bank cannabis businesses, but Sessions' actions on Jan. 4 just days after recreational adult marijuana use became legal in California put a freeze on bank activities, leaving businesses and the financial institutions that look to support them in an even murkier state of affairs. "The withdrawal of the Cole memo really couldn't have come at a worse time, because now is the time that the types of banks and credit unions that are willing to take on more risk would have been entering the market," said Robert McVay, partner at Harris Bricken, a Seattle-based law firm with a practice group dedicated to cannabis law. "If you weren't already involved, this doesn't seem like the right time to start," he added. During Barack Obama's second term as president, then-deputy Attorney General James Cole published memos which transferred marijuana industry regulation to states and directed federal law enforcement to allow businesses compliant to the memo's requirements to operate. A 2014 memo, which complemented guidance from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN offered guidance specific to financial institutions looking to do business with compliant cannabis companies. Since cannabis is still considered illegal by federal law, providing banking services to those businesses was risky even with the tenuous protections provided by the now-defunct Cole memo. Now, California's already cash-heavy marijuana market faces a major influx of money with next to nowhere to put it. The state has already issued about 675 temporary licenses for all types of businesses from grow operations and labs to retail dispensaries and food production businesses, according to a state-run database. "What if a Chinese enterprise listed Alaska or Hawaii as an independent country rather than a state of the United States?" a Beijing-owned newspaper asked Sunday amid a political ruckus spurred by foreign companies. Just as those territories are part of the U.S., the recent China Daily editorial argued, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Tibet are "all parts of China." So Beijing's ire was justified, the opinion piece suggested, when it cracked down on several international firms for listing those locations as separate countries on internet platforms. Last week, a Chinese regulator suspended Marriott International's Chinese website for a week after it listed those places as separate countries in a questionnaire for members of its rewards program. Delta Air Lines also came under fire for listing Taiwan and Tibet as countries on its website. Medical device-maker Medtronic and Inditex-owned fashion brand Zara faced similar issues. The four companies have all apologized. "These foreign companies should be aware that Chinese people are particularly sensitive to the status of Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, which are all parts of China," said China Daily, which called the characterization of the regions a "terrible mistake." "There is not the least reason for Marriott and the other foreign companies to list these regions as independent countries on any occasion. They should have known that they would provoke a strong reaction from Chinese people," the English language piece added. It is also a breach of China's Cyber Security Law and the Advertising Law, which prohibit any individual or company from activity that "undermines the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity," it said. Hong Kong's leader said Monday that anyone who objects to the installation of a Chinese checkpoint at a local railway station is fundamentally ill-informed. Protests erupted in the former British colony on New Year's Day after Beijing lawmakers voted to allow Chinese immigration checks and the enforcement of Chinese laws in a part of Hong Kong's West Kowloon station. It's specifically for passengers taking a high-speed train to Guangzhou and Shenzhen, which is due to launch in September. Known as "co-location," the arrangement will effectively see a quarter of the West Kowloon terminal leased out to Beijing. Public opposition to the move "reflects a sort of lack of full understanding of the constitutional regime," Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam told CNBC on Monday from the sidelines of the Asian Financial Forum. The move is aimed at increasing efficiency so individuals departing from Hong Kong won't have to go undergo clearance procedures in China "otherwise you have to get off the train across the border and then find another train, it just doesn't make sense," said Lam, who added there's "a solid legal basis" to support co-location. A similar arrangement exists at the Shenzhen Bay Port, which sits on the Hong Kong-China border. Ireland says it can help U.K. companies that are concerned about losing the right to sell products into the European Union after Brexit comes into effect. "We're saying to people, if there are difficulties, Ireland can be part of the solution for passporting," Michael D'Arcy, minister of state at Ireland's Department of Finance, told CNBC from the sidelines of the Asian Financial Forum on Monday. Passporting refers to how companies that are registered within an EU nation or a handful of other countries are allowed to do business across the whole bloc. Many U.K.-based firms are worried that they are going to lose access to those markets. Once the U.K. leaves the European economic bloc in March 2019, "we can offer a very good solution for companies who potentially may have a difficulty," D'Arcy continued. "We are a pro-business country. We are non-protectionist." Aside from a low corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent well below the U.K.'s 19 percent and Hong Kong's 16.5 percent Ireland boasts other advantages such as a flexible workforce and a robust financial services sector, D'Arcy said. The United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland, voted in 2016 to leave the European Union, but the Republic of Ireland remains within the bloc. Jamie Dimon speaking at the 2017 Delivering Alpha conference in New York on Sept. 12, 2017. He spoke favorably about the passage of comprehensive tax reform, and speculated that Trump could also make headway with plans for infrastructure and education. Predicting presidential candidates, he stated, is "not my job. My job is to help get good public policy done, help the economy grow and help finance citiesI am not a political expert." When asked by Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo on Friday about a comment he made suggesting Trump could be defeated after four years , Dimon said flatly that "I wish I hadn't said it, I was talking probabilistically." JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon walked back a previous prediction that President Donald Trump would only serve one term, telling Fox Business in an interview that the Democrats don't appear to have a particularly deep bench of contenders for the 2020 general election. President Donald Trump smiles as he speaks to the media in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, October 16, 2017. When asked, he immediately dismissed the idea that he'd want to run for president himself, but lamented that the Democrats didn't appear to have a pro-business, centrist candidate to run in the next general election. Dimon is known for being a donor to Democrats, with he and his wife having donated large sums to the party's candidates, according to Open Secrets, a website that tracks political contributions. "The thing about the Democrats is they will not have a chance, in my opinion. They don't have a strong centrist, pro-business, pro-free enterprise person," Dimon told Fox Business. "The American public is not clamoring for more government. They were angry about the Great Recession, they blamed banks, they blamed Washington, but they're also angry about the bureaucracy," he added. Even still, recent polls suggest the party is poised to make big strides in the 2018 midterm elections, and could retake the House of Representatives if current trends hold. An unnamed Republican strategist told the political website Axios that a flipped Congress was now "baked in" and the GOP was bracing itself for that likelihood. In his interview, Dimon faulted both Democrats and Republicans for being unwilling to "get rid of [policy] that didn't work," and trying things that might. Dimon serves on Trump's business advisory council, but was sharply critical of the president after the events in Charlottesville, Virginia last year, where white supremacist protesters clashed with counter-demonstrators. Post scribe Kaini beaten in Gorkha Gorkha district correspondent of The Kathmandu Post, Sudip Kaini has been beaten up at Anbu Khaireni in the district on Monday. The Olympic rings is seen in Hoenggye town, near the venue for the Opening and Closing ceremony ahead of PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea. Pyongyang could still pull out from the upcoming Winter Olympics, a North Korean media outlet threatened in response to recent "ill-boding" remarks by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Moon's praise of President Donald Trump in a speech last Wednesday chilled the atmosphere for North-South reconciliation, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "They should know that train and bus carrying our delegation to the Olympics are still in Pyongyang ... The South Korean authorities had better ponder over what unfavorable results may be entailed by their impolite behavior," KCNA said in an English report on its website Sunday. In his speech, Moon said Trump deserved "big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks," adding that the ongoing dialogue "could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure." We all admire Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the heroic way in which he lived his life. But who did this great reverend look up to? And most importantly, what did he learn from his mentor? One of Dr. King's mentors was Ralph Bunche, a professor at Howard University and diplomat who served at the US State Department and United Nations. Bunche was the first African American to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for his work negotiating a peace agreement between Israelis and Arabs. Bunche was also involved in the Civil Rights movement, and he attended the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom where Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. Here are three things that Dr. King and his fellow civil rights leaders learned from Bunche: Deepak Chopra Scott Mlyn | CNBC First, buckle down and focus. During the 1960s, the great reverend was taking on the issues of civil rights, poverty, and the Vietnam War. Bunche thought that King was spreading himself too thin and the movement would suffer as a result. Bunche thought they could accomplish more by concentrating their efforts on concrete actions. Indeed, King and his team emphasized attaining real and tangible results like passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that prohibited discrimination in voting. "We wouldn't march for every issue," said Ambassador Andrew Young, a leader of the civil rights movement and close friend of Dr. King. Second, be less public. Bunche felt that civil rights leaders were too public with their opinions and actions, and that they should work more discreetly to generate less controversy. When King came out publicly against the Vietnam War, Bunche said: "Right now, I am convinced, [King] is making a very serious tactical error which will do much harm to the civil rights struggle." Nevertheless, Dr. King and civil rights leaders came to appreciate the wisdom of Bunche. "We learned that you can get anything you want done, as long as you give others credit," said Ambassador Young. "When you are too public, it can be dangerous," he said. Kabir Sehgal Source: Kabir Sehgal The key to Asian economic growth in 2018 will be greater friendship and cooperation between countries, according to the president of the Asian Development Bank. One of the reasons behind Asia's success in growth and development is the region's successful fostering of a "sense of cooperation" between countries in Asia, ADB President Takehiko Nakao told CNBC on Monday. "There can be differences in opinions, but it is important to manage and improve cooperation between countries in Asia," he said. "ASEAN is now more united and heading towards more market-oriented reform policies," Nakao added, crediting Southeast Asia's economic growth to the growing cooperation between members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Eric Lafforgue | Art in All of Us | Corbis via Getty Images Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has hit back against claims that China is increasing the debt burden of African countries. Wang dismissed the allegation as false at a press conference Sunday in Luanda, Angola, as reported by China's state-run news agency Xinhua. China's financing is a response to African countries' own requirements for development and is welcomed by them, Wang said, adding that China did not attach political expectations to this. Wang is currently on a multi-country visit to Africa, which began in Rwanda on Saturday. Wang then traveled to Angola, and is due in Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe later this week. He made his comments on financing at a press conference alongside Angolan Foreign Minister Manuel Domingos Augusto. Wang referenced China's own past when its economy was controlled by foreign powers, adding that Chinese foreign investment was based on mutual benefit, according to the news agency. He also said that the current debt status of some African countries was due to debt building up over a long time period. Citigroup will increase compensation for women and minorities to bridge pay gaps in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, as part of its annual pay process this year, the Wall Street bank said on Monday. As part of the move, Citi also becomes the first big U.S. bank to respond to a shareholder push to analyze and disclose its gender pay gap. Citi said it had conducted a survey in the three countries, where it found that women and minorities are paid only slightly less than their male and non-minority counterparts. On average, Citi found, women and minorities are paid 99 percent of what men and non-minorities are paid, respectively. Compensation would be raised based on the pay gaps identified in the survey, Citi spokeswoman Jennifer Lowney said. "Our continuing focus on pay equity furthers our goal of being the employer of choice for employees of diverse backgrounds," Citi said in a statement on its website. The company also said it would adjust compensation for other individuals, , where the analysis determined increases were necessary. Citi, along with other U.S. banks and credit card companies, has been under investor pressure to disclose how much less it pays women than men. Employers in the UK will be required to publish gender pay gaps by April. Banks have been among the largest offenders, with median pay gaps averaging 24 percent, according to a joint statement by Citi and activist investor Arjuna Capital on Monday. Arjuna asked Citi's shareholders last year to vote in favor of a proposal requiring the bank to address the gender pay gap. But on Monday, Arjuna withdrew that proposal, saying that Citi's announcement represented a major shift for U.S. banks and credit card companies. "Citigroup is stepping into a leadership role on the gender pay gap that we have not seen from any of its U.S. financial peers," said Arjuna Capital Managing Partner Natasha Lamb. What would happen if economists stopped listening to each other and instead started taking lessons from Anna Karenina? That's what Morton Schapiro, president of Northwestern University, and Gary Saul Morson, professor of arts and humanities at Northwestern, believe economists need to do. "We think that economics can learn a lot if it broadened its perspective so that economists drew on disciplines other than economics itself, particularly those that deal with culture and specifically with great literature," Morson told CNBC. "While economics is a really important and robust discipline, if we had a little humility and a little less hubris we can improve the field dramatically," Schapiro added. Morton Schapiro, president of Northwestern University, speaks during an interview in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, April 14, 2010. Bloomberg | Daniel Acker | Contributor | Getty Images Together, the professors want economists to realize the importance of culture in making economic predictions or decisions. "Economists have had this idea that they have a hard science modeled on Newtonian physics and just as physicists don't need to read novels, so we economists don't need to read novels, they think," Morson said. "But, in fact, it's not a hard science that way. It [economics] has a lot to teach us but it needs a bit more humility and to learn from what great literature has to teach you." Morson and Schapiro highlight real economic dilemmas that could have been resolved with better cultural understanding in their book "Cents and Sensibility." Sanctions against Russia in 2014, for its actions in Crimea, are an example of nonsensical economic decision-making for Morson. Although economists didn't predict Putin's reciprocal reaction to the sanctions, they would have if they understood more about Russian culture, he said. "What Putin did was, he doubled. 'You put sanctions on us, we're going to put even more sanctions, you are going to restrict imports, and we'll restrict them even more.' It doesn't make any sense from a standard economic model. "But Russians tend to think that the individuals exist for the glory of the state and people live and die but Russia continues. And that's what really matters. "If you read a lot of Russian literature, you would see that sense of national spirit, which doesn't fit an economic model, is not how Americans or Englishmen would behave, but it does make perfect sense from a Russian perspective." Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, in Athens, Greece, on Friday, May 27, 2016. Bloomberg | Contributor | Getty Images The share price of U.K.-listed Gem Diamonds has risen sharply after the miner said it had unearthed what is thought to be the fifth largest gem-quality diamond ever found. The 910-carat rock was extracted from the firm's Letseng mine in Lesotho and, according to analysts at Liberum, could sell for as much as $40 million. Liberum said it had "large caveats" on its estimate but still raised the analyst rating on the stock to buy from hold. By midday Monday, the share price of Gem Diamond had risen more than 15 percent. Clifford Elphick, Gem Diamonds' chief executive officer, said in a press release Monday that the discovery was a "landmark recovery for all of Gem Diamonds' stakeholders." The largest gem-quality rough diamond ever discovered is the 3106-carat Cullinan diamond that was discovered in South Africa's Premier Mine in 1905. It was cut into 105 diamonds including the 530-carat Great Star of Africa. The largest cut diamond in the world is the Golden Jubilee Diamond, which weighs 545.67 carats. It was also hewn from a rough diamond found in the Premier Mine in 1985. The U.S. cautioned President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner that a close friend, Rupert Murdoch's former wife Wendi Deng Murdoch, could be using her ties to Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump to aid the Chinese government, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Counterintelligence officials also warned the Chinese-American businesswoman may have been lobbying for a construction project in Washington, D.C., that was funded by the Chinese government, the Journal reported. A spokesman for Wendi Deng Murdoch told the Journal that the businesswoman "has no knowledge of any FBI concerns or other intelligence agency concerns relating to her or her associations." The report follows attacks by the president over the Journal's reporting about his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump ripped into the publication for reporting "fake news." Read the complete Wall Street Journal report on the Jared Kushner warning here. Toys at 'Batman Lego' photocall at Los Duques hotel on February 1, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. Lego has teamed up with Chinese internet giant Tencent to create branded video games and potentially a new social network aimed at children, the two companies announced Monday. Tencent is one of Asia's most valuable companies and is a massive player in mobile gaming and online video streaming. Lego has struggled in recent times and was last year forced to cut around 1,400 jobs. China is a bright spot for Lego, however, with revenues growing double-digit versus declines in the U.S. and parts of Europe in the first half of 2017, the last time it released financial figures. The toy-maker has been pushing further into China to help stoke growth. Lego will develop a "video zone" for children on Tencent's video streaming platform as well as Lego-branded games. Lego's partnership also includes Lego Boost, a building and coding set that brings movement to its brick creations. The two companies also said they will explore co-developing Lego Life, a "safe social network for children" in China. The Danish firm faces competition in China from rivals. Last year, Mattel, the maker of Barbie, announced a deal to sell its products in China via Alibaba's marketplace website Tmall.com. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrive to attend a press conferece after their talks in Moscow on April 12, 2017. Moscow will not accept any changes to the Iran nuclear pact made by the United States, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a press conference Monday, accusing the U.S. of fomenting further conflict around the Middle East. The minister fielded questions on a range of topics from Syria to Ukraine, criticizing U.S. activities in Syria and the Israel-Palestine conflict while insisting the Russian government supports peace and reconciliation. "We will not support what the United States is trying to do, changing the wording of the agreement, incorporating things that will be absolutely unacceptable for Iran," Lavrov told reporters. On Friday, President Donald Trump agreed to uphold sanctions relief for Iran as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed in 2015 by all United Nations Security Council members and Germany, which allowed the lifting of sanctions in exchange for sharp restrictions on Iran's nuclear program. But Trump's disapproval of the deal is well known. He announced that this would be the "last time" he would waive sanctions and pledged to fix what he called the "terrible flaws" in the deal with the help of Congress. Russia, along with EU leaders, have urged the U.S. to respect the integrity of the original arrangement. Lavrov also disparaged Washington's recently announced plan to implement a 30,000-man border security force in Syria's Kurdish territory. "This is a very serious issue, which causes concerns that a course was set for the partition of Syria," the minister said. He also claimed there was no difference between Trump and former president Barack Obama's policies in Syria, accusing the U.S. of supporting forces that did "not wish to put an end to the conflict as soon as possible." Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona plans to give a speech on Wednesday, comparing President Donald Trump's comments on the media to those once made by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, The Washington Post reported. Flake plans to deliver the speech before Trump announces the winners of his "Fake News Awards," according to the Post. Trump announced on Twitter earlier this month he would award the "most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media" "losers" on January 17. @realDonaldTrump tweet One of Trump's most frequent critics, Flake told the Post he would use his speech to denounce Trump for calling the news media "the enemy of the American people." "It is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words infamously spoken by Josef Stalin to describe his enemies," Flake will say, according to the excerpts of the speech provided to the Post. "It bears noting that so fraught with malice was the phrase 'enemy of the people,' that even Nikita Khrushchev forbade its use, telling the Soviet Communist Party that the phrase had been introduced by Stalin for the purpose of 'annihilating such individuals' who disagreed with the supreme leader." Flake said last year that, come November, he will not seek a second term in Senate amid political pressure stemming from his criticism of the president. Read more about Sen. Flake's speech on The Washington Post. South Korea will make a decision on a proposed ban on cryptocurrency exchanges after "sufficient consultation and coordination of opinions," the country's government said Monday. Last week, South Korean Justice Minister Park Sang-ki said the government was preparing a bill to ban trading via cryptocurrency exchanges. Two of the country's largest crypto exchanges, Coinone and Bithumb, were also raided on the day Park's comments were made. "The proposed shutdown of exchanges that the justice minister recently mentioned is one of the measures suggested by the justice ministry to curb speculation. A government-wide decision will be made in the future after sufficient consultation and coordination of opinions," the country's Office for Government Policy Coordination said in a statement, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap. This clarification on the government's stance follows comments last Thursday from South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon, who said that the issue required more consultation from relevant government departments. "All government ministries agree on the need for a government response to an overheating in cryptocurrency speculation and for a degree of regulation," Kim told reporters, according to news agency Yonhap. "The issue of banning exchanges that the justice minister talked about yesterday is a proposal by the Justice Ministry and it needs more coordination among ministries." South Korea has been trying to rein in speculative cryptocurrency trading in recent months, as interest in the market has exploded. In September, the Financial Services Commission said it would ban a controversial crowdfunding practice in the cryptocurrency space known as initial coin offerings (ICO). ICOs are a means of fundraising for start-ups, who raise money by selling off new virtual currencies in return for other more established ones like bitcoin and ethereum. Major cryptocurrencies including bitcoin and ethereum are priced significantly higher in South Korea's exchanges compared to the rest of the world. Industry website CoinMarketCap said last Monday it had excluded some South Korean crypto exchanges from its data due to this "extreme divergence in prices." Bitcoin, ethereum and other major digital currencies fell after reports of a ban on cryptocurrency trading first circulated. The price of bitcoin was seen to recover slightly Monday, trading 0.39 percent higher on CoinDesk at $13,671.55 a coin. CoinDesk's bitcoin price index tracks prices from digital currency exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit and Bitfinex. Ethereum on the other hand was down 3.93 percent, trading at 1,312.97 a coin. U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he departs from the White House on July 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump took to Twitter Monday to blame Democrats for stalling a deal to protect about 800,000 young immigrants from deportation. The president referred to statements made Sunday prior to a dinner with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in West Palm Beach, Florida. "Statement by me last night in Florida: 'Honestly, I don't think the Democrats want to make a deal. They talk about DACA, but they don't want to help..We are ready, willing and able to make a deal but they don't want to," he wrote on the social media platform. @realDonaldTrump tweet He then referenced increased border security a cornerstone of his campaign, claiming congressional Democrats "don't want...to stop drugs." They don't want security at the border, they don't want...to stop drugs, they want to take money away from our military which we cannot do." My standard is very simple, AMERICA FIRST & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump wrote. @realDonaldTrump tweet The tweets are the latest salvos from the president in an ongoing Twitter storm surrounding the tenuous Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Tensions over the program's future have escalated since Judge William Alsup of California ruled in San Francisco on Tuesday the program must remain in place until litigation over Trump's decision is decided. The president seemed sympathetic to those protected under DACA Sunday, but has continued to blame congressional Democrats for stalling an agreement on the program. @realDonaldTrump tweet "DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk," he wrote Sunday. Time has come to form expert panel to recommend reforms in judiciary The controversy over the verdicts made by the Supreme Court, and by Chief Justice Gopal Parajuli, have resurfaced after activist Dr Govinda KC launched a hunger-strike demanding Parajulis resignation and investigation in to his allegedly forged academic and citizenship certificates. All eyes will be on President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, this month with analysts predicting he will use the meeting as a chance to show off his economic and policy successes so far in office. Trump's attendance at the 2018 Forum, announced in early January, raised eyebrows at the time as the president has roundly criticized elites such as the rich and powerful that attend Davos. His former advisor Steve Bannon said during Trump's election campaign that working people were "tired of being dictated to by what we call the party of Davos." Trump will be the first sitting present to visit the meeting in the Alps since Bill Clinton in 2000. Recent presidents have avoided the meeting, perhaps to avoid giving the wrong impression to voters by rubbing shoulders with the elite. John Raines, head of political risk at IHS Markit, told CNBC ahead of the Forum that Trump's decision to attend Davos was "interesting", given his criticism of the meeting. "Here's a guy who has really complained about the Davos set for quite some time, (and) during (his election) campaign," Raines said. "He's come out and said that he disagrees with the agenda, he disagrees with globalization, free trade and here he is going right into the vortex." "But it kind of goes with his personality in which he gets to have this shindig with the corporate elite and he also gets to point to some of his economic and policy successes," he added. Davos' theme this year is "creating a shared future in a fractured world." The Forum's organizers hope that the 2,500 or so attendees ranging from heads of state to CEOs, business leaders and policymakers can discuss and agree ways to resolve some of the world's most pressing problems such as inequality, climate change and poverty not subjects that Trump has put top of his agenda while in power. Rather, Trump's first year in office has been characterized by shock and awe, although not always in a good way. Yet, while he has caused controversy over his policy pronouncements over Muslims and immigrants, and U-turns in foreign policy (such as the embassy relocation in Israel and backtrack over the nuclear deal for Iran), he has also garnered praise among the Republican party for an overhaul of the U.S. tax system and among his supporters for implementing an "America First" manifesto. U.S. President Donald Trump waves to members of the media before boarding Marine One following his first medical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Chip Somodevilla/Pool via Bloomberg White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has already signaled that Trump will use his attendance at Davos "to advance his America First agenda with world leaders," according to a statement, that added: "At this year's World Economic Forum, the president looks forward to promoting his policies to strengthen American businesses, American industries, and American workers." IHS Market's Raines believed that Trump would make the most of Davos to trumpet his achievements: "He can say the stock market is hitting new highs on a daily basis, and on top of that the U.S. growth rate's continuing to pick up so I think he gets to go there and defend his policies while he gets to hang out with the people he likes," he said. "I don't think he's going to go into Davos saying, 'Look there's a social contract we need to uphold.' I think he goes in saying, 'Hey listen, follow me, I have a recipe for success and you guys need to follow suit.'" What will Davos make of Trump? It will be interesting to see how Trump is received in Davos. While U.S. businesses have largely lauded his overhaul of the taxation system because it lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, policy makers even those to the right of the political spectrum have been surprised by some of Trump's more controversial moves. These include acts such as a travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries and trying to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shielded children brought to the United States illegally by their parents from being deported. In Europe too, Trump's brash leadership style and policies have not found favor with the continent's more conciliatory and collaborative approach to politics and trade policies. Carl Weinberg, chief economist and managing director at High Frequency Economics, told CNBC ahead of the meeting that Trump could prompt European leaders to continue to pivot away from the U.S. U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel Ukas Michae/Pool/Getty Images "Let's look at what the reaction might be to the president to Davos," Weinberg said. "So he comes and lays out this American agenda well, the last time he came to Europe (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel stepped up and said, 'Well, we don't really like what we're hearing from the U.S. so it's time for us to pivot our relationships perhaps away from the U.S. towards China and Asia'." However, Weinberg noted that Davos 2018 could be Trump's chance to refute the notion that the U.S. was turning its back on the world. "This could be his chance to come out with his core view which is 'We don't object to globalism but we want it to be on an equal playing field.'" One year of Trump The WEF meeting comes as the one-year anniversary of Trump in power with his unorthodox style of government and communication having made waves the world over. This year's WEF is predicated on the idea that the world is "fractured" and its audience will be looking back at Trump's first year in office and what effect he has had on the world so far. Speaking to CNBC ahead of Davos, John Studzinski, vice-chairman of Blackstone, said Trump's presidency had so far been like "a tale of two cities." "You have to think of domestic Trump and you have to think of international or foreign policy Trump," he told CNBC in December ahead of Davos 2018. "On domestic Trump, the stock market has continued to be robust, his laissez-faire attitude with respect to regulation has been seen as a very positive indicator and markets have responded very well to that. "On the other hand, he inherited a global shift in the hegemony of America as the center of the world order. That is shifting and, with President Xi Jinping's speech in Davos 2017, has really shifted to China as potentially a greater source of stability in the world." It would be hard to be indifferent to Trump's first year in office, with the president polarizing his supporters and detractors at a domestic and global level even further. Trump's most controversial decisions so far have been perhaps the move to ban citizens from certain Muslim countries from being able to travel to the U.S., a move which met with protests, as well as his response to the violence in Charlottesville, North Carolina. In terms of the U.S.' diplomatic relations, while the president has sought closer ties with countries like China, Israel and Saudi Arabia, others notably Iran and North Korea have felt the cold shoulder of the U.S.' new direction in terms of foreign policy. All that without mention of an investigation rumbling on in the background probing allegations of collusion between Trump's team and Russia in a bid to influence the U.S. election. World 'more dangerous' since Trump? Mark Malloch Brown, former United Nations deputy secretary-general, told CNBC ahead of Davos 2018 that the world was a more dangerous place now because of Trump, especially with regards to his interventions in North Korea and the Middle East. "Trump the disruptor was welcome because there had been no solution in the Middle East or North Korea for years. But Trump the guy that just has no policy depth, the recklessness, the temper on him and unpredictability So net-net, he's making the world a more dangerous place," Malloch Brown said. Despite Trump's fraught forays into foreign relations, he has made some progress in terms of his election pledges at home, notable having just implemented an overhaul of the U.S. tax system that, although it's set to cost $1.5 trillion in terms of increasing the deficit, could over the long-term boost growth. U.S. President Donald Trump sits at his desk while signing the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul plan in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., Dec. 22, 2017. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters Billionaire Warren Buffett considers the late civil rights activist and icon Martin Luther King Jr. to be a source of great inspiration. In fact, Buffett and his late wife Susie saw King give a speech in Iowa just one day before beginning his 19th jail sentence for his involvement in the civil rights movement and six months before his assassination in 1968. In October 1967, King visited Grinnell College to deliver a convocation address for a fundraising event linked with other well-known names of the time, including musician Louis Armstrong and author Ralph Ellison, as detailed in Alice Schroeder's book, "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life." Martin Luther King, Jr. taken at Grinnell College in 1967. Robert Hodierne | Courtesy of Grinnell College Before a crowd of 5,000 people, the Nobel Peace prize-winner shared a speech titled, "Remaining Awake During a Revolution." "I remember that speech that Martin Luther King gave. That was one of the most inspiring speeches I've ever heard. Took me right out of my seat," Buffett said in the HBO documentary "Becoming Warren Buffett." "In that speech, he talked about 'truth forever on the scaffold, long forever on the throne, but that scaffold sways the future.' Well, he was going to be dead in six months, but that scaffold did sway the future," Buffett added. In that portion of the speech, King quoted 19th-century American poet James Russell Lowell's poem "The Present Crisis," which suggests that truth and righteousness always prevail. In their 30s, Buffett and Susie were supporters of Omaha's nonviolent activists in the midst of the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s. Buffett attended local events around the city with Susie. As Time magazine reported in 2012, Buffett's interest in King and the civil rights movement "was the first time there had been space in Warren's life for anything outside of moneymaking and it was Susie's doing." "When the children were growing up, I was very involved in civil rights. I was immersed in it and I think that's what made Warren a democrat. He would go with me to hear speakers," Susie said in "Becoming Warren Buffett." Although Buffett grew up with a Republican congressman for a father and even served as the University of Pennsylvania's Young Republicans Club president, Susie helped shift his perspective. That was one of the most inspiring speeches I've ever heard. Took me right out of my seat. Warren Buffett CEO of Berkshire Hathway One of Buffett's best friends Carol Loomis, a renowned financial reporter, also said in "Becoming Warren Buffett" that "Susie led Warren toward changing his political views," adding that "she was the catalyst." "He believed the way she (Susan) believed in social justice and civil rights," Buffett's daughter Susie Buffett told USA Today. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, with wife Susan and daughter Susan at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in 1997. Mark Peterson | Getty Images In the midst of what Schroeder said was the "greatest wave of riots, lootings and burnings since the Civil War," Susie worked with local organizations and friends to aid the fight for equality. For example, she pressured the YMCA and the boards of other organizations to equally distribute among their branches in poorer areas. She helped send black kids to summer camp through the United Methodist Community Center, which was run by an African-American friend of hers and set up an interracial dialogue group for high school students in the area. She also reportedly helped numerous black community members buy houses in white neighborhoods. "My wife was more active than I was, but I was 100 percent with her mentally, I was just working a little more on my own investments," Buffett said in "Becoming Warren Buffett." Buffett and Susie attended the Grinnell convocation by invitation of Joe Rosenfield, an alumnus of the private school who developed a special relationship with the Buffetts. While Rosenfield sought to grow the college's endowment fund, he became friends with the couple after sitting together and learning more about each other's shared political views and interests. There, another part of King's speech resonated with Buffett, according to Schroeder. "It may be true that the law cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless," King said. The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form Late one Friday when no one was looking, Apple quietly updated the business support section of its website, Apple at Work. The move wasnt widely advertised, but it reflects the growing importance the company places in the enterprise markets. The times they have a-changed It wasnt long ago that saying Apple products have a place in enterprise IT would open you to acres of ridicule. Thats not the case today, as Apple becomes an essential item in every enterprise tool kit. IBM calls Apple pervasive in the enterprise," while Jamf CEO Dean Hager notes that his own internal company research suggests 75% of enterprise users would choose a Mac for their next computer if given the choice. Apple recognizes its growing stature in enterprise markets. It drips out more information about its achievements in this space each time it releases financial results. The newly-updated Apple at Work site provides new chunks of data, interesting videos, fresh insights from business leaders and a great deal of help and advice designed to help enterprise users apply these technologies across their industries. When you give people the intuitive devices that they know and love, tools to create new experiences and reach consumers in new ways, thats where you start to see great things happen." Frank LaPrade, Chief Enterprise Services Officer, Capital One. The case studies should be of particular interest to CIOs looking to expand the use of Apples solutions in their business. Apple isnt just about white-collar jobs. iPhones and iPads are also seeing rapid adoption at manufacturing companies seeking to build Apple into their Industry 4.0 stack. Its really about empowering the operators on the factory floor, connecting them even more with their factory line manager in a more efficient way, creating new ways of communication, explained Christoffer Malm, Head of Connectivity Room, SKF, one of the worlds biggest manufacturers of bearings. [ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ] Partnership people Apple has spent years building up a supporting ecosystem for its business pitch, including forging critical alliances with some of the biggest names in enterprise IT, from IBM to Cisco, Deloitte to GE, SAP, Accenture and others. (Deloitte now has more than 100,000 iOS devices deployed across its business). These relationships mean the worlds biggest enterprises now have a way to integrate Cupertinos computers and mobile devices into their business. This is driving new acceptance for Apples iPhone X Computerworld calls it the best phone for business." Apples Mac sales continue to see growth in excess of industry average rates, a reflection of just how closely aligned the companys hardware, software and technologies have become with the needs of 21st Century digital business. Connected collaboration Todays workforces are connected. This connectivity isnt confined to people; it extends all the way from mobile enabled shipping to IoT managed industrial equipment. The evolution of new workspaces is all about cloud-based service and application provision, switched-on intelligent security protection that monitors network behaviour for threat, and beyond. Were already looking at the complete automation of the logistics chain, from semi-autonomous ships to the robots that unload them, for example. To help empower employees as iOS and Mac solutions are deployed across the enterprise, Apple on Jan. 11 published updated versions of its free guides. You can get them from iBooks: With partnerships and an existing enterprise user base, the stage seems set for further expansion in Apple's bid to become an essential enterprise tech provider. Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and get involved with the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple? Got a story? Please drop me a line via Twitter and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me there so I can let you know about new articles I publish and reports I find. Lord Porter is Chairman of the Local Government Association. As we start a new year, and with the negotiations surrounding the UKs departure from the EU having progressed to the second phase, now is an appropriate time to reflect on the opportunities that lie ahead for local government as we prepare for Brexit. Above all, Brexit should provide an opportunity for the Government to build on the ambitious programme of devolution of powers to local communities that it has overseen over the past seven years. Put simply, I am clear that Brexit should not simply mean a transfer of powers from Brussels to Westminster, Holyrood, Stormont, and Cardiff Bay. Rather, it must lead to new legislative freedoms and flexibilities for all councils across the country. Within this context, and whilst also acknowledging that Brexit also poses challenges for local government, I would like to highlight a couple of areas where it offers exciting opportunities. Firstly, there is the issue of structural funding. Following the referendum, the Prime Minister pledged to create a UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to replace the money that local areas currently receive from the EU. Having welcomed this, council leaders are now keen to work with the Government on the details of how this scheme will be administered. In particular, we see this as a real opportunity to introduce a new, more localised model, rather than create a like-for-like replacement of current EU funding programmes which are often held up in bureaucracy and delay. Put simply, Brexit provides an opportunity to give local areas a greater say over how to target a new and simplified regional aid fund at local projects for the benefit of local people. Secondly, there is the issue of how EU legislation impacts on local government. The raw figures are that there are over 12,000 EU Regulations currently in force in the UK, as well as 7,900 UK statutory instruments implementing EU Directives. An obvious example of where EU-origin laws might be made better through amendment is public procurement. Currently councils have to follow EU-wide advertising and award procedures when they buy goods and services. Not only does this process often sit uneasily with our aim of supporting the local economy, it can also take between three and 18 months, which is twice as long as typical private sector procurement. Post-Brexit, a lighter-touch system which simplifies this process, and provides more flexibility to promote local growth and local employment, is vital so that councils can procure to shorter timescales and lower administration costs for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. In terms of current legislation, the LGA has also identified a number of areas where we can secure quick wins following Brexit. For example, a long running court case relating to licence fees payable by sex shops under the EU Services Directive has created uncertainty about the extent to which councils can charge for the cost of enforcement activity within their licensing fees. Brexit will give us the opportunity to reaffirm a recent UK Supreme Court ruling and clarify in domestic law the UKs traditionally accepted approach that licensees should meet the cost of licensing frameworks, including enforcement. Whatever your views on Brexit, the government is clear that it is happening. For local government it means that there will be a number of opportunities to provide services in a more efficient way to benefit all of our residents. I am determined that we seize these opportunities. Catherine Anderson: Our Party should adopt candidate gender quotas, whether the Colonel Blimps like it or not Catherine Anderson is a Conservative activist, a member of Women2Win, and is on the approved parliamentary candidates list. She has been Chief of Staff to Rory Stewart MP since 2010, is a published author, and runs The Angus McDonald Trust, a welfare charity in the slums of Yangon in Burma. Theresa May has done her best to distance herself from her predecessor. But at least they can agree on one thing: the Conservative Party needs more women, not only in ministerial and Cabinet roles, but in Parliament, full stop. In his leadership election speech of 2005, David Cameron could not have been more explicit: Nine out of ten Conservative MPs are, like me, white men. We need to change the scandalous under-representation of women in the Conservative party. The Tories had a dismal track record at returning women MPs, and he wanted to improve that. On his watch the Candidates Committee recruited and selected a Priority List of 100 people deemed selectable, at least half of whom were women. But the sorry fact is that this so-called A-List failed before it had a chance to prove itself. Inevitably, the idea was about as popular with grassroots members as his same-sex marriage policy it was political-correctness-gone-mad. The reaction to last weeks reshuffle, with its attempts to re-design a government to reflect the countrys demographics, has not been dissimilar. It must have been a tough gig for the Prime Minister to overcome those (that same grassroots membership) who denounce such actions as positive discrimination while, with the best of intentions, endeavouring simply to do what is right and long overdue. Because in 2018, there are still fewer women in this Government than there were in Gordons Browns a decade ago. Looking back, Camerons good intentions fell apart overwhelmingly because of a lack of political will and in spite of an increasingly disappointing performance compared to Labour, who for two decades have deployed voluntary gender quotas in the form of all-women shortlists in Westminster elections. The figures speak for themselves. In 2015 we ran only 26 per cent female candidates, and were less likely to field women in winnable seats. Sure, in 2010 we doubled the number of women MPs, but the percentage of female Tory MPs was still just 16 per cent. In 2017 we grew that percentage to 21 per cent. Like a rotten tooth, this painful fact can be traced all the way back to the root of political careers: candidacy. Political parties are gatekeepers to our candidates. Isnt it anti-democratic not to instil straightforward 50/50 quotas at the candidate selection stage of the process? Its wrong that the eligibility pool should be so prematurely skewed. The recent Party Members Projects recent Grassroots study by Queen Mary University of London reveals that attitudes are not changing fast enough; in fact, theyre hardly changing at all. When asked what sort of people Party members want to see more of in the Commons, the Tories lag embarrassingly behind every other party when it comes to choosing women. Part of the problem is that we continually cite the examples of two female Prime Ministers as testament to the Partys success in attracting, recruiting, retaining, and growing the number of female parliamentarians. Potent examples of female leadership though they are, the fact of our electing two female leaders came about not through desire, but by accident. Far from being the rule, they are the notable exceptions. Margaret Thatcher was the underdog when, in 1975, she snatched the prize from Ted Heath. Theresa May slipped in via a series of incredible, Brexit-triggered, domino-effect happenings, as each of her rivals either knocked themselves out, or fell like flies. But for as long as we peddle the fallacy that two female Prime Ministers are proof apparent that we are the party of female representation, the status quo will persist. Its a lazy trap to fall into. It gives those opposed to equality of representation the ammunition they need to defend reactionary views. Combine it with the profligate use of that word so beloved of Tories meritocracy and we have a toxic blend of attitudes that help pickle any progress whatsoever. Conservatives believe instinctively in the principle of merit. I love the idea of meritocracy, but its become one of those sticking-plaster words or phrases whose meaning is believed to be so flawless and immune to criticism like world peace or diversity that it must be inherently right. Yet the idea that we all live in a meritocracy is a myth. The common retort to discussions about quotas is normally in the form of a complaint that we are giving jobs to people who dont deserve them. Its tokenist waffle, easy to dispense in the face of the Great Meritocracy, which also ignores the fact that there are plenty of ineffectual and undeserving men having a hand in running the show. The real proof of the myth is that abysmal 21 per cent figure of representation. And if we truly lived in a meritocracy, I wouldnt need to be writing this article. Our country deserves brilliant men and women in government. Until we match or better Labours performance in this field, we will continue to be vulnerable to attacks based on our suitability to govern, and certainly to evangelise about fairness. Women will only put themselves forward for public office when it becomes the norm; and it will only become the norm when we increase manually, if necessary, and in order to expedite a process that would normally take generations the number of women holding these positions. Synthesising new norms is how we create new orthodoxies. It was Maggie who was a famous proponent of deeds not words. Lets do the deed unpleasant though it may be for some Colonel Blimps in the short-term and the words will follow. Its time to introduce female quotas in the Conservative Party. Sunder Katwala is the Director of British Future, which is co-ordinating the National Conversation on Immigration The New Year reshuffle brought in a new Immigration Minister, indeed the third in three years. Brandon Lewiss reward for getting to grips with the role quickly in his six-month stint was a fast-track elevation to chair the Party. Amber Rudd will hope to keep his successor, Caroline Nokes, the Southampton North and Romsey MP, for rather longer. 2018 should be the year when our future choices about immigration return to centre-stage of the post-Brexit debate. The new ministerial red boxes must already be full to overflowing. An immigration white paper, due last autumn, is imminent. An immigration bill will follow to give the Government powers to make post-Brexit rules, even if it is some way from pinning down what those will be. The Home Office is also preparing to take on the biggest administrative task in its modern history, devising a new fit for purpose system able to secure the status of three million EU nationals in Britain, as well as devising a new registration system for those who arrive under the transition rules. While there are lots of short-term pressures to deal with the practicalities of leaving, and how the transition phase can make that work, the biggest question is what future system we choose. That debate will enter a crucial phase this autumn, after the Home Secretary receives the Migration Advisory Committees major report into the economic impacts of different options and how employers might respond to them. She is then expected to set out the Governments proposals. But the immigration debate cannot just be about what employers want. We would not be starting from here, after the majority Leave vote in the EU referendum, if it was. The Government will want to work out how to come up with a plan that meets the needs of the economy and public services while also securing the political and public confidence in immigration that has been missing over the last decade. Weighing up the economic evidence will not get there without engaging the public in the choices that we make too. Helpfully, the very first immigration report to land in the ministerial in-tray asks exactly that. The Home Affairs Committees report on the principles for building consensus on immigration makes its conclusions and recommendations based on the largest-ever exercise in public consultation, the National Conversation on Immigration, which is visiting 60 towns and cities across every nation and region of the UK. Political polarisation often appears to be the theme of the age and immigration is often thought of as the most polarising of issues. But not everybody is a polariser: the National Conversation finds that most people are balancers. Social media debates about immigration might often be dominated by those who are entirely pro or anti but most people are somewhere in between. There is scepticism about the scale of immigration, combined with a recognition that it makes a contribution to the economy and the NHS staffing, while also bringing pressures on public services and housing where these havent kept pace with the changes. Most people think Britain should protect refugees fleeing war but arent sure how well the system works, or that we are doing enough to help integrate those who are granted refugee protection in the UK. The public clearly see different flows of immigration differently. There is widespread support for treating international students as a separate issue, but the bigger challenge is how to get a simple and clear system of targets that do differentiate between skilled immigration, where there is broad public permission, and the more contested flows of lower- and semi-skilled migration. The Home Affairs Committee recommends that controls focus on lower- and semi-skilled migration, and that domestic skills planning and immigration policy are more closely linked. It leaves the biggest question what this framework would mean for EU migration after free movement to a later report. There is the potential for consensus on immigration. Perhaps the biggest barrier is the lack of public confidence and trust in governments ability to manage immigration. Part of that is about showing that the Government is competent by having clear rules and applying them fairly and competently. It is also crucial to increase the publics own voice. Participants in the National Conversation local citizens panels felt that the debate was welcome but long overdue. So the Home Affairs Committee recommends institutionalising that process of public engagement, linked to a major political focal point an annual immigration report to Parliament. This could become as visible a moment in the political calendar as the Chancellors budget, providing a much more visible link between public voice and democratic accountability to the House of Commons. The referendum should not be the end of public voice in the choices ahead but the start of a process where the public also grapples with the questions and trade-offs that the Home Secretary and her new Immigration Minister now faces. Nicky Morgan is Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, a former Education Secretary, and MP for Loughborough. Ive mentioned Lord Ashcrofts analysis of the Conservative Partys 2017 election performance in my columns before. It is unquestionably true, as he demonstrates in The Lost Majority, that what the Party wanted to talk about in the 2017 election was not what the voters wanted to talk about. For me, one of his most interesting charts maps which issues are seen as a priority for the country as a whole, me and my family, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. The NHS and Social Care are firmly in the more of a priority for Labour and more of a priority for me and my family side of the chart. The challenge for the Conservatives is to show the necessary leadership, innovation and political nous to move both those into being a priority for the Party, and do the right things on them to benefit voters and their families. We are told by Labour and others that the NHS is in crisis. Unfortunately for Labour politicians, their insight stops there except to say the solution is more money and resources. This may well have something in it, although an organisation that employs 1.3 million people, and for which the Department of Healths budget has been consistently protected since 2010 (and continues to rise), cannot carry on simply ask for more money as the solution to all its problems. From 2015, the Government continued to increase investment in the NHS: from 101 billion in 2015 to 120 billion by 2020. And it doesnt help matters when Jeremy Corbyn uses false information about such aspects as mental health spending, as he did at Prime Ministers Questions last week. Rightly the Conservatives, led by the Prime Minister and backed up by a rapidly improving CCHQ social media operation, called him out on this. One of Lord Ashcrofts other charts shows that although the Conservatives rank behind Labour on a whole host of statements, we are ahead on being willing to take tough decisions for the long term. Ministers have to show they can apply this statement to future decisions on the NHS and social care. It was already clear to me from my constituency casework and postbag early last year that social care was the next big political challenge to be confronted. What was missing before and during the general election campaign was any attempt to explain to people how the current system works. It came as a surprise to many people that they might have to put at risk all their savings and assets in order to get care, and that there were different rules and thresholds for care at home and residential care. In March last year, I organised a later life event in Loughborough to encourage residents to talk to doctors, lawyers, care home providers, social care organisations and relevant charities, such as Age UK, about decisions they might have to make for themselves and their loved ones. We know that the current NHS problems are exacerbated by winter and flu as well, as by an ageing population. We know that too many people still call for ambulances when they should access the NHS through other services, and we know that too many people find getting a GP appointment takes too long (or believe that to be the case: I have a variety of experiences from local GPs reported to me from the fantastically fast to the appallingly slow). We also know that too many people leave social care decisions and discussions until it is too late; we that the NHS can be slow to adapt to new innovations and drugs, and that decisions we make about our lifestyles dont always make us healthier. There are already plans underway to get the two systems to work better together. But when the discussions break down into arguments about money and threats to take money away, then that isnt conducive to long-term better working. Some of my colleagues who arent Ministers, such as Nick Boles and George Freeman, are coming up with ideas to tackle the NHS and social care challenges. Sarah Wollaston as Chair of the Commons Health Select Committee is leading calls for a cross-party commission and consensus. I hope that Downing Street and the Department of Health listen to them and engage with them. All have valuable contributions to make. But there will be others, including those working in the NHS and social care systems who have much to say, too. Is there a national collection of their ideas on how to reduce waste, improve the way things are done and improve morale? Does Jeremy Hunts new job title herald a move to having one team in Whitehall working on both NHS and social care even if that means some departmental reorganisation. I hope so. Finally, what are the plans for engaging the public with what needs to change; what conversations about their health and future needs should we be starting now? What exchanges are being had with different organisations, such as our housebuilders, on the need for new retirement homes and complexes which can look after people as they age? Not talking about the NHS and social care is not an option for the Government. In any event, the Prime Minister clearly feels very strongly about issues such as mental health, which is good news. Not talking about them until we have a summer Green Paper is also too late. Reports over the weekend say the Prime Minister is due to give another speech on Brexit in February. I hope plans are also underway for her to give a series of speeches on how the Conservatives plan to take the necessary long-term decisions on health and social care. We wish the new Party Chairman well. But if you want to know what hes up against, just follow the money. The Conservative Partys money is essentially at the leaders disposal. In recent years, it has increasingly been focused on target seats. In the short-term, this is vital: majorities cant be won unless marginals are, too. In the longer-term, it brings problems. A target seat today may not be one tomorrow. What happens to developing Tory support in all the other constituencies? To building up Conservative support among ethnic minority members? Among students? In business? Among academics? In civil society more widely charities, campaign groups, trade unions? What about working for the third party endorsements that so helped Labour last summer? Above all, what about membership? It isnt the be-all and end-all: there are ways of mobilising non-members for elections, as the succcess of Team 2015 showed. But it would be perverse to argue that a party can thrive with a membership in freefall. This sites best estimate is that Party membership, while not as low as the 70,000 that is now being reported, has fallen to under three figures. Labour has over 500,000. This is the essence of the problem that confronts the genial Brandon Lewis, the new Party Chairman, and his no less genial deputy, James Cleverly. Both were appointed alongside no fewer than nine new Vice-Chairmen, who join the four that were already on place. Their responsibilities cover candidates, youth, women, communities, business, local government, training and policy. We read that they will be paid. Will they be resourced? For without a budget and staff, they cannot work effectively. Eric Pickles called for a ten year outreach programme to ethnic minority voters in his recent review. Our own Mark Wallace has set out a ten point programme, in the wake of his comprehensive exploration of why the Partys election machine failed last summer, which included urging the hire of permanent campaign managers and a new outreach programme for those third party groups. None of this will happen if the money isnt there. Chris Skidmore is the new Vice-Chairman with responsibility for policy. Will he be given the freedom to take a revived Policy Board in-house, working with the 1922 Committee and the Conservative Policy Forum? What about a new Policy Commission, as George Freeman has suggested, taking evidence from people who arent Party members at all, and starring some of the bright new members of the 2015 and 2017 intakes who werent promoted last week? How about a revived, updated Swinton College? Very little of this programme can be achieved without financial commitment. The only viable solution is to elect the Chairman of the Board, one of this sites four proposals for Party reform, together with more of the Boards members, as urged by Robert Halfon. Only then would it have the independence required to negotiate with the Party leadership about the distribution of resources. Until then, the logic of the relationship between the leader, CCHQ and money suggests the same old, same old. It follows from all the above that being genial will not be enough. Lewis could do worse than look backwards in order to move forwards to the achievement of the Partys most effective post-war Conservative Chairman, Lord Woolton. Woolton overhauled and galvanised the Conservative machine in the wake of Churchills crushing defeat in 1945. His reforms set the scene for a decade, the 1950s, during which Tory government became the norm. The new Party Chairman needs to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor. Which means pressing internally for structural reform. In its absence, he must fight for resources for the long-term, for the programme implied by the Pickles Review, and for his new team of Vice-Chairmen. (Will they meet as a collective?) The media narrative about CCHQ is currently a story of a symptom, not a cause: the Partys inferior though improving social media game. He could do a lot worse than search out the scattered members of the Vote Leave team, and try to recruit some of those with digital expertise. Lewis has made a solid start in his first interviews. He is shrewd enough to grasp that the policy of not declaring membership numbers is unsustainable, and hinted over the weekend that he will follow in the footsteps of Grant Shapps, who wisely made them public during his term as Party Chairman. It is within his scope to free up Party Conference more, so that real debate no longer takes place only on the fringe. With Kemi Badenoch, he also has an opportunity to prise open the secretive world of Tory candidate selection. But there is only so much he can do against the background of a Government with no majority and resources that he doesnt control. CORNWALL, Ontario What more could anyone wish for on their birthday, family, friends, good food and a great cause. This year, Caydence Andre turned 11 years old on Jan. 13, 2018 and wanted to celebrate in a special way by raising funds for MS. MS or Multiple Sclerosis is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system which causes symptoms like weakness, pain, depression, and fatigue. With the help of several volunteers, Caydence and her mother Rachelle had a number of activities prepared like a bake sale, Zumba dancing and pizza all located under the community hall in the Trinity Anglican Church. The purpose, to celebrate a birthday in a way that gives back to the community. Some of our friends had ALS and so we did the fundraiser last year. After we finished we found out some of the volunteers had MS so we decided to raise funds again this year, explained Caydence Andre. Last year during her birthday Caydence and her family raised $1,252.52 for ALS and Caydence already has plans for her 12th birthday. I thought, maybe we could do some bowling or something, but she was like no I want another party like this, said Rachelle Andre, Caydences mom and organizer of the event. Rachelle Andre had pizza and crafts prepared for the bake sale and began raising funds at 2 pm that afternoon. This is too fun! said Caydence. With a birthday like this it is hard not to be noticed with special guests like Slapshot, Sparky the fire dog, the Seeker Chicks, and Shannon and Erica from the Couch. I was excited at home as soon as I woke up I got my mom out of bed! I stayed up until midnight yesterday just to say I was 11 years old, exclaimed Caydence. The 12th China Cruise Shipping Conference and International Expo was held in the ever-green Sanya in early November, bringing together cruise lines, Chinese government officials, ports and suppliers. The event was organized by the China Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (CCYIA). For the government and its various ministries, along with state-backed companies, the message was about their efforts to raise efficiency and standards, followed by building ships and a supply chain. For the industry, meanwhile, it was a balancing act of ongoing pricing and operational challenges weighed against a potentially bright future. Ambassador Role The governments higher vision for the local cruise industry is as an ambassador to raise Chinas image around the world. We want to present a reliable and visually impactful image of Chinas intelligence and ability to create new products to the world; that we aim not to be a superpower, but rather a strong power that comes in peace and the spirit of collaboration. said Jiacheng Cai, vice director of the National Tourism Administration. China has successfully built aircraft carriers, but military ships display an image of confidence, not necessarily peace, he said. Cruise ships can be built in China and can carry Chinese passengers to every corner of the world. That will symbolize China's growing strength and aspiration for peace. It will send a reassuring message to our friends around the world." Happy People A clear directive from the 19th Communist Party Congress is to increase the happiness index of the Chinese population. Marine tourism is now seen as a key platform to execute this mission. China has become a key driver of growth in the cruise industry globally. This will be a new window to demonstrate Chinas image to the world, said Wenming Wuchairman of CCYIA and the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC). The various supporting infrastructure in ports and manufacturing as well as financing and insurance are not in place, he said. We need to strengthen our collaboration with international companies in these areas. 10 Million In China, we believe the next decade will witness explosive growth, going from 2 million to 10 million cruise passengers by 2026. Some argue that this is conservative, said Qiang Wu, chairman of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). Wu said China, which is the worlds largest shipbuilder, sees the ability to build cruise ships as the jewel on its shipbuilding crown. We will focus on the domestic need for new ships, he said. We are focusing on the Asia-Pacific market. We pose no threat to our counterparts in Europe. While the existing joint venture with Carnival Corporation has ship deliveries projected in 2023 and 2024, respectively, it also includes four options. There is the potential for the first ship to be delivered earlier, in 2022, to coincide with the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party, Wu said. Excerpt from Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine: Winter 2017/2018 Balcony furniture along with the majority of poolside furniture facing the elements on the MSC Seaside were provided by Shores Global, which has made a name for itself providing long-lasting outdoor items to the cruise industry. Andreas Krenzen, general manager of Europe, said that the company has been able to extend the lifecycle of some products from four to eight years despite the constant presence of wind, elements and the worst of all: salt air. The firm, which has offices in Denmark and Miami, offers consulting on fabrics and material selection, and can also manage the entire production process. Some 3,000 pieces of furniture were made for the Seaside in just two months, arriving at Fincantieri in late October. Every time someone gets off a chair on a ship, someone new comes and sits on it; wear and tear is extremely important, said Krenzen. We can advise on how to improve the product, and specify alternative materials with a lower cost, to give the same look and ambiance while lasting twice as long." Krenzen recalled one of the companys first cruise projects. We made a special design, and then saw what the salt air and wear and tear did. We wanted to figure out how to make something suited for the cruise industry. Its taken time and research, and a lot of testing, he said. That company has gone as far as working with the research team at Meyer Turku to analyze steel choices, Krenzen said. Even wicker balcony furniture has been put under the microscope, with better quality wicker materials and less PVC leading to a longer life-cycle. Krenzen has also supplied interior pieces ranging from cushion replacements to all the casino seating on the new Majestic Princess. The firm is also well known for its furniture across the Carnival Cruise Line fleet in the adults-only Serenity areas. Working closely with cruise lines and their outside designers, Shores Global has become known for its design trips. Leading interior design firms met in Milan last year and were treated to a tour of fabric mills and key factories in Italy and then Scandinavia. We do in-depth factory tours. The architects and designers can see all the steps their products go through, and can have the material in their hands, Krenzen said. We can share knowledge and ultimately secure better projects for the cruise ships. Additional trips have taken place in China, where Shores has a number of high-quality factories and a tight grip on quality control standards. We are planning a trip for all the large lines and architects to focus on quality. We did it with MSC, taking them to see our Chinese factory; we will gladly pass on our Chinese experience. Irans Cyber Capabilities The recent protests in Iran and the regimes attempts to block them shed light also on Tehrans cyber capabilities. Offensive cyber operations have become a core tool of Iranian statecraft, providing Tehran less risky opportunities to gather information and retaliate against perceived enemies at home and abroad. Cyber Incidents involving Iran have been among the most sophisticated, costly, and consequential attacks. Tehran has been among the leading targets of uniquely invasive and destructive cyber operations by the United States and its allies. At the same time, Tehran has become increasingly adept at conducting cyber espionage and disruptive attacks against opponents at home and abroad, ranging from Iranian civil society organizations to governmental and commercial institutions in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. A new report by The Carnegie Endowment evaluates Irans Cyber threat environment. Just as Iran uses proxies to project its regional power, Tehran often masks its cyber operations using proxies to maintain plausible deniability. Yet such operations can frequently be linked to the countrys security apparatus, namely the Ministry of Intelligence and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Irans cyber capabilities appear to be indigenously developed, arising from local universities and hacking communities. This ecosystem is unique, involving diverse state-aligned operators with differing capabilities and affiliations. Though Iran is generally perceived as a third-tier cyber power, lacking the capabilities of China, Russia, and the United States, it has effectively exploited the lack of preparedness of targets inside and outside Iran. The same Iranian actors responsible for espionage against the private sector also conduct surveillance of human rights defenders. These attacks on Iranian civil society often foreshadow the tactics and tools that will be employed against other targets and better describe the risks posed by Iranian cyber-warfare. While Iran does not have a public strategic policy with respect to cyberspace, its history demonstrates a rationale for when and why it will engage in attacks. Iran uses its capabilities in response to domestic and international events. As conflict between Tehran and Washington subsided after the 2015 nuclear deal, so too did the cycle of disruptive attacks. However, Irans decision making process is obscured and its cyber capabilities are not controlled by the presidency, as evident in cases of intragovernmental hacking. The report claims that the United States is reliant on an inadequately guarded cyberspace and should anticipate that future conflicts, online or offline, could trigger cyber-attacks on US infrastructure. The first priority should be to extend efforts to protect infrastructure and the public, including increased collaboration with regional partners and nongovernmental organisations targeted by Iran. I-HLS: You Might Also Read: Irans Cyberwar Could Infiltrate Your Mailbox: Iran Responsible For Cyber Attack On British Parliament: Iran Turns Off The Internet: Iran Cyber Attacks on Saudi Arabia: For Subscribers What we learned: Doug Paul works magic, Windber's 2nd romp, Township shows 'D', Meyersdale improves Here's a look at four things we learned in Week 2 of the high school football season; conference contenders and pretenders and standout performances. First to be on the chopping block was Parliament. Then came the media. With two pillars of democracy having fallen, the judiciary, presumably the most independent of all, was naturally in line to come under pressure. The judiciary, from the lower to the higher, is already overburdened with a huge backlog of cases. Now, its functional independence is being compromised resulting in delay and denial of justice to the common people. As an institution, the judiciary, along with some sections of the media, provides a ray of hope in these depressing times of compromised and emasculated democratic institutions. Common people still look up to it for justice. But if the government wants to have its unfettered way, an independent judiciary can prove to be the biggest stumbling block. There has to be a way to get through the impediment. The unprecedented press conference held by the four senior judges of the Supreme Court was symptomatic of not only the existing tension within the court but also between the judiciary and the government. The government is ostensibly maintaining a stance of non-interference in the independent functioning of the judiciary. The government has also refrained from propounding any theory or slogan such as the need for a "committed" judiciary, which was raised during Indira Gandhi's time. However, this government uses more subtle and pernicious ways in trying to achieve its objectives. It has perfected the art of undermining democratic institutions quietly. Parliament Think of the first estate. Recall Narendra Modi's entry to Parliament after his historic 2014 victory. He bowed and placed his head on the steps of the House in reverence. He gave an impression as though he had left Gujarat behind to begin a new chapter and that he would respect the established norms and traditions; and that his new innings would be defined by parliamentary consensus, rather than confrontation. Recall his first speech in the Lok Sabha in reply to the President's address to the joint session of Parliament. It was placatory. He declared that he would be guided by the principles laid down by "three great men" - Mahatma Gandhi, Ram Manohar Lohiya and Deen Dayal Upadhaya. But by omitting Jawaharlal Nehru from the speech, he hinted at the things to come. Within a few months of the government coming to power, the so-called fringe leaders hijacked the discourse. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti's "Haramzadon" versus "Ramzadon" remark during Delhi elections made the BJP's intent clear. Ghar wapsi campaigns also began in full swing in the first year. Writer Govind Pansare was killed and then MK Kalburgi suffered the same fate a few months later. What was Modi's response? Silence. But what's the connection of all these events with undermining of Parliament? There is. Opposition members wanted the prime minister to speak and assure the nation that the government would act against hardline Hindutva elements, who are out to rip apart the social fabric of the country. They demanded that Modi condemn the killings of writers and rein in the "ghar wapsi" zealots. Modi's initial silence over the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, his refusal to condemn the incident and his long silence over the death of Rohith Vemula further convinced the Opposition that he was not keen on building an atmosphere of goodwill. In the second year, Modi discarded all pretensions and entered the phase of ugly confrontations with the Opposition. Even more serious undermining of Parliament is illustrated by systematic bypassing of the standing committees. The rot began earlier but during Modi's rule the committee system seems to have been virtually guillotined. Nearly 71 per cent of the bills were sent to the standing committees during the 15th Lok Sabha (UPA 2). In three and half years of Modi, barely 27 per cent have been referred to the standing committees for legislative scrutiny. That's an appalling decline. The government's refusal to concede the Opposition demand for sending the Triple Talaq Bill to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha is the latest example. The government could ramrod the bill through the Lok Sabha but didn't yield to the Opposition demand in the Rajya Sabha even as the bill couldn't be passed in the winter session. Media As for the fourth estate, the media is pariah as far as Modi is concerned. He has set a record of not holding a single press conference. Yet, he is assured of virtually complete mainstream media support. Why is he worried in meeting the press if the media stands behind him? Who will ask Modi a hostile question if Modi were to meet the press? The national media in any case has no reputation for asking uncomfortable questions during prime ministers' press conferences. There are reasons why he has kept the press at arm's length. One is the contempt for an independent and critical press. The other is his confidence that industry-press ownership nexus in any case ensures a pliant and favourable media. Judiciary The government tried to influence the appointment and transfer of judges through the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) but failed. A five-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court struck down the NJAC by a majority of 4:1 in 2015. Incidentally, justice Jasti Chelameswar happened to be the dissenting judge on the bench. That all is not well between the judiciary and the government has come out in the open on many occasions. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, himself a prominent lawyer, said in the Rajya Sabha on May 11, 2016: "The manner in which encroachment of legislative and executive authority by India's judiciary is taking place, probably financial power and budget making is the last power that you have left." He was speaking in response to demand raised by Congress' for a dispute redressal mechanism on GST related issues arising between the Centre and the states. Claiming that the judiciary has been encroaching on the domain of legislature and executive, he said, "Step by step, brick by brick, the edifice of India's legislature is being destroyed." On April 6, 2015, Modi also spoke about judiciary in an accusatory tone. Addressing a joint conference of chief ministers and chief justices, he said the courts needed to be cautious against "perception-driven verdicts", which are often driven by five-star activists." The prime minister also contradicted the CJI who had expressed disappointment over the problem of pending cases due to a lack of appointment of judges. Modi said the courts took years to interpret "poorly drafted laws" that was a major reason for pendency of cases. It's obvious the matter of appointment of judges has been a major cause of concern between the government and the judiciary. The government has been trying to chip away the powers of the judiciary in the appointment of judges. The judiciary is the last bastion tasked with keeping democracy alive and in good health. Democracy will fail, as the four judges emphasised, if judiciary fails to stand up to the political executive. That's where a totalitarian state begins. Also read: Orange passports for underprivileged Indians is plain discriminatory The Boeing Co. is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space and Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital. The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide. 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Scherer Corporation, RGH Enterprises Inc., RainTree GPO LLC, RainTree Oncology Services, Renal Purchasing Group LLC, Rxealtime Inc., Sonexus Health LLC, Syncor International, TelePharm, TelePharm LLC, The Harvard Drug Group, The Harvard Drug Group L.L.C., Tradex International Inc., Viasys Healthcare, WaveMark Inc., Zuellig Pharma China, mscripts, mscripts LLC, and mscripts Systems India Private Limited. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a financial holding company. It provides financial and investment banking services. The firm offers a range of investment banking products and services in all capital markets, including advising on corporate strategy and structure, capital raising in equity and debt markets, risk management, market making in cash securities and derivative instruments, and brokerage and research. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Community Banking, Corporate and Investment Bank, Commercial Banking, and Asset and Wealth Management. The Consumer and Community Banking segment serves consumers and businesses through personal service at bank branches and through automated teller machine, online, mobile, and telephone banking. The Corporate and Investment Bank segment offers a suite of investment banking, market-making, prime brokerage, and treasury and securities products and services to a global client base of corporations, investors, financial institutions, government and municipal entities. The Commercial Banking segment delivers services to U.S. and its multinational clients, including corporations, municipalities, financial institutions, and non profit Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. 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Ltd., Perkins Small Engines LLC, Perkins Small Engines Limited, Perkins Technology Inc., Progress Metal Reclamation Company, Progress Rail Arabia Limited Company, Progress Rail Australia Pty Ltd, Progress Rail Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Equipamentos e Servicos Ferroviarios do Brasil Ltda., Progress Rail Equipment Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Holdings Inc., Progress Rail Innovations Private Limited, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems GmbH, Progress Rail Inspection & Information Systems S.r.l., Progress Rail International Corp., Progress Rail Leasing Canada Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing Corporation, Progress Rail Leasing de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Progress Rail Locomotivas (do Brasil) Ltda., Progress Rail Locomotive Canada Co., Progress Rail Locomotive Chile SpA, Progress Rail Locomotive Inc., Progress Rail Maintenance de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Progress Rail Manufacturing Corporation, Progress Rail Raceland Corporation, Progress Rail Rocklin Corporation, Progress Rail SA Proprietary Limited, Progress Rail Services Corporation, Progress Rail Services Holdings Corp., Progress Rail Services LLC, Progress Rail Services UK Limited, Progress Rail Switching Services LLC, Progress Rail Transcanada Corporation, Progress Rail Welding Corporation, Progress Rail Wildwood LLC, Progress Rail de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pyroban Group, Pyroban Group, Pyrrha Investments B.V., Pyrrha Investments Limited, S&L Railroad LLC, SCM Singapore Holdings Pte. Ltd., SPL Software Alliance LLC, Sabre Engines, Servicios de Turbinas Solar S. de R.L. de C.V., Shandong SEM Machinery Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines, Solar Turbines (Beijing) Trading Services Co. Ltd., Solar Turbines (Thailand) Ltd., Solar Turbines CIS Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Canada Ltd./Ltee., Solar Turbines Central Asia Limited Liability Partnership, Solar Turbines EAME s.r.o., Solar Turbines Egypt Limited Liability Company, Solar Turbines Europe S.A., Solar Turbines India Private Limited, Solar Turbines International Company, Solar Turbines Italy S.R.L., Solar Turbines Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Solar Turbines Middle East Limited, Solar Turbines New Zealand Limited, Solar Turbines Saudi Arabia Limited, Solar Turbines Services Company, Solar Turbines Services Nigeria Limited, Solar Turbines Services of Argentina S.R.L., Solar Turbines Switzerland Sagl, Solar Turbines Trinidad & Tobago Limited, Solar Turbines West-Africa SARL, Tangshan DBT Machinery Co. Ltd., Tecnologia Modificada S.A. de C.V., Towmotor Corporation, Traction & Mining Motor Repairs Pty Ltd, Turbinas Solar S.A. de C.V., Turbinas Solar de Colombia S.A., Turbinas Solar de Venezuela C.A., Turbo Tecnologia de Reparaciones S.A. de C.V., Turbomach, Turbomach Endustriyel Gaz Turbinleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited, Turbomach France SARL, Turbomach GmbH, Turbomach Netherlands B.V., Turbomach Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbomach S.A. Unipersonal, Turbomach Sp. Z o.o., Turner Powertrain Systems Limited, UK Hose Assembly Limited, Underground Imaging Technologies Inc, United Industries LLC, VALA Inc., Vasky Energy Ltd., Wealdstone Engineering, Weir - Oil & Gas Division, West Virginia Auto Shredding Inc., Western Gear Machinery LLC, Wetland Sustainability Fund I LLC, Williams Technologies, Yard Club, Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Sales Co. Ltd., and okyo Rental Ltd.. The following companies are subsidiares of Colgate-Palmolive: 887357 Ontario Inc., COLGALIVE S.A., CP GABA GmbH, CP International Holding C.V., CP West East Investment Limited, Cleaning Dimensions Inc., Colgate (BVI) Limited, Colgate (Guangzhou) Company Limited, Colgate (U.K.) Limited, Colgate Business Services of the Americas S.C., Colgate Flavors and Fragrances Inc., Colgate Global Business Services Private Limited, Colgate Holdings, Colgate Inc., Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals Inc., Colgate Palmolive Ghana Limited, Colgate Palmolive Holding S.Com.P.A., Colgate Palmolive Nouvelle Caledonie Sarl, Colgate Palmolive Tanzania Limited, Colgate Sanxiao Company Limited, Colgate Venture Company Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Asia) Pte Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Blantyre) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Brunei) Sdn Bhn, Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc. y Compania Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive (Centro America) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (China) Co. Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Costa Rica) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominica) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominican Republic) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (East Africa) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Eastern) Pte. Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Egypt) S.A.E., Colgate-Palmolive (Far East) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Fiji) Pte Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Gabon) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Guyana) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (H.K.) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Hellas) S.A. I.C., Colgate-Palmolive (Hong Kong) Holding Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Kazakhstan) L.L.P., Colgate-Palmolive (Latvia) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Middle East Exports) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Myanmar) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (New York) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive (Proprietary) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Research & Development) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Romania) SRL, Colgate-Palmolive (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Uganda) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Vietnam) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Zambia) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Zimbabwe) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive A.B., Colgate-Palmolive A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Adria Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Treasury Services Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Belgium S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Bolivia Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Caricom Service Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Central European Management Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Chile S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cia., Colgate-Palmolive Comercial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Commercial (Hellas) SP LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Commerciale S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive Commericale S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive Compania Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive Company Distr. LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Company GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Cote dIvoire S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cyprus Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Development Corp., Colgate-Palmolive East West Africa Region (Pty) Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Enterprises Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Espana S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Europe (Holdings) Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Europe Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Finance (UK) plc, Colgate-Palmolive Global Trading Company, Colgate-Palmolive Holding Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Holding Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Hungary Kft Limited Liability Company, Colgate-Palmolive IHQ Services (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Inc. S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Industrial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Industriel S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive International Holding LLC, Colgate-Palmolive International LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Investment Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (BVI) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (PNG) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Investments Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Israel Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Italia S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive JSC, Colgate-Palmolive Lanka (Private) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Latin America Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Manufacturing (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Marketing Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive Maroc S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Mocambique Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive NJ Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Nederland B.V., Colgate-Palmolive Norge A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Participacoes e Investimentos Imobiliarios Lda., Colgate-Palmolive Peru S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Philippines Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Retirement Trustee Limited, Colgate-Palmolive S.A. de C.V., Colgate-Palmolive S.p.A., Colgate-Palmolive Senegal S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Services (Hellas) LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Services (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Services CEW GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Services S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Slovensko s.r.o., Colgate-Palmolive Support Services, Colgate-Palmolive Temizlik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticart S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Transnational Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Ukraine LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Unipessoal Lda, Colgate-Palmolive de Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive de Puerto Rico Inc., Colgate-Palmolive del Ecuador S.A.I.C., Colgate-Palmolive del Peru (Delaware) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Eeska republika spol. s r.o., Colpal CBS S de R. L. de C. V., Consumer Viewpoint Center Inc., Cotelle S.A., Dimac Development Corp., Dominica Coconut Products Limited, EKIB Inc., ELM Company Limited, Elta MD Holdings Inc., Elta MD Inc., EltaMD, Filorga Americas Inc., Filorga Asia Limited, Filorga Benelux SA, Filorga Cosmetiques Polska, Filorga Middle East DMCC, Filorga Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Filorga RU Limited Liability Company, GABA Europe Holding GmbH, GABA International, GABA International Holding LLC, GABA Schweiz AG, GABA Therwil GmbH, Gamma Development Co. Ltd., Global Trading and Supply LLC, Hamol Ltd., Hello Products, Hello Products LLC, Hills Funding Company, Hills Pet Nutrition (NZ) Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Asia Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Canada Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Denmark ApS, Hills Pet Nutrition Espana S.L., Hills Pet Nutrition GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Holding B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Indiana Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Italia S.r.l., Hills Pet Nutrition Korea Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing s.r.o, Hills Pet Nutrition Norway AS, Hills Pet Nutrition OOO, Hills Pet Nutrition Pty. Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition S.p.A., Hills Pet Nutrition SNC, Hills Pet Nutrition Sales Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition South Africa Proprietary Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition Sweden AB, Hills Pet Nutrition Switzerland GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Taiwan Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition Trading (GZ) Co. Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hills Pet Nutrition de Puerto Rico Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition s.r.o., Hills Pet Products (Benelux) S.A., Hills Pet Products Inc., Hills Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Hills-Colgate (Japan) Ltd., Hopro Liquidating Corp., Hygiene Systemes et Services SA, IES Enterprises Inc., Inmobiliaria Colpal S. de R.L. de C.V., Inmobiliaria Hills S.A. de C.V., Innovacion Creativa S.A. de C.V., Kolynos Corporation, Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Espana S.L.U., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Italia S.R.L., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques S.A., Laser Brand Toothpaste, Lournay Sales Inc., Mennen Company, Mennen Interamerica Ltd., Mennen Limited, Mennen South Africa Ltd., Mennen de Chile Ltd., Mennen de Nicargua S.A., Mission Hills Property Corporation, Mission Hills S.A. de C.V., Norwood International Incorporated, Olive Music Publishing Corporation, PCA SKIN, Paramount Research Inc., Penny LLC, Pet Chemicals Inc., Physicians Care Alliance LLC, Productos Halogenados Copalven C.A., Purity Holding Company, Purity Music Publishing Corporation, Refresh Company Limited, Samuel Taylor Holdings B.V., Sanex, Sanxiao Company Limited, Services Development Co. Ltd., Societe Generale de Negoce et de Services (GENESE) S.A., The GDN - The Global Distributive Network SAS, The Lournay Company Inc., The MPDP - The Medical and Pharmaceutic Distributive Platform SAS, The Murphy-Phoenix Company, Tom's of Maine, Toms of Maine Holdings Inc., Toms of Maine Inc., Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Vipont Pharmaceutical Inc., and XEB Inc.. ConocoPhillips engages in the exploration, production, transportation and marketing of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquefied natural gas on a worldwide basis. It operates through the following geographical segments: Alaska; Lower 48; Canada; Europe, Middle East and North Africa; Asia Pacific; and Other International. The Alaska segment primarily explores for produces, transports and markets crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Lower 48 segment consists of operations in the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. The Canada segment is comprised of oil sands development in the Athabasca Region of northeastern Alberta and a liquids-rich unconventional play in western Canada. The Europe, Middle East and North Africa segment consists of operations and exploration activities in Norway, the United Kingdom and Libya. The Asia Pacific segment has explorations and product operations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. The Other International segment handles exploration activities in Columbia and Argentina. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, TX. Read More Wall Street analysts have given Connemara Mining a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Connemara Mining wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys. View MarketBeat's top stock picks here. The following companies are subsidiares of Cigna: Accredo Health Group, Accredo Health Incorporated, Alegis Care, Allegiance Life & Health Insurance Company, Allegiance Re, American Retirement Life Insurance Company, Benefits Management Corp., Bravo Health Mid-Atlantic, Bravo Health Pennsylvania, Brighter, CareAllies, CareCore National LLC, Central Reserve Life Insurance Company, Ceres Sales of Ohio, Choicelinx, Cigna & CMB Life Insurance Company Limited, Cigna Apac Holdings Limited, Cigna Arbor Life Insurance Company, Cigna Beechwood Holdings, Cigna Behavioral Health, Cigna Behavioral Health of California, Cigna Behavioral Health of Texas, Cigna Bellevue Alpha, Cigna Benefits Financing, Cigna Brokerage & Marketing (Thailand) Limited, Cigna Cedar Holdings, Cigna Chestnut Holdings, Cigna Corporate Services, Cigna Data Services (Shanghai) Company Limited, Cigna Dental Health, Cigna Dental Health Plan of Arizona, Cigna Dental Health of California, Cigna Dental Health of Colorado, Cigna Dental Health of Delaware, Cigna Dental Health of Florida, Cigna Dental Health of Illinois, Cigna Dental Health of Kansas, Cigna Dental Health of Kentucky, Cigna Dental Health of Maryland, Cigna Dental Health of Missouri, Cigna Dental Health of New Jersey, Cigna Dental Health of North Carolina, Cigna Dental Health of Ohio, Cigna Dental Health of Pennsylvania, Cigna Dental Health of Texas, Cigna Dental Health of Virginia, Cigna Elmwood Holdings, Cigna Europe Insurance Company S.A.-N.V., Cigna European Services (UK) Limited, Cigna Finans Emeklilik ve Hayat A.S., Cigna Global Holdings, Cigna Global Insurance Company Limited, Cigna Global Reinsurance Company, Cigna Global Wellbeing Holdings Limited, Cigna Global Wellbeing Solutions Limited, Cigna HLA Technology Services Company Limited, Cigna Health Corporation, Cigna Health Management, Cigna Health Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Cigna HealthSpring, Cigna Healthcare Holdings, Cigna Healthcare Mid-Atlantic, Cigna Healthcare of Arizona, Cigna Healthcare of California, Cigna Healthcare of Colorado, Cigna Healthcare of Connecticut, Cigna Healthcare of Florida, Cigna Healthcare of Georgia, Cigna Healthcare of Illinois, Cigna Healthcare of Indiana, Cigna Healthcare of Maine, Cigna Healthcare of Massachusetts, Cigna Healthcare of New Hampshire, Cigna Healthcare of New Jersey, Cigna Healthcare of North Carolina, Cigna Healthcare of Pennsylvania, Cigna Healthcare of South Carolina, Cigna Healthcare of St. Louis, Cigna Healthcare of Tennessee, Cigna Healthcare of Texas, Cigna Healthcare of Utah, Cigna Holding Company, Cigna Holdings, Cigna Holdings Overseas, Cigna Hong Kong Holdings Company Limited, Cigna Insurance Middle East S.A., Cigna Insurance Public Company Limited, Cigna Insurance Services (Europe) Limited, Cigna Intellectual Property, Cigna International Corporation, Cigna International Health Services, Cigna International Health Services BVBA, Cigna International Health Services Kenya Limited, Cigna International Health Services SDN BHD, Cigna International Services, Cigna International Services Australia Pty. Ltd., Cigna Investment Group, Cigna Investments, Cigna Korean Chusik Hoesa, Cigna Laurel Holdings, Cigna Legal Protection UK Ltd., Cigna Life Insurance Company of Canada, Cigna Life Insurance Company of Europe S.A.- N.V., Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York, Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Limited, Cigna Linden Holdings, Cigna Magnolia Holdings, Cigna Myrtle Holdings, Cigna Nederland Alpha Cooperatief U.A., Cigna Nederland Beta B.V., Cigna Nederland Gamma B.V., Cigna Oak Holdings, Cigna Palmetto Holdings, Cigna Poplar Holdings, Cigna Sequoia Holdings, Cigna Spruce Holdings GmbH, Cigna Taiwan Life Assurance Company Limited, Cigna Walnut Holdings, Cigna Willow Holdings, Cigna Worldwide General Insurance Company Limited, Cigna Worldwide Insurance Company, Cigna Worldwide Life Insurance Company Limited, CignaTTK Health Insurance Company Limited, Connecticut General Corporation, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, CuraScript Inc., E-2 CIGNA CORPORATION - 2018 Form 10-K, ESI Mail Pharmacy Service Inc., ESI Partnership, ESI Resources Inc., Express Scripts Holding Company, Express Scripts Inc., Express Scripts Pharmaceutical LLC, Express Scripts Pharmacy Inc., Express Scripts Strategic Development Inc., FirstAssist Administration Limited, Firstassist Insurance Services Ltd, Great-West Healthcare of Illinois, Grown Ups New Zealand Limited, Health-Lynx LLC, HealthSource, HealthSpring, HealthSpring Life & Health Insurance Company, HealthSpring of Alabama, HealthSpring of Florida, HealthSpring of Tennessee, KDM Thailand Limited, LINA Financial Services, LINA Life Insurance Company of Korea, Life Insurance Company of North America, Loyal American Life Insurance Company, MCC Independent Practice Association of New York, Manipal Cigna Health Insurance Company Limited, Medco Containment Life Insurance Company, Medco Health Services Inc., Medco Health Solutions Inc., NewQuest, NewQuest Management Northeast, Olympic Health Management Services, Oz Parent, PT Asuransi Cigna, Provident American Life and Health Insurance Company, Qualcare, Qualcare Alliance Networks, Qualcare Captive Insurance Company Inc. PCC, Qualcare Management Resources Limited Liability Company, RHP (Thailand) Limited, Scibal Associates, Sterling Life Insurance Company, Tel-Drug, Tel-Drug of Pennsylvania, Temple Insurance Company Limited, United Benefit Life Insurance Company, Verity Solutions Group, Zurich Insurance Middle East, and eviCore 1 LLC. The following companies are subsidiares of Banco Santander: 2 & 3 Triton Limited, A & L CF (Guernsey) Limited (f), A & L CF June (2) Limited, A & L CF June (3) Limited, A & L CF March (5) Limited, A & L CF September (4) Limited, AFB SAM Holdings S.L., ALIL Services Limited (b), AN (123) Limited, ANITCO Limited, Abbey Business Services (India) Private Limited, Abbey Covered Bonds (LM) Limited, Abbey National, Abbey National Beta Investments Limited, Abbey National Business Office Equipment Leasing Limited, Abbey National International Limited, Abbey National Nominees Limited, Abbey National PLP (UK) Limited, Abbey National Property Investments, Abbey National Treasury Services Investments Limited, Abbey National Treasury Services Overseas Holdings, Abbey National UK Investments, Abbey Stockbrokers (Nominees) Limited, Abbey Stockbrokers Limited, Ablasa Participaciones S.L., Administracion de Bancos Latinoamericanos Santander S.L., Aduro S.A., Aevis Europa S.L., Afisa S.A., Albert., Aljardi SGPS Lda., Alliance & Leicester, Alliance & Leicester Cash Solutions Limited, Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (Derivatives) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (No.2) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments Limited, Alliance & Leicester Limited, Alliance & Leicester Personal Finance Limited, Altamira Santander Real Estate S.A., Alternative Leasing FIL, Amazonia Trade Limited, Andaluza de Inversiones S.A., Aquanima Brasil Ltda., Aquanima Chile S.A., Aquanima Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aquanima S.A., Arcaz - Sociedade Imobiliaria Portuguesa Lda., Argenline S.A. (b), Asto Digital Limited, Athena Corporation Limited, Atual - Fundo de Invest Multimercado Credito Privado Investimento no Exterior, Atual Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos e Meios Digitais S.A., Autodescuento S.L., Autohaus24 GmbH, Auttar HUT Processamento de Dados Ltda., Aviacion Antares A.I.E., Aviacion Britanica A.I.E., Aviacion Centaurus A.I.E., Aviacion Comillas S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Intercontinental A.I.E., Aviacion Laredo S.L., Aviacion Oyambre S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Real A.I.E., Aviacion Santillana S.L., Aviacion Suances S.L., Aviacion Triton A.I.E., Aymore Credito Financiamento e Investimento S.A., BEN Beneficios e Servicos S.A., BRS Investments S.A., BZW Bank, Banca PSA Italia S.p.A., Banco Bandepe S.A., Banco Madesant - Sociedade Unipessoal S.A., Banco PSA Finance Brasil S.A., Banco Popular, Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 100740, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 2002114, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso GFSSLPT, Banco Santander - Chile, Banco Santander Consumer Portugal S.A., Banco Santander International, Banco Santander International SA, Banco Santander Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Banco Santander Peru S.A., Banco Santander Rio S.A., Banco Santander S.A., Banco Santander Totta S.A., Banco Santander de Negocios Colombia S.A., Banco de Albacete S.A., Bansa Santander S.A., CCAP Auto Lease Ltd., Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund IV LLC, Capital Street Delaware LP, Capital Street Holdings LLC, Capital Street REIT Holdings LLC, Capital Street S.A., Carfax (Guernsey) Limited (f), Carfinco Financial Group, Carfinco Financial Group Inc., Carfinco Inc., Casa de Bolsa Santander S.A. de C.V. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Cater Allen Holdings Limited, Cater Allen International Limited, Cater Allen Limited, Cater Allen Lloyd's Holdings Limited, Cater Allen Syndicate Management Limited, Centro de Capacitacion Santander A.C., Certidesa S.L., Chrysler Capital Auto Funding I LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Funding II LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Receivables LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 2 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 4 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding LLC, Cobranza Amigable S.A.P.I. de C.V., Community Development and Affordable Housing Fund LLC (g), Compagnie Generale de Credit Aux Particuliers - Credipar S.A., Compagnie Pour la Location de Vehicules - CLV, Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Argentina S.A., Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Iberica S.L. Unipersonal en liquidacion (b), Consulteam Consultores de Gestao Lda., Consumer Lending Receivables LLC, Crawfall S.A. (b), Cantabra de Inversiones S.A., Cantabro Catalana de Inversiones S.A., Darep Designated Activity Company, Decarome S.A.P.I. de C.V., Deva Capital Advisory Company S.L., Deva Capital Holding Company S.L., Deva Capital Investment Company S.L., Deva Capital Management Company S.L., Deva Capital Servicer Company S.L., Digital Procurement Holdings N.V., Diners Club Spain S.A., Direccion Estratega S.C., Dirgenfin S.L. en liquidacion (b), Ebury, El Corte Ingles, Elavon Mexico, Electrolyser S.A. de C.V., Entidad de Desarrollo a la Pequena y Micro Empresa Santander Consumo Peru S.A., Erestone S.A.S., Esfera Fidelidade S.A., Evidence Previdencia S.A., Financeira El Corte Ingles Portugal S.F.C. S.A., Financiera El Corte Ingles E.F.C. S.A., Finsantusa S.L. Unipersonal, First National Motor Business Limited, First National Motor Contracts Limited, First National Motor Facilities Limited, First National Motor Finance Limited, First National Motor Leasing Limited, First National Motor plc, First National Tricity Finance Limited, Fondos Santander S.A. Administradora de Fondos de Inversion (en liquidacion) (b), Fortensky Trading Ltd., Fosse Funding (No.1) Limited, Fosse Master Issuer plc, Fosse Trustee (UK) Limited, GTS El Centro Equity Holdings LLC, GTS El Centro Project Holdings LLC, Gamma Sociedade Financeira de Titularizacao de Creditos S.A., Gesban Mexico Servicios Administrativos Globales S.A. de C.V., Gesban Santander Servicios Profesionales Contables Limitada, Gesban Servicios Administrativos Globales S.L., Gesban UK Limited, Gestion de Instalaciones Fotovoltaicas S.L. Unipersonal, Gestion de Inversiones JILT S.A., Gestora de Procesos S.A. en liquidacion (b), Getnet Adquirencia e Servicos para Meios de Pagamento S.A., Global Vosgos S.L. Unipersonal, Grupo Empresarial Santander S.L., Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico S.A. de C.V., Grupo Financiero Santander SAB de CV, Guaranty Car S.A. Unipersonal, HQ Mobile Limited, Hispamer Renting S.A. Unipersonal, Holbah II Limited, Holbah Santander S.L. Unipersonal, Holmes Funding Limited, Holmes Master Issuer plc, Holmes Trustees Limited, Hyundai Capital Bank Europe GmbH, Iberica de Compras Corporativas S.L., Independence Community Bank Corp., Insurance Funding Solutions Limited, Interfinance Holanda B.V., Inversiones Capital Global S.A. Unipersonal, Inversiones Maritimas del Mediterraneo S.A., Isla de los Buques S.A., Klare Corredora de Seguros S.A., Landcompany 2020 S.L., Langton Funding (No.1) Limited, Langton Mortgages Trustee (UK) Limited, Langton Securities (2008-1) plc, Langton Securities (2010-1) PLC, Langton Securities (2010-2) PLC, Laparanza S.A., Liquidity Limited, Luri 1 S.A. en liquidacion (b) (e), Luri 6 S.A. Unipersonal, Master Red Europa S.L., Mata Alta S.L., Merciver S.L., Mercury TFS, Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.A. de C.V., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.L., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.p.A., Moneybit S.L., Mortgage Engine Limited, Motor 2016-1 PLC, Motor 2017-1 PLC, Mouro Capital I LP, Multiplica SpA, NW Services CO., Naviera Mirambel S.L., Naviera Trans Gas A.I.E., Naviera Trans Iron S.L., Naviera Trans Ore A.I.E., Naviera Trans Wind S.L. (b), Naviera Transcantabrica S.L., Naviera Transchem S.L. Unipersonal, NeoAuto S.A.C., Norbest AS, Novimovest Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario, Open Bank Argentina S.A., Open Bank S.A., Open Digital Market S.L., Open Digital Services S.L., Operadora de Carteras Gamma S.A.P.I. de C.V., Optimal Investment Services SA, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland Euro Fund, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland US Dollar Fund, PBE Companies LLC, PECOH Limited, PI Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., PSA Bank Deutschland GmbH, PSA Banque France, PSA Finance UK Limited, PSA Financial Services Nederland B.V., PSA Financial Services Spain E.F.C. S.A., PSA Renting Italia S.p.A., PagoFX Europe S.A., PagoFX HoldCo S.L., PagoFX UK Ltd, PagoNxt Merchant Solutions S.L., PagoNxt S.L., Parasant SA, Patagon.com, Pereda Gestion S.A., Pingham International S.A., Popular Spain Holding de Inversiones S.L.U., Portal Universia Argentina S.A., Portal Universia Portugal Prestacao de Servicos de Informatica S.A., Prime 16 Fundo de Investimentos Imobiliario, Punta Lima LLC, Punta Lima Wind Farm LLC, Retop S.A., Return Capital Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos S.A., Return Gestao de Recursos S.A., Riobank International (Uruguay) SAIFE (b), Rojo Entretenimento S.A., SAM Asset Management S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, SAM Investment Holdings S.L., SAM UK Investment Holdings Limited (b), SANB Promotora de Vendas e Cobranca Ltda., SCF Eastside Locks GP Limited, SDMX Superdigital S.A. de C.V., SMPS Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A de C.V, Sancap Investimentos e Participacoes S.A., Santander (CF Trustee Property Nominee) Limited, Santander (UK) Group Pension Schemes Trustees Limited, Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 1 S.A., Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 2 S.A., Santander Alternatives SICAV RAIF, Santander Asesorias Financieras Limitada, Santander Asset Finance (December) Limited, Santander Asset Finance plc, Santander Asset Management - S.G.O.I.C. S.A., Santander Asset Management Chile S.A., Santander Asset Management LLC, Santander Asset Management Luxembourg S.A., Santander Asset Management S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Santander Asset Management S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Asset Management UK Holdings Limited, Santander Asset Management UK Limited, Santander Back-Offices Globales Mayoristas S.A., Santander Banca de Inversion Colombia S.A.S., Santander Bank & Trust Ltd., Santander Bank National Association, Santander Bank Polska S.A., Santander Brasil Administradora de Consorcio Ltda., Santander Brasil Gestao de Recursos Ltda., Santander Brasil Tecnologia S.A., Santander Capital Desarrollo SGEIC S.A. Unipersonal, Santander Capital Structuring S.A. de C.V., Santander Capitalizacao S.A., Santander Cards Ireland Limited, Santander Cards Limited, Santander Cards UK Limited, Santander Chile Holding S.A., Santander Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Santander Consumer (UK) plc, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L4 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L5 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Bank AG, Santander Consumer Bank AS, Santander Consumer Bank GmbH, Santander Consumer Bank S.A., Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A., Santander Consumer Banque S.A., Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited, Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V., Santander Consumer Finance Global Services S.L., Santander Consumer Finance Oy, Santander Consumer Finance S.A., Santander Consumer Finance Schweiz AG, Santander Consumer Financial Solutions Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Finanse Sp. z o.o. (b), Santander Consumer Holding Austria GmbH, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH, Santander Consumer International Puerto Rico LLC, Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH, Santander Consumer Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.L., Santander Consumer Multirent Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Operations Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Receivables 10 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 11 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 3 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 7 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables Funding LLC, Santander Consumer Renting S.L., Santander Consumer S.A., Santander Consumer S.A.S., Santander Consumer Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Services S.A., Santander Consumer Technology Services GmbH, Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Santander Consumer USA Inc., Santander Consumo S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Corredora de Seguros Limitada, Santander Corredores de Bolsa Limitada, Santander Corretora de Cambio e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., Santander Corretora de Seguros Investimentos e Servicos S.A., Santander Customer Voice S.A., Santander Digital Assets S.L., Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC, Santander Equity Investments Limited, Santander Espana Merchant Services Entidad de Pago S.L. Unipersonal, Santander Espana Servicios Legales y de Cumplimiento S.L., Santander Estates Limited, Santander F24 S.A., Santander Facility Management Espana S.L., Santander Factoring S.A., Santander Factoring Sp. z o.o., Santander Factoring y Confirming S.A. E.F.C., Santander Finance 2012-1 LLC, Santander Financial Exchanges Limited, Santander Financial Services Inc., Santander Financial Services plc, Santander Finanse Sp. z o.o., Santander Fintech Holdings S.L., Santander Fintech Limited, Santander Fundo de Investimento SBAC Referenciado di Credito Privado, Santander Gestion de Recaudacion y Cobranzas Ltda., Santander Global Consumer Finance Limited, Santander Global Facilities S.A. de C.V., Santander Global Facilities S.L., Santander Global Operations S.A., Santander Global Services S.A. (b), Santander Global Sport S.A., Santander Global Technology Brasil Ltda., Santander Global Technology Chile Limitada, Santander Global Technology S.L., Santander Global Trade Platform Solutions S.L., Santander Guarantee Company, Santander Holding Imobiliaria S.A., Santander Holding Internacional S.A., Santander Holdings USA Inc., Santander ISA Managers Limited, Santander Inclusion Financiera S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Insurance Agency U.S. LLC, Santander Insurance Services UK Limited, Santander Intermediacion Correduria de Seguros S.A., Santander International Products Plc. (d), Santander Inversiones S.A., Santander Investment Bank Limited, Santander Investment Chile Limitada, Santander Investment I S.A., Santander Investment S.A., Santander Investment Securities Inc., Santander Investments GP 1 S.a.r.l., Santander Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., Santander Lease S.A. E.F.C., Santander Leasing LLC, Santander Leasing S.A., Santander Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets). Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. is an online travel company. The Company offers leisure and business travelers to research, plan and book travel products and services, including hotels, flights, vacation packages, car rentals, cruises, travel insurance, destination services and event tickets. The Company's brand portfolio includes Orbitz and CheapTickets in the United States, ebookers in Europe and HotelClub and RatesToGo (collectively HotelClub) in Asia Pacific region. Orbitz.com offers travel products and services, and mobile applications and solutions for its hotel transactions. CheapTickets is an online travel company. ebookers is a pan-European online travel agency. HotelClub is a hotel booking Website offering members a selection of hotel properties across more than 170 countries. It also owns and operates Orbitz for Business (OFB), a corporate travel management company, and the Orbitz Partner Network (OPN), which delivers private label travel solutions to a range of partners. Read More Genworth Financial, Inc. is a financial services company, which engages in the provision of insurance, wealth management, investment and financial solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Mortgage Insurance, Australia Mortgage Insurance, U.S. Life Insurance, and Runoff. The U.S. Mortgage Insurance segment offers mortgage insurance products predominantly insuring prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans. The Australia Mortgage Insurance segment offers flow mortgage insurance and selectively provides bulk mortgage insurance that aids in the sale of mortgages to the capital markets and helps lenders manage capital and risk. The U.S. Life Insurance segment offers long-term care insurance products as well as service traditional life insurance and fixed annuity products in the United States. The Runoff segment includes the results of non-strategic products which are no longer actively sold but continue to service its existing blocks of business. Its non-strategic products primarily include variable annuity, variable life insurance, institutional, corporate-owned life insurance and other accident and health insurance products. The company was fo Read More Medtronic Plc is a medical technology company, which engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of device-based medical therapies and services. It operates through the following segments: Cardiac and Vascular Group; Minimally Invasive Technologies Group; Restorative Therapies Group; and Diabetes Group. The Cardiac and Vascular Group segment consists of products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiac rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease. The Minimally Invasive Technologies Group segment focuses on respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, renal system, lungs, pelvic region, kidneys, and obesity diseases. The Restorative Therapies Group segment comprises of neurostimulation therapies and drug delivery systems for the treatment of chronic pain, as well as areas of the spine and brain, along with pelvic health and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. The Diabetes Group segment offers insulin pumps, coninuous glucose monitoring systems, and insulin pump consumables. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Read More Trinseo SA engages in the manufacture and marketing of synthetic rubber, latex binders and plastics. It operates through the following segments: Latex Binders, Synthetic Rubber, Performance Plastics, Polystyrene, Feedstock's, Americas Styrene's, and Corporate. The Latex Binders segment produces styrene-butadiene latex and other latex polymers and binders, primarily for coated paper and packaging board, carpet and artificial turf backings. The Synthetic Rubber segment focuses on the production of synthetic rubber products used predominantly in tires, impact modifiers, and technical rubber products. The Performance Plastics segment includes a variety of compounds and blends. The Polystyrene segment comprises of general purpose polystyrenes and polystyrene that has been modified with polybutadiene rubber to increase its impact resistant properties. The Feedstock's segment focuses on the production and procurement of styrene monomer outside of North America. The Americas Styrene's segment consists solely of the operations of the firm's owned joint venture. The company was founded on June 3, 2010 and is headquartered in Berwyn, PA. Read More The Weir Group PLC produces and sells highly engineered original equipment. It operates in two segments, Minerals and ESCO. The Minerals segment offers slurry handling equipment and associated aftermarket support services for abrasive high-wear applications used in the mining and oil sands markets. The ESCO segment provides ground engaging tools for surface mining and infrastructure. The company offers its products under the Accumin, Aspir, Cavex, Delta Industrial, Enduron, Floway, GEHO, Gemex, Hydrau-Flo, Isodry, Isogate, Lewis, Linatex, Multiflo, Synertrex, Trio, Vulco, FusionCast, and Warman brands. It operates in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Australia, South America, the Middle East, Europe, and FSU. The Weir Group PLC was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Glasgow, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc.. TransMontaigne Partners L.P. provides integrated terminaling, storage, transportation, and related services. The company operates through Gulf Coast terminals, Midwest terminals and pipeline system, Brownsville terminals, River terminals, Southeast terminals, and West Coast terminals segments. It offers its services for companies engaged in the trading, distribution, and marketing of light and heavy refined petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, fertilizers, and other liquid products. The company operates 8 refined product terminals in Florida with approximately 7.0 million barrels of aggregate active storage capacity; a 67 mile interstate refined products pipeline; 2 refined product terminals with approximately 5 million barrels of active storage capacity; and 5.4 million barrels of aggregate storage capacity. It operates 1 crude oil terminal in Cushing with an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 1.0 million barrels; 1 refined product terminal located in Oklahoma City with aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 0.2 million barrels; 1 refined product terminal located in Brownsville with an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 0.9 million barrels; and a 16 mile LPG pipeline from its Brownsville facility to the U.S. border. In addition, the company operates a 174 mile bi-directional refined products; 7.1 million barrel terminal facility on Houston Ship Channel; 12 refined product terminals with approximately 2.7 million barrels of aggregate active storage capacity, as well as operates a dock facility; 22 refined product terminals located along Colonial and Plantation pipelines with an aggregate active storage capacity of approximately 11.9 million barrels; and 2 refined product terminals with active storage capacity of approximately 5.0 million barrels. TransMontaigne Partners L.P. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Read More New Delhi: Payment of Gratuity Amendment Bill 2017 is likely to be passed in the forthcoming Budget session, which will make formal sector workers eligible for tax free Rs 20 lakh gratuity. At present formal sector workers with five or more years of service are eligible for Rs 10 lakh tax free gratuity after leaving job or at time of superannuation. The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 will be passed in the Budget session of Parliament, expected to begin by the end of this month, a source said. The source further said, The government wants to provide tax free gratuity of Rs 20 lakh to organised sector workers at par with the Central government. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in winter session of Parliament last month. Once the Bill is passed by Parliament, the government will not be required to go to it again for deciding the quantum of tax free gratuity. The Bill seeks to allow the government to notify the period of maternity leave and gratuity that can be availed by employees under a central law. The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced by labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar in the Lok Sabha on December 18, 2017. The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, was enacted to provide for gratuity payment to employees engaged in factories, mines, oilfields, plantations, ports, railway companies, shops or other establishments. The law is applicable to employees, who have completed at least five years of continuous service in an establishment that has ten or more persons. The amendment will also allow the central government to notify the maternity leave period for female employees as deemed to be in continuous service in place of existing twelve weeks. The proposal comes against the backdrop of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 enhancing the maximum maternity leave period to 26 weeks. With respect to gratuity, the amount is calculated on the basis of a formula which is 15 days of wages for each year of completed services, subject to the ceiling of Rs 10 lakh. This current limit was fixed in 2010. 1. Yes. The bus service is underfunded, and the money will ensure another route. 2. Yes. Its COVID relief money, and plenty of people depend on public transportation. 3. No. The COVID funds are a short-term fix. The city cant afford a big outlay next year. 4. No. The city isnt getting much for its money. Another transit solution is needed. 5. Unsure. Its a hard to say whether HOP ridership will validate the expenditure. Vote View Results To his toolbox of Botox, fillers and plastic surgery, cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Murad Alam has added a new, low-cost, noninvasive anti-aging treatment: facial yoga. Dermatologists measured improvements in the appearance of the faces of a small group of middle-age women after they did half an hour of daily face-toning exercises for eight weeks, followed by alternate-day exercises for another 12 weeks. The results surprised lead author Alam, vice chair and professor of dermatology at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "In fact, the results were stronger than I expected, he said in a phone interview. Its really a win-win for patients. Participants included 27 women between ages 40 and 65, though only 16 completed the full course. It began with two 90-minute muscle resistant facial exercise-training sessions led by co-author Gary Sikorski of Happy Face Yoga in Providence, Rhode Island. Participants learned to perform cheek pushups and eye-bag removers, among other exercises. Then they practiced at home. Dermatologists looking at unmarked before-and-after photos saw improvements in upper cheek and lower cheek fullness, and they estimated the average age of women who stuck with the program as significantly younger at the end than at the start. The average estimated age dropped almost three years, from nearly 51 years to 48 years. Participants also rated themselves as more satisfied with the appearance of their faces at the studys end, Alam and colleagues reported in JAMA Dermatology. Now there is some evidence that facial exercises may improve facial appearance and reduce some visible signs of aging, Alam said. Assuming the findings are confirmed in a larger study, individuals now have a low-cost, non-toxic way for looking younger or to augment other cosmetic or anti-aging treatments they may be seeking. The exercises enlarge and strengthen facial muscles to firm and tone the face, giving it a younger appearance, he said. Happy Face sells instructional worksheets promising smoother skin, firmed cheeks and raised eyelids for $19.95. DVDs cost $24.95. But not all dermatologists are rushing to promote the videos or the exercises. Dr. John Chi, a plastic surgeon and professor at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, said the study raises more questions than it answers. The jury is still out on whether or not facial yoga is effective in reversing the signs of aging, he said in an email. Chi, who was not involved with the study, said he would recommend facial yoga to patients who found it relaxing and enjoyable but not for the purpose of facial rejuvenation. While the premise of facial exercises to improve the facial appearance or reverse signs of aging is an appealing one, there is little evidence to suggest that there is any benefit in this regard, he said. Chi said facial yoga had not been rigorously examined in peer-reviewed scientific studies. Asked if procedures such as facelifts, Botox and fillers had been rigorously examined in peer-reviewed studies, he replied: Great question. Attempts to do so have been made in the scientific literature with variable levels of scientific rigor. Alam agrees that his study raises additional research questions, such as whether the exercises would work for men and how much time people need to commit to doing the exercises for them to be optimally effective. He would like to see a larger study. Washington: Just 20 minutes of meditation twice a day may reduce symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in older adults, suggests a recent study. According to researchers from Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, veterans of the war in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) found significant relief from their symptoms as a result of practising the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. Transcendental Meditation is a technique for detaching oneself from anxiety and promoting harmony and self-realization by meditation, repetition of a mantra and other yogic practices. "It's remarkable that after just one month we would see such a pronounced decrease in symptoms, with four out of five veterans no longer considered to have a serious problem with PTSD," said lead author Robert Herron. "Transcendental Meditation is very easy to do and results come quickly," said another researcher James Grant. The research has shown that Transcendental Meditation has a positive benefit for many of the conditions associated with PTSD, such as high anxiety, insomnia, depression and high blood pressure. The team analysed 41 veterans and five active-duty soldiers in the study had been diagnosed with clinical levels of PTSD. The study included a 90-day post-test; PTSD symptoms continued to improve. The noticed a significant benefit after just 10 days of TM practices.After one month, 87 percent had a clinically significant decrease of more than 10 points. The reduction was so great that 37 participants (80 percent) had their symptoms reduced to below the clinical level, meaning that they were no longer considered to have a disorder. "Because it works on the neurophysiological level to reduce stress, it has a broader impact than cognitively-based therapies," he said. The participants learned the standard Transcendental Meditation technique and practiced it for 20 minutes twice a day. The findings indicated that the veterans who practiced Transcendental Meditation technique for 20 minutes twice a day had greater benefits than those who practiced once a day. "Researchers have been calling for new approaches to PTSD treatments, and Transcendental Meditation seems to be particularly effective," Dr. Grant said. The research appears in Military Medicine journal. New Delhi: Practising yoga regularly can slow down ageing of the brain and helps it stay young, claims a study. The study by the researchers of the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), said that yoga might help in prevention of age-related degeneration by changing cardiometabolic risk factors and brain-derived neurotrophic factors among men. DIPAS is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).The research study, which was published in the American Ageing Association, focused not only on the brain but comparative studies were conducted on hypertension, blood pressure, heart rate, and stress. According to the researchers, a brain develops till the age of 20-30. After that, development of the brain halts and after 40 years, its slow degeneration starts. As part of the study, done by Rameswar Pal, Som Nath Singh, Abhirup Chatterjee and Mantu Saha, 124 healthy and physically active men aged between 20 and 50 years were randomly selected and divided into three age groups -- 2029, 3039, and 4050 years. Inclusion criterion were normal healthy and physically active males, absence of disease which could have contributed to obesity, hypertension, and neurological disorders, not in medication and no prior knowledge of yoga. Smokers, alcoholics, and tobacco eaters were excluded from the study. The respondents were made to practice yoga for one hour everyday for three months. The blood pressure which was recorded at 122/69 in the age group of 20-29 before yoga reduced to 119/68 (systolic pressure is 119 and the diastolic pressure is 68) after doing yoga. Similarly, the blood pressure which was 134/84 among the respondents (40-50) came down to 124/79 after yoga. Cortisol, which is a stress hormone released by the adrenal glands and helps body deal with stressful situations was 68.5 per cent in the age group of 20-29 which declined to 47.4 after the exercise. The cortisol level which was 95 before yoga reduced to 72.7 after three months of yoga in the group 40-50 years. Further, dopamine and serotonine levels which effectively improve motivation, focus, mood and instill positivity were found to have improved in all the groups after yoga. Those having low dopamine levels may experience feelings of depression, boredom, or apathy. They may lack the energy and motivation to carry out ordinary tasks, the researchers said. "Based on the results of the study, it may be concluded that the ageing process has an active role on degenerative changes in autonomic functions, and monoamines as well as levels of BDNF, which may revert back towards normal or near- normal levels through yogic practice in healthy active males," the study said. Kakinada: Cockfights were organised with impunity in East and West Godavari Districts on the first day of Sankranti when the Boghi fire was also lit on Sunday. In spite of prohibitory orders and instructions by the High Court not to hold the sport, cockfights were conducted uninterruptedly. Chief Minister N. Chandrababau Naidu had advised MLAs and MPs not to participate in the cockfights. Some MLAs were still seen participating in cockfights. Police could, however, manage to prevent the sport being arranged on some of the major grounds at Vempa and Bhimavaram in West Godavari Districts as Mr Ramachandra Raju approached the Court against the cockfights and K. Raghuramakrishnam Raju of Bhimavaram in favour of cockfights. There was some tension at the major ground at Vempa village where there erupted a verbal argument between police and organisers. But, the police deployed police battalions, headed by Narasarapuram DSP. According to sources, Pithapuram MLA S.V.S.N. Varma inaugurated the cockfights at YSR Grounds at Pithapuram in which many ruling party leaders participated. Polavaram MLA M. Srinivasa Rao at Buttayigudem mandal, Unguturu MLA G. Veeranjaneyulu and Undi MLA Siva Ramaraju in their constituencies in his constituency inaugurated and participated in the traditional sport. Many of the cockfight grounds turned into 'small townships' with facilities like liquor, fast food, tiffins, vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals being available. Sites for gambling such as playing cards, gundata and others were also available. At Mummidivaram, a dispute emerged between two groups in which one person was injured. According to receiving information, there were held auctions for organizing the cockfight games and a minimum of Rs.2 lakh to Rs.8 lakh per ground has been paid to the ruling party leaders or village elders in the villages. In Thimmapuram and Panasapadu villages, the ruling party leaders collected Rs.1 lakh each for Gundata gambling game organizers from 13 persons and Rs.3 lakh to Rs.5 lakh from cockfight organizers. At Muramalla village in Mummidivaram mandal, the betting was held in long range. It is learnt that many VIPs reached the place and participated but, the organizers have not allowed the media people. Sources said that the East Godavari SP Vishal Gunni has taken serious about the Muramalla issue. West Godavari SP M. Ravi Prakash said that they could prevent the gambling including cockfights in many places with the major grounds at Vempa and Sriramavaram being totally free from seeing the sport being held. Kottayam: Tens of thousands of pilgrims watched the sighting of the Makarajyothi at Ponnambalamettu, a hill facing the Sannidhanam, and attended the Makaravilakku deeparadhana at Sabarimala on Sunday. The devotees stood at 30 vantage points at Sabarimala and Pampa for viewing Makarajyothi. Many stood on roof tops of various buildings as well as the hillside facilities. Many thronged Pullumedu, Panchalimedu, Parunthumpara and other places. The procession carrying the Thiruvabharanam (the golden attire to be draped on the idol of Lord Ayyappa) reached the holy hillock around 6 p.m. Earlier, the procession was given a grand reception at Saramkuthy. The procession carrying the Thiruvabharanam started from Pandalam on Friday. The box containing the Thiruvabharanam was received at Sannidhanam by dewaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran, Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, TDB president A. Padmakumar and Pathanamthitta district collector R. Girija, among others. Thousands of the pilgrims, who were waiting in the precincts of Sannidhanam, started praying before the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was opened for deeparadhana. The Makaravilakku Deeparadhana was performed at the top of the Ponnambalamedu hill by 6.42pm and the bright flame (Makarajyothi) appeared above the Ponnbalamedu. There was a heavy rush of pilgrims descending the hill immediately after Deeparadhana. The police provided heavy security in view of the Makaravilakku festival at Sabarimala and Pampa. Around 3,000 police officials were manning the security at Sabarimala. Police had also erected barricades at various spots with a view to control the crowds. The Makaravilakku festival, which began on Sunday with the Makatasamkrama pooja, will end on January 20. Lucknow: Three men from Punjab were beaten up by Vishwa Hindi Parishad (VHP) workers in front of police inside Baghpat court premises on Saturday. The victims had reached local court to get their marriage registered but as soon as the right-wing outfit came to know about this, they reached the spot and roughed up the youngsters. The police reached the spot and took the victims away to the police station, but the assault did not stop even while they were being taken away. Later, Hindu Yuva Vahini workers also joined their VHP counterparts and started protesting outside the police station. The couple from Punjab had reached Baghpat court along with grooms cousin to get married. The couple, along with others, were sitting in a lawyers chamber when VHP workers stormed inside and began questioning their purpose of visit. On learning that the girl and the boy belonged to different religions, the right-wing workers started roughing up the couple and created a ruckus before being joined by Hindu Yuva Vahini members. According to the police, the three youths had been absconding from Punjab for four days and an FIR was lodged in this regard in Barnala. Hyderabad: BJP Legislature Party leader G. Kishan Reddy on Saturday accused the TRS government of trying to usurp the rights of constitutionally guaranteed Panchayati Raj institutions by way of bringing an amendment to the law. Speaking to mediapersons here, Mr Kishan Reddy said for the last four years the TRS government had not granted the mandatory funds to gram panchayats and zilla parishads, but had taken away the funds meant for panchayats in mining, registrations and other cess. The state BJP leader said that the government had not even released the enhanced honorarium announced for various Panchayat Raj institutions. Mr Kishan Reddy said that the TRS government was trying to destroy the institutions by proposing to hold elections on non-party basis and bringing in co-opted members to panchayats to oversee the functioning of elected sarpanches. He said the government had failed to explain the need to amend the Act. He accused Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of deliberately suspending and superceding the gram panchayats because the sarpanches did not join the TRS. Replying to a question, Mr Kishan Reddy said his party was getting details on how many times the Chief Minister has visited his office in the Secretariat and how many times he went to Raj Bhavan to meet Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan in the last four years. US president Donald Trump said DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our military. (Photo: File) Washington: In a bid to ensure America first, US President Donald Trump on Sunday pushed for a merit-based immigration system, saying he only wants people who can help America become strong and great again. Trump also said there will be no more diversity lottery visa. I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST, the US president tweeted on Sunday. On Friday, Trump reiterated his support for the merit-based immigration system saying that it will take America to the next level. He asserted that he wanted safety and security of Americans and an end to massive inflow of drugs. Trump has been calling for the merit-based immigration system, of which people from countries like India could be a major beneficiary, to reduce overall immigration to the US. The decades-old diversity lottery visa system gave green cards to people from countries from where people would normally not qualify to come to the US through a merit-based system. In another tweet, Trump said DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is probably dead. DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our military, the US president said. DACA, established in 2012 by Trump predecessor Barack Obama, protects from deportation hundreds of thousands of immigrants whose parents brought them into the country illegally as children. Trump has also called for ending the chain migration, the fastest and easiest way to gain legal entry into America, through sponsorship by a family member who is already a legal resident or citizen of the US. Earlier, in an interview to The Wall Street Journal, he asserted that he will not accept any immigration deal that does not have a provision to build a wall along the Mexico border to stop illegal entry of people from that country. Another challenge in Vancouver will be the absence of China, which has significant influence in North Korea. (Photo: File) Vancouver: Foreign ministers from around 20 nations gather on Tuesday to discuss how to curb North Korea's nuclear ambitions through diplomatic and financial pressure, but China, seen as a key player in any long-term solution, will be absent. The Vancouver meeting, co-hosted by Canada and the United States, comes amid signs that tensions on the peninsula have eased, at least temporarily. North and South Korea held talks for the first time in two years last week and Pyongyang says it will send athletes across the border to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. But the United States and others say the international community must look at ways of expanding a broad range of sanctions aimed at North Korea's nuclear program. "There is growing evidence that our maximum pressure campaign is being felt in North Korea. They are feeling the strain," said Brian Hook, the State Department's director of policy planning. Hook told a briefing in Washington that participants, including US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, would examine how to boost maritime security around North Korea to intercept ships trying to defy sanctions as well as "disrupting funding and disrupting resources." The 17-nation Proliferation Security Initiative, which aims to prevent the trafficking of weapons of mass destruction, on Friday said "it is imperative for us to redouble our efforts to put maximum pressure on North Korea". But North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has shown no sign of willingness to give in to US demands and negotiate away a weapons program he sees as vital to his survival. Another challenge in Vancouver will be the absence of China, which has significant influence in North Korea. Beijing is Pyongyang's only ally and its chief trading partner. The meeting primarily groups those nations that sent troops to the Korean war of 1950-53, when China fought alongside the North. Beijing condemned the gathering. "Holding this kind of meeting that doesn't include important parties to the Korean peninsula nuclear issue actually cannot help in advancing an appropriate resolution to the issue," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular briefing. Other invitees include Japan and South Korea, front-line US allies in the Washington-led effort against North Korea. Hook said China and Russia - which is also not attending - would be fully briefed on the conclusions. That said, Beijing's absence will be felt, say diplomats. "Without China there is a real limit as to what can be achieved," said one senior diplomatic source. Zhao Tong, a North Korea expert at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing, said the United States did not want Russia and China potentially distracting the discussion by raising their proposal to halt joint US-South Korean military drills that the North says are a prelude to an invasion. Fears of war have eased somewhat after the first round of intra-Korean talks in more than two years, and Trump, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, appeared to signal more of an openness toward diplomacy after a period of exchanging insults and threats with Kim. But US officials say hawks in the Trump administration remain pessimistic that the North-South contacts will lead anywhere. Even so, debate within the US administration over whether to give more active consideration to military options, such as a pre-emptive strike on a North Korean nuclear or missile site, has lost momentum ahead of February's Olympic games, the officials said. For his part, Trump has vacillated between praising and criticizing China, which he has cast as critical to reining in North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The White House on Friday welcomed news that China's imports from North Korea plunged in December to their lowest in dollar terms since at least the start of 2014, with trade curbed by United Nations sanctions. Last month, however, Trump accused China of allowing oil into North Korea, which he said would prevent "a friendly solution" to the nuclear crisis. Beijing denied the charge. Jakarta police said they were seeking more information on the incident. (Photo: AFP) Jakarta: At least 75 people were injured on Monday when a mezzanine floor at Indonesia's stock exchange building collapsed into the lobby, police said, with victims carried out of the debris-filled building on stretchers. A cascade of glass, metal and other material crashed onto the ground floor when part of the mezzanine level gave way. A Jakarta police spokesman said the collapse was an accident and not the result of an explosion. National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto told AFP that 75 people had been injured. There were no reports of deaths so far. Television images showed chaotic scenes as victims were taken to hospital or lay on the ground outside the tower complex in the centre of the sprawling city's business district. "I saw many people bleeding," student Rizki Noviandi, who was taking part in a competition at the exchange building, told Metro TV. "So many people were carried out of the building and were left on the grass outside... until the ambulances arrived." The lobby was filled with debris and toppled-over plants near a Starbucks coffee outlet, as hundreds of building employees were evacuated. "Our search and rescue teams, the police, doctors, the firefighters are all still working," Wasisto said. "They are cleaning the debris and also searching for other possible injuries," he added. Those hurt mostly sustained injuries to their legs and arms, said Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono. "The accident happened at the first floor... It's a floor where many employees are passing by... There are some victims but they have been taken to a nearby hospital," Yuwono said. The accident happened in one of two towers in the complex. "There was a sound, like something had fallen off a building structure, for about 20 seconds. Everyone was panicking and people were immediately being evacuated," Amailia Putri Hasniawati, a journalist based at the exchange. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident at the tower in Sudirman district, which was built in 1995. In 2000 at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured by a car bomb at the exchange complex. Despite the chaos on Monday, stock exchange spokesman Rheza Andhika said trade continued as usual in the afternoon session. The accident happened shortly after noon local time (0500 GMT) while the market was on its lunchtime break. "There was a loud banging so people who were inside immediately ran outside of the building," said Metro TV journalist Marlia Zein. The local office of the World Bank is housed on the 12th floor of the complex, according to its website. Reports at the time of the 2000 bombing said one of the men responsible was a member of the Free Aceh Movement, a separatist group which had been fighting for a free Islamic state in Aceh province since the mid-seventies. Some 200 cars were also damaged in the blast when the bomb exploded in an underground parking lot of the stock exchange building. It also follows two complaints by Qatar to the United Nations about Emirati military aircraft allegedly violating its international airspace amid the diplomatic crisis. (Photo: Representational | AP) Dubai: The United Arab Emirates on Monday claimed that Qatari fighter jets intercepted one of its commercial airliners in international airspace on the way to Bahrain, an allegation promptly denied by a Doha official. The UAE's two major airlines declined to immediately comment. The claim could further escalate tensions between Qatar and the four Arab nations that have been boycotting it for months, among them the UAE, home to the world's busiest international airport. It also follows two complaints by Qatar to the United Nations about Emirati military aircraft allegedly violating its international airspace amid the diplomatic crisis. The UAE's state-run WAM news agency made the claim on Monday, citing the country's General Civil Aviation Authority. "The GCAA received a message from one of the UAE's national carriers on Monday morning that one of its aircraft on a flight to Manama on a normal route had been intercepted by Qatari fighters," the report said. "The flight was a regular, scheduled service on a known flight-path that met all the required and internationally recognized approvals and permits." WAM did not identify the carrier involved, nor did it elaborate on details of the purported encounter. Saif Al Thani, a Qatari government spokesman, denied the UAE's claim on Twitter, calling it "completely untrue." He promised a detailed statement would come later Monday. The UAE is home to two major national carriers, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Dubai-based Emirates. Both airlines declined to comment when reached by AP. US Air Force Central Command, which is based at the sprawling al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, also did not immediately have any report about any incident involving a commercial aircraft in the region, said Lt. Col. Damien Pickart, an Air Force spokesman. However, Pickart cautioned that US forces don't routinely monitor the flights and operations of the Qatari air force. The Qatar crisis began June 5 with Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE cutting off Doha's land, sea and air routes over its alleged support of extremists and close ties with Iran. Qatar has long denied funding extremists. It recently restored full diplomatic relations with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field that made the country and its about 250,000 citizens extremely wealthy. Recently, Qatar accused Emirati military jets of violating its air space in December and January in two incidents, filing a complaint to the United Nations. On Sunday night, an exiled Qatari ruling family member once promoted by Saudi Arabia amid its ongoing dispute with Doha appeared in an online video, claiming he's being held against his will in the United Arab Emirates, an allegation denied by Abu Dhabi. The video of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani, a little-known ruling family member until the Qatar crisis, also offered new fuel to the stalemated dispute. It also recalled the bizarre, now-reversed resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri while on a trip Riyadh, a November 4 decision that was widely perceived as Saudi-orchestrated at the time. Some events in the past year have demonstrated that Martin Luther King Jr. Day has more to teach than many 21st century Americans might have previously thought. More than a century and a half after the end of the Civil War, arguments rose over whether its proper for governments to maintain public statues to the memories of Confederate leaders, most notably Robert E. Lee. When a white nationalist rally in Charlottsville, Va., turned deadly, and when many accused the president of reacting improperly to that, it became clear that generations-old conflicts about race, equality and their often-messy entanglements with U.S. history have not been laid to rest. Becoming a colorblind society is an uphill struggle. If the nation neglects the effort, things can roll downhill again fast. Each generation must learn lessons anew, but hopefully each can learn from previous generations and avoid repeating mistakes. Too often, Kings contributions are reduced to slim entries in elementary school textbooks. Schoolchildren in the United States are raised with a reductive understanding of Kings life and the import of his work in the long societal arc toward justice. His position as a religious leader often is overlooked. Historian and author Lewis Baldwin has said that, of all the titles King held, Christian pastor is the one he identified with first and foremost. That should be taught more. Under his leadership, the civil rights movement was a religious movement, grounded in the gospel that Jesus Christ died to save all mankind regardless of race. His strategy of nonviolence, so effective in countering police attacks using dogs and water cannons, had its roots in the doctrine of turning the other cheek. Several years ago, the Rev. Michael Thurmond told the PBS program Religion and Ethics News Weekly, It was the African-American church that nurtured him (King) and gave him the sense that God was a god of justice, God was a god of mercy, God was a god of reckoning. In the long struggle for justice and equality in the United States, that religious aspect must not be neglected. It should be at the heart of todays struggles against sexual harassment in the workplace, as well, and every other endeavor for equality and justice. Religious devotion elevates the dignity of humankind even as it grounds the notions of self-worth, charity, patience and love in doctrines from a higher source. An important measure on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, after a year when racial tensions have touched so many Americans, is how well the nation understands and appreciates the religious foundation for all he represented. As Baldwin told PBS, I think Dr. King always felt that a preacher and a pastor had to be relevant. That is, you must speak to the issues of your time, and you must be able to relate the gospel and the biblical revelation to the social issues and concerns of your time. Kings late wife, Coretta Scott King, once implored people to treat MLK Day as a day on, not a day off. In that spirit, it would be a good day for service and introspection. How does Kings life, especially his belief in the divinity of human struggles, relate to how we treat other humans in 2018? SOUTH SALT LAKE At the bottom of the stairs in Jacob Berezays split-level apartment sits a mass of wires blue, red, yellow and black connecting 26 black graphics cards and data processing machines roughly the size and shape of VHS tapes to two homemade computers. These are the rigs, Berezay, 32, proudly states. When you hear mining rig, you might think of a large apparatus that drills holes in the earth to extract oil, gas or minerals. But these rigs do a different job: mine cryptocurrency. A new source of wealth for millions of computer geeks and investors around the world, cryptocurrencies, the most popular of which is bitcoin, are digital currencies that arent controlled by a government or a central bank, but rather operate via a decentralized network of computers. Thats where Berezay comes in. His computers simultaneously uphold the network and generate new coins. As usual, Berezay, who works as a freelance web developer, is barefoot and wearing jeans and a T-shirt. He kneels to examine his mining equipment, neatly arranged on a set of wooden shelves he built himself. Not only can you hear the buzz of the computers millions of simultaneous calculations, but you can feel them as well. Heat radiates from the rigs while a miniature fan aimed toward the set-up feebly stirs the air. To someone who is unfamiliar, cryptocurrency mining might sound like digging for lost cybertreasure or some kind of scam. The actual process, though more innocuous, is no less fascinating. Berezays computers work to verify transactions like when someone sends or receives a digital coin and in return for the work, he earns money in the form of cryptocurrency. For some its a hobby, for some its a livelihood. For Berezay, its a mix of both. Berezay has chosen to mine a popular cryptocurrency called Ethereum, which was worth just $10 at the beginning of 2017. Then the price skyrocketed. Now each coin is worth more than $1,200. The increased price is good news for Berezay, who is now able to earn about $2,400 a month with his current mining set-up. As Ethereum, bitcoin and hundreds of other cryptocurrencies continue to climb in price, more and more people are getting into the business of mining and trying to figure out how it works. No one knows exactly how many miners there are, but experts estimate that tens of thousands of people are mining cryptocurrency in the U.S. One thing they agree on is that the numbers are climbing. It is more profitable now to do mining activity than it ever has been, said Michael Carter, 40, who runs a YouTube Channel called Bits Be Trippin, that teaches people how to mine and has more than 2 million views on some videos. At the same time, innovators are coming up with creative applications for cryptocurrency technologies. Startups are raising funding by creating and selling their coins instead of the traditional method of selling equity. As advertising revenue falters, even journalists are looking to cryptocurrency to fund their work. PressCoin is a digital coin created to fund investigative journalism, Civil is a cryptocurrency-based journalism marketplace, and Kodak is offering KodakCoin, a cryptocurrency for freelance photographers. Other technological applications for the decentralized model of computing used for cryptocurrency range from cloud storage to voting. Mining is different from investing in bitcoin by simply buying it. Miners are still investors, but they are actually generating new coins, and not purchasing existing ones. As with any investment, there are risks involved. It takes thousands of dollars to set up a mining operation. And while many experts think cryptocurrency will continue to rise in price, others fear it's a bubble that could burst at any moment. But in Berezays eyes, the potential for growth as well as the potential for profit is limitless. Creating the 'blockchain' The newest generation of miners doesnt have to go to work in dark and dangerous underground shafts. Cryptocurrency mining is happening all over the world in basements, garages and warehouses. Cryptocurrency gets its name from cryptography the art of writing or solving codes. Cryptocurrencies use cryptography to secure transactions as the coins or tokens are transferred directly from peer to peer. Theres no intervention or guaranty of banks, financial organizations or the government, and that is why it appeals to people who distrust these institutions. Instead, the system relies on miners who are responsible for validating and recording transactions in a digital public ledger to prevent double spending of the currency. The public ledger is called the blockchain. It's essentially a large database of transactions. Each block in the chain consists of the transactions that happen at any given moment, and once they are verified, it confirms to the rest of the network that a transaction has taken place. "(Blockchain) is to bitcoin, what the internet is to email. A big electronic system, on top of which you can build applications. Currency is just one," said Sally Davies, a Financial Times technology reporter. A transaction is verified when a computer solves the code or encryption associated with that transaction. Special algorithms are used to find the right mathematical key to unlock the encryption. Most miners don't even understand the complex mathematics behind the verification process. Instead, they buy software that runs the algorithms for them. For example, Berezay uses a software called Claymore Miner that employs an algorithm called Dagger Hashimoto to mine Ethereum. In return for the work they do, miners are rewarded with new coins of which only a certain number will ever be created. The miners are the ones that are keeping these networks going, said Joe Blackburn, 32, a cryptocurrency trading expert who runs a Facebook page called Crypto Coin Trader with nearly 80,000 members. Blackburn believes blockchain is the future of money. While many opportunity-seeking investors have been able to profit from rising prices, Blackburn believes people should invest in cryptocurrency because of its potential for real-world application. Blockchain was not invented to become the next stock market. Its a technology that I believe in, he said. While mining is lucrative, Blackburn explained that its also competitive and constantly changing. Cryptocurrency miners around the world are competing to verify a transaction before someone else does meaning the more computers and processing power you have, the more transactions youll be able to process and verify. Thats why bitcoin mining became so difficult as the currency rose in popularity and the number of transactions per block increased, Blackburn said. As the price of bitcoin goes up, the difficulty of mining increases, said Blackburn. Youre working harder and not receiving as much bitcoin in return, and smaller miners dont want to put in that effort. Graphics cards, like the ones Berezay uses to mine Ethereum, are no longer powerful enough to verify bitcoin transactions quickly enough. Instead, people have turned to newer more powerful machines, called Asic miners, specifically invented for mining bitcoin. And more bitcoin mining operations have moved to large-scale warehouses in China, where energy to power the massive operations is cheaper. Its like an arms race, said Berezay, noting that the price of graphics cards, originally made to improve the graphics for computer games and other programs, has also tripled. Those who have mining setups have to be ready to adapt and switch over to mining new currencies when one drops in price or becomes too difficult to mine, Berezay said. What if you had invested in Bitcoin early? Select a year and enter a dollar amount to see how much you would have made if you invested in BitCoin at that time! $0 loading... How Berezay got started Born in Boise, Idaho, Berezay grew up all over Nevada, Montana and Oregon. Eventually, he landed at BYU-Hawaii for college, where he developed an affinity for being barefoot while going to the beach every day and resourcefulness while living in a van for a year showing up at seaside showers in the morning and sharing his shampoo with homeless people who had the same routine. He would have graduated with a degree in computer science and a minor in psychology were it not for a pesky calculus class he never passed. But it didnt matter. He got hired as a web developer at Capshare in Sandy, Utah, immediately following his last semester. That was until he started working freelance and his brother-in-law called him up with an interesting proposition in September of last year. He knew a guy who had made thousands of dollars mining Ethereum but setting it up wouldnt be cheap. All the equipment would cost close to $9,000. So Berezay provided the technical know-how and his brother-in-law contributed to the capital necessary to get started. As for Berezays wife, It took a lot of convincing, he said. Earnings for Berezay were slow going at first because the price of Ethereum plateaued. But he didnt get discouraged. Berezay believed the price would go up, and it did. Now, Berezay says hes earned back about $2,100, and in three more months he expects to break even. Thats taking into account the energy costs as well. At any given time, Berezays rigs are pulling 1,900 watts, and the electricity bill is edging toward $230 a month, he said. But its also heating the house right now, Berezay says optimistically. So that takes off like $100 a month that we would be spending on heating. Still, Berezay knows the future of cryptocurrency mining is not certain. In the worst-case scenario, he can sell back the equipment he bought and get back a good chunk of his original investment. In that way, he thinks mining is less risky than just buying coins because he will still have physical capital even if the currencies lose value. Many market-watchers have warned that the price of cryptocurrency has been largely driven by what millennials would call FOMO (the fear of missing out) and economists would call Greater Fools Theory, which states that the price of an object is not based on its actual value, but by the irrational expectations of market participants. But Berezay is prepared to face the risk. Im just going to keep doing it for as long as I can, said Berezay. And for now at least, it looks like that will be long enough for Berezay to make a substantial profit on his investment. SALT LAKE CITY A state lawmaker plans to make another run at raising the minimum wage in Utah. Rep. Lynn Hemingway, D-Millcreek, is sponsoring a pair of bills that would raise the general minimum wage immediately to $10.25 per hour and gradually raise it to $12 by 2022, as well as increasing the tipped minimum wage to $3.25. Minimum wage in Utah currently is $7.25, the same as the federal rate, which has not increased since 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Hemingway said he's sponsoring HB117 and HB118 "because our minimum wage workers need some help. They don't have the opportunity to have a decent life at $7.25. They're all struggling." The Democratic lawmaker has introduced similar legislation in past sessions, including last year when he proposed bumping the minimum wage to $10.25 and then gradually boosting it to $15 over four years. The bill failed to advance to the House floor for debate. Hemingway's proposals this year call for an incremental increase of the minimum wage to $12 over four years after the initial raise. He says he hopes the change makes this bill more palatable to the Legislature. SALT LAKE CITY The proportion of patients prescribed opioids at the Veterans Medical Center in Salt Lake City has dropped significantly since 2012, according to data released this week by the federal government. Of all patients who receive a prescription from the George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center in 2017, 13 percent were prescribed opioids, compared to 22 percent in 2012, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs reported Thursday. The federal agency said in a release that, with the release of that data for its hospitals around the country, it became "the only health-care system in the country to post information on its opioid-prescribing rates." "One thing the VA is trying to do is make services accessible, but also be very transparent," said Jamie Clinton-Lont, who is the director of the primary care pain education and opioid monitoring program at the Salt Lake hospital, as well as the women veterans program manager there. "Making it public is important so the public and veterans know that the VA is in good faith doing what they say they're doing." Numerous efforts have been underway in recent years to better educate patients about the risks of opioids, introduce other ways to treat pain, and monitor those who may be attempting to get painkiller prescriptions from multiple doctors, said Clinton-Lont. "The VA was (at one point) one of the highest prescribers of opioids medications nationally," she said. "It was thought that opioid medications would be acceptable to treat pain. And data and research have come out suggesting that in fact it only takes care of about 30 percent of a person's chronic pain." "In (coming to believe) we need to have more of a holistic approach with or without opioids, we have seen providers prescribe less." For instance, Clinton-Lont said, more is being done at the hospital to explore chiropractic pain management alternatives, as well as other practices such as acupuncture, tai chi, yoga and mindfulness exercises. Veteran Affairs said more than 99 percent of its facilities have shown a decrease since 2012 in the percentage of patients prescribed opioids among all patients with prescriptions. While that number dropped by more than a third of its 2012 total at Salt Lake's Veteran Affairs hospital, the facility ranked behind 55 others among 146 total. However, the federal agency issued a caution about putting too much stock in direct comparisons between facilities, saying "the needs and conditions of veterans may be different at each facility." "You have varying patient populations at higher lower risk of suicide from one facility to the next, or higher or lower risk of PTSD or military sexual trauma," Clinton-Lont said. The newly released data is positive, but doesn't represent a catch-all as it pertains to reducing the number of opioids prescribed, Clinton-Lont added. For example, she said, among patients who do receive opioid prescriptions, there are special efforts at the Salt Lake facility to help reduce the regimen of those who are taking 200 milligram equivalents of painkillers per day. "The goal is to reduce the risk of accidental overdose," Clinton-Lont said. The Veterans Affairs release also cautioned that, despite declining numbers of patients being given opioids, for many veterans who suffer from chronic pain, receiving an opioid prescription may continue to "be necessary medically." SALT LAKE CITY The Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining's Abandoned Mine Reclamation program plans to close more than 90 mine openings on public land on Dutch Mountain near Gold Hill in southwestern Tooele County. Staff members are seeking public input to identify areas of concern or issues to consider during the planning phase of the project. The public may submit comments until Feb. 16 to chrisrohrer@utah.gov or request a public meeting. The division is coordinating with the Bureau of Land Management to select acceptable closure methods that could backfilling, masonry walls and rebar grates. Construction will begin this spring. Abandoned mine openings can be intriguing to people, said project manager Chris Rohrer. However, they can be very dangerous due to unstable materials, hazardous gases and explosives. The (Abandoned Mine Reclamation) program works to protect the public from dangers of old mine openings by sealing off access. This effort is the third mine closure project in the area. In 2007, the Gold Hill Project closed 158 mine openings and the Overland Project in 2017 closed 49. The Gold Hill area was a center of gold and silver mining dating back to the 1860s and peaking around the turn of the 20th century. There were small booms of arsenic production during both World War I and II, as well as lead, copper and tungsten mining. In 2016, the division used helicopters and pack horses to navigate the steep cliff faces of the San Rafael Swell as part of an effort to close more than 170 Cold War-era uranium mines. For more information on program, visit ogm.utah.gov. The diabetes drug class glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists have positive heart health outcomes without major safety concerns, research shows. University of Oxford scientists conducted a meta-analysis of the GLP-1 agonists Lyxumia (lixisenatide), Victoza (liraglutide), Ozempic (semaglutide), and Bydureon (extended-release exenatide), to assess their impact on heart health. The type 2 diabetes drugs are all designed to help lower blood sugar levels by stimulating insulin and suppressing glucagon after meals. In people with type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 treatment led to a 10% reduced risk for combination of heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease; a 13% per cent reduced risk of death from heart disease specifically; and a 12% reduced risk of death from any cause. Our findings show cardiovascular safety across all GLP-1 receptor agonist cardiovascular outcome trials and suggest that drugs in this class can reduce three-point major adverse cardiovascular events, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality risk, albeit to varying degrees for individual drugs, without significant safety concerns, said the researchers. The meta-analysis used data from trials where GLP-1 drugs were compared with placebo in adults with type 2 diabetes. The primary outcomes of the research included effects of cardiovascular mortality, heart attack and non-fatal stroke. Four trials were identified, and alongside improved heart health benefits, no significant effects were observed on hospital admission for unstable angina or heart failure. Moreover, no significant differences were observed regarding severe hypoglycemia, pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer. GLP-1 receptor agonists have a favourable risk-benefit balance overall, which should allow the choice of drug to be individualised to each patients needs, added the researchers. The results have been published in The Lancet journal. Women in Scotland with either type of diabetes are more likely to experience complications associated with pregnancy, research suggests. Funded by the Glasgow Childrens Hospital Charity Research Fund, based at the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, the trial focused on nearly 814,000 birth across 15 years. Women with diabetes were more likely to give birth early at 37 weeks, and 68 per cent of those with type 1 diabetes needed theatre for delivery, followed by 60 per cent of women with type 2. Stillbirths and caesarean section were also more likely among women with diabetes. Despite the data, it is still possible to increase your chances of having a healthy pregnancy through keeping watchful control of blood glucose levels, eating natural foods and reducing your sugar intake. Many packaged foods contain surprisingly high amounts of added sugars. Karen Addingto, Chief Executive of the type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, said of the findings that more needs to and can be done to lower the rates of complications among pregnant women with diabetes. Mrs Addington said: Type 1 diabetes can be tough to live with. Pregnant women living with the condition face particular challenges. Our latest research shows continuous glucose monitors can make a vital positive difference for them and their babies. Todays news reminds us that advances in treatment like continuous glucose monitors must be provided to all those who would benefit through the NHS. It was already known that both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes can increase the chances of higher birth weight, early delivery and other complications, and the most recent study shows risk rates of problematic pregnancies and issues with babies remain high. The authors hypothesise that factors which might affect these figures include high obesity numbers and women having babies at a slightly older age. They added that novel approaches and technologies are needed urgently in a bid to meet the unmet needs of pregnant women who have diabetes. Lead author Sharon Macki, from the University of Glasgow, said: There were marked differences in pregnancy outcomes in women with diabetes compared to non-diabetic women. Although diabetes in pregnancy remains relatively uncommon one in 178 births in our data the prevalence of both type 1 and particularly type 2 diabetes complicating pregnancy is increasing. The findings have been published in the journal Diabetologia. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and its larger variant, the S9 Plus have been spotted on the US FCCs website. The smartphones sport model numbers SM-G960U and SM-965U respectively, which are continued from their predecessors, the Galaxy S8 with the model number SM-G950U and S8 Plus with model number SM-G955U. The new listing is supplemented with authorisation letters, mandatory reports and LTE tests, which reveal that the devices will support most cellular bands in the US. The listing doesnt reveal anything in terms of specifications of the smartphones. However, a previously leaked image of the Galaxy S9s retail box gave a glimpse at some interesting information. If the specifications printed on the box are to be believed, the smartphone will feature a dual rear camera setup with variable aperture, similar to a flip phone which was launched by the company in China. The flip phones camera sported a variable aperture between f/2.4 and f/1.5 for improved low light photography. The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will be powered by the Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 845 SoC in the US and are expected to be powered by the company's latest Exynos 9810 SoC for other regions. Additionally, the Galaxy S9 could come with a super slo-mo feature, which will reportedly capture super slow motion videos at 1,000 fps, surpassing the 960fps benchmark set by the Sony Xperia XZ Premium last year. The Galaxy S9 is tipped to feature a 5.8-inch quad HD+ Super AMOLED display along with an 8MP front-facing camera and iris scanner. It is expected to be IP68 water resistant and the stereo speakers on the device are touted to be tuned by AKG. It could come with 4GB of RAM coupled with 64GB of internal storage. You can read more about the smartphone here. Samsung India might be readying a new budget smartphone series with a focus on online sales, reports ET. The new Samsung online smartphone series will see devices priced between Rs 5,000 - Rs 15,000 and will target young buyers with high-end specs and features at an affordable price point. Samsung India has decided to launch a new series of smartphones this year exclusively for online, which will be high on hardware specifications and aggressively priced to target Xiaomi bestsellers, three senior industry executives told ET. Samsung and Xiaomi are competing neck-to-neck in the Indian smartphone market, with the Chinese smartphone maker recording a 300 per cent year-on-year growth in Q3 2017. Samsung, on the other hand, registered a 39 percent sequential growth (QoQ) and 23 percent growth year-on-year (YOY) thanks to stellar sales of the Galaxy J2, Galaxy J7 Nxt, and Galaxy J7 Max smartphones. According to Manu Jain, VP and India MD for Xiaomi, the Chinese company currently commands almost 50 percent share in Indias online smartphone sales. Samsungs new online-only series will aim to put a dent in that number with its budget smartphone offerings. Samsung recently launched the Galaxy A8+ (2018) in india as an online exclusive on Amazon. "Samsung wants to extend its lead with Xiaomi which is possible by expanding e-commerce sales while consolidating its presence in offline channels. It will ensure that the 1.5 lakh brick-and-mortar stores selling its handsets are not neglected since Samsung knows it will take time for Xiaomi to build such a vast offline network," a senior industry executive told ET. While Samsung plans to wage war in the online smartphone space, Xiaomi is working hard to grow its offline sales business. Xiaomi ventured into brick-and-mortar smartphone sales in India starting with the Redmi 3s Plus. In an interview with Digit, Jain described Xiaomis experience in offline sales as incredibly good. He added that in a span of six months (June 2017 - Nov 2017), Xiaomi has become the fourth biggest smartphone brand in the offline space. We are growing really fast. Revenue and sales from offline grew 10X in the past six months. Now we are really pushing forward to further grow an offline business and have a market dominance in the offline segment, Jain added. Samsung is also chopping down its trade partners for completing online orders in India. An executive close to the development reportedly said, The layers of distribution for online sales are also being cut to ensure margins are better controlled, which can be passed for aggressive pricing." Fianna Fail TD for Sligo-Leitrim Marc Mac Sharry says the government must wake up to the seriousness of the jobs situation in the North West and concentrate on coming up with new measures rather than focusing on its Republic of Photo Opportunities. He made the comments after three companies across Donegal and Sligo announced plans to close plants over the coming months, with the loss of dozens of jobs. Fine Gael has neglected the North West for the past six years, choosing instead to promote employment opportunities in the Greater Dublin Area and commuter counties. In the past few weeks alone, three companies have announced intentions to close their facilities in Sligo and Ballyshannon, resulting in dozens of job losses, said Deputy Mac Sharry. The timing of these job losses is particularly difficult for the workers and families involved, coming just after Christmas, and I want to ensure those workers that I will be working with the various employment and government agencies to find alternative options for them. However, the government itself needs to step up to the mark. Companies based in this region have been operating in a difficult trading environment for the past couple of years, and now theyre facing into a major Brexit challenge. The border region is likely to be the most severely affected but we have yet to see any concrete plans from the government about how it intends to support businesses here. The Taoiseach and his government colleagues are fond of making big announcements but have failed to follow up on delivery. This focus on spin over substance is wearing thin and people want to see infrastructural and economic investment in this region. The North West has been left behind for too long I want to see a fully resourced strategic plan for this area to ensure that this region can reach its true potential, he said. It's Adopt a Lucky Black Cat week at Animals In Need Donegal (AIN) in an attempt to find forever homes for the gorgeous black cats currently in their care. AIN has 55 cats in foster homes around the county at the moment, of which 25 are black or tuxedo cats. An AIN spokesperson explains why black cats deserve a special mention "Black cats are always getting overlooked. Whether this is because of old fashioned superstitions that they're unlucky or because they can be difficult to photograph, time and time again we see them being left behind." Which is why every day this week Animals In Need will be featuring a selection of the black beauties currently in their care along with Black Cat Facts of the Day on their Facebook page Animals In Need continued "Black cats have had a bad rap since the Dark Ages when they were believed to be witches' cohorts and they had a terrible time as a result, but then again so did women who basically were making herbal tea, and hopefully we've all moved on since then." Contrary to outdated superstitions, black cats are believed to be lucky in numerous cultures around the World. In Scotland a black cat appearing on your doorstep is a sign of prosperity. In Northern England a black cat given as a wedding present is thought to bring good luck to the bride. In the south of France black cats are called magician cats and feeding and treating them well is believed to bring good luck to the owner. In Northern Europe it is considered that taking in and caring for a black cat can ensure fair weather and safe passage during voyages on the sea. In Asia owning a black cat brings good luck. In Italy, if you hear a black cat sneeze, you are in for a streak of good luck and in Japan, if a black cat crosses their path, they say Konichiwa and take control of their own luck. The rich and famous certainly appreciate having a mini panther around the place, and black cats have graced the homes of a multitude of stars including Marlon Brando, Brigitte Bardot, John Lennon, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman, John Travolta, Russell Brand, Jane Mansfield, Frank Zappa and George Clinton. The Animals In Need spokesperson concluded "If you would be interested in offering a forever home to one of these adorable black cats or kittens, please contact the cat helpline on 0877644420 for more information. Let's face it, black cats are the epitome of cool. They're shiny, they're silky and they have great personalities. What's not to love?" Please check out Animals In Need's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/AINDONEGAL Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider subscribing to our ePaper and/or free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. The people of Kilcar and surrounding parishes opened their hearts this Christmas and supported those who are less forunate than them in Dublin and across the globe. The well known priest, Father Eddie Gallagher, said that a number of charitable initiatives at Christmas were of great benefit to those in need in Ireland and further afield. As the Christmas period began, the prayer room in the Kilcar chapel was used to store non-perishable goods. These good were being stored for the benefit of those who attend the Capuchin Day Centre for the homeless which is run by Brother Kevin Crowley in Dublin. The initiative began on December 3rd and ran to December 10th. O'Donnell's garage in Dunkineely sponsored the transport of the goods to Dublin. Mary Anderson, Fintra, Killybegs was also instrumental in the initiative. The second initiative involved shrine candles which people could purchase for 1. The initiative raised 1,000 which went to benefit the Father Peter McVerry Trust in Dublin which helps the homeless. Many bought shrine candles and others made donations to the fund. Each year, Fr. Gallagher places an alms box beside the crib to raise money for certaincharities. This year, those who attended Mass kindly and generously placed money in the alms box over the Christmas period. The proceeds from the box amounted to one thousand euro being raised. Fr. Gallagher said that 500 of this money was donated to Sister Mary O'Malley who works in one of the biggest slums in the world in Nairobi where almost one million people live. Sister O'Malley is a regular visitor to the Kilcar area. Fr. Gallagher said that the second sum of 500 was also donated to a sister Dolores Sweeney from the region who also carrys out great work in Sierra Leone. Fr. Gallagher said that he was exceptionally pleased that so much money and food was gathered to help those who are less fortunate. The new board of Udaras na Gaeltachta has been announced and the former chairperson Anna Ni Ghallachair, Director of the Languages Centre in the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, has been reappointed as Chairperson of the board along with ten other members. In accordance with the Gaeltacht Act 2012, four members were appointed to the board on foot of nominations by County Councils with a Gaeltacht region as part of their operational area. The remaining appointments, including the reappointment of the Chairperson, were made on foot of a process overseen by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) which facilitated applications from the public. The Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh said that he was pleased to announce the appointments and that he is confident that the new board of Udaras na Gaeltachta will undertake their duties with diligence and determination. "The Board will undoubtedly face new challenges in relation to the further development of enterprise, employment, language planning and community development within the Gaeltacht. I am confident, however, that given the boards collective abilities and skill-sets that the board, under the chairmanship of Anna Ni Ghallachair, will meet those challenges over the coming five years will greatly support the work of An tUdaras. I would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the valuable contribution made to the work of the Udaras by the previous board which they effectively discharged on behalf of and to the benefit of Gaeltacht communities. Sinn Fein councillor John Sheamuis O Fearraigh has been appointed to the board on foot of nominations by Donegal County Council. Eunan Mac Cuinneagain, the Regional Manager of WESTBIC in Cill Charthaigh from An Charraig, has been reappointed to the board on foot of process overseen by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) which facilitated applications from the public. Louth Councillor Antoin Watters has described a second incident of tyre dumping at Edentubber as a despicable act carried out by despicable people. Cllr Watters who visited the site on Sunday said tyre dumping is threatening to spiral out of control. Following on from the dumping of tyres over the Christmas period in Edentubber there has now been another spate of dumping over the weekend. Cllr Watters said: I visited the site again on Sunday and there has been another load of tyres dumped. Last week at the Dundalk Municipal District meeting I raised the issue of the tyre dumping and requested extra boulders to be placed to stop the perpetrators been able to access the site so easily. This needs to be done as a matter of urgency now. This situation needs to be addressed immediately with a cross community and agency approach to tackle this. In the meantime I would appeal for the community to be vigilant and report anything they see that is suspicious. Met Eireann has issued a snow and ice warning for Louth. The status yellow weather warning is valid from Tuesday morning (tomorrow) from 6am until 3am on Wednesday. Weather chiefs are predicting "widespread wintry showers that may lead to snow accumulations". Eleven other counties including Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Wicklow, Offaly, Westmeath and Meath have also been issued with snow-ice warnings. Today's weather conditions look changeable, with temperatures dropping to between 4 and 8 degrees by this afternoon. Met Eireann's forecast says: "There will be sunny spells with widespread showers, some of the showers will be heavy and later with the risk of hail and sleet on higher ground in the north. "It will gradually turn colder through the day and temperatures will fall to between 4 and 8 degrees in the afternoon, coldest in the north." By tonight Met Eireann says we can expect: "widespread showers continue, some heavy and with the risk of hail or thunder, especially in the west and north." The national weather forecaster's outlook for tonight says there'll be more of the same tonight: "The showers will be wintry over higher ground at first but later in the night also on lower levels. Lowest temperatures will be zero to plus 3 degrees generally but 4 or 5 degrees along Atlantic coastal fringes." Meanwhile, local weather expert Louth Weather says the wee county can expect to be battered by 55kph winds by Wednesday. www.dundalkdemocrat.ie/news/home/291661/louth-weather-gusts-of-up-100kph-possible-this-week.html The wee county made its presence known at The 54th BT Young Scientists & Technology Exhibition 2018 - twelve projects were presented by Louth schools, out of a total of 550 entries. Two projects from Bush Post Primary School were highly commended for their efforts. The first project was presented by students Gary Murphy, Ciaran Murphy and Brendan Woods in the senior age group and was titled Are there benefits to using health-tracking technology?. The project appeared in the Biological and Ecological category and explored the use of wearable devices for people monitoring their own health. The second project which received a highly commended award was titled: Trypophobia: Fear Or Disgust? The project was entered into the intermediate age group in the Social and Behavioural Sciences category. Students Patrick Johnston, Andrew Moore and Liam O'Donnell explored Trypophobia, which is a phobia of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps, as their theme. WATCH: Dundalk students explore the benefits of health-tracking technology at BT Young Scientist On Thursday morning, Sinn Fein TD for Louth/East Meath Gerry Adams and Cllr. Ruairi O Murchu attended the last day of the BT Young Scientist Exhibition 2018 in the RDS in Dublin. Speaking at the event, Deputy Adams said he was very impressed by the innovative entries from Dundalk students. Mr. Adam's said: I want to warmly congratulate all of the students and schools who have taken part in this year's Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin. The exhibition is an excellent event at which students from schools across the island of Ireland, north, and south, showcase their research projects across a range of science disciplines, from social sciences to chemistry and mathematics. I visited a range of the entries from schools in County Louth, including those from St. Vincents Secondary School, Bush Post Primary School and De La Salle College and was very impressed by all of their innovative entries. All of the students, teachers, and schools who have taken part are to be highly commended for the hard work and effort they have put into the event, and for the enthusiasm, they put into their individual projects. Greenpeace's ship Arctic Sunrise is on its way to Antarctica, where the crew on board will be the first humans ever to visit the seafloor in the Weddell Sea. The three-month expedition will aim to further the case for a massive ocean sanctuary. In an effort to combat the threats of overfishing, plastic pollution and climate change in Antarctica, the European Union and Greenpeace have been pursuing since October an ambitious global campaign to create the largest protected area on Eartha 1.8 million square kilometer (approximately 694,000 square mile) sanctuary in the Weddell Sea and around the Antarctic Peninsula. The sanctuary proposal, which would stop industrial-scale krill fishing in an area about five times the size of Germany, would create "an urgently-needed safe zone" for creatures like penguins, whales and seals that call the area home, Greenpeace New Zealand campaigner, Amanda Larsson, said. "It would mean the waters would be off-limits to the massive industrial fishing fleets that want to suck up the tiny shrimp-like krill on which Antarctic life relies," Larsson further explained. The proposal was initiated by the EU and already has the support of several countries. Additionally, a quarter of a million people across the globe have signed up in support of the idea, according to the Guardian. The plan will be presented at a conference of the Antarctic nations in October in Australia, where 24 national governments and the EU will decide its fate. "In just over nine months' time the Antarctic Ocean Commission meets to discuss whether or not to make history and create the world's largest protected area," said Will McCallum, an oceans campaigner with Greenpeace UK. "We have until then to convince the members of this Commission to put aside their differences and create a safe haven for emperor penguins, blue whales, colossal squid and all the other Antarctic animals." Larsson said the ship's crew will undertake pioneering scientific research in submarines, document the area's unique wildlife which is facing pressures from climate change, overfishing and pollution, and gather evidence of the urgent need for governments to create the sanctuary. Crew on board the Arctic Sunrise before it leaves for the Antarctic, 2018 Julian Gutt from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Germany, which introduced the original proposal, told the Guardian that the sanctuary would be an important move in creating a sustainable global ocean system. "This will bring huge benefits in protecting this amazing ecosystem, in preserving the biodiversity and ecosystem functions of the ocean and in the wider fight against climate change," Gutt said. By Paul Brown Heating homes and offices without adding to the dangers of climate change is a major challenge for many cities, but re-imagined district heating is now offering an answer. A district heating scheme is a network of insulated pipes used to deliver heat, in the form of hot water or steam, from where it is generated to wherever it is to be used. As a way of providing warmth for thousands of homes, typically in multi-storey apartment buildings, district heating has a long history in eastern Europe and Russia. But the hot water it distributes typically comes from power stations burning coal or gas, which means more greenhouse gas emissions. Tapping into other forms of producing hot water, from renewable energy, bio-gas or capturing waste heat from industrial production, supermarkets or IT systems, provides alternative sources of large scale heating without adding to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Sweden has pioneered the switch from fossil fuels to other ways of heating water. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency said the country has gone from almost exclusively relying on fossil fuels to being 90 percent powered by renewable and recycled heat in 2017. Simple Link Today Stockholm, the capital, which needs heating for nine months of the year, contains 2,800 km of underground pipes connecting to more than 10,000 buildings, said Erik Rylander from Fortum, an energy company active in Nordic and Baltic countries. "As long as you have a water-based heating circuit in your building (which basically all bigger buildings in Sweden have), the connection is easy," he explained. "A heat exchanger is placed in the basement which connects the district heating system to the building's heating system." The system uses biofuelswood chips, wood pellets and bio-oilas well as household waste and recovered heat from the city's data centers and industries. It also draws energy from the sea using large heat pumps, Rylander said. Further south in Spain, where heating is mostly required only in the winter months, winning public acceptance for the need to install district systems has been more difficult. The involvement of citizens is a key issue for smart city initiatives, said Jose Ramon Martin-Sanz Garcia, energy efficiency engineer at Veolia, a partner in a Spanish project near Valladolid. "One of the biggest challenges was convincing homeowners that it was necessary. It required a communication plan," he said. About 31 buildings, a total of 1,488 dwellings with more than 4,000 residents, have been retrofitted since 2014 to decrease buildings' energy demands by 40 percent. Also in Spain, San Sebastian is in the final stages of installing a power plant that will heat 1,500 new homes. The construction falls under the umbrella of the European research initiative Project Replicate, which seeks to reduce primary energy consumption by 35 percent through a biomass-fueled district heating system. It will be finalized by this summer. "This is the first project of its kind," said Ainara Amundarain, smart strategy and sector specialization technician for the city of San Sebastian. "Most of the buildings in the district heating area are being built in tandem with the district heating project, so retrofitting is not an issue." However, 154 buildings already standing in the zone will have to accommodate the new technology. "They're quite old, from the 1960s, so what we are also doing is retrofitting these old buildings," she said. In the event of a longer or colder winter, the city has back-up measures in the form of gas boilers. While many district heating schemes are quite large-scale, others can be much smaller, using waste heat from one building to heat another nearby. The strategy is that heat will be supplied from local sources of waste heat such as retail outlets, buildings and IT server rooms, as well as from renewable sources such as solar power and heat pumpsand often in combination with thermal storage. New Name "The results from our modeling studies demonstrate that by installing a low-temperature district heating grid, it is possible to reduce heat losses by a third," explained SINTEF researcher Hanne Kauko. She said the term "district heating" is really rather misleading. "In these local heating grids, the sources of heat are in fact very close at hand, so in Norway the sector is introducing a new term for such systemsurban energy." A low-temperature heat distribution grid linked to heat pumps or electric boilers, combined with thermal storage, will also facilitate electricity storage in the form of heat during periods of electricity overproduction from renewable sources. Kauko believes that housing developers should consider low-temperature urban energy systems when planning future projects. "New buildings in particular are very well suited to low-temperature urban energy systems because they exhibit lower levels of heat loss than older buildings, and are often fitted with underfloor heating that is ideal for heat distribution at lower temperatures," said Kauko. "Today, heat is distributed in urban energy grids at temperatures of about 100C, but modern buildings simply don't require heat to be supplied at temperatures as high as this." Reposted with permission from our media associate Climate News Network. Experts have expressed concern about the potential environmental aftermath of a stricken Iranian oil tanker that exploded and sank in the East China Sea on Sunday. The Sanchicarrying 150,000 tons, or nearly 1 million barrels, of condensate oilcollided with the CF Crystal on Jan 6. The tanker caught fire and burned for more than a week before sinking. Iranian officials said all 32 crew members on the tanker were killed. According to the BBC, Chinese ships are racing to clean up a 46 square mile oil slick left behind. The slick is thought to be made up of heavy fuel used to power the vessel. BBC's China Correspondent Robin Brant reported that the oil slick has more than doubled in size since Sunday, noting that the big concern now is the environmental impact. There could also be a very tall plume of condensate oil underneath the surface, Brant noted. Condensate is an ultra-light oil that is highly toxic and much more explosive than regular crude oil. Experts worry that ship's sinking would likely expel the remaining condensate and the tanker's bunker fuel, contaminating the surrounding waters, Reuters reported. According to Reuters, "bunker fuel is the dirtiest kind of oil, extremely toxic when spilled, though less explosive. Condensate is poisonous to marine organisms." As Rick Steiner, a U.S. marine scientist explained to the news service, the East China Sea is known for its richbut already pollutedmarine ecosystem that includes whales, porpoises and seabirds. "As with all major oil spills, time is of the essence. This is particularly so with condensate spills, as the substance is so toxic and volatile," said Steiner. In a statement, Greenpeace said the explosion and sinking occurred in "an important (fish) spawning ground." "At this time of year the area is used as wintering ground by common edible species such as hairtail, yellow croaker, chub mackerel and blue crab. The area is also on the migratory pathway of many marine mammals, such as humpback whale, right whale and gray whale," the environmental organization said. Teng Da from the Chinese Oceanic Administration told CGTN, "Now that the tanker has sunk, what comes next to the ecological system the government should watch very closely." By Conor Sneyd Norway is introducing a total ban on fur farming, according to a statement released by the Norwegian animal rights organization NOAH this weekend. The country is currently home to 300 fur farms, which breed and kill 700,000 minks and 110,000 foxes every year, so this is truly a massive victory for animals. An expose released by PETA in 2014 documented horrific conditions on fur farms in Norway and several other countries and featured footage captured by Norwegian groups Dyrebeskyttelsen Norge and Nettverk for Dyrs Frihet. The video shows animals suffering from starvation, thirst and untreated, bloody wounds. Many on these animals go insane as a result of their confinement, and some are driven to self-mutilation and cannibalism. Dead animals are left to rot, often among their desperate cagemates. At the end of this ordeal, the animals are killed, typically in gruesome ways including anal or vaginal electrocution. Animal rights activists in Norway have been campaigning for a ban for years. In 2016, NOAH organized Europe's largest-ever anti-fur protest, during which more than 13,000 people marched through the streets of Oslo and other Norwegian cities. Many PETA supporters were also there to help spread the fur-free message. Although the full details of Norway's ban have yet to be finalized, all fur farms in the country will reportedly be required to shut down by 2025. Drinking water for more than 170 million Americans in all 50 states contains radioactive elements that may increase the risk of cancer, according to an Environmental Working Group (EWG) investigation released Thursday. Radiation in tap water is a serious health threat, especially during pregnancy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's legal limits for the most widespread radioactive elements are more than 40 years old. But President Trump's nominee to be the White House environment czar rejects the need for water systems to comply even with those inadequate standards. The most common radioactive element in American tap water is radium. EWG's analysis of test data from almost 50,000 public water systems found that from 2010 to 2015, more than 22,000 utilities in all 50 states reported radium in the treated water delivered to customers' taps. EWG's interactive map shows the utilities with radium contamination and how many people were affected. Only a small percentage of those systems exceeded the EPA's legal limits for radium, set in 1976. But almost all exceeded California state scientists' public health goals for two separate radium isotopes, set in 2006, which are hundreds of times more stringent than the EPA's standard for the two isotopes combined. The elevated risk of cancer, as well as potential harm to fetal growth and brain development, decreases with lower doses of radiation but does not go away. "Most radioactive elements in tap water come from natural sources, but that doesn't take away the need to protect people through stronger standards and better water treatment," said Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., EWG's senior science advisor for children's environmental health. "Millions of Americans are drinking water with potentially harmful levels of radioactive elements, but the outdated federal standards mean many people don't know about the risk they face when they turn on the tap." California has the most residents affected by radiation in drinking water. From 2010 to 2015, about 64 percent of the state's residents were served by public water systems that reported detectable levels of the two radium isotopes. In Texas, which has a smaller population, about 80 percent of the population was served by utilities reporting detectable levels of those elements. But while President Trump's nominee to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality, or CEQ, was Texas's top environmental regulator, the state regularly and deliberately lowered the levels of radiation in tap water it reported to the EPA. The nominee, Kathleen Hartnett White, admitted in a 2011 investigation by Houston's KHOU-TV that if utility tests found radiation levels over the EPA limit, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality would subtract the test's margin of error to make it appear the water met federal standards. In some cases, this meant that Texans whose tap water posed the extraordinarily elevated lifetime cancer risk of 1 in 400 were not informed of the danger. Hartnett White told KHOU she did not trust the science behind the EPA's standard. When pressed by a reporter"What if you're wrong and EPA's right?"she said: "It would be regrettable." Last month, after Hartnett White acknowledged to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that she knew the commission was cooking the books, her nomination was sent back to the White House. But on Monday the White House stubbornly renominated her. "Putting someone in charge of CEQ who deliberately falsified data to get around federal regulations is outrageous, and the fact that her deception left people at serious risk of cancer is even more alarming," said Scott Faber, EWG's vice president of government affairs. "The Senate should reject this radioactive nominee." "With the renomination of Kathleen Hartnett White to the White House Council of Environmental Quality, President Trump is failing these 170 million at-risk Americans who are drinking contaminated water," said Christy Goldfuss, vice president for energy and environmental policy at the Center for American Progress. "When Hartnett White was tasked with addressing radiation in Texas's drinking water as a government official, she regularly and deliberately underreported the amount of radiation in drinking water, keeping families in the dark about their health and safety. Putting her in charge of the Council of Environmental Quality could do untold damage to even more Americans. With [Thursday's] data revealed, it is even more vital that our leaders and representatives prioritize clean and safe drinking water for all." Anti-abortion campaign group returns to Island A pro-life campaign group that uses graphic images of aborted foetuses in their demonstrations is returning to the Island. Abort67 announced it will be on the Isle of Man from today until January 24th to protest proposed changes to Manx abortion laws. The UK-based group say it intends to show the reality of the proposed changes outside Tynwald. Abort67 also revealed it's made police aware of threats of violence against its team, and that protesters will be wearing body cameras. Ramsey MHK Dr Alex Allinson has prepared the Abortion Reform Bill, which would give women access to terminations on the Isle of Man. Currently, most women must pay for a private abortion and travel to the UK if they don't want to continue with a pregnancy. To help address the opioid overdose epidemic, Canada should develop a regulated program to distribute opioids and prevent deaths, argues a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.171060 "The public health response to any poisoning epidemic should be to provide safer alternatives for people at risk," writes Dr. Mark Tyndall, BC Centre for Disease Control, Vancouver, BC. "In the case of the overdose crisis, this would mean providing a regulated supply of pharmaceutical-grade opioids to people at highest risk of overdose." In 2016, it is estimated that there were 2458 deaths from opioid overdoses, and more than 1000 overdose deaths reported in British Columbia, "ground zero" for the crisis in Canada, in the first 8 months of 2017. A drug supply contaminated with the synthetic opioids fentanyl and carfentanil is fuelling the crisis. Although it is recognized that widespread opioid prescribing has also contributed, efforts to reduce opioid prescribing are forcing people to turn to illegal and potentially deadly sources of pain relief. "We are now faced with the very real possibility of a protracted epidemic of overdose deaths that encompasses an ever-widening swath of the Canadian population, many of whom fall outside our usual targets for harm reduction programs," writes Dr. Tyndall. "We cannot simply give up on the current group of chronic opioid users who are playing a form of 'Russian roulette' with every injection or inhalation." Solutions include medically supervised dispensing of opioids, dispensing of slow-release oral morphine or large-scale dispensing of hydromorphone pills, which are inexpensive and available. ### The common practice of using patient self-report screening questionnaires rather than diagnostic interviews conducted by researchers has resulted in overestimates of the prevalence of depression, according to an analysis in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.170691. "These studies misrepresent the actual rate of depression, sometimes dramatically, which makes it very difficult to direct the right resources to problems faced by patients," said Dr. Brett Thombs of the Lady Davis Institute of the Jewish General Hospital and McGill University, the study's lead author. "Self-report questionnaires are meant to be used as an initial assessment to cast a wide net and identify people who may be struggling with mental health issues. However, we need to conduct a more thorough evaluation in order to determine an appropriate diagnosis and whether there may be other issues to address." The authors suggest that researchers often use self-report questionnaires because diagnostic interviews are time-consuming and expensive to administer. "In addition," said Thombs, "Studies with dramatic results tend to be accepted by higher impact journals and attract more attention from the public than studies with more modest findings. This may also encourage some researchers to report results from questionnaires rather than conducting appropriate diagnostic interviews." "Addressing overestimation of the prevalence of depression based on self-report screening questionnaires" is published January 15, 2018. ### Bowel scope screening uptake increased by more than a fifth (21.5%) when people were sent additional reminders with a leaflet that addressed common concerns, according to a new study funded by Cancer Research UK.* The NHS bowel scope screening programme is gradually being rolled out in England to men and women aged between 55 and 59, prior to the bowel screening programme offered at 60.** It is a one-off, preventative and diagnostic test where a tiny camera is inserted into the bowel allowing doctors to find and remove any small bowel growths, called polyps, which could eventually turn into cancer. The reminder letters, sent one and two years after the initial invitation, allowed people to choose the time of their appointment and the gender of the doctor performing the test. The researchers found that the main concerns about the test included embarrassment, pain and fear of harm to the bowel. The leaflet, created by the researchers from University College London (UCL) with help from the public, included patient testimonials and advice from a named and pictured local GP to address this. An invitation with an NHS information booklet and an appointment time is sent to the NHS-registered population at 55 years old. It is up to the recipient to confirm and attend their appointment. At two weeks, there is a further reminder to confirm the appointment. Around 40% of people attend their appointments with this system.*** Dr Robert Kerrison, lead researcher from University College London said: "Despite bowel scope screening attendance being low where it has been rolled out so far, this research shows that more could be done to improve uptake. Providing information targeting the concerns of patients is one way to break down the barriers to bowel scope screening uptake." Dr Jodie Moffat, Cancer Research UK's head of early diagnosis said: "Cancer screening offers a lot of potential for reducing the burden of cancer but there are harms as well as benefits, so it's important that people make their own decision about whether to take part or not. Studies such as this help us learn about the best way to provide information in a way that resonates with people and ensures we can minimise any unnecessary barriers to people taking part. To fully realise the potential of cancer screening we need a system that adopts research findings into practice and has enough of the right workforce to deliver what's needed." Bowel cancer is the 4th most common cancer in the UK and over half of bowel cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage in England**** ### The study is published today in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine. For more information on bowel cancer visit: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/bowel-cancer Notes to editor: *Kerrison et al. Use of two self-referral reminders and a theory-based leaflet to increase the uptake of flexible sigmoidoscopy in the English Bowel Scope Screening Programme: results from a randomised controlled trial in London. Annals of Behavioral Medicine ** From the age of 60, patients are invited to take part in the bowel cancer screening programme, which offers biennial faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) to men and women ***McGregor et al. Uptake of Bowel Scope (Flexible Sigmoidoscopy) Screening in the English National Programme: the first 14 months. Journal of Medical Screening ****http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/bowel-cancer About Cancer Research UK * Cancer Research UK is the world's leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. * Cancer Research UK's pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives. * Cancer Research UK receives no funding from the UK government for its life-saving research. Every step it makes towards beating cancer relies on vital donations from the public. * Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years. * Today, 2 in 4 people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK's ambition is to accelerate progress so that by 2034, 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer for at least 10 years. * Cancer Research UK supports research into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000 scientists, doctors and nurses. * Together with its partners and supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or visit http://www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Feelings about the frequency of rape or other forms of sexual assault in a neighborhood are significantly tied to women's--but not men's--perceptions of its safety, according to new research. However, both men and women report feeling less safe in their neighborhoods based on the presence of other violence, including weapon-based fights, robberies, muggings and gang fights. "Our results indicate that men can become more aware of how women feel about what contributes to and threatens their safety," said Dana M. Prince, an assistant professor at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and a co-author of the study. "Sexual and gendered violence affects all people, and everyone can be partners in ending sexual violence." Neighborhoods play a key role in the behavior and development of people, previous studies show, and some conditions--such as crime, segregation, poverty and disorder--can have harmful effects on health. "Feeling unsafe, especially in and around your home, can erode physical and mental health," Prince said. "When women carry around fears of sexual assault, it harms their well-being." The study, published in the Journal of Community Psychology, was based on interviews with nearly 350 adults in nine neighborhoods in a major American city with high rates of poverty, unemployment and crime. Participants were asked how often particular crimes occurred in their neighborhood in the past six months. "Our results could mean men are less aware of sexual violence, or perhaps they do not feel comfortable reporting that it makes them feel less safe--perhaps both--while women tend to be socialized early on to be aware of the possibility of sexual attack," said Prince. ### Co-authors of the research are Erin E. Hoffman, Jacob Kraemer Tebes and Tanisha T.M. Mair, of Yale University School of Medicine; and Bronwyn A. Hunter, of the University of Maryland. The research was funded, in part, by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Thomas Scattergood Foundation, the City of Philadelphia and the National Institute of Drug Abuse. CAMBRIDGE, MA - MONDAY, JAN.15, 2018 - Nature has produced exquisite composite materials--wood, bone, teeth, and shells, for example--that combine light weight and density with desirable mechanical properties such as stiffness, strength and damage tolerance. Since ancient civilizations first combined straw and mud to form bricks, people have fabricated engineered composites of increasing performance and complexity. But reproducing the exceptional mechanical properties and complex microstructures found in nature has been challenging. Now, a team of researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has demonstrated a novel 3D printing method that yields unprecedented control of the arrangement of short fibers embedded in polymer matrices. They used this additive manufacturing technique to program fiber orientation within epoxy composites in specified locations, enabling the creation of structural materials that are optimized for strength, stiffness, and damage tolerance. Their method, referred to as "rotational 3D printing," could have broad ranging applications. Given the modular nature of their ink designs, many different filler and matrix combinations can be implemented to tailor electrical, optical, or thermal properties of the printed objects. "Being able to locally control fiber orientation within engineered composites has been a grand challenge," said the study's senior author, Jennifer A. Lewis, Hansjorg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard SEAS. "We can now pattern materials in a hierarchical manner, akin to the way that nature builds." Lewis is also a Core Faculty Member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard. The work, described in the journal PNAS, was carried out in the Lewis lab at Harvard. Collaborators included then-postdoctoral fellows Brett Compton (now Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville), and Jordan Raney (now Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania); and visiting PhD student Jochen Mueller from Prof. Kristina Shea's lab at ETH Zurich. The key to their approach is to precisely choreograph the speed and rotation of a 3D printer nozzle to program the arrangement of embedded fibers in polymer matrices. This is achieved by equipping a rotational printhead system with a stepper motor to guide the angular velocity of the rotating nozzle as the ink is extruded. "Rotational 3D printing can be used to achieve optimal, or near optimal, fiber arrangements at every location in the printed part, resulting in higher strength and stiffness with less material," Compton said. "Rather than using magnetic or electric fields to orient fibers, we control the flow of the viscous ink itself to impart the desired fiber orientation." Compton noted that the team's nozzle concept could be used on any material extrusion printing method, from fused filament fabrication, to direct ink writing, to large-scale thermoplastic additive manufacturing, and with any filler material, from carbon and glass fibers to metallic or ceramic whiskers and platelets. The technique allows for the 3D printing of engineered materials that can be spatially programmed to achieve specific performance goals. For example, the orientation of the fibers can be locally optimized to increase the damage tolerance at locations that would be expected to undergo the highest stress during loading, hardening potential failure points. "One of the exciting things about this work is that it offers a new avenue to produce complex microstructures, and to controllably vary the microstructure from region to region," Raney said. "More control over structure means more control over the resulting properties, which vastly expands the design space that can be exploited to optimize properties further." "Biological composite materials often have remarkable mechanical properties: high stiffness and strength per unit weight and high toughness. One of the outstanding challenges of designing engineering materials inspired by biological composites is control of fiber orientation at small length scales and at the local level," said Lorna J. Gibson, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, who was not involved in the research. "This remarkable paper from the Lewis group demonstrates a way of doing just that. This represents a huge leap forward in the design of bio-inspired composites." ### The Harvard Office of Technology Development has protected the intellectual property relating to this project. Previously, Lewis has conducted groundbreaking research in the 3D printing of tissue constructs with vasculature, lithium-ion microbatteries, and the first autonomous, entirely soft robot. Other contributors to the paper include Thomas Ober from Harvard SEAS and Kristina Shea from ETH Zurich. The research was supported by the Office of Naval Research and GETTYLAB. Woods Hole, Mass.-- Many of the genes involved in natural repair of the injured spinal cord of the lamprey are also active in the repair of the peripheral nervous system in mammals, according to a study by a collaborative group of scientists at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and other institutions. This is consistent with the possibility that in the long term, the same or similar genes may be harnessed to improve spinal cord injury treatments. "We found a large overlap with the hub of transcription factors that are driving regeneration in the mammalian peripheral nervous system," says Jennifer Morgan, director of the MBL's Eugene Bell Center for Regenerative Biology and Tissue Engineering, one of the authors of the study published this week in Scientific Reports. Lampreys are jawless, eel-like fish that shared a common ancestor with humans about 550 million years ago. This study arose from the observation that a lamprey can fully recover from a severed spinal cord without medication or other treatment. "They can go from paralysis to full swimming behaviors in 10 to 12 weeks," says Morgan. "Scientists have known for many years that the lamprey achieves spontaneous recovery from spinal cord injury, but we have not known the molecular recipe that accompanies and supports this remarkable capacity," says Ona Bloom of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, a former MBL Whitman Center Fellow who collaborated on the project. "In this study, we have determined all the genes that change during the time course of recovery and now that we have that information, we can use it to test if specific pathways are actually essential to the process," Bloom says. The researchers followed the lampreys' healing process and took samples from the brains and spinal cords at multiple points in time, from the first hours after injury until three months later when they were healed. They analyzed the material to determine which genes and signaling pathways were activated as compared to a non-injured lamprey. As expected, they found many genes in the spinal cord that change over time with recovery. Somewhat unexpectedly, they also discovered a number of injury-induced gene expression changes in the brain. "This reinforces the idea that the brain changes a lot after a spinal cord injury," says Morgan. "Most people are thinking, 'What can you do to treat the spinal cord itself?' but our data really support the idea that there's also a lot going on in the brain." They also found that many of the genes associated with spinal cord healing are part of the Wnt signaling pathway, which plays a role in tissue development. "Furthermore, when we treated the animals with a drug that inhibits the Wnt signaling pathway, the animals never recovered their ability to swim," says Morgan. Future research will explore why the Wnt pathway seems particularly important in the healing process. The paper is the result of a collaboration between Morgan, Bloom and other scientists including Jeramiah Smith of University of Kentucky and Joseph Buxbaum of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, both former Whitman Center Fellows. The collaboration was made possible by the MBL Whitman Center Fellowship program. "[This study] involved several different labs located in different parts of the country with different types of expertise, but it absolutely could not and would not have been done without the support of the MBL that allows us to to work collaboratively in a shared laboratory setting," says Morgan. ### Citation: Paige E. Herman et al (2018) Highly conserved molecular pathways, including Wnt signaling, promote functional recovery from spinal cord injury in lampreys. Scientific Reports, DOI: xxxxxx The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is dedicated to scientific discovery - exploring fundamental biology, understanding biodiversity and the environment, and informing the human condition through research and education. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution and an affiliate of the University of Chicago. Psychotherapy may improve symptoms of psychiatric disorders by increasing activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, suggests a study of rats exposed to chronic stress. The research, published in JNeurosci, is a step toward understanding how the brain processes influenced by behavioral therapy may be targeted to improve treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapies are commonly used to treat stress-related disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, but their effectiveness varies and it is unclear why they help some patients and not others. David Morilak and colleagues previously developed a rodent model of exposure therapy, which involves confronting the source of stress in a safe environment, to better understand how this kind of treatment changes the brain and behavior. In this study, adult male rats underwent two weeks of stressful experiences. Animals that received the rodent equivalent of exposure therapy showed improvements in their coping behavior and cognitive flexibility the day after treatment, and the researchers demonstrate that activity in the infralimbic region of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex underlies these improvements. These findings are consistent with clinical studies in which patients with stress-related disorders show reduced activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and increased activity in this region after psychotherapy. ### Article: Activity in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex is necessary for the therapeutic effects of extinction in rats DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0635-17.2017 Corresponding author: David Morilak (University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA), Morilak@uthscsa.edu About JNeurosci JNeurosci, the Society for Neuroscience's first journal, was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship. About The Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 37,000 members in more than 90 countries and over 130 chapters worldwide. A brain-machine interface that combines brain stimulation with a robotic device controlling hand movement increases the output of pathways connecting the brain and spinal cord, according to a study of healthy adults published in JNeurosci. This work could have implications for restoring function in stroke patients with hand paralysis. Alireza Gharabaghi and colleagues asked participants to imagine opening their hand without actually making any movement while their hand was placed in a device that passively opened and closed their fingers as it received the necessary input from their brain activity. The researchers demonstrate that stimulating the hand area of the motor cortex at the same time, but not after, the robotic device initiated hand movement increased the strength of the neural signal, most likely by harnessing the processing power of additional neurons in the corticospinal tract. However, the signal decreased when participants were not required to imagine moving their hand. Delivering brain stimulation and robotic motor feedback simultaneously during rehabilitation may therefore be beneficial for patients who have lost voluntary muscle control. ### Article: Recruitment of additional corticospinal pathways in the human brain with state-dependent paired associative stimulation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2893-17.2017 Corresponding author: Alireza Gharabaghi (Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen, Germany), alireza.gharabaghi@uni-tuebingen.de About JNeurosci JNeurosci, the Society for Neuroscience's first journal, was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship. About The Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 37,000 members in more than 90 countries and over 130 chapters worldwide. PHILADELPHIA -- (Jan. 15, 2018) -- New research led by The Wistar Institute, in collaboration with Sun Yat-sen University in China, has characterized the transitory presence of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in mouse and human newborns, revealing a critical role of these cells in regulation of inflammation in the early stages of life. This study was published online in Nature Medicine. MDSCs are immature myeloid cells with the ability to suppress immune responses. In healthy adults, these cells are rarely detected but accumulate during certain pathological conditions, altering the immune response to cancer and chronic infection and promoting tumor progression. "Our research sheds light on the function of MDSCs in newborns, suggesting that they are critical for the regulation of inflammation during the first weeks of life," said Dmitry I. Gabrilovich, M.D., Ph.D., Christopher M. Davis Professor and program leader of the Immunology, Microenvironment and Metastasis Program at Wistar. "We also revealed a physiological role of MDSCs expansion, which was widely considered to be driven by pathological conditions or pregnancy, broadening the importance of MDSCs in the immune system." Gabrilovich and colleagues compared the proportion of MDSCs in newborn, adult and postpartum mice. Those that were three to 10 days old had substantially higher numbers of these cells with a potent immunosuppressive ability and the proportion gradually decreased to levels comparable to those in adult mice by the end of the second week of life. Analyzing the transcription profile of MDSCs from newborn mice, the team observed increased expression of genes that are critical for the immunosuppressive functions of these cells. Mechanistically, they demonstrated that the accumulation of MDSCs is linked with milk feeding, as it depends on lactoferrin, a milk component with potent immunoregulatory activity, which can induce upregulation of these genes. The researchers also found that MDSCs are important for the control of inflammation in newborns. In fact, human newborns with normal birth weight had significantly higher proportion of MDSCs and higher immunosuppressive activity compared with adults as well as infants with low birth weight. These infants are at a higher risk for development of pathological inflammatory conditions, such as necrotizing enterocolitis, a condition that causes inflammation of the intestine and may put the infant at risk for developing potentially life-threatening infections. "Our findings demonstrate that MDSCs reduce inflammation and increase survival in a model of necrotizing enterocolitis, thus suggesting that MDSCs not only can be present in healthy individuals but also could be an important protection mechanism evolved in response to the microbial colonization of the gut that takes place during the first days of life," said Gabrilovich. "Based on our data, MDSCs may be used as a potential therapeutic target for treating necrotizing enterocolitis and other inflammatory conditions in infants," said Michela Perego, Ph.D., an associate staff scientist in the Gabrilovich Lab and co-first author of the study. "Our finding that accumulation of MDSCs depends on lactoferrin may also provide a rationale as to why feeding infants human milk versus formula has been shown to reduce the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis." ### This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grant R01 CA165065. Core support for The Wistar Institute was provided by the Cancer Center Support Grant P30 CA010815. The work was also supported by the Recruitment Program for Foreign Experts (Thousand Talents Plan), the Start-up Fund for High-level Talents of Sun Yat-sen University, and the Leading Talents of Guangdong Province Program. Other funding included the Introduction of Innovative R&D Team Program of Guangdong Province, the Guangdong Province Universities and Colleges Pearl River Scholar Funded Scheme, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Provincial Talents Cultivated by the 'Thousand- Hundred-Ten' Program of Guangdong Province. Jie Zhou from Sun Yat-sen University, China, is co-lead author of this study. Yu-Mei He and Xing Li from Sun Yat-sen University and Michela Perego from The Wistar Institute contributed equally to this work as co-first authors. Other co-authors from Wistar include Yulia Nefedova and Andrew V Kossenkov. Other co-authors include Erik A. Jensen from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Valerian Kagan from University of Pittsburgh, Yu-Feng Liu, Shu-Yu Fu, Qing-Jian Ye, and Lai Wei from Sun Yat-sen University, and Yan-Hong Zhou from Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, China. The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research with special expertise in cancer research and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit biomedical research institute in the United States, Wistar has held the prestigious Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute since 1972. The Institute works actively to ensure that research advances move from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible. wistar.org [CAMBRIDGE, Mass.] Immunologists and oncologists are harnessing the body's immune system to fight cancers and other diseases with adoptive cell transfer techniques. In a normal immune response, a type of white blood cell known as T cells are instructed by another kind of immune cell called an antigen-presenting cell (APC) to expand their numbers and stay alive. Adoptive cell transfer procedures are mimicking exactly this process in a culture dish by taking T cells from patients, multiplying them, sometimes genetically modifying them, and then returning them to patients so that they can, for example, locate and kill cancer cells. However, these procedures often take weeks to produce batches of therapeutic T cells that are large and reactive enough to be able to eliminate their target cells. A team led by David Mooney at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) is now reporting in Nature Biotechnology an alternative material-based T-cell-expansion method that could help surmount these obstacles. With an APC-mimetic biomaterial scaffold, the researchers achieved greater expansion of primary mouse and human T cells than with existing methods; and they demonstrated the approach's potential in a mouse lymphoma model treated with chimeric antigen receptor-expressing T cells (CAR-T cells) that are engineered to home in on and destroy lymphoma cells. "Our approach closely mimics how APCs present their stimulating cues to primary T cells on their outer membrane and how they release soluble factors that enhance the survival of the T cells. As a result, we achieve much faster and greater expansion. By varying the compositions of lipids, cues, and diffusible factors in the scaffolds, we engineered a very versatile and flexible platform that can be used to amplify specific T cell populations from blood samples, and that could be deployed in existing therapies such as CAR-T cell therapies," said Mooney, Ph.D., a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute and leader of its Immunomaterials Platform. Mooney is also the Robert P. Pinkas Family Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS. To engineer an APC-mimetic scaffold, the team first loaded tiny mesoporous silica rods (MSRs) with Interleukin 2 (IL-2) -- an APC-produced factor that prolongs the survival of associated T cells. The MSRs were then coated with lipids that formed a thin supported lipid bilayer (SLB), which resembles the outer membrane of APCs and that the researchers then functionalized with a pair of T cell-stimulating antibodies that remain mobile in the lipid layer and can bind to receptor/co-receptor molecules on the surface of T cells. In culture medium, 3D scaffolds spontaneously formed through the settling and random stacking of the rods, forming pores big enough to allow the entry, movement, and accumulation of T cells, thereby signaling them to multiply. In a series of side-by-side comparisons, Mooney's team demonstrated that APC-mimetic scaffolds performed better than methods involving commercially available expansion beads (Dynabeads), which are currently used in clinical adoptive cell transfer approaches. "In a single dose, APC-mimetic scaffolds led to two- to ten-fold greater expansion of primary mouse and human T cells than Dynabeads. As another advantage, APC-mimetic scaffolds enabled us to tune the ratios of subpopulations of T cells with different roles in the desired immune responses, which in the future might increase their functionality," said David Zhang, the study's second author and a Graduate Student working with Mooney. Building on these findings, the researchers demonstrated the utility of their T cell expansion platform in a therapeutic model. "Prompted by recent breakthroughs in CAR-T cell therapies, we showed that a specific CAR-T cell product expanded with an APC-mimetic scaffold could facilitate treatment of a mouse model of a human lymphoma cancer," said first author Alexander Cheung, Ph.D., who started the project in Mooney's team and now is a scientist at UNUM Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. An APC-mimetic scaffold that was engineered to activate a specific type of CAR-T cell was able to generate higher numbers of the modified T cells over longer periods of culture than analogously designed expansion beads, and the resulting cells were similarly effective in killing the lymphoma cells in the mice. After successfully using the material to expand all T cells present in a sample, the team demonstrated that APC-mimetic scaffolds could also be used to expand antigen-specific T cell clones from a more complex mixture of cells. Such T cell clones are constantly developed by the immune system to recognize small specific peptides contained in foreign proteins. To this aim, the researchers incorporated molecules into the scaffolds that are known as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and that presented small peptides derived from viral proteins to T cells. "Based also on studies in which we showed that APC-mimetic scaffolds also have superior potential to specifically enrich and expand rare T cell sub-populations from blood, we strongly believe that we created an effective platform technology that could facilitate more effective precision immunotherapies," said Cheung. "The bioinspired T cell-activating scaffolds developed by the Wyss Institute's Immunomaterials Platform could accelerate the success of many immunotherapeutic approaches in the clinic, with life-saving impact on a broad range of patients, in addition to advancing personalized medicine," said Wyss Institute Founding Director Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., who is also the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at HMS and the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children's Hospital, as well as Professor of Bioengineering at SEAS. ### In addition, Sandeep Koshy, Ph.D., who worked as a Graduate Student on Mooney's team and now is an Immuno-oncology Researcher at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge, Mass., is an author on the study. The work was supported by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation. MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE PRESS CONTACT Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University Benjamin Boettner 617-432-8232 benjamin.boettner@wyss.harvard.edu MULTIMEDIA CONTACT Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University Seth Kroll 617-432-7758 seth.kroll@wyss.harvard.edu The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University uses Nature's design principles to develop bioinspired materials and devices that will transform medicine and create a more sustainable world. Wyss researchers are developing innovative new engineering solutions for healthcare, energy, architecture, robotics, and manufacturing that are translated into commercial products and therapies through collaborations with clinical investigators, corporate alliances, and formation of new startups. The Wyss Institute creates transformative technological breakthroughs by engaging in high risk research, and crosses disciplinary and institutional barriers, working as an alliance that includes Harvard's Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Arts & Sciences and Design, and in partnership with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston University, Tufts University, Charite - Universitatsmedizin Berlin, University of Zurich and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences serves as the connector and integrator of Harvard's teaching and research efforts in engineering, applied sciences, and technology. Through collaboration with researchers from all parts of Harvard, other universities, and corporate and foundational partners, we bring discovery and innovation directly to bear on improving human life and society. A popular Belgian radio presenter quit his show live on air on Monday after causing an outcry by hosting a phone-in debate about whether women can have orgasms when they are raped. Benjamin Marechal, whose daily show on the French-language RTBF broadcaster is known for its controversial style, resigned after the station received a number of complaints. Marechal had asked listeners to comment on controversial remarks made last week by French porn star-turned-agony aunt Brigitte Lahaie about some women being able to enjoy rape. You can have an orgasm from rape, Ill let you know, Brigitte Lahaie said it yesterday what do you say to her, he said in the show last week. Belgian local government officials reacted furiously and RTBF was forced to apologise while the countrys broadcast watchdog received 12 complaints. On Monday morning Marechal said during a broadcast he was stepping down from the show after 10 years to pursue other projects with the station. Today I decided to stop, to leave the constraints of a daily show, he said. This morning I am happier than I have ever been and am finally in charge of events, he added, saying that he had already asked twice in the last six months to quit the show, which has thousands of listeners. He did not offer any apology for the rape remarks. His resignation came as French film star Catherine Deneuve apologised to victims of sexual assault, after setting off a worldwide feminist backlash for bashing the #MeToo movement in an open letter. Deneuves statement was seen as an attempt to distance herself from Lahaie, who was one of the 100 prominent French women to sign the letter. A 64-year-old woman died in the Swiss Alps Monday after her sled veered off course and plunged off a cliff onto train tracks below, police said. The woman had been sledding with her husband down the winding Oberalpstrasse sledge route towards Andermatt, in the central canton of Uri, when she missed a turn and fell over a rock face, regional police said in a statement. She had plunged onto the tracks of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn railway and suffered fatal injuries, the statement said. Following the accident, the railway line was closed for around 90 minutes, it added. Riding on a separate sled, her husband had followed the designated route, the ATS news agency reported. The Uri police said the cause of the accident was unknown and under investigation. The separatist party of Catalonia's former presidents Carles Puigdemont and Artur Mas received illegal commissions in exchange for public work contracts, a Barcelona court ruled Monday after a lengthy trial. The conservative CDC party, which in 2016 changed its name to the Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT), received at least 6.6 million euros ($8.1 million) from Spanish infrastructure group Ferrovial in exchange for guaranteeing the allocation of a certain amount of public works, the court found. Ferrovial would pay the commissions as donations to the Palau de la Musica, a famous cultural institution in Barcelona, whose two directors would take a cut and send the rest on to CDC, it added. The party as a whole was not on the bench of the accused during the trial, but it was still found to have benefitted from illegally obtained money and ordered to reimburse the 6.6 million euros. The scandal, which erupted in 2009, piled pressure on CDC, a stalwart of Catalan nationalism which in 2012 started pushing for outright independence a process that culminated in a failed attempt to break from Spain in October. To escape the spectre of corruption, CDC changed its name in 2016 to PDeCAT, which last week found itself without a president after Mas Catalan leader from 2010 to 2016 stepped down in what critics say was linked to Mondays sentence. According to the court, Ferrovial and CDC agreed that the company would pay a commission of four percent on the value of the public works. The partys former treasurer Daniel Osacar was sentenced to four years and five months in jail. The sentence comes just two days before the Catalan parliaments first session since elections on December 21 in which separatist parties retained their absolute majority. But they are having a tough time forming a government as their favoured candidate, Puigdemont, is in self-imposed exile in Belgium. He will likely be arrested on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for his role in the independence drive if he comes back to Spain. dbh/mbx/gd Spain is set to replace the United States as the world's second tourism destination while France has retained the top spot, the World Tourism Organization said Monday. The UN agency said 2017 was a bumper year for the sector as tourists appeared to have ditched security concerns and were once again travelling to countries such as Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey once shunned for fears of extremist attacks. It is expected that Spain will take the second position with some 82 million visitors last year, UNWTO chief Zurab Pololikashvili told reporters. Definitive figures, however, will only be published in the spring. The United states doesnt have its information for 2017. They usually publish it in June, Pololikashvili said. He did not give any further details about the United States, nor did he explain what earned Spain the second spot despite a terror attack in August and a highly mediatised independence crisis in tourism magnet Catalonia, home to Barcelona and Costa Brava beaches. John Kester, head of tourism trends at the UN agency, added that everything indicates that France would retain its top spot in 2017 a good year for the industry as the number of global tourists leapt seven percent on 2016 to 1.32 billion. This is the biggest increase in seven years, the UNWTO said, putting it down to a global economic upswing that saw a general rebound in tourism spending, particularly from Brazil and Russia after a few years of declines. Europe was the star of the show as it attracted a large number of visitors, up eight percent from the previous year, lured in particular by Mediterranean countries sea and sun, including in Turkey. This contrasts with 2016 figures that saw security fears hit visitor arrivals in Europe. Recovering from attacks We do see that demand for European destinations has been very strong, said Kester. We also see important recovery in France, he added. The trend is clearly positive eight percent growth after two weak years as a consequence of terrorist acts. Pololikashvili added that other countries that had suffered a drop in visitor numbers due to deadly attacks were recovering some of their past glow. We are pleased with the recovery of many destinations once affected, he said. The situation in Turkey, in Tunisia has improved a lot. Spain also suffered a deadly jihadist attack in August in Catalonia, the same region whose leaders tried unsuccessfully to break away from Spain, triggering a major crisis that shook Europe. And while the political crisis sparked a drop in visitor numbers to the northeastern region as massive demonstrations were staged following the independence bid, it does not appear to have dented overall tourist figures for Spain in 2017. In 2016, Spain welcomed 75.3 million visitors, just behind the United States with 75.6 million, while France easily remained the world leader with 82.6 million visitors, according to the UNWTO. International tourism to the United States shrank during the first five months of Donald Trumps presidency, according to the US International Trade Administration. Arrivals fell five percent in the first quarter and three percent in the second quarter, official figures show. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had already announced last week that tourism numbers had soared, saying total earnings in a sector that accounts for 11 percent of Spains gross domestic product (GDP) rose 12 percent to 87 billion euros ($107 billion) in 2017. He praised the Spanish tourism sectors great effort to become more competitive. Privacy Settings This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit. NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using. Russian state broadcaster RT on Monday accused France's presidency of turning away its journalists, saying employees from its new French-language channel were refused accreditation twice in a week. President Emmanuel Macron announced plans in early January for legislation to stop the spread of fake news in a veiled reference to RT and state news agency Sputnik, which he has called spreaders of deceitful propaganda and organs of influence. The Elysee (French presidential palace) has refused accreditation to our journalists twice in one week, RT editor Margarita Simonian said in a statement on the channels website. A journalist from RT France, launched in December, was turned away from a spokesmans briefing at the Elysee palace in Paris on Monday, the statement said. When I said I worked for RT, I was told that I was not a journalist and only journalists were allowed in, said an RT reporter, adding that he had presented his press card. The broadcaster said it was also rebuffed in Rome on January 10, when the French presidents team did not authorise RT to attend a summit of southern European Union leaders. The request for accreditation was accepted, but when our team arrived in Italy, the Elysee press service stopped responding to calls from our journalists, according to RT. I advise President Macron to carefully re-read the French constitution, Simonian said. Also on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised Macrons proposed fake news legislation. The fake news will only be defined by one party, without discussion, without proof, ignoring any argument, Lavrov said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday said Moscow "understands" the anger of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, who earlier denounced White House peace efforts as the "slap of the century." We completely understand the emotions the Palestinians currently have. For years they made concessions without receiving anything in return, Lavrov said at an annual press conference in Moscow. We constantly hear that the US is about to unveil an important deal (on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) that would satisfy all sides. We have not seen this kind of document, Lavrov added. Palestinian leaders on Monday held a meeting called after US President Donald Trumps controversial December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital. Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state and Abbas has said Trumps stance means the US can no longer be the mediator in peace talks with Israel. In December, Abbas sent delegations to China and Russia to ask them to take on a greater role in the peace process with Israel. Lavrov said Russia welcomed the Palestinians because they were ready for direct talks with the Israelis without preconditions. Moscows chief diplomat added that the chances of direct contact between the two sides are unfortunately approaching zero. Lavrov went on to say the unresolved Palestinian-Israeli conflict is one of the most serious factors that allows radicals to recruit newer and newer generations of terrorists. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been frozen since they collapsed in 2014. Scotland's economy would shrink by 8.5 percent if Britain leaves the EU without a deal, Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon warned Monday as she pushed for Britain to stay in the European single market. There is no option short of EU membership that is as good as being in the EU, First Minister Sturgeon said as she presented an analysis of the economic impact of possible future ties with the bloc. This is about degrees of what does the least damage to our economy, she told journalists in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. According to the new analysis, Scotlands GDP would plunge 8.5 percent by 2030 or 12.7 billion pounds ($17.5 billion, 14.3 billion euros) if no deal is reached with Brussels and Britain has to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules. This compares to a 6.1 percent (9.0 billion) fall if a free trade accord is signed with the bloc, and 2.7 percent (4.0 billion) drop if the UK joins the European Economic Area and therefore stays part of the single market. Sturgeon said the impact study served as compelling evidence that Britain should remain part of the single market, if it is not possible to stay an EU member as her Scottish National Party would like. Scotland backed EU membership by 62 percent in the June 2016 referendum, compared to the overall British vote on 52 percent in favour of Brexit. The SNP has previously pushed for a second referendum on Scottish independence from Britain, as a result of Brexit, and Sturgeon said Sunday a decision on holding another vote would be taken when the shape of the EU deal becomes clearer. Sturgeon predicted a majority of British lawmakers would support single market membership, despite Prime Minister Theresa May ruling it out largely owing to its condition of continuing free movement of people. But the Scottish leader argued the EU migration which comes as part of the single market rules is essential to our future economic prosperity. Growing our population, and particularly our working age population, is perhaps the greatest national challenge that we face, she said. Scottish leader scaremongering London and Brussels are due to move on to the next stage of Brexit negotiations this year, after achieving sufficient progress in December on a preliminary exit agreement. Sturgeon accused the British government of a reckless and irresponsible approach in the negotiations so far, arguing London had entered talks with unachievable aims, and urged the government to put single market membership back on the table. But the Scottish wing of the ruling Conservative Party accused the SNP of scaremongering with its study. No-ones doubting that Brexit will pose challenges, but it will bring opportunities too, said Scottish lawmaker Adam Tomkins. The Conservative government is expected to be further challenged by the SNP over the management of areas such as fishing, which are currently governed through the devolved Scottish Parliament, as Britain prepares legislation to repeal EU laws. Sturgeon said on Friday the SNP would introduce a bill to ensure Scotland retains the devolved powers after Brexit, in an attempt to avoid a Westminster power grab. Sunday, January 14, 2018 As The Doyenne of Death, books about end-of-life, estate and funeral planning, and related topics are must-reads. A number of excellent titles were published in 2017. Here are short reviews of seven books that can help you face the inevitable. Click on each book title to get it from Amazon. Dealing with Doctors, Denial, and Death: A Guide to Living Well with Serious Illness by Aroop Mangalik, MD (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) Dr. Aroop Mangalik is a retired oncologist and an ethicist. From personal experience, he knows how patients with cancer, their doctors, and their families grapple with or avoid the topic of death. His book provides helpful guidance on communication, hope and honesty on the part of all parties. Three chapters address why doctors over-treat: their training and mind-set, pressure from society and the medical establishment, and flaws in the way doctors interact with patients. One chapter looks at the consequences of patients and families demanding unrealistic treatments. The nephew from Chicago phenomenon may be familiar to those who had a loved one die in the hospital. How many of us have been resigned to a loved ones impending death, only to have a relative fly in from out of town and demand the doctor do everything to save the patient? Mangalik wrote a legacy letter to his son and daughter-in-law, instructing them about his thoughts, desires and wishes regarding his own end-of-life. I was pleased to see he used a variation on my motto as his closing line: Remember, talking about sex does not make you pregnant and talking about death does not kill you. His book helps get important medical conversations started, before theres a trip to the emergency room! The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully by Frank Ostaseski (Flatiron Books) Frank Ostaseski is a leading voice in contemplative end-of-life care. He has accompanied numerous people on the journey to death. As a Buddhist teacher, the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, and author of The Five Invitations, he helps readers build awareness and acceptance of life and death. He writes: Acceptance is not resignation. It is an opening to possibility. And openness is the basis for a skillful response to life. The Five Invitations are designed to help people find a calm center in the face of the drama illness and death wreak upon families. The Five Invitations are: Dont Wait; Welcome Everything, Push Away Nothing; Bring Your Whole Self to the Experience; Find a Place of Rest in the Middle of Things; and Cultivate the Dont Know Mind. Each invitation has three or four chapters filled with illustrative stories of grief, anger, love, and forgiveness. He helps the reader hone a nonjudgemental presence that helps us live fully and die well. From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find The Good Death by Caitlin Doughty (W.W. Norton & Company) Caitlin Doughty is a funny and irreverent mortician who has made remarkable strides over the past few years to get people to discuss death and dying. Her memoir, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory, was a New York Times bestseller. Her Ask a Mortician YouTube videos have hundreds of thousands of followers. Shes a leader of the #DeathPositive movement, dedicated to normalizing death discussions and taking actions to plan ahead. Her newest book, From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find The Good Death, introduces readers to new and old ways humans embrace mortality. Her travels take her across the U.S. and around the world to document the old, the new and what some people would consider weird. The Old: Green burial and home funerals show everything old is new again; the Japanese tradition of kotsuage where the family picks up cremated remains with chopsticks and place them in an urn; and Dia de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico, vibrantly illustrated by the animated film, Coco. where the family picks up cremated remains with chopsticks and place them in an urn; and celebrations in Mexico, vibrantly illustrated by the animated film, Coco. The New: An LED Buddha light columbarium in Tokyo; modern undertaking in Spain; and the evolving Urban Death Project, pioneering human composting in the U.S. The Weird: Check out the chapters on magical skull reverence in Peru and ancestor mummies kept at home in Indonesia. The book is a fascinating death travelogue. How to Get the Death You Want: A Practical and Moral Guide by John Abraham (Upper Access, Inc.) John Abraham is an Episcopal priest and a thanatologist. His career includes stints conducting grief therapy, hospice care, death education, and as a leader in the right-to-die movement. He brings a light touch to this serious subject: his photo on the back of the book shows him next to his prized coffin bookcase. This is a great how-to book covering multiple details, including a checklist of practical steps to prepare for death. The book fulfills its title with an upbeat approach. Theres information on how to communicate your thoughts about your own death, prepare advance medical directives, navigate the medical system, and how to achieve what he calls deliberate life completion. He writes: I believe it is a mistake and an injustice to use the term suicide, which has a pejorative connotation with significant stigma attached to it. When somebody is dying, and simply chooses to avoid those final agonizing stages, I dont see a tragedy, I see a blessing. Spirituality and Hospice Work by Ann M. Callahan (Columbia University Press) Anna Callahan is a professor at the University of Tennessee whose research emphasizes the role of spirituality in hospice social work. Of all these books from 2017, this one is most academic and highly targeted to social workers. It is well-researched, with many citations supporting her thesis about the spiritual diversity and needs of hospice patients, and how social workers can play a key role. Hospice social workers are among the key personnel a patient encounters at end-of-life. While spiritual care is traditionally handled by chaplains and clergy, hospice social workers can also help deliver spiritual care as part of an interdisciplinary team. Callahan suggests hospice social workers expand the therapeutic relationship by developing spiritual competence and sensitivity to their patients needs. This book is part of a series on end-of-life care published by Columbia University Press that offer resources for both practitioners and scholars. What Will They Say About You When You Are Gone? Creating a Life of Legacy by Rabbi Daniel Cohen (Health Communications, Inc.) Rabbi Daniel Cohen suggests we reverse engineer our lives toward the words that will be spoken about us at our funerals. Rather than wait for a disastrous wake-up call to finally embrace living a life of purpose, he suggests living deliberately, carving out time to review aspirations, goals and progress. This book is full of stories, wise principles, and tool box tips to help become a better person and leave the world a better place. The principles are: Discover Your Elijah Moment; Make Courageous Choices; Seize Meditative Moments; Create Memories; Find Faith; Live Inspired; and Discover Your Renewable Energy. Cohen writes: Choosing the path of life spurs us internally to reach for new spiritual heights. With all our emphasis on the health of our bodies, we may be neglecting our souls. Whether a believer or not, we all sense deep inside a yearning for meaning and significance in life. We seek purpose and to make an impact in the world. Our bodies may be whole, but our souls have a hole. Happiness in life stems from finding purpose. This book is full of good advice, whether youre Jewish or not. Wills and Trusts in a Nutshell, 5th Edition by Robert L. Mennell and Sherri L. Burr (West Academic Publishing) While this is a textbook for college level classes, it can be read by the general reader who wants an overview of basic legal knowledge of Wills and Trusts law. It provides a comprehensive look at estate law: What happens when someone dies intestate (without a will), rights of the spouse and children, what goes into making a valid will, revoking and changing wills, how to create a trust, addressing trust administration problems, and probate administration. This 5th edition updates laws affecting intestate succession, wills, guardianships and trusts. Thats not to say this is a dull read. It illustrates legal issues with recent celebrity death examples, such as Princes estate snafus and the near-simultaneous deaths of the mother/daughter duo Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher. As Sherri Burr says in the Preface, Welcome to the law of sex, greed, and family animosity. Wills and trust cases can often be as entertaining as they are educational. Happy reading in 2018! Share this: Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against the man accused of fatally shooting a San Antonio Police Department officer in front of Public Safety Headquarters in 2016. Otis Tyrone McKane, 32, faces a capital murder charge in the shooting of Det. Benjamin Marconi on Nov. 20, 2016. The charge carries a punishment of either death by lethal injection or life in prison without parole. Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood, who has indicated that he plans to personally try the case, filed a notice of intent to pursue the death penalty last week. Its a decision never taken lightly, he said Friday evening. Marconi, 50, who was assigned to the Special Victims Unit and was a 20-year SAPD veteran, was working overtime on patrol and had pulled over a motorist in front of Public Safety Headquarters around 11:45 a.m. that Sunday. He was inside his squad car when a man approached and shot him twice in the head. McKane was seen on surveillance video hanging around headquarters the day of the shooting, and the next day he was seen, also on video, entering the Bexar County Courthouse, where he got married. Police arrested McKane, then 31, about 30 hours after the slaying. He told police that he was upset about a child custody battle and lashed out by killing the officer. Our first responders deal with people in many situations, but when somebody could allegedly do something as heinous as this, no one is safe, LaHood said. McKane has a court appearance scheduled for Feb. 28 in the 379th District Court, presided over by Judge Ron Rangel. Court records indicate that McKane will be represented by defense attorney Raymond Edward Fuchs. LaHood said it is unclear when McKanes case will go to trial, but once jury selection begins, it could take up to a month to seat a panel. Elizabeth Zavala is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | ezavala@express-news.net | @elizabeth2863 Test early and often and adjust on the fly LONDON, Ohio Nutrient management has been a hot topic among Ohio farmers over the past few years. With new regulations in place for producers applying manure and fertilizers to their crops, Ohio State Universitys second annual Precision University turned its focus on nutrient management to show farmers how to better manage their resources and share the latest technologies available to help. The conference was held Jan. 11, at Becks Hybrids in London, Ohio. More than 150 producers and industry members attended, which is an increase from the 80 attendees at last years event, said Kaylee Port, program manager for the precision agriculture program at Ohio State. Attendees came from across Ohio and neighboring states to hear from research and industry professionals and discuss precision agriculture and nutrient management. Soil sampling Farmers are not doing enough on-farm testing, according to Brian Arnall, precision nutrient management specialist at Oklahoma State University. We should be constantly checking our fertility, he said. Each year, we should be able to adjust on the fly. And it wont cost you an arm and a leg to do it. Arnall said farmers dont need special yield monitors or expensive calibrators to perform soil tests. Using a cheap $40 spreader, farmers can test a strip of land at any given time. Taking the time to do a proper soil test makes getting a proper nutrient balance that much easier. Robert Mullen, director of agronomy for Nutrien, said the goal of soil sampling is to estimate the average soil test level within a given area, using both accuracy and precision. Due to variability in fields and soil testing, farmers must collect an adequate amount of soil samples to avoid squiffy data, he added. Managing soil After collecting samples, how do farmers process it all? Management is not just a one-time activity, said Jamie Bultemeier, director of corporate sales and agronomist at A&L Great Lakes. Farmers should be looking over their data for the past three to four years to see where they have been and where they are going. Bultemeier also suggested soil tests and nutrient application should happen in different seasons you have time. For example, take the winter months to evaluate the results from the sample you took in the late fall or early winter, so that you can make decisions for best practices in the spring. Bultemeier also suggested that soil sampling can take place any time of year, not just directly after harvest, which has been a common practice for many. Nitrogen application Every year is different. Every hybrid is different. Every soil type is different. So why do we treat them all the same? asked Jim Schwartz, director of practical farm research and agronomy at Becks Hybrids. He said, farmers tend to make their decisions on applying nitrogen in the early stages of the planting season, which leaves a greater margin for error. For example, wet springs can lead to nutrient wash-out or replanting. Use that early planting season to gather data and sidedress with nitrogen, said Schwartz. Waiting to apply nitrogen allows you to make decisions on how much to use and keep it in the field when it is needed, he explained. Technology and equipment panel During a breakout session, Ohio States Department of Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering Chair Scott Shearer joined Farm Science Review farm manager Nate Douridas and Ohio farmer Lee Radcliff to discuss new technologies on the farm. Douridas said using a two-by-two planter and fertilizer system, he is able to inject fertilizer down both sides of a row when planting. He can input a prescription for each side of the plant rows to get just the right amount of fertilizer or nutrient application in that row. Douridas said he also uses a series of aerial maps to check crop and soil conditions on a regular basis. Lee Radcliff, a farmer near Circleville, Ohio, said his farm has used unmanned aerial vehicles to try to detect nutrient deficiencies in crops. But using above-the-field imagery doesnt give you the full picture, he warned. By the time you see nitrogen recovery in the crop canopy, its too late, he said. Shearer said new technology is being developed that can detect nutrient deficiency in the plants at the root. New technology (in agriculture) is starting to come at a faster pace, said Shearer. But, Radcliff noted, being able to buy those new technologies can be a struggle for producers. We need to be able to use it and afford it, he said, noting he wants to be an early adapter of new technologies that will help him react before its too late. Place Your Advert Thousands of Active jobseekers are looking for new agricultural positions in 2020. Call us now to discuss the options for advertising your vacancy in our job section. A Buckinghamshire farm has said they are "heartbroken and devastated" after three of their alpacas were found beaten to death. The RSPCA are now searching for the "cruel" attacker who beat the animals, which included two pregnant alpacas called Pleasance and Gabrielle. The criminal then returned the next day to kill the third alpaca, called Raggamuffin, who was just four-month-old. All three were found dead on the 80-strong alpaca farm located in Little Kingshill, Great Missenden on 6 January. They all suffered blunt force trauma. Mrs Sapsford said: "Somebody has purposely done this and they did it in the shelter so that they could not be seen. "We are heartbroken and devastated. We cant believe that anybody would be so cruel. She added: "We're so worried about our other alpacas now. We can't process the evilness of it all." A spokeswoman from the RSPCA, which is investigating the attacks, described the killings as a "sickening act of cruelty". The National Farmers' Union (NFU) has previously warned that farmers should not be seen as a 'soft target' for criminals. A more simplified Countryside Stewardship scheme has opened for 2018 application packs, after farmers complained the scheme is 'too complicated'. Four simpler offers are being introduced this year to complement the existing Higher Tier and Mid Tier offers and open up the scheme to more farmers and land managers. Defra Secretary Michael Gove first announced the streamlined plans in November last year, explaining how Defra will make "practical and pragmatic" changes. Unlike existing offers, all landowners who make a valid application for any of the four new packages will be guaranteed funding though the scheme. Defra said this application window is an opportunity for farmers new to Countryside Stewardship, or those coming out of previous stewardship agreements, to sign up for an agreement that will be guaranteed for its lifetime, to protect wildlife, boost biodiversity and deliver environmental benefits for their local communities. Earlier this month, Environment Secretary Michael Gove outlined government plans to replace existing farm subsidies outside the EU with a new system of public money for public goods. Ahead of this, the new CS offers are an opportunity for more farmers to establish environmental practices on their land. Simplifying The Rural Payments Agency and Natural England have been tasked with simplifying the scheme, to save farmers time and cut down on paperwork. As part of this, farmers applying for the new CS Offers who meet the eligibility requirements will be able to get an agreement to deliver as few as 3 options, or as many as 7 up to 14, depending on the offer applied for. In a statement, Defra said: "The new CS Offers are a chance for those whove been put off the scheme in the past to look again at whats on offer and what they might be able to achieve on their land." "The government has made clear its intention to go on supporting farmers for many years to come to deliver public goods, in terms of producing high quality food, boosting biodiversity and making our countryside a safe haven for our iconic wildlife." 'Too complicated' Farming Minister George Eustice said farmers have seen farmland birds recover in numbers and biodiversity boosted on farms signed up to Countryside Stewardship agreements. However, he said Defra have listened to those who said the schemes had become "too complicated". Mr Eustice said: The new Countryside Stewardship offers available this year are much simpler to apply for and cover a full range of different farm types, so farmers can deliver environmental benefits wherever and whatever they farm. My message to farmers whove been put off Countryside Stewardship in the last few rounds is to take another look and see whats on offer this year. Weve listened to farmers and weve simplified the offering to create a universal scheme to appeal to farmers new to stewardship and those coming out of ELS so they can continue the good work on their farms. Farmers and land managers have until 31 May to request a paper application pack. Farmers intending to apply online this year will be able to create their Online Arable Offer application pack from 20 February. The best way to protect the Scottish economy after Brexit would be to remain in the Single Market, new economic analysis has confirmed. According to the Scottish Government, a failure to remain in the Single Market or to secure a free trade agreement would see Scotlands GDP around 12.7 billion lower by 2030 than it would be under continued EU membership. This would mean a loss equivalent to 2,300 per year for each person in Scotland. The analysis takes account of the impact on trade, productivity and migration of different future relationships. It shows that a so called Canada-type deal with the EU would still leave Scotlands GDP 9 billion lower by 2030 or 1,610 per head. Publishing the new analysis Scotlands Place in Europe: People, Jobs and Investment, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: For the sake of jobs, the economy and the next generation, today we are calling on the UK Government to drop its hard Brexit red-lines so that Scotland and the UK can stay inside the Single Market and Customs Union. Scotland is particularly well-placed to take advantage of the developing and deepening Single Market the worlds biggest economy of 500 million people, eight times the size of the UK. The fact that the Prime Minister wants to leave not only the political structures of the EU but come out of the European Economic Area shows just how extreme the UK Government position is. With just weeks to go before the opening of talks on the future relationship that extreme stance must be dropped. 'Significant impact' The report states that withdrawal from the EU will result in the departure from the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), which will impact "significantly" on Scottish farming and food production and wider rural sustainability. Membership of CAP results in nearly half a billion pounds annually of EU and Scottish funds being invested all across rural communities. It says subsidies underpins the Scottish farming sector in 2015-16, farm business income (FBI) was 12,600; without support grants, FBI would have been a loss of 25,500. Currently, Scotland receives 16% of the UKs CAP funding. The report explains this indicates the "greater importance" of agriculture to its land use and economy loss of this funding is therefore a significantly greater issue for Scotland than for other parts of the UK. 'Greatest threat' to farming Brexit has been described as the "greatest threat" to Scottish agriculture by the country's rural affairs secretary, Fergus Ewing. The rural economy secretary in the SNP Government says that leaving the European Union presents Scottish farming with an "unprecedented challenge." "Brexit is by far the biggest threat to Scottish agriculture and we need to get ready to meet this unprecedented challenge," says Fergus Ewing in a foreword for the report. "It will impact the fruit and vegetable sector, which relies on the hard work of EU migrant labour to harvest its crop. It will alter farmers ability to trade freely with the worlds largest single market. While Brexits impact will not be uniform, it will be felt across all agricultural sectors and regions." Go Out & Do Something She said people should not showcase their patriotism "by merely posting a I am proud of Indian Army' post on their social media accounts," and should actually do "something" for the country. Help The Soldiers "Especially the foot soldiers - people should do something. They come from low income groups, and in most of the cases, they are the only earners in their family. And after their death, it's really difficult for their families to sustain. So, maybe people can support their children's education, or something like that," said Nimrat Kaur. Walking Down Memory Lane Nimrat revealed that she's still in touch with her father's unit even after 24 years, "So many years have passed and they still treat me as their own daughter. I keep in touch with most of them through my mother, because she is in touch with almost all of them. It's a matter of great pride for me that they are still in touch with us. They get excited with whatever I achieve, and I am equally as excited to see them happy with my achievements." Army Day "I remember the ceremonial flag hosting event that took place in my father's unit for the Army Day. He used to take all of us for the ceremony, and I felt so proud when I saw the tricolour unfurl, and get super proud at the fact that my father was in the Army, protecting this country." Respect Every Human Being Nimrat Kaur concluded on the occasion of Army Day, "That's the only thing that matters. You know we had so many people taking care of us, and my father made sure that we, as children, didn't belittle them or disrespect them. He told us that we should respect every human being on this planet, and that is something that I still follow. It's one of the simplest things that I ever learnt from him." 675 Sq Ft Apartment Karisma Kapoor's apartment in Bandra West has been sold for Rs 7 Crores to a real estate company and the dimension is just 675 sq ft. More Than The Market Value Also, the funny part is that the apartment has been sold for a higher value more than the actual price. Real Price Is 1.89 Crores The real market value for the apartment of 675 sq ft is 1.89 Crores but the firm purchased it for Rs 7 Crores, which is 3.7 times higher than the actual value. Bandra Is Gold It looks like builders look at Bandra properties as potential gold mine as people are ready to pay amount of money just to own a house in that locality. Bandra For The Rich & Famous Bandra is the most sought after locality for the rich and famous in Mumbai and they're willing to pay a hefty amount which a common man can only dream of. So Surprising It's really surprising that the real estate firm payed Karisma Kapoor 3.7 times more than the actual value of the flat of 675 sq ft. Rs 7 Crores So Karisma Kapoor is now Rs 7 Crores richer than her present bank account status and man, that's a really huge deal! 35 Lakhs For Registration DNA stated that the deal was completed in December 2017 and the real estate firm payed Rs 35 Lakhs as stamp duty for registering the document. Market Insider Speaks "Such high rate for an old building is unheard of. But it is a one-off deal and doesn't represent the market sentiments. Whenever a star is involved, the deal does attract a premium," said Prakkash Rohira of Karma Realtor. Bandra Imperial Heights Also, Congress MP Priya Dutt sold her apartment in Bandra's Imperial Heights for Rs 93,000/sq ft. That's a huge amount! Land Owner Is A Winner Priya Dutt sold her 1,675 sq ft carpet area apartment for Rs 15.60 crore, which is double than the current value. So both Karisma and Priya are winners here! The Clash Will Impact Both Films Speaking about the same, Twinkle told the leading daily, "It's not pleasant for both [the parties] and will impact both. But they have also been through enough of their own hurdles." Twinkle Is Confident About Padman "But I wish they would have come a week earlier or a week after us preferably. I am sure Mr [Sanjay Leela] Bhansali has made a wonderful movie but we are very confident of our content." She Won't Push The Release Further "So, I am not apprehensive, and we are not going to move or anything because we are very happy with what [date] we have." Twinkle Khanna On Bhansali "He has been making relevant choices. He has also been undergoing a personal evolution. What I find remarkable, as somebody who has been with him for almost 18 years now, is that he isn't afraid to take leaps and change with times and grow." "Even his thought process vis-a-vis what he would think 10 years ago and now, is evolving. That's [how] all of us [are] at this age." Even R Balki Was Upset About The Clash Like the producer, even the director of PadMan, R Balki, is not too happy with the clash. He was earlier reported saying, "Our film was supposed to release on Republic Day from the outset. It's a free country and if people insist on a particular day, nobody can stop them." He Further Added.. "However, it is silly to clash in a small industry; there are enough dates for everyone. It's not the wisest thing for films to clash." @Aimaa06 "Congratulations shilpa shinde for winning show best of luck for your future :).#mainHinakifanhun #HinaWonHearts." @Blinkorshrink & Ritikesh @Blinkorshrink: Strong women are fearless. They are not afraid of storms: in storms the learn how to sail their ship! #Shilpa Shinde #bb11. Kolkata_Chhori Ritikesh Patil: Congratulations @ShindeShilpaS now you are winner of #bb11 #BB11Finale #BB11WinnerShilpaShinde. "Congratulations to Shilpa Shinde & we Shilpa fans for winning Bigg Boss Season 11 #ShilpaShinde #BiggBoss #BiggBoss11 #BB11 #BB11Finale #BiggBoss11Finale #BiggBossSeason11 #BiggBoss11Winner." SARVESH "#ShilpaShinde creates a special standard in the @BiggBoss , no one can smile better than @ShindeShilpaS with Tear in eyes. @eyehinakhan u have also played well, congratulations #BB11Finale #BB11." Chandni Khanna "Yayyyeeiiii.... Soooo happy! Totally fair decision... Congrats #ShindeShilpas #BB11Finale #AshutoshShinde #BiggBoss." Shilpas Brother Thanks Fans Shilpa's brother too, took to thank fans for their love and support. Sharing a picture snapped with Hina, Ashutosh Shinde wrote, "The only thing I can do ." Engineering and infrastructure company RCR Tomlinsonannounces it has been awarded a $70 million contract by Metro Trains Melbourne to deliver station upgrade works within the Melbourne Underground Rail Loop.RCRs scope of work includes the engineering, design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of systems upgrades for the three underground rail stations.The Melbourne underground rail loop forms part of Melbournes metro rail network, including underground stations at Parliament, Melbourne Central and Flagstaff below the Melbourne CBD.RCR Managing Director and CEO Dr Paul Dalgleish said the company continues to see growth in its pipeline of rail infrastructure projects and commented that this award shows RCRs capability to support a range of complex rail systems projects.He said the company looks forward to working with Metro Trains Melbourne to deliver a safe and reliable project.Shares in RCR Tomlinsonare trading 0.26 per cent higher at $3.86. Auckland International Airportannounced today it will offer its 24.6 per cent investment in North Queensland Airports for sale to existing investors for $370 million.Perron Investments and The Infrastructure Fund have already agreed that they will accept up to the entire offer comprising all of Auckland Airports interest.Auckland Airport Chief Executive Adrian Littlewood said the sale will enable the airport to focus its attention on growing its New Zealand travel, trade and tourism business.He said the proceeds from the sale will go into supporting its recently announced aeronautical investment growth over the next five years.Auckland Airport recorded a by 6.3 per cent increase in international passengers and a 10.8 per cent increase in US visitor arrivals in November compared to the same time last year.Shares in Auckland International Airportclosed 2.05 per cent lower yesterday at $5.74. Crude prices have been red-hot over the past six months, rebounding more than 40% to well over $60 a barrel, a three-year high. While some analysts believe oil could give back some of its recent gains and head back into the $50s, others see catalysts on the horizon that could push it even higher. Analysts at Citigroup, for example, recently put out a report listing several wild cards that could drive crude up toward $80 a barrel. Among the most notable was President Trump, who through words or actions could escalate tensions in places like Iran and North Korea. Either scenario, or any number of other wild cards, could cause oil prices to skyrocket. How Trump could affect oil prices Citigroup noted that President Trump, for example, could make good on his threats to end the controversial Iran nuclear deal, which, among other things, enabled the Middle Eastern nation to increase its oil exports. While recent reports suggest that the president will probably extend the sanction relief, it's still possible that he could reimpose them on the country. If that happened, it would dislocate as much as 500,000 barrels per day of the country's oil exports, which Citi thought would immediately add $5 per barrel to the price of oil. However, even without an impact from Trump, Iran represents a huge wild card. Current tensions in the country from recent protests could boil over and take a significant portion of the country's oil exports offline. Meanwhile, the nation has long been a threat to cut off the oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, which could significantly disrupt the oil market. In addition to Iran, Citigroup also noted that the "rhetoric from and toward North Korea has also escalated in the past few months," with Trump and Kim Jong-un trading incendiary comments, which could ultimately flare up into a military conflict. The risk of war would be likely to prompt nations to stockpile strategic goods such as oil, with that buying causing prices to spike. It's worth emphasizing out that these are wild card events and not what Citigroup expects to see this year -- although if oil prices do rocket because of some Trump-fueled crisis, that would certainly benefit U.S. oil producers. How a Trump bump would affect oil stocks Among the producers that would see the greatest lift from a return of $80 oil are those that have the lowest production costs and didn't cap their upside by hedging production against falling prices. Three that stand out are EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG), Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP). All three have gotten their costs down to the point where they can grow production at a healthy pace even if crude is in the $50s. EOG Resources, for example, can increase its oil output by a 15% compound annual rate through 2020 while living within the cash flow it can generate at $50 a barrel. Meanwhile, ConocoPhillips can grow its production by a 5% compound annual rate, while also returning significant cash flow to investors through dividends and share buybacks at $50 a barrel. Finally, Anadarko can deliver 14% oil production growth this year within cash flow at $50 oil. Because of those sub-$50-a-barrel breakeven levels, this trio would produce a gusher of cash flow if crude pushed toward $80 a barrel, since they don't have any oil hedges that would cap that upside. Contrast this with Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), which had hedged 80% of its oil for 2018 by the end of last year's third quarter, which capped its ceiling on that production at around $58 a barrel. While hedging helped put a floor under Pioneer's cash flow when oil was lower, it now prevents the company from enjoying the full benefit of higher oil prices. Well positioned even without help from Trump As with any wild card, it's impossible to predict if President Trump will drive oil higher this year, which is why investors shouldn't buy oil stocks based on that belief. Instead, they should consider oil stocks that can do just fine if oil gives back its recent gains, while also providing unabated upside if it keeps rising. While that's a tall order, ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources, and Anadarko Petroleum all fit that bill, since they've pushed their production costs below $50 a barrel and don't have any oil hedges, which should enable them to do well no matter what happens to oil this year. Spring malting barley Planet is set to take over as the most popular variety in the UK this season mirroring similar expected success across the rest of Europe. The variety favoured by the brewing industry is set to take 25-30% of the certified seed market this spring, up from 19% in 2017, and so is likely to topple the old brewers favourite Propino, which had a 23% market share last year. See also: Newly listed cereals and rapeseeds offer a host of benefits Planet yields 105% on the current AHDB Recommended List ahead of Propino at 100% and its consistency and quality is likely to see it take top spot among spring barley growers, says Chris Black, cereal product manager-international, at the varietys breeder RAGT. For 2018, Planet will be the number one spring barley variety in Europe, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland and number two in Germany, he told Farmers Weekly. The European maltsters like the variety and it is being used by big European brewers such as Heineken and Carlsberg, while it could do well in Australia and the Ukraine to become a truly international spring barley variety, Mr Black added. The Gamasutra Deep Dives are an ongoing series with the goal of shedding light on specific design, art, or technical features within a video game, in order to show how seemingly simple, fundamental design decisions aren't really that simple at all. Check out earlier installments, including maintaining player tension levels in Nex Machina, achieving seamless branching in Watch Dogs 2s Invasion of Privacy missions, and creating the intricate level design of Dishonored 2's Clockwork Mansion. Who: Rob Yescombe, Freelance writer and narrative director on The Invisible Hours Im Rob Yescombe, freelance writer and narrative director. Lately, Ive been lucky enough to collaborate with Tequila Works on both Rime and our VR murder mystery, The Invisible Hours. Over the last 13 years, Ive worked on franchises like Star Wars, Alien, Crysis, Family Guy, The Division and Blade Runner. But my heart is in virtual reality this year, I also wrote the PSVR titles How We Soar and Farpoint. Heres why Im so excited about VR: it feels like a mansion full of unopened doors. And behind one of those doors is an undiscovered language of storytelling; an entirely new narrative structure specific to VR. Our dream with The Invisible Hours was to try to open that door. What: Spherical Narrative Your life story feels simple when youre inside it. Downright obvious, even. But when you try to replicate its structure inside VR, things get complicated fast. But thats what we set out to do: to mimic the narrative structure of real life. In real life, each of us is the protagonist of our story. And yet, at the exact same moment in time, we are also supporting and background characters in each others stories we play all these roles simultaneously, and none of our stories can exist without the other. We are each a single thread in a tangled web of interdependent narrative. The Invisible Hours is an Agatha Christie style murder mystery that takes place in a mansion over one hour but with seven suspects, that means seven hours of narrative interwoven within that single hour. So, for example, if you follow a suspect up to the attic, youll be missing multiple other scenes happening at that exact same moment elsewhere in the mansion. The story is always alive, whether youre looking or not, just like real life. We call this story structure Spherical Narrative. Why? Our project is impossible The Invisible Hours is built out of dozens of motion captured scenes that all have to begin and end at different times but must all fit together into one giant sphere of uninterrupted story. But thats not the hard part. Before you can even begin, Spherical Narrative is trapped inside a paradox: you have to know how long every single scene is going to be to the exact second before you write it, because the length of every scene is dependent on the length of all the others. In an attempt to crack this paradox, I started by writing a scene-by-scene outline from each character's perspective on their individual story, then placed them into a grid representing units of time. At this point they may look synchronized, but not only are the varying lengths of every scene a consideration in synchronization, we must also apply the unique distances that characters need to traverse between their scenes in varying locations, the speed at which they need to cover those distances, and the impact those factors will have on the scenes that they are traveling to interrupt. If any one of those puzzle pieces is off by a single second, the whole thing breaks. But now, imagine multiplying that problem across dozens of scenes, across five floors in the mansion, across seven interwoven stories. However, with this very rough view of the story, we could start to design 2D floorplans based on the spatial and dramatic requirements described in the outline. We knew we were going to need a very flexible environment layout, to help insure against human error later down the line so that meant additional rooms and multiple routes into each space of the mansion but it also needed to feel believable and accurate; this is a real-world setting after all. We tested about thirty 2D layouts against the outline. This gave us a broad sense of what was required, but it couldnt give us the specificity we needed to progress. The final layout of the mansion is dependent on knowing where scenes will take place, how long they will take, and how far and fast each character will walk between them. You cant finalize any of those things until you have a script but you cant write the script without already knowing them. Ultimately, I had to set myself specific times for every scene and plan to stick to them, no matter what. Once I committed to all those times, we could build a 3D animatic around it. Keep in mind that we still dont have a script at this point. This was a definite risk, and perhaps if this was not an independent production we might not have been allowed to take that risk. Now knowing the location and length of every scene, we could build a whitebox and extrapolate in an animatic the routes and speeds of each character. There were a handful of layout tweaks here, but generally what we planned in 2D stayed put. With the animatic complete, I could start on the scripts proper knowing the exact time limits I had set myself for every moment of every scene. One second can break everything The on-paper version of Spherical Narrative is challenging enough but putting it into actual production is where things really get complicated. Every piece of this spherical jigsaw needs to fit together precisely. If even one scene runs a few seconds long (or short) it has a huge impact on everything that follows across every story thread. If this was live theatre, one actor arriving a few seconds late into a scene is no big deal the rest of the cast can 'fill' and improvise while they wait; but here we have seven hours of scripted animation. That flexibility and margin for error simply does not exist. With so many time dependencies, the chances of things going awry were incredibly high. So we knew we had to find ways to protect ourselves. And as a low budget production, we couldnt risk going to the mo-cap shoot unprepared in any way. To tackle this, we spent a full month rehearsing every single scene against a stopwatch. A logical thing to do in principle, but there is also a very high risk when rehearsing this intensely, that the humanity is driven out of the actors performances. So, I spent significant time doing deep character exercises with the cast to maintain a balance between efficiency and emotion. But again, a leap of faith was necessary here: we drilled scenes until they were within a four second margin, and trusted that we could tighten the gaps on the shoot itself. For the shoot itself, we opted for traditional facial and motion capture. Even though we didnt want to edit motion within the scenes themselves, we knew that adjustments to traversal speeds could save (or add) a few seconds between scenes if we got into a bind. On the shoot, we had to track data very, very carefully: the project amounts to an unprecedented 2,240,000 frames of character data in Motion Builder. As such, it proved to be one of the most complex motion capture shoots in videogame history. But once processed, it was a relatively conventional pipeline to assemble the data inside the engine. Result But ultimately, all of this planning and mathematical effort has been in pursuit of a narrative naturalism inside VR it really does feel alive when youre inside it. Were proud of what we built, and we really hope other devs will try Spherical Narrative for themselves. Quantic Dream video game developer based France recently landed into a controversy that alleged the company leaders for racism, hostile work environment, and sexist humor. Beyond: Two Souls, Heavy Rain, are made by Quantic Dream, while upcoming Detroit: Become Human is in progress. Three different French-language publications have reported the incident that portrays Quantic Dream of such serious allegations. Media which has published the report is LeMonde (French Daily Afternoon Newspaper), Mediapart (French online investigative and opinion journal) and CanardPC (an independent French magazine). Eurogamer published a translated version of the report, you can view the same in the source link at the end of this news. According to the report, David De Gruttola (Founder) & Guillaume de Fondaumiere(Executive Producer) are been accused of either neglecting or tolerating the unreceptive work environment. Both have fiercely denied all the allegations and said they are very surprised and shocked by the rantings of former employees as reported by Le Monde. One among major dispute that gave rise to allegations is a cache of some 600 controversial photoshopped images dating back to 2013. Canard PC and Mediapart has reported this images in their report. These images were sent in group images that are shared with the company which also include David De Gruttola & Guillaume de Fondaumiere. David De Gruttola portrays an image of hard to work with a person who is nicknamed as Papa, God & Sun King for this dictatorial work attitude. He is also accused of his patchy behaviors against female colleagues. David said the allegations were ridiculous, absurd and grotesque. Source: Eurogamer Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime (2018) visits GFXBench ahead of January 17 launch News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime has been spotted on the GFXBench database just two days ahead of its launch revealing the complete specifications we can expect from it. Samsung is one of the key players in the premium flagship segment but the company's presence in the mid-range market is overshadowed by many others. This could be a major reason for Samsung to come up with many mid-range models in the recent times. Lately, the company has been teasing the launch of a smartphone that could be exclusive to Amazon India and it is none other than the Galaxy On7 Prime (2018). The recent media reports have pointed out that the Samsung Galaxy On7 Prime could be launched in India on January 17. Also, the invites sent out by the company for an event to be hosted in Gurugram claim that the device will be exclusive to the online retailer Amazon India. The listing on the retailer's site has already revealed the specifications of the smartphone. While Samsung is yet to confirm the name of the device that will be launched in the country, the listing on Amazon gives us a hint that it could be the Galaxy On7 Prime (2018). Samsung Galaxy A8+ First Impressions Now, the Samsung smartphone in question has hit the GFXBench benchmark database revealing the complete specifications of the smartphone. The Galaxy On7 Prime (2018) appears to sport a 5.5-inch FHD display with a screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. It looks like we cannot expect the full-screen design on this mid-range smartphone as the screen resolution is standard as we have seen on phones with 16:9 displays. Under its hood, there appears to be a 1.5GHz octa-core Exynos 7870 SoC that is based on the 14nm process. The Galaxy On7 Prime appears to be launched in two variants - one with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage space and the other with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space. Both the variants are listed to support expandable storage space up to 256GB using a microSD card. The imaging aspects are said to comprise of a 12MP primary camera at the rear with f/1.9 aperture and LED flash and a 12MP selfie camera at the front with a similar aperture but without the flash module. The benchmark listing tips that the Galaxy On7 Prime runs Android 7.1 Nougat OS topped with the company's own UI. Given that the specifications of the upcoming Samsung smartphone are out and we know that it will see the light of the day on January 17, we need to wait for a couple of days to know the pricing and availability information. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Samsung to launch entry-level smartphones in India that will be online exclusive News oi-Chandrika Samsung is trying to take up the strategy Xiaomi follows in India, which worked really well for the latter. While Samsung is still one of most predominant smartphone brands in India, it won't be long before some other company takes its place. And by some other company, we mean Xiaomi. Not to exaggerate, but the Chinese manufacturer has witnessed a significant rise in popularity in India over the past few years. Especially in the budget segment, Xiaomi phones sell like hotcakes. Samsung, on the other hand, has never focused so much on the entry-level smartphones. However, it seems like things are about to change. According to a new report by ET, Samsung is working on a new series of smartphones to take on Xiaomi. Aggressively priced between Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 15,000, the smartphones will be available for purchase only on online platforms. Basically, the company wants to take up the same strategy that Xiaomi follows in India. Some of may know that Samsung's Galaxy On series of smartphones are online exclusive as well. However, the company now wants to launch more smartphones that will be online exclusive. On the flip side, it has a solid offline presence with lakhs of retail stores across India. In comparison, Xiaomi started its journey in the country as an online-only brand. It was only recently when the company opened physical Mi Stores in select cities in India. While Samsung wants to increase its online presence, the company doesn't want to switch its focus completely from its established offline stores. "Samsung wants to extend its lead with Xiaomi which is possible by expanding e-commerce sales while consolidating its presence in offline channels. It will ensure that the 1.5 lakh brick-and-mortar stores selling its handsets are not neglected since Samsung knows it will take time for Xiaomi to build such a vast offline network," a company executive was quoted as saying to the publication. The South Korean tech giant has also reduced the number of trade partners from 10-12 to 2-3 in each region for fulfilling online orders. "The layers of distribution for online sales are also being cut to ensure margins are better controlled, which can be passed for aggressive pricing," the report quotes another executive. As of now, this is pretty much everything we know. Hopefully, more details will come to light in the days to come. It also remains to be seen whether Samsung gets successful in its endeavor. Best Mobiles in India Xiaomi Mi6 receives Android Oreo 8.0 beta version upgrade News oi-Sandeep The users will have to upgrade the Global stable ROM to MIUI 9 Global Beta ROM which is based on Android Nougat v7.12.14 to install the Android Oreo beta. Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer recently released the Android 8.0 Beta version for its flagship device Mi6. The global users who are currently running the android version 7.12.14 are soon to receive an OTA upgrade Android 8.0 for Mi 6. The global beta version Android 8.1.1 would be available for Mi 6 soon. For those who are using Global Stable ROM will have to switch to another ROM in order to get the latest version of operating system. The new update which is rolling out might have some bugs as per some reports and it is being said that the Android 8.0 Oreo, which is being rolled out for Mi 6 devices might not be as stable as the Nougat on the Mi 6 and other flagship devices of Xiaomi. However it is still not clear by when the company will launch a stable version of Android 8.0 for Mi 6 and other flagship devices. As mentioned above in order to use the upgraded beta version Android 8.0 on Mi6 a user needs a stable ROM. The users will have to upgrade the Global stable ROM to MIUI 9 Global Beta ROM which is based on Android Nougat v7.12.14 to install the Android Oreo beta. Once updated to v.7.12.14 the user will receive an OTA which automatically updates the device. It is highly recommended that a user should back up all important data prior updating their devices. This will help in preventing data loss. The beta version of Android Oreo 8.0 might have some bugs making the device unstable for daily use. This might be a negative impact for the customers who are willing to upgrade to Android 8.o Beta version. The download links for the Android upgrade is available on Xiaomi's own website along with the user guides. Xiaomi is reported to release the Android 8.0 Oreo update for Mi Mix 2 as well in the near future, though no Beta version is yet available for the Mi Mix 2. It is also being reported that Xiaomi might not roll out the stable version of Android Oreo 8.0 any time soon, however a stable version would be much appreciated by the masses. Stay tuned on www.gizbot.com for all tech related updates Best Mobiles in India Indias own Voice-Activated Smart Hotel Rooms introduced at Park Inn by Radisson IP Extension News oi-Sandeep The smart hotel has six spacious studio rooms which are embedded with Amazon's Ai powered Echo Dot devices. These Echo Dot devices allows a guest to control light settings along with music, laundry The Indian hotel industry is soon to get an advanced makeover featuring Smart Hotel chains which are Voice assistant-enabled smart hotel rooms. The Smart hotel would be the first of its kind in India where a customer has complete automation of service request and includes virtual control of TV and lighting fixtures. The smart hotel has six spacious studio rooms which are embedded with Amazon's Ai powered Echo Dot devices. These Echo Dot devices allows a guest to control light settings along with the music being played in the room and also control the television with simple voice commands. The guests can also request for room services including room clean up, wake-up-calls along with laundry and in-room dining by simply speaking in the smart device. Top features of Honor 7X Guests can also manage basic room functions and request for room servicing with just a tap on their smartphones without downloading any kind of app. The Park inn by Radisson IP extension, New Delhi is the first ever property in India to provide this app-free mobile feature. The app is based on Web RTC technology which is a rather new technology. The studio rooms which are integrated with this technology have been configured by Kamakshi Clouds which is a Bangalore based software firm Commenting on the launch Mr. M. A. Kannan, Director, Kamakshi Clouds said, "Almost every industry in the world is on the cusp of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution, with a promise of improved efficiencies. Therefore, it is time for hotel businesses to embrace this change with great dexterity; as the sector contributes extensively to India's GDP. Web RTC, used to power the smart rooms at Park Inn by Radisson IP Extension, is a highly disruptive technology that allows guests to turn on/off lights & the TV with just one tap." The smart studio rooms have been tested thoroughly with the Beta version for last seven months prior its rollout in January 2018. The hotel plans to expand its AI (Artificial Intelligence) service to other rooms as well after the response of guests in the coming days. Best Mobiles in India KAYAK introduces Travel Hacker Guide for Indian travelers News oi-Sandeep The kayak's travel guide gives an insight of travel location and destinations along with some tips for the travelers.It also provides information about the top trending destinations. With its aim to help Indian travelers explore various destinations with confidence Kayak a travel search engine launched its Travel Hacker (kayak.co.in/travelhacker) guide for India. The company launched the travel guide in the beginning of 2018 for the Indian travelers, and the company claims that it has analyzed over 1.5 billion annual travel search queries to develop this travel guide. The kayak's travel guide gives an insight of travel location and destinations along with some tips for the travelers. The Kayak guide also provides information about the top trending destinations along with the list of most affordable cities to fly to and also provides information on the best time to book. This is to enable the travelers to use a smarter approach while making any travel plans. The Guide comes with a "when to book" feature which allows Indian commuters to enter their home and desired travel destination prior travelling which enables them to choose the best price from available options. The best prices will be shown as per what is being considered a good deal based on Kayak's historical data. Top 10 Tips & Tricks for Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL We believe the Travel Hacker Guide is an exciting tool which will offer a lot of benefits to Indian travelers. It's a great addition to our suite of smart travel tools and features which we hope will help give Indian holidaymakers the best, most reliable information they need to plan their travel with confidence', commented on the launch Abhijit Mishra, regional Manager, Kayak, India and Middle east. He further added that 'The Travel Hacker Guide not only ranks cities based on how they fare in terms of searches, it also provides median hotel rates and flight costs and a selection of popular and trending hotels in each destination. It acts as a reference for users on when to book, where to go, interesting hacker tips, and sightseeing locations for each destination, The Kayak Travel hacker Guide features four top-ten lists: biggest price drop destinations, top budget destination ,and the trending destinations list on the basis high increase in searches, and the most popular destinations, both domestically and internationally. Recording significant drops in average flight prices, Srinagar and Port Blair are this year's budget destination. Srinagar and Port Blair are this year's most wallet-friendly destinations, recording significant drops in average flight prices As per the Kayak Travel Guide, travel costs for the top-ten budget destinations have seen a significant average flight price decrease of 20% every year. Topping the list are Srinagar and Port Blair, both of which recorded average price drops of 24%. Other destinations like Jammu (-23%), Muscat (-22%) and Kochi (-19%) all recorded drops in average flight prices in comparison to the previous year, giving Indian travelers even more reason to travel. In addition, the Guide also recommends specific timelines for travel to the budget destinations. The best month for travel to destinations such as Srinagar, Port Blair and Amritsar is August, whereas the least expensive time to travel to Kochi, Madurai and Mangalore is November. Bangkok beats Dubai as the most popular destination amongst Indian travelers The guide provides insight of the destinations which are highly popular amongst the travelers. As per some reports Dubai has been replaced by Bangkok when it comes to the list of most popular destinations for the Indians, while New York retains its rank at number 2. New York is closely followed by Dubai at third rank followed by Goa at fourth place. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Vodafone, Idea Cellular may start their operations as one entity from April: Report News oi-Priyanka Vodafone to combine its subsidiary Vodafone India (excluding its 42 percent stake in Indus Towers) with Idea, which is listed on the Indian Stock Exchanges. After getting approvals from National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)Ahmedabad bench, Vodafone and Idea are likely to start its operations from April 2018. "If everything goes as per plan, we are looking at the first week of April to start operations as one entity," according to a report published in Live Mint. The NCLT Ahmedabad bench on Friday said that "The scheme is genuine, bona fide and in the interest of the creditors and the shareholders." "We wish to inform you that the Hon'ble National Company Law Tribunal, bench at Ahmedabad, vide its order dated January 11, 2018, has sanctioned the composite scheme of amalgamation and arrangement among Vodafone Mobile Services Limited and Vodafone India Limited and Idea Cellular Limited...," Idea Cellular said in a regulatory note on Friday. Huawei P9 TIps & Tricks However, India's second largest telecom operator Vodafone is yet to receive approval from NCLT-Mumbai bench. To recall last year on March Vodafone and Idea Cellular announced that they have reached an agreement to combine their operations in India (excluding Vodafone's 42 percent stake in Indus Towers). Here are the highlights of the deal are 1) Vodafone to combine its subsidiary Vodafone India (excluding its 42 percent stake in Indus Towers) with Idea, which is listed on the Indian Stock Exchanges. 2) The highly complementary combination will create India's largest telecom operator1 with the country's widest mobile network and a strong commitment to delivering the Indian government's 'Digital India' vision. 3) Sustained investment by the combined entity will accelerate the pan-India expansion of wireless broadband services using 4G/4G+/5G technologies, support the introduction of digital content and 'Internet of Things'(IoT) services as well as expand financial inclusion through mobile money services for the benefit of Indian consumers, businesses, and society as a whole. 4) The merger of equals with joint control of the combined company between Vodafone and the Aditya Birla Group, governed by a shareholders'' agreement. 5) The merger ratio is consistent with recommendations from the joint independent valuers. The implied enterprise value is Rs 828 billion ($ 12.4 billion) for Vodafone India and Rs 722 billion ($ 10.8 billion) for Idea excluding its stake in Indus Towers. 6) Substantial cost and CapEx synergies with an estimated net present value of approximately Rs 670 billion ($ 10.0 billion) after integration costs and spectrum liberalization payments, with estimated run-rate savings of Rs 140 billion ($ 2.1 billion) on an annual basis by the fourth full year post completion. 7) Vodafone will own 45.1 percent of the combined company after transferring a stake of 4.9 percent to the Aditya Birla Group for circa Rs 39 billion (circa $579 million) in cash concurrent with the completion of the merger. The Aditya Birla Group will then own 26.0 percent and has the right to acquire more shares from Vodafone under an agreed mechanism with a view to equalizing the shareholdings over time. 8) If Vodafone and the Aditya Birla Group's shareholding in the combined company are not equal after four years, Vodafone will sell down shares in the combined company to equalize its shareholding to that of the Aditya Birla Group over the following five-year period. 9) Until equalization is achieved, the voting rights of the additional shares held by the Vodafone will be restricted and votes will be exercised jointly under the terms of the shareholders' agreement. 10) Vodafone India will be deconsolidated by Vodafone on the announcement and reported as a joint venture post-closing, reducing Vodafone Group net debt by approximately Rs. 552 billion ($8.2 billion). The transaction is expected to be accretive to Vodafone's cash flow from the first full year post-completion. 11) The transaction is expected to close during the calendar year 2018, subject to customary approvals. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications 'Error' Puts Hawaii on Alert Over Ballistic Missile Threat Sputnik News 21:41 13.01.2018(updated 23:18 13.01.2018) The Pacific Command "detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii," while the White House called the mistakenly sent message an exercise. White House reported that US President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation, calling it an "emergency management exercise." Earlier, the Associated Press cited local officials as saying that an alert over a ballistic missile threat "inbound to Hawaii" was a mistake. The alert reportedly urged residents to seek shelter, saying that "this is not a drill," causing panic, when it was received by people via their cellphones on Saturday morning. "The President has been briefed on the state of Hawaii's emergency management exercise. This was purely a state exercise," White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said later. US military's Pacific Command announced that it had "detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii," adding that the text message warning sent earlier was an "error." The alert comes just over a month after the US state of Hawaii has resumed its nuclear warning tests since the end of the Cold War due to North Korea's missile launches. In his New Years Day address, North Korean leader said that US mainland is "in our nuclear strike range," a statement that has prompted harsh response from US President Donald Trump, who, in turn, noted that he has a "much bigger & more powerful" nuclear button. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Afghan General: Haqqani Network, Not IS, Behind Spike in Violence By Hasib Danish Alikozai, Mohammad Habibzada January 13, 2018 An Afghan defense official told VOA that the recent spike in violence in Afghanistan is not the work of the Islamic State terror group. Rather the Pakistan-based Haqqani network is behind the attacks, he said. General Mohammad Radmanesh, a spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, told VOA the Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terror group, has been carrying out attacks under the name of the IS terror group. "Based on our intelligence, they [IS] do not have the ability to carry out such attacks in the capital or its suburbs," Radmanesh said. "Unfortunately, regional intelligence agencies are trying to portray them as a powerful group. And it is very clear that Haqqani terrorist group is carrying out these activities [attacks] under the name of IS." However, the Afghan general did not rule out the presence of IS in Afghanistan. He said IS does have footprints in the country, but U.S. and Afghan forces have seriously undermined the terror group's abilities through military operations. "Afghan security forces have cracked down [on] IS in a number of provinces and have caused them massive casualties in Nangarhar province [IS's traditional stronghold]," Radmanesh added. Without specifically naming countries, General Radmanesh blamed the intelligence agencies of regional countries for trying to portray IS in Afghanistan as a potent and powerful terror group. The Islamic State group in Afghanistan is not linked with the main Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, he added. Experts divided Experts are divided over who the members of the Islamic State in Afghanistan are and whether the Haqqani network and other terror groups have rebranded themselves as IS in the country. Some security experts like Atiqullah Amarkhil push back against Radmanesh's claims and argue that shifting blame from IS to Haqqani does not solve the problem nor does it reduce the severity of the security problem Afghanistan faces. "We should not deceive our people by stating that Haqqani is behind the attacks, not IS. They both are," Amarkhil, a Kabul-based retired general, told VOA. "IS is more active and trying to spread fear and create a gap between government and citizens," Amarkhil added. Abdul Wahid Taqat, another security analyst and a former senior intelligence official in the Afghan government, agrees with Radmanesh and maintains that IS in Afghanistan is comprised of members of various banned Pakistani groups. "The IS in Afghanistan is not linked to the one in Iraq and Levant [Syria]. This IS is composed of illegal Pakistani groups," Taqat told VOA. "They [IS] are the Haqqanis, members of Lashka-e-Taiba, Sepah-e-Sahaba, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Moahmmad, Harakat-ul-Islam and etc. And now Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence [ISI] gave them a new name." Michael Semple, an expert on Afghanistan at the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, believes that the Afghan branch of the Islamic State does not have the capacity to carry out the types of sophisticated terror attacks that were carried out in recent months in Kabul. "Within the Taliban, the Haqqani network have the main responsibility for attacks in Kabul and they have produced plenty of propaganda videos to show their men in training for suicide operations," Semple said. "Daesh does not have the same capacity as the Taliban to launch attacks in Kabul," Semple added, using an Arabic acronym for Islamic State. "Recent attacks on Shia civilians may well have been the work of Daesh. These unsophisticated attacks were within Daesh's capacity and consistent with Daesh's anti-Shia stance." There are also fears that by targeting Shiite minority in Afghanistan, IS wants to trigger a sectarian war in the country. Spike in violence by IS The Islamic State, however, has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly attacks in different parts of Afghanistan in recent months, including the capital Kabul, sparking fears among Afghans that the terror group might be gaining strength. The terror group has claimed responsibility for dozens of deadly terror attacks across the country since its emergence in eastern Nangarhar in 2015, including a suicide attack on protesters in Kabul in July 2016 that killed about 90 people and wounded another 400. In October 2017, a suicide attack on a mosque in Kabul killed at least 56 people and wounded more than 50 others. IS claimed responsibility for that attack as well. In December 2017, IS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack inside a Shiite cultural center in Kabul, which killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 90 others. In early January of this year, the terror group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that struck a convoy of the Afghan security forces in Kabul, killing at least 15 people and wounding dozens more, including security forces. Pakistan-based madrasas General Radmanesh said he believes that the increase in violence in Afghanistan has roots in Pakistani-based religious schools. "The reason that terrorism still exists in Afghanistan, although Afghan forces have killed thousands of them, is the madrasas [religious schools] on the other side of the Durand Line [border line separating the two countries] that produce terrorists," he said. Radmanesh added there are an estimated 10,000 religious schools operating in Pakistan. Some of which, he claimed, train militants for jihad in Afghanistan. Afghan officials have long accused Pakistan of turning a blind eye on terror groups that train on its soil to carry out terror attacks across the border in Afghanistan and that the country is selective in its crackdown on terror groups. Pakistan denies that accusations and maintains that its military operations have targeted militants indiscriminately. "Military-led counterterrorism operations have targeted terrorists indiscriminately including Haqqanis at a heavy cost of blood and treasure," Pakistan army spokesperson Major-General Asif Ghafoor told VOA following an announcement by the Trump administration that it wanted to suspend hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance to Pakistan until the country takes "decisive action" against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network. VOA's Afghanistan service also contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tunisians continue anti-austerity protests on revolution anniversary Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 04:25PM Hundreds protested in the capital Tunis on Sunday while demonstrations were held for a successive sixth day in other cities and towns. Hundreds of riot police were deployed along the central Habib Bourguiba Avenue and also in front of the Labor Union (UGTT) headquarters where protesters marched with banners reading slogans against rising prices and new taxes. The protests come against a series of new measures imposed by the government to raise tax and prices as it struggles to cope with a budget deficit that could undermine its efforts to obtain loans from international creditors. Some protests over the past week turned violent as police reported around 800 arrests. The Interior Ministry said the detained included vandals who threw petrol bombs at police stations. The government issued a statement on Saturday pledging to increase its support for poor families and needy people. However, many in smaller towns continue to attend rallies that they say could win them their economic rights some seven years after the fall of Ben Ali. "We have only won the freedom of expression after 2011 revolution ... but we will remain in the streets until we win our economic rights just as we have our freedom", said a protester who identified himself as a university professor. Tunisia witnessed deep political changes following the 2011 revolution, something that many Arab countries that imitated the uprising from Tunisia have yet to embrace. However, deep-rooted economic problems still persists in Tunisia mainly due to successive change of governments and also as a result of major militant attacks on tourist sites in 2015. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Venezuela government, opposition arrange fresh talks Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:05AM The Venezuelan government and opposition are set to hold a new round of talks in the Dominican Republic on Thursday, aiming to address deep political differences. Dominican President Danilo Medina made the announcement at a press conference on Saturday, saying that the two sides would hold the talks in the capital, Santo Domingo, on January 18. "Although we have made extremely important advances, we still have pending matters that must be discussed," Medina said, after 10 hours of meetings between Venezuelan government representatives and opposition leaders. Jorge Rodriguez, the main Venezuelan government delegate, said there was consensus on the "majority of the points," adding that, "We remain at the negotiating table... we have some points that I am sure will be resolved." Julio Borges, the president of the country's National Assembly, which is controlled by the opposition, also highlighted the agreement, but said, "These days and hours of intense work are not enough to achieve what our people, the Venezuelan people, need to have an avenue, a path of hope." The latest round of meetings, held on January 11, came after the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro threatened to ban some opposition parties from elections amid opposition threats to resume street protests. Unrest has already left 125 people dead from both the government and opposition camps in Venezuela. Violence erupted in Venezuela last year amid persistent political bickering and an acute economic downturn. Meanwhile, Venezuela's Constituent Assembly, loyal to Maduro, has ordered the three main opposition parties to re-register with the National Electoral Council (CNE) in order to participate in the presidential election next year. That came after the parties boycotted mayoral polls last month, claiming that they lacked transparency. The government also demands that the opposition recognize the Constituent Assembly. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tunisian government proposes reforms after unrest Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 10:32AM The Tunisian government has proposed a range of socioeconomic reforms to the parliament in an apparent attempt to ease public discontent, which was manifested in days of unrest triggered by austerity measures in the North African country. Tunisian Minister of Social Affairs Mohamed Trabelsi said on Saturday that the reforms were mainly aimed at providing aid to poor families and securing medical care for all Tunisians. "Firstly, providing a minimum amount for Tunisian families and, secondly, guaranteeing health care for all Tunisians, with no exception, and providing or helping to provide appropriate housing to all Tunisian families," Trabelsi said. The Tunisian minister also announced the allocation of 100 million dinars (roughly 42 million dollar) in the budget to families in need and an increase in monthly aid from 150 dinars (61 dollars) to between 180 and 210 dinars. "It's a very advanced legal project, which was submitted to parliament and will be discussed over the next week," said a government source, who requested anonymity. The Saturday announcement came after Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi consulted with the country's political parties, unions, and employers. Tunisia has been the scene of protests against hikes in value-added tax and social contributions introduced at the beginning of the year to reduce the country's annual deficit and satisfy international lenders. In recent years, demonstrations have been held in the month of January, which marks the anniversary of the 2011 revolution that toppled dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The 2011 uprising and two major militant attacks in Tunisia in 2015 harmed foreign investment and tourism, which accounts for eight percent of the country's economic activity. The North African country has been hailed for its relatively smooth democratic transition since the 2011 revolution, but it is still experiencing economic and political turbulence. Tunisia's Interior Ministry spokesman Khlifa Chibani also announced on Saturday that a total of 803 people suspected of taking part in acts of violence, theft, and looting had been arrested over a week of unrest. The spokesman added that some 97 security forces and members of civil protection units had sustained injuries in clashes. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi, allies used precision-guided arms in raids on Yemeni civilians: UN panel Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 06:37AM A UN panel has compiled a detailed report of civilian casualties caused by the Saudi military and its allies during their war against Yemen, saying the Riyadh-led coalition has used precision-guided munitions in its raids on civilian targets. "The attacks were carried out by precision-guided munitions, so it is likely these were the intended targets," Al Jazeera cited the UN report on human rights violations in Yemen as saying on Saturday. The report, which has been devised for the UN Security Council, has not been made public, but Al Jazeera said it was allowed to view a copy. It has examined 10 airstrikes that killed 157 people last year. It specified the targets as a migrant boat, a night market, five residential buildings, a motel, a vehicle, and government forces. "Even if in some cases, the Saudi-led coalition had targeted legitimate military objectives, the panel finds it highly unlikely that the IHL (International Humanitarian Law) principles of proportionality, and precautions in attack were met," the report stated. The Saudi-led coalition began its military campaign against Yemen in March 2015 to bring its favored government back to power. More than 13,600 people have so far been killed in the war. Further, the UN panel directed strong criticism at the coalition's other abuses inside Yemen. Those include the violations being committed inside the coalition's incarceration camps, most notably the ones run by the United Arab Emirates, Riyadh's most important coalition partner, on the Yemeni soil. It cited a "widespread and systematic" pattern of "arbitrary arrests, deprivation of liberty, and enforced disappearances." "The report talks about beatings, electrocutions, constrained suspension, and it talks about something called the cage which is confinement in a cage in the sunlight and the denial of medical treatment," said James Bays, Al Jazeera's diplomatic editor. The panel finally said the militants loyal to the former government, which are promoting the coalition's goals on the ground in Yemen, "pose a threat to peace, security and stability of Yemen," and "will do more to further the fragility of Yemen than they will do to hold the state together." UN chief Antonio Guterres has called the war a "stupid one," calling on the United States, which is a strong Saudi ally and has been backing the invasion through arms sales and logistical support, to pressure Riyadh into ending the attacks. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli Army Destroys Terrorists' Tunnel Entering Israel From Gaza Strip Sputnik News 05:40 14.01.2018(updated 11:10 14.01.2018) TEL AVIV (Sputnik) - The Israeli forces have conducted an airstrike hitting a target in the southern Gaza Strip, the army's press service said Sunday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have discovered and destroyed an underground tunnel entering Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip that was built by the Palestinian militants, the IDF press service said Sunday. "The Hamas terrorist organization is responsible for everything happening in and out of the Gaza Strip," the press release added. It was also noted that Kerem Shalom border crossing on the Gaza Strip-Israel border would be closed later in the day for security reasons. Tensions between Israel and Palestinians flared up after US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate US embassy to the city from Tel Aviv. Also, Trump claimed that Palestine was "no longer willing to talk peace" with Israel, and questioned the issue of giving aid payments to UNRWA. Recently, the Palestine Liberation Organization urged to convene an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations with the aim of creating an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address False Ballistic Missile Alarm in Hawaii Caused by Employee Mistake Sputnik News 04:31 14.01.2018(updated 08:12 14.01.2018) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Hawaii's Governor David Ige said that a false alert warning citizens in the US state of Hawaii of an incoming ballistic missile appeared due to a mistake by an employee with the state's emergency management services. "It was a mistake made during a standard procedure at the change over of a shift, and an employee pushed the wrong button," Ige told the CNN broadcaster on Saturday. He added that the warning was sent to mobile phones, and also appeared on TV and radio. The US Federal Communications Commission announced that it has launched a probe into the false alert warning. Earlier on Saturday, an emergency alert saying "Ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill," was sent to the cellphones of the state's residents. The US Pacific Command announced later that it had "detected no ballistic missile threat to Hawaii," calling the text message warning an error. White House responded to the news by saying that US President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation, calling it an "emergency management exercise." Hawaii's Governor David Ige apologized on Sunday for the false alert in a Twitter message. He also called for peace and de-escalation of the tensions around North Korea "We are doing everything we possibly can to prevent this from happening again We must also do what we can to demand peace and a de-escalation with North Korea, so that warnings and sirens can become a thing of the past," Ige wrote. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taliban Denies Attending Afghan Peace Talks in Turkey By Ayaz Gul January 14, 2018 Afghanistan government negotiators and Taliban officials have reportedly opened "unofficial" talks in Turkey to discuss "mechanisms" that could pave the ground for initiating a formal peace dialogue. Participants of the meeting have told Afghan media the talks have been arranged in cooperation with the Turkish government. Officials from the Taliban's Qatar-based office and other insurgent groups are said to be among the attendees. The Afghan government has not commented on the discussions. But a Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, has rejected the reports about the group's participation in talks in Turkey. The reported peace meeting in Turkey comes as a U.N. Security Council delegation is in Kabul holding talks with Afghan leaders on security and political issues in the war-torn country. Government officials and the visiting U.N. delegation have been tight lipped about the ongoing meetings. Authorities have tightened security in the embattled Afghan capital and diverted traffic in key roads to safeguard movements of the 15-member delegation. The visit comes as security around Afghanistan has deteriorated, with government forces and Taliban insurgents engaged in staging battlefield operations and guerrilla attacks. Local Politics also an issue Afghan political tensions are also running high as the governor of the northern Balkh province has refused to quit office, in defiance of a presidential decree that ousted him a month ago and appointed his successor. Attah Muhammad Noor, a powerful regional political figure, has been ruling the province for more than 13 years and insists President Ashraf Ghani has not authority to dismiss him. Noor maintains his Jamiat-e-Islami party is a key member of the central coalition government and had put forward certain demands for Ghani to meet before he steps down from the governor's office. The political stand off has negatively impacted an already struggling Afghan economy, according to the business community, sparking historic devaluation of the local currency. The Afghan government is to host an international meeting early next month in which it is expected to present its "comprehensive strategy" for promoting peace talks with armed groups fighting Afghan forces and their international backers. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Duterte: No Extended Term, No Canceled Elections By VOA News January 14, 2018 The president of the Philippines said he is not interested in extending his six-year term or canceling elections next year. Rodrigo Duterte said in an interview with news website MindaNews that "there will be no suspension of elections and there will be no term extension, especially for me." Duterte's term ends in 2022. The president talked with Minda about his vision for a Philippine federal government. He said he envisions a structure along the lines of the French government with "a strong president" who would be "as powerful as the prime minister." Another change the president would like to see is the transformation of the Senate and the House of Representatives into one chamber with 50 lawmakers who can quickly enact laws. Duterte commissioned a 25-member Consultative Committee (ConCom) in 2016 to develop a blueprint for a federal government for the Philippines. He told Minda that he is still waiting for the committee's draft. However, Minda noted that Duterte has yet to appoint any members to the committee. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Homeland Security Chief Vows to Correct Hawaii's Missile Alert System By VOA News January 14, 2018 U.S. Homeland Security Chief Kirstjen Nielsen said Sunday it was "unfortunate" there was a false emergency alarm about an incoming missile in Hawaii, but said authorities are "all working to make sure it doesn't happen again." Officials continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Saturday incident in which residents of the western-most U.S. state, in the Central Pacific, were erroneously sent emergency alerts on television, radio, email and mobile devices that warned: "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." Just a few weeks ago, Hawaii reinstated its Cold War-era alarm sirens amid growing fears of nuclear aggression by North Korea. Authorities blamed Saturday's incident on human error. Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard told CNN, "The fact that these processes failed so epically that caused this trauma, caused this terror all across the state of Hawaii, must be fixed immediately, and those responsible for this happening need to be held accountable." Gabbard said it "was unacceptable that this happened, but it really highlights the stark reality the people of Hawaii are facing" in being the U.S. state closest to North Korea at a time when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump have traded months of insults over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development program and its frequent test missile launches. Hawaii Gov. David Ige said the false missile alert that panicked islanders Saturday morning was "totally unacceptable" and told reporters he is "angry and disappointed" by the situation. "Today is a day that most of us will never forget a day when many in our community thought that our worst nightmares might actually be happening," he said. Questioned repeatedly by reporters about how such a mistake could happen, the governor said his administration is doing everything possible to make sure it does not happen again. Vern Miyagi, administrator of Hawaii's Emergency Management Administration, told reporters that the person responsible for the erroneous message "feels terrible" about it. Told by reporters that emergency sirens had actually gone off in some communities, Miyagi said he would have to look into the matter. Panic Hotel guests were herded into basements, while residents tried to find the safest places inside their homes. Some people were seen on video opening manhole covers to shelter underground. Donna McGarrity of Oahu was at home with her 30-year-old son when they got the alert. She said they took shelter in the center of the house, where she called her daughter who lived out of state "just to actually tell her I love her, just in case we got bombed," she told VOA. The mistake was discovered within 20 minutes, but it took 38 minutes for state officials to issue a correction on mobile devices, which brought criticism from islanders, government officials and the media. Hours later, McGarrity said she and her son were still shaken. "We just kept looking it up just to make sure that it was a false alarm," she said after the event. If the alert had been real, she said, they had been told a missile could have hit as soon as 12 minutes after the alert. "I've never had anything like this happen, where it could be imminent, where in just a couple of minutes we could all be dead," she said. Earlier, Ige told CNN that the mistake happened when an employee simply erred. "It was a mistake made during a standard procedure at the changeover of a shift," he said, "and an employee pushed the wrong button." The White House sent out a statement by deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters: "The president has been briefed on the state of Hawaii's emergency management exercise. This was purely a state exercise." Ajit Pai, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), tweeted Saturday that his agency was launching a "full investigation" into the false wireless emergency alert. The FCC has jurisdiction over the nation's emergency alert system. Hawaiian lawmakers react U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii tweeted, "What happened today is totally inexcusable. The whole state was terrified. There needs to be tough and quick accountability and a fixed process. ... There is nothing more important to Hawaii than professionalizing and foolproofing this process." Scott Saiki, speaker of the state House of Representatives, released a statement saying, "This system we have been told to rely upon failed, and failed miserably today. I am deeply troubled by this misstep that could have had dire consequences. Measures must be taken to avoid further incidents that caused wholesale alarm and chaos today." Saiki's statement continued, "Apparently, the wrong button was pushed, and it took over 30 minutes for a correction to be announced. Parents and children panicked during those 30 minutes. The Hawaii House of Representatives will immediately investigate what happened, and there will be consequences. This cannot happen again." Hawaii State Sen. Mazie Hirono tweeted a reassurance that the alarm had been false, adding, "At a time of heightened tensions, we need to make sure all information released to the public is accurate. We need to get to the bottom of what happened and make sure it never happens again." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran FM: JCPOA in no way renegotiable IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 13, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif late on Friday slammed US President Donald Trump for repeating 'tired rhetoric', reiterating that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is not renegotiable. Zarif tweeted on Friday, "Trump's policy and today's announcement amount to desperate attempts to undermine a solid multilateral agreement, maliciously violating its paras 26, 28 & 29. JCPOA is not renegotiable: rather than repeating tired rhetoric, US must bring itself into full compliance-just like Iran.' Trump branded it 'a disaster' and 'the worst deal ever negotiated' and once even promised to rip it up if he became president, although he later backed down, conceding that it would be too hard to dismantle a deal enshrined in a UN resolution. He later vowed to alter the terms of the accord instead. He has on several occasions called for renegotiating the deal but Iranian officials have firmly rejected his call, reiterating that the multilateral deal is in no way renegotiable. 8072**1396 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address In an exclusive interview with ISNA; Iran will not step back from its ballistic policies: Boroujerdi ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sat / 13 January 2018 / 13:05 Tehran (ISNA) The chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said that Iran makes decisions based on its national interests, stressing that the Islamic Republic of Iran will not step back from its policies toward ballistic capacity. In an exclusive interview with ISNA, Boroujerdi reacted to the US President Donald Trump's announcement on Iran's nuclear sanctions waiver and said, "Trump is the most hated president of the American history whose hatred has crossed US geological boundaries and become a global phenomenon". "By insulting to the black people, Trump has undoubtedly spread hatred towards himself among blacks," he added. On January 11, Trump reportedly demanded to know why the United States should accept immigrants from "shithole countries", after lawmakers raised the issue of protections for immigrants from African nations, Haiti and El Salvador. Pointing to the issue that Washington is a serious violator of Iran's nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Boroujerdi said, "While many European countries and the signatories of the nuclear deal have repeatedly protested to the irrational behavior of Trump, he is still considered as a serious violator of JCPOA". "However Trump was forced once again to extend Iran's nuclear sanctions waiver despite all the boasts," he added. In response to the US president's new sanctions against 14 Iranian corporations and individuals with the excuse of violating human rights and supporting weapons programs, the Iranian official said that this unreasonable measure is clearly a case of violation of JCPOA because the United States imposed new sanctions. "Ballistic capability is the only deterrent against enemy threats in the situation that the Islamic Republic of Iran has agreed to have no nuclear weapons and to use no weapons of mass destruction such as chemical and biological weapons because it is totally against the use of weapons of mass destruction, "said Boroujerdi. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran will commit to nothing beyond nuclear deal: Foreign Ministry Iran Press TV Sat Jan 13, 2018 04:23AM Iran's Foreign Ministry has announced that the country will commit to no obligation beyond those it has already agreed to under an international nuclear deal, amid attempts by the United States to change the terms of the 2015 accord. In a statement released on Saturday, the ministry said that US President Donald Trump once again had to extend waivers that are mandatory under the deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "The internal solidity of and international support for the agreement have blocked attempts by Mr. Trump, the Zionist regime [of Israel], and the ominous alliance of hard-line warmongers to terminate this agreement or make changes to it," the ministry said. On Friday, Trump extended waivers of key economic sanctions on Iran for another 120 days but said he was doing so "for the last time." Although the US president declined to seize an opportunity to withdraw from the Iran deal which he has long railed against and formerly promised to "rip up" he gave a four-month deadline to US Congress and America's main European allies to address what he called the "disastrous flaws" of the deal. Trump said he wanted Congress to pass a bill requiring "timely, sufficient, and immediate inspections" at all sites by inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the indefinite extension of limits on Iran's uranium enrichment and other nuclear activities. But the European parties to the deal and China and Russia, the two other parties, have made it clear that they will not reopen negotiations on the deal, which they say is working as it is; and Trump's demands could thus only be addressed by domestic US law, with no jurisdiction over Iran or the IAEA, and with no direct effect on the JCPOA. Iran, too, has been abundantly clear that it will not renegotiate the deal. In its statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry reiterated that position. "The Islamic Republic of Iran stresses clearly that it will take no measures beyond its commitments under the JCPOA and will accept no changes to this agreement now or in the future and will not allow that the JCPOA be linked to any other issue [than the nuclear issue]," the statement read. Trump had said the US Congress bill also had to review Iran's long-range missile and nuclear activities as inseparable, and that the country's development and testing of missiles should be subject to severe sanctions. Trump also ordered the imposition of new sanctions on 14 individuals and entities over alleged rights abuses, censorship, and support for weapons proliferators. The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned those new sanctions and said that the US government was obliged to honor all of its commitments under the JCPOA, but that since its implementation, it had reneged on its pledges and violated the terms of the deal. Trump's action and policies over the course of the past year specifically violate Articles 26, 28 and 29 of the JCOPA, it said. Among the individuals targeted with new sanctions was Iranian Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani. The Foreign Ministry said that the Washington's "illegal" move to target the official passed all behavioral red lines in the international community, breached the principled rules of international law, and would be met with serious reaction by the Islamic Republic. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran Reproves US Sanctions Which 'Cross All Red Lines,' Vows to Respond Sputnik News 14:21 13.01.2018(updated 14:29 13.01.2018) Tehran has responded to the latest US sanctions over Iran's alleged human rights abuses and ballistic missile program. "The hostile and illegitimate actions of Trump's regime to include Larijani in the sanctions list have crossed all red lines for behavior in the international community and represent a violation of international law and both bilateral and international US commitments, to which Iran will respond with a serious answer," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, noting that Washington's decision only demonstrated the ongoing American hostility toward Iranians. The ministry has once again reiterated the country's position on the issue, opposing the US move concerning the Iran nuclear deal. "The Islamic Republic of Iran stresses clearly that it will take no measures beyond its commitments under the JCPOA and will accept no changes to this agreement now or in the future and will not allow that the JCPOA be linked to any other issue [than the nuclear issue]," the statement read. Iran's Foreign Ministry, sending a strong message to the US, has named those, whom they consider to be behind the attempt to undermine the deal, which took years and great diplomatic efforts to reach. "The internal solidity of and international support for the agreement have blocked attempts by Mr. Trump, the Zionist regime [of Israel], and the ominous alliance of hard-line warmongers to terminate this agreement or make changes to it," the ministry said. The tough stance was voiced a day after US President Donald Trump announced his decision to suspend restrictions on Iran for another 120 days to remain in the deal so that the United States and Europe could fix "significant flaws" in it. Simultaneously, Washington imposed separate sanctions on a dozen Iranian individuals, including Iran's Chief of Judiciary Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, and entities, related to the country's ballistic missile program. The decision is in line with a position Trump has been voicing in relation to the Islamic Republic since his election campaign. When he became the US president, Trump officially reiterated his views concerning the country, refusing to re-certify the deal in late October 2017. Despite all this criticism, Trump, however, does not contest Tehran's compliance with the deal at the international level, while at the same time not excluding the possibility of withdrawing from the deal if the agreement is not improved. Other JCPOA signatories have called on the United States to comply with the agreement's provisions, saying that the deal had yielded results and was non-negotiable. The Iran deal, also known as the JCPOA, that was signed in July 2015 by Tehran and the P5+1 group of nations the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany, stipulates a gradual lifting of sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic in exchange for the country maintaining peaceful nature of its nuclear program. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran overhauls Sukhoi SU-24 IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 14, IRNA -- Iranian Air Force overhauled a Sukhoi SU-24 on Sunday, in Shiraz, Fars province. Iranian veteran and young air force men performed the overhaul operation successfully. After test flight, Sukhoi joined the operational fleet. The Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name: Fencer) is a supersonic, all-weather attack aircraft developed in the Soviet Union. The aircraft has a variable-sweep wing, twin-engines and a side-by-side seating arrangement for its two crew. It was the first of the USSR's aircraft to carry an integrated digital navigation/attack system. It remains in service with the Russian Air Force, Ukrainian Air Force, and various air forces to which it was exported. 9376** NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran isolates US in nuclear deal: Senior diplomat IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Jan 14, IRNA -- In the last year's diplomatic war Iran could unprecedentedly separate the US from its European allies and push the US to isolation, said Iranian deputy foreign minister. 'It has been over a year that [US President Donald] Trump has been trying to kill the JCPOA, [in full: the Joint Comprehensive Plan if Action,] or at least, to change and modify it,' said Abbas Araqchi, speaking on Saturday night in an analytic program on Channel One of the Iranian national TV. In October 2017, Trump sent the JCPOA to the Congress, but the Congress returned it to the US president after two months of useless attempts to bring back the sanctions, said Iranian deputy foreign minister in international affairs. Saying that Trump's Thursday night threat was not new, he added Trump has repeatedly said that the deal was the worst one in the history of the US and explicitly said that he was trying to end the deal. He said the European Union and its members have had a clear stance toward the deal saying that the deal was an international one, and is not renegotiable, and should be kept. After Trump's remarks in October 2017, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini reacted and said that if the deal is breached, no one will trust the World Powers any more. In late winter 2015, 47 US senators wrote a letter to the authorities in Iran and said that Iran should not negotiate with the US because the next US president can cancel the deal with one move of pen. 'They were right; the US president has been trying to cancel the JCPOA from the first day he took office but has not succeeded,' he added. Inasmuch as the Iran nuclear deal is a part of the Resolution 2231 of the UNSC, if they 'tear the deal', they have in fact torn the UNSC resolution and ruined the UNSC reputation, so no one will negotiate with them anymore, Araqchi added. Referring to the recent session of the UNSC on Iran riots, he said that the meeting that was planned to be against Iran changed to a meeting to defend the JCPOA and Iran. He also said that the trade between the US and the EU is more than $ 600b but the trade between the EU and Iran is hardly $ 20; EU's reason to defend the JCPOA is not economic, it is because the EU has been the coordinator of the deal and it's considered the EU's biggest achievement. The Iranian deputy foreign minister said, 'We expect the Europeans to compensate for the deal's shortcoming (US defaults); they should neutralize the atmosphere the Americans have created about working with Iran.' He also said that the Europeans have devised banking systems independent of the US to work with Iran; the devised paths are euro-based. Araqchi said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has written 11 letters to European foreign policy chief Mogherini to document and tell them about any move that the US has dove to violate the letter or the spirit of the deal, which has resulted in restraining Trump, separating Trump from the EU, and keepng the Europeans on the side of Iran and isolating the US. Regarding the disagreements between Iran and the European, Araqchi said that before the JCPOA, Iran had disagreements with the EU over human rights, regional issues, Iranian weapons, and the nuclear issue. 'We dealt with the nuclear issue; but it doesn't mean that the other worries are removed as well. We are in serious disagreements with the Europeans over the regional and Iranian defense power issues,' he said. 'In the international relations, the alignment is done based on the counties national interests; we have so far succeeded in separating the US from the EU and the JCPOA from any other issue. The Europeans have repeatedly said that they are worried about the missile program and regional policies of Iran; but they are apart from the JCPOA.' 'We closely manage our ties with the EU and won't let the JCPOA get mixed with any other issue,' he added. Touching the Iranian blocked money, he said that all the money blocked based on the pre-JCPOA sanctions have been released. 'As long as I know, there is no blocked money belonging to us anywhere, there isn't any money that has not been returned, and now the money comes through the accounts of the Iranian Central Bank.' Answering the question 'Can Trump cancel the Boeing sale permits?' Araqchi said, 'Yes, he can; but that would be overt violation of the deal.' About the framework of the cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he said, 'Neither has the IAEA ever demanded to inspect a military center, and nor will it be agreed with even if they request to do so. We are aware of the framework of the Additional Protocol and our JCPOA commitments and will cooperate in the same frameworks.' He reiterated, 'We will neither allow the IAEA to do anything more than its duties in the inspections nor fail to do out commitments.' There is a reasonable procedure between Iran and the IAEA. In the past two years, the IAEA has admitted Iran's compliance with the deal nine times, he added. Araqchi also said that the JCPOA has no end; Iran's commitment not to approach the nuclear bomb is a permanent one, and according to the the fatwa issued by the Supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and Iran's defense doctrine, nuclear weapons are not a part of Iran's policy. 9417**1771 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President at closing ceremony of 9th Farabi International Award: JCPOA has achievements that can never be vanished by anybody ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sun / 14 January 2018 / 13:09 Tehran (ISNA) Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described development possible through progress in the humanities and Islamic sciences and stressed, "A kind of science leads us to development if it considers Islamic sciences and humanities as its role model". President Hassan Rouhani appeared at the closing ceremony of the 9th Farabi International Award on Sunday in Tehran and said, "Differences in opinions and the way we think must be recognized". "Let us respect diversity and disagreements," said Rouhani adding, "Pressure and mechanical unity is dangerous for a society's integrity". Expressing happiness over attending the event and meeting with intellectuals of the humanities and Islamic Sciences, he added, "I am delighted that the time that the humanities and Islamic sciences were influenced by experimental and technical sciences is over". "Development is not possible without progress in the humanities and Islamic sciences," said the President, continuing, "Proper governance leads the society in the right direction". Stating that "if the humanities are not the pioneer of society and industry, industry will turn into counter-society" he also went on to say, "Fascists also apparently use knowledge, like those who use nuclear knowledge to destroy societies and humanity". "A clear example of this is the nuclear industry, which can be used in the interest of society in many sciences and techniques, but incorrect and false use of it can destroy society and humanity," he said. Dr Rouhani continued, "The fact that the Supreme Leader has prohibited the production and use of weapons of mass destruction means that religion, reason, and ethics should precede knowledge". He also said, "A science leads us to development if it considers Islamic sciences and humanities as its role model". Saying that the humanities must guide the society, rather than we guide the humanities, President Rouhani added, "The humanities grow in a free society and in the context of criticism and debate". "In these couple of weeks, Americans have failed in two issues. One of them is where they wanted to stand against the world's public opinion and undermine international obligations," he continued. The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran also said, "Commitments in domestic and international stages are of a moral nature, or the law and the proper interface of the humanities; the Americans' attempt to breach these obligations failed. The world stood against the United States. In the last few days, they wanted to violate the international commitments they made in the JCPOA, but you saw the line against it. All countries in the world, apart from one or two countries and a hateful regime, were all integrated against them". If a commitment fails, we must mourn for civilisation in society and the world, said Rouhani, adding, "As science and industry advances, if we do not respect international regulations and religious and cross-religious values, if a government violates the obligations of the previous government, it loses credibility". "Failing to violate the obligations and resolutions of the United Nations by the White House is a victory for morality and law," he said, adding that the achievements of the JCPOA can never be vanished by anybody. The president also stressed that we proved that Iran is truthful and its enemies are liars, saying, "Since the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), oil revenues have doubled and hundreds of foreign investments have been made in Iran". "The fact that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announces the closure of the PMD case as a complicated technical and international case, means that Iran has been truthful and the enemies have lied and this victory is everlasting," he added. Dr Rouhani also went on to say, "The world and the UN acknowledged Iran's right to nuclear research and development; the science of law and politics were leading this success". "It's been at least one year since Trump has been trying to kill JCPOA; this means the victory of law over dictatorship," he continued saying. The second failure of the Americans was when they interfered in Iran's internal affairs, said Rouhani adding, "Some people took to the streets and protested rightfully or unrightfully, but I urge everybody to respect all people and if there are people who have been incited and misused these protests with intentions of spying be proved at the court". One must be more considered when speaking behind holy podiums, the President said, adding, "We must not insult the society. Some took to the street and protested and some misused these protests but we must not hit them all with the same stick, but we must speak more precisely". Stating that finding the origins of protest and its solution are the responsibility of the scholars of the humanities, Rouhani said, "The humanities and the social sciences are the compass for the society; the north and south cannot be changed by slogans". Culture is the foundation of all humanities, said the President, adding, "The relationship between doctor and patient is more healing than surgery". If we are to have administrative and management reform, it is the work of the humanities, the president continued, saying, "If you want cyberspace to be useful to the community, come forward with a solution to promote the culture using it instead of blocking it ". "Iran and our people are great and high-principled; the mission of the humanities and Islamic sciences is to guide the society towards prosperity," he said. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump failed to destroy Iran nuclear deal: Rouhani Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 07:49AM Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says the administration of US President Donald Trump has failed in its attempts to kill the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal, describing this as a "victory" for the Iranian nation and the rule of law. Trump has left no stone unturned over the past year to destroy the agreement, but to no avail, said Rouhani on Sunday, adding, "This means a victory for international commitments and law against dictatorship." Rouhani further noted that Americans failed "to step on the world's public opinion with dictatorship and arrogance, and this is a blow to the US and a success for Iran." The Iranian chief executive said the White House had been "unsuccessful" in undermining the international accord, and standing against the Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the nuclear agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "We proved that a tight knot could be undone at the negotiating table... that Iran is speaking the truth while the enemies are telling lies, and that we are not seeking to develop nuclear weapons," he added. The US president on Friday extended waivers of key economic sanctions on Iran, which were lifted under the JCPOA, for another 120 days but said he was doing so "for the last time." Trump called on European allies and Congress to work with him to "fix the disastrous flaws" in the nuclear agreement or face a US exit. US lost 'diplomatic battle' to Iran Meanwhile, Iranian deputy foreign minister says Tehran has successfully foiled the US president's attempts to undermine the 2015 multinational nuclear deal, adding Washington stands fully isolated on the diplomatic stage due to its belligerent stance on the landmark agreement. During a TV program on Saturday, Abbas Araqchi described the deal as "an international achievement," saying the document is "non-negotiable" and should be kept intact. Araqchi, who served as senior negotiator in the talks leading to the JCPOA, further slammed President Donald Trump's long-running hostile campaign against the deal. Trump, however, lost the "diplomatic battle" over the nuclear pact to Iran as the Islamic Republic managed to fully isolate the US and separate it from its European allies, the official said. The US president also said he wanted Congress to pass a bill that states Iran's long-range missile and nuclear programs are inseparable, and that the country's development and testing of missiles should be subject to severe sanctions. Araqchi further said Iran's conventional missile program "is related to our domestic capabilities and national security and has absolutely nothing to do with any other issue," emphasizing that it is "not up for either negotiation or compromise." The JCPOA, he added, managed to "draw a line" between the missile program and the nuclear issue, saying that no party could now claim that Iran's missile tests violate the nuclear agreement. Elsewhere in his remarks, Araqchi stressed that the US and Europe have no right to re-impose the sanctions lifted under the JCPOA under any pretext. Additionally on Friday, Trump ordered the imposition of new sanctions on 14 Iranian and no-Iranian individuals and entities over alleged rights abuses, censorship, and support for weapons proliferators. Araqchi said that Washington's move to add individuals to such a blacklist was "out of desperation and meant to make up for its failures." Iran parliament rejects changes to JCPOA Speaking on Sunday, Iran's Parliament speaker Ali Larijani ruled out any changes to the JCPOA, denouncing Trump's "abnormal behavior" and Washington's "excessive demands." "The Iranian parliament will in no way accept changes to the structure of the nuclear agreement, and the amendments the US president mentioned in his latest remarks amount to the destruction of the whole deal," he said. Iran's Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that Tehran would commit to no obligation beyond those it has already agreed to under the JCPOA. Prior to the White House's announcement, the European Union along with three European signatories to the deal, including France, Britain and Germany, once again reaffirmed their strong determination to preserve Iran's nuclear agreement, warning the US against any attempts to weaken the JCPOA, which widely viewed as a victory for international diplomacy and teamwork. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 400 people detained, 25 killed in recent Iran riots: Judiciary spokesman Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 04:51PM The spokesman of Iran's judiciary says a total of 400 people have been detained and 25 killed during recent riots, which followed protests at the country's economic conditions in a number of Iranian cities. Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei made the remarks in a weekly press conference on Sunday, noting that none of those 25 people killed during the riots were shot by Iran's security forces. "A number of people, who took commands from abroad and were leaders of the recent riots have been taken into custody. A total of 622 people were arrested in the first three days of the riots, some of whom were later released on bail," he said. He added that the United States and Zionists are continuing their hostility against Iran, saying, "They sought to harm the Islamic establishment." However, he said, the Iranian people, backed by security forces, distanced themselves from rioters immediately after they realized that the enemy had hatched a plot to provoke unrest and stir insecurity in the country. Millions of Iranians then poured into streets to tell the enemy that they would never be deceived even if there are some problems in the country, Mohseni-Ejei pointed out. Since December 30, groups of Iranian protesters staged protests in several cities to voice their anger over rising prices and economic conditions. Sporadic violence erupted during the protests, causing a number of deaths. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on January 2 that enemies have been using various tools to deal blows to the Iranian nation and the Islamic establishment in the course of the latest developments in the country. "During the events of the past several days, Iran's enemies, using various tools at their disposal, including money, weapons, politics, and security apparatus, have formed an alliance [with one another] to create problems for the Islamic establishment," the Leader said. Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks came a day after Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said the Iranian people would deal with a "small and minority group" of rioters and lawbreakers exploiting the protests against economic conditions. Rouhani said the nation would counter the small group that had used protests as an excuse to chant slogans in violation of the law and people's demands, insult the sanctities and values of the Islamic Revolution, and damage public property. In a statement on January 1, Iran's Intelligence Ministry also announced that it had identified and arrested some of the agents behind the riots. The ministry added that Iranian security forces helped by people had managed to detain some of the elements who incited unrest in several cities across the country. Elsewhere in his remarks, Mohseni-Ejei said that a drug addict arrested during the riots had committed suicide at Arak police station. The spokesman noted that the city's judiciary branch has opened a case to investigate the issue. The spokesman added that a 21-year-old man also committed suicide at Evin House of Detention after he was arrested in connection with recent riots. Mohseni-Ejei dismissed as "sheer lies" certain claims about the suicide of two other persons detained in relation to the riots. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran's President Says Trump 'Failed To Undermine' Nuclear Deal RFE/RL January 14, 2018 Iranian President Hassan Rohani says U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration have "failed to undermine" Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers and he praised the agreement as a "long-lasting victory" for Iran. In a live broadcast by Iranian state television of a speech on January 14, Rohani said, "Trump, despite his repeated efforts, has failed to undermine the accord." "The deal is a long-lasting victory for Iran," Rohani said, referring to the accord Tehran signed in 2015 with the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China. Trump on January 12 said the United States would pull out of the deal unless the European signatories fixed what he called "terrible flaws" in the agreement. The other signatories to the pact have urged the United States to continue to adhere to the agreement. A statement from French President Emmanuel Macron on January 13 called for the "necessary respect" of the nuclear deal. Tehran on January 13 rejected the notion of any modification of the 2015 nuclear accord, which requires Iran to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, while the United States and other countries claim it has been trying to develop nuclear weapons. Trump on January 12 said he would extend sanctions relief to Iran under the deal, leaving the accord intact for now. But Trump wants the pact strengthened with a separate agreement within 120 days and has said the United States would pull out of the existing accord if such steps are not taken. Among the changes Trump is demanding is that Iran allow more timely inspections of sites requested by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the elimination of so-called "sunset clauses," under which some of the restrictions on Iran's nuclear program expire over time. In addition, Trump demanded that the deal should state that Iran's nuclear effort and its missile programs are inseparable. U.S. and other officials have complained that Iran's ballistic-missile program can easily be converted for nuclear use. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Macron in a phone call on January 13 that Europe would be "wise" to the strengthen the landmark nuclear deal, saying it would increase the chances of it remaining in effect. According to a statement released by Netanyahu's office, the Israeli leader told Macron that Trump's "remarks should be taken seriously, and whoever wants to keep the nuclear deal would be wise to fix it." Netanyahu also told Macron the world should "strongly condemn" what he called "five crimes of the Iranian regime." He cited what he said were efforts by Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons, develop ballistic missiles, and support terrorist organizations, as well as what he called regional aggression, and "the cruel repression of Iranian citizens." With reporting by AFP and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-israel-france- russia-china-nuclear-deal- trump-netanyahu/28974343.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran Says Over 400 Protesters Still Detained, 25 People Killed RFE/RL January 14, 2018 Iran's judiciary says that about 465 people are still being detained across the country for taking part in a wave of antigovernment protests that began nearly three weeks earlier. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhosein Mohseni-Ejei also acknowledged that 25 people were killed in violence surrounding the protests that began on December 28. Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said 440 "arrested rioters" had been released from detention facilities in Tehran alone in recent days. Mohseni-Ejei said there were still 55 people being held in the Iranian capital. He also said that 25 "ordinary citizens and our own forces were killed during the recent troubles," and claimed that none were killed by gunfire from security forces because "they were ordered not to use their weapons." Officials had previously said 21 people were killed. Mohseni-Ejei did not provide details on how the members of the security forces or civilians were killed, including six protesters who died while trying to storm a police station in the central province of Isfahan. An Iranian reformist lawmaker, Mahmud Sadeghi, said last week that about 3,700 people had been arrested across the country during the weeks of protests, which were sparked by anger about Iran's troubled economy and official corruption but escalated rapidly with some calling for the overthrow of the country's clerical rulers. Iran's parliament said on January 7 that low-level protesters, particularly students, were to be released in waves while protest leaders would be punished. Hamid Shahriari, deputy head of Iran's judiciary, said last week that antigovernment protest leaders should be handed the "maximum penalty" under Iranian law for organizing what the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has repeatedly described as acts of "sedition." The death penalty is the most severe sentence imposed by courts in Iran, where it can be applied for a range of crimes including treason, murder, and drug trafficking. Based on reporting by AP and Fars Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-judiciary-say -400-antigovernment-protesters- still-detained/28974746.html Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rouhani: Trump's Attempt to Disrupt Iranian Nuclear Deal Failed Sputnik News 15:18 14.01.2018 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump exerted every effort to undermine the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but his attempts failed, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday. On Friday, Trump's administration announced that it would waive sanctions on Iran that were required by the JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal. However, the US leader said it would be the last time he signs the waiver unless the deal is modified. Trump also announced his intention to toughen anti-Iran sanctions over Tehran's ballistic missiles tests. "During the year, even before his win in the presidential election, during the election campaign, Mr. Trump has taken all possible steps to impede the nuclear deal with Iran. But he failed," Rouhani said in a speech broadcast by state television. The Iranian president added that Trump's failure had proven that "the international accords are successful" and that the US side had succeeded neither in imposing its will on other parties to the deal nor in neglecting the public opinion. In July 2015, the European Union, Iran and the P5+1 group of nations the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany signed the JCPOA. The agreement stipulates a gradual lifting of sanctions imposed on Iran in exchange for Tehran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraqi troops purge over 80% of Anbar desert areas of Daesh: Security official Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 01:19PM A high-ranking Iraqi security official says government troops, supported by allied fighters from Popular Mobilization Units, have succeeded to purge more than half of the desert areas in the country's western province of Anbar of Daesh Takfiri terrorists. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Arabic-language al-Sabah al-Jadid daily newspaper on Sunday, Chairman of Anbar Provincial Security Council Naeem al-Kaoud said security forces and volunteer fighters, commonly known by the Arabic name Hashd al-Sha'abi, have cleansed over 80 percent of Anbar desert areas of the extremists following multi-pronged military operations there. He added, "The troops also destroyed several Daesh hotbeds and remotely detonated four armored vehicles, which were used by the militant group." Kaoud went on to say that ten more people were also arrested on suspicion of joining Daesh terror group. "Although the militants hotbeds were built underground, the troops were able to destroy them after receiving intelligence reports on their locations," the senior security official pointed out. "The military operation, backed by the Iraqi Air Force, comes as part of ongoing efforts to eliminate Daesh militants on the country's borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan," Kaoud noted. On December 9, 2017, Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against the Daesh terrorist group in the Arab country. "Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I therefore announce the end of the war against Daesh," Abadi told a conference in Baghdad then. Abadi visited the town of Qa'im and the nearby Husaybah border crossing in far western Iraq on November 5, and raised the Iraqi flag at the border crossing. On October 5, Abadi said Iraqi armed forces had liberated Hawijah, driving Daesh Takfiris out of their last bastion in the oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk. The Iraqi prime minister said on August 31 that the northwestern city of Tal Afar, located 200 kilometers northwest of Kirkuk, and the entire Nineveh Province had been purged of the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group. The recapture of Tal Afar was made possible with the help of the Iraqi army, Federal Police, Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) units, Hashd al-Sha'abi fighters and the Interior Ministry's elite rapid response forces, the Iraqi prime minister stated. On July 10, Abadi formally declared victory over Daesh extremists in Mosul, which served as the terrorists' main urban stronghold in the conflict-ridden Arab country. In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer Hashd al-Sha'abi fighters had made sweeping gains against Daesh. The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January 2017 after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19 last year. Daesh began a terror campaign in Iraq in 2014, overrunning vast swathes in lightning attacks. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraqi PM Abadi announces bid for reelection, vows to lead diverse coalition Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 09:54AM Iraq's incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announces his intention to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections to choose his successor. He announced the candidacy in a statement late on Saturday, saying he would be contesting the elections at the head of a "cross-sectarian" list named Victory Alliance. Abadi said his Victory Alliance will "boost the country's integrity and national sovereignty, correct mistakes and achieve justice and equality for all Iraqis." He said the "miracle of victory and unity must lead to a new and brighter era." The cabinet has proposed May 12 for holding the elections. The legislature is yet to endorse the proposal. Abadi took office in 2014, the same year when the Daesh terror group swept huge expanses of the Arab country in blistering attacks. His incumbency is credited with Baghdad's finally driving Daesh out late last year. He is credited for quickly rebuilding the army and liberating all terrorities under Daesh control with the help of Popular Mobilization Units, better known as Hashd al-Shaabi. His archrival in the competition is Nouri al-Maliki, who held the office for eight years before Abadi. Maliki announced his candidacy on Saturday, saying he would be running on his State of Law alliance's ticket. The alliance is the largest political block at the parliament. Maliki heads the Dawa party, of which Abadi is a member, and is also one of the country's three vice presidents. The premier is a Shia Muslim in line with an agreement reached after the ouster of Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq's Prime Minister Creates Electoral Bloc to Take Part in Parliamentary Vote Sputnik News 15:45 14.01.2018(updated 15:51 14.01.2018) BAGHDAD (Sputnik) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi announced on Sunday the creation of an electoral bloc dubbed "Victory Alliance" to participate in the forthcoming parliamentary election, a statement released by Abadi's press service said. "The 'Victory Alliance' will work for the benefit of all Iraqis, will strengthen unity and sovereignty of the state. The 'Victory Alliance' will move forward protecting the victory [over the Daesh terrorist group, outlawed in Russia] and the memory about the fallen, as well as fighting against corruption," the statement said. The statement means that Abadi and Iraqi ex-Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, who are both the members of the Islamic Dawa Party, will represent separate election blocs, as the ex-head of the government has also announced his intention to participate in the vote heading the State of Law Coalition. The election in the Middle Eastern country will take place on May 12. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Japan Tightens Patrols Around N Korea at US Request - Reports Sputnik News 15:55 13.01.2018(updated 15:56 13.01.2018) The latest round of sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council against Pyongyang limit refined petroleum exports to 2m barrels a year. The US and 16 other countries have requested Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force to patrol the waters of North Korea to locate ships trying to freight oil in breach of UN sanctions, Kyodo news agency reported. According to the agency, Tokyo can provide a report with the results of locating ships trying to smuggle fuel in the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea during the meeting of foreign affairs ministers about the Korean Peninsula that is set to take place on 16 January in Vancouver. Japanese military planes reportedly have to inform warships about any suspicious sightings and pass photos of them on to the United States. The main task of Japanese ships is photographic reconnaissance of foreign vessels, they are not allowed to search them, the agency reports. In December, the UN Security Council passed new sanctions on North Korea that sharply reduced the amount of refined fuel the country can import. Chinese companies are allowed to export no more than 4 million barrels of oil and 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum products to North Korea per year. They are barred from supplying country's military or weapons programs. The UN Security Council urged member countries to inspect North Korean ships in their ports for prohibited cargo and terminate ship-to-ship transfers of fuel. The international summit on finding a peaceful resolution to North Korea's nuclear program will take place in Vancouver, with both China and Russia absent from the meeting. The Russian Foreign Ministry has said that it considers the meeting as a revival of the Cold War approach and mentality, which is inappropriate in light of the dialogue between the North and South. Chinese spokesman Lu Kang said the meeting would not help to resolve the tensions on the Korean peninsula. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Jailed billionaire Saudi prince negotiating settlement: Official Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 10:43AM Billionaire Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, who has been detained for more than two months as part of a royal purge, is reportedly negotiating a possible settlement with authorities, amid reports that he has been subjected to torture in detention. A senior Saudi official requesting anonymity said on Sunday that bin Talal had offered to pay a fee for his release, but it did not match the amount demanded by authorities. "He offered a certain figure but it doesn't meet the figure required from him, and until today the attorney-general hasn't approved it," the official said. A second informed source told Reuters on Saturday that the Saudi prince had offered to make a "donation" to the Riyadh regime from assets of his own choosing, avoiding any admission of wrongdoing. However, the Saudi government had rejected those terms, the source added. Prince al-Waleed was one of the businessmen and royals rounded up in November 2017 in an alleged "anti-corruption campaign" spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Observers said the campaign was actually meant to consolidate bin Salman's power and silence his critics. Bin Talal, one of the richest men in the world, faces allegations of extortion, bribery and money laundering. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the authorities in Saudi Arabia were a whopping demanding $6 billion from bin Talal in return for his release. A source close to the prince told the American daily that he "wants a proper investigation. It is expected that al-Waleed will give [bin Salman] a hard time." Meanwhile, reports say bin Talal was reportedly hung upside down and beaten at Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, which was turned into a prison for the detained Saudi royals and businessmen. Earlier this week, the prince was transferred from Ritz-Carlton Hotel to maximum-security al-Ha'ir Prison, according to the London-based Arabic news website Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. That is the place where Saudi Arabia uses to jail political activists and terror suspects. The Middle East news portal also reported on January 1 that the father of the detained billionaire had gone on hunger strike in protest at the detention of Waleed and his two brothers as part of the crackdown. He has refused to eat since November 10 and has lost 10 kilos in one month, the report said. Sources told the website that all the Ritz-Carlton detainees, nearly 60, had been moved to the prison. Eyewitnesses said security forces, police, royal guards and army units had almost disappeared from the hotel's vicinity, while an online booking site listed Ritz-Carlton as available for next month. Many of the detainees have been released so far after forking out exorbitant amounts. In late November, Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, head of the Saudi National Guard, was released after paying a reported $1 billion. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi Arabia's Richest Man Reportedly in Talks With Gov't on Terms of Release Sputnik News 18:03 14.01.2018(updated 18:24 14.01.2018) Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a Saudi billionaire who entered world's top 100 most influential people in 2008 according to TIME magazine, has been detained for two months as part of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign in Saudi Arabia. Bin Talal is negotiating the terms of his release from custody with the Saudi authorities, an official familiar with the situation said. "He [Bin Talal] offered a certain figure but it doesn't meet the figure required from him, and until today the attorney-general hasn't approved it," the official said Sunday on condition of anonymity. The revelation emerges a day after another undisclosed source said that the detained prince was seeking to get cleared of the charges he is facing in exchange for a "donation" from his assets. However, the government was said to have denied the offer. Prior to that, the Wall Street Journal released a report alleging that Riyadh wanted the prince to pay $6 billion for freedom. The latter, however, was reported to be trying to persuade the authorities to take a stake in his businesses instead of demanding cash. The prince owns the Kingdom Holding global investment company, which has shares in such companies as Twitter and the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. Bin Talal, whose net worth is estimated to be an astronomic $17 billion, is reportedly suspected of money laundering, bribery and extorting officials. The prince, who was detained among 200 other Royals at the end of the last year, has not officially commented on the allegations. Dozens of Saudi officials have been freed after reaching settlement agreements. Riyadh is reportedly seeking to allocate the money seized from the detained members of the Royal family to fund various development projects. A Saudi minister said in early December that the government expects to collect between $50 and $100 billion. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US-led coalition intends to create large new border force in Syria: Report Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 07:10PM The so-called military coalition led by the United States in Syria is reportedly planning to set up a new large border force of up to 30,000 personnel with the aid of its militia allies in war-torn country, a move that will further infuriate Turkey, a NATO ally that is already angry over Washington's strong support for Kurdish-dominated forces in the Arab country. A top Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Sunday that the main reason behind summoning Philip Kosnett, the American charge d'affaires in Ankara, last week was in fact Washington's training of the new "Border Security Force" (BSF) within Syria, a move that was denounced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, who called it "worrying." The force, whose inaugural class is presently being trained, would be dispatched to the borders of the area controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is an alliance of militias in northern and eastern Syria largely dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG). Ankara views the YPG as the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an autonomous region inside Turkey since 1984. The United States' military support for the militia first began under the administration of US President Donald Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, which provided the SDF with weapons and training. Earlier this week, President Erdogan once again said his country was to continue its military operation in northern Syria to keep Kurdish militants away from Turkish borders. The Reuters report also said the US-led coalition's Public Affairs Office had sent an email to the news agency, confirming the details of the new force, which had also been reported earlier by The Defense Post. It said, further citing the email, that the SDF veterans would constitute around half of the would-be force and recruitment for the other half was under way. The force would be deployed along the border with Turkey to the north, the Iraqi border to the southeast, and also along the Euphrates River Valley, which practically serves as the dividing line separating the SDF and the Syrian government, the report added. The US "is taking worrying steps to legitimize this organization and make it lasting in the region," said Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, adding, "It is absolutely not possible for this to be accepted." He also warned that his respective country would "continue its fight against any terrorist organization regardless of its name and shape within and outside its borders." The US-led coalition also claimed that the BSF would operate under the SDF command and some 230 individuals were currently undertaking training in its inaugural class. Back in 2014, the US launched a so-called campaign against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group together with a coalition of its allies. The military alliance has done little in the fight against the terrorists, and has instead been repeatedly accused of targeting and killing civilians and hampering Syrian government operations against Takfiri terrorists. The Syrian government has in many occasions said the coalition has not gained any approval from Damascus to conduct its operations in the Arab country. Syria calls the coalition "an illegal occupation force" and its SDF allies as "traitors." In late December, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the presence of American troops in Syria was unlawful, urging them to completely leave the Syrian soil. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US-Led Coalition Goes Ahead With Training New Border Force in Syria - Reports Sputnik News 19:06 14.01.2018(updated 20:16 14.01.2018) The plans of the coalition have fueled Ankara's resentment over US arming and supporting Kurdish forces in Syria and prompted Turkey to summon a US top diplomat. The US-led coalition fighting Daesh in Syria has started to form new "Border Defense Forces" at the borders of the area held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) dominated by the Kurdish YPG militias, CJTF-OIR Public Affairs Officer Col. Thomas Veale told the Defense Post website on Saturday. "The Coalition is working jointly with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to establish and train the new Syrian Border Security Force (BSF). Currently, there are approximately 230 individuals training in the BSF's inaugural class, with the goal of a final force size of approximately 30,000," according to the coalition's representative. The new force will be deployed at Syria's northern border with Turkey, southeastern border with Iraq and along the Euphrates River Valley, the line which separates the SDF and Syrian government forces. The ethnic composition of the force will differ in various areas, with efforts taken to ensure that people serve close to their homes. More Kurds will serve in the areas of northern Syria, while more Arabs will serve in areas along the Euphrates River Valley and along the border with Iraq, Veale noted. Approximately 15,000 veteran SDF fighters have been confirmed to serve in the BSF, while the other 15,000 servicemen are yet to be recruited and trained. Training would include instruction in interrogation, screening and biometric scanning, the spokesman said. The US plans immediately triggered reaction from Ankara, with President Erdogan's representative Ibrahim Kalin stating that such move is unacceptable and "worrying." He said that instead of ending supplying the SDF forces with arms "the USA is taking worrying steps to legitimise this organisation and make it lasting in the region." Earlier on Sunday, a Turkish senior official told Reuters that the US training of the new "Border Security Force" was reason why the US charge d'affaires was summoned in Ankara on Wednesday, as relations between Washington and Ankara remain strained due to US military support for the YPG units. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Erdogan Pledges to 'Purge Terrorism' in Kurdish Enclave in Northern Syria Sputnik News 17:07 14.01.2018(updated 19:28 14.01.2018) The proposal to move into Afrin will follow Ankara's Operation Euphrates Shield completed in March 2017, which was aimed at eliminating Daesh terrorists in northern Syria as well as Syrian Kurdish militants considered as terror groups by Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey plans to launch an assault against Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria. Kurdish YPG militias operate in the Afrin enclave which borders Turkey on the south and are considered to be a terrorist group by Ankara. "In the coming days, God willing, we will continue with Afrin to purge terrorism from our southern borders," Erdogan said in his speech at the meeting of Ankara's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The Turkish president also said he is ready to cooperate with the US in the region "despite it all", referring to the fact that the US has been arming Syrian Kurds to fight Daesh in Syria. He also expressed hope that the US will not "take sides with" the YPG militias during the upcoming operation in Afrin. Senior Turkey official told Reuters that the reason the US charge d'affaires was summoned in Ankara on Wednesday was the US training of the new "Border Security Force". Relations between Washington and Ankara remain strained due to US military support for the YPG units. Fars news agency reported citing its field sources that the Turkish army under strict security measures sent military equipment to the country's border with Syria including fiver tanks. The Arabic edition of Sputnik said earlier that Ankara established a field hospital in Qomlo region in Hatay province on the southern border, quoting a security source. The president's statement comes after Turkish security forces on Saturday fired shells at the Afrin district of Aleppo, targeting the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), according to Anadolu news agency. Turkey regards PYD as an affiliate of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara. Following the operation Erdogan hinted at a possible military operation in the northwestern Syrian regions of Manbij and Afrin controlled by Kurdish militia forces, adding that "if the terrorists in Afrin don't surrender we will tear them down." The president clarified that the Kurdish YPG militias were trying to establish a "terrorist corridor" on Turkey's southern border and thus connect Syria's Afrin to Kurdish-controlled areas in the east. Earlier in January, Ankara stated that it is going to continue its Euphrates Shield operation in Syria's Afrin. The Turkish military campaign in northern Syria was launched in 2016 and aimed at eradicating militants in the region. Among terrorist organizations, Erdogan named not only Daesh but also Syrian Kurdish groups. In March 2017, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced the successful completion of Operation Euphrates Shield, however, Ankara has continued its military actions against Syria's armed Kurds. In October, Turkish military units entered Syria's Idlib province, the move which Ankara said was aimed at observing the implementation of the de-escalation zone agreement reached during Astana talks between Russia, Iran and Turkey. However, the deployment of the Turkish troops has been criticized by the Syrian government, which has demanded Turkey's withdrawal from Syria. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey Rejects Idea of 'Privileged Partnership' With European Union Sputnik News 03:37 14.01.2018(updated 03:50 14.01.2018) ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkey will not accept the proposal on the privileged partnership with the European Union and does not consent to a "second-class" status in relations with the alliance, Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs Omer Celik said on Saturday. On January 5, French President Emmanuel Macron said, following his negotiations with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that Turkey's human rights record as well as the consequences of the attempted coup in the country prevented Ankara from achieving success in the accession talks with Brussels. "If we are proposed a 'privileged partnership,' we will reject it without even considering it. Nobody has the right to propose a 'second-class' status in relations with the European Union to Turkey," Celik said as quoted by Turkey's Haberturk TV channel. The minister added that the European Union should not consider Turkey as a refugee camp or as military headquarters, the cooperation with which is possible only on the migration issue or on the fight against terrorism. Turkey was declared eligible to the EU membership in 1997. In 2005, the European Union and Turkey started the accession negotiations. The preparation of new chapters of Turkey's accession negotiations with the European Union has been suspended in light of the detention of journalists and human rights activists in Turkey amid a wave of arrests that followed failed coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016. Recently, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey didn't need EU membership anymore, noting however that the country would not be "the side which gives up." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkish Forces Shell Syrian Kurds Targets in Northern Syria - Reports Sputnik News 02:26 14.01.2018 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Turkish security forces conducted shelling of Syria's northern Aleppo province targeting forces of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), local media reported. Turkey's artillery fired on Saturday at least 36 times at targets in the Afrin district of Aleppo, according to Anadolu news agency. The Turkish forces were firing from Turkey's southern province Hatay and the observation point in Syria's Idlib province. Turkey regards PYD as an affiliate of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara. Earlier on Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that The Turkish army may launch an operation in the northwestern Syrian regions of Manbij and Afrin controlled by Kurdish militia forces within a week. A member of the PYD's Media Committee told Sputnik earlier, that the party had no intention to break its ties with PKK, adding however, that PYD respected Turkey as the country was the neighbor of the Syrian Kurds and they had historic ties with the Turks. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Jung Min-ho The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Saturday that a Korean woman was found dead in Bolivia. Her body was found on Isla del Sol, an island in the southern part of Lake Titicaca, Thursday evening (local time). According to the ministry, the woman, who was in her 40s, appeared to have been stabbed to death. Bolivian police have been looking into the cause of her death after taking her body to La Paz, the country's capital. Following the news, the Korean Embassy in Bolivia has sent officials to the police. The ministry said it has urged the Bolivian government to thoroughly investigate the case. According to local media reports, she was traveling the country by herself. Russia deploys new S-400 missile division to Crimea: Russian media Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 06:34AM Moscow has deployed a new regiment of its advanced S-400 air defense missile system to Crimea amid simmering tensions with Kiev over the security situation in the Black Sea Peninsula. The new division of the S-400 surface-to-air missiles was stationed in Crimea on Saturday, according to Russian media, the second such deployment on the peninsula after a first one in the spring of 2017 near the port town of Fedosia. Russia's RIA news agency had reported earlier that the new division would be based next to the town of Sevastopol and would control the airspace over the border with Ukraine. "Starting today, the entire Crimean air defense group has been provided with the latest S-400 air defense missile system, which has no analogues in the world," Lieutenant General Viktor Sevostyanov, the commander of the 4th Air Force and Air Defense Forces, said on Saturday. The Russian Defense Ministry says S-400 missile systems, known as "Triumph," are capable of destroying airborne targets at a range of 400 kilometers and ballistic missiles at a range of 60 kilometers. The systems were first introduced to the Russian military's arsenal in 2007, according to the ministry. Crimea voted for unification with Russia in March 2014. The West brands the development as Moscow's "annexation" of the territory. An armed conflict erupted shortly afterwards in Ukraine's eastern regions, collectively known as the Donbass. The US and its allies in Europe accuse Russia of having a hand in that conflict, an allegation denied by Moscow. The fighting has left over 10,000 people dead and more than a million others displaced, according to the United Nations. The warring sides have so far inked two ceasefire deals, dubbed Minsk l and II; however, fighting has continued almost regularly, and both parties have traded accusations of violating the ceasefire. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump's nuclear strategy seeks new weapons to 'deter' Russia Iran Press TV Sun Jan 14, 2018 03:36AM US President Donald Trump's administration intends to develop new nuclear firepower that it says will make it easier to deter Russian threats to its European allies, further claiming that it aims to make nuclear conflict less likely. The proposal, not yet signed by Trump, is explained in a policy document officially known as a "nuclear posture review" that places the US "in a generally more aggressive nuclear stance," The Associated Press reported in a Saturday dispatch. According to the report, the Trump nuclear doctrine is expected to be released in early February, followed by a related policy on the role and development of US defenses against ballistic missiles. It will be "the first review of its kind since 2010 and is among several studies of security strategy undertaken since Trump took office," the report adds. In many ways it reaffirms the nuclear policy of previous president Barack Obama, including his pledge to replace all major elements of the US nuclear arsenal with new, more modern armaments over the next two decades. The report notes, however, that Trump's doctrine differs from Obama's approach by aiming to end his efforts to reduce the role of nuclear arms in US military policy. According to Trump's doctrine, Washington will adhere to existing arms control accords while expressing doubt about prospects for any new such agreements. Like Obama, the report adds, Trump would consider using nuclear weapons only in "extreme circumstances," while maintaining "a degree of ambiguity about what that means." Moreover, Trump regards such weapons as having a fuller deterrent role, as reflected in the plan to develop new capabilities to counter Russia in Europe. Authors of the Trump nuclear doctrine, the report says, "argue that adding new US nuclear capabilities to deter Russia in Europe will lessen, not increase, the risk of war." They are concerned that the nuclear-capable war planes that are currently the only Europe-based nuclear force to counter Russia have become less credible, partly due to their potential vulnerability to Russian air defenses, thus warranting the focus on adding sea-launched US nuclear weapons to the force. "This is not intended to, nor does it, enable 'nuclear war-fighting,'" stated the draft document as cited in the report. Instead, the objective is to make nuclear conflict less likely by ensuring that "potential adversaries" see no possible advantage in escalating a conventional conflict to the nuclear level. The report goes on to cite Pentagon authorities as describing the document as "pre-decisional" and incomplete, which is yet to be reviewed and approved by Trump, who ordered it a year ago. The documents points to Russia, as well as China, as nuclear policy problems that demand a tougher approach. The administration's view is that Russian policies and actions are fraught with potential for miscalculation leading to an uncontrolled escalation of conflict in Europe. It specifically points to a Russian doctrine known as "escalate to de-escalate," in which Moscow would use or threaten to use smaller-yield nuclear weapons in a limited, conventional conflict in Europe in the belief that doing so would compel the US and NATO to back down. The Trump administration proposes a two-step solution. First, it would modify "a small number" of existing long-range ballistic missiles carried by Trident strategic submarines to fit them with smaller-yield nuclear warheads. Secondly, "in the longer term," it would develop a nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile re-establishing a weapon that existed during the Cold War but was retired in 2011 by the Obama administration. Together, these steps are meant to further dissuade "regional aggression," which means "giving Russia greater pause in using limited nuclear strikes," according to the report. Interest in the condition and role of US nuclear weapons has grown as North Korea develops its own nuclear arsenal it says is aimed at the US The Trump administration regards the North Korean threats, along with what it sees as provocative nuclear rhetoric from Russia, as "evidence that security conditions no longer support the idea that the US can rely less on nuclear weapons or further limit their role in national defense," the report adds. The nuclear report also makes rare mention of a newer Russian weapon: a nuclear-armed drone torpedo that could travel undersea to far-off targets. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address South Korea will enforce an alternate no driving day restriction in the capital city to cope with high levels of fine dust in the atmosphere, the government said Sunday. The move that will be implemented Monday affects all vehicles operated by public organizations in Seoul, the Ministry of Environment said. This marks the first time that a no driving day order has been issued by authorities this year. The ministry said restrictions apply to roughly half of all affected cars from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. South Korea usually implements alternate no driving days based on odd and even last numbers of a vehicle's license plate. The fine dust related restrictions first introduced in February of last year was last issued on Dec. 30. The ministry said the measures are being taken because fine dust levels have reached 57 micrograms per cubic meter in Seoul as of 4 p.m. Sunday. The corresponding numbers for nearby Incheon and Gyeonggi Province reached 54 micograms and 67 micrograms, respectively. Such numbers represent "bad" concentrations of fine dust in the air that can pose health problems. (Yonhap) Often companies try quirky ways of getting to the customer. OnePlus likes putting boxes with mysterious items in them while Apple is making artsy beautiful videos. One skin manufacturer, dbrand, took it to the next level of sass on Twitter. The company stated it is not making skins for Nokia Android phones since they belong in the dumpster. Check the dumpster behind your local Radio Shack. https://t.co/ssutLttKsJ dbrand (@dbrand) January 14, 2018 The tweet even mentions the retailer Radio Shack that filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after 11 consecutive quarters in the red. The company was then bought by General Wireless, which also filed for bankruptcy early 2017. What do you think: Did dbrand take it too far, or is all fair in war and Twitter exchanges? Source "We will unveil new smartphones when it is needed. But we will not launch it just because other rivals do," said LG Electronics Vice Chairman Cho Sung-jin. After, an anonymous official from the company told The Korea Herald that Cho ordered the LG G7 development team to start over from scratch. This will likely push back the unveiling from March to April. A new time frame will be selected later, perhaps around the Lunar New Year (February 16). The company has been struggling to find a strong selling point for the current LG G7 prototypes, according to in-house speculation from LG (as reported by one executive). There are growing concerns that this delay will also affect the next V-series device, which normally launches in the Fall. LG Electronics is working on new marketing strategies, says a public relations official commenting on Chos CES announcement. The Vice Chairman hinted that the company will retain existing models and unveil more variants of the G and V series. So, the upcoming flagship may be called LG G7 after all, but its specifications and marketing approach are under review by the companys new leadership. Source These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Samsung Gulf Electronics announced the launch of its latest smartphones - the Galaxy A8 (2018) and the Galaxy A8+ (2018) - in UAE. This is the latest market where one of the most well-done mid-rangers arrived, following a launch in Vietnam, Europe and India. The devices come with Exynos 7885 chipset and Infinity Display with either 5.6 or 6 display. The OS is Android 7.1.1 Nougat, with the phone supporting Bluetooth 5.0, LTE Cat.11 and Wi-Fi 802.11 ac. Both phones are listed on the Samsung website and are available from all major retailers. The Galaxy A8 (2018) and the Galaxy A8+ (2018) cost AED1,799 ($490) and AED1,999 ($545), respectively. They are offered in Black, Orchid Gray or Gold color and the storage option available is only 64 GB. Source 1 Source 2 | Via Haiti - NOTICE : Measures for Pre-carnival activities 2018 in Port-au-Prince In order to ensure the smooth running of pre-Carnival Sundays, the Port-au-Prince Communal Administration informs the public and the Carnavaliers that several restrictive measures will be taken on Sundays 14-21-28 January and Sunday 4 February 2018. 1 - The access roads on Lalue, from Martin Luther King Avenue to Oswald Durand Street, will be closed to vehicular and motorcycle traffic from 2:00 pm. The arteries involved are: Ruelle Robin - Calstroem alley - Bern alley - Rue Alexis - Jeremie street - Jeremie alley - 2nd Jeremie alley - Chretien alley - Lavaud alley - Dufort street - Christophe avenue - Poste Marchand - Capois street - Lamarre street The movement of "wheelbarrows" will also be prohibited inside the course. 2 - Prohibition of driving with firearms or white (knives, machetes, spades or any other cutting object). 3 - Prohibition of selling drinks in glass bottles. Only drinks in plastic bottles and cans are allowed. It should be noted that any offender caught in the act will be apprehended and brought to justice for the legal consequences. The Communal Administration of Port-au-Prince invites the general population and the carnavaliers in particular to scrupulously respect the measures mentioned for the full success of the event. Moreover, Leon Ronsard Saint-Cyr, the Secretary of State for Public Security, informs the public in general and Carnavaliers in particular that pre-carnival activities and festivities, on the whole national territory, scheduled on Sundays preceding the fats days should not continue after 11:00 pm. The police were instructed to take all necessary steps to implement this measure. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Politic : Haiti signs joint work plans 2017-2018 with the UN The Government of Haiti and the United Nations Country Team signed the joint work plans 2017-2018 as part of the Development Assistance Framework 2017-2021 (UNDAF). This framework will guide during the next five years the partnership between the United Nations and the Government of Haiti to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to reach the status of emergent country by 2030, by reinforcing peace, stability and Haitian institutions and populations resilience https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22616-haiti-politic-the-5-prerequisites-for-sustainable-development.html . These goals represent Haitis commitment with its children and grandchildren to build a better future, and the UN will continue standing side by side with Haiti, as a partner, to fulfill this commitment. The minister of Planning and External Cooperation, Mr. Aviol Fleurant, signed the 5 plans accompanied by the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti, Dr. Mamadou Diallo, as well as the representatives of the 19 UN agencies, funds and programs working in Haiti. Let's recall that the Government of Haiti and the United Nations Country Team had signed on 30 June the Development Assistance Framework 2017-2021 (UNDAF) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21422-haiti-politics-signing-of-the-un-support-framework-2017-2021.html that will guide during the next five years the partnership to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The accomplishment of Haitis development objectives supported by this framework will need the mobilization of $1,085.57 million in order to implement specific and measurable actions in five priority areas of intervention: poverty reduction, social services, resilience, gender equality/protection and governance. This partnership between Haiti and the United Nations recognizes the leadership and responsibility of the Haitian institutions and population as the main actors to advance the countrys development. Consequently, the capacity development of the state structures and civil society will be a priority for this development assistance framework 2017-2021, which is based on the gains achieved over the last years in terms of stability, development and humanitarian response. In this regard, the UN will also support Haitis efforts to become less and less dependent on humanitarian aid and to increase the institutions and populations resilience to face and recover from external shocks, such as natural disasters and other potential humanitarian situations. The new framework is the result of the joint work of the Government of Haiti under the leadership of the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation- and the United Nations country team (including 19 agencies, funds and programs and the MINUJUSTH) in order to be aligned behind national priorities and to determine how could the UN better support Haitis efforts towards sustainable development. Thus, the document was conceived under the umbrella of Haitis Strategic Development Plan (PSDH) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development signed in 2015 by 193 countries, including Haiti. This participatory process has been enriched with consultations with public institutions, civil society, and specialists from different ministries and universities, paying special attention to the voices of youth and vulnerable groups, in order to leave no one behind. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22616-haiti-politic-the-5-prerequisites-for-sustainable-development.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21422-haiti-politics-signing-of-the-un-support-framework-2017-2021.html HL/ HaitiLibre Published on 2018/01/15 | Source Girl group GFriend will embark on a tour of major Asian cities next month. Advertisement "GFriend will set off for Taiwan on Feb. 28 to kick off their first Asian tour", their management agency said in a press release on Thursday. They will then tour Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Thailand. GFriend successfully finished their first concert in Seoul last week and they hope to take the good vibes to the Asian tour. The girls are working on preparing for their first overseas tour and are eager to provide precious memories for their fans in Asia. Published on 2018/01/14 | Source On the latest episode of the tvN drama "A Korean Odyssey", King Woo-ma (Cha Seung-won) was struggling with his thirst after tasting Sun-mi's/Sam-jang's (Oh Yeon-seo) blood. He managed to control himself while alone with her, but he suffered from the after effects. Advertisement King Woo-ma struggled to contain his appetite and avoid her. But, he caved and revealed his sharp fangs. Of course, Son Oh-gong (Lee Seung-gi) appeared and forced him away. Dong Jang-gun (Sung Hyuk) swore to Son Oh-gong that he'd get rid of Sam-jang. He was sure his plan would get rid of her. However, Son Oh-gong appeared indifferent and told him, "Today's not the day. Go and make money". Sun-mi asked Son Oh-gong for help getting rid of a ghost that cuts hair. However, she noticed he was different. She thought, "He was nice to me when he told me to give up this life". Later, Son Oh-gong was nice to her and did everything she asked for. She had been hurt by what Son Oh-gong said the day before and asked, "If the Geumgang-go bracelet is gone and your feelings for me are gone too, will this cotton candy disappear too? Will everything sweet be gone?" Son Oh-gong said, "Sweet is sweet and the Geumgang-go is the Geumgang-go. What's good is good". Assistant Ma (Lee El) tried to stab Sun-mi for King Wooma, but Son Oh-gong stopped her. When Sunmi later realized that Son Oh-gong wanted her gone, she scolded herself for falling for his lies. She headed to the lock to open it when the ghost appeared and told her, "All the love will be gone". When the ghost was about to cut her hair, Sun-mi called for Son Oh-gong. He appeared and got rid of the ghost and told her, "Do your hair at the salon. I don't care what it looks like. You're pretty and I love you". However, Sun-mi was cold towards him and said, "You only keep my heart from disappearing". Dong Jang-gun told Sun-mi he would open the lock for her and give her a moment to check Son Oh-gong's feelings for her. He opened it and Sun-mi asked, "Am I pretty?" Before the lock melted, Son Oh-gong replied, "You're pretty because I love you". Published on 2018/01/14 Korea's microwavable meal industry is warming up as new technologies emerge, learn how to make 'gul tteokguk' (oyster rice cake soup) on Korean Bapsang, foodie friends vlog their way through Korea's oldest traditional market, and Hahna Yoon reveals delightful "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants in Gwanghwamun Jip on Lonely Planet. Advertisement "Food industry eyes microwavable packaging technology" For international travellers, South Korea's food and the culture/tradition behind the cuisine is one of the top experiences they look forward to. But a recent news report suggests that while foreign visitors are flocking to restaurants, more and more Koreans are reaching for microwave meals, or 'home meal replacement (HMR) products. This is in part due to the emergence of better packaging technology and greater competition in the industry. Last year, Korea's home meal market increased by 7.7%. The Korea Herald's Kim Da-sol has more... ...READ ON THE KOREA HERALD "Gul Tteokguk (Oyster Rice Cake Soup)" It's traditional to eat Tteokguk during one's New Year celebrations, writes Hyosun Ro, owner of Korean Bapsang ("A Korean mom's home cooking"), "to welcome a bright, prosperous new year". Normally a beef broth is used, but in this recipe, Hyosun replaces the beef with oysters; "The strong briny flavor of the oysters plays off quite well with the soft, starchy rice cakes!" Here you'll find clear, step-by-step instructions, as well as a plenty of photographs of her culinary creation to keep you on track and inspired. ...READ ON KOREAN BAPSANG "KOREAN STREET FOOD - Namdaemun Market Street Food Tour in SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA" "Chasing Plate" is video blog by two foodie friends, Thomas and Sheena. Their channel is dedicated to "searching out the best street food, local delicacies in markets and restaurants". In this recent 17-minute video on YouTube, Thomas and Sheena explore one of Korea's largest and oldest traditional markets, Namdaemun Market, Seoul, in search of Korea's best street food. The duo tries many popular dishes, including hotteok (Korean pancake), mind, and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). ...WATCH ON YOUTUBE "Diving into South Korea's hole-in-the-wall restaurants" When travellers to South Korea are polled and asked what they most look forward to, the country's cuisine always features at or near the top of the list. There are a lot of great guides out there, but often finding out where locals eat is the best guide one can have. In this post on Lonely Planet, Hahna Yoon takes us to some of the best "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants in Gwanghwamun Jip. "Too often, these are missed by visitors, though they represent some of the country's best and most authentic eating". ...READ ON LONELY PLANET By Emily Mayer Editors note: Due to email issues, the Havre Daily News did not receive this column Friday. Emily Mayer provided it so the paper can run it in todays edition. The most titillating news story 100 years ago, as reported in the Jan. 12, 1918 issue of The Havre Plaindealer, was that of a local doctor, his brother and three others who were held for grand jury in Helena over a murder occurring in Blaine County. Dr. C. E. Foss of Havre, his brother Edward Foss and Jake Bjorstead, both of Chinook, and two men by the last names of Olson and Richards were all implicated in the murder of Jacob Krause of Hydro, located in Blaine County. Krause was murdered Nov. 12, 1917, on his ranch near the little post office community. Mrs. Krause was called to the stand as a witness for the prosecution and stated she came home from church to find her husband dead. Their 12-year-old son, Arnold, stated four of the defendants had been to the ranch prior to the murder, two of them staying in the car, with one entering the home through the front door and the other through the back door. They stayed for 10 minutes and when they returned to the car, young Krause overheard one man who stayed in the car ask, Did you get him? On the night of the murder, they both testified, his father returned from the store part of the building with some nuts for his little ones, fell to the floor, crying: I am shot, I am shot. J. M. Pike, a rancher of 14 years in the area and who knew all of the parties involved, stated Dr. Foss requested Pike to witness Foss final proof on his homestead land in October of 1917, however, Pike was reluctant. Both met at one of Havres saloons, at which time Mr. Pike reported Dr. Foss stated that If I lose that land, G___ _____ Krause, I will kill the son ___ . . Jacob Krause was to testify in a land contest against Dr. Foss, and that Mr. Krause had incurred the enmity of the defendants through his stand taken in the land case of Minnie Foss. A. J. Leonard, special agent of the land office in Washington, D. C., testified the deceased had sent the land office a letter stating that the Albert Foss petition (for homestead land) had names upon it that were forged and that on account of his action in the matter he had been warned to leave the state at once or something would happen to him. In order for petitioners to prove up on homestead land, improvements had to be made, such as a home, outbuildings, crops and livestock, and after the appointed period of time, people had to sign a petition to the U.S. government that the petitioner did, indeed, follow and fully comply with all of the rules and regulations in order to prove up and take ownership of the land. These announcements were published in the local newspapers, as required, including witnesses in support of the petitioner. More on this story as it appears in the papers of yore. On the editorial page of the Plaindealer, they printed a couple of entries from the rival Havre Daily Promoter: BOTH WAYS FROM MIDDLE It begins to look as if Rev. Huston is going to rub it in rather hard at the mass meeting for men only, to be held at the Methodist church next Sunday afternoon. He promises to lean rather heavily on some local conditions in this community. It is expected that there will be a large attendance. The time is 3 p.m.-Havre Daily Promoter, Jan. 11 (1918). The Promoter believes that the present is not an opportune time for any discussion or agitation regarding political or moral conditions that may exist in Havre, and for that reason, regrets announcements that have been made that promise sensational statements to be made from a Havre pulpit today. No minister or militant reformer is more in favor of a clean, progressive, moral Havre than the Promoter. No one will fight harder to elect good men to office and no one will scrutinize their records more closely than the Promoter when the time comes. Just now it believes the city needs a rest from agitation and innuendo.-Havre Promoter, Jan. 13. To which, the Plaindealer adds the following question all in capital letters: CAN YOU BEAT IT? Social gatherings were picking up. In the Plaindealers Society column, we find: Arranging for Charity Ball. Arrangements for the annual charity ball to be given by the Elks club at the Lyceum Hall, Jan. 31st are practically completed. The committee have secured the services of The Concert Company composed of five members who will furnish the music for the occasion. It is the plan of the committee to keep the expenses well under one hundred dollars, but they expect to sell five hundred dollars worth of tickets. The tickets are to sell for two dollars per man and wife with fifty cents more for each extra lady. Every Elk in northern Montana is asked to contribute in order to increase the funds which will be used for aiding the poor. One of the features of the evening will be a session at eleven oclock In Memory of Absent Brothers. In connection with this annual affair the Havre Commercial Company will decorate two of their large front windows with Elks heads. The committee on arrangements are: E. C. Carruth, chairman, James Holland, Jr., and E. C. Sweitzer. Social events in support of the war effort and those going to fight included the following entries, complete with punctuation error: Dance Nest Snug Sum. Committees having in charge the ball given by the Womans club on the evening of January first made complete reports at the regular club meeting last Tuesday. Aside from being a decided social success the ball was also successful from a financial standpoint, the sum of $284.50 being realized. Expenses totaled $72, leaving a net balance of $212.50 to be turned over to the Hill county chapter of the Red Cross The ladies of the club, particularly those having in charge arrangements for this first benefit dance, are highly gratified at the outcome and are deeply grateful to all who assisted in making the affair a successful one. Dance for a Soldier Boy. A pleasant dancing party was given at Lyceum hall Wednesday evening by Henry Bland and Lloyd Clair in honor of Howard Heenan, a Havre boy who is at home on furlough from Camp Lewis. Mr. Heenan is one of Havres popular young men, a fact that was thoroughly attested by the large number of friends attending the dance given in his honor. Surgical Dressing Class. Mrs. Harriet Carrier arrived in Havre Tuesday for a visit with her daughter; Miss Harriet Carrier. Mrs. Carrier will be remembered as one of the well known professional nurses who practiced in Havre for a number of years, and she is going to give members of the local Red Cross the benefit of her talent in conducting a class in surgical dressing in the local Red Cross rooms beginning next Monday afternoon. The course will cover six days, and will be a thorough one. Instruction will begin promptly at 2 p.m. and those taking the course must be present on Monday and each succeeding day. A 17-year-old Harlem boy who died of hypothermia was found in a field along U.S. Highway 2 near mile marker 426 Thursday morning, the Blaine County Sheriffs Office said Friday. Jeremy Tincher was last seen alive walking along the highway between Harlem and Fort Belknap Wednesday night, Blaine County Undersheriff Frank Billmayer said in a press release. He was not appropriately dressed for the extremely cold temperatures and he succumbed to hypothermia and exposure, the press release says. Tinchers body was transported to the Montana State Medical Examiner in Billings for autopsy where hypothermia was confirmed as the cause of death. Alcohol may have been a contributing factor in Tinchers death, the press release says. Temperatures near Harlem sank to below minus 20-degrees early Thursday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Tincher was a Harlem High School student. A school representative said this morning that he was a good student. Tinchers family could not be reached for comment. The Blaine County Sheriffs Office continues to investigate Tinchers death. Tinchers death is the second in as many weeks in Blaine County as a result of hypothermia. Antonio Castillo Jr. was found dead of hypothermia Dec. 29 in a trailer on the Fort Belknap reservation. Castillos death is being investigated by the FBI. The Blaine County Sheriffs Office extended its deepest condolences to the family and community for the loss of this young man and advises community members to take these frigid temperatures seriously and dress accordingly, the release says. Disorientation and death can occur in a matter of minutes when outside temperatures are so cold. Many of us breathed a collected sigh of relief after the dust settled in Whitefish at the end of Dr. Matin Luther King Jr. Day last year. Its been a year of intense upheaval, including the murder of a civil rights activist at a White Nationalist march in Charlottesville, North Carolina. That scene could have been in Montanas beautiful mountain town, but it wasnt, and there are lessons that we must carry forward. In some ways, last years national White Nationalist uprising began with a threatened armed march by Nazis on Dr. King Day in Whitefish. The threat was part of the harassment heaved at prominent members of the Montana Jewish community by anti-Semites and organized by a national website, The Daily Stormer. The march didnt happen because it was too cold. In fact, 500 tough Montanans had just stood outside for hours in the single digits for a Love Not Hate event on the same streets of the proposed march. It wasnt the cold that stopped the march, but the warmth of the shared human community that engaged in coordinated actions of love to support the Jewish people that had the deterrent effect for which we had hoped. From across religions and economic class, across mountains and borders, folks came together and acted. In a time of hurtful words piercing our airways from podiums and pulpits, its easy to retreat into the comforts of home that some of us know. However, the comfort of home can only keep the noise out for so long until the hurtful words are directed at you and your neighbor. For a big state, Montana is like a small town. We lean on each other to pull a stuck car out of a snowbank and hold a spaghetti feed for a neighbor in need. So when White Nationalists attack the Jewish people of Montana, the community of Whitefish, Montana, stuck up for them, from the smallest kids to our highest elected officials. Beyond our states borders, support also poured in from around the country. The lesson is that when our communities are under attack, we hold each other close and support each other, despite the physical distance that separates us. We need to continue expanding the view of family and community beyond the comfy walls of home, that state line, and the borders to our north and south. We need to hear the cries of our fellow humans and recognize the attacks on us all. Then we must act. Days after the failed armed white supremacist march on Whitefish last year, over 10,000 people gathered in Helena for the Womens March. On that day so many found inspiration and felt community. And while we must find that hope, the reality of today leaves us no room for betting that love will simply win if we wait for the self-destruction of the haters. Its the power of collective action, smart strategies, informed positions and persistent effort that will save the day. Will Randall of Flathead Love Lives Here said it perfectly when he said, Here in Montana, we might not have much say nationally. But we can make Whitefish a better town. And if we do that all around the country, I think the national narrative can change. We have the opportunity to share the lessons of Whitefish as we remember Dr. King this week. In communities across the state, Montanans of various backgrounds will gather to honor this hero to our nation, and the best way to honor him is to step out of those comfy walls of home and act. I had the privilege of speaking at the Womens March in Helena last year. I ended with an appeal that feels even more relevant a year later. Please, get in organization and act with others. When your ears are pierced with hateful words, breathe and then tomorrow let us learn, teach and take action together. Rachel Carroll Rivas is the co-director of the Montana Human Rights Network, a multi-issue state-based human rights organization. She works to research and expose the radical Right and helps organize communities to respond and oppose them. She has been featured in national news coverage, including NPR and The New York Times, for her work fighting white supremacy and the Patriot militia movement. She grew up in Great Falls and is a mom, an environmentalist, and a dancer. The Montana Human Rights Network is hosting MLK Day events across the state, more information is at http://www.mhrn.org/events. In Helena and Bozeman, events will feature Eric Ward and local activists talking about anti-Semitism as the foundation of White Nationalism. loyees who have a multicultural background can play a pivotal role in diverse teams by acting as cultural brokers, according to a new article published in Organisation Science This means their more nuanced understanding of culture can facilitate interactions between individuals across cultural boundaries, within diverse teams.The business school INSEAD claims cultural diversity in business provides many advantages, allowing organisations and teams to benefit from multiple perspectives, knowledge and ideas.However, they also say that differing cultural norms and beliefs can also lead to misunderstanding or conflict, standing in the way of effective collaboration.Using archival data from a global business student competition, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour Sujin Jang analysed data from 2,117 teams over five years.Participants were from more than 40 countries and they had eight weeks to come up with a business plan proposing the next big idea for a company of their choice.The data showed that within diverse teams, the presence of multicultural members significantly enhanced the teams creative performance.Moreover, multicultural members enhanced the creative performance of the team irrespective of whether they shared the same cultural background with other team members.Cultural outsiders, who shared no common background with the rest of the team, were just as effective as cultural insiders, who shared a cultural background with one or more other members, at facilitating greater creativity in their team.In short, teams with one or more multicultural members, regardless of whether those multiculturals were cultural insiders or outsiders, were found to outperform teams devoid of multicultural individuals.Assistant Professor Sujin Jang said: These results show how multiculturals can enable teams to capitalise on the strengths of cultural diversity to generate creative outcomes, while avoiding the pitfalls associated with cross-cultural collaboration.A second experimental study was constructed to assess the actual processes involved in cultural brokerage.In this experiment, 83 teams, comprised of two monoculture members and one multicultural individual either a cultural insider or outsider were asked to propose creative ideas for a multicultural wedding involving a special ritual, musical performance and food dish that incorporated elements of two different cultures.Results showed that cultural insiders and outsiders enact cultural brokerage in different ways. Cultural insiders primarily brokered by integrating ideas from different cultures, directly combining or synthesising ideas from varying perspectives into a novel whole. Meanwhile, cultural outsiders tended to broker by eliciting ideas from different cultures, drawing out cultural information, ideas or knowledge by asking pertinent questions.Both types of cultural brokerage enhanced creative performance of the team as a whole. In fact, integrating and eliciting jointly explained 28 percent of the variance in team creative performance.Even though every company has a different cultural context, the research suggests that all firms stand to gain by leveraging the diverse knowledge and perspectives of their increasingly multicultural teams.Jang added that organisations would do well to think about the conditions they could put in place to facilitate cultural brokerage.For example, it may be helpful to give recognition to potential cultural brokers or provide opportunities for them to enact this role, as they are not always the most senior person in their team, said Jang.It is also important to keep in mind that cultural outsiders, multicultural individuals who have no overlap with the cultures of other individuals in a team, can be effective cultural brokers.These individuals are often overlooked, because we tend to assume that one needs to have knowledge of the specific cultures represented in a team to engage in cultural brokerage.However, the findings of this research highlight the important role that cultural outsiders can play in enhancing team creativity. The obligation to provide employees and/or the ATO with payment summaries will be fulfilled through STP. This includes individual non-business, foreign employment income and employment termination payments (ETP) payment summaries. Activity statement compliance efficiencies will be obtained, such as: the removal of statistical labels from the activity statements for large withholders (gross wages and W1); and pre-fill of withholding related labels on monthly and/or quarterly activity statements The requirement for the employer to lodge a tax file number (TFN) declaration with the ATO will be removed. Validated employee data will be available to an employee through MyGov and to STP compliant solution providers. The STP report will be reported as year to date (YTD) balances and will allow employers to make adjustments (even for a prior payroll period) in future period reports. This feature potentially gives employers a lot of flexibility to correct errors and omissions in subsequent pay runs. The ATO will be able to recognise and deploy early assistance to employers struggling to meet their employer obligations. How do employees benefit from STP? The introduction of STP gives employees more control to monitor and actively manage their tax and superannuation balances including: When using MyGov, both the superannuation choice and TFN declaration can be completed on ATO online. In addition, the ATO will make available to the employee: a drop-down list of all the superannuation funds the employee has a balance/account with; the default fund(s) of the employer; and YTD payroll details, including superannuation balances and a consolidated view of all employers reporting for that employee. Using MyGov, an employee can view and manage their tax position; such as consolidate superannuation balances, apply for withholding variation if required, or correct TFN declaration details if necessary (i.e. claimed more than one tax free threshold). STP also relieves employees of having to be responsible for reporting non-payment of SG to the ATO. STP and Superbad whats the connection? The recent Senate Economics Committees review into SG non-compliance resulted in a report titled: Superbad Wage theft and non-compliance of the Superannuation Guarantee. There were a total of 32 recommendations proposed by the Committee. Surprisingly, a significant number of the recommendations would involve legislation change and fairly fundamental changes to the way the SG system is currently administered. A short while after the report, on 29 August 2017, the Government announced a further package of reforms to give the ATO near real-time visibility over SG compliance by employers. The media release from Hon Kelly ODwyer, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, explained that STP will reduce the regulatory burden on business and transform compliance by aligning payroll functions with regular reporting of taxation and superannuation obligations. The package includes measures to: Training of precursors of white blood cells leads to a sustained positive response of the hematopoietic system. This effect could help accelerate the formation of new white blood cells, which are vitally needed during chemotherapy, a process that can slow down hematopoiesis. In a publication that appeared in the prestigious journal Cell, the scientists Dr. Ioannis Mitroulis and Prof. Triantafyllos Chavakis of the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine of the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus at the TU Dresden together with international colleagues describe this groundbreaking training effect on the innate immune system, which could be exploited therapeutically to prevent specific side effects of chemotherapy. Two main systems protect us from infections, the innate and the adaptive immunity. Innate immunity acts rapidly as the first line of defense to buy time until adaptive immunity is activated and takes over. Adaptive immunity targets and clears the pathogen in a very specific fashion and builds up immunological memory. In this way, the adaptive immune response remembers the earlier infection and responds faster and stronger when it re-encounters the same pathogen in the future. Although immunological memory has been considered to be an exclusive property of adaptive immunity, this dogma has been recently challenged by several research groups including Prof. Neteas laboratory (Nijmegen, The Netherlands). In particular, certain microbial infections or vaccines promote an enhanced response of white blood cells of innate immunity to a secondary infection with the same or even different pathogens. This process of innate immunological memory has been termed trained innate immunity, because white blood cells need to be trained with appropriate stimuli (such as pathogen-derived molecules or vaccines) to be able to respond faster and stronger against future infections. Trained innate immunity has impressive long-term effects (up to months), which has been puzzling since white blood cells (such as monocytes) have a relatively short life in the circulation. This paradox has now been resolved by a study spearheaded by the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine of the University Clinic Dresden, Germany. This study has shown for the first time that trained innate immunity acts on the precursors of the circulating white blood cells in the bone marrow, known as hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). As HSPCs can give rise to many generations of white blood cells, the study may explain the long-term effects of trained innate immunity. The research team of Prof. Chavakis (director of the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine of the University Clinic Dresden) investigated together with the group of Prof. Hajishengallis (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA) and Prof. Netea (Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands) the actions of beta-glucan, a molecule found in the cell walls of fungi and plants and a prototype stimulus of trained immunity, on precursor cells in the bone marrow. They found that the innate immune training of HSPCs by beta-glucan resulted in a sustained beneficial response by the hematopoietic system. This beneficial response involved actions of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1beta and changes in the metabolism (especially lipid metabolism) of HSPCs. This beta-glucan-mediated beneficial response could be used to protect the bone marrow from the adverse effects of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy-associated myelosuppression (suppression of the generation of white blood cells in the bone marrow) is a common and serious complication in tumor patients being treated with chemotherapy. We think that the principle of trained immunity could be used to prevent such adverse effects of chemotherapy, says Dr. Mitroulis, the first author of this article, from the Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine of the University Clinic Dresden, who has recently been awarded junior group leader status at the National Center for Tumor Diseases Dresden. Hence, the findings indicate a possible strategy to pre-condition the immune system prior to administration of chemotherapy to prevent myelosuppression and leukopenia. It is also conceivable that this principle may find therapeutic application in malignant hematologic diseases, Prof. Chavakis added. The group plans to follow up on their work into this and other directions, including inflammatory disease. The work was supported by the European Research Commission (Grant DEMETINL), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grants CH279/5-1, TR-SFB127, SFB854/B26N) and the National Institutes of Health (grants DE024716 and DE026152). Publication: Modulation of Myelopoiesis Progenitors Is Integral Component of Trained Immunity Mitroulis et al., 2018, Cell, January 11, 2018 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.034 Contact: Prof. Dr. T. Chavakis Director, Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine University Hospital Dresden at the TU Dresden Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden https://www.uniklinikum-dresden.de/de/das-klinikum/kliniken-polikliniken-institute/ikl Dr. I. Mitroulis Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine University Hospital Dresden at the TU Dresden Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307 Dresden and Junior Research Group Leader at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden TU Dresden A team at The University of Manchester have found that in a minority of patients they studied, the standard treatment for asthma oral steroids was associated with increased levels of the treatable mould Aspergillus in the lung. The findings could be of valuable help to asthmatics who endure severe and difficult to treat symptoms, by giving doctors the information they need to plan their care more effectively. The team stress there is no danger to asthmatics from steroid therapy and that patients should continue taking their steroid inhalers or tablets as prescribed. About 40% of people with severe asthma have allergies to Aspergillus in their lungs. The research showed that severe asthmatics with allergies were ten times more likely to carry higher levels of mould when on corticosteroid treatment. Individuals in the study receiving antifungal therapy had lower quantities of the mould in the lung; the fungal load was much higher if the therapy had been stopped. Aspergillus infection is usually treatable, but might be able to explain why some asthmatic patients are having persistent symptoms on steroids, said Dr Paul Bowyer, senior author on the study from The University of Manchester. We stress there is no danger to any individuals taking steroids to alleviate their asthma. But nevertheless this data is important because it may help doctors to consider additional treatments to individuals with allergies to this mould associated with steroids, so they may be helped more effectively. Dr Bowyer and Dr Livingstone Chisimba, also from The University of Manchester and colleagues from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust examined the airways of 48 people with mild to severe asthma, and 10 volunteers with no symptoms. New Deakin University research shows baby brain does exist, but scientists say more research is needed to determine its effect on expecting mothers. The meta-analysis of 20 studies, examining a total of 709 pregnant and 521 non-pregnant women, showed women do experience whats scientifically defined as cognitive changes during pregnancy. The findings are published today in the Medical Journal of Australia. Researcher Associate Professor Linda Byrne, a psychologist and neuroscientist in Deakins School of Psychology, said symptoms of the phenomenon colloquially known as baby brain could include poor concentration and absentmindedness, with memory problems the most commonly reported. So that seems to confirm a lot of what we hear anecdotally where women say they start forgetting things during pregnancy they put the car keys in the fridge or miss appointments, Associate Professor Byrne said. The studies we analysed showed general cognitive functioning, memory, and executive functioning performance of pregnant women was significantly lower than in non-pregnant women, both overall and particularly during the third trimester of pregnancy. The data also showed that the memory performance of pregnant women appears to decline between the first and second trimesters. But Associate Professor Byrne said baby brain shouldnt be cause for concern, rather evidence of biological priming. Pregnant women have got more important concerns than minor memory lapses. Theyre growing a child and then preparing to give their full attention to caring for it, she said. The research also showed that as soon as pregnant women were required to focus, they behaved at normal levels of cognitive function. Lead researcher Sasha Davies, a PhD candidate in the School of Psychology, said it was important to note that there were limitations to the available data used in the study. We know that other factors can impact on things like memory, and many of these werent accounted for in the data, Ms Davies said. For example, there was little information on women pre- and post-pregnancy, making it hard to compare the same women over time. There was also no distinction made for women with multiple children and we know that sleep deprivation, often a big part of new parenthood, can leave peoples minds cloudy. Ms Davies is hoping to gain a better understanding of how womens brains are affected during pregnancy, by instigating a study of her own. Deakins School of Psychology is currently recruiting women who are planning a pregnancy, and those currently in the first trimester of their pregnancy for the study. The study will use sensitive neuroscience techniques to track changes in cognition before, during, and after pregnancy, Ms Davies said. We also hope to use this information to see how baby brain might affect health outcomes for pregnant women. Deakin University Newfangled interchange is best design for Four Seasons, engineers say Green lines show new road pattern. Dotted red lines show existing parts that would be eliminated, including the cloverleafs. [SOURCE: HNTB consulting engineers] Motorists cowering in fear at the prospect of roundabouts guarding access to the new Publix might want to gird themselves for the newest proposal for the I-26 interchange at Four Seasons Boulevard. The design would require drivers to turn British for a few hundred yards. Called a contraflow design, the pattern weaves cars from the right-hand lane to the left lane and thus an unobstructed left turn to an on-ramp. The current cloverleafs would be gone. With this traffic volume this design does remarkably well, engineer Craig Scheffler told the Hendersonville City Council Thursday night. Thats how it rose to the top. Scheffler and Wanda Austin, engineers with HNTB, which is studying interchange designs for the 22-mile I-26 widening from the U.S. 25 connector to I-40, explained design options. The engineers may also recommend another diverging diamond interchange at U.S. 25, like the new one at the airport exit that has gobsmacked some of the driving public with its counterintuitive wrong-way pattern. Weve got Airport Road with a funky pattern and Four Seasons with its own funky pattern, Councilman Jerry Smith said. Weve got two bridges that are close to each other that are not operating the same way. Motorists have been waiting for years for a wider I-26 and improvements to a hazardous interchange. With right of way acquisition planned for this year and construction next year, the project is suddenly upon us. And like the Kanuga Road and Highland Lake Road widening projects and a half dozen new roundabouts on the NCDOTs drawing board, the interchange drawings are sure to cause anxiety. I almost get killed there about once a month as I travel back and forth to work, said City Councilman Steve Caraker. The whole thing with new traffic implementation, like when we do roundabouts, youve got to train people to drive safely through roundabouts. Theyre not used to it. Theres a learning curve with anything you do. The people that navigate roundabouts well are the people that live near them and have to use them all the time. The council listened and asked questions about the proposed contraflow design but took no action to either endorse or oppose it. That design and others will be part of a public review process before the NCDOT finalizes the I-26 plans. Caraker is likely not alone in his view that anything is better than what weve got now. That interchange at Four Seasons is one of the worst Ive ever seen and Ive been driving a lot of years in a lot of states, Caraker said. It sets you up for failure the way it is now so anything would be an improvement. White Street overkill? The council also took a closer look for the first time at proposed White Street improvements and heard from residents and business owners who are upset with both options. One would angle a new roadway southwest that would align with Hebron Road at Kanuga Road. A widening of the existing roadway would also encroach on businesses. As the citys representative on the county Transportation Advisory Committee, Caraker helped negotiate a compromise that greatly reduced the footprint of the Kanuga widening. Hes sympathetic with White Street business owners, the latest faction of constituents affected by new NCDOT plans. This thing with Kanuga was in my mind the best case of government and constituent interaction with a state agency because everybody kept their cool for the most part, we discussed it, its in process to get worked out, Caraker said. I think the White Street thing will probably work out a little bit the same way. People get emotional but they also get involved. This stuff is all good initially but I think the public discourse back and forth and the little bit of drama that weve been seeing it engages people to get involved in local government, he said. It may be a threat to them but what theyre doing is theyre actually making their local government better by getting involved. Whether its a contraflow left-turn interchange or roundabouts or medians motorists cant cross, change is in the air or in the asphalt to come and heartburn may give way to newfangled but effective solutions. Chalk it up to growing pains. The balance is, we all came here from other places to get our own little piece of heaven and now were going to try to shut the door on people coming behind us because we dont want them ruining our little piece of paradise, Caraker said. Theres a happy medium between shutting people out and accommodating additional traffic and doing infrastructure to make sure it doesnt get miserable. Unity keynoter uses Kings words as guide Soles de Mexico dancers perform at Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast. The keynote speaker at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Breakfast used five quotations from the slain civil rights leader as guideposts that can show people how to demonstrate love and strengthen your community. Valaida Fullwood, a Morganton native and graduate of UNC at Chapel Hill, is the author of Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists, which received the prestigious McAdam Book Award as the most inspirational and useful new book for the non-profit sector. In Giving Back, said a short review at Goodreads.com, Fullwood poignantly chronicles the African American philanthropy experience. Intimate vignettes and candid reflections reveal a myriad of philanthropic practices grounded in faith, mutuality, and responsibility. Valaida FullwoodFullwood urged a capacity crowd at the 18th annual tribute to King to take to heart the civil rights leaders message as a blueprint for a better America. The topic she chose to research deeply and write about, philanthropy, showed her many examples of how to create community, how to be generous, how to give, how to impact peoples lives and the community. Translated from the Greek, philanthropy means love, love of humankind, she said. I like to think of it as love of what it means to be human. Some of Kings most inspiring words show how to demonstrate love, lead change and put others first: Lifes most personal and urgent question is, What are we doing for others? King said. So what are we doing for others? Fullwood asked. Some might say we need to be selfless. I would say we need to be self-full, giving all of yourself. Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary, King said. Fullwood challenged the audience to think beyond check-writing and look deeply at why the donation is needed to start with. What are you choosing to overlook? Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives, King said. What change are you willing to make, Fullwood asked, to demonstrate love and strengthen your community? Nothing in the world is more dangerous, King said, than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Fullwood urged people to be willing to engage closely with others, even strangers, to better understand their community and its needs. What do you remain dangerously ignorant about largely because you stay at a distance? she asked. For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, King said, there is no stopping point short of victory. Are you willing to sacrifice for what is right? she asked. King sacrificed his own life, 50 years ago on April 4 of this year, for what which is right. Thats not what Im suggesting you do. Im suggesting sacrificing by letting go. Letting go of control, letting go of material things, letting go of needing to be liked by everybody, letting go of prejudice, letting go of having to be right all the time. Keeping in mind that Dr. King lived only to the age of 39, people ought to make their span of time count, avoid overlooking issues that cause poverty and injustice and make changes in their lives that demonstrate love of humankind, Fullwood said. The people gave her a standing ovation. Nurses are braced for a deluge of patients at hospitals around the country as the flu epidemic peaks this week. David Hughes, deputy general secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) said the epidemic - which led to record numbers of patients on trolleys in hospitals last week - is expected to peak on Wednesday. The prediction comes after the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) reported on Thursday that the number of reported cases of flu-like illness had "increased significantly in the past week". About 20,000 people with flu and other respiratory viruses swamped GP surgeries up and down the country last week, according to the Health Service Executive (HSE). Some 500 people with flu and other respiratory viruses such as colds were admitted to Ireland's eight major hospitals. However, the figure does not take into account flu patients attending 40 other smaller hospitals. Misery Although the HSPC said the flu is expected to circulate "for the next four weeks at least", the INMO expects it will peak on Wednesday, creating more misery for staff and patients. "We're expecting the worst," a spokesman told the Herald last night. "The system is already under pressure and because it's such a contagious flu, it will put a lot more pressure on the system. "Containing the flu and not having it spread in hospitals is the big challenge." The HSE was last night unable to say what plans were being put in place to reduce the spread of flu in hospitals and cope with hospital overcrowding. However, Mr Hughes said it would be wise for all hospitals to ban visitors as a precaution. In the meantime, the INMO fears that nurses will start coming down with flu due to exposure to the virus and the strain they are under caring for patients in cramped conditions. "That is a real risk which would deplete staff even further," he said. "People are starting to feel the strain, and burnout is a real problem." Fiona Tuomey is suing the HSE over the death of Milly The mother of an 11-year-old girl who died by suicide is suing the HSE to "expose the flaws" within the Irish healthcare system. Fiona Tuomey believes that certain failings contributed to her daughter Milly's death in 2016. According to reports, the legal proceedings in the High Court are against the HSE, a private psychology clinic and others. The case was launched on January 3, almost two years to the day since Milly took her life. The inquest into her death heard that the Dublin schoolgirl had been unhappy with her appearance and posted about her intention to die on Instagram. Damages In a statement confirming the proceedings, Ms Tuomey's solicitor Michael Finucane said the family is not focused on seeking damages. "My clients are not focused on monetary damages but rather in exposing the flaws in the Irish healthcare system that contributed to their daughter Milly's death," he said. "The inquest into Milly's death was far too restrictive an exercise to achieve this to any meaningful extent." Ms Tuomey told the Herald she did not want to discuss the matter during legal proceedings. However, the HSE expressed its sympathies to Ms Tuomey and her family. "The HSE sympathises greatly with the Tuomey family on the loss of Milly. It is no doubt a very difficult time for the family," a spokesperson told the Herald. "However, as it seems legal proceedings have been initiated (the HSE would not necessarily be aware of this fact as these matters are handled by the States Claims Agency), it would be inappropriate to comment on any aspect of litigation either in-being or potential." Ms Tuomey's legal action is likely to focus on the resourcing of mental health services for children and teenagers, which have suffered staff shortages and long waiting lists. Dublin Coroner's Court heard that on November 3, 2015, Milly posted on Instagram to hundreds of friends that she intended to die on a certain date. Her parents were alerted by her elder sister and her school. They took Milly to see their GP and, during this visit, Milly expressed a death wish. She spoke about thoughts of self-harm and said she had been unhappy with her appearance. The GP recommended she see a clinical psychologist at An Cuan, a private counselling and psychotherapy clinic. The Tuomeys made an appointment, but the psychologist was no longer taking patients. Milly was assigned to an art therapist, who was not qualified to make clinical assessments. Bored After Milly's first visit, the therapist advised Ms Tuomey to make an appointment with the HSE's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. The court heard that, on January 1, 2016, the Tuomeys ate dinner together and watched a film. That evening, Milly said she was bored and left the room. She was found moments later in a critical condition and emergency services were called. She was rushed to hospital, where she died on January 4. A mother-of-five has complained to gardai after a man threatened her over the phone, saying: "You and your autistic kids will get their heads bashed in... I'm going to bash the autism out of them." The intimidating phone call was made to Fiona O'Leary, an autism rights campaigner, last month. Ms O'Leary founded Autistic Rights Together and has been highlighting therapies falsely sold as treatment for autism. She claims that staff at the Church of Scientology in Dublin offered her a 1,500 detoxification programme that would cure her children of autism. Since then, she has been actively campaigning against Scientology and the opening of the group's centre in Firhouse. However, a spokeswoman for the Scientology centre has insisted that the threatening call was not made by anyone associated with it. In audio, a young man with a Dublin accent told Ms O'Leary: "You and your five autistic kids will get their heads bashed in... I'm going to bash the autism out of them." Ms O'Leary said: "We were at a petrol station and all my kids were in the car and we got a call from a private number. "I had to put it on speaker phone so my husband could record it, and all my children heard - it was horrific." Intimidating Ms O'Leary has two autistic sons, aged 25 and 13. She claims to have received more intimidating calls since. A garda spokesman confirmed they had received reports of threatening calls. In a statement, the Scientology centre in Dublin said: "On December 4, 2017, he [a volunteer at the centre] was called by a woman called Fiona O'Leary, who lied to him about her identity and feigned an interest in the Centre. "He was very upset when he realised she had got his personal mobile number and tried to deceive him and waste his time. "He called her back and made what was clearly an expression of frustration, not a threat. "Nevertheless, when we learned about it we informed him that despite the extreme provocation this was entirely unacceptable and he gave an assurance that he would not respond to provocation in the future. We believe he has honoured this assurance. "The second call ["you and your autistic kids will get their heads bashed in"] is not him or anyone that we are aware of. We condemn all such behaviour." During a call to the centre, Ms O'Leary claims she was offered the Purification Rundown treatment. This is trademarked by Scientology, as a detoxification programme purporting to rid the body of the effects of drugs, toxins and other harmful chemicals. A representative of the Scientology centre told Ms O'Leary over the phone that the 'Purif' works "100pc of the time" to cure conditions such as autism. A spokeswoman for the centre said: "English is not his first language and he struggled a little in the conversation. "However, he made no reference to any 'treatment' and certainly did not say that anything could cure autism." Cartel boss Christy Kinahan is set to be kicked out of Dubai following the introduction of strict new security checks. Under the new rules, ex-pats are required to prove that they do not have a criminal record. The 'Dapper Don' needs a work visa to stay legally. From February 4, he will have to produce a 'Good Conduct and Behaviour Certificate'. Kinahan, who has serious drug and money-laundering convictions in Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, is expected to be the first member of the cartel to be hit by the tough new security checks. It is understood that the rules have been introduced by the UAE to "create a more secure community" after a number of ex-pat mobsters relocated there in recent years. Empire Meanwhile, Daniel Kinahan, who is now at the head of his father's drug dealing empire, will also have to produce a certificate. While he has no major convictions, it is expected that he will be deemed unsuitable for residency. Every ex-pat will be required to produce the certificates, under the strict new security checks. They can be issued by police forces, or authorities in their home countries. The move was outlined in a cabinet resolution in the Middle Eastern country earlier this week, and a committee was put in place to manage the process. The state news agency, WAM, reported that in most cases, the document would be obtained from a police force or government authority in the ex-pat's home country, or from the country they have lived within for the past five years. That document will then be attested by the UAE embassy in that country, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE. Long-term residents of the UAE seeking a new visa will now have to apply to Dubai police or Abu Dhabi police for a certificate. "I am very happy that this decree has come out and will come into action next month, because we want the quality of the workforce to add value to the country, not to burden the security forces and courts," said Hamad Al Rohoumi, the Federal National Council member for Dubai. "We normally welcome everyone, but not anyone with a problematic background." He said that the checks would cover all ex-pats. "A criminal could be a senior manager of a labourer," he said. "Just like we conduct a medical test for everyone, this is even more important to be applied to all. Someone could be recruiting a drug dealer, or a thief or a killer - it is important to make sure that everyone is checked for a disease and for a criminal history. I don't see any inconsistency in that." The Kinahans cemented their new life in Dubai last summer when Daniel Kinahan married Caoimhe Robinson. The pair got married in July at the famous Burj Al Arab hotel in front of a host of guests from Ireland, the UK and Spain. Guest of honour was 'Dapper Don' Christy Kinahan Snr, his wife and young family, along with Christopher Jnr, who is also now based in Dubai. Caoimhe met Daniel when she began to visit Spain with her previous partner, drug dealer Micka 'The Panda' Kelly. Shot He was on his way to visit their new baby when he was shot dead outside her west Dublin home five years ago. Officers believe that Kinahan Snr retired to Dubai in recent years, leaving his sons Daniel and Christopher Jnr to run the international drug business he had built from scratch. Following the Regency Hotel shooting, Daniel first returned to Spain but then became paranoid he could be arrested on an EU warrant and moved out to Dubai. The Herald understands the Kinahan cartel used the nuptials as an excuse to hold a month-long crime summit. A new bus link connecting Finglas to the extended Luas Green Line will ease commuter frustration, Fine Gael TD Noel Rock has said. The new Dublin Bus route has reportedly been secured between Finglas and the tram line at Broombridge. Mr Rock said he met senior management of the bus company last week and outlined his concerns over transport issues between the two routes. He said he hoped the new link would ease traffic congestion and commuter frustration in the area. "This is something I've been pushing for since my election to Dail Eireann," he said. "I'm very satisfied that sense has prevailed. "I had been on the case to both the National Transport Authority (NTA) and Dublin Bus multiple times on the matter and I'm glad that they've managed to agree that the people of Finglas deserve a direct connection to the Luas." The new Luas line terminates just 500 metres south of Finglas. Mr Rock added that the new route is the first step of securing an actual Luas extension to Finglas. "The new route is certainly a step in the right direction and something I certainly had in mind when I started my 'Fingluas' campaign," he said. "Luas is a great service and we cannot stop at last month's expansion of the Green Line. Future "We must look to what people need in the future and what best works for them. "The people of Finglas need first-rate transport links into the city centre." Meanwhile, Dublin Bus told the Herald: "We are aware of requests for such a service and Dublin Bus is in discussions with the NTA on this." However, the spokesperson stressed that Dublin Bus is awaiting approval and agreement from the NTA in relation to the issue. As such, Dublin Bus cannot confirm any further details at this point. Under transport plans, Finglas will ultimately get a Luas service, as the Cross City line is extended north. A Dublin mother said her heart has been "broken into a million pieces" after the sudden death of her 15-year-old son who had been suffering flu-like symptoms. Sean Hughes, from Finglas, had only just returned to school after the Christmas break when he took ill on Wednesday. He died early on Friday morning at Temple Street Hospital. Speaking to the Herald, Sean's mother, Karen, wept as she said: "My heart is broken into a million pieces. I'm going to miss him, really, really terribly. We all will." The teenager, who had no underlying health complaints according to his mother, deteriorated within just hours after flu-like symptoms took hold. "I brought Sean to the GP," said Karen. "She said he had flu, but he had a chest infection too. "Sean started on antibiotics on Wednesday morning. The GP gave it to him as she was afraid he'd get pneumonia. "But by Thursday evening I was concerned Sean wasn't getting any better even with the antibiotic, so I told his dad Joe I'd be bringing him back to the doctor on Friday because the surgery was shut Thursday night." Tragically, Karen never made it back to the surgery with her beloved son. Just days after Sean - a talented rapper nicknamed 'Lil Red' - took ill, his mother is planning his funeral, when a selection of his original tracks will be played. Concerned Karen told how she was so concerned about Sean, and stayed up with him on Thursday night. The teenager could not sleep, so they watched TV together on the sofa. "We were sitting downstairs watching Netflix at around 11.50pm and Sean was talking to me. Next of all he wasn't talking. I knew straight away there was something wrong," said Karen. "I called Joe out of bed and he administered CPR on Sean while we waited for the ambulance. Joe did great, then the paramedics came and worked on Sean for a long time. They got him into the hospital at around 12.30am and they were brilliant at Temple Street. "But Sean died at 6.30am Friday - it was the worst ever - I'll never forget it," said Karen. Despite Sean's rapid decline and the fact he was suffering flu-like symptoms, the family are still awaiting the official outcome of his death. "They did the post-mortem and we will find out in due course how Sean died. He didn't have any health conditions, he was a fine, healthy child," said Karen. "There's no words, it's senseless - he should be with us, he's a 15-year-old child, it's something we'll never get our heads round." Karen said Sean's symptoms included a chest infection, a runny nose, sleeplessness and when he breathed it sounded "like a crackling." "When I couldn't hear the crackling, I knew there was something wrong," she said. Karen said that the family had just spent a wonderful Christmas together, but never thought that it would be their last Christmas together. "It was really lovely and nice. Sean still has so many presents in his room. He was such a wonderful person." The Colaiste Eoin pupil was a renowned local rapper who idolised US hip-hop stars, Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur and Eminem. He regularly performed at the Finglas Youth Resource Centre where his young friends were offered a place to talk about the loss yesterday. Sean was noted for having huge self-belief and confidence which spurred him to perform in front of large crowds. Music Sean had recently been awarded a school scholarship with the Rising Tide initiative which would have helped him secure his dream to entering the world of music. "Sean was hugely into rap," said Karen. "And he was delighted with the scholarship. He made his own tracks, he was brilliant. We told him how talented he was all the time. "He was wise beyond his years. Sean wanted to go to music college and produce music. He had his head on his shoulders. Sean knew everyone and he had every respect for man, woman and child." A pensioner called to see the family after their tragic loss and told Karen how the teenager had offered to carry his bags. Another local woman said: "Sean had a light. We have to remember him for the good things he taught us. He was so confident and happy." "He was so loveable, Sean was full of life," said Karen. "He loved his hair, his designer clothes and aftershave and he used to say 'Ma, do I look slick?' I'd say. 'Of course you do, son.' "He was a character, no matter who he met, he made an impact on them. We are utterly devastated." "I have a large family, five brothers and mum and dads are 80. Sean was very close to them, he was up to them everyday and he worried about them. No one would ever have seen this, there's no words." The teenager's funeral will take place on Tuesday at St Canice's Church, Finglas Village. Now Open 15 January 2018 WATG, the world"s leading hospitality design firm and Wimberly Interiors, a design studio of WATG, are pleased to reveal the design of the St. Regis Astana, inspired by Kazakhstan"s mythology and traditions. This iconic hotel marks the first entry of the St. Regis brand in Kazakhstan, bringing a new height of luxury to the historical crossroads of human civilisation. Located on the banks of the Ishim River, at Central Park, Astana"s most coveted address, WATG used the hotels" prominent location to inspire a design that highlights the distinct cultural heritage of Astana. The design takes a traditional, yet grand approach to luxury hotel design, using a hierarchy of spaces and forms to make the building an icon within the city scape. Both the yurt-inspired building form and the hotel entrance engage with the open land and tree-scape nearby, paying homage to the traditional Kazakh dwelling. Crafted using an antique bronze aesthetic combined with steel and glass, the yurt is a modern take on the iconic national Kazakh design. The overall architectural design also positioned the terraces, public promenades and restaurants along the waterfront allowing the hotel to leverage the extraordinary views of the Ishim River. The interior design narrative takes inspiration from Kazakhstan traditions, every detail is hand-selected and bespoke. Using regal features and luxurious textures including embossed leather chairs, patterned timber flooring, shadgreen clad joinery, Eglomise mirrors and Cut Crystal Chandeliers, whilst maintaining the most modern of comforts. WATG and Wimberly Interiors infused the St. Regis brand elegance with the history or the surrounding landscape and local culture in a subtle but distinctive way. Horses are an intrinsic and historical part of Kazakh culture, and the interior design weaves equine touches effortlessly through various artworks, fabrics and antique bronze equestrian buckle detailing. Artwork adorns the walls throughout the hotel, with over 400 contemporary pieces complimenting the interior design. One of the focal art features in the lobby includes a large luxurious 24 carat gold and copper leaf mural of a phoenix, designed by Celine Alexandre, referencing the mythological Samruk phoenix. Event Founded in 1991, HEDNA (Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association) is the only global forum exclusively dedicated to the advancement of hospitality distribution through strategic collaboration and knowledge sharing. For 25 years, the non-for-profit association has provided its members with networking platforms, educational opportunities and professional resources to help them navigate the ever-evolving landscape of hotel electronic distribution. HEDNA works to optimize the use of technologies while influencing the development of current and emerging distribution channels. It promotes an open exchange of information and professional development among its members. HEDNAs international conferences deliver the most comprehensive information, insights and dialogue on trends in hotel distribution. HEDNA is comprised of hospitality industry leaders and innovators. Members represent all areas of electronic distribution including hotels, representation and management companies, GDSs, switch companies, OTAs, tour operators, software and payment service providers, industry consultants and educational institutions. HEDNA's 2018 North American Global Distribution Conference will be held in Austin, Texas from January 30 -February 1. Prior to the main conference, HEDNA will host Education Tuesday, featuring morning sessions and afternoon workshops on January 30. The conference will be held at the Fairmont Austin Hotel, ideally located in the vibrant Central Business District. Registration will be available late 2017. HEDNA 2018 North American Conference is organized by Press Release 15 January 2018 Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 9 January 2018: Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the worlds largest alliance of independent hotel brands and operator of the award-winning, multibrand loyalty programme, DISCOVERY, today announced that The Residence by Cenizaro has joined its portfolio of distinct brands, adding a collection of luxury resorts to GHAs network of more than 35 independent brands and over 500 hotels. Advertisements Owned and managed by Cenizaro Hotels and Resorts, The Residence by Cenizaro presents a portfolio of independent properties in some of the worlds most desirable locations, including Tunis, Mauritius, Zanzibar and the Maldives. Each property in the family reflects a distinctive, individual personality and sense of place, and they all embody the legendary hallmarks of excellence the world has come to know: attention to detail and intuitive, personal and discreet customer service. The resorts of The Residence by Cenizaro will also become part of Ultratravel Collection, the most luxurious and iconic hotels in the DISCOVERY loyalty programme. Chris Hartley, GHAs CEO, is thrilled to welcome another unique brand to the alliance: We really do have a rich collection of brands to rival any that the global majors have to offer, and The Residence by Cenizaro adds to the wealth of choice that we offer our DISCOVERY members. Gary Xie, the companys Executive Director, comments: We are delighted to be part of a worldwide alliance, which will enable us to reach a global audience of luxury travellers through DISCOVERYs 11 million members. We are looking forward to welcoming DISCOVERY customers to our amazing properties. The Residence by Cenizaro is due to open its first south-east Asian property in Bintan, Indonesia in early 2018. GHAs other recent additions also include Monarch Beach Resort, an award-winning property in California. About Ultratravel Collection Ultratravel Collection brings together hotels of distinction for the discerning traveller. Its membership is reserved for the very best hotels and resorts in the world genuinely luxurious and iconic properties that deliver the finest service and personalised guest experiences. Member hotels share an integrated global platform for guest recognition and loyalty rewards, the DISCOVERY programme from partner Global Hotel Alliance, as well as beneficial relationship with the multi-media brand Ultratravel, the other founding partner of Ultratravel Collection. For more information visit ultratravelcollection.com. About The Residence by Cenizaro The Residence collection of resorts is part of Cenizaro, an international, bespoke hospitality company (www.cenizaro.com/theresidence). With a current portfolio comprising four luxurious hotels in some of the worlds most desirable beach locations; Mauritius, Tunis, Zanzibar and the Maldives, the companys next expansion phase will see four new openings over the next three years; two in Tunisia Douz and The Medina of Tunis; Dhigurah, Maldives and Bintan, Indonesia. Cenizaros first venture, The Residence Tunis, opened in 1996 with 155 rooms and 9-suites. The Residence Mauritius followed in 1998 with 135 rooms and 28 suites and in 2011, The Residence Zanzibar, a 66-villa property opened. The latest hotel in the collection, The Residence Maldives, was unveiled in 2012 on the southern island of Falhumaafushi with 94-villas. With a compelling mix of cultures and styles every hotel in the portfolio has its own individual personality and strong sense of place. Each one is proud to draw on the philosophy for which The Residence by Cenizaro is renowned heartfelt hospitality, a sense of place, an acute attention to detail and an individual personality. Huff, Niehaus & Associates, Inc., member of Hotel Brokers International, successfully closed the sale of the Best Western Plus La Porte Hotel and Conference Center, a 142-room, full-service hotel designed with a four-story atrium, interior corridor property. Huff, Niehaus & Associates, Inc., member of Hotel Brokers International, successfully closed the sale of the Best Western Plus La Porte Hotel and Conference Center, a 142-room, full-service hotel designed with a four-story atrium, interior corridor property. Guest rooms are situated in the two-story wing and the four-story section, located within an hour of Chicago. GDR Hospitality LLC has operated this hotel for 10+ years. The sale of Best Western Plus La Porte provided a great opportunity for the buyer to own the leading hotel and only full-service hotel in the market. The hotel has been long standing in the La Porte community and the go to hotel for any events in the area, commented Brandt Niehaus, President of Huff, Niehaus & Associates. The hotel sold for $4,500,000 on January 4, 2018. The Best Western Plus franchise will be retained by the buyer, BRK Colorado Inc. of California, and significant capital for renovations will deploy. Brandt Niehaus, President of Louisville, Kentucky-based Huff, Niehaus & Associates, Inc., is a licensed broker in Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio and Tennessee. He earned the coveted Broker of the Year award in 2014 and is an eleven-time recipient of Top Regional Broker recognition. Since 1975, Huff, Niehaus & Associates has evolved into a full-service real estate firm providing many services exclusively to the hospitality industry and lenders, including Brokers Opinions of Value, expert witness testimony, development consultation and brokerage services. Founded in 1959, Hotel Brokers International members lead the industry in hotel real estate sales. HBI hotel brokerage specialists have successfully negotiated more than 10,000 hotel real estate transactions and consistently account for the largest share of all select-service and economy hotel sales in the United States. The organizations database currently comprises more than 100 property listings and the HBI website attracts site visitors from all over the world. Founder and host of the popular Hotel Investors Marketplace Webcast, HBI also developed the Certified Hotel Broker professional designation program. In addition to hospitality real estate advisory services, HBI offers affiliate membership to professionals in allied fields, including franchising, lending, appraisals and investment services. For more information about HBIs hotel listings or to become a broker or affiliate member, visit www.hbihotels.com. For more information contact: H. Brandt Niehaus CHB, CCIM Huff, Niehaus & Associates, Inc. Louisville, Kentucky 502.254.7787 hotels@huffniehaus.com Glenda J. Webb, Managing Director Hotel Brokers International Kansas City, Missouri 816.505.4315 gwebb@hbihotels.com Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hotel News Resource With the February 16th release date encroaching ever so soon, Marvel has been pulling out all the stops in order to amass a heightened sense of anticipation for its latest superhero film The Black Panther. The studio has created three separate TV spots that briskly reveal main character T'Challa's return to his home of Wakanda after the unfortunate passing of his father in Captain America: Civil War. Recently, Marvel has been doing a formidable job of showcasing what's been happening with their roster of superheroes outside of Earth, as Thor: Ragnarok primarily dealt with the impending destruction of Asgard, his home planet. While Wakanda is located on Earth, it's presence is far removed from any recognizable society, especially one experiencing the world through the lens of the 21st century. These three new TV spots aptly named "King of the Avengers," "Entourage," and "T'Challa is Back," are primarily lead by Chadwick Boseman's insights into his character and how his story connects to the greater Marvel Universe. Here is the first of three advertisements, "King of the Avengers:" "T'Challa is Back" reveals how the title character is essentially a stranger in his own land: The final clip, "Entourage," showcases T'Challa's gang of allies who have been dealing with the destructive unpredictability of Michael B. Jordan's character, who has become an accomplice of the U.S. military. Dave East's Paranoia: A True Story was one of the year's more overlooked gems, and the New York rapper is looking to pick up where the saga left off. After releasing the album artwork a while back, Dave East has officially shared the tracklist to his upcoming album Paranoia 2, which features a few notable appearances from Tory Lanez, T.I., Lloyd Banks, Marsha Ambrosius, Matt Patterson, Bino Rideaux, and Pimp Pimp P. Luckily, you won't have to wait very long to hear this one, as the project is set to drop at Midnight tonight. In the mean time, check out the tracklist in full right here. 1. Talk To Big 2. Prosper 3. Woke Up (feat. Tory Lanez) 4. Powder 5. Corey 6. Thank You 7. Can Not 8. Regular Harlem Shit 9. Annoying (ft. T.I.) 10. What Made Me 11.Violent (feat. Lloyd Banks) 12. I Found Keisha 13. Maintain (feat. Bino Rideaux) 14. Never Been (feat. Matt Patterson) 15. Grateful (ft. Marsha Ambrosius) It's hard to make any concrete inferences from the tracklist alone, but it does seem like Dave East will be following in the footsteps of Jay-Z's Blueprint 2 opener "A Dream," with his own introductory "Talk To Big." Big's guidance is a pretty important theme for New York rappers, and it's no surprise to see Dave East looking to the late legend for some wisdom. Plus, with Lloyd Banks on an undeniable tear, it should be nice to hear him and East on some G-shit with "Violent." Stay tuned for Paranoia 2, dropping soon. Denver Broncos wide receiver Carlos Henderson was reportedly arrested for possession of marijuana on Sunday after a routine traffic stop. According to TMZ Sports, Henderson was a passenger in a car pulled over for speeding in West Monroe, Louisiana when cops noted a strong smell of weed coming from the car. Henderson and the driver, Alejandra Aviles-Jimenez, both denied having any weed in the car but officers found weed around the passenger seat and what appeared to be the remainder of a joint after searching the car. Per the Denver Post, According to the arresting officer, Detective Ray Spoon, the vehicle smelled of marijuana, though Henderson and the driver, Alejandra Aviles-Jimenez, claimed they had not smoked nor did they possess any in the vehicle. A search by officers turned up multiple pieces of suspected raw marijuana on and around where Henderson was seated, according to the report, and a water bottle recovered from the floorboard appeared as if it were used to extinguish a marijuana cigar, and pieces of the cigar and loose marijuana were noted inside the fluid. Furthermore, cops checked both of their tongues and found that Henderson's "contained a thick green residue." The 23-year old wide receiver ultimately admitted to smoking weed earlier in the day, but denied eating any bud during the traffic stop. Cops still arrested him, while letting Aviles-Jimenez go with a speeding citation. Henderson was later released on bond according to the report. On Sunday night the Broncos issued the following statement, We are aware of the issue involving Carlos Henderson and are gathering more information." Denver selected Henderson in the third round (No. 82 overall) in the 2017 draft out of Louisiana Tech, but he did not play as a rookie due to a thumb injury he suffered during preseason which required surgery. Juicy J never stops working, and today, the Three 6 Mafia legend has come through with yet another mixtape, the largely $uicideboy$ produced SHUTDAFUKUP. And while there are a few notable guest appearances on deck, none stand out more than the Wiz Khalifa and Lil Peep assisted "Got Em Like That." Thematically, the track is rather straightforward, as each rapper celebrates a night of decadence, hedonism, drugs, and women. It's a cold party track for the wintertime, and while the supporting cast may look odd on paper, it ultimately makes sense in practice. Over a hard-hitting, mid-millennium style beat from Ben Billions, Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa, and Lil Peep enter full-on braggadocio mode. "I just fucked a goth bitch," raps the late Lil Peep. "Shorty sucked my whole damn clique, you be on some opp shit, you can suck my goth boy dick." Check this one out now, and if you're feeling it, stream the entire mixtape by hitting the link above. Quotable Lyrics Shit get wild, I smoke loud Your shit mild, it ain't my style Your bitch want to have my child, Ain't that against your wedding vows? The FBI and Virginia police have banded together to investigate the troubling appearance of anti-Martin Luther King flyers that were scattered throughout Leesburg, Virginia this past weekend. At least 10 people have come forward to police with plastic sandwich bags containing papers that proudly decried King as a "communist, alcoholic, pervert." Many of these bags were filled with bird seeds, and contained a single Jolly Rancher candy. The bird seeds may have been used as a ploy to keep the bags from flying away, which according to Daily Mail, was a tactic used in Rappahanock County, Washington last November to promote similarly troubling racist ideology. The use of a Jolly Rancher very explicitly harkens to the KKK's recruitment process, as the group distributes the candy to their followers. Speaking with NBC Washington, Bishop Shawn Stephens reveals he was on his driveway when an unidentified women threw one of these bags directly in his direction. Stephens is hurt by these actions, as he believes King was "impactful for every group out there. He fought for them. And he was a fair gentleman. And he was a gentleman that loved all people." Jack Oden, the first resident of Leesburg to report the sighting of one of these bags on Friday night, reveals how he believes "in free speech but if youre going to say things or do things like that, you need to stand up in front of other people and listen to their response, doing it this way is cheap." However, this is not the first time Leesburg has experienced a racially-insensitive flyer campaign, as just last Halloween, residents discovered recruitment fliers containing racist cartoons spewed throughout the town. George Clinton and Parliament's influence on hip hop has been well documented over the course of the genre's history. There's a slew of artists who've sampled his work in the past and Clinton has never shied away from working with some of hip hop's dopest artist. Most recently, Parliament recruited Scarface for their latest single, "I'm Gon' Make U Sick O'Me." Parliament and Scarface join forces for their new collaboration on "I'm Gon Make U Sick O'Me." The song kicks off with upbeat funk while George Clinton handles the vocals. The song later cuts into a more softer, soulful second half where Scarface comes through and drops off some solid bars. Scarface has previously sampled Parliament in the past but its dope to hear two OG's connect to deliver a heavy single. Quotable Lyrics The greatest rhymes of all time Swing down sweet chariot, stop that's why I'm Gon make you sick o'me All this hip hop history When you mix that funk, you get with me Florida's Ski Mask The Slump God is poised for an important run in 2018, and the dexterous lyricist stands to solidify himself as a lasting up-and-comer. While he's already amassed a cult following with mixtapes like You Will Regret and various SoundCloud loosies, The Slump God's upcoming Beware The Book Of Eli is set to really put the Broward County rapper on the map. With appearances from Busta Rhymes, Lil Yachty, Offset, Timbaland, Diplo, and Mannie Fresh, The Book Of Eli looks to be an impressive blend of both older and newer generations. Check out the tracklist by hitting the link below, although remember, it's been a minute since that was posted; changes might have since been made. This morning, The Slump God has revealed yet another aspect of his creative vision - the project's artwork. While rapper's depicting themselves as cartoons is nothing new, Ski Mask's artwork stands out with its hallucinogenic take on The Little Golden Books children's series. Throw in a grotesque, fantastical depiction of the rapper, and you've got a pretty memorable result. You can check out the artwork below, courtesy of The Slump God's Instagram. The project has yet to receive a release date, but expect it soon. Unfortunately for the day one Slump God fans, it seems as if a Members Only reunion between XXXTentacion and Ski won't be happening anytime soon, as the pair continue to distance themselves from one another. It seems like every year is a massive one for Marvel, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe looks to be absolutely shaken in 2018. With releases of Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man And The Wasp, the ongoing narrative seems likely to undergo some serious overhauls. And while that's surely exciting for fans of the genre, Black Panther has been exciting for a variety of non-cinematic reasons. Not only is it boasting some seriously impressive pre-sale numbers, but the soundtrack is being officially curated by one of the biggest artists in the world - Kendrick Lamar. With two singles already released, it's looking like Black Panther: The Album will be full of TDE contributions. And while we've all known about Kendrick's involvement for a minute now, Spider-Man: Homecoming star Tom Holland has been sitting on it for a while. At the recent ACE Comic Con in Arizona, Holland spoke about the soundtrack, revealing that he had known about Kendrick's pivotal role for "ages." Heroic Hollywood reported on the conference, which found Holland expressing relief that the revelation had become common knowledge. "Oh thats been released? They know that?" says Holland. "I knew that ages ago, and Ive been trying so hard to keep that a secret. Im so glad you guys know! He goes on to praise the upcoming Black Panther film, giving props to lead actor Chadwick Boseman and his costume. "The movie looks amazing. Ive been working with Chadwick over the last year now, and hes the nicest guy. Hes so humble, and Im very jealous of his costume. He walks on set and the suit and its so cool" Spider-Man and Black Panther will be joining forces this summer in Avengers: Infinity War. Black Panther drops on February 16th, 2018. Not too long ago we posted on the allegations said by Portia de Rossi who tweeted of the time Steven Seagal sexually harassed her in his office after he told her "how important it was to have chemistry off-screen." New reports now say that 11 women have come forward with allegations against the actor and the LAPD are now investigating an alleged incident that occurred in 2005, Variety reports. Regina Simons told The Wrap of the time Steve raped her when she was just 18-years-old, after being an extra in his 1994 film On Deadly Ground. Regina told the publication that Steven invited her a party for the film, but when she arrived at his Beverly Hills home, it was just the two of them. He took me into this room and then just closed the door and started kissing me," Simons explained. "He then took my clothes off, and before I knew it he was on top of me, raping me I wasnt sexually active yet. People always talk about fight-or-flight. But no one talks about the freeze." She explained how she was crying when Steven was on top of her, adding: Even now, my 43-year-old mind knows how to process this and understand what a loving relationship is and what consensual sex is. And there was none of that. Regina's report with the LAPD follows behind actress Faviola Dadis who filed a report saying Steven groped her in a 2002 audition. Other women to come forward with disturbing stories against Steven include Julianna Margulies, Katherine Heigl, Jenny McCarthy, Rae Dawn Chong, and Lisa Guerrero. Oprah's not the one Regarding "President Oprah? Awards speech stirs talk" (Page A7, Wednesday), people have we learned nothing this year about putting TV personalities in as president of the United States? Oprah? Really? I'm sure she's a lovely lady, but she knows nothing about running a country. The current holder of that office has run a company, and yet we are in a horrible mess. Let's give this important decision a LOT more thought and prayer. Donna Kelly, Tomball Echoing ancient history Regarding "A child president sits in the Oval Office" (Page A11, Jan. 8), Kathleen Parker's column on President Donald Trump's personality completely misses the mark. Trump has the personality of short-lived Roman Emperor Otho (69 AD) who bought the emperorship. If Parker had a bit more background in Roman history, she would probably also note the similarities of Hillary Clinton to Empress Livia (Augustus Caesar's wife). Livia was known for her manipulation of the political processes in Rome. In either case, Parker's column misses the point that we the people have acquiesced to a Roman-style republic that has been corrupted by money, power mongering and political manipulation. The Constitution of the United States was written with the underlying tenet that the American republic should not relegate itself into a Roman system where power brokers and money determined leadership. Unfortunately, the Republican and Democratic parties have co-opted the Constitution and circumvented this fundamental tenet that leadership and governance should be by merit (hence the reason for the Electoral College). James A. Babb, Friendswood Pot, booze kindred spirits Regarding "Lazy weed" (Page A11, Jan. 9), I have never tried pot and the only marijuana cigarette I ever saw was in a police van during the rodeo a long time ago. I feel sure that some of the men and women who spent time in Vietnam during the war were caught up in the invitation to try something new. But right now, and I am over 80, I know no one who uses the stuff and few who even admit to ever using it. So, I believe the editorial is wrong on the cited statistics. But, if the rampant use of the stuff is the norm, I feel that it, like alcohol, should be legalized. Since the recreational use of pot has proven to be so beneficial to the states where it has been legalized, why shouldn't the state of Texas reap the windfall in taxes that comes from the legalization and distribution of pot? And then the state could close a number of jails where those poor innocent pot dealers are serving time for their crimes, and smart investors who have quietly bought stock in pot growers and distributors could reap the benefits of their investments. Lawrence Keen, Pearland Louisiana teacher flap Regarding "La. teacher arrested after questioning pay raise for superintendent" (Page A11, Jan. 10), Deyshia Hargrave was mistreated for exercising her right to free speech and subjected to physical abuse, thrown to the floor and handcuffed. All she wanted was an answer to why teachers hadn't gotten a raise for 10 years while the superintendent got a raise. If the superintendant was being rewarded for performance, the reason he performed well was the efforts of his teachers. Ross Bonny, Spring Question raises ire After the video of the teacher being arrested was posted online, the superintendent, the school board, the school district and the marshal's office should all apologize. The only sign of intelligence is the city attorney, who is refusing to press charges against the teacher. "Stop resisting" is the old excuse the cops use as you don't move fast enough to keep up with them. Of course, the board hopes this will disappear, since any more attention will only reflect badly on the school board and its raise for the superintendent. Bob Gayle, Houston ere 2% of companies here have managed to meet the Monetary Authority of Singapore s (MAS) standards of best practice.A study was done on the financial reports of 609 companies listed on the Singapore Exchange. It was found that a majority have been failing to disclose the remuneration of their top executives a requirement for the MASs Code of Corporate Governance.The report found that only 36% of companies here disclosed the exact salaries of their chairmen, while 30% have done the same for CEOs.Companies that paid their top executives more were less transparent about disclosing their remuneration packages.Among the companies that disclosed, the mean annual salary of executive chairmen was $984,000, with the highest paid getting $8.4 million.As for CEOs, the mean annual salary stood at $1.6 million, with the top earner drawing $12.9 million.The report was based on a study conducted by Professor Mak Yuen Teen of the National University of Singapore Business School and Chew Yi Hong, an MBA graduate from the London Business School, according to Channel NewsAsia.On top of its findings, it also recommended several ways to improve the degree of transparency with regards to disclosure of top executives remuneration.For example, it suggested the disclosure of the total remuneration of the companys top earners, rather than only that of its top five key management personnel a recommendation by MASs Code of Corporate Governance. "Like an idea whose time has come, not even the marching of mighty armies can halt us. We are moving to the land of freedom. How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, because you shall reap what you sow. How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Leo Varadkar said ministers, backbenchers and senators will be free to campaign for or against any reform of the limitations on abortion The Government would need a very good reason to deviate from the all-party Oireachtas Committee's recommendations on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, the chairman of the Fine Gael parliamentary party has said. Martin Heydon was speaking following a five-hour special parliamentary party meeting on the anticipated referendum on the contentious section of the constitution that frames the state's legal position on abortion. After the discussions in Leinster House, he highlighted that the committee's report was not a Fine Gael report. "It's an all-party recommendation from members of all parties and none that spent a lot of time considering, so I think that gives it - what I think the Taoiseach is outlining - is that gives that report a lot of weight than if it was one particular party viewpoint," he said. "If you were to go away from the recommendations in the report you'd need a very good reason for doing so, and as a minority government you'd also have to be sure if you were going to make any changes that their changes would have support in the Dail." Fine Gael TDs, senators and MEPs were in attendance at the meeting and the main item on the agenda was the Eighth Amendment. In December, the specially convened Oireachtas Committee found that Article 40.3.3, which gives the mother and unborn child equal right to life, is not fit for purpose. It called for the amendment to be repealed and a referendum to be held. In a 40-page report, the committee recommended that abortion should be available without restriction up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, and that the procedure should be allowed if the life or health of the woman was at risk. It also called for expectant mothers to be allowed an abortion at any stage of the pregnancy if doctors diagnosed a foetal abnormality that was likely to result in death before or shortly after birth. Mr Heydon said: "The discussion that we had and the debate that we had on that report was a very respectful, thoughtful and considered one with a lot of compassion." Party colleague Senator Jerry Buttimer described it as a positive engagement. "It was a very respectful, mature debate which I think we have to have as a society because this is a societal issue," Mr Buttimer said. "Ultimately it will be a matter of the Oireachtas to decide whether there will be a referendum or not and then the people will decide that and it's the Irish people that will make a decision." Fine Gael TD John Deasy said no decisions were made at the meeting but it was clear there would not be a single Fine Gael position. "It's clear there won't be a Fine Gael position, a party position, a party stance," he said. "People will have a free vote. It's the start of a process of what the wording will be. My own sense is that it will probably end up being very close to what the all-party committee came up with, whether you agree with that or don't agree with that." Last week Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Government ministers, backbenchers and senators would be free to campaign for or against any reform of the strict limitations on abortion. Before any referendum the Government is expected to outline how laws will be changed if the public votes in favour of repealing the constitutional limitations. The referendum is due to be held in late May or early June. The minister said they had set ambitious targets for 2017 Three times as many social homes were built in Ireland in 2017 than in the previous year, Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has said. The minister praised the progress made in social housing supports, but conceded more work needed to be done to improve housing options. At the launch of the Government's housing delivery report, the minister said: "In recognising these positive developments in 2017, that's not to say that our work is finished - not by a long shot. "And I'm not saying that all is now well with our housing system and that further interventions will not be needed to continue to repair our recently broken housing system. There is more that we need to do and I know that. "People can have confidence in the work we are doing to repair a recently broken housing system and to get tens of thousands of new homes built." His comments came as the Government found itself under increasing pressure to find social houses for homeless families. It is estimated 4,000 families left homelessness last year, however, the number of people who are homeless is still increasing. More than 8,800 people were homeless in November, including 3,333 children. The figures published by the Department of Housing showed 2,245 new social homes were built by local authorities, approved housing bodies or by developers under the Part V regulation in 2017, up from 657 homes in 2016. The target set was for 2,434 homes to be delivered in 2017 - the Government reached 92% of their target. The minister said they had set ambitious targets for 2017 and that they came in slightly shy. "Obviously I would have liked it to be 100% but we had three times as many as we did in 2016 so what that tells us is we had ambitious targets for 2017," he said. "We have increased those targets again [for 2018]." The minister said 25,892 households had their housing needs met last year under the Rebuilding Ireland programme. "To put it another way, in 2017, 100 new households had their social housing needs met each working day of the week," he said. The vast majority of the homes provided - 17,916 units - were subsidised rental accommodation under the Housing Assistance Payment scheme. Mr Murphy claimed the Government exceeded its overall target for new social housing supports in 2017 by 23%, with more than 4,800 additional tenancies. In total, more than 7,000 new homes were added to the active social housing stock last year through build, acquisitions, voids and leasing programmes, a 40% increase on what was planned for the year, and a 24% increase over what was achieved in 2016. "As a Government we are fixing our housing problems as quickly as they can be fixed, and we are doing it in a sustainable way that won't expose us to the risks and mistakes of the past." The Government's construction figures from September 2017 show 3,700 new social housing homes being built across 190 sites. A total of 1.4 billion euro of taxpayers' money was spent by the Government as part of the Rebuilding Ireland plan last year. Under the Rebuilding Ireland programme the needs of 50,000 households are expected to be met by 2021. To date, 12,780 such additions have been delivered. Scotland's First Minister has accused Theresa May of a "fundamental dereliction of duty" in failing to set out the economic impact of Brexit as the Scottish Government prepares to publish its own analysis. Nicola Sturgeon said the study will make clear that remaining in the European single market and the customs union would be the least damaging option for the economy. The paper comes as the SNP and other opposition parties ramped up their campaign to prevent a so-called hard Brexit, with pressure mounting on Labour join in. The UK Government has already made it clear it will seek to take Britain out of the single market and pursue a bespoke trade deal with the EU. The Scottish Government's study, to be launched by Ms Sturgeon in Edinburgh on today, looks at the impact of three different Brexit outcomes on gross domestic product, trade and immigration. These include staying in the single market and customs union, a preferential trade agreement or reverting to WTO (World Trade Organisation) terms. Brexit Secretary David Davis told MPs last month that the UK Government had not carried out any impact assessments of leaving the EU on the UK economy. He said "sectoral analysis" of different industries had been drawn up, but not a "forecast" of what would happen after Brexit. Ms Sturgeon said: "More than 18 months on from the Brexit vote, it beggars belief that the UK Government is not only still unable to say what kind of relationship it wants with the EU, but has also failed to produce any meaningful economic assessment of the different possibilities." She added: "It will be a fundamental dereliction of duty as Prime Minister if Theresa May continues to pursue her red lines without providing information on their impact, and publicly discussing the options available. "Of course, there is no alternative arrangement that can deliver the jobs, people and economic benefit that come from remaining members of the European Union but if the UK continues down the path of leaving the EU, it is the Prime Minister's duty to do as little harm as possible to the economy. "The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that, if the UK is indeed leaving the EU, then it must stay within the single market and customs union to prevent needless job losses and cuts in living standards." The SNP administration has previously called for a "differentiated deal" for Scotland, allowing it to remain in the single market even if the rest of the UK leaves. The Scottish Conservatives urged Ms Sturgeon to make it clear she is no longer pursuing such a deal, and called on her to back UK-wide trade and immigration rules. A UK Government spokeswoman said: ''We are seeking a deal that works for the whole of the UK, that delivers on the result of the EU referendum. ''Rather than trying to undermine the result of a democratic referendum, we urge the Scottish Government to work with us to ensure, as we leave the EU, we protect the UK's vital internal market." It has been announced that vaccination of badgers against tuberculosis (TB) will commence as an integral part of the bovine TB eradication programme from January 2018. The Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed, it marks a major step forward in the bovine TB eradication programme. "The move follows years of scientific research funded by my Department into the use of BCG vaccine in badgers, designed to reduce the impact of disease in this wildlife host back into the cattle population". Vaccination of badgers will be carried out by staff from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The vaccination programme will commence in the areas which have already been part of the field trials demonstrating the effectiveness of badger vaccination. It will roll out incrementally to other parts of the country over time, with vaccination gradually replacing the need to remove badgers. The Minister added that "The most recent research findings confirm that vaccination of badgers can play a role in reducing the level of infection in cattle. Whilst vaccination of badgers is not a 'silver bullet', it is important in that it addresses one of the critical elements within the complex TB eradication challenge. This will now allow us move forward in the early part of this year to the development and re-launch, in consultation with stakeholders, of a comprehensive strategy to finally eradicate TB ". Minister Creed concluded by welcoming the fact that vaccination of badgers enables Ireland move forward towards eradication of bovine TB in a controlled holistic way, which will serve to protect the badger population whilst also protecting cattle and the livelihoods of farmers. Pleasance was one of the three alpacas found beaten to death on a farm in Buckinhamshire RSPCA The owners of an alpaca farm in Buckinghamshire have been left "heartbroken and devastated" after three of their animals were found brutally beaten to death. Two of the creatures, Pleasance and Gabrielle, who was pregnant, were found dead in their shelter on 6 January. A four-month-old alpaca named Ragamuffin was also found dead in the shelter the following day. The owners of an alpaca farm in Buckinghamshire have been left "heartbroken and devastated" after three of their animals were found brutally beaten to death. Two of the creatures, Pleasance and Gabrielle, who was pregnant, were found dead in their shelter on 6 January. A four-month-old alpaca named Ragamuffin was also found dead in the shelter the following day. "At this time of year there isn't any grass on the field so we feed them concentrate, which means they would have seen someone coming onto the field thinking they were going to be fed. "Our alpacas have never been treated badly by a human before. We can't process the evilness of it all. We're so worried about our other alpacas now. Whoever has done this could do it again. If anyone saw anything, heard our alpacas screaming, saw any strange cars anything at all which would give us a lead please report it to the RSPCA or the police. Rachel Smith, the RSPCA inspector investigating the case, also urged anyone with any information to come forward. "This is a sickening act of cruelty which has left the owners devastated," she said. "It is very concerning that someone would think it acceptable to do this to an animal." Dublin Aerospace will consider establishing additional maintenance operations at one of Ireland's regional airports, according to its founder, Conor McCarthy. But the former Ryanair and Aer Lingus executive has said that the aircraft maintenance group is also continuing to look outside Ireland for potential expansion opportunities as it benefits from robust demand for its services. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr McCarthy said that Dublin Aerospace would be unlikely to target Shannon Airport, where other aircraft maintenance firms already have operations. Dublin Aerospace wouldn't be as constrained as airlines in terms of runway lengths. Aircraft without payloads don't need as much runway to take-off or land as fully loaded ones. That means that airports such as Ireland West International, commonly known as Knock Airport, as well as Cork, Waterford and even Donegal could be conceivable alternatives for Dublin Aerospace. The company, where Mr McCarthy is executive chairman, already has a substantial operation at Dublin Airport, but he said that council rates imposed on hangars in Ireland remained a barrier to expansion. Mr McCarthy, who also helped establish AirAsia, founded Dublin Aerospace in 2009. It focuses on servicing Boeing and Airbus narrow-body aircraft and has a large customer base that includes British Airways, Aer Lingus, Easyjet and Gecas. It overhauls, repairs and services landing gear, aircraft auxiliary power units (that power aircraft on the ground) and undertakes base maintenance. Last November, it announced plans to hire an additional 150 staff by 2020. It has already hired 50 of those, boosting its current workforce to 450. Dublin Aerospace also intends to double its turnover by 2023. In the financial year to the end of September 2016, it posted revenue of 45.2m and made a pre-tax profit of 3.7m. Turnover now exceeds 50m. Mr McCarthy said the company's margins were "modest, but resilient". The company was originally backed by investors, including AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes. However, last year Mr McCarthy acquired Mr Fernandes' stake and a number of other stakes from founding investors. He now owns 58pc of the business. Airbus owns 21pc. Mr McCarthy said that while newer aircraft being delivered by Boeing and Airbus required significantly less maintenance than jets a number of years ago, that was offset by rapidly expanding airline fleets around the world. Dublin Aerospace pulled what could have ultimately been a 40m investment in the UK following the 2016 Brexit vote. The company had concerns about the post-Brexit impact on foreign workers in the UK. "We're continuing to look for opportunities," said Mr McCarthy. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves. Getting a return on investment on a hangar is not easy. It's a very tight business to make a return on. "We're looking at some other sites still. We've a very strong balance sheet and lots of cash." The accounts to September 2016 show that Dublin Aerospace had net assets of 16.5m at the end of that period. It had cash and cash equivalents of 5.7m and no debt. Mr McCarthy said the company was not under any time pressure to secure an additional facility. However, he pointed out that eventually the DAA, which operates Dublin and Cork airports, will probably require the hangars currently occupied by Dublin Aerospace and other companies at Dublin Airport for continued expansion of terminal and apron space. Last week, Mr McCarthy was named non-executive chairman of Dublin-based carrier Stobart Air. It operates the Aer Lingus Regional service. Entrepreneur and hotelier Michael Holland (62) has sold his holiday business, Irish Welcome Tours, to a UK rival for a reported 20m last year. Among his assets is the Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen's Green in Dublin, which he is currently expanding. The owner of the Ampleforth Group, he is a keen yachtsman. Niall Horan's (24) solo career has been going from strength to strength ever since One Direction broke up in 2016. The former X Factor contestant's first solo record Flicker, released during 2017, reached number one in the US and Ireland and peaked at number three in the UK. Appearances on Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show and talk of charity singles with Justin Bieber raised his profile further and he won best new artist at the American Music Awards after what he himself described as 'a hell of a year'. This year sees his solo tour move from the US to Europe, so the Mullingar artist's earning potential is set to continue to hit the high notes. Wicklow-based Roche (61), who heads up the family behind the Roches Stores chain, has ambitious property plans. Their vehicle, Westfield Investments, last year launched Verto, an 18-storey mixed-use development in Reading. The family bought several investment sites in the UK during the downturn which should deliver a decent upside. The family sold the leasehold of the Roches Stores department store business to Debenhams for 29m just before the crash. The family held on to nine of the properties but a decision by Debenhams to put its Irish stores into examinership resulted in rents to the family being cut. Richard lives on a 300-acre estate outside Wicklow. Horse racing magnate JP McManus (left) is just ahead of the Collison brothers to claim the title for Limerick. Insulated panels company Kingspan, founded by Eugene Murtagh, is one of Irelands most successful listed companies. Photo: Jason Clarke Photography Ryanair boss Michael OLeary lives near Mullingar and has a big horse-training operation. He had a turbulent year in 2017 but remains one of the countrys wealthiest men. Photo: Getty Limerick Horse racing magnate JP McManus is just ahead of the Collison brothers to claim the title for Limerick. *There are no entries from counties Fermanagh or Laois on the 2018 Rich List Kerry Brian McCarthy owns Killorglin-headquartered Fexco which has seen its value rocket in recent years. Cork Denis O'Brien is originally from Cork. He owns Digicel, a major telecoms player in the Caribbean and Asia Pacific. Waterford The Queally brothers Peter and John are major shareholders in the Dawn Meats group, one of the largest agri businesses in Europe. Kilkenny Entrepreneur Terry Clune brought AIB on board to his business Transfermate last year valuing the business at up to 300m. Wexford Beef baron Bert Allen and his family enjoyed a big payday when they sold Slaney Foods to Larry Goodman's ABP Foods. Carlow David Walsh and Niall Kelly are the majority shareholders in Carlow-based security camera and software firm Netwatch. An IPO could value the company at 250m. Kildare Kildare-born Ned Guinness, also known as Lord Iveagh, is one of Britain's biggest private landowners. Wicklow Media-shy Ryanair co-founder Declan Ryan is bringing low-cost airlines to several new markets. Dublin Low-profile Patsy Perin Dubash was born on Hatch St and is married to Pallonji Mistry, who, along with their children, holds an Irish passport. The family's wealth comes from its stake in conglomerate Tata. Offaly Stephen Grant owns around 58pc of Grant Engineering, which makes oil and solid-fuel burners and is based in Birr. Galway Luke and Brian Comer of Glenamaddy started off as plasterers but have built a property empire with interests in several countries. Clare Patrick Purcell and his family own the majority stake in London-listed mining equipment firm Mincon. Tipperary Although born in Cork, bloodstock billionaire John Magnier's world-renowned Coolmore Stud is based in Fethard. Westmeath Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary lives near Mullingar and has a big horse-training operation. He had a turbulent year in 2017 but remains one of the country's wealthiest men. Mayo Property investor Charlie Kenny and family are behind the Clancourt group. It has seen its value rise significantly since the crash. Sligo Eileen Monahan has enjoyed dividends from the Doyle Collection hotel group and is a canny property investor. Leitrim Raised in Ballinamore, Co Leitrim, Ray and Des O'Rourke own a chunk of construction giant, Laing O'Rourke. Roscommon Former Elan executive Seamus Mulligan made his money out of the biotech sector and is actively investing in new ventures. Longford Brothers Mike, Pat and Billy own Glennon Brothers, a major timber producer in Ireland and Scotland. Meath Although born in Louth, Martin Naughton now resides in Meath's Stackallan House, a classical Irish country house from the early 18th century. He built up Glen Dimplex, which now makes most of the world's home heating appliances. Louth Pearse Lyons made his money through animal nutrition business Alltech. More recently he has invested in a new Dublin whiskey distillery. Down Tom Eakin is the brains behind innovative medical device company TG Eakin. Monaghan Tony White emigrated to America and developed a lucrative direct marketing business. He has invested in some fine New York properties. Tyrone Jim and Jack Dobson sold the Irish assets of Tyrone-based Dunbia to Dawn Meats last May. Donegal Former motor racing journalist Paddy McNally sold his Formula One business for hundreds of millions. He owns several stunning homes in the UK and Europe. Derry Roma Downey and her husband Mark Burnett are hugely successful TV producers and are now making religious drama for Netflix. Antrim Harold Montgomery and his family own Ballyvesey, a huge trucking company which has branched out into property in the UK and Europe. Armagh Freddie Linnett started off as a tea girl but is now a major shareholder in a leading UK property company. Cavan Insulated panels company Kingspan, founded by Eugene Murtagh, is one of Ireland's most successful listed companies. There are no entries from counties Fermanagh or Laois on the 2018 Rich List How long will it be until Ireland's Rich List is dominated by tech industry figures? Looking through this year's selection, it may be sooner than we imagine. Limerick's John Collison is already the world's youngest self-made billionaire. Together, he and brother Patrick are now in Silicon Valley's upper tiers, which means they're well into the global VIP leagues. While there is no other young Irish turk that quite compares to that sky-high level, there are dozens of Irish entrepreneurs now at a multiple of what they were worth this time last year. This is partly because Ireland is increasingly awash with venture capital. The first nine months of last year saw Irish tech firms and start-ups attract 817m in venture capital, the highest amount ever recorded. When the full year is totted up, this will probably come close to 1bn of private capital directed into the hands of tech, biotech and life science firms. The size of the rounds is a key differentiator. Three or four years ago, any firm raising more than 5m would make the news. Today, there are dozens achieving that. In 2017 alone, there were ten rounds of more than 25m. Some, such as Belfast-based financial cloud firm Options or Dublin IT services firm Version One, snagged 100m and 90m each, respectively. Others, such as Barry Napier's Cubic Telecom, closed 'lesser' rounds of 40m. This makes otherwise-impressive rounds easy to melt into the background. Take the duo of Charles Dowd and Clive Foley, who raised 25m for their Dublin-based money-messaging start-up Plynk. In any previous year, this would be examined as a key point of the year for individuals rising up the ranks. But it's now becoming something close to a norm. What has happened is that the tech sector in Ireland is maturing quickly. Those with successful companies are able to scale much quicker than young entrepreneurs in other industrial sectors. Dublin-based software firm Intercom hasn't put out any recent commercial indices or taken recent additional funding. But when it next does, it would be surprising if it is not approaching 'unicorn' ($1bn valuation) territory. Yet the company is only six years old. Not all tech wealth is accumulated as quickly. The Cork-based hi-tech call-centre firm Voxpro was 15 years old when it sold for up to 100m to a Canadian company in August. However, the extra years reflected husband-and-wife team Dan and Linda Kiely building the firm up from scratch and retaining almost complete ownership until its acquisition. The booming tech ecosystem was kind to Irish entrepreneurs, even when their primary activity was in analogue services or products used by tech firms. Dubliner Bryan Meehan may be the best example of this. His Blue Bottle coffee chain became synonymous with being the tipple of Silicon Valley and hi-tech firms in New York. Building up a 50-strong chain in this US context led to a major prize in 2017 when Swiss giant Nestle bought a majority stake in the company for around 400m. That made money for Meehan, partner James Freeman and a few lucky investors, among whom were Bono, actor Jared Leto and celebrity skateboarder Tony Hawk. The deal cemented a fairly stunning year for Meehan, who is also an investor in messaging service Slack and is known for being an environmental and business sustainability activist. He made news at the start of the year for selling San Francisco's most expensive home. The Pacific Heights house, which had been extensively refurbished by Meehan and his wife Tara, was sold for $21.8m (18.5m) having been bought in 2009 for $6.95m (5.9m). The tech boom - and the peripheral businesses it lifts - looks set to be a long-term one. The Central Statistics Office publishes data on imports and export today (stock photo) After a mixed bag of trading updates last week from UK retailers, this week sees another slew of them from UK companies, including Penneys and Primark owner Associated British Foods. Others that will provide food for thought for investors include gambling group William Hill, clothing firm Burberry, and JD Sports. It's a busy week for Irish economic data too. Today, the Central Statistics Office publishes data on imports and exports. Tomorrow, it releases the third-quarter national accounts, unemployment statistics for December and the latest consumer price index. Stock markets in the United States are closed today for Martin Luther King Day. Tomorrow also brings the release of data which will cast light on the continuing performance of the United Kingdom's economy as Brexit looms. Those figures include the producer price index for December, as well as the core output numbers, and retail and house price indices. Industrial production data from China on Thursday is likely to confirm that the world's second-largest economy is experiencing a modest slowdown. It's all of 21 years since the American computer giant IBM pitched its brightest piece of technology, a couple of stacks of artificial intelligence (AI) which it called 'Deep Blue', against the reigning world chess champion Gary Kasparov in what was then the world's most famous 'man vs machine' challenge. Kasparov's defeat was hailed as the arrival of the AI revolution. Manufacturing would never be the same, we were told, while education and healthcare would be transformed. The robot revolution hasn't happened at the pace predicted two decades ago but it is coming, rapidly. Today's level of computer power, big data, improvement in sensors, vision technology and speech recognition is sending out real threats to many professional jobs in, for instance, medicine, law, insurance and finance. The current demand for robots is three times greater than 10 years ago. Last year, global sales were up 20pc, with industry robots accounting for $10bn (8.2bn) and consumer robots $3bn (2.45bn), as 300,000 robots were sold. Interestingly the range and type of robots is no longer welding cars or lifting heavy loads. A sign of the change is a Panasonic factory with the assistance of robots has been producing two million high-end TVs a month, with only 25 employees. The surge in robot sales has seen the emergence of four major suppliers, two Japanese, Fanuc and Yaskawa, a Swiss/Swedish concern ABB and Germany's Kuka AG. The rise in robot demand has coincided with a jump in their share prices. Kuka made the news last year not because its robots were building Tesla and Porsche cars, but for its 4.5bn takeover by the Chinese appliance company Medea, which hopes to build small mobile robots for the home and consumer industry. However, the German government was unhappy with the takeover. While it has a right to block any non-EU company from acquiring more than a 25pc stake in any German entity, it is limited to public order being endangered or national security. A little late in the day, Ms Merkel's cabinet approved a directive to probe future deals, seeking a more aggressive push back against outside investment in sensitive sectors. Japan's Fanuc is the world's leader in robots. The group has a market value of $50bn, annual revenues of $6bn, net profit of $1.7bn, employs 5,500 and has operations in 46 countries. The group's robots assemble and paint cars in China, construct complex motors in Asia, make electronic components and sort and package pills worldwide. Its output is reckoned to be the most reliable, least expensive and easiest to repair on the market. Its share jumped 40pc in 2017. Japan's second robot manufacturer, Yaskawa Electric Corporation, has more than 150 robot models for welding, assembling, coating, material-handling and packaging. Global robot sales last year were 1.2bn, up 20pc. Its main market is Asia, which accounts for almost 75pc of its sales. Its shares doubled last year. ABB, meanwhile, is the second largest robot producer in the world. Recently it introduced a robot with two arms and flexible hands that will automate most industrial processes. The group also has an alliance with Microsoft to further develop its AI robot offering. ABB is of the opinion that robots will push productivity up 30pc and lower labour costs 20pc in the near future. While ABB shares are showing an increase of less than 20pc, an alternative investment strategy might be an EFT focused on robotics and automation like Robo, which has outperformed the market. While people have been predicting robots will take over the world since the 1930s, it is now nearer than ever. Business consultants estimate 30pc of tasks in 60pc of occupations could be automated. An added problem will be multinationals re-shoring their operations. This is a reversal of the 20th-century policy of transferring operations to lower labour cost and tax-attractive countries (including Ireland). In the future, AI robots will make it attractive for corporations to return to their original base. Nothing in this section should be taken as a recommendation, either explicit or implicit to buy any of the shares mentioned. Frances McDormand is in pole position for the Best Actress Oscar after her performance in Three Billboards... It just swept the Golden Globes, taking home Best picture (drama), screenplay, actress (drama) for Frances McDormand and supporting actor for Sam Rockwell. Now we wait to see if Martin McDonagh's latest carries any kind of momentum into the rest of awards season. While the London-Irish filmmaker's best work of late (after the frankly overrated In Bruges and the fun but untidy Seven Psychopaths), Three Billboards... doesn't have "Oscars glory" written all over it. While punchy and full of giddy flourishes of dialogue, as ever with McDonagh it paints itself into a corner in the closing scenes where a convenient entrance stage-right in the second act is exploited. Nobody reacts in a normal manner to anything. Luckily, the core trio in the cast are a muscular thing to behold. McDormand is tough as old boot leather as Mildred, a local woman seething in the aftermath of her teenage daughter's murder. Looking to shake up the useless Ebbing police force that failed to find the killer, she rents out three billboards on the approach to town and has a provocative message pasted across them. Her target is Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) but her actions draw in the wrath of thuggish, white-trash local officer Dixon (Sam Rockwell). A swirl of side characters animates the nearly two hours of blackly comic, neo-western drama - Caleb Landry Jones as the wimpy ad agent, John Hawkes's nasty ex-husband, a police superior played by The Wire's Clarke Peter. A superb cast, then, and for the most part McDonagh keeps them moving in interesting patterns. If he tightened up his endings a bit, he'd be unstoppable. Hilary A White Darkest Hour Cert: PG; Now showing Expand Close Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill It was inevitable this biopic depicting a key World War II junction for Winston Churchill would scoop Bafta nominations. With nine in total, Darkest Hour's biggest hope probably lies in the Best Actor category for Gary Oldman's towering (and some might say shamelessly Oscar-baiting) turn as the D-Day prime minister. Though it'd be a shame for other categories to go unrewarded. Bruno Delbonnel's musty cinematography leaves the jaw on the floor and the sense of the era created by the set and costume design is tangible. As wife Clementine, Kristin Scott Thomas's supporting role rightly got a Bafta nod, but alas there was none for the ever-reliable Ben Mendelsohn as George VI. Ultimately, however, it's The Oldman Show. For an actor whose early promise slid into lots of shouting and little subtlety, it's remarkable to see him break the biggest sweat of his career as the croaking cigar-chewer trying to second-guess Hitler and forge ahead following Chamberlain's ousting. Lily James charms as the new secretary dealing with the man's gruff eccentricity. And director Joe Wright (who also made Atonement) shows the rows and tough calls in the war rooms beforehand. Everything of course leads towards that speech, a stirring crescendo if ever there was one following ample helpings of tension and dry wit in Anthony McCarten's screenplay. Hilary A White A Woman's Life Cert: Club; Now showing in IFI While we can all count ourselves lucky for the age that we live in, watching Stephane Brize's excellent period portrait of a young French noblewoman also reminds you that some things have been slow to change. Judith Chemla is incredible as Jeanne, coming of age on her parents' 19th-century Normandy estate and setting forth on life's rough road. This entails a less-than-happy marriage to Swann Arlaud's rakish nobleman, betrayals left, right and centre and a general hardening of Jeanne by some of the toughest lessons life can throw at you. Brize shoots a naturalist action style in the tight academy frame ratio, bringing an unflinching immediacy to the succession of tragedies. Underpinning the unhappiness are wafting flashbacks to sunnier times. A Woman's Life could be an oppressive cinema outing if the quality behind and in front of the camera wasn't so magnetic. The tale - based on Guy de Maupassant's 1883 debut novel - meshes the cold realities for women back then with strikingly timeless truths. Hilary A White The Commuter Cert: 15A; Opens on Friday Expand Close Liam Neeson in The Commuter / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Liam Neeson in The Commuter Catalan filmmaker Jaume Collet-Serra has made a name as a purveyor of high-action B movies with films like Non Stop and The Shallows. This latest offering sees him return to action and to Liam Neeson for their fourth collaboration. There's a solid cast, plenty of action and slick looks, almost making up for a somewhat confusingly told story. Michael (Neeson, pictured) and his wife Karen (Elizabeth McGovern) live a nice but busy life making ends meet, but only just - and sending their son to college will be difficult. Michael commutes by train into NYC to work in insurance, but he is deemed too expensive and fired just years from retirement, something he confides in Alex (Patrick Wilson), his partner from when Michael was a cop. An insurance salesman with a very particular set of skills then, he is on the train back to suburbia when a mysterious woman (Vera Farmiga) offers him money to find one particular passenger. There is more to it, naturally, and it becomes a moral issue about right, wrong, consequences and corruption, especially from the perspective of the tormented middle-class. It can be hard to follow the detail of the story, and it's less humorous than their other films - but fans of Liam whupping baddies will enjoy see him do it on a train. Aine O'Connor Fair City viewers were left reeling last night after the show was hit by its second death in less than a week. Last Thursdays show saw the hostage situation during which Hannah died end in dramatic fashion, after Dan was shot by Dr Marcus Oakley when he risked his life to save Robbie. Expand Close Emmet's gambit to free the hostages fails / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Emmet's gambit to free the hostages fails However, the injury he sustained proved fatal and his character of four years was seen losing his battle for life in hospital yesterday evening. Although initially reluctant to visit him, a conflicted Robbie arrives just as Dan flat-lines, making him the last person to talk to his former army buddy before he slips away. Actor Steve Gunn, who played Dan, said that he was looking forward to getting his teeth stuck into new projects in the wake of leaving the soap. I have mixed emotions about it, he told the Herald. But for me, it means new challenges and Im looking forward to doing new things. I had a great time working on Fair City. Im there four years so you form great friendships, and the whole buzz about the place. But I am looking forward to doing new things. Speaking about the complicated relationship between his character and Robbie, viewers saw that friendship come full circle last night. Steve added that it could be difficult at times to portray a character with so much baggage, given his former army past and the fact that he previously admitted raping Robbies ex-girlfriend Aoife. He had this dark part when he first joined the show. He was a character with so many dark secrets so its definitely a weight lifted off my shoulders, not playing that part anymore, he said. Filming the final death scene involved a lot of sadness, some of it real given that he was signing off from a show he had worked on for so long. These were people I had worked with for a number of years so it was kind of emotional, but we would always have time to squeeze in a little giggle just to keep our sanity, he said. Hes now looking forward to new pastures and his new part in The Professor and the Madman, which also stars Mel Gibson and Sean Penn. Erin McGregor delivered a knock-out punch to her competitors tonight after topping the leaderboard with her first solo performance. It was ladies night at Ardmore film factory in Bray as it was the female competitors time to shine on RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Despite rumours that he was going to be cheering her on ring-side for her opening performance, her superstar brother Conor was a noticeable absentee from the venue with show insiders saying he was sick. After the show Erin said, "Tonight was about me, Tonight was about my dancing and we let that dancing show tonight. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Model Alannah Berine and Vitali Kozmin dancing a Waltz to Moon River by Andrea Ross Credit: kobpix Erin McGregor and Ryan McShane dancing a Salsa to Instruction by Jax Jones during the second show of RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Credit: kobpix Former Cork Camogie Player and Broadcaster Anna Geary and Kai Widdrington dancing a Tango to Rebel Rebel by David Bowie during the second show of RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Credit: kobpix Brendan Cole and Faye Huddleston during the second show of RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Credit: kobpix Singer and Brother of Nathan Jake Carter and Karen Byrne during the second show of RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Credit: kobpix RTEs Marty Morrissey and Ksenia Zsikhotska during the Second show of RTEs Dancing with the Stars. kobpix/NO FEE for repro. Singer and Brother of Nathan Jake Carter and Karen Byrne during the Second show of RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Credit: kobpix Former Rugby Player Tomas OLeary and Giulia Dotta during the second show of RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Credit: kobpix RTEs Marty Morrissey and Ksenia Zsikhotska during the Second show of RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Credit: kobpix Deirdre OKane and John Nolan Credit: kobpix Broadcaster Maia Dunphy and Robert Rowinski Credit: kobpix Norah Casey and Curtis Pritchard on RTEs Dancing with the Stars. Picture: Kyran O'Brien Comedienne Deirdre OKane and John Edward Nolan Credit: kobpix / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Model Alannah Berine and Vitali Kozmin dancing a Waltz to Moon River by Andrea Ross Credit: kobpix "Look, he's not here. In the end it's about my dancing. Look, I've got lots of gifts. I've my Cartier bracelet on, the first time to wear it." Erin revealed that Conor had splashed out on her entire outfit for backstage after the show including a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes and a Dolce & Gabanna dress. "He's such an amazing brother and I take such inspiration from him," she said. Conor's girlfriend Dee Devlin was spotted backstage, looking stunning in a red Gucci printed dress alongside his dad Tony and mum Margaret alongside sister Aoife. Team McGregor were given some ring-side seats of the action as they waited to see the fitness model performing as the last contestant on the show. And the fitness model (36) put the rest of the ladies in the shade as she topped the judges leaderboard on the second live show with a massive 23 points. She added some serious sparkle to week two along with partner Ryan McShane, as they performed a Salsa to the tune of Instruction by Jax Jones. And she said she did it for all the mams out there in their house-coats cheering her on. The emotional mum-of-two told Amanda Byram afterwards that she was so relieved she had put herself out in the limelight. Ever since I had the baby I was so afraid to get out there and so many times I wanted to walk away. I was trying to bring out the inner fighter but I hope I brought her out tonight, she said. I feel like Im in a dream...I actually feel amazing, I am actually really proud of myself. I did it for all the mams out there across Ireland who supported me when I didnt think I could do it, they are at home tonight with their house coats on cheering on team Erin and team Ryan. I wouldnt have signed that contract and got back out there without them. She was described by judges afterwards as a Lioness and told how the McGregor family has some talent as a whole. You are a strong, determined woman and thats what I like, said Darren Bennett. When asked by Nicky Byrne what advice her MMA superstar brother Conor had given her, she said that they were a huge family of positive affirmations. He has done so much with his life and I would never have tried anything like that except from looking at him, she said. He just went in and followed a dream and closed out all the doubt and that to me is inspirational. I just want to live my life the best I can live. Opening the show was lady-in-red Anna Geary, with the former All-Ireland captain scoring a strong performance as she wielded a matching Camogie stick. Dubbed the First lady of Camogie by host Amanda Byram, the Cork sportswoman admitted that she was a tad competitive, scoring 21 points. Next up to strut her stuff was Britain & Irelands Next Top Model finalist Alannah Beirne who put in a graceful performance to the tune of Moon River. She said afterwards how she dedicated performance to her late grand-dad was looking down on her from heaven and was proud of her. Judge Loraine Barry said her dance was exquisite while Brian Redmond said it was a classic waltz from start to finish. Hot on the heels of Anna, she earned herself an impressive 20 marks from the trio of judges. TV presenter Maia Dunphy performed the Cha-Cha to the tune of Dont be So Hard on Yourself and said afterwards how she was so relieved to get through her first solo dance. Judge Brian said she had the perfect dancers physique and wanted to see more from her in coming weeks, with her scoring just 13 points for her turn on the floor. Former Dragons Den star Norah Casey breathed fire into the competition with a capable Foxtrot to the tune of Nora by Tara OGrady. Looking suitably glam in a sparkly navy dress, she said afterwards how her late husband Richard Hannaford was in her mind the whole time as it was a song that was extra-special for her as it was the first song that he ever sang to her. A little bit of me was dancing with Richard too, she said. She received glowing comments from the judges, who described her efforts as soft and endearing, awarding her 15 points. Closing out the show was comedian Deirdre OKane and John Nolan, who performed an energetic Jive to the tune of Mayhem by Imelda May, earning 18 points. Not to be outdone, the male contestants performed a group dance dressed in army gear to the tune of Rock this Party by Bob Sinclair. Commuters travelling this morning are facing a headache as two early morning collisions are causing delays on the M50. AA Roadwatch is reporting that there is a collision at the bottom of the slip road from the N7 Naas Rd inbound to the M50 southbound that is blocking the right lane. On the M50 itself, traffic is down to one lane southbound before J9 Red Cow as emergency services deal with a crash. This is causing delays on approach from J4 Ballymun. It's also heavy northbound on approach from J12 Firhouse due to onlookers. Meanwhile, there was a third collision on the M4 Sligo/Dublin Rd eastbound at J7 Maynooth. The incident has been cleared but traffic remains very slow from J8 Kilcock. It's also quite heavy further along on the N4 from J5 Leixlip through the M50. In Dublin city, the Grand Canal is busy eastbound from Harold's Cross to Portobello and again at Leeson Street. AA Roadwatch said that it is also slow heading into the city from the Malahide Rd junction in Fairview to Connolly Station on Amiens St. There are also delays along the North Quays from Arran Quay to Bachelors Walk. Meath County Council has confirmed it received planning inquiries about the opening of a controversial facility connected to the Church of Scientology. The local authority today, in an email to Fine Gael councillor Noel French, said Narconon, the Church of Scientology linked drug rehab organisation, made inquiries about the planning requirements for a drug rehab centre at the former national school in Ballivor. The council previously stated it had received no such inquiries. Narconon, officially an international not-for-profit drug rehab organisation, is widely accepted as being funded and operated by Scientologists. Cllr French said: "I am bucking mad!! No chance to challenge change of use at County Council level. "I will be asking Meath County Council to ensure that this does not happen again. All planning material relating to a site should be put online not just some of it. I am really annoyed by this revelation." Ballivor residents are due to hold a protest at 1.30pm on Wednesday against the opening of the development. Peadar Toibin, the local Sinn Fein TD, is still waiting to hear from the Department of Health as to whether Narconon would need a licence here. In the email, a spokesperson for Meath County Council said: "We had previously confirmed that there had been no recent requests for pre-planning meetings and no recent contacts relating to the development and that remains the position. "We have now carried further searches to establish if there had been any applications or contacts in previous years by The Church of Scientology or Narconon. "The Council can now confirm that in August 2016 we were requested by the Narconon Trust c/o McGill Planning, 7 Fitzwilliam Street Upper, Dublin 2, to make a declaration in accordance with Part V of the Planning & Development Acts as to whether or not a change of use from a nursing home to a residential drug rehabilitation facility was an exempted development. "The Council issued a declaration on 2nd October 2016 that the change of use as outlined in their submission was exempted development (and therefore would not require planning permission)." Narconon and the Church of Scientology have not responded to media queries on the matter. A new jury was selected this afternoon in the David Drumm fraud trial. Eight men and seven women were selected for the new jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court where former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm (51) is charged with false accountancy and conspiracy to defraud in 2008. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The original jury was discharged this morning after one of its members informed Judge Karen O'Connor he had difficulties which made it inappropriate for him to continue on the jury. Judge O'Connor discharged the man this morning and said she had no alternative but to discharge the entire jury. She had indicated the jury had already been sworn and charged to carry out its duties and a foreperson elected by the jury. After the original jury was selected, seven of its members were excused from serving on the jury after making requests to be excused. A number of them had indicated they had difficulties about the long, five-month expected duration of the trial. All those members were replaced and that jury of 15 was formally charged on Thursday with its duties and a foreperson was selected. When the court was informed on Friday that a member of the newly constituted jury had made a request to be excused, the judge ruled that the matter would be dealt with today. The normal 12-member jury is expanded to 15 members in trials that are expected to last more than two months to make provision for any member becoming unavailable to continuing serving on the jury. Prosecuting senior counsel Paul O'Higgins said earlier the Director of Public Prosecutions stressed it was very important that the trial commence with 15 jury members. Legal argument has been proceeding since Thursday in the absence of the jury. Legal argument is expected to last until the end of January. Mr Drumm (51), former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting. It is alleged Mr Drumm conspired with former Anglo executives John Bowe and Willie McAteer, former Irish Life and Permanent chief executive Denis Casey, and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2bn larger than they were. Among those opposing the move to create a new appointments commission, with a lay chairperson and a lay majority, are the countrys top judges and Fianna Fail. Photo: Laura Hutton/RollingNews.ie Several UK extradition cases were adjourned today as the High Court waits for the Supreme Court to hear arguments on whether Brexit makes it unsafe to send suspects and convicts to Britain. Justice Aileen Donnelly adjourned the cases until February 19 to let the Supreme Court deal with the impact of Brexit in the case of a Roscommon construction company director wanted in the UK for his part in a 5 million tax fraud. Thomas Joseph O'Connor (49), with an address at Cloughbeirne, The Walk, Roscommon was convicted in London's Blackfriars Crown Court in January 2007 and sentenced to four years and six months in prison for defrauding the British revenue. After being convicted following a six-week trial, OConnor, who was on bail, did not attend court for the sentencing hearing and now faces further charges in England of absconding. He had returned to Ireland where he was arrested on an extradition warrant in 2009. Since then the High Court has ordered his extradition, a decision he unsuccessfully appealed to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Counsel for Mr O'Connor then went to the High Court to say that he should not be surrendered as Brexit posed a risk of a violation of his fundamental rights. Justice Aileen O'Donnelly rejected that argument saying there was, "no evidence he is at any real risk of his rights being breached." Mr O'Connor then took the case to the Supreme Court and a hearing is due to take place on January 24. Seven of those who appeared before the High Court on foot of extradition warrants issued by the UK authorities today were adjourned on what lawyers have taken to referring to as the "O'Connor point" or the "Brexit point". They will appear before the court again on February 19. A man who poured boiling water over his partner's back in front of their four children has been given a two-year suspended sentence. At the time of the incident, Karl Harrison was living with his girlfriend and their children, aged between seven months and eight years, in a city centre hostel after they were made homeless. Harrison (27) pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to his partner at his address in Townhouse B&B, Lower Gardiner St, Dublin 1 on April 1, 2017. Garda Elise Moran told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today that the couple had been drinking vodka on the evening of the day in question and had been arguing over the course of a couple of days. She was called to the B&B that evening and met Harrison in the lobby before interviewing his partner in their room. The family of six was living in cramped conditions in a small room, the court heard. Harrison's partner told Gda Moran that Harrison grabbed a kettle of boiling water during an argument. She said she turned her back as she feared he was going to throw it at her, but instead he poured the boiling contents of the kettle over her back before fleeing the room. The kettle had recently been boiled in order to prepare the baby's bottle, the court heard. The four children, three of whom are Harrison's biological children, were in the room at the time. The woman declined to go to hospital as she said she couldn't leave her children and she had no-one to leave them with. She was treated for burns by paramedics at the scene. Harrison was arrested and taken into custody. He told gardai his partner had verbally provoked him. He denied pouring the water on her back, but said he threw the kettle into the air and water landed on her. When shown pictures of his partner's burnt back he agreed it looked disgraceful and he said there was no excuse for his actions. He has no previous convictions. Marie Torrens BL, defending, said the incident occurred when the family was living in difficult conditions and when both parents had been drinking alcohol. She said her client was horrified and ashamed. He realises he shouldn't have done this, Ms Torrens said. She said the couple were still together and had since been rehoused to a three-bed house. As part of his bail conditions, Harrison was ordered to avoid alcohol and he had complied with this condition, she added. Judge Martin Nolan said it was a despicable and cowardly act but he said he did not believe it merited a jail sentence, given the circumstances. I must take into account they are still living together and still caring for their four children, the judge said. A Cavan truck driver who smuggled more than 1 million worth of cocaine into the country has been jailed for four years. Maurice McCreesh, of Ballyjamesduff Road, Lisreagh, Co. Cavan, initially pretended he was a customs informant when he was caught by gardai with nearly 15 kilos of cocaine hidden in his truck at Dublin Port on September 12, 2015. But he later came clean and admitted he transported the drugs from Liverpool to Dublin for criminals to whom he owed money. The 38-year-old father-of-two pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of possessing cocaine for sale or supply. Detective Garda Tim Casey of the Garda National Drugs Unit told Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, today that gardai received confidential information that a large consignment of drugs would be entering Dublin Port in a P&O ferry on the day in question. Upon searching McCreesh's truck, they found 15 packets of cocaine with a street value of 1.04 million. When interviewed, McCreesh told gardai he met a man in Liverpool who gave him the packages to bring to Dublin. He claimed he did not look into the packages, but he knew it was something illegal. He initially said he was transporting the drugs as part of his work as a customs informant, but this was quickly disproven. He has no previous convictions, except for one technical conviction in France, the court heard. Garnet Orange SC, defending, said his client had been nurtured by an unknown person and persuaded to transport packages between the UK and Ireland. On one occasion, money from one of these illegal consignments was seized and the gang he was working for held him responsible, the court heard. Mr Orange said McCreesh spent some time in hiding from the gang, and at one stage was living in the cab of his truck. However, he then gullibly agreed to do this final delivery for the gang, which was supposed to erase his debt, Mr Orange said. McCreesh did not materially benefit from the work and he did so out of fear, the court heard. Mr Orange said his client had a difficult childhood in Newry, Northern Ireland, where he grew up during the Troubles. He was adopted because his mother was unable to care for him. He had a good relationship with his adopted family and was deeply affected by the death of his teenage adopted brother, who was killed in a car bomb incident. He left school at an early age to do farm work, before becoming a truck driver. He can barely read or write, the court heard. Sentencing McCreesh, Judge Martin Nolan noted he had co-operated with gardai, had no previous convictions and was unlikely to come before the court again. But he said the transportation of over 1 million was an extremely serious offence and merited a four-year sentence. Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- There was a slew of high-profile departures from the Trump White House over a three-week period this past summer--but they were hardly the only ones during the first year. Some of the highest-profile positions have been part of White House shakeups--including chief of staff, press secretary, and communications director. At the same time, a number of key aides who've stayed have been on the so-called Trump train since the beginning. Here's a rundown of the biggest departures: Mike Flynn, former national security adviser Flynn's departure came less than a month into his tenure as the president's national security adviser. He lasted just over three weeks before being forced to resign Feb. 13 after it was revealed he misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of multiple contacts with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak before Trump's inauguration. On Dec. 1, Flynn pleaded to one felony count of making false statements to the FBI. Reince Priebus, former White House chief of staff Amid tensions with the then-new communications director Anthony Scaramucci, Trump decided to replace Reince Priebus. Priebus came into the White House with Trump, having served as chairman of the Republican National Committee during the campaign. Given his background in Republican politics, Priebus was widely seen as one of the more establishment figures in the administration. On July 28, Trump announced then-Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly would replace Priebus. Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary Sean Spicer became one of the best-known figures in the early Trump administration for his combative press briefings and an outlandish imitation on Saturday Night Live. That all ended on July 21, just over six months into the administration. A few hours after Anthony Scaramucci was brought on the team as communications director, Spicer resigned. Spicer told ABC News that he felt "relieved" and that "organizationally" the White House communications team needed a "fresh start." Spicer has made a handful of public appearances since his departure, including a controversial moment at the Emmy Awards when he mocked his own claims about the size of the crowd at Trump's inauguration. Anthony Scaramucci, former White House communications director A former investment banker briefly became the head of the White House communications operation--before a profanity-laced conversation with a reporter led to his ouster. The hiring of Anthony Scaramucci ruffled feathers within the White House, and prompted the resignation of a beleaguered Spicer, and the replacement of Trump's then-chief of staff Priebus a week later. With Scaramucci just days into his role, The New Yorker's Ryan Lizza published a detailed account of an expletive-ridden phone conversation he had with Scaramucci. Scaramucci resigned four days after the article's publication. All told, Scaramucci officially held the role of communications director for a little more than a week. Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist Critics opposed Bannon's purported nationalist views and former position as executive chairman of the website Breitbart News, which published articles that promoted the so-called alt-right movement. Bannon's firing came as a result of Trump's increasing frustration with him, according to one senior White House official. He returned to Breitbart News after leaving the White House, and publicly supported certain far-right candidates including Roy Moore in Alabama who made a failed run for U.S. Senate. He came under fire from Trump in January 2018 for comments he made to the author of "Fire and Fury" - a revealing book about the administration, and days later it was announced that Bannon was stepping down from his role at Breitbart. Mike Dubke, former White House communications director Dubke wasn't part of the Trump team for long, joining the White House in early March and announcing his departure only a little more than two months later. His lack of roots within the Trump team may have contributed to his departure-- Axios reporting that he didn't gel with those who had been part of the campaign. He reportedly left on good terms June 2. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president Sebastian Gorka attracted an extraordinary amount of scrutiny during his time in the White House for his alleged ties to a far-right Hungarian nationalist group and his questionable national security resume. Known for his combative television appearances, he courted controversy in early August with an interview just a week prior to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia in which he criticized the news media for focusing too much on white supremacists. Gorka wrote a lengthy letter obtained by The Federalist in which he stated he had resigned his post-- saying he was frustrated with national security adviser H.R. McMaster's leadership and his moves to push out some close allies of former chief strategist Steve Bannon. Omarosa Manigualt-Newman, former communications director for the Office of Public Liaison She was fired three times from various seasons of "The Apprentice," but former reality star and Trump confidante Omarosa Manigualt-Newman insists she resigned from her role at the White House, denying reports she was fired and had to be escorted from the building. A White House official said in a statement on Dec. 13 that Manigault-Newman resigned to pursue other opportunities. Manigualt-Newman spoke about her departure on "Good Morning America" the next day, saying she and chief of staff John Kelly "had a very straightforward discussion of concerns that I had, issues that I raised and, as a result, I resigned." The White House announced that while Manigault-Newman will not have the same level of security clearance, she will officially stay on in her role until Jan. 20 and would continue to get paid during that time. She was in charge of outreach to the leaders of HBCUs--historically black colleges and universities--and also oversaw the presidents visit to the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. But Manigault's day-to-day duties could not be pinpointed and, according to Politico, she used the White House as a backdrop for her 39-person bridal party to take wedding photos. Katie Walsh, former deputy chief of staff Former Deputy Chief of Staff Katie Walsh left the White House in March to consult for an outside group that aims to help with Trumps agenda. Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser Powell is set to leave the White House in early 2018. The announcement of her departure came on Dec. 8 and her final day of work in the administration has not been publicly released. Powell has been a key player in the administrations Middle East policy, with senior adviser Jared Kushner releasing a statement saying that she "has been a valued member of the Israeli-Palestinian peace team." White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement saying Powell has been "a key, trusted advisor" and "has always planned to serve one year before returning home to New York, where she will continue to support the president's agenda and work on Middle East policy." The kind words didn't end there, as National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster also released a statement asserting that "she is one of the most talented and effective leaders with whom I have ever served." Whos still around Not everyone has left, however, and a number of familiar faces have stayed on to help achieve Trump administration goals into 2018. One reason why the list of those who date back to the campaign is on the shorter side stems from the fact that the campaign was a relatively lean operation and not everyone involved stayed on after the election and transition. Others, including all but one cabinet member, have remained part of the administration. Here are the key players who have been there since the beginning: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, had been a key player in the presidential campaign and translated that into a powerful role inside the White House. Kushner was named head of the new White House Office of American Innovation and was tasked with leading projects ranging from prison reform to restarting Middle East peace efforts. The role held by his wife Ivanka, Trumps elder daughter, has grown over the first year. While she didnt have an official role at first, she drew controversy for regularly attending White House and public events with her father, and then in March her position as an unpaid special adviser was formalized and she was given a White House office. Ivanka Trump has since made her own version of state visits to Japan and India and has pushed for some of the administrations biggest policy proposals, including tax reform. Hope Hicks, White House communications director One person who has been a near constant presence around Trump from the very beginning is Hope Hicks. A former public relations consultant, Hicks was Trumps press secretary during the campaign and followed him into the White House. Starting as director of strategic communications, it was announced in September that she had been promoted to White House communications director. Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is now one of the most public faces of the administration as the press secretary. Sanders regularly conducted press briefings during the first six months of Trump's term--but most frequently off camera as the White House faced questions over the possibility of Sean Spicer's role changing. During the 2016 campaign, she worked first for her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and then, after his presidential bid failed, she joined the Trump campaign. She began working as a senior adviser to the Trump campaign in February 2016 but then joined the campaigns communications team in September 2016. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president Trumps former campaign manager is one of the familiar faces still working closely with Trump as counselor to the president. She regularly speaks for the White House on television, but some appearances have been highly controversial, including one when she cited a terrorist attack that never happened and anotehr in which she defended Spicers characterization of Trump inauguration crowd size by saying he used alternative facts. Stephen Miller, senior policy adviser Another campaign carryover is Stephen Miller, a senior policy adviser who has played a central role in some of the more controversial administration moves. Miller has been a key player in the attempts to implement a travel ban and in February doubled down on the presidents claims of widespread voter fraud in the election. Earlier this month, the administration disbanded the presidential voter fraud commission. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Dave Mahon at the Eye and Ear Hospital on Adelaide Street Photo: Mick O'Neill THE mother of missing teenager Amy Fitzpatrick has remained loyal to her husband Dave Mahon while he serves a prison sentence for stabbing her son to death. Audrey Fitzpatrick accompanied the killer to a hospital appointment on Friday, only days after marking the 10th anniversary of her daughters disappearance in Spain. Audrey was photographed at her husbands side as he was taken in handcuffs to Dublins Eye and Ear Hospital by two prison officers. It marks the first time the couple have been seen together since Mahon was jailed in 2016 for killing her son, Dean Fitzpatrick. Audrey was accompanied by Mahons father, who has also continued to visit him in Wheatfield Prison, where he is serving a sentence for manslaughter. Dressed in black and carrying a red bag, Audrey was photographed walking behind her partner during his hospital visit. Expand Close Audrey Fitzpatrick outside of the hospital Photo: Mick O'Neill / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Audrey Fitzpatrick outside of the hospital Photo: Mick O'Neill She then visited him that afternoon in prison. ROW Mahon was jailed for seven years after he stabbed Dean to death in Dublin in 2013, in a row over a bicycle water bottle. He was convicted of manslaughter, with the jury dismissing his claim that Dean had deliberately taken his own life by running into the knife Mahon was brandishing. Audreys daughter Amy, then aged 15, disappeared on January 1, 2008, having spent New Years Eve with her friends Ashley and Debbie Rose near her home on the Costa del Sol. She was never seen again after leaving the house to walk a few minutes back to her own house. Audrey said at the time that Amy never made it back to the house, which she shared with Mahon. It was previously revealed that a letter was sent to the Irish embassy in Madrid by a concerned adult friend of Amys, Pearl Cantlie, warning that Mahon posed a danger to the teenager and predicting she could disappear. Expand Close Audrey's son Dean Fitzpatrick, who was killed by Dave Mahon. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Audrey's son Dean Fitzpatrick, who was killed by Dave Mahon. Amy is scared for her own safety in terms of possible violence. My family are also at risk of threats and violence, Ms Cantlie wrote. Since Mahon was jailed for killing Dean, Audrey has re-located to Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, but continues to visit him in prison. She said that nothing can compare with the tragedy of Deans loss and added that she has forgiven Dave but has not forgotten what happened. Dean and Amys heartbroken father, Christopher Fitzpatrick, recently said he is still devastated by the tragic fate of the two children he had with Audrey. Amy had moved to Spain with her mother following the breakup of her parents marriage. I am devastated over the loss of my two children. Things will never be the same since Dave Mahon came into my childrens lives, said Mr Fitzpatrick. Speaking to the Herald previously, Amys aunt Christine Kenny begged for someone with a heart to tell the family what happened to her. All we need is for someone with a heart and a conscience to come forward and tell us what happened to Amy, she said. The way it happened with Dean, were broken-hearted. She added that the family had not given up hope of finding Amy, despite the passage of time. A system of financial penalties that will punish third-level colleges for misuse of public funds is being introduced later this year. It is one of a number of measures being prioritised in a reformed model for funding higher education that will be announced today by Education Minister Richard Bruton and Junior Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor. The design of the penalty system has yet to be finalised, but the intention is to introduce it later this year. The penalties will apply in cases such as unsanctioned payments to staff, failure to provide timely accounts, false reporting, and wilful breaches of codes of governance. It follows a number of recent controversies about mismanagement and use of funds in some higher education institutions. On the other hand, changes to the funding formula for third-level will include certain financial incentives for colleges for meeting national priorities. For instance, there will be increased money for courses in Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) areas. Colleges will also get extra support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, for older learners and for innovative programmes. The funding changes follow a major review by an independent panel for the Higher Education Authority (HEA). The remit of the panel was the allocation of funding, as opposed to the source and level of funding for the sector, which has been the subject of the Cassells Report. It called for an additional 600m a year for higher education and raised the spectre of higher fees through an income-contingent student loan system. In a comment on the wider issue, the panel stated that higher education in Ireland was at a crossroads and that "increasing the funding base is the only feasible means of securing a viable future" for the sector. "Without additional investment, the sector will struggle to maintain quality of provision," it added. Priorities for 2018 include the financial penalty system; an increase in the proportion of funding allocated on the basis of research performance; and the establishment of an innovation fund. A number of teenagers who have been accused of stealing from shops in Dublin city centre have issued solicitors letters to shop owners threatening to sue for defamation. In one of the letters, obtained exclusively by Independent.ie, the teenager claims the shop owner accused him of previously stealing from the shop and refused to serve him. He also claims he was called a scumbag and a p**ck. The shop owner has denied these allegations and states he has CCTV footage to prove otherwise. He did refuse to serve the teenager as he claims he has previously stolen chocolate bars from the shop. The letter then outlines how the teenager intends to sue for defamation unless he receives proposals for compensation within seven days due to being subjected to defamation, embarrassment and humiliation. The solicitor states that the shop owners actions, by way of inferential meaning and innuendo, implied that their client had committed a criminal offence. It also stated that he has suffered hurt, distress, anxiety and has been held to ridicule and contempt of right minded thinking members of society. According to one shop owner, other shops in the Parnell Street area have received a similar letter from the same firm. Irish law allows a person to sue for defamation in a shop. A number of cases have appeared before the courts in previous years concerning shop defamation. Three sisters were each awarded 2,500 for being defamed in a shop in Blanchardstown. They had been pram shopping in Mamas and Papas at the time. All three sisters told the Circuit Civil Court that a man who was not an employee of the store and who was carrying a baby in his arms, had shouted at them like he was crazy and told them to put the pram down and get out. His body was later removed to University Hospital Waterford. Photo: Tony Gavin A woman whose brother died in an ambulance while being transferred from Waterford to Cork for a critical heart operation has challenged TDs to back a Dail motion today demanding 24-hour cardiac services at University Hospital Waterford (UHW). Catherine Power warned that the death of her brother Tom (40) had been totally avoidable and it was likely he would still be alive today if 24/7 cardiac services were available at UHW. "If the cath [catheterisation] lab was opened at UHW, we wouldn't be listening to my mother crying herself to sleep every night missing her son," she said. "We have been failed since 2010 - this campaign has gone on too long and the government was advised about lots of deaths. "They were right with the warnings - my gentle, loveable and hard-working brother might still be alive if the cath lab was opened." A motion will be brought before the Dail today demanding immediate funding for the provision of round-the-clock cardiac services at UHW. Labour leader Brendan Howlin has already backed the campaign, as has TD Mick Wallace, and a number of others throughout the south-east. However, Ms Power warned she expected every TD in the south-east to back the motion. "We need the support of TDs from Waterford, Kilkenny, south Tipperary, Wexford and Carlow. I want all these TDs to remember that the human heart beats 24/7 - and not from 9am to 5pm." Ms Power warned that if the Government didn't act to provide round-the-clock cardiac services at UHW, campaigners would consider a European Court of Justice challenge. A compromise measure has resulted in UHW securing a mobile lab but this can deal only with diagnostics and not 'stent' procedures. In an embarrassment for the Government, the main cath lab at UHW had to suspend procedures last December due to a problem with lab equipment. Patients had to temporarily be referred to CUH as a result. Mr Power, a farmer, fell ill last June. He couldn't be treated at UHW and was rushed to Cork but died as his ambulance was passing Dungarvan. A mother says her heart has been "broken into a million pieces" in the wake of her 15-year-old son's sudden death after suffering flu-like symptoms. Sean Hughes (15), from Finglas, Dublin, had just returned to school after the Christmas break when he became ill on Wednesday. He passed away early on Friday morning at Temple Street Hospital. "My heart is broken into a million pieces and it'll never be fixed," said Sean's mother Karen. Weeping, she added: "I'm going to miss him really, really terribly. We all will." The teenager, who had no underlying health complaints, deteriorated within hours of flu-like symptoms taking hold. "I brought Sean to the GP, she said he had a flu but he had a chest infection too," Karen said. "Sean started an antibiotic on Wednesday morning. The GP was afraid he'd get pneumonia. Expand Close Sean Hughes idolised hip-hop stars and was a renowed local rapper / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sean Hughes idolised hip-hop stars and was a renowed local rapper "By Thursday evening I was concerned that he wasn't getting any better, so I told his dad Joe I'd be bringing him back to the doctor on Friday because the surgery was shut on Thursday night." Tragically, Karen never made it back to the GP. Now just days after Sean - a talented rapper nicknamed Lil' Red - became ill, she is planning his funeral, where a selection of his original tracks will be played in tribute. Mother-of-two Karen was so concerned about Sean that she stayed up with him on Thursday night. The teenager couldn't sleep, so they watched TV together on the sofa. "We were sitting downstairs watching Netflix at around 11.50pm.Sean was talking to me and next of all he wasn't talking and I knew straight away there was something wrong," Karen said. "I called Joe out of bed, he administered CPR while we waited for the ambulance. Joe did great, then the paramedics came and worked on Sean for a long time. "They got him into the hospital at around 12.30am and they were brilliant at Temple Street. But Sean died at 6.30am Friday. I'll never forget it." Despite Sean's rapid decline and the fact that he was suffering flu-like symptoms, the family are still awaiting the official outcome of his death. "They did the post-mortem and we will find out in due course how Sean died," Karen said. "He didn't have any health conditions, he was a fine, healthy child." Karen said Sean's older sister, Zoe (20), had commented that he was never sick as a child. "Sean was always grand, I can't process it," Karen said. "There are no words, it's senseless. He should be with us, he's a 15-year-old child." Karen said Sean's symptoms included a chest infection, a runny nose, sleeplessness and that when he breathed it sounded "like a crackling". "When I couldn't hear it (the crackling), I knew there was something wrong," she said. The Colaiste Eoin pupil was a renowned local rapper who idolised US hip hop stars Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur and Eminem. He regularly performed at the Finglas Youth Resource Centre, where his young friends were offered a place to talk about their loss yesterday. Sean (inset) had recently been awarded a school scholarship with the Rising Tide initiative, which would have helped him secure his dream to enter into the world of music. "Sean was hugely into rap," Karen said. "We told him how talented he was all the time. He wanted to go to music college and produce music." A pensioner who called in to see the family after their tragic loss recalled how the teenager had offered to carry his bags. Another local woman said: "Sean had a light. He was so confident and happy." "He was so loveable," Karen said. "He loved his hair, his designer clothes and aftershave and he used to say, 'Ma, do I look slick?' "I'd say, 'Course you do, son.' He was a character, no matter who he met, he made an impact on them. "We are utterly devastated." The teenager's funeral will take place tomorrow at St Canice's Church, Finglas. A lack of beds has forced 73 children to languish on trolleys in emergency departments in the last two weeks, it emerged today. The young patients have endured hours in trolleys in the three childrens hospitals Our Lady's Children's Hospital Crumlin, National Children's Hospital Tallaght, Children's University Hospital Temple Street. The figures were released by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO)which launched its new trolley watch for childrens hospitals. If children are on trolleys in any of the regional hospitals this will also be recorded in their daily tally. INMO General Secretary, Phil Ni Sheaghdha said: The negative outcome for patients arising from long trolley waits is proven and accepted. Exposing children to extended periods in an emergency department is unsatisfactory on many levels not least of which is the possible exposure to traumatic events. All systems, processes and procedures must aim to avoid unnecessary waiting times in EDs as a matter of urgency. Read More Catherine Sheridan, childrens nurse pointed that that attending hospital is a fearful and anxious experience for children and their families, this can and must be kept to an absolute minimum. It is simply not acceptable to us, that environments that are totally unsuitable are added to this anxiety and fear. Commenting on the delays faced by children INMO President, Martina Harkin-Kelly added that it is vital that the nurses union puts the health and safety and timely care of all patients, particularly those most vulnerable in our society under to spotlight so as to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to provide safe, effective quality care. Therefore, is has been necessary to bring attention to this unfortunate development by expanding the Trolley Watch figures to include children. It is something we hoped would never arise and the sooner such practice ceases the better from the INMO point of view. President Michael D Higgins has led tributes to Prof John Monaghan, the former national vice-president of the St Vincent de Paul Society, who has died following a battle with cancer. "Throughout his career, Prof Monaghan was a passionate advocate for the importance of education and an ethic of care. Through his work with the Society of St Vincent de Paul, John Monaghan set a powerful example of practical solidarity and inclusiveness, working to improve the welfare of those most in need," said Mr Higgins. Prof Monaghan, who died yesterday at the age of 73, was a native of Drimnagh, Dublin, and left school at 14 following his father's death. He worked as a mechanic at a garage while attending Bolton Street College where he went on to become a lecturer in engineering before teaching mechanical engineering at Trinity College Dublin. He became involved with the St Vincent de Paul charity in 1985 and was a passionate advocate for social justice. "My apprentice fell across my legs. I'd seen the boots of the gunman and the tip of the rifle and they blew his face away." Kingsmill survivor Alan Black has relived the horror of the IRA attack and the death of 19-year-old Robert Chambers. He also spoke about the effect of Sinn Fein MP Barry McElduff's Twitter post. On January 5, 1976, 10 men from Bessbrook, Co Armagh, were shot dead on their way home from work. It was part of a series of attacks carried out by both sides of the sectarian divide around that period. The victims of this attack were all Protestants. The only Catholic workman was ordered to run away. Mr Black was the sole survivor of the massacre, despite being shot 18 times. Expand Close Alan Black, the sole survivor of the Kingsmill massacre / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alan Black, the sole survivor of the Kingsmill massacre Speaking on RTE's 'Sunday with Miriam', Mr Black said a man in a military uniform ordered the men's minibus to stop. They assumed that it was a British Army roadblock. "This guy just shouted, 'Everybody out!'" said Mr Black. "The man then pulled Richard Hughes, the only Catholic, out and told him to 'Run down the f***ing road'. "Richard had left a gap and the man said, 'Close up'. The next thing the gunman said was 'Right' and the noise of the gunfire was deafening - something I'd never forget. Expand Close Alan Black in hospital the day after the shooting. Photo: Alan Lewis/PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alan Black in hospital the day after the shooting. Photo: Alan Lewis/PA "They shot us all at waist level to stop any of us from running away. That lasted maybe 10 seconds. I was hit multiple times." Mr Black said his young apprentice Robert called out for his mother moments before he was shot to death. "My 19-year-old apprentice fell across my legs, it was absolutely horrific. He was calling for his mammy and the next thing the gunfire stopped. Then the same guy who had done all the talking said, 'Finish them off.' "The shooting then became more measured. Robert was still calling for his mammy. Expand Close Six of the victims coffins in Bessbrook church the night before the funerals. Photo: Alan Lewis/PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Six of the victims coffins in Bessbrook church the night before the funerals. Photo: Alan Lewis/PA "I'd seen the boots of the gunman and the tip of the rifle and they blew his face away. That's something that will live with me until the day I die." Mr Black said he figured that the only chance he had of surviving was if he stayed perfectly still. "The gunman who shot Robert then shot at me. The bullet hit my head but didn't penetrate my skull. Even then, I wouldn't flinch. "I could see them from where I was lying and they just casually walked off. "I had one good hand and could see blood spurting out of my chest. I was trying to plug the holes with my fingers to stop myself from bleeding to death. "I knew the boys were dead. I didn't know you could smell death, but you can. I was certain I was going to die." Shortly after the massacre, local couple Gerry and Anne McKeown discovered the bodies of the men. They prayed next to Mr Black while waiting for the emergency services to arrive. Before he was operated on, a priest in the hospital asked if he was Catholic to discern whether he needed the last rites. "I said, 'No, father, but don't leave me.' I'll never forget his humanity. As they were leading me to the operating theatre, he held my good hand and was praying. That's the last thing I remember before the anaesthetic took over." Despite the horror he endured at the hands of paramilitaries, Mr Black said he does not harbour hatred towards the Catholic community. "It wasn't Catholics that killed us. It was the IRA - I have no reason to be bitter," he said. Mr Black said the video posted by Mr McElduff was "depraved" and "succeeded in spades in the hurt that he caused". "To see them [the men who died] disrespected in the way they were last week is very hard to take. What [Barry McElduff] did was dancing on their graves...[He] seemed to be celebrating their deaths. If he saw what I saw that night, he wouldn't have done it," he said. "I don't accept [his excuse]. He's a very astute politician and clever man. He did it deliberately to cause hurt." Attempts were made to contact Mr McElduff, but he had not replied at the time of going to press. Stephen O'Gara was on holiday in Lanzarote when the tragic accident happened AN IRISH teenager has died after a tragic accident while holidaying in Lanzarote. Stephen O'Gara (19) from Augherine, Ballaghaderreen in Co Roscommon died after his quad bike was in collision with a car in the early hours of Saturday. The young man, who was an apprentice carpenter, had been holidaying in the region with his mother Maureen and grandmother. Local TD John O'Mahony, who knows the family, described it as a "terrible tragedy". "He was a young lad just starting out in life. A few of the family were away on holidays and for this to happen is such a shock," he said. He said the local community had been left stunned by the death of the young man. "In a small community something like this affects an awful lot of people. When it happens abroad it is even harder because the community is not able to offer the same support to the family," he added. Relatives have now travelled to Lanzorote to be with Stephen's mother while she makes arrangements to bring his body home. Tributes have been paid to the teenager on social media. The teenager was very popular in the local town as was his family. His mother Maureen runs the well known catering company Gairdin Bia. Stephen was a former student of St Nathy's College and he was remembered as mass services locally yesterday. Councillor Michael Creaton (FG) said neighbours in the area are "in shock". "I know his grandparents and all the family, we extend our deepest sympathies to the family at this difficult time." A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "We are aware of this case and providing consular assistance to the family." Forensic teams at the scene in Castleisland, Co Kerry A teenager was being questioned last night in connection with an alleged assault in Co Kerry that left a young man fighting for his life. The 19-year-old man was arrested yesterday afternoon and then taken to Tralee garda station. The arrest was made after a man in his 20s had been found by neighbours lying on the footpath near his home at St Stephen's Park in Castleisland, at around 5.30am yesterday. It is understood that the victim lives with his grandfather. Gardai yesterday cordoned off two scenes in the housing estate, including one where the victim was found and the other at his home. The young man, whose name has not been released, was rushed to University Hospital Tralee. He was later transferred to Cork University Hospital, where he remained in critical condition last night, according to gardai. A Garda spokeswoman appealed for anyone with information or who was in the St Stephen's Park area of Castleisland to contact investigators at Tralee garda station on 066 710 2300. "A man aged 19 was arrested this afternoon and is currently detained at Tralee garda station under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984," she added. The fire broke out in a first floor room in the terraced property on Glengarriff Parade in Phibsborough Photo: Kyran O'Brien The fire broke out in a first floor room in the terraced property on Glengarriff Parade in Phibsborough Photo: Kyran O'Brien Two women have been rescued from a blaze at their home in Dublin City centre this morning. The fire broke out in a first floor room in the terraced property on Glengarriff Parade in Phibsborough at around 7.30am. Five units of Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) including an ambulance, raced to the scene amid reports that there were people trapped in the house which has been split into flats. "When we arrived the fire had developed and there was one woman sitting on a first floor window ledge and another in a room upstairs," a DFB spokesman told Independent.ie. "We rescued her quickly and then two crews with breathing apparatus went into the building to rescue the second woman," he added. Both women, described as being in their 50s or 60s, were treated at the scene for the effects of smoke inhalation. A decision was being made at the scene if one might need hospital treatment. One woman who escaped the fire told how the events unfolded. "I heard a smoke alarm going off and we didn't know if it was a false alarm, but we thought 'maybe there is something wrong'," said Salome Busgeeh (34), from Mauritius. "Then we saw a whole room was on fire so we got out. I just had time to grab my bag of paperwork," she added. "Smoke alarms save lives, definitely. It was a big fire and I'm glad I got out," she explained. As the fire crews damped down the fire and checked neighbouring properties, Salome was left standing in her night clothes with her bag of papers in her hand, cloaked in a medifleece given to her by an ambulance crew. The cause if the fire is not yet known. Sinn Feins Barry McEluff is to stand down as MP following the controversy over a social media video in which he appeared to joke about the Kingsmill massacre. While the party suspended the West Tyrone representative from Sinn Fein activity for three months, the sanction failed to quell public outrage. Ten Protestants were shot dead on January 5, 1976 in a sectarian attack near the Armagh town of Kingsmill. It was the 42nd anniversary of the atrocity when Mr McElduff posted a video of himself with a loaf of Kingsmill brand bread on his head. Today Mr McElduff offered a profound apology to the families of the Kingsmill victims. He said that he would not have posted the video if he had been conscious of the connection to the terrible atrocity at Kingsmill. Read More I genuinely did not make that connection, not for a second did I make that connection in my mind, he said. And in a significantly development he described the killings as wrong, unjustifiable and sectarian. There was no intended reference to Kingsmill in my tweet. But I do accept that there are many people who do not believe this to be the case." Yesterday the only survivor of the 1976 attack, Alan Black, described in horrific detail how a 19-year-old apprentice fell across his legs. Id seen the boot of the gunman and the tip of the rifle and they blew his face away, he recalled on RTEs Sunday with Miriam. Despite Mr McElduffs continuing denial that he purposely made the video to poke fun at the murders, Mr Black said he doesnt accept this. Hes a very astute politician and clever man. He did it deliberately to cause hurt, Mr Black said. Mr McElduff today told reporters he is aware of the affects of the controversy and as a result will step down from his position as an MP. Expand Close West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff leaving Sinn Fein's headquarters on the Falls Road in Belfast following his suspension. Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff leaving Sinn Fein's headquarters on the Falls Road in Belfast following his suspension. Photo: PA It is with great sadness that, after more than 30 years as an active Sinn Fein member and public representative I am tendering my resignation as MP for West Tyrone, he said. The reason I am doing so is because of the consequences of the Twitter video which has caused such controversy over the last week. Read More: But the deep and unnecessary hurt this video caused the families of the victims of Kingsmill is my greatest regret. I again offer my profound apology to those families and to the wider victims community. He added that events of recent days have been deeply damaging to the reconciliation process that is so important to consolidating the peace process and to healing the pain and hurt of the past. In a lengthy statement, Mr McElduff said he cannot undo the pain caused in recent days but he is resigned because staying on as an MP will compound that sense of hurt and impede any reconciliation process. Reconciliation is essential, but that message is not being heard at this time. I do not wish to be a barrier to reconciliation and healing and in that spirit I again offer my sincere apologies to the survivors and families of those murdered at Kingsmill, he concluded. Read More Sinn Feins leader in Northern Ireland Michelle ONeill said she was informed of Mr McElduffs decision yesterday. Barry is doing so as a consequence of the unintended hurt caused to the Kingsmill victims and their loved ones by his recent social media tweet, she said today. Barry recognises that this controversy and his continuing role in public office is compounding the distress to the victims of Kingsmill, and again offers his profound apology to those families and to the wider victims community. He has said that he does not want to be a barrier to reconciliation and I respect that decision. She described him as a formidable champion for the people of his constituency over the past 20 years. Over the coming weeks Sinn Fein will focus our full efforts on the restoration of the power-sharing institutions on the basis of equality, integrity and respect and fulfil the mandate we received from the electorate in two successive elections last year, she said. A 4m team of advisers to the Government are to receive pay rises, the Irish Independent has learned. The policy and media advisers, who are paid between 65,000 and 110,000, are political appointees and operate separately from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's controversial Strategic Communications Unit. The 45-strong team includes former Newstalk presenter Chris Donoghue, who was recently appointed as a media adviser to Tanaiste Simon Coveney, on a salary of 98,391. Increases range from 650 a year up to 1,100, depending on the advisers' salary. The majority of the advisers to benefit from the pay hike work for Mr Varadkar and his Fine Gael ministers. However, eight owe their employment to the Independent Alliance's participation in Government, while Independent ministers Katherine Zappone and Denis Naughten have two advisers each. Although they are not civil servants, the advisers are entitled to pay restoration, as was agreed between public sector unions and Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe last year. A spokesman for Mr Donohoe's department said they were considered "unestablished civil servants for the duration of their tenure". "These pay increases are part of the unwinding process of the FEMPI legislation," he said. He added that their "contract should state that the term of office of the special adviser shall cease on the date on which the minister ceases to be a minister of the Government". According to a list provided by the Department of Public Expenditure, Mr Varadkar has seven advisers reporting directly to him. These include a speech writer, Brexit adviser and the chief government spokesman. Since taking over as Tanaiste, Simon Coveney has bulked up his backroom team by recruiting Mr Donoghue from Newstalk. He has been placed on a principal officer salary scale, at a rate of 98,391 per year. This makes him among the better-paid advisers, although his pension entitlements would be significantly less than colleagues who have been in position since before 2013. The Irish Independent understands, however, that his pay in the Department of Foreign Affairs is less than he was earning as a presenter with Newstalk. Mr Coveney has also recently hired Matthew Lynch, who was a policy adviser for Frances Fitzgerald until she resigned in November. Meanwhile, John Keogh, a former Newstalk colleague of Mr Donoghue, took up the position of adviser to newly appointed Culture Minister Josepha Madigan last week. On top of the advisers assigned to senior ministers, special arrangements have been put in place for eight of the 19 junior ministers. Independent ministers of State Finian McGrath, John Halligan and Kevin 'Boxer' Moran have advisers, along with Helen McEntee, Jim Daly, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, Paul Kehoe and Joe McHugh. Political advisers have always been a feature of government, but in recent months Fianna Fail has tried to portray Mr Varadkar as being obsessed with the Government's media image. October's Budget set aside 5m for the new Strategic Communication Unit, which Mr Varadkar insists acts entirely independently of political influence. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin told the Irish Independent he was "genuinely very, very concerned" about the unit. "We think it is developing as a propaganda unit for the Government, as opposed to an information service for the public," he said. A WOMAN settled a defamation claim for 20,000 after she bought a bottle of wine in a Dublin supermarket, walked down the road to a different shop, left the wine on a shelf and was asked by a staff member if she paid for it. The woman purchased something in the shop and as she was leaving, she picked up the bottle of wine which she had bought in the supermarket. The wine was left on a shelf in the off-licence section of the store. A staff member, assuming it belonged to their store, then asked if she had paid for the wine. The woman then claimed for defamation and argued she was being accused of stealing. The case was recently settled outside of court as it was argued the shopkeeper should have seen the woman had left the wine on the shelf and that it was hers. This case is an example of the extreme challenges facing small businesses, according to Jonathan Hehir, managing director at Insuremyhouse.ie. The leading broker has warned that retailers and pubs are facing closure during 2018 because insurance costs are being driven up by compensation claims. Mr Hehir also said that he has seen an increase in spurious claims against clients. He said: It is a diving issue and a lying issue, and by that I mean people literally diving on the floor or pretending to trip over something, or pretending to steal items from the store in order to accuse the shop assistant or owner of defamation when questioned. Unfortunately, 2018 could be pretty bleak for the affected businesses unless the Government act fast and introduce harsher penalties and jail time for these unscrupulous fraudsters, he added. Independent.ie previously revealed how youths who were refused service after being accused of stealing from shops in Dublin city centre have been issuing solicitors letters threatening to sue for defamation. In one of the letters, obtained by Independent.ie, the teenager claims the shop owner accused him of previously stealing from the shop and refused to serve him. The shop owner said he refused to serve the teenager as he claims he has previously stolen chocolate bars from the shop. The letter outlined how the teenager intended to sue for defamation unless he received proposals for compensation within seven days due to being subjected to defamation, embarrassment and humiliation. No proceedings were ever issued. Lisa Cullen was told she had a brain tumour last November when she was 33 weeks pregnant A 26-year-old Irish woman who was 33 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with a brain tumour, lapsed into a coma on the same day her baby was born by caesarean section. Lisa Cullen (26) from Drumkeeran, County Leitrim underwent an elected C-section on November 30 to protect the life of her baby boy Kayden. Kayden was born on November 30. Later that day, Lisa, who lives in Yonkers, New York, underwent brain surgery to remove 60 per cent of her tumour, but she didn't wake up afterwards. Her mother Gabrielle, who is currently in the US to support Lisa, told Independent.ie: I was preparing my bag to come out on Jan 23 for when the baby was born and I was picking all the bits and pieces you need for a baby. On the Sunday evening at 7pm we got the phone call. It was awful news to get, and shed been doing so good. She was 33 weeks pregnant and had never missed a day of work. She did have headaches but she thought it wasnt unusual to have headaches while pregnant. Lisa remained in the coma for three weeks. Finally, just before Christmas she woke up. It was an awful three weeks. Prayer is just such a powerful thing, Gabrielle said. It was a tricky operation for them here. To have the baby and the surgery at the one time, it was tricky, but they couldnt get over the fact that she hadnt really recovered from the brain surgery. Now, Lisa, who worked as a bartender in The Heritage pub in Yonkers, is in rehab and is also in treatment to try and shrink the remaining 40 pc of the tumour. Shes doing good. Shes coming along. Shes improving every day. Shes been able to move out onto the edge of the bed now and shes getting physio. Shes started her radio treatment to get the last of the tumour. Theres still 40pc of it left. When the doctors operated they got 60pc of it. She spoke for the first time on the day before Christmas Eve. It was a Christmas present that we were wishing for. Lisas boyfriend Paul Friel proposed to her on New Years Eve. The couple are planning to get married on April 5, which is Lisas birthday. The young mum is also enjoying being able to hold her six-week-old son. Kayden is doing great. Hes doing fantastic, Gabrielle added. Lisas friends in New York have set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for her rehabilitation and cancer treatment. Gabrielle said: I dont know what its going to cost, but were not thinking about it. The main thing is that she gets the treatment. A friend of the Cullen family Sharon Brady said: A few people got together to do this benefit to help raise money. Staying for a month in ICU, then chemotherapy and radiotherapy, its quite expensive. To donate, or find out more information see https://www.gofundme.com/Lisa-babyKayden Premium Brendan O'Connor Opinion Mid-life Crisis: Theres a reason I fit here this is where my people make sense I was finally understanding what people are talking about when they talk about running. I was running around through woods, across dunes, on to beaches. I knew roughly where I was at all times, but not exactly. Each turn in the path I came to, each fork in the road, each entrance to a beach, I was making decisions. Go this way and that way, go up here a bit, suss it out, back down, maybe I can get back by going this way. There was only one rule. Do not cut the Japanese knotweed. And there were enough signs to remind me of that and besides, I didnt have any equipment on me. I was humming, vibrating with the landscape and the surroundings. Premium Colm McCarthy Opinion UK is not alone in its Covid failures New cases, hospitalisations and deaths from the virus have all risen somewhat in the UK over the last week. Given the rapid roll-out of vaccination, the best in Europe, this should not have been happening. The reason seems to be the so-called Indian variant, more infectious and more widespread in Britain, and some experts are worried the government may be forced to pause, or even reverse, the lifting of restrictions. Premium John Downing Opinion Belarusian tyrant Alexander Lukashenko reaches a new low in his hybrid war with EU Lithuanian border guards detained 171 illegal migrants on the frontier with Belarus on Tuesday night. In an average year, they expect to detain about 100 people. This year the number is above 3,000, with 2,482 detained in July alone. The migrants come from the sub-Saharan Africa and Middle East, but especially Iraq. The ultimate prize is EU residency via Lithuanias membership. We have known about Ireland's 'pensions timebomb' for quite some time. Stock Image: Getty Images We have known about Ireland's 'pensions timebomb' for quite some time. Successive governments have talked their way through a series of reports and reviews, inching towards some half-hearted, eventual would-be remedy. In the meantime, the scant occupational pension cover for private sector workers has become afflicted by problems associated with under-funding and inadequate rules of governance to protect workers' and pensioners' rights. One by one, the small number of gold-plated defined-benefit schemes, which guaranteed pensioners' incomes in relation to salary, have been scaled down or wound up. Today, we learn of an even more ironic twist: Irish Life, that self-styled synonym for pensions probity, is to wind up its own employees' defined-benefit pension scheme. The irony is threefold. Firstly, the scheme has never been in deficit and is backed by a strong asset base. Secondly, it was research for Irish Life that told the trade how debased the term 'pension' had become in public esteem. Thirdly, the firm is cited among those likely to take a leading role in a new State-backed pensions regime aimed at tackling that 'pensions timebomb'. Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty's own actions in this realm equally have done nothing to inspire confidence. Last November, she suggested that she could fix the "bonkers pension anomaly", which deprives up to 35,000 pensioners of some 30 per week. Then, Ms Doherty revealed that she could do no such thing. So what hope can there be for widespread pension reform tackling that pensions timebomb? Given the non-stop bad news revelations, it is hard to be optimistic here. It is time for leadership on this issue. We need to hear far more about that, Mr Craughwell Gerard Craughwell announced several months ago that he wanted to be the next President of Ireland. "Who? What did he say again?" We can already hear many people asking those questions right across the country. So let's slow things down a little here. President Michael D Higgins's seven-year term is due to end in November. President Higgins is entitled to a second term - but his intentions, and the main political parties' plans, remain unclear. There is every chance that we will have a presidential election later this year. Already, the Independent senator Gerard Craughwell has said that he wants to become the nation's first citizen, titular commander of the Defence Forces and our key international ambassador. Mr Craughwell reached Seanad Eireann via a by-election win in October 2014, when Fine Gael bizarrely botched a contest that it should have easily won. In April 2016, he held that seat in the Seanad elections and last August he announced his presidential ambitions. Today, in an interview with this newspaper, Mr Craughwell treats us to a range of eclectic and zany political views, which merit closer scrutiny. Among these is his dismissal of his oath of allegiance to the British monarch, which was taken in order to join the crown forces, as "just a few silly words". It is reminiscent of Eamon de Valera's talk of an "empty formula" - but Mr Craughwell is no Eamon de Valera. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron dominated the climate change headlines in 2017, for vastly different reasons. However, for 2018, it is what happens in Beijing that really counts. Last year, President Trump began the exit from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The accord, ratified by 196 countries, aims to keep the global temperature rise this century to under 2C compared with pre-industrial levels. The US leader believes climate change is a hoax and instead wants to promote coal as an energy source. Mr Trump's stance has been met with consternation and anger. However, in stepped France's President Macron to lead resistance to global warming with a pledge to protect the Earth's resources through his One Planet Summit. Trump and Macron have opposing views on climate change and promote contrasting visions of the future. Trump conjures up a vision of America's halcyon days as an industrial giant, where coal is king and climate change is a fiction. Macron carries the banner for a future where energy is clean, hi-tech and sustainable. However, both ideas are challenging and problematic. For Trump, physics and the fundamental properties of coal are against him. Other fossil fuels such as natural gas contain more energy that is cleaner and also easier to transport. A unit of electricity generated from coal produces twice as much greenhouse gas as natural gas, which causes less air pollution and integrates well with wind and solar power. Trump blames his predecessor in the Oval Office along with climate change policy for killing coal, though coal has appeared to be a terminal case for years in the US. One of the major reasons is cheap natural gas unlocked by the technological breakthrough in hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking. There is no going back from this now and electricity companies are either shutting down coal-fired plants or switching to cheaper and cleaner natural gas. Coal has had its time in the western world. Macron, on the other hand, has put his faith for the future in a pivotal role for science and technology. Yet the challenge for France's president remains both terrifyingly simple and exceptionally hard. We live in a world where it is cheaper to produce energy from dirty fuels than most clean ones. Getting industry and individuals to pay more for energy is not easy if developing countries are using dirty, cheaper fuels. Macron has concentrated on getting large industries to pledge money to the cause. However, he risks alienating his voters if he cannot marry his story of a great planet with one of a great France currently struggling with high youth unemployment and a stagnant economy. In his favour, Macron has momentum as well as history on his side. As nations become more affluent they tend to use cleaner energy sources. In contrast to Trump and Macron, China grapples with a different story of climate change. It doesn't have to convince people that a cleaner future is better. It needs to create it for a growing middle class who are becoming less tolerant of deadly environmental pollution. China is the top greenhouse gas polluter ahead of the United States, accounting for almost 30pc of world emissions. Beijing is trying to reduce coal consumption not because of climate change but simply because of air pollution. Regions in northern China are experiencing record levels of pollution this winter. Flights have been disrupted, factories and schools shut. China is investing heavily in clean power technology to address this. Recent years have seen Beijing take the issue seriously. President Xi Jinping in a speech delivered last week pledged to tackle climate change while Macron on a state visit to China last week praised the country for endorsing action. These statements would have been unheard of a decade ago when China was seen as an obstacle to change. The superpower still has a long road to travel. Last year saw a return to a growth in its emissions - softened in previous years by a weakening economy and slowdown in domestic construction. The choices China makes in 2018 and over the following years will have profound implications for us all. China is responsible for the largest share of global investment in clean technologies - 20pc. Between 2008 and 2013, its solar panel industry dropped world prices by 80pc and China is now investing heavily in electric vehicles, batteries, nuclear power and renewables with the real potential to deliver cost reductions that we may all benefit from. All eyes will continue to be on Trump and Macron this year, but what happens in China is key. As the International Energy Agency put it when China changes, everything changes. Dr Paul Deane is a research fellow at the Environmental Research Institute, UCC The row over a Sinn Fein representative releasing a video with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre should have been over by now. In any other party, it would be over. Punishment would have been handed out. Discipline would have been restored. In Sinn Fein, a week after the original video was posted online at five minutes after midnight on the 42nd anniversary of that notorious atrocity, when 10 Protestant workmen were singled out for their religion and murdered by the IRA, the row still stumbles on. If any more proof was needed of the dysfunctionality of the party, look no further. The offending prankster, West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff, is an old hand at navigating the often choppy waters of Northern Irish politics, and has stuck to his story throughout, insisting that he never made the connection between the brand name of the loaf that he picked up while shooting his video and the name of the small South Armagh village where the victims were murdered in 1976. What else could he say? The Kingsmill massacre was so heinous that the IRA continues to officially deny responsibility. It would be political suicide to openly admit to mocking the victims. Expand Close SUSPENDED: SF MP Barry McElduff with a Kingsmill branded loaf on his head / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp SUSPENDED: SF MP Barry McElduff with a Kingsmill branded loaf on his head As long as he doesn't budge on that point, McElduff is safe. Unionists will say the odds against it being a mere coincidence are too large to be credible. They may well be right about that. Critics will also point out that some republicans still privately believe that the Kingsmill massacre, while terrible in its savagery, did send a message to loyalists in South Armagh that any attacks would be met by overwhelming retaliation, thereby preventing further murders of local Catholics. Barry McElduff larking about with a loaf on his head could be seen in that context as a piece of tribal triumphalist theatre for the amusement of anyone knowledgeable enough to decode the clues. As someone with a habit of posting "light-hearted" content on social media, including other videos where he poses with items of food on his head, McElduff has his alibi sorted either way. The MP has previously tried his hand at stand-up comedy at republican social events, and flippancy always carries the risk of misunderstanding. He can easily say, and has, that his intention was misunderstood; and in an age when insecure politicians seem to envy the attention enjoyed by celebrities, and regularly make eejits of themselves on social media in an urge to get a piece of it, it's impossible to say for certain that he intended to cause offence. What matters at this stage is not what Barry McElduff did or did not do, but how Sinn Fein handled the fallout, and that has been another masterclass in insensitivity. One by one, spokespersons have trooped up and claimed to be appalled by the video, even while dutifully peddling the party line that no mockery of the innocent dead was intended. At the same time, they've been forced to defend the official sanction which was imposed on McElduff, which was a three-month suspension from party activity. In actuality this means very little as he may be MP for the West Tyrone constituency, but, like others elected, does not take his seat in Westminster. Not only has he been suspended from a job he doesn't actually do, the party also announced that he will be on full pay for the whole duration. It was a risible response to an episode which has caused genuine hurt and offence to relatives of the dead men, and, in any other party, someone would have broken ranks to condemn the leniency. In Sinn Fein, there's tumbleweed. It takes more than a few dead Protestants to shame the party into living up to the standards it demands from others. That the ranks of apologists for the party's feeble sanction included deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald is what really exposes the rottenness at the heart of SF. She took days to say anything at all, and when she did it was to parrot the line that a three-month suspension on full pay from a non-existent job was "appropriate and proportionate", when everyone knows she'd be denouncing it as inadequate if any other party in the Dail or Stormont had done the same. Within a few weeks, the Dublin Central TD will, in all likelihood, and without a sniff of a challenge, be president of Sinn Fein, in overall charge of the party nationally. The first thing she needs to do to impose her authority on the party is put some clean water between herself and the Provos' darkest deeds. If SF wants to grow as an electoral force, it needs to bring on board voters who've yet to be persuaded that the republican movement has changed from the days when it made its arguments with explosives. Instead, even before she's taken over as leader, Mary Lou has proved she has little autonomy, and is as much a prisoner of the past as SF's Stormont leader, Michelle O'Neill, who, in the year since succeeding a dying Martin McGuinness, has not so much stamped her personality on the party as been used to stamp out any chance of rekindling devolved government. If a three-month suspension for causing significant offence to murder victims' loved ones is "appropriate and proportionate", then surely the six-month suspension of Meath West TD Peadar Toibin for voting against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy bill, which was introduced to the Dail following the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, must have been excessive? Yet McDonald manages to back both decisions with the same apparent conscientiousness, suggesting she does not weigh up cases on merit, but mentally rubber-stamps whatever decision those calling the shots in the party happen to make at any given time. "Peadar is a colleague of ours, a friend of ours," she told the ard fheis last year, but "it is not credible for a political party not to have a position on... an issue of public policy". Does she think it's credible to say, on the one hand, that what Barry McElduff did was "unforgivable", while, on the other, letting him off with little more than a slap on the wrist? Toibin's punishment was twice as severe for voting with his conscience rather than his party on abortion. There could hardly be a cruder illustration of where the party's loyalties still lie, and that's with those who would minimise and make excuses for the brutality of the Provisional IRA. If she does not unshackle herself from that toxic legacy, it will taint her leadership every bit as much as it stained Adams's. Leaders do not always act quickly and decisively to assert their authority. It took Leo Varadkar too long to realise that Frances Fitzgerald needed to step down over her handling of the case of Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe; but the Taoiseach made clear his reasons for not immediately throwing the then Tanaiste under the bus. Even when Fitzgerald did finally bow to the inevitable, the Fine Gael leader told the Dail that "a good woman is leaving office without getting a full and fair hearing". His delay in acting could be criticised as foolish, but it came from a sincere belief in her integrity. No one in SF, by contrast, is attempting to publicly defend what Barry McElduff did, so why the reluctance to make the punishment fit the crime? What are they all so afraid of? Who is really pulling their strings? Barry McElduff's behaviour was outrageous. What keeps the anger burning all these days later is that another generation of Sinn Fein representatives seems prepared, like lemmings, to fling themselves off the cliff of decency, rather than stand up to the moral sickness pervading the party. Either Mary Lou takes charge of the Northern arm of the republican movement, or it will take charge of her. There's no middle way. As Peter O'Mahony takes centre stage as he captains the Lions in their first test match today, it's an extra special moment for his young family at home in Ireland cheering him on. Peter's long-term love Jessica Moloney, a trainee solicitor, is on home soil with their one-year-old daughter Indie, supporting him from afar as the British & Irish Lions take on the All Blacks. The couple, who have been dating for more than five years, welcomed the new arrival last summer and join a growing list of Peter's Munster -' young families - including Simon Zebo, who has two children - Jacob (two) and Sofia (nine months) with Elvira Fernandez. While Jessica, who describes herself as "partner in life" to the rising rugby star, prefers life away from the spotlight, she is clearly proud of her partner's achievements, regularly sharing pictures of her supporting him and increasingly varied accomplishments on the pitch. Expand Close Peter O'Mahoney with girlfriend Jessica Moloney and their daughter Indie. Picture: Instagram / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Peter O'Mahoney with girlfriend Jessica Moloney and their daughter Indie. Picture: Instagram And earlier this week, he revealed he "got a bit of stick" for not telling her first that he was made captain immediately after he found out. "I got a bit of stick from the missus. I went straight into a meeting after [I was made captain] so some of the other lads knew what the story was and she got it off someone else. She wasn't overly impressed," he told Sky Sports. It clearly didn't last though as Jessica shared a picture of little Indie watching her father's performance last week. The model girlfriend of Irish rugby star Simon Zebo is among is battling it out in the Miss Bikini Ireland pageant this year. Elvira Fernandez (25), who has two children - Jacob (two) and Sofia (nine months) - with the Munster player, will be vying for the crown at the competition later this year. No stranger to life in front of the camera, Elvira worked as a model in her native Spain and said her other half understands bikini modelling is part of her job. "Simon knew I was modelling in Spain before I came to live in Ireland," she told the Sunday World. "Simon is fine with me doing it, he knew I was a model, both the pros and cons. Expand Close Elvira Fernandez and boyfriend Simon Zebo with their children Jacob and Sofia. Picture: Instagram / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Elvira Fernandez and boyfriend Simon Zebo with their children Jacob and Sofia. Picture: Instagram "All my work was in Spain. Most of the stuff I did was for designers, clothes and swimwear." It marks her first high profile modelling gig in Ireland since moving here nearly four years ago to be with Zebo (27), who she first met when they were both teenagers. Elvira, who graduated from University College Cork (UCC) last year with a degree in law, is hoping her modelling career will take off, saying: "I want to enter the competition to get seen by people, to see if I can get more opportunities n the modelling industry. I've tried a few model agencies, but none have really come back." The mother-of-two isn't the only model other half hell bent on a catwalk career - Rob Kearney's girlfriend Jess Redden signed a modelling contract with Andrea Roche two years ago. Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Lorna Muldoon and Lisa Regan at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Aoife Kenny at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Anna Hosty, Yourells, Patricia Leahy and Milliner Edel Ramberg at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Michael Mullins and Noel Cunningham at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Maire and Jennifer Fleming at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Alex Byrne, Sandra Byrne and Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan It takes a lot to stand out during Galway Race Week. Among the sea of sartorial experimentation always emerges the unofficial uniform, which changes minimally from year to year: a bright coloured ensemble, a wide brim hat, preferably with ornate floral detail and nude or gold court heels. But a post-racing event means a more relaxed dress code and usually sees some of the more adventurous looks. Enter Lorna Muldoon (nee Byrne) the newlywed wife of Connacht rugby captain John Muldoon, who turned heads in a strapless flared jumpsuit, keeping her accessories minimal with a leather tie waist belt and monchrome fascinator. Fresh fro the couple's Mexico honeymoon, Lorna joined her mother Sandra and sister Alex at the Salthill Hotel for the Prom to Paddock event raising funds for Enable Ireland. Expand Close Alex Byrne, Sandra Byrne and Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alex Byrne, Sandra Byrne and Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan The event began as a fundraising initiative in 2012 with just 65 people in attendance and last night saw its biggest numbers yet with 300 guests. Fashionistas have descended on Galway en masse this week to attend the dozens of parties around the city after taking in a day at Ballybrit Racecourse, where tomorrow's overall Best Dressed Lady winner will take home a prize worth 10,000. Expand Close Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Lorna Muldoon at the Salthill Hotel for Prom to Paddock for Enable Ireland. Picture: Martina Regan Two pandas in the snow at Vienna Zoo Can you imagine anything more adorable than panda twins having a frolic in the snow? If not, youre in the right place. Fu Feng and Fu Ban are panda twins at Vienna Zoo, and they recently experienced the cold, white stuff for the first time, having been born in 2016. What follows is adorableness of the highest standard. The pandas were joined by their mother, Yang Yang, as they tumbled around together in the snow. Expand Close A panda in the snow at Vienna Zoo / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A panda in the snow at Vienna Zoo Pandas are thought to originate from the mountains and forests of south east China, meaning theyre well-adapted to the frosty nature of the snowfall. Expand Close Two pandas in the snow at Vienna Zoo / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Two pandas in the snow at Vienna Zoo These two certainly didnt seem to mind the chill, anyway. Premier Foods has played down reports that it is weighing up a potential sale of Batchelors, its Cup a Soup brand. The company, which is also behind Ambrosia custard and Bisto gravy, said it regularly reviews options, adding that talks have not gone beyond an exploratory stage. Premier was responding to reports over the weekend that Batchelors was being readied for a 200 million sale to its biggest shareholder, Japans Nissin. On 29 June 2017 the company confirmed that, in line with good corporate governance, it regularly reviews options to deliver value for all its stakeholders. Such reviews do periodically involve discussions with third parties, including Nissin. There is no current situation where discussions have gone beyond an exploratory stage, the firm said. In 2016, Premier rejected a 537 million takeover bid from the US company McCormick, choosing instead to form a strategic alliance with Nissin. Since then the group, which has over 500 million of debt, has had to issue a profit warning linked to the Brexit-hit pound. Premier added: As a matter of normal good governance, the board continues to keep under review any options which could potentially add value for shareholders and other stakeholders, and accelerate the delivery of the Boards strategic objectives, particularly with respect to reducing gearing. The group served up a half-year pre-tax loss of 1.2 million for the six months ending in September, a narrowing of the 8.7 million loss recorded for the same period last year. Construction giant Carillion has said it has no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect after talks failed to find another way to deal with the companys debts. The stricken company, which employs 20,000 workers across Britain, said crunch talks over the weekend aimed at driving down debt and shoring up its balance sheet had failed to result in the short-term financial support it needed to continue trading while a deal was reached. Carillion, which has been struggling under 900 million of debt and a 590 million pension deficit, has seen its shares price plunge more than 70% in the past six months after making a string of profit warnings and breaching its financial covenants. Breaking news saying Carillion have gone into liquidation. It is VITAL for govt to ensure the firm's public service contracts, employees and public money are protected first. The govt need to outline the contingency plan they promised in the House, when I question them on weds. Jon Trickett MP (@jon_trickett) January 15, 2018 Its collapse poses questions as to why the group continued to receive Government contracts despite issuing a number of profit warnings. The Government has urged staff to continue coming into work and said those already receiving their pensions will continue to receive payment. Britains second biggest construction firm is understood to have public sector or public/private partnership contracts worth 1.7 billion, including providing school dinners, cleaning and catering at NHS hospitals, construction work on rail projects such as HS2 and maintaining 50,000 Army base homes for the Ministry of Defence. Carillion chairman Philip Green said: This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years. Over recent months huge efforts have been made to restructure Carillion to deliver its sustainable future and the board is very grateful for the huge efforts made by Keith Cochrane, our executive team and many others who have worked tirelessly over this period. In recent days, however, we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision. We understand that HM Government will be providing the necessary funding required by the Official Receiver to maintain the public services carried on by Carillion staff, subcontractors and suppliers. Carillion had met lenders HSBC, Barclays, Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland on Wednesday to discuss options for reducing debts, recapitalise or restructure the groups balance sheet. Sources had told the Press Association that a business plan tabled by the group during the meeting was knocked back because it failed to present a solid proposition for restructuring the business. However, the company denied the plan had been rejected, adding that any restructuring of the business could result in a debt-for-equity swap. The Government, pension authorities and stakeholders also met on Friday in an attempt to thrash out a rescue package, with talks spilling over into the weekend. The Official Receiver has now been appointed alongside partners at accountancy giant PwC to oversee the liquidation of the company Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said: It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders but taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out a private sector company. Since profit warnings were first issued in July, the Government has been closely monitoring the situation and has been in constructive discussion with Carillion while it sought to refinance its business. We remained hopeful that a solution could be found while putting robust contingency plans in place to prepare for every eventuality. It is of course disappointing that Carillion has become insolvent, but our primary responsibility has always been keep our essential public services running safely. We understand that some members of the public will be concerned by recent news reports. For clarity all employees should keep coming to work, you will continue to get paid. Staff that are engaged on public sector contracts still have important work to do. Unions have called for urgent reassurances over the jobs, pay and pensions of thousands of workers following the disastrous news. Officials from several unions representing workers on the railways, construction sites, prisons, hospitals and schools are seeking information from the company and ministers. #Carillion: Tens of thousands of jobs at risk, along with public services and major infrastructure projects. Govt must step in. TUC statement: https://t.co/y84m4fD1GR TUC Press Office (@TUCnews) January 14, 2018 Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary Mick Cash said: This is disastrous news for the workforce and disastrous news for transport and public services in Britain. We have been warning since Thursday night that we thought the collapse of the company was imminent. The blame for this lies squarely with the Government who are obsessed with outsourcing key works to these high-risk private enterprises. Jim Kennedy, the Unite unions national officer for local government, said a public inquiry was needed to answer questions about Carillions conduct and the Governments decision to award it contracts. He added: Public services, vast amounts of public money, thousands of jobs including in a lengthy supply chain of insecure agency workers who are also at risk and workers hard-saved pensions are all in danger of being dragged under by yet another bout of reckless corporate irresponsibility. Shares in Carillion have been suspended on the London market following the liquidation announcement. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle listen to a broadcast through headphones during a visit to radio station Reprezent FM in London Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire The leader of Ukip has been told to choose between his job and his new girlfriend after it emerged that she sent graphic messages referencing the sexual abuse of babies in an argument with a friend. Henry Bolton is today expected to insist that he will stay on as leader for the good of the party after it emerged that Jo Marney, his 25-year-old girlfriend, made racist remarks about Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's fiancee. Expand Close Ukip leader Henry Bolton with his estranged wife Tatiana Photo: Henry Bolton/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ukip leader Henry Bolton with his estranged wife Tatiana Photo: Henry Bolton/PA Wire The pressure on him increased further after it emerged that Ms Marney sent a friend a series of messages on Facebook about child abuse to make a point about animal rights. In the messages, which have been seen by this reporter but are too graphic to print, she tries to make the case for the gravity of animal abuse by comparing it to acts of child abuse. She subsequently accuses her friend of editing the message to "make it look like I was saying random weird things". "I was highlighting the point of animal abuse by using a baby in comparison to the animal," she said. Expand Close Bolton with his girlfriend Jo Marney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bolton with his girlfriend Jo Marney Ukip said Ms Marney did not wish to comment further. Mr Bolton is today expected to use a broadcast interview to say that he is the man to lead Ukip and warn that the party could suffer irreparable damage if he stands down. It is understood that his relationship with Ms Marney is "on hold" as they attempt to deal with the fallout from the messages. Mr Bolton's decision to leave his wife for Ms Marney, and the publicity which followed, was poorly received by some Ukip activists. Expand Close Bolton with Marney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bolton with Marney At the weekend it emerged that the glamour model made a series of comments about Ms Markle, which included a suggestion that the actress would "taint our royal family" with her "seed". She added: "Pushing their way to the top slowly slowly. Next will be a Muslim Pm. And a black king." The party's ruling national executive committee is due to discuss Mr Bolton's status at a meeting on Sunday. Paul Oakden, Ukip's chairman, suggested Mr Bolton (54) could quit before then forcing Ukip to elect its fourth leader in less than two years. He told the BBC's 'Sunday Politics' programme: "I think it is very clear that Henry is increasingly in a position where he has got some difficult decisions to make. He knows that. He and I have spoken regularly over the weekend and as recently as this morning. I know that he is very focused on those decisions today. He intends on making those decisions today and I am sure whatever he does will be in the best interests of the party." He added: "They will consult with the leader a week today [Sunday], if he is still the leader at that point, and they will collectively make a decision on what to do going forward." Even if Mr Bolton does choose to leave Ms Marney, he could still be forced to stand down as leader over the leaked messages. 'The Mail on Sunday' reported that in the messages Ms Marney referred to Ms Markle as a "dumb little commoner" with a "tiny brain". She also used the word "negro" in the exchange and said "this is Britain, not Africa" during a discussion about the royal engagement. When her friend suggested her comments were "racist", Ms Marney replied "lol so what". Mr Bolton said yesterday that Ms Marney had been suspended from Ukip. Following the publication of the text messages, Bill Etheridge, a Ukip MEP and former leadership contender, threatened to quit as a party spokesman if Mr Bolton does not stand down. Ms Marney said in a statement about her comment on Ms Markle: "The opinions I expressed were deliberately exaggerated in order to make a point and have, to an extent, been taken out of context. Yet I fully recognise the offence they have caused." An agreement that paves the way for Angela Merkel to form a new coalition government in Germany has been cast into doubt by a growing rebellion within the Social Democrat party (SPD). Ms Merkel, the German chancellor, and Martin Schulz, the SPD leader, sealed a deal on Friday after 24-hour talks to open formal negotiations on renewing their coalition. But the agreement has to be approved by an SPD congress this Sunday, and there are signs of growing opposition within the party, which suffered heavy losses in September's elections. "There was a clear vote against both coalition partners," Michael Muller, the SPD mayor of Berlin, told 'Tagesspiegel' newspaper. "The same coalition with the same policy is not a good enough answer to this." If the SPD votes against joining a coalition, it will leave Ms Merkel facing new elections or trying to form a minority government. Her agreement with Mr Schulz has already failed its first test, after the SPD regional association in Saxony-Anhalt voted to oppose a new coalition this weekend. The small state only sends seven delegates to the SPD congress out of 600, but the decision has sent jitters through the party. Mr Schulz initially ruled out renewing the coalition with Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) after September's election results. But he changed his mind in the face of open rebellion from MPs after Ms Merkel's talks with smaller parties collapsed late last year. So far, there has only been significant opposition to a new coalition within the Jusos, the SPD youth wing. But influential party figures are beginning to speak out and accuse Mr Schulz's leadership of failing to win enough concessions from Ms Merkel in last week's talks. The SPD leadership has deployed its big guns to make the case for a coalition. Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has been sent to the regional associations to urge them to back a deal. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Melrose is ramping up efforts to secure a 7 billion takeover of GKN this week as it meets shareholders in the engineering firm to garner support for the deal. The company, which specialises in buying up and rejuvenating manufacturers, will portray GKN has an under-managed organisation without focus and sub-par shareholder returns, but offers huge scope for improvement. Slides prepared for its investor meetings also plays up Melroses own informal offer of 405p per share, comprising 80% in new Melrose shares and 20% in cash, saying GKN shareholders would own around 57% of the firm and become major participants in potential future value creation. The offer represents a 24% premium over GKNs closing price on January 5, the last business day before Melrose made its first takeover approach, and a 30% premium on the average share price since GKN released its trading update on October 13. Expand Close GKN / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp GKN The shareholder meetings are an aggressive move by Melrose, which saw its 7 billion offer rejected last week by GKNs board on grounds that it undervalued the firm. Melrose chief executive Simon Peckham said: We are aiming to put into sharp focus the options for GKN shareholders. They can elect to sell in the market right now for a substantial premium to Fridays opening price which itself has increased following a rise in the price of Melroses shares. Or they can choose to combine their business with ours and have the majority share in what we are confident will be a business capable of significant value enhancement. This is in stark contrast to a break up of the business by a GKN management team which has consistently underperformed or a hasty possible sale of parts or all of the business to third parties who dont share our objectives of creating long term value for shareholders. GKNs new chief executive Anne Stevens as well as the firms finance director Jos Sclater are holding their own meetings with shareholders this week in order to discuss the companys transformation plan, which is aimed at improving cash generation and profit margins. But the Melrose bid is also likely to be addressed. GKN is a strong global business with competitive positions in attractive markets directly supplying the worlds biggest automotive and aerospace manufacturers, GKN said. Melroses opportunistic offer to shareholders fundamentally undervalues our company and its prospects and would deprive our shareholders of the full benefits of the value that GKN intends to deliver. But Melrose said GKN has underperformed the total shareholder return of the FTSE 350 by around 26% since 2003, while Melrose is currently the third best company in terms of shareholder return over the same period. It also highlighted a history of missed margin targets at GKN since 2011. Melrose intends to significantly improve GKNs businesses as opposed to a hasty break up, the turnaround specialist said in a statement. The takeover tilt comes at a difficult time for GKN, which in November ditched its incoming boss less than two months before he was due to take the top job as it warned over another hit in its troubled US plant. The firm has instead appointed non-executive director Anne Stevens as interim chief executive and on Friday confirmed her as the companys permanent boss. GKN, which makes wing tips for Airbus and parts for car giants including Mercedes and Jaguar Land Rover, revealed last year that a review of its US aerospace plants had uncovered additional write-offs of between 80 million and 130 million. It had previously expected to write off 15 million on its Alabama facility, relating to revised assumptions on programme inventory and receivables balances, which sparked a wider review across the division. Melrose has until February 9 to make a firm offer or drop its bid for GKN. GKN shares were at the top of the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading, up more than 4.6% or 19.4p at 439.4p. The word 'Shithole', President Donald Trump's now infamous way of describing Haiti and African countries, was projected on to his hotel in Washington DC by protesters at the weekend Photo: REUTERS President Donald Trump has said that a programme that protects immigrants who were brought to the US illegally as children is "probably dead". At issue is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, which was created by President Barack Obama to shield hundreds of thousands of these individuals, known as 'Dreamers', from deportation. Mr Trump, who has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration, said last year he would end the programme unless Congress came up with a solution by March. Republicans and Democrats were already at odds over funding the government and the negotiations became more complicated after Democrats - whose votes are needed to pass a government funding bill - insisted that immigration be included. Further roiling the talks are comments by Trump during an Oval Office meeting in which he questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the US, along with Africans from "shithole" countries, according to people briefed on the conversation. He also said he would prefer immigrants from countries like Norway instead. The White House has not denied that Trump said the word "shithole" and Republicans have had to answer questions about whether Mr Trump is racist. Mia Love, the first black female Republican in Congress and the daughter of Haitian immigrant parents, denounced Trump's comments as racist and called on him to apologise. "I think that would show real leadership," she said. However, Senator David Perdue, who was at Thursday's Oval Office meeting, insisted yesterday that Mr Trump did not say "shithole" in referring to African countries. "I am telling you that he did not use that word. And I'm telling you it's a gross misrepresentation," he said. Donald Trump accompanied by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, speaks as they arrive for a dinner at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach (AP) U.S. President Donald Trump insisted on Sunday "I'm not a racist" in response to reports that he had described immigrants from Haiti and African countries as coming from "sh**hole countries." Trump also said he was "ready, willing and able" to reach a deal to protect illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children from being deported but that he did not believe Democrats wanted an agreement. He tweeted earlier on Sunday that the existing program would "probably" be discontinued. The debate over immigration policy became increasingly acrimonious after it was reported on Thursday that the Republican president used the word "sh**hole" to describe Haiti and African countries in a private meeting with lawmakers. The comments led to harsh recriminations from Democrats and Republicans alike, with some critics accusing Trump of racism, even as bipartisan talks continued in the U.S. Congress to seek a bipartisan compromise to salvage the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. Asked by a reporter in Florida whether he was a racist, Trump said: "No. I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed." Trump has threatened to end DACA, but he seemed to keep the door open for a deal when he told reporters before dinner on Sunday night: "We're ready, willing and able to make a deal on DACA, but I don't think the Democrats want to make a deal. The Democrats are the ones that aren't going to make a deal." Efforts to extend the program are further complicated because it could make a funding bill to avert a government shutdown due Friday more difficult. "DACA is probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our military," Trump said earlier on Twitter. A U.S. judge ruled last Tuesday that DACA should remain in effect until legal challenges brought in multiple courts are resolved. "I hope that we are actually going to work on fixing DACA," said Representative Mia Love on CNN's "State of the Union" program on Sunday. "We cannot let this derail us." Love, whose parents are from Haiti, had criticised Trump for his remarks and called on him to apologize. Trump denied making the disparaging remarks on Friday, although U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, who was in the White House meeting, said the president had used the term. One participant at the meeting on Sunday denied that Trump used the term and another said he did not recall Trump making such comments. Asked on Sunday whether his inflammatory remarks made it harder to get a DACA deal, Trump said: "Did you see what various senators in the room say about my comments? They weren't bad." Lawmakers hope to reach an immigration deal before Jan. 19, when Congress must pass a funding bill or the government will shut down. Some Democrats insist that the DACA question be addressed by then. Lawmakers are trying to combine some form of relief for DACA immigrants along with enhanced border security, including a wall along the Mexican border, sought by Trump. The president's inflammatory comments left lawmakers struggling to find a path forward. "I hope we can move beyond that. What was reported was unacceptable. But what we have to do is not let that define this moment," said Republican Senator Cory Gardner on CBS's "Face the Nation" program. Republican Senator David Perdue, who was at the same White House meeting and had said he did not recall whether Trump made the comment, was more explicit on Sunday. He called the new stories a "gross misrepresentation." "I'm telling you, he did not use that word," he said on ABC's "This Week" program. However, Republicans and Democrats have both said they either heard Trump say it, or heard directly from colleagues who did. Republican Senator Jeff Flake said on Sunday he was told about the remarks by colleagues who attended the meeting, before the news reports emerged. "I heard that account before the account even went public," he said on "This Week." One of Trump's top advisers, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, said on "Fox News Sunday" she did not recall if Trump used "that specific phrase." She also appeared to rebut Trump's remarks from earlier in the day. "DACA is not dead," she said. An electronic sign reads 'There is no threat' in Oahu, Hawaii, after the false alert Photo: Reuters The second recent blunder in Hawaii's planning for a possible North Korean nuclear attack left islanders shaken after an emergency alert warning of an imminent strike sounded on hundreds of thousands of mobile phones. For nearly 40 minutes people waited. Then came the second mobile alert: someone hit the wrong button, there was no missile. Expand Close A screen grab from a Twitter account of the message sent out Photos: Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A screen grab from a Twitter account of the message sent out Photos: Reuters Some people abandoned cars on the highway and others gathered in the interiors of their homes to wait for what seemed like the inevitable, a blast that would cause widespread death and destruction. The message sent statewide just after 8am on Saturday read: "Ballistic Missile threat inbound to Hawaii. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill." The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency's administrator, Vern Miyagi, said he took responsibility for the mistake. He said officials would study the error to make sure it doesn't happen again. State lawmakers said they would hold a hearing on Friday, while the Federal Communications Commission is to launch an investigation. Hawaii House Speaker Scott Saiki said the system residents have been told to rely on failed miserably, while Hawaii US Senator Brian Schatz tweeted the false alarm was "totally inexcusable". The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency tweeted there was no threat about 10 minutes after the initial alert, but that didn't reach people who aren't on the social media platform. A mobile alert informing of the false alarm didn't reach mobile phones until about 40 minutes later. Hawaii officials apologised and said the alert was sent when someone hit the live alert button instead of a test button during a shift change. The state also reintroduced the Cold War-era warning siren tests last month, but 12 of the 386 sirens mistakenly played an ambulance siren. Seventy-seven people have been injured after the mezzanine floor inside the Jakarta Stock Exchange tower collapsed, forcing a chaotic evacuation. Security camera footage circulating online showed the collapse, with a group of people plunging several feet to the ground as the structure gave way beneath them. People fled the building through a lobby strewn with debris, while emergency service personnel tended to the injured on the grass and pavement outside the tower. National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said most of the injured were college students from Palembang in Sumatra, who were visiting the stock exchange as part of a study tour. Mr Wasisto ruled out terrorism as a cause of the collapse. He said: "There is no bomb element in the incident." A college student from Palembang said she felt a tremor just before the floor collapsed. "The structure suddenly collapsed, causing chaos," the student, identified as Ade, told MetroTV. She said some of her friends were hit by debris and suffered head wounds and broken bones. The stock exchange remained open for its afternoon trading session and its general manager Tito Sulistio said no-one had been killed. "I guarantee that there were no fatalities," he said. "I helped evacuate the victims to the park and as far as I know, the worst injuries are fractures." He said the exchange will pay the students' medical costs. Mark Wahlberg has donated his $1.5m (1.2m)reshoot fee for 'All The Money In The World' to the Time's Up campaign. Wahlberg was met with outrage when it was revealed he earned the fortune to re-film portions of the movie to erase disgraced actor Kevin Spacey while Williams reportedly received less than $1,000 (820). In a statement, Wahlberg, inset, said: "Over the last few days my reshoot fee for 'All The Money In The World' has become an important topic of conversation. I 100pc support the fight for fair pay and I'm donating the $1.5m to the Time's Up Legal Defence Fund in Michelle Williams' name." WME, the agency that represents both Wahlberg and Williams, also donated $500,000 to the campaign. Responding to the donations by Wahlberg and WME, Williams issued a statement which said: "Today isn't about me. My fellow actresses stood by me and stood up for me, my activist friends taught me to use my voice, and the most powerful men in charge, they listened and they acted. If we truly envision an equal world, it takes equal effort and sacrifice.... Anthony Rapp, for all the shoulders you stood on, now we stand on yours." Rapp is the actor who first came forward with accusations about Spacey's behaviour, saying he was inspired to speak out after watching women tell their own stories of sexual harassment in Hollywood. Spacey issued an apology to Rapp after he made the allegation, and said: "I honestly do not remember the encounter... but if I did behave then as he describes I owe him the sincerest apology." Ridley Scott's film 'All The Money In The World' had to undergo reshoots in the weeks ahead of its release after Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct and assault by multiple men. Formulated and tested for Tata Motors vehicles, this range of superior quality multi-purpose oils are suitable for the new generation engines and other aggregates, thereby encouraging their customers to use the right oil in the right environment for better performance. The product range includes high performing engine oils, gear oils and rear axle oil for commercial vehicles range manufactured by Tata Motors for both on road and off road applications segment. This new range of Company Branded oils have been developed as per regulations and specifications required for the Indian commercial vehicles market. For the ease of customers, Tata Motors Genuine Oils are exclusively available across 1400 Tata Motors CVBU-authorized workshops. Commenting on the launch, R. Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice-President, Customer Care, CVBU, Tata Motors Limited said, "We at Tata Motors have always worked towards creating a delightful experience for all our customers through various aftersales products & services for our Commercial Vehicles. We are committed to provide our customers with the best lubricant technology expertise and support in the competitive market place. Launched in four variants, Tata Motors Genuine Oil is specially formulated for our new generation engines to enhance the performance of the vehicle. Be it for better mileage, longer aggregate life or protection, these oils offer the right solution for each of our products. New Delhi, Jan 15 (IBNS): Adoption of Corporate wellness program can save India Inc. income up to US$ 20 billion by 2018 through a reduction in absenteeism rate by 1.00 percent and at the same time improve chronic and lifestyle diseases of corporates and employees, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) latest paper. The chamber analysis further reveals that on an average for every rupee being spent on employee wellness programme, employers get Rs. 132.33 as a saving on absenteeism cost and Rs.6.62 back as reduced health care costs. These findings are condensed in a paper based on the paper Corporate Wellness Programme: Benefits to Organisation & Economy covered sectors like Engineering, FMCG, Financial Services, IT/ITeS, Infrastructure, Market Research/KPO, Media and Real Estate. The paper also found that 83 per cent of respondents are willing to contribute a percentage of their salary in company sponsored wellness program; however 17 per cent are not at all willing to participate in it, adds the paper. On impact of wellness program to corporate employees across sector, the paper disclosed that among IT/ITeS sector employees, 93 per cent feel that company sponsored wellness program act as a motivating factor for them. However 7 per cent feel depressed about the healthcare program. About 60 per cent employees engaged in media sector consider wellness program as a motivating factor, whereas remaining 40 per cent feel that it acts as a depressing factor. However, in case of FMCG, 75 per cent of employees feel that it act as a motivating factor, however, 25 per cent consider it as a depressing factor. In financial sector, 84 per cent of employees favor the wellness program while 16 per cent of respondents not interested to participate in these kind of programs, noted the paper. In rest of sectors 100 per cent of employees consider company sponsored wellness program act as a motivating factor for them. The ASSOCHAM observed that out of top 500 Indian companies that are working towards CSR initiatives, offer healthcare programs and facilities in nearby areas where their factory outlets are located and many are serving in rural blocks/districts/village. But ironically 42 per cent of them ignore employee health care as they do not offer any wellness program to them. However, the chamber noticed that despite the availability of preventive health care benefits through medical plans, most of the respondents do not take advantage for getting routine health care examination. As some are not aware about benefits that exist and some hesitate to ask. Almost 76 per cent of employees deny accepting that "it"- heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or stroke can happen to them. About 48 per cent of respondents informed that their organization offer corporate wellness program. Out of which 62 per cent of the employees feel that the present wellness program run by their organization needs improvement. However, out of the 52 per cent of the employees revealed that their company do not run any wellness program, 51 per cent of the survey respondents say if in future their company initiates any employee wellness program they would surely participate in it. As part of M&S five-year plan to transform its business, the retailer aims to make its technology function deliver more commercial opportunities. TCS will be M&S principal technology partner and will help drive agility, intelligence, innovation and efficiency to transform the retailers customer experience and drive growth of M&S business. TCS will transition M&S to a new Technology Operating Model, which embraces the agile mind-set to transform business and IT strategy, aligned with rapid technology innovation to meet fast changing business priorities. Steve Rowe, CEO, M&S said: This new partnership will bring the best of TCS capabilities to M&S. We will join our expertise to unlock the potential for technology to drive our digital-first transformation and accelerate growth of our business. Through our Technology Transformation Programme, our business will be faster, simpler and more focused on achieving a seamless customer experience. Rajesh Gopinathan, CEO and Managing Director, TCS, commented: Our long standing partnership with M&S has helped to build a strong contextual knowledge of their business. This is coupled with our deep domain expertise, positioning TCS to be the principal technology partner to M&S. TCS will help the customer adopt a digital-first mind-set to win new customers and create growth at accelerated pace. We look forward to working even more closely with M&S as they embark on this transformation of their business. Image: Twitter Lima, Jan 15 (IBNS): A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck Peru on Sunday, killing at least one person, reports said. According to the US Geological Survey, the quake was centered 40 kilometers from Acari in the Arequipa department of southwestern Peru. It also destroyed 171 homes, affecting over 700 families, while injuring 65 people, the Associated Press quoted national chief of civil defense, Jorge Chavez, as saying. Image: Twitter It is natural that Washington, D.C. with its many museums and monuments, should offer visitors a comprehensive immersion into American history and culture. But its not just the American way of life visitors can discover. For instance, within the citys Smithsonian museums, entries to which are always free, also lies an impressive, not-to-be-missed collection of Indian art. This diverse group of paintings, sculptures and photographs gives insight into ancient Indian dynasties and contemporary Indian life. The Indian art collection lives in the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonians two museums of Asian art that neighbour each other along the National Mall. The galleries have now re-opened after extensive renovations. Freer|Sackler, as the galleries are commonly known, categorises its collection by region. Indian art is part of the South Asian and Himalayan Art collection, which includes more than 1,200 objects from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, ranging from the First century B.C. to the present. In our galleries, we seek to present artworks that came out of both religious and secular arenas. Our new galleries at the Freer will look at the ways different communities understood the body and how that manifested in artworks. On view will be Hindu, Buddhist and Jain sculptures, courtly paintings and luxury objects, says Debra Diamond, curator of South and Southeast Asian art at Freer|Sackler. A few highlights of Indian art in this selection: Chola bronzes From the 9th to the 13th century, the Chola dynasty was the dominant cultural, artistic, religious and political force in south India. Chola rulers commissioned elegant sculptures and majestic temples of Hindu deities, to proclaim the power and wealth of their dynasty. A small but superb collection of Chola bronze sculptures at the Freer gallery includes Shiva Nataraja, Nandi and the portrait sculpture of Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi as Goddess Uma or Parvati. The queen, known as a patron of the arts, focused on temple commissions. Her statue, extraordinary in its grace, offers a rare glimpse of a powerful historical woman, says Diamond. Mughal and Rajput paintings The works in this collection rotate, but weve always got a few masterpieces on view, says Diamond. The artists who worked for the Rajput courts made conscious decisions about styles and subjects, and their works helped to shape culture in western India, she says. The Mughals were globally connected. So, these works are always very interesting as springboards for thinking about the present, adds Diamond. Till February 2018, the Freer gallery will put on view, what Diamond says is, one of the only extant allegorical portraits of Jahangir, the Mughal emperor. The subject of the painting is his dream projection of dominance over Persia during a period when hes vying with Shah Abbas for control of Qandahar, which is part of present Afghanistan. Meteoric iron knife The Freer gallery also keeps on permanent display a knife made partially of meteoric iron for Mughal emperor Jahangir. Its the only surviving blade, of four, that he had forged from a meteor that fell outside of Jalandhar in 1621, informs Diamond. Siddhapratima Yantra This very rare shrine of a Jain siddha [is] one of the most extraordinary objects in the museum, says Diamond. Its meant to show a being that had transcended samsara [the cycle of death and rebirth]. So, the artist depicted the being as negative space, which is very conceptual, very profound, she adds. Indian photography Diamond calls the more than 200 photographs by Indian photographer Raghubir Singh (1942-99) the jewel of our collection. Its the largest museum collection of works by this pioneering modern master of colour, she says. To see these and the other Indian and South Asian artworks, Diamond recommends visitors allocate at least 45 minutes to the Freer gallery and another 45 to the Sackler gallery. She also suggests visitors check with the galleries in advance regarding any special exhibitions on South Asia. For instance, from this October to June 24, 2018, Freer|Sackler is featuring a large installation, called Terminal, by Subodh Gupta, a contemporary multimedia artist based in New Delhi. Diamond suggests a viewing strategy as well. Upon entering the Freer gallery, she suggests one should take a quick peek into the doorways of all the galleries of Japanese, Islamic, Chinese and American art, so that, when you enter the Indian galleries, you are struck immediately by how very distinctive the South Asian attitudes are toward the body. Indian artists told stories with the body, and they extolled its spiritual and physical beauty. Its sensuous and transcendent at the same time, completely unique. (Courtesy SPAN) The new Award, carrying a cash award of Rs 1 lakh, will recognize women writers in all Indian languages. The winner of 2018 would be announced at the next AKLF in 2019. Prabha Khaitan Womans Voice Award is a joint initiative AKLF and Kolkata-based NGO, Prabha Khaitan Foundation (PKF), in association with Oxford Book Store. The Award was formally announced by Sundeep Bhutoria, Trustee, Prabha Khaitan Foundation, at a special session Women Writers: Shaping a New India held at the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival and attended by veteran writer Nayantara Sahgal, Urvashi Butalia and Anjum Katyal. It is very encouraging to see more and more women are making their mark in the literary field at the national and regional level. I hope this trend would continue to grow and spread in the coming years and the various issues of women, and their creativity, would be articulated through the various literature festivals held across India, said Sundeep Bhutoria, Trustee, Prabha Khaitan Foundation, at the sidelines of the AKLF session held at the lawns of St Pauls Cathedral, Kolkata. The aim of instituting this Award is to recognize creative writing in India by women writers and build a pan-India network of women writers by creating a forum for their work and facilitate exchange of thoughts and ideas among them at the regional level as well, Bhutoria said. We are delighted to be associated with this award which is a way of supporting and promoting new women writers voices. We look forward to build new writing by women across the country, said AKLF Director Anjum Katyal. Prose, poetry, playwriting, graphic literature and any other cross-genre form would come under the ambit of the Prabha Khaitan Womans Voice Award. For the first year, only books in English (translations included) would be eligible. The Award is open to authors of all ages with published work. The original publication can be in any Indian language, including English, but in the case of other languages. A five-member jury, selected on a rotational basis, would select the winner. Urvashi Butalia, Jerry Pinto, Toshani Doshi, Anjum Katyal and Srijato Bandhopadhyay are the jury members for 2018. This is the lone insurgency-related fatality recorded in the State in the current year, 2018, so far (data till January 14, 2018). There were six such fatalities (four civilians, one trooper, and one militant) in the corresponding period of 2017. Indeed, according to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), there was a 66 per cent spike in total fatalities in 2017, as compared to 2016. The State registered at least 55 fatalities, including 23 civilians, nine Security Force (SF) personnel, and 23 militants in 2017; as against 33 fatalities, including 14 civilians, 11 SF personnel, and eight militants, in 2016. Notably, fatalities recorded in 2016 (33) were the lowest recorded in the State in a year since 1992. The previous low was 54, recorded in 2014. It is useful to note, however, that the trend of fatalities in the State, on year on year basis, has tended to be cyclic in nature. Worryingly, the number of civilian fatalities, which had recorded a continuous decline since 2008, increased in 2017. Fatalities in this category (23) were the highest recorded since 2012 when there were 25 civilian fatalities. Other parameters of violence were also indicative of a surge in hostilities. There were a total of 41 incidents of insurgency-linked killings in 2017, as compared to 22 such incidents in 2016. Also, six lives were lost and 62 persons were injured in 35 incidents of explosion in 2017; as compared to two killed and 28 injured in 51 such incidents in 2016. Further, killing incidents were reported from 10 of the State's 16 Districts in 2017. Kamjong District recorded the highest number of fatalities, nine in five incidents; followed by Tegnoupal, seven in five incidents; Kangpokpi, six in five incidents; Churachandpur, five in three incidents, Chandel, five in three incidents; Imphal West five in five incidents; Ukhrul, five in five incidents; Noney, four in four incidents; Jiribam District, four in four incidents; and Bishnupur, one in one incident. The place of the incident is not exactly known in case of the remaining four fatalities. In 2016, killing incidents were reported from eight of the State's 16 Districts (including the seven new Districts). The Naga and Kuki dominated seven Hill Districts accounted for 74.5 per cent of total fatalities (41 out of the total 55 fatalities) in 2017. There were no fatalities in the remaining three Hill Districts (Senapati, Pherzawl and Tamenglong). Manipur currently has a total of 10 Hill Districts: Chandel, Tamenglong, Senapati, Ukhrul, Pherzawl, Noney, Tegnoupal, Kangpokpi, Kamjong and Churachandpur. In 2016, fatalities were reported from five Hill Districts: Chandel, Tamenglong, Senapati, Ukhrul and Churachandpur accounting for 69.7 per cent of total fatalities (23 out of 33). In 2016, there were only five Hill Districts in the State. Each of these Districts was bifurcated on December 9, 2016. After bifurcation, between December 9 and December 31, 2016, there was one incident of killing in which three SF personnel were killed in Chandel District on December 15, 2016. Similarly, three Valley Districts (Imphal West, Jiribam and Bishnupur) registered the remaining 24.4 per cent of fatalities (10 of 55) in 2017. In 2016, three valley Districts (Imphal West, Imphal East and Thoubal) registered 30.3 per cent of total fatalities (10 of 33). Significantly, five of the current 10 Hill Districts are along the porous andvolatile Indo-Myanmar border, increasing their vulnerability. Incidents of fratricidal killings also increased. In 2017, with 19 fatalities recorded in 10 such incidents, as against four fatalities in four incidents in 2016. On September 12, 2017, suspected militants of the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM) attacked a combined team of the banned People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Manipur Naga People's Front (MNPF) at Makan village in Kamjong District near Border Pillar No. 8, along the Indo-Myanmar border, and killed five militants: PLA 'sergeant major' Richard aka Wareppam Dinesh, PLA 'sergeant' Lalloi akaKhundrakpam Sunil, PLA 'private' Nanao aka Moirangthem Tomba, PLA 'private' Sinthouba aka Konjengbam Shyamsundar, and MNPF cadre Raikham Jajo aka Nimai Jazo. The NSCN-IM militants took away the weapons of their slain rivals. The issue of the politico-administrative status of the Hill Districts remained unresolved though 2017. The 'indefinite economic blockade' on the two National Highways (Imphal-Dimapur NH-2 and Imphal-Jiribam NH-37) by the United Naga Council (UNC) [the apex body of Nagas in Manipur], over the proposed creation of new Districts, which began on November 1, 2016, continued for the first two months and 19 days of 2017. In the interim, on December 9, 2016, the then State Government led by Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, created seven new districts. Five of these Districts were formed by bifurcating the five then-existing Hill Districts (Chandel, Tamenglong, Senapati, Ukhrul and Churachandpur). The newly created Districts were Pherzawl, Noney, Tegnoupal, Kangpokpi and Kamjong. Another two new Districts - Jiribam and Kakching - were formed by bifurcating two Valley districts: Imphal East and Thoubal. The blockade ended subsequent to a meeting between UNC, the State Government, and Union Government, on March 19, 2017, in which all sides reached an agreement. Satyendra Garg, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, who signed the agreement on behalf of Union Government, stated, Tripartite talks succeeded in addressing the issues and the UNC has agreed to lift the economic blockade. The government of Manipur took note of the grievances of the UNC, including that of them not being consulted while creating the new districts. The UNC has to now frame what exactly their point of view is. Initially they had asked for non-bifurcation of Senapati and Jiribam districts. They will have to clear their stand about the entire seven Districts. Manipur Government will consider whatever changes they want. There were six rounds of tripartite talks in 2017. The next round of tripartite talks is scheduled to be held on February 23, 2018 In the valley Districts demands for implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) persist, supported by the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS). Safeguarding the State's 'territorial integrity' remains an emotive issue in the Valley Districts, especially after the signing of the August 3, 2015, Framework Agreement with NSCN-IM. In an interview to a news channel on December 28, 2017, United Committee Manipur (UCM) 'president' Johnson Elangbam warned, "If the framework agreement is only for Nagaland, give them whatever they want - sovereignty, flag, passport, whatever.. But if it is going to be linked to Assam and Manipur, our voices must be heard. Or else, there could be a repeat of 2001 [violence] and the consequences will be on the Centre [Union Government]". Amidst these adverse developments, there were also some positives. On December 19, 2017, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir stated, "While the states of Sikkim, Mizoram and Tripura had no insurgency-related violence, the number of these incidents had come down in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Meghalaya in 2017 (till 30 November), as compared to the corresponding period of 2016." Moreover, the trend of continuous increase in the number of people abducted for ransom and in extortion between 2013 and 2015 (40 persons in 2013, 50 persons in 2014, 51 persons in 2015) which was reversed in 2016 (44 abducted) continued downward through 2017. A total of 23 persons were reported to have been abducted in 2017 (actual incidence each year is likely to be much higher as a large proportion of cases go unreported). Further, fatalities in the SF category continued to decline through 2017 and stood at nine, the second ever lowest fatalities recorded in this category since 1992; the lowest was 6, recorded in 2013, while the highest of 111 was recorded in 1997. In the recent past, SF fatalities were 24 in 2015, the highest since 2007, when there were 40 such fatalities. 177 militants were arrested in 2017, adding to 175 arrested through 2016. Mounting pressure also led to the surrender of 71 militants in 2017 as compared to just nine in 2016. In a major incident of surrender, on August 14, 2017, at least 68 militants of six different militant groups laid down arms before the SFs in Imphal West District, in presence of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. The militants who laid down arms included 23 of the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), 17 of the United National liberation Front (UNLF), 10 of the People's Revolutionary Army of Kangleipak (PREPAK), seven each of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and Progressive faction of PREPAK (PREPAK-Pro), and four of Kanglei Yowel Kanna Lup (KYKL). SF successes over the years have brought relative peace to Manipur, and a progressive emphasis on development is now an urgent imperative. The Union Government has rightly recognized the Northeastern States as the pivot of its Act East Policy. Thus, the Union Government's Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on July 12, 2017, approved an INR 16.3 billion road project for upgradation and widening of the 65 kilometer road stretch between Imphal and Moreh, to be linked further to Myanmar and Thailand. The challenge of security, nevertheless, remains within the State and, more prominently, in the areas which fall along the volatile and insecure Indo-Myanmar, particularly as the situation in Myanmar remains worrying. Persistent security threats can undo the planned development efforts envisioned by the State. New Delhi, Jan 15 (IBNS): Prime Minister Naredra Modi on Sunday night hosted a private dinner for visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu here. Modi shared several images of the Israeli leader's visit to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Modi tweeted: "Delighted to welcome Mrs. Netanyahu and PM @netanyahu to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. @IsraeliPM." Delighted to welcome Mrs. Netanyahu and PM @netanyahu to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. @IsraeliPM pic.twitter.com/FDI4MJlKBq Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 14, 2018 Earlier in the day, Modi broke protocol to visit airport and receive the PM. By sharing the image of himself welcoming the Israeli leader to India with a bear hug, Modi tweeted: "Welcome to India, my friend PM @netanyahu! Your visit to India is historic and special. It will further cement the close friendship between our nations. @IsraeliPM #ShalomNamaste." Benjamin Netanyahu said his visit to India will further strengthen Israel's international standing. "My first visit to India, a world power that is strengthening its relations with Israel. I am excited about this historic week that will further strengthen Israel's international standing. ," he tweeted. My first visit to India, a world power that is strengthening its relations with Israel. I am excited about this historic week that will further strengthen Israel's international standing. YYYY pic.twitter.com/0ptrXuabL2 Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) January 14, 2018 He called Modi his 'good friend' and said he was surprised to see the Indian PM himself arriving at the airport to welcome him. "Thank you to my good friend, Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi , who surprised me with a personal welcome at the airport upon my arrival in India. Together we will bring the relations between our countries to new heights!," he tweeted. Thank you to my good friend, Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi , who surprised me with a personal welcome at the airport upon my arrival in India. Together we will bring the relations between our countries to new heights! YYYY pic.twitter.com/bPZftC4caF Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) January 14, 2018 ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met the Israeli leader on Sunday. He is the second Prime Minister from his country after Ariel Sharon to visit India in the last 25 years of a diplomatic relationship. The Israeli PM is accompanied by a 130-member delegation from various sectors including cyber, agriculture and defence. On Monday, Netanyahu will be given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan which will be followed by the wreath laying at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. He will also meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and hold delegation level talks. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had told reporters that Netanyahu will hold a roadshow with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad on Jan 17. The two PMs will hold the roadshow for 8 kms. Both the leaders are likely to visit Sabarmati Ashram, abode of Mahatma Gandhi. Rupani was quoted by NDTV: "According to the tentative schedule, Modi and Netanyahu would first visit the Sabarmati Ashram on their arrival here on January 17. Both the dignitaries will be accorded a grand welcome." Both Modi and Netanyahu will visit two centres of excellency in Ahmedabad and inaugurate one. In July last year, Modi visited Israel as the first Indian Prime Minister since the establishment of bilateral ties in 1992. New Delhi, Jan 15 (IBNS): On the first day of his six-day long India visit, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded his country's tie with India and said any negative vote in the United Nations will not affect the bonding, media reports said. Netanyahu, who reached India on Sunday, called the tie between India and Israel as "marriages made in heaven". Apart from the participation at the international forum, the Israel PM said the two countries have a lot of scope in cooperating in certain areas like technology, agriculture. In an interview with India Today last night, Netanyahu said: "I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits." Prime Minister Naredra Modi on Sunday night hosted a private dinner for visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu here. Modi shared several images of the Israeli leader's visit to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Modi tweeted: "Delighted to welcome Mrs. Netanyahu and PM @netanyahu to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. @IsraeliPM." Earlier on Sunday, Modi broke protocol to visit airport and receive the PM. By sharing the image of himself welcoming the Israeli leader to India with a bear hug, Modi tweeted: "Welcome to India, my friend PM @netanyahu! Your visit to India is historic and special. It will further cement the close friendship between our nations. @IsraeliPM #ShalomNamaste." Benjamin Netanyahu said his visit to India will further strengthen Israel's international standing. "My first visit to India, a world power that is strengthening its relations with Israel. I am excited about this historic week that will further strengthen Israel's international standing. ," he tweeted. He called Modi his 'good friend' and said he was surprised to see the Indian PM himself arriving at the airport to welcome him. "Thank you to my good friend, Indian Prime Minister @narendramodi , who surprised me with a personal welcome at the airport upon my arrival in India. Together we will bring the relations between our countries to new heights! ," he tweeted. ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met the Israeli premier on Sunday. He is the second Prime Minister from his country after Ariel Sharon to visit India in the last 25 years of a diplomatic relationship. The Israeli PM is accompanied by a 130-member delegation from various sectors including cyber, agriculture and defence. On Monday, Netanyahu has been given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, followed by the wreath laying at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. He will also meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and hold delegation level talks. Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had told reporters that Netanyahu will hold a roadshow with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad on Jan 17. The two PMs will hold the roadshow for 8 kms. Both the leaders are likely to visit Sabarmati Ashram, abode of Mahatma Gandhi. Rupani was quoted by NDTV: "According to the tentative schedule, Modi and Netanyahu would first visit the Sabarmati Ashram on their arrival here on January 17. Both the dignitaries will be accorded a grand welcome." Both Modi and Netanyahu will visit two centres of excellency in Ahmedabad and inaugurate one. In July last year, Modi visited Israel as the first Indian Prime Minister since the establishment of bilateral ties in 1992. Jammu, Jan 15 (IBNS): Army claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid by killing five militants along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Monday. Speaking to IBNS, Defence spokesman Rajesh Kalia, in Srinagar, said on tip of information an infiltration bid was foiled by the alert forces in Dulajna Uri sector. When challenged and asked to surrender, the militants opened indiscriminate firing with automatic weapons, they said, adding that security forces also retaliated ensuing a fierce encounter. "Five militants were killed in the ongoing operation", Kalia said. An operation is still in progress. Director General of Police (DGP), Dr S P Vaid, said that the Army, state police and Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (CAPF) launched a joint operation at Dulajna, Uri, early this morning after a group of militants infiltrated into this side from Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK). (Reporting by Saleem Qadri) Chandigarh, Jan 15 (IBNS): In a continuing sequence of horror that struck Haryana, three cases of gang-rape have been reported in two days with two victims, both minor, ultimately being murdered and one of them, a minor, brutalised in an eerie reminder of the Nirbhaya episode. According to media reports, In Jind, a 15-year-old girl was brutally raped and killed. Her body was found near a canal in Budhakhera village of Jinds Safidon town on Friday night while a 11-year-old girl was murdered and her corpse was gangraped by two men in Panipat on Sunday. In Faridabad, a 22-year-old woman was gangraped by four men inside a moving car for two hours on Saturday. The reports said a 15-year-old girls brutalised body, with her private parts mutilated and liver ruptured, was found in Haryanas Jind on Friday. The girl, identified as a resident of Kurukshetra, had been missing since January nine. Doctors who conducted the medical examination of the 15-year-old victims body revealed that a blunt and hard object was inserted into her private parts. The doctors also said that her lungs were badly damaged, indicating that somebody sat on her chest. It is believed that the girl had allegedly tried to escape from the attackers as the doctors said that there were clear signs of defence. "There was only a torn shirt on her body. The injuries were all around the body, on the face, neck, lips and chest. Private parts were mutilated. It looks like a hard and blunt thing was insrted inside her. It appears that the victim had struggled a lot to escape from the sexual assault," media reports quoted Dr SK Dattarwal of PGI Rohtak as saying. Deputy SP Kaptan Singh said that an FIR was registered under Section 302 of the IPC. Two SITs have been formed for investigation. No arrests have been made in the case so far. In another macabre incident, an 11-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped and murdered by two people on Sunday. The police said that the Class seven girl was first killed and then gangraped. The police said that the accused burnt the victims clothes to destroy evidence. The girl was reportedly abducted on Saturday when she went to throw garbage. She was reportedly taken to the home of one of the two accused. A 22-year-old woman was allegedly abducted in Faridabad on Sunday evening when she was returning home from work. She was then gangraped by four men in a moving car. She was dropped near Ballabhgarh after two hours. The accused have could not be arrested so far. Police said they were examining the CCTV footage. Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has attacked Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, saying there was a complete breakdown of law and order in the state. Jammu, Jan 15 (IBNS) : The Army killed seven Pakistani soldiers on Monday as it retaliated to unprovoked ceasefire violation from across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Mendhar sector in Poonch district, media reports said. At least four Pakistani soldiers were also injured in the incident. There is no word from the Army on casualties on the Indian side. The incident came on the 70th Army Day in which Army Day, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat warned Pakistan to not compel India to step up its military offensive Media reports said the Pakistani troops resorted to sudden mortar shelling and small arms fire on forward Indian positions along the LoC in Dehri Dabsi area around 10.15 am. The Indian Army immediately retaliated the exchange of fire lasted for nearly an hour. Mondays exchange of fire came even as the Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat said that if forced, the Army might step up military offensive against Pakistan. Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir. We are using our might to teach them a lesson. We will keep effectively retaliating to any provocative action by Pakistan," he said while addressing an programme on the occasion of the Army Day. If we are forced, then we may resort to other action by stepping up military offensive... we will not let anti-India activities succeed at any cost," he said. Madurai, Jan 15 (IBNS) : A 19-year-old spectator was gored to death at Madurai in Tamil Nadu during Jallikattu or bull-taming festivities, media reports said. The police said the incident happened at the end of the bull taming enclosure, known as the collection point. According to reports, many people have been injured in various Jallikattu events since yesterday. The Supreme Court banned Jallikattu in 2014 after activists said it constitutes extreme animal cruelty. Last year, after massive protests, Tamil Nadu enacted a law to bypass the top court's verdict. It is a traditional sport that involves taming a bull. The bull is released into a crowd of people and the participants try to hold on to its hump or horns. The event is celebrated on Mattu Pongal, which is the third day of the popular harvest festival. Image: Wikimedia Commons New Delhi, Jan 15 (IBNS) : Calling Narendra Modi a "revolutionary leader, " visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said that Jews in India never experienced antisemitism, which is a great tribute to the country's civilisation, tolerance and democracy. Speaking at a joint press conference, featuring the two leaders, Netanyahu said : "India and Israel have thousands of years of history. You are a revolutionary leader Narendra Modi, you have revolutionised India." Modi, who has taken a detour in the country's foreign policy by going hunky-dory with Israel without offending the Arab world, welcomed the guest with open arms : " "My good friend, Bibi welcome to India, your visit marks a special beginning to our New Year calendar." The Isareli PM, who is here on a six-day visit, said three things bind our countries - "we have an ancient past, vibrant present and a quest to seize a promising future." Heaping praises on India for its culture and tolerance, Netanyahu said Jews in India have never faced anti-semitism in 2000 years. "This is a tribute to India's great civilisation, tolerance and democracy." Netanyahu, who was lavish in showering encomiums on his Indian couterpart, also said : "You being such a gracious and generous host fills me with hope that this new era of India-Israel relations will bring unprecedented benefits to both nations and all of humanity. Finally, this is perhaps the most important statement I can make here, my friend Narendra, anytime you want to do a Yoga class with me, it's a big stretch but I will be there. Trust me. Thank you very much for your hospitality," Referring to the menace of terrorism, the visiting dignitary said India and Israel both know too well the pain of terrorist attacks. "We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai (26/11 attacks), we will never give in and will fight back." In his speech, Modi said both the countries will strengthen existing pillars of cooperation in areas concerning the people's interests. "These are agriculture, science and technology and security.We exchanged views on scaling up the Centers of Excellence that have been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation," he said. "Today and yesterday we reviewed progress in our relations and renewed our relations on the opportunities that beckon us. We have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions. The results are already visible on the ground. Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and to scale up our partnership," Modi said. On Monday, India and Israel signed MOU on cooperation in oil and gas sector, a protocol on amendments to air transport agreement, agreement on film co-production, field research in homoeopathic medicine, cooperation in the field of space, letter of intent to invest in India, cooperation in metal battery and cooperation in solar thermal energy. New Delhi, Jan 15 (IBNS): Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, called on the President of India Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Monday. Welcoming the Israeli Prime Minister, the President said that his visit to India is a culmination of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Israel. Our warm and friendly ties are growing stronger. In a little over two years, the two countries have exchanged Presidential and Prime Ministerial visits. The President said that our bilateral cooperation has expanded manifold. Political understanding, security cooperation and technology partnerships are key pillars of strategic engagement between India and Israel. He emphasised that collaboration in newer areas such as space, cybersecurity and innovation will add depth to our partnership. The President said that opportunities lay before the two countries in the fields of investment, manufacturing, services, start-ups and technology. He appreciated the presence of Israeli companies in India especially in the water, defence, technology and pharma sectors. He urged them to partner India in its programmes such as Make in India, Clean India, Smart Cities and Digital India. The President said that the India-Israel security cooperation is defined by our common fight against terrorism. This challenge is eating into the vitals of our society. "Our counterterrorism cooperation is progressing well but we need to do more. We need to work together to develop a strong global response to defeat terrorism in all its manifestations," he said. The President said that India appreciates Israels cooperation in the field of agriculture. Israel has taught India to do more with less. Israels support has served our farmers exceedingly well, especially in water deficient areas. As we work to make our farming choices more sustainable, we will seek more Israeli support. A prominent example of India-Israel cooperation in agriculture was evident during todays call-on. The olive tea that was served to the Israeli Prime Minister at Rashtrapati Bhavan was produced in Bikaner by Rajasthan Olive Cultivation Ltd, a joint venture between the Government of Rajasthan and Israeli partners. Kolkata, Jan 15 (IBNS):JSW Cement, producer of PSC cement in India and part of US$ 12 billion JSW Group, on Monday announced the inauguration of its 2.4 MTPA manufacturing unit at Salboni in West Bengal. Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, inaugurated this state-of-the-art cement manufacturing unit at a function attended by government officials, Sajjan Jindal, Chairman - JSW Group; Sangita Jindal, Chairperson - JSW Foundation; Parth Jindal, Managing Director - JSW Cement; Nilesh Narwekar, Chief Executive Officer - JSW Cement, Biswadip Gupta, CEO JSW Foundation along with other distinguished guests. At the inaugural function, JSW Cement dedicated its Salboni cement manufacturing unit to the economic development of West Bengal. The company said the inauguration of JSW Cements Salboni unit underscores JSW Groups commitment to West Bengals economic growth and the states emergence as Indias leading manufacturing and business hub. Commenting on JSW Cements commitment to stay invested in West Bengal, Parth Jindal, Managing Director JSW Cement said, The Salboni unit supports our nation-building goals. Todays inaugural function marks a significant milestone for both JSW Group and West Bengal. West Bengal has been a preferred State for setting up one of our biggest cement manufacturing units. We are committed to stay invested in this State and are in fact planning to increase the capacity of our Salboni cement unit to 3.6 MTPA. This will not only mean additional investments but also create new employment opportunities and community initiatives at Salboni. The Salboni units capacity expansion is part of our goal to achieve an overall production capacity of 20 MTPA by 2020. We thank the Honble Chief Minister Smt Mamata Banerjee for joining us on this momentous day. We take immense pride in dedicating the Salboni cement unit to the economic development of West Bengal. The Salboni unit will service JSW Cements customer requirements in West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, northern parts of Orissa etc. JSW Cement has commenced despatches of Concreel HD cement from the Salboni unit to East markets. Concreel HD is a unique cement variant innovated by JSW Cement. It is specially designed for concrete-based construction requirements. Concreel HD provides exceptional strength and sets quickly, thereby making it ideal for strength-bearing applications such as beams, columns, slabs and foundations. Guwahati, Jan 15 (IBNS): Ahead of Republic Day celebrations, militancy attack took place in Manipur on Monday evening as an powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blew up in Imphal. Suspected militants triggered the blast at the foot of the southern wall of Johnstone Higher Secondary school near M-Sector of Defence PRO in the capital city of Manipur. The IED exploded at the area around 6 pm and one woman was injured in the blast. The injured woman was identified as 50-year old Yenshembam Sabita and she is a sweeper of Imphal Municipal Corporation. Sabita was rushed to nearest hospital. Meanwhile, top police and army officials have rushed to the area. A top official of Manipur police said that, suspected militants are behind the explosion and security personnel have been launched massive operation to hunt the attackers. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) recently alerted the Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya government and state police as several militant groups of the region are planning to attack on security forces and trigger explosion ahead on Republic Day celebrations. (Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath) At least two civilians were killed and another injured when a terrorist attacked a 'checkpost' of the peace committee in the Wana area of South Waziristan Agency (SWA) in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) on December 14, 2017. No group has, so far, claimed responsibility for the attack. On December 6, 2017, one Ali Mohammad, a peace committee member, was killed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists in Daggar village of the Chagmalai region in SWA. According to local media, an unnamed spokesman of the outfit claimed the attack and warned that members of the peace committee would continue to be targeted. On December 2, 2017, a pro-Government tribal elder, Malak Ameer Rehman, was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in the Olai Shah area of Ambartehsil (revenue unit) in Mohmand Agency. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. On November 30, 2017, five peace committee members were killed and two were injured in a remotely detonated bomb in the Spinkai area, near the Afghanistan border, in SWA. The Sajna faction of TTP claimed responsibility for the attack The trend of declining civilian fatalities established since 2013 has been reversed in 2017, when selective attacks on peace committee members and civilians increased sharply, with fatalities witnessing an over two-fold jump. According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) at least 170 civilian fatalities, including 12 peace committee members, were recorded in 2017, as against 76 such fatalities, including nine peace committee members, in 2016. More worryingly, fatalities in this category (civilian) recorded in 2017 were the highest since 2013, when such fatalities stood at 319. The worst attack targeting civilians in the year took place on June 24, 2017, when at least 67 persons were killed and more than 200 were injured in back-to-back explosions in the Turi Bazaar area of Parachinar in the Kurram Agency of FATA, when the market was crowed for Iftar (the evening meal that breaks the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan) and Eid (celebration that marks the end of Ramadan) shopping. The al-Alami (International) faction of LeJ claimed responsibility for the twin bomb blasts and declared in a statement that it was targeting Shias and threatened more attacks in response to "Pakistanis fighting against Sunni militants in Syria's civil war". While civilians faced the increased brunt of terror through 2017, the terrorists also increased their attacks against SFs. Fatalities among SFs increased from 39 in 2016 to 54 in 2017. Here also, as in case of civilians, the trend of declining fatalities, established since 2013, was reversed. On the contrary, terrorist fatalities continued their steep decline through 2017. The number of terrorist fatalities was 315 in 2016, and declined dramatically to 167 in 2017, the lowest since 2006. Fatalities in this category recorded a remarkable decline in 2016 as well, as there were 1,642 such fatalities in 2015. There were 391 total fatalities in 2017, as against 430 in 2016. FATA has, so far, recorded just one SF fatality, in the current year (data till January 14, 2018). The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) in its annual report released on January 1, 2018, also recorded a rise in civilian and SF fatalities in 2017. The report shows that FATA recorded 206 civilian and 70 SF fatalities in 2017 as against 81 civilian and 60 SF fatalities in 2016. The number of terrorist fatalities, according to the report, was 152 in 2017, as against 51 in 2016. The number of terrorist attacks also registered an increase: from 119 in 2016 to 160 in 2017. Meanwhile, the SATP database indicated that the number of major incidents (each involving three or more fatalities) increased from 32 in 2016 to 34 in 2017. Though the number of suicide attacks in both these years (2017 and 2016) remained at three each, the resultant fatalities increased from 55 in 2016 to 99 in 2017. Sectarian attacks also increased in FATA through 2017. As against one such incident recorded in 2016, in which 37 people died, year 2017 accounted for 117 fatalities inthree incidents. Pakistani authorities, nevertheless, claimed overwhelming successes in FATA. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor declared on August 21, 2017, that Operation Khyber-4, which was launched on July 15, 2017, in Rajgal and Shawal areas of Khyber Agency, has been successfully completed. He claimed that the ground targets had been achieved in Rajgal and Shawal areas and 253 kilometres of land had been cleared of terrorists during the operation, in which 52 terrorists were killed and one was arrested, while four terrorists blew themselves up. The Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa claimed, on October 11, 2017, that Pakistan had improved the security situation on the internal front and defeated the challenges to the writ of the State, though a 'residual threat' remained. Further, on January 13, 2018, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi declared that Pakistan had achieved remarkable success against terrorism: "The tide has been turned against terrorists and their capacity to conduct activities has been immensely curtailed." Not surprisingly, the international community, primarily the United States (US), continues to consider FATA as safe haven for terrorist formations. In a stern warning to Pakistan, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Mike Pompeo on December 4, 2017, stated that if Pakistan did not eliminate the alleged safe havens inside its territory, the United States will do "everything we can" to destroy them. More recently, on January 10, 2018, the US Government issued a new travel advisory to it citizens cautioning them against travel to FATA, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The US State Department statement read: Reconsider travel to Pakistan due to terrorism. Some areas have increased risk. Do not travel to Balochistan province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, (FATA) and the Azad Kashmir area due to terrorism and armed conflict. Significantly, US drone attacks surged in 2017, in the terrorist badlands of FATA, where al Qaeda, the Haqqani Network and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur faction of TTP find shelter. There were two drone attacks in FATA, with just seven fatalities, in 2016; in 2017 this number jumped to eight, resulting in 43 fatalities, including some of the senior 'commanders' of the Haqqani Network, TTP and Islamic State (IS). Some of the prominent terrorist 'commanders' eliminated in these attacks in 2017 were: December 26: A US drone strike killed two Haqqani network terrorists, including senior 'commander' Maulvi Jamiuddin, travelling in a vehicle in the Mata Sangar area, near the Afghanistan-Pakistan's border, in Kurram Agency. October 16: At least 20 Haqqani Network terrorists, including senior 'commander' Sangeen Wali Shah, were killed in a US drone strike on a compound near the border with Afghanistan in the Maqbal area of Kurram Agency. July 3: Four IS terrorists, including 'commander' Pir Agha, were killed when a US drone fired two missiles at the vehicle they were travelling in, in the Marghalan village of SWA. May 24: A US drone attack killed three terrorists, including a TTP 'commander' Abdullah Kashmiri, at an unspecified location close to the Afghanistan border in North Waziristan Agency (NWA). April 27: A suspected US drone strike on a house in the Lawara Mandi area of NWA killed at least seven TTP terrorists, including senior 'commander' Abdur Rahman. March 2: A US drone strike killed senior Afghan Taliban 'commander' Qari Abdullah Sabari and his associate Shakir' when they were travelling on a motorcycle in the Sra Ghundai area, along the Pak-Afghan border, in Kurram Agency. In spite of these confirmed kills on Pakistani soil, Pakistani authorities continue to claim that there were no terrorist safe havens in Pakistan. Indeed, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif argued that the decrease in US drone attacks over the preceding years proved that there were no more safe havens in Pakistan. The Foreign Minister shared a chart of drone attacks carried out over 12 years from 2005 till Oct 15, 2017, in the Pakistani territory. He tweeted: "12yrs drone attacks chart. If we have sanctuaries why frequency is sharply down? US won't hesitate attacking funeral, weddings to get targets". Though total terrorism related fatalities in FATA declined in FATA in 2017, escalating fatalities in the civilian and SF categories are grounds for alarm, and the enormous burden of destruction faced by tribal people over years has made their lives miserable. Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) figure revealed on May 28, 2017, show that at least 5,740 people, including Paramilitary Forces' officials, have lost their lives in FATA in terrorist attacks during the last six years. Moreover, an estimated 80,000 houses were damaged, of which the Government validated only 22,471 for compensation. Despite Pakistan's claim of eliminating terrorist sanctuaries and their bases in FATA, the persisting problem of terrorism has kept insecurities alive. Pakistan's double standard in dealing with terrorism has provided opportunities to terrorist groups to continue their operation within as well from Pakistani territory. As long as Pakistan continues with its State policy of using terrorist groups as "strategic assets", terrorism will continue to thrive in FATA in particular, and Pakistan at large. New York, Jan 15 (JEN): Only in the first 14 days of the year, more than 30 children have been killed in escalating violence in Syria's East Ghouta, where an estimated 200,000 children have been trapped under siege since 2013, the top United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) official in the Middle Eastern country said Sunday. At a time when most parents are filled with the New Year's hope for their children's future, mothers and fathers in Syria are left grieving for the children they have lost, said Fran Equiza, UNICEF Representative in Syria in a statement. It is shameful that nearly seven years into the conflict, a war on children continues while the world watches. Millions of children across Syria and in neighbouring countries have suffered the devastating consequences of unabating levels of violence in several parts of the country, he added. UNICEF received information from inside East Ghouta that people are taking shelter underground in fear for their lives. Two medical facilities came under attack in the past days in East Ghouta, and most health centres had to close because of the violence. Schools have been reportedly closed in and around East Ghouta at a time when children elsewhere in Syria are sitting for their mid-term exams. While we saw a small glimmer of hope at the end of last year with the evacuation of 17 children in urgent need of medical attention, increased violence in and around east Ghouta turned hope into despair for the remaining 120 children who continue to suffer in silence waiting for urgent medical evacuation, Mr. Equiza said. In Idlib, to the northwest of the country, heavy violence reportedly killed and injured scores of children and women and displaced an estimated 100,000 civilians in the past few weeks. The maternity and paediatric hospital in Ma'arrat An Nu'man was attacked three times taking it out of service and killing at least one patient and two medical staff. We must be able to reach children in need of humanitarian assistance, urgently and without restrictions, wherever they are in Syria. The various parties to the conflict can make that happen by immediately allowing humanitarian workers to reach them with life-saving assistance, he said. Photo:NICEF/2018/Amer Almohibany New York,Jan 15 (JEN):On the second day of an official visit to Colombia, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday expressed hopes for the future and for the peace process in the South American country. I am extremely happy to see the enthusiasm and commitment of the authorities, of the communities, and of the ex-combatants to the process of peace building in Colombia, Guterres said in a statement to the press from Mesetas, Meta, where he visited a territorial area for the training and reintegration of former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) combatants. I had the opportunity to visit a FARC camp and to see the ex-combatants build their future and develop new activities activities of peace with great enthusiasm, he said. Guterres said that the communities also believe that it is possible for this region to achieve not only peace, but also prosperity and good living conditions for all its inhabitants and that the Colombian Government will play a key role in providing the security, administration, healthcare system and infrastructures they need, and in helping the local farmers get better access to the market. What we see here is an extraordinary transformation, and it gives me great hope for the future and for the peace process in Colombia, he stressed, reaffirming the UN's full support and solidarity with the Colombian people in this historic moment of their lives. The purpose of Mr. Guterres' visit to Colombia is to take stock of achievements that followed a peace agreement between the Government and the FARC in November 2016, which ended 50 years of conflict. The UN chief also seeks to reinvigorate the implementation of the peace deal, including the process of reintegrating former rebel combatants into society, and ensure that Colombians are committed to stay the course. His visit also comes ahead of legislative elections in March and presidential elections in May, and at a time when a temporary ceasefire agreement between the Government and another rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), has just expired. Deep concern about violent events involving ELN Back in the capital, Bogota, the UN chief spoke to reporters before wraping up his two-day visit and expressed his concern about the violent events that took place following the expiration of a temporary ceasefire between the Government and another rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN). On 10 January, Guterres' Special Representative for Colombia, Jean Arnault, told the UN Security Council that attacks against oil pipelines by the ELN just resumed. Convinced of the importance of the negotiations between the Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) for the peace of Colombia and the progress of its population, I express my deep concern in the face of the violent events of recent days and a possible escalation of confrontations to the detriment of the political process and the situation of the communities in the areas affected by the conflict, he said. Rapid progress must be made in compliance with the new agenda items agreed upon between the government and the ELN, he said, calling for the cessation of armed actions and the resumption of a serious and constructive dialogue with a view to meeting as soon as possible the expectations generated by the commitment of the parties to reach a solution to their conflict through political means. In that regard, he recalled the wish publicly expressed last week by the UN Security Council that the parties resume their efforts to agree on a renewal and strengthening of the ceasefire. I instructed my Special Representative in Colombia to take all necessary actions to facilitate the return of the parties to the table, and reaffirm the commitment of the United Nations with a just solution to the conflict between the parties for the benefit of the entire society, he said. Baghdad, Jan 15 (IBNS) : At least 38 people were killed and 105 others wounded in two suicide bombings in Baghdad on Monday morning, media reports said quoting Iraqi health and police officials. The attackers struck during rush hour in the citys Tayran Square, which is usually crowded with labourers seeking work. Ambulances rushed to the scene as security forces sealed off the area. Photographs posted on social media showed dead bodies and body parts. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but it bore all the hallmarks of Islamic State, which has claimed many such atrocities in the past. The bombings were carried out by two terrorists wearing explosive belts, local media reports quoted Saad Maan, the Iraqi Interior Ministrys spokesman as saying. Tayaran is a major intersection in eastern Baghdad between Sadr city and al-Jumariyah bridge over the Euphrates. Posted Wednesday, November 22, 2017 10:54 am As digital retail swallows 9 percent of all sales and traditional national retail stores close down locations nationwide, American malls are faced with a dilemma: adapt or die. The future of CBL Properties Meridian Mall could see it no longer relying on housing anchor stores, many of which are downsizing. J.C. Penney, RadioShack, Macys and Sears have all announced closures. Macys shut down its Lansing Mall locatio but retained its spot at Meridian Mall. Having two malls in a market the size of Lansing one on the east, one on the west, puts some of these retailers from the national perspective into distress, said Chris Buck, Meridian Townships economic development director. Their first line of defense is to minimize the number of competing stores in a region. Given Meridian Townships much higher median household income of $65,000 compared to Lansing at $35,000 and Delta Township at $58,000, according to Census.gov, the Meridian Mall has a distinct advantage over the Lansing Mall in appealing to major retailers. Also competing with Meridian Mall is the Eastwood Towne Center, Lansing Charter Townships outdoor shopping center. Lansing Charter Township reports a median household income of $42,000 according to Census.gov. Meridian Malls general manager, Todd Huhn attributed the market of Michigan State University students as another important factor when comparing Meridian Malls success with its competitors. But the mall cant rely on the current status quo forever. The facts cannot be ignored: U.S. Census data shows that online shopping has captured 9 percent of all sales, and that number steadily increases each passing quarter. This trend coincides with many retail giants either declaring bankruptcy or compensating for the changing market by eliminating traditional brick and mortar locations. But this is not enough to declare the idea of the American mall dead, at least not according to those within the industry. Stacey Keating, CBL Properties public relations director, downplayed the impact online shopping has on malls, referring to its effect as complementary. Still, Keating said malls are finding new ways to adapt to the changing market nationwide. Malls around the country, including our mall here, have said that retail as we know it may not come back, Buck said. The mall of the future might end up having a mixed component of storefronts and experience opportunities. Malls are fighting back by focusing on what online retail cannot provide: real tactile experience. Experience opportunities engage consumers beyond sales, such as restaurants, arcades or movie theaters. The Lansing Mall adopted this strategy in light of its own recent retail woes, devoting a serious amount of space to Regal Cinemas and Tequila Cowboy. Meridian Mall is running parallel with this strategy by investing its economic future in providing shoppers with more than just a lineup of storefronts. Like its neighbor, Meridian Mall brought in a movie theatre, Studio C!, and opened a gym with Planet Fitness. Huhn said Meridian Malls other main competitor, Eastwood Towne Center, primarily engages its shoppers through a variety of restaurants. Other shopping centers might want to follow their lead: Government data from the United States Agriculture Department shows that almost half of the money millennials spent on food came from going out to eat. Keating said the decline of malls as a social hub for younger consumers is having a lasting influence across the industry. I think thats why you see properties reinventing themselves to offer more than just retail, said Keating. The Meridian Mall brought in the Michigan Womens Hall of Fame earlier this year, following Keatings notion that interactivity must eventually become the main focus. Malls are also turning their eyes to the office space market. The Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn opted to skip searching for a new big box retailer and instead rented an empty space to Ford. Now 1,800 Ford employees will conduct their daily office work out of the mall for the next 10 years, while the automotive company renovates an office building of its own. In-house access to amenities such as food courts, shopping and gyms at no extra cost made the deal especially appealing, David Dubenksy, Ford Motor Co.s marketing and sales controller, told the Detroit Free Press. Its a strategy that economic officials like Buck have become privy to, as they plan for the future investments of their own malls. You could see housing centers. Youve got all the parking in the world, youve got a Planet Fitness, youve got a food court, youve got restaurants, said Buck. If you get creative you can put a wide variety of uses into an existing footprint instead of building something new. Should Meridian Mall one day have to resort to adopting one of these techniques, Huhn wouldnt consider that a sign of failure, but of success. Thats an evolution thats going on out there right now, the mall industry continues to evolve, said Huhn. Our main goal is to try and stay ahead of that. Karachi, Jan 15 (IBNS): Senior leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement's (MQM) London chapter, Professor Hasan Zafar Arif, was found dead in Pakistan's Karachi city on Sunday, media reports said on Monday. According to reports, he was found dead in the backseat of a car. The body of the leader was recovered after Rescue 15 received information from a citizen over phone,media reports said. Arif was identified through his national identity card, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) at the Ibrahim Hyderi police station, Ameer Hussain, was quoted as saying by Geo News. Traces of blood were found on the deceased's face but hospital officials said initial results from post-mortem examination did not reveal any signs of torture on the body, reported the news channel. Hospital sources later told Geo News that they were waiting for x-rays and the results of CT scans and chemical tests to determine the exact cause of death. Family members of the deceased have reached the hospital. Washington, Jan 15 (IBNS): As a controversy erupted recently following Donald Trump's alleged use of the word "shithole" to describe African nations, the US President has said he is not a 'racist'. Trump was quoted as telling to media: "I am not a racist. I'm the least racist person you will ever interview." The organisation representing African countries has demanded for US President Donald Trump' apology over his reported 'shithole' remark targeting immigrants from Africa, Haiti and El Salvador, media reports said last week. The group's mission in Washington DC expressed its "shock, dismay and outrage" and said the Trump administration misunderstood Africans, BBC reported. US President Donald Trump did not take too kindly on immigrants from Africa, Haiti and El Salvador at a White House meeting recently, according to a report by The Washington Post. In a fit of anger, the US President reportedly told lawmakers, "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?". Needlessly to say, his comment was not well received. Lawmakers have accused Trump of promoting White Supremacy. According to black Democratic lawmaker, Cedric Richmond, Trump's comments "are further proof that his Make America Great Again agenda is really a Make America White Again agenda". Shockingly, Trump remained unapologetic in his claim of wanting more immigrants from countries like Norway. The local daily reported that the US President further added, "Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has accused Trump of falling "deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of racism and xenophobia". However, justifying the President's claim, in a statement White House spokesman Raj Shah said, "Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people." It further read, "Like other countries that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation." "He will always reject temporary, weak and dangerous stopgap measures that threaten the lives of hardworking Americans, and undercut immigrants who seek a better life in the United States through a legal pathway," Shah's statement read. The US President later tweeted, "The Democrats seem intent on having people and drugs pour into our country from the Southern Border, risking thousands of lives in the process. It is my duty to protect the lives and safety of all Americans. We must build a Great Wall, think Merit and end Lottery & Chain. USA!" Image: Donald J Trump Official Facebook page Image: Donald Trump/Twitter Washington, Jan 15 (IBNS): In a first, Donald Trump has publicly told reporters that he's the least racist person they are likely to have interviewed. Trump's comments come in the wake of his earlier 'shithole' remark, which has now snowballed. Several lawmakers and organisations have expressed their shock at what transpired at the Oval Office meeting a few days ago. In a fit of anger, the US President allegedly used racial slur against people from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa, labelling these place as 'shithole'. As the protests began, Trump took to Twitter to clear the air, not pleading guilty. "The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made - a big setback for DACA!" he said. In a follow up tweet, he added, "Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said 'take them out.' Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust!" While many Republican senators have echoed Trump's claim and said they did not hear him say anything racist, Senator Dick Durbin stood by his claim and said that the President's language was 'hate-filled, vile and racist. The aftermath The African Union on Friday asked the US President to apologise unconditionally for his remarks. The union, which represents all 55 African nations, expressed 'shock, dismay and outrage' at the 'clearly racist' remarks. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) accused Trump of falling "deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of racism and xenophobia". The UN described the rant as "There is no other word one can use but racist. You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as 'shitholes'." Apart from these, there's the usual flak that Trump gets on social media. Image: Donald Trump/Twitter Brampton, Jan 15 (NITN): Member of Parliament for Brampton North, Ruby Sahota, on Saturday welcomed the community into her office for an open house. Hundreds of local constituents, business owners, and community organizations were in attendance. The open house served as an opportunity for the community of Brampton North to meet their Member of Parliament. Constituents also had the chance to discuss topics of interest and concern with MP Sahota, while learning about what the Federal Government has achieved in the last two years and what more it is working hard to achieve this year. Sahota said: My goal has always been to be accessible to the community. I want to thank everyone that came out today, my staff and I were delighted to see how large and diverse the turnout was. I had discussions about everything from how successful the Governments efforts have been in supporting the economy and businesses to what sorts of funding we have provided Brampton for public transit and affordable housing. I always look forward to feedback so that I can continue to keep serving Brampton better, she added. Sahota and her staff have many more community events planned for 2018. Vancouver, Jan 15 (IBNS): Eyeing on the legalisation of marijuana sale, the Canadian weed producers are going all out to recruit employees, media reports said. Alison McMahon, who runs Cannabis At Work, told CTV News that the workforce is booming. She is recruiting employees for all stages of cannabis production, from growing to marketing. Alison told CTV News: "I think that the people, at this point, who are looking at the industry and are excited really see the upside and the growth potential." "More and more people are open to this topic, so it doesn't end up being that big of a deal.," she added. The Liberals and the New Democrats have voted in favour of the Marijuana Act, to be effective from July 1, 2018, in Ontario, media reports said. The Act has been passed by a voting margin of 63 to 27. The Progressive Conservatives have opposed to the act. Toronto Mayor John Tory said the city will be funding in policing, social servicing and zoning environment. "I will be looking to recover all of our costs once we calculate them" he was quoted by Toronto Star. Apart from legalising, the federal government has also decided to make an age of majority to use recreational marijuana and also to decide on the retail network of stores where the marijuana could be sold. However, youth in possession of cannabis will not be criminalised from henceforth. But any car driver or passenger will not be allowed to consume cannabis. On the other hand, IBNS has received a mixed reaction towards the legalisation of the cannabis in Canada. Police chiefs across the country are divided over the legalisation of the cannabis. Some advocacy groups are even debating over the matter. IBNS learnt that some of the advocacy groups even opine that the legalisation, perhaps, is too early for the country. (Reporting by Suman Das) Image: Creative Commons If you are tired of going to the same old places in Delhi, weve created a brand-new list of unusual things you can do in the city. If you want to explore the national capital like never before, youll know exactly where to go after you read this list. We are still enjoying a glorious winter and its the perfect time to go around, travel in your city to find the hidden gems that youve left unexplored. Are you ready to hit the road? 1. Visit Champa Gali The Champa Gali is an urban village situated near Saket in South Delhi. If you love all things bohemian, this is the place for you. Its a hub for poetry readings, music gigs, book launches and has some amazing restaurants. Media India Group 2. Check Out The Graffiti At Lodhi Road Hidden between the walls of Delhis oldest government quarters, the graffiti art at Lodhi Road in South Delhi is one of the most Instagrammable places in Delhi. Take a walk around Lodhi Colony with a DSLR in hand and dont forget to check out the tiny food stalls at Khanna Market as well. RD Mathur 3. Go To Agrasen Ki Baoli After the movie PK, everyone wondered where exactly Agrasen Ki Baoli was in Delhi. There is a small lane in the tony Barakhamba Road area, that takes you straight to the Baoli. So, the next time you go to CP, walk an extra mile and explore the Agrasen Ki Baoli. Wikimedia 4. Listen to Qawwalis at Nizamuddin Dargah Remember the Kun Faya song from the movie, Rockstar? If you do, you probably remember the beautiful Nizamuddin Dargah featured in the video of this song. For a pleasant and peaceful Sufi evening, all you need to do is head to the Nizamuddin Dargah and listen to the beautiful Qawwalis. Gbuians 5. Attend The Changing Of Guard Weve all heard a lot about Londons Buckingham Palace, but what we dont know is that Delhi too has a changing of guard at the Presidents residence, every Saturday morning. The entry is absolutely free. All you need to do is carry a legit ID proof with you and youre good to go. Changing Guard 6. Go To Triveni Cafe At Mandi House Mandi House is the art and culture hub in Delhi. Its a haven for dance, music and art lovers. Right opposite the FICCI auditorium is the Triveni Cafe that serves the yummiest pakoras and masala chai. This place is even more beautiful during the rainy season. Flickr 7. Visit The Tibetan Monastery At Majnu Ka Tila Majnu Ka Tila, or little Tibet as its often referred to, is a place developed by Tibetan refugees and has some of the most amazing restaurants. Between the narrow lanes of Majnu Ka Tila is a Monastery thatll immediately catch your eye and youll fall in love with its beauty. 3 BP Blogspot 8. Visit Jama Masjid On A Friday Jama Masjid in Old Delhi is a place which you need to visit on a Friday during the prayer hour to witness the most beautiful view. Thousands of men come together to offer prayer to God and its one part of Delhi you should never miss. Tales Along The Way - Wordpress 9. Check Out Ghalib Ki Haveli In Old Delhi Another hidden gem in Old Delhi is Ghalib Ki Haveli. We have all heard the poetry that Ghalib left us with but what we dont know is that he was from Old Delhi and his fort-like haveli is a must visit for every Delhiite. Ashq - Wordpress 10. Visit The Kunzum Cafe At Hauz Khas Kunzum Cafe is a travel cafe situated right in the middle of Delhis famous Hauz Khas Village. While most people visit HKV for partying, this hidden gem is perfect for the ones whod rather have a quiet time and meet like-minded travellers. Kunzum 11. Shop At Shahpur Jat Shahpur Jat is a shopping haven. Its another urban village in Delhi and has stores from Indias biggest designers. If you are getting married anytime soon, or know someone who is about to get married, you should definitely explore this market. Magicpin Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today lauded his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi as "a revolutionary leader in the best sense of the word", Netanyahu also said that he is available for a yoga class with him any time. Netanyahu, with his wife, is on a six-day long trip to India. He will also meet the Indian Jewish community in Mumbai and visit the Taj Mahal in Agra. Here's what the two said: 1) Netanyahu, or 'Bibi' as he's fondly called in Israel, also joked that he and his wife were excited to visit Bollywood and see it first hand. PTI 2) PM Modi reciprocated Netanyahu's compliments and heaped fulsome praise on 'Bibi' for his "generous affection". 3) "Last year you said you cut bureaucratic red tape with a machete to forge ahead with speed, I'm here today to say that in India we are on our way to doing that as well," said PM Modi. 4) The PM also talked about his own reputation "of being impatient in getting results" and then revealed an open secret about his friend 'Bibi'. 5) "An open secret is that I know you are (impatient) too, to do more for your people and quickly," said PM Modi. AP 6) Both leaders also announced that they had a wide range of discussions and signed various cooperation deals in cutting edge areas in agriculture, science and technology and defence and security, as well as in people-to-people cultural exchanges to deepen a bond "that goes back a 1,000 years". 7) Striking a sombre note, Netanyahu talked about both India and Israel "knowing the pain of terror attacks". 8) "We fight back and we never give in," said Netanyahu, even as he talked of enhanced security cooperation with India. PTI 9) He said both India and Israel are proud of their resilient democracies. And the safety of their citizens is paramount so they can continue to "say, do and believe whatever they want". 10) Of course, increased cooperation in cinema was one among many areas the two leaders had wide ranging discussions about, but for all the world to see they focussed on their personal camaraderie and their bonhomie was in full display at a joint press conference in Delhi today. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes an emotional visit this week to a Jewish centre targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in a trip that India's tiny and shrinking Jewish community hopes will boost its profile. Netanyahu will talk trade in New Delhi and marvel at the Taj Mahal before rounding off his visit in Mumbai, where the majority of India's estimated 4,500 Jews live. AFP There he will accompany 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg as the boy returns for the first time to the house where his parents were killed in the 26/11 terror attacks that left 166 people dead. At Mumbai's Magen David synagogue, worshippers are excited about the first visit to India by an Israeli leader in almost 15 years. "It's very good news for us. We're very lucky to get to see the prime minister over here," Joel Gershon Awaskar told AFP after concluding his morning prayers. ALSO READ: PM Modi, Netanyahu To Rename Delhi's Historic Teen Murti Chowk To Teen Murti Haifa Chowk Netanyahu will be only the second Israeli PM to visit India and the first since Ariel Sharon in 2003. It comes six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi toured Israel. For Jonathan Solomon, chairman of the Indian Jewish Federation, the reciprocal visits and warm ties between the two countries are of the "utmost importance" to Jews in India. "The closer the co-operation, the closer the Jewish community in India feels to Israel. So we feel recognised and we feel secure," he told AFP. AFP It is not just recognition from abroad that many Indian Jews crave. Although historians believe Jews first arrived in India 2,000 years ago, their descendents today say they are virtually unknown in a country where they are hugely outnumbered by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians. Nor are Jews officially recognised as a minority community by the government. ALSO READ: PM Modi, Netanyahu To Rename Delhi's Historic Teen Murti Chowk To Teen Murti Haifa Chowk Unknown India is in fact home to several distinct Jewish groups. AFP These include Bene Israelis, who have the longest history in India, and Baghdadi Jews, who fled persecution in the Middle East in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although there are no official figures, academics say India's Jewish population peaked at around 20,000 in the mid 1940s. Numbers have dwindled rapidly because of emigration since the creation of Israel in 1948. "Many people here don't know about the Jewish community, about our customs and festivals," said Awaskar, who hopes Netanyahu's visit will help increase awareness amongst Indians about the Jewish faith. "It will be good for us, we'll become well known," he added, a black-and-white checked, round cloth "kippah" resting on the top of his head. Magen David, light blue in colour and situated in Mumbai's historic Byculla district, is one of eight synagogues in India's financial capital and surrounding suburbs. AFP Every morning some 15 men -- a few swaying back and forth -- recite prayers there, in a space which could easily hold hundreds. Afterwards they sit down for a breakfast consisting of bread, eggs and cheese, washed down with a cup of tea. More prayers are read and then bananas and slices of apple are served. "This whole area used to be Jewish," recalls Ellis Jacob David, an official at the synagogue. "But many migrated to Israel, UK, Canada, Australia and the USA." 'Emotional' India's Jewish community hasn't experienced the discrimination seen in other countries, a fact that Jewish historian Leora Pezarkar partly attributes to its adoption of Indian customs, dress and language. "The community has mixed really well with the local population while not deviating from who they are as Jews," she told AFP. David, whose parents fled persecution in Iraq to come to India 125 years ago, says he has never experienced or heard of anyone being a victim of anti-semitism in India. AFP "There was just one attack and that took place from outside the country, not internal, at all," he told AFP, referring to November 2008. Six people were killed at Chabad House, a Jewish centre in south Mumbai, when Pakistani terrorists carried out co-ordinated attacks across the city. Moshe Holtzberg was just two years old when his parents, who ran the centre, were gunned down. He was saved by his nanny who managed to escape and now lives in Israel. On Thursday, Moshe, along with Netanyahu, will visit his former home where a memorial to the victims is to be unveiled. "His visit is going to be very emotional for us. This is the place where he got his last hug from his father and mother," Israel Kozlovsky, the centre's rabbi, told AFP. AFP Netanyahu will also travel to PM Modi's home state of Gujarat and host a party for Bollywood producers where he will trumpet Israel as a filming location. Jewish leaders hope the visit will help persuade the Indian government to officially recognise them as a minority community, meaning they would be included in the census. In 2016, Maharashtra state granted Jews minority status, making it easier to register marriages and acquire funding for institutions, but the central government is yet to follow suit. "Although it is just a symbolic recognition it is important for the community," said Solomon. In an appalling case of negligence and insensitivity, the body of a journalist who died in road accident on Saturday night in Sirsi in Karnataka was taken to hospital by local police in a garbage van. Yes, you read it right. Mounish Pothraj who worked in a private TV channel at Sirsi was heading to Sirahatti in Gadag district on his bike and met with an accident. It crashed into a roadside tree near Gundur village on Hangal-Bankapur road. Quint/TNIE The people informed the police about the incident and his body was shifted to the hospital in a municipal van used for garbage collection. Later when the fellow journalists objected to the treatment given to the dead journalist, police said no ambulance was available to shift the body. We had no intention of hurting anybody, Since Saturday was festival, no vehicle was available. We had no alternative, Superintendent of Police K Parashuram said. Hospital staff further refused to touch the body unless they were paid for it. They collected money to wrap the body but had packed it in torn cloth. Shockingly, blood was oozing out from the body, said Basavraj, a journalist at Hanagal. Another journalist purchased new cloth and gave it to the hospital staff to wrap the body. Hospital authorities came around only after journalists from Hangal and Sirsi threatened to stage a dharna. Doctor Harish, who conducted the autopsy on Mounesh Pothraj, told The New Indian Express that, This is a medico-legal case. I have conducted the autopsy and submitted the report to the police. I cannot disclose anything more. Monday, January 15, 2018 Last week, U.S. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California granted a request by California and other states to stop the administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The U.S. government is now accepting DACA renewal requests. Here is the court's ruling. Law student Katie Kelly summarizes the ruling below: In this decision, the court considered the governments three arguments asserting that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction: 1) that the rescission of DACA was a discretionary act barred from judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 2) that the INA bars judicial review, and 3) that only individual plaintiffs, rather than states or public entities, have standing for claims challenging the rescission. Additionally, the court granted partial provisional relief for the plaintiffs. The court begins by giving a brief overview and history of deferred action programs. The court summarized the circumstances surrounding the DACA rescission, explaining that the governments stated reason for rescinding the program was the illegality in the establishment of the program, allegedly similar to the problems found by the Supreme Court with regard to the DAPA program in Texas v. United States. Additionally, the government claims that rescinding DACA would provide an orderly wind-down of the program while avoiding an inevitable injunction from the Fifth Circuit as a result of the DAPA decision. After describing Plaintiffs action against the government for the rescission of the program, the court turned to the governments arguments. Governments FRCP 12(b)(1) Dismissals Partially Denied First, the court explained that Section 701(a)(2) of the APA provides that district courts lack subject matter jurisdiction to review agency action that is committed to agency discretion by law. Contrasting the instant case with Heckler v. Chaney, the court determined that ending DACA, a five-year-old program affecting 689,800 individuals nationwide, is distinct from an agencys discretion to refuse to enforce certain policies; the decision to terminate a program is distinct from an agencys decision not to regulate. The court concludes that there is law to apply to determine the legality of the program, and that determination is a quintessential role of the courts. Thus, the governments first argument fails. For its second argument, the government points to 8 U.S.C. 1252(g) which limits courts jurisdiction to hear any cause or claim by or on behalf of any alien, arising from the discretion of the Attorney General. The court rejects this argument, however, determining that judicial review in this case does not inappropriately delay removal of any individual, as the action concerns no individual removal, but rather the across-the-board cancellation of a nationwide program. Thus, 1252(g) is inapplicable in this case. The court rejects the governments third argument, that all non-individual Plaintiffs lack standing, explaining that most of the city and state Plaintiffs have expended resources hiring DACA recipients, and, should those recipients be deported, would be subjected to more expenses in the replacement of those employees. The court points to the University of Californias loss of proprietary interests as a significant harm. Further, the state Plaintiffs loss of students and teachers at their public universities are sufficient harms. Finally, the court concludes that the SEIU Local 521 has standing because it has members who are DACA recipients, and its stated goals are to protect workers interests, regardless of immigration status. The court notes, however, that loss of significant tax revenue and negative impacts on public health programs are so marginally related to the DACA rescission that the states asserting only these claims Maine and Minnesota were dismissed. Plaintiffs Provisional Relief Partially Granted Lastly, the court turned to Plaintiffs request for provisional relief. To support a preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs must establish 1) the likelihood of success on the merits; 2) irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief; 3) that the balance of equities tips in Plaintiffs favor; and 4) that the relief is in the public interest. Stating that the Plaintiffs were likely to succeed in arguing that the DACA rescission was based on legal error, the court explains that the reasoning behind the rescission that it was unlawfully passed was incorrect. Instead, the court explains, the DACA program was rooted in authority provided by Congress and the Supreme Court, and in establishing the program, the agency acted within its scope of authority. Further, DACA and DAPA are sufficiently distinct that the results from the DAPA litigation are not determinative for the instant case. The court concludes that the governments alternate rationale for ending DACA to avoid a Fifth Circuit injunction was a post hoc rationalization. The court notes that the government has blindly accepted that DAPA and DACA present the same legal concerns, without providing an analysis on how the programs are distinct. The government offers no discussion on whether the program was worth fighting for, if it was susceptible to litigation, and has provided no analysis regarding the DACA recipients reliant interests on the program after five years of implementation. The lack of any sufficient reasoning for ending DACA supports the assertion that the decision was arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion. Without this injunction, Plaintiffs would undoubtedly suffer irreparable harm, as discussed in the standing section. The court further found that public interest will be served by DACAs continuation, pointing to President Trumps support of the program as evidence. Based on these factors, the court ordered the DACA program to be maintained on a nationwide basis, with a few exceptions: that new applicants need not be processed, that the advanced parole feature need not be continued, and that defendants may take necessary steps to ensure discretion is exercised on an individual basis for each renewal application. KJ https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/01/summary-of-the-ruling-in-uregents-of-teh-university-of-california-v-us-department-of-homeland-securi.html PTI Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today lauded his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi as "a revolutionary leader in the best sense of the word", Netanyahu also said that he is available for a yoga class with him any time. Read more Here's more top news of the day: 1) Another Nirbhaya: 15-Year-Old Girl Gangraped, Tortured To Death & Thrown Near Canal Bank In Haryana Representational Image The medical examination of a 15-year-old Dalit girl, whose half-naked body was found from the bank of a water channel in Haryana's Jind district on Saturday evening, has indicated that she suffered Nirbhaya-like brutalities. Read more 2) To Strengthen Defence, Govt Plans To Raise 15 New Battalions For Pakistan, China Borders Reuters The government is planning to raise 15 new battalions in the country's two important border guarding forces the BSF and the ITBP to fortify defence along the strategic frontiers with Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. Read more 3) UP MLA Claims That India Will Become 'Hindu Rashtra' By 2024, Asks Muslims To Leave Or Follow Hinduism In a recent incident, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Surendra Singh, from Uttar Pradesh's Ballia has said that India belongs to Hindu. He also said that once India becomes a 'Hindu Rashtra', only those Muslims will stay in the country who assimilate into the Hindu culture. Read more 4) India's World Record Holding Artillery Gun To Undergo High Altitude Trials Near China Border Twitter The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is all set to carry out high altitude (HA) trial of 155 mm 52-calibre advanced towed artillery gun system (ATAGS) in Sikkim next week. Read more 5) After Doklam Standoff, ITBP Will Get Air Wing To Keep An Eye On Chinese Incursions BCCL/Representational Image Learning from the Doklam experience, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) will soon have an air wing primarily for reconnaissance so that transgressions by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), troop build-up and construction activities across the border can be spotted in time. Read more In order ensure the security of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, police have put Swachh Bharata Abhiyan in the backseat as all the dustbins in and around Rajghat where PM Netanyahu is scheduled to visit to pay his respects to Mahatma Gandhi have been turned upside down. A photo has been shared on twitter where dustbins are seen turned upside down to ensure the security of the special guest who shares a great camaraderie with PM Modi. Netanyahu is scheduled to stay in India for six days. The visiting dignitary, on Monday, will be given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan which will be followed by the wreath laying at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi. Netanyahu will also meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and hold delegation level talks. The two sides will sign agreements and also issue a joint press statement. The Israeli Prime Minister will call on President Ram Nath Kovind later in the day. US President Donald Trump may believe African nations are shitholes, but not everyone influential agrees with him. To take a stand against the racist statement, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is donating $33 million to a scholarship fund for dreamers. Reuters Dreamers are immigrants brought to the US as children, who qualify for citizenship under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) law. It was at a bipartisan discussion surrounding this law, as well as immigration from African nations, that Trump supposedly made the incredibly racist statement last week, according to reports. The massive donation is a big step, but not just because itll help a number of undocumented immigrants whose future is currently uncertain. Its actually Bezos first-ever charitable donation, just days after he became the richest man in the world to have ever existed. His donation is to TheDream.US in particular, an initiative that looks to lend support to immigrants that dont qualify for federal aid or state policies, and allow them to graduate college. Bezos donation is also the largest in the charitys history, enough to put 1,000 undocumented immigrants through college, according to the foundation. There are currently 2,850 enrolled in the program, supposed to receive $33,000 towards a scholarship over four years. Thank you, Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, for the biggest grant in our history. Because of you, 1000 #DREAMers will be able to go to college https://t.co/F6W1pgloOH TheDream.US (@thedream_us) January 12, 2018 Since Bezos recent rise to the top spot as the richest man in the world, his lack of philanthropic efforts until now have raised a few eyebrows. Hed also been requesting suggestions on Twitter lately, for the name of charitable organisations he could donate to, and it seems hes finally found a cause to champion. After all, its a very personal issue. My dad came to the US when he was 16 as part of Operation Pedro Ban, Bezos said in a statement to the press. He landed in this country alone and unable to speak English. With a lot of grit and determination and the help of some remarkable organizations in Delaware my dad became an outstanding citizen, and he continues to give back to the country that he feels blessed him in so many ways. ALSO READ: 11 Inspirational Tech Guys & How Their Companies Changed The World Despite A Humble Beginning Fruitfly was a notorious malware that spread to thousands of computers between 2003 and 2017. It allowed its creator to spy on people indefinitely. And now, after 13 years of poking his nose where it wasnt wanted, the hacker responsible has been nabbed. Phillip Durachinsky, a 28-year-old man from Ohio, was on Wednesday arrested for infecting thousands of computers at homes, businesses, schools, and more using his malware, and using it to spy on the users. Some of those users even included a police station, and the US Department of Energy. Durachinsky has been charged with 16 counts for wiretapping, identity theft, producing child pornography, and other cyber violations. His spyware supposedly let him not just upload and download any files he liked, but also take screenshots, trace keystrokes, and listen in using the camera and microphone. According to the US Department of Justice, Durachinsky was also focused on more perverse elements of spying. Hes reported to have designed his malware to alert him if a device hed infected had words associated with porn typed on it, and would then watch them. The Internet may seem vast and anonymous, but mischief mongers ultimately do get their just returns -- in this case, jail time. Space is an unforgiving place, and it does strange things to your body over time. Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai grabbed headlines this week when he claimed he grew an astounding 9 centimetres while in orbit, and joked he was worried about fitting back into his suit for the ride back home to Earth. Norishige Kanai (L) before leaving for the ISS last month - Reuters The thing is, Kanai seems to have made a mistake when measuring himself the first time. After his captain expressed concern over the development, he measured himself a second time and found he had actually grown 2cm and not 9. That meant all was well and all the hubbub was for nothing. But wait, he still grew 2cm in the single month that hes been on board the International Space Station. Thats amazing right?! Well it is, but its also a documented effect that astronauts on the ISS have experience before. And it has a perfectly logical explanation. Growing longer because of zero gravity When in a microgravity environment for a prolonged period of time, astronauts vertebrae can expand and relax. Basically, their spines stretch out a little, depending on the persons height. A 6-foot-tall astronaut can gain up to 5 centimetres, so Kanais 2cm is just about average. Once the astronauts return to Earth however, gravity reasserts itself and the height gain is lost in a few months. In fact, the height gain is the least of an astronauts worries. Thanks to zero gravity, astronauts cal lose upto 1 percent of their bone mass every month they spend in space, which can lead to osteoporosis-related fractures. Fluids in their body shift upward because of the lack of gravity, and can cause swelling, high-blood pressure, and vision problems. Thats why the kind of food, medicine, and exercise astronauts partake of are so important. Then theres also the fact that living almost isolated and in utter silence can wreak havoc on your psyche, and the lack of a day/night rhythm can mess with your sleep cycles. Last of all is the ever-present cosmic radiation of course, dozing astronauts with much more than they would ever receive under the Earths protective atmosphere. This not only raises the risk of cancer, but also damage to the nervous system. Life on the ISS is no spacewalk in the park. The Gainesville Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC) and the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons (FTP) have received a statement from prisoners organizing in institutions across the state announcing a new wave of strikes by incarcerated workers in Florida beginning on January 15th, 2018. This action follows on the heels of Florida prisoners' participation in the national strike against prison slavery initiated on September 9th, 2016, and a similar wave of strikes by prisoners on August 19th of this year. According to their statement, prisoners in at least eight facilities around the state plan to initiate a work stoppage or "laydown" coinciding with Martin Luther King Jr's birthday, in nonviolent protest of conditions in FL prisons. They are calling it Operation PUSH Their primary demands: end prison slavery, stop price gouging, and fully return parole. They believe these issues have directly created the overcrowding that is responsible for the deplorable and deadly conditions in Florida prisons.While the prisoners are choosing to remain anonymous about their identities and locations, the recent history of prisoner organizing in Florida has shown cause to take the plan seriously.In September 2016, prisoners around the country, with the help of family and friends on the outside, launched the largest coordinated prison strike in the countrys history . The strike occurred in 24 states, and over 24,000 prisoners participated. The series of strikes began with an uprising at Holmes C.I. on September 7 in Floridas panhandle. Within a week, at least 10 prisons inFlorida had strikes or disturbances of some sort, making it one of the most active states in country.On August 19 this year, prisoners around the country expressed similar intentions to coincide with a march in DC for prisoners human rights. In anticipation, the Florida Department of Corrections put the whole system on lockdown, including over 100,000 prisoners in 143 facilities statewide, citing security concerns.The Operation PUSH call to action was compiled from a series of correspondences received on November 26 and 27 and posted on SPARC (Supporting Prisoners and Real Change), a social media page for Florida prisoners and their families, affiliated with prisoner Kevin Rashid Johnson.Their statement also raises other major issues that need to be grappled with, including the death penalty, voting rights and environmental health conditions, such as the proposed phosphate mine which would surround the states Reception and Medical Center (RMC) prison near Lake Butler.The prisoners have said they are preparing to stay down indefinitely until someone addresses their concerns.Their message regarding Operation PUSH can be found in its entirety here: https://fighttoxicprisons.wordpress.com/2017/12/06/fl-prisoners-announce-operation-push-starting-jan-15-to-cripple-prison-system/ ###This press release is being circulated on behalf of the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons. Industry group backs global carbon price for large ships AP - Mon Sep 6, 11:50AM CDT BERLIN (AP) A major maritime industry association on Monday backed plans for a global surcharge on carbon emissions from shipping to help fund the sector's shift toward climate-friendly fuels. $SPX : 4,535.43 (-0.03%) $DOWI : 35,369.09 (-0.21%) $IUXX : 15,652.86 (+0.31%) Shortages of supplies and workers will delay Gulf rebuilding AP - Mon Sep 6, 9:03AM CDT Joe Sobol, owner of Big Easy Construction in New Orleans, has bad news for homeowners who've been calling about roofs damaged by Hurricane Ida or to get an update on renovations that were scheduled before... $SPX : 4,535.43 (-0.03%) $DOWI : 35,369.09 (-0.21%) $IUXX : 15,652.86 (+0.31%) Greece begins giving COVID-19 vaccines outside churches AP - Mon Sep 6, 7:21AM CDT ARCHANES, Greece (AP) Greece has begun administering vaccinations for COVID-19 outside churches in a pilot program recently announced by the government as a means of encouraging more people to get... $SPX : 4,535.43 (-0.03%) $DOWI : 35,369.09 (-0.21%) $IUXX : 15,652.86 (+0.31%) Greece creates climate crisis ministry after huge wildfires AP - Mon Sep 6, 6:23AM CDT ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greeces center-right government has created a new ministry to address the impact of climate change and named former European Union commissioner Christos Stylianides as minister.... $SPX : 4,535.43 (-0.03%) $DOWI : 35,369.09 (-0.21%) $IUXX : 15,652.86 (+0.31%) Silver Elliott Wave Analysis: Targets 26-27 Area EW-Forecast.com - Mon Sep 6, 6:14AM CDT Silver is nicely recovering, now even trying to break above strong trendline, which means that we can expect more gains, ideally as part of an A-B-C rally ^XAUUSD : 1,823.18 (-0.22%) ^XAGUSD : 24.690 (-0.04%) Global stock markets rise after weak US hiring data AP - Mon Sep 6, 4:28AM CDT BEIJING (AP) Global stock markets and Wall Street futures rose Monday after weak U.S. hiring in August fueled expectations the Federal Reserve might postpone withdrawal of economic stimulus that has... $SPX : 4,535.43 (-0.03%) $DOWI : 35,369.09 (-0.21%) $IUXX : 15,652.86 (+0.31%) FP Marine Risks Australia has announced the new faces who will spearhead the launch of the marine brokers new Melbourne office.Joining FP Marine were Mark Lonergan, Andrew Gordon, and Leonie Richardson, who bring with them many years of insurance broking and underwriting experience in the logistics, freight forwarding, and trade markets.Moving from Sydney to heading the new Melbourne team is Catherine Entsief, who has been with FM Marine for a number of years. The mudslides on the California coastal town of Montecito have devastated a wealthy enclave where billionaires including Charlie Munger, Eric Schmidt and Oprah Winfrey own properties, with hundreds of millions of dollars of damage in one of Americas most expensive real estate markets. Sixty-five single-family homes were destroyed and 462 damaged by the flooding and mudslides that struck the city Tuesday after the first winter storm to hit the region, said Amber Anderson, a spokeswoman for Santa Barbara County. Seventeen people have died and five were missing as of early Friday. [Editors Note: On Monday, officials raised the death toll to 20 with at least four residents still missing.] While much of the damage was to relatively modest homes, the catastrophe hit an area known as a retreat for Hollywood celebrities and wealthy executives. Country clubs and homes capped with Mediterranean red-tile roofs are nestled between the Santa Ynez Mountains and white-sand beaches of the Pacific Ocean. The median listing price of a house in Montecito was $4.1 million as of late last year, according to Zillow. Among the prominent properties is Sea Meadow, a gated beach community developed by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Vice Chairman Munger and locally known as Mungerville. Montecito, a 90-minute drive from Los Angeles, has long been popular with the wealthy. Charlie Chaplin was among the investors who built the Montecito Inn in 1928 as an upscale getaway for Hollywood stars. And a century later, down the road from Mungerville, Los Angeles developer Rick Caruso this summer will be opening what he says is Southern Californias only five-star resort on the beach. The site wasnt damaged in the mudslides. Fire Effect The rains and flooding struck the community after it had just escaped relatively unscathed from the largest wildfire in modern California history, which raged through the region last month. The Thomas Fire burned the vegetation on the mountains above Montecito, causing a torrent of exposed soil and debris to wash down on the houses below when heavy rains hit. The 17 deaths hit particularly hard in a tight-knit town of about 9,000 people. What is devastating is that we lost so many lives, Winfrey said Thursday on the talk show of Ellen DeGeneres, also a resident of Montecito. Its such a tiny, little community and nobody would have expected that after we survived the fires that we would have this devastation with the mudslides so soon. She described how some of her neighbors had to be rescued from their roofs and that their houses were just gone after a 300-foot wide stream of mud ripped through them. Actor Jeff Bridges home was among those caught up in the mudslides. Our home has been severely damaged, but we are safe, and so thankful for that and for the first responders who are working tirelessly to save people, Bridges said in a Twitter post. Berkshires Munger didnt respond to a request for comment sent to an assistant on any damage to his property. Among the fatalities is Rebecca Riskin, a Montecito real estate agent who worked for a number of celebrities. She was an icon among other Realtors, said Mark Lomas, an agent with Sothebys International Realty. Were a small community and everybody knows everybody. Most people are kind of in shock. Insurance Questions Damage from the mudslides could conservatively be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, said Ralph McLaughlin, chief economist with real estate website Trulia. Homeowners with earthquake insurance may be covered for damage from the mudslide, but many people in the area may not have this kind of insurance, which can be expensive, according to McLaughlin. Although the double whammy of the fires and the mudslides may have some short-term impact on the local real estate market, McLaughlin expects there to be no-long term repercussions because of the natural appeal of the area for the wealthy. Santa Barbara is an extremely nice place with a fantastic climate and world-class beaches, McLaughlin said. Those with money will rebuild and continue to want to live there. With assistance from Noah Buhayar and Esme E. Deprez Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics California What is a Final Prospectus A final prospectus is the final version of a prospectus for a public offering of securities. This document is complete in all details concerning the offering and is referred to as a "statutory prospectus" or "offering circular." BREAKING DOWN Final Prospectus A final prospectus is the primary source for investors when seeking information on a publicly offered investment. Companies are required to file prospectus documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in order to raise capital for the product being offered. A prospectus can be either preliminary or final as the filing process progresses. The Securities Act of 1933 mandates that all companies seeking to raise capital for new publicly offered products in the U.S. must file a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New prospectus filings can be monitored and viewed on the SECs website. Management investment companies offering a range of managed investment funds comprise the majority of prospectus filings. A broad range of companies offering various types of alternative investments must file prospectuses also. Some companies and products may be exempt from prospectus fillings, including private offerings to a limited number of persons or institutions; offerings of limited size; intrastate offerings; and securities of municipal, state, and federal governments. Prospectus Filing Process With public offerings of securities, investors first receive what is called a preliminary prospectus, commonly called a "red herring" because of the pinkish color of the paper on which it is printed. Subsequently, the final prospectus is made available to investors who are considering a purchase of the security in question. A key difference between a final prospectus and a preliminary prospectus is that the final prospectus contains the security's price. Management Investment Company Filings Management investment companies typically do not file preliminary prospectus documents. Thus, most fund prospectuses filed with the SEC by management companies will provide the final details on the fund being offered. Mutual fund companies can file both a statutory prospectus and a summary prospectus. Both documents will be available for investors with the summary prospectus providing only a brief summary of the funds details. Mutual fund companies are required to include certain information in a mutual fund prospectus. Common details include the funds investment objective, investment strategy, risks, fees and expenses, performance, information about the funds investment advisers and portfolio managers, and procedures for purchasing and redeeming shares. Transparency and investor awareness are two key aspects mandated by prospectus legislation. Information in a prospectus must be presented in a standard format for fund comparison. Investors must also receive a copy of a funds prospectus after they purchase shares. Burma 5 Karenni Men Sentenced Under Peaceful Assembly Law Protesters gather in Loikaw, Karenni State on Dec. 22 to condemn the militarys alleged execution of four people including three KNPP soldiers two weeks earlier. / Kantarawaddy Times YANGON A local court in Karenni State sentenced five Karenni men, who staged a protest against the Tatmadaws alleged execution of four people, to 20 days in prison on Friday. The five, members of the Union of Karenni State Youth (UKSY) and the Karenni State Farmers Union, on Dec. 22, led a protest in Loikaw against the alleged execution of three Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) soldiers and a civilian two days earlier. On Jan. 2, Loikaw Township police station charged the five with violating the Peaceful Assembly Law. After four trials, the court ordered the five to pay a fine or to be imprisoned for 20 days, and the five chose to go to prison. This shows that there is no rule of law. They opted for imprisonment rather than the fine. They chose the imprisonment because they did it [staging the protest] for the sake of rule of law as the duty of citizens who love truth, said Khu Tu Reh, chairman of the Karenni Farmers Union. Four civil society representatives resigned from the Karenni State Parliaments complaints-handling committee on Jan. 11, saying that they resigned to protest the state government and Parliaments silence over the alleged executions and the unjust charging of five Karenni men who protested the alleged killings. The violation of Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law, for staging a rally without the prior approval of authorities, carries up to three months imprisonment and/or a maximum fine of 30,000 kyats. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Convicted Mother in Tailor Shop Torture Case Dies in Prison Daw Tin Thuzar. / Thiri Latt Facebook YANGON Daw Tin Thuzar, 59, who was serving a prison sentence of 16 years and one month for torturing two young domestic workers, died on Saturday at the Insein Prison hospital, according to her lawyer Daw Hnin Su Aung. Daw Tin Thuzar is one of four members of the family that owns the Ava Tailor Shop in Yangon sentenced for the crime by Yangon Divisions western district court in December. She, her daughter Su Mon Latt, son Tin Min Latt, and son-in-law Yar Zar Tun were charged under the 1993 Child Law, the Anti-trafficking in Persons Law and Article 326 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous harm using dangerous weapons and means. Daw Tin Thuzar and Su Mon Latt were sentenced to 16 years and one month. Yar Zar Tun was sentenced to 13 years and one month, and Tin Min Latt received nine years and one month. Daw Tin Thuzars husband, U Ko Latt, and daughter Thiri Latt were charged but later acquitted because the court found no evidence tying them to the crime. She told her family members to forgive her wrongdoing before she died, said Daw Hnin Su Aung. The funeral was held in accordance with Muslim customs at Yayway Cemetery on Sunday. She had been suffering from diabetes and related diseases. The Insein Prison authority allowed her to receive treatment at the prison hospital and at Inseins Peoples Hospital, said prison Warden U Myo Oo. We allowed her to receive treatment both at an outside hospital and the prison hospital. We also allowed her to see specialists who visit the prison once a month. But her other family members are in good health, he said. Daw Tin Thuzars three incarcerated family members were allowed to see her corpse in prison, but they were not allowed to attend the funeral. Even though they are serving time, they should have been allowed to attend the funeral of their mother. They are still humans and will feel sorry that they could not pay their final respects to their mother. According to their religious traditions, the funeral has to be organized by the son, and there were therefore some difficulties, said Daw Hnin Su Aung. Her daughter Su Mon Latt lost consciousness upon hearing of her mothers death and received treatment at the prison hospital, the lawyer said, adding that her condition was unknown. She said her clients had not yet decided whether to appeal the court verdicts. The two tortured girls, who are about 19 years old, suffered five years of abuse at the hands of the family before the crime came to light in August 2016. The family members were arrested and prosecuted amid widespread public outcry. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Delegates to Mon Conference to Establish New Political Party Delegates attend the Mon Political Conference in Mawlamyine, Mon State over the weekend. The conference was held on Jan. 13-14. / Mon News Agency CHIANG MAI, Thailand Delegates to the Mon Political Conference have agreed to set up a political party representing all ethnic Mon. To facilitate this, a 21-member party-organizing committee has been established to draft the new partys constitution. The Mon Political Conference was held in Mawlamyine, the capital of Mon State, on Jan. 13-14, and attended by more than 800 participants including politicians, monks, legal experts, civil society representatives, youth and women-rights activists. Members of two existing Mon parties based in the state, the Mon National Party (MNP) and the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMDP), did not participate in the weekend conference. Mi Sandar Nan, a coordinator on the party-organizing committees information subcommittee, told The Irrawaddy that all parties in Mon State are welcome to join the new party, adding that the decision was up to them. There are currently three Mon political parties: the AMDP, MNP and the Women Party (Mon), registered in 2010, 2012 and 2015 respectively. We invite all three parties to coordinate and will give them three months to consider joining us, said Mi Sandar Nan, a former MNP executive committee member. Womens rights activist Mi Cherry Soe, who serves as secretary of the party-organizing committee, said a strong Mon political party is needed to secure more seats in the Parliament and ensure a strong voice for the Mon. We have been talking merging into one Mon party for a long time and we have seen that there are fewer Mon national representatives, especially after the 2015 elections, she told The Irrawaddy. We all have to work in unison because only a Mon party will be devoted to working on behalf of our ethnicity. According to a statement released after the Mon Political Conference, a negotiating team had attempted to achieve a merger between the Mon political parties for 17 months, with no success. It had sought the views of the Mon community, which called for the holding of a Mon political conference to resolve the issue. For seven years, the Mon community has been urging the merger of Mon political parties in order to get more local lawmakers elected. The party merger was pushed again before the 2015 general election as a way of securing more seats in the Mon State parliament, but that goal was not met. Last year, dozens of members of both political parties resigned, due in part to the parties failure to merge. The Mon parties have not yet agreed to combine due to policy differences since their formation, although both parties adhere to a parliamentary-based political program, said U Min Min Nwe, a Mon political observer and editor of the Than Lwin Times journal based in Mawlamyine. The MNP, which was reformed from the Mon National Democratic Front, seeks to redraft the national Constitution, while the AMDP is more in favor of amending the 2008 military-backed charter. U Min Min Nwe told The Irrawaddy that the most recent drive is different as it involves the participation of youth and women representatives, as well as lawyers and the politicians. A previous effort at a party merger was spearheaded by the New Mon State Party, an armed group currently in talks to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) with the government. This time the NMSP only sent observers to the weekend conference, however, according to organizers. The 21-member party-organizing committee will consult with the existing parties and draft a party policy and party constitution, with input from experts and experienced politicians. We believe it has potential to be successful, said the observer. Burma Irrawaddy Parliament Delays Special Assembly to Appoint New Chief Minister The Irrawaddy regional parliament special meeting takes place in January 2017. / The Irrawaddy PATHEIN, Irrawaddy Division The Irrawaddy Parliament has postponed its special meeting to Jan. 18 as the Presidents Office has yet to nominate a new chief minister to the regional government. The nomination letter had not arrived even as all the regional lawmakers were present at the assembly on Monday, so parliamentary speaker U Aung Kyaw Khaing rescheduled the meeting. I summoned the meeting on Monday because I thought the letter of nomination would have arrived by then. But, it didnt and so I put off the meeting until Jan. 18, U Aung Kyaw Khaing told The Irrawaddy. According to sources close to the National League for Democracy (NLD) Irrawaddy regional chapter, U Aung Kyaw Khaing, Social Affairs Minister Dr Hla Myat Thway and Wakema Township lawmaker Daw Myint Myint San are among those being considered to succeed Mahn Johnny, who stepped down on health grounds on Jan. 9. People are concerned that the nominee has been changed as the parliamentary meeting was scheduled for today. It is good for the government to take time to make a decision, and wed prefer someone who is shrewd and not corrupt for the sake of the region, said Daw Myintmo Tint, one of the leaders of the local community-based organization Pandonma Social Development Association. The special meeting will be held at 10 am on Jan. 18. The lawmakers have been asked to wait in Pathein, the regional capital, to attend the meeting. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma Trio of Kachin Parties Agree to Merger The leaders of several Kachin political parties pose for photos at a meeting of the KPCC in Myitkyina, Kachin State, on Jan. 13. / KPCC / Facebook CHIANG MAI, Thailand After five years of effort, three Kachin political parties agreed to merge on Saturday in order to meet a desire among ethnic Kachin for a single, strong party. The Kachin Democratic Party (KDP), the Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP), and the Kachin National Congress (KNC) agreed to the merger at a meeting of the Kachin Political Parties Coordination Committee in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina. They finally managed it in hopes that the 2020 general election will not see them repeat the poor showings they suffered in 2015, said KDP Chairman U Aung Kham. The KSDP was the only one of the three parties to win seats in 2015, capturing one in the Lower House and three in the State parliament, when the National League for Democracy swept to power with the vast majority of votes, followed far behind by the Union Solidarity and Development Party. U Aung Kham told The Irrawaddy on Monday that their decision to merge was to constitute a party that represents the Kachin State residents and to fulfill the Kachin peoples desire. He said people were confused by the array of Kachin parties in 2015, causing all of them to lose votes. The KDP chairman said the three party leaders will chose a name, logo and emblem for the new party and let the public decide whether to adopt it on Feb. 20. The new party will have to register with the Union Election Commission, after which the three parties that formed it will dissolve. U Aung Kham said the merging parties will also have to decide how, once merged, to maintain their relationship with the various coalitions they are members of, including the Nationalities Brotherhood Federation and the Union Nationalities Alliance. Other parties in Kachin, including the Lawwal (Laovao) National Union and Development Party and the Kachin State Democracy and Development Party, are remaining independent. As for the Laovao party, we understand that they will need to have thorough discussions with their people, he said, adding that it and others would be allowed to join the new party later on. Specials The Yangon Bus Service in Numbers Thet Htun Naing / The Irrawaddy YANGONThe Yangon Bus Service (YBS) marks its first anniversary on Tuesday. The following infographic offers a snapshot of the services operations based on the latest available data, from December. The replacement of the old public bus system operated by the Yangon Motor Vehicles Supervisory Committee, or Ma Hta Tha, with the YBS was one of the first major reforms initiated in the nations commercial capital by the National League for Democracy-led government. It launched with 2,900 buses running on 69 bus lines. A year later, the service comprises 96 lines serving more than 2 million commuters daily across the city of 5.2 million people. Bus companies No. of buses (licensed, unlicensed) Monday, January 15th, 2018 (10:08 am) - Score 5,156 A new article has once again highlighted Virgin Media UKs practice of charging hefty contract exit fees, which specifically relates to situations where customers move house into an area that exists outside of the operators current broadband ISP and TV network coverage. At present the operators cable broadband and TV network is available to over half of premises across the United Kingdom (they aim to reach around 60-65% of UK premises by 2019/20), albeit predominantly inside urban areas. Obviously that can create a problem when customers move house into an area that Virgin Media cannot serve. Nearly all of the markets largest broadband and phone providers will levy some form of Early Termination Charge (ETC), which applies to customers that choose to exit their contract before the current term has come to an end. Virgin Media calls these Early Disconnection Fees and they can range from about +10 to +24 per month (applies to the remaining months of your existing contract). Similar fees also exist for the TV side. However this becomes more controversial when the customer wishes to retain VMs service but is unable to do so because their network does not exist in the new area (other ISPs have been known to waive these fees for similar situations). The Guardian highlights how a number of customers have been hit by such exit fees, which can often be well above the 100 mark. The good news is that Ofcom has been conducting a probe of Virgin Medias contract cancellation charges (here), which began last June 2017 and is due to report back with a provisional decision in April 2018. A spokesperson for Virgin Media said, We note Ofcoms investigation into early termination charges and are working with them during their inquiry. Mind you there can be wider issues with exit fees, such as when they are forced upon customers who are attempting to leave their contract early due to terrible support or service quality. Typically ISPs do incur costs when setting up a new service and the whole purpose of offering a longer contract term is to help mitigate that for customers, such as via lower pricing. The downside is this can make it harder to exit when the service is poor. We should point out that some providers, including Virgin Media and many smaller ISPs, do offer the option of shorter monthly contracts and these naturally tend to attract a higher price. Nevertheless if youre unsure about the quality of a service then sometimes its worth using the shorter contract option as a means of trying the service before committing to a longer term at less cost. Anybody in this sort of situation would be well advised to take a gander at our ISP Complaints and Advice section, which covers some of the situations, common rules and how to get related disputes resolved. A man who defrauded mobile phone users of millions of dollars by sending them unwanted text messages has been jailed for five years. Fraser Thompson, who formerly worked in the mobile industry. was sentenced by US district judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan, Reuters reported. Thompson worked for Mobile Messenger, a message marketing company, as a senior vice-president some years ago. He was convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud, ID theft and money laundering in September last year. According to the report, Thompson used a scheme to sign up thousands of mobile customers for paid SMS services without their consent. They ended up paying more than US$100 million for the SMSs that included trivia, horoscopes and gossip about celebrities. Prosecutors said that the scheme was run by Mobile Messenger's former chief executive Darcy Wedd who was found guilty in December but is yet to be sentenced. They ripped off everyday cellphone users, US$10 a month, netting over US$100 million in illegal profits, of which Thompson personally received over US$1.5 million, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement. Thompson has also been told to forfeit US$1.5 million which he earned from the fraudulent scheme. Another seven people who were charged also pleaded guilty. One, Mobile Messenger employee Francis Assifuah, was given a 13-month jail term in September last year. Russians have joined the queue of iPhone users who are suing Apple for slowing down older devices, with a group planning to take the American technology company to court. The first cases are expected to be filed this week, according to lawyers at the National Legal Finance Group and Lex Borealis. They were quoted by the Russian business daily Kommersant as saying that NLF would cover the costs of the plaintiffs in return for a share of any potential damages. Lex Borealis is expected to provide legal support. Apple admitted in December that the latest iteration of its iOS operating system restricts the computing power of some iPhone models in order to cut the risk of unexpected shutdowns. Its mea culpa came two days after Geekbench founder John Poole wroteabout iPhone performance as a function of battery age. American iPhone users have already lined up in California, New York and Illinois to join class-action lawsuits over the poor battery performance. A case has also reportedly been filed in Israel. The website RT reported that the NLF Group was speaking to the first 10 complainants, according to managing director Maksim Karpov. "[If there is] a successful legal precedent we will easily increase this number to several hundred, he said. The Russian lawyers said if devices were slowed down, it would amount to "obvious disadvantage of a product", a phrase taken from laws about consumer rights. The spat that erupted between the Software Freedom Conservatory and the Software Freedom Law Centre, both of which are involved in activities around the GNU General Public Licence, shows no sign of going away, with the latter upping the ante recently. Late last year, the SFLC amended its complaint to the US Patent and Trademark Organisation against the SFC, to include fraud. In response, the SFC filed a 168-page motion, seeking a summary judgement. As iTWire reported in November last year, the SFLC had asked a court to cancel the trademark of the SFC due to what it claims is "priority and likelihood of confusion" to its own trademark. The irony of the situation is that the is that the SFLC launched the SFC in 2006 to carry out enforcement of the GPL, a free software licence which was drafted by the head of the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation, Richard Stallman. In a post responding to the amended SFLC complaint, the SFC head Bradley Kuhn: "We still find all of this a waste of time and resources. We'll stay focused on our essential work for software freedom through our regular, important work for Conservancy, until the next round of SFLC's attacks but we still hope SFLC will simply do the right thing and withdraw the petition." Prior to this, the head of the SFLC Eben Moglen outlined how he saw a possible settlement to the spat, saying: "We propose a general peace, releasing all claims that the parties have against one another, in return for an iron-clad agreement for mutual non-disparagement, binding all the organisations and individuals involved, with strong safeguards against breach. "SFLC will offer, as part of such an overall agreement, a perpetual, royalty-free trademark license for the Software Freedom Conservancy to keep and use its present name, subject to agreed measures to prevent confusion, and continued observance of the non-disparagement agreement." This was not reflected in the amendment made to the court complaint, though, with the charge of fraud by the SFC being added. Moglen has been accused of acting against the interests of the FSF. Both the SFC and the SFLC have been close-mouthed when approached for comment. The US appears to have backed down from a plan to stop the renewal of H-1B visas, which is often undertaken by companies who hire workers on such visas, in order that the worker in question can remain in the country long enough to obtain a green card. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services said last week that it was reviewing visa programmes that allow foreigners into the country for employment. A report said the proposal was being hammered out between the heads of Department of Homeland Security divisions as part of US President Donald Trump's "Buy American, Hire American" campaign promise in 2016. But following a report that foreign tech workers would be prevented from renewing their H-1B visas, the agency appears to have done a backflip. The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the Presidents Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment based visa programmes, Jonathan Withington, chief of media relations for USCIS, said. What we can say, however, is that USCIS is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing our interpretation of section 104(c) of AC-21, which provides for H-1B extensions beyond the six-year limit, the agency told the McClatchy news service. Even if it were, such a change would not likely result in these H-1B visa holders having to leave the US because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead. While Withington said UCSIS had never considered such a policy, McClatchy reported that it was told by multiple sources that the policy had indeed been considered and then dropped because of a strong reaction from businesses. The H-1B visa allows a foreign worker to work in the US for two terms of three years each; many companies extend it further in order to get a green card processed so that the worker in question can continue to work for them. Since Trump took office nearly a year ago, the US has been clamping down on H-1B visas which are used to take in about 85,000 people a year to work in the country. A large percentage are Indians who work in the technology industry. Researchers from the security firm Check Point have found malware hiding in about 60 game apps on Google Play meant for children. The malware, called AdultSwine, displays pornographic advertisements among others, attempts to make users install bogus security applications and tries to trick users into registering for premium services. Check Point said in a blog post that the malware could also use its infrastructure to carry out theft of credentials. After being installed along with one of the apps, the malware first contacts its command and control centre and sends information about the device it is on, and receives instructions. These include whether to hide the icon of the app it has infected to avoid possible removal what ads should be displayed, and over which apps they should be shown. However it is careful not to appear over apps like browsers and social media apps in order to avoid detection. The ads that are displayed by AdultSwine come from both legitimate ad providers and its own ad library; the latter included pornographic ads. AdultSwine tricks users into installing other apps by claiming the user's device is infected by a virus (graphic on right) and displaying a "remove virus now" button; when the user presses this notification, he or she is directed to the Google Play Story where a bogus app is downloaded. The malware gets the user to register for premium services using a similar trick to that cited above. A complete list of the apps that are infected with AdultSwine is present on the Check Point website. A British security outfit has raised the possibility that the online payment page of the phone company OnePlus may have been compromised, based on comments in OnePlus forums and the make-up of the site. Researchers at Fidus Infosecurity said in a blog post that they had noticed OnePlus users discussing attempts at credit card fraud. These users said they had used the cards in question only on the OnePlus website in November last year. They said the OnePlus website was using the Magento eCommerce platform which has been hacked in the past. After going through the payment process on the site, the Fidus researchers said they had found that the payment page, where customers are asked to enter their card details, was hosted on-site, and was not an iFrame by a third-party payment processor. "This means all payment details entered, albeit briefly, flow through the OnePlus website and can be intercepted by an attacker," they said. "Whilst the payment details are sent off to a third-party provider upon form submission, there is a window in which malicious code is able to siphon credit card details before the data is encrypted." Has OnePlus' checkout page been compromised?https://t.co/7cRGwz6Cjl Andrew Mabbitt (@MabbsSec) 14 January 2018 The Fidus researchers said two issues were noticed with the site: OnePlus did not appear to be PCI-compliant and this was not mentioned on their website. Additionally, the company claimed that it did not handle credit card payments when, in fact, it did. They pointed out that Magento hacks had been detailed in 2015 by a company known as Sucuri. There were two methods to steal credit card data from eCommerce stores: one through JavaScript which took place on the client side. But a search found no malicious JavaScript on the OnePlus website. Fidus said that the second method was by modification of the Cc.php file; however, this required shell access to the server and indicated a serious compromise. Thirty-nine users on the OnePlus forum have complained about credit card fraud on the UK website. Both OnePlus and Fidus have been contacted for comment. Mobile phone maker OnePlus has denied that the payment page on its website has been hacked, as has been claimed by a British security firm. As iTWire reported on Monday, a number of OnePlus customers had experienced credit card fraud after they had used their cards on the site. The firm Fidus Infosecurity said that the company appeared to have its payment page hosted on-site, instead of being an iFrame hosted by a third-party payment processor. In a blog post, the Fidus researchers also said that OnePlus did not appear to be PCI-compliant and this was not mentioned on their website. Additionally, the company claimed that it did not handle credit card payments when, in fact, it did. However, OnePlus said inthat credit card information was never stored on its website. "...it is sent directly to our PCI-DSS-compliant payment processing partner over an encrypted connection, and processed on their secure servers," the company claimed. OnePlus directed iTWire to the blog post after inquiries were made about the alleged hack. The company also denied being affected by a bug in the Magento eCommerce software which it uses. "Oneplus.net was initially built on the Magento eCommerce platform," it said. "However, since 2014 we have been re-building the entire website with custom code, and credit card payments were never implemented in Magento's payment module at all." Fidus Infosecurity's Andrew Mabbitt told iTWire that the payment page was the same for all countries. "The issue appears to affect the company worldwide as they use the same checkout for every country," he said in response to a query. The Twitter account of the editor-in-chief of Germany's Der Spiegel magazine has been hacked and used to apologise for the "bad news" it published about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The hack occurred on Saturday and the hackers who gained access to Klaus Brinkbaumer's account put up a picture of Erdogan and the Turkish flag, according to a report on RT. Alongside it, a message said: "We would like to apologise for the bad news that we have reported and published up till now about Turkey and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Der Spiegel later issued its own tweet, saying that the message was not from Brinkbaumer. It said the "most recent tweet about Erdogan and the header are not from him. Were taking care of it". Last night, while I was traveling in Russia, my Twitter account has been hacked. I tried to open a link which looked like it came from a source in Washington (and didn't). So I was certainly not behind that Erdogan propaganda published under my name. @DerSPIEGEL @SPIEGELONLINE Klaus Brinkbaumer (@Brinkbaeumer) January 14, 2018 The original tweet was pinned on Brinkbaumer's account for about two hours and later taken down. Like many other German news publications, Der Spiegel has reported extensively on the tense relations between Turkey and Germany. It has also covered in detail the case of Turkish-German journalist Deniz Yucel who has been detained in Turkey on terrorism charges since February 2017. Reddit Email 296 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | In 1957 Martin Luther King and his wife Coretta went to Ghana in connection with its independence from Britain. The British had grabbed the fabled West African Gold Coast in the nineteenth century in order to profit from its gold and other resources (after having profited in the 18th century from slaving in the region). As late as the 1940s and 1950s British colonial troops treated the local population with brutality. Despite the myth that European colonial empires did volunteer development work for peoples of the global south, mostly they invested almost nothing in industry and any infrastructure they put in was for their armies, administrators, primary product exports and settlers. Lord Cromer actually refused to spread education in Egypt, e.g. In the British Gold Coast/ Ghana, what little education and literacy the colonialists introduced was for the formation of a small collaborating bureaucratic class or for missionary work. In the Gold Coast/ Ghana the British developed a colonial export economy in the early twentieth century based on cocoa. You never get rich off of agriculture; it was industry that made a country wealthy. And even in export agriculture you need to keep all your profits to get ahead, whereas the British took their cut. Then in the Great Depression the bottom fell out of the export market anyway. Despite all the disappointments of postcolonial government since 1957, poverty has been reduced by independent Ghana from 50% to 25% of the population and literacy has been raised to 71% from almost nothing under the British. Ghana has been a functioning democracy for some time now. There is a sense in which African-American populations in the South were under a sort of colonial rule with Jim Crow, as well. In his sermon on the Birth of a Nation,, King addressed a church congregation in Montgomery, Alabama. King remarked, You also know that for years and for centuries, Africa has been one of the most exploited continents in the history of the world. Its been the Dark Continent. Its been the continent that has suffered all of the pain and the affliction that could be mustered up by other nations. And it is that continent which has experienced slavery, which has experienced all of the lowest standards that we can think about, and its been brought into being by the exploitation inflicted upon it by other nations. That European colonial nations raped Africa of its resources and reduced its populations from free peoples to colonial subjects goes without saying. Belgium is alleged to have polished off about half the population of the Congo in the course of its rapine. Now, in the 1950s and 1960s that era of direct foreign rule was coming to an end. He detailed the competition for the resources of the Gold Coast and added, Finally, in 1850, Britain won out, and she gained possession of the total territorial expansion of the Gold Coast. From 1850 to 1957, March sixth, the Gold Coast was a colony of the British Empire. And as a colony she suffered all of the injustices, all of the exploitation, all of the humiliation that comes as a result of colonialism. But like all slavery, like all domination, like all exploitation, it came to the point that the people got tired of it. And that seems to be the long story of history. There seems to be a throbbing desire, there seems to be an internal desire for freedom within the soul of every man. And its there it might not break forth in the beginning, but eventually it breaks out. What King took away from the sordid story of colonial oppression and brutal extraction of resources was the universal human yearning to be free. And he was proud that Ghanas independence leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972), had been educated at the University of Pennsylvania. He also firmly believed that nonviolent methods were the best, perhaps only path to true liberation: It says to us another thing. It reminds us of the fact that a nation or a people can break aloose from oppression without violence. Nkrumah says in the first two pages of his autobiography, which was published on the sixth of March a great book which you ought to read he said that he had studied the social systems of social philosophers and he started studying the life of Gandhi and his techniques. And he said that in the beginning he could not see how they could ever get aloose from colonialism without armed revolt, without armies and ammunition, rising up. Then he says after he continued to study Gandhi and continued to study this technique, he came to see that the only way was through nonviolent positive action. And he called his program positive action. It wasnt only that nonviolence is a useful, utilitarian tool of social mobilization. In Kings view its beauty is the promise it lays out for peaceful post-conflict reconciliation: The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community. The aftermath of nonviolence is redemption. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation. The aftermath of violence however, are emptiness and bitterness. This is the thing Im concerned about. Let us fight passionately and unrelentingly for the goals of justice and peace, but lets be sure that our hands are clean in this struggle. Let us never fight with falsehood and violence and hate and malice, but always fight with love, so that, when the day comes that the walls of segregation have completely crumbled in Montgomery. that we will be able to live with people as their brothers and sisters. King was exuberant about independence but was anything but naive. He was well aware of the severe economic and other challenges facing newly independent countries in Africa: Now it will confront its wilderness. Like any breaking aloose from Egypt, there is a wilderness ahead. There is a problem of adjustment. Nkrumah realizes that. There is always this wilderness standing before him. For instance, its a one-crop country, cocoa mainly. Sixty percent of the cocoa of the world comes from the Gold Coast, or from Ghana. And, in order to make the economic system more stable, it will be necessary to industrialize. Cocoa is too fluctuating to base a whole economy on that Colonialism made economies in the global South lopsided in the term of the great economic historian of the Middle East, Charles Issawi. King was thinking analogically. What the system of racial injustice in the United States does, as the Ferguson investigation revealed, is to transfer resources (through fines and jailing for minor or trumped up offenses) from African-American communities to white elites. He saw clearly that racial hierarchy and domination has a powerful economic dimension. In fact, despite the legislative victories of the Civil Rights movement, which were inspired so powerfully by African decolonization, the big failure of race relations in the past fifty years is that the per capita wealth holdings of African-Americans have remained tiny compared to those of the whites, and African-Americans have been excluded from the economic growth of these last five decades (though to be fair it is mainly the top 10% or 30 million mostly upper middle class and wealthy whites who have grabbed most of this increase). To the extent that at least in the surface law the shameful episode of some Americans treating others as pariahs, with laws on the books against racial intermarriage, joint schooling, even using the same bathrooms and water fountains, has endedto that extent our nation owes an enormous debt to African freedom fighters of the 1940s and 1950s who inspired Americans to begin addressing their internal colonialism. As Dr. King so memorably said, it is not the color of your skin that matters (nor the poverty of your neighborhood) but the content of your character. Related video: Martin Luther King Jr After his Journey to Africa Reddit Email 119 Shares Middle East Monitor | Saudi Arabias billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, detained for over two months in an anti-corruption crackdown, is negotiating a possible settlement with authorities but so far has not agreed on terms, a senior Saudi official said. Prince Alwaleed, whose net worth has been estimated by Forbes magazine at $17 billion, is chairman and owner of international investment firm Kingdom Holding, and one of the countrys most prominent businessmen. He offered a certain figure but it doesnt meet the figure required from him, and until today the attorney-general hasnt approved it, the official said on condition of anonymity under government briefing rules. A second source familiar with Prince Alwaleeds case told Reuters on Saturday that he had offered to make a donation to the Saudi government, which would avoid any admission of wrongdoing, and to do so from assets of his own choosing. But the government refused those terms, the source said. Since early November Prince Alwaleed has been held, with dozens of other members of Saudi Arabias political and business elite detained in the crackdown, in Riyadhs opulent Ritz Carlton hotel as authorities seek to reach settlements with the detainees. Saudi officials say they aim to claw back some $100 billion of funds that rightfully belong to the state. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who launched the crackdown, has indicated he wants to close existing cases quickly and expects most suspects to cut a deal. The allegations against Prince Alwaleed include money laundering, bribery and extorting officials, a Saudi official told Reuters soon after his detention. Neither he nor his company has commented publicly on the charges. Kingdom Holding, which has said it is continuing to operate normally, did not respond to requests for comment when asked about any settlement talks. Construction giant Saudi Binladin Group said on Saturday that some of its shareholders might transfer part of their holdings to the state in a settlement with authorities. Chairman Bakr Bin Laden and several family members were detained in the crackdown. In late November, senior Saudi Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, once seen as a leading contender to the throne, was freed after reaching a settlement with authorities that involved paying more than $1 billion, according to a Saudi official. This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Via Middle East Monitor - Related video added by Informed Comment: Fox Business: Prince Al-Waleed advisor reacts to Saudi Arabias corruption crackdown Reddit Email 112 Shares By Bill Van Esveld | (Human Rights Watch) | On Monday, an Israeli military court will decide whether to release 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi on bail or keep her in jail until the end of her trial. She has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance, and some Israeli politicians have called for her to be harshly punished. But the military court should base its decision on one criterion: whether the further detention of Ahed Tamimi, a child, is necessary as a measure of last resort, the standard international law requires. It all began on December 15, 2017, at a protest in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh against US President Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital. During the protest, a soldier fired a rubber-coated bullet that severely injured Aheds 15-year-old cousin; when Ahed learned of the boys shooting she began to push and slap two soldiers who had entered her yard. A video showing the incident went viral. Border police arrested Ahed on December 19 in the middle of the night, the usual means by which the military arrests Palestinian children. The reasons to grant bail are straightforward. Ahed has never been indicted before, and hardly poses a serious security or flight risk. A military judge has already released from detention her 20-year-old cousin, Noor, who was also present during the altercation and is seen pushing the soldiers, and was also charged with aggravated assault. Displaying appropriate restraint, the two soldiers in the video did not arrest or even use much force to stop them. The civil courts deny bail to Israeli children in only 18 percent of cases. But Israeli officials and politicians seem to want to make an example of Ahed, Nour, and Aheds mother, Nariman, who also faces charges. They should finish their lives in prison, said Naftali Bennett, Israels education minister. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for severe punishment of Ahed and her family, to serve as a deterrent, and banned 20 members of her family from visiting her in detention in Israel, where she was unlawfully transferred from occupied territory. Unlike the leniency often shown to settlers even those who slap Israeli soldiers the prosecution is throwing the book at the girl, whose indictment includes a dozen counts of assault, incitement, interference with soldiers, and stone-throwing in incidents since April 1, 2016. And unlike Israeli civilian courts treatment of Israelis, military courts in the West Bank deny bail in 70 percent of cases involving Palestinian children. A 2013 UNICEF report found that almost all children plead guilty to reduce the length of pretrial detention, because doing so, is the quickest way to be released, from a system that typically denies children access to a lawyer or the presence of their parent during coercive interrogations and, does not allow children to defend themselves. Considering that the military prosecutor plans to summon 18 witnesses, mostly soldiers, Aheds trial could take months. Issuing a well-reasoned decision on bail wont fix the discrimination and ill-treatment of children in Israels military justice system. But it will at least demonstrate a willingness to abide by the law that should govern one part of that system. Bill Van Esveld is Senior Researcher, MENA, Childrens Rights Division Human Rights Watch) - Related video added by Informed Comment: Al Jazeera English: Palestinians ?? protesters demand Ahed Tamimis release Reddit Email 29 Shares By Lakhdar Ghettas | (OpenDemocracy.net) | Seven years after the Tunisian revolution one can dissect four main conflict issues in Tunisia today. A rally marking the third anniversary of the uprising that ousted long-time dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2014 in Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis. Picture by Palacio Marieau/ABACA/PA Images. All rights reserved.Thirty years last NovemberZine el Abidine Ben Ali assumed power in Tunisia ending thereby the rule of ailing Habib Bourguiba who ruled the country since its independence in 1956. Ben Ali promised political reforms that lured large segments of the Tunisian polity, including the Islamists. Those hopes were soon shattered by the brutal crackdown following the 1989 general elections in which Ennahda ran on independent lists, and came second after Ben Alis RCD party. Leftists were not spared either and by 2010 Ben Ali managed to unite most Tunisians against his authoritarian rule. Tunisians embarked on a political transition that has been underway seven years now. Dubbed the Arab Springs exception, a number of explanations have been put forward by different analysts. There is the role of a vibrant civil society, high levels of education, the homogenous fabric of the Tunisian society, and the limited geostrategic interests. One important factor, however, is experiences of dialogue and coalition building among political and civil society actors of different worldviews, especially between secular leftists and Islamists. Those involved in the 18 October 2005 dialogue initiative rightly argue that the outcome of that experience facilitated reaching the agreement on which the 2012 Troika government was formed. The international community hailed the 2014 constitution as unique in the Arab world Political transitions following bottom up upheavals are very difficult to navigate in that they bring to the surface all the contradictions that were suppressed by the authoritarian regime. It was inevitable that the Troika government would hit stubborn obstacles that threatened the entire democratic change. In addition to the old ideological battles among Islamists and secularists, the 2011 uprising allowed the emergence of the Salafi voice as a new political actor that attracted sizable segments of Tunisian youth. The 2013-14 national dialogue managed to ensure a minimal consensus on issues that blocked drafting of a new constitution in the 2011 Constituent Assembly. Yet, key issues were either avoided or formulated in vague language. Besides, the participative Salafi voice was not formally present at the negotiation table between Ennahda and its political adversaries led by Nidaa Tounes. This reality could explain to some extent the bloody political violence during the first months of the post-Troika era, under Habib Essids 2015 government. The international community hailed the 2014 constitution as unique in the Arab world and the Quartet that convened the dialogue was rewarded with a Nobel Peace Prize. As Tunisians embarked on a fresh start led this time by Nidaa Tounes high hopes were nurtured by the media campaign that supported Nida Tounes and its electoral promises. The reality was, however, more complex than defeating Ennahdha in elections as Nida learned while the party set off to form its government. President Beji Caid Essebsi witnessed the emergence of differences that tore apart the secularists alliance against Ennahda. Essebsi understood he needed Ennahda in the government if it were not going to play the shadow government role in the parliament. This decision shattered the secularists 2014 alliance and pushed the Popular Front into the opposition. Soon after, Nidaa Tounes as well started to disintegrate due to a combination of party leadership struggle thinly disguised as political orientation differences. Current and former figures of Nidaa Tounes disagree on the assessment of this episode. Some evoke the 2013 Paris Consensus between Essebsi and Rached Ghannouchi, others explain it by a genuine commitment on the part of President Essebsi to rise above narrow partisan politics and act in the ultimate national interest, as any statesman should do, especially during historical junctions of the country. The Nidaa-Ennahda coalition has so far survived three years. Ennahda has become the first political force in the parliament following the string of splits in Nidaa party and its parliamentary bloc. This reality that was unthinkable hereto has shaken the Tunisian civil and political landscape and forced shifts in alliances. While the leadership of the two political parties are busy conceptualising ways to institutionalise the coalition for it to hold for the next decade, other secularist political groups have been repeatedly trying to form new fronts in order to undo the coalition. The rank and file of Nidaa-Ennahda are not however completely in tune with their respective leaders The rank and file of Nidaa-Ennahda are not however completely in tune with their respective leaders. Segments of Ennahda youth, especially in the south have not yet swallowed this shift of alliance from former ally Moncef Merzouki, to Ennahdas Bourguibism foe Essebsi. The same applies for Nidaas youth who were recruited and mobilised on an anti-Islamist platform but are now told to make peace with Ennahda. Some figures in the opposition think this coalition of the Big Two is killing the spirit of pluralism and fair political play. Some even think that it would ultimately produce the same conditions that fuelled the 2011 uprising. Analysts and Tunisian political figures offer diverging assessments on the transition strategy. Some argue that holding local elections first could have spared Tunisia all the political violence and economic hardship it has suffered over the last seven years. They argue that the root causes of the uprising that began in the marginalised inland regions has not been addressed seven years on; which explains the recurring unrest throughout those regions. The debate around the economic reconciliation project defended by Ennahda and Essebsi has to some extent shifted the traditional ideological fault lines in favour of new rapprochement among Islamist and leftist youth who all oppose the law that they consider a license for impunity. Seven years on, one can dissect four main conflict issues in Tunisia today. First, the issue of the coalition of Nidaa Tounes and Ennahda; second, the nature of the political system; third, the political role of the UGTT labour union; and finally, the urgency of holding the local elections. These represent the main obstacles to the democratic transition in Tunisia but there are other aspects of the transition that contribute to the social unrest other than the economic hardship. A great deal remains to be done in term of dealing with the past. The Truth and Dignity Commission has embarked on a promising journey but there is no consensus on its mandate and role among the Tunisian polity. The Islamist-secularist ideological divide continues to underpin the political debate in the country, the latest episode being President Essebsis call to reform the inheritance law in order to promote equal sharing between all citizens in a civic state as the countrys constitution stipulates. The coalition of the Big Two Nidaa Tounes and Ennahda agree that their coalition based on the Paris consensus is vital for the success of the transition. Ennahda even thinks that the coalition should be developed and institutionalised to devise a development strategy backed by the two parties in parliament and government, over the next five, even ten, years in order to consolidate the transition. Other parties, however, fear this coalition of the Big Two Other parties, however, fear that this coalition of the Big Two will pave the way for the return to authoritarian rule. They are in favour of a consensual rule that is enlarged to all political actors (big and small, inside and outside the parliament). Two recent acts reflect these dynamics. Nidaa Tounes, Ennahda and Slim Riahis UPL have backed a single candidate to preside the elections watchdog ISIE and voted for Mohamed Tlili Mansri last November. The response came from Mohcen Merzouks El Houra bloc, the Democrats bloc by the formation of the Progressive Parliamentary Front. This new fronts stated objective is to re-establish power balance in the parliamentary affairs and guarantee political stability. But few weeks later the talk is about challenging the Nidaa-Ennahdha coalition in general. The nature of the political system There has been growing calls to review and amend the current hybrid political system that is semi-parliamentary / semi-presidential. Some in Nidaa Tounes think that in order to guarantee the ideal conditions possible for the success of the transition (re-vitalise the economy, and pass the necessary laws and policies), Tunisia needs an electoral law that brings about a majority party rule. They are not necessarily calling for amending the 2014 constitution, but they argue a reform of sorts should be undertaken. This unnerved the other small political parties who consider such a step would pave the way to the return of authoritarian rule. They argue that the institutions enacted by the 2014 constitution have not even been fully established yet to judge the sustainability of the constitution. In his interview for the national Watania 1 TV on 18 September, Essebsi said that he understands why some are calling for the reform of the hybrid system, and that although the current constitution allows him to take such an initiative, he nevertheless wont take it. At the same time, he added, the parliament is free to launch such an initiative. In other words, he is leaving the door open. Politically, opponents of Ennahda consider a presidential system would ensure that opponents of Ennahda control the presidency (last line of defence of secularists), since they are convinced Ennahda will have the control of local, regional assemblies as it has the majority in parliament now. Ennahda, however, is not clear on this issue. During the Troika years, Ennahda first called for a parliamentary system (convinced of their popularity), but after the 2013 crisis the party agreed to the current hybrid system. Since the beginning of the coalition Nidaa-Ennahda some advisers around Ghannouchi, such as Lotfi Zeitoun, have been on the offensive for a general reconciliation and a presidential system. The partys Shura council is, however, divided. Some think if a reform of the system is on the agenda, then a parliamentary system should be Ennahdas choice not for partisan calculations but to prevent the return of the despotic practices of the presidential rule under which Islamists suffered most. The political role of the labour union Figures of Nidaa Tounes and even some leftists have expressed strong disapproval of the political role of the labour union, UGTT. They consider that the labour union should cease exerting political pressure on the government and the political system (through the Popular Front). This is of course a thorny issue in Tunisia given the historical role the UGTT played in Tunisias independence struggle and state building since then. Besides, the labour union played a critical role in the downfall of Ben Alis regime as well as the Troika. It was crucial in the National Dialogue 2013-14. There is no consensus on the urgency of holding the local election Since the temporary alliance between Nidaa Tounes and the PF fell apart because of the inclusion of Ennahda in 2015, government tensions have been growing to unprecedented levels, especially after the PF / UGTT voted against the civil servants reconciliation law. In the above-mentioned interview president Essebsi openly and aggressively attacked Hamma Hammami, PFs leader, in words with negative connotations. While the president could have opted for another word, he used the term Faasiq that is religiously loaded. The interview stirred a polemic in mass media and social media. To hold or not to hold elections There is no consensus on the urgency of holding the local election: Disagreements on the urgency of local elections have resulted in postponing them to next spring 2018. Opponents of Ennahda think that holding the local elections now is technically not feasible because the new local governance law is not ready to discuss and pass, and because the electoral body in charge of organising elections, ISIE, has just been fully staffed. In addition to these technical arguments, they argue that for voters mobilisation sake, budget savings, and to avoid electoral fatigue, it would be logical to combine the local elections with the upcoming regional elections sometime mid-2018. Ennahda, however, considers those justifications are baseless and that the real reason other political parties have been dragging their feet is their fear that unlike other secularist parties Ennahda is ready for elections, which would give it an advantage for the legislative and presidential elections in late 2019. This disagreement is reflected in the parliament. Party blocs in the parliament have spent months before they could finally elect a president for ISIE, this November. Ennahda fears that even the April date being floated by the opposition is not definite since there are calls to postpone them further and combine with regional elections, which is another dossier on the agenda next year. Meanwhile, there is growing frustration at the local level and minor parties (who have nothing to lose) think that holding elections on time, regardless of partisan gain, is crucial for establishing the democratic culture during this founding phase of the second republic. Opponents of this group think that holding elections before arriving at a large consensus is more dangerous for the transition than postponing them. Via OpenDemocracy.net Related video added by Informed Comment: Al Jazeera English: Tunisia ?? challenges persist seven years after revolution MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Orosur Mining Inc. (Orosur or the Company) (TSX/AIM: OMI), a South American-focused gold producer, developer and explorer is pleased to announce the results for the first half of its fiscal 2018 (H1 18) and second quarter ended November, 2017 (Q2 18 or the Quarter). All dollar figures are stated in US$000 unless otherwise noted. EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 1 Results are based on IFRS and expressed in US dollars 2 Before non-cash working capital movements 3 Operating cash cost is total cost discounting royalties and capital tax on production assets. H2 OUTLOOK SG UG is a continuation at depth of the San Gregorio open pit deposit, which produced approximately 536,000 oz at an average grade of 2.12 g/t Au. Since November 2016, SGW UG has been the primary source of ore feed to the plant. Mining in the SGW sector is forecast to be complete in H2 18 when development and initial production of SGC is scheduled to commence. SGC is planned to be the main source of underground ore feed to the plant during H2 18. To view the full release, showing all maps and figures, please click here. During Q2 18, 792 metres of diamond core were drilled around the San Gregorio West underground mine aimed at improving accuracy and planning of the mining in this sector. A 250 metre development access ramp is necessary to fully access SGC from the SGW UG mine and is under construction. The block model for SGC was finalized in Q2 18, and shows that the mineralized structure is less economically viable at current gold prices at depth and to the East based on reductions in both ore grade and thickness. Due to this, and amongst other measures, the Company has been working with SRK Peru in order to optimize the mineplan for SGC, with a special emphasis on profitability following the deferral of production from SGW in Q2 18. The new design concentrates mining on the upper levels of the mine to minimize additional and uneconomic development. Additionally, an existing crown pillar between the open pit and the UG mine is being evaluated for potential inclusion in the mine plan. The Company is accelerating the preparation and permitting of Veta A, a new underground project that is 1.2 kilometres from the plant, for development. Initial work indicates Veta A is currently the highest grade source of underground ore available on the San Gregorio mine complex. Veta A was previously mined as an open pit, producing 29,000 oz with an average grade of 3.1 g/t between September 2006 and March 2008. Current reserves are 9,440 oz (122,328 tonnes @ 2.40 g/t Au). The Company is targeting a significant increase in reserves following a positive drilling campaign that proved the continuity and extension of the ore body over 140 metres from the current defined reserves. A preliminary study by SRK Consulting at Veta A supports its geotechnical feasibility. In addition to the redesign of underground production in San Gregorio, the company has implemented a number of initiatives to preserve cash. These include an 11% staff reduction at the end of November, the recently granted royalty exemption by the Uruguayan Government for a one year period and the deferral of planned greenfield exploration in Uruguay. Orosur remains focused on profitability over production and as a result is targeting the lower end of its production guidance at San Gregorio for FY18 at 30,000 ounces of gold, while maintaining its operating cash cost guidance of between US$800 US$900/oz. The Company continuously considers and analyses strategic options to develop its Uruguay, Colombian and Chilean assets to create shareholder value. The Company expects to conclude its first phase of drilling at the APTA zone, which is part of the Anza project in Colombia next month. Additional drill results are expected by the end of February. As announced in November 2017, preliminary results from the current drilling campaign have demonstrated APTAs potential at depth, with gold mineralization intersected to 200m, and along strike. The broader Anza potential (beyond APTA) has yet to be tested at any of the four high priority identified targets with coincident geochemical and geophysical anomalies. To view the full release, showing all maps and figures, please click here. Ignacio Salazar, CEO of Orosur, said: The Company is concentrating on advancing exploration in Colombia while maintaining profitability in Uruguay. We have built the SGW UG mine, entirely financed from cash from operations, while advancing exploration and development around it. SGC is well under way and on track to commence production during Q3 18 and we are swiftly advancing a new higher grade underground mine at Veta A. While we are taking some tough measures to implement this plan, we are getting some initial results already and are proud to count on the support of the Uruguayan government which granted us a second, and unprecedented, annual royalty exemption. As announced in November, preliminary results in Colombia from the current drilling campaign validate the APTA gold potential. Depth potential has been confirmed at APTA with gold mineralization intersected down to 200m. Mineralized zones remain open. We plan to update the market in the next several weeks. In addition to APTA, and in respect of the broader Anza potential, four high priority targets with coincident geochemical and geophysical anomalies, remain untested. Potential for a New UG Mine: Veta A Underground Historically, Veta A was a relatively small high grade open pit, located next to the now reclaimed San Gregorio tailings dam, which was in operation from September 2006 until March 2008. The Veta A open pit produced approximately 29,000 oz at average gold grades of 3.10 g/t. To view the full release, showing all maps and figures, please click here. As open pit mining progressed, the mineralized body appeared to run underneath the tailings dam. When operations approached this physical barrier, mining was halted and the pit was backfilled with waste and then reclaimed. A preliminary geotechnical study of the Veta A deposit was performed by SRK Consulting during the first Quarter with positive results. During Q2 2018, drilling continued at Veta A, with 968 metres drilled (adding up to a total 1,665 metres drilled to date for this campaign). The results are encouraging. Drilling interceptions to date are shown below: HOLE From (m) To (m) Metres Au g/t VADD17-006 161.9 168.6 6.7 5.0 VADD17-007 165.2 167.1 2.0 3.3 VADD17-008 125.0 131.1 6.1 2.6 VADD17-009 170.5 175.3 4.9 1.8 VADD17-010 107.7 109.7 2.0 0.4 VADD17-011 107.6 110.2 2.6 5.8 VADD17-012 124.4 130.8 6.4 1.7 VADD17-013 97.5 99.0 1.5 1.5 VADD17-014 96.30 97.70 1.4 0.7 VADD17-015 155.4 157.0 1.6 1.6 VADD17-016 133.6 136.7 3.1 3.4 All 11 holes drilled to date at Veta A intersected mineralization, confirming the extension of the mineralized body for at least 140 metres downhole. The best mineralization intercepts show the continuity of the mineralized trend to the south-west down-deep. This indicates the strong potential for an increase in the volume of the mineralized structure, which may materially increase current reserves, albeit requiring further work. The block model was updated in-house during Q2 18 and a mine plan design is in progress to advance with the feasibility study. To view the full release, showing all maps and figures, please click here. Qualified Person's Statement The technical information related to the current assets of Orosur Mining in this presentation has been reviewed by Miguel Fuentealba, a Mining Engineer who is considered to be a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 reporting guidelines. Mr. Fuentealba is a graduate in Mining Engineering from the University of Santiago de Chile and is an AusIMM Member and Qualified Person of Chilean Mining Commission. Mr. Fuentealba has 20 years of professional experience in the field of mining engineering, mine development and management. Reserves and Resources stated in this announcement have the meaning ascribed to such terms under N.I. 43-101, and have been prepared on such basis and published in the Companys annual information form dated August 29, 2017. About Orosur Mining Inc. Orosur Mining Inc. (TSX: OMI; AIM: OMI) is a fully integrated gold producer, developer and explorer focused on identifying and advancing gold projects in South America. The Company operates the only producing gold mine in Uruguay (San Gregorio), and has assembled an exploration portfolio of high quality assets in Uruguay, Chile and Colombia. Updated Reserve Case NPV(8%) for Hugo North Extension Lift 1 of $111 million ( C$139 million *) Preliminary Economic Assessment of alternative development scenario for all three joint venture deposits NPV(8%) of $278 million ( C$348 million *) (All figures are in US dollars unless otherwise noted) VANCOUVER, Jan. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - Entree Resources Ltd. (TSX:ETG; NYSE American:EGI the "Company" or "Entree") is pleased to announce the results of an updated Feasibility Study that was completed on its interest in the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi joint venture property (the "Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property"). Entree has a 20% participating interest in the joint venture (the "Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV") with Oyu Tolgoi LLC ("OTLLC") holding the remaining 80% interest. The Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property comprises a significant portion of the long-life, high-grade Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mining project in Mongolia. The updated Feasibility Study only reports on mineral resources and reserves attributable to the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV. The updated Feasibility Study discusses two development scenarios, an updated reserve case (the "2018 Reserve Case") and a Life-of-Mine ("LOM") Preliminary Economic Assessment ("2018 PEA"). The 2018 Reserve Case is based only on mineral reserves attributable to the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV from the first lift ("Lift 1") of the Hugo North Extension underground block cave. Lift 1 of Hugo North (including Hugo North Extension) is currently in development by project operator Rio Tinto, with first development production from Hugo North Extension expected in 2021. When completed, Oyu Tolgoi will become the world's third largest copper mine. The 2018 PEA is an alternative development scenario completed at a conceptual level that assesses the inclusion of the Hugo North Extension Lift 2 and Heruga deposits into an overall mine plan with Hugo North Extension Lift 1. The 2018 PEA includes Indicated and Inferred resources from Hugo North Extension Lifts 1 and 2, and Inferred resources from Heruga. Significant development and capital decisions will be required for the eventual development of the two additional Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV deposits (Hugo North Extension Lift 2 and Heruga) once production commences at Hugo North Extension Lift 1. LOM highlights of the production and financial results from the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA are summarized in Table 1. ____________________________________________ *converted at USD: CAD exchange rate of 1.2504 (Bank of Canada Noon Rate January 12, 2018) Table 1. Summary LOM Production and Financial Results Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Units 2018 Reserve Case 2018 PEA LOM Processed Material Probable Reserve Feed 35 Mt @ 1.59% Cu, 0.55 g/t Au, 3.72 g/t Ag (1.93% CuEq) ---- Indicated Resource Feed ---- 113 Mt @ 1.42% Cu, 0.50 g/t Au, 3.63 g/t Ag (1.73% CuEq) Inferred Resource Feed ---- 708 Mt @ 0.53% Cu, 0.44 g/t Au, 1.79 g/t Ag (0.82 % CuEq) Copper Recovered Mlb 1,115 10,497 Gold Recovered koz 514 9,367 Silver Recovered koz 3,651 45,378 Entree Attributable Financial Results LOM Cash Flow, pre-tax US$M 382 2,078 NPV(5%), after-tax US$M 157 512 NPV(8%), after-tax US$M 111 278 NPV(10%), after-tax US$M 89 192 Notes: Long term metal prices used in the net present value (" NPV ") economic analyses are: copper $3.00/lb, gold $1,300.00/oz, silver $19.00/oz ") economic analyses are: copper $3.00/lb, gold $1,300.00/oz, silver $19.00/oz Mineral reserves and mineral resources are reported on a 100% basis Entree has a 20% interest in the above processed material and recovered metal The mineral reserves in the 2018 Reserve Case are not additive to the mineral resources in the 2018 PEA Copper equivalent ("CuEq") is calculated as shown in the footnote to Table 7 Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Mineral Resources in this press release The economic analysis in the 2018 PEA does not have as high a level of certainty as the 2018 Reserve Case. The 2018 PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the 2018 PEA will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. In both development options (2018 Reserve Case and 2018 PEA) Entree is only reporting the production and cash flows attributable to the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property, not production and cash flows for other Oyu Tolgoi project areas owned 100% by OTLLC. Note the production and cash flows from these two development options are not additive. Both the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA are based on information reported within the 2016 Oyu Tolgoi Feasibility Study ("OTFS16"), completed by OTLLC on the Oyu Tolgoi project (refer to Turquoise Hill Resources press release dated October 21, 2016). OTFS16 discusses the mine plan for Lift 1 of the Hugo North (including Hugo North Extension) underground block cave on both the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence and the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. Rio Tinto is managing the construction and eventual operation of Lift 1 as well as any future development of deposits included in the 2018 PEA. The results of the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA will be summarized by Amec Foster Wheeler Americas Limited ("Amec Foster Wheeler") in a National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 Technical Report that will be filed under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com within 45 days of this news release and on the Company's website. Mr. Stephen Scott, Entree's President and CEO comments, "It is a rare privilege for a growing company like Entree to own a significant interest in a project like Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world's most important new copper and gold mines, as we move into the battery revolution. We are extremely pleased with the robust results of both the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA, which should help investors understand the tremendous underlying value of Entree's flagship asset. However, this is not the end of the story, as there is still significant potential for improvement with predicted higher long-term copper prices, increasing demand for copper and the tremendous long-term development optionality of the Oyu Tolgoi project. Completion of this Technical Report enables us to discuss the updated economics of our 2018 Reserve Case, and more importantly, preliminary economics for potential future phases of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, beyond Lift 1, including Hugo North Extension Lift 2 and Heruga, where a significant amount of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV's mineralization and potential value occurs. At the throughput rate used for the 2018 PEA, the Oyu Tolgoi underground project has an expected mine life of roughly 77 years, which may be extended through future exploration success on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. Entree believes that conservative assumptions have been applied in the report, particularly with respect to future mining phases. There is potential for the value of Entree's share of the Oyu Tolgoi project as reported to increase as more information is confirmed by detailed future work." Mr. Scott continues, "We are very pleased that OTLLC and Rio Tinto have worked collaboratively with us to provide the underlying data required to develop our Technical Report. We applaud their on-going efforts to advance the Oyu Tolgoi project including the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property to where it is today. We also look forward to working with them to deliver further exploration success along the highly prospective Oyu Tolgoi copper porphyry trend and elsewhere on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. Given the manageable project development risk, low capital risk to production and our strong treasury, Entree is very well placed to create value for shareholders as underground development continues to advance. In many ways, Entree's joint venture interest has the characteristics of a royalty or revenue stream with the benefits of a producer." Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property The Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property comprises a significant portion of the overall Oyu Tolgoi project area, including the Hugo North Extension copper-gold deposit on the Shivee Tolgoi mining licence, the Heruga copper-gold-molybdenum deposit on the Javhlant mining licence and a large prospective land package. Entree has a 20% participating interest in the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV with OTLLC holding the remaining 80% interest. OTLLC has a 100% interest in other Oyu Tolgoi project areas, including the Oyut open pit, which is currently in production, and the Hugo North and Hugo South deposits on the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence. The area of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Project, which includes the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property and the Shivee West Property is shown on Figure 1. This figure also shows the main mineral deposits that form the Oyu Tolgoi Trend of porphyry deposits and several priority exploration targets, including Castle Rock and Southwest IP. Figure 1 Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Project Notes: Entree has a 20% carried interest in the Hugo North Extension and Heruga resources and reserves. * Shivee West is subject to a License Fees Agreement between Entree and OTLLC and may ultimately be included in the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. ** Outline of mineralization projected to surface The Hugo North Extension deposit (Lift 1 and Lift 2) Lift 1 is the upper portion of the Hugo North Extension copper-gold porphyry deposit and forms the basis of the 2018 Reserve Case. It is the northern portion of the Hugo North Lift 1 underground block cave mine plan that is currently in development on the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence. Starting in approximately 2021, the development will cross north onto the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. Hugo North Extension Lift 1 Probable reserves include 35 million tonnes (" Mt ") grading 1.59% copper, 0.55 grams per tonne (" g/t ") gold, and 3.72 g/t silver. Lift 1 mineral resources are also included in the alternative development scenario, as part of the mine plan for the 2018 PEA. Lift 2 is immediately below Lift 1 and is the next potential phase of underground mining, once Lift 1 mining is complete. Lift 2 is currently included as part of the alternative, 2018 PEA mine plan. Hugo North Extension Lift 2 resources included in the 2018 PEA mine plan are: 78 Mt (Indicated), grading 1.34% copper, 0.48 g/t gold, and 3.59 g/t silver; plus 88.4 Mt (Inferred), grading 1.34% copper, 0.48 g/t gold, and 3.59 g/t silver. The Heruga copper-gold-molybdenum deposit is at the south end of the Oyu Tolgoi trend of porphyry deposits. Approximately 94% of the Heruga deposit occurs on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. The 2018 PEA includes Heruga as the final deposit to be mined, as two separate block caves, one to the south with a slightly deeper block cave to the north. The portion of the Heruga mineral resources that occur on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property and are part of the alternative, 2018 PEA mine plan include 620 Mt (Inferred) grading 0.42% copper, 0.43 g/t gold, and 1.53 g/t silver. Figure 2 shows a north-south oriented, west-looking cross section through the 12.4 kilometre-long trend of porphyry deposits that comprise the Oyu Tolgoi project. The Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property is to the right (north) and left (south) of the central portion, the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence, held 100% by OTLLC. The deposits that are included in the mine plans for the two alternative cases, the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA, are shown on Figure 2. Figure 2 Cross Section Through the Oyu Tolgoi Trend of Porphyry Deposits Below are some of the key financial assumptions and outputs from the two alternative cases, the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA. All figures shown for both cases are reported on a 100% Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV basis, unless otherwise noted, where it is for Entree's 20% attributable interest. Both cases assume long term metal prices of $3.00/lb copper, $1,300.00/oz gold, and $19.00/oz silver. 2018 Reserve Case Outputs: Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property development production from Hugo North Extension Lift 1 starts in 2021 with initial block cave production starting in 2026 14-year mine life (5-years development production and 9-years block cave production; Figure 3) Maximum production rate of approximately 24,000 tonnes per day (" tpd "), which is blended with production from OTLLC's Oyut open pit deposits and Hugo North deposit to reach an average mill throughput of approximately 110,000 tpd "), which is blended with production from OTLLC's Oyut open pit deposits and Hugo North deposit to reach an average mill throughput of approximately 110,000 tpd Total direct development and sustaining capital expenditures of approximately $262 million ( $52 million attributable to Entree) ( attributable to Entree) Entree LOM average cash cost $1.25 /lb payable copper /lb payable copper Entree LOM average cash costs after credits (" C1 ") $0.56 /lb payable copper ") /lb payable copper Entree LOM average all-in sustaining costs ("AISC") $1.03 /lb payable copper Figure 3 2018 Reserve Case (Lift 1) Mine Production 2018 PEA Outputs: Mineralization mined from the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property is blended with production from other deposits on the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence to reach a mill throughput of 110,000 tpd Development schedule assumes for Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property (refer to Figure 4): 2021 start of Lift 1 development production and in 2026 initial Lift 1 block cave production 2028 Lift 2 development production and in 2035 initial Lift 2 block cave production 2065 Heruga development production and in 2069 initial block cave production Total direct development and sustaining capital expenditures of approximately $8,637 million ( $1,727 million attributable to Entree) ( attributable to Entree) Entree LOM average cash cost $1.97 /lb payable copper /lb payable copper Entree LOM average C1 $0.68 /lb payable copper /lb payable copper Entree LOM average AISC $1.83 /lb payable copper Figure 4 2018 PEA Mine Production Note, the 2018 PEA and the 2018 Reserve Case are not mutually exclusive; if the 2018 Reserve Case is developed and brought into production, the mineralization from Hugo North Extension Lift 2 and Heruga is not sterilized or reduced in tonnage or grades. Heruga could be a completely standalone underground operation, independent of other Oyu Tolgoi project underground development, and provides considerable flexibility for mine planning and development. Although molybdenum is present in the Heruga deposit (refer to Table 7), the 2018 PEA does not include the construction of a molybdenum circuit for its recovery, but it could be added in the future if economic conditions for molybdenum improve. As noted in the Turquoise Hill Resources press release dated October 21, 2016, there are also potential opportunities for increasing the underground mining rate (and mill throughput), which would require further development and sustaining capital and different operating costs, however it would likely result in Lift 2 and Heruga mineralization being mined earlier in the overall Oyu Tolgoi mine plan and potentially improved economics for Entree. Mining Methods Underground mining on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property (for both the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA), is planned to be by large-scale panel caving, which is a variation of block caving. The size, geotechnical characteristics and depth of mineralization at the deposits on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property make block caving the best suited mining method, and although the method has large, early capital investment requirements, it is highly productive and has low operating costs. The overall Hugo North and Hugo North Extension mine design in OTFS16 for Lift 1 consists of 203 kilometres ("km") of lateral development, five shafts (for access for mining personnel and equipment, for production, and for intake and exhaust ventilation) and a decline tunnel from surface. Of this development, only Shaft 4* (for ventilation) occurs on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property and approximately 16.4 km of lateral development. The caved material will primarily be transported to surface along conveyors in the decline tunnel, however a portion may be hauled to surface through one of the shafts. The underground mine will operate at a nominal 95 ktpd, which will be a blend of mineralization from other Oyu Tolgoi project deposits with mineralization from the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property at rates ranging from approximately 300 to 23,000 tpd over the life of the 2018 Reserve Case and at rates ranging from approximately 260 to 92,000 tpd over the 2018 PEA (note these ranges of feed production rates include the years of low-tonnage development production for Lift 1, Lift 2 and Heruga). The mineral deposits on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property will be developed, operated and processed by Rio Tinto on behalf of OTLLC, the manager of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV. Processing and Metallurgy Various phases of metallurgical testing have been completed on samples of drill core from Hugo North Extension and Heruga. For Hugo North Extension this work has consisted of mineralogical characterization, grindability testing, and batch and locked cycle flotation testing. Locked cycle flotation testing has demonstrated that a conventional flotation flow sheet with moderate grinds, two stages of cleaning, and low reagent additions are able to generate a saleable copper concentrate, with levels of potential penalty elements identified that can be managed through blending or occasional penalty charges. Payable by-product levels of gold and silver are present in the copper concentrates. _____________________________________________ *Note: In mid-December 2017 OTLLC notified Entree the most likely location of Shaft 4 would be moved a short distance south, just within the boundaries of the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence. As of the date of this press release, no engineering plans nor updated capital and operating cost estimates had been provided to Entree to support this decision and therefore for the purposes of the Technical Report Shaft 4 is still assumed to be on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. Movement of the shaft will result in lower direct capital costs for the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV in both the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA. Metallurgical predictions for the three deposits are summarized in Table 2 below. Table 2. Summary of Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Metallurgical Results Deposit Copper Concentrate Grades Recovery (%) Cu (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Cu Au Ag HNE1,2 - Lift 1 Reserve 31 10 71 90.6 82.3 87.3 HNE1,2 - Lift 1 Resource 31 10 71 91.7 83.4 88.6 HNE1 - Lift 2 29 10 76 90.5 82.2 87.2 Heruga 25 24 87 86.2 78.6 81.9 1HNE = Hugo North Extension. 2Note differences in Lift 1 reserve and resource recoveries are due to differences in the mine production schedule feed rates and grades. The process plant is sized at 110,000 tpd of mill feed which will be fed by a mix of mineralization from the Entree/Oyu Togoi JV Property and from other Oyu Tolgoi project deposits and will consist of conventional SAG mill / ball mill / grinding circuit (SABC) followed by flotation. A fifth ball mill will be added to the current plant to achieve a finer primary grind P 80 of 150160 m for mineralization from Hugo North and Hugo North Extension. Copper concentrate will be bagged on site and trucked to a smelter in China. Capital and Operating Costs Under the terms of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV, OTLLC is responsible for 80% of all costs incurred on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property for the benefit of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV, including capital expenditures, and Entree is responsible for the remaining 20%. In accordance with the terms of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV, Entree has elected to have OTLLC debt finance Entree's share of costs for approved programs and budgets, with interest accruing at OTLLC's actual cost of capital or prime +2%, whichever is less, at the date of the advance. Debt repayment may be made in whole or in part from (and only from) 90% of monthly available cash flow arising from the sale of Entree's share of products. Available cash flow means all net proceeds of sale of Entree's share of products in a month less Entree's share of costs of Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV activities for the month that are operating costs under Canadian generally-accepted accounting principles. The following is a description of how Entree recognizes its share of Oyu Tolgoi project capital costs, specifically, the timing of recognition under the terms of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV and generally accepted accounting principles. Under the terms of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV, any mill, smelter and other processing facilities and related infrastructure will be owned exclusively by OTLLC and not by Entree. Mill feed from the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property will be transported to the concentrator and processed at cost (using industry standards for calculation of cost including an amortization of capital costs). Underground infrastructure on the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence is also owned exclusively by OTLLC, although the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV will eventually share usage once underground development crosses onto the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. As a result of this, Entree recognizes those capital costs incurred by OTLLC on the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence as an amortization charge for capital costs that will be calculated in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles determined yearly based on the estimated tonnes of concentrate produced for Entree's account during that year relative to the estimated total life-of-mine concentrate to be produced (for processing facilities and related infrastructure), or the estimated total life-of-mine tonnes to be milled from the relevant deposit(s) (in the case of underground infrastructure). The charge is made to Entree's operating account when the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV mine production is actually milled. For direct capital cost expenditures on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property, Entree will recognize its proportionate share of costs at the time of actual expenditure. The capital and operating costs in the 2018 Reserve Case are based on estimates prepared for OTFS16. The capital and operating costs in the 2018 PEA are based on data provided by OTLLC. A summary of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV capital expenditures, including expansion and sustaining capital for both the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA is shown in Table 3. A summary of the amortization charges for capital costs incurred by OTLLC on the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence for both the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA is shown in Table 4. Table 3. Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Direct Development and Sustaining Capital 2018 Reserve Case 2018 PEA Description Unit Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Entree 20% Attributable Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Entree 20% Attributable Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Mine Development & Sustaining Capital(1)(2)(3) Mine Shaft 4 $ M 28.9 5.8 19.1 3.8 HNE Lift 1 Development $ M 232.8 46.6 232.8 46.6 HNE Lift 2 Construction & Development $ M - - 1,209.7 241.9 Heruga Construction & Development(2) $ M - - 7,175.7 1,435.1 Total Mine Development Capital $ M 261.7 52.3 8,637.3 1,727.4 Notes (1) Capital costs are inclusive of indirect costs, Mongolian custom duties and VAT and contingency. (2) For the purposes of the Technical Report, it has been assumed that all underground infrastructure for Heruga will be constructed on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. (3) HNE means Hugo North Extension. (4) - Figures have been rounded as required by reporting guidelines, and may result in apparent summation differences. Table 4. Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Amortization Charges for Capital Costs Incurred by OTLLC 2018 Reserve Case 2018 PEA Description Unit Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Entree 20% Attributable Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Entree 20% Attributable Amortization Charges for OTLLC Capital Costs(1)(2) Mine Shaft #2 $ M 22.5 4.5 14.8 3.0 Mine Shaft #3 $ M 24.6 4.9 16.3 3.3 Mine Shaft #5 $ M 7.3 1.5 4.8 1.0 Hugo North Lift #1 U/G Construction $ M 205.7 41.1 136.0 27.2 Hugo North Lift #2 U/G Construction $ M - - 415.2 83.0 Infrastructure & CHP $ M 48.1 9.6 31.8 6.4 Concentrator $ M 18.2 3.6 131.7 26.3 Tailings $ M 38.0 7.6 1,039.7 207.9 Reclamation $ M 31.3 6.3 56.3 11.3 Total Amortization Charges $ M 395.7 79.1 1,846.7 369.3 Notes (1) These capital items are required for both the 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA. The 2018 PEA assumes that the same capital items, with additional modifications would be used to produce from Hugo North Extension Lift 2. Under the 2018 PEA, the total amount of the amortization charges for these capital items is allocated over a larger resource base, therefore, the total amortization charges to the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV for these specific capital items is lower than the 2018 Reserve Case. (2) OTLLC capital costs are inclusive of indirect costs, Mongolian custom duties and VAT and contingency. (3) - Figures have been rounded as required by reporting guidelines, and may result in apparent summation differences. The average LOM operating costs for the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property 2018 Reserve Case and the 2018 PEA (including amortization charges for capital costs incurred by OTLLC on the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence) are shown in Table 5. Table 5. Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Average LOM Operating Expenditures Description Unit 2018 Reserve Case 2018 PEA Mining $/t processed 6.19 5.67 Processing $/t processed 8.41 9.37 Infrastructure and Other Operating $/t processed 2.04 2.04 Amortized Mining Costs $/t processed 8.86 0.251 Amortized Process Costs $/t processed 0.52 0.162 Amortized Tailings Costs $/t processed 1.09 1.27 Total Refining & Transportation Costs $/t processed 8.66 3.75 Total Operating Expenditure $/t processed 35.76 22.51 Administration Charge (2% during development; 2.5% during production) $/t processed 1.32 0.84 Total $/t processed 37.08 23.35 1 Mining amortized cost are significantly reduced for the 2018 PEA because the Lift 1 costs are being divided by the total resource tonnage for presentation purposes; nonetheless, within the financial model Lift 1 costs are amortized against Lift 1 tonnage and captured during Lift 1 mining. 2 Process amortized costs are significantly lower for the 2018 PEA because the concentrate expansion costs are amortized against the resource tonnage within the financial model including Lift 1, Lift 2, and Heruga. Figures have been rounded as required by reporting guidelines, and may result in apparent summation differences. Mine site cash costs are shown in Table 6. Cash costs are those costs relating to the direct operating costs of the mine site, including mining, concentration, tailings, operational support costs, infrastructure, smelting and refining and administration fees. Total cash costs after credits (C1 costs) are the cash costs less the revenue from the gold and silver by-products. The all-in sustaining cost (AISC) is calculated according to World Gold Council guidance. It is the C1 costs plus mineral royalty and capital costs. AISC costs exclude income tax and financing charges. Table 6. Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Unit Operating Costs by Copper Production Description Unit LOM Average 2018 Reserve Case LOM Average 2018 PEA Mine Site Cash Cost $/lb Payable Copper 0.95 1.66 TC/RC, Royalties & Transport $/lb Payable Copper 0.29 0.32 Total Cash Costs Before Credits $/lb Payable Copper 1.25 1.97 Gold Credits $/lb Payable Copper 0.62 1.22 Silver Credits $/lb Payable Copper 0.06 0.08 Total Cash Costs After Credits (C1) $/lb Payable Copper 0.56 0.68 Total All-in Sustaining Costs After Credits (AISC) $/lb Payable Copper 1.03 1.83 Figures have been rounded as required by reporting guidelines, and may result in apparent summation differences. The cash flows in the 2018 Reserve Case and 2018 PEA are based on data provided by OTLLC, including mining schedules and annual capital and operating cost estimates, as well as Entree's interpretation of the commercial terms applicable to the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV, and certain assumptions regarding taxes and royalties. The cash flows have not been reviewed or endorsed by OTLLC. There can be no assurance that OTLLC or its shareholders will not interpret certain terms or conditions, or attempt to renegotiate some or all of the material terms governing the joint venture relationship, in a manner which could have an adverse effect on Entree's future cash flow and financial condition. The cash flows also assume that Entree will ultimately have the benefit of the standard royalty rate of 5% of sales value, payable by OTLLC under the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement. Unless and until Entree finalizes agreements with the Government of Mongolia or other Oyu Tolgoi stakeholders, there can be no assurance that Entree will be entitled to all the benefits of the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement, including with respect to taxes and royalties. If Entree is not entitled to all the benefits of the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement, it could have an adverse effect on Entree's future cash flow and financial condition. For example, Entree could be subject to a surtax royalty, which came into effect in Mongolia on January 1, 2011. To become entitled to the benefits of the Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement, Entree may be required to negotiate and enter into a mutually acceptable agreement with the Government of Mongolia or other Oyu Tolgoi stakeholders, with respect to Entree's direct or indirect participating interest in the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV or the application of a special royalty (not to exceed 5%) to Entree's share of the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property mineralization or otherwise. Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property The Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property mineral resource estimate for the Hugo North Extension deposit has an effective date of January 15, 2018. The mineral resource model and the mineral resource estimate have not changed since March 28, 2014, the effective date of the previous mineral resource estimate completed by Entree/Oyu Tolgoi. The Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV mineral resource estimate for the Heruga deposit has an effective date of January 15, 2018. The mineral resource model and the mineral resource estimate have not changed since March 30, 2010, the effective date of the previous mineral resource estimate completed by Entree/Oyu Tolgoi. The mineral resources on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV property are provided in Table 7. Table 7 Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Mineral Resources Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Mineral Resources Classification Tonnage (Mt) Cu (%) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) Mo (ppm) CuEq (%) Contained Metal Cu (Mlb) Au (Koz) Ag (Koz) Mo (Mlb) Hugo North Extension (>0.37% CuEq Cut-Off) Indicated 122 1.68 0.57 4.21 ___ 2.03 4,515 2,200 16,500 ___ Inferred 174 1.00 0.35 2.73 ___ 1.21 3,828 2,000 15,200 ___ Heruga (>0.37% CuEq Cut-Off) Inferred 1,700 0.39 0.37 1.39 113.2 0.64 14,604 20,410 75,932 424 1. Mineral resources have an effective date of January 15, 2018. Mr Peter Oshust, P. Geo, an Amec Foster Wheeler employee, is the Qualified Person responsible for the mineral resource estimate. 2. Mineral resources are reported inclusive of the mineral resources converted to mineral reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 3. Mineral resources are constrained within three-dimensional shapes and above a CuEq grade. The CuEq formula was developed in 2016, and is CuEq16 = Cu + ((Au*AuRev) + (Ag*AgRev) + (Mo*MoRev)) CuRev; where CuRev = (3.01*22.0462); AuRev = (1250/31.103477*RecAu); AgRev = (20.37/31.103477*RecAg); MoRev = (11.90*0.00220462*RecMo); RecAu = Au recovery/Cu recovery; RecAg = Ag recovery/Cu recovery; RecMo = Mo recovery/Cu recovery. Differential metallurgical recoveries were taken into account when calculating the copper equivalency formula. The metallurgical recovery relationships are complex and relate both to grade and Cu:S ratios. The assumed metal prices are $3.01/lb for copper, $1,250.00/oz for gold, $20.37/oz for silver, and $11.90/lb for molybdenum. Molybdenum grades are only considered high enough to support potential construction of a molybdenum recovery circuit at Heruga, and hence the recoveries of molybdenum are zeroed out for Hugo North Extension. A net smelter return ("NSR") of $15.34/t would be required to cover costs of $8.00/t for mining, $5.53/t for processing, and $1.81/t for G&A. This translates to a CuEq break-even underground cut-off grade of approximately 0.37% CuEq for Hugo North Extension mineralization. 4. Considerations for reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction for Hugo North included an underground resource-constraining shape that was prepared on vertical sections using economic criteria that would pay for primary and secondary development, block-cave mining, ventilation, tramming, hoisting, processing, and general and administrative ("G&A") costs. A primary and secondary development cost of $8.00/t and a mining, process, and G&A cost of $12.45/t were used to delineate the constraining shape cut-off. Inferred resources at Heruga have been constrained using a CuEq cut-off of 0.37%. 5. Mineral resources are stated as in situ with no consideration for planned or unplanned external mining dilution. The contained copper, gold, and silver estimates in the mineral resource table have not been adjusted for metallurgical recoveries. 6. Mineral resources are reported on a 100% basis. OTLLC has a participating interest of 80%, and Entree has a participating interest of 20%. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in respect of products extracted from the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property pursuant to mining carried out at depths from surface to 560 metres below surface, the participating interest of OTLLC is 70% and the participating interest of Entree is 30%. 7. Figures have been rounded as required by reporting guidelines, and may result in apparent summation differences. Entree/Oyu Tolgoi Mineral Reserves Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property mineral reserves are contained within the Hugo North Extension Lift 1 block cave mining plan (Table 8). The mine design work on Hugo North Lift 1, including the Hugo North Extension, was prepared by OTLLC. The mineral reserve estimate is based on what is deemed minable when considering factors such as the footprint cut-off grade, the draw column shut-off grade, maximum height of draw, consideration of planned dilution and internal waste rock. The mineral reserve estimate only considers mineral resources in the Indicated category and engineering that has been carried out to a feasibility level or better to state the underground mineral reserve. There is no Measured mineral resource currently estimated within the Hugo North Extension deposit. Copper and gold grades for the Inferred mineral resources within the block cave shell were set to zero and such material was assumed to be dilution. The block cave shell was defined by a $17.00/t NSR. Future mine planning studies may examine lower shut-offs. Table 8. Hugo North Extension Mineral Reserves Statement Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property Mineral Reserve Hugo North Extension Lift 1 Classification Tonnage NSR Cu Au Ag Recovered Metal (Mt) ($/t) (%) (g/t) (g/t) Cu (Mlb) Au (Koz) Ag (Koz) Probable 35 100.57 1.59 0.55 3.72 1,121 519 3,591 1. Mineral reserves have an effective date of January 15, 2018. Mr Ian Loomis, P. E., an Amec Foster Wheeler employee, is the Qualified Person responsible for the mineral reserve estimate. 2. For the underground block cave, all mineral resources within the shell has been converted to mineral reserves. This includes low-grade Indicated mineral resources and Inferred mineral resource assigned zero grade that is treated as dilution. 3. A footprint cut-off NSR of $46.00/t and column height shut-off NSR of $17/t were used to define the footprint and column heights. An average dilution entry point of 60% of the column height was used. 4. The NSR was calculated with assumptions for smelter refining and treatment charges, deductions and payment terms, concentrate transport, metallurgical recoveries, and royalties using base data template 31. Metallurgical assumptions in the NSR include recoveries of 90.6% for Cu, 82.3% for Au, and 87.3% for Ag. 5. Mineral reserves are reported on a 100% basis. OTLLC has a participating interest of 80%, and Entree has a participating interest of 20%. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in respect of products extracted from the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property pursuant to mining carried out at depths from surface to 560 metres below surface, the participating interest of OTLLC is 70% and the participating interest of Entree is 30%. 6. Figures have been rounded as required by reporting guidelines, and may result in apparent summation differences. Exploration Potential Exploration by OTLLC during 2016 on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property has outlined several near-surface porphyry prospects, the most significant being at Castle Rock and Southeast IP (refer to Figure 1). At the Castle Rock Prospect, a polymetallic (Mo-As-Sb-Te index) soil anomaly covers an area of about 1.5 km by 2.0 km and occurs coincident with a strong, near-surface induced polarization ("IP") anomaly. At the Southeast IP prospect an extensive area of 60 to 511 ppm copper soil anomalies, covering about 3 km by 3 km has been outlined, coincident with a strong IP anomaly. Further exploration, including drilling is budgeted for both these prospects in 2018. The areas to the north of Hugo North Extension and to the south of Heruga have been under-explored and remain strong targets for future exploration. Data Verification - Technical Discussion Greg Kulla, P.Geo, is an independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101, and has verified the drill hole database supporting mineral resources at Hugo North Extension and Heruga. Mr. Kulla visited the site four times in 2011, at which time he inspected the drilling, logging, sampling, and laboratory analysis procedures, observed core and core photos, and compared a random selection of original collar and down hole survey sheets, drill logs, and assay certificates with the drill hole database. He also reviewed documentation supporting the migration of the drill hole database to acQuire and made spot checks comparing acQuire database results with original drill collar, down hole survey, lithology, and assay results. The drill results specific to the Heruga deposit and exploration results from geochemical and geophysical surveys within the Shivee Tolgoi and Javhlant mining licences were not verified by Mr Kulla. However, the Heruga drill results were collected using the same procedures as used for the Oyut and Hugo North deposits and quality control sample results supporting Heruga assay results form part of the sample database reviewed. Mr. Kulla concludes the drill hole database is suitable to support mineral resource estimation. Peter Oshust, P.Geo., Principal Geologist of Amec Foster Wheeler who is a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101 and who is independent of the Company, reviewed the mineral resource estimates and models. Mr. Oshust has visited the site eight times since 2011; most recently in March 2016. During these visits to the project he was involved primarily in updates to the geological models and mineral resource estimates for the Hugo North and Oyut deposits. While on-site in 2011 he was based at the Hugo North mine complex and in 2012 at the Oyu Tolgoi core-logging facility. He also visited the mineralogy lab, Oyut open pit mine, and the processing plant. The mineral resource updates included due diligence reviews of processes and verification of the inputs to the models including data collection and database integrity. He both reviewed and participated in geological model construction, and block grade estimation, validation, and documentation. Mr. Oshust concludes that the mineral resource estimates were prepared in accordance with the May 2014 CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves and will support mine planning. Ian Loomis, P.E., Ph.D., is an independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and has verified the mining engineering that supports the mineral reserve estimate to be within normal mining engineering practice for block cave mining systems; he has compared the relevant subset of the block models to be consistent in terms of tonnes and grade with respect to the engineering work produced to date for both reserve (2018 Reserve) and resource (2018 PEA) cases. Dr. Loomis has also visited the mine site (November 2017) and observed the current mine development and construction activities. Additionally, he has had several discussions with personnel responsible for the underground mine planning activities. Hank Wong, P.Eng, is an independent Qualified Person under NI-43-101, and has reviewed the metallurgical test work, processing facilities, and processing plans proposed for Hugo North Extension and Heruga. Mr. Wong visited the Oyu Tolgoi concentrator in September 2017, held discussions with process staff, and reviewed the relevant test work and metallurgical projections developed. Mr. Wong concludes the test work, projections, and facility plans are suitable to support the statements on production. Kirk Hanson, P.E., MBA is an independent Qualified Person under NI-43-101, and has reviewed financial inputs including: PwC guidance document on Mongolia tax, third party legal opinion, Entree's guidance document on how to apply the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV terms to the financial model, and operating and capital cost inputs provided by multiple internal and external sources. Mr. Hanson prepared both the reserve (2018 Reserve Case) and resource (2018 PEA) case financial models. TECHNICAL REPORT Further technical information supporting the disclosure in this news release, including data verification, key assumptions, parameters, risks and other factors, will be provided in the NI 43-101 Technical Report that the Company will file under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com within 45 days of this news release and on the Company's website. NON-US GAAP PERFORMANCE MEASURMENT "Cash costs" and ASIC are non-US GAAP performance measurements. These performance measurements are included because these statistics are widely accepted as the standard of reporting cash costs of production in North America. These performance measurements do not have a meaning within US GAAP and, therefore, amounts presented may not be comparable to similar data presented by other mining companies. These performance measurements should not be considered in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance in accordance with US GAAP. ABOUT THE ENTREE/OYU TOLGOI JV PROPERTY The Oyu Tolgoi project includes two separate land holdings: the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence, which is held 100% by OTLLC (66% Turquoise Hill Resources; 34% Government of Mongolia), and the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property, which is a partnership between Entree and OTLLC. Rio Tinto is managing the construction of Lift 1 of the Hugo North underground block cave on both the Oyu Tolgoi mining licence and the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. The portion of the Hugo North copper-gold deposit that lies on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property is known as Hugo North Extension. The Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property also includes the Heruga copper-gold-molybdenum deposit and a large prospective land package. QUALIFIED PERSONS Greg Kulla, P.Geo, Peter Oshust, P.Geo., Ian Loomis, P.E, Hank Wong, P.Eng and Kirk Hanson, P.E. from Amec Foster Wheeler are all Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and have approved the scientific and technical information in this release. ABOUT ENTREE RESOURCES LTD. Entree Resources Ltd. is a well-funded Canadian mining company with a unique carried joint venture interest on a significant portion of one of the world's largest copper-gold projects the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia. Entree has a 20% carried participating interest in the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV, with a 30% interest in all mineralization identified above 560 metres elevation on the Entree/Oyu Tolgoi JV Property. Sandstorm Gold Ltd., Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. are major shareholders of Entree, holding approximately 14%, 10% and 8% of the shares of the Company, respectively. More information about Entree can be found at www.EntreeResourcesLtd.com. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lumina Gold Corp. (TSX-V:LUM) (the Company or Lumina) is pleased to announce that it has received positive results from the latest metallurgical testing program conducted on its 100% owned Cangrejos gold-copper project (the Project) located in southern Ecuador. The test results were the second round of metallurgical testing completed by the Company on the Project and demonstrated that the mineralized material can be processed by conventional industrial techniques. Flotation combined with gravity concentration can be used to recover 83% of the gold and 87% of the copper into saleable concentrates. These results demonstrate a 4% improvement in the copper recoveries and similar gold recoveries when compared with the 2015 testing. The results also demonstrate that cyanidation of the gravity concentrates and flotation cleaner scavenger tails is not required in the flow sheet, which was the most favourable recovery method during the 2015 testing. Alternatively, whole-ore cyanidation can be used to process the mineralized materials to recover 90% of the gold in dore, but no copper is recovered. The test work was performed at C.H. Plenge & CIA S.A. (Plenge), an independent metallurgical testing laboratory based in Lima, Peru and conducted on four individual composites and a Master Composite. The composites were prepared using 870 kilograms of quartered drill core collected during the 2017 drilling campaign from eight different drill holes and represented high grade and low grade mineralized materials from the Project. The Master Composite contained 0.25% copper, 0.96 grams per tonne gold, 0.6 grams per tonne silver and 20 ppm molybdenum. Gravity concentration tests, followed by lock-cycle flotation tests on gravity tails, were performed. The gravity concentrate contained 39% of the gold and 12% of the silver. The gravity concentrate assay was 143 grams/tonne gold and 31 grams/tonne silver. The flotation concentrate contained 44% of the gold, 87% of the copper and 67% of the molybdenum. The flotation concentrate assay was 43 grams/tonne gold, 21% copper and 0.2% molybdenum. When the molybdenum content is high enough the production of a separate molybdenum concentrate may be warranted. Comminution tests indicate that the materials have average Bond Ball Mill work index and SAG Mill specific pinion energy values of 17.7 kWh/mt. Quality Assurance and Quality Control All Lumina sample assay results have been monitored through a quality control / quality assurance ("QA/QC") program including the insertion of blind standards, blanks and the reanalysis of duplicate samples. The results of the QA/QC program and the resampling program indicate that the sample database is of sufficient accuracy and precision. Qualified Persons Nelson King, SME Registered Member and Metallurgical Consultant to Lumina, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. King has assisted Lumina in the development and direction of the metallurgical testing program for the Project, has visited Plenges laboratory in Lima to observe the testing program, and has reviewed and approved the content of this press release relating to the metallurgical testing. Mr. King also verified the results of the metallurgical testing. About Lumina Gold Lumina Gold Corp. is a Vancouver, Canada based precious and base metals exploration and development company focused on gold and copper projects in Ecuador. The Companys Cangrejos Gold-Copper project is located in El Oro Province, southwest Ecuador, and its Condor Gold-Copper project is located in Zamora-Chinchipe Province, southeast Ecuador. The Company also holds a large and highly prospective land package in Ecuador consisting of 135 thousand hectares. The Company has an experienced management team with a successful track record of advancing and monetizing exploration projects. West Perth, WA / January 15, 2018 / JMN Wire / Artemis Resources Limited (Artemis) (ASX: ARV) is pleased to provide the first of a number of JORC (2012) compliant resources with the Quod Est deposit at the Carlow Castle (Cobalt/Gold/Copper) Project, located about 20km south-east of Karratha in the Western Pilbara Region of Western Australia. Carlow Castle is located only 30km north-east of Artemiss Radio Hill processing plant, via gazetted roads. Work has also commenced on converting the portion of Exploration Licence E47/1797 covering the deposits to Mining Leases. A diamond drilling programme is now being planned for geotechnical analysis for detailed open pit planning purposes and for advanced metallurgical recovery optimisation and plant operating cost planning. The mineralisation at Quod Est and Carlow Castle South is hosted in chloritic shear zones within the predominantly Archean mafic sequence. The ore zones appear partially oxidised above 20m with sulphides extending to depth, the presence of chalcocite in some samples indicates supergene enrichment in the upper portions of the sulphide zone. JORC (2012) compliant resources on the much larger Carlow Castle South deposit are currently being estimated and will be available later this month. The refurbishment and upgrade works at the Radio Hill Plant are progressing well. The Company is working to have the planned works, including the addition of a 70-100 tonne per hour gravity gold recovery circuit, completed and fully operational by the end of June 2018. The Company is also undertaking studies to increase the overall capacity of the plant to over 1 million tonnes per annum. Highlights: The first of the Cobalt/Copper/Gold deposits (Quod Est) at Carlow Castle - JORC 2012 Resource. The second and larger of the deposits drilled to date (Carlow Castle South) JORC resource will be available by the end of January 2018. Many new Cobalt/Copper/Gold targets now identified over 50km2. Quod Est (the smallest deposit) has a JORC 2012 Indicated and Inferred compliant resource of 557,000 tonnes @1.0g/t Au, 0.2% Co & 0.5% Cu. Quod Est deposit remains open at depth. Best intercepts included: ARC002: 63-67m: 4m @ 1.13% Co, 10.71 g/t Au, 4.44% Cu ARC005:48-54m: 6m @ 1.94% Co, 4.14 g/t Au, 1.67% Cu ARC006: 52-58m: 6m @ 1.94% Co, 3.4 g/t Au, 1.36% Cu ARC007: 10-14m: 4m @ 1.79% Co, 5.89 g/t Au, 1.89% Cu. Conversion of the approved Exploration Licences to Mining Leases is underway. Diamond drilling for detailed pit geotechnical and metallurgical analysis will commence at the end of January 2018. Radio Hill plant upgrades going to plan. Carlow Castle is only 30km north-east of Artemiss Radio Hill Plant site and is conveniently connected by gazetted roads. David Lenigas, Artemis Executive Chairman, commented; We believe that Carlow Castle has the potential to be a significant new Cobalt province in Australia and we are pleased to report the first of what will eventually be many JORC compliant resources on our 100% owned Carlow Castle (Cobalt/Gold/Copper) Project near Karratha. With the world Cobalt prices now at US$75,000 a tonnes (nearly AUD $100,000 a tonne) the overall insitu rock value of Cobalt (at 0.05% Co cut-off) at our Quod Est deposit, with a grade of 0.3% Co, exceeds the combined values of Gold at 1.5 g/t Au and Copper at 0.6% Cu. We expect to complete the next JORC resource on the much larger Carlow Castle South deposit by the end of the month and are working hard on all fronts to have Carlow Castle ready and available to provide plant feed for our Radio Hill Plant from July. The latest geochemistry programme, covering 50 km2, has also surprisingly identified a large number of new high priority Cobalt/Gold/Copper targets ready for drilling. We are already receiving interest from international Cobalt trading houses for Artemiss conflict-free Cobalt. TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rupert Resources Ltd (TSX-V:RUP) (FSE:R05) (Rupert or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding letter of intent dated effective January 15, 2018 (LOI) with Northern Aspect Resources Ltd. (NARL) to complete a business combination, whereby the Company has agreed, subject to certain conditions, to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of NARL (the Transaction). James Withall, Chief Executive Officer of Rupert Resources, said, The transaction augments Ruperts asset portfolio in Finland at a very competitive acquisition cost. Rupert will have a presence in two of the most prospective regions for gold in Finland with a primary focus on the Pahtavaara Project in the high profile Central Lapland Greenstone Belt. NARL is a privately owned, British Columbia incorporated company with a 100% beneficial interest in the Hirsikangas and Osikonmaki properties in Central Finland. The Hirsikangas property consists of six (6) claims, plus two (2) reservations, all of which are valid. The Osikonmaki property consists of seven (7) claims, plus one (1) reservation, that are valid, and two (2) claims that are in application for renewal. Using a 0.5 g/t cut off grade, Hirsikangas has Indicated mineral resources of 3.002 Mt at a grade of 1.23 g/t Au (119koz) and Inferred mineral resources of 2.673 Mt at a grade of 1.27 g/t Au (106koz) (collectively, the Hirsikangas Resources). Using a 0.5 g/t cut off grade, Osikonmaki has Indicated mineral resources of 1.296 Mt at a grade of 1.70 g/t Au (68koz) and Inferred mineral resource of 3.542 Mt at a grade of 2.09 g/t Au (244koz) (collectively, the Osikonmaki Resources). The Transaction The LOI is to be superseded by a definitive agreement (Definitive Agreement) to be signed on or before February 28, 2018 (or such other date as is agreed by the parties). Rupert proposes to acquire all of the issued and outstanding securities of NARL pursuant to the terms of the Definitive Agreement, in exchange for 4,913,466 common shares of the Company. Given that the last closing price of the common shares of the Company prior to the issuance of this press release was $0.85 per share, aggregate consideration payable pursuant to the Transaction is deemed to be approximately $4.18 million. The Transaction is conditional upon, among other things: (i) the parties and all shareholders of NARL entering into a Definitive Agreement in respect to the Transaction and any collateral issues or matters on or before February 28, 2018; and (ii) the parties receiving all requisite regulatory approval, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, and any third party approvals and authorizations. Mr. James Withall, a director and CEO of the Company, is the CEO of NARL, and therefore the Transaction constitutes a related party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (MI 61-101). The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI61-101 based on a determination that the securities of the Company are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and that neither the fair market value of the subject matter of, nor the fair market value of the consideration for, the Transaction, in so far as it involves interested parties, exceeds 25% of the market capitalization of the Company. NI 43-101 Reports in Respect of NARL Properties A National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) technical report titled Hirsikangas Gold Deposit, Central Ostrobothnia, Finland and dated November 30, 2009 (the Hirsikangas Report) was prepared for Belvedere Resources Ltd. (Belvedere) by Thomas Lindholm, M.Sc, MAusIMM, Senior Mining Engineer of GeoVista AB, and sets forth the Hirsikangas Resources. The Hirsikangas Report was filed by Belvedere under its profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on November 30, 2009. To the best of the Companys knowledge, information and belief, there is no new material scientific or technical information that would make the disclosure of the Hirsikangas Resources in the Hirsikangas Report inaccurate or misleading. Since the Hirsikangas Report, Belvedere Resources Ltd. completed a 16 hole, 1106 metre drill campaign at Hirsikangas. The results of this drilling program were filed on SEDAR by Belvedere on July 3, 2012. This drilling was outside the area of defined mineralisation and whilst promising is not expected to materially change the existing resource. As such, the Company considers the Hirsikangas Report to be current, pending further investigation/work by the Company. Michael Sutton, P. Geo., a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, has reviewed the Hirsikangas Report on behalf of the Company. A NI 43-101 report will be completed within 180 days to support the Hirsikangas Resources estimate. A NI 43-101 technical report titled Mineral Resource Estimate of the Rantasalmi Gold Deposit in Finland and dated October 10, 2011 (the Osikonmaki Report) was prepared for Belvedere by Alexandra Akyurek, M.Sc, CSci MIMMM, Project Manager and Reviewer and of Golder Associates (UK) Ltd., and sets forth the Osikonmaki Resources. The Osikonmaki Report was filed by Belvedere under its profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on October 19, 2011. To the best of the Companys knowledge, information and belief, there is no new material scientific or technical information that would make the disclosure of the Osikonmaki Resources in the Osikonmaki Report inaccurate or misleading. Since the Osikonmaki Report was written, 22 holes totalling 2,227m were drilled on the periphery of the resource pursuant to an option agreement and Belvedere filed the results thereof in a news release on SEDAR on April 23, 2012. Although encouraging the results are not expected to materially change the 2011 resource. As such, the Company considers the Osikonmaki Report to be current, pending further investigation/work by the Company. Michael Sutton, P. Geo., a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, has reviewed the Osikonmaki Report on behalf of the Company. A NI 43-101 report will be completed within 180 days to support the Osikonmaki Resources estimate. Both the Hirsikangas Report and the Osikonmaki Report were prepared by authors that are independent of the Company. For the parameters/methods used in estimating the mineral resource estimates set forth in those reports, please refer to each of the reports themselves (as referenced above, the Hirsikangas Report and the Osikonmaki Report were filed by Belvedere under its profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Qualified Persons In compliance with NI 43-101, Mr. Mike Sutton, P.Geo. is the Qualified Person for Rupert who supervised the preparation the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release. About Rupert Rupert is a Canadian based gold exploration and development company that is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol RUP. The Company owns the Pahtavaara gold mine, mill, and exploration permits and concessions located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt in Northern Finland (see the Companys November 9, 2016 press release). The Company also holds a 100% interest in the Gold Centre property, which consists of mineral claims located in the Balmer Township, Red Lake Mining Division of Ontario. West Perth, WA / January 15, 2018 / JMN Wire / Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU) is pleased to advise that: The development and commissioning of its second gold mine, the Sissingue Gold Mine in Cote dIvoire, is nearing completion with the introduction of crushed ore to the mill and the CIL plant on Saturday 13th January 2018. First gold is expected to be produced at Sissingue ahead of schedule, prior to the end of January 2018, and the ramp up to full scale commercial production is expected to be achieved by 31 March 2018. The estimated capital cost of the full development of the Sissingue mine and infrastructure, excluding early works but including operational readiness initiatives, was US$107 million and on current estimates this budget will not be exceeded. Based on the updated life of mine plan for Sissingue published in March 2017, estimated gold production totals 358,000 ounces over the life of mine including approximately 80,000 ounces per annum for the first 3.25 years and approximately 70,000 ounces per annum over the full 5 year life of mine. Forecast average weighted all-in site costs, including all direct production costs, royalties, waste stripping costs and sustaining capital expenditure, are estimated at approximately US$625 per ounce in the first 3.25 years of production and approximately US$630 per ounce over the full mine life. Significant potential exists to increase Sissingues currently delineated Mineral Resources, Ore Reserves and mine life. Exploration programmes targeting mineralisation located within trucking distance of the mine have been developed and are scheduled to be implemented once the mine is generating positive cash flows. Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Perseus, Mr Jeff Quartermaine, said: The introduction of crushed ore to the mill at Sissingue on Saturday was an important milestone in the journey towards bringing our second operating gold mine into production. We are looking forward very much to starting gold production later in January 2018 and to seeing Sissingue ramp up to full scale production and positive cash flow by the end of the March quarter. At that point, Perseus will be transformed from a single mine, single country business to a multi-mine, multi-jurisdiction operation and we will be well on the way to achieving our goal of producing in excess of 500,000 ounces of gold per year from late 2021 from our three West African operations, namely Edikan, Sissingue and Yaoure. VANCOUVER, Jan. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - NexGen Energy Ltd. ("NexGen" or the "Company") (TSX:NXE, NYSE MKT:NXE) is pleased to report assay results for the final thirty-one holes from South Arrow as part of our recently concluded summer drilling program on our 100% owned, Rook I property, in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. All assay results from the recently discovered shallow mineralization at South Arrow have been returned and interpreted. Located just 400 m south of the Arrow Deposit, South Arrow consists of a series of sub-parallel stacked mineralized shears locally anchored by accumulations of semi-massive to massive pitchblend where uranium mineralization has been intersected over a strike length of 290 m. South Arrow Highlights 1. AR-17-166c1 intersected 20.5 m at 1.19% U3O8 (182.0 to 202.5 m) including 3.5 m at 6.21% U3O8 (191.5 to 195.0 m) and an additional 24.5 m at 1.46% U3O8 (212.5 to 237.0 m) including 5.0 m at 4.21% U3O8 (221.0 to 226.0 m) and 4.0 m at 3.33% U3O8 (229.5 to 233.5 m) 2. AR-17-160c1 intersected 13.0 m at 2.18% U3O8 (221.5 to 234.5m) including 4.0 m at 6.79% U3O8 (227.0 to 231.0 m) and an additional 19.5 m at 0.34% U3O8 (191.5 to 211.0 m) including 4.0 m at 1.01% U3O8 (201.5 to 205.5 m). 3. AR-17-163c1 intersected 22.5 m at 1.07% U3O8 (241.0 to 263.5m) including 3.9 m at 5.56% U3O8 (256.4 to 260.3 m). 4. AR-17-178c1 intersected 11.0 m at 2.17% U3O8 (149.0 to 160.0 m) including 3.5 m at 6.73% U3O8 (150.5 to 154.0 m) only 142 m below surface. Drill hole locations and a South Arrow long section are shown in figures 1 and 2. Development, Activities & Financial Assay results for the final 28 drill holes from the Arrow Deposit remain pending. Multiple pre-feasibility stage technical studies, including geotechnical work, hydrogeological work, and metallurgy, continue in advance of the maiden Pre-Feasibility Study to be published in Q3/2018. The winter 2018 exploration and development program is scheduled to commence in the coming weeks. The Company has cash on hand of approximately $160 million. Garrett Ainsworth, Vice-President, Exploration and Development, commented: "These South Arrow assay results confirm multiple high grade uranium mineralized shears encompassed within a robust alteration halo. Mineralization at South Arrow has been encountered over a strike length of 290 m and a vertical extent of approximately 300 m and remains open in most directions. Taking into consideration the size and extent of the alteration halo surrounding uranium mineralization, results of geochemistry and the clay analysis which shows a strong presence of pathfinder elements, additional drilling is planned during winter 2018 at South Arrow." Leigh Curyer, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Given the uranium grades and geological setting, South Arrow continues to represent exciting exploration potential for NexGen. Additional drilling is planned for winter 2018 to extensively test South Arrow together with multiple other high priority targets generated through 2017 geophysical studies conducted to the south west of Arrow and South Arrow along the prolific Patterson Corridor." Table 1: South Arrow Assay Results Drill Hole Athabasca Group - Basement Unconformity Depth (m) SRC Geoanalytical Results Hole ID Azimuth Dip Total Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Interval (m) U3O8 (wt%) AR-17-151c1 327 -70 588.50 103.30 262.50 263.50 1.00 0.10 301.50 313.00 11.50 0.44 incl. 302.00 305.75 3.75 1.29 AR-17-151c2 327 -70 561.50 103.30 310.50 312.50 2.00 0.75 incl. 311.50 312.00 0.50 2.14 327.50 328.50 1.00 0.05 359.00 368.00 9.00 0.14 incl. 359.50 363.00 3.50 0.34 404.00 405.00 1.00 0.02 AR-17-151c3 327 -70 405.00 103.30 280.00 281.50 1.50 0.23 290.50 292.50 2.00 0.04 AR-17-152c1 327 -70 456.50 96.40 294.50 298.50 4.00 0.03 302.50 303.00 0.50 0.04 AR-17-152c2 327 -70 540.50 96.40 332.50 338.00 5.50 0.09 341.00 342.00 1.00 0.05 384.50 389.50 5.00 0.02 394.50 397.50 3.00 0.01 405.50 406.50 1.00 0.04 461.00 461.50 0.50 0.02 470.50 471.00 0.50 0.02 475.50 476.00 0.50 0.01 481.00 482.00 1.00 0.11 493.50 496.00 2.50 0.01 AR-17-153c1 327 -67 546.00 97.80 318.50 319.00 0.50 0.03 373.00 374.00 1.00 0.15 388.50 401.50 13.00 0.02 407.50 408.50 1.00 0.01 411.50 419.00 7.50 0.57 incl. 414.00 416.50 2.50 1.61 454.00 455.00 1.00 0.04 496.50 497.00 0.50 0.02 AR-17-153c2 327 -67 558.50 97.80 409.00 422.50 13.50 0.17 incl. 411.50 414.50 3.00 0.44 AR-17-157c1 327 -70 597.50 N/A 339.00 339.50 0.50 0.04 381.00 392.50 11.50 0.02 396.00 399.50 3.50 0.04 487.00 489.00 2.00 0.02 508.00 509.00 1.00 0.02 528.00 532.00 4.00 0.02 540.00 540.50 0.50 0.03 AR-17-157c2 327 -70 639.00 N/A 351.00 352.50 1.50 0.04 399.50 403.00 3.50 0.05 411.00 413.00 2.00 0.03 488.00 489.00 1.00 0.02 535.50 536.50 1.00 0.06 543.00 551.00 8.00 0.04 561.50 566.00 4.50 0.02 577.00 579.50 2.50 0.14 AR-17-158c1 327 -70 600.00 N/A 429.00 429.50 0.50 0.02 438.00 439.00 1.00 0.04 445.00 449.50 4.50 0.02 452.00 461.00 9.00 0.08 466.50 467.50 1.00 0.03 474.50 475.00 0.50 0.01 AR-17-158c2 327 -70 579.50 N/A 486.50 489.50 3.00 0.07 496.00 497.00 1.00 0.05 520.00 525.00 5.00 0.02 AR-17-160c1 327 -68 393.00 97.60 191.50 211.00 19.50 0.34 incl. 201.50 205.50 4.00 1.01 221.50 234.50 13.00 2.18 incl. 227.00 231.00 4.00 6.79 237.50 238.00 0.50 0.01 241.50 242.00 0.50 0.05 348.50 349.00 0.50 0.17 367.50 368.00 0.50 0.01 AR-17-162c1 315 -68 442.50 96.80 145.00 147.50 2.50 0.02 156.00 162.50 6.50 0.77 incl. 159.50 160.00 0.50 7.52 178.50 179.00 0.50 0.05 198.50 200.00 1.50 0.16 253.50 256.50 3.00 0.42 AR-17-163c1 315 -68 438.00 96.15 162.50 163.00 0.50 0.04 224.50 226.00 1.50 0.02 236.00 238.50 2.50 0.01 241.00 263.50 22.50 1.07 incl. 256.40 260.30 3.90 5.56 270.50 272.50 2.00 0.27 277.50 278.00 0.50 0.03 290.50 291.50 1.00 0.02 304.50 305.50 1.00 0.02 364.00 364.50 0.50 0.03 376.50 377.50 1.00 0.01 390.00 390.50 0.50 0.01 AR-17-165c1 315 -80 249.00 91.40 108.50 109.00 0.50 0.01 116.00 118.00 2.00 0.37 AR-17-166c1 310 -70 303.00 N/A 182.00 202.50 20.50 1.19 incl. 191.50 195.00 3.50 6.21 212.50 237.00 24.50 1.46 incl. 221.00 226.00 5.00 4.21 incl. 229.50 233.50 4.00 3.33 AR-17-168c1 315 -68 471.00 N/A 284.00 284.50 0.50 0.02 315.00 316.50 1.50 0.11 342.00 342.50 0.50 0.02 AR-17-169c1 315 -68 345.00 N/A 134.50 144.00 9.50 0.37 incl. 140.00 141.50 1.50 2.11 152.00 153.50 1.50 0.74 221.00 221.50 0.50 0.02 AR-17-170c1 315 -68 420.00 N/A 242.00 258.50 16.50 0.22 incl. 250.50 252.00 1.50 1.40 261.00 263.50 2.50 0.02 273.50 274.50 1.00 0.04 278.50 279.00 0.50 0.01 281.50 286.50 5.00 0.02 AR-17-172c1 315 -68 423.00 N/A 193.00 198.00 5.00 0.06 201.00 202.00 1.00 0.03 223.50 225.00 1.50 0.03 227.50 239.50 12.00 0.18 incl. 230.50 233.50 3.00 0.62 323.00 327.00 4.00 0.02 330.00 335.50 5.50 0.01 360.50 362.50 2.00 0.02 AR-17-173c1 315 -68 336.00 N/A No Significant Intersections AR-17-174c1 315 -68 441.00 N/A 224.00 247.50 23.50 0.13 incl. 239.00 243.00 4.00 0.50 256.50 258.00 1.50 0.02 260.50 271.50 11.00 0.02 284.00 292.00 8.00 0.03 295.00 296.50 1.50 0.02 327.50 328.50 1.00 0.15 363.00 364.00 1.00 0.02 368.50 379.00 10.50 0.03 381.50 387.00 5.50 0.14 AR-17-174c2 315 -68 510.00 N/A 220.50 221.00 0.50 0.22 239.50 248.50 9.00 0.04 266.50 279.50 13.00 0.06 297.00 298.00 1.00 0.02 312.50 315.50 3.00 0.01 414.00 415.50 1.50 0.02 419.00 451.50 32.50 0.07 454.00 454.50 0.50 0.04 AR-17-175c1 315 -68 416.00 N/A No Significant Intersections AR-17-177c1 315 -68 390.00 92.70 138.00 139.50 1.50 0.02 189.00 195.50 6.50 0.05 225.00 225.50 0.50 0.03 310.00 310.50 0.50 0.02 AR-17-178c1 315 -68 381.00 N/A 149.00 160.00 11.00 2.17 incl. 150.50 154.00 3.50 6.73 196.00 197.00 1.00 0.07 241.00 242.00 1.00 0.02 315.50 319.00 3.50 0.06 AR-17-180c1 315 -68 384.00 91.10 247.50 251.50 4.00 0.02 276.50 278.00 1.50 0.03 AR-17-181c1 315 -68 576.00 N/A 370.00 374.00 4.00 0.03 512.50 514.00 1.50 0.02 520.50 526.50 6.00 0.08 AR-17-182c1 315 -68 349.00 N/A 129.00 131.50 2.50 0.01 134.50 135.50 1.00 0.07 194.50 195.00 0.50 0.02 257.00 262.50 5.50 0.04 273.50 274.50 1.00 0.03 AR-17-184c1 315 -68 360.00 N/A 133.50 145.00 11.50 0.29 incl. 137.50 139.50 2.00 1.37 AR-17-185c1 315 -80 424.00 N/A 257.00 259.50 2.50 0.04 Parameters: 1. Maximum internal dilution 2.0 m downhole 2. Minimum thickness of 0.5 m downhole 3. Cutoff grade 0.01% U3O8 4. All depths and intervals are metres downhole, true thicknesses are yet to be determined. 5. Directional drilling has often resulted in mineralization intersected at a more favourable and shallower dip About NexGen NexGen is a British Columbia corporation with a focus on the acquisition, exploration and development of Canadian uranium projects. NexGen has a highly experienced team of uranium industry professionals with a successful track record in the discovery of uranium deposits and in developing projects through discovery to production. NexGen owns a portfolio of prospective uranium exploration assets in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada, including a 100% interest in Rook I, location of the Arrow Deposit in February 2014, the Bow discovery in March 2015, the Harpoon discovery in August 2016 and the South Arrow discovery in July 2017. The Arrow deposit's updated mineral resource estimate with an effective date of December 20, 2016 was released in March 2017, and comprised 179.5 M lbs U3O8 contained in 1.18 M tonnes grading 6.88% U3O8 in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and an additional 122.1 M lbs U3O8 contained in 4.25 M tonnes grading 1.30% U3O8 in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. Technical Information Natural gamma radiation in drill core reported in this news release was measured in counts per second (cps) using a Radiation Solutions Inc. RS-120 gamma-ray scintillometer. The reader is cautioned that total count gamma readings may not be directly or uniformly related to uranium grades of the rock sample measured; they should be used only as a preliminary indication of the presence of radioactive minerals. Split core samples were taken systematically, and intervals were submitted to SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories (an SCC ISO/IEC 17025: 2005 Accredited Facility) of Saskatoon for analysis. For non-infill holes, samples were analyzed using ICP-MS for trace elements on partial and total digestions (non-radioactive samples), ICP-OES for major and minor elements on partial and total digestions (radioactive samples), and fusion solution of boron by ICP-OES. All mineralized samples were analyzed for U3O8 by ICP-OES and selected samples were analyzed for gold by fire assay. All scientific and technical information in this news release has been prepared by or reviewed and approved by Mr. Garrett Ainsworth, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration & Development for NexGen. Mr. Ainsworth is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and has verified the sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the information or opinions contained herein by reviewing original data certificates and monitoring all of the data collection protocols. For details of the Rook I Project including the quality assurance program and quality control measures applied and key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the mineral resource please refer to the technical report entitled "Technical Report on the Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Arrow Deposit, Rook 1 Property, Province of Saskatchewan, Canada" dated effective September 1, 2017 (the "Rook I Technical Report") prepared by Jason J. Cox, David M. Robson, Mark B. Mathisen, David A. Ross, Val Coetzee and Mark Wittrup, each of whom is a "qualified person" under NI 43-101. The Rook I Technical Report is available for review under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. U.S. investors are advised that while the terms "indicated resources" and "inferred resources" are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize these terms. U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the material in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves. Dallas, TX, United States, 12/11/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/ The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act is a federal law which requires certain covered employers to give advanced written notice to employees who will be affected by a large-scale layoff or plant closure. Employers are covered by WARN if they have a minimum of one hundred employees who are full-time (excluding employees who have been working less than six months and those who work less than twenty hours each week) or a minimum of one hundred employees who work a combined total of 4,000 or more hours per week. The WARN notice requirement is triggered when a specific amount of workers are expected to lose their job as a result of a mass layoff or plant closing. The statute defines a mass layoff as a reduction in force which results in an employment loss at the single site during any 30-day period for (i) at least 33 percent of the active employees, excluding part-time employees, and (ii) at least 50 employees, excluding part-time employees. 29 U.S.C. 2101(a)(3). In addition, if 500 or more employees will be affected, then the notice is required, regardless of whether that amount is more or less than 33 percent of the total employees. The term plant closing is defined as the permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of employment if the shutdown results in an employment loss during any 30-day period for 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees. 29 U.S.C. 2101(a)(2). When one of the above situations occur, employers covered by WARN must notify the affected employees in writing at least 60 days prior to the layoff or closure. If those employees are members of a union, the employer is just required to notify the union representative. Employees who are laid off with less than the 60-day notice may be able to recover lost benefits and wages. There are several exceptions when an employer does not have to give the required notice under WARN. For example, a large-scale layoff or plant closure that is due to an employee strike does not require any mandatory notice. Other exempt situations include natural disasters, unforeseeable business circumstances, and a faltering company. However, in those circumstances, employers must still provide employees with as much notice as possible and explain why the 60-day requirement was unable to be met. To best reduce the risk of liability, any large employer considering a mass layoff, reduction in force, or plant closure should consult with an attorney to ensure that the notice requirements under WARN will be satisfied. This article is presented by the Dallas employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn LLP. To speak with an employment attorney about a layoff or termination matter, send an email to [email protected] or call (214) 239-2705. About Keith Clouse / Dallas Employment Lawyer Keith Clouse Keith Clouse is a Texas employment law specialist with over 25 years of experience representing senior executives, business owners, physicians, and corporations in complex employment litigation, arbitration, and negotiations. Senior executives, physicians and other professionals consistently rely on Mr. Clouse for employment law expertise and advice on employment contracts, covenants not to compete, severance agreements, trade secret disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and claims based on workplace discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. Source CDKLawyers.com Author Dallas Employment Lawyer Attorney Keith Clouse For more articles like this on employment law visit http://dallasemploymentlawyer.cdklawyers.com/ Social Media Tags:layoff, reduction in force, WARN, notice requirement, employment contract, employment law, Keith Clouse, employment lawyer, employment attorney Newsroom powered by Online Press Release Distribution SubmitMyPressRelease.com Like Us on Facebook It's only fair to share... Pinterest Linkedin email Print Boca Raton, FL, USA, 12/12/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/ Boca slip and fall accident lawyer, Joe Osborne, knows that there are some people who are statistically more at risk of suffering slip and fall accident injuries. Recently, he discussed who those groups are and why they need an experienced slip and fall accident lawyer to represent them in their claims. When the Elderly or Very Young Suffer a Slip and Fall Accident Statistics show that the elderly and the very young are most at risk of suffering falls. In fact, its reported that more than two million young children (under the age of 14) are treated for slip and fall accident injuries in emergency rooms each year in the U.S. When it comes to adults, the risk of suffering serious injuries from slip and fall accidents increases with age. Falls can be devastating for seniors. Its estimated that one in three people over the age old will be injured in some sort of slip and fall accident. As the population of the U.S. ages, the problem of slip and fall accidents continues to increase. In a recent John Hopkins School of Public Health Center for Injury Research study, it was reported that there has been a disturbing increase in the deaths of older people that are attributable to slip and fall accidents. These types of accidents are known to be the most common cause of broken hips and traumatic brain injuries. Additionally, slip and fall accidents may cause other serious injuries like spinal fractures, and fractures of the leg, ankle, wrist, upper arm, and hand. Lastly, statistics show that women are more at risk of suffering a slip and fall injury than men, by nearly 50 percent. Being More at Risk for Slip and Falls Doesnt Provide a Defense Despite the fact that some groups of people are more at risk of suffering injuries due to slip and fall accidents, Mr. Osborne indicates that it is important to remember that it does not provide a defense that excuses a landlord, tenant, or property owner from a negligence claim for allowing a hazardous condition to exist. However, it does mean that you need an experienced slip and fall attorney to represent your best interests in your case. At Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., our personal injury lawyers have been assisting victims of slip and falls and other accidents caused by dangerous or poorly maintained property since 1981. Slip and fall accidents can occur in a wide variety of places and involve various dangerous conditions. Our NJ or NY accident lawyers can help you get back on your feet physically, financially and emotionally after a serious slip and fall. Get Help from Florida Slip and Fall Accident Attorney, Joe Osborne If you have been injured in a slip and fall accident, whether you are included in the at-risk groups or not, Joe Osborne, can help your recovery physically, financially, and emotionally. Give him a call today at (561) 293-2600, for help with your claim. Follow Attorney Joe Osborne on Facebook for more information Social Media Tags:Slip and Fall Accidents, Slip and Fall Accidents Risk, Boca Raton Slip and Fall Accident Attorney Newsroom powered by Online Press Release Distribution SubmitMyPressRelease.com Like Us on Facebook It's only fair to share... Pinterest Linkedin email Print Boca Raton, FL, USA, 1/15/2018 /SubmitPressRelease123/ Boca car injury accident attorney, Joe Osborne, is experienced in representing the victims of car accidents in Boca Raton, Florida. While most car accident claims end up being settled prior to making it into a courtroom, Osborne speaks about when the cases do end up going to trial, and the importance of having a personal injury attorney who is knowledgeable in litigating car accident lawsuits. Why Your Car Accident Case May Go to Trial Typically, settlements are reached, and car accident suits do not see the inside of a courtroom, but if that doesnt happen, then the only option is to go to trial. In general, when you and your attorney cannot reach an agreement with the other drivers insurance company as to a settlement amount, then your case will have to proceed to court to be resolved. Florida is a no-fault state which means that drivers must carry a $10,000 Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance policy. If you are injured in an accident, no matter who is as a fault, your PIP insurance will be used first to cover your medical expenses. If your medical costs exceed your PIP coverage, then you can either try to settle with the other drivers insurance company for the remainder, or you can take the case to trial. Additionally, the property damages that you incur due to the accident are determined by fault, which means that if a settlement isnt possible with the defendants insurance company, then you may opt to go to trial. Why You Need a Car Accident Attorney for Your Case Because there is the potential that your case could go to trial, as mentioned above, it is crucial that you hire a car accident attorney to handle your case. Whether you expect a settlement or you anticipate that you will go to trial, the attorney that you hire should be one who will prepare your case as though it will make it to the courtroom. That ensures that in the eventuality that your lawsuit does go to trial, your side is prepared. That will allow your attorney to negotiate your case from a position of strength, allowing you to receive the maximum award for your injuries. Help is Available from Florida Car Accident Attorney, Joe Osborne If you have been injured in a car accident in Florida, even if your medical costs will not exceed your PIP insurance coverage, you need an experienced car accident attorney who works every case as though it is going to trial. auto accident lawyer, Joe Osborne, can help you proceed with your case. Give him a call today at (561) 293-2600, for help with your claim. Social Media Tags:Florida Car Accident Lawyer, Car Accident Lawsuit, Boca Raton Car Accident Attorney Newsroom powered by Online Press Release Distribution SubmitMyPressRelease.com Like Us on Facebook It's only fair to share... Pinterest Linkedin email Print Dallas, TX, United States Your case is set for mediation now what? Here are some of the biggest (but often preventable) barriers to successful negotiations during the mediation process according to Dallas employment law mediator Keith Clouse: Crucial decision-makers not in attendance For the best chances of settlement, the individuals with authority to settle the case need to be present. Typically these will be the named individuals in the case. However, this becomes more difficult when a corporation or company is involved. While it may be impossible for corporations to have the designated decision-maker in the room on the day of mediation, the corporate representative who is sent should have some authority (even if not unlimited) to make decisions on behalf of the corporation or company. This avoids the hassle and waste of time involved with constantly relaying updates to the decision-maker on the phone. Bad Timing There is no set timeframe for when mediation should occur in the life of a case. The timing aspect of mediation is highly variable depending on the circumstances of each case. However, a mediation which occurs before much discovery has taken place may preclude settlement because a party does not have sufficient access to information for their attorney to be able to fully analyze the case. Lack of full knowledge of the evidence and facts supporting the claims and/or defenses for each side can lead to unreasonable settlement proposals and unrealistic expectations of clients. However, early mediation may be advantageous in cases with a corporation or company party who wants to avoid publicity or those where there is a high risk of liability but minimal damages which can be proven. On the other hand, a mediation which takes place too late may not result in a settlement because by that time the client has already expended so much time and money on the case that they are willing to take the risks of a trial over a less than favorable compromise. Inflexibility One great benefit of mediation is that it can result in unique settlement agreements that would not otherwise be achieved at trial. Because of this, parties should go into mediation with an open mind and be encouraged to come up with creative bargaining positions to satisfy the needs of each side. If either party begins mediation with a fixed bottom line or is unwilling to negotiate, the case will likely not settle. Successful mediation requires compromise and flexibility each party must be willing to give up something in order to arrive at a mutual resolution. Unprepared Attorneys and clients need to be fully prepared for mediation. This means bringing all documents and evidence which support your sides claims and/or defenses. Attorneys should explain the process of mediation to their client so they know what to expect. Clients should understand that although the attorney will be there to advise, the ultimate decision on whether or not to accept a settlement offer falls on their shoulders. Unrealistic Expectations Prior to mediation, each side should take some time to sit down with their attorney to set realistic expectations. This means analyzing both the potential best and worst case scenarios and prioritizing the objectives that the client hopes to achieve. Additionally, clients should be informed of the hurdles they will still have to jump over before a final resolution could be achieved. These may include any remaining discovery, motions (both pre- and post- trial), and potential appeals. Setting realistic expectations also means taking the time to calculate a clients financial exposure if they were to be on the hook for any damages, attorneys fees or costs at trial. Clients must often weigh the risks of going to trial against the alternative of accepting a less than desirable settlement offer at mediation. Therefore, those clients who fully understand the risks and unpredictability associated with trials are often more willing to settle beforehand. Even if all of these common pitfalls are avoided, some cases will nonetheless fail to settle. However, going through the process of mediation is still valuable because it allows clients and attorneys to explore and evaluate their case on a deeper level. This article is presented by the Dallas employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn LLP. To speak to an employment law attorney about mediation or an employment law matter send an email to [email protected] or call (214) 239-2705. About Keith Clouse / Dallas Employment Attorney Keith Clouse Keith Clouse is an employment law specialist with over 25 years of experience representing senior executives, business owners, physicians, and corporations in complex employment litigation, arbitration, and negotiations. Senior executives, physicians, and other professionals consistently rely on Mr. Clouse for employment law expertise and advice on employment contracts, covenants not to compete, severance agreements, equity awards, trade secret disputes, and breach of fiduciary duty claims. Source CDKLawyers.com Author Dallas Employment Lawyer Attorney Keith Clouse For more articles like this on employment law visit http://dallasemploymentlawyer.cdklawyers.com/ Social Media Tags: mediation, settlement, employment law mediator, Keith Clouse, employment law attorney, employment law, employment lawyer, employment attorney Newsroom powered by Online Press Release Distribution SubmitMyPressRelease.com Like Us on Facebook It's only fair to share... Pinterest Linkedin email Print Dallas, TX, United States, 01/10/2018 /SubmitPressRelease123/ Earlier this month AccentCare, Inc. (AccentCare), a post-acute home healthcare company headquartered in Dallas, agreed to pay $25,000 to settle a disability discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a former employee. The EEOC is the agency charged with enforcing federal workplace discrimination laws. One important employment discrimination statute is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 2 et seq., 42 U.S.C.A. 12101 et seq., available at https://www.ada.gov/2010_regs.htm. The ADA guarantees equal employment opportunities to individuals with disabilities by prohibiting workplace discrimination against those individuals based on their disability. Furthermore, the ADA requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation to any employee or qualified job applicant with a disability, unless doing so would cause the employer undue hardship. According to the lawsuit brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the former IT analyst notified AccentCare of her bipolar disorder when requesting time off to visit her health care provider. The EEOC further alleged that AccentCare terminated the employee one day after hearing about her disability and receiving her request to take leave. By refusing to consider the employees accommodation request, AccentCares alleged actions were in violation of the ADA. Under the terms of the settlement, AccentCare will pay the employee $25,000 and implement training for all its employees regarding the legal requirements under the ADA. AccentCare has also agreed to document and report all disability discrimination complaints to the EEOC. This case demonstrates the significant repercussions employers can face for violating federal employment discrimination laws. Any employer with fifteen or more employees is covered by the ADA and thus must comply with its regulations. A covered employer who learns of an employees disability or receives a request for leave because of such disability should engage in open communication with that employee to figure out the best alternative to accommodate that employees disability in the workplace. Examples of reasonable accommodations could include modifying the employees work schedule or making their workspace more accessible. In addition, employers should train all supervisors and managers regarding the requirements under the ADA so they are able to recognize when a reasonable accommodation may be needed. These preventative steps can avoid a future costly suit for disability discrimination due to mishandling of an accommodation request. This article is presented by the Dallas employment lawyers at Clouse Dunn LLP. To speak with an employment attorney about a workplace discrimination matter, send an email to [email protected] or call (214) 239-2705. About Keith Clouse / Dallas Employment Lawyer Keith Clouse Keith Clouse is a Texas employment law specialist with over 25 years of experience representing senior executives, business owners, physicians, and corporations in complex employment litigation, arbitration, and negotiations. Senior executives, physicians and other professionals consistently rely on Mr. Clouse for employment law expertise and advice on employment contracts, covenants not to compete, severance agreements, trade secret disputes, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and claims based on workplace discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. Source CDKLawyers.com Author Dallas Employment Lawyer Attorney Keith Clouse For more articles like this on employment law visit http://dallasemploymentlawyer.cdklawyers.com/ Social Media Tags:discrimination, disability discrimination, ADA, EEOC, employment discrimination, workplace discrimination, employment law, Keith Clouse, employment lawyer, employment attorney, employment law attorney Newsroom powered by Online Press Release Distribution SubmitMyPressRelease.com Like Us on Facebook It's only fair to share... Pinterest Linkedin email Print 704 Shares Share Many medical schools dont encourage political thought in their students, far less nurture it. Thats a shame because it squanders an opportunity to equip future thought leaders to deal with serious concerns facing the U.S. population, many of which have their tentacles in politics. In Experiencing Politics, a memoir about his 12-year stint in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Harvards John McDonough offers an accessible argument about why health care and medicine by extension is an inherently political issue. His argument is partly inspired by Niccolo Machiavelli, the infamous 16th-century Italian diplomat. McDonoughs argument can be distilled like this: Human nature is insatiable, so humans quibble over limited resources. Health care is a limited resource. Humans will quibble over health care. Politics is the way that civilized societies are supposed to decide how limited resources should be distributed. It makes sense, then, to say that health care is a political issue. In medical school, politics like most nonmedical things tends to be a distraction. Medical students are generally taught to believe that medicine and politics are not overlapping entities. Clinical medicine, especially, is taught in the vacuum of a perfect world, almost entirely divorced from the reality faced by many of our future patients. To reach a diagnosis, we are often presented with one test to run after another, as if our patients will never have to foot the bill. Have a patient with chronic migraines? Order a CT scan. Cant see anything unusual on the CT? Run an MRI, just to be sure. A workup like that may very well be needed in certain situations, but its rarely emphasized that some patients can barely afford a CT scan, much less an MRI. Or take the example of allergies, which are even more common. What to do for a child who has gone into anaphylactic shock? Without hesitation, every medical student will say to give the patient epinephrine and write the child a prescription for EpiPens. But with the skyrocketing prices of EpiPens in the last two years, they simply arent an option for many families anymore. What good is teaching medical students to recommend treatments that patients wont use because they cant afford them? Most medical students and most of their teachers will say that medicine and health care should transcend political debate. In a perfect world, it probably should. But that doesnt happen in the real world, where people tend to pick sides. For instance, the signature legislation of Barack Obamas presidency was the Affordable Care Act. Thus far, the signature goal of Donald Trumps presidency seems to be to repeal and replace the ACA, with an emphasis on repeal. The disconnect between medicine and politics by medical schools doesnt mean medical students are apathetic. When President Trump threatened to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act, and eventually did so, medical students across the country began social media campaigns, standing up for their colleagues and loved ones who are dreamers. Similar campaigns at medical schools followed the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement, with schools such as the University of California, San Francisco, arranging die-ins that ultimately culminated in the nationwide White Coats for Black Lives movement. Yet the culture of medical education fails to emphasize the messy entanglements between medicine and politics. A class on health policy cannot replace classes on pathology or pharmacology, nor should it. But without making policy and public health a major component of medical education instead of a side interest to be pursued on students own time, medical schools will continue to churn out exceptionally talented physicians who are exceptionally ill-prepared to deal with the medical bureaucracy and byzantine health care policies that hit them the moment they begin to care for patients. Physicians are no longer just healers, but must also advocates for their patients against these bureaucracies and policies. I dont believe there is anything immoral about entering medicine with the sole intent of healing people and hoping to have minimal entanglement with the policy side of medicine. But I do believe that is naivete to the point of fault. We know from public health research that it is difficult to improve outcomes for many patients without simultaneously improving their socioeconomic circumstances. Physicians who are inadequately prepared to tend to these needs through civic engagement face a steep learning curve that takes a while to summit. This limits their effectiveness as healers. More than 2,000 years ago, Aristotle concluded that human beings are political animals. I think its time that medical schools and medical students acknowledge that reality and do something about it. Faiz Kidwai is a medical student. The author thanks Dr. David Annas and Dr. Mary Hon for their contributions to this article. This article originally appeared in STAT News. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: What does it mean for medical residents? 72 Shares Share Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 late last year. Americans and corporations are feverishly reading news summaries of the bill, trying to figure out how the new bill will affect their taxes. In this post, I will summarize the major provisions of the bills as they apply to medical residents and fellows. Ill then go through three case scenarios to see how the tax bill might affect typical residents. Before we dive in, Ill remind you that Im a doctor, not an accountant or tax attorney. Talk to your accountant (or download 2018 TurboTax when it comes out later this year) for advice about your particular situation. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for medical residents Here are the major provisions of the new tax bill as they apply to medical residents: New, lower tax brackets The previous 10%, 15%, and 25% tax brackets are now 10%, 12%, and 22%, respectively. This means that the marginal tax rate for most residents and fellows will decline by 3%. Most of the provisions of the tax bill are not permanent, and without additional government action would be reversed in 2025. I find it unlikely that these brackets would be allowed to be raised by either political party. Besides, current residents will be out of residency by 2025 anyway. Higher standard deduction, repeal of personal exemption The standard deduction is nearly doubled to $12,000 for single taxpayers and $24,000 for married couples. However, the personal exemption, which was expected to be $4,150 per person for 2018, has been eliminated. The overall impact of these two changes depends on the size of your household. Single taxpayers will have a net benefit from these changes, while married couples with children would actually lose more in personal exemptions than they would gain from the increase in the standard deduction. However, with the increase in the child tax credit (see below), I think few, if any, middle-class Americans (including medical residents) will experience a tax increase under the new tax bill. Increased child tax credit The tax credit is increased from $1,000 to $2,000 per child. This negates any tax increase as a result of the elimination of the personal exemption. If you dont pay any federal income taxes at all, up to $1,400 of the child tax credit can be refunded to you. Student loan interest deduction remains intact The student loan interest deduction remains intact, at $2,500 per year. Moving expense deduction repealed The moving expense deduction, which was often used by medical students or residents when they transitioned from medical school to residency or residency to their first attending job, has been eliminated. In addition, if your employer pays for your moving expenses, that will now be considered taxable income under the new tax bill. Other provisions less likely to affect medical residents Other well-publicized components of the bill, such as the changes to state and local tax (SALT), property tax, and mortgage interest deductions, are less likely to affect residents because most take the standard deduction. Residents are unlikely to be affected by changes in the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) or estate tax. Case studies Theres no perfect way to figure out how much youll save in taxes because of the new tax bill. Since the tax code remains very complicated and is only slightly simplified with the new tax bill, the only (albeit imperfect) way I can think of to compare the actual effect on your taxes would be to use the 2017 (pre-TJCA) and 2018 (post-TJCA) versions of Turbotax to do your 2018 taxes. Lets run through some case scenarios to see how the tax bill will affect three typical residents. Consider these the simplified postcard versions of their taxes each residents taxes will have more nuances than are listed here. Case 1: The single resident Lets start with the single resident with student loans. He makes $50,000 a year and has $200,000 in student loans. Heres how his taxes would look, under the old system and the new system: Resident #1 Old System New System Salary $50,000 $50,000 Standard Deduction $6,500 $12,000 Personal Exemption $4,150 $0 Student Loan Interest $2,500 $2,500 Taxable Income $36,850 $35,500 x effective tax rate 13.7% 10.9% Taxes $5,051 $3,879 Child Tax Credits 0 0 Final Tax Bill $5,051 $3,879 Federal Tax Rate 10.1% 7.8% This resident will save: $1,172 This resident would receive a nearly $1,200 tax cut, a 23% reduction on his current tax bill. Case 2: The married resident with two kids Next, lets look at the married resident with two kids. His wife takes care of the kids, so the family of four makes the residents salary of $50,000. Resident #2 Old System New System Salary $50,000 $50,000 Standard Deduction $13,000 $24,000 Personal Exemption $16,600 $0 Student Loan Interest $2,500 $2,500 Taxable Income $17,900 $23,500 x effective tax rate 9.7% 10.4% Taxes $1,733 $2,439 Child Tax Credits 2000 4000 Final Tax Bill -$268 -$1,561 Federal Tax Rate -0.5% -3.1% This resident will save: $1,294 In spite of losing the personal exemption on the family of four, this couple receives a tax cut of nearly $1,300 because of the expanded tax credit. In fact, this resident actually pays no federal income taxes at all, and actually receives more than $1,500 from the government. Of course, he still pays payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) of more than $3,500 each year. These calculations do not include the small Earned Income Tax Credit that he may be eligible for. Case 3: The double-income no-kids resident couple Finally, lets look at the double-income no-kids (DINK) resident couple. They make $100,000 combined and have $400,000 in student loans. Heres how their taxes look in the new tax system. Resident #3 Old System New System Salary $100,000 $100,000 Standard Deduction $13,000 $24,000 Personal Exemption $8,300 $0 Student Loan Interest $2,500 $2,500 Taxable Income $76,200 $73,500 x effective tax rate 13.6% 11.0% Taxes $10,358 $8,049 Child Tax Credits 0 0 Final Tax Bill $10,358 $8,049 Federal Tax Rate 10.4% 8.0% This resident will save: $2,309 Because of their higher income, this resident couple will receive the highest tax cut of the three residents in our example (more than $2,300). Additional Reading For those who want a more detailed look at the tax bill, take a look at the excellent summaries by Michael Kitces and CNN. If youre curious about what the tax brackets would have been in 2018 without the new tax law, check out this summary from Forbes. Conclusion The recently passed tax bill should lead to a tax cut for the vast majority of medical trainees. Use your tax cut wisely to pay off your student loans, build an emergency fund, or invest in a retirement account. Wall Street Physician, a former Wall Street derivatives trader , is a physician who blogs at his self-titled site, the Wall Street Physician. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The death has taken place of Brigid Tierney (Nee Duggan) of Kilcross, Inistioge and formerly of Mullinavat. Brigid passed to her eternal reward in the early hours of Sunday morning the 10th of December 2017. Aged 68 she was the only daughter of the Late Kitty and Dennis Duggan, Main Street, Mullinavat. Born on the 14th January, 1949 she attended the Holy Faith Convent, Mullinavat. Brigids great interest was music which was nurtured by the nuns in the Holy faith. Brigids love of music was such that in the 1970s a band known as The Pioneers were formed and played at venues around the South East. The band was managed by one of the Holy Faith sisters Sr Stan. On leaving school she went to work in Coads shoe shop in Barronstrand Street, Waterford, The Metrepole Hotel in Waterford and Waterford Glass. Her mother ran a grocery shop in Mullinavat and there Brigid developed her communication skills meeting and serving people in the shop. She married Dick Tierney of the Hatchery Lane, Inistioge on the 26th May 1973 and they resided in the Lodge at the Holy Faith Convent before building in Deerpark. There they spent 17 years and in that time their children were born, a son John and daughter Catherine. The family then moved to the Hatchery Lane in Inistioge for a number of years before building a bungalow in Kilcross. Brigid became actively involved in the community in Inistioge even before she moved there and played the church organ in St Colmcilles. In latter years she enjoyed the Thursday night craft club in the Cois Abhann community centre and also with other ladies from the parish took part in Aqua Aerobics. Brigid also worked for people in the community and worked in the local shop and in the Woodstock Arms B&B. She, was like her husband Dick a great and loyal supporter of the Fianna Fail party and was on many a canvass for numerous general and local elections. The local cummann joined by members of other cumann from South Kilkenny escorted her to the church on Tuesday morning with a guard of honour. A woman of kindness, compassion and courage she had great time for everybody and loved to have a chat. She bore her illness with great dignity and right up until her final days she battled hoping that she would overcome it. Unfortunately she was unable to defeat it and on the 10th of December God called her home. In his Homily Fr Scriven told the congregation of the deep faith she had and how in her last days she had told him she was on the journey home. Her funeral mass was con celebrated by Fr Richard Scriven and Fr Liam Barron, Mullinavat. Readings were done by her brother Tommy Duggan and her nephew Jamie Hilman. Gifts were brought to the alter by Manda O Keeffe, Catherine Tierney,Dylan Hillman,Denise Duggan and Joanne Duggan. Prayers of the faithful were read by Chloe, Caroline, Ruth and Joanne Fewer. Son John sang the Don Williams number Your my best Friend and Bob Walshe sang her favourite song by the Fureys Sweet Sixteen Her brother Michael delivered an eulogy with his thoughts on a very special lady. This also included a very special thank you to people who had been so kind and gracious to the family during their very sad time. To the Doctors and nurses of Waterford University Hospital, St Lukes Kilkenny and St Vincents Elm Park Dublin for their care of Brigid during her illness. The Carlow Kilkenny home care team who allowed Brigid to be able to spend her last few days in Kilcross with her family. Fr Scriven for all his help in organising the funeral and looking after all Brigids spiritual needs. To the choir who added to the occasion with their beautiful hymms. Ryans Undertakers New Ross for their courtesy and willingness to allow Brigids and the familys wishes to be carried out and finally their neighbour Brid Kenny who was on hand throughout her illness and at a moments notice was available when Brigid was in trouble. The family also wish to thank Alan Cullen of Cullens Kitchen Thomastown who provided the refreshments and the local ladies for making sure everyone was well fortified on a very cold December morning in Cois Abhann. These were greatly appreciated and it gave them an opportunity to meet people and thank them for their kindness. To all who had travelled from near or far to Ryans in New Ross on Monday evening and to the funeral mass on Tuesday morning in very inclement weather conditions. Brigids final journey took her to the crematorium in Newlands Cross to be cremated which was her wish. The strains of her much loved group Il Divo rang out in the crematorium as she was bid farwell to the strains of Time to say Good bye. Chief Mourners were Husband Dick, Son John, Daughter Catherine, Son in Law Michael, Brothers Tommy, Matty and Michael, Sisters in Law Ann, Marian, Esther, Marion ,Anne, Mary and Joan. Brothers in Law Vincent and Jimmy Grandchildren Jason, Kira and Adam. nieces and nephews. Adrien Bentley Nettles was appointed TABC Executive Director in 2017 after a successful career as an attorney and brigadier general in the Texas Army National Guard. Hes a founding member and chairman of Brazos Valley Cares, a nonprofit group dedicated to serving military veterans and their families, and serves with numerous other boards and organizations in the Brazos Valley. A report into whether health service staff have will be held to account over the deaths of babies at the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise is complete but the HSE will not reveal its contents. According to the Irish Times, the HSE said it could not comment on whether the report has found any employee should face disciplinary action arising from problems at the maternity unit up to 2014. The HSE is quoted as saying: While the report is complete, it remains in-process. Consequently, the HSE cannot make any further comment at this stage. The HSE investigation began in July in 2015. It was due to be completed within three months but is understood the investigation has only been finalised recently. Three former NHS managers from the UK were appointed to assess if any HSE staff had a clinical or managerial case to answer. Obstetrician Jim Dornan from Northern Ireland and barrister Paul Brady were also said to be part of the process. This review group was asked to investigate if any staff should be disciplined or if there was serious misconduct. A HIQA report carried out in 2015 was highly critical of the HSE in the problems in the maternity unit and other parts of the hospital. The HSE tried to block the publication of that report. Following the HIQA report a number case by case investigations were carried out into numerous complaints made about the maternity unit. The Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital assumed management of the maternity unit. Births have begun to increase again since then. The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group has drawn up a plan to remove maternity, paediatrics, ICU, most surgery and A&E from the hospital. A strategy which contains the proposal to shut the Emergency Department (A&E / ED) at Portlaoise hospital is reportedly set to be published. The Irish Times has reported that the HSE will, on Monday publish an already leaked new five-year strategic plan, for hospital services in Dublin and the Midlands including Portlaoise. This plan, drawn up by the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (DMHG), was due to be published before Christmas but the Minister for Health is understood to have intervened after uproar in Portlaoise. The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group Strategic Plan 2018-2023, sets out a major reconfiguration of services in Portlaoise, Tullamore, Naas, Tallaght, St James, the Coombe and St Lukes Hospital. A central part of the plan is the removal of A&E from the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise. It also commits to expanding services mainly in Tallaght and Tullamore. A draft of the strategy was leaked to Laois TD Brian Stanley last October. Its chief author was the former DMHG chief executive Dr Susan O'Reilly. She called it a blueprint. "The strategy acknowledges the significant work already underway across our seven hospitals, in a very challenging environment, and provides a blueprint of how the Group will continue to deliver the highest quality acute hospital care services in the country and continue to drive change, support innovation, and improve access to services for all patients," she wrote in the draft executive summary. It lists the service priorities as follows: - Urgent and emergency services will be redesigned to integrate between smaller and larger sites providing the optimum an safest configuration to deliver high quality emergency care. - Formalise a trauma network between Tallaght hospital, the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore and St James' Hospital and align the development with the forthcoming National Trauma Report. - Expand emergency department capacity, principally Tallaght Hospital and the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore. - Develop 24/7 General Practitioner referred medical assesment unit and 12/7 local injuries unit in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise in line with national clinical care programmes models of care. There was uproar in Laois just before Christmas when the DMHG announced that it would launch the plan despite the fact that no decision had been reached on the future of Portlaoise and the downgrade plan which has also been leaked. Minister Simon Harris intervened and the launch was postponed after the Portlaoise Hospital Action Group announced that it would picket the proposed launch in Trinity College Dublin. The Minister has been in contact with doctors in Laois to consult on the future. Polar weather is set establish over the Ireland from Monday bringing snow, bitterly cold weather and biting winds with the possibility that a winter storm could hit from mid week. Met Eireann says it will be cold with frequent wintry showers, gales and the risk of coastal flooding on Atlantic coasts due to high seas. The heaviest showers will be heaviest and most frequent in northern and western counties. Turning colder as the day progresses with the showers turning wintry over some northern hills in the evening. Top temperatures will range 4 to 8 degrees in fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds. High seas developing on Atlantic coasts. It will be cold and windy Monday night with showers turning increasingly wintry, especially in western and northwestern counties, accompanied by westerly winds gusting to gale force. Showers will tend to be less frequent in the east and south, though some wintry falls will occur here also. Overnight lows of zero to plus 3 degrees with frost in sheltered places. Winds will veer to a more northwesterly direction on Tuesday, and become increasingly windy and blustery, with gale or strong gale gusts. Very high seas will develop along Atlantic coasts bringing large waves and a risk of coastal flooding to these areas. Showers will be widespread, and many of them will be wintry in nature with hail, sleet and snow, together with a risk of thunder. Daytime temperatures will range 1 to 4 degrees generally, but 5 or 6 degrees near the south coast and it will feel colder due to wind chill. The strong to gale force northwesterly winds will continue through Tuesday night with the risk of coastal flooding persisting along Atlantic coasts. Wintry showers will become more scattered overnight. Lows of minus 1 to plus 2 degrees Celsius with a risk of frost and icy stretches. Winds will back west to southwest and ease a little for a time on Wednesday, though it will still be rather breezy. Showers will tend to be less frequent than on Tuesday and those that do occur will tend to be of rain and sleet, rather than of snow. Daytime temperatures will range from around 3 degrees in Ulster to 6 or 7 degrees Celsius further south. Rain will start to move in off the Atlantic on Wednesday evening. High seas will continue along the Atlantic Seaboard. A potentially disruptive period of weather is possible on Wednesday night as a deepening Atlantic depression tracks near to or perhaps even over some parts of Ireland bringing spells of rain and very strong winds. It is likely to be very windy on Thursday morning, with the risk of disruptive winds and scattered showers. The westerly winds will slowly ease through the day, veering northwesterly in the evening. Showers will continue throughout the day, and some of them will turn wintry as temperatures drop through the afternoon. Daytime highs will be around 4 to 7 degrees. Friday& the weekend will continue unsettled through Friday with blustery showers but indications suggest winds will ease by the weekend. An extensive HSE plan for hospitals in Dublin, Kildare, Laois and Offaly that could culminate in the downgrade of Portlaoise hospital will be launched behind closed doors at the Health Service Executive HQ in Dublin. The Dublin Midlands Hospital Group Strategic Plan 2018-2023 is to be launched at Dr Steven's Hospital in Dublin at 3pm. The plan has been drawn up by the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (DMHG). It sets out a framework for services in Portlaoise, Tullamore, Naas, St James, Tallaght, the Coombe and St Luke's hospitals. A DMHG spokesperson confirmed to the Leinster Express that the plan would be launched at the HSE HQ near Heuston Station. The Director General of the HSE Dr Tony O'Brien is likely to be present as would others in management. These include Mr Trevor O'Callaghan the acting chief executive officer of the DMHG. Apart from being DMHG Chief Operating Officer, Mr O'Callaghan is the nominated chair the steering committee that would execute an extensive downgrade of Portlaoise hospital. Members or the public or media have not been invited to its launch. A spokesperson said it was not unusual for plans to be launched 'internally'. She said it was not the case that the launch was taking place in private to avoid a public protest as was likely to happen when the HSE was due to publish the document before Christmas. The spokesperson said the pre-Christmas launch was postponed because senior members of management were unable to attend. The spokesperson said the DMHG had no issue with the right of the public to protest. The plan sets out what former CEO described as a blueprint for hospital services in Dublin and the Midlands. The Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee threatened to picket the original launch which was due to be held at Trinity College Dublin before Christmas. However, it was widely reported that the launch was called off after the Minister for Health Simon Harris intervened. Invites were sent out to the pre-Christmas launch after Minister Harris told Laois TDs that he had not reached a decision and that he wanted to consult further on the plan. A key plank of a draft plan of the plan was the ending of 24/7 A&E care in Portlaoise. The draft of the strategy leaked to Laois TD Brian Stanley before Christmas said it would "develop 24/7 General Practitioner referred medical assesment unit and 12/7 local injuries unit in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise in line with national clinical care programmes models of care". The draft plan sets out the expansion of other hospitals in particular Tullamore and Tallaght. The DMHG says it will issue a press release and publish the document sometime around the time of the internal launch taking place. It added that the plan leaked to Dep Stanley was a draft. The strategy is linked to a plan for Portlaoise which was also leaked late last year. It outlines a detailed five year strategy for the reconfigure Portlaoise as a Category two hospital. Apart from A&E, other services would be withdrawn. These include maternity, paediatrics, ICU and most surgery. News that the DMHG was to publish the strategy emerged in the same Irish Times story at the weekend that the HSE has a report on possible disciplining of staff over deaths of babies at Portlaoise. The HSE will not publish that report because it is 'in process'. The DMHG said before Christmas that the Strategic Plan is not related to the proposed Action Plan for Portlaoise. This plan remains under consideration by the Minister for Health for any future policy decision. Laois Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming has refused to state his stance on the abortion referendum over the 8th Amendment. However he has today confirmed to the Leinster Express that he has "a big problem" with the proposal by the Oireachtas committee to allow abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. That proposal will next be brought to the Dail when a final wording will be hammered out for the upcoming referendum, and for the replaced wording in the constitution. "I will wait and see what the government is proposing. The oireachtas committee has made its proposal, for abortion up to 12 weeks. I've a big problem with that. It depends on what the government proposes to bring to the Dail, only then we will know exactly. If they change it we will see, but I don't know if they will change it," he said. He believes all parties should let members have a "conscience vote". "Fianna Fail has been the first party to allow a conscience vote, I hope other parties follow suit," he said. Asked what his constituents in Laois are saying to him, he said "I am getting lots of emails on both sides of the argument, they would be mailing all three Laois TDs". On whether he wants the 8th Amendment to remain as it is, he would not commit. "There is no point me even saying that. The people will decide that. Sean Fleming is only one in a million. The referendum is months away yet," Dep Fleming said. The other two Laois TDS, Fine Gael Minister Charlie Flanagan and Sinn Fein's Brian Stanley, are in favour of repealing the 8th. Minister Flanagan has said "I don't believe this is an issue that should be in our constitution." Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan backs repeal of the 8th amendment A meeting is being held in Portlaoise this week by a new Laois group supporting a repeal. See details of the meeting by Laois for Choice here. A proposal to reconfigure 24/7 Emergency Department (ED/A&E) services at Portlaoise has been reworded in a new five-year 'roadmap' for hospitals in Dublin, Laois, Offaly and Kildare. The HSE's Dublin Midlands Hospital Group Strategic Plan 2018-2023 was officially launched behind closed doors at Dr Steven's Hospital in Dublin. The plan has been drawn up by the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group (DMHG). It was signed off on by the CEOs and senior managers of the hospitals before Christmas. It has the backing of the HSE. A draft of the plan leaked last October outlined a path for the future of Emergency Services in Portlaoise. It pointed clearly to removal of 24/7 emergency services. The draft stated: "Develop 24/7 General Practitioner referred medical assessment unit and 12/7 local injuries unit in the Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise (MRPH) in line with national clinical care programmes models of care". However, the plan published by the HSE now states the following: "We will develop a Medical Assessment Unit in the MRPH in line with National Clinical Care Programmes Models of Care. In conjunction with the Emergency Medicine Programme, we will develop appropriate streaming of patients for minor injury treatment," said the section on Urgent and Emergency Care. The plan also says: "Prompt and optimum care for patients with serious conditions can only be provided where there are adequate numbers of staff with the essential skills to provide 24/7 service." The press were not invited to attend the launch. The HSE is anxious to point out that the strategy is separate from an Action Plan on the future of Portlaoise hospital which has also been leaked. It proposed the replacement of A&E with the MAU and a local injuries unit in line with a Category 2 hospital. It also proposes the removal of ICU, paediatrics, maternity and most surgery from Portlaoise. The Minister for Health Simon Harris has yet to make a decision on the action plan. The strategy was due to be published before Christmas but was postponed at the last minute when there was uproar in in Laois. The Portlaoise Hospital Action Committee threatened to picket its launch at Trinity College. News that it would publish the report on Monday only emerged in an Irish Times story on Sunday online about accountability baby deaths at Portlaoise hospital. The DMHG issued a statement saying Tony OBrien, Director General of the HSE described the strategy as a five-year roadmap for the delivery of hospital services for a population of more than 800,000 who may access care in the Groups seven hospitals. It said the strategy focuses on five key strategic aims that will drive DMHGs reform and development priorities: 1. To deliver excellent standards of quality and patient safety 2. To optimise service delivery, ensuring patients are treated in the right place, at the right time, by the right people. 3. To develop integrated care between Dublin Midlands Hospitals Group and its Community Primary Care Partners 4. To foster education, academic research and innovation 5. To strengthen co-operation and collaboration between the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group Hospitals The DMHG says the launch was addressed by its launch former DMHG CEO, Dr Susan OReilly. She played a lead role in writing the Strategy and the Action Plan for Portlaoise hospital. This strategic plan has one simple objectiveto determine how we can support, sustain and develop our hospitals to deliver high-quality care for our patients. We have undertaken a substantial body of work to establish the Group governance and accountability frameworks. These frameworks provide the foundation on which we will build and deliver this strategy. The five-year strategic plan acknowledges the significant work already underway across the seven hospitals, in a very challenging environment, said Dr OReilly in a statement. The DMHG claims it is seeking to improve access for patients so they can be seen and treated in the right location by the most appropriate provider, to expand services in response to growth in demand, and to work in partnership to better integrate across Hospitals and community health care services, with patient empowerment at the centre. In 2016, 11,000 staff delivered 735,915 outpatient appointments; treated 198,456 patients in the Groups Emergency Departments; and delivered 9,788 babies with a budget of 1,020.2m. Commenting Trevor OCallaghan, Acting CEO and Chief Operating Officer of the DMHG. He also the chariman designated of the steering committee to implement the action plan to remove services from Portlaoise. The strategy provides a blueprint of how the Group will continue to deliver the highest quality acute hospital care services and continue to drive change, support innovation, and improve access to services for all patients. "The plan acknowledges the main challenges for the acute sector in Ireland: access to health services and improvements in efficiency in the delivery of hospital services. "To achieve this we will adopt a Strategy in Action. We will drive change in a collaborative, cooperative manner where, most importantly, patients will receive the best standards of care, he said. Professor Mary McCarron, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Trinity College also attended. Trinity College is very pleased to be part of the first Strategic Plan for the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. Trinity College envisages the development of a clinical and academic healthcare model that will deliver best patient care, education, innovation, world class research and its translation into action. We look forward to further strengthening our existing partnerships with our Hospitals and the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group to achieve this over the next five years. We are particularly pleased to announce our intention to appoint a hospital liaison who will work on developing a strong academic relationship to support health care delivery. We hope into the future this will evolve into a lead academic position for the Hospital Group. The HSE said this strategic vision has been agreed with all seven Group Hospitals, the HSE nationally, and the Groups academic partners in Trinity College. It is not clear what the Minister for Health or Department of Health's view of the process is. Timahoe schoolchildren wowed the judges and visitors with their important project investigating how to halt the spread of the invasive rhododendron tree, at the RDS Primary Science Fair 2018. Using substances like vinegar, coke and buttermilk, they had experimented on rhododendren samples, with their project 'Rhodorunners- Can we call a halt to their gallop?', getting plenty of attention at the fair. Timahoe NS has exhibited at the prestigious event seven years in a row. Above: Jim Ryan, Technical Advisory Group of Abbeyleix Bog, photographed at the Young Scientist Primary Science Fair with students Mary George, Sadhbh McDonald, Caoimhe Ramsbottom, Mairead Foyle, Gracie Coyne and Sophie Phelan and teacher Michael McEvoy. The adjudicators comments reflected the huge amount of work gone into the project. "It was great to see the children present so confidently. It was clear that every class member had a significant input into the project and that the children worked as a team. All in all, it was an excellent project and the children should be very proud of themselves". Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan congratulated the children on their efforts and said It was such a clever idea and the results are extraordinary. He told the children you have made my day and said that the research would have to be shared with An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Kerry TD Danny Healy Rae where the plant is a huge problem. "It is fascinating, the solution has been found by the girls and boys of Timahoe NS in county Laois," he said. Minister Flanagan also visited the senior BT Young Scientists Exhibition and the primary science fair. Click here to see video Other notable visitors to the Timahoe NS project stand were the Managing Director of BT Ireland, Shay Walsh, RTE News2day, and Jim Ryan of the Abbeyleix Bog Project Technical Advisory Group. Jim was delighted to see the children research such a critical ecological issue. He also noted that Abbeyleix bog was getting significant exposure from the study. He congratulated the children and said he would be sharing the results at the next Technical Advisory Group meeting. Principal Ann Bergin is very proud of her students efforts. They have worked extremely hard on the project and benefited from a hugely enjoyable learning experience," she said. "This is an amazing feat considering only one hundred and twenty schools in the country qualify for the event. The seven years of scientific exploration for this event have thrown up a diverse range of topics ranging from worms to weather; exercise to eskers; hurleys to harmul bacteria, but this years entry was all about the preservation of Abbeyleix bog," said teacher Martina Mulhall. The aim of the project was to identify a non-herbicidal approach to stop the spread of the invasive Rhododendron plant in the bog. The children carried out their research under the guidance of Chris Uys, a member of the Technical Advisory Group on the Abbeyleix Bog Project. The children had great fun transplanting rhododendron plants from the bog to the school which enabled them to carry out regular testing and observation. They also received advice from local environmentalist Una Halpin. Last May they presented their project to President Michael D Higgins at the Community Wetlands Forum in Abbeyleix. The Primary Science Fair is run alongside the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition and ensures that the projects are exposed to huge audiences. Now in it's fourth year, this Easter Monday April 2 will see the return of the ever popular Jog for a Dog charity 5k in aid of My Canine Companion Autism Services. Coinciding with World Autism Awareness Day and once again kindly sponsored by Irish Dog Foods, Naas, this event has sold out in every running of the event. Open to both runners and walkers, the race will start and end in the beautiful grounds of Castletown House, Celbridge, while the 5k race itself takes the runners and walkers around the town. We are so delighted that Irish Dog Foods are supporting us again said committee chairperson Laura Sullivan at the official launch on January 9. Thanks to their generous support from day one, this event has gone from strength to strength and together we have raised over 53,000 for an amazing charity, that trains service dogs for children and young adults with autism. The race is organised by families who have all benefited from autism service dogs. Thanks to our sponsors covering all our race costs, every penny of our runners and walkers registration fees and any money they raise through sponsorship, goes straight to the charity added Laura. Jog for a Dog is such a great event and thanks to the runners and walkers who have joined us over the last three years, this event has raised significant funding for us and has helped us train additional and much needed autism service dogs said Niall Ruddy, who co-founded the charity with his wife Cliona O'Rourke in 2011. 2017 was a record year for My Canine Companion Autism Service Dogs with 47 service dogs qualifying with the charity. Service dogs can be a life changing addition to children with autism and their families and provide huge benefits including safety, independence and companionship. This year's event is also being run in memory of Chantal McQuirk, mother of a young adult with autism who sadly passed away after a brave battle with cancer. Online registration is open at www.popupraces.ie with entry fees ranging from 10 for juveniles runners/walkers to 20 for senior runners/walkers. This year sees the introduction of a Family Category to cover two adults and three children for 50. Numbers are strictly limited to 500 participants. Organisers hope to provide registration on the day (15 for juveniles/25 for seniors/60 family) but this will be dependant on online sales. Chipped timing, medals, goody bags and refreshments for all participants. Further info available at www.jog4adog.com. Registration at www.popupraces.com. Sponsorship cards available by emailing race@jogforadog.com or calling 086 358 1338. Irish Water has said progress is being made on the first contract under the Upper Liffey Valley Sewerage Scheme to support current and future development in Newbridge. It said the project will reduce the frequency of overflows to the River Liffey at Kilbelin and Newhall. The work will include a new interceptor sewer connecting Newbridge to the Osberstown Wastewater Treatment Plant. SEE ALSO: Flood nightmare continues in Newbridge Once the proposed project is complete, Irish Water said it will facilitate increased flow to the existing Osberstown Wastewater Treatment Plant and support future population and economic growth in Newbridge. "The investment will also significantly reduce overflows to the River Liffey at Kilbelin and Newhall, ensure that wastewater is treated and discharged in compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations 2001, ensure compliance with conditions set out in the EPAs Wastewater Discharge Licence and help Ireland avoid substantial EU penalties," it said. Irish Water has published a notice to confirm a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) has been granted to acquire the necessary lands in Kilbelin, Littleconnell, Halverstown, Greatconnell and Newhall for permanent way leaves, permanent right of way and temporary working areas for the project. It said it is progressing with a tender competition for a contractor and the works are expected to take approximately two years to complete. The proposed project includes diverting the existing 675mm sewer at Kilbelin in South-East Newbridge to a new waste water pumping station and storm storage tank at Kilbelin. From the new pumping station there will be a new 500mm diameter rising main and 900mm diameter gravity sewer to a proposed new waste water pumping station and storm storage tank at Little Connell. From the new pumping station at Little Connell, there will be a new 600mm diameter rising main and 900mm diameter gravity sewer to a new waste water pumping station and storm storage tank at Newhall. Construction of a 700mm diameter rising main from Newhall to Osberstown Wastewater Treatment Plant completes the project. Paul Fallon, Wastewater Infrastructure Manager, at Irish Water said Irish Water is committed to investing in the wastewater treatment infrastructure in Kildare to support the needs of the growing population. The Upper Liffey Valley Sewerage Scheme (Contract 2A) will benefit the local community and the environment and will ensure that Ireland complies with the the Urban Wastewater Treatment Regulations 2001 and conditions as set out in the EPAs Wastewater Discharge Licence. Tributes have been pouring in since news broke yesterday of the death of popular Kildare entertainer, Jimmy Aspell. Jimmy passed away peacefully at his home at Avondale Drive, Kilcullen yesterday, January 14 in the loving care of his family. He will be hugely missed by Mairead, son Neil, daughters Leah, Michelle and Lisa, sisters Judy, Molly and Sue, brothers-in-law Johnny and Des, his friend Evelyn, son-in-law Chris, daughter-in-law Osh, extended family, relatives and friends. Country music star, Bernie Heaney paid homage to the Kilcullen man. "So sorry to hear the sad news this morning that my dear friend Jimmy Aspell had passed away. Rest in peace my friend," she wrote on her facebook page. C.C. Cooper wrote; "So sad to hear of the passing of James Aspell (jimmy) what a great guy ,good humoured loved music, playing music,what a gentleman. So good to me over the years. You'll be missed jimmy RIP." Jimmy was a big Neil Diamond fan and also loved country music. He was a sterling member of the local community and undertook a number of fundraising events over the past number of years, raising funds for the Irish Cancer Society in particular. He won the Most Popular Local Artist category in the Leinster Music Awards in 2013. He had been battling cancer for some time. He will be reposing at his residence from 4pm to 8pm today. His funeral mass takes place at The Church of the Sacred Heart and St Brigid, Kilcullen, at 11am tomorrow. Burial afterwards in St Brigid's Cemetery. No party for Billy Burns is a directorial debut by Padraig Conaty and stars actor-writer (and former presenter of The Republic of Telly) Kevin McGahern. The film is set and filmed in West Cavan in the Arvagh-Gowna area. It also features Carrigallen actors Charlie McGuinness in a strong supporting role and Seamus ORourke who makes a short but impressive cameo appearance. Kevin McGahern plays the lead role of Billy Burns. A quiet and socially awkward young man who suffered the anguish of loosing both his parents at a very young age. He was reared by his grandfather (Shane Connaughton) and together they share a home in a bleak and isolated rural location. Billy Burns retreats to a fantasy world to cope with his situation. The opening scene captures this effectively with the bleakness of the rain lashing outside against the walls of the small bungalow where Billy lives and then inside we are introduced to the character presenting an imaginary radio show on his grandfathers antiquated radio equipment. Billy is obsessed with Cowboy films and spends most of his evenings in front to the TV watching Westerns. He fantasises about being a notorious gunslinger. Despite the low budget, (only 8,000) the cinematography of the film is captivating especially the shots of the wide open valleys of rural Cavan. The director, Padraig Conaty directly or indirectly making homage to the open prairies and rural heartland of America as captured in Terence Malicks 1973 film: Badlands. The scene with the central characters standing on rows of bales of silage silhouetted against the setting sun is particularly striking. Isolation appears to a key theme of this excellent film. Billy Burns has little connection with is ageing grandfather or the people of his own age group who frequent his local village. He finds it difficult to fit in with the group of lads who hang out in the pubs. They regularly take advantage of Billys shy and sensitive manner to poke fun at him. Only Ciaran the local hard man who is superbly played by Charlie McGuinness steps in at times to protect Billy from their jibes. The only person who shows Billy tenderness is Ciarans girlfriend Laura (Sonya ODonoghue). However Billy misinterprets this tenderness for something more which results in greater anguish for him. Despite the serious nature of the film it has its lighter and humorous parts. Aughnacliffe actor Ray Reilly as the local Garda Sargeant gives and outstanding performance and delivers some comedic relief. Overall this is a highly impressive film, excellently directed by Padraig Conaty. Kevin McGaherns portrayal of the central character is poignant and subtle and expertly captures the sense of isolation felt by some young people in rural Ireland. Judging by this production both individuals have a bright future in front of them and this film should be awarded national distribution at the very least. At present the film can be enjoyed in the Odeon Cinema in Cavan town on Thursday January 18, 25 and February 1 at 8pm. Tickets are available only from Multisound in Cavan town (049) 436131. Despite its fearsome, Velociraptor-like skull, a 161-million-year-old dinosaur the size of a duck would have been a shining, shimmering and splendid sight to behold mostly because it sported gleaming, iridescent feathers that were rainbow-colored, a new study finds. Iridescent feathers glistened on the dinosaur's head, wings and tail, according to an analysis of the shape and structure of the creature's melanosomes, the parts of cells that contain pigment. "The preservation of this dinosaur is incredible we were really excited when we realized the level of detail we were able to see on the feathers," study co-researcher Chad Eliason, a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago, said in a statement. [See images and illustrations of the iridescent dinosaur] A farmer in northeastern China's Hebei Province discovered the fossil, and the Paleontological Museum of Liaoning in China acquired the find in 2014. After discovering its iridescence and noting the unique bony crest on top of the dinosaur's head, researchers gave it a colorful name Caihong juji which is Mandarin for "rainbow with the big crest." Dazzling discovery The scientists discovered the dinosaur's iridescence and colorful nature by examining its feathers using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Incredibly, the SEM analysis showed imprints of melanosomes in the fossil. The organic pigment once contained in the melanosomes is long gone, but the structure of the cell parts revealed the feathers' original colors, the researchers said. That's because differently shaped melanosomes reflect light in different ways. Photos and drawings of the incredibly detailed C. juji fossil. (Image credit: Yu et al., 2018) "Hummingbirds have bright, iridescent feathers, but if you took a hummingbird feather and smashed it into tiny pieces, you'd only see black dust," Eliason said. "The pigment in the feathers is black, but the shapes of the melanosomes that produce that pigment are what make the colors in hummingbird feathers that we see." The pancake-shaped melanosomes in C. juji matched those in hummingbirds, indicating that the Jurassic-age dinosaur had iridescent feathers, the researchers said. C. juji isn't the first dinosaur on record to have iridescent feathers; Microraptor, a four-winged dinosaur also sported gleaming feathers, Live Science previously reported. But that dinosaur lived about 40 million years after C. juji, so the newly identified dinosaur is by far the oldest dinosaur on record to flaunt iridescent plumage, the researchers said. C. juji is also the oldest animal on record to have asymmetrical feathers, which help modern birds steer while flying. However, unlike modern birds, whose asymmetrical feathers are on their wing tips, C. juji sported these lopsided feathers on its tail. That, combined with the fact that C. juji likely couldn't fly, led the researchers to conclude the dinosaur likely used its feathers to attract mates and keep warm. This "bizarre" feature has never been seen before in either dinosaurs or birds, which evolved from dinosaurs, said study co-researcher Xing Xu, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. This suggests that tail feathers may have played a role in early, controlled flight, Xu said. But not all of C. juji's features are out of the blue. Some of its traits, such as its bony head crest, resemble those on other dinosaurs, researchers said. "This combination of traits is rather unusual," study co-researcher Julia Clarke, a professor of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Texas at Austin, said in the statement. "It has a Velociraptor-type skull on the body of this very avian, fully feathered, fluffy kind of form." [Tiny Dino: Reconstructing Microraptor's Black Feathers] This mixture of old and new traits is an example of mosaic evolution, when some parts of an animal evolve, but others stay the same, the researchers said. The study was published online today (Jan. 15) in the journal Nature Communications. Original article on Live Science. Local News, Crime By Long Island News & PR Published: January 15 2018 Stanley Isac of Bronx, 22, entered a residence with two other subjects and ransacked the bedroom while they held the occupants a knifepoint, officials report. NCPD reports the arrest of Stanley Isac of Bronx, 22, in connection with a 2016 occupied burglary in Elmont. Elmont, NY - January 15, 2017 - Fifth Squad detectives report the arrest of Stanley Isac, 22, of Bronx N.Y., in connection with an occupied burglary that occurred in Fifth Squad detectives report the arrest of Stanley Isac, 22, of Bronx N.Y., in connection with an occupied burglary that occurred in Elmont on Thursday, December 1, 2016 at 1:40 A.M. According to detectives, three male subjects, one armed with a knife, entered a residence on Frick Street, by removing bars and a screen from a basement window then proceeded to the bedroom and confronted the victims, male, 69 and female, 70. Two subjects held the victims as the third ransacked the room and demanded money. After removing an undisclosed amount of US currency the subjects fled the scene in an unknown direction. There were no reported injuries. According to detectives, a subsequent investigation involving DNA evidence, left at the scene, led to the identity and location of Isac, who was placed under arrest without incident. Isac is charged two (2) counts of Kidnapping 2nd Degree, two (2) counts of Robbery 1st Degree, two (2) counts of Burglary 1st Degree, three (3) counts of Robbery 2nd Degree and three (3) counts of Assault 2nd Degree. He will be arraigned in First District Court, Hempstead on 1/13/2018. The two other subjects involved in this case have yet to be arrested and the investigation into this incident continues. Detectives request anyone with information regarding this crime to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous. Local News, Health & Wellness, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: January 15 2018 Rep. Zeldin takes a tour of the Elsie Owens Health Center following a press conference on the importance of reauthorizing and funding CHIP and Community Health Centers. Coram, NY - January 15, 2017 - Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) was joined by local medical professionals at the Elsie Owens Health Center, a community health center in Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) was joined by local medical professionals at the Elsie Owens Health Center, a community health center in Coram, NY , for a press conference urging the reauthorization and full funding of the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Community Health Centers (CHC), ahead of next weeks January 19, 2018, federal funding deadline. Following the press conference, Rep. Zeldin took a tour of the Elsie Owens Health Center. These essential programs provide millions of children, veterans and individuals with the health care services they need, Congressman Zeldin said. In New York alone, CHIP provides health insurance for 300,000 New York children, while nearly 2 million New Yorkers rely on Community Health Centers for their health care services. On behalf of the millions of New Yorkers who rely on CHIP and Community Health Centers, we must reach across the aisle and work together to preserve these vital programs. In November 2017, the House passed a 5-year reauthorization of CHIP with bipartisan support, which the Senate failed to bring up for a vote. Last month, Congressman Zeldin led a bipartisan delegation of New York Members urging the reauthorization and full funding of CHIP and Community Health Centers: https://zeldin.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-zeldin-leads-bipartisan-delegation-new-york-house-members-urging HRHCare President and CEO Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH, said, Congressman Zeldin has been an important advocate for CHIP and community health center funding, We thank him for being with us today, and urge other members of Congress to help preserve this funding. All New Yorkers deserve access to affordable health care. Dr. Nadia Arif, Medical Director of the HRHCare Elsie Owens Health Center said, Community health centers gives everyone access to the preventive care they need. Since CHIP, I have never had a parent refuse care for their child because of cost. These programs go hand-in-hand. Nature & Weather, Local News, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: January 15 2018 Zeldin: "I applaud Judge Jurleys decision to allow the lawsuit to preserve Plum Island to continue forward." Patchogue, NY - January 15, 2017 - Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) issued the following statement after Judge Denis Hurley, of the Eastern District of New York in Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) issued the following statement after Judge Denis Hurley, of the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip , rejected a motion from both the Department of Homeland Security and General Services Administration to dismiss the lawsuit filed against them in July 2016 by Save the Sound and other environmental advocates regarding the planned sale of Plum Island: Plum Island is beloved by our local community with 90% of the land sheltered from development. Plum Island offers Long Island a diverse wildlife and ecosystem and a critical habitat for migratory birds, marine mammals, and rare plants. Plum Island is also an essential cultural and historical resource as well, with recorded history dating back to the 1700s. The current law, which mandates the sale of the island to the highest bidder, is the wrong path forward, because it does not provide for public access and permanent preservation of the island, or the continued use of the research infrastructure. The state of the art research facility at Plum Island must not go to waste, and preserving this islands natural beauty while maintaining a research mission will continue to provide important economic and environmental benefits to Long Island. I applaud Judge Jurleys decision to allow the lawsuit to preserve Plum Island to continue forward. by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, January 15, 2018 Digital beauty brands are expanding the ways they are combining precision technology with Millennialss quest for a prettier face. Perfect, owner of the popular YouCam Makeup technology, unveiled 3D AR Tech at the Consumer Electronics Show. And Japanese giant Shiseido, which last month introduced an IoT skincare line that provides recommendations in real time, just announced that it has acquired Massachusetts-based has acquired Olivo Laboratories, a startup with a pioneering Second Skin technology. The YouCam launch uses 3D AR makeup for hyper-realistic natural and costume makeover effects, as well as accessories like glasses and hairbands; its new 360 AR hair coloring tool, powered by AI, and an AI-driven Look Transfer that takes a makeup look from a printed photo and brings it to life through 3D face AR technology. advertisement advertisement Perfects beauty apps have been downloaded some 550 million around the world, and it also partners with cosmetic giants like Estee Lauder. Separately, Shiseido says the terms of the Olivo purchase are not disclosed. The young companys patents include a breathable, flexible and nearly invisible artificial skin, which it says offers benefits beyond makeup or even cosmetic surgery. In a statement, Shiseido says the acquisition marks a significant leap forward in the emerging realm of "skin shape correction, and paves the way for the development of products that provide instant and significantly enhanced skincare and suncare. Shiseido also owns personalization technology startup MATCHCo and an AI-powered beauty company called Giaran. And last month, it introduced the beta version of Optune, a digital, personalized skin platform, in Japan. Users photograph their skin via smartphone. The app analyzes everything from mood to pore size, working with weather and air quality data, to make personalized daily skincare recommendations. by Melynda Fuller , January 15, 2018 Coming off a rough financial year, The Guardian newspaper launched a redesigned website to coincide with its new tabloid-style print edition. The redesign is part of a three-year transformation plan implemented with the hopes of Guardian Media Group breaking even with operations by April 2019. The print editions redesign will save the company millions of dollars in printing costs per year. The publication introduces a new font called Guardian Headline, creating in partnership with design agency Commercial Type. Commercial Type was responsible for the publications previous font, Guardian Egyptian, and has created a new style that is simple yet bold in appearance. advertisement advertisement An updated color palette imposes bold colors in key sections of the papers journalism, including news, opinion, sport, arts and lifestyle. The papers online text font will see little changed, however line spacing, size and typesetting have been updated to improve readability. Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media, stated: The new Guardian will be a space for big ideas, for debate, for clear thinking and new perspectives. Our move to tabloid format is a big step towards making The Guardian financially sustainable and ensuring we can continue to invest in agenda-setting journalism for generations to come. When The Guardian introduced its Berliner format in 2005, abandoning its traditional broadsheet look, the paper had to build its own printing sites in the UK. Now, printing press Trinity Mirror, which also prints tabloids like The Daily Mail, will print The Guardian. The Guardians website hosts 150 million monthly unique viewers internationally. The digital redesign affects key parts of the websites style, including the masthead, color palette, font and typesetting. Guardian US editor John Mulholland stated: Our new digital identity will complement our journalism while continuing to focus on issues such as widening levels of inequality, the erosion of public lands, threats to the environment, rampant homelessness, racial divisions, gender inequality, the politics of Big Tech and, of course, the eventful Trump Presidency. by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, January 15, 2018 You know when you read something and you think it will be huge, but you're not reading about it anywhere else? I had this happen with Facebook last week. No -- not the algorithm change that got everyone excited, but a different case altogether. The story comes from Northern Ireland, but the ramifications could be global, as The Irish Times explains how a Belfast teen complained to Facebook that nude pictures of her had been posted with the clear intent of trying to shame her. Her lawyers say she was blackmailed into sending a third party the nude pictures, which were then used on a revenge porn site. This is a horrible story which sadly happens more often than the law-abiding citizen may think. However, the real issue here is the outcome. Just before the case was to be heard, Facebook made a private settlement for an undisclosed sum. Don't know about you, but that sounds massive to me. It's certainly the first case of its kind in the UK, it is believed. I've checked this out with a company that is daily seeking to get posts, pictures and videos removed from the web -- particularly from Facebook -- generally for corporate clients. Quite often this involves high-flying individuals at the companies who want libelous comments removed because they are about their private lives. This case had struck a massive chord with them too. Facebook has a reputation for not being the easiest company to deal with when it comes to seeking redress for salacious posts. The typical defence is that it's just the equivalent of massive pin board that people attach notices to. If there is a threat of hurting someone, that's different, but with the day-to-day pleas to have offensive material removed, it doesn't have the reputation of being the most helpful. That is what makes the Belfast case so big. Facebook did not explain why it settled. The company I've been talking to suggests, in line with The Irish Times article, that the social giant was holding up its hands rather than defend the indefensible. It had been made fully aware of the photos and proper procedures had been exhausted before they got to within inches of going to court, and decided it was best not to take to the stand. One can only imagine they were feeling uncomfortable about a failure to act against nude pictures of a female teen who had been blackmailed. Not the classiest of accusations to defend against, is it? So we have a landmark case. Facebook has taken responsibility for malicious posts that were clearly designed to shame a teenager. It has held up its hands for not immediately removing the offensive material. The question now is, what next? The online risk management company I was taling to agreed that, as you can probably imagine for yourself, this is opening a Pandora's box for other people who have been targeted by malicious posts. Anyone who has trouble with particularly malicious posts can now surely say a precedent has been set. OK -- so it's a private agreement, but it would appear that where Facebook has realised it was forewarned but didn't act, it is open to the prospect of settling. This is a massive step forwards for the social media giant and the victims of online abuse. One can only imagine they are going to have to get better at acting on requests they feel they can defend themselves against in court. That can only be a good thing for people who would far rather gets posts taken down as soon as possible than drag a US tech giant in to court. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, January 15, 2018 The Supreme Court has agreed to revisit a 26-year-old decision that prevented states from requiring many online retailers to collect sales tax. The court late last week said it would consider South Dakota's attempt to revive a 2016 state law that requires out-of-state retailers with more than $100,000 in annual sales to South Dakota residents, or more than 200 transactions per year with South Dakota customers, to report and collect sales tax. Online retailers Wayfair, Overstock and NewEgg challenged South Dakota's law, arguing that it was invalid due to a 1992 Supreme Court decision. That ruling, which involved the office supply company Quill Corp., banned states from requiring catalog companies to collect sales tax, unless they had a significant connection to the state -- like brick-and-mortar companies within its borders. advertisement advertisement It's not clear whether the current Supreme Court judges will uphold that 1992 decision. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy recently suggested that state governments should be able to require out-of-state online retailers to collect state or local sales tax. The Internet has caused far-reaching systemic and structural changes in the economy, and, indeed, in many other societal dimensions, Kennedy wrote in a concurring opinion in a battle involving Colorado's online sales tax. South Dakota argues that online retailers' failure to collect tax harms state and local governments, who increasingly lose out on revenue as retail sales continue to migrate online. (Consumers are supposed to pay sales tax even if retailers don't collect it, but many consumers fail to do so.) The dispute over South Dakota's new tax law has drawn the attention of numerous outside groups, including the American Booksellers Association, which supports the law, and NetChoice, which opposes it. The American Booksellers Association argues in a friend-of-the-court brief that the court's 1992 decision threatens independent bookstores. "With the advent of smartphones, many customers soon realized that, instead of buying a book from an independent bookstore and paying tax, they could buy the same book from an online retailer using their smartphones and avoid paying tax," that group argues. "As a result of this imbalance -- which is entirely a product of this Courts decision in Quill -- online retailers that do not collect and remit sales tax for in-state purchases have a significant competitive advantage, which customers have exploited to the detriment of independent bookstores," the group wrote in papers urging the Supreme Court to hear South Dakota's appeal. But NetChoice -- which counts eBay, Google, and Facebook among its members -- argues that requiring retailers to collect tax in every state and local jurisdiction in the U.S. would unfairly burden companies. "There are still over twelve-thousand sales tax jurisdictions in the U.S.," NetChoice writes in its friend-of-the-court brief. "Entangling small businesses in a complicated framework of varying taxes, exemptions, administrative requirements, and audits would be unwise." The group asked the Supreme Court to decline to hear the case. "The Quill standard allows internet start-ups, as well as small and medium-sized online and brick-and-mortar businesses, to exist," NetChoice writes. "It protects them from regulatory burdens that would be both crippling and unfair, and allows them to grow." As a just-turned-20 star kid, breathing the same oxygen as us, Ahaan Panday already has the spotlight on him. More so, because of his mother's unprecedented (read: highly intentional) PR skills, his celebrity clout's constant, unconditional support and that big film banner contract he grabbed a while ago. As a matter of fact, as per our personal experiences, he's being heavily guarded against unnecessary (cc: negative) media attention and from anything that'll take away from his big film debut (that'll be on floors very soon). To sum it up, the lad's got everything going for him right now. Instagram/Ahaan Panday But while there's a lot of fanfare around Ahaan anyway, not much has been spoken about his dressing abilities. One, because he's no style maven (nor is he in a hurry to achieve that status). And two, because he dresses as he pleases, wears 'practicality' over his shoulders and stays away from conventional sartorial tricks. While heading out for a movie he's seen in T-shirts + joggers, at a red-carpet event in classic formal wear and on occasional visits, in semi-formal gear that's appropriate for the event. He's exactly like most 20-year-olds of the world (only with much-wealthy parents). Viral Bhayani But if there's any aspect of his recent dressing abilities that has caught our attention, it's his knack for wearing formal wear like a pro. From his debut at the Le Bal des Debutantes in Paris, in the latter half of 2017... Instagram/Deanne Panday To his choice of outfit for his 20th birthday... Instagram/Deanne Panday And to his recent stunt in a tuxedo for the cover of Peacock Magazine (that made a few headlines lately), looks like, Ahaan's quite a formal wear god in the making. Peacock Magazine Moving step-by-step: For France's prestigious Le Bal des Debutantes, the star kid turned every head wearing an iconic tailcoat, featuring no contrast between his primary pieces and the neck accessory. Having said that, he's pulling the ensemble off with utmost ease! Plus, brownie points for choosing an iconic example of dressmaking, for his big debut at the French ball. Instagram/Ahaan Panday Fans For instance #2, at his 20th birthday celebration, Panday opted for a very classic, monochromatic tux. Something, that really stood for his big leap into the noble 20s, indicating that he's only getting closer to being a well-matured adult. Times of India And moving onto his most recent media coveragethe cover of Falguni and Shane Peacock's brand-new venture, the 'Peacock Magazine'. While the choice is a tuxedo once again, what's making it special is the fact that it happens to be a uniform of the world's biggest celebrities (on the red-carpet, magazine editorials or maybe even not). Plus, the lad's brought the outfit to a close with patent leather dress shoes; another staple of global A-listers. Peacock Magazine Bringing us to the conclusion, that much like predictions of India's industry experts, we too are seeing a bright future for Ahaan Panday. Attaboy! There's an undercurrent of change currently running through Indian politics. With the Congress party at its lowest as compared to the last two decades, there's a huge political vacuum in the country that needs to be filled, even if one needs to qualify as a principal opposition party to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2019 general elections. Here, we list out five Indian politicians who have risen in the recent past and can disrupt political conventions in 2018. Jignesh Mevani BCCL Gujarat was destined to provide prime time thrills being the Prime Minter's home state in the 2017 elections but nobody could have imaged the kind of impact Jignesh Mevani had amongst the poor and the lower castes during the elections. The Dalit firebrand leader came into the limelight after he led a protest march in August, 2016 called Dalit Asmita Yatra after attacks on Dalit men in Una village in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Recently, Mevani was in the news again for giving provocative speeches in Pune which allegedly led to Bhima Koregaon violence. Mevani contested and won the election from Vadgam constituency and is definitely one of the new political stars with massive following ready to make an impact in this election season. Hardik Patel BCCL One of the stalwarts of the elections in Gujarat, Hardik Patel's popularity amongst the Patidar community in Gujarat is unparalleled. Patel is the leader of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) which aims to secure quota for Patidar's in education and government jobs under the OBC category. Hardik Patel along with Jignesh Mevani was instrumental in halting BJP's march towards a thumping majority in the Gujarat Elections. While BJP might have just scraped through this time, Patel could well emerge as one of the prime chief ministerial candidates in years to come. Yogi Adityanath BCCL The right-wing Hindu leader and the Chief Minister of the biggest state in India, Yogi Adityanath's rise to a star campaigner for the BJP has been incredible. Recently, Yogi was in news for his twitter jibe against Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah as he raised the issue of farmer deaths and communal crimes against Hindus in the state. Yogi has been a five time MP from the Gorakhpur constituency and he is also the founder of the Hindu Yuva Vahini which has been associated with many communal incidents in the state. While all those associations have been brushed under the carpet, Yogi Adityanath continues to enjoy a rockstar status within the BJP and his stocks will continue to rise in the near future. Rajinikanth BCCL With the AIADMK without its supreme leader and DMK without Karunanidhi, Rajinikanth's foray into Tamil politics will turn out to be the most defining moment of the decade in Indian politics. There is incredible support for an alternative in Tamil politics especially when it's led by Rajinikanth. The superstar has had a troubled relationship with politicians in his time. During the 1991-1996 Jayalalithaa government, he was forced to get out from his car and walk to his residence which was housed in the same neighbourhood as Jayalalithaa. But his entry into politics will definitely change the entire dynamics of Tamil politics and he could turn out to be a big factor even before the assembly election in 2021 if he chooses to campaign against the current Modi-government in the 2019 general elections. Sachin Pilot BCCL One of Congress' mainstay, Sachin Pilot will in all eventuality be the Chief Ministerial candidate for Rajasthan this year. The current BJP government headed by Vasundhra Raje has been charged time and again for not being able to rein in communal elements and that has had a major impact on the public perception. Under Pilot's leadership, Congress won four zila parishad seats, 16 of the 27 panchayat samiti seats and six nagar palika seats for which the bypolls were held in 2017. With a strong support base and a vision of the state, Sachin Pilot could deliver a stunning victory for congress in Rajasthan in 2018. In the Asian market the mood turned bearish, following the return of Chinese suppliers to the export market. But sentiment in the Middle East and CIS regions remained largely optimistic, supported by an increase in scrap import prices as well as demand in some member-states of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).Meanwhile, in North Africa, demand for billet was sluggish because of high stock levels and political instability in some parts of the region.Domestic billet prices in China were 3,590 yuan ($552) per tonne at 3pm on January 12, down by 40 yuan per tonne from last Friday due to the lack of demand from re-rollers and plunging prices for finished long steel.Local rebar prices in Eastern China have dropped by around 30% in a little over a month, from 4,940-4,980 yuan per tonne on December 5 to 3,830-3,900 yuan per tonne on January 11.A local trader revealed that, this week, Tangshan has around 370,000 tonnes of billet stock, up by 70,000 tonnes from a week ago.The drop in domestic prices saw Chinese supplies return to the export market, to compete in Asia with cargoes from the Middle East and the CIS.The export markets are more lucrative again now that domestic prices have fallen. Mills are now looking for better margins in overseas markets, a source from Asia told Metal Bulletin.Offers of China-origin billet were heard at $540 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia early this week, but on January 12 fell to $515-520 per tonne fob - equivalent to $530-535 per tonne cfr, a major trader in East Asia said.A deal was reported made at $515 per tonne fob this week to a Southeast Asian buyer, but no details were released.Some buyers are still wary of procuring China-origin billet due to fears of non-performance. They believe that Chinese mills might back out [of a deal] if prices go up, which happened in 2016, a trader in East Asia said.Market sources expect the downtrend to continue, while demand in China remains depressed due to the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations, as well as the expected rescinding of production cuts in mid-March after the winter heating season.Meanwhile, CIS- and Middle East-origin cargoes were offered at $540-545 per tonne cfr Southeast Asia last week, with deals done at $535-545 per tonne cfr.Offers of China-origin billet on prompt-shipment terms were heard in the UAE at $550 per tonne cfr last week, according to one source.This price was considered too high because a regional supplier offered billet for late-January delivery at $545-550 per tonne cfr, with bids coming at $530-535 per tonne cfr.Buyers were in no hurry to purchase prompt-shipment material and about 20,000 tonnes of March-shipment billet originating from Iran was booked to the UAE at $518 per tonne cfr from traders.New offers of Iranian billet from mills have already been reported at $520 per tonne fob main ports But market participants doubted that any deals were finalized, saying that the market was quiet last week, with buyers assessing the situation.The workable price was said to vary within the range of $510-515 per tonne fob, with recent deals reported done in East and North Africa in early January around that price.Nevertheless, sources expected billet prices in GCC countries would rise in the near term amid demand for material in Saudi Arabia Prices will increase, a market participant said. Saudi [Arabian] mills are hungry for billet [so] it will be $545-550 per tonne soon.Another factor that is expected to support the strengthening of billet prices in the Middle East and related markets is the uptrend in scrap, sources told Metal Bulletin.Since the beginning of January, Metal Bulletins daily index for US-origin scrap has risen by $9 per tonne, to $378.51 on January 11.However, so far, import offers, from the CIS in particular, have remained largely stable because customers in Turkey, Egypt and Algeria have been holding back from bookings for various reasons.CIS mills were mainly offering material within the range of $520-525 per tonne fob Black Sea, with separate offers being heard as low as $500 per tonne fob.In Turkey, CIS-origin material was available at $530-535 per tonne cfr, but customers were willing to pay only $520-525 per tonne , sources said.The demand for CIS billet is still weak due to customers interest in scrap purchases, a trading source said.In Egypt, CIS-origin rebar was on offer at $540-550 per tonne cfr, against $530-535 cfr a week earlier, but no bookings were heard done.There [has been] no buying this week. People want to wait and see, a trader told Metal Bulletin on January 11.This week was silent. We prefer to wait as we have high stocks, another source said.Neighboring Tunisia was also showing little interest in imported billet amid political unrest in the country due to demonstrations against the governments austerity measures, which include a rise in fuel prices and taxes on goods.Some market participants have voiced concerns that the protests may spread into Algeria, leading to a decrease in trading activity to the destination.Jessica Zong in Shanghai, Paul Lim and Fiona Lam in Singapore, Serife Durmus in Bursa, Cem Turken in Mugla and Felipe Peroni in Sao Paulo contributed to this report. The SHFE March copper contract decreased by 100 yuan to 54,700 yuan per tonne. The SHFE March zinc contract price eased by 90 yuan to 26,285 yuan per tonne. The SHFE May tin contract price slipped 100 yuan to 145,300 yuan per tonne. The SHFE February lead contract dipped by 130 yuan to 19,120 yuan per tonne. The dollar index was down by 0.02% to 90.85 as of 11.02am Shanghai time. The index went as low as 90.77 earlier today, the lowest since December 2014. In other commodities, the Brent crude oil spot price was up by 0.13% to $69.88 per barrel as of 11.01 am Shanghai time. In equities, the Shanghai Composite was down by 0.02% to 3428.33 as of 11.01 am Shanghai time. In US data on Friday, the consumer price index (CPI) and the core CPI in December rose by 0.1% and 0.3% respectively. Retail sales and core retail sales also increased 0.4% in December. The economic agenda is light today, particularly with US markets closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. A slew of Chinese data including foreign direct investment, gross domestic product, industrial production, fixed asset investment and retail data are due this later week. Data of note from the United States this week includes building permits and unemployment claims. SHFE snapshot at 11.04am Shanghai time Most-traded SHFE contracts Price (yuan per tonne) Change since previous session's close (yuan) Copper (March) 54,700 -100 Aluminium (March) 15,180 90 Zinc (March) 26,285 -90 Lead (February) 19,120 -130 Tin (May) 145,300 -100 Nickel (May) 99,900 330 LME snapshot at 03.04am London time Latest three-month LME Prices Price ($ per tonne) Change since previous session's close ($) Copper 7,195 85 Aluminium 2,238 24 Lead 2,557.50 22.5 Zinc 3,415 31.5 Tin 20,290 15 Nickel 12,835 110 The most-traded March aluminium contract on the SHFE stood at 15,180 yuan ($2,350) per tonne as of 11.04am Shanghai time, up by 90 yuan from the previous sessions close. Close to 180,000 lots of the contract have changed hands so far.Sentiment for the light metal improved late last week after China released positive export data.Export data was better than expectations which meant that anti-dumping concerns overseas have yet to affect Chinese aluminium exports. This will help with the consumption of domestic inventory, Chinas Galaxy Futures said in a report late last Friday.Chinese unwrought aluminium and aluminium products exports reached 440,000 tonnes in December , up by 15.8% month on month and 12.8% year on year.Exports from China were encouraged by the wide import arbitrage losses between the SHFE and London Metal Exchange, which meant it was profitable for Chinese exporters to ship aluminium products out.Meanwhile, the most-traded May nickel contract rose by 330 yuan to 99,990 yuan per tonne amid consolidation, with around 565,000 lots traded so far. The contract had had rallied as high as 102,380 yuan per tonne on January 10.Some long investors continued to enter the market on Monday with open interest of the contract rising to 493,474 positions as at 10.15am Shanghai time, from 481,772 positions at last Fridays close. LME snapshot at 03.04am London time Latest three-month LME Prices Price ($ per tonne) Change since previous session's close ($) Copper 7,195 85 Aluminium 2,238 24 Lead 2,557.50 22.5 Zinc 3,415 31.5 Tin 20,290 15 Nickel 12,835 110 SHFE snapshot at 11.04am Shanghai time Most-traded SHFE contracts Price (yuan per tonne) Change since previous session's close (yuan) Copper (March) 54,700 -100 Aluminium (March) 15,180 90 Zinc (March) 26,285 -90 Lead (February) 19,120 -130 Tin (May) 145,300 -100 Nickel (May) 99,900 330 Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mostly lower during Asian morning trading on Monday after consolidation set in following last weeks gains, with only aluminium and nickel prices moving higher so far in the morning.Check Metal Bulletins live futures report here Sherritt International Corp expects finished nickel and cobalt production at its Ambatovy mine in Madagascar to rise in 2018 , the company said last Friday.News of the lockout at Aluminerie de Becancour Incs (ABI's) aluminium smelter in the Canadian province of Quebec appears to be the catalyst of the US Midwest P1020 premium's push into double-digit territory , market participants told American Metal Market.The US International Trade Commission has voted to allow a self-initiated Commerce Department anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigation into imports of Chinese common alloy aluminium sheet to continue , the agency said on Friday. Price trends in the global billet market diverged in the week ended Friday January 12 because of a number of factors.Export prices of steel billet from Latin America increased last week , amid higher global prices, Metal Bulletin has learned. Michael Harris, 30, was sentenced to 13 years in prison Friday for a nine-town robbery spree that lasted four months. The sentences from several jurisdictions will run concurrent with one another. Felony charges against Harris included 13 counts of first-degree robbery with a firearm, from Nov. 20, 2016, to Feb. 1, 2017. He robbed businesses along a corridor of routes 8 and 84, Milford States Attorney Kevin D. Lawlor said Friday. Miller hit Derby, Middlebury, Milford, Naugatuck, Shelton, Waterbury, Southington, Torrington and Winchester. After an investigation, Naugatuck police got the first arrest warrants. We caught him, Naugatuck Deputy Chief Joshua Bernegger said Friday. The robberies had several things in common: a man seen wearing a gray hoodie, carrying a large handgun, and driving a green car, possibly a 2009 or 2010 Toyota Carolla four-door with Connecticut plates. Also, he was wearing blue Nike sneakers, Bernegger said. In Superior Court, Milford, Judge Frank Iannotti sent Harris to prison for 15 years, with eight to serve, and five years of probation. Harris, who did not appear in court, was sentenced for first-degree robbery, including three cases of threatening with a firearm. Lawlor said the robberies netted Harris $300-$3,000. In Superior Court, New Britain, he was sentenced without an appearance, to 10 years. In Litchfield Superior Court, Torrington, Harris appeared and received a total of 17 years in prison, suspended after 10 years, minimum mandatory and five years probation. In Waterbury Superior Court, he appeared and was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Harris has been held since February 2017 at Northern Correctional Institution, Somers, in lieu of $1.37 million bail. Congress Wants to Know How the Air Force Will Get a Better F-35A Engine The legislation calls on the Pentagon to tell lawmakers how it would integrate the propulsion system being developed under... Error Sorry, but the page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable Reported Successfully Bitcoins price plummeted Friday, after rumours emerged that South Koreas government announced would be banning the cryptocurrency. South Korea isnt the first nation to consider banning bitcoin, but it could be the most significant. A large portion of bitcoins global demand comes from the country. Large numbers of South Koreans were drawn in by last years 1,500%-plus rise. The South Korean justice ministry said in Thursdays news conference that, There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies and the justice ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges. The source of this concern? It seems to be the usual grab-bag of issues from crypto detractors. Some are ridiculous, such as arguing that bitcoin is useful for crime, when clearly paper money is as untraceable and useful for criminal transactions, if not more so. Other criticisms could have more substance, such as pointing out that bitcoin could undermine fiat currencies. Undermining and eventually replacing fiat currencies is, to many bitcoin loyalists, the whole point. None of this is set in stone, yet. South Koreas government still has to draft a bill, and pass it through a vote in the National Assembly. This could be over in months, or take years, depending on how determined the government is to get the legislation through. Or how determined any opposition is to stopping it. But whatever may happen, the market is already reacting. Bitcoin plummeted roughly 10% on Thursday. As of time of writing on Friday, the chaos showed no signs of abating. Bitcoin has seen volatility like this before. And this isnt the first time that a major government has threatened to ban it. It likely wont be the last. Bitcoin, and the larger crypto market that it seems to be the flagship for, have survived so far. Crypto experts argue that it will continue to do so. Money Mornings own crypto specialists, Sam Volkering and Ryan Dinse, argue that cryptos like bitcoin represent a financial revolution that will remake the world. And the very nature of cryptocurrencies make bans difficult to enforce. Attempts by governments to stop or reverse it could ultimately prove futile. Years from now, this may be looked back on as an incredible buying opportunity. But even if thats true, it wont prevent the next few years from being a bumpy ride. There can be incredible opportunities in highly volatile markets, along with the incredible risks. Cryptos today perfectly represent the idea of speculative high-risk, high-potential reward investing. Your humble Money Weekend editor certainly isnt tipping any money into cryptos that he couldnt afford to lose. But that doesnt mean Im staying out of the market, either. Every time in the past that bitcoin has taken a hit, its risen again even stronger afterward. 2017s incredible gains made bitcoin and cryptocurrency household terms. The controversy wont end in 2018, but controversy hasnt ever stopped bitcoin from rising. For a beginners guide to speculating on the cryptocurrency markets, click here. This week in Money Morning The US economy has slowly been strengthening recently. Much of the credit for this has gone to US President Trump and his simple, three-part economic plan. Could Trump be smarter than he seems? Late-night Tweets about his own stability and genius aside, it could be true Ryan took a close look at the US economy and Trumps plans on Monday. He asked how long this strength may last. And more importantly, what the long term costs of the current short-term benefits will be. Read the details here. Its nothing new to say that Australias economy has been driven by Chinese demand. But on Tuesday Ryan looked at another country that could trigger a new boom, bigger and longer-lasting than Chinas. One that could benefit early investors immensely if hes right. To read about what could be the next investment megatrend, you can find Tuesdays Money Morning here. As the cryptocurrency trend has exploded, more and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon. An increasing number of these have nothing to do with blockchain, and are just chasing easy money. As Ryan wrote in Wednesdays Money Morning, when an iced tea company changes its name to something with blockchain in it and sees rapid share price gains, somethings wrong. Especially when the company hasnt actually done anything with blockchain, aside from the new name. Blockchain as a technology is set to revolutionise dozens of industries worldwide. And cryptocurrencies are already doing so. But Ryan warns that you should avoid the trend-chasers with no real idea. For the details, you can find his article here. A new investing megatrend is emerging, which Ryan argued on Thursday could be bigger than Chinas urbanisation and economic boom. Another nation headed into a massive economic boom, with a huge population eager to lift themselves out of poor, rural lives. Their new opportunities could drive a new boom in international trade and resources. In some ways it could be even larger than Chinas. Read why in Thursdays Money Morning, here. Returning to cryptocurrencies on Friday, Ryan looked at the headlines that famed investor Warren Buffett has been grabbing. Buffett has been making doom and gloom pronouncements about bitcoin since back when it was at $400. And he doesnt have much better to say about other cryptos, either. But, successful as he is, Buffett may not be the right person to listen to on cutting-edge tech trends. His track record on tech investing isnt as great as it is elsewhere. Does that mean Buffetts wrong? Its not that simple. Read why in Ryans article from Friday, here. Regards, Tyler Jefferson, Editor, Money Weekend President Donald Trump View Photos President Trump signed a Martin Luther King Jr., Federal Holiday Proclamation at the White House. Trump was Mondays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words at the event: Today, we gather in the White House to honor the memory of a great American hero, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He would go on to change the course of human history. As a young man, King decided to follow the calling of his father and grandfather to become a Christian pastor. He would later write that it was quite easy for me to think of a God of love, mainly because I grew up in a family where love was central. That is what Reverend King preached all his life: love love for each other, for neighbors, and for our fellow Americans. Dr. Kings faith and his love for humanity led him and so many other heroes to courageously stand up for civil rights of African Americans. Through his bravery and sacrifice, Dr. King opened the eyes and lifted the conscience of our nation. He stirred the hearts of our people to recognize the dignity written in every human soul. Today, we celebrate Dr. King for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God. This April, we will mark a half-century since Reverend King was so cruelly taken from us by an assassins bullet. But while Dr. King is no longer with us, his words and his vision only grow stronger through time. Today, we mourn his loss, we celebrate his legacy, and we pledge to fight for his dream of equality, freedom, justice, and peace. I will now sign the proclamation making January 15, 2018 the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday and encourage all Americans to observe this day with acts of civic work and community service in honor of Dr. Kings extraordinary life and it was extraordinary indeed and his great legacy. Thank you. God bless you all. And God bless America. [The proclamation is signed.] War on Terrorism memorial in Tuolumne View Photos Sonora, CA The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors will review a proposal to construct a memorial along the eastern edge of the Tuolumne Memorial Hall. It is one of the early items that will be heard during Tuesdays meeting. It would specifically honor the victims of 9/11 and those that fought the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The idea is being spearheaded by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4748 and would be funded by donations and grants. It includes plans for making commemorative bricks available for sale. In other business, the supervisors will also vote on approving a $191,000 contract with the firm Ascent Environmental Inc. to prepare a re-circulated Environmental Impact Report for the General Plan Update. The county has been in the process of updating its General Plan since 2013 and an initial EIR was released in December of 2015. However, after the close of the 60-day comment period, the board put the General Plan on hold during the transition of incoming CRA Director David Gonzalves and some new staff members. County documents note that the plan has been revised to reduce repetitive goals, policies and programs. In addition, the supervisors will vote on approving a new Tourism Promotion Agreement with the Visitors Bureau, City of Sonora and county. It calls for creating a matching funds/sponsorship program for five years, earmarking $75,000 annually, utilizing Transient Occupancy Tax revenue. It would be designed to support countywide promotional opportunities. Tuesdays meeting will begin at 9am in downtown Sonora. The Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission has cancelled its investigation over former First Lady Grace Mugabes PhD. ZACC shall now rather pursue cases of fraud involving beans and maize involving other people. Two weeks ago, the Kwekwe Central MP Masango Matambanadzo was arrested over yet to be explained charges of possessing 30 tonnes of maize meal. Another ZANU PF member was charged of possession of sacks of beans. The development saw Presidential Spokesman George Charamba being grilled over state justice priorities. The ZACC head of investigations Mr Goodson Nguni announced to the state media saying they are not at all investigating Grace Mugabe. Nguni himself is a convict of fraud. He told the state media, there is no investigation regarding the PhD. We received a complaint but there is no probe. The University of Zimbabwe awarded Grace Mugabe a PhD in 2014 amid questions over the short time in which she completed her research. Her doctoral thesis is still not available in the UZ library. The Zimbabwean Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News By Lambert Strether of Corrente. An alert reader who is a representative of the class thats suing the DNC Services Corporation for fraud in the 2016 Democratic primary WILDING et al. v. DNC SERVICES CORPORATION et al., a.k.a. the DNC lawsuit threw some interesting mail over the transom; its from Elizabeth Beck of Beck & Lee, the firm that brought the case on behalf of the (putatively) defrauded class (and hence their lawyer). Becks letter reads in relevant part: [Y]ou may have heard on some early independent news reports (the earliest reports were via tweets from the attorneys on the case), the appellate court [the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals] has issued a preliminary order in our favor dispensing with one jurisdictional issue that the lower court had raised. In dispensing with this issue, the Court is allowing the appeal to continue to proceed. The appellate court could have thrown out the appeal, but chose to allow Plaintiffs to amend the Complaint, and agreed with us that with the changes, the jurisdictional issue raised by the lower court is resolved. I would like to take this opportunity to caution against any premature exultation, as the ultimate odds are not in our favor (only about 5% or so of civil appeals are overturned, on average). (Beck & Lee have stored documents relating to the case here. This is the amended filing; this is the appellate courts decision.) Its very good news that the DNC lawsuit is back from the dead, if only because its A Good Thing that the Democratic Party continues to be put on the record about what it thinks it is, and how thinks it is entitled to act. Truthdig summarizes the theory of the case: All this is context for a lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee that has been slowly wending its way through a federal district court in Florida. The suit contends that the DNC engaged in fraud by reneging on a key commitment in its charter. The DNC charter is fairly explicit. Article V, Section 4 says: In the conduct and management of the affairs and procedures of the Democratic National Committee, particularly as they apply to the preparation and conduct of the Presidential nomination process, the Chairperson shall exercise impartiality and evenhandedness as between the Presidential candidates and campaigns. The charter goes on to state: The Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that the national officers and staff of the Democratic National Committee maintain impartiality and evenhandedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating process. DNC emails that reached the public a year ago show direct and purposeful violations of those DNC rules. As The New York Times reported with understatement days before the national convention, The emails appear to bolster Mr. Sanderss claims that the committee, and in particular [DNC Chair Debbie] Wasserman Schultz, did not treat him fairly. The theory of the case is, in other words, consumer fraud (!); small DNC donors were sold a bill of goods. From my own summary: One prong of the plaintiffs case is based on consumer fraud law: The DNC represented itself as being neutral and people donated money to it on that basis, when in fact (as shown by the Gufficer 2.0 documents) the DNC had its thumb on the scale for Clinton the whole time. Im not sure Im comfortable thinking of citizens as consumers. That said, the revivification of the DNC lawsuit serves as a story hook for me to try to advance the story on the nature of political parties as such, the Democratic Party as an institution, and the function that the Democratic Party serves. I will meander through those three topics, then, and conclude. What Sort of Legal Entity is a Political Party? I present the following exchange between myself and a subject matter expert. I asked: What sort of legal entity is the Democratic Party, anyhow? Its not a profit-making corporation. Its not a 501(c)(3) or whatever. Its not a membership organization like the DSA or British Labour. But if you believe the DNCs lawyer in the Beck case, the party can choose whatever candidates it wants in a smoke-filled room. So apparently its not an association of voters. They also get (yes?) public money for running elections. And the expert concluded: This question is fantastically complicated. So yet again, I didnt find the bird![1] However, the expert did recommend that I read this article: Benjamin D. Black, Developments in the State Regulation of Major and Minor Political Parties, Cornell Law Review, Volume 82, Issue 1, November 1996 (PDF). There, I found the following passage: Political parties were purely private organizations from the 1790s until the Civil War. Thus, it was no more illegal to commit fraud in the party caucus or primary than it would be to do so in the election of officers of a drinking club. However, due to the efforts of Robert La Follette and the Progressives, states began to treat political parties as public agencies during the early 1890s and 1900s; by the 1920s most states had adopted a succession of mandatory statutes regulating every major aspect of the parties structures and operations. Because the parties were public under conventional constitutional doctrine, the courts deprive[d] the parties of the protections of the Bill of Rights. By the 1970s, federal courts considered virtually every aspect of the partys presidential nomination process .. .state action, and thus, subject to state regulation. At the same time, however, the Court issued a number of decisions that treated political parties as private organizations that held First Amendment rights. By recognizing that political parties are holders of First Amendment rights in some circumstances, the Court created a dilemma parties could be both public and private entities depending on the particular activity in question. Oh good[2]. At this point, the reader will recall Zephyr Teachouts work on corruption: While 1787 delegates disagreed on when corruption might occur, they brought a general shared understanding of what political corruption meant. To the delegates, political corruption referred to self-serving use of public power for private ends, including, without limitation, bribery, public decisions to serve private wealth made because of dependent relationships, public decisions to serve executive power made because of dependent relationships, and use by public officials of their positions of power to become wealthy. Two features of the definitional framework of corruption at the time deserve special attention, because they are not frequently articulated by all modern academics or judges. The first feature is that corruption was defined in terms of an attitude toward public service, not in relation to a set of criminal laws. The second feature is that citizenship was understood to be a public office. The delegates believed that non-elected citizens wielding or attempting to influence public power can be corrupt and that elite corruption is a serious threat to a polity. You can see how a political party a strange, amphibious creature, public one moment, private the next is virtually optimized to create a phishing equilibrium for corruption. However, I didnt really answer my question, did I? I still dont know what sort of legal entity the Democratic Party is. However, I can say what the Democratic Party is not. Institutionally, the Democratic Party Is Not Democratic Here I want to consolidate some earlier NC material. First, on why superdelegates have a voice in choosing candidates, this video from a Democratic superdelegate. From October 25, 2017: The purpose of superdelegates, explained. Listen to the whole thing: #DNC Unity still supporting Super-Delegates everybody should listen very carefully. #SaturdayMorninghttps://t.co/3A6vygguhR pic.twitter.com/qb8iUXI6qs — StarLord35 (@StarLord35) October 21, 2017 So the purpose of superdelegates is to veto a popular choice, if they decide the popular choice cant govern. But this is circular. Do you think for a moment that the Clintonites would have tried to make sure President Sanders couldnt have governed? You bet they would have, and from Day One. And since when do Democrats want to govern, anyhow? Obama had the chance to be a second FDR, and under the most charitable interpretation possible, he went into the Rube Goldberg Device-building racket ( (M), allowing donations to a Presidential Library, thereby cashing in [ka-ching]. And no, I dont care that the DNC Unity Commission has recommended reducing the number of superdelegates. First, the Rules and Bylaws Committee, having been purged of Sanders supporters[3], has yet to vote on the recomendation. More importantly, you can bet that the number of superdelegates retained is enough for the superdelegates, as a class, to maintain their death grip on the party.) Second, on how candidates could be chosen if the Democratic Party decided to do it that way. From the DNCs lawyer in the DNC fraud case: The Democrat Party Has No Obligation to be Democratic Page 36 of the transcript: MR. SPIVA: [W}here you have a party thats saying, Were gonna, you know, choose our standard bearer, and were gonna follow these general rules of the road, which we are voluntarily deciding, we could have and we could have voluntarily decided that, Look, were gonna go into back rooms like they used to and smoke cigars and pick the candidate that way. Thats not the way it was done. But they could have. And that would have also been their right, and it would drag the Court well into party politics, internal party politics to answer those questions. Thats exactly the way it was done, as the Podesta mails and the Guccifer 2.0 documents show. Of course, if indeed the Democratic party is an amphibian, both public and private, there may very well be public questions that go beyond private internal party politics (though Im not sure Becks consumer law-oriented theory of the case can take that line). And from the conflation of public and private we turn to corruption. Functionally, the Democratic Party Is a Money Trough for Self-Dealing Consultants Here once again is Nomiki Konsts amazing video, before the DNC: Those millions! Thats real money! In an earlier article in Medium, Konst wrote: Today, it is openly acknowledged by many members that the DNC and the Clinton campaign were running an operation together. In fact, it doesnt take much research beyond FEC filings to see that six of the top major consulting firms had simultaneous contracts with the DNC and HRC collectively earning over $335 million since 2015 [this figure balloons in Konsts video because she got a look at the actual budget]. (This does not include SuperPACs.) One firm, GMMB earned $236.3 million from HFA and $5.3 from the DNC in 2016. Joel Benenson, a pollster and strategist who frequents cable news, collected $4.1m from HFA while simultaneously earning $3.3 million from the DNC. Perkins Coie law firm collected $3.8 million from the DNC, $481,979 from the Convention fund and $1.8 million from HFA in 2016. It gets worse. Not only do the DNCs favored consultants pick sides in the primaries, they serve on the DNC boards so they can give themselves donor money. Andrew Dobbs, an activist and organizer from Austin, TX writes: Primary among these structural choices is the fact that the DNCthe partys governing bodyactually allows political consultants to be elected as members and then even allows those members to be vendors to the party and to campaigns they are supporting . And: This self-dealing means that the interests of the consultant class will always have a privileged place in campaign decision-making. As we saw in 2016, where the DNC consultants picked sides (and if thats not rigging the primaries, tell me what is). Having self-dealt themselves contracts, the consultants[4] then maximize their fees: These campaign consultants make a lot more money off of TV and mail than they do off of field efforts. Field efforts are long-term, labor-intensive, high overhead expenditures that do not have big margins from which the consultants can draw their payouts. They also dont allow the consultants to make money off of multiple campaigns all in the same cycle, while media and mail campaigns can be done from their DC office for dozens of clients all at the same time. They get paid whether campaigns win or lose, so effectiveness is irrelevant to them. Now, I think it would be a little strong to say that the Democratic Party is nothing more than a layer of indirection between the donor class and the Democratic consultants and the campaigns they run; after all, the Democratic Party in its current incarnation has important roles to play in not expanding its own electorate through voter registration, in the care and feeding of the intelligence community, in warmongering, in the continual buffing and polishing of neoliberal ideology, and in general keeping the Overton Window firmly nailed in place against policies that would convey universal concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Those are all very important! Conclusion Seth Ackerman gives this definition of an inside/outside strategy; the bottom line is that if Democratic Party controls ballot access for the forseeable future, they have to be gone through as well as around. But if the nature of the Democratic Party as an institution and/or legal entity cannot be specified and Im not sure that either Ackermann in 2017 or Black in 1996 do this its like going to war without knowing the enemys order of battle. Not a recipe for victory. More work needed. And its fantastically complicated. So, again, I havent found the bird! * * * Readers will note that in the headline I wrote Democratic Party out of deference to those who recall the Republicans of forty years ago deploying Democrat Party as a smear. However, Ive come to prefer Democrat Party regardless of past party wars, on the grounds that Democrats have to earn to moniker Democratic, and not merely claim it. NOTES [1] Every so often, I feel that I have cause to recall the famous New Yorker story about the writer who heard about a bird in the woods, said to be extinct. So he went to report on the story, found the local who thought theyd heard the birds song, bought some yellow waders, hired guides and a boat, and set out through the swamps and the Spanish moss and the dripping and the stinging insects in search of the bird. Long-form story short, they never found the bird. So whats the point of a story where you dont find the bird? [2] Black also writes: Any interpretation of the Elections Clause should also recognize a simple historical fact: when this provision was drafted, political parties were generally unknown and positively feared. To the Founders, the entire structure of our government-the separation of powers-was predicated on a fear that factions, operating through parties, would impose their will on the country. John Taylor, a Founding Father and libertarian from Virginia, lamented: The situation of the public good, in the hands of the two parties nearly poised as to numbers, must be extremely perilous. John Adams feared the specter of the division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to one another. Regardless of whether the Founders fears were politically naive, unreasonable, or unfounded, it is fair to conclude that the Founders evinced no particular theory of party politics, let alone one desiring continuous two-party domination of American politics. (Id speculate that the two parties feared by Taylor and Adams would be pro- and anti-slavery; whenever you see the word property in the Federalist Paper, remember that slaves were property.) Surely, then, a strict constructionist would conclude that theres no Constitutional justification for parties. Parties dont seem to be working very well. Perhaps, rather than tinkering round the edges with consumer law, a suit should be brought to abolish political parties altogether? (The DSA, a membership organization with no ballot line, would in my view not be a party in the same way that the Democrats and Republicans are.) [3] In retrospect, despite Sanders evident appeal and the power of his list, I think it would have been best if their factions pushback had been much stronger; expressions of outrage were insufficient. Physical occupation of DNC premises would have been fully warranted. [4] Oddy, or not, these consultants go unmentioned in the press, at least collectively. Individually, theyre all over the airwaves like cheap suits. Heres a list: I have a soft spot for writer Johann Hari. Weve often quoted a key section of a Guardian piece many years ago, Protest works. Just look at the proof. Below weve posted an interview with Hari on his new book, Lost Connections, which is an investigation of the depression industry, although he doesnt call it that. His work started with his own experience, of being medicated for depression starting as a teenager and only having at best short-term relief. He found it striking that his experience of rising doses with what amounted to relapses was common and was also taking place when the number of people taking anti-depressants and other psychoactive medications was exploding. As you will see, Hari makes a strong-form argument that the causes of the big increase in reported cases of depression are social, that the modern work environment is particularly hostile to people having a sense of control and purpose that is important to well being. He also contends that the brain chemistry imbalance theory of depression was not proven when selective serotonin uptake inhibitors like Prozac were becoming popular and even as of today does not have a solid scientific foundation. Another angle Hari discusses is the way that advertising induces people to make unhealthy social choices. I wontt give away the anecdote in his video. But more broadly, advertising is designed to create needs and wants, which means preying on insecurities and desires. Moreover, a great deal of advertising presents people who are happy as the result of consuming the product or service on offer. That happiness is seldom contentment or relaxation; instead it is usually giddy or euphoric. Those arent sustainable states. They are brief highs. But the message to consumers on a large scale basis is that that is what your life should look like, and if it doesnt, you must be doing something wrong. By contrast, a major focus of religions is how to reconcile individuals to the inevitability of suffering and death. Some medical professionals have objected strenuously to Haris book. They content that hes incorrect in depicting anti-depressants as generally not beneficial and claiming that psychiatrists dont give much/any weight to life experiences when prescribing anti-depressants. The wee problem is that there is a big gap between the theory of how psychiatry ought to be done and what is actually taking place. My large sample (relatives whove suffered from depression, and way too many people I know personally who are taking anti-depressants) is that at least in the US, the pattern conforms to what Hari describes: doctors, including GPs, all too eager to hand out drugs like Prozac and Adderal, with no psychological evaluation whatsoever. From what I can tell, in major US cities, they are seen as productivity enhancers and thus perfectly fine to prescribe casually. By contrast, one of my former lawyers who is also a biomedical engineer is FDA specialist, and many of the partners in her boutique intellectual property firm are former FDA commissioners with serious medical and/or science backgrounds. She has mentioned repeatedly that while they take Valium casually, to a person theyve made clear that they would never take an SSRI and have advised her to steer people away from them. So it isnt just members of the great unwashed public who have reservations. As Hari points out in an excerpt from his book, one of the problems with talking about SSRIs is that the drug companies have been cherry-picking studies for decades. Not only is the efficacy of SSRIs not so hot (around 50%), its not much higher than the placebo rate (30%). A number of rallies and marches on Monday honored the legacy and teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. The popular Caltrain NorCalMLK Celebration Train, which celebrates the life and work of the late civil rights leader through songs and lessons, left Diridon Station in San Jose at 9:45 a.m., made two stops in Palo Alto and San Mateo, and eventually arrived in San Francisco around 11 a.m. Once in the city by the bay, passengers attended a march and parade. Some passengers indicated that this year's ride carried extra signifigance given the current state of race relations in the United States, especially in the wake of President Donald Trump's reportedly vulgar comments about Haiti and African nations. "Right now, it's like it's going backwards with Trump in office," passenger Belinda Ahmed said. "We're taking a step backwards instead of a step forward." A number of rallies and marches are slated to take place across the Bay Area on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Bob Redell reports. San Francisco firefighter Andre O'Neil attended with his wife and two small children. "We have a climate where our president has all these negative things going on and we want to kind of bring fresh air to our community," O'Neil said. About 1,200 people signed up for this year's Celebration Train ride. That's about 250 more people than last year. "I think there's a spike because of all the stuff that's going on in the country right now," Tasha Bartholomew from Caltrain said. "I think now more than ever people are starting to realize the true legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, his fight for racial equality and social justice. And I think the things he fought for in the 50s and 60s are things that we're still fighting for today." Echoing some of the teachings and beliefs of the iconic civil rights leader, Celebration Train rider Lawan Ahmed called for change. "We don't understand each other," he said. "We don't know how to talk to each other. Something has to get done because we gotta respect one another regardless of who we are and what we do and all that." San Francisco Acting Mayor London Breed helped lead the march to the Yerba Buena gathering. "It's a whole different day and it's more important now than ever before to be active to be engaged to be involved to do better," Breed. Aside from the annual train ride along the Peninsula, nonprofits, religious groups and service organizations honored King with a day of action and compassion at St. John's Parish Hall in Napa. Over in the East Bay, a rally was held at Pittsburg City Hall. A cultural celebration followed at the Pittsburg High School Creative Arts Building. Can you name all of the parks, monuments, memorials, historic areas, trails, preserves, battlefields, lakeshores, islands, heritage areas, parkways, rivers, and recreation areas that are woven into the epic fabric of America's national park system? If so, you've memorized quite the long and lofty list, a round-up of 485 locations that span from Acadia National Park to the Everglades National Park to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park to all of the sites that so gloriously dot the map of the Golden State. Of course, Yosemite National Park is hardly a "dot," nor is the vast and ancient Lassen Volcanic National Park, nor is glorious Pinnacles National Park, nor are the dozens of other NPS sites throughout the state. But all of them, even the ones that traditionally charge a fee, will soon waive their admission fees, if they usually have admission fees, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. It's a national park free day, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and it is happening throughout the land. True, the majority of parks are free to enter, but the NPS free days are something special. The next one coming up, after Jan. 15? It's on April 21, which is the "First day of National Park Week." While the aforementioned Acadia National Park, and the Everglades and Hawai'i Volcanoes, might not be easily accessible from locations around California, so many iconic destinations are, including Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Pinnacles, the redwoods, Channel Islands, and a number of other fascinating, spirit-stirring, nature-lovely, history-important sites. Also, within the parks? There are often ranger-led walks and talks and other events, even in wintertime (and, yes, Jan. 15 will be on the milder side for much of the state). Just be sure to check the schedule of the park you hope to call upon on the occasion of Dr. King's birthday. Ford Motor Co. debuted a new Mustang Bullitt in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Steve McQueen film of the same name Sunday at the Detroit auto show. The limited-edition Mustang Bullitt features a 5.0-liter V8 engine that packs at least 475 horsepower and 420 lb.-ft. of torque and tops out at 163 mph. The new car pays tribute to the car in the classic movie set in San Francisco with cool exteriors as well as interiors: Dark Highland Green exterior paint and subtle chrome accents; interior highlights include 12-inch all-digital LCD instrument cluster and black leather-trimmed seats with unique green accent stitching. This new Bullitt is, as Steve McQueen was, effortlessly cool, said Darrell Behmer, Mustang chief designer. As a designer, its my favorite Mustang devoid of stripes, spoilers and badges. It doesnt need to scream about anything its just cool. Molly McQueen, granddaughter of "Bullitt" star Steve McQueen, starred in a special movie to introduce the new car at the North American International Auto Show, in which she raced a new Mustang Bullitt through a parking structure battling a Dodge Charger for the final free space. A squabble over a supposedly missing cellphone broke out into an all-out brawl at a pizza place in Newark Saturday night before it was discovered that the phone had actually been turned in to the restaurant's lost and found hours earlier, according to police. The fight involving two large groups erupted at John's Incredible Pizza Company inside the NewPark Mall, according to police. Footage from the scene captured people exchanging blows and shouting. When Newark police officers arrived, they called in reinforcements from the Fremont Police Department due to the size of the scuffle. Officers were eventually able to gain control of the chaos, according to police. Only minor injuries were reported, and no one was arrested. As officers worked on their investigation, the manager of the restaurant came up with the cellphone, according to police. The phone had been turned into lost and found several hours before the brawl. The mother of the girl who lost the phone said her family was attacked simply for asking a group if they saw the girl's phone. "Next thing you know, there's just a massive brawl and people throwing fists, and it was quite crazy," restaurant worker Drake Lynn said. He said he saw two young women arguing about a phone, and then it got physical. "Their boyfriends, or males who they were with, backed them up, and then they started throwing punches, and then their friends started throwing punches, and they started throwing punches at other parties that were there," Lynn said. The Find My iPhone app led the girl to that location, but the phone actually was a floor above them in a lost and found. "We would have definitely found the cellphone, if they would have just given us a little bit of time and let us do our jobs instead of throwing punches," Lynn said. NBC Bay Area's Thom Jensen contributed to this report. Eleven days after a massive snowstorm left the ferry dock in Hingham, Massachusetts "structurally unsafe", officials with the Massachusetts Bay Transporation Authority say the dock has reopened. The MBTA said marine contractors assessed the dock at Hewitts Cove on Jan. 8, with a diver entering the water to evaluate any damage below the water line. A few days later, contractors were able to reconnect the entire dock float system and fix damaged piles. Several new piles were installed over the weekend. MBTA ferry service resumed between Hingham and Boston early Monday morning with the new docking system in place. "The MBTA appreciates the patience of its ferry customers while the Hingham dock was evaluated and reconstructed for safe use by passengers," read a statement from the MBTA. For the first time in history of the Olympic Winter Games, the country of Nigeria will be represented by a three-women bobsled team. In fact, it will be first time ever that the continent of Africa will be represented in the sport of bobsled. Behind the historic sled is driver Seun Adigun, a Nigerian American born on the North Side of Chicago. Seun has dual citizenship, according to her family. "It's kind of still an out-of-body experience," said Seun. "It's kind of surreal." The 31-year-old was once a track standout at Homewood-Flossmoor High School. She also attended Evanston Township High School, before her parents and three brothers moved to south suburban Glenwood. "She's the only girl, but she's always been the strongest," said younger brother Femi Adigun, a student at DePaul University. Seun went on to run track at the University of Houston. There, her family said Seun, a three-time Nigerian National Champion and a two-time African Continental Champion, was recruited by scouts to represent Team Nigeria at the 2012 London Games. Seun competed in the 100m hurdles and the relay. Shortly after the Olympics, Seun decided to hang up her cleats -- little did she know she wasn't quite done with sports. "The call came one day where she said, 'Ma, I want to go for the combine in Dallas. I said, what is combine?'" said Seun's mother Siki Adigun. "I didnt know what bobsled was, I never even heard about it. Ive maybe seen it before but it really didnt register." Seun began training with Team USA as a rookie brakeman, when her family said she noticed something that disturbed her. "She said she noticed that there was no Africa representation," said Siki. "Seun loves the sport so much. She said, 'we need to get this to Africa.'" From there, an idea was born. Seun recruited two friends she met in Houston -- both former track and field athletes, both born to Nigerian parents -- and in 2014, inside a garage, the three women began building a makeshift wooden sled and an even bigger dream. "Seun plans everything," said her father Kolawole Adigun. "And when you worry, she says, 'don't worry. It's taken care of.'" With the backing of the Nigerian government, the team forged ahead. Seun, along with brakemen Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga, finished the five qualifying races necessary to earn a spot in the Olympic bobsled competition. "She started an entire federation. This is her brain child that she wrote on paper," said Femi. "I'm watching someone with the same blood as me create world history." Femi said her upbringing in the Chicago area made Seun tough as nails and driven to chase her dreams. "No matter what, she always makes a note tell people (about) Chicago," said Femi. "It's something about the culture here and the people here. Youre able to grow in a way that you wouldnt be able to elsewhere in terms of mentality. Youre either going to make something happen or youre going to make something happen." Seun graduated with a Doctorate of Chiropractic/Masters of Science dual degree in December 2017. Republican Rep. Mia Love said Sunday that "she can't defend the indefensible" when it comes to the president's vulgar remarks referring to immigration from African nations and comments on whether the U.S. needed more Haitian immigrants, NBC News reported. "I can't defend the indefensible. You have to understand that there are countries that struggle out there but ... their people are good people and they're part of us," Love, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. When asked if she thought President Donald Trump's reported description of African nations as "s--thole countries" during a meeting on immigration with lawmakers was racist, the Utah lawmaker replied that they were. "I think they were, yes. I think they were unfortunate," she said. "I wasn't in the room. I know the comments were made. I don't know in which context they were made." A wrong-way driver has been charged with DUI after hitting a Connecticut State Police cruiser on Interstate 95 south in Darien early Monday, according to state police. State police said Troop G received multiple calls for a driver traveling north on I-95 south around 12:48 a.m. Trooper Eduardo Santiago responded to the scene and spotted the 2016 Audi driving the wrong way near the exit 12 on-ramp. As the vehicle came toward Santiago he was able to avoid a head-on crash, but the Audi side-swept his cruiser, causing serious damage to both vehicles. Santiago and the driver of the Audi, identified as 26-year-old Ashton Steen of Darien, were not injured. According to police, Steen admitted to drinking and told troopers she thought she was in New Jersey. She failed field sobriety tests and was arrested. She faces charges of reckless endangerment, reckless driving, driving the wrong way and DUI. She was released on a $10,000 bond and is due in court on Feb. 20. Connecticut State Police have arrested a teen accused in a home invasion in Montville. walked into an apartment in Montville and robbed the resident at knifepoint Sunday. Police said that on Jan. 14 the 17-year-old walked into the apartment at 52 Pequot Road around 9 p.m. through an unlocked door. The resident told police that he knew the suspect and that the suspect had been sending threatening text messages. The suspect waved a knife around and demanded money from the victim. The victim handed over $15 and the suspect fled. No one was hurt. According to police, the teen turned himself in to his probation officer after learning of a warrant for his arrest. He faces multiple charges including home invasion, burglary, threatening, assault, reckless endangerment and carrying a dangerous weapon. The suspect was not identified due to his age. ExxonMobil is pushing ahead with efforts to develop oil fields off the South American nation of Guyana. Company spokeswoman Kimberly Brasington says it's asked Guyanese environmental authorities for permission to drill to up to 40 new wells as it develops the Liza Phase 2 offshore oil field. It already has 17 planned for the first phase. Brasington said Sunday that the new project should kick in in 2022 -- two years after production is expected to start at the Liza 1 field. ExxonMobil along with partners Hess Oil and Nexen of China announced their first commercial find in 2015, setting the stage for the country to move from being a net importer of oil to a producer. Brasington said the company will hold town hall meetings on the environmental permit. Twelve people are now facing misdemeanor charges in El Cajon, California, after handing out food to the homeless at a public park Sunday. Volunteers and groups showed up to Wells Park to hand out food, clothes, shoes and toiletries. As of Monday, the 12 people said they plan to take legal action against the city of El Cajon. If Im going to be arrested for something, let it be for feeding the homeless, said Matthew Schneck, who was cited Sunday. Im not going to apologize for doing the right thing." El Cajon police wrote up citations to each person handing out food, including 14-year-old Ever Parmley. I was passing out food and this guy was like can you step aside please," Parmley told NBC 7. They were each charged with a misdemeanor for violating El Cajon municipal code 1.28.010. The ordinance dates back to October 2017, during the height of the Hepatitis A outbreak. Charles Marks tells NBC 7, Ive been given a court date under the impression this represents being arrested on a misdemeanor, but its just a citation." The city said the ordinance was passed in an effort to stop the spread of the virus, and prohibits "food sharing" in public spaces, which includes city parks. In November, NBC 7 talked with councilmembers after signs were posted at Wells Park about the ordinance. Councilmember Ben Kalasho told NBC 7,What we're saying is feeding them at city parks is a bad idea given the situation that we're in with the hepatitis A outbreak, and the fact that it makes the place completely messy afterward. Kalasho continued, you can go out there, pick them up, take them back to your house and feed them and board them and room them and have them take a shower if you're really wanting to help." The City of El Cajon told NBC 7 the ordinance is meant to be temporary until the County lifts the emergency health declaration on Hepatitis A. In a statement, the city also said there are over a dozen locations in the area that serve free food to the homeless. An attorney representing the twelve people cited said he doesnt believe the motive behind the ordinance is to stop the spread of Hepatitis A, but rather an attempt to get the homeless out of the city. It was really a disguise, said attorney Scott Dreher. People were complaining homeless people will come to the park if you give them free stuff. Dreher plans to file motions to dismiss the misdemeanor charges and file an injunction against the city. The twelve people cited will have scheduled court dates and could face a $1,000 fine and jail time. La Mesa police arrested a man at Sharp Grossmont hospital who allegedly impersonated a doctor. Zaid Jeorge is accused of felony impersonation and practicing medicine without a license. According to a hospital security department memo, a security guard questioned Jeorge on Jan. 11 in a doctors lounge at the hospital. Jeorge was reportedly wearing blue scrubs and a doctors coat embroidered with the Sharp HealthCare logo and his name identifying him as an anesthesiologist. According to the memo, Jeorge was carrying a stethoscope, a cell phone with Arabic messages visible on the screen and car keys for a rented Mercedes-Benz sedan. Jeorge had no credentials or Sharp HealthCare identification. The hospitals security manager said Jeorge told security he was a student in Sweden and was here to learn more as part of his student apprenticeship." When asked if he had a sponsor, liaison or escort, Jeorge allegedly gave the name of a hospital doctor who later told security he did not really know Jeorge, and said he latched on to him a few weeks ago after (the doctor) accepted a connection request from Jeorge on LinkedIn. In a Facebook post, a medical professional said a colleague of hers called SharpGrossmont security when he noticed Jeorge just sitting in the doctors lounge in the OR hallway." "We all have to be alert!" she wrote. Jeorges LinkedIn profile says hes a Harvard Medical School graduate and a Sharp HealthCare physician. His LinkedIn and Instagram profiles include photos of him posing in a Sharp Healthcare doctors coat, in front of the hospital. According to the hospitals memo, the La Mesa Police Department evaluated Jeorge for both mental fitness and as potential terrorism threat. They searched his car and found two passports and a document showing a local address in El Cajon. The Medical Board of California, which licenses doctors, has no listing for a Dr. Zaid Jeorge. Dr. Ted Mazer, president of the California Medical Association, said hospitals have stringent security to assure that impostors cannot gain entrance to surgery suites or patient treatment areas. Mazer, who is affiliated with Sharp and Alvarado hospitals, said doctors and nurses know their colleagues, and will quickly question anyone they dont recognize. Theres a whole new (additional) level of security, in those patient treatment areas, Mazer explained. When you walk into an operating room, everyone has to know who's who in the room, and you're not going to have an impostor walk into an operating room and be handed a scalpel. I mean, it's just not going to happen." The San Diego County District Attorney's office confirmed Tuesday that Jeorge was released from jail after his arrest by posting bail, which was set at $25,000. He is scheduled to appear in court later this week. Additional passengers railcars have been added to each of the five daily roundtrip trains between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, adding 270 seats on each train for commuters grappling with the second week of a full closure of the 101 Freeway because of devastating mudslides at Montecito. On Saturday, another three additional locomotives and eight passenger cars were brought down from Northern California to accommodate a crush of travelers, according to LOSSAN, the intergovernmental agency that runs the rail corridor. The rail service has struggled with late trains and standing-room crowds since it became the only ground transportation between Santa Barbara and points east, when rail tracks were repaired last Thursday. The 101 Freeway was closed Monday and will remain closed indefinitely for human remains recovery, and then extensive repairs, Caltrans officials said. The body of a 20th flood victim was recovered Sunday, and other bodies are believed to have washed out of homes in Montecito, to collect in a swale that once was a U.S. 101 underpass at Montecito. Prior to Thursday, rides on whale-watching boats between the harbors at Ventura and Santa Barbara were the only direct way around the complete closure of all roads on the eastern edge of Santa Barbara, including the 101 Freeway, normally used by 100,000 vehicles per day. The alternate was a 275-mile detour over the Grapevine and a narrow country highway west of Bakersfield, that quickly ocerloaded. Five Amtrak California Surfliners depart Los Angeles Union Station daily, bound for Santa Barbara and Goleta, near the UC Santa Barbara campus. Two of those continue on to San Luis Obispo, before reversing. An additional Amtrak train, the Coast Daylight, also travels nonstop between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, with its northern terminus in Seattle. All of the Surfliners stop in Oxnard, Ventura and Carpinteria, then pass through the closure area. They will all stop in Santa Barbara and Goleta. Some of those trains also stop at Camarillo, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Chatsworth, Van Nuys and Burbank. The schedule is posted online at www.pacificsurfliner.com and information is at (800) 872-7245). Amtrak and Caltrans have contracted with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency to manage the 351 miles of rail service between San Luis Obispo and San Diego. A prison inmate serving the last year of his sentence in a community program in Los Angeles was recaptured Sunday in North Hollywood after tampering with his GPS monitor and walking off. Joshua Cortez, 30, serving time for possessing or receiving forged papers, was found about 10:10 a.m. Sunday after going missing two days earlier, the Los Angeles Times reported. Cortez disappearance was noticed around 10:10 a.m. Friday, when state corrections officials discovered that his GPS device was not working. His last known location before his capture was near the North Hollywood Metro station, authorities said. Cortez was found at a residence on the 8200 block of Lankershim Boulevard, where a parolee named Robert Romero was living. Special agents from the corrections department saw Cortez leave the residence. Romero, who had served time for assault with a deadly weapon, was a known associate of Cortez. He may face charges of harboring an escapee. Cortez was participating in the Male Community Reentry Program, which allows some inmates to finish their sentences at re-entry centers outside of prison. The men receive help finding jobs, as well as drug and mental health treatment if necessary, in hopes that they will become law-abiding citizens, according to the newspaper. Cortez was scheduled to be released in September but now faces possible prosecution on escape charges, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a news release. He had previously served time for first-degree burglary, then returned to prison in April on the forgery charge. He transferred to the Los Angeles community program in October, the Times said. A New Jersey woman who went missing on her way to work on Friday has been found at a Manhattan hospital. Authorities said that Mary Ann Clark, 74, was located at Mt. Sinai hospital Sunday after suffering some sort of medical episode while riding the 1 train to her job in Tribeca. A fellow rider who sees the woman on the 1 train daily saw coverage of the missing woman and reported that she had been taken to the hospital, according to authorities. Union police said the woman is in critical condition in the hospital ICU. She had identification on her when she was brought into the hospital, and it's not clear whether the hospital had notified the woman's family. NBC 4 New York has reached out to Mt. Sinai seeking comment. Before she was found, coworkers at Clark's office told News 4 that they were worried about a woman they affectionately refered to as the "office mom." Authorities say they've arrested a friend of the victim in connection with the death of a 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student who disappeared during a visit home to Southern California. The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Samuel Woodward. Blaze Bernstein's body was found Tuesday after an extensive search through Borrego Park in Orange County. Authorities said they were investigating his death as a homicide but would not say how he died. Bernstein, who was home visiting family in Orange County during his school break from the University of Pennsylvania, was last seen alive about 11 p.m. on Jan. 2. He told relatives he was meeting up with his friends. He was reported missing the following day after family members were unable to get in contact with him. On Thursday, investigators said they had interviewed a friend of Bernstein's in connection with the case. The friend said he went with Bernstein to a neighborhood park in the city of Lake Forest on Jan. 2 to meet up with the victim's girlfriend but stayed in the car, the Orange County sheriff's investigator wrote in a a search warrant affidavit. The friend said he could not recall the girlfriend's last name or address. He said he left about an hour later when Bernstein did not return to the vehicle or respond on social media. He alleged he returned to the park several hours later but could not find Bernstein. Detectives noted the friend had dirt under his fingernails during the interview, to which he claimed was caused by a fall. Officials also saw that the friend had several cuts and scratches, but he claimed they stemmed from a "fight club" he was involved in. "On their way out of sheriff's headquarters, [investigators] noticed every door [the friend] had to touch on the way out of the building he pulled his jacket over his hand to prevent his hand and fingers from touching any part of the doors he touched," according to the affidavit. Two suspects allegedly robbed and killed a Florida mother, officials from the Osceola County Sheriffs Office told WESH News. Janice Zengotita-Torres, 42, was leaving a Ross store in Florida on Monday when two men approached her and killed her in what officials said appeared to be a "murder-for-hire" case. The two suspects charged with robbing and killing Zengotita-Torres were hired by a woman named Ishnar Lopez Ramos, who allegedly wanted to murder a woman who "was in a relationship with a man that the suspect, Ishnar, loved," Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said at a news conference Friday. Zengotita-Torres was not that woman. The sheriffs office said the "murder-for-hire" case became a case of "mistaken identity." Lopez-Ramos, 35, is accused of hiring Alexis Ramos-Rivera, 23, and his girlfriend Glorianmarie Quinones-Montes, 22, to murder the woman, NBC News reported. Investigators said the suspects continued to rob and kill Zengotita-Torres even after they realized she was the wrong target. Osceola sheriff's office spokesperson Jacob Ruiz told NBC News that Zengotita-Torres and the intended victim both work at a Ross Dress for Less store from where the suspects followed Zengotita-Torres home. Zengotita-Torres went missing on Jan. 8. Authorities found her body on Ormond Beach days later, miles away from her home. "This woman lost her life for no reason. This mother, this wife, this daughter, for no reason at all, Sheriff Russell Gibson told WESH. Lopez-Ramos is facing a first-degree murder charge. Quinnones-Montes is facing a premeditated murder charge, and Ramos-Rivera is looking at a first degree murder charge as well, authorities said. Dozens of South Florida Haitians gathered to protest President Donald Trump in West Palm Beach on Monday in response to the president reportedly calling Haitians and African nations "s--thole countries" during a White House meeting. "What do we want? An apology!" the protesters chanted as they marched and waved Haitian flags with Trump not far away in Palm Beach County. The White House has not denied that Trump said the word "s--thole," though Trump did push back on some depictions of the meeting. "I don't want my kids to grow up thinking their parents are from a sh--hole country," protester James Leger said. "We're asking you to apologize to the Haitians." A pro-Trump group across the street waved American flags. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies and West Palm Beach Police officers were at the protest scene to make sure everyone stayed safe. The president left Palm Beach County Monday afternoon. This week's news that the Trump administration is ending Temporary Protected Status for 200,000 migrants from El Salvador is also rattling nerves in neighboring Honduras. A decision on the fate of more than 50,000 Hondurans living in the United States under TPS is expected in July, and it could have severe social, economic and political consequences for the Central American nation. Experts say that as in El Salvador, the return of tens of thousands of people plus, potentially, an untold number of their U.S.-born children threatens to exacerbate already-grave problems like high rates of murders and other crime, political instability, widespread poverty and income inequality. "The exit of so many compatriots from the United States would be a social bomb that will immediately explode in Honduras," analyst Raul Pineda Alvarado told The Associated Press. Perhaps most immediately, there would be a hit to remittances, which typically account for about 20 percent of the country's gross domestic product though most of that is sent by Hondurans who would not be affected by cancellation of TPS. Billions of dollars sent home each year help households feed and clothe children, buy a car, build a modest home and keep the lights on. Those expenditures then filter out into the broader economy. Olga Martinez, a 42-year-old cleaning worker in Tegucigalpa, relies on the $150 a month she receives from two sons who are in the United States under the TPS program. It's a significant sum in one of the hemisphere's most impoverished countries, where about 65 percent of the population is poor and many make do on the equivalent of a dollar or two a day. "If I don't have that money, I don't know what I will do," Martinez said. "My life will be very hard because they will come and there is no work here." The U.S. made TPS available for Hondurans after Hurricane Mitch ravaged the country in 1998, killing about 7,000 people and devastating the agricultural sector. The measure allows migrants to live and work in the United States legally. Like with other countries, it was by definition supposed to be temporary until conditions caused by the disaster improved back home. But over the years, successive U.S. administrations kept it in place, believing that other problems such as poverty, corruption and gang-driven violence would have made it difficult for the country to reabsorb those citizens. The Trump administration has made clear it is putting the emphasis back on the word "temporary" as it evaluates TPS, withdrawing it for some 46,000 Haitians and 2,500 Nicaraguans in November and now for the Salvadorans. Back in November it delayed a decision on Hondurans for six months, saying it needed more information. Homicide rates in Honduras and El Salvador have fallen significantly in the last year, though both are still among the highest in the world. Street gangs known as "maras" are ubiquitous and prey on small business owners and families through extortion. For both nations the violence is "still at epidemic levels," said Christine Wade, a professor of political science and international studies at Washington College in Maryland. "So you would basically be returning people to highly insecure countries." Pineda said a flood of returning TPS recipients, in addition to migrants without legal status being deported under a more aggressive U.S. immigration stance, threatens to swell the ranks of the un- and underemployed, aggravating economic inequality and producing "high levels of ungovernability." Honduras is already in the throes of political instability following a disputed November election in which President Juan Orlando Hernandez won a new term and his opponent alleged fraud. At least 17 people died last month in protests over the vote. "Considering how they operated the last election, I don't think there's any evidence whatsoever that the government there can manage the return of 50,000 or 60,000 Honduran nationals and thousands perhaps of their relatives anytime soon," said Michael Allison, a professor of political science at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. "The country and the political and economic conditions are worse there today than in 1998 when Mitch struck." Even Honduras' school system could be sorely tested by an influx of children unaccustomed to learning in a Spanish-language setting, with scarce resources available to accommodate their needs. Allison said he expects not all 50,000 Honduran TPS recipients would return, with some likely remaining illegally and living on the margins of society, others making for Canada or another country and still others seeking residency through marriage or employer sponsorship. But Hernandez's government clearly sees the El Salvador decision as a harbinger and is bracing for impact. "We Hondurans were given the opportunity of six more months for a decision to be made, and the Salvadorans were not," Hernandez said Monday. "Nevertheless we must begin preparing for the eventuality that our compatriots would have to return." "We must think about how we open the doors to them and how they can bring their goods and resources free of taxes to restart a life with greater facilities in Honduras," he added. Like the Salvadorans covered by TPS, who were given a grace period through September 2019 before they must leave the United States, Honduras is now hoping for broader immigration legislation that could include relief for TPS recipients. Hernandez said his government is aggressively lobbying the Trump administration and U.S. lawmakers. "It is the U.S. Congress that is the key piece for the 56,690 Honduran TPS recipients, since they will decide how to enter into an immigration policy that would benefit Hondurans," said Marlon Tabora, the country's ambassador to Washington. On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, introduced a bill that would end TPS while granting permanent residency to qualified enrollees of the program. It's also possible that Honduras could win another 18-month extension out of political considerations. Last month Honduras was one of just nine countries to vote against a U.N. resolution condemning Washington's decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. If Hernandez, a conservative seen as a firm U.S. ally, were to make a similar decision to move his country's embassy, as neighboring Guatemala has already done, it could curry further favor with the Trump administration. "If you're looking at it rationally in terms of policy, you'd have to end TPS for Hondurans if you're going to end it for Salvadorans," Wade said. "If they don't, it's going to look like a total quid pro quo situation." Associated Press writer Freddy Cuevas reported this story in Tegucigalpa and AP writer Peter Orsi reported from Mexico City. A Maryland pastor spent his Sunday sermon addressing President Donald Trump's comments about immigrants from Haiti and Africa that reportedly contained profane language. The Rev. Maurice Watson got a standing ovation during his sermon at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Largo, Maryland. It was a topic undoubtedly addressed in many churches on the day before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but on Sunday, Watson had Vice President Mike Pence sitting in his congregation. Watson said the vice presidents office called him earlier to let him know about Pences visit. I felt I needed to speak up, and I would have spoken up regardless to whether the vice president came or not, Watson said. It wasn't about his being there. This was about trying to be a responsible pastor to speak up for God's people. Watson said there are members of his church who are from Africa and Haiti. The president was accused of using s---hole to describe African countries during an immigration meeting with a bipartisan group of six senators. The president, in the meeting, also reportedly questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the U.S. The pastor called the reported comments dehumanizing but he said he wasnt directing his sermon specifically at the vice president. I did not look at him while speaking, Watson said. I wanted to keep my focus on speaking to my people, because it wasn't a personal attack. I wasn't trying to personally go after the vice president. On Monday, the White House confirmed Pence attended the service but did not characterize his reaction to the sermon. Yes, the VP attended the service yesterday with the Second Lady and Secretary Perdue, according to a statement from an official with the vice presidents office. He was welcomed by the Pastor and the congregation received him with open arms. The VP and Second Lady went from church to lay a wreath at the MLK monument. Watson said under similar circumstances, he would do the same sermon again. If I had to do it 100 times again, I would do it, because it is right, he said. Police in Charles County, Maryland, arrested a substitute teacher after he allegedly sent and received explicit photos of a middle school girl. Charles County Sheriffs Office detectives arrested Keith Allan Krikstan, 30, of Waldorf, Maryland and charged him with child pornography, displaying sexually explicit materials to a minor and sexual abuse of a minor. Detective said students at John Hanson Middle School reported Krikstan, who was a substitute teacher at the school, was having inappropriate communication with another student. Police said he got the cellphone number of a girl and began text her in December 2017. They said the two kept in contact via FaceTime and social media. Detectives said Krikstan convinced the girl to send explicit photos to him and sent some of himself to her. After the discovery, Krikstand was removed from the school, and detectives recovered cellphones and computers from him. Nearly 15,000 people have fled from villages around the Philippines' most active volcano as lava flowed down its crater Monday in a gentle eruption that scientists warned could turn explosive. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology increased the alert level for Mount Mayon late Sunday to three on a scale of five, indicating an increased prospect of a hazardous eruption "within weeks or even days." Lava flowed at least half a kilometer (less than half a mile) down a gulley from the crater on Monday morning and ash clouds appeared mid-slope as lava fragments rolled down, said Renato Solidum, who heads the volcano institute. It was hard to track down the lava flow given the thick clouds shrouding the volcano. Molten rocks and lava at Mayon's crater lit the night sky Sunday in a reddish-orange glow despite the thick cloud cover, leaving spectators awed but sending thousands of residents into evacuation shelters. Disaster-response officials said more than 14,700 people have been moved from high-risk areas in three cities and four towns in an ongoing evacuation. People in the danger area have put up huge white crosses in the past in their neighborhoods, hoping to protect their lives and homes. "There are some who still resist but if we reach alert level four, we'll really be obligated to resort to forced evacuation," Cedric Daep, an Albay emergency official, told The Associated Press. Level four signifies the volcano could erupt violently within days. Mayon lies in coconut-growing Albay province about 340 kilometers (210 miles) southeast of Manila. Three steam-explosions since Saturday have spewed ash into nearby villages and may have breached solidified lava plugging the crater and caused lava to start gushing out, Solidum said. With its near-perfect cone, Mayon is popular with climbers and tourists but has erupted about 50 times in the last 500 years, sometimes violently. In 2013, an ash eruption killed five climbers, including three Germans, who had ventured near the summit despite warnings of possible danger. Experts fear a major eruption could trigger pyroclastic flows superheated gas and volcanic debris that race down the slopes at high speeds, incinerating or vaporizing everything in their path. More extensive explosions of ash could drift toward nearby towns and cities, including Legazpi city, the provincial capital, about nine miles (15 kilometers) away. The bulletin sent Sunday night said a hazardous eruption was possible within weeks or even days. It said the glow in the crater signified the growth of a new lava dome and that the evacuation zone should be enforced due to the dangers of falling rocks, landslides or a collapse of the dome. Airplanes have been warned not to fly close to the volcano. Mayon's first recorded eruption was in 1616. The most destructive in 1814 killed 1,200 people and buried the town of Cagsawa in volcanic mud. The belfry of a Cagsawa church juts out of the ground in a reminder of Mayon's deadly fury and has become a tourist attraction. Associated Press writer Jim Gomez contributed to this report. A Massachusetts man who has been wanted for more than 16 years on multiple warrants was arrested Friday, police say. Eric Rivera-Velez, 39, of Methuen, is facing charges for cocaine trafficking and being a fugitive from justice. Methuen police say they received an anonymous tip Wednesday about potential drug sales out of a Brook Street home. On Friday officers saw Rivera-Velez and determined he was one of the residents of the home in question. After they confirmed his identity they learned he had multiple warrants out of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Rivera-Velez was listed on Rockingham Countys Most Wanted list and was wanted since 2002. Police say Rivera-Velez had numerous aliases and altered fingerprints. He was arrested on three warrants out of Lawrence District Court for drug trafficking and being a fugitive from justice. He has two warrants out of Rockingham County, New Hampshire, for conspiracy to sell drugs. It's not clear when he will appear in court or if he has an attorney. Police say the cold weather after Monday's snowfall has led to multiple crashes in southeastern Massachusetts. State police tweeted around 1:30 p.m. that there had been "numerous" crashes and spin-outs on Route 3 in Duxbury and Route 44 in Carver because of black ice. Police in Carver added that they were assisting Plymouth Police after "multiple accidents" on Federal Furnace Road, which leads to Tremont Street in Carver, where traffic was being detoured. Authorities would like drivers to be cautious when traveling in the area. Police are searching for a man they say robbed and injured a woman in the parking lot of a New Hampshire Market Basket store. Officials say a woman was loading groceries into her car at the Southgate Plaza in Seabrook Friday night when she was notified that a man had taken her wallet from her purse. When she confronted the suspect, the two got into a physical altercation and he ran to his vehicle to try to get away. "He jumped into the vehicle, there was an altercation, the suspect punched the victim in the face," said Seabrook Detective Scott Mendes. The woman, who has not been identified, grabbed hold of the suspect's door in an attempt to stop him, but she was tossed off after the car sped up around a corner. She was taken to a nearby hospital with multiple injuries and has not been discharged yet. Surveillance video shows the woman being flung from the car, skidding across the lot and landing on the sidewalk. Many shoppers at the same supermarket where the incident happened say they also keep their purse or pocketbook in their grocery cart. "I always get yelled at from my boyfriend about it but it's just like a habit," said Bri Lacarubba. "It's just an easy spot to put it." Joe Michaud says she likes to use a carriage with a child safety strap and loop it through her handbag. "I usually put that through my pocketbook so that if anyone were to run off it would hold them up," she says. As for the continuing investigation, authorities released surveillance footage of the man on Sunday, but identified him Monday as 40-year-old Freddy Poisson, whose last known address was in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Seabrook Police Authorities say Poisson was seen at a CVS, allegedly using the victim's credit card. Police are also looking for a silver SUV, but the make and model are not known at this time. While officials believe they know who the suspect is, they could use a good tip to locate him. Anyone with information is urged to call the Seabrook police department at 603-474-5200, or the anonymous crime line at 603-474-2640. If you want to speak to a detective in person, you can also visit the Seabrook police department at 7 Liberty Lane. An Army veteran who lived with a scalpel in his abdomen for four years after it was left inside him during surgery at the VA Hospital in West Haven, Connecticut has filed a malpractice lawsuit against the United States, Connecticut, according to the man's attorney. Glenford Turner filed the lawsuit on Friday, months after an X-ray revealed a scalpel in his abdomen. The 61-year-old Iraq war veteran, who lives in Bridgeport, was suffering from dizziness and abdominal pains, according to Faxon Law Group, the group that filed the malpractice lawsuit. "Any one of those organs could have been pierced by this and he could have been killed," attorney Joel Faxon said. Turner went to the West Haven campus of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System on March 29, 2017, for an MRI, but his pain got worse and the process was abruptly stopped, according to Faxon Law Group. X-rays revealed that a scalpel had been left inside the veterans body, near his stomach and intestines. Doctors determined it was left from a prostate cancer procedure performed on Aug. 30, 2013, at the West Haven VA, according to Faxon Law Group. "In my judgment, its clearly a seven-figure case when somebody leaves a scalpel like this in you and you have the future risk of having infections or adhesions or other problems that could necessitate additional surgery," Faxon said in an interview. In April 2017, Turner went through surgery to remove the scalpel. Faxon said he filed a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs on Turner's behalf with the West Haven VA under the Federal Torts Claims Act a few months later in June, but the issue was not resolved, which is why they filed the federal lawsuit last week. The lawyer calls it "an incomprehensible level of incompetence." U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal responded to the lawsuit with a statement, saying he was "appalled and stunned" by the "egregious" malpractice. "While the court determines liability, I have asked for a detailed explanation from VA of this deeply troubling report," Blumenthal said in the statement. "I am demanding also full accountability so this kind of horrific negligence never happens again. America owes our veterans the worlds best medical care, nothing less." The West Haven VA spokesperson said they haven't had a chance to review the lawsuit since they were closed on Monday for the holiday. They said they hope to provide a response to NBC Connecticut later in the week. A federal judge in Bridgeport has been assigned to the case. Pentecost in prison and new book from Norfolk author Pentecost in prison and new book from Norfolk author Pentecost in a Suffolk prison and a new booklet outlining the Jewish roots to the Christian Faith are two of the latest offerings from Norfolk evangelist and author John Wright. One negative vote cannot change dynamics of India-Israel relation: Netanyahu New Delhi : Just one negative vote at UN cannot change the dynamics of Indian-Israeli relations between India and Israel, visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said here on Sunday, terming relations with India as "marriage made in heaven". "I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and everything and these visits," Netanyahu said when asked to comment on India's vote at UN against US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, in an interview on India Today TV channel. "Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts, be it political, technological, tourism, security and so many other areas. Ultimately you see it reflected in all UN votes, not just now but soon," he added. In December last year, India voted in favour of a resolution brought by Turkey and Yemen in the UN opposing the United States' decision recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The resolution was approved with 127-9 at the UN General Assembly. "First of all there is a special relationship between the two countries, between their people and then between the leaders. The partnership between India and Israel is a marriage made in heaven but consecrated on earth," Netanyahu said, adding he respects his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi "as a great leader" because he is "impatient to bring future to his people". On cooperation in counter-terrorism, he said that intelligence is the key. "And Israel has on the whole superb intelligence. I would say none is better. And we share with you our intelligence and have stopped over the last few years some 30 major terror attacks, which we shared vis-a-vis not India alone but with dozens of countries. "Israel protects lives of so many people. When you board a plane you want to know that plane won't be blown up mid air. It will take off and land safely. When that happens, usually Israel has something to do with it, not on every flight but on many flights," he said. Asked if he approves India's terror strikes launched across the border with Pakistan, he said that India makes its own choices and "you fight terrorism by fighting it". As the interviewer persisted, a smiling Netanyahu said: "Well, I am trying to be a foreign minister. I am trying to be a diplomat, because I hold two portfolios -- the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister at the same time." Asked if Israel can use his good offices with China to persuade it to not veto a resolution against Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, Netanyahu said: "I think these things are best discussed not on television, especially if you want to make progress." However, he also said: "But our defence relationship is quite significant and comprises many things. I think the key word here is defence. We want to defend ourselves, we are not aggressive nations. We are very committed to making sure that none can commit an aggression against the either one of us." On the bilateral trade relations, the Israeli Prime Minister said that "there is a whole world that is erupting, exploding". Advocating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with India to boost and deepen bilateral economic relations, he said: "Israel is changing so rapidly. We are creating industries. We have just created a car industry in just last five years. We have 500 start-ups dealing with automation of car. "And there are other areas like water, agriculture, energy, health, transportsation. There is a whole world that is erupting, exploding. Future belongs to those who innovate... Israel is an innovation nation. India has innovations. In Silicon Valley there are two dialects you hear -- Hindi and Hebrew and only a little English." He said that when he visited the iconic Teen Murti war memorial at Haifa circle, he felt "an expression of gratitude" because it was Indian soldiers who fell down while defending the city of Haifa (now in Israel) during WW-I. "It's closing of a circle 100 years later," he said. In a sign of growing importance to the ties with Israel, the government on Sunday renamed Delhi's Teen Murti Chowk as Teen Murti-Haifa Chowk after the Israeli city. Netanyahu is on a six-day visit to India, the first Israeli Premier to visit India after 2003 when Ariel Sharon came. Setting aside protocol, Modi went to personally receive Netanyahu. 7.3 magnitude quake off Peru sparks tsunami fears Washington : A 7.3 magnitude earthquake on Sunday hit the coast of Peru, sparking tsunami fears, according to the US Geological Survey. The massive quake hit 31km south-southwest of Acari in the Ring of Fire region, express.co.uk reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said tsunami waves are possible within 300 km of the epicentre along the coast of Peru while the National Weather Service officials also confirmed that there is a tsunami risk, around 300km from the centre. Peru is located in the Ring of Fire, an area in the Pacific Ocean prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It has become a travel hotspot for tourists hoping to see ancient Incan city Machu Picchu and part of the Amazon rainforest. Pope Francis is due to visit the country in the coming days. In cavernous jet hangars in and around Mexico City, Interjet has a secret. Four of the Mexican airline's Sukhoi Superjet 100s -- out of a fleet of 22 -- have been grounded for at least five months because of engine maintenance delays. The Russian-made aircraft, which average just four years old, are now being cannibalized, an industry term for when a plane is slowly scrapped for parts to keep other jets running. A grounded plane is a wasted plane, and Interjet's offline aircraft are symbolic of an airline that's veered off course. Once one of Mexico's hopefuls to bring a new era of competition to the industry, Interjet has muddled along with a questionable strategy while more nimble rivals have appeared on the scene. Now, the stranded Sukhoi Superjets are adding to concerns about whether ABC Aerolineas, the company's formal name, will ever thrive. "There are doubts about the viability of the business," says Carlos Ozores, an air-transport specialist at ICF, a consulting and technology services company based in Virginia. "The only way for an airline to make money is to keep flying." Interjet confirmed the grounded aircraft but said it's in good financial shape. The parked-plane situation can be traced back to a decision Chief Executive Officer Jose Luis Garza made half a decade ago when he agreed to buy the little-known and largely untested Sukhoi Superjets, which are backed by Italy's Leonardo and Russia's Sukhoi. The engines are made by France's Safran and a Russian partner. JSC Sukhoi doesn't have a single maintenance facility in the Americas. Airbus, which services the rest of Interjet's fleet, operates three. That's important because planes need regular and meticulous upkeep. It's like driving a Hummer in a land of Volkswagens. For a time you'll be fine, but once the vehicle requires so much as a tune-up, finding the parts and the labor to fix it will be both tricky and costly. "The supply chain with this aircraft has been a process," Garza says from his office overlooking the Mexico City airport. "But we're getting to where we want to be with them." To ease maintenance problems, a $7 million consignment stock is being set up this year with Sukhoi parts, he said. "The decision to buy them was a technical and economical one," he says, calling the deal an "extraordinary acquisition agreement" the company wouldn't have gotten from Brazilian maker Embraer. Interjet made a splash as Mexico's first airline for the budget-conscious flyer when it was founded in 2005 by the Aleman family, the son and grandson of a former president. The company's regional focus and deeply discounted ticket prices quickly turned it into the No. 2 airline by passengers as of 2011. But in the years that followed, the carrier hit turbulent skies, causing the company's overall market share to stagnate while ultra-low-cost rival Controladora Vuela Compania de Aviacion, known as Volaris, has seen its stake soar. "It'll be hard for it to survive without a change of strategy," Ozores says. "It's hard operating in the middle." The middle that Ozores is referring to is the point between low-cost carrier and a full-service one. Interjet's original economic model has slowly morphed into a sort of hybrid, so that these days, the carrier is trying to compete on price and service -- and falling short on both fronts. Garza says Interjet has focused its growth strategy on international routes since 2014, almost doubling its share of foreign flights to and from Mexico to about 21 percent as of November from 11 percent in 2014. While that's helped boost the company's dollar income -- a boon for companies battered by a local currency that's lost a third of its value in five years -- Interjet has paid a heavy price to compete with its bigger rivals. Interjet freebies likes snacks and checked luggage put its costs on par with full-service rivals like Grupo Aeromexico. It also boasts of comfy leg room, adapting the seating configuration on its Airbus aircraft so that its planes fly an average 13 percent below capacity. Despite those perks, Interjet's image is still solidly stuck in the domain of budget carriers. But its prices are sometimes more than double those of Volaris, which started operations in 2006. "We're told we're leaving money on the table," Garza says. "Does that mean we should overbook flights and start charging for everything? We don't think so." Meanwhile, Interjet's leverage -- Bloomberg estimates net debt is 7.1 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amotization and rent -- tops Aeromexico's ratio of 5.1 or Volaris's 5.2 times. Says Michael Duff, director at data researcher The Airline Analyst: "A relatively high financial risk is how I'd categorize them." It's for that reason that keeping a constant eye on costs is so crucial. For low-cost carriers, that usually means limiting fleets to a single aircraft to save on maintenance-training costs. But Interjet's 22 Superjet 100 planes coexist with its 50 Airbus A320 jetliners as well as six Airbus A321 aircraft. "The most important defining characteristic of a low-cost carrier is an airline that's able to keep costs low, whatever way they manage to do it," says Triant Flouris, an International Air Transport Association flight instructor and academic at the Hellenic American University in Greece. It was about a year ago that CEO Garza's decision to bet on the Sukhoi Superjet first came back to haunt him in a big way. In December 2016 -- peak travel season for holiday flyers -- the Russian aviation authority warned of a defect in a part that helps the aircraft fly straight in the air. After Interjet inspected its own planes, it grounded half its Sukhoi Superjet fleet and was forced to cancel 25 flights, Garza said at the time. Although the planes were back in service by the following month, the damage was done. Some consumers began a social media campaign to pressure Mexico's consumer watchdog to ban Interjet from flying the planes ever again, although nothing came of the requests. "The Superjet hasn't become very popular outside of Russia," Flouris says. "Most of the airlines that I've seen flying this jet are closer to Russia." The 2012 Sukhoi Superjet purchase was the best choice for Interjet given Mexico City's temperatures, altitudes and the routes they were intended to cover, CEO Garza says. It was a bold bet on Russia's first major passenger aircraft since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The single-aisle aircraft sold for about a half of the price of comparable jets from Brazil's Embraer or Canada's Bombardier Inc. During a promotional flight in May 2012 -- just three months before Interjet exercised an option to buy more planes -- one of the first Sukhoi Superjets ever produced crashed into a mountain in Indonesia, killing all 45 aboard. Indonesian investigators said human error was the most likely cause. Sukhoi did not respond to requests for comment. Today, Interjet is Sukhoi's second-biggest customer -- behind only Aeroflot. Interjet board Chairman Miguel Aleman Velasco said at an October event that the company is even considering adding to its Russian-made fleet with the purchase of Sukhoi's twin-engine MS-21s when they roll out in 2019. Interjet has some financial challenges to overcome in the meantime. Financial reports show maintenance costs are rising faster than other expenses, and they now top what Aeromexico pays to keep its planes running, Duff says. Aircraft-leasing firms have boosted deposit requirements for the airline, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst George Ferguson says, adding that "lessors are probably paying close attention to their operations." Out of its 78-aircraft fleet, the company owns 30 and leases the rest. A 3.2 billion-peso cash injection put forth by the Aleman family last year helped the company pay down most of its short-term liabilities. The company's financial debt of about 12.4 billion pesos is made up of 800 million pesos in Cebures -- a type of domestic bond -- and bank loans in dollars with an average maturity of four years, Chief Financial Officer Raul Lopez says. "We paid down short-term debt because that's what had analysts worried," Garza says. Mexico's government has reason to be worried, too. The nation took a major blow when Mexicana de Aviacion filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations in 2010. Mexicana's chairman was charged with alleged embezzlement (the charges were later dropped), and hundreds of pilots and flight attendants saw large chunks of their pension funds shrink. Mexico's aviation market, meanwhile, lost one of its biggest players, opening the void that Interjet, Volaris and Aeromexico would ultimately fill. The Aleman family has flirted with the idea of taking the company public for several years. In 2011, an IPO was scrapped at the last minute after a slumping Mexican market and higher fuel costs weakened investor demand. In 2013, Chairman Aleman Velasco said the company, which holds valuable takeoff and landing rights at Mexico City's crowded airport, planned to raise as much as $1 billion with a stake sale of up to 25 percent. The carrier last year sought to sell an equity stake to a foreign airline such as American Airlines Group Inc. or United Continental Holdings Inc., Aleman Velasco told Bloomberg in an interview in late 2016. No announcement was ever made. Both options -- an equity stake first, then an IPO -- are still on the table and expected by the end of this year or next, Garza says. "The family is going to put as much money into it as they need to keep the lessors financing it," Ferguson says. "At the end of the day, family money is patient." MONDAY PUZZLE This was a powerful one for me, and I am so glad I solved it. Today we are celebrating the birthday of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Agnes Davidson and Zhouqin Burnikel collaborated to make a lovely puzzle to honor him. I dont know a lot about Ms. Davidson, but this is her second puzzle in The New York Times. Its possible that this was a true collaboration between Ms. Davidson and Ms. Burnikel, or perhaps Ms. Burnikel, the more experienced constructor, mentored Ms. Davidson on this one. If you have ever dreamed of trying your hand at constructing and you are on Facebook, join Erik Agard, Will Nediger and a ton of constructors in the Puzzle Collaboration Directory group, where aspiring constructors can meet more experienced hands who will work with them to learn the craft of puzzle making. Todays Theme Kings I Have a Dream speech, delivered from the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963, was made as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, so its fitting that we solve a puzzle about that subject today. Four theme entries that end in a synonym for the hint at 61A are packed into Ms. Davidson and Ms. Burnikels puzzle, and while it was relatively easy to figure out, it still left me with a lump in my throat. I was a baby when King was assassinated, but I still remember my mother crying when the news came out. More police officers have been sent into the New York City subway to address the large number of homeless people sleeping on trains during cold winter nights, the police said. The officers objective is to offer services to the homeless people, from shelter to hospitalization, but their task is a daunting one. In the wee hours of Sunday morning, officers entered an E train while it was held at the last stop, World Trade Center. There were 70 homeless people aboard. The increase in police officers followed a report last week in The New York Times that found dozens of homeless people taking refuge on trains, particularly the E, which for decades has been the line most-used by the homeless because it is subterranean for its entire ride, keeping it warm at night. There have been dozens and dozens of additional officers added to the subway to ensure the safety of our transit system as well as to help with outreach to the homeless particularly in the overnight hours, said J. Peter Donald, the assistant commissioner in the Police Departments public relations office. Dozens of inspectors swarmed the streets of New York City in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, filling out piles of paperwork as they assessed the damage. Over 80,000 buildings were inspected, but city officials realized the process could have been completed more efficiently. So, in late 2016, the Department of Buildings began using technology that allowed inspectors to file reports from the field using a smartphone or tablet. The technology was used in a disaster zone for the first time a few months ago, in Puerto Rico. The Department of Buildings sent a 14-member team to inspect damage to homes and government buildings after Hurricane Maria slammed into the island in September. Inspectors assessed nearly 5,100 structures, helping local officials understand the magnitude of the destruction Having people from the mainland that came in early, left late, and didnt have to worry about not having electricity in their homes it was extremely necessary, said David Carrasquillo Medrano, an adviser on planning and land use affairs for the city of San Juan, the islands capital. A man and his teenage daughter were killed by a fire on Sunday in a public housing complex in the Bronx, the police said. It was the latest in a series of devastating fires in New York City. The victims, Nelson Rojas, 62, and his daughter, Yolanda, 13, died after the fire broke out in the Throgs Neck Houses, the police said. Firefighters and police officers responding to a 911 call at 12:13 p.m. went to the building at 2821 Dewey Avenue, where they found Mr. Rojas and his daughter inside a fourth-floor apartment. Both were taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. The cause of the fire was still under investigation on Sunday, the police said. The medical examiner will determine the cause and manner of their deaths, the police said. The six-month window to arrive at a permanent replacement for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is about to close, and Congress is scrambling to reach a deal acceptable to the White House. But the president isnt making it easy. On last Tuesday, Mr. Trump called for a bipartisan bill of love and promised not to quibble about details, as long as it contained funding for the wall. On Thursday, he suggested that an acceptable deal will restrict immigration from shithole countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa. Democrats are piqued, but they must not let Mr. Trumps incoherence and prejudice keep them from signing on to a deal even one that includes wall funding. The future of nearly 800,000 Dreamers young undocumented immigrants is on the line. Those of us who care about our innocent friends and neighbors brought to America as children wont gamble with their lives. Democrats are feeling bullish. With a midterm wave, the House seems like a lock. Even a Senate majority now seems within reach. With spirits so high, some Democrats will be tempted to indulge in best-case-scenario thinking. As a researcher who studies how college students live, I hear frequently from people who say that struggling a bit to get through college is fine in fact, its better than fine because it teaches you to work hard for what you want. After all, they had side jobs in college; they ate Ramen noodles. Thats just how it goes. But what is happening today is very different. For decades, many students survived on little to afford college. But over time, the situation worsened to the point where now, hunger and homelessness routinely undermine students very ability to learn. Even though a far greater percentage of college students qualify for financial aid than in the past, colleges and states have fewer dollars per student to allocate to them. Students cant trust in a government safety net, either. It used to be the case that relatively few low-income women with children attended college, but those who did could receive welfare while in school. Today, one in four college students have a child, and yet most of these parents cant get aid (or affordable child care) because of federal work requirements that require them to work 20 to 30 hours a week to get cash assistance. Food stamps have onerous requirements, too. Students without children who qualify for food stamps often cannot receive them without working 20 hours a week on top of going to school. While that might sound easy, it isnt students are competing in a difficult job market for part-time, low-wage jobs. They are at a disadvantage because they lack flexibility and, often, experience. And through all of this, the value of the real minimum wage continues to decline. No wonder so many children are growing up in poverty. It all began in December, when a Dutch TV reporter asked Mr. Hoekstra about comments he made in 2015. The Islamic movement has now gotten to a point where they have put Europe into chaos, Mr. Hoekstra said at the time. Chaos in the Netherlands. There are cars being burned. There are politicians that are being burned and yes, there are no-go zones in the Netherlands. Mr. Hoekstra said the reporters claim about the statement was fake news. The reporter then showed a video clip of the remarks, prompting Mr. Hoekstra to deny he had just used the term fake news. The exchange went viral. Last week, Dutch reporters had one question they particularly wanted to press Mr. Hoekstra on: Would he admit that his 2015 claims were false, or could he cite an example of a Dutch politician who was burned in recent years? Looking like a deer in headlights, the ambassador tried to brush off his interrogators. Maybe Mr. Hoekstra had watched President Trump spew lies and hate without apology for so long that he thought he could get away with it, too. Not in The Hague, apparently. The journalists came back repeatedly This is the Netherlands, you have to answer questions, one said. They invoked a quote from John Adams, the first American envoy to the Netherlands, about honest and wise men. They were probably being ironic. One of them is Shael Polakow-Suransky, president of Bank Street College of Education. Early in his career, he worked as a teacher and then as a principal in New York City. He served in several positions at the citys Department of Education, including as senior deputy chancellor, overseeing teaching and learning across the school system during a time of real transformation. Another is Jaime Aquino, who once worked as a local superintendent in the city and went on to do distinguished work in the Denver school system. He is now chief program officer for New Leaders for New Schools, a nonprofit focused on developing principals. Paymon Rouhanifard, the superintendent of the Camden City School District in New Jersey since 2013, was also trained in New York City. In Camden, which was seen as one of the most troubled school systems in the country, Mr. Rouhanifard has improved graduation rates and lowered suspension rates. He has shown a tireless enthusiasm for the job and appears to be having a dramatic impact on public attitudes in Camden toward education. John White, who has served as the Louisiana state superintendent of education since 2012, is another highly competent manager who formerly worked for the New York City Department of Education. In Louisiana, he has vigorously pushed reforms on curriculum and teacher preparation. In 2015, the states fourth graders showed the most growth in the country in the reading test of the federally backed National Assessment of Educational Progress, and the second-most in the math test. Graduation rates have risen under his stewardship, and many more students have completed high school with early college credits. Among the candidates without roots in New York that Mr. de Blasio should consider is Kaya Henderson, who garnered a national reputation for leadership in the once beleaguered district of Washington, D.C., before stepping down in 2016. Over her six years at the helm, she strengthened academic offerings, created more confidence in the city schools, and engineered a personnel evaluation system that rewards highly competent teachers and steers the lowest performers out the door. An independent 2016 study found that this system had a significant impact on student learning. To that great floating map of unreal estate the one where you find Shangri-La, Brigadoon and Emerald City you can add the village of Ballyturk. Thats the title of the dark and enigmatic cosmic farce by Enda Walsh that opened on Sunday night at St. Anns Warehouse in Brooklyn. And its quite a place to spend and, if possible, stall time. To be clear (or as clear as its possible to be in discussing a chimera), Ballyturk is not quite the setting of Ballyturk, which is directed with rabid verve by Mr. Walsh and features a highly expressive cast of three. That quaint, gossip-clotted town doesnt really exist, except in the imaginations of a fraternal pair identified only as One and Two. One (Tadhg Murphy) is the younger of them, a reedy and anxious being prone to seizures and terrors. Two (Mikel Murfi) is of a heartier constitution, and steadier on his feet, at least marginally. Theres a touch of both Laurel and Hardy and Cain and Abel to these overgrown boys, who sometimes dream of fratricide. By and large, though, they get along. They have to. For all intents and purposes, theyre the sole inhabitants of their very limited universe. Which would appear to be a single warehouse-cum-bunker (Jamie Vartan is the designer) that looks uncompromisingly bleak, though it has a few tricks up its walls. A Nissan sedan became airborne and crashed into a California dental office on Sunday morning, coming to rest dangling out of the buildings second story, the authorities said. The police in Santa Ana, Calif., said the car clipped a median outside the building and flew about 60 feet before slamming into the 17th Street Dental Office. The crash, which happened at about 5:25 a.m., rattled guests in a motel next door but the dental practice was closed at the time. The woman had been taken to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point in critical condition on Sunday and died at 10:42 p.m., the hospital spokesman, Kurt Conover, said on Monday. Beth Fifer, an assistant to the chief executive officer of the Tropical Breeze Casino, said on Monday that she had spoken to the family of the deceased woman but had no further information. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the fire, Michael De Nyse, a Coast Guard spokesman, said in an interview on Monday. About a dozen other people were treated for exposure, anxiety and other minor injuries, Chief DeCanio said on Sunday. Chief DeCanio said on Sunday that quick thinking by the shuttle boats captain helped avoid a disaster. Shortly after the vessel left the dock, the captain spotted smoke spewing from the engine room and decided to turn around. But the fire rapidly grew, so the captain steered the boat toward the shore, allowing passengers to jump off into shallow water, Chief DeCanio said. Another quarter-mile out, this would have been a tragedy, he said. The Sun Cruz shuttle boat makes several trips daily from the city of Port Richey to a casino boat about three and a half miles offshore, in international waters where gambling is legal. The false alarm about an incoming ballistic missile that sent Hawaii into a panic this weekend threatened to turn into a major embarrassment for the state and its politically endangered governor, David Y. Ige, as Hawaii officials moved to head off damage to Hawaiis biggest industry, tourism. The Federal Communications Commission said on Sunday that its initial investigation of the mistaken alert had concluded that Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place in its emergency notification process. The alert was sent to cellphones across Hawaii on Saturday morning when a state employee pushed the wrong button in the midst of a shift-change safety drill. It then took 38 minutes for the agency to withdraw the alert. The prospect of a battery of investigations by state and federal lawmakers, with public testimony about the timeline of events, suggested that the alert would probably be a dominant subject in Hawaii life for months to come. And it quickly emerged as an issue for Mr. Ige, 60, a soft-spoken engineer and a Democrat who is up for re-election this year, and whose leadership style had already been criticized as tepid. He held a news conference five hours after the mistake to apologize, and frequently yielded the microphone to other officials. WASHINGTON Having wiped out the requirement for people to have health insurance, Republicans in Congress are taking aim at a new target: the mandate in the Affordable Care Act that employers offer coverage to employees. And many employers are cheering the effort. While large companies have long offered health benefits, many have chafed at the detailed requirements under the health law, including its reporting rules, which they see as onerous and expensive. Now that relief has been extended to individuals, some companies believe they should be next in line. The individual mandate and the employer mandate are inextricably entwined, said James A. Klein, the president of the American Benefits Council, an influential lobby for large companies like Dow Chemical, Microsoft and BP, the oil and gas producer. It is inequitable to leave the employer mandate in place when its purpose to support the individual mandate no longer exists, Mr. Klein said. We are urging Congress to repeal the employer mandate. RAMALLAH, West Bank President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority said on Sunday that Israel had killed the Oslo Accords and angrily assailed the Trump administration over its handling of the conflict. He vowed to reject American leadership of any peace talks and urged Palestinians to reconsider their signed agreements with Israel. We will not accept for the U.S. to be a mediator, because after what they have done to us a believer shall not be stung twice in the same place, Mr. Abbas said. The deal of the century is the slap of the century, he added, mocking the still-undefined peace initiative that the Trump administration has been working on and promoting in the region. However, well get back at them. Mr. Abbas, 82, stopped well short of embracing an alternative to a two-state solution, the project around which he has built his career. The number of Israelis and Palestinians who hold out hope that such a solution can be achieved is dwindling, but Mr. Abbas said nothing about abandoning it. The French actress Catherine Deneuve apologized to victims of sexual violence who decried a letter she signed with more than 100 other Frenchwomen denouncing the #MeToo movement and its French counterpart, #Balancetonporc, or Expose Your Pig. In a letter published in the newspaper Liberation on Sunday, Ms. Deneuve said that while she stood by the original statement, published in another newspaper, Le Monde, she did not condone sexual abuse or misconduct. Im a free woman and I will remain one, Ms. Deneuve said in the letter to Liberation. I fraternally salute all women victims of odious acts who may have felt aggrieved by the letter in Le Monde. It is to them, and them alone, that I apologize. Last weeks letter, which said that using social media as a forum for sharing experiences of sexual misconduct had gone too far, drew some praise but also international criticism. The signatories argued that the #MeToo movement had caused people who did not deserve to be condemned to face the same consequences as sex offenders. The days may be numbered for the worlds largest passenger aircraft. Airbus, the European aerospace group that makes the A380 superjumbo, said on Monday that it would have to end production of the plane if its only major customer, Emirates, did not order more. The admission by John Leahy, the companys chief operating officer, was the latest indication that Airbus miscalculated more than two decades ago when it bet that clogged runways would create demand for larger planes that could deliver more people with fewer landing slots. Instead, airlines bypassed the major hubs and ordered midsize planes that could fly directly between regional airports. The A380 was better suited to 1995, before air routes fragmented, said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at Teal Group Corp., a consulting firm in Fairfax, Va. Airbus said Monday that it has not given up on the plane, but acknowledged that it is endangered. If we cant work out a deal with Emirates, I think there is no choice but to shut down the program, Mr. Leahy said during a webcast with journalists. LONDON The Guardian, the British newspaper that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of national security leaks in the United States but whose aggressive international expansion has brought heavy losses, switched to a tabloid print format on Monday as part of efforts to cut costs. The newspapers shift comes with the British journalism industry in a state of flux, as declining advertising revenues have forced various storied publications to make major changes, from firing hundreds of journalists to shutting down print operations entirely. The challenges mirror many of the difficulties faced by legacy publications the world over as they attempt to transition to more digitally savvy operations. The Guardian had long been a standard-bearer in Britain for that shift. The left-wing publication focused on courting vast numbers of readers around the world, and it hired dozens of reporters in the United States and Australia in particular. It has ardently refused to set up a paywall the preferred strategy of many of its rivals, from The Times of London to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times opting instead to ask its readers for donations, even setting up a nonprofit arm to help fund its journalism. For a while, that strategy appeared to bear fruit. The Guardian shared a Pulitzer Prize with The Washington Post in 2014 for coverage of documents leaked by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor. That a British newspaper won a prestigious award that had largely been the domain of American publications illustrated the scale of its ambition. At a morning meeting last month, Sonic executives were discussing a new marketing strategy. In a show of how successful its two-men-in-a-car commercials have been TV ad spending is the companys biggest marketing expense they were hoping to replicate that formula with two women. (Company executives frequently mention that 58 percent of the Sonics customers are women.) Names of female comedians and actresses were being tossed out. Among the hoped-for criteria projected on the rooms wall was a note to avoid political choices. Sonic is rare for the number of women and minorities in its top ranks, including its chief financial officer, chief marketing officer, chief brand officer and general counsel. And as of this month, white males are a minority of the independent directors on its board; including Mr. Hudson, they account for half of the group. (To put that in perspective, recent data from Equilar shows that women account for only 16.5 percent of the board members of Russell 3000 companies as of Dec. 31.) Ms. Thronson, who was previously the senior vice president for global marketing at Marriott, said that it was new for her to serve on a board with four women but that the change didnt take place overnight: Its not investors and outside people saying, Do this, but really believing there is something about cognitive variety and that different perspectives create better outcomes. As for how it influences boardroom dynamics, she said, When theres one, were a token, and by four, it takes gender off the table. Mr. Hudson started at Sonics legal department in the 1980s after attending law school at Georgetown University. He became its chief executive in the mid-1990s after helping take the company public. In that time, the company and society have continually changed. Theres a lot of folks that feel like the America they understood in the 50s, 60s and maybe the early 70s is an America they dont understand today as much, and theyre reacting to that, Mr. Hudson said. But this is where leaders of all sorts can talk about a big tent instead of talking about a divisiveness, and talk about how we approach this so we have opportunity for everybody instead of a divide-and-conquer approach. The strongest thing we can do, he added, is attempt to lead by example and be open about it. The League of Kitchens, which trains immigrants to give cooking lessons in their home kitchens, will host a vegetarian dinner in February at the James Beard Foundation. Rachana Rimal, one of the leagues instructors, will cook the Nepali menu. Cheese-filled spinach croquettes, cauliflower fried in chickpea batter, and black dal served with mustard greens, roasted eggplant, basmati rice and pickles are among the items planned. An Uzbek dinner, which will be the first halal meal at the Beard House, is planned for May: Nepalese Vegetarian Feast, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m., $135 for members, $175 for nonmembers, James Beard Foundation, 167 West 12th Street (Seventh Avenue), jamesbeard.org. Follow NYT Food on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Get regular updates from NYT Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice. Oysters from Canada are available at the Lobster Place in Chelsea Market. Credit... Caitlin Ochs for The New York Times The galvanization of women, whether as candidates for political office or as voices speaking up as part of the #metoo movement, has challenged yet another traditionally sacred practice: the airbrushing of beauty images into unachievable perfection. This week, CVS, the American pharmaceutical giant, has pledged to stop materially altering all of the imagery associated with its beauty products in stores, on its website and on social media. Starting in April, the photographs women see when they go to buy a CVS brand lipstick or perfume or moisturizer will not have been so smoothed, color-corrected or otherwise remastered as to produce overwhelming insecurity in the shopper. It was really a response to the bigger conversation women are having over their own level of empowerment in society, said Helena Foulkes, the president of CVS Pharmacy and executive vice president of CVS Health. To not, in other words, be complicit in sending a message to shoppers about not being good enough by showing them photographs of women they should aspire to be, knowing that such aspiration is actually impossible because even the women in the photos dont look like they do in the photos. LONDON The model in the latest Victoria Beckham eyewear advertising campaign looks young and waiflike, her twiglike limbs in a silken tunic and cotton-candy pink slacks, her face as full of sharp angles as the square-frame tortoiseshell spectacles perched on her nose. The glossy image of the Lithuanian model Giedre Dukauskaite, published by Ms. Beckham on social media last week as she unveiled designs from her spring and summer 2018 eyewear range, has drawn a fierce public response. It is not the first time the fashion designer has been accused of promoting an unhealthy body image while advertising her luxury products, and is just the latest campaign to fan the perennial debate around when thin is too thin. In a recent study the research and advocacy group Model Alliance conducted in conjunction with Harvard and Northeastern University, the results of which were published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, 81 percent of the models surveyed reported a body mass index of less than 18.5, which the World Health Organization considers underweight. HOUSTON For a small person who had surgery before he was even born, and whod just spent an hour and a half squeezing through a tight space that clamped down on his head every few minutes, Baby Boy Royer was showing a feisty spirit. He arrived pink and screaming on Friday at 5:35 a.m., two days before his official due date, weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces, and almost 20 inches long. Within moments of his birth at Texas Childrens Hospital, he did what his parents and doctors had eagerly hoped to see: He moved his legs and feet, a sign that the operation may have prevented damage to the spinal nerves needed for walking. Indeed, placed on his belly, he managed to pull a knee underneath himself and push off, as if he intended to crawl away from the nurses who were trying to swaddle him. CONGERS, N.Y. Of all the coyotes that roam Dr. Davies Farm, looking for prey on this apple-picking orchard less than an hour from New York City, manager James Higgins says one of the pack stands out: Bigger and with more gray fur than its mates, this wolflike canine is a reason, Mr. Higgins says, there are fewer deer nibbling at Dr. Daviess stock. We love having him here, Mr. Higgins said as he drove around the property on an ad hoc coyote safari. There were no sightings, but Mr. Higgins ventured a profile of the creature: aloof, calm, uninterested in people. Anytime he sees any kind of human activity, he bolts, Mr. Higgins said. As long as he stays in his space and we stay in ours, everyone works in harmony. Image The Clarkstown Police Department posted a photograph of what they called a coywolf on Facebook last month. Credit... via Clarkstown Police Department Not everyone shares Mr. Higgins fondness for this supposed hybrid predator, known by some as coywolves, which have spread from upstate to semirural New York and the New Jersey suburbs, and migrated as far into the city grid as Rikers Island and La Guardia Airport where officials had one pack euthanized in November 2016 over the objections of animal-rights activists. The senators pushback began even before Ms. Vladimers story was published, with a pre-emptive conference call with reporters last week alongside his girlfriend, Senator Diane J. Savino of Staten Island. Mr. Kleins lawyer then offered an investigative memo, accusing Ms. Vladimer of acting unusually and drinking heavily the night of the incident, during a post-budget celebration in Albany. (In her statement, Ms. Vladimer characterized Mr. Kleins campaign against her claims as all-too-familiar gaslighting methods, which help to compel victims of abuse to remain silent, particularly when abuse comes from men in positions of high authority.) Asked about the motivation for the letters of support, a spokeswoman for the I.D.C., Barbara Brancaccio, said, Individuals who currently and have formerly worked with, and for, Jeff Klein throughout his 30 years in public service have every right to stand up for his character, just as Senator Klein has the right to defend himself. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has worked closely with the Independent Democratic Conference, and has been accused of facilitating the groups partnership with Mr. Flanagan, has twice called for an investigation, but has offered no details on who would handle it. That has not satisfied some activists and protesters who feel that the governor should be more outspoken, particularly considering the national reckoning over sexual harassment in the workplace something Mr. Cuomo has promised will be a major part of his 2018 agenda. He has said the bare minimum to slip away from any responsibility, said Heather Stewart, of the group Empire State Indivisible, calling Mr. Cuomo a poor champion for justice. The governors office flatly rejects that assertion, noting the governors call for an independent probe into Mr. Kleins actions, and saying on Monday that Mr. Cuomo will include a raft of measures aimed at fighting sexual harassment in his budget presentation on Tuesday, effectively forcing the issue into immediate negotiations. Melissa DeRosa, the secretary to the governor, said that the issue would be Mr. Cuomos highest priority. He recognizes its a moment for change, she said on Monday. And he wants to seize upon it. Ms. Vladimer said in an interview on Sunday that she appreciated the governors call for an investigation, though what that means to him remains to be seen. She also said she understood that Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Klein had a working relationship. You cannot overlook that the I.D.C. has, in some ways, been helpful to him, she said, of the governor. At 90, Beverly Herzog is writing songs for the first time. Once a week, a music therapist helps Mrs. Herzog transform her thoughts into lyrics, then sings them back to her mellifluously over the strums of her guitar. The result can be transformative. When Mrs. Herzog listened during a session in December, she marveled at how magically the music reflected her views on love and life. I cant believe it, Mrs. Herzog said in her room at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale in the Bronx. So I sit with my mouth open, I do. And Im starting to get an appreciation, not just swallowing it, she added. Not because its a song that we wrote together, but because it feels, like, complete, for all of us. Suffering from memory loss, Mrs. Herzog can sometimes be confused. In her session, she told her music therapist, Kaitlyn Kelly, that her husband, Bernie, was coming to visit, but he is not alive. She talked about her job taking her away from her family, though she has lived at the home since 2013. But about her songs, she is not confused. She offered detailed edits. Where it says Im getting old, it should say, Im getting older, Mrs. Herzog told Ms. Kelly about a line in a song titled simply, The Song. Because I am getting older now. And it is hard work. One such incident is intolerable, and it opened our eyes to the urgent need for real reform because we simply cannot risk another. A criminal justice system that ignores its cornerstone principle to the detriment of anyone whether they are white, black, Latino, rich or poor delegitimizes it. And we cannot allow this to persist. This year, I am sending a bill to the State Legislature that will close the gap between what our criminal justice system says and what it does. The bill will reform our bail system so that anyone facing misdemeanor or nonviolent felony charges should be released without bail. Those who pose a current danger to a person or persons or pose a risk of flight can still be held in detention, with due process, but no longer will people go to jail for the crime of being poor. In addition to bail reform, we also need discovery reform. New York is one of only 10 states where prosecutors are not required to share with a defendants lawyers basic evidence, including police reports and witness statements, until just before the trial. Expanding discovery will ensure that attorneys have the tools necessary to adequately represent their clients. We will also propose changing procedures and scheduling to move cases faster so that we no longer have people sitting in jail for years waiting to be heard. Backlogs often cause attorneys to request postponements and delays, frequently without the approval of their clients. We propose that any waiver to a speedy trial be put in writing and signed by the defendant. These changes will build on the reforms enacted during my tenure as governor. Last year, we raised the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18, affecting thousands of young people who will have a brighter future. We passed video interrogation and photo array reforms, important changes that protect the integrity of the investigative process. We ended the Rockefeller-era drug sentencing rules that took discretion away from our judges and filled our prisons with nonviolent offenders, and we closed 24 prisons and juvenile detention centers, eliminating prison beds and reducing by more than 5,000 the number of men and women behind bars. Perhaps most significantly, New York became the first and only state to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate, and if necessary prosecute, police-involved killings of unarmed civilians. It is gut-wrenching to try to absorb the enormity of the state-sanctioned murder which I believe executions to be. We talk of having an independent judiciary in Egypt, but it is far from impartial. Whether in a military tribunal courtroom or a civilian one, the arc of the Egyptian moral universe bends not toward justice, but instead toward the political whim of whoever has power. That is especially pronounced in military tribunals. Since Mr. Sisi has been in power, the numbers of death sentences and executions have risen markedly. According to the state news media in Egypt, in 2017 courts handed down 186 death sentences, triple the 60 handed down in 2016. And the number of executions doubled to 44 in 2016 from 22 in 2015. Last year, Egypt executed 16 people. In just the first nine days of 2018, it has hanged almost half that number. When the Egyptian authorities are not putting to death people through their courts, they do so extrajudicially. In April, Human Rights Watch said military forces in the Sinai Peninsula had executed at least two and as many as eight unarmed detainees and covered up the killings to make it appear that the victims were armed terrorists shot to death in a raid. In the 15 hangings on Dec. 26, Egyptian human rights groups have said, the legal procedures were flawed and at least one of the 15 appeared to have been tortured. One lawyer, who was in touch with families and lawyers of those hanged, said the executed mens lawyers were not given time to present an appeal before the defense minister signed off on their executions. And even small mercies were denied. The families had no chance to say goodbye before the men were hanged. In a similar vein, a sister of one of the men hanged last Tuesday told the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr that their families dont know where the executions were carried out, nor how to claim their kins bodies. A military court had scheduled an appeal for Feb. 25 six weeks after the hangings. To the Editor: Linking Generations Through Riches, and Much More (Wealth Matters column, Business Day, Dec. 30) mentions the remarkable Antinori family of Tuscany, an Italian winemaker since 1385. The column says the family is still linked by its vineyards and grand homes, but it did not include something else that is sure to contribute to keeping the family together: the new headquarters outside Florence, one of the most outstanding works of architecture of recent years. This very large, handsome building, built into a scenic hillside so as to nearly disappear from view, has become an inextricable part of the landscape, symbolizing both continuity and growth the essence of a successful family. G. MACKENZIE GORDON LAKEVILLE, CONN. The writer is an architect and landscape designer. The problem with lying, obfuscation and making excuses, though, is that one is often forced to tell more lies, cloud the truth, make more excuses. These words from Mr. Trump are a blight on this nation, a dagger in the very heart of what we claim to be noble about America, a verbal drone fired at our fragile democratic experiment. And if we are honest, we will agree that the national and international damage done by Mr. Trumps recent white-racist virulence is a heavy moral price to pay, a profound moral tragedy. And for those who remain silent, you also stand accused. With his latest display, Mr. Trump has pulled deeply from the white-racist imagination. Shithole refers either to a toilet or the anus. Then again, in Mr. Trumps mouth, it could mean both. So, lets get this right. Places like Haiti, El Salvador and African countries are indicative of places where feces are deposited or places from which feces are expelled. Either way, Haitians, Salvadorans and Africans function, in Mr. Trumps white racist imaginary, as dirt, crap, that which stinks, is foul and nasty, that which causes us typically to recoil. These are the people who bring with them contamination, (Haitians who all have AIDS) which functions as a trope for uncleanness, pollution, corruption. This supports Mr. Trumps white nativist narrative regarding making America great again; it is to make America white, pure, clean, unsullied and moral again. It is not by accident that those who Mr. Trump prefers are from Norway. After all, for Mr. Trump, they are pure, clean, and moral tropes for whiteness. Mr. Trump could have taken this from a Nazi handbook. Nazi ideology embraced Nordicism, which held that whites in Northern Europe were superior, Ubermenschen. Clearly, Mr. Trump, like Hitler, has a preference for Nordic types. This isnt just ignorance on the presidents part; this is moral transgression of the highest order. As Dr. Ibram X. Kendi powerfully pointed out in The Times yesterday, Mr. Trump is clearly not the first racist president, but we should rise up now to demand forcefully that this ideology has no place in the Oval Office. Then again, philosophically, Mr. Trump is not far-off from the anthropological genius of Immanuel Kant who, in On the Different Races of Man, held that the first race, which was obviously white, was very blond (Northern Europe), of damp cold. Unsurprisingly, Kant held that black people, because they are black, are stupid. These are the same black people whom Mr. Trump characterized by saying: You live in your poverty, your schools are no good. You have no jobs. What the hell do you have to lose? The answer is clear: Our souls to a racist. Strange, isnt it? From the shithole of Africa, human life evolved. I guess Mr. Trump knew this, though. After all, he is a very stable genius. The sociologist Joel Kovel wrote that aversion is the cardinal manifestation of modern American racism. This is why we had de jure segregation. White people didnt want to be contaminated by black bodies by mixing with bad blood. White people expressed an aversion toward those of us who were racialized as black. We were considered dirt; stuff that needed to be removed, kept in its place. Like a shithole, like feces. It is better to be flushed away, kept at a distance. White people refused to touch Black people unless it was on their white perverse terms. Like feces, we were expelled from white spaces, we were deemed uncivilized (meaning, not white). Mr. Kovel added: Of all prejudiced-against people, none have suffered the appellation of filthiness so much as Negroes. After all these years of the United States twisting arms and playing footsie, its current president says America has been foolish to give Pakistan billions of dollars because it got nothing but deceit in return. So the Trump administration recently decided to cut off aid to Pakistan for not helping out with Afghanistan. But thats as bad as giving aid to Pakistan for helping out with Afghanistan: The war will continue, still under false pretenses. Trump is only hiding behind the myth of American innocence much like Pakistan disguises its deceit as strategic interest. During these four decades, Pakistans military establishment has convinced the nation that a permanent war is not such a bad thing after all. Never mind the experts who say that Pakistan is on the verge of becoming like Afghanistan another casual insult, which rankles both countries. Pakistan has not only paid in blood as the Pakistani Taliban have blown up schools, mosques and churches, and assassinated leading politicians. It has also acquired a new mind-set that normalizes, even glorifies, mini-massacres. The mass murder of school children is called a collective sacrifice; civilians randomly blown up while going about their business are celebrated as martyrs. A radical (takfiri) interpretation of Islam, imported from Saudi Arabia and perfected during the Afghan jihad, has become so normal that any citizen who opposes violence committed in the name of religion is called an American stooge or a heretic (kafir). Americans say that Pakistan is playing a double game, but they should see the kind of games Pakistan plays with its own citizens. The Pakistani establishment, both political and military, is quick to point out its sacrifices in the war on terror. Look at our causalities, look at our economic losses, it tells America. Then it turns around and tells its own people that the Taliban are not the problem, that America is. The 28th edition of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, the annual fine watchmaking show better known as S.I.H.H., begins in Geneva on Monday. The number of brands exhibiting has increased again this year to 35, with Hermes switching from Baselworld to join Richemonts invitation-only event and five additional independent watchmakers participating in the quirky Carre des Horlogers category. The Ones to Watch Showstoppers this year include the worlds thinnest mechanical watch, IWC Schaffhausens 150th anniversary collection and a customer-friendly new movement from Baume & Mercier. An auction of vintage watches is scheduled for Jan. 18 in the ballroom of the Monaco Yacht Club, an event that ordinarily would not be considered unusual. But this particular sale is set to make a small mark on horological history as the first dedicated to watches made for women, according to its organizer, the French auction house Artcurial. The 92-lot catalog is to feature watches from 1900 to the present day with prices estimated from 1,000 euros to 80,000 euros ($1,200 to $95,830). It is expected to realize a total of about 500,000 in sales. The vintage watch scene is traditionally a male domain, with most sale catalogs containing only a few offerings for women. Mr. Cramer is not too proud to take some dramatic shortcuts: Landlorde not only owns the restaurant but also employs Jen to design the skyscrapers that will replace affordable homes like the one that Waiter and Manager live in. Nor does the playwright hesitate to employ a series of adorable woodland critters to decorate the action. Puppets representing a mouse, a deer and a bluebird urge the characters and presumably the audience on a journey toward goodness, true love and, in Jens case, activism. But if daring to become an activist the word is taboo in this dystopian Disneyland is merely a way of salving liberal guilt, how meaningful can it be? A secret meeting of would-be do-gooders is treated just as satirically as Landlordes greed: The participants, wearing Mardi Gras masks, do little but argue over terminology and who should pay for the doughnuts. Their most coherent chant is I care more about being cool than I do about social justice. Intercutting scenes of Jens moral dithering with scenes in which Waiter and Manager dither emotionally, the playwright convincingly suggests a world in which only evil is decisive. Jen cant even figure out whether love is worth pursuing because it neither advances her professionally nor helps the world. It is, she concludes, outside her mission statement. Madeline Wise, who has the wit and grit of a young Allison Janney, manages to keep Jen from becoming insufferable; shes too real in her absurd self-questioning to dismiss. The rest of the (human) cast, including Ronald Peet as Gil, Annie Henk as Waiter and Elizabeth Kenny as Manager, generally walk the satire tightrope with confidence, neither falling into sketch comedy vacuity on one side nor undeserved pathos on the other. And the sui generis David Greenspan, luxury-cast as Landlorde, creates from his usual drawls and eccentricities a character that exists completely beyond those parameters. Diversity is increasing onstage on Broadway, according to a new study by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition. The study, released Monday, examined the 2015-16 season and found it to be the most diverse the group has reviewed so far, with 35 percent of all roles going to minority actors, up from 30 percent the previous season and 24 percent the year before that. The coalition has now compiled 10 years of data on diversity on New York stages. Musicals like Hamilton, On Your Feet! and The Color Purple have provided opportunities for African-American and Latino performers in particular. During the 2015-16 season, 23 percent of all roles went to African-American actors and 7 percent went to Latino actors. But Asian-American performers dropped to 4 percent of all roles; the arrival of Allegiance, set at a Japanese internment camp during World War II, could not sufficiently offset the departure of The King and I. Plays lagged far behind musicals, with minority actors in only 16 percent of those roles. And most of that casting 14 percent over all went to African-American actors, boosted particularly by Danai Guriras Eclipsed, which is set in Liberia. One of the biggest problems in trying to convince people that they need to immunize against things like the flu is that they dont really feel the pressure. After all, for most people, the flu shot is an inconvenience, and theyre unlikely to get the flu in a given year. So why bother? Quite a few readers expressed this view after my article Why Its Still Worth Getting a Flu Shot on Thursday, including this one. I promise this is an honest question: Are people routinely being destroyed by the flu or something? (I mean, first Id ask, Is everyone but me simply vaccinated, and thus gifting me with herd immunity? And so I did. My first Google search brought me to yearly C.D.C. flu-vaccine coverage statistics, and for the last four years, the percentage of flu-vaccinated adults has been in the low 40s. So... nope.) Im not a particularly healthy person I get colds, sinus infections, etc. but I just cant recall ever having had the flu, or at least *knowing* I had it. This seems to indicate that the flu is either 1) rare enough that its possible for me to have been lucky forever (in which case its fairly rare, apparently), or 2) not severe enough of an illness for me to have noticed experiencing it. Both lead me to conclude that skipping the vaccine is fine. Im just a regular idiot, presumably representing other regular idiots, amenable to changing their habits, but who havent done so not due to obstinance or contrarianism, but due to signals so mixed as to inspire ambivalence and if this article can be said to have provided the why its headline promises, unfortunately it hasnt provided the why idiots like me need to hear: Why is the flu a big deal literally at all? Chrystie, Los Angeles Although I devote some of my articles to telling you not to worry so much about some diseases or other risks, influenza is one thing you actually should worry about. Its terrible; its also far too common. Influenza, commonly called the flu, spreads easily. You can catch it from someone who coughs, sneezes or even talks to you from up to six feet away. You can infect others a day before you show any symptoms, and up to a week after becoming sick. Children can pass along the virus for even longer than that. Influenza is not a reportable disease, so its prevalence must be estimated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that, since 2010, between 9.2 million and 35.6 million people have come down with the flu in the United States each year. That means that in a bad year, more than one in every 10 people in the United States might get it. An Ohio teacher who told a black eighth grader that his friends would lynch him if he didnt finish his work has been put on leave, the school district said, calling the student a hero for standing up to her. The 13-year-old student, Nathan Bell, was chatting with his friends at Mason Middle School in Mason, Ohio, about 25 miles north of Cincinnati, on Dec. 4 when his social studies teacher became frustrated, his mother, Tanisha Agee-Bell, said in a phone interview on Sunday. The teacher told Nathan, who was the only black student in the class, that if he didnt get back on task, then his friends were going to form an angry mob and lynch him, Ms. Agee-Bell said. Nathan responded that her comment was racist, and the teacher, Renee Thole, kept asking him why, Ms. Agee-Bell said. Her job is to teach American history to eighth graders, Ms. Agee-Bell said. How can you teach American history and you dont understand the impact of your words to your students, given our nations history? WASHINGTON In October, when the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could reshape American politics, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. registered an objection. There was math in the case, he said, and it was complicated. It may be simply my educational background, the chief justice said, presumably referring to his Harvard degrees in history and law. But he said that statistical evidence said to show that Wisconsins voting districts had been warped by political gerrymandering struck him as sociological gobbledygook. Last week, Judge James A. Wynn Jr. came to the defense of math. It makes no sense for courts to close their eyes to new scientific or statistical methods, he wrote in a decision striking down North Carolinas congressional map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. Judge Wynn directed his criticism to Republican state lawmakers, who had urged his three-judge Federal District Court to ignore what they called a smorgasbord of alleged social science theories, and not to Chief Justice Roberts. But Judge Wynn did use one of Chief Justice Robertss most prominent opinions to make the point that numbers can have a role to play in judicial decision making. Before the march, the Womens March logo, created by Nicole LaRue, a designer who worked pro bono, was shared freely with groups all over the world. Since then, Womens March Inc. has tried to exert greater control over who can use it. Canadian activists who held marches in solidarity with the Womens March on Washington were outraged when American activists with Womens March Inc. in New York registered the name Womens March Canada and appointed a board without consulting them. We believe our network has shown itself to be excellent custodians of the Womens March spirit and ethos, and respectfully request the time and space to prepare a plan to move ahead in unity and solidarity, they wrote in an open letter to national co-chairwomen of the Womens March on Washington. After they did not get a response, they renamed themselves March On Canada and created the Twitter hashtag #DontTradeMarkTheMovement. They are now affiliated with, but not controlled by, March On. Jo Reger, professor of sociology at Oakland University in Michigan, says the feminist movement, like other important social movements, has always had people coming together and then breaking apart. We think it looks so chaotic and full of factions and what it really looks like is every other social movement, Dr. Reger said. Often those factions end up coming back together later on. So far, the split between Womens March and March On has not dampened the enthusiasm for marking the anniversary. Many activists in the field said they were unaware of the division. Those who are say they seek resources from both organizations: Womens March Inc. provides a unifying vision and a national spotlight, while March On gives on-the-ground support, such as legal advice on applying for nonprofit status. In a deadly shootout on Monday that transfixed Venezuela, security forces surrounded the Caracas hide-out of a rebel band led by a rogue helicopter pilot who was once an action movie actor and is now the governments most wanted man. They dont want us to surrender, they want us dead! the rebel leader, Oscar Perez, shouts in one of a series of videos posted on Twitter that showed him bloodied and under siege. In a statement on Monday, Venezuelan officials said they had dismantled what they called a dangerous terrorist group, saying five members had been captured. Two police officers were killed and five were injured, they said. Photos posted on social media sites that were said to have been leaked from the scene of the firefight showed what were believed to be the bodies of dead rebels. MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan Atta Muhammad Noor, a strongman who has ruled a prosperous northern Afghan province more like a king than a governor for 13 years, was driving between meetings in Dubai last month when he got the call: President Ashraf Ghani was firing him. For three years, Mr. Ghani had tried to ease Mr. Noor, 54, a commander of the mujahedeen resistance to the Soviets who then became a warlord in the civil war and in the battle against the Taliban, out of his spot as governor of Balkh Province, the countrys commercial hub. Negotiations over a deal that would see Mr. Noor finally leave in return for more government seats for his political party faltered. And when Mr. Noor began meeting with other important regional power brokers who were also critics of the president, Mr. Ghani decided he had finally had enough. He ordered Mr. Noor out. The Afghan president may have miscalculated. Since returning to Balkh, not only has Mr. Noor rejected the Afghan presidents firing of him, but he is using his defiance of the American-backed administration in Kabul as a platform to project himself as a player in the presidential elections that are supposed to happen next year. A regional powers rejection of the central government has long been seen as a likely test for the heavily centralized but potentially fragile Afghan state set up after 2001. JAKARTA, Indonesia A balcony collapsed inside the Indonesia Stock Exchange building complex in Jakarta on Monday, injuring more than 70 people, according to the police. A large number of Indonesian university students were said to be on the balcony when it suddenly collapsed beneath them just minutes after noon, officials said. Many of the injured appeared to have suffered fractures, according to police and hospital officials. BARCELONA Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain threatened on Monday to prolong his governments direct rule over Catalonia if separatist lawmakers try to allow Carles Puigdemont to run the region from exile. Mr. Rajoy ousted Mr. Puidgemont and his government in October for leading Catalonias drive to break from Spain and called new elections in hopes of a change of leadership. The election in December did not yield the result Mr. Rajoy had hoped for, however, with separatist parties winning 47.5 percent of the vote, which was sufficient to keep their parliamentary majority. Mr. Puidgemont now appears poised to become Catalonias leader once again, despite having fled to Belgium to avoid prosecution in Spain, possibly for sedition and rebellion. BUCHAREST, Romania For the second time in less than seven months, Romania is without a prime minister, after the governing Social Democrat Party pulled its support for the incumbent, forcing his resignation. The prime minister, Mihai Tudose, announced on Monday evening that he would step down after party leaders failed to resolve a dispute between him and the partys powerful leader, Liviu Dragnea, who is unable to serve as prime minister himself because of a 2016 conviction for electoral fraud. Tensions had flared in recent weeks after Mr. Tudose tried to remove a close ally of Mr. Dragneas from her role as interior minister, after accusing her of lying to him. The Social Democrats won a strong mandate in Romanias last parliamentary elections, held in December 2016. But since then the country has been rocked by the largest protests in a quarter of a century, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets last February to oppose government measures that would have relaxed penalties for official corruption. The government backed down, but it has continued to push for similar measures, drawing protesters back into the streets, albeit in smaller numbers. MOSCOW Two masked teenagers armed with knives stormed a school in the central Russian city of Perm on Monday, wounding at least 12 people, most of them elementary school students. A teacher and a 16-year-old pupil who tried to intervene sustained serious stab wounds to the neck, officials said. The two youths one said to be a current student, the other a former student who was expelled entered School 127, in the Motovilikhinsky district around 10 a.m. They came in through a back entrance, unnoticed by a security guard, and broke into a fourth-grade classroom, local news outlets reported. One assailant pounced on students while the other blocked the classroom door, a witness told the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. They said theyre going to slaughter everyone. We initially thought it was a joke, the Perm news site 59.ru quoted another as saying. BAGHDAD Two suicide bombers killed more than two dozen people in Baghdad on Monday, mostly street vendors and day laborers gathered at dawn in hopes of finding work at an open-air market, in the first major attack in the Iraqi capital since the government declared victory over the Islamic State. The carnage in Tayaran Square punctured a growing sense of hope and pride that had permeated Baghdad after Iraqs security forces, bolstered by large numbers of volunteers and fresh recruits, successfully fought grueling battles against the insurgent group that had held one-third of Iraqi territory and terrorized millions of citizens. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, but officials in charge of security in the capital immediately cast suspicion on Islamic State sleeper cells, the target of Iraqs intelligence and counterterrorism forces since major military operations ended in the fall. Even as battles against Islamic State militants raged in northern Iraq and in its second-largest city, Mosul, Baghdad had largely been free of violence. The suicide bombings Monday morning caught many residents of the capital off guard, as they had become used to living relatively free of fear, taking their families to parks and shopping malls. It was freezing on New Years Eve in Manhattan. A fresh layer of snow blanketed the ground on the night of Dec. 31, 1967, and revelers in Times Square and Central Park seemed to look to the future with some hope. World Bids Adieu to a Violent Year was the Jan. 1 headline in The New York Times. But 1968 would be tumultuous, too. Even from the distance of a half-century, the moment feels familiar. From January to December, people demonstrated against racial injustice and economic inequality. Abroad, the United States military slogged through a seemingly interminable war. And after two terms with a Democrat in the White House, a Republican presidential candidate campaigned on a promise of law and order, and won. It was the year between the Summer of Love and the summer of Woodstock, and some men grew their hair long while others were drafted to fight in Vietnam. The country was bitterly divided: hawks and doves, said Marc Leepson, an author, historian and Vietnam veteran. Photo: Associated Press It was also the year of the Tet offensive, an enormous attack by North Vietnamese forces, and of more than 16,000 American deaths in the Vietnam War, more than in any other year. Domestic support for the war effort faltered as antiwar protests exploded, most notably the riots at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, to which the police responded with tear gas. Demonstrators, journalists and even some delegates were beaten and arrested. Mr. Leepson spent almost all of 1968 serving at a base near the coastal city of Qui Nhon, Vietnam, and he returned home that December to a country that seemed vastly different from the one he had left. The enormity of everything, individually and cumulatively, didnt hit me until I was in my parents living room in Hillside, N.J., watching year-end roundups on the news, he said in a phone interview. (He eventually joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War and grew his hair past his shoulders.) While Mr. Leepson was overseas, a different sort of battle had been brewing in the United States. The civil rights movement had been underway for years, achieving landmark federal laws and Supreme Court decisions that struck down legalized segregation and discrimination. Photo: Associated Press But vast inequality persisted, and on April 4, the movement lost a leader: The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis. In the following days, protests and riots erupted in major cities across the country. Properties were destroyed, and dozens of people lost their lives. His death unleashed this feeling that we were suppressed, Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir, a civil rights historian and an assistant professor at Xavier University of Louisiana, said of Dr. King. Minority groups in America felt that they could now release all that and show the majority: This is our pain, and we have been telling you this for years and years. That message seemed to fall on deaf ears, she added, and demonstrations calling for racial justice have never stopped. Adults need to really have an open mind and listen to the younger generation, and to their grievances, she said. I think that was not done in 1968. Instead, political opinion seemed to swing the other way. It was a presidential election year, and in March, Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, said he would not run for president again, adding that there was division in the American house. Photo: Associated Press As the year went on, candidates found that appeals to law and order were polling particularly well. Richard M. Nixon did it best, eking out a Republican victory in November against Hubert H. Humphrey, a Democrat. (George Wallace, a third-party candidate who supported segregation, won millions of votes and five states.) That election brought the end of the Johnson administration and the so-called Warren Court the period when the Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Earl Warren, presided over a series of liberal rulings, most notably the 1954 decision striking down segregation in public schools. (Earlier in 1968, Chief Justice Warren told Johnson that he would retire, wrongly hoping the president could appoint a replacement before the winner of the election, whom Chief Justice Warren thought might be Nixon, took office.) Its just a tremendously important moment in Supreme Court history, Mary L. Dudziak, an author, historian and professor of law at Emory University, said of 1968. Its the beginning of that turn away from this era of expansive liberalism. Photo: Associated Press But the big-picture changes were hard to recognize at the time; all year, major events made headlines at a breakneck pace. In April, a gas leak caused a huge explosion in Richmond, Ind., killing dozens of people and destroying numerous buildings. In June, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a presidential hopeful, was fatally shot at a campaign event in California. Abroad, France was shaken by widespread protests and general strikes. A brutal civil war was unfolding in Nigeria. Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia. And the death toll kept rising in Vietnam. When 1968 came to a close, Time magazine highlighted some good news. For its Men of the Year, it chose three who had just returned from very far away: the Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell Jr. and William A. Anders, the first people to travel around the moon and back. The journey of half a million miles went smoothly, and the men splashed down in the Pacific Ocean before returning to Houston in December. We had a wonderful trip, Mr. Lovell said. New Years Eve was two days later. It was drizzling when the ball dropped in Manhattan and 1969 began. After a fiery Friday, it is business as usual in Supreme Court today India oi-Vicky By Vicky It is business as usual in the Supreme Court today. The court re-opens today following a two day break and also a week that saw one of the most dramatic events in the history of the top court. Four judges on Friday addressed a press conference questioning the manner in which the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra was allocating matters. Over the weekend there were several persons who tried to douse the fire. Retired judges too came into the picture and wrote to the judges to resolve the issue. There had been rumours that Justice Misra would reach out to the four judges and try to resolve the issue. However as of now there is no such move made by the CJI. He had however assured the Bar Council of India that the crisis would be sorted out at the earliest. The four judges led by Justice Chelameswar too would be attending court. They would preside over matters that had been assigned to them. The atmosphere would however be tense in the Supreme Court today. The government has so far not intervened in the matter. However from what could be seen post Friday's press conference, it was clear that the Collegium is in bad shape. Will the government seek a Presidential reference under Article 143 (1) of the Indian Constitution? There is talk in the Delhi corridors that the government is looking into the issue. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 8:15 [IST] Take care of yourself as govt busy with sales: Rahul Gandhi's dig as Covid cases spike Amethi: Clashes between protesters, Cong workers as Rahul Gandhi arrives India oi-Madhuri Amethi: BJP & Cong Workers Clash As Rahul Gandhi Arrives | OneIndia News The scuffle took place on Monday between protesters and Congress workers near the venue of Rahul Gandhi meeting in Amethi district. It took place after BJP supporters were protesting with banners and playcards against Congress President. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi is on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Amethi. It is Gandhi's maiden visit to Amethi since he became Congress president. His visit comes on the heels of the assembly election result in Gujarat, in which his party showed a much better performance from the last election in the state. Gandhi is now set to focus on Uttar Pradesh and plans to give a morale boost to party cadres for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. OneIndia News No more 'Gorakh Dhanda' in Haryana: State government bans the use of phrase Brutal gang-rape in Haryana, culprits mutilate private parts of teen girl India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Jind Rape case : Minor girl brutally raped and murdered in Nirbhaya like case | Oneindia News In a horrific incident, a minor girl was brutally raped and murdered in Haryana's Jind on Sunday. Her mutilated body was found in a village in Jind district on Friday and was sent to PGIMS for the post-mortem. The incident reminds the Delhi's Nirbhaya gang-rape case in 2011. Dr SK Dattarwal, PGI Rohtak, said, "The body had many injury marks, private parts were mutilated and there were lot of internal injuries. Signs of sexual assault are visible and looks like 3-4 people were responsible, a hard and blunt thing was inserted inside her, signs of drowning also found." Deputy SP Kaptan Singh said two SITs have been constituted for investigation in the case. An FIR is registered under section 302 IPC. Father of the victim said, "My daughter was kidnapped and raped, culprits should be punished, we want justice for her. If the administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened." My daughter was kidnapped and raped, culprits should be punished, we want justice for her. If administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened: Father of the victim in Haryana's Jind rape case pic.twitter.com/TuyjN2Q46O ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said one person has been identified in the rape case. According to Times of India, the family refused to accept her body for cremation. They demanded the case be handed to the CBI, a government job for a member of her family, Rs 50 lakh from the Nirbhaya Fund, two arms licenses. It was only after Haryana minister KK Bedi assured them of a time-bound probe and release of compensation, the family received the body for cremation. OneIndia News Collegium fractured: Is it time for a Presidential reference to the Supreme Court? India oi-Vicky By Vicky The Supreme Court has always opposed the dilution of its monopoly when it came to making appointments. A well drafted NJAC act was struck down by the Supreme Court thus indicating that its Collegium is supreme when it came to making appointments both the Supreme Court and High Courts. The Collegium is a body of the SC which comprises the Chief Justice and four next senior most judges. The Modi government had felt that the appointment process ought to have more transparency and keeping this in mind, it brought about the NJAC. This was however struck down by the Supreme Court, thus keeping its monopoly in the matter intact. Following the outburst by the four judges of the Supreme Court led by Justice J Chelamewar, the rift or fracture in the Collegium came out in the open. All the four judges who are part of the Collegium were out in the open. The government has rightly refrained from commenting on the issue and said that it was an internal matter of the Supreme Court. Top government sources say that this rift is not a healthy one. There have been attempts made by several legal luminaries to douse the fire. However there are a couple of issues that would require clarity and in such a situation, the government would have to step in. The system has become unworkable now and there is a need to look into the matter. At the highest levels, there are consultations on to resolve the issue. In such an event, the government could go ahead with a Presidential reference into the matter. If the government decides on such a reference, then it would be send by the President to the Chief Justice of India under Article 143 (1) of the Indian Constitution. Article 143(1) states, " if at any time it appears to the President that a question of law or fact has arisen, or is likely to arise, which is of such a nature and of such public importance that it is expedient to obtain the opinion of the Supreme Court upon it, he may refer the question to that Court for consideration and the Court may, after such hearing as it thinks fit, report to the President its opinion thereon." In the year 1998, the then President of India, K R Narayanan had sent a reference under Article 143 (1) in which he had raised doubts about the appointments to the higher judiciary. A nine judge Bench of the SC had on October 28 1998 gave its opinion on the reference and said that it had the sole grip over appointment of judges to the higher courts. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 7:45 [IST] First batch of multi-mode hand grenades hand over to Indian Army The Taliban leader who trained with the Indian Army Delhi: On 70th Army Day, General Bipin Rawat warns Pakistan India oi-Madhuri Army Day : General Bipin Rawat warns Pakistan , Watch Video | Oneindia News The Indian Army celebrated 70th Army Day with parades and shows at its major locations across the country. Army Day is celebrated on January 15 every year. Speaking on the occasion of Army Day in Cariappa Parade Ground in New Delhi, General Bipin Rawat warned strong action against Pakistan if it continues to encourage infiltration and violate Ceasefire across the borders. Bipin Rawat, said, "Ceasefire violations by Pakistan happen frequently, to which we respond effectively. We will take even stronger steps against our enemies if we are compelled to do so." "Our intelligence based and people-friendly operations in the north-east have managed to limit terrorism to a large extent," he said. On the use of social media, Rawat said, "Social media is being used against us, we have to be careful in its use." Also, he awarded 15 Sena medals including five of them posthumously. The day marks the taking over of the Indian Army by the first Indian Commander-in-Chief, Field Marshal KM Cariappa, on 15th January 1948. Army chief General Bipin Rawat reviewed the parade as well as present gallantry and other awards to the personnel. Celebrations and parades will mark the day at the headquarter locations of Indian Army's commands and other wings. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his greeting to soldiers of the armed forced, veterans and their families on the occasion of the 70th Army Day. "On Army Day, greetings to the valiant men and women of the Indian Army, to veterans and to families of those who have worn the uniform. You are our nation's pride, the sentinels of our liberty. Citizens sleep securely knowing you are ever awake and ever vigilant," tweeted President Ram Nath Kovind, the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. The day is celebrated to pay homage and salute to the courageous and brave Indian soldiers who have been sacrificing their lives for protecting the country. OneIndia News Enforcement Directorate issues notice to Karnataka minister Roshan Baig for FEMA violation India oi-Anusha The Enforcement Directorate has issued notices to Karnataka Minister and senior Congress leader Roshan Baig and his family in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) Violation case. The minister faces allegations of his company receiving unaccounted funds from a firm in the Gulf. The notice comes months ahead of Karnataka Assembly Election 2018. A FEMA violation notice has been served to Baig and his family after the ED intercepted unaccounted funds being pumped to Ruman Enterprise, a family-owned firm. The ED has alleged that the firm, in which Roshan Baig is a Director, has received funds from a foreign firm based in the Gulf. Baig faces allegations of inappropriate accounts for the funds. Ruman Baig, who runs the firm, has allegedly received crores of rupees from the foreign firm for "purpose of investment as shares", the same, however, has not been accounted or documented for, as per ED notice. In its notice to Roshan Baig, the ED has alleged that the family's company has failed to allow any shares during the stipulated period, thus making the investment a case of FEMA violation. Baig has been asked to explain the end use of funds received through foreign channels for investment purposes. Apart from the minister in Siddaramaiah's cabinet, notices have been served to Baig's son and daughter as well- who are also directors of the firm. The Congress strongman is Karnataka's Minister for Infrastructure, Urban Development, Information and Haj. Baig, easily the prominent Muslim face for the Congress in Bengaluru was pushing his son's prospects as a Congress candidate in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018. The notice comes as a setback to the Congress government in Karnataka that has often taunted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its state leaders over allegations of corruption and violations when in power. OneIndia News Take care of yourself as govt busy with sales: Rahul Gandhi's dig as Covid cases spike Rahul Gandhi promises Food Park in Amethi once Congress comes to power India oi-Deepika By Deepika Rahul Gandhi on Monday bagan his two day Uttar Pradesh tour with his visit to Hanuman Temple. He offered prayers at the Churva Hanuman Mandir on the Lucknow-Rae Bareli road hours after landing in the state capital. Addressing a public rally in Rae Bareily, Rahul said that "Modi ji always speaks about the Gujarat model of development. The people of Gujarat however have been asking us what that model is. They snatched the land and water of farmers and gave very less profit. This time they have got a big jolt in the state of Gujarat." H e went on to add, "Please tell me one Narendra Modi government scheme where someone has benefitted?" The Modi led government only believes in making one caste fight with the other. That's the only actual work done by Narendra Modi." Continuing with the issue of unemployment, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said that, "We are competing against China. Their government gives 50,000 people employment in 24 hours." Whereas in India he says, "A total of 450 people get employment in 24 hours". Rahul Gandhi also targets Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He says both Yogi Adityanath and Narendra Modi give big speeches. They spoke about giving employment to two crore people. He goes on to ask that, " Is there even one person who has been given employment by Narendra Modi?". The Congress president promised to build a food park in Amethi. "No matter what happens, food park will be built here & I will do this work. As soon as our government comes into power, food park will be made & farmers' products will be sold here at the right prices. I will make this happen," he said. No matter what happens, food park will be built here & I will do this work. As soon as our government comes into power, food park will be made & farmers' products will be sold here at the right prices. I will make this happen: Rahul Gandhi in #Amethi pic.twitter.com/GKbIXaJtsP ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 15, 2018 According to a local party worker Ram Kumar, the Congress leader regularly visits Amethi - his Lok Sabha constituency - and this is perhaps for the first time that he has offered prayers at the temple. After offering prayers, the 47-year-old Rahul Gandhi, donning a spotless white kurta-pyjama, came out sporting a bright vermilion 'tilak' on his forehead. The last time he offered prayers at a Hanuman temple was at the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya on September 9, 2016, becoming the first member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to visit Ayodhya since the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Hanuman Garhi is about a kilometre from the Ram temple at the disputed Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. Before darshan at Hanuman Garhi temple, Rahul Gandhi had met Mahant Gyan Das. The newly elected Congress chief has planned to touch each of the five Assembly segments that fall under it to interact with the public and party workers. The 47-year-old Congress leader is likely to hold road shows at nearly seven places in Amethi. On January 16, at around 10:30 am, Rahul Gandhi is likely to interact with the public at Musafirkhana, and then proceed to Jais, Jagdishpur and Mohanganj. The Uttar Pradesh Assembly has 403 seats. In the last assembly elections, the Congress managed to win just seven seats, its lowest ever in the state. But what came as a bigger shock was its dismal show in Amethi and Rae Bareli, which had long been nurtured by the Gandhi family. OneIndia News Hindus and Muslims celebrate Sankranti in Bhiwandi India pti-PTI Thane, Jan 15: In Thane district of Maharashtra, both Hindus and Muslims in the communally sensitive Bhiwandi town celebrated the festival of Makar Sankranti together For the first time. The town, which has a sizable Muslim community, is also known for its thriving powerloom industry, but major riots in 1970 and 1984 gave it notoriety as communally sensitive'. Yesterday, in a first, members of both communities, especially women, were seen distributing sweets made from til-gul' (sesame and jaggery) in various localities to mark the festival. In Maharashtra, the traditional greeting on Sankranti is "Til-gul ghya ani god-god bolaa" (Have some Til-Gul and let your talk be as sweet'). "The younger generation has taken this initiative. They want to celebrate festivals of both religions," said Abbas Qureshi (78). This was for the first time that Sankranti was celebrated in this way, he added. Youths from both communities also flew kites, which is another marker of Sankranti. In the recent years, Muslims in Bhiwandi have been seen taking part in Ganesh Festival, Gokulashtmi and the celebration of Shiv Jayanti, the birth anniversary of warrior king Shivaji. PTI Exit polls indicate no clear winner in Israeli elections: Will it end the Netanyahu era? India, Israel can shape future together: Netanyahu India oi-Vikas By Vikas Emphasising on the strong bonds shared between people of India and Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's PM who is on a visit to India, on Monday said that both countries can shape the future together. Speaking at India-Israel CEOs forum in Delhi, Netanyahu thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending "magnificent hospitality" to him. "There is not going to be anymore distinction between high tech & low tech because at the end everything is going to be technology...In the last 5-10 years we have car industries. We have 500 startup companies that receive $ 500 bn investment every year," he said. "You have brilliant people in India. We have brilliant people in Israel. What we can do, is shape the future together. I believe in India. I came here to say today thank you, PM Modi, for believing in Israel, we believe in India," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier on Monday held delegation-level talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu during which they discussed a range of key issues including defence, trade and terrorism. [Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi sign 9 MoUs] India and Israel signed MOU on - cooperation in oil and gas sector, a protocol on amendments to air transport agreement, agreement on film co-production, field research in homoeopathic medicine, cooperation in the field of space, letter of intent to invest in India, cooperation in metal battery and cooperation in solar thermal energy. Netanyahu, who is on a six-day visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 20:34 [IST] Exit polls indicate no clear winner in Israeli elections: Will it end the Netanyahu era? Netanyahu receives ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan in Delhi India oi-Madhuri PM Modi host dinner in the honour of Israeli PM Netanyahu, Watch Video | Oneindia News Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, to hold delegation level talks, sign agreements and deliver a press statement. Benjamin Netanyahu said, "It began with PM Modi's historic visit to Israel that created tremendous enthusiasm,it continues with my visit here which I must say is deeply moving for me,my wife&people of Israel.Heralds a flourishing partnership to bring prosperity,peace and progress for our people." "Visit to India is "deeply moving for me, my wife and people of Israel," This is a dawn of a new era in the friendship between India and Israel," he said. Netanyahu's six-day visit to India is heavy with undercurrents of global political alignments. He is only the second Israeli PM to visit India, after Ariel Sharon's visit in 2003. His visit comes as a reciprocation for PM Modi's trip to Israel in July last year, the first ever for an Indian PM. Netanyahu will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan around 10:30 am. After this, he is scheduled to pay his respects at MK Gandhi's memorial at Raj Ghat. Netanyahu will then meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House, the official banquet hall of the Government of India for visiting foreign dignitaries. The two leaders, who identify each other as friends, will take part in delegation-level talks. OneIndia News Knowledge will help resolve differences: RSS India pti-PTI Chennai, Jan 15: Greeting people on the occasion of Pongal and Makar Sankranti, RSS general secretary Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi asked people in the country to unite and be fearless, saying 'Bharat Mata' was the unifying factor. Joshi said "our festivals are not for mere enjoyment or celebration alone and signified unity". Citing the significance behind the harvest festival of Pongal which marks sun's movement towards north giving more light, he quoted an Upanishad shloka "Tamsoma Jyotirgamaya" (Lead me to Light from darkness). Joshi said knowledge will help resolve differences and it should be enhanced, while bearing in mind that 'Bharat Mata' was the binding factor. He was participating in a temple function in suburban Hasthinapuram. Citing the example of a sesame and jaggery based sweet made in Maharashtra, he said the sesame seeds when mixed with jaggery became strong and even difficult to bite. Similarly, when people came together shedding differences the society will get strengthened, he said. "There may be differences in respect of language, dress, and even the food we eat," he said. Despite this, the philosophy of Hindu thought was that God is one though forms could differ and that 'pranashakthi,' (the force that sustains life in every being) was the same in every human being. He said "we have the strength of devatas (angels)...we have to be fearless and help the needy...Pongal gives the message of Rashtra Bhakthi (love for one's country)." Joshi also participated in "Gho puja (cow worship)" and later offered prayers at the Desa Muthumariyamman temple and distributed prizes to winners in various competitions held as part of Pongal festival. His address in Hindi was later translated in Tamil. PTI No more 'Gorakh Dhanda' in Haryana: State government bans the use of phrase Law and order in Haryana is in shambles, govt must step down: Hooda India oi-Vikas By Vikas Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday lashed out at the Manohar Lal Khattar led government over the brutal rape and murder of a minor in Jind and said the government must step down on moral grounds. "The state's law and order is in shambles, it seems like there is no govt here. The government must resign on moral grounds, we will also meet Governor on 17 Jan over the deteriorating law and order in the state," Hooda told ANI. In a horrific incident, a minor girl was brutally raped and murdered in Haryana's Jind on Sunday. Her mutilated body was found in a village in Jind district on Friday and was sent to PGIMS for the post-mortem. Father of the victim said, "My daughter was kidnapped and raped, culprits should be punished, we want justice for her. If the administration had done its job well, an incident like this would have never happened." [Brutal gang-rape in Haryana, culprits mutilate private parts of teen girl] Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said one person has been identified in the rape case. According to a Times of India report, the family refused to accept her body for cremation. They demanded the case be handed to the CBI, a government job for a member of her family, Rs 50 lakh from the Nirbhaya Fund, two arms licenses. It was only after Haryana minister KK Bedi assured them of a time-bound probe and release of compensation, the family received the body for cremation. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 18:06 [IST] Mahadayi dispute: Goa files arguments at tribunal on dispute with Karnataka India pti-PTI Panaji, Jan 15: Amidst its dispute with Karnataka over the diversion of Mahadayi river's waters, the Goa government on Monday filed a brief summary of arguments before the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal in Delhi. The hearing on Goa's arguments against Karnataka's proposed dams on the river will be heard in the first week of February. Senior Counsel Atmaram Nadkarni, representing Goa before the tribunal, said a brief summary of arguments had been filed which runs into three volumes comprising 531 pages. "The summary of arguments have been prepared topic wise. The first volume contains the case and pleadings of the state of Goa, along with excerpts of the evidence on hydrology placed by Goa through its witnesses," Nadkarni explained. The second volume contains arguments and submissions on the environmental aspect and the evidence placed by Goa on marine wild life, marine ecology and environmental flows, he said. "The third volume contains specific arguments on various legal issues such as non-compliance of Karnataka to various statutory provisions and the international law on river disputes and diversion of water," he added. Nadkarni said Goa's case was essentially to challenge the construction of 12 dams by Karnataka on the Mahadayi river and also oppose Karnataka's proposal to divert Mahadayi waters to the Malaprabha reservoir. He said Goa opposed these moves as it would result in a complete aquatic, marine and terrestrial ecology disaster and also deprive Goa of water for drinking, irrigation and industrial needs. PTI Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Modi sign 9 MoUs India oi-Madhuri Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held delegation-level talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu during which they discussed a range of key issues including defence, trade and terrorism. India and Israel signd MOU on - cooperation in oil and gas sector, a protocol on amendments to air transport agreement, agreement on film co-production, field research in homoeopathic medicine, cooperation in the field of space, letter of intent to invest in India, cooperation in metal battery and cooperation in solar thermal energy. Addressing the gathering, Modi said,"It is a great honour to welcome Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to India on his first trip here. This is a long-anticipated moment in the diplomatic relations between India and Israel. I was overwhelmed by the warmth shown by Israel during my visit." "I have a reputation for being impatient to get results and so do you PM Netanyahu. We will strength our cooperation in areas that affect the lives of our people i.e. agriculture, science and technology and defence. I welcome Israeli companies to come take advantage of the liberal FDIs in India's defence sector. We will also fecilitate the flow of ideas between both sets of people. We will bring our people closer, with a Indian culture center opening in Israel and we will have an annual programme, wherein 100 young people travelling from India to Israel and vice versa to exchange ideas," said Modi. "Today and yesterday we reviewed progress in our relations and renewed our relations on the opportunities that beckon us. We have imparted our shared impatience to the implementation of our earlier decisions. The results are already visible on the ground. Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and to scale up our partnership," Modi further said. "We will strengthen existing pillars of cooperation in areas that touch the lives of our peoples. These are agriculture, science and technology and security.We exchanged views on scaling up the Centers of Excellence that have been a main-stay of agricultural cooperation," said PM Narendra Modi. "India and Israel have thousands of years of history. You are a revolutionary leader Narendra Modi, you have revolutionised India. Three things bind our countries - we have an ancient past, vibrant present and a quest to seize a promising future," said Israeli PM. "The Jews of India never experienced antisemitism in 2000 years. This is a tribute to India's great civilisation, tolerance and democracy. Personally, my wife and I are excited to visit Bollywood and see it first-hand ourselves," said Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu. "India and Israel both know too well the pain of terrorist attacks. We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai (26/11 attacks), we will never give in and will fight back," Netanyahu further said. "You being such a gracious and generous host fills me with hope that this new era of India-Israel relations will bring unprecedented benefits to both nations and all of humanity. Finally, this is perhaps the most important statement I can make here, my friend Narendra, anytime you want to do a Yoga class with me, it's a big stretch but I will be there. Trust me. Thank you very much for your hospitality," said Israeli PM. Earlier in the day, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on six-day visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. OneIndia News Modi invites Israeli companies to invest, says India presents vast economic opportunity' India oi-Vikas By Vikas Making a strong pitch to the Israeli companies to invest in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that India has now become one of the most open economies in the world. Speaking at India-Israel CEOs forum in Delhi, Modi said that his government's motto is to "reform, perform and transform". "India-Israel Innovation Bridge will act as link between Start-ups of the two sides. I have been saying that Indian Industries, start-ups and academic institutions must collaborate with their Israeli counterparts to access the huge reservoir of knowledge," he said. The Prime Minister said that his government has taken steady steps in the last three years, both at micro and macro levels, to make India investor friendly. "We want to do more and better. To enable entry of capital and technology, most of the sectors including defence, have been opened for FDI. More than 90 percent of the FDI approvals have been put on the automatic route. We are now among the most open economies," he added. Modi addressing India-Israel CEOs forum Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu earlier said that both countries can shape the future together. Netanyahu thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for extending "magnificent hospitality" to him. "There is not going to be anymore distinction between high tech & low tech because at the end everything is going to be technology...In the last 5-10 years we have car industries. We have 500 startup companies that receive $ 500 bn investment every year," he said at India-Israel CEOs forum in Delhi. Modi and Netanyahu at India-Israel CEOs forum "You have brilliant people in India. We have brilliant people in Israel. What we can do, is shape the future together. I believe in India. I came here to say today thank you PM Modi for believing in Israel, we believe in India," the Israeli PM added. Netanyahu thanks Modi for hospitality Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier on Monday held delegation-level talks with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu during which they discussed a range of key issues including defence, trade and terrorism. India-Israel CEOs forum in Delhi India and Israel signed MOU on - cooperation in oil and gas sector, a protocol on amendments to air transport agreement, agreement on film co-production, field research in homoeopathic medicine, cooperation in the field of space, letter of intent to invest in India, cooperation in metal battery and cooperation in solar thermal energy. Netanyahu, who is on six-day visit to India, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. (images courtesy - ANI/Twitter) OneIndia News Netanyahu in India: Israeli PM to inaugurate Raisina Dialogue today India pti-PTI New Delhi, Jan 12: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on six-day visit to India, will inaugurate the third edition of the geo- political conference, 'Raisina Dialogue', on Tuesday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will also be a part of the inaugural session of the three-day event, which has an impressive line up of more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates. Netanyahu arrived in Delhi on Sunday on a six-day visit. The event, jointly organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF), will take place at the Taj Palace Hotel in the national capital, the organisers said in a statement. The theme of the dialogue this year is 'Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms', it said. Army chief General Bipin Rawat and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will also address a session, along with Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, US Pacific Command, General Chris Deverell, Joint Forces Commander, UK, among others, the statement said. "Former Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, former prime minister of Canada Stephen Harder and former prime minister of Sweden Carl Bildt are among more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates from around 90 countries who are participating in the dialogue," it said. PTI Israel Embassy blast: The NIA is looking for these men, watch CCTV footage No ban on religious pilgrimage to Israel India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Government of India on Monday stated that the issue of exploitation of Indian caregivers working in Israel has been taken up with the visiting side. Pavan Kapoor, India's ambassador to Israel, said, "We have about 11,000-12,000 Indian caregivers working in Israel. We have found that they get exploited by the agencies. We are working with the Israeli side to stop this." "There is no stoppage or ban to any religious pilgrimage. A large number of Indians who go to Israel, is for the purpose of religious pilgrimage," he said. Meanwhile, Vijay Gokhale, MEA Secretary announced that the fund that was announced by both the Prime Ministers at Tel Aviv, at the time of PM Modi's visit, has now been operationalised. Vijay Gokhale, MEA Secretary (economic relations) Gokhale said, "The two PMs are extremely pleased by the outcome of their thoughts. PM Netanyahu is looking forward to his visit to Gujarat." On India's vote in UN against Jerusalem move is concerned India made its stand clear on the issues, "but our relations are much larger than single issues," Gokhale said. As far as the issue of Palestine is concerned, it was discussed. Our side made its stand clear on the issues of Palestine & Jerusalem but our relations are much larger than single issues: Vijay Gokhale, MEA Secretary (economic relations) pic.twitter.com/r14QBMUalT ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 18:03 [IST] No proposal as yet to ban PFI says Karnataka Home Minister India oi-Vicky By Vicky The Karnataka government has said that there is still no proposal to ban the Popular Front of India. The statement was issued by Karnataka Home Minister, Ramalinga Reddy. "There is no such immediate proposal before us (government)...lot of discussions regarding this is going on. The Chief Minister is on tour for about a month now, we will have discussion on the issue with the Chief Minister, also in the cabinet," Reddy in Shivamogga. His statement comes in the waks of demands to recommend for ban on Popular Front of India (PFI) and right wing organisations in the state. BJP has been demanding a ban on PFI and its political wing SDPI, holding them responsible for a spate of killings of "Hindu activists" in the coastal Dakshina Kannada district. But the PFI has blamed Sangh Parivar outfits for the killing of those from Muslim community in the region. Noting that BJP was demanding a ban on PFI, the Home Minister said not only PFI, but Bajarang Dal, RSS and Sri Rama Sene were also involved in violence. "Both sides were involved. Number of deaths due to violence might be slightly more this side or that side. If it (ban) has to be done, it should be for both sides, not just one side," he said. As the coastal region remained on edge over repeated incidents of communal tensions, Siddaramaiah had recently warned of "stringent" action against organisations instigating communal sentiments in the state. Pointing out that power to ban any organisations lies with the Central government, Reddy said BJP should talk to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh or Prime Minister Narendra Modi and get PFI banned. He said if political leaders remain silent, there would not be any violence in the region. OneIndia News World must brace for huge mess if its advice on Afghanistan ignored: Pakistan Pakistan: Blast in Quetta kills at least three, 20 injured; Tehreek-e-Taliban claims responsibility Taliban-Haqqani rift brings Pakistans ISI out of the woodwork in Kabul Pakistan summons India's deputy envoy over soldiers' killing India oi-Vikas By Vikas Pakistan on Monday summoned Indian Deputy Envoy in Islamabad over the killing of Pakistani soldiers by the Indian forces, said reports. The Indian Army killed seven Pakistani soldiers and injured four in areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in retaliation for the killing of an Indian solider in Pakistani firing on Saturday. Even as the Indian Army claimed a big win on Army Day, Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that while four of its soldiers were killed by shelling across the Line of Control (LoC) and Kashmir's Jandrot sector, three Indian soldiers were also killed and a "few injured" in an exchange of fire. [In 'retaliatory action', Army kills 7 Pakistani soldiers along LoC] In yet another separate incident, Army also killed six Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 19:55 [IST] Praveen Togadia has Z plus security, encounter not possible, says police Why no Ram Temple despite being in majority, asks Togadia Praveen Togadia missing? Not with us says Rajasthan police India oi-Vicky By Vicky Where is Praveen Togadia? The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's international working president Togadia has been missing since morning and the workers of the VHP held a protest demanding that he be traced. The VHP claimed Togadia (62) was detained by the Rajasthan Police in connection with a case, but the latter denied this. Local Sola police station officials said a team of Rajasthan Police visited them on Monday to execute an arrest warrant against the Hindutva leader under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC in an old case, but could not find him at his residence. VHP workers laid a siege to the Sola police station, shouted slogans, and blocked traffic on main Sarkehj- Gandhinagar highway demanding that the police immediately locate him. "Our International Working President Pravin Togadia is missing since 10 am today (Monday). The responsibility of his whereabouts and security lies with the administration," the VHP's Gujarat unit general secretary Ranchod Bharwad told reporters. He said it was not yet confirmed weather Togadia was arrested or not. BJP spokesperson Jay Shah, however, claimed that Togadia was detained by the Rajasthan Police in an old case. "Our leader Pravin Togadia has been detained in an old case and was taken away by the Rajasthan Police from the VHP state headquarters in Paldi area of the city," he claimed. However, the Rajasthan Police denied detention or arrest of Togadia. "Togadia was not at all arrested by our team. As per my information, the police team of Gangapur (in Rajasthan) is returning without executing the arrest warrant, as he (Togadia) was not found in Ahmedabad. It is a rumour that Togadia is in our custody which is not true at all," said Inspector General of Police, Bharatpur range, Alok Kumar Vashishtha. Gangapur town is in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan and falls under the jurisdiction of Bharatpur range of the state police. Sola police officials said the Rajasthan police had sought their help in executing the arrest warrant against Togadia. "Rajasthan police today (Monday) sought our help to execute the warrant against Pravin Togadia, as his residence falls in our area. The warrant, related to section 188 of the IPC, was issued by a sessions court in Gangapur. We took the Rajasthan Police to Togadia's residence but he was not found there," said Sola police station inspector JS Patel. He said the team of the Rajasthan Police left after they could not find Togadia. "It is not true that he is in our custody. We do not know his whereabouts," the inspector also added. OneIndia news For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 18:49 [IST] Ready to ramp up military heat on Pak to stop cross border terror: Gen Rawat India oi-Vicky By Vicky The Army has indicated that it would ramp up the military offensive in a bid to step up the heat on Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism. Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat said that in Jammu and Kashmir, the political initiative must go hand-in-hand with the military operations. Gen Rawat said the armed forces operating in the state cannot be "status quoist" and must evolve new strategies and tactics to deal with the situation, which he feels is "marginally" better since he took over a year ago. In an interview to news agency PTI, the Army chief asserted that there was room for ramping up heat on Pakistan to cut flow of cross-border terror activities, clearly indicating that the Army will continue its policy of hot pursuit in dealing with militancy. "The political initiative and all the other initiatives must go simultaneously hand-in-hand and only if all of us function in synergy, we can bring lasting peace in Kashmir. It has to be a politico-military approach that we have to adopt," the Army chief said. In October, the government had appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma as its special representative+ for a "sustained dialogue" with all stakeholders in J&K. "When the government appointed an interlocutor, it is with that purpose. He is the government's representative to reach out to the people of Kashmir and see what their grievances are so that those can then be addressed at a political level," the Army chief said. Asked whether there is room for ramping up pressure on Pakistan to force it to stop sending terrorists to the state, he said, "Yes, you cannot be status quoist. You have to continuously think and keep moving forward. You have to keep changing your doctrines and concept and the manner in which you operate in such areas." Gen Rawat said the Army will have to evolve new strategies and new tactics to deal with the situation. At the same time, he said an overall approach was required to deal with the Kashmir issue. Since beginning of last year, the Army pursued an aggressive anti-terror policy in Jammu and Kashmir and, at the same time, forcefully responded to all ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control with a tit-for-tat approach. "Military is only part of the mechanism to resolve the Kashmir issue. Our charter is to ensure that the terrorists who are creating violence in the state are taken to task and those who have been radicalised and are increasingly moving towards terrorism are prevented from doing so," he said. Gen Rawat said some youths continue to be radicalised and are joining terror outfits. The Army has been trying to maintain pressure on terror groups, he said. The Army's aim is to ensure that it continues to maintain the pressure on the terrorists and those fomenting trouble there, Gen Rawat said. "But at the same time, we have to also reach out to the people," he said. Asked whether the situation in Kashmir has improved since he has taken over as the Army chief a year ago, Gen Rawat said, "I am only seeing a marginal change in situation for the better. "I do not think it is time to become over confident and start assuming that the situation has been brought under control because infiltration from across the borders will continue." The LoC has remained volatile in the last year. According to official figures, 860 incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were reported in 2017 as against 221 the year before. India has also been effectively retaliating to Pakistani firing and even crossed the LoC to punish Pakistani troops on several occasions as part of tactical operations. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 6:15 [IST] Pinarayi Vijayan cautions against infiltration of "extremist" outfits like SDIP in anti-CAA stir Will give ceasefire with Pak the best shot: General Raju Security forces foil infiltration bid in Uri, 6 JeM militants killed on Army Day India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar A major infiltration bid was foiled along LoC in Uri sector as at least six Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists were gunned down by J&K Police, Army and Central Armed Police Force in a joint operation on Army Day. Brigadier YS Ahlawat, said, "A major mishap has been avoided on the Army Day: on Uri anti-infiltration operation. This is the first infiltration bid of 2018. Indian Army is committed to continue with this and stop the nefarious designs of Pakistan." "Large cache of arms and ammunition have been recovered and 5 terrorists have been eliminated," said Brigadier. A defence spokesman said that five militants killed were suicide attackers. J&K DGP clarified that five bodies have been recovered and search is being conducted for the sixth. J&K: Ammunition and other material seized by security forces from the 5 terrorists killed in Uri anti-infiltration operation pic.twitter.com/q9RFq0DeBm ANI (@ANI) January 15, 2018 Director General of Police (DGP) of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Shesh Paul Vaid, congratulated the forces the successful operation. The fourth terrorist has also been neutralised. Keep up the good work! https://t.co/B2gqRr6Fgj Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) January 15, 2018 SP Vaid, said, " Since past few days, we were getting inputs about possible attempts to infiltrate from Uri sector. So, ambushes were laid out in that area by Army, J&K police & CRPF. In the morning, exchange of fire took place in one of the ambushes." OneIndia News Analysing ISIS Voice of Hind: How it is being used to provoke Muslims against the government Why do Islamic terror groups prefer the convert to the original India oi-Vicky By Vicky Religious conversions have been a huge subject matter of debate off late. While the Constitution states that religious conversions are allowed unless forced, the problem today is that this issue has become increasingly linked to terror. While various agencies dig out details on how religious conversions are increasingly linked to terror, there are several instances that one must take into account here. The big question that would be answered here is that all terror and extremist groups prefer a convert to the original. Various case studies have shown that terror groups especially the Islamic State prefers a convert over an original. This is precisely one of the main reason why several groups especially in Kerala have set up conversion factories to rope in both women and men. First and foremost the mainstream Muslim community does not treat the converts as equals. They are always seen as outsiders. The second factor is that any religious convert is more often than not ostracised by his family. This leaves him or her out in the open and with no real support. This is when the terror groups comes into the picture. Groups such as the ISIS promise them a good life and even offer them financial support. Further terror groups who preach a twisted form of Islam prefer converts as these persons are not well versed with the religion. You can sell anything to them and they would buy it. The mainstream Muslims are however well versed with the religion and are more likely to question the methods preached by the radical Islamic groups. The various probes that have been conducted across the world and even in India have found that converts have joined terror groups due to the acceptability factor. In Kerala, in recent times there have been four such cases where these persons have converted to Islam and almost immediately joined the ISIS. Pallath Merrin Jacob and Sonia Sebastin, both girls from Kerala who were forcibly converted to Islam before being taken away to Afghanistan to be part of the ISIS. Bexen Vincent and Bestin Vincent too ended up with a similar fate. The Hadiya probe too is trying to ascertain if there is a terror link to the case. Recently the NIA questioned two ISIS suspects in jail after it was found that they were in touch Shafin Jahan, the man who was married to Hadiya. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 8:01 [IST] Unless trust deficit is removed, we will be very weary says Army Chief Pakistan contacted India to protest Bipin Rawats comments: Report International oi-Deepika By Deepika Pakistan contacted India through diplomatic channels to protest Army chief Bipin Rawat's comments on calling Islamabad's nuclear bluff, reported The Nation, a Pakistani newspaper, quoting unnamed government officials. "Pakistan has asked India not to spread war hysteria amid peace efforts by the doves from both the sides," diplomatic sources told the newspaper. Unnamed Pakistani foreign ministry officials, as reported by the newspaper, said, "India has been told that such statements will only worsen the tension. These statements invite reaction and counter-reaction." Another official reportedly said that India was advised not to create an 'atmosphere of uncertainty' as regional issues cannot be resolved without peace and dialogue. Last week, General Bipin Rawat, during a media briefing in Delhi, said the force was ready to call Pakistan's "nuclear bluff" and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government. The Indian Army chief was responding to a question on the possibility of Pakistan using its nuclear weapons in case the situation along the border deteriorates. Responding to Rawat's remark, Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Saturday issued a nuclear threat to India. "Very irresponsible statement by Indian Army Chief, not befitting his office. Amounts to invitation for nuclear encounter. If that is what they (India) desire, they are welcome to test our resolve. The general's doubt would swiftly be removed, inshallah," Asif tweeted. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, January 15, 2018, 13:13 [IST] Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Gush Shalom NO, I don't want to write about the affair of Ya'ir Netanyahu. I refuse adamantly. No force in the world will compel me to do so. Yet here I am, writing about Ya'ir, damn it. Can't resist. And perhaps it is really more than a matter of gossip. Perhaps it is something that we cannot ignore. IT IS all about a conversation between three young man in a car, some two years ago. One of the young men was Ya'ir, the eldest of the two sons of the Prime Minister. Ya'ir is named after the leader of the "Stern Gang," whose real name was Abraham Stern. The original Ya'ir split from the Irgun underground in 1940, when Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany. While the Irgun stopped its actions against the British government for the time being, Stern demanded the very opposite: exploit the moment in order to get the British out of Palestine. He was shot by the British police. The modern Ya'ir and his two friends were on a drunken tour of Tel Aviv strip-tease joints, an appellation which often seems to be a polite way of describing a brothel. Somebody took the trouble to record the conversation of the young men -- the sons of the Prime Minister and two of the richest "tycoons" in the country. This recording has now surfaced. Since the publication, hardly anyone in Israel is talking about anything else. According to the recording, Ya'ir demanded from of his friend, Nir Maimon, 400 shekels (about 100 dollars), in order to visit a prostitute. When the friend refused, Ya'ir exclaimed: "My father gave your father a concession worth a billion dollars, and you refuse to give me 400 shekels?" The concession in question concerns the rich gas fields out in the sea near Israel's shores. In an especially disgusting display of his utter contempt for the female sex, Ya'ir also offered to provide all his friends with the sexual services of his ex-girlfriend. THIS RECORDING raises a whole pile of questions, each more unpleasant than the next. First of all: who made it? Apart from Ya'ir and his two pals, there were only two persons present; the driver of the car and a bodyguard. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Gigaset C595 on .Big Bang Theory. (CBS) (Image by Hollywood_PR) Details DMCA She wrote of her relative lack of personal experience with such harassment, seeming to credit her unconventional appearance, and her modest dress and behavior. Having read both the original op-ed, and one of the critics, I tend to think that Bialik was not quite given enough credit for her nuanced argument. She clearly states that women should be able to dress however they want. I can also see, however, how her implied causal connection between her experience and her behavior could give feminists pause. I can related to Bialik. I've never sought to live up to the exacting standards women are bombarded with daily - from media, advertising, the fashion industry, and casual comments. I was the kid whose mom literally chased me around the house saying "Just a little rouge!" I spent much of my time as a teen and young adult fighting tooth and nail against those expectations - I felt them keenly. As I watched my daughters grow up, I looked on with annoyance as they watched shows like "What Not to Wear," with the arbitrary "rules" the hosts imposed on their female guests: one must show some cleavage, and wear shorter skirts. Women who resisted were deemed to have low self esteem. ("Don't ever put me on one of those shows!" I would say.) I also felt a sense of safety in dressing modestly; anything else seemed to add a layer of vulnerability to the ever-present fear of sexual assault (and for being blamed for it.). At the same time, I know that the protection modesty affords women is illusory. Crime statistics are replete with a broad variety of victims of sexual assault (although college-age women appear to be especially vulnerable.) The "What She Was Wearing" exhibit illustrates the folly of connecting sexual assault to mode of dress. (I was once told by a fellow doctoral student that my sweatpants suit was provocative!) The problem with the feminist critique of Bialik, however, is its framing of the issue as "victim blaming" vs. "free choice." Given all the pressure I've felt to conform to conventional standards of beauty, I can't see the choice to adopt those standards in a vacuum. A 2017 research article in the Journal of Eating Disorders, explored the issue of women's response to pressures to sexualize their appearance. They found a relationship between those pressures and college women's self-doubt, anxiety, and self-objectification. This pressure seems to have intensified, from the time I was a young woman. Suggestive clothing for even pre-pubescent girls seems to have become a popular offering in stores. It's become a topic of so much concern, that The American Psychological Association warned of its negative effects on girls psychological health; as the head of a task force on the matter revealed: "We have ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development." So, while the critics of the victim-blaming clearly have a point - even though they might have over-simplified an op-ed - we need to questions where societal pressure ends, and free choice begins. (Article changed on January 14, 2018 at 23:34) Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. UKRAINE: ukraine (Image by davidswanson.org) Details DMCA CHARLOTTESVILLE: charlottesville (Image by davidswanson.org) Details DMCA Letter from Charlottesville to Ukraine Nazi rallies in the news in recent years have most prominently been held here in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, and in Ukraine. I want to send thoughts of solidarity to those in Ukraine resisting fascism. And I want to let you know that some of us are urging our government in Washington, D.C., to stop supporting fascism both in the United States and in Ukraine. In addition, we are pointing to the examples being set by so many shithole countries around the world that are 100% free of fascist rallies. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Brandenberg v. Ohio in 1969 that "advocacy directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action . . . likely to incite or produce such action" is not protected by the First Amendment. Sheriff Shithole has said these things: "If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them. I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees." "Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing." "See, in the good old days this doesn't happen, because they used to treat them very, very rough. And when they protested once, you know, they would not do it again so easily." "You know what I hate? There's a guy, totally disruptive, throwing punches, we're not allowed to punch back anymore. I love the old days--you know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They'd be carried out on a stretcher, folks." "See the first group, I was nice. Oh, take your time. The second group, I was pretty nice. The third group, I'll be a little more violent. And the fourth group, I'll say get the hell out of here!" "I'd like to punch him in the face, I tell ya." "You see, in the good old days, law enforcement acted a lot quicker than this. A lot quicker. In the good old days, they'd rip him out of that seat so fast -- but today, everybody's politically correct." "He was swinging, he was hitting people, and the audience hit back. That's what we need more of." Numerous incidents of violence followed these comments. John Franklin McGraw punched a man in the face at a Trump event, and then told Inside Edition that "The next time we see him, we might have to kill him." Trump said that he was considering paying McGraw's legal bills. Since Trump's election and inauguration, his comments appearing to incite violence have continued, as have incidents of violence in which those participating in violence have pointed to Trump as justification. On July 2, 2017, Trump tweeted a video of himself body slamming a man with an image of "CNN" superimposed on him. In August 2017, participants in a racist rally here in Charlottesville credited Trump with boosting their cause. Their violence included actions that have led to a murder charge. Trump publicly minimized the offense and sought to blame "many sides." Surprisingly perhaps to some Americans, though not to Ukrainians, U.S. support for Nazism in Ukraine did not begin with Trump. In fact, it is well established that in 2014 the U.S. government helped a new government come to power in Ukraine, a new government supported and armed and trained by the United States from that moment to this, a new government including and empowering Nazis. Professor Stephen Cohen's account of the Ukrainian coup is summarized in The Nation: "Which brings Cohen to another prevailing media myth: that what occurred on Maidan in February 2014 was a 'democratic revolution.' Whether it was in fact a 'revolution' can be left to future historians, though most of the oligarchic powers that afflicted Ukraine before 2014 remain in place four years later, along with their corrupt practices. As for 'democratic,' removing a legally elected president by threatening his life hardly qualifies. Nor does the peremptory way the new government was formed, the constitution changed, and pro-Yanukovych parties banned. Though the overthrow involved people in the streets, this was a coup. How much of it was spontaneous and how much directed, or inspired, by high-level actors in the West also remains unclear. But one other myth needs to be dispelled. The rush to seize Yanukovych's residence was triggered by snipers who killed some 80 or more protesters and policemen on Maidan. It was long said that the snipers had been sent by Yanukovych, but it has now been virtually proven that the shooters were instead from the neo-fascist group Right Sector among the protesters on the square. (See, for example, the reports of the scholar Ivan Katchanovski.) "The antidemocratic origins of today's Kiev regime continue to afflict it. Its president, Petro Poroshenko, is intensely unpopular at home. It remains pervasively corrupt. Its Western-financed economy continues to fail, as even some of its ardent American cheerleaders now admit. And for the most part it continues to refuse to implement its obligations under the 2015 Minsk II peace accords, above all granting the rebel Donbass territories enough home rule to keep them in the Ukrainian state. Meanwhile, Kiev is semi-hostage to armed ultranationalist battalions, whose ideology and symbols include proudly neo-fascist ones, which hate Russia and today's Western "civilizational" values almost equally. It may be said that the Donbass rebel 'republics' have their own ugly traits, but it should be added that they fight only in defense of their own territory against the armies of Kiev and are not sponsored by the US government. "Adding to this explosive mix, the Trump administration now promises to supply more weapons. The official pretext is plainly contrived: to deter Putin from 'further aggression against Ukraine,' for which he has shown no desire or intention whatsoever. Nor does it make any geopolitical or strategic sense. Neighboring Russia can easily upgrade its weapons to the rebel provinces. Indeed, the danger is that Kiev's failing regime will interpret the American arms as a signal from Washington for a new offensive against the Donbass in order to regain support at home--but which will end again in military disaster for Kiev while perhaps bringing neo-fascists, who may well come into possession of the American weapons, closer to power, and the new US-Russian Cold War closer to a larger, more direct war between the nuclear superpowers. (US trainers will need to be sent with the weapons, adding to the some 300 already there. If any are killed by Russian-backed rebel forces, even if unintentionally, what will be Washington's reaction?)" Let's recall with Max Blumenthal what happened in 2014: "White supremacist banners and Confederate flags were draped inside Kiev's occupied City Hall, and demonstrators have hoisted Nazi SS and white power symbols over a toppled memorial to V.I. Lenin. After Yanukovich fled his palatial estate by helicopter, EuroMaidan protesters destroyed a memorial to Ukrainians who died battling German occupation during World War II. Sieg heil salutes and the Nazi Wolfsangel symbol have become an increasingly common site in Maidan Square, and neo-Nazi forces have established 'autonomous zones' in and around Kiev. "An Anarchist group called AntiFascist Union Ukraine attempted to join the Euromaidan demonstrations but found it difficult to avoid threats of violence and imprecations from the gangs of neo-Nazis roving the square. "They called the Anarchists things like Jews, blacks, Communists," one of its members said. 'There weren't even any Communists, that was just an insult.' "'There are lots of Nationalists here, including Nazis,' the anti-fascist continued. 'They came from all over Ukraine, and they make up about 30% of protesters. . . . ". . . Svoboda's openly pro-Nazi politics have not deterred Senator John McCain from addressing a EuroMaidan rally alongside Tyahnybok, nor did it prevent Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland from enjoying a friendly meeting with the Svoboda leader this February. . . . In a leaked phone conversation with Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador to Ukraine, Nuland revealed her wish for Tyahnybok to remain 'on the outside,' but to consult with the US's replacement for Yanukovich, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, 'four times a week.' At a December 5, 2013 US-Ukraine Foundation Conference, Nuland boasted that the US had invested $5 billion to 'build democratic skills and institutions' in Ukraine, though she did not offer any details. 'The Euro-Maidan movement has come to embody the principles and values that are the cornerstones for all free democracies,' Nuland proclaimed. Two weeks later, 15,000 Svoboda members held a torchlight ceremony in the city of Lviv in honor of Stepan Bandera, a World War II-era Nazi collaborator." This past November, The Hill reminded us that The reality of neo-Nazis in Ukraine is far from Kremlin propaganda: Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Saturday (January 13) that Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's remarks about Pakistan amount to "invitation for nuclear encounter". Asif was reacting to Rawat's Wednesday remark that his forces are ready to call Pakistan's "nuclear bluff" and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government. "We will call the (nuclear) bluff of Pakistan. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff." Gen. Rawat was responding to a question during a press conference on possibility of Pakistan using its nuclear weapons in case the situation along the border deteriorates. Reacting to the statement, Asif wrote on Twitter: "Very irresponsible statement by Indian Army Chief, not befitting his office. Amounts to invitation for nuclear encounter. If that is what they desire, they are welcome to test our resolve. The general's doubt would swiftly be removed, inshallah." At the same time, the Pakistan Army on Saturday warned India against any misadventure, asserting that the country's nuclear weapons were exclusively meant to foil any threat emanating from the east. Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said: "Well, it's their choice. Should they wish to test our resolve they may try and see it for themselves." Asserting that India was not in a position to launch a conventional war after over-nuclearisation, Ghafoor said Pakistan had credible nuclear capability exclusively meant to foil any threat emanating from the east. "But we believe it's a weapon of deterrence not a choice. The only thing stopping them is our credible nuclear deterrence as there is no space of war between the two nuclear states," he said. Ghafoor said India was unsuccessfully targeting Pakistan through sub-conventional threats and state-sponsored terrorism because it could not subdue Pakistan through conventional engagement following overt nuclearisation in the region. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Sunday (January 14) stressed that the Indian army chief's statements on 'calling Pakistan's nuclear bluff' prove that "India is an irresponsible nuclear state". "Nuclear weapons are not pistols or slingshots, they are weapons of mass destruction. Therefore people expect nuclear powers to behave responsibly," he said. Iqbal raised questions over the possibility of Indian inclusion in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, given the "irresponsible" statements made. "What do the Indian army chief and [US President Donald] Trump's statements indicate?" he asked. "That external attempts are being made to pressure Pakistan." On the other hand, Foreign Office Spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal said the "statement by the Indian army chief is representative of a sinister mindset that has taken hold of India. Pakistan has demonstrated deterrence capability." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. It was convenient for the teaching moment that James Risen just recounted the New York Times' refusal back in 2004 to report on George W. Bush's (secret and criminal) warrantless spying prior to Bush's "re-election" for fear of costing Bush votes, at the same time that a harmoniously bipartisan Congress was just now voting to empower Donald Trump to (openly and legally) spy on everybody without any warrants. How did a crime become a policy? Nobody, not even the "Constitutional law professor" who committed the same crime for the 8 years before Trump, re-wrote the Fourth Amendment. So, what transformed Bush's crimes into Trump's respectable policies was exactly what we said would do that: the failure to impeach Bush and remove him from office. The powers of the imperial president to spy, imprison, torture, and murder increased under Bush, and under Obama, and under Trump. And if we survive Trump, that trend will continue. Not only will presidential powers expand, but the odiousness of the individuals occupying the office will increase. Those who say that's impossible also said it was impossible under one or the other of the previous two presidents, depending on partisanship. Thankfully, a large and growing percentage of the public tells pollsters that Trump should be impeached and removed from office. Millions sign a petition or two. But they do little else. Most activist organizations do nothing at all. And most seasoned activists dismiss the very idea of ever impeaching anyone out of hand. Virtually none of them have ever heard anything about the frequency and potency of impeachment through U.S. history. Every last one of them imagines that a Trump impeachment is about Russia fantasies or nothing, as if the reasons that they themselves despise and fear Trump just don't exist. And you'll not find a single activist anywhere who believes their activism can change society in such a manner that following a successful impeachment, the next office holder will be expected to behave better or face impeachment too. Thus, when you ask a random person if Trump should be impeached and removed from office, as often as not they will shout "Hell, yeah!" (And I strongly suspect that pattern would hold outside of the United States as well as here within it.) But if you ask an activist at a politically engaged conference or rally in the U.S., I can almost guarantee you that -- at the absolute best -- they will mumble that they wouldn't mind such an impossibility. The majority of them will then tell you the very same things they told you pre-inauguration. Nothing has changed in the anti-impeachment song list during the past year. First and foremost, if you want Trump impeached, you are working on behalf of the Evil Mike Pence who will be worse. Never mind that if you allow Trump to do anything he wants, we may all die quickly and will certainly die slowly from climate destruction. Never mind that if you apply no limits to the presidency, you will offer unprecedented power to one or the other of two candidates as bad or worse than Trump. If you think I'm kidding, go ask a Democrat what Oprah should do, and then watch Oprah in 2003 pushing for a war on Iraq. Oprah does not approach Trump in odiousness, but Democrats seem completely incapable of swooning over anyone who hasn't pushed for major mass-murders, and they seem to be limiting their search to people hoarding billions of dollars while striving for vacuous corporate-friendly celebrity. This doesn't end well. Next, activists will tell you that by pursuing impeachment you're helping the evil Democrats. Never mind that you can't be helping both Pence and Democrats in the worldview of people who recognize and wildly exaggerate the differences between the two parties. Never mind that Nancy Pelosi has made herself the leading opponent of impeachment, just as she did under George W. Bush. Never mind that Rahm Emanuel in January 2007 said they would keep Bush around and the war going for two more years in order to run "against" them again. Never mind that the Democrats' whole permanent election campaign strategy of simply not being Trump would collapse in the absence of Trump. Next they'll tell you that you're failing to help the good Democrats who need you to focus on elections instead of silly distractions like establishing limits on dictatorial power. Never mind that you can't be doing this along with your other sins. Never mind that the focus on elections has given the Democrats election losses and the rest of us a country trending toward shitholery. Next they'll tell you that impeachment is not what poor people's organizations want. And in the end they'll tell you that it just can't be done. But show me a poll of poor people who oppose impeaching Trump. I'd like to see that. The problem is not poor people, or their desperate needs for food and shelter, or middle-class people. The problem is the activists who have made the flabbergasting discoveries that there are lots of people, including Mike Pence, in the U.S. government with horrific records and that whole agencies and policies are corrupt and destructive. (I know, isn't it unbelievable? I'm shocked, I tell you.) The answer, if there is one, is for the people who haven't been properly trained in wise activism to simply get active, to do more than sign a petition, to organize an event, to set up a lobby meeting, to put stories into both good and large media, and to engage in nonviolent civil resistance -- not to be confused with The Resistance. None of the big organizations who jumped onto Occupy when it made the corporate news had proposed creating it in the first place. If you build an impeachment movement, they will come. If you don't, I've warned you what's coming. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. War, namely, the use of actual force hovers in the background, while warfare, which is really all other means in relations between states, remains the Trumpian leitmotif. Contumely for African countries one day, invective for Iran the next. Last week it was Pakistan. It's all grist for a presidential mill in a psychedelic world where facts swirl about on the periphery dominated by a frenzy of colorful falsehoods in the center. Forget the beautiful Benin bronzes, the contributions to arts, culture, the rhythms of dance, jazz, and pop. The continent is reduced to 'shithole countries' in the Trump cranial toilet bowl. Has Iran fulfilled its JCPOA (Iran deal) obligations? Yes, say all the parties and the supervising IAEA. No, says Donald Trump. Iran is violating the spirit of the deal. But it's a nuclear deal, Mr. President. If you envision a broader agreement, no one is stopping you from new negotiations. Surely one also needs to ask who is largely responsible for the destruction of Syria, the arming of rebels, the millions of refugees, and now the bloated bellies of starving Yemeni children. In Africa, the real issue is the U.S. role in ravaging the countries on the continent: from the 1961 execution of Patrice Lumumba, the Congo independence leader and first elected Prime Minister, by a U.S.-supported Belgian task force to the present-day rape of Libya and a proxy invasion of Somalia. The OECD ranks the U.S. as almost the worst (35th out of 37) in terms of poverty and inequality. It has the highest Gini coefficient of all Western countries. Close to 40 million (or 1 in 8) Americans live in poverty. One in five households (19.7 %) say they have difficulty affording food at some point during the year. Lack of a national health-care system means the 'health gap' between the US and its peer countries continues to become worse. It leads to such outcomes as the worst infant-mortality rates and the lowest life expectancy. At five times the OECD average, the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. It causes both economic loss and personal tragedy on an untold scale. The US education system (schooling) still lags behind its advanced peers. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted every three years, ranked the US 38th of 71 countries. Among the then 35 OECD participants, the US ranked 30th in Math and 19th in Science. It does not bode well for future US global competitiveness, and might also explain to some extent the high incarceration rate. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Truthdig This piece was first published Jan. 18, 2010. It is being reposted on this Martin Luther King Jr. memorial weekend. Martin Luther King Day has become a yearly ritual to turn a black radical into a red-white-and-blue icon. It has become a day to celebrate ourselves for "overcoming" racism and "fulfilling" King's dream. It is a day filled with old sound bites about little black children and little white children that, given the state of America, would enrage King. Most of our great social reformers, once they are dead, are kidnapped by the power elite and turned into harmless props of American glory. King, after all, was not only a socialist but fiercely opposed to American militarism and acutely aware, especially at the end of his life, that racial justice without economic justice was a farce. "King's words have been appropriated by the people who rejected him in the 1960s," said Professor James Cone, who teaches at Union Theological Seminary in New York and who wrote the book "Martin & Malcolm & America." "So by making his birthday a national holiday, everybody claims him, even though they opposed him while he was alive. They have frozen King in 1963 with his 'I Have a Dream' speech. That is the one that can best be manipulated and misinterpreted. King also said, shortly after the Selma march and the riots in Watts, 'They have turned my dream into a nightmare.'" "Mainstream culture appeals to King's accent on love, as if it can be separated from justice," Cone said. "For King, justice defines love. It can't be separated. They are intricately locked together. This is why he talked about agape love and not some sentimental love. For King, love was militant. He saw direct action and civil disobedience in the face of injustice as a political expression of love because it was healing the society. It exposed its wounds and its hurt. This accent on justice for the poor is what mainstream society wants to separate from King's understanding of love. But for King, justice and love belong together." Malcolm X, whose refusal to appeal to the white ruling class makes it impossible to turn him into an establishment icon, converged with King in the last months of his life. But it would be wrong to look at this convergence as a domestication of Malcolm X. Malcolm influenced King as deeply as King influenced Malcolm. These men each grasped at the end of their lives that the face of racism comes in many forms and that the issue was not simply sitting at a lunch counter with whites -- blacks in the North could in theory do this -- but being able to afford the lunch. King and Malcolm were deeply informed by their faith. They adhered to a belief system, one Christian and the other Muslim, which demanded strict moral imperatives and justice. And because neither man sold out or compromised with the power elite, they were killed. Should King and Malcolm have lived, they would have become pariahs. King, when he began his calls for integration, argued that hard work and perseverance could make the American dream available for rich and poor, white and black. King grew up in the black middle class, was well educated and culturally refined. He admitted that until his early 20s, life had been wrapped up for him like "a Christmas present." He naively thought that integration was the answer. He trusted, ultimately, in the white power structure to recognize the need for justice for all of its citizens. He shared, as most in his college-educated black class did, the same value system and preoccupation with success as the whites with whom he sought to integrate. But this was not Malcolm's America. Malcolm grew up in urban poverty, dropped out of school in eighth grade, was shuttled between foster homes, abused, hustled on city streets and ended up in prison. There was no evidence in his hard life of a political order that acknowledged his humanity or dignity. The white people he knew did not exhibit a conscience or compassion. And in the ghetto, where survival was a daily battle, nonviolence was not a credible option. "No, I'm not an American," Malcolm said. "I'm one of 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism. One of the ... victims of democracy, nothing but disguised hypocrisy. So I'm not standing here speaking to you as an American, or a patriot, or a flag-saluter, or a flag-waver -- no, not I! I'm speaking as a victim of this American system. And I see America through the eyes of the victim. I don't see any American dream; I see an American nightmare!" King, especially after he confronted the insidious racism in Chicago, came to appreciate Malcolm's insights. He soon began telling Christians that "any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and is not concerned with the slums that damn them, the economic conditions that cripple them, is a spiritually moribund religion in need of new blood." "King began to see that Malcolm was right in what he was saying about white people," Cone told me. "Malcolm saw that white people did not have a conscience that could be appealed to to bring justice for African-Americans. King realized that near the end of his life. He began to call most whites 'unconscious racists.'" The crude racist rhetoric of the past is now considered impolite. We pretend there is equality and equal opportunity while ignoring the institutional and economic racism that infects our inner cities and fills our prisons, where a staggering one in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are incarcerated. There are more African-American men behind bars than in college. "The cell block has replaced the auction block," the poet Yusef Komunyakaa writes. The fact that prison and urban ghettos are populated primarily with people of color is not an accident. It is a calculated decision by those who wield economic and political control. For the bottom third of African-Americans, many of whom live in these segregated enclaves of misery and deprivation, little has changed over the past few decades; indeed, life has often gotten worse. In the last months of his life, King began to appropriate Malcolm's language, reminding listeners that the ghetto was a "system of internal colonialism." "The purpose of the slum," King said in a speech at the Chicago Freedom Festival, "is to confine those who have no power and perpetuate their powerlessness. ... The slum is little more than a domestic colony which leaves its inhabitants dominated politically, exploited economically, segregated and humiliated at every turn." The chief problem is economic, King concluded, and the solution is to restructure the whole society. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were, as King and Malcolm knew, meaningless slogans if there was no possibility of a decent education, a safe neighborhood, a job or a living wage. King and Malcolm were also acutely aware that the permanent war economy was directly linked to the perpetuation of racism and poverty at home and often abroad. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). [First published by The Greanville Post, revised January 17, 2018] The two Koreas show some sanity by talking to each other, while the US throws an insane tantrum that South Korea is acting like an independent sovereign country, instead of a US colony. The US is flabbergasted that South Korea is off the Washington war-message, and the US wants South Korea to just keep its mouth shut. Fearing that peace might break out with the two Koreas talking, Washington instructed South Korean President Moon Jae-in to keep the message about anything but peace. It is not just Trump. A former top official for the Obama administration warned Moon that South Korea was not going to get anywhere with the North Koreans unless they have the "US behind them". Humiliating; that is like saying that Moon's "button" is not as big as Kim's. The metaphor is exactly how the Washington elite see South Korea: as Washington's obedient eunuch. The official went on to say, "If South Koreans are viewed as running off the leash, it will exacerbate tension within the alliance". Running off the leash! Now more humiliation, South Korea is supposed to be a US poodle? Instead President Moon Jae-in is showing that he has teeth, and that South Koreans want their country back from US humiliating domination. During the talks it was agreed for North Korea's participation in the Winter Olympics in February, and future talks between the two to reduce tension. Neocons such as John Bolton are outraged that North Korea has proven once again that it is willing to come to the negotiation table. Bolton says it is a dirty trick and that North Korea is "taking advantage of a weak South Korean government", adding more insulting humiliation. To Washington, South Korea talking peace is weak, running off the leash and going it alone without its US master. The North using the peace option is seen as a provocation and propaganda that Washington will not tolerate. In retaliation the US sent more nukes to Guam, and put the state of Hawaii on a full alert that a "ballistic missile was inbound". The nukes outbound to Guam are real; the ones inbound to Hawaii were fake, just like the ability of the billion dollar THAADS to shoot them down. Too conveniently the Hawaii false alarm comes just as the US and its vassals are readying for what the US plots to be a show of solidarity and unity on killer sanctions against North Korea. The US wants its chorus to perform the tragedy of telling North Korea to obey or watch 500,000 of their children die. As Madeleine Albright said about Iraq's 500,000 dead children from US sanctions, "the price is worth it". The US does not think the price of diplomacy is worth it though. The US continues to block efforts at diplomacy. The US expresses its contempt for South Korea's 2017 election of President Moon Jae-in. He was elected on a peace platform by the South Korean people. Moon's predecessor Park Geun-hye sang from the US hymnbook until she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. In 2017 the South Korean people went to the street and demanded the granddaughter of former dictator Park Chung Hee be impeached, and now she is in prison. Peace is not anything that Washington's plutocrats want to hear, although the South Korean people like the sound of it, and elected Moon their president by a wide margin. The self-interests in Washington preferred the corrupt warmonger Park. She carried the US's tune with perfect pitch, even (allegedly) conspired to assassinate the North's Kim Jong-Un. The message of the humiliation from US apparatchiks is that if Moon does not change his tune the US will try to undermine South Korea's democracy with a regime change project. The US habitually meddles in other's elections, and wants to keep tensions high on the Korean peninsula, keep the South Koreans in line, make North Korea a boogeyman, frighten the American people, station 30,000 US troops in South Korea with wartime operational control, buy more multi-billion dollar THAADS from Lockheed Martin, and divide the Korea people. Even at the risks of a nuclear war, which the US proposes making easier. The establishment nearly went to war with North Korea in 1994 until Bill Clinton negotiated peace. The neocons in Washington and the mainstream media keep saying that North Korea refuses to come to the negotiating table. Clinton's decision to use diplomacy instead of threats proved the warmongers wrong again. It was the US all along that refused to talk, preferring belligerence and threats just as it does now. Once Clinton showed a willingness to bargain, then a nuclear deal was struck. The deal was called the Agreed Framework. What North Korea wanted then for it to suspend its nuclear program was for the US to halt the massive military exercises on North Korea's border, a non-aggression guarantee, compensation for abandoning its needed electric producing nuclear reactors, and economic relations with the US. Now the situation with North Korea is back to where it was in 1994. George W. Bush reversed the path of peace when he came into the White House. In 2001 he tore up the Agreed Framework, put North Korea on the Axis of Evil list in 2002, invaded Iraq in 2003, and hanged Saddam Hussein in 2006. Very predictably North Korea resumed its nuclear program for self-defense against a paranoid and unpredictable USA that sees enemies to attack under every bed. Bush scrapped the Agreed Framework, and told then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung that future talks with North Korea were dead. Kim Dae-jung had come to visit Bush shortly after winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his Sunshine Policies of peace with North Korea. Instead of welcoming President Kim and his peace efforts, Bush humiliated him by shockingly calling North Korea leader Kim Jon-il a dwarf. North Korea predictably withdrew from the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and resumed work on its nuclear program. A month later Bush called out North Korea to pay particular attention to Libya as an example of how a country is welcomed into the "international community" when it unilaterally gives up its nuclear defense program. North Korea paid attention and it was listening when Muammar Gaddafi said in a 2008 speech that "one of these days America may hang us like they did Saddam ". In 2011 Gaddafi was murdered a brutal death at the hands of US proxies; he was anally raped with a bayonet and left to rot on public display in a meat locker. Before Gaddafi's corpse was even cold a hysterically glowing Hillary Clinton cackled "we came, we saw, he died", hahaha". Now fast forward to 2018 and the US is threatening war against North Korea again. The US has been abusing Korea since 1871 when it first invaded it with an expeditionary force of Marines to forcibly open trade. Korea just wanted to be left alone, but the US forced Korea to sign an exclusive trade treaty in 1882 at the point of a gun. In exchange for that unequal trade agreement the US promised Korea protection. In 1910 the US proved that its promise was worthless. Instead of protection, President Theodore Roosevelt stabbed Korea in the back by conspiring with Japan. Roosevelt had enthusiastically supported Japan in the Russo-Japanese War. Japan pre-emptively attacked the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in a sneak attack. Teddy congratulated Japan for their brilliance...in 1941 his nephew Franklin would call a Japanese sneak attack "a day of infamy". After Japan and Russia ground down to a bloody stalemate, Japan secretly appealed to Teddy to open negotiations. Roosevelt acted as a (dis)honest broker in negotiating the Treaty of Portsmouth, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Japan won the spoils of the war. Roosevelt had a secret deal that Japan could have Korea and the US would take the Philippines. In 1945 the US deceived Korea again. Instead of liberating Korea from the Japanese occupation, the US occupied Korea for 3 years until 1948 and then blocked its independence. The US was largely responsible for the division of Korea and backing dictatorships in South Korea until 1993. Americans do not know the US treachery, but Koreans do. Why would they trust the USA now? Imperialist Teddy Roosevelt (Image by guano) Details DMCA In order to understand North Korea, one must start with the "anticolonial and anti-imperial state growing out of a half-century of Japanese colonial rule and a half-century of continuous confrontation with a hegemonic United States", as Bruce Cumings writes in his book North Korea: Another Country. In order to understand South Korea one should take a similar approach. The Japanese colonization of Korea in 1910 was greeted with cheers from the USA. Teddy Roosevelt encouraged Japan to have its own Japanese Monroe Doctrine for Northeast Asia. The Japanese were harsh rulers, and Koreans remember colonial times as a national humiliation. Under the Japanese the Korean economy grew rapidly, but Koreans will rightly argue that little of it helped the average Korean. Like the Korean "comfort women" sex slaves during World War Two, Koreans were forced to obey their Japanese masters. Some Koreans complied reluctantly, some willingly and some enthusiastically. Many, but not all of the enthusiastic collaborators came from the landed aristocratic class of Koreans known as the Yangban. Other collaborators were traitors that saw advancing their economic and social status by collaborating. After the division of Korea in 1945 many of the yangban class and collaborators fled to the South where they felt safe with the US occupation army, and for good reasons. The North was redistributing the yangban's vast landholdings. Many of the yangban and collaborators were safer in the US occupied south. Many went on to achieve leadership in business and government in South Korea. For instance, the future South Korean dictator Park Chung-hee (from 1963 until his assassination in 1979) had collaborated with the Japanese as a lieutenant in the Japanese army in Manchuria fighting against the Korean resistance fighters. Korea has a long history of thousands of years. It united as one people in the 7th century and remained so until after World War Two. The US had started planning for the occupation of Korea six months after Pearl Harbor, according to Bruce Cumings. The day after Japan surrendered a future Secretary of State Dean Rusk drew a line at the 38th Parallel where the US proposed that Korea be divided, and the Russian allies agreed. Thousands of Koreans protested in the streets. They were told that a trusteeship was temporary until elections. Instead the US feared that the people would elect a communist government, and so they rigged a fraudulent election for a separate government in the South. The United Nations rubber stamped it. As in the South, the North then held separate elections for the Supreme People's Assembly which then elected Kim Il Sung, a famous anti-Japanese guerilla resistance leader since 1932. The US and South Korean propaganda portray that North Korea was a puppet and satellite project of the Soviet Union. This is probably the US projecting its own imperial intentions. Cummings says that no evidence exists that the Soviets had any long-term designs on Korea. They withdrew all of their military in 1948 from North Korea. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Truthdig (Image by Mr Fish/Truthdig) Details DMCA I covered the war in El Salvador for five years. It was a peasant uprising by the dispossessed against the 14 ruling families and the handful of American corporations that ran El Salvador as if it was a plantation. Half of the population was landless. Laborers worked as serfs in the coffee plantations, the sugar cane fields and the cotton fields in appalling poverty. Attempts to organize and protest peacefully to combat the huge social inequality were met with violence, including fire from machine guns mounted on the tops of buildings in downtown San Salvador that rained down bullets indiscriminately on crowds of demonstrators. Peasant, labor, church and university leaders were kidnapped by death squads, brutally tortured and murdered, their mutilated bodies often left on roadsides for public view. When I arrived, the death squads were killing between 700 and 1,000 people a month. An insurgent army arose, the Farabundo Mart National Liberation Front (known by the Spanish-language abbreviation FMLN), named for the leader of a peasant uprising in 1932 that was crushed through the slaughter of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, many of them killed in summary executions. The FMLN seized huge parts of the country from the corrupt and demoralized military. In the fall of 1983, the rebels, supplied with weapons from the Sandinista government in Nicaragua, were on the verge of capturing the country's second largest city. I did not, at first, travel with the army. It was too dangerous. It was far safer to go into combat with the FMLN. Without outside intervention, the rebels would have seized control of El Salvador within months and ousted the oligarchs. But, far to the north, was a shithole country ruled by a former B-list movie actor who had starred in "Bedtime for Bonzo" and who was in the early stages of dementia. This shithole country, which saw the world in black and white, communist and capitalist, was determined to thwart the aspirations of the poor and the landless. It would not permit the profits of its companies, such as United Fruit, or the power of the pliant oligarch class that did its bidding in El Salvador, to be impeded. It had disdain for the aspirations of the poor, especially the poor of Latin American or Africa, the wretched of the earth, as writer Frantz Fanon called them, people who in the eyes of those who ruled the shithole country should toil in misery all their lives for the oligarchs and the big American companies allied with them. Let the poor, brown and black people go hungry, watch their children die of sickness or be murdered. Power and wealth, those who ruled this shithole country believed, was theirs by divine right. They, as the lords of shithole-dom, were endowed with special attributes. God blessed shithole countries. The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda understood how those who ruled the shithole country looked at the wretched of the earth. He wrote: "When the trumpet sounded, it was all prepared on the earth, the Jehovah parceled out the earth to Coca Cola, Inc., Anaconda, Ford Motors, and other entities: The Fruit Company, Inc. reserved for itself the most succulent, the central coast of my land, the delicate waist of America. "It rechristened its territories as the 'Banana Republics' and over the sleeping dead, over the restless heroes, who brought about the greatness, the liberty and the flags, it established the comic opera: Abolished independencies, presented crowns of Caesar, unsheathed envy, attracted the dictatorship of flies." The dictatorship of flies had its downside. It elevated the imbecilic and the inept, men whose main attributes were brutality, mendacity and thievery. They were uniformly unpleasant creatures. Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza in Nicaragua. The Duvaliers in Haiti. Augusto Pinochet in Chile. Efran Ros Montt in Guatemala. These flies did the bidding of the shithole country. They would murder their own people without compunction and, for hefty bribes, would allow the corporations to exploit and pillage. Yes, they had their eccentricities. The depraved often do. Gen. Maximiliano Herna'ndez Martnez, who came to power in a military coup, led the government in El Salvador that carried out the 1932 massacres known as La Matanza. The general, a recluse who rarely appeared in public, was a believer in the occult and held se'ances in the presidential residence. He was one of the models for Gabriel Garca Ma'rquez's portrait of a Latin American tyrant in "The Autumn of the Patriarch." Martnez styled himself after the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. He barred all immigration by Arabs, Hindus, Chinese and blacks. He once announced: "It is good that children go barefoot. That way they can better receive the beneficial effluvia of the planet, the vibrations of the earth. Plants and animals don't use shoes." And he said it was a greater crime to kill an ant than a human being "because a man who dies is reincarnated while an ant dies forever." His solution to a measles epidemic was to order the streetlights wrapped in cellophane to purify the air. He believed that colored water could cure most illnesses. How surprised the leaders of the shithole country would be if they knew about the poets, the writers and the artists, the intellectuals and the men and women of great moral probity, such as the Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero, who in 1980 was assassinated with a bullet shipped down to the killers from the shithole country. The leaders of the shithole country do not see the people of Latin America or Africa as fully human. But then they are not great readers, especially of poetry by the lesser breeds of the earth. They have not heard the truth of the Salvadoran poet Roque Dalton, who wrote: "Take care, you're worth your weight in gold. Because in capitalism only the owners of gold are worth their weight in gold." The shithole country poured $1 million a day in aid and weapons into the land. They sent down their most ruthless killers, including Fe'lix Rodrguez, the CIA agent and Bay of Pigs veteran who had overseen the hunt for Che Guevara in Bolivia, presided over his execution and proudly wore the wristwatch he had taken from the martyred revolutionary's body. At night you could see the killers sent to El Salvador by the shithole country, usually with their Vietnamese wives, sitting around the pool at the Sheraton Hotel. They had perfected the dark arts of infiltrating, torturing, interrogating, disappearing and murdering through practice on the people of Vietnam during the war there. They could teach you how to strangle someone with piano wire so there would be no noise as the victim choked to death. They brought many such skills with them to Central America. They directed the death squads to wipe out the resistance leaders, priests and nuns working in poor communities, teachers, journalists, labor organizers, student leaders, professors and intellectuals who denounced the barbarity. They trained and equipped new soldiers for the oligarchs. They formed mercenary units with hundreds of soldiers recruited from countries such as Honduras, Venezuela and Chile. They called these military units, which were secret, Unilaterally Controlled Latino Assets. They sent them to fight the FMLN because the Salvadoran military was so unreliable. They provided fleets of helicopters to hunt the insurgents by air. It was an orgy of militarism. By the time the shithole country was done, it had spent $4 billion to crush the uprising. And while it was orchestrating the bloodbath in El Salvador it provided $1 billion to the thugs and killers known as the Contras in Nicaragua, where 50,000 people were murdered. It also quietly assisted the killers of Guatemala, where 200,000 were slain. The poor peasants did not stand a chance. Mass graves dotted the Central American isthmus, a testament to their work. Dalton wrote: "The dead are more insolent than ever. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121 "Putting real power into the hands of voters and consumers, has made bottom-up approaches massively disruptive for politics and brands. It's the present and future of politics and business. Rob Kall's book Bottom-Up pulls together the wisdom and experience of some of the leading thinkers who have brought the bottom-up revolution to full bloom." Joe Trippi, pioneering Internet campaign manager of Howard Dean, digital campaign consultant Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Paul Craig Roberts Website I have received a letter from Margaret Huang, Amnesty International's executive director. She is fundraising on the basis of President Trump's "chilling disregard for our cherished human rights" and his exploitation of "hatred, misogyny, racism and xenophobia," by which he has "emboldened and empowered the most violent segments of our society." Considering the hostility of Identity Politics toward Trump, one can understand why Ms. Huang frames her fundraiser in this way, but are the Trump deplorables the most empowered and violent segments of our society or is it the security agencies, the police, the neoconservatives, the presstitute media, and the Republican and Democratic parties? John Kiriakou, Ray McGovern, Philip Giraldi, Edward Snowden, and others inform us that it is their former employers, the security agencies, that are empowered by unaccountability and violent by intent. Certainly the security agencies are emboldened by everything they have gotten away with, including their conspiracy to destroy President Trump with their orchestration known as Russiagate. The violence that the US government has committed against humanity since the Clinton regime attacked Serbia was not committed by Trump deplorables. The violence that has destroyed in whole or part eight countries, murdering, maiming, and displacing millions of peoples, was committed by the Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama regimes, their secretaries of state such as Hillary Clinton, their national security advisers, their military and security establishments, both parties in Congress. The murder of entire countries was endorsed by the presstitute media and the heads of state of Washington's European, Canadian, Australian, and Japanese vassals. Trump and his deplorables have a long way to go to match this record of violence. Whether she understands it or not, Ms. Huang with her letter is shifting the violence from where it belongs to where it does not. The consequence will be to increase violence and human rights violations. The most dangerous source of violence that we face is nuclear Armageddon resulting from the neoconservative quest for US hegemony. Since the Clinton regime every US government has broken tension-easing agreements that previous administrations had achieved with Moscow. During the Obama regime the gratuitous aggressions and false accusations against Russia became extreme. Why doesn't Amnesty International address the reckless and irresponsible acts of the US government that are violating the rights of people in numerous countries and pushing the world into nuclear war? Instead, there have been times when Amnesty International aligns with Washington's propaganda against Washington's victims. By jumping on the military/security complex gets Trump movement, human rights and environmental organizations have increased the likelihood that rights and environment will be lost to war. There can be no doubt that Trump is undoing past environmental protections and opening the environment and wildlife to more destruction. However, the worst destruction comes from war, especially nuclear war. Would things be different if the liberal/progressive/left had rallied to Trump's support in reducing tensions with Russia, in normalizing the hostile relations that Obama had established with Moscow? Would the support of the liberal/progressive/left have helped Trump resist the pressures from the neoconservative warmongers? In exchange for support for his principal goal, would Trump have mitigated industry's attacks on the environment and vetoed the renewal of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that violates human rights? We will never know, because the liberal/progressive/left could not see beyond the end ot its nose to comprehend what it means for the environment and for human rights for nuclear powers to be locked into mutual suspicion. Thanks to the failure of the liberal/progressive/left and to the presstitute media to understand the stakes, the military/security complex has been successful in pushing Trump off his agenda. The damage that a mining company and offshore drilling can do to the environment is large, but it pales in comparison to the damage from nuclear weapons. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. See original here By Mark Sumner The Trump White House has issued multiple attacks on the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal, declaring their transcript of a interview with Donald Trump "fake news." And the point of contention, in an 8,500 word interview is a single letter. Donald J. Trump" @realDonaldTrump The Wall Street Journal stated falsely that I said to them "I have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un" (of N. Korea). Obviously I didn't say that. I said "I'd have a good relationship with Kim Jong Un," a big difference. Fortunately we now record conversations with reporters... 6:58 AM - Jan 14, 2018 This came after Trump prattled on for an hour and left people in meetings hanging because he was having so much "fun" in his interview, firing off statements like an addled chipmunk. Trump actually went out of his interview with the Journal declaring that he wanted to do "one of these" every month. But then Trump's interview was published, and someone noticed that most of it was simply nuts. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Update: His website is kucinich.com/ but it is just under construction now. You can still sign up though, Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media. Check out his platform at RobKall.com He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity He's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful people on his Bottom Up Radio Show, and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and opinion sites, OpEdNews.com more detailed bio: Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, debillionairizing the planet and the Psychopathy Defense and Optimization (more...) Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Greg Palast Website (Image by Photo of Palast at King's church by Zach D Roberts) Details DMCA It was a Republican, Martin Luther King Sr., who made John Kennedy president of the United States -- for JFK's saving Daddy King's son, Martin Jr., from lynching. This harrowing and little known drama of terror and courage, confirmed for me by Martin Luther King III, changed American politics -- and America -- forever. On October 19, 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Georgia for driving with an Alabama license and sentenced to six months hard labor. No one expected King to survive the sentence -- he'd be lynched at the outset. His father, Martin King Sr., had one desperate chance to save his son. Daddy King had endorsed Richard Nixon, a family friend, for the presidency. Nixon could count on King, a Republican like many African-Americans, who chose the party of Lincoln over the racist Democratic party of Jim Crow segregation. A desperate King called Vice-President Nixon -- who refused to answer. But MLK's wife, Coretta, had a single hope. She called a friend, pacifist activist Harris (later Senator) Wofford who called Bobby Kennedy. RFK didn't hesitate, calling from a pay phone on Long Island to his brother, demanding John save MLK Jr. It was just three weeks before the presidential election, a race too close to call. This was a crisis. Three Southern governors warned the Kennedys that any help for Dr. King and JFK would lose three Deep South states. John Kennedy, who'd just won the Pulitzer Prize for Profiles in Courage, knew this was his test. He gave Bobby the go-ahead to save King. Bobby called Atlanta and told the judge he'd post King's bond -- though the judge had never offered bond. But this Democratic judge knew that with his party, the Kennedys could employ and destroy. Meanwhile, according to Martin King III, his father was pulled from his Atlanta jail at 2am and told he would be transferred to Reidsville Prison hours from the city. King was certain he would not live to see the dawn. But the judge had let it be known that King was now under the protective gaze of the Kennedy's. And MLK, said his son, was "the first prisoner ever to be thrilled and thankful to enter gates of Reidsville Prison." But the warning came true. Word of Kennedy's saving King cost JFK the electoral votes of Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia. But then there was the miracle. Daddy King had written a pamphlet beginning, in block letters: "No Comment" Nixon versus A Candidate with a Heart, Senator Kennedy * THE CASE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING The pamphlet, on blue paper, was carried to the churches of half a million African-Americans. (Image by Pamphlet by Martin Luther King Sr.) Details DMCA Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Trump's "shithole" moment was years in the making. Once again, the political-media world is in a tizzy over a Donald Trump remark. In a White House meeting on Thursday, he...oh, you know what happened. "Shithole" -- he referred to African countries and possibly Haiti as "shithole countries." Yeah, Trump in a tweet -- half a day after the story broke -- denied it. But does anyone believe he didn't say that? News anchors -- notably CNN's Anderson Cooper and Don Lemon -- branded Trump a "racist." And, as could be predicted, a handful of hardly brave Republicans came forward with carefully calibrated wrist-slaps. Outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said, "The words used by the President, as related to me directly following the meeting by those in attendance, were not 'tough,' they were abhorrent and repulsive." And Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) pointed out that Haitian Americans "are serving in public office as members of both political parties." But as with many of Trump's excesses, GOP outrage was muted, at best. (Some media reports portrayed White House aides as even bragging about the "shithole" comment, braying it would play well with Trump's base.) With the nation -- or at least, part of it -- trying to come to terms with this latest manifestation of Trump's vileness, it's a good time to remember a fundamental reality: Trump became racist-in-chief because Republicans and conservatives embraced him and normalized his racism-driven politics. Trump has a long history of what Axios once politely called "racial controversies." Being sued for racial discrimination in his housing developments, inflaming racial tensions in New York City related to crime, and more. But he didn't hit the big time in racial politics until 2011, when Trump, who was then considering running for president in 2012, became the nation's No. 1 birther. For reasons that still remain unclear -- perhaps he was looking to win over conservatives -- he seized upon the already discredited conspiracy theory that President Barack Obama was born in Kenya. That would mean that the first African American president had not been eligible for the presidency and, consequently, was wrongfully in the White House, as the most illegal illegal alien of all time. Go to Mother Jones to read the rest of this article. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From The Guardian I support nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel in order to support Palestinian rights. The move to ban me and others will backfire This month, the Israeli government announced that activists affiliated with 20 organizations, including my organization Codepink, would be banned from entering Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories because of our support for the nonviolent boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights. As a Jew, this causes me tremendous sadness because I have a lifetime attachment to Israel and Palestine. It also deepens my commitment to working for peace and equality for all the peoples of the region. I first went to Israel 50 years ago, right after the June 1967 war. I was 16 years old and spent the summer living on the kibbutz Ein Gedi, right on the Dead Sea. I loved the kibbutz, where I learned about farming, communal living and socialism (yes, it was a socialist kibbutz at the time). I also learned, however, about the contempt and racism many Jews exhibited towards Palestinians and other Arabs. I made friends with Arabs who taught me how the Jewish state had dispossessed Palestinians from their lands during Israel's establishment, created millions of refugees who were not allowed to return, and denied basic rights to the Palestinians who remained as second-class citizens. Over the years, I have stood in solidarity with both Palestinians and Israelis trying to build a truly democratic nation. I co-founded the group Global Exchange, which has been taking delegations to the region since 1990. Unlike most trips organized by US groups, these trips take people to meet Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. They work together in the olive harvest, join efforts to stop Palestinian homes from being demolished by Israel's ever-expanding illegal settlements, and meet with Israelis who defend Palestinian rights. In 2002, Jodie Evans and I founded the women-led peace group Codepink, to stop the war in Iraq. Along with protesting the US's ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, and other aspects of militarism, we have incorporated the Palestinian struggle for freedom into our agenda. After the horrific 2009, 2012 and 2014 Israeli bombings of Gaza, we took hundreds of people to the beleaguered Gaza Strip to witness the devastating human suffering and bring critical humanitarian aid. We joined up with the international Freedom Flotillas that every year since 2010 have been sending ships to try to break the Israeli-imposed blockade of Gaza and its collective punishment of more than 1.8 million Palestinians. We have pushed the US government to stop giving more than $3bn of our tax dollars to the Israeli government in military aid each year. We have supported courageous Palestinians such as Issa Amro and 16-year-old Ahed Tamimi who face long jail sentences for their human rights activism, and worked with wonderful Israeli groups such as Rabbis for Human Rights and the Israeli/Palestinian Coalition of Women for Peace. In 2005, when Palestinian civil society called on the global community to support BDS as a tactic to advance their struggle for freedom, justice and equality, we signed on. Over the years, we have engaged in successful advocacy campaigns, such as pushing the cosmetics company AHAVA and SodaStream to move their factories out of illegal West Bank settlements. We are also campaigning to stop AirBnB and Remax from renting and selling settlement properties. The Palestinian-led BDS movement is fashioned after the boycott movement that helped bring down apartheid in South Africa. Its goal is to apply nonviolent economic pressure on Israel until it end its occupation of all Palestinian lands conquered in 1967, grants equal rights to Palestinian citizens of Israel, and honors United Nations resolution 194 that upholds the right of return for Palestinian refugees expelled from their homes by Israel. Beyond the movement's economic impact, it has transformed the discourse around Palestinian disenfranchisement and built a broader global movement. From major church denominations, academic associations and labor groups, to social justice movements like Black Lives Matter and Standing Rock, to pop culture icons refusing free trips to Israel, as BDS grows worldwide, Israel becomes more and more desperate to contain it. The latest effort is this blacklist of 20 pro-BDS organizations. This new ban comes on the heels of arrests and prosecutions of nonviolent Palestinian activists who face long jail sentences. It is clear that Israel, egged on by its supporters in the Trump administration, is increasing its repression of human rights activists and critics. This tactic, however, will only continue to make a pariah of the Israeli government. As former South African government minister Ronnie Kasrils said: "Attempts by the former South African apartheid government to discredit and threaten the BDS movement failed and backfired, only intensifying international protest which assisted in bringing down that unjust regime. Apartheid Israel is following that path." In the face of Israel's increasingly draconian attempts to suppress nonviolent activists at home and abroad, we will strengthen our principled work in support of freedom and justice for all people in Israel/Palestine. Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. My heart is broken as we begin to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The president has defiled our nation and our ideals. While it breaks my heart to see that some neither deny nor condemn his statements -- it does not break my spirit. Fifty years ago, our nation embarked on a war on poverty, not a war on the poor. People of good will of all nationalities, creeds, and religions stood side by side fighting for racial and economic equality. But we forget, and gloss over, that each step forward was bitterly fought against by merchants of misery -- racists and bigots who believed in violence and hatred. Yet, we moved forward. I have betrayed you, if I led you to believe that America's march towards freedom, justice and equality has been steady. It has not-- each step has been a hard climb up the rough side of the mountain. We are #JusticeWarriors chosen for this moment, for this movement. We must stand boldly against hate, and we must speak truth to power. To our friends who remain silent, Martin Niemoller reminds us: Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. [First published by Eurasia Review] Shahid Beshesti University (SBU), Tehran, January 14, 2018. On several occasions, meeting with brilliant, tech-savvy Iranian university students who are thoroughly charming, fearless and outspoken, this observer is presented a very different picture of what Iranians are facing than what is being offered by some pro-regimen internet bloggers and water carriers. It is from Iranian students, among others that this observer has learned during recent scintillating conversations about current events in Iran as well student's radiant optimism about Iran's future if what they call the current "theocratic dictatorship" is removed. More than 1,000 students, most of whom attend Tehran or Beshesti Universities are among approximately 4,000 Iranian civilians who have been arrested, more than 200 in "preventive detention." This, according to reports from the Iranian Students' News Agency which quoted Mahmoud Sadeghi, a reformist member of parliament as complaining that "many of those arrested were not even involved in protests." One Iranian woman, speaking from Europe, told Fox News by phone on 1/9/2017 that her family member -- 31-year-old Alireza Gomar -- suffered a "bullet in the heart" while demonstrating outside an office for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Tuyserkan, Hamadan Province, on 12/31/2017. The relative said he was rushed to the hospital by fellow activists but later died and that members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards took his body -- and others who had been wounded -- directly from the hospital. "Our family had to beg to get the body back. The Guards wanted them first to agree to be silent, to not tell the media what had happened," the relative claimed. "Only after five days did they get his body back as the family kept up the pressure, but there were IRGC surrounding the funeral." Unlike the widespread 2009 election fraud protests, which left at least 30 citizens dead and hundreds jailed with some politicians still under house arrest eight years later, the current protests are not only about various specific economic grievances but rather they constitute an historic challenge to the very presumption of an Islamic republic. Also unlike 2009, Iranians today have a powerful weapon in social/mass media communication, which, while being franticly targeted by the regime, will survive and it will grow. It's true that seemingly panicked hard-liner Iranian clerics have recently been calling for Iran to create its own indigenous social media apps, blaming current social apps for the uprising. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami preached this during last week's Friday prayers in Tehran. He insisted that when the regime blocked social media "the riots stopped." Khatami insists that "the nation does not support a social network because its key is in the hand of the United States and that anyone who burned Iran's flag should be sentenced to death." This view is agreed to, but qualified slightly, by the Ali Khomeini who blames the usual suspects, the USA, Israel and Saudi Arabia. The regime has blocked much social media but without significant intimidation of protesters. Regime officials last week also announced that teaching English in Iran opened the way to a western "cultural invasion" and the regime has now banned the teaching of English in primary schools, a senior education official has announced. "Teaching English in government and non-government schools is against laws and regulations," Mehdi Navid-Adham, head of the regimes high education council, told state television. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei voiced outrage over the "teaching of the English language spreading to nursery schools, insisting that "this is the promotion of a foreign culture in the country and among children, young adults and youths." A video of the announcement of the ban has become a joke in Iran and is being widely circulated by students and others on social media with Iranians calling it "the filtering of English" while sarcastically comparing it to the recent blocking of the popular apps Telegram, and Instantgram by the government. The formidable impediments regime internal security forces are currently targeting protestors with, according to students at Tehran and Beshesti Universities, and other Iranians, as well as research by Iran scholar Saeid Golkar include some of the following: The main security, military, and judicial branches of Iran's coercive apparatus are the police (NAJA), the Basij, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). All are under the control of Ali Khamenei. The NAJA (police) national police commandership oversees all of Iran's 31 provinces, each of which controls all police stations in a specific province. Each city within a province has one disciplinary area (nahieh-e entezami) that administers all police stations. Normally, according to a Professor at Tehran University, every Iranian police station has deputies of prevention, of intelligence, of inspections, of operations, as well as a judiciary police official. There are approximately 200,000 police with 100,000 additional support staff. Roughly 40% of the latter work for various surveillance organizations that closely monitor more than 4,600 neighborhoods. In addition to the police, Iran's notorious Basij target students and other protestors regardless of the subject, should they criticize the regime. Iran's Basij is the largest civil militia organization in the world, including China and Russia's. It has approximately six million members working from twenty-four branches with four rankings, regular, active, cadre, and special. The Basij also operate a network consisting of Basij bases, districts, and regions. The Basij bases operate in more than 50,000 locations throughout Iran and students claim not much ever happens, on or off campus, without them keeping close tabs. Each Basij district operates ten to fifteen bases and is home to around 45 sundry, opaque local security and military forces. These districts are controlled by IRGC regional branches. The Basij also operate security and military units, including the Imam Ali Security Battalions, which are trained in special tactics such as the use of customized bespoke weapons and motorcycles to suppress unrest. Some active Basij members are organized into rapid-reaction battalions called the Beit al-Muqaddas, with responsibility for defending vital installations in their neighborhoods. In addition, the IRGC operates approximately a dozen regional headquarters with each commanding a handful of provincial corps specializing in neutralizing opposition to the regime such as protests and insurgency. All members of the IRGC Ground Forces and Basij report to their local IRGC provincial corps and focus on quelling internal disorder. The IRGC-IO also has its Basij intelligence staff (stead-e khaberi-e Basij), whose members operates in Iran's estimated 4,000 Basij districts. Much like the Herasat noted below, the Basij intelligence officers act as the regime's eyes and ears by monitoring citizen activities and keeping files on local activists. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. Yep, he Chose the wrong one. Now what? (Image by Reverend Dan) Details DMCA The Christian Right's most proffered (and most lame) excuse for supporting Donald Trump is that he is "The Chosen One". This is only second to the cop-out phrase "God works in mysterious ways." If all else fails to look passably reasonable about Trump, use the Chosen One defense. On Martin Luther King Day, however, Trump's latest blunder, the (now) infamous "shithole countries" comment has made him not the Chosen One, but a pariah - chosen only to inflame racial tensions, and just before a memorial day to a man symbolizing racial unity. At MLK's own Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Rev. Raphael G. Warnak described Trump as a "willfully ignorant, racist, xenophobic, narcissistic con man." "We will not allow the politics of division to get in the way of the vision of a shared humanity, the vision of what Dr. King called the beloved community, the vision of one nation under God," Warnock said. The fallout from "shithole countries" has taken its toll on Trump's Evangelical base, mostly in the form of silence: Franklin Graham and Jerry Falwell Jr. have not spoken up. To speak up and defend Trump might expose their own prejudices, like Robert Jeffress and his non-defense: "What a lot of people miss is, America is not a church where everyone should be welcomed regardless of race and background," Jeffress told The Post. Yes, that's a pastor putting his political imprimatur on bigotry and racism. Free Will Trump-rabid Evangelicals conveniently forget one thing: The Chosen One argument goes against man's free will. If God chooses to put someone in office, how does our vote count? If God manipulates our votes like Russian hackers, shouldn't He be indicted for His interference? Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. President Trump's done it again. He's snatched away the patina of political correctness that normally conceals the brutal realities of a U.S. policy. His recent words about "shithole countries" say more than most imagine, not only about Haiti and Africa, but about history, colonialism, immigrants in general, and (surprisingly) about faith-inspired anti-colonial resistance. In other words, the offensive imagery is profoundly revealing and worth probing for its subconscious meaning and implications for immigration policy. Begin by considering the operative words themselves. They were pronounced in the context of a White House meeting about immigration policy. There Mr. Trump wondered "Why do we want all these people from 'shithole countries' coming here?" Such poetic metaphor suggests two meanings. On the one hand, it might imply that Haiti and Africa are somehow anal sphincters. They are orifices from which excrement exits a body. In other words, Haitians and Africans are nothing but human waste. Alternatively, the geographical locations themselves would be places of defecation. They are toilets or outhouses. They exist to receive excrement -- presumably from the likes of Mr. Trump and the country he represents. Accordingly, the countries he referenced are thereby reduced to wastelands. Either comparison (sphincters or toilets) distorts the brutal history of colonialism. In every case that process has impoverished previously prosperous populations of countries and whole continents characterized not by poverty, but by a wealth that far outstrips that of the colonizers. In fact, the colonial world's wealth (three growing seasons, lavish biodiversity, rich rain forests, herds of exotic fauna, expansive acreage, abundant mineral deposits, and, in many cases, oil) are the very reasons why European and American colonists invaded them in the first place. They forced their ways in to transfer the colonies' wealth to the "Mother Country" to feed her voracious bestial but resource-starved industries. In other words, rather than receptacles for receiving waste, the colonies' function became the enrichment of the much poorer imperial centers whose conquistadors invaded and plundered them. In that sense, Europe was the shithole. As sphincter, it exuded sickly white marauders who plundered the lavish wealth of thriving black and brown indigenous peoples. And in every case, after the Second Inter-Capitalist War (aka World War II), when the colonized rebelled to reclaim their own abundance, the colonizers intervened repeatedly to keep the stolen resources flowing to the shitholes up north -- to keep in poverty those they had impoverished. Ironically, Haiti represents a case in point. Their attempts at re-appropriating stolen land and other resources have repeatedly been repulsed by foreign invaders. Haiti's rebellion began in 1791 shortly after the French Revolution. It was then that Toussaint Louverture led the first successful black slave rebellion -- against the country's French imperialists. Such effrontery to white supremacists has never been forgiven. The unacceptability of blacks and browns in rebellion explains the U.S. support of the brutal Tonton Macoute under the Duvaliers ("Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc"). Their death squads were responsible for the assassinations, torture, and disappearances of thousands of Haitians from 1957 to 1986. The CIA supported them at every step. The threat of Haitians struggling for liberation from foreign control also explains U.S. opposition to former priest and liberation theologian, Jean Bertrand Aristide. (And it's here that the previously-mentioned connection to faith enters in.) In 1993 Aristide was elected with 67% of the vote. Aristide's popularity and the reason for CIA opposition to his presidency is suggested by the connections the former priest made between his faith and his rejection of the U.S. rape of his homeland under the Duvaliers. In a January 1988 interview, he said "The solution is revolution, first in the spirit of the Gospel; Jesus could not accept people going hungry. It is a conflict between classes, rich and poor. My role is to preach and organize...." Even before the 2010 earthquake (which killed 300,000 Haitians!), Haiti's infrastructure and social fabric were devastated by reactionary outrages against faith-inspired struggles for national control of the country's own resources. Haitian society still reels from the policies of American clients concerned only with preserving their own wealth and cooperating fully with the foreign agendas of their D.C. puppeteers. None of this is acknowledged by the Trump Administration, the mainstream media, our TV talking heads, or even by the leadership of the Catholic Church. Instead, everything has disappeared down the shitholes (again, please excuse the crudeness of Mr. Trump's metaphor!) residing between the ears of those concerned. The fact is that all colonized countries particularly in Africa have rich histories like Haiti's. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too. From Counterpunch Oprah Winfrey delivered a rallying cry to women and hope for .a new day.. (Image by YouTube, Channel: Washington Post) Details DMCA I remember my first impression of the Reality Television program American Idol. I cringed at the thought, what if, a young Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, or the members of The Clash had been forced to have their talents appraised by the sort of shallow celebrities, supercilious moderators, and gallery of lowest common denominator-giddy cretins attendant to the hype-driven fare. Yet now, there is serious talk among abjectly unserious people that the next presidential election might pit a billionaire, Reality Television grifter versus a billionaire, Reality Television grifter. All hail, The President of the United States Of Reality Television. Oprah Winfrey is and has been since her entrance into the US mass media hologram one of the capitalist elite's most effective propagandists. By intention, her New Age snake oil-peddling patter never connects capitalist exploitation as the dominant source of individual suffering. Of course not. Oprah is a US American huckster in the model of Norman Vincent Peale. She retails in the con job that a paucity of positive thinking -- in essence, personal failings -- is the source of individual angst, alienation, anomie, and suffering in general under the neoliberal order. Yet there is hope, she confides. A positive change in attitude will shift the course of one's destiny. Thereby, she steers her rapt adherents away from the shedding of internalized, capitalist engendered false consciousness, and, on a cultural basis, the paradigmatic shift required to steer humankind away from ecological catastrophe. It should go without saying that me-first-er Oprah, the obscenely wealthy virgin queen of the neoliberal order, would become a prominent promulgator of me-too myopia and its bourgeoisie feminist refusal to connect capitalist exploitation of any and all aspects of human life imposed by her fellow members of capitalism's criminal class. Wealth inequity and wage and debt slavery are forms of predation. Yet notice this dominant and guiding feature of the mindset, a given since the rise of the Weltanschauung in the Western, Christian imagination: Oprah's breed of Calvinist crusader animus, as a rule, will be incurred when the human genitals can be blamed as a key source of human misery. Collectively, according to its gospel, we wretches can start the slog back from our exile within the sin-ridden precincts sprawling east of Eden, if only we scour away the denizens of darkness by a devotion to the purifying gospel of positivity. Resultantly, sinners will become doubt-cleansed devotees of a quasi-religious order, a righteous order in which its canticles and catechisms will vanquish all negative thoughts and untoward inclinations. Redemption and rebirth will be bestowed by the cultivation of a right-thinking, true believer aura thereby a variable pentecost of prosperity will descend upon the keepers of the faith. Never question the degradations of capitalism; instead, keep your eye on the prize of careerist success, a given and deserved destiny for the right thinking but a perpetual rebuke to those possessed by the imps of negativity and the demons of carnality. Oprah preaches a Gospel Of Redemption. Yet, in ways both explicit and implicit, she urges her followers to attempt to adapt to an economic system that is irredeemable. She retails Horatio Alger bunkum to a soul-sick audience inhabiting a planet taxed to the point of ecological catastrophe. The old verities have ossified. Levels of discontent and despair, mirroring rates of greenhouse emission engendered methane feedback loops, are increasing at exponential rates. Yet Oprah continues shilling reality-veiling palliatives to a populace languishing in depression, drug dependency, and an addiction to manic forms of distraction. At this point, I request readers bear with me for a moment until I arrive at my point by means of a series of digressive, rhetorical tropes, both anecdotal and collective in form. Recently, on Facebook, I have witnessed, hovering on my newsfeed, a proliferation of recent New York Times pieces addressing seemingly tabloid fodder and 1950s B movie plot lines, bearing headlines such as: "2 Navy Airmen and an Object That 'Accelerated Like Nothing I've Ever Seen'" "Glowing auras and 'black money': The Pentagon's mysterious UFO program" "U.F.O.s: Is This All There Is?" When I posted a (humorous) take on the subject on my Facebook page, both the number on of and emotional charged nature of responses to the post was striking, even by the less than decorous to outright bughouse standards of social media. The post read as follows: Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). The Role Of Idioms In Learning The English Language The Idioms http://www.theidioms.com http://www.theidioms.com You have probably heard of idioms. They are also called sayings, proverbs, phrases or idiomatic expressions. You might have read about them and learned some of them in school when you were a child. Beyond that the vast majority of people are probably unaware of how widespread and important idioms are in their own language their mother tongue. Most of us dont think much about idioms. We might not realise how hugely important they are in the speaking of our own language. We use them without thinking, accepting that they are part of the language and that most of our fellow native speakers will know what they mean. But to anyone learning any new language like English as a second language, idioms can present quite a problem!An idiom is a commonly used phrase or saying that actually has two meanings and this is where the difficulty lies. An idiomatic expression has a literal meaning, which may or may not make logical sense (problem number one) and it also has a figurative or metaphorical meaning which is often quite different from the literal meaning of the words (problem two). The connection between the literal and the metaphorical meanings is not always easy to grasp, as sometimes an idiom has come about gradually, with twists and turns in its development, and there is a whole story to its origin and use (problem three). Deciphering idioms could be a full time job, and indeed it is for the writers of our Idioms dictionaries and other resources which can aid the learner to develop a better understanding of the English language as it is actually used by the native speakers.These are some common idioms and their figurative (non-literal) meaning: Kill two birds with one stone accomplish two different things at the same time; solve two problems with one single action. On the ball knowledgeable and competent; alert, in command of senses, attentive. Face the music accept criticism for something that you (or someone else) have done; deal with consequences no matter how unpleasant. It takes two to tango both people involved in a situation are equally responsible for it.The intended meaning of each of these phrases does not match with their literal meaning. On the ball does not refer to any actual ball, and It takes two to tango is not about dancing. It takes a leap of logic, often in lateral thinking, to understand the meaning of the idiom, but this is the fun and interesting part. All of these four expressions are commonly in use by English speakers today, and the majority of native speakers understand them. But for the English learner, a little help is required!website presents the largest collection of idioms for English learners, kids and teachers, with comprehensive meaning, examples and accurate origin details.The idioms of a language are what give it authenticity as a real, living, evolving language spoken by real people. The metaphorical meanings of these everyday sayings tell us a great deal about the lifestyle, outlook and attitudes of the native speakers. They are quirky, interesting, and sometimes funny. The way that the idiom links one idea (the literal meaning of the words) with another seemingly unconnected idea (the metaphorical, or figurative meaning) in order to show a similarity that exists between the two situations, can be clever and cunning, and that is often the pleasure that can be gained from learning and using idioms. They give fresh insight into everyday situations. They are a creative way of explaining and referring to aspects of life that most of us share. They colour and illustrate the language, using funny, clever or beautiful imagery. They can be mysterious, intriguing and fun. Some English learners become fascinated by idioms and eager to learn how to use these descriptive expressions. And there is no shortage of new idioms to learn! The English language is thought to contain at least 25,000 idiomatic expressions!It is not easy (not a walk in the park) to learn the idioms of another language besides your own. Perhaps even harder to remember them and know how to use them in sentences. Thats where The Idioms website comes in this site makes it easy for you to learn a variety of phrases, with all of the different contexts that an idiom can be used in, so that you can get a real sense of and feel for the language of the sayings. Plenty of easy to remember example sentences are also provided; the one thing that learners always ask for and most sites dont provide. To have examples to understand the correct usage of the phrase is extremely important, not least because in English classes and Standard English learners exams, students are always asked to use the phrase in a sentence, to demonstrate understanding. And then you can also know where, when and how any idiom has originated. A team of several authors and English experts work with The Idioms website who are engaged in mobilizing the right information for their valued consumers and visitors. Fiona Mackenzie from Scotland is the editor-in-chief of the website, who keeps an eye on the article quality and accuracy on the website.The Idioms website has a search mechanism that will easily and quickly let you find the meaning of a particular idiom. Apart from this you can use alphabetic index listing to find your idiom or you are can also search phrases through the topics. Also, in many ways you can use this website for learning English grammar, as it also contains helpful articles on aspects of grammar. The sites responsive design provides you great ease of use on all types of devices like mobile phone, tablet, laptop and computers. Experience its pleasure for yourself and inform everyone about it, because it can make your path to learning difficult idioms a whole lot easier!According to a survey, this website is used mostly by teachers, children and new English learners, so if you are such a person, or want to help someone who is, be they friend or family member, then this website can prove to be very useful for them.Or if you are preparing for any of these types of exams, it will also be a boon for you. IELTS TOEFL TOEIC OPI OPIC PET Cambridge English: Preliminary FCE Cambridge English: First CAE Cambridge English: Advanced CPE Cambridge English: ProficiencyNowadays as the use of English is increasing, becoming the one language that everybody needs to know to be effective in the world of internet commerce, international business and even social media connections, so the number of English learners is also increasing.With the kind of useful tools that are available on apps and interactive websites like the Idioms, the learning process gets easier, and far more enjoyable.Discover English idiomatic expression and phrases with complete meaning, sample examples and origin facts, arranged in very simple cataloging structure like search and alphabetically listing, theidioms.com makes it easier to find your idiom.Tejinder Singh75 Skirving StreetGlasgowG41 3AHUKEmail: webmaster@theidioms.comWebsite: Nanomaterials Market Revenue, Opportunity, Segment and Key Trends From 2015 to 2025 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-696 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-696 www.futuremarketinsights.com The science of nanomaterials has created a lot of expectation amongst various end user industries. With the increasing applications of nanomaterials, the demand for it is increasing at an increasing rate and is becoming a part of daily lives. Nanomaterials are important product under the nanotechnology. They embrace nanoparticles, smaller than 100 nanometres in at least one dimension. Nanomaterials are widely used in healthcare, electronics, cosmetics and other areas nowadays. Continuous improvement and innovation in the field is driving the growth of the global nanomaterials market.The extraordinary physical and chemicals properties of materials at the nanometre scale enable novel applications ranging from energy conservation and structural strength enhancement to antimicrobial properties and self-cleaning surfaces. The nanotechnology is being increasingly modernised by expending largely on R&D activities which is resulting in the advancement of existing technologies and innovations with reference to the new materials.Energy storage and construction market is providing a huge growth potential to these materials and driving the overall market for nanomaterials. The increasing electronics market is also providing opportunities to the global nanomaterials market due to the falling prices and improving materials property and efficiency.Request for Sample @NanomaterialsMarket: Drivers & RestraintsThe market penetration of the already existing materials and ongoing development of new materials and applications is driving the global nanomaterials market. The unabated market for nanomaterials is being strongly supported by the governmental funding to support the potential growth. The increasing availability of several methods in the field of nanotechnology and new novel methods for fabricating the patterned nanostructures is offering opportunity for better modeling. Some of the other drivers for the growth of global nanomaterials market is partnerships & strategic alliances, increasing number of market players and newer material developments. One of the major factor restraining the growth of global nanomaterials market implies to the growing concerns over environmental impact and toxicity of nanomaterials.NanomaterialsMarket: SegmentationOn the basis of material type, the global nanomaterials market is segmented as follows:Metal Oxide (Silica, Aluminium Oxide/Hydroxide, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxide, Other Metal Oxides)MetalsChemicals and Polymers (Nanopharmaceuticals, Liposomes, Other Chemicals & Polymers)NanotubesOthers (Conventional Materials and New Materials)On the basis of applications the global nanomaterials market is segmented as follows:ConstructionPackagingConsumer GoodsElectrical and ElectronicsEnergyHealth CareTransportationOthers.Nanomaterials Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global nanomaterials market is expected to register a favourable growth for the forecast period, 2015?2025. North America and Europe are the two prominent regions that are projected to endure the control on the global nanomaterials market. Decreasing prices due to the increasing mass production is responsible for the robust growth of the above mentioned markets. The demand for nanomaterials is also surging across Asian regions. The Asia-Pacific region is projected to witness remarkable growth rate owning to the greater demand of nanomaterials in the developing regions like India and China and their continuous research and developmental activities.Request for Table of Contents @Nanomaterials: Key PlayersThere are a lot of players in the nanomaterials industry of which some of the key market participants in global nanomaterials market are BASF, EMFUTUR Technologies, Evonik Industries, Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC, Bayer AG, SkySpring Nanomaterials, Altair Nanotechnologies Inc., and Nanomaterials Company and others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Laser Printer Market Share 2017 and Top Leaders: HP, Canon, Samsung Electronics, Brother Industries, Fuji Xerox, Dell, OKI Electric, Kyocera, Seiko Epson https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4334 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/laser-printer-market-4334 Market Research Future published a research report on Laser Printer Market Research Report- Global Forecast 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Market HighlightsIn this rapidly changing world of technology, laser printer market is projected to show major growth prospects during the forecast period. Major factor driving the laser printer market is the increasing adoption of advanced printing technologies in order to enhance productivity and provide cost effective solutions.The global laser printer market, by geography, has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World. As compared to other regions, the laser printer market in North America is expected to witness significant growth and hold the largest market share during the forecast period. U.S and Canada are anticipated to drive the growth of laser printer market. In addition to this, the region also has a well-established infrastructure which allows higher penetration of devices and ultimately provides better connectivity. This is expected to be a major factor for the growth of laser printer market. Growing adoption of advanced printing technologies in corporate sector as well as government sector is another major factor driving the growth of laser printer market in the region.In the global Laser Printer Market, Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness relatively faster adoption and is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period as compared to other regions. Within Asia Pacific, laser printer market is projected to contribute faster to the growth of revenue backed by increasing demand for advanced printing technologies and growing need for sophisticated laser printing solutions in countries such as Japan, China and India. This is owning to the presence of key players like Samsung Electronics, Brother Industries, Fuji Xerox, Canon, The Ricoh Company and Kyocera Corporation in the region. After HP, Canon and Samsung Electronics have been dominating the laser printer market owing to the increasing demand from end users across various industry verticals.Get Sample of Report @The laser printer market is growing rapidly over 16% of CAGR and is expected to reach at approx. USD 2,322 Million by the end of forecast period.Key PlayersThe prominent players in laser printer market are HP (U.S.), Canon, Inc. (Japan), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Brother Industries, Ltd. (Japan), Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (Japan), Dell, Inc. (U.S.), OKI Electric (Japan), The Ricoh Company, Ltd. (Japan), Lexmark International, Inc. (U.S.), Kyocera Corporation (Japan), Seiko Epson Corporation (Japan) and others.Market Research Analysis:It has been observed that North America is estimated to account for the largest share of the market, whereas Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The major growth in laser printer market in North America is attributed to technical advancements and increasing demand for cost efficient printing solutions for high volume printing needs in that region.Laser Printer Market SegmentationThe laser printer market has been segmented on the basis of type and end user. The type segment is further bifurcated into single function and multi-function printer. Out of which, the multi-function laser printer being the more popular one and holding the largest market share of the laser printer market. Multi-function printers are being increasingly implemented in SMEs and large enterprises owing to its cost effectiveness and multi-functional capabilities.Get Complete Report @Intended Audience Technology Investors Research/Consultancy Firms Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) Printer Manufacturers Corporate Offices Government InstitutionsAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Military Vehicles and Aircraft Simulations Market Regulations and Competitive Landscape Outlook to 2025 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-703 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-703 www.futuremarketinsights.com Military vehicles and aircraft simulation have now become critically important due to high safety and security reasons in every part of the world. Growing need to cut down the cost of pilot training, technological developments, and introduction of new generation aircrafts is escalating the growth in the global military vehicles and aircraft simulation. Additionally, increased environmental impacts, cost of fuel and real wear and tear on weapon system, is anticipated to be the major target market in near future. The simulation technology (imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time) allows both commercial and military trainees to learn faster and master to advance on and off road operations along with handling hazardous and dangerous situations without risk to machine and man. However, simulation of technology is used in many contexts such as safety engineering, education, training, testing, performance optimization, video games and others. It is also used in computer experiments to study simulation models.The military vehicles and aircraft simulation continues to gain importance in the aerospace, defence and military industry. With reduced financial resources, governments are taking initiatives to cut down on training budgets. Owing to this, currently militaries are focusing on attaining cheaper and more effective solutions for their training requirements. Owing to this, flight simulations has evolved to become an essential part of civil aviation operations and military capability. It is a device that artificially creates the environment for flight (where it flies) for pilot training and other purposes. Flight simulator may vary from one model to another and is widely used in commercial and military applications. As a result, training in a fight simulator is more operative than training in aircraft, also it has made a major contribution towards the aviation industry.Request for Sample @Military Vehicles and Aircraft Simulations Market: Drivers & RestraintsTo accommodate new generation aircrafts, mission rehearsal and simulation technologies are moving forward along with embed in a variety of military systems to carry out training in reality at reasonable cost. Commercialization of unmanned aerial vehicles is the emerging trend and will give new opportunities to this market. A fundamental growth driver to the market is growing awareness over the benefits of virtual pilot training. Additionally, demand for trained pilots and crew members, technological advancements, rising demand for air transportation which has further resulted in growing needs for safety and security concerns along with cost advantages are the drivers identified in the military vehicles and aircraft simulations market. Safety regulations and push from the government side is also helping in increasing the degree of awareness among the users. However, high implementation cost, lack of reliable communication and complexity in system are the major setback for military vehicles and aircraft simulations market.Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationsMarket: SegmentationOn the basis of types global military vehicles and aircraft simulations can be broadly into: Virtual, Live, and Constructive and others. On the basis of application global military vehicle and aircraft simulation market is segmented into: Platform, System and Maintenance. On the basis of system, global military vehicles and aircraft simulations can be further segmented into: Flight simulation and Non-Flight Simulation.Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationsMarket: Region-wise OutlookThe global military vehicles and aircraft simulation market is expected to register CAGR of 6.27 percent over the forecasted period 2015-2025. Depending on geographic regions, global military vehicles and aircraft simulation market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. In terms of regions, Europe accounts for the largest market share followed by North America. Asia Pacific market is projected to register a significant CAGR during the forecast period. Increasing demand for training of pilots and rising demand for air transportation along with technological updates is fuelling the growth of global military vehicles and aircraft simulations market in Asia Pacific. Eastern Europe and Latin America are also forecast to register a significant growth in the global military vehicles and aircraft simulations market, as growing awareness over the pilot training is expected to grow in these regions as well.Request for Table of Contents @Military Vehicles and Aircraft SimulationMarket: Key PlayersSome of the players identified in the aircraft simulation are FLIGHTRiX (Command Sims Pvt. Ltd.), Presagis (formed through the acquisition of three industry leading companies includes Engenuity Technologies, MultiGen-Paradigm, and TERREX.), Rheinmetall Defence, Alsim, Atlantis System Corp., CAE Inc., Bae Systems PLC, FlightSafety International Inc., Moog Inc., Simteq B.V., Lockheed Martin Corporation, Thales Group, Rockwell Collins, PMDG, Israel Aerospace industries, ATC Flight Simulator, Mechtronix Inc., L-3 Communications Holdings Ltd., among many others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Hybrid Smart Parking Platform Market Forecast to 2023 and Prominent players: Streetline, Libelium, Tata Elxsi, IPS Group, NuPark, Siemens AG, Huawei Technologies, Acer https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4241 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/hybrid-smart-parking-platform-market-4241 Market Research Future published a research report on Hybrid Smart Parking Platform Market Research Report- Global Forecast 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Market ScenarioSmart parking solutions are a need for today owing to the increasing number of vehicles and the lack of parking spaces. Many companies are investing into the smart parking management market. Streetline has been recognized by Frost & Sullivan with the global product line strategy leadership award for the year 2016. Streetline uses machine learning techniques to deploy hybrid smart parking platform in order to merge data that is collected for real time parking guidance and analytics. Streetline is considered to be a world leader in smart parking solutions and management.North America region holds the largest market share of global hybrid smart parking platform market followed by Europe and Asia Pacific regions. The growth is North America region is mainly dominated by U.S. and Canada and is attributed to the increasing number of vehicles on street and growing awareness about pollution measures in the region. The region also has a well-established infrastructure which allows implementation of advanced technologies and better connectivity for real time data streaming.Get Sample of Report @Hybrid smart parking platform market has been segmented on the basis of component, parking type, solution and application. The parking type segment is further bifurcated into on street parking and off street parking. On street parking refers to parking of vehicles along the streets whereas off street parking refers to parking of vehicles in the garages and parking lots. This is owning to the growing demand for smart city solutions and increasing need for parking space management in order to avoid traffic congestion and maintain better air quality by reducing the traffic problems.Hybrid smart parking platform helps in optimizing parking resources with continuous streaming of data from streets. It offers real time analysis of data and accurate results on parking occupancy based on multiple data sources.The global Hybrid Smart Parking Platform Market is expected to grow at approx. USD 2,134 Million by 2023, at 18% of CAGR between 2017 and 2023.Key Players:The prominent players in hybrid smart parking platform market are Streetline (U.S.), Libelium (Spain), Tata Elxsi (India), IPS Group, Inc. (U.S.), Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Germany), NuPark (U.S.), Siemens AG (Germany), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (China), Acer Inc. (Taiwan), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany) among others.Regional Analysis:The regional analysis of hybrid smart parking platform market is being studied for regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and Rest of the World. It has been observed that North America is estimated to account for the largest share of the market, followed by Europe, whereas Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The major growth in hybrid smart parking platform market in North America is attributed to technological advancements and increasing number of vehicles leading towards growing traffic concerns in that region.Segments:Hybrid smart parking platform market can be segmented on the basis of following:By Component Hardware Software ServiceBy Parking Type On Street Parking Off Street ParkingBy Solution Security & Surveillance Valet Parking Management Parking Reservation Management License Plate RecognitionBy Application Government Residential CommercialGet Complete Report @Intended Audience Technology Investors Research/Consultancy Firms Infrastructure Providers Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) OEM technology solution providers Smart City Government Organization Software vendorsAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Boston Round Glass Bottle Market Growth, Demand and Key Players to 2017-2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2915 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2915 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Boston round glass bottles are also known as Winchester bottles, one of the indispensable product of the packaging industry which has been recognized for its versatile application across industries. Boston round glass bottles are preferred over other traditional plastic bottles, as these bottles are made up of glass which offers more strength, compatibility in comparison to plastic containers. Boston round glass bottles are mostly preferred in personal care and pharmaceutical industry, as these bottles can package high quality solid and liquid applications. Among the three categories of glass, the Boston round glass bottle comes in type III which are made of untreated commercial soda-lime-silica glass. These bottles are available in different styles and colors among which amber and flint color provide the opportunity to select the best packaging for dissimilar contents.The Boston round glass bottles provide robust resistance to successfully store any liquid, powdered specimens or solid samples. These bottles also allow to monitor filled levels as it provides complete clarity. Easy to use designs make these bottles compatible with several process. Assembled with the best material grade, the glass bottles frequently feature a broad-mouthed design for the practical addition and removal of materials.Request Report Sample@Boston Round Glass Bottle Market: DynamicsThe pharmaceutical packaging industry is projected to witness an enormous growth and Boston round glass bottles are expected to primarily drive this growth. The Boston round glass bottles are being used for high quality liquid and solid applications and the market for these bottles will continue to grow as due to increasing research and development in biotechnology which is expected to fuel the growth in the pharmaceutical industry which in turn will accelerate the growth of the Boston round glass bottle market. Further, the increasing demand for biologics will fortify demand for innovative product packaging solutions such as Boston round glass bottles. Moreover, the broad application of these bottles across cosmetics and personal care industry will also escalate the growth in the Boston round glass bottle market. However, the price volatility of raw materials and varying health regulations together with rising competition from alternate products can act as hindrances for the growth in the Boston round glass bottle market.Boston Round Glass Bottle Market: SegmentationOn the basis of capacity, the global Boston round glass bottle market is segmented into, 15 ml 60 ml, 60 ml 177 ml, 177 ml 414 ml, 414 ml 950 ml. on the basis of cap style, the global Boston round glass bottle market is segmented into, dropper, fine mist sprayer, lotion pump, and others. On the basis of neck finish, the global Boston round glass bottle market is segmented into, 18 400, 18 410, 20 400, 22 400, 24 400, 28 400, 33 400. On the basis of neck width, the global Boston round glass bottle market is segmented into, 18 mm 22 mm, 24 mm 33 mm. On the basis of End use industry, the global Boston round glass bottle market is segmented into, personal care, pharmaceutical, Chemical Industrial, Food & beverage and others.Visit For TOC@Boston Round Glass Bottle Market: Region Wise OutlookOn the basis of geography, the global Boston round glass bottle market is divided into majorly five regions namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. North America accounts the largest market share for the consumption of Boston round glass bottle market. Next Europe is one of the leading regions for the Boston round glass bottle market. Asia Pacific is expected to witness a significant growth in demand for Boston round glass bottle in the near future. Further, Latin America and Middle East & Africa are anticipated to witness sustainable growth over the forecast period.Boston Round Glass Bottle Market: Key PlayersSome of the major players in the global Boston round glass bottle market are The Cary Company, Salbro Bottle Inc., Cole-Parmer India Pvt. Ltd., MJS PACKAGING, BASCO, Inc., B.T.I. Packaging Co. Ltd, Empire Industries Ltd., Yiwu Huicheng Glass Products Co., Ltd. and many more.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Global Carrier Aggregation Solutions Market Forecast To Grow At CAGR Of 26.93% Between 2017-2021 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1378215 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1378215/global-carrier-aggregation-solutions-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1378215/global-carrier-aggregation-solutions-market-research-reports.pdf https://www.researchmoz.com/checkout?rep_id=1378215&licType=S http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Latest Research Report Global Carrier Aggregation Solutions Market 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"Carrier aggregation is a key aspect of LTE-A for its combination of two or more blocks of spectrum (also known as component carriers). The addition of multiple component carriers for wider channel bandwidths achieves a greater mobile Internet spectrum for mobile Internet. Carrier aggregation was introduced in 3rd Generation Partnership Program (3GPP), Release 10 (in 2011). South Korea deployed the first LTE-A network with carrier aggregation in 2013.Technavios analysts forecast the global carrier aggregation solutions market to grow at a CAGR of 26.93% during the period 2017-2021.Get Sample Copy of this report @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global carrier aggregation solutions market for 2017-2021. The report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Carrier Aggregation Solutions Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsCiscoNokiaHuawei TechnologiesOther prominent vendorsZTEQorvoArtiza NetworksAnritsuROHDE&SCHWARZKGMarket driverHigh proliferation of mobile computing devicesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportBrowse Complete Report with TOC @Market challengePoor infrastructure of the LTE ecosystem in emerging economiesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIntegration of VoLTE with VoWi-FiFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?You can request one free hour of our analysts time when you purchase this market report. Details are provided within the report.Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: IntroductionMarket outlinePART 05: 4G presence and prospectsView Sample PDF @PART 06: Market landscapeMarket overviewMarket size and forecastFive forces analysisPART 07: Market segmentation by productGlobal carrier aggregation solutions market by productPART 08: Geographical segmentationGlobal carrier aggregation solutions market by geographyAmericasAPACEMEAPART 09: Decision frameworkPART 10: Drivers and challengesMarket driversMarket challengesPART 11: Market trendsPART 12: Vendor landscapeCompetitive scenarioPART 13: Key vendor analysisOther prominent vendorsBuy Now This Report From Here @About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Microsclerotherapy Treatment Market Recent Industry Trends, Analysis and Forecast 2017-2027 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3074 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3074 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com The very thin and tiny veins that look like a spider web below the skin is known as spider veins or thread veins. Spider vein are also known as small varicose veins. They are caused because of the malfunctioning of the valves in the veins. The bloods gets backed up in the veins resulting into swelling. Microsclerotherapy is one of the best technique to treat spider veins. It involves injecting a substance called as sclerosant, which destroys the veins over a period of time and makes it disappear. The technique is most used on legs and other body parts and rare on face due to the minimal possibility of scarring. Normally the patients require about 2 to 6 session of treatment at 4 to 8 weeks of intervals, also depending upon the size of the veins.Microsclerotherapy Treatment Market: Drivers & RestraintsRising incidence of spider veins and varicose veins is one of the major driving factor that can influence the growth of the global microsclerotherapy market. Comparatively painless procedure, minimal invasion, highly effective, fewer post-operative complications, simple analgesic required during the procedure are the important factors that will propel the growth of the global market through 2027. The incidence of spider veins are more prevalent in aging population, therefore rise in geriatric population is another factor that can positively influence the global market. Furthermore, heredity, prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle, obesity are the factors that can influence the growth of the global microsclerotherapy market during the forecast period.Higher cost of the treatment, lack of training for surgeons, other alternative procedures, are few of the major factors that can restrain the growth of the global microsclerotherapy treatment market during the forecast period.Request Report Sample@Microsclerotherapy Treatment Market: SegmentationThe global microsclerotherapy treatment market is classified on the basis of material type and end-user.Based on material type, the global microsclerotherapy market is segmented into the following:SclerosantsSodium Tetradecyl sulphatePolidocanolChromated glycerinOthersMicro-NeedlesGraduated compression hosiery supportsOthers surgical productsBased on End-User, the global microsclerotherapy market is segmented into the following:Cosmetic and Skin ClinicsHospitalsCosmetic Training InstitutesBased on geography, the global microsclerotherapy market is segmented into following:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, U.K, Spain, France, Rest of Western Europe)Eastern Europe (Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa)Visit For TOC@Microsclerotherapy TreatmentMarket: OverviewMicrosclerotherapy treatment market is expected to expand at a significant growth rate across regions. Major players in this segment are working on their research and development process to build advanced products such as improved and effective sclerosants, improved after care and support. Microsclerotherapy is a widespread and a well-established technique for spider veins and with various organizations working to raise and maintain the standards of the treatment the global market is expected to anticipate a higher growth rate. Rise in prevalence of spider veins and varicose vein is one of the major factor attributing to the growth of the market. Furthermore, it is estimated that about 50 to 55 percent of the women in United States suffer from one or other type of vein disease which is one of the major factor that can accelerate the growth of the microsclerotherapy market in North America.Microsclerotherapy Treatment Market: Region-wise OutlookA geographic condition regarding microsclerotherapy treatment market, it has been segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa.North America is expected to dominate the global microsclerotherapy market which is then followed by Europe. Advance healthcare infrastructure, growing importance of aesthetics, continuous lifestyle associated changes, prevalence of spider vein, high disposable income etc. are few of the factors attributing the growth of the microsclerotherapy market in the North America. The Asia Pacific region is expected to register a highest growth rate during the forecast period due to increase in patient awareness and early treatments, increase in disposable income, improved technological advancement.Microsclerotherapy Treatment Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players operating in the global microsclerotherapy market are The Vein Clinic, STD Pharmaceutical Products, Covidien, Kreussler Pharma, VASCULAR SOLUTIONS, Medicetics, and Skin Care Clinic, Maryland Dermatology Laser, Skin, & Vein Institute, LLC, among others worldwide.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Mass Notification System in Healthcare Market to Grow at Over 15% CAGR through 2026 MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4013 https://www.mrrse.com/mass-notification-system-healthcare-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/4013 https://www.mrrse.com/ There is an increasing awareness on the benefits of adopting mass notification systems among healthcare providers. According to a new report titled Mass Notification System in Healthcare Market: Long Term Care End User Segment Anticipated to Register High Y-o-Y Growth Rates Throughout the Forecast Period: Global Industry Analysis (2012 - 2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017 - 2027) that has been added to the vast repository of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE), the global mass notification system in healthcare market is likely to grow at a CAGR of over 15% during the assessment period 2017-2027.Request a Free PDF Sample @North America, led by the US, continues to be one of the leading markets for mass notification system around the globe. Awareness among healthcare providers in North America continues to be higher vis-a-vis other countries. The nursing homes, ambulatory care centers, and long-term care centers in the US continue to be strong proponents of mass notification systems. This is fuelling increasing adoption of mass notification system among healthcare service providers. North America continues to be one of the leading markets for mass notification system in healthcare, accounting for nearly 60% revenue share of the market.In addition to North America, Asia Pacific excluding Japan is another key market for mass notification system in healthcare. There has been significant growth in the mass notification system market in APEJ, owing to a slew of macroeconomic and microeconomic factors. The healthcare sector in APEJ has witnessed steady growth in the past decade or so, owing to the increase in government initiatives and funding. Decades of sustained growth has meant that many economies in the region now have the means to revamp their healthcare infrastructure and modernize it. These factors are likely to provide an impetus to the growth of the mass notification system in healthcare market in APEJ.Read the full report with TOC @The report also offers holistic information and analysis on the end users that are driving the growth of the market. According to the report, there is an increasing trend among patients to opt for at-home treatment, which is necessitating the use of mass notification systems. Further, nursing homes are likely to account for a significant share of the overall revenues, and it is highly likely that the opportunities in nursing homes will be higher than that of long term care hospitals.The report also offers a detailed information on the competitive landscape of the market. Some of the leading players profiled in the report include Eaton Corporation, Siemens AG, Alert Media Inc.,Mircom Group of Companies, AtHoc, Everbridge, Honeywell International Inc., ONSOLVE, Singlewire Software, Desktop Alert, and Spok.Leave a Query @About MRRSEMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite: Insurance Market- Learn about AEGONs Organizational Structure and its Core Business Segments http://orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/2022809 http://orbisresearch.com/reports/index/insurance-company-profile-aegon http://orbisresearch.com/contact/purchase/2022809 Orbis Research Presents Insurance Company Profile: Aegon magnify the decision making potentiality and helps to create an effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage."Insurance Company Profile: Aegon", provides a comprehensive review of the company and its UK business. This includes its structure, its strategy for growth and focus on digitization, its performance in the UK, as well as its marketing and distribution strategy.Request a sample of this report @Headquartered in the Netherlands, Aegon provides life insurance, pensions, and asset management products. It serves over 26 million customers in more than 20 countries and employs over 29,000 staff globally. This profile offers a review of the company, its business structure and strategy, its financial performance, and a SWOT analysis. It also covers its activities around insurtech.Key Questions Answered- What are AEGONs brands within the group?- What are AEGONs strengths and weaknesses?- What opportunities and challenges does the company face going forward?Browse the complete report @Scope- Aegon offers retirement, workplace savings, and protection products in the UK.- Aegon is in the midst of shifting its business from a product-based model to a digitally-enabled, customer-driven model.- It aims to develop long-term customer relationships by offering guidance and advice and identifying financial security needs at every stage of customers lives.Reasons to buy- Learn about AEGONs organizational structure and its core business segments.- Gain insight into its strategy and the move to adopt digitization- Understand the group's advertising strategy.Buy a report @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com Global Automotive Power Electronics Market to Clock an Impressive 19.0% CAGR through 2025 MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4007 https://www.mrrse.com/automotive-power-electronics-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/4007 https://www.mrrse.com/ Automotive Power Electronics includes a number of components which are responsible for making the vehicle run efficiently. The application of solid-state devices like diode, thyristors, silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR), gate turn-off thyristors, bipolar junction transistor (BJT), TRIAC, Power MOSFET etc., is vital for control and alteration of electric power. All of this together forms the power electronics in automobiles. Further, automotive electronics includes HEV main inverter, modern electric power steering, braking system, central body control and seat control. Recently, Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has added a new report focusing on the market of power electronics in automobiles. This research report is titled Automotive Power Electronics Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 2025, which discusses opportunities and trends prevailing in the worldwide market.Request a Free PDF Sample @As per active research findings, the advent of high frequency as well as high power switching devices has worked to create a comprehensive application of power electronic converters to manage energy conversion and motion control. Moreover, rising installations of advanced driver assistance systems, together with growing preference of vehicle electrifications focused at power electronics equipment manufacturers is working to push the global automotive power electronics market. This research report starts with the research scope and objectives. Further, the readers can gain information about market taxonomy and product overview. The executive summary as well as market dynamics are available that present detailed knowledge about the drivers, restraints and opportunities.The later section offers a deep insight about the market segmentation. This report has been carefully bifurcated on the basis of electric vehicle, application and vehicle type. On the basis of electric vehicle, this concerned market has been segregated as battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Further, based on vehicle type, the primary vehicles targeted in the report are passenger car (PC) and commercial vehicle (CV).Read the full report with TOC @On the regional front, this report is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and South America. For each of the regions, the market size and forecast has been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025, along with proper CAGR (%) during 2017-2025.The final section discourses prime details about the major players operating in the global automotive power electronics market. Some of the prime companies mentioned in the report are Infineon Technologies AG, Texas Instruments, Inc., Maxim Integrated Products Inc., ON Semiconductor Corp., Qualcomm, Ins. and NXP Semiconductors N.V. This section of the report focuses on company profiling covering company overview, major business strategies adopted, market revenues and SWOT analysis.Leave a Query @About MRRSEMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite: India Hemostat Market Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 5.8% During 2016 2025 http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-in-1518 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-in-1518 https://www.futuremarketinsights.com Demand for hemostats in India will be worth 56.7 Mn in 2016, up from US$ 54.1 Mn in 2015. Growth will be led by steady demand for mechanical hemostats, such as sponges, gauzes, strips, and films. Mechanical hemostats will account for 88.4% revenue share of the market in 2016.Adoption of hemostats that reduce post-operative time and increase in complex surgeries will continue to create sustained demand for hemostats. Rising awareness, combined with favourable reimbursement policies will carry forward the momentum in 2016 and beyond.Gelatin will continue to witness higher demand vis-a-vis oxidised cellulose, owing to its higher blood absorption properties. The gelatine product material segment will generate revenues worth 43.8 Mn in 2016, witnessing a y-o-y increase of 5.0% over 2015.Request A Sample Copy Of This Report at:Surgeries and trauma cases remain the two leading application areas of hemostats. Revenue share of surgery segment is expected to reach 63.5% in 2016, representing market value of 36 Mn. Use of hemostats is growing in trauma cases, with this segment poised to witness an impressive growth rate in the future.Hospitals will continue to remain the leading distribution channel for hemostats in 2016, generating 22.8 Mn in revenues. Favourable reimbursement policies, combined with increasing adoption of hemostat products by medical practitioners and surgeons will continue to fuel demand in 2016. Sales of hemostats through e-commerce channel are also expected to witness an increase in 2016, witnessing a y-o-y increase of 4.3% over 2015.Request Report Methodology@Ethicon, LLC, Eucare Pharmaceuticals (P) Ltd., Mil Laboratories, and Aegis Lifesciences are the top 4 players in the India hemostat market. The key strategy of the leading players is to market economical products as end users are opting for cheaper alternative in India.Long-term Outlook: FMI maintains a positive long-term outlook on the India hemostat market and estimates global revenues to increase at 5.8% CAGR during the forecast period 2016-2025.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite: Global Pallet Market 2017: Region Wise Analysis of Top Players in Market By Types and Application https://www.imarcgroup.com/request?type=report&id=888&flag=B https://www.imarcgroup.com/pallet-market https://www.imarcgroup.com/aluminium-cans-manufacturing-plant https://www.imarcgroup.com/prefeasibility-report-jute-bag-manufacturing-plant www.imarcgroup.com The global pallet market has been witnessing a positive growth. This can be attributed to rising expenditure by consumers on housing and infrastructure activities as a result of rapid urbanisation and boosting disposable incomes.Request a sample report:The latest report by IMARC Group, titled Pallet Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2017-2022, finds that the global pallet market has reached a value of nearly US$ 3 Billion in 2016. Pallets are horizontal platforms which offer a base for storing, handling, assembling and transporting products and materials while being lifted by a pallet jack, forklift or front loader. They are affixed with a superstructure and a bottom deck. Pallets are portable and easy to handle as they help in simplifying the process of loading and unloading, and ensure safe delivery of the product. As a result, they are extensively used by suppliers and manufacturers of commercial goods across the globe.Highlights of the global pallet market:Recovering global economy coupled with rising infrastructural activities are the major growth-inducing drivers.Food and beverages represent the largest application segment of the market.North America exhibits a clear dominance in the market accounting for the majority of the share.The major factor driving the growth of the global pallet market is an increase in consumer expenditure on infrastructure and housing activities which is supported by rising disposable incomes and rapid urbanisation. Due to this, there has been a growing need for efficient, easier and safe transportation which has augmented the demand for pallets across the globe. Another factor that has been catalysing the growth of the market is the increasing investments in manufacturing facilities. Additionally, vendors are shifting from single-trip pallets to multiple-trip pallets which, in turn, has induced the market growth. On the other hand, shortage of raw materials poses a major challenge for the market. Further, the global pallet marker is projected to reach a value of approximately US$ 4 Billion, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.7% during 2017-2022.On the basis of type, wood currently exhibits a clear dominance in the market, followed by plastic, metal and corrugated paper. Based on application, food and beverages represent the largest application segment of pallet market. It is followed by chemicals and pharmaceuticals, machinery and metal, and construction. Region-wise, North America accounts for the majority of the total global share owing to the growing manufacturing and retail sectors. Other major markets include Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. The market has also been segregated on the basis of imports which is led by Germany followed by France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. Based on exports, Poland holds the largest share followed by Germany, the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Belgium. The competitive landscape of the market has also been analysed with some of the key players being Brambles Ltd, Rehrig Pacific Company, Schoeller Allibert, LOSCAM, CABKA Group, PECO Pallet Inc, Falkenhahn AG and Litco International INC.Read full report with TOC:The report by IMARC Group has examined the global pallet market on the basis of:Type:WoodPlasticsMetalCorrugated PaperApplication:Food and BeveragesChemicals and PharmaceuticalsMachinery and MetalConstructionImport:GermanyFranceBelgiumNetherlandsItalyExport:PolandGermanyNetherlandCzech RepublicBelgiumRegion:North AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle East and AfricaLatin AmericaKey Players:Brambles LtdRehrig Pacific CompanySchoeller AllibertLOSCAMCABKA GroupPECO Pallet IncFalkenhahn AGLitco International INCBrowse related reports:Aluminium Cans Market Research Report:Jute Bag Market Research Report:About UsIMARC Group is a leading market research company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.IMARCs information products include major market, scientific, economic and technological developments for business leaders in pharmaceutical, industrial, and high technology organizations. Market forecasts and industry analysis for biotechnology, advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, travel and tourism, nanotechnology and novel processing methods are at the top of the companys expertise.Contact usIMARC Group309 2nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11215, USAWebsite:Email: sales@imarcgroup.comUSA: +1-631-791-1145Follow us on twitter: @imarcglobal Payments Landscape Market in Belgium: Opportunities and Risks to 2021 http://orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/2022810 http://orbisresearch.com/reports/index/payments-landscape-in-belgium-opportunities-and-risks-to-2021 http://orbisresearch.com/contact/purchase/2022810 Orbis Research Presents Payments Landscape in Belgium: Opportunities and Risks to 2021 magnify the decision making potentiality and helps to create an effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage.GlobalDatas "Payments Landscape in Belgium: Opportunities and Risks to 2021", report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Belgian cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including credit transfers, direct debit, cash, payment cards, and cheques during the review-period (2013-17e).Request a sample of this report @Companies Mentioned:BNP ParibasBelfius BankING BankKBC BankCredit MutuelBancontactVisaMastercardAmerican ExpressThe report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2017-21f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.The report brings together GlobalDatas research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.Browse the complete report @The report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Belgian cards and payments industry, including -- Current and forecast values for each market in the Belgian cards and payments industry, including debit and credit cards.- Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, cheques, direct debit, cash, and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.- E-commerce market analysis and payment methods.- Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Belgian cards and payments industry.- Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit and credit cards.Scope- To boost contactless payments in the country, Bancontact - the dominant scheme provider in Belgium - enabled contactless payments on its mobile app in October 2017, allowing users to store their Bancontact card details and make contactless payments at NFC-enabled terminals. The app is now supported by 20 banks in Belgium, making the service available to 99% of Bancontact card holders in the country. More than two thirds of payment terminals in Belgium already support NFC technology. All terminals in the country should be able to offer contactless payments by 2018.- Alternative payments are gaining prominence in Belgium, with rising adoption of local and international payment solutions. Android Pay was launched in Belgium in March 2017, and allows users to make in-store, in-app, and online payments. The solution is now supported by major schemes including Mastercard and Visa, as well as card issuers including BNP Paribas Fortis, Fintro, and Hello bank!. The solution allows users to load their card by taking a picture of it using their mobile phone. Meanwhile, in June 2015 Masterpass was launched by Mastercard in Belgium. It allows users to store multiple card details and billing addresses for faster checkout. Once details are saved, users can skip the process of entering card and shipping details for all future payments.- The emergence of mobile-only banks is likely to accelerate a shift towards electronic payments in Belgium. BNP Paribas launched mobile-only bank Hello bank! in Belgium in 2013, allowing consumers to conduct banking transactions entirely on their mobile phone. Similarly, French telecom provider Orange plans to introduce its mobile-only bank, Orange Bank, in Belgium in 2019.Reasons to buy- Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Belgian cards and payments industry and each market within it.- Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Belgian cards and payments industry.- Assess the competitive dynamics in the Belgian cards and payments industry.- Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Belgium.- Gain insights into key regulations governing the Belgian cards and payments industry.Buy a report @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com Alternative Payment Solution Market: Gain Insights into Revolut's Business Operations, and Key Events http://orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/2022811 http://orbisresearch.com/reports/index/alternative-payment-solution-revolut http://orbisresearch.com/contact/purchase/2022811 Orbis Research Presents Alternative Payment Solution: Revolut magnify the decision making potentiality and helps to create an effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage.Revolut is an app-based payment solution allowing users to make domestic and international fund transfers to both Revolut and non-Revolut users. In addition, it allows users to make online and in-store payments, as well as cash withdrawals at ATMs using Visa- and Mastercard-branded Revolut prepaid cards.Request a sample of this report @Companies Mentioned:Apple PayAndroid PayPingitPaysafe GroupWirecard Card SolutionsOptimal PaymentsMastercardVisaIn addition to payment services, Revolut allows its users to apply for personal loans through the app. Successful applicants instantly receive the money in their Revolut account. Credit is provided by Revoluts partner P2P lending company, Lending Works. Revolut is not a lender, and acts as a representative of Lending Works.However, the company is expanding its product portfolio, and applied for a banking license in November 2017. In December 2017, Revolut introduced a new feature allowing users to buy and hold cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, litecoin, and ethereum within the app. Users can also transfer these digital currencies to other Revolut users.Browse the complete report @The report provides information and insights into alternative payment solution Revolut, including -- Detailed insight into its business and geographical presence- Comprehensive coverage of its products and services- Comparative assessment with key alternative payment solutions- Information on its performance, including its revenue model- The company's important events and milestonesScope- In July 2015, Revolut was launched in the UK, allowing users to make domestic and international fund transfers.- Users can transfer money in 26 currencies to banks around the world as well as make payments in 120 currencies with a Revolut card.- In November 2017, Revolut applied for banking license to expand its portfolio of services.- In December 2017, Revolut introduced a new feature allowing users to buy and hold cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, litecoin, and ethereum within the app.Reasons to buy- Gain insights into Revolut's business operations, and key events.- Gain insights into its product portfolio and revenue model.- Assess the competitive dynamics in the alternative payments industry by comparing its performance against competitors.Buy a report @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com Global Bariatric Surgery Market Research and Forecast 2017-2022 http://www.omrglobal.com/industry-reports/bariatric-surgery-market/ Global Bariatric Surgery Market, Size, Share, Market Intelligence, Company Profiles, Market Trends, Strategy, Analysis, Forecast 2017-2022BARIATRIC SURGERY MARKET INSIGHTS:The Global Bariatric Surgery Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.6 % during 2017-2022, owing to rising prevalence of obesity and technological advancements in healthcare sector. Bariatric surgeries and its devices are used for weight loss by decreasing the swellingvolume of stomach to systematized food with the process of digestive restriction and malabsorption. According to WHO, in 2014 there were more than 2.8 million fatalities occurred due to obesity and overweight. In 2013, 62% of the overweight people in across the globe lived in developed countries followed by emerging economies such as China, India and Korea. In North America alone there were 79 million overweight people responsible for spending $147 billion on medical costs related to obesity. These surgeries process are performed by use of negligible invasive method and techniques. Increasing capital expenditure on healthcare and patient preference for minimally invasive surgeries are also driving the market across the globe. Furthermore, increasing government funding to improve healthcare facilities and hospitals is also expected to boost market growth during the forecast period. Adoption of these surgeries in the emerging markets, improving healthcare spending and growing disposable incomes are expected to create significant demand for bariatric surgery market. However, high costs associated with surgery post-surgery complications and non-surgical therapies may affect the growth of the market.GEOGRAPHICAL INSIGHTS:North American region has been dominating the global bariatric surgery market followed by Europe due to the presence of highest incidences and prevalence rate of obesity, significant investment in R&D, highest healthcare spending and so forth. Obesity has been considered to be an epidemic in the US that is responsible for obtaining other diseases including diabetes and heart diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2013 alone more than one-third of the US adults are obese. It is estimated that over 6% are considered morbidly obese with Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 40. Additionally, the North American region is growing significantly due to adequate insurance coverage, better patient awareness and technological advancements in healthcare infrastructures. However APAC is expected to be the fastest growing market owing to increasing healthcare expenditures and increasing medical tourism.COMPETITIVE INSIGHTS:Allergan Inc., USGI Medical Inc., Silimed Ltd., Cousin Biotech, Olympus Corporation, Ethicon (Johnson & Johnson), Stryker Corporation, Reshape Medical, Medtronic, Metacure, Synovis Surgical, Helioscopie and Gelesisare are some of the key players contributing significantly in the growth of global bariatric surgery market. For example the pharmaceutical & medical devices manufacturers Medtronic Plc have launched flagship devices such as VersaOne Access System, Clearify Visualization System and GastriSail Gastric Positioning and so forth. The investment form government and private players are considered to provide support to bariatric surgery market players to provide enhanced devices for bariatric surgeries.MARKET SEGMENTATION:The market is segmented on the basis of procedure, devices and end users. The market segmentation includes: Adjustable Gastric Band (AGB), Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery, Gastric Bypass, Biliopancreatic Diversion with a Duodenal Switch (BPD-DS), By device including Gastric Bands, Electric Simulators, Gastric Balloons, Surgical Staples devices, and others. By end users the market has been bifurcated as hospitals, clinics and ambulatory surgical centers.Global Bariatric Surgery Market Research and Analysis, By ProceduresGlobal Bariatric Surgery Market Research and Analysis, By DeviceGlobal Bariatric Surgery Market Research and Analysis, By End UsersOMR Report covers:Comprehensive research methodology of Global Bariatric Surgery Market.This report also includes detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights.Exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the Global Bariatric Surgery Market.Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the Global Bariatric Surgery Market.Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.For Full Reports Available here:We serve clients from 16 different domains which includes healthcare, biotechnology, chemical, agriculture and information technology. We work to add more to our array of clients, services and products. At the moment OMR provides 4 services:i. Industry Reportsii. Consultingiii. Custom Reportsiv. Company ProfilingMarket research and consulting is a highly competitive market. There are number of companies which provide top quality reports and analysis. At OMR we believe in overcoming the competition by delivering timely and quality reports.CORPORATE OFFICE:Orion Market Research Pvt Ltd116, Shagun ArcadeIndore, Madhya PradeshIndia- 452010Email: info@omrglobal.comPhone No. +91-731-4958007Mobile No. +917803040404 Optima International: A holistic experience for you http://www.optimainternational.co.za Logistics, delivery, export and import are some aspects of life that can make a huge difference in the make and break of a business or the whole nation for that matter. Large cargos, freights and shipments are exported and imported all over the world daily.Optima International is one such company that can be termed as a one-stop solution for all freight management requirements altogether. They have become a leading international freight forwarder that is based in the fast-evolving nation, South Africa. There are various logistics companies in Cape Town which assist clients with various forwarding services which are compartmentalised and not wholesome. This is a family-run company that seeks to cater with quality and attention to every requirement of their clients, whether big or small. They offer tailor-made services that suit every personalised query.The varied palettes of services include: Sea, air and road freight forwarding Local and international customs clearing Good customs relations with expert advice and guidance on tariff headings, import/export permits, ITAC requirements Strong African presence with direct access to market opportunities Forex, insurance and legal partnering along with quality procurement and product sourcing partnerships. Worldwide partnership options and cross trade business opportunities. Personalised and full circle of services to meet all individualistic requirements Competitive costs and charges for all services from one point only. Warehousing, delivery and distribution of cargo, be it local or international.What makes them the right partner among other competitions is their dedication to serving all kinds of purposes dictated by the customer. They also provide staff training, indent monitoring, procurement, and last but not the least, in-house outsourced freight control; custom system designing that allows flexible and personalised implementation. In-house conceptualisation incurs no extra charge for the customer.Optima International allows all facilities that can ease up the clients tension regarding their shipments, air/road freight or cargos with tracking facilities by maintaining transparency. Customers can check arrival/departure times, delivery times, status, container numbers, quantity, due amount to the supplier, export/import reports and many more.For a fully holistic experience and freedom of dictating service requirements, this company has proved to be superior to other traditional freight management agents.To know more about the services, please log on toAbout the CompanyWith their headquarters in South Africa, Optima International is a principal company offering full freight management services to their customers. Owned by David and Mandy Longo, the company aims to be attentive and thorough about every minute details and queries of their clients to provide personalized assistance to every individual.Contact Info:26 Frere Avenue, Flamingo Vlei7441, South Africa+27 21 5578080086 551 7968mandy@optimainternational.co.za UK True Fleet finishes its year with another month in the red www.dataforce.de December predictably followed the previous eight months with a further decline in the British auto market but this was not certainly all doom and gloom. While True Fleets were down by 9.9% the Private Market and Special Channels took the heaviest hits with - 15.9% and - 18.6% respectively making up for a Total Market decline of 14.4% finishing on 152,000 registrations for December.Brand PerformanceFocussing on the positive and negative growth rates of the top 10 True Fleet OEMs we had an even split on both sides of the scale. Decembers clear winner in term of growth was Toyota with a + 24.5%, this helped propel the Japanese brand to its best year on record since 2008, assisted by its top 3 fleet vehicles the Aygo, Yaris and the all-new C-HR model. Worthy monthly mentions go to both Skoda (+ 19.6%) and Hyundai (+ 17.8%) with the latters Ioniq model narrowly (25 units) missing out on securing a top 4 finish inside the brands yearly rankings.However outside the top 10 there was an OEM that appears to have found a True Fleet Midas touch, Suzuki. Increasing its growth to 151.7% for December and to + 99.4% yearly this brand entered the five-digit registration club in the UK for the first time ever and missed doubling last years volume by a mere 33 units.Spotlight on one out of three growing segmentsOur final look took us into the vehicle segments and specifically the SUVs. As the UK leading True Fleet segment it was one (out of three) that managed to keep itself in the black for December. Within the SUV model line-up the Nissan Qashqai took the crown followed by the Ford Kuga whos + 145.8% certainly looked to indicate it was high on fleets Christmas wish lists, with the Hyundai Tucson, VW Tiguan and the Kia Sportage rounding out the top 5 for the month. There was however another surprising small in comparison to its kind SUV that caught our attention within the segment. The Mini Countryman has had its best month since March 2014 and perhaps a sign of the times ahead are starting to show. The Cooper SE - ALL4 version (Plug-In Hybrid) of the Countryman out-registered the four Diesel engine versions available for the 3rd month in a row, so while there was no white Christmas for the UK perhaps it was a little greener.(402 words; 2,259 characters)Publication by indication of source (DATAFORCE) onlyDATAFORCE Focus on FleetsDataforce is the leading provider of fleet market data and automotive intelligence solutions in Europe. In addition, the company also provides detailed information on sales opportunities for the automotive industry, together with a wide portfolio of information based on primary market research and consulting services. The company is based in Frankfurt, Germany.Richard WorrowDataforce Verlagsgesellschaft fur Business Informationen mbHHamburger Allee 1460486 Frankfurt am MainGermanyPhone: +49 69 95930-253Fax: +49 69 95930-333Email: richard.worrow@dataforce.de A report on Global Truck Technology startups-2018 edition Truck Tech Start-ups Report https://mobilityforesights.com/product/report-on-truck-tech-startups/ https://mobilityforesights.com/product/report-on-truck-tech-startups/ Mobility Foresights announced the publication of a new report titled Global truck technology startups-2018 edition.Scope of the reportThe report profiles the top 20 truck technology start-ups looking to make a mark in freight brokering, freight matching and autonomous driving technology. It discusses the top VC investors active in this space.It also provides an independent outlook of the trucking industry in North America, Europe, India, and China.Highlights of the report1. 181 investors have invested $1.03 billion cumulatively in these 20 start-ups over past 5 years2. About 50% of the total funding ($1.03 billion)is raised by three Chinese start-ups (Tu Simple, Loji Logistics, and Yunmanman)3. Convoy, Transfix and Peloton are the most funded start-ups of US, having $80 million, $78.5 million, $78 million funding.4. More than 60% of these 20 start-ups are involved in digitizing the freight brokering market, which is fragmented in every part of the world.5. Einride(Sweden) has the most distinctive autonomous trucking technology where the electric autonomous truck can be remote controlled.Download a sample of the reportSummaryA statistical view of the global scenario shows an opportunistic landscape for the tech start-ups in the trucking industry, which needs a digital revolution to synchronize its supply chain and freight activities in order to minimize losses. The vast opportunity has led to VC and private equity funding in the sector pouring in from investors across the globe.In 2017, the industry raised a funding of more than $500 million, which is a 100% increase compared to the previous year. The digitization is also fuelling the prospects of EV trucks and self-drive trucks, something which is already being successfully operated in Sweden by the start-up Einride.Majority of the investment in this industry is done by large-scale e-commerce companies or retail chains (e.g. Amazon, Lidl, Flipkart etc.). The bulk of growth, however, is concentrated in China and US, where advanced technology, growing infrastructure, and demand has been the major driver in the rise of these startups.Companies(Start-ups) profiled in the report1 Yunmanman2 Loji logistics3 Blackbuck4 Tu Simple5 Convoy6 Transfix7 Peloton8 Truckerpath9 Cargo X10 Keep Truckin11 Cargomatic12 Convargo13 OnTruck14 Embark15 Fretlink16 ChronoTruck17 Preteckt18 Einride19 Doft20 CDL WarriorThis report also includes1. Profiles of 20 truck tech start-ups including funding history, business model, list of investors, growth goals and recent developments2. Insights about investors active in the space3. The truck technology start-up scene in the US, Europe, India and China4. A detailed outlook of class 8 truck market in North America5. Freight market in North America6. An independent assessment of logistics market in Europe and Asia7. Heavy truck market in key countries like China and IndiaThe report can be purchased hereTo enquire about the report, write to us atsales@mobilityforesights.comWe are a market research firm specialized in mobility domain(s). Our zone of research entails automotive, aerospace, marine, locomotive, logistics and construction& agricultural equipment. We deal in syndicated research, custom research and consumer research for all the above domains mentioned. We envision the future of mobility every single day, following mobility domains is not just our profession rather its our passion.CONTACT US:MOBILITY FORESIGHTS PVT LTD#56/2, HAL 2d Stage, Bangalore, INDIA 560008Phone: +1 912-454-2080Mail:sales@mobilityforesights.com Bring Your Brand to Life with a Great Logo Design http://summitsoft.com Summitsoft presents the latest edition of Logo Design Studio, an essential tool for any startup embarking on a new branding strategy. 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Headquartered in Omaha, NE, the company is committed to the interests of creative home and business users with products available through major retailers in North America, Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan, as well as on the Internet.Summitsoft CorporationUnited States of America Omaha 9615 Ida StreetAlex Duran submissions@summitsoftcorp.com Integrity Testlabs speeds up inspection process using Computed Radiography www.scanx-ndt.com www.duerr-ndt.com Integrity Testlabs LLC provides NDT services using a wide variety of non-destructive inspection methods and disciplines. As their company commitment statement says, This company is driven by hard work with commitment to quality while performing the task safely. This company recognizes the fact that customers demand integrity services with emphasis on reliability. Brian Duke, Regional Manager, adds: We at Integrity Testlabs, LLC take great pride in our work to ensure a quality product and result every time we perform an inspection.Integrity Testlabs uses the DURR NDT ScanX Discover HC computed radiography scanner and associated ScanX View software to perform erosion/corrosion measurements in the field. When asked for their experience with the system, Brian Duke made the following statements:The ScanX Discover has proven to be a pivotal part of our daily operations, allowing us to achieve quality results without fail. With its compact size and rugged durability, it has proven to keep up with the most demanding of situations. Its compact size has provided an easy installation in the most compact areas such as a field radiography darkroom, which are notoriously small with limited counter space. Compared to other units that require a complex set up and large counter space, the ScanX Discover has proven to be versatile, easy to relocate, set up and operate. With its beautiful seemingly simplistic belt feeding system and simple to use ScanX Software, it can stand up to the dust, dirt, and abuse of constant use over long periods of time.With minimal maintenance we have been able to process several thousands of imaging plates, producing a consistent and quality image every time. This provides the technician with a sense of assurance and security knowing that the image will not be compromised during the developing process, as opposed to that of conventional film with chemicals and forced air drying.The ScanX Discover paired with the ScanX Software has opened doors for our company by allowing us to create and develop exposures at any time and provide almost instant results. When performing high volume Profile Radiography, the user can scan, import, create an image with wall thickness readings and export the image to a format of the customers liking in under 10 minutes. This is vastly shorter than the conventional process, which can take as much as 30 minutes for one image.Convinced by the ScanX system and the dealer support, Brian Duke summarizes: With the assistance of Digicons Luke Banks, we hit the ground running with the ScanX Discover in tow and havent looked back.DURR NDT is a German manufacturer of digital imaging systems for NDT radiographic testing, such as CR imaging plate scanner, flat panel detectors, dda, imaging software, automatic X-ray film processor, green X-ray chemicals.DURR NDT GmbH & Co. KGHopfigheimer Strae 2274321 Bietigheim-BissingenGermanyTel. +49 7142 99381-0info@duerr-ndt.com NewYork Engineers announce the completion of 600th MEP engineering project in New York. NewYork Engineers- MEP Engineering Services http://www.ny-engineers.com/mep-engineering-projects http://www.ny-engineers.com/ One of the top MEP engineering design companies NewYork Engineers celebrate the completion of 600th MEP project in New York.NewYork Engineers the leading service provider of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering design services, announced today the completion of their 600th MEP project.In the past they have effectively worked on hotel, office, education, healthcare, non-profit, residential and government engineering assignments to benefit clients ranging from individuals to fortune 500 companies and government of United States.NewYork engineers offer 16 different services from mechanical, electrical, plumbing engineering to sprinkler- fire alarm engineering, and building commissioning. One of Americas fastest growing company (Inc. 2016) is also expert in CAD to Revit modeling.More about a list of projects can be read on the NewYork Engineers website.(With this achievement, we are working towards fulfilling all the requirements of our customers and making sure they get the best MEP designs for their projects, says Michael Tobias, Principle NewYork Engineers. The next step in our roadmap is to work on the projects outside New York and expand our service into studio apartment section, Michael added.Founded by Principle Micheal Tobias, PE, LEED AP NewYork Engineers is among the best MEP engineering design companies in the New York.Headquartered in the central New York, USA NewYork engineers also have an Asia office in Pune, India where countries best engineers work on a variety of engineering projects. Awarded as one of Americas fastest growing company in 2016 by Inc. NewYork Engineers offer 80% first-time approval for their designs, zero change order guarantee and 50% faster turnaround to customers.To know more about NewYork Engineers, visitRavindra AmbegaonkarNewYork Engineers275 West 39th Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10018.ravindra@ny-engineers.com Jan 15, 2018: Sound Insulation NVH Market Share 2023 Dow, 3M, Henkel, ExxonMobil, Sumitomoriko Sound Insulation NVH http://bit.ly/2DAKfct http://qymarketsresearch.com/report/global-sound-insulation-nvh-market-2018-size-grow-140832/ Sound Insulation NVH Market Research 2018A market study Global Sound Insulation NVH Market examines the performance of the Sound Insulation NVH market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Sound Insulation NVH market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Sound Insulation NVH market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Sound Insulation NVH Market 2018 report includes Sound Insulation NVH market Revenue, market Share, Sound Insulation NVH industry volume, market Trends, Sound Insulation NVH Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Sound Insulation NVH Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2023.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Sound Insulation NVH Market 2018 : Sumitomoriko ExxonMobil 3M BASF Dow HenkelFirstly, the report covers the top Sound Insulation NVH manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Sound Insulation NVH report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Sound Insulation NVH industry, Sound Insulation NVH industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Sound Insulation NVH Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Sound Insulation NVH research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Sound Insulation NVH market revenue worldwide.Finally, Sound Insulation NVH market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"QYMarketsResearch" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWeb: qymarketsresearch.com/Email: sales@qymarketsresearch Global Offshore Wind Turbine Market 2018 - SEAFOX, Geosea, A2SEA, Seajacks Global Offshore Wind Turbine Market https://goo.gl/kRSw6e https://goo.gl/eZtoFM www.apexmarketreports.com The statistical surveying information incorporated into the Offshore Wind Turbine report is the aftereffect of significant essential and optional research exercises. The report fragments the global Offshore Wind Turbine market based on makers, item compose, applications, and regions. In this report, each fragment is contemplated completely and measurements are introduced in detail. The report offers an exact outline of the global Offshore Wind Turbine advertise covering key factors, for example, drivers and restrictions affecting the development.Get the sample report :Top manufacturers of Offshore Wind Turbine Market Report :A2SEASeajacksGeoseaVan OordJack-Up BargeSEAFOXSwire Blue OceanGaoh OffshoreMPI-OffshoreThe Global Offshore Wind Turbine advertise report is the result of the intensive investigation of the market, which will help showcase players to manage and develop exponentially in the gigantically aggressive market.Enquire before buying Offshore Wind Turbine Market report :The Offshore Wind Turbine report is set up after essential and auxiliary levels of research exercises. Essential research speaks to the heft of research endeavors, supplemented by a broad optional research. Auxiliary research incorporates investigation of late exchange, web sources, and factual information from government associations, exchange affiliations and offices. This has ended up being the most dependable, powerful and fruitful approach for getting exact Offshore Wind Turbine advertise information, catching industry member's bits of knowledge and perceiving business openings. The write about the Global Offshore Wind Turbine showcase likewise talks about a portion of the main players display in the market, winning rivalry, key procedures received and their current advancements.About UsApex Market Reports offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Apex Market Reports provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezCorporate Sales Specialist155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606Phone: +17739042683Email id - sales@apexmarketreports.comWebsite - Global Airway/Lung Stent Market Expected to Represent a Value of US$ 130.4 mn by 2026 MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/4213 https://www.mrrse.com/airway-lung-stent-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/4213 https://www.mrrse.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ This research report offers a comprehensive analysis of the Airway/Lung Stent Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2026The main objective of this report is to deliver insightful information and clear-cut facts pertaining to the growth trajectories of the market.Request to view Sample Report @Airway/lung stents are being used largely for the treatment of airway/lung diseases. Moreover, healthcare providers are adopting bronchoscopy as the procedure in the placement of stents during the treatment. Airway/lung stents are facing various challenges in form of complications such as stent infection, migration, and granulation tissue. Hence, companies are adopting new technologies such as biodegradable stents, drug-eluting airway stents and 3D printing to offer a better product.According to a study by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global market for airway/lung stents is likely to experience steady growth, increasing to 5.7% CAGR during 2017-2026. The global market for airway/lung stent is also estimated to bring in US$ 130.4 million revenue by 2026 end.Self-expandable Airway/Lung Stent to Emerge as the Top-Selling ProductAmong various airway/lung stent products, self-expandable stents are likely to emerge as one of the top-selling products between 2017 and 2026. Self-expandable airway/lung stent is estimated to reach around US$ 100 million revenue towards 2026 end. The self-expandable stents are easy to remove, decreases the possibility of various complications. Moreover, increasing number intervention pulmonologists are adopting self-expandable stents. Self-expandable metallic stents are being used on a large scale as they are easy to place, and there is no need to use general anesthetics.Hospitals to Account for Maximum Revenue ShareCompared to Ambulatory surgery centers, hospitals are likely to account for more than half of the revenue share by the end of 2017. Increasing number of surgeries and bronchoscopy procedures are being carried in hospitals. The government in different countries is also offering reimbursement and insurance for treatments, this is also leading to the increasing number of people going to hospitals for treatment of critical diseases.Metal to Emerge as the Most Preferred Material for Airway/Lung StentsMetal is likely to emerge as one of the most preferred materials for airway/lung stents. By the end of 2026, metal airway/lung stent is estimated to bring in close to US$ 100 million revenue. Metal stents are gaining popularity due to the ease of insertion. These stents can also be placed in an outpatient setting with the help of flexible bronchoscopy using local anesthesia. Owing to the thin walls, metal stents are beneficial in managing malignant tracheobronchial obstruction. Moreover, most of the metal stents are radio-opaque and are offer a great degree of expandability.Browse Full Report with TOC @North America to be the Largest Region in the Global Market for Airway/Lung StentNorth America is likely to be one of the largest regions in terms of revenue in the global market for airway/lung stent. Well-developed healthcare system and infrastructure, increasing cases of lung cancer, and development of new technically advanced products are some of the factors driving the airway/lung stent market in North America. Meanwhile, APEJ is also likely to witness growth in the coming years, owing to the rapid development in the healthcare industry, increasing investment by government and the private sector in the healthcare sector. Moreover, expansion of hospitals and clinics, the presence of favorable regulatory environment, and availability of low cost of labor for manufacturing in countries like India and China are factors driving the market in APEJ.Competitive LandscapeZeus Industrial Products Inc., Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA (Saint Gobain Performance Plastics), W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., Mexichem S.A.B. de C.V., Honeywell International, Inc., The Chemours Company, Daikin Industries Ltd., Asahi Glass Co. Ltd., 3M Company, E.I. Dupont DE Nemours & Company, and Solvay SA, are the prominent players in the global market for airway/lung stent.Enquire about this Report @Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At: Jan 15, 2018: Soil Aerators Market Share 2023 Land Pride, Zanon, Orthman, Flingk Machinebouw Soil Aerators http://bit.ly/2DbBZSZ http://qymarketsresearch.com/report/global-soil-aerators-market-2018-size-growth-rate-140828/ Soil Aerators Market Research 2018A market study Global Soil Aerators Market examines the performance of the Soil Aerators market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Soil Aerators market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Soil Aerators market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Soil Aerators Market 2018 report includes Soil Aerators market Revenue, market Share, Soil Aerators industry volume, market Trends, Soil Aerators Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Soil Aerators Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2023.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global Soil Aerators Market 2018 : Evers Agro B.V. (Netherlands) Exmark Manufacturing Co Inc (USA) Flingk Machinebouw (Netherlands) Land Pride (USA) MTM Spindler & Schmid GmbH (Germany) MultiOne s.r.l. (Italy) Orizzonti S.r.l. (Italy) Orthman (USA) P.P.H. MANDAM Sp. z o.o. (Poland) SELVATICI srl (Italy) TRILO Vanmac bv (Netherlands) Zanon Srl (Italy) Zappator S.R.L. (Italy)Firstly, the report covers the top Soil Aerators manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Further, the Soil Aerators report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Soil Aerators industry, Soil Aerators industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Soil Aerators Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Soil Aerators research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Soil Aerators market revenue worldwide.Finally, Soil Aerators market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"QYMarketsResearch" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWeb: qymarketsresearch.com/Email: sales@qymarketsresearch Global Tall Oil Fatty Acid Market 2021 : Increasing use soaps, detergents and rubber industry https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1476316 https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1476316/global-tall-oil-fatty-acid-market-research-reports/toc https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1476316/global-tall-oil-fatty-acid-market-research-reports http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/ "The Report Global Tall Oil Fatty Acid Market 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Tall Oil Fatty AcidTall oil is also known as liquid rosin or tallol. It consists of three major components: unsaponifiables, resin acids, and fatty acids. Tall oil fatty acid is formed when esters and carboxylic acids are subjected to a temperature in the Kraft process of paper pulping. It is mainly derived from pine and coniferous trees. The increasing demand for tall oil fatty acid as a viscosity modifier, lubricant, and corrosion inhibitor will increase its market share in the oil and gas industry. The increasing demand for plant-based chemical derivatives over animal-based and crude oil-based chemicals will favor the growth of the market during the forecast period. The increasing demand for unconventional resources of energy will boost the market for lubricants and drilling fluids, thus driving the growth of the global tall oil fatty acid market.Technavios analysts forecast the global tall oil fatty acid market to grow at a CAGR of 4.76% during the period 2017-2021.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global tall oil fatty acid market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the retail selling price as the average selling price of the product.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:APACEuropeNorth AmericaROWTechnavio's report, Global Tall Oil Fatty Acid Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsEastman Chemical CompanyGeorgia-Pacific ChemicalsHarima Chemicals GroupIngevityKraton CorporationRequest For Toc @Other prominent vendorsExxonMobilForchemPasand Speciality ChemicalSpectrum Chemical ManufacturingTechnical IndustriesWerner G.SmithMarket driverRising use in soaps and detergentsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeDeclining production of paperFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendIncreasing use in rubber industryFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?View Report @Table of ContentsPART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORTPART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYPART 04: INTRODUCTIONMarket outlinePART 05: MARKET LANDSCAPEMarket ecosystemMarket segmentation analysisPART 06: MARKET SIZINGGlobal tall oil fatty acid marketMarket size and forecast 2016-2021PART 07: FIVE FORCES ANALYSISBargaining power of buyersBargaining power of suppliersThreat of new entrantsThreat of substitutesThreat of rivalryMarket conditionPART 08: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY END-USERAbout Us:MarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketaState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz Thermal Energy Storage Market to Remain Lucrative During 2017 - 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=2180 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=2180 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=D&rep_id=2180 Global Thermal Energy Storage Market: OverviewThermal energy storage systems consist of an insulating medium or combination of media that can hold on to captured heat for long periods. Thus, thermal energy systems are essentially thermal batteries that store energy in terms of temperature difference instead of potential difference.The rising awareness regarding the adverse effects of the use of greenhouse gases for energy generation has been one of the key drivers for the global thermal energy storage market in the recent past. While the use of renewable sources of energy has picked up steam in recent years, the renewable energy sector faces a considerable problem in the lack of consistent energy production from renewable energy sources. Thermal energy storage has been mooted as a solution in this regard and is likely to become a key part of the global renewable energy market in the coming years.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Global Thermal Energy Storage Market: Key TrendsThe rising use of combined energy generation units, wherein energy is harnessed from two or more renewable sources simultaneously, is a prime driver for the global thermal energy storage market. Solar and wind energy generation can usually be conducted on the same site and often on the same device. However, both solar and wind energy suffer from the lack of a reliable energy storage mechanism, as both energy sources are available infrequently. A rising number of residential as well as commercial consumers, particularly in developed countries, have started to install combined energy generation systems on their own land, which is likely to drive the demand for thermal energy storage systems in the coming years.Utilities distributors are also playing an important role in the development of the global thermal energy storage market. While the use of smart grids will help distributors provide utilities uniformly, the installation of thermal energy storage can help further smoothen the process.Request TOC of the Report @On the other hand, despite the steady rise in the demand from the thermal energy storage market, the high cost of thermal energy storage technology is likely to hamper the growth of the market to some extent. Despite the rising demand for thermal energy storage technologies from the utilities sector, the thermal energy storage industry needs to achieve parity with other non-storage options.Global Thermal Energy Storage Market: Market PotentialDue to the high costs of developing and installing thermal energy storage systems, the market needs government support to enable widespread adoption. Developed countries such as the U.S. are likely to be at the forefront, with Maryland becoming the first American state to incentivize the use of energy storage with tax credits. The bill was passed in April 2017 and could be the first step in establishing a well-maintained and efficient power storage and distribution infrastructure that takes into account the variety of energy sources used in a modern economy.Get Discount @Global Thermal Energy Storage Market: Geographical DynamicsThe global thermal energy storage market is expected to be dominated by the Middle East and Africa (MEA) in the coming years, as the region receives abundant solar power and is also home to a power-intensive industrial sector. Europe and Asia Pacific could also play key roles in the growth of the global thermal energy storage market in the coming years due to the rising emphasis on solar power in both regions.Global Thermal Energy Storage Market: Competitive DynamicsThe report also discusses the competitive landscape of the global thermal energy storage market in detail by profiling the leading players operating in it. The key companies examined in the report include Ice Energy, Calmac, SolarReserve LLC, and Abengoa Solar.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Polyolefins Market Strategies and Forecasts | 2024 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/polyolefins-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18566 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Polyolefins are polymers that are produced by polymerization of simple olefins. Olefins, also known as alkenes, are hydrocarbons with a carbon-hydrogen double bond. Polyolefins are hard, light in weight, and rigid in nature. They are primarily applied in structural plastics, consumer goods, industrial products, and food packaging. Polyolefins have waxy texture and they expand upon heating. These retain their odorless and nonporous nature when heated and cooled. This makes them an ideal material for food packaging. Polyolefins are preferred over other metallic and non-metallic substitutes due to light weight, durability, and resistance to physical and chemical attacks.Read Report Overview @Polyolefins are available in various types. Primarily, they can be classified into two major groups viz. thermoplastic and elastomeric compounds. Thermoplastic compounds include polyethylene (PE), and polypropylene (PP). Polyethylene can be further classified into low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). LDPE and HDPE are used in high-quality package films, owing to their light weight and high durability. Elastomeric compounds include polyisobutylene (PIB), ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), and ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM rubber). Elastomeric compounds are employed in the manufacture of pillows, cushions, and footwear.The polyolefins market can be segmented on the basis of applications. Polyolefins are primarily applied in packaging, automotive, electronics, and construction materials. In the packaging industry, there has been high demand for recyclable containers. Great awareness about reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is developing. Consumers are shifting toward everyday products with eco-friendly packaging. This is anticipated to boost the demand for polyolefins. In automotive and electronics industries, polyolefins are in demand due to their light weight and high performance. In construction and other industries, raw polyolefins are widely used.The polyolefins market in Saudi Arabia and South Africa is expanding speedily. This, in turn, is likely to augment the polyolefins market in Middle East & Africa. The region has strong construction and packaging industries, which are anticipated to driven the polyolefins market in MEA. Competition is likely to intensify in the global polyolefins market in the next few years, owing to implementation of new environmental norms. This is also estimated to create new opportunities for players in the market.Request to view Sample Report:The global polyolefins market is fragmented, due to presence of a large number of local as well as regional manufacturers. Key players operating in the market include BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Company, Bayer AG, LyondellBasell Industries, and DuPont. Increasing investments in the residential construction segment, followed by developments in the packaging industry, are projected to augment the market. This is likely to result in a steady growth rate of the global polyolefins market and the rise in sales of polyolefins.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Data Recovery Software Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2018 2025 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2784921-global-data-recovery-software-market-size-status-and-forecast-2025 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/2784921-global-data-recovery-software-market-size-status-and-forecast-2025 https://www.linkedin.com/company/wise-guy-research-consultants-pvt-ltd-?trk=biz-companies-cym https://www.wiseguyreports.com Global Data Recovery Software IndustryLatest Report on Data Recovery Software Market Global Analysis & 2025 Forecast Research StudyThis report studies the global Data Recovery Software market, analyzes and researches the Data Recovery Software development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeKroll OntrackFINALDATADiskGenius...Try Sample Report @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoWindowsLinuxOS XMarket segment by Application, Data Recovery Software can be split intoCommercialPersonalSome points from table of content:Global Data Recovery Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Data Recovery Software1.1 Data Recovery Software Market Overview1.1.1 Data Recovery Software Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Data Recovery Software Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Data Recovery Software Market by Type1.3.1 Windows1.3.2 Linux1.3.3 OS X1.4 Data Recovery Software Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Commercial1.4.2 Personal2 Global Data Recovery Software Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Data Recovery Software Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in FutureFor Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Kroll Ontrack3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Data Recovery Software Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 FINALDATA3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Data Recovery Software Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 DiskGenius3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Data Recovery Software Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3.5 Recent Developments4 Global Data Recovery Software Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Data Recovery Software Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Data Recovery Software Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Data Recovery Software in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Data Recovery Software5 United States Data Recovery Software Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Data Recovery Software Market Size (2013-2018)5.2 United States Data Recovery Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)5.3 United States Data Recovery Software Market Size by Application (2013-2018)6 EU Data Recovery Software Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Data Recovery Software Market Size (2013-2018)6.2 EU Data Recovery Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)6.3 EU Data Recovery Software Market Size by Application (2013-2018)Continued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune 411028Maharashtra,Ph: +91 841 198 5042 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Market Key Analysis and 2022 Development Trends QYResearchReports https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1147720&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-nuclear-magnetic-resonance-spectrometer-nmr-market-professional-survey-report-2017.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1147720&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) to its huge collection of research reports.The report on the global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) market offers elaborate and comprehensive assessment of key growth drivers, challenges, noteworthy trends, major technological advances, and strategic landscape. The analysis presents a detailed overview of the current market offerings, their scope in various regions, and major research and development activities influencing their growth. The study presents a detailed assessment of various types of business risks, notably operational and strategic, and highlights the prevailing governmental regulations in various regions. It further takes a closer look at expected growth areas and lucrative prospects emerging in the global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) market. Key innovations likely to open up new revenue streams in untapped markets are also covered in the report.A diverse range of trends is causing considerable shifts in consumer preferences in the global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) market in various developing and developed regions. The study offers a granular analysis of such aspects and the likely opportunities that will emerge on account of this are covered. It further zeroes in key factors that will support public and private investments in the global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) market.For more info, get the sample report for FREE here:The study highlights major recent developments in end-use sectors likely to change the competitive dynamics of the overall market. It estimates the current revenue share and size of various players in the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) market and analyzes the factors that will account for the dominant position of some over the assessment timeline.The research methodology employed in analyzing the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) market draws from approaches universally accepted by industries and reflects the findings from a wide spectrum of primary and secondary research. This is supported by extensive rounds of interviews with CXOs, business executives, policy makers, and industry leaders. The findings offered in the research study is invaluable for various market participants, stakeholders, and budding entrepreneurs.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringBrukerJEOLThermo FisherOxford IndtrumentNanalysisAnasaziMagritekSpinlock...Read Complete Table of Content of the Report at:Table of ContentsGlobal Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)1.1 Definition and Specifications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)1.1.1 Definition of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)1.1.2 Specifications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)1.2 Classification of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)1.2.1 Sub-100MHz1.2.2 300-400 MHz1.2.3 500 MHz1.2.4 600 MHz1.2.5 Others1.3 Applications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)1.3.1 Academic/Govt1.3.2 Pharma/Biotech1.3.3 Chemical1.3.4 Food1.3.5 Oil&Gas1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)To check available discount on this report, visit at:3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR)3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (NMR) Sales and Growth Rate Analysis...About QYResearchReports.comQyresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from Qyresearchreports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Global Marine Composites Market Sees Promising Growth in 2022 QYResearchReports https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1196955&type=S https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-marine-composites-market-professional-survey-report-2017.htm/toc https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1196955&type=D http://www.qyresearchreports.com Qyresearchreports include new market research report Marine Composites to its huge collection of research reports.The report on the global Marine Composites market offers elaborate and comprehensive assessment of key growth drivers, challenges, noteworthy trends, major technological advances, and strategic landscape. The analysis presents a detailed overview of the current market offerings, their scope in various regions, and major research and development activities influencing their growth. The study presents a detailed assessment of various types of business risks, notably operational and strategic, and highlights the prevailing governmental regulations in various regions. It further takes a closer look at expected growth areas and lucrative prospects emerging in the global Marine Composites market. Key innovations likely to open up new revenue streams in untapped markets are also covered in the report.A diverse range of trends is causing considerable shifts in consumer preferences in the global Marine Composites market in various developing and developed regions. The study offers a granular analysis of such aspects and the likely opportunities that will emerge on account of this are covered. It further zeroes in key factors that will support public and private investments in the global Marine Composites market.For more info, get the sample report for FREE here:The study highlights major recent developments in end-use sectors likely to change the competitive dynamics of the overall market. It estimates the current revenue share and size of various players in the Marine Composites market and analyzes the factors that will account for the dominant position of some over the assessment timeline.The research methodology employed in analyzing the Marine Composites market draws from approaches universally accepted by industries and reflects the findings from a wide spectrum of primary and secondary research. This is supported by extensive rounds of interviews with CXOs, business executives, policy makers, and industry leaders. The findings offered in the research study is invaluable for various market participants, stakeholders, and budding entrepreneurs.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringGuritOwens CorningTorayDuPontJohns ManvilleHexcel CorporationCytec Solvay Group3A CompositesFuture Pipe IndustriesSGL GroupNational Oilwell VarcoJanicki IndustriesMarine PlasticsJiumei Fiber Glass...Read Complete Table of Content of the Report at:Table of ContentsGlobal Marine Composites Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Marine Composites1.1 Definition and Specifications of Marine Composites1.1.1 Definition of Marine Composites1.1.2 Specifications of Marine Composites1.2 Classification of Marine Composites1.2.1 Type I1.2.2 Type II1.3 Applications of Marine Composites1.3.1 Powerboats1.3.2 Sailboats1.3.3 Cruise Liner1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Marine Composites2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Marine Composites2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Marine Composites2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Marine Composites3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Marine Composites3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Marine Composites Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Marine Composites Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Marine Composites Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Marine Composites Major Manufacturers in 2016To check available discount on this report, visit at:4 Global Marine Composites Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Marine Composites Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Marine Composites Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Marine Composites Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Marine Composites Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2012-2017E Global Marine Composites Sales Price4.4.2 2016 Marine Composites Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)5 Marine Composites Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Marine Composites Market Analysis5.1.1 North America Marine Composites Market Overview...About QYResearchReports.comQyresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from Qyresearchreports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com Electrical Insulation Market Detailed Analysis and Forecast | 2024 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/electrical-insulation-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18560 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Electrical insulation is a vital need in many sectors where contact with electronic components may be a risk. Electrical insulation consists of materials that dont allow the passage of electricity; they are a necessity in places such as buildings, where the considerable electrical wiring needs to be insulated in order to protect the inhabitants of the building as well as other devices connected to the same power network. The growth of the construction industry has accordingly been the most important driver for the global electrical insulation market and is likely to aid its stable progress in the coming years.Read Report Overview @Rapid infrastructure growth in developing economies such as India and China has propelled the demand from several industries, with the electrical insulation market benefiting from the consistent need for modern construction practices in these dynamic economies. Rapid urbanization in these countries has also driven the construction of residential and commercial buildings, which has also been a vital boost to the electrical insulation market in the region. Accordingly, Asia Pacific is likely to dominate the global electrical insulation market in the coming years. Steady development of the indigenous construction industry in the aforementioned countries could also lead to further development of technological innovation channels in the coming years, which could also boost the electrical insulation market in the region.Thermoplastic insulation is likely to dominate the global electrical insulation market in the coming years. Thermoplastics have gained renown due to their cost-effective operation. They are cheaper to produce than conventional insulation materials such as glass or ceramics, and provide a highly effective insulation performance, making their sustained dominance likely in the global electrical insulation market. The high insulation capability of thermoplastics is also unaffected by harsh environmental conditions, which could also be a key driver for the global electrical insulation market.Electrical insulation is a form of material in which internally present electric charges do not flow freely. This makes it impossible for electric current to be conducted under the influence of an electric field. The main difference between electric insulation and semiconductors and conductors is that the former possesses higher resistivity, while the latter carry current with more ease. A substance is an insulator or a conductor is normally depends on the number of free electrons it possesses, which can be used to carry electric current. An important characteristic of insulating material is its ability to withstand electric stress which is known as dielectric strength. This strength is quoted in kilovolts per millimeter (Kv/mm). Previously, ceramics and glass were the most prominently used electrical insulation material. At present, polymer-based electrical insulation contributes a significant share in the global electrical insulation material market.Based on type electric insulation is classified as glass, ceramics, thermoplastic and epoxy resin. Electrical insulation material is used in various applications such as cables & transmission lines, power systems, electronic systems, domestic portable appliances, and others. Based on end-use industry, the electrical insulation market can be divided into manufacturing, transportation, infrastructure, and others. Modernization of electricity networks, increasing usage of electric appliances, and demand from the increasing population are factors contributing to the expansion of the electrical insulation market.Consumption of thermoplastic electrical insulation is estimated to increase at a relatively speedy rate during the forecast period. These materials are lightweight, possess high mechanical and electric strength, and also deliver consistent performance in harsh climatic conditions. Thermoplastic electrical insulation also exhibit excellent voltage endurance compared to that of ceramics and a few other materials which makes them the preferred electrical insulation type across all regions.Request to view Sample Report:This market for electrical insulation material is highly competitive due to the presence of a large numbers of local players who supply low-quality products at comparatively inexpensive pricing. Key players operating in the global electric insulation market include DuPont, ITW Formex, 3M, Nitto Denko Corporation, Krempel GmbH, and Haysite Reinforced Plastics.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Sorbitan Trioleate Market Globally Expected to Drive Growth through 2027 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=26081 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=26081 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Global Sorbitan Trioleate Market: OverviewSorbitan esters also known as sorbitan fatty acids are derived from the mixture of mono, di and tri esters. Sorbitan esters are widely used as surfactant and emulsifiers across various industries. Sorbitan trioleate is the tri ester derived from reaction between oleic acid and sorbitol along with its mono and di anhydrides. Oleic acid can be obtained from animal or plant source. Sorbitan trioleate is obtained through the process of saponification and esterification. Sorbitan trioleate finds various industrial applications such as antioxidant, emulsifier and surfactant. Sorbitan trioleate exhibit complex mixture of molecules which is characterised by yellowish or brownish appearance and is highly soluble. At 25 C it turns into oily, viscous liquid. Sorbitan trioleate finds extensive use in various skin care products such as cleansing products, moisturiser among others.Download PDF Brochure @Global Sorbitan Trioleate Market: Drivers and RestraintsWith increasing demand for compounds with versatile properties among manufacturers provides a potential scope for the growth of sorbitan trioleate market. In food and beverage industry it offers broad spectrum of applications such as it act as emulsifier which helps to preserve the mixtures which are not being able to mix well such as oil and water, it also act as stabiliser that helps in uniform dispersal of food components. Thereby enhancing the texture and quality of food products, contributing to the growth of sorbitan trioleate market. Apart from food industry sorbitan trioleate is extensively used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry as it helps to stabilise the colour materials and also helps to stabilise emulsion polymerisation. Therefore, with increasing inclination of consumers towards personal care products, demand for sorbitan trioleate is expected to grow significantly among the manufacturers in personal care industry. Moreover, due to other peculiar properties of sorbitan trioleate, it is predominantly used as emulsifier in the manufacturing of agrochemicals and also acts as antistatic agents in the manufacturing of water based metal processes and surface coating agent. Hence, spurring the demand for sorbitan trioleate market in various other industrial applications.However, excessive consumption of products containing sorbitan trioleate may cause diarrhoea, abdominal discomfort among others. Hence, lack of label warning by the manufacturers may affect the growth prospects of sorbitan trioleate market. Moreover, sorbitan trioleate may have animal derived oleic acid, hence vegan population may abstain from its products. Thereby, hampering the growth of sorbitan trioleate market. Furthermore, there are many other variants of sorbitan esters available in the market offering broad specture of applicability which can further hinder the growth of sorbitan trioleate market, due to increased competitive landscape for the manufacturers of sorbitan trioleate.Download PDF Research Report Brochure and Table of Content:Global Sorbitan Trioleate Market: SegmentationOn the basis of application, sorbitan trioleate market is segmented into:-EmulsifierSurfactantAntistating agentOn the basis of end use industry, sorbitan trioleate market is segmented into:-PharmaceuticalsPersonal CareAgricultureChemicalOthersOn the basis of form, sorbitan trioleate market is segmented into:-SolidLiquidGlobal Sorbitan Trioleate Market: Region wise OutlookThe global sorbitan trioleate market is categorised into seven regions, namely, Western Europe, Eastern Europe Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan Latin America and, North America. North America accounts for major share of the sorbitan trioleate market. With increasing inclination of consumers towards personal care products and processed food, demand for emulsifying agents and surfactant is expected to increase significantly, thereby, propelling the growth of sorbitan trioleate market. Asia Pacific represents potential platform for the growth of sorbitan trioleate market. As Asia Pacific region offers flourishing trade options along with increasing demand for compounds with versatile characteristics among end user industries which provides explorative growth of sorbitan trioleate market.Global Sorbitan Trioleate Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players identified in the global sorbitan trioleate market includes: Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC., Carbosynth Limited, Spectrum Laboratory Products, Inc., Iro Group Inc., Kao Corporation, Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd., Redox Pty Ltd, Glenn Corporation, Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc., VWR International, LLC.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Utility Communication Market is Expected to be the Fastest Growing Region During 2017 2025 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=2186 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=2186 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=D&rep_id=2186 Global Utility Communication Market: OverviewUtility communication refers to a set of technologies and devices intended to coordinate various parts of a multifaceted utilities distribution system. Utility communication allows smooth and well-regulated transfer of utilities such as power or gas. Due to the emphasis being laid upon the development of automated distribution networks for utilities distribution, the market for utility communication systems is expected to exhibit a steady rise across the world in the coming years.Global Utility Communication Market: Key TrendsThe rising demand for smart grid systems for the distribution of utilities is the key driver for the global utility communication market and is expected to ensure steady growth of the market in the coming years. The installation of smart grids armed with sophisticated utility communication technology offers benefits to customers as well as providers, which is likely to lead to steady demand for utility communication systems in the coming years.Request Sample Copy of the Report@The distribution of utilities can be monitored much more closely in smart grids and can also be automated. The use of advanced sensors in each node of the smart grid system means minor changes in individual receiving units can be accurately represented in individual bills. Such advances in billing mechanisms have been widely popular and are likely to fuel increased installation of smart grid technology in utilities distribution in the coming years, leading to steady demand from the utility communication market.Governments around the world have also embraced the increasing demand for smart grid systems, since large-scale installation of smart grid systems can help ensure efficient use of national resources and thus indirectly decrease the need for government expenditure. The rising demand for smart city infrastructure is also likely to have a positive impact on the global utility communication market in the coming years, as the presence of a technologically advanced urban connectivity will make installing utility communication systems easier.Request TOC of the Report @Global Utility Communication Market: Market PotentialThe conventional structure of the utilities market has been disrupted by the steady adoption of digital solutions that maximize the utilities distributors profit margin. The rising use of onsite power generation mechanisms such as solar and wind power has also altered the dynamics of the utilities industry, with customers now starting to not only fulfill their own energy needs, but also to supply excess power into the main grid. This has necessitated the use of advanced machine to machine communication technology to cope with the flexible distribution process. This has seen utilities providers evolve into the role of platform provider using multiple third-party services. This configuration is likely to boost the utility communication markets growth prospects in the coming years.Global Utility Communication Market: Geographical DynamicsThe report looks into the performance and growth prospects of the utility communication market in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World in order to provide readers with a comprehensive view of the market. Asia Pacific is expected to remain the leading contributor to the global utility communication market in the coming years thanks to the rising demand for smart city and smart grid infrastructure in emerging countries such as India, South Korea, Japan, and China.Get Discount @Global Utility Communication Market: Competitive LandscapeThe report profiles the leading players operating in the global utility communication market, thus shedding light on the competitive dynamics of the market. Key companies in the global utility communication market include General Electric, Schneider Electric, Comnet, Motorola Solutions Inc., Valiant Communications, Cisco Systems Inc., ZTE Corporation, Fujitsu, Ericsson, Texas Instruments Inc., and Open Systems International.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com Bed and Bath Furnishing Market - Industry Value chain and Stakeholder Analysis https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=23522 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/bed-bath-furnishing-market.html Bed and bath furnishings have become an integral part of the lifestyle as the basic household requirements. Inclination towards stylish, and fashionable accessories with vibrant colors has become the recent trend for the purchase of such products. Interior decoration with proper accessories has become a prime importance among the modern generation. Textiles play an important role in all sectors which includes households, hospitals, and hotels, among others. The global bed and bath furnishing market are mainly driven by growing real estate industry, inclination towards home improvement, demand for multifunctional furniture among the consumers and rise in demand for luxury home furnishing accessories.Download PDF Brochure@Rising research and development among the top key players in order to develop new products is another factor responsible for the growth of the global bed and bath furnishing market at present. However high cost of raw materials coupled with the rapid growth of unorganized market are restraining the global bed and bath furnishing market. Heavy discounts from the unorganized sectors to attract the buyers have eroded the profit margins of most of the retailers and the prominent key players. Increasing preferences towards luxury home furnishing products coupled with rising disposable income over the years are contributing to the growth of the global bed and bath furnishing market. Consumers preferences toward mattresses for oversized beds which are made up of foam mattresses, better bathroom equipment, are few factors fueling the demand for global bed and bath furnishing products. Moreover, demand for branded furniture among the consumers due to the rise in number of middle class urban population in the developing regions are generating opportunities to the global bed and bath furnishing market.The global bed and bath furnishing market has been segmented on the basis of product type and by distribution channel. By product type, bed furnishings has been segmented into bed sheets, pillow covers, blanket, and comforter and bathroom accessories include sanitary ware which includes wash basins, showers, shower enclosures, mixers and taps, screens and trays, fitted bathroom furniture, soap holders, small cabinets, towel rails and rings among others. In 2016, bed furnishings are anticipated to capture a larger market share due to rise in demand of premium sized beds among the consumers. Stylish and fashionable towels with appeasing colors and embellished designs are on high demand among the consumers in recent years. The market has been further segmented on the basis of distribution channel into online distribution channel and offline distribution channel. Online distribution channel are growing at a faster growth rate due to its easy convenience. Further, owing to the rapid growth of the e-commerce industry, the players operating in this segment have resorted to aggressive marketing and promotional activities by way of several offers.. Offline channels captured the major market share in 2016 on account of consumer preference for such channels for the purchase of such products. Based on geography, the bed and bath furnishing market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Europe which includes Germany, France Italy among the other regions accounted for the major market share. Germany is anticipated to grab a prominent position for this market in Europe due to changing consumer preferences coupled with rise in demand for proper home furnishing accessories. North America is a major market for bed and bath furnishings, with U.S. being the dominant country for this market. The market for bed and bath furnishings in Asia Pacific is spurred due to the rising income levels and demands among the consumers residing in this region. India and China are the major contributors to the growth of the bed and bath furnishings market in Asia Pacific.Browse Report@Global key participants in the industry include Hollander Home Fashions Corporation, Huaxe Hometex Limited, Louiseville Bedding company, Suvim Home textiles company limited, Tempur Pedic Inc, Intec, Trident Group, Welspun India Limited, Kulon Limited, IKEA, Macys, Berco Furniture Solution, Clarin, Carrefour, Creative wood, Herman Miller, Godre and Boyce, Steinoff International, Wayfair, J.C. Penny, Carrefour among others.About Us:-Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us:-State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com IXYS UK Westcode announces increased voltage rating of 50mm die rectifier diode and introduce new package option IXYS UK Westcode W2624 Rectifier Diode IXYS UK Westcode announces an increased maximum voltage and a new low profile package option for its W2624 series rectifier diode. The maximum grade voltage is increased to 2.8Kv and a new 21mm thick package option is added to the standard range for this rectifier diode.IXYS UK is continuing to optimize its rectifier diode portfolio and has this month announced the increased maximum voltage rating for its W2624 series diode from 2.5kV to 2.8kV. IXYS UK have managed to increase the voltage without compromising the average current rating which remains at 2624A at a heat sink temperature of 55C. The diode has a surge rating of 30.8Ka and a maximum junction temperature of 160C. The device compromises a 50mm diameter silicon die bonded onto a metal disc packaged in an industry standard outline, fully hermetic ceramic package with 47mm diameter nickel plated copper electrodes. As well as the established 26mm thick package the diode is now also offered in a slim line 21mm thick package; this thinner outline is compatible with some older outlines which are no longer available from the original manufacturers.The IXYS device is available in two voltage classes and the two package thicknesses outline above. Part number designations for the expanded range of rectifier diodes are: for the thicker 26mm package, W2624NC240 for a 2400V part and W2624NC280 for a 2800V part; for the new 21mm thick package W2624ND240 for a 2400V part and W2624ND280 for a 2800V part. If required the diodes can be supplied selected for parallel operation against a customer specific specification, consult factory for details.Typical applications for this device include: track side rectifiers for DC operated light rail systems, rectifiers for DC locomotives, front end rectifiers and bridges for industrial applications, DC power supplies, utilities and chemical power supplies.GD Rectifiers is the UKS leading distributor for IXYS UK Westcode, they stock their complete product portfolio, including: fuses, heatsinks, thyristors, diodes, distributed gate thyristors, fast turn off thyristors, medium voltage thyristors, GTO thyristors, IGBTs, capacitors and power assemblies.For further information on the W2624 device or on the complete IXYS UK Westcode product range please call: 01444 243 452 or email: enquiries@gdrectifiers.co.uk.GD Rectifiers is a Global Manufacturer and Distributor of products, services and solutions to commercial and industrial users of power electronic components.Established in 1964, GD Rectifiers has over 50 years of extensive experience across a large range of markets, specialising in new and current technologies for industrial power control applications. An extensive product offering has built GD Rectifiers exceptional reputation as the go-to power specialist with innovative experience across: Aviation, Automotive, Rail, Medical, Industrial and Electronics markets.GD Rectifiers have extensive experience in the rail industry and are RISQS Qualified.GD Rectifiers is a ISO 9001:2015 registered company that design and develop bespoke power semiconductor assemblies to control voltage, current and frequency for international industrial markets.GD Rectifiers designs and manufactures Selenium and Silicon Rectifiers, Suppressors, Converters, Inverters, Regulators and all other power products for Industrial power control applications. The company distributes state of the art Diodes, Thyristors, IGBTs and MOSFETs from the worlds leading manufacturers including: IXYS, IXYS UK Westcode, Semikron and EDI.GD Rectifiers manufacture an extensive range of power components and assemblies. The company also supplies a wide range of Heat Sinks suitable for Power Semiconductors, LED Lighting and similar applications. GD Rectifiers also offer a repair and replacement service for faulty or ageing Semiconductor Rectifiers, Converters, Inverters and Regulators.GD RectifiersBentley House2 William WayBurgess HillWest SussexRH15 9AG Stauff and Voswinkel combine logistics and sales The Stauff logistics centre was expanded to 55,880 storage places for plastic boxes and 10,348 for Euro pallets Substantial procurement benefits for customers of both companiesStauff Group and Voswinkel GmbH combine logistics and sales. As of 2 January 2018, Walter Stauffenberg GmbH & Co. KG delivers the products from both companies without transition period.The acquisition of Voswinkel GmbH, one of the leading manufacturers of quick release couplings, hose fittings and custom-designed tube assemblies, in April 2015 was a milestone for the Stauff Group on the way to becoming a one-stop and system supplier for hydraulic line components. Since 2 January 2018, customers of both companies have been ordering all products through Walter Stauffenberg GmbH & Co. KG, with access to an even more comprehensive product range of hydraulic line components from a single source. The combining of logistics and sales for both companies provides substantial customer benefits: bundling of orders and shipments as well as reducing the number of suppliers offers specific time and cost benefits.In the past year, we have carefully prepared this operative step which had been one of our objectives for the takeover of Voswinkel GmbH from the outset, Jorg Deutz, CEO of the Stauff Group, explains. This includes the expansion of the fully automated logistics centre in Neuenrade-Kuntrop close to the company headquarters in Werdohl in the Sauerland region to 55,880 storage places for plastic boxes and 10,348 storage places for Euro pallets in the high-rack warehouse. We guarantee existing and new customers of both companies the excellent service for which Stauff has been known for decades, with no transition period: smooth processes, high delivery capacities and accordingly high delivery reliability.Two strong brands one contactSince the start of 2018, customers have only one central contact for the entire range of Stauff and Voswinkel line components from seven product groups. This contact provides independent application advice and support for the selection of suitable components from a technical and economic point-of-view, beyond the limitations of product groups. The customer advisers work closely with the product managers from all product areas and with the application engineers and are therefore also an important interface to the customers design engineering departments.Two strong brands with a high level of development and manufacturing competence are housed under the umbrella of the Stauff Group, Jorg Deutz highlights a crucial difference to one-stop suppliers whose portfolio is often completed by retail articles. Stauff and Voswinkel products are increasingly coordinated with one another and can also be provided as assemblies on request. Intensifying the cooperation also provides our customers with clear engineering advantages through reduced costs and work in purchasing and logistics.About the STAUFF GroupFor more than 50 years, the companies of STAUFF Group, since April 2015 also including VOSWINKEL, have been developing, manufacturing and distributing pipework equipment and hydraulic components for mechanical and plant engineering and for service and industrial maintenance.The overall range currently includes about 40000 standard components in ten product groups as well as a large number of special and system solutions, which are manufactured to customer specifications or based on in-house developments.Wholly owned manufacturing, sales and service facilities in 18 countries and a tight global network of authorised distribution partners ensure high presence and service paired with a maximum of availability.With around 1350 employees worldwide, including 550 at five sites in Germany, the companies of STAUFF Group achieved external sales of over EUR 210 million in the business year 2016.Press ContactWalter Stauffenberg GmbH & Co. KGMr Boris MetteIm Ehrenfeld 458791 WerdohlPhone: +49 (0) 2392 / 916-154Telefax: +49 (0) 2392 / 916-270154eMail: b.mette@stauff.com Main differences between mechanical unions and exothermic welding Exothermic welding and mechanical unions can have a similar application at a glance; however, their results and benefits differ greatly.An exothermic welded joint has a connection made by fusion, which is more reliable and durable. The result is an irreversible molecular bond. The conductivity of the union itself is equal to or greater than the conductors involved. As a consequence, the connection is permanent with a lifetime equal to that of the earthing system.Exothermic welding does not require high maintenance, as it is able to withstand repeated current flow without degrading. Once the mould is closed, the exothermic welding process is autonomous, reproducible and uniform.On the other hand, in a mechanical union, the connection is made by pressing and tightening, resulting in a contact connection. The joint has a lower conductivity than the conductors involved and the connection is transient, since it presents electrical degradation over time.Mechanical unions suffer with the flow of current, faults or repetitive discharges and the result of the connection depends on the tightening torque applied by the installer.In APLICACIONES TECNOLOGICAS, S.A we are experts in lightning protection systems and lightning rods. We have at your disposal all the existing technology and innovate every day, giving suitable solutions to each particular case. We manufacture our products according to maximum quality standards. Research, innovation and safety are the key factor underlining our leadership and presence the world over.Parque Tecnologico de Valencia C/Nicolas Copernico, 446980 PaternaValencia ESPANA 70th company anniversary a success story from Heiligenhaus 70 Years ELMED www.elmedgmbh.com www.elmedgmbh.com On January 8th 2018, ELMED Dr. Ing. Mense GmbH in Heiligenhaus celebrated its 70th company anniversary.Since its foundation in 1948, the family business in its second generation has developed over the last few decades into an internationally renowned and sought-after supplier of special products for industrial measurement and testing technology. 70 years, a long time in which we have initiated and mastered many changes and developments. In the future, we will face new tasks and challenges with suitable products and solutions, says Managing Director Claudia Mense.Quality is a top priority at the company site in Heiligenhaus. After moving out from Essen 48 years ago, the products Made in Germany are being sold from Heiligenhaus to customers all over the world. Only in this way and with many experienced, long-standing employees and innovative developments are we able to compete and develop our position on the world market, confirms Claudia Mense.Both the progressing globalization and the constantly growing demand for energy in industrialized and emerging countries could be used for ELMEDs dynamic expansion.After the early beginnings in medical technology, to which the company's name still refers, the focus is now on high-voltage testing of coatings and linings as well as industrial high-performance stroboscopes.The ISOTEST brand, which is particularly used in the passive corrosion protection, is in demand worldwide. For many years now, ELMED has been providing an important contribution to the longevity, safety and environmental compatibility of existing and future pipelines.For more information, visit the website atELMED specialises in the design and manufacture of measuring and testing equipment. For 70 years now customers in many technical fields have been relying on this middle-sized company.Over the years ELMED has contributed to the progress made in many technical branches. These contributions are based on product innovation and product quality. ELMED provides decades of experience in manufacturing equipment for measuring and testing, technically refined, customised solutions and innovation based on strong research and development. The qualified and experienced technical experts deliver products and services of the highest standard. The European network of representatives and OEMs guarantee Europe-wide customer proximity. Well-proven standard products, modern technology, individual systems and complete solutions: The business sectors of high voltage technology, stroboscopy and metal detection provide tailored solutions for specific requirements. Planning, conception and execution under one roof guarantee optimum product performance, on-time delivery and cost minimization.Elmed Dr. Ing. Mense GmbHWeilenburgstr. 3942579 HeiligenhausTel.: +49 2056 9329-0Fax: +49 2056 9329-33 Strategum Eduserve celebrates 10 years with the launch of Playshaala and Euphoria franchises New Delhi, 15th January 2018: Strategum Eduserve, Indias leading education management services company, successfully completed 10 years of operations this month. The brand marked this momentous occasion with the announcement of the launch of franchises for its 21st century educational institutions PlayShaala and Euphoria.Known in the education industry for its consistent and successful contribution to value education, Strategum associates with schools and universities at a very nascent stage helping them conceptualize the project till its completion. The brand has successfully planned and established over 50 schools and colleges by cohesively designing customized plans and strategies. Strategums prime vision is to provide quality and affordable education to the masses. It provides a common platform for administrators to learn about the latest developments and trends followed in both the Indian as well as International educational systems.The Indian education system has seen a drastic change in its approach to education over the last decade, with equal credence given to the overall development of a childs personality through extra-curricular activities. Strategum aims to evoke the consciousness amongst entrepreneurs reducing the imbalance created by traditional teaching methods by offering innovative learning techniques through its franchise projects.Speaking on the dedicated efforts and remarkable achievements made by Strategum, Yeshwanth Raj Parasmal, Managing Director of Strategum Eduserve said, We are elated to have successfully completed 10 years of our journey in helping reform the Indian educational landscape. Our vision is to diversify the techniques used to impart knowledge to the young minds of the country. We aim to utilize the available curriculum through innovative and practical approaches to provide a more application-based learning in contrast to the traditional rote learning concepts.He further added, We are now working towards establishing the franchise line in preschool and k-12 schools such as Playshaala and Euphoria that would encourage students to adapt to the 21st century educational techniques from a young age.Strategum Eduserve recognizes the importance of delivering high quality education and a flexible learning environment by developing educational campuses that are continuously innovating and delivering programs that cater to the growing needs of the education industry.About StrategumStrategum Eduserve Private Limited is Indias leading education management services company that plans, builds and manages educational institutions. The firm aims at building cutting-edge institutes by addressing the central issues in the educational system. The brand innovates, updates and develops programs to cater to the developing needs of the education industry.With over a decade of experience in the education industry, Strategum offers all services required to launch and manage the educational institute. It has established its presence in 12 states across India and has successfully completed over 52 projects. The companys mission is to create value-driven educational institutions from pre-schools to universities.Strategum Eduserve Private Limited has received recognition from prestigious awards such as Pride of India Award for outstanding individual achievement and Distinguished Service to Nation (2015), International Womens Day Award in recognition of its contribution in the field of education by a woman entrepreneur (2017), Great Indian Workplaces Awards for the extraordinary workplace and culture it maintains (2017), and more.B 175 Sushant Lok Part 1Gurugram, Haryana122009 CRIF acquires Dun & Bradstreet Vietnam and its franchise operations in Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia CRIF, a global company specializing in credit bureau, business information and credit solutions, has announced today the acquisition of all shares in Dun & Bradstreet Vietnam.CRIF has been Dun & Bradstreets Worldwide Network (WWN) partner since 2009 after acquiring its operations in Italy and later in Turkey, the UAE and Egypt. With this announcement, the relationship will expand to cover Vietnam and nearby markets, including Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. The acquisition will strengthen CRIFs industry-leading position in the field of business and credit information and risk management solutions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region.CRIF has an existing and strong consumer business in Vietnam, where it has been operating since 2010 when it was selected by PCB Investment JSC as its strategic partner to develop the first world-class credit bureau of the country. In 2017, CRIF strengthened its position in PCB, increasing its shares to 53.1%.The acquisition of Dun & Bradstreet Vietnam is part of CRIFs global strategy, with increasing investments over recent years, and the commitment to provide the Southwest Asian market as well as international clients with greater added-value services and products. The solutions offered by CRIF and its subsidiaries worldwide will make it possible to respond more effectively to the needs of an increasingly demanding market in terms of advanced solutions and IT flexibility. Moreover, CRIFs decision support systems and software solutions combined with Dun & Bradstreet data and risk management solutions will help global clients optimize existing business processes in a very efficient and innovative way and strengthen relationships with other countries in Asia.Thanks to this deal, our goal is to reinforce our presence in one of the fast-growing economies in the world. By combining the strength of CRIFs resources in the region with Dun & Bradstreet Vietnam operations, we will be able to provide greater opportunities for growth and innovation in ASEAN countries and further increase our focus on cross-market services to better serve our national and international clients, said Carlo Gherardi, President and CEO of CRIF.Our global strategy is built on developing new synergies to strengthen our value proposition and having the best local and global data available to our customers in every market. Thanks to our risk assessment and decision management solutions Asian companies will be able to increase their profitability by managing their business partners with greater confidence in a very complex and challenging environment, commented Lamberto Barbieri, Asia Managing Director of CRIF.CRIF is a global company specializing in credit bureau and business information, outsourcing and processing services, and credit solutions. Established in 1988 in Bologna (Italy), CRIF has an international presence, operating over four continents (Europe, America, Africa and Asia).Via Mario Fantin 1-3 40131 Bologna Italy Tellermate Launches Touchscreen Cash Counter at NRF Retails Big Show 2018 Tellermate Touch https://www.tellermate.com/nrf-launch/ https://www.tellermate.com/products/touchscreen-cash-counter/ ATLANTA Jan. 15, 2018: Tellermate, a global cash management solutions provider, today announced the launch of its new touchscreen cash counter during the National Retail Foundation (NRF) Retails Big Show 2018.Attendees of the conference in New York City, which takes place through Jan. 16, will be the first to witness live demos of the much-anticipated touchscreen version of Tellermates popular T-ix cash counters the Tellermate Touch. These demos will take place throughout the convention in booth #303.The Tellermate Touch is the first cash counter on the market to have a dedicated app one that allows remote and on-site users to see full count data from their smart device or PC.Our customers want the latest in retail technology, and we are delivering it through the new Tellermate Touch said Dave Lunn, global director of Tellermate. We continually strive to improve upon our existing portfolio of cash management solutions and are thrilled to unveil the most-effective, connected, and user-friendly product on the market today.Tellermates count-by-weight cash counters and intelligent cash drawers automate manual cash management tasks, making the process more accurate, reliable, and efficient. Its cash management solutions helpThe Tellermate Touch: more than just a touchscreenTellermate TouchThe new Tellermate Touch is the most-connected cash counter on the market. Not only does it boast improved functionality, an enhanced user journey and an impressive 7.6-inch touchscreen; but the Touch has the ability to print wirelessly or via a Bluetooth printer, for a hard copy of count data.Users can even connect to back-office systems using the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB or Ethernet connectivity. Count data can then easily be exported into a file thats compatible with a companys back-office PCs or mobile devices. This generates a detailed audit trail of the stores cash.Customers crave the means to easily connect their cash counters to back-office systems in a number of different ways, Lunn said. Some stores only use USB while others want to connect via Wi-Fi. A range of connectivity options in one device enables them to gain a full picture of their cash count data in a way that suits their business needs.But it doesnt stop there. Area managers, franchisees or even remote employees can use the Touch app to collate count-related data for all of their stores, allowing them to not only get a full picture cash counts even while on the go but to also drive adherence to process by determining which stores have complied with cash- management procedures.Eliminate the training burden from store teamsDespite being the most-connected cash counter on the market, the Tellermate Touch is still easy to install, connect and use. Icon-driven navigation provides an optimized and intuitive user experience. Plus, built-in training videos and an on-screen user guide provides everything cashiers and store managers need to get up to speed in minutes relieving the burden from training or IT teams.In addition, the Touchs antimicrobial additive inhibits bacteria from reproducing, so the spread of germs through multiple cashiers is limited. This is especially important in restaurant or food retail settings. This antimicrobial agent is manufactured into the casing of the cash counting machine not sprayed on allowing the protection to last throughout the products lifetime.See it in actionThose attending the NRF Retails Big Show in New York can see the Touch live in action at booth #303 throughout the show. Demos can be scheduled here:Alternatively, those who arent attending the show may still request a demo, atENDSAbout TellermateTellermate is a provider of cash management solutions to the retail, grocery, food service and financial industries, deployed across numerous Fortune 500 companies. The company is the inventor of count-by-weight technology and the intelligent cash drawer. Its technology processes over $1 billion daily across the globe. UK headquarters are home to the engineering, research & development, product, and executive teams. National offices are located in Atlanta, Paris, Heidelberg, Barcelona and Tokyo. Tellermates mission is to improve the profitability of our customers by providing next generation end-to-end cash-management solutions, from innovative software to connected cash-counting products.Nick van NoordenTellermateLeeway Industrial EstateNewportSouth WalesUnited KingdomNP19 4SLnick.vannoorden@tellermate.com e-Zest is organizing Digital Commerce Hackathon http://www.e-zest.com/digital-commerce-hackathon-2018 January 15, 2018Punee-Zest Solutions, a leading digital innovation partner for enterprises, is all set to host its first digital commerce hackathon at its Hinjawadi premises on February 4th between the hours of 9AM and 9PM. The theme of the digital commerce hackathon is to use emerging technologies to improve the e-commerce experience for buyers and convenience for the marketers.The Hackathon is a 12 hour creative development fest that provides a platform to test the innovative, inventive, imaginative and technical proficiencies of the participants. Developers, domain experts, students and start-ups will congregate to use their expertise to solve certain real-world problems by developing a digital commerce application. The theme of the hackathon is chosen prudently, keeping in mind its present-day relevance and significance. Prizes worth 75 thousand will be awarded to the winners. All participants will take home company memorabilia and will be treated to a reception.Developers, in particular, will be able to contribute significantly, and this would aid in the realization of their potential. This hackathon will also ensure that they improve their digital commerce skillset as they interact with different industry leaders and experienced peers.We intend to create a fulfilling experience for participants as well as industry veterans in order to embrace the opportunities of created by a plethora of new technologies that have forayed in digital commerce, says Devendra Deshmukh, CEO and Founder of e-Zest.The hackathon promises to present new knowledge in the field of the digital transformation.We want to find out how we can apply leading-edge technologies such as AI, machine learning to the fast evolving domain of online shopping. The hackathon is an excellent opportunity to create new services and operating models, says Satish Chavan who heads e-Zest US operations.About e-Zest:e-Zest is a leading digital innovation partner for enterprises and technology companies that utilizes emerging technologies for creating engaging customers experiences. Being a customer-focused and technology-driven company, it always helps clients in crafting holistic business value for their software development efforts. It offers software development and consulting services for cloud computing, enterprise mobility, big data and analytics, user experience and digital commerce.e-Zest is an ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 and SEI CMMI Level 3 certified company with more than 600 software professionals on board with customers spread across the world. It is consistently delivering cutting-edge technology solutions to its broad range of clients from manufacturing, healthcare, public sector, financial services, retail, e-learning and travel industries since its inception in 2000. e-Zest is Microsoft Gold Certified partner, AWS Advanced Consulting Partner, and Oracle Silver Level Partner.To find more information about the Hackathon, please use the link below.e-Zest is a leading digital innovation partner for enterprises and technology companies that utilizes emerging technologies for creating engaging customers experiences. Being a customer-focused and technology-driven company, it always helps clients in crafting holistic business value for their software development efforts. It offers software development and consulting services for cloud computing, enterprise mobility, big data and analytics, user experience and digital commerce.e-Zest is an ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 and SEI CMMI Level 3 certified company with more than 600 software professionals on board with customers spread across the world. It is consistently delivering cutting-edge technology solutions to its broad range of clients from manufacturing, healthcare, public sector, financial services, retail, e-learning and travel industries since its inception in 2000. e-Zest is Microsoft Gold Certified partner, AWS Advanced Consulting Partner, and Oracle Silver Level Partner.e-Zest Solutions Ltd.3rd Floor, Building IT-09Qubix Business Park - SEZBlueridgeRajiv Gandhi Infotech ParkHinjawadi Phase-1Pune, Maharashtra- 411057 INDIA Payments Landscape in Belgium: Opportunities and Risks to 2021 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011392889/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011392889/buying http://www.reportsweb.com/payments-landscape-in-belgium-opportunities-and-risks-to-2021 ReportsWeb.com published Payments Landscape Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Publisher's "Payments Landscape in Belgium: Opportunities and Risks to 2021", report provides detailed analysis of market trends in the Belgian cards and payments industry. It provides values and volumes for a number of key performance indicators in the industry, including credit transfers, direct debit, cash, payment cards, and cheques during the review-period (2013-17e).The report also analyzes various payment card markets operating in the industry, and provides detailed information on the number of cards in circulation, transaction values and volumes during the review-period and over the forecast-period (2017-21f). It also offers information on the country's competitive landscape, including the market shares of issuers and schemes.The report brings together Publisher's research, modeling, and analysis expertise to allow banks and card issuers to identify segment dynamics and competitive advantages. The report also covers details of regulatory policy and recent changes in the regulatory structure.Request a Sample Report@Report Scope:-To boost contactless payments in the country, Bancontact-the dominant scheme provider in Belgium-enabled contactless payments on its mobile app in October 2017, allowing users to store their Bancontact card details and make contactless payments at NFC-enabled terminals. The app is now supported by 20 banks in Belgium, making the service available to 99% of Bancontact card holders in the country. More than two thirds of payment terminals in Belgium already support NFC technology. All terminals in the country should be able to offer contactless payments by 2018.-Alternative payments are gaining prominence in Belgium, with rising adoption of local and international payment solutions. Android Pay was launched in Belgium in March 2017, and allows users to make in-store, in-app, and online payments. The solution is now supported by major schemes including Mastercard and Visa, as well as card issuers including BNP Paribas Fortis, Fintro, and Hello bank!. The solution allows users to load their card by taking a picture of it using their mobile phone. Meanwhile, in June 2015 Masterpass was launched by Mastercard in Belgium. It allows users to store multiple card details and billing addresses for faster checkout. Once details are saved, users can skip the process of entering card and shipping details for all future payments.-The emergence of mobile-only banks is likely to accelerate a shift towards electronic payments in Belgium. BNP Paribas launched mobile-only bank Hello bank! in Belgium in 2013, allowing consumers to conduct banking transactions entirely on their mobile phone. Similarly, French telecom provider Orange plans to introduce its mobile-only bank, Orange Bank, in Belgium in 2019.The report provides top-level market analysis, information and insights into the Belgian cards and payments industry, including--Current and forecast values for each market in the Belgian cards and payments industry, including debit and credit cards.-Detailed insights into payment instruments including credit transfers, cheques, direct debit, cash, and payment cards. It also, includes an overview of the country's key alternative payment instruments.-E-commerce market analysis and payment methods.-Analysis of various market drivers and regulations governing the Belgian cards and payments industry.-Detailed analysis of strategies adopted by banks and other institutions to market debit and credit cards.Inquire before Buying@Reasons to buy:-Make strategic business decisions, using top-level historic and forecast market data, related to the Belgian cards and payments industry and each market within it.-Understand the key market trends and growth opportunities in the Belgian cards and payments industry.-Assess the competitive dynamics in the Belgian cards and payments industry.-Gain insights into marketing strategies used for various card types in Belgium.-Gain insights into key regulations governing the Belgian cards and payments industry.Companies Mentioned:BNP ParibasBelfius BankING BankKBC BankCredit MutuelBancontactVisaMastercardAmerican ExpressFor more information about this report@About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Payments in Singapore 2017- What Consumers Want ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011392890/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/payments-in-singapore-2017-what-consumers-want http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011392890/buying "Payments in Singapore 2017: What Consumers Want", report examines the consumer payments market in Singapore, considering payment cards, online payments, P2P payments, and newer payment technologies such as mobile wallets and contactless. The report also examines the main regulatory players overseeing the market.Singapore's payment card market is one of the most highly competitive and attractive in Asia Pacific. The payment card market is overserved, with debit and pay-later card penetration rates of 1.9 and 1.6 respectively per inhabitant in 2017. Improved banking infrastructure, new product developments, higher awareness of electronic payments, and the wider acceptance of payment cards at POS terminals have led to increased adoption of payment cards. However, due to the mature nature of the market, issuance is set to plateau going forward. Providers will need to shift their focus to encouraging increased use of payment cards; this will be crucial in driving consumers away from cash, which remains popular in the country.Request a Sample Report@Electronic payments in Singapore have steadily gained prominence, and the country has invested substantially in building long-term infrastructure for cashless payments. Widely available financial products, a competitive merchant marketplace, and a transparent business environment are strongly connected with progress towards a cashless society. The adoption of contactless technology, mobile payments, and chip-and-PIN technology has also supported the shift towards electronic payments.It provides in-depth analysis of the following--Analyzes consumer attitudes to financial services by lifestage.-Analyzes the major payment card types in terms of both card holding and usage.-Identifies the major competitors in card issuing and how their position in the market has changed over the last five years.-Considers consumer attitudes towards P2P tools, mobile payment tools, and contactless cards, and how companies in Singapore are deploying these tools to meet customer needs.-Explores the online payment market in Singapore by merchant type and payment tool, as well as providing a five-year forecast for the development of the market.Report Scope:-In Singapore contactless technology has been extended to enable cash withdrawals at ATMs. UOB has launched an ATM that enables customers to withdraw cash by tapping their smartphone on the unit's screen. The first two contactless ATMs were deployed in Raffles Place and Alexandra in October 2016.-In August 2017 the Payments Council took a decision to develop a common Singapore QR code system. The system will accept electronic payments from both domestic and international payment schemes, e-wallets, and banks.-NETS was established in 1985 by a consortium of DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, and UOB. It is recognized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as the national payment system.For more information about this report@Reasons to buy:-Understand the key facts and figures in the consumer payments market in Singapore.-Learn what trends drive consumer behavior at the macro level and plan your strategy accordingly.-Find out what products the major competitors are launching in the market.-Discover consumer sentiments towards various payment tools in the Singaporean market and use this knowledge to inform product design.Companies Mentioned:DBS BankUOBOCBC BankCitibankStandard CharteredNETSVisaMastercardAmerican ExpressDiners ClubChina UnionPayJCBInquire before Buying@About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028Phone : +91-20-67278686E-Mail : info@reportsweb.com Mobile Broadband Trends in the Middle East and North Africa ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011392898/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011392898/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/mobile-broadband-trends-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa ReportsWeb.com published Mobile Broadband Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market."Mobile Broadband Trends in the Middle East and North Africa", a new Telecom Insider Report by Publisher, provides an executive-level overview of the mobile telecom market in the Middle East and North Africa. It delivers deep qualitative insight into the mobile market, analyzing key trends and in the region.Mobile service revenue growth in the Middle East and North Africa will be mainly driven by the mobile data segments over 2017-2022. Mobile voice, though the largest revenue-contributing segment in 2017, will decline impacted by the rising adoption of OTT communications. Mobile data will record the fastest revenue CAGR, fueled by 3G/4G networks expansion, rising data adoption and usage supported by operators' data monetization strategies. Going forward, operators will focus on data monetization, 4G network expansions and 5G network launches to boost mobile broadband penetration in the country, which will also provide significant opportunities for vendors and investors in the coming years.Request a Sample Report@Report Scope:-The overall mobile service revenue in the Middle East and North Africa will growth at a CAGR of 3.8% during 2017-2022.-Mobile data revenue will account for 60.6% of the total telecom revenue in 2022, driven by increasing adoption and usage of mobile broadband services.-4G will be the most adopted mobile technology by2022. Rising demand for high-speed data service and expansion of the 4G network will also drive 4G subscriber growth.-Iran will account for 25% of net adds in the region between 2017 and 2022. Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and Algeria will round out the list of top five contributors to the region's subscription growth over the next five years.It provides in-depth analysis of the following--Global context: mobile telecom market size and trends in the Middle East and North Africa compared with other countries in the region.-Economic, demographic and political context in the Middle East and North Africa-The regulatory environment and trends.-A demand profile: analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the mobile voice and mobile data markets.-Service evolution: a look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the mobile voice and data from 2016 to 2022.Inquire before Buying@Companies Mentioned:Telecom EgyptReasons to buy:-This Insider Report provides a comprehensive examination thorough, forward-looking analysis of the Middle East and North Africa's mobile telecommunications markets trends in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies.-Accompanying Publisher's Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in the Middle East and North Africa's mobile communications markets.-With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality.-The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in the Middle East and North Africa.For more information about this report@About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028Phone : +91-20-67278686E-Mail : info@reportsweb.com Worldwide Urinalysis Tests Market 2023 Vendors: Dahaner (U.S.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Siemens AG (U.S.), ARKRAY, Inc. Urinalysis Tests Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/839 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/839 The study report worldwide Urinalysis Tests Market covers the market analysis for the regions - North America, Europe, Asia Pacific/ Southeast Asia and Row and country analysis of China, Japan, and India focusing on top manufacturers in world market and the market share they hold including their contribution to the market growthUrinalysis Tests Market Highlights:Urinalysis is the analysis of urine for the diagnosis and monitoring of number of diseases such as kidney disease and diabetes. The test is mostly recommended during pregnancy to determine the levels of hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin. Therefore, the demand for these test instruments and devices is growing across the globe.The demand for urinalysis test is increasing with increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and demand for new point of care devices. The global market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 120 market data tables and figures spread over 158 pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content (TOC) & market synopsis on Urinalysis test market research reportGlobal forecast till 2023.Urinalysis Tests Market Major Players in the Market:Dahaner (U.S.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Siemens AG (U.S.), ARKRAY, Inc. (Japan), Sysmex Corporation (Japan), and ACON Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.).Get Sample Copy @Urinalysis Tests Market Segmentation:The Global Urinalysis Test Market is segmented on the basis of type of product type, test type, application and end user.On the basis of product type, the market is segmented into instruments and consumables. The instruments include urine chemistry analyzer such as automatic urine analyzers and semi-automatic urine analyzers, automated urine sediment analyzers, point-of-care devices, and strip analyzer. The consumables are further segmented into plastic consumables, test strips, and chemical agents.On the basis of test type, the market is segmented into macroscopic urinalysis, biochemical urinalysis, and sediments/microscopic urinalysis.On the basis of application, the market is segmented into disease diagnosis including the diagnosis of diseases such as kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, pregnancy tests, and others.On the basis of end user, the market is segmented into hospitals, independent laboratories, and physician practices.Urinalysis Tests Market Regional Analysis:The Americas is the largest Urinalysis Tests Market across the globe owing to extensive use and demand for automated point-of-care testing devices, and rising prevalence of chronic kidney diseases (CKD). According to the National Chronic Kidney Diseases Report, CKD is common among adults in the U.S.Europe is the second largest market and it is expected to show positive growth in the near future due to the increasing prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and diabetes. As per American Society of Nephrology, the prevalence of CKD across the European countries is varied. According to the World Health Organization, about 60 million European have diabetes and the prevalence of diabetes is relatively high among people over 25 years.In Asia Pacific, the market is expected grow at the fastest rate owing to increasing prevalence of chronic disease such as diabetes, kidney diseases, and others. Furthermore, the demand for diagnostics services in this region is increasing with the increasing medical tourism. India is one of the international medical tourism destinations across the world, which further exhibits growth opportunities for the market due to availability of cost-effective treatment and rising success rates. Furthermore, the increasing healthcare expenditure in the developing countries of Asia Pacific also contributes to the market growth.The Middle East and Africa also shows a steady rise in the market owing to rising demand for agnostic solutions and point-of-care testing devices.Research Illustrations:1 Report Prologue2 Market Introduction2.1 Introduction 172.2 Scope Of Study 172.3 Research Objective 172.4 Assumptions & Limitations 182.4.1 Assumptions 182.4.2 Limitations 182.5 Market Structure 183 Research Methodology3.1.1 Primary Research Methodology 203.1.2 Secondary Research Methodology 213.1.3 Market Share Analysis 223.1.4 Trade Analysis 223.2 Forecast Model 234 Market Dynamics4.1 Introduction 244.2 Drivers 254.2.1 Rising Demand For Point-Of-Care Testing: (35%) 254.2.2 Rising Prevalence Of Chronic Diseases: (40%) 264.2.3 Technological Advancements: (25%) 274.3 Restraints 284.3.1 Stringent Regulations: (60%) 284.3.2 Lack Of Trained Professionals: (40%) 294.4 Mega Trends 304.5 Macroeconomic Indicators 304.6 Technology Trends And Assessment 325 Market Factor Analysis5.1 Value Chain Analysis 335.1.1 Primary Activities 335.1.2 Secondary Activities 345.2 Porters Five Forces Model 355.2.1 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers 365.2.2 Bargaining Power Of Buyers 365.2.3 Threat Of New Entrants 365.2.4 Threat Of Substitutes 365.2.5 Intensity Of Rivalry 365.3 Demand And Supply Gap Analysis 375.4 Pricing Analysis 385.5 Investment Opportunity Analysis 39TOC ContinuedGet Discount @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comMRFR has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.Our Research Analysts are eager to share their knowledge and assist you in refining market research parameters, choosing right market studies, and evaluating both the market scope and the research methodologies of varied segments.We bridge the gap between our clients and their clients by identifying and decoding just the target group, while generating leads with the highest accuracy.Years of research into diverse fields of work has ingrained within us, a proficiency so distinguished that our industry-specific specialists identify with your business ideas and feel the pulse of your challenges and opportunities. This enables us for providing assistance, through our consulting and strategic consulting services, in informed managerial decision making. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industries, WantStats Research and Media often conducts industrial visits for its research analysts. Relevant inputs from various established market participants, help our clients make significant contribution in respective markets are a huge motivation for all of us to endlessly furnish quality. We depend greatly on profound insights into complex realms of our study.Pune, India Wind Power in Netherlands, Market Outlook to 2030 ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/Wind-Power-in-Netherlands-Market-Outlook-to-2030-Update-2017-Capacity-Generation-Levelized-Cost-of-Energy-Investment-Trends-Regulations-and-Company-Profiles http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001866646/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001866646/buying ReportsWeb.com published Wind Power Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market."Wind Power in Netherlands, Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2017 - Capacity, Generation, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) , Investment Trends, Regulations and Company Profiles" is the latest report from Publisher, the industry analysis specialists that offer comprehensive information and understanding of the wind power market in Netherlands.The report provides in depth analysis on global renewable power market and global wind power market with forecasts up to 2030. The report analyzes the power market scenario in Netherlands (includes conventional thermal, nuclear, large hydro and renewable energy sources) and provides future outlook with forecasts up to 2030. The research details renewable power market outlook in the country (includes wind, small hydro, biopower and solar PV) and provides forecasts up to 2030. The report highlights installed capacity and power generation trends from 2006 to 2030 in Netherlands wind power market. A detailed coverage of renewable energy policy framework governing the market with specific policies pertaining to wind power is provided in the report. The research also provides company snapshots of some of the major market participants.For more information about this report:The report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, secondary research and in-house analysis by Publisher's team of industry experts.Scope:The report analyses global renewable power market, global wind power (Onshore and Offshore) market, Netherlands power market, Netherlands renewable power market and Netherlands wind power market. The scope of the research includes -- A brief introduction on global carbon emissions and global primary energy consumption.- An overview on global renewable power market, highlighting installed capacity trends, generation trends and installed capacity split by various renewable power sources. The information is covered for the historical period 2006-2016 (unless specified) and forecast period 2016-2030.- Renewable power sources include wind (both onshore and offshore) , solar photovoltaic (PV) , concentrated solar power (CSP) , small hydropower (SHP) , biomass, biogas and geothermal.- Detailed overview of the global wind power market with installed capacity and generation trends, installed capacity split by major hydropower countries in 2016 and key owners information of various regions.- Power market scenario in Netherlands and provides detailed market overview, installed capacity and power generation trends by various fuel types (includes thermal conventional, nuclear, large hydro and renewable energy sources) with forecasts up to 2030.- An overview on Netherlands renewable power market, highlighting installed capacity trends (2006-2030) , generation trends (2006-2030) and installed capacity split by various renewable power sources in 2016.- Detailed overview of Netherlands wind power market with installed capacity and generation trends and major active and upcoming wind projects.- Deal analysis of Netherlands wind power market. Deals are analyzed on the basis of mergers, acquisitions, partnership, asset finance, debt offering, equity offering, private equity (PE) and venture capitalists (VC) .- Key policies and regulatory framework supporting the development of renewable power sources in general and wind power in particular.- Company snapshots of some of the major market participants in the country.Request Sample Copy atReasons to buy:- The report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner.- Identify key growth and investment opportunities in Netherlands wind power market.- Facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data for wind power market.- Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industry's growth potential.- Develop strategies based on the latest regulatory events.- Identify key partners and business development avenues.- Understand and respond to your competitors' business structure, strategy and prospects.Companies Mentioned:Vestas Wind Systems A/SVattenfall ABSenvion SEN.V. Nuon EnergyEssent N.V.Eneco Holding N.V.Inquire for Report atAbout ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 Global Price Comparison Website (PCW) Market Size, Trends, Outlook and Forecast 2017-2021 Market Research HUB https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1476954 https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-price-comparison-website-pcw-market-size-trends-and-forecasts-2017-2021-edition-report.html https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=1476954 http://www.marketresearchhub.com/ https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/ A fresh report has been added to the wide database of Market Research Hub (MRH) titled Global Price Comparison Website (PCW) Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021 Edition) which provides an outlook for current market value as well as the expected forecast including Rate on Investment (ROI) together with growing CAGR of XX% during 2017-2021. The report studies the engine nacelle market worldwide, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, size, growth, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions.Request For Free Sample Report:The report entitled Global Price Comparison Website Market: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021 Edition), provides analysis of the global price comparison website market, with detailed analysis of market size and growth, penetration, market share and economic impact of the industry. The report also provides the regional analysis of the price comparison website market of the UK, with analysis by value, segments, penetration, etc.Growth of the overall global price comparison website market has been forecasted for the years 2017-2021, taking into consideration the previous growth pattern, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.Majority of the market is concentrated in the UK and major companies in the market are also UK based. Gocompare, Moneysupermarket, Zoopla Property Group (uSwitch) and Admiral Group Plc (Confused.com) are key companies in the UK price comparison website market. The company profiling of these companies has been done in the report, which includes business overview, financial overview and respective business strategies of the companies.Country CoverageUKCompany CoverageGocompare.comMoneySuperMarket.com Group PlcZoopla Property Group (uSwitch)Admiral Group PLC (Confused.com)Browse Full Report with TOC:Executive Summary1. A price comparison website is a search engine, which people use to compare the prices of different products. These websites are also called comparison shopping website, price analysis tool, comparison shopping agent, shopbot, etc. Along with prices, many other categories for comparing the products, such as features, quality, etc. are being added on these websites.2. Price comparison websites provide many benefits to both consumers and the suppliers. Consumers get convenience, increased choices, saving of time, etc., while suppliers are benefitted by increased visibility, new customers, etc.3. The price comparison websites can be segmented into Insurance, Energy and Others. Insurance segment includes motor insurance, home insurance, travel insurance, etc. Energy segment comprises of gas, electricity and others. Other products included in the market are broadband, mobiles, digital TV, etc.4. The price comparison website market is expected to increase at a significant growth rate during the forecasted period (2017-2021). The global price comparison website market is supported by various growth drivers, such as increase in smartphone users, increased internet penetration, increasing switching market, etc. Yet, the market faces certain challenges, such as issues related to reliability and trust, lack of knowledge, etc.Table of Contents:1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Introduction to Price Comparison Websites2.1.1 Advantages of Price Comparison Websites2.1.2 Disadvantages of Price Comparison Websites2.2 Working of Price Comparison Websites2.3 Segmentation of Price Comparison Websites3. Global Market Analysis3.1 Global Price Comparison Market: An Analysis3.1.1 Global PCW Market by Value3.1.2 Global PCW Market by Region4. Regional Analysis4.1 UK Price Comparison Website Market: An Analysis4.1.1 UK PCW Market by Value4.1.2 UK PCW Market by Segments4.1.3 UK PCW Market Insurance Segment by Value4.1.4 UK PCW Market Insurance Segment by Sub Segments4.1.5 UK PCW Market Segments by Penetration RateContinue@.......Enquire About This Report:About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of ICT market research reports as been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at - 2018-2025 Global Oil Well Cement Market Key Players: Lafarge, Holcim, Dyckerhoff Ag, Heidelberg Cement, Italcementi, Cemex, Kerman Cement, Trinidad Cement, Oman Cement,. Oil Well Cement Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2765563-global-oil-well-cement-market-professional-survey-report-2018 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/2765563-global-oil-well-cement-market-professional-survey-report-2018 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=2765563 Oil Well Cement Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Oil Well Cement Market 2018 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2025reports to its database.Executive SummaryThis report studies Oil-Well Cement in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringLafargeHolcimDyckerhoff AgHeidelberg CementItalcementiCemexKerman CementTrinidad CementOman CementGezhouba Group CementTianshan CementQsccQlssnConchYatai GroupJidong CementNingxia Building MaterialsTaiyuan Lionhead CementDalian CementRequest Sample Report @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoOrdinaryModerate Sulfate-ResistantHigh Sulfate-ResistantBy Application, the market can be split intoOil WellGas WellOtherBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.For further information on this report, visit Table of content:Global Oil-Well Cement Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Oil-Well Cement1.1 Definition and Specifications of Oil-Well Cement1.1.1 Definition of Oil-Well Cement1.1.2 Specifications of Oil-Well Cement1.2 Classification of Oil-Well Cement1.2.1 Ordinary1.2.2 Moderate Sulfate-Resistant1.2.3 High Sulfate-Resistant1.3 Applications of Oil-Well Cement1.3.1 Oil Well1.3.2 Gas Well1.3.3 Other1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Oil-Well Cement2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Oil-Well Cement2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Oil-Well Cement2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Oil-Well Cement3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Oil-Well Cement3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Oil-Well Cement Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Oil-Well Cement Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Oil-Well Cement Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Oil-Well Cement Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Oil-Well Cement Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Oil-Well Cement Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Oil-Well Cement Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Oil-Well Cement Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2012-2017E Global Oil-Well Cement Sales Price4.4.2 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Oil-Well Cement8.1 Lafarge8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 Lafarge 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 Lafarge 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 Holcim8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 Holcim 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 Holcim 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 Dyckerhoff Ag8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 Dyckerhoff Ag 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 Dyckerhoff Ag 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.4 Heidelberg Cement8.4.1 Company Profile8.4.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.4.2.1 Product A8.4.2.2 Product B8.4.3 Heidelberg Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.4.4 Heidelberg Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.5 Italcementi8.5.1 Company Profile8.5.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.5.2.1 Product A8.5.2.2 Product B8.5.3 Italcementi 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.5.4 Italcementi 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.6 Cemex8.6.1 Company Profile8.6.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.6.2.1 Product A8.6.2.2 Product B8.6.3 Cemex 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.6.4 Cemex 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.7 Kerman Cement8.7.1 Company Profile8.7.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.7.2.1 Product A8.7.2.2 Product B8.7.3 Kerman Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.7.4 Kerman Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.8 Trinidad Cement8.8.1 Company Profile8.8.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.8.2.1 Product A8.8.2.2 Product B8.8.3 Trinidad Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.8.4 Trinidad Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.9 Oman Cement8.9.1 Company Profile8.9.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.9.2.1 Product A8.9.2.2 Product B8.9.3 Oman Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.9.4 Oman Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.10 Gezhouba Group Cement8.10.1 Company Profile8.10.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.10.2.1 Product A8.10.2.2 Product B8.10.3 Gezhouba Group Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.10.4 Gezhouba Group Cement 2016 Oil-Well Cement Business Region Distribution Analysis8.11 Tianshan Cement8.12 Qscc8.13 Qlssn8.14 Conch8.15 Yatai Group8.16 Jidong Cement8.17 Ningxia Building Materials8.18 Taiyuan Lionhead Cement8.19 Dalian CementContinuousBuy this Report @Contact Us:Norah Trentsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042 Food Colour Global Market 2018: Key Players Chr. Hansen S/A, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Sensient Technology Corporation, D.D. Williamson & Co. Inc https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1542350-global-food-colour-market-trends-forecast-2009-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/1542350-global-food-colour-market-trends-forecast-2009-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1542350 https://www.wiseguyreports.com Food Colour IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Food Colour -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2023 To Its Research DatabaseFood color is a pigment, dye or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or beverages. Food color comes in various forms such as liquid, powder, gel and pastes. Food color are used in commercial food as well as in domestic cooking. The food color are majorly used to make food appealing for the consumer. The food color is added to a certain food in order to stimulate the loss of color during the processing period, so as to enhance the quality of the products and also to influence the consumer to purchase the products.Clean label trend has evolved beyond ingredients and indicates that the food is made by using natural colors and flavors. The increasing consumer awareness about health & wellness and their growing interest to adopt natural color instead of synthetic color, has been supporting the growth of this market. This has attributed to increasing incidence of diseases and rising health cognizant consumers both in developed and developing economies in recent years. Globally the market for food color is estimated to grow at the rate of about 6.58% from 2016 to 2022.Request for Sample Report @Regional AnalysisThe global food color market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (ROW). Among these, Europe region is expected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. However, Asia Pacific region is projected to register maximum CAGR over the forecast period. The growth is contributed by the higher level production in countries like Australia and New Zealand. Also, the colored food industry in Asia Pacific region is experiencing a substantial growth over the past few years which in turn positively driving the growth of food color in the Asia Pacific region. Increasing population in developing countries such as China, India coupled with the changing lifestyles of the consumer is anticipated to stimulate the overall food color market in Asia Pacific region during the forecast period.SegmentsFood color market has been segmented on the basis of type of food color, market is segmented into natural and synthetic. On the basis of application, market is segmented into beverages, bakery & confectionery, dairy products, meat products, savory & snacks and others. On basis of form, market is segmented into liquid, gel, powder and paste. On basis of solubility, the market is segmented into dyes and lakes.Key PlayersThe leading market players in the global Food Color market primarily are Chr. Hansen S/A (Denmark), Archer Daniels Midland Company (U.S.), Sensient Technology Corporation (U.S.), D.D. Williamson & Co. Inc. (DDW) (U.S.), Kalsec Inc. (U.S.), Doehler Group (Germany), FMC Corporation (U.S.).Target Audience Food Color manufacturers Raw material suppliers End users (food industry) Retailers and wholesalers E-commerce companies Traders, importers and exportersKey Findings Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region in the food color market. India and China has shown huge potentials for food color market share during the period 2011-2015 In North American region U.S. dominates the market.The reports also cover country level analysis: North Americao USo Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo U.K.o Italyo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia Pacifico Chinao Indiao Japano Australia & New Zealando Indonesiao Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the Worldo Latin Americao Middle Easto OthersLeave a Query @Table of Content1 Executive Summary 142 Introduction 152.1 Definition 152.1.1 Food Color 152.1.1.1 Natural Food Color 162.1.1.2 Synthetic food color 162.2 Scope of the Study 162.2.1 Study Objectives 162.3 Assumptions 162.4 Limitations 162.5 Market Structure 173 Research Methodology 193.1 Research Process 193.2 Primary Research 203.3 Secondary Research 223.4 Forecast Model 23.16 Company Profile 14716.1 Archer Daniels Midland Company 14716.1.1 Overview 14716.1.2 Financials 14716.1.3 Business Strategies 14816.1.4 Key Developments 14816.2 Chr. Hansen A/s 14916.2.1 Overview 14916.2.2 Product Portfolio 14916.2.3 Financials 15016.2.4 Business Strategies 15016.2.5 Key Developments 15116.3 Sensient Technologies Corporation 15216.3.1 Overview 15216.3.2 Product Portfolio 15216.3.3 Financials 15316.3.4 Business Strategies 15316.3.5 Key Developments 15316.4 Kalsec Inc. 15516.4.1 Overview 15516.4.2 Product Portfolio 15516.4.3 Business Strategies 15516.4.4 Key Developments 15616.5 D.D. Williamson & Co Inc. (DDW) 15716.5.1 Overview 15716.5.2 Product Portfolio 15716.5.3 Business Strategies 15816.5.4 Key Developments 15816.6 FMC Corporation 15916.6.1 Overview 15916.6.2 Product Portfolio 15916.6.3 Financials 16016.6.4 Business Strategies 16016.6.5 Key Developments 16016.7 Doehler Group 16216.7.1 Overview 16216.7.2 Product Portfolio 16216.7.3 Business Strategies 16216.7.4 Key Developments 163Buy Now @ContinuedContact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune 411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042 Hydropower in Russian Federation, Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2017-Capacity, Generation, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Investment Trends, Regulations and Company Profiles ReportsWeb http://www.reportsweb.com/hydropowerin-russian-federation-market-outlook-to-2030-update-2017 http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011139920/sample http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011139920/buying "Hydropower (Large, Small and Pumped Storage) in Russian Federation, Market Outlook to 2030, Update 2017-Capacity, Generation, Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), Investment Trends, Regulations and Company Profiles", is the latest report from Publisher, the industry analysis specialists that offer comprehensive information and understanding of the hydropower market in Russian Federation.The report provides in depth analysis on global renewable power market and global hydropower market with forecasts up to 2030. The report analyzes the power market scenario in Russian Federation (includes conventional thermal, nuclear, large hydro and renewable energy sources) and provides future outlook with forecasts up to 2030. The research details renewable power market outlook in the country (includes hydro, small hydro, biopower and solar PV) and provides forecasts up to 2030. The report highlights installed capacity and power generation trends from 2006 to 2030 in Russian Federation hydropower market. A detailed coverage of renewable energy policy framework governing the market with specific policies pertaining to hydropower is provided in the report. The research also provides company snapshots of some of the major market participants.For more information about this report @The report is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, secondary research and in-house analysis by Publisher's team of industry experts.Scope:The report analyses global renewable power market, global hydropower market, Russian Federation power market, Russian Federation renewable power market and Russian Federation hydropower market. The scope of the research includes--A brief introduction on global carbon emissions and global primary energy consumption.-An overview on global renewable power market, highlighting installed capacity trends, generation trends and installed capacity split by various renewable power sources. The information is covered for the historical period 2006-2016 (unless specified) and forecast period 2017-2030.-Renewable power sources include wind (both onshore and offshore), solar photovoltaic (PV), concentrated solar power (CSP), small hydropower (SHP), biomass, biogas and geothermal.-Detailed overview of the global hydropower market with installed capacity and generation trends, installed capacity split by major hydropower countries in 2016 and key owners information of various regions.-Power market scenario in Russian Federation and provides detailed market overview, installed capacity and power generation trends by various fuel types (includes thermal conventional, nuclear, large hydro and renewable energy sources) with forecasts up to 2030.-An overview on Russian Federation renewable power market, highlighting installed capacity trends (2006-2030), generation trends(2006-2030) and installed capacity split by various renewable power sources in 2016.-Detailed overview of Russian Federation hydropower market with installed capacity and generation trends and major active and upcoming hydro projects.-Deal analysis of Russian Federation hydropower market. Deals are analyzed on the basis of mergers, acquisitions, partnership, asset finance, debt offering, equity offering, private equity (PE) and venture capitalists (VC).-Key policies and regulatory framework supporting the development of renewable power sources in general and hydropower in particular.-Company snapshots of some of the major market participants in the country.Request a sample copy @Companies Mentioned:TGC-1RusHydroOJSC BashkirenergoLukoil Oil CompanyEuroSibEnergo PLCReasons to buy:-The report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner.-Identify key growth and investment opportunities in Russian Federation hydropower market.-Facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data for hydropower market.-Position yourself to gain the maximum advantage of the industry's growth potential.-Develop strategies based on the latest regulatory events.-Identify key partners and business development avenues.-Understand and respond to your competitors' business structure, strategy and prospects.Inquire for Report @About ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Us:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 CBCT Dental Imaging Global Market 2018: Key Players Carestream Health, Dentsply Sirona, FONA Dental, S.R.O., Gendex, Imaging Sciences International, LLC https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1191215-global-cbct-dental-imaging-market-estimation-forecast-2013-2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/1191215-global-cbct-dental-imaging-market-estimation-forecast-2013-2023 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1191215 https://www.wiseguyreports.com CBCT Dental Imaging IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds CBCT Dental Imaging -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2023 To Its Research DatabaseThe Global CBCT Dental Imaging market was valued at $ 381.2 million in 2016 and expected to reach at $ 817.5 million by 2023 at a CAGR of 9.8 % during the forecast period. The major factors responsible for the growth of global CBCT dental imaging market are; increasing use of CBCT in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning driving more opportunities for the market, increasing use of CBCT imaging in cosmetic dentistry treatments and increasing adoption of CBCT by the healthcare professionals among others. The growth barriers are lack of awareness for the use of advanced technologies and risk of ionizing radiations for children and teens among others.The market is categorized on the basis of type of detectors which is further segmented into flat panel detectors and image intensifiers; by application which is segmented into dental implants, orthodontics and endodontic and others and by end user which is bifurcated into hospitals & dental clinics, academic & research institutes and others.The global CBCT dental imaging market is dominated by, North America which holds the largest market share, registering 41.15 % in 2016.The scope of global CBCT dental imaging market study includes the market value, market size and a detailed analysis of vendor products and strategies.Request for Sample Report @Key PlayersThe leading players of the global CBCT dental imaging market are Carestream Health, Dentsply Sirona, FONA Dental, S.R.O., Gendex, Imaging Sciences International, LLC., J.MORITA MFG.CORP., KaVo Dental GmbH, NewTom, Planmeca OY, Prexion, Sinclair Dental/Dentaire, SOREDEX, Vatech Networks, and others.Study Objectives of Global CBCT Dental Imaging Market Development and Demand Forecast to 2023 Market? To provide insights about factors, influencing and affecting the market growth? To provide historically and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to regional markets and their countries? To provide historically and forecast revenue of the market segments based on type, and sub-segment for Global CBCT Dental Imaging market? To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their market share, core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market? To provide economic factors that influence the Global CBCT Dental Imaging marketTarget AudienceGlobal CBCT Dental Imaging Manufacturer CompaniesHospitals & ClinicsGlobal CBCT Dental Imaging market Raw Material SuppliersKey Executive (CEO and COO) and Strategy Growth ManagerLeave a Query @Key FindingsOn the basis of type of detector, flat panel detector segment accounted for the largest market share in 2016, with a market value of US$ 331.4 million in 2016.On the basis of application, dental implants accounted for the largest market share in 2016, with a market value of around US$ 289.9 millionOn the basis of end user, hospitals & dental clinics accounted for the largest market share in 2016, with a market value of around US$ 293.6 millionU.S. is the largest market for Global CBCT Dental Imaging market with market value of US$ 134.0 million in 2016 and is expected to reach $ 280.9 million by 2023.The reports also cover country level analysis:North AmericaUSCanadaEuropeWestern EuropeGermanyFranceU.K.ItalySpainRest of Western EuropeEastern EuropeAsia-PacificChinaJapanIndiaRepublic of KoreaRest of Asia-PacificMiddle East & AfricaBuy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune 411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042 Automotive Interior Components Global Market 2018: Key Players Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd, Toyota Boshoku Corporation, Lear Corporation, NTF India Pvt Ltd https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1751892-global-automotive-interior-components-market-forecast-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/1751892-global-automotive-interior-components-market-forecast-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1751892 https://www.wiseguyreports.com Automotive Interior Components IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Automotive Interior Components -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2023 To Its Research DatabaseGlobal Automotive Interior Components Market Information Report by Components (infotainment, instrument cluster, telematics, flooring, automotive seats, door panel, interior lighting), by Vehicle Type (passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle), and by Regions - Global Forecast To 2027Regional AnalysisAutomotive Interior ComponentsThe Asia-Pacific region had been holding the largest share of the Automotive Interior Components market in 2015. The demand for automobiles in these regions are driven by the growing population in countries such as China and India, as the demand for automobiles in these countries is high at all times. Government initiatives for promoting growth have been reflected upon the increasing demand for automobiles, in this region. In the European regions, the regulations are made mandatory to improve counter measures and crash performance to keep the passengers safe. This factor is estimated to drive the market for interiors in the region. Also, recently Automotive Interior Components market have gained significance, with manufacturers pushing high end interiors even in entry level automobiles.Request for Sample Report @Key PlayersThe key players of global Automotive Interior Components markets are Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd (Japan), Toyota Boshoku Corporation (Japan), Lear Corporation (U.S), NTF India Pvt Ltd (India), Sage Automotive Interior Components. Inc (U.S), BASF Automotive Solutions (Germany), and Faurecia S.A (France).Market ScenarioThe Automotive Interior Components typically refer to the interior components that are present in the cabin of a vehicle. This includes components such as cockpit, dashboards, door panels and seats. Visual appearance of a car has become a dominant influencer on buyers perception of vehicle quality, in recent times. Due to this, the Automotive Interior Components are increasingly gaining importance. There is a common OEM goal, of providing vehicles with good interior quality, feel and finish across the sector. The Automotive Interior Components are typically focused on ergonomics and comfort of passengers.The automotive industry is one of the most competitive industries, across the globe. Major manufacturers across various continents often compete against each other to expand their customer base resulting in intense competition. This results in a high quality product being delivered to the customers, which drives the Automotive Interior Components market. The market is further expected to be driven by the rising level of income of individuals and the booming global automotive industry and is expected to reach valuation of USD 355.5 billion by 2022, growing at a rate of 7.07%Leave a Query @Intended Audience Distributer & Supplier companies End Users Consultants and Investment bankers Government as well as Independent Regulatory AuthoritiesProduct Analysis Product matrix which gives a detailed comparison of the market for different recycled product typesAdditional Information Regulatory Landscape Pricing Analysis Macroeconomic IndicatorsGeographic Analysis Geographical analysis across 15 countriesCompany Information Profiling of 10 key market players In-depth analysis including SWOT analysis, and strategy information of related to report title Competitive landscape including emerging trends adopted by major companiesThe report for Global Automotive Interior Components Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Buy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune 411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042 Global Continuous variable transmission Market 2018: Industry Key Players, Share, Trend, Applications, Forecast to 2022 Continuous Variable Transmission Market https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1832 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/continuous-variable-transmission-market-1832 Continuous Variable Transmission Market 2018Summary:Global Continuous Variable Transmission Market Information by Type (Hydrostatic, Torodial, Cone, Variable Geometry, and Variable Diameter), by Fuel (Gasoline, Diesel, and Hybrid) by Region - Forecast to 2022Key PlayersThe key players of Global Continuous variable transmission Market report include- BorgWarner, Jatco, Punch Powertrain, Toyota Motors, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Aisin Seiki, Efficient Drivetrains, Folsom Technologies International, Hunan Jianglu & Rongda, and Hyundai Motor.Market ScenarioContinuous variable transmission is a type of automotive transmission, changes gears perfectly through an infinite number of effective gear ratios. CVT has replaced planetary gear set in the automotive transmission with two variable pulleys and metal belt/chain running between them. Automotive industry is focusing on transmission systems to comply with the emission norms and to get fuel efficient system and CVT system has emerged to provide fuel efficiency and enhanced driving experience with respect to auto gear shifting & improved acceleration. Moreover, CVT engines are demandable in automotive industry as it provides better fuel economy, more power, and convenient driving experience than traditional automotive transmission systems.Request For Sample Report @Study Objectives of Global Continuous variable transmission Market To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next six years of various segments and sub-segments of the global Continuous variable transmission market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To analyze the global Continuous variable transmission market based on various factors such as supply chain analysis, and Porters five forces analysis To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries - North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and ROW. To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by types, fuel, and region To provide strategic profiling of the key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global continuous variable transmission marketThe report for Global Continuous variable transmission Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Complete Report Details @Table of Contents1. REPORT PROLOGUE2. INTRODUCTION3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY4. MARKET DYNAMICS5. CONTINUOUS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION MARKET, BY TYPE6. CONTINUOUS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION MARKET, BY FUEL7. CONTINUOUS VARIABLE TRANSMISSION MARKET, BY REGION8. COMPANY LANDSCAPE9. COMPANY PROFILEContinued.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.CONTACT US:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com Aerosol Can Global Market 2018: Key Players Kian Joo Can Factory Berhad, Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd., CPMC Holdings Ltd, CCL Industries https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2091844-global-aerosol-can-market-trends-forecast-2016-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/2091844-global-aerosol-can-market-trends-forecast-2016-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=2091844 https://www.wiseguyreports.com Aerosol Can IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Aerosol Can -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2023 To Its Research Database.Aerosol can is usually a metal receptacle containing inert gas under pressure which can spray substances such as deodorant, cooking sprays, and solvents when the gas is released by opening of the valve. Aerosol can contain the product and propellants under pressure which can be dispensed as spray, mist and foam. The aerosol can market is driven by various factors such as increase in online shopping market, growing demand of packaged food, and rapid growth in electronic sector. The aerosol can has various challenges that hinder the market such as government regulation for corrugated packaging and increase in environment safety.Aerosol can market is segmented on the basis of type that includes straight wall, necked-in, and shaped. The study indicates, straight wall segment accounted for the largest share and is expected to be fastest growing type in the aerosol can market. On the basis of material, market can be segmented into metal, glass and plastic. The study indicates, metal segment accounted for the largest share and is expected to be fastest growing material in the aerosol can market. The metal aerosol can are thin walled pressure vessels, which are pressurized with the propellants and desire products. Features such as ease of use, UV protection, moisture and air protection and protection from contamination contributes to the demand for the metal aerosol can from personal care, pharmaceutical and food industries.The global aerosol can market was valued at USD 5,102.0 million in the year 2015, which is expected to reach USD 6,697.3 million by the end of the forecast period growing at 4.06% CAGR.Key PlayersThe key players of global aerosol can market includes Kian Joo Can Factory Berhad (Malaysia), Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd. (Japan), CPMC Holdings Ltd. (China), CCL Industries (Canada), Shanghai Sunhome Industrial Company (China), Crown Holdings Incorporated (U.S.), Ball Corporation (U.S.), Ardagh Group (Luxembourg), Exal Corporation (U.S.), Al-Can exports Pvt. Ltd. (India) and others.Request for Sample Report @Objective of Global Aerosol Can Market Analysis & Forecast, from 2016 to 2022 To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 6 years of various segments and sub-segments of the aerosol can market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To analyze the global aerosol can market based on various tools such as Value Chain Analysis, and Porters Five Force Analysis To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to regions and their respective key countries To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segments by type, material, application and region To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the aerosol can marketTarget Audience Aerosol can manufacturers Distributer & Supplier companies End Users consultants and Investment bankers Government as well as Independent Regulatory AuthoritiesLeave a Query @Key Findings The global aerosol can market is expected to reach USD 6,697.3 million by 2022. By type, straight Sided segment in aerosol can market accounts for the largest market share and is growing with approximately ~4.21% CAGR during forecast period. By material, metal segment in aerosol can market accounts for the largest market share and is growing with approximately ~4.21% CAGR during forecast period By material, personal care segment in aerosol can market accounts for the largest market share and is growing with approximately ~4.30% CAGR during forecast period Geographically, Europe accounted for the largest share in global aerosol can market followed by North America region, while Asia-Pacific region is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of 4.90%Regional and Country Analysis of global aerosol can market Estimation and ForecastThe global aerosol can market is expected to grow at a promising rate during the forecast period. Europe is projected to have the largest share in global aerosol can market. Europe has always played a key role in the innovation and development of personal care, hygiene and beauty products. However its leading position has progressively been eroded in the process of global competition. Europe consistently introduces innovations in its design and packaging, which gives the product freshness and modernity as well as it contributes to the success of aerosol can. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region in aerosol can market. Growing personal care and health care industries are expected to drive the aerosol can market. Moreover, big retailers such as Wal-Mart are driving the FMCG companies to better the packaging of the products in order to appeal to the customers within their limited available shelf space.The reports also cover country level analysis: North Americao USo Canada Europeo Germanyo UKo Franceo Spaino Italyo Rest of the Europe Asia-Pacifico Chinao Indiao Japano Rest of Asia-Pacific Rest of the Worldo Latin Americao Middle Easto AfricaBuy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune 411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042 Retinitis Pigmentosa Therapeutics Pipeline Analysis by Stages, Drug Class, Company Profile, Preclinical Research & Discovery Stage Insights https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/retinitis-pigmentosa-therapeutics-pipeline-analysis https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/retinitis-pigmentosa-therapeutics-pipeline-analysis/report-sample https://www.psmarketresearch.com/send-enquiry?enquiry-url=retinitis-pigmentosa-therapeutics-pipeline-analysis https://www.psmarketresearch.com Retinitis pigmentosa, also known as retinitis, is a degenerative eye disease that occurs due to the progressive degeneration of the rod photoreceptor cells in the retina of eye. The study analyzed that the retinitis pigmentosa therapeutics pipeline comprises approximately 38 drug candidates in different stages of development.Access Detailed Report Summary at:Orphan drug designations from the regulatory bodies such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA) and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) is a key driver for the development of pipeline drugs, for treating retinitis pigmentosa. Majority of the pipeline drug candidates are being developed using the intravitreal route of administration. HORAMA S.A. is in the process of developing two phase I/II, and one Pre-Clinical therapeutics for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa.Download Report Sample at:Many companies are increasingly emphasizing on the development of gene therapy candidates, due to their positive clinical results in the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa. Based on molecule type, around 50.0% of the drug candidates in the retinitis pigmentosa pipeline are expected to be developed based on gene therapy.Technological advancements are spurring the pipeline growth, for instance, AAV vector manufacturing platform was used in the development of AGTC-501 by the Applied Genetic Technologies Corp for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosaMake Enquiry Before Buying the Report:Some of the key players developing drugs for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa include jCyte, Inc., Dompe Farmaceutici SpA, ProRetina Therapeutics, S.L., and Recursion Pharmaceuticals Inc.Retinitis Pigmentosa Therapeutics Pipeline Analysis By Phase By Molecule Type By Route of Administration By CompanyAbout P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.Contact:P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb: Cloud Services Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2018 2025 The Insight Partners http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000397 http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/cloud-services-market-research-2025 Cloud services are the on-demand services availed via internet. These services are designed to provide scalable & easy access to applications, services and resources that are entirely managed by cloud service providers. Cloud services comprise of wide array of resources that are delivered by a service provider to its customers. Cloud services market across the globe is already intense and have attained significant market penetration across the globe. Further, upcoming technological development in this market is anticipated to motivate the vendors to introduce more efficient and hi-tech cloud services.The report aims to provide an overview of global cloud services market along with detailed segmentation of market by type, cloud location, end user industry, and five major geographical regions. Global cloud services market is expected to witness moderate growth during the forecast period due substantial rise of small and medium enterprises across the globe leading to increased adoption of cloud computing.Request Sample Copy @The objectives of this report are as follows: To provide overview of the global Cloud Services market To analyze and forecast the global Cloud Services market on the basis of type, application, technology, and industry verticals To provide market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Cloud Services market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America (SAM), which are later sub-segmented across respective major countries To evaluate market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend To provide exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions To profiles key Cloud Services manufacturing players influencing the market along with their SWOT analysis and market strategiesSome of the important players in cloud services market Microsoft, Oracle, Amazon, Cisco, Rackspace, Akamai Technologies, Google, IBM, and VMware among others.View Complete Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comThe Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.533, 5th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028 See some of the top Week 2 high school football performers in Michigan Good People, Good Times - Damon Iwanaga 2017: Jim Montgomery - Fifty: Building a Bike Park: Carson Storch Tests Lower Rampage Line: Stroking the Tuna: Bro Trippin' in Utah! Olle Lundahl 2017: The Flannel Crew Year in Review 2017: Noway C - 2017: Rhythm: Touching The Sun: One Tape - A Queenstown Film: A Wyn'sday Challenge (On a Monday) Mike Gray - 2018 Haro Part: Colt Fake - The Dirty Sniff - Full Segment: Brian Kachinsky - ''Seriously Fun'' Full Segment: My War - Gabriel Summers: Right to Roam: Tsirku: The Rhino Guardians: Here is a recap of some of my favourite moments. I want to thank all the riders in the video, and all the people who supported me over the past year. YOU GUYS ROCK! Nothing but good times.Fifty. Can't believe I've been on this earth for 50 years but pumped a big chunk of those have been on two wheels.Meet some of the team from Alpine Bike Parks and Big White Trail Crew and take a glimpse at all that goes into creating a world-class bike park.This was one of my favorite moments to capture at rampage this year. @carsonstorch testing out his lower jump section the night before the big day. @CamMcCaul and @bretttippie got pretty fired up about it!Laird and Jacob ride bikes, get sideways, and go airborne is this late season mashup.One of the best MTB trips of the year! Loved 2017 but cant wait to start making some new memories in 2018.Just fun. Thanks to everyone who filmed!We had a hell of a year. We'd like to thank Loam Coffee, Bow Cycle, and Spy for all of their support! Huge shoutout to Ride Guide Live for featuring us and Plaid Goat for letting us host the Bike Rodeo at the inaugural year of the festival. Thanks to all of our friends and family for all of the support!Our 2017 summed up in less than two minutes. We had fun, check it out! Freeriding in Chatel and Mottolino, Livigno.Bas van Steenbergen, Brett Rheeder, Carson Storch, Ryan "R-Dogg" Howard, Mitch Ropelato, Thomas Vanderham, and Tom van Steenbergen throwing down.Filmed on beautiful Northern Minnesota trout lakes, two friends share how their love of mountain biking, fly fishing, and the outdoors are brought together in perfect harmony.One month in Queenstown, one tape worth of footage. 2018 is HighLow's year. It's as simple as that.What happens when Wyn Masters visits the GT office and challenges the staff to a wheelie contest? We put on the beers and burgers and let Wyn and the staff duke it out on our purpose built test track (aka the parking lot) to see what would happen.Mike Gray searched the streets from San Diego to Toronto looking for spots to film his unique blend of huge gaps and technical grind and manual combos. No roof, rail, ledge, or bank is safe in this mind melting street edit. Mike teamed up with San Diego's filming phenom, Doeby Huyn and the two put together quite the visual treat for us to watch, get motivated, and go ride!Colt is a wildman.BK's still got it.Gabbers engaged in an epic battle with this rail, and youll have to watch this edit to appreciate the gruesome nature of the confrontation. Skateboarding can truly push you to your absolute limits, both mentally and physically. The clip where he breaks his ribs looks awful.Jump in the van with Marie-France Roy and Alex Yoder as they weave their way through Scotland, exploring how personal accountability allows for universal land access and the old farm shelters that support mountain folks to rove freely.Located deep in the Saint Elias mountains where Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon converge, there is a place most skiers and snowboarders only dream of visiting. Brought to you by The North Face and Sherpas Cinema, Tsirku is a big-mountain adventure ski film featuring snowboarder Ralph Backstrom and skiers Hadley Hammer and Sam Anthamatten, who set out to tackle the fabled Corrugated spine lines of the Tsirku Glacier.In 2016 I travelled to South Africa to visit The Black Mambas - the worlds first all female anti-poaching unit operating in the Balule Game Reserve in South Africa. Coming from disadvantaged communities and breaking strong patriarchal tradition, these courageous women focus on eliminating illegal wildlife trade through conservation, education and the protection of wildlife, helping to ensure the long term survival of threatened and endangered species in the area. Each day they patrol up to 20km, unarmed, looking for poachers, wire-snares, and break-ins along the fence line. Their lives are at constant risk from poachers and the dangerous wildlife they protect. It is their belief that the war on poaching will not be won with guns and bullets, but through education within their local communities.Title Photo by: wayne-dc To check out videos submitted by fellow Pinkbike members that didn't quite make Movie Mondays here The Young in Heart (1938) is a terrific example of the kind of movie Hollywood could do so well when it tried: a sophisticated comedy about people pretending not to be sentimental. With an amazing cast and crew, this sleek machine fires on all cylinders, not unlike its left-field creation of the Flying Wombat. As the film opens, things are looking good for the Carleton family on the Riviera. Handsome son Richard (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) is engaged to the unprepossessing daughter of an American millionaire, while his level-headed sister George-Anne (Janet Gaynor) tries to relieve herself of an obstinate Scotsman (Richard Carlson) whom she loves. Colonel Carleton (Roland Young), called Sahib supposedly from his days in India but actually from a role he played on stage in Canada, cant resist burning his future father-in-law at cards, while flighty mother Marmy (Billie Burke) twitters as usual. Alas, the engagement is off and the Carletons are invited to leave posthaste when their history as bunco artists comes to light. On the train, they make friends with an old lady in First Class who goes by the name of Miss Fortune, played by Minnie Dupree, a longtime stage actress who steals the picture. Miss Ellen Fortune falls under the spell of this charming clan and invites them to stay at her London mansion, but this time the charm may be running both ways. In order to cement their friendship and possibly get mentioned in her will, the Carleton family changes its behavior even to the extremity, distasteful and unprecedented as it may be, of seeking regular jobs. The Colonel finds himself selling the Flying Wombat, a gorgeously sleek and modern automobile thats one of the screenplays deliciously random details that discombobulate viewers just enough to enjoy what might have been a predictable ride. The Scotsman keeps showing up in a huff after promising never to return, while Richard lucks into a menial post at an engineering firm and begins an understated attachment to a down-to-earth working woman (Paulette Goddard) whose lapels are almost as wide as the desks. Another disorienting detail: that engineering firm seems to have started out by doing a number on itself, for its cavernous, be-muraled offices are so vast, youd think a moving sidewalk was necessary to cross the lobby. Thats typical of monumental designer William Cameron Menzies, who has a field day in this movie, which happens to be the first film on which he received a credit as production designer, a term he invented. He lavishes details on the hotel, the train, the car dealership, and Miss Fortunes mansion. The ability to photograph all this opulence while also lighting Gaynor and Goddard with the proper glamour gave legendary cinematographer Leon Shamroy a chance to earn the first of his 18 Oscar nominations. In fact, the whole production is choking with the finest talent that producer David O. Selznick could buy for this indie release through United Artists. He employed some of the people with whom hed continue on Gone With the Wind the following year, including Menzies, art director Lyle Wheeler, and editor Hal C. Kern. Composer Franz Waxman received two Oscar nods for his work here, and this was one of costume designer Omar Kiams last Hollywood projects. Special effects artist Jack Cosgrove is responsible for a remarkable model sequence whose details I wont disclose, since its one of those developments that just drops into the film out of the blue. Rest assured, its exciting. Cosgroves long association with Selznick resulted in Oscar nods for Gone With the Wind, Since You Went Away (1944), and two Alfred Hitchcock films, Rebecca (1940) and Spellbound (1945). His long association with Menzies included another nomination for Pride of the Yankees (1942) plus work on Invaders from Mars (1954). There were giants in the earth. Prolific director Richard Wallace isnt exactly recalled as an auteur whose career is studded with gems, so were drawn to the conclusion that the famously hands-on Selznick was firmly in control here. He was so in control that, according to the American Film Institute catalogue, he reshot the ending when a preview audience didnt cotton to the death of one of the characters. The IMDB, which isnt always reliable, indicates that three other directors worked without credit. As for that Wombat, its played by the famous Phantom Corsair, a unique prototype that never got put into production due to its makers untimely death. The car now resides in Reno, Nevadas National Automobile Museum. This movie makes you wish you could buy one. All that gloss, and even the professionalism of the cast, would fall short if the script wasnt strong. Fortunately, the script is the best thing about a picture where everyone is at the top of their craft. Two illustrious writers, Charles Bennett (mostly associated with Alfred Hitchcock) and Paul Osborn (playwright of Mornings at Seven and On Borrowed Time) adapted a Saturday Evening Post novel called The Gay Banditti by I.A.R. Wylie, a very popular writer now forgotten. She deserves remembering, not least for her strong heroines. This particular story is largely driven by intelligent women, except for the scatterbrained Marmy, and that seems unsurprising when we consider that Wylie was a former Suffragette who preferred living with women. If this screenplay is faithful to her novel (not counting the death that Selznick resurrected), she folded conventional romantic resolutions into a fresh weave that must have felt very modern in 1938 and still does. This film was released on an MGM DVD back in 2004. The new Kino Lorber Blu-ray of what the TCM website calls an inexplicably neglected film looks and sounds great. The disc has no extras besides the trailer, but the film is so unexpected that it may be extra enough. When it comes to recuperating after an illness or dealing with lifes difficulties, sometimes all the medicine in the world isnt complete without a helping handor rather, a helping paw. According to UCLA Health, therapy animals can help lower patients blood pressure, reduce the amount of necessary medication, lower anxiety, increase mental stimulation, and even diminish overall physical pain. Rochesters Mayo Clinic offers patients the chance to interact with therapy dogs through Caring Canines, a volunteer-based program that currently includes 34 dogs and their owners. The dogs range from terriers to pit bulls to German shepherds and more. They make 30 to 40 hospital visits a day, visiting everywhere from the pediatric ward to outpatient waiting rooms, and even to employee offices. "Its amazing to see how many patients connect with the dogs and how meaningful it is," said Jessica Smidt, who coordinates the program. "There are multiple people daily who cry and say that seeing the dog in the hospital was the best part of their day. Even people who arent dog lovers find value in the visits." Minnesota State University, Mankato is another place that has seen the value of therapy animals. For several years, the campus has hosted therapy dogs during finals week as a way to help students cope with stress. According to Lenny Koupal, who works in MSUs Office of Student Affairs, there was such a great response to these visits that they expanded to monthly Hound Hugs and Kanine Kisses events. The 2017 fall semester opener drew 300 students to interact with five dogs, which are provided and overseen by the Mankato Chapter of Therapy Dogs International. "Some instructors are offering class assignments for students to attend and journal their experiences," Koupal said. "Comments shared by students express the beneficial need for such therapeutic animal sessions." While these specific programs focus on dogs, there are many other types of therapy animals. North Star Therapy Animals, which is based out of St. Louis Park, Minn., works with more than 150 animals, including rabbits, hamsters, cats, dogs, and even horses. Patti Anderson, one of the founding members of North Star Therapy Animals, explained that the group decided to branch out into different species since some people are uncomfortable around dogs. "[Some] kids who are afraid of dogs, or allergic to dogs, etc. it really opened up opportunities for those children," Anderson said, adding that she takes her own guinea pigs to visit patients at the Minnesota Childrens Hospital. "The kids just really respond well to them. You see dogs everywhere, but you dont usually walk in with a guinea pig." The Rochester Public Libraryalso offers people a chance to connect with a therapy animal, a cat named Timba, with its Cafe Fuzz program for teens. "The teens really love having the chance to hang out with the animals some do and some dont have pets at home, but animals are neutral and non-judgmental and they all have lots of love to give, so it can be a really great way for them to relax or relieve stresses from school or home for an hour," says Sarah Joynt, teen librarian at the library. Mankato resident Karen Wright knows firsthand the power of animal therapy, thanks to her Bombay cat, Cleo. After hearing about how Bombays can be a soothing influence on people with developmental disorders, Wright purchased Cleo as a companion for her 13-year-old son, Grant, who has autism. While Cleo isnt officially a registered therapy animal, Wright said she has done wonders for Grant from the first time he held her. "Grant has a lot of anxiety, [but] it was like all his anxieties melted away," she said. "It was amazing." Wright said they bring Cleo to Grants class at the beginning of the school year as a way for him to help explain his autism to classmates. "It helps the kids understand him better," Wright said. "Thats a way hes able to express himself to the kids, because theres an animal there and they get it. Its been a real blessing to have the cat there to help his classmates understand." On this day when we celebrate the workforce of Guam, we celebrate you. You are the backbone of our economy and we praise your outstanding effo Read more PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 15:58:01 BENSHEIM, Germany, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AAF Lufttechnik GmbH, a German affiliate of American Air Filter Co. Inc., d/b/a AAF International, today announced the acquisition of RIS Facility Management GmbH, a leading provider of Indoor Air Quality services in Germany. With this acquisition, AAF International will further expand its operational footprint and enhance both the level and the quantity of services offered in Germany and all of Europe. RIS is headquartered in Eppingen, Germany, and provides HVAC inspections, process technology, repairs and maintenance to a wide range of industries, for both supply and exhaust air. The family-owned company employs approximately 100 qualified employees that are able to deliver first class consultancy and service for clean air related process security and value retention of equipment and buildings. "AAF International is an industry leader with ambitious goals for the future. We are looking forward to join forces with the AAF team and combine AAF's high quality product portfolio and unique intelligent data tools with our service offerings," said Mehmet Tiftikci, Management Director of RIS. "Both of our companies' philosophies are dedicated to 'Bringing Clean Air to Life'(TM), which is an excellent fit for a new partnership," said Philip Whitaker, AAF International's Chief Executive Officer. "Since 2006, RIS has successfully built up their business from zero to now serving the biggest brands in the automotive industry. With this new partnership we are now looking forward to further expand this great track record." "This acquisition will immediately help us to meet our customers' demand for value-added air filtration solutions in Germany," said Stefan Berbner, AAF International's Chief Operating Officer in Europe. "In addition, we are now strategically positioned to expand our idea of a true one-stop-shop across all of Europe." About the AAF group of companies Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., American Air Filter Co. Inc., d/b/a AAF International, offers the most comprehensive manufacturing capabilities in the air filtration industry. A global leader in the clean air industry, AAF develops and manufactures a wide variety of air filtration solutions that are designed to remove and control airborne particulates and gaseous contaminants in commercial, residential, industrial, cleanroom, transportation and nuclear power applications. AAF is committed to manufacturing the highest quality filter and containment housings necessary to protect people, processes and systems. American Air Filter Co. Inc. is supported in its international ventures through the resources of its parent company Daikin Industries Ltd., based in Osaka, Japan, a diversified international manufacturing company and a global leader in air conditioning. For more information, visit www.aafintl.com. CONTACT: Franz Carsten-Weidner Marketing Director Franz-Carsten.Weidner@aafeurope.com This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: AAF International via Globenewswire PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 14:03:01 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ABN) (OTCBB:ABNAF) (Frankfurt:E2L2) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the receipt of the finalized data from a ground-based induced polarization geophysical survey that was conducted in June 2017 on the 4,657 hectare Chico Gold Project located 125 kilometres east of La Ronge, Saskatchewan and 40 kilometres south of SSR Mining's (formerly Silver Standard Resources) Seabee gold operation. Aben Resources holds the exclusive right to earn an undivided 80-per-cent interest in the property by completing $3.5-million in exploration expenditures, issuing 2.5 million shares and making $150,000 in cash payments to Eagle Plains Resources (TSX-V:EPL) by 2020. Aben recently made a cash payment of $25,000 and issued 250,000 common shares to Eagle Plains, pursuant to the terms of the current option agreement. Aben intends to carry out diamond drilling on the Chico property in late February. Permitting and detailed planning for the program is currently underway. Chico drilling activity is expected to be conducted concurrently with a 10,000m winter drill program to be carried out by SSR Mining Inc. on Eagle Plain's Fisher Property, located 6km north of Chico. Chico Gold Project, Saskatchewan location map: http://www.abenresources.com/i/maps/ABN_Chico_Location_and_Highlights.jpg The 14 line km MRI-32 IP/DC-Resistivity and Magnetic survey was centered over both the Chico and Western structural trends, which host high-grade gold mineralization at surface and within historic drill intercepts. The Chico mineralized structural corridor extends in excess of 1400 metres along strike and spans up to 150 metres in width with several mineral occurrences contained within. Highlights include: High grade intercepts from historic drilling include 14.5 grams/tonne (g/T) (0.424 oz/ton) gold over 0.4m at Chico showing and 9.6 g/T (0.281 oz/ton) gold over 2.0m at Royex showing (0.424 oz/ton) gold over 0.4m at Chico showing and (0.281 oz/ton) gold over 2.0m at Royex showing Hole MW93-20 returned five significant intercepts ranging from 0.51 g/T gold over 1.5 metres, to 36.3 g/T gold over 0.3 metres (AR 63M06-0041) The 2017 geophysical survey has discovered a large high-chargeability zone centered below the middle portion of the Chico shear zone with some vertical chargeability structures extending upward from the root zone. The high-chargeability response may result from the presence of abundant sulfide minerals such as pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite, which are closely associated with gold mineralization on the Property. The top of the root zone appears to extend to within 150 metres of the surface and represents an attractive and high-priority drill target given that multi-gram gold intercepts have been historically reported above and adjacent to it. Of the 22 historic drill holes located on the Property, the deepest has reached 110 metres vertical depth (157 metres down hole) and was not collared in this zone of high chargeability. Two short videos depicting the zone can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQPSgr-g0Vg and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBen-X8HFzI. Chico Property - Recent and Historic Exploration Activity: Exploration programs in 2016 and 2017 involved systematic fieldwork including a 661 line-kilometre airborne magnetometer geophysical survey, mapping, trenching, soil geochemical analysis and the aforementioned ground-based IP-Resistivity-Magnetic survey. The systematic exploration has enabled field crews to identify mineralization, alteration and structural features similar to those at the nearby Seabee and Santoy deposits, located 40 kilometres to the north. The Seabee Gold operation has been in continuous production since 1991, producing 1.2 million ounces of gold from the two deposits. Seabee and Chico are comparable in that mineralization is spatially related to splays of the Tabernoor Fault and are hosted in sub-parallel shear structures which cross-cut the local intrusive complex. High-grade gold mineralization at both Seabee and Santoy extends well below the shallow depths to which the Chico Project has thus far been explored. Chico Exploration History: Trenching and drilling activities carried out by Corona Corporation and Cameco from 1988 to 1993 defined a mineralized strike length of over 1400 metres. Trenching by Corona at the Royex showing returned five chip samples greater than 1000 ppb gold with a best (chip) sample of 14.3 g/T gold over 1 metre (AR 63M06-0034). Follow-up diamond drilling by Cameco near the Royex trench returned five significant intercepts ranging from 0.51 g/T gold over 1.5 metres, to 36.3 g/T gold over 0.3 metres (AR 63M06-0041). Mineralized shear zones and quartz veining that define the Chico Zone are hosted in diorite and granite rocks and especially along the sheared contact between these two units. The Chico and the adjacent parallel Ed and Western structural zones are related splay structures off the larger Tabbernor fault system. Despite the significant surface discoveries of gold along these structural trends, mineralization remains largely untested at depth and along strike extensions. The Tabbernor fault is a 1,500 kilometre-long regional structure which has been traced from as far north as the Rabbit Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan to as far south as the Black Hills of South Dakota, the latter of which hosts the 40-million-ounce Homestake gold deposit. The shared proximity to the Tabbernor structure and similarities in terms of age and tectonic history to the Homestake and Seabee/Santoy deposits was the main driving force behind Aben's interest in the Chico property. Management cautions that past results or discoveries on proximate land are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on the subject properties. Aben has not been able to independently verify the methodology and results from historical work programs within the property boundaries. However, management believes that the historical work programs have been conducted in a professional manner and the quality of data and information produced from them are relevant. Cornell McDowell, P.Geo., V.P. of Exploration of Aben Resources, has reviewed and approved the technical aspects of this news release and is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Aben Resources: Aben Resources is a Canadian gold exploration company developing gold-focused projects in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the Yukon Territory. Aben is a well-funded junior exploration company with approximately 62.7 million shares issued and outstanding. For further information on Aben Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ABN), visit our Company's web site at www.abenresources.com. ABEN RESOURCES LTD. "Jim Pettit" ______________________ JAMES G. PETTIT President & CEO For further information contact myself or: Don Myers Aben Resources Ltd. Director, Investor Relations Telephone: 604-639-3851 Toll Free: 800-567-8181 Facsimile: 604-687-3119 Email: info@abenresources.com Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information. This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Aben Resources Ltd via Globenewswire PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 14:04:02 Aqua Comms Appointed System Operator of New Undersea Cable Traversing the North Atlantic DUBLIN, Ireland, Jan. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aqua Comms DAC ("Aqua Comms"), the operator of Ireland's first dedicated subsea fibre-optic network interconnecting New York, Dublin and London, announces today its plans for continued investment in submarine cable infrastructure having joined the HAVFRUE consortium which will own and operate a new subsea cable system connecting New Jersey, U.S.A., to Ireland, and Denmark, with connectivity options to Norway. The HAVFRUE subsea cable is the first new undersea cable traversing the North Atlantic to connect mainland Northern Europe to the U.S. in nearly two decades. Aqua Comms is the appointed system operator and landing party in the U.S., Ireland, and Denmark. TE SubCom has been selected as supplier for the system on which route survey operations have begun. The projected Ready-for-Service (RFS) date for the HAVFRUE subsea cable is Q4 2019. Aqua Comms will market and sell capacity services and raw spectrum on its portion of the HAVFRUE cable system under the brand name America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2) as complementary to its existing transatlantic cable, America Europe Connect-1 (AEC-1), running between New York and Killala in County Mayo, Ireland. Aqua Comms is also concluding a new cable route to Denmark through the UK, developing CeltixConnect-2, which connects Dublin to Manchester, as well as the North Sea Connect cable that will link Stellium's data centre in Newcastle, England, to Esbjerg, Denmark. Combining these new subsea cable developments, the build of the HAVFRUE / AEC-2 cable system, together with existing systems owned and operated by Aqua Comms, will create a resilient, ring-based infrastructure between the East Coast of the U.S., Ireland, and Northern Europe, connecting the hubs of the pan-Atlantic hyperscale data centre industry in North America, Ireland, and Scandinavia. "Invest in Denmark is proud to welcome Aqua Comms and the other consortium companies into the country with this fantastic addition to our internet infrastructure," comments Steen Hommel, Director, Invest in Denmark. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn't be happier about this investment. Landing a brand new, top-of-the-line fibre cable on the west coast of Jutland will further cement Denmark's connectivity to North America." The HAVFRUE / AEC-2 infrastructure network services will be delivered to and from modern, high-reliability, carrier-neutral interconnection points at NJFX, in Wall, New Jersey, and 1025Connect in Long Island, New York, with a resilient network connection in between, offering a Manhattan bypass route increasing diversity and resiliency in the region. In Europe, the services will be offered from all landing stations and carrier-neutral, metro area Points of Presence (PoPs) in Dublin, London, Amsterdam, and Esbjerg, where the system will more than double fibre connectivity to Denmark, increasing the diversity and reliability of the Internet to the region. "Aqua Comms is delighted to be investing as a part of the consortium for the HAVFRUE cable system connecting the U.S., Ireland, and Denmark," states Nigel Bayliff, Chief Executive Officer, Aqua Comms. "The demand for hyperscale capacity and connectivity linking North America with Northern Europe cannot be overestimated, and the combination of AEC-1 / AEC-2 subsea cable systems, facilitated by the construction of HAVFRUE will deliver reliability and resilience at an auspicious time, especially in view of the meteoric rise of the digital economy taking place in Scandinavia." The Aqua Comms team is attending PTC'18, taking place January 21-24, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Metro Connect, January 29-31, in Miami, Florida, and Submarine Networks Europe, February 20-21, in London. Aqua Comms invites companies to meet with its representatives at these events so that it can assist organizations with their long-term connectivity needs across the Atlantic Ocean. To learn more about Aqua Comms, visit www.aquacomms.com. About Aqua Comms DAC Aqua Comms DAC is an Irish Carriers' Carrier specialising in building and operating submarine cable systems and supplying fibre pairs, spectrum and capacity networking solutions to the global media, content and carrier markets. It is the owner/operator of America Europe Connect-1 (AEC-1) and CeltixConnect-1 and continues to build on its vision of efficient submarine infrastructure ownership with membership of the HAVFRUE consortium and development of CeltixConnect-2 and North Sea Connect, bridging the Northern Atlantic between North America and Northern Europe. To learn more about Aqua Comms and its portfolio of subsea cable systems visit www.aquacomms.com About TE SubCom TE SubCom (SubCom), a TE Connectivity Ltd. company, is an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology and marine services, and a leading global supplier for today's undersea communications requirements. As a vertically integrated supplier, SubCom designs, manufactures, deploys, and maintains the industry's most reliable fiber optic cable systems. Its solutions include long-haul and regional systems, repeaterless networks, capacity upgrades, offshore oil and gas, and scientific research applications. SubCom brings end-to-end network knowledge and global experience to support on-time delivery and the needs of customers worldwide. To date, the company has deployed enough subsea communication cable to circle the Earth 15 times at the equator. For more information, visit www.SubCom.com. Media Contacts: iMiller Public Relations for Aqua Comms DAC Tel: +1 866 307 2510 aquacommspr@imillerpr.com Courtney McDaniel TE SubCom +1 732 578 7356 info@subcom.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cc09414a-36b4-459f-b84b-39943418e358 This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Aqua Comms via Globenewswire PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 11:21:01 Paris, January 15 2018 - Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, today announces it has been named a global Leader by Everest Group in its latest report: IoT Services PEAK Matrix(TM) Assessment and Market Trends 2017: Have You Taken the Plunge in IoT Yet? [i] . The report assesses the relative capabilities of 18 global IT service providers offering IoT Services. Atos' System Integration and Operations capabilities and Worldline's ready-to-use solutions and are recognized for enabling clients to progress rapidly from PoC to production. In the report, leaders are 'delivering strategic value to their customers' which 'forms the core of their value proposition and a futuristic approach for IoT services development roadmap is witnessed' and have 'led their customers through large scale transformation journeys powered by IoT'. "We witness a 25% increase in IoT pilot projects moving to production stage, and Atos' consulting driven engagement model has further supported its customers to progress from POC to production stage rapidly and to achieve concrete business results. Additionally, Atos' investments in R&D and strategic partnerships across the IoT stack together with Worldline's ready to use solutions has enabled it to deliver innovative and secure IoT solutions across different industries." said Yugal Joshi, Practice Director, Everest Group. Elaborating on Atos' role as a leader in IoT, Dominique Grelet, Global Head of Atos Codex IoT Services at Atos said: "We are proud to be recognized as a global Leader in IoT Services by Everest Group. This validates our ability to effectively leverage agile processes, innovative tooling and automation, while working with our extensive IoT partner ecosystem, to deliver, manage and secure the full IoT value chain from connected devices to edge computing to the datacenter." These IoT services combine Atos' horizontal connectivity and platform services, such as the platforms delivered by Worldline, European leader in the payments and transactional services industry and an Atos company, and partner platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, with advanced, (vertical) business-driven analytics, apps and use cases, enable customers to securely transform data into reliable business value in every market. The deep integration with company processes - such as ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) - is a key differentiator as it gives Atos the ability to take end-to-end responsibility. To download the report, please go to http://go.atos.net/LP=568. *** About Atos Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with approximately 100,000 employees in 72 countries and annual revenue of around 12 billion. European number one in Big Data, Cybersecurity, High Performance Computing and Digital Workplace, the Group provides Cloud services, Infrastructure & Data Management, Business & Platform solutions, as well as transactional services through Worldline, the European leader in the payment industry. With its cutting-edge technologies, digital expertise and industry knowledge, Atos supports the digital transformation of its clients across various business sectors: Defense, Financial Services, Health, Manufacturing, Media, Energy & Utilities, Public sector, Retail, Telecommunications and Transportation. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting, Atos Worldgrid, Bull, Canopy, Unify and Worldline. Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. Press contact: Laura Fau | laura.fau@atos.net | +33 6 73 64 04 18 | @laurajanefau Everest Group PEAK Matrix(TM) - IoT services - PEAK Matrix Assessment and Market Trends 2017: Have You Taken the Plunge in IoT Yet? Market Report - December 2017. This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: ATOS via Globenewswire Auto-injectors Market PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 12:30:50 Press Information Coherent Market Insights 1001 4th Ave, #3200 Mr Shah CEO 2067016702 email http://www.coherentmarketinsights.com # 1000 Words 1001 4th Ave,#3200CEO2067016702 Auto-injector is a needle based medical device which is used for the administration of a fixed dose of a particular drug. It can be used for self-administration by the patients or untrained person, as it is easy to handle. Furthermore, auto-injector is significantly used for various mild and severe allergic reactions. If allergic reaction are not cured, then it can even lead to life-threatening condition such as anaphylaxis. Allergy symptoms include trouble in breathing, wheezing, nausea, stomach pain, vomiting, dizziness, faint, swelling of face, mouth, lips, and tongue and skin reactions such as itching, hives, and flushing. Moreover, site of administration depends on the nature of the drug. For instance, insulin shots are always injected in the abdomen site to make them work fast. However, a long term allergy effect caused by food, dust, pollen, and many more substances can lead to life-threatening crisis, which is expected to fuel growth of the auto-injectors market.Request For Sample Copy@Global Auto-injectors Market Taxonomy By Product TypeFillable Auto-injector,Prefilled Auto-injectorBy Technology Automated Auto-injector,Manual Auto-injectorBy Usability Reusable Auto-injector,Disposable Auto-injectorBy Design Customized Auto-injector,Standardized Auto-injectorBy Application Anaphylaxis,Rheumatoid Arthritis,Diabetes,Others (multiple sclerosis)By Distribution Channel Hospitals,PharmacyAdvancement of auto-injector devices to provide more access to the patients is expected to drive growth of the marketIn 2017, Kaleo Pharmaceutical announced supplemental new drug application (sNDA) named as AUVI-Q (0.1mg), which was granted a priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). AUVI-Q is the first known epinephrine auto-injector, which is designed to treat an allergic reactions especially in infants, weighing around 16.6 to 33 pounds. According to the study by Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology, childrens treated with anaphylaxis has limit of around 0.15 mg per auto-injector, which should have 12.7mm needle length and mainly used for patients with high-risk. The high dose of drug use in life-threatening condition, could strike the bone during the administration of epinephrine. Moreover, National Institute of Health (NIH) guidelines recommended AUVI-Q 0.1 mg for peanut allergy, as it contains no epinephrine auto-injector (EAI). Thus, AUVI-Q 0.1mg is mainly designed to minimize complications during treatment of pediatric patients. Furthermore, Kaleo pharmaceutical announced new program called Q Your School in 2017, this program will provide free AUVI-Q epinephrine auto injector devices to over 67,000 public elementary schools in U.S. AUVI-Q has new advance features such as voice-activated prompts that will give precise guidelines. Thus, it is expected to propel growth of the auto-injectors market.Moreover, Kmart Pharmacy is recognized as the national leader in customers satisfaction in U.S., ranked by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Due to the high cost of epinephrine auto-injector pens, in 2017, Kmart pharmacy decided to lower cost of generic version of Adrenaclick (epinephrine injection), as low with manufacturers coupons. This scheme will provide affordable access to the patients, with health insurance costing no money and on the purchase of two pack of auto-injector, it will cost up to US$ 199.99. Thereby, Kmart Pharmacy is trying to serve auto-injector in affordable price, which is expected to fuel growth of the auto-injectors market.In 2016, Mylan launched generic EpiPen at a wholesale acquisition cost of US$ 300 per epinephrine injection and USP two pack cost less than 50% as compared to EpiPen 2Pak auto-injector. It provides substantial savings which will access more patients to use generic EpiPen.In 2017, Bayer received FDA approval for a connected auto-injector named Betaconnect Electronic Autoinjector with myBetaApp. It offers many advantages such as Bluetooth connectivity, which allows the patient to automatically record all type of auto-injectors and can share with a nurse or physician. MyBetaApp keep a record of injection date and time, speed and depth and help to set a reminder by emails with timings and site of injection. Advantages over conventional auto-injector is expected to augment growth of the auto-injectors market in the near future.Maintaining good quality product is essential to avoid product recalls. For instance, In March 2017, U.S. FDA recalled product EpiPen and EpiPen Jr, which is manufactured by Meridian Medical Technologies and distributed by Mylan. This is mainly due to significant violations of current good manufacturing process (cGMP) in auto injector. FDA found the defective part in device, which results in failure to activate and marked as a major restraining factor.Increasing incidence of life-threatening allergic cases and increasing demand for injector device for instant treatment is expected to fuel growth of the marketAccording to World Allergy Organization (WAO), in 2017, an estimated number of anaphylaxis cases were around 222 people in around 10.2 million population in Hungary, followed by Japan, estimated to around 300-350 patients per year in around 100 million people. In China, around 3000 people suffered from anaphylaxis in around 1,200 million population per year. According to the Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology, in 2015, around 15 million people suffered from food allergies in U.K. Moreover, according to the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), in 2015, around 17 million people suffered from food allergies, among which around 3.5 million were childrens.in U.K. Furthermore, according to World Health Organization (WHO), around 200 to 250 million people suffered from food allergies worldwide in 2015. This data represents an increasing number of incidence of allergy cases and prevalence. Thereby, it is expected to fuel growth of the auto-injectors market during the forecast period.Key players operating in the global auto-injectors market include Pfizer, Inc., Scandinavian Health Ltd., Novartis International AG, Unilife Corporation, Antares Pharma, Inc., Kaleo Pharmaceutical, Mylan N.V., Biogen Idec, Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, and Ypsomed Holdings AG.Get More Details On this Report:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Coherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@ coherentmarketinsights.com Visit our news Website: http://www.coherentnews.com PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 17:30:15 FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Cranbrook, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSX Venture:EPL). has issued a press release with the following headline:Eagle Plains/CRC Execute Option Agreement for Acacia Project, Central British ColumbiaTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Eagle Plains Resources Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.Source: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSX Venture: EPL, ISIN: CA2699062022, WKN: 588696, OTC Bulletin Board: EGPLF)Date: January 15, 2018Time: 11:30 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.) PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 10:02:01 SINGAPORE, Jan.15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NTT Security, the specialized security company of NTT Group, has announced expansion into Thailand as part of its strategic growth plan. It will provide Managed Security Services (MSS) and specialized Professional Security Services based on its strength in Global Threat Intelligence and Cyber Threat Advanced Analytics accumulated through global operations. This will enable more effective and sophisticated cybersecurity solutions for Thailand enterprises and governments as well as global companies which have business operations in the region. The services will be taken to market through the NTT Group companies of Dimension Data, NTT Communications and NTT DATA, forming part of its suite of integrated services to enable successful digital transformation initiatives for its clients. "Our Managed Security Services with expert security analysts and proprietary analytics platform powered by Global Threat Intelligence have been providing strong Threat Detection and Hunting capabilities to NTT customers worldwide. We are delighted to be expanding the availability of our advanced security services. NTT Security together with NTT Group companies will provide cyber resilience to secure digital transformation of organizations in Thailand," said Jun Sawada, CEO of NTT Security. Martin Schlatter, CIO and Regional CEO for NTT Security in APAC adds, "Thailand's economy has great potential, occupying the 2nd largest GDP following Indonesia in the high growth economy of ASEAN, with its annual GDP set to grow to 3.329% in 2018 (and 3.357% in 2019). It has developed a global reputation for growth within the manufacturing and exporting of goods and services within the automotive and electronics sectors. Thailand is now working on shifting to high value-added manufacturing and growing the service industry. However, with this growth, comes an increase in targeted cyber attacks, particularly those aimed at manufacturers for their intellectual property. This, in turn, creates demand for cybersecurity services from specialised security companies such as NTT Security." NTT Security's Global Threat Intelligence Report (GTIR) reveals manufacturing as one of the top three industries to be heavily targeted in five of the six geographic regions. In Asia alone, manufacturing is the second most targeted industry (32%), trailing closely behind finance. The region is therefore feeling the impact of having significant manufacturing capabilities and, like its Asian counterparts, companies in Thailand are not immune from attacks and face a variety of threats. According to NTT Security's Global Threat Intelligence Center (GTIC), Thailand ranked 19th in hosting command and control servers used to remotely send commands to a botnet, with over 9% of all botnets attempting to talk back to servers in Thailand. In fact, Asia was a major contributor to the Mirai botnet used to conduct one of the largest Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks. Schlatter adds, "Asian businesses are failing on a large scale to adequately secure their endpoints, and there is no question that cyber criminals are looking to capitalize on this. It's therefore increasingly important to embed security solutions and processes into the very fabric of the business. If compromised, corporate devices participating in such attacks may be blacklisted, damaging the organization's reputation and ability to function effectively online." As a centre of excellence, NTT Security is committed to continued investment in the creation of innovative security services, and continues to expand its reach together with NTT Group companies, while improving its strength in Global Threat Intelligence and Advanced Analytics by collaboration with NTT R&D and alliances with technology partners. Notes for editors: About NTT Security NTT Security is the specialized security company and the center of excellence in security for NTT Group. With embedded security we enable NTT Group companies (Dimension Data, NTT Communications and NTT DATA) to deliver resilient business solutions for clients' digital transformation needs. NTT Security has multiple SOCs, seven R&D centers, over 1,500 security experts and handles hundreds of thousands of security incidents annually across six continents. NTT Security ensures that resources are used effectively by delivering the right mix of Managed Security Services, Security Consulting Services and Security Technology for NTT Group companies - making best use of local resources and leveraging our global capabilities. NTT Security is part of the NTT Group (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation), one of the largest ICT companies in the world. Visit nttsecurity.com to learn more about NTT Security or visit www.ntt.co.jp/index_e.html to learn more about NTT Group. For sales enquiries, please visit dimensiondata.com, www.ntt.com/en/index.html, www.nttdata.com/global/en/ or speak to your NTT account representative for more information. For more information, please contact: Origin Communications t. +44 (0)20 3814 2940 e. nttsecurity@origincomms.com This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: NTT Security (UK) Ltd via Globenewswire # 1076 Words Yixuan Line. yixuan.lin@nttsecurity.com PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 14:00:15 FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for RHC Capital Corporation--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (FSCWire) - RHC Capital Corporation (TSX Venture:RHC). has issued a press release with the following headline:RHC Capital Corporation Announces Results of Initial Helium WellTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on RHC Capital Corporation, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/RHC Capital CorporationSource: RHC Capital Corporation (TSX Venture: RHC)Date: January 15, 2018Time: 8:00 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of RHC Capital Corporation and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.) Your blood tesl a story... are you listening? Whats Your Blood Saying PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 19:58:20 In our fast paced, social media driven and somewhat narselfiessistic world of fast food and poor health, isnt it time to utilize modern technology to allow our blood to communicate with us? The popularity of heart tracking devices like Fitbit and the Apple Watch have caused quite a stir in the marketplace. Although the average individual does not necessarily have the scientific knowledge to accurately discern the information provided by these devices, a quick glance can certainly communicate key information about the condition of ones heart. Needless to say, a Fitbit will not tell you if you have a parasite or if you are dehydrated. What if there was a way to have our blood communicate with us? What if we were able to take a selfie or even a live video of our blood and get a glimpse into whats really going on with our health?Steps of awareness ( stepsofawareness.com) is an Ottawa based organization that allows individuals to have a selfie with their blood. Our team of Live Blood Technicians will provide you with a simple scientific visual demonstration of what your blood is communicating to you. Aside from telling you its colour (hopefully red), a simple drop of blood can give you an excellent overall picture of your wellbeing. Traditional lab blood tests are an autopsy of our blood, whereas with this method, the blood is still living. A technician is able to see things that a doctor may not be looking for and the results are immediate. This does not by any means take away from the traditional blood testing. It just sees things differently.Our live blood technician assesses for an assortment of nutritional strengths and weaknesses. You are able to see for yourself, via a TV screen, an easy to understand look at what is happening within your body at that particular time. Although it is not a medical procedure, as the technician does not treat, cure or prescribe, its very eye opening.Ted Aliosio, author of the book Blood Never Lies makes it clear that the technician is assessing your health and healing environment, not your health and healing. The two concepts are not necessarily the same. A visualization of your live blood may find indications of parasites, mineral and vitamin deficiencies like iron or B12. They may also see indications of digestive disorders, candida, stress to your liver or your kidneys, or hormonal issues such as menopause or thyroid, just to name a few. After a Live Blood session individuals will have the awareness to take the next steps for good health.Whats most exciting is when clients return for a follow-up and there is a visual change in the look of the blood and they feel and look better, there is no more powerful motivator for continuing to incorporate these positive changes in their lifestyle. That is why taking a selfie with their blood is encouraged.We invite you to participate in one of our next sessions and take a selfie with your blood. PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 14:50:20 CES 2018, Las Vegas, Jan 9, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Trillium Secure, Inc. announced that it has been selected by Volkswagen Data:Lab Munich to participate in the Startup Collaboration Space, a program designed to join emerging companies with VW Group researchers in developing AI solutions for Volkswagen and the greater automotive industry. The Collaboration Space is entering a 2nd cycle of 14 weeks duration."With cyber carjackings quickly becoming a real threat, vehicular cybersecurity is no longer theoretical, but a reality. VW has taken the initiative of inviting Trillium to join our Collaboration Space, a no-brainer as they have an impressive track record with both peer recognition and innovative technologies. I look forward to working closely with Trillium to ensure cybersecurity for the cars of the future," said Dr. Zach Izham, Project Manager of the Data:Lab.Launched four years ago, the Volkswagen Data:Lab Munich has established itself as the center of competence at the Volkswagen Group in the areas of advanced analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Trillium joins the ranks of Data:Lab researchers working towards sustainable mobility, incorporating robust cybersecurity into an artificial intelligence-driven connected and autonomous car environment."At Trillium, we have spent more than 7 years architecting and developing an artificial intelligence enabled security platform that meets the challenges and solves the most pressing problems facing auto makers and insurance providers in a connected & autonomously driven marketplace. Working with Volkswagen provides Trillium with an excellent opportunity to put our technology in motion," said David Uze, Trillium CEO.Trillium is at CES 2018. Please email ces@ trilliumcyber.com to schedule an appointment.About Trillium Secure, Inc.Trillium Secure, Inc. is the world's largest independent automotive IoT cybersecurity provider. Trillium's multi-layered offering includes lightweight encryption, authentication, cryptographic key management, IDS/IPS and secure over-the-air software update technology. The company operates design & fleet security operation centers in Silicon Valley, Detroit, Brno (CZ), Ho Chi Min City and Tokyo. For further information, please visit www.trilliumcyber.com Trillium Secure, Inc. products are marketed under the Trillium, SecureIoT, SecureCAR, SecureIXS, SecureOTA, and SecureSKYE trademarks.Topic: New Security IssueSectors: Electronics, Security/Biometrics, Automotive, Engineering, DigitalFrom the Asia Corporate News NetworkCopyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network. PR-Inside.com: 2018-01-15 13:00:15 FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Viridium Pacific Group Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Calgary, Alberta (FSCWire) - Viridium Pacific Group Ltd. (TSX Venture:VIR). has issued a press release with the following headline:Viridium Files Financial StatementsTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Viridium Pacific Group Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Viridium Pacific Group Ltd.Source: Viridium Pacific Group Ltd. (TSX Venture: VIR, OTC Bulletin Board: MRRBD)Date: January 15, 2018Time: 7:00 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Viridium Pacific Group Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.) ADVERTISEMENT Kano Actors Guild has commended the state Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, for lifting the ban on Rahama Sadau, popular female actress suspended from Kannywood for featuring in a romantic musical video. Rahama, one of the leading actresses in Hausa film industry was expelled by the regulators of the Kannywood film industry, the Motion Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MOPPAN). Her appearance in the music album by a musician Classique, was said to have been immoral and against the ethics of the Hausa film industry. The Chairman of the Guild, Alhassan Kwalli, said the development was timely as stakeholders and practitioners in the Hausa movie industry are using films as a tool for national development. A statement issued by Rabiu Rikadawa, Assistant Secretary of the association on Monday, said Mr. Kwalli expressed gratitude to the governor for lifting the ban. He also lauded Mr. Gandujes support to the Hausa Movie Industry and its practitioners over the years. He said that Nigerian and the North in particular has good stories and cultures to exhibit to the world, adding that this can be achieve with good movies and film making. Rahama had written an apology letter to the state government and the Kano Emirate Council as well as (MOPPAN), expressing regrets for her action. Rahama made her Nollywood debut in a new TV drama series titled, Sons of the Caliphate. The 13-part drama series is produced by Mo Abudus EbonyLife TV. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT Ugandas health ministry on Monday confirmed an outbreak of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) in the central district of Nakaseke, State Minister for Health, Sarah Opendi, said. The minister told Xinhua that the laboratory results of the samples taken from a nine-year-old suspected case who has been under isolation at Kiwoko Hospital, Nakaseke tested positive of the fever. She said a National Rapid Response team from the Ministry of Health and that of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries has been dispatched to Nakaseke and Luweero districts to handle the outbreak. Results from Uganda Virus Research Institute, Entebbe tested positive for the Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever and negative for other viral Hemorrhagic Fevers like Ebola, Marburg, Rift Valley Fever and Sosuga, said Mrs. Opendi. The confirmation of the CCHF comes barely two weeks after the ministry of health denied the outbreak. On January 5, Mrs. Opendi told reporters that the samples taken from the suspected 9-year-old boy tested negative of CCHF, contrary to the claims from Nakaseke districts authorities on the outbreak. The minister on Monday dismissed reports that an 8-year-old girl from Kagugo village, Luweero district succumbed to the fever. The laboratory results from the deceaseds blood samples tested negative for CCHF and other viral Hemorrhagic fevers. The ministry of health is continuing to investigate the possible cause of the death of this young girl in collaboration with partners, Mrs. Opendi said. Crimean-Congo is a tick-borne illness transmitted to humans through tick bites. It is also be transmitted through contact with the blood of infected animals especially during slaughter. It can also be transmitted through direct contact with the blood, secretions and the organs of infected people. Nosocomial transmission can occur through contaminated medical equipment or body fluid from infected persons. A CCHF outbreak constitutes a threat to public health, according to the World Health Organization. According to the global health body, the fever is associated with high case fatality ratio of about 10-40 per cent, which is endemic in Africa, the Balkans and the Middle East. (Xinhua/NAN) ADVERTISEMENT President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said Egypt is not conspiring against its neighbours and has no intention to fight, a reference to growing tension with Sudan. Relations have deteriorated in recent weeks, including over a Sudan-Turkey naval agreement that angered Cairo and an ongoing dispute over a dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile River that runs through all three countries. In the latest move, Sudan recalled its ambassador to Egypt without saying when he might be back. Lets always look for peace and development, our people need that. They dont need us arguing and entering conflict, Mr. Sisi said at an inauguration of new projects in the province of Monofeya. He said Egypt would not interfere in other countries affairs. Khartoum has in the past accused Cairo of political meddling while Egypt has accused Sudan of harbouring Egyptian Islamists. Egypt will not fight its brothers Im saying this as a message to our brothers in Sudan, Mr. Sisi said. Khartoum and Ankara agreed December that Turkey would rebuild a ruined Ottoman port city on Sudans Red Sea coast and construct a dock to maintain civilian and military vessels. Egyptian officials reacted with suspicion about what they see as Turkeys plans to expand its influence in the region. Report says Ethiopia is building a hydroelectric dam on the Nile which Cairo fears will restrict the waters flowing down from Ethiopias highlands and through Sudan to Egypt. Ethiopia, which wants to become Africas biggest power exporter, says it will have no such impact. Egypt believes Sudan is leaning toward the Ethiopian position in the dispute. The Ethiopian foreign minister, who held talks with his Sudanese counterpart on Sunday, is expected to visit Cairo later this week for negotiations after multiple delays. (Reuters/NAN) Two Republican senators who were present at a Thursday meeting with President Donald Trump have said the American leader did not use the phrase shithole countries in rejecting migrants from Africa, Haiti and El Salvador. David Perdue, a senator from Georgia, said on ABCs ThIsWeek that Richard Durbin, a Democratic senator who had told the media that Mr. Trump made the comments, committed a gross misrepresentation. I didnt hear that word either, said Tom Cotton, another Republican senator, on CBSs Face the Nation this Sunday. And I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin was. Mr. Trump reportedly singled out Haiti, El Salvador and parts of Africa as shithole countries during a meeting with U.S. lawmakers about immigration Thursday, according to the Washington Post. The comments came during a White House meeting held to explore a bipartisan immigration deal, said the Washington Post, which broke the news. The paper reported that Mr. Trump favoured immigrants from Norway and Asia, saying they help the country economically. But he wondered why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out, the Washington Post quoted Mr. Trump as venting. But the president denied ever describing any race as coming from shithole countries in a Friday morning tweet. Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said take them out. Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings unfortunately, no trust! Mr. Trump said. The controversy came about three weeks after the New York Times reported that Mr. Trump slammed Nigerians during a June 2017 cabinet meeting that they dont go back to their huts once they enter America. The paper also said Mr. Trump castigated Haitians as people living with AIDS and Afghanistan as a terrorist-infested country. The White House denied the comments at the time, saying Mr. Trump did not slander any country. Mr. Trumps latest comments drew worldwide outrage this weekend, especially leaders from black countries. Mr. Trumps critics also played up statistics that show how African migrants in the U.S. have higher number of bachelors degree holders than Americans themselves. The language of @realDonaldTrump that the African continent, Haiti and El Salvador are shithole countries is extremely unfortunate, said Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo in a tweet Saturday afternoon. We are certainly not a shithole country. We will not accept such insults, even from a leader of a friendly country, no matter how powerful. But senators on Mr. Trumps platform rallied around him on Sunday, with Mr. Cotton saying Mr. Durbin has a history of misrepresenting what happens in White House meetings during his Face the Nation appearance. ADVERTISEMENT A spokesperson for Mr. Durbin quickly pushed back against the comments of Messrs. Perdue and Cotton in a Twitter updateSunday afternoon. Credibility is something thats built by being consistently honest over time, Ben Marter wrote on Twitter. Senator Durbin has it. Senator Perdue does not. Ask anyone whos dealt with both. ADVERTISEMENT The U.S. resorts to illegitimate measures in a bid to stop its influence on the international arena from shrinking, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. Lavrov said during his annual news conference. The U.S. and the West are losing their absolutely dominant positions they enjoyed for at least five centuries, as new centres of economic growth, financial power and political influence are emerging in the natural course of history, he said. `, as the need to adapt the international system to involving these new centers of power in the process of equal dialogue, and the process of creating constructive solutions, satisfying everyone, emerge, the U.S., unfortunately, resorts to illegitimate methods, with the help of which they are trying to halt the decrease of their role in global politics. As soon as a U.S. initiative faces not even confrontation, but a countersuggestion, [Washington] feels impatience, and threatens with sanctions. There are multiple examples of this. The actions of [the U.S.] administration demonstrate fear of fair competition in a number of areas, [particularly] energy, gas supplies to Europe, when instead of Russian gas, supplies of U.S. liquefied natural gas are imposed, which is significantly more expensive. It is counteraction to Nord Stream II It is the defense industry, the sanctions imposed on the Russian defense sector. Let us also look at the media industry, it is also the limitation of competition. I am talking about the attitude to RT and Sputnik in the U. S., in France And finally, the area of sports, the situation around the upcoming Olympics, and decisions in relation to the Russian athletes. Lavrov also said that Moscow and Beijing are proposing to freeze any confrontation and military activities on the Korean peninsula to settle the crisis around North Koreas nuclear programme. As you know, together with China, we have a joint initiative, concerning shifting from confrontation to political settlement of the issue on the Korean peninsula. Firstly, we propose everyone to calm down, freeze any confrontational activities, primarily ones related to military activities, either missile launches, nuclear tests, or the organisation of large-scale maneuvers, which the United States together with South Korea and Japan have held, and continue to hold in this region. When this freeze, this moratorium on non-friendly and confrontational moves comes into effect, we will actively support direct contacts between the most interested parties, namely Pyongyang and Washington, as we are taking on the North Korean nuclear issue. We will be ready to support their bilateral dialogue as part of the Six Party talks with participation of Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea. These are the most important issues addressed by Russia and China in their international agenda, Lavrov added. Sputnik/NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The Africans in the diaspora would on Monday join their counterparts from Haiti, El Salvador and other countries in a rally to protest against U.S. President Donald Trumps alleged racist remarks. The rally would also hold in New Jersey, Atlanta, Houston and across other major U.S. cities. The organisers of the event urged all people of African descent and others to attend the rally to reject the denigration President Trump uttered against us. The U.S. president reportedly made the comment during a meeting with congressional leaders in the Oval Office on Thursday. Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? Trump allegedly said after being presented with a proposal to restore protections for immigrants from the countries in question. The protest tagged: Rally against Trump at Time Square on Monday, would commemorate the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day., which celebrates the death of the civil rights icon. The Day is a Federal holiday in the U.S. falling on the third Monday of every January and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of King, who was tragically assassinated on April 4, 1968. In response to the comments made by President Trump on Thursday about countries including Africa and Haiti, please Join Mayor Bill de Blasio in denouncing Trump at a rally at Time Square on Monday. On MLK Day, New York City will take a stand for our sisters and brothers from Haiti, throughout Africa, El Salvador and other nations in the diaspora that have become targets of President Trumps hatred and bigotry. This moment is too critically important for us not to come together. Lets honour Dr Kings birthday by showing the world the progress being made to help achieve his dream, Famod Konneh, Bronx Borough Director, New York City Office of the Mayor, said. However, Trump had, while signing the proclamation for Kings Day on Wednesday, said the late civil rights leader dedicated his life to a vision: that all Americans would live free from injustice and enjoy equal opportunity as children of God. His strong, peaceful, and lifelong crusade against segregation and discrimination brought our Nation closer to the founding ideals set forth in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Today, as we come together to honour Dr King, we know that America is stronger, more just, and more free because of his life and work, Trump said. (NAN) The world is on the brink of nuclear war, Pope Francis warned on Monday, as he set off on a trip to Chile and Peru that threatens to become overshadowed by sexual abuse scandals. Yes, I am really afraid. We are on the brink. We only need an accident to trigger war, Francis said in in-flight comments to reporters, as quoted by the ANSA news agency. If we go on like this the situation risks precipitating. So, we need to destroy the weapons and to strive for nuclear disarmament, he added. On Francis instructions, reporters on the papal plane were each given a picture of a child survivor of the Nagasaki bomb carrying his dead brother, with the inscription: the fruit of war. The same picture has been circulated by the Vatican over the Christmas and New Year period, in a show of the popes concerns about a new nuclear conflict. The popes appeal came as North and South Korea held working-level talks on Monday, raising hopes that months of rising tensions over Pyongyangs nuclear and ballistic missile programmes may be easing. Francis said January 10 that the global community must support every effort at dialogue with North Korea. He was expected to arrive in the capital Santiago de Chile late on Monday, and to travel on Thursday to neighbouring Peru, where an earthquake killed one person and injured dozens on Sunday. The popes visit was preceded by six arson attacks against Chilean churches or parishes. A leaflet left at a parish in Santiago de Chile criticised the domination the Catholic Church wanted to exercise over people. Chile is the Latin American country where the pope is least valued, receiving an approval rating of 5.3 out of 10, according to a poll by the non-governmental organization Corporacion Latinobarometro. Latinobarometro director Marta Lagos said Francis popularity had declined over the case of Chilean priest Fernando Karadima, whom the Vatican finally found guilty of abusing minors in 2011, after years of accusations. The pope has been criticised for his 2015 appointment of Juan Barros as bishop of Osorno, Chile, in spite allegations that Barros had protected Karadima. The Vatican has meanwhile tried to mitigate the repercussions of another sexual abuse scandal in Peru, announcing January 10 that it was taking over a Catholic movement based there, Sodalicio, whose founder prosecutors want to arrest over alleged abuses. Thousands of believers were travelling from neighbouring countries to Chile to see the pope, whose programme includes visits to Temuco in the centre and Iquique in the north. Francis, an Argentine, is making his sixth visit to Latin America. He has been to Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Cuba, Mexico, and Colombia, but, much to the chagrin of his compatriots, never to his homeland. (dpa/NAN) ADVERTISEMENT Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described his visit to India as the dawn of a new era in bilateral relations as the two sides signed nine agreements in energy, cybersecurity, investments and other areas. Mr. Netanyahu, who arrived on Sunday for his first visit to the country, met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. Their discussions focused on defence, trade and counter-terrorism, as well as newer areas of cooperation to broaden their partnership. Our discussions today were marked by convergence to accelerate our engagement and scale up our partnership, Mr. Modi said alongside Mr. Netanyahu following the talks. The countries planned to strengthen the areas of cooperation which touch the lives of people, such as agriculture, science and technology and security, Modi said. India and Israel signed nine agreements in the areas of oil and gas, renewable energy, defence, aviation, cybersecurity, film co-production and investments. We are ushering today a new era in our relations. We have had diplomatic relations for 25 years but something different is happening now, because of your leadership and because of our partnership, Netanyahu said to Modi. Mr. Netanyahu, accompanied by a large trade delegation, is due to attend a joint business summit Monday evening with chief executives from India. He discussed Israels cutting-edge technologies in agriculture and water management that New Delhi has expressed interest in, Indian diplomat Vijay Gokhale said. During the visit, the leaders have repeatedly referred to each other as good friends. India has long-standing ties with the Arab world and has supported the Palestinian cause for decades. The country established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. Bilateral ties have warmed since then, with Israel emerging as the leading defence supplier to India. In July, Mr. Modi became the first sitting Indian head of state to visit Israel. Mr. Netanyahu reciprocated that visit, and is the first Israeli prime minister to visit India in 15 years, after Ariel Sharon in 2003. Mr. Netanyahu called Mr. Modi a revolutionary leader, for being the first Indian leader to visit Israel in 3,000 years, adding the visit was truly historic. Mr. Modis Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which came to power in 2014, has been pushing for stronger ties with Israel. Earlier Monday, the Israeli leader was given a ceremonial reception at the presidential palace and later visited a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of Indias freedom movement. Mr. Netanyahu is due to visit the Taj Mahal and make a public appearance in Modis home state of Gujarat before concluding his visit in the financial capital Mumbai. ADVERTISEMENT In his statement, Mr. Netanyahu referred to the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which a Jewish centre was one of the targets. Mr. Netanyahu said: Indians and Israelis know too well the pain of terrorist attacks, We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai. We grit our teeth, we fight back, we never give in. The Israeli premiers delegation comprises 12-year-old Moshe Holtzberg, who lost his parents in the attack on Mumbais Chabad House. Indias vote in favour of a UN resolution against U.S. President Donald Trumps move to declare Jerusalem as Israels capital led to tension in the relationship in recent weeks. New Delhi also cancelled a 500-million-dollar deal to purchase antitank missiles from Israel. While Indian officials said defence cooperation featured on Mondays talks, they declined to share details. In an interview with the domestic media, Mr. Netanyahu said he was disappointed by Indias refusal to support recognition of Jerusalem as his countrys capital. The Israeli leader asserted it would not affect relations between the countries, reiterating that the India-Israel partnership was a marriage made in heaven. (dpaNAN) Posted Monday, January 15, 2018 5:00 am The new year is now over a week old. Hope everyone had a good holiday. Now things are back to normal whatever normal is! Diane Whitwer had hip surgery, came home and seemed to be doing well. Then she was rushed back to the hospital due to extreme pain and for a stomach problem. She had surgery and came through it OK. Jim had returned home for some much-needed sleep; thats why I am subbing for Diane today. Leona Medlock and Bertha Terry braved the cold Saturday for their regular trip to Morgan. Then Leona went to church at Rader and came out to find it icy underfoot, but made it home OK. Both Rader and Eureka had church Sunday, but with very small crowds. Happy birthday to little Jensen Burns, who turned 2 on Jan. 4. Starla Medlock is a grandma! Congratulations to her son, Johnathan Thompson, and fiancee, Jocelyn Malagon-Mejia. Khloe Malani Thompson arrived at Lebanon Mercy Jan. 3. She weighed 7 pounds, 9 ounces and was 20 inches long. Grandpa Jay and great-grandma Barb agree with Granny Starla that shes a keeper! Friday evening, Howard and Dee Twyman and Barb Medlock went to the Ryan Stokes home to help celebrate grandma Betty Stokes birthday. Jamie Stokes was also there. Koy and Addy and their puppy kept us entertained! Chloe, who was worn out from her ball playing, woke up in time to give Grandma Betty and Grandpa Doyle hugs at going home time. Saturday evening, Jay and Starla went to the Country Theater to hear Starlas son, Tristan Butcher, sing. They said he did a great job. Were thankful for the rain and hope to get more but only when the temp is above freezing, please. Have a blessed week. ADVERTISEMENT Germany has returned a painting plundered by the Nazis to its rightful owners, the Federal Administration Office in Cologne said on Monday. The painting, Italian City with Waterfall by landscape artist Jacob Philipp Hackert, was retrieved personally by the heirs from a Berlin warehouse, a spokesman of the Office said in Cologne. Nazi authorities had forced Hamburg businessman, Franz Rappolt, the original owner of the painting, to sell it in 1939 to the prominent art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt. The Nazis allowed Mr. Gurlitt to sell so-called degenerate art, deemed by Adolf Hitlers regime to be un-German. Large parts of the art collection belonged to Jewish collectors who were forced to sell it for a pittance before the Holocaust. From Gurlitt, the work was transferred to another art dealer and then came into the possession of the German Reich. Gurlitts son, Cornelius Gurlitt, gained notoriety in November 2013 for his vast trove of over 1,400 paintings and artworks that was seized from his Munich apartment by German authorities as part of a tax probe the year before. Rappolt died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp in German-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1943. (dpa/NAN) Nearly two years after the controversial discharge of a rape suspect following the failure of the police to provide essential evidence, the police have refused to do the needful. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in May 2016 discharged a rape suspect, Victor Enejo. Mr. Enejo was accused of raping an eight-year-old daughter of an Abuja based trader, Monica Agu. The case was discharged by the judge months after it was brought before the court. The judges reason for the discharge of the suspect was that the prosecution, the Nigerian Police, excluded medical report of the suspect in the file submitted at the court. The report would have shown evidence, or lack of it, that the suspect was the one who indeed penetrated the victim. In the instant case, the prosecution deliberately omitted this vital aspect of their case and I have no option but to come to the conclusion and hold the view that the most important ingredient of the offence of rape, that is penetration of the penis of the defendant into the vagina of the victim has not been established. Hence, from the facts and evidence adduced by the prosecution, I hold the view that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, the Judge; D. Senchi, said in a ruling before dismissing the case for lack of merit. Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, the victims mother, Ms. Agu accused the Nigerian Police Force of frustrating her daughters case, adding that the conduct of the prosecution, smacks of foul play. That medical report was supposed to be with the police and they should have put it in the file because they tested my daughter and the boy she accused of raping her. I remember; the date my daughter was tested, according to her report, was January 8, 2016 while the suspect was tested the following day. But unknown to me, it was only after the judge announced that the document was not there that I realised what was happening, Ms. Agu said. She added that several attempts were made after the case was closed to get the controversial medical report, without success. They gave me a medical report that had a date later than even the date of the judgement, Ms. Agu said. She added that the situation frustrated her. When PREMIUM TIMES contacted the police for explanation on the matter, the Force Public Relations Officer, Moshood Jimoh, said the victims family, should raise an alarm so that the investigation can be repeated. Investigation shouldnt be poor in cases of rape. If there is a poor investigation, the persons affected can draw the attention of the police so that the investigation can be repeated. Police action terminates when the matter is taken to court, Mr. Jimoh told PREMIUM TIMES. The prosecution also should have raised an alarm, supposing it was an error. Somebody must have been doing some sort of work in the background. It is the duty of the police to get a medical examination from a government doctor to be added in the file. Sometimes, even the victims could be compromised. I am not saying that they have been bribed, but they could have been intimidated, Mr. Jimoh said. He however added that the responsibility of taking a look again into the matter lies with the Abuja Command of the Force. You need to go to the command. Go to Manzah. I hope you know him? Let him call the investigative police officer and the prosecutor then the truth will come out. You will know what actually happened, Mr, Jimoh said. PREMIUM TIMES had earlier made several calls and also sent text messages to the Police Command spokesperson, Manzah Anjuguri, which were not responded to before the reporters visit to Mr. Jimohss office. Following the discussion with the Force PRO, the reporter visited Mr. Anjuguri to seek reactions. ADVERTISEMENT Mr. Anjuguri said no action had been taken yet on the matter. Since you have already spoken to my superior (Mr. Jimoh) on the matter, I cannot say anything. What should I say? Mr. Anjuguri said. After much persuasion from the reporter, Mr. Anjuguri later requested a link to the initial story published by PREMIUM TIMES, which was provided to him. Madam I have read the story. But there is nothing I can say about it, Mr. Anjuguri said moments later. As explained by Mr. Jimoh, only an action by the police force or an appeal of the FHC judgement can result in a second look into the matter by the authorities. But, according to Ms. Agu, she has lost confidence in the system and does not have the needed resources for an appeal. She adds that her eight-year-old daughter suffered both psychological and physical complications as a result of the rape, for over one year. I kept taking my daughter to hospital for treatment after that problem till over a year, Mrs. Agu said. Mrs. Agu also told PREMIUM TIMES that she took the matter to the International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA. Her decision to approach FIDA was rather late, as explained by the associations litigation officer, Ifeoma Iheanacho. They were handling the matter on their own before they maybe got stuck and came to us. One thing we keep saying about these rape issues is that victims should try to come to FIDA first, Ms. Iheanacho said. She added that even where cases are quickly brought to FIDA, the process is sometimes frustrated by the prosecution: the police. Most of our matters; because it borders on rape, has to first of all go through the police station. The prosecutor will be the one in charge of it until we get a fiat to take the case. At times, getting a fiat takes a long time. And most times, we get to see them (prosecution) mess up these matters. Ms. Iheanacho further adds that although FIDA has the resources to institute an appeal, the upper court will still have to rely on evidences seen at the lower court. It depends. Although if the mother is willing, we can institute an appeal but the appeal court will have to rely on the evidences at the lower court. Unless you are able to show that you have something new, Ms. Iheanacho said. Zannah Mustapha came to fame for his personal orphanage that provides care and education for children who lost their parents from either sides of the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency. Recognised within and outside Nigeria, the lawyer-turned humanitarian worker was recently appointed a UN-Ambassador. Anyone following the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency would not miss the fact that the retired lawyer was the first person to mute the idea of dialoguing with the outlawed Boko Haram using a rare opening created by his orphanage. In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES Abdulkareem Haruna, the caregiver speaks at length on what inspired his current job; the role he played in the negotiated rescue of 21 abducted Chibok schoolgirls; and what the federal government must do to help end the nearly one decade of war in northeast Nigeria. Excerpt:- PT: You are one of the three nominees for the Daily Trust African of the Year Award. How do you feel about that? Mustapha: This is not the first time I am being nominated for such auspicious award in recognition of our modest contributions in the area of humanity. I was once awarded as the Unsung Hero Award of the same paper, Daily Trust, in the year 2013. I am more honoured to be associated with such prestigious award, which you know have also been won by great personalities like Thabo Mbeki and the rest. Even though I have recently been recognised with another honour at the level of the United Nations as one of their worthy ambassadors, I think being nominated for an award, even if one does not emerge the winner eventually, it is really worthy to be so recognised; but we are still keeping our fingers crossed on that. PT: Could you take us down the line on how this orphanage thing all started? Mustapha: Well, when I started this venture of helping the poor orphans in our communities, I never thought even in my wildest dreams that we would get to this stage where orphans would be counted in their thousands. But what I came to understand is that we have not been models to our younger ones because of the sheer neglect of their education especially that of the girls. I felt it is our duty everyone of us, not necessarily the government or those in government for us to be given such kind of supportive services to these set of less privileged and vulnerable children. And the most vulnerable in my judgment are the orphans. That was my inspiration; after spending more than 20 years in my trained profession which is the legal profession, I felt I should venture in to the realm of humanity. That was when I went into the venture of helping the orphans. PT: How was the challenge when you started and how is it now that there are thousands of orphans? Mustapha: When I started, it was on a very small scale though, but it gives me greater joy. So in 2009 when insurgency erupted on its large scale, it added salt to our injury by creating large number of killings of teachers in school, which was precipitated by the killing of some Boko Haram elements; I mean those that started the war. The killed Boko Haram elements had families their widows and children became some kind of outcasts, nobody was willing to relate or identify with them; most of them were being judged by the sins of their husbands. I felt I could as well come in to help these people whom I believe may not even be in the know of what their parents or husbands were into before they got killed. So I got some of them, heard their stories, and immediately I felt they could also come in to join other orphans in my school. So we then called the widows; yes there were 36 widows that were identified, and it was through them that we made further contacts with which we went in as an outreach to get more others. PT: So how did they respond, especially after that feeling of being profiled as spouses Boko Haram? Mustapha: It was really a turning point for the widows and their children because, as I said earlier, no one was willing to identify with them at that time. And surprisingly these widows were very much willing to let their children come to us. So when they came, we made sure we also engaged the widows by getting some of these international agencies like the ICRC who came in with different kinds of supports like food condiments and other basic things they could use to sustain themselves at home. That actually encouraged them and gave them that sense of belonging and acceptance despite their past experiences. So we tried to make life very easy for the widows because when their children come to school, we offer them free breakfast and when they return home, the parents still have something to cook for the kids. So that feeling of having their livelihood back strengthened them. We later realised that some of them could be of help in getting in contact with the colleagues of their late husbands. And many more of them began to open up even with information that could help the authoritys quest for dialogue and interface with Boko Haram. If you could remember that was what even necessitated the visit of President Obasanjo on his mediation effort at that time even though that mediation later failed because of lack of trust and what have you. From there we were able to carry on with the mediation efforts down the line up to the stage that the activities of the Boko Haram were outlawed even at the United Nations. So we never abandoned the widows, we continued to support them and their children; we gave them various lifelines, we gave them skills acquisition programmes and made them economically empowered. We have about 300 of them, and there is none of these 300 widows who could not get as much as N140,000 support which we facilitated thought the ICRC. PT: So how come the federal government did not explore your channel to see that a mediation process was kick-started much earlier? Mustapha: You know at that time there were many attempts by government to mediate with the Boko Haram before they were finally proscribed. So even when we got ample mediation opportunities then, we could not because there was a proscribing law in existence and then the general fear that anybody that is seen associating with them in any form will be termed as an accomplice. Everyone became hesitant in coming out to help. And things continued to deteriorate until the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari who took that bold initiative by going to the United Nations and declared, as a President, that I want to negotiate with the Boko Haram. And that, for me, was the beginning of the whole new mediation between government and Boko Haram which led to the release of the Chibok girls. President Muhammadu Buhari PT: Could you shed more light on that? Mustapha: That declaration at the United Nations actually changed the whole narrative; and the Boko Haram too began to have some kind of trust in the mediation effort. It was actually against the initial narrative of the president, especially during the campaigns, that the slogan was I will crush the Boko Haram, I will crush them was being used. But as soon as the president made the I am ready to dialogue with Boko Haram statement at the UN, almost immediately within that month, we dont know how the video was handed out to CNN, but a proof of life of the girls was released by Boko Haram. How CNN got first clip of the girls after a long time that we saw them is still a mystery up to this time. It was clear that the Boko Haram too wanted the mediation, and that was why they offered to the world the proof of life of the Chibok girls; and that actually eased the bulk of the mediation efforts because there are two willing parties. When we are to go in for the mediation, what we needed at that time was to build confidence, and that we did by emphasising the position of the President at the UN. And after a long effort of conflict analysis we went in and had the mediation. As God will have it, those girls, 21 of them were released. ADVERTISEMENT PT: How did you come in? Mustapha: The fact of the matter is that it was the government that initiated and coordinated the entire mediation, I was brought in probably because I was the one who first started the idea; so I was also invited to be part of it. And it was so stated in the commendation letter sent to me from the the president that what I did was truly patriotic and it was something that can be measured in terms of honesty, dedication and loyalty to own country. Nobody contacted me to do this in the first place, I felt it was necessary to do what I did as a humanitarian. I was not influenced by anybody from the either sides. PT: We understand that some international bodies were also involved in the mediation that led to the release of the 21 Chibok girls; so one would want to ask without actually jeopardising the national security interest how was the contact made, who chose the location Mustapha: (cuts in)you see whenever things like this or situations like this avail themselves, there must be some sort of sacrifices that everyone has to make. To me, the questions of how or who are inconsequential. But all I know is that the whole successes of the mediation was facilitated by the courage of the federal government through the president who declared that he wanted to dialogue with Boko Haram. We may not appreciate that singular effort of the president; but it was the icebreaker if you ask me. Let me give you an instance; If President Nelson Mandela of blessed memory had not come out to say I have forgiven, the 27 years he spent in Robben Island would have been a waste yes! It would have been wasted years because it involved the likes of Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo etcetera who died in that process. But when the leader came out to say he has forgiven the past, all others had to follow suite. So the presidents declaration at the UN eased the entire process. So knowing the forensics of how it was carried out may not be necessary. If you look at the whole conflict, one would say it is an African affair; and we have our own mechanism of setting up how conflicts are resolved. For me, when we went in, the Ugandan and Rwandan experience and some of the training we got from Switzerland enabled us to easily facilitate the mediation. You need to look at the demands, find where is the entry points, where are the confidence building mechanisms you have developed etc. So it was after the conflict analysis and confidence building measures that we have been able to succeed. It is easier, when the two sides lower their guards and begin to talk as counterparts. Let me give you a quick scenario here; if someone picks up a gun and went to another persons house with the intention to kill; but on reaching there, he did not carry out his mission but turned back, would you still tag such a person a killer? Certainly not. Or would you go after him to kill him? The truth of the matter is Boko Haram folks are killers, there is no two ways about it. Many people have died because of them. But if we too go ahead and continue killing them, without exploring other means of ending the carnage; then what are we too? Two wrongs dont make a right. If we go on killing, the killings wont stop! The truth of the matter is that the mediation that led to the release of the Chibok schoolgirls wont have been possible if the military had not subdued the Boko Haram. It wont have been possible during the times that Boko Haram had taken over villages and towns and in full control of war tanks. But now that they have been degraded and subdued to an enclave, and people can even guess where they are hiding and so on, it is easier to talk them into dialogue. In fact there is no time we can say is better for negotiation than now that the military has subdued them. Looking at the magnitude of the attacks they had carried out in the past, you would say that though it is still very painful loss but the attacks of today are insignificant. It is time to start talking dialogue, amnesty, reintegration, provision of safe corridor etc. When we are seen to be doing this, then it means we are winning the war. But in as much as we have failed to do this now, then the fight continues and many lives of Nigerians will be lost. But for how long are we going to fight? We have already fought them for a decade! Do you want us to continue fighting ourselves for another decade, and may be if we still fail to end it, our children too should inherit the fight? We cant continue like this. PT: It is nearly a year since the release of the 21 Chibok girls and Nigerians are itching to see that the rest should be released if they are still alive. You were at the mediation that freed the 21 girls. Are you convinced that the other girls out there are still alive? A cross-section of the 82 Chibok schoolgirls recently freed from the Boko Haram terrorists who were handed to the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Sen. Aisha Al-Hassan by the Department of State Security Service (DSS), in Abuja on Tuesday (30/5/17). The Ministry is to immediately commence a comprehensive process of the girls rehabilitation. 02910/30/5/2017/Anthony Alabi/BJO/NAN Mustapha: You see, I have on several occasion made this comment that when you are talking about the atrocities of Boko Haram, reducing the insurgency to 300 Chibok girls does not help us at all. There are hundreds of other girls and women that have been taken away by the insurgents. We have an army of underage children who do not even remember their second names or where they came from, not even their language or what their culture is like that are today in the IDP camps. There are thousands of displaced women and children that are dying everyday of hunger and diseases. There are communities that have been completely destroyed to almost an irredeemable state. Forgetting all these challenges and concentrating on the 300 girls alone does not make sense. It is not that they are not equally important; but we should not be tasking government on the remaining over 100 girls alone we should be talking about the larger problem in our hand we should be talking holistically about how to end Boko Haram and that includes the rescue of the Chibok girls. Rescuing the 21 of them was a major feat. But how do we move on to build on that achievement? The next time the government is lucky to have another window of opportunity to interface with the insurgents, we should be talking about cessation of hostility, protection of civilians lives, stoppage of suicide bombings. These should be the transformation that we should be talking about not going to discuss rescue of abducted persons alone. For how long are we to continue going back and forth on rescuing abductees? If say we go there today and we secure more girls, then the next one will be the University of Maiduguri staffers, or the women abducted along Damboa road etc. Doing this would even further embolden the Boko Haram to continue abducting people so that they can call for negotiated freedom and that will not be good for us. PT: Boko Haram has the UNIMAID scientists and the Damboa road women abductees in their custody and from the last videos they released it was obvious that the Boko Haram are pushing the abductees to call for a negotiated release. What do you think the Nigeria government should do about that? Mustapha: Like I said earlier, responding to the piecemeal negotiation demands of the Boko Haram is not healthy for the mediation process and it is not healthy for Nigeria. Because true mediation has to transform from one stage to an advanced stage. But to be stagnated on a point where all we do is release of hostages, is not the best for us. We need to transform to a level where Nigeria can negotiate the total end of the conflict by making the Boko Haram drop their arms completely. We need to bring the protection of civilians to the front burner the next time we interface with Boko Haram and that includes all those in captivity; we need to negotiate the total stoppage of suicide bombings, which is also a big deal! We too can negotiate their (Boko Haram) protection from arrest, killing and guarantee them some form of safe corridor. By doing that we are going to be seen as winning not only the battle but also the war. PT: Talking about negotiating with the Boko Haram; what exactly were the demands of the Boko Haram the last time the federal government met with them and what did they take away for giving out the 21 girls? Boko Haram Mustapha: You see, as simple as the talk about negotiation with Boko Haram may sound in our daily discussion, the issue of negotiation with the insurgents are very sensitive that it will not be wise for anyone to go extreme in divulging information that are considered as very sensitive. Much as one finds himself as a facilitating partner in the whole mediation process, I would rather respect the positions and opinion expressed by the two sides on such crucial moments. This is so because we are seen as an impartial umpire, and that is what I stand for. And it will be uncharitable on my part to be seen divulging information that is not within my powers. But the underlying truism is that there are two willing parties who are ready to dialogue in order to change the narratives and even save lives. Details of hows or whats dont matter to me. What is material now is that there is an entry point which we must explore at all cost. PT: Is there anything else you want to say concerning the current state of things in respect of the counterinsurgency operation? Mustapha: Whether we like it or not, the dynamics of Boko Haram has changed because they have been subdued by the military. But that is not to say that a single armed terrorists cannot hold a country to ransom. Just like what happened in Mumbai where a group of eight armed men held unto the largest city in the world to ransom for weeks. So the best way out to deal with the degraded remnants of the Boko Haram is to mediate. EDITORS NOTE: The interview was conducted before the Daily Trust Africa of the Year Award was held. Mr. Mustapha did not eventually win the award. ADVERTISEMENT Prominent leaders from Benue State have told President Muhammadu Buhari that there is no land to allow for the establishment of cattle colonies as being proposed by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh. They made their position known to the president on Monday after they held a closed door meeting with him in the State House, Presidential Villa, Abuja. Governor Samuel Ortom, who led the delegation and addressed the press after the meeting, said Mr. Ogbeh, who is a son of the soil has explained that cattle colonies are a combination of several ranches and is proposing that ten thousand hectares should be provided for that purpose. In Benue, we dont have ten hectares for colonies, other states may have, but we dont have in Benue State, he said. Among those in the delegation are former senate president, David Mark; former governor, George Akume and several others. Details later ADVERTISEMENT The Ebonyi State government on Monday confirmed the death of one doctor and a nurse from suspected Lassa fever infection. The cause of a third death is yet to be confirmed. The Commissioner for Health, Daniel Umezuruike, said this at a briefing in Abakaliki, the state capital. He said the index patient who was treated by one of the doctors and deceased nurse survived and has been discharged. The index patient is the first documented patient in an epidemiological investigation. Early last week, there were suspected cases of Lassa and yesterday my attention was drawn to it that a doctor died of suspected Lassa. We sent 12 samples and four came out positive. Mr. Umezuruike however said the cause of the death of one of the doctors has not been confirmed to be Lassa fever as he had morbidity of diabetes. The commissioner said the victims presented themselves for treatment late as they decided to embark on self-medication. One (victim) was self medicating. He went to Mater Hospital in Afikpo. Two doctors he saw later advised him to go back to FETHA (Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki) he refused until it was advanced before he came to the hospital. For the second doctor, Mr. Umezuruike said because, he had morbidity of diabetes, his death has not yet been confirmed to be caused by Lassa fever. Mr. Umezuruike debunked reports that the victims were taken to Irrua Specialist Hospital in Edo state for treatment instead of the Virology Centre built by the state government in Abakaliki. He was treated at FETHA. We built and donated the Virology Centre to FETHA. The second case treated a woman who was bleeding after undergoing local ovuloctomy and he was treated by the doctor to arrest the bleeding on 29th December. They didnt present (themselves) to the hospital on time, he added He said the ministry had commenced contact tracing in order to monitor anyone who came in contact with the patients to ensure that no further deaths are recorded. ADVERTISEMENT A fresh move by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to seize funds in 15 bank accounts linked with Patience Jonathan was on Monday thwarted by lawyers to the former first lady. Appearing before a Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, the EFCC said the funds $8,435,788.84 and over N7.35 billion were proceeds of corrupt activities and sought an order of forfeiture. The move was, however, halted by Ifedayo Adedipe and Mike Ozekhome, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria and lawyers to Mrs. Jonathan, who challenged the courts jurisdiction to entertain the ex parte application. They told the judge that the funds, which the EFCC was seeking its forfeiture, were already subject of litigation. The lawyers submitted documents to show that similar applications were before Binta Nyako and Nnamdi Dimgba, justices at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court. But Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel for the EFCC, told Mojisola Olatoregun, the judge, that the senior lawyers had no right of hearing in the court since his application does not require a notice to the opposing party (ex parte). He wondered how Mrs. Jonathans lawyers got wind of the EFCCs move to file the ex parte application. The judge adjourned the case till January 23 and directed the EFCC to file an affidavit to convince it that there were no pending lawsuits relating to the funds before other courts. Details later ADVERTISEMENT President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja called on the government and people of Benue State to exercise restraint following the recent attacks by herdsmen on some communities, assuring that all the perpetrators of violence in the state will be made to face the wrath of the law. Receiving a delegation of political leaders, traditional rulers and elders of the state led by Governor Samuel Ortom at the presidential villa, Mr. Buhari said all those involved in the conflict that culminated in loss of lives would not escape justice, including any illegally armed militia in the state. The president commiserated with all the victims of the attacks, and the families who lost loved ones and properties, saying that the government would make efforts to ameliorate the situation of all the victims. Mr. Buhari said relevant agencies had been directed to start catering for the humanitarian needs, a statement by presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said. Your Excellency, the governor, and all the leaders here, I am appealing to you to try to restrain your people. I assure you that the Police, the Department of State Security and other security agencies had been directed to ensure that all those behind the mayhem get punished. I ask you in the name of God to accommodate your country men. You can also be assured that I am just as worried, and concerned with the situation, he said. The president told the delegation that his administration had already begun a process of finding lasting solution to the perennial challenge of herdsmen conflict with farmers and communities around the country. Mr. Buhari said the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, had been directed to relocate to the state to provide security for lives and properties, urging all Benue indigenes to trust the security agencies and report all suspicious cases of movements in the state. In his remarks, the Benue State Governor said the tension would be reduced with the Federal Governments intervention to find a lasting solution to the herdsmen attacks. We will leave here to rebuild confidence in our people, he said. President Muhammadu Buhari The Tor-Tiv, James Ortese Iorzua Ayatse, said his entire domain had been thrown into mourning due to the incessant attacks. We want you to put an end to the gruesome situation, he added. Present at the meeting were Benue State Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu; former Senate President, David Mark; former Benue State Governor, George Akume and Sen. Barnabas Gemade. Others include Sen. JK Waku, Lawrence Onoja, John Atom Kpera, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, Speaker of Benue State House of Assembly, Terkimbir Kyambe, and other members of the National and State Assembly from the State. Mr. Ortom told journalists after the meeting that his state will not accept the proposed cattle colonies. The Nigerian government on Monday summoned U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, to explain reported remarks by President Donald Trump describing Africa, Haiti and El-Salvador as shithole. Reuters reported that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, confirmed in a text message that Mr. Symington was summoned to clarify the disparaging statement allegedly made by Mr. Trump but withheld further details about the invitation. Russell Brooks, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, did not immediately respond to PREMIUM TIMES request seeking further details about the summon Monday night. Mr. Trump reportedly singled out Haiti, El Salvador and parts of Africa as shithole countries during a meeting with U.S. lawmakers about immigration Thursday, according to the Washington Post. The comments came during a White House meeting held to explore a bipartisan immigration deal, said the Washington Post, which broke the news. The paper reported that Mr. Trump favoured immigrants from Norway and Asia, saying they help the country economically. But he wondered why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out, the Washington Post quoted Mr. Trump as venting. But the president denied ever describing any race as coming from shithole countries in a Friday morning tweet. Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said take them out. Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings unfortunately, no trust! Mr. Trump said. The controversy came about three weeks after the New York Times reported that Mr. Trump slammed Nigerians during a June 2017 cabinet meeting that they dont go back to their huts once they enter America. The paper also said Mr. Trump castigated Haitians as people living with AIDS and Afghanistan as a terrorist-infested country. The White House denied the comments at the time, saying Mr. Trump did not slander any country. At least two Republican senators came out in defence on Mr. Trump at separate TV interviews on Sunday, saying they were at the meeting but did not hear Mr. Trump use the derogatory quotes attributed to him. Mr. Trumps latest comments drew worldwide outrage this weekend, especially from leaders of black countries. Mr. Trumps critics also played up statistics that show how African migrants in the U.S. have a higher number of bachelors degree holders than Americans themselves. The language of @realDonaldTrump that the African continent, Haiti and El Salvador are shithole countries is extremely unfortunate, said Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo in a tweet Saturday afternoon. We are certainly not a shithole country. We will not accept such insults, even from a leader of a friendly country, no matter how powerful. The AU swiftly condemned the statement as racist and demanded an apology. On Monday, reports emerged that South African authorities summoned the U.S. diplomat based in the country to explain the comments credited to their president. ADVERTISEMENT In Nigeria, the controversy has also pitted the two major political parties against each other. While the opposition Peoples Democratic Party sees Mr. Trumps alleged comments as a consequence of President Muhammadu Buharis disparaging comments about Nigerians abroad; the ruling All Progressives Congress says all well-meaning citizens should unite in their condemnation of Mr. Trump. ADVERTISEMENT The United States charge daffaires, David Young, met with the Nigerian Foreign Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, in Abuja on Monday, amidst a row over disparaging comments allegedly made by U.S. President Donald Trump against Africa. Russell Brooks, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, said Mr. Young and Mr. Onyeama met on Monday afternoon. Mr. Young reiterated the excellent relations between the United States and Nigeria, during the meeting, Mr. Brooks said. The two officials also discussed cooperation between the two countries, the spokesperson added. The meeting came days after Mr. Trump reportedly derided Africa, Haiti and El Salvador in a meeting about immigration policy in the White House. Mr. Trump reportedly singled out Haiti, El Salvador and parts of Africa as shithole countries during the January 11 meeting, according to U.S. media. Media reports said Mr. Trump favoured immigrants from Norway and Asia, saying they help the country economically. But he wondered why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out, the Washington Post quoted Mr. Trump as venting. But the president denied ever describing any race as coming from shithole countries in a Friday morning tweet. Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said take them out. Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings unfortunately, no trust! Mr. Trump said. Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State said he took prominent leaders from the state to see President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in order to appreciate what the president has done so far to help restore peace to the state. The governor also spoke on details of the discussion the Benue delegation had with the president. Mr. Ortom also said the visit was to appreciate the president for his directive to the National Emergency management Agency, NEMA, to provide relief materials to those affected by the conflict between herdsmen and local communities in the state. Mr. Ortom who had an interactive session with State House correspondents after the meeting said they were also in Aso Villa to make a strong appeal to Mr. President to arrest those people that perpetrated this act, the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore. PREMIUM TIMES brings the full details of the interview the governor had with journalists after the meeting. Ortom: As you can see Im here with the entire leadership of Benue State, members of the National Assembly, the Tor Tiv, Ochi Idoma and the leadership of Benue State House of Assembly and other very distinguished sons and daughters of Benue State. You are aware of the challenge we had since the 1st of January up to this moment. Several people were killed, more than 60,000 people displaced; we are still counting. We thought it was wise as the father of the land and as the president of our country that there is need to meet with him to interface with him. At a personal level, I spoke to the president on phone on the 1st of January when this incident occurred and he responded promptly. And I followed it up with a visit and he directed the relocation of IGP to Benue State in addition to sending additional troop from the military. So, the situation as at today is relatively calm although there are pockets of issues. For the past five days, we have witnessed two killings compared to what was happening before. Other places are relatively calm, the security men and the IGP and the Benue State Government have been working day and night to ensure that we bring the situation under control and stop the killings. There are still security issues from one town to the other. Like some few days ago we had an uproar in Makurdi Local Government, headquarters of Benue State where some hoodlums wanted to take advantage. That is one of the things we have discovered; in trying to create confusion so that they can go in there and loot. We have made it known that for us in Benue State, there is no room for anyone taking laws into his hands. It is expected (that) even when you are offended or someone violates the law, the best thing to do is to report, by that we will be able to mete our sanctions on such people. But when you take laws into your hands, you are inviting anarchy and we will not accept this. So we are here to appreciate Mr. President for providing security. Yesterday (Sunday) we also received relief materials based on his directives to NEMA and is being shared among the five IDP camps that we have in Benue State. But beyond that, we made strong appeal to Mr. President to arrest those people that perpetrated this act, the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, because they are not above the law. They made inciting statements against our people and they came and perpetrated this act. And until this time I speak to you, they are still issuing out threats and it is not just anti-grazing law, it is occupation because the manner with which they come and invade the man and take over the land it is something. I am not sure we ar willing to join issues with anyone. We are law abiding citizens, we are not going to let our people go out of control. We believe in the leadership of Mr. President because he is disciplined and is an upright man and we believe he will be able to sanction this people. And he did assure us that there is no room for impunity, the law of the land must take its cause. So those perpetrators, the IG was in the meeting, he directed the IG to arrest those who perpetrated this act and prosecute according to the law; and assured us that he would do everything possible to ensure that Benue State live peacefully and there is no further killings. So basically that is why we came to see Mr. President. Q: On the letter written to the president, did you get any response? Ortom: Like I said, the president renewed his directive to the IG in our presence that those who are perpetrating this should be arrested and prosecuted. And I believe that enough attention was given to my letter. I was told that it was being processed and I hope by now its been processed and that action will be taken now that the entire delegation from Benue State is here and Mr. President is directing the IG that something will be done about this matter because we cannot allow lawlessness and we cannot allow impunity. When people violate the law and they are not sanctioned, it becomes a problem. People should be investigated and I believe that these people will be arrested because there is enough evidence against them. Q: Did the issue of arming militia groups come up in the meeting? ADVERTISEMENT Ortom: It is not true. I see that as distraction completely from the main issue that we are talking about. These people were not even arrested in Benue State. If we are being killed in the magnitude that we saw and we had weapons of what I saw in the media, I know that five AK 47s can sack a whole community. So if we had such weapons and I as governor my local government had been attacked and people killed, property destroyed and so on, so will I go and sponsor militia in Taraba State? Then you should go back to history; from 2015 when I took over, I organised an amnesty programme which saw the disarmament of over 800 youth and more than 700 weapons were turned in which were destroyed in the presence of security men and the UN and the committee on small weapons and light arms from the presidency. So it is not true, it is false. It is meant to turn facts away from the reality that is happening on ground. Q: Are there plans to have vigilante groups? Ortom: We are in the process of doing that; but we have livestock guards in place. That is what the provision of the open grazing and establishment of ranching stipulates, that we should have livestock guards and we are considering having that in place. Q: This meeting is intended to find solutions to the problem. We will like to know some of the specific proposals to find and an end to this problem? And is there any proposal to bring the leadership of you and the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, together, to find lasting solution to the problem? Ortom: Let me correct an impression, this meeting was at the instance of Benue stakeholders and not Mr. President calling us to a meeting. As the father of the land, we felt that let us interface with him, not just coming from the governor but from the stakeholders. And also to send the message that I am not just not on my own when people try to accuse me of promulgating a law which they dont believe in. This is a law that originated from the people and all the stakeholders as you see them, we are solidly behind this law. Because for us we feel that that is the best way to end this farmers, herdsmen clashes. The law is a win win , it provides security for the herdsmen and the farmers. And as far as we are concerned the implementation of the law is going on smoothly. As I talk to you, several people have been arrested and arraigned before the court of law, both from the herdsmen and also from the natives. It may interest you to know that three of our youths who went and rustled cattle, killed some and killed a Fulani man were arrested by the police. They were detained and arraigned and are now remanded in prison custody in Makurdi. We have also arrested more than 18 herdsmen who violated the law and they were arraigned before the court of law. So as far as we are concerned, the law is being implemented without any hitch. These killers that came from the 1st of January, about eight of them have been arrested and are going to be prosecuted. And that is what Mr. President said that he is not going to protect any criminal and we are happy about this. So that is where we are. As for the solution to the problem, we are open to suggestion from the federal government to find how we can find a lasting solution. The minister of agriculture happens to be a son of the soil. There are many options that are put on the table. Like I told you the last time I came here, I did not understand what colonies meant. Today, I was privileged to meet him and he did explain to me that a colony is many ranches out in one place, restricted in one place. So for us in Benue State there is no 10,000 hectares, they are looking for 5,000 hectares we have no 10 hectares to allow it for that kind of a thing to take place. So people are free. Other states have the land but we in Benue State we dont have and that was what led to us enacting this law. Q: What was the message from Benue people to Mr. President before you left for this meeting? Ortom: We need assurance from Mr. President, we are part of his constituency in the country. As you know, Nigeria is a federation and Benue State is part of the federating unit. There is division of labour, there are specific responsibilities given to each of the tier of government as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. So we dont have powers over the security of this country except the federal government, it is expected that the federal government will support us to enforce our laws and the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And so, as the father of the land, we needed to communicate this to him. We have not committed any offence; rather we are looking for a solution to a problem that has become an epidemic to Nigeria and we need a solution. For us, we have seen that even before the law killings were taking place even more than what we are witnessing today, that we are looking for ways of getting out of it and today we have found a way and that is the law which seeks to protect all. We are not sending anyone away from Benue State. The herdsmen, whether you are Igbo, Fulani, Hausa, Idoma, Tiv, anywhere you come from you are free to follow the law, obtain permit and then do the ranch and you are protected. Benue State will protect you from cattle rustlers when you do this and a farmer will also go to the farm without being intimidated or harassed by any herdsman. So for us, we wanted him to know our feelings as our Mr. President and that we have communicated and he has given us assurance that he is armed to ensure that the oath which he swore to protect lives and properties, he will do it and Benue State cannot be an exception. Posted Monday, January 15, 2018 8:15 am Casteel Edwards, agricultural educator at Logan-Rogersville High School, was one of a select group of agriculture teachers nationwide who received the 2017 Teachers Turn the Key (TTTK) professional development scholarship from the National Association of Agricultural Educators (NAAE). As a scholarship recipient, Edwards attended the NAAE annual convention Dec. 5-9 in Nashville, Tennessee. The TTTK scholarship brings together agricultural educators with four or fewer years of experience and immerses them in three days of professional development that addresses issues specific to the early years of teaching agriculture. Participants also have the opportunity to become involved in NAAE leadership and network with other NAAE convention attendees. TTTK awardees come away from the experience with a long-lasting peer cohort and tools that will help them have successful careers as agricultural educators. It was a great opportunity to represent Missouri and Logan-Rogersville in Nashville, said Edwards. The professional development program that I went through at the conference was terrific. I brought back several new strategies to use in my classroom. Edwards teaching philosophy is Success doesnt come before work anywhere but in the dictionary. She sets high expectations for students and has seen a positive outcome through this approach. Cassie Edwards has a very outgoing personality which draws students to her, said Jana Lee, a member of the Logan-Rogersville High School FFA Booster Club. Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAE), which are student-led, work-based experiences, have an important role within agricultural education. Edwards has worked diligently to help students choose and complete an SAE and also helps them apply for awards related to SAE completion through the FFA organization. In 2016, she had 22 students fill out an award and 10 of them were area winners for their category. One way she continues to support SAEs and student success is through setting aside an hour during the school day for students to work on their records. Edwards continuously seeks out professional development opportunities, like the Teachers Turn the Key scholarship. She has also attended many summer institutes, which have helped her grow as a professional and hone her teaching abilities. Through networking with other agricultural educators she has gained new content which she incorporates into her lessons. Mrs. Edwards has exceeded my expectations for a beginning teacher and she is a strong advocate for the agricultural education, said Logan-Rogersville High School principal Teresa McKenzie. In addition to attending professional development, each of the TTTK scholarship recipients was also recognized at a general session during the NAAE convention. RAM Trucks sponsors the TTTK program as a special project of the National FFA Foundation. NAAE is the professional organization in the United States for agricultural educators. It provides its more than 8,000 members with professional networking and development opportunities, professional liability coverage, and extensive awards and recognition programs. The mission of NAAE is professionals providing agricultural education for the global community through visionary leadership, advocacy and service. The NAAE headquarters are in Lexington, Kentucky. The Ekiti State Government has banned the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, from holding public office in the state for 10 years. The ban followed the indictment of Mr. Fayemi by a judicial commission of inquiry which probed his tenure as governor of Ekiti State between 2010 and 2014. A white paper stipulating the ban was released Monday. The state also banned Dapo Kolawole, who served as Commissioner for Finance under Mr. Fayemi. In a reaction, Mr. Fayemi dismissed the verdict of the white paper as a joke taken too far. He said it was perhaps a joke of the century that shall not stand. He restated his position that the inquiry by the Ayo Fayose-led government was a witch-hunt and victimisation. In the white paper, received by Mr. Fayose, the government also chided Messrs Fayemi and Kolawole for their refusal to appear before the commission even after the case filed at the High Court, challenging the setting of the commission, was decided in favour of the commission. The report had accused Mr. Fayemi of diverting funds meant for the construction of various projects, for which the state is now indebted. ThebCommissioner for Information, Lanre Ogunsuyi, while addressing journalists after the State executive council meeting on Monday, where the white paper was officially approved, said Messrs. Fayemi and Kolawole exhibited disrespect for a constituted authority, in spite of their undignified roles in administering the state during their tenure. They are banned from holding public office in Ekiti and any part of Nigeria, he declared. Government views accountability and probity as hallmark of good governance. Therefore, the government decided to set up the Judicial Panel of Inquiry in line with its law enacted in 2012. The government viewed seriously the report and it intend to carry out all the recommendations in the report, he said. Other aspects of the white paper as read out by Mr. Ogunsuyi include urging Messrs. Fayemi and Kolawole to refund N2.7 billion they allegedly allocated for the execution of the contract for ultra-modern market, which was never executed. The government further directed the Ministry of Justice to institute appropriate legal actions to effect the refund and follow up on necessary legal processes. His Excellency, Dr Kayode Fayemi and the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Dapo Kolawole should be made to account for the difference of N340 million from the N1.5 billion earmarked from the bond proceeds for the upgrade of infrastructure at ikogosi warm spring which could not be accounted for, the report stated. Mr. Fayose, while responding to the recommendations of the white paper, justified the adoption of the recommendations of the report. We are doing what is right within the ambit of the law by appointing competent people for the assignment. We must be seen to be doing the right thing and it is not wrong to ask how the finances of the state have been appropriated within a given time and we are following due process, he said. The APC government could probe this and that, even if you say they are biased, what can anyone do? I am not part of the panel that sat for the inquiry, they submitted the report to me and I presented it to appropriate organ and I will do the same with this document. This is not personal in anyway, we are only doing the right thing and following due process. ADVERTISEMENT The Presidency appointed Ibrahim Magu, and Professor Mamoud and these people are doing their work. The Federal Government also appointed judges, does this mean that these appointees would not do the right things? Mr. Fayemi dismissed the ban, saying, The entire process and the character personae involved are discredited and since it is impossible to build something on nothing, legally speaking, their recommendation is not only null and void, it is ultra vires. The attention of the Media Office of the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has been drawn to the pre-meditated verdict of the Ekiti State Government, as contained in the white paper submitted by the panel set up by Governor Ayo Fayose to investigate the finances of the state between 2010 and 2014, the statement signed by his media aide, Yinka Oyebode, said. While we believe it is part of the responsibilities of the state administration to look into the finances of the state at any point in time, we are also of the belief that such must be done in a very responsible manner devoid of prejudice, witch hunting and a calculated attempt to victimise a citizen. In this particular case, the entire process is discredited right from the beginning, as the only agenda of the panel was to rubbish Dr. Kayode Fayemis public service record. One is therefore not surprised at the recommendations of the White Paper: It only goes to confirm our initial position that the panel was compromised right from inception and targeted against Dr. Fayemi. In his desperation, Governor Fayose chose the crude and ignoble path towards hitting a perceived political foe. In the process, they ignored the rule of law and behaved as if the court does not matter. Thus making their actions subjudice to the court. Fayose was however misguided into believing that he could pass a death sentence on Dr Fayemis public service with the white paper. This is not only laughable, but ridiculous, as neither Governor Fayose nor his paid agents has the power to bar anyone from political participation. Mr. Fayemi urged his supporters, the people of Ekiti State and the general public not to be disturbed by the development, adding that it was another act of illegality, from an administration that had elevated political debauchery to state craft. ADVERTISEMENT A non-governmental outfit, Child Protection Network, CPN, Ogun State chapter, has petitioned the Ogun State Police Command and the state governor to investigate allegations of sexual abuse and child labour against the director of a displaced children centre in Abeokuta. On Tuesday, January 9, some youngsters addressed a press conference in Abeokuta narrating their ordeals while they were at the centre. They alleged that the centre director, Isaac Newton-Wusu, was fond of abusing female children at the centre sexually and also engaged in child labour. Two of them, accompanied by their parents, narrated how they were allegedly sexually abused by the director. In a new twist to the development, CPN on Friday submitted a petition to the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ilyasu, calling on him to wade into the matter. Signed by Olakunle Sanni (Coordinator) and Bukola Oladele (Secretary), the network also copied the petition to the Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun; Speaker House of Assembly; Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development; and Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. The petition was titled, Request for Immediate Action on an Alleged Sexual Abuse, Child Labour and Neglect of Rescued Children of the Northern Religious Crisis Housed at Stephen Children Centre at Aregbe, Abeokuta. We humbly write to request for immediate action on alleged cases of sexual abuse, child labour and neglect of children housed at Stephen Children Centre, Aregbe, Abeokuta by the Director of the Centre, Rev Isaac Oluwole Newton-Wusu, the petition reads. These allegations were made by a team of concerned past students of the Stephen Centre at a press briefing held at Iwe-Iroyin, Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta on Tuesday 5th January 2018. At the briefing, some of the victims in company of their parents were present to confirm the allegation, tell their stories and publicly shared their sad and pathetic experiences and abuse suffered while at the centre. In line with Child Rights Law of Ogun State, the network asked for through investigation into the matter, as well as temporary take-over the running of the centre by the government pending the outcome of full investigation. Similarly, the body demanded that the director, be called to order to stop the incessant threat to the lives of both the past and present beneficiaries of the centre. While hoping that urgent steps will be taken to address these concerns, we use this opportunity to assure you of our readiness to work with government in carrying necessary actions on this matter as well as keep every child in Ogun State soil safe in line with the Ogun State standard often preached by our dear and active Governor, the petition added. The centre was established in Abeokuta in 2000 to accommodate displaced children across Nigeria It focuses much of its attention on children from the northern part of the country. Meanwhile, the embattled director dismissed all the allegations. He said it was an attempt to blackmail him by some alleged sponsors (and) to take over the centre from him. A justice advocacy group, Access to Justice, has petitioned the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights over the continued detention of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria. In a letter addressed to Diego Garcia-Sayan, Special Rapporteur of the Human Council on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, the group expressed serious concerns about the willful disregard of court orders relating to Mr. El-Zakzakys release by the executive arm of Government, and its impact on the state of the rule of law in the country. The persistent reluctance of the President Buhari-led government to respect the principle of separation of powers, which is a core component of constitutional democracy and the rule of law, indicates complete disregard for its international, regional and national obligations, the group stated in the letter dated January 14, 2018, and signed by Adenike Aiyedun, its Deputy Director. The failure of the government to uphold the rule of law is undermining and endangering Nigerias fragile constitutional democracy, and causing widespread loss of faith in the authority of judicial institutions. Furthermore, it is escalating fragile ethno-religious tensions in the country, which if unchecked may lead to the outbreak of major conflicts. As a member of the United Nations, the Nigerian government is bound by the cherished principles of that body and by several binding treaties on good governance, human rights and the rule of law. Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenat, have been in detention since a deadly raid by the Nigerian army on his IMN group in Zaria. The army killed and secretly buried at least 347 members of the sect. In December 2016, a High Court held that the arrest and detention of Mr. El-Zakzaky and his wife was illegal and unconstitutional, and ordered their immediate release from detention. But the Nigerian government ignored the court ruling, with a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, saying the continued detention of Mr. El-Zakzaky was for his own safety. The Buhari Government is also flouting several court orders, including those of the ECOWAS Court of Justice by refusing to release Rtd. Colonel Dasuki Sambo, a Senior Government Official under the last administration, who is facing criminal charges, Ms. Aiyedun said. Following the example of the Federal Government, a number of State Agencies are also flouting court orders, and acting with impunity. Under the Nigerian Constitution as well as Regional and International treaties binding on Nigeria, the Nigerian State must respect the rule of law, uphold and implement court orders, and respect the authority of each arm of Government. The petition to the UN came nearly a year after a United Kingdom-based Muslim advocacy organisation, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, dragged President Muhammadu Buhari and Mr. Buratai before the International Criminal Court for the killing of IMN members. Last week, hundreds of members of the IMN protesting the continued incarceration of their leader was forcefully dispersed by armed police officers in Abuja. Fifty two people were arrested, the police said in a statement. The protest came amidst rumours of Mr. El-Zakzakys death in detention, forcing the Nigerian government to hastily organize a media appearance of the Shiite leader with some selected journalists. Access to Justice requested the UN Special Rapporteur to undertake an urgent country visit to Nigeria to assess the situation and ensure that full and independent investigations are conducted. Based on this fact-finding mission, the Special Rapporteur should provide his conclusions and recommendations to the Nigerian Government, Ms. Aiyedun said. We make a formal appeal to the Nigerian Government to respect the supremacy of the Constitution, and implement/enforce all court orders. The Special Rapporteur should emphasize Constitutional, Regional and International obligations of the Government to ensure the independence of the judicial branch of Government. ADVERTISEMENT We refer Nigerias deteriorating rule of law situation to the attention of the UN Commission on Human Rights urgently in order to avoid a further degeneration of the situation. The Commission should also engage the executive arm of Government to facilitate the release of El-Zakzaky and his wife before the situation becomes any more severe. ADVERTISEMENT The Nigerian Army has started taking delivery of vehicles it ordered from Innoson Motor Manufacturing Company which were configured for deployment for Operation Lafiya Dole and other military operations. The Nigerian Army and Innoson Motors, an indigenous vehicle manufacturing company, had recently signed agreement and partnership towards the manufacturing of locally made military equipment and vehicles for the army. In line with the partnership, the army would acquire 100 variant of utility vehicles from the company to support its operations, especially in the North-east. The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, had announced the development recently when the management of the company, led by its Managing Director, Innocent Chukwuma, visited the army headquarters. Mr. Buratai, a lieutenant general, also said that the army would partner with the company in the modification and production of other military equipment, including armoured fighting vehicles. He said so far, the army had already acquired 40 vehicles from the company after it donated three vehicles to the Theatre Command of the Operation Lafiya Dole. Mr. Buratai said the 40 vehicles were acquired after the donated vehicles were tested and found suitable for the North-east terrain. He added that the vehicles were deployed in combat operations and proved to be useful, comfortable and convenient for military operations. He, therefore, solicited the cooperation of the company in building the capacity of its personnel. The army chief said this was necessary now that the army was assessing its special vehicle plant and central workshop located in Kaduna State and other areas to in order to produce required equipment. Mr. Chukwuma expressed delight that the vehicles the company had donated to support the counter insurgency operations were found suitable. Nigerian Army receives armored vehicles from Innosson Motors. [Photo credit: Official twitter handle of the Nigerian Army] Nigerian Army receives armored vehicles from Innosson Motors. [Photo credit: Official twitter handle of the Nigerian Army] He commended the Nigerian Army for its patriotism and the success it had recorded so far in the fight against the Boko Haram terrorists. He promised to assist the army in its quest for better vehicles for troops and resuscitation of its vehicle plant and workshop. ADVERTISEMENT The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), an NGO, has decried the payment of N40 million to each Nigerias former presidents and heads of state. MURIC made its position known in a statement issued by its director, Ishaq Akintola on Monday. The group described the decision as anti-people and capitalist-driven, adding that the Nigerian system made the rich richer and the poor poorer. How decent are we as a people, if thousands of retirees are denied their benefits for years but we proudly present huge amounts of money to former presidents and ex-heads of state. Where is our humanity if a whopping N40 million is paid to an ex-president who arrogated all the honey and milk in the land to himself while in office and we still pay a paltry N18, 000 as minimum wage to workers who grease the machines of our economy, it said. According to Mr. Akintola, this socio-economic imbalance emboldens criminals, frustrates the youth, diminishes patriotism and slows down the war against corruption. He said the Federal Government alone could not fight corruption but needed the people to join the fight. How will an overworked, underpaid, impoverished and oppressed people who are living witnesses to the waste of our common wealth, willingly join the fight. The truth is that perhaps no present ex-president or former head of state lives in penury as at today. Our ex-presidents are not in dire need of cars from the Federal Government. Majority of them are in palatial mansions on hilltops in choice locations all over the country. He said that the super-rich ex-presidents should be giving to the poor masses and not sucking from their blood again, adding that Islam encourages equitable distribution of wealth. Mr. Akintola faulted the idea of buying new cars for leaders while ignoring the cries of pensioners. He advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to abandon poor Nigerians or succumb to blackmail from greedy and selfish citizens but to remain focused in his determination to rid Nigeria of wasteful spending. Mr. Akintola said God will ask every leader how he conducted the affairs of his people on the day of resurrection. Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), had last week revealed that the government paid N40 million to the nations former leaders, instead of buying vehicles as prescribed by law. Mr. Mustapha added that the decision was adopted so that the former leaders could purchase vehicles of their choice. (NAN) Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, is among 14, 771 persons expected to receive honours at the 7th convocation of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Abdalla Adamu, NOUNs Vice-Chancellor, has said. The former president is expected to receive a doctorate in Christian Theology, Mr. Adamu said at a news briefing on the institutions 2018 convocation scheduled for Jan. 20 at its headquarters in Jabi, Abuja. He said Mr. Obasanjo would be considered for an appointment as a facilitator or supervisor as PhD is the least qualification for one to teach in the institution. The vice-chancellor said that 14,771 is the highest number of candidates any institution in Nigeria had ever graduated at a convocation ceremony. He said in spite of being a former president, Mr. Obasanjo conducted himself properly and deservedly bagged Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Theology. One of the graduands is the first PhD graduate the institution will produce; a university must graduate students at academic Masters Level before graduating PhD. Only one candidate has been able to do that and that is Obasanjo; the Senate has found him worthy of the award and approved the conferment of PhD on him. There are lessons to be learnt from Obasanjos feat one is never too old to learn; Obasanjo was about 80 years when he started the programme and has finished it at 82. Again, one is never too powerful to learn; he was the president twice and yet subjected himself to learning; learning is a humbling process. We will consider him for the post of a facilitator or supervisor; maybe for our Abeokuta Study Centre; we will suggest it to him, he said. Mr. Adamu said because of Mr. Obasanjos achievement, NOUN has received requests from other older citizens. He said the institution was able to graduate such a huge number of students because it had created its own internal data management which was previously handled by external vendors. The vice-chancellor said that students who were hitherto not cleared by the external vendors had been cleared. He said that NOUNs Business School would soon take off and would run nine professional programmes. Mr. Adamu said the institution had created Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies which would generate employment opportunities for the graduates. According to him, NOUN has opened linkages with foreign universities in order to broaden its scope. Sussex University in the UK has reached out to us-to be its hub in Nigeria; Open University of UK, University of South Africa among other are partnering with us. We are expanding to create Diaspora study centres in Niger Republic, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Gambia, Senegal, among others. ADVERTISEMENT These are still subject to approval from the National Universities Commission, the Federal Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he said. On the standoff between NOUN and the Council for Legal Education over the status of Law graduates, he said the Senate had passed the NOUN Act Amendment Bill. He said once both chambers harmonise the bill, it would be sent for presidential assent. Mr. Adamu said that once the amendment was signed into law, all controversies surrounding the Law programme as well that concerning the National Youth Service Corps would be resolved. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The police in Abuja paraded a woman they accused of impersonating the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari. Aisha Mubammed-Bello, 37, was paraded by Musa Kimo, the FCT police commissioner, during his first press briefing in 2018. Today, we have a special suspect to present before you, she is Aisha Muhammed Bello, 37 years old, mother of four from Plateau State. She was arrested for impersonating the wife of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari. She is using the name of the First Lady to solicit for contracts and financial assistance from unsuspecting members of the public, especially heads of government establishments. The suspect was arrested by Police operatives on 10th January, 2018 at Fadama III Project Office, Maitama, Abuja following a report that she contacted the Coordinator of the Project that she wants assistance in her capacity as the First Lady. Upon her arrest, a phone and a newly acquired Airtel SIM Card registered in the name of Aisha Buhari, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was recovered from the suspect. Investigation is on-going with a view to contacting other people she must have duped in the name of the First Lady. At the end of investigation, she will be charged to court. Members of the public are hereby advised to always be double sure of who they are dealing with before they part with their property or money, Mr. Kimo said. It was not immediately clear if the suspect has a lawyer. The commissioner urged the residents around the nations capital to conduct themselves peacefully at all times. ADVERTISEMENT The United States Embassy Education Advising Centre, Nigeria, has called on the Federal University of Technology, Minna to identify first class graduates for further studies in the U.S. Joseph Schaller, its Coordinator, made the call during a courtesy visit to the university on Monday in Minna. The centre is ready to assist high-achieving low income students to access funding opportunities from institutions in the U.S. Normally, the tuition and fees range between 20,000 dollars and 70,000 dollars; the financial aid is limited, highly competitive and usually based on merit, he said. He said there were more funding opportunities at the graduate level than at the undergraduate level. To compete favourably for financial aid, a student must have at least six to seven As in WAEC senior secondary school examination, or a minimum of Second Class Upper Division. In most cases, the financial aid is largely determined by the field of study, he said. Responding, the Vice-Chancellor, PAbdullahi Bala, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, (Academic), Oluwole Morenikeji, thanked the visiting team for choosing FUT, Minna. He said that staff of the institution would be encouraged to attend U.S. schools for their higher degrees, especially with funding opportunities from the U.S. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) and governors elected on its platform would meet at the party national secretariat on Wednesday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the consultative meeting according to a source at the partys national secretariat will discuss the 2019 general election time table issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently. The meeting is expected to also fix a date for the partys congresses and national convention that had been slated to hold this year. The governors and the NWC members will discuss the issue of the party congress and convention; they will also look at the INEC 2019 general election timetable, As you know, this will be the first consultative meeting in 2018. The meeting is expected to be attended by the governors as other national issues as regards APC winning the 2019 general elections will be discussed, the source said. The APC consultative meeting was initiated in April 2017 by its National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, to ensure monthly meeting of governors elected on the partys platform and members of its NWC. Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, had told journalists that the consultative meeting will be holding monthly until 2019 general elections. (NAN) A research scientist, Paul Onyenekwe, has described the approval granted to two international agencies by a Nigerian regulatory agency to test run some genetically modified cassava in Nigeria as a welcome development. Mr. Onyenekwe, the President of Nigeria Biotechnology and Biosafety Consortium, NBBC, was reacting to criticisms levelled against the approved field trials by some civic groups. The Groups, Health of Mother Health Foundation, HOMEF, and its partners said the decision by the Nigerian Biosafety Management Agency, NBMA, to grant permission for Confined Field Trials, CFT, of genetically modified, GM, cassava (AMY3 RNAi Transgenic lines) was condemnable. On Friday, Adamu Shabo, an official of the Biosafety management in a phone conversation with PREMIUM TIMES confirmed the approval of the field trials. Mr. Shabo, a senior scientific officer said the cassava to be tested is not yet meant for consumption. The confined field tests will commence accordingly with the details of the approval and is scheduled to take place at the International Institute of Tropical AgricultureIITA in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, Mr. Shabo said. T The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, in Ibadan, Oyo State, and Zurich, Switzerland-based ETHZ Laboratories are the agencies that got the approval on the September 22, 2017. HOMEF alleged that the application, submitted by both agencies to the NBMA, was a subtle way of flooding the countrys food system with genetic food crops, including beans, maize and cotton. The Director of HOMEF, Nnimmo Bassey, said going the way of GMO by the IITA indicates a great danger since most farmers depend on it for quality and safe crops. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture [Photo Credit: feca.edu.ng] If NBMA goes ahead to approve the application, we can say goodbye to food safety in Nigeria. We do not need GMO cassava. We dont need GMOs here, and we call on the agency to do the needful, Mr. Bassey said. In his reaction, Mr. Onyenekwe, a professor said, the push to stop this kind of research, as HOMEF is suggesting, is to keep Nigerian farmers at a severe disadvantage and in poverty. He described HOMEFs criticisms as misguided, unjustified and unpatriotic. The group objected to a permit granted by the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) to a highly reputable research organization, the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The permit allows highly trained scientists to follow rigorous regulatory procedures to conduct a small field test of a potential new cassava. In a press statement, Nnimmo Bassey, leader of HOMEF stated that the small field test was the first in the world and that it was a deliberate attempt by IITA to contaminate one of Nigerias most staple foods. Are HOMEF and co aware of what cassava farmers in the country are going through? A recent visit to the cassava growing belt of Oyo, Osun and Ogun revealed a great deal of suffering. Farmers are not getting value from their hard work. The uprooted cassava tuber loses starch value before reaching processing companies located at Sango Otta where the products are then grossly underpaid. Researchers at IITA asked for permission of the NBMA as required by law to test a new variety of cassava that could potentially solve this issue for farmers. This small field test must follow strict guidelines to keep the new cassava within the confines of the scientists until other data can be collected to determine whether or not the new cassava is safe and effective. When scientists apply for a permit to test genetically modified crops, the NBMA is mandated by law to assess the application by constituting a committee of experts. These reputable Nigerian scientists evaluate the application based on science and internationally-backed protocol; and advise the Agency on an appropriate decision. The assessments take human health and safety, and environmental safety into consideration. The committee also considers socio-economic benefits that might accrue to the country from such product. On the 37-page petition HOMEF sent against the application, Mr. Onyenekwe said the key question is: Was their petition backed up with scientific evidence or data and proof? Science does not thrive on emotion or hear-say and the Director General, NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba has continuously harped on the fact that the decisions made by NBMA are not based on emotion or democracy but on verifiable scientific evidence which can be proven anywhere in the world. The statement issued by HOMEF deliberately uses fear and discredited publications. It is laudable that HOMEF and co have acknowledged the vital role of cassava in the nations food chain, but it is also worthy to note that they lack an understanding on what the modification proposed by the IITA research was all about. For the avoidance of doubt, the Permit granted to IITA was to enable them to conduct a small field experiment, under confinement, using genetic modification techniques with a long safety track record, with the purpose to reduce starch breakdown in the storage roots post-harvest. This small test will allow researchers to gather information on the safety and potential viability of the proposed solution. The potential new cassava would have to go through additional years of testing prior to release to farmers. In a swift response, Mr. Bassey, HOMEF director, insisted that the petitions, objections and criticisms were scientific proof. The petition was purely based on scientific review, they were written by experts not novices and reviewed by international scientists. Its unfortunate that we have an agency that approves anything that is brought to them, Mr. Bassey told this paper on Sunday. ADVERTISEMENT He said his group is taking legal actions against the agency. There has been a protracted debate over the application of genetically modified crops into the food system of the country. These debates has birthed two groups, Pro-GMO and Anti-GMO. The former is for while the latter is against the application. The National Biosafety Management Agency had in 2016 issued two permits for the Commercial Release and Placing on Market of genetically modified cotton, and the confined field trial of maize, to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Limited. This move came despite concerted efforts of many Nigerians (comprising 100 groups of farmers, faith-based organisations, civil society groups, students and local farmers) to prevent the introduction of genetically modified (GM) cotton and maize into Nigerias foods and farming system. Posted Monday, January 15, 2018 2:30 am Dairy farmers from all over southern Midwest will gather in Springfield Jan. 18-20 for the sixth annual Heart of America Dairy Expo, presented by Hiland Dairy Foods. The Heart of America Dairy Expo features nationally known dairy speakers, producer panels and the largest dairy-specific trade show in the southern Midwest at the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center. We are moving forward during a very challenging time of economic conditions caused by depressed milk prices at the farm, said Expo chairman and dairy farmer Ted Sheppard, Cabool. Sheppard also serves as president of the Missouri Dairy Association, which is the official host of the Heart of America Dairy Expo. Our program will provide attendees with new directions on dairy nutrition, milk production, dairy policy and consumer communications, said Sheppard. First, we have added a new feature with an FFA Ag Career Day at 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18. It is open to all FFA chapters and 4-H youth in Missouri and surrounding states. There is no cost to the students and their advisors. We follow that with our Thursday evening Grand Opening Buffet Reception at 6 p.m., Sheppard continued, and an early bird seminar in the trade show. After the meal, Vallery Eisenmann of the American National Insurance Company will address How to Get the Most From Your Insurance Dollar. Fridays program starts at 9:30 a.m. with Advancements in Forage Digestibility with Rich Bennek, Mycogen Seeds dairy market development manager. Following Bennek will be Dr. Max Hawkins of Alltech, who will discuss Overcoming Challenges to Achieve Healthy Cows and Performance. Rounding out the morning program will be longtime dairy farmer favorite Dr. Mike Hutjens from the University of Illinois, who will cover the Roles of Minerals and Vitamins in Dairy Rations, sponsored by Multimin USA. Fridays pork chop luncheon, sponsored by Hiland Dairy Foods and the Missouri Pork Association, will feature Missouri Director of Agriculture Chris Chinn followed by a keynote presentation by Dr. Mark Stephenson of the University of Wisconsin on The Changing Landscape of Dairy: Regional Perspectives, sponsored by Central Life Sciences. After lunch, attendees will hear from a dairy farmer panel discussing Farmers Communicating to the Public, sponsored by the Midwest Dairy Association. Another dairy farmer panel follows on milk quality, moderated by Dr. Scott Poock of the University of Missouri and sponsored by MFA Inc., Missouri Corn Merchandising Council and ST Genetics. The Expo program also includes the annual meetings of the Missouri Dairy Association, Missouri Holstein Association, Missouri Brown Swiss Association, Missouri Guernsey Breeders Association, Missouri Jersey Cattle Club, Midwest Milking Shorthorn and the Missouri Ayrshire Association. Last year, we drew almost 500 attendees from 15 states, said Dave Drennan, Expo sales manager and executive director for the Missouri Dairy Association. Registration is free for dairy farmers and their families, with a nominal registration fee for allied industry representatives. All dairy farmers and allied industry, regardless of state, are invited to attend. The Oasis Hotel and Convention Center offers a convention hall which will house over 65 dairy exhibits and equipment inside. It is also conveniently located on the north side of Springfield at Glenstone and Interstate 44. We also dont want travelers to forget that Branson is only 45 miles away from Springfield, so we hope they plan a trip and enjoy all Missouri has to offer, said Drennan. Meal reservations are requested and may be made by viewing www.heartofamericadairy.org for more details and the complete Expo schedule. Hotel reservations may be made by calling the Oasis Hotel and Convention Center directly at 417-866-5253 or 888-532-4338 and ask for the Heart of America Dairy Expo room block. ADVERTISEMENT The Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday presented the certificate of registration to Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, following a court order. The certificate was presented to the partys leaders by Shettima Arfo, INECs national commissioner and member of of its Elections and Party Monitoring Department, at the commissions headquarters in Abuja. An Abuja Division of the Federal High Court November last year ordered INEC to register SPN as a political party. This followed a case filed by the party that despite fulfilling statutory conditions, including payment of administration fee of N1 million, INEC refused to register it for not allowing the commission to verify its submitted claims. SPN accused the commission of failing to process its application within 30 days as stipulated by Section 78 (3 and 4) of the Electoral Act 2010. After receiving the certificate, the partys deputy National Chairperson (South-west), Abiodun Bamigboye, told journalists that it was a proof that anything can be achieved through struggle. He said the SPN was formed to save Nigerians from economic crisis and called on the youth, workers, and students to join and build it into a great party. Today is quite historic in the sense that, after four years of tumultuous struggle for the registration of our political party, INEC issued us our certificate of registration as a result of the order from the Federal High Court to INEC on the 28th of November to issue us our certificate of registration within 30 days from the day the judgement was delivered. What has happened today clearly demonstrates that a better Nigeria is possible, that a struggle for a socialist transformation of Nigeria is something that is visible and possible if workers, the poor, youth, students can be united for the struggle for a better country, Mr. Bamigboye said. When asked of the partys chances in 2019, he said the question of taking power in 2019 is not something that is automatic. But at the same time, change, I mean revolution of social transformation has no calendar. It could even be sooner than 2019, because there is more than enough anger in the society that could even provoke a social transformation of Nigeria even earlier than 2019. Party members receiving certificate issued by INEC. [Photo credit: Independence Newspaper] Party members receiving certificate issued by INEC. [Photo credit: Independence Newspaper] He said the party would use the 2019 general elections to test its electoral capacity by fielding candidates where it perceives that it has strength. Our party is not just an electoral vehicle, it is not a party that will only be active only in the period of election, it is a struggle that will always at all time identify with the struggle of the working people. Party members show certificate issued by INEC. Party members show certificate issued by INEC. Before or after 2019 general elections, our party will always be there to associate with the cause of the working people, he said. ADVERTISEMENT Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, said on Monday that the federal government has very clear plans to end herders/farmers clashes in the country. The governor told newsmen after laying wreath to mark the Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Kaduna that the issue is being tackled head-on. We met with the Minister of Interior, there are very clear plans to curtail these issues, I dont want to speak about security programmes on radio and television, but I want to assure everyone, the President and other security agencies are doing their best. He noted that security is a continuous challenge in every society and the involvements of the military have helped to stabilize the country including parts of Kaduna state. Mr. El-Rufai stressed that the recent donation of $1 billion from Excess Crude Account by state governors were for the purchase military equipment to support the armed forces in securing the country. The Nigerian armed forces have contributed significantly to the development of the country in maintaining unity and integration, and in protecting the lives of citizens and controlling security challenges. For this, all of us are grateful to them, they have made great sacrifices and at various forms of crisis, they have stepped in for the sovereignty of the country; we are eternally grateful to them, the governor added. NAN reports that apart from parade and laying of wreath to honour the falling heroes, El-Rufai also released white pigeons at the event. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Ibrahim Coomassie, has warned that the current herdsmen and farmers crisis, that has led to several deaths, is capable of plunging Nigeria into an unprecedented conflict. The former police chief gave the warning in Kaduna at a conference tagged North and the Challenge of Leadership organised by the Sardauna Memorial Foundation. Today, there are too much flash points not only in the North but all over the country, he said. A case in point is the incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers that in recent times have assumed a most destabilising dimension which if not managed properly could plunge the nation, particularly the North, into internecine conflicts the likes of which has never been seen before. Mr. Coomassie said the age-old relationship between farmers and herders have been muddled by politicians, land grabbers and corrupt leaders. Now, state governors have joined the fray by banning grazing in their states thus denying a significant proportion of citizens the right to their economic activity. Thousands of lives and property are continually being lost as a result of this; clearly, we have a problem of good governance, he said. Mr. Coomassie warned that that unless we approach this problem with the seriousness it deserves, we may be heading towards anarchy and disintegration. According to him, the ACF has since drawn up a road-map to achieve peace, harmony and progress in the region. Earlier, the chairman of Board of Trustees of the Sardauna Memorial Foundation, Babangida Aliyu, urged northern leaders to unite in finding solutions to the crisis facing the region. If not we will remain where we are, he warned in a message delivered by Ibrahim Shekarau, who is the secretary of the foundation. The guest speaker, professor Alkasum Abba of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, attributed the problems facing the northern region to poor leadership. ADVERTISEMENT Another explosion caused by leaking gas cylinder on Monday killed four persons and left several others with severe burns in Badagry area of Lagos. The incident occurred at an artisans shop in Ajara area of Badagry , Lagos State. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that six buildings located near the workshop and six gas cylinders were destroyed by the explosion which occurred at about 9.50 a.m. on Monday. Razak Fadipe, an official of the Lagos State Fire Service, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES Monday afternoon. Another official of the fire service who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN,Tunde Adeboye , said that because they were able to put out the fire quickly, it helped in reducing the damage. . A senior police officer at the scene, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that four persons died in the explosion. An eyewitness, Segun Adebunmi , said that the explosion was caused by a leaking gas cylinder at the artisan s shop. Its a testimony that I m alive as I escaped the scene by a whisker, he said. Another eyewitness , Tope Alabi , said that the explosion destroyed cars that were parked on the street. I heard a loud bang and the glasses of cars were shattering and the next thing I saw was human parts littered all over the place. The security agencies responded promptly; so the situation was contained ; so it didnt escalate. he said. NAN reports that a senior official at the General Hospital , Badagry, who pleaded anonymity, later confirmed that four dead bodies had been deposited at the mortuary. The official also said that several people were in critical conditions , with severe burns. Earlier on Monday, two people had died with about eight injured in a separate gas explosion in Magodo area of the state. ADVERTISEMENT The ongoing political war between the Akwa Ibom Governor, Udom Emmanuel, and his estranged godfather, Godswill Akpabio, has claimed its next victim the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Etekamba Umoren. Mr. Emmanuel on Monday sacked Mr. Umoren, who was nominated into the cabinet by Mr. Akpabio, the Senate Minority Leader. The first official to be sacked from the cabinet was the then commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Udo Ekpenyong, about two weeks ago. However, the state Commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh, who announced the sacking of the SSG, said the move was to rejig the governance structure in the state. The sacked officials, Mr. Ekpenyong and Mr. Umoren, are from the Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District where Mr. Akpabio comes from. Political analysts in the state believe Governor Emmanuel is likely to remove more people from the government in order to weaken Mr. Akpabios structure and influence as the governor seeks re-election in 2019. The state government has appointed a new SSG, Emmanuel Ekuwem, a renowned telecom engineer from Mbo Local Government Areas. The Akpabio-Udom feud became public in December when the senator said in a public gathering that the governor has neglected Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. Apart from his former allies turning against the senator, Mr. Emmanuel has personally warned that he was going to deal decisively with any politician who instigates trouble in the state, irrespective of his status. Mr. Akpabio, when he was still the governor, single-handedly brought Mr. Emmanuel from Lagos where he was serving as a director in Zenith Bank. The ex-governor made Mr. Emmanuel his successor despite the opposition from his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and others. ADVERTISEMENT The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the European Union (EU) on Monday evacuated 132 more Nigerians from Libya. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new batch of returnees arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at 5.30 p.m.. The Nigerians returned aboard a chartered Global Africa aircraft with Registration Number LZ MDO. The returnees comprised 35 adult females, 88 adult males and nine children and infants. They were received by officials of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Police. An official of the IOM, Frantz Celestin, said this was the second chartered flight by IOM in 2018 making it 313 Nigeria returned so far in the new year. Migration is not a problem in itself. It engenders socioceconomic development if properly managed, he said. Mr. Celestin affirmed IOMs commitment in collaborating with Nigeria in ensuring protection and safe arrival of Nigerian migrants from Libya. NAN reports that 6,806 Nigerians have been returned from Libya in 2017 through the efforts of the IOM and EU. The Nigerians were stranded in the volatile North African country where they had been stranded enroute Europe and were being subjected to various abuses in the country. (NAN) A civil society group, the Centre for Social Justice, CENSOJ, said about N467.4 billion, or 5.43 per cent of the expenditure proposed in the 2018 Appropriation Bill are either frivolous, inappropriate, unclear or wasteful. Consequently, the group said the National Assembly could save the country about N219.4 billion if members observed strict vigilance and exercised proper legislative oversight in the discharge of their functions in approving the budget. President Muhammadu Buhari had on November 7, 2017 presented a budget of about N8.612 trillion to a joint session of the National Assembly for consideration and approval. But, CENSOJ said in its report that some of the expenditures ignore the pressing problems and challenges Nigerian. It said rather, it (budget) provided for the fancy, whims and caprices of the budget crafters. Lead Director, CENSOJ, Eze Onyekpere, said some of the expenditures described as inappropriate were not only unsuitable or improper to meet the peoples needs, but also could not meet policy goals declared by the government. Mr. Onyekpere, who is also the Convener of Citizens Wealth Platform, CWP said the unclear expenditures included those deliberately crafted by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs to deceive Nigerians. He said those expenditures were often made, to confuse, either by not having any fixed meaning, or without clear activities, services, goods, construction and deliverables that could easily be understood. The frivolous expenditures have no serious purpose or value supported by any national plan or policy, while the wasteful expenditures, rather than contribute to the general welfare of the people incurs loss to the treasury, Mr. Onyekpere said. The report titled: Recommendations on the Line Items of frivolous, inappropriate, unclear & wasteful estimates in the 20l8 Federal Appropriation Bill, was compiled for CWP. Some of the controversial expenditures, it identified include, cleaning & fumigation services, purchase of security equipment, social media manning suite, wolverme next generation SDRIMSI by the Department of State Security, DSS, and annual routine maintenance of mechanical/electrical installations of the Villa. Others include maintenance of office building and residential rent, computer software acquisition, entitlements of former Presidents/Heads of State/Vice-Presidents/Chiefs of General Staff, as well as planning and development of nuclear power plant infrastructure. The report also frowned at billions provided for monitoring and evaluation, audit verification of power sector performance, internal audit nationwide project verification, monitoring and evaluation of capital projects, physical inspection and verification of projects to ascertain level of completion. Despite the campaign by government to Buy Made in Nigeria goods and services, the report said most MDAs still insist on foreign products and brands with viable local alternatives. Apart from the State House, and the Presidential Villa, the report said some MDAs have also been making large requests for annual maintenance, repairs and rehabilitation far in excess of the reasonable needs. This raises the posers; should the government be buying computers and software every year? What happened to previously acquired computers and software? the report asked. On the part of the National Assembly, Mr. Onyekpere noted the provision of N51.75 billion for Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, saying this called for vigilance and proper oversight by the legislature. He said in the last 13 years, Nigerians have not been getting full value, in terms of improvement in their lives for billions approved for SDGs. ADVERTISEMENT Some MDAs simply played on words like empowerment, capacity building and human capital development to request for large sums of money. But the word empowerment is devoid of specificity. It is hanging and must be contextualised, Mr. Onyekpere said. Besides, he said the budget was replete with many requests for research and development, which are hanging and not tied to any specific deliverables. He cited the example of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development whose budget included several requests for monies without specific details about what they were voted for. On the issue of promotion and development of rice value chain, the report said the provisions had nothing about the activities, goods and services to be delivered, making it possible for citizens to monitor projects This is not a good way to craft a budget. Transparency which leads to accountability is imperative to make these proposals reasonable, the report noted. Despite not having the capacity to manage a nuclear power plant, particularly at a time major world powers are decommissioning theirs, the report said provisions were still being made by the government on plans to build a nuclear power plant. The committee posited that AMCON, which has taken over Arik and Aero contractors, should be held responsible for the outstanding debt. The committee made its position known when authorities the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, appeared before it to defend the 2018 budget appropriation. AMCON took over Arik on February 9, 2017 over a N135 billion debt. AMCON during the take-over said Nigerian authorities called upon the corporation to intervene before Arik Air went under like many other carriers before it. About a year after the take-over, the airline is still in debt. The chairman of the committee, Adamu Aliero, Kebbi-APC, said the panel will invite AMCON to explain why it has not paid the debts. We would equally have a meeting with AMCON because they have taken over Aero and Arik and I dont see why they should not pay these debts. They have trillions of naira. We would compel them to pay because there is no reason why they should not pay. They have taken over the assets and they should also take over the liabilities. The panel urged FAAN to immediately submit a debt profile in order to strategise and create a recovery plan. When you submit the detail of debt profile, we intend to sit with you and call all the stakeholders in a meeting like this and discuss how the money can be recovered, Mr. Aliero added. The Managing Director of FAAN, Sale Dunoma, explained that the agency has taken measures to reduce the debt incurred from airlines through review of its credit policy. Normally from our credit policy, we allow the airline to operate with certain credit limit. Unfortunately, these credit limits were abused especially by Arik they are supposed to pay after 2 weeks. Thats the credit limit allowed. But we had to review our policy; we started the review of our policy with Arik. A year ago, we stopped Arik from any credit policy. Everything they do is cash and carry since then Arik has not accumulated any debt. Any other airline that is not complying with credit limit, we remove the credit totally and make it cash and carry. Arik for now are on cash and carry. In respect of outstanding debts, the Managing Director informed the lawmakers that FAAN has commenced a reconciliation plan with AMCON. We are saying that AMCON can pay off the debts of Arik. If they can have the assets, why not the debts of government. We are reconciling. We have insisted that after the reconciliation, they pay us at least N10 billion out of N13 billion. We would not accept anything less than N10 billion. This applies to any to other airline. If they dont comply, we reconcile and then come up with payment schedule. To cover this debt, we would bring the detailed debt profile so you can assist us in coming up with a strategy. This is very important because we are not collecting any money from the government. Any airline that defaults, in terms of following our credit policy, we sit with them and give them time in which they would pay. ADVERTISEMENT Failure to do that, we would withdraw our services and stop them from operating. These are some of the things we do to keep the strategy in place. The committee also queried FAAN for its low remittances via Internally Generated Revenue, IGR. Mr. Dunomu assured the lawmakers that the agency would remit, the outstanding 25 per cent revenue before the end of the year, adding that lack of operational resources was the reason for the low remittance cited by lawmakers. ADVERTISEMENT Police in Taraba State on Monday confirmed the death of an abducted state lawmaker, Hosea Ibi. The police spokesman in the state, David Misal, said Mr. Ibi, who represents Takum 1, at the assembly was found dead early Monday. Its very unfortunate while we were working assiduously to track down the kidnappers, we found the dead body along Kashinbila road. Despite this unfortunate development, we will not relent until we fish out the assailants. So, we are calling on the general public to please assist with useful information that could assist in tracking them (killers) down, the police spokesman said. Also confirming, a political ally of the deceased lawmaker and former commissioner of information, Emmanuel Bello, said it was a shocking news. Its with great shock and despair that I am talking to you now, because of this loss. Its a great loss not only to people of Takum, but to all Tarabans. Those who found the body of Hosea said he might have been killed two days ago. Body going to Yoka now. Our heart is broken tonight and we condole with the family and Tarabans over late Hosea Ibi, he said. Family sources said that the kidnappers had earlier opened up negotiations with the late lawmakers family members and had asked for a ransom of N100 million. A family member, who pleaded anonymity, revealed that the abductors warned the family members not to involve the police. The source also said one of the family members was allowed to speak with late Mr. Ibi to confirm that he was safe. He said that talks were ongoing between the family members and the kidnapers before he was killed. Yes, we were talking with them through telephone. They demanded we should pay a sum of N100 million. They assured us that our brother is healthy and we were allowed to speak with him to confirm that he is the one talking, only to hear now that he was killed, the source said. Posted Monday, January 15, 2018 9:00 am Do you have a proverbial green thumb? Do you have any existing knowledge or interest in native Missouri plants? Then this might be an opportunity for you, as an interested citizen of Webster County, to become involved in a new project being partially funded by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Just behind the Marshfield Senior Center is a vacant portion of land designated to become a walking trail. It surrounds an area that will be naturalized with diverse plantings of Missouri native grasses and wildflowers. For anyone willing to volunteer their time and efforts to this project, a committee is currently being formed to facilitate the plantings and provide oversight for ongoing maintenance. This will be necessary until the plantings are fully established, and that could take two to five years. Members of the community wishing to participate in this committee will need to commit to a minimum of two years of involvement, regular attendance at the monthly planning and oversight meetings (to be held during the day), and preferably be willing and able to venture into the field on an as-needed basis. If this sounds like something that would be of interest to you (or perfect for someone else you know), and you have a desire to be involved in this community project, call Chris Parker at the Marshfield Senior Center (859-3555) to express your interest or ask for more information. The committee is forming now. ADVERTISEMENT The Benue Police command said it arrested 59 persons in connection with the recent cult-related crises in some parts of Makurdi, the state capital. Several people were injured and property worth millions of Naira destroyed during the crisis. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Moses Yamu, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Makurdi. He said the command had already deployed additional personnel to the affected parts of the town to restore peace and and order as well as to check the spread of the crisis. The PPRO said the arrested suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded. He advised Makurdi residents not to panic as security operatives were in control of the situation. NAN reports that Gov. Samuel Ortom, had on Sunday during an emergency meeting in Makurdi, appealed to parents and guardians, to advise their children and wards against involvement in cult activities. He warned that his administration would neither condone cult activities nor spare anyone culpable of the act. NAN reports that security operatives are now patrolling the streets to prevent further break down of law and order. NAN also reports that shops and other business places howwever, remained closed in the affected area.(NAN) ADVERTISEMENT President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja called on the government and people of Benue State to exercise restraint following the recent attacks on some communities, assuring that all the perpetrators of violence in the state will be made to face the wrath of the law. Receiving a delegation of political leaders, traditional rulers and elders of the state led by Governor Samuel Ortom at the Presidential Villa, President Buhari said all those involved in the conflict that culminated in loss of lives would not escape justice, including any illegally armed militia in the state. The president commiserated with all the victims of the attacks, and the families who lost loved ones and properties, noting that the government would make efforts to ameliorate the situation of all the victims. Mr. Buhari said relevant agencies had been directed to start catering for the humanitarian needs. Your Excellency, the governor, and all the leaders here, I am appealing to you to try to restrain your people. I assure you that the police, the Department of State Security and other security agencies had been directed to ensure that all those behind the mayhem get punished. I ask you in the name of God to accommodate your country men. You can also be assured that I am just as worried, and concerned with the situation, he said. The president told the delegation that his administration had already begun a process of finding lasting solution to the perennial challenge of herdsmen conflict with farmers and communities around the country. President Buhari said the Inspector General of Police had been directed to relocate to the state to provide security for lives and properties, urging all Benue indigenes to trust the security agencies and report all suspicious cases of movements in the state. In his remarks, the Benue State Governor said the tension would be reduced with the federal governments intervention to find a lasting solution to the herdsmen attacks. We will leave here to rebuild confidence in our people, he said. The Tor-Tiv, James Ayatse, said his entire domain had been thrown into mourning due to the incessant attacks. We want you to put an end to the gruesome situation, he added. Present at the meeting were Benue State Deputy Governor, Benson Abounu, former Senate President, David Mark, former Benue State Governor, George Akume and a senator, Barnabas Gemade. Others include J.K. Waku, Lawrence Onoja, John Atom Kpera, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoakaa, Speaker of the Benue State House of Assembly, Terkimbir Kyambe, and other members of the National and State Assembly from the state. ADVERTISEMENT About 66 shop owners at the Karu Lorry Park, Abuja, are demanding N227. 2 million compensation for the demolition of their shops by the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC). John Olateru, one of the shop owners located at No. 16 F, who was led in evidence by Ofudili Uche, the Counsel to the FCDA, told the court that the amount was for goods and property destroyed by AMAC during the demolition exercise. The 66 plaintiff had joined the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello, the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) and AMAC as co-defendants in the suit. He said each of the shop owners was demanding N4. 2 million compensation because of the huge damage they incurred, stressing that the demolished shops were built according to the approval given by AMAC. The allocation was given to us empty with drawing of building plans and we built the shop from the scratch based on specification, he said. He said that as at the time the allocation was given to them in 1994, AMAC had the right to allocate land contrary to what was obtainable at that time when the minister of FCT was the only one saddled with the responsibility. He told the court that AMAC had initially tried to negotiate with the shop owners about payment because they knew they were to compensate them but failed in the middle of the negotiation. AMAC negotiated payment with us, I submitted myself for verification with the intention to settle us and when it failed, they tried to use brute force against us, he said. Olateru told the court that the reason for the demolition was best known to AMAC, adding that the shop owners however felt AMAC was only out to cheat them. According to him, when AMAC demolished the shops, it later allocated them to a company by name PEDEGAS Nigeria Ltd. and the owner of the company is a federal legislator. He told the court that the legislator was building the shop at the moment and selling form for N50, 000 to intending buyers and the least of the shop was sold for N2. 5 million, while the highest was sold for N22 million. He said that the selling of the land to an individual was contrary to AMAC claim that the demolition was based on public interest and would be used for such purpose. AMAC had on June 24, 2013 served the shop owners quit notice and on October 1, 2013, led the development control to demolish the Karu market structure with the intention that the revocation was in the public interest. Justice Sunday Aladetoyinbo of the FCT High Court called on the counsel to AMAC to write the council to appear in court, adding that it was compulsory that AMAC appeared in this case. He however adjourned the case till March 1 for further hearing. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT One man was killed while another was injured on Sunday when armed men attacked Dundi-Maiyanga village in Kwall, Bassa Local Government, Plateau State. A source from the village told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday that three men were attacked by the armed men that used machetes and cutlasses. The three men are brothers; they were in the house when the attackers descended on them, killing one and injuring another, while the other one escaped unhurt, the source told NAN. Confirming the incident, Terna Tyopev, spokesman of the Plateau Police Command, told NAN that the incident took place Sunday night. From the report sent to us, unknown armed men attacked three people at Dundi-Maiyanga village in Kwall District and killed one Sunday Lale, using machetes. Lales brother, Ayuba, also suffered massive cuts on his body and is currently at the Catholic Hospital, Kwall, he said. Mr. Tyopev said that Sundays corpse had been evacuated by personnel of the Special Task Force on security in Plateau. He said that investigation was in progress and urged the affected community to be calm and avoid the temptation to attack people they suspected might be responsible for the incident. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kebbi State Command, said it had arrested 211 suspects and seized 3,717.6 kg of hard drugs from January to December 2017. The state Commandant, Suleiman Jadi, made the disclosure on Monday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi. Mr. Jadi said that the command had, during the period under, secured 20 convictions of offenders, with various jail terms while other cases were still pending at the Federal High Court in Birnin Kebbi. Within this period, 363.630 kg of cannabis sativa, 3354.009 kg of psychotropic substances;Tramadol 2387.039 kg and Cough syrup with Codeine 864.144 kg , were all removed from circulation. The command noticed that Tramadol was the highest drug seized during the period under review, he said. He said the command carried out sensitisation and general awareness campaigns to various target groups, including students, Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers, Artisans, medical and health workers, among others. The command also engaged in drug demand reduction activities, where counselling was given to 55 persons while 16 others went through rehabilitation process and were reintegrated into the society. The commandant commended the state government for its continuous support and assistance to the command. Also, we want to thank our sister agencies for their cooperation in terms of intelligence sharing and support in our operations. Our traditional and community leaders have been doing wonderful jobs in enlightening the general public on the dangers of drug abuse and addiction, he said. (NAN) ADVERTISEMENT Operatives of the Kano Police Command have interrogated the Kano State Commissioner for Special Duties and a former State All Progressive Congress, APC Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas over his alleged inciting remarks against former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso. Mr. Abbas was quoted last week to have directed supporters to stone, Satan Kwankwaso whenever he entered Kano. Mr. Kwankwaso is reportedly planning to visit the city in company of a large number of his followers, a move that has generated controversy. However the State Police Spokesman, Musa Majiya told journalists, Monday that Mr. Abbas and a complainant, MK Umar were invited and have been interrogated over their reported comments on the senator. Mr. Majiya said Mr. Abbas was released on bail after being interrogated but that, the seriousness of his remarks in still under investigation by the State CID department. The spokesperson also said the police have arrested some persons in connection with a clash between Gandujiya and Kwankwassiyya followers, Sunday. These include, Sani Abdullahi Abbas, Abbas Abdullahi Abbas and Nazify Shawiya. He said they will be sent to court as soon as investigations are concluded. ADVERTISEMENT All teachers being recruited in Kaduna State will get permanent and pensionable appointments, the state governor has said. Governor Nasir El-Rufai said this on Monday during a meeting with the chairmen of the 23 local government councils and their Education Secretaries. The meeting received reports from all the 23 councils on the conditions in the schools in their areas. The State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) also gave an update on the recruitment process for new teachers. SUBEB officials confirmed that the marking of scripts for new recruits has been concluded, and they assured the governor that the first batch of newly recruited teachers should be ready for deployment by the middle of February 2018. The council officials reported that most teachers in Kaduna State are reporting to work, and ignoring the NUT strike. The field reports indicated that NUT officials are persisting in their harassment of teachers that are reporting for duty. This illegal action is being aggravated by the seizure of school attendance registers by some of the union officials. The meeting also heard that many teachers who did not apply anew, or were dissuaded by their union from taking the recruitment test are requesting a second chance. Responding to this plea from the Education Secretaries, Mr. El-Rufai said that SUBEB has a programme of continuous recruitment, and as such will give every teacher that is willing a chance to apply and be considered for recruitment. We are not interested in pushing any one away, the governor said. We are pushing bad people away so that good ones can come in. That is why we are recruiting 25,000 to take the place of 21,780. The governor said that the police and civil defence forces will provide protection for schools. He warned union officials to desist from impeding teachers that are reporting for work, or from seizing attendance registers. The right to strike does not include the right to prevent others from working. Union officials are reminded that school registers are public property, and seizing them amounts to an illegal act. The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in Enugu State on Monday inaugurated a 22-member committee on Lassa fever following reported re-emergence of the disease in Ebonyi State. Inaugurating the committee, the state Chairman of the association, Cajetan Onyedum, said the move was necessary to sensitise residents of the state as well as health workers on the need to be vigilant and take necessary action. He expressed the concern of the members of the association over the resurgence of the disease, which according to him, has already recorded casualties. We got official information yesterday on the death of two of our colleagues following confirmed outbreak of Lassa fever in Ebonyi. This morning a nurse also died as a result of the same disease while another colleague is in a critical condition. We thought it would be wise to set up this committee due to the proximity between Enugu and Ebonyi in order to check the incidences here, he said. Mr. Onyedum said members of the committee were selected from key institutions in the state, adding that the committee would soon embark on public enlightenment throughout the state. The reason for this is because when the disease strikes it does not choose destination or whom to attack, he said. Responding, the Chairman of the committee, Uche Unigwe, said that Nigerians could no longer deny the outbreak of Lassa fever. Mr. Unigwe, an expert on infectious diseases, said it was unfortunate that the disease had spread from the initial six states to more than 20 in the country, adding that medical workers needed to be alive to their responsibilities. This is an indigenous disease named after a community in the country and we should do everything possible to contain it. The most important thing is to develop a high index of suspicion so that medical workers can easily identify Lassa fever when they look at patients and protect themselves, he said. He assured that the committee would embark on aggressive sensitisation of residents, saying everything needed to be done to reduce incidents of death as a result of the disease. He said that medical doctors in the state had the capacity to handle the disease if reported on time, cautioning the public to be more careful in handling food items in their households. Mr. Unigwe advised Nigerians to keep their surroundings clean besides ensuring that rodents which are the primary carriers of the disease do not get in contact with their food stuff. On his part, the Chairman, Infection and Disease Control Committee, Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Miriam Chidobem-Ajuba, said that availability of funds was necessary to contain the disease. Mrs. Chidobem-Ajuba said that the cheering news was that the state government had upgraded facilities at its health institutions. She said that the Emergency Response Team of the state Ministry of Health had also been strengthened in case of unforeseen circumstances. ADVERTISEMENT The state government has upgraded the Isolation Ward at the Colliarey Hospital, Chidobem-Ajuba said. (NAN) Turkey has expressed concern at the creation of an US-backed Kurdish border force in the area east of the Euphrates river controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a majority Kurdish area . The 30,000 men-strong force will be deployed at the borders of the area controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), made mostly of the Kurdish YPG Peoples Protection Units and their Arab allies. The force will deploy along the border with Turkey to the north, the Iraqi border to the southeast, and along the Euphrates River Valley, which broadly acts as the dividing line separating the US-backed SDF and Syrian government forces backed by Iran and Russia. Ibrahim Kalinn the Spokesperson for the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the plans urging the US to end support for the YPG. The USA is taking worrying steps to legitimize this organization and make it lasting in the region. It is absolutely not possible for this to be accepted, he said. Last week, media reports said that the US is planning concrete steps to diplomatically recognize the independence of the areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, which emerged as a winner in the war against IS and Syrian regime forces. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis promised to send US diplomats to SDF-controlled areas to work alongside US troops operating in the region, a move that further angered Ankara. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organization on an equal footing to the Kurdish PKK rebels in eastern Turkey. In the face of the rise of the Kurdish forces in Syria, Turkey threatened to unleash an offensive against the Kurdish-controlled Afreen region in northern Syria. Afreen is a strategic Kurdish-controlled area, whose capture will deal a strong blow to the Kurdish Syrians and their plan to have an autonomy stretching along the Syrian-Turkish border. BEIJING and TEL AVIV, Israel, January 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global crop protection group ADAMA, the combination of Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. and Hubei Sanonda Co., Ltd. (together, "ADAMA" or "the Combined Company"), today announced that it has successfully completed a private placement of new equity capital on the Shenzhen A-share market, raising gross proceeds of RMB 1.56 billion / USD 240 million. The funds, which were raised from six of China's leading institutional investors, are intended to be used for the financing of designated investments as part of ADAMA's growth and development plans. (Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/610129/ADAMA_Agricultural_Solutions_Logo.jpg ) The investors who participated in the equity offering were Cinda Asset Management Co. Ltd., China Huarong Assets Management Co. Ltd. through CCB Principal Asset Management Co. Ltd., Penghua Fund Management Co. Ltd., Caitong Fund Management Co. Ltd., China Chengtong Holding Group's China Structural Reform Fund Co. Ltd. and Aegon Industrial Fund Management Co. Ltd. The new investors are subject to a one-year lock up period. ADAMA intends to use the proceeds of the equity offering to finance designated investments, including the build-up of the recently commissioned state-of-the-art formulation plant in Huai'An, the installation and expansion of manufacturing facilities in Israel, Brazil and the US, as well as in the further development of its global product portfolio. The offering was effected through the issuance of 104,697,982 new A-shares at a price of RMB 14.90 per share. Upon completion of the offering, the total registered capital increased to RMB 2,446,553,582, divided into 2,279,504,241 A-shares, and 167,049,341 B-shares, issued and outstanding, bringing the company's aggregate market capitalization to RMB 39.7 billion / USD 6.14 billion as at the close of trading on 12 January 2018. The new shares will be listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange as of 17 January 2018. Aviram Lahav, ADAMA's Chief Financial Officer commented: "We are pleased to welcome such well-regarded institutional investors as partners and stakeholders. This capital raise demonstrates our ability to benefit from the significant equity capital market in China, one of the key aims of our combination and flotation. Following our recent inclusion in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, ADAMA now represents a unique opportunity for both Chinese and global investors. The proceeds we raised will be put to good use in supporting our key global growth initiatives in the coming years." Goldman Sachs Gao Hua Securities and Guotai Junan Securities served as joint underwriters for the offering. About the Combined Company: The Combined Company, which will be named ADAMA, is comprised of Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. and Hubei Sanonda Ltd., and is one of the world's leading crop protection companies. We strive to Create Simplicity in Agriculture - offering farmers effective products and services that simplify their lives and help them grow. With one of the most comprehensive and diversified portfolios of differentiated, quality products, our 6,600-strong team reaches farmers in over 100 countries, providing them with solutions to control weeds, insects and disease, and improve their yields. For more information, visit us at http://www.adama.com and follow us on Twitter at @AdamaAgri. Contact Wayne Rudolph Head of Investor Relations Email: [email protected] Yanlai Xu China Investor Relations Email: [email protected] SOURCE ADAMA Agricultural Solutions Ltd. SAN FRANCISCO, January 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The global aerosol refrigerants market size is expected to reach USD 1.57 billion by 2025, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. The rising demand for large-scale refrigerators, chillers, and air conditioner systems across the globe is expected to propel demand for the product. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160524/371361LOGO ) The plant setup for manufacturing the product requires a significant amount of investment during the start-up phase of equipment installation and storage. The presence of stringent government regulations regarding the testing and labeling of such products before and after placing them on the shelves adds to the final cost of the product. As a result, the industry exhibits a notable entry barrier. The rise of e-commerce portals results in an ease in the product purchase with such companies offering price discounts. In addition, the product has registered an increase in demand from the aftermarket industry as low volumes can be packaged in such containers. The rise in cost of raw materials such as cans, propellants, and actuators is anticipated to affect the industry. The industry is characterized by the presence of a stringent regulatory framework pertaining to the use of type of refrigerants. In addition, the development of advanced technology products that cause no environmental damage is one of the major emerging trends of the industry. However, the increase in the product adoption is expected to elevate the manufacturer profit margins leading to industry growth. Browse full research report with TOC on "Aerosol Refrigerants Market Analysis By Product (Steel, Aluminum), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, CSA, MEA), Competitive Landscape, And Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/aerosol-refrigerants-market Further Key Findings From the Report Suggest: Aluminum based aerosol refrigerants are expected to register high growth at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2017 to 2025, on account of low can weight coupled with the growth of metal recycling activities across North America and Europe and The demand for the product in Asia Pacific is expected to reach a value of USD 319.7 million by 2025 on account of growing industrialization leading to a high demand for refrigeration products is expected to reach a value of by 2025 on account of growing industrialization leading to a high demand for refrigeration products The industry in the U.S. is anticipated to register a CAGR growth of 6.5% by revenue from 2017 to 2025 due to increasing product adoption by the consumers in the industrial and residential applications Key players are involved in the production of advanced formulations in a bid to drive the industry growth. In addition, the presence of major manufacturers is expected to limit the growth opportunities for the emerging players. Browse related reports by Grand View Research: Metal Packaging Market - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/metal-packaging-market Magnetic Materials Market - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/magnetic-materials-market-analysis-market Metal Magnesium Market - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/metal-magnesium-market Ferro manganese Market - https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/ferro-manganese-market Grand View Research has segmented the aerosol refrigerants market on the basis of product, and region: Product Outlook (Volume, ' 000 Units; Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2025) Steel Aluminum Regional Outlook (Volume, ' 000 Units; Revenue; USD Million, 2014 - 2025) North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany The UK France Asia Pacific China India Japan Central & South America Brazil Middle East & Africa Read Our Blog By Grand View Research: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/blogs/advanced-materials About Grand View Research Grand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare. Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc Phone: +1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.grandviewresearch.com SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. Some 1,000 villages in Morocco were supplied with green energy at the completion of a project jointly carried out by the Abu Dhabi-headquartered Masdar and the Moroccan Office National de lElectricite et de lEau Potable (ONEE). The initiative, named Morocco Solar Home System (SHS), has provided off-grid solar power to 19,438 households in the North African kingdom. Each home has been fitted with 290-watt solar panels as well as batteries with a three-year life span. The installed systems also include LED lamps as well as a 165-litre refrigerator. Each homeowner will contribute a small monthly fee for the technologys upkeep. Through the project, the North African country, which has stood out as a leading renewable energy advocate on the African continent and around the world, will be able to provide energy to 99 per cent of its rural communities, acting director-general of ONEE Abderrahim El Hafidi noted. These remote, off-grid communities are often faced with challenging conditions in energy access, but this initiative is providing over 95,000 people with electricity through customized renewable energy solutions, Hafidi said. The completion of the SHS project was announced Sunday on the sidelines of the 8th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) held in Abu Dhabi Jan.12-14. The session, attended by over 1,000 government and corporate officials from 150 countries, discussed opportunities and challenges in the renewable energy sector. Morocco plans to bring the share of renewable energy in overall electricity production to 42% by 2020 and 52% by 2030. It has earmarked a global $30 billion budget to that effect. The UAE on its part decided to increase its target for the contribution of renewable energy to the national energy mix from 24 per cent to 27 per cent by 2021. The UAE Energy Plan 2050 aims to bring up the proportion of clean energy to 50 per cent. NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC, which has long advocated for the search for a two-state solution, denounced the incendiary speech by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the Palestinian Central Council. "Mahmoud Abbas has presented, not for the first time, a totally warped history of Israel, of the Zionist movement," said AJC CEO David Harris. "Is this even remotely a foundation for building peace and coexistence?" Abbas called Israel a "colonial enterprise that has nothing to do with Jewishness" and declared that "the Jews were used as a tool under the concept of the Promised Land call it whatever you want. Everything has been made up." Ignoring the historical fact that Britain prevented most Jews from entering Mandatory Palestine, Abbas also stunningly asserted that "The Jews did not want to emigrate even with murder and slaughter. Even during the Holocaust, they did not emigrate." And, he lied in saying that Israel "gathered all the Jews in Arab countries, from Morocco to Algeria and Tunis, Libya, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon," in addition to Iraq and Yemen, without mentioning the incontrovertible fact that Arab governments' violence and intolerance led more than 800,000 Jews in those countries to flee for their lives. Harris called "Abbas's latest invectives against Israel and the Jewish people an outrageous assault on the truth. His consistent twisting of historical facts is a surefire recipe for continued conflict, not permanent peace." "Let the international community weigh Abbas's words and decide for itself if these are the sentiments of a peacemaker or not. The answer, tragically, should be painfully clear to all but the willfully blind," Harris concluded. SOURCE American Jewish Committee Related Links http://www.ajc.org ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) today announced the acquisition of New Providence, New Jersey-based The Daniels Group, Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1991, The Daniels Group is a full-service employee benefits consultant and broker serving corporations, schools, hospitals, municipalities, religious and nonprofit organizations from plan design and implementation to ongoing plan administration. Kathleen Passantino and her associates will be relocating to Gallagher's Whippany, New Jersey office under the direction of Kent Lonsdale, head of Gallagher's Northeast employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations. "The Daniels Group brings us complementary strengths in several practice areas and a similar company culture," said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO. "I am very excited to welcome Kathy and her team to our growing Gallagher family of professionals." Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, has operations in 34 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants. Investors: Ray Iardella Media: Linda J. Collins VP Investor Relations VP Corporate Communications 630-285-3661/ [email protected] 630-285-4009/ [email protected] SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, a federal court judge in San Antonio will hold a telephonic hearing regarding whether Air Force personnel should be deposed sooner rather than later as to their knowledge of Sutherland Spring's shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley and the role of the Air Force in failing to report his military convictionwhich would have prevented his purchasing firearms. Under 28 U.S.C. 2401, which is part of the Federal Tort Claims Act, anyone who wishes to sue the United States Air Force, must serve the Air Force with a notice of a claim 6 months before filing the lawsuit and before discovery, including depositions can begin. Bob Hilliard, one of the attorneys representing the victims requesting the depositions, stated: "It is remarkable to me that the Air Force will not agree to our request and is going to court to attempt and block the victims' access to vital information. "The Air Force has conceded it played a role in failing to report Kelley's military convictionwhich would have prevented his purchasing firearms, as he would not have passed the federally mandated background check. "I want to take the sworn depositions of those inside the Air Force who failed to follow the law and who knew Mr. Kelley and how dangerous he was. "Memories fade. If we are required to wait 6 months or more, vital and specific facts important to this case may be lost. We should be allowed to obtain the sworn depositions now of the individuals who interacted with Mr. Kelley and who have personal knowledge of Mr. Kelley during his time in the military. "There is no prejudice to the Air Force if it is required to produce these individuals now instead of 6 months from now. This will assure that all victims and their families will have the benefit and the use of this testimony. "There is no 'if', there is only 'when' regarding taking the sworn depositions of Air Force personnel. We are simply asking the Court to allow us to begin taking a very limited number of depositions now to help preserve the accuracy of the facts and ensure the information is preserved." On November 7, 2012, while serving in the United States Air Force, Kelley plead guilty in a court-martial proceeding to domestic violence assault charges, for violent acts committed against his wife and stepson. The allegations supporting this sentence included unlawfully striking, choking, kicking, and threatening his wife with a loaded firearm, and striking a child in the head and body with force likely to produce death or serious bodily harm. Pursuant to the plea, numerous other charges were dismissed, including charges that Kelley pointed firearms at his wife on more than one occasion. Kelley was demoted, was issued a bad conduct discharge and sentenced to twelve months of confinement in a military prison. Federal law requires that the United States Air Force (USAF) report military convictions for assault under Article 128 (domestic violence) to the federal data base system for conducting background checks for firearms purchases. The purpose of this legal obligation is to prevent individuals convicted of domestic violence from purchasing firearms. "Kelley was prohibited by law from purchasing or possessing firearms and ammunition due to the military conviction for domestic violence," Hilliard said. "The Air Force failed the victims and their families and American people This horrific tragedy could have been prevented." Case No. SA-17-MC-1210-XR ABOUT HMG http://www.hmglawfirm.com/ Hilliard Martinez Gonzales LLP (HMG) specializes in mass torts, personal injury, product liability, commercial and business litigation, and wrongful death. Hilliard Martinez Gonzales LLP has been successfully representing clients in the United States and Mexico since 1986. Bob Hilliard obtained the Largest Verdict in the country in 2012 and the #1 verdict in Texas in 2013. SCHEDULE AN INTERVIEW WITH BOB HILLIARD Contact Lauren Gomez at 361-960-3146 SOURCE Hilliard Munoz Gonzales LLP Related Links http://www.hmglawfirm.com "We're thrilled to once again be named a top franchise by Entrepreneur and by Franchise Business Review. What a great way to start the new year after being recognized 11 times in 2017 as a best-in-class franchise," said Brightway Chairman Michael Miller, who co-founded Brightway with his brother, David, in 2008. "We measure our success by our franchisees' success and have built a business model focused on supporting them and helping them grow their businesses as fast as possible." "We handle everything needed to run a business accounting, data analytics, customer service, marketing and more so franchisees can focus on building their sales teams," Miller added. Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 Placement in Entrepreneur's 2018 Franchise 500 is a highly sought-after honor in the franchise industry, as evidenced by the fact that Entrepreneur received more than 1,000 applications this year, making it one of the company's most competitive rankings ever. Recognized as an invaluable resource for potential franchisees, the Franchise 500 ranks Brightway as 199 for its outstanding performance in areas including unit growth, financial strength and stability and brand power. This is the fifth time Brightway has made the list since 2013. See Brightway's profile on Entrepreneur.com. Results also can be seen in the January/February issue of Entrepreneur, available on newsstands Jan. 16. "The Franchise 500 is always evolving, as we continually seek to best understand and evaluate the franchise marketplace," says Jason Feifer, editor in chief of Entrepreneur. "We spent months gathering and analyzing data in order to produce this year's list, and with over 1,000 franchises applying for the first time in 25 years, this may have been our most competitive ranking ever." Franchise Business Review's Top Franchises For the fourth time since 2012, Franchise Business Review designated Brightway as one of its Top Franchises of 2018 based on its own independent survey of franchisee satisfaction and performance. Brightway is among the 200 franchise brands recognized. For this year's top franchise list, Franchise Business Review surveyed approximately 30,000 franchise owners, representing hundreds of franchise brands. View Brightway's profile on FranchiseBusinessReview.com. "There are thousands of successful franchise companies operating in North America, but many of those companies do not offer a solid investment opportunity for the actual franchise owners," says Eric Stites, CEO of Franchise Business Review. "As an independent research firm, we rate the franchise companies in the marketplace today and identify those that have the highest levels of satisfaction and performance among their franchisees in order to help entrepreneurs when choosing which franchise to invest in. The companies on this year's list are the top performing brands in the areas critical to their franchisees' success." Brightway provides Franchise Owners with a comprehensive system of support so they can focus on providing expert counsel and more choice in insurance brands than any other agency. Brightway's Win3 mandate, meaning everything must be a win for Franchise Owners, a win for customers and a win for the company, has proven to be a recipe for success. Those interested in learning more about Brightway as a business opportunity should visit BrightwayDifference.com to learn more. About Brightway Insurance Brightway Insurance is a national property/casualty insurance retailer selling through a network of franchised independent stores throughout the country. With more than $498 million in annualized written premium, the company is one of the largest property and casualty agencies in the United States. Brightway began franchising operations in 2008 and has since grown to more than 700 people in 19 states serving customers in all 50 states. Forbes has recognized the company as America's No. 1 Franchise to Buy. Additionally, the company was named a top franchise three years in a row by Entrepreneur magazine and one of the fastest-growing private companies in America nine consecutive years by Inc. 5000. People wishing to learn more about franchise ownership with Brightway may visit BrightwayDifference.com and find us on LinkedIn. Consumers seeking a better insurance buying experience may visit Brightway.com and find us on Facebook. About Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 During its 39 years in existence, the Franchise 500 has become both a dominant competitive measure for franchisors and a primary research tool for potential franchisees. The key factors that go into Entrepreneur's evaluation include costs and fees, size and growth, support, brand strength and financial strength and stability. Learn more at Entrepreneur.com/Franchise500. About Franchise Business Review Franchise Business Review is the only independent market research firm that specializes in benchmarking franchisee satisfaction based exclusively on ratings and reviews from franchise owners. FBR publishes free and unbiased franchisee satisfaction research reports throughout the year online at FranchiseBusinessReview.com. SOURCE Brightway Insurance Related Links http://brightway.com The Humanitarian Awards Program launched in 1979 to commemorate the life and legacy of the late Dr. King and to celebrate his virtues and ideals of community giving, equality, unity and excellence. The award honors individuals, both employees and physicians from across the Northwestern Medicine health system, who best exemplify the ideals of Dr. King, as demonstrated by a positive impact in the community. Since its creation, the Humanitarian Award has been awarded to 74 employees and 27 physicians. Northwestern Medicine's 2018 Humanitarian Award recipients are: Beth Froese, MD, physical medicine and rehabilitation medicine at Northwestern Medicine Regional Medical Group, was recognized for her medical mission work, which has included trips around the globe to locations including Nepal and El Salvador. Dr. Froese has also traveled to a remote village in Kenya to provide volunteer medical care and train local residents as community health officers empowering them to better the health of their family, friends and neighbors. Her work is through World Relief, an organization that partners with local churches in the U.S. and abroad to transform communities economically, socially and spiritually, so that the lives of the vulnerable can thrive and grow. Dr. Froese resides in Carol Stream, Ill. VIEW VIDEO Kristina Ongkiko, RN, clinical documentation programs at Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, was recognized for her decades of volunteerism and philanthropic efforts. She is an active member and volunteer with the Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Lake Villa, Ill. Her most passionate work is as an adult chaperone for Teens of Unity, through which she leads young people in community service. In addition to her volunteer work, Ongkiko has fundraised for many non-profits and inspired her loved ones to give back through various means including 5k runs, climbing the Willis Tower and celebrating her 40th birthday by bringing 45 family members and friends to volunteer at Feed My Starving Children to pack meals for hungry children around the world. Ongkiko resides in Lindenhurst, Ill. VIEW VIDEO Mamta Swaroop, MD, trauma and critical care surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, was recognized for her efforts to build sustainable healthcare and education in low resource settings both in Chicago and across the globe. Internationally, Dr. Swaroop's research and work in India has contributed to law changes requiring helmets for individuals driving or riding as a passenger on motorcycles and her Bolivian Trauma Initiative is working to improve pre-hospital care and develop a trauma system in areas of Bolivia. In Chicago, Dr. Swaroop developed the Chicago Trauma First Responder Course that teaches basic first aid and scene management for bystanders who may encounter someone with a traumatic injury. The goal of the course is to give participants the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to provide rapid and effective care to trauma victims and empower them to take an active role in caring for those affected by violence and other traumatic injuries. She recently established the Sadanah Foundation to further her efforts to create change in local and global communities. Dr. Swaroop resides in Chicago. VIEW VIDEO Abby Toms, LCSW, social work at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, was recognized for her advocacy work on behalf of women and men impacted by sexual assault, sex trafficking and other forms of sexual exploitation. As a board member for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), Toms works to educate the community about sexual exploitation and advocates for legislation to protect those who are vulnerable or already victims of sexual exploitation. She is also a volunteer and volunteer coordinator with Rape Victims' Advocates (RVA). RVA volunteers respond to emergency departments to be a support for victims of sexual assault. In this role, Toms supports patients through the sexual assault exam and police interview, while helping them understanding their rights and assuring they know how to follow up for medical and emotional care. Toms resides in Chicago. VIEW VIDEO The keynote speaker was Jonathan Holloway, PhD, provost of Northwestern University. A historian of African American history, Dr. Holloway specializes in post-emancipation United States history with a focus on social and intellectual history. He previously served as dean of Yale College and is the author of two books: Confronting the Veil: Abram Harris Jr., E. Franklin Frazier, and Ralph Bunche, 1919-1941 and Jim Crow Wisdom: Memory and Identity in Black America Since 1940. To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit nm.org. SOURCE Northwestern Medicine Related Links https://www.nm.org/ LONDON, January 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CoinGeek.com announces funding of up to 3.6 million Euro to support Terab, an open source initiative that will solve a key technical issue to enable the Bitcoin Cash chain to massively scale to terabyte (1 million megabyte) size blocks and 7 million transactions per second. The Terab project will be managed by Lokad, the French quantitative supply chain technology provider, and will receive technical support from nChain, the blockchain research & development specialist. One of the major criticisms of Segwit Bitcoin is the apparent inability to scale to the level of transactions that payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard can provide. For cryptocurrencies to be competitive in the global payments space, high volume transaction scaling is vital but, not, as many have suggested, impossible and Bitcoin Cash is now firmly on that road. The legacy Segwit Bitcoin has shackled its own progress by refusing to allow the current block size cap (1MB) that only allows for 3-4 transactions per second to be lifted and thus has fated the coin to the dustbin of cryptocurrency history. But last October, the BCH community welcomed news that a 1 gigabyte (GB) block was successfully mined and propagated through the Gigablock Testnet Initiative, the collaboration between Bitcoin Unlimited and nChain. Envisioning an even bigger future, Lokad founder, Joannes Vermorel has recently advocated that terabyte-size blocks are viable - but only on the BCH chain. A single terabyte block (added every 10 minutes) can contain about 4 billion Bitcoin transactions, and provide capacity of 7 million transactions per second. The scale of a network with 1 TB blocks would be immense, and enable BCH to power not just monetary transactions but machine-to-machine data transactions of many types. With such a massively scaled BCH network, one technical issue that must be solved is how to optimize the unspent transaction output (UTXO) database maintained by nodes to prevent double-spending of Bitcoins. Assessing the correct amount of Bitcoins associated with each output is an essential step in the validation of a new block. With the transaction volume possible in 1TB blocks, the UTXO database would also grow immensely. Lokad now has the funding for Terab, an open source initiative to develop solutions to optimize performance of the UTXO database and prepare for a future BCH network with 1 TB blocks. The Terab project's goal is to deliver a standardized microservice API and high performance single node, multi-node and distributed software implementations that are progressively capable of supporting the throughput required for 1 GB and then 10 GB blocks. These will pave the way for similar implementations that can eventually support TB size blocks. Lokad will hire and manage a project team to develop the Terab software. The Terab software will be made available for usage under an open source license, but only for usage on the BCH chain. Antiguan citizen and owner of CoinGeek.com, Calvin Ayre, has pledged up to 3.6 million Euro worth of funding to Lokad for the Terab project, in order to make massive BCH scalability a reality. Coupled with CoinGeek's financial investment, nChain will provide technical advice, support from its research and development team members, and relevant intellectual property licenses for use in the Terab project. nChain's Chief Scientist Craig Wright will work closely with Lokad on this initiative. Lokad CEO, Joannes Vermorel, commented: "To have this level of support means we can start building progressive scalability for BCH immediately which will be transformative for BCH as the only genuine peer-to-peer currency." nChain Group CEO, Jimmy Nguyen, added: "Terab is exactly the type of collaboration that nChain supports - projects that help fulfill the Satoshi Nakamoto white paper's vision of a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Bitcoin Cash best represents that vision, and we are pleased to partner with Lokad to solve a key technical need for a massively scaled BCH network. The Terab project also exemplifies how microservices architecture is needed for BCH applications to reach enterprise-level usage." CoinGeek.com owner, Calvin Ayre, continued: "The criticisms of cryptocurrencies are very useful as they help us see what hurdles we have to take down in order to achieve low-fee micro-transactions. They are a few more which we will be addressing in due course but rest assured we will prove that BCH is the one true chain." In addition to Terab, CoinGeek.com intends to support more initiatives that will enable global growth and adoption of Bitcoin Cash. If you are a developer or technology venture that needs funding to develop projects or applications for the Bitcoin Cash chain, send your pitch via http://coingeek.com/contact. SOURCE CoinGeek.com DETROIT, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Automotive released the findings of its Future of Digital Retail Study, with results showing that the current dealership model needs to change with consumer preferences, but that the dealership remains central to car buying. While most consumers prefer completing at least one step of the car buying process online, most car buyers want to complete the transaction at a dealership. On the digital front, 71 percent of consumers want to get accurate, detailed information on the deal online and 83 percent of consumers want to complete at least one purchase activity online. Consumers indicate they want to complete a majority of the legwork before they enter the dealership. They want to agree on an accurate price that does not change later in the process, understand and select add-ons and warranties, agree on a trade-in value and other costs ahead of time, reducing or eliminating the time necessary to negotiate the final purchase price in-store. The average buyer currently spends three hours at the dealership during a car purchase, with 90 minutes spent on negotiating the financial details1. Consumer satisfaction with how long the process takes at the dealership continues to decrease, dropping from 55 percent in 20162 to 46 percent in 20183. On a parallel track, the dealership is important for consumers in both initial research and final purchase processing. Nearly nine in 10 respondents want to complete their purchase at the dealership; only 11 percent of consumers want to review and sign paperwork online away from the dealership. However, Cox Automotive research shows a growing percentage of people are interested in completing the entire purchase online in the future.4 The dealership continues to have a significant role. Eight in 10 consumers would never purchase a car without a test drive and seven in 10 would never purchase a car without physically seeing it first, even if a condition report is offered both activities typically conducted at a dealership. The survey also indicates that most car shoppers want dealership staff to be valuable consultants during the process, especially for learning about the individual products, features and vehicle capabilities. "The results of our study show that the most successful dealers are the ones who offer a connected in-store and online experience, where consumers start car-buying activities online and seamlessly finish them at the dealership," said Mike Burgiss, vice president of Digital Retailing at Cox Automotive. "Importantly, a more efficient process is not only better for consumers, it's better for dealers as well." The importance of a connected dealership is displayed in the study where 85 percent of shoppers are more likely to buy from a particular dealership that allows them to start or complete nearly all of the vehicle purchase online. Considering the many retail options offered by other industries today, consumers are right to expect a flexible, seamless car-buying experience both online and in the dealership. "2018 is when consumers will see significant change in the experience," continued Burgiss. "The technology and tools are here to make car buying more efficient for both consumers and dealers. With new solutions streamlining and improving the experience, we firmly disagree with anyone who says the dealership is deadit's not, but the old way of car buying certainly is." For more information on Cox Automotive's Future of Digital Retail Study, please visit https://www.coxautoinc.com/learning-center/4-truths-of-connected-retail/. About Cox Automotive Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, financial, retail and wholesale solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, RMS Automotive, vAuto, Xtime and a host of other brands. The global company has 34,000-plus team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com. 1 2018 Car Buyer Journey Study 2 2016 Car Buyer Journey Study 3 2018 Car Buyer Journey Study 4 2015 Car Buyer of the Future Study, 2018 Future of Digital Retail Study SOURCE Cox Automotive, Inc. Related Links http://www.coxautoinc.com GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Colorado State University-Global Campus (CSU-Global) is launching a new degree program in 2018 to help students prepare for careers in the growing business intelligence and data analytics industry. The Masters of Science in Data Analytics teaches students how to use data to improve business performance across a range of core functions, from accounting and finance to strategy and management. Students will learn to use industry recognized data platforms (SAS, SQL, R, Python) to process and analyze large data sets, communicate the results and shape decision-making across a range of industries. The program is relevant to students with degrees or previous experience in computer science, business management, cybersecurity, finance, and healthcare administration. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs for statisticians who manage data analytics in the workplace, are expected to grow 34 percent from 2014 to 2024 as a result of more widespread use of statistical analysis to make informed business, healthcare, and policy decisions. In addition, the large increase in available data from the Internet will open up new areas for analysis. "Our Master's in Data Analytics program is rigorous and includes demonstration of knowledge application in every assignment in each course from its students," said Dr. Lisa Bryan, Program Chair of Management Information Systems and Data Analytics at CSU-Global. "This program is the next step for students who seek a career in analyzing the large amounts of data present in industry today and who have the desire to use the information produced to advise business and improve performance and competitiveness." "In alignment with CSU-Global's mission to facilitate workplace success for our students, this new program offers our students an additional career-relevant option," said Dr. Becky Takeda-Tinker, president and CEO of CSU-Global. "It is just one example of the ways CSU-Global and its faculty, program advisory boards, and staff are continually embracing employment needs and working together to ensure our graduates are getting the marketable credentials they need to advance their careers." About Colorado State University-Global Campus Colorado State University-Global Campus (CSU-Global) offers career relevant bachelor's and master's degree programs for working adults and nontraditional learners. As the first and only 100% online, fully accredited public university in the United States, CSU-Global is focused on student success as its number one priority. Embracing the land grant heritage as part of the Colorado State University System, CSU-Global sets the standard for quality and innovation in higher education through its expert faculty who are recognized as industry leaders and trained in working with adults in an online learning environment. CSU-Global offers a streamlined enrollment process with accelerated eight week courses that start every four weeks. Visit CSUGlobal.edu or call 1-800-920-6723 for more information. SOURCE Colorado State University-Global Campus Related Links http://csuglobal.edu Asbahi's corporate law background encompasses serving as outside general counsel to fast-growing companies and representing entrepreneurs, investors, and executives in the areas of start-up, venture capital and private equity financings; mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and general commercial matters. "We are excited about the addition of Mazen to the McDonald Hopkins team," said David A. Agay, managing member of the firm's Chicago office. "His healthcare and business law skills and experience will not only further enrich the talent in the Chicago office, but will serve our clients well. Asbahi's addition to the Chicago office allows McDonald Hopkins to bolster its strength in a key practice area in a market that is important to the firm's long-term plans." "We are pleased to add an experienced healthcare attorney like Mazen to our national healthcare team," said Steven M. Harris, a Chicago member in the firm's Healthcare Practice Group. "He brings to McDonald Hopkins a wide spectrum of knowledge and capabilities that will assist our clients in the Chicago market and beyond with their healthcare and business needs." With a strong commitment to serving the community, Mazen has served on a number of boards of directors and regularly counsels nonprofit boards and executives on governance, best practices, and day-to-day operational matters. Mazen is a Fellow of Leadership Greater Chicago, a premiere civic leadership development organization. Mazen earned his J.D., with cum laude honors, from Northwestern University School of Law in 2000 and received a B.A. with high honors in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Michigan in 1996. He is currently attending Loyola University Law School to earn a LL.M. in Health Law He can be reached at [email protected] or 312.642.4168. About McDonald Hopkins Founded in 1930, McDonald Hopkins is a business advisory and advocacy law firm with locations in Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Miami, and West Palm Beach. The firm's Chicago office opened in 2007 and is located in the 300 North LaSalle building on the Chicago River. For more information about McDonald Hopkins, visit mcdonaldhopkins.com. CONTACT: Deborah W. Kelm McDonald Hopkins LLC 600 Superior Avenue, East, Suite 2100 Cleveland, Ohio 44114 Phone: 216.348.5733 Email: [email protected] SOURCE McDonald Hopkins Related Links http://www.mcdonaldhopkins.com The Israeli intelligence and defense ministries have rejected Hamas accusations that Israel was behind the bomb attack against one of its figures in Lebanon, who had been wounded in a car-bomb blast in the Lebanese city of Sidon. Mohamed Hamdan, a low key official of the Palestinian Hamas movement living in Lebanon, reportedly sustained slight injuries after his car exploded as he was about to enter the vehicle in the city of Sidon, 25 miles south of capital Beirut. Hamas, which is ruling Gaza, finger-pointed Israel for the attack. Intelligence minister Israel Katz, Sunday in an interview with an Israeli radio station, said that Hamdan would have been hit more seriously had Israel been involved in the attack, Times of Israel reports. If wed been involved, this wouldnt have ended with him lightly wounded, Katz was quoted as saying. Defense minister Avigdor Liberman also lambasted the accusations. Every day in the Middles East there are dozens of explosions that they try and pin on Israel, so lets not react to this too seriously, he said. Tens of thousands of Palestinians live in 12 camps across Lebanon. The most populated camp, Ain al-Hilweh is located near Sidon and is home to over 60,000 Palestinians. Israel was blamed in 2006 for the death of two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in the same Sidon neighborhood. The two were killed in a blast after a bomb planted in a car exploded as they were passing by. Featuring E-Shield protective coating technology, Abex rotors are easier to remove, due to less corrosion and rusting on the attaching surface. Each rotor also contains a directionally smooth finish and offers quality design for maximum performance and reliability. Abex premium brake rotors feature precision mill balance technology to prevent common performance issues such as pedal pulsation and brake noise caused by improper balance. Each rotor's micro finish aids in proper seating of the friction material, reducing pad break-in time. Abex pad and rotor combinations are engineered to work together to provide optimum stopping and extended life. "More and more fleets have started utilizing ADB applications, and as such, we recognize their desire for a premium solution to all their wheel-end needs," said Dennis Griffin, product manager, Abex, Federal-Mogul Motorparts. "Abex rotors not only offer the quality that customers expect, but also address common complaints such as unsightly corrosion of the rotors and ease of installation." To learn more about Abex rotors, visit our website at FMHeavyDutyParts.com or contact your local Federal-Mogul Motorparts representative. About Federal-Mogul Federal-Mogul LLC is a leading global supplier of products and services to the world's manufacturers and servicers of vehicles and equipment in the automotive, light, medium and heavy-duty commercial, marine, rail, aerospace, power generation and industrial markets. The company's products and services enable improved fuel economy, reduced emissions and enhanced vehicle safety. Federal-Mogul operates two independent business divisions, each with a chief executive officer reporting to Federal-Mogul's Board of Directors. Federal-Mogul Motorparts sells and distributes a broad portfolio of products through more than 20 of the world's most recognized brands in the global vehicle aftermarket, while also serving original equipment vehicle manufacturers with products including braking, wipers and a range of chassis components. The company's aftermarket brands include ANCO wipers; Beck/Arnley premium OE quality parts and fluids; BERU* ignition systems; Champion lighting, spark plugs, wipers and filters; Interfil filters; AE, Fel-Pro, FP Diesel, Goetze, Glyco, National, Nural, Payen, Sealed Power and Speed-Pro engine products; MOOG chassis components; and Abex, Ferodo, Jurid and Wagner brake products and lighting. Federal-Mogul Powertrain designs and manufactures original equipment powertrain components and systems protection products for automotive, heavy-duty, industrial and transport applications. Federal-Mogul was founded in Detroit in 1899 and maintains its worldwide headquarters in Southfield, Michigan. The company employs nearly 53,000 in 24 countries. For more information, please visit www.FMmotorparts.com. *BERU is a registered trademark of BorgWarner Ludwigsburg GmbH CONTACT: Karen Shulhan (Federal-Mogul Motorparts) 248.354.4383 [email protected] Drew Shippy (Pinnacle Media) 330.688.3500 [email protected] SOURCE Federal-Mogul Motorparts Related Links http://www.fmheavydutyparts.com Gayle Allen is the founder of The Innovator's Circle, an organization that partners with company leaders to improve organizational performance. Prior to that, she served as chief learning officer at BrightBytes, an educational technology startup. Allen also served as an adjunct professor at Columbia University and New York University. She is the author of the book "The New Pillars of Modern Teaching" and also hosts a podcast called "Curious Minds." Allen earned an M.B.A. in global innovation and leadership from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University. Flexport has more than doubled its headcount in the last year and expanded its footprint globally, with offices in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Shenzhen. Allen will be based in the company's San Francisco headquarters. Allen will be partnering with Flexport management to lift its culture of learning to new heights by creating a corporate university to encourage learning across the employee lifecycle. This global initiative will enhance existing programs within the company, such as Flexport Academy, an intensive new hire training program for global employees designed to bring industry newcomers up to speed in the complex world of freight logistics. Allen's role will also involve creating new learning tracks such as leadership courses for managers, and skill-building classes for employees of all levels. "Flexport's mission is to fix global trade and our employees are fiercely passionate about how they contribute to our mission. Gayle's passion and experience for workplace learning make her a natural fit as we continue to hire and grow the very best talent around the world," said Sanne Manders, chief operating officer at Flexport. "Top performers in any organization consider themselves lifelong students, and we're pleased to offer our employees a way to accelerate their careers while making an impact on the outdated supply chain industry." "Corporate learning can serve as a remarkable competitive advantage, and it was clear to me that Flexport is committed to learning and performance improvement," said Gayle Allen, vice president of people operations. I'm excited to help Flexport employees around the world to grow the knowledge and skills they need to drive the company's remarkable growth, as well as their careers. My prior roles have taught me that the best teams work hard on how they collaborate, plan, and communicate, and that data holds the key to measuring significant outcomes." About Flexport Flexport is a technology-enabled freight forwarder and customs broker that provides companies with real-time data on the locations of their goods and unparalleled visibility into their supply chains. Flexport offers an online dashboard for businesses to easily understand, purchase, manage, and track services required by global trade. Founded in 2013, Flexport is backed by leading investors including DST Global, Founders Fund and Felicis Ventures. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, and Shenzhen. To learn more, visit flexport.com. SOURCE Flexport Related Links http://www.flexport.com BOCA RATON, Fla., Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PBExpo, the newest technology tradeshow for the aviation marketplace, announces today that the inaugural event will add a second Keynote presentation to the education line-up headlined by Alex Hunter, former Global Head of Online for the Virgin Group. The inaugural tradeshow will be hosted May 16 17, 2018 at the Greater Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. PBExpo is the newest venture for parent company, PartsBase Inc., the world's largest online aviation, aerospace and defense marketplace. Currently, PartsBase has 7,500 member companies, accessing the online portal in over 194 countries. PBExpo is a showcase of all the innovations PartsBase discusses with its members on a daily basis, supplemented with education about these resources to implement in day-to-day business. PartsBase has been a technology and ecommerce pioneer within the aviation industry for 20 years. Alex Hunter served as the global Head of Online for the Virgin Group, overseeing the Virgin brand's global digital strategy in its entirety, as well as Sir Richard Branson's personal digital strategy. Before joining the Virgin Group, Alex was part of the founding team of award-winning US airline Virgin America where his work was covered by Time Magazine, CNN, and CNBC, and received several accolades including ad:tech and Webby Award honors. Most Recently, Alex served as the Chief Executive of a venture-backed digital music company. "Originally we had only allocated time for one Keynote presentation in the PBExpo schedule," says Greg Schmidt, President of PartsBase. "However, as the education line-up for PBExpo continues to evolve, we knew we wanted to cast a spotlight on digital marketing and branding. It became essential we add a second Keynote and Alex was an obvious fit given his proven track record of success in the field, and his tie to aviation. We are thrilled that we can bring such high-quality content to our attendees that will be beneficial long after they leave the show." The Alex Hunter keynote presentation will be on May 17, 2018 at 8 AM. Access to both keynote presentations is included in all PBExpo admissions. For more information, please contact: Jenni Rosenthal, Director of Events [email protected] About PBExpo. PBExpo is the only interactive environment that integrates the aviation, aerospace, and defense industries with technology and ecommerce solutions. PBExpo will consist of multiple forums, over two days, which will allow participants to discuss and demonstrate the newest innovations available in the marketplace, attend educational seminars presented by industry leaders, walk a vast and expansive industry-focused exhibit hall, and provide direct feedback and roadmap suggestions on the PartsBase website. The event is open to all parties who buy, sell, manufacture or repair aircraft parts, or those involved in B2B and B2C ecommerce and technology solutions. PBExpo will be May 16 17, 2018, at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center. For more information about PBExpo, visit www.pbexpo.org. PBExpo is a division of PartsBase, the world's leader in internet-based part locator services. For more information on PartsBase, visit www.partsbase.com. Socialize with PBExpo. Twitter. Follow Facebook. Like LinkedIn. Follow SOURCE PBExpo Related Links http://www.pbexpo.org France will receive a total of four Super Hercules aircraft two C-130J-30 combat delivery airlifters and two KC-130J aerial refuelers through a Foreign Military Sale with the U.S. government, with deliveries taking place through 2019. The first of these aircraft (a C-130J-30 airlifter) was formally delivered to France in December 2017 at the Lockheed Martin facility in Marietta, Georgia, in the United States. France first acquired C-130Hs in 1987 and its new C-130Js will be operated with its existing Hercules fleet. "As a long-time Hercules operator, France has continuously demonstrated to the world the unmatched qualities and versatility found only in a C-130," said George Shultz, vice president and general manager, Air Mobility & Maritime Missions at Lockheed Martin. "France's new Super Hercules fleet delivers increased power, speed and capabilities to ensure that Armee de l'Air crews continue to meet and exceed mission requirements for decades to come." France is the 17th country to choose the C-130J for its airlift needs. The C-130J Super Hercules is the most advanced tactical airlifter in operation today, offering superior performance and enhanced capabilities with the range and versatility for every theater of operations and evolving requirements. To learn more about Lockheed Martin's C-130J Super Hercules, visit www.lockheedmartin.com/c130 About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company Related Links http://www.lockheedmartin.com Known as a global leader in joint fixation and infection management, the company will now be able to provide its customers with earlier access to its latest innovations by selling to them directly. The company has a long history of dedication to the research and development of new bone cement offerings. PALACOS has been used in over 30 million cases and is recognized as a leading product by orthopedic surgeons worldwide. PALACOS, formerly sold exclusively through a distributor in the US, is now available directly through Heraeus Medical. "The company is extremely excited about the opportunity to support total joint surgeons directly in the US in providing consistent, predictable outcomes with the potential for lower revision rates," said Dr. Andrew Williamson, Heraeus Medical Board Member. Devin Childers, Vice President and General Manager of Heraeus Medical LLC, added, "The expertise and knowledge Heraeus Medical can directly offer its loyal PALACOS users in the US creates an atmosphere of both continued innovation and collaboration." Existing PALACOS and new customers will be able to order easily from Heraeus Medical in the US by calling 1.833-4-PALACOS (725-2267). Heraeus Medical has successfully sold and supported PALACOS direct in Europe, Australia, and several other countries through an integrated ordering process that is now available to US customers. For more information or to order PALACOS in the United States, please visit www.heraeus-medical-usa.com or call 1.833-4-PALACOS (725-2267). About the Heraeus Medical Global Business Unit Heraeus Medical is known as a global leader in joint fixation and infection management in orthopedics and trauma surgery. This enables the company to make an important contribution to supporting surgeons and the surgical team and to improve surgery outcomes. In the area of biomaterials, Heraeus Medical focuses on products for use in bone and joint surgery. The core product PALACOS is considered the gold standard among bone cements and has repeatedly proven itself over five decades of clinical use. About Heraeus Heraeus, the technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany, is a leading international family-owned company formed in 1851. With expertise, a focus on innovations, operational excellence and an entrepreneurial leadership, we strive to continuously improve the businesses of our customers around the world. We create high-quality solutions for our customers and strengthen their long-term competitiveness by combining material expertise with technological know-how. Our ideas are focused on important issues such as the environment, energy, health, mobility and industrial applications. Our portfolio ranges from components to coordinated material systems which are used in a wide variety of industries, including the steel, electronics, chemical, automotive and telecommunications industries. In the 2016 financial year, the FORTUNE Global 500 listed company generated revenues without precious metals of US$2.2 bn and a total revenue of US$23.8 bn. With approximately 12,400 employees worldwide in more than 100 subsidiaries in 40 countries, Heraeus holds a leading position in its global markets. In 2016, the Foundation for Family Businesses named Heraeus as one of the "Top 10 Family Businesses" in Germany. SOURCE Heraeus Medical Related Links http://www.heraeus-medical-usa.com Sentech Corp, located in Dakar, Senegal, has been working in the diabetes industry since 2009. Ousmane Faye, CEO of Sentech Corp, has worked diligently to distribute affordable diabetic testing supplies to numerous hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies across the country. Ousmane Faye explains, "The number of people with diabetes in Africa is growing very rapidly, and at Sentech Corp our goals have always been to be able to provide an affordable and quality brand of diabetic testing supplies to our customers. INFINITY is not only affordable, but the INFINITY Blood Glucose Monitoring System is a reliable, accurate and very easy to use system that will benefit many diabetics. Sentech Corp has made INFINITY widely available to diabetics in Senegal, and also Mali, Mauritania, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea." Faye continues, "As the exclusive distributor of INFINITY brand in Western Africa, we are partnering with US Diagnostics to ensure diabetics in Africa receive the supplies they desperately need to manage their diabetes." Sentech Corp is a member of the Diabetic Association of Senegal. Also, Sentech Corp has been awarded contracts with the Department of Health and the military hospitals of Senegal. In addition, the company currently distributes INFINITY supplies to veterans. Sentech Corp remains committed to bringing top quality and affordable diabetic supplies to many of the surrounding areas, and is currently working on contracts for distribution in Cote D'Ivoire, Niger and Ghana. For more information on the INFINITY Blood Glucose Monitoring System please visit www.usdiagnostics.net or contact Sentech Corp at (221)771014104. US Diagnostics PR Department [email protected] Tel: 866-216-5308 SOURCE US Diagnostics, Inc. Related Links http://www.usdiagnostics.net MINONG, Wis., Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jack Link's promises the first half of 2018 will be meatier than ever, with the launch of five new protein-packed products. Today Jack Link's, the global leader in meat snacks, announces the release of new products that will not only offer loyal fans new portable protein options but will reach new customers at varied snacking occasions. The new products range from redefined classics, like Lorissa's Kitchen 100 percent grass-fed beef sticks, to the less-traditional, like Jack Link's Cold Craft refrigerated jerky and Jack Link's pork rinds. "At Jack Link's, we are the protein snacking company. Our teams are dedicated to bringing new consumers to the category through innovative thinking across our portfolio of brands," said T.D. Dixon, Jack Link's chief marketing officer. "Our rapid innovation is really a product of our powerhouse research and development team. Their ability to take an idea and quickly turn it into a great-tasting product is unparalleled in our category." New Products, New Occasions The new varieties from Jack Link's Protein Snacks will be hitting shelves in 2018: Lorissa's Kitchen Beef Sticks : Made from 100 percent grass-fed beef, this new better-for-you meat snack from Lorissa's Kitchen, a Jack Link's brand, is seasoned and slow-smoked without any added nitrates, MSG or gluten. The 1-ounce meat stick will be available in February in three flavors: Original, Smokey Sweet and Jalape n o, and contains 6 grams of protein. Find the Lorissa's Kitchen Beef Sticks in the jerky aisle. Suggested retail price is $1.99 per stick. : Made from 100 percent grass-fed beef, this new better-for-you meat snack from Lorissa's Kitchen, a brand, is seasoned and slow-smoked without any added nitrates, MSG or gluten. The 1-ounce meat stick will be available in February in three flavors: Original, and Jalape o, and contains 6 grams of protein. Find the Lorissa's Kitchen Beef Sticks in the jerky aisle. Suggested retail price is per stick. Jack Link's Cold Crafted: New to the brand, Jack Link's Cold Crafted brings two Wisconsin delicacies together smoked meats and cheese in one delicious offering. The new Jack Link's Cold Crafted will be available in the refrigerator aisle and the fresh snacking area of convenience stores in April. Made with 100 percent beef and real Wisconsin cheese, Cold Crafted will be available in the following varieties: Smoked Meat Sticks (Original, Loaded with Pepper Jack, Loaded with Cheddar Cheese); Beef and Cheese Bites; Smoked Meat Sticks and Cheese (Cheddar and Pepper Jack). Suggested retail price starting at $3.49 per pack. New to the brand, Cold Crafted brings two delicacies together smoked meats and cheese in one delicious offering. The new Cold Crafted will be available in the refrigerator aisle and the fresh snacking area of convenience stores in April. Made with 100 percent beef and real cheese, Cold Crafted will be available in the following varieties: Smoked Meat Sticks (Original, Loaded with Pepper Jack, Loaded with Cheddar Cheese); Beef and Cheese Bites; Smoked Meat Sticks and Cheese (Cheddar and Pepper Jack). Suggested retail price starting at per pack. Jack Link's Pork Rinds: Look for the trusted Jack Link's brand in a whole new aisle! Expanding into the chip aisle in March, Jack Link's will be introducing the new Jack Link's Pork Rinds. With only 1 gram of carbs and 8 grams of protein per serving, these Jack Link's Pork Rinds satisfy the salty, crunchy craving in a better-for-you way. Jack Link's is the first nationally recognized brand in pork rinds. Pork Rinds will be available in two flavors: Applewood BBQ and Sweet & Hot. Suggested retail price of $1.99 per pack. Look for the trusted brand in a whole new aisle! Expanding into the chip aisle in March, will be introducing the new Pork Rinds. With only 1 gram of carbs and 8 grams of protein per serving, these Pork Rinds satisfy the salty, crunchy craving in a better-for-you way. is the first nationally recognized brand in pork rinds. Pork Rinds will be available in two flavors: Applewood BBQ and Sweet & Hot. Suggested retail price of per pack. Jack Link's Multi-Packs: Jack Link's Multi-Pack features 10 individually wrapped meat sticks made from 100 percent premium meat in each box. Great for throwing into a lunch box or grabbing on the go, these meat sticks are low in sugar and carbs and high in protein. Find Jack Link's Multi-Packs in the meat snacks aisle in February in three flavors: Original Beef Sticks, Pepperoni Beef Sticks and Turkey Sticks. Suggested retail price of $3.99 per pack. Multi-Pack features 10 individually wrapped meat sticks made from 100 percent premium meat in each box. Great for throwing into a lunch box or grabbing on the go, these meat sticks are low in sugar and carbs and high in protein. Find Multi-Packs in the meat snacks aisle in February in three flavors: Original Beef Sticks, Pepperoni Beef Sticks and Turkey Sticks. Suggested retail price of per pack. Jack Link's Steak Strips: Jack Link's is meating protein bar needs with their new Jack Link's Steak Strips because you can't out-protein meat in the power bar aisle. The Jack Link's Steak Strip, made from 100 percent beef, delivers 8 grams of protein for only 70 calories, and features a delicious savory option for those seeking a high-quality and filling snack. Jack Link's Steak Strips will be available in February in two flavors: Original and Teriyaki. Suggested retail price under $2 . Empowering Innovation As part of the company's investment and dedication to innovation, Jack Link's is excited to announce an important new hire to their product research and development team. Manuel Ortega recently joined Jack Link's to serve as vice president of Research & Product Development. Ortega's role is to ensure Jack Link's has the right process and ingredients in place to bring new and existing products to market that deliver consistent quality for consumers. Ortega brings more than two decades of experience to the protein powerhouse, having spent more than 20 years on research and development teams at global food brands including Kraft Foods, General Mills and Yum Brands. "I am excited to join this fast-paced team and continue to dominate the protein snack category," said Ortega. "Creating diversity in our product offerings and going to market quickly is critical, but we know our ongoing success lies in consistently crafting a great-tasting product." From steak strips to pork rinds, Ortega and team continue to strive to be leaders in innovation across categories. No matter what you are craving or where you are, you always have a chance to Feed Your Wild Side with Jack Link's. Jack Link's Feed Your Wild Side Jack Link's is a global leader in protein snacks and the No. 1 meat snack manufacturer worldwide. Headquartered in Minong, Wisconsin, Jack Link's is a family-owned company that represents a heritage of quality and consumer trust, with the mission to Feed Your Wild Side. Jack Link's offers more than 100 premium protein snacks in a variety of flavors, sizes and price points, appealing to nearly every consumer and occasion. The Jack Link's Protein Snacks portfolio of brands includes Jack Link's, Lorissa's Kitchen, MATADOR Jerky, World Kitchens Jerky, Grass Run Farms Meat Snacks, BiFi, and Peperami. Check out JackLinks.com for more information on the brand. Contact: Clara Kohrs Carmichael Lynch Relate for Jack Link's (612) 375-8554 [email protected] SOURCE Jack Links Related Links https://www.jacklinks.com PERM, Russia, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- First delivery will be performed to Sumitomo Bakelite at the beginning of 2018. As per Alexander Maksimov, hexamine trader, this step will considerably increase Metafrax footstep on the US market and will allow to use much more efficient supply chain, shortening lead time from the plant to the consumer from several weeks to several days, delivering product just in time. Metadynea Trading, a trader with its headquarters in Switzerland, is involved in sales of chemical products (methanol, hexamine, pentaerythritol). The annual revenue of the company is over US$ 100 million. Current company's customers portfolio includes leading world companies such as Akzo Nobel, BASF, Dow Chemical, Eastman Chemical, Kraton. As reported earlier, in 2018-19, the company's shipments on the US market will increase up to 3 thousand tons or over US$ 2.5 million. The expansion of deliveries will be possible due to the market launch of a new fine chemicals product micronized hexamethylenetetramine (hexamine). The trial delivery of the commercial batch of the micronized product has already been carried out to one of America's largest producers of compounds. The product may be of interest to the suppliers of materials for the aircraft industry, industrial resins and crop protection agents. Metadynea Trading is a part of Metafrax group of companies, one of the largest producers of methanol and formaldehyde in Russia and Europe. Majority shareholder of PJSC Metafrax is Russian company MetaHolding, which is controlled by Seyfeddin Roustamov. Seyfeddin Rustamov is an energy and chemicals industry professional, developer, investor and philanthropist. Since 2000, he has been actively involved in chemical and petrochemical industry trade, oil and gas projects, investments in energy funds and commercial and residential real estate. Hexamine is a chemical product used in a number of industries such as production of industrial resins, industrial rubber goods, explosive materials, fuel tablets and means of chemical treatment for mineral fertilizers. Mariya Konovalova PR Manager Metafrax 9024759115 [email protected] This release was issued through WebWire(R). For more information visit http://www.webwire.com. SOURCE Metafrax IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nitto Avecia Pharma Services, Inc. (Avecia Pharma), a leading CGMP contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced today that it has appointed Raymond Kaczmarek to the position of President. Mr. Kaczmarek will have full P&L responsibility for the entire organization. Detlef Rethage, President of parent company, Nitto Denko Avecia, Inc., stated, "We are excited to welcome Ray to Avecia Pharma. We are confident that with his proven leadership, knowledge and experience in a broad spectrum of drug development activities, Ray will continue to further strengthen and grow the business and meet the needs of our clients." Mr. Kaczmarek joins the organization with nearly 20 years of extensive experience in operations management within the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries. He most recently served as Vice President, Commercial Manufacturing and Supply Operations at Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc., located in San Diego, California. His proven leadership in strategic manufacturing management, for both clinical and commercial manufacturing, makes him perfectly suited to contribute to the future success of the company. In addition to working for Pacira, Mr. Kaczmarek has held management positions in such companies as Bayer Biologics, Abbott Laboratories, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Covidien, Athersys, and Wyeth Biotech. Mr. Kaczmarek explained, "It is truly a privilege to lead this wonderful team at Avecia Pharma as we continue to enhance its capabilities as a full service CDMO. I look forward to our future development of the Irvine campus, strengthening our service capabilities, and above all, providing outstanding outcomes for our clients." Mr. Kaczmarek earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). He is also a proud veteran who served our country as a combat engineering officer in the US ARMY Corps of Engineers. ABOUT NITTO AVECIA PHARMA SERVICES INC. Nitto Avecia Pharma Services is your single solution for premier contract development and manufacturing services. Nitto Avecia Pharma Services supports the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and medical device industries with a complete package of CGMP services including pre-formulation/formulation, parenteral manufacturing, analytical development, biopharmaceutical development, structural chemistry, analytical chemistry, microbiology, stability storage and drug delivery device testing. With three state-of-the-art facilities located on one campus in Irvine, CA. Learn more at www.aveciapharma.com ABOUT NITTO DENKO AVECIA INC. Nitto Denko Avecia Inc. is a recognized leader in manufacturing and development services of oligonucleotide therapeutic with facilities located in Milford, MA.; Marlboro, MA.; and Cincinnati OH offering services for DNA, RNA and other oligonucleotides based therapeutics from milligram scale at pre-clinical stage to 1000kg + post commercial launch. More information: www.Avecia.com. Nitto Denko Avecia is proud member of Nitto Group. More information: www.Nitto.com SOURCE Nitto Avecia Pharma Services Related Links http://www.aveciapharma.com The leader of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Sunday said US President Donald Trumps peace plan to come but without Jerusalem as part of discussions is the slap of the century adding that Palestinians will not take part in the talks. We told Trump we will not accept his project, Mahmoud Abbas said at the opening of a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organizations Central Council in Ramallah. Deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it, he said. But we will slap back. The US President called deal of the century a peace agreement between Palestinians and Israeli that he has tasked his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and his Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt with. In December, Trump declared Jerusalem capital of Israel, angering Palestinians and Muslim countries. Palestinians hope to establish the capital of their future state in Eastern Jerusalem. Trump later noted that the negotiations will not include Jerusalem that he said was off the table. Following Trumps December move, Abbas has rejected US-led peace efforts arguing that the White House disqualified itself as a neutral broker. In his speech before the PLO meeting, Abbas said the Oslo accords that led to the creation of his Palestinian Authority and envisioned a final resolution to the conflict were in effect finished. I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo. Israel ended Oslo, he said, adding that Palestinians will not accept anything the United States may try to impose on them and will not accept its mediation following that crime. Abbas confirmed that Palestinians are being offered in exchange of east Jerusalem Abu Dis, a suburb of Jerusalem in the West Bank, as capital. The Abu Dis proposal seems to be backed by other Arab leaders, mainly Saudi Arabia, which is reportedly aware of the proposed plan being worked out by Kushner and Greenblatt. Abbas was reportedly briefed about the plan during a snap visit to Riyadh. BERLIN, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- New Sharing Economy startup POTWORKA (www.potworka.com) steps in with new approach and mission: to make finding work and purchasing services as simple as riding a bicycle. Ultimately, it's based on customer satisfaction not price, conditions, platform or bells and whistles, and within POTWORKA people can easily create and list paid jobs and tasks as Givers or share their time and skills to complete defined micro-jobs for other people as Takers. POTWORKA Micro Jobs Listing POTWORKA My Jobs Dashboard Task and work are posted as micro-jobs, referred to as "potwork", along with a specific budget Givers are willing to pay for Takers finishing the work satisfactorily. Micro-jobs can be any task or work you can imagine, such as babysitting, online services, yardwork, crafting, walking the dog, design something, event support, delivering something, house cleaning, marketing and promotion help, etc.; It's up to you. "I purchased services on the top 3 Freelance platforms and got frustrated as a Customer, and then noticed problems on the Freelancers side too. In the end, my research found bidding wars resulted in lower quality of work for job posters and drop-offs of potential earnings for workers of 20-40%, so I created POTWORKA," says Patrik Prepsl, founder. ABOUT POTWORKA: Launched in 2018, POTWORKA is a Micro-Jobs Marketplace found at www.potworka.com. POTWORKA partners with PayPal to process secure payments and is ready to serve Germany now, then all of European and ultimately globally via the POTWORKA Agent Network. POTWORKA's ambition is to help drive the "Shared Economy" while defining new models of "Sharing". #microjobs #micro-jobs #gigs #sharedeconomy For more information visit: https://www.potworka.com/public/more-info LINKS: Web: https://www.potworka.com Facebook: https://facebook.com/potworkaCOM Mission Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1537830592960042/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/18001140/ GLOBAL CONTACT: Patrik Prepsl, founder, Prague, Czech Republic, [email protected] DEUTSCH MEDIA CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE POTWORKA Related Links http://www.potworka.com LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Carney Shegerian, trial lawyer and founder of the Los Angeles-based employment discrimination firm Shegerian & Associates, announced that a judge has ruled on a motion for summary judgement in favor of his client in the case of Levitan v. Apple, Inc. The case, which was filed in 2016, alleges that Lynn Levitan, an attorney who worked for Apple as Global Product Safety Counsel, was wrongfully terminated after complaining of illegal and unethical issues as well as of a hostile and disparate work environment due to her age and gender. "Ms. Levitan is a hardworking and experienced attorney who was wrongfully terminated by her superiors after refusing to be silenced about her illegal work environment," says Shegerian. "While Apple claims Ms. Levitan was legitimately terminated, the evidence of her positive performance and impact shows otherwise." "Ms. Levitan was not treated the same as her male counterparts. When Ms. Levitan requested to work remotely, she was both criticized and denied the opportunity, even though her male counterparts were able to work remotely," adds Shegerian. "Ms. Levitan's treatment by Apple was worsened after she started raising questions about her work environment and the conduct that Apple was engaging in." "The court's ruling affirms that there are significant legal merits to this case, and the case will continue to move forward until justice is achieved for our client," says Shegerian "In this "me too" environment, the court's ruling is particularly impactful. Brave women like Ms. Levitan have come forward to challenge the tech community's status quo. This type of behavior will not be tolerated any longer," added Shegerian. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California and with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, & New York, Shegerian & Associates is a law firm specializing in protecting the rights of employees who have been wronged by their employers. Carney Shegerian, Trial Lawyer of the Year Award winner for 2013, has won 78 jury trials in his career, including 35 seven figure verdicts. Shegerian & Associates is passionately dedicated to serving the needs of its clients. For more information about the firm, visit www.ShegerianLaw.com. Media Contact: To arrange interviews with Carney Shegerian employment law matters, please contact [email protected] Case # BC-622-413 SOURCE Shegerian & Associates, Inc. Related Links http://www.ShegerianLaw.com HONG KONG, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Simple Token, the onramp for mainstream businesses to tokenize, today announced its Simple Tokens ("OST") have been added to Huobi Pro and OKEx, two of the top global cryptocurrency and digital asset exchanges. Following the company's earlier news of listing on the Binance exchange, these new listings expand the number of places where individuals and companies can purchase OST. In addition to the exchange listings, and in line with aggressive growth plans, the company also welcomed 11 new Member Companies to its global user community, bringing to 20 companies building bespoke branded token economies for users, with Simple Token. With these partnerships and the earlier Binance listing announcement, OST is now available for purchase on three of the top five of the world's leading crypto and digital asset exchanges. This, as the company continues to demonstrate the strong momentum and demand seen during Simple Token's recent, highly successful public token sale, when the company achieved nearly 190 percent of the original sales target. The company's engagement with the global community during the ICO was lauded by many as a model for other companies considering an ICO, and the sale ultimately attracted nearly 7,000 unique purchasers, raising approximately US$21 million in OST. The two new exchanges Simple Token has been listed on are: Huobi Pro - Singapore-based leading global Blockchain asset financial service provider empowering millions of users online in more than 130 nations, and with service centers in many countries. With over one billion dollars in assets, Huobi Pro is a widely trusted world-class operation designed for knowledgeable crypto-investors. OKEx.com - Hong Kong-based OKEx is one of the most highly regarded and popular digital asset trading platforms in the world. Led by a core team from globally-recognized brand name companies, the company is founded on trust-based principles and meaningful, efficient asset exchange that will ultimately have a significant impact on the global economy. The new listings let Simple Token give the developer and crypto communities additional top-tier options to easily purchase OST, toward the goal of empowering companies to deploy their own branded crypto-backed token economies. To date, Simple Token has announced the first nine partner companies pursuing tokenization projects powered by OST: 704games, Digital Knights, Floship, Gushcloud, InterviewBit, Pepo, Tesloop, Vidi-VR, Xain. Additionally, Simple Token announces the addition of eleven new Member Companies to the growing community. They are: Treat - mobile community for personalized health advice where members share experiences about treatments and receive relevant information from experts and verified resources about topics of interest. License.Rocks - platform for decentralized software licensing through tokenization. RadMule Labs - mobile game studio focusing on new and innovative ways of gaming. Korhal.io - consumer app to enable instant WiFi access via blockchain. consumer app to enable instant WiFi access via blockchain. TribeCoin - marketing platform that incentivizes customers and influencers to create and distribute authentic content that helps brands tell their story to the world, and complete missions that help them achieve their goals. Lookhave - social fashion network app that finally connects your personal wardrobe to your smartphone. Tomorrow - sustainable checking account for smartphones. ConnectScale - sports fishing social community built around a connected device for weighing and tracking catch data from fishing trips. Simple Token will also be working with three additional projects currently in stealth mode: Kokomo Stars - developing a unique blockchain and OST-based exchange and platform to allow the world's best talents to cash in on their potential today, via fans across the world. - developing a unique blockchain and OST-based exchange and platform to allow the world's best talents to cash in on their potential today, via fans across the world. Medical Trials - an Oxford University healthcare spinoff partnering with OST to tokenize a pharmaceutical app for matching Phase 3 clinical trials with patients from a decentralized data pool in a manner that adheres to the GDPR standard. healthcare spinoff partnering with OST to tokenize a pharmaceutical app for matching Phase 3 clinical trials with patients from a decentralized data pool in a manner that adheres to the GDPR standard. Tokenizing At-Work Interactions - This stealth project smoothly integrates into traditional business systems, tokenizing everyday at-work interactions to facilitate and improve employee engagement. "We are focused on growing and expanding options for our extremely broad purchasing and user communities," commented Jason Goldberg, CEO of Simple Token. "Our token sale results were solid, we have strong momentum with Member Company growth, and now with our listing on these exchanges we give our community even more choices in terms of where to purchase and engage with Simple Token and OST. We are proud to be at the forefront of bringing an increasing number of mainstream businesses and consumers to the blockchain." Simple Token enables any business to easily launch their own digital currency powered by OST and the OpenST protocol. Contact [email protected] with inquiries concerning getting your business onto the world's first viable inter-exchangeable blockchain ecosystem. Join the Simple Token conversation on Telegram to speak directly with the project's founders and developers. About Simple Token Simple Token, founded by serial entrepreneur Jason Goldberg, enables mainstream applications to deploy their own branded crypto-backed token economies, in a scalable and cryptographically-auditable manner, without needing to mint and maintain their own publicly-tradable crypto tokens. Simple Token enables any company to create, launch, and manage their own branded digital token economy on open and highly scalable side-chains anchored to the Ethereum mainnet, without in-depth blockchain development requirements. For more details on Simple Token please visit http://simpletoken.org. Media Inquiries: Lawrence Smalheiser SparkPR for Simple Token [email protected] (415) 504-3694 SOURCE Simple Token Related Links https://simpletoken.org LONDON, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5284476 Summary Solar photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of solar energy - light and heat from the sun - into electrical energy, which is consequently supplied either to the electric grid or to the consumer directly. This conversation is carried out by photosensitive semiconducting materials, assembled in the form of modules, usually referred to as solar PV modules or just solar modules. Global solar photovoltaic (PV) modules market was valued at over $36 Billion in 2016 and is estimated to reach around $22 Billion in 2021, registering a negative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 9% between 2016 and 2021. For the fourth consecutive year, Asia eclipsed all other markets, accounting for about two-thirds of global additions. The top five markets - China, the US, Japan, India, and the UK - together contributed approximately 95% of the market value in 2016. On the flip side, the reduction in module prices resulted in an increase in the installed capacity in 2016 and is estimated to remain stable through the forecast period. The total installed capacity between 2017 and 2021 is estimated to be close to 380 gigawatts (GW) whereas it stood at approximately 262 GW between 2011 and 2016. China, Japan, and the US led the global solar PV module market during the year 2016. The market developments in the top countries are largely due to the economies of scale, emerging technologies, and policy-based government and industrial institutions. During the forecast period, on average, close to 75 GW are expected to be developed year-on-year. The market expansion was largely due to the increasing competitiveness of solar PV, as well as to rising demand for electricity and improving awareness of solar PV's potential as countries seek to alleviate pollution and reduce CO2 emissions (Ren21, 2017). The report "Solar PV Modules, Update 2017 - Global Market Size, Competitive Landscape, Key Country Analysis, and Forecast to 2021", offers comprehensive information and understanding of the solar PV modules market. The report analyzes the current trend and future potential of solar PV modules market at global, regional (Americas, Asia-Pacific, and, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and key countries (the US, Canada, Chile, China, India, Japan, the UK, Germany, France, Italy) level. Moreover, this report analyzes the solar PV modules market in terms of volume and value, classified by technologies for the period 2011-2021. The solar PV module technologies covered in the report include crystalline silicon and thin-film. The report provides insight into the drivers and restraints affecting the solar PV market, competitive landscape, policies and initiatives, recent market deals, top company profiles, and key upcoming solar PV projects. Companies mentioned in this report:3Sun Srl, Astronergy, BYD Co Ltd, Canadian Solar Inc, Changzhou EGing Photovoltaic Technology Co Ltd, China Sunergy Co., Ltd., Conergy AG, EGing Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd., ET Solar Group Corporation, First Solar Inc, GCL System Integration Technology Co Ltd, GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd, Hanergy Solar Group Limited, Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd, Hanwha Q Cells GmbH, Hareon Solar Technology Co Ltd, Shanghai Aerospace Automobile Electromechanical Co Ltd (HT-SAAE), JA Solar Holdings Co Ltd, Jetion Solar (China) Co Ltd, JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd, Kaneka Corp, Kyocera Corporation, LDK Solar Co Ltd, Jiangsu Linyang Electronics Co Ltd, LONGi Solar, Miasole, Mitsubishi Corporation, NexPower Technology Corp, REC Solar Inc, Renesola Ltd, Risen Energy Co Ltd, S-Energy Co Ltd, Sharp Corporation, Shunfeng International Clean Energy Limited., Solar Frontier KK, SolarWorld AG, Stion Corp, SunPower Corporation, Talesun Solar Germany GmbH, Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd, Tongwei Solar (Hefei) Co., Ltd, Toshiba Corporation, Trina Solar Ltd, Wotech Solar Group Ltd, Wuxi Suntech Power Co Ltd, Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited. Scope The report analyses solar PV modules market. Its scope includes - - Analysis of the growth of solar PV modules market with a focus on market value in global and regional level including Asia-Pacific, Americas, and EMEA. - The report provides solar PV modules market analysis for key countries including the US, Canada, Chile, China, India, Japan, the UK, Germany, France, and Italy. - The report offers country level solar PV modules market volume and value for the period 2011-2021. - Qualitative analysis of key market drivers and restraints, and analysis of their impacts on solar PV modules market are discussed. - The report provides competitive landscape at country level for the year 2016. It also covers key policies and initiatives, key deals, and key upcoming projects. Reasons to buy The report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner. It will allow you to - - Facilitate decision-making by analyzing market data on solar PV modules - Develop strategies based on developments in the solar PV modules market - Identify key partners and business-development avenues, based on an understanding of the movements of the major competitors in the solar PV modules market - Respond to your competitors' business structure, strategies, and prospects. Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5284476 About Reportbuyer Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers For more information: Sarah Smith Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 (646) 453 6293 Website: www.reportbuyer.com SOURCE ReportBuyer Related Links http://www.reportbuyer.com PARIS, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Peter Price, Chairman of Reporters Without Borders (RSF USA), joined RSF President, Christophe Deloire, to welcome Stephen Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Meryl Streep to the Paris premiere of The Post. The film celebrates RSF's global mission to protect press freedom through its correspondents in 130 countries. These prominent leaders in the film industry thanked RSF for its commitment to protecting against what they feels is a deeply critical challenge to press freedom now re-occurring today. https://rsf.org/en PARK RIDGE, Ill., Jan. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Teamsters Local 700 members who are employed with the City of Chicago have voted to ratify a new five-year contract that will now go before City Council for final approval. Once the contract is approved by the city, it will become retroactive beginning July 1, 2017. Nearly 1,000 members came out to cast their vote on the tentative agreement on Sunday, Jan. 14, at the Teamsters Local 705 Auditorium. Teamsters Local 700 represents more than 2,000 union members that work in the city as motor truck drivers, booters and garage attendants. The road to a new contract began well over a year ago when Local 700 began soliciting contract proposals from the entire city membership. After more than six months of meeting at the bargaining table with the city, the parties were able to reach a tentative agreement last weekend. Upon reaching a tentative agreement, a strike authorization vote was averted. "I would like to congratulate the City of Chicago members on ratifying their contract," said Teamsters Local 700 President Becky Strzechowski. "This was a very long process and I want to thank the members for your dedication to your City as your great work helped us make a strong case at the bargaining table. Our stewards also played an integral role in keeping the membership informed and they gave up a lot of personal time to come to the union hall to receive updates. I would also like to thank our chief negotiators Stuart Davidson and Jon Magna for all of their hard work in leading our bargaining committee. Our committee put in countless hours, late nights and an incredible amount of research into representing your best interests and achieving a fair agreement on behalf of the thousands of Teamsters Local 700 members and their families who are entitled to the best contract possible." Some of the provisions in the new contract include: Turning more than 500 pool drivers into full-time career service drivers; Drivers who worked three months in 2012/2013 will receive up to a $2,000 payment within 75 days, pursuant to a long disputed grievance settlement; payment within 75 days, pursuant to a long disputed grievance settlement; Hourly wage increases each year for all members, and higher starting wage increases for garage attendants and booters; Time-and-a-half pay for 6 th day service and double-time pay for 7 th day service; day service and double-time pay for 7 day service; Increased training and safety equipment for all members; Restricted subcontracting; and Paid parental leave for both parents. Complete contract books will be made available to all members once the city has approved it. Teamsters Local 700 represents more than 10,000 public sector workers across Illinois. Contact: Mindy Saban 847-939-9707 SOURCE Teamsters Local 700 NEW YORK, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The FGD system market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.6% from 2017 to 2022. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p04166807 The flue gas desulfurization (FGD) system market is projected to grow from USD 16.00 billion in 2017 to USD 21.00 billion by 2022 at a CAGR of 5.6% between 2017 and 2022. The FGD system market is growing significantly across the globe due to various factors, which include stringent implementation of various air pollution control regulations, rise in environmental awareness, and use of coal for electricity generation. However, high initial installation costs of FGD systems and their high operational energy as well as waste disposing requirements are some of the factors expected to restrain the growth of the FGD system market across the globe Among types, the dry & semi-dry FGD system segment of the FGD system market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Based on type, the FGD system market has been classified into wet system and dry & semi-dry FGD system. The dry & semi-dry FGD system segment of the FGD system market is projected to grow at a higher CAGR as compared to the wet FGD system segment during the forecast period. The growth of the dry & semi-dry FGD system segment of the FGD system market can be attributed to the lower costs of dry & semi-dry FGD systems as compared to wet FGD systems The Asia Pacific FGD system market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific FGD system market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2017 to 2022. The growth of the Asia Pacific FGD system market can be attributed to the formulation and implementation of various government regulations for controlling emissions from various industries, increase in demand for electricity, growth of the reagent and equipment replacement market, and increase in the number of coal-fired power plants in the Asia Pacific region. Breakdown of Primaries In the process of determining and verifying the market size gathered through secondary research for different segments and subsegments of the FGD system market, extensive primary interviews have been conducted with the key industry experts. The break-up of profiles of primary participants has been given below. BREAK-UP OF PROFILES OF PRIMARY PARTICIPANTS: By Company Type: Tier 1 - 50%, Tier 2 - 37%, and Tier 3 - 13% By Designation: C Level - 48%, Director Level - 31%, and Others - 21% By Region: North America - 33%, Europe - 28%, Asia Pacific - 21%, Middle East & Africa 10%, and South America - 8% Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan), General Electric (US), Doosan Lentjes (Germany), Babcock & Wilcox (US), RAFAKO (Poland), Siemens (Germany), FLSmidth (Denmark), Hamon Corporation (US), Clyde Bergemann Power Group (UK), Marsulex Environmental Technologies (US), Thermax (India), and ANDRITZ (Austria), among others are the key players operating in the FGD system market. Research Coverage: This report offers an overview of the market trends, drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities with respect to the FGD system market. It also provides a detailed overview of the FGD system market across five regions, namely, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. The report categorizes the FGD system market based on installation, type, end user, and region. A detailed analysis of the leading players, along with the key growth strategies adopted by them has also been covered in this report on the FGD system market. Reasons to Buy the Report: This report covers the following key aspects: What would be the size of the FGD system market by 2022 and what would be its growth rate from 2017 to 2022? What are the key market trends in the FGD system market? What are the factors expected to drive the growth of the FGD system market? What are the barriers that impact the growth of the FGD system market? Who are the key players in the FGD system market? The report on the FGD system market covers key regions, namely, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East & Africa, and South America including their key countries. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p04166807 About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (646)-751-7922 Intl: +1 646-751-7922 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links http://www.reportlinker.com United Arab Emirates (UAE) has denied claims by Qatari royal Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani that he has been held in Abu Dhabi against his will adding that the member of the Qatari ruling tribe is allowed to leave if he wishes. The claims of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani, who belongs to the Qatari ruling tribe, in a video recording aired on Doha-based al Jazeera, added fuel to the six-month old Gulf crisis opposing Qatar and its regional neighbors. I am a guest of Sheikh Mohammed but it is not hosting now, it is now an imprisonment, Sheikh Abdullah said in the recording. They told me not to leave and I am afraid something will happen to me and they blame Qatar. I just wanted to let you know that Qatar is innocent in this and I am being hosted by Sheikh Mohammed and anything that happens to me after this is under his responsibility. The authenticity of the recording could not be verified. Emirati foreign ministry denied Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani was held against his will. The ministry pointed out that he sojourned in Abu Dhabi at his own request and enjoyed the warm welcome and gracious hospitality during his stay in the UAE. The ministry added that Sheikh Abdullah had come to Abu Dhabi after he fled Qatar, fearing for his life. A trusted source confirmed to me that Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani is free to leave the UAE for any destination he chooses and he can leave whenever he likes, Ali Rashid al-Nuaimi, head of UAEs Hedayah counter-extremism wrote on Twitter. Qatar has been at odd with its Gulf neighbors, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain since June after the three countries plus Egypt accused it of supporting terrorism. The four cut off sea, air and ground links with the tiny gas-rich country. Sheikh Abdullahs late father Emir Ali bin Abdullah al-Thani ruled Qatar from 1949 to 1960 while his brother Ahmed bin Ali al-Thani ruled from 1960 to 1972. He enjoys close ties with Saudi Arabia where he owns properties. He came under the spotlight after the crisis sparked and was among exiled Qatari figures supported by Saudi Arabia and the UAE who were preparing to establish a government in exile. The Qatari Foreign Ministry said, via news agency QNA, it was monitoring the situation. In principle, the state of Qatar supports maintaining the legal rights of any individual and his family has the right to pursue all legal means to protect his rights, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. DUBLIN, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The "REACH and RoHS Compliance: Gain a Deeper Understanding: 2-Day In-Person Seminar" conference has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This 2 day seminar will go into the specifics of the REACH and RoHS regulations, provide case studies and share lessons learned so your organization can benefit from the mistakes of others. We will review the latest on both directives and will draw out key developments and key dates (if applicable) with particular emphasis on requirements for US firms. REACH and RoHS have been referred to as "one of the most complex regulations in the history of the EU." Do not miss this 2 day seminar to find out why. Topic Background: REACH and RoHS conformity have banned problematic toxic and environmentally hazardous elements such as lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenylether (PBDE) in quantities not exceeding a maximum of 0.1 percent by mass in products. Restrictions of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Registration, Evaluation Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) are European requirements on chemicals and chemical substances used in products. REACH is required by the EU for products containing chemical compounds. It is also required by US exporters for all suppliers exporting products to the EU. Even though you many not be an exporter, you may have to still comply with these regulations. Companies shipping parts or products into Europe must comply with EU REACH and RoHS regulations. EU REACH creates increased risk of product recalls, or bans that must be proactively addressed to ensure continued market access. Products containing harnesses, hydraulic components, rubber or PVC are at a higher risk of containing restricted materials. REACH applies to solvents, fragrances, metals, alloys, pigments, dyes, fertilizers, cosmetics, detergents, polymers, electronic equipment, furniture, textile toys, etc. Learning Objectives: After completing this seminar, you will gain a better understanding of: Understanding your organization's liability under RoHS and REACH. Review case studies. Discuss lessons learned applications to ensure full compliance. RoHS and REACH guidelines REACH Registration of Substances Introduction to REACH Articles and REACH Substances of Very High Concerns (SVHC) Supply chain communication Compliance enforcement Basics of RoHS Background and content of RoHS Responsibility for RoHS International requirements of RoHS WEEE - background and content of WEEE and how to work to meet requirements Material testing methods Areas Covered: Topics covered in this seminar include: REACH Registration of Substances Introduction to REACH Articles and REACH Substances of Very High Concerns (SVHC) Supply chain communication Compliance enforcement Basics of RoHS Background and content of RoHS Responsibility for RoHS International requirements of RoHS WEEE - background and content of WEEE and how to work to meet requirements Material testing methods. Overview of three of the most important materials regulations, the processes, and the programs needed RoHS 1 and 2 Compliance REACH Compliance US Dodd-Frank Conflict Minerals Reporting Improving data collection by using Jig 101, IEC 62474, IPC 1752 Managing suppliers with procurement contracts Effectively using technology for tracking and managing compliance For more information about this conference visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/429cv5/two_day_reach_and?w=5 Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com CALGARY, Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Vermilion Energy Inc. ("Vermilion", the "Company", "We" or "Our") (TSX,NYSE: VET) is pleased to announce that we have entered into an arrangement agreement (the "Arrangement") to acquire a private southeast Saskatchewan producer ("Privateco") for total cash consideration of $90.8 million (the "Purchase Price"). Under the terms of the Arrangement, Vermilion has agreed to acquire (the "Acquisition") all of the issued and outstanding common shares ("Privateco Shares") in the capital of Privateco, including all Privateco Shares issuable, in accordance with the terms of existing grants of options or warrants, prior to the effective time of the Arrangement, and assume all outstanding debt of the Privateco. The Purchase Price will be funded from Vermilion's existing credit facilities. The Board of Directors of Privateco has unanimously approved the Arrangement and recommended that Privateco shareholders vote in favour of the Arrangement. The Arrangement remains subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable court, Privateco shareholder and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close on or about February 15th, 2018. The Acquisition is comprised of high netback, low base decline, light oil producing fields in the Sinclair and Fertile areas, straddling the Saskatchewan/Manitoba border, approximately 55 km northeast of Vermilion's existing operations in southeast Saskatchewan (the "Assets"). The Assets include approximately 42,600 net acres of land (approximately 100% W.I.), three oil batteries, and associated pipelines, along with the necessary water infrastructure to facilitate the existing seven waterflood projects and initiate up to eight additional waterflood projects. The Assets produced approximately 1,150 bbl/d of 40 API oil during Q4 2017, sourced from the Bakken/Three Forks formation. All of the current production and infrastructure will be 100% owned and operated by Vermilion. Total proved plus probable ("2P") reserves attributed to the Assets at December 31, 2017 are 6.7(1) mmboe (100% crude oil), based on an independent evaluation by GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. The Assets demonstrate a low base decline rate of approximately 15% at present, and are expected to have even lower decline rates over time. Areas under waterflood have decline rates of less than 10% with certain areas of flat or increasing production. Approximately 45% of the production comes from active waterflood projects, leaving significant opportunity to expand the waterflood. The Acquisition is accretive on a fully-diluted per share basis for all pertinent metrics including production, fund flows from operations(2), reserves and net asset value. Making no deduction for undeveloped land value, transaction metrics equate to $13.55 per boe of 2P reserves, and $79,000 per flowing barrel of production. Based on 2018 WTI strip pricing of US$61.83/bbl, the operating netback for the Assets is estimated at approximately $51.80 (2) per boe. Using the 2P finding, development and acquisition cost (based on the reserves in the GLJ report) of $19.02 per boe (including future development capital), the Assets are expected to deliver a 2P after-tax fund flows recycle ratio of 2.7 times. Using the same strip pricing assumption, the total Acquisition cost (including assumed debt) is approximately 5.1 times estimated annualized 2018 fund flows from operations ("FFO"), after deducting incremental interest expense. Calculated on a debt-adjusted cash flow basis, the total Acquisition cost (including assumed debt) is approximately 4.6 times. Pro-forma the acquisition, our year end 2018 debt-to-FFO ratio is forecast to be 2.0 times based on January 11, 2018 strip pricing, as compared to 1.9 times prior to the acquisition. The Acquisition complements our current southeast Saskatchewan operations and will be managed out of our existing field office in the area. Furthermore, the Acquisition aligns with our sustainable growth-and-income model by targeting low risk assets with high netbacks, strong free cash flow generation, low base decline rates and strong capital efficiencies on future development. As a result of the Acquisition, and based on a mid-February closing date, we are revising our 2018 production guidance to between 75,000 and 77,500 boe/d (from 74,500 to 76,500 boe/d previously). We are also increasing our 2018 capital budget to $325 million (from $315 million previously) to reflect additional capital activity on these assets planned for the second half of the year. About Vermilion Vermilion is an international energy producer that seeks to create value through the acquisition, exploration, development and optimization of producing properties in North America, Europe and Australia. Our business model emphasizes organic production growth augmented with value-adding acquisitions, along with providing reliable and increasing dividends to investors. Vermilion is targeting growth in production primarily through the exploitation of light oil and liquids-rich natural gas conventional resource plays in Canada and the United States, the exploration and development of high impact natural gas opportunities in the Netherlands and Germany, and through oil drilling and workover programs in France and Australia. Vermilion currently holds an 18.5% working interest in the Corrib gas field in Ireland. Vermilion pays a monthly dividend of Canadian $0.215 per share, which provides a current yield of approximately 5.5%. Vermilion's priorities are health and safety, the environment, and profitability, in that order. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the public and those who work with us, and the protection of our natural surroundings. We have been recognized as a top decile performer amongst Canadian publicly listed companies in governance practices, as a Climate Leadership level (A-) performer by the CDP, and a Best Workplace in the Great Place to Work Institute's annual rankings in Canada, France and the Netherlands. In addition, Vermilion emphasizes strategic community investment in each of our operating areas. Employees and directors hold approximately 6.5% of our fully diluted shares, are committed to consistently delivering superior rewards for all stakeholders, and have delivered over 20 years of market outperformance. Vermilion trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol VET. Natural gas volumes have been converted on the basis of six thousand cubic feet ("mcf") of natural gas to one barrel equivalent of oil. Barrels of oil equivalent (boe) may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A boe conversion ratio of six thousand cubic feet to one barrel of oil is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead. (1) Estimated total proved and proved plus probable reserves attributable to the Assets as evaluated by GLJ Petroleum Consultants Ltd. in a report dated January 12, 2018 with an effective date of December 31, 2017, in accordance with National Instrument 51-101 Standards for Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities of the Canadian Securities Administrators, using the GLJ (2018-01) price forecast (the "GLJ Report") (2) Non-GAAP Financial Measures: Netbacks, fund flows from operations, and free cash flow are non-GAAP (as defined herein) or additional GAAP financial measures that do not have standardized meanings prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS" or, alternatively, "GAAP") and therefore may not be comparable with the calculations of similar measures for other entities. "Netbacks" are per boe and per mcf measures used in operational and capital allocation decisions. "Fund flows from operations" represents cash flows from operating activities before changes in non-cash operating working capital and asset retirement obligations settled. Management considers fund flows from operations and fund flows from operations per share to be key measures as they demonstrate Vermilion's ability to generate the cash necessary to pay dividends, repay debt, fund asset retirement obligations and make capital investments. Management believes that by excluding the temporary impact of changes in non-cash operating working capital, fund flows from operations provides a useful measure of Vermilion's ability to generate cash that is not subject to short-term movements in non-cash operating working capital. For relevant operating netback related disclosures please refer to the reconciliation in management's discussion and analysis contained in Vermilion's 2016 Annual Report for the year ended December 31, 2016 available on SEDAR or at the company's website (www.vermilionenergy.com). DISCLAIMER Certain statements included or incorporated by reference in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements or information typically contain statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward looking statements or information in this press release may include, but are not limited to: the anticipated closing date of the Acquisition; the actual amount of debt assumed upon closing of the Acquisition; the sources of existing production and future development drilling opportunities; the annual decline rate of the Assets; the number and classification of future development drilling opportunities; the pricing received for production, and resulting operating and after-tax cash flow netbacks for the Assets; the estimate of annualized 2018 fund flows from operations; the anticipated acquisition metrics; the expectation that fiscal and regulatory policies in Saskatchewan and Manitoba remain supportive of continued investment; and remain supportive of continued investment; exploration and development capital expenditure expectations for 2018; and development plans and strategic objectives. Statements relating to reserves are deemed to be forward-looking statements as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the reserves described exist in the quantities predicted or estimated, and can be profitably produced in the future. Such forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of assumptions all or any of which may prove to be incorrect. In addition to any other assumptions identified in this document, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: satisfaction of all conditions to the proposed Acquisition and receipt of all necessary approvals. the ability of Vermilion to obtain equipment, services and supplies in a timely manner to carry out planned development activities; the ability of Vermilion to market oil and natural gas successfully to current and new customers; the timely receipt of required regulatory approvals; currency, exchange and interest rates; future oil and natural gas prices; and Management's expectations relating to the timing and results of development activities. Although Vermilion believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward looking statements because Vermilion can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements or information are based on current expectations, estimates and projections that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by Vermilion and described in the forward looking statements or information. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: the ability of management to execute its business plan; the risks of the oil and gas industry, both domestically and internationally, such as operational risks in exploring for, developing and producing crude oil and natural gas and market demand; risks and uncertainties involving geology of oil and natural gas deposits; risks inherent in Vermilion's marketing operations, including credit risk; the uncertainty of reserves estimates and reserves life; the uncertainty of estimates and projections relating to production, costs and expenses; potential delays or changes in plans with respect to proposed acquisitions (including the Acquisition), exploration or development projects or capital expenditures; Vermilion's ability to enter into or renew leases; fluctuations in oil and natural gas prices, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates; health, safety and environmental risks; uncertainties as to the availability and cost of financing; the ability of Vermilion to add production and reserves through development and exploration activities; general economic and business conditions; the possibility that government policies or laws may change or governmental approvals may be delayed or withheld; uncertainty in amounts and timing of royalty payments; risks associated with existing and potential future law suits and regulatory actions against Vermilion; and other risks and uncertainties described elsewhere in this document or in Vermilion's other filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this document are made as of the date hereof and Vermilion undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE Vermilion Energy Inc. Related Links http://www.vermilionenergy.com SANTA ROSA, Calif., Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vintage Wine Estates announced today the acquisition of Tamarack Cellars in Walla Walla, Washington. Founded in 1998 by Ron and Jamie Coleman, Tamarack Cellars is highly regarded for its range of wines including Firehouse Red blend, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as a number of limited-production, single-vineyard reserve blends sourced from the state's top vineyards. "Tamarack Cellars exemplifies what is so very exciting about Washington winemaking, thanks to the vision of the founder, Ron Coleman and the quality and diversity of the state's microclimates and vineyards," commented Pat Roney, President and CEO of Vintage Wine Estates. "I am delighted to add Tamarack Cellars to our portfolio." "As much as I have loved and am proud of everything we have done building Tamarack, it is with great pleasure that Jamie and I are turning things over to Vintage Wine Estates," said Ron Coleman. "I've been impressed by everyone at Vintage Wine Estates, they are real pros. I feel good about the Tamarack team joining a group that is capable of and committed to making the wines Tamarack is known for. They also bring the additional tools needed to grow the brand successfully. After 20 years, leaving is bittersweet, but leaving the winery and the people who make it what it is in good hands makes it mostly sweet." Long-time Winemaker Danny Gordon will continue in his leadership role in the crafting of the wines. All Tamarack Cellars personnel have been retained to continue to deliver consistent service and guest experiences to the Tamarack customer. Tamarack has been featured in the Wine Spectator TOP 100 three times, including twice with their Firehouse Red, which retails for under $20. Firehouse Red has received dozens of other accolades including Best Red Wine Blend under $20 three years in a row from Seattle Magazine in its annual "Best of Washington Wine" issue. Tamarack Cellars has received the Winery of the Year award from Wine & Spirits magazine and the single-vineyard reserve blends consistently garner scores in the mid-90s. The purchase of Tamarack Cellars comes on the heels of the recent acquisition of the California brands Layer Cake, Cherry Pie and If You See Kay, a deal which closed on January 2, 2018. Tamarack Cellars is housed in a renovated firehouse in a World War II army base in Walla Walla, hence the name of the flagship blend. Case production is approximately 25,000 cases and the purchase includes inventory, grower contracts and tasting room. Financial terms were not disclosed. Metis, an Exvere Company, served as the exclusive financial and transactional advisor to Tamarack Cellars. About Tamarack Tamarack Cellars is one of Walla Walla's pioneering wineries, founded in 1998 by Ron and Jamie Coleman in a historic World War II Firehouse at the Walla Walla Airport district. Winemaker Danny Gordon recently completed his 19th harvest at Tamarack and is known for producing high scoring wines that consistently over-deliver for their price points. Tamarack wines have been selected by the Wine Spectator for their annual list of the TOP 100 Wines in the World three times. Tamarack wines are distributed nationally in 30 states. About Vintage Wine Estates Vintage Wine Estates is a privately held wine company owned by a group of vintner families with deep roots in the wine business. The families own a collection of winery estates and brands including Clos Pegase Winery, Cosentino Winery, Girard Winery, B.R. Cohn Winery, Swanson Vineyards, Viansa Sonoma, Windsor Vineyards, Cameron Hughes, Firesteed, Cartlidge & Browne, Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Middle Sister, Tall Dark Stranger, Pro-mis-Q-ous, Monogamy, Girl & Dragon, Purple Cowboy and a number of exclusive wine brands. Vintage Wine Estates is a majority partner in Splinter Group Spirits, producing craft Kentucky Bourbon whiskey (Straight Edge), American whiskey (Slaughter House) and Partner Vermouth and markets Clayhouse and Buried Cane wines. An industry leader across all sales channels and dedicated to providing wine consumers with a range of wines from $10 to $100+ dollars, Vintage Wine Estates produces outstanding wines from Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and other premium California winegrowing regions and respects the way people buy their wine across all sales channels: at wineries, retail, telephone, television and Internet. www.vintagewineestates.com About Metis Metis, an Exvere Company, advises Pacific Northwest businesses on capital transactions including mergers, acquisitions, and recapitalizations. With offices in Seattle, Walla Walla, and the Willamette Valley, Metis offers concentrated experience and expertise in the Pacific Northwest wine, adult beverage, and hospitality industries. For more information about Metis please visit www.metisnw.com For More information Contact: Vintage Wine Estates Mary Ann Vangrin 707-738-0338 [email protected] Tamarack Cellars Ron Coleman 509-520-8949 [email protected] SOURCE Vintage Wine Estates Related Links http://www.vintagewineestates.com GUANGZHOU, China, Jan. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2018 Wechat Open Class PRO will be held in Guangzhou today and is the first time it will be made available to an international audience via live broadcast in English on Facebook. As the biggest activity for WeChat, which is one of the popular applications in China, and involves over 980 million monthly active users, the event aims to set the tone for the 2018 WeChat ecosystem. With a tagline of TO BE, WeChat Open Class PRO 2018 will highlight WeChat's latest development of functions such as mini games and mobile payment in the areas of mini programs and smart retail. The broadcast is scheduled to start at 9:00am (Beijing time)/8:00pm (US Eastern Standard Time) on the official Facebook page. We also welcome the media who have interests in our activities. The WeChat team can provide related material. To link to the live broadcast of the event, please follow WeChat on Facebook: @WeChat Pay https://www.facebook.com/WeChatPayTeam/ Media Contact: Wan Li, +86-20-8116-7888, [email protected] SOURCE WeChat SALEM, Ore., Jan. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As Zenith Vineyard enters its 13th vintage we are proud to announce an exciting new relationship with Failla Wines and Ehren Jordan, who will transition to Zenith's winemaker in residence for the 2018 vintage. Failla Wines will move its Oregon operations to Zenith in May and crush its 5th Oregon harvest at our beautiful winery. "We are excited to work with the legendary Ehren Jordan. He has a powerful record of success with his Failla Wines in California and is a formidable Pinot Noir winemaker. He brings great focus and style to his wines, and is already working with Seven Springs, our neighbor in the Eola-Amity Hills and one of the greatest vineyards in the New World," commented Timothy Ramey, Winegrower at Zenith Vineyard. About Failla Wines With only 20 vintages, the history of Failla is relatively short, but not without its impact. The creation of Ehren Jordan, Failla was born from the opportunity to purchase an inspiring piece of land and the drive to make wines reflective of that inspiration. Failla's first vintage in 1998 consisted of two single-vineyard bottlings; for their 20th harvest there will be over 30 bottlings highlighting both the relationships Ehren has molded with great farmers as well as the estate vineyards he has cultivated. Now producing 20,000 cases, Failla represents a benchmark for cool climate fruit from the extreme coastal areas of California. In 2015 Failla stuck its toe back in the Oregon Pinot Noir market after a 14-year break with fruit sourced from Seven Springs Vineyard. Over the past few years production has grown to about 5,000 cases in Oregon and the search began for a winery home of its own. "The opportunity to work with Zenith Vineyard, sourcing their outstanding fruit, crafting Zenith Vineyard wines and expanding dramatically the retail and hospitality aspects of our business are enormously exciting for Failla. It will be a joy to make wine in the beautiful Zenith winery and we expect to offer custom-crush winemaking to third-parties as well. We are thrilled to join the vibrant community in the Eola-Amity Hills," said Ehren Jordan, Winemaker and Proprietor of Failla Wines. Zenith Purchases Winery Facility from St. Innocent In December 2017 Zenith Vineyard bought the winery and tasting room portions of the building Zenith built with St. Innocent in 2008 and struck a deal to purchase St. Innocent's ownership interests of Zenith. "We are bringing to a close a highly successful 12-year partnership with St. Innocent LTD. Mark Vlossak has served as our winemaker since our first vintage in 2006. Together we produced beautiful wines together, over twenty 90+ point rated wines with fruit sourced from Zenith Vineyard for the Zenith and St. Innocent labels. Mark has been a terrific partner and mentor and we will be forever grateful for his positive impact at Zenith," commented Ramey. Mark Vlossak, Partner and Founding Winemaker commented: "I began working with the Zenith site in my second vintage, 1989 when it was planted and owned by Pat and Patti O'Connor and continued with our partnership with Tim and Kari Ramey. It is a beautiful site expressing the unique terroir of the Eola-Amity Hills." "After 30 years of making wine in Oregon, it is time to 'return to my roots.' St. Innocent Winery has purchased 47.5 acres in the South Salem Hills where we will plant and nurture our own vines. We are constructing a smaller winery and will continue our focus on the great vineyards of Oregon. Our new facility will have a large tasting room allowing us to diversify and expand our customer experience, with more integration of food and wine at our inspirational new site. We all wish Tim, Kari and Ehren continued success on their path forward together." About Zenith Vineyard Founded in 2002, Zenith Vineyard is a 133-acre property with 83 acres planted to wine grapes. It produced over 280 tons of wine grapes in 2017 for a sterling list of 20 winey clients, including two of the five founders of the Oregon wine Industry, Ponzi Vineyards and Adelsheim Vineyard. "Adelsheim and Zenith have been partners for many years," remarked Joth Ricci, President and CEO of Adelsheim Vineyard. "Tim and Kari Ramey are first class operators, business partners and friends." Sixteen wineries make a Zenith Vineyard-designated wines and in 2016 Zenith was profiled as one of Five Great Oregon Vineyards Worth Knowing by Wine Enthusiast magazine. Zenith has been LIVE Certified for more than 10 years and is committed to sustainable farming. We produce nine wines for our Zenith label with estate fruit including Estate and Barrel Select Pinot Noir; Auxerrois; Methode Champenoise; Chardonnay; White Pinot Noir; Blushed Pinot Noir; Chardonnay and Tempranillo. Zenith is a major events venue, hosting over 80 events annually including Weddings, Corporate Events, Charity Auctions, Proms, Celebrations of Life; and Family events. Zenith expects its new relationship with Failla Wines to have a significant focus on events and Hospitality and will expand this important part of Zenith's operation. "We are confident we can grow our hospitality business quite meaningfully with our collaboration with Failla Wines. Failla's view of hospitality is a perfect complement to Zenith's goals and we will expand our businesses together," said Kari Ramey, Events Manager at Zenith Vineyard. For more information, visit: www.zenithvineyard.com or www.faillawines.com SOURCE Zenith Vineyard Related Links http://www.zenithvineyard.com The award-winning Smooth 3 is a pro-level 3-axis handheld gimbal stabilizer, which is powered by a highly optimized stabilizing algorithmic system to achieve smooth and precise control of camera phones of different sizes and weights while filming. Boasting an innovatively designed control panel featuring a unique handwheel, it is the world's first phone stabilizer to integrate various camera settings, including zooming, EV, white balance, focusing, shutter speed and ISO adjustment, all at users' fingertips. Also being showcased at CES 2018 were Zhiyun's flagship product Crane 2, industry-first camera stabilizer with Follow Focus & OLED Display as well as its latest Crane Plus, with new features like POV, SmartFollow, NightLapse and MotionMemory, representing Zhiyun's early attempt at AI technology. "It's clear to me that Zhiyun is one of the few companies today that is persistently innovating on behalf of videographers of all skill levels," said Brett Halladay, host and creator of the Youtube Channel Infosmercial. Brett is also the initiator of "MotionMemory"; his idea was adopted by Zhiyun and was made possible on Zhiyun's newest product. "We are honored to have been recognized by CES as a leading innovator," said Leo Wong, Zhiyun's product director. "Zhiyun is an innovation-driven company that listens to the voices of our customers and responds with quick action." The prestigious CES Innovation Awards were sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the owner and producer of CES 2018, the global gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies, and have been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976. Products chosen as CES Innovation Honorees reflected innovative design and engineering in some of the most cutting-edge tech products and services coming to market. Having positioned itself as a world leader in the field of handheld stabilizers, Zhiyun is dedicated to providing optimized solutions for filmmaking and photography. It has blurred the line between professional and normal users in the filmmaking industry and added more vitality to the vlogging era. Zhiyun has established partnerships with world-leading camera brands such as Sony and Canon, and has recently begun a negotiation of cooperation with the most popular video app FiLMic. It owns more than 70% market share globally with an annual sales volume of US$100 million in 2017. Its dedicated app, ZY Play, has over 1 million users and its new online community, Lightollector, is expected to reach 3 million members in 2018. About Zhiyun-Tech Inspired by the mission of delivering grounding-breaking solutions for professional imaging and filmmaking, Zhiyun, the pioneering company that created the world's first camera stabilizer, delivers high-precision and excellent-performance gimbals to videographers and filmmakers in over 50 countries to innovate and redefine the way people capture moments and record life. For more information, visit: http://www.zhiyun-tech.com/index.php?lang=en Contact: Anna Wu +86-139-2281-3700 [email protected] SOURCE Zhiyun Tech Round Hill Capital made progress in strengthening and repositioning its Nordic logistics and industrial portfolio and has appointed Jacob Goldmann and Jakob Paljak as local Asset Managers dedicated to the portfolio. Round Hill acquired the portfolio, to which it is the manager, in September 2016 in partnership with StepStone Group [] Etisalat subsidiary and content aggregator E-Vision is introducing its eJunior application for children at CABSAT 2018 in Dubai this week. The app will provide over 1,500 hours of curated on-demand content for children, said Humaid Rashid Sahoo, CEO, E-Vision.The launch is part of our long-term strategy to secure content and collaborate with leading OTT SVOD players in the region for customised solutions to meet video business offering to mobile subscribers, he added.With our content sourcing capabilities, E-Vision is enabled to develop leading original TV channels such as eJunior, and e-masala, as well as original content and programmes tailored to different markets.For over 17 years the company which operates in the UAE, KSA and Pakistan - has been securing Hollywood, Bollywood, Arabic and other international content for pay-TV and over-the-top (OTT) services.At CABSAT the E-Vision team will be exploring collaborative ideas in the field of TV channels licensing, video-on-demand (VOD) acquisition, content strategy, video OTT solutions, 4K and eHospitality. Legendary film firm Gaumont has signed a multi-year agreement with Vivendi Content to distribute 12 original feature length movies from its STUDIO+ original premium short series across the US, Latin America, Canada and Asia. Gaumont produces and distributes TV programming worldwide. Key drama series include: the award-winning Narcos for Netflix; the critically acclaimed Hannibal; the winner of Best Series (Festival of Fiction TV) The Frozen Dead; and The Art of Crime, amongst many others. Titles in the deal with Vivendi Content struck by Vanessa Shapiro, president of worldwide TV distribution and co-production, Gaumont, and Aline Marrache-Tesseraud, SVP international content acquisitions, CANAL+ Group/Vivendi Content encompass all genres of fiction including thrillers, dramas and dramedies, as well as two high profile international projects: the 1x90' Ahi Afuera (Out There), a story of three teenage boys on the run following a botched robbery and forced into the wild jungles of Patagonia in a mission to survive; and the thriller Crime Time (4x52'). Gaumont will premiere the movies to the US and International markets during NATPE 2018. Prosecutors Office Grills President for His View over Saakashvilis Case By Gvantsa Gabekhadze (TBILISI)--Georgias Chief Prosecutors Office has grilled President Giorgi Margvelashvili for his concerned statement over sentencing the countrys third President Mikheil Saakashvili to three years in prison in absentia.The Prosecutors Office claims that Margvelashvilis statement that his predecessor was sentenced for using the constitutional right of pardoning inmateswas groundless and misleading to public.Deputy Chief Prosecutor Giorgi Gogadze says that Saakashvili exceeded his powers when he pardoned the people arrested for the notorious murder case of Sandro Girgvliani back in 2006. He added that punishing a person regardless of his rank has always been fair in case of the law violation.No state official has a right to exceed his official powers, Gogadze said.Georgias former Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili believes that sentencing a president, if he exceeds his powersis in line with the law.Usupashvili says, however, the Prosecutors Office used a wrong article to sentence the former President as it lacked evidence to charge him for the violations mentioned by the European Court of Human Rights in its verdict over the Girgvlianis case.If the President used the right to pardon an individual for his silence or to take a bribe, he must be sentenced for taking the bribe or influencing a witness, and not for exceeding of official powers. Using the wrong article caused the stir over Saakashvilis case, Usupashvili says.Margvelashvili declared that sentencing Saakashvili for using the right to pardon included risks for any president of Georgia and damaged the countrys international image.Girgvlianis case is one of the most notorious cases in the modern history of Georgia, which saw the murder of a 28-year-old man for the verbal abuse of the Interior Ministry officials under the United National Movement (UNM) government and the people affiliated with the former state leadership.The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) obliged the Georgian state to pay compensation to the victims family in 2011, as it detected grave violations in the case.Georgias Chief Prosecutors office claims Saakashvili dealt with then Interior Ministry official Data Akhalaia to pardon the convicts of the Girgvliani case.Saakashvili is charged for four cases in Georgia related to exceeding of official powers, embezzlement, rally dispersal and appropriation of real estate.Saakashvili left Georgia shortly after his second presidential term expired. He is residing in Ukraine, opposing the current state leadership of the country. Real-time graphics and video effects producer Notch has developed new virtual reality software which fast tracks the development of virtual reality (VR) videos so that the experience can be developed in real time, hopefully making it accessible for the mainstream. Notch develops software that enables live experiences, and claims that two-thirds of all major shows such as those by Beyonce, U2, Brits, Grammys, The Voice ad others use Notch for their live productions. The new VR software uses the same approach it uses for live software and is said to put the creative at the heart of the experience. Notch says that there is now no back and forth from creative to tech teams, slowing everything down and instead there is a simple, smooth process and the immersive experience is enhanced.The company believes that up until now, VR videos have mainly been made in Unity, a gaming software that is pretty technical, and that the limited number of VR videos produced to date is because of the VR medium itself. As this very code-driven, the result can be that creative work is limited to those who can code or is passed through creative to technical teams.VR truly is one of the best ways to listen to music. It makes it an experience, explained Notch director Matt Swoboda. Notch technology has released the restrictions that creators face with interactive VR and VR 360 video coding skills and time - enabling far greater creativity. Putting the creator back in charge of the creative. We now have a whole set of tools aimed at music. Virtual reality is a key part of the feature set. With the worlds fastest VR and 360 video renderer, artists can make high quality VR in a matter of minutes. As opposed to the days or weeks that most currently spend creating such experiences.To demonstrate the new software, Notch has partnered with Finnish band Phantom, whose latest music video was shot in 360 video which is critical for VR, then manipulated in real time. The interactive music video visualises sound in VR. It uses sound to animate, with drum, bass and vocals separated to drive different visuals. The intention is that users are surrounded by the music and immersed in the experience.This was an inspiring challenge to see how far technology can be taken, commented LOST motion designer and creator Jani Isoranta. The Notch technology far surpasses others on the market, with the real-time creative freedom it allows. Using Notch, it was possible to create the VR experience and also render out an 8k stereo video at the flick of a switch. Without the need to create two separate iterations. America Has a Long Way to Go to Reach MLK's Promised Land 50 years after King went to the mountaintop and looked out over the promised land, things are not terribly heartening on the civil rights front. One morning last summer, I was out doing errands near my apartment, in Paris. I had a phone call to make, so I stopped and leaned against a wall. Before I knew what was happening, a man was running his hands over my breasts and my belly, which felt like an especially private part, since I was eight months pregnant. I couldnt move or speak, out of fear that he had somehow damaged my baby. The man was halfway down the block before I gathered myself and screamed after him the crudest curses I could muster. I went to a police station and reported what had happened, hoping only to create a paper trail for whomever he attacked next. It was a vile and insignificant experience. I hadnt thought about it again until I saw, yesterday, that a hundred Frenchwomen, including the actress Catherine Deneuve and the writer Catherine Millet, had signed an opinion piece in Le Monde, defending a freedom to bother, indispensable to sexual freedom. A recent report on Chinese loans and aid published by the College of William & Mary found that Beijing has disbursed $350 billion across the world since 2000. Out of that substantial figure, Africa received $94 billion, including $3 billion in the form of foreign aid. While China remains secretive in most of its dealings in Africa, its financial assistance has increased in a similar way to how U.S. funds to Africa grew in the 1980s, a process that created economic problems for the latter. Much of the continent is still recovering from the burden of U.S. foreign loans, and contemporary Chinese activities could condemn it to carry a new and similar debt load. It also threatens to increase corruption and build African economies dependent on China. Chinese loans are triggering slight market improvements in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Nigeria as transportation projects move trade by reconnecting formerly isolated communities to big markets. In return, however, these countries receive an enormous debt profile as aid and loans increase. What complicates this debt scare is that China provides little information about most of its loans to the continent, and this makes it difficult for observers to track their impact and utilization. It also means average Africans would not have accurate knowledge of debts incurred by their governments until they have to repay China, which could become burdensome. But judging from Official Development Aid (ODA) data, it is obvious beneficiary countries would owe more to China than what is expected. For example, China recently completed the $3.8 billion Nairobi-Mombasa railway project in Kenya -- but upon completion, Kenya still owed 85 percent of the total cost. While this is the first phase of a region-wide undertaking, it is unclear how a country with an unconvincing economic projection like Kenya will repay China without any financial hardship. Heavily indebted recipient countries including Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Nigeria could face similar problems since they have all received an average of $3.2 billion in aid from China recently. This would commit key African powerhouse economies to transferring large amounts of their revenue directly to China over the next few decades -- the modes of and timelines for repayment are unclear. Not only does Chinese aid affect the development programs of African countries, but it could also reduce Africa to a mere tool for Chinese domination of the global economy. Instead, these countries should learn from the history of Chinese dealings in other parts of the world. China has flooded Ecuador with similar aid since 2009, with the latter having to repay in oil. The oil repayment was part of Chinas strategy to meet its rising energy needs, while the result for Ecuador is a $7 billion debt -- more than one-tenth of its national GDP as of last summer. Likewise, Venezuela received $63 billion from China between 2007 and 2014 - 53 percent of all Chinese loans to Latin America. It was easy for former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to agree to service the debt in oil at that time -- oil sold for $100 per barrel. But when the oil market started crashing in 2014, the costs obviously multiplied. Ironically, contemporary African beneficiaries of Chinese financial assistance similarly struggled to service debt incurred from the United States, the IMF, and the World Bank in the late 1990s until the 2005 Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). Corrupt leaders misused an overwhelming portion of aid and loan funds, which until recently culminated in an annual loss of $150 billion in Africa due to corruption. And with China dealing mostly in secret with leaders, Africa could be nailed to yet another fold of corruption. But even if China could tightly monitor its finances to ensure effective usage and work with regimes to service debt, Africas economy would still grow to depend on China, as it did before with the United States. Until the 2008 recession, the continent enjoyed numerous diplomatic benefits from its attachment to the United States, while neglecting potential economic negatives. In most African beneficiary countries, the United States was the biggest economic partner -- more so than neighboring African states. This unhealthy connection left the continent helpless during the early days of the financial crisis, with no capacity to sustain itself. Key U.S. aid and loan beneficiaries including Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya nearly collapsed during the crisis. It is surprising how Africa has yet to learn from this scare. An economy dominated by state-owned monopolies like China places similar concerns on Africa economies ability to immediately recover in case of an unexpected economic shock. And if African states do not rethink Chinas rapid and indiscriminate integration into their economies, the gradual development level they sweat to sustain could be dealt a devastating blow. Ibrahim B. Anoba is the Acting Executive Director of African Liberty Organization for Development. He is a Young Voices Advocate and can be engaged on Twitter @Ibrahim_Anoba. The views expressed are the author's own. Fear about Chinese and Russian influence in Venezuela is reaching new heights. The Trump administrations new national security strategy condemns China and Russia for supporting the dictatorship in Venezuela, and for using arms sales to exercise regional influence. Preventing China and Russia from challenging the United States regional dominance is high on the White Houses Latin America agenda. These concerns are understandable, but we should avoid hysteria about Chinese and Russian meddling. Caracas relationships with Moscow and Beijing are often exaggerated, including by the governments themselves. In October, for example, Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow and made farfetched claims about Russias limitless military backing. I am sure, even if we do not ask, we will be given even more support, he said in the wake of President Trumps threats of a military option for dealing with Venezuela. Such statements have created a false impression of tight-knit international alliances bolstering the regime in Caracas. In truth, Maduro is increasingly isolated and as his countrys economic problems metastasize, his support from Beijing and Moscow falls. The Trump administration has stepped up painful financial-sector sanctions against Maduro as the latter consolidates power ahead of a suspect presidential election this year. Beijing and Moscow have grudgingly offered minor economic support but repeatedly shunned the bailout Maduro desperately needs. Chinas support has declined to a yearly allowance that props up Maduro, but does not solve deep structural problems. Russia recently negotiated generous repayment terms on a $3 billion loan but issued no new financing. Given the low probability of a Chinese or Russian bailout, regime stability in Venezuela is far shakier than it appears. Maduro is struggling to control a population that is increasingly restive about food and goods shortages. Absent an external rescue, a political transition in Venezuela remains a possibility, despite the oppositions disarray. Russia Since Hugo Chavez first courted the Russian government, Moscow has been one of Venezuelas most steadfast allies. For years, Venezuela was among the top buyers of Russian arms. Since the collapse in oil prices in 2014, Russia has provided Venezuela with economic lifelines. The Russian aid came at a critical moment, as Maduro labored mightily but unsuccessfully to help his government and the state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), make timely debt payments. Still, Putin is no philanthropist. Just as Chavez was the darling of Russias defense industry, Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft has been giddily scooping up Venezuelan oil assets at fire sale prices. These bargains, moreover, reflect not only Venezuelas financial desperation, but also the absence of competition. Foreign oil companies are losing their taste for Venezuelas idiosyncratic operating environment, including a government that habitually stiffs its partners and a state-owned oil company as corrupt as it is incompetent. For Putin, there is the added geopolitical benefit of schadenfreude. The Russian leader no doubt takes pleasure in propping up an anti-American government on Americas doorstep. But it is not clear that Putin is willing to go far beyond the support he has already offered. For one, in the run-up to Russias March presidential election, he has promised to cut spending, including by reducing Russias role in the Syrian civil war. Even after the election, Moscow wont be able to afford a bailout. Russias economy has been sputtering since oil prices collapsed, and U.S. and European Union sanctions following Russias occupation of Crimea have not helped. China China established a strategic relationship with Venezuela in 2007, while Chavez was solidifying his socialist partys control. Between 2007 and 2012, China poured $40 billion into Venezuela, its biggest investment in Latin America by far. That Chinese investment, coupled with relatively high oil prices, spurred Caracas to significant spending increases, providing a major boost to Chavezs 2012 re-election campaign. The Chinese investment was so significant -- $20 billion in 2010 alone -- that it served as a pre-emptive bailout. Even after the 2014 oil market shock sent the Venezuelan economy into a tailspin, Maduro had the means to continue servicing debt obligations. Still, even in the heyday of Venezuelas China romance, Chinese loans came with strings attached. Many of the deals required Venezuela to repay with oil, though Venezuela desperately needed to sell every drop of crude it extracted for hard currency. Since Maduro succeeded Chavez in April 2013, Beijing has negotiated even tougher terms and slowed its lending dramatically. From 2013 to today, Beijing has announced new investments totaling just $22 billion, and not all of that money has been disbursed. Given Venezuelas previous borrowing from China, for every dollar Beijing has loaned in recent years, it has received oil repayments of roughly the same value. Why the change? Unlike Moscow, China has the resources to keep Maduro afloat, but it also has a reputation to manage. China seems increasingly concerned about the moral hazard of sponsoring Maduro. In fact, the Maduro governments economic mismanagement has created incentives for China to de-risk. In a sign of Beijings unhappiness with Caracas, a major Chinese oil player, Sinovensa, recently sued PDVSA to force compensation for missed payments. Despite Beijings frustration with Maduro, there is a limit to the punishment China will impose. China would like to maintain a steady flow of Venezuelan oil, and Chinese oil companies continue to covet Venezuelas petroleum reserves, regardless of the chaos aboveground. Additionally, though Venezuelas crisis-as-status-quo reality is distressing to Chinese investors, Beijing understands that the crisis can worsen, and it is not keen to push Venezuela into total collapse. Policy implications At first glance, it may seem that an ideological kinship and shared geopolitical vision underpin the strategic relationships between Venezuela, China, and Russia. China and Venezuela preach a form of modern socialism, and all three countries are eager to promote a multipolar world. Yet financial considerations predominate these diplomatic relationships. When Beijing and Moscow have lent Caracas a hand, they have done so largely out of economic self-interest. And given that these investments are increasingly risky, it would be a surprise if China or Russia threw good money after bad. Overstating the likelihood of a bailout has serious implications. That common misunderstanding leads to foreign policy positions that assume Maduros regime will survive, deflating international efforts to compel a democratic transition and discouraging the domestic opposition from unifying and mobilizing. If fatigue were to translate into diplomatic disengagement, it would give Maduro breathing room. Needless to say, it would be highly paradoxical if Western democracies ended up gifting Maduro a political bailout even as increasingly frugal Beijing and Moscow resist granting economic rescue. In this context, scrutinizing the hype about China and Russias tightknit relationship with Venezuela is key to calibrating international pressure on the Maduro government. Got some scoop for our reporters or editors? Click on the link below to send us your information. Send your news Afghan officials say the country's main intelligence agency has arrested a government employee in the western province of Herat for alleged spying for Iran. Jilani Farhad, the spokesman for Herat's governor, told RFE/RL on January 15 that the man, identified as Assadollah Reza'i, was detained more than 10 days ago by agents of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and sent to Kabul for further investigation. Reza'i had worked for nearly two years as a provincial expert on municipal affairs in Herat Province, which borders Iran, according to Farhad. A senior provincial government official said Reza'i had been under surveillance for several months. Reza'i is said to be accused of transferring classified government documents to Iran's intelligence services. He had previously held top posts in Farah Province. A community gathering in Afghanistans Logar Province has awarded U.S. President Donald Trump a bravery medal, thanking him for his tough stance against Pakistan. Said Farhad Akbari, a community leader in the province, told RFE/RLs Radio Free Afghanistan on January 14 that more than 300 people at an informal jirga, or council, of concerned citizens agreed to award the medal to the U.S. president. This is a handmade medal from available gold, Akbari said. He said the handwritten message on the award states: This Bravery Medal is from the Afghan people to Donald Trump, president of the United States of America. Akbari said the cost of the medal was about 45,000 afghanis ($645), considered a large sum for many in the region, about 60 kilometers outside of the capital, Kabul. He said those supporting the award paid from their own funds and that he personally presented the medal to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on January 13. Akbari, who said he fought against Taliban extremists in southeastern Logar Province in recent years, now is head of the Saadat tribe in the region and operates a construction company. Akbari told RFE/RL that members of the community have waited 16 years for someone in the U.S. administration to make comments of the sort that Trump has made in recent weeks concerning Pakistan. The government in Kabul has long accused Pakistan of backing and sheltering militants who carry out attacks on their soil. Islamabad denies the allegations. Trump and other U.S. officials have also accused Pakistan of providing a safe haven for the insurgents, who often attack Afghan government, civilian, and religious sites, along with U.S. coalition forces. In a Twitter posting on New Years Day, Trump accused Islamabad of taking $33 billion in aid over the past 15 years while offering back "nothing but lies & deceit." The White House later announced it was suspending some $2 billion in assistance to Pakistans military until it did more to fight terrorism. Pakistan military chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on January 12 said his entire nation feels betrayed over U.S. recent statements despite decades of cooperation." The United States has been in Afghanistan since 2001, when it led an invasion to drive the Taliban from power after it said the group's leaders were sheltering Al-Qaeda militants responsible for the September 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States. U.S. forces have remained as part of a NATO-led coalition ever since, although active combat operations were turned over to Afghan forces in 2014, and international troop levels have fallen from a peak of more than 100,000 to about 16,000. BAKU -- Dozens of used-tire dealers have rallied in Azerbaijan's capital to protest against increased customs fees for imported used tires. The protesters gathered on January 15 in front of the presidential office in Baku, calling for the cancellation of the tax hike. Several of them were invited to the presidential office for talks, but they later said their demand was not met. As of January 1, the customs fee for one container with 2,000 used car tires rose threefold to 45,000 manats ($26,400). The protesters said that the increase means the price of a used retread tire rose from 30-50 manats ($18-$30) to 120-150 manats ($70-$88). Many car owners in Azerbaijan prefer to buy used tires imported from Europe to save money. Chinese ships are racing to clean up a massive oil spill after an Iranian tanker sank in the East China Sea. Two ships sprayed chemical agents aimed at dissolving the oil, China Central Television reported on January 15. The 120-square-kilometer oil slick is thought to be made up of heavy fuel that was used to power the Sanchi tanker, which was carrying 136,000 tons of ultralight crude oil from Iran. The vessel sank on January 14, a week after it was set ablaze following a collision with a Chinese cargo ship near Shanghai. Environmental activist group Greenpeace said that the explosion and sinking occurred in "an important [fish] spawning ground." "This [clean-up] work is one of our focuses," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said. "It is also a priority area of our efforts. No one wants to see a large-scale secondary disaster." He added that the cause of the accident was under investigation. The Sanchi's crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis are all believed to have perished in the incident. The crewmen of CF Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States to China, were all rescued. Based on reporting by AP and Reuters A prosecutor in Ukraine's Russia-controlled Crimea region has asked a court to sentence pro-Kyiv activist Volodymyr Balukh to five years and one month in prison in a high-profile retrial on a weapons and explosives possession charge. In his final statement in court on January 15, Balukh reiterated that he was innocent and that the case against him would "never make me love my so-called new motherland" -- a reference to Russia. He suggested that the accusations against him were politically motivated and part of what Kyiv and rights groups say is a campaign of pressure on Crimeans who opposed Russia's takeover of the Black Sea peninsula. "The tears of the mothers of those who today are fighting for their right to be free will [haunt] those who are persecuting people in Crimea," Balukh said. "But no matter what, victory will be ours. Glory to Ukraine!" After the prosecutor and Balukh spoke, the judge adjourned the trial and said the verdict would be pronounced on January 16. In August, the Rozdolne District Court convicted Balukh and sentenced him to three years and seven months in prison. But an appeals court cancelled the ruling, sent the case for additional investigation, and transferred Balukh to house arrest. One Of Dozens Balukh is one of dozens of Crimeans whom Russia has prosecuted in what rights groups say has been a persistent campaign to silence dissent since Moscow seized control over the Ukrainian region in March 2014. He was arrested in December 2016, after the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said explosives and 90 bullets were found in the attic of his home. The search was conducted shortly after Balukh planted a Ukrainian flag in his yard and affixed a sign to his house that read Heavenly Hundred Street, 18. The Heavenly Hundred is a term Ukrainians use for the dozens of people killed when security forces sought to disperse protesters in Kyiv whose demonstrations drove Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February 2014. After Yanukovych's ouster, Russia seized Crimea by sending in troops and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by Ukraine, the United States, and a total of 100 countries. The Russian takeover badly damaged Moscow's relations with Kyiv and the West and resulted in the imposition of sanctions by the European Union, the United States, and several other countries. Rights groups say Crimea residents who opposed Russia's takeover have faced discrimination and abuse at the hands of the Moscow-imposed authorities. In March 2017, the European Parliament called on Moscow to free more than 30 Ukrainian citizens who were in prison or other conditions of restricted freedom in Russia, Crimea, and parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists. So, 2018 is only a couple weeks old, but the diplomatic signals coming out of Moscow suggest there will be nothing new about this new year. Speaking to The Financial Times last week, for example, Vladimir Chizhov, Russias representative to the European Union, said Brussels would "bear the responsibility" for what happens in Syria if the EU didn't cough up "dozens of billions" of euros for reconstruction. Nevermind that most of the destruction resulted from Moscow's intervention in Syria's civil war on the side of Bashar al-Assad over the objections of the the EU and the United States. The message to the West was as simple as it was brazen: We break it, you pay for it. Or consider Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's remarks at his annual press conference today. Lavrov told reporters that: "Russia respects the Ukrainian borders." But just to be clear, he stressed that he was speaking about the borders "that have been formed" after Moscow annexed Crimea. And he spoke even as Russian troops and Moscow-backed separatists continue to operate in the Donbas. The message to Russia's neighbors is as clear as it has always been: What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable. These signals came even as some Western officials were holding out hope for a new detente with Moscow. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, for example, called last week for a phased easing of Western sanctions against Moscow in the event of a lasting cease-fire in the Donbas. Russia clearly wants a thaw in its relations with the West, but it wants one on its terms and on its terms alone. It wants a reset, without resetting any of its own behavior. Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page. BRUSSELS -- Montenegro and Serbia should be ready for EU membership in 2025 and Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Macedonia should be well-advanced on their path to EU accession by then, according to a draft of the European Commission's Western Balkans strategy seen by RFE/RL. The strategy, which is expected to be made public on February 6, is part of an EU effort to breathe new life into the accession process for the six Western Balkan countries that remain outside the bloc. The draft seen by RFE/RL states that "the Western Balkan partners now have a historic window of opportunity" and that "for the first time their accession perspective has a best-case framework" -- but adds that the timeline set out in the paper is realistic only if there is "strong political will, delivery of real reforms, and lasting solutions to disputes with neighbors." The timeline is "ambitious and is meant to be an incentive," it says. According to the document, 2019 will be a crucial year. Albania and Macedonia should start EU accession negotiations by the end of 2019, provided that Tirana has implemented judicial reform and Skopje has resolved a bitter name dispute with Greece that has dogged the country since it gained independence from the collapsing Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the document says. Greek and Macedonian negotiators will meet in New York on January 17 and leaders of both countries -- as well as the UN envoy dealing with the matter, Matthew Nimetz -- have said there is a window of opportunity to resolve the issue in 2018. At the end of 2019, EU member states should also be in a position to grant EU candidate-country status to Bosnia-Herzegovina, according to draft. It says that Serbia and Kosovo "will need at the latest by this stage to have achieved comprehensive normalization of relations, which should open the way for further substantial progress by Kosovo on the path to European integration." The EU-sponsored dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina started in 2011 and has so far produced agreements in areas such as freedom of movement, justice, and the status of the Serbian minority in Kosovo -- as well as enabling Serbia to start EU accession talks and Brussels to sign an Association Agreement with Kosovo. In a nod to fractious relationships between many of the counties in the region, the document states that "the EU cannot and will not import bilateral disputes. This is why all Western Balkans partners concerned must resolve such disputes as a matter of urgency ahead of their future accession to the European Union." It also underlines that "as a matter of principle, the front-runners on the EU path have a strategic interest in being advocates, not spoilers, of the aspirations of their neighbors." By 2023, the strategy says, EU member states should be in a position to agree to closing EU accession negotiations with Serbia and Montenegro, and Bosnia should open accession talks the same year. EU accession treaties with Serbia and Montenegro should be ratified by all EU member states two years later, allowing for membership by the end of 2025. The timeline is "indicative only," the document states, saying that "countries can move faster but may also move slower." EU diplomats with whom RFE/RL has spoken under the condition of anonymity have said they believe that many EU member states, particularly France and Germany, will find the time frame too ambitious and would prefer if no dates were mentioned. The strategy might be discussed by EU heads of state and government already at their next summit in Brussels, in March, and is certain to be discussed during the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia on May 17. State-controlled Russian broadcaster RT says that French President Emmanuel Macron's administration has prevented journalists from its new French-language channel from covering two events in a week. An RT journalist was turned away from a spokesman's briefing at the Elysee Palace in Paris on January 15, and the French president's team did not authorize RT France to attend a summit in Rome on January 10, the broadcaster said. "President Macron, who protects the baguette instead of freedom of speech, should carefully reread the constitution of France," RT Editor in Chief Margarita Simonyan said on January 15. She was referring to Macron's call last week for France's traditional baguette to be added to UNESCO's list of "intangible heritage." RT launched its French-language channel in December despite being branded a "propaganda" outlet for the Kremlin by officials in the United States, France, and other Western countries. Speaking alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Paris press conference in May, Macron accused RT and Sputnik -- another state-supported outlet -- of being "agents of influence...and deceitful propaganda" that spread "defamatory untruths." And during the 2017 election campaign in France, Macron accused Sputnik of a "smear campaign" after it reported comments from a conservative legislator accusing him of being a "U.S. agent" backed by a "gay lobby." RT has been accused by U.S. intelligence agencies of being used by the Kremlin to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. RT, formerly known as Russia Today, also broadcasts in English, Spanish, and Arabic. Russia Today was set up in the mid-2000s to counter what Putin saw as the dominance of U.S. and British media organizations, which he says have a pro-Western bias. The channel is seen by its critics as giving a platform to conspiracy theorists as well as far-right or antiestablishment figures who attack what they portray as Western hypocrisy and corruption. With reporting by RT and AFP The Iraqi Interior Ministry says at least 38 people have been killed and 105 injured by two suicide bombings in central Baghdad. Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan said the suicide bombers targeted Sahet al-Tayaran (Aviation Square) in the center of the Iraqi capital early on January 15. Sahet al-Tayaran Square is a busy center of commerce and a place where day laborers gather in the early morning in the hope of getting jobs. Witnesses told the German dpa news agency that the blast took place near a gathering for construction workers. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but many similar attacks in Iraq have been carried out by the Islamic State (IS) militant group. The office of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said that he met with military and intelligence officials after the attack, asking them to "eliminate IS sleeper cells." In December, Iraq's government announced the "end of the war" against IS after militants were expelled from the Baghdad region and from urban areas of Iraq that the group controlled. But some militants are still active north of Baghdad. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, and AFP QARAGHANDY, Kazakhstan -- Two Kazakh citizens who are members of a Russia-based group called the Union of Co-creators of the Holy Russia have each been sentenced by a court in Kazakhstan to five years in prison on charges of inciting ethnic and religious hatred. Uali Aliasqarov, 66, and Mikhail Tkachyov, 28, said they will appeal the January 15 ruling against them by the court in the central Kazakh city of Qaraghandy. In a trial that started on November 29, the court ruled that Aliasqarov and Tkachyov used the Internet and in-person gatherings to promote ideas that insulted and diminished representatives of an unnamed ethnic group. Aliasqarov and Tkachyov denied any wrongdoing. Since 2014, amid heightened government concerns sparked by Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula and its support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, several Kazakh citizens have been convicted of using Internet posts to incite ethnic hatred or separatism. Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to justify Moscow's seizure of Crimea, in part, by citing what he said were concerns about the life, security, and rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine. Those developments, as well as calls for the creation of a "Russian World" linking areas with large Russian-speaking populations, have raised concerns that the Kremlin may also set its sights on a swath of northern Kazakhstan along the border with Russia. WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev to the White House on January 16 for talks expected to focus on regional security, economic issues, and bilateral relations. The White House said the two leaders will discuss "several international challenges," including Afghanistan, that are expected to affect Kazakhstan's term as president of the United Nations Security Council. Kazakh state news agency Kazinform said Trump and Nazarbaev will also discuss relations with Russia and the war in Syria, along with trade issues, during their talks. The U.S. is a major trade and investment partner of Kazakhstan, said Sanat Kushkumbaev, the deputy director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies, which advises the Kazakh president. From a political perspective, we cooperate on solutions and promotion of regional and global security. The meeting will focus on the situation in Afghanistan, the Syrian conflict, and relations with Russia, Kazinform quoted Kushkumbaev as saying. Afghanistan is likely to be high on the agenda during Kazakhstans Security Council presidency. Kazakh Ambassador Kairat Umarov, who took over the rotating one-month presidency of the council on New Years Day, said on January 11 that council members are considering a visit to Afghanistan to get a better understanding of the war-torn country's prospects and needs. "We think it's important for Security Council members to get the update of the situation from the ground," Umarov said. He did not give any date for the visit, which he said would be the first to Afghanistan by the full council in seven years. After a January 9 meeting with U.S. Ambassador George Krol in Astana, the Kazakh president said he was seeking to build on the "amicable relationship" the two countries have established in the past 26 years. He said he hoped to further cooperate with Washington in the fight against terrorism and in strengthening nuclear nonproliferation and expanding trade and investment, news agencies reported. "About 500 companies with U.S. participation are working in Kazakhstan, and more than 140 of them are joint ventures. They are manufacturing goods and exporting their products to other countries," he said ahead of his three-day trip to the United States. With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, and Interfax The Macedonian parliament has ratified a friendship treaty with neighboring Bulgaria aimed at ending years of feuding and boosting Macedonia's bid to join the European Union. Sixty-one lawmakers in the 120-member parliament backed the pact on January 15, with the main opposition party boycotting the session. The conservative VMRO-DPMNE party opposed the ratification, saying the pact contained "serious faults" and failed to recognize the existence of a Macedonian ethnic minority in Bulgaria. Ahead of the vote, Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov told lawmakers, "We are sending a message that even in our region we can maintain relations in a European way." Speaking during a visit to the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov welcomed the result of the vote in Skopje. "I hope that all countries, at some moment, will be signing this kind of treaties rather than waging wars," he added. Lawmakers in Bulgaria, already a NATO and EU member, had already ratified the pact, which was signed in August. The treaty recognizes both countries' territorial integrity and calls for an "objective" reexamination of the common history of Bulgaria and Macedonia, a process that could lead to a review of school textbooks. Under the accord, Bulgaria, a NATO and EU member, pledges to support Macedonia's efforts to join both blocs. Macedonia's rocky relations with its bigger eastern neighbor have hampered its efforts to join NATO and the EU, although the two countries share close religious, historic, and linguistic ties. Bulgaria still does not recognize the Macedonian language, which it views as a dialect of Bulgarian. Both Skopje and Sofia hope the new treaty will help them set aside such differences. The two countries said they would also improve economic ties, renounce territorial claims, and improve human and minority rights. The friendship treaty is a "joint contribution to political stabilization between the two countries and in the region," Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in Skopje after co-signing the pact with visiting Bulgarian counterpart Borisov. "For the first time, without mediators or somebody telling us what to do, the two states came to a solution," Borisov said. The treaty "shows the EU that the turbulent Balkans, which have passed through a lot of troubles, can solve problems by agreements without mediators," he said. "If you look back, you will stumble and fall," Borisov said. "So we decided to look ahead. I am convinced that in 10 years the results will be visible." EU officials warmly greeted the agreement, which they described as an inspiration for the whole region." With reporting by AP A United Nations mediator says there is "positive momentum" toward settling a decades-long dispute between Macedonia and Greece over the former Yugoslav republic's name. The UN envoy dealing with the matter, Matthew Nimetz, made the comment in an interview with Greek state broadcaster ERT aired on January 15, two days ahead of talks with Macedonian and Greek diplomats in New York. Nimetz said that the governments in Athens and Skopje had shown in recent days that they want to find a solution to the dispute, which has hampered Macedonia's bid to join the European Union and NATO. "I think the people in both countries are maybe ready to hear some solutions that are consistent with national interests but also have some element of compromise that would resolve the problem," the UN envoy said. Leaders of both Greece and Macedonia have said that they want to settle the issue this year. Greece has objected to Skopje's use of the name Macedonia since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, arguing that it implies territorial ambitions on parts of the country. Athens also contends that, by claiming the name, Macedonia is appropriating a part of Greece's ancient history. The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia, Nikow Kotzias and Nikola Dimitrov, met on January 11 in the Greek port city of Thessaloniki in the latest effort to find a solution. A Greek Foreign Ministry statement said the two ministers agreed to take a more active part in UN-supervised efforts to overcome the dispute. "There is a general feeling of fatigue in both countries due to this long-lasting dispute," Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister Bujar Osmani told the Associated Press news agency on January 11. "What I think is important is that we have achieved substantial progress in confidence-building between the two countries that finally will result in finding a...solution of the dispute," he added. Greece, the United Nations, the European Union, and other bodies recognize the small Balkan country by its provisional name, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). With reporting by dpa and Reuters During a visit to India, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to catch up with Pakistani militants who killed a Jewish couple who were among the dead in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. "Ultimately, we will catch up with the killers, but the objective is also to prevent future killers," Netanyahu said about the attack by members of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e Taiba. Netanyahu made the remarks in New Delhi on January 15, a day after arriving in India for a six-day visit aimed at bolstering relations between the two countries. India has accused agencies in Pakistan, its regional rival, of backing the Mumbai attackers. Pakistan denies the charge but also has angered India by releasing the alleged ringleader behind the attacks, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, from jail in 2015 on bail of $1,900. Netanyahu on January 15 said he was disappointed by Indias refusal to support the United States in its recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital but would not let the issue spoil his visit. India in December joined more than 100 countries at the United Nations who condemned the U.S. move. Ahead of Netanyahus visit, India also canceled a $500 million deal to purchase Israeli Spike antitank missiles. Netanyahu said he hopes to reach an equitable solution on the missile deal during his visit. In addition to delegates from Israeli businesses, Netanyahu is accompanied by Moshe Holtzberg, an 11-year-old boy whose parents were among 166 people killed in the Mumbai attacks. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and Press India Pakistani authorities say at least five members of the country's security forces were killed and several others wounded in an ambush in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The January 15 attack took place in the town of Turbat, about 1,000 kilometers south of the provincial capital, Quetta, officials said. A local administration official was quoted as saying that suspected terrorists opened fire at the convoy of security forces. One of the vehicles reportedly turned over after the attack, killing five personnel. No one immediately claimed responsibility. Resource-rich Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, has been plagued by sectarian violence, Islamist militant attacks, and a separatist insurgency that has led to thousands of casualties since 2004. Late on January 9, at least four police officers and two civilians were killed in a bomb blast that hit a police truck in Quetta. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, in which 17 people were wounded. Based on reporting by AP and Dawn Pakistani officials have briefed a visiting senior U.S. diplomat on recent efforts to fight against terrorism, after the United States suspended security assistance to the South Asian country. The Foreign Office said the delegation led by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells was briefed on January 15 on "recent counterterrorism actions taken by Pakistan's law enforcement agencies." Wells "acknowledged Pakistan's efforts in eradicating terrorism" and "underlined the need for strengthening intelligence cooperation" to fight terrorism, a statement said. U.S. officials have long accused Pakistan of harboring militant groups that carry out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan, charges denied by Islamabad. Early this month, the U.S. government announced it was suspending security assistance to the Pakistani military until it takes "decisive action" against the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network that are operating in Afghanistan. U.S. officials said the freeze could affect 2 billion worth of assistance. The move has strained bilateral relations, with Pakistan's Foreign Office saying on January 5 that Washington's "arbitrary deadlines, unilateral pronouncements, and shifting goalposts are counterproductive" to addressing the threat of terrorism. The ministry also sought to minimize the impact of the aid cut, saying Pakistan had spent more than $120 billion during the past 15 years on counterterrorism, largely from its own resources. Also on January 15, the top U.S. military commander, General Joseph Dunford, said that he was committed to the U.S.-Pakistan relationship. "Do we agree on everything right now? No we don't. But are we committed to a more effective relationship with Pakistan? We are. And I'm not giving up on that," Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a trip to Brussels. With reporting by AP and Reuters Romanian Prime Minister Mihai Tudose says he is stepping down after losing the backing of his party. "I am leaving with my head held high," Tudose said after leaders of his Social Democrat Party (PSD) voted to withdraw political backing for him. One member of the PSD's leadership said the vote to dismiss Tudose was overwhelming. Development Minister Paul Stanescu would serve as interim prime minister, according to party officials. Tudose is the second prime minister to be ousted by the PSD in less than seven months. His resignation comes after he called on Interior Minister Carmen Dan to resign, accusing her of lying. Dan, a close ally of PSD Chairman Liviu Dragnea, refused to step down. Last year, the Social Democrats ousted the government in a no-confidence vote due to a rift between Dragnea and the previous prime minister, Sorin Grindeanu. Dragnea himself cannot become prime minister due to a conviction for vote rigging. Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of trying to undermine the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, saying Trumps statements could lead to the cancellation of the deal. Speaking on January 15 at a news conference to recap Russian diplomatic activity over the past year, Lavrov said Trumps latest statements were "aimed to disrupt the 2015 accord on Irans nuclear program and did not add to optimism and stability. "We will not support what the United States is trying to do, changing the wording of the agreement, incorporating things that will be absolutely unacceptable for Iran," Lavrov said. Unfortunately, our American colleagues still want to operate exclusively on the basis of diktat and ultimatums, he said, repeating an accusation Russian officials frequently make. They do not want to listen to the viewpoints of other centers of world policy and, therefore, they essentially do not want to accept the realities of the forming multipolar world," Lavrov, foreign minister since 2004, said at the annual news conference. As in the past, he singled out the United States for criticism on several issues and sought to portray Russia as a constructive power that is seeking to strengthen stability and resolve conflicts in the face of what he cast as Western recalcitrance. The United States and others charge that Russia has damaged regional and global stability with actions including its military interference in Ukraine, its backing for the Syrian government in that country's war, and its alleged meddling in elections in the West. The nuclear accord signed by Tehran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China -- is aimed at assuring that Iran does not build nuclear weapons. Under the deal, Tehran has agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions against Iran. But Trump says the United States will pull out of the deal unless the European signatories fix what he called terrible flaws in the agreement. Trump on January 12 said he would extend sanctions relief to Iran under the deal, leaving the accord intact for now. But he wants the pact strengthened with a separate agreement within 120 days. Tehran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes and has rejected the notion of any modification of the 2015 accord. The other signatories to the pact have urged the United States to continue to adhere to the current agreement. Lavrov said that if changes are made or an additional agreement imposed, Tehran will not feel obliged to adhere to the deal. He also said that the deal's collapse would make it more difficult to resolve the confrontation between North Korea and world powers over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile programs. Among the changes Trump is demanding is that Iran allow more timely inspections of sites requested by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the elimination of so-called sunset clauses, under which some of the restrictions on Irans nuclear program expire over time. In addition, Trump demanded that the deal should state that Iran's nuclear effort and its missile programs are inseparable. U.S. and other officials have complained that Iran's ballistic-missile program can easily be converted for nuclear use. Iranian President Hassan Rohani said on January 14 that Trump and his administration have failed to undermine the nuclear accord, "despite his repeated efforts." Rohani praised the nuclear accord as "a long-lasting victory for Iran. With reporting by RFE/RL's Merhat Sharipzhan, Reuters, AP, AFP, TASS, Interfax, and IRNA Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow will not support attempts by Washington to modify the Iran nuclear deal. Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow on January 15 that Iran was fulfilling all of the obligations under the plan, while U.S. President Donald Trump has called for it to be changed. Lavrov also said Russia would actively support direct talks between North Korea and the United States over Pyongyang's nuclear arms program. (Reuters) Russian authorities say a teacher and two teenage boys have been seriously injured in what investigators say was a knife fight at a high school in the city of Perm. The regional Security Ministry said that a total of 15 people, most of them students, were hurt in the incident at School No. 127 on January 15. Initial reports cited officials as saying two masked men attacked the school in the city, which is 1,150 kilometers northeast of Moscow. But the regional Investigative Committee branch later said that it was a fight between two students with knives and that teachers and other students tried to break it up. Police, meanwhile, said that one of the boys involved in the fight was a former student at the school. In a statement, the regional police said that an unspecified number of suspects were detained and that one had previously been on a register of people diagnosed as having mental-health problems. The Security Ministry said that a female teacher and two boys, aged 15-16, suffered severe injuries. Classes were canceled and the school was evacuated. The Investigative Committee has opened an investigation on suspicion of attempted murder. There were conflicting reports about whether anyone was in custody. With reporting by Current Time TV, RFE/RL's Russian Service, RIA Novosti, Interfax, Meduza, and Mediazona The Argentinian Navy says that Russian search specialists will return to the area where a submarine went missing in the South Atlantic on November 15 with 44 crew members aboard. The navy's press service on January 14 said the specialists, who operate the Panther Plus remote-controlled submersible, will arrive with the Islas Malvinas naval vessel at the search zone on January 17. The Argentinian warship Spiro and the Russian oceanographic ship Yantar are currently involved in the search for the San Juan submarine. The search zone is 400 kilometers off the Argentinian coast north of the British-ruled Falkland Islands, which are known in Argentina as the Malvinas. Russian, U.S., and British teams aided the 14-nation search for a missing Argentinian Navy submarine, which went missing following an explosion. The Russian submersible was previously deployed to review a 60-meter-long object located at 477 meters below sea level in an area where the submarine is believed to have suffered an onboard explosion related to its battery system. It was determined the object was not the submarine. The Argentinian Navy on November 30 said it had ended the rescue operation as hopes were dashed of finding the crew alive. It said efforts would thereafter focus on locating the wreckage of the vessel. The German-made submarine went missing while traveling from the southern port of Ushuaia to the city of Mar del Plata, about 400 kilometers southeast of Buenos Aires. Russia, Syria, and Turkey have lashed out at the United States for helping an allied Kurdish-led militia set up a 30,000-strong border security force in northern Syria. "The United States has now acknowledged that it is setting up a terror army along our country's borders," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on January 15. "What falls on us is to strangle this terror army before it is ever born," he said. Erdogan said preparations for a military assault on the Kurdish-led forces in the Afrin region of northern Syria are "are complete" and an operation could start any moment, regardless of the presence of U.S. troops placed in the region to safeguard their allies. Turkey has targeted Kurdish forces in areas near its border before, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on January 15 that Turkish artillery have been shelling Kurdish positions in the Afrin region for three straight days. The U.S.-backed forces, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), are an alliance of Arab and Kurdish militias dominated by the Kurdish YPG militia, which Ankara considers to be a terrorist group allied with armed Kurdish separatists that have been battling the government in Turkey for decades. Syria's government also on January 15 warned the U.S.-backed SDF forces against consolidating their control over territory they regained from Islamic State (IS) militants in fighting last year, including IS's proclaimed former capital, Raqqa. As a result of the fighting, the SDF currently controls nearly 25 percent of Syrian territory, all in the north and east of the country. Damascus called the creation of the border force "a blatant attack on the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of Syria, and a flagrant violation of international law." Russia, which has given President Bashar al-Assad's government crucial support throughout Syria's civil war, agreed that the U.S. plan violates Syria's "territorial integrity" and warned it could lead to the "break-up of a large territory along the border with Turkey and Iraq." "This is a very serious issue that raises concerns that a path toward the partition of Syria has been taken," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. The U.S.-led coalition declined to comment on Lavrov's accusations or Erdogan's threat to "strangle" the new border security force. It said in an e-mail to the Associated Press on January 15 that the security force is an important element of the coalition's strategy to prevent a resurgence of IS in Syria. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said preventing a comeback by defeated IS militants is now the main U.S. goal in Syria. "A strong border security force will prohibit [IS] freedom of movement and deny the transportation of illicit materials," the coalition told AP. "This will enable the Syrian people to establish effective local, representative governance and reclaim their land." The coalition has said that its goal is to create a border security force with about 30,000 personnel "over the next several years," with about half the force comprise of SDF veterans. The coalition said that about 230 individuals were currently undergoing training in the force's inaugural class. Backed by the U.S.-led coalition's air strikes, advisers, and weapons, the SDF ousted IS militants from large swathes of northern and eastern Syria in a series of battles last year. Its members now control territory bordering Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, and Syrian government forces to the west. With reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, AFP, and the BBC Serbian Presdient Aleksandar Vucic welcomed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on January 15 -- the first visit by a Japanese leader to Belgrade since the breakup of Yugoslavia. Abe has said that Serbia "holds the key to stability" in the Western Balkans. He is travelling with a delegation of business leaders on a five-nation tour of Europe. (RFE/RL's Balkan Service) Cancun mayor satisfied security measures proving effective with travel alert warning removal from US, UK Cancun, Q.R. The combined work of society, private initiatives and the three orders of government are recognized by the world, said the Municipal President Remberto Estrada Barba, when he learned that the government of Great Britain excluded travel alerts to Cancun and other tourist destinations in Quintana Roo. Estrada Barb said that with this decision, the British government joins the one adopted by its American counterpart, who in recent days, was the first to recognize that Cancun does not represent a risk to visitors. Once again, a country with great tourist potential and the third in the number of visitors to Mexico, recognizes that we are doing things well by uniting in defense of our home, of our industry, he said. He was also satisfied because the comprehensive security strategy is paying off, and that the road to recover peace and tranquility for the people of Cancun and for the millions of visitors who come to Cancun is underway. It is possible to overcome insecurity and restore peace, he said, and neighbors and tourists can feel safe everywhere. He insisted that when working with the same objective, all goals can be achieved, and his administration is ready to continue coordination with the federal and state governments. We are going to strengthen our strategy. These achievements motivate us to continue striving more. It is time to redouble the joint work since we are seeing that the results give us purpose, he said. New pipeline project from Texas to Mexico could bring cheaper gas prices Mexico City, Mexico Four new pipelines will be built from the southern US to Mexico where refineries will be able to ship less expensive gasoline into the country, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). Four pipelines are being built that will be used by private companies to enter the country with cheap gasoline, which would arrive from refineries in the southeastern United States. They will start operating in the first half of this year and aim to bring the main points of entry of fuels to areas such as Monterrey, Mexico City and El Bajio. The estimated investment for these projects amounts to $2.3 billion USD based on information from the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). The new lines will lower the cost of transport up to six times compared to ExxonMobil, which until now, has been the main private competitor of Pemex which brings gas from its refineries in Texas via train to its storage terminals in Guanajuato and San Luis Potosi. The first to enter into operation will be the Frontera-Norte Poliducto, which will connect the Corpus Christi, Texas refining system with Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, and subsequently lower gasoline and diesel to Monterrey. It will have a length of 460 kilometers and will be accompanied by four storage terminals. The project is charged by consortium Dos Aguilas and Howard Energy Partners, who required an investment of $500 million USD. The other three projects are destined to transport gasoline from the port of Tuxpan, Veracruz to the central and lowlands of the country, with companies behind the project including TransCanada and the Mexican companies Sierra Oil & Gas, Invex and Monterra Energy, among others. The CRE noted that the average cost of transporting gasoline in our country is 13.6 percent of the total, a figure that could go down with the pipelines. Arturo Carranza, energy analyst at the National Institute of Public Administration (INAP), explained that in order to have an impact on the price of fuels, the pipelines would have to be complemented with storage terminals. That would allow a private drop of gasoline from the US and there would be competition with Pemex, and that competition would result in lower prices. But the reduction in the price would not be so great, we would not have prices of 13 pesos per liter, for example, he said, because other components are also considered in the price of gasoline. For Ramses Pech, Caravia and Asociados, the impact on prices will depend on what these firms determine they want to achieve in their business plans, the price of steel is rising so I do not see viable impact on the price. According to the prospective of petroleum for 2031 by the Secretariat of Energy (Sener), last year 65 percent of the gasoline consumed in the country was imported, a figure that would drop to 54 percent this year due to the start of operations of some stages of the reconfigurations in the six refineries of the country. In this sense, in the first eleven months of 2017, the lowest level of production was reported in the six refineries of the country with a daily average of 937,000 barrels per day, reported Pemex. More people tied to irregularities of Borge administration Mexico City, Mexico Two more people have been tied to the irregularities of ex-governor of Quintana Roo, Roberto Borge. Five more complaints against the administration have been filed by the Tax Administration Service (SAT) in the Attorney Generals Office (PGR) against two assumed prestanombres of the ex-governor. The newspaper Reforma reported that named are Maria Lourdes Pinelo Nieto and Cesar Celso Gonzalez Hermosillo y Melgarejo, the latter being the administrator of the companies Caracol 65 S.A. of C.V. and Syenat del Caribe S.A. of C.V. Pinelo Nieto served as secretary of Borges father, while Celso Gonzalez has served during the last decades as the personal lawyer of the family of the ex-Quintana Roo governor. SAT indicated that its auditors made visits to verify the accounting of those close to Borge for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015, however, when they arrived at the businesses they realized that in one of the locations had not been at the filed address for 10 years and that SAT was never notified of the move, which would have altered tax obligations. Pinelo registered as an RFC in 2005 with a tax domicile in Cozumel where auditors arrived in October 2016 and found that in the fiscal domicile, there is a sign that refers to a business called Centro Nevero Polar. Also in October 2016, they visited Gonzalez Hermosillo in Cozumel, but they did not find him and requested the clarification of bank deposits to the company Caracol and Siyenat to verify the compliance of taxes in 2015. Both companies changed their address with the lawyer of Borges family but did not notify authorities. The result is thousands of peso in unpaid taxes. Those involved are being accused to failing to notify government officials of a business relocation for tax purposes as well as for altering or destroying accounts. Both are considered fugitives from justice for the alleged money laundering for which the ex-governor is in prison. When Scott Goldie was just a boy, he waited by the railroad tracks in Montana and as the Milwaukee Road rolled by, his grandfather a train engineer would hoist him onto the locomotive. Now, Goldie is operating his own train, one where tickets sell for hundreds of dollars and riders clink glasses of the fine vintages sold by the wineries dotted along its rails. Roughly two years ago, Goldies firm, Brooks Street, and Noble House Hotels and Resorts bought the Napa Valley Wine Train for an undisclosed amount, scooping up a history-laden tourist attraction. One of their first orders of business was settling an $11 million discrimination lawsuit filed by a mostly black group of women who said they were kicked off in August 2015, shortly before the sale, for talking too loudly. Thats totally behind us, said 53-year-old Goldie. Our whole goal is to create new experiences. ... I think people will really see its a new day. Its a new ownership. The trains new owners have ambitious plans. They added new tours, boosting the number of annual train trips from 400 to 1,100 last year, serving 110,000 passengers. Goldie says the train business is profitable, but would not disclose annual sales. The owners envision a $100 million project to rebuild the station currently a large carpeted room with brown couches into property that includes a glass atrium and a 148-room luxury hotel. They are also exploring a commuter rail service that would transport workers from Napa, where many live, to areas like St. Helena, where affordable housing is scarce. But challenges remain. Octobers wildfires destroyed 8,900 structures and killed 44 people. The fires have long since been extinguished, but out-of-town visitors are still concerned that the area hasnt recovered. For several weeks after the fire, the train line got hundreds of phone calls from tourists asking about the fire, said Goldie, who escaped the Atlas Fire with his dog and briefcase, losing many of his belongings inside a rental home. While train sales increased in 2017 over the previous year, they missed the companys projections because of the fires. That just killed the rest of the year, said Goldie, who now lives in Walnut Creek. Months after the fires, a small number of people are still calling asking about conditions, he said. Goldie, a co-owner and principal at commercial real estate firm Brooks Street, never thought he would run a train. When he was first asked to buy the Napa Valley Wine Train, he rejected the idea. What changed his mind were 17 pieces of property that came with the railroad but werent essential to its operations. This could be a real estate opportunity, Goldie said. Goldie says hes committed to preserving the Wine Trains legacy, which means tourists can count on wining and dining along the rails. If anything, he and the other new owners have been enriching the train experience, adding new stops along the way. Now, passengers can step off the locomotive onto platforms and walk to wineries such as Robert Mondavi in Oakville and Charles Krug in St. Helena. Before, aside from a stop at Grgich Hills en route, shuttle buses took customers to most winery visits. Tickets with a meal and a least one winery visit can range from $209 to $372 per person. The bigger challenge may be getting the word out. Only 1 in 7 visitors surveyed by Visit Napa Valley planned to ride the train. Goldie said he wants to capture more market share. The potential for us to grow is really, really strong, he said. The 2015 incident, where members of a mostly black womens book group said they were kicked off the train for talking too loudly and later filed a lawsuit, provoked an outcry. Since the lawsuit has been settled, none of the women has decided to ride the train again as far as he knows, said attorney Waukeen McCoy, who represented the group. On a weekday train ride in December, some passengers were not even aware of the discrimination lawsuit. Courtni Dedeaux was one of the few who knew about it. After some research, the 22-year-old Fairfield resident still wanted to ride the train. Her excursion included visits to wineries Robert Mondavi, Charles Krug and V. Sattui. I love it, Dedeaux said. Its pretty out here. She ate honey-fennel cracked mustard-glazed Pacific salmon as the train headed to St. Helena, sitting in a comfortable seat with large picture windows revealing lush vineyards. The commute for Reynaldo Hernandez, a server at Harvest Table restaurant, from St. Helena back to Napa was much less luxurious. He sat for roughly an hour on a $1.60 public bus back home. Its all I got right now, said Hernandez, who doesnt own a car. John Storey/Special to the Chronicle The Wine Train is exploring a commuter rail service that could transport the areas workers from Napa to St. Helena. About 78 percent of St. Helenas workers come from outside of the city, according to 2016 Census Bureau data. Goldie envisions the train working with businesses to transport employees in the morning and evening. The round trip cost would be $20 to $25 per person ideally paid by employers, in Goldies thinking. The commuter train could initially go up to 25 mph, taking about 45 minutes to get from Napa to St. Helena, he said. Thats much faster than the bus and slightly faster than a car during rush hour. To be sure, starting a commuter rail service could require significant investment. To run trains frequently on the tracks, the business will need to invest millions of dollars in sidings, areas where trains can be parked near the tracks, said Kate Miller, executive director of the Napa Valley Transportation Authority. Miller said its possible the authority could provide connecting bus service to the commuter rail if it is open to the public and meets certain business criteria. The authoritys bus system has a million riders each year and if a commuter train line exposes more people to the buses, Im all for supporting their efforts, Miller said. Commuters could also get work done with wireless Internet on the train, said Tom Davies, president of winery V. Sattui, whose front entrance the train tracks cross. Most of his employees live in Napa, and many drive their own cars to work. That has resulted in late arrivals at meetings, which he finds frustrating. Its a loss of productivity, Davies said. V. Sattui would probably be willing to subsidize half of the ticket price, and possibly more, Davies said. But even at half the price, V. Sattui marketing director Ali Paterson said the price is too high. Paterson spends $25 to $30 a week in gas, and can go much faster in her Subaru than the train. Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Its going to be tough to convince people to do this at that rate, Paterson said. John Storey/Special to the Chronicle The noise surrounding the train is also an issue for some residents. Seventy-five-year-old Norman Manzer doesnt like how the train sounds its horn as it visits the Charles Krug winery, a stop the new owners added. Its an annoyance, Manzer said. Goldie said that Manzers point is well taken, but the train has to sound its horn for safety reasons following federal rules. He said the train is not planning to add more tours to that part of St. Helena. Under federal rules, St. Helena could establish a quiet zone for the area that would allow trains not to sound their horns in that area. That would require the city to work with the local transportation authority to determine how to reduce safety risks in the area, a step the city hasnt taken. Napa Valley is bouncing back from the October wildfires, which cost the region more than a third of its usual revenue from lodging that month. In November, revenue was down just 4.1 percent from a year earlier, said Clay Gregory, CEO of Visit Napa Valley, citing information from Tennessee firm STR Inc., which tracks hotel data. Its a really good sign, and we think it will keep going up, Gregory said. In the meantime, the trains future may be secured by the land it owns. Goldie envisions moving the trains kitchens, currently located south of Eighth Street in Napa, and one day building condominiums there. More housing may go up on other properties. He also wants to renovate the Rutherford train station as a potential stop for the Wine Train. One day, he even hopes to learn how to drive the train himself. But he acknowledges theres only so much he and his team can do at once. I need to slow down, Goldie said. The machine can only go so fast. Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendylee An image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the bulge of the Milky Way. Many of the fainter stars are sun-like stars orbiting the bulge at different speeds depending on their makeup. Sun-like stars in the Milky Way galaxy's central hub are zipping along at different speeds depending on how they are made, according to new research. Researchers looking at the bulge of stars near the Milky Way's center found that stars rich in heavier elements those more massive than hydrogen and helium move twice as fast as those without. The new findings may help answer questions about whether the bulge formed by the motion of the stars or from an ancient collision with another galaxy, or through some combination of the two. "The Milky Way bulge is an important galactic component. It contains about 10 to 20 percent of the mass of the galaxy, yet its formation evolution is still not well understood," Will Clarkston said Thursday (Jan. 11) at the 231st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in National Harbor, Maryland. [Stunning Photos of Our Milky Way Galaxy (Gallery)] Clarkston, an astronomer at the University of Michigan, was part of a study that combed through nearly a decade of data captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to measure how fast the stars swirled around the center of the galaxy. Whereas ground-based telescopes have measured the movement of the stars toward or away from the sun, the new research with Hubble reveals how they orbit the center of the galaxy sideways along the sky. "Ours is the first study to show that, in the sideways part of that motion, there are differences," Clarkston said. The birth of the bulge The Milky Way is a classic spiral galaxy, with arms curving in a plane around its bulging center. But the formation of the bulge formation remains a mystery. In the past, astronomers thought that the bulge was made up of old stars, researchers said in a statement, but a growing body of evidence has revealed young stars, as well. Combined with other observations, this suggests that the Milky Way may have suffered a collision with another galaxy in its past. "There are many theories describing the formation of our galaxy and central bulge," Annalisa Calamida, a member of the Hubble research team at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Maryland, said in the statement. "Some say the bulge formed when the galaxy first formed about 13 billion years ago. In this case, all bulge stars should be old and share a similar motion," Calamida added. "But others think the bulge formed later in the galaxy's lifetime, slowly evolving after the first generations of stars were born." To better understand how the bulge came to be, Clarkston, Calamida and their colleagues turned to nine years of archival Hubble data to track how about 10,000 of the bulge's normal sun-like stars moved. They then relied on spectra from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to help estimate those stars' chemical composition. After comparing the two, the team discovered that the motions of bulge stars varied depending on a star's chemical composition. Stars high in metals for astronomers, all elements other than hydrogen and helium are considered metals circle the bulge at a higher speed than older, metal-poor stars. "We actually dissected chemically these stars into metal-rich and metal-poor," Clarkston said. Charting the motion of the stars compared to one another revealed what Clarkston called the "fingerprints" of the two populations, a smeared graph that highlights their different velocities. "There is a definite sense of rotation that seems a bit startling," Clarkston said. A 3D bulge Like fingerprints at a crime scene, the new results don't immediately indicate what happened in the past, but they provide strong clues to follow up on. "The stars in our study are showing characteristics of both models," Calamida said. "Therefore, this analysis can help us in understanding the bulge's origin." Metal-rich stars could have formed from the material expelled by previous generations of stars, with different birth scenarios causing a difference in velocity, or they could have been brought in by a colliding galaxy, she said. The new data will help the scientists better understand the bulge's formation. According to Clarkston, other researchers are already plugging the discovery into models, which will make detailed predictions to test the observations. "Having found the fingerprint, we want to develop the forensic science so we can develop in detail how the bulge actually worked," Clarkston said. The new research will serve as a pathfinder for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, set to launch in 2019. One of the new telescope's tasks will be to probe the archaeology of the Milky Way. In the meantime, Clarkston's team plans to comb through the archival data for even more stars, comparing their chemistry to their rotation. "Hubble gave us a narrow, pencil-beam view of the galaxy's core, but we are seeing thousands more stars than those spotted in earlier studies," Calamida said. "We next plan to extend our analysis to do additional observations along different sight-lines, which will allow us to make a three-dimensional probe of the rich complexity of the populations in the bulge." Follow Nola Taylor Redd at @NolaTRedd, Facebook, or Google+. Follow us at @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com. Optimization Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should? Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools. Hello and welcome to a new Weekly Round Table! This week on our well-rounded table I'm (MK) joined by Samantha (SB), Laura (LS), Lisa (LM), Katherine (KM), Beth (BW), Jaz (JZ) and Rachel (RW). As always you just have to sit back, enjoy the read and if you want to share your thoughts in the comment section down below. To absolutely no-ones surprise, Runaways. The first season had A LOT of faults, but I love the show + comics so much. Also pretty stoked that The Gifted got renewed as I really like Matt Nix's work.I'm super happy about The Orville and The Gifted.Glad to see The Gifted back, interested to see what they bring to the table in S2. I'd have made some serious tweaks to the show in S1 (like getting rid of almost the entire Strucker family) Liked Runaways, but not sure about how it will do in S2.I am happy about Runaways, Future Man and The Gifted. I had put those on pause until I knew their fates and now I have some catching up to do!Although not a real renewal, my favorite announcement was the confirmation that another season of Prison Break is in the works. I'm biased, and I know last season was terrible/unnecessary, but Ill follow that cast to fire, so look forward to seeing what story theyll tell next.Its not really a renewal, but I am excited about Killing Eve (starring Greys Anatomy alum Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer). I seriously love British spy shows/movies, so Im super excited for this one. Hope its as good as it soundsEverything from the cast and writers seems really positive, but I think we'll only know for sure if it's really different when the show starts. I like that they're constantly reiterating that the show will be separate from the Arrow-verse, focus on family dynamics and from the trailers alone the show seems to have a different cinematic feel and storyline direction that other shows on the air. But we'll see.Um. It's an almost entirely black cast and the writers' room is something like 50% black, there are out and proud LGBTQ+ characters from the get-go, it's very family-oriented? All of this is different from every superhero show currently airing. This is why it'll be the only one I stand behind!I almost want to watch Black Lightning, but it seems to be riding on the tails of the Black Panther. Sadly, the CW has lost me as far as their ability to do a decent superhero show, so I'll likely pass on this.I have superhero fatigue of the CW variety, but reading all of this good buzz on Black Lightning has me curious. The only place it could be different for me is if they don't go the love angst route that is usually signature CW. LOT does a good job of staying away from that as well, which is why it is my favorite. So if the focus is on the family and their stories, I think it could be different from the others.With the show being written by new producers and with the universe being separate from the Arrowverse, I believe Black Lightning will be very different from the typical CW superhero show.With the showrunners being African American, writing for the first black-led superhero show, were FINALLY getting an authentic and sincere look at the issues black people face as well as a real sense of culture that I, as a white girl, am not privy too.I admire the showrunners unapologetic attitude to its approach. Yes, this is a show centered around an African American family from the streets. Yes, were embracing our blackness and Yes were going to talk about many political issues! love it or leave it. This sort of explicitness is something that lacks in the Berlantiverse shows, while sometimes they attempt to raise issues regarding race, religion, and sexuality, they do it in such a meek way, so they do not tread on anybodys toes too much and this is something that Ive grown tired of seeing. Im excited to see a superhero show that brings politics to the fore!What also makes this series different is that while it IS a superhero show, its based more on the characters and family than anything else. This isnt a superhero story based on justice, happenstance or a call to arms. This is a story based on a middle-aged man whos called back to duty to protect his family and save his community. Theres something more grounded and relatable in that approach, unlike the other shows offered on the CW.I think the theme song of the show is indicative of the shows approach to the series: "I saw a superhero, he was black, he said this is for the street, Black Lightnings back!"I'm really excited to see where this will go. Not the biggest fan of Cress but the show seems to have so much potential and carries a dose of objectivity other CW superhero shows lack. I'm excited about the show to premiere tomorrow.Probably an unpopular opinion, but I think the show should've ended years ago. The show seems to have been stuck in a rut for a while, not exactly sure what to do with some characters, and that's led to some storylines becoming repetitive, whilst others simply go nowhere. For any show to be on the air for so long is an achievement, and especially a comedy, so they can be proud to finish with season 10. I think the characters should be allowed to rest for a while and then maybe consider a spin-off if they really think they have a fresh story to tell.No spinoff, please. I'm already like two seasons behind and to be honest I don't care to catch up right now. This show lost its steam a long time ago and ten seasons is a great thing, but it should end there.I loved Modern Family when it premiered but it's been tired for a long time now and I already stopped watching after last season. No spinoff, please!Happy to see Modern Family move along; it's been on the way out for a quite a while. I think that a lot of shows are allowed to plod along year after year if they're doing well enough anymore, particularly comedies.Would I sound mean if I said that this show shouldve been over years ago? The first few seasons were great, but then the storylines just starting dipping and the show got less and less engaging to the point where I just dont care for it anymore. Im not opposed to a spin-off, but (honestly) they should just leave it at that. Like, congrats on 10 years but it probably would be better to leave your decade-long legacy like that and not have it ruined by a spin-off (that may or may not be a hit)I'm glad they are ending. They've told all their stories and it is time to move on. A spinoff really isn't needed but I wouldn't mind the creators to do a new family driven show. They had so much heart at the beginning. I'm sure they still have some magic left but for a different clan.I'm beyond happy that iZombie is coming back far sooner than expected. The 100 coming back in April is extremely surprising, and it'll be interesting to see whether the hiatus plays with the ratings. I'm a little worried about Speechless as the ratings this year have unfortunately not been that great, and it seems that ABC is giving it the burn-off treatment. Life Sentence I also think is maybe starting a little later than I would've originally thought, but I think it's about the fact that Networks have so many shows that they have to balance since they're allergic to cancellations, that some of these shows are being brought back late & having their air dates messed around a little bit because there is genuinely no room on the schedule for them. You only have to look at Supergirl & Legends of Tomorrow being forced to share a timeslot because The CW president doesn't want too many superhero shows on at the same time, and I think that upfronts this year has the potential to be a real bloodbath.Not that I care about CBS at all, but they ruined Instinct which is kind of a bummer. iZombie has a pretty great spot which it really doesn't deserve.Happy to see The Americans and Jessica Jones back, just wish I didn't have to wait until March. But I DO get Grace and Frankie next Friday, so that's good. Elementary is still on? I'm confused. Also Code Black, which I desperately wanted to like because I'm a huge Marcia Gay Harden fan. Can't we find anything else for her to do?I am just happy we have a full schedule from the CW. They are so unpredictable and generous when it comes to renewals, that I am not really too concerned about the cancellation of a show I like. As for how late The Originals and The 100 premiere, it does stink to wait but on the positive side, I will still have shows to enjoy well into the summer so it isn't terrible.I love that Quantico has come back with an amazing Thursday night spot. With a new showrunner, (Miss you Safran) and a near new cast, it looks like theyre trying to give this show every opportunity for a comeback.As for the CW airing their shows later, Im happy with that decision. Im already so overwhelmed with the shows that Ive got so starting them when the other shows are wrapping up seems to be a perfect idea! The hiatus until fall wont feel as long either with shows ending around Comic-con time.Im super stoked for Code Black! For those who are unfamiliar with the show, Code Black is like Greys Anatomy just without all the relationship drama. I mean, there is a bit of relationship drama but not as much (and not as wild) as Greys. The past two seasons were packed full of emotion and drama and medicine (many tears were shed, ESPECIALLY during their season 2 finale). Im excited to see how Leannes evolved, now that she had an adopted daughter...I echo Laura's thoughts that Instinct got the bad card. It certainly deserved Seal Team's slot, the show is already wasting the strong lead in it has. Another show with apparently no life in it For The People. I mean Quantico got their slot, I'm still shooketh by that. Winners are Deception by far and iZombie. Didn't expect iZombie to get this amount of love, especially considering last years treatment and poor quality. C arillions collapse left the future of thousands of staff in doubt on Monday, and sent investors scrambling to trade the news. The collapsed contractors rivals share prices climbed on hopes they can sweep up the contracts left over by the construction firms demise. The likes of G4S and Balfour Beatty will be waiting eagerly to see if major public contracts such as the HS2 high-speed rail line, as well as managing schools and prisons, come back out to tender. Serco jumped 4.7p at 102.9p, G4S climbed 5p to 291.9p, Interserve was up 2.2p at 119.8p and Balfour Beatty added 2.5p to 310.2p. But banks were feeling the heat, worried about the money owed to them by the troubled Government contractor. The construction firm owes 900 million to Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Santander and at this stage it is unclear whether the debts will ever be repaid. HSBC was off 6.9p at 784.8p, RBS lost 1.2p at 301.2p and Lloyds fell 0.13p at 70.3p. Overall the FTSE 100 was suffering from blue Monday malaise, down 6.5 points at 7772.9. But GKN was making gains after potential suitor Melrose said it was gearing up for a hostile battle for the engineer. Melrose said it is commending a series of shareholder meetings to show how it could improve the engineering groups performance and GKNs stock rose 13.4p at 433.4p. Ferguson became the latest company to welcome changes to the US tax system. The FTSE 100 building materials company said it expected the tax reform to be beneficial to profit and to reduce its tax rate. The firm, which recently changed its name from Wolseley to reflect its increasing US focus, saw its shares gain 129.5p at 5609.5p. On the FTSE 250, Bodycote also hailed the tax reforms, adding that profits for last year would come in towards the upper end of market forecasts. It was the top riser on the index, up 83.5p at 1035p. But it was a tough session for Moneysupermarket.com, off 7.5p at 347.5p. The price comparison firm, renowned for its provocative advertising the latest being He-Man and Skeletor dancing together received a price cut from Barclays after the broker expressed concerns about its ability to monetise its mobiles business. On the small-cap market Gem Diamonds was up 10.7p at 91.3p, after the miner said it had recovered what it believed to be the fifth-biggest gem-quality diamond. It could sell for more than $40 million (29 million). S ometimes the scale of environmental problems makes us wonder whether the small actions we take make any difference. Yet millions of us do our bit we recycle, we buy eco-friendly cars, we try not to litter. We know our lives add to the environmental problem and while most of us dont want to be green hermits, we do want to help. That is particularly true in the case of plastic. Invented by humans as a wonder-material, its dirt cheap to produce and can be used for almost any purpose its blessings have become a curse. This is particularly the case with disposable plastic in the food industry. Plastic bottles, plastic cutlery, plastic cups and plastic straws, used only once, have rapidly replaced recyclable paper, wood and glass alternatives. This is harmful for nature, especially our marine life. The estimated 150 million tonnes of plastic in our oceans are killing one million sea birds and 100,000 sea mammals a year. Thats why we warmly welcomed the plan Michael Gove launched last week, with the support of the PM extending the plastic bag tax introduced by David Cameron, consulting on a levy for plastic cups et al, and seeking to eliminate avoidable single-use plastics over the next 25 years. But we shouldnt just rely on government to solve problems, nor do we need to wait that long to achieve our goals. We can take action now. Thats where our new campaign The Last Straw comes in. We start with a simple premise. If we could eliminate the use of plastic straws in London, and across the country, we would make a big difference. Thats because Britain is a big user of plastic straws. In London alone, two billion of them are used every year more than the whole of Italy. Each one takes seconds to make, minutes to use and hundreds of years to degrade. Crucially, unlike other plastics, there are easy alternatives available paper straws, corn syrup ones, even bamboo straws. Some London restaurants and bars have already led the way and we applaud them. You wont get a plastic straw at Jamies Italian, Wahaca, Wetherspoons and All Bar One. As we reported last week, the big restaurant group D&D London is phasing them out. This morning, top chef Jason Atherton joins them by getting rid of plastic straws from his venues. As Mr Gove writes in a column for the Evening Standard, the leadership shown by these companies and championed by the Standard can make a decisive difference in our attitude towards waste and the health of our planet. Now, we go a step further. Today the Evening Standard is calling on all restaurants, bars, cafes and coffee shops across the capital to take The Last Straw pledge and commit to eco- alternatives. Over the coming weeks we will celebrate those who do, and question those who dont. Who bails out Carillion? The giant construction company Carillion went bust today. This matters for 20,000 anxious UK employees. It causes problems for government which, under all parties, used it to build railways, manage schools and maintain prisons. It raises concern about ongoing public services. And taxpayers will now have to pay the issue is how much. You can be in favour of private firms bringing innovation and efficiency to government services while still asking questions about Carillion. Why has the state found itself so dependent on a few very large outsourcing firms? The failure to use a variety of smaller, mid-size companies undermines innovation and leaves services hostage when things go wrong. Why was Carillion awarded huge contracts by the civil service, with whom rather than ministers almost all procurement decisions lie after they knew it was struggling last year? Above all, how we will insist as we must that shareholders are bailed in before the taxpayer is asked to fund any kind of bailout? As London Fashion Week Men's drew to a close last week, the style set flew to Italy for the next instalment of menswear showcases. First up was Pitti Uomo, a three-day trade show in Florence, followed by Milan Fashion Week Men's over the weekend. In Florence, buyers, press and influencers were given a preview of the most exciting emerging menswear brands and trends, while Milan was a showcase of best-in-class clothing from master menswear designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Armani. As is so often the case, some of the best wardrobe inspiration came from the impeccably turned-out gents attending the shows, as much as those walking in them. People. Fashion. Power. Delivered weekly. Email Sign up Sign up I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice {{message}} {{permutiveUid}} {{message}} From next level tailoring to maximalist streetwear, the cities were alive with individuality and sartorial savoir-faire. Here are some of the key menswear trends to note: Berets and baker boy hats A tonal baker boy gives a suit some attitude at Pitti Uomo / Rex Features Proving they're not just for the gals, berets and baker boy hats were given serious attitude when paired with suits and down jackets. Bum bags Keeping bumbags front and centre in Milan / Rex Features Iterations of last season's bumbag were everywhere - the only way to wear one now it would seem is slung across one's chest. Pull this one off and you're cooler than cool. You're ice cold. Lace-up leather boots Climbing chic on the streets in Milan / Rex Features A third London rape case in just over a month has collapsed after police failed to find key evidence. The case against Samson Makele was halted at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday after his defence team unearthed key images from his mobile phone which had not previously been made available, law firm Hodge Jones and Allen said. The 28-year-old was accused of raping a woman he met after Notting Hill Carnival in 2016 but the case was thrown out after more than a dozen pictures emerged of the pair apparently cuddling in bed. Mr Makele, originally from Eritrea, claimed the sex was consensual. His trial had been due to start at the end of the month. Investigators from the Metropolitan Police did not find the images, which were discovered when the defence hired an independent forensic expert. It comes after Scotland Yard announced an urgent review after the rape trial of Liam Allan was halted on December 14 and the prosecution of Isaac Itiary, accused of raping a child, collapsed a few days later. A Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman said: "We received information from the defence on January 5, material we were not previously aware of. "The case was reviewed and it was concluded there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction. "We made the decision to offer no evidence and did so at a hearing today." Mr Makele's lawyer, Paris Theodorou, said an error in judgment or an inaccuracy in unveiling evidence, could cause "irreparable damage". He said: "Mr Makele doesn't know whether failure to obtain the photographs by the police was an oversight or an act of sheer incompetence. "Either way, his life has been intolerable and traumatic while he waited for the truth to emerge. "It is clearly vital that criminal defence solicitors are tech savvy enough to conduct their own analysis in parallel to those undertaken by the police." A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "In this case it is apparent that the police investigation did not find the images, which were first disclosed by the defendant in early January 2018. "After this the case was discontinued." The collapse of the two rape cases in December sparked an urgent review by Scotland Yard into around 30 sex cases. T he shortage of teachers has become so extreme that the Government is paying recruitment consultancies 10 million to scout for them abroad. Global consultancies including Reed Specialist Recruitment, Randstad and Prospero have been put on a centralised roster for head teachers to use when struggling to recruit British staff, according to a tender highlighted by research group Tussell. Each of the bidders will be paid up to 1.4 million for their work. Graduate numbers are falling just as secondary schools are about to experience a big influx of pupils. Unions say many new teachers are leaving the profession, with 84 per cent citing high workloads. Less than three quarters of those who qualified in 2013 were still teaching at the end of 2016. Paul Whiteman, of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: The Government is still failing to provide enough teachers for our growing school population. It is predicted that by next year Britain will have the same number of secondary school pupils as in 2007, when there were 13,000 more secondary teachers. A spokesman for the Association of School and College Lecturers welcomed the recruiters tender, saying: A lot of schools are looking to New Zealand, Canada and South Africa and recruiting directly, but that is not cost-effective. It is logical to have a national system. The education department contracts include offering acclimatisation help, reflecting the difficulty many teachers have in adapting to the tough working conditions in some UK schools. Teachers from Commonwealth countries are often shocked at the lack of discipline and motivation among pupils, unions say. A room available for rent in an east London flatshare has been described as a cramped s***hole in a very honest online advert. The accommodation, based in Whitechapel, has been listed on website SpareRoom and is available from the end of January. The property houses a total of six flatmates with perks including onsite parking and close proximity to Sainsburys. The advert, posted by Raphael Briand, said: Large room with double bed and built-in wardrobe. Looking for someone to replace me as I am leaving London. Current tenants are British, Italian, and New Zealander, including a student, an accountant, a chef, a waitress, and a junior banker! ABSOLUTELY ALL bills included, including council tax and internet! The place is described as less than ten minutes walk from three Tube stations Aldgate East, Aldgate and Shadwell and a 15 to 20 minute walk to the city. The advert adds: Available from the start of February but if you desperately need to move in before then that's fine as well. T he families of the Westminster terror attack victims today demanded internet firms do more to prevent further atrocities by tackling the spread of extremist material online. Grieving relatives added to growing calls for messaging services such as WhatsApp and Telegram to axe end-to-end encryption, which turns messages into a code so that only the sender and receiver can read them. At a pre-inquest hearing into last Marchs attack in Westminster, which left five dead, Gareth Patterson QC, re-presenting victims families, urged the coroner to help tackle the problem. He said encrypted messages between extremists, as well as online radicalisation material, regularly features in terrorist trial after terrorist trial at the Old Bailey. Why is it radicalisation material continues to be freely available on the internet? he asked. London Terror Attack Floral Tributes at Westminster - 27 March 2017 1 /12 London Terror Attack Floral Tributes at Westminster - 27 March 2017 Hero MP Tobias Ellwood looks over the flowers left in tribute to the victims of the attack in Westminster Jeremy Selwyn He paused at the solemn scene in Parliament Square this morning Jeremy Selwyn Flowers from Prime Minister Theresa May amongst tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Jeremy Selwyn Two school children look at the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn A woman observes the flowers pinned to the Carriage Gates where the attack took place Jeremy Selwyn Outpouring of support: flowers at the scene of the attack in Westminster Jeremy Selwyn Three police officers stand in front of the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn A female police officer pays her respects at the scene Jeremy Selwyn A woman in jogging attire stops to remember the victims of the attack Jeremy Selwyn A man looks at floral tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Lauren Hurley/PA Police officers stand in front of the floral tributes Jeremy Selwyn Labour MP Hilary Benn passes floral tributes to the victims of the Westminster terrorist attack outside the Palace of Westminster Lauren Hurley/PA We dont understand why it is necessary for WhatsApp and Telegram to have end-to-end encryption. Khalid Masood, 52, knocked down and killed four people and injured dozens when he mounted the pavement on Westminster Bridge and drove at a crowd of pedestrians on March 22. Londoners march in memory of the Westminster bridge victims He crashed into the gates at the Palace of Westminster before rushing into the grounds and stabbing unarmed Pc Keith Palmer to death. He was shot dead by armed police. At todays hearing at the Old Bailey Mr Patterson urged the Chief Coroner, Judge Mark Lucraft QC, to prepare a report on online extremist material as part of his findings, adding that Masood is known to have shared a jihadist document on WhatsApp without any difficulty. Judge Lucraft ruled Ma-soods inquest will be heard separately to that of his victims out of respect for grieving families. The court also heard the killer took anabolic steroids in the hours or days prior to his death, according to a toxicology report. Inquests into the deaths of Kurt Cochran, 54, Leslie Rhodes, 75, Aysha Frade, 44, Andreea Cristea, 31, and Pc Palmer, 48, will be heard from September 10. Jonathan Hough QC, counsel to the inquest, said Masoods inquest could take place immediately after. A billionaire prince is facing a 1 million compensation bill after pulling out of a deal to buy a British couples seven-bedroom home. Nigerian oil baron Prince Arthur Eze, 62, agreed to pay 5 million for Richard and Deborah Conways mansion in Mill Hill, exchanging contracts on the home in August 2015. He then pulled out of the deal, forcing the Conways to take out an expensive bridging loan to complete their move to a new home in Cambridgeshire. They eventually found a new buyer for the home, selling it for 4.2 million, but sued Prince Eze. On Friday in the High Court Judge Andrew Keyser ruled the couple were due 800,000 in compensation as well as a six-figure sum in costs which will see the total rise to at least 1 million. Richard Conway, the householder suing over Mr Eze. / Nev Ayling Prince Eze had signed, said the judge. The only contractual term that remained outstanding was the completion date. Mr Conway, 62, told the court he and his wife were approaching retirement and had wanted to pay off all our debts and start again when they struck the deal through a go-between with Prince Eze. The founder of West African oil exploration firm Atlas Oranto Petroleum is thought to be worth 2 billion. He has a fleet of Rolls-Royces and a private jet, and is known for his philanthropy. He claimed the contract was void because the middleman, who he did not know before being approached, had taken a secret commission. He told the court he had not viewed the house before making an offer and putting down a 500,000 deposit, but claimed he thought something funny was going on and pulled out. He added that there had been a drastic fall in oil prices, and that he had had good intentions to buy the house. M inisters scrambled today to stop the collapse of Carillion from causing chaos in schools, hospitals and other public services with taxpayers picking up the bill for the emergency intervention. The construction and services giant went bust early this morning, having racked up debts and liabilities of about 1.5 billion. Cabinet Office minister David Lidington said it was a crisis situation and the Government immediately stepped in to pay the wages of staff delivering public services. The demise of the business left tens of thousands of employees, including many at supply chain firms which have contracts with Carillion, fearing for their jobs. There were also concerns about pension payments. On reports that Carillion continues to pay its former chief executive Richard Howson, who quit last year, his 660,000 salary, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said: We wouldnt expect to be seeing people benefiting from this failure." The company is not a household name but is Britains second largest construction firm. It is understood to have public sector or public/private partnership contracts worth 1.7 billion. Carillion sinks into liquidation as rescue talks fail These include providing school dinners and cleaning services to almost 900 schools; delivering maintenance and facility management services to hospitals, including 200 operating theatres, covering almost 12,000 beds and catering for 19,000 meals a day; construction work on rail projects including HS2 and Crossrail; maintaining 50,000 Army base homes; 200 million of prison contracts; and other major construction projects. A Carillion worker at Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Smethwick where construction work is being carried out by the firm / PA Given the scale of Carillions work, Mr Lidington took to the airwaves early this morning to insist its collapse would be handled in a managed, orderly fashion with some services being taken in-house and others going out to alternative contractors. He told BBC radio: The first priority is ensuring that public services continue. So the message to workers is, Come in to work today and you will be paid. The Government will pay your wages via the Official Receiver, not via Carillion. He said the taxpayer will have to pick up a bill for the intervention but that this was better than a chaotic meltdown with a firesale of Carillions assets. There are concerns that the bill to the taxpayer could grow. Ministers faced questions over whether they continued to award Carillion contracts, despite profit warnings, in a bid to prop it up. Problems for some Carillion workers were already clear this morning. The RMT union said train cleaners had been told to work only to find their fuel cards were not working at petrol stations. The firm employs 20,000 workers across Britain and another 23,000 overseas. It said crunch talks over the weekend failed to result in the short-term financial support it needed to continue trading while a deal was reached. It has been struggling under 900 million of debt and a 590 million pension deficit. It has seen its shares price plunge more than 70 per cent in the past six months after making a string of profit warnings and breaching its financial covenants. Chairman Philip Green said: This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years. In recent days, however, we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision. Carillion's logo at a construction site in London / EPA Carillion had met lenders HSBC, Barclays, Santander and RBS on Wednesday to discuss options. Mr Lidington said that recent contracts awarded to Carillion had been done in such a manner that partners involved in the consortiums would have to pick up responsibility for delivering them if the firm went under. He said the Government has been drawing up contingency plans since last year. Ministers are to face questions by the Commons Public Administration Committee, however. The Official Receiver has been appointed with partners at accountancy giant PwC to oversee the liquidation. Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said there were extreme concerns about the handling of the situation and that Whitehall should take Carillion contracts back in-house. She called for a full and transparent investigation. The business is facing an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority over what it told the Stock Exchange about its position. Chief executive Mr Howson stepped down in the summer as the group said it needed to bolster its balance sheet and was struggling to stay within its borrowing limits. J eremy Corbyns left-wing allies seized control of Labours party machine today in a clean sweep of elections to the National Executive. The results opened the door for the Left to deselect centrist MPs and carry out a purge of party officials who have stood in their leaders way. A slate of candidates fronted by Mr Corbyns veteran Marxist ally Jon Lansman, the chairman of grassroots campaign group Momentum, won three seats on the committee by landslide margins. The comedian Eddie Izzard, often touted as a future Mayor of London candidate, was pushed into fourth place, dousing hopes that his stardust could rescue the centre-ground. The results seal the Lefts long-planned takeover of the party. Mr Lansman boasted on Twitter that it was a LANSlide. The results means Mr Corbyn is effectively in charge of party headquarters as well as the Parliamentary Labour Party. His allies now have a clear majority on the ruling National Executive Committee, which oversees decisions ranging from rule changes, to disciplining MPs, and to the hiring and firing of senior staff. It also raises questions about the future of Iain McNicol, the partys general-secretary. Labour donor John Mills said: It leaves the Left in control both of the parliamentary leadership and the National Executive. I am not sure where this leaves the Labour party. He warned the Left against imposing mandatory reselections of MPs. He said: You tend to find people being deselected on ideological grounds in favour of people who have less experience and ability. Mr Lansman was elected with 65,163 votes, Jeremy Corbyn is re-elected Labour leader 1 /10 Jeremy Corbyn is re-elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn celebrates his victory following the announcement of the winner in the Labour leadership contest PA Owen Smith leaves the floor following the announcement of the winner PA Jeremy Corbyn (R), is embraced by Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell REUTERS Jeremy Corbyn, reacts after the announcement of his victory REUTERS Owen Smith and Jeremy Corbyn shakes hands before the announcement of the winner PA Jeremy Corbyn during his victory speech REUTERS Jeremy Corbyn listens to the results of the Labour party leadership result REUTERS Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn celebrates his victory PA Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is congratulated by challenger Owen Smith PA Jeremy Corbyn is congratulated by his wife Laura Alvarez PA Manchester councillor Yasmine Dar with 68,388 votes and activist Rachel Garnham with 62,982. Izzard got 39,508 votes and the other five candidates got below 27,000 votes each. MP Wes Streeting said: Congratulations to Rachel, Yasmine and Jon on their election. Hope theyll represent members and give them a say on Single Market membership. Ms Dar tweeted: Defending the core values of our party & shifting the balance of power towards members is the way forward. Jeremy Corbyn: Labour is the government in waiting in 2018 Former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer said: The Labour party has got to feel confident that the NEC will treat everybody in the party equally and it wont become in any way a trigger for action against any faction, MPs or part of the party. Corbyn ally Chris Williamson MP said: These results show that Jeremy Corbyns leadership has given the party a clear sense of direction. Some moderates criticised the low turnout. One source said: Even in an election run online that completely suits Momentum they only got a turnout of 60,000 people and they claim to have 200,000-odd members. Stephanie Lloyd, deputy director of centre-Left group Progress, said: My hope is that Jon Lansman will not try to run the Labour party like he runs Momentum. As a party we need our focus to be on stopping a Tory hard Brexit, not stopping Labour conference discussing Brexit; we need to replace Tory MPs, not deselect our hard-working Labour MPs. After moderate Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale quit last year, she was replaced by new leader and Corbyn ally Richard Leonard, giving him a majority of one on the NEC. He is now more likely to have a working majority of three. One London Labour MP warned against descending into debates about our rulebook. U kip leader Henry Bolton has revealed he has ended his relationship with his 25-year-old girlfriend after it was reported she had made racist remarks about Meghan Markle. The politician had faced calls to step down as party leader after text messages were published in which Jo Marney described black people as "ugly" and said Ms Markle would "taint" the Royal family. She was immediately suspended from Ukip and, on Sunday, issued an apology for the "shocking" language she used about Prince Harry's fiance. On Monday, 54-year-old Mr Bolton, whose relationship with Ms Marney is under investigation by Ukip, told ITV's Good Morning Britain he had ended the romance. Couple: The relationship was controversial from the start But he said he had no intention of resigning as party leader. The Ukip leader admitted that the relationship was "obviously quite incompatible" with his position as party chief and the "romantic" side of their relationship had ended. He said they had ended the romance on Sunday night, describing it as "a long and upsetting conversation for both of us". Split: The politician announced the split on GMB But said he would continue to support the family of Ms Marney as she had been left " absolutely distraught" by the revelations. "These messages came out a long time ago at a time when she had absolutely no idea they would be made public," he said. The Mail On Sunday printed texts it said had been sent by Ms Marney before her relationship with Mr Bolton began. Ms Marney describes herself as a glamour model and journalist, as well as a Brexiteer They included messages reading "This is Britain, not Africa" during a discussion about the royal engagement and repeated use of the word "negro". "I don't defend these comments whatsoever and indeed Jo has been suspended pending an investigation under the normal rules of the party for such things and it is against the constitution for the party to be racist in any way, Mr Bolton said. As of last night the romantic side of our relationship is ended." Loading.... Mr Bolton split with his wife Tatiana before dating the glamour model half his age, with the relationship being made public just after Christmas. He has two children with 42-year-old Mrs Bolton, with the youngest being born in 2016. Separated: Henry Bolton with his wife Tatiana Smurova-Bolton / PA In a statement to the paper Ms Marney, who describes herself on Twitter profile as a model, actor and journalist, as well as a Brexiteer, apologised for the remarks made. She said: "The opinions I expressed were deliberately exaggerated in order to make a point and have, to an extent, been taken out of context. Yet I fully recognise the offence they have caused." Ukip: Bolton said he has no intention of resigning / ITV Mr Bolton has also faced widespread calls for his resignation, but he made it clear he wanted to stay in place as the party leader, saying "there are a great many people who fully support me". Asked if his position as leader had become untenable, he added: "First of all, I am not intending to resign - at all. "This will be a question for the party so it's up to the party what happens in relation to my leadership, I'm not going to resign." Mr Bolton admitted he had talked about immigration with Ms Marney but claimed it was about "straightforward, mild things" such as points systems, but "nothing of this sort". C ompanies were today told to increase their profitability by appointing more women to top jobs as Home Secretary Amber Rudd warned that it made no sense to fill boardrooms with men. In her first public appearance since taking charge of the Governments equalities policy, Ms Rudd said firms were more likely to outperform their rivals if they had greater diversity in their senior ranks. She also called on businesses to close the gender pay gap by promoting more women from junior ranks, changing recruitment practices and allowing flexible work patterns. Ms Rudd was addressing senior female executives from the City and other parts of the capital at the London Stock Exchange. Ms Rudd addressed senior female executives from the City and other parts of the capital at the London Stock Exchange / Alex Letanti She was appointed minister for women and equalities, a post formerly held by Justine Greening, in last weeks Cabinet reshuffle. Some critics have suggested that Ms Rudd, whose Home Office job includes overseeing counter-terrorism, policing and immigration policy, will be too busy to devote much time to championing equality. She sought to allay those fears today, however, insisting that she was determined to fight for womens rights. Ms Rudd said women in the City had made major advances since the Seventies, when they were first admitted to the London Stock Exchange, only to be given nicknames such as Stop Men and Super Bum. She said women were now in senior roles in more professions than ever and that there were no longer any all-male boards in the FTSE 100. But she warned that a national gender pay gap of 18 per cent showed progress was still needed and that there were too few women in senior posts. She said: Women make up over half our university students and just under half of the working population and yet they are still significantly under-represented at board level and in senior positions. Having fewer women than men in leadership positions makes no sense. We know for instance that organisations with the highest levels of gender diversity in their leadership teams are 15 per cent more likely to outperform their industry rivals. Ms Rudd added: As business leaders, each and every one of you has a role to play. Encourage your companies to publish their gender pay gap data and where there is a gap close it. Under legislation which came into force last year, all organisations with more than 250 employees will have to publish an audit of the pay gap between men and women. These are expected to show wide discrepancies. A council has faced a backlash and been accused of "demonising" the homeless after adverts appeared to warn people against giving money to rough sleepers. The Gloucester City Council poster suggested that not all rough sleepers are homeless and urged people to "think" before handing over change. It reads: "Are you really helping homeless people? In some cases, the people you see sleeping rough are not homeless. "They are in accommodation, receiving support and benefits." Beneath that is a picture of a rough sleeper propping up at cardboard sign with the slogan: "Change is more than coins. Think before you give." Critics claimed the posters were designed to make the public "suspicious" of homeless people and to that many rough sleepers were not genuine. But a city councillor told Standard that the "Street Aware" campaign was aimed at boosting public knowledge about "alternative giving". The campaign sparked a backlash among some constituents and the Gloucester branch of the Labour party. The advert also urges people who are worried about someone sleeping rough to contact local authorities through StreetLink - a website and phone app that aims to make it easier to find support for people living on the streets. People are also encouraged to "make [their] change count" by donating to an established homeless charity. But Labour has slammed the campaign and called for immediate removal of the posters from billboards across the city. Fran Boait, Labour prospective parliamentary candidate for Gloucester, wrote on Twitter on Friday: "This is an awful advert. "Streetlink is really important, but making people suspicious of homeless people is horrible. This framing is all wrong and undermines the care we need for people sleeping rough." In a joint statement released on Monday, Ms Boait and city councillor Terry Pullen said they were "absolutely disgusted" by the posters. London's homeless have Christmas Day lunch at Euston station They wrote: "The posters imply that most homeless people are not genuine but trying to con people out of money. "This is shameful and effectively demonises one of the most vulnerable groups of people in our society who need our kindness and care. "We call upon Gloucester City Council to immediately withdraw these posters." Many people online also expressed their concern over the posters. Homeless Britain, which raises awareness for homelessness, said: "Gloucester city should be ashamed, this demonising homelessness is beyond disgusting, it is inhumane and a disgrace as is the poster!" While Jim Currie asked: "Why can't we give them money and contact StreetLink." Councillor Jennie Watkins, cabinet member for communities and neighbourhoods at Gloucester City Council, said: "The launch of our Street Aware campaign is to raise public awareness about alternative giving. Its a tough message to deliver, but we must consider whether giving money directly to individuals is the best way to support them to make positive and sustainable change. "Giving money to people who beg may make life on the street easier for them in the short term, but, in the worst case, could feed dependency. It takes more than money to turn a life around. Network Rail 'operating as normal' Network Rail reassured customers that services will be running as normal today and said it has activated contingency plans. "Passengers can be reassured that their services will be running as normal today as Carillion's work for Network Rail does not involve the day-to-day running of the railway, a statement said. "We will be working closely with the administrators and Carillion's management team to ensure projects that they are working on continue and that the supply chain is maintained for this important work. S upermarket giant Lidl has faced a backlash for selling pre-peeled "naked" onions in plastic packaging. Customers expressed their anger after finding packs of peeled onions wrapped in plastic on the supermarket's shelves. The two pack was on sale for 79p compared to 55p for four large, unpeeled onions. Winnie Courtene-Jones wrote: "Found this #pointlessplastic monstrosity in @LidlUK this morning seriously?! Two peeled whole onions on a plastic tray wrapped in #plastic film no @lidl! Just no, I don't have words for this". Environmentally conscious shoppers argued that by peeling the onions the company had taken away the vegetables natural protection and unnecessarily replaced it with plastic. David Rose wrote: Just as I was singing the praises of @LidlUK and their wonderful unwrapped veg, I come across this monstrosity - naked Onions !!! Remove the perfectly good protection & then add plastic protection.Unacceptable Lidl. A spokesperson for Lidl said: At Lidl UK we are proud to have one of the highest proportions of loose fruit and vegetables of all British supermarkets, and continually test and trial the removal of packaging throughout the range. "We remain mindful that packaging can be beneficial in optimising shelf life and helping to reduce food waste, both in store and at home, so we are also working closely with both our suppliers and industry partners WRAP, to increase the proportion of recyclable material used. They continued: To meet consumer demand and market trends, we are constantly exploring opportunities to enhance our product range and provide our customers with added convenience, whilst always being conscious of packaging and food waste considerations. "As such, this product, which is equivalent to pre-prepared options already available at other supermarkets, is being piloted in a select number of stores on a trial basis only. Following the trial, all customer feedback will be considered." It comes after Prime Minister Theresa May last week pledged to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste in the UK within 25 years. The onions are the most recent in a line of products sold by supermarkets which customers have deemed to be covered in unnecessary packaging. L ondon today entered the third week of January without breaching legal air quality limits for the first time since modern records began. Every year for the last decade the citys toxic air has exceeded legal hourly pollution cap for nitrogen dioxide within the first few days of the new year. Putney High Street, Oxford Street and Brixton Road are among the pollution hotspots that have usually broken the limit by 6 January at the latest. The hourly limit for NO2 is still likely to be exceeded later this month but later than usual as a result of anti-pollution measures and blustery, wet weather so far this year. Pollution in London 1 /6 Pollution in London This image taken near the Royal Observatory in Greenwich shows a thick layer of smog hanging over London Anna Rolls This image, taken in December 2016, shows the smog over London Pete Buckney This shot taken in 2015 from Hampstead Heath shows smog hanging over the centre of London Getty Images Pollution: thick smog hangs over London's Docklands PA Pollution hanging over the City of London 2011 FILE IMAGE AFP via Getty Images Smog: A thick layer of smog visible above London's skyline William Smith/@williamsmithorg There has to be a recording of 18 hours of very high pollution levels at any individual monitoring site across London to exceed legal limits. As of today, the hourly average of 200 ug/m3 NO2 has only hit a maximum of 8 hours - five in Brixton, two in Putney and one at Park Lane, Croydon. Mayor Sadiq Khan claimed partial responsibility for the improvement, pointing to measures he has introduced such as the T-charge for older, more polluting cars. New low-emission bus zones have also had an impact - in Putney reducing the number of hours breaching legal limits by more than 90 per cent on the previous year. R AF fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Russian bomber planes approaching UK airspace in the North Sea. The Ministry of Defence confirmed to the Standard that Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland took off on Monday morning. The RAF jets escorted the Russian Blackjack bombers northwards and out of the UK's flight information region - the airspace over which Britain is responsible. The closest the Russian jets came to UK land was 40 nautical miles, or around 46 miles. They came 30 nautical miles (34.5 miles) from British sovereign airspace. A spokesman for the RAF said: "We can confirm that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled to monitor two Blackjack bombers approaching the UK area of interest. RAF vs the Russian Air Force Today's incident is not uncommon February 2016: Typhoons from the RAF dispatched to intercept Russian bombers heading towards UK. September 2016: RAF planes intercept two Russian bombers west of Shetland. October 2016: Jets from four European countries including Britain intercept Russian planes between Norway and Spain. January 2017: Typhoons monitor Russian aircraft carrier as it moves through US waters. May 2017: Two RAF planes leave Lossiemouth after Russian jets enter UK airspace. September 2017: Two RAF fighter jets sent to head off Russian military planes approaching Scotland. "The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea. "At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign UK airspace." A Voyager refuelling aircraft from RAF Brize Norton also supporting the Typhoons during the operation. The MoD said it could not confirm how many RAF aircraft had been sent because of operation security reasons. Typhoons are combat aircraft used in air policing and high-intensity conflict. They are often scrambled to police and intercept unidentified foreign planes illegally entering British airspace. RAF Lossiemouth in north east Scotland is primarily used as a base for Quick Reaction Alert, where pilots are on duty 24 hours a day and ready at a moment's notice. The incident on Monday follows a string of stand-offs in recent months between the RAF and Russian Air Force, although the Ministry of Defence said the RAF has routinely intercepted, identified and escorted Russian aircraft as part of its air defence role. It added that Russian military flights have never entered UK sovereign airspace without authorisation. RAF Typhoon jets were called to head off Russian military planes approaching Scotland (file photo). / AFP/Getty Images Fighter controllers monitor UK airspace around the clock from two centres. If the aircraft cannot be identified by any other means, for example if it is not responding to civilian or military air traffic control or has not filed a flight plan, RAF jets are scrambled. In September last year, two RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled to monitor a pair of Russian military planes flying towards UK airspace while in July two jets based in Romania were sent to Russian aircraft near NATO airspace in the Black Sea. In January 2017 Typhoons also monitored a Russian aircraft carrier as it sailed through UK waters. T he Evening Standard today launches a campaign to bring an end to the wasteful use of billions of environmentally damaging plastic straws in London. We call on the operators of restaurants, bars, cafes and coffee shops across the capital as well as readers at home to take The Last Straw pledge now and commit to switching to alternatives that are kinder on the planet. One of Londons most respected chefs, Michelin-starred Jason Atherton, backed the Standards campaign, and said all nine of his London restaurants, including Mayfair flagship Pollen Street Social, would stop offering straws immediately. He said: It is heartbreaking to see how much plastic we are using there is no need for it. Some two billion are thought to be thrown away each year in our city as many as in the whole of Italy making London the plastic straw capital of Europe. They would have a combined weight of 1,000 tonnes, equivalent to three fully laden jumbo jets. The Standards call to action comes four days after the Government announced plans to eliminate all plastic waste in Britain within 25 years. Billions of straws are thrown away each year / Alamy While we strongly support the Environment Plan we also believe London can lead the way with voluntary action that can make a difference starting today. Writing in the Evening Standard, Environment Secretary Michael Gove said he was particularly delighted to welcome The Last Straw initiative after last week launching the Governments blueprint, which encourages everyone to play their part in protecting and enhancing our natural world by helping to reduce the amount of plastic we all use. And giving up plastic straws is an excellent place to start. Environmental groups also backed the Standards call for straws to be consigned to history. Laura Parry, of the Marine Conservation Society, said: We fully support the Evening Standard in asking restaurants, pubs and clubs to stop using plastic straws and switch to biodegradable alternatives for those who really need them. Top chef leads the way as we call on restaurants, bars and cafes to consign plastic menace to the dustbin of history Jason Atherton says he remembers the moment he realised his restaurants would have to phase out single use plastic beginning with straws. The chef, who holds Michelin stars at four restaurants, was watching Skys Ocean Rescue programme during some rare downtime. He said: It just grabbed my attention, it was very powerful. In one of the clips this guy was walking on a beach in India up to his waist in plastic. A few days later he noticed 100 single-use plastic bottles being delivered for his chefs to drink at his Mayfair flagship Pollen Street Social. He told the Standard: I thought you know what, weve got to do something about that. So we have set June 1 as the date when the whole group worldwide will be single use plastic free. To kickstart the initiative all Athertons restaurants will cease stocking straws altogether, except for a few re-useable ones in fancy cocktails. He said: Across the group the number of cocktails and glasses of cokes that we were serving with straws was ridiculous. For a glass of Coca-Cola my message would be do you really need one, youre not a seven-year-old child, you can sip a glass like everyone else. Our message is if youre a business, stop handing them out, unless its absolutely necessary; and if youre a consumer, just say no, because you just dont need it and youll be doing the oceans a massive favour. Our beach clean volunteers have been finding plastic straws in increasing numbers. Since a video appeared on YouTube of a sea turtle having a straw extracted from its nostril it has become absolutely clear that the random handing out of this single-use plastic item often used for even less time than a single-use carrier bag or a plastic takeaway cup must stop now. Only a tiny fraction of plastic straws habitually given out with soft drinks, cocktails, even cups of coffee, are recycled due their small size. The rest end up in landfill, or in rivers and ultimately the sea, where they are the fifth most common item of rubbish and are capable of harming marine life. They are used for 20 minutes on average, but take up to 500 years to break down. The Evening Standard are campaigning to take plastic straws off London's streets / Alamy Ms Parry added: For decades plastic straws have been handed out like theres no tomorrow sadly for some marine creatures a straw in the gullet means there has been no tomorrow. Campaigners say kicking the plastic straw habit is easier than ending some other forms of waste because alternatives are commonly available. Disposable straws can be made of compostable bio-plastics derived from corn starch that biodegrade in 12 weeks. Multi-use straws can be made of paper, metal or bamboo. An edible straw made from seaweed that comes in flavours such as mango or vanilla is being developed by a US company. Todays campaign launch follows the decision by fine dining group D&D London revealed in the Standard last week that it would phase out plastic straws and replace them with green alternatives. Other operators including Soho House, Jamies Italian, Wahaca, Wetherspoons, MEATliquor and All Bar One have already made the move. MEATLiquor stopped giving straws in its nine London burgers and beer outlets a year ago. If customers ask for one, they are offered an environmentally friendly option. Scott Collins, co-founder of MEATLiquor, said: You have to be responsible. I have a child and you have to think of the future and your environmental footprint. I would urge all other restaurants to do what we do. It has been really easy to do and, as well as being the right thing to do, it has saved us money. The more the media does to raise awareness, the better. The more people are aware, the easier it will be for restaurants to do, he added.Ella Mills, founder of Deliciously Ella, said: We really proud to have environmentally friendly packaging at the deli. Almost all of our packaging is compostable (some is made by London Bio Packaging, some from Vegware) and the few items that arent are made of recyclable plastics, but were working on moving towards 100 per cent compostable as soon as possible. Making these changes is challenging though, and I hope as it becomes easier and there is more availability in packaging options, more places will follow suit. Several small towns and villages around Britain have declared themselves plastic straw-free, but an initiative in the capital could act as a catalyst for the whole nation. The UK is easily the biggest user of plastic straws in Europe, with an estimated 8.5 billion thrown away each year, according to a study by Eunomia Research & Consulting. P resident Donald Trump has denied he is a racist after he reportedly described Haiti and African nations as "s***holes". Mr Trump told reporters on Sunday: "No, No. I'm not a racist. "I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you." Donald Trump's comment have sparked backlash / AP His alleged remarks sparked a race storm that saw the African Union, which represents 55 member states throughout the continent, express "shock, dismay and outrage at the comments. But Mr Trump denied making the statements attributed to him, the Associated Press reported. The president is accused of using "s***hole" to describe African countries during an immigration meeting with a bipartisan group of six senators. He reportedly also questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the US, according to people briefed on the conversation. Emily Thornberry: Donald Trump is a racist Mr Trump took particular issue with the idea that people who had fled to the US after disasters hit their homes in places such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti would be allowed to stay as part of the deal, according to reports. Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here? the president reportedly responded, according to the Washington Post. Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out, CNN reported that Mr Trump told people in the meeting. He claimed that instead, the US should be seeking to assimilate people from nations like Norway. Mr Trump insisted in a tweet on Friday that he "never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said `take them out.' Made up by Dems." He wrote: "I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust!" But Senator Dick Durbin, the only Democrat at Thursday's meeting, said Trump had indeed said what he was reported to have said. He said that Mr Trump had used "hate-filled, vile and racist" language during the meeting. Senior Republican lawmakers, including Senators David Perdue of Georgia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who also attended the meeting, initially said in a statement on Friday that they "do not recall the president saying these comments specifically." On Sunday, they backtracked and challenged other senators' descriptions of the remarks. Mr Perdue said on ABC: "I am telling you that he did not use that word. And I'm telling you it's a gross misrepresentation." T wo parents have been arrested after police found their 13 children held captive in foul-smelling conditions at a home in California, with some chained to beds. On Sunday morning, an "emaciated" 17-year-old girl managed to escape from the house in Perris and called 911 using a mobile phone she had found at the home. The teenager claimed her 12 brothers and sisters, ranging from two to 29 years old, were being held captive with chains and padlocks. Riverside County Sheriffs Department carried out a brief interview with the girl, who was said to have the appearance of a 10-year-old. The siblings were found at a house in a residential area of Perris, California / Google Officers visited the house of David Turpin, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49, and found children chained to their beds in dark and foul-smelling surroundings with the parents unable to provide a logical reason why. A statement said: Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that 7 of them were actually adults, ranging in age from 18 to 29. The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty. David Turpin, 57, and Louise Turpin, 49, have been arrested on suspicion of torture and child endangerment / Riverside Sheriff's Department The siblings were given food and drinks after claiming to be starving, police added. All 13 of them were then taken to Perris Police Station to be interviewed, before being transported to nearby hospitals for medical examinations and treatment. Mr and Mrs Turpin were detained on suspicion of torture and child endangerment, with their bail set at $9,000,000 (6.5m) each. Neighbours said the Turpins and their children rarely emerged from their unkempt home in the modern development of closely spaced single-family houses. Loading.... Wendy Martinez, a 41-year-old housewife, said her only contact with the Turpins came as she passed the house at night in October. Four children were laying turf in the yard while the mother watched from the door, and none responded when Martinez said hello. "They were very, like, afraid," she said of the children. "Like they had never seen people before." Andrew Santillan, who lives nearby, told the Press Enterprise: "I didnt know there were kids in the house. I had no idea this was going on." Other neighbours described the family as intensely private. A few years ago, Robert Perkins said he and his mother saw a few family members constructing a Nativity scene in the Turpins' front yard. Mr Perkins said he complimented them on it. "They didn't say a word," he said. The Turpins filed for bankruptcy in 2011, stating in court documents they owed between 100,000 dollars (72,500) and 500,000 dollars (362,000), The New York Times reported. At that time, Mr Turpin worked as an engineer at Northrop Grumman and earned 140,000 dollars (100,000) annually and his wife was a homemaker, records showed. Their bankruptcy lawyer, Ivan Trahan, told the Times he never met the children but the couple "spoke about them highly." "We remember them as a very nice couple," Mr Trahan said, adding that Louise Turpin told him the family loved Disneyland and visited often. U S diplomats in South Africa have been summoned to explain comments made by Donald Trump calling African countries "s***holes". Johannesburg will issue a formal protest against the remarks to the US Embassy in Pretoria on Monday, the Department of International Relations said in a statement released on Sunday. "The Department will provide an opportunity to the Charges de Affaires to explain the statement that African countries, alongside Haiti and El Salvador, constitute 's***holes' from where migrants into the United States are undesirable," it said. The South African government added that although it noted that President Trump had denied comments, his "denial was not categorical, referring only to Haiti and not addressing the entirety of the statement attributed to him," it said. It concluded: "South Africa aligns itself with the statements issued by the African Union and the Africa group of Ambassadors to the United Nations in New York. Africa is united in its affirmation of the dignity of the people of Africa and the African diaspora. "Relations between South Africa and the United States, and between the rest of Africa and the United States, must be based on mutual respect and understanding." Mr Trump has denied he is a racist over the alleged comments made during an Oval meeting on immigration last Thursday. "Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?" the president reportedly told a bipartisan meeting of six senators, according to the Washington Post. "Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out," CNN reported that Mr Trump said. He claimed that the US should instead be looking to attract people from nations like Norway. He insisted to reporters on Sunday: "No, No. I'm not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you." Mr Trump insisted in a tweet on Friday that he "never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said 'take them out.' Made up by Dems." He wrote: "I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust!" The African Union, which represents 55 member states throughout the continent, has already expressed "shock, dismay and outrage at the comments. Haiti has said it "vehemently condemns" Mr Trumps comments while Botswana, Senegal and Haiti have summoned US envoys to explain why their nations were dismissed with such offensive language. A United Nations human rights spokesman also condemned the remarks. Spokesman Rupert Coleville said: "If confirmed these are shocking and shameful comments from the President of the United States. There is no other word you can use but 'racist'." Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein told CNN that the State Department is expecting more US envoys to be summoned this week. The "president has the right to make whatever remarks he wants and we respect the President," he said, but that diplomats are instructed to emphasise the cooperation and friendship between the US and African nations. "They will have to work extra hard to send that message right now," Goldstein said, but added it was their duty. S ri Lanka has rejected a law reform that would have allowed women the same rights to buy alcohol as men. President Maithripala Sirisena informed a rally on Sunday that the government would be withdrawing the reform which would allow women the same privileges as men to buy alcohol and work in bars without a permit. He said that he would be revoking the decision made by the finance minister to lift the four-decade-long alcohol ban despite an announcement last week. The reform would have also changed the current law which forbids alcohol from being sold between 9am and 9pm. It would have extended the hours to 8am to 10am. However, President Maithripala Sirisena who runs an anti-alcohol campaign, informed the rally that he had ordered the government to withdraw its notification announcing the withdrawl of the ban. Many people in Sri Lanka have accused the President of hypocrisy as he previously appeared to be an advocate for womens rights. Last year he encouraged women to play a more active part in politics. Men and women took to Twitter to comment on his decision on the alcohol issue on Sunday. Snehitha Avirneni described the ban as unbelievably regressive. Ajitha Menon said that the move brought the country back to square one. Another person said: And for anyone preparing to mock Sri Lankan womens outrage at being officially prohibited from buying alcohol, check your analysis. This is not just about this archaic sexist law but the archaic sexist system in which this law is just one more tool of control. A contraceptive mobile phone app used by tens of thousands of British women has come under fire after reportedly sparking a string of unwanted pregnancies. Swedish birth control app Natural Cycles, which costs 40, tracks body temperature to accurately predict when in the month a woman is more likely to fall pregnant. But the app has come under fire after the Sodersjukhuset hospital in Stockholm lodged a complaint with the Swedish Medical Products Agency, the countrys government body responsible for regulation of medical devices. It claimed staff at the hospital had recorded 37 women who had fallen pregnant in the last quarter of 2017 after using the app. One midwife said the hospital had a duty to report all side effects. The app grew in popularity in the UK this year, after a study of 22,785 women found 6.9 per cent became pregnant within a year. The study, which was the largest-ever into its effectiveness, found it was 99 per cent effective under perfect use and 93 per cent effective under typical use - compared with 91 per cent for the pill. Around 125,000 British women are thought to have used the app by 2017. Natural Cycles told the Standard "no contraception is 100 per cent" and unwanted pregnancy is an unfortunate risk with any birth control. In a statement a spokesman said: "Natural Cycles has a Pearl Index of 7, which means it is 93 per cent effective at typical use, which we also communicate. "If you have a popular form of contraception such as Natural Cycles, then you also have to expect a certain amount of unwanted pregnancies from users using this method. Our studies have repeatedly shown that our app provides a high level of effectiveness similar to methods that require a daily routine." He added: "We have not been involved in the study that SOS is referring to so we cannot comment on specifics. However, we understand that it sounds alarming, but when Natural Cycles user base increases, naturally so will the amount of unwanted pregnancies coming from users using us, just as it would do with any kind of new contraception. "We agree with what midwife Carina Montin says, 'perhaps young people should use another form of contraception'." He added: "There is a big trend that women move away from hormonal contraception, and Natural Cycles can provide a helpful option for these women. "We therefore expect in fact to overall decrease the unwanted pregnancy rates because we increase contraceptive choice. "We dont think its helpful to fuel the fear of contraception by scaring the public with abortion news - there is already a fear of hormones and if doctors or the general media add a fear of new types of certified contraception, which are clinically proven to be effective, there is really not much left to choose from. L iam Payne admitted he hasn't read E. L. James Fifty Shades trilogy, despite featuring on the soundtrack for the upcoming film adaptation. Payne, 24, teamed up with Anywhere singer Rita Ora on For You for the third and final instalment, Fifty Shades Freed. The Strip That Down singer said he hasnt read the novels as they are somewhat out of his age range. According to The Sun, Payne said: I havent read any of the books, I dont think theyre aimed at my age range. I dont read much but the last book I did read was Russell Brands Recovery book. Hes got a really great outlook on things. For You: The pair released the new song earlier this month (@LiamPayne Twitter) Payne was speaking as he was announced as a nominee for this years Brit Awards. He will be going head to head against former One Direction band-mates Harry Styles and Zayn Malik for British Artist Video of the Year. Speaking to Bang Showbiz he said: Its great, theres some great artists in that category as well. I cant believe it, its very close to my heart, its nice to be nominated. We travel a lot and go to America so this feels extra special. The speech is all on me now. Its OK for me as I was the speaker in 1D, I was the spokesman. But the speeches, theres a lot of people to remember. Speaking about his recent solo career, the pop sensation added: Its fantastic. Im extremely happy. I love it. British Ambassador Paul Brummell recited "The Lake" poem by Mihai Eminescu near Ipotesti, on Monday, in celebration of the National Culture Day. In a video recoding that the British Embassy in Bucharest posted, Brummell explained where he is: near the village of Ipotesti, the place where Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu spent part of his childhood, near the lake which is said to have inspired this poem. "It's a romantic poetry, it's a poem about a young man who daydreams besides a lake, he dreams of a beautiful young woman appearing to him from out of the lake," explained Paul Brummell in the video recording, before reading the poem "The Lake" ("Lacul" in Romanian - editor's note) in Romanian language. Mihai Eminescu's birthday was on January 15, which is also the National Culture Day in Romania, with many cultural events being organized in Romania and abroad on this occasion. Agerpres. Germany's Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodt paid a homage on Monday, the National Culture Day, to Eminescu's poem called "Luceafarul," also bringing to mind the German-Romanian artistic projects. "Dear friends, I believe we all agree that no translation can convey perfectly the charm of the most important poem of Mihai Eminescu, 'Luceafarul,'" Ambassador Cord Meier-Klodt stated in a video recording posted by on the official Facebook page of Germany's Embassy in Bucharest, after reciting some verses of the poem. "I assure you that this version, in my mother tongue, German, truly reflects its subtlety and beauty. This is why I recite today these verses, as a small and modest token of appreciation on the occasion of the poet's birthday and the National Culture Day," the Ambassador highlighted. The diplomat talked about the Romanian-German cultural ties, underscoring that they have been maintained including by the German community of Romania. "I believe that it's the perfect example to also underscore the level of our Romanian-German bilateral relations in the culture area, relations in which the German autochthonous traditions in the country have played and continue to play for years an extremely important role. This year, the important year, the Centennial Year will also be full of extremely important events on a bilateral level," Cord Meier-Klodt points out. Thus, the German official brings to mind that in spring, Romania will be the main guest of the Book Fair in Leipzig. "We are talking about the guest country, where Romania will present its entire contemporary literature. I suggest you, let us see each other in Lipscani in Germany, in spring. Many happy returns Romania, many happy returns to the Romanian culture," the German Ambassador concluded his message. The National Culture Day is marked each year on 15 January, the day poet Mihai Eminescu was born (in 1850). Agerpres. Prime Minister Mihai Tudose on Monday stated that Romania's territorial integrity cannot be subject to negotiations, under any circumstance, and that it should never be acceptable to discuss autonomy of a piece of our country. Upon his arrival to the Social Democratic Party (PSD) headquarters for the National Executive Committee of this party, the head of the Government that he wants to "nuance" a statement that he made last Wednesday and "that he was wrongly taken." "I firmly maintain my previous stand, as a Romania, that Romania's territorial integrity cannot be subject to negotiations, under any circumstances, not even in amicable terms. You can not talk about the autonomy of one piece of Romania. When I said about flying a flag, I referred to the authorities of the Romanian state, which must apply the law, with their mandates flying like a flag, if they do not observe the law. This is what was all about, and not about hanging politicians," stated Tudose. On January 10, the head of the Government told Realitatea TV private television broadcaster that the autonomy of the Szekely is not even something that can be discussed, while also commenting on the fact that UDMR, PCM and PPMT asked in a joint resolution signed in Cluj for the territorial autonomy of the Szekely land, as well as for a special status to be granted to the Partium region. In reply, the UDMR leader, Kelemen Hunor, said he expected Prime Minister Mihai Tudose to apologize for and withdraw his statements related to the territorial autonomy of the Sezekely land, which he considered "absolutely unacceptable." Agerpres. Surprisingly, the fate of the most zealous members of some crippled Islamic State (IS) units (an organization that is banned in Russia) is reminiscent of what happened at the end of World War II. Back then it was Nazi fugitives whom someone was helping to hide so they could be put to use sometime in the future, and today its IS loyalists. No one can say where the IS bigwigs and central staffers have gone. The most experienced officers within this terrorist organization, at times entire detachments, are suddenly disappearing from Syria and Iraq, as if theyre just melting into the desert sand. Then, as if by magic, they reemerge in Libya, Egypt, Sudan, or Afghanistan, near the borders of Central Asia or Russia, or in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. Obviously, smoothly operating channels exist that allow them to move them from place to place, which is something that could only be set up by a powerful state. Given the fact that IS terrorists who are being shifted to various parts of the world are mostly coming out of the regions in eastern Syria under American control, presumably that state must be the US. And this would not be unprecedented in the history of the United States. Operation ODESSA (Organisation der Ehemaligen SS-Angehorigen, or Organization of Former SS Members), which was designed to transport SS officers out of war-torn Germany into the Middle East, as well as South and North America, used to be quite a hot topic, back in its day. The famous Frederick Forsyth novel The Odessa File, and the 1974 film of the same name, really stirred the publics imagination about this historical event. The Allies called those evacuation channels ratlines, but the SS officers themselves had a more romantic way of referring to their escape routes, for example, Ubersee Sud (Sailing Toward the Southern Seas). Many of the former SS officers were subsequently put to good use on the front lines of the Cold War. Were seeing something similar happening with IS combatants. Interestingly enough, the efforts to bring in German Nazis and settle them in the US began without the knowledge of President FDR. Those were put in motion by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (chairman Omar Bradley), which launched Operation Paperclip with a hand from the intelligence agencies. The establishment of the Gehlen Organization, which recruited Nazi spies into what would later become the Federal Intelligence Agency of the Federal Republic of Germany, was yet another scheme. Soldiers are, as a rule, far more pragmatic than ideological. They do not see pitting one enemy against another as an immoral act, but rather as an example of great strategic acumen. It has been calculated that a total of approximately 30,000 people passed through the ratlines, many of whom ended up in the US. West German intelligence chief Reinhard Gehlen. He enjoyed a long, happy life Back in 2006, the US Justice Department drafted an in-depth 600-page report on this matter. Although not publicly released, in 2010 it was obtained by the New York Times, which posted it on its website. After reviewing the report, the newspaper concluded that after WWII, US intelligence chiefs created a safe haven in the United States for many Nazi war criminals and their cohorts. The IS spy chief, Abu Omar al-Shishani (Tarkhan Batirashvili). Was he killed or did he get out through a ratline? Adolf Eichmann the most famous Odessan. He was captured and executed in Israel. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the leader of IS. Where is he? The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly issued statements about the many oddities in the way the American advisers and their allies from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been battling IS on the eastern shore of the Euphrates. For example: the use of helicopters to pull IS commanders out of besieged areas, the unexpected release of major IS detachments from cities, and the redirection of surrendered combatants into the New Syrian Army. And heres the big question for the majority of the IS loyalists who have poured into this new army from the battle zones, its right here that their trail goes cold. The former spokesman and third-in-command of the SDF before fleeing to Turkey in late 2017, Talal Silo, presents some remarkable evidence of the dealings between representatives of the Pentagon and IS commanders. Talal Silo In an interview with the Turkish Anadolu news service, he specifically pointed to some cases in which IS terrorists were relocated at the direction of agents representing US military commanders, whom he named as General Raymond Thomas, the commander of US Special Operations Command; General Joseph Votel, commander of USCENTCOM; and General Stephen Townsend, the head of Operation Inherent Resolve. And there on the scene, the biggest generator of ideas is Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk. Brett McGurk, center, inspecting the allies Talal Silo cites, for example, episodes in which at the Americans insistence 2,000 IS fighters were permitted safe passage out of Manbij, and 500 out of Tabqa. And the most remarkable event was the clever bit of theater performed in Raqqa, quite in the spirit of the US Armys field manual on special operations. Talal Silo claims that the Americans were calculating that Assads forces would reach Deir ez-Zor in six weeks. But when it turned out that the government troops were moving more quickly, US officials demanded that the SDF release terrorists from Raqqa and send them toward Abu Kamal in order to intercept the government forces. A deal was negotiated allowing an imposing group of 3,500 militants to leave the city with all they needed, including weapons. The public statement that was released claimed that only civilians were let out of the city, and that 275 IS loyalists supposedly turned themselves in. To prove the existence of these 275 individuals, a group of people were brought in from the Ain Issa camp to play the part of militants. Yet journalists were forbidden to travel to Raqqa, citing the risk of skirmishes with IS terrorists. But in fact not a single bullet was ever fired. Later it was revealed that some of those terrorists headed for some very different destinations. Many entered the areas liberated under Operation Euphrates Shield. In other words, with US assistance, they moved into the Turkish zone, and from there they were free to go anywhere. Similar theatrics might also be performed during subsequent redeployments of terrorists. The question is, to what extent is the White House in the loop regarding the Pentagons maneuvers with IS militants? It cant be ruled out that, just like long ago in 1945, the military is not acting with the presidents approval. If the US administration was briefed on this operation and gave it a green light, then this is yet another example of strategic myopia. Any treaty with the black devil is always dangerous for the one who pursues it. President Trump said it was the final waiver extending Iran nuclear deal. He did it with strings attached. The presidents demands include: immediate inspections at sites by international inspectors and denying Iran paths to nuclear weapons forever (instead of 10 years as stipulated under current law). New sanctions were issued against 14 people and entities involved with Irans ballistic missile programs and a crackdown on government protesters. The president wants the deal to cover Iran's ballistic missile programs. Restrictive measures were extended three times last year. And Donald Trump never certified the agreement. Senator Bob Corker, the current chairman of the Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations , said significant progress had been made on bipartisan congressional legislation to address flaws in the agreement without violating US commitments. According to President Trump, there are only two options: either the deal is fixed or the US pulls out. This time he wants to pass the buck, emphasizing that the decision to do it the last time is explained by his desire to secure the agreement of US European allies to fix what he calls the terrible flaws of the Joint Commission Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the Iran nuclear deal. Europeans have 120 days to define their position. From now on, Europe is facing a real hard choice: its either dancing to the US tune or being adamant in its support for the deal. The latter will bring it closer to Russia. Germany said on Jan.12 that it remained committed to the deal and that it would consult with European partners to find a common way forward. The European Union remains committed to support the implementation of the JCPOA. The US plan hardly has a chance of success. Even if Europe joins the US, which is not the case, at least for now, the introduction of any changes to the deal requires the consent of other participants: Russia, China and Iran. Tehran has taken a tough stance, flatly refusing any talks on changes. Another element of US proposal is also a tall order. The president wants a separate follow-on deal on Iran with the EU to enshrine triggers that the Iranian government could not exceed related to ballistic missiles. The consent of other participants is not needed but a separate agreement will bury the JCPOA as the provisions of the two deals will contradict each other. Iran will have to pull out and it will not be its fault and responsibility. A unilateral US withdrawal is the most feasible option. But it will provoke an international outcry. Its better to face the consequences being a member of an international coalition. So, the US is aggressively pursuing its goals. The stakes are high and Europe will have to make its choice. If it does not back the deal, its image as a reliable partner will be damaged internationally. The EU has economic interests in Iran. Itll lose a lot pulling out from the JCPOA. On the other hand, Europe is not at all happy at the prospect of deteriorating relations with the United States. There is another important aspect not to be forgotten. Its a win-win situation for Moscow. Russia does not want the Iran deal threatened. Its contribution into it was important enough. But if Brussels succumbs to pressure, itll be a political win for Russia to bolster its image as a reliable partner remaining faithful to its obligations. Even with the JCPOA in place, some restrictions on economic and military cooperation remain in force. If the US tears up the deal, there will be no formal obligation to comply with them. Tehran will be pushed to develop even closer ties with Moscow and Beijing. If the EU stands tall and has it its way, the US European partners may not back the United States in the United Nations, undermining what is called Western unity. Brussels and Moscow will get closer. Iran will become a field for cooperation. The process of rapprochement will be spurred if the US imposes restrictive measures on European companies participating in joint projects with Russia, such as Nord Stream-2, for instance. Thats how US sticking with tough stance on Iran may backfire. Acting high and mighty on international stage does not always bring the desired results. Taking well-thought-out foreign policy moves as elements of grand strategy does pay off but the US prefers to act otherwise. By doing so, it risks shooting itself in the foot. The small Persian Gulf state of Qatar has been using a reliable and traditional tactic to defend itself in a current feud (over politics and clashing personalities) with its neighbors. Put simply Qatar is using its natural gas and oil wealth to buy support from powerful Western allies. In December Qatar ordered another twelve Rafale fighters from France. Qatar was exercising an option (to buy 12 more for $108 million each) that was part of a 2015 purchase of 24 Rafales. Qatar also got an option to buy another 36 Rafales in the future under fixed terms The 2015 contract was worth about $7 billion ($292 million per aircraft) because it included the cost of training and building support facilities in Qatar. That brings down the cost of additional Rafales. The twelve new Rafales will 24 on order and still being delivered. The new Rafales will serve alongside 24 recently acquired (from Britain) Eurofighter Typhoons and 6 Hawk trainers plus 36 U.S. made F-15QA fighter-bombers. These 54 aircraft, most still being delivered, cost over $12 billion. Meanwhile Qatars current force of nine elderly Mirage 2000-5EDAs and six Alpha attack jets will likely scraped or sold when the new fighters arrive and are operational with the Qatar Air force. This will mean an expansion of the air force, which currently has about 4,000 personnel. Most key air force personnel are foreign contractors. Qatar is trying to change that and enacted conscription in 2015. But that only produces 2,000 trained Qataris a year for an armed forces that has 105,000 personnel. Nevertheless Qatar will be hiring lots of former military personnel from Britain, France and the U.S. to help operate and maintain the 54 new combat aircraft. The Rafale design is a further evolution of the Mirage 2000. It has the same Delta Wing configuration common with the Mirage designs but with canards (a small forewing is placed ahead of the main wing). The Rafale costs between $100 and $130 million each and is a 24 ton multi-purpose fighter with a maximum speed of 2,130 kilometers an hour and a range of over 3,700 kilometers. It is equipped with a 30mm cannon and can carry nine tons worth of weapons. It is a battle tested aircraft that has already seen service with French Forces in Afghanistan, Mali, Libya and Iraq. The latest version is able to use a full range of smart bombs (GPS or laser guided). By late 2017 over 170 Rafales had been built and over a hundred more were on order. No Rafales have been lost in combat but five were destroyed in accidents. There is a naval version of Rafale that has operated off French and American carriers. In addition to the fighter contract the Qatar also signed the letter of intent to buy about 490 VBCI Infantry fighting vehicles (with the new 40CTA telescopic gun) later in 2018. The contract value is unknown because it will depend on chosen configuration. The first Rafale sale was very important because France was having a very hard time attracting foreign customers but everything changed in 2015 when Qatar decided to place an order. Now it seems that the Qatar Air force is sufficiently pleased with Rafale performance to order more. The very interesting fact is that they also decided to acquire completion designs like F-15QA and Eurofighter Typhoon. The Rafale contract and VBCI purchase will strengthen the long lasting partnership with France which is much appreciated in the case of tense relations with Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile Qatar is seeking more support from Britain and the United States and arms deals are one of the ways to do so. On the other hand Qatar will have one of the biggest and most advanced air fleet in the region. -- Przemysaw Juraszek Given the number of farmers killed (nearly a hundred) by Fulani herders so far this month, 2018 will be the third year in a row that deaths from the Fulani conflict exceed those from Boko Haram. For every dead farmer there are several others wounded and over a hundred refugees. But while Boko Haram killed mainly Moslems (largely because there were so few Christians in the northeast) the Fulani herders are all Moslem and nearly all their victims are Christian farmers. In a country where the population is half Christian (mainly in south, where the oil is) and half Moslem (mainly in the north, where Boko Haram and the Fulani are) this creates a volatile national dispute that the federal government can no longer ignore. The aggressive intrusions by Moslem Fulani raiders against largely Christian farmers in Central Nigeria (mainly Plateau, Jos, Kaduna, Benue and Nassarawa states) has been getting worse as the farmers arm themselves and organize against the armed and dangerous Fulani herders seeking more grazing land for their cattle. The Fulani insist they are following traditional seasonal patterns of moving their herds, patterns that have existed for centuries. But there is no record of the Fulani ranging this far south before. Fulani leaders insist there can be peace only if the farmers surrender some of their land to the Fulani. There are also demands that farmers who killed Fulani attackers be prosecuted. The Fulani see themselves as the victims. In 2016 the Fulani violence left 2,500 dead and it got worse in 2017 as more farm communities organized armed defense groups and some states tried to pass laws regulating the relationships between herders and farmers. The Fulani herders have become more deadly than Boko Haram but that has not become a major issue because the Fulani problem has been around for centuries and is not as organized and media savvy as Islamic terror groups like Boko Haram. The Fulani are seeking to adapt by using a national cattle owners association speak for them and push the Fulani view that the herders are the victims here and are attacking in self-defense. The government is under growing pressure from the Christian community to recognize the escalating (since 2010) threat in central Nigeria from the Fulani herders. While these attacks often trigger reprisals by local militias the Fulani keep attacking. Most of the victims of the Fulani violence are Christian. To make matters worse the raiders have also been attacking soldiers or police who intervene. This has the desired effect and in many areas the police and soldiers only go through the motions of trying to disarm or arrest the guilty Fulani. Both sides blame the government of taking sides but in general the government officials are mainly interested in looking out for themselves. The current Nigerian president, a former general who is Moslem and a reformer, has taken on the Fulani issue now that Boko Haram and his recent health problems are handled. Attempts to negotiate peace deals with the Fulani generally fail. Tribal violence of this sort has been a problem for generations because Moslem and Christian tribes do not get along and, according to many Moslem clerics and religious teachers, never will. There were over a thousand casualties a year since 2013 and as it got worse in 2016 and 2017. The prompted officials from both states to meet with Moslem and Christian tribal leaders to work out a peace deal. That has not worked, at least not for long. There are always factions among the Fulani who are willing to violate a peace deal. And then there is the underlying problem of the Fulani being righteously wrong. Boko Haram Becomes Bandits While the Fulani violence is growing the Boko Haram activity in the northeast (mainly Borno state) has proved impossible to eliminate entirely because unemployed young men find that they can turn to banditry and justify it by declaring themselves defenders of Islam (Boko Haram). This enables the Boko Haram bandits to cooperate and exchange tips on how to survive. For example troops regularly raid suspected Boko Haram camps and often find weapons, ammo and equipment (as well as hostages) but the Islamic terrorists themselves generally get away by using lookouts and knowing that the troops will be delayed by the need to check out the captives (to ensure that none are Boko Haram pretending to be hostages) and make sure there are no landmines or other traps along the escape path. Unlike the Fulani Boko Haram have no herds to protect or need to occupy land for grazing. Given the always dire state of the economy in the northeast there is not likely to be any alternative employment available and the corruption that justified the original (2005) Boko Haram uprising is still present. But the security forces, with the help of civilian volunteers and a military coalition from neighboring countries, is hunting down significant groups of Boko Haram and eventually that will reduce Boko Haram to a loose association of individuals and very small groups. Returned Unwanted In the two weeks of 2018 the government flew 1,590 Nigerian illegal migrants from Libya back to Nigeria. For all of 2017 6,000 Nigerians were flown back. These Nigerians had used people smugglers in a failed effort reach Europe illegally. Another few thousand are to follow quickly over this month. The Libyans and the EU (European Union) finally managed to disrupt many of the smuggling operations and persuaded (threatened, bribed, embarrassed and so on) the countries the illegals came from to take them back. This process has intensified during 2017 and has reached the point where so many illegals are being returned that fewer people are willing to risk the cash, and their lives, to make the trip. But the illegals are still coming, even though Libya is even more dangerous for illegal migrants. January 11, 2018: In the south (Delta State) there was another explosion in a major natural gas pipeline, days after it went back into service once earlier fire damage was repaired. This pipeline supplies power plants that supply about 16 percent of the national electrical supply. Corruption has led to an inadequate and unreliable power supply and that has limited economic growth. Nigeria is predicted to have annual GDP growth 2.5-3 percent for the rest of the decade, which is below average even for Africa. January 10, 2018: In the northeast (Borno State) Boko Haram raiders crossed the border into Cameroon and attacked several villages seeking supplies. Four villagers were killed and the Islamic terrorists fled back to their base in Nigeria. In Borno state the Boko Haram have had a difficult time finding any unguarded villages to raid and cross the border until too many Cameroonian police and soldiers show up. January 9, 2018: In the northeast (Borno State) three teenage girls sent by Boko Haram to make a dawn suicide bomber attack on a town were spotted by soldiers. Two of the girls were shot dead when they refused to halt while the third took off her explosive vest and was arrested. In 2017 there were at least 135 instances of Boko Haram using children (usually teenage girls) as suicide bombers. That was five times more than in 2016. January 8, 2018: In the northeast (Borno State) Boko Haram raiders attacked villagers on the outskirts of the state capital leaving 20 dead and another fifteen missing (and presumably kidnapped for use as slaves.) The civilians were out collecting firewood, to be sold so they could buy food. Collecting firewood has become a more common occupation in areas years of Boko Haram violence have depopulated. But Boko Haram has noted the presence of the loggers and wood gatherers and is attacking them. Further north along the Lake Chad shoreline several days of patrols and raids have left over a hundred Boko Haram dead and several of their camps captured along with many weapons and supplies of ammo. In at least one case Boko Haram tried to counterattack but were defeated. One captured base was apparently a major supply storage site considering the large quantities of fuel, food and vehicles captured. Troops also freed over 700 civilians from Boko Haram captivity. These operations left four soldiers dead and nine wounded. Similar operations in December did major damage to Boko Haram groups operating near Lake Chad, leaving several hundred Islamic terrorists dead or captured. January 3, 2018: In the northeast (Borno State) Boko Haram suicide bombers attacked a mosque leaving 14 worshippers dead. January 2, 2018: In the south there was a major electrical blackout as a fire shut down a natural gas pipeline supplying power plants. December 31, 2017: In the northeast (Borno State) Boko Haram raiders attacked villagers on the outskirts of the state capital leaving 25 dead and three truckloads of firewood burned. December 30, 2017: In the southeast there has been growing violence across the border in southwest Cameroon where a separatist movement has turned violent and dozens of people have been killed since October. Several thousand Anglophone (English speaking) Cameroonians have fled to Nigeria. The issues are more linguistic than tribal and the separatists are largely English speaking Cameroonians (about 20 percent of the 23 million Cameroonians) who protest the bad treatment they receive from the French speaking majority. The English speakers of southwest Cameroon used to be part of Nigeria but as part of the process by which colonial rule ended in the 1950s some groups on proposed new borders were given an option on which nation to belong to. The Cameroon English speakers thought they would be better off as a linguistic minority in Cameroon but subsequent generations developed different attitudes. Ironically the separatist Cameroonians are adjacent to the separatist Nigerian Igbo areas that want to be a separate state called Biafra. The people in these two separatist areas have a lot in common but operating together to form a single new state has never been a priority. December 21, 2017: In the south, six armed pirates attacked a large merchant ship 50 kilometers offshore and kidnapped ten crew members after stealing anything valuable and portable. There were 36 attacks like this off the coast in 2017, with ten attacks involving kidnapping (of 65 sailors). Most of the captives were found and freed by police ashore but some were ransomed. Piracy is more of a problem off Nigeria than it is off Somalia. Click the image above to watch the video Tauranga residents are promised an action teaser for this weekends Classics of the Sky Tauranga City Airshow, with the early arrival of the RNZAF Black Falcons aerobatic team. Flying the Beech Texan T6Cs, the team is expected to arrive on Friday afternoon, announcing their arrival with low pass and a circuit of the town. Later they are expected to be rehearsing for the Saturday show. From 2pm onwards they should be overhead, says Classic Flyers CEO Andrew Gormlie. The gates open on Saturday at 1.30pm with flying starting at 3pm. It should be finished 6pm -6.30ish. In addition to the five flying Texans, which are putting on an aerobatic display for the first time in Tauranga, the RNZAF will have a ground display Texan aircraft and the NH90 helicopter also on display, with the helicopter possibly open to closer inspection. Among the excellent line-up of ex-military and aerobatic aircraft will be another crowd favourite at the show, the Roaring Forties Harvard aerobatic team. With their trade mark spinning propeller snarl and the bark of big radial engines operating at high speed. Classic Flyers have acquired yet another Grumman Avenger restoration project to be rebuilt alongside their current Avenger exhibit from Gisborne. The show brings together three Avengers for the first time since the 1950s. The airworthy example will perform a bombing run and flying display, plus a second Avenger completely restored to static display status and a third aircraft in the early stages of restoration. Joining the Avengers on the day will be other Classic Flyers static and operational exhibits including engine runs from the Aermacchi jet and P40 Kittyhawk. Dave Philips will be back for yet another of his spectacular Tiger Moth displays. Look out too for the impressive Czech built L-39 Albatross jet. Steve Geard, of international aerobatic fame, will once more impress with his Yak 55M performing unbelievable stunts and racing a car on the runway. The military re-enactors are bring a host of military vehicles will be on display along with more pyrotechnics and explosions. Plenty of pyrotechnics are promised. There is a possibility the pyrotechnics may get out of hand and require some extraordinary aerial fire-fighting. Visitors are welcome to bring their own picnic or they can purchase food and drink from the many food vendors on site. Classic Flyers will have a limited bar facility for those who might like an alcoholic beverage while watching the show. People are not permitted to bring their own alcohol or pets and smoking is prohibited. Gates open at 1.30pm with the airshow starting at 3pm. T-6C Texan II specifications Manufacturer: Beechcraft Length: 10.16m Wingspan: 10.19m Gross weight: 2858kg Cruise speed: 515kmh Max range: 1667km Source: RNZAF EC Scrutinizes Tax Breaks For Polish Shipyards by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels 15 January 2018 The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into a Polish tax scheme for shipyards, which it says could give shipbuilders an unfair competitive advantage over rivals. According to the Commission, the measure under investigation gives shipyards operating in Poland an option to pay a one percent flat-rate tax on sales from the building and conversion of ships, instead of paying the generally applicable corporate tax of 19 percent. In addition, the payment of the flat-rate tax is postponed until the building or conversion of a ship is completed. The Commission said on January 15 that it has concerns that the scheme would give some shipyards a selective advantage over competitors and therefore represent illegitimate state aid. "The Commission does not question Poland's right to decide on its tax system," the Commission said. "However, under the EU Treaty the Commission has to verify that the tax system respects EU state aid rules and does not selectively favor certain companies over others." The Commission confirmed that it is investigating further to determine whether its initial concerns are founded. However, at this stage, it said it believes that the proposed flat-rate sales tax constitutes so-called operating aid the use of public funds to relieve shipyards from costs they would otherwise have to bear in their day-to-day activities. "Generally speaking, operating aid is not allowed under EU state aid rules, because it distorts competition on the merits without serving any objective of common EU interest," the Commission said. "In the present case the Commission is concerned that the aid would harm shipyards in the EU, which are not eligible under the Polish tax scheme. In addition, the aid does not seem to be necessary, given that there are shipyards in Poland which are able to compete on the market on their own merits," it concluded. HMRC Urged To Temper New VAT Penalties On Online Retailers by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London 15 January 2018 The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is calling for revisions to a new government scheme to tackle VAT evasion to ensure those that make administrative errors but are not accused of involvement in tax evasion are not penalized with heavy fines. Businesses that store goods in the UK to deliver to UK consumers on behalf of sellers established outside the EU will need to register for the Government's new Fulfilment House Due Diligence Scheme (FHDDS) this year. The intention is that the introduction of a list of "approved" UK fulfilment businesses will help combat growing tax evasion and non-compliance in the trade in goods via online marketplaces and thereby level the playing field for legitimate UK and overseas sellers. The CIOT has set out a number of concerns about the FHDDS in its response to a recent HMRC consultation. Among its concerns is that, where a non-EU supplier is declaring UK VAT and duty correctly to HMRC, the "approved" person or business under FHDDS could still face harsh penalties, such as of GBP500 (USD690) for each occasion it records an incorrect import entry number of the goods stored, even if they have otherwise been fully tax compliant and have not been involved in any fraudulent supply chain to date. Alan McLintock, Chair of CIOT's Indirect Taxes Sub-committee, said: "We support HMRC taking action to combat VAT evasion and non-compliance. Compliant retailers should not have to compete against rivals who do not pay the VAT which is properly due." "However, we are concerned that businesses will be hit with penalties simply due to paperwork mistakes under the new administrative regime, even where there has been no lost tax to HMRC. It is likely to be the 'little guys' who make administrative mistakes as they may not have the administration control and oversight that larger fulfilment houses can rely on." "We urge the Government to adopt a light touch to penalties for such errors where there is no evidence of evasion so the penalty system for the new scheme is proportionate. This is particularly important as the regime is likely to apply to EU sellers, too, once the UK has left the EU. After all, the aim of the scheme is to ensure the system is free from fraud by overseas sellers, rather than to punish 'approved' people for making accidental administrative mistakes." The CIOT says it is also concerned that UK fulfilment houses with compliance issues such as late VAT returns or being on time to pay arrangements could eventually lead an "approved" business to lose the "approval" status, potentially closing their business despite never being involved in tax evasion. Primary legislation introducing the FHDDS was passed by Parliament as part of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2017. To complete the legislative framework for the scheme, a statutory instrument is required, the CIOT noted. Most Canadians Facing A Tax Hike, Think Tank Says by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington 15 January 2018 The Fraser Institute, a think tank, has said that more than 90 percent of Canadian families with children will pay higher taxes once the planned Canada Pension Plan payroll tax increases are fully implemented. The claim is made in a new report, "The Effect on Canadian Families of changes to Federal Income Tax and CPP Payroll Tax." The Institute said that, assuming the CPP increases were fully implemented today, in addition to the personal income tax changes already in place, 92.2 percent of families would pay higher taxes. It added that this figure would rise to 98.8 percent in the case of middle income families. Charles Lammam, report co-author and Director of Fiscal Studies at the Fraser Institute, said: "The Trudeau Government has repeatedly claimed to have lowered taxes for Canadian families, but in reality, virtually every family in Canada regardless of income will have a higher tax bill." The CPP is a contributory public pension plan that provides a basic level of earnings replacement in retirement. It is financed by employer, employee, and self-employed contributions, as well as income earned on CPP investments. The current contribution rate is 9.9 percent of earnings, shared between employer and employee contributions, and levied on income between a basic exemption of CAD3,500 (USD2,815) and a set Year's Maximum Pensionable Earnings. As a result of a 2016 agreement reached by Canada's finance ministers, changes to the CPP system will be phased in over a seven-year period, from 2019 to 2025. The income replacement level will be increased from one-quarter to one-third of eligible earnings, and the upper earnings limit will be increased by 14 percent over five years. The total (employee and employer combined) CPP rate will increase from 9.9 percent to 11.9 percent by 2023. Beginning in 2024, a separate contribution rate (expected to be four percent each for employers and employees) will be implemented for earnings above the Yearly Maximum Pensionable Earnings. The Working Income Tax Benefit will be increased to help low-income workers, and the enhanced portion of employee CPP contributions will be made tax deductible. The Fraser Institute said that families will, on average, pay CAD2,218 more after the CPP changes are fully implemented. Middle income families would pay slightly more, around CAD2,260 on average, while the highest earners could expect to pay an average of CAD4,373 more. The Institute said that its figures include both the employee and the employer portions of the CPP payroll tax. Panama Signs OECD's Multilateral Tax Cooperation Pact by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels 15 January 2018 On January 15, 2018, Panama signed the Common Reporting Standard Multilateral Competent Agreement, becoming the 98th jurisdiction to join the pact. The OECD describes the CRS MCAA as the prime international agreement for implementing the automatic exchange of financial account information under the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance, which provides for all forms of administrative cooperation in tax matters, including automatic tax information exchange and exchange of information on request. The OECD said, by signing the CRS MCAA, Panama has reaffirmed its commitment to the automatic exchange of financial account information pursuant to the OECD/G20 Common Reporting Standard (CRS), with exchanges set to commence in September 2018. The signing of the CRS MCAA will allow Panama to activate bilateral exchange relationships with the other 97 jurisdictions that have so far joined the CRS MCAA, it said. At the signing ceremony, Deputy Secretary-General Masamichi Kono said: "I congratulate Panama on taking this very substantial step towards putting in place a truly global exchange network for the automatic exchange of financial account information. Your signing today puts Panama is an excellent position to fully deliver on its commitment to start CRS exchanges with all interested appropriate partners in September of this year." Singapore To Automatically Exchange Tax Info With 61 States by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong 15 January 2018 Singapore has announced that it has activated automatic exchange of information relationships with a total of 61 territories, as part of global efforts to tackle tax evasion and fiscal crime. The exchanges will take place under the OECD's Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the new international standard. It provides for the automatic exchange of information between those territories that have agreed to exchange information automatically. Singapore's CRS Regulations, which came into force at the beginning of the year, require and empower all financial institutions to put in place necessary processes and systems to collect financial account information, generally from January 1, 2017. Singapore has adopted the "wider approach" under the CRS, which means that financial institutions will need to collect and retain the CRS information for all account holders, instead of only for account holders and controlling persons who are tax residents of the territories with which Singapore has currently committed to exchange such information. For CRS reporting purposes, covered financial institutions will need to transmit to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore the financial account information relating to tax residents of Singapore's competent authority agreement partners from 2018. IRAS will subsequently exchange the reported information with Singapore's automatic information exchange partners. The development means Singapore will share financial account data generally dating back as far as January 1, 2017, with these countries on an annual basis, with covered financial institutions required to provide on CRS information for these jurisdictions by May 31, 2018. Under the CRS, the financial information to be reported with respect to reportable accounts includes interest, dividends, account balance, income from certain insurance products, sales proceeds from financial assets, and other income generated with respect to assets held in the account or payments made with respect to the account. Reportable accounts include accounts held by individuals and entities, which includes trusts and foundations, and the CRS includes a requirement that financial institutions "look through" passive entities to report on the relevant controlling persons. The Government has confirmed it will exchange information with the following 61 territories: Vietnamese Tax Policy Overhaul Needed For 'Greener' Growth by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong 15 January 2018 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that Vietnam needs to overhaul its environmental tax policies to achieve its emissions-reduction goals. In a new report for the territory on the territory's efforts to achieve greener growth, the IMF said Vietnam is among the top ten countries affected by air pollution. Further, greenhouse gas emissions are expected to double between 2010 and 2020 and triple by 2030. According to the IMF report, electricity production from coal fired plants is a major contributor to air pollution, with a quarter of the domestic supply produced from coal. Without policy change to encourage greener energy production and discourage coal use, emissions will continue to track upwards alongside growth in the economy. The IMF said: "The Vietnamese authorities recognize the challenges posed by climate change and a more sustainable, greener growth model is at the core of their development agenda. Vietnam ratified the 2016 Paris Agreement on Climate and committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least eight percent by 2030 and to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030." It said Vietnam must lower the intensity of fossil fuels in Vietnamese economic output, stating "raising the contribution of renewable energy would help to break the link between greenhouse gas emissions and output." On policy, the IMF said Vietnam must provide stronger incentives for households, firms, and Government to pursue green growth, recommending that taxation of fossil fuels must fully price their environmental and health externalities. Tax policy should seek to nudge energy demand toward renewables and generate revenue to finance adaptation and mitigation plans, the IMF said. Another US hospital has become the victim of a ransomware attack. An unknown party managed to infect the systems of Hancock Regional Hospital in the state of Indiana last week, demanding an unspecified number of Bitcoins to release the unlock key. When the attack took place on January 11 it affected the medical centers email, electronic health records, and other internal operating systems. The hospital stresses that no patient records were removed from its network and patient care has not been significantly impacted. The institution shut down some systems to prevent further infection and contacted the Federal Bureau of investigation and a national IT security company. As of Saturday morning, these systems were still down, and it continued to use pen and paper to keep patients medical charts updated. Some previous cases of ransomware made their way onto hospital systems via employees opening malicious email or website links, but Steve Long, CEO of Hancock Health hospital, said that wasnt the case in this instance. This was not a 15-year-old kid sitting in his mothers basement, Long told the Daily Reporter. He added that the financial demands had not been met, and that the FBI is familiar with this type of sophisticated attack. We, like other hospitals, do disaster drills all the time, so this aligns perfectly well with drills that we've had throughout the years on how to continue to deliver world-class care when you have system failures or system breaches, Rob Matt, the hospitals strategy officer, told The Indianapolis Star. Last year saw Kansas Heart Hospital and the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center hit by ransomware attacks. Its likely that the unknown computer virus that infected hospital chain Medstar was also a form of ransomware. By the end of this month, all Cuban citizens are likely to have received at least one dose of the Abdala, Sovereign 02, or Sovereign Plus vaccines. | Read More NAIAS officially opened today, kicking off its second annual AutoMobili-D with a pledge from U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to vigorously advance autonomous vehicles while ensuring safety, while Ford revealed the Ranger, Edge and the 50th anniversary version of the Mustang that Steve McQueen drove in the iconic movie Bullitt. This years opening day featured an impressive display of politics and new products. Ray Tanguay, automotive advisor to the governments of Ontario and Canada opened the day, telling the NAIAS crowd how the province and country will maintain key roles in the North American automotive production and are determined to play an even greater role in autonomous vehicle development and deployment. Ontarios goal is to mimic Germanys decision to embrace artificial-intelligence technologies behind autonomous driving so that the nation and its crucial industrial sector could remain competitive for decades, said Tanguay. Germany recognized that to compete they had to do something different. We (in Canada) have to do the same thing. We have to be able to embrace technology and protect (auto) jobs. Tanguay stated the Ontario government is working with Uber to digitize its streets in cooperation with the University of Waterloo. Ontario and Canada are boosting their autonomous-driving test facilities and the province is cooperating with Michigan to provide standardization across the national border. U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao took the Atrium stage, vowing the Trump administration will vigorously advance Americans progress on autonomous vehicle development, while ensuring safety remains the pinnacle concern. Autonomous vehicles hold promise not only for improving safety, but also increasing mobility for so many people, said Chao. And their capacity for increasing mobility for our elderly and for people with disabilities could provide millions of people with security, freedom, and a better quality of life. She stated the federal governments approach to autonomous driving will be technology neutral, and not top-down or command-and control. We wont pick winners or losers or favor one type of technology over another, said Chao. Wed prefer to avoid a patchwork of different approaches by encouraging the interoperability of standards and consistent rules, while respecting the role of state and local governments. Keeping with the technology theme, Chao was followed by the Roadshow by CNET panel discussing how exponential improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) are being made and are playing one of the most important roles in advancing autonomous driving. What were finding is AI is sort of creeping into lots of corners of our lives, and sometimes it isnt recognizable because its seamlessly integrated, such as the AI in smartphones or in vehicles today, said panelist Ken Washington, vice president of research and advanced engineering, and chief technology officer for Ford. It takes advantage of the tsunami thats available. Panelist Samuel Abuelsamid, analyst for Navigant Research, commented that one obstacle to public appreciation of artificial intelligence is fear, stoked by robot takeover movies and recent comments. People think AI can do everything a human can do at a superhuman level, and think, and take it to unusual places, said Abuelsamid. Thats not what were doing in the auto industry. That sort of AI doesnt exist today or isnt really even close. Panelist Danny Shapiro, senior director of automotive for technology supplier NVIDIA, noted AIs best results are related to specific tasks, such as in health care to help radiologists examine X-rays and scans based on information in neural networks provided by AI. In the transportation sector, he cited how AI helped NVIDIA quickly write software that recognizes every type of street sign in Germany from thousands of photographs, accomplishing in a matter of hours what previously would take years of programming. Closing the first day, Ford unveiled the new, much anticipated Ranger, as well as the Edge crossover. The company also introduced a 50th-anniversary version of the Mustang that Steve McQueen drove in the iconic car movie Bullitt. Ford went on to say that it will produce the new F-150 Hybrid pickup truck at its Dearborn, Mich., assembly plant beginning in 2020; and, introduce a performance battery-electric vehicle called the Mach 1 in 2020. Were ready to help Ford take our rightful place in the mid-size truck segment (with Ranger), said Raj Nair, Ford president for North America. Others have dabbled in this segment. But were jumping back in from a different vantage point, one of dominating American trucks since 1977. The new Edge ST is Fords most-powerful SUV ever, commented Haut Thai-Tang, head of Ford product development and purchasing. It features monochromatic paint, new LED lighting, 335-horsepower, as well as sport-performance features, such as sport suspension and paddle shifters. Driver-assistance features include post-collision braking that automatically helps reduce the chances of a second collision. Fragrance, Art Deco, 1984. Photo: Sheila Metzner/Courtesy Staley-Wise Gallery; New York Fashion photographer Sheila Metzner is in the spotlight yet again after the publication of her book last October; this time, Metzner and her work are the subject of the solo exhibition Sheila Metzner: From Life at the Staley Wise Gallery in New York. Metzner is best known for her portraits of famous models and actresses in the 1970s, including Christy Turlington, Molly Ringwald, and Uma Thurman. Metzner was born in Brooklyn and didnt go far for school, attending college at Pratt University in the city. After multiple jobs in advertising and some time working as the first female art director for the Manhattan advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach, she married the art director Jeffrey Metzner and continued her photography career while raising five children. She was the first female photographer to regularly contribute to Vogue, photographing multiple spreads for the magazine, as well as for Vanity Fair, throughout her career. Decades of her work for fashion labels like Ralph Lauren and Fendi are on display in the Staley Wise exhibition, which closes January 27 after an extended run. Like her book, the walls of the exhibition are scattered with celebrities Isabella Rossellini, Brooke Shields, and Warren Beatty all posed for her camera. Alongside Metzners images of celebrities and models lounging in couture are images from her travels around the world. Later in her career she photographed vast landscapes, such as the pyramids in Egypt and icebergs in Alaska. The show also includes photographs of iconic New York City landmarks like the Chrysler and Empire State buildings, which Metzner admired while growing up. Scroll for a preview of the show. The Great Pyramid Three, Egypt, 1996. Photo: Sheila Metzner/Courtesy Staley-Wise Gallery; New York Elaine, Man Ray, 1988. Photo: Sheila Metzner/Courtesy Staley-Wise Gallery; New York The Kiss, Fendi, 1986. Photo: Sheila Metzner/Courtesy Staley-Wise Gallery; New York Sheila Metzner: From Life is on view at the Staley Wise Gallery through January 27. 16-Year-Old Girl Is Killed While Sledding After Getting Hit by a 20-Year-Old Drunk Driver A 16-year-old girl in Indiana was killed while sledding after sliding onto the road and getting hit by a drunk driver, police said. Davis Collier was sledding on a hill near the road when she slid into the path of oncoming traffic. She was hit in Newburgh around 10 p.m. on Jan. 13 by a vehicle being driven by Galina Witte, 20, who was later revealed to be driving while drunk. When officers arrived at the scene they found Collier dead, reported the Indy Star. Witte was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction. According to local radio station WIKY, Witte had been arrested in 2017 after an officer watched her weave a vehicle from shoulder to shoulder on a highway while driving over 80 miles per hour. The officer called it the worse driving Ive seen. Witte was arrested then on several charges including DUI and possession of marijuana. A perusal of her Facebook page shows pictures of her smoking inside a vehicle and also noting just a week ago that shes purchased a new vehicle. The Tristate Homepage reported that the area where Collier was sledding, known as the French Island Trail, has been closed in an effort to prevent other deaths. The area was popular with families and teenagers, with some parents saying theyd previously stood in the road to make sure cars werent coming. You cant even tell once youre up there the difference between ground and the street, Samantha James, one parent, told the outlet. Kids arent paying attention to cars and if anything people just need to be slowing down because they know kids are sledding. A friend of the family, Nichole Victor, has started an account on Meal Train to help provide meals and other support to the grieving family. Numerous families have signed up, with most dates taken until March. The effort has also raised $1,560 for the family. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 Amtrak Slams into SUV, Killing North Carolina Pastor and Wife A pastor and his wife died in North Carolina over the weekend when they drove their SUV into the path of an oncoming train. Eugene and Dorothy Lyons, in their 60s, drove around a lowered crossing arm and into the path of an Amtrak train. The train slammed into the vehicle, killing them both, authorities told WNCN. A witness confirmed the sequence of events with police, though Whitakers Police Chief Darrell Cofield told the broadcaster that he isnt sure why Dorothy Lyons drove around the crossing arm. It bothered me because growing up here Ive seen train wrecks before, it really touches close to home with people who grew up with and know, Cofield said. However, officers told WRAL they believe Lyons was attempting to beat the train even after the crossing arms had been lowered. The Amtrak train originated in New York City and was headed to Savannah when it hit the vehicle in Whitakers. None of the 120 passengers on board were injured. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 LONDONBritains Carillion collapsed on Monday after its banks lost faith in the construction and services company, throwing hundreds of major projects into doubt and forcing the government to step in to guarantee vital public services. Carillion was forced into compulsory liquidation after costly contract delays and a slump in new business left it at the mercy of its lenders and battling a ballooning debt pile. The demise of the 200-year-old business poses a major headache for Theresa Mays government which has employed Carillion to work on 450 projects including the building and maintenance of hospitals prisons, defense sites and the countrys new superfast rail line. In recent days we have been unable to secure the funding to support our business plan and it is therefore with the deepest regret that we have arrived at this decision, Chairman Philip Green said. This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years. Employing 43,000 people around the world, including 20,000 in Britain, Carillion has been fighting for survival since July when it revealed it was losing cash on several projects and had written down the value of its contract book by 845 million ($1.16 billion). With banks refusing to accept the groups latest attempt to restructure, Mays senior ministers met around the clock in recent days, under pressure from the opposition Labour Party and unions not to use taxpayer money to prop up the failing company. Sad Day Carillion has debt and liabilities of 1.5 billion with creditors that include banks RBS, Santander UK, HSBC, and others. It has a pension deficit, included within that figure, of 580 million. David Lidington, the minister in charge of the Cabinet Office which oversees the running of government, said his first priority was to ensure that public services continued. He urged the companys staff to continue to work and said the government would pay their salaries. Some contracts handled by Carillion would go to alternative providers, he added. The companys collapse comes at a difficult time for the government as it negotiates its exit from the European Union. It is regrettable that Carillion has not been able to find suitable financing options with its lenders but taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out a private sector company, Lidington said in a statement. For clarity, all employees should keep coming to work, you will continue to get paid. Staff that are engaged on public sector contracts still have important work to do. Labours business spokeswoman Rebecca Long-Bailey called for a full investigation as to why the government continued to award Carillion contracts when it was clear it was in trouble. This company issued three profit warnings in the last six months yet despite those profit warnings the government continued to award government contracts to this company, she told BBC TV. Were asking for a full investigation into the government conduct of this matter. Spun out of Tarmac nearly 20 years ago and having bought Alfred McAlpine in 2008, Carillion has worked on key construction projects including Londons Royal Opera House, the Suez Canal road tunnel, and Torontos Union Station. In July last year it won contracts to build Britains new High Speed 2 rail line, a major project that will better connect London with the north of England. Recommended Video: Meet Ronnie, the First Abandoned Pup of 2018 Burmese Prosecutor Seeks Official Secrets Act Charges Against Two Reuters Reporters YANGONBurmese prosecutors sought charges on Wednesday against two Reuters reporters under the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years, the reporters lawyer said. Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were detained on Dec. 12 after they had been invited to meet police officers over dinner. Family members have said the two told them they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some documents by the officers they had gone to meet. The two had worked on Reuters coverage of a crisis in the western state of Rakhine, where according to U.N. estimates about 655,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from a fierce military crackdown on militants. They arrested us and took action against us because we were trying to reveal the truth, Wa Lone told reporters as he and Kyaw Soe Oo were led out of the court and back to Yangons Insein prison after the 30-minute hearing. Khin Maung Zaw, a lawyer representing the two journalists, said the charges being sought came under Section 3.1 (c) of the British colonial-era Official Secrets Act. The act dates back to 1923, when Burma, also known as Myanmar, was a province of British India. Section 3 covers entering prohibited places, taking images or handling secret official documents that might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy. The Ministry of Information had previously cited police as saying they were arrested for possessing important and secret government documents related to Rakhine State and security forces. The ministry has said they illegally acquired information with the intention to share it with foreign media. The prosecutor objected to an application for bail, the reporters lawyer, Khin Maung Zaw, said. The court took it under consideration and will decide at the next hearing on Jan. 23, he said. The government has said two police officers were also arrested for investigation under suspicion of having violated the Official Secrets Act. It has given no further information on the police arrested. About 30 journalists were outside the court, most dressed in black as a sign of protest against the arrest of the pair. Several had the message journalism is not a crime or release the arrested journalists now on their T-shirts. Handcuffed In the court, Kyaw Soe Oo embraced his wife and held his daughter for a couple of minutes. His daughter began to weep as he was escorted away and he had to hand her back to other family members. Wa Lones wife gave him a few small pieces of cake that she had brought. I am trying to be strong in everything. I never made any mistake; I never did anything wrong, Wa Lone said before leaving the court. The two journalists arrived and left court in handcuffs. Distraught relatives of Kyaw Soe Oo wailed and reached out to grasp him as the two journalists were driven away from a throng of reporters after the hearing. Reuters President and Editor-In-Chief Stephen J. Adler said he was extremely disappointed that the authorities were seeking to prosecute the pair. We view this as a wholly unwarranted, blatant attack on press freedom. Our colleagues should be allowed to return to their jobs reporting on events in Burma. We believe time is of the essence and we continue to call for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oos prompt release, he said. Government spokesman Zaw Htay declined to comment on the charges but said the two had their rights under an independent judicial system. The judge will be decide whether they are guilty or not according to the law, he told Reuters. A spokesman for the military was not available for comment. U.S. is Very Disappointed Government officials from some of the worlds major nations, including the United States, Britain and Canada, as well as top United Nations officials, have called for the release of the reporters. Observers from the United Nations and from several embassies, including the Netherlands, Australia and Britain were at the court. The U.S. embassy said it was very disappointed by the decision to pursue charges. For democracy to succeed and flourish, journalists must be able to do their jobs. We call for their immediate release, it said in a statement. The French foreign ministry called in a statement for the journalists immediate release and for the free access of media to Rakhine State. Authorities have largely banned media from the conflict zone. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has urged that they be freed immediately, saying on Twitter on Monday that a free press was critical for a free society and the detention of journalists anywhere was unacceptable. Clinton was U.S. president for much of the 1990s when the United States pressed Burmas then military rulers to release democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi from years of house arrest. Japan wants to raise the matter of the two reporters with the Burmese government at appropriate opportunities, including a visit by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono this week, Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in Tokyo. The government has denied that their arrests represent an attack on press freedom. Suu Kyi has made no public comment on the detention of the two Reuters reporters. By Antoni Slodkowski and Simon Lewis The Panama-registered Sanchi tanker ablaze in open waters, after colliding with a Chinese bulk ship. (Korea Coast Guard/Yonhap via REUTERS) Burning Iranian Oil Tanker Sinks After January 6 Accident: Chinese State TV BEIJINGAn Iranian oil tanker has sunk after burning for more than a week following a collision on Jan. 6 in the East China Sea, Chinese state media said on Sunday, adding that a large amount of oil was burning in the surrounding waters. The stricken tanker, called the Sanchi, which had been adrift and on fire following the accident with the freighter CF Crystal, had suddenly ignited around noon, China Central Television (CCTV) said. Currently it has already sunk, CCTV said, citing the Shanghai maritime search and rescue center. It showed video of a tower of billowing black smoke that it said reached as high as 1,000 meters, and flames on the surface of the water. The ship sank before 5 p.m., the broadcaster said. Chinas State Oceanic Administration said that because the hull of the ship had detonated, a large amount of oil in surrounding waters was on fire, according to the official Xinhua news agency. The Administration said it would expand the scope of its monitoring and quickly ascertain the spread and drift of overflowing oil from the wrecked ship. A Chinese salvage team on Saturday recovered two bodies from the tanker. Another body, presumed to be one of the Sanchis sailors, was found on Monday and brought to Shanghai for identification. The Sanchis crew consisted of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. Iranian officials said the remaining 29 crew members and passengers of the tanker were presumed dead. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sent messages of condolence to the families of the crew and called for an investigation into the accident, Iranian state media reported. The tanker, owned by National Iranian Tanker Co, was carrying almost 1 million barrels of condensate, an ultra-light crude oil, to South Korea. It collided with the CF Crystal, which was carrying grain from the United States, about 160 nautical miles off Chinas coast near Shanghai. By Michael Martina and Tina Qiao Casino Boat Catches Fire in Florida, 1 Reported Missing A casino boat has reportedly caught fire near the Gulf of Mexico in Port Richey, Florida, according to WFLA-TV. The boat caught fire on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 14, at the Port Richey canal, the report stated. About 50 people were on board. PHOTO I Pasco deputies respond to fire on casino boat. Officials say 50 people were on board. All passengers were able to make it to shore where EMS treated them. @10NewsWTSP STORY I https://t.co/uoRIupvycv pic.twitter.com/ypG0JF5CHT Shannon Valladolid (@ShannonMarieTV) January 14, 2018 Forty-nine of the 50 passengers were able to make it to shore, but one passenger was reported missing, the report said. Pasco Sheriffs Office deputies responded to assist, as well as the Coast Guard and the Florida Wildlife Commission. The fire happened near Harbor Point near Bay Boulevard, WTSP reported. ABC Action News reported that 15 passengers were taken to the hospital, but the conditions of those people are unknown. The cause of the fire wasnt revealed. Other details of the fire were not released. Recommended Video: Firefighter Going Over 100 mph Before Deadly Crash Couple Charged With Neglect After Being Found Unconscious in Car With 5-Month-Old Baby A couple has been charged with child neglect after they were found unconscious in the front of their car with a 5-month-old baby in the back, having apparently overdosed on drugs. The couple in West Virginia was found after passersby flagged down emergency services, on Saturday, Jan. 13, according to local media. The couple revived after being given NARCAN, the drug used in emergencies to counteract opioid overdoses. First responders in Putnam County thought they were being hailed to the scene of an accident. On arriving they found Taylor Coburn, 25, and Trent Coburn, 29, slumped unconscious and unresponsive in the front seats of their vehicle, according to WSAZ, citing court documents. After they opened the vehicle, they found a 5-week-old child in the back seat of the Sedan. The criminal complaint said the car had the keys in the ignition with the engine running in neutral. It had rolled to a stop on Fifth Avenue in Huntington, Putnam County, according to WCHS. Trent told police he had just bought the drugs and used them in the parking lot before going home, according to the complaint. Trent is charged with child neglect creating the risk of injury and driving under the influence. Taylor is charged with child neglect creating the risk of injury. They are both being held in the Western Regional Jail. Recommended Video: Sleepy Truck Driver Causes Multi-Vehicle Crash Dashcam Footage Captures Crash in Australia After Teens Allegedly Steal Car Police in Australia has released footage from a dashcam that shows the wreckage caused by two 16-year-olds allegedly driving stolen cars. The footage from Dec. 22 shows a Holden Cruze, which officers say was stolen, overtaking a Kluger on a highway near Coolbie. A Mitsubishi Challenger, also allegedly stolen, tries to attempt the same move and narrowly misses crashing into an oncoming truck. The action sends the driver of the Kluger off the road, and the car rolls repeatedly. Officers told ABC News that the three people in the Kluger were elderly and were rushed to the hospital with injuries. This could have been a significantly more serious incident than what it was, as it is we have three elderly people who have suffered potentially life-influencing injuries, Detective Inspector Dave Miles said. Police have released dashcam vision of an alleged stolen vehicle involved in a serious high speed traffic crash near Coolbie on December 22. Two teenagers have been charged in relation to the incident, anyone with further information is urged to come forward. pic.twitter.com/1nUXCPAYeg Queensland Police (@QldPolice) January 15, 2018 The teens in the Cruze turned around to pick up the people in the Challenger, but didnt check on the people inside the flipped car. It shows they have a complete lack of empathy and a lack of remorse for what has happened, Detective Inspector Miles said. In essence there are people there who have been and were significantly injured and just left them there without rendering any assistance whatsoever. The elderly people inside the Kluger were trapped for some time, police said, reported the Brisbane Times. A 16-year-old girl was arrested recently in connection to the crash, as was a 16-year-old boy. They were both levied with multiple charges, including unlawful use of a motor vehicle. Police said anyone with information on the events should come forward. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 Explosion Reported in Antwerp, Belgium; Injuries Reported An explosion caused a building to collapse and injured several people in Antwerp, Belgium, on Monday evening, Jan. 15, according to reports. There were reports that people were trapped inside a building after the blast, which police have said is not a terrorist attack, The Independent reported. Local media outlet Het Nieuwsblad said the explosion took place at a pizzeria. The Red Cross there are certainly some people under the rubble, the report said. The bang was so big that my window opened, said a student from a nearby school. It was a huge explosion. Explosion causes building to collapse in the Belgian city of Antwerp, causing multiple victims https://t.co/ilotQeZFJI pic.twitter.com/ylkokutrTJ BNO News (@BNONews) January 15, 2018 #BREAKING PHOTO: Violent explosion at the Paardenmarkt in Antwerp, Belgium, injures at least 5 people Pic via Gazet van Antwerpen pic.twitter.com/9ynwZqteta Al Boe BREAKING NEWS (@AlBoeNEWS) January 15, 2018 Three buildings were reportedly damaged in the explosion in the Paardenmarkt area of the city. Police said that the explosion was likely caused by a gas leak. Breaking news:explosion in #antwerp in #belgium gas explosion 2 entire buildings fell over pic.twitter.com/vM9JBir0RA Hill news (@vkknkhjh) January 15, 2018 Breaking: Multiple people injured after massive gas explosion in Belgian city of Antwerp pic.twitter.com/Zeh7LVEQSR PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) January 15, 2018 Dozens of police cars and ambulances are on the scene. Antwerp Police said: The explosion on Paardenmarkt possibly involved three residences. There are multiple victims. The number is not known, The Express reported. Video Now: A building has collapsed as a result of explosion in Antwerp, Belgium, at least 5 people injured, cause unknown pic.twitter.com/MReosFfThL Khalid khi (@khalid_pk) January 15, 2018 Recommended Video: Wranglers Wrestle With Alligator to Remove Eggs From Nest Facebook Users Slam Chick-fil-A After Breastfeeding Mother Told to Leave Facebook and other social media users slammed Chick-fil-A after a breastfeeding mother was kicked out of a North Dakota outpost of the popular chain. Just a heads up, we just went to the soft open of Chick-fil-A West Acres and the owner basically kicked me out for breastfeeding without a cover, wrote Macy Hornung in a Facebook post that went viral. The owner came to our table where I was showing no more than the upper portion of my breast, barely more than what was visible in my shirt and asked me to cover. I tried to explain that I couldnt, because my baby refuses to be covered and she started harping about the children and men who can see my indecency and I need to cover. Hornung continued, I said they could practice the simple art of looking away and tried to cite North Dakota breastfeeding laws. She told me if I chose not to cover, then she would have to ask me to leave, so I told her my review would reflect my experience and I would be relaying the experience in every local mommy group. People responding to the post slammed the decision. I do not ever plan on eating there. I breast fed all my children. People need to have respect for moms discreetly feeding their babies. Just look away, or move tables, said one. Im sorry momma. I totally know how it is with a cover. And its so difficult, especially for newborns still getting the hang of it or those with latch issues. No need to hide what God intended women for! added another. However, some users suggested that Hornung shouldnt be mad at being removed from the store. I do not enjoy it at all when I am eating at one of your restaurants or any other one and a nursing mom is being a nasty person when the people ask her to cover up, wrote one user. Good for the owners of Chick Fil A! I dont want to eat there and see your breast, added another. In any case, the collective outrage sparked an apology from the Fargo locations owner, reported Hornung. Kimberly Flamm, the owner, wrote the following public apology: I would like to publicly apologize to Macy Hornung for the way I handled the situation on Saturday. I ask for your forgiveness on this matter as I learn from it. My goal is to provide a warm and welcoming environment for all of my guests. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 Family of Four Die as Fire Sweeps Through Home in Tennessee Four family members, including two young children, were killed in a fire that swept through their home in the middle of the night in Tennessee on Sunday. Firefighters were called at 1:20 a.m. to the house on Highway 23 in Hardin County on Jan. 14, arriving at the scene within 10 minutes, reported WOPC News. They were too late. They could do nothing to reach the victims, whose bodies were discovered only after the flames had been extinguished. One victim was still in bed. This is every firefighters worst fear, having people inside a burning residence and not being able to do anything to save them, said a statement by the Hardin County Fire Department. The tragedy could have been worse. Two other children of the man who perished in the blaze had been staying at another house that night. The victims were named as Jamie Franks, 35, and Robyn Franks, 36, along with their children Brody West, 9, and Josie Franks, 3. Jamie leaves behind two other children, Caidan and Haylee, who with the grace of God, were with their mother, wrote a relative on crowdfunding site GoFundMe. Robyn Franks worked as a waitress in a nearby restaurant, according to her Facebook profile. Jamie Franks had sustained nerve damage in a logging accident a few years ago, a family member told WOPC. They said Franks worked three jobs to support his family and never heard him complain. A neighbor said that Jamie Franks was the kind of man who would give you the shirt off his back, reported WOPC. I cant imagine having to plan a funeral for an entire family, said another neighbor. A family member has set up a crowdfunding page to help pay for the funeral, which is this weekend. The fire is believed to be accidental, according to WPOC, and the cause of the blaze could not be determined. The Harbin County Fire Department stressed the importance of making sure smoke alarms are fitted, saying that they can be installed free of charge by the fire service. The tragedy has naturally sparked grief and shock in the community. Literally heartbroken right now, wrote friend Allie Kirkland on Facebook. Prayers for Robyns family. She was such an amazing person who cared for everyone, especially her family. Recommended Video: Toddler With Rare Heart Condition Gets to Go Home After 402 Days in the Hospital Hawaii Says Lack of Adequate Fail-Safe Measures Led to False Missile Alert HONOLULUHuman error and a lack of adequate fail-safe measures during a civil defense warning drill led to the false missile alert that stirred panic across Hawaii over the weekend, a state emergency management agency spokesman acknowledged on Sunday. Elaborating on the origins of Saturdays false alarm, which went uncorrected for nearly 40 minutes, spokesman Richard Rapoza said the employee who mistakenly sent the missile alert has been temporarily reassigned to other duties. Rapoza said an internal investigation of the blunder would be completed by weeks end and that the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency welcomed outside review by the Federal Communications Commission, which has jurisdiction over wireless U.S. alert systems. Rapoza also said that no further drills of the emergency alert system would be conducted until new measures were put in place to reduce the chance of future false alarms and to swiftly withdraw any warnings sent in error. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said on Sunday that the agencys probe of the incident so far suggested reasonable safeguards or process controls were lacking, a point that Rapoza said officials at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency did not dispute. The error occurred when, in the midst of a drill during a shift change at the agency, an employee made the wrong selection from a drop-down computer menu, choosing to activate a missile launch warning instead of the option for generating an internal test alert, Rapoza said. The employee, believing the correct selection had been made, then went ahead and clicked yes when the systems computer prompt asked whether to proceed, Rapoza said. Governor David Ige initially said on Saturday that an employee pushed the wrong button. The resulting message, issued amid heightened international tensions over North Koreas development of ballistic nuclear weapons, stated: EMERGENCY ALERT BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Not Making Any Excuses It was transmitted to mobile phones and broadcast on television and radio across the Pacific island state shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday, and took 38 minutes to be retracted by an official all-clear message. The mistake unleashed hysteria and confusion across the state, home to some 1.4 million people and a heavy concentration of U.S. military command structure. This was my phone when I woke up just now. I'm in Honolulu, #Hawaii and my family is on the North Shore. They were hiding in the garage. My mom and sister were crying. It was a false alarm, but betting a lot of people are shaken. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/m6EKxH3QqQ Sara Donchey (@KPRC2Sara) January 13, 2018 Civil defense officials have said that in the event of a real missile attack from North Korea, people in Hawaii would have only about 12 minutes to find shelter. In November, Hawaii said it would resume monthly statewide testing of Cold War-era nuclear attack warning sirens for the first time in at least a quarter of a century, in preparation for a possible missile strike from North Korea. Ige, who said he was angry and disappointed by Saturdays incident, said some sirens went off after the false alarm. To prevent a repeat, the Emergency Management Agency will now require two employees to activate the alert system one to issue the warning and another to confirm it. The agency also has incorporated a way of issuing an immediate false-alarm notice in the event of an error. Thats something we were lacking yesterday, Rapoza told Reuters by telephone. Our focus was on getting the message out quickly, and not enough attention was paid to what happens if theres a mistake. And frankly, that was a failure of planning on our part. Were not making any excuses for it. Criticism of the emergency management agency was swift. Lee Cataluna, a columnist for the states largest newspaper, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, wrote in an opinion piece published on Sunday: Its the time for outrage. Somebody needs to get fired. By Jolyn Rosa Recommended Video: Firefighter Going Over 100 mph Before Deadly Crash A tiger (not the one pictured) and a lion attacked a horse during a circus rehearsal in China that went wrong. (Edewaa Foster/Unsplash) Horse Mauled by Tiger and Lion During Circus Rehearsal A horse was mauled by a tiger and lion in a circus ring in northern China during a stunt that went wrong. Cellphone footage shows the tiger and lion pouncing and gnawing on a white horse, while circus workers repeatedly use whiplash and poles to hit the predators until the horse was set free. Bosses at Taiyang Circus had planned a stunt for the tiger and lion to ride on the back of the horse, but when rehearsing the feat the pair of animals attacked, according to the Mirror. The circus spokesman told the newspaper, The animals didnt cooperate too well. The horse kicked the lion, which began biting it in return. In the video, the horse runs around in circles as it tries to shake off the lion, to only have the tiger pounce and cling onto its legs too. At least four circus workers were involved in the attempt to rescue the horse. The ordeal reportedly left the horse with bites and scratches, but no major injuries. Some viewers may find the following footage distressing A circus representative said the rehearsal happened around a month ago, the Mirror reported. He said that the horse was fine and it was a normal occurrance during rehearsals. According to the newspaper, the shows are set to continue as normal. Keith Guo, PETA Asia press officer for China said, Its only a matter of time before captive animals lash out at their oppressor, according to the MailOnline. He added, Big cats in the circus suffer mentally and physically every single day. When they are not performing, they are confined in cramped, filthy cages and whips and beatings are used to force them to perform. People on the Chinese social media site Weibo were not impressed. joyemiao said, Shut down the circus! This is too cruel to both wildlife and domestic animals! while WangxingWX said it was lucky that the workers avoided it, the MailOnline reported. Recommended Video: Kayaker Rescues Iguana Swimming Miles From Shore Illegal Immigrant on Greyhound Bus Arrested After Threatening to Kill Passengers An illegal immigrant from Mexico faces terror charges and deportation after allegedly threatening to kill people on a Greyhound bus in Illinois, police said. Margarito Vargas-Rosas, who had been living in Chicago, was just acting crazy, Patrick Dodd, a passenger who called 911, told Fox6. The Mexican native, who is in the United States illegally, was pacing back and forth between the aisles and made indications he had a firearm, police said. It almost felt like a terrorist situation. Youre on a bus with a guy who said he had a gun, said Dodd. After police formed a barrier and stopped the bus shortly after it entered Illinois from Wisconsin, the suspect was arrested on Jan. 14. He made threats to kill law enforcement during his transport to jail, Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling told the broadcaster. Illegal immigrant faces terror charges after threatening passengers on Greyhound bus pic.twitter.com/sDtW6wE1qh FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) January 14, 2018 Vargas-Rosas was charged with making terroristic threats and disorderly conduct, reported the Chicago Tribune. U.S. Customs and Border Protection told The Daily Herald that the 33-year-old had previously been deported to Mexico in 2012 for traffic offenses. Officials with the agency told Fox News that Vargas-Rosas was also deported five other times and has a previous DUI arrest to his name. No firearms were found on the bus but police officers planned a more detailed search to ensure there were none on board. Greyhound sent a new bus that took the passengers to Chicago to complete their trip. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 Billionaire Donald Trump and his wife Ivana arrive 04 December 1989 at a social engagement in New York. (SWERZEY/AFP/Getty Images) Ivana Trump, Presidents Ex-Wife, Says He Is Definitely Not Racist President Donalds Trumps former spouse told the hosts of a UK morning show on Monday that the president is definitely not racist. Ivana Trump was asked about contested allegations that Trump used a slur when referring several third-world countries during a meeting with six senators. The Washington Post first reported on the remark citing unnamed sources briefed on the content of the meeting. I dont think Donalds is racist at all, Ivana Trump told Good Morning Britain. Sometimes he says things which are silly or he doesnt really mean them or something like that. But he is definitely not racist. Im sure of that. Ivana Trump was married to President Trump for 15 years from 1977 to 1992. She described the marriage as problem-free and said that Trump always treated her well. The couple had three children: Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric. Ivana Trumps made the comments as part of a book tour for her work titled Raising Trump. Her remarks came hours after the president told reporters in Florida on Sunday night that hes not a racist. Im not a racist, President Trump said. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you. Trump and Twitter Ivana Trump also supported the presidents use of Twitter to communicate directly to the American public. I think the tweeting is actually not a bad idea because you speak to the press and the press changes every word you say, Ivana Trump said. They twist it. Whatever is said, it comes [out a] totally different way. If he tweets, its out of his mouth. Sometimes it may not be clear, but at least it is exactly what he thinks, she added. President Trump has amassed a following of almost 47 million on Twitter. He regularly uses the platform to counter a severe media bias against his administration. Trump recently tweeted that he will hold a Fake News Awards on Wednesday this week. Stable Genius Ivana also confirmed Trumps assertion that he is a stable genius, when the hosts asked her about an anti-Trump book written by a gossip columnist with a reputation for distorting the truth. In this book, author Michael Wolff makes unsubstantiated claims about Trumps mental state. Trump took to Twitter to slam the author, calling the work a fake book, and referred to himself as a very stable genius. I dont think Donald is going to do anything irrational, Ivana Trump said. Hes very stable, very focused, very organized. When he sets his goal on something he does it. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 Man Who Blocked Traffic at Holland Tunnel Was Allegedly Asleep, Drunk A man who allegedly fell asleep after drinking and driving caused a backup at the Holland Tunnel between New York and New Jersey this weekend, police say. Robert D. Tume-Ponce, 48, was found asleep in his vehicle by Port Authority Police Officer Christopher Hooper near the tunnels New Jersey exit at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, the New York Post reports. Hooper had gotten stuck in the jam and decided to investigate. Tume-Ponces 2003 Ford Explorer was still running when Hooper found him. Police give him a sobriety test, which he reportedly failed. He had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit for driving, a law enforcement source told the Daily Mail. An open bottle of wine was found in the vehicle on the passenger side, police reported. The backup occurred at 14th Street and Manila Avenue, the Port Authoritys Joseph Pentangelo told the Fort Lee Daily Voice. Tume-Ponce, from Jersey City, was charged with DWI, delaying traffic and having an open alcohol container in his vehicle, which was impounded, the Daily Voice reports. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Corvette Chase A brawl broke out at a mall in Newark, California, over a missing cell phone on Jan. 13, 2017. (Screenshot via KTVU) Massive Brawl Caught on Camera Stemmed from Missing Phone A large brawl broke out at a mall in Newark, California, on Saturday night, Jan. 13, over a missing cell phone that turned out to be sitting in the lost and found. A girl used her Find My iPhone app to locate her missing phone and ended up in front of Johns Incredible Pizza Company in the NewPark Mall, according to police. The mother of the girl told NBC Bay Area that the girl was attacked after she walked up to a group to ask if they had seen her phone. An employee at Johns Incredible Pizza told NBC she saw two women arguing before a physical fight broke out. Their boyfriends, or males who they were with, backed them up, and then they started throwing punches, and then their friends started throwing punches, and they started throwing punches at other parties that were there, Johns Incredible Pizza worker Drake Lynn said. Newark police responded to the brawl, but called for backup from Fremont police once they saw the size of it. The fight involved over 20 people, according to a witness who spoke to SFGATE, and took about two hours for police to break up. At one point, pepper spray was used, witness Nicole Davis told SFGATE. In cell phone video she captured of the incident, people can be seen throwing punches and yelling. A staff member of the restaurant tried to break up the fight but ended up getting injured. He had no backup. That just wasnt a safe move, Davis said of the employee. Its not their fault. This is not their job title. They dont train them for things like this. Minor injuries were reported but no one was arrested. The phone was discovered in the lost and found of the restaurant the same night while police were investigating. We would have definitely found the cellphone, if they would have just given us a little bit of time and let us do our jobs instead of throwing punches, Lynn said. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: The Origins of Antifa Model Says Conference Center Refused to Let Him Use Bathroom After Stoma Bag Leaked A model was humiliated when staff at a conference center refused to let him use the bathroom after his stoma bag started to leak. Blake Beckford, 36, from the United Kingdom was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitisa form of chronic bowel diseasein 2003. He underwent ileostomya surgery where the lowest part of the small intestine is brought through a small opening in the bellyin 2013 and was fitted with a stoma bag on the outside of his body to collect body waste, according to his personal website. Beckford, who is also a bodybuilder, realized that his stoma bag was starting to leak as the adhesive had come loose when he was walking past the Manchester Central Convention Complex, reported the Independent. He made a quick stop at the conference center and explained to the receptionist that he desperately needed to use the bathroom due to a medical condition. My stoma saved my life How can people insult something that saves many lives? #myillnessisnotyourinsult #ibd pic.twitter.com/yr8H7gkntg BLAKE BECKFORD (@Blake_Beckford) December 22, 2016 I headed to the nearest loos to avoid having feces all down my trousers, he told the newspaper. I just wanted to use a bathroom to sort it out. Its a basic human need. However, the receptionist told him that the toilets werent for the general public, despite the urgency of his situation, the model explained in his Facebook post on Thursday, Jan. 11. I felt not only anxious because I was aware that there was potential it was going to go everywhere, but simply humiliated, he told the Independent. Beckford was left with no choice but to run to a nearby restaurant where he was able to use the bathroom. Im appalled that you turned me away forcing me to panic in a place I am not familiar with to find the nearest toilet, he said in his post. I could of [sic] been left humiliated in the street should my bag of fully leaked I think its disgusting that you refused me. I may have a condition not seen by your eyes, but isnt it common decency to allow me to use your toilet? he continued. It really does show the lack of knowledge of stomas/ostomies not being recognized as a need to use a toilet urgently and an invisible disability. Beckford is a campaigner for invisible disabilities and would like to raise more awareness about invisible disabilities. He hopes that by sharing his story, it will prevent it happening again to someone else. I hope that in posting what happened to me will prevent it happening to someone else and if we share this message we can raise awareness together, Beckford said. Manchester Central has since apologized to Beckford, reported the newspaper. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Make-A-Wish Fulfills Teenagers Med School Dream New Policeman Saves Toddler Choking at Chick-fil-A A new police officer in Indiana saved the life of a choking toddler at Chick-fil-A forthe first response of his career as a policeman. Melanie Hasse was dining with daughter Charlotte on Jan. 12 when the toddler got a piece of an apple stuck in her throat. I looked over and she started gagging. I could see something kind of in the back of her throat, mistakenly reached in to try to grab it out, I think that pushed it back into her throat, Hasse told ABC 7. Officer Richard Mayer from the Hobart Police Department was at the same Merrillville Chick-fil-A with two other colleagues. Hasse approached them with her choking daughter. She came running over with her daughter Charlotte and she was frantic and everything like that. We noticed that her daughter was choking. She was purple in the face. Our first reaction, all three of us stood right up, said Mayer, describing the moment to ABC. We did the back slaps on her, and got the food dislodged from her throat right away, added Mayer. Hasse told ABC she was greatly relieved to see the 15-month-old breathing again. ABC found out that this was Mayers first response as a paid police officer. That caught us all off guard. All three of us officers sitting there have a daughter and all of us looked back after it and said What if that was our daughter? said Mayer. Hasse described the events via her Facebook page, emphasizing Mayers role. Nothing scarier than your child choking. Charlotte was choking on a piece of apple today at Chick-fil-a. Thank GOD there were three Hobart police officers just a few feet away. I rushed her over to them, yelled, I think shes choking! One of them, Richard Mayer, immediately grabbed her, flipped her over, and gave her the Heimlich, dislodging the food. It was so fast, he didnt even pause- he just knew exactly what to do. I am forever indebted to you, Officer Mayer. Thank you for saving my baby girl. God was protecting us for sure. To Adam Zormier and the other officer who was there, thank you as well. I know if it wasnt Officer Mayer who had been right in front of me, either of you would have done the same thing. Everyday heroes, people. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Dishwasher Ensures 500 Foster Kids Have Toys for Christmas Nine Volunteers Face Misdemeanor Charges for Feeding Homeless at Park Nine well-meaning people are facing misdemeanor charges, after giving out food to the homeless in a park at El Cajon, California, on Sunday, Dec. 14. Volunteers were handing out food, clothes, shoes, and toiletries at Wells Park when police officers turned up and wrote citations for each person, including a 14-year-old girl. I was passing out food and this guy was like can you step aside please, 14-year-old Ever Parmley told NBC 7. Each person was charged with a misdemeanor for violating the citys municipal code. The law prohibits food sharing in public spaces including parks, reported AJC.com. Back in October, the city council passed an urgency ordinance to combat the outbreak of Hepatitis A by restricting food sharing in public area. Hepatitis Aa viral liver diseaseis transmitted through ingestion of contaminated food and water or through direct contact with an infectious person, according to the World Health Organization. San Diego County public health officials have declared the ongoing outbreak a public health emergency on Sept. 1, 2017. Between the declaration through to Jan. 3 this year, 577 cases of the disease and 20 deaths have been reported. According to the ordinance, the virus is spread person-to-person and a majority of the people contracted with the disease have been homeless or are illicit drug users. Food sharing includes distributing or offering food for charitable purposes. Social gatherings such as family reunions, birthday parties, school field trips, and other similar events are still allowed. Many social media users were outraged by the councils ordinance. Signs about the new ordinance were posted around the park. Councilmember Ben Kalasho told NBC 7 that feeding the homeless during the outbreak of Hepatitis A is a bad idea. What were saying is feeding them at city parks is a bad idea given the situation that were in with the hepatitis A outbreak and the fact that it makes the place completely messy afterward, he said. You can go out there, pick them up, take them back to your house and feed them and board them and room them and have them take a shower if youre really wanting to help, he added. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: Thrilling GoPro journey down a deep well to check out reports of limestone caves NYPD Officer Struck and Dragged by Mercedes in Times Square A police officer was struck and dragged by a car spinning its wheels so fast that the tyres were smoking, shocking footage captured in Times Square shows. The black Mercedes-Benz C63 whipped through West 43rd Street at around 11:45 p.m. Saturday night, Jan. 13, and stopped in front of the military recruiting station, where an NYPD officer outstretched his arms in an attempt to halt the wild driver. Instead of complying, the driver swerved and tried to flee the scene, while the officer bravely kept his hands on the hood of the car. But the driver suddenly accelerated and threw the officer onto his knees in the middle of the busy intersection. The officer quickly picked himself up and shouted, Get that car! and he chased the motorist down the street with another officer, their guns drawn. The car made its escape via 42nd Street. The brave police officer, identified as 26-year-old Ian Wallace, was rushed to Mt. Sinai St. Lukes hospital with minor injuries to his back, arms, right leg, and right hip authorities said, according to the New York Post. The police officer could have gotten really hurt, Victoria Soloviev, a tourist who witnessed the scene, told CBS. Speaking to NBC, Freddie Kim, who operates an outdoor souvenir stand in Times Square, also described the scene as crazy. He added that its not the first time hes seen people drive wildly and burn rubber in Times Square. People are getting crazy, you know, he said. It happens often here. Those guys try to show off. Down here? He must be crazy to do that, tour vendor Barry Abdourahamane said to CBS. Warning: The following footage contains strong language DRAMATIC VIDEO: NYPD Officer being dragged by by a black 4 door sedan ealeir today in time square during a traffic stop. Cop suffered injuries to his legs and back. pic.twitter.com/fIOhC4jotO New York City Alerts (@NYCityAlerts) January 14, 2018 Food truck operator Ray Cortes said the NYPD officer should get a pay raise for his brave actions, according to CBS. A source told the New York Post, He did the right thing I would have done the same thing. The investigation is ongoing and no one has been arrested, according to reports. The NYPD is on the lookout for a black four-door Mercedes sedan. Recommended Video: Firefighter Going Over 100 mph Before Deadly Crash President Trump Says Durbin Totally Misrepresented What Was Said During Meeting 'Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our military' U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, Jan. 15, said that Democratic Senator Dick Durbin totally misrepresented what was said during a White House meeting on immigration on Thursday. The president now has a nickname for the senator. Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting, he tweeted. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military. Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2018 Durbin has claimed Trump used an expletive when talking about African countries at a meeting last week. But a few days ago, Trump said he didnt use the term. The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made a big setback for DACA!, the president tweeted. Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said take them out. Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings unfortunately, no trust!, Trump added. Two Republican senators, David Perdue of Georgia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, said they didnt hear Trumps comments. They were at the meeting. President Trump brought everyone to the table this week and listened to both sides. But regrettably, it seems that not everyone is committed to negotiating in good faith, the two senators said in a statement. In regards to Senator Durbins accusation, we do not recall the President saying these comments specifically but what he did call out was the imbalance in our current immigration system, which does not protect American workers and our national interest. The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made a big setback for DACA! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 Reports: Florida Boy, 6, Dies From Rabies A Florida boy who contracted rabies has died, according to his family. Ryker Roque, 6, was hospitalized at a facility in Orlando and was being kept under anesthesia in an attempt to save his life, Today.com reported. His family was attempting an experimental technique known as the Milwaukee protocol that has saved about 20 people worldwide. Ryker contracted the virus after finding a sick bat. (I) found a bat, put it in a little bucket, put it on the porch and I had asked my son, dont touch it under any circumstances, father Henry Roque was quoted by Today.com as saying. So, apparently he put his hand in there and touched it and he said it only scratched him, so I frantically googled it real quick and it says to wash his hands with soap, hot water for five minutes. They didnt get Ryker immediate medical attention because of his fear of shots. A week later, he complained of headaches and numb fingers, and his father feared the child hit his head while playing. He then rushed him to the hospital. Doctors then became alarmed when he mentioned the bat. I mean, alarms, bells, whistles went off, he said. They went frantically looking for the other doctors to tell them that it was a bat and how severe it was. And then they all came in. We had a conference and they explained to me that its almost always lethal. When the disease spreads to the brain before treatment, its nearly impossible to reverse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that rabies cases are usually contracted via wild animals like raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death. The early symptoms of rabies in people are similar to that of many other illnesses, including fever, headache, and general weakness or discomfort, the CDC says. It says: As the disease progresses, more specific symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of these symptoms. His family set up a GoFundMe page to pay for the boys medical bills. The doctors explained that if it was rabies, he has a 0% chance of survival. Now, a few days later they finally got the tests back that showed it was postive for rabies , there has been one case of a girl who has surpased the 0% chance of rabies, the page says. Recommended Video: Corvette Chase Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks during a press conference regarding the executive order President Donald Trump signed earlier on Thursday, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Oct. 12, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Senator Reveals What Trump Did for Haiti Before Becoming President In a Sunday interview, Senator Rand Paul challenged the mainstream media narrative which treats recent remarks by President Donald Trump as proof that he is racist. Paul (R-Ky.) described how Trump, as a private citizen, was a major financial backer for medical missions to Haiti. The Kentucky senator also criticized the media for drawing conclusions that the president did not intend. I know personally about his feelings towards Haiti and toward Central America because when I was not a candidate for president and he wasnt a candidate for president I went down there on a medical mission trip, Paul said. I did about 200 cataract surgeries with a group of surgeons in Haiti and the same in Central America, and when we asked Donald J. Trump as a private citizen to support those trips, he was a large financial backer of both medical mission trips, he continued. Mainstream media outlets jumped on remarks Trump allegedly made about third-world countries in a closed-door meeting with six senators on Jan. 11. The Washington Post was the first to report on the alleged remarks citing anonymous sources who were briefed on the meeting. Two Republican senators present at the meeting affirmed that Trump did not use the expletive widely reported by the media. Meanwhile, one of the Democrat senators said that Trump did use the reported language. Trump tweeted to say that the language he used was tough, but this was not the language used. Paul added that the president is being treated unfairly. I think its unfair to sort of draw conclusions from a remark that I think wasnt constructive is the least we can say, and its unfair to all of a sudden paint him as oh well, hes a racist when I know for a fact that he cares very deeply about the people in Haiti because he helped finance a trip where we were able to get vision back for 200 people in Haiti, Paul said. The alleged remarks were during a closed-door bipartisan meeting on immigration policy where the six senators pitched a deal to save a discontinued program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Trump had blasted the proposal made as outlandish. The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used, Trump wrote on Twitter on Jan. 12. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made a big setback for DACA! The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made a big setback for DACA! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 The president has said that any deal to save DACA would need to include funding for the southern border wall, an end to chain migration, and the replacement of the current lottery green card program with a merit-based system. I dont believe the Democrats really want to see a deal on DACA. They are all talk and no action, Trump wrote on Twitter on Jan. 13. This is the time but, day by day, they are blowing the one great opportunity they have. Too bad! Rand Paul was one of 11 candidates who were up against Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary. Paul withdrew from the race on Feb. 3, 2016, and endorsed Trump. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 Terrifying Security Footage Shows Hooded Man Looking Into Womans Home A Texas woman has shared chilling security footage of a hooded man looking into her home. She hopes that others will listen to your instincts. The short video shows a man staring into a window of Noel Bracys San Antonio home before scurrying off into the darkness. Ladiesplease listen to your instincts, even if others do not listen to you! After weeks of thinking that I was crazy I caught the man that has been watching me from outside my window on camera, she wrote on Facebook. He came back and stole my camera, but I had the footage via an app, she wrote. Bracy told concerned followers that the incidents had been happening over a span of several weeks. I opened my blinds right here, and I was face to face with him but I couldnt see his features or anything, she told KENS5. Thats why we decided to get the camera. She said she also heard noises outside multiple times. Ive been hearing moaning outside of my window, mostly in the morning when Im getting ready for work, and sometimes at night, she said. This guy needs to get caught! she added on Facebook. Speaking to News4, she said: I dont feel safe. I dont feel safe for my 6-year-old daughter, who also has an outside facing window. Its really sad because I dont feel safe in my own home. I dont think any woman should have to go through that. A number of people praised Bracy for getting a camera and capturing evidence of the criminal. THANK YOU for sharing this, wrote Yana Lee on Facebook. A few weeks ago I saw someone looking into my window and Ive been on edge ever since. Im going to try setting up a camera as well. So glad the news picked up your story! An officer with the San Antonio Police Department told KENS5 that there have been a number of similar stories from people living in the area, and that police are investigating. Anyone with information is urged to call the police. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 A BAE Typhoon takes off ahead of an air display at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire, on July 20, 2010. (Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images) UK Scrambles Jets to Intercept Russian Bombers Britains defense ministry said that its Royal Air Force scrambled two fighter jets as Russian planes got near U.K. airspace on Monday, Jan. 15, according to reports. A RAF spokesman told The Sun that it confirmed that Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth scrambled this morning, this is a live operation and therefore we will not be providing any additional information until the mission is complete. The RAF also said it issued a quick reaction alert, deploying Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from Scotlands Lossiemouth base, The Associated Press reported. Nothing, however, was intercepted, according to some military authorities. The Telegraph reported that U.K. fighters escorted the Russian aircraft north away from the U.K., and the Ministry of Defense stated that at no point did the Tupolev TU-160 Blackjack bombers enter British airspace. The Russian Blackjacks got within 30 nautical miles (34.5 miles) of the U.K. airspace, according to the ministry. Off the Scottish east coast at Wick#QRA Voyager & Typhoon pic.twitter.com/1zTh2JCiGA CivMilAir (@CivMilAir) January 15, 2018 RAF fighters intercept two Russian bombers near UK airspace: Typhoons escort pair of Tu-160s flying over North Sea The RAF has been scrambled to intercept two long-range Russian bombers over the North Sea. The Tupolev Tu-160s, known https://t.co/GtjB3wNDxe More news @bdnews24 pic.twitter.com/5XB4jtlkgf Bangladesh News 24 (@bdnews24) January 15, 2018 The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea, the RAF told the Telegraph. Air traffic monitors showed RAF Typhoons tailing a British Voyager aircraft off Caithness near Scotlands east coast on Monday morning. A Voyager, which is used to refuel planes, was deployed from RAF Brize Norton, the Sun reported. The plane then headed south toward Dundee and Edinburgh at around 10 a.m. as the Russian jets got near Denmark and the Netherlands, the paper reported. The Tupolev Tu-160 is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing heavy strategic bomber designed by the Soviet Union pic.twitter.com/JUlH4Py5pi History of Warplanes (@warplanefeed) January 10, 2018 Officials did not say how many Typhoons were involved in the operation. There has been some Russian military activity near the U.K. in recent months, forcing the U.K. to scramble jets and ships. On Jan. 8, the U.K.s HMS Westminster, a Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate, was tasked to intercept two Russian warships and two supporting vessels near U.K. waters. Other details were not provided. Recommended Video: Firefighter Going Over 100 mph Before Deadly Crash Young Sisters Among Victims of Massive California Mudslides Two young sisters were among the 20 people who died in the mudslides in California. Sawyer Corey, 12, and Morgan Christine Corey, 25, were sleeping when the mudslides slammed into their home in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, officials said. Sawyer was found dead early last week while Morgan was found dead Saturday morning amidst the mud and debris. We ask that you keep this devastated family in your thoughts and prayers, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said, reported CBS. Dan OKeefe, a family friend, said on the fundraising website GoFundMe that Carie Baker, the mother, and Sawyers twin sister, Summer, survived but were still being treated at a hospital. Carie is a single working Mom who grew up in Montecito. She was blessed with 12-year-old twin daughters, Summer and Sawyer and 25-year-old Morgan Corey. In the flood, Carie lost her house, her car, all her possessions and most importantly her sweet daughters Sawyer and Morgan Corey, he wrote. Carie and Summer remain hospitalized and have months and months of healing and rehabilitation ahead. Our goal is to provide Carie with the funds to heal without having to worry about medical bills, rent, etc. Our hearts are broken with the loss of Sawyer and Morgan Corey. The Ventura County Star reported that among the dead was also was Pinit Sutthithepa, 20, who was found over the weekend near Olive Mill Road. Pinits son, Peerawat, 6, and his father-in-law, Richard Loring Taylor, 79, also died in the storm. His daughter, Lydia, 2, is among those still missing. Ooms supervisor at Toyota of Santa Barbara, Mike Caldwell, also took to GoFundMe to ask for funds for Ooms family. This family has lost everything but the clothes they were wearing. Clothing, food, shelter and comfort has been provided by the families employers, friends and teachers, he wrote. This family needs significant funding to move forward with their lives. We are hoping to raise $25,000.00 to assist them during the coming days of this tragedy and to help rebuild their lives in the months ahead. Because of the sudden nature of this event, time is of the essence. CNN noted that besides Lydia, Ooms daughter, three others remained missing: John Jack Cantin, 17; Faviola Benitez Calderon, 28; and John Jack Keating, 53. From NTD.tv Recommended Video: President Donald Trump: Year 1 46 minutes ago | September 6th, 2021 3:40 PM The Latest: More U.S. first responders are dying of COVID-19 UNDATED -- The resurgence of COVID-19 this summer and the national debate over vaccine requirements have created a fraught situation for the United States' first responders, who are dying in larger numbers but pushing back against mandates. Its a stark contrast from the beginning of the vaccine rollout when first responders were prioritized Louisville, KY - Louisville Metro Police say a suspect in a triple homicide that happened in PRP has been arrested in Florida. LMPD says 46-year-old Christopher Olivo was arrested by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Violent Crime Task Force around 10:15 p.m. Friday. Authorities say Olivo was apprehended when the vehicle he was driving was pulled over. According to officials, when Olivo was arrested, he was wearing a ballistic vest. Investigators say an AK47 assault rifle was found on the passenger seat of his vehicle. He's charged with three counts of murder. He faces an additional charge of tampering with physical evidence. Police say the bodies of two women, Catherine Miles, 24, and Geneva Miles, 39, and one man, 27-year-old Mike Miles, were found in a home in the 6400 block of Venango Drive, a couple of blocks west of Pleasure Ridge Park High School, on Friday afternoon. Authorities say two juveniles were located inside the home unharmed. According to police, Olivo fled the scene with his 2-year-old daughter. Officials say his daughter's mother was one of the female victims. The girl was safely located and is currently with relatives, police say. Elizabeth Chiavetta, a cousin of Mike and Geneva in Florida, said Olivo was in a long-term relationship with Geneva and they had a daughter together. Chiavetta said they moved up to Louisville at the end of the summer to work and were living with Geneva's brother Mike and his wife Catherine. Chiavetta said Olivo was acting very angry toward Geneva and the shooting happened after Mike tried to talk to him about the concerns. He said okay well lets have a talk and lay down, you know, this is not acceptable behavior and if he is gonna continue that then he needs to go and thats what they were doing that night, Chiavetta said. Seth Keller, a friend of Mike and Catherine, said everyone is devastated by the loss. They were extremely nice people. You just don't expect this to happen to somebody like that. It's really sad, Keller said. Members of LMPD's Homicide Unit are currently traveling to Florida. Olivo is currently in custody at the Pinellas County Jail. Further details about Olivo's capture are expected to be released during a news conference that's scheduled to take place on Monday. Two Costco pharmacy directors admitted to accepting illegal payments from a drug company to get its medications stocked at the retail chain. Joseph Hanna and Lawrence Varga solicited more than $1.2 million from the generic drug maker Ranbaxy for advertising services money that could reasonably be seen as an unlawful rebate, according to an agreed statement of facts presented at an Ontario College of Pharmacists disciplinary hearing Monday. The two pharmacists were fined $20,000 each and required to pass the professional regulatory bodys jurisprudence exam within the next 12 months. The panel finds both members conduct to be unprofessional, said Sylvia Moustacalis, chair of the five-person disciplinary panel. Costco said the advertising fee program was designed to reduce dispensing fees for customers, and that neither Hanna nor Lawrence personally pocketed any of the money. As part of the settlement, charges that the pharmacists allegedly accepted illegal payments from four other generic drug companies were withdrawn. The backbone of the case was a secretly recorded 2014 phone conversation in which Hanna explains to a Ranbaxy drug sales representative how much the company would have to pay to greatly reduce the likelihood of somebody eating your business. That rep, Tony Gagliese, complained to the pharmacists regulatory college, alleging Costco was requiring Ranbaxy to pay renamed rebates on its Ontario sales through pricey clinic support or marketing initiatives, in order to circumvent the law. Its illegal in Ontario for drug companies to give direct or indirect incentives to induce a pharmacy to stock their products. These kickbacks are known as rebates, which the province has said artificially inflate the price of drugs. The lawyer representing Costcos Hanna and Varga said the men believed at the time the advertising services they charged Ranbaxy did not run afoul of the rebate regulations. Ranbaxys logo was included in clinic handouts and ads were put into the Wellness Connection, a magazine published by the retailer. In retrospect, the fees in relation to this particular transaction could be considered a rebate, said the lawyer, Randy Sutton. It is reasonable to accept that this was an error on their part and not deserving a significant sanction beyond what is sought today. Sutton said Costco stopped charging for advertising services when the complaint was filed in 2015, and immediately sought clarity from the province on whether these payments violated its rebate regulations. The Ontario government still has not commented on the propriety of the payments, the disciplinary panel heard. The province is conducting its own investigation into the payments. Matthew Gourlay, the lawyer representing the college, told the disciplinary panel that this case hovered in a legal grey area, as it was the first time the professional regulator has had a case concerning payments that werent rebates on their face. Gourlay said the penalty against the two pharmacists sends a warning to the profession against trying to exploit loopholes in the anti-rebate regulations. The finding of professional misconduct and the consequences that will go with it will go along way to demonstrating to the public and to the profession that these laws need to be respected in their spirit and their letter, he said. Hanna and Varga are allowing the college to monitor payments made by generic drug manufacturers to Costco pharmacy for the next year. The men were also ordered to pay the costs of the disciplinary proceedings. Gagliese, the sales rep who originally filed the complaint, said he was happy Costcos pharmacy directors admitted their misconduct but said the punishment did not go far enough. I dont see how a $20,000 fine after demanding $1.2 million in illegal rebates is a deterrent to others from engaging in the similar behaviour, he said. Read more about: LONDONOne of the British states biggest contractors collapsed Monday, putting thousands of jobs at risk, after creditors and the government refused to bail out a company struggling under the weight of more than 1.5 billion ($2.6 billion) of debt. Carillion said it had no choice but to go into compulsory liquidation after weekend talks with creditors failed to get the short-term financing it needed to continue operating. The construction and services company is working on major public works projects, such as the HS2 rail line in northern England, while also maintaining prisons, cleaning hospitals and providing school lunches. This is a very sad day for Carillion, for our colleagues, suppliers and customers that we have been proud to serve over many years, Chairman Philip Green said. The company employs 43,000 people worldwide who now face the risk of redundancy. Almost half of them are in the U.K., though Carillion also has a presence in the Middle East, Canada and the Caribbean. Carillion Canada says on its website it employs 6,000 people and generates about $1 billion annually in Canada through energy transmission, construction and services in sectors including oil and gas, health care, and aviation, plus roads maintenance services for approximately 40,000 kilometres of highways across Ontario and Alberta. A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Transportation said Monday it had met with Carillion Canada and was advised that its winter road maintenance services are continuing uninterrupted. However, the ministry says it will continue to meet with the company and will provide updates to the travelling public as they become available. Carillion has been struggling to reorganize for the past six months amid debts of about 900 million pounds ($1.54 billion) and a pension deficit of 590 million pounds. Carillions share price has plunged 70 per cent in the last six months. Britains government refused to rescue Carillion, saying it could not be expected to bail out a private company. In the meantime, it said it would provide the necessary funding to maintain public services. It is of course disappointing that Carillion has become insolvent, but our primary responsibility has always been (to) keep our essential public services running safely, said David Lidington, head of the Cabinet Office. But questions remain about why the government continued to award contracts to the firm even after it was having troubles. The opposition Labour Party said the government must move quickly to protect public services and ensure employees, supply chain companies, taxpayers and pension fund members are protected. Given two billion pounds worth of government contracts were awarded in the time three profit warnings were given by Carillion, a serious investigation needs to be launched into the Governments handling of this matter, said Labour lawmaker Jon Trickett. As critics debated the wisdom of contracting out civic services to private entities, Lidington rejected the notion that there would be a fire sale of assets. He said government departments had drawn contingency plans to be activated in the event of a collapse. In cases of joint partners on a contract, the other partners will take up the slack. As we go forward, some services will be taken in house, some services will go out to alternative contractors in a managed, orderly fashion, he told the BBC. Prime Minister Theresa Mays spokesperson, James Slack, denied that the government had been taken by surprise by the firms collapse. He said some of Carillions 450 public sector contracts might have to be taken over by the government, but there would not be a huge cost to taxpayers. David Birne, insolvency partner at chartered accountants H W Fisher & Company comments, said in a statement that it is extremely unusual for a company of Carillions size to opt for liquidation rather than administration. It suggests there is little, if anything, of value within the company to be saved. Almost every big insolvency in recent years has been a move towards administration rather than liquidation, he said For Carillions 43,000 global staff, liquidation means the immediate risk of redundancy. For years, Emmanuel Lopez wrestled with a dark demon. He roamed self-help aisles in bookstores searching for the answer to why he was crippled with despair. Feelings of low self-worth wreaked havoc on his work, relationships and health. His illustration business collapsed. He declared bankruptcy. He lost his home. And he struggled with thoughts of suicide. Lopez finally sought psychiatric help at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in 2015 and was diagnosed with major depression. His psychiatrist suggested he try group psychotherapy so-called talk therapy led by a social worker at CAMH. He signed up. His life depended on it. I was so hungry for help, says the 54-year-old, who also grappled with anxiety. Lopez participated in a cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) program, which is one of the most common forms of psychotherapy for depression and anxiety. It helped him develop strategies and skills to cope with daily problems. It was amazing ... It gave me the tools to stop the negative thinking and negative moods. Its the kind of treatment that should be readily accessible and widely available in a timely manner, according to Health Quality Ontario , a provincial agency that monitors the health system and recommends whether or not health-care services and medical devices should be publicly funded. But it isnt. For those with depression and anxiety there are a lot of barriers. Only psychotherapy provided by a physician, such as a family doctor or psychiatrist, is covered by OHIP, which means people end up on wait lists or simply go without treatment. Psychotherapy services by non-physicians, such as psychologists and social workers, are covered by some private health insurance plans. Otherwise people pay out of pocket, which can cost up to $200 an hour. Sometimes theyre offered for free in government-funded clinics, agencies or hospitals, such as CAMH, but they typically have long wait lists and are not meeting demand. Furthermore, there are geographical inequities. Urban dwellers have better access to services than those in rural areas, and even within the same community, some will have access to publicly funded psychotherapy, while others dont. It all adds up to big gaps in service. Thats why Health Quality Ontario in November sent a report to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care recommending that evidence-based, structured psychotherapy in individual or group settings delivered by non-physicians such as nurses, psychologists, psychotherapists and social workers be publicly funded for depression and anxiety. Such a change, the report notes, would provide clinical benefit and represents good value for money. Right now, its hit or miss in Ontario and we hope our recommendation leads to consistent access to evidence-based psychotherapy for every Ontarian who needs it, says Dr. Irfan Dhalla, vice-president of Evidence Development and Standards at the agency. The ministry directed the agency to put together the report and is now considering the proposal, which will inform its development of a provincially-funded psychotherapy program. Typically, the province follows Health Quality Ontarios recommendations. According to the agency, about 11 per cent of Canadians will experience major depression and 6 per cent generalized anxiety disorder, which are among the most common mental illnesses. Health Quality Ontario is suggesting funding three common types of psychotherapy treatments: CBT, interpersonal therapy and supportive therapy. It estimates that funding psychotherapy by non-physicians could cost the province between $11 million and $68 million per year over the next five years. The evidence is quite persuasive that these psychotherapies work, Dhalla says. They improve the quality of life for people with depression and anxiety. They help people function better. They help reduce the risk of suicide, which is obviously something we want to prevent. The goal is that any patient with depression or anxiety who stands to benefit from psychotherapy would be able to receive it, paid for publicly, in a timely way. He notes that the Health Quality Ontario report isnt about the benefits of psychotherapy versus medication. Some patients benefit most from medication, others from psychotherapy and some from a combination of the two. Rather, this is about making psychotherapy one of several available treatment options. Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos, the physician-in-chief at CAMH, the countrys largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, welcomes the recommendation, noting access to mental health treatments is dismal. We have a significant access challenge and we have a significant quality of care challenge. We need to address both, says Stergiopoulos. Mood disorders are becoming the No. 1 cause of disability worldwide ... Both the individual suffering and the societal costs need to be taken into account when we fail to provide timely access to treatment. In Lopezs case, the depression was extremely debilitating and a prescribed antidepressant only worsened his symptoms. But psychotherapy helped. He did a 15-week CBT program, and months later did an eight-week CBT relapse prevention program. Part of the severe end of symptoms with my clinical depression was having suicidal thoughts, says Lopez. But thanks to the tools I learned from CBT the frequency and duration of these episodes were greatly reduced. CBT focuses on how negative thinking affects behaviour and feelings. If a person learns to change their thoughts and behaviours, it impacts how they feel, says Karen Fournier, a CAMH social worker who runs CBT group sessions for mood and anxiety disorders. For example, she says, if you send someone a text message, but dont get a response, you may think youre being ignored or that youre not liked. You might then avoid the individual and ruminate on why they didnt respond. That makes you feel lousy and reinforces feelings of low self-esteem, which may even bring on physical discomfort, such as sore muscles, fatigue and an upset stomach. Fournier provides strategies on how to challenge negative thinking and change behaviours. For instance, why not ask that individual why he didnt message you back? Perhaps his phone was broken, or the battery was dead, or hes been too busy to respond. A simple explanation could alleviate destructive feelings of low self-worth. She also urges people to look at the evidence, so they can arrive at a more balanced view of the situation. For instance, maybe the person did actually forget about you, or was avoiding you. If so, is this an unsupportive person who should be cut out of your life? Or, did he just mess up this once, but is otherwise supportive? Theyre skills to live by, Fournier says. What we say in CBT is you become your own therapist ... If you come every week, if you do the work and you practise outside of the group you will see a shift in your mood. Its a sentiment echoed by Lopez. CBT helped him to challenge distorted thinking and keep from slipping into negative patterns. And hes learned to find comfort in pleasurable activities, such as cooking healthy meals, going for walks and taking hot showers. He loves watching movies, deriving inspiration from feel-good flicks. He says hes feeling more energized than he has in years. Hes now a motivational speaker and has a movie blog called Movies That Motivate: The Adventures of Motivatorman. Lopez still monitors his mood and has learned to talk about how hes feeling. I was in such a dark place before that I no longer have a fear of talking about this. Talking has given me a new lease on life, he says. It really feels like Ive been getting back to living again, both with relationships and work ... I feel like Im part of society again. VANCOUVERCanadian marijuana companies are on a hiring spree, looking to fill an array of roles as they gear up for the legalization of recreational cannabis later this year. The workforce is booming, said Alison McMahon, who runs Cannabis At Work, a staffing agency focused on the burgeoning industry. Right now, shes recruiting for positions in everything from growing and production to sales and marketing, all across the country. Stigma may once have kept people from applying for work with a cannabis company, but those perceptions have shifted and people are now excited about the opportunities, McMahon said. Read more: How Queens Park is gearing up to be the largest legal pot dealer in Canada (and maybe the world) What you need to know before investing in pot stocks Opinion | Rosie DiManno: Politicians bungle everything legal pot will be no different I think that the people, at this point, who are looking at the industry and are excited really see the upside and the growth potential, she said. More and more people are open to this topic, so it doesnt end up being that big of a deal. The buzz around Canadian pot is allowing companies to be picky and choose top talent, said Kerri-Lynn McAllister, chief marketing officer at Lift, a company that puts on cannabis events and runs a website sharing marijuana news and reviews. Because of all the excitement, its really an opportunity for companies to pick up the A-players in business or whatever field theyre operating in, said McAllister, speaking from first-hand experience. She recently left a job in the financial tech sector to join Lift. The industry has come out from the shadows recently, McAllister said, and thats allowing companies to attract business executives, tech wizards and marketing masters who are at the top of their game. Dozens of prospective employees came to meet McMahon and her staff at the Lift Cannabis Expo in Vancouver on Saturday, resumes in hand. Chad Grant said hes been working in construction, but wants to get a job growing marijuana. Its going to be a big industry, so Id like to be on the ground-floor type thing, he said. Working with marijuana is nothing new for some of the applicants. Grady Jay said hes been growing for the underground industry for years. Now he wants to transition to working for the legal market. I basically want to wake up and do what I love in the morning, Jay said. Experience is part of what marijuana companies are looking for, particularly when it comes to production, McMahon said, noting that experience could come from working in a commercial greenhouse or the black market. Successful applicants can expect to make salaries comparable to what similar industries offer, McMahon said. A general growing position would probably make about $50,000 per year, she said, while a director of production could expect around $100,000. Some people seem to think that because its cannabis and because of all the growth, the salaries are going to be so high, McMahon said. And thats not the case. Its a bit more mainstream around the salaries. Anyone who wants to get into the industry should do their research, she added. We can have a really great candidate with a great skill set, but if they havent looked into whats happening with the industry at all . . . that can potentially be a bit of detriment, McMahon said. OTTAWAThe Supreme Court of Canada is to begin hearings Monday in an appeal that could force lawmakers across the country to give First Nations a role in drafting legislation that affects treaty rights. This case is tremendously significant whichever way it comes out, said Dwight Newman, a law professor at the University of Saskatchewan. It could fundamentally transform how law is made in Canada, he said. The court is to hear a challenge by the Mikisew Cree First Nation in northern Alberta. It seeks a judicial review of changes made under the previous Harper government to the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. The First Nation argues that because the changes were likely to affect its treaty rights, the government had a constitutional duty to consult before making them. Cases on the Crowns duty to consult appear regularly, but they usually concern decisions made by regulatory bodies. This one seeks to extend that duty to law-making. Rather than being consultation about a particular (regulatory) decision, its a consultation about making the rules, said lawyer Robert Janes, who will represent the Mikisew. Janes argues that First Nations are often kept from discussing their real issues before regulatory boards. The place to deal with larger issues that First Nations often want to deal with are when the statutes are being designed. If you dont deal with that in the design, the (regulator) doesnt have the tools to deal with the problem when it comes up. Legislation creating Albertas energy regulator, for example, specifically blocks the agency from considering treaty rights, which are the root of most Indigenous concerns with energy development in the province. Ensuring First Nations have a voice when laws are drafted will lead to better legislation, argues Janes. Not necessarily, says the government. At some point, the need to consult in this manner may overwhelm and affect the ability to govern, it says in written arguments filed with the Supreme Court. Ottawa argues that allowing the appeal would be a far-reaching intrusion by one branch of government into the work of another and that it is not the courts role to impose restrictions or fetters on the law-making process of Parliament. Theres nothing that prevents governments from consulting First Nations when laws are drafted, federal lawyers say. But they argue that forcing them to give Indigenous representatives a seat at the table diminishes Parliament, which is supposed to be the most powerful body in the land. It would also put more value on some rights than others, giving treaty rights preference over charter rights. The appeal is being closely watched. Five provincial attorneys general and seven Indigenous groups have filed as intervenors. Newman said some provinces, such as Saskatchewan, already consult First Nations in drafting relevant legislation. Whichever way the Supreme Court decides, it will be amongst the most significant duty-to-consult cases that have been decided, he said. Altering the parliamentary process itself contains dangers. Its a delicately balanced process thats been developed over hundreds of years and I dont know if we can predict all of the effects of putting in additional judicially developed requirements. Janes said one effect might be reconciliation. If youre going to talk about reconciliation ... it doesnt make much sense to say were just going to let one side make the rules and were only going to have a conversation afterwards. Read more about: VANCOUVERA targeted shooting on a major Vancouver street has left three people injured, including someone police describe as an innocent teen. Vancouver police said several shots were fired in a busy commercial and residential area on Broadway Saturday evening. Sgt. Jason Robillard said a man in his early 20s, who is believed to be the target of the attack, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. A 15-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., who was driving through the area when the shots were fired, was also seriously injured and taken to hospital. At this time the evidence suggests that he is innocent, Robillard said at a news conference Sunday. He said the victims taken to hospital remain in serious condition. A man in his 30s, who police said was not a target, suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene and released. Its unclear what prompted the incident, but Robillard said there are indications that gunfire was exchanged. This is bad and we are concerned with how brazen this was, Robillard said, adding that more than 30 officers are working on the case. No arrests have been made. The area of Broadway and Ontario streets remained closed through Sunday as the investigation continued. Area resident Gloria Gribling said she heard what she thought were fireworks going off Saturday evening. I heard quite a large bang and then I thought that sounds like a gunshot, and then I thought, ridiculous, Im watching too much TV, she said. And then I hear immediately afterward what sounded like fireworks very fast explosions, but they werent as loud as the first one. She said Broadway is a busy thoroughfare, and while the noise seemed out of character, she considers the area typically safe. I have no fear of going for walks or anything like that around here, its very safe, Gribling said. A number of local businesses, including a furniture store and yoga studio, posted on social media that they would remain closed while police had the area cordoned off. Robillard said police need time to gather evidence and capture the scene accurately. Our officers are working diligently to try to put all the pieces together, he said. Police are asking witnesses or anyone with dash-cam footage of the scene to come forward as the investigation continues. Read more about: OTTAWAJoshua Boyle will remain in custody until at least Jan. 26, after he was remanded again Monday during his fourth court appearance since he was arrested two weeks ago. The 34-year-old former hostage in Afghanistan and Pakistan faces 15 charges that include eight counts of assault, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of unlawful confinement and one count each of uttering death threats, misleading police, and giving someone a noxious substance. Read more: Joshua Boyle, Canadian hostage in Afghanistan, arrested and faces list of charges in Ottawa Boyle remanded in custody after brief third court appearance What we know about the Haqqani network, mentioned by Donald Trump as he suspends aid to Pakistan His legal team will meet with a judge and Crown lawyer Jason Neubauer on Jan. 24 for a pre-trial hearing to discuss the case and how it will proceed, Justice Catherine Kehoe told Boyle, who appeared by video from the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre. Boyle will appear in court again two days later, Kehoe explained, moments after Boyle told her he had no idea what was being discussed in court. A court order prevents the publication of information that could identify any alleged victims in the case. Joshua Boyle, who was recently freed after years of being held hostage in Afghanistan, was arrested the first week of January and charged with at least a dozen offences, including sexual assault. (The Canadian Press) Police allege all the offences occurred after Boyle and his family returned to Canada, between Oct. 14 and Dec. 30, 2017. None of the allegations has been proven in court. Boyle and his wife Caitlan Coleman were backpacking in Afghanistan in 2012 when their ordeal began. The Taliban-linked Haqqani network, which the Canadian government deems a terrorist organization, captured them and held them hostage for the next five years. During their captivity, Coleman gave birth to their three children. She also had a miscarriage, which Coleman and Boyle have said was a result of a forced abortion after their captors dosed her food with high levels of estrogen. The family was eventually released last October after what Boyle described in an interview as a gunfight between his captors and Pakistani forces, which occurred after Boyle, Coleman and their children were placed in the trunk of their captors vehicle for transport to a new hideout. In mid-December, the family met in private with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at his office, a meeting that a government official said occurred at the Boyles request. Boyle was previously married to Zaynab Khadr, the sister of Omar Khadr, the Canadian who pleaded guilty to killing an American soldier in Afghanistan and later recanted after he spent 10 years in jail at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The third Monday in January is claimed to be the most depressing day of the year but thats entirely false. Although people can be prone to experience sadness or depression this time of year, theres no single day where most people feel at their lowest, according to University of Torontos health and wellness department psychiatrist-in-chief, Dr. Andrea Levinson. Its true that winter is often associated with sadness and depression caused by a combination of post-Christmas debts, lack of sunlight and the cold weather, but the myth of Blue Monday has no basis in fact. This is not a scientific concept, but it is a popular concept, Levinson said. (The idea started in the mid-2000s as a public relations ploy to promote U.K. travel company Sky Travel.) Read more: Feeling SAD? Head toward the light: Doctors' Notes Your mean boss might be a sad boss, study shows Blue Monday: 5 things about the years most depressing day Still, the attention is not necessarily a bad thing, Levinson said, because it brings awareness for the time of year when people are more at risk for experiencing symptoms of depression. Levinson said winter can be a difficult time for many, but especially for the small percentage of those who have seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which can result in depression caused by the lack of sunlight. Though mental health awareness is important any time of year, Levinson said its essential to know the difference between sadness and depression: Sadness can lasts hours or up to a day or two. Depression is an illness where the symptoms of sadness are more intense, persist and affect daily functioning such as sleep, appetite and the motivation to get up in the morning. Lack of social contact can cause problems in the winter, she said, because the snow and cold temperatures can make it difficult to go outside and social media might not be an effective alternative. People are good at making themselves appear happy online and that can lead others browsing social media to feel like theyre the only ones feeling sad, she said. Levinson says if people are feeling blue, they should try and work on the basics, such as socializing in person, eating healthy, getting enough sleep and exercising. Activity is huge. There is more evidence showing that exercise is not just a psychological add-on, it actually affects biology and it is incredibly good at decreasing anxiety. She added that battling the blues can be even easier if you can make your exercise social by joining a team sport. Levinson encourages young people to try and make simple changes in their daily routine to improve their well being because those who are 17- to 25-years-old are most at risk for experiencing symptoms of depression. However, she said taking those steps can be difficult for that age group because of busy schedules and the drastic transition into adulthood that comes with added stresses such as school. A student cannot be a successful student without being healthy. At a sold-out event tonight at the University of Torontos Hart House, Levinson will be introducing a panel of experts who will discuss the future of mental health in Canada. The date? Thats just a coincidence, though Levinson said she would take advantage of it to spread awareness of mental health and wellness though she has no plans to use the term Blue Monday. An 85-year-old man died of his injuries on Friday, after he was struck by a van while crossing Adelaide St. W. on Jan. 5. He tried crossing the road east of Sheppard St. when a 54-year-old man, driving a 2008 GMC Safari made a left-hand turn onto Adelaide, police said in a release. The 85-year-old was hit by the van. Police said he was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. He was pronounced dead in hospital on Friday, police said in a second release issued Monday. No charges have been laid. The Federal Court has slammed an immigration tribunal adjudicator for acting as moral police in denying an HIV-positive man permission to reunite with his daughters in Canada, blaming him for contracting the virus from an affair. In chastising Michael Sterlin, the decision-maker at the immigration appeal division (IAD) tribunal, the court said that how the 62-year-old immigration applicant got HIV had nothing to do with the sponsorship case. To protect the mans privacy, he was only randomly identified by court as A.B. The circumstances under which Mr. A.B. contracted HIV are wholly irrelevant to the issue before the IAD, as are any issues related to the applicants fathers moral character, said Justice Shirzad Ahmed in a recent decision to send the case back to the tribunal for a new assessment. The IAD appears to make judgments against Mr. A.B.s moral character, and in doing so, the IAD acts as moral police. In 2009, one of A.B.s two daughters who are both Canadian citizens living in Ottawa applied to sponsor him and his wife to come to Canada under family reunification. During the course of A.B.s medical exam, a routine requirement in the immigration process, it was discovered that he is HIV-positive. In 2013, immigration officials informed the family that his health condition would cause excessive demand on Canadian health services and his sponsorship application would probably be denied. Although the family was willing and able to cover the cost of A.B.s anti-retroviral medications and requested humanitarian and compassionate relief, Immigration Canada refused the application in 2014. The family subsequently appealed to the tribunal. Last year, the tribunal upheld the immigration decision, concluding that there were insufficient humanitarian and compassionate considerations to grant special relief. Read More: Immigration minister vows to change law that bars immigrants with disabilities and illnesses A.B.s two daughters had argued that they were the only children and had the responsibility to care for their parents, who would be ostracized in their native China and suffer discrimination and prejudice because of his HIV status. The reason why it is claimed the family will shun (the couple) is a perception that such patients have loose morals, in that a key way the virus is transmitted is by having sex, Sterlin, the tribunal adjudicator, wrote in dismissing the familys appeal. In fact, it turns out that the father did get the virus from having an affair. It is noteworthy, perhaps, that this did not come out until the panel directly asked the appellant why her father had the virus. If there is any antipathy, the panel finds, then it would most likely be against the father for risking a long-standing marriage by having an affair in his middle age or later, continued Sterlin, who left the tribunal last June shortly after he rendered his decision on A.B.s case. It is unfortunate that the father had an affair which led him to become HIV positive. However this was, again, a risk he took, which was unlikely but reasonably foreseeable, and it has unfortunately presented him with very significant problems. Wennie Lee, the familys lawyer, said her clients were pleased that the court quashed the tribunal decision and ordered a new hearing into the request for humanitarian and compassionate relief. It is a significant court decision as it provides clear direction to the tribunal to truly apply compassion in deciding whether to exercise (the humanitarian and compassionate) relief, she said. For my clients, in the Chinese culture, where personal and community connections are of paramount importance, social exclusion because of HIV status takes on added significance and importance. Lawyer Meagan Johnston for the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario, one of two intervening parties in the court case, said people with the virus are a dominant group negatively affected by immigrations medical inadmissibility policy that prevents them from immigrating. In fact, immigration data shows 74 per cent of economic-class immigration applicants with HIV were found to be inadmissible to Canada in 2014 alone, she said, while 61 per cent of those with the virus were denied a work permit or study visa. It is repugnant that they are not given a fair chance and their HIV status and morality is used against them in their applications, Johnston said. That kind of attitudes against people with HIV is more common than what Canadians would like to admit. The immigration appeal tribunal declined to comment on the decision. Sterlin could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for the tribunal, which is part of the Immigration and Refugee Board, said the board does not have guidelines addressing cases involving person with HIV and AIDS specifically, but its procedures with respect to vulnerable persons speaks to the need to treat vulnerable individuals with sensitivity and respect. Note January 15, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version to update a headline. JERUSALEMIsraeli leaders slammed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday for a fiery, invective-filled speech against U.S. President Donald Trump, in which he proclaimed the U.S. role as arbiter of the Mideast conflict over, attacked the administrations envoys and described Israel as a colonial conspiracy. Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Abbas had lost his senses and had given up on the prospect of peace negotiations in favour of open confrontation with both Israel and the United States. Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the pro-settler Jewish Home Party, said the speech represented Abbas swan song. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a trip to India, said Abbas had tore off the mask and exposed what he called the truth. The root of the conflict between us and the Palestinians is their continuous refusal to recognize the Jewish state in any borders, he said in a statement on Facebook. In a rambling, two-and-a-half hour long speech Sunday night, the Palestinian leader sharply escalated his rhetoric, lashing out at the U.S., Israel, Britain and even other Arab leaders, whom he told to go to hell for criticizing him. He pronounced the peace process dead, and accused Israel of killing it. The speech came at a time of great frustration for the 82-year-old Abbas, who after 13 years in power has made little progress in his goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel in 1967. The rival Hamas militant group now controls the Gaza Strip, his erstwhile Arab allies have quietly moved closer to Israel or turned their attention to other pressing matters such as Iran, and he has lost faith in the United States as a Mideast broker following Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital last month. Abbas is also deeply unpopular with his own public. In the address, Abbas attacked Trump over the Jerusalem decision and rebuked Trumps recent Twitter comment threatening to cut American aid and alleging the Palestinians were no longer willing to negotiate a peace deal. Since when did we reject negotiations? Abbas told members of the Palestinian Central Council, a key decision-making body. Shame, Abbas said, addressing Trump. To laughter from the crowd, Abbas then added the phrase Yekhreb Beitak, literally translated as may your house be demolished. In colloquial Palestinian Arabic, the phrase can have different connotations, from a harsh to a casual insult, but its use in a widely watched speech seemed jarring and could exacerbate his already fragile relationship with an American president who is particularly averse to criticism. Read more: Opinion | Tony Burman: In favouring Israel, Trump puts it at risk Despite the tough rhetoric, Abbas did not announce any major policy decisions. He said he remains committed to seeking a peace deal with Israel and promoting a culture of peace in Palestinian society. He denounced terrorism and noted that he has signed an anti-terrorism agreement with more than 80 countries, including the U.S., while saying he maintains a team dedicated to outreach with the Israeli public. He said he supports only nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation. Even so, much of his language was especially harsh. Abbas has said that by siding with the Israelis on the sensitive issue of Jerusalem, Trump had destroyed his credibility and made it impossible for the Palestinians to accept his vision for a peace plan. Abbas called Trumps moves a slap in the face and threatened that the Palestinians will slap back, without elaborating. He took particular aim at the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a strong supporter of Israels West Bank settlements, for reportedly objecting to the use of the word occupation, and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, for once quipping that she wore high heels to fend off Israels opponents. He (Friedman) is an offensive human being, and I will not agree to meet with him anywhere. They requested that I meet him and I refused, he said. Nikki Haley too. She threatens to hit people who hurt Israel with the heel of her shoe, and the response to her speech will be harsher. He also reiterated his demand that Britain apologize for its 1917 Balfour Declaration, which endorsed the idea of a Jewish state. He accused Israel of sending drugs to Palestinian children. Most angering to Israelis, however, was his assertion that the country was a result of Western efforts to off-load their Jews. They wanted to bring Jews here from Europe to maintain European interests in the region. They asked Holland, which had the largest navy in the world, to transfer the Jews, he said. Israel is a colonialist project that has nothing to do with Jews. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, said the comments brought to mind Abbas own doctoral dissertation, in which he challenged the number of Jewish victims of the Holocaust and claimed Zionists had collaborated with Nazis. He returned back to the ideas he expressed decades ago, when they were no less terrible, Rivlin said Monday. To say Israel is the result of a Western conspiracy to settle Jews in land belonging to Arab populations? To say that the Jewish people has no connection with the land of Israel? He forgot many things, and said exactly the things that led him to be accused years ago of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Given the lack of actual policy decisions, the speech appeared to reflect frustration over prolonged deadlock and a sense of abandonment. It is a necessary bravado for his own people having come short in the diplomatic process, said Uri Savir, an Israeli who negotiated with Abbas in the early 1990s. Rhetoric aside, I know him as a moderate, but there is a dangerous air of desperation in Ramallah that Israel better take seriously and try to find ways to engage in diplomatic talk on a two-state solution. The Palestinian Central Council decided after meetings late Monday to declare invalid some previous Palestinian agreements with Israel, including security co-ordination. It also rejected Trumps Jerusalem declaration and called to suspended recognition of Israel. However, the final decision rests with Abbas and in the past PCC decisions have not been implemented. It is unlikely Abbas would take such action as it could result in the collapse of the Palestinian Authority. Read more about: LEGAZPI, PHILIPPINESGlowing red lava was rolling down the slopes of a Philippine volcano as authorities maintain a warning of a possible hazardous eruption. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Tuesday morning the lava was quietly flowing in some places but at times Mount Mayon was erupting like a fountain. Lava had advanced up to 2 kilometres from the crater, and ash was falling nearby. Nearly 15,000 people have fled the danger zone already. The alert level remained three on a scale of five, indicating an increased prospect of a hazardous eruption within weeks or even days. Lava flowed at least half a kilometre down a gully from the crater on Monday morning and ash clouds appeared mid-slope as lava fragments rolled down, said Renato Solidum, who heads the volcano institute. It was hard to track down the lava flow given the thick clouds shrouding the volcano. Molten rocks and lava at Mayons crater lit the night sky Sunday in a reddish-orange glow despite the thick cloud cover, leaving spectators awed but sending thousands of residents into evacuation shelters. Disaster-response officials said more than 14,700 people have been moved from high-risk areas in three cities and four towns in an ongoing evacuation. People in the danger area have put up huge white crosses in the past in their neighbourhoods, hoping to protect their lives and homes. There are some who still resist but if we reach alert level four, well really be obligated to resort to forced evacuation, Cedric Daep, an Albay emergency official, told The Associated Press. Level four signifies the volcano could erupt violently within days. Mayon lies in coconut-growing Albay province about 340 kilometres southeast of Manila. Three steam-explosions since Saturday have spewed ash into nearby villages and may have breached solidified lava plugging the crater and caused lava to start gushing out, Solidum said. With its near-perfect cone, Mayon is popular with climbers and tourists but has erupted about 50 times in the last 500 years, sometimes violently. In 2013, an ash eruption killed five climbers, including three Germans, who had ventured near the summit despite warnings of possible danger. Experts fear a major eruption could trigger pyroclastic flows superheated gas and volcanic debris that race down the slopes at high speeds, incinerating or vaporizing everything in their path. More extensive explosions of ash could drift toward nearby towns and cities, including Legazpi city, the provincial capital, about 15 kilometres away. The bulletin sent Sunday night said a hazardous eruption was possible within weeks or even days. It said the glow in the crater signified the growth of a new lava dome and that the evacuation zone should be enforced due to the dangers of falling rocks, landslides or a collapse of the dome. Airplanes have been warned not to fly close to the volcano. Mayons first recorded eruption was in 1616. The most destructive in 1814 killed 1,200 people and buried the town of Cagsawa in volcanic mud. The belfry of a Cagsawa church juts out of the ground in a reminder of Mayons deadly fury and has become a tourist attraction. The mystery man behind a secretive website that sold billions of pieces of stolen digital information belonging to millions of people walked into a Toronto courtroom Monday wearing a blue shirt and grey dress pants. Jordan Evan Bloom, 27, is facing rare Canadian Criminal Code charges including trafficking in identity information, and mischief to data for his involvement in the infamous website Leakedsource.com, the RCMP allege. Before being shut down by police in January 2017, LeakedSource.com offered visitors access to three billion records that were harvested from computer security breaches around the world, reportedly including data leaks from Twitter, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Weebly, Foursquare, Tumblr, Rambler.ru, MySpace and AdultFriendFinder. Once decrypted and aggregated, the information was available by keyword search and accessible for a fee. Leakedsources.com was a middle man between the dark web and the internet, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Maurizio Rosa, who supervised the investigation. A person would log into the site and, with a fee, would be able to look through the site for any information about usernames or passwords to be able to get them. Police allege that Bloom earned $247,000 as the websites administrator. In addition to identity trafficking and data mischief, Bloom is charged with unauthorized use of computers and possession of property obtained by crime. Outside of court, Bloom declined to be interviewed. His lawyer sought a publication ban on the proceedings. The Star raised concerns about that request, and it was later withdrawn. While Leakedsource.com sold the digital identities of others, the websites operators carefully guarded their own identities. Bloom is the first person to be publicly named in association with the site. York Universitys 2013 convocation lists Jordan Evan Bloom as a graduate with a bachelors degree in physics and astronomy. Blooms personal Facebook page also says he studied at York. An acquaintance, speaking on condition of anonymity Monday, said Bloom is well known for a green Lamborghini he drives (and poses with on his Facebook page). Bloom was swept up in the RCMP national cybercrime divisions Project Adoration investigation, launched in 2016 when the fledgling RCMP cybercrime division was tipped off by the Dutch National Police about a Canadian connection to the highly secretive Leakedsource.com website. The tip: billions of pieces of personal data harvested from corporate security breaches were sitting on computer servers in Quebec. The database contained personal information on several thousand Canadians in addition to millions more around the world, Rosa said. If I was able to determine your password, Id have your password associated to your email and then, knowing that we, as humans, use passwords across other sites, Id be potentially able to go to any site ... and have access to those websites, he said. We want Canadians to be aware there are criminals out there trying to monetize the use of their information to achieve nefarious results. RCMP confirmed the site was hosted in Quebec and conducted an investigation throughout 2016, obtaining production orders and search warrants. In January 2017, police raided a computer server firm that hosted the Leakedsource.com data and seized the data, shutting the site down. An anonymous posting on an online forum that day reads: LeakedSource is down forever and wont be coming back. Owner raided early this morning. Wasnt arrested, but all SSDs got taken, and LeakedSource servers got subpoenad and placed under federal investigation. If somehow he recovers from this and launches LeakedSource again, then Ill be wrong. But I am not wrong. Bloom was arrested, but released. We determined at the time our way to proceed was to release him without any charges, Rosa said. The server company, which Rosa would not identify, was not involved in the operation of the site and co-operated with police. This was a server farm, a legitimate company hosting them as a service, he said. Police pursued the investigation over the next several months cracking open encrypted records in the database, to determine exactly what his involvement was, Rosa said. By last month, police were, satisfied that we had the information we could lay out in a way we could pursue formal charges against Mr. Bloom. The four charges were laid Dec. 22, and Bloom was arrested at his home in Thornhill. He was later released on a promise to appear in court. Bloom is the only Canadian suspect in the Leakedsource.com investigation, Rosa said. Leakedsource.com, which launched in 2015, has long been a subject of intrigue in the computer security world. One U.S. computer security expert writing in a column titled Who Ran Leakedsource.com?, published last year after the sites shut down, called the site, perhaps the largest online collection of usernames and passwords leaked or stolen in some of the worst data breaches. A 2016 feature about the site in Wired magazine described a mysterious, decentralized leadership structure in which a small group of anonymous international members operated the site from undisclosed locations. The group says that, if nobody knows who we are or where our site is located, bad people cant attack us, the piece read. (The sites spokesperson is never quoted by name.) Leakedsource.coms defenders argued the information it sold was already widely available and the website provided an easily searchable, aggregated source for concerned internet users to check their own information to determine whether it had been made public in a security breach. The RCMPs Rosa says the site also provided the opportunity for anyone to search and obtain the private digital identity records of others. (It) is an offence under the Criminal Code in Canada, he said. There is little jurisprudence in Canada related to some of the charges laid against Bloom, in part because of the rarity of police undertaking these time-consuming and highly technical investigations, Rosa said. The RCMPs national cybercrime division the forces first unit dedicated to pursuing cybercrime investigations only began in 2016, gradually expanding to a total force of 21 officers today. These charges are only the second laid by the unit to date. Very few of these types of cases are investigated. Theyre lengthy, complex types of investigations. These are very rare charges, offences that havent really been brought before Canadian courts. Robert Cribb can be reached at rcribb@thestar.ca Read more about: BEIRUTTurkeys president on Monday denounced U.S. plans to form a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border security force in Syria, vowing to drown this army of terror before it is born, as Russia and Syria also rejected the idea. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also warned U.S. troops against coming between Turkish troops and Kurdish forces, which Ankara views as an extension of Turkeys own Kurdish insurgency. Turkey has been threatening to launch a new military operation against the main Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the Peoples Defence Units, or YPG, in the Kurdish-held Afrin enclave in northern Syria. The YPG is the backbone of a Syrian force that drove Daesh, also known as ISIS or ISIL, from much of northern and eastern Syria with the help of U.S.-led airstrikes. Read more: Erdogan decree stirs fears of legalized extrajudicial violence in Turkey Russia indirectly suggests U.S. involvement in Syria drone attacks Syrian troops approach key rebel-held airbase as UN condemns upsurge in killing of civilians Russia has also warned that the nascent U.S. force threatens to fuel tensions around Afrin. The United States has admitted that it has created a terrorist force along our countrys border. Our duty is to drown this army of terror before it is born, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara. The U.S.-led coalition declined to comment on Erdogans threats. Turkey is a valued member of a 74-member Coalition and a NATO partner, sharing our mission to ensure the lasting defeat of (Daesh) in Iraq and Syria. It would be inappropriate for us to comment on Mr. Erdogans remarks, the coalition said in an email to the Associated Press. The coalition said the new force, expected to reach 30,000 in the next several years, is a key element of its strategy in Syria to prevent the resurgence of the Daesh group in Syria. A strong border security force will prohibit (Daesh) freedom of movement and deny the transportation of illicit materials, the coalition said in a statement to The Associated Press. This will enable the Syrian people to establish effective local, representative governance and reclaim their land. The SDF currently controls nearly 25 per cent of Syrian territory in the north and east. The core of the force is to be made up of fighters from the existing Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the coalitions ally in the fight against IS. Some 230 cadets have already been recruited to the new border force, according to the coalition. The force is expected to be deployed along the borders of the SDF-held areas and Iraq and Turkey. Turkey sent troops into Syria in 2016 to prevent Syrian Kurdish fighters from forming a contiguous entity along its border. It has also supported rival Syrian rebels and independently fought to drive Daesh from parts of Syria. Tensions with Washington have repeatedly erupted over its support of the SDF, prompting U.S. troops to deploy in northeast Syria to prevent clashes between the Kurdish forces and Turkey-backed fighters. In recent days, Turkey said it would soon launch a new operation in Afrin and sent reinforcements to the border. Russia deployed military observers to Afrin last year in an effort to prevent Turkish-Kurdish clashes. On Monday, Erdogan said preparations for the military assault on Afrin are complete, adding that an operation could start any moment. He said Turkish troops are already firing artillery at Afrin from the border. Dont stand between us and these herd of murderers. Otherwise, we wont be responsible for the unwanted incidents that may arise, he said. Tear off the insignia you have placed on the uniforms of the terrorists so that we dont have to bury them (U.S. soldiers) together with the terrorists. A YPG spokesman in Afrin, Rojhat Roj, said new Turkish reinforcements could be seen arriving at the border overnight. He said they removed parts of the wall already built along the border to allow in new equipment. Russia said Monday that the new force is a sign Washington doesnt want to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the nascent border force is not helping calm the situation. Moscow is a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Turkey supports the Syrian opposition. But they came together last year along with Iran, another Assad ally, to set up de-escalation zones that have reduced much of the fighting. Since then, Turkeys ties with Russia have warmed as relations with the U.S. have deteriorated. Assads government also condemned the U.S. plans for the border force, calling it a blatant encroachment upon the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, and a violation of international law. Read more about: Theres a yawning gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to the Trudeau government and Canadas record on international aid. The words are admirable. The prime minister has proudly told the world that, under his government, Canada is back as an active player on the international stage. Yet the numbers show this country is at the back of the pack among global peers in matching promises with dollars. In fact, its commitment to international assistance is at near-record lows and its tied for last place with Japan in the share of national income going to aid. The Trudeau government inherited a bad situation from the Conservatives, who slashed spending on aid to balance the federal budget in time for the 2015 election. But in the past two years the Liberals have done nothing to fix the situation; if anything, its gotten worse. The 2018 federal budget will be an opportunity to change course. At the very least, the government should halt the drift downward and start rebuilding Canadas commitment to international aid. The time is right. Canada holds the presidency of the G7 this year and Justin Trudeau will host the groups annual summit in the Charlevoix region of Quebec this June, where he plans to emphasize gender equality and climate change. And the government is campaigning for a seat on the UN Security Council. If Canada wants to be taken seriously as an international player, it must back its words with dollars. At the same time, reversing the trend on foreign aid would send a powerful signal at a time when the Trump administration is pulling the United States away from its international commitments. That leaves an opening for Canada and other countries that reject the American retreat into surly isolationism. The situation now is shocking for anyone who values Canadas traditional role as a force for good on the world stage. Canada spends about $5 billion a year on international aid, which sounds like a substantial amount of money. In fact, it amounts to just 0.26 per cent of GDP (or 26 cents out of every $100 of national income), according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Thats substantially less than the generally accepted average of comparable countries (0.32 per cent of GDP). Its far less than so-called like-minded countries such as Britain, Norway and Denmark spend, and nowhere near the United Nations longstanding target of having developed countries devote 0.7 per cent of GDP to aid. More to the point, its just half of what Canada used to spend on foreign aid under prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney, when this country was a leader in the area and put aside 0.5 per cent of GDP. Its not realistic to expect the government to go that far anytime soon. The country has many other pressing priorities. But it is reasonable to expect that a government which proclaims its commitment to what it calls progressive internationalism should do a lot better than it has done so far. That means reversing the gradual decline in international assistance and bringing Canada up to at least the average level of comparable countries. It should start doing that in its next budget. Of course, the Liberals havent been completely inactive on the development front. Back in June, the prime minister announced Canadas new feminist international assistance policy aimed at empowering women and girls. But it came with no new dollars attached; the money was reallocated from other parts of the existing aid budget. That, at the same time Ottawa found billions of dollars more to devote to national defence. The government also announced it will create a new development finance institution in Montreal, with an initial capitalization of $300 million. This was originally a Harper government proposal, and is aimed at partnering with private sector investors to support initiatives in developing countries. When it gets up and running, the new institution may well play a useful role in channeling private capital into development projects. But it cant be a substitute for government-backed international assistance; private money wont address issues like the unprecedented flow of migrants or famine arising from climate change. The government is right to lean against the dangerous trends toward isolationism and nativism that are sweeping much of the world. Canada should play an active, progressive role. Doing our full part in international assistance is an essential part of that and the time to step up is now. Read more about: One day, possibly today, U.S. President Donald Trump will use the N-word. What then? It was strange to watch his little White House ceremony on Friday honouring Martin Luther King, Jr. and see him emphasize the word African in his mention of African-Americans. Uncomfortable as I am with excremental references, the subtext was there if you had the strength to consider it. You come from a s---hole, he was saying to the descendants of slaves. And then he scuttled from the room as reporters called out questions to his turned back. Trumps remarks on Thursday about the s---hole countries of the African continent were a success for him, at least in his eyes. Republican politicians did not condemn him, white supremacists cheered, coverage of the highly critical Michael Wolff book vanished, and of course he had people around the world saying s---hole. Tell me how that is not a win. It was a win for me in that I was shocked, and then relieved to know that it is still possible for Trump to shock. I cannot say why no guests at the MLK ceremony spoke up to protest Trumps words it could have been phrased elegantly enough and why it was left to reporters to ask Trump if he wished to apologize. On Friday, Agence France-Press reporter Andrew Beatty tweeted, As we wait for Trumps MLK event in the Roosevelt Room, one of Trumps guests tells reporters you vultures better keep your questions in order today. The guest was Pastor Darrell C. Scott, a member of Trumps presidential transition team. He finds the press VERY RUDE, TACKY and UNPROFESSIONAL. He even tweets like Trump. But we know what vultures feed on. The implication that Trump is a corpse came straight from his mouth. Paul Ryan said Trumps remarks were very unfortunate, unhelpful. Those are good words for me crazy-gluing my fingers together trying to repair a Christmas tree ornament. I had eight seconds to detach and lost a goodly amount of skin. It was fair to say my remarks at the time were unfortunate and unhelpful. I was bleeding. But when the president says such a foul thing, its really Ryans job to say something brave for once in his life. Say Trumps words were racist, unpresidential and set a foul example for American schoolchildren. WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: Global condemnation has greeted Donald Trump's bluntly vulgar language on why the US would accept more immigrants from Haiti and "s---hole countries" in Africa. (The Associated Press) He didnt say that. No Republican did. The U.S. ambassador to Panama, John Feeley, resigned in protest over working for Trump but it turns out he did it before Trump did his racist twirl. Here you see how Trump-watching leads you into a trap of your own making, into darker tunnels. What does that mean? How did Trump intend it to be understood? What will he do next? Is this a racist dog-whistle or one long loud protracted saxophone solo for Americans without passports? Does Trump even plan ahead? He is so easy to goad that reporters predict his outbursts, correctly. When he is mocked, he lashes out. The Steve Bannon debacle was probably behind his bad temper this time. Why do we need more Haitians? Trump said, Take them out. It sounded as if he was calling for assassinations, but no, he was referring to Haitis presence on a list of nations whose citizens would be allowed to continue a temporary stay in the U.S. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest in the world. Trump has said that such countries sent the U.S. their worst. In fact, it is often the best who leave because they have the best shot at success in the West. Its an awkward debate. Should Canada and the U.S. welcome the most educated and trained people from poor countries if that means that their homeland gets poorer? Immigration is a gift for us, a loss for them. Is this not another post-colonial cruelty? To return to my original question, if Black people didnt like Trumps insult and American neo-Nazis did, how will they react when Trump finally uses the N-word? It is quite mad for Trump to keep feeding his base he already has these voters but he does enjoy it so. What could Trump say that would start civil disturbances followed by a race war? Americans are already gunned up. I hope African Americans are able to defend themselves as local police forces now with tanks seem reluctant to defend Black individuals or Blacks en masse. There will be blood. hmallick@thestar.ca Read more about: Wells Fargo & Co. is a diversified, community-based financial services company. It is engaged in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. It firm operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Wholesale Banking, Wealth & Investment Management, and Other. The Community Banking segment offers complete line of diversified financial products and services for consumers and small businesses including checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, and automobile, student, and small business lending. The Wholesale Banking segment provides financial solutions to businesses across the United States and globally. The Wealth and Investment Management segment includes personalized wealth management, investment and retirement products and services to clients across U.S. based businesses. The Other segment refers to the products of WIM customers served through community banking distribution channels. The company was founded by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo on March 18, 1852 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of CVS Health: @Credentials Inc., ACS ACQCO CORP., ADMINCO Inc., AE Fourteen Incorporated, AHP Holdings Inc., AMC - Tennessee LLC, APS Acquisition LLC, ASCO HealthCare LLC, ASI Wings LLC, AUSHC Holdings Inc., Accendo Insurance Company, Accordant Health Services L.L.C., Active Health Management Inc., Administrative Enterprises Inc., AdvancePCS SpecialtyRx LLC, AdvanceRx.com L.L.C., Advanced Care Scripts Inc., Aetna, Aetna (Beijing) Enterprise Management Services Co. Ltd., Aetna (Shanghai) Enterprise Services Co. Ltd., Aetna ACO Holdings Inc., Aetna Asset Advisors LLC, Aetna Behavioral Health LLC, Aetna Better Health Inc., Aetna Better Health Inc., Aetna Better Health of California Inc., Aetna Better Health of Florida Inc., Aetna Better Health of Kansas Inc., Aetna Better Health of Michigan Inc., Aetna Better Health of Missouri LLC, Aetna Better Health of Nevada Inc., Aetna Better Health of North Carolina Inc., Aetna Better Health of Oklahoma Inc., Aetna Better Health of Texas Inc., Aetna Better Health of Washington Inc., Aetna Capital Management LLC, Aetna Card Solutions LLC, Aetna Corporate Services LLC, Aetna Dental Inc., Aetna Dental of California Inc., Aetna Financial Holdings LLC, Aetna Florida Inc., Aetna Global Benefits (Asia Pacific) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Bahamas) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Bermuda) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Europe) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits (Middle East) LLC, Aetna Global Benefits (Singapore) PTE. LTD., Aetna Global Benefits (UK) Limited, Aetna Global Benefits Limited (DIFC UAE), Aetna Global Holdings Limited, Aetna Health Holdings LLC, Aetna Health Inc., Aetna Health Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, Aetna Health Insurance Company, Aetna Health Insurance Company of Europe DAC, Aetna Health Management LLC, Aetna Health and Life Insurance Company, Aetna Health of California Inc., Aetna Health of Iowa Inc., Aetna Health of Michigan Inc., Aetna Health of Ohio Inc., Aetna Health of Utah Inc., Aetna HealthAssurance Pennsylvania Inc., Aetna Holdco (UK) Limited, Aetna Holdings (Thailand) Limited, Aetna Inc., Aetna Insurance (Hong Kong) Limite, Aetna Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Aetna Insurance Company Limited, Aetna Integrated Informatics Inc., Aetna International Inc., Aetna Ireland Inc., Aetna Korea Ltd., Aetna Life & Casualty (Bermuda) Ltd., Aetna Life Assignment Company, Aetna Life Insurance Company, Aetna Medicaid Administrators LLC, Aetna Multi-Strategy 1099 Fund LLC, Aetna Network Services LLC, Aetna Partners Diversified Fund LLC, Aetna Pharmacy Management Services LLC, Aetna Resources LLC, Aetna Risk Assurance Company of Connecticut Inc., Aetna Rx Home Delivery LLC, Aetna Services (Thailand) Limited, Aetna Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Aetna Student Health Agency Inc., Aetna Ventures LLC, Aetna Workers Comp Access LLC, Alabama CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Alaska CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Company, Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Holding Company LLC, American Continental Insurance Company, American Drug Stores Delaware L.L.C., American Health Holding Inc., Arbor Drugs, Arizona CVS Stores L.L.C., Arkansas CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Badger Acquisition LLC, Badger Acquisition of Kentucky LLC, Badger Acquisition of Minnesota LLC, Badger Acquisition of Ohio LLC, Banner Health and Aetna Health Insurance Company, Banner Health and Aetna Health Insurance Holding Company LLC, Banner Health and Aetna Health Plan Inc., Beauty Holdings L.L.C., Best Care LTC Acquisition Company LLC, Busse CVS L.L.C., CCI Foreign S.a R.L. 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Luxembourg), CCRx Holdings LLC, CCRx of North Carolina LLC, CHP Acquisition LLC, CP Acquisition LLC, CVS 2948 Henderson L.L.C., CVS 3268 Gilbert L.L.C., CVS 3745 Peoria L.L.C., CVS AL Distribution L.L.C., CVS AOC Corporation, CVS AOC Services L.L.C., CVS Albany L.L.C., CVS Bellmore Avenue L.L.C., CVS Care Concierge LLC, CVS Caremark Advanced Technology Pharmacy L.L.C., CVS Caremark Indemnity Ltd., CVS Caremark Part D Services L.L.C., CVS Caremark TN SUTA LLC, CVS Foreign Inc., CVS Gilbert 3272 L.L.C., CVS Health Solutions LLC, CVS Indiana L.L.C., CVS International L.L.C., CVS Kidney Care Advanced Technologies LLC, CVS Kidney Care Health Services LLC, CVS Kidney Care Home Dialysis LLC, CVS Kidney Care LLC, CVS Manchester NH L.L.C., CVS Media Exchange LLC, CVS Michigan L.L.C., CVS Orlando FL Distribution L.L.C., CVS PA Distribution L.L.C., CVS PR Center Inc., CVS Pharmacy Inc., CVS RS Arizona L.L.C., CVS Rx Services Inc., CVS SC Distribution L.L.C., CVS State Capital L.L.C., CVS TN Distribution L.L.C., CVS Transportation L.L.C., CVS Vero FL Distribution L.L.C., Campos Medical Pharmacy LLC, Canal Place LLC, Care Pharmaceutical Services LP, CareCenter Pharmacy L.L.C., Carefree Insurance Services Inc., Caremark Arizona Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Arizona Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark California Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Florida Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Florida Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Hawaii Mail Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Hawaii Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark IPA L.L.C., Caremark Illinois Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Illinois Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Irving Resource Center LLC, Caremark Kansas Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark L.L.C., Caremark Logistics LLC, Caremark Louisiana Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Maryland Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Massachusetts Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Michigan Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Minnesota Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark New Jersey Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark North Carolina Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Ohio Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Pennsylvania Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark PhC L.L.C., Caremark Puerto Rico L.L.C., Caremark Puerto Rico Specialty Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Redlands Pharmacy L.L.C., Caremark Repack LLC, Caremark Rx L.L.C., Caremark Tennessee Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Texas Mail Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Texas Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Caremark Ulysses Holding Corp., Caremark Washington Specialty Pharmacy LLC, CaremarkPCS Alabama Mail Pharmacy LLC, CaremarkPCS Health L.L.C., CaremarkPCS L.L.C., Central Rx Services LLC, Claims Administration Corp., Cofinity Inc., Compscript LLC, Connecticut CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Continental Life Insurance Company of Brentwood Tennessee, Continuing Care Rx LLC, Coram Alternate Site Services Inc., Coram Clinical Trials Inc., Coram Healthcare Corporation of Alabama, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Florida, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Greater D.C., Coram Healthcare Corporation of Greater New York, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Indiana, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Massachusetts, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Mississippi, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Nevada, Coram Healthcare Corporation of North Texas, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Northern California, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Southern California, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Southern Florida, Coram Healthcare Corporation of Utah, Coram LLC, Coram Rx LLC, Coram Specialty Infusion, Coram Specialty Infusion Services L.L.C., Coventry Consumer Advantage Inc., Coventry Health Care National Accounts Inc., Coventry Health Care National Network Inc., Coventry Health Care Workers Compensation Inc., Coventry Health Care of Illinois Inc., Coventry Health Care of Kansas Inc., Coventry Health Care of Missouri Inc., Coventry Health Care of Nebraska Inc., Coventry Health Care of Virginia Inc., Coventry Health Care of West Virginia Inc., Coventry Health Plan of Florida Inc., Coventry Health and Life Insurance Company, Coventry HealthCare Management Corporation, Coventry Prescription Management Services Inc., Coventry Rehabilitation Services Inc., Coventry Transplant Network Inc., D & R Pharmaceutical Services LLC, D.A.W. 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INC., Echo Merger Sub Inc., Eckerd Corporation of Florida Inc., Employee Assistance Services LLC, Enloe Drugs LLC, Enterprise Patient Safety Organization LLC, EntrustRX, Evergreen Pharmaceutical LLC, Evergreen Pharmaceutical of California Inc., Express Pharmacy Services of PA L.L.C., FOCUS HealthCare Management Inc., First Health Group Corp., First Health Life & Health Insurance Company, First Script Network Services Inc., Florida Health Plan Administrators LLC, Garfield Beach CVS L.L.C., Generation Health L.L.C., Geneva Woods Health Services LLC, Geneva Woods LTC Pharmacy LLC, Geneva Woods Management LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Alaska LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Washington LLC, Geneva Woods Pharmacy Wyoming LLC, Geneva Woods Retail Pharmacy LLC, Georgia CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., German Dobson CVS L.L.C., Goodhealth Worldwide (Asia) Limited, Goodhealth Worldwide (Global) Limited, Goodyear CVS L.L.C., Grand St. Paul CVS L.L.C., Grandview Pharmacy LLC, Group Dental Service Inc., Group Dental Service of Maryland Inc., Health Care Management Co. Ltd., Health Data & Management Solutions Inc., Health Re Inc., Health and Human Resource Center Inc., HealthAssuance Pennsylvania Inc., Healthagen LLC, Highland Park CVS L.L.C., Holiday CVS L.L.C., Home Care Pharmacy LLC, Home Pharmacy Services LLC, Hook-SupeRx L.L.C., Horizon Behavioral Services LLC, Idaho CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., IlliniCare Health, Indian Health Organisation Private Limited, Innovation Health Holdings LLC, Innovation Health Insurance Company, Innovation Health Plan Inc., Interlock Pharmacy Systems LLC, Iowa CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., JHC Acquisition LLC, Kansas CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Kentucky CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., LCPS Acquisition LLC, Langsam Health Services LLC, Lo-Med Prescription Services LLC, Lobos Acquisition LLC, Longs Drug Stores, Longs Drug Stores California L.L.C., Louisiana CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., MHHP Acquisition Company LLC, MHNet Life and Health Insurance Company, MHNet Specialty Services LLC, MHNet of Florida Inc., Managed Care Coordinators Inc., Managed Healthcare LLC, Martin Health Services LLC, Maryland CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Med World Acquisition Corp., Medical Arts Health Care LLC, Medical Examinations of New York P.C., Melville Realty Company Inc., MemberHealth LLC, Mental Health Associates Inc., Mental Health Network of New York IPA Inc., Meritain Health Inc., Merwin Long Term Care LLC, MetraComp Inc., Minor Health Enterprise Co Ltd., MinuteClinic, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Alabama L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Arizona LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Florida LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Georgia LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Hawaii L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Illinois LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Kentucky L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Louisiana L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Maine L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Maryland LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Massachusetts LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Nebraska L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of New Hampshire L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of New Mexico L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Ohio LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Oklahoma LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Oregon LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Pennsylvania LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Rhode Island LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of South Carolina L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Texas LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Utah L.L.C., MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Virginia LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Washington LLC, MinuteClinic Diagnostic of Wisconsin L.L.C., MinuteClinic L.L.C., MinuteClinic Online Diagnostic Services LLC, MinuteClinic Physician Practice of Texas, MinuteClinic Telehealth Services LLC, Mississippi CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Missouri CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Montana CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., NCS Healthcare LLC, NCS Healthcare of Illinois LLC, NCS Healthcare of Iowa LLC, NCS Healthcare of Kansas LLC, NCS Healthcare of Kentucky Inc. (Oh, NCS Healthcare of Montana LLC, NCS Healthcare of New Mexico LLC, NCS Healthcare of Ohio LLC, NCS Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, NCS Healthcare of Tennessee LLC, NCS Healthcare of Wisconsin LLC, NIV Acquisition LLC, Navarro Discount Pharmacy, Nebraska CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., NeighborCare Holdings Inc., NeighborCare Inc., NeighborCare Pharmacy Services Inc., NeighborCare Services Corporation, NeighborCare of Indiana LLC, NeighborCare of Virginia LLC, New Jersey CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Niagara Re Inc., North Carolina CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., North Shore Pharmacy Services LLC, NovoLogix LLC, OCR Services LLC, Ocean Acquisition Sub L.L.C., Ohio CVS Stores L.L.C., Oklahoma CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Omnicare, Omnicare Holding Company, Omnicare Inc., Omnicare Indiana Partnership Holding Company LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of Pennsylvania East LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of Pennsylvania West LLC, Omnicare Pharmacies of the Great Plains Holding LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy and Supply Services LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy of Tennessee LLC, Omnicare Pharmacy of the Midwest LLC, Omnicare Property Management LLC, Omnicare of Nebraska LLC, Omnicare of Nevada LLC, Omnicare of New York LLC, Oregon CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., PE Holdings LLC, PHPSNE Parent Corporation, PP Acquisition Company LLC, PRN Pharmaceutical Services LP, PT Aetna Management Consulting, Pamplona Saude e Beleza LTDA, Part D Holding Company L.L.C., PayFlex Holdings Inc., PayFlex Systems USA Inc., Pennsylvania CVS Pharmacy L.L.C., Performax Inc., Pharmacy Associates of Glenn Falls LLC, Pharmacy Consultants LLC, Phoenix Data Solutions LLC, Precision Benefit Services Inc., Prime Net Inc., ProCare Pharmacy Direct L.L.C., ProCare Pharmacy L.L.C., Prodigy Health Group Inc., Professional Risk Management Inc., Pt. 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Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. provides software-as-a-service core systems to the property and casualty insurance industry in North America. It offers Duck Creek Policy, a full lifecycle solution for the development of products and quoting, binding, and servicing of policies across various channels from agents and brokers to end-users; Duck Creek Billing that provides payment and invoicing capabilities, such as billing and collections, commission processing, disbursement management, and general ledger capabilities for insurance lines and bill types; and Duck Creek Claims that supports the entire claims lifecycle from first notice of loss through investigation, payments, negotiations, reporting, and closure. The company also provides Duck Creek Rating that allows carriers to develop new rates and models and deliver accurate quotes in real-time based on the complex rating algorithms; Duck Creek Insights, an insurance analytics solution that allows carriers to gather and analyze data from internal and external sources and facilitate rapid analysis and reporting on a single system; Duck Creek Digital Engagement that offer digital interactions between property and casualty insurers and their agents, brokers, and policyholders; and Duck Creek Distribution Management that automates sales channel activities for agents and brokers, including producer onboarding, compliance, and compensation management. In addition, it offers Duck Creek Reinsurance Management that automates critical financial and administrative functions; and Duck Creek Industry Content that provides pre-built content, including base business rules, product designs, rating algorithms, data capture screens, and workflows for insurance lines of business. The company serves insurance carriers and leaders. Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Read More Staff at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London grew tired of whiffing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who reportedly does not attend to his own personal hygiene. Its that lack of cleanliness, among other things, that fueled Ecuadors recent attempts to end his five-year standoff at the Knightsbridge embassy, the International Business Times reported. It seems he doesnt wash properly, a well-placed source told the news outlet, noting the issue has prompted repeated complaints from staff at the embassy. Assange reportedly complained of noise from a loading bay near his hideout, which resulted in a female restroom being converted into a bedroom for him. The move left Assange sharing a single restroom with embassy staff. And its not the first time people around him have complained of Assanges questionable hygiene practices. 3 1 of 3 Frank Augstein/Associated Press Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire/MBR Show More Show Less 3 of 3 Julian ate everything with his hands, and he always wiped his fingers on his pants. I have never seen pants as greasy as his in my whole life, one of his closest aides, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, told the Times. Jeremie Zimmermann, a friend and former colleague, wrote in 2012 that unless the people around him force him to shower, he might not change his clothes for days. The WikiLeaks founder was made an Ecuadoran citizen last month, the nations foreign minister revealed Thursday, in a bid to resolve the diplomatic impasse created by Assanges presence. Earlier last week, the British Foreign Office revealed it dismissed requests from Ecuador for the Australia native to be made an accredited diplomat. Ecuador officials hoped it would allow for Assange to leave the embassy and Britain without arrest. Assange fled to the embassy in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning on rape and sexual assault allegations and was granted asylum there. The case in Sweden was dropped after prosecutors questioned him at the embassy. Assange could still be arrested for skipping bail and faces jail time should he leave the embassy. U.S. officials told the Times that arresting Assange remains a priority, though they did not confirm whether the government would request his extradition should he be arrested in Britain. Assange previously said U.S. authorities already have prepared an indictment and made plans to extradite him for espionage after WikiLeaks disclosed hundreds of classified military documents. Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. Jessica Schladebeck is a New York Daily News writer. An inept criminal who agreed to stay away from a man whose home he has repeatedly broken into has had a 12 month suspended sentence activated after being found hiding behind a cardboard box in the same injured party's storage room last April. Christopher McCarthy (29), of no fixed abode but with an address at Ashbury, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, was described as a homeless traveller and one of 18 children with a long standing alcohol problem and 133 previous convictions. He had pleaded guilty at Nenagh Circuit Criminal Court to criminal damage and obstruction of a garda at the home of a Mr Cole, Grove Villas in Roscrea and was jailed for five years. He had broken into the same injured party's home on two previous occasions in May 2013. McCarthy successfully appealed his sentence in June 2016 and was accordingly given a three year sentence with the final 12 months suspended on condition he behave, stay away from the injured party as well as Green Street, Grove Street and the Crescent in Roscrea. He had undertaken to be so bound. However, McCarthy had his 12 month suspended sentence activated in full today after entering the same injured party's home last April where he was found hiding behind a cardboard box by gardai. The original sentencing judge noted that it was McCarthy's first time in the Circuit Court for sentence and that he was not a very clever criminal. He also noted that McCarthy was on lock up for 23 hours a day while in custody on remand, that he was genuine in his contrition and genuine in having some kind of insight into the suffering he had caused to the injured party Mr. Cole. The sentencing judge was mindful of what the gardai had said about McCarthy namely, that he was somebody who caused the gardai no trouble except when he was drinking. The prosecuting garda had given evidence to the effect that McCarthy had a very difficult background and wrongly believed that he was still welcome at his family home. However there was no room for him there. Activating his suspended sentence today, Mr Justice George Birmingham said it was absolutely clear that the chance that had been given to McCarthy had not been taken. He said McCarthy's breach of the conditions was egregious involving the same injured party and entry into the same dwelling. Mr Justice Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice John Edwards and Mr Justice John Hedigan, said the Court of Appeal was left with no option but to activate McCarthy's suspended sentence and activate it in full. It was backdated to October 20, the date on which an eight month District Court sentence for trespass, the triggering offence, expired. Moussa Faki Mahamat, African Union Commission Chairperson, has reiterated the need for financing the African Union agenda if the regional body is to become self-sustainable to guide the continents transformation. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the meeting of the Committee of Ten Ministers of Finance (F10) responsible for the Financing of the African Union in Kigali on Saturday. The F10 comprises ten countries representing the five regions of the African Union as follows: Chad and Congo for Central Africa; Ethiopia and Kenya for East Africa; Algeria and Egypt for North Africa; Cote dIvoire and Ghana for West Africa; and South Africa and Botswana for Southern Africa. Financing of the AU is crucial, even existential for the future of our Union. The decisions taken in Johannesburg in June 2015 and in Kigali in July 2016 attest to the determination of our leaders to live up to our collective ambitions as articulated in AUs Agenda 2063, Mahamat said. The AUs self-financing decision was adopted during the organizations summit held in Kigali in 2016 as a medium to establish financial dependence not only in the Commission but on the continent at large, with a view that depending on international partners was such that the credibility of the African political project was at stake, according to Mahamat. The Kigali Decision seeks to institute and implement a 0.2 percent Levy on all eligible imported goods into the Continent, with the intended purpose to address these challenges. During that Summit, Heads of State and Government instructed Finance Ministers to implement the Decision, including opening of a special account in their respective central banks for predictability of disbursements to the AU Commission. They also decided that Finance Ministers must ensure proper financial management, including establishment of adequate financial accountability systems of the Commission. Significant progress has been made on the implementation of the Kigali decision. I am proud of these advances. To date, 21 Member States are at various stages in the implementation of the 0.2% levy on eligible imports. I urge other AU member states to follow suit and with the urgency required for the collective interests of the continent, he added. He noted that AU Member States have so far contributed $29.5 million to the Peace Fund, enabling the body to fund some regional prevention and mediation activities. Available information indicates that as of December 2017, the African Union Commission had on record 20 Member States that were at various stages of implementing the Kigali Decision. Out of these, 14 Member States had already started collecting from the levy and had deposited the funds at an account dedicated for the AU opened with the Central Banks. These Countries include Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Chad, Djibouti, Guinea, Sudan, Morocco, Congo Brazzaville, Gambia, Gabon, Cameroun, Sierra Leone and Cote dIvoire. On the other hand, Ghana, Benin, Malawi and Senegal have initiated internal legal and administrative processes to allow implementation of the Decision F10 chairperson Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul observed that the AU continued heavy dependence on external partners for funding was unsustainable, thus the Union requires adequate, reliable and predictable resources which remains paramount to the implementation of its programmes. We the F10 countries will set the pace and lead from the front on the implementation of the levy. I wish to reaffirm our support to the reforms process and state that we remain available for consultations particularly those related to the prudent financial management in view of delivering on our development agenda, Fadoul said. The hosting Finance Minister Claver Gatete of Rwanda said that despite some foreseen difficulties in the implementation of Kigali Decision, the F10 meeting should allow participants to make further progress towards implementation of that financing decision. Let me emphasize that we are not here to debate the decision of our Heads of State and Government but rather to discuss how to implement that decision taken in July 2016 on the financing of the African Union, Gatete stated. This includes addressing specific issues for various countries with the view of making further progress in implementing the said decision. We are all strong supporters of achieving sustainability of financing our African Union, and I strongly believe that the outcome of this meeting will constitute another significant milestone in that direction, he added. The levy of 0.2 per cent on eligible imports to finance the African Union is intended to pull enough resources which will finance 100 per cent of the African Union operations, 75 per cent of the AU programs and 25 per cent of contribution to the Peace Fund. The F10 meeting was expected to consider and adopt the technical documents that have been developed pursuant to recommendations and also review draft decisions to be presented to the Assembly of Heads of State and Government later this month in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 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To review the Tripadvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason. Hi Everyone! Myself and my boyfriend are going to be in Costa rica May 5th to 19th this year.. we have done a lot of research but there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice on where is good to go and also how easy it is to get around We will not be renting a car so everything needs to be done with public transport or shuttles for example.. We are 25 and 28.. love wildlife.. views.. nature but also love cocktails on the beach and good bars and food.. I would really appreciate some comments on this potential Itinerary and any thoughts are appreciated!! stay overnight in san jose on the 5th near bus terminal 6th at 6:30am get bus to Monteverde for $6 each takes 4.5 hours 8th get bus boat bus to Arenal at 2:30pm for $25 each takes around 2.5 hours. 10th get transport to Tortugero and get boats and so on 12th get transport back and head to cahuita 13th Cahuita national park 14th head to Puerto Viejo 17th head back to San jose public bus takes 4 hours or so I think 18th go to sloth sanctuary 19th explore san jose and then head to airport Thank youuuu Hi All, I'm going to be traveling to Costa Rica in late January and am hoping to make the most of the first day that I'm there. However, I get in San Jose around 9am, which is conveniently just after the bus pickup times for either volcano tours (although I recently found out that Poas Volcano is currently closed due to volcanic activity). Originally, I was planning to travel directly to La Fortuna but I will get in too late for the early shuttle and the next one doesn't pick up until 3pm. If I do decide to do the late shuttle, then I will have 6 hours in the area to tool around. However, since I won't have a hotel, I'm wondering if there is anywhere I can store my stuff in the area? I don't know if it's a good idea to be walking around Alujuela with all of my belongings on my back. I'm also wondering if it's possible to fit in a trip to Irazu between 9am and the shuttle pickup at 3pm? My other option is to spend the full day in Alujuela and leave the next day. I would either try to squeeze in Irazu the day I arrive (not sure how I would do that with the shuttles already gone) and take the 8am shuttle to La Fortuna the next day or tool around Alujuela the whole day and then do shuttle to Irazu the next day, with the late shuttle to La Fortuna at 3pm. Hoping to get some suggestions/opinions. I'm only going to be in the country for 2 weeks so I want to make the most of my time there. Hi, myself and my girlfriend will be travelling South-East Asia and are in the process of applying for E-Visa's, we were planning on entering Vietnam by Dien Bien Phu, to make our way up to Sapa but I can't seem to find the correct border crossing on the application. Is it a case of being unable to cross through that border? And if so I'm assuming the best way is to get the bus to Hanoi and train up to Sapa? Thanks, Ciaran I have to agree with Xpat17 My biggest fear is requiring urgent medical care but I don't have those risk factors, I have other issues... you can have the best medical insurance in the world but if they don't have the ability that's not going to help you. my daughter in laws sister had a serious accident and had to be transferred to HCM by road ambulance it was an utter nightmare. Then while they were sorting her out another motorbike victim came in only he was British and they had no pain relief to give him for his broken bones, .. They don't change sheets in between patients as she was on a sheet that had blood on it from another person all these things just add to your already big concern,...too much stress,..she may not be so lucky next time. At least at home they have her records, I would also think medical insurance will cost you a fortune, my friend who has cancer wanted a last cruise for a month their insurance was $3,000 AUD,.for one person. I hope you wife recovers okay. Help with how many days Help with how many days Hello again everyone. Can you help? We want to fly into Ho Chi Min, on our way to Laos. If we fly with Vietnam Airline (which we flew with last year and enjoyed) there is a connecting flight at Cambodia. So thinking of having a stop over there, then going on to Laos. We want to fly to Hanoi from Laos, as we can't come all that way and not call off at Hanoi. We will spend 3 nights in both Ho Chi Min and Hanoi. How many nights will we need for Cambodia and Laos. Cambodia isn't a must but Laos is. Main areas for us in Laos are Vientaine, Luang Prabang and Sayaboury. If we can fit Cambodia in, we would like to go to Siem Reap. We will have up to 3 week in total. Thank you. Hello. We arrive in Osaka at night and the following morning are planning on going to Nara. As we have never been to Japan before just wandering if it is an easy trip from Osaka to Nara and roughly how long it should take. We assume we will be able to find English speakers to assist at the railway, tourist spots etc, although are learning some basic Japanese. Alternatively we could arrange a tour or guide. Thank you in advance for your help. Many young men and women are choosing to join the Kenya defence force as part of their duty to serving the nation. Motivation behind this is different with some wanting to defend their country while others just enjoy the prestige of being part of a highly disciplined force. The salary is also a driving force for some. Unfortunately the process does not always favor everyone that applies. In most instances people have turned up and gone back disappointed. There is more to joining the shortlisted candidates than just knowing the Kenya defence force recruitment date of the year. Good preparation is needed before taking part in the process of recruitment as it can increase your chances of joining the team of officers. READ ALSO: The billions KDF consumes every year to keep the country safe Kenya defence forces recruitment 2018 what to expect While not much may be different from the previous years, it is possible that a slight variation may occur even though insignificant. Going by the Kenya defence forces website most of the requirements remain constant. The changes may occur in Kenya army recruitment dates program because it is a different year. The Kenya army training duration remains the same through all the years. If you want to be part of the Kenya defence force training then there are certain minimum requirements that you have to meet. For you to qualify for GSO kdf recruitment cadet then you have to meet the following requirements. Must have a minimum score of D in KCSE to qualify as a service person Scores higher than B qualify you for specialty offers and officer training Must be Kenyan Be between 18 years and 26 years Weight not less than 54.55kg Be 5.3 tall and above You also have to be physically fit with excellent hearing, good vision and be of good dental hygiene. Women must not be pregnant General officers have a different set of requirements. These are: 18 to 29 years of age Same weight and height requirements as above Attain a minimum of B and above in KCSE Officer schools are given to graduates first 2 years relevant experience in your area of specialization The cadet application Kenya process is meant to be a corruption free process. However, the irregularities that are heard of come about due to desperate parents who want their children to be accepted into the armed forced. This coupled with officers that are not keen on upholding the rule of law has led to deserving individuals losing a great opportunity to serve their nation. Regardless, apart from a few cases most of the exercise is conducted with high integrity and chances given to people that actually qualify for the positions. It is important to note that cadet training in Kenya is not easy and requires and individual that is ready to go all the way. You need to have decided and have a desire to do anything for your countrys defense. Details of the recruitment The Kenya defence forces recruitment team consists of the air force, Kenya army, Kenya defence force and the Kenya navy. There are certain dates that constabulary will visit the different recruitment centers as per dates indicated. It is important that all potential recruits come from the area at least in the sub-county or district. The recruits should come with their testimonials and original national ID as photocopies will not be accepted. It is important to note that there are no charges for the recruitment process. READ ALSO: KDF kill 5 Al-Shabaab militants who attacked Garissa police camp Serving in the Kenya army is something that brings joy and pride to those that have dedicated their lives to do so. However, it is not for all. Just because you have a tradition in your family to join the army when one comes of age you are not necessarily tasked with the responsibility of joining one yourself. It needs passion and drive as army work is difficult. The physical strain that you body will have to go through is the other reason why you must think carefully about joining the army. There is a reason why the experts have set a certain weight and height limitation for which one must attain before being permitted to go through the training. Your body can only endure so much of the physical exercise especially when you are a certain age. Cases of recruits losing their lives or quitting before service are not unheard of. You need to be well prepared that this is something you see yourself doing for a long time. Whether you are getting in as a cadet or a specialty officer make sure that you are prepared for the physical training that you must undergo. Your mindset needs to be at the right place if you are to hack the exercise. Service is a great sacrifice especially when it is done for the nation. Source: Tuko - Leaders from Central Kenya have condemned Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago after county askaris were caught on tape beating up hawkers - The leaders warned they will deny Deputy President William Ruto votes in 2022 if the County continues with the harassment - Earlier a section of Mount Kenya leaders including Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri had claimed they will not assure Ruto of support in his bid for the presidency Deputy President William Ruto will have to blame Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago in 2022 should the Kikuyu community fail to support him for the presidency. This follows a video clip that has been shared widely on social media platforms showing police and county askaris brutally and mercilessly beating up hawkers and destroying their goods like bananas. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens The video caused uproar across the country and now leaders from Central Kenya have warned that they will withdraw their support for Ruto in 2022 when he would be seeking for the presidency. Deputy President William Ruto shares a light moment with Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui during a past event. Photo: Star READ ALSO: Jubilee MP warns Mt. Kenya against betraying DP Ruto in 2022 Led by Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui, the Jubilee leaders accused the Mandago administration of sidelining and discriminating against hawkers from the Kikiyu community who are said to be many in Eldoret town. Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri fired a warning to the DP saying should Mandago continue with the harassment, the Mt Kenya region would deny him votes in 2022 while Kinyanjui said that the same way all traders in Nakuru are treated, the same should be applied in Uasin Gishu. READ ALSO: Look away DP Ruto! Mt. Kenya Jubilee governor promises to support Moi for president in 2022 But the Mandago administration denied profiling members of certain communities explaining that the operation was done within the law in its bid to clear the streets of Eldoret town. It is not the first time leaders from President Uhuru Kenyatta's backyard have warned that DP Ruto would not get automatic support from their region with the most vocal being former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo and Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu. READ ALSO: DP Ruto told Mt. Kenya support not guaranteed Ruto is expected to vie for the presidency on a Jubilee ticket after Uhuru exits the stage after serving his second term in office. Kenyans call on government to end Kenya Power's monopoly - on TUKO TV Source: Tuko.co.ke - Mutahi Ngunyi, a political analyst inclined to the Jubilee Party believed opposition leader Raila Odinga would have been president today - Ngunyi said Uhuru would have been Raila's deputy waiting to ascend to power in 2022 - He also added that Raila failed to clinch the presidency because he failed to keep his word to Kibaki and that he was too impatient Controversial political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi was of the opinion that opposition leader Raila Odinga would have been president today had he kept his word to former president Mwai Kibaki. According to his recent Fort Hall School of Government argument on Saturday, January 13, Ngunyi claimed Raila would have succeeded Kibaki and President Uhuru Kenyatta wouldn't have become president in the 2013 General Election. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens "I was taught by my father that Kikuyus are honourable people and if you are true to them then they will be true to you. If Raila kept his word to Kibaki, he would have been president today for a fact. Uhuru would have actually been vice president waiting to become president in 2022 but Raila was impatient," said Ngunyi. READ ALSO: Mwana wa Kalonzo na wenzake wamtembelea Uhuru Ikuluni (picha) Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi. Photo: Twitter/Mutahi Ngunyi. READ ALSO: US rubbishes reports it was pushing for unity government between Uhuru and Raila In 2002, Raila Odinga put aside his presidential ambitions and campaigned for Mwai Kibaki under the 'Kibaki tosha' slogan. This was during the time when the opposition came together to remove former president Daniel arap Moi from office after ruling for 24 years. Kibaki went on to win. According to recent reports during the 2017 election campaigns, the National Super Alliance front-runner, Raila Odinga, said he expected that Kibaki would rally the GEMA community behind him for his next stab at the presidency in 2007 but this was not to be. READ ALSO: Mind your own business - NASA supporters tell off Senator Murkomen over Baba's swearing-in Mwai Kibaki (l) and Raila Odinga in 2007 after a Grand Coalition government was negotiated. Photo: Nation. Install TUKO App To Read News For FREE Kibaki beat Raila in the 2007 elections but the opposition disputed the outcome. Post election violence erupted and former UN secretary general Koffi Anan negotiated a Grand Coalition government that would see them run the country together with Raila as the prime minister. In 2013, Raila vied for presidency again and said he did not need Kibaki's endorsement because it would be opportunistic of him, and that Kibaki had the right to support a candidate or remain neutral. In both the 2013 and 2017 election thereafter, Raila was defeated by President Uhuru Kenyatta on both occasions. READ ALSO: I am ready to die - Raila Odinga President Uhuru was sworn in for a second and final term on Tuesday, November 28, after wining the repeat presidential election. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/Facebook. Raila disputed the outcome of the 2017 elections and is intent on being sworn in as the people's president on Tuesday, January 30, after the opposition said they neither recognised the outcome of the August 8 and October 26 elections nor Uhuru's legitimacy in office. Have something to add to this article? Send to news@tuko.co.ke Source: Tuko - Kenya will boast of two more superhighways as part of President Uhuru Kenyattas second-term development projects - The planned state-of-the-art Nairobi - Mombasa high-speed expressway will allow uninterrupted speeds of 120 kilometres per hour - The 180 kilometer Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway will be transformed into a superhighway in three years starting next November Kenyans will soon enjoy more superhighways and travel much faster as President Uhuru Kenyatta rolls out a mega development plan that will undoubtedly guarantee him a lasting legacy. Having overcome turbulent political storm to secure a second term in office, the president has hit the ground running and will oversee the construction of at least two signature roads starting this year. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens The most magnificent among them will be the Nairobi - Mombasa high-speed expressway, a 473-kilometer motorway with controlled that will allow uninterrupted speeds of 120 kilometers per hour. READ ALSO: Mwanamuziki wa nyimbo za injili Size 8 ajutia maisha yake ya hapo awali Kenyans to soon cruise on a 120 Kph superhighway as Uhuru Kenyatta embarks on legacy projects. Photo: Pulse Live READ ALSO: Central Kenya leaders threaten to deny Ruto votes in 2022 if Uasin Gishu County continues to harras hawkers This will effectively cut the travel time between the two cities from 10 hours to just four hours, giving Standard Gauge Railway operators a run for their money. The expressway, the first in Kenya, will have four lanes, with a provision future increase to six lanes and 19 interchanges. It will be constructed by Bechtel International, a US-Based construction firm, with the first section around the Machakos Turn-off expected to open to traffic in October 2019. Just as the SGR the most famous of President Kenyattas pet projects - edged out the old railway line, the new expressway will overhaul the current two-way traffic road, vastly improving travel speed, efficiency and transport safety. READ ALSO: Ruto mourns death of his outrider involved in grisly accident Kenyans to soon cruise on a 120 Kph superhighway as Uhuru Kenyatta embarks on legacy projects. Photo:Pulse Live READ ALSO: Lugari family in shock after finding coffin dumped in their home Another notable road project will be the upgrading of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway. The Sh150 billion project, whose contract will be awarded in May, will see the 180 kilometre road transformed into a superhighway in three years starting next November. This will include the expansion of the road into a four-lane dual carriage way from Rironi to Mau Summit. It also involves the re-carpeting of Rironi-Mai Mahiu-Naivasha (Escarpment road). The Jubilee government has keenly focused on improving the road network in the country, with thousands of kilometers of roads improved during the first term between 2013 and 2017. Among them is the magnificent KSh8.4 billion Outering Road, which is now open to traffic. Improvement of road infrastructure is seen as a critical intervention that are required to jump start the economy and vault the country to middle-income industrialized status as spelt out in Vision 2030, the national development blueprint. ALSO WATCH: Kenyans accuse NTSA of incompetence and corruption and want it disbanded Source: Tuko - Eric Omondi's Italian fiance Chantal Grazioli is back in Kenya after spending more than four months in Italy - Chantal's absence dealt Eric Omondi a big blow judging with his countless social media posts - However,Chantal's arrival excited Eric Omondi who couldn't help but show it Comedian Eric Omondi's hot Italian fiance Chantal Grazioli on Monday,January 15,lightened up the comedian's life after making a gallant comeback into the country. As reported by TUKO.co.ke earlier,Grazioli flew to her home country ,Italy in September,2017,leaving Eric Omondi at crossroads. Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens Chantal absence dealt Eric Omondi a big blow,judging with a series of his social media posts seen by TUKO.co.ke. READ ALSO: Mwanamume akwama 'mvunguni' akila uroda na mpango wa kando READ ALSO: This is how Eric Omondi celebrated his Italian fiance as she turned a year older The comedian at one time threatened to camp at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and not move a muscle until Chantal was here. That's not all; Eric Omondi even shared a video of himself checking Chantal's car in their parking and revealed how cob webs had infested it,a clear indication that his fiance had 'over stayed' in Italy. READ ALSO: Self-proclaimed billionaire Steve Mbogo splashes serious amount of money on his daughter's first birthday Well,it seems Eric Omondi's gods finally heard his prayer and sent a blessing,rather miracle his way. TUKO.co.ke has learnt that Chantal touched down at the JKIA on Monday,January 15 2018,afternoon and was received by super excited Eric Omondi who couldn't hide his joy. Handling her like an egg or a glass,Eric carried his fiance on the luggage trolley from the airport to his car while kissing her all over like a possessed fella. READ ALSO: Our relationship is not goals, it's hard work - Bahati's pregnant wife professes love Judging with his behavior, it is clear he had suffered a great deal of 'dry spell'. Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke Kenyans accuse NTSA of incompetence and corruption and want it disbanded: Source: Tuko Breaking News Latest There was a rush for Pfizer vaccines at a couple of sites today, as the roll out of that vac Russian-backed militants continue to violate the New Year and Christmas ceasefire regime and launch attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the ATO area in Donbas, using the weapons banned under the Minsk agreements. This is reported by the ATO Headquarters press center. In Luhansk direction, the enemy used mortars of different calibers and weapons on infantry combat vehicles to shell ATO troops near Novoluhanske (53km north-east of Donetsk). Ukrainian positions also came under grenade launcher fire outside Hladosove (51km north-east of Donetsk), Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk) and Troitske (69km west of Luhansk). In Donetsk direction, militants shelled the outskirts of Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk), using heavy machine guns and small arms. The enemy sniper fired at Ukrainian defenders near Kamyanka (62km south of Donetsk). In addition, an unmanned aerial vehicle Orlan-10 of Russian production was downed in ATO area. A total of three enemy UAVs have been shot down by Ukrainian troops in Donbas since the ceasefire start. The Russian-backed militants launched six attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) area in Donbas in last day. Ukrainian troops returned fire twice. As a result of the enemy shelling, two Ukraine soldiers were wounded. ol Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine (SAEE) Serhiy Savchuk presented Ukraine's latest achievements in renewable energy and prospects for cooperation at the 8th session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi (the UAE), the SAEE's media liaisons department has reported. "The Ukrainian government has walked a long path to join the IRENA Statute. The respective law of Ukraine, No. 2222-VIII, which developed by the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving, has recently been adopted by parliament and signed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko," Savchuk said, adding that Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has recently signed a respective document on Ukraine's accession to IRENA. After joining IRENA, Ukraine will be able to increase green investments, receive cheap loans for green projects, and develop joint mechanisms for financing the preparation and implementation of projects. According to Savchuk, the potential of wind energy development in Ukraine is one of the largest in Eastern Europe. In addition, the country has significant opportunities for widespread implementation of biomass and waste energy projects. At the event, Savchuk had an opportunity to discuss the trends of clean energy in the world and in Ukraine with Director of the Energy Community Secretariat Janez Kopac and President of the Energy Watch Group, former German MP Hans-Josef Fell. The event was attended by over 1,200 representatives from 150 countries. According to Adnan Amin, Director-General of IRENA, humanity enters a new era of energy transformation, and renewable energy is becoming an important driver of economic growth, job creation and social development, as well as addresses problems of climate change and reduction of harmful emissions. According to IRENA, more than $1 trillion has been invested in renewable energy around the world since 2013. To date, almost ten million new jobs have been created in this area. op The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is ready to support the creation of the Financial Intelligence Service (FIS) in Ukraine. FinCEN Deputy Director Jamal El-Hindi said this at a meeting with Ukrainian Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk in the United States, the press service of the Ukrainian Finance Ministry reported. El-Hindi said that FinCEN was pleased with cooperation with Ukraine, in particular, with the State Financial Monitoring Service. He also added that he would actively monitor the process of setting up the Financial Intelligence Service in Ukraine, the only body to combat financial crimes against the state. "Special attention was paid to FIS interaction with other state bodies, in particular, with the State Financial Monitoring Service, in order to ensure an effective investigation process," the report says. El-Hindi also noted that his organization was ready to support the establishment of an effective new body. Earlier, Ukraine's Finance Ministry reached agreements with the Bureau of International Counter Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) of the U.S. Department of State and the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance to organize exercises for future employees of the FIS. The US State Financial Counteraction Financing Agency (FinCEN) is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury that collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. op Russia's Gazprom is not planning to contest the ruling of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in a dispute with Ukraine's Naftogaz. Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev told this to reporters on Monday, TASS reports. "There's nothing new there. The arbitration court ruling has come into force. What for?" he said, when asked whether the Russian holding would challenge the court's decision. As reported, on December 22, 2017, NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine announced its victory in the Stockholm arbitration court in the case concerning a gas supply contract on all contentious issues. According to the company, the arbitration court completely rejected Gazprom's claims under the $56 billion "take-or-pay" condition. In addition, Naftogaz received a reduction in its future mandatory annual volumes by more than ten times, in line with its actual needs for natural gas imports. At the same time, Gazprom said that on December 22, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce ordered Naftogaz to pay Gazprom $2.019 billion in overdue arrears for gas supplies. Naftogaz has been suing Gazprom from 2014 on two major issues - the price of Russian natural gas and gas transit. In both cases, the Russian side filed counterclaims against Ukraine. The aggregate amount of Naftogaz's claims against Gazprom exceeds $42.5 billion, and that of Gazprom's counterclaims is $47.1 billion. op The second charitable telethon in support of Ukraine "Together for Victory", held on the air of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television LRT channel on Saturday, raised more than EUR 80,000. This is reported by the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine. The event, organized by the Blue/Yellow international volunteer organization and the Lithuanian National Radio and Television, was timed to coincide with the 27th anniversary of the Day of Defenders of Freedom, the tragic events in Vilnius on January 13, 1991, and was aimed at raising funds for the humanitarian aid for the eastern Ukraine, affected by Russian aggression. "The viewers transferred about EUR 82,700 just during the live broadcast of the charity telethon. The recipient of funds is the Blue/Yellow organization, which provides assistance to the victims of the Russian aggression in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the Ukrainian military, their families, children who lost their parents," the statement reads. The Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers from eastern Ukraine, a group of Ukrainian children from the eastern regions who study at the Vilnius Lithuanians House, chairman of the Blue / Yellow volunteer organization Jonas Ohman, heads of the diplomatic missions of Georgia, Latvia and Estonia accredited in Lithuania participated in the telethon among others. President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite and Prime Minister of Lithuania Saulius Skvernelis addressed the telethon participants with welcome speeches. Ukrainian Ambassador to Lithuania Volodymyr Yatsenkovsky read out a message of greetings from President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko to the telethon participants expressing the gratitude to the Republic of Lithuania for the strong and active support of Ukraine in its struggle against external aggression. The President of Ukraine also congratulated the Lithuanian people on the 100th anniversary of the restoration of the Lithuanian statehood. Numerous musicians from Ukraine, Lithuania and Latvia performed their songs at the telethon. ol Ukraine opens three visa application centers in the People's Republic of China. "The Embassy of Ukraine in the People's Republic of China has opened the visa application centers to improve the services for those traveling from China to Ukraine. The centers in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou start to work on January 15, 2018," the Embassy of Ukraine in China reports. The diplomatic mission notes that the opening of visa centers in China will improve the visa services. ol The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has urged Ukrainians not to visit a number of dangerous countries, State Secretary of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Andriy Zayats has reported on Twitter. "Once again, we ask Ukrainians not to travel to dangerous countries: Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and Russia. Our consuls have very limited ability to provide assistance there," he wrote. Earlier, the Foreign Ministry repeatedly warned Ukrainians against travel to Russia due to systematic provocations by the Russian special services. op The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has demanded the release of activist Volodymyr Balukh, who was convicted in occupied Crimea to five years in prison for patriotism. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mariana Betsa wrote this on Twitter on Monday. "Five years for patriotism... The occupier is trying to destroy all patriots of Ukraine. We demand the release of activist Balukh," she said. On Monday, January 15, a Russian-controlled prosecutor asked a court in Russian-annexed Crimea to sentence Ukrainian Volodymyr Balukh to five years and one month in prison, and fine him 20,000 Russian rubles. Russia's FSB detained Balukh on December 8, 2016, stating that he possessed ammunition. In August 2017, the court sentenced him to three years and seven months of imprisonment in a low-security penal colony, as well as to a fine of ten non-taxable minimum incomes. Balukh's verdict was canceled during the consideration of the appeal. The case was sent for reconsideration. On December 1, the measure of restraint for the Ukrainian activist was changed to two-month house arrest. Balukh's defense team believes that he is a victim of repression for his pro-Ukrainian views. op A majority of Ukrainians believe that strengthening sanctions against Russia is the most efficient tool for bringing peace to Donbas. Iryna Bekeshkina, the director of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, announced this referring to the results of the nationwide poll conducted in December 2017. "We asked what international initiatives or decisions of Ukrainian authorities could help or hinder the process of peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas... A majority of the population (55%) believe that the most efficient tool for bringing peace would be strengthening the sanctions of the European Union and the United States against Russia. In addition, 55% of Ukrainians believe that strengthening of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and conduct of special operations for the gradual liberation of the occupied territories would be also effective. The main thing is that people across Ukraine (49%) support the introduction of the UN interim administration and peacekeeping forces for the management of the occupied territories at the time of the withdrawal of Russian troops and disarmament of militants," Bekeshkina said. According to her, 46% of respondents believe that the resumption of social payments to residents of the occupied territories on general principles would contribute to the settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The provision of American defensive weapons to Ukraine as a tool for bringing peace to Donbas is supported by 44% of Ukrainians. The poll was carried out by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Razumkov Centre on December 15-19, 2017 in all regions of Ukraine (except for Crimea and the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions). A total of 2,004 respondents aged 18 years and older took part in the poll. ol "Of course, if the so-called good faith purchasers are among the firms that are appealing and whose appeals will be rejected [by Ukrainian courts], indeed they may go to European courts and expect a European court to listen to them," he said, Radio Svoboda reported. Read alsoPGO explains why "Yanukovych's money" case classifiedOn March 28, 2017, a court in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk ruled to apply the special confiscation rules to $1.5 billion belonging to Yanukovych and his allies as part of legal proceedings against Arkady Kashkin, the ex-director of Gaz of Ukraine 2020. A month later, the ruling came into force. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said then the funds would be spent, first of all, on the Ukrainian army. In September 2017, the PGO confirmed that the first $200 million of the confiscated assets had been funneled to the budget. According to Perebyinis, the foreign policy in the Czech Republic is determined primarily by the government, and the president's functions are more those of representation. Read alsoReuters: Topless woman shouts 'Zeman Putin's slut' at Czech president during vote (Photos, video)"The incumbent government headed by Andrej Babis, who will compete for a vote of confidence by parliament next week, in fact, has already declared his position on Ukraine, regarding the support of Ukraine," he said. As UNIAN reported earlier, the incumbent Czech President, Milos Zeman, won the most votes but not enough to win the first round of the Czech presidential election. The pro-Russia president will face Jiri Drahos in a runoff in two weeks. "It was many times that we answered [such] questions, including regarding the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, according to which Ukraine renounced nuclear weapons and Russia pledged not to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. I recall that we have never applied or threatened Ukraine with nuclear weapons, so there has been no violation of the Budapest Memorandum," Lavrov said at an annual press conference in Moscow. Read alsoFM Lavrov: Russia "respects" Ukraine's post-Crimea territoryAt the same time, he stressed that Ukraine, along with the Budapest Memorandum, undertook in a separate statement not to "encourage racist, neo-Nazi, xenophobic tendencies, and what happened after the Maidan was a gross violation of these obligations by our Ukrainian neighbors." Yet, Lavrov assured Russia "is interested in the implementation of the Minsk agreements [on Donbas, eastern Ukraine] in full, which fits in [its] respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine within the current boundaries redrawn after the referendum in Crimea." UNIAN memo. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in March 2014 after its troops had occupied the peninsula. An illegal referendum was held for Crimeans to decide on accession to Russia. De-facto Crimean authorities reported that allegedly 96.77% of the Crimean population had voted for joining Russia. On March 18, 2014, the so-called agreement on the accession of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia was signed in the Kremlin. The West did not recognize the annexation in response to which sanctions against Russia were introduced. Ukraine's parliament voted to designate February 20, 2014, as the official date when the temporary occupation of Crimea began. After the annexation of Crimea, Russia invaded Ukraine's east, Donbas. "In the next few hours, soon, the president of Ukraine will pardon a woman who has committed a serious crime against the state of Ukraine, in order to expect that serious work will continue on the release, first of all, of our military who are being held captive in the occupied areas [in Donbas] for a long time," she said at a meeting of parliament factions' leaders and parliamentary committees' heads. Read alsoPutin, Medvedchuk discuss second phase of prisoner swap in Donbas Russian mediaAs UNIAN reported earlier, the first stage of the prisoner swap was conducted on December 27, 2017. Ukraine extradited 233 individuals who were imprisoned on charges related to the Donbas war and were serving their sentences in Ukrainian prions, to militants in Donbas. In turn, 73 Ukrainians (32 prisoners of war and 41 civilians) were released by the other side. "I've just spoken with Lavrov about the release of our hostages and political prisoners, as well as the format of a possible UN peacekeeping mission for occupied Donbas. The positions are sundered, but we'll have to work further. We have also talked about the JCCC [the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination] and touched on his annual press conference," Klimkin wrote on Twitter. Read alsoLavrov accuses Ukraine of violating Budapest MemorandumAs UNIAN reported earlier, Lavrov announced on Monday that Russia continues to "respect" the territorial integrity of Ukraine after the annexation of Crimea, and the revision of the "RussianUkrainian Friendship Treaty" is irrelevant. The national police said they apprehended the suspect in the murder of lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska. Petro Poroshenko met with Ukraines delegation to the Tripartite Contact Group in Minsk. PM Volodymyr Groysman focused on the economy. Mikheil Saakashvili is changing tactics. Ukraine is attacked by exposing fake news. A breakthrough has been reached in the investigation into a high-profile slaying of a Kyiv lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska, according to the leadership of the National Police. The suspect, Yuriy Rossoshansky, who is a father of a suspect in a deadly car accident case, which Nozdrovska closely followed, was taken into custody for two months by Vyshgorod district court. The man has reportedly confessed to committing the crime but never repented. It is interesting to note that Nozdrovskas lawyers are not in a rush to take the investigations conclusions for granted. One thing can be underlined with a high degree of certainty: the case never span out of control into something alike the events in Vradiyivka when a huge public outrage was a result of police arbitrariness on the ground a few years ago. The situation in Donbass continues to significantly affect Ukraine as a whole. This was among Petro Poroshenkos agenda points during his meeting with Ukraines representatives in the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement. Obviously, one of the delegations priorities will also remain the struggle for the liberation of Ukrainian prisoners. In this context, two facts are worth noting: almost simultaneously with Poroshenkos meeting, Putin hosted in Moscow his Ukrainian ally Viktor Medvedchuk, whose direct contact with the Kremlins leader also facilitates prisoner exchange, while the Verkhovna Rada is preparing to consider a bill on Donbas reintegrations, which, among other things, is set to recognize Russia as an aggressor state. While potential participants in the presidential race are showing off their muscles and developing their strategies, Prime Minister Groysman chose to focus on ensuring the countrys economic growth. He voiced the desire to achieve a 5% growth of the Ukrainian economy in the coming year. Also, while on a trip to Mariupol, he showered criticism on the initiators of the blockade of transport communication with the occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the act that inflicted huge losses to the national economy. The head of government calls his priority the work to enhance Ukraine's defenses and economic growth. We are yet to see how this is all going to be implemented. Mikheil Saakashvili, with the Damocles sword looming over him in the form of a guilty verdict handed down against him by the Georgian court, intends to change his political tactics. The leader of the "Movement of New Forces" gave up on the idea of setting up weekly rallies on Sundays and now intends to focus on continuing the search for "300 Spartans" he suggests are needed to change Ukraines political system. To this end, Saakashvili intends to resume his trips across Ukraines regions, not refusing at the same time to report to the investigators willing to interrogate him. However, the politician said no to a request to provide samples of his voice for audio examination in light of the recent tapes revealed by law enforcers suggesting that he had agreed on financial assistance for his turbulent political campaign in Ukraine from one of Ukraines fugitive oligarchs from the Yanukovych entourage, Serhiy Kurchenko. The "Poroshenko's report to the FSB", published by Rustavi-2 TV channel, which was allegedly written back in 2007, not only raises doubts about its credibility. Increasingly obvious is a trend to use foreign media for shaping up information agenda in Ukraine and to influence its political elite. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and unfortunately, more revelations are still to come, it seems. Yevgeny Magda If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter Your courage has helped to defend the will of the Lithuanian people to live in a free country. Thanks to you we now have a new generation of citizens that grew up in an independent state of Lithuania and that value and cherish their freedom. In my turn, I would like to assure you that we are and will be with Ukraine, and we make every effort to contribute to the preservation of Ukraines independence and territorial integrity in your current struggle for the freedom of Ukraine, said Lithuanias Foreign Minister. The Ukrainian volunteers took part in commemorative events of the Day of Defenders of Freedom in Vilnius, including the event entitled Together Until Victory on January 13. The event was broadcast to raise funds for Ukrainian soldiers, their relatives, orphaned children, and communities of war-torn towns. Read alsoUkraine lacks envoys in states important for Kyiv expertIn 1991, the Ukrainian student volunteer squad was the only foreign unit that defended the Seimas. The squad was headed by the then student, now a Doctor of Natural Sciences Jevhen Dykyj. Later, Dykyj participated in the events of Maidan. In the summer of 2014, he headed the Aidar volunteer battalion in eastern Ukraine and was wounded in Donbas. After returning from the front, he continued to teach at the university and actively participate in various social activities. Yuri Katrich, a member of the Ukrainian volunteer squad that defended the Seimas of Lithuania in 1991, also attended the meeting. Later, he actively participated in the events of Maidan. Currently he is the commander of a special-purpose squad of the Ukrainian volunteer battalion. Roman Tsymbalyuk Sergei Lavrov held an annual press conference in Moscow, showing the basics of Russias foreign policy. Theoretically, even those will get it who still believe in the myth that it is possible to get in terms with Moscow on the Ukrainian issue. Everything seems logical, because in the Russian wonderland it has long been an axiom that everyone supporting the united Ukraine is a criminal, and this message has been worked out well during the Donbas war "Indeed, international legal documents are important, but ..." - this phrase of Russias top diplomat shows the true value of documents signed with Russia. This "but" could entail any action or decision on the Kremlins part. If they do not like something and desperately crave to attack someone, they can always use this Russian "but" and just deploy the troops, initially branding them the "little green men." This "but" can mutate along with the official position of the Russian state, which is the real master of its word: it can give it and take it back at any time. A year ago, Lavrov assured himself and others that Russia did not violate the Budapest Memorandum, because it did not throw nuclear bombs on free Ukrainian cities. Now it turned out that Russias position had changed once again. According to their latest version, Ukraine violated the document on guarantees of its own territorial integrity by allowing the Maidan Revolution. Everything seems logical: you should always blame the victim "who was strolling down the street sporting that short skirt". Russia was forced to act violently, they say. Mr Lavrov tells western journalists colorful stories of how an agreement was reached on February 21, 2014, between the then-president Viktor Yanukovich (who subsequently fled to Russia) and the opposition, with the mediation of foreign ministers of Germany, Poland and France, but it was "ripped apart", while those who signed off the agreement on the part of EU "deceived the Ukrainian people." Okay, the West is treacherous. But when the question arises why the Russian Defense Ministrys Medal for the seizure of Crimea was dated February 20, 2014, when the Maidan had not yet won and the "legitimate" president was still in Kyiv, the answer is of a pre-school level: it was a "technical misunderstanding". According to Lavrov, thousands of people who came to rally outside Crimeas Supreme Council on February 26, 2016, were nothing but right-wingers and Wahhabis (here the Kremlin says hi to all Crimean Tatars). Everything is logical, because in the Russian wonderland it has long been an axiom that everyone supporting the united Ukraine is a criminal, and this message has been worked out well during the Donbas war. Kremlin officials probably believe that they "outsmarted everyone" When Lavrov is asked what he thinks about the Big Treaty between Moscow and Kyiv guaranteeing Ukraines territorial integrity, his answer is just something: "For me this question has long been off the agenda." Indeed, what else can we say if the order to invade Ukraine was virtually signed on the Treatys back. Then it gets even funnier: "We continue to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine" within the borders "post Crimeas reunification with Russia," insists the Russian foreign minister. That is, it seems as if the idea is voiced that the occupied Donbas is part Ukraine, although Russia will not give it back, at the same time suggesting that the sides talk about it. Last week Vladimir Putin reflected that after "resolving Donbas issues", bilateral relations between Russia and Ukraine will be "generally normalized". On Monday, January 15, Russias top diplomat specified his bosss position: this will most likely never happen. Because the Kremlin will continue supporting its gangsters from the "young republics", smile to the outside world and tell everyone that it is with them that we need to negotiate. Kremlin officials probably believe that they "outsmarted everyone" each time they readdress negotiation proposals to their shadow puppets in Donbas. Very convenient, indeed in case of any inconvenience, they employ their childish "we are not there" argument. You want UN peacekeepers? Go make a deal with Russian militants, although those proxies are the hand of the Kremlin itself. It is already clear that the chances for the deployment of UN peacekeepers are illusory, as Moscow seeks exclusive control over the region, putting it up for geopolitical bargaining with the West. The new stage of bargaining has already unfolded this year. Its no coincidence that Mr Lavrov says that the West focuses too much on the "artificially-hyped" conflict in Ukraine, adding that the war in Donbas is not really "worth" such attention. Moscow would like to see its crimes in Ukraine forgotten and forgiven, and for everyone to pretend as if nothing happened. Really, youre saying that some 10,000 Ukrainians killed and millions forced to flee from horrors of the Russian invasion? So what? Russia was forced into it, you see... Roman Tsymbaliuk, Moscow "SBU agents have established that a group of criminals from various regions of Ukraine has developed a program to secretly tap information from mobile devices. They sold their 'services' to customers through specially created websites. A customer, having filed a relevant application on such a website, first got a trial access to the 'service' by receiving a link which should have physically been 'uploaded' onto the phone of a person of interest," the report says. According to the SBU, the program was activated automatically when the mobile phone was turned on; it did not show any signs of activity during work and acted disguised from the owner. Read alsoThe Washington Post: Russian military was behind 'NotPetya' cyberattack in Ukraine, CIA concludes"The hacking software allowed the interception of telephone conversations, texting and multimedia messaging, detected a subscriber's whereabouts, recorded communication through popular messengers and e-mail, provided access to photo and video files stored on a mobile device. All received data was stored on a client's 'personal account' on the hackers' web resources. To use the 'service' on a permanent basis, the customer had to make payment for the required period through electronic payment systems," the SBU said. SBU agents in Kharkiv region conducted a series of searches in the offices and houses of the criminal group's members and seized evidence of their illegal activities. Specialists confirmed the exposed software is a special technical means of eavesdropping. Criminal proceedings were opened under Part 2 of Article 359 (illegal use of special technical means of secretly receiving information) and Part 1 of Article 361 (unauthorized interference with electronic computers, automated systems, computer networks or telecommunications networks) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The suspects are to be indicted. The investigation is under way. In the Luhansk sector, the enemy used mortars of various calibers and cannons of infantry fighting vehicles to attack Ukrainian positions near the village of Novoluhanske, the ATO HQ said. Grenade launchers were used to shell Ukrainian fortified positions near the villages of Hladosove, Luhanske and Troyitske. Read alsoDonbas militants attack Ukraine four times on Jan 14 ATO HQIn the Donetsk sector, the enemy fired heavy machine guns and small arms near the town of Avdiyivka during the daytime. In addition, an enemy sniper attacked Ukrainian defenders near the village of Kamianka. Moreover, another fact of the presence of Russian military equipment in Donbas was recorded in the last day. An air defense unit of the Ukrainian army shot down a Russian-made Orlan-10 UAV. Since the beginning of the truce, this has been the third drone of this type downed by Ukraine's ATO forces. The Ukrainian Armed Forces had to fire back twice in response to militant attacks, using proscribed weapons. Since 2015 the USAF schedules and deploys force packages of fighters and tankers throughout the U.S. European Command area of responsibility. TSP deployments to Europe vary in length and are supported with total force aircraft and Airmen from stateside units, reads the report. Once in theater, the aircraft will forward deploy to multiple locations throughout the theater, participating in exercises and training with our allies and partners to highlight the United States' ability to deploy fighter aircraft to support our partners and allies in the European theater, and around the world. Read alsoU.S. plans $200 million buildup of European air bases flanking RussiaThe 112th EFS will conduct training missions out of Amari AB, through Mar. 7, and will participate in a 52nd FW-led exercise out of Spangdahlem AB. The exercise highlights the U.S. Air Force's ability to rapidly generate combat and refueling missions at forward operating locations. The TSP supports Operation Atlantic Resolve and is funded by the European Deterrence Initiative. Activities funded through EDI increase the capability and readiness of U.S. forces allowing for a faster response in the event of any aggression by a regional adversary against NATO sovereign territory. "The U.S. Air Force routinely deploys Airmen and aircraft from the United States to Europe, where we remain resolute in our commitment to regional stability and security. These deployments are just one of the many ways we demonstrate our steadfast commitment to our NATO allies and regional partners," the report says. "Rospotrebnadzor has tightened quarantine control in checkpoints through the state border of the Russian Federation and draws citizens' attention to take the above-mentioned information into consideration when planning trips," the regulator's report says, TASS reported. Read alsoDemand for vaccines up in Kyiv amid measles outbreakItaly, Romania, Ukraine and Germany are seeing the most complicated situation, the consumer rights watchdog warned citing the European regional office of the World Health Organization. In the 11 months of 2017, some 3,382 measles cases were registered in Ukraine. Most incidents occurred in the Ivano-Frankivsk (1,049), Odesa (931) and Zakarpattia regions (416). Five lethal cases were reported in Odesa region. "The Ukrainian Health Ministry says that the main reason for the ongoing outbreak is low coverage of planned immunization against measles among children that was less than half of the needed quantity in 2016. In 2015, the WHO European regional office included Ukraine in the ten countries with the lowest immunization regarding children's infections, such as measles, diphtheria and pertussis," Rospotrebnadzor explained. The attack targeted Aviation Square, a commercial area of Baghdad, the interior ministry said in a statement. It was carried out by two men who detonated vests packed with explosives, it said, as reported by Reuters. Iraq declared victory last month over the Islamic State group that took control of nearly a third of Iraq three years ago, but the militants continue to carry out attacks and bombings in different parts of the country. The quick reaction alert (QRA) aircraft took off in response to the two Tupolev TU-160 Blackjack bombers as they approached to within less than 50 miles of the UK, according to The Telegraph. The fighters escorted the Russian aircraft north away from the UK and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that "at no point" did the Blackjacks enter British sovereign airspace. At their closest, the Russian aircraft were within 30 nautical miles (34.5 miles) of the UK's sovereign airspace, the MoD said - around 40 nautical miles (46 miles) from British soil. Read alsoRussian jet makes "unsafe" intercept of U.S. Navy aircraft over Black SeaOfficials would not confirm how many Typhoons were involved in the operation. The fighters were supported by a Voyager air-to-air tanker. A RAF spokesman said: "The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea. Read alsoSyria says military jet downed in northern Hama, pilot killed media (Video)Russian military activity near the UK in recent months has seen a series of planes scrambled and warships diverted to monitor naval vessels. On January 8, it was reported HMS Westminster, a Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate, was tasked to intercept two of Vladimir Putin's warships and two supporting vessels as they passed close to UK waters. The High-Level Expert Group, which was established by the European Commissions decision passed in November 2017, is expected to present the said strategy in spring 2018. The High-Level Expert Group expert group will gather opinions on what kind of actions could be taken at EU level to give citizens effective tools to identify reliable and verified information and adapt to the challenges of the digital age. Experts will look at the scope of the problem, including how fake news is perceived by citizens and stakeholders, how they are aware of online disinformation, or how they trust different media. Read alsoRussian troll factory expands its workspace threefold in 2018 - Euromaidan PressThey will also assess measures already taken by platforms, news media companies, and civil society organizations to counter the spread of fake news online, as well as positions on the roles and responsibilities of the relevant stakeholders. The team will look into possible future moves to strengthen citizens access to reliable and verified information and prevent the spread of disinformation online. Read alsoRussian propaganda undermining trust in any information source, researcher saysThis work will result in the analysis of the situation, the examination of the roles of each online player, the analysis of the measures already taken and the formulation of advice. What are believed to be human skeletal remains have been found in a burnt out car, Guernsey police have said, reads the BBC report. The force is also investigating the disappearance of 33-year-old Mikus Alps. The Latvian man, who is resident in Guernsey, has been reported missing. The Battalion claims the man was tortured, killed, tied and burned in the car that he allegedly intended to transport to Ukraine for the needs of his comrades in arms. Battalion commander said: "He helped us, fought with us, I was soon to meet him at the border - Mick was to bring in a car, an armored vest, and thermal underwear. I have no doubt that the Muscovites did it. Mick repeatedly said he was threatened for his participation in the Ukrainian-Moscow war." The local police reported on Facebook that during a detailed forensic examination of the car, specialist officers found what we believe at this stage to be parts of skeletal remains in the drivers seat, adding that a report was received of a 33-year-old man, Mikus Alps, gone missing January 8. *The article has been edited to correct the location where the incident occurred. As part of its continued partnership, Affinity Gaming donated $58,000 to the Alzheimers Association at the Walk to End Alzheimers (Affinity Gaming CEO Michael Silberling presents $58,000 check to Kelli Kristo and Dan Lawler of the Alzheimers Association Courtesy Affinity Gaming). CEO Michael Silberling presented the check to Desert Southwest Chapter Executive Director Dan Lawler and Regional Director Kelli Kristo before cutting the ribbon at the start line with more than 70 Affinity Gaming employees walking. The gaming company has pledged to contribute more than $125,000 to the association in 2017 with more than $75,000 of that contribution staying in Southern Nevada. The Habit Burger Grill will open its sixth Las Vegas location later this month. Set to open in North Las Vegas, guests from North Las Vegas and Centennial Hills alike can join in on the celebration and make it a habit. In anticipation of the grand opening, The Habit will be participating in week-long events starting with its fan-favorite Free Burger Day. On Sunday, January 21 where the first 200 guests will receive a free Charburger, fries and a drink. Guests can get a sneak peek of the menu during the community charity event on Monday, January 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Habit Burger Grill will donate 100 percent of all the proceeds to Spread the Word Nevada and Candle Lighters. Plus, guests can also indulge in the restaurants Free Habit Day on Tuesday, January 23 featuring a complimentary pre-selected menu showcasing an assortment of The Habits award-winning Charburgers, grilled sandwiches, and fresh salads, and will be available for the first 200 guests. Prime Minister Hun Sens son, Hun Manet, has heaped praise on his father for his role in developing Cambodia and helping to rid the country of the Khmer Rouge, calling for his position at the head of government to be protected. Manet, who holds numerous senior positions in the military, including in Hun Sens Bodyguard Unit, is thought to be a strong contender to succeed Hun Sen when he leaves office. During a press briefing to launch a military exhibition on Thursday, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces deputy commander-in-chief responded to the recent release of a documentary in which Hun Sen was interviewed at length, saying his father, who himself is a former Khmer Rouge commander, was central to the resistance against the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Secondly, our achievements today includes you all standing here, and exercising freedom of the press, he told reporters at the event. We are here today because of the sacrifice to build the peace and its because of the value of peace. Before we reached this point, we had to sacrifice a lot. So everyone in the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, especially the new generation of the army, must remember and maintain that value, which was obtained by our leader with lots of hard work and sacrifice. The 90-minute documentary titled Marching Towards National Salvation, produced by the governments press department, is being broadcast on state and local television networks. It is the first television interview Hun Sen has given in many years. The film portrays Hun Sens life since he left Cambodia in 1978 and sought support from Vietnam to overthrow the Khmer Rouge regime, led by Pol Pot. The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party celebrated the anniversary of the victory against the Khmer Rouge on January 7. With a contentious general election scheduled for July, this years celebrations were bigger than ever. The CPP has overseen a crackdown on political dissent in recent months that has seen the countrys main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, dissolved and its leader arrested. In November, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the CPP to dissolve the CNRP and banned 118 of its officials from politics for five years. Most of the CNRPs 55 MPs had already fled the country. The move, which the government claimed was an independent decision of the court, drew strong criticism from abroad and has led to a schism in U.S.-Cambodia relations. Both the United States and the European Union are thought to be considering further sanctions against Phnom Penh. The former president of the CNRP, Sam Rainsy, wrote on Facebook that he considered the January 7 celebrations a show by Vietnam, who he blamed for the rise of the Khmer Rouge. Until now those who serve the interest of foreign aggressors continue to persecute Cambodian patriotsassassinating them or putting them in jailin order to divide and weaken Cambodia so as to maintain our country under Vietnamese military and economic colonialism, he said. The CPP has accused the CNRP and the United States of conspiring to overthrow Hun Sen in a color revolution modeled on popular uprisings in Eastern Europe. The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces will condemn and not let it happen in Cambodia at all because it is said that it would break our national unity, and will destroy peace and our current development, Manet said, referring to the alleged conspiracy. Aged 73, Seang Kheun, a resident of Thmey village, about 70 kilometers from Kampong Thom town, was given a gift of a coffin early this month. I am very poor and dont have money. If I dont have a coffin, the villagers will use wooden walls or bamboo to make me a coffin, said Kheun, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and a black sarong, the formal attire for elderly Cambodians. I feel very happy to get the coffin, she added. She cant walk or stand for long periods of time due to osteoporosis after a traffic accident many years ago for which she did not receive proper treatment. She has recovered from another serious illness last month. I cant walk or stand for very long since I have a problem with my backbone, she said, adding that she is given food by the local pagoda. She lives at home alone while her two children live separately. One stays in the same commune and one is working in Thailand. In a small wooden house sheltered by zinc panels next to the pagoda where the coffin offering ceremony took place, Kheun waits. There is a box of drinking water, five packs of rice, a pack of noodles, and some cooking ingredients, like salt and soybeans. On January 4, Vital Premium Water Company, owned by Prime Minister Hun Sens daughter, Hun Mana, distributed drinking water and some other products such as rice and white cloth for shrouding the dead, to more than 200 villagers in Kampong Thoms Prasat Balaing district. Forty coffins were given to aging villagers in a ceremony, where they were placed in a line. Photos of the ceremony have been widely shared on Facebook, drawing criticism that the gesture was disrespectful and an insult to the people who are still alive. However, five villagers who were given the coffins said they were happy to receive the gifts. I am not afraid. I dont have any feeling of terror, said Kheun, adding that she is old and her health is getting worse and worse day by day. Kheun doesnt have electricity to light her house. When darkness falls, she lights candles. Sometimes my granddaughter comes to sleep next to me. Sometimes I sleep along with her and sometimes I go to sleep at the pagoda, she said. Inside the pagoda, Andoung Ith, which was built in March last year, a dozen elderly people sit in front of a house where the monks live. They are waiting to share their happy feeling of being given the coffins. Leng Theng, 69, who was also offered a coffin early this month, said he was seriously ill late last year and villagers thought he was dead, but he later recovered. My wife dreamed that I got a very nice house ... and that is the coffin that was offered, he said. I am very delighted to be offered a coffin since my children cannot afford one, he said referring to his six children, who have left home. If possible I want to ask for one more coffin for my wife, he said. I am not afraid [of death], he said. Sitting nearby, Sar Luot, 77, and Matt Nhoung, 88, both received a coffin. They have six children. Five have left home while one, who suffers from a mental health condition, lives with them I am very happy to get the coffin since I dont have money for a coffin. It is expensive to make like 400,000 Riels [about $100]. How can I find the money? asked Luot. It is good to be prepared with that [coffin] so it is not difficult when I pass away, she said. Old people need their children to prepare [the coffin] three or four years or three or four or five months in advance, she said. Her husband, Matt Nhoung, said his children prepared a stupa at a pagoda in 2004 to house his remains. My health changes from day to day. Sometimes, I can eat and sleep and sometimes I cant, he said. It does not mean a coffin will make us die soon, he added. He recalled that two years ago, his children made a coffin for him, but last year it broke since his children believed the wood was home to an evil spirit. The head of the pagoda, Yon Bunyom, said the coffin donation was proposed by the local elderly community and that they were donated by an individual, not the Vital water company, which only distributed them. He said three families in the area had declined offers of coffins. Bunyom said that people did not think the gesture was a bad thing, adding that it had been politicized after photos of the ceremony were shared on social media. In Cambodia, aging people always prepare the coffin or stupa. This is our tradition and it exists for a long time already, he said. It is not an insult ... this is just the preparation for their deaths, he added. According to the monk, each coffin cost about $125, adding that the person who donated them had said some 2,000 were donated across the country. The Vital water company could not be reached for comment. A spokesman for the Ministry of Cultures and Religion, Seng Somony, however, said it was not ethical for the photographs to have been shared on social media. When the recipients of the coffins pass away, they will be buried in woodland behind the village known as the ghost forest. Kheun says her daughter has promised to return from Thailand when she dies so she can attend the cremation ceremony. Afghan forces are planning to hand over the security responsibilities to the local forces of the rural communities, they have recently captured from Taliban and IS militants, in eastern Nangarhar a province that borders Pakistan. Nangarhar provincial officials said hundreds of local men, armed by Afghan National Directorate of Security, are ready to fight against IS in Khogyani district where joint Afghan security forces recently ended a 15-day long anti-IS operation. "For the time we have 300 men ready to protect their villages [against IS militants] and if the situation requires, we will arm more people to fight," said Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesperson for the governor of Nangarhar. According to the Afghan officials, the total number of such forces in Nangarhar province is close to 1000. "We have 500 local forces in Pachir Agam district, 300 in Khogyani district and another 100 in Kot district," said Hayat Khan, Chief of Nangarhar Coordination Center of Uprising Local Forces. Afghan officials claim the force in Pachir Agam district is effectively providing security to the district and to the Tora Bora area, once the stronghold of slain Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Some local residents have expressed support for a joint Afghan security forces operation in Khogyani district where fighting between the Taliban and IS militants caused hundreds of families to flee. "We ask the government to build more security posts. We do not want IS and the Taliban to come back here and fight. Fighting made us leave our houses in this cold season of the year. Locals have the ability to protect their communities," a local resident identified only as Azizullah, told VOA. Afghan officials also said that hundreds of these local men had military training and are currently providing security under the local police force. The Afghan government is arming them with weapons and have them on payroll. Concerns Over Instability Experts have been expressing fear that these forces may cause more insecurity. Wadeer Safi, a professor at Kabul University, claimed that there are reports about the these forces joining local police in armed robbery. "In some districts the so-called local police and upraising force, especially when they are stationed far from districts centers, have turned into 'robbers', using their weapons to plunder and kidnap girls," Safi said. "I have not seen any positive effect of these forces in terms of providing security in the country. Ahmad Shah Wardak, a military expert, agrees with the ineffectiveness of the local forces. He believes they need to be centralized and controlled by the Afghan government. "The Afghan government needs to develop a proper strategy in terms of how to support, train and arm those locals who are frustrated from [Taliban and IS] brutalities, and recognize those warlords, especially in northern Afghanistan, who under the name of local uprisings commit crimes, including rape and plunder." In a report published in July 2017, the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission documented a number of abusive and criminal actions committed by local uprising forces in northern Afghanistan. They asked the Afghan government to take legal measures to prevent the arbitrary actions of irresponsible armed forces who violate international human rights. In a recent incident in the Achin district of eastern Nangarhar province, a man belonging to local uprising forces opened fire on U.S. military forces. A NATO statement confirmed that during the shootout one U.S. Army service member was wounded. However, Afghan local authorities said that two U.S. soldiers were killed and another wounded. Afghan officials also confirmed the death of two local uprising force commanders and one local Afghan interpreter in the shootout. Afghan defense officials have said that Afghan local forces would be transitioned or dissolved within the ranks of Afghan National Army and police. However, experts say that while the government has made some strides, overall it failed to train and merge them in Afghan National Army or Police ranks. Zia UrRahman Hasrat in Nangarhar contributed to this report ISLAMABAD - A paramilitary convoy has come under a rocket attack in Pakistans southwestern Baluchistan province, leaving at least five people dead and six others wounded, according to local officials and hospital sources. The ambush occurred Monday in Turbat, a remote volatile district in Baluchistan. The insurgent Baloch Liberation Front (BLF), which is fighting for an independent Baluchistan, claimed it was behind the attack on the convoy. The newly-elected provincial chief minister, Abdul Qudus Bizenjo, condemned the violence, saying terrorists are conducting such activities to undermine development in his impoverished province. Baluchistan is at the center of billions of dollars in investment that China is undertaking in Pakistan to build rail, road and communication networks and power plants. An estimated $62 billion investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, will link the two countries through a new trade route. The corridor will give Chinas landlocked western regions access to international markets through Pakistans Arabian Sea port of Gwadar, which is located in Baluchistan. However, militant attacks in the province pose security challenges to CPEC. Pakistani authorities have trained and deployed thousands of troops along the CPEC route to ensure protection of the massive project and Chinese nationals working on them. Pakistan alleges rival India is supporting and funding the militants to try to subvert the Chinese investment. New Delhi denies the charges, although it openly opposes CPEC, saying it passes through the disputed Kashmir territory, which both India and Pakistan claim in its entirety. Islamabad dismisses Indias objections over CPEC. LONDON - Britain's Royal Air Force scrambled two fighter jets to intercept Russian strategic bombers near U.K. airspace on Monday, in another illustration of ongoing tensions. The RAF confirmed that it sent Typhoon aircraft from the Lossiemouth base in Scotland on a "quick reaction alert'' as two Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack bombers approached Britain. In this image made available by the Royal Air Forc In this image made available by the Royal Air Force, Jan. 15, 2018, two Russian Blackjack Tupolev Tu-160 long-range bombers are followed by an RAF Typhoon aircraft, left, scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland. In this image made available by the Royal Air Force, Jan. 15, 2018, two Russian Blackjack Tupolev Tu-160 long-range bombers are followed by an RAF Typhoon aircraft, left, scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland. "The Russian aircraft were initially monitored by a variety of friendly nation fighters and subsequently intercepted by the RAF in the North Sea," the air force said. "At no point did the Russian aircraft enter sovereign U.K. airspace." Russia's Defense Ministry said the pair of bombers flew over the Barents, Norwegian and North seas during a 13-hour training mission that covered neutral waters, in line with international norms. "All flights by Russian aircraft are performed in strict accordance with international rules for using airspace without infringement on any countries' borders," the ministry said in a statement. Encounters between Russian and NATO warplanes have become increasingly frequent as Moscow has demonstrated its resurgent military might. Russia also has increased its navy's presence in the Mediterranean and other areas. Last week, the HMS Westminster, a Portsmouth-based Type 23 frigate, was ordered to intercept two Russian corvettes and two supporting vessels that neared U.K. waters en route to their Baltic base. ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's top prosecutor said Monday that charges against 528 prisoners detained in connection with anti-government protests would be dropped, and the inmates would be released on Wednesday. General Prosecutor Getachew Ambaye indicated that individuals already convicted and sentenced in connection with the protests were not among those set for release. Most of the prisoners were arrested and charged with terrorism during anti-government demonstrations that started in the Oromia region in late 2015 and spread to other parts of the country. Last week, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the government would release an unspecified number of prisoners, although initial reports that he had promised to release "political prisoners" were retracted. According to human rights groups, an estimated four thousand political prisoners currently are behind bars in Ethiopia. Getachew told reporters Monday that the decision to free the 528 prisoners was made in accordance with a decision by the ruling EPRDF coalition to form a "justice affairs task force." "The task force has laid out short-, medium- and long-term plans in order to improve the justice system," Getachew said, "and today's decision to terminate charges filed against those who were suspected of participating in the last year's uprising and their release came per the short-term plan of action." Getachew said authorities will set free 115 suspects at the federal level along with 361 suspects in the Dilla district and 52 in the Konso district. Both districts are in Ethiopia's Southern regional state. The prosecutor said conditions for their release included no involvement in killings, physical harm to others, or attacks on economic institutions or infrastructure. A media outlet close to the ruling party reported Monday that opposition leaders Merera Gudina and Rufael Disasa were among those set to be released. Merera Gudina, who is a leader of one of the largest opposition parties in the country, Oromo Federalist Congress, OFC, was detained more than a year ago on arrival at the airport after attending meetings in Brussels with the European Parliament and its leaders, where he testified about the human rights and political situations in Ethiopia. SILAO, MEXICO/DETROIT - General Motors's assembly plant in Silao, a city in Mexicos automotive heartland, cranked out more than 400,000 highly profitable, large pickup trucks last year, and is critical to the launch of a new generation of Chevrolet Silverado trucks later this year. Now, GMs Silao factory, and the profit it generates, are at risk. If U.S. President Donald Trump follows up on threats to dump the North American Free Trade Agreement, pickup trucks built at Silao and shipped to the United States could be hit with a 25 percent tariff, known in the auto industry as the chicken tax. The truck tariffs origins go back to a 1960s trade spat between the United States and Germany over exports of U.S.-grown chickens. It protected profit for Detroits automakers long after its origins faded from memory. Now, the chicken tax could ruffle the feathers of GM's pickup-truck profitability. It could also potentially jeopardize thousands of jobs on both sides of the border and billions of dollars in investment for automakers. GM in recent weeks inaugurated a new production line for a 10-speed transmission in the central Mexican city of Silao, and late last year began hiring 600 new staff there, sources said, effectively doubling down on one of the most lucrative offshore production categories for U.S. auto companies. People familiar with GMs plans told Reuters the company will shift production of a small number of heavy-duty versions of the next-generation Silverado and Sierra to a plant in Flint, Michigan. GM Chief Executive Mary Barra did not directly answer when asked on Saturday if the company is considering pulling pickup truck production out of Mexico. Were going to continue to work constructively to get a modernized NAFTA agreement, she said. Last week, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said it will move production of heavy-duty Ram pickups out of Mexico to Michigan by 2020. At an event on Saturday to promote the 2019 Silverado, GM executives said Mexico is an important part of the automakers manufacturing footprint in North America. The truck we build in Mexico, the engines come from the U.S., GM North America chief Alan Batey told reporters. Everything is interlinked. General Motors Global Design chief Michael Simcoe General Motors Global Design chief Michael Simcoe helps unveil new Chevy Silverado trucks at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Jan. 13, 2018. General Motors Global Design chief Michael Simcoe helps unveil new Chevy Silverado trucks at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Jan. 13, 2018. A failed NAFTA is a lose-lose NAFTA has helped transform Guanajuato state, where Silao is located, since the trade pact was signed in 1994 with some $18 billion in investments in the auto sector. Silaos industrial park bustles with workers at the dozens of sparkling new offices of automakers, suppliers and service providers from an array of countries, including Japan, Germany, the United States and Mexico. Nearly 200,000 direct and indirect jobs depend on the automotive sector in Guanajuato. An estimated 46 percent of Mexicos pickup trucks are produced in the region. GMs Silao manufacturing complex is part of a web of factories owned by GM and its suppliers that stretches across Canada, the United States and Mexico. It is one of three main assembly plants for the next generation of GMs large pickups and sport utility vehicles, including plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Flint, Michigan. Engines for trucks made in Silao come from GM factories in Flint; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Tonawanda, New York. U.S. factories supply fuel systems and other components. In total, GM said it has more than 5,000 employees in U.S. plants with jobs tied to production in Silao. In North America, GMs operations are primarily in the United States. It has four manufacturing plants in Mexico, and 40 in the United States. The automakers plans to build the next generation of Silverado pickups and related components in Mexico are too far along to reverse course in the near term without losing money, experts and company officials said. GM's global purchasing chief, Steve Kiefer, told Reuters that suppliers for the pickup truck program have also made investments based on production that crosses the U.S-Mexico border. The installed capacity is such that it would be prohibitive to make huge changes to this, Kiefer said. U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials are scheduled to meet in Montreal from Jan. 23 to 28 for the sixth and penultimate round of talks to update NSurely the (NAFTA) negotiations will be positive. We dont believe this will lead to a destructive situation because it would be a lose-lose, said Alfredo Arzola, head of Guanajuatos automotive cluster. During the first 10 months of 2017 GM, Fiat Chrysler, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp exported nearly 700,000 pickup trucks from Mexico, mostly to the United States, according to data from the Mexican Auto Industry Association (AMIA). GM executives emphasized that 80 percent of the pickups it sells in the United States are U.S.-made. General Motors CEO Mary Barra applauds some of her General Motors CEO Mary Barra applauds some of her company managers as they are introduced at a Chevrolet truck unveiling at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Jan. 13, 2018. General Motors CEO Mary Barra applauds some of her company managers as they are introduced at a Chevrolet truck unveiling at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, Jan. 13, 2018. Flexible In the event of a NAFTA collapse carmakers could eventually switch out production of pickup trucks to the United States and bring compact car and sport utility vehicle production to Mexico, experts and industry officials said. "GM has certain flexibility ... to go back and only produce SUVs like the Suburban, said a Mexican official. Under that scenario Mexican exports of SUVs to the United States would avoid the steep chicken tax and would be subject to a tariff of only 2.5 percent, barring an agreement to a different levy. Fiat Chrysler said it will use the Mexican plant that now builds pickups to assemble a commercial vehicle aimed at global markets, taking advantage of Mexican free trade deals. ISLAMABAD - India and Pakistan exchanged gunfire Monday in the disputed Kashmir region, killing several soldiers on both sides. Each side blamed the other starting the altercation, giving its own figures for the number of dead. India claimed its troops killed seven Pakistani soldiers, while one Indian soldier died. Pakistan said four of its soldiers died in Indian firing, while its forces killed three in retaliatory fire. India accuses Pakistan of sending militants across the border to carry out terrorist activities on its soil. Pakistan, on the other hand, accuses India of grave human rights violations in the part of Kashmir under Indian control, which has long faced a separatist movement. Clashes along the 745 kilometer line of control that divides Kashmir have become an almost common occurrence during the past couple of years. The two sides signed a cease-fire agreement in 2003 that led to a period of relative calm between the two nuclear armed neighbors, after they fought a limited war in Kashmir in 1999. They two sides also fought for Kashmir in 1947 and 1965. Activists of Pakistan civil society rally holding FILE - Activists of Pakistan civil society rally holding a picture of slain Kashmiri resistance leader Burhan Wani during an anti-Indian protest in Lahore, Pakistan on Aug. 2, 2016. FILE - Activists of Pakistan civil society rally holding a picture of slain Kashmiri resistance leader Burhan Wani during an anti-Indian protest in Lahore, Pakistan on Aug. 2, 2016. In July 2016, anti-India protests broke out in Indian controlled Kashmir after young separatist leader Burhan Wani was killed by Indian forces. Human rights organizations accused India of a heavy-handed response that killed dozens of people and maimed thousands of others. Last week, Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat said Pakistans nuclear weapons may not deter the Indian army from entering its territory. If we will have to really confront the Pakistanis, and a task is given to us, we are not going to say we cannot cross the border because they have nuclear weapons. We will have to call their nuclear bluff, Rawat said. Pakistans foreign minister Khwaja Asif called this statement irresponsible and an invitation for nuclear encounter. TAL KEF, IRAQ - In a small courthouse north of Mosul, Mohammad Dawd, 27, sits on the floor in the hall facing a wall, like other prisoners. The hands of some of the prisoners are bound, but Dawd's are not. One man prays. Mosul was once the Islamic State militants' most prized stronghold in Iraq, and now more than 4,000 suspects are being tried for terrorism here. Human rights groups have criticized Iraqi courts for hastily trying masses of detainees under broad laws that often carry the death penalty. But officials here say with thousands of people in custody and limited resources they are doing their best to swiftly punish the guilty and release the innocent. IS lost nearly all of its self-described "caliphate" in Iraq and Syria, but attacks continue and tens of thousands of suspected militants remain at large in an area that was very recently a war zone, says Chief Judge Ra'ad Hamid Hussein at the court. The day after capturing this Mosul neighborhood, I The day after capturing this Mosul neighborhood, Iraqi forces arrested this suspected militant after being informed of his whereabouts by civilian neighbors in Mosul, Mar. 2, 2017. The day after capturing this Mosul neighborhood, Iraqi forces arrested this suspected militant after being informed of his whereabouts by civilian neighbors in Mosul, Mar. 2, 2017. "We face too many challenges to name," Hussein says. "Sometimes the suspects even give fake names." A typical case Dawd's trial, one of four that day, takes less than 30 minutes and judges say the quick proceedings follow months of investigations. Dawd, like many other prisoners, claims he was tortured during the investigation and forced to confess to crimes he did not commit. "The investigator threatened to kill me," he tells a panel of three judges in black robes. Neither Dawd nor his lawyer offers any other defense. He is accused of fighting in Ramadi and Mosul for IS, with a salary equivalent to $225 (266,000 Iraqi dinar) per month. Dawd's head drops to his chest as the judge reads the confession and asks Dawd to respond. "Why would the investigative judge make up so many details if he didn't know you?" asks Judge Jamal Dawd Sinjari. The confession is again entered into the record and Dawd's lawyer asks for his client to be released for lack of evidence. The courtroom is cleared. In the last days of battle for Mosul, Iraq some su In the last days of battle for Mosul, some suspected militants surrendered to Iraqi forces or where captured, July 5, 2017. In the last days of battle for Mosul, some suspected militants surrendered to Iraqi forces or where captured, July 5, 2017. The sentence Compared to most of the gaunt-looking prisoners sitting and facing the walls, Dawd appears strong and fit. His sweatshirt bulges out of his dirty yellow prison jumper. After a 10-minute wait, a guard ushers Dawd, his lawyer and a few spectators back into the room where a judge reads the sentence. "I sentence you to be hanged until you are dead," he says. If Dawd is shocked or scared, the emotion does not register on his face. He is the second that day to be sentenced to die. The other condemned man also appeared calm on hearing his sentence earlier in the day. "Many of them have seen a lot of fighting," Judge Sinjari later says. "Their hearts are dead and they know what they are going to hear." The judge explains that an automatic appeal of Dawd's case will be sent to Baghdad for review by 30 judges and the sentence may be upheld, cancelled, or reduced to 10 or 15 years in prison under Iraqi counterterrorism laws. A guard quickly escorts Dawd out of the courtroom. Condemned for membership The United Nations has condemned the application of the death penalty in Iraq in general. Following mass executions of convicted militants this fall it said, "The Iraqi justice system as a whole is too flawed to allow for any executions." Human Rights Watch says because Iraqi terrorism laws can condemn suspects for IS membership alone, the trials threaten to overly punish non-violent offenders. An Iraqi woman holds her baby who has just died on An Iraqi woman holds her baby who has just died only minutes they escaped Islamic State territory in Mosul, July 5, 2017. An Iraqi woman holds her baby who has just died only minutes they escaped Islamic State territory in Mosul, July 5, 2017. At the courthouse, Judge Sinjari defends the law, saying, "Their leader told all members to fight when Iraqi forces closed in on them. So if they had sworn loyalty, they fought." This distinction is made clearer as more suspects are brought in. Mohammad Hani, 29, a tall and lanky former medical student, is accused of fixing computers for IS militants. He doesn't claim his confession was forced. "The militants brought their computers to my shop; I fixed three of them," Hani says. "I couldn't say no to them. A month later, I closed the shop. They broke in, took most of the things and blew it up." At the sentencing, the judge agrees. "Since you had a computer shop before IS, we have no evidence you were a member. It is your right to go free," Judge Sinjari says. Two days later, another man receives a 15-year prison sentence for being a traffic cop under IS. Because the man was not in that job beforehand, judges say his new position and his confession show he was an IS member. "You can appeal the case in 30 days," adds Sinjari, as the defendant, appearing stunned, tries to interrupt with protests. A guard steps in and quietly escorts him out of the room. "Most sworn IS members fought with IS, even if that wasn't their man job," Sinjari says. The prime ministers of India and Israel reaffirmed their rapidly warming ties and spoke of the dawn of a new era Monday as the two nations signed agreements spanning areas such as defense, agriculture, energy and trade following talks in New Delhi. Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the Indian capital Sunday, six months after his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, set the foundation for an upward swing in ties when he dropped decades of caution and became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel. We are ushering in a new era in relations now, said Netanyahu at a joint news conference. We have had diplomatic relations for 25 years, but something different is happening now. Modi greeted the Israeli prime minister in Hebrew, saying, My good friend welcome to India and stressed that their discussions were marked by the desire to do more and "scale up the partnership." The bonhomie between the two leaders at the press conference underlined that Indias vote in favor of a United Nations resolution opposing the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital has not derailed the momentum of ties. Modi called on Israeli defense firms to invest in India following liberalized rules for foreign investment. India's decision to cancel a $500 million anti-tank missiles deal with Israel earlier this month was not mentioned. Although the sale of weapons has been a cornerstone of the relationship and Israel is emerging as one of Indias major defense suppliers, both leaders said that cooperation in areas such as agriculture, science and technology and security are the new priorities. New Delhi is seeking Israeli expertise to boost farm production and improve water management. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) wal FILE - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) walks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they visit Olga Beach and a water desalination unit operated by G.A.L. Water Technologies, near Hadera, Israel, July 6, 2017. FILE - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) walks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they visit Olga Beach and a water desalination unit operated by G.A.L. Water Technologies, near Hadera, Israel, July 6, 2017. From July [when Modi visited Israel] onwards, the soft issues are the prime focus. These are economic in nature, non-political and development oriented, says P.R. Kumaraswamy, professor of Middle Eastern studies at New Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru University. Issues like agriculture, water management, horticulture, desalination, all these are the issues which are going to dominate the Indo-Israel relations. The agreements signed on Monday included less explored areas such as oil and gas, cyber security and film production. Accompanying Prime Minister Netanyahu is the largest ever business delegation to travel with an Israeli leader, underlining that India's growing economy presents new opportunities for the country. The 130 executives represent areas such as technology, agriculture and defense. While Modis July visit to Israel set the big picture for their ties, the Israeli leaders visit is about putting in place the nuts and bolts, said Kumaraswamy. Bilateral trade between the two countries has risen from $200 million when they established diplomatic relations in 2002 to $4 billion. Modi, who has made expanding ties with Israel a priority, broke protocol on Sunday to receive Netanyahu at the airport. Both leaders then visited a memorial to Indian soldiers who fought in World War I to help liberate the Israeli city of Haifa. During his six-day visit, Netanyahu will visit Agra, home to the famous Taj Mahal monument. He is also scheduled to visit Modis home state of Gujarat and Indias financial capital, Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra. In Mumbai, Netanyahu will visit a Jewish center that was one of the targets during the 2008 terror strikes in the city. He will be accompanied by 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg, who was saved by his nanny when he was a baby after his parents were killed in that attack. "We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai. We grit our teeth. We fight back, we never give in," Netanyahu said, underlining the two countries' shared concerns about terrorism. Israeli leaders slammed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday for a fiery, invective-filled speech against President Donald Trump, in which he proclaimed the U.S. role as arbiter of the Mideast conflict over, attacked the administration's envoys and described Israel as a colonial conspiracy. Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Abbas had "lost his senses" and had given up on the prospect of peace negotiations in favor of open confrontation with both Israel and the United States. Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, head of the pro-settler Jewish Home Party, said the speech represented Abbas' swan song. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a trip to India, said Abbas "tore off the mask" and exposed what he called the truth. "The root of the conflict between us and the Palestinians is their continuous refusal to recognize the Jewish state in any borders," he said in a statement on Facebook. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a ceremony at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, Jan. 15, 2018. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures during a ceremony at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, Jan. 15, 2018. In a rambling, two-and-half-hour-long speech Sunday night, the Palestinian leader sharply escalated his rhetoric, lashing out at the U.S., Israel, Britain and even other Arab leaders, whom he told to "go to hell" for criticizing him. He pronounced the peace process dead, and accused Israel of killing it. The speech came at a time of great frustration for the 82-year-old Abbas, who after 13 years in power has made little progress in his goal of establishing an independent Palestinian state on lands captured by Israel in 1967. The rival Hamas militant group now controls the Gaza Strip, his erstwhile Arab allies have quietly moved closer to Israel or turned their attention to other pressing matters such as Iran, and he has lost faith in the United States as a Mideast broker following Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital last month. Abbas also is deeply unpopular with his own public. In the address, Abbas attacked Trump over the Jerusalem decision and rebuked Trump's recent Twitter comment threatening to cut American aid and alleging the Palestinians were no longer willing to negotiate a peace deal. "Since when did we reject negotiations?" Abbas told members of the Palestinian Central Council, a key decision-making body. "Shame," Abbas said, addressing Trump. To laughter from the crowd, Abbas then added the phrase "Yekhreb Beitak," literally translated as "may your house be demolished." In colloquial Palestinian Arabic, the phrase can have different connotations, from a harsh to a casual insult, but its use in a widely watched speech seemed jarring and could exacerbate his already fragile relationship with an American president who is particularly averse to criticism. 'Slap in the face' Despite the tough rhetoric, Abbas did not announce any major policy decisions. He said he remains committed to seeking a peace deal with Israel and promoting a culture of peace in Palestinian society. He denounced terrorism and noted that he has signed an anti-terrorism agreement with over 80 countries, including the U.S., while saying he maintains a team dedicated to outreach with the Israeli public. He said he supports only nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation. A view of the Western Wall and the Dome of the Roc FILE - A view of the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, some of the holiest sites for for Jews and Muslims, is seen in Jerusalem's Old City, Dec. 6, 2017. FILE - A view of the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock, some of the holiest sites for for Jews and Muslims, is seen in Jerusalem's Old City, Dec. 6, 2017. Even so, much of his language was especially harsh. Abbas has said that by siding with the Israelis on the sensitive issue of Jerusalem, Trump had destroyed his credibility and made it impossible for the Palestinians to accept his vision for a peace plan. Abbas called Trump's moves a "slap in the face" and threatened that the Palestinians "will slap back," without elaborating. He took particular aim at the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a strong supporter of Israel's West Bank settlements, for reportedly objecting to the use of the word occupation, and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, for once quipping that she wore high heels to fend off Israel's opponents. "He [Friedman] is an offensive human being, and I will not agree to meet with him anywhere. They requested that I meet him and I refused," he said. "Nikki Haley too. She threatens to hit people who hurt Israel with the heel of her shoe, and the response to her speech will be harsher." He also reiterated his demand that Britain apologize for its 1917 Balfour Declaration, which endorsed the idea of a Jewish state. He accused Israel of sending drugs to Palestinian children. Most angering to Israelis, however, was his assertion that the country was a result of Western efforts to offload their Jews. "They wanted to bring Jews here from Europe to maintain European interests in the region. They asked Holland, which had the largest navy in the world, to transfer the Jews," he said. "Israel is a colonialist project that has nothing to do with Jews." 'Air of desperation' Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, said the comments brought to mind Abbas' own doctoral dissertation, in which he challenged the number of Jewish victims of the Holocaust and claimed Zionists had collaborated with Nazis. Israel US Haley FILE - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley meets Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in his residence in Jerusalem, Israel, June 7, 2017. FILE - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley meets Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in his residence in Jerusalem, Israel, June 7, 2017. "He returned back to the ideas he expressed decades ago, when they were no less terrible," Rivlin said Monday. "To say Israel is the result of a Western conspiracy to settle Jews in land belonging to Arab populations? To say that the Jewish people has no connection with the land of Israel? He forgot many things, and said exactly the things that led him to be accused years ago of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial." Given the lack of actual policy decisions, the speech appeared to reflect frustration over prolonged deadlock and a sense of abandonment. "It is a necessary bravado for his own people having come short in the diplomatic process," said Uri Savir, an Israeli who negotiated with Abbas in the early 1990s. "Rhetoric aside, I know him as a moderate, but there is a dangerous air of desperation in Ramallah that Israel better take seriously and try to find ways to engage in diplomatic talk on a two-state solution." Americans on Monday celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring a man who embodied the U.S. civil rights movement and who understood that the success of the movement depended on its nonviolent principles. Every year on the third Monday in January, Americans honor the slain civil rights leader who in the 1950s and 1960s organized nonviolent protests against Southern segregation, the struggle for black equality and voting rights. U.S. President Donald Trump marked the holiday largely out of public view at his private golf resort in Florida. He dedicated his weekly address to the country, released on Monday, to King. "Dr. King's dream is our dream. It is the American dream," Trump said. Two of King's children publicity criticized Trump in speeches on Monday, following accusations last week that he described immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa as coming from "s---hole countries." Trump also reportedly expressed a preference for immigrants from countries such as Norway. In Washington, King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, said, "When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don't even think we need to spend any time even talking about what it says and what it is.'' He added, "We got to find a way to work on this man's heart.'' King's daughter, Rev. Bernice King, told a service at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church "we cannot allow the nations of the world to embrace the words that come from our president as a reflection of the true spirit of America." Since the alleged remarks, Trump has been widely condemned as a racist an accusation he has denied. "I am the least racist person you will ever interview," Trump said, responding to a reporter's question Sunday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Before he left Washington for Florida on Friday, Trump praised King's peaceful crusade for justice and equality. Many around the country spend the holiday commemorating King's tireless work to end racism by participating in community service projects. The U.S. Congress honored that community spirit in 1994 by designating the King holiday as a national day of service. President Donald Trump paid tribute to King during a ceremony in Washington Friday, praising his peaceful crusade for justice and equality. Push for change King rose to prominence in the mid-1950s when as a young preacher he led the successful drive to desegregate public buses in Montgomery, Alabama, forcing the city to end its practice of segregating black passengers. By August 1963, the push for equality had grown significantly across the country and 250,000 people, both black and white, traveled to the nation's capital to participate on the March on Washington. The protest was peaceful with no arrests. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd of some 3,000 persons, April 30, 1966, in Kelly Ingram Park on the last day of his three-day whistle-stop tour of Alabama. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd of some 3,000 persons, April 30, 1966, in Kelly Ingram Park on the last day of his three-day whistle-stop tour of Alabama. Kings famous I Have a Dream speech launched what had been a mostly black Southern movement into a nationwide civil rights campaign. In one memorable line, King said he hoped little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. Nonviolent movement King understood that a key to success for the civil rights movement was a strategy of nonviolent protests, which he championed as an alternative to armed uprising. King has said he was inspired by the teachings of Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi. Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr., are taken by a policeman as they led a line of demonstrators into the business section of Birmingham, Alabama, April 12, 1963. Rev. Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King, Jr., are taken by a policeman as they led a line of demonstrators into the business section of Birmingham, Alabama, April 12, 1963. The movement was tested in places like Birmingham, Alabama, where police used attack dogs and fire hoses to disperse protesting school children and in Selma, Alabama, where a 1965 march is remembered as Bloody Sunday because police attacked protesters. Televised footage of violence against civil rights demonstrators sparked a wave of sympathetic public opinion. Struggle to maintain non-violence Just weeks after the large and peaceful March on Washington, tragedy hit Birmingham when a bomb exploded at the 16th Street Baptist Church during Sunday school classes. Four young girls were killed and 23 others injured. Some blacks wanted to retaliate, including members of the revolutionary group known as the Black Panthers. However, the steady and peaceful nonviolent movement held its course and came to a crescendo in 1964, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act outlawing racial segregation in public places and King won the Nobel Peace Prize. Photograph of President Lyndon Johnson signing th Photograph of President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act as Martin Luther King, Jr., with other civil rights leaders in Washington, DC, August 6, 1965. Photograph of President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act as Martin Luther King, Jr., with other civil rights leaders in Washington, DC, August 6, 1965. The following year, the Voting Rights Act banned practices that were used to keep blacks from participating in elections. Kings own life ended in violence when he was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was supporting striking sanitation workers. King, who was 39 years old when he died, gave a speech the night before his death that foreshadowed his assassination. And I have seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get there, he said. Campaign for recognition Four days after Kings assassination, a congressman proposed a federal holiday honoring King. However, it took more than 15 years for that to happen. In 1979, after 10 years of petitions from millions of citizens, lawmakers held an official hearing to discuss the idea of a King holiday. That first initiative failed, with many opponents questioning whether King deserved the same respect as George Washington, the nations first president who is honored with a federal holiday. In 1983, Congress officially discussed the King holiday again, this time passing the measure by the end of the year. Republican President Ronald Reagan signed the measure into law, saying that although he and King did not share political philosophies, they shared a deep belief in freedom and justice under God. Resistance is growing in the ranks of Germany's Social Democrats against forming another "grand coalition" with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, and migration policy is a major sticking point. Migration remains the most divisive issue in the country following the slaying late last month of a teenage German girl by her former boyfriend, an Afghan migrant. The killing has refocused public anxiety about a rising level of violent crime associated with migrants, as well as the government's handling of thousands of unaccompanied male asylum-seekers who claim to be under 18 years of age, but who may be adults. The December 27 killing of the 15-year-old girl prompted a tabloid press furor. It followed a series of brutal crimes by young male migrants, including the slaying in September of a 19-year-old medical student by a 22-year-old Afghan migrant, who told a court he posed as a minor to improve his immigration chances. In his case, public anger deepened when it emerged he had been jailed for attempted murder in Greece, but released under an amnesty before making his way to Germany. In July of last year, another adult male migrant claiming to be a teenager went on an axe rampage on a train, injuring several people before being shot dead by police. The reports of migrant-related crime are adding to Merkel's difficulties in pulling off a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD) that would allow her to remain Germany's leader. Immigrant cap Social Democrat rebels object to a cap on the number of migrants allowed to resettle in the country that was included Friday in a preliminary agreement among the parties. Chancellor Merkel's junior partner, Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), is demanding a 220,000-person a year cap on the resettlement of asylum-seekers. The chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SPD, The chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SPD, Martin Schulz speaks to reporters in Dortmund, Germany, Jan. 15, 2018. The chairman of the Social Democratic Party, SPD, Martin Schulz speaks to reporters in Dortmund, Germany, Jan. 15, 2018. Migration differences contributed to the collapse of weeks-long coalition talks last year among her Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its Bavarian sister party, the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), and the Green party, following federal elections at the end of September. Those elections left Merkel's ruling CDU the largest party, but with a reduced share of the vote and fewer seats thanks partly to a surge by Germany's far-right populists. The SPD recorded its worst electoral performance since 1933. In last week's negotiations with the SPD, the Bavarian CSU conservatives insisted on the resettlement cap and have been demanding medical tests for unaccompanied male migrants suspected of lying about their age. SPD activists accuse the CSU of exploiting the migration issue, arguing that young German males also commit crimes. Since the migration influx started in 2015, when Merkel offered an open-door policy to asylum-seekers from war-torn countries, crime rates have risen. Violent crime rose 10 percent between 2014 and 2017 in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The migration cap has enraged some SPD rebels, who say it is unconstitutional. They also want a new social security plan and stronger protections for employees. Changes to coalition deal Speaking to Berlin's Der Tagesspiegel newspaper, the city's mayor, Michael Muller, said the preliminary coalition talks "fell short of party expectations." He refused to rule out the possibility of SPD delegates withholding their approval, the coalition talks collapsing, and the need for new elections. SPD leaders fear party members will reject the outline coalition agreement when they vote on January 21 and are scrambling to seek changes in the deal. Rank-and-file skeptics remain bruised by the SPD's poor performance in last year's elections and doubtful it should agree to a renewed version of their 2013-2017 "grand coalition" with Merkel's conservatives. FILE - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, second fro FILE - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, second from left, arrives with North Rhine-Westphalia state governor Armin Laschet (L), Hesse state governor Volker Bouffier (2nd from R), and Julia Kloeckner (R) for a board meeting of her Christian Democratic Union party at the headquarters in Berlin, Nov. 27, 2017. FILE - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, second from left, arrives with North Rhine-Westphalia state governor Armin Laschet (L), Hesse state governor Volker Bouffier (2nd from R), and Julia Kloeckner (R) for a board meeting of her Christian Democratic Union party at the headquarters in Berlin, Nov. 27, 2017. Talk of seeking changes in the provisional deal struck Friday is angering conservatives. Julia Kloeckner, a deputy CDU leader, questioned the trustworthiness of the SPD. "You negotiated, raised your hand for the complete exploratory package," she said "Being able to trust means being able to rely on the word of the other," she tweeted. "Everything was negotiated in the package, no cherry picking please!." CDU lawmaker Thomas Strobl told RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland, What we have agreed upon with each other is valid." On Saturday, delegates at a regional SPD conference in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt voted 52-51 against agreeing to a "grand coalition" with Merkel, despite a plea by former party leader Sigmar Gabriel to back the deal for the sake of German stability. The teenage girl's slaying will "inevitably have repercussions for ongoing coalition talks in Berlin," said Marcel Furstenau, a commentator for Deutsche Welle, Germany's public international broadcaster. "One thing seems impossible: that people, despite being understandably horrified and outraged, might deal with it calmly." BANGKOK - A top Myanmar official said Monday that a camp to house Rohingya Muslim and Hindu refugees who return from Bangladesh will be ready by its promised deadline next week. More than 650,000 ethnic Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh since Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown in August following attacks on police posts by a militant group. Though Myanmar's army claimed it was a clearance operation against the terrorists, the United Nations, United States and others have said the operations were "ethnic cleansing" to remove the Rohingya from the country. Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement in November to repatriate Rohingya and set up a working group last month to oversee the repatriation of people who had fled violence in the northern part of Rakhine state in western Myanmar. Win Myat Aye, the minister of social welfare, relief and resettlement, said Myanmar was hosting a one-day meeting Monday with Bangladesh officials in the capital Naypyitaw to discuss the logistics of how many Rohingya will be allowed into Myanmar and how they will be scrutinized to be placed in the camps. Officials plan to start the repatriation process from Jan. 23. "We are planning ahead to be able accept the returnees from next week and we are sure that this will be done on time," Win Myat Aye said. The U.N. refugee agency said it is not involved in the process but is willing to play a "constructive role" in the process if allowed, specifically in registering the refugees and helping determining whether they are returning to Myanmar voluntarily. "Our involvement in the process and our full access to areas of return in Myanmar can help to build confidence for all concerned, including the refugees," said Vivian Tan, UNHCR's senior regional communication officer. In the November agreement, Myanmar's civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi, pledged to take measures to halt the outflow of Rohingya to Bangladesh and restore normalcy in the region. The U.N and rights groups have urged the Myanmar government to ensure the safe and voluntary return of the Rohingya refugees. Many have questioned whether Rohingya would return to Myanmar under the current circumstances. Japan's foreign minister on a visit to Myanmar last week urged Suu Kyi's government to guarantee the safe and voluntary return of the refugees. State-run media in Myanmar reported Monday the 124-acre Hla Po Khaung camp will accommodate about 30,000 people in 625 buildings and that at least 100 buildings are to be completed by the end of the month. It would be the first camp built in the repatriation process. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday President Donald Trump ought to be ashamed of himself for saying the Palestinians rejected peace talks. In a two-hour rebuke of Trump's Palestinian policy, Abbas told the Palestinian Central Council the Palestinian Liberation Organization's decision-making body he will no longer accept the U.S. as a peace mediator. "We can say no to anyone if things are related to our fate and our people, and now we have said no to Trump," Abbas raged. "We told him the 'deal of the century' was the slap of the century. But we will slap back." Abbas has called for an internationally negotiated peace process instead of one led by the United States. Trump has frequently called a Middle East peace treaty "the deal of the century." But his administration's efforts to revive the long moribund peace talks have so far gone nowhere. Trump has threatened to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians, saying they have walked away from the negotiations. Abbas challenged Trump for proof of the Palestinians' refusal to discuss peace. He also accused Israel of tearing up the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords by continued Jewish settlement activity in the West Bank. The Oslo Accords led to partial self-determination for the Palestinian people, along with the PLO's recognition of Israel. But a final two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians has always been elusive. The Palestinians want the West Bank and east Jerusalem as part of a future independent state. Israel regards Jerusalem as its eternal and united capital. Trump's recent recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and plans to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv has infuriated the Palestinians. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck off Peru's coast early Sunday left one person dead and at least 60 injured. The tremor destroyed 171 homes, and 736 families were affected in some way by the quake, Peru's National Emergency Operations Center said. The quake was centered 40 kilometers from Acari in the Arequipa department of southwestern Peru, 560 kilometers south of Lima, the U.S. Geological survey said. A 55-year-old man was crushed to death by rock in the town of Yauca, Arequipa Governor Yamila Osorio said on Twitter. Emergency crews responded by bringing tents and mattresses to displaced families. Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski flew over the affected coast. "Everything that is needed is going to be sent," he said. "`We are already responding at full speed.'' The earthquake caused damages in communities that Pope Francis is scheduled to visit this week, but officials said the damage would not change the pontiff's schedule. The pope will arrive in Chile on Monday. WASHINGTON - A new report says Somalia's al-Shabab militants are forcing rural communities to hand over children as young as 8 years old for indoctrination and military training. Human Rights Watch says al-Shabab conscripts the children by subjecting elders and religious school teachers to beatings, abductions and intimidation tactics. The group's campaign has focused on the Bay region in southwestern Somalia, where communities were already ravaged by droughts and years of conflict, according to the report from the international rights group. The campaign was first reported by VOA's Somali service in September. "These are communities which have already been hit by drought, very poor, struggling to survive," said Laetitia Bader, a senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch who interviewed families affected by the campaign, which began in late September 2017. Bader says in some incidents, al-Shabab militants have taken children directly from school classrooms. In others, the group took local elders hostage and refused to release them until a village agreed to hand over a certain number of kids. In one incident, al-Shabab fighters beat a teacher after he refused to hand over his students. One teacher said that when he was hit by the militants, students started crying and tried to run out of the classroom but the militants were on hand to punish them. "They caned a 7-year-old boy who tried to escape," the teacher told HRW. HRW says hundreds of children have been affected. In one village alone, al-Shabab abducted at least 50 boys and girls from two schools near Burhakaba town and took them to Bulo Fulay where the militant group runs schools and a major training facility. Back in September, Bay region Governor Ali Wardhere Doyow said clans and elders should resist al-Shabab. "Reject, don't let them take away your children. Fight it off," he said. But al-Shabab dominates the Bay region, leaving government officials with little means to stop the conscription. The campaign has prompted hundreds of children to flee areas controlled by Al-Shabab. "A community's only option to protect their children from recruitment was to send them into government controlled towns, often on their own, just to see if they can get a bit more protection in those towns," Bader says. This is hardly the first time al-Shabab has been accused of recruiting children. "We have seen in the past very young children sent to the front line, some children as young as 9 years old, very much being used as a cannon fodder ...right at front lines during the fighting in Mogadishu 2010 and 2011 and more recently the large scale offensive in Puntland in 2016," Bader said. Al-Shabab's longer term plan, Bader says, is to train at least some of them as fighters. "What appears to be part of this campaign is to get these children to go to al-Shabab-managed, controlled madrassas, to put them through their educational system," she said, adding, "In some cases there is a link children growing in these schools and then being sent to military training. Research also showed children received a mixture of indoctrination and basic military training." A Republican U.S. senator, who is one of President Donald Trump's biggest critics, will this week deliver a speech comparing Trump's treatment of the media to the behavior of former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. According to excerpts of the speech obtained by media outlets, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona will say in the Wednesday speech that President Trump's "assault" on the media is "unprecedented" and "unwarranted." "It is a testament to the condition of our democracy that our own president uses words infamously spoken by Josef Stalin to describe his enemies," Flake will reportedly say. That is a reference to Trump's February 2017 tweet, in which he declared major U.S. news outlets to be the "enemy of the American People." "It bears noting that so fraught with malice was that phrase 'enemy of the people,' that even [Stalin's successor] Nikita Khruschev forbade its use," Flake will say in the speech. Senator Flake will speak Wednesday, just before Trump, a former reality television entertainer, announces what he calls the "Fake News Awards." The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 According to Trump, award categories will include "dishonesty and bad reporting in various categories." Trump regularly lashes out against individual journalists and media outlets he thinks treat him unfairly, while praising those that give him positive media coverage. "When a figure in power reflexively calls any press that doesn't suit him 'fake news,' it is that person who should be the figure of suspicion, not the press," Flake will say. Flake has said he is not running for reelection in the Senate but he has refused to rule out the possibility that he will challenge Trump in 2020. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Russia does not support U.S. President Donald Trump's calls to renegotiate the international agreement limiting Iran's nuclear program. Trump said Friday he was waiving for the last time sanctions the U.S. agreed to lift under the 2015 deal, and that Congress and European partners had 120 days to come up with ways to fix what he called "disastrous flaws" in the agreement. Lavrov said Monday if Trump does go through with his threat to withdraw from the deal if no changes are made there would be unthinkable consequences with Iran sure to consider itself no longer bound by the agreement's requirements. The United States, Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany partnered in long, difficult negotiations with Iran in order to make sure the Iranian nuclear program is not being used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran has insisted its nuclear work was solely peaceful, and in exchange for limiting its uranium enrichment, among other concessions, it won relief from economic sanctions that badly hurt its economy. Lavrov also cautioned against altering the agreement in light of the current international focus on North Korea and its tests of nuclear material and ballistic missiles, questioning what incentive North Korean leaders would have to agree to a similar deal if promised sanctions relief ends up not being reality. Trump has criticized the Iran deal as giving up too much, while leaving too much of Iran's nuclear program in place. The United States has also said Iran's ballistic missile tests go against the spirit of the agreement. Under the text of the nuclear deal, ballistic missile tests are not expressly prohibited. But the document was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council in a resolution that further says Iran is "called upon" not to undertake any ballistic missile related activity. Trump wants a new version of the nuclear deal to cover the ballistic missile tests. Iran insists it has the right to conduct its missile program and has accused the United States of working to undermine the nuclear deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in August the U.S. is not a "good partner." BEIRUT - Turkey's president on Monday denounced U.S. plans to form a 30,000-strong Kurdish-led border security force in Syria, vowing to "drown this terror force before it is born," as Russia and Syria also rejected the idea. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also warned U.S. troops against coming between Turkish troops and Kurdish forces, which Ankara views as an extension of Turkey's own Kurdish insurgency. Turkey has been threatening to launch a new military operation against the main Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the People's Defense Units, or YPG, in the Kurdish-held Afrin enclave in northern Syria. The YPG is the backbone of a Syrian force that drove the Islamic State group from much of northern and eastern Syria with the help of U.S.-led airstrikes. Russia has also warned that the nascent U.S. force threatens to fuel tensions around Afrin. "The United States has admitted that it has created a terrorist force along our country's border. Our duty is to drown this terror force before it is born," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara. Turkey's President and leader of ruling Justice an Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 9, 2018. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 9, 2018. The U.S.-led coalition says the new force, expected to reach 30,000 in the next several years, is a key element of its strategy in Syria to prevent the resurgence of the IS group in Syria. "A strong border security force will prohibit (IS) freedom of movement and deny the transportation of illicit materials," the coalition said in a statement to The Associated Press. "This will enable the Syrian people to establish effective local, representative governance and reclaim their land." The SDF currently controls nearly 25 percent of Syrian territory in the north and east. The core of the force is to be made up of fighters from the existing Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, the coalition's ally in the fight against IS. Some 230 cadets have already been recruited to the new border force, according to the coalition. The force is expected to be deployed along the borders of the SDF-held areas and Iraq and Turkey. Turkey sent troops into Syria in 2016 to prevent Syrian Kurdish fighters from forming a contiguous entity along its border. It has also supported rival Syrian rebels and independently fought to drive IS from parts of Syria. Tensions with Washington have repeatedly erupted over its support of the SDF, prompting U.S. troops to deploy in northeast Syria to prevent clashes between the Kurdish forces and Turkey-backed fighters. In recent days, Turkey said it would soon launch a new operation in Afrin and sent reinforcements to the border. Russia deployed military observers to Afrin last year in an effort to prevent Turkish-Kurdish clashes. On Monday, Erdogan said preparations for the military assault on Afrin "are complete," adding that an operation could start any moment. He said Turkish troops are already firing artillery at Afrin from the border. "Don't stand between us and these herd of murderers. Otherwise, we won't be responsible for the unwanted incidents that may arise," he said. "Tear off the insignia you have placed on the uniforms of the terrorists so that we don't have to bury them (U.S. soldiers) together with the terrorists. Russia said Monday that the new force is a sign Washington "doesn't want to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria." Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the nascent border force is "not helping calm the situation." Moscow is a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad, while Turkey supports the Syrian opposition. But they came together last year along with Iran, another Assad ally, to set up "de-escalation" zones that have reduced much of the fighting. Since then, Turkey's ties with Russia have warmed as relations with the U.S. have deteriorated. Assad's government also condemned the U.S. plans for the border force, calling it "a blatant encroachment upon the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Syria," and a violation of international law. JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's two top political parties began the year by pledging to restore credibility, amid corruption allegations against key leaders. And with next year's elections drawing closer, they are driving home the message that corruption is their main target. The ruling African National Congress and embattled President Jacob Zuma, have long been accused of corruption. Critics of the government say this has left the state unable to carry out basic duties. But deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, who succeeded Zuma as the ANC's top leader last month, said that will change. While at the coastal city of East London over the weekend, he took several not-so-subtle jabs at Zuma, who is accused of siphoning off tens millions of dollars and letting a wealthy Indian family have undue influence over the government. "These challenges have been exacerbated by state capture through which through billions of rands have been illegally diverted to individuals," he said. "Corruption in state owned enterprises and other public institutions have undermined our government's programs to address poverty and unemployment and they have weakened those institutions." The ANC has dominated national politics for a quarter-century, but has lost ground in recent years to the opposition Democratic Alliance, which captured three major cities in 2016's municipal polls. Meanwhile, the DA is having its own reckoning, charging Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille with corruption under the party's own disciplinary process. De Lille reported to work Monday, but her party relegated many key functions like the city's dire water crisis to other officials. In Johannesburg, the city's mayor said Monday he was firing a top city finance official amid allegations of nepotism and undue influence. Party leader Mmusi Maimane spoke to reporters Sunday in Cape Town. FILE - Opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party l FILE - Opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party leader Mmusi Maimane speaks during the motion of no confidence against South African president Jacob Zuma in parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, Aug. 8, 2017. FILE - Opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party leader Mmusi Maimane speaks during the motion of no confidence against South African president Jacob Zuma in parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, Aug. 8, 2017. ?"The true test of any political party is what it does when confronted with serious allegation of political dysfunction, maladministration and governance failures," said Maimane. "The DA, unlike many of our political competitors, stands largely alone in acting with resolve in confronting such issues, even when those decisions, in fact, come at a very serious political cost." Political analyst Ralph Mathekga said these events may indicate that the two parties, which often try to cast themselves as each other's antithesis, may not be so different after all. He said he believes both leaders' words are sincere, but notes that they both face challenges in bringing their own parties into line. He said the challenge the DA is facing is "not so different from that of the ANC." "If you look at the allegations of corruption within the DA in the city of Johannesburg, you have the MMC [member of the mayoral committee] of finance being suspended, and you have De Lille as well, allegations coming out against her regarding impropriety what that shows is that the DA is also battling with corruption within its ranks," he said. "And also, the problem seems to be emerging regarding the integrity of internal processes in dealing with this." But he said one thing is clear: South Africa's parties need to scrub themselves thoroughly within before they can show their shiny new faces to voters next year. WASHINGTON, D.C. - South Africa is the latest country to call in an American diplomat to explain U.S. President Donald Trumps reported vulgar remarks about African, Haitian and El Salvadoran immigrants to the United States. Trump stunned lawmakers in a recent White House meeting on immigration when, according to multiple reports, he asked, Why are we having all these people from s---hole countries come here? Trump reportedly said the U.S. should allow in more people from places such as Norway. Norway's population is predominantly white. The populations of the African countries and Haiti are mostly black, while the population of El Salvador is mostly brown. Statements from international and domestic organizations are expressing concern that the U.S. and its president are going down a racist path. Trump has denied he is a racist and insists he didn't make the remarks. South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) was scheduled to talk Monday with the second in command at the U.S. embassy in Pretoria about Trump's statement. DIRCO said in a statement: The department will provide an opportunity to the (U.S.) charges de affaires to explain the statement that African countries, alongside Haiti and El Savador, constitute s---holes from where migrants into the United States are undesirable. The South African statement added: Relations between South Africa and the United States, and between the rest of Africa and the United States, must be based on mutual respect and understanding. South Africa is a close ally of the United States and the third-largest economy in Africa. The U.S. envoy to Nigeria, Ambassador Stuart Symington, was summoned by the Nigerian government on Monday to explain the Trump's remarks. Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama confirmed the summons telling Reuters he "sought clarification on the veracity or otherwise of the substance of the remarks, stressing that if they were true, they were deeply hurtful, offensive and unacceptable." Ghana President elect Nana Akufo-Addo, of the New Ghana President elect Nana Akufo-Addo, of the New Patriotic Party, smiles on being declared the winner of the presidential election in Accra, Ghana, Dec. 9, 2016. Ghana President elect Nana Akufo-Addo, of the New Patriotic Party, smiles on being declared the winner of the presidential election in Accra, Ghana, Dec. 9, 2016. Ghanas President Akufo-Addo has also summoned the U.S. ambassador to Accra, Robert Porter Jackson, to protest the alleged remarks. Akufo-Addo tweeted: The language of @realDonaldTrump that the African continent, Haiti and El Salvador are s---hole countries is extremely unfortunate. We are certainly not a s---hole country. We will not accept such insults, even from a leader of a friendly country, no matter how powerful. The State Department says American diplomats in Haiti and Botswana have also been summoned to discuss Trump's remarks. On the U.S. holiday recognizing late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the ambassador of the African Union in Washington, D.C., Arikana Chihombori Quao, asked VOA to allow her to quote King, who said: Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. In a statement, the AU Mission demanded a retraction from the president and an apology not only to the Africans but to all people of African descent around the globe. A meeting of African ambassadors is planned for this week in Washington to discuss a response. John Campbell, former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria and currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said, What concerns me is that American influence in Africa has taken a quite serious hit, said John Campbell, former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria and currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. Campbell described the reaction in African capitals, not only to the alleged remarks but to Trumps America First policy, as fierce. The African ambassadors to the United Nations said its group is extremely appalled at and strongly condemns the outrageous, racist and xenophobic remarks attributed to the president of the United States. The U.S. Congressional Black Caucus said President Trumps comments are yet another confirmation of his racially insensitive and ignorant views. It also reinforces the concerns that we hear every day, that the presidents slogan, Make America Great Again, is really code for Make America White Again. MADRID - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned Monday that the government will keep control of Catalonia if the former regional leader who was ousted for pushing independence tries to resume office from Belgium, where he is eluding Spanish justice. Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont wants to present his candidacy for his old job to Catalonia's parliament by video or through a delegate to avoid returning to Spain and being arrested. Puigdemont was re-elected during a parliamentary election last month after campaigning from Brussels. The Catalan assembly's regulations are not clear on whether a candidate can be considered in absentia. The region's anti-independence opposition and Rajoy's government have said they would take the matter to the Constitutional Court of Spain if lawmakers vote on the fugitive Puigdemont. The new parliament is set to meet for the first time Thursday. An initial vote to pick Catalonia's next president is likely to take place by the end of the month. Rajoy said Monday that the new president would have to be sworn into office in person. He added that the Spanish government would continue invoking constitutional authority to run Catalonia until that happens. Much to Rajoy's ire, secessionist parties again won the most seats in the December 21 election the prime minister called under the temporary takeover powers after removing Puigdemont's government and dissolving the regional parliament. Eight of their lawmakers, including Puigdemont, have fled Spain or are in jail facing possible charges of rebellion or sedition. Other former Cabinet members and parliamentary officials have been released from jail, but remain under investigation. The parties that promote Catalan independence jointly hold 66 of the regional chamber's 135 seats and also have support from four pro-independence, anti-establishment lawmakers. The Catalan crisis, Spain's worst political trouble decades, came to a head when separatist lawmakers declared independence October 27 based on the results from an October 1 voter referendum that Spanish courts had suspended. Puigdemont remains adamant about pushing ahead with forming a Catalan republic that is separate from Spain. However, nearly all of the elected lawmakers under investigation have pledged to act within the law from now on. Polls consistently show that most Catalans want the right to decide the region's future but are evenly divided over splitting from Spain. STATE DEPARTMENT - Days after high-level talks between South and North Korea, U.S. Secretary State Rex Tillerson will join foreign ministers in Vancouver on Tuesday to discuss the latest diplomatic push to counter Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile threats. Foreign ministers of the U.N. Command Sending States are set to gather on January 16 to assess progress made by the international pressure campaign aimed at thwarting North Korea's efforts to evade U.N. sanctions through smuggling. While participants in the talks will be from countries that have sent troops and humanitarian aid to support South Korea during the Korean War, U.S. officials said the gathering itself would not be focused on coordinating a military plan. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gestures during a Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gestures during a interview with the Associated Press at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 5, 2018. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson gestures during a interview with the Associated Press at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 5, 2018. The goal of the talks, State Department policy planning director Brian Hook said Thursday, is to find ways "to exert continued pressure on the Kim [Jong Un] regime while demonstrating that diplomatic options remain open and viable." Steve Goldstein, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, told VOA "there will be no discussion of a military option" at the Vancouver ministerial meeting. "This is about making sure that everyone is on the same page regarding the sanctions," he said. Participants will explore whether "there are additional things that we can do to ensure these sanctions are in place and implemented." U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will also take part in the Vancouver welcome dinner to demonstrate a comprehensive U.S. approach, according to the Pentagon. Defense Secretary James Mattis attends a meeting w FILE - Defense Secretary James Mattis attends a meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Nov. 28, 2017. FILE - Defense Secretary James Mattis attends a meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican congressional leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Nov. 28, 2017. "He's showing solidarity with Secretary Tillerson," said Pentagon chief spokeswoman Dana White. "We are here to support our diplomats to ensure they negotiate from a position of strength." The United States is exploring all options to disrupt North Korea's capability to obtain funding and resources through vessels that are engaging in prohibited activities under U.N. Security Council resolutions. The Vancouver ministerial will come days after renewed talks between North Korea and South Korea over Pyongang's participation in next month's Winter Olympics. The Vancouver talks also will follow U.S.President Donald Trump's statement, made after he had spoken with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, that he would be open to talks with North Korea "at the appropriate time." "We will wait to see where this engagement eventually leads. As always, we are hoping for a diplomatic solution," said the State Department's Hook. Vice President Mike Pence will lead the U.S. delegation to attend the Winter Olympics in South Korea, but there is no planned meeting between officials from Washington and Pyongyang, the State Department said. Some experts say seeking sanctions relief may be one of the reasons North Korea's Kim reached out for talks with South Korea. "Maybe it shows that applying pressure will, in fact, compel Kim to rethink his approach and to come to the negotiation table," CSIS China Power Project Director Bonnie Glaser told VOA. The China Power Project of the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a Washington research group, seeks to explain the evolving nature of Chinese power relative to other nations. Glaser said the effectiveness of binding sanctions against Pyongyang "will strengthen the efforts of the international community to continue down this path of maximum pressure." Over 90 percent of North Korea's publicly reported exports as of 2016 are now banned. Countries including the United Arab Emirates, Peru, Spain and Portugal have either severed diplomatic ties with North Korea or expelled its ambassadors. Qatar and Kuwait had also halted work visas to North Korean laborers. While China and Russia will not be represented at the Vancouver meeting, a readout of the discussion will be provided. Ministers will most likely also focus on the domestic situation in North Korea. While the United States is not advocating a regime change in North Korea, Tillerson had said Washington has to prepare for any scenario. The U.S. had proposed to China that military officials from both countries discuss the disposition of North Korea's nuclear weapons, should Kim's regime collapse. The proposal was made "so that we can come up with a plan to dispose of those nuclear weapons in a manner that's safe for all countries and all people involved," said Goldstein, while not confirming that such discussions were already underway. ISTANBUL - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is warning of an imminent attack on a U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia. "We have finished our preparations. The operation can start any time," Erdogan declared to supporters at a rally Monday. Turkish forces are massed along the border with Syria's Idlib enclave, which is controlled by the YPG, a Kurdish militia Ankara accuses of being linked to an insurgency in Turkey. Erdogan has repeatedly warned the YPG presence in Idlib would be ended. As the Turkish military continues to build up its forces in the region, its artillery bombarded the enclave during the weekend. There also reports reports of special forces carrying out cross-border operations against YPG targets. The latest escalation in tensions was triggered by Washington's announcement it is working with the YPG to create a border force. "America has acknowledged it is in the process of creating a terror army on our border," Erdogan said Monday, "What we have to do is nip this terror army in the bud." FILE - Kurdish fighters from the People's Protecti FILE - Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) chat with members of U.S. forces in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria, April 29, 2017. FILE - Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) chat with members of U.S. forces in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria, April 29, 2017. Washington views the YPG as a key ally in Syria in the war against the Islamic State and has armed the group despite Ankara's objections. The dispute has severely strained relations between the NATO allies. Turkey at odds with Russia But the YPG is also supported by Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov issued a carefully-worded warning to Ankara over its latest threats. "As for the situation in Afrin [enclave] and Syria overall ... We are seeking full compliance with the cease-fire agreements," he said during news conference Monday. Russia and Turkey, along with Iran, have been working together in Syria in what has been dubbed the "Astana process." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks duri Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during his annual roundup news conference summing up his ministry's work in 2017, in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 15, 2018. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during his annual roundup news conference summing up his ministry's work in 2017, in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 15, 2018. Lavrov reserved his strongest criticism for Washington, attacking its decision to create a border force with the YPG. "The U.S. unilateral, ultimatum-like project, aimed at establishing an army in Syria, may create problems in relations between Turkey and [the] Kurds," the minister said. Moscow has been seeking to exploit Ankara's growing dispute with Washington as Turkey deepens its ties with Russia. But the balancing act could face its greatest test over Ankara's threat to attack Afrin with Russian military units in the enclave. The units were deployed last year to de-escalate tensions between the militia and Turkish forces. Military limits Meanwhile, analysts warn the Turkish army could be overstretched. "The Turkish army is in Iraq. in Syria it is in two different places, said Haldun Solmazturk, a former brigadier and veteran of cross-border operations who now heads the Ankara based 21st century Turkey Institute. "It is like a bomb," he added. "The Turkish army is sitting on a bomb." Any operation in Idlib could be further complicated. The Turkish air force would need Moscow's permission to enter Syrian airspace due to the presence of Russian anti-aircraft missiles. Moscow allowed Ankara to carry out limited airstrikes last year when its forces entered Syria to remove IS militants on its border. But doubt remains whether Russia would be accommodating again. "Americans will never abandon Syrian Kurds, nor will Russia, which is supportive of the Syrian Kurds within a certain status, no doubt," claimed analyst Solmazturk. "They are simply too important in the region to both sides. The YPG control around one-fifth of Syrian territory." Moscow, much to Ankara's discomfort, has been pushing for the presence of the militia or its political wing, the YPD, in an ongoing peace process to resolve the Syrian civil war. "When we see Syria we notice that there are differences of opinion, which carry the seeds of problems," said political columnist Semih Idiz of Al Monitor website. "Turkey is not all that easy [about] the way Russia is trying steer the Syrian situation." Ankara fears marginalization Last week, Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador to protest Moscow's failure to rein in Damascus' ongoing military operation against rebels forces in Idlib. Analysts warn there is a growing concern in Ankara it could be marginalized by Washington and Moscow. "Ankara seems to have no role anymore in the remaining episodes in this drama of Syria, so squeezed out is the right way to put it," claimed former Senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen who served widely in region. Analysts suggest Ankara's latest threat against the Syrian Kurdish militia in Afrin could be a move to remind the United States and Russia it remains a powerful player, given its large army and long border with Syria. Such a robust stance also plays well domestically. Columnist Idiz said Erdogan has a receptive audience at home, but his stance "may backfire because Turkey, more or less, has angered [the United States] on a whole number of levels." [Uganda is mulling over the idea of creating its own social media platforms. But social media users and government critics see this as a potential effort to control free expression. Facebook and Twitter should brace themselves for competition from Uganda. With no name yet or date on when the new services will be operational, the Uganda Communications Commission is planning to launch its own social media platforms. Commission Director Godfrey Mutabazi says Uganda has many young people who have come up with innovations and applications that can be deployed to serve the population. There is open information for everything. We have got over almost 70 percent penetration," he said. "We are moving into digital era, data communication. We are hope that by the end of this year 20-25 percent, maybe 30 percent of Ugandans will be on data communication. So we shall access the information, education-wise, research, name it, will be available. Nicholas Opiyo executive director of Chapter Four Uganda, a local civil liberties organization, says Uganda is not seeking to develop its own social media space because it appreciates the innovative power of social media. He fears a darker purpose. One I dont believe they can do it, but if they want to do it, its not for the best of intentions," he said. "Recent studies have shown that the government of Uganda is now involved in active filtering of particular information. Namely; information about corruption, information about same sex relations, critical government policies on the first family, thats what they are trying to do. Thats what they are trying to do, because the biggest threat to this government now, is an informed citizenry." Uganda's longtime President Yoweri Museveni attend FILE - Uganda's longtime President Yoweri Museveni attends his inauguration ceremony in the capital Kampala, May 12, 2017. FILE - Uganda's longtime President Yoweri Museveni attends his inauguration ceremony in the capital Kampala, May 12, 2017. In 2016, the Ugandan government shut down social media twice on Election Day and during President Yoweri Musevenis swearing in ceremony. For social media users like Jackie Kemigisa, a move by the government regulator to set up its own social media is cause to worry. As a person who uses social media and whose source of employment, everything that I do is online, it was a horrible idea. At first I thought it was a joke. So, counting on the sad part of it that they dont have the money, and if they do, well then, Ugandans will have to re-strategize, go back to the drawing board and see how we can still fight for our freedoms, said Kemigisa. Critics say a social media platform controlled by the government will put Uganda in the same league as countries such as Iran, China and North Korea. But the Uganda Communications Commission has described those who see this innovation as eroding freedom of speech as patronizing. The government agency insists they just want to keep hate speech out of Ugandan social media, and says the new platforms are going to be positive. UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council has made a lightening visit to Afghanistan, where diplomats met with the National Unity Government and had a first-hand look at the situation in the country. The 15-member council visited Kabul from January 13-15. It was the first time council diplomats have traveled to the country since 2010. "The visit was an opportunity to reiterate the Security Council's support for the government and people of Afghanistan and their efforts to restore peace, stability and progress to the country," said Kazakhstan Ambassador Kairat Umarov, who is president of the council this month and led the delegation. Afghanistan has been working to rebuild after decades of occupation, internal strife and conflict. In 2002, the U.N. Security Council authorized a political missionknown as UNAMA -- at the request of the nascent government which had taken back the country from Taliban militants. UN Security Council wraps up visit to #Afghanistan government now expected to present its plans for a more structured #peace and security process, coordinated with the wider region. Read info note from @UNAMAnews at https://t.co/hOH3oV0rPq. pic.twitter.com/r6LjnC3eBU UNAMA News (@UNAMAnews) January 15, 2018 Council members, including U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and other senior Afghan officials. The diplomats also engaged with members of parliament, women's groups, civil society and representatives from political parties. Discussions focused on the political, security, socio-economic and human rights situation. "We got a great briefing on the status of women empowerment in Afghanistan during the U.N. Security Council visit," tweeted Ambassador Karel van Oosterom of the Netherlands. The Dutch will oversee the Afghanistan portfolio on the Security Council this year. Council members reiterated their support for the government's reform initiatives, in particular to counter corruption and accelerate regional cooperation, according to a statement from UNAMA. Diplomats also expressed concern about the security situation, specifically the presence of al-Qaida, Taliban and Islamic State-Khorasan Province-affiliated fighters, and called for greater international and regional security cooperation. Afghanistan is due to hold parliamentary elections later this year and presidential polls in 2019. Representatives of the Independent Election Commission and the Electoral Complaints Commission briefed the delegation on the preparations. The Security Council will hold a high-level debate on the situation in Afghanistan this Friday. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to brief members and Kazakhstan's foreign minister, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, will chair the session. TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Vietnam is adding pressure on foreign internet firms to keep data on local users and be more accessible to the countrys authorities as the country tightens control over online dissent. A bill that the Southeast Asian countrys Ministry of Public Security offered to legislators this month would require foreign internet services to open representative offices if they have at least 10,000 Vietnamese users or if otherwise requested, official media say. The bill being reviewed by the National Assembly also calls for making the same foreign companies store data on Vietnamese users in Vietnam, VnExpress International reported Jan. 11. Those providers should collect important data collected or generated from activities in the country, the report adds. Legislation on normally free-wheeling foreign internet firms such as Facebook and Google, both popular among Vietnamese, extend the Communist countrys tightening of control over online dissent after initial moves over the past two years, analysts say. In recent years Vietnam has witnessed a boom on the Internet and social media plays a very important role in Vietnamese citizens lives, and so I think that the government is aware of the importance of social media, said Trung Nguyen, international relations dean at Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Thats the reason why they want to establish their presence, because they want to control social media, he said. Trend of tightening A series of arrests of bloggers in 2016 and 2017 bared the Vietnamese government's sensitivity to public views about graft and inefficiency among officials, experts believe. Those views weigh increasingly on state-to-people relations despite Vietnams fast economic growth that has brought perks such as job creation. In June 2017 the Ministry of Public Security initially proposed the law to give it more power over prohibited content, including cyber-crime, and anti-government activities. Owners of Internet cafes had already been asked to install monitoring software and make customers show identification that inspectors could check. But Vietnam lacks an Internet censorship scheme like its Communist neighbor China. Vietnam does not, for example, routinely filter websites for provocative keywords or block foreign social media networks. Authorities are, however, allowed to stop content that includes propaganda against the state. About 70 percent of Vietnams total 92 million people use the internet, with 53 million on social media sites, government figures show. The country lacks widespread, homegrown social media, steering people instead toward foreign-registered services. Officials also hope the law, now it its fifth draft, will also ease fake news, curb internet fraud and stop hacking that has hit 18,000 Vietnam-registered websites including that of the countrys chief airline, said Lam Nguyen, country manager with market research firm IDC. Risk of internet crime is particularly high in Vietnam, he said. The representative offices required under the law would force foreign Internet firms to pay taxes and follow local regulations that they can avoid now by basing offshore. Still, a chief mission of the pending legislation is to keep dissent offline, Trung Nguyen said. Obviously some things they feel sensitive about, said Yee Chung Seck, partner with the international law form Baker & McKenzie (Vietnam). And theres such a degree of whats the level of sensitivity -- does it somehow cross the line into being abusive. Foreign firms expected to comply Facebook and Google are expected to follow the new law once passed. Neither American internet giant replied to a request for comment for this report, but Vietnams Ministry of Information and Communications said Friday it had gotten initial compliance from both. Google and YouTube have blocked or removed many harmful and unlawful video clips," though they still appear on Facebook, the ministry said in a statement. Facebook, it said, has taken down more than 670 of about 5,000 accounts that Vietnam said are false or spread defamation, obscenity and violence. Facebook has closed 159 anti-government accounts and Google has removed 4,500 videos containing bad or toxic content from YouTube, VnExpress International said. The minister stressed that Vietnam was particularly concerned about information that incites anti-government and anti-Party sentiment, violence, or smears the regime, and called for Facebooks collaboration to deal with the problem, said the statement, which followed a meeting between the minister and Facebooks regional regulatory affairs head Damien Yeo. Internet firms are likely to comply as long as they can avoid hurting overall business. I think to a certain degree, probably, if its not too much of a cost and not so much disruption to their current business in Vietnam, they would probably try to comply, Lam Nguyen said. The Facebook legal affairs official pledged to work with authorities in dealing with bad information in the global scale, the ministry website said. Protesters took to the streets in towns and cities across Tunisia for a fourth day Friday, as anger grows over price hikes introduced by the government. Demonstrations in 2011 in Tunisia grew into the revolution that overthrew the government and triggered a wave of uprisings across the Arab world. By Kudzanai Zvinavashe The Election Resource Center (ERC), a local non-profit that closely observes the electoral process in Zimbabwe, is recommending steps the government and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should take before the elections. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) recently commenced a renewed voter registration blitz. The exercise is meant to give those who were not able to register in the earlier campaign a chance to do so now. Tawanda Chimhini, who is ERC director, says the mop up exercise is questionable. While the extension of voter registration is commendable, the Election Resource Centre is concerned that critical election processes continue to be administered against the backdrop of an electoral act that remains largely unaligned in the constitution of Zimbabwe. He says because of this elections will remain suspect for many voters. Its one thing to continuously have these administrative processes happening but as long as you continue to have them happen on the basis of an electoral act that remains disputed, the quality, the credibility, the freeness and the fairness will always remain in doubt. The resource centre says the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission ought to have done intensive voter education and needs to become more transparent in its overall operations. The new administration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said things that suggest a break from past practices. But Chimhini says there has been disharmony within his administration. So on one hand you have heard the president say that he would want to see free and fair elections on the other hand we have had the minister of justice say that there are no reforms necessary for us to have free and fair elections and to us there is a contradiction. The Election Resource Centre leaders have written to the president with steps they strongly recommend he takes in pursuit of a free election. Chimhini notes that the field has not been level for all candidates in the past. In the past we have seen political environment that compromises freeness, fairness, and credibility of our election processes. We have seen traditional leaders align themselves to specific political parties and campaign for political parties, which is unconstitutional. He says if political leaders are committed to a break from the past, they must publicly tell chiefs that they have no right to support specific political parties. His comment follows an event over the weekend where chiefs pledged their support to President Mnangagwa. At the event the president handed over 52 vehicles to chiefs, a move many critics said is meant to secure their loyalty. Americans and Italians in Rome stand up for equality on 20 January. The Women's March Rome, designed to show solidarity for the protection of civil and social rights, women's rights and the environment, will take place at Piazza SS. Apostoli from 11.00 to 13.00 on Saturday 20 January. Speakers include Asia Argento, the actress/director and activist; Lella Paladino of D.i.Re; Dinsio Walo-Wright, a refugee rights activist; and Loretta Bondi of Casa Internazionale Delle Donne. The event marks the first anniversary of the Women's March Rome which was part of a global grassroots reaction in protest over the policies of the Trump administration in the US. The march is organised by individual Americans living in Rome and will see the participation of several organisations of Americans in Italy as well as Italian and international groups. For more details of the event, which is also open to men and children, see Facebook event page. Photo by Valentina Vella. Please enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue. The new European data protection law requires us to inform you of the following before you use our website: We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service. Franco Origlia/Getty Images(TEMUCO, Chile) -- When Pope Francis goes to South America this week, he will meet with indigenous tribes in Chile and visit the native people in the Amazon in Peru, a first for any pontiff. But the trip, the 22nd foreign trip during his tenure, could be overshadowed by security concerns, protests and church-related scandals. The six-day trip will take Pope Francis, who is 81 years old, to Santiago and Lima, the countries' capitals, to celebrate Mass and deliver speeches. The Argentine Pope has visited both countries before becoming pope and lived in Chile for over a year while studying with the Jesuit order to become a priest. Although this is Pope Francis first trip to both countries as pope, both countries have had visits from Saint Pope John Paul II in the past: Chile in 1987, and Peru twice in 1985 and 1988. As is his custom, he is expected to focus on the people living on the margins of society, the poor and the sick, including meeting female convicts and their children at a Santiago prison. He also has a scheduled lunch with eight of the Mapucho people in Chile who have grievances with the Catholic church. And massive crowds are expected at nearly every place Pope Francis will visit, and to line the streets to see his Pope-mobile. But the pope's visit -- he is scheduled to give 21 speeches on issues like corruption in politics, the rights of indigenous peoples and clerical sex abuse -- will ignite protests in both countries. The popes critics in both Chile and Peru, like elsewhere around the world, accuse him of not doing enough to rid the church of sexual abuse, especially of allegedly not holding bishops accountable for covering up or mishandling sexual abuse. At least three homemade bombs went off in churches in Santiago last week, causing minor damage yet no injuries. Threats to Pope Francis were found in notes. And protests are expected there over a bishop whom Pope Francis appointed in 2015. The bishop, who was appointed to a town near Santiago, is accused of covering up sexual abuse by a priest in the 1980ss and 1990s. Some parishioners in the town say they were denied requests to meet with the pope during his trip and are now planning to protest during his stay. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told journalists at a briefing Thursday there's a chance Pope Francis would meet with victims of clerical sex abuse privately in Chile, describing it as "not impossible." The meeting had not been set up, though. On his last day in Chile before traveling on to Peru, the pope is scheduled to meet two victims of the countrys military dictatorship under the late Augusto Pinochet. Burke, the Vatican spokesman, did not say who they were or why they were chosen, but said they will present a letter to Pope Francis during the meeting. Tens of thousands of people were killed, tortured or imprisoned for political reasons in Chile during Pinochets reign and many others went into exile. Sex abuse cases have hurt the church's reputation in Peru, too. Last week, the Vatican announced it had taken over a Peru-based Catholic movement, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, whose founder was accused of sexual and psychological abuse. The conservative movement has about 20,000 members throughout South America and the U.S. Meanwhile, Pope Francis will not be visiting Argentia, drawing great speculation and questions. Asked why the Pope will be returning to South America for the sixth time but has still not been back as pope to Argentina, Burke cited "personal reasons." He added, however, that the Popes plane will fly over the country, and that the pope is expected to issue a "significant message" to his native land. Argentina will not be sending any special representative to neighboring Chile for his visit but up to 1 million Argentine pilgrims are expected to cross the border to catch a glimpse of their native son. This will be the Popes first foreign trip in 2018. Future trips have yet to be announced officially, but a visit to Ireland in August is being planned. Vatican officials are studying the possibility of at least another trip this year, possibly to the Baltics or Asia. Copyright 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. As with many Kenyan female domestic workers returning from Saudi Arabia, Maria Mmboga is glad to have escaped a life of torment, physical abuse, and mistreatment. According to Maria, going to Saudi Arabia was the worst decision she ever made. Besides thorough beatings in the two years she worked as a domestic worker in Riyadh, Maria was reportedly forced to cook snakes while in confinement. Speaking to a local daily, Maria said that when she secured a job and with it a visa in 2014, It was one of my happiest moments. I was elated and said to myself, this is the breakthrough I have been praying for. She said everything went on as planned and they landed in Riyadh and were taken to a bureau where she met people from other African and Asian countries. At the bureau where the employers come for you, there were Indians, Filipinos, and Africans, and we were treated well and I didnt expect any foul play, said the now born-again Christian. She recalls that life shortly changed after her employer came and took her to Halfar A-Batin, a far-flung rural region, 430 kilometers north of Riyadh. It was a confined place, very hot and isolated. I was given a hijab which I was warned never to remove. Her phone was also confiscated and broken into pieces before being warned never to leave the compound alone or talk to anyone. Maria told The Nairobian that her boss who was a police officer became wild and his wife used a knife and a piece of wood when talking to her. Their daughter followed suit, forcing Maria to work day and night without rest in between verbal abuse and beatings. The first six months passed without a salary and I knew things had changed for the worst. I had to find my way out, she said, adding that she kept on praying in her room during the one-hour sleep break. After slaughtering snakes and cooking them for months, I could not sleep anymore because I would see them in my dream and wake up shouting. That alone resulted in more beatings at night, she went on. She said her prayers were finally answered after two years without pay when one of her boss friends who was visiting was concerned about her condition. I gained courage after his visit and went to my boss knowing that I could be killed in the process. I told him my contract was over and that I wanted to go back to Kenya with my full pay. After about two weeks, she was released and paid almost all her dues. I didnt believe I was coming back to Kenya until the plane took off. It was like a dream come true, she said adding that when she landed at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, it was like she had reached heaven. Maria, who is now living in a church and has recorded her first gospel song advises Kenyans to love their country with all its challenges, as its still the best country. When I hear people say I hate Kenya, I pity them because they dont know what they are talking about, she said. As we start the week, here are links to stories making headlines today. From paradise to panic: Hawaii residents and vacationers react to the false alarm BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII, said the emergency alert. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. For a few moments, the island paradise was turned upside down as people tried to figure out what to do. Doctors want President Trumps head examined Jackson received an urgent letter from dozens of doctors and health professionals Thursday urging him to perform basic mental health tests on the President. While reviews of the past five presidents physical exams show only a brief mention of mental health and none of the records includes a readout of the mental health tests, this letter points out that mental evaluations are routine during physicals, particularly for patients who are 66 or older. Mark Wahlberg says hell donate $1.5 million in Michelle Williams name The donation comes in response to criticism over a gender pay gap for reshoots of the movie All the Money in the World. Wahlberg was paid $1.5 million for the reshoots while Williams made just around $1,000, or $80 a day. African Union, African UN envoys demand Trump apology The African Union Mission wishes to express its infuriation, disappointment and outrage over the unfortunate comment made by Mr. Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, which remarks dishonor the celebrated American creed and respect for diversity and human dignity, the African Union mission to the United States said in a blistering statement. WSJ: Trump lawyer arranged porn star payment for her silence in October 2016 President Donald Trumps longtime attorney denied that Trump had a sexual encounter with a porn star after a report by The Wall Street Journal on Friday alleged the lawyer helped facilitate a six-figure payment to the actress in October 2016 in exchange for her silence. Clinton denies foundation funds paid for wedding No Clinton Foundation funds dedicated to Haiti or otherwise -were used to pay for Chelseas wedding, Clinton tweeted Saturday. Its not only untrue, its a personal insult to me, to Hillary, and to Chelsea and Marc. The former President included a link to a report in The Washington Post that fact-checked the allegation, labeling it a claim lacking any evidence. H&M closes all its stores in South Africa after protests The protesters were reacting toan ad in which a black child wore a sweatshirt that bore the slogan coolest monkey in the jungle. It appeared on the British version of the Swedish retailers online store. Some social media users shared footage claiming to show demonstrators throwing racks of clothing to the ground. Mark Zuckerberg is fighting to save Facebook When Google launched Google Plus, a rival social network, Zuckerberg put Facebook in a state of lockdown and informed employees that Carthage must be destroyed, according to one tell-all book from a former employee. Salmonella baby milk affects 83 countries More than 12 million boxes of powdered baby milk have now been recalled in 83 countries in a salmonella scandal involving French company Lactalis. The dairy firms CEO, Emmanuel Besnier, confirmed the extent of the contamination risk to French media. The products have been subject to a recall since December, after salmonella bacteria was discovered at a factory. Tunisia announce reforms after protests The Tunisian government has announced a wave of social reforms, following days of demonstrations by anti-austerity protesters. Protests broke out ahead of Sundays seventh anniversary of the ousting of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Emergency government meetings were held in response to protests, which have seen more than 800 people arrested. Burning oil tanker sinks off China An oil tanker burning in the East China Sea for more than a week has finally sunk, Chinese media say. The Sanchi and a cargo ship collided 260km (160 miles) off Shanghai on 6 January, with the tanker then drifting south-east towards Japan. Wahlberg donates reshoot fee to Times Up The actor Mark Wahlberg has donated $1.5m to the Times Up legal defence fund. The move comes after it emerged that Wahlberg was paid $1.5m to reshoot scenes for the film All The Money in the World. His co-star Michelle Williams was paid $80 a day for the extra work. Chelsea Manning to run for US senate Chelsea Manning, the former US intelligence analyst who was jailed for leaking classified documents, is seeking the Democratic Party nomination to run for the US senate in Maryland. In 2013 Manning was sentenced to 35 years after being found guilty of 20 charges, including espionage. But former US President Barack Obama commuted her sentence. Protesters Try To Arrest London s Mayor For Disrespecting Donald Trump A group of right-wing protesters wheeled a home-made gallows outside a hall where Londons Muslim mayor was about to speak and tried to arrest him for disrespecting Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported. Mayor Sadiq Khan laughed it it off, calling the protesters very stable geniuses. A Photo Of Reese Witherspoon With Emilia Clarke Is Blowing Fans Minds Elle Woods met the Mother of Dragons, and folks online just couldnt cope. Actresses Reese Witherspoon and Emilia Clarke sent Twitter into a mini-meltdown on Thursday night when they posed for this snap at the Critics Choice Awards: Tweeters couldnt get over the pairs similar style choices, their beaming smiles and the general all-round awesomeness of the snap. Donald Trump In Excellent Health, Doctor Says After Checkup Donald Trump is in excellent health, said a brief statement from his doctor issued by the White House on Friday following the presidents checkup. The presidents exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center went exceptionally well. The president is in excellent health and I look forward to briefing some of the details on Tuesday, Dr. Ronny Jackson said in the statement. Stephen Colbert Has A Gross Theory About Trumps Executive Time Stephen Colbert made a gross guess about what President Donald Trump really gets up to during his so-called executive time on Fridays Late Show. Axios recently reported that Trumps daily schedule was getting shorter and that he dedicated several hours of the day to executive time which allegedly consist of him watching television or tweeting while alone. The winners and losers of CES 2018 CES is the best place to get a sense of whats hot and not in technology. As gadget-packed as this years show was we crowned our favorite tech from CES here it also provided good insight on the tech trends thatll influence our lives. Apples Im sorry for throttling old iPhones isnt good enough for Congress The drama surrounding Apples old iPhone batteries isnt over yet. Four U.S. House Republicans sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday asking for answers on batterygate. In December, Apple admitted to throttling the speed of older iPhones to increase battery performance, a long-time conspiracy theory among iPhone users that turned out to be true. A rooster named Frog runs to greet its human getting off the school bus The unlikely cute animal of the day today is a rooster. A rooster named Frog. According to the YouTube description, every day after school, Frog rushes to greet his human Savannah as she gets off the bus. As you can see from the clip, Frog executes this ritual with enthusiasm and impressive speed. Eliza Dushku says she was molested at age 12 while working on True Lies When I was 12 years old, while filming True Lies, I was sexually molested by Joel Kramer, one of Hollywoods leading stunt coordinators. So begins Eliza Dushkus heart-wrenching #MeToo Facebook post, which she shared early on Saturday morning. Actor Jeff Okello, popularly known for his character Ninja in the Citizen TV comedy series Mother-in law is now a married man. The actor tied the knot with his fiancee, Katja Maria Huhta, in an exclusive ceremony on Sunday. The lovebirds met almost four years ago in Nairobis Kayole estate where Katja, from Finland, was doing volunteer work. I met my fiancee Katja Maria Huhta almost four years ago when she was doing volunteer work in Kayole and now we have an adorable daughter who will be turning eight months on Monday, Okello said as quoted by Nairobi News. In July last year, the actor reportedly spent several months with his fiancee in Finland after the birth of their daughter. She was born in Finland and now that we have finished our (Mother-in law series) shoot, I have time to go and be with her. It is a joy as I have only seen her on pictures. She is growing bigger and bigger every day! said Okello before leaving for Finland. The couple is yet to decide where they will settle after the wedding, though they currently reside in Nairobi. Meet his adorable family. We highlighted her story last December and since then, Hellen Nyongesa has been the talk of the town these past few weeks. Read: Strength of a Woman! Pictures of a Mother Pulling a Fully Loaded Mkokoteni Warm Netizens Hearts Ms Nyongesa has become a common sighting in Nairobi, attracting curious eyes and admiration for her work. The 35-year-old pulls a handcart(Mkokoteni) full of ripe bananas daily from Nairobis Shauri Moyo estate where she lives and hawks them around Agro House in the city centre. This she does with her young daughter delicately perched on the back of the cart. I was born in Kakamega. My father had three wives with my mother being the second wife. I dropped out of school in Form Four due to lack of school fees after his death, she told The Nairobian. Nyongesa first came to Nairobi around 2005 courtesy of a villager who took her as a house help. But the employer became rogue forcing her to return to the village and get married. The marriage resulted in three girls the eldest being in Class Seven, while the youngest is aged three years. In 2009, Hellen and her husband relocated to Nairobi for greener pastures and settled in Kawangware where her husband worked at a mjengo. In 2016, her husband was tragically knocked down by a speeding car along Waiyaki Way and died. Their daughter was months old and no one came to my rescue because my husband was an orphan. With time, life became hard. I was thrown out of the house, she told the local daily. She added that she was forced to send her two other children back to the village and started living on the streets and around Gikomba market. It is here that Nyongesa would attend church as an ardent SDA member and shared her problems with elders who chipped in to feed her and the daughter. In early 2017, an elder gave me Sh200 that opened my eyes. I spent Sh150 on food and kept Sh50. That day, I knelt down and prayed to God, she narrated. The following day, she reportedly woke up early and went to Wakulima Market where she approached a Tanzanian fruit seller who gave her some bunches to hawk. The woman gave me two small sacks of fruits. I headed to the city centre, luckily a woman saw them and bought all at Sh100. I went back and met the same woman who gave me another bunch, again a man saw how tired I was and bought them for Sh1,000, she said. From here, Nyongesa started hawking fruits in a bucket within the city, then graduated to a large basin as her customers increased. This forced her to buy a wheelbarrow and focused solely on selling bananas. In the four months she hawked bananas in a wheelbarrow, Hellen claimed she was assaulted by Kanjo askaris and all her belongings confiscated. She added that at some point, she was kicked in the chest while lying on the ground. Ms Nyongesa then upgraded to a mkokoteni which she bought for Sh10,000. She now supplies ripe bananas worth Sh15, 000 daily. Say you want a special wine. A Napa Valley wine, for example, from a certain producer. Only you live in Oklahoma and no local store or wine shop carries the wine youre looking for. Luckily, the winery has a website where you can order the bottle you want. You find it and place your order. If youre among the 94 percent of the U.S. population that lives in states where such shipping is legal, the wine can then be sent from the winery and delivered right to your doorstep. But not if you live in Oklahoma. At the start of this year, the state is still one of six with laws currently preventing shipments from wineries directly to consumers. In these states, selling or procuring wine via direct shipping remains outlawed. For the wine industry, direct to consumer shipping the shipment of wine from licensed wineries or retailers to adult buyers through common carriers has grown to where more than 5 million cases of wine worth $2.33 billion were shipped nationally in 2016, statistics show. The ability to ship direct is particularly weighty to the industry in Napa, which made up roughly half of the entire direct to consumer shipping channel in 2016 with well over $1 billion in shipments. Winnipeggers who fondly remember hearing Monuments Galore, Green Day or Sum 41 pound it out at the Royal Albert Arms Hotel might soon be able to relive those glory days. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/1/2018 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Winnipeggers who fondly remember hearing Monuments Galore, Green Day or Sum 41 pound it out at the Royal Albert Arms Hotel might soon be able to relive those glory days. The historic 104-year-old hotel, considered a linchpin for redeveloping Albert Street, has a new owner, Neil Soorsma, after it was purchased at a mortgage auction in November for $1.35 million. Soorsma, who describes himself as a successful landlord who has redeveloped a number of buildings over a 30-year real estate career, says plans for a restaurant to open on the main floor are underway. "Its not a name young people might remember, but its a good restaurant with a good history in the city," he says. "We might have an announcement to make very shortly." Coun. Mike Pagtakhan, whose Point Douglas ward includes Albert Street, says hes feeling a very good vibe after meeting Soorsma in person. "Hes definitely on the path to ensuring good tenants, good behaviour, that new tenants are properly vetted," Pagtakhan says. "He delves deeper into his tenants character, its not just about money for him. "I have a good feeling about this. Hes the kind of person we want to own the Royal Albert." After the drama that unfolded over the past 10 years, Soorsma says its time for "good management" to take over and to make it a successful property, no matter the income level of its occupants. The one-time amateur musician, whos played in a number of venues in Winnipeg, remembers the Alberts halcyon days well. Hes making no promises about a music venue, but it is clearly a top-of-mind possibility. "Id really like to do that," he says. "I was there when I was younger. It would be great if we could do that. I have a good feeling about this. Hes the kind of person we want to own the Royal Albert. Point Douglas Coun. Mike Pagtakhan "Im not saying we can, for sure, because there are lots of roads, opportunities you end up following, but my hearts in that direction." For now, Soorsma "Ive owned it for two weeks" is taking stock of the property, identifying issues to address and beginning to make repairs. The first order of business was addressing fire code issues. Creditors foreclosed on former owner For Exchange District advocates, Soorsmas plans sound like good news. David Pensato, executive director of the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone, fondly remembers nights listening to music at the Albert, even if, or perhaps especially since, some of them were before it was legal for him to be there. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES The Royal Albert Arms earned a reputation for hosting local indie and punk bands as well as some big-name acts such as Green Day, Nickelback and Dave Grohl, before Nirvana and the Foo Fighters. The building to the left has burned down in the years since this photo was taken. "Its been a long time since weve had a live-music venue in the Exchange," he says. Cindy Tugwell, executive director of Heritage Winnipeg, says shes hoping the sale of the hotel marks an end to the stagnation that has plagued Albert Street. Opened in 1913, the Albert was built in the Spanish Colonial style, with ornate wrought-iron balconies, a red-tile roof and a classic symmetrical layout to its facade, which was curved to match the bend in Albert street. Tugwell, who has not met Soorsma and doesnt know much about him, says she is hopeful his plans include restoring the hotels heritage character. She says the previous owner had grand plans, too. "We hung on for three years, waiting for Daren Jorgensen to iron out his details," she says. Jorgensen lost the hotel when his creditors foreclosed, forcing the mortgage auction. "Well give the new owner about three months, see what he wants to do," she says. "If its the status quo, the stakeholders will have to get it shut down." Tugwell says Albert Street revitalization has essentially been held hostage by the drama that unfolded in the 10 years Jorgensen owned the property. "You have the Gregg Building, which is a significant heritage building adjacent to the Albert, and nobody wants to redevelop the Gregg until they know whats going on with the Albert." Currently used for low-income housing Jorgensen bought the hotel in 2007, but his plans were derailed by a lack of resources and a water-main break. He also recruited notorious businessman Ray Rybachuk, who had ties to organized crime, as a financial partner. Development stalled under the turbulent partnership, which ended when Rybachuk died while snowmobiling in 2013. Angela Mathieson, president and CEO of downtown development advocacy group CentreVenture, says the agency has offered to help Soorsma in bringing the hotel back to life. "Albert Street is such a critical piece of the downtown," Mathieson says. Tugwell says the hotel is being run as low-income housing and is in violation of its occupancy permit. She and Pensato both say the state of the hotel and ongoing vacancy of the nearby St. Charles Hotel are making Albert Street an area with significant problems. "The crime rate is way up, were picking up needles, there are domestic calls on this street every day," Tugwell says. Soorsma says hes heard several ideas pitching the Albert as a boutique hotel, and while hes not ruling it out, hes also not ruling out the possibility of running it, legally, as either a hostel or a housing facility. MIKE APORIUS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES The ongoing vacancy of the nearby St. Charles Hotel is making Albert Street an area with significant problems, says Cindy Tugwell, executive director of Heritage Winnipeg. He says any issues attributed to the Albert are due to mismanagement by the previous owner, not the social status of any occupants. "I think the key will be good management, actively involved, with a real concern for the impact on the surroundings," he says. "I have a few properties, all low-income tenants, zero problems. "I am very good at what I do." Eyes turn to St. Charles Hotel The next piece of the Albert Street puzzle is the St. Charles Hotel, which has been vacant for years. Owner Ken Zaifman, a local immigration lawyer, has said he plans to redevelop the hotel, but Tugwell is still waiting. "Is Ken going to redevelop?" she says. "Thats the million-dollar question. Maybe hes waiting for the hotel to deteriorate enough to demolish it." Privately, sources in the redevelopment industry say what might be needed is a "public shaming" of Zaifman to spur progress. Zaifman did not respond to requests for an interview. Tugwell says shes critical of CentreVenture for not "stepping up to the plate" on the Albert the way the downtown revitalization agency did for the St. Regis Hotel. Mathieson says once the hotel went to mortgage auction, CentreVentures hands, as a city-owned agency, were tied. "You can see how it would be a problem for the city, essentially, to show up and outbid, or up-bid, somebody in the private sector," she says. Mathieson also says complicating any sale of the hotel prior to the mortgage auction was a long list of creditors with a claim to the property. "Even if you could have approached the owner and say Ill buy your mortgage, the reality is there were lots of other debts on this title." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. She says CentreVenture has had an active file on the Albert for at least a year and a half, and acted immediately when it found out about the mortgage auction. "We were in contact with no less than 14 developers, taking them through the hotel and making sure they knew everything the hotel offered. And we offered all the things we normally do with heritage buildings, whether thats direct investment or offering financing support." "In the position we were in, we think we did the best thing we could possibly do." Mathieson says that while she was not aware of Soorsma or his track record, shes also unaware of any reason to be skeptical. "Ultimately, we know the best plan is for a solid owner, and so, were hopeful." kelly.taylor@freepress.mb.ca When seven-year-old Kashaf Zahra was born with a rare birth defect, relatives and neighbours in Multan, Pakistan, said thats what happens when couples marry outside their religious sect. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/1/2018 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. When seven-year-old Kashaf Zahra was born with a rare birth defect, relatives and neighbours in Multan, Pakistan, said thats what happens when couples marry outside their religious sect. Her Sunni mom and Shia dad had been shunned and harassed and, from the time she was born, Kashaf was doomed, said her father, Zahid Abbas. As a girl who is considered "illegitimate" by society and has a birth defect and physical challenges, Kashaf would face a life of physical and emotional pain growing up in the male-dominated society of Pakistan if shes not killed by sectarian violence first, he said. "The community is threatening us, saying Were going to finish your breed and generation, " Abbas said Friday during an interview inside the familys tiny, one-bedroom apartment in downtown Winnipeg. "The conditions are very backward." Last year, she caught a break. The Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa, Fla., brought Kashaf to the United States for treatment of Poland syndrome, a rare condition in which the chest muscle on one side of the body is missing and there is webbing of the fingers of the hand on the same side. Her family of four was allowed only two U.S. visitors visas. Her mother and little sister went to the city of Islamabad for their safety, while Kashaf and her father went to Tampa for surgery on the webbed fingers of her right hand. There, doctors said Kashaf would need more treatment over the years as she grows. In Florida, an immigration lawyer advised them making an asylum claim in the U.S. is a costly and hopeless proposition for people from Pakistan these days. Taking his daughter back to further persecution in Pakistan seemed even more hopeless, Abbas said. Their only hope, he was told, was to seek asylum in Canada. "As a father, what can I do?" They flew to Bemidji, Minn., then paid US$200 for a ride close to the Manitoba border at Emerson. On Aug. 22, Kashaf and her dad walked over the border and asked for refugee protection in Canada. Up until now, she felt safe going to Sister MacNamara School in downtown Winnipeg, where she loves her teachers and classmates and dreams of being a doctor. On Thursday, that sense of security and hope was shaken the Grade 2 student and her dad learned their application for refugee protection in Canada was rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board. Kashaf, 7, shows her malformed right hand. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press) "I couldnt sleep last night," Abbas, 33, said Friday. "If I go back, they will kill me. Theres no life for her." The former police constable had also hoped of bringing his wife and youngest daughter to Canada, where their children would be secure and have a chance to thrive. A notice of appeal has been filed with the refugee board, giving Kashaf and Abbas a stay of deportation, said their lawyer, Bashir Khan. If theyre sent back to Pakistan, Kashaf faces persecution as a female and a person with a physical challenge, said Khan. She wont get the treatment that she needs for Poland syndrome as she grows, he said. The medical evidence and examples of how disabled people and women are treated in Pakistan wasnt made clear to the immigration and refugee board, said Khan, who has lived in Pakistan and speaks Urdu. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Abbas said he is desperate to find an orthopedic surgeon who can assess Kashaf for their refugee appeal. In his written decision, Immigration and Refugee Board member Ron Yamauchi said Pakistan has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He acknowledged evidence of how such people are treated in the country is limited. The Vancouver-based adjudicator said the evidence presented at the teleconference hearing regarding Kashafs treatment was limited, and she looked healthy and functional and "clearly has the backing of her parents." He said he didnt find that she or her father face a reasonable chance of persecution or serious harm from society in general in Pakistan. He said he didnt believe their family faces persecution because of Kashafs parents Sunni-Shia marriage or that being picked on because of how she looks means Kashafs rights are being violated. "While it is possible that children and other immature people will be rude to her, it is not a basic human right to be popular... and free from insults about ones appearance." carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca When Agape Tables washing machine broke down last month, one of its volunteers stepped up in a big way. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/1/2018 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion When Agape Tables washing machine broke down last month, one of its volunteers stepped up in a big way. Mickey Serebnitski donated the proceeds from a New Years Eve social he organized so that staff could buy a new machine. There was even enough money leftover to pay for one of the meals the organization served to its guests last week. For Serebnitski, who has volunteered at Agape Table off and on for the past two years, it was just one more way to help out. "It feeds the soul, I find, to give back," the 22-year-old says. "This place is absolutely amazing. What they do is incredible." Located on Colony Street, close to the corner of Broadway and Osborne, Agape Table offers food every weekday from 8 to 11 a.m. to those who have difficulty making ends meet. The non-profit relies on about 25 volunteers each day to help prepare food, serve breakfast to guests, bus tables and wash dishes. Dennis and Sharon McGavock began volunteering at Agape shortly after they retired three years ago. It has since become a non-negotiable part of their schedule. "Its certainly very rewarding," says Dennis, 66, adding that theres a sense of community among the staff, volunteers and the guests they serve. "Theyre upbeat, and because of that upbeat atmosphere, we look forward to coming here." The McGavocks especially enjoy volunteering for the festive meals that Agape Table serves at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Decorations are hung, special effort is put into making the food and its fun watching the guests enjoy themselves. "For some of them, thats their holiday," Sharon, 67, says. "They may not have a home or they may not have funds to have a Christmas dinner." Serebnitski, an aspiring dentist who currently works with adults with social and intellectual disabilities, says that what he most enjoys about volunteering at Agape Table is seeing the difference the organization makes in peoples lives. "Its all about just coming in with a smile and being happy. People really feed off that," he says. "Its incredible, the road theyve taken and why theyre here." Agape Table wouldnt be able to operate without volunteers, says Russell Mason, the organizations volunteer co-ordinator. He adds that he gets emotional when he sees how dedicated people are to Agape Table. "It says to me people care about the community, they care about others," Mason says. "It makes me really proud to be part of that." Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Agape Table is currently looking for more volunteers. Anyone interested can email volunteer@agapetable.ca, call 204-786-2370 or apply in person. "I would love for everyone to come and experience what Agape is," Mason says. For the McGavocks, volunteering at Agape is an expression of the thanks they feel for all the things they have been blessed with. "We know that were very fortunate to be warm in the winter and well fed every day," Dennis says. "Were grateful, and one way of showing that gratitude is to give back to (the) community." If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com. For the past four decades, the United States and Iran have demonized each other to no end. According to Tehran, America is "the Great Satan" whose imperialist designs have destabilized the Middle East and brought nothing but misery to the people of the region. Washington, meanwhile, depicts Iran as the "leading state sponsor of terrorism" and a member of the "Axis of Evil" whose "evil hand" is behind every conflict in the region. But somewhere along the way, America's and Iran's knowledge about each other was edged out by myths. "Don't know thy enemy" became the mantra. Here are some common American myths about Iran. MYTH NO. 1: The nuclear deal only delays an inevitable Iranian bomb. This has been a common criticism of the Iran nuclear deal, a.k.a. the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). As Secretary of State Rex Tillerson put it: "The JCPOA fails to achieve the objective of a non-nuclear Iran; it only delays their goal of becoming a nuclear state." New technology can have profound impacts on society in ways never intended. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/1/2018 (1330 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion New technology can have profound impacts on society in ways never intended. The radio carried codes during the First World War, but later became a household fixture. Early telephones were leased in pairs but after Western Union, a telegraph company, adopted "exchanges," it led to rapid long-distance communication. Likewise, mobile phones have evolved from bulky "walkie-talkies" to small supercomputers. And now Facebook, originally a connection platform for university students, conjoins one in four people. But today, in Myanmar, Facebook is helping fuel a genocide against the Rohingya people. Based on our research in Myanmar and in Cuba, we argue that internet usage in Myanmar is dangerous. Unbridled connection to Facebook creates what we call a "virtual coercive," a digital space that bolsters coercion. We suggest that Cubas internet model may provide lessons to manage social media amid political chaos. The utility of inventions can be unpredictable, and so too can the social impacts be catastrophic. Distracted driving is an unforeseen consequence of mobile phones that kills or maims thousands each year. Dealing with distracted driving involves better driver education, curbing usage behind the wheel and penalties for stupidity. Radio enabled unimaginable horrors during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Blood on hands But in conditions of genocide, can a technology like radio be limited or restricted? Its an essential service, but with blood on its hands. Thats a burden Facebook now shares. In 2010, Myanmar had 130,000 heavily restricted internet users. In seven years, SIM card prices plunged from more than US$3,000 to $1. The government also relaxed censorship laws, allowing Facebook to attract 30 million Burmese users. Many of them view Facebook as the internet. Beginning in late August, Burmese security forces pursued a scorched-earth campaign against the Rohingya. Some 6,700 were killed and 645,000 were forced to to seek refuge in Bangladesh. Along with ultra-nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu, a host of Facebook pages spread hate speech. This vitriolic propaganda further vilifies the already marginalized and much-maligned Rohingya. Anti-Rohingya content includes explicitly racist political cartoons, falsified images and staged news reports. This content goes viral, normalizing hate speech and shaping public perception. Violence against Rohingya people is increasingly welcomed, and then celebrated online. This virtual coercive serves the Myanmar militarys interests. The military juntas monopoly on information has provided little arena to foster media literacy. Such propaganda in this virtual coercive of anti-Rohingya propaganda preys upon the ill-informed. For many, the misinformation spread through Facebook justifies what the United Nations has dubbed a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Myanmar citizens now have unbridled access to low-cost internet on their mobile devices. Freedom of speech advocates will laud this. But this open information pipeline reinforces Facebooks dark side of self-reaffirmation with limited perspective. This is to the Burmese militarys advantage. Just as radio fuelled genocide in the 1990s, Facebook is making it happen in Myanmar today. Fiction becomes reality Facebooks virtual coercive is one of division, competing realities and a lack of mutual acceptance. In Facebooks virtual coercive, fiction is reality and lies can validate. Considering this, we argue that constant Facebook use in Myanmar is too risky to ignore. Societies require spaces for tolerance of differing ideas, trade, negotiation, volunteerism and face-to-face dynamics. This is lacking in Myanmar. Cuba may be an important example in this discussion. The nature of internet access in Cuba has not led to the abusive coercion or divisive politics. Protests through social media that are common in other parts of the world do not exist in Cuba. Why? Internet in Cuba is, simply put, expensive. Spending US$3 for an hour of Wi-Fi in internet parks is about 10 per cent of a Cubans monthly earnings. With only limited time to be online, Facebooks bandwidth-clogging bulk makes it unpopular in Cuba. Instead, other SMS and chat apps such as IMO, a direct video chat service are preferred. Cubans access internet in small doses Cuba has only limited capacity to monitor its internet traffic, and the government worries about unbridled access. And so Facebook cannot be accessed during working hours in most government and university settings in Cuba. It creates a disincentive to rely on Facebook for news and connections. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Cubans surf the net in small doses and often in public spaces. This breaks the virtual coercive through face-to-face interactions. The shortcomings of Cubas model are obvious given it creates a barrier to information. Free-speech advocates will be quick to dismiss the idea of limiting the time spent online, never mind the dangers of a state having the responsibility to curtail social media. But is unbridled access to Facebook really a pillar of free speech if the platform can be harnessed for the purpose of eliminating an entire population? Its time to entertain disconnecting from the virtual coercive in order to engage in real space. Maybe in this way, Facebooks dark side can be kept at bay while still serving its original purpose of connecting people and enriching, not destroying, lives. Robert Huish is an associate professor in international development studies and Patrick Balazo is a researcher at Dalhousie University. This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca. For the second time in three days in the United States, an ordinary citizen who had the temerity to criticize government officials at a public meeting was handcuffed by police and removed. Following schoolteacher Deyshia Hargrave, arrested Monday for her comments at a school board meeting in Louisiana, it was the turn of Gary Michael Hunt, a former coal miner, forced by police to leave a public hearing on the water crisis in eastern Kentuckys Martin County. A video posted Wednesday shows a police officer handcuffing Hunt during a public emergency meeting held to address the lack of water. The eastern Kentucky county, which is losing as much as 60 percent of treated water due to leaking pipes and old infrastructure, announced it was conserving water by shutting it off to residents at night, but some have been without running water for at least seven days. During the Martin County Fiscal Emergency meeting, Hunt was handcuffed and told he was being arrested for using profanity while criticizing the districts response to the water crisis. The video then shows a law enforcement officer saying, Thats disorderly conduct, and Youre under arrest, before grabbing him by the throat and escorting him out of the courtroom. All I want is for the people of Martin County to have water, Hunt told the Lexington Herald-Leader. Its time to get rid of the crooks. Its been time for a long time. Hunt said he was given a citation and must appear in court, but he wasnt taken to jail. Hundreds of residents have had no water since Monday in this rural area, which borders West Virginia. Thousands of Martin County Water District customers saw their water pressure decrease dramatically during last weeks freezing cold. Due to the lack of investment in the infrastructure and the water distribution system, water was shut offin many cases without even notifying residents. To add insult to injury, the Martin County Water District is seeking a 49 percent rate increase. The water authority is seeking to blame working class families for the water crisis. District office manager Joe Hammond claimed that use was high because people were leaving water running to keep pipes from freezing. A statement on Martin County Water Districts Facebook page reads, The primary causes for our current situation are a decrease in customers leading to lost revenue, coupled with an increase in utility costs to repair failing infrastructure. This shortfall has created an accounts payable debt as of November, 2017 of $831,000. Plainly speaking, we owe $831,000 in past due bills that we dont have the funds to pay. BarbiAnn Maynard, a mother of two children who has been protesting the water situation in Martin County for several years told the WSWS, The water officials are bullies! Their message is, if you try to stand up, well arrest you. I dont blame him for cussing. And Im not backing down. My mommy was also an activist, told me to stand up and fight and thats how we were raised. This area has a long history of water problems which have severely impacted the health of this working class community, where many former coal miners live. BarbiAnns mother was diagnosed with breast and lymph cancer when she was 29 years old. She lost her battle when she succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 48. BarbiAnns sister has had a brain tumor since she was 14, her father has dementia and her neighbors father also has dementia. The chemicals in the water are killing us. Its contaminated, she told the WSWS. In 2000, Martin County was the site of one of the biggest environmental disasters in the southeastern United States. A spill occurred when the bottom of a coal slurry impoundment owned by Massey Energy broke into an abandoned underground mine below, sending an estimated 306,000,000 US gallons of toxic slurry containing arsenic and mercury into a nearby river. The spill killed everything in the water. The harmful effects continue today. Masseys CEO at the time was Don Blankenship, convicted of lying to government safety officials after the Upper Big Branch mine disaster that killed 29 workers. BarbiAnn further commented to the WSWS, We have no hospital and no high school in Martin County, but we have three court houses! We dont even have an after-hours clinic. The high school building was closed due its advanced state of disrepair, the students were moved into the middle school. The roads are disintegrating, breaking off, and in some places an entire lane is gone. Were pretty much living in a third world country right now. This was an area of $1 billion coal fields, but nothing was done for us. The poor will give you the shirt off their back, the rich will give you nothing. The people have to stand together. Although local officials have received several grants to upgrade the water delivery system, improvements were not carried out. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported about 1,000 people in Martin County were still without water for a fifth day on Friday, and by Sunday several hundred were still without water. The water district began shutting off water to many customers at night on Monday. Kathy Jude, who lives in Martin County, told the newspaper her husbands grandfather has been without running water since Monday. She says she has had to use bottled water to bathe him. A post on the Martin County Citizens United Facebook page reads: On any given day in Martin County, Kentucky, the water system loses more water to leaks than it delivers to paying customers through their faucets. The water system is under a state investigation for the third time since 2002. Customers complain of frequent service interruptions and discolored water, and their bills come with a notice that drinking the water could increase the risk of cancer. This is the state of infrastructure in a county thats mined many millions of dollars worth of coal since the early 1900s, providing the power required for Americas industries and modern comforts. As with many coalfield communities, all the profit and advances the areas laborers and natural resources made possible havent left much evidence of improvement in the local economy and infrastructure. Opening a tap is an exercise in trust which most of us take for granted. But in Martin County its just one more reason for residents to feel let down by the powers that be; one more chapter in the long story of how the people have lost faith in their government. Martin County, like other areas which once employed tens of thousands of coal miners, has been bled dry and poisoned by the coal bosses and the entire political establishment. The median income for a household in the county is $18,279 and the median income for a family was $21,574. About 33.30 percent of families and 37.00 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.10 percent of those under age 18 and 26.90 percent of those age 65 or over. Take note, because you will be asked. Trump's has been a presidency filled with jaw-dropping moments of offensive behavior, but this one will stand out over time, both for its profane nature and its naked racism. So what did you say? Did you look for excuses? Did you toss out a "Well, what about ..." scenario you thought might take the heat off? Did you scream something about "identity politics" and try to pretend that this is the fault of others, not the fault of the transparently racist old man in the White House? Did you say he has a point? Did you say, "Well, those countries are shitholes, aren't they?" Did you forget how people once described immigrants from Italy and Ireland? Did you forget the words on a plaque at the Statue of Liberty? "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" Did you forget those words, or just ignore them? Did you smile about a tax break and say nothing? Did you not put the pieces together and consider all the other times Trump has shown us exactly who he is? A Florida woman was kidnapped and killed in what police are calling a murder-for-hire plot gone awry. In a press conference held on Friday night, Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson revealed that the plot began after Ishnar Marie Lopez-Ramos, 35, allegedly hired Alexis Ramos-Rivera, 22, and his girlfriend Glorianmarie Quinones-Montes, 22, to murder a woman who was in a relationship with a man that Lopez-Ramos was in love with, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The murder was planned and executed between Jan. 7 and the early morning hours of the 8th. According to police, the suspects were able to track the woman to a store at a shopping center in Osceola County. However, once there, the suspects mistakenly identified Janice Zengotita-Torres, 42, as the intended target when she left the store. Janice Zengotita-Torres PEOPLEs request for additional comment from the Osceola County Sheriffs Office was not immediately returned. Alexis Ramos-Rivera Not realizing their mistake, the suspects followed the victim to her apartment and in the parking lot they forcibly put the victim into the back of her own vehicle and they drove away, Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson explained. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. The suspects then allegedly drove to a nearby bank where they obtained Zengotita-Torres ATM card and pin code. After Lopez-Ramos allegedly withdrew money from the victims account, the suspects drove back to the victims apartment in Orlando. While Quinones-Montes went into the victims apartment, Lopez-Ramos and Ramos-Rivera realized that they had mistakingly taken the wrong person. However, the suspects continued with their plan of murder and allegedly tied the victim with zip ties and then [covered] her head in duct tape and garbage bags, Gibson continued. After Ramos-Rivera allegedly began beating the victim until she was unconscious, the three suspects drove the victims vehicle to Ormond Beach, where they dumped her body. They then allegedly drove back to Orlando before leaving the victims vehicle in Orange County. Story continues According to police, the victim died from suffocation. Glorianmarie Quinones-Montes Police said Zengotita-Torres husband contacted the sheriffs office on the morning of Jan. 8 to report her missing. The body of a woman found at Ormond Beach on Jan. 8 was positively identified as Janice Zengotita-Torres two days later, police said. For more compelling true crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard. Police said the first suspect they apprehended was Lopez-Ramos, who was caught while she was attempting to use the ATM card of the victim. After she was brought back to the sheriffs office, Lopez-Ramos gave a full confession and named the two other suspects. After the police apprehended Ramos-Rivera and Quinones-Montes, they also gave full confessions. According to police, all three confirmed that this was a murder-for-hire and the victim was mistakingly targeted and murdered. I get emotional because it touches me so deeply that one of our citizens was killed in such a manner over a mistaken identification and in the end it appears to be a lovers triangle, Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson continued at the press conference held on Friday. According to online jail records, Lopez-Ramos, Ramos-Rivera and Quinones-Montes are currently housed in Osceola County Jail and face charges of premeditated first-degree murder. No attorneys are listed for all three suspects. Retribution came quick for the likes of Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey after their sordid, systemic abuses of power came to light. Less quick, however, is a reckoning for Woody Allen, whose adopted daughter Dylan Farrow initially made public her allegations against the film director back in 2014. In December, Farrow wrote a follow-up piece for the Los Angeles Times asking why the #MeToo movement has spared Allen, and subsequent reports that his next movie, A Rainy Day in New York, features a sexual relationship between a 44-year old man and a 15-year old girl made the question that much more pressing. Earlier this week, former Allen collaborators Greta Gerwig and Mira Sorvino asserted theyd never work with him again, and Call Me By Your Name star Timothee Chalamet was criticized for wearing a Times Up pin despite also starring in A Rainy Day in New York. It seems that reckoning is finally coming. A Rainy Day In New Yorks Rebecca Hall is the latest star to disavow Allen, and the actress has backed up her claim by donating her salary for the film to the Times Up anti-harassment initiative. Hall, who previously starred in Allens Vicky Cristina Barcelona, announced her decision in an Instagram post. In it, she writes, Its a small gesture and not one intended as close to compensation but Ive donated my wage to @timesup. Ive also signed up, will continue to donate, and look forward to working with and being part of this positive movement towards change not just in Hollywood but hopefully everywhere. I see, not only how complicated this matter is, but that my actions have made another woman feel silenced and dismissed, she adds. That is not something that sits easily with me in the current or indeed any moment, and I am profoundly sorry. I regret this decision and wouldnt make the same one today. A Rainy Day in New York actor Griffin Newman also donated his salary on the film to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network back in October. In similar news, Mark Wahlberg recently pledged $1.5 million to Times Up in the wake of public outcry over the wage disparity on the reshoots of All the Money in the World. See Halls Instagram post below: Getty Image Paul Haggis recently became the subject of sexual misconduct allegations from four women, two of whom accused him of rape. Haggis had already denied one of the accusers claims when she brought a $9 million lawsuit against him for emotional distress, and he further denied all of the misconduct accusations against him. Given that Haggis, as an ex-Scientology member, is a vocal critic of the organization, some wondered whether a plot was afoot. Thats also the suggestion of Leah Remini, who suggests that the allegations are an attempt by Scientology to smear the Crash director. All of Haggis accusers have denied any affiliation with Scientology. Yet Remini isnt buying it, for not only did Haggis loudly condemn Harvey Weinstein last year, she also writes in a joint open letter with former Scientology spokesperson Mike Rinder (via the Hollywood Reporter) that he has always championed the rights of women, and Remini insists that, These are not PR stunts he has devoted his time, skill and money without fanfare for decades. Remini continues with a discussion of Scientologys record-keeping process, by which they conduct (and record) confessional interviews during a process known as auditing. The process often requires members to confess sexual indiscretions as defined by the organization. These are generally not illegal acts and simply focus on consensual sex or even sexual thoughts. And Remini suggests that these interviews have been used against Haggis: Only a scientologist can understand the pressure one feels to offer up even the slightest thing that the scientology organization might consider a transgression of THEIR mores. This information is used against anyone who departs scientology and dares speak their mind. This is not imaginary. There is a documented history of such things. When someone is a declared an enemy by scientology, they are fair game. With the name of everyone one might have thought of, flirted with or taken on a date, it takes little imagination to conjure a string of accusers being contacted and suddenly appearing out of the woodwork. Story continues Both Remini and Rinder, who say that they expect the alleged plot to continue, maintain at the beginning of their letter that they have a history of supporting sexual abuse victims. Their support of Haggis appears centered around Scientologys well-documented history of smearing its critics and using lawsuits and other legal claims to intimidate critics into silence (and scare potential critics from taking action). In this way, Reminis defense of Haggis takes a different tone than Lena Dunhams recent defense of a Girls writer based upon working with him and being friends with him for years. Its also worth noting again that the allegations against Haggis contrast against those of Danny Masterson. Even though Masterson was eventually fired from his Netflix show, his sexual assault cases have been slow-moving from a law enforcement standpoint. Of course, Masterson is still a participating Scientologist, and not too long ago, Remini also suggested that Scientology had aligned itself with the LAPD. Whereas, in Scientology terms, Haggis would remain fair game for targeting by his former church. You can read Remini and Rinders full defense of Haggis here. (Via Hollywood Reporter & MikeRinder.com) The new Sony Crackle drama The Oath was on location filming in Puerto Rico around the time the region was devastated by hurricanes late last year, an ordeal the cast and creator said bonded them as a group, and with their primarily Puerto Rican crew and host country. I think that we all felt very connected to our crew, star Katrina Law told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour on Sunday. We were really very grateful that Sony and Crackle allowed us to go back after each evacuation, to go back into that environment and stay committed to our crew, and continue to bring money, creativity and production there. Thats the only way they can rebuild. Not only did we make a show together, we survived a hurricane together, she said. Also Read: 'The Oath' Trailer: Confusing Game of Cops and Robbers Begins in Crackle's 50 Cent Drama (Video) Hurricane Maria, a category 5 storm with winds up to 175 miles per hour, hit Puerto Rico and the Caribbean last fall and caused unprecedented amounts of damage, resulting in one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory. Hundreds of Puerto Ricans were killed, and many more were left without homes, electricity or access to clean drinking water. Describing a sense of survivors guilt in leaving the crew behind when it came time to evacuate, series creator and showrunner Joe Halpin said, The crew became family, so we all got to come together, not just behind the camera or in front of the camera, we got to blend together and make it the best. Halpin added, But it was also great to be able to tell them that we would come back, that we didnt abandon them. The Oath, starring Ryan Kwanten (True Blood) and Game of Thrones alum Sean Bean, alongside Law, Cory Hardrict, Arlen Escarpeta and J.J. Soria, explores the world of gangs made up of the very people sworn to protect and defend cops. Also Read: Mira Sorvino Joins Season 3 of Crackle's 'StartUp' Story continues The cast and crew all agreed that they felt it was important that they return to Puerto Rico, not just to finish shooting the series, but to help the country rebuild after a devastating natural disaster. A lot of us, all of us did volunteer work there and we were very happy to be reunited with our Puerto Rican family, said Law. It felt really really good to be able to go back and bring more jobs because some Puerto Rican families, they didnt have anything, said Hardrict. They didnt have shelter, they didnt have drinking water. So to go back, that meant everything to us It was our obligation to go back. It brought us all closer together, for sure, added star J.J. Soria. Related stories from TheWrap: 'The Oath' Trailer: 50 Cent's Crackle Series Exposes a Dangerous Game of Cops and Robbers (Video) Mira Sorvino Joins Season 3 of Crackle's 'StartUp' Gary Oldman-Produced Crime Drama, Rob Riggle Comedy in the Works at Sony Crackle Despite two top-notch cameos from SNL alumni, the real hero of the night was the person with a finger on the live audio mute button. Perhaps unsurprising given the weeks events, the presidents use of the word shithole led to two mutings during Weekend Update. The third happened in host Sam Rockwells first sketch, when he accidentally dropped an F bomb in a scene about obnoxious kids. In the cold open, the anchors of Morning Joe (once again played by Kate McKinnon and Alex Moffat) interview Michael Wolff, author of the tell-all Fire and Fury. Fred Armisen is a dead ringer for Wolff, so its a no-brainer for him to play the role. Less intuitively though no less brilliantly Bill Murray played disgraced media svengali Steve Bannon. Murrays impression of Bannon doesnt go deeper than the giant Bannon wig and a bad complexion, but it doesnt need to. Hes as relaxed and in command as anyone whos ever set foot in Studio 8H; even when he appears to lose the cue cards and bobbles his lines for a moment, he plays it off like a dramatic pause and soldiers on. Leslie Jones also appears as Oprah, which may be her first recurring character; Jones isnt a great impressionist, but Oprah is a good fit for her. She brings back Oprah for Weekend Update later in the show bringing along Stedman and it was absolute dynamite. More of this please. Best sketch of the night: Tucci Gang What better way to celebrate one of the greatest character actors alive than by celebrating another of the greats? Tucci Gang is a perfect parody and re-creation of Lil Pumps Gucci Gang video, right down to the inexplicable and thoroughly unnecessary tiger. The video clocks in at under two minutes; if only more SNL sketches adhered to the old adage Brevity is the soul of wit. Best use of the host: Marcus Comes to Dinner Rockwell is one of those inside actors his characters are always full of things bubbling just beneath the surface, and its fascinating to watch it all happen without him even saying a word. Obviously, thats not a particularly useful skill in the broad world of sketch comedy, but in this scene about a conservative father realizing his sons new lover is a porn star, it works perfectly. Rockwell grows more and more agitated until the revelation of his extensive knowledge of gay porn propels him up and out the door as all those things bubbling just beneath the surface spew out. Its a fantastic sketch, and the fathers exit (and subsequent re-entrance to grab his laptop) deserves to be on a Best of DVD somewhere. Story continues MVP of the Night: Cecily Strong Strong does great work in Fashion Panel and My Drunk Boyfriend, but she really knocks it out of the park in the latest parody of one of those real people, not actors commercials. Being labeled as not an actor in this faux Chantix ad stirs up Kellys insecurities, and she tries to turn the commercial into a showcase for her one-woman show. Sometimes sketches about Hollywood or the theater can feel self-indulgent actors writing about acting sometimes is funny only to other actors but Strong makes Kellys desperate bid for attention feel universal, even if you dont have a Nana from the old country. Animals will never not be funny: Genetics Lab This is a dumb sketch. Somebody watched one of those YouTube videos with the dogs head and human hands in a shirt and decided it needed to be on SNL. And you know what? Theres nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, a sketch is just going to be four and a half minutes of farts, and sometimes a sketch is just going to be an adorable golden retriever making actors break onstage because of how the dogs eating a sandwich. Comedy isnt always pretty, OK?! Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Melissa Benoist opened up about Supergirls split from former executive producer Andrew Kreisberg after an investigation into sexual misconduct accusations posed against the creator, during the Television Critics Association press tour on Monday. Benoist says that The CW program, which currently in its third season, is healing as a group after the revelations about Kreisbergs workplace behavior. That was a major disappointment, Benoist said. However, she said the Supergirl team, has recovered as a cast and a crew together. We have an atmosphere on set now that Im extremely proud of. There are a lot of amazing men that work on our show and we have a lot of amazing women in powerful positions on our show as well. Also Read: 'The Flash', 'Supergirl' EP Andrew Kreisberg Fired After Sexual Harassment Accusations Kreisberg was accused of inappropriate behavior by more than a dozen men and women last November. Speaking to Variety, the unnamed individuals accused Kreisberg of touching and kissing women without their permission, making sexualized comments about womens appearances and requesting massages from female staff members. Along with Supergirl, Kreisberg served as showrunner on both The Flash and Arrow, and was executive producer on DCs Legend of Tomorrow and The CW Seed series Vixen. Hes been removed from all five shows and has seen his overall deal with Warner Bros. terminated. Were all in the fight for equality and for a safer atmosphere in the working space, Benoist said, after noting that executive producers Jessica Queller and Sarah Schechter are two women who act as real leaders on the show. Also Read: 'Arrow,' 'The Flash' Executive Producer Suspended Over Sexual Harassment Accusation Benoist also touched on the major movement in Hollywood to support women coming forward with accusations and changing the industry as a whole. I think thats a matter of empathy, she said. I think thats a matter of listening to each other. Its as simple as standing in each others shoes for a day, across genders, across sexuality, across any platforms. I just think its a matter of listening to each other. Its hard to talk about something when youre still so in the thick of it and youre still so engulfed by sorting out confusion. But I really have hope. And I think that people are better than the way things have been. Story continues Related stories from TheWrap: 'The Flash', 'Supergirl' EP Andrew Kreisberg Fired After Sexual Harassment Accusations 'Supergirl,' CW Stars Call for Hollywood Change After Showrunner Suspended: 'You Are Weak and Complicit' 'Arrow,' 'The Flash' Executive Producer Suspended Over Sexual Harassment Accusation Black Flash Is Coming to CW's 'Arrow'-'The Flash' Universe This Season The family of Ngoc Truong, a four-year Navy veteran who recently passed away after a battle with cancer, are dealing with another tragedy. According to them, Truongs mother was denied a visa to come to the U.S. to attend his funeral. Hes already done for this country, but what has this country done for him? What did this country do for him? Truongs father said in an interview with WREG. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Truong died Dec. 17 after suddenly being diagnosed with leukemia. Services were held Dec. 26. He was 22 years old. Written on his headstone is a version of the famous line from President John F. Kennedys inaugural address: Dont ask what your country did for you, but ask what you did for your country. Though born in Vietnam, Truong was a U.S. citizen. He grew up in Blytheville, Ark., and after high school enlisted in the Navy, serving aboard the USS John McCain. After four years in the service he left the Navy in October to go to school in Florida for graphic design. It was then he was suddenly struck with the fatal illness. Truongs parents are divorced, and his mother lives in Vietnam. According to his father, who runs a jewelry store in Blytheville, her visa application was denied twice. The episode has left him fuming mad. In a statement emailed to WREG, the State Department did not explain why Truongs mother was denied a visa. Visa records are confidential under U.S. law. We are unable to discuss specific visa cases, wrote a State Department official. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. In news that is hardly believable, Kellyanne Conway is claiming the White House doesn't talk about Hillary Clinton much following the 2016 Election. The Counselor to the President recently appeared on CNN with Chris Cuomo to discuss the ongoing FBI investigation into potential collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and Russian officials. While denying possible collusion, Conway said, "We beat her fairly and squarely in this country through this democratic elective process. Look, so many people still can't get over the election results." As Cuomo laughed it off and insisted that the Trump administration is still obsessing over the election and Clinton, Conway said, "I'll make you a deal, Chris: I'll never talk about her again but then you can't talk about the 2016 Election because she lost that election." Adding, "We don't care about her. Nobody here talks about her. Nobody here talks about Hillary Clinton, I promise you." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Not only is Conway's claim a generalization of epic proportions, it's also flat-out untrue. In fact, just a few days before her interview, the president had tweeted about Clinton while slamming Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. He again tweeted about Clinton on the morning of Jan. 11, the day after Conway's interview. University of Pennsylvania sophomore Blaze Bernstein was spending time at home with his family in Southern California for winter break when he went missing on Jan. 3. The 19-year-olds lifeless body was found Jan. 9 in a shallow grave in the brush surrounding Borrego Park in Lake Forest, California, his parents hometown. He had been stabbed more than 20 times, according to the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times. Last Friday, the Orange County Sheriffs Department named Blazes high school friend Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20, as the suspect in the case and arrested him on suspicion of homicide. DNA evidence found inside Woodwards vehicle and at the crime scene at the park allegedly ties him to the murder, the Register and the Times report. Hundreds attended Mondays memorial service for the promising Ivy League student, as new details in the shocking case emerge. Here are five things to know about the case. 1. Blaze Was Stabbed More Than 20 Times as Authorities Investigate Possible Act of Rage Authorities have not yet said how they believe Blaze was killed. But on Monday the Orange County Register released details of an affidavit obtained before it was sealed revealing that Blaze was stabbed more than 20 times. Now, authorities are investigating whether the murder was as an act of rage the Register reports. Blaze Bernstein Woodward picked up Blaze at his home at about 11 p.m. on Jan. 2 and drove to the parking lot of a Hobby Lobby in Lake Forest, near Borrego Park, according to the affidavit obtained by the Register. Woodward told investigators that Blaze kissed him on the lips and that he pushed the teen away, according to the affidavit. While recounting that part of the story, Woodward allegedly clenched his jaw and fists as he told investigators that he wanted to tell Blaze to get off of him, the affidavit states. When investigators asked Woodward about dirt under his nails and scratches on his hands, he told them he got them because he fell in a mud puddle as part of a fight club, the affidavit says. Story continues Authorities have not yet released autopsy results. Woodward is scheduled to be arraigned in Central Jail in Santa Ana on Wednesday, when he is expected to be charged, a spokeswoman with the Orange County District Attorney tells PEOPLE. It is unclear if he has retained an attorney. 2. Police Have Not Commented on Motive Authorities have not commented on a potential motive in Blazes killing. They are still investigating how well Woodward and Blaze knew each other when they attended high school at the Orange County School of the Arts and why they were in the park together on the last night Blaze was seen alive. Samuel Woodward (left) The affidavit reveals that in June, Blaze texted two female friends about Woodward, the Register reports. In one conversation, he texted that Woodward was about to hit on me and he made me promise not to tell anyone but I have texted every one, uh oh, the affidavit states. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Authorities said Friday that Woodward has been cooperating with police, although he has not confessed. 3. Celebrities Posted About Blazes Disappearance While Police Had Surveillance on Woodward Blaze was home in California on break from the University of Pennsylvania at the time of his disappearance and death. His family reported him missing on Jan. 3 after having dinner with him, after which they went their separate ways, Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriffs Department, previously told PEOPLE. After Blaze missed a dental appointment the following afternoon, his parents reported him missing. Authorities scoured the area for days before his body was found. For more compelling true crime coverage,follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard. Celebrities including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mayim Bialik, and Kobe Bryant also posted about Blazes disappearance on Facebook and Twitter. Jeanne Pepper and Gideon Bernstein Investigators had Woodward under surveillance for some time before his arrest, based on alleged inconsistencies in his interviews with police, Orange County Undersheriff Don Barnes said on Friday. Blazes Snapchat account led investigators to Woodward, Barnes said. 4. Blaze Was a Pre-Med Student and Editor of Campus Food Magazine Blazes father, Gideon Bernstein, told reporters that his son had just become the managing editor of Penn Appetit, a food magazine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was very excited about that, Gideon said, according to the Orange County Register. He was working on that over the winter break and showed us the magazine they just published, which he significantly contributed to. Gideon said his son intended to declare a major in psychology with a minor in chemistry, pursuing it with a pre-med focus. 5. Fearing Hate Crime, Blazes Parents Say We are in Solidarity with LGBTQ Community On Monday, after the Register published gory details of Blazes death from an affidavit obtained before it was sealed, his parents, Jeanne and Gideon Bernstein, released a statement criticizing the timing of the story. We are saddened to hear, on the day we laid our son to rest, that gruesome details of the cause of his death were published, the Bernsteins wrote, the Times reports. Our son was a beautiful gentle soul who we loved more than anything. We were proud of everything he did and who he was. He had nothing to hide. We are in solidarity with our son and the LGBTQ community. If it is determined that this was a hate crime, we will cry not only for our son, but for LGBTQ people everywhere that live in fear or who have been victims of [a] hate crime. The family has asked that contributions be made to the Blaze Bernstein Memorial Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation Orange County. Donations will be given to the Orangewood Foundation and other organizations that help children and families in need. Julian Assange speaks from the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in May 2017 following Swedens dropping of sexual assault charges against the WikiLeaks founder. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be leaving the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for nonpolitical reasons: his body odor. The foreign minister of Ecuador, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, has said the country is considering and exploring the possibility of mediation to resolve the untenable situation with Assanges stay in the embassy. According to reports, Assange rarely bathes and doesnt wash his hands after eating. Unless the people around him force him into the shower, he might not change his clothes for days, Jeremie Zimmermann, a friend and former colleague, wrote in 2012. An aide close to Assange, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, told the International Business Times: Julian ate everything with his hands and he always wiped his fingers on his pants. I have never seen pants as greasy as his in my whole life. A source inside the embassy told the IBT that Assange doesnt wash properly, and that complaints by the staff may have prompted the Ecuadorian government to make arrangements for him to leave. Theres only one bathroom in the embassy, which the staff has to share with Assange, according to the IBT report. Assange has lived at the embassy for five years as a de facto political prisoner for avoiding arrest on sexual assault charges in Sweden. That case was dropped, but Assange still faces jail time for skipping bail. He could be arrested if he leaves the embassy. He also could still be extradited to the U.S. for leaking documents revealing military secrets and diplomatic cables in 2010. Hes remained the public face and head of WikiLeaks while living at the embassy and continues to publish secret documents. The Ecuadorian government has granted Assange citizenship, but its application to give him diplomatic status was turned down by the British government. It may not just be his alleged smell that is causing trouble for Assange with the Ecuadorians. His recent criticism of Ecuadorian ally Spain for human rights violations may have strained relations. Story continues In October Assange tweeted: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Witch hunt begins against Catalonian judges. In a private forum, a judge criticized Spanish police terrorizing Catalan voters calling them uniformed terrorists, wrote Assange. The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying, The comments by Mr. Julian Assange do not represent the position of the Ecuadorian State. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle Katherine Lang returned from a 10-day vacation to find people living in her South Carolina hom, which she was in the process of renovating. The family living there apparently fell victim to a rental scam while trying to move to the area from Kentucky. (Photo: Beaufort News) Katherine Lang of Beaufort, S.C., returned home after a 10-day vacation to make an unsettling discovery: A new family had moved into her home. She arrived to find two dogs running around, a cat lounging on top of a washing machine, and food cooking on the stove. She heard two people talking inside the house, found them, and confronted them. I said What are you doing in my house? Lang told the Beaufort Gazette. It became clear to me what happened. 22-year-old Tyggra Shepherd and her husband had moved into the house while Lang was away. The couple were apparent victims of a phony rental scam. The couple had come to Beaufort from Kentucky looking for work and needed a place to stay while they tried to improve their fortunes. They had their children stay with relatives, they say, while they explored their options in Beaufort. It was then they were taken in by a fake landlord offering Langs home for $850 in rent a month. I was so crushed when I found out it was a scam, Shepherd said. Finding a place to live in Beaufort is hard when you need something you can afford and still raise a family adequately. Shepherd burst into tears when she found out the home really belonged to Lang and that they would have to move out. The couple have apparently made arrangements with Lang to stay for a time and then move out. Lang, who is trying to sell the house, says shell move up her moving date to another local home. Shepherd originally responded to an ad posted to a Beaufort Facebook group advertising the home for rent. Shepherd says she wired the scammer $1,150 based on a phony lease agreement and that she was supposed to receive a set of keys in the mail. But they never arrived. The phony landlord, according to Shepherd, said that the delivery driver with the keys had been arrested and the truck impounded. The landlord, however, told them that the back door was unlocked and they could move in whenever they were ready. Its believed the fake landlord got access to the house with a spare key kept under the cover of an outdoor electrical outlet. Story continues They tell people to send the deposit to a certain address, and people trustingly do that, said Susan Trogdon, a local residential and commercial property manager. People just really have to do their research when they do anything online and find a reputable company somebody you can verify exists. The Beaufort Police Department have a three-officer task force with a mission to handle rental fraud, but this case is the only recent one to be reported. Shepherd was reportedly encouraged to file a report with the FBI. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. A woman has died after being forced to jump off a casino shuttle boat off Floridas Gulf Coast when it caught on fire Sunday. The woman died Sunday night after arriving at the hospital at 10 p.m., Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point spokesman Kurt Conover told the Associated Press. Conover said the woman had gone home following the fire but came to the hospital after getting ill. The womans cause of death has not been determined. Her name has not been released. Fifteen other people were injured in the fire, which struck the boat Sunday afternoon, causing all 50 passengers and crew aboard to jump off. None of the injuries were initially thought to be life threatening. The boat began having engine problems shortly after leaving Port Richey, and turned back to shore as it became engulfed in smoke and flames, Port Richey Chief of Police Gerard DeCanio told the AP. It looked pretty dramatic because the shuttle boat burned really fast, DeCanio said. Authorities in Florida say the wrong person was killed last Sunday in a murder-for-hire plot set up by another woman. Ishnar Marie Lopez, 35, was upset that a "man she loved" was in a relationship with another woman, according to Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson. So, she allegedly hired Alexis Ramos, 35, and his girlfriend, Glorianmarie Quinones Montes, 22, to kill the woman. Authorities said Ramos and Montes approached the woman, Janice Zengotita-Torres, they believed to be their target outside of her job at Ross Dress for Less in Kissimmee. The intended target reportedly worked at the location with Zengotita-Torres. The couple then allegedly followed Zengotita-Torres home and forced her into the back of her car. They then drove her to an apartment in Orlando. They eventually realized they had the wrong person, but decided to kill her anyway, police said. Gibson said Ramos then beat her, and she eventually suffocated because of the garbage bags on her head. "However, the suspects continued with their plan of murder and tied the victim with zip ties and then (covered) her head in duct tape and garbage bags," Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson told Fox 35. The pair drove Zengotita-Torres vehicle to Ormond Beach and dumped her body, police said. They later abandoned her car. Cable workers found her body on Monday morning. Zengotita-Torres, who was married and had a 14-year-old son, was reported missing by her family on Monday. Lopez was arrested Friday and Ramos and Montes were arrested later that day a hotel near Orlando. Police said all three confessed to the crime. "She was the target of a senseless act of violence in which she was robbed of her life," Gibson said. All three suspects are charged with murder. RELATED STORIES 'Go Between' Arrested in Murder-for-Hire of Florida State University Law Professor: Cops Newlywed Convicted of Murder-for-Hire After Jury Deliberates for Just 90 Minutes Woman Claims Sexy Courtroom Outfits Turned Jury Against Her in Murder-for-Hire Trial Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Related Articles: I am a Republican in the era of Donald Trump, and I am emotionally depleted by the constant cruelty of the President of the United States. Ive told myself repeatedly that I am done being shocked by a degenerate of such magnitude that I wouldnt want to invite him to a family gathering for fear of what he might say in front of my mother. But just when you say you cant be surprised, Trump exceeds the generosity of your lowest expectations. My heart hurt when Trump went out of his way to attack Myeshia Johnson, the pregnant widow of a fallen soldier he sent to the battlefield. I recoiled in disgust when he slanderously (and laughably) insinuated that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was willing to prostitute herself to him for a political donation. When the President offered that among the white supremacists who killed a peaceful protester, there were some some very fine people, it felt like an alternate history, one where the Citizens Council ascended to power instead of ignominy. Then theres his support for Roy Moore, even after multiple women accused Moore of preying on them when they were teenagers and he was in his thirties. I dont think the way I feel is what they mean by bleeding heart. The GOPs journey from embracing compassionate conservatism to accepting Trumps unparalleled capacity for casual cruelty cannot be dismissed as craven politics; its a threat to our security when the President taunts a nuclear-armed rogue dictator on social media. There was a time not so long ago when Republican presidents not to mention other Republican leaders cared about Americas standing in the world, as a matter of principle and peace. The previous Republican president George W. Bush made compassion a literal domestic policy priority by funding what he called armies of compassion through faith-based initiatives. This Republican president seems hell-bent on stripping any semblance of compassion from the national and global conversation. Story continues The United States government that Trump helms previously invested a lot of money every year on public diplomacy in 2016, around $2 billion. Trump believes theres no need to fill diplomatic appointments theres still not an Ambassador to South Korea because, as he puts it, the only one who matters is me. His strategy of demeaning the homes of the men and women of an entire continent and a neighboring island and country is as cruel as it is irresponsible. In 1953, in response to the CIAs pressure to overthrow the elected leader of Iran, President Dwight D. Eisenhower wondered aloud in a National Security Council meeting if perhaps we couldnt try to get some of the people in these downtrodden countries to like us instead of hating us? Though Eisenhower would end up taking the CIAs destructive advice to overthrow Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh, in general the former Supreme Commander of Allied Forces during World War II belabored the importance of alliances during the war and his presidency. There is no strength equal to the strength of an enduring friendship, Eisenhower said, reflecting his belief that military might was meaningless without relationships based on mutual respect. President George H.W. Bush was another World War II hero who leveraged human connection for the national interest. By practicing exhaustive personal diplomacy, Bush organized a financial and military coalition that forced Iraqi tyrant Saddam Husseins withdrawal from Kuwait. A hypothetical question: how many world partners could Donald Trump enlist to join him for a cause? In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, other nations did join with us against al-Qaeda. But although we must learn from our failures of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, the solution isnt to withdraw from the worldor, worse yet, actively insult and alienate it. Trumps most ardent supporters will continue to praise him for ignoring the social mores of political correctness. While I resent the stifling of free speech in an increasingly hypersensitive world, Trump is not a brave truth-teller; hes the figurehead of our nation whose first year in office is most notable for his destructive casual cruelty. It is not hypersensitivity to be offended by blatantly racist, misogynistic and war-mongering statements from a man who refuses to exercise an ounce of self-control. Republicans used to believe that individuals were responsible for exercising self-control. Why does the Commander-in-Chief get a pass? While Trump spoke of American carnage in his Inaugural address, Ronald Reagan ended his second one by describing what he called the American sound: hopeful, big-hearted, idealistic, daring, decent, and fair. These are values that all Americans used to proudly champion, no matter the political party. Other Republicans still can, if they can summon the courage to state the obvious. Dubai (AFP) - Bahrain's court of cassation on Monday confirmed a two-year jail sentence against prominent activist Nabeel Rajab, convicted for press statements critical of his government, a judicial source said. In July, the high-profile activist was found guilty of "disseminating rumours and false information" and sentenced to two years in prison over television interviews critical of the Bahraini government. He had appealed the sentence but a lower court upheld it in November and Monday's verdict means he can no longer appeal the jail term. Rajab also faces a potential 15-year sentence in a second case linked to tweets in which he criticised Saudi Arabia and its allies, including Bahrain, for their role in the Yemen war. He will face a new hearing in that case on February 21, the judicial source said on condition of anonymity. Bahraini rights groups the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, which was founded by Rajab, both confirmed Monday's high court decision. International rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticised the Rajab trials, with Amnesty slamming them as "farcical". Home to a majority Shiite Muslim population, the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom has been rocked by unrest since security forces cracked down on Shiite-led protests in 2011 demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister. Rajab was among the leaders of the protest movement. Bahrain is located between Saudi Arabia and its arch-rival Iran and has been ruled for more than 200 years by the Al-Khalifa dynasty. Authorities accuse Shiite Iran of backing the protesters and inciting unrest, a charge Tehran denies. Bahrain is home to the US Fifth Fleet and a British military base that is still under construction. 23:45 The Congress today hit out at the Modi government over its decision that passport holders requiring emigration check would be given an orange-coloured passport, saying the BJP was "obsessed" with orange and the move "screamed of discrimination". The Congress put out a video on its Twitter handle, saying the move could encourage "classism" against migrant workers. The video shows the BJP's top leadership and workers staging protests, besides the RSS workers taking out a march past wearing orange/saffron-coloured clothes/bandanas/flags. "A passport of a different colour for a certain class of Indians is an invitation for discrimination. #OrangeIsTheNewBlue," the Congress tweet said. The video also stated that, "We know the BJP is obsessed with the colour orange...the newest target is our passport, that could change from blue to orange." "This move screams discrimination and could encourage classism against migrant workers...Could this be India's new caste system? Orange is the new Blue," the video says. Congress president Rahul Gandhi yesterday attacked the Modi government over its decision that passport holders requiring emigration check would be given an orange-coloured passport while others will continue to get a blue one, saying it shows the BJP's "discriminatory mindset". He also said the move was unacceptable and shows that the government was treating India's migrant workers as "second class citizens". The passport holders with ECR (Emigration Check Required) status would be issued a passport with orange passport jacket and those with non-ECR status would continue to get a blue passport, an MEA statement had said last week. ECR is mostly required for less skilled workers. "Treating India's migrant workers like second class citizens is completely unacceptable. This action demonstrates BJP's discriminatory mindset," the Congress president had tweeted yesterday. -- PTI Former president Bill Clinton has hit out at the suggestion his Clinton Foundation footed the bill for daughter Chelseas wedding to Marc Mezvinsky. The former first daughter married investment banker Mezvinsky in 2010, in a ceremony her father has strenuously denied funding through the familys charitable organization in a tweet on Saturday. No Clinton Foundation fundsdedicated to Haiti or otherwisewere used to pay for Chelseas wedding. Its not only untrue, its a personal insult to me, to Hillary, and to Chelsea and Marc, Clinton wrote, sharing a link to an article by The Washington Post that fact-checked the claim and reported there was no evidence to support it. Trending: Five Things to Watch in the Middle East for 2018 This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The suggestion the Clintons had paid for their daughter's wedding with money from the foundation was raised in 2016 during the hack of Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podestas emails. 9-26-Chelsea-Clinton Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Don't miss: Trump Is a Dangerous 'Asteroid of Awfulness That Has Fallen on This World': British Politician In an email exchange between Podesta and former Bill Clinton aide Doug Band in 2012, Band refers to Chelsea Clinton: "using foundation resources for her wedding," in claims that there has not been any further evidence to support. The investigation into her getting paid for campaigning, using foundation resources for her wedding and life for a decade, taxes on money from her parents.I hope you will speak to her and end this, Band says in the email to Podesta, although no further details are mentioned nor explained further, The Post reported. The claim was reported by Wikileaks during the 2016 presidential election campaign, with the organization sharing a link to the emails and writing: Chelsea Clinton used Clinton Foundation resources for her wedding -- email from top Bill Clinton aid [sic] Doug Band. Most popular: Trump Is 'Playing With Fire,' Turkey Says, After U.S. Sets Up Syrian Border Force Story continues Neither Band nor Podesta commented on the email, although The Post alleges the claims released in the email by Wikileaks were among the factors that had swayed some people from voting for Clinton in 2016. Bill Clintons tweet comes shortly after it emerged that the Clinton Foundation was facing an investigation from the Justice Department over whether it engaged in any "pay-to-play" politics or other illegal activities while Hillary Clinton served as Secretary of State, according to reports. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Yuka Obayashi and Josephine Mason TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - A stricken Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea on Sunday in the worst oil ship disaster in decades has produced a large oil slick, Chinese media and Japanese authorities said on Monday, as worries grew over damage to the marine ecosystem. The tanker Sanchi (IMO:9356608) had been adrift and ablaze after crashing into the freighter CF Crystal (IMO:9497050) on Jan. 6. Strong winds had pushed it away from the Chinese coast, where the incident happened, and into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Japan Coast Guard said oil had spread over an area 13 km (8.1 miles) long and 11 km (6.8 miles) wide, although it said the slick was shrinking as patrol boats battled to contain it. The Coast Guard said the fire on the sea surface was put out at around 0200 GMT on Monday, although according to other authorities and Chinese state TV CCTV black smoke continued to billow from the site of the sinking for several more hours. A clean-up effort has begun and rescue teams have called a halt to the large-scale search for survivors, reducing it to "normal" operations, CCTV said. The Sanchi's crew of 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis are all believed to have perished in the incident, which marks the biggest tanker spill since 1991, when 260,000 tonnes of oil leaked off the Angolan coast. The East China Sea is known for its rich, although already polluted, marine ecosystem that includes whales, porpoises and seabirds, said Rick Steiner, a U.S. marine scientist with experience of oil spills. Greenpeace said in a statement the explosion and sinking had occurred in "an important (fish) spawning ground". "At this time of year the area is used as wintering ground by common edible species such as hairtail, yellow croaker, chub mackerel and blue crab. The area is also on the migratory pathway of many marine mammals, such as humpback whale, right whale and gray whale," Greenpeace said. HIGHLY FLAMMABLE OIL The blazing vessel, which had been carrying 136,000 tonnes - almost one million barrels - of condensate, an ultra-light, highly flammable crude oil, sank on Sunday after several explosions weakened the hull. The Shanghai Maritime Bureau, under China's Ministry of Transport, said shortly before 0800 GMT on Monday there was no more heavy smoke at the scene. Japanese authorities lost track of the tanker as of 0840 GMT on Sunday, a spokesman for Japan's Coast Guard said. The ship's last confirmed location was about 315 km (195 miles) west of Sokkozaki on the island of Amami Oshima, one of the northern islands in the Ryukyu island chain that includes Okinawa. Japan sent two patrol boats and an airplane to the area to search for missing crew members and assess the latest situation, the Coast Guard spokesman said. The Shanghai Maritime Bureau said these, along with a South Korean patrol boat, were among the vessels carrying out emergency response work on Monday. A Chinese salvage team on Saturday recovered two bodies from the tanker, China's state news agency Xinhua reported. Another body, presumed to be one of the Sanchi's sailors, was found on Jan. 8 and taken to Shanghai for identification. Iranian officials said on Sunday the remaining 29 crew members and passengers of the tanker were presumed dead. The salvage team recovered the Sanchi's voyage data recorder, or "black box" from the bridge of the tanker, Xinhua said on Saturday. But the team was forced to leave the ship after just half an hour because the wind shifted and "thick toxic smoke" had complicated the operation. "Finding the black box will be helpful for all parties in correctly determining the reasons for the accident," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Monday. Lu said rescue and clean-up efforts had been a focus for China from the beginning, but that Beijing welcomed "other relevant parties" to participate in both the search and rescue and treatment work. "TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE" Experts worry the ship's sinking is potentially more damaging to the marine ecosystem than letting the condensate oil burn off. The sinking will likely expel the remaining condensate and the tanker's bunker fuel, or the heavy fuel oil that powers a ship's engines, contaminating the surrounding waters. Bunker fuel is the dirtiest kind of oil, extremely toxic when spilled, though less explosive. Condensate is poisonous to marine organisms. "As with all major oil spills, time is of the essence. This is particularly so with condensate spills, as the substance is so toxic and volatile," said Steiner, the U.S. marine scientist. Fuel oil is relatively easy to contain because volumes are lower and its viscosity means it is easier to extract from water, but even small volumes can harm marine life. A Suezmax tanker can hold a maximum of 5,000 tonnes of bunker fuel. The Sanchi may have been carrying about 1,000 tonnes by the time it hit the grain freighter CF Crystal, according to bunker fuel traders' estimates. "As the fuel oil cools, it will become more viscous which will help to slow or even prevent leaks," Greenpeace said. "In this scenario, it is possible that we will see chronic low volume leakage over a period of time at the seabed. Impact would remain relatively local." (For a map of oil tanker collision, click http://tmsnrt.rs/2CBgqai) (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi in TOKYO and Josephine Mason in BEIJING; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gareth Jones) A bookstore in New York revised their shithole countries display to say something much more inclusive On Thursday, January 11th, president Donald Trump made a remark about shithole countries during a meeting in the Oval Office. Soon after, a bookstore in Kingston, New York created a book display alluding to the shithole countries comment. With the intention of standing in solidarity with immigrants, Rough Draft Bar & Books set up a table featuring books written by diverse authors. The table included a sign that read: WRITERS FROM S##THOLE COUNTRIES. Rough Drafts book table featured selections like What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi, who was born in Nigeria. And I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai, who was born in Pakistan. It also included books by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Roxane Gay, and Junot Diaz. Photos of the Writers from Shithole Countries display quickly went viral. But though the table intended to highlight diverse authors and storytelling, it received a lot of backlash. Many people called out the bookstore for using Trumps racist wording in the first place. So on Saturday, January 13th, Rough Draft removed the sign and replaced it with one that reads: E Pluribus Unum. The Latin phrase means out of many, one. The motto is part of U.S. iconography and is featured on several U.S. currencies. Rough Draft posted a picture of the revised sign with a lengthy explanation and apology. Dear friends of Rough Draft,Over the past two days weve received thousands of reactions to our book display table.... Posted by Rough Draft Bar & Books on Saturday, January 13, 2018 When we opened Rough Draft, we decided we would always try to speak out about issues important to us, and always in a positive way. This week, when we heard disparaging remarks made about other countries, we got angry. And our reaction was to make a defiant, tongue-in-cheek statement that we felt demonstrated solidarity with immigrants from these countries and others, and alliance with those who feel America is great because of the countless immigrants who have come before us and who add to our strengths today. And while many of you expressed approval, we also heard from some of you that the language, even used sarcastically, was still hurtful and inappropriate. For that, we apologize. Story continues On Twitter, people were talking about the issues with reappropriating racial slurs, while also calling out performative allyship, as journalist Stacy-Marie Ishmael noted. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Rough Draft pledged to donate 100 percent of profits from the book table. They will also donate 10 percent of their total store sales from MLK weekend. The proceeds will go to the International Rescue Committee, which provides humanitarian relief as well as aid to refugees around the world. We commend Rough Draft for staying true to their mission: speaking out about whats important. (Reuters) - Thirteen malnourished siblings, ranging in age from 2 to 29, were rescued by police in California from a house where some of them had been chained to beds, and their parents have been charged with torture, officials said on Monday. Police made the discovery after a 17-year-old girl escaped the house in Perris, about 70 miles (113 km) east of Los Angeles, and used a cellular phone she had found in the house to call them, the Riverside County Sheriff's Office said in a statement released online. "Deputies located what they believed to be 12 children inside the house, but were shocked to discover that seven of them were actually adults," police said in a statement. "The victims appeared to be malnourished and very dirty." The girl, who officers had initially thought was about 10 years old, contacted police on Sunday after escaping. The children's parents, David Allen Turpin, 57, and Louise Anna Turpin, 49, were arrested and each charged with nine counts of torture and 10 counts of child endangerment. They were ordered held on $9 million bail, police said. Six of the couple's children are minors, while the other seven are over 18, police said. The siblings told officers that they were starving, police said. The police in a statement did not detail the parents' motive for holding the children hostage, and a police spokesman said he had no further details. The hostages were found in a neighborhood of closely spaced one- and two-story single-family homes. A Facebook page that appeared to have been created by the parents showed the couple dressed in wedding clothes, surrounded by 10 female children in matching purple plaid dresses and three male children in suits. A neighbor who answered the phone on Monday but declined to be identified described the neighborhood as recently built and said he did not know the Turpins and had not noticed anything unusual. The parents are next due in court on Thursday. (Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston and Ian Simpson in Washington, D.C.; Editing by Leslie Adler) The car hurtled through the air before crashing into the upper floor of the building (AP) A car that ran into a road divider in California ended up hurtling 60ft into the air before crashing into the top floor of a building. Astonishing pictures show a Nissan sedan hanging out of the dentist office in Santa Ana after the crash at around 5.25am on Sunday morning. Guests at a motel next door woke up to the sound of the car hitting the office complex, which was thankfully closed at the time. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The two people inside the car managed to escape suffering only minor injuries (AP) The crash also started a small fire that was later put out by the Los Angeles County Fire Department. One of the two people in the car manage to get out but another was stuck inside for over an hour before they were rescued. MOST POPULAR ON YAHOO UK TODAY Brave boy, nine, battled cancer for long enough to meet baby sister before passing away Chinese snowflake boy gets 245,000 in donations after ice hair picture goes viral Snow and ice are coming: What will the UK weather be like this week? Tributes pour in for woman, 28, killed while working in travel agents in Southport Both driver and passenger survived the crash, suffering only minor injuries. Police say the driver of the car told officers he had used drugs before the crash and he is likely to faced a charge of driving under the influence. A specialist forklift was needed to pull the car from the building (AP) A specialist forklift was later required to pull the car from the top of the building. The owner of the dental practice has not commented on the crash. A car crashed into the second story of a southern California office building Sunday morning after the vehicle went airborne when the driver hit the center divider in the road, officials said. Making for an unusual sight, the car appeared lodged into the second story of a dental office in Santa Ana, Calif., when Orange County Fire Agency officials arrived at the scene. Two people suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash, officials said. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The Santa Ana Police Department said the car was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit the center divider and went airborne. According to the police department, the driver of the car admitted to using narcotics, and will be admitted to a local hospital for observation. In a tweet early Sunday morning, Orange County fire officials said one person was still trapped inside the car when they arrived to the scene. He or she was later removed from the vehicle. The other person had self extricated, officials said. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. As the sun came up in California, officials in the Los Angeles County Urban Search & Rescue team helped Orange County fire officials remove the car from the building. A fire that sparked as a result of the crash was also extinguished, officials said. Santa Ana is located about 35 miles south of Los Angeles. Two House Democrats announced on Friday that they planned to introduce a measure to censure President Donald Trump, following his comments describing Haiti and African nations as shithole countries. Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) and Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) will formally unveil a resolution, after expressing that they were deeply disturbed and offended by Trumps reported comments, in which he said hed prefer immigrants from countries like Norway over El Salvador. His comments were condemned as "racist" by critics, who say he must be roundly condemned. But what is censure, and what would it mean for Trump? Trending: Trump's 'Shithole' Comments Were Not Racist, Rand Paul Says The process is, according to the U.S. Senate, a formal statement of disapproval. It is not as severe as impeachment, nor does it hinder the president from continuing to govern as he sees fit. The Senate could pass a censure resolution by majority vote, but lawmakers could filibuster the measure, requiring 60 votes to cut off debate. 657423744 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images A censured president can remain in officeunlike impeachment, or the invocation of the 25th Amendment, both of which would remove the president from the White House and allow the vice president to step in. Rather, censure is a public reprimand that sends a message to the rest of the world that not all lawmakers are on the same page. Story continues Don't miss: What Is the Best Diet? The Mediterranean Approach Can Help You Stay Strong Into Old Age "This censure resolution is important because America is a beacon of hope, said Richmond and Nadler in a joint statement. We have to show the world that this President does not represent the real feelings of most of the American people which is part of the reason why he lost the popular vote." Democratic Reps. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (N.J.) introduced a measure to censure Trump in August after his comments about the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The only president who has ever been censured by the Senate was Andrew Jackson in 1834. Lawmakers demanded that he turn over a document regarding the closure of the Bank of the United States, and Jackson refused, so the Senate voted 26 to 20 to censure the president for assuming power not conferred by the Constitution. The House has considered censure measures for Presidents James Polk, John Tyler and Bill Clinton. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Imprisoned leaker and activist confirms plan to run as a Democrat in Maryland with video hashtagged #WeGotThis, saying: We need someone willing to fight After seven years in military prison for carrying out one of the largest leaks in US history and coming out as a transgender woman, Chelsea Manning is embarking on the next stage in her epic journey: running for a seat in the US Senate. The former US army private, who was held in military lockup for far longer than any other official leaker in modern times, has declared in a federal filing her intention to run in this years Democratic primaries for a Maryland Senate seat. Now 30, she confirmed she was entering the race in a video posted on Twitter on Sunday under her now established internet trademark #WeGotThis. We live in trying times. Times of fear, of suppression, of hate, Manning said in the video dressed in black and holding a red rose. Over grainy shots of riot police assailing protesters and of Donald Trump in the Oval Office, she went on: We dont need more or better leaders, we need someone willing to fight. Manning also tweeted a link for campaign donations. The audacious decision to stand for one of the most exalted political positions in the country less than eight months after she was released from Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas underlines how rapidly Manning has taken to civilian life. Though it has not all been plain sailing she was turned back from the Canadian border in September, having been refused entry she has embraced her new role as an LGBTQ and progressive celebrity. Having spent the best part of a decade with no direct access to the internet, she has become a Twitter star with some 319,000 followers. She fills her Twitter feed with rainbow emoji and upbeat refrains that should translate easily into campaign slogans, including We can do better and We have more power than they do a reference to the Trump firmament. Despite these advantages, Mannings challenge will be steep. In the Democratic primary she will face Ben Cardin, who has served two six-year terms in the Senate and has built a name for himself on the chambers foreign affairs committee as a dogged investigator of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Story continues Cardins work on the committee has brought him to focus on an organization which overlaps with Mannings personal history: WikiLeaks. The open information website, run by Julian Assange out of his place of exile in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, released thousands of emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the presidential race. US intelligence agencies have asserted that the emails were hacked by the Russian government in a brazen attempt to distort the election in favour of Trump. Manning transferred a vast stash of about 700,000 embassy cables, war logs and videos to WikiLeaks in 2010. Though at the time the soldier and Assange appeared to have forged an internet friendship, Manning has since moved away from him and had nothing further to do with WikiLeaks after the initial transfer of leaked data. Whatever the outcome of the primaries, Mannings decision to stand is likely to cement her reputation as one of the most arresting new voices to emerge in the so-called resistance to Trump. In that regard, there is no love lost. Trump has been consistently antagonistic towards the former soldier. In January 2017, after Barack Obama commuted Mannings 35-year sentence and ordered her release, Trump tweeted: Ungrateful TRAITOR Chelsea Manning, who should never have been released from prison, is now calling President Obama a weak leader. Terrible! 23:32 Attacking the BJP for calling Haj subsidy a form of Muslim appeasement and vote bank politics, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi today claimed the party's government in Uttar Pradesh gave funds for pilgrimages, and wanted to know if that would be stopped. Funds are also given for the Kumbh Mela, while the Congress government in Karnataka gives grants to those who undertake 'Chardham Yatra', Owaisi claimed, adding he himself had demanded withdrawal of the Haj subsidy long ago. "Haj subsidy this year is (Rs) 200 crore & it would have been phased out by 2022 as per Supreme Court order, since 2006 I have been demanding that should be removed & used for Muslim girls education upliftment," Owaisi tweeted. There will be no subsidy for Haj from this year, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said today, calling the step "part of our policy to empower minorities with dignity and without appeasement". Owaisi, in another tweet, asked if the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh would stop the funds, which he said, are given for pilgrimage to Ayodhya, Kashi and other temple towns. "#Haj Subsidy BJP /RSS had called It appeasement, vote Bank Pol my Qs to BJP will you bring a Bill in parliament remove Article 290A of Constitution, Will BJP Tell Yogi govt to stop 800 crore for pilgrimage to Ayodhya,Kashi,Mathura 1.5 lakh to each Manasarovar yatri?" he asked. Article 290A relates to annual payment to certain Devaswom Funds. "Haj Subsidy 3 Qs to BJP/RSS Why did Haryana government give 1 Crore to Dera Sacha Sauda was it for electoral appeasement? 4qs why did Modi govt gave grant of 100 crore to MP govt for Simhastha Maha Kumbh & MP govt had spend 3,400 crore was this not appeasement," Owaisi said in a series of tweets. Claiming that the Congress government in Karnataka gave Rs 20,000 to each pilgrim who undertook 'Chardham Yatra', Owaisi asked whether it was not "appeasement of majority". Would the NDA government "walk the talk" by allocating enough funds for the education of Muslims girls, he asked. "I challenge the Modi Government to walk the talk by allocating 2,0000 crores for Muslim girls scholarships...will wait and see in next budget 18-19," he said. -- PTI A foreign submarine spotted cruising through waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea last week was actually a Chinese nuclear missile attack submarine, Japan said on Monday. Itsunori Onodera, Japans defense minister, told reporters that the unidentified submarine was "China's Shang-Class nuclear-powered attack submarine," a vessel that is able to carry several long-range cruise missiles and torpedoes. "Nuclear-powered submarines can also cruise for long hours and it is more difficult to detect them because they dive deep," Onodera said. "We have serious concerns as the submarine's underwater passing through our country's contiguous waters is an act that unilaterally increases tension." Trending: Can Legal Pot Save New York City's Subway? Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Has a Plan GettyImages-86150015 Getty The contiguous zone is a band of water that sits beyond the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters that surround a country. It can extend up to 24 nautical miles from the outer edge of the territorial sea from the baseline. The 360-foot-long Shang-class submarine can carry torpedoes and ship-to-ship missiles with a maximum firing range of around 25 miles, reported the South China Morning Post. Don't miss: Scholastic Book 'George' About Transgender Child Outrages Conservative Group Calling for Boycott Onoderas statement came on the same day China announced it had sent three coastguard vessels to conduct patrols around the water around the disputed islands. However, Beijing has not yet confirmed or denied Tokyos claims that it sent an attack sub. Last Thursday, Japan warned Beijing against taking any actions that will damage bilateral ties, after a Chinese military warship and a foreign submarine were seen near disputed islands in the East China Sea. Story continues We want to strongly urge China not to do anything to interfere with improving bilateral ties, Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a news conference Thursday. Most popular: Rape and Murder of 7-Year-Old Girl Could Have Been Prevented, Pakistan High Court Says The 4,000-ton Jiangkai-II class frigate was spotted that day at around 11 a.m. sailing near the contested waters, known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, according to the South China Morning Post. The Chinese ship did not enter Japanese territorial waters. According to Japans Defense Ministry, a foreign submarinewhich has now been identified as the Shang-class nuclear attack submarinewas also detected in the same area last Wednesday as well as on Thursday. By Thursday afternoon, both vessels had vacated the area and have not been seen since. In a news conference on Thursday, Lu Kang, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson, declared that the islands were a part of Beijings territory and warned Japan to stop complicating the issue, reported NHK World. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Mr Lewis has been a staunch Trump foe: Rick Diamond/Getty Images Civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis says that he thinks President Donald Trump is racist after reports indicated that the President referred to Haiti and African countries as s***hole countries. I think he is a racist, Mr Lewis said during a Sunday appearance on ABCs This Week. We have to stand up. We have to speak up and not try to sweep it under the rug, he continued, when asked what can be done about the perceived racism in the White House. Mr Trumps comments reportedly came during a meeting with Congressional leadership to try and determine a path forward towards immigration reform. At the time, the leaders were reportedly discussing how to help places like Haiti, which was devastated by an earthquake in 2010. The President has denied using those specific words, but admitted that he had used a tough tone during the talks. Just after those talks, Mr Trump delivered an address honouring Rev. Martin Luther King, who will be celebrated with a national holiday Monday. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Mr Lewis said that its impossible to reconcile Mr Trumps s***hole comments with his prepared remarks honouring Kings legacy. There's not any way you can do that. It's unreal. It's unbelievable. It makes me sad. It make me cry, Mr Lewis said. Mr Lewis and Mr Trump havent exactly been on good terms before. The civil rights hero found himself in the Presidents cross hairs last year before inauguration day when he said that Mr Trump was not a legitimately elected president. In response, Mr Trump called Mr Lewis district crime infested, and suggested he should spend more time making it a better place for his constituents. Mr Lewis was also one of several dozen House Democrats who voted in favour of beginning impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump and his presidency. Tripoli (AFP) - Fighting at the Libyan capital's only working international airport killed at least 20 people Monday, officials said, after militiamen attacked it in an attempt to free colleagues held at a jail there. Mitiga airport, a former military air base on the eastern outskirts of the capital, was evacuated when the clashes erupted and roads to the facility were closed. Six Libyan aircraft on the tarmac were hit by gunfire, an airport source said. In an updated casualty toll, the health ministry of Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) said 20 people were killed and 63 wounded in the clashes. It did not specify if the casualties were civilians or fighters. Several assailants were arrested, according to Tripoli security services run by the interior ministry. "All the infrastructure of the military base and the airport are under control and undamaged," it said, although a resumption of flights had yet to be announced several hours later. The airport source and a local resident said the assailants were repelled and that fighting moved to their headquarters around 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to the east of the facility and had eased by late Monday. Mitiga has been a civilian airport since the city's main international airport was badly damaged in fighting between rival militias in mid-2014. The North African country has been wracked by chaos since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed long-time dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with rival authorities and militias battling for control of its oil riches. The airport's closure was announced after Al-Radaa, a force loyal to the GNA and tasked with keeping the facility secure, said it had come under attack. An armed group "attacked Mitiga international airport... which is home to a prison where more than 2,500 people are detained for various" reasons, Al-Radaa said on its Facebook page. - - Unidentified gunmen launched the attack in a bid "to free" some of their colleagues detained there, it said. Story continues The GNA, in a statement, condemned "the premeditated attack on the perimeter of Mitiga International Airport... endangering the lives of passengers and the safety of civil aviation". "This attack was aimed at the release of terrorists belonging to the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda organisations and other groups from the detention centre" run by Al-Radaa, it said. Al-Ridaa said more than 2,500 people are detained at the centre for a variety of offences. A Libyan pilot said earlier that the airport, the scene of frequent clashes between rival militias, was evacuated once the fighting broke out. "All the staff and passengers who were at the airport were evacuated," the pilot said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We saw tanks in the airport's perimeter." With all roads to Mitiga closed, artillery fire could be heard as far away as Tajura 30 kilometres (18 miles) east of Tripoli, AFP reporters said. Only domestic airlines operate in the country, serving domestic routes and flights to Tunis, Egypt's Alexandria, Amman, Istanbul and Khartoum. The EU has banned Libyan airlines for security reasons. Since the 2011 revolution, Libya has descended into political and military chaos, with militias who had fought to topple Kadhafi often turning against each other. Libya has rival administrations, with the authorities in the east not recognising the GNA based in the capital. Al-Radaa is loyal to the GNA and also serves as a police force in Tripoli, as well as tracking suspected jihadists and drug and alcohol smugglers. This week, the Swiss Federal Council banned cooks from placing live lobsters in boiling water, and as of March 1, all lobsters must first be knocked unconscious by electric shock or mechanical destruction of the brain. This would put Switzerland in the company of New Zealand and the small Italian city of Reggio Emilia, where leaders have also banned what they consider to be an inhumane way of killing the crustaceans. The Swiss Federal Council also stipulates that lobsters must be transported in seawater, as opposed to ice or ice water, for their comfort. Many researchers agree that lobsters cannot feel pain, though this convention was challenged by a 2013 study that showed that crabs avoided electric shocks, which suggests some level of ability to feel pain. Speaking to the BBC at the time that the 2013 study was released, Bob Elwood from Queens University Belfast, said, I dont know what goes on in a crabs mind. but what I can say is the whole behavior goes beyond a straightforward reflex response and it fits all the criteria of pain. Traditionally, there have been two criteria that help determine if a being can experience pain: whether or not that being responds to the pain stimulus by moving either the whole body or affected body part away from the stimulus (called nociception), and whether or not that being experiences suffering. Nociception is what the 2013 researchers observed in the crabs that moved away from electric shocks, but suffering is much harder to measure whether in humans or in animals, since everyone expresses their experiences differently. However, scientists have typically considered that a central nervous system is required for pain, something that crustaceans do not have. American author David Foster Wallace's influential request that we consider the lobster. The nervous system of a lobster is very simple, and is in fact most similar to the nervous system of a grasshopper, says the Maine Lobster Promotion Council, as reported by David Foster Wallace in his essay, *Consider the Lobster. There is no cerebral cortex, which in humans is the area of the brain that gives the experience of pain. Story continues A fact sheet produced by the University of Maines Lobster Institute continues that the twitching of the lobster is a reflex, rather than indicative of pain. Known as the escape response, it is a reflex action to any sudden stimulus a reaction that was first identified by George Johnson in 1924. The lobster is reacting to an external factor, such as an elevated water temperature. But the presence of a brain for the experience of pain is also debated. Temple Grandin, an animal behavioralist, argues in her 2005 book that different species can use different brain structures and systems to handle the same functions. Joseph Ayers, a professor of marine and environmental services at Northeastern University, meanwhile, tells the New York Times I think the idea of producing such a law is just a bunch of people anthropomorphizing lobsters. I find it really quite remarkable that people attribute to these animals humanlike responses when they simply dont have the hardware for it. This is not the first time that lobsters have caused a stir in Europe recently, though the last lobster scandal was more heavily based in hard evidence. In 2016, Sweden banned live American lobsters from their shores out of concern for local species. Photos via Unsplash / Francis MacDonald Photos via Unsplash / Francis MacDonald Written by Eileen Guo More articles by Eileen Follow Eileen on Twitter tweetshare More From Inverse Donald Trump vehemently denied accusations of racism as the eldest son of Martin Luther King Jr, the civil rights icon, attacked him and said "We have to work on this man's heart". It came as a row over whether Mr Trump disparaged African countries, Haiti, and El Salvador as "s---holes" looked set to doom a deal with Democrats on immigration. Mr Trump publicly denied making the remarks during an Oval Office meeting with Republican and Democrat senators last week. "No, no, I'm not a racist," Mr Trump said, adding that he was "the least racist person ever". His ex-wife Ivana, who was married to him for 15 years until 1992, came to Mr Trump's defence, saying he was "definitely not racist" and was a "nice guy". She told Good Morning Britain: "I don't think Donald is racist at all. Sometimes he says things which are silly and he does not really mean them but he definitely is not racist. "He has so many people telling him left and right what to say, what not to say, and maybe it gets confusing." She added: "He's not going to change and I think the tweeting is actually not a bad idea as you speak to the press. The press change every word you say and they twist it. If he tweets, it's out of his mouth. No, he is not that bad, he is actually a nice guy." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. However, Mr Trump faced a further wave of criticism on Monday, which was Martin Luther King Jr Day, a public holiday in the United States. In a televised address marking the date of Dr King's birth, Mr Trump said: "Dr King's dream is our dream. It is the American Dream. It's the promise stitched into the fabric of our nation, etched into the hearts of our people, and written into the soul of humankind." But Martin Luther King III, the eldest son of Dr King, speaking in Washington, said: "When a president insists that our nation needs more citizens from white states like Norway, I don't even think we need to spend any time talking about what it says and what it is. We got to find a way to work on this man's heart." Story continues Referring to George Wallace, the former Governor of Alabama, he added: "George Wallace was a staunch racist and we worked on his heart. And, ultimately, George Wallace transformed." South Africa and Nigeria became the latest countries to summon senior US diplomats to make formal complaints about Mr Trump's reported remarks. And Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said: "The sentiment attributed to the president is inconsistent with Americas history and antithetical to American values. May our memory of Dr King buoy our hope for unity, greatness, and charity for all." Donald Trump approval rating tracker Amid disagreement over the exact words used by Mr Trump it was suggested by people close to him that he may have said "s---house" rather than "s---hole". And David Purdue, a Republican senator who was at the Oval Office meeting, said the way the remarks had been reported was a "gross misrepresentation". He added that it was "ridiculous" to call the president racist. The meeting at which the comments were reportedly made was an attempt to agree protection against deportation for the "Dreamers" - hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the US illegally as children. Mr Trump said the deal was "probably dead because the Democrats don't really want it". He wrote on Twitter: "Honestly, I dont think the Democrats want to make a deal. We are ready, willing and able to make a deal but they dont want to. They dont want security at the border, they don' want to stop drugs, they want to take money away from our military which we cannot do. "My standard is very simple, AMERICA FIRST & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator and ally of Mr Trump who was at the Oval Office meeting, said on Monday: "I can't make anybody change but me. It's pretty embarrassing when you have to take your children out of the room when the news is reported." Meanwhile, Jeff Flake, a Republican senator who has been critical of Mr Trump, compared the president's treatment of the media to that of Josef Stalin. Mr Flake will attack Mr Trump in a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, specifically for calling the media "the enemy of the people". Donald Trump is yet to make a final decision but appears more likely to send only half of the planned first instalment to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA): AP Photo/Evan Vucci Donald Trumps administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The US President will cut the years first contribution by more than half, or perhaps entirely, and make additional donations contingent on major changes to the organisation, US officials have said. Mr Trump is yet to make a final decision, but appears more likely to send only $60m (44m) of the planned $125m (91m) first instalment to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the officials told the Associated Press. The US is UNRWAs largest donor, supplying nearly 30 per cent of its total budget. The agency focuses on providing health care, education and social services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israels establishment in 1948. Today, there are an estimated five million refugees and their descendants, mostly scattered across the region. The plan to withhold some of the money is backed by Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, and James Mattis, the Defence Secretary, who offered it as a compromise to demands for more drastic measures by Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN, the officials said. Ms Haley wants a complete cutoff in US money until the Palestinians resume peace talks with Israel that have been frozen for years. But Mr Tillerson, Mr Mattis and others say ending all assistance would exacerbate instability in the Middle East, notably in Jordan, a host to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and a crucial US strategic partner. Last week, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, railed at Mr Trump in a fiery, two-hour-long speech. He said shame on you for Mr Trumps treatment of the Palestinians and warned he would have no problem rejecting what he suggested would be an unacceptable peace plan. The US donated $355m (260m) to UNRWA in 2016 and was set to make a similar contribution this year. Story continues But after a highly critical tweet by Mr Trump about aid to the Palestinians on 2 January, the State Department opted to wait for a formal policy decision before sending any of the funding. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Mr Trump expressed his frustration over the lack of progress in his attempts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect, he tweeted. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them? Eliminating or sharply reducing the US contribution could hamstring the agency and severely curtail its work, putting great pressure on Jordan and Lebanon as well as the Palestinian Authority. Gaza would be particularly hard hit. Some officials, including Israelis, warn that it might push people closer to the militant Hamas movement, which controls Gaza. The US officials said any reduction in American assistance could be accompanied by calls for European nations and others to help make up the shortfall. Additional reporting by Associated Press John Dean is sworn in before the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973 - AP Donald Trumps unpredictability makes him more dangerous than Richard Nixon, according to the former White House attorney who helped in the Watergate cover-up before co-operating with investigators against the only president to resign from office. John Dean said the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into the current administration could end up being more damaging to the US than the scandal that brought down Nixon in 1974. Mr Deans central role in the cover-up that brought down a president gives him a unique insight into the pressure mounting on the White House and parallels that span the decades. He told The Telegraph that the Nixon he knew was "an authoritarian personality" just like Mr Trump appeared to be. But there were important differences, mainly that Mr Nixon understood the presidency better. They're very different in their perception of the president's authority, he said. Trump is more dangerous because he doesn't know what he's doing. The danger is he could do anything. If Mueller wants him, Trump could just say come and get me I have the Defence Department surrounding the White House. Then you've got a real problem. In Fire and Fury, author Michael Wolff's recently published expose of the Trump White House, Mr Trump was said to be a John Dean freak, comparing him with James Comey, whom Mr Trump fired as head of the FBI. Comey was a rat," said Mr Trump, according to the book. He then added: John Dean. John Dean. Do you know what John Dean did to Nixon? Richard Nixon speaking during a 1973 news briefing Credit: AP Mr Dean, now 79, said he was pleased to be the focus of Mr Trump's ire. He said: It means that maybe somebody's reminding him that everything he's doing may be worse than Watergate, that maybe he's thinking about it. Mr Nixon was competent but dishonest, while Mr Trump appeared to be incompetent and dishonest, he added. The Mueller investigation is looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian interference in the 2016 election. Story continues Publication of Fire and Fury has heaped more pressure on to the White House Credit: Getty Images Mr Dean said there were similarities in that Watergate began with a break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, while "Russiagate" started with a hack of the DNC's computers. In both cases a special counsel was brought in and there were signs of a White House cover-up. It was surprising how little the current administration appeared to have learned from the past in how to handle a special counsel investigation. "There are lots of echoes of Watergate," he said. Just as Nixons White House bungled the cover-up, so too Mr Trump should not have fired Mr Comey from the FBI. The firing of Comey by Trump was a terrific blunder, about as ham-handed as you can get, and not dissimilar from Nixon asking the CIA to block the FBI investigation into the Watergate break-in, he said. He added that current White House aides would be under intense pressure to co-operate with Mr Mueller. They've signed non-disclosure agreements but if they're in front of a grand jury and they lie - or they lie to the FBI - we've already seen what happens with Michael Flynn, he said referring to the former national security adviser who was fired last year and has since pleaded guilty to making false statements. Mr Dean, who after Watergate became an investment banker and author in Los Angeles, said Mr Trump should not expect an end to the Mueller investigation soon. It was more than two years from the Watergate burglary in June 1972 to Mr Nixon's resignation in August 1974. Today with social media it's everywhere and it seems to be going faster, he said. But the investigation may not be. You can only investigate at a certain speed. People can only talk (to Mr Mueller) at a certain speed. Ankara (AFP) - Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani held talks in Turkey on Monday with his chief ally President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as tensions again surged between the emirate and its regional foes. The talks, announced only hours in advance, got under way at Erdogan's presidential palace in the capital Ankara, the Turkish presidency said. Erdogan has been a major supporter of Doha in the crisis that has left Qatar diplomatically and economically isolated. On June 5 last year, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar accusing it of backing extremism and fostering ties with their Shiite rival Iran. Doha, however, denies the claims and Ankara has insisted there is absolutely no evidence to back them. The latest meeting between the two men came as the UAE accused Qatar of "intercepting" two Emirati passenger planes en route to Bahrain. Erdogan has strongly denounced the sanctions against Doha and, in a show of solidarity, Turkey has also sent cargo ships and hundreds of planes loaded with foodstuffs. In recent years, Qatar has emerged as Turkey's top ally in the Middle East, with Ankara and Doha closely coordinating their positions on a number of issues. Notably, both are outspoken against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Ankara has a military base in Qatar, a key foothold for Turkey in the Gulf. But Turkey also does not want to wreck its own relations with regional kingpin Saudi Arabia and its hugely powerful new Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Erdogan has carefully worked to improve Ankara's relations with Riyadh, hit in 2013 by the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi in Egypt, a close ally of Ankara. The Turkish leader has levied only the most veiled criticism against Saudi Arabia during the crisis, although the pro-Erdogan Turkish press have repeatedly bashed the kingdom. Tensions with the UAE however flared when UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan retweeted a post on Twitter last month critical of the former Ottoman rulers of the region. Ankara in response renamed the street in the Turkish capital where the UAE embassy is located after the Ottoman governor of the time. ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the United States was trying to create a "terror army" on Turkey's southern frontier by training a Syrian border force that includes a Kurdish militia, and pledged to crush it before it came into being. "A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders," Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara. "What can that terror army target but Turkey?" "Our mission is to strangle it before it's even born." On Sunday, the U.S.-led coalition said it was working with the mainly Kurdish YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to set up a new 30,000-strong border force. The plan has infuriated Turkey, which considers the YPG to be an extension of the PKK, a Kurdish group waging an insurgency in southern Turkey and deemed a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and European Union. "This is what we have to say to all our allies: don't get in between us and terrorist organisations, or we will not be responsible for the unwanted consequences," Erdogan said. "Either you take off your flags on those terrorist organisations, or we will have to hand those flags over to you ...Our operations will continue until not a single terrorist remains along our borders, let alone 30,000 of them." Erdogan also said that Turkey's armed forces had completed preparations for an operation against the Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin in northwest Syria and the town of Manbij. (Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Ece Toksabay; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by David Dolan) Ankara (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday threatened to attack the Kurdish militia-held town of Afrin in northern Syria "in the days ahead" to clear it of "terrorists". "We will continue our operations begun with Operation Euphrates Shield to clean our southern borders of terror in Afrin (northern Syria) in the days ahead god willing," Erdogan said in a televised speech. "The slightest disturbance on the border would be the signal for us to take a step." The president referred to Turkey's previous eight-month military operation launched in August 2016 against the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and the Syrian Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) militia. It ended in March last year. Late last year, Turkish troops were then deployed to rebel-held northern Idlib province, south of Afrin, as part of an agreement with Iran and Russia to implement four so-called de-escalation zones in flashpoint areas around Syria. Erdogan has repeatedly said that Afrin should be cleared of "terrorists" and in November 2016, he said Turkish troops needed to be deployed there. Afrin is controlled by YPG militia considered by Ankara to be a terror group linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) waging an insurgency inside Turkey. The PKK is blacklisted as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies. The US sees the YPG as the most effective fighting force against IS and last year provided it with arms ahead of major battles in Syria. The issue is among many causing tense relations between Ankara and Washington, though Turkish officials said in November that US President Donald Trump apparently told them Washington would no longer supply weapons to the YPG. "I hope that during an Afrin operation, these powers will not make the mistake of appearing to be on the same side as a terror organisation," Erdogan said in an apparent reference to the US during the rally in the northern Turkish city of Tokat. Story continues He added he hoped Turkey "would take action together" with its allies. Since December, Ankara has reinforced its southern border in Hatay and sent armoured vehicles, tanks and howitzers, sources told Hurriyet daily. Turkey has been working closely with Russia and Iran to end the nearly seven-year Syrian conflict despite Moscow and Tehran supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Ankara supporting the anti-Assad opposition. By Renita D. Young NEW YORK (Reuters) - At least 15 people were injured when a fire engulfed a boat off the coast of Florida on Sunday, causing the 50 people aboard to jump into the Gulf of Mexico and swim to shore, local officials said. A preliminary investigation showed the fire broke out at about 4:17 p.m. EST from an apparent engine issue, said Shawn Whited, division chief with Pasco Fire Rescue. "The captain of the boat said there was an issue with the engine. He said he noticed smoke coming form the engine room and turned the boat around," Whited said. The 60-foot shuttle boat was on its way to the Sun Cruz Casino boat, a little more than three miles away in international waters. It had only made it about 100 yards from where it originated in Port Richey, about 30 miles north of downtown Tampa. After seeing the smoke, the captain prompted the 50 people aboard the boat to abandon ship and swim to shore. Some of the injuries were from being in cold water and from smoke inhalation, said Whited. The boat was "fully engulfed" in flames, said Dan Dede, a dispatch supervisor at Pasco County Sheriff's Office and Pasco Fire. An official investigation will start soon, according to Whited. Several agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the City of Port Richey Fire Department and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, responded to the incident. (Reporting by Renita D. Young; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Jakarta (AFP) - At least 75 people were injured Monday when a mezzanine floor at Indonesia's stock exchange building collapsed into the lobby, police said, with victims carried out of the debris-filled building on stretchers. Dramatic CCTV footage showed a group of some 40 visiting students on a balcony section plunge as the floor gave way with a cascade of glass, metal and other material crashing onto the ground floor where several others were walking. A Jakarta police spokesman said the collapse was an accident and not the result of an explosion. National police spokesman Setyo Wasisto told AFP 75 people had been injured. There were no reports of deaths so far. Television images showed chaotic scenes as victims were taken to hospital or lay on the ground outside the tower complex in the centre of the sprawling city's business district. "I saw many people bleeding," student Rizki Noviandi, who was taking part in a competition at the exchange building, told Metro TV. "So many people were carried out of the building and were left on the grass outside... until the ambulances arrived." The lobby was filled with debris and toppled-over plants near a Starbucks coffee outlet, as hundreds of building employees were evacuated from the complex which was bombed by Islamist militants in 2000. At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured by a car bomb in that attack. "Our search and rescue teams, the police, doctors, the firefighters are all still working," Wasisto said. "They are cleaning the debris and also searching for other possible injuries," he added. Those hurt mostly sustained injuries to their legs and arms, including broken bones, a spokesman for one local hospital said. Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono added: "The accident happened at the first floor... It's a floor where many employees are passing by." - 'Panicking' - The collapse took place in one of two towers in the complex. Story continues "There was a sound, like something had fallen off a building structure, for about 20 seconds. Everyone was panicking and people were immediately being evacuated," Amailia Putri Hasniawati, a journalist based at the exchange, told AFP. It was not immediately clear what caused the accident at the tower in Sudirman district, which was built in 1995. "Material degradation could be the cause," construction expert Iswandi Imran told local TV. "It could be corrosion or anything which slowly degrades the strength of the structure so it cannot take the weight any longer. But all that has to be investigated." Despite the chaos Monday, trading continued as usual in the afternoon session with the main index closing 0.2 percent higher. The accident happened shortly after noon local time (0500 GMT) while the market was on its lunchtime break. "There was a loud banging so people who were inside immediately ran outside of the building," said Metro TV journalist Marlia Zein. The local office of the World Bank is housed on the 12th floor of the complex, according to its website. Reports at the time of the 2000 bombing said one of the men responsible was a member of the Free Aceh Movement, a separatist group which had been fighting for a free Islamic state in Aceh province since the mid-seventies. Some 200 cars were also damaged in the blast in an underground parking lot. Prisoners in Florida are planning to go on strike on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to protest "prison slavery" and "deplorable conditions within FL prisons." In a campaign nicknamed "Operation PUSH", organizers say inmates are expected to protest at the Reception and Medical Center state prison and hospital for men in Lake Butler, Florida. Several rallies in support of the campaign have also been planned for this week at locations including the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) offices in Tallahassee and Miami, as well as at a talk scheduled to be given by political activist Angela Davis at Florida State University (FSU) Tuesday evening. Trending: Is Trump Mentally Fit To Be President? Most Americans Think It's a Legitimate Question, Poll Says Davis has long been an outspoken critic of the U.S. justice system, calling for the abolition of the nation's "obsolete" prison system. Organizers of the rallies say prisoners are demanding payment for labor, branding the current system a "slave arrangement," as well as "ending outrageous canteen prices" and reintroducing parole incentives to those with life sentences. 26240871_146168352721335_4109514283773492928_o (1) Supporting Prisoners And Real Change (SPARC) They also say prisoners are calling for the state to do more to prevent overcrowding at prisons and "acts of brutality committed by officers throughout FDC which have resulted in the highest death rates in prison history." A U.S. Department of Justice report from 2014 identified Florida as having the second-highest number of deaths in state prisons that year, second to Texas. Florida had 346 deaths that year, while Texas had 409. The number of deaths in Florida has steadily increased since then, however, despite the number of inmates in state prisons decreasing. In 2017, Florida saw a total of 407 deaths in state prisons, with 133 of those deaths attributed to natural causes, 11 to accidents, seven to suicide and three to homicide, according to FDC figures. Another 253 are marked as "pending." Story continues Natural causes include cancer, which was the main cause of death in Florida state prisons between 2001 and 2014, followed by heart disease and liver disease. Don't miss: Nine Slapped With Criminal Charges After Handing Out Food to Homeless in El Cajon, California An annual increase in deaths from 2014 to 2017 has been noted as the inmate population in Florida has dropped each year from 100,942 prisoners in 2014 to 97,794 in 2017. Cause of death florida Florida Department of Corrections A number of cases of prisoner abuses in the FDC have been reported over the last decade. In July, it was reported that inmates at several prisons in Florida had been left with untreated medical problems and were being denied basic items such as toilet paper and being forced to live in conditions that state Democratic representative David Richardson described as "inhumane." In 2007, Florida state also faced lawsuits alleging "excessive" and "malicious and sadistic" use of pepper spray in 2007. It was also accused of allowing a prisoner "warehousing" culture creating "extreme isolation and deprivation, usually with little or no rehabilitation efforts to prevent recidivism." Read more: Florida prisoners denied toilet paper and left with untreated injuries, lawmaker claims The Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons says nearly 100 groups, including the Black Lives Matter Alliance of Broward and the FSU division of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) are planning to join the demonstration outside the FDC in Tallahassee in support of prisoners. A full list of organizations expected to attend the rally has been posted on the campaign group's Facebook page. Most popular: Trump's America Has Left One Group Of People The Most Satisfied They've Been In A Decade, Poll Shows The FDC announced last week it would be cancelling its visitation hours on Monday at the Reception and Medical Center prison, as well as the Everglades Correctional Institution. It is unclear whether the cancellation is related to the planned protests or as a result of it being Martin Luther King Jr. Day. A spokesperson for the FDC could not be reached for comment and a message on the department's answering machine states that its media office will be closed on Monday. The FDC, which oversees 143 facilities statewide, including 43 major institutions, has also reportedly put its downtown Tallahassee employees on alert over the expected protests. FDC secretary Julie Jones sent an email to employees on Thursday warning about the possibility of protests on Tuesday, according to local news sites Tallahassee.com, warning: FDCs Office of Intelligence has been tracking the event on social media, the email says. The Department is working closely with state law enforcement to ensure all security concerns are addressed and staff can continue to safely perform their work duties. The email, obtained by the new site, says protests are permitted on the grounds of the building, but told workers to "expect to see additional security and staff and uniform officers at building entrances and exits." It also encouraged workers to stay indoors in the event of a protest, adding that the department would be taking a number of steps "in abundance of caution," including locking all doors to one of its buildings from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday. A similar rally is also slated to be held outside the FDC office in Miami on Monday. In response to the claims by protest groups, FDC spokeswoman Michele Glady told Tallahassee.com that the agency sent out the email in a bid to be as transparent with its employees as possible. She said inmates work in jobs ranging from laundry, cooking, prison maintenance and outside work squads and confirmed that they are not paid for such duties. Glady also confirmed that the FDC uses an outside vendor for canteens, where prisoners are able to purchase groceries and other items. She told the news website the canteens give inmates "access to affordable items for purchase." Questioned about steps the agency would be taking in response to the work stoppage, she said: "The department will continue to ensure the safe operation of our correctional facilities." This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, pictured in January 2015, called President Donald Trump "an embarrassment" in a recent interview. (Photo: Larry Downing/Reuters) President Donald Trump has intentionally divid[ed] the country and the world during his first year in office, former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told the Lincoln Journal-Star for a story published this weekend. The president is doing great damage to our country internationally, said Hagel, a former two-term Republican senator from Nebraska. Hes an embarrassment, Hagel added, reacting specifically to comments Trump reportedly made last week in a closed-door meeting about Haiti, El Salvador and nations in Africa being shithole countries. Hagel, who served as defense secretary under President Barack Obama, also criticized the way Trump has handled relationships with foreign allies and antagonists alike. Trumps decision to pull the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, for instance, did significant damage to Americas influence in Asia, Hagel said. Referring to Trumps taunting tweet about North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns nuclear button being smaller than his own, Hagel said Trump was spouting irresponsible kind of talk. Hagel has criticized Trumps leadership before. Last May, he said Trump didnt understand governing and needed to listen and learn but was doing just the opposite. I hope he will take a different tack soon, before its too late, before he loses the credibility and the confidence to govern, he told the Omaha World-Herald. Months later, Hagel, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, said he was offended by Trumps handling of a call to a widow of a soldier killed in Niger and the presidents accusations that Obama had not called the families of fallen soldiers when he was in office. Im offended by the way hes handled it, Hagel told USA Today at the time. You just dont use the families of the fallen to score political points, especially to take jabs at your predecessor. Im very unhappy about this. Also on HuffPost Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Former White House aide Gary Lee recounts an unforgettable experience working with President Obama, perfectly reflecting the immigrant experience. (Photo: Pete Souza) After a tumultuous week for President Trump and his derogatory marks on immigration issues, a tale has emerged of how former President Obama treated his diverse staffers, demonstrating his stance on the same issues. Former White House Aide Gary Lee took to Twitter on Saturday to document an exchange he and President Obama had on his last day of service, and the story struck a chord with thousands. His series of tweets were liked over 140,000 times. Lee recalls how President Obama greeted him in Korean, his parents native language, a small but significant gesture left Lee and actor Kal Penn in tears. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. After Lees departure from the oval office, he encountered Penn, who at the time was working as Associate Director of Public Engagement in the White House. He shared his moment with Obama, and in response Penn started tearing up. Penn said: Think about what you just said. How incredible that is. On your last day of work at the White House, after your years of service, the first African-American president greeted you in your parents native language, recalls Lee. I started crying too. Lee opened up about his hard-working Korean-American parents, his job at the White House, and the respect he has for his former boss. Alluding to what triggered his candid post, Lee wrote about recent reports of Donald Trumps behavior, in particular, calling out a career intelligence analyst of Asian heritage at a briefing. No, Where are you really from? Trump asked her when she said she was from New York. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This struck a chord with me not only bc Im Korean-American, but also bc I worked at the White House, for President Obama. I left the WH in 2011 for a Fulbright scholarship in Korea. President Obama knew I was leaving to learn more about the culture and language of my parents, Lee Tweeted. He continued sharing his familys story: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. They made incalculable sacrifices so their sons could have the opportunities they never had. They sacrificed so we could achieve whatever we wanted to. They could have never imagined that their eldest son would work in the White House. In what other country is that even possible? Story continues In what other country is that even possible? In what other country are you allowed to dream, and despite all odds, pursue and achieve your dreams? In what country could a chubby, 90s Hip Hop and R&B-loving Asian kid from NM end up working for @BarackObama? Lee wished everyone happy Korean-American day and Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. He summed up his heart-warming story with, What a beautiful, incredible nation of immigrants we are, he tweeted. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. What a beautiful, incredible nation of immigrants we are, indeed. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. A sensational trial began in Nice, France, on Monday. The defendant: the "black widow" of the French Riviera, who allegedly schemed to seduce and poison elderly men 20-30 years older than her. Particia Dagorn, 57, is charged in the fatal poisonings of two menFrancesco Filippone, 85, and Michele Kneffel, in his 60s. She allegedly met them through a dating agency, then seduced, poisoned and stole from them. Dagorn unsuccessfully tried to poison a third man, Robert Vaux, who is set to take the stand at her trial. 01_15_PatriciaDagorn GETTY/Valery Hache Trending: California Parents Charged With Torture After 13 Children Found Shackled and Starving "She was like a ray of sunshine in winter," Vaux, a 91-year-old former sailor, told reporters at the courthouse on Monday. "When you are with a younger woman, you know it won't last but you don't deny yourself the moment unless you're a masochist." Police believe there may have been at least 20 suitors connected to Dagorn. Prosecutors say she ususally stole financial documents from the men or pushed them to name her in their wills. After Filippones body was found in a bathtub near Cannes in February 2011, police discovered that Dagorn had cashed a check from Filippone for about $25,000. She claimed the money was a gift to open her own jewelry shop. Investigations into Dagorns deeds picked up steam in 2012. Police found the personal documents of a dozen different menincluding bank accounts and IDsalong with vials of Valium, in her possession. Prosecutors allege she gave prescription drugs, like Valium, to the men to impair their focus and judgment, then persuading them to give her documents she could use to take their money. Story continues Don't miss: With Trump and Putin Distracted, Xi Moves In On Ukraine This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Dagorn was already serving a five-year sentence for theft, fraud and kidnappingaccusations she denieswhen her "black widow" trial began. Her lawyers said at the courthouse on Monday that there was not sufficient evidence to prove her guilt in the crimes for which she's now being tried. Most popular: Japanese Pottery Shard from 2,000 Years Ago Etched With Kanji Characters Reveals Fascinating Glimpse of Ancient Language For five years shes explained that apart from meeting men with whom she found solace to end her own loneliness, she has nothing to do with the accusations against her today," Cedric Huissoud, one of her defense lawyers, said. The hearing is set to last for four days. Prosecutors are requesting a life sentence. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Nice (France) (AFP) - A French woman dubbed the "Black Widow of the Riviera" for allegedly seducing and poisoning wealthy elderly men, leading to the deaths of two of them, went on trial for murder in the resort city of Nice on Monday. Patricia Dagorn, 57, is charged with the fatal poisoning of two men found dead in 2011 on the Cote d'Azur and the drugging of two others. Prosecutors say she attempted to enrich herself by casting a spell over older men met mostly through a dating agency. She is already serving a five-year prison term for theft, fraud and sequestration involving an octogenarian in the French Alps in 2012 who agreed to let her live with him in exchange for sexual relations. She was brought into the dock looking dishevelled in an oversize black-and-white tracksuit. One of the two men she is accused of trying to poison, 91-year-old widower Robert Vaux, will take the stand this week to testify against her. "She was like a ray of sunshine in winter. When you are with a younger woman you know it won't last but you don't deny yourself the moment unless you're a masochist," Vaux, a former sailor, told reporters at the courthouse on Monday. Police had already suspected Dagorn after the body of Michel Kneffel, a man in his 60s with whom she had been living at a residential hotel in Nice, was discovered in July 2011. No charges were filed at the time, but the investigation was reopened the following year after police found vials of Valium and personal documents belonging to about a dozen different men among her belongings. The documents included IDs, bank account details and health insurance cards. Investigators then followed the trail to another suspected murder case, that of Francesco Filippone, 85, whose body was found in his bathtub in an advanced state of decomposition in Mouans-Sartoux, outside Cannes, in February 2011. Dagorn had earlier cashed a cheque from Filippone for 21,000 euros ($25,600), money which she said was a gift to help her open a jewellery shop. Story continues "She denies the charges against her in their entirety, including the thefts," said one of her lawyers, Georges Rimondi. When Dagorn was charged over the cases in 2015, Rimondi described his client as a "fragile" individual who had been placed in foster care at a young age, and who says "she feels better with elderly people". "She is eager to explain herself," said her other lawyer, Cedric Huissoud, adding that she had suffered during her years in prison. - 'Quick and easy money' - Police now think Dagorn may have met at least 20 men after arriving on the French Riviera in 2011, mainly via a matchmaking agency. In most of the cases she allegedly asked the men for money or to name her in their wills, or she stole documents from them, while a few were accused of rape. Vaux, who had brought Dagorn to live with him in early 2012 in the coastal town of Frejus, saw his health deteriorate rapidly. On Tuesday, he described how, when he was at his lowest ebb, Dagorn wrote to his solicitor, asking to be written into his will. Vaux and another man whom Dagorn is accused of trying to poison, Ange Pisciotta, 82, have joined the case as civil plaintiffs. Dagorn, who has a law degree, had already been handed a one-year suspended prison term in a case involving her ex-husband, who was found guilty of fraud. In 2013, her youngest son told a local newspaper that he was not surprised by the accusations against his mother. "She has always been obsessed with quick and easy money," the son, identified only as Guilhem, told Nice Matin daily. Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher (France) (AFP) - France's first panda cub made its debut public appearance Saturday, five months after its birth, to rapturous crowds -- some of whom had travelled hours to see the fluffy male. Yuan Meng, which means "making a dream come true" in Chinese, was introduced into his new enclosure in Beauval zoo in central France along with his mother as adoring onlookers ringed the site. "We got up at 3:00 in the morning. My son absolutely wanted to see the cub," said Delphine who had travelled from the Paris region. "We felt we took part in a historic moment. It was very moving," she said. Zoo veterinarian Baptiste Mulot said the cub had been brought to the enclosure over the past 10 days to familiarise himself with the surroundings. Panda reproduction, in captivity or in the wild, is notoriously difficult because the female panda is only in heat once a year for about 48 hours. But the number of pandas worldwide has rebounded since the black-and-white bear was declared an endangered animal in the 1980s, thanks to efforts to protect it and its habitat. China has dispatched its national treasure to only about a dozen countries, using the animal as a symbol of close relations. A female and male mate arrived in Beauval in 2012 after high-level negotiations between Paris and Beijing, but Yuan Meng was born through artificial insemination. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's elite special police unit is hiring more staff and will open a new center in Berlin because the threat of militant attacks in the capital is higher than in the west of the country where it is currently based, its chief said on Monday. German security officials have been on high alert since a failed asylum seeker killed 12 people by plowing a truck in Christmas market in Berlin in December 2016. The GSG-9, as the unit is known, was founded some 45 years ago after German police lacking special forces that include snipers and negotiators bungled an operation to save Israeli athletes kidnapped by Palestinian militants at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. Eleven Israelis, a German policeman as well as five of the Palestinian gunmen, died after a stand-off at the poorly secured athletes village and then a nearby airfield. The attack in Berlin by rejected Tunisian asylum seeker Anis Amri exposed flaws in how Germany's surveillance agencies work and heightened fears that Islamist militants entered Germany after it opened its borders in 2015 to more than a million people seeking asylum. "If one looks at similar terrorist situations throughout Europe, the capitals were often affected," GSG-9 commander Jerome Fuchs told Berlin public radio, adding that the goal of moving to Berlin was to have fast responsiveness in the capital. Dozens of people have been killed in militant attacks in major European cities like Paris, Barcelona, Nice, Brussels and London over the past three years, making security a top priority for many European Union countries. Germany's GSG-9 unit is currently based in Sankt Augustin, a town near the city of Bonn. GSG-9 commando grabbed international attention in 1977 when it succeeded in freeing a Lufthansa plane that was hijacked by a Palestinian militia and flown to Mogadishu, Somalia. (This story corrects name of broadcaster in paragraph 6) (Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; editing by Ralph Boulton) Berlin (AFP) - A suggestion that schools send students on exchange between Germany's former East and West to heal persistent divides sparked debate on Monday, almost 30 years after the country's reunification. "We don't just need pupil projects exchanging with Poland or France, but between Leipzig and Stuttgart" in the lagging east and prosperous southwest, Left party politician Helmut Holter told the Funke newspaper group. "East and West talk far too little about the way things were and the way they are now," he added, referring to the nation's decades of division between the Soviet-dominated German Democratic Republic and the westward-looking Federal Republic of Germany. Holter, from the small former eastern state of Thuringia, made the remarks as he takes over chairmanship of a committee of culture ministers from all modern Germany's 16 states. "East German experiences have to be brought into the West and vice versa" as part of a programme to defend democracy, he said. Talk of the country's internal divisions has grown recently as far-right populists Alternative for Germany mine deep seams of resentment in the economically weaker East, helping fracture a once stable political landscape. But not everyone agrees Holter's proposal would help bring the nation together. "Rather than East-West exchanges, we need a frank view of German history and an active culture of remembrance for the victims of war, injustice and tyranny in the last century in our country," culture minister in populous North Rhine-Westphalia state Yvonne Gebauer told news agency DPA. "Almost 30 years after reunification, dialogue has become a matter of course, at school and at work, in private life and at the most official events," the Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper commented. "Conversely, school exchanges are weak where they remain urgently needed, between European nations... the culture ministers would do well to support international exchanges more," it added. Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - Leading members of Germany's Social Democrats voiced scepticism Sunday over a preliminary coalition agreement reached with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, days after the hard-fought deal was hailed as a breakthrough. Berlin's SPD Mayor Michael Mueller said he was "very critical" about entering into another government with Merkel's CDU/CSU bloc after all three parties slumped to their worst results in decades in last September's election. "The same coalition with the same policies is not the right answer," the centre-left politician told the Tagesspiegel daily, calling for "further talks" to win more concessions on key SPD demands. Party leaders on Friday announced after tortuous negotiations that they had signed off on a policy blueprint paving the way for formal coalition discussions to begin after months of paralysis in Europe's top economy. In the 28-page document, the parties agreed to join France in a push to "strengthen and reform" the eurozone, to limit the influx of asylum seekers to Germany to around 200,000 a year, and to refrain from tax hikes. But Mueller lamented the SPD's failure to secure a tax hike for the rich or a restructuring of the country's two-tier health care system -- two major campaign pledges. Those concerns were echoed by the SPD's Malu Dreyer, premier of Rhineland-Palatinate state, who also slammed the compromise to cap immigration. The migration stance outlined in the roadmap was "very difficult" for the SPD, she told the German newspaper group Funke Mediengruppe. - 'No GroKo' - The criticism will make for uncomfortable reading for SPD chief Martin Schulz, who has promised to give party members the last word on a third stint as Merkel's junior coalition partner. In a sign of the difficulties ahead, SPD delegates at a regional party conference in Saxony-Anhalt on Saturday narrowly voted against starting formal coalition talks. Story continues Spiegel news weekly said the non-binding vote was "hugely symbolic" coming just a day after the in-principle agreement "that Schulz is trying to sell as a success". The stakes will be higher next Saturday, when 600 party delegates will be asked to give the green light at a congress, followed by a final vote by more than 400,000 rank-and-file members. The SPD's youth wing chief Kevin Kuehnert has vowed to spend the coming days criss-crossing the country to press his case against a new grand coalition, known as "GroKo" in German political shorthand. Top conservative lawmaker Alexander Dobrindt of Merkel's Bavarian CSU sister party urged Schulz to nip the potential revolt in the bud. "Martin Schulz must now show that the SPD can be a reliable coalition partner and get this brouhaha under control," Dobrindt told the Bild am Sonntag daily. The SPD initially vowed to go into opposition after scoring a humiliating 20.5 percent in the September ballot. But former EU Parliament chief Schulz faced pressure to reconsider after Merkel's efforts to forge a government with two smaller parties collapsed in November. Merkel, whose political life is on the line after more than 12 years in power, has welcomed the coalition blueprint as "a fresh start" for Germany and Europe. Commentators however have already described a possible repeat of the left-right alliance as a "coalition of losers". If one of your goals for 2018 is to find a new job, chances are youve updated your resume. But be honest: have you stretched the truth on any of your roles or skills? Did you put someone other than your actual boss down as a reference? Just how legitimate peoples resumes and references areas well as how important are references really are when it comes to someone getting hiredhave long piqued Lee-Martin Seymours curiosity. Hes CEO and cofounder of Xref, an online platform for data-driven reference checking. Candidates fake their references, they change their role titles or sometimes make up roles, the Sydney, Australia-based Seymour says. With mobile phones, with email, with people controlling identities, its very easy for candidates to fake their references. They might fake them by completing [reference sections of a job application] themselves, asking references to embellish certain things, or they might be asking friends, he says. To shed light on whats really going on with job-seekers resumes and references, Xref commissioned research firm Maru/Matchbox to compile survey data for its Xref Recruitment Risk Index: a 2017 Canadian Industry Perspective. The report follows similar research conducted in other countries. On the positive side, Canadians seem to be an honest bunch. In Australia, 70 per cent of candidates told us they had, in one way or another, exploited areas of the recruitment method; that could be faking references, Martin says. In Canada, 93 per cent of candidates have said they were completely honest. That said, theres apparently a case of ask a friend syndrome when it comes to Canadians approach to selecting people who will vouch for them workwise. The report found that exactly 50 per cent of Canadian job-seekers said its more important to choose someone who will give them a good reference rather than their direct managerwith 17 per cent of respondents admitting to asking a friend who was completely unrelated to their previous place of employment to provide a reference. Meanwhile, 38 per cent had been named by a friend to provide a reference on their behalf. Story continues But does having a solid reference even matter? It turns out that, despite 86 per cent of HR professionals saying their organizations strongly value the reference checking process, only 34 per cent said their organization does it consistently across the company for every new hire. Whats more, 34 per cent of Canadian job seekers said they didnt know if their assigned reference was ever even contacted. Nearly 20 per cent knew they definitely were not. Then theres the question of reference integrity. When HR personnel actually follow through with reference checks, they say they often feel duped. According to the report, 82 per cent said they believe a lot of people who provide references arent being fully honest; 68 per cent reported believing that they were being lied to. Other study highlights: 60 per cent of HR professionals said they check out candidates online, searching their social footprints. At the same time, 35 per cent of Canadian job seekers are hip to that game and intentionally restrict their social content while job hunting. Facebook was the most visited platform for such investigations, the site being used by 79 per cent of the HR professionals surveyed. LinkedIn and Google followed, both being searched by 66 per cent of the respondents. Job-seekers put the same references down on different applications an average of 4.4 times. Fifty-eight per cent of HR pros who have agreed to be a reference say its inconvenient to be contacted multiple times for one employee, while 41 per cent would prefer not to provide references at all. 44 per cent of Canadian job seekers surveyed report feeling anxiety due to reference checking delays; 33 per cent reported not taking a job or finding an alternative job because the recruitment process took too long. Canadian job-seekers aged 30 to 49 were the most self-professed exaggerators, with this group being almost twice as likely to admit they have exaggerated qualifications and work experience compared to the national average (12.5 per cent versus 7 per cent). They were also three times more likely to ask a reference to pretend to be someone they are not (9 per cent versus 3 per cent) or ask a reference to exaggerate experience on their behalf (12 per cent versus 4 per cent). Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Hawaiis emergency authorities lacked reasonable safeguards to prevent the kind of false alert that panicked residents with a warning of an imminent ballistic missile attack, the head of the Federal Communications Commission said. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement on Sunday that an investigation into the incident is well under way with federal and state officials. It appears that the government of Hawaii did not have reasonable safeguards or process controls in place to prevent the transmission of a false alert, Pai said. In determining steps to prevent a rerun we also must ensure that corrections are issued immediately in the event that a false alert does go out. Hawaiian residents, already anxious about months of nuclear saber-rattling between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Koreas Kim Jong Un, were sent into a panic on Saturday by the false missile alert. The alert was sent when an employee at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency pushed the wrong button, according to Governor David Ige. Ige apologized for the pain and confusion that resulted and said everything is being done to prevent a repeat. The FCC has jurisdiction over the emergency alert system. Federal and state lawmakers have also called for an investigation into Hawaiis incident. Rude Awakening Residents of the island state, as well as thousands of tourists, woke around 8:07 a.m. local time on Saturday to alerts lighting up their mobile phones about in all capital letters a ballistic missile threat inbound to Hawaii and a warning that this is not a drill. Television programming was interrupted with flashing red text: A missile may impact on land or sea within minutes. This is not a drill. If you are indoors, stay indoors. If you are outdoors, seek immediate shelter in a building. Residents were told that if indoors they should stay well away from windows. If driving, they should pull over and seek shelter in a building or lay on the floor. Story continues Authorities reversed the warning with a second mobile alert sent 38 minutes later confirming no missile threat or danger and false alarm. That lengthy delay, and the processes behind it, have been criticized by Pai and others. Trump Briefed President Donald Trump was briefed Saturday on what the White House described in a statement as the state of Hawaiis emergency management exercise. Trump hasnt commented on the incident. The White House on Sunday referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and Hawaiian authorities. DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said citizens shouldnt lose trust in government warning systems. We test them every day, she said on Fox News Sunday. HEMA Administrator Vern Miyagi said Saturday that a two-person redundancy system is now in place to prevent this type of event which he said was basically an errant mouse-click from occurring again. Hawaii has been on high alert for months given claims by North Korea that its newest intercontinental ballistic missile could fly 13,000 kilometers (8,000 miles). If true, that would put even the mainland U.S. within range, and Honolulu is only about 7,400 kilometers from Pyongyang. Much Bigger Button The isolated nation conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, and launched more than a dozen missiles in the past year. Trump and Kim have traded barbs for months. The president told North Koreas Kim on Twitter on Jan. 2 that he has a much bigger & more powerful nuclear button. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has warned that North Koreas regime will be utterly destroyed in a war with the U.S. At a time of heightened tensions, we need to make sure all information released to the community is accurate, Senator Mazie Hirono, a Democrat, said Saturday on Twitter. We need to get to the bottom of what happened and make sure it never happens again. Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii said Sunday that you can only imagine the panic, the terror, the chaos and confusion that ensued across the state. Taking this threat seriously, theyve got minutes to say goodbye to their loved ones, to find their loved ones, to try to find some kind of shelter somewhere, which there are no designated nuclear bomb shelters in Hawaii, the Democrat and a member of the House Armed Services Committee said on ABCs This Week. 13-Minute Warning HEMAs Miyagi said Saturday that if there were a real missile headed to Hawaii from North Korea, there will be 12 to 13 minutes of warning. Given those risks, Gabbard said Trump absolutely and immediately should be talking to Kim. Ive been calling for President Trump to sit across the table from Kim Jong Un without preconditions, work out the differences, figure out a way to build this pathway towards denuclearization, she said. Residents and tourists on Saturday reported pandemonium when the phone alert hit. One widely shared video showed children being lowered into a storm drain for safety; others showed people running toward buildings at the University of Hawaii. Suzanne Mulder, a Bloomberg employee from Princeton, New Jersey, is vacationing in Honolulu with her family. Her 10-year-old-son noticed the mobile alert. We grabbed all the food and water we had, the kids grabbed their stuffed animals and we headed to the lobby, Mulder said. Kids crying everywhere, no one knew what was happening. We made our way to an internal bathroom and huddled there with some other people. It was probably 30 minutes between the alert and when we knew it was a false alarm. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai speaking to reporters after a meeting in December. Days before the false alert, Mr Pai announced an upgrade and expansion to the wireless emergency alert system: Alex Wong/Getty Images A full investigation into a false emergency alert which warned a ballistic missile was heading for Hawaii, according to the chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Residents received alerts to their phones at about 8.07am local time on Saturday saying "Ballistic missile threat inbound. Seek immediate shelter. This is not a drill". The message was also broadcast on television and caused utter panic on the islands before the alert was cancelled about 38 minutes later. Hawaiian Governor David Ige later told reporters an employee of Hawaii's Emergency Management Agency mistakenly "pressed the wrong button" during a shift change. The high-stake alert came just days after the FCC chairman Ajit Pai said the commission would vote to enhance the effectiveness of wireless emergency alerts, which have been in place since 2012. Mr Pai said on Twitter the commission was launching a full investigation into the false emergency alert that was sent to Hawaii residents. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel added the commission had to find out what went wrong. Writing on Twitter, she said: "Emergency alerts are meant to keep us and our families safe, not to create false panic. We must investigate and we must do better." She praised the people of Hawaii for being "graceful and resilient" and added: "But I also know they never should have endured this false alert today. And I know like them I will hold my children a little bit closer tonight". The FCC is working to better target alerts to impacted people and is due to vote this month on a proposal to "more precisely target these alerts to affected communities". In a statement earlier this week, FCC chairman Mr Pai said the improved alerts will "lead Americans to take more seriously the alerts they receive on their mobile devices". Since 2012, the Wireless Emergency Alerts system has been used more than 33,000 times to warn people across the country of severe weather, evacuation orders, shelter-in place alerts and Amber Alerts, the FCC said in a report this week. Story continues Hawaii officials apologised repeatedly for the incident and Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Vern Miyagi said: "we made a mistake". Governor Ige vowed that changes would be made and that this would not happen again. "I am sorry for the pain and confusion it caused. I, too, am extremely upset about this and am doing everything I can do to immediately improve our emergency management systems, procedures and staffing," he said. With the threat of missiles from North Korea in people's minds, the government reintroduced the Cold War-era warning siren tests last month which is expected to warn of a potential missile strike. Although nearly 93 percent of the state's 386 sirens reportedly worked properly, 12 mistakenly played an ambulance siren. At the tourist mecca of Waikiki, the sirens were barely audible, prompting officials to add more sirens there and to reposition ones already in place. Mr Miyagi told reporters that none of the sirens should have sounded because they run on a completely different system and would be initiated by a separate individual, NBC reports. He added that his team planned to investigate the issue and produce a report on the incident. A street sign is seen here reassuring people that a missile was not on the way: REUTERS After an errant missile alert sent Hawaiians into a scared frenzy, the state has been told to figure out what went wrong and make sure that never happens again. Federal Communication Commission Chairman Ajit Pai told the state that it didnt have proper safeguards in place to ensure that a notice like that wouldnt be sent out, engulfing residents in panic. And, the 38-minute delay on a follow-up notification to ensure the population that all was well, made things worse, Mr Pai said. This was absolutely unacceptable, Mr Pai remarked. False alerts undermine public confidence in the alerting system and thus reduce their effectiveness during real emergencies, the statement continued. Residents and visitors of the island state were shocked Saturday morning when they received the notification sent to mobile phones in the area indicating that a ballistic missile was on-course to hit the state. The governor of Hawaii, David Ige, later apologised for the incident, and said the whole ordeal was an accident. A state employee, during a shift change, accidentally pressed the wrong button on their way out, Mr Ige said. A confirmation prompt was not enough to stop the alert from being sent out, investigators have now learned. In the immediate aftermath of the debacle, Hawaiis emergency management team has announced changes to the system that they hope will ensure a repeat wont occur. A second person will now be required to sign off on any alert of that kind before it gets sent, and managers of the system are considering ways to send quicker corrections in the case that another message is sent. Hawaii, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, has the warning systems installed as a result of its proximity to North Korea, which has regularly threatened hitting the United States with a ballistic missile. Hugh Jackman visited The Ellen Show and displayed off his Wolverine body that the paparazzi had snapped of him on the beach. Ellen DeGeneres showed some of the pictures of Jackman, shirtless, grinning, and jogging. DeGeneres said that they got every angle. Their lavish coverage was no coincidence. Jackman explained that he has an agreement with the Australian paparazzi. He said, They all know me at this point, and Ill say to them, What do you need, guys? In exchange for Jackman giving them what they want, they leave him alone the rest of the time. They wanted shots of Jackman running at the famous Bondi Beach, so he told them to meet him there the next morning. The Greatest Showman star described an embarrassing affair with 30 paparazzi snapping photos of him. Jackman added, Unfortunately for them, the day before Zac Efron was with me, we were training at the gym and he was there. Not one [photographer] was there. Watch the full clip here. Watch: Hugh Jackman defied doctors orders to perform in The Greatest Showman Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or leave your comments below. NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will build facial recognition into its national identity card in addition to fingerprints after a series of breaches in the world's biggest biometric identification programme, the government said on Monday. A local newspaper reported this month that access to the "Aadhaar" database which has identity details of more than 1 billion citizens was being sold for just $8 on social media. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues the identity cards, said it would add face recognition software as an additional layer of security from July. Card holders will be required to match their photographs with that stored in the data base for authentication in addition to fingerprints and iris scans, the agency said in a statement. Many card users have complained in the past that fingerprint authentication has not worked because of changes in the case of the elderly and labourers since the time the original prints were taken. (Reporting by Malini Menon; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) By Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Kanupriya Kapoor JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's parliament will swear in Bambang Soesatyo as its new speaker on Monday, his party said, a critic of President Joko Widodo's government who was appointed after the previous speaker was indicted in a $170 million graft scandal. Soesatyo is a long-time member of Golkar, the second-largest party in Widodo's coalition and which controls leadership of the house. Golkar appointed Soesatyo to replace previous speaker Setya Novanto, who was forced to resign late last year. Analysts say Soesatyo's appointment could mean tougher negotiations in parliament for Widodo's government as it tries to push through reforms in the last year of his term before legislative and presidential elections in 2019. "Jokowi may not have full control over the house like he did with the previous speaker," said Endy Bayuni, senior editor at The Jakarta Post newspaper. Jokowi is the president's widely used nickname. "Politicians switch loyalty depending on where the wind blows, but Soesatyo's support is not automatic. Jokowi has to ensure that Golkar remains loyal to him," Bayuni said. Despite Golkar being part of the ruling coalition, Soesatyo has previously criticised the president's handling of the economy, highlighting bureaucratic inefficiency and slow budget disbursement. He also criticised Widodo's appointment of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a former World Bank director, saying it showed that Widodo's government was vulnerable to foreign influences. "Soesatyo knows the party's position as a supporter of Jokowi," said Golkar deputy secretary general Muhamad Sarmuji. "Even though he has been critical, it has only been because of his desire to contribute to the government's success." Soesatyo, a former businessman and journalist, would be sworn in during a plenary session later on Monday, Sarmuji said. The new speaker could not be reached immediately for comment. Golkar had also come under pressure to elect a speaker to clean up the party's image and improve the standing of parliament, long regarded by Indonesians as riddled with entrenched corruption. Previous speaker Novanto is accused of orchestrating a scheme to plunder $173 million from a government contract to introduce a national electronic identity card - almost 40 percent of the project's entire budget. Novanto has denied wrongdoing in a case that has shocked Indonesians who are already used to large corruption scandals. Some see Soesatyo's appointment as a missed opportunity for institutional reform. Soesatyo previously served on the parliamentary commission for legal affairs, where he lobbied for the popular anti-corruption agency's powers to be restricted. "(The appointment) continues the ... strong position of politicians with webs of influence to fill in leadership positions in parliament," said Tobias Basuki, a Jakarta-based political analyst. (Editing by Michael Perry and Paul Tait) Saturday Night Live surprised fans this weekend with a special guest star to play ousted presidential adviser Steve Bannon. In Saturdays cold open, Bill Murray emerged from under a cloak joining Fred Armisen as controversial author Michael Wolff on MSNBCs Morning Joe. Twitter lit up with happy responses to Murrays return to SNL. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Today, the internet also honored the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Google changed its homepage to an image of people listening to Kings famous I Have a Dream speech that was given in front to the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. The White House also shared a special message from President Donald Trump via Twitter. Dr. Kings dream is our dream, Trump said in the video. It is the American Dream. Its the promise stitched into the fabric of our nation, etched into the hearts of our people, and written into the soul of humankind. Celebrities also shared parts of the speech on Twitter. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Watch: Don Lemon calls Donald Trump racist, dividing the internet Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: A burning Iranian oil tanker that exploded and sank off China on Sunday has left a 10-mile long flaming oil slick, according to local media, while an Iranian official has admitted that there was no hope of finding survivors. The tanker, named Sanchi, had been adrift and ablaze after crashing into the freighter CF Crystal on January 6. Strong winds had pushed it away from the Chinese coast, where the incident happened, and into Japans exclusive economic zone (EEZ). A total of 30 Iranian sailors and two Bangladeshis were on the tanker at the time. Chinese salvage teams have so far recovered three bodies from the tanker, leaving a further 29 crew members presumed dead. Trending: Is Trump Mentally Fit To Be President? Most Americans Think It's a Legitimate Question, Poll Says Iranian state TV quoted Mahmoud Rastad, the chief of the maritime agency, as saying: There is no hope of finding survivors. 0108sanchiepa EPA President Hassan Rouhani also expressed his condolences to families who are mourning their relatives and called for an investigation to be launched into the tragedy. Don't miss: Nine Slapped With Criminal Charges After Handing Out Food to Homeless in El Cajon, California Oil was spread over an area 8.1 miles long and 6.9 miles wide, the Japan Coast Guard said in a statement, although the slick was shrinking as patrol boats battled to contain the spill. The Coast Guard said the fire on the surface was put out at around 9.00 p.m. EST on Sunday, although according to other authorities and Chinese state TV CCTV black smoke continued to billow from the site for several more hours. A clean-up effort has begun and rescue teams have called a halt to the large-scale search for survivors, reducing it to normal operations, CCTV said. Story continues Most popular: Trump's America Has Left One Group Of People The Most Satisfied They've Been In A Decade, Poll Shows The blazing vessel, which was carrying 136,000 tonnesalmost one million barrelsof condensate, an ultra-light, highly flammable crude oil, sank on Sunday after several explosions weakened the hull. The Shanghai Maritime Bureau, under Chinas Ministry of Transport, said shortly before 3 a.m. EST on Monday that there was no more heavy smoke at the scene. The sinking marks the biggest tanker spill since 1991, when 260,000 tonnes of oil leaked off the Angolan coast. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Sunday announced he would stand for re-election on May 12 at the head of a cross-sectarian bloc, and received the support of a powerful Shi'ite group close to Iran. Abadi, a Shi'ite Muslim who led Iraq in the three-year war against the jihadist group Islamic State, said the "Victory Alliance" that he was assembling to contest the parliamentary election would include candidates from other communities. Abadi took over the premiership in 2014 from Nuri al-Maliki, a close ally of Iran widely blamed by Iraqi politicians for the army's collapse as Islamic State seized a third of Iraq. Maliki, who heads the Shi'ite Dawa party, announced on Saturday that he would be running in the election. Maliki, who holds the ceremonial title of vice-president, remains a powerful figure as head of the largest political bloc in the current parliament. Abadi is a Dawa member but did not secure Maliki's endorsement for his candidacy. Maliki said on Saturday that Dawa supporters would be free to choose between his "State of Law" alliance and Abadi's Victory Alliance. The prime minister did, however, secure the support of powerful coalition of Iranian-backed Shi'ite groups who took part in the war on Islamic State, led by the Badr Organisation. Lawmakers close to Abadi and Badr leader Hadi al-Amiri told Reuters their representatives had signed an electoral pact on Sunday. Abadi is credited with quickly rebuilding the army and defeating Islamic State in its main Iraqi stronghold, Mosul, last July, with strong assistance from a U.S.-led coalition. His tie-up with Amiri's "Conquest Alliance" broadens his base within Iraq's majority Shi'ite Arab community. But it alienated Moqtada al-Sadr, an influential Shi'ite cleric with a large following among Iraq's urban poor who two years ago led demonstrations against the corruption eating away at Iraq's oil revenues. Story continues "I am stunned to see the course taken by brother Abadi, who we had thought to be a leading advocate of reform," said a statement from Sadr, one of a few Iraqi Shi'ite leaders who keep Iran at arm's length. The prime minister's office is reserved for the Shi'ite Arabs under a power-sharing system set up after the 2003 U.S-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab. The largely ceremonial office of president is reserved for a Kurdish member of parliament. The speaker of parliament is drawn from Sunni Arab MPs. Parliament is likely to meet in the next few days to approve May 12 as the date for the election. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Kevin Liffey) This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) says President Donald Trumps attacks against the press are reminiscent of similar tactics employed by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. During his first year in office, Trump has repeatedly blasted the nations news media as fake and dishonest, even going so far as to call it the enemy of the American people last year. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Appearing on ABCs This Week program on Sunday, Flake, a frequent critic of the president, said he planned to give a speech Wednesday about the presidents behavior. When you reflexively refer to the press as the enemy of the people or fake news, that has real damage, Flake said on Sunday to ABC host George Stephanopoulos. It has real damage to our standing in the world. And I noted how bad it is for a president to take what was popularized by Joseph Stalin, the enemy of the people, to refer to the press. Stalin infamously used the phrase enemies of the people to consolidate power during the early years of the Soviet Union, sending critics and detractors to suffer in labor camps. Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday is also expected to announce the winners of something he dubbed as the The Fake News Awards. The prizes, he said, will go to the most corrupt and biased news organizations. Trump over the weekend disputed The Wall Street Journals account of an interview he did with the paper last week in which he was quoted as saying he probably has a very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump claimed on Twitter that he actually said Id have a good relationship with the authoritarian leader, a distinction he called a big difference. The Wall Street Journal, however, posted audio of the interview on Sunday and said it stood by its reporting. CORRECTION: A previous version of this article said that Flakes Sunday quote was an excerpt from an advanced copy of his speech. Also on HuffPost Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) "Donald Trumps behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy," McCain said in a statement. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) Ayotte never formally endorsed Trump, but said she was withdrawing her support. "I wanted to be able to support my party's nominee, chosen by the people, because I feel strongly we need a change in direction in our country. However, I'm a mom and an American first, and I cannot and will not support a candidate who brags about degrading and assaulting women. I will not be voting for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton and instead will be writing in Governor Pence on election day." This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Rep. Cresent Hardy (Nev.) Story continues "I will no longer support the guy at the top of the ticket," Hardy said on Saturday. Sen. Dan Sullivan (Alaska) "We need national leaders who can lead by example on [sexual assault and domestic violence]. The reprehensible revelations about Donald Trump have shown me that he can't. Therefore I am withdrawing my support for his candidacy," Sullivan said in a statement. Rep. Ann Wagner (Mo.) "I have committed my short time in Congress to fighting for the most vulnerable in our society. As a strong and vocal advocate for victims of sex trafficking and assault, I must be true to those survivors and myself and condemn the predatory and reprehensible comments of Donald Trump," Wagner said in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. ""I withdraw my endorsement and call for Governor Pence to take the lead so we can defeat Hillary Clinton." Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) "The abhorrent comments made by Donald Trump are inexcusable and go directly against what I've been doing in Washington to combat assaults on college campuses. Because of this, I am rescinding my support for Donald Trump and asking to have my name removed from his agriculture advisory committee. With the terrible options America has right now, I cannot cast my vote for any of the candidates, so I hope Donald Trump withdraws from the race so the American people can elect Mike Pence as our next president," Davis said in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Sen. Shelley Moore Capitol (W. Va.) "As a woman, a mother, and a grandmother to three young girls, I am deeply offended by Trump's remarks, and there is no excuse for the disgusting and demeaning language. Women have worked hard to gain the dignity and respect we deserve. The appropriate next step may be for him to reexamine his candidacy. Sen. Cory Gardner (Colo.) "I will not vote for Donald Trump, he said in a statement. If Donald Trump wishes to defeat Hillary Clinton, he should do the only thing that will allow us to do so step aside, and allow Mike Pence to be the Republican partys nominee. If he fails to do so, I will not vote for Hillary Clinton but will instead write-in my vote for Mike Pence. Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley "I endorsed Governor John Kasich for President, because I felt like he was the most qualified and the best person to lead our nation. I certainly won't vote for Hillary Clinton, but I cannot and will not vote for Donald Trump," Bentley said in a statement. Rep. Tom Rooney (Fla.) As the father of three young sons, I dont want my boys growing up in a world where the President of the United States is allowed to speak or treat women the way Donald Trump has, Rooney said in a statement. "My greatest responsibility in life is to try and be a good husband and father. If I support Donald Trump, I will be telling my boys that I think it is okay to treat women like objects and Ill have failed as a dad. Rep. Erik Paulsen (Minn.) "I will not be voting for him, Paulsen said in a statement. Rep Joe Heck (Nev.) I can no longer look past the pattern of behavior and comments that have been made by Donald Trump, Heck said on Saturday. Therefore, I cannot in good conscience continue to support Donald Trump. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (N.J.) Saying this election has been incredibly disappointing is an understatement. It never had to be this way. We should be debating the issues that affect our nations future. Instead we have two horribly flawed choices. It is clear that neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton can unify a deeply divided country.I have repeatedly and strongly spoken out against Mr. Trump when he degrades and insults women, minority groups and Gold Star military families. I will not vote for a candidate who boasts of sexual assault. It is my conclusion that Mr. Trump is unfit to be President.Similarly Secretary Clintons dishonorable actions flagrantly ignoring federal laws, repeated failures in judgment on critical foreign policy and national security decisions, and intentionally lying to Congress and the American people have disqualified her.I cannot support and will not vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton to be President of the United States. I will write in Governor Mike Pence for President, LoBiondo said in a statement. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Sen. Deb Fischer (Neb.) "The comments made by Mr. Trump were disgusting and totally unacceptable under any circumstance. It would be wise for him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party's nominee," Fischer said in a statement. But she later said she planned to vote for Trump anyway. Rep. Bradley Byrne (Ala.) "Donald Trump's comments regarding women were disgraceful and appalling," Byrne said in a statement. "There are absolutely no circumstances when it would ever be appropriate to speak of women in such a way." "It is now clear Donald Trump is not fit to be President of the United States and cannot defeat Hillary Clinton. I believe he should step aside and allow Governor Pence to lead the Republican ticket." Byrne later said that he would, after all, support the Republican ticket. Rep. Scott Garrett (N.J.) Garrett said that Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, would be "the best nominee for the Republican Party to defeat Hillary Clinton," according to the AP. Garrett later said he still intended to vote for the GOP nominee. "Donald Trump remains the nominee of the Republican Party, and Rep. Garrett has always said he will vote for the Republican Party nominee, his campaign manager said. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) "I'm out. I'm pulling my endorsement," Chaffetz said in an interview on Friday. "I can not support in any way, shape or form the comments or approach Donald Trump has taken. This is so over the top, it is not even acceptable in locker rooms. It shouldn't be acceptable anywhere. We are talking about the president of the United States. I want someone of high moral values." But less than a month later, Chaffetz tweeted that he would vote for Trump after all. Sen. John Thune (S.D.) "Donald Trump should withdraw and Mike Pence should be our nominee effective immediately," Thune tweeted. But Thune said he still intends to vote for Trump. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Srinagar (India) (AFP) - At least nine people including four Pakistani soldiers were killed in fighting in disputed Kashmir on Monday, India and Pakistan said. The Pakistani army said four of its soldiers and three Indian troops had been killed in an exchange of fire across the heavily militarised de-facto border known as the Line of Control (LoC). India denied it suffered any casualties, but said its soldiers had killed five "militants" who attempted to cross the LoC in a separate incident in Uri, 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of the main city of Srinagar. India frequently accuses Pakistan of sending fighters across the LoC to launch attacks on its soldiers in Kashmir, which has been divided between the two nuclear-armed neighbours since partition in 1947. "During the night a group of infiltrating militants were challenged by the army, triggering a fierce exchange of fire in which five militants were killed," superintendent of Indian police Imtiyaz Hussain told AFP. Hussain said the militants appeared to be from Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), a Pakistan-based militant group that police say has recently stepped up its activities in the volatile territory. It has been blamed for a series of audacious attacks inside Indian-administered Kashmir in recent weeks including one on New Year's Eve in which four paramilitary troops were killed. The latest violence comes in the wake of the deadliest year in a decade in Indian Kashmir, where the army killed at least 200 militants, decimating the rebel leadership. Scores of civilians were also killed in last year's violence. India has about 500,000 troops in the Himalayan territory, which is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan. On Monday India's army chief Bipin Rawat warned the force would react strongly to any aggression from Pakistan. "Pakistan Army has been continuously trying to help terrorists sneak into India along LoC," he told soldiers in a speech. Story continues "We are using our might to teach them a lesson." Islamabad denies allegations that it arms and trains militants to launch attacks on Indian forces, saying it only provides diplomatic support to the Kashmiri struggle for right to self-determination. Opposition to Indian rule intensified in the mainly Muslim territory in 2016 after the slaying of popular rebel leader Burhan Wani. More than 100 civilians died in clashes with government forces that year during months of protests against India. Paris (AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron Saturday called for the "necessary respect" of Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the French leader to change the landmark accord. A statement from the Elysee said Macron "remembers the importance of preserving the Iran nuclear deal and the necessary respect by all parties of their engagements regarding the accord". Macron and Netanyahu spoke by phone Saturday after US President Donald Trump demanded that European partners work with Washington to "fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw". In his conversation with Macron, the Israeli premier said that "Trump's remarks should be taken seriously, and whoever wants to keep the nuclear deal would be wise to fix it", a statement from Netanyahu's office read. Netanyahu also told Macron the free world should "strongly condemn the five crimes of the Iranian regime", listing "efforts to obtain nuclear weapons... developing ballistic missiles... supporting terror... regional aggression" and "the cruel repression of Iranian citizens". On Thursday, Macron told Trump that it was important for all signatories to respect the Iran nuclear agreement. Tehran has rejected the notion of any modification of the 2015 nuclear deal, and has the backing of all of the partners to the agreement -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union -- apart from the United States. Israel says Iran is dedicated to its destruction and supports global terror, in addition to backing Palestinian Islamic militants Hamas and Islamic Jihad and Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah. The Jewish state is also concerned that the nuclear deal -- which it opposed -- would not prevent Iran from eventually having nuclear weapons. By Marco Aquino LIMA (Reuters) - A strong magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck the coast of southern Peru on Sunday morning, killing one person, injuring scores and causing homes and roads to collapse. The quake hit offshore at 4:18 a.m. local time (0918 GMT) at a depth of around 36 km (22.4 miles), the U.S. Geological Survey said. The epicenter was in the Pacific Ocean 40 km from the town of Acari. Arequipa Governor Yamila Osorio said on Twitter that a 55-year-old man died in the town of Yauca after being crushed by rocks. Jorge Chavez, chief of Peru's Civil Defense Institute, told local radio station RPP that 65 people were injured. Several municipalities lost electricity, and many roads and adobe houses collapsed, Osorio said. Many residents of Lomas, a coastal town, were evacuated after feeling an aftershock. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski traveled to the towns of Chala and Acari, two of the areas most affected by the quake, to assess the damages and coordinate the response. He said some 100 houses had collapsed. "We are going to send everything that is needed, such as tents for people whose homes were destroyed," Kuczynski told reporters in Chala. Earthquakes are common in Peru, but many homes are built with precarious materials that cannot withstand the tremors. In 2007 an earthquake killed hundreds in the region of Ica. Prime Minister Mercedes Araoz said at a news conference in Lima that the government would declare a state of emergency in the affected zones to allow for faster reconstruction of roads and homes. Devastating floods last year resulted in $8 billion in rebuilding costs. Peruvian maritime authorities said the quake did not produce a tsunami on the coast. In the morning, officials said a second person had died and that 17 people were missing in a mine, but later withdrew the reports. Peru is the world's No. 2 copper producer, although many mines in the south are located far inland from the quake's epicenter. A Southern Copper Corp representative said there were no reports of damage at its Cuajone and Toquepala mines. Jesus Revilla, a union leader at the Cerro Verde copper mine in Arequipa, said there were no reports that operations had been affected. The quake was also felt in northern Chile, Peru's southern neighbor, but authorities said there was no tsunami risk. (Reporting by Marco Aquino and Luc Cohen; Additional reporting by Antonio de la Jara in Santiago; Editing by Louise Heavens, Lisa Von Ahn and Jeffrey Benkoe) A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck off the coast of southern Peru early Sunday morning, leaving at least one dead and injuring dozens of others, authorities said. The large quake occurred about 25 miles offshore from Acari, a town in Perus southern Arequipa region, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Shaking could be felt throughout the region and even as far north as the capital city of Lima, about 350 miles away, according to local media reports. The U.S. Geological Survey said the offshore quake did not present a tsunami threat. The quake has killed at least one person, Arequipa Gov. Yamila Osorio said. The victim, 55-year-old Justo Palomino Yucra, died after being by crushed by a rock in the town of Yauca. While some news outlets have reported a second death, Osorio said the official count remains at just one. Another 65 people were injured in the quake, Perus Civil Defense Institute chief Jorge Chavez told local radio station RPP. While assessing the damage in Chala and Acari, two of the hardest-hit towns, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski told reporters that about 100 homes have collapsed. The quake also triggered power outages and damaged roads in affected towns. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. However, Interior Minister Vicente Romero said the disaster would not affect Pope Francis scheduled visit for this coming Thursday through next Sunday. Earthquakes are a major risk in Peru, where highly active fault lines are responsible for the uplift of the massive Andes mountain range. In 2007, a magnitude 8.0 quake that also struck southern Peru claimed nearly 600 lives. Sundays quake is a glimpse at how bad a bigger earthquake in a more populated part of Peru would be. The countrys lawmakers have warned in recent years that a large earthquake in Lima could cause some 30,000 deaths and destroy 200,000 homes. Lima is not prepared, really, because of the risky circumstances our people live in, Mayor Luis Castaneda said in 2015. Many homes in the city were built on dangerous inclines with cheap construction materials and are not up to construction code, experts have warned. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian court on Monday upheld death sentences handed down to nine men from the Philippines in connection with an 2013 incursion into the Malaysian part of Borneo island by Philippine fighters seeking to stake an ancient claim. The incursion by the fighters from the southern Philippines into Malaysia's Sabah state sparked a month-long crisis and at least 27 people were killed when Malaysian troops backed by fighter jets eventually subdued the militants. The conflict disrupted operations in Sabahs huge palm oil industry and at the time, raised concern that prolonged trouble could dampen investor interest in energy and infrastructure projects in the state. The nine were among fighters captured. A five-member Federal Court panel unanimously ruled that the death sentences were the most appropriate, upholding a decision by a lower court to increase the penalty from life sentences, according to the state news agency Bernama. The court also upheld a lower court's decision to release 14 other men who had been held in connection with the fighting in the sleepy Lahad Datu district. The fighters were from a group that has demanded recognition, and an increased payment from Malaysia, for their claim to be the rightful owners of Sabah, which an ancient sultanate leased to British colonialists in the 19th century. Malaysia dismissed their demands and the Philippine government repeatedly told the group to put down their weapons and go home. The fighters declared loyalty to the self-proclaimed Sultan of the southern Philippine region of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram, in the Philippines. (Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Robert Birsel) More than three decades have passed since Martin Luther King Jrs birthday became a national holiday across America. But it took decades of campaigning for Kings civil rights legacy to be immortalised as a paid public holiday. In 1968, Congress was presented with a petition signed by more than 3 million people supporting demands for a holiday. Initially President Reagan resisted plans to make Kings birthday a public holiday, arguing it would lead to other groups and leaders to seek similar concessions. Republicans also claimed they were concerned King had an inappropriate' sexual past and links to communism. But faced with considerable pressure, Reagan eventually relinquished his doubts and declared the third Monday of every January Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983. This was the first national holiday in commemoration of a black American in history. Even so, certain states refused to accept it as a holiday, giving it different names and replacing it with other holidays. It wasnt until 2000 that South Carolina became the last state to officially accept it as a paid holiday. Here are some of his quotes that still resonate today: Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Letter from Birmingham City Jail, 1963 Many white Americans of good will have never connected bigotry with economic exploitation. They have deplored prejudice but tolerated or ignored economic injustice. Why we cant wait, 1964 A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defence than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? 1967 Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Love In Action from Strength to Love, 1963 So we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools. Beyond Vietnam, 1967 Story continues We may all have come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now. Origin unknown Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. I Have a Dream, 1963 We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. St Louis, 1964 Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Letter from Birmingham City Jail, 1963 If you have five minutes to spare, it may be worth giving 9-year-old Wesley Stoker your attention. Particularly on a day when we recognize the impact of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on American civil rights. The 4th graders speech won the first prize in the 26th annual MLK Jr. oratory competition held in Dallas this past Friday. Its not incidental or inappropriate to mention that Wesley is white. The words that seemed to have struck a chord with the judges, audience, and those who were watching his winning speech today: I may not look like Dr. King, but I believe like Dr. King. Wesley faced strong competition, but given the spirit of the event, all the children on stage seemed to revel in each others achievements. This was his first time in an oratory competition, but being the son of a pastor seems to have added some natural talent to the 9-year-olds public speaking capabilities. He worked with his father, Andy Stoker, on the speech of course, and together they polished the refrain that won the day. As a white man who grew up in El Paso, Texas, Ive known for a lot of years what diversity looks like and how we can come together as a community, the senior minister at the citys First United Methodist Church told the Dallas Morning News. Hopefully, whats on the outside somehow falls away and we begin to see that were truly in this together. Continuing in this spirit, Wesleys winning speech offered similar thoughts: You may not look like Dr. King, but like me, you have the choice to believe like Dr. King. Over 120 students in the Dallas school district participated in the oratory competition this year. In times when words from adults can often seem less than inspiring, hearing young, engaged dreamers like Wesley can certainly give us the hope to keep dreaming too. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. She will never ever be Her Royal Highness Princess Meghan, historical adviser Alastair Bruce told InStyle. (Photo: Getty) Meghan Markle is set to marry Prince Harry on May 19 at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle and while the title Princess Meghan Markle sounds quite appealing, its not what she will be known as. In 1917, King George V issued a Letters Patent dictating that only children of the sovereign from the male line, the grandchildren of the sons of the sovereign and children of the Prince of Wales eldest son shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes of these Our Realms meaning they can use Prince and Princess with their first names. As Markle was not born into the royal family, her title is solely linked to Harrys. She will never ever be Her Royal Highness Princess Meghan. That will never happen, Alastair Bruce, a historical adviser and royal commentator, told InStyle. She will become Her Royal Highness Princess Harry of Wales, because we dont give the brides titles in their own right. ALSO SEE: Meghan Markle first wore a tiara as homecoming queen Meghan will become Her Royal Highness Princess Harry of Wales since her title is solely linked to Harrys. (Photo: Getty) Bruce hints that there is a chance Markle could be made a Duchess. If the queen wishes it, she may make her grandson {Harry} a duke on the morning of the wedding, and if that is done, then it will be announced probably about 8 or 10 a.m., and then of course, at the moment of marriage, she will become the Duchess of wherever that is, Bruce told InStyle. Some royal watchers believe that Meghan and Harry will become the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. According to The Telegraph, other available options include the dukedoms of Clarence, Connaught, Windsor, Albany and Cumberland and Teviotdale. In a similar fashion, after Kate Middleton married into the royal family, she officially became Princess William of Wales and she and William were titled with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. But due to King George Vs Letters Patent, Kate and William faced the possibility that while their eldest son would be a prince, their daughters wouldnt be called princesses. Thankfully, some royal rules are meant to be broken or modified, in this case. Story continues ALSO SEE: 7 things you didnt know about Kate Middleton Due to the Queens Letters Patent, Charlotte is known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge instead of Lady Charlotte Mounbatten-Windsor. (Photo: Getty) In December 2012, while Kate was three months pregnant with her first child, the Queen issued a Letters Patent that declared all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of royal highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour. Now Charlotte is known as Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge instead of Lady Charlotte Mounbatten-Windsor. This new rule hasnt been passed on to Harry, so if he and Markle decide to have children, they will be titled Lord or Lady instead of Prince or Princess. If you ever run into a senior member of the royal family and are confused as to what to call them, try your royal highness. Or simply curtsy (just make sure you do it right). Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram! Michelle Obama is kicking back in Miami. (Photo: Splash News) Michelle Obama drew a crowd on the beach in Miami wearing a white bikini top and matching cut-off shorts. The former FLOTUS was photographed Saturday strolling barefoot on the sand at the Surf Club at the Four Seasons wearing a white string bikini top, distressed denim shorts, a white, sheer coverup, gold hoop earrings, and her hair pushed back with a patterned bandana. The 53-year-old was trailed by an entourage, including members of the Secret Service, former White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, and 19-year-old daughter Malia, who wore black bikini bottoms and a $39 cropped, camel-colored sweatshirt from Out From Under. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The family reportedly dined that night at steakhouse Prime 112 before leaving town. In a new Netflix special called My Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman that premiered Friday, Barack Obama revealed that vacation was his top priority after leaving office. I took Michelle on a holiday because I missed my wife. We had not hung out, so we spent days and had a wonderful time, Obama told Letterman of his and Michelles February trip to the British Virgin Islands, where the couple was joined by billionaire Richard Branson. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Barack Obama went kite surfing during his vacation in the British Virgin Islands. (Photo: Getty Images) In April, the Obamas relaxed on David Geffens 450-foot yacht near the French Polynesian island of Moorea (along with Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and Bruce Springsteen), where Barack played Instagram Husband by snapping pics of his wife on his iPad. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The Obamas also took a May trip to Tuscany, where Michelle showed off her famous biceps in a lavender one-shoulder blouse from Teija, which she paired with white, distressed jeans. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. And in September, Michelle was spotted boarding a yacht in Mallorca, Spain, wearing a white camisole, a blue-and-white wrap skirt with a thigh-high slit, and carrying a $60 straw Madewell bag. Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle: Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. Mitt Romney has joined the chorus of voices condemning the vulgar remarks that President Donald Trump reportedly made about Haiti and African countries, calling them inconsistent [with] Americas history and antithetical to American values in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day tweet. May our memory of Dr. King buoy our hope for unity, greatness, [and] charity for all, the former Republican presidential candidate added. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Romneys criticism of Trump on Monday comes amid reports that the former Massachusetts governor is considering a run for Utahs Senate seat. Last Thursday, Trump had disparagingly referred to Haiti and African countries as shithole countries while discussing immigration reform with lawmakers at the White House, according to various reports. The president has since denied that he used those exact words. He told reporters on Sunday night that he is the least racist person you have ever interviewed. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) has said President Donald Trump's reported comments about Haitians and African countries are "antithetical to American values." (Photo: Lucas Jackson/Reuters) Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who was in the room during Thursdays White House meeting, has backed the reports about Trumps comments, stating that Trump said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly. Sen. Tim Scott. (R-S.C.), who did not attend the meeting, said that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told him that media reports on Trumps comments were basically accurate. Graham has declined to confirm Trumps exact words publicly. He told the Post and Courier on Monday: My memory hasnt evolved. I know what was said and I know what I said. Meanwhile, Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.), who also attended the meeting, have said that they dont recall hearing Trump saying these comments specifically. Romney has been an outspoken critic of Trump, though Trump reportedly considered him as a potential candidate for secretary of state in 2016. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) shakes hands with then President-elect Donald Trump following a meeting in New Jersey in 2016. (Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters) Most recently, Romney urged Roy Moore the Republican candidate in Alabamas Senate race whom Trump ultimately backed to step aside following accusations that Moore had sexually assaulted and pursued underage girls. Story continues Romney also spoke out against Trumps presidential ambitions in 2016, at one point calling the then-presidential candidate a phony and a fraud whose promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. He also criticized the president for lacing his public speeches with vulgarity. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Sen. Tim Scott attended the meeting and confirmed having heard Trumps comments. Scott was citing Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was at the meeting. Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. Related Coverage Celebrities Erupt In Anger Over Donald Trump's 'Shithole Countries' Comment Dick Durbin Was In The Room And Confirms Trump Made 'Shithole' Comments Trump Supporters Have Lots Of Excuses For His 'Shithole' Remark. They're All Bad. Africa Calls Trump Racist After 'Shithole' Remark Also on HuffPost This article originally appeared on HuffPost. By Krishna N. Das, Serajul Quadir and Simon Lewis DHAKA/YANGON (Reuters) - Hamid Hussain, a 71-year-old Rohingya Muslim farmer, first fled Myanmar for Bangladesh in 1992. He went home the next year under a repatriation deal between the two neighbors, only to repeat the journey last September when violence flared once more. Officials from Myanmar and Bangladesh meet on Monday to discuss how to implement another deal, signed on Nov. 23, on the return of more than 650,000 Rohingya who have escaped an army crackdown since late August. Hussain is one of many who say they fear this settlement may be no more permanent than the last. "Bangladesh authorities had assured us that Myanmar would give us back our rights, that we would be able to live peacefully," said Hussain, who now lives in a makeshift refugee camp in southeast Bangladesh. "We went back but nothing changed. I will go back again only if our rights and safety are guaranteed - forever." Buddhist-majority Myanmar has for years denied Rohingya citizenship, freedom of movement and access to many basic services such as healthcare and education. They are considered illegal immigrants from mainly Muslim Bangladesh. The authorities have said returnees could apply for citizenship if they can show their forebears have lived in Myanmar. But the latest deal - like the one in 1992 - does not guarantee citizenship and it is unclear how many would qualify. Monday's meeting in Myanmar's capital Naypyitaw will be the first for a joint working group set up to hammer out the details of the November repatriation agreement. The group is made up of civil servants from both countries. Two senior Bangladesh officials who are involved in the talks acknowledged that much was left to be resolved and it was unclear when the first refugees could actually return. One of the key issues to be worked out was how the process for jointly verifying the identities of returnees would work, they said. "Any return is chaotic and complex," said Shahidul Haque, Bangladesh's top foreign ministry official who will lead Dhaka's 14-member team in the talks. "The challenge is to create an environment conducive for their return." Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay said returnees would be able to apply for citizenship "after they pass the verification process". Zaw Htay added that Myanmar had proposed that a group of 500 Hindus who fled to Bangladesh and have already agreed to be repatriated, alongside 500 Muslims, could form the first batch of returnees. "The first repatriation is important - we can learn from the experiences, good or bad," he said. MYANMAR SETS UP CAMPS Bangladesh officials said they would begin the process this month by sharing with Myanmar authorities a list of 100,000 Rohingya, picked at random from among registered refugees. Haque said Myanmar officials would vet the names against their records of residents before the August exodus, and those approved would then be asked if they wanted to go back. Refugees without documents would be asked to identify streets, villages and other landmarks near their former homes as proof of their right to return, said Haque. A Myanmar agency set up to oversee repatriation said in a statement on Thursday that two temporary "repatriation and assessment camps" and one other site to accommodate returnees had been set up. Myint Kyaing, permanent secretary at Myanmar's Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population, told Reuters earlier this month Myanmar would be ready to begin processing least 150 people a day through each of the two camps by Jan. 23. As well as checking their credentials as residents of Myanmar, he said, authorities would check returnees against lists of suspected "terrorists". Myint Kyaing declined to comment on how long the repatriation would take but conceded the process after the 1992 agreement had taken more than 10 years. United Nations agencies working in the camps clustered around Cox's Bazar, in southeastern Bangladesh, have voiced scepticism about the resettlement plans. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration said their offers to help with the process have not been taken up by the two countries. "Further measures are needed to ensure safe, voluntary and sustainable repatriation of refugees to their places of origin and to address the underlying root causes of the crisis," said Caroline Gluck, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Cox's Bazar. The UNHCR says refugees it has surveyed want guarantees that international agencies will be involved in overseeing the process and more information about the security situation in their home areas. WHO WILL GO? WHO WILL PAY? While many Rohingya say they want to go back to Myanmar, most of the more than a dozen who spoke to Reuters said they were scared to do so now. "I am not going back. No one's going back," said Hafizulla, a 37-year-old Rohingya man. "We are scared to go back without any U.N. intervention. They can accuse us later, they can arrest us. They may accuse us of helping the militants." The military offensive the refugees fled, which was prompted by Rohingya insurgent attacks on police and army posts, has been described by the United States and U.N. as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar rejects that, saying troops did not target civilians. "You can have all the agreements in the world, and set up all the reception centers and everything, but it won't make a difference unless the conditions in Myanmar are such that people feel confident that they can go back and live in peace, and have equal rights," said a Western diplomat in Dhaka. The second Bangladesh official, Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner Mohammed Abul Kalam, said the "Rohingyas' reluctance to go back" was an issue that needed to be addressed. He said the repatriation process would cost "millions of dollars" but funding details had not yet been agreed and were not expected to be discussed at Monday's meeting. Japan, one of Myanmar's biggest aid donors, said on Friday it was giving an emergency grant of around $3 million to help with the return of the Rohingya. (Reporting by Krishna N. Das and Serajul Quadir in DHAKA and Simon Lewis in YANGON; Editing by Paritosh Bansal, Robert Birsel) Astronomers have seen the most distant galaxy ever as more than just a red dot. NASAs Hubble Telescope has captured a picture of the young SPT0615-JD galaxy, which existed more than 13 billion years ago. While astronomers have observed some galaxies at this distance, they have only appeared as tiny red pin pricks. A strange phenomenon called gravitational lensing has allowed astronomers to see this ancient galaxy bigger and brighter than any others from this distance. 1_15_SPT0615-JD B Salmon/STScI/ESA/NASA Trending: North Korea's All-Female Band Leader Hyon Song Wol Is the Only Woman Negotiating on Kim Jong Un's Behalf Astronomers predicted the size and mass of the remote galaxy by analysing the Hubble images. The embryonic galaxy is relatively small, at only 1/100th the mass of our Milky Way. It measures less than 2,500 light years across, while our galaxy is about 100,000 light years in diameter. It existed just 500 million years after the beginning of the universe. The results have been posted to the preprint physics server arXiv, and submitted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Gravitational lensing The team of astronomers were able to see the tiny galaxy because of a weird effect known as gravitational lensing. A massive galaxy cluster called SPT-CL J0615-5746 sits in the foreground of the newly discovered SPT0615-JD. Don't miss: In 1958, Who Did MLK Jr. Think the Most Dangerous Man in America? This big cluster bent the light from the small galaxy as it traveled toward Hubble. This made the SPT0615-JD appear far brighter, and smudged its appearance into an arc. The telescopic images were able to pick up far more light from the galaxy because of this bending. Space telescopes 12_6_James Webb Testing Chris Gunn/NASA/Flickr Story continues Scientists are still limited in their ability to observe galaxies at great distances in space. The Hubble Space Telescopea joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Space Telescope Science Instituteis due to be retired at some point in the 2020s. The upcoming James Webb Telescope, however will be the worlds biggest space telescope. James Webb is due to be launched in 2019 after a series of delays, and could help astronomers get a much better look at distant parts of the cosmos. The study authors predict that SPT0615-JDs unprecedented lensing will offer a treasure trove of data for the new space telescope. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek New Delhi (AFP) - Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for the first visit by an Israeli leader to India in 15 years, promising closer ties with the regional power. Netanyahu and his wife Sara were welcomed at the international airport in New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who made history in July when he became the first Indian leader to visit Israel. "This visit is an opportunity to enhance cooperation with a global economic, security, technology and tourism power," Netanyahu said in a statement ahead of his visit. "Indian Prime Minister Modi is a close friend of Israel and of mine." Modi -- who will accompany Netanyahu for large parts of his five-day tour -- embraced the Israeli prime minister on the tarmac before the pair set off to pay homage at a war memorial in the Indian capital. "Your visit to India is historic and special. It will further cement the close friendship between our nations," Modi said on Twitter. Netanyahu will be only the second Israeli PM to visit India and the first since Ariel Sharon in 2003. He is accompanied by the largest-ever business delegation to travel with an Israeli leader. Executives in technology, agriculture and defence are among those making the journey as Tel Aviv pursues deals with Asia's third-largest economy. The build up to Netanyahu's visit was soured this month when India called off a deal to buy 8,000 anti-tank guided missiles from Israel's state-owned defence contractor Rafael. The Indian army and the government are discussing ways to revive the $500 million order, which was scrapped when the country's own state-run defence contractor offered to build similar missiles locally. Israel is a major weapons supplier to India, exporting an average of $1 billion of military equipment each year, but Modi wants to end India's status as the world's top defence importer. Netanyahu and Modi kicked off the visit with a stop at a memorial to Indian soldiers who fought in World War I to help liberate the Israeli city of Haifa. Story continues The Israeli leader will later meet with Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj before a private dinner with Modi. Netanyahu expects to sign new agreements in fields of energy, aviation and cinema production, with stops at the Taj Mahal, a visit to Modi's home state of Gujarat and meetings with Bollywood luminaries in Mumbai. But he will also make an emotional visit to a Jewish centre targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks during his tour, a symbolic gesture to India's tiny and shrinking Jewish community. Netanyahu will accompany 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg as the boy returns for the first time to the house where his parents were killed in the attacks that left 166 people dead. The New Orleans Saints were dealt a devastating blow when safety Marcus Williams whiffed on a game-saving tackle, allowing Minnesota Vikings wideout Stefon Diggs to waltz into the end zone untouched, and the hometown newspaper captured the mood in The Big Easy perfectly on its front page. Heres what New Orleanians woke up to on Monday morning when they opened The Times-Picayune: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Expletive. Expletive. Expletive. That about sums it up. Right, Wendell Pierce? This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Meanwhile, in Minnesota: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Charles Dickens couldnt have written this tale of two cities better. More NFL coverage from Yahoo Sports: Why a Vikings kneel, not the wild TD catch, set Vegas off Marcus Williams huge whiff will live on in playoff infamy Who is really to blame for Steelers stunning loss? Athletes react to Vikings win exactly the way we would expect Beijing (AFP) - An Iranian oil tanker burst into flames from end to end and sank Sunday, eight days after it caught fire following a collision with a cargo ship off China, state media said. Earlier, a Tehran official said there was no hope of saving some 30 missing crewmen before the ship sank, amid concern over an oil spill as Chinese officials played down fears of a major environmental disaster. The Sanchi, carrying 136,000 tonnes of light crude oil from Iran, had been burning since colliding with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter, on January 6. At around midday Sunday the ship "suddenly ignited", with the entire vessel burning fiercely and a pall of smoke between 800 and 1,000 metres (2,625 and 3,280 feet) high, China's transport ministry said, releasing dramatic pictures of the entire vessel obscured by thick black smoke. The ship later sank, the official news agency Xinhua cited the State Oceanic Administration as saying. "There is no hope of finding survivors among the members of the crew," Mohammad Rastad, spokesman for the Iranian rescue team dispatched to Shanghai, told Iran's state broadcaster in Tehran before the tanker went down. Rastad said information from members of the Crystal crew suggested all the personnel on the Sanchi died in the first hour of the accident "due to the explosion and the release of gas". "Despite our efforts, it has not been possible to extinguish the fire and recover the bodies due to repeated explosions and gas leaks," he said. The Sanchi, which had been headed to South Korea to deliver its cargo, had a crew of 32 -- 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis. Only three bodies have been recovered. Scenes of anger and grief erupted in Tehran as news of the deaths reached dozens of family, friends and colleagues of the crew, who were waiting desperately for information about their loved ones at the National Iranian Tanker Company headquarters. Story continues Labour Minister Ali Rabiei was shown crying on state television as he tried to comfort the wife of one crewman, telling her to "hold your child close and be strong". - 'Minimal human impact' - Chinese rescuers had on Saturday recovered the tanker's "black box", the transport ministry said, without specifying exactly what had been retrieved. A reporter with China's state television CCTV aboard a plane from the State Oceanic Administration reported seeing wreckage from the Sanchi, oil on fire, and spilled fuel covering a 10-square-kilometre (3.9-square-mile) area. "The oil spill situation is very serious," CCTV quoted the reporter as saying on social media. But the television channel earlier also cited Zhang Yong, a senior engineer with the State Oceanic Administration, as playing down fears of a spill. "Because this is a light crude oil spill, relatively speaking it has a much smaller impact than other oil spills, because this kind of oil is especially volatile - most of it has entered the atmosphere, so it's had less impact on the ocean", Zhang was quoted as saying. "This area should be considered the open sea, very far from places where people live, so the human impact should be minimal." Rescue efforts had been particularly difficult because at 89 degrees Celsius, the vessel's compartments were too hot for workers to withstand for long, CCTV quoted He Wang, an expert from Chinese oil company Huade Petrochemical, as saying. burs/amu/srm Russias foreign minister warned the U.S. that it risks catastrophic consequences if it tries to resolve the North Korea crisis through military means and said neither Moscow nor Beijing supports the Washington-backed summit on the crisis in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the past, the Russian government has broadly supported sanctions on North Koreas regime as a way of curbing its nuclear military program. Both Russia and China agree in principle that the regime should not attain weapons of mass destruction. However, the countrys two northern neighbors have repeatedly blamed the U.S. for Pyongyangs progress in developing nuclear capabilities in the first place. Related: Russia sends airmen on their first live-fire drill near the North Korean border this year Trending: France's 'Black Widow,' Who Allegedly Seduced and Poisoned Elderly Men, On Trial In his year-in-review press conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov poured more scorn on the U.S. strategy to rein in North Korea, accusing Washington of flirting with disaster. The United States are almost openly speaking about the inevitability of a military resolution, he said. President Donald Trump has been at the forefront of the most direct threats against the North Korean regime as a result of its incessant missile testing over the past year. This has often made Washingtons policy toward the regime seem incoherent; the State Department has made diplomatic efforts to curb the regime while the president has publicly told his secretary of state he is wasting his time trying to negotiate a solution. Meanwhile, U.S. generals have told troops to get ready in case they need to be called up. Everyone understands the catastrophic consequences of such a venture," Lavrov said during his press conference on Monday, state news agency Tass reported. He said large scale U.S.-led military drills had thwarted opportunities for negotiation in the past. Story continues Don't miss: Pornhub Is Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. 01_15_Lavrov_NK Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images The U.S. has largely acted to demonstrate it can shore up the defense of its partners that feel most directly threatened by North Koreanamely, South Korea and Japan. Russia and China have argued that the best way forward is encouraging Pyongyang to stop its nuclear tests by ending big U.S. war games in the region and opening direct negotiations. A handful of U.S. allies have gathered in Vancouver after a joint invitation with Canada for a summit that will focus on North Korea. Lavrov made clear that Russia is against the Vancouver meeting. "They called up countries who fought under the U.N. flag against North Korea in the war between 1950 and 1953. We asked them why, and we were told that this is important for demonstrating international solidarity against the dangerous and illegal ballistic program of North Korea," Lavrov said. "They did not invite us or the Chinese." Most popular: Surfers Swallowing Sea Water Could Spread Antibiotic-Resistant E. Coli He said that "this approach clearly does not work for us" because Moscow can attend proceedings only after the main ministerial meeting on Tuesday. We have clearly said that we consider these efforts and this meeting to be harmful," Lavrov said, claiming that any suggestions that Russia had been consulted about the Vancouver summit beforehand were outright lies. Related: North Koreas neighbors Russia and China join forces for missile defense computer drill Brian Hook, senior policy adviser to the secretary of state, said last week that the Vancouver ministerial meeting supports all of our efforts collectively and that Washington would inform non-attending parties about the discussion once the meeting ends. It is not clear which statement about Russia's involvement in the summit's preparation was a lie, as Lavrov claimed. With respect to China and the Vancouver ministerial, we will give them a readout of this ministerial after its over, and we have been in discussions with the Chinese and the Russians leading up to this Vancouver ministerial, Hook said, according to a press briefing transcript. I think that they will welcome a lot of the actions that come out of the discussion, because it all rolls up into the same policy end state. China has also opposed the format of the meeting, but it is not clear whether the joint hosts went as far as inviting a representative from Beijing. According to a report in Canadas National Post newspaper, Steve Goldstein, U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, said China was not invited, while a spokeswoman for Chrystia Freeland, Canada's foreign affairs minister, said last month that China had been invited. We hope they will attend, she added. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Tourists visit the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to see polar bears - www.shannonwild.com Norwegian diplomats have poked fun at official Australian travel advice on how to avoid a polar bear attack in the Scandinavian country. Norways Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) softly dismissed tips from Australia's Smartraveller advisory and consular information service with a light-hearted Twitter response. Thank you Australia for your concern, Norways MFA posted. We can assure you that in mainland Norway all polar bears are stuffed and poses only limited risk. Officials followed up the sarcastic response with a photo of a stuffed polar bear on display in the office of Norways prime minister Erna Solberg. The Australian advisorys Twitter post had failed to clarify that the warning was actually for travellers visiting Svalbard, an archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, which has a population of around 2,000 polar bears. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Svalbard is attracting an increasing number of tourists who travel to the Arctic Ocean destination in the hope of catching a glimpse of polar bears in their natural environment. The advice noted that tourists have been killed or injured due to polar bear attacks, adding that avalanches were also a danger and accidents had been reported on glaciers and boats. The level of our advice remains at the lowest level, said Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Exercise normal safety precautions in Norway. A polar bear explorer safari in Svalbard Credit: Shannon Wild / Natural World Safaris There have been a number of polar bear attacks resulting in death or serious injury involving tourists in Svalbard. A group of Czech tourists attacked by a polar bear who broke into their tent were fined 800 for failing to take the appropriate safety precautions in 2015. In 2011, 17-year-old British schoolboy, Horatio Chapple, was mauled to death by a starving polar bear who attacked a campsite. The problem is, when the ice goes, the bears cannot catch food, a local said at the time. People don't really know how dangerous they are. One came down to the sea recently and people were running down to take pictures. By Gul Yousafzai QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's volatile Baluchistan province elected a new chief minister on Saturday, days after the previous leader was ousted in a blow to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party ahead of the 2018 polls. Abdul Qudoos Bezenjo, former deputy speaker of the provincial assembly and member of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) party, was sworn in as third chief minister in four years in the restive southwestern province. Resource-rich Baluchistan is plagued by violence, perpetrated by both Islamist militants and nationalist insurgents fighting to keep a greater share of the revenues from gas and minerals in the province. Security has improved in recent years, though militants still carry out attacks. The province also forms an important leg of the $57 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor of energy and infrastructure projects that China hopes to build as part of its belt and road initiative. Bezenjo's ascent to power follows weeks of political infighting which saw provincial lawmakers from the ruling PML-N party rebel to help the opposition call for a vote of no confidence in PML-N's Nawab Sanaullah Zehri, prompting him to resign in a bitter blow to his party. The political crisis had been intensified by speculation, widely circulated in media, that elements of Pakistan's powerful military were behind efforts to destabilize the region and possibly dissolve the assembly ahead of the senate elections due around March, and the general elections in mid-2018. "This assembly will complete its constitutional term," Bezenjo said after being sworn in. "And if somebody made any attempt (to dissolve the parliament) I will fully resist." The military, which has ruled Pakistan for about half its history since independence in 1947, denies meddling in civilian politics. Bezenjo's election is seen hurting PML-N's chances at the nationwide senate elections, with analysts saying the ruling party is now expected to get fewer senators from Baluchistan. In 2015, the vote for members of the upper house Senate was done through secret ballots of provincial lawmakers. (Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Ros Russell) Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian officials exhumed the body of a disabled Gazan man Sunday as part of efforts to prove Israeli forces shot him in the head during recent protests and clashes. "Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh's body was exhumed this morning for another autopsy to refute Israeli claims that come as an attempt to evade their responsibility for this crime," Mohammad Al-Najjal, the deputy justice minister in the Gaza Strip, told AFP. Najjal said the Palestinian authorities in Gaza decided that "in order to refute the occupation's claims, the bullet in his head must be presented to international parties," he added. He said "the results of this autopsy will be presented to international parties including the ICC (International Criminal Court)." It was unclear whether a full autopsy had been performed on Abu Thurayeh after his death on December 15 in the Palestinian enclave run by Islamist movement Hamas. Israel's military said earlier this month it was opening an investigation into the death of the 29-year-old who, according to his family, had lost his legs in a 2008 Israeli strike. Palestinian officials say the wheelchair-bound man was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper during protests and clashes along the Gaza border on December 15. The United Nations' human rights chief said he was "truly shocked" by Abu Thurayeh's death and demanded an "independent and impartial investigation". Israel's announcement that it was opening a probe into his death came after the military previously said it was not able to determine whether he had been killed by its soldiers' fire. AFP photographers have seen Abu Thurayeh at multiple demonstrations in recent years. In video footage recorded the day he was killed, Abu Thurayeh could be seen carrying the Palestinian flag and waving the victory sign at Israeli soldiers across the border. The protest on December 15 was part of unrest that has occurred in the Palestinian territories since US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Sixteen Palestinians have been killed since Trump's December 6 announcement, most of them in clashes with Israeli forces. Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian leaders met Monday to plan a response to what they see as US President Donald Trump's attack on their long bid for statehood, after Mahmud Abbas denounced White House peace efforts as the "slap of the century". The rare meeting of the Palestinian Central Council -- a high-ranking arm of the Palestine Liberation Organisation -- was called after Trump's controversial December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinians want the annexed eastern sector of the city as the capital of their future state, and president Abbas has said Trump's stance means the US can no longer be the mediator in peace talks with Israel. The US president has sought to bring Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, with talks stalled since 2014. Speaking late Sunday at the opening of the council, which brings together Palestinians from multiple political parties, Abbas told delegates: "We said 'no' to Trump, 'we will not accept your project.'" "The deal of the century is the slap of the century and we will not accept it," the 82-year-old leader added, referring to Trump's pledge to reach the "ultimate deal". He instead called for an internationally mediated peace process. Israel is unlikely to accept any other mediator than the United States, accusing United Nations bodies of systematic bias against it. The delegates began meeting Monday morning, with talks expected to end in the evening with a joint statement. - Threat to cut aid - The last meeting of the PCC in 2015 called for ending security coordination with Israel, but its decisions were non-binding and it was never implemented. The Palestinians' relations with the US leadership have deteriorated rapidly since Trump's election. He came to power promising to lead the most pro-Israel administration in history, but also to pursue a peace deal. Story continues His envoys, including senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, had been shuttling between the two sides in search of common ground. But Trump also infuriated the Palestinians by refusing to commit to the idea of an independent Palestinian state, and recently threatened to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid. The Jerusalem announcement prompted the Palestinians to freeze ties with the administration, and Abbas is expected to shun Vice President Mike Pence when he visits the region next week. On Sunday night, Abbas attacked the US ambassadors to Israel and the United Nations, David Friedman and Nikki Haley, calling them a "disgrace". Both Trump appointees have been strong supporters of Israel, with Friedman having backed Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. An indignant Abbas also said that Trump had accused them of refusing to engage in peace negotiations. "May God demolish your house. When did we refuse?" he said, using a common Arabic curse. - 'Losing his wits' - Israeli media focused heavily on the phrase on Monday, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbas "has torn off the mask". "He spoke the truth that I have been repeating for years: The root of the conflict with the Palestinians is their constant refusal to recognise the Jewish state in any borders," Netanyahu told journalists during a visit to India. The PLO has long recognised Israel, though Netanyahu has called on it to recognise it as a Jewish state. Abbas said all options were on the table for responding to Trump's Jerusalem declaration, but did not specifically mention suspending recognition of Israel or ending security coordination with the Jewish state -- both policies mooted in the days before the council. He did, however, say the Oslo accords that led to the creation of his Palestinian Authority and envisioned a final resolution to the conflict were in effect finished. "I am saying that Oslo, there is no Oslo. Israel ended Oslo," he said, referring to persistent Israeli settlement building and other issues seen as eroding the possibility of a two-state solution to the conflict. In response to Abbas's comments, the European Union said its position on the conflict remains "based on the Oslo accords". "A negotiated two-state solution which fulfils the aspirations of both sides, Israel and Palestine, is the only realistic way of bringing the lasting peace and security that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve," European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters in Brussels. France, which organised an international conference in support of the two-state solution a year ago, issued a similar reaction, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow "understands" Abbas's anger. "For years they made concessions without receiving anything in return," Lavrov said at an annual press conference in Moscow. "We constantly hear that the US is about to unveil an important deal that would satisfy all sides. We have not seen this kind of document." na-az-jod-jlr/mjs/dv A former governor of Rivers State and Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has assured the people of the state that those involved in the killing of Rivers people on New Year Day will face the wrath of the law. Amaechi gave the hint in Omoku, the headquarters of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State on Saturday, when he paid a condolence visit to the bereaved families. The minister, who wept when addressing the people said, The only thing I can assure you is that the perpetrators of this act will be brought to justice. They cannot run away from it. They cant get away with this. I was at the hospital to see a little boy that was shot, and his father and mother killed. How do you want that little boy to live? How would he cope in life? They must pay for their actions. Meanwhile, the minister has again, accused the Nyesom Wike-led administration in Rivers State of failing to protect the lives of Rivers people. He spoke in Isiokpo, same day, at a grand reception held in his honour by the Ikwerre Youth Movement. Loading... A statement signed by the Media Office of the former governor quoted him as saying, The first responsibility of a leader is to keep his subjects alive. The reason why the constitution puts every governor on oath, to swear that you will protect lives and property is because if there are no lives, there will be nobody to lead. If there is anybody on earth that said that I have met with him as a cultist to take lives, let him come forward. If there is anybody on earth that will tell you that I have sat with him in a meeting and we planned to go and kill people to win election, let the person come forward. Let me tell you why I will not do such; it is not because Im afraid of anybody, it is because Im afraid of God. I doubt that God was happy the day they killed 23 persons in Omoku. I doubt that God was happy the day they killed people in Omerelu or at Egbeda or at Andoni or at Ogbunabali or wherever. Earlier, the President-General of IYM, Sir Azubuike Nwanjoku, had said that the reception was organised to honour the Transportation minister, fondly called the Lion of the Niger Delta. He said that Rivers State should be saved from crime and cultism and appealed to Amaechi to take their plea to President Muhammadu Buhari, adding that they want to live and work in peace in Rivers State. Lima (AFP) - Alberto Fujimori, Peru's pardoned former president who was until recently serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuses, was hospitalized on Sunday for cardiac arrhythmia, his doctor said. Fujimori was hospitalized at the end of last year and treated for various ailments, and had only been discharged 10 days ago. "He is not totally stable" and still "has short periods of arrhythmia," his doctor Alejandro Aguinaga told journalists. Fujimori, 79, arrived at the Centenario clinic, where he had previously been treated, accompanied by his son Kenji. Before entering, he raised his hand to greet journalists, according to televised images. Fujimori's pardon has drawn heavy criticism from victims of his 1990-2000 rule as well as their relatives and human rights advocates. But he also earned respect from many Peruvians for his ruthless and unflinching campaign to defeat leftist guerrillas during his presidency. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski had pledged not to pardon Fujimori, but did so just days after Kenji drained votes away from a parliamentary bid Thursday to impeach the president on suspicion of corruption, sparking speculation the pardon was political payback. Manila (AFP) - The Philippine government has revoked the operating licence of leading news website Rappler, officials said Monday in a ruling denounced by President Rodrigo Duterte's critics as the latest blow to press freedom. Rappler, set up in 2012, is among a clutch of Philippine news organisations that have sparred with Duterte over their critical coverage of his brutal drugs war. But the government rejected allegations that the ruling was an attack on press freedom, with Duterte's spokesman saying Rappler and Rappler Holdings Corp had violated a provision in the country's constitution restricting media ownership to Filipinos. At his state of the nation address to Congress last year Duterte vowed to expose Rappler's "American ownership". "The issue at hand is the compliance of 100 percent Filipino ownership and management of mass media. It is not about infringement on the freedom of the press," Duterte spokesman Harry Roque said in a statement Monday. "No one is above the law. Rappler has to comply," Roque added. Rappler's acting managing editor Chay Hofilena told AFP the company would file a court appeal against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruling, which is due to take effect in 15 days. "This is pure and simple harassment, the seeming coup de grace to the relentless and malicious attacks against us since 2016," the website said in a statement. "We will continue bringing you the news, holding the powerful to account for their actions and decisions, calling attention to government lapses that further disempower the disadvantaged," it said. The case concerns Rappler Holdings' decision to issue Philippine depositary receipts for shares of Rappler Inc. that the government said were sold to foreign companies. "(They are) existing for no other purpose than to effect a deceptive scheme to circumvent the constitution," the SEC said in a January 11 ruling to revoke Rappler's certificates of incorporation that was posted on the commission's website Monday. Story continues - 'Unite and resist' - The ruling followed setbacks suffered by other Philippine news organisations which have criticised Duterte's war on drugs that has killed nearly 4,000 suspects. In March last year, Duterte described top newspaper Philippine Daily Inquirer and leading television broadcaster ABS-CBN as "sons of whores" and warned them of karmic repercussions over their criticism of his drug war. "I'm not threatening them but someday their karma will catch up with them," Duterte said. "They're shameless, those sons of whore journalists," he added. Four months later, the Inquirer announced its owners were in talks to sell the publication. A business tycoon who backed Duterte's 2016 election bid later disclosed he was planning to buy the Inquirer. Duterte in 2017 also threatened to block ABS-CBN's application to renew its operating franchise, a permit that requires congressional approval. Rights group Amnesty International denounced the Rappler ruling, calling it "an alarming attempt to silence independent journalism". "This is a politically motivated decision, pure and simple, and just the latest attempt to go after anyone who dares to criticise the government," said James Gomez, Amnesty International's Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The mass media watchdog group National Union of Journalists of the Philippines also slammed the government's decision. "We call on all Filipino journalists to unite and resist every and all attempts to silence us," the union said. Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said the ruling was a case of "pure harassment and a clear attack on press freedom". MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte personally made a decision to let China conduct scientific research off the Philippines' Pacific coast, his spokesman said on Monday, despite concern among critics about threats to maritime sovereignty. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that as chief architect of foreign policy, Duterte allowed China to work with the University of the Philippines in Benham Rise, an area roughly the size of Greece and believed by some scientists to be rich in biodiversity and tuna. The United Nations declared Benham Rise, off the Pacific coast, part of the continental shelf of the Philippines in 2012. Manila last year renamed it the "Philippine Rise". Though China does not lay claim to the area, the lingering presence of its vessels for several months in late 2016 triggered concern about its intentions. The Philippines granting of the permission to China was not announced and was revealed a few days ago by a lawmaker who has been fiercely critical of Duterte's close ties with Beijing. The Philippines and China have a long history of maritime squabbles over sovereignty in the South China Sea, but there has been no disagreement about waters off Manila's Pacific coast. Roque said anyone opposed to the joint research project should go to Congress and raise the issue there. "If this is not a wise move of the president, then a law could be enacted to prohibit it," he said. The Philippines would grant permission to any other country that might show interest in conducting maritime research at Benham Rise, he added. (Reporting by Manuel Mogato; Editing by Martin Petty, Robert Birsel) By Enrico Dela Cruz MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines ordered the forced evacuation of people from two more municipalities near a restive volcano on Monday as the chief volcanologist warned of a possible hazardous eruption "within weeks or even within days". More than 12,000 residents have already fled to evacuation centers after the 2,462-metre (8,077-foot) Mayon volcano, in central Albay province, began spewing ash on Saturday and unleashed burning mud and rocks on Sunday. "There is an ongoing forced evacuation from the municipalities of Daraga and Legazpi because of the lava flow," Romina Marasigan, spokeswoman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told reporters. "The lava flow has reached some areas around three kilometers away from the volcano." Mayon, a tourist attraction because of its near-perfect cone shape, showed a bright crater glow on Sunday, signifying lava had started to flow from the crater. Manila's airport authorities said Cebu Pacific had canceled flights to nearby Legazpi City for a second day on Monday, citing bad weather. Philippine Airlines said it had not canceled any flights to and from Legazpi, but there were some delays. Mayon's most destructive eruption was in February 1814, when lava buried a town and killed 1,200 people. It last erupted in 2014, spewing lava and forcing thousands of people to evacuate. The Philippines raised the volcano alert to level 3, which indicates increased volcanic activity toward a hazardous eruption, late on Sunday. Level 5 indicates an eruption is in progress. People have been advised to stay away from a 6-km (4-mile) radius Permanent Danger Zone and a 7-km Expanded Danger Zone on the volcano's southern flank. (This story corrects year of Mayon's most destructive eruption to 1814.) (Reporting by Enrico dela Cruz; Additional reporting by Manuel Mogato and Karen Lema; Editing by Nick Macfie) Dangerous flows of lava down the crater of the Philippines' most active volcano have followed ash clouds and rock falls, prompting authorities to evacuate around 9,000 residents for their safety. Scientists warned following an eruption on Monday that the Mayon volcano could turn explosive, according to the Associated Press. After the volcano lit the nights sky Sunday with a reddish-orange glow and had thick clouds visible at its summit, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology increased the threat level to three out of five. The warning shows an increased likelihood of a dangerous eruption. Related: Volcano eruption in Papua New Guinea worsens as Mount Kadovar blasts out red rocks and sulphur dioxide Trending: Who is Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani, The Qatari Royal Held 'Prisoner' In The UAE? CNN reported authorities recommended the creation of a danger zone seven miles around the volcano to protect residents against possible "rockfalls, landslides and sudden explosions or dome collapse." Emergency response officials in Albay, the coconut-growing area where the volcano is located, 210 miles southeast of Manila, said 9,000 residents had been evacuated. GettyImages-904966180 SIMVALE SAYAT/AFP/Getty Images Don't miss: Martin Luther King Jr. Day: KKK Fliers Abusing Civil Rights Leader Distributed in Virginia Town Religious people in the high-risk areas have erected huge white crosses in their neighborhoods in a bid to protect their property and even their lives. Officials have warned those villagers who stayed in their properties were putting their lives at risk. Three steam explosions on Saturday sent ash into nearby villages. Mayon, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, has erupted 47 times since 1616. In 2014, thousands were evacuated under a critical alert warning. In 2013, five tourists were killed when they were hit by falling rocks. Story continues Volcanologists fear Mayon could produce one of the most deadly and destructive forms of volcanic eruption, pyroclastic flow, which would mean superheated gas and debris would be released from the crater at high speeds, vaporizing everything in the path. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Passengers panicked as a commercial flight skidded off the runway at Turkey's Trabzon Airport and stopped just short of plunging into the Black Sea. The Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 veered off to the side of the runway and was left teetering dangerously on the cliff, with its nose facing the water below. Investigators said Monday that the plane's right engine experienced a sudden surge of speed that forced it to swerve to the left. The incident, which occurred late Saturday, gave the jet's 162 passengers quite the scare as videos surfaced of several people inside the plane after the unexpected turn. The airline said in a statement that all those on board disembarked safely. The six-member crew, including two pilots, was also evacuated. Local prosecutors interviewed the crew members after the incident, and reportedly determined there were no signs that alcohol was involved in the incident. Flights were suspended at Trabzon Airport for several hours before resuming again Sunday, The Associated Press reported. Passenger Yuksel Gordu told Turkeys official Anadolu news agency that words could not adequately describe the fear on the aircraft. Its a miracle we escaped," Gordu said, according to The AP. "We could have burned, exploded, flown into the sea. Thank God for this. I feel like Im going crazy when I think about it. On Monday, authorities at Trabzon Airport were making preparations to tow the plane off the slope, ABC News reported. The investigation into the incident is still ongoing reports said. RELATED STORIES 3-Year-Old Girl Is Sole Survivor of Plane Crash Family of 5 From New York Among 10 Americans Killed in Costa Rica Plane Crash As Woman Details Horrific Groping Incident on Plane, How to Protect Yourself From In-Flight Creeps This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Related Articles: Pope Francis has been threatened with violence and is facing the possibility of protests during his visit to South America this week. The pontiff was singled out by vandals who attacked churches in the Chilean capital Santiago, three of which were targeted with firebombs, with a threatening message left at one of the sites. Pope Francis, the next bombs will be on your cassock, the message read, according to The Catholic Herald. Trending: Best Cars Of 2018: Why Honda Accord, Volvo XC60 And Lincoln Navigator Won Top Honors We will never submit to the dominion you want to exercise over our bodies, our ideas and actions, because we were born free to choose the path we want to take. Against every monk and nun and against every preacher. Bodies free, impure and wild, the message, written in Spanish, said. Freedom to all the political prisoners of the world! Free Wallmapu! Autonomy and resistance! it added. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet acknowledged people had a right to protest but called for such expression to be peaceful. Don't miss: Cutting Weight Made Paige VanZant Pray She Wouldn't Die, UFC Fighter Claimed What Ive been told is that, for example, [when the Pope visited] Colombia, there were groups there with a little sign [in protest]. In a democracy, people can express themselves as long as they do so in a peaceful and appropriate way, The Herald reported her as saying. The threat against the pope comes alongside protests over the appointment of Juan Barros as the bishop in Osorno. Barros is accused of covering up for a priest who was found guilty of paedophilia, and anger over his appointment in 2015 has prompted further fears over the security of Pope Francis during his tour of Chile and Peru in January, CNN reported. According to The Holy See, the pope left the Vatican on Monday morning and is set to arrive in Santiago at around 8:10 p.m. local time. He is set to spend several days visiting various cities in Chile, and will depart for Peru on Thursday. Story continues Among the churches that were attacked in Chile ahead of the popes visit one was close to the Apostolic Nunciature diplomatic mission where Pope Francis will stay during his visit, with security now being tightened for the trip. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Johannesburg (AFP) - South African police Saturday intervened to clear protesters trashing outlets of Swedish clothing giant Hennes and Mauritz in Johannesburg over a controversial advertisement of a black child. A photo on the company's online website of a black boy wearing a green hoodie with the inscription "coolest monkey in the jungle" had triggered outrage on social media and among observers worldwide. The company has pulled the photograph but the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) -- a radical group set up by the expelled head of the youth wing of the ruling African National Congress -- organised protests at several H&M outlets in and around Johannesburg. Video footage showed activists trashing displays, kicking over and pulling down clothes rails as well as pushing over mannequins. "Several incidents of protests at H&M stores around the province have been reported," South African police (SAPS) said in a tweet. "At the East Rand Mall the protesters managed to enter the shop & stole several items. #SAPS members had to intervene and dispersed the group of protesters by firing rubber bullets." Floyd Shivambu from EFF said: 'That @hm nonsense of a clothing store is now facing consequences for its racism. All rational people should agree that the store should not be allowed to continue operating in South Africa." H&M is not the only major company to be hit by an advertisement scandal in recent years. Spanish clothing brand Zara in 2014 removed striped pyjamas with a yellow star after facing outrage over its resemblance to clothes worn by Jewish prisoners in concentration camps. And in October last year, personal care brand Dove apologised after it was accused of racism for airing a commercial showing a black woman turning into a white woman after removing her top. Saudi King Salman, left, walks with Qatari Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani, right, at the monarch's vacation home in Tangiers, Morocco. A controversial member of Qatar's royal family claimed he was being held against his will in the UAE yesterday/Sun, eight months into a crisis between the Gulf states. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani, a little-known royal, emerged as a key figure in the dispute between the Gulf states in the weeks after Riyadh and Abu Dhabi cut ties with Doha. He is seen by some as a potential challenger to the Qatari leadership. A video circulating online, also broadcast by Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television, shows the sheikh seated in an armchair warning that he was "afraid something could happen to me that will be blamed on Qatar". "I am now in Abu Dhabi, where I was a guest of (UAE crown prince) Sheikh Mohammed" bin Zayed al-Nahyan, said Sheikh Abdullah, "That is no longer the case. I am now detained," he said. "I want to make clear that the people of Qatar are innocent," the sheikh said. "Sheikh Mohammed bears full responsibility for anything that happens to me." The video could not be immediately authenticated, while Emirati officials were not immediately available for comment. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June over allegations Doha supported Islamist extremists and had close ties to regional rival Iran. Doha denies the accusations. In response to the video, Qatar's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Lulwa al-Khater, said in a statement that Doha was monitoring the situation. "The state of Qatar observes the situation closely, and due to the total severance of ties with the UAE it is difficult to clearly establish the circumstances surrounding the situation," she said. "Despite that, the State of Qatar principally stands with the protection of rights for every individual and affirms the entitlement of his family to pursue all legal means for the protection of his rights." Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) has flayed seven governors from his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, for asking President Muhammadu Buhari to contest for the President in 2019 despite the killings going on in several parts of the country. The APC governors, Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Abubakar Bello (Niger), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe) and Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa), had on Friday visited the President at the Presidential Villa in Abuja asking him to seek re-election in 2019.This came barely 24 hours after 73 persons killed by suspected herdsmen in Benue were buried.The senator took to his official Twitter handle on Saturday to condemn the governors endorsement, describing it as unfortunate.Seven governors in the Villa asking President Buhari to run at this material time when all hands should be on deck to advise or support him to end the mindless bloodletting and carnage in the country is most unfortunate. Human reasoning and human conscience where art thou? he said. Loading... Governor El-Rufai told journalists after the meeting that they (the governors) wanted the President to contest the 2019 election. He said: They have no apologies for that. We believe in Mr. President, we want him to continue running the country in the right direction. People can speculate about 2019; we have no apologies, El-Rufai had said.He added that the governors, mostly first termers, were interested in continuity and stability. Russia's foreign minister has condemned Donald Trump's threats to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, arguing that the United States' reckless actions are destabilising the Middle East, Ukraine and the Korean peninsula. Speaking at an annual press briefing, Sergei Lavrov said Russia, Europe and China had warned the United States of the harmfulness of such a step, of its unpredictable consequences. We will keep trying to make the United States acknowledge reality. And the reality is that Iran is fulfilling all its obligations under the nuclear deal, he said. On Friday, Mr Trump waived US sanctions on Iran for another 60 days, leaving in place the nuclear deal signed by Barack Obama. But he said it would be the last time he would waive them and said Europe and America must must fix the deal's disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw. At the same time, he raised pressure on Iran by announcing separate sanctions against 14 Iranian individuals and companies for human rights abuses. Mr Lavrov called these new sanctions an attack on Iran, a longstanding Russian ally, and said Mr Trump's actions were deplorable. Donald Trump speaks at the White House last week Credit: Evan Vucci/AP Photo The foreign minister also argued that the collapse of the Iran deal could discourage North Korea from engaging in talks about its own nuclear weapons programme. Healso castigated military exercises held by the United States, South Korea and Japan last month. The US is almost openly talking about the inevitability of military action (on the Korean peninsula) even though everyone recognizes the disastrous consequences of such a path, he said. Russia and China weren't invited to North Korea talks in Vancouver this week, he sniffed, calling the US-Canadian initiative harmful. Meanwhile, North and South Korean officials met on Monday to discuss plans for the recently agreed participation of the North in the Pyeongchang Olympics next month. Mr Lavrov devoted much of the two-and-a-half-hour press conference to the evils of US exceptionalism and its failure to listen to the opinions of other centres of world politics. Story continues Mr Lavrov meets Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow last week Credit: Russian Foreign Ministry Press Office/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Although the foreign minister was photographed last spring laughing with Mr Trump and Sergei Kislyak, the ambassador at the centre of the collusion investigation, relations have only grown more strained since then. Russia's ban from the Pyeongchang games and the new US sanctions expected in 2018 showed the fear of honest competition, Mr Lavrov said. Washington was, along with the Kiev government, prolonging the conflict in eastern Ukraine, as well as undermining the peace process in Syria, he argued. Mr Lavrov blamed rebels for an uptick in violence outside Damascus that has killed least 85 civilians since the start of the year and claimed all Russian-Syrian military operations there were retaliatory. Batting away the lone question from a US news outlet about whether he regretted Mr Trump's election win, the long-serving diplomat dwelled on queries from friendlier countries. One particularly desperate journalist even waved a flashing traffic wand light in the air, but was not called upon. Moscow (AFP) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday called on Washington to "recognise reality" on the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump demanded tough new measures to keep the agreement alive. "We will continue to work with the aim of the United States recognising reality," Lavrov said at at an annual press conference in Moscow on Monday. He added that US statements to end the deal "do not add optimism or stability." On Friday, Trump said Washington will not reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran for the moment, but would withdraw later this year unless the terms of the deal are changed. Trump called on European partners to work with the US to "fix the deal's disastrous flaws." Lavrov said it was "hard to say" what position European countries will have. "They are starting to somehow, I believe, call on looking for compromises. This will be a slippery slope in a very dangerous direction," he said. Russia's chief diplomat went on to warn that a withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal will have a negative effect on the North Korea crisis. "If Kim Jong-Un is required to stop (North Korea's) nuclear military programme and, in exchange, is promised sanctions will be lifted then this is precisely the essence of the agreements between the world community and Iran," Lavrov said. "If this arrangement is taken away and Iran is told: you remain within the framework of your obligations and we will reimpose sanctions - then put yourself in North Korea's place," he added. Under the hard-won 2015 deal with Russia, the US, China, France, Britain, Germany and the EU, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting a raft of international sanctions. America's allies see the accord as the best way to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions and as a victory for diplomacy. Iran on Saturday rejected any modification of the deal after Trump's comments. A driver was rushed to hospital after their car flew into the air and smashed into the side of a Californian dental office. Dramatic video footage shows the Nissan Altima was travelling at high speed in Santa Ana, in Orange County, at around 5.25am on Sunday. It narrowly missed a passing car before hitting a central reservation, missing a passing bus, and then becoming wedged into the second floor of the building. Santa Ana Police Department said the driver admitted to being under the influence and that they will be submitting a DUI/narcotics case to the District Attorney for review. A passenger was also present and sustained minor injuries. A specialist fire truck had to be brought to the scene from Los Angeles to extract the car from the building. Colombo (AFP) - Sri Lanka's president on Sunday reimposed a four-decade-long ban on women buying liquor, just days after his finance minister had lifted the restriction. Maithripala Sirisena said he had ordered Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera to revoke his decision last week to overturn the 1979 law prohibiting the sale of any type of alcohol to women. "From tomorrow (Monday), the minister's order will be rescinded," Sirisena's office said in a statement, which added that the status quo will be restored but offered no explanation. The reversal comes after a finance ministry official told AFP Samaraweera had revoked the 39-year-old law in an effort to strike sexist bills from the statute books. "The idea was to restore gender neutrality," ministry spokesman Ali Hassen said of the decision Wednesday to roll back the ban. But last week's decision to relax laws on alcohol provoked a backlash in some quarters of the majority-Buddhist nation of 21 million people. The National Movement for Consumer Rights Protection had accused the finance minister of encouraging drinking, and had urged Sirisena to intervene and restore the restrictions. Under further new measures passed by Samaraweera, bars and pubs can remain open longer, and a ban on women working in bars, distilleries and breweries was lifted. But Sirisena's office said he was reducing the time period that bars could be open. It was not clear from Sirisena's statement Sunday if the decision to allow women to work in the alcohol industry had also been reversed. The ban on women buying liquor was likely originally imposed in 1979 to appease the conservative Buddhist hierarchy at the time, a finance ministry official told AFP. Liquor vendors in Sri Lanka are also forbidden to sell spirits to police or members of the armed forces in uniform. Samaraweera has said that strict curbs on Sri Lanka's licensed liquor manufacturers only encourage a black market for spirits, and deprive the state of much-needed revenue. Sri Lanka in its November budget unveiled steep tax rises on hard liquor, but greatly reduced tariffs on wine and beer. COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka reimposed a decades-old law banning the selling of alcohol to women and preventing women from working in liquor stores on Monday - just days after it was lifted. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera revoked the 1979 ban last week. "I spoke with the finance minister, ...prime minister, and several other ministers and asked them to cancel the gazette immediately. The gazette will be withdrawn from tomorrow," President Maithripala Sirisena said at an election rally on Sunday. The move comes as the government's main coalition partners, the center-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's center-right United National Party, are campaigning for long-delayed local elections. Officials at the finance ministry said the ban was lifted after repeated requests from the tourism industry to extend bar hours and allow female tourists to buy alcohol. But that move was criticized by opposition parliamentarians who said the move would damage Sri Lanka's Buddhist values. Sinhalese Buddhists account for more than 70 percent of the island nation's 21 million population. Sri Lanka will hold local government elections on Feb. 10. (Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Writing by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Nick Macfie) Istanbul (AFP) - A Turkish passenger plane that plunged off a runway onto a cliff precariously close to the sea suddenly turned after a surge of power in one of its engines, pilots told investigators in comments published Monday. The Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane had landed normally at Trabzon airport late on Saturday on a flight from Ankara but then went off the runway just metres (feet) from the waters of the Black Sea with its wheels stuck in mud. All 162 passenger and six crew were safely evacuated but the plane remains stricken on the side of the muddy embankment, with the aircraft now secured with a cable to prevent it from slipping into the sea. The pilot, co-pilot and crew have now made statements to Trabzon prosecutors and both pilots passed breathalyzer tests, the Dogan news agency said. "When we were going to make our usual manoeuvre towards the right from the seaside by reducing our speed, the right engine suddenly gained speed for a reason we do not know," the pilot was quoted as telling the prosecutors. "Due to this speed, the plane got out of our control and suddenly swung to the left and got stuck into the mud in the cliff." It is still not clear what caused the sudden surge in power from the right engine. Images published by Dogan showed that one of the engines had fallen into the water. The pilot said that passengers were ordered to leave the plane by the back door without taking personal belongings, followed by the crew and finally the pilots themselves. Turkey's civil aviation authority will meanwhile examine the plane's black box. Trabzon's airport was closed for a time but is now operating normally. Dogan news agency said that work to remove the plane from its current position would begin later in the day. President Donald Trump has been accused of "playing with fire" after the United States announced it was working with Syrian militia allies to set up a new border force. Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag accused the Trump administration of "provocative" behavior over the plans, which the U.S. says could see as many as 30,000 personnel employed. Turkey regards the Kurdish YPG militia, which will form part of the force, as a terrorist group. Trending: Iran Oil Tanker Leaves 10-Mile Long Flaming Slick, No Hope of Saving Crew GettyImages-904310628 Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Bozdag warned that the decision to include Kurdish militia forces in the border patrol was a risky move. The U.S.-led coalition has said it has already recruited 230 new cadets for the new security force established to help secure areas recently liberated from Islamic State (ISIS) militants. Don't miss: Florida Inmates To Strike Against 'Prison Slavery' and Inhumane Conditions on Martin Luther King Jr. Day The force's main priority will be to secure Syria's northern border with Turkey, as well as the eastern border with Iraq, according to the Associated Press. The coalition told the AP on Monday that the aim was to develop a 30,000-strong force over the next several years, with at least half of the patrol team made up of fighters from existing Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Read more: Why did Trump stop Turks from coming to America? Most popular: Who Killed Gianni Versace? The True Story of Serial Killer Andrew Cunanan From 'American Crime Story' The SDF presently controls nearly 25 percent of Syria's territory along the borders with Turkey and Iraq. In a series of tweets written in Turkish, Bozdag added: "We could come suddenly one night," echoing the same warning that was reportedly uttered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in September after he threatened to invade Iraq. Story continues In November, Turkey said Trump had told Erdogan he had issued instructions that weapons should not be provided to Kurdish YPG fighters in Syria, a move that Turkey welcomed. Ankara has been increasingly infuriated by Washingtons support for the YPG militia, viewing it as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers Party, which has fought a decades-long insurgency in Turkey and is designated a terrorist group by several countries and organizations, including the U.S., Turkey and the European Union. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Trump reportedly asked intelligence analyst where your people were from Racism and Donald Trump: a common thread throughout his career and life Officials said Trumps comments raised concern of a lack of cultural sensitivity and decorum. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Amid a global furore over his reported remarks about shithole countries and immigration, Donald Trump faced further controversy on Friday when it was reported that he referred to an intelligence analyst presenting information to him in the Oval Office as a pretty Korean lady and suggested she should be part of negotiations with North Korea. NBC News reported the exchange between the president and a career intelligence analyst who is an expert in hostage policy. The analyst, the report said, was briefing Trump last fall on the impending release of a family long held in Pakistan. Citing two officials with direct knowledge of the exchange, NBC said the president asked the analyst where she was from, to which she said New York City. Trump reportedly pressed, asking where your people were from. The NBC report said the analyst said her parents were Korean, leading Trump to ask an adviser why the pretty Korean lady was not involved in negotiations with nuclear-armed North Korea. NBC said it did not interview the analyst, whose identity and agency it did not reveal, citing concern for her privacy. The White House did not immediately comment. On Twitter on Friday morning, Trump denied having made the shithole remark. The senior Democratic senator Dick Durbin, who was in the meeting, subsequently said that he had. According to NBC, the officials who discussed the pretty Korean lady remark said the president likely meant no harm with his inquiry, but it raised concern of a lack of cultural sensitivity and decorum. The NBC report listed other instances of the president speaking with an apparent lack of sensitivity in formal surroundings, in meetings with members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and with Navajo code talkers. The president reportedly expressed surprise that no CBC members knew Ben Carson, the housing and urban development secretary who is the only black member of his cabinet. At the code talkers event, in November, Trump joked about the Massachusetts Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, whom he has nicknamed Pochahontas over her claim of Native American ancestry. The convener of Save Nigeria Group (SNG), Pastor Tunde Bakare, yesterday said the failure of the government to address previous injustice led to the killings by herdsmen in some parts of the country. Pastor Bakare, who was the running mate to President Muhammadu Buhari when he uncessfully ran in 2011, told members of his Latter Rain Assembly Church during a State of the Nation briefing that Nigeria needed restructuring now more than before. The cleric said President Buharis New Year address failed to point the way on salient issues germane to the survival of the nation. He said: The Presidents failure to give victims of previous attacks a path to reconciliation and hope of a united Nigeria led to reprisal attacks on herdsmen, resulting in a vicious cycle of death and destruction. He condemned the recent killings and prayed for the repose of the dead. I am also saddened by the terror attacks on places of worship during the festive season. My heartfelt condolences go to the families and communities in Guma and Logo Local Government Areas of Benue State. Those who began the year in grief because of the murderous activities of heartless criminals, I pray that they, and every hurting Nigerian, will experience the comforting hand of God, he said. Giving his address, with the theme: It is time to renegotiate our union, Pastor Bakare noted that the call for restructuring could not be wished away in view of its popularity. He said the Buhari administration that recorded some measure of progress within the first thirty-one months in office, now appeared to be merely patching cracks on the wall. Loading... The cleric stressed that Nigerians were losing their jobs daily, the war against corruption had not yielded the desired impact and insecurity had attained a frightening dimension. He stressed that government policy outlook on the three main thrust of security, job creation and anti-corruption had been circumvented by retrogression. I stand to prick the conscience of a nation that has turned the other eye in deliberate sinful silence of a conspiratorial magnitude while Nigerians are being murdered in various parts of the country by marauding herdsmen. The ineffectiveness of the anti-corruption war is seen in the loss of crucial corruption cases. For instance, in April 2017, the Federal Government lost four high profile corruption cases in 96 hours. These losses are in addition to the bizarre development such as the failure of the government to confirm a substantive chairman for the EFCC, despite the fact that the same political party controls both the executive and the legislature, not to mention the public showdown between EFCC and the DSS to the confirmation of the Acting Chairman of EFCC. He said restructuring could leapfrog the country within 10 years to become a global industrial powerhouse. He said: The Northcentral zone can optimise its mechanised agricultural potential and harness the Rivers Niger and the Benue not just for irrigation but also for hydroponic farming. It can become a centre of world class cattle ranching that will quell the menace of herdsmen attacks and also incubate allied opportunities, such as meat, milk and leather processing. The zone can then transit into heavy industries, including steel manufacturing and auto-manufacturing, while also harnessing the rivers as inland waterways and tourist attractions. (Photo: Reuters) An angry President Donald Trump lashed out at The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, claiming the newspaper deliberately misquoted a single word in a 45-minute interview during its hunt for fake news. In his latest press row, Trump insisted he said: Id probably have a good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying: I probably have a good relationship with Kim. In recent months, Trump and Kim have sharply criticized each other and threatened to launch nuclear war on each others nations. Washington Post columnist and CNN analyst Josh Rogin tweeted that either statement was ridiculous: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Both the newspaper, owned by Trumps friend Rupert Murdoch, and the White House released their own recordings of the same brief section of the interview to back up their positions. Its difficult for a casual listener to say definitively if Trump said I or Id. The disputed quote followed an interview on Jan. 11 involving four Journal reporters. During a section of the interview, Trump talked about his good relationships with various world leaders. I have a great relationship with him [China President Xi Jinping], as you know I have a great relationship with Prime Minister Abe of Japan and I probably have a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea, the newspaper quoted him as saying. Trump went on to say: I would I have relationships with people. I think you people are surprised. The headline of the story that ran on Jan. 11 was Donald Trump Signals Openness To North Korea Diplomacy In Interview. It began by noting that Trump believes he has developed a positive relationship with Kim. Days later, Trump angrily attacked what he saw as a deliberate change of a single word: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The Wall Street Journal stands by its reporting, which was backed by a transcription of the interview, done by an outside service, the newspaper said. It printed the transcript except for sections that were off the record and posted a recording: Story continues This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The White House also released what it called the official recording of the section of the interview: Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders piled on the Journal over the weekend. She tweeted a mock news story with a red headline reading FAKE NEWS: This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Sanders said the White House asked the Journal to print a correction, but the paper refused. The Wall Street Journal, as you know, quoted totally wrong, Trump told reporters on Sunday night, per The Washington Post. But were going to see what happens with North Korea. We have great talks going on. The Olympics, you know about. A lot of things can happen. Also on HuffPost This article originally appeared on HuffPost. On Sunday, a senior British opposition politician criticized President Trump in what could be described as the best Trump roast of 2018 so far. Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Shadow First Secretary of State Emily Thornberry said President Donald Trump was a dangerous asteroid of awfulness and a racist, after he reportedly referred to Haiti and a number of poor nations as shithole countries. "He is an asteroid of awfulness that has fallen on this world. I think that he is a danger, and I think that he is a racist," Thornberry said. "American democracy has a number of checks and balances, and I think there are a number of people who are important to speak to." Trending: Meth Lab in Texas Apartment Explodes, Police Find Child Inside GettyImages-886425730 Getty Thornberry then condemned British Prime Minister Theresa May for not rescinding the invitation she originally extended to invite Trump for a state visit to Britain. On Friday, Trump canceled his plans to visit London anyway, blaming the Obama administration for his decision, tweeting: Don't miss: Who is Liam Mango? Parents of Young Black Model Who Wore H&M 'Monkey' Hoodie Don't Think Image Was Racist This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. Thornberrys comments come amid the recent storm of criticism directed at the U.S. president after his reported shithole remarks that came during a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers last Tuesday in the Oval Office. According to multiple reports, including testimony from Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who was present at the meeting, Trump questioned why the United States attracted a large number of immigrants and refugees from "shithole countries," mentioning Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations. Story continues Most popular: Eagles vs. Vikings: Nick Foles and Case Keenum's Long, Intertwined Road to the 2018 NFC Championship Game Trump also reportedly wondered why the U.S. didn't have more immigrants from predominantly white and economically stable countries like Norway. The African Union, which includes 55 African nations, shared its shock, dismay and outrage on Friday and called for the president to apologize for his comments. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Brett D. Schaefer Politics, Middle East U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley waits to testify to the House Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee on the budget for the U.N. If the Trump administration wants to succeed in brokering a peace deal, then the pattern of funding the Palestinians regardless of their intransigence and provocations must be broken. Trump Must Follow through with His UN Threats Donald Trumps formal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel complied with a 1995 act of Congress and fulfilled a promise made by each of the last four U.S. presidential candidates. Internationally, it did not play well. The Palestinians condemned the decision, saying it destroyed any possibility of a two-state [solution). They proceeded to rally opposition in the UN. The United States vetoed a critical Security Council resolution, but the General Assembly subsequently voted 128 to nine (with thirty-five abstentions and twenty-one countries not present) to condemn the decision. Last month, prior to the General Assembly vote, Ambassador Nikki Haley warned that the United States would be taking names of countries voting in favor of the resolution. At the UN we're constantly asked to do more and give morein the past we have. So, when we make a decision, at the will of the American people, about where to locate OUR embassy, we don't expect those we've helped to target us. On Thursday there will be a vote at the UN criticizing our choice. And yes, the U.S. will be taking names. The vote exposed two problems that frequently coincide: (1) U.S. aid recipients often takewithout repercussionspositions contrary to those taken by the United States in the UN and (2) Palestinians frequently use the organization to harass and isolate the United States and Israel. The resolution deploring U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital was only the latest example of this phenomenon. Just a month earlier, for example, the General Assembly voted 191 to two to condemn the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba. Story continues This is commonplace, more than a vote here and there. On overall non-consensus votes in the General Assembly, voting coincidence with the United States has averaged only 34.5 percent since 1983, the first year the State Department reported on the matter. Voting coincidence with the U.S. exceeded 50 percent only three times: in 1995, 2011 and 2016. Major recipients of U.S. assistance are among the least supportive voters. Why is the United States so frequently unable to convince governments that receive millions or billions of dollars from us to support our priorities in the UN? In some cases, the United States simply does not try very hard to convince them. After all, General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding. Most have little to zero practical impact in the world outside of Turtle Bay. But sometimes, the United States cares deeply about the result and tries to convince countries to vote with us. This is most likely to happen when votes involve sensitive political issues or international agreements and financial matters within the authority of the General Assembly. In fact, U.S. law requires the State Department to file an annual report to Congress on voting in the UN that identifies votes on issues which directly affected important United States interests and on which the United States lobbied extensively. In 2016, there were fourteen such important votes. The United States was in the majority on nine of them. Of the five that we lost, three involved issues related to the Palestinians. Shifting votes on controversial issues in the General Assembly is difficult. Its a hotbed of peer pressure and transactional politics. Countries know from experience that, if they support regional or ideological group positions, those governments will in turn support them in matters they care about. They are less certain about the ramifications of voting against the United States. Historically the United States has not consistently rewarded countries for their support, nor withheld assistance in response to opposition. As a result, many countries believe that they can oppose American priorities and initiatives without consequences. This is particularly the case with votes on Palestinian matters. Since the 1990s, according to the Congressional Research Service, the United States has given the Palestinians $5 billion in bilateral economic assistance and support. It has supported the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to the tune of $6 billion. Despite this support, the Palestinians have repeatedly walked away from peace negotiations, refused to recognize Israels right to exist as a Jewish state, instigated violence against Israel, and used the UN to attack and harass Israel by, among other efforts, working to pass three times as many General Assembly resolutions condemning Israel and the rest of the worlds countries combined. The sad truth is that, over the past two decades, the United States has established a pattern of funding the Palestinians regardless of their intransigence and provocations. Contrary to the wishes of multiple American administrations, the Palestinians continue their effort to achieve recognition absent a peace agreement with Israel by seeking membership in international organizations and accession to multilateral treaties. They also use international organizations like the ICC, UNESCO, and the Human Rights Council to isolate, harass, and condemn Israel. Why change their behavior when they believe that there will be no diplomatic or financial repercussions? If the Trump administration wants to succeed in brokering a peace deal, this pattern must be broken. The Palestinians must understand that U.S. support is contingent on their commitment to peace negotiations. The current dispute over UNRWA funding within the administration presents an opportunity for the United States to clarify the situation. UNRWA was established more than sixty years ago as a temporary initiative to address the needs of Palestinian refugees and facilitate their resettlement and/or repatriation. It has become a permanent institution providing services to multiple generations of Palestinians, a large majority of whom live outside of refugee camps, enjoy citizenship in other countries, or reside in the Palestinian-governed territories. Meanwhile, the Palestinian refugee problem has ostensibly grown larger, in part due to UNRWAs applying refugee status to the descendants of the original Palestinian refugees. UNRWA has employed individuals affiliated with the Palestinian Islamist extremist group Hamas and its facilities have been used to house rockets and Hamas tunnels. On top of everything else, a UN audit concluded that UNRWA was vulnerable to misappropriation, graft and corruption in procurement, partner selection, food and cash distribution, hiring and promotions, and other areas. Leaving aside the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, the United States should withhold contributions to UNRWA until it implements critical reforms. In the medium term, Washington should seek to eliminate UNRWA, shifting responsibility for recent Palestinian refugees resulting from the war in Syria to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. We should also demand that the Palestinians assume responsibility for the services provided by UNRWA. Thats what sovereign governments are expected to do, and the Palestinians aspire to become a sovereign state. Are there risks to this policy? Of course, but risks are also inherent in adhering to the same policies that have led to the deeply unsatisfactory, insecure status quo. Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama all failed in their ambition to negotiate a peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. Success hinges on the Palestinians understanding that there is a cost to their intransigence. When Ambassador Haley announced that the United States was taking names, she implied that there would be consequences for voting against the United States and rewards for supporting America. President Trump followed up and made clear that voting for the condemnation would affect U.S. decisions to provide foreign assistance: Let them vote against us; we'll save a lot. We don't care. But this isn't like it used to be where they could vote against you and then you pay them hundreds of millions of dollars and nobody knows what they're doing. Americas influence is due in no small part to the belief of other governments that the Trump administration will follow through on its promises. Failing to follow through will undermine U.S. credibility in Turtle Bay and around the world. Not every UN vote is important, but if the United States wants to influence important votes in the future, it needs to do more than take names. Brett D. Schaefer is the Jay Kingham Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at The Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom. Image: Reuters Recommended: Why North Korea's Air Force is Total Junk Why Doesn't America Kill Kim Jong Un? The F-22 Is Getting a New Job: Sniper Read full article As some members of the GOP have rushed to defend Donald Trumps description of certain countries as shitholes, one has gone further than most with the claim the president did not make the comment at all. Senator David Purdue claimed in an interview with ABCs This Week on Sunday that the president did not use the word shithole, despite the White House not having denied Trump made the comment. Im telling you he did not use that word, George. And Im telling you its a gross misrepresentation. How many times do you want me to say that? Purdue told ABC host George Stephanopoulos of the White House meeting in which he reportedly used the phrase. Trending: Aziz Ansari Responds to Sexual Misconduct Allegations, Says He Has Taken Accuser's 'Words to Heart' Purdue was among those in a meeting last week when Trump supposedly made the comment, and insists that was not the language used. The gross misrepresentation was that language was used in there that was not used and also that the tone of that meeting was not contributory and not constructive, he added. It was reported that Trump made the comment on Thursday, several people briefed on the meeting told The Washington Post, alleging the president said: Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here? while discussing Haiti, El Salvador and several African countries. Don't miss: Woman Sprays Herself with Acid, Lies to Police About Being Attacked Discussing Haitians specifically, Trump reportedly said, Why do we need more Haitians? Trump said, according to people familiar with the meeting. Take them out. Trump himself has denied the claims, tweeting on Friday: Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said take them out. Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust! This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. However, his denial of the comments was pushed back by Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, who was at the meeting, and insisted the president said those hateful things. Story continues This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks to supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), at a rally in Yozgat, eastern Turkey, Sunday, - Presidency Press Service Turkey has warned the US it was playing with fire over plans to set up a 30,000-strong force to police its border with Syria, saying it had tanks ready at the frontier. The US announced plans on Sunday for a "border security force" - made up of Kurdish and Arab fighters - to prevent a resurgence by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil). The BSF will be tasked with securing the long sections of Syria's northern border with Turkey and eastern border with Iraq that are under the fighters' control, as well as parts of the Euphrates river valley, which effectively serves as the dividing line between them and Syrian pro-government forces. Ankara has repeatedly warned Washington over its support for the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Defence Units (YPG), which it sees as terrorist group over its links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) waging a bloody insurgency in southern Turkey. Kurdish and Arab fighters will make up the 30,000-strong border force Credit: AFP But reacting to the news on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could barely contain his rage. "A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders," he said of the US in a speech in Ankara. "What can that terror army target but Turkey? Our mission is to strangle it before it's even born. "Don't stand between us and these herd of murderers. Otherwise, we won't be responsible for the unwanted incidents that may arise," he continued. He said that the Turkish army was ready to launch an operation against the YPG in the northern Syrian enclave Afrin in the coming days. The Turkish army had already positioned a convoy of tanks and was pounding the area yesterday with artillery from its positions inside Syria. The YPG was the backbone of the fight against Isil in Raqqa. Mr Erdogan tolerated the USs backing of Kurdish groups during the operation to liberate the city, in the hope Washington would abandon them after the city was liberated. Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign in Raqqa, Syria Credit: Reuters But the latest plans hint at the USs longer-term plans for their involvement in the region and will concern Turkey, which fears the move is a step towards Syrian Kurds achieving a breakaway state. The threat could bring the two Nato allies, who once worked together to support rebel groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assads government, into direct military confrontation. The Kurdish people will rise up as a whole. It will be total warfare, Saleh Muslim, former head of the YPG's political wing, said in a warning to Turkey. Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has vowed to "suffocate" efforts to form a U.S.-led border security force in northern Syria, accusing the Trump administration of trying to create a "terror army." The U.S.-led coalition announced Sunday it would be working with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are led by Kurdish militia the YPG, to set up a new 30,000-strong force to secure Syria's northern border with Turkey, as well as the eastern border with Iraq. Turkey regards the YPG as a terrorist group and warned the U.S. earlier on Monday that it would be "playing with fire" if it went ahead with the partnership. Trending: France's 'Black Widow,' Who Allegedly Seduced and Poisoned Elderly Men, On Trial Erdogan Reuters The Turkish president spoke about the plans in a speech in the capital city of Ankara on Monday, saying, "A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our border, despite all our objections, warnings and well-meant advice." "What can that terror army target but Turkey?" he asked, warning, "Our mission is to strangle it before it's even born." Related: Donald Trump is "playing with fire," Turkey says, after U.S. sets up Syrian border force Don't miss: Pornhub Is Honoring Martin Luther King Jr. The Turkish leader warned the U.S. to "take your insignia off the uniforms of terrorists so we do not have to bury them in the ground with the terrorists." The U.S.-led coalition has already announced the recruitment of 230 new cadets for the security force established to help secure areas recently liberated from the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). Story continues Turkey has previously criticized U.S. support of the SDF due to the involvement of the YPG, which it views as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is considered a "terrorist" organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. "This is what we have to say to all our allies: Don't get in between us and terrorist organizations, or we will not be responsible for the unwanted consequences," Erdogan warned. Most popular: Surfers Swallowing Sea Water Could Spread Antibiotic-Resistant E. Coli "Either you take off your flags on those terrorist organizations or we will have to hand those flags over to you," he continued. "Our operations will continue until not a single terrorist remains along our borders, let alone 30,000 of them." Erdogan also said during the press conference in Ankara that Turkish armed forces had completed preparations for an operation against the Kurdish-controlled region of Afrin in northwest Syria and the town of Manbij. "If the terrorists in Afrin don't surrender, we will tear them down," Erdogan told a congress of his ruling AK Party in the eastern Turkish city of Elazig last week. The Turkish president's comments come after the country's deputy prime minister, Bekir Bozdag, accused the Trump administration of "provocative" behavior with the plans to launch the border force. Bozdag also issued a warning, suggesting that Turkey's forces "could come suddenly one night." This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Istanbul (AFP) - After an over half century accession bid, Turkey and the European Union are moving into a new period of relations where tighter cooperation in specific areas will be prioritised over Ankara's drive for full membership, analysts say. Ties between Turkey and the EU reached a low point in 2017 with the membership process grinding to a halt and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing some key members, including Germany, of behaviour reminiscent of the Nazis. But Erdogan has begun 2018 in a different spirit, bounding off in the first week of January on a visit to Paris and his foreign minister making a key fence-mending trip to Germany. Meanwhile, EU leaders have urged a new spirit of realism, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying during Erdogan's January 5 trip it was time to end the "hypocrisy" that progress could be made on Turkish membership. "There is an understanding on both sides that the accession process is dead and won't go anywhere soon," said Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). "So we are essentially talking about a new format and a more transactional relationship with European member states," she told AFP, adding this would mean more emphasis on trade. "Ankara sees this as such and entertains no illusions about revitalising the accession process," she added. - 'Downsizing the relationship' - The July 2016 failed coup marked a watershed moment in the history of Turkey-EU relations, with Ankara accusing the bloc of failing to show solidarity and Brussels sounding alarm over the mass post-coup crackdown. Erdogan has repeatedly huffed and puffed over the length of Turkey's EU bid, complaining that Ankara has been "kept waiting at the door" for 50 years as it watched ex-Communist states being let in without fuss. Accession talks began in October 2005. Out of the total of 35 chapters needed to be closed to join the EU, 16 have been opened with just one closed. No new chapter has been opened since financial and budgetary provisions was opened in June 2016. Story continues "It's clear that we must move away from this hypocrisy of thinking a natural progression towards the opening of new chapters is possible when this is not true," Macron said after his talks with Erdogan. Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, whose country holds the EU presidency, said Friday it was better to have a "realistic" discussion with Turkey about membership without "hiding the problems". Marc Pierini, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe and a former EU ambassador to Turkey, said Ankara "by its own choices" was no longer meeting the necessary criteria, especially on rule of law, in the wake of the post-coup crackdown. "Essentially what we are witnessing now is the downsizing of the relationship from one between political allies to one between partners cooperating in a number of fields such as counter-terrorism, trade and refugees," he told AFP. Hurriyet daily columnist Sedat Ergin wrote Friday Macron's words signalled a "paradigm change" in Turkey's relationship with the EU which, for the French leader, would now be defined "cooperation in pursuit of common goals" rather than enlargement. "Just a name has not been given to this new format of cooperation," he said. Incentives for Turkey without full membership include visa liberalisation and an upgrading of the existing customs union. But EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik said Ankara would perceive an offer of a so-called "privileged partnership" as an insult, saying Turkey would never accept a "second class status". - 'Warming up to Europe' - Elsewhere, Turkey's hopes of a strong relationship with US President Donald Trump have been scuppered by rows including the arming of Syrian Kurds and a New York court case. Meanwhile Ankara is aware its current pragmatic partnerships with Turkey's historic Ottoman rivals Iran and Russia are precarious while the rise of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia has reshuffled the cards in the Gulf region. For all the rows of the last year, the EU is still by far Turkey's largest trading partner, while Turkey is the EU's fourth largest export market and fifth largest provider of imports. The meeting between Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel at least changed the mood music in a bumpy relationship, with Berlin's top diplomat hosting his guest in his folksy Lower Saxon hometown and treating him to a cup of home-brewed Turkish tea. Gabriel had late December suggested a deal for Britain's relationship with the EU after Brexit could be a model for the future relationship of Turkey with the bloc. "Turkey is warming up to Europe and there is a deliberate effort from leaders in Ankara to distance themselves from the acerbic language and accusations," said Aydintasbas. By Caroline Anderson LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The death toll from Southern California mudslides that swallowed dozens of homes and forced the closure of a major highway along the picturesque Santa Barbara County coast rose to 20 on Sunday, with four other people still reported missing. Emergency officials said chances of finding more survivors in the ravaged landscape of hardened muck, boulders and other debris had waned considerably since heavy rains unleashed torrents of mud down hillsides before dawn last Tuesday. Still, the 20 fatalities confirmed in and around the affluent community of Montecito, 85 miles (137 km) northwest of Los Angeles in the coastal slopes adjacent to Santa Barbara, ranks as the greatest loss of life from a California mudslide in at least 13 years. The official death toll early on Saturday had stood at 19, with seven people listed as missing. Four remained unaccounted for on Sunday, including the 2-year-old daughter of the latest victim whose remains have been positively identified. Ten people perished in January 2005 when a hillside saturated by weeks of torrential rains collapsed in the seaside hamlet of La Conchita, just 18 miles (29 km) southeast of Montecito, burying more than a dozen homes in seconds. Unlike the La Conchita tragedy, the stage was set for Montecito's slides by a massive wildfire last month -- the largest on record in California -- that stripped hillsides bare of any vegetation to hold soils in place following a day of drenching showers. Another 900 emergency personnel arrived this weekend to join the relief effort conducted by more than 2,100 personnel from local, state and federal agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy and the American Red Cross. But authorities said on Sunday that the search-and-rescue mission had shifted into a "search-and-recovery" effort, reflecting the diminished likelihood of finding anyone else alive. The destruction covered 30 square miles (78 square km), leaving 65 single-family homes demolished and more than 450 others damaged. Nearly 30 commercial properties were damaged or destroyed, officials said. The slides also forced a 10-mile (16-km) stretch of one of California's most celebrated coastal roads, the heavily traveled Highway 101, to be closed indefinitely. The shutdown has posed a major traffic disruption, forcing motorists to drive 100 miles out of their way on back roads to commute around the closure, said Jim Shivers, a spokesman for the state transportation department. He said parts of Highway 101 were under 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 meters) of water and mud. Cleanup crews were working around the clock in 12-hour shifts. Seeking to ease the detour for commuters, ferry boats were making commuter runs twice a day between Santa Barbara and the town of Ventura to the south. A community group formed in the aftermath of last month's devastating Thomas Fire also began coordinating free airplane and helicopter rides for doctors and emergency personnel. As a precaution against the possibility of further slides, officials have ordered residents in most of the southeastern corner of Montecito to leave their homes for what was likely to be one or two weeks. (Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Sandra Maler) By Ellen Francis and Ezgi Erkoyun BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Monday to "strangle" a planned 30,000-strong U.S.-backed force in Syria "before it's even born," as Washington's backing for Kurdish fighters drove a wedge into relations with one of its main Middle East allies. The United States announced its support on Sunday for plans for a "border force" to defend territory held by U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led fighters in northern Syria. The Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad responded on Monday by vowing to crush the new force and drive U.S. troops from the country. Assad's ally Russia called the plans a plot to dismember Syria and place part of it under U.S. control. But the strongest denunciation came from Erdogan, who has presided as relations between the United States and its biggest Muslim ally within NATO have stretched to the breaking point. "A country we call an ally is insisting on forming a terror army on our borders," Erdogan said of the United States in a speech in Ankara. "What can that terror army target but Turkey?" "Our mission is to strangle it before it's even born." Erdogan said Turkey had completed preparations for an operation in Kurdish-held territory in northern Syria. The Kurdish-led regions in Syria say they need the border force to protect them against threats from Ankara and Damascus. "To prevent any attack... there must be a deterrent force that protects the border between our areas and the others," Fawza Youssef, a senior Kurdish politician, told Reuters. "Until a political settlement is reached in Syria, these areas need protection. Now, there aren't any guarantees," she said. The United States has led an international coalition using air strikes and special forces troops to aid fighters on the ground battling Islamic State militants in Syria since 2014. It has about 2,000 troops on the ground in Syria. The U.S. intervention has taken place on the periphery of a near seven-year civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven more than 11 million from their homes. Islamic State was effectively defeated last year, but Washington says its troops are prepared to stay to make sure the Islamist militant group cannot return. For much of the war, the United States and Turkey worked together, jointly supporting forces fighting against Assad's government. But a U.S. decision to back Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in recent years has enraged Ankara. Meanwhile, the Assad government, backed by Russia and Iran, has made great strides over the past two years in defeating a range of opponents, restoring control over nearly all of Syria's main cities. It considers the continued U.S. presence a threat to its ambition to restore full control over the entire country. On Sunday, the U.S.-led coalition said it was working with its militia allies, the mainly Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to set up the new force to patrol the Turkish and Iraqi borders, as well as within Syria along the Euphrates River which separates SDF territory from that held by the government. "DON'T FORCE US TO BURY" Turkey views the Syrian Kurdish forces supported by the United States as allies of the PKK, a banned Kurdish group waging an insurgency in southern Turkey. "This is what we have to say to all our allies: don't get in between us and terrorist organizations, or we will not be responsible for the unwanted consequences," Erdogan said. "Don't force us to bury in the ground those who are with terrorists," he said. "Our operations will continue until not a single terrorist remains along our borders, let alone 30,000." Syria's main Kurdish groups have emerged so far as one of the few winners in the Syrian war, working to entrench their autonomy over large parts of northern Syria. Washington opposes those autonomy plans even as it has backed the SDF. The Syrian government and the main Kurdish parties have mostly avoided conflict during the civil war, as both sides focused on fighting other groups. But Assad's rhetoric toward the Kurds has turned increasingly hostile. Damascus denounced the new border force as a "blatant assault" on its sovereignty, Syrian state media said. It said any Syrian who joined the force would be deemed "a traitor". "What the American administration has done comes in the context of its destructive policy in the region to fragment countries ... and impede any solutions to the crises," state news agency SANA cited a foreign ministry source as saying. Assad's allies have also chimed in. In an apparent reference to the force, senior Iranian official Ali Shamkhani said it was "doomed to failure", Fars news agency reported. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "The actions that we see now show that the United States does not want to maintain the territorial integrity of Syria." "Fundamentally, this means the breakup of a large territory along the border with Turkey and Iraq," Lavrov said. (Additional reporting by Rodi Said in Qamishli, Syria, Daren Butler and Ece Toksabay in Turkey, Jack Stubbs and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Moscow, and Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London; Writing by Tom Perry in Beirut; Editing by Peter Graff) By Tom Perry and Orhan Coskun BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The U.S.-led coalition is working with its Syrian militia allies to set up a new border force of 30,000 personnel, the coalition said on Sunday, a move that has added to Turkish anger over U.S. support for Kurdish-dominated forces in Syria. A senior Turkish official told Reuters the U.S. training of the new "Border Security Force" was the reason that the U.S. charge d'affaires was summoned in Ankara last week, and President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said the development was worrying and unacceptable. The force, whose inaugural class is currently being trained, will be deployed at the borders of the area controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - an alliance of militias in northern and eastern Syria dominated by the Kurdish YPG. In an email to Reuters, the coalition's Public Affairs Office confirmed details of the new force reported by The Defense Post. About half the force will be SDF veterans, and recruiting for the other half is under way, the Public Affairs Office said. The force will deploy along the border with Turkey to the north, the Iraqi border to the southeast and along the Euphrates River Valley, which broadly acts as the dividing line separating the U.S.-backed SDF and Syrian government forces backed by Iran and Russia. U.S. support for the SDF has put enormous strain on ties with NATO ally Turkey, which views the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) - a group that has waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey and is considered a terrorist group by the European Union, Turkey and the United States. Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said that Washington "is taking worrying steps to legitimise this organisation and make it lasting in the region". "It is absolutely not possible for this to be accepted," he said, adding that Turkey "will continue its fight against any terrorist organisation regardless of its name and shape within and outside its borders". Syria's main Kurdish groups have emerged as one of the few winners of the Syrian war and are working to entrench their autonomy over large parts of northern Syria. Washington opposes those autonomy plans, even as it has backed the SDF, the main partner for the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State in Syria. The coalition said the BSF would operate under SDF command and about 230 individuals were currently undergoing training in its inaugural class. "Efforts are taken to ensure individuals serve in areas close to their homes. Therefore, the ethnic composition of the force will be relative to the areas in which they serve. "More Kurds will serve in the areas in northern Syria. More Arabs will serve in areas along the Euphrates River Valley and along the border with Iraq to the south," the coalition's Public Affairs Office said. "A NEW MISSION" "The base of the new force is essentially a realignment of approximately 15,000 members of the SDF to a new mission in the Border Security Force as their actions against ISIS draw to a close," it said. "They will be providing border security through professionally securing checkpoints and conducting counter-IED operations," it said, adding that coalition and SDF forces were still engaging Islamic State pockets in Deir al-Zor province. IED stands for improvised explosive device. The United States has about 2,000 troops in Syria fighting Islamic State and has said it is prepared to stay in the country until it is certain Islamic State is defeated, that stabilization efforts can be sustained and there is meaningful progress in U.N.-led peace talks on ending the conflict. The Syrian government in Damascus has declared the United States an illegal occupation force and its SDF allies as "traitors". A top Syrian Kurdish politician told Reuters last week that the United States appeared in no hurry to leave Syria. (Additional reporting by Dominic Evans in Istanbul; Editing by Louise Heavens and David Goodman) Pentecostal giants David Oyedepo and Tunde Bakare yesterday called on the Federal Government to stem the killings in the country. Former military President Ibrahim Babangida also demanded an end to the bloodshed. Benue has been grieving since January 1 when people were killed in an invasion by herdsmen. Seventy-three bodies were given a mass burial last Thursday in Makurdi, the state capital. The meeting is expected to tackle the menace and expected to also bring up the issue of states arming militia. President Buhari met last night with Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara over security. The presiding Bishop of the Living Faith Church Worldwide, otherwise known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has warned the Federal Government to halt the killing spree by herdsmen or risk the countrys disintegration. He likened the attacks to a time bomb and warned politicians not to sell off the destinies of men for your ambitions. Dr. Oyedepo said God revealed to him 26 years ago that this crisis would put the country on a keg of gunpowder if the government failed to act. He gave the warning yesterday in a message titled A wakeup call to a nation in a state of slumber. He said: Prophets have a duty to warn people, nations against impending danger. I have this wake-up call for a nation in a state of slumber. Insurgency is spreading across the country under the guise of Fulani herdsmen. Danger is looming. How many of these killers have been brought to book since their campaign of carnage, death and destruction began? Loading... Oyedepo warned that a nationwide crisis, worse than anyone around knows, might be imminent. He said: Where are the leaders of thought in Nigeria? Where is the government and this is continuing unabated? We are sitting on a keg of gun powder. There is a volatile reaction coming and God revealed this to me as far back as 1992, clearly written in my diary. But, prophesying that Nigeria shall not be destroyed, Oyedepo called on God to trouble all that trouble the peace and progress of this nation. According to him, Nigerias destiny has never been under a worse threat of survival. He said: People may soon be forced to take the law into their hands. The security apparatus of the country has obviously failed to defend the property and lives of these poor farmers. While we are claiming to be curtailing Boko Haram, we are on the other hand aiding and abetting herdsmen and their murderous acts. Nigeria is a nation at war with ourselves. No external aggression from aggressors, no ethnic crisis, no natural disaster, yet we are doing mass burial. What a nation in a state of slumber. Hear the voice of God through this prophet, the soul of Nigeria is near the point of death. Oyedepo warned that the attacks might push every community to set up its own security system to defend itself against the insurgency. He said: When citizens cannot trust the security system, a state of anarchy is in view. Insurrection may also be on the way. These largely unchecked activities of the Fulani herdsmen may eventually choke the soul of Nigeria to death, God forbid. The Bishop challenged the government to probe how the killers escape and how they are able to secure funds to buy AK47 rifles which, according to him, cost N3million apiece. They must have the backing of some powers that be. Any right thinking Nigerian will speculate same, he said. As the Bishop spoke, the congregation applaud. When he said there would be no war, there was a thunderous amen. Many stop up to pray as the congregation was directed to pray against those troubling Nigeria. Abu Dhabi (AFP) - The United Arab Emirates accused neighbouring Qatar of "intercepting" two Emirati passenger planes en route to Bahrain on Monday in the latest incident between the Gulf rivals. Qatar denied the allegations as "totally baseless" and hit back that they came "one day after a C-130 UAE military aircraft breached Qatari airspace". Tensions have escalated in the Gulf since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut all ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of supporting Islamist extremists and being too close to Saudi Arabia's arch-rival, Iran. They have banned all flights to and from Doha and cut off most trade links. Qatar denies the allegations, arguing the bloc aims to incite regime change in Doha. The UAE Civil Aviation Authority said it "received a message from a national carrier on Monday morning that an aircraft on a routine flight to Manama was intercepted by Qatari fighter jets". The authority said it was "a flagrant and serious threat to the safety of civil aviation and a clear violation of international law". "This is a routine flight that has all the required paperwork," it said in a statement to the state news agency. The UAE authority later said a second Emirati passenger plane bound for Bahrain was also intercepted by Qatari fighter jets. It said the second plane was intercepted "during its descent towards Bahrain International Airport", adding that it was also on a routine pre-scheduled flight. The foreign ministry in Bahrain denounced the "unacceptable aggressive attitude" of Qatar. Four UAE-based airlines -- Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia -- operate flights to Bahrain. Spokespersons for the airlines contacted by AFP could not immediately confirm or deny the news. Monday's tit-for-tat accusations came after Qatar accused UAE fighter jets of violating its airspace in December and January. Story continues Lolwa al-Khater, spokeswoman for Qatar's foreign ministry, said Doha "intends to take legal action" over the latest alleged violation Sunday of its airspace. "It appears that the UAE Civil Aviation Authority is trying, through false allegations, to overshadow the news of a UAE military aircraft breaching Qatari airspace," a statement said. Qatar is located in the Gulf, between Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates and across the Gulf waters from Iran. As the latest tensions flared on Monday US President Donald Trump talked to Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani by phone "to discuss ways to strengthen United States-Qatar bilateral relations on security and economic issues," the White House said. "The leaders discussed areas in which the United States and Qatar can partner to bring more stability to the region, counter malign Iranian influence, and defeat terrorism," the statement said. DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates said on Monday Qatari air force jets had twice intercepted its civilian aircraft during routine flights to Bahrain, but Qatar called the claim "completely untrue". Qatar said the allegation, reported by the UAE's state news agency WAM, was intended to divert attention from what it said were violations by Emirati military aircraft of its airspace. The UAE is one of four Arab countries, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, that imposed travel, diplomatic and trade sanctions on Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar has denied the charges and accused the four countries of trying to make it conform to their foreign policy positions. Qatar's rivals have banned Qatari aircraft from their airspace but Doha has not reciprocated with a ban of its own. The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said two Emirati airliners, carrying 277 passengers, had encountered the jets from Qatar, which lies between the UAE and Bahrain, while en route to Bahrain, according to WAM. One of the planes was intercepted at 10:30 a.m., and the second at 11:05 a.m. at between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. The report did not specify a date, but appeared to mean the incidents happened on Monday. "Bahraini radars have tracked the Qatari military planes while intercepting the Emirati civilian aircraft," WAM quoted civil aviation director Saif al-Suwaidi as saying. "The incident could also be seen by the naked eye by both the crew and passengers, which constitutes a clear threat to the lives of innocent civilians," he added. The UAE condemned the Qatari action as "a serious and renewed breach of international conventions and the safety of civil aircraft traffic". The UAE Civil Aviation Authority did not say which airlines were involved, but Bahrain's state news agency BNA said the first flight was from Emirates [EMIRA.UL]. The airline is owned by the government of Dubai, one of seven emirates in the UAE federation. It gave no details of the second flight. Qatar's foreign ministry said the UAE allegation followed incidents on Dec. 21 and Jan. 3 in which UAE military aircraft had violated its airspace. Ministry spokeswoman Lulwa Rashed al-Khater said Qatar planned to take legal action against the UAE over the incidents. "It seems that the Civil Aviation Authority in the UAE, by publishing false claims, is trying to pre-empt events and cover over news of the Emirati plane penetration of Qatari airspace," Khater said in the statement, posted on the ministry's website. On Friday, Qatar said it had filed a complaint with the United Nations about the alleged violation of its airspace on Dec. 21. The UAE denied the allegation. (Reporting by Noah Browning, Aziz el Yaakoubi, Mohamed el Sherif and Mostafa Hashem; editing by Andrew Roche) DUBAI, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates said on Sunday that an exiled member of Qatar's ruling family who had appeared in a video recording saying that he was being held against his will had left the UAE. Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al-Thani has emerged as a potential Qatari opposition figure after a row erupted last year between Qatar and some fellow Gulf Arab states, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, over allegations that Qatar supports terrorism. Qatar denies the accusation. Qatari media, including Al Jazeera television, carried a video on Sunday of the silver-bearded Sheikh Abdullah saying that he was being held against his will after coming to Abu Dhabi as a guest. "I am now in Abu Dhabi as a guest of Sheikh Mohammed, but actually not in the position of a guest but rather as a detainee," Sheikh Abdullah said in the recording, apparently referring to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan. "I just want to inform you that if anything happens to me, don't blame Qatar," he added. The authenticity of the recording could not immediately be verified. A UAE Foreign Ministry official said Sheikh Abdullah had come to Abu Dhabi at his own request as a guest after the Qatari government placed restrictions on him. "He is free to move about and has expressed his desire to leave the state, all procedures were facilitated for him without any obstruction," the official said in a statement carried by the UAE state news agency WAM, giving no details of his destination. The official said the claim that Sheikh Abdullah was being held against his will was "lies", and blamed Qatar. Qatar said that the lack of contacts with Abu Dhabi made it difficult to be certain what had happened with Sheikh Abdullah, but that it was monitoring the situation. "In principle, the state of Qatar supports maintaining the legal rights of any individual and his family has the right to pursue all legal means to protect his rights," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Story continues Ali al-Naimi, editor of an online UAE news website who also heads the education department in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, said he had been informed by a reliable source in Abu Dhabi that Sheikh Abdullah had originally moved to the UAE capital, where he has family connections, at his own request, because he feared for his safety in Qatar. Naimi said he believed the recording had been fabricated by Qatar. Sheikh Abdullah emerged as a potential opposition figure after the row over Qatar erupted last June, criticising his cousins in Doha in interviews with Gulf media, and appearing in the company of Saudi officials. (Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi and Sami Aboudi; Editing by Kevin Liffey) Jo Marney - JIM BENNETT Ukip leader Henry Bolton has ended his relationship with Jo Marney after it was reported she made racist remarks about Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle. The leader of Ukip had been told to choose between his job and his new girlfriend after it emerged that she also sent graphic messages referencing the sexual abuse of babies in an argument with a friend. The Ukip leader admitted the relationship was "obviously quite incompatible" with his position as party chief and the "romantic element" is over as of last night". However he said he would continue to support the family of Ms Marney, who had been left "distraught" by the revelations. The Mail On Sunday printed texts it said had been sent by Ms Marney, including use of the word "Negro" and a message reading "This is Britain, not Africa" during a discussion about the royal engagement. Jo Marney However he is under increasing pressure after it emerged that Ms Marney sent a friend a series of messages on Facebook about child abuse to a friend to make a point during an argument about animal rights. In the messages, which have been seen by The Daily Telegraph but are too graphic to print, she tries to make the case for the gravity of animal abuse by comparing it to acts of child abuse. She subsequently accuses her friend of editing the message make it look like I was saying random weird things: I was highlighting the point of animal abuse by using a baby in comparison to the animal, she says. Ukip said Ms Marney did not wish to comment further. In an interview with ITV's Good Morning Britain, Mr Bolton said: "I don't defend these comments whatsoever and indeed Jo has been suspended pending an investigation under the normal rules of the party for such things and it is against the constitution for the party to be racist in any way. As of last night the romantic side of our relationship is ended." Story continues He later told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the remarks were "indefensible" and said he had "no idea" Ms Marney had made them. Profile | Henry Bolton The pair's first date had been on December 15 and they became an item on Boxing Day. Mr Bolton said he was still married and his wife - who has been in Austria since July with their two children - found out about the relationship on Dec 30, "so we were still getting to know eachother". Asked if he had been "rumbled pretty quickly" he replied: "Yes indeed". But he added: "This is not a cold parting of the ways." He admitted that he had considered standing by Ms Marney. Asked if had "dumped the girlfriend for the job" Mr Bolton replied that "it is not that clear cut". He said: "We have agreed that the job has got to take first place. People have used Jo to try to attack me." He added that the relationship with Ms Marney did not raise questions about his judgement. He said: "I have no intention of resigning - and indeed the people who have been calling for my resignation are people who for some time have been trying to work to undermine the leadership of the party in any case." UKIP Leader Henry Bolton and Jo Marney Credit: Steve Finn Mr Bolton said Ms Marney was "utterly devastated" and he did not believe that remarks made on social media were her "core beliefs". Mr Bolton's critics said that Mr Bolton still had to quit despite his decision to split from Ms Marney. Ben Walker, who stood against Mr Bolton, said: "I do not think that is enough. He only broke up with her to save himself not from some genuine shock about her views." Ukip West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge called for Mr Bolton to go, saying that splitting from Ms Marney was a "desperate move of a desperate man". He said: "This is a desperate move from a desperate man whose career is finished and he cannot understand it and can't accept it because of his towering ego is more important to him than the future of our country and our party. "All this has done is to confirm that he is unfit for any form of office." The party's National Executive Committee has already decided to meet next Sunday to discuss the controversy surrounding Mr Bolton. By Shenequa Golding Seth Carreras reportedly walked into a second district courtroom wearing shackles and a smirk as he looked at the surviving members of the teen hes accused of killing over a bad drug sale. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, 17-year-old Carreras and the victim, 19-year-old Hunter Woodson were messaging one another about Woodson selling Carreras marijuana on Nov. 21. Initially, Carreras said he wanted 1.5 ounces but Woodson reportedly didnt have that much. Carreras went to Woodsons home to smoke as a means of testing the product, however, the agreed price of the sale was $261. Carreras said he didnt have that much and the teens settled on $121. Carreras then went back to his home to retrieve the money and drove back to Woodsons residence. According to a search warrant affidavit, Woodson had his 17-year-old girlfriend collect the money from Carreras while he sprinkled salt, pepper, paprika and other spices into a pink bag and taped it up. The unidentified teen walked back to Woodson gave him the money collected the bag, and then walked to Carreras to hand it to him. Carreras realized something was off and the girlfriend ran into the home to warn Woodson. Woodsons girlfriend told authorities Carreras followed her into Woodsons room and Woodson instructed her to hide behind a door while he got into a fighting stance awaiting Carreras. The girlfriend said she could see Carreras had a gun to which Hudson responded What are you going to do about it, shoot me? It was then Carreras fired his 9mm handgun a lot of times causing Woodson to fall to the ground. He then walked forward and stood over Woodson firing some more times, the girlfriend told police. As the girlfriend ran out of the room she told police she saw Carreras go through Woodsons pockets. She then called authorities and 22 minutes later, Carreras was arrested at his home as he was trying to hide under a car. Story continues Investigators found hundreds of bottles of pills on a shelf in the shed along with knives, guns, ammunitions and two machetes. Judge David Connors ordered the teen be moved to an adult facility, since his 18th birthday is Feb. 10, an order his lawyer didnt object to. Carreras was charged with first-degree murder. This post Utah Teen Guns Down Another Teen For Selling Him Kitchen Spices Instead Of Weed first appeared on Vibe. (In this January 13 story corrects title of Borges in paragraph 9 to former national assembly president) SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - Members of Venezuela's leftist government and opposition leaders concluded a round of talks in the Dominican Republic on Saturday, failing to reach a deal to address the country's political and economic crisis. Saying they had made strides but needed more time, the parties announced another round of talks to begin in the Dominican Republic on Jan. 18. The result prolongs the standoff between the government and the opposition, who have tried and failed for years to strike a pact. The two sides last met for talks in December. Nevertheless, Dominican President Danilo Medina, who led the negotiations, expressed optimism about the progress made during the round. "Although we have made extremely important advances, we still have pending matters that must be discussed," he said at a press conference following the end of the talks. Representatives from Bolivia, Chile, Mexico and Nicaragua also participated in the discussions. The parties did not detail where they had made progress. As millions of Venezuelans grapple with shortages of food and basic goods, the opposition leaders are demanding that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accept humanitarian assistance from abroad, in addition to releasing several hundred jailed political activists. "These days and hours of intense work are not enough to achieve what our people, the Venezuelan people, need to have an avenue, a path of hope," said Julio Borges, former president of the country's opposition-controlled National Assembly, at the press conference. For its part, the government wants the opposition's help in pushing for the elimination of sanctions levied last year by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. (Reporting by Jorge Pineda in SANTO DOMINGO; additional reporting by Julia Love and Sharay Angulo in MEXICO CITY; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) CARACAS (Reuters) - Five members of a "terrorist cell" linked to rogue Venezuelan helicopter pilot Oscar Perez were arrested following a shootout with security forces, an anchor for Venezuelan state television said on Monday. Two police officers were killed along with an unspecified number of people linked to Perez's group, the anchor said. It was not clear what happened to Perez. (Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Editing by Leslie Adler) A Staten Island woman with gruesome burns on her face told authorities that a panhandler approached her asking for money and cigarettes and when she had refused, was sprayed with acid. Turns out, it was all a lieshe sprayed herself. Lizzie Dunn, 52, told police officers that a woman in her mid-40s not only sprayed her, but also grabbed her as she tried to flee. She had a nice tone to her voice and her tone started to change when I didnt I have the second thing she requested, she told CBS reporter Erin Logan from her hospital bed. And she seemed angry when she talked to me the next time she said, Do you at least have the time? I just kept walking, I didnt respond and I think that triggered something in her. Trending: 15 Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes That Still Resonate In Today's America In an understandable state of panic, Dunn reportedly ran to a Roccos Deli, a nearby establishment, so she could contact the police. This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. We thought it was a prank at first, deli worker Andrew Kenwood told NBC. She came in here, she was banging on the door, banging on the door. She was almost fainting and falling. Don't miss: Ivana Says Trump Is Not Racist, Just Confused Because Lots of People Are Telling Him What to Say It looked as if her face was melting off, Kenwood explained. Kenwood called 911 and shortly after, Dunn was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital where she was treated for second-degree burns on her face and scalp. It seemed like she was spraying a lot of times, like she had to keep pressing nozzle, Dunn explained to Logan. With my right hand I tried to grab the can and knock it out of her hand and with the left hand I was trying to shield whatever spray she was misting on me. Just one day after the Monday incident, Dunn confessed to the police that her entire story was a lie. Story continues Most popular: Hawaii Missile T-Shirts Go On Sale Days After False Alarm Sparks Mass Panic This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The police investigation reveals that she sprayed some sort of homemade substance on her on own face. Other scars and injuries on her body revealed that this isnt the first time Dunn has harmed herself, Yahoo reports. The alleged acid assault in the Woodrow area yesterday has been found to have not occurred, the New York Police Departments 123rd Precinct tweeted on Tuesday. The injuries were self-inflicted and there is no perpetrator. There is no threat to the public. The investigation is now over, according to ABC. Its unknown whether shell face any charges for lying to authorities. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek Women in Sri Lanka were almost able to legally buy alcohol for the first time in decades, giving them much reason to celebrate. But after the country announced the 1979 law would be amended on Wednesday, President Maithripala Sirisena stepped in and ordered it be overruled. Apparently, Sirisena had no knowledge of the change in the law until he read about in a newspaper, according to the BBC. Upon learning about it, he immediately reached out to Finance Minister Mangala Samara to revoke the decision. From tomorrow (Monday), the minister's order will be rescinded, Sirisenas office said in a statement, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports. Trending: Trump Is a Dangerous 'Asteroid of Awfulness That Has Fallen on This World': British Politician This content is not available due to your privacy preferences. Update your settings here to see it. The new law would have also allowed women to work in bars without a state permit, but its unknown whether this part of the law is being revoked too. It was not clear from the president's statement if the decision to allow women to work in the alcohol industry had also been reversed, AFP wrote on Twitter. Don't miss: Trump Is 'Playing With Fire,' Turkey Says, After U.S. Sets Up Syrian Border Force The 1979 law was most likely passed to satisfy the conservative Buddhist authorities, a finance ministry official told AFP. On Wednesday, government officials agreed the law discriminated against women, so when Sirisena overturned them, many people took to Twitter to question whether he was actually serious about gender equality. In 2016, he created a national campaign called Women for Change, in order to promote womens representation in government. But, his latest action seems contradictory to his efforts to empower women. Sad. @MaithripalaS believes women have impaired decision-making abilities. So why is he taking credit for increasing women's representation if they can't take a simple decision about buying or not buying alcohol? one Twitter user wrote. Story continues 1_14_alcohol Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images Most popular: China Plans to Destroy Space Junk With Giant Lasers You know it's bad for women in Sri Lanka when our Head of State- a man who regularly peddles 'gender equality' on stage- thinks that men can make choices for us, a woman in Sri Lanka tweeted. Despite the backlash, his announcement wasnt unexpected considering he runs government-led campaigns that discourage any alcohol use, especially among women, according to the BBC. This article was first written by Newsweek More from Newsweek The buildings are humble, functional. There are sturdy, redbrick churches and modest houses with deep porches beneath overhangs that ward off the heavy Southern heat. Theres even a barbershop, its row of seats where customers wait like a congregation kneeling before an altar. Seemingly unremarkable pieces of 20th-century America, these structures are in fact quite the contrary: extraordinary artifacts of the Civil Rights Movement, places where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, where Freedom Riders found shelter from mobs, and where social-justice activists huddled to strategize their nonviolent quest for human rights. More than a dozen such structures in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, have now been placed on the 2018 World Monuments Watch, a biennial list of cultural sites at risk of decay or destruction. 42-18151724.jpg Steve Schapiro The World Monuments Fund (WMF), which administers the Watch, is most often associated with preserving places of undisputed beauty, like the Taj Mahal, or archaeological significance, such as Machu Picchu. Indeed, among the 24 other places on the 2018 Watch are a 12th-century minaret in Mosul, Iraq, and the Jewish Quarter in Essaouira, Morocco. Joshua David, WMFs president and CEO, says the Alabama locations fit into an evolving mission to recognize places that reflect the most treasured human values. We tend to know this part of American history through individualsMartin Luther King, Rosa Parksor particular actions, like the voting-rights march and bus boycott, says David. We have less of an understanding of the community in which they took place. To see the physical context of these lives and this movement is incredibly engaging and inspiring. William Abranowicz Valda Harris Montgomery, daughter of prominent local leader Dr. Richard H. Harris Jr., remembers when King, then the new pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, moved into the parsonage just doors down from her childhood home in 1954, and when 33 Freedom Riders, protesting segregation on interstate buses, were attacked in 1961. The National Guard brought them here to our home, all bloodied and beaten, she says. My family housed and fed them. My daddy was a pharmacist, so he could provide medicine. Story continues The young activists stayed for several days, during which King and fellow leaders Ralph Abernathy, James Farmer, John Lewis, and Diane Nash gathered to pray and strategize, eventually deciding to continue with the dangerous mission. The house, the parsonage, and the church are now on the Watch list, as are other churches and houses, in addition to the Ben Moore Hotel, where black travelers found respite at a time when whites-only hotels turned them away. The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's Several of the sites already have landmark status, but with government funding for preservation uncertain, community organizers hope that the Watch designation will help attract philanthropy. These sites are very important not just to African-American history but to American history and the history of nonviolent social change, says Andrea L. Taylor, president and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The Alabama consortiums nomination predated the August rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that resulted in the death of a counterprotester. But as the nation delves deeper into a debate over the legitimacy of Confederate monuments, it is impossible to ignore the symbolism of the WMFs memorializing sites where civil-rights crusaders lived and worked. Even with all the victories of the Civil Rights Movement, the legacies of slavery and racism continue to play a definitive role, David says. We need to look at all of the sites related to this part of American historyits most troubling and inspirational hours. The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has restated its position that the teachers in 10 states that are still owing salary arrears should not resume work until all arrears were paid. General-Secretary of the union, Dr. Mike Ike-Ene, spoke on the directive in an interview, on Monday, in Abuja. Ike-Ene said that 10 out of 36 states still owed teachers several months of salary arrears in spite of the Paris Club Refund given to states by President Muhammadu Buhari. He listed the states to include; Abia, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Benue, Delta, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, Kwara and Taraba, describing them as chronic debtors as far as teachers salaries are concerned. According to him, Abia owes primary school teachers four months and secondary school teachers one month, Adamawa; two months to primary school teachers and one month to secondary. Others are Bayelsa; seven and half months to primary school teachers and four and half months to secondary, Benue owes 12 months to primary school teachers and seven months to secondary. Loading... Ekiti owes eight months to primary school teachers and five months to secondary, Kogi; three months to primary school teachers and three months to secondary. Taraba; six months to primary school teachers, Delta; four months to primary school and one month to secondary. Kwara and Ondo owe teachers three and four months salary arrears of 2016 respectively, he explained. Ike-Ene said that the union has directed its members in the affected states, especially the primary school teachers not to resume work until all the arrears were cleared. He also said that NUT had in 2017, appealed to the governors concerned to use the period of the Christmas holiday to clear all the arrears, but yet some still failed to do so. President Muhammadu Buhari had in 2017, advised state governors to use the Paris Club Refund to liquidate any form of arrears they owe workers. The Trump administrations policy of tweets and impulsive speech reached UNRWA last week. After a series of threats against the Palestinians in the US presidents tweets , the punishment arrived in the form of a decision to suspend American funding to the United Nation agency for Palestinian refugees. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter We must remember that the debate over the US aid to UNRWA isnt new, and that it gained momentum after the Palestinians appealed for national recognition in the international institutions. The latest move, however, not only exceeded the boundaries of that debate but took the sting out of it. Trump. Punishing the Palestinians with tweets and budgets wont make the refugee problemor their national aspirationsgo away (Photo: AP) Instead of a legitimate debate, the Trump administration pulled out an unhelpful stick against the Palestinians, which only causes further damage. The Palestinians are again seen as the victim, while the American president is seen as a bully who strikes anyone whose doesnt accept his declarations, especially the one about Jerusalem. There are two key arguments against UNRWA: First of all, that the agency perpetuates and magnifies the Palestinian refugee issue; and second, that its institutions help Palestinian terror directly or indirectly, like they did several times during Operation Protective Edge. Having said that, UNRWA remains the main body dealing with a problem that has yet to be solved. As a result, since its creation in December 1949, the UN keeps renewing its mandate. Even the Israeli government knows that the aid provided by the organization to refugees in the fields of education, health, welfare and a variety of social services has prevented a deterioration to a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, which we all stand to lose from. UNRWAs activity in Jordan, for example, is essential for maintaining stability in the countryAmerica and Israels ally. An open Palestinian wound Many people in Israel hope that shutting down UNRWA will put an end the Palestinian refugee problem once and for all. But this is an open Palestinian wound, which hasnt healed since 1948 and wont heal without an agreement that will provide a permanent solution for the problem. Freezing UNRWAs funding sources may satisfy the American presidents unclear vindictiveness, but it definitely wont solve the refugee problem and will only add fuel to the fire of regional instability. The UNRWA stick, which was pulled out as an attack on the angry Palestinian reaction to the Jerusalem announcement, was preceded by another tweet in which Trump wrote that Jerusalem had been taken off the table, the same table the Palestinians are refusing to return to after one of their main demands was unilaterally removed from it. There isnt a single Palestinian leader who would agree to give up Jerusalem, and Trump definitely cant decide that the Palestinians must give up their capital. Trump with Palestinian President Abbas. The US presidents conduct is only making both sides toughen their stance (Photo: AP) Trumps only achievement, therefore, is removing himself from the table. Thats possibly what he wants, so he can keep talking about his desire to reach an ultimate deal without feeling obligated to provide results. This is an important lesson about the difference between a negotiator and a mediator. Trump is having trouble understanding that the Palestinians arent saying no to negotiations; theyre saying no to negotiations led by Trump. Reality, however, is determined on the groundnot on Twitter. Unlike Trump, the absolute majority of the worlds nations have made it clear that Jerusalem is and will remain on the table, until Israel and the Palestinians reach a permanent agreement in which the city will serve as the capital of both states. Presidents come and go, but our conflict with the Palestinians will remain, and solving this conflict is an Israeli existential interest. The reality of an occupation and an ongoing conflict harms not only the Palestinians, but the Israelis as well. Throughout the years, as a true friend of Israel, the United States wisely maintained its ability to serve as a fair mediator trusted by both sides, the Israeli and the Palestinian. The American presidents conduct, however, is only making both sides toughen their stance. The Israeli Right, which enjoys Trumps support, wishes to advance annexation moves, while the Palestinians, who are feeling attacked, are further entrenching their radical opinions. We Israelis must stop applauding the American stick policy towards the Palestinians. Punishing the Palestinians with tweets and budgets wont make the refugee problemor their national aspirationsgo away. It will just make everyone more frustrated and, as a result, more radical. The Trump administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, cutting the years first contribution by more than half or perhaps entirely, and making additional donations contingent on major changes to the organization, according to US officials. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter President Donald Trump hasnt made a final decision, but appears more likely to send only $60 million of the planned $125 million first installment to the UN Relief and Works Agency, said the officials, who werent authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. US President Trump (L) and PA President Abbas (Photo: Reuter, AP) Future contributions would require the agency, facing heavy Israeli criticism, to demonstrate significant changes in operations, they said, adding that one suggestion under consideration would require the Palestinians to first re-enter peace talks with Israel. The State Department said Sunday that the decision is under review. There are still deliberations taking place. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the matter. The administration could announce its decision as early as Tuesday, the officials said. The plan to withhold some of the money is backed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis, who offered it as a compromise to demands for more drastic measures by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, the officials said. Haley wants a complete cutoff in US money until the Palestinians resume peace talks with Israel that have been frozen for years. But Tillerson, Mattis and others say ending all assistance would exacerbate instability in the Mideast, notably in Jordan, a host to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and a crucial US strategic partner. US Ambassador to the UN Haley (Photo: AP) The US is the agencys largest donor, supplying nearly 30 percent of its total budget. The agency focuses on providing health care, education and social services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israels establishment in 1948. Today, there are an estimated 5 million refugees and their descendants, mostly scattered across the region. Eliminating or sharply reducing the US contribution could hamstring the agency and severely curtail its work, putting great pressure on Jordan and Lebanon as well as the Palestinian Authority. Gaza would be particularly hard hit. Some officials, including Israelis, warn that it might push people closer to the militant Hamas movement, which controls Gaza. The US officials said any reduction in American assistance could be accompanied by calls for European nations and others to help make up the shortfall. The US donated $355 million in 2016 and was set to make a similar contribution this year; the first installment was to have sent this month. But after a highly critical Jan. 2 tweet from Trump on aid to the Palestinians, the State Department opted to wait for a formal policy decision before sending any of the $125 million. Trumps tweet expressed frustration over the lack of progress in his attempts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and he pointed the finger at the Palestinians. We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect, he said. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them? ...peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Although Trump referred to all US assistance to the Palestinians, the contribution to refugee agency would be the first to be affected. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday attacked Trump over his tweet. "I see a tweet on Twitter," Abbas said and quoted, "'We will not give the Palestinians money because they refuse to negotiate.'" Swearing at the president, Abbas said, "May your house come to ruin (an Arabic epitheted). Where did you offer that to me? On the phone? On television?" PA President Abbas (: AFP) Three days after the tweet, at a Jan. 5 White House meeting, senior national security officials try to find a way forward. Led by representatives from the State Department and Pentagon, all but one of the members of the Policy Coordination Committee agreed to continue the funding, officials said. The lone holdout was Haleys representative, who insisted that Trumps tweet had set the policy and the money must be cut off, the officials said. The meeting ended in a stalemate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then weighed in, telling his Cabinet that he agreed with the critique of the agency. He said the agency only perpetuates problems and should cease operating in the region. Netanyahu and other Israelis accuse it of contributing to Palestinian militancy and allowing its facilities to be used by militants. They have also complained that some of its staff are biased against Israel. Netanyahu suggested transferring the agencys budget to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which aids refugee matters everywhere in the world. It was not immediately clear whether any withheld US assistance would be shifted. PM Netanyahu (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky) Netanyahus position, coupled with Haleys firm opposition to the funding, led Tillerson, with the support of Mattis, to propose the $60 million compromise, the officials said. Trump, who last year upset the Palestinians by recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital and announcing plans to move the US Embassy to the holy city, was said by one official to have expressed cautious backing of the compromise. "We hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel." The words comprise but one line in the Israeli Declaration of Independence, but have become a symbol of that momentous occasion, which took place Friday, May 14, 1948. Now, almost 70 years later, some 60 descendants of 37 of the original declaration's signatories gathered in the Knesset Sunday to recreate the historic moment. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Sons and daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all thought back to that fateful day, and to the document that became the cornerstone of the state. Israel's Declaration of Independence, signed by original signatories' descendants "We were offered to come to the Knesset and were greatly moved by the offer," said Tal Sharett, the granddaughter of Moshe Sharett (Shertok), who attended the event with her son, the former prime minister's great-grandson. Sharett's great-grandson Uri, a ninth grader in the northern region kibbutz of Lehavot HaBashan, is an avid history buff. "I really want to learn about everything my great-grandfather did. I know a lot of the details of his biography, for instance that he was fluent in Arabic, and that he helped his own father." Descendants of the Declaration of Independence signatories participated in a reenactment in the Knesset (Photo: GPO) His mother said the family's members intended to not only mark 70 years since the signing of the declaration, but to also throw a going away bash for the old twenty shekel bills emblazoned with Sharett's visage. Tal (L) and Uri Sharett, the second prime minister's grandchild and great-grandchild (Photo: Effi Sharir) The ceremony was also attended by Sarit and Michal, the granddaughters of former Yedioth Ahronoth editor-in-chief Dr. Herzl Rosenblum (Vardi), his great-grandchildren, and Yael, his daughter-in-law and widow of his son Moshe Vardi, who also served as Yedioth editor-in-chief. His granddaughter Sarit, the paper's health reporter, said, "We're all excited to recreate the historic event, which my late grandfather participated in. I'm sure if he were here with us in the Knesset and could see the immense progress the country has enjoyed, he'd be bursting with pride." "However, as a public figure, we believe he would be disheartened to see the goings on in Israeli politics and public life nowadays," Sarit said. Moshe Vardi (center) surrounded by his father Herzl's great-grandchildren, who participated in the ceremony Another participant is Noa Geffen, the granddaughter of Eliyahu Dobkin, who was a leading figure in the Labor Zionism movement, headed the Jewish Agency's immigration department and was one of the founders of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Noa herself sits on the Council to Preserve Heritage Sites, so the historic event is doubly exciting for her. "Our heritage and history are so important to me, and this is an excellent opportunity to shine a light on the works of past generations," she said. Noa Geffen, granddaughter of Israel Museum founder and Labor Zionism leader Eliyahu Dobkin "I was very young when my grandfather passed, only seven. His persona, both personal and public, accompanied me and my family through the years since. My grandfather was in charge of bringing thousands of Jews to Israel from all across the globe," she said. Geffen then claimed the younger generation was not in tune enough with local history. "The younger generation and teenagers should be told, taught and brought closer to events that took place here not so long ago, only seventy years ago," she opined. The descendants of the original signatories gather at the Knesset (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg) Nitzan Kahana, the granddaughter of the youngest original signatory, Rabbi Kalman Kahanawho was only 36 at the timewas also among the descendants who took part in the ceremony. "I keep discovering new aspects of my grandfather's story and personality, and it only makes me be more and more proud of him," she said. "My father is the Knesset's first child. He was born while my grandfather was speaking in the plenum. During his speech, he received a note that his son had been born," Kahana went on to say. The younger generation signs the declaration Other descendants who attended the special ceremony include the grandchildren, great-grandchildren and the window of Israel's first Minister of Police Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit; the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of former minister Zerach Warhaftig; the granddaughters of Eliyahu Dobkin, who was one of the leaders of the Labor Zionism movement; the great-granddaughter of Rabbi Wolf Gold, one of the leaders of the Mizrachi movement; the son of Mordechai Shatner, who was a member of the Provisional State Council; the great-grandson of Israel's first Minister of Religious Affairs, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon; the granddaughters of former Knesset Speaker Nahum Nir; the son, granddaughter and great-grandson of Saadia Kobashi, one of the leaders of the Yemenite Jewish community in Israel; the great-granddaughter of Meir David Loewenstein, one of the leaders of Agudat Yisrael; and the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of religious-Zionist leader and former minister Haim-Moshe Shapira. The reenactment of the declaration signing is a preliminary event, in anticipation of the First Israeli Congress on Judaism and Democracy founded by Haim Tayeb and Joseph Jaruszewski to be inaugurated in a month at Jerusalem's International Convention Center. The Congress will be attended by President Reuven Rivlin, US Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman and others. It will debate the meanings of Israel's definition as a Jewish and democratic state and seeks to encourage discourse on the manner in which the country can preserve the aforementioned values and start a process of reconciliation between its disparate communities and sectors. Commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division, Col. Kobi Heler, told Kerem Shalom residents on Sunday that the terror tunnel discovered near the kibbutz had been completely destroyed and no longer poses a threat. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "The fact Hamas has not responded with fire after the tunnel was demolished proves we maintain our deterrence against it," Col. Heler told the residents. "If there are other tunnels, we'll locate them using technological measures," he assured them, adding "the IDF is far better prepared now than it was before Operation Protective Edge, both technologically and with regards to the troops on the Gaza border." The tunnel (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Col. Heler further told the residents he views 2018 "as a year of development and growth, and I don't see, at this stage, a confrontation on the horizon." "Hamas suffered a serious blow, we destroyed a significant assert of theirs, and this is a great achievement," he asserted. Heler said he believed the Gaza border obstaclean underground wall meant to stop tunnels from reaching into Israel"will bring an end to the tunnels. We're estimating construction on it will finish by the end of 2018 or early 2019." He noted the obstacle's construction "serves as motivation not to enter a conflict with Gaza. The objective is to avoid conflict as much as possible, at least until the end of construction on the obstacle." Col. Kobi Heler, commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office) When asked what Hamas would do after the completion of the obstacle project, Col. Heler predicted the Gaza terror group would try to launch terror attacks from the air. "We're prepared for that as well, and we have a response to that," he said. Heler repeated assessments made by many Israeli defense officials, according to which Hamas is not interested in a confrontation with Israel, "among other things in light of the intra-Palestinian reconciliation agreement. The organization doesn't want to be perceived as the one to ruin the agreement by escalating." The tunnel reached all the way to the Egyptian side of the border and was dug from Rafah at a length of approximately 1.5 kilometers. Israeli planes bombed the tunnel opening at around 11pm Saturday night on the Gazan side of Rafah, some 900 meters from the enclaves border with Israel. The tunnel penetrated 180 meters into Israel territory, passing underneath Kerem Shalom, the only commercial crossing between Gaza and Israel, which serves as the conduit for gas and diesel pipelines and antennas. Israel shut down the crossing before the IAF attack until further notice. Kerem Shalom border crossing (Photo: Reuters) Employees at the Kerem Shalom border crossing were puzzled at Hamas's choice of location for the tunnel. "I don't understand why the Palestinians dug a tunnel under the crossing. What's their interest? After all, it is the only place through which commercial goods enter Gaza, it's their line of oxygen," one employee said. Almost 600 tons of food and medical equipment went through Kerem Shalom over the past year. "We've always assumed there are tunnels," he said. "It's a scenario we've been prepared for." Shimon Tugeman, who owns several trucks that regularly transport goods from Israel to the strip through Kerem Shalom, said the tunnel won't deter him. "We'll keep working in Kerem Shalom, even if they keep digging, because this is our livelihood, and we've gotten used to the situation. Our trucks are loaded, but stuck until we receive approval to come to the crossing. And who's losing? Only Gaza residents," he said. The incident marks the fourth time the IDF has uncovered and destroyed Hamas tunnels in the last three months, but a different method was adopted to neutralize the latest tunnel. Five days after the shooting attack that claimed the life of Rabbi Raziel Shevah near the illegal West Bank outpost Havat Gilad, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman submitted a proposal to the government on Sunday to legalize the outpost and recognize it as a full-fledged settlement. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The proposal calls for advancing the establishment of a new recognized settlement, on Israeli owned land, which will be part of the Samaria Regional Council and absorb residents who already live on private land in the area. The proposal authorizes the Minister of Defense to appoint the relevant parties to carry out all the necessary legal and infrastructure work, including finding an appropriate location and drawing up a plan for the settlement. Raziel Shevach with his wife Yael In order to proceed with the plan, the Ministry of Defense must first sift through the various plots of land to determine which of them are indeed owned by Jews. Forty-two families live in the Havat Gilad outpost, established in 2002 as a response to the murder of Gilad Zar. After the murder, his father purchased the land on which the outpost currently sits. However, the access roads leading to some of the plots were constructed on disputed land. Terror victim Raziel Shevach Speaking about the historic Zionist connection between settlements and security, Lieberman said, "Today as well, Jewish settlements contribute to securing the borders and the homeland; I hope that all the relevant parties act as soon as possible to advance the move." Yael, the victim's widow, said: "We heard about the initiative and that things are moving forward, and we want to show our appreciation and back the government and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman. They should continue on this path and see it through, so that we can see the results and see a measure of comfort through building and rebirth. We hope this takes place as soon as possible." The amount of noise created when hundreds of kilograms of explosives are dropped from the air is frightful, which is why the army decided to issue an early warning to Gaza vicinity residents on Saturday night. In fact, it was the first time Israel admitted that the Air Force plays a significant role in the demolition of tunnels. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter This time, the IAF attacked a tunnel shaft near Rafah, several hundred meters from the Israel border. The IAF wasnt alone in this attack. The tunnel was destroyed from the ground as well. Only last week, Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot visited the Gaza vicinity to observe an exercise conducted by one of the IDFs special units, which included taking over and destroying an attack tunnel. The techniques developed in the past year have already been implemented in the demolition of four tunnels in the past two months, and they just keep improving. The tunnel demolished by the IDF on Sunday. The techniques just keep improving (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) The technological aspect of locating and destroying tunnels coming out of the Gaza Strip has a much more complicated and complex political side. Dealing with the tunnels is like crawling in a minefield. You uncover one mine after another, you move forward, but you have no idea if youll make it to the other side of the field in one piecein other words, destroying all the tunnels by the end of the year without leading to a war. At the moment, an all-out war in Gaza is against Israels interest. It may disrupt the completion of the underground obstacle and the new border fence around Gaza, lead to a deterioration in the Palestinian arena in general and create difficulties vis-a-vis the Egyptians. Most importantly, there is no one else who can be given control of the strip. Israels only clear policy is to try to dry Hamas up, provide Gaza with minimum means of living, allow the strip to keep its head just above the water, hoping that one day well reach a formula of demilitarizing the strip in return for reconstruction. Israeli officials simply dont want to stop playing by the rules. Based on the means at its disposal, Israel is likely capable of knowing whether there are other tunnels. Past experience shows that as soon as the army detects the route of an infiltrating tunnel, it doesnt need too much time to prepare for its destruction. We can also assume that Israel is capable of demolishing a number of tunnels simultaneously. So far, however, it has chosen to destroy each tunnel separately, in time intervals, to give the other side an opportunity to digest what happened. The policy set by the defense establishment is, on the one hand, to push Hamas into a corner and make it clear that it is losing its tunnel weapon, and on the other hand, not to make the organization resort to desperate measures. As a result, the IDFs response to the occasional rockets fired from Gaza is perceived as too weak. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been playing a key role in restraining the harsh criticism of his colleagues in the government, who see every failure to respond to a rocket with lethal fire as defeatism. Southern Command chief Eyal Zamir visits the tunnel site, Sunday (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) The real test, defense establishment officials say, isnt the rocket test but the ability to keep destroying tunnels without leading to an unnecessary escalation, which is why not every tunnel is destroyed immediately after being uncovered. Its reasonable to assume that the target isnt destroyed before professionals examine the enemys state of mind. As a timing error could have regional political consequences, Israel is likely trying to moderate its response by creating a narrative that would make it difficult for the other side to respond. In the latest incident, for example, Israel went to trouble of reporting that the tunnelwhich was defined as a Hamas operational tunnelhad reached all the way into Egypt. In other words, the tunnel had been used to transfer weapons and fighters to and from Gaza under the Egyptian patrons nose. Images released by the army indicate that it was an unusually large tunnel with room for vehicles too. Now, the army is likely examining the responses to the fourth tunnel and preparing for the fifth tunnel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday inspected a ceremonial guard of honor at India's presidential palace and laid a floral wreath at the memorial of India's independence leader Mohandas Gandhi during his first visit to the country Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Netanyahu, who was accompanied to the presidential palace by cavalry, is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later Monday to discuss defense, trade and energy ties. "This is the dawn of a new era in the great friendship between India and Israel," Netanyahu told reporters at the presidential palace. (Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO) He described the visit as "deeply moving for my wife and me and for the entire people of Israel." The visit marks 25 years since India and Israel established diplomatic relations. Last year Modi visited Israel, becoming the first Indian prime minister to do so. (Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO) During the Cold War, India didn't have open relations with Israel, leaning heavily in favor of the Palestinians. But over the last 25 years, ties between the two countries have warmed. Cavalry accompanies Netanyahu to the presidential palace X Netanyahu arrived in New Delhi on Sunday and was met on the tarmac by Modi, who engulfed the Israeli leader in his trademark bear hug. (Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO) But the visit also comes weeks after India's vote in favor of a UN resolution denouncing President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Netanyahu told India Today magazine in an interview over the weekend that while Israel was disappointed by India's vote, the relationship between Jerusalem and New Delhi remained strong. "Yes, naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forward," Netanyahu said. During Netanyahu's six-day visit Israel and India are expected to sign agreements on cybersecurity, energy and space cooperation, according to India's External Affairs Ministry. Netanyahu signs guestbook at Indian presidential palace A large Israeli business contingent is travelling with Netanyahu and on Monday evening Netanyahu will attend the India-Israel CEO Forum Meeting. Netanyahu's schedule includes a visit to Agra, to visit the Taj Mahal, and to Gujarat, prime minister Modi's home state. He will also visit India's business capital Mumbai where apart from meeting business leaders he is also slated to meet with the leaders of India's tiny Jewish community. Oil and gas-producing communities in Niger Delta region on the platform of Host Communities of Nigeria, HOSTCOM, have demanded for the payment of the first tranche of the gas flare penalty of N89 billion reportedly approved by the Federal Government. The penalty, said to be part of the agreements reached with the host communities by the Federal Government, also include the implementation of the 13 percent derivation, release of the licences for the 10 modular refineries and the implementation of the pipeline surveillance jobs for 10,000 Niger Delta youths. Loading... National President of HOSTCOM, Prince Mike Emuh, who disclosed this to Vanguard, accused the Federal Government of dilly-dallying in implementing the 20-point agenda agreed with Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, and HOSTCOM. According to him, since the militants declared a ceasefire to pave way for dialogue, the Federal Government has done nothing tangible to assuage the yearnings of the people of the oil-rich region. He said the region will witness enduring peace and development if the Federal Government implements half of what it promised and urged government to make good its pledges. BEIRUT - The Syrian army is determined to end any form of US presence in the country, state television said on Monday, citing an official source in the foreign ministry. The US-led coalition is working with Syrian militias to set up a new border force of 30,000 personnel. The move has also heightened Turkey's anger over US support for Kurdish-dominated forces in Syria. The Syrian foreign ministry blasted the US-backed border force as a "blatant assault" on its sovereignty, state media had also said. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speech at the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Central Council on Sunday was unusual, bitter, sarcastic and conspiratory, demonstrating his complete despair concerning Israel, the American administration and the chances of a peace process. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The Council convened to discuss the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital. Abbas words indicate that he is aware of his old age and of the fact that the next time the Council convenes, the PLO may be headed by someone else. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Appealing to the young generation (Photo: EPA) Abbas made it crystal clear that Donald Trumps administration would have no part in brokering or sponsoring future negotiations with Israel. That role would be handed over to the United Nations or a committee of several countries. As far as the Palestinians are concerned, the ultimate deal died before it was born. Abbas didnt burn all his bridges, however. He did threaten to terminate the Oslo Agreement, but cancelling the Oslo Agreement will essentially lead to the dissolvement of the Palestinian Authority. He has yet to reach this level of despair, and he likely never will. There was no mention of suspending or halting the security coordination with Israel. In spite of his aggressive speech, the Palestinian president understands how significant the coordination is for the Palestinians and knows that it protects him from a Hamas coup or attempts to create chaos in the West Bank. Abbas knows he isnt doing well in Palestinian public opinion polls and has reached an unprecedented low point. The young generation, which doesnt believe in Abbas and in his leadership, is particularly disappointed. The anti-US speech may have been aimed at appealing to that generation and gaining its support, following a realization that the young people are tired of promises and of seeing a leadership that still conforms with a pro-Israel administration. Abbas reiterated several times that this conformity was a thing of the past. He also spoke about the need to care for the young generation, mentioning a number of projects for young Palestinians that the Palestinian Authority is involved in. Clashes in the West Bank. Abbas made it clear he is against a violent resistance (Photo: APF) Despite his scathing and harsh words, Abbas repeatedly clarified that the only Palestinian resistance he supports is a peaceful one, not an armed one. He basically set a red lineyes to despair, no to an armed intifadaleaving the window open for negotiations with Israel and stressing that he is interested in such negotiations, but not under American auspices. Abbas admitted that the reconciliation process with Hamas had reached a dead end, but noted that he would not accept a state in Gaza and a state in the West Bank. In other words, he will keep the reconciliation in abeyance, so as not to completely lose the Gaza Strip to Hamas once again. In his speech, Abbas attacked both the roots of Zionismsaying that the Europeans wanted to bring the Jews here to preserve their interests in the regionand Trump. Slamming the American president, he said: "I see a tweet on Twitter, We will not give the Palestinians money because they refuse to negotiate.' May your house come to ruin (an Arabic curse). Where did you offer that to me? On the phone? On television?" SRINAGAR -- Four Pakistani soldiers were killed Monday after Indian and Pakistani soldiers traded gunfire in the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, leading both of the nuclear rivals to blame the other for initiating the latest cease-fire violation. Separately, at least five suspected militants were killed in a gunbattle with Indian troops Monday after they crossed into the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir from the Pakistani side of the territory, officials said. Pakistan's military said in a statement that the Pakistani soldiers were "doing maintenance" on communication lines in the border village of Kotli when they came under fire on Monday. It said the troops were on the Pakistani side of the boundary. It said Pakistani troops returned fire, reportedly killing three Indian soldiers. An Indian military official, however, blamed Pakistani soldiers for attacking Indian positions and claimed their counter-offensive killed seven Pakistani soldiers. The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with military rules, said Indian soldiers did not suffer any casualties. DUBAI - The United Arab Emirates said on Monday that Qatari fighter jets intercepted an Emirati civilian aircraft during a routine flight to Bahrain, which Qatar denied, escalating a months-old feud between the Gulf Arab states. The UAE Civil Aviation authority condemned the alleged incident and said it would take "all necessary legal measures to ensure the safety and security of civil air traffic." Sheikh Saif Bin Ahmed al-Thani, the director of Qatar's government communications office, said on his official Twitter account that the charge was "completely untrue". The UAE is one of four Arab countries, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, that imposed travel, diplomatic and trade sanctions on Qatar in June 2017, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. Qatar has denied the charges. On Friday, Qatar filed a complaint with the United Nations about an alleged violation of its airspace in December by an Emirati military aircraft. Qatari authorities said the violation on Dec. 21, which the UAE denied, lasted one minute. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has "lost his senses" after his acrimonious speech against Israel and US President Donald Trump the previous day. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter "He's trying to bring down all of our homesthe home of the Palestinians, that of the Americans and that of the Jews," Lieberman told Ynet in an interview. Lieberman noted Abbas' address symbolized his giving up on the prospect of peace negotiations and opting instead for a confrontation with both Israel and the United States. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman (Photo: Amit Shabi) However, he warned the Palestinian president has lost the support of moderate Arabs. "The entire moderate world is telling him: 'If it's between you and the US, we'll go with the US,'" he said. In his speech at a PLO Central Council meeting, Abbas threatened to nix the Oslo Accords, which would mean the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, which he heads. Unlike previous threats, this time the Palestinian leader didn't try to challenge the PA's security coordination. "The Palestinians enjoy the security coordination more than we do," Lieberman said. Evidence of that, he argued is the fact that "their conditions in Judea and Samaria and their standard of living is better than in Gaza." "We're not threatening, and we don't intend to stop" the security coordination, the defense minister stressed. "If they stop it, it would be their decision." He asserted that the violent Palestinian protests in the West Bank are instigated by the Palestinian Authority. "I was looking at photos of those clashing with IDF forces. All of those trying to film the clashes are all paid by the PA, or they're employees of the (Palestinian) security services, or their family members. I didn't see an average Palestinian following every decision by Abbas, and that's good," Lieberman said. Palestinian President Abbas (Photo: Reuters) The defense minister also accused the Palestinians of intransigence, saying "Abbas met with Olmert in Annapolis, and everything was ready for a big ceremony at the White House, and then Abbas broke the rules. Ehud Barak met with Arafat and nothing came out of that, either. The Palestinians have always found a reason why not." "You don't need to find excuses," he asserted. "Abbas doesn't want an agreement with Israel, and his goal is to wear us down on the international arena. He thinks he has an automatic majority on the international arena, and his strategy is to wear us down because he knows he doesn't stand a chance in direct confrontation." Lieberman was confident the IDF would "eliminate all of the attack tunnels at Hamas's disposal" by the end of 2018, adding the Gaza underground obstacle, which is supposed to block new cross-border tunnels, "is providing an excellent solution" to the problem. The defense minister stressed the tunnel demolished on Sunday was important. "The tunnel was supposed to be used for an attack in Kerem Shalom, which is the strip's main line of oxygen," he said. 'It's unlikely there'll be a Palestinian partner' Abbas sharply escalated his rhetoric in a speech on Sunday, lashing out at Trump over recent policy moves, such as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Abbas also slammed Trump's recent Twitter comment threatening to cut American aid and alleging the Palestinians are no longer willing to negotiate a peace deal with Israel. "Since when did we reject negotiations?" Abbas told members of the Palestinian Central Council, a key decision-making body. "Shame," Abbas said, addressing Trump. To laughter from the crowd, Abbas then added the phrase "Yekhreb Beitak," literally translated as "may your house be demolished." In colloquial Palestinian Arabic, the phrase can have different connotations, from a harsh to a casual insult, but its use in a widely watched speech seemed jarring. Education Minister Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, said the content and style of the speech represented Abbas' swan song. "Abbas is at the end of his road, toward the end of his rule and the end of his life," he told Army Radio. "There appears to be no Palestinian partner and it is unlikely there will be." Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Photo: Hadas Frosh/Flash 90) Trump infuriated Palestinians and Muslims around the world when he announced late last year that the US would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move its embassy there, upending decades of US policy and countering an international consensus that the fate of Jerusalem should be decided in negotiations between the sides. Abbas has said that by siding with the Israelis on a sensitive issue, the announcement had destroyed Trump's credibility as a Mideast peace broker. TRIPOLI- At least nine people were killed on Monday in clashes between rival armed groups near Mitiga airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli, a health ministry official said. Local media reported that nearly 30 people had been wounded in the fighting, which caused Mitiga to suspend all flights until further notice. ZURICH- Switzerland is again at the centre of a dispute over a Nazi-era art trove as the Basel Art Museum reconsiders demands it return a Jewish art historian's collection to descendants. It rejected their restitution bid in 2008. The museum owns 120 drawings and prints, including a "Madonna" lithograph from Edvard Munch potentially worth millions of dollars, that belonged to Curt Glaser. Glaser auctioned the works in 1933 after losing his job leading the Prussian State Art Library in Berlin and being evicted from his home in the first wave of Nazi anti-Semitic laws. Basel Art Museum director Josef Helfenstein has called up a task force after Glaser's heirs demanded the case be re-opened, citing unearthed documents they say underscore their claims. "We hope it won't be put on the backburner, so everybody forgets about it again," said Valerie Sattler, a great niece of Glaser. Basel may announce a meeting with the family and its lawyer as early as this week, a museum spokeswoman said on Monday. Scrutiny of Jewish-owned art sold for low prices or stolen by the Nazis is nothing new in Switzerland. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will make an emotional visit this week to a Jewish center targeted in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, in a trip that India's tiny and shrinking Jewish community hopes will boost its profile. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Netanyahu will talk trade in New Delhi and marvel at the Taj Mahal before rounding off his visit in Mumbai, where the majority of India's estimated 4,500 Jews live. Mumbai Jews in prayer (Photo: AFP) There he will accompany 11-year-old Moshe Holtzberg as the boy returns for the first time to the house where his parents were killed in the 26/11 terror attacks that left 166 people dead. At Mumbai's Magen David synagogue, worshipers are excited about the first visit to India by an Israeli leader in almost 15 years. "It's very good news for us. We're very lucky to get to see the prime minister over here," Joel Gershon Awaskar told AFP after concluding his morning prayers. Netanyahu will be only the second Israeli premier to visit India and the first since Ariel Sharon in 2003. It comes six months after Indian leader Narendra Modi toured Israel. For Jonathan Solomon, chairman of the Indian Jewish Federation, the reciprocal visits and warm ties between the two countries are of the "utmost importance" to Jews in India. Chanukka in Calcutta (Photo: Israeli Embassy India) "The closer the co-operation, the closer the Jewish community in India feels to Israel. So we feel recognized and we feel secure," he told AFP. It is not just recognition from abroad that many Indian Jews crave. Although historians believe Jews first arrived in India 2,000 years ago, their descendents today say they are virtually unknown in a country where they are hugely outnumbered by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Zoroastrians. Nor are Jews officially recognized as a minority community by India's government. India is in fact home to several distinct Jewish groups. These include a significant community from Cochin in southern India, the Bene Menashe, the Bene Israelis, who have the longest history in India, and Baghdadi Jews, who fled persecution in the Middle East in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although there are no official figures, academics say India's Jewish population peaked at around 20,000 in the mid 1940s. Numbers have dwindled rapidly because of emigration since the creation of Israel in 1948. Nine Bene Menashe couples celebrate wedding (Photo: Shlomo Haokip/Shavei Israel) "Many people here don't know about the Jewish community, about our customs and festivals," said Awaskar, who hopes Netanyahu's visit will help increase awareness amongst Indians about the Jewish faith. "It will be good for us, we'll become well known," he added, a black-and-white checked, round cloth "kippah" resting on the top of his head. Magen David, light blue in color and situated in Mumbai's historic Byculla district, is one of eight synagogues in India's financial capital and surrounding suburbs. Calcutta synagogue (Photo: Israeli Embassy India) Every morning some 15 mena few swaying back and forthrecite prayers there, in a space which could easily hold hundreds. Afterwards they sit down for a breakfast consisting of bread, eggs and cheese, washed down with a cup of milky Indian tea. More prayers are read and then bananas and slices of apple are served. "This whole area used to be Jewish," recalls Ellis Jacob David, an official at the synagogue. "But many migrated to Israel, UK, Canada, Australia and the USA." Mumbai Jews (Photo: AFP) India's Jewish community hasn't experienced the discrimination seen in other countries, a fact that Jewish historian Leora Pezarkar partly attributes to its adoption of Indian customs, dress and language. "The community has mixed really well with the local population while not deviating from who they are as Jews," she told AFP. David, whose parents fled persecution in Iraq to come to India 125 years ago, says he has never experienced or heard of anyone being a victim of anti-Semitism in India. "There was just one attack and that took place from outside the country, not internal, at all," he told AFP, referring to November 2008. Six people were killed at Chabad House, a Jewish center in south Mumbai, when Pakistani militants carried out coordinated attacks across the city. Moshe Holtzberg was just two years old when his parents, who ran the center, were gunned down. He was saved by his nanny who managed to escape and now lives in Israel. On Thursday, Moshe, along with Netanyahu, will visit his former home where a memorial to the victims is to be unveiled. "His visit is going to be very emotional for us. This is the place where he got his last hug from his father and mother," Israel Kozlovsky, the centre's rabbi, told AFP. Netanyahu (L) and Modi (Photo: Government Press Office) Netanyahu will also travel to Modi's home state of Gujarat and host a party for Bollywood producers where he will trumpet Israel as a filming location. Jewish leaders hope the visit will help persuade India's government to officially recognize them as a minority community, meaning they would be included in the census. In 2016, Maharashtra state granted Jews minority status, making it easier to register marriages and acquire funding for institutions, but the central government is yet to follow suit. "Although it is just a symbolic recognition it is important for the community," said Solomon. PARIS - The head of a French jail where an al Qaeda inmate wounded three guards in a scissors attack resigned on Monday as security staff at several prisons protested, saying they no longer have the staff or clout to contain ultra-dangerous convicts. Riot police broke up a picket at the notoriously overcrowded Fresnes jail on the outskirts of Paris, the country's second-biggest, and guards staged similar protests at prisons in the north and south of France. The CGT labour union said half of 188 French jails were affected by the protests. The director of another prison in the Calais region resigned four days after guards there were injured by a scissors-wielding inmate convicted over an al Qaeda attack that killed 21 people at a synagogue on the Tunisian resort island of Djerba in 2000. The inmate, Christian Ganczarski, is a convert to Islam and a German national of Polish origin who is serving an 18-year sentence for his role in the Djerba attack. India and Israel will begin work on a free trade pact that Jerusalem has been pushing for, officials said on Monday, as Benjamin Netanyahu began a first visit by an Israeli prime minister in 15 years. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter India and Israel have built close ties over the years, largely centered on arms purchases, away from the public eye. But under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose nationalist party has long admired Israel for its tough approach to terrorism, ties have flowered across the economy. "We have had diplomatic relations for 25 years, but something different is happening now," Netanyahu said soon after the two sides signed nine agreements covering cooperation in cyber security, space and oil and gas exploration. Netanyahu meets with India's Prime Minister Modi (Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO) Israel has given initial approval for Indian energy companies to explore oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean, in the first such move by Indian firms in that region. Netanyahu, who said he saw a "kindred spirit" in Modi in terms of getting things done, pushed for a free trade pact with Asia's third largest economy during the talks on Monday. Modi agreed to open trade discussions, Indian foreign ministry secretary in charge of economic relations Vijay Gokhale told reporters. "A delegation from the commerce ministry will actually go next month for discussions on trade," he said. Bilateral trade has jumped from $200 million in 1992, when the two countries opened diplomatic relations, to $4.16 billion in 2016, largely in favor of Israel. Netanyahu, accompanied by a 130-member delegation, wants to increase exports to India by 25 percent over the three years. Netanyahu meets with India's President Ram Nath Kovind (Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO) Israel has emerged as one of India's biggest suppliers of weapons alongside the United States and long-term partner Russia. But the two sides were tightlipped over the fate of a $500 million deal to buy anti-tank missiles from Israel's state-owned defense contractor Rafael that India called off just weeks before Netanyahu's first. The Indian government wanted to support a local program to build the missile but Israel has since pushed hard to revive the order. It has offered to transfer technology and eventually build the missile with a local partner in a boost for Modi's signature Make-in-India drive for a domestic defense base. Without referring to the anti-tank missile deal, Modi said he had invited Israeli companies to take advantage of India's liberalized rules in the defense sector to "make more in India with our companies." PM Netanyahu visits India X The two countries' investment in the defense sector doesn't end with weaponry though, and a cooperation agreement was inked between the two premiers regarding cyber securitya rising front in warfareinvolving development of mutually-beneficial training programs, promotion of joined conferences and meetings between academies and industries of both countries. The two also agreed to collaborate on development of air services, with the possibility of changes in tariffs and safety and security arrangements. Lastly, on a more lighthearted note, an understanding was reached and signed to strengthen ties between the two countries' film industries by providing government support funds for Israeli-Indian productions. Last year, Modi made a first trip to Israel by an Indian prime minister ever. The Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) has appealed to the Federal Government to pay compensation to herdsmen affected by all forms of crisis in the country. The National Secretary of MACBAN, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma, made the appeal while briefing newsmen in Abuja on Sunday on the position of the association to the crisis between farmers and herdsmen across the country. Ngelzarma said the decision was the position of members reached at the end of its National Council meeting. He said that no fewer than 1,000 of its members including women and children have been killed and 20,000 cattle rustled between June 2017 and January 2018 during crises in various states. The National Secretary called for the setting up of a Federal Judicial Commission of Inquiry to access the killings in order to unravel the truth and offenders. We call on the government to pay compensation to victims of all crises to reduce their level of suffering. If the government accepts that, it is left for them to establish a committee that will go and assess the level of damage. Loading... We have a document of members that were affected by the pastoralists in the North-East but what we discovered is that none of them were captured in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) programme because they are not sedentary. Let the government compensate. That will help calm the situation very well, he said. Ngelzarma, who said the association had over 20 million registered members and no fewer than 50 million cattle, regretted that they were the most neglected farmers in the country He appealed to the Federal Government to set up a Federal Ministry of Livestock Development to attend to the multidimensional needs of the industry. Ngelzarma said the association welcomed the current resolve by the Federal Government to address the lingering crises, adding that dialogue was the solution to the tackling the menace. We submit ourselves for any positive participation to restore mutual and harmonious relationship in the country. We dissociate ourselves from any other group or individual that is out to foment trouble in the country. We demand for immediate disarmament of all illegally armed militias across the country in the interest of peace, security and stability, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ngelzarma was accompanied to the briefing by the National President, Alhaji Muhammadu Kirowa and other members of the association from different states. BERLIN - The German government says it will seek more detail on what the US wants regarding the nuclear deal with Iran after President Donald Trump demanded that European allies fix what he called "terrible flaws." Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, stressed Monday that Germany stands by the nuclear deal. He said that Germany will analyze the situation with its European partners. Trump threatened Friday to pull the US out of the nuclear deal in a few months' time. Iran has said it's not interested in any renegotiation. German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Adebahr said officials will sit down with the Americans and "see what goal and request exactly Mr. Trump's comments contain." She said that Trump's statement appeared to have been directed "first and foremost to his own Congress." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retorted Monday during his state visit to India on comments made the day before by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who called Israel a "colonialist project that has nothing to do with Jews." Netanyahu said, "He has revealed his true beliefs. He has torn off the mask and shown to the public the simple truth that I have been working to instill for many long years: The root of the conflict between us and the Palestinians is their steadfast refusal to recognize the Jewish state in any borders whatsoever." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter According to Netanyahu, Abbas's speech "helps us present the truth. Because if we ever want to achieve reconciliation and peace, we have to understand why the conflict has been so protracted. That is always secreted away and I've been working for years to try and instill in people the basic truth, that the root cause of the conflict is the Palestinian refusal to recognize a Jewish state in any borders." "It has finally been exposed in his speech, and serves our political goals more than almost anything else. Without a change in Abbas's professed stance, there can be no peace. When I speak with world leaders (Monday), that will be clearer than it was yesterday," the prime minister said. PM Netanyahu (L) said PA President Abbas 'tore mask off' (Photo: AP) In his speech before the Palestinian National Council Sunday, Abbas did not spare President Donald Trump, also launching a scathing attack against the perceived American intention of cutting aid to the Palestinians, in light of their alleged refusal to participate in peace talks. "I see a tweet on Twitter," Abbas said and quoted, "'We will not give the Palestinians money because they refuse to negotiate.'" Swearing at the president, Abbas said, "May your house come to ruin (an Arabic epitheted). Where did you offer that to me? On the phone? On television?" "We say to Trump, we will not accept his deal. The deal of the century has become the slap in the face of the century," Abbas quipped. 'The deal of the century has become the slap in the face of the century,' Abbas said (: AFP) Netanyahu's response to the Palestinian president's statements was, "I think Abbas is doing what he's doing because he apparently fears a US-led peace initiative. He's trying to remove the Americans from their capacity as mediators and replace them with someone else. "For too long, the Palestinian Authority has been coddled by the international community, which dared not to speak truth to themnot on Jerusalem, not on recognizing Israel and regarding other measures and demands made by them. They have always gotten a soft touch, and now that's changed. It's the first time somebody told the truth to their faces," Netanyahu stated. The prime minister further added that Iran was a main item on the agenda of his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "A substantial portion of our conversation dealt with Iran. I described the threat it poses, its behavior and its aspirations to accede to hegemony over the Muslim world and all Muslims. PM Netanyahu said he told European leaders they should take Trump seriously (Photo: AFP) "On the nuclear agreement, I told the European foreign ministersas well as to other European leaders on other occasionsto take President Trump seriously. There were some who thought he would never back out of the agreement and that it was just bluster. I told them that I suggested they take what he says very seriously," Netanyahu recollected. "I think after his statements Friday, people are starting to understandperhaps a little latethat that is where things stand. This is the powers' final opportunity to amend the agreement," Netanyahu cautioned. On the Gaza Strip situation in light of the collapse of the terror tunnel near the Gaza-Egypt border, Netanyahu said that, "We work in accordance with our security interests. We cannot accept attacks against us from Gaza by Hamas or any other entity. We consider Hamas responsible for any attack launched from Gaza." An IAF attack in Gaza. 'We're not attacking sand dunes,' PM says (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) "Our policy has remained unchanged. Moreover, you can plainly see the IDF has not been attacking sand dunes. As you can see, this policy ended up bearing fruit. You might get into a scuffle from time to time, sometimes even operations, but there's no such thingunder my leadershipfor fire to 'trickle' into Israel," Netanyahu declared. "Gaza's biggest problem," he said, "is not the entrance and exit of goods, but that Hamas is not interested in building the requisite infrastructures the populace so sorely needs, such as power, water and sewage. When you talk about collapse, these are the systems that are collapsing. It's absurd for the State of Israel to have to deal with the most basic needs that the Hamas regime has simply neglected." Rivlin: 'Abbas has forgotten many things' President Reuven Rivlin also commented on Abbas's speech to say Monday, "What we heard last night from Mahmoud Abbas was terrible. He went back to ideas he had expressed decades ago that were no less terrible. Abbas has forgotten many things, and reiterated precisely the things over which he had been accused years ago of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial." Abbas said precisely the things over which he had been accused years ago of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, President Rivlin said (Photo: Yair Sagi) Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan said, "His speech was awful. Saying that Israel is a result of the Western world's conspiracy and that the Jewish people have nothing to do with the land of Israel? He knows full well the Koran recognizes Israel as our land and without this recognition, we cannot build trust and move forward." "Abbas is destroying any shred of a chance for peace when he chooses incitement against Israel and Israeli heritage instead of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. Abbas will continue destroying, and we will continue building and strengthening our sovereignty," Erdan vowed. Zionist Union Chairman Gabbay said separating from the Palestinians was paramount, despite Abbas's speech (Photo: Amit Shabi) Zionist Union Chairman Avi Gabbay also lent his opinion on the matter, tweeting, "Abbas's speech is grave, deceitful and contains anti-Semitic canards. We must not, however, be confused and we must not focus on what the Palestinians say. The Zionist dream is one of initiative. Before or after Abbas's speeches, separating from the Palestinians is within the Israeli national interest." Gabbay's fellow Zionist Union member MK Tzipi Livni said, "Abbas's fraudulent speech will not change Zionist history and can't ascertain our future. Israel was founded despite the Arabs' resistance and Israel has to take the initiative to remain the nation state of the Jewish people, without annexing millions of Palestinians, whether Abbas wants it or not." A 24-year-old Palestinian was killed Monday evening in clashes with Israeli security forces in Jayyus Palestinian village near the west border of the West Bank. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter According to Palestinian health officials, the man, 24-year-old Ahmad Salim, was shot dead by IDF fire. The Israeli military said it was checking reports of a Palestinian killed in a village near the West Bank city of Qalqilya, where it said scores of Palestinians threw rocks at soldiers who responded with riot dispersal means and live fire. Palestinian stone throwers and IDF forces (Photo: AP) While Israeli-Palestinian tensions over US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalema place holy to Jews and Muslims alikeas the capital of Israel have been steadily declining in recent weeks, sporadic disturbances and riots along the Gaza border and in the West Bank are still being reported, sometimes even resulting in deaths. On Thursday, two Palestinians were killed and six others were wounded in clashes with IDF forces that broke out near the Gaza security barrier and in the West Bank. About 50 Palestinians demonstrated at two locations on the northern Gaza border, threw stones at the security fence and set tires on fire. The IDF reported they opened fire against three main instigators. As a result of the shooting, one 16-year-old youth from the al-Bureij refugee camp was shot dead, while two others were wounded. Another Palestinian youth was shot dead in clashes between IDF forces and local residents of Palestinian villages in the Nablus Governorate. The youth, a resident of the Palestinian village of Burin identified as Ali Kino, also 16, was killed after a riot broke out over an IDF search of a village west of Burin, as part of the hunt for the terrorists who murdered Rabbi Raziel Shevah in the nearby Havat Gilad outpost. Aside from Kino, four more were reportedly wounded by the shooting. A total of 18 Palestinians and one Israeli have been killed in the flare-up since Trump's announcement, though analysts say neither Israel nor the Palestinians are interested in a major escalation. The Hamas tunnel destroyed over the weekend underneath the Kerem Shalom Crossing was several dozen meters deep, according to estimates, and its height and width are said to be more considerable compared to previous tunnels, enabling the passage of a several-dozen-strong force, as well as armaments, through it. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The tunnel was first discovered several weeks ago, while Egypt was notified of its existence this past weekend, and is incensed with Hamas due to the tunnel's encroachments into the Sinai Peninsula. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit made known Monday that the Kerem Shalom crossing will reopen Tuesday, now that the tunnel running underneath it had been destroyed and the security threat foiled. The Hamas tunnel ran through Egyptian territory (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) Head of the District Coordination and Liaison Office in Gaza Col. Fares Attila addressed the tunnel's destruction Monday during a Kerem Shalom meeting with some 40 representatives of the international community. "The representatives of international organizations saw with their own eyes today that the Hamas terror organization attempts to achieve its goal of harming Israel and its citizens by any means necessary," Col. Attila said. Col. Attila met with representatives from international organizations near Kerem Shalom "The Kerem Shalom Crossing is the main lifeline into the Gaza Strip and any damage done to it is akin to a terrorist attack against the people of Gaza," he added. "The tunnel's excavation is further proof that the people of Gaza are being held hostage by Hamas and are excluded from its considerations, as it tramples them itself. So long as Hamas and the Palestinian Authority don't make the welfare of the people of Gaza their top priority, the economic crisis will only worsen further. Israel will continue taking steps to first and foremost defend its own people," Attila vowed. Commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division Col. Kobi Heler also attended the tour, which took diplomats, ambassadors, military attaches and representatives of international organizations through Kerem Shalom. During the tour of the crossing and its environs, civilian measures Israel has undertaken to assist the people of Gaza were showcased, including the reopening of the only crossing for goods and equipment from Israel to Gaza and from the isolated enclave to the outside world. Col. Heler said the people of Gaza were hostages of Hamas Col. Heler said, "Closing the Kerem Shalom goods passage was a step we had no desire to take, but were left no choice by Hamas, which is the sovereign and the body responsible for anything that happens in and out of the strip." "(The tunnel) was a severe violation of Israeli sovereignty and a direct assault on the people of Gaza. The excavation of the terror tunnel underneath the sole goods' passage is an example of Hamas concerning itself more with terrorism than with rehabilitating the strip," Heler analyzed. Heler also met with members of the Kerem Shalom kibbutz Monday and told them , "The fact Hamas has not responded with fire after the tunnel was demolished proves we've maintained our deterrence against it." "Their inaction following our action is deterrence. If there are other tunnels, we'll locate them using technological measures," he assured them, adding "the IDF is far better prepared now than it was before Operation Protective Edge, both technologically and with regards to the troops on the Gaza border." Col. Heler further told the residents he views 2018 "as a year of development and growth, and I don't see, at this stage, a confrontation on the horizon." The tunnel before its destruction by the IDF (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit) "Hamas suffered a serious blow, we destroyed a significant assert of theirs, and this is a great achievement," he asserted. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke at his party's parliamentary meeting Monday afternoon about the tunnel's destruction and said, "I assume the tunnel we uncovered was not the last to infringe Egyptian sovereignty and cross into Sinai. It's reasonable to assume there are others." "it's also perhaps worth noting that of all the terror finances funneled into Gaza, 100 million dollars are coming in from Iran. Those 100 million are then divided between Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which says something as to Iran's peaceful intentions," Lieberman said. Defense Minister Lieberman said that had Hamas invested its funds in something other than tunnels and rockets, Gazans would be much better off (Photo: Amit Shabi) Lieberman further revealed that, "Hamas held a rocket test tonight. They shot three rockets towards the sea, which only goes to prove that despite the humanitarian situation and the shortage of basic items, they carry on manufacturing and testing rockets." The defense minister said the 2017 budget for Hamas's military wing was 260 million dollars. "Those 260 million dollars were invested wholly in tunnels and making rockets. If they had invested them in their water or health systems, they'd be in a different situation altogether," he said. Welfare Minister Haim Katz (Likud) launched a searing attack Monday morning against the Finance Ministry's obstinate position on raising disability benefits , saying in a Ynet studio interview, "The Treasury is lying and deceiving the disabled. I don't partake in their games. The money has not been transferred to me." Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Katz further maintained that Treasury Director-General Shai Babad notified him Sunday that the third and fourth increments to raise benefits and link them with the average wage will not be part of the governmental bill on the matter, in contravention of the agreement reached with disabled protest organizations in September 2017, and the promise Katz was given to do so, pursuant to which he voted in favor of passing the 2019 budget last week. Welfare Minister Katz (L) squared off with Finance Minister Kahlon over the delay in raising disability benefits (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, Ohad Zwigenberg) In response, the disabled organizations' representatives used exceedingly fiery rhetoric, and said, "Neither the Iranian threat nor tunnels are the danger, but we are, the ticking time bomb you should be fearing. Our wrath will descend upon you, the Israeli government, and set the country on fire. The approved executive decision is the disabled people's brutal rape." Katz also explained his decision to bow out of a planned meeting with disabled representatives, Finance Minister Kahlon of Kulanu and the head of the Knesset's Labor and Welfare Committee Eli Alaluf, also of Kulanu. "I didn't want to fight with Kahlon. I refuse to be on the side of those lying to the disabled, however," he said. Following Katz's decision, representatives of disabled organizations staged a protest outside his Shoham home Sunday evening, as part of which they declared their intention to remain there "until further notice" and intermittently block the entrance to the building. Katz announced that in light of his disagreements with the Treasury over the governmental bill, he intended to present Wednesday at the Welfare Committee the framework to raise disability benefits based on MK Ilan Gilon (Meretz)'s private sponsored bill. MK Gilon's privately sponsored bill will now have Welfare Minister Katz's support (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch) Gilon's bill includes all of the increments previously promised to the disabled, as well as linkage to the average wage. No vote will take place on the bill, however. Katz added that if the government did not uphold its commitments to the disabled, he will leave the committee's debate. The embattled minister further asserted that the Treasury was attempting to pass the benefit increase through the Arrangements Law, thereby skirting its promises to the disabled. Disabled representatives who attended a meeting with Kahlon Sunday, however, said the finance minister had told them all of the funds promised have already been transferred from the Treasury to the Welfare Ministry, and that Katz was holding back progress. 'Every letter and comma was approvedbut only allegedly' While the Treasury and Welfare Ministry were busy shifting blame between them for the delay in raising benefitswhich should have already been raised two weeks agothe disabled organizations themselves are unsure who is to blame. While "Disabled Panthers" activists are the ones who staged the protest outside Katz's home, for instance, the "Disabled Protest Headquarters" are blaming Kahlon for the delay. The delay was the 'brutal rape of the disabled,' said Disabled Protest Headquarters Chairperson Moravia "The runaround the Israeli government gave people with disabilityspearheaded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Kahlonwill be studied in history lessons next to the term 'Machiavellian,'" said the latter organization's chairperson Naomi Moravia. "After long months of heroic struggles out in the field, negotiations commenced and an agreement was reached, every letter and comma of which was approved by both the prime minister and the (Treasury's) head of the budgets departmentbut only allegedly," she accused. "In one cynical, capitalist pig, neoliberal stroke of the dirtiest variety, a group of 330,000 people with disabilities were led to believe that the oppressive, degrading benefits of the past 15 years were coming to an end," Moravia continued. "But then, it was precisely the parties that raced all the way to the coalition under the banner of being 'social' that betrayed and trampled with a jack-booted heel the golden opportunity that fell in their laps to right a historic wrong. They participated in the brutal rape of the disabled," she concluded. Disabled, Not Half a Person Chairman Friedman welcomed the agreement (Photo: Eli Segal) The "Disabled, Not Half a Person" organizationalso party to the September agreement with the governmentreacted more moderately. "We're pleased the bill will be discussed by the Labor and Welfare Committee on Wednesday and hope we are nearing the end of this saga, which does not respect the disabled," the organization's chairman Alex Friedman said. The Finance Ministry commented, "As part of approving the state's 2019 budget this past Thursday, the government reached a decision to increase disability benefits by NIS 2.15 billion. The government's decision constitutes the first official and binding decision to mention specific sums, and to include earmarking the requisite budgets." The state submitted its complete response to a High Court petition made by the family of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, the IDF soldier whose body is held by Hamas in Gaza, saying it intended to make stricter policy providing entrance permits to Israel for Hamas activists and their families for medical treatment. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Qualifying its statement, however, the state added that, "A comprehensive ban on admitting Hamas activists and their families to Israel for medical treatments will not include life-savings treatments." Following a High Court petition by Simcha (L) and Leah Goldin, policy on providing medical permits to Hamas personnel and their families will be made stricter (Photo: Motti Kimchi) The state's reply further said that, "The Cabinet's decisions on permitting entry to Israel on humanitarian grounds was implemented only partially until recently, since the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territoriestasked with providing said permitsdid not have the full data of Hamas personnel and their families, and thus could only partially prevent the entrance of those identified in its own databases." "The head of the National Security Council has determined that the binding interpretation of the Cabinet's decision will henceforth be that is applies word for word to people whoaccording to security forces' informationare affiliated with Hamas, as well as their first-degree relatives, in accordance with any applicable legal restrictions." The Goldin family's petition also demanded that visitation of families of Hamas prisoners held in Israeli jails be halted completely and that no bodies of Hamas terrorists or affiliates be released for burial. The Goldin family said it only strived to return Hadar (L) and Oron Shaul, whose bodies are still held by Hamas The Goldin family commented on the state's reply, and said, "This is a small step in our larger mission of retrieving Hadar, a hero who fell in combat during Operation Protective Edge. We have no desire to defeat the Israeli government in court. We only strive to achieve victory of Hamas and the return of Hadar and Oron (Shaul, another soldier whose body is held by Hamased) home." The Goldin family was represented in court by attorney Oded Savorai, who said, "It's a shame the Israeli government needed the Goldin family's petition to the High Court to notice the Cabinet's decisions were not being implemented. We expect the government to issue a binding order to also promote decisions on prisoner visitations and returning of terrorists' bodies." re we one of the countries Donald Trump had in mind when he wondered why US lawmakers were seeking protection for all these people from shithole countries immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries? To be clear, this question is not original to Nigeria. It has been appropriated and I am thoroughly ashamed to admit this from Botswana. Following the latest of Trumps trademark jibes at the black race on Thursday, Botswana was the first African country to formally and openly reprimand the US, dispatching a query to the American ambassador to its country and asking him to clarify if it was one of the countries classified by Trump as shithole. Up till yesterday, only officials of two more African countries Uganda and South Africa had spoken out in strong terms against Trump. The rest, among which Nigeria is sadly languishing, have been mute, hiding behind the African Unions branding of Trumps comment as clearly racist. The likelihood is high that South Africa and Uganda were emboldened by Botswanas immediate response. Fisayo SoyomboThis isnt the first time Botswana, a country of just over 2 million people, has recently stood up to America on behalf of Africa. In December, after a majority at the United Nations voted against Trumps decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the US was so riled that it threatened to cut aid to the nations that voted against it. Before the vote, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, had said Trump and the US were taking this vote personally. And, after, seeing it didnt go their way, Haley said Trump would be watching which countries voted against the US, and had given instructions that he should be given the list. While other African countries hid away in the aftermath of the threat, Botswana called Trumps bluff, branding Haleys utterances threatening and grossly inappropriate communication, and affirming that it would not be intimidated in the exercise of its sovereign rights to vote. Botswana is certainly not a shit-hole country! From Botswana, Nigeria can learn a few lessons. Like Nigeria, this southern African country is natural resource-endowed. But unlike us, Botswana doesnt just export its gemstones and precious metals, it mines them. So, while Nigeria mostly exports crude oil in a garbage-in-garbage-out manner, Botswana has a robust in-country mining of its gemstones; it generates revenue from the end products, such as diamond, rather than from the raw resource itself. Of the 50 large mines that account for 90% of the worlds diamond supply, the largest the Orapa Diamond Mine is in Botswana. A 50-50 partnership between the De Beers company and the government of Botswana, Orapa (meaning resting place for lions) began operating almost five decades ago. Nigeria, meanwhile, cant boast anything close to a 50-50 stake in the total refining of its oil. Big as the mining industry is, it is only 40% of the Botswanan economy. But oil is Nigerias mainstay; without oil, our economy is gone. Botswana was a poor country at Independence in 1966, but decades of reinvestment of its resource in other sectors have seen it rise to a middle-income country. What it means is that Botswana, to a large extent, can remain in Americas bad books without batting an eyelid. Thats why it could summon the US ambassador. And thats why Nigeria couldnt. Loading... Thats not all. Botswana has a unique understanding of foreign aid application that has perhaps eluded Nigerias foreign affairs ministry: western aid never goes to a country unless the donor is confident of some sort of future payback. For all of Botswanas economic independence, its HIV/AIDS baggage is scary. Nearly one-quarter of its adults are infected with HIV, placing a heavy burden on social services and the economy and this is where the US has been most useful. Aid from the US and other foreign donors has been critical to the process of alleviating the epidemic via the strengthening of local organizations and the government with technical expertise and financial resources to support the countys response. Is that big enough a reason for Botswana to adopt a slave-master relationship with the US. Maybe. But Botswana understands that Americas relationship with the rest of Africa is symbiotic; its stranglehold on the continent only enjoys permanence because of interventions like aid and other sundry assistance. Without the aid, the US can no longer be US. So, Botswana understands that despite Trumps threat to cut aid, the US cannot afford to throw away its diplomatic relationship with Africa. Botswana understands that the greatness of America today does not only exist in part due to centuries of slavery and exploitative trading with Africa, it also exists due to the intellect and energy of the finest collection of Africans seduced to the States by the promise of a better life. It is this knowledge that emboldens Botswana to demand respect from the US. Still, has Nigerias anonymity in the most diplomatic discourse of the year earned us shithole status? Some Nigerians have answered yes not just because of the silence but for the hunger, joblessness, hopelessness, insecurity, inequality, anger and frustration in the land. While these are, without doubt, our realities, it would take a monumental underestimation of Trump as a racist and a similar misjudgement of the word shithole for anyone to reach that conclusion. By varied dictionary definitions, shithole relates to the physical dirt or shabbiness of a place; it is more about a place and its people than the conditions of living in that place. Trumps shithole comment is a reflection of his disdain for Africa as a place and Africans as a people it bears no relationship with the problems besetting the continent. Nigeria does not qualify as a shithole, regardless of the opinion of a million Trumps! Nevertheless, if African leaders will wake up from their slumber, Trumps indiscretion can play to our advantage. We must ignore the messenger. We must, because Trump, were he a man of history, would remember that as a son of an unskilled German who emigrated to the US at 16 and started working as a barber, he is the least qualified to disparage or slam the doors of the US on shit-hole migrants. Thats why Trump, the messenger, must be ignored. But we must never ignore the message. Never. And the hidden message in Trumps vitriol is that Africans will continue finding themselves at the wrong end of outbursts like this until were serious about catching up with the rest of the world by building countries where personal and professional fulfilment can be attained without necessarily migrating abroad. Till then, every now and then, garrulous leaders like Trump will bank on that loophole to lump us all together as descendants of a shithole. Soyombo, Editor of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), tweets @fisayosoyombo The third batch of 560 returnees from Libya has arrived Port Harcourt, Mr. Martins Ejike, Southsouth zonal coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told reporters yesterday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital. He said the returnees, comprising 540 adults and 20 infants, arrived on board Max Air, registered as 5N-HMM, about 11:52 pm. Ejike condemned the poor response of states in evacuating returnees from the reception centre. He said the Federal Government gave the states 48 hours to enable them evacuate their returnees. The zonal coordinator lamented that states failed to abide by the directives, noting that Southwest states were not responding to the evacuation. He said the choice of Port Harcourt airport as evacuation route was based on proximity to the most affected states. Edo State alone recorded 309 of 484 migrants. The record also showed over 80 per cent of the returnees were indigenes of Edo and Delta states. Loading... It is more convenient for the largely affected states to evacuate their returnees from Port Harcourt, Ejike said. Spokesman for Max Air Mr. Muhammad Dahiru said the airline was competent to carry 1,680 returnees, if passengers were cleared on time. He said the airline deployed three aircraft with 560 capacity each for the operation, adding that speedy operation could be actualised, if passengers documentation and clearance were not delayed. One of the returnees, Mr. Paul Eke, thanked the Federal Government for ensuring smooth return of migrants, saying the measure showed governments commitment to its citizens. He urged the government to continue its rescue process to the hinterland in Libyan states where Nigerians are being imprisoned and tortured. I enjoin the Federal Government to rescue Nigerians trapped in interior parts of Libya. I stayed in Zawe Superata. This place is like an exit point to Italy and many Nigerians are being imprisoned there, Eke alleged. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. The suffering of 338 Moroccans in Libyan detention centers came to an end with their arrival on board two Libyan Al Ifriqiyah airways planes, in Casablanca airport on Friday night, the ministry of Moroccans living abroad and migrant affairs said. This repatriation operation is the third of its kind in five months, following the return to Morocco of 200 nationals on the eve of Eid Al Adha onboard Al Ifriqiyah and 235 others who were lifted by Moroccos flag carrier, Royal Air Maroc, the ministry said in a statement. The repatriation took place in close coordination with Moroccos foreign affairs Ministry, the Moroccan embassy in Tunis and different security services. With the fall of IS in the Middle East, the terrorist group is shifting activity to war-torn Libya and the Sahel where like-minded group are roaming. The increasing presence of IS in Libya is putting pressure on Moroccan security services in scrutinizing the profiles of the returnees from Libya to avert an infiltration by terrorists. The UK prepares to support French counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel region, through providing surveillance aircraft and helicopters, British government sources told different media outlets. Currently about 4,500 French troops are engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel where France has spearheaded efforts to create a joint-military force bringing together soldiers from five Sahel countries (Senegal, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania). We are looking at rotary support or Istar [Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance], a Whitehall source told the Times. The effort is meant to counter terrorism, to counter organized crime and to help re-establish state authority. British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce the agreement at a Franco-British summit next week in London. Hundreds of millions have been pledged to assist the French-led Barkhane operations in the Sahel countries. Major contributions so far have come from Saudi Arabia, the EU, the G5 members, the US, and the United Arab Emirates. Tension in relations between Egypt and Sudan has been soaring on the backdrop of the two countries diverging foreign policy stands along with an unresolved territorial dispute over the Halaib triangle and disagreements concerning the distribution of the Nile water, in the wake of Ethiopias building of a mega dam over the river. The long-brewing tension between the two neighbors has escalated to military build ups along their borders, notably after Egypt approached Sudans foe neighbor, Eritrea, where Cairo has deployed troops pushing Sudan to declare a state of emergency in the Kassala State on the borders with Eritrea and to strengthen border surveillance. Sudan has also recalled its Ambassador in Cairo after Egypt sent troops to the disputed Halaib triangle. Sudan accuses Egypt and its Gulf allies of backing opposition forces based in Eritrea. Sudan doesnt talk about a specific build-up by a specific country, but we are talking about a threat to our territories from the eastern border, Sudans Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour told a joint news conference with his Ethiopian counterpart Workneh Gebeyehu in Khartoum. Sudans national army has sent part of its forces to this area to protect Sudans security as we have information that some parties are targeting us, he said. The Egyptian foreign ministry for its part said that Cairo was comprehensively assessing the situation with a view to making the appropriate response. Tension between the two countries surged following a recent visit by Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan to Khartoum. During this visit, Sudan, which has switched sides from the Saudi-led coalition to the Turkish-Qatari alliance, signed multiple cooperation agreements with Turkey, chief among which is a deal to hand an island with a strategic port for development purposes to Turkey. This was seen by Egypt as an intrusion that will give Turkey a foothold in the Red sea. Ankara has been active militarily in the region. From participating in anti-piracy patrolling to building a military base in neighboring Somalia in 2009. This overseas presence, coupled with the mistrust between Erdogan and Egypts Sisi, made Cairo pour its wrath on Sudan for daring to enter into an alliance with geopolitical foes. Egypt and Sudan are also at loggerheads over negotiations concerning an agreement over Nile water distribution. As Ethiopias prepares to declare the completion of the dam, Egypt is afraid that Sudan may sideline with Ethiopia hence Cairo attempts to exclude it from future negotiations. Analysts are already warning that Sudan might be the next Yemen as a field of another proxy war between the Saudi-led alliance and the pro-Muslim brotherhood countries (Turkey, Qatar and now Sudan). Most military analysts expect de-escalation as neither Egypt nor Sudan are in a good economic position to sustain the war effort. However, limited war remains on the table as the two countries foreign policy positions continue to diverge. Morocco has been described as one of the few safest countries in the globe for travelers by the US travel advisory issued by the US Department, while Algeria has been included in tier 2 danger requiring increased precaution due to the threat of terrorism. The contrast reflects the security gap in the Maghreb between oil-rich but insecure Algeria and Moroccos safe environment conducive for tourism and business. While the Moroccan Sahara remains one of the safest regions in Africa, the US state department goes as far as warning travelers from travelling to the Algerian desert due to terrorism activity. In the MENA region only Morocco, Bahrain and the UAE feature in tier 1 group where travelers are asked to exercise normal precaution. The US State department also lauded the efforts undertaken by Moroccan authorities in the fight against terrorism and through pre-emptive actions against terrorist groups. As for Algeria, the US State Department urges travelers to exercise increased caution when traveling in Algeria due to terrorism. Some areas have increased risk. The US Travel Advisory even recommends tourists not to travel to areas near the eastern and southern borders and areas in the Sahara Desert due to terrorism. Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Algeria. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning and have recently targeted the Algerian security forces. Most attacks take place in rural areas, but attacks are possible in urban areas despite a heavy and active police presence, the US State Department said. It added avoid travel to rural areas within 50 km (31 miles) of the border with Tunisia and within 250 km (155 miles) of the borders with Libya, Niger, Mali, and Mauritania due to terrorist and criminal activities. Countries listed in tier 4 under the banner of do not travel include Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and North Korea. Abu Dhabis renewable energy company Masdar announced on Sunday that it has completed a landmark off-grid solar power project, supplying energy to 19,438 households in more than 1,000 rural villages in Morocco. The announcement was made Sunday on the sidelines of the 8th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) held in Abu Dhabi Jan.12-14 with the participation of 1,100 government and corporate officials from around the world gathered to discuss opportunities and challenges in the renewable energy sector. The Morocco Solar Home System (SHS) project, carried out in partnership between Masdar and Moroccos Office National dEau et dElectricite (ONEE), was launched in 2015. Moroccan Minister of Energy, Mining and Sustainable Development, Aziz Rabbah, who attended the IRENA session, and Emirati Minister of Climate Change and Environment, Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, hailed the Morocco-UAE fruitful cooperation that made it possible to achieve the SHS project that will supply clean and low-cost energy in off-grid areas in Morocco. Rabbah noted that both countries have scored significant progress in the field of renewable energies, making of them two regional poles in the Arab world in this area, while the UAE official lauded the partnership between Masdar and ONEE, saying that the success of this project will pave the way for other cooperation initiatives between the two countries. Aziz Rabbah considered that this partnership project was a model to follow for the countries where populations still suffer from difficult access to electricity, especially in Africa. In this context, the Minister pleaded for tripartite cooperation between Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and African countries in the field of renewable energies, a new and high-impact sector given its positive social repercussions, particularly in the fields of health and education. Morocco plans to bring the share of renewable energy in overall electricity production to 42% by 2020 and 52% by 2030. It has earmarked a global $30 billion budget to that effect, of which $2.3 billion will be used to boost the use of solar energy in farming. The UAE on its part decided to increase its target for the contribution of renewable energy to the national energy mix from 24 per cent to 27 per cent by 2021. The UAE Energy Plan 2050 aims to grow the proportion of clean energy to 50 per cent. The country seeks to produce 44 per cent of the clean energy from renewable sources as part of its commitment to sustainability across all sectors, especially the energy industry, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Mohamed Saif Al Suwaidi, said during the IRENA assembly. On the sidelines of the IRENA assembly, Rwanda and Mauritius have been awarded concessional loans worth respectively $15 million and $10 million to build solar projects aimed at boosting renewable energy supplies in low-income communities, reported the UAE paper The National on its website. Morocco, which imports most of its energy needs, is planning to build a $4.6 billion natural gas plant, part of its strategy to enhance its energy mix and autonomy. This project has been announced by the Moroccan Energy Minister Aziz Rabbah in Abu Dhabi, on the sidelines of his participation in the 8th session of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) held in Abu Dhabi Jan.12-14 and that was devoted to discussing opportunities and challenges in the renewable energy sector. The Moroccan official said that an international tender will be launched soon for this integrated project that will process gas for power and provide gas to industry. The financial and technical consultants had already been chosen, he said. The North African country seeks to reduce its dependency on imported fossil fuels, with plans to generate over 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030. Morocco has set out a gas strategy to boost its energy security. Along with investing in shale oil and renewable energies, liquefied gas is at the heart of the countrys energy policy, aimed at cutting dependence on Algerian gas. The Moroccan LNG National Development Plan, approved in late 2014, includes LNG onshore terminal in Jorf Lasfar near El Jadida to be completed for a total cost of $4 billion. The terminal will have a storage capacity of 5 billion cubic meters of LNG per year, a fitted marine jetty, regasification plants and new high-pressure gas transmission pipes. Last December, the Government elaborated a draft bill to back up liquefied natural gas projects, as the north African Kingdom aims to bring the share of LNG to 13% of its energy mix by 2025. The draft bill sets the guidelines for establishing a tariff system for a natural gas market that is still in its early stages in North Africas largest oil and gas importer. The draft also aims at encouraging foreign investors to set up LNG infrastructures, notably in terms of transmission and distribution networks. Recently, Sound Energy made several gas discoveries in Eastern Morocco, which leave investors upbeat. The company said that the country will become a key player in the global gas map by 2019. The United States has shown interest in supplying the North African Kingdom with natural gas under the FTA accord signed by the two countries. The Russians also are interested in Moroccos gas projects, particularly the LG terminal in Jorf Lasfar and the Moroccan-Nigerian gas pipeline. Qatar is also expected to step in. Trump did not inspire confidence while signing a bill addressing the opioid epidemic last week. Photo: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images What do you get when the Trump administrations notorious staffing problems meet its insufficient focus on the opioid epidemic? A 24-year-old former Trump campaign staffer serving in the second most important position in the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which coordinates the federal governments multibillion-dollar anti-drug efforts and President Trumps strategy to fight rampant opioid abuse. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Taylor Weyeneth, who graduated from St. Johns University in Queens in May 2016, was until recently second-in-command at ONDCP. Weyeneths only previous political experience was working on Trumps presidential campaign; he held various positions and wound up working with Rich Dearborn, who was at one point director of the transition team. According to his LinkedIn, Weyeneth was hired as an assistant at the Treasury Department days after Trumps inauguration, then moved to ONDCP in March, and became deputy chief of staff in July. As the Post explains, Weyeneth was not given this position because hes the Doogie Howser of federal drug policy, but because the Trump administration couldnt keep ONDCPs top positions filled: Trump has pledged to marshal federal government talent and resources to address the opioid crisis, but nearly a year after his inauguration, the drug policy office, known as ONDCP, lacks a permanent director. At least seven of his administrations appointees have departed, office spokesman William Eason said. Among them was the general counsel and acting chief of staff, some of whose duties were assumed by Weyeneth, according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post. ONDCP leadership recognizes that we have lost a few talented staff members and that the organization would benefit from an infusion of new expert staff, said the Jan. 3 memo from acting director Richard Baum, a civil servant. The functions of the Chief of Staff will be picked up by me and the Deputy Chief of Staff. An anonymous official did speak of Weyeneths passion and commitment on the issue of opioids and drug addiction, and both the official and Weyeneths mother said he was motivated by the death of a relative several years ago from a heroin overdose. But despite his apparent dedication, there were issues with Weyeneths role that went beyond his youth and inexperience. First up, his work at Natures Chemistry, a family company in Skaneateles, New York, that produced health products. Per the Post: In the summer and fall of 2011, the firm was secretly processing illegal steroids from China as part of a conspiracy involving people from Virginia, California and elsewhere in the United States and one person in China, federal court records show. Weyeneths stepfather, Matthew Greacen, pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge last year and received two years probation and a fine. Weyeneth was not charged, and his mother said she and her son did not know about her now-estranged husbands activities. (Weirdly, Alec Baldwin makes an appearance in the story; he is Greacens cousin and wrote a letter to the judge asking for leniency.) The other issue is that the Post found inaccurate information in three versions of Weyeneths resume. These range from discrepancies in how long he worked at his familys company to references to a masters degree in political science he received from Fordham University. The school said he is enrolled in their program but has yet to complete his degree. After the Post began inquiring about Weyeneths roles, an administration official said he would be demoted to his initial position of White House liaison for ONDCP, which usually involves working with outside interest groups. Its not clear how this latest vacancy at ONDCP will be remedied. Politico reported last week that despite declaring a 90-day public-health emergency in October, the Trump administration has done little to tackle the opioid epidemic: Trump has not formally proposed any new resources or spending, typically the starting point for any emergency response. He promised to roll out a really tough, really big, really great advertising campaign to spread awareness about addiction, but that has yet to take shape. And key public health and drug posts in the administration remain vacant, so its not clear who has the authority to get new programs moving. Even Trumps messaging leaves much to be desired. Last week, while signing into law legislation that helps Customs and Border Patrol agents crack down on the trafficking of synthetic opioids (which was introduced in March), Trump remarked that he knows how to solve the crisis. There is an answer. I think I actually know the answer, but Im not sure the country is ready for it yet, he said, looking to lawmakers. Does anybody know what I mean? I think so. Afterward, senators at the bill signing told CNN that they dont know what Trump was referring to. Hey, it could work. Photo: Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images When President Trump announced in September that he was ending the Obama-initiated Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, he called on Congress to come up with a legislative solution to shield its roughly 800,000 beneficiaries from deportation. Last week a bipartisan group of lawmakers came to Trump with an immigration deal. Though it might have met Trump administrations hazily defined requirements, and probably could have passed both chambers of Congress with the presidents support, the White House rejected it because it didnt satisfy far-right lawmakers like Senator Tom Cotton. Then Trump blew up the whole negotiation process with his reported complaint that the U.S. is taking in too many people from shitholes like Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries, instead of places like Norway. That likely increased the odds that Congress fails to strike a deal before the government runs out of money on Friday. While forcing a shutdown over the fate of the Dreamers had once seemed like a risky strategy for Democrats, the uproar over Trumps remark makes it easier for them to blame the situation on the unreasonable demands of a demonstrably racist president. But over the weekend, Republicans came up with a plan: (1) Insist that despite what you might have heard, Trump wouldnt say something so racist. (2) Complain that they are at the mercy of the Democratic minority, whose members are hell-bent on shutting down the government. While Fox News initial instinct was to argue that Trump is right about the countries being shitholes (and thus, their inhabitants being less deserving than people from awesome countries like Norway), some GOP lawmakers tried a different tactic: claiming the president said nothing of the sort. On Sunday Republican Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue said that they didnt hear Trump make the vulgar remark in last weeks Oval Office meeting, essentially calling Democratic Senator Dick Durbin a liar. Trump, who didnt initially deny making the remark, helped muddy the waters when he tweeted that he used language that was tough, but not what Durbin said. He added that he didnt insult Haiti, allowing for the possibility that he did insult El Salvador and African countries. The president issued a clearer denial on Sunday evening, when reporters outside Trump International in Miami asked about his controversial remarks. They werent made, Trump said. As for the accusations of racism, he responded: No, no, I am not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That, I can tell you. JUST NOW from @realDonaldTrump: "I'm not a racist. I'm the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you." pic.twitter.com/NPIr1tFR7f Kasie DC (@KasieDC) January 15, 2018 Trump also pushed the idea that Democrats should be blamed for a potential shutdown, tweeting on Sunday that theyre determined to take money from the military. (A slight modification from Fridays message, in which he falsely suggested that the military would stop operating during a shutdown.) DACA is probably dead because the Democrats dont really want it, they just want to talk and take desperately needed money away from our Military. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 Senator Cotton articulated the GOP line more clearly on Sunday afternoon, suggesting that Democrats are forcing a government shutdown to benefit illegal immigrants and it will cost them every vulnerable Senate seat in 2018. So Democrats are now threatening to shut down the government if they don't get amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants. Let's see how that works out for them, especially in places like WV, IN, MO, ND, & MT. Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) January 15, 2018 There are a few problems with this strategy. First, not every Republican is on board. Senator Lindsey Graham seemed to confirm Durbins account, saying following comments by the president, I said my piece directly to him yesterday. On ABCs This Week, Senator Jeff Flake said he talked to the lawmakers immediately after the shithole incident and, They said those words were used before those words went public. Flake defended his Democratic colleagues even further, denying that they just want a shutdown. One thing I do take big issue with the president on is he is saying that the Democrats arent moving forward in good faith, Flake said. I can tell you Ive been negotiating and working with the Democrats on immigration for 17 years and on this issue, on DACA or on the DREAM Act for a number of years, and the Democrats are negotiating in good faith. The other dicey part of trying to brand Democrats as the shutdown party is that it makes Republicans look weak and disorganized at a time when there are already questions about their inability to do more than pass unpopular tax cuts, despite controlling Congress and the White House. Convincing people that Democrats deserve most of the blame might be difficult too. In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll from mid-December, 62 percent of respondents said Congress should extend protections for DACA recipients, and 19 percent said they should let the program expire. When asked who they would blame if the government shut down, 31 percent said congressional Republicans, 29 percent said congressional Democrats, and 18 percent said Trump. Presumably Trump disparaging shithole countries wont improve those numbers for Republicans. Polling on whether DACA specifically is worth forcing a government shutdown is less rosy for Democrats. However, being branded as obstructionists months before an election isnt necessarily the end of the world. After Republicans forced a shutdown over Obamacare funding in 2013, they scored wins across the board in the 2014 midterms (including in Arkansas, where Tom Cotton beat Senator Mark Pryor, a two-term Democratic incumbent). Despite efforts by Cotton and other Republicans to spin the situation, theres one person who decided to end DACA, sabotaged efforts to fix it, was rebuked by the courts, and probably cant go another week without saying something offensive and hes not a Democrat. North Carolina minister William Barber II has pursued the Martin Luther King, Jr. template of prophetic Christian witness and broad political alliances. Photo: Angelo Merendino/Getty Images Its easy on this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to regard MLKs life and career as irrelevant to todays economic, political, and religious struggles rendered moot by progress. King fought against de jure segregation at a time when it was the dominant reality in nearly every Southern state. He was a product of the African-American church when it was one of the few black institutions with moral and political power. And he spoke the clear language of the Declaration of Independence and the Bible to call white Americans to a simple recognition of the racial implications of their own most cherished values. Today de jure segregation is gone; there are a vast number of non-clerical African-American leaders and role models available; and fighters for racial justice no longer think the color-blind principles of the Declaration are enough. Yet if you had to identify a national leader for an African-American political agenda, it would not be Senators Kamala Harris or Cory Booker, or journalistic icon Ta-Nehisi Coates, former NAACP chairman and Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous, or activist DeRay Mckesson. It would likely be North Carolina cleric and founder of the Moral Mondays movement and its national successor, the Forward Together Moral Movement, William Barber II. And Barber is a leader in the King tradition. Barber himself constantly, consciously, invokes MLKs legacy. He was inspired by participation in the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington to make his nascent Moral Mondays protests in North Carolina the centerpiece of a state-based strategy for pushing back against the state-based rise of the conservative movement, which had begun turning his own Tar Heel State into a laboratory for reactionary policies and political strategies. He has combined a rigorous and explicit Biblical mandate for progressive political action with a ready willingness to work with different religious groups and nonreligious groups, refusing to let either race or cultural-issues differences get in the way. And his Third Reconstruction theory of Southern progressive politics relies on the Second Reconstruction launched by King and other mid-20th century civil-rights leaders as both an exemplar and an example of how much was left to be accomplished. Yes, there are now many African-American politicians, and the example of an African-American president. But these political leaders for the most part fail to deploy the clarion moral rhetoric of King and of Barber. Their political coalitions are mostly practical, not moral or theological. Thats a sign of the normalization of the African-American political experience, and of its relative success. But on occasion the times call for something more uplifting and revolutionary, and the religious visions of a King or a Barber evoke a resonant chord in the African-American community that secular figures can rarely match. Barber is a heir of the King legacy in two critical respects. First of all, Barber insists on a theological challenge to the white conservative Evangelicals who are so important to conservative Republican politics, especially in the South. In keeping with Kings Letter From a Birmingham Jail, which challenged the narrowness and hypocrisy of the Southern white Protestant churches, Barber accuses the white conservative Eangelicals of his day of liberalism in picking and choosing Biblical justifications for their conservative cultural and political positions while ignoring the broad Gospel injunctions to concern for the poor and the outcast. In the 2016 book he wrote with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and the Rise of a New Justice Movement, Barber had this to say about the Christian right that has been so powerful in his own state since the days when Jesse Helms stood athwart the states politics like a colossus: We cannot let narrow religious forces highjack our moral vocabulary, forces who speak loudly about things God says little about while saying so little about issues that are at the heart of all our religious traditions: truth, justice, love, and mercy. The movement we have witnessedthe movement we most needis a moral movement. So like King, Barber doesnt use the language of religion and morality simply because he is a Christian minister, but because he is fighting to deny the monopolization of that language by people whose primary interests are in the secular conservative values of what Barber calls Plantation Capitalism. Another distinctive trait of the King tradition that Barber reflects is an acute sense of the historical context of daily political struggles. For King and his associates at the Southern Christian Leadership Council, the civil-rights movement challenged America to live up to the values articulated by the countrys founding documents, especially the Declaration of Independence. Barber constantly evokes a the Third Reconstruction frame to explain the significance of todays fight against the right. The first Reconstruction occurred after the Civil War and concluded with the establishment of Jim Crow; the second was represented by what we think of as the civil-rights movement and was met by the racial realignment of politics by the GOPs Southern Strategy. The Moral Movement Barber helped found is, then, the Third Reconstruction, intended to achieve equal rights once and for all. The Moral Movement had modest beginnings. On the last Monday of April 2013, Barber led a modest group of clergy and activists into the state legislative building in Raleigh. They sang We Shall Overcome, quoted the Bible, and blocked the doors to the Senate chambers. Barber leaned on his cane as capitol police led him away in handcuffs. That might have been the end of just another symbolic protest, but then something happened: The following Monday, more than 100 protesters showed up at the capitol. Over the next few months, the weekly crowds at the Moral Mondays protests grew to include hundreds, and then thousands, not just in Raleigh but also in towns around the state. The largest gathering, in February, drew tens of thousands of people. More than 900 protesters have been arrested for civil disobedience over the past year. Copycat movements have started in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama in response to GOP legislation regarding Medicaid and gun control. In North Carolina, the disruption of GOP trifecta control of state government by the election of Democrat Roy Cooper as governor in 2016 represented a partial victory for the Moral Movement there. But perhaps more important has been the spotlight Barber and his associates cast on voter suppression as a key strategy for consolidating conservative political power, which is now being challenged in courts and legislatures all over the country. Judicial actions against the racial and partisan gerrymandering that North Carolina Republicans have specialized in could, if the U.S. Supreme Court goes along, produce a firewall against the kind of extremist coup that took control of Raleigh in 2010 and 2012. There are also ways in which Barber is not an obvious King successor. King was an exemplar of the black church the Baptist, Methodist and Pentecostal denominations that had long been dominant among the ex-slaves of the South and their descendants. While Barber pastored and was involved in mostly African-American congregations, his denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is mostly white and rural by heritage, and focused on purification and unification of the Protestant churches rather than social or political activism. But that background has made it easier for Barber to build multiracial coalitions, particularly among the mainline Protestants with whom the Disciples are aligned. This coalition is reflected in Barbers latest undertaking, and the one most clearly based on the MLK precedent: a revival of the SCLCs Poor Peoples Campaign (which was about to formally begin with a march on Washington when King was assassinated in 1968) planned for this spring in a joint venture co-led by white Presbyterian minister and poverty activist Liz Theoharis of New York. The campaign will be kicked off with] 40 days of coordinated action in the spring of 2018 at statehouses across the country. Like its predecessor, the modern Poor Peoples Campaign is focused on what King described as the triple evils of racism, poverty and militarism with the addition of ecological devastation, a global crisis that disproportionately affects people living in poverty. Barbers most original contribution to the new PPC and arguably, to the King legacy is his focus on action at the state and local levels, which of course is where the modern civil-rights movement really began more than a half-century ago with the Montgomery Bus Boycott. And while Kings personality helped keep the main of the civil-rights movement focused and fully committed to nonviolence, Barbers characteristic traits are audacity and persistence. He suffers from a chronic physical disability caused by ankylosing spondylitis, a severe arthritic condition; for years he could only move about with a walker, and is still regularly afflicted by pain. It is difficult for those he challenges into action to make excuses for inaction in his presence. And he is exceptionally adept at defying stereotypes, as illustrated by this anecdote from The Third Reconstruction: Not long ago I was a guest on Real Time with Bill Maher, with one of Americas most prominent atheists. Wearing my clerical collar, I realized that I stood out among his guests. So I decided to announce to Bill that I, too, am an atheist. He seemed taken aback, so I explained that if we were talking about the God who hates poor people, immigrants, and gay folks, I dont believe in that God either. Sometimes it helps to clarify our language. Recapturing the language of morality from conservatives remains one of Barbers chief preoccupations. It is often jarring to progressives accustomed to a less fraught rhetoric of gradual social and economic progress to hear someone describe contemporary conservatives as deeply immoral people who are motivated by greed and who are making a mockery of their professed religious convictions. But while the Moral Movement was fully underway before Donald Trump executed his takeover of the GOP and the conservative movement, it now seems even more appropriate to describe the right as seized by a frenzy of immoral greed when its headed by the great narcissist and business pirate whose campaign was fueled by cultural resentments and hatred of losers. But Barber wont let Republicans hide behind Trump: Trump is a symptom of a deeper moral malady. And if he was gone tomorrow or impeached tomorrow, the senators and the House of Representatives and Ryan and McConnell and Graham and all them would still be there. And what we have found, Amy, when we look at them, no matter how crazy they call him or names they call him or anger they get with him, its all a front, because at the end of the day, they might disagree with his antics, but they support his agenda. Even as Democrats fight to thwart Trump and his party in the 2018 midterms, the Poor Peoples Campaign will be seeking to set a higher standard for what comes after Trump and how voters measure both parties. Barber calls the organization that will be running that campaign Repairers of the Breach, which aims at nothing less than to redeem the heart and soul of our country. That means convincing people used to thinking of morality as about enforcing sexual codes and keeping women under control to instead think first about how Americans treat the poor and oppressed. Its hardly the first such effort, as we will recall during commemorations of Martin Luther Kings life and legacy. But its a psychological tonic for all those who read sacred texts and long for prophetic voices seeking justice for the afflicted rather than comfort for the powerful. Pangolins are one of the most sought after animals An unquenched Asian taste for wine and herbal medicine laced with extracts of wild animals is driving poaching of rare species in Uganda and across Africa, conservationists have said. Thousands of animals have been stolen and exported to China, Indonesia and Philippines for use in traditional medicines in recent years. For example in South Africa, people export lion bones to China, where they use them as Chinese traditional medicine. Africa is losing lions to Chinese industries which make wine mixed with lion bone powder, Edith Kabesiime, the wildlife campaign manager for Africa from World Animal Protection (WAP), told The Observer. These industries crush lion bones into fine powder and mix it in wine to make people feel tough like a lion after taking it, she said. She said, a few years ago, the Chinese used extracts from Asian tigers, but when animals dwindled, a ban on the use of tiger bones was enforced. In South Africa, they legally export lion bones to Asia. Part of our campaign will focus on convincing the South African government to put a hold on exportation of lion bones to Asia since China has put a ban on use of their tigers. Why are they using our lions? It will be a problem in future when all of them have been destroyed, she said. Kabesiime said pangolins (lugave) are being stolen too, killed and their remains exported to China and other countries in Asia for traditional medicines. Chinese believe in using pangolin scales which they mix in their food to enhance their manhood. They also use rhino horns to enhance manhood and be strong, she said. Trafficking in endangered species has not spared domestic animals. Kabesiime said donkeys are being stolen from eastern Uganda and western Kenya for export to China. Raphael Omondi, the education and outreach liaison officer, WAP, said in Kenya, they steal donkeys daily for their skin. Kenya has less than 900,000 donkeys today. Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) is not sure of the number of donkeys in Uganda. Chinese make medicine from donkey skin and hair, he said. Uganda, Congo, Central African Republic and others continue to lose a lot of African grey parrots to America and European countries. Entebbe International airport is notorious as the easiest transit route for these parrots. Its one of the areas we hope to work with UWA and stop licensing parrots since its a wild animal. West Africa is losing a lot of pythons to Asia where its bones are prized, she said. There are fears that in the next 10 years African countries will completely lose certain animal species since they are being exploited at a high rate. The spokesperson for Uganda Wildlife Authority, Simplicious Gessa, said; according to the law, whether these animals are within the national parks or not, they are not supposed to be stolen, killed or exported, he said. Gessa said a total ban on trading in pangolin is in place since Uganda was losing many to Asia. He said other animals stolen a lot from Uganda include tortoise, chameleon and donkeys. Gessa said animals in all national parks have increased because UWA has stepped up anti-poaching efforts such as intelligence units, operations, increased staff, satellite outposts, patrols and deployed marine units with surveillance cameras. However, there has been a decrease in the population of giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions and common eland due to their long gestation period, low birth ratesWildebeests and buffalo have been poached a lot because they are eaten by people, he said. zurah@observer.ug Court of Appeal upheld David Chandi Jamwa's earlier 12-year jail sentence Four years after his appeal application was heard, David Chandi Jamwa, the former director of National Social Security (NSSF) is finally going start to serve a 12-year sentence given to him by the Anti-Corruption court in 2011. Jamwa was found guilty of causing Shs 2.7 billion financial loss to NSSF in February 2011 by the Anti-Corruption court. Unsatisfied with the ruling, Jamwa appealed the sentence, applied and was granted bail on June 24, 2011 by Court of Appeal judge Augustine Nshimye. Since then, Jamwa has enjoyed unfettered freedoms even when the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence in 2015. Before he could deliver the judgment on behalf of two other Court of Appeal judges; retired deputy chief justice Steven Kavuma and Ruby Opio-Aweri, who were on the panel, Justice Kenneth Kakuru first explained as to why they had taken long to deliver their judgment. On October 23, 2014, the Court of Appeal presided over by justices Kavuma, Opio- Aweri, who has since been promoted to the Supreme court and Kakuru, after several adjournments finally heard Jamwa's appeal. Though the trio indicated that judgment was to be given on notice, it was only today, Monday that the judgment was delivered under such queer circumstances, compelling Justice Kakuru to offer a blunt explanation, which was essentially a veiled attack on his former boss, Kavuma. With a lot emotion, Justice Kakuru explained that the judgment was supposed to be delivered about two years ago in 2015, since he and Justice Opio-Aweri who was leaving having been promoted to the highest court in country, had already finalized writing their judgment. Upon writing their judgment, the blunt-speaking Kakuru, said that in accordance with the rules of the Court of Appeal, they handed it over to Justice Kavuma since he was the deputy chief justice at the time, such that he could set a day to deliver the judgment. From that day, Kakuru said they never heard anything from Justice Kavuma. We expected him [Justice Steven Kavuma] to write a judgment, started Justice Kakuru, who sounded bitter, but he didn't write his judgment, that's why we have decided, that, since he didn't write his judgment, it means he was opposed to our judgment. So we are proceeding with our judgment because it's the majority judgment. ENTER MPANGA As Kakuru was finalizing his initial remarks and preparing to start reading the long-awaited judgment David Mpanga, who is Jamwa's lawyer, was on his feet, preparing to utter some words but the impatient judge quickly shot him down. Can you just sit down, Justice Kakuru said with authority as Mpanga obliged. I don't how a lawyer [Mpanga] was able to know the judgment before it's read. I don't know how you came to know that it's only two judges who wrote the judgment. Since Justice Kakuru was insinuating that Mpanga had behaved unethically or engaged in some sort of malfeasance, the lawyer wasn't about to sit back and let the judge have a field day. He rose up to explain himself but again he was ordered by Justice Kakuru to resume his seat. Please, sit down, Kakuru barked. If you have any problem with this judgment you will appeal, Kakuru said. With Mpanga sorted, Kakuru now proceeded to give the real reason as to why he had come to court - reading the majority judgment. There was no dissenting judgment, he said since Justice Kavuma had lived up to his billing of being controversial; after all he did the unthinkable of retiring without writing his minority judgment. In determining Jamwa's appeal, Kakuru and Opio-Aweri first dealt with Mpanga's argument in which he attacked, Jamwa's prosecutor, the Inspectorate General of Government (IGG). Mpanga had argued that the IGG had wrongly charged his client under Section 20 of the Anti-corruption Act. In Section 20 of the Anti-corruption Act, Mpanga contended that insurance companies, public bodies, customers of banks or credit institutions are not within the definition of causing financial loss, which Jamwa was found guilty of by the Justice Katutsi back in 2011. Having been charged with the offence of causing financial loss, on account of being employed by NSSF and doing an act which he knew or had reason to believe would cause loss, Mpanga submitted that Jamwa was charged with an offence that is no longer known in law, as it does not fall within the ambit of Section 20 of the Anti-corruption Act. But the two judges rejected this argument, saying that the said section when construed in general terms, would clearly include loss caused to an insurance company or a public body. They went on to say that since Jamwa, by time he committed the offences, was an employee of NSSF, a body established by an Act of Parliament, they came to the conclusion that he was properly charged under the section 20 of the Anti-corruption Act. Counsel [Mpanga] for the appellant' interpretation of the section though ingenious, is not tenable, they ruled as they rejected Jamwa's first ground of appeal. We accordingly reject it. BONDS Then they came to the gist of the case, in which Jamwa, who, was present in court clad in Kaunda suit is being accused of between September 2007 and November 2007, in Kampala district of selling off several government bonds held by NSSF before their maturity dates to now defunct Crane bank. NSSF had purchased the 3-year bonds in issue at Shs 34 billion and apparently was guaranteed to realize Shs 39 billion after a period of 3 years. In their analysis of this issue, the appellant judges pointed out that Justice Katutsi in his evaluation of evidence, found that Jamwa, on October 3, 2007 had written to Crane bank giving it the mandate to sell the 3-year old government treasury bonds held by NSSF whose face value was Shs 39 billion. A day later, on October 4, 2007, according to court documents, Jamwa approved a request to sell the same bonds at Shs 36 billion through Crane bank and that the bonds were eventually sold to the same bank before maturity date. Though Jamwa's first line of defence was that there was no loss occasioned to his employer NSSF, as the price at which the bonds were sold was still higher than that at which they were bought, Kakuru and Opio-Aweri concurred with Katutsi in rejecting this argument as ridiculous. We are in total agreement with learned trial judge that the sale of the said bonds before their maturity date occasioned financial loss at NSSF, they ruled. Even if there was justification for the sale and we have found none, the sale of bonds before maturity would still have constituted a loss to the holder [NSSF]. ABUSE OF OFFICE Though Katutsi who retired a year ago acquitted Jamwa of the charge of abuse following a cross -appeal by the IGG, the Court of Appeal court added insult to injury by finding him guilty of that charge too. Although the minister had advised the board to raise money in the financial year 2007/ 2008, there is no evidence that at the time the bonds were sold in October 2007, NSSF was in such dire need of money that it could have not waited for a few weeks for the bonds to mature. The evidence on record is to the contrary, the duo ruled, We find that the appellant therefore abused the authority of his office when he acted the way he did as already outline above. In respect, to the charge of abuse of office, the judges held that, Jamwa will serve a sentence of four years which he will serve concurrently with the 12 years which are in respect to the charge of causing financial loss. dkiyonga@observer.ug Faced with uncertainty, the once-sunshine telecom sector will continue to witness decline in headcounts for the next six-nine months, taking the total number of job losses to 80,000-90,000, says a report. The sector, which has been witnessing rough weather in terms of profitability due to rising competition and lower margins, has witnessed large scale lay-offs making job scenario uncertain, said a CIEL HR Services in a report today. The report is based on a survey among around 100 senior and mid-level employees of 65 telecom and software and hardware service providers to telecom companies. According to the report, since last year the sector has already lost around 40,000 people and the trend is likely to continue for the next six-nine months and may see the culling touching 80,000-90,000. "The attrition rate is like to remain high at least for the next two-three quarters and the sector is likely to reduce around 80,000-90,000 people," the Bengaluru-based company's chief executive Aditya Narayan Mishra told PTI. He said, employees worried over the uncertainties about their career with their present employer and the increased levels of anxieties are contributing to speculation. High cost of loan servicing, aggressive competition for market share, uncertainty of mergers among others have been hindering further investment by telcos resulting in layoffs, the report said. Further, the report said, salary hikes have been muted compared to other sectors and about 69 per cent got annual salary hike of 7 per cent, while almost one-third of them received less than 5 per cent hike, it added. The report also revealed that most people leaving their telecom jobs are seeking opportunities outside the sector. "This trend highlights the fact that the sector is not recruiting unless it is a critical need that has to be filled by external talent," it added. "The telecom industry has lost its lustre and this negative sentiment is failing to attract any talent into the sector. The vacant seats continue to remain vacant with no fresh applications," Mishra said. The report estimates that 25 per cent of people leave or lose their jobs in the telecom sector without having another at hand. However, 69 per cent feel that them can find employment in other sectors. This points to the fact that skilled employees are quick to find jobs in other sectors, hence, the sector has to put additional measures to retain their top talent. Going forward, Mishra said, the sector will begin to recruit, which will be mostly be freshers from campuses. "Except for a few critical positions, we expect telcos to hire freshers. However, there is likely to be 25 per cent reverse movement mostly comprising those who had gone into consulting or not with any employment," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon head to the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, with an aim to spell out the country's agenda as a 'new, young and innovative India'. The WEF is one of the large gatherings of the world's rich and powerful people at one stage where delegates discuss issues that matter. In light of recent economic reforms carried out by the Indian government - and the world powers recognising India's role as a crucial player - PM Modi is likely to emphasise how his government has made it earlier to do business in India by clamping down on black money, streamlining the tax system, and checking corruption. The Prime Minister will also talk about 'cooperative federalism in India' in the 48th WEF apart from urging world powers to unite against terrorism, cyber threat and economic imbalances, and corner the nations harbouring terrorists and spreading their expansionist agenda. India's 30th position in the WEF global manufacturing index, above neighbouring countries Pakistan (74), Bangladesh (80) and Sri Lanka (66), puts it at an advantage in the global changing production system, which at present is in its infancy. Japan tops the index followed by South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, the US, Sweden, Austria and Ireland in the top 10. As per the WEF's 'Readiness for the future of production report', Japan has the best production structure, and only 25 countries are in the best position to gain as production systems stand on the brink of exponential change. As per the report, India, with total manufacturing value of $420 billion in 2016, is fifth largest manufacturer in the world with over 7 per cent per year growth on average. The country's total manufacturing value accounts for 12-15 per cent of the total global value. "Home to the second-largest population in the world and one of the fastest growing economies, the demand for Indian manufactured products is rising. India has room for improvement across the drivers of production, except for demand environment where is ranks in the top 5," the WEF said. Though the WEF has recognized India's manufacturing power saying it's rising but has a room for improvement across all drivers, it has also appreciated the demand environment in India. The WEF has listed human capital and sustainable resources as two major challenges for the country as big as India. But as the youngest nation with over 65 per cent of the population under 35, it can tackle these challenges by setting up more world-class institutes like IITs and IIMs and effective implementation of skill-development programmes and digital India campaign, and the world needs to know it. Besides, superstar Shahrukh Khan has also been invited for the mega event to talk about 'women empowerment' and its significance for India. TTP claimed responsibility of Benazir Bhutto assassination 15 January, 2018 Related News Imran Khan distributed loan cheques under Kamyab Jawan Programme PTI govt to face all challenges coming its way: Imran khan More on this View All Top 2021 Accessories We Know You Will Love Types of Casino Payment Methods Tips for Taking Incredible iPhone Travel Photos Are Slot Developers Important for players? Best Poker Hands ever played on a Casino Hand Wash and Toiletries in Pakistan And the Role of DUPAS in Reshaping the Industry Woke Bingo ISLAMABAD: The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has broken its silence over the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and claimed responsibility for the attack in a new book released on Sunday. Benazir Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi shortly after she addressed an election rally on December 27, 2007. The then president Pervez Musharraf had blamed the TTP for the attack on Benazir Bhutto. Taliban had previously denied Musharrafs claim. Officials in Musharraf government had also released an audio conversation between the two Taliban men who were talking about Benazirs death. No group had claimed responsibility for Benazirs murder until the claim in the Talibans Urdu-language book Inqilab Mehsood South Waziristan From British Raj to American Imperialism. The book says suicide bombers Bilal, who was also known as Saeed and Ikramullah were tasked to carry out the attack on Benazir Bhutto on December 27. Bomber Bilal first fired at Benazir Bhutto from his pistol and the bullet hit her neck. Then he detonated his explosive jacket and blew himself up among the participants of the procession, the book claimed. Taliban leader Abu Mansoor Asim Mufti Noor Wali has written the book and published it on November 30, 2017, at Maseed Computer Center in Barmal, in Afghanistans Paktika province, according to the details on the book. The 588-page book, which contains many photographs on the Taliban leaders, was posted online. Military sources say most of the Pakistani Taliban belonging to Mehsood tribe had crossed into Afghanistans Paktika and Paktiya provinces after the military launched major offensive there in 2009. The book says Taliban were also involved in the suicide bombing in the Benazir Bhuttos procession in Karachi in October 2007, which had killed nearly 140 people but Benazir had survived. Despite attacks on Benazir Bhuttos procession in Karachi, the government had not taken appropriate security measures that made it possible for the attackers to have easy access to Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, the book says. The book says Ikramullah, a resident of Makeen town in South Waziristan, escaped from the blast site and is still alive. The book does not say anything if it is the same Ikramullah, who has been declared absconders by the anti-terrorism court (ATC) along with five others including Baitullah Mehsood, founder of the TTP. Baitullah was killed in a US drone strike along with his wife in South Waziristan in 2009. Musharraf had been formally charged in the case and an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi in August 2017. The ATC also declared Musharraf an absconder in the case. The ATC had named Musharraf in the case in February 2011. Musharraf on a number of occasions denied any involvement and dismissed charges as politically-motivated. The PPP co-chairman Bilawal Bhutto had again blamed Musharraf in his speech to his supporters on the 10th death anniversary of his mother on December 27, last year. The five TTP suspects in Benazirs murder case Rafaqat Hussain, Husnain Gul, Sher Zaman, Aitzaz Shah and Abdul Rashid were cleared of all charges in the murder trial last year in August. The ATC had, however, convicted two police officials Saud Aziz, who was police chief of Rawalpindi when Bhutto was assassinated in 2007, and Khurram Shahzad, a former Superintendent of Police at Rawal Town. They were each awarded 17 years jail term. In October 2017,Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court had granted bail to both officers. The book says that investigators had blamed TTP for the killing of Benazir Bhutto but Baitullah Mehsood had initially denied involvement, who had insisted that those people were behind her assassination who had murdered her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and two brothers Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto. Murtaza Bhutto was assassinated on September 20, 1996 in Karachi while Shahnawaz Bhutto died on 18 July 1985, in Nice, France. The book said the TTP Mehsood leadership had refused any involvement until 27 December 2017, on her 10th death anniversary. The book covers the TTPs history, its attacks, military operations in the tribal regions, TTPs activities in Afghanistan, tribal system, Mehsood tribe role in the TTP, TTP operations in Karachi and its campaign against polio vaccination. It has been revealed in the book that Baitullah had also approved attack on Benazir Bhuttos procession in Karachi in October, 2007, when she returned to Pakistan to lead party campaign for the 2008 parliamentary elections. The return of Benazir Bhutto was planned on the behest of the Americans as they had given her a plan against the Mujahideed-e- Islam. Baitullah had received information of the plan, the book claimed. So when Benazir Bhutto arrived in Karachi, two suicide bombers Mohsin Mehsood and Rehmatullah Mehsod carried out attacks on her procession at Karsaz area of Karachi, the book revealed. Benazir survived the bombing that occurred two months before she was assassinated in Rawalpindi. Most of the PPP supporters were massacred in the Karsaz attack. Tanzanian President John Magufuli will not seek to extend presidential terms in the East African country, his party said. Some members of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) have been calling on Magufuli, 58, to extend presidential terms from the constitutionally mandated five years to seven years. "President Magufuli has appealed to Tanzanians to ignore such calls because the issue of presidential term extension has never been discussed by top organs of the ruling party," CCM said in a statement on Saturday. Magufuli does not plan to make the change "at any time during his presidency", the statement added. Tanzania, one of sub-Saharan Africas most stable democracies, has held five relatively peaceful multi-party elections since 1995, all won by the ruling party. Magufuli was elected in October 2015 for his first term and has not indicated whether he will seek re-election in 2020. If he does and wins, he would be ineligible to contest the vote in 2025. For months, the opposition has alleged a shadow campaign to change the constitution and extend Magufuli's term. Nicknamed "the Bulldozer" for his strict leadership style, Magufuli has won praise for his tough anti-corruption fight. Opponents, however, accuse him of cracking down on dissent and limiting democratic space. He has denied the allegations. Source: Aljazeera Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Colombia Hoy Para nunca olvidar Paginas vistas en total 'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England Sin palabras La UE le apunta a la paz Cada vez mas solo Precio del Brent To get the BRENT oil price, please enable Javascript. Precio del WTI To get the oil price, please enable Javascript. Dolar USA Vs Euro Precio del Oro To get the gold price, please enable Javascript. LULA y su Pueblo Bye Bye Homenaje al genial Quino Fueron ellos Una imagen que resume Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero? Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante) Ladrones al poder Asi mira el perrito a su amo Crazy Clamor popular La nueva inquisicion Bolivia Chile Hoy Eso es todo amigos! Piensalo! Pinerachet No More Trump Adios Macri, hasta nunca La Marioneta se desinfla Asi o mas cinico Almugre Mexico en 1794 Mas arrastrado imposible Hasta cuando! La pura verdad Solidaridad con Palestina Serie Capitalismo Espejismos de la clase trabajadora Asi es! Comerciantes o delincuentes No pasaran! Asi es la vida USA HOY 01/01/1959 La avaricia no tiene limites AYUDA HUMANITARIA? Chile Hoy Asi son las cosas Mapa Electoral de Venezuela Patagonia argentina? Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad Retrato del franquismo en Espana Visca Catalunya! 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Por culpa de Chavez Cerveza Polar Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar Translate LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares? Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano... Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos: Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias. Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera. No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje. En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio. Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida. Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella. Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal. Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista. Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen. Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che? Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio. Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora. Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo. Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo. Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania. No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar. Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga. Alguna duda? Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia. OZ1 OZ2 OZ3 OZ4 Homenaje a Jason Galarraga La Victoria de Samotracia Odalisca Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008 La Sierra Nevada de Merida Nuestro precioso Churum Meru Homenaje a Picasso Autoretrato Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola? La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar. Mi profesion? Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos. Sal en la Coca Cola? A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar. De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla: Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido) azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa) Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas Mucha Cafeina Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja. Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos. Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja. En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero). Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma. La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate. Bebidas Light? Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal. Publicado por loretahur En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina: 1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias. 2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina. 3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard. 4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos. 5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla. 6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos. Ahora... sobre la margarina: 1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) . 2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias. 3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno). 4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer. 5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna. 6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo. 7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina. Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas: * No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo). * No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!! No a la guerra, Si a la Paz Misterios de la ciencia... Los costos de la guerra medicos y capitalismo... Capitalismo... medicos (2) Quien educa a nuestros hijos? Los Medios... Sin Palabras... Chistes feministas - Cual es el problema, Eva? - Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas. - Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas... - Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti. - Que es un hombre? - Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente. - Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente. - Cual es el truco?. - Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion. - Cual? - Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer. Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Ellas... Ellas (2)... Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1 Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije: -Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro. Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria. Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre? -Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa! VENGANZA NUMERO 2 Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris. A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita: - Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!! Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta. La mujer paso quince dias en Francia. El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla. Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es: - Y amor me trajiste mi francesita?? - Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina. VENGANZA NUMERO 3 El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion. - No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo. - Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz. Te quiero confesar algo. - Esta bien, esta bien. Habla! - He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga. - Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!! machismo y cibernetica Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston. -Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide. -Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!. .Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos. Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco. Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas Gol !!!! Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso! Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy! Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is the latest corporation to leverage the passage of corporate tax cuts as a springboard for good press. The company will upgrade the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in MI to produce heavy-duty Ram trucks and add jobs there to support the increased volume. In a statement, the Italian-American auto maker confirmed the investment is aimed at modernizing the Warren Truck Assembly Plant in the U.S. State of MI. The special bonus will be paid to all eligible employees of the FCA automotive and components operations in the US. Trump hailed the decision of FCA, tweeting on Thursday night, "Chrysler is moving a massive plant from Mexico to MI, reversing a years long opposite trend". Pista de aterrizaje Canaima se mantiene cerrada por protesta La opcion mas economica de la comunidad indigena y de los turistas era Conviasa, pero esta aerolinea del Estado dejo de prestar ese servicio desde hace dos anos en esa localidad. Guatemala se prepara para elegir nuevo Fiscal Organizaciones pro justicia advirtieron del riesgo que el cambio de fiscal incida en el trabajo en conjunto con la Cicig. El comisionado dijo ser "respetuoso naturalmente" de la decision final que tome la fiscal. Insolito: Coche se estrella en segundo piso de edificio El conductor y su acompanante, en tanto, tambien sobrevivieron al increible accidente. El choque provoco un pequeno incendio en el punto de impacto, en el segundo piso. Both the investment amount and jobs figure are in addition to an investment announcement the company made in January regarding the Warren plant, which will also produce the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. The Michigan plant will add 2,500 new U.S.jobs to support production of heavy-duty truck, said FCA. "These announcements reflect our ongoing commitment to our USA manufacturing footprint and the dedicated employees who have contributed to FCA's success", said Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer, FCA. About Me Scott Because prophetic scriptures are found throughout the bible, it is obvious that a comprehensive, systematic approach would be useful, if not necessary, for the understanding of prophecy. Past prophecies have been fulfilled in a literal manner, as confirmed by the dating of these writings and historical records of confirmation. These past prophecies also serve as a model of how to interpret future prophecies. A literal view of prophecy clearly indicates a certain sequence of events will occur within a single generation, concluding with the Tribulation and Second Advent and these events will be obvious. The prophetic signs appear to be present in this generation and we believe these signs are revealed in the news from around the world. View my complete profile Michael Waugh bares his soul on The Cast "Even the guide vocals for this record were recorded on my iPhone standing in a cupboard with a towel on my head. It was a weird process." China s new Silk Road OBOR (One Road One Belt) project By Sreejith Nair China will eventually embark on its vision of building roads, railways and pipelines across Eurasia, irrespective of Indias endorsement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This attempt to lay foundations of a Sino-centric Asia provides India opportunities and challenges alike. An obstructionist approach does not favour Indias interests. It would be more advantageous to complement BRI, providing key low cost links in the greater Chinese jigsaw to optimise competition for strategic space. Where can India complement Chinese efforts in a way that benefits its own economic and strategic interests? The Central Asia-West Asia corridor is a branch of the BRI where India can reap significant gains. The corridor runs horizontally (east-west) across Asia from western China to Turkey. The connectivity project, North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC), which India is a part of, is a perfect economic complement to the BRI, because it runs vertically across Asia: from Mumbai to Moscow via Iran. Once interconnected, the two initiatives can boost intra-regional connectivity leading to a unified energy market in Asia, allowing for energy price rationalisation. Asias natural gas prices are currently the highest globally, almost twice the market price in Europe, and three times the market price in the US (World Energy Council Report, 2016). Greater regional connectivity pushes the bargaining power more in the buyers favour enabling lower prices which are certainly in Indias economic interests. Moreover, India does not have to be a member of BRI to benefit from it. China has already signed transportation, customs cooperation, and quality assurance agreements with several BRI member countries. For India to be able to tap into the opportunities created by linking NSTC to BRI, it is important to pursue Free Trade Agreements (FTA) under an India-Central Asia FTA framework and an India-Eastern European Union FTA. These FTAs not only remove tariff barriers but also ensure competitiveness of Indian goods. The recent accession of India to the United Nations Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) convention is a promising step in this direction. The TIR convention, which all Central Asian countries are signatories to, allows Indian traders to have access to fast, reliable, and hassle-free border transit across 70 countries. In the long-term, the NSTC-BRI linkage coupled with FTAs have the potential to change Eurasias trade and energy dynamics. This can be strengthened further through the integration of the strategic Chabahar port with the NSTC. Such a link up allows India to benefit from Chinese-constructed access to major markets and resource supplies in Central Asia, West Asia, and Europe by investing capital only in the last mile connectivity to Chabahar. Peripheral projects such as upgrading the NSTCs existing rail and road infrastructure and setting up satellite hubs for trade can act as value additions to complement the BRI architecture as and when required. The BRI-NSTC linkage thus helps Indian economic interests without making India directly dependent on China or requiring India to subsume its political interests within Chinas. It is important to point out that linking NSTC to BRI is not equivalent to India joining BRI. Providing external connectivity to the BRI through complementary value additions is different from signing up as its member. A careful distinction such as this allows enough room for diplomatic manoeuvre. India can thus connect to BRI from the outside, while still abstaining from formally endorsing it. These opportunities do not come without challenges. In evaluating the threats, it is imperative to factor in Chinese military presence in the Indian Ocean. In this context, connectivity between BRI and NSTC and its integration with Chabahar port, increase the stakeholders in trade through the Indian Ocean region. It allows the five Central Asian Republics and Russia the cheapest and the fastest access to the Indian Ocean, opening up new markets in ASEAN and Africa. The more countries depend on Indian Ocean-centric trade, with last mile connectivity provided by India, the less China will succeed in its attempts to militarise the Indian Ocean. This also opens up new balancing opportunities through forums like the Indian Ocean Rim Association (OIRA) on the soft side of the spectrum, graduating all the way up to the India-Australia-Japan-US Quad on the hard power end in the Indo-Pacific. While economically countering Chinas USD 1.3 trillion investments in the region is not feasible, piggybacking on it for economic and political gains, with minimal, carefully planned supplements to it, is not only feasible but also strategically wise. Essentially, this would mean China investing a lions share in BRI, and India adding to it marginally from the outside but reaping significant benefits. This complement and compete strategy can seamlessly fit within a larger Indian counter strategy towards a China-centric Asia. This approach requires a comprehensive and holistic revaluation of the current strategy by Indian policy-makers. Sreejith Nair is a Research Intern, IPCS Slovakian director Martin Sulik belongs among the established and leading figures in the contemporary Slovak cinema. His previous work, social realistic drama Gypsy, was finished in 2011 and had a successful run on the festival circuit. After seven-year hiatus, Sulik returns with yet another feature-length project The Interpreter with a leading cast able to get the project trumpeted all over the world. The director managed to cast a power couple as the protagonists, Peter Simonischek as the unforgettable and determined father creating alter-ego Toni Erdmann to get closer to his estranged daughter in the eponymous award- and acclaim-winning Maren Ades dramedy (read the review). As his counterpart and a wing-man of sort appears Czech director Jiri Menzel, a member of Czech New Wave, who won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1967 for his feature debut Closely Watched Trains, along other accolades he is owner of several lifetime achievement awards. They portray two octogenarians attempting to understand their lives in the autumn of of their lives however Sulik grasps serious and actual topic in the Central Europe as the spectre of fascism begins to haunt the land again. Menzel stars as ascetic teacher Ali of Jewish origin whose parents were killed by an Austrian SS officer whereas Simonischek is an Austrian hedonistic former teacher struggling with alcoholism and his father's past. The quest of unearth what happened long ago brings them together on a kaleidoscopic journey across Slovakia of bizarre situations and eccentric personalities and begin to eventually understand their acts and identities. Once, I was listening to a reading from the book of an Austrian author Martin Pollack, Dead Man in the Bunker: Discovering My Father, in a car. He was describing his relation to his father, a middle-ranking SS officer who operate around Ruzomberok [a town in northern Slovakia] in 1944 and he commanded to get several dozens of civilians killed. Those couple of pages of the text touched because I grew up around Ruzomberok and I knew the stories," Sulik who co-wrote the script revealed the primary impetus for The Interpreter. The co-writer of the story is Marek Lescak whose latest writing credit is Nina (read the review). We wanted to look on the whole probel from two perspectives, so we came up with an opponent to the Austrian character, the character of interpreter who lost his whole family during the war. Gradually, a tragicomic road movie emerged, a story of two old-timers who want to understand their lives at the end of life," adds the Slovak veteran director. The Slovak, Czech and Austrian co-produced film is slated for domestic premiere on March 1 2018. However, the appearance on the festival circuit and outside the production countries is expected as Celluloid Dreams has acquired the world rights back in May 2017 and introduced the project at Cannes market to potential distributors. That was reported at a conference, attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, to review 2017 operations and implement 2018 missions of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi this morning. The growth rate was said impressive as global trade growth was low, many markets returned to the trend of domestic protection and import limitation. Good import control created a trade surplus of $2.7 billion. This is one of important factors to ensure macroeconomic balances of the economy. Opportunity exploitation from integration commitments were conducted more efficiently than in previous years. Vietnam recorded outstanding export growth rates from markets which the country has signed free trade agreements with. 2017 saw challenges and difficulties but marked basic moves during the industrys renovation and restructuring. Minister Tran Tuan Anh said that industrial production posted a strong growth rate with 9.4 percent, much higher than 7.4 percent in 2016 and beyond the target of 7.1-8 percent. Of these, manufacturing and processing posted high growth rate hitting 14.5 percent. It was 11.2 percent in 2016 and 10.5 percent in 2015. This field created the main motive power for the growth of the entire industry and trade industry in 2017. Domestic trade continued maintaining growth momentum, together with export and investment to be important supports to the countrys growth target. Goods and service supply and demand were stable without scarcity in holidays and after floods. Consumer price index was curbed below 4 percent. (SS) Look up at the skyline of Fort Lauderdale and youll see a city far bigger and glitzier than the shadow of Miami it was just a decade ago. But look down, at ground level or worse, below the surface and youll see signs of a city whose foundation is crumbling. For while focusing on the horizon, todays leaders have failed to keep an eye on the ground, despite a chorus of citizens raising concerns about failing roads and bridges, pedestrian and bicycle deaths, a flawed streetcar plan and broken pipes that have spewed millions of gallons of raw sewage into roads, lawns and waterways. On Tuesday, Fort Lauderdale voters will go to the polls to choose a successor to Mayor Jack Seiler, who faces term limits after three three-year terms. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two will face a runoff on March 13. Seiler is a popular mayor who has focused on economic development and holding the tax rate steady. Hes also been criticized for not listening harder to everyday folks. Three candidates City Commissioners Dean Trantalis and Bruce Roberts, and former Commissioner Charlotte Rodstrom hope to replace Seiler. The job is part-time and one of five seats on the city commission. But the mayor, working with the city manager, gets to set the agenda and run the meetings. All three candidates are upstanding people with a strong record of public service. But of the three, we believe Dean Trantalis is the best choice. Like his opponents, Trantalis, 64, a real estate attorney, is smart and personable. Hes also accessible, responsive and committed to smart growth. And hes self-aware the only candidate at the South Florida Sun Sentinel debate willing to acknowledge a mistake or regret. Trantalis also has a sense of humor. When asked at the debate about an attack ad from a PAC supporting Bruce Roberts an ad some viewed as homophobic because it depicted Trantalis, a gay man, wearing lipstick and rouge he began: Aside from the fact that these are outfits I would never be seen in Trantalis has a deep knowledge of the city from having twice served on the commission. Todays stint began in 2013, after Rodstrom stepped down, weeks after winning re-election, to run for the Broward County Commission seat being vacated by her husband. She lost, and quickly entered the special election to regain her city seat. Though popular and hard-working, she lost to Trantalis, in part because people were upset that shed forced the city to hold a costly special election. She made another stab at the County Commission in 2014, and was prepared to move out of the city if elected to the county's north-central seat, but lost to Mark Bogen. The argument against Trantalis The rap on Trantalis is that he has been on the losing end of a lot of 4-1 votes, so he must be unable to influence others or build consensus. But if you look a little closer, youll see he is often the commissioner who asks the questions on the minds of people in the audience or watching at home. For that, hes faced blowback that borders on bullying and whispers that he doesnt understand budgeting. Consider an August meeting, when the commission was set to shift millions of dollars away from a needed upgrade at the Fiveash Water Treatment Plant to cover another batch of emergency sewer repairs. The shift had been previously discussed, and so was listed for approval without discussion on the consent agenda. But several citizens, including Rodstrom, wanted to be heard. People are worried about the drinking water system, too, because of far-too-often water main breaks and boil water notices. In fact, a consultants report says needed repairs to the citys water, sewer and stormwater systems could cost as much as $2.5 billion over the next 20 years. Youve got to wonder why the citys infrastructure is in such bad shape, given all the new development going on and a tax base fueled by rising property values. But clearly, infrastructure the defining issue of this years election has not been a priority for todays commissions majority. Indeed, when City Manager Lee Feldman shared his top priorities at the Fort Lauderdale Forum last May, his list began with improved insurance benefits for city employees and a new night-time code enforcement team. And when voters were asked to raise the sales tax for infrastructure last November, the citys top priority was a new police station on Broward Boulevard. Far more than a new police station, the city needs to solve its chronic water, sewer and stormwater problems. In the last three years, more than 20 million gallons of sewage have spilled into lawns and waterways. Yet the commission sweeps about $20 million a year from the water-sewer fund for other city expenses, even as it raises water fees at a clip of 5 percent a year. Trantalis gives voice to citizens Given everything, the citizens wanted answers that night. Trantalis stood alone in asking the questions. In doing so, he demonstrated the kind of leadership and financial acuity we expect in a mayor. The city manager said the shift would not affect the water plant because the money was coming from unrestricted dollars in the water-sewer enterprise fund. In that case, Trantalis responded, why does the agenda say $3 million will come from abandoning a water distillation upgrade at the plant? Feldman said the city charter requires him to use the word abandoned for changes made in the capital budget. Abandoning does not mean abandoning, Roberts added. Were going through the same hyperbole again. Commissioner Robert McKinzie called the discussion a waste of time. And Seiler accused Trantalis of trying to score points with the crowd. If you were in the crowd, you would have appreciated Trantalis questions. From our vantage point, things werent adding up. Trantalis continued. He asked where the water-treatment money would come from if todays budgeted dollars are spent somewhere else. The ratepayers, Feldman said. In fact, the city manager plans to ask the commission this month to borrow $200 million for urgent repairs. He expects to make the payments with that annual hike in the water fee a tax by another name. Feldman takes issue with the consultants report on infrastructure. He cites another assessment that says the citys systems are well-maintained and well-funded to meet future demand. Seriously? Does the city manager seriously think todays systems are well-maintained and well-funded? Did he not see those vacuum trucks sucking sewage from one manhole and pouring it another at a cost of $12 million so far? And how about the states order to stop spilling millions of gallons of sewage into waterways or else pay fines? The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board members talk about the upcoming primary elections in Fort Lauderdale. Commissioners who dont listen Maybe you, like Trantalis, have found yourself among people who dont want to listen. If theyre unmovable, does that mean youre unable to build consensus? Remember, a majority of todays commission used a technicality to ignore the message behind a petition drive signed by more than a thousand verified voters that requested a one-year moratorium on construction pending a citywide study of traffic and infrastructure. Sometimes, its easier to go along to get along. And on occasion, Trantalis has done so. Weve also heard hes voted in ways other than what hed led people to expect, which is concerning. Trantalis says the vote he regrets is the one that approved another high-rise this one for an assisted-living development on downtowns riverfront. He says hes not against growth, but with 6,000 approved housing units yet to be built in downtown, he (like Rodstrom) is willing to hit the pause button while infrastructure catches up. The rap on Roberts Bruce Roberts, who was the citys police chief before joining the commission, doesnt like the idea of a moratorium, even short-term. He says hed evaluate projects case-by-case. Hes backed by the business community, whose leadership fears any mention of a moratorium. The rap on Roberts is his unwavering support for development and that his campaign strategist, Judy Stern, lobbies the city commission on behalf of developers. She lobbied for the controversial Bahia Mar development, as one example. At the Sun Sentinel debate, Roberts pointed out that hed opposed the proposal to build seven condo towers around the Galleria Mall. But he failed to note that Stern was lobbying against the propoal, on behalf of the neighborhood. Roberts has a ruling from the Florida Commission on Ethics that says its legal for him to retain Stern as his campaign manager, even though she lobbies the City Commission. The fact that he sought the ruling shows he recognized the arrangement could cause problems for his campaign. That said, Roberts, 69, is passionate about continuing to serve the city. He has Seilers strong support. Hes also supported by the police union, which has a lot of sway at City Hall and gets out the vote. The question is whether taxpayers can afford all of the unions wants, including the new police station, which Roberts believes is badly needed. Rodstrom strong, but a bit strident Charlotte Rodstrom says a new police headquarters is a want we cannot afford right now. She also questions the wisdom of narrowing roads when traffic is so terrible. Rodstrom, 64, has a track record of fiscal discipline. When she was in office, she fought the plan to borrow money to meet pension obligations, for example. She also voted against budgets that let 40-year-old police officers get lifetime retirement benefits after 20 years on the job. Thats causing the deficit in our budget, she says. Its financially irresponsible. Rodstrom has worked hard attending meetings, studying back-up materials, walking door-to-door to prepare and prove herself ready. And she knows what it feels like to be ignored during the precious three minutes citizens get to speak before the commission. She promises no more meetings that last until 3 a.m. And really, theres no good reason why commissioners cant meet more than twice a month. On balance, Trantalis is equally well prepared, but less strident. As he points out, voting against every budget not only sends a message about police benefits, but about services for children, the homeless, the street cleaners and more. Thats not responsible government, not responsible leadership. Fort Lauderdale is a city on the move, but faces significant challenges with transportation, affordable housing, high-wage jobs, a poorly designed streetcar project, bike paths in highway lanes, sea level rise, poverty and growing debt. But in the 2018 election, the defining issues are infrastructure and a willingness to listen. We believe Dean Trantalis has the experience, smarts and temperament to best make the needed adjustments and build a stronger, more vibrant city. (WB) An agreement was reached to withdraw a petition pending before the Supreme Court that could have established a nationwide rule on whether transgender kids are entitled to use school restrooms consistent with their gender identity. The petition, filed by Kenosha School District in Wisconsin, sought to challenge a ruling from the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in favor of Ash Whitaker, a transgender high school student seeking to use the restroom consistent with his gender identity. It was the first-time ever a federal appeals court reached that decision. As a condition of the settlement, the school district agreed to withdraw its petition before the Supreme Court seeking review of the Seventh Circuit ruling. The settlement, which remains subject to court approval, also requires the school district to allow Ash to use the boys room in the future should he return to campus as an alum. Whitaker, who graduated from high school in June 2017 shortly after the Seventh Circuit issued its ruling, said in a statement hes deeply relieved by the settlement. Winning this case was so empowering and made me feel like I can actually do something to help other trans youth live authentically, Whitaker said. My message to other trans kids is to respect themselves and accept themselves and love themselves. If someones telling you that you dont deserve that, prove them wrong. The agreement was reached between Kenosha School District and the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, which represented Whitaker. Kris Hayashi, executive director of Transgender Law Center, said the agreement means the important Seventh Circuit precedent will be allowed to stand. The precedent in the Seventh Circuit is definitive, Hayashi said. Schools cannot single students out because they are trans. Period. Also as part of the settlement, the school district must pay $800,000 for the harm Ash experienced as a student and his reasonable attorneys fees and costs. Other legal groups representing Whitaker were Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC, a D.C.-based civil rights law firm and Robert Theine Pledl of McNally Peterson, S.C., based in Milwaukee, Wis. Joseph Wardenski, an attorney with the civil rights law firm, Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC, said in a statement the settlement sends the clear message to all school districts that discriminating against transgender students is against the law. We are pleased that KUSD decided not to needlessly drag this case through the courts any further, to compensate Ash for the concrete and avoidable harms he suffered, and to finally allow Ash to move on from this painful chapter of his life, Wardenski said. Representing Kenosha School District in the case was Ronald Stadler of the Milwaukee-based Mallery & Zimmerman, S.C. Stalder said in a statement the consent decree doesnt apply to individuals other than Whitaker. Further, Stadler the vast majority of funds were paid by the schools insurer; the only taxpayer funds spent by the district were its $25,000 deductible. KUSD has maintained all along that Whitaker was being treated entirely consistent with a procedure that, at the time the decision was made, was entirely legal under the law, Stadler added. Whitakers complaint contained many allegations, including that transgender students were required to wear green wristbands and that Whitaker was singled out from other students. The district strongly denied such allegations and at no point in the litigation did Whitaker submit evidence to substantiate those disputed claims. Numerous courts have determined Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex discrimination in schools, requires schools to allow transgender students to use the restroom consistent with their gender identity. The Seventh Circuit ruling in the Whitaker case upheld a trial court decision in his favor, which prompted the school district to file a petition before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has yet to make a nationwide ruling on the issue. Justices could have rendered a national clarification either for or against transgender students if they had decided to take up the school districts petition. Its the second time an opportunity for the Supreme Court to issue a nationwide ruling has been withdrawn. Last year, the Supreme Court nixed consideration of lawsuit filed by transgender student Gavin Grimm, who sought to use the boys room at high school in Virginia. The Supreme Court nixed consideration of the case after the Trump administration revoked Obama-era guidance assuring transgender kids access to school restrooms consistent with their gender identity under Title IX. The Education Department subsequently issued a memo saying discrimination and harassment of transgender kids could amount to sex discrimination, but federal law doesnt necessarily apply to bathroom use. Masen Davis, CEO of the LGBT group Freedom for All Americans, said in a statement the agreement was good news for transgender students. This settlement sends a clear message that schools are responsible for treating transgender students fairly and equally, without exception, Davis said. All students deserve to focus on their education, build meaningful friendships and memories, and live their most authentic lives while at school. Chris Johnson, Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association. Gina Ortiz Jones wants to build a better Texas. The Iraq War veteran and out lesbian is campaigning for U.S. Congress in the Lone Star States 23rd congressional district. She faces three opponents in Marchs Democratic primary election. As an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force, Gina served under the militarys Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy, and saw first-hand how discrimination affects good order, and discipline as well as military readiness, reads a statement on her campaign website. In Congress, Gina will be a champion for equal rights for all and protections from discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability and religion. Jones, 36, left her job as a director in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in June amid frustration with the Trump administration. The type of people that were brought in to be public servants were interested in neither the public nor the service, Jones told the Huffington Post. That, to me, was a sign that Im going to have to serve in a different way. A first generation Filipina-American, Jones is endorsed by the Victory Fund, Emilys List and VoteVets. If she takes the Democratic nomination, Jones will face incumbent Republican Congressman Will Hurd in Novembers general election. Texas 23rd district hugs the states southwestern border with Mexico and its voters are almost 70 percent Hispanic. Mardi Grass 40th anniversary in Sydney, Australia will welcome its first-ever float celebrating transgender people. The pro-trans Mardi Gras float was made by members of the four-month-old New South Wales Trans Youth Alliance, whose members met at an LGBT youth camp and live in and around Australias biggest city, BuzzFeed News reports. "Its really fundamental that the youth become empowered," said Felix, an 18-year-old transgender man from Western Sydney, whose last name BuzzFeed did not reveal. The idea for the float came when psychologist and NSWTYA creator Kath Power helped chaperone her son and his gender diverse friends at a march last year. While at the march, she figured there should be a float exclusively for young transgender people especially those without supportive parents. "The photos Ive got of the kids, the laughter on their face," she said. "The love. Youre marginalised, and now youre getting cheered." The groups logo is a transburger, with blue buns, pink tomatoes and a white center like the blue-pink-white transgender pride flag. Members plan to march with banners declaring Trans And Proud and Gender Freedom. Sydneys Mardi Gras is scheduled for March 3. For Australian LGBT youth, 2017 brought some good news. In November, 61 percent of Australian voters chose to legalize same-sex marriage. The Senate passed marriage equality the same week the federal Family Court overturned a ruling that forced trans teenagers to apply in court to start cross-sex hormone treatment. (WB) LGBT rights advocates in Haiti on Friday condemned President Trump after he reportedly described their country as a shithole. Reginald Dupont, executive director of Foundation SEROvie, an HIV/AIDS service organization that is based in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, described the comment as a major affront to the dignity of peoples. Josue Azor, a photographer who documents Port-au-Princes LGBT nightlife, on Friday said there are a lot of people reacting after the Trump comment. Most of them are expressing how shocked and pissed off they are, Azor told the Blade. The Washington Post on Thursday reported Trump described Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as shithole countries during an Oval Office meeting on immigration. Trump also reportedly said the U.S. should allow more immigration from Norway and Asian countries. The Haitian government has summoned a U.S. official to explain the comment, which Trump on Friday said he did not make. CNN reported U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who is among the lawmakers who attended Thursdays meeting, told reporters on Capitol Hill that Trump said these hateful things. The U.N., the African Union and the government of El Salvador have all condemned Trumps reported comments that have sparked outrage around the world. The Botswanan and Senegalese governments on Friday summoned the U.S. ambassadors in their respective countries. Trump made the comment on the eve of the eighth anniversary of an earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people in Haiti in 2010. Josh Seefried, a former Air Force captain, on Friday wrote on Facebook that he had been stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey for a few months when the earthquake struck. He said he helped Haitians who had been evacuated from the country off their airplane, get passports and provide them with any immediate help they required. People were so grateful when I could lead them to a cot, get them some food and water and help them track their family down, wrote Seefried. It was probably the most humbling but memorable experiences I ever had while in the Air Force. Words cant describe how disgusting it is to have our President call countries which have struggled so much, a shithole,' he added. The Trump administration last November said Haitians will no longer receive protected immigration status in the U.S. under the Temporary Protected Status program, which allows people from countries that have suffered war or natural disasters over the last two decades to receive temporary residency permits. The White House on Monday announced El Salvador has been removed from the list of TPS countries. The New York Times last month reportedTrump in June said during a meeting in the Oval Office that the 15,000 Haitians who received visas to enter the U.S. in 2017 all have AIDS and the 40,000 visa recipients from Nigeria would never go back to their huts. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders strongly denied the report. Former U.S. ambassador: Trumps comments are hate speech Haiti borders the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. Former U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic James Wally Brewster on Friday noted to the Blade that he traveled to Haiti several times when he was ambassador from 2013-2017. Brewster, who is among the six openly gay men who were U.S. ambassadors during the Obama administration, said he saw a challenging economic situation, but a proud and vibrant people. Brewster described Trumps reported comments as an offense, but (not) just to those in Haiti and African countries but to everyone in the U.S., our embassies and anyone who has a sense of humanity. The office is the president and if any country reflects to the world who we are as a people, Brewster told the Blade. This is not who we are! This is racist, hate speech. What is frightening is that I do not think he believes what he said was wrong and doesnt believe he is a racist as is the case with the few that follow him, he added. I just want the world to know that he does not represent the majority of Americans. We believe in diversity and respect for everyone. Brewster said as ambassador he worked to pull together those who saw people of color as something other than their equal. He also questioned why the Republicans who attended Thursdays meeting at the White House have yet to publicly condemn Trumps comments. Where are our lawmakers on the Republican side who were in the room, asked Brewster. When are they going to stand up as humans and say enough is enough from this racist man. Michael K. Lavers, Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBQ Media Association. Trot Insider has received confirmation that Somebeachsomewhere p,3,1:46.4 ($3,328,755), the superstar Standardbred both on the racetrack and in the breeding shed, has passed away at the age of 13. A few hours after confirming Beachs passing with Trot Insider, the Somebeachsomewhere Syndicate announced that he had been humanely euthanized at Mid-Atlantic Veterinary Center in Ringoes, New Jersey at roughly 2 p.m. on Sunday, January 14. The syndicate also announced that Somebeachsomewhere will be laid to rest at Hanover Shoe Farms in Hanover, Pennsylvania after an autopsy is complete. Somebeachsomewhere had stood stud at Hanover since his on-track career concluded at the end of the 2008 racing campaign. On November 19, 2017, Brent MacGrath had told Trot Insider that Beach had a small cancerous mass a large cell lymphoma removed and had begun a six-week round of chemotherapy. The mass, which was roughly half the size of a grape, was discovered after Hanover Shoes Farms farm manager, Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky, elected to send the superstar son of Mach Three to an equine hospital. Beach, who had dealt with colic and some stomach issues in the past, had been suffering from some discomfort. After having located the part of Beachs intestine that was causing the issue, the small mass was then detected. Somebeachsomewhere, who had the mass removed earlier in November, had commenced chemotherapy on Saturday, November 18. Beachs treatment had been overseen by internal medicine specialist Dr. Rodney Belgrave of the Mid-Atlantic Veterinary Center. Three biopsies of the mass had been conducted, one of which came back as positive for cancer. Driven by Paul MacDonell and campaigned by Brent MacGrath for the Nova Scotia-based Schooner Stable, world champion Somebeachsomewhere won 20 of his 21 races during his legendary career and earned $3,328,755 in purses. His major victories as a freshman included the Battle of Waterloo, Metro Pace, Champlain Stakes and Nassagaweya. At three, his highlights included the Burlington (which was later renamed the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes), Pepsi North America Cup, Confederation Cup, Simcoe, Bluegrass, Tattersalls, Messenger, Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final and Breeders Crown. 2008 Pepsi North America Cup - Mohawk Racetrack The two-time Canadian Horse of the Year was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame nine months after he retired at the time holding eight world records. Somebeachsomewhere went on to stand stud at Hanover Shoe Farms. His offspring earned more than $87 million and he was the first sire in harness racing history to top $20 million in progeny earnings in a single season. Among his offspring are 13 millionaires, including Captaintreacherous ($3.15 million), Pure Country ($2.41 million), Downbytheseaside ($2.28 million), Huntsville ($1.8 million) and Check Six ($1.61 million). 2008 Bluegrass Red Mile 1:46.4 Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Somebeachsomewhere. ON WEDNESDAY (January 10) Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale once again defended her decision to depart from recent tradition of other chief justices not to reside in the nations capital of Grand Turk. The chief justice has come under attack on several occasions since her ascension to the post in 2014 for choosing not to reside on Grand Turk and thus, in the minds of some, leaving the capital without a sitting judge. Ramsay-Hale has instead chosen to travel to the island as the need arises; but this decision was recently criticised during a local radio programme, a criticism which she related on Wednesday she sees as an unfair attack. "I would speak as to a challenge as I as chief justice continue to face which is a continued subjection that the judicial administration under my leadership is not acting in the best interest of the accused in Grand Turk. "This was given full voice to a radio call interview, the gist of what was said in that radio call in programme, I regret that the public radio station sought it appropriate to permit such an attack on the administration and on me. "So, although I have addressed this issue in 2015 at ceremonial opening of the legal year and I again mentioned it last year I feel constrained to deal with it again and to repeat that the current allocation of court resources is not only appropriate it is fully in keeping with judicial tradition, the chief justice stated. She related that in the past, judges would regularly travel to various islands to conduct hearings and trials. She also stated that there is no good reason for persons who reside on the most populated island of Providenciales to have to travel to Grand Turk for trials or hearings, as it is a costly enterprise for witnesses, lawyers, jurors and all others involved in a Providenciales matter. "For those who say that it was done before, I say that just because a thing was done before does not make it the right thing to do now, and while it might have been justified at one point in time because of the number of cases in Provo, it not justifiable now. "In 2017 five criminal matters to be heard in the Supreme Court arose in Grand Turk, of course in Provo there were 63 men and women were accused of crime. She noted that although in keeping with recent tradition, people want a judge to reside in Grand Turk it is not a proper allocation of the courts resources. (Delana Isles) THE ATTORNEY Generals Chambers on Thursday (January 11) appointed Chassidy Swann as the new Crown Counsel and Shayone Handfield-Gardiner as the Senior Crown Counsel. A release from the chambers stated that Handfield-Gardiner who previously held the position of Crown Counsel within the Attorney Generals Chambers, holds a LLB and a recently earned Masters Degree in Law from the University of Leeds. Commenting on her appointment she said: "I am humbled, yet proud to be working in a country where young women are encouraged to break glass ceilings and take on roles that were once only reserved for middle-aged men. "Given the great leadership of our attorney general, I am delighted to have been appointed as the Senior Crown Counsel in the International Division of the Attorney Generals Chambers. She said that having worked in the chambers since 2010, it is her "earnest desire to continue to contribute to the ever-evolving demands and obligations of the legal industry. "The law, like any living organism, must change or be updated as our communities improve. "The same way lawyers are meant to continuously update themselves to meet the demands of the legal profession. Its against this backdrop that I decided to return to the United Kingdom to read my LLM in international law. "This provided me with the opportunity to improve my knowledge and skills thus making me a greater asset to chambers. "My commitment to the Attorney Generals Chambers and the Turks and Caicos Islands Government remains steadfast. "The decision to return to school represented a considerable sacrifice of time away from work and my family as well as finances on my part. "However, I remain grateful to the deputy governor and her team as I was able to receive two $5,000 grants from the Professional Development Fund towards the cost of my studies. "I wish to encourage my colleagues in the public sector to continue to explore funding opportunities such as the Professional Development Fund which provides financial assistance to enable you to excel academically in your desired profession. "Your commitment to your education serves also as a testament to your dedication to your personal development and which puts you in a better position knowledge-wise to serve your country. Swann who holds a Diploma with Honours in Land Economy and Valuation Surveying from the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTECH), obtained an LLB from the University of Buckingham in 2010 and in 2012 was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice upon successful completion of the Legal Practice Course (LPC) at the Manchester campus of BPP University College. During the period 2013-2016, Swann worked as a Paralegal at Minnis and Company in the Bahamas before joining the Attorney Generals Chambers in September 2016 as a temporary Crown Counsel in the place of Handfield-Gardiner who was on study leave at the time and was called to the TCI Bar in July 2017. Swann said: "I am very pleased to have been appointed Crown Counsel (Commercial/Civil) with the Attorney Generals Chambers. "I am confident that I will be able to make a positive contribution to the chambers and remain grateful for the opportunity to do so. Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles said she is pleased to have both ladies in her chambers. "Both appointments are part of my efforts at succession planning within my chambers and these appointments are a testament to the solid work ethic of each counsel and their commitment to professional development. "Shayone having just completed her Masters Degree in Law and Chassidy having recently been admitted to the TCI Bar (following her in service training in my Chambers) will be valuable assets to the Government in these new roles. Deputy Governor Her Excellency Anya Williams commended both ladies on their appointments. She said: "Shayone has been an ardent worker over the years and I commend her on her decision to upgrade her skills which assisted in her promotion to the role of Senior Crown Counsel. "As she joins the International Division of the chambers we will certainly miss her advice and guidance in routine TCIG matters, but am certain that she will do well. BRITISH Judge Robert Shuster who joined the TCI Supreme Court in March 2015 will soon proceed on leave as his contract comes to an end. Shuster who has attained the age limit for judges in the Turks and Caicos Islands, 70 years, was commended by Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale for his sterling record and his rigorous approach to his work on the local bench as she wished him and his wife success in their future endeavours. "The jurisdiction benefitted from Mr Shusters rigorous approach to his work which saw trials dispatched and the avoidance of unnecessary engagement of the court process in matters, the chief justice stated during the opening of the Supreme Court for 2018. Before taking up the post in the TCI, Shuster served on the courts of Tonga, Fiji, and Sierra Leone, and is best known for a 2010 sentence in which he ordered two teenage boys in Tonga to be whipped. His appointment to the local bench was met with widespread protest from the legal and civil society in the Turks and Caicos Islands. No replacement has been announced by the Governors Office. AS IS customary, the new year heralds a new opening of the courts with an official ceremony, held this past Wednesday (January 10) in Grand Turk and attended by judges, lawyers, members of parliament and other special invitees. Commencing with a church service at the St Marys Anglican Church on Front Street, attendees were led by a procession of Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police officers and band along the road and to the Supreme court where an inspection of the guard was carried out by Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale. In her address at the official opening of the law year, Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles remarked that 2017 was a very active legislative year with 21 ordinances being passed through the House of Assembly while the executive arm of government made 82 pieces of subsidiary legislation in accordance with the Governments legislative agenda. Highlighting the importance for the rule of law in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the attorney general noted that the presence of members of the executive and legislative branches of government at Wednesdays opening shows strong support for the work of the judiciary and is testament to their commitment to work closely with and ensure that the viability of the court system throughout the Islands. Braithwaite-Knowles officially moved the motion for the opening of the Supreme Court, seconded by the Director of Public Prosecution Jillian Williams. In her address to the court, Williams outlined that the DPP must institute, conduct and supervise prosecutions and related proceedings, a role of which is independent of the police force and other related agencies, noting that her department intends to continue their work along these lines throughout the year. Remarks were also brought by president of the local Bar, Jonathan Katan who commended the work of the various legal and government departments during the challenging months of 2017, as well as from Senior Counsel Ariel Misick QC. The chief justice in her address to the court noted that 2017 was a difficult year for everyone but observed that it also presents many opportunities for change and growth. (Delana Isles) THE CROWNs case in the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) trial of Michael Misick and several others will not be coming to a close any time soon, the Weekly News has learned. Information reaching this publication has suggested that the SIPTs case against the former premier and his seven co-accused will not end before April or May of this year. Sources close to the trial also revealed that many are disgruntled at the numerous adjournments and delaying tactics being employed by some involved in the case, and that numerous concerns are being expressed about the judges apparent failing health. The trial which was set to resume on January 21 will now recommence on February 5, after the judge was said to be undergoing surgery for an injury. The trial which began in 2015, was to have at least reached its half way mark last July/August 2017 with the prosecution presenting the last of its evidence against the defendants, but delays upon delays have made that initial estimation of the end of the Crowns case an impossibility. "Good and steady progress, as prosecutor Andrew Mitchell QC had described the trial progression to Weekly News in 2016, has now come to a virtual standstill as the TCI public continues to foot the bill of the very expensive legal undertaking. Background Following the recommendation in Sir Robin Aulds Commission of Inquiry 2008-2009, the Special Investigation and Prosecution Team (SIPT) was set up to look into allegations of corruption at the highest levels of government in the Turks and Caicos. The Special Investigation team began its investigations in April 2010 and the first charges were brought in September 2011. Helen Garlick was appointed as the Special Prosecutor and she led a team of investigators and lawyers which was charged with the responsibility of undertaking an independent criminal investigation. As a result of this investigation a number of individuals have been charged and sent to trial on all the charges against them following a sufficiency hearing before the Supreme Court in April 2012. The trial commenced on December 8, 2015, at the Supreme Court annex in Providenciales. Those facing trial are former premier Michael Misick, former minister Floyd Basil Hall, former minister McAllister Eugene Hanchell, former minister Lillian Elaine Boyce, former minister Jeffrey Cristoval Hall, attorney Clayton Stanfield Greene, Thomas Chalmers Misick, Lisa Michelle Hall, and Melbourne Arthur Wilson. Special Prosecutor Helen Garlick retired last year and the trial is now being overseen by the Director of Public Prosecution, Gillian Williams. LOCAL protestor and Grand Turk resident Valerie Jennings staged a one-person protest on Wednesday (January 10) as the legal luminaries celebrated the opening of another law year. Jennings plight is not unfamiliar to many in the Islands as she has previously protested what she deems unfair treatment by the British in making her job redundant and allegedly refusing to pay her several millions of dollars she believes is owed to her as severance. Last July she again made the news when she went on a two week hunger strike as a form of silent and non-violent protest. Armed with her placard, Jennings who suffers muscular dystrophy protested what she sees as the lack of justice in the Turks and Caicos Islands and her inability to find a job in the territory. "There is no justice in the Turks and Caicos Islands, look around you so many lawyers and everybody seems to be pro-British, the British seems to have everybody on their side. "How are Turks and Caicos Islanders going to be treated fairly in our country, and on top of that we have all of our court systems top heavy with all of these foreigners so who are we getting justice for in this country? "There is no justice in this country for us, I have been crying out for justice in this country for almost nine years now, my job was made redundant and I cant get a job in my own country and they hire foreigners to work here and send me home to die. Jennings complained that she is being shunned all over, and protested that the local media seems to be afraid to help champion her cause as well. Last year she penned a letter to the media stating that she has raised her concerns with the Queen of England, the Governor, Baroness Anelay of St Johns, Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson and the Opposition leader requesting an urgent sit down to discuss several issues. These issues include TCIs independence, British assistance with opening of a mental healthcare facility in the TCI, help for victims of hurricane, crime, unemployment, SIPT, healthcare and treatment for those with specials needs. (Delana Isles) This Page has moved to a new address: Sorry for the inconvenience Redirection provided by Blogger to WordPress Migration Service General students of Dhaka University staged a demonstration in front of Raju Sculpture of the university on Monday demanding cancellation of affiliation of seven colleges Celebrating 27 years of Theatre School Entertianment Report : Abdullah Al-Mamun Theatre School is going to celebrate its 27th anniversary on January 19 with the slogan Alokshikha Jaluk Praney at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. On this occasion Theatre School arranged a press meet at the VIP Lounge of National Press Club on Monday. At the press meet, Ramendu Majumdar, Principal, Abdullah Al-Mamun Theatre School said that Theatre School has been producing many actors and theatre workers for the last 27 years who are now doing good in Theatre, Television and as well as in Film. They have made their stable position in these fields with their knowledge and skills. To celebrate this contribution, Theatre School has arranged this 27th anniversary programme Alokshikha Jaluk Praney. Syed Apon Ahsan, Convener, Festival Celebration Committee informed that this day long festival is consisted of different activities. In the first part of the celebration a seminar will be held on Classical Theatre and Contemporary Production Experiment at the Seminar Room of BSA. Seminar will be initiated by Prof Abdus Selim. In the mid part, at 4:00pm a rally will start from Nandan Moncho of BSA to National Press Club and will return to BSA. In the last part of the celebration there will be festival formalities and cultural performances at 6:00pm at Jatiya Natyashala, BSA. Asaduzzaman Noor, MP, Cultural Affairs Minister will be present there as the Chief Guest. Aktaruzzaman, Ex-student, Theatre School and General Secretary, Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation was also present there. Modi gives warm welcome to Netanyahu BBC online : Diplomatic talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu are set to begin on Monday during the latter's first official trip to India. Modi accorded Netanyahu a warm welcome when he arrived on Sunday and vowed to "further cement the close friendship" between Israel and India. The highly publicised visit comes after New Delhi voted against the United States decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel at the UN General Assembly last month. But despite India's record in abstaining or voting against Israel on the international level, Netanyahu's visit is part of a wider move by the right-wing Indian government to strengthen existing ties. Commenting on India's vote at the UN, Netanyahu told India Today: "Naturally we were disappointed, but this visit is a testimony that our relationship is moving on so many fronts forwards. "I don't think one vote affects a general trend you can see in many other votes and these visits," he added. At the emergency session of the General Assembly in December, 128 countries voted in favour of rejecting US President Donald Trump's controversial decision on December 6. Nine countries voted against, while 35 abstained. Former Indian ambassador KC Singh said Netanyahu's India trip is "basically a continuation of India's calibrated relations with Israel since 1992", when New Delhi established diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. "The ruling BJP, of course, has an ideological affinity towards Israel. Prime Minister Modi doesn't have the inhibitions of his predecessors while dealing with Israel and thus a theatrical edge has been added," Singh told Al Jazeera. The ruling BJP, of course, has an ideological affinity towards Israel. Prime Minister Modi doesn't have the inhibitions of his predecessors while dealing with Israel and thus a theatrical edge has been added Among the many bilateral cooperation issues to be discussed by the two sides - defence, technology, agriculture, cyber-security, water management and trade. Pranab Mukerjee due in Raozan today Ctg Bureau with Raozan Correspondent : The people of Raozan irrespective of caste, creed and opinions are eagerly waiting the arrival of the former Indian President Mr. Pranab Mukerjee in Raozan today. The leaders and workers of the ruling party led by the local legislator and Senior Vice president of North district Awami league ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury MP are relentlessly working for according reception to the former Indian President . Under the supervision of the lawmaker ABM Fazle Karim chowdhury MP , all sorts of security measures and decorations of the Suriya Sen chattar already completed, upazila AL sources said. six lakh people of Raozan upazila are expected to receive the great leader of India . Sources said high profile Indian political leader Pranab Mukerjee is expected to place wreath on portrait(sculpture) of Surya Sen that erected at Surya Sen Chattar in front of Raozan University College today. It is the first Indian President who will visit Raozan to witness the memories of anti-British revolutionary leader Masterda Suriya Sen . Mr. Mukerjee will also visit the birth place of Suriya Sen at Noapara Rajmoni Sen house under Raozan upazila on same day. Surya Sen was born on 22 March 1894 at Noapara village in Raozan who was hanged by the British ruler on 12 January , 1934. Mentionable that Masterda Surya Sen was a noted anti-British revolutionary leader who conducted arms struggle against British rule in this subcontinent. Surya Sen was the son of Rajmoni Sen and Shasibala Sen of Noapara village of Raozan Upazila , Chittagong,. Protect future gens from poison of terrorism: Pranab Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina receiving the visiting Indian former President Pranab Mukherjee at Ganabhaban on Monday. Photo: PID Former Indian President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday urged all to ensure peace and protect the future generations from the poison of terrorism. "Innocent people are being killed. People are becoming living human bombs," he said pointing finger at the loss of innocent lives in worldwide terrorism. While addressing the closing session of the 'International Bengali Literature Conference' at Bangla Academy in the city, Pranab, the great friend of Bangladesh, said it is not clear what the terrorists want but they become living human bombs. "Not only environment pollution, the biggest pollution is in people's minds," he said urging creative people, writers and artists to work and remove minds' dark. Convener of the conference Prof Anisuzzaman, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor, State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, key coordinator of the conference Nasiruddin Yousuf and Bangla Academy Director General Shamshuzzaman Khan were present. Speaking on the occasion, the Bangla Academy DG said the conference will be a historic one with the presence of Pranab Mukherjee. He urged the friends from India to learn more about Bangladesh and sought initiatives to allow Bangladesh TV channels in India. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the three-day literature conference on Saturday at Bangla Academy. Meanwhile, Pranab, who arrived here on Sunday, met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganobhaban on Monday. Finance Minister AMA Muhith will host dinner in the evening in honor of Pranab. On Tuesday morning, Pranab will go to Chittagong and visit Chittagong Armoury Raid site, the European Club site and Chittagong University. Chittagong University will honour the former Indian President with a Doctor of Letters (D. Litt) degree on Tuesday afternoon through a special convocation ceremony. The university has taken the decision in its 52nd syndicate meeting recently. CU Registrar Prof Dr Kamrul Huda said the former Indian President is also scheduled to visit two dormitories-Surya Sen and Pritilata-during his visit and will deliver a speech for the teachers and students. "The decision to honour him (Pranab) with D. Litt was taken in consultation with President (Abdul Hamid)," Dr Huda said. Pranab, according to his programme schedule, will visit ancestral home of Masterda Surya Sen, an influential leader of Indian independence movement against British rule, at village Noapara under Raozan upazila in Chittagong to pay homage to Surya Sen. Pranab, who served as the 13th president of India and now enjoying his retired life by reading books and writing his diary, will meet President Abdul Hamid on Wednesday evening. President Hamid will host dinner in honour Pranab at Bangabhaban. The former Indian President will leave for New Delhi by Jet Airways at 10:20am on Thursday. Trump to cut UN aid funding for Palestinian refugees AP : Donald Trump's administration is preparing to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The US President will cut the year's first contribution by more than half, or perhaps entirely, and make additional donations contingent on major changes to the organisation, US officials have said. Mr Trump is yet to make a final decision, but appears more likely to send only $60m (44m) of the planned $125m (91m) first instalment to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the officials told the Associated Press. The US is UNRWA's largest donor, supplying nearly 30 per cent of its total budget. The agency focuses on providing health care, education and social services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. This is a modal window. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israel's establishment in 1948. Today, there are an estimated five million refugees and their descendants, mostly scattered across the region. The plan to withhold some of the money is backed by Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, and James Mattis, the Defence Secretary, who offered it as a compromise to demands for more drastic measures by Nikki Haley, the US Ambassador to the UN, the officials said. Ms Haley wants a complete cutoff in US money until the Palestinians resume peace talks with Israel that have been frozen for years. But Mr Tillerson, Mr Mattis and others say ending all assistance would exacerbate instability in the Middle East, notably in Jordan, a host to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and a crucial US strategic partner. Protests erupt after Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital Last week, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, railed at Mr Trump in a fiery, two-hour-long speech. He said "shame on you" for Mr Trump's treatment of the Palestinians and warned he would have no problem rejecting what he suggested would be an unacceptable peace plan. The US donated $355m (260m) to UNRWA in 2016 and was set to make a similar contribution this year. But after a highly critical tweet by Mr Trump about aid to the Palestinians on 2 January, the State Department opted to wait for a formal policy decision before sending any of the funding. Mr Trump expressed his frustration over the lack of progress in his attempts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. "We pay the Palestinians HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect," he tweeted. "But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?" Deadly twin blasts rock Baghdad: 38 killed Al Jazeera News : Twin explosions in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad have killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 100, police and medical sources said. Monday's attacks were carried out by two suicide bombers, who detonated their belts in a crowd of workers at the Al Tayaran Square in central Baghdad, Iraq's interior ministry spokesman Saad Maan said. The interior ministry put the death toll at at least 16 with 65 wounded. Medical sources say the death toll is expected to rise, with many critically injuried. Al Tayaran is a major intersection in eastern Baghdad between Sadr city and al-Jumariyah bridge over the Euphrates river. All roads into the square have now been closed. Video footage posted on Twitter by the Kurdish Rudaw news agency showed the extent of the damage. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack as yet. On Saturday, a number of people were killed and others, including police, wounded when a suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint near Aden Square, north of Baghdad. No group claimed responsibility for that attack. Eight people were also killed in a suicide bombing on Sunday in the al-Tarmiyah area in northern Baghdad. In December, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), marking the end of a three-year war to drive the armed group out of Iraq. Ahmed Rushdi, director of the House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation, said the recent attacks show "huge errors" in the intelligence network of the capital city. "This shows to the people that even Haider al-Abadi's major victories against Daesh (ISIL's Arabic acronym) cannot control Baghdad," the security analyst told Al Jazeera. "It's a huge problem because people thought that Daesh [ISIL] is over now, but it is sending messages that no, actually they are still there," Rushdi said from Baghdad. NRBC Bank recalls Tk 100 crore loan NRB Commercial Bank (NRBC) Limited has recalled Tk 100 crore loans that it disbursed to various firms and entities as per the recommendations from the bank's former board. "Not all directors but two to three of them advised to sanction the loans. Later the board passed the loan proposals," NRBC Chairman Tamal SM Parvez came up with the disclosure at a media briefing on Monday. The briefing was held at the Bank's head office in the city. "We recalled the loans to set an example of good corporate governance and compliance," he added. When asked, Parvez said, "The loans were provided through proper procedure and the business firms did not even defaulted. But we asked them to pay back immediately to put the good corporate governance in practice." He added they have been asked to pay back the amount within six months. Referring to a Bangladesh Bank guideline, he said, "No board member could give instruction to a bank management to sanction loan to a particular firm or entity having his or her interest." Regarding the loan irregularities of the bank, he said, " It has created an image crisis of the bank and the new board engaged an all-out effort to restore its image. He also partially held media reports responsible for the image crisis of the bank. The Board of Directors of the bank has recently been reshuffled at an emergency board meeting of the bank. In order to improve the image and accelerate the progress of the bank, Farasath Ali resigned as the chairman and subsequently the board elected Tamal SM Parvez as the new chairman. Replying to a question, the NRBC chairman said, the negative image caused to diversion of Tk 500 crore deposits from the bank. "We lost institutional deposit, not public deposit," he said, adding, "Depositors were rushed for withdrawing their deposits from Farmers Bank after loan scam of the bank surfaced in the media. But this did not happen for our bank. Deposits held by general people still remain intact at our bank." Tamal SM Parvez, a Non-resident Bangladeshi (NRB) further said that deposit of their bank continues to grow despite negative media reports. When asked, he said, "The incumbent board will never interfere on the activities of the bank's management and remain transparent in sanctioning loans to business firms." "We will strictly follow the Bangladesh Bank guidelines in administering the bank and lending practices. Let us work. Hope you will see considerable a progress of our bank after six months," he said. Bank's Managing Director (Current Charge) Kazi Md. Talha also spoke at the press briefing. HC delivers split verdict on Article 70 Staff Reporter : A two-member High Court (HC) bench on Monday delivered a split verdict on a writ petition that challenged legality of Article 70 of the Constitution regarding cancellation of membership of a lawmaker for voting against his or her own party. Justice Moyeenul Islam Chowdhury, senior judge of the HC bench, issued a rule asking the government as to why Article 70 should not be declared unconstitutional. On the other hand, Justice Md Ashraful Kamal, junior judge of the bench, summarily rejected the petition. After passing the split order, the HC judges sent the petition to the Acting Chief Justice Md Abdul Wahhab Miah for a decision. Now Justice Abdul Wahhab Miah will assign another HC bench for its hearing and disposal of the petition when he will receive the petition and split order. Advocate Eunus Ali Akond, a Supreme Court lawyer and also the petitioner took part in the hearing in favour of the petition while Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Sazu stood for the State. According to Article 70, a lawmaker has to vacate his or her seat if he or she votes in the Parliament against his/her own party. "A person elected as a member of Parliament at an election at which he was nominated as a candidate by a political party shall vacate his seat if he- (a) resigns from that party; or (b) votes in Parliament against that party; but shall not thereby be disqualified for subsequent election as a member of Parliament," said the Article 70. On April 17 in 2018, Advocate Eunus Ali Akond submitted the writ petition with the HC, challenging the legality of Article 70, saying that it is against democracy and contradicts Articles 7, 19, 26, 27, 44, 31 and 119 of the Constitution. On August 8 in 2017, the High Court started hearing on the writ petition. Deputy Attorney General Motaher Hossain Sazu opposed the writ petition saying that Eunus Ali has filed the writ petition for his personal interest as he said in the writ petition that he is candidate for the post of President of the republic. Project development instead of people`s development The present Awami League government follows the theme: 'development first, democracy next'. And considering the theory as political manifesto, it has geared up speed to complete the mega projects to make the development visible in front of the people's eyes ahead of next election. As a result, the country is witnessing construction of a bunch of mega projects spending billions of taka ignoring people's sufferings. All of the five mega development projects the government has taken targeting the next general election are now lagging behind the schedule. These projects were chosen when the government failed to accelerate 10 fast-track projects in the previous years. But none of them, including the Padma Multipurpose Bridge, Metro Rail, Dohazari-Cox's Bazar-Gundum Rail Link, Matarbari Coal-fired Power Plant and Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, will be visible in due time if the present trend continues. Of them, the Padma Multipurpose Bridge construction work is increasingly getting complicated and lengthy for difficulties that have shown up with its design. It has already put the project around one year behind the schedule. According to media reports, the project office is now facing with new problems with eight more piers of the 6.15-kilometre bridge, some of which have already been partially constructed, while it was trying to solve design-related problems concerning 14 other piers. It is learnt that engineers concerned have expressed worries about 22 piers, out of total 40. In a quick effort, a span of the bridge was installed over two piers. But the progress of bridge construction was 12 per cent behind the schedule until November last and 15 per cent in river training. The situation is not much improved till the date. As per official statement, 50 per cent of the total work has been completed. Significantly, the current complication arose for starting construction before confirmation of all the piers and for not conducting detailed river surveys in line with universal norms. And the main reason was that, the government had tried to complete the country's largest bridge by December 2018 with a cost of USD 3.8 billion ahead of the next elections. It was nothing but projection of development! There are more things. Despite several promises, the government still could not save the people from the nagging traffic jam. The city's busy roads, even lanes and by lanes, often remain jam-packed with stranded vehicles due to digging by different departments and metro rail construction. The situation turns for the worse due to reluctant mood of the traffic men against lane violators, illegal parking and others. It is alleged the special drives, taken by traffic department, resulted in pocketing extra money by some policemen. In over a decade, seven flyovers have haphazardly been built to ease traffic congestions in Dhaka defying objections of communication experts. It is now clear that these are not as effective as expected while traffic jam still remains as a major problem. The situation is also the same in second largest city Chittagong where flyovers have been putting additional trouble to the commuters. Funny thing is that, the government has constructed the flyovers one after another for 'projecting development instead of real development' as their target is next election. On the other hand, the Strategic Transport Plan or STP was not properly implemented. One example would clear the situation. Three Bus Rapid Transport or BRT projects and three Mass Transport Rapid or MRT projects were recommended in the STP to link the city's north and south parts. But at the beginning no step was taken to implement the projects by the authorities concerned for the reasons best known to them. Waterlogging is another big problem for almost all major cities across the country, but the government has failed to address the crisis in the last couple of years due to inefficiency and corruption of some officials and party's local leaders. Several projects with a cost of thousand crores of taka went apparently futile to protect the cities from waterlogging. Though the government is projecting its development, the country's real economic condition was described by the CPD very well. On Saturday, it said the government is going to hold the next national election with a weaker economic management mainly because of crippled banking sector. Suggesting the government to show 'political farsightedness', the CPD also asked to go through a 'conservative economic management' ahead of the polls. Last but not least. Country's overall human rights situation was as alarming last year as it had been in the previous year, according to the annual report of the Ain O Salish Kendra. We think, projecting development instead of real development would bring more miseries to the people rather than giving them a comfortable life. If the government's main objective is to win next election by any means, no doubt the people's sufferings would be ignored. Recording of depositions Feb 27 Court Correspondent : The Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court of Dhaka on Monday fixed February 27 to record the depositions of the witnesses in sedition case filed against BNP's Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman and three others for telecasting a 'fabricated and provocative' speech. Of the four accused Abdus Salam, who was the former chairman of the Ekushey Television, obtained bail in the case. While three others Tareque Rahman, former employees of Ekushey Television- Mahathir Farooki Khan and Kanak went into hiding after they were granted bail by the court. SI Borhanuddin, the Investigation Officer, filed the case with Tejgaon Model Police Station on January 8, 2015 against the accused on the charges of telecasting a "false, fabricated and provocative" speech delivered by Tarique Rahman on January 5 of the same year. Ailing Farmers Bank to get Tk 1,100 cr fund Kazi Zahidul Hasan : The government institutions will pump fresh capital to the cash-strapped Farmers Bank in line with a plan outlined by the central bank. The money will be, however, used to pay back only the depositors, officials said. They said the government policy makers have endorsed the central bank's plan and asked the Finance Ministry and the central bank to take necessary steps to make the bank solvent. "Institutional investors will provide Tk 1,100 crore to the troubled bank. It will help the bank to raise its capital to Tk 1,500 crore from Tk 400 crore now," a senior Finance Ministry official told The New Nation yesterday, asking not to be named. The official said the fund would not go to the bank as deposit. They would put their money in the bank after buying shares. "Institutional investors will hold the shares until the bank returns to solvency and people get back confidence in the bank," he added. He said the central bank has already prepared a plan to bail out the bank. The capital will be injected to the bank as per the central bank's guideline. Farmers Bank has plunged into an acute liquidity crisis as a result of piled up fictitious loans approved by the bank's former board led by Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir making it insolvent. Panicked by the insolvency, depositors of Farmers Bank are trying to either close their bank accounts or withdraw their money. They have withdrawn around Tk1, 200 crore deposits in the last few months. Farmers Bank founding chairman and Awami League leader Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and it's Audit Committee chairman Md Mahabubul Haque Chisty recently resigned from their posts as per the central bank directive. On December 19, Bangladesh Bank sacked the bank's Managing Director AKM Shameem for loan irregularities and failure to protect interest of the depositors. "We have devised a plan to salvage the plunging bank. The plan has already sent to the Finance Ministry chalking out all necessary steps to protect depositors' interests," a Central Bank official told The New Nation yesterday. He said the plan will be implemented under the direct supervision of the Bangladesh Bank. IFRC hospital chief in Kutupalong suspended UNB, Cox's Bazar : Team leader of International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) field hospital at Ghundhum has been suspended for misbehaving with two upazila nirbahi officers. Nuran Hinggs, an Australian citizen, also left the country early Monday as directed by the authorities concerned, said additional deputy commissioner (Revenue) Mahidur Rahman. He said Ukhia UNO M Nikaruzzaman and Naikkhonchhari UNO in Bandarban SM Sarwar Kamal went to the IFRC hospital on Saturday to look into a fire incident at a transit camp of UNHCR at Kutupalong that left four Rohingyas dead. However, Nuran Hinggs did not allow the government officials to enter the hospital. She also allegedly misbehaved with them. Later, the Foreign Ministry asked the IFRC to take action against the team leader of the hospital. Slain Mezba's family faces interrogation Staff Reporter The investigators are grilling the four family members of slain Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) activist Mezba Uddin after picking up them from Comilla on Sunday to confirm the identity of their relative, said Commander Mufti Mahmud Khan, Director (Legal and Media Wing ) of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Mezba's brother identified one body that it was his brother, the RAB spokesman said. After primary interrogation, the elite force confirmed that Mezba became infamous militant in 2015, the elite force official said. He tried to influence his wife and mother to become militants, he said. Mezba told his family members two months ago that he would meet them in The Paradise after the justice of God, Mufti Mahmud claimed. He also did not ascertain the whereabouts of the family members of Mezba. However, the investigators are still in dark about the identities of the two others, the said. On Friday, Mezba and two other operatives were killed during RAB raid in Nakhalpara, Tejgaon in Dhaka, they said. Mezbah's fingerprints matched with the Election Commission database confirming his identity, said Lieutenant Colonel Emranul Hasan, Commanding Officer of RAB-3. Mezba, introducing himself as Jahid, rented a room of a flat on the fourth floor of six-storey "Rubby Villa" in Nakhalpara, he said. The elite force was also trying to identify the two other dead suspects, he added. Mezba had been missing for the last two months, and his father filed a general diary in this connection, said Nazrul Islam, Inspector (investigation) of Monohorganj Police Station. Mezba had been living in Dhaka for at least 10 years. He used to visit his family in every two or three months at Bhaduara village of Monohorganj upazila in the distrcit, he said. A RAB team from Dhaka brought his family members from the village to Dhaka to identify the deceased whose body was kept at Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College after an autopsy on Sunday, said Kamal Hossain, Chairman of Hasnabad Union Parishad. The Undead Archives I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world. Richwood, TX (77531) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 91F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 74F. Winds light and variable. National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia announced Sunday it will open a direct flight from Makassar, South Sulawesi, to Palembang, South Sumatra, starting Jan. 17. The airline's marketing and information technology director, Nina Sulistyowati, said in a press release the move was part of Garuda Indonesia's strategic plan to expand its market and develop the domestic network, especially since Makassar and Palembang serve as key economic hubs. "Hopefully this service will also boost tourism in Indonesia, which is part of our commitment to continue to support the government's program of attracting 20 million tourists in 2019," said Nina. Read also: Garuda Indonesia to offer new routes from Bali to Zhengzhou, Xi'an The flight will be available four times a week every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday using the Bombardier CRJ 1000 aircraft, which can accommodate 96 passengers. The flight from Makassar to Palembang is scheduled to depart at 5:55 p.m. and arrive at 7:35 p.m., while the flight from Palembang to Makassar will depart at 8:15 p.m. and arrive at 11:55 p.m. Garuda Indonesia has currently served a Medan-Makassar direct flight since December, also using the Bombardier CRJ 1000. (kes) The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.